《Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil》 Author’s Note And Important Notice

Authors Note And Important Notice

Hello, readers. Before you start seeing this piece as only a smut novel after reading a few chapters, let me be clear about some things. The sexual content you will find in the novel is part of Erens evilness. He will walk on all those routes that are traditionally deemed as paths of sins (the seven sins). He will also do things that might not be able to get categorised under right or wrong. Of course, the novel will focus on RPG elements, Erens progress in being a better adventurer than past life, and a lot more in further chapters. The content of sexual nature doesnt limit it to being only a smut novel. Neither does it exclude it from that category. Its only a part of Erens nature and serves a sneak peek into some of his future endeavours. Ive avoided the smut tag for this novel because of this very reason. A lot of smut readers will want the work they read to only focus or prioritize the sexual content over other plotline. So such readers might get disappointed after further chapters are released. Also, this note shouldnt be seen as me expressing my aversion to smuts. I like smut novels if they are very well written with good plot and in-depth, multi dimensional characters. I think writing smuts is also an artistic skill not a lot of people will be able to wield. Although, I dont know how my first attempt at writing a pseudo smut will pan out, Im keeping my fingers crossed. I can already say that its way tougher than writing about fight scenes. Ive already tagged this novel for adults. If you are not into smut novels, kindly skip the chapters that has the sexual content and keep on reading. Lastly, keep sending power stones and love to this novel if you like it. Thank you. ? ================================= Important Notice! Dear active readers, please ensure that NSFW words would have altered spellings or a * used as a beeper before you ce your reviews andments on VEH. E.g. C foking awesome / fu*king awesome! C ashhole / as*hole Otherwise, suchments and reviews containing cuss words like these would invisible by Alls safety filter. VEH is losing out on the visibility of readers feedbacks because of this safety filter. For now, we can only bypass the filter using the loopholes mentioned above. Thats about it. Happy reading! ? Ranking System [Do not read before CH 53]

Ranking System [Do not read before CH 53]

Spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution! Please note that this page contains spoilers. Kindly do not read this if you dont wish to be spoiled. You dont need to read this page to keep track of the storyline. Appropriate descriptions will be provided in the chapters at the right time for you to know about the power levels relevant to the plot. This page only caters to the readers who want to know about the power structure of the world and form an idea about its background. The elements mentioned below only be applicable after the start of volume 02. It is suggested that the readers finish up with volume 01 of the novel before they read this page. Otherwise, their reading experience might get affected due tock of relevance. ****************************** Introduction to Base Stats: HP- Denotes Health Points a ranker has. It indicates the rankers health status. MP- Means Mana Points a ranker has. It quantifies the mana storage within the rankers core. STR- Stands for Strength. Indicates the quantified physical prowess of the ranker. AGI- Stands for Agility. It quantifies the speed a ranker can deploy in his movements and attacks. INT- Stands for intelligence. It quantifies the mental power a ranker can exert to think, cast spells, and more. BTP- BTP stands for Base Total Points. Itbines all the numerical values a ranker has in its base stats. It gives an approximate idea about the rankers total prowess and his status in the ranking journey. It is always represented in the whole number. Base Total Points (BTP): HP + MP + STR + AGI + INT Normally a rankless adult will have a value of 1 in all the base stats. Therefore, on average, a rankless person will have a BTP of 4 or 5. The base stats will differ with age, gender, path, and lifestyle among other factors. They can be buffed or de-buffed with suitable artefacts, potions, and more. ************************************** Body Stat Example: Status of a typical rankless adult male: HP- 1.4/1.5 MP- 0/ 0 STR- 1.5 AGI- 0.9 INT- 1.1 BTP~ 5 Status of a typical F-Rank female in the initial stage: HP- 1.7/1.8 MP- 2.5/ 3 STR- 1.8 AGI- 2.5 INT- 2.3 BTP~ 11 ************************************************* The Ranking system: A rankless person has to go through three steps before they can be a ranked entity and start their ranking journey. Sensing mana is the first step. The second step requires attracting the mana within your body and forming a mana core. The third step involves activating that mana core to draw the energy from it. A person enters F|Rank when the third step is followed through. A mana core has three phases that define the stages within the rank. For example, an F|Rank mana core will be formed right below the persons navel after the second step is achieved. In the third step, primary mana pathways will open that will allow a person to draw and circte the mana from the cultivated mana core. The F-Rank mana core will first enter the vapour phase that indicates the person is in the initial stage of that rank. When mana core enters the liquid phase, it will be considered as the person entering the middle stage of that rank. And the upper stage of the rank would mean the core has entered the solid phase. For a rank up, the core needs to be burst from within to allow for a higher tier of mana to condense and take its ce. After a sessful ranking promotion, a new mana core will be formed and observed to be in the vapour phase again. But this vapour phase will be of Rank E tier. The mana core needs to go through the same three phases again until it reaches the saturation limit. It again goes through implosion once that happens and paves the way for the next rank up. An F-Rank mana core will attract the mana of the same tier. And so will be the case for other ranks. The amount and density of the same|tier mana required to progress further in the ranking journey increased with each rank up. Thats why it bes difficult for high ranked entities to keep on breaking through to the next ranks. The BTP values for each rank can be defined by finding the average values spread across the ranked entities differing in age, gender, path, and more. Therefore, the BTP of each rank will have mean initial (minima) and upper (maxima) values. Rank | Title | Ranking Condition | BTP Range F-Rank | Novice | Elemental Activation | BTP 10-30 E-Rank | Ace | Elemental Stabilization | BTP 40-70 D-Rank | Adapt | Elemental Condensation | BTP 90-200 C-Rank | Expert | Core Elementalism | BTP 250-600 B-Rank | Master | Core Evolution | BTP 700-1500 A-Rank | Grandmaster | Core Revolution | BTP 1800-4000 S-Rank | Sage| Sage Transformation | BTP Undefined The three stages in each rank are categorized as: Vapour-phase- Initial-stage Liquid-phase- Mid-stage Solid-phase- Upper-stage ****************************************** Bottleneck: There exists a gap between the maxima BTP of a particr rank with respect to the higher ranks minima BTP. For example, F|Rank has a maxima BTP of 30. And E|Rank has a minima BTP of 50. The difference of 20 BTPs is called a bottleneck between the F and E Rank. The bottleneck increases exponentially with each rank up. Thats why it bes difficult to continue the ranking journey as you climb higher in the ranks. ********************************************** Potions: Potions are also ranked as per their usage by ranked entities. That means they also have F, E, D, C, A, and S ranks. Each ranked potion further gets divided into five grades or stars. A five-star potion of a particr rank will have higher potency and effects than any of its lower-star counterparts within the same rank. 1-star: Initial grade 2-star: Mid grade 3-star: Upper grade 4-star: Peak grade 5-star: Supreme grade The rank-wise potions are as follows: F-Rank | Novice Potion | 1-5 Stars E-Rank | Ace Potion | 1-5 Stars D-Rank | Adapt Potion | 1-5 Stars C-Rank | Expert Potion | 1-5 Stars B-Rank | Master Potion | 1-5 Stars A-Rank | Grandmaster Potion | 1-5 Stars S-Rank | Sage Potion | 1-5 Stars ***** Each ranked potion is only suitable for a mage in that same rank. That means an F-Rank entity in any stage can use the F-Rank potion of any star. But they can not consume even the initial-grade potion of E-Rank without facing severe consequences. ************************************************* Artefacts: Artefacts are also ranked as per their usage by ranked entities. That means they also have F, E, D, C, A, and S ranks. Each ranked artefact further gets divided into five grades or stars. A five-star artefact of a particr rank will have higher potency and effects than any of its lower-star counterparts within the same rank. 1-star: Initial grade 2-star: Mid grade 3-star: Upper grade 4-star: Peak grade 5-star: Supreme grade Rank-wise artefacts are as follows, F-Rank | Novice Artefact | 1-5 Stars E-Rank | Ace Artefact | 1-5 Stars D-Rank | Adapt Artefact | 1-5 Stars C-Rank | Expert Artefact | 1-5 Stars B-Rank | Master Artefact | 1-5 Stars A-Rank | Grandmaster Artefact | 1-5 Stars S-Rank | Sage Artefact | 1-5 Stars ****** Each ranked artefact is only suitable for a mage in that same rank. That means an F-Rank entity in any stage can use the F-Rank artefact of any star. But they can not use even the initial-grade artefact of E-Rank without facing severe consequences. ****************************** Spells: Spells are also ranked as per their usage by ranked entities. That means they also have F, E, D, C, A, and S ranks. Each ranked spell further gets divided into five grades or stars. A five-star spell of a particr rank will have higher potency and effects than any of its lower-star counterparts within the same rank. 1-star: Initial grade 2-star: Mid grade 3-star: Upper grade 4-star: Peak grade 5-star: Supreme grade Rank-wise spells are as follows, F-Rank | Novice Spell | 1-5 Stars E-Rank | Ace Spell | 1-5 Stars D-Rank | Adapt Spell | 1-5 Stars C-Rank | Expert Spell | 1-5 Stars B-Rank | Master Spell | 1-5 Stars A-Rank | Grandmaster Spell | 1-5 Stars S-Rank | Sage Spell | 1-5 Stars **** Each ranked spell is only suitable for a mage in that same rank. That means an F-Rank entity in any stage can use the F-Rank spell of any star. But they can not use even the initial-grade spell of E-Rank without facing severe consequences. Chapter 1: Eren Idril

Chapter 1: Eren Idril

Aaaaaaargh! An ear-piercing cry echoed through an untamed wilderness, away from the touches of civilization. Just bite my head off you dumb beast and end my damn life. Why are you chewing on my reaped arm where the least amount of meat is? Erenined to his killer because he was dying slowly. The least this stupid beast could do was kill him first before making a buffet out of him. But Eren was used to having the shittiest of lucks his entire life anyway. This didnte as a shock to him. Eren could have easily handled a D Rank beast. But that was in the past when he was young. He had attended a prestigious academy famous for giving ster hunters and adventurers to the kingdom, after all. But between his over-indulgent life and hisck of will to take risks, Eren couldnt grow further beyond a minor D Rank berserker. When he realized his past mistakes, his joints were creaking and his hair had receded further back, almost making him bald. And now due to the curse of old age, a pathetic D-Rank beast had turned into his grim-reaper. Eren didnt want toe to this damn ce and meet his eventual yer but he didnt have a choice. He was injured due to hisst hunt. But he was running low on cash and there was no other source of ie for him other than hunting the beasts and selling them in the citys market. The old adventurer was going to get kicked out of the city if he couldnt find money to pay the monthly city tax for next month. The situation had forced him toe here, only to die by the beasts maw. Eren observed that the wolf-like beast was not chewing his ripped hand anymore when he was done reflecting on his past life. It was all bones now. It had moved his attention to the rest of Erens body. Eren only wished for a swift death at this point. Thats why he had raised his head upwards, hoping the beast would target it first. But the beast didnt like to be led by the nose it seems. Itpletely ignored Erens head and attacked his preys most vulnerable spot: his groin. Eren was first shocked, then scared before finally feeling unrestricted wrath towards this beast. It could have enjoyed eating its prey in silence. But it had to just mess with him before finally killing him. Eren tried his hardest to make the beast change its target but it was of no avail. It was like the beast had found some kind of elixir at the ce of his groins. And finally, the unthinkable happened. The beast had bitten off Erens little beast. He was chewing on it and Eren was sure it wasughing at it. Eren couldnt control the pain. He just took an old gem ne he was wearing at the time and bit on it to control the pain. Eren had bought that ne on a whim while he was drunk, from a pawn shop. Part of the reason he ran out of money was this uncalled-for purchase. When he realized his mistake after getting sobered up, Eren had gone to the pawnshop to return the ne. But unsurprisingly, the shop wouldnt buy back the item they had already sold. It was obvious they had seeded in making a fool out of Eren that day. Eren could only start wearing the seemingly-useless ne. And now the same ne was being used as a silencer and pain reliever by its wearer. Erens mouth was now filled with the taste of iron. The area around it had been painted red by Erens blood. And he could feel his consciousness fading, which he weed with opening the only remaining arm. The almost-dead adventurer cursed at the beast in his head. With his drowsy and dying thoughts, he was talking about revenge on the beast and its kind if he survives this ordeal. If he is given a second chance, hell kill every beast of its kind by first targeting their groins, busting their cojones before chopping their things into pieces. Eren started indulging in a lot of fantasies, thinking he would make sure to fulfil them provided he somehow makes it back. He wanted toplete his chain of thought, stating if he makes it back to the city but he was interrupted by the beasts next set of actions. The beast had finally taken notice of the shiny thing its prey was biting on. Its primal instincts told the beast to have it. Therefore, it aimed to snatch the ne from Erens mouth. But Eren somehow understood the beasts mindset. As a final form of revenge, Eren took off his ne and gulped it down his throat. Then heughed at the beast-like he had finally achieved something to be proud of. The beast didnt like Erens actions. It growled at him before jumping on him at full force. Eren knew his end hade, but he had gotten fearless by now. Eren just moved his hands and targeted the beasts eyes with the dagger in his remaining hand. He had stored that dagger inside his boots and taken it out a while ago. The dagger wasnt something special. Just a simple weapon used for skinning the beasts after the hunters killed them. Therefore Eren wasnt expecting a one-hit kill with it. He just wanted the beast to suffer the consequences of killing him. The beast had finally targeted Erens unprotected neck. But the moment it had bit Eren, Erens dagger had pierced the beasts eyes, drove through it, past the skull, and lodged itself inside the brain matter. Erensst-ditch effort had paid off. The one-hit-kill he wasnt expecting had been added to his list of achievements. The beast died immediately, leaving Eren to die slowly and excruciatingly. Now Eren had to experience the beasts dead body weighing on him with his dying breaths. Eren cursed at the beast even more. Then he just closed his eyes and indulged in his fantasies about what he would do if he could survive this death trap. Eren had died. He died as an old, alone man who had no friends and the money required to make friends. He died so pathetically that he couldnt even save his di*k from being chewed on by the same beast that had killed him. But at least Eren had taken revenge for his Lil bro. He had also seeded in not letting the beast have its way with the ne he had been wearing and owning so begrudgingly. Eren had gulped down the ne and all the content stored within it. That included the big gem that served as the centre of attraction for that jewellery. What Eren didnt know was that thered be no ne to be found inside his corpse anymore, even if someonees looking for it. It had vanished into thin air after Eren gulped it down. But all that couldnt change the fact that Eren had died here. It was a tragic end. Although Eren was overindulgent, he had not harmed anybody unnecessarily. The now-di*kless dead guy had always kept things to himself. But troubles would juste to find him at his doorstep. Therefore, before he died, Eren had decided to change that side about him the most. if and when he survives this ordeal. With thoughts of regrets and reveries running through his head, the final chapter on Eren Idrils life was concluded with hisst breath. Or so he thought! Chapter 2: Aunt Nina

Chapter 2: Aunt Nina

When Eren regained his conciousness after what seemed like a long time and short span at the same time, he found himself inside in a small room. He felt like he had seen this ce before. Eren got up and sat upright on the bed. Oddly enough, he didnt feel like his joints were giving him trouble like they would at the start of every morning. The pitch-ck darkness had made its presence dominant in the room. But it couldnt spread its dominion in one corner of the room where a slightly closed window was letting some light in. It looked like the first light of the morning was soon going to break. Eren rubbed his eyes a little and tried to remember what had happened to himst night. He remembered being attacked by that dumb beast. That rage-evoking beast had first reaped off his arm. But that wasnt enough. It had the mood to have a sausage fest. And only after chewing on his Lil bro, the beast had an epiphany of killing its prey. It killed him off. It killed me, right? Eren asked the question to no one in particr while checking up on his neck. His neck was intact. That was strange. He also felt something weird when he touched his neck. Thats right! Theck of beard. Eren had an overgrown beard. Not because he wanted to keep it. But because he simply found it troublesome to trim it. Eren then noticed his skin is more smooth and suppler than he remembered. Eren felt confused. Then he realized he was using the same right arm that had been reaped off by the beast. Whats going on in here? Am I in a dream or something? A few nice moments before I die for good? Eren felt like this was the most logical conclusion. He didnt feel like he was in a dream but that itself wont be enough as a piece of evidence. Eren then checked his groins. The thing he was worried about the most had apanied him in hisst dream. Now if he could just live thisst dream to its fullest, thatd be a great way to call it quits. Eren got up from his bed and decided to head out of the room. When he did, he noticed another familiar setting. Thats right. This is Aunt Ninas house. Wait a minute, why are things looking so much bigger in height? Only then Eren realized that things hadnt gotten big like he thought they did. Instead, he was in a smaller body. More correctly, it looked like he was in his younger days when he was just a teenager. Thisst dream sure is convenient, Eren thought. It had brought him to his mostfortable days in life. Aunt Nina was one of his fathers party members when they were adventurers. Erens father had gone MIA a few years back when Eren was just 10 years old. And his mother had left him soon after to Aunt Nina to search for him. Later on, it was known that searching for his father was just a ruse his mother had made up to run away with her new lover. She had established a new family with him in a distant city. And had two more kids by now. But aunt Nina had never mistreated him. She looked after him the way she always did even after knowing his mother was nevering back. She homeschooled him and trained him to be a good elementary potioneer. Nina remained single all her life and died shortly after Eren turned 40 years old in his previous timeline. He just didnt know the cause of her death because, by then, he had lost contact with her. Erens life when he was a teenager was prettyid-back, living with Nina. She had opened her apothecary and was used to working there from morning tote evening. She ran her business downstairs in her home while the only upper floor housed two bedrooms for both of them. Eren was used to helping her in her work by handling the manufacturing of all the elementary potions. Aunt Ninas house/apothecary was located at the far ends of the city of Osan, near the southern city wall. It was a typical one-story suburban abode of medium size. Although the poption wasnt that dense in this part of the city, aunt Ninas business ran just fine. Thats because she had contracts deals with the citys various adventurer and mercenary guilds. There were also a few adventurers whode looking for her apothecary when they found out about her reasonable medicine and treatment prices. Currently, Eren found himself in the same setting he had experienced long back. When he finally connected his memories from the past with his current dream, Eren self-exined to himself that this was to be expected. His life after he left aunt Ninas ce would keep on getting more turbulent than before. His life in the academy wasnt something he was fond of remembering. Eren was considered as the academys worst lot. And life after that only got tougher for him. Eren didnt me anybody for that. He knew he was at fault for not taking hold of his life. He spent the days as easily and leisurely as he could without worrying about the future. And that had spiralled into something he couldnt easily get out of. So it was only natural that Eren was dreaming about his life with aunt Nina in hisst moments. At least thats what Eren had concluded. He stepped downstairs. He didnt feel like freshening up was a good idea when the dream could end anytime after he dies. He wanted to see aunt Nina before that happened. To be honest, Eren had a crush on his Aunt Nina. She was a stunning beauty in his eyes. She had just crossed the 40s milestone but didnt look her age at all. After all, she was a C ss healer. Aunt Nina looked like someone in her early 30s, with a mature look and curves at the right ces. She was a tall, slim, yet buxom mademoiselle, with dark grey hair and violet eyes. She could steal the hearts of men in mere seconds if she just interacted with them a little. But for some reason, she kept herself away from thepany of men. It was a self-imposed limitation that Nina couldnt ovee all her life. Eren remembers she had a few flings when he was just dropped at the ce by his mom. But that also had entirely stopped after a few years. Eren felt like that was such a huge loss for the entire menfolk not to have a chance anymore to care about and treat thisdy right like she deserved to be treated. She acted all friendly and cordial with her customers, but her nk face would soon resurface after they had left her establishment. Eren finallyid eyes on a beautifuldys back he knew to be his aunt Ninas. She too heard him stepping down and turned towards him. He saw her sh her signature faint smile at him that was saying good morning to him. Eren was left aghast! Aunt Nina was even more beautiful in his dreams than he remembered. No that was not it. All those years messing around with cheap w**res had made him drop his standards in women so much that aunt Nina was starting to almost look like a fairy-like existence to him. His skewed standards had been finally set straight after looking at aunt Nina. This is exactly the kind of dream I need before I die. I couldnt do it by then, but in this dream, nobody can stop me. Eren thought andunched himself towards Nina. Chapter 3: Derriere

Chapter 3: Derriere

This is exactly the kind of dream I need before I die. I couldnt do it by then, but in this dream, nobody can stop me. Eren thought andunched himself towards aunt Nina. He hugged aunt Nina so tightly right after seeing her, she was taken aback metaphorically as well as literally. Erens growth spurt hadnt started by this age so he was a lot shorter than her, with his 5.5ft height, making him look like 14 years old despite being older. His head tucked right under Ninas bosom. Eren felt like he was standing right in the middle of a garden full of roses that were in full bloom after taking Aunt Nina in his embrace. She exuded an enchanting bodily fragrance that was exclusive to her, ording to Eren. Eren was in a self-imposed hurry. He allowed his hands to roam around aunt Ninas back for some time before he moved towards the softest zone he couldy his hands on with his position. Nina thought Eren had a bad dream and was finding some sort of support in the embrace and started caressing his hair. But his abrupt hand movements soon afterwards were something she wasnt expecting. And when they headed towards her derriere, she thought she had to break the siege. Nina pulled herself apart from the forced embrace, pulled Erens cheeks hard till they turned soft red and admonished him: This is not the way you cane down here littled, even if you had a bad dream. I run a business here. What if somebody saw you walking here all unkempt? Go get freshen up first. Thene by the breakfast table. Ive made pancakes. Your favourite. Im sure you wont be able to have them often once you enter the academy. So Illpensate you with these small treats every once in a while during this month. But Eren was in a zone of his own. He tried taking Nina in her arms again. Thinking: Even in my dream, she is ying hard to get. I can only imagine her reaction had I acted the way I acted back then. But Nina wasnt to be underestimated. She was a C Rank healer after all. Her body stats were far more prominent than a normal woman of her age. She held Erens head in her palm, stepped back from her position, and watched him struggle to get close to her. Nina didnt understand what had happened to him today. He was always a shy kid, speaking to her only when it was necessary. And that too with short replies and non-verbal nods. But todays Eren felt like he was a man on a mission. And he didnt even stop to reply. Nina thought Eren had a psyche-shaking nightmare, probably rted to his parents and that had made him unstable. Nina had almost decided she should allow him his sought-after hug after thinking like that. But Erens next words made her change her mind in 180-degrees: Whats wrong with you? I dont have much time and yet you are still trying to maintain decorum. And for what? Dont shy away from your maker. In this world, you belong to me. I control you. With my thoughts, I can make you disappear. And with my thought, I can make you look ugly. Do you want to look hideous? This isnt a nightmare, this is one of those dreams. He is a growing boy after all. Nina thought and puffed her cheeks. With a sullen pout, she pulled Erens cheeks some more to make him snap out of his apparent daze: And it worked. Eren soon got sober and started thinking rationally again after the cheek pain woke him for good. He looked at his aunt Nina and his surroundings again while caressing his now-swollen and beet-red cheeks: The level of detail is too real for this to be a mere dream. Eren started walking around the ce while mumbling to himself. The atmospheric pressure, the surface texture, the light reflection rate, the physics, and shadow details! He observed everything that was in his sight keenly. He even changed his positions, made his hands touch a few objects, and jumped on his position for some time, as if to confirm something. They cant be considered as mere renditions in dreams. And its still too much for an illusory spell. The caster needs to be a highly ranked mage specializing in illusory spells. Nobody at that level would care enough about me to cast such spell and trap me in it, especially when I was dying at the time. Then that means..! Eren looked at aunt Nina with his mouth wide open, as if trying to find an answer through her he suspected the most at the time: This this is all real? Hehehe. Looks like you still havent fully awoken from your sleep. Yes silly, this is not a dream. And what kind of dream you were envisioning that needs me to be ugly? Eren smiled mirthlessly at Ninas reply and answered her question with the question of his own: Aunt Nina, what day is it? And why didnt you tell me my mother didnt go looking for my father but in fact has settled down in a different city with her new family? Eren asked the first question to know exactly what day it was. And he asked the second question to finalize his hunch for good. Eren didnt find out about his mothers new family before his teen years were over. He had visited aunt Nina at that time, and she had finally told him. By asking her the second question, he wanted to gauge Ninas reaction. The high-ranked illusory spells can indeed mimic the past to a certain extent, but they are still based on the particr set of memories that belonged to the person on whom the spell was going to be cast on. If the caster had only read about the memories Eren had when he was a teen, he couldnt read and connect the memories from when he was past his teen years to these memories. Otherwise, a w would surface in the spell and it could get broken. But nothing like that had happened. Nina acted like the real Nina if she had been given such news at that time. She felt shocked, puzzled, and then angry at someone. How do you know about your mother? Who told you? I was told by some stranger I dont know. He had left before I could ask him about anything else. But your response tells me its not a lie. dont worry aunt Nina, I was just confused and emotionally not at the right ce when I woke up thinking about the same thing that man had told me over and over. But Im alright now. dont worry. Im not thinking about confronting my mother. First, I heard from that man that she had settled down in a very distant city from here. And second, what would I even ask her after finding myself in front of her? That why did she leave me? Why did she need to start a new family? I already know the answer to those questions. Ive figured them out. She left me because my face reminded her about my father. He has been missing. Not dead, and not run away from her. Just missing! She must have loved him dearly. And his inconclusive status was something unbearable for her. It didnt let her have her much-needed closure. Thats why she ran away. From me. And from memories of my father. My mother must have left to look for my father. Maybe she found something about him, or maybe she realized that searching for him anymore would be futile. Either way, she had to give up on her husband. And to give up on him, she needed to give up on me as well. Hence she didnt return from her unfruitful search. As for why she started a new family? Why shouldnt she? She is still in the prime of her life. A new family means a new start. That new family must have given her something that I never could. The ability to forget my father. How can I me her after understanding all this? I was the unlucky party in this equation. Lets just say luck wasnt on my side. There are far worse fates men have gone through in this world. Compared to that, this is still nothing. Its better for all of us that we just ept the fact as it is and move on. I also have you who takes care of me so much, I feel more pampered and protected than kids who stay with their parents. Should I even call myself unlucky after finding a blessing in you? I dont think so. More importantly, why dont you try and answer my first question? What day is it? Eren had already closed his distance and embraced his aunt Nina again while saying all this. His actions were natural and his tone was calm. Almost like someone speaking from experience. But he also had shown his vulnerability with his hug. Erens act did have some ws. For example, he seemed extremely rational and devoid of emotions for a boy of his age when he said this. Especially considering the things that he was supposed to be going through because of his parents situation. But having those ws made his act perfect. Sometimes, perfection is found in imperfection. Wabi-sabi! Nina considered that w to be Erens defence mechanism to keep himself away from getting hurt, by blocking all the emotions. Thats why he was so rattled up after waking up today. He must be thinking about all these thingsst night. He must have felt like the fate he was cursed with wasnt in his control. That dream must mean him trying to subconsciously gain that control back. By imagining himself to be the maker of his world, and control his subjects. But, amazingly, he came to such a sound conclusion on his own. I still consider him too young, but his thought process is showing signs of maturity. Nina started ruffling Eren again in her embrace while being engrossed in those thoughts. Therefore she didnt realize that Erens hands hadnded on their intended targets ever-so-covertly this time! Chapter 4: Awakening!

Chapter 4: Awakening!

Nina started ruffling Erens hair again in her embrace while being engrossed in those thoughts. Therefore she didnt realize that Erens hands hadnded on their intended targets ever-so-covertly this time! Eren had finally epted that he had travelled back in time. He didnt know how did he do that. But he didnt care. He had died with regrets and so many lost opportunities that he would cry for hours if he starts remembering them. There were also some scores to settle with some people he will be meeting in the future. Erens old age had made him bitter and cynical about life. He had been taught the hard way by his previously long yet arduous life that every person, man and woman, had multiple sides and shades to them. So theres no use thinking about right and wrong. Life has to be lived to its fullest. If a person is shackled by societys norms, kingdoms rules, and ethics about rights and wrongs, theyll never be able to grasp what life had in store from thempletely. To get the most out of every single day and every single moment, you need to be selfish enough to cunningly, forcefully grab onto whatever can help you grow and prosper. That was the true meaning of life. To secure more things, more experiences for yourself before the angel of death came knocking on your doors. Anything was possible as long as you had time, resources, and nning. You need to be brave enough to break the rules and use them to your advantage. Everything was fair when you walk the path of achieving your goals at whatever cost. You have to suffer. The people around you would be hurt. There would be a chance of making enemies out of friends. And in the end, you might fail. But all that doesnt matter as long as you keep on walking towards your goals. The moment you stop is the moment the repercussions would weigh on you. So it was better to keep on walking and stepping over whatever obstaclese in your way. The best remedy to a hangover was to never stop drinking! And if people objected to the way of your life? Let them talk, counter them, or simply make them shut up by eliminating them. Their version of reality will always be different from yours. You are not supposed to allow them to spoil your reality. What about heaven or hell? These were just concepts people make you wear those shackles willingly. It was such a farce! Like amb selected for ughter drinking water of its initiative to make it easy for the ughterer to cut its neck. A long life can teach you a lot. It can make you open your eyes to so many obvious truths that were hiding in in sight. With this new lease on life, Eren would not live the life he had previously lived. He had been pped hard to wakefulness. He had so many experiences. Eren needed to put them to the right use. Hell make sure that he lives his new life to its fullest. He wont run away from hard work anymore. It was required to set a new foundation for a better life. He had already experienced what the bottom of the barrel feels like. Now he wanted to explore the sky beyond the skies. With such passionate thought running through his brain, Eren got excited and clenched his fists that attested to his resolve. What he had also forgotten like aunt Nina was that his palms were on aunt Ninas posterior. When he clenched his hands to make a fist, he unknowingly grabbed Ninas but*s hard. Eren had an electrical jolt run through his psyche. He had grabbed a lot of buns in his previous life. But nothing had made him this excited. He remembers he didnt know a lot about the birds and the bees back when he was at this age. Eren had remained aloof from girls of his age in his teens years. Mostly because he had a crush on his aunt Nina. So he didnt find the teen girls attractive at all. He was a recluse by nature anyway. And he didnt make any friends with whom he would discuss such stuff and more. Therefore, Eren had his first awakening muchter in life. He was ate bloomer. Experiencing a second chance in life and meeting with aunt Nina already had him on the edge. So when he felt, the softness of those buns with his hands, Eren had the 2nd first awakening of his life. Aunt Nina was caught off guard. The previous conversation was too intense for Nina to react quickly or get angry at Eren. She too felt something in her, an urge that hasnt been satisfied for so long. But Nina had to separate from Eren now. He was just a teenager whose body must be pumping hormones through his veins on overload without him knowing whats happening to him. Taking into ount Erens seemingly feeble mental condition, she decided to take a lighter approach while doing that: What are you doing little rat? If you do this to other girls in the academy without their consent, you wouldnd in huge trouble, you know that right? Nina giggled at Eren and ruffled his hair some more while saying this. But she didnt get any reply from him. So she looked at Eren who was looking down at something with a surprised look. She followed his gaze and understood what had happened. Eren had his very first boner it seemed. Because of her. Nina felt a cocktail of emotions at that time. She felt funny looking at Erens reaction. Felt a little guilty about not telling him about this stuff beforehand. Felt not-so-okay with awakening a teen boy she considered to be her kin. And finally, felt a little proud of herself about making an oblivious teen so excited with just her hug. Nina felt it was about time she and Eren had a talk. She felt a little awkward talking about this stuff with Eren. But she had to do it. There was no male in the house. Eren was a recluse and didnt have any friends. And he was about to go to the academy. It would be better if he knows these things beforehand. Lest hemits any crime and gets into troubleter on. She couldnt help ask Eren while chuckling: Little rat, you look shocked to the bone. Do you know what that is? Eren on the other hand didnt know what to say. He wasnt shocked because he had a boner. Eren was shocked because of how early it was for him to have a bonerpared to his previous life. He was shocked because he understood the possibilities of having his boner would entail this early in his ns. Eren heard what aunt Nina was asking him. She had misunderstood his excitement for an unexpected gain for a genuineck of knowledge. But this was a chance. A chance to get closer to Nina. He decided to y along. He took some more time before replying hesitatingly: This this is some kind of deformity. I feel like peeing and yet I cant pee. Somethings wrong with me aunt Nina. You must have some medicine for this ailment lying in here somewhere, right? Chapter 5: Stiffness

Chapter 5: Stiffness

This this is some kind of deformity. I feel like peeing and yet I cant pee. Somethings wrong with me, aunt Nina. You must have some medicine for this ailment lying in here somewhere, right? Eren acted his part and started panicking. He tried touching his boners tip with his fingers. Nina could see the hesitation in his approach and couldnt stop herself fromughing. She didnt suspect him to be acting. There was no way a teenager would be that great an actor. But it was still difficult for her to ept Erensck of knowledge in this field despite his recluse nature. She didnt know what she was supposed to do or say at that moment but she was kinda enjoying the moment. Nina told Eren to wait at the inner room of the apothecary while she flipped the weing sign on the shops main door to the one that said it is closed for the time being. Then she bolted the door securely. Although she was used to opening her shop early in the morning, her regr customers and people with ailments would starting in after lunch time. Morning times only gave her a sparse traffic that wouldnt damage her anyway if it was avoided once in a while. Nina went back to Eren. The apothecary had an inner space that was isted from the shop, serving as a stockpiled medicine storage room and more. It had a simple kitchen, dining space, and some open space. Eren was sitting awkwardly by the breakfast table. He looked anxious. And was checking something with his hands under the table. As soon as he saw Ninaing towards him, he stood up and asked her hurriedly: Quick, wheres the medicine? I think it is getting worse. It is hurting now. And getting stiffer by the minute. Erni dear, theres nothing wrong with you. Its the natural reaction a males body has when it bes mature enough Nina replied with part shyness and part amusement. She used to call him Erni casually or whenever she assumed the position of teaching him something. And she would call him little rat whenever Eren did something bad or when she was admonishing him about something. Nina had taken a seat near Eren while she conversed with him. She could see his bulge but pretended she wasnt checking it out. Their conversation continued forward: So theres no medicine for it? How do I make it stop then? Answer my question first. Did you have this problem before? No. This is the first time Im seeing my thing getting swollen like that. Oh. Alright. But before I tell you how to get rid of it, you need to understand how you got it in the first ce. Oh. Tell me quickly then. Why are you dragging your answers? Are you taking pleasure in my miseries Hahahaha. No, silly. What you consider to be misery is in fact a blessing, if you can call it that. Not having what you have right now would be considered a misery when you grow up. Though, with that in the view, we can say youve already grown enough. Hehehehe! See, you are stillughing. And this thing is making me awkward. I think I should go to my room and just sleep. Maybe itll go away on its own after a while. Hahahaha. Itll certainly go away on its own after a while when you be aware of the reason that caused it and make it disappear from your thoughts. But since its your first time, it might not go away because you might not stop thinking about the cause that gave you the lets say stiffness. Wha What are you talking about? Im not thinking about an anything. Eren looked the other way when he said that. He looked like he had been caught stealing. Now Nina was finding it funny. It had been so long since she did those activities. And she didnt think her urges would return anytime soon. But that didnt mean she didnt enjoy those moments. Erens position was special in Ninas eyes. He was barely a teen and full of innocence. She didnt want to take advantage of him. It would be a wrong thing to do because of Erens immature age, their age difference, and the trust Erens father had in her. Thats the reason although Nina felt her urges slightly surging within her, she leashed them just as swiftly, and asked him amusingly: Be honest with me Erni. Otherwise, the stiffness wont go away for a long time and youll feel that your organ is hurting. What were you thinking about when you had the stiffness? Even Nina sounded tense and kinda serious when she asked this question even though she tried her best to cover it with her smile. Well if it can relieve me from this situation, Ill tell you. I I was just wondering about how good your but*s felt when I identally touched and grabbed them. Thats the only thing I was thinking about. Eren still ignored Ninas gaze while talking. When he talked about the previous incident, his eyes looked dreamy. like he was thinking about a fond memory. But he quickly looked down and made ament anxiously: Aaah my thing acts weird when I think about your but*s. It stiffens some more then rxes before stiffening some more. Is that supposed to happen as well? Ummmm yeah. Nina replied with some blush on her face. She would be lying if she said she didnt feel some jitters knowing that her posteriors were the reason for the boys awakening. Theck of romance in her life was partly to me. Nina didnt hear thepliments she was used to hearing for a long time. And in a way, she was getting thosepliments from Eren. The feminine side in her was pleased realizing that part. And that side was slowly taking hold of her as the conversation moved forward. She was soon brought back to reality when she heard Erens voice finally: Aunt Nina, why are you zoning out like that? This is my third time calling your name. Listen, I told you what I was thinking about. Now tell me what I should do next. Aah forgive me. I was thinking about business stuff. Have a lot of deliveries lined up you see. So where were we? Yes, how to take care of this stiffness. We can safely say that as long as you stop thinking about my b but*s, the stiffness will go away. But it mighte back if you think about itter on. So itd be better if you can relieve some pressure now. How do I do that? Eren asked with a serious face. His mental age prevented him from cackling at Nina for her oh-so-obvious awkwardness. He felt like teasing her some more with his questions and statements while pretending to be in the dark about the whole thing. Did he stop and consider the consequences of trying to find his way with Nina? What would they both do if his adventure seeds? And would they be alright mentally after partaking in something like that? Will they be able to go back to being a nephew and aunt after the deed is done? In Erens mind, there was no such problem from his side. First, although he was technically just a teenager now, his mental age even exceeded Ninas. His lifes experiences exceeded hers by even a long margin. Second, although his father and she were distantly rted, that was distant enough for the previous him to act on his desires had he been offered a chance. Now, the new him, after experiencing a lifetime, was even more liberal with these things. A human genome only had a single genesis. That means everybody is rted to everybody. What would the world do if the contempt it outwardly shows towards keeping it in the family starts to expand its definition and considers the genome theory as a model to decide who was whose family? Third and foremost, Eren didnt think that hed be offered the same chance he was given right now. Aunt Nina was his crush from the past life. And he had decided that he wont have such regrets if and when he dies again. But Eren needed to make Nina ease into this whole transition. Hence the acting. He had started treating Nina as a small child that needs nurturing before she understands a few things about the world. Because of thinking about all these things, Erens boner was already going to go away. He had to think about a lot of lewd thoughts to maintain it and keep the act going. How do I do that, aunt Nina? Eren asked again after some time while waving his hands in front of Ninas eyes. Nina was caught in a dilemma. Should she exin this stuff herself or should she tell someone to do it for her? But she didnt feel like Eren and she would befortable getting a stranger man involved. The boy had mostly kept to himself. He didnt know about a lot of things rted to girls and more. If the man she asks to give guidance to Eren ends up telling thetter about sex with only its most basic exnation while thinking only his lifestyle in mind, that would create a lot of mess in Erens mind. So Nina made her mind to sex-educate Eren. It was something she had to do as his guardian. And as someone who genuinely cares for him. I heard you the first time, Erni. I just had a lot on my mind. Listen, why dont you take the bath first? Then we will have a nice brunch. The talk can wait till then. The stiffness might go away after you take the bath and start performing your routine. But dont worry. We will not sit on this. We have to have this talk. Especially because youll have to start living in the academys dorm a month from now on. Nina concluded. Chapter 6: Dom’s Raiders

Chapter 6: Doms Raiders

The stiffness might go away after you take the bath and start performing your routine. But dont worry. We will not sit on this. We have to have this talk. Especially because youll have to start living in the academys dorm a month from now on. Nina concluded and sent Erni upstairs. He looked like he wanted to ask more but Nina had made her stance clear. He could only retire to his room and follow his aunts orders. Eren locked the door behind him when he found himself in his room and couldnt help shing a broad smile. He let his Lil beast turnid as hey on his bed. He needed to think about his next steps carefully if he wanted to have a shot at Nina. He crafted a simple n to continue his act further. Then he went to have a bath. Eren then stepped down and came by the breakfast table. Nina was busy concocting a basic recovery potion in herb that was adjacent to the isted room. She told Eren to take his seat while she finishes up with her work. The duo had its breakfast normally. Everything seemed fine on the surface but they both could sense a subtle sense of stress in the environment. While they talked about random stuff from Erens preparations for the academy to how to make a progress in Ranks, aunt Nina could be seen often getting caught up with her thoughts. They were going to resume their morning talk when they heard a knock on their door. Eren cursed the person who had such ill timing. But he didnt show his displeasure on his face. He told Nina to wait while he attended to the door. Eren opened the main door and found a burly man looking at him eagerly. He was holding another lean-built man in his arms while thetter had his eyes closed and looked to be in some trouble. The lean-built man didnt look to have injuries. But his skin colour looked paler than usual. How may we help you, sir? Eren asked in the politest way possible. He had expected a normal adventurer or two who would be asking for some potions. He would tend to their requests and send them off right away before resuming his talk with Nina. But it didnt look like these guys would leave Nina out of this. Boy, we came here to meet madam healer. Is she here? The guy didnt wait for Eren to answer. He walked straight into the shop, almost pushing Eren to the side. The previous Eren would have shown displeasure on his face by now but the matured Eren resumed his acting right away and led them to a corner that had two single beds. Showing anger in this situation when the man was in a medical hurry would be childish. It would also diminish his image in aunt Ninas eyes. Eren would just find some other way to take his revenge, not only for the guy rudely pushing him but also ruining his morning ns. Maybe he can influence Nina and charge them a few bucks extra. That would would suffice. Or he can give them pseudo portions if he intercepted them at the right time. Ninas apothecary had such beds because she would treat severely injured people from time to time. The man carefullyid the frail-looking man on the bed and looked at Eren. Eren told him to wait here and went inside to fetch Nina. After a few minutes, Nina came outside with a lot of vials in her hands and some herbs. She didnt even look at the burly man. And walked towards the guyying on the bed right away. She checked his condition for some time. Then made him swallow some herbs first before emptying three vials in his mouth. Only then she sighed a little before announcing: This man is poisoned by the Singarium rattlesnake. Its good that you brought him here on time otherwise he would have been a goner. I believe you must be hunting in the Osan woods nearby to the city. A lot of adventurers make the mistake of getting in the vicinity of the Singarium snake without consuming the antidote first. The result can be as horrible as a party wipeout. The snakes not only can poison you by biting, but they can also poison you by releasing an odourless, colourless breath in the air. Most people wouldnt even recognize they have gotten poisoned by the snake until it is toote. The man here must have been poisoned by the snake through inhaling the poisonous air. But if it had been a bite, you wouldnt even have the chance to bring him here. He would have already died. So he must have breathed in the poisonous air. Of course, since the Singarium rattlesnake is only F Rank, it can only affect F Rank newbies and the hunters, adventurers, and magic beasts above that rank wont feel a thing. You dont look like F Ranks rookies though. You are an upper-stage E Rank, almost going to get promoted to the D Rank anytime now. And this guy here is F Rank, but he is like you in a sense that he too is closer to his rank promotion. Therefore, you were safe in the exposure to the poison while this man was poisoned. This whole scene must be the result of something unexpected unfolding in the woods. Otherwise, an E Rank hunter would surely know his way around the Osan woods. You must have been aware of the snakes knownir spots. There need to be multiple SR snakes releasing poison in the air at the same time to have such an effect on the person. They wouldnt do that unless they feel threatened by the enemy trespassing in theirir. Or if they were already on edge because of the previous enemy or event. If you didnt go to the SR snakesir and if the poison is too severe to be released by the single SR snake, then there can be only one other possibility. Multiple SR snakes leaving theirir behind in search of a new ce to settle down. And this wont happen until theres a mass shift in the power hierarchy within the forest. Theres a new spoiler in the woods. And you were caught off guard because of it. Tell me what happened? Although Nina hadnt stepped out for hunting for years now, her skills hadnt gone rusty. Moreover, she was a C Rank healer with in-depth knowledge about general flora and fauna. She had deduced all this with whatever information avable to her. And it seemed all of Tinas hunches had beennded right on spot by the burly mans next words: Thats right madam healer. Just like you said, we were already aware of the Singarium Rattle snakesirs spread across the Osan woods and we had avoided those spots. We were hunting for a pack of Dinko deer for their hides. They are usually found by the Simarke located at the northwest corner of the woods. My party had entered the woods from the north side of the forest even when we had to travel a long distance to do so. We had been getting the news of Osan woods experiencing some kind of disturbance by the hunter guild we work at and some other hunter parties we know of. Thus, we decided to minimize the risk by entering from the north of the forest. And it still couldnt prevent the tragedy that had happened to us. On our way to reach the Simarke, we encountered a pack of Kolhar wolves. The pack was bigger than we had anticipated. When he thought we cant defend ourselves from the pack for long, we decided to change our route. The ranger in our party was a capable map reader and tracker. Therefore, we chose the safest route for our retreat avoiding all the dangerous spots, including the SR snakesirs. At least we thought we did. After getting rid of the chasing wolves, we stopped at a seemingly unupied cave to recuperate and draw our next set of ns. Basically, we had decided to retreat. We had eight members in our party. And four of them had been gravely injured by the sudden assault of the wolf pack. We treated them with some regr potions and decided to camp out at the cave for the day. That would allow the injured people to stabilize their injuries some more. We would then safely retreat the next day. But the ranger in our party decided to explore the cave and all hell broke loose. The cave was dimly lit so we couldnt see much. The ranger wanted to confirm if the cave had the other side sealed or not. Should we get attacked by a beast horde in the night, we would be able to use the other exit for our escape. So the rangers decision wasnt exactly wrong. But who knew the cave had been upied by SR snakes? The cave was not the ideal spot for snakes habitation. So their habitation was something our ranger didnt anticipate at all. His exploration into the deeper parts of the cave became the trigger point for the snakes. It was already toote when we realized the magic snakes were living with us. We didnt notice anything at first. But the ranger in our group started showing signs of poison because it was him thag had been exposed to the poison first and for the longest. I was the only E Rank in our group. Rest all were in F Rank. Matt, who you now see isying on the bed right now, had been assigned a guard duty at the entrance of the cave. So other than Matt and I, everybody else was poisoned beyond whatever potions we had at the time could alleviate. The four injured party members died first in the cave along with the ranger. Only I, Elena, and Matt survived and came out of that hells cave. Elena was a healer herself so she could cast low-level healing spells on herself to stay alive. Matt was out of the cave for the most time, so the poison didnt turn him into a corpse immediately. But slowly Matts condition was getting worse. We had limited potions to prolong Matts surviving chances. And Elena couldnt use a healing spell on him to relieve him of his troubles. So we decided to leave Elena behind at a secure spot. I would carry Matt outside of the woods and return to Elena with a proper antidote. So we executed this n and you are seeing me right now with Matt. We dont know whats happening with Osan woods but it has turned into a death trap for low-level adventurers. The previous information about beasts bases and their routes are not useful anymore. And there might be a newly evolved high-level beast present in the forest that has caused this change. The burly man finished what he had to say and sat on another single bed, looking at Matt with an expression of utter sadness on his face. Hmm. Ill need to report this to the healers association. Matt needs more medical attention than the first aid Ive given him right now. He needs to be transported to the Osan infirmary. dont worry. Ill arrange transport for him to be shifted there while I go to report this to the healers association. Meanwhile, Ill give you the antidote so that you can safely retrieve your healer. Ill need your name for my report though. Thank you for all youve done for us madam healer. My name is Dom. Dom Walker. Im the leader of the party named Doms Raiders that once existed. But no more. Not anymore. Haha! Dom replied to Ninas query andughed mirthlessly at the end. It looked like he had aged 10 years while saying all this. Ninas expressions were also grim after hearing Doms story. But nobody noticed Erens expressions changing after hearing the guys name. An unidentifiable light of greed had sparked in his eyes. Chapter 7: Demon Beast Companion!

Chapter 7: Demon Beast Companion!

An unidentifiable light of greed had sparked in Erens eyes when he heard Doms name for the first time. He immediately remembered renowned Dom Walker from his previous life. His name had be a legend after his lucky encounter in Osan woods. Dom Walker was a normal E Rank hunter in his previous life. People considered him unfortunate at first because almost all of his party members had been wiped out in an ident one day. But that all changed when he went back to get his healer back from the forest. Eren didnt know Dom had visited aunt Nina back then. He must have stayed upstairs at the time of Doms visit. But he was made aware of the Osan woods incidentter on. Its just that he had gotten too upied with the talk that he forgot this incident would happen during this time. Dom Walkers lucky encounters were rted to Osan woods incident. When Dom Walker went back inside the woods to get his partys healer back, she was almost on the verge of dying. He saved Elena by giving her the antidote. But he didnt return immediately. He told her to wait outside the cave. And then he went back to retrieve the bodies of his dead party members where the tragedy had struck them. Dom had returned to the cave and searched for the bodies. But he couldnt find them at their previous ces. He figured out they must have been dragged further inside the cave by an E Rank beast or above. The snakes would not eat the dead bodies by dragging them after all. And no F Rank hunter or beast would survive in this poisonous environment. If the bodies were dragged in and not eaten, then that meant there was a chance they would be still intact. Dom wasnt stupid or irrational. He knew there was a risk of retrieving those bodies by going deeper into the cave. And if the beast turns out to be something he cant handle by himself, then Dom will be just increasing the number of bodies in the cave by one without retrieving any. Plus, he still had to escort Elena who was very weak at the time. Dom decided that he will take a look. If it is something too much to be handled on his own, he will retreat immediately. He couldnt just leave the bodies of hisrades without even trying to retrieve them. After spending so much time together, Dom wanted to at least give them a proper burial. When Dom went deeper into the cave, he found hisrades bodies covered by slimy stuff. He could barely see in the cave. But the lighting from the luminous Yooperlite stones exuded a faint light that would get reflected by the slimy stuff. Thump thump Thump thump Doms heart was pounding against his chest after witnessing the sight in front of him. A D Rank demon slime was evolving there using the bodies of Doms deadrades as fuel. It was the perpetrator behind the Osan woods disturbance. A demon beast family was different from a typical magic beast family. A magic beast normally only improved their physique with its evolution, whereas a demon beasts evolution would bless it with improvements in its physique ad well as conscience. A demon beast could think and talk like humans and other humanoid species, if it learns thatnguage that is. With each rank up, a demon beast grows stronger and sharper. A high-ranking demon beast has enough control over its magic and body to shapeshift. Simply put, magic beasts were inferior variants of the demon beasts. A magic beast can turn into a demon beast after getting promoted to high enough rank and gaining sentience. But a demon beast would never regress to being a normal magic beast. A D Rank magic beast wouldnt be enough to cause such a ruckus in the woods. But a D Rank demon beast could. That was because every time a demon beast evolves, it releases strong mental pulses that attest to its evolution in both body and mind. A demon beast can control a horde of the magical beast with its mind control over them. It could make theme together or run away from their usual habitat at its whim. It looked like the demon slime wanted to go through evolution and hence had sent a distress signal to nearby animals. Therefore, They had changed their usual habitat and started attacking humanoids as soon as they saw them. They were just following the orders of a D Rank demon beast. The evolution of a demon beast is also a little different. Magic beasts can eat another magic beast, or fight constantly among each other to increase their ranks. But a demon beasts evolution required it to not only eat and fight other beasts but also consume a lot of humanoid preys during its evolution. Only humanoid species would have the brain matter and humanoid magicws etched onto their bodies. They were required for a demon beast toplete Its evolution. Nature tries to bring bnce between any two opposing forces naturally found in its all-inclusive food chain. Magic beast had a high reproductivity rate. They could rank up easily by following their daily routines. And their bodies were stronger than demon beasts. A demon beast would have the same starting point as the magic beast except for its higher intelligence. A demon beast also had to go through the same process of evolution to increase its rank. It also had a low reproduction rate. And it couldnt rank up as easily a mana beast. The demon beast would require the bodies of humanoids and humans that served as a final push for their evolution. And when itpletes its evolution, the result would be far better than what a normal magic beast could ever hope to achieve. It could immediately lord over the other magic beasts of the same or lower ranks irrespective of their species. With great risks came greater benefits. But a demon beasts problems didnt just end at having to hunt and consume humans. Their evolution process also carried great risk. When the demon beast goes through an evolution, it would be at its most vulnerable. If a human manages to pass through the mental pulses that the demon beast releases, and intercepts its evolution process, that human would have the chance to make the demon beast serve them for their entire life. It had to do with humanoid magicws that get consumed by the beast during the evolution. If the human presence during the crucial time of the demon beasts evolution manages to taint the saidws that were being consumed with their fresh blood, thews would carry the mark of the one who tainted it. And since that person is alive, the beast wouldnt be able to digest it during the evolution. A permanent, irremovable mark would be formed over the demon beasts consciousness. The demons beast would be controlled through that mark. There was no fear of the demon beast rebelling in his next evolution. The mark would never go away once ced. It can only get strengthened during each evolution. And the demon beast psyche would change forever with that mark. It would treat its new master as its kin and someone whose life was way more important than its own. Dom had found himself to be a witness to one such crucial time when the demon slime was going through an evolution. He had immediately understood the opportunity that was contained in this situation. Dom didnt have to face the mental pulses. And he didnt need to locate the demon beasts evolution spot. Everything was ready for his interception. This was called being lucky. Although the demon slime was stronger than Dom, it wasnt aware of his presence anymore due to the trance-like state it was in due to its evolution. Dom wanted to drag the bodies of hisrades out before witnessing the demon evolution. But now he had realized that he had to be pragmatic in this case. Since the bodies were already half-digested and there was a chance for him to get a demonpanion, he decided to change his ns. Dom didnt waste time dropping his fresh blood on one of the bodies that was getting digested by the demon slime. When the demon slimepleted its evolution, Dom could feel a mental connection with the slime. Dom had gained a demon slime as hispanion through this ordeal. A demon beast was rare. Finding a demon beast at the time of its evolution was even rarer. Thats why people with demon beasts as theirpanions were treated as aplished beings. With demon slime as hispanion, Doms ranking journey became a lot smoother. He left the Osan city and shifted to the kingdoms capital with Matt and Elena in tow. He kept getting more famous and nobody could stop his rise to richness and fame. It was assumed that Dom also had another lucky encounter in the forest apart from gaining a demon beastpanion. But they were all assumptions and nobody could confirm it. When Dom started living in a distant kingdoms capital, his legends only became more vague and unbelievable. But that was all in Erens previous life. This time, Eren would snatch this lucky encounter from Dom and make it his own. Chapter 8: Into the Osan Woods

Chapter 8: Into the Osan Woods

Eren had decided. In this life, Dom would have to stay a nameless hunter. He would snatch all the lucky encounters from Dom and make it his own. Eren wanted to resume his developments with aunt Nina but now was not the time for that. Even she doubted theres a demon beast involved in the Osan woods disturbance now. She had to inform the respective authorities. No good hunter worth their salt would ever take a demon beast evolution lightly. Their evolution process required them to target humans. If precautions werent taken, the process could end up in a lot of hunters dying in the woods. Nina grabbed her ID stone and held it against her mouth. She circted her mana through it and the inscriptions over the stone lit up. She spoke a few words that didnt make any sound and kept the stone away. The ID stone was a multi-purpose magic device that every person who could use mana in this world carried upon their personnel. It could be used as an identity token for that person when they traveled from one city to another and as amunication tool. It also had other uses. After some time, a carriage stood in front of Ninas apothecary. Two men came from within it. They got inside the shop and bowed in front of Nina. She just nodded and pointed them towards Matt. They went towards the man and picked him safely before approaching the carriage again. Once they went inside, Nina asked Eren to bring out the potions and antidote that Dom required from the storage. Thetter had already paid Nina for the same. Dom went away as soon as he received the potions. Nina headed towards the carriage to board it. But she soon turned midway and approached Eren: Ill be gone for a while, Erni. Possibly for two or three days. You better stay at home during this time. If the demon beast evolution is involved, things could get real ugly real quick. The regr and additional city guards would have to be dispatched to secure the forest area. The city lord will have to bolster the city walls as well in case the demon beast initiates a beast tide on the city. And multiple hunting and adventurers parties would have to be deployed to confront the beast. High ranking personnel will be involved. The city will be devoid of strongwful forces for some time until the issue is resolved. The forces that usually stay in hiding might use this time for their exploitation. Although our neighbourhood is less likely to get involved in trouble, its best to be cautious. Eren just nodded his head and waved Nina goodbye. He waited for her carriage to depart. Then he grabbed a few potions before heading in Doms direction. Dom was walking towards the southern city gates while thinking about something. As Ninas apothecary was located near the southern city gates so it wasnt necessary to take a carriage. Dom could take a colt for rent by the city walls to travel to Osan woods. Eren caught up with him soon. Dom was too caught up in his thoughts to notice the boys arrival. But that changed when Eren called out to him: Sir Dom. Wait a minute. I have a few things to tell you. Its regarding how to save your healer. Dom stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the approaching boy after hearing what thetter had just said. He asked Eren what he meant. Eren told him about aplicated procedure that needs to be performed on Elena based on various visible and invisible symptoms she would be disying at the time. Dom was doubtful. He never heard about such a procedure. And using potions had been standardized. They didnt need any extra care during consumption. But Eren told him that potions wont help much if the user had built a tolerance due to their extended consumption. The poison cure through thebination of potions and antidote was not as simple as normal potion consumption. Plus, the one on whom the potions were going to be used as a healer. She must have already used additional potions and spells to relieve her condition. That wouldplicate the procedure further. What Eren had said was partially true. Although he didnt be an established hunter in his previous life, his experiences had taught him many things. But his exnation was not applicable here. Thats because Nina had already considered the above points and administered a suitable course. But Dom didnt know that. Dom was caught in a dilemma. If what Eren said was true, Elena needed special care that he wouldnt be able to give. The potion administration seemedplicated. He couldnt take risks. Elenas life was at stake. But Dom couldnt find another free healer that quickly. Hell need to visit the hunters guild and request an active healers on-field services. It could take a while. There was only one choice that he coulde to in his head: Boy, your name is Erni, right? Why dont youe with me and treat Elena your way? Ill take full responsibility for your safety and will drop you at home after the outing ispleted. Of course, Ill pay you a good amount for your services, Erni. And Ill also consider as I owe you one. If theres something that you need me to do that is within reason, Ill put my honour as E Rank hunter that I shall fulfil your request. Whats your take? Sir Dom, surely you jest. First of all, let me make this clear, my name is Eren, not Erni. That is something my aunt used to call me. I prefer other people calling me by my name Eren. Second, if you havent noticed already, Im just a teenager who hasnt awakened his mana core yet. Im not even an F ss yet. How can I help you in the Osan woods? Plus, aunt Nina has told me not to go out of the house. Here you are talking about going out of the city to head to the root of the citys problems. I cant just ignore Eren wanted to continue his facade when Dom interrupted him: Aah! My bad. So Eren, as Ive told you. You dont need to worry about your safety. We will be entering from the north side of the woods to avoid any troubles. Although it didnt give us a free ride to our destinationst time, Im sure we had avoided a lot of problems. And Im capable enough to handle the rest of the problems that doe our way. Ill take care of your safety. With an antidote administered, we have nothing to fear the SR snakes as well. If pushes to shove, Ill prioritize your safety over mine and Elenas. But Eren still carried on his act of ying hard to get! Dom cut him off yet again: If you fear madam healers objection, we can keep this a secret from her. Im sure the report about the possible existence of a demon beast to the healers association and the aftermath that would ensue will keep her busy for three days or more. She might need to visit the Osan woods from a different side by temporarily forming a party. That is enough time for us to enter the woods, treat Elena, and get back. Nobody will be the wiser of your involvement. And you need to consider this from a different point of view. If I leave and Elena dies because of my ill administration of poison or antidote, her death will not be upon me or the snakes, but upon you. So tell me your choice now? Dom knew that he had yed dirty by ming the possible death of Elena on Eren. But he didnt have any other choice. Neither did he feel guilty about it. If his act can increase Elenas survival chances, then so be it. Finally, Eren decided to yield after gaining sufficient reason from Dom not to. Dom patted the boys back in excitement and told him again that itll stay as a secret between him and the Doms Raiders. Eren looked anxious about leaving the city behind against aunt Ninas orders. But he was strengthening what he had nned from the moment he heard about Doms name in his mind. Dom took care of hiring two colts for both of them. They were F Rank, tamed magical beasts raised in captivity. They were much faster and had more stamina as well as resilience to adapt to the change of terrains than normal horses. Eren acted like he wasnt professional in riding mana colts to keep his cover intact. He would strike Dom when thetter was least expecting it. Chapter 9: Spiking the Antidote!

Chapter 9: Spiking the Antidote!

Eren and Dom reached the edge of the forest. They tied their colts to a secure spot before heading deeper into the woods on their feet. Dom was an experienced hunter even without the rangers support. He led them safely to a secure area to take a rest. Eren consumed the antidote before proceeding any further. The antidote only had limited active time. He needed to consume it just before the risk of being poisoned was maximized. The duo encountered a lot of low ranked magic beasts that had initiated attacks on them without any intimidation. Dom took care of them effectively. He was tired and had some wounds now due to those fights. But he was fine otherwise. It took them more than a few hours to reach where Elena was supposed to be waiting. She had left the ce from there due to a small magic beast horde crossing that area. But Elena had left a note of where she was heading in the area, written on a trees trunk signed with her name. It didnt take long for them to find her. Elena was shocked after seeing a rankless young boy this deep into the woods. But her body was too battered to raise objections. Dom exined why Eren needed to be here to Elena and she raised her eyebrows in response. She was a healer herself. Although her expertise lied in healing spells, it wasnt that she waspletely nk in the subject potions. But Eren too had enough expertise to fool and confuse her by mixing some truthful statements into his bullshittery. And Elena couldnt help but buy it in the end. After all, why would the disciple of a famous C Rank healer lie to them? Elena couldnt see the benefits he would gain by doing that. Eren had Elena consume the cocktail of antidote and healing potion. And the effects were shown gradually. She could feel the poison getting dispersed, thanks to the antidote and healing potion repairing the damaged tissues at an elerated pace. After seeing that Elena was saved, Dom took a sigh of relief. Just like Erens previous life, Dom told them they should head to the cave. There, he will go in and retrieve the bodies of his lostrades while they wait at the caves entrance. Elena wanted to object to Doms suggestion seeing that they now had a kid to take care of on their way home. But the kid himself surprisingly supported Doms suggestion after getting emotional. Dom and Elena couldnt help approve of Eren in their minds. But they both thought that the kid was too gullible to be a hunter like them. Little did they know that they both had be the same kids prey at the time. It was close to 6 PM when the trio reached the cave. It had to find a secure ce in the forest to spend the night before the daylight vanished. The three people would head to a ce Dom knew of after he takes care of the bodies. After deciding on finer details, Dom went in while Eren and Elena waited outside. Before going in, Eren had given Dom Rank E antidote and potions and told him to use them before stepping in, which thetter willingly obliged. Elena started asking Eren about random things. Eren answered skillfully while maintaining his facade. All this while, he was waiting for the medicine to take its due effects on Elena. Thats right. He had spiked both Doms and Elenas potions. Not with poison. But with sedatives. He had picked Rank E sedatives from aunt Ninas apothecary that would work on both the hunters. Sedatives wouldnt trigger the bodys immune response and these hunters wont know they have been affected by the sedatives before falling asleep. Will they wake up after Eren gives them sedatives though? Elena was a healer. She knew her body had started demanding her to sleep unnaturally. But she associated that with her umted fatigue. She closed her eyes and told Eren to wake her up when Domes out of the cave. She could only see Eren nod his head before smiling mildly right before closing her eyes. When Elena closed her eyes, Erens faint smile still lingered in her thoughts. Like her brain was trying to process information, which it hadnt receivedpletely. Those were herst thoughts! Eren quickly got to work after ensuring Elena was fast asleep. He took out a surgical knife from his bag and traced the sharp edge of the weapon with the tip of his right index finger. Eren didnt have anything against these hunters. Thats why he had decided to give them a sound, painless death. The fact that it suited his safety was an added advantage. Eren quickly got close to Elena and tried to wake her up. After she didnt, he pressed the knife over her throat harshly and swung the weapon across her neckline. It was an F Rank healers body. Even though it was weak due to being poisoned and then sedated, it still tried to defend itself subconsciously by deploying a manayer over the skin. But all it did was make Erens job a little harder to do. Now Eren needed to repetitively sh his dagger instead of doing it once and be done with it. He was finally able to cut Elenas throat and the blood started spoiling the ground before her. Elena had died peacefully! Erens first human kill after his second lease on life had been peaceful and without any battle. And he felt a wide variety of emotions. He felt some guilt and regret. He also felt he could make use of her in his next set of ns instead of downright killing her. And then Eren felt some weight off his shoulders because there would be no loose end after killing Elena. He would be able to im Doms lucky encounter for himself without anyone knowing about it. Eren had eliminated what stood in his way. He had removed his future troubles. He was also being used, put in harms way, and abused by other hunters who were more powerful than him in his past life. He had epted his fate then, without rebelling. Now it was time for others to do the same in his presence. Eren tried convincing himself. But soon he felt some rity to do what he wanted from that cocktail of emotions. The resolution Eren had gained from living a life that wasnt worth living overwhelmed his other feelings at the time. It was now confirmed that this lifes Eren Idril was a lot different than the previous him. Instead of waiting for someone to bring injustice at his doorsteps, he had be the brand ambassador of that very injustice. Before anyone could strike at him, he had struck first. And there was one more strike he needed to give to his next kill. Dom had gone inside the cave. It would be a while before the sedative worked on an E ss hunter. Eren needed to wait a while. During that time, Eren dragged Elenas body into nearby shrubbery. He had already looted her body and taken out her ID stone. ID stones also boasted personal storage of about 5 square meters. All of Elenas personal belongings would be there in her ID stone. Eren couldnt ess the personal space of Elenas ID stone because he was still a rankless boy. But he kept and stored it away for future use. A sufficient amount of time had passed. Eren decided to head inside, lest Dom tames the demon beast before falling asleep due to sedatives. The demon slime will protect him in that case. That would be truly detrimental and deadly for Eren. Eren knew there were many risks involved in his n. First of all, he was still rankless. He didnt have any spells. Neither could he use various mana potions to boost his body stats, because most enhancement potions would require the stimtion to mana core which he didnt have yet. Eren only consumed enhanced sharpness, enhanced vision, enhanced speed and enhanced strength potions that worked on mortals to some degree. These potions elerated the bodys metabolism while removing natural limiters ced on muscle fibres. Of course, since it wasnt rted to mana, the user would have to face heavy repercussionster on. But Eren didnt mind that. He was ready to suffer a little to win big. When Eren tried going deeper into the cave some more, he heard Doms voiceing from behind him: Erni boy, what are you doing here? Chapter 10: Eren vs. Dom!

Chapter 10: Eren vs. Dom!

Erni boy, what are you doing here? Eren heard a voice behind him. He knew it was Dom. He must have thought that there was an intruder or something, so he sneaked past Eren to catch him off guard. Only when he confirmed that person to be Eren did Dom voice his query. Dont call me Erni. My name is Eren. Dom could only scratch his head and smile mirthlessly at the kids little outburst. He thought the kid was in a hurry to grow up and be acknowledged as someone equal to the adults. Aah, yes. Eren, tell me whats wrong? I thought I had told you to wait up the caves entrance. That you did. But Elenas condition is getting a little unstable. So I thought I should help you move the bodies and bury them so that we can leave the cave and go to a secure area where shed be able to take rest. Eren cursed in his mind while making that excuse. He had thought a Rank E sedative would be enough for Dom to lose consciousness by this time. But apparently, he had underestimated the hunter. It still didnt look like he would fall asleep anytime soon. Oh! Is she alright? I thought it shouldnt take much time to bury the bodies because I knew their location but it seems they have been relocated by someone. Something, to be more precise. You really shouldnt be here. We might need to prepare to bolt out of this area if the magic beast who did this is stronger than me. What if its a demon beast you guys were specting about? Eren asked to buy time. The more he engaged with Dom, the better it will be for the sedative to take effect. Hahahaha! Eren boy, do you think a demon beast would just roam around everywhere in the woods without any aim? A demon beast would be usually found in the deepest parts of the wood where they can control the maximum and more powerful magic beasts, which will be present in the deeper parts of the forest. The demon beasts are like army generals of the beast army. Thats why their existence is feared by many. Not only for the individual prowess they are capable of unleashing but also for their ability to lord over the magic beasts. Will you find an army general at the front or back of the army encampment? Dom refuted Erens assumptions like they meant nothing more than a kids curiosity. But Erens next question caught him off guard: What if the demon beast finds out that it can locate the resources needed for its evolution here in the cave? Eren asked him meaningfully. Dom wanted to counter his logic with his words but he found them stuck between his throat. He soon realized what Eren was hinting at. Thats right. It can consume the dead bodies of Domsrades toplete its evolution. They all were in great danger right now at this ce. Coming here was a mistake. Dom thought to himself and halted his steps from going deeper into the cave. Eren wanted exactly this effect to be felt by Dom. If he hurried his steps and got to the demon beast first before the sedative kicked in, it would be horrible for Eren. Doms mind was in a conflict. Should they proceed and check if a mere kids hunch was correct or should they just get the hell away from this ce? He took his time. But Doms greed finally showed itself. He realized that there was an opportunity hidden in this danger. What if the demon beast is going through its evolution right at this moment and he intercepts it? Hell be able to gain a demon beast as a familiar. A beast that lords over the Osan forest. It had to be at least an E Rank beast trying to promote itself for a D Rank. Doms estimation was half right. The was beast indeed going through the evolution process. But it wasnt an E Rank one. It was a D Rank beast vying for promotion in C Rank. Dom wouldnt have risked going to the site had he known this beforehand. But Eren knew about it. And this time he didnt raise his hunch about the beast being a D Rank. Otherwise, Doms conflict would end and he would immediately decide to retreat. That would also spell doom for Eren as he had already killed Elena. Although he had hidden Elenas body for the fear of it attracting a magic beast, it wouldnt take long for a hunter like Dom to locate it. Eren wanted Dom stuck in his ce just for a while more. Damn. I must be tired of travelling back and forth between the forest and the city without taking a rest. Im kinda feeling sleepy. Eren waited for this very moment. The guy sure took his time. It was only when he stopped in his tracks to think did the sedative show its effects. Eren quickly suggested to Dom that he should find a corner before sitting on the ground to catch a breath. Hell give him some potions to curb Doms fatigue. Dom was tired. Before Eren had walked into the cave, he had spent quite a bit of his energy to eradicate SR snakes from the cavepletely. The culling of those vile serpentine creatures wasnt driven by logic. It was an act of revenge. Dom had cleared the cave for Eren to take his rewards without any worry. When Dom sat down, Eren gave him more sedative disguised as a stamina recovery potion. But when he was handing over the potion, Dom immediately caught his hand and asked him gravely: Why am I sensing a killer vibe from you? Theres also a faint smell of blood lingering around you. I dont think we have ever let youe close to any injured animal. Tell me honestly What have you done? Doms grip over Erens hand was getting stronger. Eren felt some pain and he expressed it by yelling, as any inexperienced teen would: Old man, I think fatigue has affected your brain. What and why would I do anything to you guys? What will be my gain here? It was you who dragged me here. And now you want to me me for doing absolutely nothing. Thats it. Im not helping you guys anymore. The smell of blood would probably be because of me tending to Elenas wounds which she didnt think appropriate to show you. But turns out I was wrong. I shouldnt have treated her wounds ande here in the cave to help you. Now that I think about it, I shouldnt have apanied you to the forest in the first ce. After risking so much, what do I get in return? An injury to my wrist and a strong threat by a hunter for HELPING him? Im out. Release me, old man. I dont want to stay here. Doms now-fading consciousness was sending him mixed signals. His instincts screamed at him that the kid was bad news. But all the pointsid out by the kid pointed in the other direction. That amount of hesitation was enough for the sedative to finally work its magic. Dom fell asleep. But he didnt release Erens hand before doing that. After confirming that the hunter had finally fallen for his trap, Eren breathed a sigh of relief. That was a close call. He was almost caught in his act. Eren had underestimated Dom and his superhuman senses. If it wasnt for the sedatives, Erens act wouldnt havested long. Dom would have seen through his bullshittery. Eren again removed the surgical knife from his shoulder bag. He was fearing Dom might wake up after experiencing an injury on him. Thats why he first tried to get his right wrist out of the guys vice-like grip. It took him a while to do that. Then Eren positioned himself in such a way that hed be able to run away after dealing damage to Dom in case he wakes up. Instead of the neck, Eren decided to target Doms eyes. He didnt have the luxury to make Dom die as smoothly as Elena. The guy was on the verge of getting promoted to D Rank. Eren prepared for the worst and the worst happened. Eren used two surgical knives on Dom to pierce both of his eyes simultaneously. Thebo attacknded. And he managed to injure Doms eyes but theyer of mana was deployed soon after. Doms natural defence had kicked in and prevented Eren from piercing his brain. Dom woke up with a roar. He couldnt see now that both of his eyes were damaged. But Eren was quick on his feet. He quickly got away from the hunter right after the attack had struck. That presence of mind saved him from the grim fate. Eren knew he couldnt kill Dom as of now with his current state. The hunter was all fine except for his eyes. His other senses had also been dulled by the sedatives. But Dom was forcefully circting his mana through his body to get over the sedatives at the cost of injuring himself. Dom was agitated to his bones. Approaching him from any angle spelt instant doom for Eren. He was alive because Dom couldnt see him. Had he targeted the hunters neck or any other crucial part, that would have resulted in both of them dying together. Eren had also benefited from using the body enhancement potions beforehand. He could quickly change his course of direction whenever Dom was making almost-right guesses. The fight, or more like the cat-and-mouse chase, went on for a while till both of them were exhausted. Dom couldnt help ask Eren in suppressed anger about his motive after they both non-verbally agreed on cooling down a bit: Chapter 11: Demon Slime Obtained As a Pet!

Chapter 11: Demon Slime Obtained As a Pet!

The fight, or more like the cat-and-mouse chase went on for a while till both of them were exhausted. Dom couldnt help ask Eren in suppressed anger about his motive after they both non-verbally agreed on cooling down a bit: You wretched maggot. What have we ever done to you? Why did you target us? And what will you gain from all this? Is that whore Nina also included in this scheme of yours? Naaah! I dont think so. Shes a C ss healer. I dont have anything that can interest her. That means its only you. And from the look of things, that healer doesnt know about your true vile nature. Tell me this before I kill you, why did you put us through this hell? Eren didnt run away from those questions. He maintained a safe distance from Dom and answered back: To tell you the truth, I envy you. Not the now-you. But the future-you. I want to possess what you should be possessing. And want to possess and indulge in more than the future-you had a chance to. Ive tasted being unsessful. Ive tasted being poor and in misery. And Ive tasted being hated for myck of everything. Now I want to experience new things that belong to the other side of the extremity. But if you ask me why I want to kill you, then it will be because our truths are different. If I can manage to kill you, after putting so much effort into even the odds that are stacked against me, then whatever I say will be right. If you can manage to kill me despite all my efforts with your sheer power, you will be the winner and whatever you say will be right. This is the battle between the truths. I know you will find half of the things I said to be ridiculous andplete BS. And I wont me you for that. Like I said, your truth is different from mine. A chicken doesnt do anything to humans but humans still eat it for their sustenance and taste. Why? Its because our truths are different. Eren was saying all this while preparing himself for a counterattack in case Dom strikes. And a strike did take ce. Eren knew Dom not only wanted to hear his reasons but was also baiting him to pinpoint his location and attack him when he was least expecting it. The hunter was still seeing Eren as a mere teenager. Eren decided to use Doms sudden attack against him. He needed the hunter to pay a hefty cost of underestimating him. The moment Dom closed the distance between him and Eren, thetter ducked down first beforeunching forward in Doms left side. Dom couldnt see Eren. The hunter could only target the boy using a sense of sound. Dom did feel something move to his side. But by the time he reacted to this feedback, he felt something pierce his left glute. The vile creature had lodged a knife in his left ass cheek. The attack was targeted where the manayer would be at its weakest if the hunter didnt regte it manually. Dom hadnt thought that some teenager would be able to dodge his attack at thest second and target his ass. A substantial amount of battle experience was required to pull this off against him. And for Eren to manoeuvre like he did with his rankless body and mind, it was clear that he had anticipated Doms attack. Eren had simply used a bait thrown at him by Dom to bait thetter. Dom realized that he had thoroughly underestimated this vile creature. He didnt like to admit it, but Eren was a better hunter than him. He wasnt the gullible kid they had thought him to be. If Dom survives this ordeal and someone pays him a fortune to refer Eren by the word gullible once, he would rather light that fortune on fire and burn himself with it before epting that deal. Dom was better off administering that antidote to Elena than inviting this devil to ride with him. It was better to let Elena die than forcing this devil to make a favour on him. Dom had understood by now that the drowsiness he was feeling wasnt something natural. That means his potions were spiked by the devil. If his potions could be spiked, Elena wouldnt be left off either. Eren entering the cave without Elena following him indicated that he had already finished her off. Dom didntpletely understand what Erens goal was but one thing was clear to him at that moment. Eren wanted to finish him and Elena off from the very beginning. Dom stopped running around by hearing the sound. He had learned his lesson. A sound could be a trap set for him. He needed to weigh his options before making a move. Otherwise, he would die a horrible and shameful death in the hands of someone who wasnt even a Rank F yet. It was better for Dom to approach Eren with caution while maintaining his guard. He knew that if he takes things slowly and not let his guard down, Eren wouldnt be able to hurt him. Dom was expecting Eren to make a move. What he didnt know was that thetter had already left in silence after Dom stopped moving recklessly. Eren manipted Dom into making him stay still and take things slowly byunching that timed counterattack. He knew he couldnt deal a decisive blow to Dom. So it was futile to engage with him right now. It was better to make Dom believe that Eren canunch a counterattack in response to his blind, reckless charge anytime, from anywhere, while he make his exit from the battle. Why would Eren keep on engaging with Dom when he can use Doms blindness and newfound carefulness against him? Eren went deeper into the cave. The enhancement potions were starting to wear off. So Erens breathing had increased pace. His body was sweating all over. His right shoulder had been dislocated, thanks to his showdown with Dom earlier. But he didnt wait to fix it. He couldnt. Eren had a more pressing matter to attend to: The demon beasts evolution. Eren walked deeper for a while before he found the Yooperlite stones that were mentioned in Dom Walkers lucky encounter from his previous life. Eren knew he was on the right track. He hurried forward and finally found the bodies covered in slimy stuff. Et vo! The bodies were almost done digesting. If Eren hadnt withdrawn from his stalemate with Dom, the beasts evolution would have been finished by the time he reached here. Eren didnt waste much time. He drew his blood and dropped it on one of the bodies that were getting digested under the slimyyer. The drop of blood was absorbed the moment itnded on the body. Suddenly, the slimy stuff released an iprehensible roar in a sharp pitch. The digestion elerated and the dead bodies lost their freshness quickly until only their bones were left. The bones too were liquified after a while before the liquid was absorbed into the mass of slime. Eren could feel an intangible wave of mental pressure being released from the mass of slime. After the mind, it seemed that it was the bodys turn to go through evolution. Since the mental connection was established, the demon beast had recognised Eren as its kin. It made sure that the remaining evolution process didnt harm him in the slightest. The mass of slime expanded exponentially at a time before contracting a momentter with the same speed and zeal. It sometimes adapted to the shape of various magic beasts. Then it took on the shapes of various humans. These were the same people that Eren had seen just now getting digested by the slimy mass. It took some time before the chaotic mana in the area was stabilized. The mass of slime stopped taking random shapes and assumed the shapelessness its species was known for. Eren could feel a mental connection with the mass of slime that was plopping its way towards him. He could feel a childs curiosity towards its parent and everything around himing from that slime. There was no exchange of words. Eren and slime couldmunicate with each other on a fundamental level. They could read each others thoughts and that helped Eren understand one thing about the slimes current condition: It was hungry. And Eren knew the location of just the kind of food his new familiar would love to have. ================================= Authors Note: Hi there, readers! I just wanted to ask, should I limit MC talking about the way he thinks and his deepest desires, or would you prefer that to be limited in quantity? I feel like Eren still has more things to say in that regard. But I can trim it down to make it a quick read and focus on pushing the storyline forward, if thats what the readers want! Chapter 12: Reen

Chapter 12: Reen

There was no exchange of words. Eren and slime couldmunicate with each other on a fundamental level. They could read each others thoughts and that helped Eren understand one thing about the slimes current condition: It was hungry. And Eren knew the location of just the kind of food his new familiar would love to have. The slime plopped onto Erens right shoulder like it was the most obvious thing in the world for it. Its volume had shrunk tremendously and now it only looked as if a magic beasts condensed saliva had been dropped on Erens shoulder. Eren had dislocated his shoulder. Thats why he felt some strain when the slime plopped over it. But soon the familiar did something that made Eren open his eyes wide in utter surprise. The colourless mass of slime suddenly started exuding a milky white glow. The magical glow covered Erens shoulder and started fixing it up. It took only a few moments for Eren to feel that his shoulder had gotten back to normal. Eren tried moving his arm and confirmed that to be the case. Not only his arms but his other minor injuries were also getting fixed rapidly as the white glow spread across the body. The mass of slime seemed weak after finishing his ster medical treatment. Its hunger had increased as a result. Eren could feel the beasts concern for him when it treated his injuries. He could also feel its fatigue after doing that. It was hungrier than before. Eren caressed the ball of slime and it responded to his touch affectionately. Eren started walking to the ce where he hade from. There were two bodies his beastpanion could eat, one alive and one dead. Eren sent those thoughts to the beast and it couldnt help spreading across his whole torso as a form of hugging him in joy. While they were walking towards Dom, Eren kept exchanging thoughts with his beast. The beasts thoughts were very primal. And it couldnt understand theplex thoughts and emotions of Erenpletely. But they were both making steady progress in getting to know each other. Eren introduced his name to the beast. The beast didnt get the concept of naming so Eren had to exin it in basic terms for him. The demon slime too wanted a name for itself when it fully grasped the purpose of having it. Eren thought of a name for his pet for some time beforeing up with Reen. It was an anagram of his name. The beast didnt mind having that name. It didnt understand the concept of having a good or bad name so it epted Erens name right away. Eren came up with that name because it seemed gender-neutral, just like the beast. It didnt seem to have gender as well. So Reen was a perfect name for it. Eren assumed Reen to be a she for his convenience. As the duo decided all that while walking, it reached an open area in the cave where a man could be seen talking to a wall in a threatening way. He seemed to be on his guard the way he had raised both his hands in front of him. One could see a knife lodged in one of his glutes upon looking keenly. This man was Dom. He thought Eren still hadnt left the ce and was only pretending to be absent. Therefore, Dom had tried baiting him multiple times, thinking Eren would try to make the same mistake of deciding to use his bait against him. Doms thinking had gottenplicated after that. The hunter was Inception-izing his assault ns. He had also gotten creative with his jeers and taunts aimed at Eren. Too bad there was no audience to his performance. If Dom knew about this, hed get madder on Eren than he already was. He might die from having too much anger built within his system. Although Eren was still a ranklessd, he had nothing to fear anymore. Hispanion Reen was a C Rank demon beast. Although Reen didnt excel in battle, she was still enough to take care of a minor E Rank guy like Dom. Dom could finally hear some disturbance due to Erens faint footsteps. He guessed Eren had decided toe out of hiding and was nning to make a move on him. Dom couldnt control hisughter at this thought: Looks like youve run out of patience. I was going to stop trying, thinking you are more cunning and shameless than I thought you are. But at the end of the day, you are still an immature brat. Your end is near you while are Dom was going to cuss and curse Eren much more. But then he felt some slimy stuff getting in contact with his right leg and then spreading across his body soon after. Before Dom could figure out the thing that climbed upon his body, he felt like his skin was burning. Like he had suddenly taken an acid bath. Reen had covered Dom from head to toe by now. His clothes had been dissolved, and he could be seen naked and covered in some gooey stuff that was releasing faint steams. Reen was digesting Dom up at an elerated rate. It took her more time than the bodies she had just eaten for her evolution, due to Dom being an E Rank and having more mana to deploy as a sorry excuse of defence against her. But she was a C Rank herself. Dom couldnt help sharing the same fate as his deadrades. His bones were dissolved after his flesh, and there was no trace of him left in this world. Elenas body outside joined their ranks after Dom. And like this, Eren had obtained what was going to be Doms. Reen was a capable demon beast even when she didnt excel in battle strength. She had a lot of other abilities thatpensated for that. With Reen by his side, Eren could modify his ns to get better results. Eren was d he did what he did at this point. There was no point pondering over the past. Eren was about to head out of that area when Reen shared something with him regarding the cave. She told him that she hade here after feeling the existence of a treasure that could help her rank up quickly. Reen was thinking of using that treasure and the bodies that magic beasts will supposedly hunt for her in future to rank up slowly when she came to the cave. She didnt expect there would be enough bodies here for her rank up. All she needed was a push that the treasure had offered her by Reening in its vicinity. Reen insisted on eating the bodies first to stabilize her promotion. Her hunger came first. Thats why she didnt think about getting the treasure when they were inside the cave. Her instincts were screaming at her to feed on something for sustenance before eyeing for something that was not part of survival. Now that she had her fill, she conveyed the same information to her master. Eren immediately went in after understanding what that news implied. So it was true that Dom had another lucky encounter in the cave. The one that he made sure not to go public at any cost. Chapter 13: Mana Blessing

Chapter 13: Mana Blessing

Eren and Reen went to the same ce they came from. The same space Reen had used for her evolution. She pointed downwards to where Eren was standing. Eren immediately started digging using the surgical knives. He had recovered the knife lodged in Doms glutes and disinfected it with the help of Reen. Reen saw how slow Eren was working and felt she needed to do something to expedite the process. She coated Erens arms with her body and he felt enhanced strength surging within him. Reens intangible body in its original shape wasnt ideal for digging. And her thought process wasnt mature enough to think about anything else other than granting her master enhanced strength with her body. Reen could have shapeshifted into one of her victims whose body she had eaten. Or she could have coated Erens fingers and granted them ws so that he could dig better even without using the knives. But in the end, Reen was as immature as a year or two years old human child. It would be up to Eren to tell her how to do stuff and make her learn new things. And the guy was currently happy digging with enhanced strength to think about anything else. He too wasnt aware of Reens potential. For now, he was content with the way things were. Eren soon dug deep enough and found something that looked like an oval-shaped Yooperlite stone. But Eren knew enough from his past experiences to tell anyone with confidence that it wasnt. The thing in Erens palm looked like a normal Yooperlite stone with some natural patterns carved over it like some kind of intrinsic design. That made it easy to zero in on the stones real identity. Eren couldnt help blurt out two words after lifting that palm-sized stone into his hands: Mana Blessing! Eren identified the stone immediately. It looked small and insignificant. But he knew people could kill for even the smallest and the lowest-ranked Mana Blessing. Mana Blessing Stone or Simply Mana Blessing was like a naturally made artefact. It had ranks like the beasts and hunters. MB stone would help beasts and hunters in promotions by giving them the purest form of mana of that Rank. An E Rank MB stone would attract the purest form of E Rank mana from the area around it naturally. The respective ranks mana would naturally get drawn to it. The MB stone would thus create a spherical environment in which that ranks pure mana would keep on dwelling without getting dispersed. If an E Rank hunter or beast stays in this sphere for an extended amount of time regrly, their promotion to the next rank will get expedited by many folds whenpared to normal hunters. While the MB stones rank dictated which ranks mana it would attract to itself, its size would decide the mana density contained within that sphere. The bigger the MB stone, the denser the mana density. Eren was rankless so he couldnt detect the mana in the environment yet. Neither could he differentiate between the mana types to know about the MB stones rank. But Eren was still happy after seeing the size of that stone. Even though it looks small, it would give someone enough mana density to expedite their ranking promotion with at least twice the speed whenpared with people who didnt have the MB stone and took the same amount of effort. Although he couldnt identify the stones rank himself, he had someone else do it for him. Eren asked which ranks MB stone it was to Reen. He had to exin the ranks and their differences to Reen before she could answer it. The MB stone in his hand was a D Rank one, the same as Reens previous rank. Thats why she could take advantage of being in that dense mana sphere generated by the stone to promote herself. After understanding Reens judgement, Eren felt happy and sad at the same time. Happy because the value of a D Rank surpassed that of Rank Es and Rak Fs. Sad because he couldnt use it for himself. He needed a Rank F Mana Blessing for his immediate use. Even though Eren could not use it right away, he would keep it to himself for future use and would not sell it. Because he knew how rare they were to find for humans. Mana Blessing stones were natural treasures of the world. Therefore, magic beasts and demon beasts had a much higher chance of finding them than humans. Thats because the beasts were better attuned to nature than humans ever could. This created a perpetual scarcity of MB stones in the market. Even the lowest grade, F and E ranked Mana Blessing stones would require someone to cough up a huge amount of money. The size of the stone would further make the prices dynamic. And the scarcity and price wars only increased exponentially with each rank up. There were also some fake MB stones circting through the market which were the products of alchemists. Thats why it was better if Eren saved this genuine D Rank MB stone and use it after his promotion into the respective rank. Eren decided that his business was over in the forest. Now he would get out of the forest with Reen in his tow. Eren would be fine making his way out in the night because the leader of the forest was with him and there was plenty of moonlight to not have to second guess his way forward. But just when he decided to get up from the spot, Reen asked him if liked those stones so much. Eren thought it was a little weird question to ask but he answered affirmatively to Reen. Her curiosity knew no bounds. Maybe it was just something she randomly thought, Eren concluded. But Reen conveyed that she knew the locations of such stones in the forest. She told him that they had stopped being useful to her since her current evolution. That meant they were E and F rank Mana Blessing. This was very unnatural for even a demon beast to know the locations of so many MB stones. Eren concluded that Reen was a special case. She could detect the softest ripples of mana in the environment. Therefore she could track those natural treasures. Usually, the beasts had toe in the proximity of such treasures to find them. Reen used another method different from proximity sensing to zero in on the treasures. The same proximity requirement was ced on humans, only its restrictions were harsher. If a typical beast needed to be within 10 meters distance to sense the presence of the treasure, a typical human needed to be within 1 meter to achieve the same. Eren now understood why Dom didnt let anyone know about finding a D Rank MB stone in the cave. Yes, the stone was precious for rank ups and held great mary value. But the real problem lied elsewhere! Chapter 14: Encountering Isaac’s Party!

Chapter 14: Encountering Isaacs Party!

Eren now understood why Dom didnt let anyone know about finding a D Rank MB stone in the cave. Yes, the stone was precious for rank ups and held great mary value. But the real problem lied elsewhere! The potential stone snatchers Dom would encounter by keeping that stone would only belong to D rank or lower. The higher ranked hunters wouldnt care about the MB stones they cant use. But what if everyone knows your demon beast can track and locate natural treasures? All hell will break loose on Dom and he and his beast will be targeted by higher-ranked entities than them. Thats why Dom didnt take any risk and told nobody about finding a Mana Blessing stone. Reens ability was too shocking. Eren needed to follow in Doms footsteps. The future-Dom hade across many such chance encounters that were treated as him being lucky. This had created a legend around his name and made him famous in the general and hunter populous alike. But only now did Eren understand it was all due to Reen that he kept on getting his hands dipped in a pot of honey and gold. And with such a treasure-finding beast by his side that would potentially give him ess to any Ranks Mana Blessing, his exceptional growth in ranking journey could now be made sense of by Eren. For now, Eren needed to even hide the fact that he now has a C Rank demon beast as hispanion. Otherwise, Erens way of obtaining that beast will be searched upon. And Doms killer will be identified during that process. Eren didnt want toplicate things for himself even without starting his adventurer journey. *************************** The next morning. Eren had worked non stop the entire night in collecting the MB stones Reen had located from different parts of the forest. Thanks to the full moonst night, Eren could traverse safely through the forest. It couldnt be helped. Eren needed to hurry and get back in the city before his disappearance was known by aunt Nina. Eren now had five F Rank MB stones, two E Rank ones, and one other stone that Reen couldnt make sense of. Eren figured that the unidentifiable stone was beyond C Rank at the very least. This was going to be the costliest stone in Erens collection despite its smallest size. Eren also understood that it brought him the highest risks. Reen also knew about some rare herbs and other gems located in the forest but Eren was runningte. He needed to be out of the forest before an investigation team was dispatched. Hell be in trouble if his involvement in the whole incident is questioned. Eren tore his sleeves and created a makeshift face mask out of it. Then he told Reen to hide inside his shirt and stay low until called upon. Eren quickly made his way out of the forest, from a different route than he came from. He didnt want to risk taking the shortest route only to end up colliding with the iing forces. Various parties would enter the forest from various directions. Normally, a ranger from each of those parties will pick the shortest and safest route to traverse. And that made their routes predictable. Some rangers would even choose to follow trails left behind by other rangers to have an easy time. Eren knew the route selected by Dom was one such route. Therefore Eren chose a route that would be the least likely to get selected by any capable ranger. He had his past lifes experiences to guide him in that regard. What Eren had concluded was true for almost all the parties. But what if it was a rookie party? And the partys ranger was a newbie and ipetent? Erens good luck so far had finally left his side at this time. He found a party of five members rapidly approaching him right from his front direction. Eren couldnt change the route now. The time he saw them was also the time the party members saw him. Eren just hoped that the party would let him go without asking many questions. He didnt want toplicate his escape here. But what he hoped for didnte to pass. The party approached him rapidly before stopping a few meters away from him. The partys ranger was standing in the front. He was the one who opened his mouth first to break the stalemate: Hello there. Fellow hunter. The ranger wanted to continue but a girl who looked to be a mage from the same party cut him off to correct him: Isaac, he is not a hunter. He hasnt formed or activated his mana core yet. The guy is rankless. Everyone else in the party was shocked by that revtion including Isaac. They were all in too much of a hurry to traverse through the forest to notice Erens rankless status. Isaacs reckless charge had them second-guessing their way the entire time until all the party members finally concluded that they were lost. A ray of hope was found in a person they could all seeing their way from the front. They all thought he was a hunter like them, but turned out it was a rankless brat. Isaac quickly recovered his wits and asked further. After finding out that Eren is rankless, Isaacs respect for him had dropped to the lowest: Brat, tell us who you are and what are you doing here? And take us to Simarke. We can probably give you food for your services. Isaac had assumed that he was talking to a street kid because Eren had torn sleeves that didnt exactly give him good first impressions. But his face was covered. And thats what he wanted at the time. Eren didnt take any offence in that. He was called and treated worse in his previous life so he had developed certain tolerance towards such tones and addressals. These guys were asking him to lead them towards Simarke. The same location he had run away from. The trails left behind by Dom were enough for these guys to trace the rest of the way. It would eventually lead them all to his crime scene: the cave. Although he had taken care of the bodies by making Reen digest them all in her gluttonous stomach, the traces of his fight with Dom couldnt be get rid of. Forget these newbies. Erens presence there at the scene of the crime would make it easy for other hunters to point their fingers at him. Therefore, Eren couldnt risk it: Sir, I dont know where thatke is. Im just making my way out of the forest. Im in a hurry so I hope if youd excuse me! Good day and godspeed. Eren wanted to take his leave after saying that but Isaac wasnt going to let him go that easily: Maybe you didnt hear me little punk. I first asked you about your name and your business. But you squatted those questionsing from a hunter like they were some kind of flies bothering you while you have your food. And you have your face covered while talking to us. That means you are a known thief or something. That alone is a reason enough for you toe with us till we figure out your identity and hand you over to the city guards for your pending crimes. Now you have toe with us even if you dont know the way to Simarke. You cant just scoot your way out when a hunter asks you to do something. Youll learn this lesson the hard way today. Isaac smiled at Eren wickedly and concluded in an irrefutable stance. Chapter 15: Tumko Darata

Chapter 15: Tumko Darata

Now you have toe with us even if you dont know the way to Simarke. You cant just scoot your way out when a hunter asks you to do something. Youll learn this lesson the hard way today. Isaac smiled at Eren wickedly and concluded in an irrefutable stance. A fight urring here would be detrimental to Eren. Even if he could kill the entire party with the help of Reen, he couldnt get rid of the proof of the battle unfolding here. There were loads of ways to get some clues about the killers identity with the right kind of spells, alchemy products, and artefacts. Eren controlled his murderous vibes and tried to reason with the group for thest time, using a go-to tool in his arsenal: bullshittery! Sir, my name is Tumko Darata. I hide my face because I have warts on it. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder they say, but I just cant find it in me to trust others eyes enough, only to force them to look for some shred of beauty in them. I hope youd also appreciate me masking those hideous warts and spare you from getting your day spoiled. Ie here to grab a few herbs and sell them to a local shop I know. As for why did I not tell you my name the first time. As I said, Im in a hurry because I have to take care of my little sister. Ive been in the forest the entire night as you can see from my appearance. I simply didnt think you would have a chance to address me by my name when I was going to leave right after our short talk. If you found me hurrying to my little sister to be rude, I humbly ask for your forgiveness. Im sure great hunters like you will be able to find it in them to forgive a rankless nobody like me. Eren bowed a little to show his humility. He had answered all their questions and queries in the right manner, with the right tone. Tumko Darata was a real person from his past life that he would get to meet after some years. He had warts because of some inherent problem in his mana pathways. He was used to using and carrying various designer face masks to hide those warts. Erni had added a dash of truth in his fiction to create a fantabulous mix of bullshittery. The party members practically had no reason to hold him there anymore. But Isaac was in a league of his own when it came to narcissism built on stupidity: Listen here, you punk. I dont care if your name is Humko Darata or Tumko Darata. I said youlle with us, so you wille with us. Thats an order from a hunter. I dont care about you or your little sister to let you go scot-free. If you willingly follow us now, the most it will do is make youte in meeting with your sister. But if you dont.. well just say that youll still follow us. But you wont end up meeting your sister anytime soon. Isaac maybe we should just drop The mage girl tried reasoning with Isaac. She wouldnt have cared either way if the boy was left alone or was forced toe with them. But something told her it was better not to mess with this harmless looking kid. But she was also cut off. Not by Isaac or Eren though. By a lean built man who was staring at Eren keenly: Selena. I dont think its as easy as it seems to be. I too would have agreed to let this boy go but theres just something off about him. Then theres this exnation that he has given us. Just look at him with your eyes open. Although his shirts sleeves look torn, it is not overused or seems to be made of cheap fabric. It looks like he had torn the sleeves just recently to cover his face. If a person is trying to cover their warts either for medical or aesthetic reasons, they would have spare face masks with them all the time. They wont have to use their sleeves for that. Then his exnation about spending the night here. If he is that worried about his sister, he wouldnt even think about being in the forest post 4-5 PM. How can he spend the night in the forest with his rankless status? Thats rather hard to believe. He is carrying a shoulder bag so one would assume his story about herb collection is valid. But just look at that bag. It doesnt have any excessive bulge. That means he hasnt collected enough herbs. The kid is ready to risk his lifeing into the forest with his rankless body. He can collect herbs till evening at the risk of having to spend the night. But he chooses to collect only that much herbs. I say thats fishy! The guy concluded his statements while still staring at Eren. The rest of the group slowly realized these points, their faces now painted with some sort of understanding. Eren narrowed his eyes and looked at the guy who said it. He had now tried everything to avoid a conflict. But he couldnt just back away now. The foes in front of him wont allow him to do that. That means Eren needed to take care of them quickly without causing much ruckus. Otherwise, other hunters and adventurers would get drawn here eventually. And that would spell doom for him. Bullshittery didnt work because of one smartass. Now it was time to be a quick and efficient killing machine. Eren could only me that guy for killing them all. Sometimes applying smartness at the wrong ces would cause you more harm than being numb and dumb to things around you ever could. The party members surrounded him from all sides and Eren let them. Isaac came forward and approached Eren while drawing his rapier in front of him. It looked like Eren had surrendered to their siege. The lean built guy came forward and tied Erens hands and thetter didnt object at all. Only then the party members turned their vignce down a notch. They all came closer to Eren while discussing among themselves, like what Eren had to say didnt matter anymore. The smartass went ahead, dragged Erens mask down his face, and smirked at him. There were no warts on Erens face, just as he had figured. The smartass was feeling a different kind of exhration from being this right about the brat. What he didnt know was that his act of revealing Erens face to all his party members had basically sealed their fates. Before Erens face was unmasked, some part of him still thought about escaping from this party when they werent paying attention to him, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. But now Eren wouldnt let anyone live to tell the tale of his presence in the woods. Chapter 16: Second Crime Scene

Chapter 16: Second Crime Scene

Before Erens face was unmasked, some part of him still thought about escaping from this party when they werent paying attention to him, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. But now Eren wouldnt let anyone live to tell the tale of his presence in the woods. The party took this time to decide on their next set of actions. They assumed that Eren must be a wanted criminal of Osan city. The various parties and the city lords forces that had entered from the northern part of the woods will regroup at the Simarke. Isaacs party would hand Eren over to the city lords forces to get him processed. They were nning all this while the wart-less brat was standing right beside them. Eren was already rankless. They had still taken a precaution against him by tying his hands. They didnt need to be vignt against this brat anymore. Eren was exactly waiting for this chance. He had willingly surrendered to the party for this reason. After securing him on a leash, Eren knew the party members would forget about him. Eren asked Reen to dissolve the ropes that were used in tying his hands. Then Reen coated his entire body in an almost transparent protectiveyer. Eren looked liked only he was dipped in a pool of water and that water had wrapped itself around it. The lights reflection and refraction index had been changed by the protectiveyer. And that had distorted Erens usual visage. It was making him look like a devil that didnt belong to this world. This change in Erens appearance had happened in moments. Isaacs party members didnt have a chance to observe the change as they were busy nning things. By the time smartass decided to check up on Eren by looking in his direction, Eren had disappeared from his initial ce. Reens protectiveyer had enhanced Erens body stats by many folds than his real values. It had practically made him an F ss hunter that was on the verge of being promoted to E rank. Reen could even go beyond that, but Erens rankless body wouldnt be able to take the strain. With his enhanced body stats, Eren appeared behind the healer of the group which was another girl. It had finally dawned on Eren when he was caught in a pinch that he could let Reen turn his fingers into the sharp ws of a beast. He used those ws to pierce the girls back on the left, just below the ribcage. He felt the girls heart beating and quickly squashed it. Eren didnt stop to look at the result of his handiwork. Next, he targeted another girl who was a mage. She had already gotten aware that Eren wasnt some rankless nobody they thought him to be. He was a devil in humans clothing. Maybe the way this wart-less devil was looking right now was what he looked like. But it was a moment toote for her. Eren pierced the mage girl Selenas throat and yanked herrynx out. Eren had removed herrynx to stop her from chanting. Selena had raised her hands to cast a spell on him. Eren handed Selenas yankedrynx in her raised hands. And then moved towards the smartass. Selenas neck had started spurting blood in gallons. But her attention was on the thing that was in her hands. Her face disyed her shock and dismay. Selena would have never thought in her wildest dreams that she would die like this. Holding herrynx in her hands. Dying by loss of blood and a fatal injury to her neck. Even when she had the best healer of their age in her party. Selena looked at her healer and saw her die immediately after Eren had appeared behind her. The healer died immediately. She didnt have a chance to heal herself. So healing Selena was out of the question. Then as her gushing blood created a pool around herself, Selena watched Eren engaging with the remaining three party members simultaneously. Selena, with her fading consciousness, saw one of her party members getting his stomach ripped open by Erens bare hands. Then she saw Isaac dying next. His face had turned 180 degrees. She could see him look at her as thest embers of his life were extinguished from his eyes. Selena finally fell in her pool of blood that was slowly getting absorbed by the ground below her. Her hands had unwittingly gone to her neck while still holding therynx that was once located inside it. Maybe her subconscious was trying to fix her broken neck with the broken parts without realizing it was all in vain. Then Selena saw the smartass begging for his life in front of Eren. He was the only one left alive. He wanted to have some talk with his potential killer it seemed. Too bad, that killer wasnt interested in buying whatever the smartass was trying to sell to him. Eren gripped the smartass head in his vice-like grip. His fingers dubbed as ws sunk deeper into the victims scalp. Then Eren exerted some more force and the smartass brain matter in grey came out from wherever they could. The smartass had died because of his brain spilling out. Literally and metaphorically. Even Selena thought with herst dying breath that it was all the smartass fault. He just had to open his mouth and force this devil to kill them all. Only now Selena realized that she should have trusted her guts. But it was toote for regrets. She had to swallow the bitter pill. But could Selena even swallow that pill now that her neck was in this condition? Hehehehe! Selenaughed at that thought. Selenasst dying thoughts consisted of someme pun. That pun had brought a smile to her face. And that face seemed frozen in time as she died with that smile stered over it. It was a hauntingly weirdbination. So weird that somebody would get spooked after seeing the crime scene. The creator of that crime scene was now huffing long breaths. Reens protectiveyer had granted him enhanced stats but his body wasnt ready to sustain the burden that would get ced because of it. Erens breath was uneven and he was sweating. His joints were creaking a little. But he was fine overall. At least in much better condition than histest five victims who were lying dead all around him. His victims blood had never even touched Erens skin once. Whatever blood that was sprayed over him had gotten absorbed by Reens protectiveyer. Her extreme metabolism never let her waste food. Reen was asking if she could eat the bodies that were served in front of her like an all-you-can-eat buffet. But Eren controlled her. This wasnt the time. They needed to get away from his second crime scene. Otherwise, he would be forced to create crime scenes after crime scenes until someone did the same to him. Eren quickly grabbed the five members ID stones. Hell at least make use of these five party members possessions. Otherwise, it would be just worthless bloodshed without any actual benefits to him. Eren now had ID stones of seven members from Doms Raiders and five stones from this newbie party. Hell take his time gauging the spoils of war once he gets home. Chapter 17: Reen- The Glutenous Beast

Chapter 17: Reen- The Glutenous Beast

With thoughts of future running at full speed in his mind, Eren finally made his way out of the woods. He has raised his makeshift mask again. Reen had been retracted inside his shirt. There wasnt even a speck of blood on him even though he had a bloodbath not long ago. Therefore, Eren didnt look like he just had a fight. And thats what was most important to him right now. He didnt believe that he wont see any iing hunters and adventurers on his way back to Osan city. But they wouldnt notice him unless there was something wrong with the way he looked. Wearing masks was not entirely umon among hunters and adventurers alike. It was just that nobody would make the masks out of the sleeves from the shirt they were currently wearing. But as long as Eren didnt approach them or gave them a reason to approach him, that fact would go unnoticed. Eren untied his colt. The colts had been fed properly before Dom and Eren went inside. These magical colts would be able to run efficiently, without eating for days on end due to their high mana capacity. Therefore, they were ready to take Eren back to the city of Osan as soon as thetter came back out from the woods. When Eren climbed up his colt and was about to head out, Reen asked him if she could eat the colt. Eren thought for a while and then allowed her to feed on the colt that Dom had ridden on. She obliged and finished the colt in a jiffy. But apparently that wasnt enough. Reen was now eyeing the colt Eren was riding on. Eren felt like banging his head against the wall. The demon slime always kept thinking about eating food and then some more food, whether it was wild animals, magic beasts, hunters, or normal humans. And her mental connection with Eren made it worse. He could feel her hunger even before she conveyed it to him. Reens hunger had been agitated by the five-members buffet Eren had created with her help. It couldnt be helped. Eren told Reen that she could have the colt after they reached the city of Osan. Reen went inside his shirt and hugged Erens chest tightly in response. Eren couldnt submit the colt to the renting agency at the southern gates anyway. The colts were rented by Dom. The agency would take the original selling price of the colt and would return the money, minus a small charge, when you submitted the healthy, uninjured colt to them. Although Eren would lose some money that wasnt his by not returning the colt, he was fine with it. Erens name wasnt involved in colt rental agencys books. He wanted to keep it that way. As a result, a fine colt was going to get wasted. It took Eren evening to see the city walls from a distance. It was just 5PM. He had plenty of daylight left. Eren went to an isted spot and allowed Reen to have her fill. The F Rank colt didnt stand a chance when Reen ordered it to stay still while she eats it. Reen could have taken care of Isaacs party members by herself. But in doing so, she would have released her demon beasts aura. That aura would have attracted top ranked hunters who were making their way in the woods. Thats why Eren only told her to wrap his body with her slimy mass. That limited her aura to the crime scene area. Eren also wanted to make it look like a human did it. To nt a seed of suspicion in the hunters minds. United, they stand a chance to tackle any problem and uncover any truth hiding under the obvious. Divided, they will be busy doubting others and second guessing their hunches. Eren wanted Reen to dissolve the bodies and get rid of the maximum evidence he could, but he didnt have time. Reens dissolution of five bodies would still have taken more than a few minutes. Those minutes would be enough for a high ranked personnel to reach the ce and catch Eren red handed, in a literal and metaphorical sense. Eren had these thoughts as he watched the colt getting dissolved in a semi transparent slimy ball. Reen felt content after having a magic beast full of vitality. She expressed her desire to have more such colts in future to her master. Eren sighed helplessly at that request. He knew colt renting would get difficult for him henceforth. Eren made Reen get tucked inside his shirt again while he made his way to the city. The city guards allowed him to enter the city after he showed a badge to them. Every person who hasnt activated their Mana Core would get a city-specific badge to confirm their identity to the city guards. But when you activate your mana core, the ID stone bes necessary for you to enter any city and other important human settlements. Eren quickly made his way towards aunt Ninas house. She hadnte back by then. Eren thanked his stars and went in. He immediately got fresh and made some dinner for him and aunt Nina if and when she returns tonight. Aunt Nina didnt employ any servants. Her research on potions and stuff was a private matter and she didnt want any extra pair of eyes going through her stuff when she wasnt around. Nina did the housework by herself when Eren was small. But he picked up the works as he grew up. He had started making lunches and dinners sincest year. Only breakfast would be taken care of by Nina these days. That lifestyle has helped Eren today. He could sneak out of the house without anyone being the wiser. And he didnt mind doing the household chores. Cooking food was a rxing activity for him. Reen plopped out of Erens shirt when she felt him eating something. She could feel his hunger getting satisfied like her. So she thought Eren too must be having a few human bodies or colts for dinner. She was disappointed when she saw him eating something totally inedible to her. Reen went back inside Erens shirt after showing total disinterest in having the same food as him. Eren breathed a sigh of relief after witnessing that revtion. He forced his mind not to think about how good and delicious the food was while having it, lest Reen decide to give it a try. Eren retired to his room after dinner. He had done a lot of things during the past two days. He needed to reflect on his actions and think about future ns. Eren had already hid his lot of ID stones safely. But what should he do with Reen? Chapter 18: Aunt Nina Returns

Chapter 18: Aunt Nina Returns

Eren had already hidden his lot of ID stones safely. But what should he do with Reen? Reen was a special case among demon beasts. Her intangible body made it easy for Eren to take her around with him everywhere. But in the end, she was a C Rank beast. Reen could stay hidden from low-level hunters if she didnt use her powers or didnt leak her aura. But Eren wasnt sure the same would happen with other hunters who were also C Rank and above. Plus, aunt Nina was a C Rank healer. Her perception of herbs and animals was especially keen and intuitive. How can he hide Reen from her prying senses? Eren decided to ask Reen what she could do to make it look like she wasnt a beast. Reen didnt understand at first. Eren had to exin to her slowly he didnt want her exposed or identified as a beast for the time being. Reen didnt take any offence in that. Those concepts were very far away from her. She only thought about processing her masters request. Reen understood that her master needed her to be something else than her original intangible state. She just kept on changing her shapes and asking if that was enough. Eren saw Reen take the shapes of various humans and magic beasts in miniature forms. He was shocked Reen could double up as her victims that she had eaten before. He asked her to assume the humans original sizes and she did. He was impressed with Reen and caressed her jelly-like slimy body once she assumed her original form. Eren would think about how to use Reens ability to double up as someone elseter. First, he needed to think about the current problem. Eren then told her to assume inorganic forms. Like a coffee mug or something. He needed to show her what he meant by disying the original objects. She spread over those objects to get a sense of them before morphing them into their replica. Eren took hold of the morphed coffee mug in his hand. He couldnt spot even the minutest of the difference between the original and the fake one. But that wasnt enough to fool his C Rank aunt Nina. Eren mentally asked Reen if she could also assume the state of being an inorganic object, not just the shape. Eren had to exin patiently what he meant to Reen. Reen had a mana sense. Thats how she could see things without having actual eyes in her original form. Eren told her that her mana sense needs to get retracted to its minimum so she almost couldnt see anything. Eren was asking her to close her eyes while assuming the shape of an inorganic object, making her stay blind and unable to move or feel. Reen enquired what was the purpose of doing this. It was a simple question. But Eren didnt think she would ask that this early. All this time Reen had been a perfect soldier, working onmand-and-follow principles. But it was apparent that the beast was getting smarter. He shouldnt underestimate a C Rank demon beast, after all. Eren made a note to himself. Eren told Reen if she does this for a long period, shell get to have good food. And that finally made sense to her. Do some work to have food! That was a concept any human and animal would understand, not just the demon beast. Reen assumed the shape and state of a coffee mug. Eren was rankless but he could feel a subtle change after Reen retracted all of her sense of being. He felt like it was an old, often used coffee mug. Earlier he had felt like he was holding a mug that could change its shape anytime. Eren had these institutions thanks to his past life experiences. So he could at least feel such minute differences in objects and people when he was in physical contact with them. Eren wasnt 100% sure if his guise would work on Nina or not. But now he had done all that he could. He would think about altered exnations if and when aunt Nina finds out the demon beasts existence. While he was busy in his thoughts, Eren heard somemotion downstairs. He knew aunt Nina had arrived. Eren kept the morphed mug with the original one in a secure ce and assumed a sleeping stance. Eren had an epiphany when he acted asleep. He slept straight on his back and started thinking about lewd things. His boner returned as a result and made its existence known by creating a mini tent in his loose-fitted sleepwear trousers. Even though it was a nightmare, Erens room had a faint ambience due to mana-run inscribed stones on the ceiling. The light intensity could be adjusted with the help of another stone that had the notch over a circr inscription on it. Eren adjusted the ambience just enough for his aunt to barely see his bulge while making sure his facial expressions stayed hidden. Eren wanted to achieve two things by doing this. First, he wanted to divert Aunt Ninas focus to his boner so that she would not pay attention to a certain demon beast hiding in his room. Second, Eren wanted her to assume she and her iplete exnation had been the reason behind his situation. So that she could resume the talk with him sooner than anticipated. Even during the chaos, Eren hadnt given up on nning his advances on Nina. As expected, Nina came upstairs to check on Eren. She called his name first and knocked on the door. When Eren didnt respond, she took the liberty to open the door. Nina saw Eren sleeping soundly. She felt some relief. She customarily looked around the room and was about to scan it with her mana sense. But then Erens little tent was made visible to her. Nina smiled mirthlessly after seeing that. It was a mistake to leave the boy without aplete exnation about his sexual awakening. Of course, his mind would be upied with those thoughts even when he sleeps. Nina wanted to leave the room but something told her to observe the scene for a while. Inspect the tent and estimate the things actual size. Eren was still a teenager who hadnt experienced his growth spurt. He didnt pack a monster of a boner but it was still decent enough for his age. Nina was satisfied after estimating the size. Then she admonished herself for doing that. Then she gave herself the exnation that she was only thinking about Erens well being and his future as being a sessful adult on all fronts. The thought cycle repeated in her head while she stood motionlessly near Erens bed, looking nkly at his bulge. Eren half-opened his eyes to see Nina looking at his condition. His first-half wanted her to leave the room because he was worried about Reen getting discovered. His other half wanted her to stay and initiate advances on him. That would truly set the stage for Eren to approach Nina with ease. That inner conflict allowed Eren to stay neutral to the whole thing and not break his character. He saw Nina raised her hand in his boners direction before pping it away with her other hand snd then rushing out of his room. Eren was a little disappointed. But he let it go. It was time to sleep. Eren didnt get his sleepst night so he dozed off easily as soon as he closed his eyes. The new heralded new possibilities. Eren got up to get freshen up early in the morning. His morning wood had returned, attesting to his bodys readiness to partake in those acts. Eren stepped down and saw a familiar scene and a familiar person. Aunt Nina was concocting and distilling multiple potions simultaneously. She did that whenever she was behind her deliveries or had extra orders than usual. Morning, Aunt Nina! Someone paid a hefty amount for loads of potions it seems. Eren greeted Nina whilementing on her being so busy at the time. Eren could see a hint of awkwardness shed on aunt Ninas face after seeing him. But she quickly masked it with her gracious smile. She greeted him with the same charm Eren had known her for and replied: Chapter 19: Potioneering!

Chapter 19: Potioneering!

Eren could see a hint of awkwardness shed on aunt Ninas face after seeing him. But she quickly masked it with her gracious smile. She greeted him with the same charm Eren had known her for and replied: Morning, Erni. This order is ced by the Healers association exclusively. And yes, they want the first delivery urgently. After I made my report, a quick response team was dispatched by the Healers association. But the team had a casualty even before they could inspect the forest in depth. The wild magic beasts came in tides without caring about their species or hierarchy andunched attacks on the quick response team. The beast tide only happens when a high-tier beast is controlling all the beasts in its vicinity. This had almost confirmed that the forest now had a demon beast. Other teams were also experiencing the same thing at the same time. But suddenly, since yesterday, all of this has been stopped. Theres no beast tide running amok in the forest anymore. Certain possibilities arise for such situations. First, the demon beast has left the forest withoutpleting his evolution. If it has, we need to locate it before it causes trouble to any other area. Second, the demon beast has failed its evolution and is now hiding in the forest, isting itself from the outside world to expedite its recovery. Third, the demon beast haspleted its evolution and left the forest. That means itll be able to control even more high ranked magic beast. The destruction it can cause will be many times worse. Fourth, the beast haspleted its evolution and is thinking about hiding in the forest before the heat dies down a bit. We need to dispatch a considerable amount of manpower for all of the cases Ive mentioned and those that I havent. The manpower will include hunters and adventurers across various guilds and organisations. Nina said all this while ensuring her work does not get hampered. What she didnt know was that the root cause of the whole ordeal was present inside the house, in the form of a coffee mug. But who would tell her that? Eren certainly wont! He just kept a nk face while hearing the hypotheses and let aunt Nina continue further: The manpower dispatched for handling a demon beast will need added potions and other equipment. But the sudden spike of demand for these products cant be met with sufficient supplies. Ive already sent my stockpile of potions of all kinds to various organizations. But its still not enough. Plus, the Osan Healers association is thinking about creating a potion bank. In a potion bank, a particr organization buys the potions from potioneers in bulk. Then they create an ideal environment using arrays and inscriptions for potions tost much longer than their usual shelf life. The biggest reason a potioneer cant stockpile the potions after a certain amount is because of the potions shelf life. An individual potioneers reserve potions will always be limited. And a single potioneer or a small team of them cant use and maintain arrays and inscriptions to store their potions for extended periods without making a loss. But with a potion bank, potioneers can keep on making potions without any worry. The bank will take care of the shelf life. With a central system, the potion users will have easy ess to potions. Everything can get streamlined from there. The potions bank system is usually followed in big cities. The city of Osan didnt need this facility before. But the presence of the demon beast has rattled the big guns. The kingdom too had approved funds for a new military base near city of Osan and a well-maintained potion bank. The Osan Healers association has received the contract from the kingdom. It wants a few of the healers to start making a fresh batch of the potions for the uing potion bank. Ive also received the request from the association. Dont worry. Im almost finished with the first batch. My second batch is due next week because of the rotation system among the list of potioneers. For the rest of the week, I can process the potion requests from other organisations at my pace and time. Nina concluded after giving a detailed exnation to Eren. She thought since he was going to the academy that neared a big city, he should know about concepts like potion banks. Nina thought Eren must have not heard about them since he seldom left the city of Osan that didnt have many specialized facilities and structures. Compared to those metropolitan cities, the city of Osan was a backwater town. Eren of course knew about potions banks and more from his previous life. But he still listened to his aunt keenly. It is always a good choice to listen more and speak less when you have so many things to hide. Eren asked if he could help Nina and she told him to have breakfast first before pitching in. It wasnt like Eren didnt know about potioneering. Aunt Nina had taught him the basics. Plus, in his past life, Eren had taken various courses rted to potion-making while he was in the academy. Part of the reason why Eren didnt excel in battles after getting out of the academy was that he had focused on potion-making and ignored battle oriented courses. But due to an incident, he had to drop the idea of making a career in potion-making. He also stopped visiting aunt Nina because of the same reason, thinking thetter would criticise him after knowing about the incident. Eren had taken a liking to potioneering, thanks to aunt Nina. She was a huge influence on him. He had liked her, so liking what she did for a living was also natural. And he had good talent in the skill to make a career out of it. But the incident closed the doors of Eren bing sessful as a potioneer for good. In his past life, Eren had been caught between a rock and a hard ce because of this situation. He couldnt make a penny out of the job he was good at and was forced to do the job he sucked most at and had no real experience in. Even his status as a LA academy pass-out couldnt rescue him up from his cycle of misery. That incident had the biggest impact on Erens life, both financially and emotionally. He took the drinking to curb the feeling of being dejected and unsessful. Things only went downhill for him from that point. In this life, Eren will make sure to fry the balls of the perpetrators that caused that incident before he let the same thing happen to him. Hell fry their balls even if they were to act differently in this time as an act of revenge for giving him those mental scars that have apanied him in this life as well. Coming back to the present. Eren had his breakfast and then wore an apron just like aunt Nina. He secured his hands with gloves before starting to help her. Nina observed that Erens skills had improved. He could do most things without her instructions now. And his timing was near perfect as well. Nina was impressed with this young and budding potioneer. Eren had told her that he too would take courses rted to potioneering after enrolling into the academy. At first, aunt Nina was sceptical. But after looking at Erens performance now, she could conclude that it was indeed the right decision. She too will be able to help him a lot if he bes a potion master. Eren decided to further his cause while aunt Nina was paying so much attention to him. He had already impressed her with the skills he had shown so far. Of course, he could take things up a notch with potion making, but that would be too hard to believe for aunt Nina. He had shown her just enough to impress her while keeping things in check. Now it was time to show Nina something else! Eren purposely went to aunt Ninas desk and acted as if he was looking for an ingredient he couldnt find on his own. Aunt Nina didnt object. Potion making was a dynamic process. The type of ingredients used to make a particr potion was fixed but the quantities of the ingredients werent. It means at a particr point, a potion can get unstable on its own without any external interference. A potioneer had to adjust the quantities of the ingredients ordingly mid-process to stabilize it or use an apt stabilizing agent that normally wouldnt be part of the original recipe. A standardized recipe of a potion was based on ideal environments. It assumed every ingredient to be of certain value, shape, size, and temperature. It also assumed a fixed environment with no ambient room temperature and mana fluctuations. But real-life potion-making couldnt meet every parameter set by the standardized recipe. Thats why a potion would get stabilized. Introducing a stabilizing agent would turn the effectiveness of the potion down a notch. Thats why potioneers were tasked with adjusting the quality, quantity, drop-rate, time of introduction, and many such minute aspects of the process in real-time as per their situations. Potion making was a science that bordered the realm of art. A sessful potioneer would develop their individual ways of making potions that would be different from standardized practices. These modifications to the original recipe found after a lot of R&D will be their assets in the field. They wont share it with anybody other than their disciples and family members. Of course, the modified recipes only worked under certain conditions thats why they werent ideal for everybody. But if they suited the ingredients you get supplied with, one could avoid wasting years spent in doing R&D. Thats why the potioneers were most concerned about not letting their modified recipes get released outside their inner circle. Just like aunt Nina, they would avoid hiring any domestic orb help. And would take in contract-bound disciples instead that can help them in their work while ensuring their secrets stay as secrets. Thats the reason it wasnt an odd sight when a potioneer getting into their zone would run across theirbs always looking for something or the other when their potion pool showed first signs of being destabilized. Nina too would asionally go to Erens table to take some ingredients from him. But then she observed Eren had not got back to his table even after taking the ingredients off of hers. She felt puzzled and turned around only to see a mesmerized Eren. He still had the ingredients in his hand but apparently, he had stopped caring about them or his potion pool. Eren was looking at something with absolute interest. Therefore he didnt realize that aunt Nina had turned around. Thats right. Eren was looking at her butt! ========================== Authors Note: Hello. This chapter gives a detailed introduction to this worlds potion-making. Some readers might feel like its dragging the storyline or see it as some info dump. But I felt it was necessary to do that now because Erens ns and his career will revolve around the subject. Plus, the chapter has also served as an exnation behind why Nina preferred not having house help. Ill try topress such exnations to a concise level OR make them multi-purpose exnations as I did here, to keep the flow of the storyline maintained. Rest assured, the incident that happened with Eren will be revealed once the novel enters the academy arc. ? Chapter 20: The Neglected Pair

Chapter 20: The Neglected Pair

Eren was looking at Ninas butt with absolute interest. Therefore he didnt realize that aunt Nina had turned around. Aunt Nina was surprised by the kids change of behaviour. Eren had never shown himself out of focus when he was busy making potions. He would always give his best when learning about potion making from her or when making a batch of elementary potions. This was the first sign that Erensck of sexual education, or to be more precise,ck of sex, was going to affect his personal and professional life. Nina determined that she cant let the kid spiral out of control at this stage when he was going to focus on his career and studies in the academy. Its high time she exins this stuff properly to him. Nina had already closed her shop for regr patient visits and customers. Even the citizens of Osan were aware of the current situation. So they wonte to her by ident. Any patient or a customer could be potentially rted to the disturbance in the Osan woods. Therefore the Osan Healers association had requested the healers in the city to stop their personal practises for the time being and focus on potion making while they take care of such entities through the citys infirmary and elementarily established potion bank. Of course, the healers will be granted a fixed pay per day for the loss of their ie by the association through the kingdoms and citys joint funds. Nina decided to wrap todays delivery first before resuming her talk with Eren. She made Eren snap out of his reverie by waving her hands in front of his eyes. That made Eren blush a little as he scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. Then he resumed making the elementary potions lot that was assigned to him. A wave of rxation washed over the duo once it finished up with the delivery. Nina then used her ID stone to contact her source, letting them know that the delivery had been ready for the taking. A goods carriage carrying the insignia of the Osan Healers association stopped outside Ninas home. When the delivery was loaded on the carriage, Nina and Eren were free for the day. But lunchtime had arrived by then. Eren made some lunch for both of them. When they had their lunch and Eren was about to head towards his room, Nina stopped him and told him to stay where he was. Eren looked like he was confused but he knew the talk was going to get resumed. He was excited. This time there will be no interruptions. He had already nned what he needed to do and act by role-ying this scene countless times in his head. Eren also talked with Reen before he stepped downstairs, expecting the talk to take ce today. Eren had warned Reen that if she fails to stay in her current position until he says otherwise, she wont get the food. Plus, she wasnt allowed to contact Eren until he contacted her. Eren feared what Ren would Reen do if she felt him being sexually excited. She mighte out in the open to check up on him, making herself known to Nina in the process. Therefore, he decided that hell also put their mental connection on hold so that they wont share the feelings. The poor, always-hungry, demon beast girl named Reen obliged her masters orders without any objection. Her food was on the line after all. Erni. aunt Nina started first: I told you we would have this talk before you leave the house for the academy and I think its about time we do that. Theck of information is surely starting to affect your daily life and itll get worse in the dorms with so many girls around. Eren begged to differ. Thanks to being an old man from the past, he knew he wasnt going to be that interested in making out with bratty girls. There was a certain charm in maturedies that those girlscked. But he didnt make his opinions audible and let aunt Nina continue: Before I go ahead though, I want you to review what was said that day so I know you got those things right. Nina looked at Eren and he nodded: I know that the organ stiffens when you think about the butt and it is very natural. I called it a curse and deformity at first but it is a blessing. Most men experience the same thing when they be an adult. The stiffness canst for a long time if you keep on thinking about the butt. Theres some sort of way to make that stiffness disappear but Im yet to know about it. And it can also disappear when you take a cold shower or get busy with your work. How am I doing so far? Eren said all those things with a straight face, oozing seriousness. Nina had to believe that the kid was so shocked to the core by experiencing such a biological phenomenon for the first time that he had studied it clinically, like a test paper in an exam. Nina couldnt helpughing internally at his remark on the butt. So the breasts did not invoke the same reaction in him. It seemed Erni was a butt guy. He would only experience a hard-on when looking at the butt. She felt a little disappointed in her bosoms. They were naturally much bigger than average but they still failed to garner the kids attention. Ninas breasts were left out of Erens imagination as a neglected pair! Then Nina gave a self-exnation to herself that Eren just wasnt in the know about the whole subject. Maybe hell like her shapely breasts with equal fervour when he gets aware of things. She again criticised her thinking and continued: Thats mostly right, Erni. Although it depends upon personal preference, one might experience the same stiffness when looking at the womans breasts. Ill tell you more about thatter. First, lets talk about the difference in sexual organs between a male and a female. The organ that experiences sudden hardness is the male genitalia called a penis. Then theres female genitalia called a vagina. I dont suppose you know about it, do you? Ummm.no, Eren replied with fake honesty. It made Nina continue with her fake sternness as well: Female genitalia is quite different from male one. It doesnt have a protruding organ. Well, to be honest, theres one small protrusion in it, but you dont have to know about it for now. A penis gets erected when it is visually or mentally provided with some stimtion. Just like what you experiencedst nigh. Errrrrr like what you experienced that day. It was your penis getting erect with visual as well as mental stimtion. Nina tried her hardest to exin to Eren with a straight face what does the erection mean, and how it is used in sexual intercourse. She kept hernguage clinical and gave him the most basic knowledge about sex-ed. She was about to metaphorically pat her back for a job well done when Erens rapid-fire round started: So aunt, a vagina also gets hardened like a penis when it enters it? Hehehehehe! No silly. How did you evene up with that question? Didnt I just exin to you very clearly how intercourse works? If a vagina experiences the same hardness, how will it allow the penis to enter it? Nina couldnt help chuckling at Erens question. The kids brain must have been short-circuited by all that intimate information, Nina concluded. This is so weird. Then does a girl need to wait like a guy to make the vagina go back to normal. Yes, a girl has to wait to make her vagina go back to normal after the wave of sexual excitement hits her as well. A vagina will only increase its lubricant production meant for a seamless pration of the penis when a woman gets sexually excited. But it wont show a bulge in pants like a penis. Nina answered while controlling her chuckling. She understood Eren was trying to ask if there was a way to know if the girl is sexually excited for sure. Of course, there were some tell-tale signs. But she wouldnt tell Eren about them and make it easy for him to zero in on any girl that helle to know in the academy. Plus, Eren might use those signs to identify her sexual state at the time, which was obviously in the active state. She remembered seeing his erectionst night, and though Eren had covered it by sitting with legs closed, she could see the erection he was currently having while this subject was being talked about. Chapter 21: An Unwritten Consensus

Chapter 21: An Unwritten Consensus

Eren was supposedly a nk te. Nina was sexually inactive for years now. They were talking about sex and all the subjects rted to it. And they were both alone, talking andughing between them. This all contributed to the creation of a sexually charged atmosphere. What Nina didnt know about was that Eren had also concocted a basic aphrodisiac targeting women while he was making his potions. Nina was busy with a lot of deliveries. Plus, the whole butt-staring contest in which Eren was a solo participant had made her avoid Erens gaze and table. Thisck of supervision helped Eren make a basic aphrodisiac from some of the ingredients avable on the table. It wasnt much. Just a simple mixture of Maca, Tribulus, Ginkgo Biloba, and Red Ginseng added into the cocktail of Metabolic Booster and Higher Stamina potions. The added ingredients acted as the essentialponents for various potions individually. But they served as a strong female aphrodisiac when mixed. This mixture added into a typically used Higher Stamina potion would work on mostdies that were low ranked. But it wouldnt work on a C Rank hunter like Nina. Therefore, Eren had used the Metabolic Booster potion as a base before adding the rest. The Metabolic Booster potion would boost a persons metabolism. It was a supplementary potion meant to be taken with other potions to enhance their effects. Therefore the potion wouldnt create conflict when taken with various other mixtures. And Higher Stamina potion would naturally make the internal organs receive enhanced blood flow to grant its user elevated stamina recovery. The potions didnt cause any negative side effects to the body when taken in light quantities. Therefore, they wouldnt trigger the bodys immunity response even in the case of high ranked personnel. Alone, none of them would work on Nina because her rank was too high for those basic ingredients. Butbined, they could nudge Nina into experiencing a sexual high if the right kind of environment is created beforehand. An environment Eren was creating right now. Eren had his past lifes potioneering experiences. Although his potion-making didnt earn him money, he could still make some potions for his use by hiring localbs for a day or two. When he came across this aphrodisiac recipe, Eren was already fallen in life. No good-looking girl would want to be romantically involved with him. But he didnt want to give up on experiencing the pleasures of being with women at the time. Therefore, he had used the potion on some asions to gain sexual advances with thedies. Of course, he did not force himself on them. The potions were only meant to help. But Eren could only gain one-night stands with these potions. Thedies would regret being with him the next day. They would demean him further, telling him that he had taken advantage of them. Eren couldnt outrightly refute their ims either, because deep down he knew that those ims were correct. An unwritten consensus had been passed in the hunters and adventurersmunities that they wouldnt party with a guy like Eren after multiple such instances were seen to be happening with Eren. Thats the reason Eren started solo-hunting and kept on doing it until he was dead by it. Eren had also stopped using the aphrodisiac on women after some of the cases popped up in the open. Not because he was ashamed of it. He knew there were many vile creatures out there doing many times worse deeds than him, being celebrated as great humans because they had money. Erens only mistake in his previous life was that he didnt have a social standing. He didnt gain enough respect or have enough money to turn any of those one-night-stands into a meaningful rtionship. The reason Eren had stopped using an aphrodisiac was that he didnt like to hear curses and cusses when the mornings arrived, after every such potion-induced pleasure night. Although he had developed a tolerance towards people damning him, he wasnt fond of it. Eren then chose to go the professional way after that and never looked back. There was no use of potions, no pre-nnings, and no post abuses. Just a simple form of exchange. What was not to like? Eren intended to use the aphrodisiac here in aunt Ninas case because he knew the situation with aunt Nina was different. He needed some medicinal help to steer her in the right direction. Otherwise, she wouldnt be able to get over the kin-and-guardian mentality. The age difference and him still being a minor was hurdles as well. Therefore, Eren concocted the aphrodisiac and mixed it into their lunch when he was making it. With the right kind of atmosphere created, the concoction had started showing some effects as Ninas cheeks were flushed red when he was asking questions to her. He could see her nipples making their presence known through her clothes. So you are telling me Eren continued: That only a man has to face such humiliation in public when he gets excited because theres a beautifuldy present in front of him? Anddies will go scot-free even when they feel equal excitement? This is so unfair. Nina startedughing some more. She was intrigued by Erens unique point of view. That intrigue allowed her to spot apliment for herself in his statement. He said: excited because theres a beautifuldy present in front of him. Eren had unwittingly called her beautiful and that he was sexually excited by her beauty. It was a roundabout way ofplimenting someone but Nina decided to take it anyway. Every one of them mattered to her these days. Like they say, she wasnt getting any younger. Although she would be able to maintain her youth for far longer and live for an extended amount of time than the ranklessdies, she still felt her younger days were behind her. Crossing the age of 40 without any solid rtionship can put a strain on a womans psyche, no matter how aplished of a ranked entity she is. But when a young man indirectly calls you beautiful and irresistible, theres some part of the feminine side of you that gets soothed and excited at the same time. That was what Nina was experiencing. And the aphrodisiac only heightened that effect. You big doofus. A capable man knows when a woman is getting excited in his presence. You are clearly not one of them. At least not yet. Tina decided to tease him a little. It was just some random thought that she decided to act on. Hmph! Whats so difficult about it? I just have to keep on looking at their crotch. If what you say is true, then there will be some wet spots there, right? Hmm. You are trying to use your brain. And indeed that can be done. But it is not practical. First, unlike you who still doesnt wear underpants, girls will start wearing them from a very young age. That will prevent the wet spot from being visible enough for you. Second, who stares at a girls crotch for telltale signs? You are thinking like a beast. Not a human man. Look for other, subtler clues, kiddo. How will you feel if I stop pretending that I dont see your hard-on that you currently have and stare at it, hmm? Nina admonished him lightly and teased him so more. She found Erens statements to be too funny and cute to remain in silence. She also had to make him aware that staring at a girls crotch or bosoms was not nice. Whaaaaa how did you know that? Eren acted flustered and tried to hide his boner with his hands, moving away from facing her. Nina broke into a loud cackling after seeing Erens response. Chapter 22: Urges

Chapter 22: Urges

This is not fair. This is not fair at all. With this, girls can tease boys if they spot a hard-on but boys wont be able to return the taunt. What am I going to do in the academy? Erenined after he saw Nina wasnt taking a break from her cackling session. Maybe he shouldnt have done that because that only increased herughters volume to go higher than before. Finally, Nina thought she should speak up: You just need to control your urges better, Erni. Just ignore the excitement you feel through visual stimtion with something more intriguing and important. And sit properly now. I have seen what you showed mest time. No point hiding it now. In a way, I have the exclusive right to see that since I was the reason behind its awakening. Seeing your bulge again will not make a difference Nana returned to what looked to be a normal state. She had straightened out her posture and was giving him a faint smile. But Eren could see a certain kind of mischievousness in her eyes. I.. Im going to sit straight. Whos afraid? But you stop looking here, alright? Aaah yes thats right. I need underpants. Give me some money to buy them before the academy starts. I dont like wearing them but it looks like now I dont have any choice. Hehehe. Too bad thatll have to wait. Right now, the city has been put into a light curfew to prepare for a potential beast tide. No non-essential shop will be up and running. You can go shopping after the whole forest disturbance is quieted down. Now, as I said. You need to control your urges, making sure they dont affect your daily life. I I can probably help you in that regard. Huh? You can? But you dont have a penis, right? What do you know about a man controlling his urges? Eren looked at her sceptically. That statement annoyed Nina. Eren was saying a man would be better able to help him. And he was not wrong. But that didnt make Nina happy. First Eren highlighted the fact that there was no man in the house. Then he implied that Nina was not better at exining things. Both of her self-assumed implications made her wanting to surpass them and make Eren see that there was nobody better for him to learn these things from: I dont need a di I mean a penis, little rat. I have something much better. Now tell me what were you thinking about when you were staring at my butt this morning? Ninas tone changed a little. But Eren knew how to pacify her with ninjapliments quickly. He looked down, his voice dropping a bit, and answered her: I. I dont have to think about anything. I just see them and the stiffness just follows afterwards. Nina smiled again at that statement. Eren liked her butt that much. The aphrodisiac started kicking in without her noticing: I see. But you dont feel the same when you look at my breasts? Nina didnt know where she was going with that question. But her curiosity had peaked when she noticed Eren didnt look at them the way he looked at her ass. Were her breasts that unattractive to the kid? She wanted to know. Usually, adolescent boys liked looking at breasts more than they would pay attention to a girls butt. The fascination with butt grew when they became sexually active and started exploring the activity in depth. But Eren acted like a grown man. To Nina, this was surprising. Because he had never shown the signs of his sexual awakening all these years. And when he did, he had gone for the butt. That was level 0 to level 100 shift. Of course, Nina would get intrigued. Well how should I tell you, Aunt Nina!? I am not sure about it, but. Erni, dont feel shy. I promise I wont get angry. Nina gave him some encouragement. Ah.. alright. This is only my estimation. So you can correct me if Im wrong. The erection happened for the first time when I touched your butt. And only then I kept thinking about them. But the same has not happened with your breasts. So Im not sure if the erection will take ce or if Ill get excited over them. Erni concluded. Now he hadid his bait. Now he wanted to see if it gets taken or not. He had other ideas as well. But its always a wee sign when things proceed smoothly in the first go. So you mean you want to touch my breasts to find out? Nina felt some excitement when she asked the question but she suppressed it with her best efforts and asked the question in a in tone. But her struggle was noticed by Eren. He knew the bait has been taken and he only needed to reel in the haul: Thats one way to do it. Im not sure Ill like touching them as much as I liked touching well your butt. The butt was much softer than I anticipated. Compared to them Eren looked at Ninas bosoms and gave them a disappointing look. This action wasnt unnoticed by Nina. She was already under the aphrodisiacs influence. That act had further pushed it to say what she said next: Why dont youe here and give them a press? Nina asked. Her voice shook a little at the end. If Eren didnt reply positively, she would regret asking this question her whole life. But my penis is already hard. We wont be able to determine if the effect is because of the breasts or not Erens answer sobered her up. She had forgotten that Eren only clinically looked at the whole thing. The concept of sexual exploitation was not known to him yet. She had to refind her bearing as well: You dont need to worry about that, Erni. Ille to find out if the breasts excite you or not soon enough once you touch them. Nina smiled at Eren and nodded with her head toe closer. Eren did and looked for further instructions: Well grab them, you little rat. You didnt wait for my permission when you grabbed my butt. Why are you waiting for that now? Nina teased him some more. The concoction was running through her veins with enhanced metabolism. The high that was brought by it was enough for her to see Eren as someone to be messed around with now. Eren approached her left breast with his right hand. Ninas skin was already anticipating the touch that was taking so long toe to pass. Eren finally grabbed onto the breast. He did so immaturely. Ninas nipples werent included in the grip. He did so knowingly. Still, the touch was enough to speed up Ninas heartbeats. Eren started pressing some more with his inexperienced hands before grabbing the nipple. He pinched it as if to confirm its existence. What is this part? Eren asked with a puzzling tone. Only then he saw Ninas face with her eyes closed. Ninas excitement had reached heights that it hadnt reached in all these years. Her body shivered a little when Eren took hold of the nipple, albeit in the most unprofessional way. She finally replied to Eren in a voice that sounded different than her usual tone: Thats whats called a nipple, little rat. Use both of your hands on my two breasts and concentrate the area around both the nipples. This little experiment on Eren had taken a turn for something entirely different. Eren prevented himself from smiling and did what his aunt asked him to do. This time Eren locked his palms right above both the nipples and gave them a firm press. Then he pinched her nipples with just the right pressure and twist. Nina couldnt stop herself from moaning at that moment. She opened her eyes soon after and realized her mistake. But she started to y it cool by asking a reverse question to Eren while admonishing his skills: That was a little painful to endure, little rat. You dont have the skills it seems. But you dont have the experience either. So I cant me you. But forget about that, how did you feel? Nina asked and looked at Erens hard-on. It didnt move. That meant he wasnt more excited or less excited, for that matter, when he grabbed the breasts. Nina felt that the potential of her bosoms was getting questioned right in her face. She needed to do something drastic to get the same reaction from Eren that he gave to her butt. Chapter 23: Contradiction Incarnate

Chapter 23: Contradiction Incarnate

Nina felt that the potential of her bosoms was getting questioned right in her face. She needed to do something drastic to get the same reaction from Eren that he gave to her butt. The clothes must be restricting you from feeling them up close. Wait a minute. Nina had stopped thinking about right or wrong at this time. She just went with what little amount of logic, which was influenced by the concoction as well as her suppressed desires, told her to do. Nina was wearing a cotton midi dress with a loose fitted jacket over it. She knew her breasts were a Lil ample in size so she was conscious of them. She used to wear loosely fitted jackets over her formal dresses to make their size less obvious than they originally were. Nina thought with her now-shrunk-to-bird-sized brain that the same jacket and her attire was the reason for Eren not finding them exciting. She needs to give him a good view of her assets before making a final verdict. Nina was a contradiction incarnate right now. She preferred people not paying attention to her huge breasts. But here when Eren acted the way she expected from people, she couldnt stop herself from taking an offence. Nina first removed the jacket. Then she adjusted her mini dress, pulled it towards her right and removed her right hand from the sleeves without removing the midi dress. She did the same with her left hand. Eren could see Nina was in her camisole from her waist up. He almost lost his control over the blood flow saturating at his groin. His Lil guy was about to show some excitement but he finally controlled it. Nina was looking at his hard-on. There seemed some movement but it wasnt enough to link it up with her almost exposed breasts. Nina looked flustered. Like she was losing the war she was so confident in winning. She told Eren to do the same action over her camisole. And Eren obliged. But this time, while squeezing them, he thought of unpleasant things; the moments that led to his death in a previous life. He used those thoughts as a boner killer. And the result was made apparent by his receding bulge. Erens hard-on had disappeared quickly. Nina opened her eyes wide in surprise. Eren didnt enjoy or get excited about her breasts at all. If someone had told her this a day before That Eren didnt find her breasts interesting, she would p that person saying that it was perfectly normal. But now she was worried about Erens skewed preferences. Was she missing something about teen male psychology? She couldnt be sure. This could have been tucked under the tag of personal preferences. But Erens hard-on had disappeared after pressing Ninas breasts through only a thin sheet of paper. That meant it was an aversion. Maybe he likes small breasts! Nina thought to herself before rejecting that idea. Her butt was pretty round and ample in size. The size was no issue for him. Nina thought she might as well take the final step. Because she needed to confirm Erens sexuality. If he likes girls or not. Liking butt was not enough of a parameter to dere that. She made Eren sit with her and told him to close his eyes. As he did, she removed her camisole as well. Now she was naked from the waist up. Ninas shapely breasts were out like this for the first time in a very long time. It was a nice summer afternoon. The southern side of the city of Osan would experience tamed gales due to its proximity with towering trees nearby, outside the city walls. Nina could feel a gentle breeze caressing her nipples. The breeze had entered the house thanks to the partially open windows with white curtains drawn. The ares were already quite sensitive as they were. The concoction added to their sensitivity when they were exposed out in the open. Nina was now sitting straight on a sofa located by the ground floors wall. Eren was sitting beside her on the same sofa. In short, it was a pleasant, cosy atmosphere. Nina felt like she was on a pleasant shroom trip. With her trippy voice, shemanded Eren to open his eyes and couldnt help but find some fun and exhration in thetters gawking expressions. Eren was genuinely surprised by Ninas bold move this early in the game. He hadnt even revealed so many of his cards but the game was already in a full swing. This abrupt upping of an ante caught him by surprise. Nina couldnt wait any longer and guided his right hand on her left breast just like he preferred. Then she did the same with his left hand and her right breast. And waited for him to finally snap out of his dreams. She did not instruct him any further. There was no use exchanging words now. Eren finally took hold of himself. He looked at the tempting sight in front of him. His hands were already in ce. He decided to go all-in at this point and pinched both of the buds the same way he had pinched moments before with Ninas clothes on. As the touch was direct this time, sans the clothes and the undergarment, it was even more effective than before. Nina closed her eyes, reclined back to her seat, drawing Eren almost on top of her. And ovepped Erens hands with her own, pressing them on her breasts, suggesting him to increase the force further. Eren followed suit. Eren started mashing the mushy masses. His fingers almost sunk into the flesh. The light brown skin started showing tinges of red as a result. Eren could feel the light goosebumps raised around the ares as he kept on ying with the buds in between. Eren had adopted a rhythm in his current activity. He was putting all of his previous experiences to good use. Nina had closed her eyes and was enjoying the breast massage Eren was giving her. She had forgotten about everything else in the heat of the moment. Eren decided the time was ripe. He lowered his head, nearing his mouth towards the left bud and took a look at Nina. she still had her eyes closed. He waited no more and took the dark brown bud in his mouth while pinching the right one with his hand at the same time. Nina felt like an electric jolt had run through her spine. She arched her back forward and grabbed Erens head firmly by the back of his hair before pulling him into his embrace. She pressed his head over her breast as if she wanted him to eat up the whole thing. Erens waned wiener had returned to its peak in a jiffy after he was pulled on top of Nina by her embrace. He let it. He needed to focus on the given task. His boner-killer move had already achieved its intended results. Now it was time to savour the fruits! Eren kept on doing what he was doing to Nina for what felt like a very short moment for both of them. But it was already more than a few minutes. He even performed his suckling-like activity on the other brown bud only toe back to the first one. Nina had been holding his head with both her hands the entire time, pressing him forward whenever she needed added force. Eren had learned long back how to take a hint from womenfolk while partaking in this session. He followed Ninas suggestivemands to a T. Erens boner was just below Ninas navel, poking at the ce, but both of them were too engrossed to notice the contact at first. But then Eren lowered a little while still keeping the boobies busy. He adjusted his stiff organ right over Ninas crotch and pressed on. The moment Eren did that was also the moment he felt Nina experiencing a mini-earthquake. She grabbed Erens head hard and pulled him upwards before nting a passionate kiss on him. Erens small body was wrapped by Nina at the time. Eren returned Ninas liplock with equal passion. He was about to stretch his tongue inside her mouth when he felt Nina pressing him onto herself hard while lifting her pelvis up. She bit Erens lip while she was experiencing the biggest ecstasy in years. ===================== Authors Note: Hi. The first intimate scene of the novel concludes with this chapter. Im sure there would be room for improvement. If you liked some aspects of the scene or know where it wascking, kindly let me know. Ill implement constructive suggestions in the future. Chapter 24: Post-Nut Clarity P1

Chapter 24: Post-Nut rity P1

The waves of pleasure didntst long. Nina stopped responding to Erens kisses. She released his head from her grips andid back straight on her sofa. She still had her eyes closed. But it wasnt because she was experiencing tion like before. She had kept them close because of guilt brought forth by post-nut rity. The concoction stopped working after Nina calmed down. Eren too gor up from his potion and sat on the sofa, looking at Nina with concern. He didnt know how she would react. Nina opened her eyes and tried not looking at Eren at first. Then she also sat straight up and looked outside the window before adjusting her clothes. Eren wanted to say something but he held himself back. Maybe it was better for both of them if he lets his aunt process what just happened her way, without interrupting her. Ninas eyes had be moist but she rubbed them clean without waiting for the drops to spill over off her cheeks. Then she smiled mildly, as if she had epted something and finally spoke to Eren while looking him in the eyes: Sorry for that, Erni. If Im being honest, I just used you to relieve myself. I dont know what came over me. Maybe it was those pent-up emotions that wanted to burst from within me that finally found a channel within you. I wanted you to learn how to control your urges but instead taught you what would happen if you let them take control of you. I want to say sorry, but Im not sure that will be enough. Still, Im sorry for all that happened just now. I wont say lets forget about what happened. Because we both know thats not possible. Instead, lets ept what has happened and learn from it. I learned that I should find channels once in a while to release the umted emotions and desires. You learned that youll be a great partner for your better-half when you find each other. Hehehe! We can also say that we havepleted our objective of testing if you find breasts attractive or not. Look whos back? Saying that, Nina smiled a little and made him look at his crotch which now had a bulge and a wet spot right at its tip. She found sce in the fact that there was nothing wrong with her breasts or Eren. He wasnt sexually deviant. Just inexperienced. And she was the reason for him to gain some experience in the department, the result of which they were both seeing in Erens pants. Eren wasnt flustered like before upon Ninas mention of his boner. She concluded that the kid had finally made peace with his sexuality after their small session, not trying to run away from it, hide it, or mask it with something else. She knew she had at least stopped him from being awkward around girls. And this in turn will make him more popr among them. At least something good came out of this debacle, she thought. Eren decided to speak up to reduce the weight Nina was feeling on her conscience: Aunt Nina, dont worry. Even if you used me, that is fine. If I can bring happiness to your face, Ill dly do what needs to be done. But thats not the issue here. Im kinda sad that you need the excuse of your emotions getting pent-up before you decide to express your love towards me this way. Cant you say that things happened because it was both of us acting as willing partners? I dont know much about sex, but whatever Ive learned from you so far is enough for me to say that it can only be truly enjoyed by both the parties if it is mutually consentual. Lack of consent means one or both of them were forced into it by some situation. Or, they didnt find the other one to be attractive enough, equal in social standing, or care enough about them. Do any of those conditions apply to us? Saying that he got closer to Nina and embraced her in his arms. Nina let him, resting her head on his chest with her eyes closed and listening to him. She could feel his care and affection in his touch and his spoken words. Those actions managed to sooth her and calmed her agitated mind. Eren continued: I dont know about you, but if you ask me, I was the willing party in this act. Neither you, nor someone else, not even my emotions forced me into it. Sure, the emotions could be a trigger point, but whatever happened after that was my choice. Im ready to own it. You are still single, so we are not cheating on anybody. I find you attractive. I even adore you. You are the most beautiful and caringdy Ive ever seen in my short life. Yes, I may meetdies that are more attractive than you in future. But no matter how manydies I meet, from average Janes to country-toppling beauties, I can say with certainty that your ce in my heart will be unshaken. Your existence is paramount in my life, even more than my parents that werent there for me. But you were. And have been. Thats why I cherish our bond more than anything and see it beyond the conventional concepts. Even before my sexual awakening took ce, I liked being with you. The reason must be you being the sole important person in my life that took care of me when my parents didnt. But that liking soon turned into fondness because of your way of treating me and just being a better person overall. From the very moment I was dropped off at your ce, I liked looking at you. Observing you when you werent looking. I wanted to be like you. Help you. And give you the care and protection that you need and deserve. Me wanting to be a potioneer has so much to do with those feelings. The awakening has only helped me better understand my feelings towards you. You dont need to y as my mother, neither do I need to y as your child. You must have figured it out by now but I hate parent-child rtionships. They have lost all value in my eyes. And I dont want to associate that rtionship with what we have. I dont regret being treated as a medium for the release of your pent-up emotions. But Ill regret it if we stop this way of showing affection now just because the baggage in your mind is lifted. Am I that disposable to you? Chapter 25: Post-Nut Clarity P2

Chapter 25: Post-Nut rity P2

Am I that disposable to you? Eren asked thest question quietly like he was asking himself more than he was asking Nina. But she could hear him clearly due to their proximity and her ears resting on his chest, which carried his voices vibrations. Nina knew that Eren was infatuated with her from when his age had barely gotten into double digits. But she always dismissed that affection as something a child will harbour initially and will forget aboutter on. She never knew Eren not only harboured those feelings till now but also cultivated them to this degree. She was finally happy that there was a person in her life that was this affectionate towards her. But Erensst question shook her psyche. She hurriedly replied: Erni, thats not what I meant.. Then do you mean you regret being with me because Im yet to be good enough for you? Thats not it either. Your father and I were good friends and party members. So I need to treat.. F*ck my father. Who cares about him when he stopped caring about us? We dont even know if he is dead or alive. And for goodness sake, dont even talk about my whore of a mother. Ive only forgiven her for my sake, not hers. Do you want me to hate you equally because you want to take any of my parents ce in my life? I thought you heard me the first time. I dont want to ever have a parent-child rtionship with you. And thats the end of it. Nina tried to intervene after she heard Eren using foulnguage for his parents: Language, young man. Who gave you the right to use cuss But Eren pressed on: My point is, we should have our definition of a rtionship. Youll still be my aunt. And my elder, my guardian. And Ill always be your nephew, your junior, your student. But who says we cant be more than our current roles? But our age difference Haah! Thats even more of a joke. You are already a C Rank. If I dont get promoted in ranks and stay rankless, Ill be an old man after 40-50 years. Even if you stagnate your promotion now, youll still live longer than me, looking younger than my future-old self. And I can surmise that you are still eyeing a promotion. I can tell you this much. Im going to break into ranks like nobodys business. Ill keep on getting promoted and will never let anything or anyone stop my progress. Therefore, you should focus on your promotion instead of worrying about our age difference. I already have an age advantage over you while you have a Ranking advantage over me. I can say with certainty that your advantage over me wont hold for much longer when I start my ranking journey. When I be a high ranked entity and if at that time you are still a C Rank and look old, then we can think about bing only aunt and nephew again. Although I like you and will always like you, I dont want to be engaged in that way with grannies, you see. Eren concluded while suppressing hisughter. Nina broke their hug and pinched him hard on his arm: Hmph! Look whos talking. A rankless nobody wants to leave me, a C Rank healer behind in a ranking race. By the time you catch up with my current rank, I would have already broken through multiple ones. Im never getting old before you. Eren caressed his skin that was pinched hard. There was a red spot on it now. But he didnt pay much attention and said carefreely: That settles it then. We wont think about restricting our rtionship to our current boundaries as long as you dont be a granny or I keep on catching up to you in ranks. Eren smiled wolfishly after saying that. Hehehe! Hold your horses, little rat. Though I must say, I should think about calling you an adult rat now. Your talk is more mature for your age. But you are saying as if its a done deal. You are also forgetting that you are a minor. Ninaughed with her hands on her mouth. She wasnt restricting herugh though with that hand. She looked at Eren who suddenly became sad after hearing that. She was wondering which part of her words ticked him off until she heard thetter say: I know my package is small now, aunt Nina. We have to y the cards we are dealt with at the time. But give me a few years, itll grow to your expectations. Till then, apart from conventional art, we can employ other methods which Im sure you can teach me. If you remain unsatisfied, we can only wait for a few years. Or you can choose to drop the little me from engaging with you in that way! Saying that Eren tried getting close to Nina. But the C Rank healer with her enhanced body stats pushed him away with her single finger while saying: Hehehe! Who are you trying to fool with with such an obvious act? We both know thats not what I meant when I called you to be a minor. I mean first, you shouldnt partake in these activities with anyone at your age, not with me or other girls for that matter. And second, a minors brain can get negatively affected when they start their sexual exploration earlier than their rmended age. Eren was pushed long back with a force so strong he lost his bnce and fell on his butt. Hearing Ninas reply he again got up and approached her while saying: Your argument would have made sense if we didnt experience what he did just a few minutes ago. Eren taunted her and continued: All Im saying is, I dont know about my body, but my mind is mature enough to handle anything rted to sexual activity. If and when that activity bes part of my life, I wont let it overshadow the other parts. And if you think my minor body is the issue here, just consider going easy on me. But Im worried about skewing your taste in women forever with our age difference. You wont be able to have a normal romantic rtionship with girls your age. Aunt Nina voiced another concern of hers. Well, if you want me to date girls my age while engaging with you, I can only thank your generosity. Ill dly cheat on you to prove my standards arent skewed. Eren said that while cackling. Hmph! Ill break your bones before that. The contradiction incarnate struck again! Nina said that while pouting. My point is, if and when I like anybody other than you, Ille and tell you, be she is my age, a minor, or older than me. And I expect you to extend the same courtesy to me. If you find someone who is better suited to be with you, youlle and tell me. I think we are both honest with each other enough to do that. At least I trust you enough for this part. Do you? Eren suddenly got serious and asked Nina. To which, she smiled as if all her questions were put to rest and said: No! Chapter 26: Fish Food

Chapter 26: Fish Food

I think we are both honest with each other enough to do that. At least I trust you enough for this part. Do you? Eren suddenly got serious and asked Nina. To which, she smiled as if all her questions were put to rest and said: No! Eren was dumbfounded. He made a face like he just got punked by Nina. Like his soul would leave his body through his mouth. Nina took pleasure at that sight and startedughing. I was just kidding, little rat. Of course, I trust you. Its just that I need to think about it. My no is not for me, but you. Who knows? Maybe you will be the one who would back out first after meeting some girls in the academy. Im not criticizing you or questioning your intent. Im saying that it will be natural if you do so. And for that to happen, I need to give you enough space to grow a little. If we rush into this thing now, you might regret itter. I agree with all that youve said till now. And I appreciate you being honest with me. Im d that you care so much about me, and I can never do anything to harm you. Its just that you never had extended contact with the opposite sex of your age. Your adamancy of staying with me all the time because of your infatuation towards me as well as your innate reclusive nature has isted you. Youve never truly mixed with people. But thatll all change when you enter the academy. Youll meet new people and maybe have a friend circle of your own. If you decide to work on us even after experiencing all that, thatll mean you prioritizing our bond over any potential new one. We both will have no regrets then. Only then can I have some peace of mind while reciprocating your feelings of that kind. Dont worry. Im not going anywhere. If I ever have a man in my life, itll only be you. Lets just say Ive had my fair share of heartburn. Apart from you, I will never trust anybody else my whole life to be in a rtionship with. Till then, lets not think about growing our rtionship but maintain what we have right now. And thank you for saying all that you said just now. I was guilt-tripping hard but you made me realize how the act ofbelling what happened between us as wrong wasnt justifiable from your point of view. You made me realize we care about each other enough to not let a single incident affect our bond. Thanks to that, now I can talk to you and discuss anything with you normally without feeling any remorse. Nina stood up from her seat, approached Eren and ruffled his hair while saying that. She was genuinely happy and satisfied with Erens way of handling this thing. She couldnt have done it better even if she was allowed to hit pause on the situation and given enough time to think about it. Nina felt like a huge boulder had been lifted off her back after understanding that the incident had not negatively affected Eren. She was also low-key looking forward to the future if and when Eren decides to strengthen their bond even after the choices be avable to him. And she would be equally fine if he prefers being with girls his age. What she didnt know was that Eren had already experienced what he could from the academy life. But he couldnt outrightly tell her that. Eren could only ept Ninas decision for now. Eren needed to flirt his way to Ninas heart and into her pants if he wanted to have another chance. He had already started making ns for the future. Eren finally smiled mirthlessly and nodded to Nina. She gave a dazzling smile to him before nting a kiss on her little admirer. She understood that he was crazy about her and her saying no might break his heart a little no matter how carefully she told him about the intentions behind it. But she knew she had to do it if she ever wants to have peace of mind in the future. Although Eren didnt gainplete sess in his mission, he managed to be content with whatever he achieved so far. He had already stopped Nina from being not-okay with their intimate rtionship. She would not be averse to the thought of it at least. Now he just needed to close the gap between them slowly, each flirtatious reaction at a time. He started on that project right away: Thats all fine, aunt Nina. But why do I smell fish even when we dont have any in the kitchen today? Eren acted as if he was smelling the air, trying to track the source of the pungent fishy smell. He knew exactly where it wasing from. Nina had forgotten about her releasing discharge in her clothes and now it was making its presence known. It took a while before Nina realized that she needed to clean up and change clothes. She again pinched Erens arm on the same spot before rushing towards her bedroom to freshen up. Eren acted nk till Nina retired into her room. Then he smirked at himself before taking a seat on the same sofa. He folded his hands, scratched his now-beardless chin and thought about many flirt moves. The day was spent normally. Eren had managed to keep his interactions normalized with Nina even after the incident of intimacy. He kept on pestering thetter about the origins of the afternoons fishy smell during their dinner. Nina tried to change the subject many times. In the end, she just hypothesized that the winds must have carried that smell from somewhere else. Nina thought the smell must have been repulsive for Eren. Although she had heard that men would develop a certain pte to like the vaginal smell after they be sexually active, he was still a kid. He had not experienced anything like that. So admitting to being the origin of that smell wasnt something she was willing to do. But Erens next words made her cheeks paint in red: That aroma was tempting though. I suddenly want to have some fish food. ************************ The next day, Eren and Nina started the day as usual. Then they got busy with making potions. Eren was again assigned elementary potions. And he again made some aphrodisiac secretly out of them. He was going to stockpile them now and would use them consecutively when the time was ripe. Eren was going to wait to make his next move now. Because he was expecting an interruption to arrive today thatllst for days toe. The mess that he had created in the forest was going to get discovered sooner orter. And the interruption indeed arrived at their doorsteps! Chapter 27: First Crime Scene Revealed

Chapter 27: First Crime Scene Revealed

The interruption arrived at Ninas apothecary! Eren went to get the door like always. When he opened it to wee their guest, he saw a short but muscr man staring back at him with interest. Behind him, there were a bunch of people. It looked like the short-statured man was their leader. This bunch seemed stronger than Doms party to Eren. but it also seemed that they were on edge regarding some trouble. Ninas Apothecary. How may we help you? Eren greeted them with respect. Hello, young man. Is madam healer inside? I want to talk with her regarding the patient she had treated a few days back. Sir, shes inside. Pleasee in. Eren extended the weing greeting only to the short man. He understood Erens intentions and told the people with him to wait outside. He met with Nina before speaking out: Greetings, madam healer. Its a pleasure to meet you. Sorry to bother you during your work. My name is Lin Karr. Im a D Rank hunter employed as a regtory officer by Osan Braveheart Hunters association. My visit today is regarding an ongoing investigation. We know from our records that a hunter by the name of Dom Walker had sought you out for one of his members treatment. The patient was poisoned by the Singarium Rattlesnake through the air. Dom Walker is currently missing while the rest of his teams status is presumed to be dead, all except Matt. Our association hasunched a formal investigation regarding the same, to confirm their status and proceed with other formalities. We also tried asking Matt but he says he wasnt exactly conscious after the poison started affecting him seriously. So I was wondering if you could shed some light on exactly what happened that day? And what was Dom Walker thinking about when he left your ce? And was he alone when he left? Ill tell you what happened. My man Dom was digested alive by Reen who, as we speak, is sitting on the shelf as a coffee mug in my room. Im sure he must have turned into a waste product by now. If Reen poops that is! Eren said all that in his mind of course. Externally, he observed silence and looked at Nina. Thetter just nodded and told Lin all that had transpired that day. Lin then asked about what potions were given to Dom and confirmed he was heading to Simarke as his previous intel had dictated. Alright. Thank you for your time, madam healer. I was wondering if you still ept official on-field missions. I have formed a party that is waiting outside. We are going to Osan woods carrying multiple missions right after we leave your ce. We dont have a C Rank party. But your share, should you choose to ept the mission, will be ording to the C Rank partys pay. The healers normal practises have been stopped. So I mustered some courage to ask if you could spare time for us. Lin said all that and bowed a little as a sign to show respect to a higher-ranked entity than him. He knew he was asking something unusual by wanting to avail the services of a C Rank healer while he and his party members were so much below her in ranks. Usually, a partys rank would be decided by the majority of its members ranks. For example, an E Rank party would have more than 60% of their members in E Rank. The rest of the numbers can be filled by some more E Rank hunters if the party is lucky. Otherwise, the filler numbers would be upied by F Rank members or even rankless members doing menial jobs. Doms party was an F Rank because most of his team members were in F Rank, even when he himself was an E Rank. On that note, a team leaders status would usually be a rank higher than their party members. That means an F Rank party would normally have an E Rank entity serving as their team leader whereas an E Rank party would typically have a D Rank entity serving as their leader. In hunters and adventurersmunities, it was considered rude to ask a higher ranked entity to lead a lower-ranked party when the difference between their rank was this high. This would usually imply that the higher-ranked entity needs to carry their team members, should they choose to ept the offer. They would also be forced to ept the missions based on their teams rank and not on their individual rank. As a result, their pay would be reduced even if the entire team prioritized the higher-ranked entitys share. So that entity would have to invest more effort while receiving fewer benefits. Who would opt for something like this? So even asking about such a request was met with the harshest response from high ranked entities. Lins party was an E Rank party with him acting as their leader. Eren guessed that the hunter association must have already obtained some intel about Doms party before visiting the. Hesing here to ask about the case was just a ruse. His real intentions were to ask Nina to join his party. Lin was a smart guy. He had already cleared that Nina will be paid ording to her Rank, irrespective of the missions oue. That removed the mary objection Nina could raise against thetters request. But that didnt solve the issue of respect a higher-ranked entity needs to be given. Eren didnt think Lin was the kind of guy who would ask a high ranked entity to carry him and his team members at the cost of bowing his head. He was a D Rank himself after all. Then that can only mean the circumstances and the associations have nudged him to ask for Ninas help. Lin also asked about Dom first as a way to make Nina realize that she needed to extend her help, as a form of an obligation to her patients well-being. If Eren could see through Lins camouge, Nina could too. She immediately guessed that there was more to the story than Lin was letting on. She had to ask to confirm her suspicions: What arent you telling me? What happened in the Osan woods that you needed a C Rank healer to be dispatched there? Nina didnt mince her words and asked Lin in a threatening tone. His absurd request was one thing. She didnt like when things were kept in the dark from her. Lin bowed even deeper at Ninas response before responding: You will be briefed as soon as you ept the mission and leave this ce with us, madam healer. We are not trying to hide anything from you. Its just that we dont want to cause a mass panic yet. Lin looked at Eren at the end of his statement when he was saying it. Nina didnt fail to see through his actions and pressured Dom once again: Ill take responsibility for Eren. he will not speak of this matter to anyone until I tell him to. Now, speak. What did you find in Osan woods? Lin seemed conflicted after Nina had said to him. He knew young boys like Eren would have a loose mouth, especially when they tried garring to the girls they know and want to woo. But Nina had taken responsibility for him. He could only take a long sigh before obliging: As you said madam healer, the issue is regarding Osan woods. Our investigation team was dispatched to Osan woods after Dom Walker did not report back to us for an extended period. His info and status had be sensitive due to the Osan woods disturbance. So we prioritized his safety when dispatching a team of investigators. The team used the intel given by Matt and soon found the trail left behind by Doms Raiders. It followed it to a natural cave near Simarke. The team started its investigation there and found out there was indeed a huge nest of SR snakes in the cave, in line with the intel previously received. But it doesnt exist anymore. We also found out that after Dom had left your ce, he had rented two horses from a rental agency. He headed to the Osan woods right after that. We dont know whom the other horse was rented for as there was no name mentioned in the agencys record. But thats not the issue here. We also found out that Dom had sessfully reached Elena with an unknown person and treated her out of her condition sessfully. But instead of exiting the forest as he should, he went back to the cave. Now here is when things take a turn for the worse. We found that the demon beast went through evolution at the same ce. The members of Doms Raiders had their bodies vanish into thin air, probably because of it. But surprisingly, Dom and Elena also died at the same ce, sharing their party members fate at the same ce, same way. We couldnt recover any of the members bodies from the crime scene. The historians are also facing some problems casting their investigative spells. Therefore, we cant confirm exactly what happened to them. Our primary investigation also tells us that theres foul y involved. Because we found that someone had extracted a Mana Blessing of unknown Rank from the deeper parts of the cave. We are still looking for the unknown person with whom Dom visited the woods for the second time. We believe they both are the same person. We are yet to find clues about them. Lin concluded till here and let Nina process the information. But she replied just as quickly: This is something the hunters association can deal with using their resources. It doesnt exin why you would need me involved in this mess, does it? Well Lin took a long pause beforeing clean: Weve also estimated the rank of the demon beast at the site. It was a D Rank beast that has been evolved into a C Rank. Therefore we require you to be a part of the mission in your capacity as a C Rank healer. Otherwise Lets say there would be more casualties than anticipated. Chapter 28: Giving Some Sugar

Chapter 28: Giving Some Sugar

Weve also estimated the rank of the demon beast at the site. It was a D Rank beast that evolved into a C Rank. Therefore we require you to be a part of the mission in your capacity as a C Rank healer. Otherwise Lets say there would be more casualties than anticipated. Lin finally said the intel that was being kept hidden from the masses. Very few hunters and adventurers were made aware of this news. The secrecy was maintained so that the city doesnt fall into chaos. The city of Osan wasnt well equipped to tackle the immensity of danger carried by a C Rank demon beast. The city lord must have contacted external forces and even the kingdom by now. The mission assigned to Lin would be that of a recon. The city administration wanted to find out the beasts species, current location, potential strength, and weaknesses before they assign the mission to the appropriate party of higher rank. But performing recon on a demon beast was especially dangerous. The beast couldmunicate with the forests fauna telepathically. There were a few instances of the demon beasts where they could share senses with the magic beast they had tamed. It would be near impossible, therefore, to let the beast not find out that it is being spied on. A recon party would get reconned in return. And then the party memebers would end up getting surrounded from all sides by the hordes of the beasts before they even had a chance to look at the mastermind. In short, everything rted to the demon beast wasplicated and dangerous. No wonder this Lin guy kept his pride aside and asked for Ninas help at the cost of bowing before her and potentially offending her. His team members safety was at stake. His too. This was no time to y the hero while keeping your spine straight. Nina thought deeply for a while. She had stopped taking on-field missions due to a personal reason. She also had Eren to take care of. She couldnt just up and go epting missions, risking her life for better rewards and steady progress in her ranking journey anymore. But Nina understood the threat of the C Rank demon beast. An entire city like the city of Osan could get wiped by the beast if they didnt prepare for it. The risk would have been much higher if the Osan woods had higher ranked magic beasts than their current estimated numbers. This limitation kept the risk factor rtively in control of the current administration. Otherwise, the city lord wouldnt have dared to keep the news a secret from the masses. I have stopped taking on-field missions for my personal reasons and Im not nning to change that anytime soon. But Nina finally spoke. Lin was disappointed by her first statement but the word but gave him some ray of hope. It looks like I cant just remain a bystander in this situation. I have a few conditions to dere before I decide to help you though. I will refrain from taking part in any frontal sh. And my pay would be two times higher than the standard rate for my Rank, ss, and services. If you can agree to these two conditions, Ille with you. Lin gave a smile of relief after hearing Ninas demands. He epted them right away. The money was going toe from the association. Plus, a healer wasnt involved in the attack formations anyway. Ninas demands were within their range of expectations. Lin wasnt sure he would be sessful making a C Rank hunter part of his group. But after this incident, when the beast dies and their group survives as a whole, they would inevitably get famous in the city for their aplishment. Nina and Lin discussed some finer details about the uing recon while Eren brought them tea. He gave a cuppa to Lin and the other to Nina right in her hands. While giving the cup, Eren caressed her hand a little while smiling innocently. Nina was slightly taken aback by Erens uncalled-for touch before looking him in the eyes. She let him continue his caress though. Finally, she pinched his hand quickly before resuming her talk with the hunter associations regtory officer. Eren looked hurt by Ninas quick nip. With his slightly watery eyes, he looked at Nina as if she had embezzled money out of his bank ount, before rushing into the inner sanctum of the shop. Now Nina felt bad for doing what she did. Nina felt like sending this short man on his merry way before following Eren inside. But she had already epted the mission. She might as well listen to the entire n, lest she puts her temporary team members in danger due to herck of knowledge. Ill pacify him once this idiot leaves, she thought before resuming to pay attention to what Lin was saying. Lin was busy talking about the details while having his beverage so he wasnt aware of the teenagers in-your-face flirting. It took a while before they came to an agreement regarding a few sets of ns depending upon the varying situations as well as some exit strategies. Lin thought Nina would leave with him but she made an announcement: Ill need to inform the healers association about this mission. Ill have to let them know they will only receive the batch of elementary potions for a few days. You go ahead and exin our entire n to your team. Then wait by the southern city gate. Hire colts for our departure during this time. Ill catch up within an hour and meet you there. Lin just nodded, got up, and again gave a short bow to Nina before heading out. Nina indeed needed to inform the healers association about the sudden change of ns, which she did as soon as Lin left the shop using her ID stone. Then Nina went in looking for Eren who was sitting by the window, seemingly gazing at a faraway ce. He was still tending to the nipped skin on his right hand with his left hand. Nina quick pinch wasnt enough for its aftereffects to remain till now. So Eren kept on nipping on the same spot. But maybe he overdid it a little in his excitement because he was genuinely feeling some skin trouble at the spot. Little rat, what are you looking at? Ninas voice came from behind. But Eren didnt turn around to look. He simply kept his act going. Nothing specific, really. I was just thinking how people closest to you have the power to hurt you the most! Eren replied while bringing out emotions in his voice, introducing a slight quiver in it. Eh!? Dont be so overdramatic, Erni. I just gave you a quick nip You call this a quick nip? Before Nina could call him out on his bullshittery, Eren cranked it up a notch and showed her the injury he had given to himself! Nina was shocked looking at the almost-torn-from-the-spot skin. Nina didnt remember using this much force. She had never let her enhanced body stats identally hurt Eren till now due to having absolute control. This was something new to her. I I dont remember using this much force when I did that? How did it go so bad? Nina came close to Eren, took his hand in hers and checked on his injury. She quickly cast a minor healing spell to take care of it. The skin mended with an elerated pace within moments and got back to normal. But Eren was still looking outside as if he was quite upset and hurt by Nina. Its not your fault, aunt Nina. How can you remember the frailness of a rankless body with your current C Rank one? It is understandable. The chasm of power present within us is too big for you to realize that. I can only me myself for being feeble. I was only daydreaming after having my first kiss taken from you! Eren decided to add the spice of emotional ckmail into his bullshittery. He made Nina realize that she was the reason behind his daydreams. Because she had stolen his first kiss in life while she was in the heat yesterday. And the spice finally worked. Nina felt extremely guilty at that statement. She realized the severity with which she had imprinted herself in Erens psyche for good by doing what she did yesterday. He would be constantly thinking about her from that moment on. No wonder he craved her touch so much. Ninas physical act of saying no to that craving was akin to denying Eren his way to show affection towards her. An affection which she had made him cultivate, by kinda forcing herself on him. Plus, the severity of the injury made him realize the difference in their current power levels, which was directly rted to the difference in their social standing. Nina understood that taking care of the injury she had identally caused wasnt enough. she needed to show an equal amount of affection to soothe Erens mood. To show him that she didnt think of herself as someone out of Erens league. There was only one quick way to do it. A stolen first kiss can only be justified if the second one follows suit. She immediately got to work. She turned to Eren and nted her lips on his again by lowering her neck. Damn. It worked!? I should be awarded a best actors prize with this performance. Eren thought while responding to Ninas kiss. He wrapped his hands around her waist. The hands started caressing Ninas obliques before heading towards her back. At the same time, his tongue found its way inside Ninas mouth. It took some adjusting from Ninas side to respond to Erens suddenly cranked up offensive. Wasnt he sulking just now? She thought to herself. But she responded the way Eren wanted her to and sucked on his tongue. Eren realized the time was right. He quickly made his hands travel to Ninas soft and mushy glutes and gave them a firm squeeze. Nina tried breaking their embrace at that action but Eren was ready for it. He pressed the butt in his direction with his left hand while expediting his oral offensive. His now-free right handnded on Ninas left breast, taking the unexposed brown bud by surprise. It reacted to his press instantly and got erect. Ummmmmmh! Nina couldnt help herself from releasing that suppressed sound. She was being attacked by all fronts. Is this a mere teenagers doing? Nina could hardly believe Erens progression speed in this activity. That too with thettersck of practical experience. Eren enjoyed the moment. He kept on mashing up the butt and squeezing the breast. Then he alternated his hands and gave equal importance to the remaining glute and breast. All this time Eren never released Nina from their liplock. Nina was enjoying the assault thatmenced on her. And at the same time, she was mildly trying to break free from it. The contradiction incarnate had struck again! Eren knew he shouldnt push his luck too far and end the session on a positive note. Eren stopped his advances with his hands and released Nina from his tight embrace. He broke their liplock, looked at her in the eyes before shing a broad smile. He finally gave a peck her on the right cheek before saying out loud: Thanks for giving me some sugar, aunt Nina. Have a safe journey and see you soon! Chapter 29: Famished for an Eternity!

Chapter 29: Famished for an Eternity!

Thanks for giving me some sugar, aunt Nina. Have a safe journey and see you soon! Eren said this and went to take a seat at the same sofa they had their first encounter on. He was looking at Nina who stood there with a nk look on her face. Nina quickly gained her wits and processed what had just happened. Eren had manipted her into kissing him and encashed on it hard. Nina rushed to Eren to pull his cheeks as a punishment for his maniptive act. But when she approached his face with her hands, he just showed her the spot that she had just mended with her spell: Aunt Nina, do you want to injure me again only to mend me back with your spell? Eren smirked at Nina while saying that. He had a good move to save him from her constant nips from now on. Injuring himself to get his hands on this trump card was worth it. Little rat, you took advantage of me! Nina stood in front of Eren and looked at him scornfully while having a pout. A pout on a mature woman like her still looked surprisingly cute. She had managed to own that pout with her gorgeous face and her temperament. Eren took her hand in his and said: Aah! I already said this, right? Whether you take advantage of me or I take advantage of you, we both shouldnt mind the other doing that. At least I didnt. Why are you getting angry then? Eren caressed her hand again to pacify her while he said that. He had tried to pull her to his side, but she didnt budge from her stance. Eren knew he couldnt make her do something that was against her wish with his rankless status. There he had to nudge her towards him by holding her hand and caressing it. Ive made a huge mistake yesterday. This scoundrel will forever hold that against me from now on. Nina thought to herself. But she also couldnt help but find some truth in his statements. Therefore her mood lightened up a little. The caressing of Ninas hand was working but it wouldnt stay effective for long. Thats why Eren decided to pacify her some more byplimenting her. Aunt Nina, I like the rose ords in the scent that you wear. It suits you fine as well. But B..but what? Say it quickly? I have to make some preparations before going on a mission. But I think theres one more EDP that will suit you even better. Its name is Be Erna Soliflore. I found out about perfume when I identally visited a perfumers shop once. I immediately knew it would be an ideal choice for you when I tested it. I will get it for you when the shop opens. Eren was trying to change the subject for the better. Then he remembered Nina liked wearing perfumes with notes of roses. What would be a better way to pacify a scorned woman than gifting her something she likes? Hmph! Alright. Eren kept talking random things to her while sending ninjapliments her way. Nina finally let go of her shortsted pout and smiled mirthlessly at him. Little rat, I see that youve got a glib tongue. I had told you we should wait till you grow up a little, but this incident was my fault for being swayed by your act. Rest assured though, Ill be careful henceforth and treat you like the little devil you are. Ill have to prepare for the mission now. Dont worry about me. Ill prioritize my safety above everything else during all times. But I need some potion rted ingredients urgently. So I might go to the city of Laurel after Im done with this assignment. Assume that Ill be out for almost a week. You stay put during that time. Dont go outside too much till the Osan woods disturbance settles down. And make sure you take care of the elementary potion delivery. We have all the raw ingredients ready that canst us for almost a month. Thats it. Do this much perfectly, and I might bring you something good from the city of Laurel. Nina still pulled Erens cheeks lightly while saying that. Just bring me dat ass! Eren said to himself while nodding externally. Nina left the shop after a while. Eren closed the door behind her and traced his lips with the tip of his finger. He smirked lightly before shrugging his shoulders. He wasnt disappointed in his slow progress with aunt Nina. Eren, your patience will achieve more than your force. One step at a time. The teen said to himself while making his way towards his hidden treasure. Eren had hidden the ID stones of his victims in the backyard, away from aunt Ninas prying senses. He retrieved those stones and went back to his room. Next, he called Reen up. She immediately transformed into her original form and stuck to his chest, spreading all over his torso. Only one emotion dominated her mind right now that she kept on shouting in Erens psyche repetitively. Hungry for days. Starving for centuries. Famished for an eternity. Reens definitions of her hungers severity and duration kept on gettingrger and more intensifying than thest thought. It took her a while to calm down. Eren said shell have her food by evening today. Only then did she regain herposure. Eren was rankless till now. He couldnt ess the ID stones storage spaces even if he wanted to. But that didnt mean that he was out of ways to achieve the same results. He had Reen. A starving C Rank demon beast with her ample mana sense, wholl do anything for him as long as he keeps on feeding her. First, Eren asked Reen to create an isting shield with her mana sense to block any outgoing mana waves. Although unlikely, the ID stones might have a tracker inscribed on them that would let someone else track the location of the stone from a remote distance when he tries to activate it or ess the storage space inside. Eren knew about these things beforehand. Therefore, he already employed Reen to take precautions. Next, he made Reen use her mana sense to ess the storage space of a random ID stone. He instructed her to take out all the stuff from within it. After checking the content belonging to the first ID stone, Eren asked Reen to do the same process with the rest of the samples, one by one. When he was done with thest ID stone, the teen found out that he had struck rich. But there were also some concerns. Eren found out he was now the richest teen he knew of in both his lives with loads of Extolsying in front of him. He could surmise that there were around 100 Extols that he was now the proud owner of. Extols are non-elemental gems with the purest of mana contained within them. They can be man-made or be found in nature. Since the cost of manufacturing the Extols would normally be the same as their original value, there was no use counterfeiting the items. The gems are used and employed in various ways. They are incorporated in making inscriptions, arrays, weapons, artefacts, potions, scrolls, and other various items and essories, which are widely used by hunters, adventurers, potioneers, inscribers, weapon masters, and artefact makers. Thats why Extols has been used as the mostmon form of currency across many kingdoms and empires. Since it had many uses, its value never depreciated over time. The currency was mainly used by ranked entities when they were dealing with other ranking personnel or buying ranked products. Extols could be exchanged with the kingdoms currency and vice versa in the kingdoms banking establishments spread across various cities and a few popr towns. Typically, the exchange rate would fluctuate among the kingdoms depending upon their respective financial conditions. But typically, even a single Extol would be sufficient for a normal, rankless person to spend more than a few months inplete leisure no matter which kingdom they belonged to. Eren never thought that he would be having these many Extols this early in his restarted life. The sum must be close to Ninas annual ie, more or less. Furthermore, the various storage spaces also contained the money in the form of the kingdoms currency. Eren figured that he wouldnt require aunt Nina to sponsor him for a few years with this much amount of the kingdoms currency alone. Eren continued looking through his loot for the time being. Apart from the 100 Extols, he was now the new owner of some weapons, scrolls, potions, and a few artefacts he wasnt aware of how to make use of. Eren could infer they all belonged to the F Rank, only their tier differed. Stored within the ID stones were also random, rank-less items such as clothes, essories, and even personal hygiene products belonging to both genders. But Eren didnt pay them much attention. But the most important and concerning thing within those rankless items was a palm-sized, wooden-like token that had unique insignia etched on it along with the word Osan written below it. It was a city lords token. That could only mean one thing. Eren had killed someone belonging to the Osan city lords family! Chapter 30: Second Crime Scene Revealed

Chapter 30: Second Crime Scene Revealed

Eren had killed someone belonging to the city lord of Osans family! Eren already had a doubt when he found out the amount of money and riches he had now gotten blessed with. That blessing was also a form of curse. Being this loaded can only mean you belong to a family that has direct ess to some big organizations finances. Although the city of Osan wasnt that big or considered rich whenpared to the other renowned cities, it still had a considerable amount of poption. With poption came taxes. And with taxes, you could funnel the money into your coffers before it goes into the kingdoms treasury. And the city lords family had granted this much amount of money to an F Rank personnel. That meant their existence was quite special within the family. Eren now had a headache. Eren couldnt distinguish between the ID stones to figure out who belonged to the city lords family. The said stones pretty much looked alike with a few inscriptions differing from each other. There were also a few ways to find out the owner of the ID stone, but they all required activating the stone and opening itsmunication channel, which Eren wasnt foolish enough to do. Eren guessed that nobody from Doms Raiders was rted to the city lord. Otherwise, it would have caused massive movement within the city by now. That only left Isaacs party. Eren guessed either the smartass or Is himself were rted to the city lord of Osan. No matter who turns out to be the city lords family member, the eventual revtion of their deaths will add to the Osan woods disturbance. Eren felt troubled because of the potential repercussionsing his way if he was somehow unlucky enough to be linked with the crime scene despite him taking all the necessary precautions. But he didnt regret his actions. He had already tried avoiding the sh with Isaac party. It was them who had pushed him into a corner. He could only retaliate afterwards. What should I do now? Do I bet my chances on not getting discovered? Eren thought to himself. Even if he didnt leave any tracks, it was always better to prepare for some contingencies. Eren needed to find a scapegoat that could take the me for everything that had happened in the forest because of him. Then he looked down at his chest and saw Reen just moving randomly all over it. Et vo! Eren found his scapegoat. Not within Reen. But someone she had ingested alive. He will make use of Dom Walker again and wring him dry even after his death. If the residue of Dom Walkers ghost was still here around his killer, he would have cursed Eren till hisst and future seven generations. Fu*ck you and your wise parents for leaving a vile creature like you to your devices. I already died by your hands. But that was not enough. You wiped my party out, took everything from us, didnt even give me a proper exnation for my death, and made your beast eat my body alive. And now you want to even frame me for something you are guilty of? Why dont you just travel back in time again and tell my parents to use protection, huh? Aaargh! One could assume the ghost Dom would say to Eren with a lot of yelling! Before Eren could implement that n though, he needed to train Reen enough to pull this thing off. Eren had an entire week to himself. During this week, the morning would be busy making potions for the scheduled deliveries. From afternoon onwards, he could train Reen and himself. He only hoped that the bodies of Isaacs party would take long enough to get discovered. ********************** Two dayster! An E Rank party of 12+1 members could be seen traversing through the Osan forest. The +1 was an irregr member in its ranks that stayed at the back of the partys formation. This member was C Rank healer, which made them the highest-ranked entity in the group. This was Lins party with Nina tagging along with them. Despite all their grim expectations, the eventual catastrophe didnt arrive their way during these two days. The magic beasts behaved normally and most of the beast hordes had gone back to their previous positions. It was as if the demon beast didnt live in the woods anymore. Lins party also cross-checked the cave for some more clues but ended up only confirming the previous assumptions. Nina didnt have a chance to shine. Nobody got so injured that they needed her to step in. The party already had its assigned healer. Even Nina was confused about the whole thing. Her instincts were telling her that although there were a few magic beasts they should be aware of, no beast would be strong enough to stop their retreat if they decided to do so. For two days they were checking various sensitive regions within the forest. But they found no trace of the demon beast, the person who came with Dom, or any of the Dom Raiders members dead bodies. Lin felt that it was a waste of time and resources to continue any further. They could only report to the authorities that the demon beasts danger has been averted for the time being. Afterpleting a circuit, the team returned to Simarke, from where it had started its search. They were about to take the usual way out when the ranger of the group found some traces of someone taking an odd route. With his ranger-specific skills, the ranger was able to follow the faint trail left by an unknown person. They followed this trail because the route the person had chosen was very odd. It was connected to Simarke but was miles away from the regr path towards the northern exit of the forest. All the members immediately thought of the unknown person that had followed Dom. The most bizarre thing about that person was that the Historian ss members spells indicated that the person was rankless. But none of them would believe that to be the case. A person witnessing such a deadly event that involved a C Rank demon beast, Dom Walker, and the magic beast hordes cant be a rankless mortal. Therefore the only conclusion they came to was that persons prowess was beyond the Historians rank. Usually, a historian ss hunter would not have many battling talents avable to them, but they made up for it by the unique skills they get to use. Plus, the historian in Lins party was using a limited use artefact to know about the unknown person. Still, all it could tell them was the answer they had gotten beforehand, that the person was rankless. A person capable of interfering with the E Rank historians skills and artefacts of that kind would have to at least be a C Rank entity or beyond with a specific set of resources. This was an unusual discovery. They had to follow this trail now to know about that person. Eventually, the trail led Lins party to an open area within the forest. The first thing that assaulted their noses aftering close to that area was the rotting smell. They knew that they had found a mini battlefield with casualties ahead. The area was isted and away from usual routes picked by the rangers. So nobody would be able to find these bodies if they were not specifically looking for them. These bodies would only be found with a grid-wise search if they didnt follow that unknown persons trail. When Lins party members were close enough, they could see vultures feasting on a bunch of bodies. The bodies had already been swept clean off of their meat by the ugly-looking birds. Only a few chunks were left, for which the vultures fought tooth and nail amongst them. The bodies still had their clothes on them, albeit now torn to shreds. The party members scared the vultures away before closing in on the cadavers that had most of their bones out in the open. All the party members were veteran hunters, so nobody would even flinch at that sight. Or so they thought until Lin was seen shaken by looking at two particr bodies. He couldnt help but release griefden roars when he identified those bodies: Isaac! Ralph! =============== Authors Note: Oh boy! You guys are only one power stone away from making me release another chapter today. Thank you for all your support and wishes. Your encouragement means a lot. Keep the stonesing. ? Chapter 31: The Most Un-Ranger-Like Ranger

Chapter 31: The Most Un-Ranger-Like Ranger

Isaac! Ralph! Lin quickly approached Ralphs body. He didnt touch the cadaver for the fear of disturbing the crime scene and making the historians job difficult. But Lin observed the clothes and skeletal structure closely, confirming the bodys identity for good. He did the same for Isaacs body. And only then did he stop in his tracks and close his eyes. Lins party members and Nina could see Lin getting emotional over the bodies. They figured he knew them personally. So they didnt disturb him. Sometimes all a man needs to deal with his grief is some uninterrupted quiet time! *************** Lin Karr was not a regr party leader of the party he was currently leading. He had a close connection with Osan Braveheart Hunters Association. Thats why he was given free reins to act within the association serving as a regtory officer. In exchange, he would take up the associations sensitive missions, ensuring they reach their ideal conclusions. Likes of which he was currently involved in. Lin Karr served as a regr lecturer at the LA academy. He just had taken a break from that profession to look for opportunities that would allow him to continue his ranking journey. But Lin wasnt the only one that belonged to the LA academy, the academy Eren was soon going to get enrolled in. There were a few students of the academy as well, currently serving as fast food for the vultures. Thats right. Isaacs party was made byst year students of the LA academy. They hade here toplete their on-field experience program. Ralph Karr was the son of Lins elder sister. His sister had divorced her husband and retained her family name. Ralph carried the name Karr as a result of being with her. He was Lins family. Ralph was a very bright man. He was smarter than most people his age. His IQ and EQ both were top notch. And his ranking journey had started smoothly. In short, he had all the qualities that were needed for someone to keep on breaking through their ranks. Ralph was the one Eren referred to as the smartass. He was also thest one to get killed by thetter. Isaac was the reason the group hade to the city of Osan toplete their on-field experience program. Isaac Osan was the grandson of Isen Osan, the current city lord of the city of Osan. Isen also served as a baron in the kingdom of Edenberg. Therefore the city lords title became hereditary to his family. Why would you look for some other ce when you have your grandfather helping you out with your assignment? Isaac, therefore, hade home and brought his friends along to make their life easier as well. But this onlysted until Lin came to the city of Osan for his work. When Lin saw that his academys students were justzing around under the guise of the on-field experience program, he was just inches away from requesting for the involved students expulsion. Lin would have proceeded further to apply for an expulsion even when he knew the group had his nephew Ralph within it. But Isen intervened and put some pressure on him. In the end, both the parties had to settle for apromise. Isaac and his friends would have their grades lowered for the program by Lin. They will also have to take the program seriously and serve as regr hunters in the Osan Braveheart Hunters association. Lin served as a regtory officer in the Hunters association. So it was easy for him to keep an eye on these brats who were looking to skip hard work. Then the Osan woods disturbance started. The city and kingdom sanctioned missions were starting to get distributed. Isaacs party was allowed to select the simplest mission they could find. Lin wanted them to work hard but not die doing it, after all. Isaacs party was only supposed to enter the woods from the northern side, trace the map that they had been given, and reach Simarke while observing the altered patterns of demon beasts poption that they found in their way. The northern side of the forest was rtively less chaotic than other parts during the disturbance. It was the simplest form of on-site data collection mission. No big deal right? But Isaac managed to f*ck that up too. He was the partys ranger. He led his friends to a different route, and eventually to their deaths. ************** Coming back to the present. When Lin realized who these corpses belonged to, he was feeling multiple emotions at the time. First, he felt guilty for making the students take their experience program seriously. Second, Lin felt extreme grief for the death of his highly talented nephew. Third, he cursed Isaac and his whole family for being so careless and ipetent. That birdbrain was the partys ranger. He had one f*cking job. But he had led his friends to this site, in the middle of b*tt f*ck nowhere. Lin had seen the route the party was assigned to. They were nowhere near that route when they decided toe here. How un-ranger-like a ranger has to be to choose this route? Lin thought the world should now have a scale from Isaac 1 to Isaac 10 to describe the worst lot of rangers, with Is 10 being the guys replica! And finally, fourth, Lin felt some repercussionsing his way and the back of his neck felt cold at the thought of it. Lin was the one who had insisted on the grouppleting their program sincerely. But he never thought that Isaacs party would manage to die even on the simplest of missions in the whole disturbance. Not just die. This was aplete party wipeout. Even if it was the rangers mistake, Lin will be med now for all their deaths at this stage. And no matter what exnation he gave and how logical they sounded, it wouldnt lessen the amount of sh*t that was heading his way. I shouldnt have let Ralph mix with this birdbrain. This was all my fault for not intervening in their friendship sooner. Ralphy, no matter how smart you were in other aspects, you were f*cking terrible in choosing good friends. Lin thought all that when he had his eyes closed. When he opened them up, the D Rank hunter had gained his rity back. He made his way back to his party and told them about the bodies identities. Lins party and Nina were shocked by Lins revtion. Isaac Osan had died in this area. They had heard about the city lords grandkid attending the LA academy. They werent aware the kid was taking part in missions rted to Osan woods disturbance. The party first secured the area. Then they let the historian find clues about the incident with his skills. They were sure that the unknown person who came with Dom might have had something to do with this. It was through following his trail did theye across the gruesome sight. The historians had some of the weirdest spells. It was thanks to one such spell, the party was able to see the condition of the bodies right after they died if the bodies are not older than a certain period. The spell would simply project the visuals right over their dead bodies. The party members could now see the bodies immediate conditions postmortem. But when the group got to Selenas visuals, they had goosebumps. Selena died with herrynx in her hand. But in the end, she smiled! Each member thought that she was looking at them when she smiled. Like she was peeping into the future and mirthlessly smiling at them, ridiculing their efforts of finding the one responsible for this event. Which vile creature kills in this way? Handing therynx of its victims to their hands! Nina couldnt help but ask this question, to nobody in particr. Another from the team continued that line of thought: And this Ralph kid also died a horrible death. He must have diedst, judging his position away from the rest of the bodies. I think the killer had a score to settle with Ralph. He killed the kid by making him experience his head getting crushed right after witnessing his friends getting killed in front of him. That too when the kid was clearly in a begging position to make them spare his life. Peter, why dont you shut your mouth for a while and keep the analysis to yourself. We have a historian in our team. Let him finish his work first. One of thedies in the group named admonished Peter for saying those things out in the open about Ralph whose uncle was now present among them at the time. Peter immediately shut his mouth after that. No point mincing words at this point The historian finally said while looking in the air and thinking about something: Peters analysis is right. It is almost spot-on. But Im not sure if a person killed these guys! What do you mean? Lin couldnt help ask this the historian! Well, I cant see most of the details. But what I AM sure about is that theres a demon beast involved at the crime scene! ====================== Authors Note: Hi. You did it. You inspired me with your support to make me release additional chapters. Here are the extra two chapters for today. The regr chapters will be published after a few hours. Thanks for donating your power stones. Keep investing in VEH and make it grow into something big! ? Chapter 32: Wrong Ideas

Chapter 32: Wrong Ideas

Theres a demon beast involved at the crime scene. The historian finally dropped the truth bomb on everybody. The members were stunned first, before feeling puzzled and then horrified when they all arrived at a single conclusion: Someone has tamed the demon beast and is now on a killing spree. It was a very grim piece of news. The person that tamed the demon hadnte out in the open yet. That narrows down the status of that person even further. That person was a rogue entity. Is the tamer the same person weve been following the trails of? One of the party members asked the historian. Not sure. It looks that way but it is difficult to tell at this point. And even after using my unique Truth-Seeking Goggles, I could only barely follow that persons trails. So trying to see anything more will be a fruitless endeavour. Did the beast kill these young kids? Not sure about that either. I get no human aura that gets attached to the dead bodies if they die unnaturally by that humans hands. I can only sense a C Rank demon beast. But this is not a work of a demon beast. At least we hope its not. The killings are too savage and brutal with absolute precision in them. If a C Rank beast uses their power THIS precisely, we are in a soup of our own. Damn it. So we dont have anything to go on. How are we going to report all this? Peter voiced his frustration. continued: For now, we should focus on preserving these bodies so that we can give them a proper burial in the citys burial grounds. All the bodies can be processed for emergency burial, except one. Isaacs. Im sure the city lord will conduct a procession for hisst rites. Everyone present at the scene was a veteran hunter by now. They knew death was part of the deal in their line of work. The entire world was riddled with so many risks, no matter which profession you choose. But their job took the cake of being one of the riskiest. Therefore, as a hunter goes through life and death crises time and again, they be immune to the mortality around them. Or to more be precise, as immune as they could get without getting washed over by emotions. Even Lin recovered from this event shortly afterwards. And this was despite the fact that he knew the students personally with one of them even being his nephew. Hisst thought about their deaths was his well-being and how he can get away from any possible repercussions. Lins party knew this incident would now be prioritized over everything else by the city lord. Even they, the finders of this crime scene, would be grilled for a while. Therefore, everybody needed to get their stories in check even when they were speaking the truth. The party decided on their next set of ns. And it did so by standing right in the middle of the crime scene. Without caring about the bodies or the smell. **************** Meanwhile, at aunt Ninas apothecary! Dom Walker was walking oddly and nakedly in the open space of the houses ground floor. It was so odd that one would rece his Walker surname with CrabWalker. The spectators would even overlook the fact that Dom was naked after witnessing his inhuman stride. He was making steady progress though. At least today, he didnt try to plop or skate his way towards Eren who was standing at the far end of the open space. Dom Walker wasnt walking the earth again. Sadly, there were no second chances for him in this world. It was Reen shapeshifted into Doms form. She had been practising bipedal walking under Erens guidance. But that was not all. Erooon. Cooooooo.. mi ngyaaah! Reen spoke some gibberish in Doms voice. The first word was probably her calling out Eren by his name. He wasnt sure about the second word she had spoken though. She can walk and run fine after another two days. But shell be busted as soon as she opens her mouth to speak. Theres no quick solution for that. Ill need to keep her mouth shut for the operation. Eren scratched his beardless chin. He was thinking about his n to frame Dom in everything that he has done so far. He needed to take steps carefully while ensuring there are no loopholes. Guiding Reen wasnt that difficult. Eren only needed to send his thoughts as feedback on her progress and she would show improvements in her next attempts. He also told her to coat his entire body and walked the space while being in that coating, looking like a devil that became the grim reaper of Isaacs party. He had asked her to pay attention to every muscle contraction and expansion that happens in the bipedal walk when he does it. And now he just asked her to mimic everything. Reen would get most things right but end up missing a few. But that too was slowly being ironed out by both their efforts. For hernguage training, Eren decided to speak his words while sending thoughts her way at the same time. And he told her to do the same whenever she wanted tomunicate. And hell correct it whenever shed make mistakes. That way, shell grasp thenguage quickly. There was no chance of mimunication even if Reen doesnt quickly understand the meaning behind a certain word Eren says or misspells a word to him. The thought sharing channel was still open between them. Reen, just break down your words if you cant speak them in one go. Just say Er first and then En. Same with Coming. Try saying Co, Mi, and Ng first before thinking about joining them. Eren spoke to Reen verbally as well as mentally. The Dom-looking demon nodded and tried it again: Er. En. I. Am. Co. Mi. Ng. Hun. Gry. Fee. D. Me! Now thats some improvement. Alright, keep on walking from one ce to another till evening. Make sure you dont break anything. And once the night starts to set in, well go out and secure some food for you like usual. Eren hade to ignore her pesterings about feeding her. He had understood that the emotion was dominant in her not only because of her physiology but also because no other thoughts had upied her brain. Once she cultivates some maturity and is given loads of thoughts to think about, her hunger will probably drop down to eptable levels. Probably! Eren had been taking Reen out for a walk during these two days in the evenings. He would have Reen hiding inside his shirt and make her stay in there quietly without letting her leak her demon beast aura. Eren would go to a random, poorly lit alleyway and disappear in the dark. And would appear from a different alleyway with the face mask on. Then he would head to the shady ces within the city where criminals, robbers, thieves, and hookers strived. His presence there would attract some attention due to his short stature and mask. But it wasnt that the taste of criminal life was only limited for adults and the unmasked braves. There would be a lot of children who would be partaking in thievery and more when they get sick of being poor and hungry. So Erens presence was quickly overlooked amid the crowd. Eren had been hunting these criminals and feeding them to Reen. Not because he liked serving vignte justice. But because the criminals disappearance wouldnt get investigated that thoroughly. Eren and Reen had killed seven such criminals during these two days. It was their third day. Reens hunger bout was showing signs of being satiated. After this feeding session, shell probablyin for the uing days. Eren was walking outside the gambling den now. It was in the form of a poor excuse of a diner & bar with drunk and about-to-get-drunk patrons packed to the brim. Eren didnt go inside. He didnt have to. He just wore a single rankless pendant he had gotten from one of the ID stones. Of course, he didnt unt it openly. He just barely showed that he wore it as if he was trying to hide his possessions. And the bait was taken soon after! Eren was told by Reen using her mana sense briefly that they were being followed by five people when he was heading to a random corner away from the populous. Five! Todays haul is going to be big. Eren thought and broke into a broad smile, which was hidden behind his mask. The Fantastic Five decided to show themselves when they found out that it was only them and their feeble victim. They surrounded Eren from all sides before one of them breaking the silence to speak: Kid, hand over whatever you have nice and slow, including the pendant you are wearing. And well probably let you go. Eren nodded his head in affirmation. The Fantastic Five thought it would be one of the most effortless robberies theyve ever done. But they were immediately weirded out by Erens next words! Alright. Ill hand over the pendant if you hand over your bodies to me. All the five robbers backed a step away from Eren after being creeped out by him. One of them couldnt help but clear any possible misunderstanding: Kid, I think youve got some wrong ideas. We are not into young boys. An awkward silence was being observed by both the parties! ========================= Authors Note: Hi. We are in 5th ce on WPC 218 Popr List, eying for the 4th one for the time being. Ill now release extra chapters for every set of 40 stones within a week. Your support has made VEH reach 5th ce. But we still have a lot to travel ahead. For now, lets aim to break into the Top 3. ? Chapter 33: Ranking Journey

Chapter 33: Ranking Journey

Reen was done digesting the fifth and final guy after some time. Eren had quickly taken care of them by entering the slime devil form. He didnt have to exert much because these goons were rankless. He didnt even check their loot and threw it away. They were so poor, Eren felt pity for them. He already had plenty but didnt have many ways to spend his newfound riches. Eren again made his way to the house without anyone suspecting him. He hadpletely taken care of Reens appetite. She was content and happy. Reen kept on stretching and contracting her slimy mass on Erens chest to show her affection. She also kept on telling him how her food tasted and differed from each other. Eren ignored Reens shenanigans and assumed a meditative state. He was using a traditional ranking technique to sense mana around him. So far the training has been in vain but he didnt give in. Eren already knew that sensing mana took time. It didnte to humans as easily as the magic or demon beasts. And sensing mana was only the first step. The second step required attracting the mana within your body and forming a mana core. The third step involved activating that mana core to draw the energy from it. A person enters F Rank when the third step is followed through. A mana core has three phases that define the stages within the rank. For example, an F rank mana core will be formed right below the persons navel after the second step is achieved. In the third step, primary mana pathways will open that will allow a person to draw and circte the mana from the cultivated mana core. The F Rank mana core will first enter the vapour phase that indicates the person is in the initial stage of that rank. When mana core enters the liquid phase, it will be considered as the person entering the middle stage of that rank. And the upper stage of the rank would mean the core has entered the solid phase. For a rank up, the core needs to be burst from within to allow for a higher tier of mana to condense and take its ce. After a sessful ranking promotion, a new mana core will be formed and observed to be in the vapour phase again. But this vapour phase will be of Rank E tier. The mana core needs to go through the same three phases again until it reaches the saturation limit. It again goes through implosion once that happens and paves the way for the next rank up. An F Rank mana core will attract the mana of the same tier. And so will be the case for other ranks. The amount and density of the same-tier mana required to progress further in the ranking journey increased with each rank up. Thats why it became difficult for high ranked entities to keep on breaking through to the next ranks. Eren had entered F Rank during his second academic year. That meant two years from now on. And he had stayed in the F Rank after graduating from the academy. He was nowhere near the E Rank when he graduated. Isaacs party members were also in the F Rank but all of them were close to breaking into E Rank with Ralph being the closest among them. This on-field experience program also served as a trigger for the LA academys students to break into E Rank before they graduated. And this had almost be a norm. Therefore when Eren graduated with his F Rank, he was looked down upon. But Eren had decided that he would enter F Rank before he even attends the academy. He had less than a month but he predicted that it was still doable with the right resources and determination. Eren stayed in the meditative state for a few more hours before calling it quits. He then asked Reen to resume being a good coffee mug, which she did with a lot ofining. Eren was informed by aunt Nina that shell be back after a week. But discovering the city lords token in one of the ID stones had him spooked. Eren predicted that if and when his second crime scene gets discovered, aunt Nina will have to prioritiseing to the city first before everything else. Ninas visit to the city of Laurel will have to be postponed. Therefore Eren didnt take any risks and would ask Reen to stay in the inorganic form when he sleeps. Erens mindfulness paid off. Aunt Nina returned the next morning, four days after her departure. Eren had just woken up and gotten fresh by then. Aunt Nina told him she too needs a fresh bath before doing anything. Eren made fresh egg bread toast for breakfast by the time Nina came downstairs by the breakfast table. He made her sit and served her breakfast with orange juice before taking the same menu for himself. Aunt Nina liked the attention Eren was giving her these days. She started having her breakfast while answering Erens queries about how did she hade so soon: I couldnt go to the city of Laurel, Erni. We discovered something in the forest that made us change all our ns. Soon the entire city wille to know about the incident so no harm in telling you. Isaac Osan, the grandson of Isen Osan has died an unnatural death in the Osan woods. Isaacs entire party has been wiped out. The ones who died with him are all students of the Lionheart Adventurers academy including him. Plus, the guy that you met the other day, Lin Karr. His nephew Ralph also died in that wipeout. Lin is a lecturer in the LA academy. He had decided to take a break to continue his ranking journey. But after this incident, Lin is looking for an umbre to hide from criticism and repercussions. He had insisted for Isaacs party toplete their on-field program sincerely, you see. Isen Osan might see him as the one who is responsible for this tragedy and target him illegally. So he has decided to resume his lecturing duties in the academy to gain a haven. So you might see Lin during your academic years. If he reaches that ce safely without getting killed, that is. What else? Ha yes, the city lord will soon organize a city-wide procession to honour his grandson and will make an important announcement on that day. The curfew is withdrawn for the time being as theres no risk of demon beast initiating beast tide anymore. It will stay this way until any new news regarding the same emerges that says otherwise. Eren nodded and resumed having his breakfast. He didnt remember Isaac or Lin from his previous life. Probably because, in his previous life, Isaac hadnt died. He and his party members would graduate from the academy the same time he entered it. Plus, without Isaac dying, Lin had no reason to return to the LA academy. So he didnt know about the lecturer either. When will the procession take ce? Eren asked while having his juice. By tomorrow it seems. Alright. If the city is open now, Ill visit the markets. Have a few things to buy. Eren said while taking both their tes to the sink. Underpants? Hehehe! Eren could hear Ninas query andughter from behind him. He could onlyugh mirthlessly at that. He indeed needed to buy them before he entered the academy. Chapter 34: Osan Woods’ Butcher

Chapter 34: Osan Woods Butcher

The next day, after Ninas return! A procession was being held at Osan city square. A five-storied tower stood at the centre of a huge open space. The space was now filled with loads of people. The Osan healers association had its elevated mini-booth set at the corner of the square. Nina was granted a seat at the booth. And Eren was standing behind her. He could see the tower and the gallery-like tform that was located on the towers top floor. There was a huge open carriage located just below the tower. It had an expensive-looking casket ced over it, adorned with various flowers. There were other small carriages with caskets ced on each of them with simr settings. Everyone present at the square knew that the most decorated coffin belonged to Isaac while the rest belonged to his friends that had died with him. A band of musicians was ying a sad tune apanied by the same level of sadness sung by a chorus of singers. Almost everyone at the healers association booth was bored to death. The healers would rather spend their time researching in their field, hone their craft, make potions to earn money and do everything else to progress further in their ranking journey than attend this ceremony. Most ranked entities thought along the same lines, not just people in this booth. But they all had to attend the procession as they represented their respective associations in offering condolences. Baron Isen Osan was known to show displeasure to the slightest of grievances after all. The ranked entities were talking to each other silently. They used this time to converse and catch up with their friends and acquaintances. The ranking journey and professional life would consume most of their time. They seldom had such leisure time. So did you buy the underpants yesterday? Aunt Nina asked Eren in a hushed voice while looking in front of her. She too was feeling bored and decided to talk with her plus one. Why? Do you want to see them? Eren used the same hushed voice with a little bit of tease to give her a reply. He too didnt look at her while replying either. Hmm. Sure. You havent used them before. So I wonder how your colour choice is going to be? Show me yours and Ill show you mine. Little rat, I see that you are bing bolder by the day. I just asked because you might get a hard-on after I stand up from my seat. And you see my butt in your view again. It will be embarrassing for both of us if that happens, you see. Haah! You dont need to stand up for that to happen. Your presence and a little bit of my imagination are enough to get a hard-on. Dont worry though. I have worn the underpants. There would be a slight bulge thatll go unnoticed if I were to have a boner now. I see. Good for you, Erni. I can stand up without any worries then. Hehehehe! Nina suppressed her chuckle by keeping her hand pressed against her mouth. She was having fun teasing Eren. But Eren wasnt one to back down either, especially when it came to matters like these. She heard his counter next: Yes. Stand away and make my day by all means. You can also walk a little ahead so that I can see some of that jiggle physics. That would be so much better to watch than this boring procession. No scratch that. That would be so much better than watching anything for that matter. By the way, I have worn dark blue underpants. Whats your colour today? I guess its only fair that I tell you after knowing about yours. Todays colour is ck. Did you start imagining already? Why dont you look at the bulge that has formed in my pants just now and tell me? Nina looked back briefly and saw what Eren asked her to see. She again suppressed her chuckle and resumed her earlier posture. Before she could reply to Eren though, she noted the music and chorus quieting down. She knew the main event was about to start. The city lord Isen Osan could be seen approaching the edge of the towers gallery. He had a stoic look. The square quieted down after his attendance was known by the spectators. Isen Osen was a C Ranked entity. He circted mana in his vocal cords while speaking. Therefore, he could be heard clearly by everyone loud and clear, no matter their distance. I thank all the citizens that are present at my grandsons funeral today at this ce. I thank all the high ranked venerable entities for gracing my Isaac before he starts his final journey. I also thank Osan Braveheart Hunters association for finding my boy and doing everything in their power to preserve and safely bring him back here. These two days have been the most difficult to endure for my family. Isaac was going to graduate soon. We were nning to send him to the kingdoms army so that he can wholeheartedly serve the soil he was born in. Im sure he would have made his kingdom proud with his exceptional performance. [Unknown to both, Eren and Lin had the same thought running in their head after hearing Isens speech till here: Yeah right!] Therefore, Isaacs untimely departure is equally damaging to the Edenberg kingdom as it is to our family. Isaac was an honest young man. Despite his friends insistence against it, he was adamant aboutpleting the on-field experience program given by the LA academy by participating in missions. [Lin almost had a heart attack after hearing Isens absurd ims that twisted the truth like Eren had twisted aunt Ninas brown buds.] My caring grandson was always worried about the safety of this citys citizens. When he heard about the Osan woods disturbance, he was visibly shaken by the grim possibility of the city getting run over by the beast tide. Therefore Isaac forced his lecturer to assign him the most crucial mission he could find and rushed to the forest. His friends didnt have a choice but to follow him in his passion to protect this city at the cost of risking life. [Lin was gripping his hands on his chairs armrest hard. He had dug his nails in them after hearing Isens blood-curdling speech. The armrest was almost about to snap under his D Rank body stats. But Lin somehow controlled his outburst. He would get in more trouble than he already was if he were to lose his cool during Isens speech] My grandson Isaac and his friends were in the middle of finding the root cause behind the woods disturbance. But they never knew they would be targeted for doing the same by some high ranked rogue cultist. That rogue cultist killed them all in the cold blood as soon as they saw Isaacs party. Wevee to know that the cultist has tamed the demon beast. The cultist was probably thinking about hiding their identity when they killed these bright young children. The cultist must be thinking they got away with it. But let me warn them, no matter where they are, whoever they are, theyll be brought to justice formitting such a heinous crime. They have robbed the Edenberg kingdom off from receiving bright stars in the future. Therefore, Ive got an announcement to make today. The kingdom has allowed the LA academy to deploy an investigation team to the Osan woods. Our Osan citysw and order will work with this team to find more about the criminal, capture him alive, and punish him for his deeds. I will also make another announcement in a personal capacity. I will announce a reward amount of 10,000 Edenberg dors to anyone who helps in capturing this vile cultist. We have named him The Osan Woods Butcher and raised the bounty contract under the same name. This will be a bounty contract active in multiple nearby cities, not just the city of Osan. The various associations will be given the details about the case weve collected so far. They can then activate this bounty contract for their members. Thatll be all. The citizens and the high ranked entities started to discuss the new topic that theyve been given by Isen. Everyone was wondering who the Osan Woods Butcher would be. Meanwhile, the rogue cultist was busy thinking about everything ck. When he heard the bounty raised on him under the pseudonym, he couldnt help but think: Hmm! Osan Woods Butcher! That has a nice ring to it. Chapter 35: Dinner Date

Chapter 35: Dinner Date

Hmm! Osan Woods Butcher! That has a nice ring to it. Eren kinda liked his new title. But he thought the bounty amount was Lil demeaning to him. He should at least have a million dors as the first bounty contract on his head. Ninas query made him break his line of thoughts: Little rat, why are you so fazed out? The procession is over. We should head out too before the rush kicks in. Of course, aunt Nina. Ladies first! Eren said this while bowing a little before winking at Nina. Nina knew exactly what he wanted to do by offering her to walk ahead of him. She couldnt stop feeling a little excitement in her heart. It was like a long lost spice was brought back in her staple food. Eren had again started mixing a dash of aphrodisiac in aunt Ninas food from yesterday when he was making it. He was controlling the quantity though. Eren was aiming to gradually get her ustomed to her heightened sexual appetite and see Eren as its cause. He wanted her to see him as the target for those urges. And it was showing its effect. Aunt Nina had been the one to bring the subject of his underpants, possibly knowing full well that the conversation would unfold in this way. Nina started walking ahead of Eren. She could see her body was swaying more than usual, subconsciously enhancing the jiggle physics Eren had subscribed to prime viewership of. When they got home, Eren and Nina both could feel some sexual tension between them. Nina was thinking about how to break the ice when Eren broke it first for her: Aunt Nina, you wait here. Ill go get your gift from my room. Gift? Which gift? I only gave you money for some shopping yesterday and that is all ounted for. Hehe! I had some money saved up from before. You dont need to overthink. Its not that expensive of a gift. Then what are you waiting for? Go bring me my much-needed award for taking care of a scoundrel like you. Saying that Nina pulled Erens cheeks and sent him towards his room. Then she went to sit on the ground floors sofa. Eren came downstairs soon after. He had a small, gift-wrapped box in his hands with a bow tie ribbon on it. Eren handed the gift to Nina while sitting by her side. She smiled at him and unwrapped it with some excitement. Its been a long time since she received a gift like this. Nina was soon staring at a small perfume vial that looked elegant and luxurious at the same time. She hadnt used this perfume but knew she was going to like it. Nina always liked wearing floral perfumes. She sprayed a little on her hand and inhaled the scent to gauze its effect. Enchanting! The fragrance was captivating. Just as Eren had said, this Be Erna Soliflore was an apt EDP for her. She instantly decided shed change her original brand with this perfume from now on. Erni, this was a nice gift. You need to keep on giving me these gifts every so often you know. Its so much trouble to raise a shut-in like you. Be that as may. Aunt Nina, dont you think I should be receiving some return gift in exchange? Yeah? What do you want? What else? A nice and healthy liplock to soothe all my sorrows! Little rat Hear me out first. Itll only be a liplock. Its not like we havent done it before. At most, itll be our third andst instance before I leave for the academy. I also want you to wear that perfume while I kiss you. But we already have todays delivery of potions lined up that was postponed due to Isaacs procession. So why not finish our work first, freshen up, and have some dinner outside. We will go out by lets say 7 PM. Ive already got a knee-long one-piece dress for you that Ive kept in your bedroom. Dont worry though. Ive kept your body size and your preferences in mind while buying it so you would feelfortable in it. You can then wear the EDP that Ive got you as a gift. Itll be like a date. Me taking you out. Of course, Ill pay for everything. And if mydy likes it and agrees to it willingly, I can kiss her post our sessful date. What do you say? H how did you get so much money? Did you sell something from the house? Nina started looking around the house as if to check if something was missing. Haah! How little do you trust me, aunt Nina? I sometimes sell the elementary potions that I make from almost expired ingredients. I cant sell them legally since I dont have a potioneers license yet. But I know a guy who knows a guy. He helps me sell it personally to adventurers. Of course, the profit isnt much. But Ive umted enough to buy these gifts and take you out today. Now are you satisfied, or do you want tounch an official investigation on my financial condition? Eren said this while showing a little anger on his face. Of course, that was all bullshittery. Eren had be a hard-working guy in his restarted life. And he could indeed do what he said he had imed just now. But he already had wads of cash. Why would he not spend them to date aunt Nina instead of slogging his ass? Aah! Im sorry Erni. Its just that I wasnt aware. Since you use almost expired ingredients, I of course dont have a problem. But you could have told me you wanted to sell the elementary potions. I could have sold them under my license and given you your share. How would it be a surprise then? Do you have any idea how long Ive been nning something like this? Saying this, the Osan Woods Butcher turned his head away from aunt Nina in a quick motion, as if very angry to look at her. Nina immediately understood her mistake. She had underestimated the level of crush Eren had on her. He was probably aiming to take her on a date for so long. She quickly took Eren in her embrace, kissed her on his cheeks before continuing: Alright! Alright! Its a date. Im excited about the evening youve nned for us. So Ill go check the dress out. You also need to wear something nice, mister. Otherwise, youll get kicked by the restaurant owners before they allow a poorly clothed brat like you to have dinner with me. Hehe! Saying this, aunt Nina went upstairs to check out her new dress. Eren smirked a little before putting on the apron and approaching hisb desk. Eren knew Nina would like the dress. Because she had brought the same dress when he hade to visit her once in the past. She had said then that this was among her top favourites. Eren used that little piece of information to score some brownie points with Nina. As expected, Nina came downstairs looking happy. The dress was just the right fit for her. The dress style was elegant but it entuated her hourss figure. She hadnt worn dresses like these for years now. And she was excited. When Nina came down, Eren had already started working on his batch of elementary potions. She too started working immediately, lest they gette on their date. It was almost 6 PM when Eren and Nina were finished with their deliveries. The Osan Woods disturbance had quieted down. So there was no need to produce extra potions. But since the association had paid in advance for expedited deliveries, it expected them to be on time. It was now time to get fresh. Both of them retired to their respective bedrooms. When they got out, both Eren and Nina were ready for their first date! Chapter 36: A Night to Remember P1*

Chapter 36: A Night to Remember P1*

Eren and Nina were ready for their first date! Nina had worn the violet dress and the perfume Eren had gifted her. She looked stunning. Her shapely curves were aptly entuated by the dress without going skin-tight on her. It seems that Eren knew about her measures to a T. Eren had worn a simple yet elegant dark blue jacket over a white casual shirt. The ck formal trousersplemented his overalls. Nina was surprised. Eren had always worn casuals no matter the asion. But today, he had taken efforts to dress up. He was out to impress. Mdy, can I call you just by your name tonight? Eren asked Nina while holding his open palm in front of her. Nina gave her hand in his and replied while shing a beaming smile: Hmm! Ill allow it. Ill also try not to call you little rat tonight! Im grateful. So Nina, tell me, are you ready for a memorable evening? I am, and looking forward to it. Where are we going? Its a reservation-only restaurant that goes by the name Soire Gracieuse. I have reserved a table for two. A carriage wille to get us within a few minutes. My my, Erni! You have nned everything for tonight. But are you sure your sleeves are warm enough to eat at Soire Gracieuse? You know its rates, right? Hmph! Nothing is too expensive when ites to spending it on a beautifuldy like you. And you dont need to worry about the prices. Ive taken care of everything. Alright. Ill leave everything up to you then. **************************** Eren and Nina reached at Soire Gracieuse. They ordered a sumptuous meal. Nina also witnessed Eren knew about the dishes she hadnt even heard the names of. It made her wonder where he learned these things from. It wasnt that Eren had eaten out at posh restaurants in his previous life. He had worked in the back kitchen of one such establishment for some time. Thats how knew about the dishes made there. Eren and Nina had a ball savouring the exotic dishes and taste-testing the finest of beverages. Eren was a minor so he couldnt drink alcoholic drinks. But he had ordered a vintage wine for Nina who gulped it down one sip at a time with a small b of cheese. A rankless wine wouldnt affect Nina. Therefore Eren had paid a premium amount and ordered a wine made from C Rank ingredients, which had the potency to affect an entity of the same rank. Such a wine would spell instant death or harm to rankless and low ranked entities. Nina was feeling slightly intoxicated due to the wine. Her cheeks had tinges of red and she was feeling light-headed. The dinner was done. Eren and Nina had returned home. Eren wanted to take her to explore the city but it seemed the wine was a little too strong for her taste. She insisted they return home. Eren took Nina to her bedroom and brought her a ss of water to drink. He asked her calmly after seeing her settling down: How was it Nina, did you like this evening? Yes, Erni. I loved it. Its been years since I could unwind like this. Thank you for a wonderful evening. The wine was too strong though. Im still feeling giddy. Now Id like nothing more than to justy in my bed and float myself to sleep. Hehehe! You are forgetting something, mydy. Eren looked at her and gave a yful smile: Aah! The kiss. Erni, tonight may not be the best time. Ive already had so much to eat and havent brushed. Plus, Im not in my right senses. Maybe tomorrow? That was the n, my sweet summermb. Eren said in his mind while wearing the mask of injustice on his face Thats not fair, Nina. A date should end on a good note. And what better conclusion than a kiss from a gorgeousdy like you? Hehehe! Am I that gorgeous to you? You must be exaggerating! Eren didnt need any extra push. He started praising Nina with his glib tongue. He kept on talking about how important and beautiful she was in his eyes. Nina was getting emotional and happy at the same time: Erni. Come here, you little rascal! Nina finally gave in! Eren was embraced by Nina tightly. The fragrances of aunt Ninas natural bodily musk, Be Erna Soliflore, and vintage wine quickly entered his nostrils. Nina took the initiative to kiss Eren on his lips. Thetter responded in kind. He didnt wait for long before turning it into a French kiss. Eren soon started fondling Ninas breasts and perked up brown buds. That sent Nina on an edge she was already heading towards. She tightened her embrace on Eren as if wanting to absorb him into her body. Thankfully, some part of her brain was still subconsciously cing limiters on the power she was exerting. Otherwise, Eren would have been hugged to death. Eren knew the time was ripe to make huge progress with aunt Nina. He started to make use of his magic hands. They had minds of their own now. They would touch and hold every part of Nina as if to let her know their omnipotent presence. Nina hadpletely given in to her desires at that time. She kissed and smooched Eren as if her life depended on it. She even allowed his hands to grab her right butt cheek by shifting to her left side. Her body was craving for the attention Erens hands were trying to offer. Eren started lifting her knee-length one-piece upwards. And Nina let him. Herdy part has started oozing juices aplenty by now. Eren lifted the dress enough to see Ninas ck innerwear. When he pressed on her mound from over the flimsy fabric, he could feel her body quivering in excitement. Nina locked her legs with each other in response to such an intruding touch. Damn. I need to note down the name of that wine and have it stockpiled here! Eren crafted his future designs while enjoying every moment of the present. Eren had broken their liplock and was now nting kisses and small bites across Ninas neckline. She too was holding Eren by the back of his head and guiding him to ces. Erens fingers had started tracing Ninas mound while the neck assault was in progress. The fingers could feel the overwhelming wetness even before they got into the pants. Hmmmmmm! Erni there yes! Nina had started moaning and taking Erens name the way she had never taken before. By now, Eren had unzipped the dress from behind and exposed her breasts still wrapped in acy ck camisole. Nina cooperated with him to make the mushy masses get out in the open for good. Eren was still impressed with the size of those breasts. They were heavy, mushy, and yet perky enough not to get ttened out when shey on her back. They retained their shape under any position. Aunt. Errr Nina, I like your butt. We both know that theres no denying that. But let mee out and also say that these breasts are equally impressive. Let me tend to them! Eren quickly went down to nib on Ninas left brown bud that had gotten stiff and ready to be sucked on by now. Eren took the left one in his hand and started fine-tuning it like nobodys business. =================== Authors Note: Things are going to get heated up. Grab your popcorn! ( or some tissue papers :p ) Chapter 37: A Night to Remember P2*

Chapter 37: A Night to Remember P2*

Aaaaaah! Erni press them some more. Bite them. Yessss now shift your focus to the other one! Eren obliged and did the same with her left breast. Ninas dress was now limited to only covering her waist. Eren found it bothersome so he tried removing it from downward. Nina had to lift her waist to aid him in doing it. He was about to jump right in when Nina ced the base of her right foot over his chest: Tit for tat young man! She dered while pointing at his clothes with her eyes. Eren stripped down so fast; it was like he wasnt wearing anything from the get-go. Hehe! These underpants seem slightly bigger for you. Maybe you were thinking about your growing size when you opted for one size bigger wearable. Nina looked at Erens new purchase andmented. Eren responded bynding on top of Nina, grinding his Lil member right above her wether region. Indeed darling. Now lets resume! Eren was about to kiss Nina again but she ced her index finger on his lips before he could do so: Erni, I want you. You can see that with my response. And Im drunk enough to be unable to control my desires. But that doesnt mean we can take it to the very end. Especially after what we had discussed that day. There wont be any pration. Do you still want to proceed further? Eren was offered a choice. He could see that Nina was fighting a mental battle in her head. Her body was telling her to go with the flow. Whereas, her brain was telling her to stop at this instant. In the end, she had listened to both sides and came up with thispromise. It would be a lie if he told her that he wasnt disappointed. But that didnt stop him from making new progress with Nina today. He tried finding the positive in this situation. You mean anything apart from the pration is on the table? Eren smiled and didnt show any remorse. Nina was again impressed with his maturity. In response to his question, she simply nodded and sucked on his lips hard. Eren had already gotten his due permission to barge his fingers into Ninas wet cave. He inserted his right roaming hand into her pants and touched her wet fold for the first time without there being any fabric in between. Nina lifted her waist slightly in response and started kissing and smooching him frantically. Erens left hand was now pressing Ninas right butt cheek. His right ring finger had started to trace the overwhelmingly wet vaginal crack while his index finger touched and yed with her clit. He could feel the juices kept on flowing with even more vigour than before. Aunt Nina was bathing Erens fingers with her blessed water. Eren stopped his exploration of Ninasher region with his hands. Thetter wondered why he stopped when she witnessed his actions. He had brought his wet and gooey hand in front of his nose and smelled it: So this is where the fishy smelles from! Eren smiled wickedly and looked at Nina. She couldnt help but blush a little! Aunt err Nina, as I said that day! Ive been wanting to have fish food for so long now. Hope my appetite gets satisfied down there. Wish me luck! Eren went down on Nina after saying that. He first tried removing the ck and now soaked-wet drawers Nina was wearing. Nina again fought a small internal battle before enabling him to take it off. Ninas wet cave was on full disy. She tried covering it with hands at first. But Eren just parted those hands with his before digging his nose right in to inhale the earthy smell. Eren rubbed his nose right inside the crack. That encouraged Nina to let go of herst bit of hesitancy. She finally grabbed his head from behind and pressed it hard against her mound. Nina had a dense pubic growth. The musk, therefore, was enhanced even further. Eren made his tonguee out and start its assigned job. The tip of the tongue touched the pink button first. Eren gave it multiple licks before moving downwards. Nina felt a dam had been broken inside her vagina. She could feel her salty nectaring out in serious quantities to wee a foreign intruder. She opened her legs in eagle style and pressed onto Erens head hard from behind. She reclined in her position with eyes closed and started enjoying thepping. Nina was convulsing in her bed as she felt waves of pleasure and ecstasy hit her. She wouldnt dare to call Eren inexperienced right now. Aaahh there right there. Yes suck on some more. You are driving me numb little Erni. How and when did you get so pro in this? Erni licked sucked the clit some more before answering from his positions: Like every other teenage boy, Nina. Adultics! You must have gotten your hands on some serious shit, boy. This is the best tongue-storm Ive ever been offered! Unaware of herself, Nina had started using crassnguage. She kept on pressing Erens head. So much so that he was starting to feel some suffocation. But that didnt make him stop his tongue job. Eren inserted his right finger into the wet cave while he was still licking the clit and wet folds. And he kept on drinking the love juices Nina was producing unendingly. Nina already had more than two orgasms. And the third one was on its way. Herher region had gotten rather extra sensitive because of repetitive orgasms. But she didnt stop Eren. She didnt want to. Not at that moment. When he found out that Nina had gottenfortable with his rhythm, Eren inserted another finger into the wet cave. It was only a matter of time before Ninas entire body shook and jerked,ing hard on Erens face and fingers. Only then did Nina close her legs tight to show that she needed a break. Eren too needed some time to catch his breaths. Heid beside Nina and looked at the ceiling with a smile on his face. Nina took her time to look at the kid sleeping beside him with his face shining with her juices. She again felt a mix of emotions bubbling inside her. But before she could voice her concerns, Erens voice reached her ears: That was one awesome fish I had. It was a little saltier than anticipated though. Eren used his hand as a headrest to look at Nina and teased her some more: Yeah. I can see that in your face, how much you loved having it. Sorry I havent you know mowed thewn for some time. Hehe! Aah! Thats fine. I only found it difficult to work my way around there with my tongue. I dont mind the look. And I certainly dont mind the aroma it cultivates! Eren replied to her while winking his left eye. Little ra I mean Erni. I see that you made your preparations on all fronts before taking me out to dinner. It was like I was ying in the palm of your hand. Tell me honestly, did you foresee this happening tonight? Foreseeing is a strong word. I was only HOPING for it. Thanks, au Nina. At least some of my long-standing desires have been satiated for the time being. Long-standing, you say. I dont see your little guy erect now. Did you perhaps burst without even doing anything to it? Hehe! What do you expect from a 16 years old boy who has been given a chance to take care of thedy in his dreams in this way? Eren didnt feel ashamed at his nut and med it on Nina being a dream woman in his eyes. Ninas heart was again touched by thetters glib tongue. Even more deeply than what his real tongue did to herdy part. She thought she should return the favour at least: So are you spent right now? Nina asked yfully! Chapter 38: A Night to Remember P3*

Chapter 38: A Night to Remember P3*

So are you spent right now? Nina asked yfully! Eren was indeed feeling some fatigue but thetters meaningful question made it disappear in the thin air! He asked in a voice painted with anticipation: What do you have on your mind? Nina only had a misced camisole on her while Eren was wearing his newly bought underpants. The former had gotten over her shyness by now. She removed thest bit of fabric from her body and dropped it on the ground. Nina then climbed on top of Eren with her butt touching his groins. Her legs were on either side of him. She bent forward and guided Erens mouth on top of her left nipple. Hinting him to suck on it. Meanwhile, she started rubbing and grinding her huge butt on Erens groins. Soon she felt the reaction she was expecting. Erens little guy had woken up again inside his underpants. Nina neither removed them nor Eren tried to. Nina had already told him there would be no pration. So this was thepromise she was extending for him. Eren grabbed her butt with both his hands from either side and started massaging them with force. Nina too was again getting into the zone. She sped up her gyration and its intensity against the stiff target. Erens underpants were already spoiled from his nut. But aunt Ninas love juices were making them soaking wet. Your butt is your best ass_et, Nina! Eren found his wits amid ecstasy and made a pun on Ninas derriere. He was now actively shoving his underpants-covered bulge between Ninas butt crack. Nina too was responding to his shoves with equal and opposite rhythm. You want to see it up close and personal? Nina winked at him when she asked. He knew what was going to happen and just nodded his head: Nina got up from her position and positioned her mound right over Erens face with her legs stretched over either side of his face. She dropped her mound right over his nose while closing in on Erens stiff member from the other side. Eren again breathed in a now-familiar smell. He parted the vertical lips with his fingers and inserted his tongue inside the wet cave. His hands were shifting between working on her clit and mashing her butt. But he soon had a pleasant sensation of his Lil guy getting wrapped inside a wet and warm ce. Eren looked down to see that Nina had pulled his underpants enough for the Lil guy to stand tall out in the open, with all its glory. And Nina was licking it from all sides with her tongue before finally taking it inside her mouth. Eren wouldnt lie. He had BJs in his previous life. But nothing woulde even remotely close to what he was feeling right now. He felt like his long lost dream had been suddenly realized. Erni dear, dont stop what you were doing with your tongue just now! Nina paused from her job and reminded Eren to continue the work that was upon him. He soon snapped out of his reverie and followed her instructions. Both of themsted long before bursting for another time. They already had orgasms before. So it took them some time to have it consecutively in a row. But they werent in a hurry anyway and just enjoyed the ride. It was already past midnight when they both decided to call it quits. They both went to sleep at the same ce. Closing their eyes was all that it took for them to sleep peacefully. The next day, when Eren woke up, he was still in aunt Ninas bedroom. But she was nowhere to be found. He looked at the mana-powered table clock. It was already past 8 AM. He usually has breakfast during this time. Eren had overslept. That was to be expected. Yesterdays was a night to remember!. Eren thought to himself. Eren was in a jolly mood today. One of his desires from his previous life had almost beenpleted! Almost. Eren got up slowly and headed towards his bedroom. The Osan Woods Butcher did thingszily today. He didnt feel like rushing into anything today. Eren had his bath, taking a fair amount of time to clean himself. He wore a fresh pair of clothes. And only then did he go downstairs. Eren saw Nina had resumed todays batch of potion-making. It would take a couple of days before their delivery ispleted. Since the Osan woods disturbance has been dered to be benign for the time being, the healers association didnt ce more orders. When she saw Erening downstairs, Nina gave him a weing smile. Eren could see the smile had only a tad bit of awkwardness hiding within it. But there was no guilt, shame, or shyness anymore. Nina had epted what had happenedst night to be a reality and didnt run away from it. This was all thanks to Erens talks and behaviours nudging her in this direction without making her feel pressured. Erens n had been sessful. It only needed a little bit of pushing in to win now. Morning sleepy head. Ive made some sunny side up eggs. Have some before you resume the work. Nina told Eren before busying herself with work. Eren nodded and had his breakfast. Then he went on to make the elementary potions he was supposed to be making. It was already 2 PM when the days delivery ended. Eren started fixing a simple lunch for both of them while Nina watched him. Erni, aboutst night. Do you want to talk about it? Hmm? Sure, if it leads to the same result that is! Eren winked at her while chopping onions. Thats not what I meant silly. I mean what do you feel now? Last night was a huge leap for us? Lets say that you saw things that you hadnt seen. Do you not regret it even slightly? Aah! Women with their post-nut pillow talk about feeling and shit! Cant a man feel happy with just a good f*ck and some nice food to eat the morning after? What can be soplicated that it needs a talk? I should be d she didnt start thisst night! Nina.. Aunt Nina! Nina corrected him quickly. Eren forgot thatst night was special. And he was only allowed to call her by the name yesterday. Aah right! AUNT NINA! Happy now!? You dont need to worry about my mental being. I love what I saw and felt yesterday. Im perfectly fine and dandy, as you can see from the way I behave and talk. But I do feel guilty about one thing if you ask me! You do? Nina asked with concern and disappointment in her eyes. The concern was for Eren and disappointment for herself. But before both emotions could take hold of her, Eren cleared what he wanted to say: Yepp. I only regret that we couldnt do it as soon as my first awakening happened. I regret not taking you to such dates before yesterday. Not giving you the gifts you deserve. And I also regret us not taking the final step yesterday. Other than that, I regret nothing! Eren said this while stirring the onion-tomato curry he was making. He also had sent pieces of meat-jerky and some veggies in it. The duo already had tbreads to go with the Eren styled, mixed veg jerky curry. Their lunch was almost set. Hehe! Little rat, you almost gave me a mini heart attack. The academy will start soon. Youd be gone for at least five years,ing here only during long holidays. So Im open to us having dates these days. You can call me by my name during our dates. But I cant promise anything more. Gifts are always wee. But Id suggest you save up some money. I can take you up for dates with my money alternatively. And about the final step, lets think about that when you grow up a little! =================== Authors Note: How did you like the mass release? ? The novel will be on break for a day. So there will be no chapters tomorrow. Chapter 39: Magenta

Chapter 39: Magenta

Gifts are always wee. But Id suggest you save up some money. I can take you up for dates with my money alternatively. And about the final step, lets think about that when you grow up a little! Eren smiled mirthlessly at Ninasst reply and nodded. Nina hadpartmentalized her aunt-persona and her more-than-aunt-persona to make a sense of things happening between them. Eren guessed the near future. From now on, their days would be filled with the usual stuff they were used to doing all these years. And the dates in the evenings would lead to some form of action like yesterday, but they wont pave the way for the final act. It was now Erens job to see that they did. Eren served Nina her lunch and proceeded to take some for himself. He asked thetter while having his first bite: Aunt Nina, when are you going to visit the city of Laurel? Lets see. We should first expedite our deliveries to settle our weekly order from the association. That will take up to three days. Two, if we grind it. So I can go three days from now on. Ill take a week to settle my business there and return. And then, itd be business back to usual. Do you want toe with me to the city of Laurel? Eren wanted to say yes. But he had so many things to do here in this city. The fake Dom was waiting on him to get framed. Therefore he could only reply with: I want to, but Ill pass. I need to take a look at a few books that are mentioned in the academys sybus. Dont know if Ill get time to do this afterwards. So Ill do that while you are gone. Alright. The curfew has been lifted. But theres still some strain on publicw and order in the city due to Isaacs death. Make sure you dont roam around after the sun sets while Im gone. Yes. Eren couldnt wait for Nina to leave the city. Only with her absence could he execute his ns. The more he waited, the more would be the chances of his identity getting revealed. Killing Dom was one thing. But now that he had killed Isaac and his friends as well, who were the students of the previous LA academy; Eren was sure he could get hunted by the entire kingdom. ********************* Three dayster! Nina was going to leave for the city of Laurel today. Thest two days had been a bit busy for both of them. Erni, remember, be at home after the sunset. And have your meals on time. Dont skip on them thinking that it is a bother. Do you have anything to ask before I leave? Yes. I have one crucial question to ask before you leave. Eren asked while creating suspense. Nina got tense. Yes? Her Voice also got lower as a result. It is rted to what we had discussed the other day. What is it? Nina was on edge now. Whats your colour today? Eren asked and winked at her. Whats my colour today!? Nina didnt get it at first. She had to think for a while and associate it with Erens smirk to understand what he was asking. Eren was asking about the colour of her panties today. Little rat, you are always up to no good these days! You have changedpletely after your awakening! Nina pulled up Erens cheeks while having a fake pout. But she wasughing internally at his shenanigans. Bye now. Im leaving. Nina finally got to the door and walked outside. Eren waved her goodbye and was about to close the door on her before he saw her making her way towards him again. She must have forgotten something. Eren thought before opening the door wide, allowing her easy ess. But Nina didnt go in. She stopped at Eren and got close to his ears. Then she whispered something that led his blood rush to hisher region: Erni dear, todays colour is magenta! Eren opened his eyes wide in surprise. His aunt Nina was flirting back. Then he smiled and gave a thumbs up to her. She softly kissed him on his lips before heading out for real. Eren went to his room and woke Reen up. She immediately plopped onto his shoulder. She thought Eren had woken her up because he must have thought she was hungry. She cleared that up with him, saying her hunger has not returned yet. Reen almost always thought about having food. Eren had a mini headache before he told her to shapeshift into Dom. Eren had been talking with Reen ever since he hatched the n of framing Dom. He had realized that the mental channel he had with Reen wasnt something Nina could discover. Therefore Eren kept that channel always open, letting her read his thoughts. He was also correcting her mistakes in vocabry and pronunciation. Reen was a smart girl. Probably smarter than a demon beast her age could get. She kept on learning new things from Eren and started making sense out of them in her head while she remained as a coffee mug. She also kept on asking Eren questions all the time. And Eren would answer those questions patiently. To him, Reens vocabry and her oratory skills was a long-haul project. Sure, it would have some use during his current framing job. But that would not be the end of use for her shapeshifting skills. Eren would achieve great results only if he starts training Reen now. And he wanted Reen ready for his ns in the academy. Eren told Reen to show him her progress in bipedal walking. And she did. She had improved a lot. Now nobody would be able to think that it wasnt a human when Reen walked in Doms form. At most, the eyewitness would regard it as Dom having some injuries rted to his legs or just being drunk as a reason behind his weird walk. Er en. How deeed aai do? Reen asked in Doms voice. Her speech was improving. Youve made huge progress, Reen. Im proud of you. I see that the division of words is working for you. I can at least understand what you want to say even if I were to only hear your voice. Keep on practising these things when you be an inorganic object. Use your idle time thinking about the words and speeches. You can always ask me something you dont understand. Is there anything you want to ask now? Er en. Whaat deed yu eat three days byaak after the evening? Deed yu hyaav good food? Hmm? Which evening are you talking about? Wait a minute dont tell me! The channel was open at that time? Reen was keeping track of my thoughts when I spent time with aunt Nina? ============== Authors Note: Wasnt nning on working on VEH today after yesterdays mass release. But then I realized WPC 218 is going to end tonight. So here go myst-ditch efforts, trying to at least make it to the Top 3. ? Chapter 40: Julie Ekheart

Chapter 40: Julie Ekheart

Reen was keeping track of my thoughts when I spent time with aunt Nina? Only now did Eren realize that Reen was reading his thoughts and emotions when he had his way with drunk aunt Nina post their dinner date. He was in ecstasy due to repeated orgasms. His long-awaited wish hade to reality. Reen connected those feelings with having very good food and asked him about the same. He could only smile mirthlessly after realizing that the mental channel had been left open by him during his intimate moments with Nina. Eren had kept the channel open in these three days so that she could ask him questions anytime. But he forgot to close it that night. Yes, Reen. I had fish for that day. My favourite. Erenughed at his pun. But he startedughing uncontrobly when he heard Reens next words: Aai olsou want to hyaav some feesh! Reen asked while running towards Eren. They were fine-tuning her walk in the ground floors open space now, before tonights events. Every little,st-minute preparation mattered before partaking into something like this. Eren immediately stopped her in her tracks by mentally giving hermands when he saw her running towards him. He was visibly shaken by the intimidating view. Eren didnt want to see naked Doms bodying towards him with open arms, aiming to hug him. He had already killed the guy. What would he do by forming such bonds with him? The evening arrived. Eren made fake Dom wear the clothes that he had received from the original Doms ID stone. He also told him to retract his prowess and not leak any of it. Reen by now had understood and learned to not leak her demon beast aura, thanks to her training of staying as inorganic objects. She could now shapeshift into people while assuming the status of inorganic matter. Her ruse would work as long as theres no higher-ranked entity inspecting her. Eren and fake Dom walked out of the house and disappeared into the darkness. They then visited the same gambling den they had previously to lure the Fantastic Five. This time Dom went in while Eren stayed behind. The first thing the fake Dom did after entering the bar was to order a pint of E Rank booze in his weird ent and kept the tab open. He started chugging pints after pints until he was satisfied. Eren wanted fake Dom to do that so that he can have a good excuse for his weird ent. Fake Doms facial expressions and his stride were anyway. So drinking that much booze justified everything about him. Dom kept on looking at the bars crowd from time to time as he had his booze. Then he approached a female rogue, apparently to impress her. He reached her table and took a seat in front of her before trying to woo her. Reen had her mental channel open while acting as a fake Dom. She would send all her thoughts and experiences to Eren in real-time. And he would be aware of the audiovisuals happening in front of and around Reen at almost the same time as her. Reen was only conveying what her master wanted her to say. The real conversation took ce between Eren and thatdy rouge: Hi, beautiful. Dont you think this bar is too crass for ya? Why dont youe with me and we can find some nice cosy ce to spend the night? Damn. Saying that you are drunk is an understatement, strange man. Whats with that weird tone and speech? Are you not from here? Hahahaha. No need to think of me as an outsider. I might have something else to drink beforeing here. My heads still buzzing. This is an after-party after an after-party, you see. Will you like to join me for some fun? All expenses will be paid by me of course. Thats all good. And you look okay, I guess. But I dont know you. And dont get me wrong, but you are weird. So Ill pass. Lady, please wait before you reject the deal. Lets know a little about each other if thats what you want. Ill go first. My name is Dom. Dom Walker. Im an E Rank hunter steps away from bing a D Rank. Life is fleeting, young miss. Tonight Im asking you to spend the night with me. Tomorrow, you might not even get the chance to have a word with me to show your approval. Thats because Ive struck gold. Ill tell you at this moment, mark my words. Ill be so sessful that my name will spread throughout the entire kingdom like some viral flu of the season. Dom said this while emptying another pint. Of course, he said this in his weird ent. But that wasnt important anymore to either thedy or the nearby audience that was listening to their conversation. Hmm? Dom Walker? Where have I heard this name? Wait Dom Walker. An E Rank Hunter. Are you from the OB (short for Osan Braveheart Hunters association)? I was. Not anymore. Wait! Should I say this out loud? Haah! Who cares? I dont have to work in that guild anymore and struggle for every penny. My backer is huge. My point is, youngdy. Ill soon be walking on the path of sess thatll take me away from this backwater ce called the city of Osan. Why not follow me till you can? Dom said this and started eating the chips that had been ordered by thedy without asking her. But she didnt mind. The scoop in front of her was worth more than the price of those chips. But they say that you died. And your entire party was wiped out in the Osan woods disturbance. How can you be alive after all that? Thedy asked Dom what the entire audience of that conversation was dying to. Dom acted as if he didnt care. As if his backer was not something to be taken lightly of. Aah! That. Lets say Im a dead man walking then. Hahaha! Dont worry about the details. Whats your name? Are you leaving the ce with me tonight or not? Decide quickly. I dont have time. Id rather go avail of professional services if theres nothing to be gained from here. Names Julie. Julie had to give him something to keep this filthy bbermouth hooked to the seat. As I said, I dont know you so how can Ie to a decision this quick? Listen, why not tell me what happened to you and your team in the Osan woods. And about your backer as well. Ille with you after you give me these deets. Is that so? Im going to leave the city anyway. I guess theres no harm in telling you. But you have to promise not to speak a word about this to anyone. I promise. Said Julie loudly. We promise. Said the audience in their heads. Alright. So listen closely. Dom bent forward a little to make the conversation more private. But contrastingly, his voice remained on the same volume. The road to sess in the ranking journey is forged with the corpses of your enemies and friends. Yes, I killed my party members. It wasnt any rogue cultist. And it certainly wasnt a demon beast. Sure, it ate the dead bodies. But those bodies were dead because of me. Do I regret it a little? Yes, maybe. But will I do it again after being offered the same choice? Abso fokin lutely yes! Why did you kill them? Julie asked and touched her sheathed daggers hilt attached to her waistband, trying to find some sense of security while talking to this maniac. Julie was an E-Rank entity in the initial stage. Her on-field experience wasnt as rich as the guy. She wasnt Doms match in a frontal assault. But she was confident of saving herself from any mishap, thanks to Doms drunken state. Why, you ask? Of course, it was to feed that damn demon beast. It was raised especially by that backer, you see. And it needed ranked entities to feed on. Dom said this like it is the most obvious thing in the world. ================= Authors Note: VEH is 40 chapters rich with this release. What have you liked about the novel so far? Or what would you like it to improve on? ce a review on the novel and let me know. ? Chapter 41: Recorded Interview

Chapter 41: Recorded Interview

Why, you ask? Of course, it was to feed that damn demon beast. It was raised especially by that backer, you see. And it needed ranked entities to feed on. Dom said this like it is the most obvious thing in the world. Thats absurd. A demon beast will never be tamed by anyone if its not the blood ritual performed at the time of their evolution. Julie refuted him without waiting for a moments dy. She thought the guy was too drunk to make sense now. I said they raised the beast. Not tamed. The beast was sent human sacrifices at the right time for its steady evolution. Dont you know the hunters disappearance had increased long before the Osan woods disturbance was known to the popce? Eren said this in Doms voice from a distance. He was using his bullshittery again. There would always be cases of hunters disappearances into the woods and more. Not just here, but all over the world. Eren just linked those disappearances to a conspiracy. People needed a reason to believe the lost hunters disappearances were a part of a bigger plot than some mundane things like being killed by the magic beasts, terrains, circumstances, or rivals. Eren / fake Doms ims worked. Julie and the audience around them suddenly realized that there was more to the sudden increment in death toll and disappearances. But who would be crazy enough to raise a demon beast this way? If they were found out, they would be hunted by the entire kingdom and brought to justice no matter how high their rank is. Julie said this and immediately felt she shouldnt have asked the question. The matter didnt look as simple as she thought it to be. Maybe it would be in her best interest if she doesnt know the identity of the one who raised a demon beast this way. She wanted to retract her question and rece it with something else when she heard a burst of heartyughtering from Dom: Hahaha! Julie, oh my sweet little Julie. Dont you think a person partaking in a project of such scale and magnitude would know about the risks involved in it beforehand? Lets just say theres no fight between the killersing from the same creed. The kingdom is more than what it lets on. Eren again voiced and weaved a popr conspiracy theory. A kingdom that keeps its citizens in the dark and obtains benefits through shady means. Conspiracies that discredit popr beliefs would always get sold like hotcakes, whether they were true or not. This time was no different. You mean What I mean doesnt matter. What matters is that I was put in a tough position to choose between two hard choices. Either stay as a mediocre hunter all my life. Or, take a flight in the skies with a little push from that backer, after a chance meeting in the woods. I wanted to say no. But his power and the things that he was offering in exchange were too hard to resist. That guy had always done things slowly and carefully till now. But it looked like he was in a hurry all of a sudden. He decided to expedite the process by sending a lot of sacrifices towards the beast in one go. Thats when heid his hands on my party. He offered me a deal. To lure my party to an isted location and sacrifice my members there in exchange for a sure shot way to break into D Rank and progress much further. We all know the kingdom controls information like this so most of us stay stuck in lower ranks. But I had the chance to break past these limitations. And I took it. Begrudgingly at first, and willinglyter on. That cursed demon beast evolved into a C Rank as a result. The backer was able to tame it sessfully using the blood ritual. He also gave me an artefact to safely exit from the woods without leaving any clues behind. For our discretion, we had chosen an off route to exit the forest. But But what? Julie asked anticipatingly. But we met some greenhorns unexpectedly. My backer wanted to keep his identity hidden so he killed them all brutally. I suspect he would have killed me too had I not signed a binding contract with him and taken some preventive measures against him. Ill meet up with my backer in the next few days outside the city and then leave the city of Osan for good. But I need to enjoy myst days here. Turns out, a few among the younglings my backer killed were loaded with money. He didnt need the money or any of their stuff. So I kept some, sold some, and threw some. I still have plenty of their money on me. Should we make good use of it during my time here? Eren / Dom smiled creepily like he hasnt tried smiling before while saying that. Then he took out two Extols from his ID stone and handed them to Julie. Julies eyes opened wide after Dom gave her two Extols in advance without them doing anything together. How loaded is this guy? Julie thought to herself after she looked at the Extols lying on the table in front of her. Before she could say anything about it, Julie saw twodies approaching their tables after they witnessed Doms charity work. Julie could see what must thesedies be thinking of when they were approaching Dom. One Extol was enough for them to live a good life for quite some time. And if they could please Dom some more, maybe he would bless them with another couple of Extols. Julie couldnt me them. She too would have simr ideas had it been someone else and not Dom who had gotten himself involved in the mess. And Julie was here on a mission. A mission that was almostpletely over due to an unexpected encounter with the perpetrator behind the whole incident himself. Thedies approached Dom and offered him to double his fun. Dom of course epted right away. He looked at Julie who waved him goodbye, indicating she wasnt interested in the offer. Dom didnt mind. He even let her keep the two Extols. Julie had tried following Dom when they went outside the bar. But even in his drunken haze, Dom could sense he was being followed and looked back to stare at Julie who then had to bow her head and let him go away. She knew if she pushed her luck now, forget about unwrapping the whole mystery behind Dom, shell end up deader than the dead. Dom had gotten away. Nobody could tell where he had gone. Julie closed her fist on the two Extols Dom had given her. She needed to inform her superiors about the breaking news she had received. ******************************* Julie Ekheart was on a mission when she was spending her time in such a lowly ce. To collect information about the unknown person that had apanied Dom during his second visit to the Osan woods. Sometimes the denizens of the darkest corners of the city knew more about what happened around them than people of the light ever could. Julie stuck out in the bar due to her ranking. Not many people could gauze her rank due to her using an artefact to interfere with their mana sense. But Reen could find out about it with her C Rank prowess. Therefore, Eren immediately closed in on Julie, knowing full well she wouldnt be the bars usual customer. She was there to collect information regarding anything and everything that had happened in the Osan woods. Eren knew the city was now crawling with spies. He just needed to approach the right spy at the right time to spill the beans about Doms involvement. When Dom was approaching Julie, Eren could tell that there was a hint of surprise shed in Julies eyes briefly before she masked it away. Eren guessed she did not personally know Dom but must have seen his picture in the reports. Eren was also aware Julie had started video-recording the entire conversation with her mana-powered 360-degree audiovisual capturing device dubbed as her ID stone. First, she handled her ID stone hurriedly and briefly without taking anything out from it. She had also kept that stone too far away from her on the table when the conversation started. That was another sign. Eren was more than happy to give a documentary-type recorded interview to Julie. He said enough about his motives, stayed vague about a few things and med everything on his backer, which was no one by the way. Unless someone was doing something suspicious in the Osan woods for real. But what were the chances of that happening, right? Eren had thought. Eren was purposefully being vague about the kingdoms involvement during his spy interview. First, he didnt want to draw the kingdoms attention. And second, if he outrightly med anyone, nobody would believe him. Plus, the chances of his lies getting caught would be high if he named someone or became specific about anything. It was better he let others conclude the story themselves to fit their narrative. Of course, there would be some loopholes in what Eren had said to Julie. Like why did hee back to save Matt if everyone was going to get sacrificed? But he had skipped on many details and stayed elusive about the rest. Therefore those loopholes will be treated as nk spaces that need to be filled with either information or conjectures. Eren also did not go into details about Isaacs party wipeout for the same reason. He even skipped mentioning their names to show that Dom was still in his capacities to think about himself. A miser like Eren gave two Extols to Julie with a bleeding heart so that she would have proof of Doms involvement in Isaacs murder. Every batch of Extol had a special mana refraction pattern that was different from the other. Julie couldpare the batch pattern of Isens current Extols with the Extols she had received from Dom to make a solid case against him. ********************************** With this, Eren had given Julie enough to make her see Dom and his backer as the real culprit. ================= Authors Note: Ill soon update VEHs discord link in the novels synopsis. Be sure to check it out ? Chapter 42: Breadcrumbs

Chapter 42: Breadcrumbs

Eren had given Julie enough to make her see Dom and his backer as the real culprit. But just in case, the Osan Woods Butcher decided to leave more breadcrumbs for his pursuers. Therefore he led those twodies who were following the fake Dom into an inn. The fake Dom made the twodies drink a lot of booze to dull their senses once they all got into their reserved room. Eren had already given a lot of stuff to store in the ID stone Reen was using. The strong booze was included in that storage. Eren had booked another room to enter the inn. Then entered Doms room after he opened the door for him. Both thedies had already gotten delirious by then. Eren didnt want to kill these twodies. They would serve as the breadcrumbs/proofs for Doms supposed involvement in Isaacs murder. Eren needed to perform sexual acts on thesedies that would serve as proof of them spending the night with Dom. But Eren didnt want to lose his newly gained virginity on these cheap thots. He wanted Nina to do that honour. So pration was out of the question. Thesedies wouldnt remember what had happened to them tonight either. Only their sore bodies would make them remember they had been through a lot with some guy named Dom. Eren immediately got to work. He told Reen to be a coffee mug first. Then he made her retract her mana sense and stopped his mental connection with her for the time being. Eren didnt want Reen to experience the sexual appetite just yet. First, he thought of her as a child who is just learning to walk. Second, he didnt know what physiological changes it would bring to the demon beast. Perhaps Reen will go berserk if her sexual needs arent met properly. This happens with even rankless animals. And with ranked animals, the state of berserk can only get enhanced. Therefore, Eren turned Reen into aplete coffee mug before starting his business with thedies. Eren started rough. He didnt give the same care to thedies as he did to Nina. He needed the proof of his rough y to be shown on thedies bodies the next day. When Eren was done, both thedies were naked and writhing in pain-induced ecstasy. They also hade a lot. Even without the pration, Eren was thorough with his hands. Eren just kept his mouth away from getting involved in the y. In this life, he would only taste the finest ofdies with his mouth. The musky after-sex scent had filled the room. Bothedies soon fell into a deep slumber together. Eren left four Extols, this time stored inside Doms original ID stone. Plus, he left some equipment he had received from Isaacs party stored in the same ID stone. The breadcrumbs had been nted. Eren knew, by tomorrow, the location of thesedies will be found. And all their possessions so far will be analysed. What will they find after checking the stuff thats inside Doms ID stone? ********** The next day. Things happened as Eren had predicted. The twodies were tracked even before they woke up. They were both sleeping soundly. And wouldnt open the door when it had been knocked multiple times. The pursuers had to barge in by breaking the door. The environment quickly got awkward when the team of pursuers male popce started intensely looking at two nakeddies in front of them. The female members of the team had to take the lead and chase the males out of the room. They gave these horny men the job to secure the area. Then they woke the two sleeping beauties up and made them wear their clothes. The female members talked to what seemed like their superior over their ID stones. A trio entered the room shortly after. It was Lin, Peter, and from Lins party. Julie followed them soon after. Julie Ekheart was a regr member of Lins party, serving as an E Rank huntress in the OB. Peter and were her usual superiors but for this case, she reported to Lin who was in charge of their entire team and this investigation. What did you find? We have confirmed their identities. They are the same person who had exited the bar with suspected Dom Walker. One of thedies of the investigation team reported to Lin. Julie, confirm their identities a second time. You were there after all. Julie came forward and gave a short bow to Lin before proceeding to look at the barely clotheddies. She confirmed their identities and stepped back. Alright. Lets go with the standard practice. Take everything in the room as an object of interest in the investigation and seize it. Let the historians do their work. And make the arrangements to secure thesedies as potential eyewitnesses. Thedies were taken to a secure warehouse. Lin wouldnt have treated the case with such sensitivity had it not been indicated by Doms previous statements that there was kingdom politics involved in this case. Hello. My name is Lin Karr. Im a regtory officer of the OB. We are currently investigating a man named Dom Walker who you twodies met yesterday. We want details regarding your interactions with the same man. Thedies blushed after hearing Lins request. Eren had done a number on them. Their bodies were sore and they didnt remember many things post the booze and the bong. But they knew they had the best time of their lives with Dom Walker. Sir, might we know what crimes the guymitted for you to bring us here against our will? One of thedies asked while mustering her courage. They wouldnt want to rat out the guy who had kept his word and left them four Extols each like he had promised unless they could help it. Lin lit a dark green gasper, inhaled the smoke, and took a huge puff before replying: Where do I begin? We suspect that the man you know has killed his party members willingly by putting them in harms way. He has colluded with a third party to cause Osan woods disturbance. He is suspected of nurturing an untamed demon beast of C Rank. There are some more crimes we suspect him for. But it would be too immature for me toment on those at this point. So tell me, what do you know about the guy you met yesterday and what did you do together? Thedies realized the guy was even more of bad news than they gave him credit for. They decided toe clean and told him everything they knew about him and what took ce after they got into the inns room. Lin had creases on his forehead after hearing thedies statements. Although they confirmed that they had spent the night with Dom doing the sexual activities, when he asked them about the details through and Julie, they said that they were too drunk and high at the time to remember. Matt had given them a crucial detail that Dom had a small scar just below his right pectoral. But thedies couldnt confirm seeing that. Lin was just about to grill them some more before the historians report came in. They said that the suspect named Dom Walker had a very faint aura of a demon beast on him, meaning that he was in close contact with the beast or he was a demon beast himself. Lin immediately discarded the second idea. The historian also confirmed that the room had another visitor at midnight. The reports indicated that he was rankless. But that only confirmed Lins guess that it was the same man who had apanied Dom during his second trip to the woods. His backer. Lin was thinking about his next set of ns when he got another report. One of the objects collected from the room was confirmed to be Doms ID stone. And it had some stuff remaining in its storage space that belonged to Isaacs party. So it WAS him. Killing his party members wasnt enough. The bastard and his damn backer killed the kids as well and ruined everything for me. We need to skin these cold-blooded criminals alive after capturing them. ========================== Authors Note: Brace yourself for the 12-chapter mass release. Decided to end volume one of VEH in one go. Hope you like the volume 1s conclusion. Activelyment on the chapters and paragraphs starting from this chapter. Enjoy the long ride! ? Chapter 43: Redact and Whitewash

Chapter 43: Redact and Whitewash

So it WAS him. Killing his party members wasnt enough. The bastard and his damn backer killed the kids as well and ruined everything for me. We need to skin these cold-blooded criminals alive after capturing them. Lin said out aloud after seeing both the reports. It was useless to dig any further after seeing so many substantial pieces of evidence. Lin, I respect you as my senior, but please dont drag our party and association in this mess any more than you already have. Sure, we can do anything we want to do with Dom Walker if he gets captured by us. But forget about his backer. He is bad news. Not just for you, me or the association. But for the entire city of Osan. Ive known cities that were more prosperous and prominent than ours getting wrecked after they made the mistake of involving themselves in the kingdoms power games. Isen Osan is not even worth a fart in the big leagues eyes. Our worth is even lesser. held Lins shoulder and said everything. She was saying no to her superior which was a form of disrespect. But Lin knew there was no malice in it. And he was worried about the same thing as well. What should we do then? Lin asked helplessly. No matter what came out of the investigation, Isen was on his case. Lin had to withdraw inside the academy and resume his lecturing again if he wanted to have some peace of mind. Simple. Redact everything about the backer from the report. me everything on Dom Walker. And punish him. Im sure his backer wouldnt mind us taking care of a nuisance. replied calmly. But we cant do anything about the reports already submitted to the kingdom and LA academy. Who would we call Doms aplice? Just keep that part of the case open to spection. Kill Dom without taking him into custody. That way he wont renege on his backer and make troubles for him as well for us. What about Matt, the only guy alive from Doms Raiders? Hell make noise if something about our report and investigation seems half-hearted to him. That might indeed be a problem. But he is just an F Rank hunter in the initial stage. Im sure the OB wouldnt mind if we discredit him a little before getting him out of the association. That way his rants would seem like him getting back at us for kicking him out. And when did youe up with this entire game? Dont tell me you thought all this on the spot. Lin had to ask after hearing s every full-proof exnation on how to make this problem go away. Yesterday. After I saw the footage of Dom Walkers talk with Julie. Unlike you, Ive met him in the OB a couple of times. It was indeed him. No doubt about it. I was only wondering how he was so hammered not to speak normally during that footage. But after seeing thedies and estimating the guys recently changed lifestyle, Im more shocked that he could still function the way he functioned at all. So if it was indeed Dom. And if we assume all that he said during the footage to be true. Then todays oue was a foreseeable event. I couldnt sleep at allst night thinking about the repercussions of our investigations and came up with this n. Alight. Lets do it your way then. Lin agreed with s n. They werent justice seekers. They were hunters. They knew about how to skin their prey. But they also knew about how to save their hide. Lins only regret was that he wouldnt be able to think about ranking up anytime soon after he resumed being a lecturer. But his life and safety were more important at this point. **************** A weekter! Nina hade back from her trip to the city of Lauren. She had carried a lot of ingredients in her ID stone. But that wasnt enough. She had to use a couple of E Rank storage space artefacts to pack all the stuff. Eren greeted Nina with open arms. He inhaled her musky scent mixed with her new go-to EDP he had gifted to her. Nina too felt at home after taking Eren in her embrace. Eren used his hands again to grab Ninas butt and gave them a firm squeeze. Nina was kinda expecting this so she didnt flinch. Little rat, behave! We are at doorsteps. Let mee in first. Nina pulled Erens cheeks with equal enthusiasm. She was in a good mood today seeing Eren after a week. But then Nina remembered Eren would be gone for five academic years. And he might note back to her after he is grown up and gets a ce of his own. That realisation suddenly hit her and made her sad. Eren observed the sudden drop in Ninas mood and understood she was thinking about his eventual departure from this ce. He tried to pacify her: Aunt Nina dont worry. For me a week and five years are all the same when I dont get to see you. Ille back as soon as those wretched academic years get over. Nina smiled hearing that. She had underestimated Erens EQ. Hmph! Whos worried about your absence, little rat? Ill probably enjoy not being ogled at by a horny teenager all the time. By now they both had entered the inner sanctum of the ground floor. Eren had already made breakfast. He would have it with her after she freshens up. Erni, tell me what did you do all week? Hehehehe! Did you perhaps avail of self-help thinking about me? Nina asked while she had the first bite of her breakfast. She has gotten fresh. Eren had made poached eggs with toast. Please! Id rather save my energy for our post date adventures in theing days. What about you? Eren was oozing confidence while he was having his bite. The past week had been fruitful for him. He had started sensing mana around him now after the repetitive meditations based on his past experiences. He was much faster than in his previous life because of it. Plus, his framing of Dom Walker had gone smoothly. Nina asked about the same after she sensed the unusual calm in the city even after it was known that Isaac Osan had been killed. The citysw and order should have been strained attempting mass arrests of suspects. But she didnt see or hear about such a thing from her carriage service. Enough joking around, Erni. Tell me what happened to Isaacs case? Did the suspect get caught or something? I was in a hurry doing a lot of things in the city of Lauren. So I couldnt keep a tab on these things. Hahaha! Youll be surprised if you know the identity of Isaacs killer! Erenughed genuinely thinking about poor Doms situation. The guy couldntin now that he was dead. Hmm? Why? Is it someone we know? Nina asked as she had another bite of toast. Yes. Dom Walker is Isaacs killer. He first wiped out his party. Then when he was running away from the crime scene via a different route he was caught by Isaacs party. So he killed them off too. They say that Don had help when he did these crimes, which had apanied him during his second visit to the woods. That unknown person was the reason behind the Osan woods disturbance. They also managed to tame the demon beast. That persons identity is not known. So he is being referred to as the Osan Woods Butcher. The bounty contract has gone on his head. Dom is missing and considered a fugitive. Some say Dom is killed by the OWB (Osan Woods Butcher) while others im he is on his way to leave the kingdom. A few others even testified that he is still living in the city of Osan. Theres a lot of news and gossip about Dom. But surprisingly, not even a peep for the OWB. Even Isen didnte forward to release any further statements after the killers link with Dom was established. I think theres some whitewashing going on in the backdrop. Because now some news is even iming Dom didnt return from the woods after killing his party members. We both know its not true. But nobody is satisfied with only a few versions of events it seems. Instead of finding the identity of the OWB, everything has been made to look like it starts and ends with Dom and nobody else. Eren gave Nina a brief retrospect of the news that was being circted during the past week. Eren had started selling the stockpiled potions in the apothecary. His customers would inform him about recent events. What the customers didnt know was that they were talking to the elusive Osan Woods Butcher himself when they told him about such news. During this past week, Eren had gotten himself busy creating a lot of fake and confusing trails of Dom that led to nowhere and everywhere. Reen worked hard for this and was given her due reward in the form of sumptuous food. The cocktail of real and fake news was created by him. But it was served to perfection by the citys administration. Eren guessed that the city didnt want to offend any bigshot from the kingdom in their search for justice. That served Erens purpose. He had given that statement during his interview with Julie for this very reason. He wasnt sure if his trick would work. But apparently, he had underestimated the city lords wariness for the kingdoms royal experts. Isen Osan was a minor baron in the kingdom. He didnt have stakes high enough to question the kingdoms role in the woods disturbance or the murder of his grandson, irrespective of whether it was true or not. And therefore, nobody could know the real identity of the OWB. Who, by the way, was busy flirting with his aunt at the time! Chapter 44: Jake Sullivan

Chapter 44: Jake Sullivan

Ten days before heading out for the Academy! Eren was seen seated in his room. He was holding the smallest, F Rank Mana Blessing from his collection in his hand while meditating. Eren wanted to use a bigger, and better one. But the area of influence the bigger Mana Blessing would have was enough for aunt Nina to figure out its presence. Eren concentrated and tried to take the mana inside his body through the region below his navel. The eventual oue was realized finally. Eren felt like a ck hole had been created inside his body. All the surrounding F Rank mana that was condensed in the surrounding by the Mana Blessing was getting absorbed by that ckhole genesis. A point of mass was created after the attraction force ended. It felt surreal and real at the same time. Eren had an inactive F Rank mana core now in his body. It only needed primary mana pathways for him to officially enter his F Rank journey. But Eren felt something was different about this times F Ranks core creation. The force of attraction was stronger than he remembered. Eren could see an intricate pattern that was getting faint when he checked his navel. The pattern had disappeared after a couple more breaths. Eren could swear that he had seen that pattern somewhere. It took him a while to recollect that the nes gem that he had gulped down had the same pattern carved atop it. Eren had not forgotten about the biggest miracle of his life. He had a couple of sleepless nights thinking about it, along with his past mistakes and regrets. It was just that he couldnt do anything to solve the mystery around it. And he couldnt ask anyone either. So he had to let it go. Maybe the mystery would reveal itself when he was strong enough. Eren tried to make that pattern resurface again using his thoughts. But he wasnt sessful. He had to give up on his efforts after a couple more tries. Eren wasnt disappointed. He wasnt in a hurry to know about the timeless treasure he was carrying within him. If it wanted to interact with him, it would, at the right time. Or when he was strong enough to make it reveal itself. No use banging his head against the obstacle now. Eren decided to freshen up. His body was sticky due to the F Rank core formation. When a ranked entity breaks through its existing rank and enters a new one, its body goes through a purification process. The body expels impurities hiding deep within it and invigorates itself. The bodys natural clock resets. Halting or reversing the ageing process. Thats why high ranked entities leave for longer and look youthful even when they turn hundreds of years old. The core formation was the most important part about one starting their ranking journey. The mana pathways would form eventually even when one doesnt take additional efforts to do so. Eren will again experience another body cleansing when his mana pathways form and the F Rank mana circtes through his body for the first time. F Rank was special that way. It had two body cleansing events. Eren bathed thoroughly and took his time getting freshen up. He knew it wouldnt be long before the mana pathways formed. He just needed to expedite it before he leaves for the academy. Eren needed to visit the Osan woods. Reen was basically the boss of that forest. He wouldnt have to face any risk. And Reen knew about the location of a few precious herbs which would help him open his mana pathways faster while going easy on his body. But how could he convince Nina? She wouldnt let him go on his own in the woods. Plus she would get suspicious about his motives. Eren was already walking on the tight edge keeping Reen in his room. Reen had gotten better at controlling her demon beast aura. She was almost impossible to detect for the entities who had the same rank as her or below. But that didnt mean Eren raised the difficulty by himself. Reen was more useful when her existence and her abilities were only known to him. Your opponent would y their hand safely when they knew about the cards youve been dealt with. Therefore, Eren was always careful about dealing with stuff that was rted to Reen. He didnt want to raise aunt Ninas awareness unnecessarily for the same reason. Eren had a n that he could use to cover and make use of Reens abilities almost openly without her getting detected. Provided it gets executed wlessly when he enters the academy. But that was for the future. Till then, only Eren and Reen were witnesses of her existence. Coming back to the present. Eren needed to get his hands on those herbs by visiting the woods. And he needed a valid reason for his absence. Enter Jake Sullivan. Jake was the son of a businessman in the city of Osan. His father Jack Sullivan dealt in the import and export of goods. The business would provide raw ingredients to Nina at a discounted rate than usual. In return, she would sell him potions in bulk only for him to resell them at higher rates at the right market outside the city. Therefore the businessman father had very cordial acquaintances with every healer in the city, including Nina. Jake Sullivan was a carbon copy of his father in many ways. He was cunning and cordial at the same time. He always talked sweetly. And he was ready to make friends with everybody. Eren had seen an opportunity in Jake when he hade to the apothecary with his father. His excuse to get out of aunt Ninas supervision and visit the woods unsupervised. Things became even easier for Eren to make an acquaintance with Jake after he knew that he was also going to enter the LA academy with him. Jack Sullivan had paid a hefty donation to the city of Osans administration to reserve a spot from the limited seats in the academy for his son. The city of Osan could send up to five kids every year under the reserved quota. Everyone other than the reserved seat kids would have to pass an entrance exam. Which was as difficult as it was unpredictable. Therefore the reserved seats would always be preferred by the well-to-do people who wanted to send their kids to receive the best education the kingdom had to offer. Even aunt Nina was no different. She had enrolled Eren into the reserved seat quota. It was just that she didnt have to pay. Her influence on the citys administration was strong enough to avail a reserved seat. Therefore, Eren and Jake didnt need to give any exams before entering the academy. They will be fellow students in the next few days. Eren was a shut-in in his previous life. He didnt interact with people apart from a select few of them in the academy. So he didnt know about Jack or the fact that he came from the same city as him. But that didnt matter to his current ns. Jake immediately extended his hand of friendship to Eren and thetter epted as quickly for reasons known to him. Today Eren was going to use his new and only connection so far to get out of his current predicament. Eren stepped downstairs. Had his breakfast. And told aunt Nina that he would be meeting with Jack and discuss academic studies with him. He also told her that he might stay over as his ce. Nina wanted to ask some more but Eren had already run out of the house by then. She never knew a recluse like Eren would find a friend in Jack this easily. Nina was d that Eren was finally making connections and didnt want to stop the progress. So she let the matter go. Eren headed to a now-familiar alleyway that he had been using to disappear into the dark. When he appeared from the other end, everything about him had changed. Eren had bought Hunters clothes for himself when the city markets started functioning. It was to blend in with the Hunters popce. Eren had also got two masks now. He was wearing one of them that only left his eyes and forehead unmasked. An unknowndy in herte 30s could be seen with him. She looked menacing with her odd, deformed smile. She had also worn the Hunters clothes. Reen, stop smiling. It doesnt look good on you yet. You might scare the rental agency guy. Eren scoffed at Reen who then followed his orders and stopped her facial exercise. She asked her master as they were headed to the southern city gates: Eren. What should I say to that rental agency food? Reen spoke in thedys voice she had eaten before. It was just some random woman who the duo had preyed on. To satiate Reens hunger that is. Reens oratory skills and her bipedal walk had taken huge leaps forward. She almost sounded normal. There was a slight oddity in the way she controlled her voice but that wasnt a deal-breaker. Reens walk and her run were the ones she had improved most on. She walked and ran like humans. She could go faster than Eren now if she wanted to. Just rent two nice colts for both of us. Use the money Ive given you and the ID stone of thedy you have shapeshifted into. Of course, the ID stone and your mana signature wont match. Just tell him your ID stone has some problem and you intend to change it after this trip. Give him five EDs (Edenberg Dors) as a bribe while saying it. Alright. I I cant eat it afterwards, right? Call him him and not it when you talk, will you? No, you cant eat him. Youll have plenty of mana beasts to feed on in the woods. Eren and Reen talked like usual and reached the rental agencys office. =============================== Authors Note: Some readers might be wondering why I introduced a few concepts of cultivation in the magical realism world, based on the LitRPG style ranking system. Will it be still a non-cultivation novel if we find these concepts getting included in the ranking-based story-verse? I can only tell you why I chose to go this way instead of keeping things straightforward. I think the progression from Rank F to Rank E would have been easier to show if VEH was a system novel. The system serves as the reason behind any MCs power level. Therefore, it doesnt need anything else. System novels rule the Alls domain for this very reason. I also like some aptly written system novels. Quick progression with zero boring details and almost no plot holes (if the author tes their cards right). Whats not to like in a system-based piece? But for better or worse, VEH is not a system novel. I remember a reader asking this question in thements section in earlier chapters. I will answer that query now. VEH is not a system novel. Im sorry for keeping you on hold. Hope you forgive me. ? We can always go the easy route and say theres an E Rank right after the character levels up from the F Rank. and it would be assumed by most as an eventual progression. But thats just it. We have to assume this thing. Theres no substantial exnation that can be found in a rank up after we do that. I dont want VEH to go that way, establishing the power structures on assumptions. I want it to have a standardized power structure that has set rules. It would help in keeping the storyline clean with minimal plot holes. It would also serve as a valid reason behind MCs uing actions. And most of all, VEH will be easily understood by even the newest of readers on the All even if they havent read system based or cultivation based works before. VEH will still keep the simplicity of the ranking system intact while allowing for valid reasoning behind a characters rank up. It will merge the straightforwardness of the RPG system with some of the logical concepts behind cultivation. Of course, VEH will never have Dao, Laws, and all those elusive concepts in its storyline. Lastly, sorry for attaching this extended authors note. Ill take my leave now. Happy reading! ? Chapter 45: Jaime’s Party

Chapter 45: Jaimes Party

This is your fifth mana beast now. It should be enough tost a while. Now lets go get our herbs before the night sets in. Erenmented as he saw a mana beast getting devoured inside a slimy ball of mass. Soon that beasts body was nowhere to be found. Even the beasts bones had vanished into the thin air. The slimy ball of mass turned into a naked woman in herte 30s with the average face but well-defined curves. Reen wore the clothes nearby whileining: Why do humans wear clothes? They dont serve any purpose to me. Reen was wearing her panties now. Or to be precise, the panties of the prey she had eaten and found outter on in her ID (ID Stone). If it was Eren from before, he would have nutted then and there, after witnessing that scene. But geezer-brain Eren of today had only one thing running in his mind right now. The forests undiscovered treasures! Alright. Eren, theres an F Grade wood elemental crystal nearby. Eren nodded and followed Reen who was now dubbed by him as a treasure-seeking device. Its been a few hours since they reached the forest. They had already collected plenty of herbs. It was enough for Eren to finally break into F Rank and start his ranking journey. Now Eren was focusing on collecting elemental crystals. Reen also had her fill in between their forest traversing. Eren was getting impatient whenever they stopped for Reens snack time. Eren only had till twilight to collect as many treasures as he could. He needed to be back by the next days morning, lest aunt Nina tries to contact Jack to confirm his whereabouts. The duo reached the ce and collected the elemental crystal hiding inside the trees trunk. It didnt wait for long before heading to its next treasure destination. The forest was soon covered by ayer of darkness. The moonlight was the only sce creatures of night could find. Eren was about to head to get the next elemental crystal when Reen informed him about some activity ahead in their path. The duo paused in its tracks. Eren told Reen to morph into her original form and get inside his shirt to her usual position. Eren was rankless. So his vital signs were not as apparent as the ranked entities. At most, hed be considered as another rankless animal in the forest. Reen had be even more inconspicuous than her morphed form after getting back to her usual state. Plus, the duo had darkness as its cover. Eren proceeded further with caution. No hunting party would prefer hunting at night unless there were specific conditions. And Eren was sure the hunters of the city of Osan didnt excel in nocturnal hunting. So he took extra precautions when approaching the entities in front of him. Eren wanted to avoid any conflict if he could. He had just settled his earlier crimes. He didnt want to waste time covering his tracks once more. But at the same time, Erens instincts told him he should at least have a look before jumping the gun. Reen had already told him they were all D and E Rank entities. That meant Reen could still somehow handle them. Or at least escape safely if pushes to shove. Eren could see a kinda open area ahead with a campfire lit right in the middle of it. Eren didnt exit the woods. He quickly got into the nearby bush and observed from there. Eren could barely see whaty in front of him. But he guessed at least four people were sitting around the campfire, talking among themselves. Eren couldnt hear their conversation. So he asked Reen to help. Reen spread her mana sense in their direction while keeping it inconspicuous. The mana sense was an extra sense a ranked entity would develop after starting its ranking journey. With each rank up, the mana sense would cover more area and be more thorough in its investigation. It also had an array of uses. Mana sense could double up as a 360-degree vision inside the rankers mind. It could also serve as an added ear, or an intangible taste bud. Reen used her mana sense on the people ahead and shared the feedback with Eren. Eren could now envision and listen to the people ahead as if he was sitting right in the middle of them. Is there any rankless animal nearby? Should I go check it out? One of the four members spoke. He was a tall and dark man. He had an eagle-beak-like nose and a medium stubble. With Reens senses, Eren found out that he was a Rank E entity in the upper stage. Stop being always on edge, Ronald. Theres nothing to fear from a rankless rabbit. Here, drink this. This will calm your nerves. A woman in her mid-30s offered Ronald a bottle of booze that she was drinking a moment ago. She was lean and looked to have a medium height. Her features were generic except her blood-red hair. Haah! Keep that filth to yourself, Linda. I wouldnt want to turn like you after drinking such a potent amount of Golden Grain. This is the fourth bottle in a day that youve gulped down. Do you want me to serve as an excuse for you to take out one more? Ronald refused Lindas offer. Linda wasnt sad though. More for me it seems! She celebrated that thought with another huge gulp of Golden Grain. Ronald, dont worry. I have taken precautions to secure the perimeter. Your vignce is appreciated but your anxiety is not. And Linda, you might want to slow down on the booze a little considering we are still in the Osan woods. A calm voice shut both Ronald and Linda. Eren could sense through Reen that he was the only D Rank entity in the group. He was only a tad shorter than Ronald. But had a more defined physique. His looks were also above average with his golden locks, blue eyes, and chiselled face. He would be their leader, Eren thought to himself. Jaime, forget about these idiots and tell us our next set of ns. We cant be roaming in the forest every day and have nothing to show for it. Thest person to speak was another woman. But unlike Linda who was dressed messily and talked crassly, this woman was exuding elegance and sternness. She had dark green hair and short stature. She looked stronger than Ronald and Linda. Chapter 46: Good PR

Chapter 46: Good PR

Jaime, forget about these idiots and tell us our next set of ns. We cant be roaming in the forest every day and have nothing to show for it. Thest person to speak was another woman. But unlike Linda who was dressed messily and talked crassly, this woman was exuding elegance and sternness. She had dark green hair and short stature. She looked stronger than Ronald and Linda. You are right as always, Verna. But dont worry our assignment is going to end soon. As soon as we find out exactly what happened in the Osan woods and who was the culprit behind it, we can convey our findings to that man and our job will end here. Jaime replied to Verna while chugging down a potion of unknown effect. But Linda intruded in their conversation before Verna could reply to him: Verna, stop thinking like you are better than me just because your ranking stage is higher. And who are you calling stupid? Ill tell you who is the stupid one here. All of you, including me. Aaaargh! That indeed makes me stupid, doesnt it? Whatever! My point is we should have never agreed toplete this assignment. God knows what will be of us if we interfere in the big leagues games. Linda vented her pent up anger on everyone. But there was a sense of fear in her anger! Ronald found some truth in her words: As drunk as she might be, Linda is right! We shouldnt have epted this assignment. If I find that rat who messed up so royally in a royal affair, I would kill that person myself. First, that rat messed up with the demon beasts evolution. That wasnt enough. It leaked the whole disappearance of hunters to the masses. And even hinted at the kingdoms hand in this affair. What kind of idiot paints a bulls eye on their back by doing this? Ronald concluded and finally snatched the Golden Grain from Linda before hurriedly sending it down his throat. Linda could only look at him angrily. She was the one who had teased him about having her booze. Now she had to face the consequences. But the bigger question is, how did they find out about everything? Leaking this news seems like sending that man a message. Im not sure how that man will retaliate after knowing his ns were put to rest just because of this cockroach! Thats what we need to find out in this forest. Our search can only be initiated during nights when other hunters from the city of Osan remain idle. We dont want any more information breaches. During the daytime, we will search and find clues about the students deaths. And during night time we will conduct our separate investigation. Jaime stated and the rest nodded. Verna asked another query: So will we be able to stick to the same excuse? Jaime the lecturer at the LA academy and his three assistant lecturers are here to investigate the deaths of the academys final year students? Verna asked rhetorically. To which Jaime could only smile mirthlessly before sounding his agreement: Yes! Most high ranked entities will see through this BS. The academy will seldom send the lecturers to do these investigations. And they all know we belong to which faction in the royal court. Even that scheming but shallow man Isen Osan will see an oddity here. But this ruse is enough to keep the lower-ranked entities in check or second-guessing. Plus, it also doubles up as the academy caring about students welfare. Thats good PR. Though, the biggest damage that rat has done is to our reputation and credibility. Now that man thinks the leak took ce from our end. We need to clear our name by finding the real culprit of this incident. Do you think its Dom Walker as the reports submitted by the city of Osan say? Im not sure why, but my instincts say theres a veil woven with the strings of dead ends, confusion, and mysteries to hide a vile evil under it. Linda talked as if she was sobered up all of a sudden. The three members around her didnt act surprised by Lindas sudden rity. As if they were used to it. Verna was the one to answer her: I dont think so. At most, this Dom guy can be a puppet for someone really powerful. They knew about that mans n in the Osan woods and decided to sabotage it using Dom as a spoiler. Everything will be answered if we find this puppet named Dom. Jaime shook his head at Vernas opinion, indicating his disagreement: You are naive if you think that Dom is still alive after all this. If theres someone powerful behind for real, theyll get rid of Dom now that he has served their purpose. Or to be precise, after he damaged their interests after telling more than he should have. Why would they leave a loose end behind in the form of a bbermouth who was okay with puking out everything he knew on that recorded footage just to getid. If you ask me, he is down under someke, talking with the fishes. Then what should we do? Keep running around in the forest day and night without knowing about what we are looking for? Verna asked with frustration. She was bothered the most about spending her days in the forest, where there was no bath or proper toilet facilities. She looked elegant and cool, but only she knew how hard it was for her to maintain that facade in this environment. Well, Linda will use her powers to detect the smallest of clues if we find some other trail of the person who was with Dom. So far, we have only confirmed what the city of Osan imed to have found. That there was a second person with Dom whose identity is unknown. Following Doms trails is a waste at this time. When you have so many clues regarding Dom out as public knowledge, it can only mean theyve been left behind purposely to mislead the pursuers. We cant track the demon beast either because of its speciality. That leaves us only with this person who is as elusive as they are cunning. Even someone like Linda could onlye up with that person being rankless, which is not true. So we cant use the usual methods to know about their identity. Theyve taken necessary precautions against it. That leaves us with the grid-wise, manual search for that persons previous presence in the woods. They must have travelled in the forest a lot of time before the demon beast evolution was triggered. They had to, after knowing so much insider detail about the case. Or they can return to the scenes of their crime, trying to see if theyve missed anything. We have already ced artefacts at both the crime scenes, which will let us know as well as record the persons identity there. Meanwhile, we can only try toplete our grid search as fast as we can. This area has been cleared. We will now move to the next grid, heading towards the western side of the forest. And we need to hurry. As Verna said, we dont want to spend a second more in this pathetic forest any more than we have to. Alright! The break time is over. We will take some rest after the next grid gets finished. Lets go. Chapter 47: Passive-Aggressive

Chapter 47: Passive-Aggressive

Alright! The break time is over. We will take some rest after the next grid gets finished. Lets go. Jaime and his party soon left their campsite after extinguishing the fire. Eren stayed still for some time even after they left to confirm their departure for good. Only then did hee out. Damn! Eren came out and said this out loud after he understood what he had done. Eren had made fake Dom say all those things about his mysterious backer, the disappearance of hunters, and the kingdoms involvement to throw his pursuers off the track. He would have never imagined that what he thought to be bullshittery was true. Eren had angered a lot of people in the big leagues by making the fake Dom say all those things out in the open. Sure, it had thrown his current pursuers off his trails. But by doing so, Eren had allowed himself to be the target of even more sinister enemies. His only advantage so far was that they were thinking of him to be someone else. A hidden powerhouse that had the power of ruining the n of another of their kind and status. Therefore nobody would think about someone like Eren who was just a teenager and still rankless to be the mastermind they were looking for. The OWB had gone scot-free in his crimes so far. And he wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could. In Erens defence, he couldnt even think in his wildest dreams that a backwater ce like Osan woods was a stage set for bigger powers. He had only done what was right and most optimal at that point. Eren simply did not have enough information about Dom to know about this hidden plot. So thats why in my previous life, Dom shifted to the kingdoms capital after his taming of the demon beast. He got involved in this mess. He didnt go there himself. Dom was forced to relocate to the capital city of Edinburgh by these people. Dom was amodated into those guys ns because he didnt cause any incident like me. He didnt be the whistleblower. Of course, he wasnt aware of everything from the get-go. But slowly and surely that all changed. And Dom kept his mouth shut even after knowing about this mess. Haah! Theres just so much about the previous Dom that I dont know. I thought I had everything figured out when I took this step. But turns out I was just a naive fool. I need to be more careful than I already am. These guys are from the LA academy. I need to keep my eyes on them when I enter the academys grounds. They will lead me to the truth. In any way, I dont regret making Reen my demon beast. I thought she was worth every risk. But her worth is maybe even more than what I had already anticipated. Thank the devil, I heard about there being artefacts nted at my crime scenes. I was nning to visit those ces out of curiosity. Staying in this forest anymore or nning toe back here will be a mistake. These guys wont find anything with the grid search because I didnt enter the woods from any other side. But they CAN find me eventually if I keep on lingering about in the forest. Eren was talking to himself. He had already left the campsite and was now heading outside the forest the same way he came from. So theres more than what meets the eye about you, Reen. What secrets are you hiding in your belly? Eren asked Reen who was busy contracting and expanding on his torso under his shirt. Eh? Are you talking about food? Reen was puzzled at Erens question. Eren knew she was a nk te regarding the whole matter. So he skipped asking about it: Haha! Nothing. Just forget about it. Whatever you are hiding, Ille to know about it eventually. I was nning to visit the forest one more time, but I should scrap that idea as well. No need to take risks creating more trails for the treasures that are just F Rank. Ronalds party has alreadypleted scanning this northern side area for the OWBs traces. But they might think about doing it again on the spur of the moment. Plus, that drunk woman Linda doesnt look normal to me. Is she a historian or someone else? My methods of masking my trails might not be enough to mislead her if she gets a fresh print. If I have to forget about collecting the forests treasures, I might as well put all my efforts into taking thest step with aunt Nina in thesest days. Eren had this thought and smirked. He had what he needed the most. The F Rank herbs expedite the creation of mana pathways. These herbs would spell trouble for rankless entities who didnt have a mana core. But they would be extremely helpful for those who did. With his herbs secured in the ID stone used by Reen, Eren returned home early in the morning. Nina was just done fixing breakfast and was about to call Jack Sullivan to ask him about Eren when thetter showed up. Erni, why do you look like youve run a mile in the forest? Ninas enhanced senses told her Eren was out in the wild. There was no point lying about his whereabouts. Eren needed to lie differently. Thats because me, Jake, and his servant had gone for a campfire at Green Dunes just outside the southern city gates. We spent the night there and came back just a few minutes ago. Eren immediately came up with a different lie. Lying came as easy as breathing for him because of his past life. Eren didnt care if his lie got caught in the future or not. He was sure hed be able toe up with another bullshittery at that time just as quickly. Little rat, you didnt even tell me about the n. I might have apanied you guys at the campfire. Anyway, go get fresh. Have some breakfast. You are up for another elementary potion order. Eh? We didnt have this order when I left. Are you punishing me for ditching you? Eren looked at Nina with a mix of suspicion and smirk. Hmph! A scoundrel like you needs to be taught a lesson. Go do as I say! Nina had a pout on her face. She didnt think Eren would be gone for the entire day. Her anxiety peaked when she realised his absence would be semi-permanent for at least five years. It looked like Nina was punishing Eren. But she only wanted to look at Eren for more time. By making him work at theb, Nina would be able to see him in front of her eyes. That was her passive-aggressive way of showing affection towards him. Ill walk on the path of fire for you mdy. This much is nothing. Just let me get fresh. I wouldnt want to stand near a stunningdy like you with this attire and state. Eren took Ninas hand in his and kissed the dorsal side while bowing a little. Ninas heart immediately softened at that gesture. She smiled at him and pulled his cheeks. Chapter 48: State of Epiphany

Chapter 48: State of Epiphany

The extra order done by Eren didnt have the delivery lined up for today just as he thought. But Eren didntin. He knew Nina wanted to spend time with him as much as she could by making him stay in theb with her. Ninas affection towards Eren had grown a lot more than before, thanks to his progress with her. And he needed it to grow it even further. Aunt Nina, we two can go for a campfire at the Green Dunes. Itll be our camping date. What do you say? Green Dunes was a ce not very far from the southern city gates. It was an area with green pastures, dunes covered in green vegetation, sparse trees, and an open sky. Green Dunes was famous for family campings. People would go there with families to have barbecue nights out in the open. That would be great, Erni! But we need to buy a tent and other camping gear. Nina was easy to please. Eren didnt even need to use his glib tongue this time. But hell be sure to use it somewhere else. Dont worry aunt Nina. Ill make the preparations myself. But Ill need some time for myself. Therefore, well do it three or four days after today. I feel like my mana pathways will be created during these days. You already know my F Rank mana core has been condensed. I think I entered the State of Epiphany when I experienced the condensation. Therefore my mana pathway creation has been elerated. So our date after four days will be a celebration for me starting my ranking journey. You need to give me something important as a gift at that time! Eren looked at Nina and gave a meaningful smile. Nina knew what he was talking about. She too felt excited about their outdoor date. But her curiosity regarding his previous statements made her prioritise a different matter: Erni, you entered the State of Epiphany? Is that true? Describe the event to me. ************************ A ranker would employ mana to strengthen their body, extend their lifespan, keep them youthful, perform superhuman feats and do many things that didnt seem possible for a rankless being. A ranker wouldmunicate with mana when he employs it for different uses and practices. But thatmunication was always initiated by the ranker. And therefore it would remain passive from the other side. It was believed that mana had a collective consciousness of all living beings. That consciousness would contain all the answers to the questions a ranker would have in his mind. It would also give answers to questions that even the said ranker hasnt thought of yet. And in the case of a naturally induced state of epiphany, mana tries tomunicate with the ranker by its own initiative. Themunication with mana was a lot like how Eren and Reenmunicated with each other using their thought link. There was no verbal, written or signnguage involved. It was a pure exchange of thoughts. Coming back to the case of the state of epiphany. The ranker with whom mana establishes themunication enters the state of epiphany. In the state of epiphany, all their questions and bottlenecks regarding the rank up would get answered, helping them cross the ranking divide easily. In the state of epiphany, a rankers bottleneck regarding his next rank would get resolved, aiding them to step into a new rank without any risk. Therefore every ranker wanted to experience the state of epiphany, especially when they experienced a slump in their ranking journey. A ranker who experienced the state of epiphany was considered lucky because it would not happen with everyone at low ranks. And the ones who had experienced it might not be able to experience it again. The state of epiphany was a natural phenomenon. It couldnt be produced in a controlled environment or settings under normal circumstances by low ranked entities. High ranked entities would sometimes be able tomunicate with the mana and connect with its universal consciousness by using special means, spells, and artefacts. But this was called forced epiphany and its effects were far from the naturally urring ones. The state of epiphany was not for everyone. Mana would only talk of its initiative with a few individuals who were innately attuned to the mana. These individuals would be called geniuses of their generations. And they would traverse through the ranking journey so fast, it would create a legend around them. The ranker would be called a genius if he could experience the state of epiphany before his teen years. As per this standard, Eren would be one of those rare geniuses who appeared once in a few centuries. If he did experience the state of epiphany that is. Which he did not. But there was no way to prove that Eren did not experience the state of epiphany. Thats what Eren counted on when he gave this reason to justify him using the herbs to open mana pathways. Eren was no genius. The mana never talked with him. And he never experienced the feeling of being connected to higher consciousness. But the state of epiphany was a perfect excuse for him to justify his sudden growth. It would also serve as a reason behind any potential leap in the ranking journey. *********************** Eren had already known about the state of epiphany and read its effects on the rankers psyche and body. Thats because he had read the anecdotes of rankers who had experienced it. When Nina asked him to state his experiences, Eren knew what and how to talk about the state of epiphany. He gave pretty detailed info to Nina. That had her convinced that he was the genius she thought him to be. Wow. Experiencing the state of epiphany at this age can be considered a blessing and curse at the same time, Erni. Thats because its such a waste to use this rare opportunity to progress further in low ranks. Its towards the high ranks that you need a big help like this. And only in high ranks, can this gift be truly and efficiently used. But since youve experienced the state of epiphany at such a young age, you must be better attuned to mana than even me. That means the state of epiphany can happen to you again. I just hope that you have progressed further in ranks when that happens. Nina told Eren while looking at him with care and pride hidden in her eyes. Her Eren was one of those geniuses of his generation. Of course, she would feel prideful. But a genius ranker would often attract trouble their way. Nina hoped that Eren would be smart enough to not get involved in that mess. *********** Five days before heading out for the Academy! Eren could be seen sitting naked in his room in a meditative position. He was trying to endure the tremendous pain as the mana pathways were being created inside his body at an unbelievable speed after the consumption of the herbs. Eren knew the expulsion of impurities this time would be much higher than what he had to go throughst time. Therefore he sat naked. It took a while before the process wasplete. As soon as it did, the mana core below Erens navel spun and sent the umted mana through the pathways to circte it inside his body. The mana core had been activated! Erens body felt so much lighter and full of vitality after the mana started circting inside his body through the newly created primary pathways. Eren knew he had entered the initial stage of F Rank with his mana core now. Eren could see his entire body was oozing a colourless, sticky tar-like substance that was like Reens slimy mass. Eren looked and smelled like he hadnt bathed in months and dipped in a beasts mucus. But contrary to his current visage, Erens body was rejoicing. He felt his body stats had been improved by a leap. Eren realized that this level up into Rank F was much better and thorough than what he had gone through in his previous life. The gems mysterious inscription showed itself again under his naval before disappearing again. But there were many things lined up for him to do instead of thinking about a mystery he couldnt solve at the time. Eren needed to clean up. He needed a good bath to look as fresh as his current body felt. But his thoughts were focused on a different matter: Now that Im done entering the F Rank, its about time I enter someone else as well! Eren smirked and told himself. It was time for his camping date with Nina. Chapter 49: Camping Date P1

Chapter 49: Camping Date P1

It was time for Erens camping date with Nina. Eren took his time bathing. When he got out, the Osan Woods Butcher managed to look even more youthful than he already was. Nobody would believe that this kid who looked like he still hasnt stopped nibbling on his mothers breasts for milk would be the mystery so many ranked entities were looking to unravel. Eren wore his usual clothes and stepped downstairs. Nina noticed the difference in looks and aura around him and realized the kid had pulled off entering Rank F. Entering Rank F at in teen years wasnt a big deal. A lot of kids his age would be having the same ranking status as him. But these kids would usually prepare for their rank from a very young age, even before they could be termed as teens. Whereas Eren had started his ranking journey only a month ago. Nina could only make sense out of this because of Erens exnation that it was rted to the state of epiphany. Nina took Eren in her embrace and thetter returned her hug. Erni, you pulled it off. We should celebrate. I can Nina was going to make him his favourite pancakes coated inyers of maple syrup. But she was cut off midway: Aunt Nina, you dont have to do anything extra. We already have a date nned at the campsite. Well celebrate it there tonight. Ill go get the camping gear now. But first Ill need an ID stone. So Ill visit a shop that sells it. Then register my mana signature on it at the city Admin office. Ill also have to buy resources suitable for my current rank. Then Ill have to buy hunting set for my rank. Im sure Jakes shop would cover these things. So Ill visit him. My time till the evening is packed. But we can head for the camping site as soon as Ie back. Eren exined to Nina about his ns today while he had his non-pancake breakfast. Nina could only agree to the young adults schedule. Eren had his fill and was about to leave home when he looked back and asked Nina: By the way, aunt Nina, what colour is it today? Nina smiled. She thought Erens head was filled with todays ns. But apparently, he still had some space left for these thoughts. She didnt take any detours this time: Ill do you one better. Todays colour is white with green floral print. Nina looked at him mischievously. Eren was impressed at the improvement: Thats a nice print. A flower print for a flowery ce. How I wish to just inhale the fragrance oozing from the pink blossom! Therell be time for that. You do what you have to do first. Give me another memorable date. And then well see. Nina was looking him right in the eyes when she said it. She thought it would be like their previous adventure. Everything in the menu apart from the pration. But what she didnt know was that Eren had prioritized the final act this time, treating it as the main dish. I live to serve Mdy. But would you be kind enough to you know mow thewn a little? That way I can enjoy exploring the folded petals of pink blossoms some more without any interruption. Little rat, you said you didnt mind the growthst time. Nina first blushed after Eren made such a demand. She had really let it grow and was aware she needed to trim it down if not outright wax or shave it. Nina was going to groom it today anyway after Erens departure. But Erens request made her keep it as it is just to spite him. How dare he dislike any part of her body? The contradiction incarnate had struck again. Mdy, you misunderstand. I still dont mind the growth. But I would PREFER if it was all super smooth down there. It would make it easy for me to taste-test. Eren said that while kissing Ninas dorsal hand. But he didnt bow this time and kept his eye contact with hers. This naked honesty and reason behind it finally made her release her pout! Alright, alright. Ill see what I can do. Come back soon. Otherwise, I might head out without you. Nina stuck out her tongue after she said that and closed the door on him. The door was supposed to be kept half-open as the apothecary was still open for business. But closing the door on Eren just made sense to her at the time. Eren could see that aunt Nina also had a ir for drama. Haah! The hotter they are, the crazier they get! Its like naturesw or something. Erenmented to nobody in particr while making his way to the city market. ****************************************** Eren returned home at around 4.30 PM. He now had his F Rank ID stone with his registered mana signature on it. The storage space inside the stone was filled with camping gear and some other stuff Eren had bought from Jakes shop. Mana signature was a small inscription array that only responds and lights up when the original user circtes their mana through it. This mana signature was used in multiple ways to establish a persons identity. It was also ced on ID stones. Thats how the term ID was included in the nomenture. Eren found Nina who was just wrapping up todays work. They both smiled when they saw each other. It was time to head out. The duo quickly got ready. Eren had already called for carriage service. They boarded the same and waited for the Green Dunes to show up. The ce wasnt far. Eren and Nina quickly found a remote ce. They could see a lot of tents at a distance from them. But the temporary abodes were too far from each other. The duo quickly got to work after finalizing the ce. They erected a tent quickly and chatted for a while before lighting the campfire, post the nights arrival. Eren had got skewers and was making kebabs on the campfire. The barbecue table was getting its coal from the same fire. Nina was setting the supper she had made beforehand. Finally, the duo settled on sitting beside each other on a wooden log nearby. The campfire was giving them warmth amid the asional cold breeze. The half-moon didnt exude as much moonshine as it could. But there were plenty of stars whose collective starlight made a difference. The smell of barbecue and kebabs was in the air. The sumptuous food awaited for the taking. It was a pleasant way to spend the night. Eren broke the ice: Au. err Nina, did you like the steaks? I made them medium-well, just the way you like. Ah! Yes. They were good. But the kebabs were something special. When did you learn to make them? Oh, that? I learned that from a recipe book. I wasnt sure how theyd turn out. But Im d you liked em. Ill give you the recipe if you want. You can make it for yourself after Im gone. The topic of Eren leaving for the academy was inevitable. It was looming over their every possible conversation. Eren might as well get it out now on a lighter note to make Nina transition into it rtively easy. Erni, will you miss me in the academy? Chapter 50: Camping Date P2*

Chapter 50: Camping Date P2*

Erni, will you miss me in the academy? Nina looked at Eren and asked with concern. Her heart and mind were restless thinking about the loneliness that would soon apany her for five years. If Eren had not made this progress with her, Nina would have been fine. She would have still cared for him and missed him, but it wouldnt have been detrimental to her psyche like the way it is during this timeline. Nina had realized in this one months duration. Eren had gotten so close to her as a man that she had be emotionally dependent on him. She chided herself for turning into an emotional fool. But Erens next words calmed her erratic nerves: Nina, of course, Ill miss you. And Im sure youll miss me too. But I have a home in you. Ill alwayse back. Five years are nothing even for a rankless person. They are worth even less to ranked entities. This long departure from you would be my first but we both know that it wont be thest. And no separation will be forever between us. You have an important role to y in my future by being my guiding star. You need to concentrate on progressing further instead of immersing yourself in these deste feelings. I know you are strong. Not just as a ranker but also as a human being with a determined stance. I want you to put that strength into good use. Look for opportunities to rank up. Im sure itll be hard for your level. But use your time, resources, and mind toe up with a solution. You dont have to worry about my safety anymore. But not having to worry about my safety doesnt mean freedom to take unnecessary risks. Use your brawns and brains in the right way to always ensure your survival, no matter what you need to do. Lie to me or anyone if your survival is at stake. Be selfish enough to prioritize your interests. Only by doing this will you be able to progress further in ranks. Otherwise, you will regret not spending your efforts in the right direction in the future, especially when I overtake you. Eren said all that like it was the most obvious thing for him to overtake Nina who was so much ahead of him in rank and experience. Nina realized that Eren had a hand to y in the future. He was basing his predictions on a solid background instead of indulging in euphemism. She also understood that Eren was telling her to seriously think about finding opportunities to rank up now that she had been given five years to do so without any care. The Nina of previous timeline had stayed in the city of Osan when Eren was away. But this timelines Nina had decided that she would explore the world and resume being an adventurer for these five years. What the duo didnt know was that Ninas decision to explore would alter her fate and make her survive the tragedy that had befallen her in the past timeline, resulting in her death. But that would be a story for another time. Coming back to the present. Nina wasnt surprised anymore by Erens wise words like he had lived a lifetime. She had already epted that Eren was special. He was way too clever to be simply called a clever kid. Erni I was going to tell you the same thing for your stay in the academy. But it looks like I dont have to. You even lectured your aunt on this! How cheeky do you want to get in front of me? Nina went for her usual move and pulled Erens cheeks. To which thetter just let her while saying: Huh? Aunt who? I dont see any aunt here, do you? I can only see a lovelydy sitting beside me. We are having our outdoor date under the starry sky, surrounded by the green pastures and cold breeze, with only the campfire and each others body warmth to keep us all cosy. Eren got closer to Nina and nudged her gently by the shoulder with his. Nina felt Eren body warmth and understood what he meant. The cold in the air did not affect Nina. But the cold loneliness that was about to hit her soon did. This warmth was all she needed to make that loneliness a little bearable for her. Then she saw Eren take a sealed bottle out of his ID stone and uncork it before pouring her a ss of wine: Erni isnt that the same Madeira wine we had at Soire Gracieuse? Did you buy another one out of your pocket? Are you trying to take advantage of me again? Nina understood Erens ssy act. Get her drunk to get in her pants. She called him out brazenly for his gentlemanly act. She was anticipating his embarrassment or some sort of an apology. She would have still gotten drunk after that after pulling his legs a little. But the guy had sold all his shame in the city market beforeing here. Eren didnt even flinch when he heard Ninas tease: Haah! Im only giving you the excuse to act liberated in front of me. Otherwise, youd be as afraid to make a move as an experienced teenage girl. Now tell me, do you wish to take this excuse off my hands or do you prefer spending this night without it? Eren held the wine ss in front of her and stirred it while saying this. He came out in the open to tease her and reverse-tease her in this way. Ninas cheeks were instantly puffed red. What Eren had said about the wine and her was true. Last time, she med everything on the wine. And this time too, the ss stood out as a good excuse for her to let Eren have his way with her. But after hearing what Eren had to say, she wanted to reject the ss. Eren had not used any aphrodisiac this time on Nina. he didnt need it. He didnt even need a wine. Eren had the confidence to go all the way with her tonight. He just wanted to lighten the burden it would ce on Nina a little. Hence the wine. Therefore, he cleared up her hesitancy to take the ss: Its okay, Nina. I was only kidding. Lets equally me it on the wine. Its not like the wine will call out our BS. Here, gulp it down this way! Saying that Eren took a small sip of the wine. Nina was horrified by his stunt and wanted to stop him. First, he was underage. Second, the wine was made from C Rank ingredients. It was a C Rank debuff potion. Eren would die if he consumed it. Chapter 51: Camping Date P3*

Chapter 51: Camping Date P3*

Eren took a small sip of the wine. Nina was horrified by his stunt and wanted to stop him. First, he was not used to with alcohol in general. Second, the wine was made from C Rank ingredients. It was basically a C Rank debuff potion. Eren would die if he consumed it. But before she could do so, Eren stood straight in front of her and lowered his head to kiss her on the lips. Nina could feel the wine that was dripping down from Erens mouth into her throat. Eren had not gulped down the C Rank wine. He wasnt suicidal. He only kept it in his mouth briefly before sending it into Ninas throat. Nina was still sitting on the log. So she had to look up to respond to Erens kiss. By doing so she had allowed for a gravity-friendly expressway for the iing wine. The insides of Erens mouth were feeling a little burnt because of the wine like he had put a lump of hot coal in his mouth. But he didnt care. Erni, stop doing stunts like these. I can drink the wine myself. Nina was kinda angry at his stunt. But she was also equally impressed by the romanticism behind it. Forgive me, Mdy. I was only trying to impress you. Eren smiled at her and kissed her on her cheeks. Consider me impressed. Now give me that. Nina smiled back and finally took the ss from him. She knew the consequence behind that action. She was practically consenting to Erens advances by epting that wine. But now she didnt care. She did want to act liberated. If the wine can help her, so be it. Eren kept on pouring more wine for her, one sip at a time while their talks went on. They both knew where they were heading. But they wanted to talk about all the remaining subjects before the eventuality hit them. Nina took out a chainmail armour, leather pants made of mana beasts skin, boots, and a pair of daggers from her storage. They were all upper-grade F Rank items, perfectly suitable for a newbie ranker like him. Nina had also given him 20 Extols and loads of Eddies (Edinburgh dors). Erni, Ive prepared this gift set for you. I bought it from the city of Lauren. I was going to give it to you on the day of your departure but tonight feels like a good moment to do so. It would also serve as a gift for your rank breakthrough. The chainmail armour has a simple Lightweight spell inscribed on it. You can wear it under your shirt and itll go unnoticed. The rest of the objects are alsopatible with your F Rank mana. You can circte your mana through them to enhance their functionalities. And heres some cash and Extols. For your normal and ranking-rted purchases. I know you have some cash on you. But having more wouldnt hurt. Its good that you broke through into the F Rank and can now use the ID stone. We can stay in touch through it. If you need anything else, just inform me and Ill arrange for you to receive it in the academy. Now tell me, did you like your gift? Eren took everything Nina had given to him into his storage. He agreed with her statement. Although he had money, having more of it wouldnt hurt. And the academy was a ce where it would be needed the most. I liked them all. But theres something else I want from you tonight. Memories, Nina. I want good memories from you that would apany me in these five lonely years. Eren looked at Nina with dreamy eyes. Nina understood the wine did not only affect her. Even if Eren had only stored it inside his mouth for a brief period, it was still a C Rank sherry. Eren had gotten half-drunk because of it. Nina too was feeling light-headed after drinking so many gulps of Madeira. She had decided. She would stock up the wine and keep it in her cer. And would drink it whenever she felt like remembering Eren. Oh, Erni! Lets make some memories then. Nina took Eren in his embrace and Eren embraced back. They both started slow-kissing first before gradually increasing their pace. Both their hands were now set out as the expeditionary party from them. They touched and explored each others bodies. Eren and Nina went on like this for what felt like an eternity and a matter of moments at the same time. Their sense of time had been skewed. Both of their bodies were on fire. The mes of love, lust, and affection had engulfed them. Soon the duo went inside the tent. They decided that without the need to talk. Ninaid on the makeshift bed inside the small tent. Eren was on top of her, kissing her neck and twisting her right nipple at the same time. Nina had started moaning. She had wrapped her legs around Eren who had started dry humping her. His bulge was getting rubbed frantically on Ninas mound. Oh, Erni. Where did you learn all this, I still wonder. I checked your room in your absence. There were no magazines in your room that you im to have read these techniques from? Nina wasnt aware she wasnt supposed to say that she had intruded on Erens privacy. But she was too far gone and curious to care. Eren was only lightly feeling the effects of wine. He was still in his control. He didnt stop what he was doing at the time while replying: Why would I need those magazines when I have your hot bod to relish on? Of course, I threw them after seeing this piece of fine ass. Eren grabbed Ninas right butt cheek while saying this. Nina was too ttered by Erens responses to care about hisnguage: You are an ass man Erni. You wont like those academy girls tiny asses anymore after getting the taste of this big booty! Hehe! Nina too was swinging it. She too felt like letting go of all her stoppers. Thats right! What will I do for five years without this booty? Ill have to hit on a good teacher with a figure simr to yours just to curb the feelings I have for you. Cheater jerk! You are thinking about screwing other women while you are with me. At least have the decency to not say it while we are at it. Nina pulled Erens cheeks as he was busy nibbling on her neck. Eren went up and kissed her on her lips again, inserting his tongue inside. Only after about a minute did he pull his tongue back and asked her: Hmm? You are okay with me screwing other women? Of course not, you scoundrel. I said I can deal with it. And that you need to be a little discreet while talking about these things with me. I know how ravenous a teenage boys hormones would get. Its five years we are talking about. I wont be allowed to step into the academy grounds unless its a special case. Im not delusional enough to think youd stay quiet being a good boy for all those years without trying your hand on other girls. And Ive onlye to ept the eventuality. Nina looked into Erens eyes while saying it. Both of their faces were two noses away from each other. They could feel each others breaths. Eren smiled and nodded. Nina was right. He wasnt a good guy. And neither would he stop himself from spending passionate nights with good women. But he had to give Nina something to make her the special existence amid those women: You are right Nina. Thats why I want to give you something that would highlight your importance in my life for both of us. What? Nina asked in anticipation. Chapter 52: Camping Date P4*

Chapter 52: Camping Date P4*

You are right Nina. Thats why I want to give you something that would highlight your importance in my life for both of us. What? Nina asked in anticipation. My first! Eren replied. In this life. He attached the sub-use in his head. Erni. We already talked about this I dont care about that BS anymore. Youll have my first and thats the end of it. Eren smooched her from saying anything further. Nina understood Eren wasnt going to listen to here what may. She might as well make it a pleasant first for him. Nina was excited after epting to pick Erens cherry. It wasnt that she didnt want it. But she thought his first time should be with someone other than herself. But after Eren forced his way on her, it became easy for her to ept it. Now she wouldnt let anyone have Erens first. The Contradiction Incarnate was living up to her pseudonym. Eren had already removed Ninas top-dress and bra. The massive jugs were staring at him. The nipples were erect tight. Eren took a huge bite on her right breast while fine-tuning the left bud. Nina was ecstatic. Eh grabbed Erens head from behind and guided him onto her left jug. Then she grabbed Erens empty hand and ced it on her dripping wet cave, over her panties. The dress had been lifted high enough for him to allow for easy ess. Eren immediately sent his hands into the panties. The first thing he noticed was theck of pubic hair. He was d. His suggestion had been followed through. Damn, Nina. The Amazon wet tropical has been deforested nicely. The only kinda deforestation I support and love. Nina blushed a little at Erens response. She had still followed Erens advice after throwing a tantrum on him. Then what are you waiting for? Ive done what you asked. Now go ahead and check the region. It has be ideal for a lot of activities now. Instead of shying away, Nina decided to throw a cutter ball. Aye, aye maam. Eren decided to go down on Nina. but he needed to take care of the obstructions before that. He first took off her dress. Then removed her soaked wet panties. Nina had bepletely naked. He too removed all his clothes and jumped right back in. Eren opened Ninas legs wide with his hands. He then inhaled the musky scent in that mini region before starting his tongue storm. Erens neck poked Ninas pink bud first. It had already puffed up due to over excitement. The touch of such a foreign object sent the clit on an overdrive. Nina started producing pussy juices aplenty. She grabbed Erens head again and pressed it some more against her cave. Eren decided his Lil guy shouldnt feel left out. So he continued his act and just shifted his groin right over Ninas face. Nina didnt need a guidebook to understand his action. She immediately took his rod in. Erni, your dick is growing. Before your rank up, it was an inch shorter. But post you entering the F Rank, it seems this weapon is also increasing its power and potency. Hehe! Rejoice, Nina. Your man still has a lot of potentials to grow. Erenughed before resuming his extended licking session. Nina hade twice. It was the same for him. But both wanted more. Plus, Erens F Rank body helped him not run on fumes this time around. Eren started deep-throating Nina. He inserted two of his finger into Ninas baby-making hole while working on her pink button. As a bonus, he coated one of his fingers with pussy juices and inserted it into Ninas butthole. Before Nina could register her surprise, Eren also pushed his dick deep down her throat. This unprecedented attack took the 40 plus years old healer by surprise and she cummed hard on his face. Erens face had been covered in Ninas love nectar. The fishy smell was less prominent than before. It had to do with how often the juices were released. Since Nina had resumed her sexual activity, the smell had lost its potency. But it was still very alluring for Eren. He let Nina catch some breaths. He too needed a pause. How was it so far, Nina? Any tips for me to improve on? Haah! You couldve fooled me. Youve be a sage in this art. I should be the one taking tips from you. Nina replied with fake anger. Eren beamed at her and kissed her forehead and cheeks. Eren caressed Ninas butt. And she did the same for his nowid-dick. Soon the Lil monster woke from its slumber. Eren knew the fourth hard-on had arrived with a determination to find its rightful ce inside something. The Osan Woods Butcher adjusted his bearing. The missionary position was the best for a first try, Nina had thought. So she weed him on top of him. He pointed his dick right at the entrance. But did not push in. He kept on rubbing its tip on the crack between the vertical lips. Now Ninas pussy was craving for some good hard dick inside. She had already spread her legs wide to allow for easy ess. What are you waiting for? Nina asked him in a barely audible, quivering voice. Eren smirked at that response: I want you to guide it in. Nina understood what Eren wanted to say. He was still offering her a way out should she decide to. But guiding his dick inside would mean it wasnt forced on her. This was Erens way of showing care. But she had already gottenfortable with the idea. There was nothing that could change her mind now. She firmly grabbed Erens dick from the side with her hand and guided it in. Only then did Eren push it in. and the moment it did, Eren felt like he had aplished something monumental. One of his dreams from his previous life had beenpletely fulfilled today. Ninas pussy weed the foreign intruder with a lot of nectar and tightly closed walls. Her vaginal walls contracted around Erens dick as if they would never let it go outside. Aaaaaaah Er ni. Keep pushing in baby. Keep driving your dick inside. Screw me. Fuck me hard. Nina dug her nails on Erens back but then subconsciously controlled her force. Eren was busy pushing his rod in and out of Ninas love hole. He didnt have time to register paining from his back. Nina this was the best first time one could ask for. Your dripping wet, tight pussy is just that awesome. Everything about you just drives me crazy. Your big jugs, your huge butt Your slim waist, your eyes, your skin tone, and your musky smell! They alle together to make you the goddess that you are. My goddess. Chapter 53: Camping Date P5*

Chapter 53: Camping Date P5*

Eren knew the effects ofpliments the women would experience on them while they engaged in this act. Eren didnt want to always take this much effort to fuck Nina. He didnt have that much time. He wanted to spend his remaining time in effortless fucking sessions. Without having to take her to these formal dates. For that, he needed toy a strong foundation in his first engagement. Thepliments came easy to him since they all depicted what he truly felt about her. His efforts didnt go in vain. Oh Erni How did I be. aah! So important in your eyes? But Im d that I did. If you worship it so much. This body is your baby aah! Praise it. Fuck it. And raveeeeege it the way you want. Dont stop now. Aaaaah! And dont talk. Keep fucking. Faster. Stronger. Deeeeep strokes, baby! Your aunts pussy can take it! Eren didnt need any more encouragement. He kept on ramming inside her while he yed with her clit. Ninas body was aching to that touch. She started moaning loudly. Hernguage had be crasser in her ecstasy. Nobody in the city of Osan that knew her would rte that voice, tone, ornguage with the image of the powerful healer they had in their minds. It didnt take long before Eren nutted inside her. But they werent satisfied. They took their time to take a small rest. Drink water. And relieving themselves a little before resuming soon after. Nina was now cow-girling on Erens dick right now. She kept hammering her huge butts down on Erens dick which looked small in contrast to those massive masses. Eren was d he could rest his back while fucking Nina. he could employ better control in thrusting his dick upwards because his other muscles didnt have to do much. The sound of flesh meeting flesh was resounding in the small tent. The smell of wanton sex was strong inside. Both of their bodies had shades of red on them. Aunt Nina wasnt tired at all. She looked like she could go all night. Eren wasnt sure how long he wouldst even with his rank breakthrough but he didnt care aboutsting long. He was confident about his manhood. He didnt need to prove it to Nina or anyone else for that matter. Thats why he only enjoyed the moment. Erni baby, how! Did you like your first time? With this, Ive taken your cherry! Hehe! Nina asked Eren while rocking on his dick. Eren had ced his hands on her butt from either side. And was pressing on the cheeks hard. It was awesome. And that was yours to take in the first ce. We could have done this from the very moment my dick got hard seeing your butt for the first time. Soe to think about it. My first boner. My first BJ. My first tongue storm. And my first fuck. Youve taken a lot of my first time. Its about time Im given the same deal at least once, you know. Saying this Eren circled Ninas butt hole around its rim before inserting his nectar-soaked finger. Nina understood what he was talking about. She was okay with it. But decided to tease him a little: Aaah Erni how do you know I havent done anal? Let me tell you kiddo before you forget about my age in the . Aah! The heat of the moment. Im more than forty years old. Whatever Aaah! You might think of doing, Ive already done it. Erenughed at Ninas answer. Nina, Mdy. I know you well enough to tell you that you are an anal virgin. See, whenever I insert my finger inside it, it twitches of inexperience. Instead of arching your back towards me and lifting your butt in the air, you are still rocking on my dick and only slightly parting your butt cheeks. Go t on my body while my dick is still inside your pussy. Then instead of spreading the legs, lift your pelvis a little higher. My dick will stay in when I push it to meet with your pussy. And my finger will drive right through your butt hole. Ninas eyes went wide after hearing Erens exnation. She was indeed an anal virgin. Little rascal, are you sure youve given me your first? How manydies did you fuck before you gain this knowledge? I just fucked my beautiful goddess in my dreams countless times before I came up to possess this knowledge. Eren wouldnt lose a chance to send morepliments towards Ninas way to make her drop the subject of his broad experience. And he was d after realizing it worked. Nina did as Eren told her to do. Eren could drive his finger through Ninas finger easily now. There was a lot of pussy juice to use as a lubricant. The anal walls only restricted the dual finger entries for a while before the rim muscles adjusted to their girth. Eren was now sure Ninas inexperienced hole would be able to amodate his rod easily. He took out his dick from her pussy and aligned it at her rear entrance. Nina and Eren looked in each others eyes as he sent his dick in to take Ninas only remaining first time. Aah Erni. Go slow, baby! Yes, dear. Your pussy has helped a lot, producing the juice to serve as an ointment. Ill start the pushes now. Rest your head on my shoulder while lifting your pelvic some more and just enjoy the ride. Nina did as Eren told her to. She first found the anal to be very ufortable. But soon she adapted to it. She didnt have to wait long before the ecstasy kicked in. Ooooh! Erni dear. Speed up. Fuck my arsehole. Even I canaah! Say that this was the best first time I could have asked for! Eren kept on driving his dick inside the ass hole. He nutted inside the ass after a few minutes. But that still wasnt the end. The night was young and the couple was in heat. Eren kept on ejacting inside Nina and she kept on asking for more. He had filled her mouth, pussy, and ass multiple times, not necessarily in that order. Rankers didnt need to worry about using protection or cumming outside the baby-making hole like rankless popce. The rankerdies could just circte the mana through their fallopian tubes and eggs to null the chances of any unwanted pregnancy. The ranker guys could coat their dick with a slimyer of mana that would act as protection. Eren didnt have sufficient mana to retain thatyer around his dick for this long. But he didnt have to. Nina would take care of the problem for him. The duo never stopped for more than a few minutes the entire night. When Eren felt like he was close to his limit, he chugged down a lot of F Rank mana, stamina, and strength recovery potions. Nina had told him he didnt need to do that. But Eren just said he wanted to make their first night a memorable experience. He kept on fucking her from various angles and she responded with equal enthusiasm. The first light of the dawn had to arrive to tell them they needed to take a rest. Erens body was sore. Nina too had umted some fatigue. But they both were mentally satisfied. They took some rest before the morning became more apparent. The duo went home just before noon. Like this, Eren and Nina had both lost their different first times to each other. And they were happy about it. Erens ranking journey had started with a good, all-night-long bang. The duo spent the remaining days before Erens departure in each others embrace. Nina had closed the apothecary during these five days. Eren was her only priority in that period. Eren had to drink a lot of potions and herbs to maintain his well-being. Others might consider it a waste to use potionsvishly. But neither Eren nor Nina cared. If these potions could let them stay close to each other for an extended amount of time, so be it! Nina was going to stock these experiences as provisions that could be consumed during her lonely five years. And Eren was going hard to fulfil his dreams. Both seemed desperate and hardly took any rest. They also talked and discussed a lot of stuff during their breaks. Nina guided him about various stuff rted to academic potion-making lessons. These five days were fruitful for both of them. But everything that has a startes with an end. Erens departure arrived. Ninas eyes had be a little moist but she tried controlling herself, a task she was failing miserably at. Eren just smiled at her and kissed her on her cheeks and forehead before opening the door to head out. Jake and his father were waiting for Eren to show up. Nina hugged him for thest time before rushing inside the shop. She was about to cry and didnt want Eren to bid her goodbye with her crying face. Eren pulled the door in himself to close it before approaching the father-son duo. Eren kept thinking about the past timeline in which he had gone to the academy as he approached the pair in waiting. It was very different from his current situation. First, aunt Nina was downhearted when he had left for the academy in the previous timeline but she didnt cry. Second, he went alone, unlike today. And third, he didnt have Reen with her. Nor did he have to worry about the kingdoms big-league that was still on his trail. Plus, he didnt know what to expect from the academy or how he would be treated by the students if he allowed it. But this time, Eren came equipped with that knowledge. There were so many things he wanted to do inside the academy. Many wet caves to screw. Many scores to settle. And much to gain from everything else. Furthermore, he now knew the academys lecturers were more than their teaching jobs. They had a much wider portfolio than he gave them credit for. Maybe he could make use of this knowledge to benefit from them. With evil ns crafting themselves in his mind, Eren met up with Jake and gave him a ssup. This guy could help him in a lot of his shady deals. A carriage soon rushed out the trio from the city of Osan. It was headed to the city of Lionheart, which was close to the academy. The journey was long but Eren enjoyed the ride. Eren didnt know when he would return to this ce. But return he would. At least this time. As a better adventurer and not-so-better human being. ========================= Authors Note: Volume 01 of VEH concludes with this chapter. How did you like the story so far? What you would like to see or expect from Volume 02? ce a review and let me know. Hope you dont give the novel one star tho! Not that I can stop you from doing so. ? Chapter 54: Ghost from the Past

Chapter 54: Ghost from the Past

Eren Idril was on his way to reach the Lionhearts Adventurers Academy. He was travelling in a carriage that had him, Jake, and Jack Sullivan as its patrons. It would take a little more than a week to reach the city of Lionhearts from the city of Osan with the carriages current speed. The trio would have to change their carriage services often across various cities en route in their journey. These cities would also serve as their resting spots. One of the cities en route was the city of Laurel. It would take a little more than two days for someone to travel from the city of Osan to the city of Laurel at a decent pace. It was the same city that Nina had visited to get some of the herbs unavable to her at that time. Even with a travel time of up to two days, the city of Lauriel was considered to be one of the few major cities close to the city of Osan. Because the cities were connected by many roadways. There were many colts and other types of rental transportation services avable between them. The city of Laurel was especially famous within the potioneersmunities for its rich avability of potion-rted ingredients. The city cultivated a huge garden full of herbs, potion-rted trees and medicinal nts right in its centre. Or to be precise, the city was formed around the already existing green space. Laurel was a preferred resting spot for people travelling to the city of Lionhearts from the city of Osan and any other colonies nearby to it. During this time of the year, Eren would see a lot of students who had either gotten into the LA through a reserved quota like them. Or they could be someone who had passed the academys harsh entrance exam. Of course, these students will travel with their guardians like Eren and Jake with thetters father. This will result in the creation of a fleet of carriages heading towards the Lionhearts from Laurel and other such gathering spots. This fleet would be organized and maintained by various carriage services working together. It was natural for Jack Sullivan to travel with the boys since he often had to travel across cities for his business. He also had a small shop in Lauriel. A businessman like Jack would have his fingers dipped in all kinds of pies. Jack was also looking to open his business in the city of Lionhearts. He was going with his son and his sons friend to do a reckon regarding the same. It had already been more than two days since Eren had started his journey. The carriage was closing in on Laurel. Jack asked Eren to change the deafening silence spread in the carriage: Tell me, Eren. What are you aiming for during these academic years? And what are your ns? Eren stopped looking outside the carriages window and focused his eyes on Jack. Jack had honed his instincts judging people for a living. Therefore when Eren looked at him, felt like he was being stared at by a slumbering monster whose intentions werent clear regarding its prey. My aims? I wish toplete my academic years in peace and harmony. Maybe major in potion-making and close-rangebats. I wouldnt mind serving the kingdom if the position and benefits thate with it are good. But I will probably dabble in businesses rted to potioneering as a side hustle. Eren concluded like he had things figured out. Jack was expecting an unclear or far fetched answer from a teenager. But he could never guess that the kid who gave off suchid-back vibes would have these ambitions. Thats a good and flexible goal to have. But potion-making and closebats usually dont gel together. You might want to rethink your goals when you get to the academy and spend a year there. Your specializations would start from the second academic year. So youll have ample time to make a decision. Jakey, what about you? Jack turned his attention to his son. Im also thinking about majoring in potioneering. Im not sure about the rest. Ill figure things out by next year after having a look at things in the academy. Jake Sullivan didnt experience the academy life like Eren. So his approach to setting his aims was cautious. This was the most natural response a kid his age would have. It was Eren who had acted differently. The trio discussed a few other things before they arrived at Laurels city gates. They entered the city soon after. Jack had already booked an inn for three of them. Jack and Jake would have one room to themselves. Eren had insisted on having a dedicated room so he was offered the other one. They were all tired after spending two days on the road and sleeping half-assedly on the ground during the night. So they all slept off as soon as they found their beds. Or so the trios pursuer had thought. This pursuer was none other than Matt from Doms Raiders. The only surviving member of his wiped out party. Everything had gone south after the team Doms Raiders was met with SR snakes incident. Matt had to be hospitalized for a week. And Dom did everything in his power to save him. Butter on, Matt was informed that Dom Walker had been the mass murderer of his entire party as well as Isaacs party. That he was in cahoots with Osan Woods Butcher. Matt refuted that im entirely. He had a lot of conflicting information that would at least be enough to question the authenticity of Doms involvement in the whole thing. But nobody entertained him. When he tried to make some more noise, Matts hunting license was revoked by the OB and he was prevented from forming a party with the associations members. All of a sudden, Matt was out of a good job. Matt was as confused as he was angry. Everybody had seemed like they were hell-bent on making Dom Walker the only guilty person in the entire case. But that was not all. They had even stopped discussing or investigating the OWBs role and identity entirely. Even a non-scheming guy like Matt could understand that this was a cover-up for something bigger he wasnt aware of. Matt had nowhere to go or no one to count on. His party was his only family during all these years. And he wouldnt ept Dom as the mastermind behind everything even if someone were to beat him to death for it. What was a guy like him supposed to do now to get to the bottom of things? Matt kept on thinking about various possibilities. And his mind finally zeroed in on one detail that everyone seemed to have missed. Apart from Matts party itself, only one other group of people knew about what had happened to Doms Raiders at first. It was through that group the citys various organizations came to know about the incident. That small group of people was Nina and Eren. Even Matt kept rejecting the idea of their involvement. They had no motive. But that idea would always sneak back into his head, probably because he didnt have any other lead. Questioning Nina about it was a suicide Matt didnt want tomit. But what if Matt could scare a kid into telling him everything he knows about the case? ================================= Authors Note: Hello. I wasnt going for a release today. But then I thought this two-chapter release was too funny not to share sooner. Hope you can recall what happened in volume 01. This sorta ties a loose end we all know as Matt! ? Chapter 55: Matt’s Seppuku

Chapter 55: Matts Seppuku

What if Matt could scare a kid into telling him everything he knows about the case? Matt was only cing a small bet on a hunch. He didnt have high expectations from this investigation. Matt wouldnt have acted on this hunch had Eren not left the city of Osan where Ninas influence was strong. But it all changed when the kid decided to head to the academy. Matt came to know that the group would halt at the city of Laurel. He decided to question Eren at that time. Matt was going to find a chance to get some alone time with Eren but thetter only made the job easy for him when he decided to book a separate room. It was past midnight. The city of Laurel was asleep. Matt had also booked a room in the same room to gain entry into the establishment. He found Erens room and used his thieving skills to unlock the door. When Matt entered Erens room, thetter was seen looking right at him. Matt immediately got the creeps after he realized Eren was staring at him with a different kind of anticipation. *** Eren jumped on his bed as soon as he found his room in the inn. An extended trip in the small box, drawn by powerful colts who dont care about the bumps on the road, ought to give you a sore back, even when you are an F Rank ranker. But as soon as heid on the bed to straighten his back, Eren was reminded of his nights in bed with Nina. Would they still do it after suffering through a long journey like this, had she been here with him? Eren thought of that and answered affirmatively. Eren tried to sleep. And he seeded in sleeping for a few hours. But when he woke up and looked at the moon outside, Ninas naked visage was all he could see over it. Erens thoughts about Nina invoked a reaction down there. His dick woke up from his slumber as a result. Eren started stroking it. Not for nutting with self-help. But soothe it while he thought about her. He had already decided that he would never nut in vain in this life. What if Nina were toe into his room now? Eren had this thought and chided himself for it. Why would Nina follow him here? Or maybe she would? Eren was lost in his fantasy while stroking his Lil guy when Reen, who was sleeping on his chest, informed him about an intruder. Eren immediately thought of Nina. Did she really follow me here? Eren was excited and started looking at the door. His pace of strokes also increased in anticipation. Erens furore was at its peak when the door was unlocked and a person walked in sneakily. *** Brat, what the hell are you looking at? And stop masturbating while looking at me? My preferences are straight. Matt forgot that he was supposed to sneak in. A feeling of dering his stance had overwhelmed him. Who the FUCK are you old man? And why does everyone keep thinking that MY preferences are not straight? Eren had already forgotten about the emergency patient he had at the apothecary. He wouldnt care about a guy like him even if he could remember him. And the guys timing had to be the worst thing about him. It was Matt who had arrived at Erens doorstep unannounced when thetter was about to have his talk with Nina. Eren would have progressed much faster at the very beginning when the proverbial iron was hot had it been not for this guy. But that wasnt enough. Matt had to barge into Erens room to not let him think about his good times with Nina in peace. Eren didnt even feel this much anger on Isaac when thetter had stopped him on his whims. I see that your hormones are raging. I can sympathize. But Im not here to be the object of your skewed fascination. What I want is simple, kid. Answer my few questions and Ill let you go. And dont even think about shouting to call for help. Ive already used an F Rank sound istion artefact. Matt had epted his cover was blown. He closed the door and walked in slowly. He took the only chair present in the room, which was ced right in front of Erens bed. Matt had deployed a sound istion artefact beforeing here as a precaution. Now he was d that he did. Are you sure the artefact works fine? What if someone were to circte their F Rank mana through their vocal cords and use a mana-induced voice? Eren asked just as calmly. Matt had to admit the kid had a good bearing. This is an upper-grade artefact of F Rank. No amount of your efforts can allow you to surpass the artefacts limitations. Now answer my question. You probably dont remember me. But my name is Matt from Doms Raiders. I was the one Dom had brought to your apothecary as a case for severe SR snake poisoning. Did you talk to someone after we left your ce? And did you give information about Eren had stopped listening to Matt. He was talking to Reen in his head. He first confirmed that the artefact Matt had activated the way he imed to be using Reens mana sense. He checked for any potential eyewitnesses in the vicinity. Andstly, Eren checked for any audiovisual artefact on Matts person that could transfer what was happening here to any remote ce. Eren finally looked at Matt who was still talking about something. But Eren had stopped caring. The guy could live as thest living survivor of the tragedy that had befallen his party. He could have a family and lived to tell the tale to his grandchildren. If Eren was in Matts shoes, he would have relocated to a different kingdom instead of risking his life getting to the bottom of this cover-up that looked all kinds of muddy even to a blind person. But Matt didnt want the easy life. Eren didnt waste any more time. He didnt even get off his bed to get rid of this idiot. Reen. Go have yourte-night snack. Reen ironically morphed into naked Dom. Since Matt was talking about Dom, Reen thought her foodsst wish before it would get consumed was to see Dom. Matt had aimed his monologue at Eren. He had so many questions that were growing like a spiders web inside his head. His heart had been filled with injustice. In his need to vent out these feelings, he had forgotten to check on his listener. And suddenly naked Dom appeared in front of him. The word surprise was an understatement. The word puzzled only touched the surface. And the word shocked barely covered it. What Matt felt was a concoction of these emotions, and then some more. Wh.. what? H how? Why? Matt couldnt form coherent sentences. But before he could, he heard Erens answer and everything went dark in front of his eyes: Just die in mystery! Eren said this and dropped hard on his bed. His Lil guy had already fallen asleep. It was about time he did too. He drew the sheets on him and shut his eyes. The Osan Woods Butcher didnt even spare a nce at Matt who was struggling inside a slimy ball of mass. The struggle stopped soon after. Reen sneaked inside the sheets to take her usual spot after turning into her usual form. Like this, Matt had joined his party in its afterlife adventures aftermitting a seppuku. One could imagine his soul getting weed by his friends, who would then take their time cursing Eren to his past and future seven generations. ============================== Authors Note: Hello. Please check Important Notice ced in auxiry volume. Chapter 56: Small World

Chapter 56: Small World

Eren woke up the next day feeling refreshed. He was holding a palm-sized pebble with inscriptions on it. It was the F Rank sound istion artefact kind-hearted Matt had gifted himst night. Eren stored the artefact in his ID. He had plenty of uses for it. Eren got ready to explore the city a little before leaving it in the afternoon. Eren had a lot of herbs in his storage that he had collected from the Osan woods. Some of them had no immediate uses for him. He might as well sell them to make a profit. And what other city would be better to sell these herbs than the city of Lauriel? Eren opened his rooms door to head out. But he found four people were waiting by his door. Sir Lin, what are you doing here? Eren recognised Lin Karr among them. He realized these people must be here looking for Matt. Oh? Isnt that madam healers nephew? Why are you staying here? We came here following the traces of a suspicious person named Matt. He hade to your apothecary a few days back, so you should know him. Did you see him here anywhere? Lin Karr gave Eren a piece of brief information about his reason for being here. He had told the OB to assign someone to keep an eye on Matt. The informer had ryed to them that Matt was still fixated on clearing Doms name. He confirmed that Matt had left the city of Osan for the city of Laurel. Lin Karr was heading to the academy anyway. The city of Lauriel was a natural gathering spot for a carriage fleet heading to the Lionheart. It was in Lins interest that he travels in masses, lest he gets ambushed by Isen Osans forces. So he decided to check up on this liability named Matt on the way. Lin was going to try one more time talking sense into Matt. He had already told the guy to drop the whole subject of Dom as one bad deal in his life. But the guy wouldnt listen. Lin cant always keep tabs on Matt in case he does something to resurrect the case of Osan Woods Butcher, which they had buried after so many efforts. He had decided to silence Matt for good if he didnt listen this time. Sir Lin, I havent seen Matt. Im going to attend LA as a first-year student. So I came with the Sullivans. They are staying in the room next to me. We will join the carriage fleet in the afternoon that leaves for the city of Lionheart. But why is Matt a suspect? Wasnt he a victim of the woods disturbance? Lin was surprised Eren was going to attend the LA. But it made sense after he thought about it. The boy must have been offered a reserved seat. Oh! Thats a nice coincidence. Then you should start calling me professor Lin, boy. Im also heading for LA. Let me introduce three people to you who are assigned under me. They will be joining the academy as the assistant professors. Lin then introduced LAs new assistant professors under him. They were Peter, , and Julie. *** Peter and were the same party members from Lins party that had found Isaacs body. And Julie was the one who had recorded fake Doms footage that had him testifying to his alleged crimes. Julie Ekhearts name had gotten pretty famous for this event despite her attempts to remain hidden. Peter and were also at risk because of their involvement in the OWB case that was connected to the kingdoms big league. Peter, , and Julie would have never involved themselves in this mess had they known the OWB was connected this deeply. Even when they had buried the case after knowing about the killers background, their involvement had be public knowledge by now. They were in the same boat as Lin. They needed a sturdy shelter that could save them from any possible idents happening to them until the heat dies down. Lin could understand their situation and empathize. Therefore, he gave them the same option he was going to make use of. A D-Rank professor of LA academy can hire three E-Rank entities to serve as the assistant professors under them. Thats why D-Rank professor Jaime had Ronald, Linda, and Verna serving as his assistant professors. Lin had already left the LA academy thinking he wouldnt go back to being a professor there anytime soon. His previous assistant professors have either been amodated in the academys administration or hired by another professor to serve under them. Therefore, Lin offered the trio to serve him as his assistant professor in the academy. All three of them epted the lifesaving offer quickly before it could get snatched away. Lin didnt tell Eren the inner details. But he informed thetter of his professorship at the academy. Lin also told Eren that his hunter status in the OB was more like an honorary responsibility due to his rtionship with the OB. He was supposed to take a break from his academic duties. But the circumstances made him resume them for the time being. *** Hm? Julie Ekheart? Arent you the one who took Doms footage that served as conclusive evidence against him? Eren quickly figured out Julies identity after they were introduced to him by Lin. Eren knew about Julie beforehand. After all, he was the one who had allowed thedy to record fake Doms speech. Eren would have never guessed he could meet her again after leaving the city of Osan. Small world! Eren thought. So Julie was going to be an AP (assistant professor) at the academy along with two others. He would see them for the next five years. At least Julie looked hot among them. Eren thought he should try his luck with her. He knew Julie could be swayed with money and resources, thanks to her interaction with fake Dom. Peter and s names were known by the hunters as the prime investigators behind the OWB case. But they were still lesser known than Julie among themon popce. Therefore Eren neither covertly nor overtly knew about them. Julie smiled mirthlessly as Eren identified her. She couldnt wait to reach the academy now. She felt like the so-called idents mighte from anywhere and anytime if she keeps on getting identified like this. Even a mere brat had recognised her. It was about time she disappeared from the public and concentrated on being an AP at the academy. Kid, Im a ranger. I tracked Matts presence to your room and then it vanished. Maybe he had entered your room while you were sleeping. Why dont you step aside and let us conduct our investigation? We can consider that we owe you one. Peter stepped forward and dered his intentions. Eren nodded and stepped away, letting them enter the room. Eren had already confirmed that whoever gets killed and eaten by Reen bes difficult to track post their death. Their presence almostpletely fades away from existence. It seemed like Reen would also ingest and digest a part of her victims auras. And that would somehow negatively impact the tracking and other such spells. It bes nigh impossible for rangers and historians to make sense of the residue aura and traces if they get left behind at all that is. Eren could only associate that with Reens special existence for now. Reen was a perfect killing and body disposal machine for him. He had nothing to fear from an E-Rank ranger. Just like Eren had thought before. The ranger couldnt find anything conclusive. He confirmed that there was an artefact used here or in the vicinity. But that was it. Peter gossiped with his party and Lin had to conclude their investigation at the site. Thanks, Eren. Well take our leave now. See you in the afternoon. Well be travelling together. Eren smiled and nodded his head. His smiling face immediately turned serious right after shutting the door behind them. Eren had to watch out for Jaimes group in the academy. Another group had been added to that list. Lins group was more dangerous for him than Jaimes in many ways. Lin knew him personally. His group had been deeply involved in the OWB case. It knew inside information about the case that might not have been released to the public. Of course, Eren knew that Lin and his assistants were far from knowing his involvement in the case. But one slip from his end was all it needed for them to start connecting the dots. Eren needed an insider in this group to keep tabs on them. He had another reason to hook up with Julie now. Of course, Eren knew that Julie wouldnt want anything to do with a kid like him even if she acted like a gold digger. He needed a different approach toe close to her. Money alone wouldnt cut it. Eren waited for a while before heading out. He was going to meet up with Jake and explore the city. Jack must have already left by now to handle his business. Chapter 57: Ivor, Jason, & Veronica

Chapter 57: Ivor, Jason, & Veronica

Jakey, my man. Your father left? Eren greeted Jake casually. Thetter nodded to his question. Yepp. Father left as soon as he woke up. Its just us. So where are we heading now? We should probably get some snacks for the road first. Jake prioritized the food. He and Reen would get along quite well, Eren thought. Jake was also an F-Ran entity like Eren. He had started his ranking journey much earlier than thetter. He liked eating and making friends. Jakes body subconsciously stored some amount of fat as a result despite him being a ranker. No amount of bodily cleansing could make that go away if it treated the fat, not as an impurity. Well do that. But not before we find some shop to sell some herbs my aunt has given me. I also want to get a bunch of ingredients for potion making. Alright. Ive been to this city many times. I know a herbal shop that is linked to our business. We can go there for your exchanges. Eren and Jake went to the shop. Eren sold all the unwanted but expensive ingredients he had collected from the forest and found them inside his victims storages. Eren demanded the payment in Extols. He received more than 50 Extols in the transaction. He now had around 150 Extols on him. He had officially left Isaac behind in his current ount money. Jake was shocked after witnessing the magnitude of the exchange. He would have never thought Eren had so many stocks of rare ingredients. But then he thought of Nina, and it all made sense. Of course, an apothecary would certainly have this much amount. Jake thought Nina had given him something like her savings to liquidate and support Eren in his academic life. Eren then gave a list of ingredients he wanted from the shop. They were all F-Rank materials. But he paid for them in Eddies. His kingdom currency dropped by a huge margin as a result. But his Extols were left untouched. Eren and Jake were on their way to a general store to stock up on snacks when thetter saw a group of people heading their way. He recognised them instantly. Jake was active in socializing. Unlike Eren who acted as a shut-in while he was in the city of Osan in both of the timelines. So he didnt recognise any of them. Yo, Jake. Knew we could find you here outside the snacks shop. You should cut down on the carbs, man. Even being a ranker is not helping you out. There were three people in that group. Two boys and one girl. The one who spoke and body-shamed Jake was a young girl in her early teens years. Aah! If it isnt miss Veronica Garcia! Hello. Good day to you as well, friends. Ivor Osan and Jason Storm. Jake didnt mind the light taunt. He knew Veronica was foul-mouthed. It was better to ignore her than engage with her. Who is that guy with you? Is he also going to attend LA? Veronica zeroed in on Eren rudely, looking at him from top to bottom and asked. Her gaze spoke that there was something that she didnt like about him. Eren of course didnt mind being stared at by a bratty girl. Why would he care about a t-chestedss when all he was interested in was some jiggle physics inducing bods? Oh! Let me introduce you guys to the fifth reserved seat student from our city. His name is Eren Idril. He is nephew to Osans top healer, madam Nina. Eren, these three are the remaining reserved seat students from our city. Meet Ivor Osan, Jason Storm, and Veronica Garcia. Jake introduced Eren to the three people in front of him. He didnt care about the first andst personnel. But one in the middle was someone that piqued his interest. Jason Storm. Eren didnt know him personally but he had heard about his name in the past timeline. Eren had a tinge of shine in his eyes after he connected the Jason he heard of from his past to this Jason. Your personal and family background as well as your previous connections kinda be less important when you enter the academy. So although he had heard that Jason was from the same city as him, he didnt approach or try to make acquaintance with him. These guys must be leaving the city for LA with us, Eren thought while he introduced himself cordially to the three. Eren acted just like Jake, easy-going and friendly. Ivor, werent you going to join another academy? Why change to LA all of a sudden? Jake asked as he kept on buying snacks from the snack shop. They all had entered the shop. They were buying something or the other. Eren was quiet. He knew Jake would pack things for both of them. Haah! Me joining a different academy was my grandfather Isens decision. And to be honest, this decision of joining LA is also not mine. I was going to join the Royal Ren academy. But that all changed when my brother Isaac died. Now grandpa Isen wants me to graduate from LA instead. Ivor replied while getting himself a packet of tangy chips. He was as tall as Eren but his expensive clothes made him more dignified and charming than him. He had shoulder-length white hair and grey eyes, like his dead brother. Oh. Sorry for asking. Hope you can make your family proud like your brother. Jake replied with formality. But he wasnt expecting a violent reaction from Ivor. Watch your mouth fatass. You dont know a thing about my family or my brother. And dont believe in everything that is general knowledge about my family. Isaac was an asshole king among the assholest of assholes. [Ill drink to that! Thought Eren when he heard an apt description about his former kill straight from his younger brother.] Isaac would have been kicked out of the academy as soon as he entered it if it wasnt for my grandpas support. He squandered money and resources. He was still an F-Rank even after all the efforts my family put into him. I me grandpa for not being strict with Isaac when he needed to. But to be honest, him being the firstborn son of our generation had blinded my whole family, not just my grandfather. So stopparing me to an ideal image of Isaac which he himself couldnt possibly hope to match up to even in his seven lifetimes. Ivor was strict and loud with his words. It was like he had enough of beingpared to his waste of a big brother. Even the snack shop owner stopped doing what he was doing and looked at the group of young kids. Jason was the one who recovered quickly from that tense atmosphere. He ced his hands on Ivors shoulders to calm him down and spoke to Eren and Jake on a different matter to change the subject: Ah sorry for that, Eren and Jake. Ivor didnt mean that. Are you going to leave with todays carriage fleet as well? Itd be better if you do so today and not dy it any further. I heard from my sources that a guy named Matt who might be involved with the OWB has gotten into this city. He might target someone from our group, especially Ivor for his rtionship with Isaac or Eren for his rtionship with madam healer. Jason looked connected with the informationwork. Eren thought only he knew about Matts appearance here in the city among them. But apparently, he was wrong. Jason lived up to his achievements from the previous timeline. He was a tall boy for his age. He had ck hair and ck eyes. The most prominent feature about him was the above-than-normal thyroid protrusion of his neck. Jake wasnt aware Isen had created arger than life image of his dead grandson. What he said to Ivor about Isaac was only a perfunctory greeting. How was Sullivan Jr supposed to know these details? But his fathers business was connected to the Osans city administration. He couldnt afford to offend Ivor in any way. Therefore, he quickly tried to lessen the damage with his words: Oh! Alright. Although I didnt mean to offend, I apologise to friend Ivor for my words. Of course, we will be careful and Im sure you will do the same as well. Hehe! Ivor, stop scaring a spineless coward. Its no fun doing that. How about a friendly duel if you really want to vent out your anger? You. Eron or something. Why dont you spar with Ivor? Im sure youll learn a lot even before entering the academy. Well be your teachers and professors free of cost. What do you say? Veronica Garcia marched verbally forward with her haughty attitude without anyone giving her a cue to do so. She was exceptionally porcin-skinned and had golden hair and green eyes. Her body was slim and undeveloped. But one could tell she was going to grow into a bitchy yet beautifuldy. Veronica gave a naked challenge to Eren even without thetter saying anything in retaliation to Ivors rude behaviour. ============================== Authors note: Hello. Last week VEH received loads of responses in the form ofments and reviews. Some of them got deleted by WNs NSFW filter. The filter is running on crack it seems. It even deletes thements and reviews with the word damn in them. Im not even sure damn is an NSFW word. Anywho. You might want to consider altering the spellings of such words when posting your responses. As I said, thered be extra chapters for every set of such responsesing from the readers. So enjoy an extra release for today. ? Chapter 58: Ivor’s Aspirations

Chapter 58: Ivors Aspirations

Veronica gave a naked challenge to Eren even without thetter saying anything in retaliation to Ivors rude behaviour. Eren was in a dilemma! Should he kill this little bitch first before chopping down her tongue from its base? Or should he perform the chop first before killing her? But then Eren remembered Lin and his panel of professors in the city. They might take action if one of the first-year students of LA disappears while travelling. Therefore, he had to drop that idea. Reen condemned Eren for being a wuss. She was going to have another snack for the road. Her kind. Not the kind Eren and Jake were buying. A girl gotta eat after all. But suddenly her Lil human nugget was taken away from her. Reen tried to assure her master that shell not leave any clue behind. If pushes to shove, she would even digest her victims clothes to eradicate any form of a trace. Bur Eren shut her up with an unflinching no in his head. Even if she could eliminate the traces, this wasnt the right time for Reen to leave her inorganic form amid so many ranked entities gathered in the city. Reen had assumed the shape of a pendant around Erens neck. Eren wanted her to remain that way for as long as she could. Miss Veronica, surely you jest. Im a simple wannabe potioneer. I dont even know how to kill a mouse. All Ive ever done till now is make elementary potions. So I have no choice but to refuse your friendly offer. One could imagine Dom Raiders members coughing blood after hearing Erens im about him being unable to kill a mouse. That indirectly meant they were even less worthy than a mouse as prey. Eren said his bullshittery and bowed ever so slightly. They could all see that the bow was only done as a formality. Hmph! A cowards friend is another of his kind. Why was I expecting anything different? Someday Ill have to straighten you guys up so that you can at least stand up for yourself. Should I eat her now? Reen asked in a suppressed excitement. Maybe a mere food ridiculing her master will change his mind and hell allow her to take a bite? The demoness slime was very optimistic. No! Said Eren to his pet before replying: Jason is it? Thank you for informing us about Matt. We will go to our inn soon afterwards and stay there until the carriage fleet gets ready. Now, if youd excuse us. See you soon. Eren quickly changed the topic and treated Veronicas words as passing wind, invisible and inconsequential. That triggered the bratty girl even more. But before she could speak, Ivor looked at Eren before saying: Hold on a minute, Eren. Speaking of Matt. How well do you know him? I read in one of the reports my grandpa kept on his study table that your apothecary had treated the guy before he was hospitalized. Do you think he is also involved with the OWB? If yes, what else can you tell me about him? Ivor asked with a solemn face. His eyes were deadly serious. His aura had be calm and collected. It was like something wanted to resurface from within him at that time. Hmm? I dont know anything else about Matt that isnt already there in the report. I just know that he was very loyal to Dom and will do anything to clear his name. But why are you so keen on knowing about the guy? Dont tell me you want to kill him. Forget about the feasibility of doing something like that at our age or the thing being right or wrong. Didnt you hate your brother? That Matt guy, if he is involved with the OWB, must have done you a favour by making sure that Isaac doesnt create trouble for you ever in the future. You are now the heir apparent to the bar. Why are you so angry with him? Eren normally would have let things go. He wouldnt have bothered asking anyone anything because he already had so many of his past life experiences, however, restricted they were. But there was something else in Ivor that wasnt there in Isaac. Eren asked Ivor that question because he felt the guy was too unstable when it came to Isaac. And it wasnt due to brotherly love. It was something more driven and ambitious. Eren could feel that Ivor thought highly of himself. But he also felt that the kid had the skills to back that feeling. Eren lived less than a mediocre life in his previous lifetime. So Ivors persona, the special light in his eyes, intrigued Eren. It invoked certain greed in him. Eren felt like he should rob Ivor of that light in his eyes. He felt like he should wring the boy dry of his ambitions so that he can use them to forge his own set of ambitions. Thats why Eren asked Ivor this question. And he asked him provocatively. So that thetter would give an honest ount of his inner feelings. And it worked. Haha! Favour? What kinda fokin favour are you talking about? Royal Ren is better than LA in every possible way. You know why theres the word Royal ced in its name, right? Its because Royal Ren mostly houses the FOKIN royal kids of the kingdom along with the kids of bureaucrats and other crucial positions. Only when a royal scion from any of their royal family branches fails to secure admission in Royal Ren does he reluctantly get into any other of the top four academies of the kingdom. The same is the case with bureaucrats kids. LA in the south, specialising in berserkers, closebat experts and potioneers. Lufthansa in the west. It specializes in historians, rangers, thieves, and otherbat dicentric professionals. Artemis in the north is famous for giving ster long ranger fighters to the kingdom. And Sansara Sage in the east, which is renowned for producing schrs in runes, inscriptions, arrays, artefacts, and more. But do you know why Royal Ren stands at the top among these academies? Its because it specializes in everything. It HAS everything. It stands above the top four institutes. Its like all the knowledge the Edinburgh kingdom has to offer is condensed into a single ce we know as Royal Ren. It receives the biggest grant among all the top academies from the kingdom. And it boasts of the most qualified and famous professors. Sure, the four academies are at their top in their respective zones. And they produce countless experts. But Royal Ren offers ordinary students something that other academies cant, even if all of them were to receive the same amount of resources as the former. You know what that is, right? Its the chance to make connections with the royal scions. They are the ones who are going to get appointed to the most important ces avable in the kingdom, whether they fall into the civilian, bureaucratic, or military categories. After all, the other mainstream positions in the kingdom are going to get taken by the students of Royal Ren. Agreed, other than royal scions and the children of bureaucrats, the ordinary students in the Royal Ren arent treated well. Even someone from the house of a baron wont be able to exert much of their influence. Plus, Royal Ren ces certain restrictions on students who arent part of the royal branch. Ordinary students who graduate from the Royan Ren have to serve the royal house exclusively for a certain period. A binding mana contract will have to be signed by these students that would attest to the same. Still, I had a chance to attend Royal Ren. My future would have been much brighter if I could attend the most resource-rich academy of Edinburgh. But now I ended up in LA. What will I even do after I graduate from LA? Be an adventurer? A hunter? Even if I somehow manage to secure a ce in the royal courts bureaucracy, civil offices or military, the position wont be high. My promotion will always stagnate. Students from Royal Ren will be prioritized over me for higher, better paying, more important positions. What good are your skills if someone with connections gets appointed over you because of their royal contact? Thats why students from the top four academies be famous adventurers and hunters. Its because they can not help but be only that. The students from the top four academies choose not to struggle for these positions because they know their struggle to grow will be futile in the end. Thats why they turn to be normal soldiers, city guards, adventurers, and hunters rather than trying their luck for those positions. At least after staying active on the field, they can hope to progress further in their ranking journey while earning a decent amount. Thats what they think when they opt for those professions. But thats just the brute way of handling things if you ask me. Royal Ren contains much easier, safer ways with which you can progress rapidly in your rankings. The information about those ways is heavily restricted. The binding contract will make sure that those ways stay limited to the students and teacher bodies of the Royal Ren. In short, bing a student of Royal Ren is your ticket to sess in life. Whether it is social standing, mary growth, or ranking journey. You will progress much ahead, much faster, and much better in all walks of life if you be a Royal Ren alumni. Why would someone who has a chance to attend Royal Ren will find joy in attending LA? But the thing I dreaded the most happened to me. My loser brother had to die just before my entrance to the Royal Ren. It would have been perfect if Isaac were to be the heir to Osan bar. But now I have to carry that responsibility. Only because he had to kiss the angel of death at the worst possible time. Now Grandpa wont allow me to sign the binding contract anymore. So Im stuck in LA. Without a contract. And without a prosperous future. So you tell me. How did you manage to concur that Osan Woods Butcher or any of his aplices must have done me a HUGE favour by getting rid of the only ticket I had to escape mediocrity? The fokin OWB err the aplices of OWB are my mortal enemies. Not because they killed my brother. But because they killed my dreams. Ivor vented out all the load in his heart that was weighing him down. He gave voice to his dreams, his aspirations, and his despair. In front of four LA students, one emotional-for-no-reason snack shops keeper, and a few customers. ========================== Authors Note: This extra chapter was brought to release by the overwhelming response from @Waakaranai, @yayinV, @InHisName, @Mohammad_Alibrahem and other active readers. Thank you for your contribution. Stay tuned and happy reading! ? Chapter 59: Targeted Banditry and Assassinations

Chapter 59: Targeted Banditry and Assassinations

Ivor vented out all the load in his heart that was weighing him down. He gave voice to his dreams, his aspirations, and his despair. In front of four LA students, one emotional-for-no-reason snack shops keeper, and a few customers. The heir apparent to the Osan bar had realised he had lost his senses to his emotions. He had told these guys many crucial things that werent privy tomon folks. Like the binding contract of Royal Ren. And the kingdom-controlled ways to progress smoothly in the ranking journey. But it was toote. Ivor had already said those things. And he couldnt take them back. Furthermore, he had expressed his true feelings regarding his brother Isaac to the people outside his family. Ivor started looking around himself. He was thinking about exiting this zone of weird silence that has been created by him. Everyone was looking at him with nk stares and sealed lips. Thats when the snacks shop owner, with his moist eyes, came to him and gave him another pack of chips. On the house, he said. Ivor could only muster a stuttering thanks as a response. Probably the owner of the shop shared the same kind of brotherly bond with his sibling. But that interaction finally broke the zone of weird silence and everyone around Ivor started returning to their tasks. Aah! Forgive me, Ivor, for asking something like that. I just didnt know it was this personal. And thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. We two feel closely quietened to you now. But its about time we take our leave. We have some work we need to take care of, you see. So catch youter, maybe? Goodbye and stay alert. Eren grabbed Jake by his hand and dragged him from that ce. Ivor, Jason, and Veronica were still stuck in their ce. Veronica didnt seem unfazed like she knew about these details and dilemmas that Ivor had mentioned already. She was just waiting for her group to move on. But Jason on the other hand was seen thinking deeply. He baited you into saying those things. Jason finally concluded and said what he came to realize lightly. Haah! You are giving too much credit to that wuss. He probably wasnt aware of what he was asking of Ivor. It was Ivor who had lost control. You are trying to overread these things like always, Jason. No. I dont have any valid proof regarding this. But the way Eren changed his tone, his bodynguage, and the way he looked at Ivor while asking that question subconsciously affected him to say what he was truly feeling at that time. The guys no wuss. I didnt feel any fear emanating from him. To be honest, I didnt feel anything from him that was directed at us. Like we werent worth his time. But that all changed when Ivor asked him about Matt. If you ask me, he probably knows something about the guy. Or maybe he was just fishing for information from us. And he used Ivors curiosity on him. In any case, Eren isnt like Jake even when they seemed to act the same way. He has drawn a sheeps clothing over him, alright. I just dont know what he is underneath it. Jason said those words to nobody in particr. But Ivor understood what he was trying to say. He was yed like a fiddle by Eren in that short interaction. The Osan junior couldnt help narrowing his eyes on Erens departing figure. **** Why are we rushing? Cant we walk normally? We still have time to do things, you know! Jake said those while being dragged hurriedly to somewhere by Eren. He just didnt understand why they were in a rush all of a sudden. Jakey, you and Ivor would be clueless. And that brat Veronica just doesnt care enough. But Jason isnt like any of you. He must have figured out by now that I baited Ivor into saying those things. Had we stayed there any longer, moreplications would have risen. Just trust me when I say this. But we dont want to be seen as his friends. Especially during the trip to the academy. Its better for us if we stay away from those guys for a few days even during our travels together. Ivepleted my transactions. Youve got your snacks. Theres nothing important in the city of Laurel anymore. I dont think we need to check out of the inn since we had a prepaid stay. Lets go to your father and wait for the carriage fleet to start its journey. Jake finally understood what was happening. But he thought Eren was overreacting even if that were to be the case. You just met Jason today. Why are you talking like you already know about him? Haha! I also have my sources, you know. Ill tell you about these thingster on. Right now lets go meet up with your father. ***** More than a weekter! Erens carriage arrived in the city of Lionheart. The academy was going to conduct an induction ceremony for the first-year students at the grand sized city square in three days. The city of Lionheart was established after the academy was founded. The ce that was used for students temporary amodations before their induction ceremonyter became known as the city of Lionheart. The city of Lionhearts economy was based on these students and teacher bodies. It would wee loads of first-year students at this of the year annually. Therefore, it had all the things a student would require, no matter which academic year they were in. Eren already had plenty of artefacts collected from Isaacs party. Plus, Nina had given him aplete set of upper-grade F-Rank equipment that was perfectly suitable for him. He didnt need anything else. But Jake needed them. He had prevented his father from buying random things so he could pick them on his own. The guy was very particr about his snacks and belongings. Eren roamed the city market with Jake. Thetter bought a couple of items and stuff suitable for him. He again stocked up on snacks. And he also bought some adult magazines covertly from a shady shop. What could a slightly chubby guy like Jake do? He had his needs! And he wasnt aiming to getid in the academy anytime soon like a certain fellow who was roaming with him at the time. Eren and Jake made sure they didnt meet up with Ivors group during their exploration and purchases. They would keep on changing ces. And would leave their current positions immediately if they saw any group of students approaching them. **** Eren and Jakey had been avoiding meeting with Ivors group during all their travels. They would always tell the carriage driver to slow or speed up their carriage at seemingly random moments to pull this off. Eren told Jake that avoiding Jason meant avoiding the spies and any other entities hidden in the shadows, protecting him. AND hunting him. Sullivan Jr finally shared Erens worries after knowing that only Ivors carriage carrying Jason had been getting targeted by the group of bandits en route. Of course, the bandits would target other carriages as well. But they would all have Ivors carriage as theirmon target. Furthermore, Jake observed that both the bandits and the protectors of the carriage fleet were more powerful than usual. The nightly assassinations started taking ce on Ivors carriage when the indirect banditry didnt work. But Ivors carriage and people inside would always stay safe. It was the other carriages running nearby that would suffer the consequences. Till now, the carriage fleet had four student casualties as a result of these attacks and assassinations. There were a lot more injured. But everybody treated it like it was business as usual. Attacks on carriage fleets and business caravans by the bandits weremon urrences. So nobody questioned anyone or found someone to me on. But Jake had understood there was more than meets the eye when it came to Jason after witnessing the events. Most ranked entities, including Lins group,ter on, assumed the targeted attacks were aimed at Ivor because of Osan Woods Butcher. They thought that the OWB had some score to settle with the Osan household for interfering in his work or getting his info out in the public. Therefore, Lins group didnt actively participate in protecting Ivors carriage even when they were supposed to protect their students. What a joke? Take on the royally connected OWB for an Osan kid? Isen Osan was probably nning to kill Lin for his so-called transgressions. Lin, therefore, had two distinct reasons not to interfere in the OWBs work. He had already offended the guy enough. He didnt want to risk it anymore. It was easier to handle Isen even after he lets Ivor die in the incident. Once he reaches the academy grounds that is. But all of them didnt know was the fact that the OWB himself was travelling with them and was running away from these attacks even before they took ce. Eren was adamant about constantly changing the carriages position in the fleet while maintaining a safe distance from a particr carriage. The Sullivans thought the elementary potioneer was acting weirdly at first but they changed their mind as they travelled further. Jake started trusting Eren even more than before. He had already figured out that he knew something about Jason that he hadnt told him yet. But Jake didnt force him. It would be better if Eren told things of his own initiative. Eren and Jake finally breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the city of Lionheart. The academys protectors were enough to safeguard the citizens of their turf from any form of danger. **** Three dayster! The induction ceremony for LAs first-year students was going to take ce today. The grand city square was packed with students and their guardians. Eren and Jake could be seen standing with Jack Sullivan at a certain corner. The audience was looking at the elevated stage in the middle of the city square. A serious-looking man was seen standing firmly on that stage with his hands behind his back. There was a panel of people apanying him on either side, standing a step behind him. The man opened his mouth to speak when the city towers clock located right in the middle of the square produced a half-deafening bell sound, indicating that it was 10 AM Chapter 60: Induction Ceremony

Chapter 60: Induction Ceremony

The man opened his mouth to speak when the city towers clock produced a half-deafening bell sound, indicating that it was 10 AM. Hello, dear first-year students of the Lionhearts Adventurers academy. My name is Rufus Rodriguez. I am one of the vice-principals of LA and head of everything that rtes to first-year students. First of all, let me extend a sincere wee to each one of you. Youve made it till here. Either due to your hard work or connections. It doesnt matter anymore. Theres nobody superior or inferior amongst you. You are all equal to each other. This might sound perfunctory to you now. But youlle to realize how true these words are when you start living on the academy grounds. Ille clean by saying this right off the bat. Im rooting for those whove gotten inside the academy with their merits over who got inside with their reserved seats. There are two reasons why I feel like this. First, I too had to get inside the academy through my skills and perseverance. So I can empathize with them. And second, those who had to pass the test to enter the academy have a certain mindset that gives them an edge over most reserved seat students. But let me clear this before you draw any conclusions. The students who progress further and quicker in the academy at the end are still mostly those who entered the institution through reserved seats. Therefore, I cant find it in me to dislike this way of selecting the students. You might think my statements are contradictory. So let me clear them for you. The edge ordinary students have over the reserved quota student stays intact while they all are in the first year. Your current academic year. But this edge soon bes blunt as the students progress through the academic year. Why is that? Its because although the first-year students mostly have the same starting point, the amount of resources they can avail themselves of overtime to progress further makes the difference. If the efforts put in by all of the students are on the same level that is. The first year sees the reserved seat members taking less effort than their other peers. And that difference in efforts bes the force with which the ordinary students dominate the first year. But this domination results in the reserved seat members feeling jealousy, dissatisfaction, rage, and a cocktail of simr emotions. The first-year ordinary students be the reason for the reserved quota students to have that edge theycked at the start of the first year. When the field of effort bes even for everybody is when the real battle begins. At that time, the abundance or shortage of resources ys an important role. It is what it is! The reserved category students are mostly financially stable whereas those who had to enter the academy through the test are not. Plus, the reserved category students would probably have higher-ranked entities as their guardians. These guardians will guide the students in their ranking journey and other simr aspects. Whereas, ordinary students will have low ranked or even rankless guardians as their pir of support. This can be a handicap for students who allow it. Therefore, the first year bes special for everyone, irrespective of your background. Have a test of defeat, shame, and guilt if you are from the reserved category. Feel the exhration thates with dominating the ss that has lorded over you if you are an ordinary student. The academy will only stand as a bystander. Never forget those feelings that you are going to have in your first year. They are the most primal feelings one could experience in their life. Draw power from these feelings to advance further at all costs, at any cost. The opposing forces will sharpen each other. And thats how the academy manages to give this kingdom the experts that they need in all fields. Ill be honest with you. We will pit you against each other. Not just reserved seats vs the ordinary. It will be first years vs seniors. It will be you vs the magic beasts. And it will be you vs the instructors. In short, it will be you vs everyone. We will make you struggle with every resource that is avable in the academy. Even the special lectures and practise sessions organized by professors will have to be paid for with your hard work. Nothing worth your time everes free in this world. Youll have to earn the resources through everything you can draw from within you. Therefore, the reserved seat students should focus on putting in as much effort as the ordinary students if they want to stay on top from the first year itself. And ordinary students should start putting in twice the effort as they are used to. Just remember, the day you take rest will be the day you might get left behind by your peers. But also ensure that you dont burn out yourself. Otherwise, itll be even more detrimental for you. Now let me tell you how LA was founded. Most of you already know this, but we must revisit the roots we came from and remember the history that birthed us. The Lionheart Academy is as old as the Edinburgh kingdom itself. It was established around 700 years ago. Almost fifty years after the Edinburgh kingdom was founded. The first king and founder of the Edinburgh kingdom, Emil Edinburgh von Renar had four loyal followers. They had achieved tons of feats for King Emil and therefore were as respected as the king himself. King Emil had given absolute authority to these four retainers. The kingdom of Edinburgh only ever had four grand dukes. King Emil had granted these grand dukedoms located at four corners of the kingdom to his loyal retainers with their titles. The berserker Ivar Ironside was given the title of Lionheart. He was given the grand dukedom located in the southernmost region. The assassin Yuffie Loxley was saluted with the title of Lufthansa. He found his grand dukedom in the westernmost region of the kingdom. The title of Artemis was given to the exceptional archer of her time Nira Nightshade. The northernmost region of the kingdom was assigned as her turf. And finally, Lin Lehan was given the easternmost region to rule. He was the one hailed as Sansara Sage. After the kingdom was stabilized post its foundation, king Emil ordered his retainers to establish institutes in their respective turfs to cultivate the uing generations of the kingdom and cultivate within them an unwavering love for this soil. This was how the top four academies were established! Ivor Ironhide was the founding dean of our Lionheart academy. He was a ferocious berserker of his age. Later on, he became an equally exceptional closebat expert. Therefore, the academy too focused its curriculum on being a berserker and closebat expert. The path of a berserker is heavily dependent on the berserk potions. Therefore, our academy also specializes in potion-making. But that doesnt mean we dont teach and promote other paths. We admit that we dont have many resources avable in those fieldspared to the paths of berserk, closebat expert, and potioneer. But rest assured, the academy has plenty to offer throughout the academic years in all paths a ranker can tread on. LA wont ever be a bottleneck in any path that you choose during the five years. It will be up to you to progress on the paths youve decided to tread. After entering the academy, the students will be tested for their aptitudes and will be offered a consultation with qualified experts. The students can select the path they wish to tread on after listening to the said advice. Lets get to your enrollment now that the formalities are over. We will divide the students into two groups after confirming their identities. The first group will contain the students who have started their ranking journey while the second group will contain the ones who havent. Those who have entered the F-Rank, theyll just need to submit their ID stones. Their mana signature will be recorded. A mana array will be drawn upon their ID stones that will serve as the ess key to enter the academy grounds. Those who have entered the F-Rank but havent gotten their ID stones will be provided one. We will also help the students bind their respective ID stones to them using blood ritual and spatial magic. That way, their ID stones will get absorbed into the palm of their hands and wont be stolen or get used for illegal purposes. The ID stone will let you see a spectral screen stating your base stats once it is blood-bound to you. It will help you keep track of your progress and do a few things within the academy that you wille to knowter on. The ones who havent started their ranking journey will be given an ID token drawn with the same array. The ID tokens will have some restrictions. Youlle to know them when you enter the academy. There are around five hundred first-year students. They will be divided into five divisions after their ID inscriptions have been drawn. Youll be taken to the academy grounds right after weplete these procedures. Say goodbyes to your guardians now. Youll only be able to see them during long annual holidays. ************* The students started forming various cues after Rufus speech was over. Lins panel was also seen regting the crowd. Eren submitted his ID stone to a counter. The academy staff at the counter ced that stone at the eye of the array drawn over a 1 square foot white page, which wasid open on a work desk. The array lit up and started contracting before it vanished from the page, turning it nk. But that too didntst long as the white paper crumbled to dust. The same array appeared over the surface of the ID stone in its miniaturised form. Then it got even smaller before seemingly vanishing from the surface. The academy staff thenid another array over the desk and kept the ID stone right at the eye of the array. He grabbed Erens hand and punctured one of his fingers using a needle-like artefact to draw the drop of blood. The blood was dropped over the ID stone. The array lit up right after it before facing the same destiny as the previous array. Erens consciousness experienced a connection with that ID stone at the time. He ced his right palm over it and it was absorbed into it, only leaving a ck inked tattoo of the stone. The enrollment procedure wasplete for Eren. Other students also went through the same experiences. They started bidding adieu to their guardians after that. Soon, a giant tform could be seen hovering over the skies of the city square. One could see a huge array that had been lit up at its base. Almost every student and even a few students marvelled at that sight. Some were mesmerized. Others were shocked. Especially all the low ranked entities and ordinary students who hadnt seen or imagined anything like this. Jake had his mouth left open at that site. But then he saw Eren looking at this flying wonder casually. Eren had already heard the same speech in his previous life. That time he didnt understand in depth what Rufus was talking about. But this time he did. There was only one rule in the academy. Survival of the fittest. He was too busy crafting his ns to care about a giant artefact that he already knew to exist. Eren had seen this flying artefact previously. That time he acted like Jake. This time he didnt see the need to. People looked at the flying artefact with fascination in their eyes as it was settling down on the ground. They had such fascination because they thought theyd never be able to use that artefact personally. They were content in seeing that thing work. But Eren wasnt like them. He knew hell have something much better than this oversized flying turtle in the future when he reaches a high rank. Thats right. That giant flying tform was an A-Rank artefact. ======================== Authors Note: Hello. IK Rufus speech was stretched. But it couldnt be helped. The lore has to start from somewhere. The foundation needs to be firm before the story starts unfolding any further. Ive tried to keep things optimized by breaking down these info-dumps into many chapters for good readability. But still, let me know what you think! VEH officially has a rating now. Thanks to all the readers who have posted their reviews. That includes the visible reviews as well as the ones that are not, due to the NSFW filter. Kindly ce your review again if you find that it is missing. Also, dont forget to donate your stones. ? Eren officially re-enters LA with this chapter. The RPG elements will start to kick in soon afterwards. The ranking system will also get revealed in uing releases along with loads of other things. Stay tuned! Chapter 61: Spectral Screen

Chapter 61: Spectral Screen

Damn! Look at the ground from this point, Eren! Its so cool. We should just keep on flying today if you ask me. Jake was very excited about his first flying experience. As were lots of other students. Only a few students stayed at the centre. Most of them were gathered at the circr edge of the tform, observing the grounds and scenes getting distant as soon as they passed over them. There was no risk of anyone falling off of the edge. The tform had generated a dome-shaped transparent energy shield that would keep the students safeguarded. It had also prevented the students from experiencing overwhelming wind pressure, resulting in a calm atmosphere inside the energy dome despite the breakneck speed. Eren was with Jake standing near the edge of the tform. He was looking below the tform like everyone else. But one could tell he wasnt interested in what was happening to the ever-changing scenery. A lot of the students werent aware of the blood-bound ID stones functions. But Eren was. This was one of the biggest investments the academy had made for its students without them realizing it. The students will be briefed about their new and improved ID stones functions after reaching the academy grounds. But that didnt mean they couldnt use some of them at this point. The Butcher calmed his mind and made a connection with the ID stone located in the palm using his mana sense. He called out to something in his head and saw the spectral screen in front of him that only he could see. ******************************** Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organization: Lionhearts Adventurers Academy Academic Details- ss 1/C. Unranked Student (First-year ranking war status: pending) Base Stats: HP- 3.5/3.5 MP- 4.7/ 4.7 STR- 2.1 AGI- 1.7 INT- 2.4 BTP~ 14 BTP Visibility- Shown to All Ranking Technique- Two-star, rankless Edinburghs Standard Technique (Unusable) F-Rank Spells- Null ****************************** HP stands for Health points a ranker has. It indicates their overall health status. MP means Mana Points. It quantifies the mana storage within the rankers core. The physical prowess of a ranker is denoted by STR while their agility in movements and attack deployment is quantified with AGI. INT stands for intelligence. It quantifies the mental power a ranker can exert to think, cast spells, and more. BTP or Base Total Point is calcted after summing up all the base stat values. It is often represented in a whole number after rounding off the summation. It gives an approximate understanding of the rankers overall prowess. Since BTP adds all the base body stat values a ranker has, it is the one that is taken into ount the most when two opponents in the same rank are duelling. BTP will allow for an easy understanding of characters power levels with respect to each other using a single numeric value. Knowing about your opponents BTP can give you a hint of their prowess. Therefore, it is the most sought-after information on the academy grounds. Of course, BTP alone isnt an absolute indicator of a rankers superiority. A ranker having higher BTP might not win against a ranker that has lower BTP than them. Many other factors will also y an important role in the battle. Like the number and type of spells avable, theirpatibility with the respective rankers, and their ss. A battle can turn either way if it takes ce between two opponents having almost the same BTP as well as same number and type of spells. But the derived stat can be used as a go-to tool to predict the oue when the difference is high enough. Generally, if the ranker overwhelms their opponent with their BTP, theyll be able to register a win even if they belong to a nonbat ss. Eren was genuinely surprised looking at his BTP in this timeline. It was four units more than his previous timeline when he had first entered the F-Rank back then. But in this life, Eren had received a boost of four units right from the get-go. That too when he had just joined the academy and broken through using a traditional technique. He could only concur that it was due to the gem that he had eaten and was now a part of him. The two-star, rankless Edinburgh technique was the traditional technique Eren had used to break through into the F-Rank. It was widely circted for the rankless populous. It was stable and straightforward. And simple enough so that it could be understood and used by everyone. The technique had be unusable for Eren since he had already stepped into F-Rank. He needed a F-Rank technique now to resume his ranking journey. The BTP visibility was a way for students to know about each others BTP. It was currently set at shown to all by default. The default visibility meant it could be seen by any verified student and teacher of the academy in the near vicinity who knows how to use this function using their respective mana sense. Eren quickly changed the visibility to private. ************** The Butcher couldnt help shing a cunning smile after looking at his stats. He was way ahead of his past self in the current timeline. This time he was going to tread on the right path. Jack saw Eren giving a weird grin to the scenery down below. He thought the guy had finally started to enjoy his first flying experience. I dont know what you are afraid of, trying to take pleasure in this flight so secretly. But Im d that you can smile after experiencing this thing. Otherwise, I would have thought you are not normal. Eren didnt try to correct him. He suddenly had a thought. Maybe Eren could use the identifier function of the ID stone in conjunction with his mana sense to collect information. He thought of using it on Jake since he was nearby. Thetter was still not used to the function, so he wouldnt know how to keep his BTP visibility private. Eren used the identify function to find out Jakes BTP. He also started using the function on other people and found out other notable students BTP by covertly roaming all over the tform. Eren Idril- 14 Jake Sullivan- 10 Ivor Osan- 17 Veronica Garcia- 13 Jason Storm- XX Jason had acted smartly and already set his BTP visibility to private. Veronica either didnt know or didnt care enough to keep her BTP status hidden. Ivor Osan knew so many things. He clearly must have known about the ID stones functions. Despite that, he still kept his BTP status open to all. Maybe he wanted some students and teachers to see how superior he was to the majority of the lot found in LA. There were a few exceptional students as well who had greater BTPs than Ivor at that time. Eren had recorded and remembered their visible BTPs. It was always good to collect data on his potential enemies and allies. Jason saw Eren roaming nearby his group. He wanted to talk to him. But before he could approach the guy, Eren had disappeared from that spot. Jason smiled mirthlessly at Erens sneakiness. He wanted to talk to him using Matts and Doms subjects as excuses. But thetter didnt give him the chance. Soon, the flying tform breached an energy shield that wasnt visible from the outside. The energy shield lit up green and allowed entry to the tform. The flying tform soonnded on a space surrounded by tamed wildlife and vegetation. One could see various buildings and structures located in the distance. The students dragged themselves off the tform reluctantly. Some dyed their exit for as long as they could. But it was clear the tform wasnt going to move until all of the students got down. Rufus Rodriguez and his panel went away with the flying tform. Only a few professors and academy staff remained with the students. Oh! Old Lin, you came back early. Werent you taking a leave of absence from the academy? Whatever happened to that? A buxomdy could be seening towards the gathered crowd riding on a big and muscr colt. She looked like an Amazon warrior with light abs over her t tummy,plete with thunder legs, and heavy jugs that bounced aplenty as she was riding her stead uncaringly. Thedy had jet ck hair, olive skin, and light brown eyes. She had an hourss shape, albeit on a heavier side. With a height of around 5.7ft, she didnt look too tall. But still tall enough to assert her presence prominently. Good day,dy Ma. Yeah. Something came up and I decided to postpone my previous ns. Anyway, I have a new panel now. And came with these greenhorns. Is there anyone that catches your eye? Ma could tell Lin was changing the subject. But she didnt try to pry. She focused her attention on the first-year students and quickly found a talent within them. Ma could see the guy had progressed much further in his ranking journey than most of his peers. He also exuded an aura of maturity and seriousness. No. It wasnt Eren! ========================== Authors Note: The spectral screen has finally appeared in VEH. It took 60 full-fledged chapters to make an entry, and I am not sure if it is a good or bad thing. Ill admit. It took me a while to unveil the screen than nned initially. I was aiming for this concept to appear after 30+ chapters. But I also never wanted to rush establishing a storyline. So the release of 60 chapters became a necessity. One thing I CAN tell you though. It didnt pop out of the thin air. The inclusion of the spectral screen, showing rankers body stats has always been my intention. Thats why I kept focusing on ID stones and their multiple uses. Thats the reason I had mentioned previously that VEH will integrate a few concepts of cultivation with RPG elements. The BTP or Base Total Point is a derived stat. It allows for an easy understanding of characters power levels while avoiding info-dumps. Im nning to keep its values as round figures, but let me know what you think. VEH is still not a system novel even with the rankers stats getting mentioned in it. The spectral system is different from system screen even when if it has visual simrities. It is generated by an ID stone and not something only Eren is blessed with. The spectral screen will also have some fundamental differences than system screen. First, there will be no concept like an XP after each kill. Second, theres no system-managed store for Eren to buy from and sell things to. And third, no system manager is hiding in the shadows. Lastly, VEHs ranking system has been finalized. Its simple and avoids a cluster of concepts. Im nning to upload it in the auxiliary volume after releasing 20ish more chapters. But let me know if you want it to be revealedpletely anytime soon or get unveiled step-by-step as the plotline progresses further. Chapter 62: Enter- The Protagonist

Chapter 62: Enter- The Protagonist

Ma quickly found the talent she was looking for in the first-year lot. You She pointed at one student and asked him toe forward with her finger. She looked very dominating while doing that. Whats your name, boy? The boy she was talking about had short, dark golden hair and golden eyes. He was tall with clear skin that had a tinge of red. He was built muscr, a testament to his strict practice routine and sheer will. Among the bunch of boys that looked like they hadnt hit their growth spurt yet, he looked like the only one who could be called a man. The kidcked a beard. So he still had the boyish charm apanying him with his seemingly mature body. A deadlybination for all the young girls fluttering hearts. Names Ken Riverine, maam. Ken answered with a slight bow. His voice was firm and serene. He had the kind of bass in his voice that made him sound like an important man. Hmm? A Riverine kid? From the house Earl Riverine? But I checked all the reserved seat names. Your name wasnt in them. Thats because I entered the academy by clearing the entrance test, maam. All the students were surprised at Kens shocking statement. He was from the house of an Earl. As if that wasnt shocking enough, he didnt avail of the reserved seat quota. And entered the academy through an entrance test like amoner. Almost all the girls had already started bing his fan-girls,moners and nobles alike. The guys looked like they were looking at their biggest arch-rival. Even all the professors including Ma were amazed by Ken. The Amazoness couldnt help chucking: Hehehehe! Now thats whats called a hero-like entry. Kid, I have high expectations from you. Dont let me down. Ill visit you after a few days to discuss an apprenticeship under me. Of course, I wont force you to take it. Youlle to know the benefits and disadvantages of having an apprenticeship soon enough. Normally, apprenticeships start from the second or third academic year, depending upon the students and their merit points as well as their overall performance. But your BTP is already 18. Youve just crossed the initial stage and entered the mid-stage of F-Rank. Thats impressive at your age. Thats why Ive decided to break the unwritten rule of initiating apprenticeship in students second or third year for you. So at least think about giving it a try. Kens eyes shed with opportunities. But he wasnt dense. Ma talked about the disadvantages of taking on an apprenticeship. Therefore, Ken needed to know about them beforemitting something this serious. He had already been given a window to think about. The scion from Earls house decided to make full use of it. He nodded at Ma and went back to his earlier position. What nobody noticed was Eren was looking at Ken with pure hate in his eyes. The protagonist is here. Eren thought to himself begrudgingly. He had an old but now-nonexistent score to settle with this guy. He even called him the protagonist like it was some derogatory term. The vixen should be nearby if this guy has made an entry. Eren thought about the couple that was on their way to stardom and fame in the Edinburgh kingdom in his previous timeline. His blood started boiling even more when he thought about that vixen and finally located her in the crowd. She was ncing at Ken. Anyone could tell she was interested in him. Jake was standing nearby Eren. He suddenly noticed a shift in Erens aura after Ken made his appearance. But before he could ask him about it, the butcher controlled his killing intent and made it disappear in the thin air. The students were then introduced to their dorms after being led to a distant ce. The first-years dorm region looked like a medium-sized and well structured urban township. Every two students would be assigned a moderately big, single-story suburban house that had two bedrooms, two restrooms, and onemon living space. It also had a small courtyard where students could practise theirbat and movement skills. The houses were a set distance of 30 meters apart from each other. The regions were divided by lush greeneries acting as the fences. The first years canteen was a few distances away from the township. The students were made aware that the canteen had set timings for breakfast, lunch, supper, and dinner. Students had a one hour window for each food schedule. The next serving would only be made avable at the next schedule if the students were to skip a particr time window. Eren used his connection with Lin and made him assign a corner house at the far end for him and Jake. Lin had heard about the boy. That he didnt involve himself with kids his age. Therefore, he didnt mind cooperating with the same butcher that he was once hunting and currently felt hunted by. Eren and Jake were in the same ss, 1/C. And they also had potioneering as amon subject of interest. They were particrly pr opposite of each other when it came to personalities. And thats what allowed them to get along with each other just fine under one roof. The day was long and tiring. It was 6 PM by now. The sun had started to set. The students had their supper at the canteen. It didnt look like many would show up for dinner. Eren and Jake decided dinner wasnt necessary for them either. Jake had his snacks. So hed be fine even if he ends up waking up at midnight due to sudden hunger pangs. They both went inside the far-end house they were assigned to. The house had a security array. The energy shield was only lowered when it identified the upants identity with their ID stones. And it was raised back once again when they both went in. Eren and Jake decided to call it quits early. They were going to have their aptitude test early in the morning tomorrow, followed by their consultation and their first-ever lecture. The lecture would cover the academys rules as well as new and improved ID stones functions. Jake was excited for tomorrow. He hadnt checked his element affinity and was looking forward to prominent results. Eren only looked excited from the outside. But he knew about his aptitude beforehand. Instead, he was looking forward to starting his revenge on people that had messed up his entire life in the previous timeline. Eren retired to his room. And secured the door behind him with the imprinted locking array on it using his ID stone. He decided to rest on his bed as soon as he found it. Closing his eyes, Eren thought about the one major incident in the academy that had single-handedly changed his life. It had made him considered by others as the worst student to ever graduate from LA. It had all started with a girl! ===================== Authors Note: Brace yourself. The incident that had been mentioned in chapter 19 is going to unfold from the next chapter. ? Chapter 63: Sienna Slughorn

Chapter 63: Sienna Slughorn

It all started with a girl! Wars are often linked with love for a reason. Eren liked a ssmate in his past timeline. Her name was Sienna Slughorn. He didnt know anything about her. All he thought at the time was she looked cute. Of course, Eren didnt have the guts to confess his affection. But a vixen Sienna had figured it out by his shy yet consistent stares. Sienna was the daughter of a viscount. And she liked Ken Riverine who was from an Earl family. Ken was one of the top students of their year. And he looked mature and dashing. But the girl didnt only think with her ovaries. Sienna thought of elevating her familys position by being tied to the house of an Earl. It would have been fine if Sienna ignored a silly crush directed at her when she had set Ken as her goal. But she decided to use that against her ordinary admirer to further her cause. This was Erens third academic year! Every student had selected the subject of their specializations by then. The merit points were based on the assignments belonging to such specializations. Sienna first introduced herself to Eren who was progressing steadily in his potioneering. She asked him if he could guide her in the subject. Of course, Eren didnt need to be asked a second time. He dly epted her request. Sienna wasnt interested in learning of course. She pretended for a while then dumped all her potioneering assignments on Eren. She then pursued intimacy with Ken who was in a battle-oriented course. Eren figured out Siennas intentions after a few weeks of slogging his ass in her work. He was naive and inexperienced in a lot of things in his previous life. But he wasnt stupid even back then. Eren quickly got over his childish feelings. He wanted to be a genuine potion master due to Ninas influence on him. So anyone messing with his potioneering routine had to be kicked out of his life. He told Sienna one day that he wouldnt do her share of assignments anymore. Why are you acting so rudely with me, Eren? What has happened to you? Sienna had asked innocently when Eren refused to keep being her clown. Like he was the one to me for hurting her and her interests. Stop taking me for a fool, Sienna. I have my things to worry about. So youd have toplete the assignments given to you. Hmm? What else do you do all day? Its not like you have a life outside theb, is it? You dont have friends. You are not good at anything other than potion-making. Why not spend your timepleting my assignments while you are living the best time of your life with these herbs? I might consider you taking me for a date if you do that, you know. Haah! You couldve fooled me. You are already trying to get in Kens pants. But he is in a battle oriented course that starts at the same time of the day the first-year potioneeringb stays open. You are using me to go to his battle oriented courses. I dont have a problem with you getting together with anyone, of course. Not anymore. But Id suggest you pursue that rtionship with your merits and efforts. Stop counting on me to save your ass from penalties thatd befall you if and when you fail toplete your potioneering assignments. I dont want to spend my time onlypleting my assignments. Unlike you, most students take this subject to create a living out of it. Im one of them. Ill have to go beyond onlypleting assignments if Im to be a sessful potion master. That means experimenting with the recipes and finding my style of potioneering. Ill need to invest time in exploring extra-curriculum potion recipes. Experiment with ingredients and draw my own conclusions from them. Study previous research papers. Read famous potion masters books. And try to achieve three-star standards in all the basic potions of my rank. I dont have enough time to do all this even if I dont take up your assignments. And you want me to reduce that time even further for your gains? And what would I receive in return even if I decide to do that like an idiot I was in the past? A whole lot of nothing. Fat chance of that happening, miss. If you want to be close with Ken, deal with the penalty thates from changing the course midway and take up battle oriented courses. Eren refuted buying Siennas bullshit. He had already bought enough tost him for a while. Sienna startedughing like a maniac after listening to Erens final refusal. You were less of an idiot than I gave you credit for. Hehe! Ill admit. I WAS using you. But I dont see anything wrong with it. You were happy to be able to talk with a girl like me. And I was happy to allow you to do that in exchange for a little bit of favour. A dork like you should consider yourself lucky that I even allowed you to serve me. You should be grateful. But instead of thanking me, you are trying to sabotage everything for me that I worked hard to achieve. Listen carefully, Eren. Ill only say this once. Consider it a suggestion, warning, or downright threat. I belong from the house of a viscount. You DO NOT want to offend me. If you do this favour for me, Ill tell my family to hire you as lowliest of potioneer even if you fail in the course. Youll earn a decent amount of money for a low amount of work. The Slughorn potions are famous in the southern region. Our family operates a fair number of supply-and-distribution chains. And we own many potion-making establishments spread across the southern region. Thats why I chose a potion-making course even when I didnt like doing it. I have to maintain the family image. So you can imagine why I cant quit this course. You are right. Im not interested in dating you. I never was. As cliche as it sounds, the family backgrounds matter. You look alright. But you are not even a baron. And I know from a valid source that your parents have abandoned you. Your aunt Nina is the only guardian you have. But her status as a C-Rank healer can only garner her so much respect. That too is only limited to the city of Osan. So anything happening between us is out of the question. Now that youve seen through this farce, I wont y the same card. But I know how to deal withmoners like you. Lets talk business if thats what it takes. You want to be a potion master, right? Youll have to extend this kind of courtesy to your suppliers and buyers sooner orter. Consider this extra assignment as a potion-making order from me. Furthermore, I can surely find a ce for you to work in any of our Slughorn establishments if you cooperate with me. But refuse my kind intentions, and Ill show you how angering me is never a good idea. Now decide, what will it be? Sienna blurted everything in one go. She stopped pretending and showed her true colours to the ex-gullible boy. When deception didnt work, she went for the carrot-and-stick approach. One had to say her upbringing as a noble youngdy was spot-on. But Eren had already made up his mind by then. He would not get associated in any way with this cold-hearted vixen. Maybe you didnt hear me the first time. I told you to either quit being part of the potioneering course. Or find some other way to be with Ken. But itll have nothing to do with me. I dont want your extra money or any position in Slughorn establishments. Im perfectly capable of securing a good position as a potion master anywhere with my merits after graduating. So now you have my decision. Its a big, fat NO! Siennas smile became even wider after hearing Erens response. But now that smile had a shade of viciousness. She couldnt believe the guy had grown so much spine after the realization of getting used to her scheme had dawned on him. What pissed Sienna off, even more, was the fact that Eren had snapped out of his devotion towards her more quickly than he had gotten into it. It challenged her self-gratifying assumption that was based on pride, hubris, and self-esteem of being the most desirable girl in her ss. This, to her, was even more uneptable than just refusing to cooperate with her. Eren! My sweet summer child, Eren. I thought a shut-in nerd like you would know your ce in the hierarchy. But turns out you are delusional. Never mind. Ill help you realize your worth. You want to be a potion master, right? Ill simply take that away from you. Ill make sure that you be anything BUT a potion-master. Ill ensure that you be a failure in everything you do. Only after wearing the shades of despair will you be able to see what truly lies in your future. The house of Slughorn will ensure theres nobody named Eren Elijah Edril acting as a potion master in this kingdom. And we will ce a bounty on you if you try to leave the kingdom. Prepare to say goodbye to these herbs you call your friends and thisb in some days. And remember the name that will be the reason behind your ruin. Its Sienna Slughorn! ============== Author Note: Enjoy three-chapter mini mass release. ? Chapter 64: From Potioneer to Berseker

Chapter 64: From Potioneer to Berseker

Prepare to say goodbye to these herbs you call your friends and thisb in some days. And remember the name that will be the reason behind your ruin. Its Sienna Slughorn! Sienna slowly left theb after dering her threat. Eren had understood that his refusal would have repercussions. But he didnt understand the severity of them at the time. Sienna had ties with the potioneer in charge of the first years. He would be a mad potioneer not to form ties with anyone from the viscount Slughorns house. He was the reason Sienna could dump her assignments on Eren without anyone being the wiser. The potioneer in charge couldnt control everything that happens in the academy. But the first-yearb was his domain. He might not be able to grant Sienna merit points out of nothing. Otherwise, he might get in trouble after someone else cross-checks the assignments. But granting her the merit points and letting her avoid the penalty for someone elses work was still feasible. Sienna just asked the same potioneer in charge to make trouble for Eren and gradually decrease his merit points after finding supposed faults in his assignments. The sold-out potioneer obliged. Sienna started attending her potioneering assignments. But it came with a cost that Eren had to pay for. Eren soon found out how deep was Siennas reach. His prim and proper potion assignments suddenly started having errors in them. He would often get mistreated by theb staff. The potioneer in charge would scold him for his poor performance in front of everybody. Erens merit points took a huge dip as a result. He now had to work twice as hard for half the merit points just to not get flunk in the course. But that was not all. Sienna soon ranted to Ken that Eren had tried to be all touchy with her one day when they were alone in theb. Almost everyone knew about Erens crush on Sienna. The girl had made sure of that with her previous gossip. So it wasnt difficult for everyone to believe in the same. Why would a girl lie, right? Eren was a recluse. He didnt have any friends in the academy. His connections with the academy staff and teachers were even more imaginary. The news spread like a wildfire within the first-yearmunity. Soon the facts were twisted and Eren became even more of an abomination than Sienna had nned for him to be seen as. She fanned the mes even further. Erens life in and outside theb became more difficult with each passing day because of the naked jeers and constant threats from various groups affiliated with Sienna. Erens merit points soon became insufficient for him to continue studying potion-making in the academy. Eren was in his third academic year by then. Nobody would think of switching courses at this point. But Eren did. He did not have a choice. The berserker course charged the least amount of merit points and had many options avable in LA. it epted any students who wanted to learn the way of berserking. It was a rtively straightforward path. Eren chose the path of a berserker when he only had two years remaining in the academy. Eren had practised a potion-manufacture-centric F-Rank ranking technique when he first resumed his ranking journey after breaking through into the beginners rank. But that technique was not suitable for the path of a berserker. Eren had to regress in his ranking journey to adapt to a new berserker ranking technique. He also had to take uppulsory battle-oriented courses. There, as if mental miseries were not enough, he faced even worse physical miseries. Sienna and Ken had be a thing by then. The girl had yed her sympathy card the most. She acted like a damsel in distress whenever she saw Eren. Of course, a few students had seen through her farce but they too joined hands with her to gain favour from one of the biggest names in potion manufacturing. So whenever Eren woulde for a duel in the arena, he would get beaten up ck and blue by members of Siennas camp. She had again starteding to the battle courses to watch Kens performance. She had given the same offer to someone else. And that someone couldnt refuse. Eren was burning from within. He had not messed up with anybody. But it seemed to him that the entire academy was standing against him. Eren was a hard-working man. He put double the efforts in the path of a berserker. But that didnt help him in stopping the constant humiliationing his way. They called him many names: leecher, pervert, cheater, psycho, potential serial killer, chatan potioneer, worst berserker in history, and many more. Eren had found a census had been raised against him. Sienna had a major hand to y in it. But most of it was due to him not having a backer to count on. Not having enough connections. But it was already toote. Even if by some miracle, he tries to form any connection and his voice gets heard, it will never be enough to wipe out hisrger-than-life image of being the worst student in LAs history. Sienna had many aplices in pulling the rug off of Erens feet for good. She had Vivi Loren and Luna Selene to spread the gossip of Erens apparent misadventures on a lot of girls, not just Sienna. Then there was Ron Valencia and Dino Moretti who was in the same battle sses as Eren. They would often challenge him and beat him up till he loses consciousness. Eren had his patiences limit breached a long time ago at the end of the academic year. Something needed to be done. He could still get a potioneers license even after getting graduated as a berserker with Siennas help. The license would be of the lowest grade. And Eren would be the worst passed-out potioneer from LA because of his lost practice. But even with all that, Eren had a chance to resume being with Nina. His career as a potioneer was more important to him than his pride. Eren decided to go with pragmatism. He decided he would say perfunctory sorry to Sienna for the things he had said. If she needs her ego soothed with Erens sorry, so be it! He was also willing to work for her. Thats why he asked her if they could meet in private. Sienna agreed. But she asked her friends and more to stand at a distance from their meeting point in case Eren decides to act rudely. She also made her friends ensure that no third party was there and Ken was identally brought to their meeting ce at the right time. The evening of their meeting arrived. Eren was at the ce first and observed the surprisingck of people. But he didnt pay any heed to it. He waited patiently for Sienna to show up. Sienna had the same smile she had given to Eren when he had said no to her overbearing demands. Eren didnt mind himself getting ridiculed for the sake of his future. For the sake of helping aunt Nina in her work. Eren wanted to start right off with a sorry but the Slughorn vixen opened her mouth before him: You know, you are still as dense as you were back then. We are way past sorry and retracting our words. You are more useful to me being a useless student these days. Mens brains are as gullible as a young dog in heat. They would want to fuck anything that moves and believe in everything that would give them the treat known as self-gratification. Your infamy has be the reason for me to get close to Ken. It has invoked a sort of heroplex in him. He now sees me as someone that needs protecting. Why would I ept your apology now after achieving so much without it? In case you are wondering why I epted your request. It was to make your case even worse in Kens eyes than what he sees you be. Saying this, Sienna ran straight at Eren and crashed on him. The infamous leecher and pervert was caught off guard. He tried to block her with his hands but that only made matters worse as she grabbed his raised hands with hers and ced them on her breasts. Aaaaaaah! Help. Someone help. Eren Idril is trying to r*pe me. Chapter 65: Recluse R*pist Incident

Chapter 65: Recluse R*pist Incident

Aaaaaaah! Help. Someone help. Eren Idril is trying to r*pe me. Sienna didnt waste time after assuming an ideal damsel position. Her friends had identally brought Ken in the vicinity by then. He heard the shout, recognized the voice to be Siennas and rushed to the crime scene. Eren wanted to get his hands off of Sienna. But he couldnt. He had regressed in his ranking journey due to changing his path to be a berserker midway while others only progressed. Therefore he couldnt get rid of the overwhelming BTP difference between him and Sienna even when thetter belonged to a nonbat ss. Before Eren could say or see anything, he saw a mana-coated fist gradually gettingrger in his eyesight. Then everything went ck. When Eren came to be, he experienced severe pain in his nose. His eyesight had be groggy. His mouth had a taste of iron in it, which was his blood due to the severe injury. He tried to fix his eyesight by shaking his head but that action almost made him lose consciousness again. It took Eren a while to gainplete rity. When he did, he noticed his hands and feet were tied. He was still at the same meeting ce. But now he was apparently in the middle of the crowd that was surrounding him. Eren looked at the crowd. The people were looking at him in ridicule and scorn. Like he was the lowest human being on earth. His appearance of being bloodied with a broken nose didnt help his image either. It did not invoke the feeling of pity in any one of them. Everyone felt like he deserved it. Even friends of Sienna who had kinda guessed what must have taken ce at the scene didnt feel any trace of pity for him. It was his mistake for Sienna being Sienna and him being a nobody. They would use Eren as adder if they have to and a use-and-throw rug when they need to. Eren saw Ken who was looking at him with barely contained rage. He was holding Sienna in his embrace who was weeping and whimpering on his chest. Her head had been buried in his pecks, her body glued to Kens without any care. Kens one hand was caressing Siennas head while the other hand wrapped around her waist. He had stretched his legs in a flipped-V to amodate Sienna,pensating for his taller stature. The guy looked like an incarnation of justice with his pose and a damsel by his side. Kens one hand was coated in red. It was clear who had punched Eren. But as if the real-life knockout wasnt enough, the Riverine prodigy decided to punch the guy with his words as well: You piece of shit. You didnt have the brain to understand a simple no. So you resorted to forcing yourself on Sienna? I had told her to press charges against you when you first tried to get all touchy with her. But she wouldnt listen, saying something about not wanting to use her family name against a student with amon background. But look what that has gotten her into? She still tried to make peace with you by epting your apology. But this is how you say sorry? This has been my eye-opener. I thought only rich kids acted spoiled and shameless. But I was wrong. The evil is in all of us, reserved-ordinary, rich-poor,mon-noble. It doesnt matter. You know what you have done right? You have ruined the image of allmon students who have worked hard to get into this academy. You have also ruined the already criticizable image of reserved category students. Sienna, listen to me. Dont back away from this now. You have to press charges against a maniac like him. Lest he bes a threat to anyone else. Sienna stopped crying. She didnt know what to do or say. It wasnt like she didnt want Eren to suffer anymore. But pressing charges against Eren would backfire on her. When Sienna had imed to everyone that Eren had tried to breach her formal physical boundaries, ording to her it happened at the potionb when everybody had left. Eren was only used toing in contact with her and all the students at that time. Plus, he was used to stayingte in theb due to his additional practises. So that lie became believable. But that lie contained Siennas lie. Theb had visual monitoring artefacts. Had she pressed charges, the visual footage of theb would have gotten analyzed and everybody woulde to know she was lying through her teeth. So Sienna yed smart and skipped on pressing charges by saying something ridiculous to Ken. But the guy not only bought her BS, he even started respecting her for it. Yes, Ken was kind of a guy youd find in hero stories acting as the protagonist while wearing the goggles of justice on his eyes. Even in this incident, Sienna didnt have solid proof. She had cleared off this area from any potential eyewitnesses that would witness anything she didnt want them to witness. But in doing so, she had prevented a valid third-party eyewitness that would hold ground against such cases. Therefore, the case would involve ranked entities if Sienna decides to press charges. Those entities could use special spells, artefacts or any other means to dig the truth out, which would again be detrimental to her. Sienna saw the hope in theb potioneer in charge of the first years that hade at the ce as she had asked him to. The guy waspletely obedient to her. He noticed her eye signs and stepped forward: Ken Riverian, you shouldnt punch anyone outside the battle arena. It is against the academys rules. I will overlook this incident due to special circumstances but dont break any more rules now. Sienna dear, tell me what you want to do now. Do you want to press charges or take a different approach? Sienna quickly thought of a way out. She remembered her promise to Eren at that time and decided to deliver on it: Sirb in-charge, I saw a friend in Eren but he acted in this way, not once but twice. I should press charges against him. And I want to. But I wont do that. Because the guys base nature wouldnt change even if we throw him outside the academy and into some city prison. He would be even more dangerous than he is right now after being released. Why not change Erens way of life then, to make him benign to society? I propose you sign a binding contract with him that would serve as a restraining order and more. The conditions would be as follows. 1) Eren would not harm or conspire against any of his fellow LA students consciously, subconsciously, or through any other means or personnel. 2) Eren would notmercialize his potion-making anywhere consciously, subconsciously, or through any other means or personnel. 3) Eren would always stay within the Edinburgh kingdom and not leave it under any condition consciously, subconsciously, or through any other means or personnel. 4) Eren would be required to make every woman he is about to sleep with, say I know Im sleeping with a potential r*pist, and I willingly consent to it. The statement needs to be said word-to-word, and Eren cant alter the words consciously, subconsciously, or through any other means or personnel. 5) The contracts duration is a lifetime. Any form of breach in any of the above-mentioned pointers would result in Erens mana core getting wasted and him dying immediately afterwards. Sirb-in-charge, use a C-Rank contract you might have in store to bind Eren with so he wouldnt be able to break it anytime soon. With this contract, everyone would feel safe and Eren would be able to turn a new leaf on his life. The viscount houses vixen came up with the harshest terms for a mana binding contract. The first pointer was for her safety. She just added every student of LA to make it less obvious. The second and third pointers were something she had already promised Eren to do with him. At first, she was going to use her family power to do that but she found a more efficient way to implement her judgement on Eren through the contract. The fourth point was something Sienna came up with on the spur of the moment. She wanted Eren to live a miserable life. Keeping him sexually frustrated was a good way to do it. ************** The fourth point was another reason Eren had resorted to using an aphrodisiac on women. No sane girl in her right mind would say something like this just before they were about to have sex and still proceed with the act. Therefore Eren had to blur their consciousness and make them say that statement word-to-word before proceeding forward. Otherwise, he would die if the contract breach takes ce. The women would feel miserable after remembering what they had been made to say by the devil they had slept with. Thats where all the disgust and dissatisfaction came from. Eren could only find sce in hookers after the same scenes kept happening to him post his academic years. Then he foundfort in hookers who would say that statement as if it rolled off their tongues, sans the surprise and disgust. Eren never looked back after he found professional help. Yes, he was still sexually frustrated. But he had found a channel to vent it, even if ever so slightly. ************** Eren didnt say anything against signing a contract. Even if he cried that he was innocent in all this, it would not help him. The crowd might even turn violent in response to his genuine pleas. And a sold-outb in-change was in cahoots with Sienna. What were his chances of finding genuine help from the academy? Almost zero, he thought. At first, Eren had underestimated Siennas reach. Butter on, he overestimated it due to seeing the behavioural changes of entireb staff andb-in-charge. He thought there was no use going against the entire system. Thats why Eren chose to do nothing when he first heard about the fake gossip about him. He thought he was protecting himself from any potential repercussions when in fact he was making himself prone to more severe ones. Regret is a bitter pill to swallow. Eren didnt find any other choice but to sign the contract at that time. He wasnt sure Sienna couldnt buy an academys investigator that gets assigned to his case if he decides to reverse-press charges of defamation on her. She had already bought ab-in charge. How hard would it be for her to conspire with the investigation team? Theb-in charge produced the C-Rank contract from his storage that he had bought by paying a huge sum of money. But he knew hed getpensated by Sienna so he didnt mind using it here. The contract took ce between Eren and theb-in-charge. It was practically impossible for the former to break the contract from his end. Eren read the conditions once again before signing the document with his blood. The sanguine blood was imbued in his mana that contained his mana signature. Theb-in-charge did the same. The contract needed a name for itspletion. Theb-in-charge proposed a name and everyone agreed with it. The contract was given the name of LAs Recluse Rapist to taunt Eren some more. The incident became famous in LA and outside it as a Recluse Rapist Incident. Erens life resumed after the incident. But it was never the same. He knew he wouldnt be able to go back to Ninas ce with such infamy stuck to him. Eren didnt want to drag Ninas business down by being with her. So he had dropped the idea of going to her ce after graduating. Plus, she knew about his recluse nature and his awkwardness when it came to girls. To her, that incident looked believable. At least thats what Eren thought. The real victim of the whole incident didnt want to face his aunts judgemental eyes too just to justify himself. He didnt want to go through another victim shaming. Eren was a ghost of his former self. He put all his frustrations into at least passing the academy. Because that was all he could do to cope up with his mental state, channelling his energy into something that mattered to him. Eren had always been a hard-working guy. That hard work, that sore body and worn-out sense of existence gave him the strength to sleep at night. By the time Eren moulded himself into a half-assed berserker, his academic years were over. His merit points were just enough to pass the fifth year. The damage his image took was even worse than his grades. The contract forced Eren to not seek or apply for potioneers license. What would he do with the real or fake license if he cantmercialize his potions? His potion-making career was over. With his infamous name, Eren couldnt find any hunters or adventurers party to be a part of for an extended amount of time. One way or the other theyd alwayse to know about his academic incident. Even after the previous heat dying down on him after some years, Erens name again sprang up when he tried to sleep with women using roofies. Eren stopped caring about hunting in the party when that happened. Eren could not even leave the kingdom to seek better opportunities. He was trapped in a cell that was slowly shrinking on him. Some years after Erens graduation. Even with all the risks he took in his missions and all the lucky encounters, Eren still did not manage to go beyond the initial-stage D-Rank. Most of his sessful academy peers were either on the upper stage of D-Rank or had already stepped into C-Rank. They were in a better position in terms of the ranking journey, social standing, and economical condition. A girl named Sienna Slughorn had delivered on her promise. She had sent him to his ruin while keeping him alive to experience it. Erenter came to know that she and Ken had entered C-Rank together and had gotten married. Eren was even angrier at the world and himself after knowing such news about his peers. He felt sadness, wrath, jealousy, injustice and everything in between. So the hookers and booze became his only respite, which became his eventual downfall as well. =================== Authors Note: The Recluse R*pist incidentpletes with this chapter release. It was the major reason behind Erens sorry state in his past life. Let me know what you think about the incident. ? Chapter 66: Aptitude Test

Chapter 66: Aptitude Test

The next day! Eren and Jake woke up early and met each other in the living room. They had their breakfast together. Jake could see a lot of groups forming over breakfast tables. He wanted to introduce himself to a few of them, but it didnt look like Eren would join him. And he didnt want to leave the guy behind for his socializing activities. They were required to gather at a huge hall that was located inside a four-story tall building, on the base floor. ording to the board that was hung over the entrance, the buildings name was Rankers Incipience. The hallroom of Rankers Incipience was huge in both size and height. It had a ceiling height of four stories. Its length was more than 100m. The hall had practically nothing inside as its interiorpared to itsrge size. The students of 1/C gathered near a particr podium with the term 1/C written over it. Other students went to their respective podiums located at a distance from each other. The podium had someone waiting on them to arrive. It was Lin Karr with his panel of assistant professors standing behind him. Everyone from the ss 1/C was present at the scene. Lin started his speech as soon as he counted the ss students. Hello, students of 1/C. As most of you must already know, my name is Lin Karr. And Im assigned as the homeroom teacher of your ss. Before you ask or think to yourself, let me state out the obvious. My parents were very inspired by our countrys founding hero, Lin Lehan at the time of my birth. Thats why they chose Lin as my name, hoping Id get as good as the kingdoms idol we all hail as Sansara Sage. My father is an array master while my mother is serving in the kingdoms army as a distinguished potion master. Both of them, how should I say this They both are sorta like nerds with their specialization fields as their only interests in their lives. Therefore, its not strange for them to go with the same name as the biggest nerd this kingdom has ever known, Lin Lehan. I dont know why the academy receives a fewints every year from the students families, saying that Ive been tarnishing a great name? But let me assure you that neither my family nor I have any ill intentions behind keeping my name as Lin. Now that any possible misunderstanding my name might have is out of the way, lets get down to business. I have my panel with me that I would like to introduce to you. After all, they will be the ones youll be seeing most of the week. Ill be avable once or twice every week, mostly towards the end of it, to guide you. Meet Peter Griffin. He is a capable E-ss ranger. He is well versed in tracking techniques and some other skills rted to hunting. Thisdy is Thorn. She is an exceptional E-ss healer. She will teach you about first aids and various natural as well as manufactured medicines you can use depending upon the terrain and situation. We have Julia Ekheart. Her ss is special. Lets just say for now that she is an E-Rank hunter. She will expound on how to detect illusions and counter them. And finally, we have me, Lin Karr. I will teach you about the fundamentals of mana arrays and their functions. Since my lecture will be once or twice every week, itll continue for that whole day and you wont be able to attend anything else. Lets first find out about your element affinity and aptitude. Just form a queue first and Ill tell you what to do. Lin Karr ordered the students of 1/C to fall in line and the students obliged. Jake was standing ahead of Eren. Lin would order the student at the front of the line to stand right over an eye of the array that was drawn on the limestone ground nearby from their gathering. Lin had already told the students that they needed to imbue their feet with their mana. The array would be lit up after absorbing that mana inside its inscriptions. The ground was inscribed with array details that would be lit up intermittently. Then a few spectral words would appear over the student who was standing in the middle of the array at the time. Soon came Jakes turn. He stood inside the array eye and imbued his feet in mana. The ground lit up once again before forming words: [ Elemental Affinity- Water Inherent Nature- Unobstructed fluidity Aptitude- Potioneer, array master, inscription specialist ] Lin had already described to students that they will have at least one elemental affinity and at least one inherent nature, and a few aptitudepatibilities. Elemental affinity was simple to understand. There were five great elements and a lot of derived elements. The five great elements were earth, water, fire, wind, and ether. The derived elements were born from thebination of the five great elements in various proportions and permutations. For example, ice is a derived element formed bybining water, wind, and cold fire. Likewise, the derived element ofva would be the result of the fusion taking ce between earth and fire. Those who have derived elements as their affinity would also have the affinity for the elements that are involved in the derivation. That means if someone has ice as their elemental affinity, they can also be considered to have an affinity in water, wind, and cold fire mentioned above. But great element affinities granted by the derived element would be different from their normal affinity standards. That meant when one had their elemental affinity as water, their elemental affinity would not get divided. 100% of their elemental affinity belonged to the water element. But water elemental affinity granted by having the derived elemental ice affinity would prohibit the ranker from having 100% affinity in any of the involved parent elements. If their ice element is formed by 70% water, 25% wind, and 5% cold fire, then the ranker would only be able to make use of the water element with 70% efficiency. Having a derived element affinity came with its own set of advantages and disadvantages, after all. For example, the derived element affinity meant possessing inherent affinities in at least two great elements or more. This was a huge advantage. The ability to make use of two or more great elements meant having an edge over the rankers who only had one great element affinity in terms of variation. The ones with derived element had more spells and techniques to choose from. The disadvantage of having a derived element affinity was theck of suitable ranking techniques to choose from. The disadvantage became even more apparent when it came to oddball derived elements like mud, haze, sound, etc. Another disadvantage of having a derived element and practising a ranking technique rted to it was the sudden increment in difficulty level when it came to progressing further in a ranking journey. A ranker practising a ranking technique corresponding to their derived element will progress at a slower rate than their peers when the amount of effort was the same. The advantages and disadvantages of any element would usually nullify each other. So having a derived element did not mean gaining superiority over other rankers. Nor does having a single affinity in one great element means your potential as a ranker is limited. Theres no superior element. Only superior ranker. This was a saying famous within the rankermunities. It urately highlighted the importance of rankers hard work. The term Inherent Nature described the way the rankers elements would behave normally. For example, in Jakes case, his elemental affinity was water. And the Inherent Nature section described the way Jakes element would behave inherently. The Inherent Nature section would help the rankers zero in on a suitable ranking technique for themselves belonging to their element and nature. A ranker would progress quickly and efficiently while facing less obstruction if they practise in a ranking techniquepatible with their element and nature. The aptitude section takes ount of rankers body stats, mana signatures, elemental affinities, and inherent natures to suggest a suitable path for them. The student would head to meet an academic staff appointed to them to discuss the path and ss suitable for them, post their aptitude test. The expert would then suggest a list of suitable ranking techniques avable in LA and their respective values. The experts would also suggest the students in courses suitable for their element, path, and ss. Of course, these courses needed merit points too. Good thing was that the aptitude test and consultation was free. LA was heartless where it needed to but would also support the students where it deemed they needed supporting. Next was Erens turn. He went ahead and stood inside the array before imbuing his mana in his feet. Eren had already taken a precaution and told Reen to wait inside his dorm room in her inorganic form. He didnt want her presence to interfere in his aptitude test. Soon Erens test became known to every student in ss 1/C. ==================== Authors Note: Hello. A Chaotic Symbiosis received third ce (bronze trophy) in #WPC216. The writer in me is d and feel validated. I Hope VEH does even better in #WPC218. ? Chapter 67: Element of Time

Chapter 67: Element of Time

Soon Erens test became known to every student in ss 1/C. [ Elemental Affinity- Time (ether + remaining great elements in differing quantities) Lightning (wind + water + fire) Inherent Nature- Devour, Speed, XX Aptitude- Closebat expert, potioneer, weapon specialist, berserker ] Everyone including Eren was tongue-tied! The students and Lins panel were shocked because elements like Time were extremely rare. There were not many suitable ranking techniques and spells avable for this derived element. There was even an ongoing theory that time and space shouldnt be considered as derived elements at all. They should be counted in the list of great elements if not above them. But having a rare derived element like time wasnt the end. Eren had another derived element affinity. It seldom happens that a ranker has two derived elements. And the fact that one of the derived elements was time made it even more unbelievable. Eren was surprised as well. He thought he already knew about what element he was going to have even before the aptitude test. Turned out he was wrong. Eren had a lightning element in his previous timeline as well. So the test showing that element wasnt surprising to him. But the element of time was something Eren wasnt expecting. He quickly thought of the gem he was integrated with, in this timeline. The gem had to be the root cause behind his newfound time affinity, an additional trait of devouring in his default inherent nature of speed, and malleable aptitude that waspatible with so many professions. Eren thought he had his path figured out because he already knew about his affinity, nature, and aptitude. But now he needed to rethink his approach. Lins panel or the avable academy staff were unable to give Eren an optimal consultation because of his time element. The element of lightning was rare and powerful. But it wasnt so out of the ordinary that the staff of LA would get stumped over. But the concept of time was elusive. It had special ranking techniques and spells. And since these techniques and spells were limited in number, they can only amodate rankers with certain types of aptitude. Lins panel and the academy staff neither had anyone with the element of time in their lot nor they studied or read anything about the techniques rted to time. Frankly, they were not qualified to guide Eren. He needed special consultation. Therefore, Lin dered that Eren will be provided with his consultationter on by the academy after finding the right personnel to do so. Eren agreed and went back to his ce. This time his return was traced by a lot of eyeballs. The aptitude test continued! There were a fair amount of students with derived element affinities. But nobody could shock the crowd as much as Eren did. Eren didnt mind the attention he was getting. He knew that soon this attention would shift to other pieces of information Lin was going to give them regarding how the academy works. Then the rat race would begin. And his existence would soon get overlooked. If he acted the same way as his past self that is. **************** Lin continued his exnation after the aptitude test and the consultation for all the students except Erens were finished: Now that you have an idea about your element affinity, inherent nature, and aptitude, you can think about the path you want to pursue based on the given consultation and your preferences. Make sure you take your time to choose the right path for yourself. Dont rush into anything. Taking your time, in the beginning, is always better than regretting your choiceter on. Youll have to regress in your ranking journey to restart with a better path if that happens. Now lets talk about lectures, merit points, and more! If you think your entry into the academy was all that was required to gain any type of knowledge LA has in store for its students, then you are wrong. LA is not a utopia from your dreams. Remember sir Rufus speech. Youll have to pay for gaining knowledge and everything rted to it here. Of course, the academy wont suffocate the students from all sides. You have something called homeroom lectures. Whatever the homeroom professor panel teaches, it will be free of charge for that respective ss. That means you dont have to pay with merit points when attending lectures conducted by me or my panel. This is only applicable for students belonging to the 1/C ss. You need to find professors or assistant professors that belong to your element, ss, subject of interest, or skill level yourself if the homeroom lectures are not enough for you. Youll have to pay with merit points to attend their lectures or be part of various programs organized by them. Apart from lectures, the students will have to pay for lending books from the library, various ranking techniques, spells, and everything else that is worth your merit points. The merit points can be obtained throughpleting training schedules,pleting assignments, performing exceptionally in ranking wars and various other means youlle to knowter on. Theres no scope for cheating in any form. Your blood-bound ID stone will keep track of your every progress. It will also disy the number of merit points you have. Oh, right? Most of you still dont know the various functions of your new ID stones, right? Let me first list them quickly before proceeding any further. Lin started exining ID stones functions to the students. Most of them were surprised. They started firing their mana senses in all the directions at once after finding out about the importance of knowing the BTP of those around them. Eren had already told Jake about keeping his BTP visibility private. And thetter understood its seriousness and quickly learned how to save his hide for the time being. Most werent so lucky. The students were going to act as both hunters and prey among themselves after knowing about each others BTPs. Only then did Lin tell them about how to keep their BTPs private. Everyone understood LA wanted them to fight among themselves. Thats why they released information about BTP visibility after highlighting the importance of that particr body stat. Every student had been redited with 1000 monthly merit points after Lins panel finished exining the functions of the ID stones and how to use merit points. Merit point was the official currency inside LA. It didnt have any physical manifestation. It would only get recorded on students ID stones. And students would be able to carry out their transactions with each other or with LA and academy staff using these merit points. Merit points suddenly became more important for students than the money and Extol they had. But it wasnt like the Eddies and Extols werepletely useless. A fixed amount of them could be converted into merit points. The exchange rate was subject to change on various factors. Converting real money to merit points was practically wasting money, from aymans perspective. Oftentimes one wouldnt get their moneys worth. And merit points couldnt be officially converted back into real money. But this exchange was worth it for students with heavy wallets. It had the potential of giving them the edge they were missing. Of course, there was a monthly cap involved to prevent rich kids from gaining too much advantage. But the money still yed a huge part in nurturing students to their fullest. LA was an academic institute. But it needed money to run and function properly. The Kingdoms grants would only cover the academys bare necessities. It gained a huge sum from keeping the merit points system ongoing. Students got to know about the ranking wars that would start a week from now. Ranking wars had many types. There were intrass, interss, and inter-year ranking wars on one vs. one level. Then there were party-based ranking wars of the same types. So there were six types of ranking wars in total. Each came with its set of rules. Winning in the ranking wars would grant you war points. These war points would be tallied each month to dere top students in each category. These top ceholders would receive additional merit points based on their position in ranking wars. Intrass wars would take ce between two individuals or two parties belonging to the same ss. A student needed to participate in at least one intrass war every week, either personal or party-based. The individuals or parties involved in the intrass war need to bet a minimum of 100 merit points on the battle. Therefore, the winner would receive 200 merit points and the loser would gain nothing. Students needed to participate in at least one inter-ss war every month, either individual or party-based. It would take ce between individuals or parties belonging to different sses within the same year. The individual or parties needed to bet a minimum of 200 merit points for inter-ss wars. The winner of the match would get 400 and the loser would gain nothing. And finally, the students needed to participate in inter-year wars at least once every three months, either on an individual level or party-based. The betting amount would be 500 merit points. ********** Apart from merit points, the students would also receive war points. War points would be granted by the match referee. And the amount was depended on students battle performance. Unlike merit points, the loser of the match would also receive war points based on their performance. If the match was neck to neck, thered be practically no difference between war points allocated to both sides. The merit points would be divided among the party members equally if a party has won the game. But the same would not be the case with war points. The number of war points would only be dictated by the students involvement and their performance in the match. In short, there was no easy way to gain war points. The students needed to actively participate in every battle and beat their opponents effortlessly to gain maximum war points for themselves. The war points would decide the ceholders in various categories. Every set of top yers from these categories would receive additional merit points by LA. Intrass war rankings would be updated every week. Only the top 20 students (out of 100) would be considered as ceholders in this category. Inter ss war rankings would be updated every month. Only the top 100 students (out of 500) would be considered as ceholders in the category. Inter year war rankings would be updated every three months. Only the top 100 students would be considered as ceholders in the category. Inter year wars would usually take ce between the individuals or parties belonging to sses that had only one year of academic difference. For example, battles between first-year individuals and second-year individuals. Or third-year individuals and fourth-year individuals. Therefore to gain maximum benefits, students would participate in all the categories and score a win in most of them. They could practically double or triple the number of merit points they receive monthly by participating and winning in ranking wars. ************ There was no such thing as ties in these matches. Either the students need to force each other to give up or make them unable to battle. If both sides are unable to continue the battle for some reason, then the result of the battle would be decided by the match referee based on their performance. ******* The students would also receive various passes randomly after winning the matches. There were various types of passes one can gain and make use of during battles. For example, the Right to Battle pass would force someone to ept their opponents challenge even if they have already participated in a simr battle. Then there was the Right to Skip Battle pass that would allow someone to counter the Right to Battle pass or skip the minimum participation requirement. Then there were opponent-restricting or self-strengthening passes. These passes were also individual-based or party-based. Just like merit points and war points, these passes were issued on ID stones. The spectral screen would show the number of merit points, war points, and passes avable to the students. Normally these passes would only be issued by the match referee if and when the individual or a party showed overwhelming performance and won their matches spectacrly against equally tough opponents. Students were allowed to exchange these passes among themselves unless they were user-bound. These passes could be stacked depending upon their types and situations. These passes had the power to give the advantage to a weaker side to face a stronger opponent with equal footing. The students would normally store and use them only when they needed to participate in inter-year matches. ************ The benefits of a junior side winning against a senior side were huge in terms of merit points and war points. The prestige that came with it was also iparable. Intrass battles were usually fought between individuals. And students preferred meeting the minimum requirements in inter-ss and inter-year battles by being in a party. Intrass battles would require students to ce a minimum wager of 100 merit points. Even if they were to lose the battle, it wouldnt hurt them much. But the merit point amount of 200 and 500, for inter-ss and inter-year battles respectively, was too much for an individual to wager on. The chances of losing the match were higher in these battles. So losing meant losing a hefty amount of merit points. Participating in these matches by forming a party would allow the students to share the burden. Even if they lose the match, the impact wont be that high. The only downside of party-based battles was the winning amount would be divided among the party members. In short, ranking wars had created a certain ecosystem. There would be a steady supply of merit points if students were to participate and win in these battles consistently. They just needed to choose their opponents in such a way that it would always ensure their win. Thats why knowing the BTPs of your opponents was a crucial piece of information. Most students regretted not knowing how to use the ID stones functions beforehand. They could have used that information to quickly score loads of merit points for themselves. The ranking wars were going to start next week. First to start would be intrass wars. Eren was going to use the BTP information he gained that day to wreak havoc on the students. Jason was regarded as the newbie killer in Erens previous life. He had dried the merit points of so many students that they had given him this name. Just like Eren, Jason had also collected the BTP information about all the first-year students. Eren was the one who copied Jasons idea in this timeline. ======================= Authors Note: Hi. VEH touches the milestone of +100K word count with this release. We have achieved this while retaining the average chapter length of around +1.5K words. ? gm Chapter 68: E-Rank Strengthening

Chapter 68: E-Rank Strengthening

Lin kept exining to his students some more nuanced details that the students would be required to knowter on. He covered everything that was rted to the academys rules and regtions. It was already lunchtime when the lecture was finished. The students rushed to the canteen and started having their lunch in a jiffy, lest the ordering window gets closed. Jake and Eren did the same. But this time they were apanied by a pair named Becky White and Steve Austin. Jake did most of the talking. Eren had already known about their BTPs of 10 and 12 respectively. *********** The ID stone was an all-purpose artefact. It could be used to make note of things the user deemed necessary. A thought was all it took to store a text. The stored data would be seen on a spectral screen and could be essed anytime. Eren had made a special note of any student having lower BTPs than him. He had filtered out their names on the spectral screen and made a separate list containing the same. Eren was going to hunt for these weaklings first for an easy load of merit points. He was no fan of beating a stronger opponent than himself just to get the mental satisfaction of being a superior ranker than them. He had lived a life of old age. That age had taught him there are no benefits in cultivating hubris. Never underestimate your opponent or overestimate yourself. Because someday itll lead you to your downfall. He felt no shame bullying the weak. He knew hed enjoy doing it because Itd give him maximum benefits with minimal effort. Although he wasnt shy about doing hard work, her didnt like to work in vain. ************ Steve and Becky had joined the duo because they were looking to form a party for the uing inter-ss battle. The party needed a minimum of five and a maximum of seven students to be formed. Steve would need only one more member should the due decides to join them. Eren gave a nod to Jake and thetter epted their proposal to form a party. Steve looked like he wanted to say more but Eren got up from the table, indicating their conversation was over. ********** Eren had not received any party request in his previous timeline. He wasnt even an F-Rank back then. He needed to search for people with simr bottom tier status as him to form a party with andpete with other such students. It was an unwritten rule in the academy that rankless students will be left alone to their devices. That rule had saved Eren from beingpletely eaten up whole from the get-go. Later on, when he entered the F-Rank, he formed a party with a few bottom tier students. They only entered the ranking wars to meet their minimum requirements and were ready to lose some points in exchange for double the penalty theyd receive by not participating. But this time, Eren had decided to wring these students dry of their merit points. He cant continue to crawl at the bottom tier and expect to get his hands on good things ced at the top. And Eren wont stay a recluse either. At least he wont let his nature be obvious to guess. He needed to mix up with students while masking his ambitions and ns. He needed his presence felt just enough so that he could remain part of the crowd while trying to gain one up over it. Thats why he thought of partying with Steve when thetter approached him in this timeline. The guy was aiming to be a berserker. He had the qualities of a natural leader. Steves presence was overwhelming on and off the battlefield. And he had a good eye for people. Erens presence would get masked under the guys shadow if the former made the right use of him. Eren didnt care about Becky White. She was an average healer from what Eren remembered from his past timeline. She didnt excel or suck in her job. Steves team in Erens previous life was average at best. Only the leader stood out from the rest. It was to be seen if his party in this life would follow the same fate or break the pattern! ******** Eren retired to his room again. Lins lecture had continued from where he had left off. The guy got to his core subject, which was the basic functions of arrays. Eren could see Linsck of expertise in the subject. It was obvious that Lin was no genius in the field of arrays. He had been given that subject because of his parents and the guy couldnt refute the role to maintain his image of being worthy of the name given to him. Academy wouldnt do something like this under normal circumstances. That meant Lin was forced to teach and in a way re-learn stuff about the field of arrays by someone higher in thedder at the expense of students misery. They would often get confused because of his conflicting statement in the field. Only then did the ss of 1/C understand why the previous studentsined about such a professor being their teacher on arrays. The honorary hunters first name didnt paint a fair picture above his calibre in arrays. Eren locked the door of his dorm room, took the coffee mug off his shelf, and ordered it to return to its normal form. Reen had been given the choice of either turning into a coffee mug or ne and she chose the former. She felt her first inorganic form was the most rxing one while she was forced to do nothing. Reen soon morphed into a mass of slime before plopping over his shoulder. Reen assumed the shape of Elena over Erens shoulder in a miniature form and rubbed her body off on his neck by engulfing it like a necktie with her stretchy hands. Her eyes were closed and she had a smile like that of an innocent kid while she did this act. Elena was a healer from Doms party. She was one of the first females Reen had eaten. The slime demoness would often shift between morphing into females she had eaten so far. Eren, why do I have to separate from you every so often? I feel lonely when you are not with me. *********** Reens cognitive abilities had started growing at a rapid pace. Her intelligence wasnt to be underestimated. She justcked experience in certain things when it came to societal and human interactions. The same experiences that she was gaining slowly but surely. Reen had started realising her sense of existence more prominently, and consequently her masters too. It had dawned on her that she missed Eren. And Erens promise of feeding plenty of food to her in exchange for her prolonged inactivity wasnt going to cut it anymore. Eren had another headache to worry about. How to feed Reen inside the academy? He certainly cant kill a student here. There were easier ways tomit suicide. That left Eren with only a certain option. He was going to use that option extensively for theing week to polish hisbat skills and feed Reen at the same time. ******************* Dont worry, Lil Reen. This arrangement would only be for a few weeks more until I have enough merit points to get a few things. Let me get a special spell for us from the academy. Then well never have to stay apart from each other Eren assured Reen to curb her feelings of longing and loneliness. Reen agreed and started rubbing her mini-Elena body on him even more. Eren had to go all in in the ranking wars in this timeline. He had many reasons to do so. One of them being Reens problem, which needed to be sorted out sooner thanter. ************ Eren remembered his aptitude test after looking at Reen. The newly found inherent nature of devouring must have been the result of his connection to Reen. Forming a bond with demoness slime through blood ritual must have changed his mana signature, resulting in him gaining her inherent nature as well. Eren wasnt sure if the gem only granted him the element of time. Or if there was something else. ording to Lin, the XX error was an array miscalibration error. This was because Lin didnt know about the existence of the gem inside Eren. It would have been a normal case of miscalibration had there not been an external and extraordinary factor added into the equation. But Eren knew the case wasnt normal. He guessed the gem would have the prowess to generate that error. Eren didnt want to ask anyone about it andnd himself in even bigger trouble. Curiosity kills the cat! And even her nine lives arent enough to save her hide when that happens. So Eren didnt press Lin either and let him conclude the matter with miscalibration. ************** The Butcher thought of something and wanted to try it out: Reen, iste this room using your mana sense first. Then armour my body like usual. Reen obliged. She first covered the dorm room using her mana sense. Then started coating Erens body to make him enter his devilish form. Eren wanted her to start from the most basic power-up she could grant him. Eren then observed the changes in his body stats using the spectral screen. As he thought, the ID stone was able to quantify the boost he received after entering the devilish form. His MP and INT didnt receive any boost. But the values of HP, AGI, and STR had gone up. This affected his BTP value as well. Erens BTP was at 14 before assuming this form. But that value had been shot up to an incredulous number of 30, which was regarded as the limit of F-Rank. Eren asked Reen to strengthen him some more and that had finally changed his BTP value to 42, in the realm of E-Rank. This was the limit at which Reen could strengthen Eren before his body started facing drawbacks. This was an improvement. Eren could only strengthen himself to the limit of F-Rank when he was rankless. But now that he was in the initial stage of F-Rank himself, he could skip an entire rank and enter E-Rank after Reen strengthened him. The BTP value of 42! Eren had to field-test and adapt to these strengthened body stats before he could make use of them. But he needed to be away from prying eyes beforemencing his battle practises. This was tough to do in the academy. But not impossible. Eren would need to spend some merit points to book an isted practise room for himself. Another reason for him to earn more of them. ===================== Authors Note: Hello. I wanted to ask readers of VEH, do you want to dictate Erens visual profile? In case you havent noticed, it has not been explicitly mentioned how Eren looks in this timeline. It wasnt that I forgot. Im trying to make a dedicated VEH Wiki Fandom for the novel. So I decided that I will reveal Erens visual profile once his image for the wiki page gets finalized. Ive shortlisted a few images. But before I go with any of my choices, I thought of asking the readers if they want to contribute in deciding how Eren should or would look. So drop the images for Erens potential visual profile in this chaptersment section. Ive also included my choices in thements section. Only ce your thumbs-up on any one choice that you like the most. We will wait about a week and go with the one that has maximum likes. ? Chapter 69: Linda’s Consultation P1

Chapter 69: Lindas Consultation P1

The next day. Six days before Erens solo intra-ss ranking war. Eren was waiting inside a simple room in the evening. The mornings lecture was conducted by Peter Griffin. He was a goofy guy but his ranger skills were good. Too bad, Eren already knew about what the assistant professor had to say in his lectures. Eren tried not to sleep in ss due to his waning interest in the lectures. His sheer will and Peters entertainingments somehow managed to keep him awake. Eren had been told to wait in this room located in another building for his pending consultation. He didnt know what to expect from this session. Even he didnt read much about the element of time despite being a D-Rank adventurer in the previous timeline. A person opened the closed door and entered the room. Eren looked back from his seat and was shocked to see someone he knew. But he masked his surprise with a weing smile and slight bow before that person could notice it. The person who was going to offer consultation was a woman in her 30s. She had generic features and average stature. The most highlighting part about her was her hair, which was blood-red. The woman also reeked of a distinct booze smell associated with Golden Grain. This person was none other than Linda Cardel from Jaimes panel. Eren had eavesdropped on the partys conversation in the Osan woods when it was out camping inside the forest, looking for the Butcher. What they didnt know at the time yet was that the Butcher got on their trail instead. Linda took her seat in front of Eren and pulled up Erens aptitude test on her spectral screen. Hello, young one. Names Linda Cardel. I serve as an assistant professor in sir Jaimes panel. Im told you have been detected to possess a time element and require some consultation. What have you been told by that idiot Lin so far? Eren was in a dilemma. Should he oppose the way Linda had addressed his homeroom teacher or should he let it pass? This wasnt because Eren liked Lin and was hurt or offended by the way this drunkdy with a loose tongue addressed him. But because he wanted to maintain decorum, even if it was as true as twenty Eddies bills. He decided to choose a middle ground. Ah! ADAPT Lin told me that someone with a time element would be better able to provide consultation. So he told me to wait till the academy finds someone. He also told me that since the element of time is rare, the techniques and spells rted to it are extremely difficult to get ones hand on as well as expensive. Eren highlighted the ADAPT part in his speech by speaking it a little louder before honestly telling Linda what he knew about the time element so far. Adapt was an official prefix to address a D-Rank entity. Simrly, the prefixes for F-Rank and E-Rank entities are Novice and Ace respectively. The C-Rank entities are formally addressed as Experts before their names are called out in a formal setting. Linda nodded at him before expounding further on the subject: Indeed. Element of time is as elusive as the element of space, probably even more since there arent many ways we humans can make use of it. The concept is too vague for us to wrap our heads around. Thats why understanding the element of time and aptly employing it in your profession is even more difficult than getting techniques and spells rted to it. There were not many time-element rankers in the past. And those who were didnt describe enough about what they thought of using that element for themselves. The power of time manifested differently within each of them. So it was difficult to draw a linear rtion. Only one thing ismon among all time-element rankers. Most of us have a drug addiction to deal with the side effect thates with using time-rted techniques and spells. Thats because most of us have to deal with uncontroble bouts of time dtion. Experiencing time dtion can be the most wonderful, most beneficial, most bizarre, and most horrible thing. Wonderful because it alters your perception of time than your peers around you, allowing you to experience the passage of time differently than them. Beneficial because when you see everything in slow motion, you technically have more time to think about the right countermeasures in case you are being attacked. But slowly that time dtion starts looking bizarre because no normal ranker would be able to keep up with you even when you want to have a normal conversation with them outside the battles. Practising the element of time changes your perception of time slowly but surely. It either makes you experience things happening around you slowly or at a fast rate depending upon the technique and spells you are using. Soon youll find that your normal sense of time is being overwritten by the altered perception. Your normal sense and the altered perception, therefore, would fight within themselves to define whats normal for you. This often results in time-element rankers experiencing sudden bouts of altered time perception even without them employing any techniques or spells at the time. Soon, the advantages of having a time element are overshadowed by this side effect. Experiencing a time dtion when you dont want it can make you angry and anti-social because of the frustration thates with it. Imagine you are talking normally with your party members. Then suddenly the altered perception hits you and you have to hear their voices in slow motion. These voices stop making sense when the altered perception is cranked to a sufficient degree. And when you start talking, the party members with normal perception of time wont be able to make sense of what you said in a rapid-fire speech. Then imagine almost all human interactions like that. Horrible, right? Therefore, a time-element ranker has no choice but to use some drugs to keep these bouts to their minimum or curb their effects. It can turn out to be pretty vexing otherwise. Im no stranger to using this time-tested remedy myself. It is considered bad luck to have a time element. First, youll have to struggle twice as hard as normal people with normal elements if you decide to continue your ranking journey while keeping that element at the centre. You will have to face difficulties in getting appropriate technique and spell suitable for your nature and profession. You will have to get them at a way higher cost even if and when they do be avable to you. And third, you will have to deal with the side effects. But its not like the element doesnte with an advantage. First, when you get a handle on your element, it bes almost impossible for anyone to kill you instantly during an ambush. Second, you will be the most deadly force mid-battle because of your spot-on counters and extraordinary responses even by rankers standards. This is especially true for closebat experts with the time element who can tear through the opponents defence like a thin sheet of paper. The time-element mages cant be interrupted during their spell-casting. Thats because theyre already done speaking out the incantations before their opponents thought of disrupting them. Third, elements of space and time are special in the way that they are derived from the fusion of all the great elements in different proportions. So theoretically, youll be able to use any great element for yourself. Although you wont enjoy 100% affinity in any of them, you can introduce variations in your profession to make up for it. And finally, the fourth advantage. As the element of time is a derived element born from the fusion of all the great elements, its spells wont create a conflict even if you decide to practise any other ranking technique. The effectiveness of the time-element spells would decrease as a result. But you wont have to struggle as much to get a decent ranking technique. Neither will you have to resort to working harder than most of your peers just to keep up with them. Plus, the bouts of time dtion would be less frequent and less severe than what youd get if you practise in the time-element ranking technique. Furthermore, choosing to practise in any other element wont turn out to be a bottleneck in future when your mastery over your time element increases. You can always decide to choose a time-element ranking technique the next time when you rank up without having to regress in your journey. The zero-conflict advantage with other great as well as derived elements extends in this pointer as well. Even I practise a wind-element ranking technique and only use time-element spells rted to my profession as a historian. Im the first and as of now the only known time-element historian of my or your generation currently active in the entirety of Edinburgh kingdom. I have many advantages over normal historians, and that too when I dont even practise a time-element ranking technique. Is there anything you want to ask about the exnation provided so far? ========================= Authors Note: So always-drunk Linda is back. She was introduced in chapter 45 in case you forgot. ? Chapter 70: Linda’s Consultation P2

Chapter 70: Lindas Consultation P2

Is there anything you want to ask about the exnation provided so far? Linda stopped her speech and asked Eren to see if he had any queries. Thetter voiced his question soon after: Ace professor Linda, do you think the profession of a closebat expert is more suitable for me than being a potioneer ording to your exnation? Eren asked with slight anticipation. He didnt have to think this hard when he only had the element of lightning as his element. Although the great element of water was considered to be the most ideal element of a potioneer, he could do just fine using his lightning element. Thats because Erens derived element was made from water, wind, and fire. The spells rted to water and fire were very useful in potion-making. So he dealt with hisck of 100% water element affinity by introducing variations in simple potioneering spells rted to water, wind, and fire. But if his new time element pushed him towards being a closebat expert, then hed have to rethink his priorities. Hed still walk the path of a potioneer. Its just that he will have to prioritize being a closebat expert more. Yes and no. If you can get time-element spells rted to the profession of potion-making, the element will y a vital role. If not, then being a closebat expert will be more suitable for you since it is rtively easy for you to get the elemental spells rted to that profession. Do you know why I called Lin an idiot after looking at the result of your aptitude test? Its because of his remark of calling the XX entry in the Inherent Nature section a miscalibration in the array. Technically he is not wrong. But he has failed to understand what caused that miscalibration. The array used for aptitude testing works on previous database entries of rankers that have been umted over a long period. Your mana signature changes ording to your element, inherent nature, and a lot of covert and overt factors about you. Theoretically, even the minutest of changes in rankers ranking journey can be traced and deduced with their mana signature. Of course, the array used for the aptitude test isnt that advanced. But it doesnt have to dig deep into the rankers pasts who have just started their ranking journey. The purpose of maintaining database entries of such mana signatures generation after generation is so that the array can find a few close matches to your mana signatures and predict what professions will suit you best based on those matches. Inherent nature is something that has been categorized by very high-ranked entities after considering arge sample size. Since the mana signatures reflect the trait of the rankers, it also bes possible for rankers to predict the mana signatures based on their traits. This linear rtion is the principle behind the functioning of the array. The array would show nk space or XX error when it doesnt have a matching entry in its database. This is extremely rare considering the database has been nurtured for so many years now. But it couldnt be helped since the case was rted to someone with a time element. The rankers belonging to the time element are rare. So the sample size of time-element database entries is restricted as well. The XX means theres no entry of another time-element ranker with a simr mana signature as you. The inherent nature of your time element is different from what had been observed and recorded in the database so far. Lin couldnt understand the reason behind the miscalibration even after studying and teaching arrays for a living. Hence I called him an idiot. The knowledge of ones parents wont get automatically transferred in the childs brain after all. Lin should REALLY think about changing his first name. Its an insult to the Sansara Sage, having this ill-informed array master teaching stuff about arrays to gullible students, as someone who shares his first name. Anyway,ing back to your problem. I checked your aptitude test results and they are pretty skewed if you ask me. Your time element doesnt have a known inherent nature as disyed by the XX. Then you have another derived element in your arsenal that has three great elements fused into it. But even after all these anomalies, the professions you can opt for remain rtively traditional and well-known. I can understand thepatibility for a closebat expert and weapon specialist because of your lightning element and inherent nature of speed. Element wise, you are not a perfect match for potion-making. But since your file record mentions your guardian as a C-Rank healer and a potioneer, I can imagine you must have dabbled in making elementary potions from a very early age. And that is reflected in your mana signature now. But the inherent nature of devouring isnt linked with either of your derived elements. Plus, you even have a berserker listed in your weird aptitudepatibility choices. If I didnt know you were a 16-year student, I would have believed the person undergoing this test was a beat-up ranker who had probably dipped his luck in a lot of professions before finally deciding to focus on a single path. Your mana signature is convoluted enough to derive such an assumption. Do you know whats even weirder? Your time element hasnt influenced your aptitudepatibility choices as far as I can tell. Its like someone has lent you their elemental affinity. Which is as bizarre as it is farfetched. Maybe your mana signature has two or more prizing attributes that sometimesplement and sometimes create conflict with each other. We are never really entirely sure about anything when ites to time-element rankers. So Ill conclude my consultation by keeping things simple. Id suggest you choose the easy way. Focus on getting an F-Rank lightning element ranking technique rted to the profession of closebat expert first. Keep everything rted to time-element ranking techniques on the back burner for now. Think about getting them once you have broken into D-Rank or above. Prioritize finding attacking-type time-element spells rted to the profession of closebat expert or any other suitable profession. And then include them if and when you can in your battle style. You can keep treading on the path of being a potioneer, thanks to your derived element of lightning. Youll need to work hard, but youll eventually get the results you want with enough investment. Are there any other queries you have? Had it been Ken Riverine in Erens shoes right now, he would have chosen to go for the most difficult path like a true protagonist he was. He would have opted for a time-element ranking technique to practise from the get-go. And then he would dominate everyone on his level with his focus,mitment, and sheer fokin will. But Eren was not like Ken. He agreed with Lindas practical consultation. The Butcher was not looking to cut corners in his hard work. But a particr paths efficiency was equally important to him. Thats why he deliberated hard over choosing the right profession in this timeline. Otherwise, he would have opted for the path that he was most familiarized with, the path of a berserker. Eren knew what Linda was talking about when she said it seemed that element of time was something that was lent to him. He knew this was due to the incorporation of that gem. It was the gems power manifesting in Erens elemental affinity and inherent nature. He preferred polishing what belonged to him first before working on the power that he wasnt familiarized with for the time being. So he chose to go with Lindas consultation. He dered his intentions to Linda before taking his leave. Linda was left alone in the room, seemingly brooding over something. It wasnt apparent with her cadence, but a sudden bout of time dtion had struck her when she had entered the room. When a ranker is proficient enough in their innate powers, they tend to activate their powers subconsciously using the honed sixth sense. Therefore she could minutely observe Erens changing facial expressions before thetter took note of the event. Why did this kid act surprised when he first saw me? Does he know me? And if he does, why did he mask his expressions quickly after? Linda was trying toe up with an answer but she couldnt find anything on the kid. She just shook her head and decided to give up on those trains of thought. For now! ==================== Authors Note: Hello. Last weeks spirit stones count exceeded 100. And Im seeing a lot of non-spamments. Thanks for all the support youve shown for the novel. The two extra chapters will be released soon. Look forward to it. ? Chapter 71: Besanc

Chapter 71: Besanc

Eren went to his dorm room after that and told Reen to change into a ne. He immediately wore the same and made his way to a particr facility that looked abandoned. The first-year students were still learning about things inside the academy and they were yet to realize the importance of this facility. The evening had started to set in by the time Eren had exited out of the room post his consultation with Linda. So he didnt feel like resuming to attend Peters lecture. Eren wasnt interested in homeroom lectures at all. None of the professors could teach him what he needed to learn the most. He needed to find other lecturers and attend their lectures by paying with merit points. But before he started spending his merit points, Eren needed to secure a stable way to earn them. That was the reason for his arrival to this particr facility known as Regtory Board for the Lionhearts Beast Sanctuary, AKA Besanc. ************ Besanc had adopted the setup of a typical adventurer guild to make the students get familiarized with how the adventurers worked and their way of life. It regted arge area known as the Lionheart Beast Sanctuary that spanned across the south-eastern side of the academy grounds and a small part of the gigantic forest known as Themysciras Amazon. A matriarchal tribe was settled at the border of Lionheart Beast Sanctuary that separated it from Themysciras Amazon. The academy grounds borders ended before the Sanctuary, allowing for a neutral zone forming in the middle. This neutral zone would be visited by both LA students and the Amazons. The academy had cordial rtions with the Amazons. They had been given the autonomy to rule theirnds by the Edinburgh kingdom and other kingdoms which had their presence in their respective territories. The tribe located at the border of the sanctuary was only a small part of the Themysciras might. ************ Coming back to LA. The facility for Besanc boasted arge hall. The inside of the hall was flickering with many spectral screens. This was the facility meant for every student of the academy, not just the first year. The fifth-year students werepleting their on-field experience programs. And most of the second to fourth-year students were on their long holidays. Only a few students had decided to stay inside the academy. And yet, Besanc was filled with second, third, and fourth-year students. This wasnt surprising. The students who had remained in LA during the long holidays were the ones who either didnt have a family/guardian to return to. Or they were too focused on their studies to care about anything else. Either way, epting andpleting missions issued by Besanc was a good way for these students to spend time and practise whatever they learned so far while earning merit points. The flickering and ever-changing screen contained a lot of information regarding the sanctuary that might overwhelm a first-year newbie. Eren acted like a newbie from the outside too. But he wasnt excited at all from the inside. Erensst two years in the academy from the previous timeline were mostly spent in the sanctuary. He had only two years to at least be a passable berserker. So the Besanc and the sanctuary were more homely than his dorm room for him during those times. Eren went towards a counter that catered to first-year students. The blonde girl wasnt expecting any student to visit her window anytime soon so she was surprised by his entry. Hello, maam. Names Eren Idril. I want to register myself in the Besanc as an apprentice adventurer. Boy, Besanc on-field demo program wouldnt start for first-year students for another two or three months. We are yet to arrange the adventurers that can lead you. Come back after Besanc releases a circr notice for your year. Maam, your name is Sha Hinsken, right? It seems theres a bit of misunderstanding. Im not here for the on-field demos. Im here to register as an apprentice adventurer so that I can take up missions. The first-years can register in the Besanc after breaking into F-Rank, right? Im a verified student of LA and also an F-Rank. And my BTP is 14, which meets the minimum requirement set by the Besanc. The Sha was again taken aback by the first-year greenhorns knowledge about the academys rules. He even knew about her names. Although this wasnt impossible for a first-year to know about her name, she still found it surprising. The kid looked in but his presence after he spoke exuded a kind of confidence Sha had often found in the experienced adventurers. Alright. Allow me to scan your details. The blond receptionist quickly got over her surprise and resumed her formal way of attending to apprentice adventurers. Eren soon received a prompt on his spectral screen. Besanc (Verified) wants to ess your personal and academic information. Would you like to proceed? Eren mentally selected the Yes option and his information was transferred to the openly visible spectral screen in front of the receptionist. Sha confirmed his details, especially his BTP before proceeding to send a Besanc membership token on his ID stone. Hmm! It seems everything is in order, Eren. Let me warn you about a few things now that youve officially entered into the Besanc. Dont head out toplete even the simplest of missions before getting your hands on suitable ranking techniques and spells. Otherwise, even a simple grab-&-fetch herb deposition mission would turn out to be deadly for you. Your privacy is always respected by the academy. But all bets will be off if a student dies in the forest and you are found to be involved in any way with that case. The tracking data will be retrieved from your ID stone and you will be punished by thew if found to be guilty. So dontmit any crime. Always make a habit of checking out the updated map published by the Besanc over your spectral screens and open screens ced inside the Besancs hall. This will allow you to know a lot about the forests current power structure, its terrain, magic beasts poption density, and their distribution among other things. The information can turn out to be life-saving if you draw your ns rted to the missions ordingly. You can choose to share your location on the map to the Besancwork or only with your peers upon your choice. Or you can choose to stay hidden. The ones with their location encrypted will also not be allowed to know about the others information. The missions need to bepleted within the due times mentioned in their details. Start from the missions that have the lowest BTP requirement and gradually move towards epting more challenging missions. Dont get blinded by the merit points certain missions offer. Choose missions that are suitable for your element, ss, and BTP. You are allowed to stay inside the sanctuary for up to three days at a stretch unless you take prior permission. If you fail to show up at the academys border checkpoint within three days, you will be considered to be in danger. Your right to privacy will be overwritten and a retrieval team will be sent to your location after tracking your ID stone. You will be taken back by the team even if you are found to be not in any form of danger. A penalty of merit points will be raised against you. So youll either have to pay the amount upfront or in instalments. Dont go solo for beast subjugation missions. Form a party of five or seven students toplete them. If you dont know anyone, you can request Besanc to form a party. We will send a prompt to other students personal screens, and they will join you after knowing about the mission details. Is there anything you want to discuss or ask? No, miss Sha. Dont worry. Im only going to im the missions for today. Ill only head out when I have a few spells in my arsenal. Ill take my leave now. But not before confessing that your beauty exceeds the rumours that have been spread about you among the first-year students! It was my pleasure to meet a stunner like you. Erenplemented Sha in passing. The previous Eren wouldnt have done anything like that. But Eren of today knew women like to be praised every so often. Eren wasnt technically breaking LAs rules by epting missions right after entering the academy. But he was surely bending them in his favour. Therefore, he needed to smoothen out any friction that might arise due to it in the future. Erens smoothplement had its intended effect on Sha. She smiled at him and allowed him to proceed further. Eren did not have any questions regarding the information Sha had provided him. He already knew about how Besanc worked. But he still let her finish what she needed to say as a formality. A new sub-screen was avable for Eren to see after that. It had the title of Besanc. Eren slightly bowed to thank Sha before heading towards a big spectral screen disyed in the hall that was titled Avable Missions. The minimum requirement for epting the avable missions was a BTP of 14. Eren had barely made it. But the Butcher had the advantage of being a first-year. He would be prioritized by Besancs system over his seniors for low-level missions. For example, if theres a mission with a minimum BTP requirement of 14, then that mission would remain unimed for a certain period unless a first-year im it. Only when theres no first year would the mission go towards the senior year students. Emergency missions and extended missions came with their own guidelines. But generally, first-year students would be prioritized for low-level missions in all categories. The newbie students were not allowed to take up any missions that crossed a certain BTP value. But anything below that could be easily imed by them. Low-level missions produced rtively lowest gains in merit points. But they were easier to do than normal missions. A student would gain maximum merit points with minimum efforts if they could chain these low-level missions together. Eren was aiming to do exactly that. =============== Authors Note- Got a little dyed but here are the two extra chapter releases. ? Chapter 72: Effective Use of a Protagonist

Chapter 72: Effective Use of a Protagonist

A student would gain maximum merit points with minimum effort if they could chain the low-level missions together. Eren was aiming to do exactly that. Generally, the low-level missions would be released every day and get refreshed within a week. That meant there were around seven sets of missions for each day of the week. Each type would be released on that specific day and would be avable for the next week after someone had imed them. But that also meant students would need to wait for a day or in the worst case an entire week to im these low-level missions if someone pulls a fast one on them and takes all such missions from a particr set for themselves. Eren was going to im all these low-risk-high-return missions in one go so that he could earn maximum merit points during this week. Eren had stolen this idea from Ken Riverine of the past timeline. In that timeline, he was the one who took all the newbie missions to himself and faced the wrath of second-year students who were aiming for these exact missions. Eren first went to Besancs public restroom. He secured a cubicle and called forth his demon beast that was hanging by his neck in the form of a ne. He had brought her here for a very special purpose. Not to attack someone but to make a fool out of his seniors. The Butcher told Reen to coat his body in such a way that he looked taller and muscr. He had an image in his mind and Reen could see it with her mental connection with him. So she knew how Eren wanted her to make him take the shape of. This process only had one w even when the shape and stature of a person were nailed down to a T. and that was the way Eren looked. He still looked like a devil who seemed to have a blurred body. Eren was yet to ovee this drawback. But he already had a n in his mind. His blurred body would not cause any problem if it cant be seen. He did not do anything with his face. But changed into a full-sleeve cotton shirt and wore a hooded jacket over it before covering most of his face with it. His legs seemed weird due to Reens leg extensions to make him look taller than he was but they were covered with his loose pants. Eren lookedpletely different from his usual appearance. He got out of the restroom after confirming his look. Then he went near the big screen and his personal Besanc spectral screen got automatically in sync with it. Eren immediately filtered out a list of all the missions that had the minimum BTP value of 14. There were 49 such unimed missions. 30 missions belonged to todays set. And remaining ones were pending missions from the day before, which would soon be allowed to get imed by senior students. Eren epted a huge lot of the missions in one go. They appeared on his personal Besanc screen with the tag of pending in front of them. They all had a time limit of a week. Hed face a penalty of merit points in case he fails toplete them during that window. A huge chunk of screen space on the big spectral screen was nked out right after that. It was a very eye-catching scene. Eren had not imed all the missions. He purposely left a few missions for a certain someone. Just as he thought, Erens iming of sweet-pie missions had created amotion in the Besancmon hall. This had to be done by a first-year newbie because the missions that had disappeared were not open to senior years by then. A lot of senior students were angry. They had just lost a stable source of merit points ie because of a single first-year. The students were angry at Eren not only because he had epted all these missions without caring about them but also because they didnt dare to do so when they were in their first year. They felt that Eren was breaking the tradition they were forced to follow. One such person from the senior year couldnt keep quiet after experiencing the brazen breach of the unwritten rule observed among all of the LAs students by a mere first-year who hadnt evenpleted a week on the academy grounds. He forcefully suppressed his rage from seeping into his voice before addressing Eren: Kid, I suggest you drop the missions that youve taken just now and make them go unimed again. You will lose some merit points as a penalty but it wont be that much since the time of eptance and release is almost negligent. Do this and well forgive your disrespect towards your seniors instantly. Refuse, and well make sure that your first year bes a memorable experience for you if you know what I mean. So, what will it be? Eren heard the threatening speeching from behind him and couldnt help smiling wickedly under his hood. He feared theres no retaliation and his efforts to take on an altered visage would go to waste. Thank the devil there was one such side character still avable in the hall. These missions are meant to be taken by first-year students. Why are you trying toplete them instead of iming the missions with higher BTP requirements and bigger rewards? Thats none of your business, you arrogant brat. Just consider it as a way to respect your seniors. Now release the missions youve taken just now. I might let you keep one or two of them if you behave obediently. Or! Or what? I dont care about seniority, you pathetic piece of shit. Im not releasing any of the missions Ive taken so far. And not only this set. Ille again to im the next set of such missions. And a set after that. What will you do about it? What CAN you do about it? Eren insulted the guy and imed that hede again to im missions from the uing sets. The guy was incensed after hearing Erens naked disrespect towards his seniors. By then other seniors had joined the guy who had stopped Eren. The group of seniors had decided that this rude first-year had to be taught a lesson. They would have never imagined in their dreams that a newbie would dare to not only raise his voice against the seniors but also diss them in such a way. Brat, I see that youve be a little rusty in your manners. Never mind. Life in the academy can teach you many things. You have to go inside the forest toplete your missions right. Make sure you dont trip over something. Otherwise, the bones of your hands and legs might get broken, you know. Hahaha! The senior student spoke and chuckled to himself. He was joined by other seniors who had started jeering at him. Eren didnt have a shred of anger in his voice. He replied with the same calmness that his body was oozing out at the time. Are your threats even threatening enough if you have to say them in such a roundabout way? What can I expect from a fat-ass senior like you? Have the guts to state your threats openly if you have balls between your legs, you scared little chickens. If you want toe at me, fokine at me with all you got. Dont try to brag your ass in front of your crowd. Why dont you cut off your limp d*cks if all you seniors can ever do is shame your manhoods by trying to scare a first-year student with your words and miserably failing at it? More seniors had started circling the duo of Eren and the guy who was facing all his taunts head-on. The faces of all the seniors were twisted after they heard Erens sphemous words. Before the senior student who has spoken till now could voice his rage, another second-year student hade forward and spoke with more authority than the former: Thats it, kid. Do you want naked threats? Ill give you naked threats. Drop the missions youve taken just now and well spare you after roughing you up in the forest. Otherwise, forget about walking effortlessly for theing weeks. Well f*ck you so bad, you wont be able to get out of your dorm room, much less take on any more missions. The crowd of seniors heard a viciousughing from the first-year guy standing right in the middle of them without any worry. They got tense after hearing his next words: Hahahaha! Its the first time in my life that Ive received a direct threat. This was fun. Come then. Ill take you on. The forest will be our battleground. Ill teach you that theres no such thing as seniority that you so cherish and go gaga over without having sufficient power to back it up. And remember the name of the guy who will be kind enough to teach you this hard lesson in life. Its Riverine. Ken Riverine. Chapter 73: F-Rank Spells

Chapter 73: F-Rank Spells

Its Riverine. Ken Riverine. The first-year left the scene after stating out his name ever so proudly. Only then did the seniors get to know why this greenhorn was daring to cross with them with so much confidence. He was from the house of an Earl. Most of the seniors started regretting jeering at the guy. What if uses his mighty houses power to mess with them? But not all the seniors thought like this. Especially not the guy who was thest one to speak to Ken. He spoke out after Ken left and gave some assurance to the senior students around him. This Ken is a fool if he thinks his family name can safeguard him inside the academy. LA is the sole judge, jury, and executioner on the academy grounds. As for the outside threatsing from the house of Riverine, my family will manage them. Names Roody Orton. My family is only a viscount for now. But my father serves in the royal court. He is enough to prevent the house of Riverine from acting out as long as we dont kill the guy. Maybe the kid would realize his mistaketer in the day after carefully thinking about it. Well give him some time to do just that. But well make sure to make a better man out of him if he doesnt listen. A few of us need to be looking out for Ken tomorrow at this ce if he decides to show up and pull the same stunt he pulled today. If he does that I swear to all the things I hold dear, Ill fo*ck him up to six ways to Sunday! Roody assured the crowd with his name before dering his stance. The students overcame their fear due to that and realized this was indeed LA grounds. There was no king or ve among them. They had seen the rich kids struggle the same as them in this academy. And Ortons family was there to take care of the outside threat. Of course, most of the senior students didnt believe that Roody would uphold his promise once he took care of Ken. They needed to publicize the matter between Roody and Ken to make him ountable. The senior students had decided to me everything on Roody for whatever happened to Ken. a silent agreement was passed within the crowd. **************** Unknown to all this, the protagonist, the real Ken Riverine, was going toe tomorrow to ept the same type of missions Eren had epted. And then hed get caught in a mess Eren had created for him. Ken had epted the same type of missions in the previous timeline. But he was aware of the unwritten rule. He didnt like to disrespect his seniors so he had only epted the half of missions that Eren had epted in number. Plus, he didnt act this rudely to his seniors when he was confronted by them. So the repercussions Ken faced in his previous timeline were lighter in nature. They became a driving force for him to improve himself and beat the same seniors in inter-year battles eventually, making his name known across the students of all years. But this time, Ken had taken almost all the sweet-pie missions and dissed his seniors horrendously. Only time would tell what his state would be after this timelines repercussions befall him. **************** The fake Ken found another facility and restroom inside it to change into his original form. Reen returned to being his neck pendant. Only then did Eren who also looked like Eren make his way towards another facility. Eren was no fan of having an entourage of senior students hindering him while he roamed the forest toplete his missions. He had the protagonist shoulder all his burdens like a good guy he was. Although the senior students might realize the guy who dissed them and the real Ken were two different guyster down the line, a rift would have been formed between them and the house of Riverine. Both sides would get too busy within themselves against their will to care about any other first-year after that. Just as what happened in the previous timeline. This timelines oue was going to be the same as the previous timelines. Only its severity had been altered. And Eren had intercepted the process in the middle and took all the benefits for himself. Whatever happened to Ken or the senior students after his actions werent Erens headache. He was in a hurry to collect more merit points for himself so that he could use them all in one go during a particr event. Eren found the building he was looking for. It was named Novices Treasury. It was kinda a sacred ce for all the F-Rank students. It contained all the ranking techniques and spells the academy had to offer for all the Novice rankers. Eren was here to get his hands on the most basic lightning-element spells. He didnt need them for his missions inside the sanctuary because he had Reen. But the entry of his eptance of spells was needed in case Besanc checked his pre-mission battle status. The butcher was going to hold on to get a ranking technique. Even the lowest of a lightning element ranking technique would cost him a lot in merit points. But the real issue wasnt just the wastage of merit points. Eren knew he was going to get his hands on a better ranking technique within a week. Why would he even start practising a ranking technique for a few days only to abandon it and make all the efforts go to vain? Of course, not having a ranking technique was going to affect Erens post-battle recovery. But that was something he could manage somehow. He just needed to make sure that he doesnt engage in a situation that he cant deal with quickly. If everything fails, he still has Reen who he will call forth only as ast resort. Eren found himself in front of another counter. The receptionist was a male. Eren asked him about the lightning element spells in F-Rank with each of them having a cap of 100 merit points. Thetter sent him a list on his spectral screen in response. [F-Rank Spells. Filtered out by the cap of 100 Merit points and arranged in descending order: Blitz Steps (Three-star)- 100 Merit Points . . XX (XX)- 100 Merit Points . . Blitzortung (Two-star)- 100 Merit Points . . . . XX (XX)- 89 Merit Points . . . . Rayo (Two-star)- 87 Points . . . . XX (XX)- 89 Merit Points . . . . Blitzstrom (Three-star)- 85 Points . . . . .XX (XX)- XX Eren had zeroed in on spells named Blitz Steps, Blitzortung, Rayo, and Blitzstrom. They would collectively cost him 461 merit points that would get taken out from his current bnce of 1000 merit points. Blitz steps was a movement type spell. It would make Erens feet get surrounded by tongues of lightning and increase his speed after he channelled his mana in a specific way. Blitzortung was a defence-type spell. Meant to be deployed at crucial times. It would create ayer of lightning around Eren that wouldst for a few seconds before disappearing. Rayo was a solo attack spell meant for closebat style. It would generate a slim rod of lightning from Erens index finger that would have a high prating power. And finally Blitzstrom. It was an AoE spell meant to be released when the user gets surrounded by enemies from all sides. It would generate untamed lightning streams that would wreak havoc around the area with Eren in the centre. Eren had covered his basic needs of movement, defence, attack, and AoE with these spells. Chapter 74: Converting Extols into Merps

Chapter 74: Converting Extols into Merps

Eren had covered his basic needs of movement, defence, attack, and AoE with the spells he had selected for himself. The stars in front of the spells conveyed their effectiveness. **************** Spells are also ranked as per their usage by ranked entities. That means there are F-Rank Novice spells for F-Rank Novice rankers, E-Rank Ace spells for Ace rankers, D-Rank Adapt spells for Adapt rankers, and so on. Each ranked spell further gets divided into five grades or stars. A five-star spell of a particr rank will have the highest potency and effects than any of its lower-star counterparts within the same rank. 1-star: Initial grade 2-star: Mid grade 3-star: Upper grade 4-star: Peak grade 5-star: Supreme grade Each ranked spell is only suitable for a mage in that same rank. That means an F-Rank entity in any stage can use the F-Rank spell of any star. But they can not use even the initial-grade spell of E-Rank without facing severe consequences. Of course, a higher-star spell was more expensive than its lower-star counterpart in the same rank. The five-star spell was the most expensive of all its lower-star variations. Furthermore, defence-type spells were usually more expensive than attack-type and movement-type spells. That was because they were few, especially when it came to derived elements. Plus, the students could not neglect their defence no matter which ss or path they choose for themselves. So paying a higher amount of merit points for a two-star defence-type wasnt questioned. *************** Eren informed his spell choices to the receptionist. In return, thetter sent him a deduction request worth 511 merit points. The extra 50 merit points were processing charges. Eren clicked Yes and his points were deducted. The receptionist handed him four scrolls after confirming the merit points deposition. The scrolls seemed new because they were recently created for the current first-year students. The data on the scrolls could be digitized and stored on an ID stone. But LA prevented students from doing that without buying the spell scrolls first. First, the academy wanted the students to have a physical copy of the spell scrolls in case their ID stones stopped functioning due to various reasons. Second, it wanted every student to pay for every spell they take with their own merit points. Otherwise, there were ways to share the digitized copy among students through their respective ID stones spectral screens without involving LA in the transaction. The academy wanted the merit points economy to thrive. And this would have been detrimental to their cause. Of course, the students were allowed to store the data printed on the spell scrolls onto their ID stones afterpleting the transaction with the academy. They were just prohibited from sharing the data with any other student. Eren had to sign a D-Rank binding contract with the receptionist. The surcharge of 50 points was due to this contract. The contract was ced upon the students to assure that they would not illegally share the contents of the spell scrolls they received. Sharing would be prohibited to any entity rted or unrted to the academy, as physical or digitized copies, consciously or subconsciously, through themselves, other personnel, or via any other means. The contract covered every possible loophole the potential contract breachers might use in their favour. Every student had to sign these contracts before receiving the spells, ensuring that the spell scrolls dont get copied and shared across the crowds of students. Eren wasnt going to share his spell scrolls anyway. He didnt mind signing the binding contract. But receiving spells was not the sole reason he hade to this facility. Sir, I want to convert my Extols into merit points. The Butcher dered his second reason for being there. He had already exchanged the Extols he had received from Isaac and his team with different ones in the city of Lionhearts when he was roaming its streets with Jake. He didnt want those Extols tracked to him, after all. Even if LA wasnt seriously looking into Isaacs case, they were still all academys students. Eren didnt want to give the case a breakthrough at his expense. Hmm? Kid, are you sure? The Extols could still be used on the academy grounds for various facilities. The Extols, once converted into merit points, cant be given back to the students even if they get ready to pay a higher exchange rate in merit points to do so. The receptionist warned Eren. He couldnt be med. The Butcher didnt look like he was born rich with his visage or his clothes. Im sure, sir. What is the current exchange rate? 135 merit points for one Extol. Not bad. I was expecting an exchange rate of 140 merit points/Extol. But this is not out of my expectations either. The rate would only get worse in theing days as more students opt for this way. I should exchange more than half of the Extols I have with merit points. Ill store the rest of the Extols for emergencies. Eren thought to himself before replying: Thats fine. Sir, I want to convert 100 Extols into merit points. Eren said this before taking exactly 100 Extols out from his storage space. The receptionist opened his eyes wide in surprise after looking at the kid, his clothes, and then at the amount of Extols he had so casually produced in front of him. The receptionist of Novices Treasury thought the greenhorn in front of him must have exhausted all his Extols reserve to earn merit points when the exchange rate was rtively favourable. He appreciated theds boldness and decisiveness when it came to exhausting his wealth for his education. Alright, kid. Let me analyze the Extols first before transferring your merit points. The receptionist made Eren ce all the Extols he had onto an array that had been lit up on top of the reception desk. The said array lit up and confirmed the authenticity of every Extol. The Butcher received 13500 merit points quickly afterwards as a one-time payment for all the wealth that he had just emptied on LA. Kid, do you want a lightning element ranking technique? I can give you a four-star technique in that element for just 10K Merps (merit points) if you want. We keep limited copies of this technique and wont sell another one for a certain period unless theres a special case. *********************** The ranking techniques were categorized by stars as well, just like the spells. They were tremendously more expensive than buying a few spells. Usually, students would only be able to afford a three-star or lower grade ranking technique after a few months when their Merps reached a satisfying level of deposition. This was detrimental to most of the students growth as they wont be able to progress in their ranking journey without these techniques given to them. But LA could also not just circte these techniques among students as freebies and demean the techniques values. It would be taken as showing disrespect to the creators who crafted these techniques. And students would also stop working hard for these techniques if they were to be easily made avable. Thats why the academy would organize an auction event for the students every once in a while. This event would allow the students to get the techniques they want at a rtively lower amount of Merps. Students would have different inherent natures even if their elemental affinities were to be the same. So they wont face muchpetition for getting apatible technique for them. The students would still have to cough up a decent amount of Merps. It is just that the amount wont be breaking their banks and backs in the process. Furthermore, the students could also ce any valuable item they have for the auction event. The academy would only charge a meagre amount of Merps and the rest of the buying amount would get deposited to the original owners ount linked with ID stone. The free-flow of Merps would facilitate students paying more Extols and any other form of wealth at expensive exchange rates. This would result in LA getting the best out of every deal the students make for themselves. ******************* Coming back to Erens current predicament. He wanted to invest his newly earned Merps into the four-star technique, which the receptionist metaphorically dangled in front of him like it was some form of bait. But Eren knew that the very first auction event for the first-year students would be organized a week from now on. Thats the reason he was desperate to earn merit points before the end of the week at the risk of offending his seniors. A risk he had now outsourced to Ken Riverine. The academy would also control the number of spells and techniques it distributed to the students from a particr academic year. This was done so that the students wont copy each other and end up colluding their ranking path due to someone elses unhealthy influence. Eren didnt attend the auction event in his previous timeline because he wasnt an F-Rank back then at this period. He was still practising the Edinburgh traditional technique for rankeless entities. So the auction event wasnt useful for him. Thats why Eren didnt know what to expect from the event. He wasnt sure if he could find anything worthwhile in the uing event for himself. Almost nobody would be aware of the auction event, including most professors and their respective panels as well as the academy staff. LA made sure to keep it that way. Otherwise, the rich students would start converting their wealth into Merps at rtively profitable exchange rates for themselves before the start of the event. The academy would be forced to hand out Merps at lower prices than their expected hike. It could not raise the exchange rate before the news of the event spreads forth. It could also not circte the news earlier than a day before the event takes ce. Or else it would break the most fundamental rule of business, i.e. demand-and-supply. ********************** What Eren was doing today was exactly what the academy wanted to prevent rich students from doing. He was taking full advantage of knowing about the uing events. Eren thought of trying his luck in the auction event. He would have a better chance of trying his luck in the uing event than getting the technique right here from the receptionist. He might still get what was being offered to him currently. Even in the case the auction gets over and he doesnt find a better, morepatible technique for himself. Even if he didnt know about the items and techniques getting auctioned in the event, Eren was sure they would be a tad better and a bit cheaper than what he could get from Novices treasury. No sir. I will hold on to these Merps for now. Eren finally decided to deny the offer. He bowed and left the Novices Treasury. The receptionist could only look at Erens departing figure with his now-narrowed eyes. ====================== Authors Note: This chapter gives a general idea of how the spell system in the VEH-verse works. I reiterate that I want to avoid extended info-dumps as much as I can. Thats why Ive kept the spell system in sync with the ranking system. It would allow for almost no confusion or conflict in the storyline while enabling the readers to focus on the plot more. The readers wont have to keep track of the power structures of the world all the time. Once they get used to these synchronized systems, that is. The BTP values will be a crucial piece of information after such clutter has been avoided. And yet, these systems would still have room for a shock when the plot needs it. [ *shes a cunning smile! ? ] Of course, more information will be provided on spells, artefacts, potions, and the overall ranking system in further chapters. The readers will have a clear picture in their head once the basic groundwork regarding all of the aspects mentioned above has beenid in front of them. So look forward to it! ? As the novel starts picking up pace, we will need each one of you currently reading VEH till now to contribute their share. Kindly ce chapterments, paragraphments, and reviews on the novel if you havent ced one yet (or if the one you ced has turned invisible due to the safety filter). Especially the reviews that can help future readers in deciding if the novel is worth their time or not. I take this opportunity to thank all of you if youve already done this. You can also ce a follow-up review describing the progress of the novel so far while keeping the spoilers to their minimum. Or you can select the tick-box that says Spoiler before cing a follow-up review. Just ensure that the potential new readers reading experience doesnt get affected after getting to know about a piece of information they shouldnt through your reviews. Any other kinda review that is even filled with shorings of the novel is also fine. Reviews with constructive criticism can potentially help me improve upon the content quality of the novel in the future. And if the novel is going in the right direction, let me know that as well so that I can keep the storyline progressing at its current pace and rhythm. And yes, the novel also requires your Power Stones to grow. So keep eming! Thats about it for now. Stay tuned! ? Chapter 75: Fine-tuning

Chapter 75: Fine-tuning

The day was going to set when Eren was done with his business in the Novices Treasury. Eren had a hearty supper in the canteen before heading to his dorm room. He needed to re-learn the spells he had bought. Thats right. Eren had already learned these spells in his past timeline. He had selected the same spells because it would be easy for him to execute them because of his previous familiarity. Eren remembered the spells just fine. But he bought the spell scrolls so that he could exin their origins when he executes them in front of the students. He would be able to cast them without having to worry abouting up with exnations. Eren locked the door behind him and sat cross-legged on his bed. He first opened the spell scroll of Rayo, the spell he was most familiar with. He analyzed the mana pathways and mana points that needed to be activated in sequence inside his body for the spell to get activated. ********************* Primary mana pathways will be created as soon as the ranker steps into the F-Rank. These mana pathways can be assumed as veins through which mana gets circted inside the body. These mana pathways draw mana from the mana core located below the rankers navel. They are interconnected at a specific distance and interval, where the mana gets umted before it travels any further. These points of intersection where the mana umtion takes ce are called mana points. The mana points are found in abundance inside a rankers body. They only grow in quality and quantity as the ranker ranks up. The F-Rank entity is only privy to the most elementary form of these mana veins and mana points. Thats why the whole circuit consisting of these two aspects is called the primary mana pathway system while the ranker is in low ranks. A spell describes a specific way and sequence with which a ranker is needed to circte his mana inside the mana veins. Certain mana points get activated as the previously umted mana starts to travel to the next mana point in the mana circuit or get dispersed. And the now-empty space is taken over by a new deposition of the mana drawn from the mana core. The caster needs to make sure that only the mana points mentioned in the spell scrolls are activated and other mana points dont react to the cirction of mana inside the mana veins. They also need to ensure that mana dispersion urs at specific mana points while the remaining mana points send the umted mana inside the mana circuit again. The dispersed mana brings forth the required effect intended by the spell while the mana that gets circted keeps it powered up in case it is a prolonged cast. The mana cirction will take ce even when the spell doesnt need to be maintained over a period. Its just that a ranker will face less trouble if he doesnt need to maintain the spell. Any minute failure in sequencing and execution might result in the spell not getting cast at all. Or it can end up in a skewed spell effect. In worst cases, the ranker can feel some side effects due to their mana pathways and/or mana points getting injured due to improper execution. F-Rank spells were easiest to get ustomed to because they were based on the primary mana pathway system. A ranker had few mana pathways and points to worry about. So the casting took less time and there was less room for errors. Generally, a ranker would be able to learn to cast a spell within two-three days if the spell was of the same element as their elemental affinity. The further the element of the spell was from the casters elemental affinity, the more were chances of the caster not mastering the spell even after a long time, the spell getting miss-executed, or in the caster getting injured in the worst case. Thats why it was necessary to choose the ranking technique and spells ording to ones elemental affinity. The synchronicity in elemental affinity would result in the spell quickly getting mastered by the ranker, with enhanced output and efficient usage of the limited mana storage. ********************* Eren already knew about the mana pathways and mana points needed to get activated to execute a Rayo beam. He closed his eyes and confirmed the sequences mentioned in the spell scroll are in sync with what he remembered. Eren opened his eyes suddenly and activated the mana points needed to get activated for the spell with utmost precision. It took just a moment before a straight purple-blue beam emerged from the tip of his right index finger. He maintained the 4ft long beam and observed its effectiveness. The blue beam had tiny tongues of lightning surrounding it. It looked like it had taken a solid form. But one could see that it was still ethereal upon closer inspection. The beam was less than 0.5cm in diameter, making it highly prable. It could cut or tear through a thick wooden log or a small rock like they were made of papers. But it worked most devastatingly on ones flesh. Eren could control the beams diameter and length by tweaking the flow of mana inside his mana circuit. The beams pration power would be at its maximum if Eren kept its length under 3-4 feet while narrowing its diameter as much as he could. Eren knew the rankless people and beasts couldnt threaten him anymore with just this spell alone. The body of a rankless entity was extremely fragile as it wasnt imbued in mana. Rayo could easily cut a rankless person from head to toe vertically in a straight line without facing many obstructions. Rayos use wasnt limited to the beam deployment alone. It came with a dagger art that could enhance the pration power of a rankers dagger. Eren needed to slightly change the activation sequencing of mana points to make the dagger imbue in Rayos coating. The daggers edge will have streams of lightning dancing on it. Plus, there were other variants of Rayo that Eren wasnt used to yet. He had focused on potion-making at the start of his academic journey in his previous timeline. The F-Rank elemental spells that he had practised unrted to the potion-making were limited in number. Even the spells Eren had just gotten in this timeline were the same spells that had apanied him at the beginning of his berserker journey. He had practised them when he was a berserker, so it felt different when he executed the Rayo now. He felt it wascking in output even when it showed unbelievable pration power from a rankless perspective. *********************** A berserker ss was straightforward. The berserker could use the most spells of closebat expert or many otherpatible sses. The ranking technique of a berserker would help them pump up the spells effects. And the effects would only multiply after the consumption of the berserker potions acting as the external power sources. This was the rtion between a berserker and a closebat expert. A closebat expert is what one would get after they make a berserker skip on steroids. The ex-berserker would then have to focus on closebat skills and points of impact instead of cranking up the raw power to the max. This cranking up of raw power was what made the berserkersbat technique different from that of a closebat expert. The spells effects would extend in range and power due to the berserkers way of executing them. That allowed the berserker to remain at a distance from their enemies while they focused on normal spells that acted as AoEs. So a berserker didnt need to get close to their opponents to beat them, unlike a closebat expert. Thats why the founder of LA and renowned berserker of his generation, Ivar Ironside chose to be a closebat expert after he experienced an incurable injury. That injury forced him to let go of the path of a berserker. But Ivar wasnt willing to start from scratch. So he opted for the path of a closebat expert at the cost of regressing in his ranking journey. The regression wasnt that heavy due to the path of a berserker and that of a closebat expert didnt have much conflict between them. After that, the bearer of the title Lionheart became equally famous in the path of a closebat expert. This is the reason LA focuses the most on three paths: berserker, closebat expert, and potioneer. The directly proportional rtionship between a berserker and a closebat expert had given Eren the confidence he needed to change his ss in this timeline while keeping the advantages of his previous experiences almost intact. He knew he would master the path of a closebat expert eventually for this exact reason. He had realized that his lightning element and his inherent nature of speed were morepatible with the finesses of a closebat expert than the wild nature of a berserker. *********************** Eren knew the seemingck of power came from him not being a berserker anymore. This was the spells original effect without it getting enhanced by the path and powers of a berserker. Eren needed to adjust his battle style ording to his new reality. Eren then spent the night doing the same with the rest of the spells and confirmed that he could execute the spells without having to worry about casting failures. He would scare Jake with his learning speed if thetter came to know that he had mastered four spells in one night. Only when he was assured that the spell execution had no problem did he sleep post-midnight. Eren skipped his homeroom sses and decided to pay a visit to Novices Training Center. It housed private training rooms for Novice rankers. The training rooms were big enough for rankers to cast any of their spells. The rooms woulde with special equipment to measure the output of the spells if the ranker was willing to pay more in Merps. There were also other services avable, but that came with their own Merps costs. Eren went towards a counter and booked a in room for himself without any services or add-ons. The no-add-on booking would cost him 30 merit points per hour. Eren booked the private room for 10 hours today and 10 hours tomorrow. But Eren didnt care much about the lost Merps when he had so much to gain from his trip to the sanctuary. He needed to fine-tune his basicbat prowess, his spells, and his E-Rank strengthening with Reens help. The private room had cost him 480 Merps but it had given him the privacy he needed to do all that he had nned. Eren spent the two days training in the private room. He got used to the spells. He still carried his habits from being a berserker so his new battling style had many ws. It neither looked like a berserkers or a closebat experts way of doing things. But it was the best he could do for now without the guidance of an expert. Eren used his ID stone to unlock the giant door and got out of the private room. He was sweaty all over, bruised, battered, and exhausted. But he had a smile on his face. Eren was finally ready to visit the sanctuary tomorrow! ====================== Authors Note: Hello. I will update the Instagram handle in the novels synopsis. Readers can use that handle to contact me. Erens visual profile as well as that of the other characters will get unveiled on that ount first. So you might want to add it to your friend list! ? The novel would have a fixed release time starting from next week. It would be around 12 AM every day (GMT 8+, Time in Shanghai). The timely release might start this week as well but Ill have to keep some chapters as a buffer and save them in the draft first. Lets see! VEHpletes 75 chapters with this release. Only 25 more to go for a 100-chapters milestone. This is a good time to release the overall ranking system of the story-verse. Check out the VEH Ranking System chapter in the auxiliary volume. It will give you a glimpse of what you can expect in the aspect of characters power level progressions. Be warned of spoilers though! ? Chapter 76: Levine de Montmorency

Chapter 76: Levine de Montmorency

Eren woke up early the next day. He got ready and wore all the F-Rank gears Nina had given him. Jake caught him in the living room and was surprised to see thetter inbat mode. Bruh, where are you going this early in the morning? That too in a get-up like that? The intra-ss war still has 4 days remaining, you know. And homeroom sses arent that bad. Plus, they are free. Youll not lose anything if you attend them. Ill lose my time though. Eren thought to himself. But he didnt say it out loud. He just informed Jake about his departure to the sanctuary. Im aware of that, Jakey. Its just that Ive decided to ept some missions from Besanc. Shouldnt take me more than two days. Oh. Alright then. Speaking of Besanc. Do you know Ken Riverine from our ss of 1/C got beaten up by unknown assants yesterday? Rumour has it that he had epted low-level missions from the Besanc that the senior students were eyeing. The guy has been hammered badly and is currently admitted into the academys infirmary. Almost the entire first-year influential lot is standing behind Ken now. A lot of renowned first-year students have used their advantage of getting prioritized for low-level missions and started epting them after finding out about Kens serious condition. It is to make a statement to the senior students that they cant just bully us first-years. But the seniors seem to only focus on Ken for now. They are often seen near the infirmary as if to scare Ken some more than they already might have. I dont know what the guy did to piss off the seniors like this! But neither side is going to back out now. Especially the uing inter-year ranking war between first and second-years is going to get heated up more than usual. The academy is staying true to its stance and ying neutral. It has basically made it clear that the students would have to sort out the mess that they had created. It wont intervene and y as a mediator. Ken has a lot of allies and enemies after just three days into the academy. Can you believe it? The name Riverine is enough to rile up the masses, I tell you. You must have applied for Besanc after this event as well I reckon. Although the seniors arent targeting any other first-years, it is better to be safe than sorry. So you might want to stay alert about any possible ambush in the forest. Jake saw a radiant smile forming on Erens face after he told him about thetest and most gossiped about event among the first-years these days. He was about the ask thetter why he seemed happy about the news but was faced with a sudden request from him: Yeah, Jakey Ill be careful. Dont worry about Mr. protagonist. Hell be fine on his own. Meanwhile, do me a favour, alright? Go to the potioneeringb for the first-years and see if theres a notice about Levine starting her lectures or not. Hmm? Levine? THE Levine De Montmorency? Why do you want to attend that hags potioneering sses? From what Ive heard about her, her Merp charges are high per lecture. And she is very serious when ites to any matter rted to potions. They say that Edward Jener is a much better choice than any of the potioneers avable in the academy for first years. First, he is the in-charge of the first years potionb. Second, Sienna Slughorn has decided to join his sses. You already know about the girls family background. Who doesnt know about the Slughorn potions? A lot of students from our ss as well as the students from other sses have decided to follow in her footsteps. Why dont we join Edward Jenners lectures too? Edward Jenner. The sameb-in-charge who was in cahoots with Sienna in Erens previous timeline. The butcher knew that this timeline was no different in that department. The old him would have thought like Jake and opted for Edwards sses. But he was not old-him anymore. Jakey, if you want us to be learning potioneering together, we cant even think about joining Edwards sses ever. Trust me on this. Lets just say the guy is bad news and would someday lure a cmity on himself and his students. Jake could feel Eren was being serious. What Eren said sounded less like a prediction and more like a prophecy. Eren had exuded the exact seriousness when he told him and his father that they should stop interacting with Jason Storm. At least till theyplete their trip to the city of Lionhearts. He knew exactly what happened after that. Therefore Sullivan Jr. decided to trust Eren this time too: *Long sigh.* Alright. Ill check out theb and find out about Montmorencys sses. Someday, well sit with mugs full of root beers in our hands and youll have to tell me from where you get such news. You know this right? Anyway, Im gettingte for Ace Julias sses. Most of us guys attending her lectures dont care about illusions and shit. But we sure like looking at her figure getting seen through semi-revealing clothing during her lectures. Hehe! Jake attempted to entice Eren into attending the homeroom sses but it was in vain. The duo bid adieu to each other in a hurry and went their separate ways after leaving their dorm house. The sanctuary was a few hours away from the first-years dorm township region. Eren had to use Blitze Steps a few times to get there. Not only did it make him get there faster but also allowed him to practise the spell while moving to his destination. The academy had deployed an energy shield around its borders. But the sanctuary did not get included in that protected region. This was the deal with the Amazons. The academy would keep their rights over their portion of the Beast Sanctuary intact without having to deploy the energy shield around the forest. The Amazons would be allowed an unhindered entry. And in return, the students would not be prosecuted if they got into thend protected by the Amazons. Therefore, LA had the department of Besanc create a check-post to allow its students to enter or exit the Beast Sanctuary. It would keep track of the number of students and their status in the forest. And would deploy rescue or investigation parties if any emergency arises. This post would also serve as a contact and connection the academy had with the Amazons. So naturally, LA employed the Amazon it had in its ranks as its representative to make that connection smoother. Good day, miss err Adapt Ma. Looking as stunning as ever, I might add. Im here to enter the forest for my missions. Chapter 77: The Amazonian Way

Chapter 77: The Amazonian Way

Good day, miss err Adapt Ma. Looking as stunning as ever, I might add. Im here to enter the forest for my missions. In front of Eren stood an Amazoniandy with jet ck hair, olive skin, and light brown eyes. She was holding the reins of her ferocious-looking stallion while standing near the beast. Behind her were her subordinates and other academy staff managing the check-post. Usually, the matters rted to the students entrance and exit to and from the sanctuary were handled by the academy staff and Mas subordinates. But Eren acted like he didnt know about these things. Eren greeted Ma who was appointed at the check-post as an apt representative of both sides, the Amazons and the academy. He made a fist out of his right hand and ced it over his right peck, just above the heart while he bowed a little in front of her. This was a formal way of greeting the superiors in the customs of Amazons. Eren hade to the sanctuary many times in the past timeline after he had started walking on the path of a berserker. Therefore, he had interacted with a lot of Amazons. ************ Amazons respected everyone even when they were a matriarchal society. The male members in their ranks were treated as respectfully as their female counterparts. Its just that they didnt have any im in family inheritance or any other important ce in society. There were other small restrictions and rules ced on the males, but they werent too demeaning or something difficult to follow. The Amazonian females had special rights. They would serve as the family heads of their respective families. The leader of any hunter or adventurer party would almost always be a female unless theres some special situation. Plus, the Amazonian women were free to have intimate rtionships with almost anyone as long as consent was involved. The concept of marriage existed in them. But it wasnt forced upon. So usually, the females would go through the pregnancy without marrying the father of the child. The couple could choose to stick together to be there for their child or could get separated while ensuring that the child is adequately looked after. But great powers came with great responsibilities. The females were more responsible for taking care of their families and parties. They would be trained harder than their male peers from a very young age. And they would be the ones serving in the front lines in case of any conflict. The Amazon had their own ranking techniques especially suitable for females. These ranking techniques allowed the females in their ranks to assert dominance over their male peers despite the innate physical prowess advantage of thetter side. The Amazons were very particr about not letting these ranking techniques get out of their folds at any cost. The rankless entities had to sign an extremely restrictive contract to get ess to these Amazonian ranking techniques. But any Amazonian girl would dly sign the binding contract after observing the effects it had on the practising female rankers. Overwhelming power was the way with which the Amazonians would make their presence known in society. The rule of the strong gaining more benefits was observed in almost every society. But it was observed more thoroughly by the Amazons, with advantages tilted towards the females. ************** Coming back to Erens current situation. Ma was surprised a little by the kids way of greeting her. The Amazonian greeting wasnt exactly a secret. But she didnt expect a first-year LA student to perform it with the right posture and apt bow while maintaining eye contact. The greeting was extended to the senior members of the Amazons by their juniors. So Ma didnt have to perform the same greeting. She just patted her stallion to calm it down and nodded her head at Eren with a smile on her face before replying: Hmm! Kid, its good that you know the way of the Amazons. Therefore, Ill allow you to call me Miss Ma. You dont have to sweet-talk me into anything you know. Ill let you enter the forest as long as you have missions under your name and a clearance from Besanc. Aah! You got it wrong Miss Ma. Im merely stating facts about your beauty. Im sure you must have been told the same thing by hundreds of people if not thousands. I know a novice like me shouldnt talk to an Adapt like you without due prudence but I couldnt help praising you a little after looking at you. Isnt there a saying in the Amazons? The feminine deserves all the good things thate its way. Maybe my little praise was already heading your way before I said it out loud. Hehehehe! Kid, did you date an Amazon girl beforeing here to LA? How can you know so many little things about our society? I can see that you are good at ttering thedies. But I dont dislike it. Anyway, usually this procedure would be handled by the academy staff you see behind me. But Ill make an exception today. Show me your mission details. *************** Eren did not praise Ma without any reason. She was an excellent closebat expert. In the past timeline, she had taken Ken as her apprentice after seeing his potential. But in this timeline, he was bedridden. This was a perfect chance for the butcher to make Ma take HIM as her apprentice after disying his potential. Ken didnt know that someone was screwing him over and over behind his back. He wasnt sure about taking Mas offer yet. But the same offer was already eyed on by a vile evil he wasnt even aware of. Eren wasnt delusional enough to think that these praises would be enough to make him rece Ken. The interaction was only supposed to make Ma see him in a better light. He still needed to prove that his calibre as an F-Rank novice was as good as Kens if not more. **************** Erens spectral screen had a new prompt after Ma asked him to show his mission details. The prompt was asking permission to allow Ma to see the missions and the details he had taken under his name. The butcher allowed her to read the contents without any dy. So your name is Eren Idril. Lets see. BTP of 14! Not bad. Recently registered with Besanc. Hmm? So many missions in one go! Are you trying to break a record or something? Eren, the missions youve taken are all low-levelled but they increase in difficulty if you look at them collectively. Are you sure you canplete them all by staying three days in the forest? You might lose more Merps than you would gain in the tally if you take on unnecessary risks. Im sure Miss Ma. Im nning to finish all the missions in two days, in fact. Hehe! I like your confidence. Lets see if you canplete all the missions in two days then. Ill give you a three-star weapon if you can do that. Hmm! Lets talk about a different reward after Im done finishing everything served on my tter first. Im sure a magnanimous Amazonian like you would grant me this simple request of mine. You want something else? Your ambitions seem higher than what I gave them credit for. Alright, lets see your worth as a novice. Then, Ill see what I can do about your request. Saying that Ma essed her spectral screen and created a giant opening in the energy shield. Eren could pass through the shield now to enter the sanctuary. The butcher bowed to Ma again before taking his leave. Mas subordinates and the academy staff were shocked by the kids confidence in talking to an Adapt ranker directly without even flinching. Somebody higher enough in the administrativedder used his credentials to pull up Erens record and found out that he had a C-Rank healer listed as his guardian in his records. Only that allowed the onlookers to make sense out of the kids bold behaviour. He was used to interacting with a C-Rank entity. No wonder he could hold himself talking to a D-rank one. Lady Ma, you want me to follow the kid? Maybe hell cheat to finish all his missions within two days to gain favour from you. One assistant professor from Mas panel asked her. She thought the kid was a little impudent talking to Ma so casually like that. The excuse of watching over him was just that, an excuse. She wanted to reprimand the scoundrel so that he wouldnt make the same mistake again. All of Mas panel was made of women. They were Amazonians too, just like Ma. But they were young and newly appointed by the settlement to serve under her. They hadnt yet mixed with the outside society much. So they couldnt think about a junior like Eren approaching a senior like Ma even in their imaginations. Almera, how many times have I told you? This is not our settlement. The academy and the society outside our forested heaven have their own customs. You dont want to watch over him but teach him some form of lesson, dont you? Leave the boy to his devices. The test is to see if Eren couldplete the missions in two days or not. It is not about how he does it. And Ill ask him in detail about how he managed to achieve his feat if he achieves it, that is. If I find out that what Eren did wasnt impressive enough or if he is lying, Ill just t out reject him giving anything in return. ==================== Authors Note: Hello. VEH managed to secure a bronze trophy in WPC#218. Cheers! ? Chapter 78: Di*k Destroyer

Chapter 78: Di*k Destroyer

A fleeting shadow could be seen traversing through the dense vegetation of a forest at amazing speed. It had feet covered in lightning. Every step it takes would generate an electric illumination that was visible even during the daylight. This shadow was none other than Eren. He was executing Blitz Steps to increase his speed. First, it was to avoid any possible repercussions heading his way due to his talk with Ma. He knew about Almera and how she behaved. Second, it was to get to a specific spot to start offpleting his missions. Eren had epted an array of missions that varied in their type, difficulty level, location, and ETCs (estimated times ofpletion). Ideally, he needed to be careful about doing any of these missions recklessly, but he had Reen with him. Eren asked Reen to assume a random girls avatar that she had eaten in the past. He gave her clothes and a mask to wear. He wore a mask as well. It would be better if Reen took action after she had assumed the shape of a human rather than shapeshifting in the middle of a crisis. She didnt need any artefacts to wear, so Eren didnt give her any. Where are we going, Eren? Reen asked in a 16ish year girls voice. She was following Eren normally even while he was using Blitz Steps, sans any effort. Apparently, she didnt need any movement spell to keep up with an F-Ranks spell. We are going to our first mission site. The first mission is to collect 7 w sets of F-Rank wind wolves. We can also exchange their other body parts at Besanc for more merit points. But Im hungry, Eren. Ill need to feed on their bodies. You can eat all the pack of wolves, except any seven needed for my mission. Well also have you eat anything you want during our travels. Lets quickly go to the packs knownir now. We are short on time. Reen had her saliva dripping out of her mouth after Eren confirmed hell feed her with those innocent wind wolves. Its been a while since Reen had herst good meal. She had started eating human food now after Eren fed her some as a trial. She didnt dislike it. But she found out that human food didnt give her the same type of satisfaction as her natural food. The demoness slime quickly established her mental connection with Eren again to read his memories and route of the ce. She quickly grabbed Eren and lifted him in her arms before running off in the same direction at breakneck speed. She just couldnt wait anymore now that her feeding time was this close. The duo quickly reached the ce. Eren saw two wind wolves dispatched as sentries by the pack. He got down from Reens princess-carry and told her to stay back and let him deal with it. Reen was unhappy Eren was going to toy with her food but she obeyed nheless. She got back and let Eren handle them. The wolves saw the intruders and howled quickly after to let others in the pack know about the situation. They adopted a defensive position. Reen was still masking her aura and a lot of her powers. But the beastly senses couldnt be fooled. The beasts immediately came to the conclusion that Reen standing at the back was a bigger threat than the kid who was trotting about in front of them. Eren retrieved his pair of daggers from the storage before wielding them in front of him. He was ready to execute Blitz Steps again. Eren still couldnt use Blitz Steps at its fullest possible potential. That was because it gave him tunnel vision at high speeds. The tunnel vision made it difficult for him tond his blows on opponents with precision. Therefore, in his previous timeline, Eren had used Blitz Steps only when he intended to travel from point A to point B at extreme speeds or when dodging an iing attack heading his way. The past-Eren rarely used Blitz Steps during his attacks. Because it made it difficult for him to face any iing counter from a different direction in case his attack is somehow parried or deflected. Eren has decided that hell ovee the spells shorings in this timeline. He needed practice and more practice to achieve this difficult feat. Today was as good a day as any to start with the same. Eren saw the wolves were afraid of Reen standing behind him. They were trying to buy time so that the reinforcement could join them. Eren needed to act fast if he wanted to take care of this mission without Reens help. He couldnt let the reinforcement arrive before the two wolves are dead and done for. Blitz Steps was executed. The wolves saw Erens feet getting coated in tongues of lightning before he almost vanished in front of them. But the beastly instincts allowed them to feel a puny kid had closed in on them from behind. The beasts were about to turn around and face their intruder but one of them howled quickly after, unmistakably dripping in an insurmountable amount of pain. Eren had cut the balls of one of the sentry beasts from behind them. He also chopped off its thing and smiled with unmasked cruelty in his eyes. Like his long-awaited dream has been finallymitted. The wolf that had its cojones and thing cut off jumped off in the air quickly after and started running madly. The other beast was first startled and then alert by the sudden turn of events. The altered beast quickly shifted his position and secured his groin in the opposite direction. He used his ws to attack the vile creature that was targeting their balls and malehoods. Eren was ready for the beasts attack. He used both the daggers in his hands to block the attack. But the wolf had covertlyunched a wind de attack in that move. The mana powered ethereal wind de couldnt be parried with Erens daggers and itnded on Erens chest. Erens shirt tore up quickly as a result. But the F-Rank chainmail armour he was wearing inside blocked the attack from harming his body. But the armour couldnt block the impact the wind de had generated. Eren was thrown in the air at a distance beforending on the ground. Now Eren was 10m away from the altered beast. The agitated beast had joined him by then and was growling at him with hateful eyes. The beasts had forgotten about Reen in the heat of the battle now. They only cared about the fights oue. Eren knew things had gotten difficult. But he wouldnt have it any other way. This was the best battle to test the thrill of closebat style while venting his frustration from the previous timeline. Eren threw both his daggers in the air right above the beasts position. The altitude was high so it would take some time for them tond on the ground. The sudden daggers throw distracted the beasts a little and they couldnt help looking up, eyeing the weapons that had the power to harm them. Before they could check the position of the vile creature who was the owner of those daggers though, they realized he had again seemingly vanished from his previous position. Eren appeared right over one of the beasts heads and touched its forehead with his right index finger. Rayo! Eren spoke the name of the attack to subconsciously execute it in the right way at the right time. A beam of lightning was generated from the tip of the same index finger that was touching the beasts forehead. The beam easily pierced the beasts hide and his skeletal obstruction before destroying the brain matter within. But it couldnt be contained in that space. The beam was seen piercing the other side of the beasts head,ing out from the bottom of its jaws. The beast that faced the Rayo point-nk was dead then and there but its body was yet to hit the ground. Eren knew the beast that had its malehood chopped was going to attack him soon after. He used the dead beasts pierced head as a tform to jump in the air. He executed Blitz Steps at the same time to make his jump gain more altitude. Eren executed Blitzortung as soon as he grabbed the daggers that he had thrown in the air beforehand. Ayer of lightning soon covered him. It generated a repulsive field around him that nullified the wind attacksunched by the other beast. Eren got to behind the dead beast by then and shed at its balls and penis with his daggers. Only then did the dead beasts body hit the ground. Eren still had Blitzortung active but he knew he wouldnt be able to maintain it for a long time. He quicklyunched a frontal assault on the remaining beast without worrying about the iing attack. The beastunched wind des after wind des with its limb swings but they were all deflected by Erens defence type spell. He quickly closed in on the beast, used one of his daggers to parry the w attack from the beast, and the remaining dagger was lodged in the beasts head through its jaws from down below. Erens defence type spell vanished. But the beast was also no more by then. The wind wolfs di*k-less body was dropped on the ground hard in front of its yer. Eren could hear the approaching pack as it had started surrounding his position. He knew he was soon going to face an entire pack, but he wasnt worried. If you want to me anyone for the way you died, me that fokin wind wolf that bit my di*ck off and killed me in my previous life. Ill demand repayment from your entire race for that sphemy, you di*ck destroyer race of wolves. ================= Authors Note: Who remembers the very first chapter of VEH? ? Chapter 79: Sharing a Secret

Chapter 79: Sharing a Secret

Eren was done with killing eight more wolves the same way before he ran out of mana. He then ordered Reen to start her long-awaited feeding session after securing the bodies of his kills in his storage space. Reen had used her deterrence as a demon beast to make the approaching wolf pack halt in its steps. Then she only allowed six more beasts to attack Eren in the pair of two so that he could practise his spells and battle style. Eren had stopped using Blitzortung after its first time. The spell was taxing on his mana reserve. And he didnt have a ranking technique yet to recover from the state ofck of mana quickly. Erens clothes faced the burnt of the wolves attack as a result. His chainmail armour could now be seen in the open. He had cuts and bruises on his skin due to the effects of wind des and w shes aimed at him by the wolves. Eren had understood a lot of his ws in that controlled battle. First, Blitz Steps was ipatible with closebat style no matter how he executed it. Blitz Steps gave Eren the element of surprise when attacking his opponent. But it was a dual-edge sword. It also sent him right in the opponents attacking range. If his attack was failed or deflected at that time, the counter would be too heavy for him to face it without the artefact or defence spell. And Eren couldnt see the countering at him due to the tunnel vision. He had the means to dodge that attack with his Blitz Steps, but the same spell had be a reason for him to not see the iing counter. Plus, Erens berserking habits made him unable to fully utilize any openings properly. Other aspects needed some amount of fine-tuning as well. But Eren needed to prioritize a few of them first before thinking of doing anything else. Reen was soon done consuming the pack of wind wolves one by one. Her devouring speed had increased and she didnt need to shapeshift her whole body to digest her prey now. Reen would just extend her arm and it would extend like asso before forming a slimy mass of a bubble at the ce where her palm was. She would drop that slimy matter on her prey while it was still connected to her torso through the verysso-like semi-transparent thing that once acted like her arm. The magic beasts would get digested thoroughly inside that slimy bubble. Then the nutrients and purified mana after the digestion would travel back to Reen through hersso-like arm. Reen was satisfied after she ate almost 24 wind wolves this way. She retracted her arm to its normalcy and used the same hand to control her burp in adylike manner. Her mannerisms were perfect, thanks to reading through Erens memories. But the noise of that burp was earthshaking, making her seem like a demoness that she was. Where are we heading next, Eren? Reen asked Eren who was busy changing into a new shirt. He drank an F-Rank healing potion that he had obtained from Isaacs party before replying, We have saved a lot of time on this mission. Ideally, students are suggested to lure the sentry wind wolves away from their pack one or two at a time beforemencing battle. It takes a lot of time and nning. But our frontal assault has cut down on that ETC tremendously. Today, well focus onpleting missions like these nearby whilepleting the herbs collection mission simultaneously. It wont be too difficult for us to locate the herbs with your ability anyway. Tomorrow, well head inside the deeper parts of the forest before returning to the academys check-post. Reen just nodded her head at Erens n. She was happy as long as she got to eat plenty of food in the process. ****** Eren got back to the academys check post afterpleting all his missions. The site had a facility managed by Besanc for students to deposit their in-mission items. The butcher visited that facility and deposited all the items in one go. There were magic beasts carcasses, all kinds of herbs, and minerals. They were all rted to his missions. Eren had also mixed in random items that he had picked up while doing the missions. These items will also be converted into random Merps based on their actual values. Eren also added an E-Rank Mana Blessing he had collected from the Osan woods in the list of things he imed to have found in the sanctuary. The Besanc staff was surprised before getting all excited about Erens luck. He was ready to offer the kid some Merps in thousands to get the MB from him. But Eren denied that offer. Eren only showed the E-Rank Mana Blessing so that it gets added into the Besanc records and its source could be justified. He knew the amount he was offered for the Mana Blessing was good. But it wasnt the best he could get for the stone. Especially considering the uing event. The Butchers ount was credited with around 3K Merps for all the missions he hadpleted so far. He now had around 17K Merps in his reserve. Eren got out of the Besancs collection facility feeling refreshed. He hadnt slept much in his stay in the forest, but the heavy Merps ount became the reason for his rejuvenation. Completing all the missions in two days was a pinch. The butcher wouldnt have been able to pull it off had it not been for Reen. The day was going to set. Eren soon found Ma near her cherished stallion. He quickly made his way towards her. Miss Ma, Im back. Yo. Eren right? Did youplete all the missions you were assigned with? Yes, maam. You can check my Besanc record if you want. Dont mind if I do then. Ma immediately sent Eren a read request to ess his Besanc records. Thetter epted it just as quickly: Hmm. Lets see. Herbs collection missions have gone smoothly. Too smoothly if I may add. But it might be that you are just that lucky. The beasts carcasses have taken some damage. It seems youve ruined some parts of their bodies. There was a penalty of Merps for that. But overall you did well. The earning is around 3K Merps. Too bad, the academy doesnt convert Merps into Extols. Otherwise, it would have been a pretty good way to exploit the system. Eren didnt say anything in response. He let her analyse the Besanc records her way. He could have dealt with the beasts with more finesse to make more profit out of the deal. But that would have been detrimental here. Ma needed a weak point, a blemish in Eren to make sense out of his achievement. Too perfect a result would raise suspicion in everyones mind. Hmm. Eren, Im satisfied with your result. You wanted something else instead of a three-star weapon, right? State your reward. Ill ept it if its within reason. Eren was waiting for Ma to say those words. He replied to her without wasting time: Miss Ma. I know youd appreciate a straight shooter. I want to be your apprentice and learn closebat style from you. Hmm? You want to be my apprentice? Aah, you must have been there in the crowd when I offered it to the Riverine kid. You even know about my path. But sorry kid, I doubt you have what it takes to be my apprentice. Dont get me wrong, I dont want to underestimate you. Its just that a BTP of 14 isnt going to cut it if you want to follow the regime I will set for my apprentice. Id suggest you ask for some other reward. Please hear me out, maam Ma. I have a lightning element, same as you. Im sure youll find out that Im better suited for your apprenticeship than anyone else in my year. I might not be the best candidate when ites to the BTP value. But I have what it takes to stand at the top of my ss if given enough time and nourishment by the academy. Oh! Tall im kid. I suppose you seem smart enough toe up with a way to prove that im. Indeed maam. You can watch my performance at intra-ss and inter-ss battles to know about my calibre. And Ill let you in on an academic secret I identally got privy to if you allow me. You can consider that as my gift to you for being my mentor. Eren shed a cunning smile after saying that. Ma was hooked. Hmm? What is it? Mas voice got lower when she asked it. Eren came closer to her and almost whispered what he had to say in her ears: I heard the conversation between two academy staff and got to know this information. LA is going to organize an auction event for first-year students four days from now on. You know what that means right! Ma was surprised by Erens revtion. The auction event was as important for professors as it was for the students. Thats because they would have an auction event of their own after the kids event took ce. The same restrictions and then some more were implemented in the professors auction event as well. Thats why knowing about the event came with a certain advantage. Ma could immediately stock up on Merps to get maximum benefits out of the event. Of course, the stakes were bigger in the auction event meant for E and D-Rank entities. So the prices for products getting sold in the event were also higher. Kid, Ill have to liquidate a lot of my assets. If I find out that you were lying Rest assured, maam Ma. Im not lying. Why would I lie to the person who I want to take as my mentor? Plus, why do you think I decided toplete all the missions? Eren and Ma both smiled cunningly at each other after knowing about this. Eren also let his potential mentor know that he was going to sell an E-Rank Mana Blessing in the auction meant for E and D-Rank entities. Ma didnt need an E-Rank MB for her anymore. But she could tip off the professors under her about the product that was getting auctioned. They could prepare in advance for the same. Eren scored some more brownie points in Mas book. She couldnt help but say: Alright, Eren. If the news about a certain event is true, and you perform well in the ranking wars, Ill take you as my apprentice. Ill give you a worthy gift if you get selected. And Ill still give you a decent reward even if you fail to do so. Is that alright? Certainly, miss Ma. I look forward to your teachings. Eren bowed to Ma before turning his back and walking off in the opposite direction. Mas horse snorted its nose in response to theds suave. But the D-Rank Amazoness couldnt help observing his back far longer than she cared to admit. ================= Authors Note: Hello. This extra chapter is dedicated to all the readers who have invested their time and efforts in this novel. ? Chapter 80: Levine’s Test

Chapter 80: Levines Test

Hmm? Eren! You are back. Did youplete your missions? Jake asked as soon as he entered the dorm house and found Eren reading a scroll in the living room. Hmm? Oh, yeah. They were all low levelled ones, anyway. Did you find out about Adapt Levines sses? Only then did Jake realize why his friend was waiting for him in the living room. It wasnt that the guy felt like talking to him after his missions to vent out any built-up excitement or frustrations he had. Eren was only focused on what he had asked Jake to do. Thetter smiled mirthlessly before replying: I did. You were right. Adapt Levine did put a notice regarding her uing sses. She says shell be conducting them twice a week. Shell be starting them a few days after the first round of intra-ss ranking warmences. This hag is charging double the Merps than what Edward Jenner is charging. But theres a way to get around it. Day after tomorrow, she will organise a practical test for all the novice potioneers. The ones who pass that test will only be required to pay a meagre amount of Merps. The discounted Merps charge is way lesser than Jenners charges. It seems she only wants to get top students for herself at the expense of discouraging a majority of mediocre ones. I dont know about you, but I dont think Ill be able to pass the test. I can handle elementary potions if I know about the exact procedure. But Ill not be able to make even a one-star F-Rank potion. And the test needs at least a two-star oue in the same rank to clear it. Jake conveyed hisck of optimism in clearing the test. ************* The creation of F-Rank potions was a lot simr to elementary potions in many ways. The only difference was that the potion-in-making liquids need to be imbued with ones mana at the right time in the right quantity. Other subtle steps needed the intervention of mana imbuing from a potioneers side. The imbuing part wasnt difficult itself. Anyone could do it. But the test of the potion makers lied in imbuing their mana without disrupting the potioneering process. There were numerous ways with which the potion-in-making could get affected. The mostmon way among them was imbuing the ingredients with elementalized mana where it was not needed and not regrizing the mana elementalization where it was needed. Plus, the inherent nature of a ranker also had the power to affect the potions quality positively or negatively depending upon the way they implemented it in the manufacturing process. Absolute control over ones mana imbuing, spells, right timing, and a hint of sixth sense was necessary to be a sessful potioneer. ************** Dont worry, Jakey. A day is enough for us to polish our skills. Ill teach you. Well convert this living room into a potionb and practise our skills here. Are you in? Eren offered a helping hand to his housemate. Jake never expected thetter to be this approachable. He hade to terms with Erens recluse nature. But the guy still had some surprises in store for him. Are you sure? Of course, Im in. I want to be a potioneer too, you know. Thats where all the money is. But itll still be difficult to crack Adapt Levines test. Im not that skilled in potion-making yet. Dont get me wrong. I trust your potion-making and teaching skills. Madam Nina must have taught you well. But you had just broken into F-Rank beforeing to the academy. So all your inb experiences are only rted to making elementary potions. We dont even know the potions name which is going to serve as a test. We only have enough time to practise potion-making for two potions, if we cut it close. If they dont appear in the test, its game over for us. Plus, we dont have anyb instruments. And I can guess we dont have enough Merps to get the sets from the academy even with both our ountsbined. Unless! Jake paused midway and looked at Eren, receiving a smirk in response. Thetter proceeded to take out all the instruments required to set up theirb. Unless I have the instruments. Come on, man! How can you think aunt Nina would send me empty-handed without the right apparatus for potion-making? Well still need to buy a few things and some necessary ingredients. But that shouldnt stop us from turning this living room into a full-fledged potionb. Dont worry about my skills. They are enough to make us pass the test and enter Levines elite club of students. And I know which potion is going to appear in Levines test! We only need to practise that potions manufacturing for the entire day. That is enough time for me to teach you in making a two-star variant of the solution. How do you know which potion is going to appear in the test? The same way I knew about the iing assassinations and bandit attacks on Jasons carriage when we wereing here. Why wont you tell me then, what is your source? And will you ever give me aplete piece of news without hiding anything from me? Trust me, man. The less you know about the source, the better. All you need to do now is go to sleep and wake up early tomorrow with me. Well hit theb as soon as we can, take the necessary apparatus and ingredients from it, and start setting things up in this room. Youll skip the homeroom lectures. You will have to stop attending the homeroom lectures most of the time from tomorrow on if you want to keep up with me. Dont depend on freebies, Jake. Heed my advice. Invest in the knowledge that is worth your time. Your father is still in the city of Lionhearts, right? Tell him to send you all the extra Extols he has. Ask him to liquidate some of his wealth if he can. You are going to need a lot of Merps in theing days. Eren talked with Jake for a while, giving him a detailed n of what he was going to do. Jake was really impressed with him. But he had noticed that a lot of his nning was based on certain conditions that may or may not happen. Jake didnt know from where he got the confidence to base all his nning on his self-made assumptions or seeming information leaks. Alright, alright. Im in. But you will pay the Merps for all our ingredients and apparatus. I will return the invested Merps with 10% interest only after your nninges to fruition. 10%? Jakey, my man. Im taking all the risks in this deal. Ill take 20% and that is final. Dont start haggling like Im some sort of a customer of yours in your shop now. Haah! Fine. Have it your way then. We still have Edwards sses if this endeavour of yours fails. Itll be fun to see your face if all your investment goes to waste. Hahaha! Eren chucked at Jakes taunt. He didnt feel angry. The guy was trained as a businessman from his childhood. He wouldnt take unnecessary risks in the market he was unsure of. It was Erens job to make a frugal person like Jake bleed Merps, no matter how cautious he was. And itll be fun to see yours when you have to pay 20% more in a few days! ===================== Authors Note: Thete release is regretted. I was too invested in a cricket gamest night to care about the release. The worst that could happen, happened! My team lost. That too in an extremely miserable way. I understand that victory and defeat are part of the game. But the yers ying on the international stage should carry a self-imposed responsibility towards their audience to ensure that the game doesnt be one-sided. The loss should make sense. Theres a certain dignity to be found in defeat. But that didnt happen! Dont know if itll make sense among all the readers out there, but Im sure most sports fans would get it. The moral of the story, I didnt feel productive at all yesterday. Anywho! Enough about my rant! A lot of stuff rted to potion-making has its background based on the information that was provided in chapter 19 titled Potioneering. Check it out in case you feel the details about certain aspects of potioneering arecking in this chapter. ? Chapter 81: Rankless Party Members?

Chapter 81: Rankless Party Members?

I will now announce the names of the students who have passed my test. A white-haireddy in her 60s could be seen saying this in front of a bunch of LA students. They were all standing inside a potionb, near their respective tables and apparatus. All had worn whiteb coats that were all F-Rank items due to the protective runes inscribed on them. Thedy was none other than Levine de Montmorency. She looked like a graceful olddy. She only had wrinkles around her eyes. And her grey-white hair attested to her long experience in potion-making. Jake was very excited. Not because he had performed well in the test. But he felt like he had done the most inconspicuous, borderline legalized form of cheating AND had gotten away with it! You feel aplished when your efforts are met with sess. But you feel unmatched exhration when your efforts and luck join hands to make you a sess story. Thats right. Whatever Eren had predicted came to be true. Jake and Eren had only practised in an agility-based F-Rank potion named Gati. They practised till midnight yesterday and managed topletely nail down the potions manufacturing. Jake had it rtively easy because his element and inherent nature were made for potioneering. But he was surprised by Erens expertise in potioneering despite him having a not-sopatible aptitude in the field. But aplishing this feat with Erens help had made Jake a tad bit nervous as well. Now he was ready to pay 20% interest to make yesterdays efforts worthwhile. ***************** Finally Jake heard the name which sounded like music to his ears. His and Erens names were among the only five students who had passed Levines test out of 40 budding potioneers. These five students would only need to pay a meagre amount of Merps to attend Levines lectures andb sessions from now on. The failed students either need to pay an exorbitant amount of Merps for the lectures or find a different professor entirely. Most were going to choose thetter option. The failed students were jealous of the only five students who had cleared the test. Some even doubted the test was fair or not after the result was out. But Adapt Levines decision was final. And nobody dared to go against it. The students were discharged after the result was announced. **************** Jake and Eren made it to the canteen for their supper. They met up with Steve Austin and Becky White. The party-to-be was going to decide on its fifth member today. So what do you guys think about Renita? Steve asked while taking a bite out of his burger. The guy was a burger maniac. He had three burgers on his tter. The fourth one was in his hands, half of which had disappeared by now with the most recent bite. Binge-eater Jake replied to burger maniac Steve in the same manner, with an equal amount of burgers plus some fries. Sullivan Jr was a food connoisseur, he treated all good food equally. Lets see. Renita is going for a ranger ss, so you chose her right? I mean, we dont know anything about her besides that fact. Eren is a closebat expert of our party. Hell be our main damage dealer. Hell be leading our charge. I can take up a ranking technique rted to enhanced HP, making me a tank of our group. Of course, my spell choices will be rted to personal and party defence as well. Becky here is going for a healer ss. So the position of our party healer is covered too. Steve is our berserker. He can take up the aggro and coordinate with Eren in our offensive. And in the end, he would serve as our finisher. Now the only thing we need is a ranger who can take care of our long-range attacks while acting as our guide. But how can we be sure Renita is a good choice for our party just because she is a ranger? Jake, the businessman in you just doesnt take a day off, does he? You say all the right things but they dont contribute to anything. Im not saying we should recruit Renita right away. But I feel shed be a good fit for our party. Becky, what do you think? Steve asked Becky about her opinion while trying to take the fries from Jakes tter. But his hand was soon pped away by Jakes. Thetter only looked like he was distracted by his burger. But apparently, he wasnt letting go of his fries. Hmm. I dont have a problem with Renita either. But we should wait for the intra-ss ranking war to see her performance. In fact, why limit our observation to Renita? Wouldnt it be better for all of us if we get to know about each others weaknesses and strengths before finalizing this party? It seemed that Becky was thinking of exiting the party even before it was formed. Steve tried to exin to her with the following words: Becky, Ive formed this party after considering everything. Although I dont know about our individual battle powers, I know how to find the right people and make them tick like clockwork. This is the best I can find right now. To be honest, I was going for some other people to form a party with. Jake and Eren were not my first choice. But they were among the few people who already had their BTPs hidden even before the exnation about how to set the BTP visibility to private was given to us. That made me intrigued and I chose them. Even you, Becky, were not my first choice for a healer. But healers are always sought-after party members. I know I wont be able to retain them when they are offered a position in another party led by someone stronger than me. The ranking war performance you are talking about can help use up with our battle style. But it wont be a deal-breaker in the formation of this party. Unless, you take a step back and decide to join someone else, that is. Steve had things figured out it seemed. He wasnt wrong in saying that healers, particrly, good healers were always recruited with zeal in any party formation. But he had dissed Becky a little by indirectly calling her not so good of a healer. Hmph! I know my BTP value is low and you guys know about it. But healers dont require high BTP values, to begin with. Im not going to fight on the frontlines. All that matters is my healing ability. And if theres someone average among us, it has to be this guy. Becky pointed her finger at Eren who was busy keeping to himself and eating his fill. Eren only looked up and saw Becky pointing him out, post his name was called out. Hahahaha! Becky, why dont you wait for intra-ss ranking wars to start before you embarrass yourself with premature judgement? Jake LOLed at Becky who had her nose red up. She was trying to make Eren the next target of the groups discussion so that any criticisming her way could be diverted. Eren decided to give her a breather: It doesnt matter if I or you are average or not. We are all standing at the start line. Forget about finding each others strengths and weaknesses at this stage. Strengths can be enhanced with the right choice of spells and weaknesses can be covered with the right set of strategies. We should prioritise finalizing the party members first and then focus on fine-tuning our teamwork. A teams might is stronger than any individual ranker at our levels. Therefore, Steves approach is right. But lets not wait until the intra-war starts. A lot of potential teams are also waiting for that event to take ce so theyve left some seats open in their ranks. The influential party leaders would start hunting for their remaining numbers as soon as they came to know about a students worth. That can make our recruitment process much harder than it is right now. I dont have a problem with Renita. She will Errr I mean shed be a good ranger. But why limit ourselves to only her? Eren smirked and looked at Steve. Thetter raised his brows before responding him with a question of his own: Eren, Im not trying to belittle our little group here. But man, lets face it. We are not exactly what youd call extraordinary. A student with higher BTP values and higher calibre wont join us. The guys in the middle have already been hired into their respective parties. And making someone weaker than us into one of our party members will be detrimental to our entire party. So wouldnt it be better if we go for a five-pronged formation than a seven-pronged one? Steve concluded and waited for Eren to answer his question before having another bite of his meal. He had subconsciously started treating Eren as someone whose opinions mattered to him. Five-pronged formation meant having five party members in a party while seven-pronged formation indicated that a party contained seven party members. Usually, the parties with simr numbers listed in their ranks would fight among each other. If a well synched seven-pronged party were to fight with a party of seven members who could only effectively deliver the battle prowess of a five-pronged party, then it would be an easy win for the former. It was better if they limited their numbers and fought with another five-pronged party than risking fighting with a stronger team. At least thats what Steve thought. Im not trying to get anyone higher or lower BTP value in our fold. Im saying we should hire someone with exceptional potential. Someone who doesnt know about their BTP value yet. Eren let that thought sink in among his potential party members. Almost everyone understood the meaning behind that statement. They turned their heads in his direction in unison with clear disbelief painted on their faces. Jake was the one who could find the right words to confirm their mutual suspicion: Eren are you perhaps talking about rankless students? Chapter 82: Party without a Healer?

Chapter 82: Party without a Healer?

Eren are you perhaps talking about rankless students? Eren was expecting this kinda reaction from the people gathered around his table. Rankless students were usually left alone to their devices. Thats because they didnt have the qualifications to fight alongside Novice rankers due to their ordinary, non-mana powers. LA would match up a seven-pronged party with another one of the same numbers in them. Despite there being rankless members on either side or not. Rankless students would be targeted first by the opponent party and roll that advantage into a victory. So no Novice party would take up any rankless member. But Eren was suggesting that they pick up two more members from the same rankless lot. Yes, Im talking about rankless people. But we will not list them as our party members until they break through into the Novice rank. Consider them as our reserve members. I am sure no Novice party would be seeking any rankless students to join their team even as a reserve member. And the students would feel elevated by the fact that they are sought by a Novice team even before their official breakthrough. I dont think well face any obstruction in doing this. The reason for this unusual move is simple. I know two students who would show tremendous potential once they breakthrough into F-Rank. Dont ask me the source, but its a solid piece of news you guys can count on. We will not do anything crazy like hiring rankless party members and fighting alongside them. Thatd be suicidal. Its better to call quits on a match than perform something fantastical like this. What well do instead is keep them around with us till they break their ranks. And we can make them join our party once that happens. Steve, Ill give you the name of those students in a few days. Ensure that you approach them the right way and make them join our party as our reserve members. But we need to nurture ourselves before we can think about nurturing the talents of the future. We need to perform well in intra-ss wars to make our recruitment process smoother. The strong would only like to shake hands with the strong, after all. Eren said this and then shifted their conversation over their ID stonemunication by opening an audio channel. Steve, Becky, and Jake knew he was going to talk about something private that he didnt want any other student to hear. I will share another piece of information. We all need plenty of Merps in all our ounts. Jake and I have already liquidated most of our money into Merps to prepare for a certain event. You need to do the same. All your BTP values are lower than 14 so you cant take up any missions from Besanc yet. Therefore, you wont be able to earn Merps throughpleting missions. That leaves you guys with only one option. You have to convert a lot of your money into Merps within these two days. Id say convert almost all of the Extols you have. Because this event will require a lot of Merps in your ount to maximise your profits. Otherwise, youd fall into LAs debt trap. This event will have the power to influence our partys battle potential. It can give us the advantage we need to beat currently promising teams with seemingly stronger party members in them. Therefore, Jake and I are risking sharing this information with you. Should Renita decide to join us, Steve, make sure you give the same hint to her as well. After all, the party is as strong as its weakest member. Jake was d Eren had decided to share this news with their party members. They needed to be strong as a team as well as individuals for them to keep on winning on every front. Jake was the one who had asked Eren to give this piece of news to Steve and Becky as well. Thetter pondered about it for a while before agreeing. Otherwise, if having more Merps in your ount was as important as Eren had imed, the advantage thatde with having them would be limited to two out of five party members. Thatd be detrimental to them as a party in the long run. Eren, what are you talking about? What event and what is this all about umting Merps by burning our Extols reserve? Becky tried asking Eren but all she heard was static from the audio channel, which Eren had closed soon after. He had indicated that no further information will be provided on this topic. The team returned to talking normally after the ID stonemunication was put to rest. Alright, Eren. I dont know about Becky. But Ill follow your advice. Im sure we can find plenty of uses for our Merps even if the event doesnt take ce. So theres no harm in doing it. Is there anything else you want to add? Steve was the first to recover. He was decisive when he needed to be. Yeah. Steve, your berserking path suits you. Eren paused for a while before looking at Becky and continuing: But I cant say the same about you, Becky. What do you have against me, Eren? Why are you guys criticising my path all the time? Becky was unhappy with Eren again zeroing on her seemingly mediocre talent. But thattter verbally marched on without caring about her feelings: Im saying this for your good. Of course, Im being selfish here as well. Because improving you would give me the chance to earn more Merps in future. In a way, Im investing in you to get my returns. But that doesnt change the fact that your prospects would be wasted on you being a healer if you dont heed my advice. You cant be an exceptional healer with your fire element. Plus, your inherent nature is lividness, turning an ordinary fire into a dark bluish-grey one. Even if there are healing spells for your element, most of them are not suited for party healing. Whats more, the healing spells would keep on getting rarer as you progress further in your path as a healer while having such elemental affinity and inherent nature. How about being a mage? Your affinity and inherent nature are better suited to bing a mage. Im sure the academys consultation must have also pointed to the same thing. So I can only guess that your drive to be a healer despite all that must be rted to yourmitment to someone or something. But think carefully about it. Do you want topromise with your career for the reason you feel is worth doing it now? Life doesnt give second chances to everybody, you know. Becky got quiet after hearing Erens remark. He was right. It was her insistence that she be a healer due to reasons known only to her. But a voice of reason had sprung back in her head again. Telling her that the recluse and rude boy in front of her was right. Well Becky wanted to defend her stance but Eren cut her off right away. He wasnt interested in her reason to be a healer. He only cared about his party members bing strong enough to help him beat up even stronger teams. He tried to make Becky tread on the right path so that she could be an effective member of his team, enabling him to get the maximum usage out of her. All of this was his investment to gain more Merps, which would be stepping stones to his sess in this timeline. You should keep the reason for your choice to be a healer to yourself, Becky. Well not pry into it. What we want from you is you give your best to the party. And being a healer aint it. But if Becky drops the idea of being a healer, who would be the partys healer in our uing battles? Jake couldnt help asking. The businessman in him wanted to prevent Eren from advising this to Becky. It could rob their party of a healer that they needed. Although he understood the benefits of long-term gains, he wasnt too hyped about suffering in the present for it. Remember the two rankless students I talked about? One of them would be an awesome healer for our party. She would break into the Novice rank soon enough. But it would still take a month. For better or worse, well have to participate in thepulsory inter-ss battle without any healer in our ranks. Dont worry. Healers wont have much to do in ranking wars, at least in the beginning. We would have gotten ourpatible ranking techniques and spells by the time its our time to take part in inter-ss battles. If Becky bes a mage, she can cast an AoE whenever it gets difficult for us to find an opening. Of course, Becky would be a ss canon after bing a mage. So Jake will always have to stay together with her. The offence would be handled by Steve, a ranger, and I. Im telling you all this so that you could get a clear idea about your role in the party and choose your spells and techniques ordingly. I dont want any of you to be clueless in that department when you are offered those choices in the uing event. ======================= Authors Note: Hello. Do you want me to exin the RPG terms that get used in the novel? Let me know what you think. The term ss-canon describes a ranker or unit with strong offensive power but weak defensive capabilities. Chapter 83: Student Welfare and LA’s Interests

Chapter 83: Student Welfare and LAs Interests

I dont want any of you to be clueless in that department when you are offered those choices in the uing event. Eren concluded that statement and finished his grub at the same time. He left the table, picking up his tray to throw the leftover in the dustbin, leaving the group to their devices. The butcher wanted a strong team. But he couldnt just join a strong team that he knew would be sessful in the future. First, they wouldnt take a guy like him in their ranks. At least not right now. And second, Eren didnt want to alter the future too drastically by joining their ranks and bing famous along with them. It would be in his favour if an underdog team slowly developed over time, enabling him to control it the way he wanted. Up till now, Eren had reced certain personnel in getting the benefits while keeping the oue of the eventrgely the same as the previous timeline. For example, Eren had only tried to rece Ken in taking Mas apprenticeship. But he didnt aim for Ma to take another student as her apprentice apart from the protagonist. Of course, he knew no matter what he did, the future would inevitably change as he kept on introducing small changes to benefit from them. But he couldnt just keep following the same tried and tested path only to end up the same way as his previous life, just to maintain his advantage of knowing about the future. Thats why Eren decided to nurture his party. He had done all he could. Now it was up to them to follow his advice or not. ************** Two days before the intra-ss ranking war! Day of the auction event! An official piece of news started circting rapidly across the first-year Novice rankers. LA was going to conduct an auction event at 5 PM for them, just after the homeroom lectures got over. The items for grab would be ranking techniques, spells, artefacts, and potions rted to the F-Rank. The initial prices of these items had been set lower than their usual prices if students were to get them from Novices Treasury. They could get an affordable deal in the auction as long as the things that they aimed for werent aimed by others with bigger pockets. Merps was going to be the only official currency used in the auction event. But currently, the Extols-to-Merps conversion ratio was horrible, to say the least. It was 135 Merps for one Extol when Eren had converted his wealth into the academys currency. From that day, the conversion ratio kept on getting worse until it hit 70 Merps/ Extol when the auction was dered today. Students only had this morning to convert their Extols into Merps if they wanted to participate in the auction with a sufficient amount in their ount. And they couldnt ask for support from their homes because it was toote for that. So they had to ept that wretched conversion rate in their desperation to earn more Merps. What the students didnt realize was that their desperation generated by mass hype had made them forget that they wouldnt gain any benefitpared to them buying the items normally from the Novice Treasury. So the students converting their Extols into LAs currency would not benefit from the auction event even if they were to get the items at lower prices than what theyd get from the Novices Treasury. A few students understood this marketing gimmick 101, but they couldnt help but follow in the same footsteps of those who didnt. Because the auction event might contain certain items that arent usually avable in the Novice Treasury. They couldnt just let other students grab what could be theirs if they were to just sacrifice a little bit of their wealth. Of course, hope wasnt lost for the students who didnt have any financial backing or those who wanted to retain their Extols due to the wretched conversion rate. There was a way to pay the merit points in the auction event without having to convert your money into Merps. Students could raise the betting amount in the auction event with their monthly allowance in advance. Each student could bet up to a year worth of Merps, that is around 11K Merps in the auction event. The more the amount that was used in the auction event, the more will be the number of months that a students ount would remain un-credited each month. Every month a student would be credited with 1000 Merps in their ount. If a student uses 1000 Merps from this month plus makes use of 5K Merps advance that was availed to him by LA to buy a ranking technique, their ount wont get redited with 1000K /month for the next five months. But this was not all. A huge number of job postings were released on the same day when the au. These jobs pay Merps to students in advance so that they could use these Merps into the auction event. The students could take up odd jobs across various fields in the academy to make up for their low bnce at the cost of signing a binding contract with the respective academy department that had employed them. So if a student was in a Merps crunch even after using the monthly allowances in advance, they would have to sign the binding contract of employment with the academy department to get an advance. Naturally, the amount paid in advance would be less than what normally that job would entail had they epted it without focusing on the advance amount. But now the situation had forced the students to take up these jobs so that they could get their hands on thepatible techniques and spells. This was a debt trap arranged by LA to make students more productive at the academy while enabling them to get the techniques that they wanted. If a student chooses to partake in the event with their overwhelming wealth, they are allowed to do so. They just had to pay a little extra than usual. If a student wasnt willing to invest their wealth or if they were unable to, they could pay with their time and hard work to make up for it by signing a binding employment contract. Either way, students would get higher ranked items at rtively lower prices in one go, and LA would be the biggest beneficiary no matter which way the novice rankers chose. The students that had chosen the way of the binding contract would have to serve their roles while tending to their studies in the academy. Their practise and usual study would obviously suffer because of their job, but they had to find a middle ground between both the tasks. Most students, including the ones with sufficient funds at home, ended up signing employment contracts due to their low bnce at the time of the auction event. They were not given enough time to arrange for help from anyone outside the academy. Only students like Eren who had already converted their Extols into Merps were not caught between a rock and a hard ce. Thats right! There were indeed other students, apart from Eren and his party members, who had chosen to convert their Extols into Merps a few days back. But that was either due to pure coincidence or conversion that took ce in anticipation of the auction event. LA would randomly shift between having an auction event for a particr year or not during each academic year. So it wasnt that the students could say for sure if the event would take ce this year. When there was no auction event, the students had to purchase their spells and techniques from the Novice Treasury the normal way at usual prices. Of course, the monthly allowance advance and binding employment contracts would be made avable even in the case of no auction event, enabling the students to get the things that they want and paying them up through various means. The binding employment contracts were made more student-friendly when there was no auction event. It was done so that the students who didnt get to experience the auction event would not feel that they had been cheated. The Extol-to-Merps conversion had always been kept dynamic, preventing anyone from predicting the iing auction event. Every other possible measure was taken to make the event as surprising as it was intended to be. Because in surprise, lies LAs advantage of making more money off of wealthy students and employing more ordinary students into their folds at a lower cost. **************** Almost no students attended their homeroom lectures after this official news was made known to them. They were desperate to either convert their Extols into Merps or look through job postings suitable for them. There were plenty of jobs avable for first-year students ranging from being a helper in variousbs to serving as an apprentice chef in the LAs kitchens spread across various ces on the academy grounds. Some academic departments like the department of sanitization didnt seem to have upper limits in the numbers of applicants they epted. That meant anyone could be a part of the cleaning crew. So the students were spoiled for choices. Its just that the amount of Merps their jobs paid them was lesser than they had expected. LA cashed it on students desperation to get more Merps and employed them as cheapbour. The evening arrived and raised the levels of anticipation in the minds of many Novice rankers. The auction event was about to start! ================ Authors Note- I witnessed some readers getting confused about the usability of LAs auction event when it was first mentioned. I had depicted at that time that it was going to cater to students welfare and the academys fiscal interests simultaneously, which might have created an ambiguity in some readers minds. Hope this chapter puts all their queries to rest. ? Chapter 84: Sedated Perception

Chapter 84: Sedated Perception

A student from 1/A has raised the price for the book of Indras Levin again. 7000 Merps going once 7000 Merps going twice Sev Oh! Theres another prompt on the screen sent by a student from 1/C, raising the amount for this item to 7500 Merps. Is there anyone else who wants to raise the amount any further? The technique is not avable in the Novice Treasury, you know! Just to make it clear to the newbie students. Even an amount of 10K Merps wouldnt be deemed expensive for a five-star ranking technique. Still no takers? 7500 Merps going once! 7500 Merps going twice! . . . And. . . . *ring beep sound and the removal of the entry named Indras Levin from the list of ranking techniques disyed on the halls huge spectral screen* . . . 7500 Merps going thrice! Congrattions to the 1/C student named Eren Idril for getting this five-star lightning element ranking technique. It is made for closebat style. You will receive the book at the end of the auction event after signing a binding contract. Jaime Lancaster congratted Eren as a formality before taking a sip out of the small vial that he had seemingly retrieved from nowhere. He resumed his stoic face after the sip and restarted the bidding process for the next ranking technique in the list. The auction event was being held at therge hall named Novice Inspience. Jaime was standing on arge, raised tform. There was a huge spectral screen ced in front of him that listed the current items for auctioning. A group of first-year students was standing below the tform.The students eyes fixated on the spectral screen. There were five other professors like Jaime catering to their respective groups of first-year students. These Novice rankers were divided into six groups ording to their elements. The first five groups were dedicated to students with five great elements respectively. And the sixth group was dedicated to the entire lot of students who had derived elements. Eren was part of the sixth group. The groups auction was hosted by none other than Jaime Lancaster. The same person Eren had seen in the Osan woods. The students interested in the bidding item only needed to send the prompt of the raised amount through their personal spectral screens to make their bid. They would get the item if no other student is challenging their amount with another raise. Eren was excited about a five-star ranking technique. He never got to practise a technique like this in the previous timeline. It had burned a hole through his Merps reserves. But he thought it was worth it. But this was not the end of the auction event. First Jaime would auction all the ranking techniques made for various derived elements. The auction for spells, potions, and artefacts would follow soon after. The auction event kept on progressing as it was scheduled. Eren soon obtained a few more Novice levelled spells for himself. He had obtained the higher-star variants of all the lightning element spells he was used to with. The butcher also bought an F-Rank mana gathering arrayyout. Plus, there were two new additions to his list of spells now. The total cost of the ranking technique, arrayyout, and spells had almost emptied the butchers reserves. Now he only had around 700 Merps remaining in his ount. But his battle prowess had received an unprecedented boost as a result. Even with its speedy execution due to the inclusion of a spectral screen, the auction went on for a few hours. Eren met up with his party members after the auction got over. The members kept on conveying their thanks to Eren who just nodded at them as a response. Even a low-key haughty girl like Becky thanked him for his suggestion and heads-up to gather more Merps a few days back. She had decided to follow Erens advice and chose a mage ss ranking technique for herself in the auction along with the spells rted to it. Jake, Becky, and Steve had avoided falling prey to LAs debt trap, thanks to Erens warnings. Now they had more time for themselves to focus on their studies due to not having to ept any binding employment contract. Of course, they would choose to enter employmentter on when the binding contract became more student-friendly in a few days. They had to. Because they had ended up using the advance on their default monthly allowance. Therefore, their ounts wouldnt get credited with 1K Merps for around six months. That meant the trio was going to be Merps-broke for those many months until it decided to do something about it. Now Jake, Becky, and Steve needed a stable source of ie. They couldnt be the members of Besanc like Eren due to their BTP values not hitting the mark of 14. And they had already overdrawn on the support offered by their families. So the employment at the academy was the only way for them to curb their need for Merps. Eren gave them a few pointers regarding their jobs postings. He told them to join specific jobs as per their respective sses so that they could also practise and enhance their ss-rted skills on site. The butcher mainly did that so that their job timings would sync and they could all be avable at the same time while ensuring that their ss-rted skills are nurtured. The group was about to head to the pantry to have their dinner when it heard a voiceing from behind: Little Idril, wait up! Eren and his party members turned 180 in unison only to observe that Adapt Ma was making her way towards them from a distance. Eren understood the reason for her calling so he told his group to go ahead to the pantry, saying that hed join them afterwards. The group left and Ma caught up with him soon afterwards. Adapt Ma, what do I owe this pleasure? Eren asked while performing a slight bow. Ma was all smiles when replying: Hehe! You are wise, Idril boy, I must give you that. You addressed me formally again after meeting for the second time. You didnt abuse the freedom I gave you. These little subtleties are all signs of you being on the right path as a ranker. I came to say my thanks. You know, your tip would help me and my panel well tonight. The auction for Ace rankers will start now that the Novice auction has ended. And the auction for Adapt rankers will take ce at midnight. We have loaded our ounts with Merps and expect a great haul from it. Aaah! See, my information came through. And you were doubting me then. Hehe! That was only natural. But I wont go back on my words. Ill give you something worth your information in a few days. And Ille to see your performance in intra-ss battles. If you can perform well, Ill consider taking you as my apprentice despite your low BTP value. By the way, which technique did you obtain? I convey my sincere thanks, Adapt Ma. I got my hands on five-star Indras Levin for 7500 Merps. Oh! A five-star technique in LA is extremely rare. And you even got it for peanuts worth considering its actual value. Indras Levin, huh! So you are serious about bing a closebat expert. Good. Make sure you kick some serious ass in the intrass battles. The closebat experts are known for their boldness to enter their opponents attacking range and beat them up head-on. I need to see the fierceness in you that is needed for this ss to take you as my apprentice. I understand. Thanks for telling me what you want to see in my battles. I will make sure to quote-unquote kick-ass in my battles. By the way, did you set the base price for the E-Rank Mana Blessing you found? Oh. I set the base price at 10K Merps. But Im hoping itll cross the limit of 20k when the final bid amount is set. Hehe! Eren smirked at Ma while replying to her. She realized this little devil already knew about the stones worth even after still being a Novice ranker. She was excited to see the boys performance now. Shed rather take a smart student as her apprentice rather than teach to some gullible fool. ********** Eren could be seen inside his dorm room now. He had imbued his mana into the mana-gathering arrayyout he bought from the auction andid it inside his dorm room. It was an array with a Penta-staryout. Eren then used all of his F-Rank Mana Blessings that he had collected from the Osan woods and nted them at the five distinct points over the array. The butcher experienced an unprecedented level of mana purity of F-Rank gathering inside his dorm room now. With this array, Eren will be able to expedite his ranking journey in the F-Rank much faster than his previous estimations. But Erens attention was soon drawn to a particr spell scroll in his hand. He was most interested in this spell because he had never experienced the effects of this spell in his previous timeline. The spells name was Sedated Perception. It was a four-star F-Rank spell belonging to the time element! ====================== Authors Note: The target of 100 power stones has been achieved while we are still only halfway through this week. It shows that VEH is growing strong on this tform. This extra chapter is dedicated to all the active readers who contributed to this novel. ? Chapter 85: The Real State of Epiphany

Chapter 85: The Real State of Epiphany

The spells name was Sedated Perception. It was a four-star F-Rank spell belonging to the time element! This was the same spell Linda had in her arsenal. Of course, hers was an E-Rank one. Sedated Perception was one of the mostmon spells among the time element rankers. And also one of the most hated ones at that. Because itrgely contributed to the time-element rankers having to go through frequent bouts of uncalled-for time dtion. Of course, Eren was worried about the side effects of using the spell as well. But he thought he should give it a try since his time element affinity would at least get utilized this way. The self-casting spells effect was simple. It affected the users perception of time. When the spell activates, the user would experience a slow passage of time around him. Some experts argued that Sedated Perception was not aplete time-element spell. They believed that aplete time-element spell would allow the user to interact normally with the slow passage of time without affecting their movements. That meant time would indeed slow down around the user when they cast aplete time-element spell, but the spell would make it so that the user wont slow down with the time. Of course, low-level rankers werent privy to the authenticity of these ims. And getting used to Sedated Perception was hard enough. Low-level rankers would feel satisfied afterpletely mastering the spell without facing its side effects. Eren was thinking along the same lines. He wasnt experienced in using time element spells. Therefore he deemed that he should focus on whats currently on his tter. Eren put the spell scroll away. The spell wont be useful in his uing battle. He started reading the book and storing the contents on his virtual content storage with the help of the spectral screen. Eren didnt like that LA was so prudent in sharing the technique in an old fashion way. He had paid a hefty in Merps. The least the academy could do was upload the technique directly on his ID stone. He would have been spared of manually storing the content. It took him a few hours to understand the initial concepts of the technique while storing the content on his ID stone. Now he could ess the content anytime with his spectral screen. Eren only slept after reading the bookpletely. He needed to start practising his ranking technique. The initial stage section covered in the technique was simple to follow and had a few things inmon with the lightning element technique he had practised in his previous life. Thats why Eren could start practising the technique as soon as he woke up the next day. He was going to practice the technique till evening. And then, hed go through the spell scrolls of his improved spells. Most of the students would also skip on their lectures like Eren. They needed to dost-minute preparations for the uing battles, after all. ******************** The night before the intra-ss ranking war. Eren was done with reading through the spell scrolls of his improved spells. There were subtle differences between the three-star and four-star variants. The four-star variants were more refined versions of their respective lower star counterparts. They contained a more efficient execution of mana points activation, allowing in better, faster spell deployment while keeping the mana consumption lower. Thats why it was crucial to have higher star spells. The rankers would find that their battle prowess shoot up just by making use of higher star variants of their spells. And since these spells were almost identical to their lower star counterparts except for changes in the algorithm of mana point activation, they could be adopted quickly. At least the spells in F-Rank were quicker to adopt among their multi-star variations. Thats why Eren took till afternoon to practise his ranking technique and get used to it. He used the remaining hours to fine-tune his usual spells to their higher star variants. It was 2 AM. Eren thought of calling it quits. He had finished his preparations and was ready to go through the ranking battle. But before he did that, the butcher thought of taking a quick look at the Sedated Perception. He knew that he couldnt learn the spell in whatever remaining time he had before the ranking war. But he just couldnt calm his curiosity about the spell. Eren opened the spell and started recording its content. Then he memorized the mana points activation algorithm of the spell and closed his eyes to recall it again. The algorithm was nothing tooplicated. Eren had been a D-Rank berserker in his past timelines. He was used to executing spells with higherplications than mere F-Rank spells. Compared to those spells, this F-Rank time element spell was no biggie on paper. But the real difficulty of spells lies in the ranker maintaining its effect without injuring themselves in the process. Thats why it was near impossible for Eren to use this spell in the battle tomorrow. Or so he thought! Something magical happened when Eren tried to execute his first time-element spell. He experienced the most elusive event in a rankers life. Eren was pulled into a state of epiphany as soon as he tried to execute Sedated Perception. It was like the spell itself wasmunicating with him, telling him how it should be better executed. Eren felt like he was experiencing the passage of time quite differently in this state. He was aware of the things unfolding around him while his psychemunicated nonverbally with the higher consciousness brought about by the state of epiphany. The butcher cut off hismunication with the rest of the world and focused on absorbing what he could from being connected to the higher consciousness. He didnt know if and when hed get to experience the state of epiphany again. He had to make the best use of what was happening to him at the time. Eren also subconsciously activated his ranking technique while he was understanding the concepts behind Sedated Perception. What he had failed to realize was that due to the active spells and state of epiphanys effect, his ranking technique had started working on hyperdrive. There were tiny tongues of lightning dancing on his skin all over the body due to the ranking techniques activation. The lightning was harmless to him. It was just a manifestation of unelementalized mana in the surrounding getting converted into the lightning element mana under the techniques effect. Eren learned everything about the spell in that blurred state of self-consciousness. He now knew there was a better way to execute Sedated Perception than what was recorded in the four-star spell scroll. He now knew what part of the algorithm needed to be changed or tweaked to make the spell easy to use for him while increasing its effect. When Eren opened his eyes, he thought the morning must have arrived. He thought he had spent at least five to six hours in that state. But soon he was left bbergasted. Thats because when he checked his clock, it told him only about 20 minutes had passed in reality. The butcher couldnt help thinking to himself: Was Sedated Perception active the whole time I was in the state of epiphany? But how can it be? At my current level, it should be impossible to maintain the spell active for this long a time. Even if I could, the ratio of the time dtion just doesnt make sense. My mana reserves are empty now. But how did I manage to keep the spell active for 20 minutes straight without overdrawing on my mana core and damaging it in the process? I learned Sedated Perception in mere 20 minutes. Even if we consider that it is an F-Rank spell that uses only a primary mana circuit, the achievement to learn the spell from scratch and execute it wlessly is something unthinkable for a guy like me who wasnt even a ranker a month back. But most of all, I have progressed further in my rank in just about a day after I started practising the technique. My BTP value has shot up. If the word about my gains gets out, itll create a sensation in LA. There are many mysteries about this whole event. Even a mysterious urrence like the state of epiphany can not take all the credit this time. All things point in only one direction. The swallowed gem! Eren came to that conclusion and caressed his lower abdomen with his hand. Of course, there was no gem to be found or touched. But the butcher felt that it was making its presence known by creating small miracles like tonights event. Eren had an inkling that even the state of epiphany was brought about by the gem itself when it detected that he was learning a time element spell. Maybe this wasnt a natural state of epiphany but something that was initiated by the gem? Eren had more questions than answers at this point! But the fact that the gem had helped him learn the time-element spell effortlessly was undeniable. It had also aided in him progressing further in the ranking journey. With benefits lying in front of him, Erens greed for getting more power for himself resurfaced. The butcher thought that maybe he should have gone with the time-element ranking technique in the F-Rank itself. The gem could have helped him breeze through the rank at a faster pace. But then he controlled his greed. The butcher concluded that he still didnt know anything about the gem so itd be unwise to base his entire ranking journey around it. And fast doesnt always mean better. It was in his favour that he progressed steadily in the most foundational rank. The state of epiphany was known for producing a lot of wonders for rankers without harming them. But he couldnt just enter the state on his whims. Therefore Eren came to a sound decision. What he had now was sufficient for now. He needed to cultivate his current advantages before taking apletely different path. Then his thought process made him wonder about the reason behind his current situation. Eren wondered if the gem was a Sage rank artefact. The S-Rank entities were officially given the prefix of Sages. The items belonging to that rank also had the word Sage as their prefix. Therefore, the S-Rank artefacts were known as Sage artefacts. It was the peak of the ranking journey Eren was made aware of. He had seen only one A-Rank artefact in his whole life even in the previous timeline. And that was the flying tform LA had used to transport its students. After that, he never got to witness the true prowess of a grandmaster artefact his ever. So Eren had never thought about the sage artefacts in both of his timelines. He wasnt even sure what people and items at that level could do. That subject was more of a distant dream for him. But what if this gem was an S-Rank? Or. What if the gem was even ranked higher than a Sage artefact? Is there even a rank higher than S-Rank for rankers, potions, spells, and artefacts? As it was said previously, Eren had more questions than answers. So he decided to stop thinking about them altogether. What was important now was the fact that Eren could use the Sedated Perception tomorrow in the ranking war. It had now be a test field for him to field-test his new and improved-overnight time-element spell. The butcher was looking forward to tomorrows match. ==================== Authors Note: Hello. Just a reminder. State of epiphany was exined in chapter 48 in case anyone was wondering. ? Chapter 86: Becky’s Banter

Chapter 86: Beckys Banter

Ranking battles were a huge chance for Eren to get used to his custom-made time-element spell. The state of epiphany had made him alter the sequencing of the spells mana points. The changed algorithm had basically made it deviate from the original Sedated Perception, cross the boundaries of a four-star variant, and the rate itself as the sole five-star spell that didnt have any lower star counterparts. ************** The five-star spells were special in a way that they couldnt be executed by everybody effectively. Only certain people who were in sync in both body and mind with the creator of the spell could execute the said spell with its five-star alteration effectively. When a ranker who is not the creator of the spell gets their hands on a five-star variant of it, they would always fail short of bringing forth its true prowess demonstrated by the original creator. The difference of power and efficiency between a higher star and lower star variants of the spells only increased with the rank. Thats why it got rarer to find higher star variants of the spell the higher you climb the rankingdder. The ranking techniques and spells were almost always element bound. That meant almost all of them were rted to their respective element. The potions and artefacts on the other hand were made so that they could be used by all the rankers belonging to the said potion or artefacts rank. Of course, there were exceptions in the cases mentioned above, but they were rare and seldom used by the low-level rankers. Furthermore, the inherent nature and mana signature of the ranker also affected the spells execution and end result. It was hard to find two rankers with the same element and inherent nature within their generation. And if mana signature was to be considered, it was impossible to find the matches even if samples from different generations were to be considered. In short, it was difficult to find a perfectly suitable candidate for a five-star spell that could adapt to it and disy its true power and efficiency. If thispatibility were to be ignored, the top star variant of the spell would be no different than a four-star counterpart in its power. The result would get worse with the increasing difference in thepatibility. This was also the reason why rankers would seldom go for five-star techniques or spells. They wouldnt get their moneys worth if they were to fail miserably in getting in sync with the said spells or techniques. It was better to take a three-star or four-star technique which they knew wouldnt cost as much as the five-star one while still delivering the intended results because theirpatibility requirements werent as high. This was the reason LAs Novice Treasury was normally capped off at four-star variants, that too for a selected number of spells. The auction was the only time the students could get their hands on the four-star variants of their spells if and when Novice Treasury gave them theme excuse of unavability to provide the same. Thats why Sedated Perception had be a special spell in Erens arsenal. He didnt think thered be someone in LA with a five-star spell in their repertoire as him. Furthermore, Erens spell had been altered by the insight brought about by the state of epiphany. This was an alteration that was custom made for him only. It might not be rted to the original five-star variant of the spell anymore. That meant Eren wasnt exactly using the original version of the Sedated Perception. And he doubted that the changed sequencing wasnt universal. The spell was limited to a special time-element user like him made for him, by him! If he were to record the changed sequencing of his altered spell on a spell scroll and give it to some other time-element user, they might not be able to execute it at all. The spell was going to be Erens biggest trump card at the time of the pinch in the uing future. ********* The morning heralded the creation of bubbling excitement and uncalmable anxiety among the minds of LAs first-years. Eren woke up and practised his ranking technique before getting ready to leave his dorm room with Jake. The duo met up with Steve and Becky before heading to Novice Incipience. The intrass ranking war was going to take ce at that venue. Theres something changed about you. Beckymented at Eren when they were walking towards the venue. Thetter just shrugged his shoulders and replied: We were all someone else yesterday. And we will be someone else tomorrow. The butcher casually replied with a philosophical sentence. Dont try to y dumb, Eren. My element and inherent nature let me feel the warmth of ones aura. And yours has just turned colder for some reason. What did you do? Who knows? It might be rted to my current ranking technique that I started practising? Or a spell maybe? I dont know. Life is ever-changing, Becky. So its only natural that the living follows in its footsteps. More importantly, you guys, how many spells did you learn and how many can you use ACTUALLY in the battle? Eren diverted Beckys interrogation with his bullshittery. He really didnt know what Becky was talking about. But he was just made aware that Beckys element and inherent nature had granted her a peculiar sense. He didnt want to risk her finding more about himself by continuing the topic. His question was answered by Jake quickly after: Most of my time during these two days was spent learning and practising my ranking technique. I could only learn a defence-rted spell called Yewiha Mekkeya. It absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and creates a water shield in front of me. The spell can be remotely moved and adjusted in its size and shape with my mana sense. So thankfully, it can be used for both offence and defence. But Im not sure about its execution. I just didnt have enough time to practise it. What about you, Steve? Well, my technique was straightforward like most earth element techniques are. So I didnt have to struggle as much as you, Jake. But learning about the spell was tough for me. I just barely seeded in executing the spell by staying up all night. My spell Yemidiri Medafi lets me coat my fists with earth elemental mana, enabling me to have serious punching power. But the mana conversion to earth element takes time as Im not proficient in it. I couldnt learn a defensive skill in such a short time. So *sigh* Ill be a sitting duck till the only offensive spell in my repertoire takes effect. Steve finished his report about his progress on a disappointing note. He looked at Becky next, nudging her to share her current state: Haah! Im on the same boat as you guys. I have two spells, one offence and one defence. But Im not sure about executing either of them the way I want. This ranking war is such a sham. It didnt give students enough time to prepare. Its like LA wants its students to go into ranking wars with shallow preparedness. Becky seemed frustrated at her progress. She thought LA had set most students up by dering ranking wars this early in their first academic year. The butcher couldnt agree more: You are not wrong in saying that. LA set up the ranking war right after the auction event so that students would be desperate enough to buy techniques and spells for themselves. But it also benefits the students, you see. They get to know if their technique or spells were suitable for them or not right from the get-go. Controlled battles are the most efficient way to figure things like these. Alright, Mr-know-it-all! Tell us about your progress. And speak honestly. Dont y with words like you are used to doing. Becky looked at Eren with her inspective gaze and thetter could onlyugh mirthlessly at her bantering. About my progress ====================== Authors Note: Brace yourselves. The ranking wars would start from the next chapter onwards! ? Chapter 87: Spell Combo

Chapter 87: Spell Combo

About my progress I have practiced a movement spell and an offensive spell. My techniques and spells werent too difficult and their executions werent tooplicated. So it was easy for me to learn them. Im confident about my offensive power. But the movement spell causes tunnel vision as it is too fast for my eyes. So lets see how I perform when I implement the spell in the battles today. Eren mixed a portion of truth in his lies. That made his bullshittery more believable to his group. They discussed some more before expediting their way towards the battle venue. ******* Lin greeted the ss of 1/C as their homeroom professor. Good morning first-year students. Your intrass battles will start from today. Today will be the minimum requirement matches that LA will randomly set for all of you. There are five battle rings set for the ss of 1/C. Meaning five battles can take ce simultaneously for the ss. I have a spectral screen in front of me that you all can see. Nobody has submitted the names of their parties so intrass wars would all be individual-based. This screen will randomly show the names of any two opponents and assign them their respective unupied battle rings. The students can either choose to go through with the match or call quits before participating. A part of merit points will be deducted from their reserve as a penalty for their nonparticipation in thepulsory matches. Id suggest you take part in the matches even if you know you are going to lose. The penalty for a battle loss is more affordable than a penalty for non-participation. So lets get this thing going already, shall we? Eren heard Lins speech and remembered the first time he saw the beginning of the intra-ss ranking war in his previous timeline. He was a non-ranker back then. He had lost pathetically by a non-ranker like him. But this time, Eren would ensure that the ranking wars be the biggest beneficiary for him. He looked at his base stats to see his progress: ******************************** Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organization- Lionhearts Adventurers Academy Academic Status- ss 1/C Ranked Status- unranked Merit Points- 22,725 Battle Points- 0 Base Stats: HP- 3.8 / 3.8 MP- 5.1 / 5.1 STR- 2.3 AGI- 3.3 INT- 3 BTP~ 17 BTP Visibility- Private Ranking Technique- Five-star, lightning element, Indras Levin F-Rank Spells: LE, Four-star, movement type: Blitz Steps LE, Four-star, defense type: Blitz Shield LE, Four-star, attack type: Blitz Bolt LE, Four-star, Area of Effect: Blitz Storm LE, Four-star, healing type: Blitz Heal TE, Four-star(?), misceneous: Sedated Perception ****************************** Eren first observed the number of merit points he had umted. His E-Rank Mana Blessing had been sold for a fortune from his perspective. It had basically retrieved all the Merps he had lost in the bidding while adding the extra amount on top. Then Eren looked at his base stat values. He had observed that his agility had gotten the biggest boost followed by his mana points and intelligence. ************** The focus on particr body stat segments was due to the type of ranking technique he was practicing currently. Each ranking technique focused on a particr set of base stat values depending upon its type. Since the technique was focused on closebat style, it would prioritize the rankers agility, mana points, and intelligence over other values. Had Eren been practicing a berserker technique in the past, it would have focused on raising his HP the most followed by STR. Apart from raising a particr set of base stat values, a technique would also shape a mana circuit in such a way that it would suit the profession that is focused on. The primary mana circuit within the rankers body would start to expand itself in a way that would allow them to exert their maximum potential for the field their technique was based on. Thats why it became unavoidable to regress in the rank when the rankers wanted to change their path midway. They needed to turn the profession-specific mana circuit they had built within their bodies into a primary mana circuit before restarting their ranking journey. It entailed the necessity to destruct the existing mana circuit before a ranker can restart their path sessfully. Destroying the mana circuit wasnt a pleasant process. Plus, it meant flushing the hard work one had out into it down the drain. Hence the rankers would think twice or thrice before changing their path. Eren was weak in agility even in his previous timeline. But this time, thanks to the five-star ranking technique, his agility had been optimized for his profession. The fine-tuning of base stats and construction of profession-specific mana circuits highlighted the importance of choosing the right technique for oneself. Eren knew that his ranking technique would keep on prioritizing AGI and INT the further he progressed further in his ranking journey as closebat professional. **************** Erens spells also received a boost. They were now all four-star spells. But these variants had been revamped from their original creations by a high-ranking entity, especially for closebat experts. Hence the change in their names. Eren now had a healing type spell in his element as well. Blitz Heal would generate a lightning field around the bodys damaged area and expedite the bodys normal healing prowess to supernatural levels using mana as a catalyst. Lightning wasnt known for its healing properties. So the spell had a lot of restrictionspared to the original healing spells used by healers. First, Blitz Heal was very taxing in mana consumption. So it wasnt ideal for consistent use. Second, Eren needed to stay still to form a stable lightning field. So it couldnt be used during battles or while moving. Eren also noted in the spectral screen that there was a calibration error for Sedated Perception. It was mostly since Erens spell had differed from the original. Eren Idril. What are you spacing out for? Your name is on disy. Get into ring number 4 already! Eren was soon pulled out from his thoughts by Lins shout. He looked at the spectral screen and saw that his name was on the disy. Battle Ring 4: Eren Idril vs. Bryan Grimaldi Eren walked towards battle ring number four. He could see a teen boy taller than him walking beside him. He had to be Bryan since his destination was the same. Hey, little guy. Id suggest you quit soon after our match starts. Otherwise, I wont be held responsible for your injuries. Bryan announced as soon as he stepped into the ring. Eren could feel that it was done less for him and more for the audience currently watching them. He chose to keep quiet. The guy had a BTP of 13, which gave him the confidence to beat any seeming newbie ranker. He only waited for the countdown currently getting disyed on the spectral screen to get over. 3 2 1 0 Start! Little guy, brace Bryan activated his Fire Fist spell as soon as the countdown was over. His fists were first coated in colorless mana before catching fire. He was about to approach his opponent. But s, Eren was nowhere to be found! He had almost vanished into thin air after the countdown hit zero. Bryan felt warning signsing from his back. He turned 180 to tackle any iing attack. He quickly swung his fist behind his back to discourage Eren from attacking him from his blind spot. Bryans instincts were on point. His zing fist driven by his instincts had almost made contact with Erens face. But before the fistnded, Bryan felt a sharp paining from his ass. Eren couldnt wait to execute Sedated Perception and Blitz Steps at the same time. He had done exactly that the moment after the match officially kicked off. Blitz Steps was activated first. He quickly executed it to go behind his opponent. The speed was blinding even for Eren so he guessed Bryan wouldnt be able to follow him with his eyes alone. But Eren soon found out that the guy could handle himself well in a battle. Thats because he had turned quickly and was soon about to intercept his attack. Erens tunneling vision due to the Blitz Steps had him blinded for a short while. That short span was enough for his opponent tounch a counterattack. Bryans zing fist was soon going tond But then Sedated Perception was activated! And everything around Eren slowed down to an almost halting degree. He could see Bryans zing fist was almost stopped in front of his face, just a few inches away from the tip of his nose. It was close enough for Eren to feel the heat radiated from that fist. But the iing fist attack had gotten so slow that it almost looked like Bryan was maintaining a steady pose for a live painting. Eren too felt his body was immersed in water. His body had gotten as slow as Bryan. But then he executed Blitz Steps again and got the movement he needed to dodge the attack. Eren kept Sedated Perception active while he traversed quickly through the almost stagnant world. Eren could nowunch a frontal attack on Bryan with the stacked advantage offered by his trump spells. But he chose to work extra to test his spellbo. Eren had consciously controlled the effects of Blitz Steps to lessen the drawbacks of tunneling vision. It meant he couldnt execute the movement spell to its fullest potential during the battles. But that all changed when Sedated Perception got activated. Eren felt that he could finally let go of his restraints in executing his Blitz Steps. The Butchers feet were coated in lightning again in that slow-mo world. He used his extreme speed and got behind Bryan. This time, Eren had moved so fast in real life that even Bryans instincts and mana sense couldnt follow him on time. Eren kicked Bryans ass with his lightning-coated feet as soon as he found an opening. His movement spell had enabled him to have a serious kicking force. And the same force showed its effect soon after. In a normal, non-stagnant world, Bryan felt a sudden sharp paining from his ass as soon as his opponents vanished in front of him. How can this little guy be so fast? Bryan had this thought before his body was lifted into the air. Bryan soon found himself gettingunched towards the edge of the battle ring where the dome-shaped force field was active. Bryans body struck hard onto the force field. He stayed at the position of impact for a while before the gravity pulled him downwards. He didnt get up from that impact because he had already lost consciousness. Hardly a few seconds had passed since Erens match with Bryan began. And nobody could believe it was already over. All most of the students could see was Eren sporadically disappearing from the field and appearing behind Bryan. Then Bryan getsunched onto the force field, t on his face. Eren stopped his spellbo after his kicknded on Bryan. He wasnt looking at the opponent he had just beaten though. The butchers eyes were searching for a specific person in the crowd. They soon found their target. Ma was looking at him from a distance with a smile stered on her face. She nodded at him as soon as their eyes met. Im going to do exactly what you asked me to do, kicking ass! Erens bodynguage and his cunning smile conveyed his feelings to Ma. Chapter 88: Renita Diabreo

Chapter 88: Renita Diabreo

Im going to do exactly what you asked me to do, kicking ass! Erens bodynguage and his cunning smile conveyed his feelings to Ma. The duel in battle ring 4 is over. Eren Idril wins. Only after Lins voice confirmed the duels result did the students standing around battle ring 4e out of their shocked states. They looked at the unimpressive-looking kid with a range of emotions in their eyes. Eren, you did well. Blitz Steps, is it? I see that youve gotten a good handle on your movement spell. Your minimum requirement for intrass ranking war is met. Do you still want to continue? ********* Eren was shocked for a short while before nodding his head to express his wish for more battles. Shocked because Lin didnt recognize that he had used Sedated Perception as well with Blitz Spell. A spell execution creates a certain fluctuation in the surroundings even if its effects arent visible. The rankers aura also changes ording to their active spell execution. The fact that Lin didnt notice these changes either meant Lin was ipetent in recognising the time element spell execution. Or The spell was covert due to its intrinsic nature or some artefacts. Eren felt that it was both. He had changed the default algorithm of Sedated Perception under the effects of the state of epiphany. And he was also in the possession of his gem, which might have masked the time element spells effect. Either way, there was no way for Lin to know that Eren had actually used a spellbo in his battle. He chose not to correct his homeroom professor at all. ********* Erens name was ced on the spectral screen again. Now the screen would randomly match him up with another student who has consented to battle again, either after winning or losing their first battle. The names were getting randomly matched on the spectral screen after a while. Soon, Erens next opponent was revealed. Coincidentally, his next opponent was Renita Diabreo, the ranger his team was aiming to recruit. Hello. Names Renita. Renita expressed herself casually to Eren who did the same in response: Hello. Im Eren. Do you mind if we raise the betting amount from 100 to 1000 Merps? Hmm? Are you that confident in beating me? I had observed your match during my idle time. I ept that you are fast. And your perception lets you handle yourself better in closebat. But unfortunately, Im a worse match for you. What can you do if I dont let you near me and attack you from a distance? Renita smiled at Eren after saying that. She was confident in her ranger skills, after all. Thats why she didnt take offence at what seemed like an underestimation from Erens side. I know that my closebat abilities are restricted when faced against a long-rangebatant. Usually, Id need someone from my party to pin you down before I approach you. But our solo battle right now tilts the advantage in your favour. But thats exactly why I want to raise the stakes. If I can surpass my sss restrictions during this battle, Id be able to better familiarise myself with mybat style. And second Eren smiled and looked at Rentia while narrowing his eyes. Thetter could feel a silently threatening auraing from her opponent. Her smile vanished as a result. She replied with a stoic face: What is it? Second reason for me raising the stakes is that you can take this battle seriously from the get-go. I dont want you to find an excuse that you werent prepared to get away from the criticism, if and when you lose this duel. Such bravado after winning a single match against a newbie berserker. Tell me Eren Idril, what would you give me apart from those 1K Merps if I win this duel? Id give you an F-Rank artefact thats not much use to me if you were to win this. But Renita, this thing about additional benefits cant be a one-way street you know! Hmm. I dont have any good artefact for your ss. I can pay you in Who said anything about paying in Merps and artefacts? I want you to join my party if I were to win this. Do you agree? You want to recruit me? But you dont even know the first thing about me. And weve never interacted. What made you ce a bet like this? I have my reasons. My party needs a good ranger and you are it. We can discuss this topicter on. Right now whats important is whether or not you agree to join us after losing this duel? Eren said that and sent a private audiomunication request to Renita. Thetter knew he was going to talk about something private so she epted his request. A private audio channel was opened between the two opponents as a result: By the way, Steve Austin, who gave you the hint about a certain event, is from my team. You said that youd think about epting his offer if his information pans out. I know that you must have gotten the items you wanted from the auction event. Therefore, you owe us one, dont you, miss Diabreo? Theres nothing wrong in epting an additional bet if you think about the agreement we had. Renitas eyes were opened wide as a result. Only now did she understand how serious Eren was in recruiting her. He had already invested in her by providing her with the information about the auction event in advance. And he was out to collect his debt now. This battle was just a coincidence. Eren would have approached Renita anyway if this duel didnt take ce between them. *Sigh! You are a mysterious man, Eren Idril. Frankly, I had other ns. I was going to pay Steve with Merps for his information instead of joining his party. But that seems out of option from listening to your talk. Alright. Ill join your party if you were to beat me. Renita finally agreed. Both gave a nod to their homeroom teacher after their private conversation was over. Lin started the counter in response: 3 2 1 0! ================ Authors Note: Hi. VEH was very close to hitting 300 power stones in a week. But unfortunately, we fell short of a few depositions. Never mind. We did cross the 200 PS mark. So Ill release an extra chapter soon. ? Another announcement I want to make is that VEHs release rate might drop after it crosses 100 chapters. There are a few reasons behind it: Word count wise, its been too long and the novel is yet to be contracted. I asked around and came to know that WNs content team has its hands-full rummaging through loads of novels every day because it is understaffed. So it might take a while for the content editors to approve this novel for a contract. I understand their plight as Ive had to face a simr situation when I was working as a sub-editor. But That understanding doesnt help me get out of my current predicament. So Ill slow down the release rate till the novel gets contracted. I also want to focus on my other novel Fenris, which has been left on the backburner for quite some time now. Then theres another title I have under my belt named Chaotic Symbiosis that has also won a bronze trophy. It would be a lil hectic to keep these novels serialized simultaneously. But it is something I must do as a weaver of stories that havent found their conclusions yet. Stuck at home, I thought of writing novels while doing frencing as a side hustle. But that has affected my lifestyle negatively. Ive stopped socializing. That cant be good in the long run. Things need to get back on track. Ill take my second jab of the vine in a few days. Therefore, Im aiming to finish the 100 chapters beforehand. My first vination had me bedridden for two days. So the second jab might do the same. Im nning to work on my three novels; Fenris, VEH, and Chaotic Symbiosis alternatively, unless a particr title among them receives a good response from readers. Rest assured, Im not nning to drop either of the titles I just mentioned. Ive invested far too much in these titles to give up midway. As a writer, its my responsibility to keep my readers updated about the work theyve invested their time and efforts into. So consider this as a head-up. My preparations are almostplete. VEH will have a Fandom Wiki as a celebration of its 100th chapter release. Stay tuned and keep investing in the novel in any way you can. Thatd be the warmth I need to keep on writing without feeling downhearted. Lastly, sorry for the long-ass authors note! ? Chapter 89: Three-Spell Combo

Chapter 89: Three-Spell Combo

3 2 1 0! Renita started going backwards from her position while activating her offensive spell. Eren aimed to do the opposite of that. He spearheaded his assault with the bestbo spell he had in his arsenal. Blitz Steps and Sedated Perception worked their magic and the butcher managed to shorten his distance from his opponent by arge degree. He was just about 10 meters away from her. A moment was enough for him to cover that distance. But then Renitas offensive spell got activated. She created a mana Rifle out of thin air and sprayed a round of wind bullets at her uing opponent. Thats right. Renitas elemental affinity was wind and her inherent nature was precision. The ss of a ranger was an apt choice for her. Eren saw that the wind bullets could tear through the effects of his Sedated Perception and catch him off guard if he didnt dodge them in time. Renita aimed her shots with pinpoint precision. It covered her front and forced the butcher to defend himself while being forced to turn back. Eren had to divert from his frontal assault to dodge the iing wind bullets. He retreated and tried to approach the ranger from a different angle. But Renita was ready for him even from that angle. She had the convenience of her long-range capabilities. Her offence also doubled up as a defence. Sedated Perception was only used as a means for Eren to dodge the wind bullets. He had to think about another way to get close to Renita. The girl was skilled enough in her tactics. She kept on changing her position while maintaining a safe distance from him. Thats why the ranger ss was difficult to deal with for closebat experts. The former wouldnt ever let thettere close to themselves for the closebat experts to show their skills. Renitas battle tactics were the biggest obstacle the current Eren faced so far. Eren couldnt keep more than two spells active at the same time. This was his current bodys limit. He needed toe up with a different spellbo to break the stalemate. Otherwise, he would soon run out of mana and Renita would win by default. Eren deactivated Sedated Perception and tried to activate Blitz Shield. The spell would create a defensive lightningyer around him for a few seconds, protecting him from any iing harm. But like Blitz Heal, this defence type spell wasnt suited to be used while moving. It would show ws if the ranker didnt maintain a steadyyer around them by staying still. But Eren was ready to face a little bacsh. The spell took its time to get activated. So Eren maintained a safe distance from Renita who was equally happy to do the same while taking pleasure in tormenting thetter with her long-range offensive. By now Eren had been hit with a lot of stray wind bullets. His Sedated Perception wasnt active. So he didnt have the means to dodge all the bullets. The bullet impacts would hinder his movements and create bloody spots on his skin. Renita was an excellent marksman for her age. She made sure not to target the butchers vital spot too much, lest she gets penalized for doing the same. Erens Blitz Shield was finally activated. His entire body was soon wrapped up in blue lightning that made him look like a non-human being. He didnt waste time and made use of Blitz Steps to quickly cover the distance that had been widened to a sufficient level now. Eren tried his best to avoid the iing wind bullets. The bullets that managed to breach his perception hit theyer of lightning created by his defensive spell. The spell couldnt negate the impact entirely due to being executed while moving. It did however manage to reduce the pration power of the bullets, making them less threatening than they were. Renita was caught in a dilemma. She was using a movement type skill along with her Mana Rifle spell. So she couldnt execute the third spell either. She had been shocked by Eren many times during this battle. The bestbo spell that had worked for her so far wasnt all that effective against Eren. The guy would easily dodge most of her precision-driven bullets like it was a childs -y for him. His movement spell gave her even more of a headache. Her ss should have let her prevail against a closebat expert dominantly. But Eren was fighting like he didnt need a party to prevail against a ranger. Renita was less speedy than Eren but the difference wasnt that big. Her movement spell had enhanced her elemental affinitys advantage. She managed to maintain a safe distance against Eren who tried his best to close the distance. But she knew that it wont be long before he catches up to her and thatd be game over for him. Renita was a smart girl. She could see Eren had changed his style of approach. So she intended to do the same. She decided to answer Erens fearless, self-harming offensive with the strongest spell in her arsenal now. Renita let go of her Mana Rifle spell. The semi-transparent assault rifle was soon dispersed into the air it was made of. She spread her hands and soon loads of wind shurikens were materialized around her. They were spinning at crazy speeds and were floating in masses around her. Renita was almost out of her mana storage because of this spell. But she found her targets. She willed the wind shurikens to target her opponent while guiding them with her mana sense. If the guy survives through even this spell, shed have to ept this duel as her loss. Eren was caught off guard by Renitas change of tactics. He hadnt approached Renita in a straight line to not make it easy for her to target him with her convenient long-range spell. He was shortening the distance between them at a gradual level thinking Renita would be up against the wall sooner orter. But so many palm-sized wind shurikens were difficult for Eren to dodge even if he decided to retreat now. Now that the distance had been shortened, it worked against his favour and allowed the wind shurikens to surround him quickly. Eren thought of stopping Blitz Steps at that time and focusing on Blitz Shield and Sedated Perception. It wouldnt let him remain unharmed through this ordeal but it would at least let him survive it. But his long experience had taught him that a spell like that would be extremely taxing on the ranger he was battling with. Renita must have depleted her entire mana reserve by executing this spell. So all he needed to do was to survive the iing spell. Hell be injured all over but hed still be able to win. Eren was aiming for a hard-earned victory that bordered on being pyrrhic. But the gem had other ns! Eren soon found himself in an almost stagnant world, which left him confused and shocked at the same time. This was the effect of Sedated Perception, sure. But the spell hadnt been activated by him. Neither was it depleting the mana from his reserve. It was apletely autonomous spell that had been activated out of the blue. This also meant Eren could keep three spells active at this time! *Sigh! This gem is full of surprises. It probably has a consciousness of its own. And Im not na?ve enough to think that itd talk to a Novice ranker like me. There are so many unanswered questions around it that I feel that I should just stop thinking about them altogether. Lets justpletely dominate this battle for now. If I cant win over a mere teen with a three-spellbo, I might as well quit being a ranker. Chapter 90: Stacked Sedated Perception

Chapter 90: Stacked Sedated Perception

Lets justpletely dominate this battle for now. If I cant win over a mere teen with a three-spellbo, I might as well quit being a ranker. Eren said this to himself and quickly came up with a wild n. He decided to stack the effects of Sedated Perception in his current situation. He already had an autonomous spell running for him. So it wasnt too difficult for the butcher to execute Sedated Perception. The misceneous spell was soon activated. As he thought, the spells effects were stacked and the slowly approaching, self-revolving wind shurikens even had their revolutions slow down to a halting degree. Erens body was also slowed down and he felt like he had been immersed into an invisible form of jelly. He activated Blitz Steps to his fullest potential. But that wasnt enough. So he overdrew his mana, sent his mana circuit on a hyperdrive and extracted the very potential of his movement spell. The hyperactive Blitz Steps finally allowed him to make his way through the storm of shurikens almost unscathed. He had small cuts on various parts of his body due to some shurikens that were clustered so much that he couldnt dodge all of them. But the cuts were shallow and didnt cause him more than a little difort. Eren should have used the three-spellbo of Blitz Steps, Blitz Shield, and autonomous Sedated Perception. That would have allowed him to protect himself better while approaching Renita head-on. But the butcher wanted to see if the effects of Sedated Perception could be stacked. He wasnt sure if and when the spell would get automated again by the gem. So this was the best opportunity for him to see the effects of stacked Sedated Perception. On the other side, Renita witnessed Eren getting hit by a barrage of her wind shurikens. She immediately regretted her decision tounch her trump AoE on the boy. Maybe I went a little too far! She thought to herself. Eren was only asking her to be his teammate. There was no need to go to this extreme to prove her superiority, after all. But the rangers regret soon turned into an absolute shock. Thats because she witnessed that what those barrages of wind shurikens pierced wasnt Eren but only his afterimage. The same scene repeated itself in several ces. Erens various afterimages would appear on the battlefield. They would get pierced by loads of wind shurikens only to get dispersed into thin air. But soon another afterimage would be seen at a different ce, following the same fate. Damn it. This wretched boy was hiding his skills deep. I should have been crueller in my usage of Wind Shurikens. Now I should Renitas chain of thoughts was soon cut short. Thats because she realized that she was staring right at her opponents eyes. Their lips were inches away from each other. Her jawline was being gripped by Erens one hand. Thetters other hand had executed Blitz Bolt at the tip of the index finger. He directed his index finger close to Renitas neck. The bolt of lightning was just a centimetre away from making contact with her skin. Renita had goosebumps. The skin of her neck was sending a threateningly tingling sensation to her brain. She looked down and found the reason for the same. Erens offensive spell was barely keeping itself away from her neck. The moment a ranger lets a closebat expert get close to them is also the moment of their loss. Theres just no way they can get away in time before thetter strikes them. I ept de I ept defeat. Renita dered loudly. She hesitated to say the word defeat but soon overcame it, thanks to her rationale. This was her only way to get away from this monster. She could read it in Erens eyes that hed not waver or hold back in executing the spell on her just because she was a girl. Hed severely injure and incapacitate her to gain victory anyway. And that was a best-case scenario. Had it been a real battle, she would have been already dead. Eren only let go of Renitas face after hearing her deration. He didnt feel even a shred of a hormonal spike by being this close to a beauty like Renita. The reason he had pulled this move to intimidate her was that he was desperate. Thats right! Eren regretted stacking the effects of Sedated Perception. Thats because he was feeling giddy as soon as he stepped out of the spells effect. He could barely see whats in front of him at the time. The butcher didnt intend to go so close to Renitas face at first. But his depth perception was heavily affected due to the side effect of stacked time-element spells. Thats why he used his hand to hold Renitas face to get a sense of her proximity. By the time he realized how close he was to her, thetter was already shivering a little. So he decided to stretch his act and executed Blitz Bolt. The entire audience including Lins panel had gotten quiet during this time. Erens previous performance was already shocking enough for the students of 1/C. But the skill that he had disyed during his match with Renita had left even Lins panel of professors dumbfounded. Eren concluded that Sedated Perception shouldnt be stacked even if the gem allows him to do so in the future. At least the current him should stay away from doing it in real battles. Otherwise, hed be vulnerable to attacks befalling him post his spell execution. Eren was d he could test the effects during the ranking war. It was the best ce for him to experiment with a lot ofbos and analyze their advantages and disadvantages with a fresh perspective. He was intended to continue this trend for his next battles as well. But hed have to stop his battle session today with this fight. It took a while for Lin to get over the situation: Eren Idril wins the duel in the battle ring four. Boy, youve overdrawn on your mana reserve. Your mana circuits have also been affected. Id suggest you dont continue any further. But Ill ask anyway. What will it be? *Sigh! Adapt Lin, you are right. I think this should be enough for me. Eren looked at Renita after saying that. His face had gotten pale. And he looked like hed lose his bnce anytime. He started walking towards the halls exit right after admitting that he wont continue his winning streak. Only after hearing Lins speech did Renita understand that it wasnt her that had pushed herself the most in their battle. She looked at her opponent closely to register her moment of defeat deep in her memory. Eren had small cuts all over his body. His light-coloured, slightly torn clothes now had various red spots on them. His body was swaying a little as he walked towards the edge of the battle ring. But at that time, nobody dared to make fun of his situation. The butcher had gotten over the restrictions ced by the inherent difference in ss. That was enough to gain everybodys silence. Renita stood at her ce and subconsciously admired Erens fierceness as she saw his departing figure. Then she remembered how her face was extremely close to his a while ago. Her cheeks immediately red red as a result. Renita wasnt like most teenage girls. She knew she looked beautiful but didnt try to encash it. Nor did she brag about it to her peers. She maintained a stoic air around her that was also devoid of any arrogance or pride. But she never realized that her fabricated stoicism came from the fact that her beauty was validated by the people surrounding her. What if somebody her age decides to get over her visual appeal and act neutrally to her? Would she still be able to remain aloof in front of him? She found out the answer to that question at this moment. Erens behaviour had somehow irked Renita. He seemed indifferent even after getting up close and personal with her. The girl started doubting the standards of her beauty she considered herself to fall into because of it. And the reason behind that second-guessing also bothered her. Hmph! This wretched boy needs to be taught a lesson. Ill clip his wings soon enough. And there would be plenty of chances for me to do so. Ill be in his team after all Thedy ranger decided to n for the future. ==================== Authors Note: The term spell stacking is used when the caster enhances the overall effect of their spells by ovepping them. In most cases, The spells need to be of a particr element and/or kind to have the stacking effect. The more familiar term would be spell spamming. But I cant use it here for obvious reasons. Chapter 91: Party Meet

Chapter 91: Party Meet

Bro! You were just awesome. Winning two matches of this calibre shouldnt be underestimated. And the fact that it was only the first day of the ranking war has added to your achievement. Jake couldnt help praising his roommate after their party met up. Unlike Eren, others in his current party had decided to quit after their firstpulsory ranking war. They were all waiting for Eren to finish up his second match. Eren had been given first-aid by the academy staff after he got out of the battle ring. The caretaker used a simple F-Rank potion to close all his wounds and turn them into a bruise. Of course, the potion was diluted so that many students could be treated with it. Otherwise, it would have taken care of the injuriespletely. Rankers had supernatural healing abilityying dormant anyway. A nights sleep would be enough for them to get over most normal injuries. And practising their ranking technique would further expedite that process. So it was natural that LA would cut corners in mass battle events like these. Eren looked at his party mates as they made their way towards the nearest canteen. They were also looking a little worn down. But nobody looked as beat up like him. What about you guys? Sorry, I couldnt pay attention to your battles. Jakey, at least you must have won, right? Hahaha! Thats right. It was a little tough but I managed to beat my opponent fair and square. Jake subtly self-praised himself while stating his battle results. Becky scoffed at Sullivan Jr. as a result: Little difficult, you say! Fatty, you just barely managed to win over a girl because she didnt have a flexible spell like yours. That too after taking so much of her beating. That caretaker had to use twice the amount of healing potion on you than usual to treat you. And you are still trying to brag about your win! Unbelievable! Win is a win. No matter how you do it, against whom you do it. And Im a firm believer in gender equality. Im sure Eren is with me on this as well considering his performance with Renita. Hehe! Jake wasnt disheartened by Beckys rebuttal. He was just d he could win at all. Especially after looking at a certain person in their team. Eren followed his gaze and soon asked away: Steve, what happened? I I lost. *Sigh. My worst fear came to haunt me in real life. I couldnt activate the only spell I had on the time. And my opponent was a closebat expert. He saw that I was busy activating my spell and immediately got into an attacking range. I tried to get away from him but my movement spell couldnt ovee the movement spell the guy had. It was a one-sided beating. I had to admit defeat to save myself from the embarrassment of falling unconscious. Steve and his exnation on a sad note. He was sad that he lost. And sadder because he was the only one in their current team that had lost their first match. Oh! Never mind, Stevey. At least you now know the shoring of your spell. Becky, you won your match I take it. Hmph! Why do you even need to ask? Of course, I won. Although I must admit, my opponent was no pushover. The worst was that she was a mage like me. Our match was dragged longer because of that. Thankfully, I only showed my defensive spell at a crucial time just beforeunching my counter. That caught her off guard and got her incapacitated. Becky tilted her neck upwards saying that. She was now more confident in her path as a mage because of this well-earned victory. Contrary to popr belief, she wasnt bragging at all. Her opponent really was a tough nut to crack. It was Beckys presence of mind that had tilted the match in her favour. Thats good, Becky. See? I told you, you are better off as a mage than a healer. There will be a day off from ranking war tomorrow. Lets organize a party practice. I might be able to guide you guys in some areas. Ill send a message to Renita. She will join us as well. Eren concluded their chat and hinted that they should have their fill now. The group was disbanded for the day soon afterwards. ********* Eren needed a rest! He had sent his mana circuits on hyperdrive to amodate two spells. The very definition of hyperdrive is someone or something delivering more output than they are supposed to. During Erens battle with Renita, the execution of primary Sedated Perception was autonomous and handled by the gem. So he didnt need to worry about that front. But he still needed to execute two spells while ensuring their enhanced output to keep up with the stacked spell. This overwork had affected his mana circuit. He needed a days rest to recuperate from it. Using two spells simultaneously is called dual casting. And the triple casting is when three spells are being executed by a ranker at the same time. If the dual or triple cast involved the execution of the same spell in iteration, then it was called spell stacking. The spellbo involves the usage of the dual or triple casting of any variety and form. Any type of spellbo can put a substantial burden on the Novice rankers primary mana circuit. Because it was not ready yet to sustain the prolonged usage of spellbos. Only a few talented individuals among Novice rankers could make use of their respective spellbos effectively while ensuring a consistent execution. And sending your mana circuit into hyperdrive without muscles imploding required even more expertise. It was something a ranker would only be able to develop over time. Eren was no genius. He too wouldnt have been able to pull this off had he not had his experiences from the previous timeline. That very experience had given him the edge he needed to beat Renita, a genuine genius. Renita was among those talented individuals who would seldom appear in their generation. She was self-aware of her talent as well. Thats why she was confident in winning against Eren. But she would have never thought that a guy her age could manage to send his mana circuits into hyperdrive to defeat her today. That too with the advantage of the rangers ss on her side. Renita could use spellbos too. She could dual cast and had used the same to keep her movement type spell and attack type spell active at the same time. But she couldnt stack her spells yet. It meant she couldnt enhance a single spell types effect twice or thrice its original delivery. Nor could she raise the output of her spell executions than their default values. Thats why she only ran out of mana and was slightly exhausted but wasnt suffering as much as Eren did after their match. Apart from suffering stacked Sedated Perceptions side effects, the butchers mana circuits were also affected severely. Due to that, he wasnt in a position to execute spells for the day. Otherwise, he would have continued his winning streak after using the healing spell and some potions. ******** The next day! Around 9 AM. Eren met up with his new party at an open space surrounded by dense vegetation. These spots were created by students over the years just by practising theirbat abilities. Jake Sullivan, Becky White, and Steve Austin were the usual faces among those gathered. But they were apanied by three more faces. Renita Diabreo was there as well. She was standing alongside Becky who was telling her about some stuff. Then there were two rankless students. They had been invited to be here by Steve and Becky on Erens direction. The butcher wanted Steve to handle their recruitment at first to cement his leadership. But he lost his ranking battle yesterday. That certainly wasnt going to improve the partys image in the recruits eyes if he were to go alone. Thats why Eren sent Becky along with Steve. She had won spectacrly in her match against a strong opponent. Her presence with Steve would be enough to neutralize the negative psych impact. Of course, by now everyone had understood that Steve was only going to be used as a front face. Eren was going to be their real leader in the dark. His performance was enough to assert his dominance over them. They just couldnt figure out why he insisted on Steve being the leader on paper. Eren and Jake were thest pair to arrive at the meeting. The former straight up sat on the ground and hinted to others to do the same. Thedies were a little reluctant to dirty their clothes this early in the morning. But they subconsciously obliged at once after seeing Erens emotionless eyes. The crowd was now seated in a circle. The butcher started his speech after ensuring everyone was paying attention to him: So hi there! Ill tell you why we are meeting today. ====================== Author Note: Its the holiday season that one would find themselves to be the busiest theyve ever been in the entire year. These days are supposed to be rxing but end up giving you the most work. I aimed to finish writing 100 chapters by the end of today. But so far, Ive only managed to outline uing releases. Anywho! Happy Diwali, guys. Stay blessed and enjoy life outdoors with your family and friends. Too much reading in istion isnt good for your mental health. ? Chapter 92: Ana and Bel

Chapter 92: Ana and Bel

So hi there! Ill tell you why we are meeting today. Eren spoke with a in voice that didnt exude any excitement. But one could subconsciously feel he was weighing his words carefully. But first, lets have a little self-introduction round, shall we? Ill go first. Names Eren Idril. Im practising a lightning element technique and the spells of the same element. Im aiming to be a closebat expert. My BTP is 14. And Ill serve as the main damage dealer for our party in the future. Eren looked at Jake who caught his cue: Hello. Im Jake Sullivan. Ill serve as the tank. My water element technique is of the same ss and my spells in the future will also be based on the same ss. My current BTP is 10 but I can feel Fatty, no need toe up with an excuse. Having a low BTP is not a crime. Especially if you could beat a stronger opponent than you. We have a certain someone in our party who till yesterday had the second-highest BTP value in our group. Yet he couldnt beat an opponent lower in BTP value than him. Beckys haughtiness shifted the focus of the conversation from Jake to her before heading in Steves direction. But soon she pulled the attention back on herself, lest their real boss bes angry! Alright. So Im Reba White. But you can call me Becky. I was going to choose the healers path. But someone opened my eyes to the obvious truth in front of me and made me realise Im better suited as a mage. My BTP is 11. And Ill take care of the medium-range attack spells. All the spells in my repertoire will be based on this role. Next was Steves turn. He was a little downcast by Beckys snarky remark. But he was aware that she was speaking the truth. He summed up his perseverance to self introduce himself: My names Steve Austin. Yes, I lost my first match yesterday. But Ill improve myself soon by working twice as hard as the previous me. My BTP is 14. Ill be the berserker of our team. Ill serve as a damage dealer on the frontlines with Eren. I can also assist Becky with my medium-range spells. Due to my sss speciality, I can use my skills to fill up the gaps left in our offence as well as defence. Renita didnt waste time and went up next: Hello. You guys already know my name. Its Renita Diabreo. My ss is that of a ranger. I can take care of ranged attacks with my AoE spell. But my ranger spells in tracking need some practice. My BTP value is technically 15. But its just one step away from turning 16. Thats why it is shocking for me that this guy could beat me up with his BTP of 14. Renita didnt hide her displeasure from yesterdays battle results while eyeing the butcher. Listening to Erens BTP value made it even worse. Now she wanted a rematch with him more than ever to settle her score. But the guy who was the target of her scorn acted like he didnt care and stated what he had to say: Okay. Thats it for our regr party members for now. The reserve members would give their introductions next. Eren looked at the two new people after saying that. One of them was a kid with spectacles sitting unevenly on his nose. They obviously needed a repair. The boy had a lean build and his stature was a little smaller than Eren. Thetter was immediately pleased that he wasnt the shortest guy in their party anymore. The other student was a girl. She looked more mature for her age due to all the curves at the right ces. She was lively and energetic. Eren could see that she was barely keeping herself from speaking abruptly. She was still rankless after all. Even if they all were a student of the same ss and age, she needed to give respect to the Novice rankers in front of her. She only spoke after Eren nodded at her: Yo, whats up, folks? So my names Oriana Amaris. But Id prefer it if you could call me Ana. First of all, Id like to thank all of you guys for informing us about the auction event. We werent going to attend it due to still being rankless. But now we have good techniques and spells for future use. And thats all because of you. And thanks a ton for trusting and inviting us to your group despite us still being rankless. I cant Ana, sorry for interrupting you. But let me be clear about a few things. First, dont talk about THAT event so casually anywhere. Even if its just us at this ce. Use your audio channel if you really have to. Youd cause great damage to all of us including yourself if a mishap happens. Second, we did everything to make our party stronger. You can consider this as an investment from our end. And well ept certain standards of performance in your roles as a repayment. This is a simple form of exchange. So you dont need to be overly courteous with us. We are one team after all. And third, this is a round of self-introduction. Wed prefer if you could get back on that as soon as possible. Im not trying to be a drill sergeant here. But a party has to be serious in its conduct when theres a need for it to be so. Well have time to talk casually after I finish whatever I have to say. Trust me, its important. Thats why Ive called you guys here in the first ce even when intra-ss battles are still so many days away from us. Eren cut short Anas bbermouth. Thetter bit her tongue to show that she had realized her mistake: Ah, my bad! Forgive me, sir Eren You dont need to call me sir. Then Novice Eren? Tch! in Eren would be fine. Al alright. Sorry, Eren. I just get carried away sometimes. Although Im yet to enter the Novice rank, I know what I want to do. Ill choose the healers path. Ive been told by Becky that well serve as reserve members. I dont know how we can help you with our current rankless status. But rest assured, Ill do everything I can to support my team. Ana patted her chest in confidence. Anas cheerful presence made the mood a little lighter for everybody. Eren only gave a mild smile as a response before looking at the kid with specs: Um Nice to meet you. My name is Bel Longstone. Im nning to be a historian. Like Ana here, Im opting for a nonbat ss. But. But if you guys want, I can choose a different ss. Bel said this while adjusting his oddly shaped specs in vain! ============= Author Note: Hello. This chapter was mostly just a convo among Erens party members. Let me know if this type of narration is okay. Personally, I feel that the readability is improved. But if the third-person narration is preferred, we can adjust theter chapters ordingly. ? Chapter 93: Pros & Cons of Apprenticeship

Chapter 93: Pros & Cons of Apprenticeship

But. But if you guys want, I can choose a different ss. Bel said this while adjusting his oddly shaped specs in vain! Eren pacified him with his words: Bel, you dont need to change your ss for us. Rather, we wanted a historian in our team. Thats why you were approached. But I didnt tell anyone about my choice to be a historian till now. How did you know that Id choose this ss? Er Bel, just look at yourself, man. Do you have what it takes to choose abat-oriented profession? Do you think others cant see that and read you like an open book you are? Historian was going to be your most likely choice. But thats not important here. Ive called you guys here to inform you about a few things. That way, wed be able to gain maximum benefits in theing days. First, Ana and Bel would not join our party until they officially start their ranking journey. But that doesnt mean theyd stay idle. Ana, you need to apply for a job at LAs department of health. Theyd ce you in one of the infirmaries on the academys ground. You would gain experience in treating rankers and earning Merps at the same time this way. Likewise, Bel should apply for a job in the library department. Youd stay out of trouble while expanding your knowledge. Earning Merps is an added advantage. Id like all of us to get apprenticed by respective Adapt rank professors by the end of this year. The earlier you could pull it off, the better. Apprenticeship isnt a cakewalk. There are some disadvantages to epting it. First, your day would be more hectic as you might get called by your master anytime they see fit. That can put pressure on you to arrange your schedule to amodate your lectures, job, training, and more in such a way that they wont hinder your apprenticeship. Second, you might have to tag along with your master outside the academy grounds if and when they need to do so. The Adapt level professors only take one ss a week because they tend to leave the academy grounds to run errands for LA, partake in personal missions, answer a summons by the kingdom etc. So apanying your master for almost a week might disrupt all your nning for the week. Of course, Masters wont necessarily try to sabotage your routine. Theyd take your job, lectures, and training into consideration and coordinate with LA before issuing a summon to you. But still, it might get a little difficult for us apprentices. Of course, theres a certain factor of risk involved. Andstly, Master would pay in Merps or some other form for your services. But apprenticeship isnt all that lucrative Merps wise. You are better off doing your regr job if earning Merps is all you care about. But what you gain instead, in abundance, would be an on-field experience. The mary issue prevents most of the poor students from getting into the program, but trust me when I say this. You dont want to miss gaining experience right now. Especially if you want to be a good ranker of your generation. The biggest advantage of this Master-apprentice program is that youd potentially get an unrestricted amount of knowledge in your field. Your Master is responsible for teaching you stuff in your ss. You wont have to pay in Merps for those learning sessions like you do for the academys lectures and on-field programs. And the second advantage would be that nobody would try to mess with you. It is quiet for now. But inter-year ranking wars have the potential topletely dry your ounts of all your Merps if you are unlucky and not backed by someone influential in LA or outside it. In short, the advantages of receiving an apprenticeship far outweigh its disadvantages. We must aim to get into the program from the start if we want to get those advantages to ourselves. I want you guys to think hard about what you need to do as a ranker all your life. Once you do that, gather information regarding any possible Adapt rankers from the same field who take in apprentices. Know about what conditions you need to meet to get apprenticed by them. And start working on those conditions so that you can fulfil them before your rivals. Ideally, the apprenticeship program is for second-year students and onwards. But there isnt any rule about whether or not you should have the information and try to meet the conditions of apprenticeship. So thats what we will do. We are going to streamline our efforts so that we can get maximum output from our invested time and efforts. Id suggest you choose your masters from the field or job posting you are part of. That way, you will have maximum time with your Master who can guide you in your field while you are doing your job. Your master will be aware of your schedule on a personal level so the instances of your schedule getting disturbed would be minimum. Plus, youd save time. I, for example, have decided to opt for an apprenticeship offered by Adapt Ma. Ill have my Besanc missions as a source to earn Merps. Adapt Ma isnt a regr professor in LA. and she mostly stays at her posting at LAs border. So Ill be able to sync my apprenticeship with personal missions. Besanc is the best ce to earn Merps in a short time. But it wont provide you with the guidance you need to progress speedily in your ranking journey. Most of you guys are not ready for hunting outside yet. So well think about running missions for Besanc as a party when you get some experience under your belt. I want us to raise our individual prowess, as well as our potential as a team to the best possible way we can in this crucial period. Thats because theres going to be an event before the end of the year for our first years. That event will only allow team participation. And only the strongest team will be the biggest beneficiary of that event. I want that beneficiary to be us. Eren stopped after saying till here so that his instructions would sink into his team members heads. Only now did the others realize that Eren had been aiming to y a long game. Renia couldnt help asking: So you tipped us off about that event so that we could get the best techniques and spells for ourselves without going broke or employed. All so that wed have a clear road to ourselves to get apprenticed. Why do I think that you are not gathering teammates but raising pawns for your benefit? And whats with this so-called event? I would have thought that you are spouting nonsense if your information about the previous event did not pan out. That being said, can you tell us about the event from the get-go so that we could trust you more. Steve didnt like that Eren was being questioned by a girl who had just joined their party. He wanted to rebuke her but was stopped by Becky. Thetter is also keen on knowing about the event now. But mostly, Becky wanted to see how Eren would reply. The guy was still a mystery to her. He had all the crucial pieces of information despite being from a backwater town. And nobody knew who or what his source to get such information was. Of course, Becky was intrigued. So she let a newbie question their de-facto leader. Eren didnt even flinch when he was called out for his goals. He looked into Renitas eyes while saying: Look, Id be lying if I said that I helped you gain resources because of the goodness of my heart. As Ive already said, this is a form of investment. But it doesnt mean that you didnt or wouldnt gain anything from my selfishness, does it? Forget about me saying anything about the event before the right time to do so arrives. Ill not allow anyone to mess up with my ns by risking an info leak. Im only telling you to improve yourself as an individual and as a team. Im doing all I can to help you achieve just that. And its not like I would stay idle in the process. Im not making my team stronger so that they can carry me in ranking wars and help me earn freebie Merps. Ill probably work the hardest among you to reach my goals. So whats wrong with me asking you to keep up with me? If you want the easy life in LA, Id suggest you quit this team. We would have to ensure that you wont say anything about the event or any of the remaining members to anyone with a binding contract. Do that, and Ill ensure that thered be no bad blood between us even if you decide to walk out of the team. Ill just find your recement and aim for the same goal Ive been aiming for from the very start. So Ill ask this to all of you. Who wants to quit being part of this team? Chapter 94: Scrooge

Chapter 94: Scrooge

Ill ask this to all of you. Who wants to quit being part of this team? Eren sent the ball to his team members court. He tantly dealt with all the in-your-face criticisming his way. He didnt want anyone to quit the team. Because he had thought really hard about who his teammates should be right after Steve had approached him. He preferred doing things solo. But his past experiences had taught him that there were several limitations in that approach. Joining someones team would also restrict his ns. Thats why he decided to form and control a team of his own. That way, hed be able to gain party-based benefits while keeping his freedom intact for the most part. So he had selected his teammates after a long round of deliberation. Obviously, he didnt want the efforts that he had invested in these teammates to go in vain. But if they couldnt understand that theres always going to be something expected from them no matter which team they belong to, he might as well let them go to make room for new candidates. Thankfully, Eren didnt have to go that far. Because nobody volunteered to quit. Eren waited for a while before continuing: Ill take your silence as your confirmation to continue being part of the team. Good. Now lets talk about the possible improvements you can introduce in your current battling style. Steve, you have the biggest scope to grow your strength in a short while. Your earth element spell Yemidiri Medafi belongs to a school of spells that I think is not suitable for you. Thankfully, it is the only stray spell from that school of spells in your arsenal. You dont need to ponder over which school to choose at F-Rank. But figuring out the one that suits you most would help you at the early stages. So itd be better if you could just drop that spell. Id suggest you a spell that would suit you the most. The spells name is Zemlyanoy Kk. It belongs to a school that requires you to shout out the incantation or spells name while imbuing mana in your vocal cords. This school focuses on controlling mana flow from the outside with the help of auditory mana fluctuations. But in return, it allows for almost immediate execution by decreasing the casting time. Thats what you need right now. Your berserking ss anyway draws enough attention on the battlefield. So you are not losing the advantage of surprise you never had. In contrast, it may work in our favor as your call might force our opponents to focus on you. Thatd give us more room to counter their attacks andunch an offensive. As for you, Jake. Eren kept on giving individual advice to all his party mates. The advice he gave to Steve was something thetter had figured out on his own in Erens previous timeline after a few months. Steve gave up on Yemidiri Medafi after a few months of failures and focused on spells that belong to a specific school. That decision finally changed his performance on the field and made him a capable berserker. His rise to prominence started from that point. Eren had cut short that learning process by telling the guy what he needed to do. That would help him realize his potential sooner than naturally ordained. Of course, Eren didnt remember the growth requirement for each of his teammates. He was a recluse so he hardly paid attention to the rising stars of LA. Whatever he could remember about those students was only a part of the truth known to the masses. But Erens knowledge as a previous D-Rank entity was still enough to guide the Novices. So he kept on ensuring his teammates respective paths were optimized. Everyone present at the scene was impressed by Erens knowledge and know-how. Even Renita was no exception. She had interrupted Eren midway and asked him how he knew so much about spells, techniques, and other misceneous stuff that wasnt strictly rted to his field. The guy just told her that his aunt Nina had made him aware of these aspects from a very young age. Erens lie became believable because he told his teammates that Nina was a C-Rank, which was a known truth among them. They started paying more attention to the butcher as a result. Then Eren organized a one on one duel among his teammates. He went up against Steve despite Renitas insistence to have a rematch. Eren was a berserker in his previous life. He had most to offer in terms of guidance to the current berserker in their team. Hed often pause midway during their duel and instruct Steve about his stances. Thetter would listen carefully and try to implement the same in his next line of attacks. The other rankers battled among themselves as per Erens instructions. Ana and Bel watched from afar. The duo was d they could join a team with such capable members. And they were most reverent towards Eren who had impressed them with his insights. The sun had to set for the team to end their practice session. Every student had now started stalking up on food in their ID stones. So an entire day without having to visit the canteen wasnt a big deal. ******************* The next day! Eren entered the ranking war andpleted his five screen-assigned battles. He had already fought two of them on the first day of the ranking war. Therefore he only needed to take part in three more battles assigned randomly by LA. The butcher received five Right to Battle challenger passes afterpleting his fifth battle. The academy mandated that a student needed to partake in a set number of battles arranged by the spectral screen randomizer before they start issuing challenges of their own. The number of mandatory battles differed from time to time depending upon the avability of students and their respective performances. But theyd be issued an equal number of challenger passes as the number of times they were required to fight. Eren was unscathed but out of mana after his third match. He had tried different spellbos to calibrate their executions, efficiency, and more to his current standards. The experiments obviously made it difficult for him to win the matches straightaway. But he gained a lot of insights into how to time Sedated Perception at the right time for each active spell. The butcher again organized a party meeting the next day and started guiding his teammates. He fought with Renita after her persistent nagging and beat her up so badly that she didnt ask him to battle again. Renita realized that Eren was only experimenting with his spellbos the first time they fought. He was easily able to defeat her if he restricted himself to his usual spell. Of course, what Renita didnt know was that Eren was using spell hyperdrive when battling against her. But this time, he kept Sedated Perception out of the equation and controlled the uptime of the hyperdrive to minimize its side effects. Renitas battle experience was no joke. The ss of a ranger suited her. But that didnt stop her from gaining insights in closebat style after seeing Eren fight with his teammates from a keen spectators perspective. She was a natural fighter that focused on maximizing her battle potential in every aspect. Although her technique didnt suit the closebat style, her elemental affinity did. So she used every trick in her sleeve to handle Eren when she fell into his attacking range. But even after so many attempts, Eren proved his battle superiority and defeated her fair and square. Eren trained and guided Steve the most. Thetter had realized that Eren knew more about the path of a berserker than any assistant professor whose private lectures he had attended after paying in Merps. And the best thing about Erens guidance was that the teammates didnt need to pay Eren anything. Or so they thought! But the shameless guy demanded a varying amount of Merps from each of them depending upon the corresponding efforts he had put in. Steve needed to pay the most and Becky needed to pay the least. Ana and Bel thought they didnt need to pay anything since they werent guided by their leader. But they too were charged for being an audience to his teaching sessions by a scrooge that was Eren. Of course, what Eren charged was a lot less than the amount they needed to pay if they attended private lectures. And Erens guidance was even more effective than those lectures. But that fact didnt lessen the bitterness they felt towards scrooge. Now they would pay undivided attention to Eren to get the best value for their Merps. Eren was aiming for this very psyche to develop from the start. Of course, hed always wee more Merps. But that wasnt his main objective in charging his teammates for his guidance. Human beings had a habit of ignoring the things that were made easily avable to them. And the freebies were something they paid the least amount of importance to. The butcher ensured that his lessons and guidance were effectively implemented by putting the Merps tag on them. And it worked. His teammates started seeing the party meetings as private lectures after they realized they had to pay for his services. Nothing that is worthwhile having everes free in this world. This also made Erens teammates understand the importance of having a fixed source of Merps ie. They had decided to implement whatever Eren had taught and guided them so far to get employed in their respective fields. Their ounts were shrinking in Merps after all. Chapter 95: Wankers and Wanking Battles!

Chapter 95: Wankers and Wanking Battles!

A new day arrived with many possibilities. Today, Eren was aiming to use his challenger passes. He made use of the data he collected over the flying tform to zero in on the first five weakest students. The butcher unabashedly issued challenges to these five weak-ass students. Of course, by now, Eren was recognized as one of the top fighters in his ss. So even if they had to ept these challenges, they didnt go beyond the minimum participation amount despite Erens nudging. Eren quickly beat up the first four students mercilessly while experimenting with his spellsbo. As a result, he was soon going to run out of mana after his fourth battle. Thats why he had decided to finish his fifth and final match of the day. But his opponent had other ns! Ramy Richards was a straight shooter. He wore his heart on his sleeves and talked at length about what he was feeling at the time. That wouldnt have been a major problem in itself if he hadnt had a lisp. His Rs would turn into Ws because of his speech impediment. Therefore every word that had the letter R in it would be pronounced weirdly by Ramy Richards. You Ewen Idwil why dont you pick up fights with othaw students of your level? You cleawly know we aaw not youw match. Such wanking battles wont give any leawning expewience to eithew you or us weak students. So why partake in these meaningless battles? Ramy started speaking before the countdown to the battle started. His speech made an explosion ofughter go off in the audience surrounding the battlefield. Hahahaha! Wanking battle he says! Kkkkkkkkk! This was the biggest fumble Richie has made thus far. Im gonna die of stomach ache. One student started rolling on the floor after expressing his inability to control hisughter. I wouldnt want to be part of such a battle if you ask me. Say, what will be the rules of this wanking waw? Hehehe! Well, it depends. There should be categories like the longest wanker, the quickest wanker. Then there should be categories based on the lets say the produce. Its quantity can be one such criterion for dering the winner between two wankers. Hahahaha! The students kept on finding new things to talk about on the subject of wanking. Theughter only increased in its liveliness as a result. So far the students had found alternate pronunciations and their respective meanings for some of the most popr terms. For example: Wanker: someone who partakes in wanking wars! & Wanking journey: a process a wanker has to go through to be the ultimate wanker of their generation. Now every male student talked about being a wanker than their peers. Of course, the girlsughed at the jokes too. But they maintained a certain decorum. Or at least they tried to. This gender-epassing fumble was too wild to handle even for the battle referee who happened to be Julie Ekheart. She kept her hand pressed against her lips to control herughter and nudged the participants to start the battle. Apart from having such a lisp, Ramy was also gifted with the ability to keep a straight face in any situation. It held true even when his lisp turns a serious situation into that of aedy. He had been doing this from his childhood after all. He had a lot of experience handling such situations. So he didnt break his serious face and kept on staring at Eren who was also struggling to tame hisughter. Well why dont you answew me Please dont speak anymore Ramy. Listen, man, Im doing this for the quickest and easiest way to earn Merps. I dont have any ulterior motive to humiliate my opponents. Why dont you quit as soon as the battle starts? Haah! You wish. You think Im not stwong enough. But Ill wweck (intended: wreck, pronounced: wake) your ass as soon as youe in my attacking wange! Ramy just couldnt keep his mouth shut and his fumbles at bay. His deration of waking Erens ass caused another bout ofughter to spread among the crowds. Thats right! Even the crowds of the audience surrounding other battlefields had turned into the spectators of Erens match with Ramy. Eren had a headache handling his current opponent. He was dragging the match unnecessarily without signaling to Julie of his readiness so that the countdown could start. Just when the butcher thought of saying something, Ramy nodded his head at Julie indicating he was ready. The countdown started soon as a result. This time, the gem dragged the match longer by executing Sedated Perception autonomously again. Eren wasnt as surprised as he was the first time. But this uncalled-for spell execution still confused him. Ramy was still far away from him. And the countdown wasnt over yet. But he soon got the answer as to why the gem executed the spell! Beware! This guy is crafty. He is using silent incantation. Eren heard a gender-neutral voice in the almost stagnant world. He didnt ask stupid questions to that voice like who are you? because it was already apparent to him that it was the gem. He also didnt ask the gem as to why it started to talk to him now all of a sudden. He had already realized that he didnt hold the initiative in their talk. If the gem wanted to speak to him, it could. And theres nothing he could do about it if the artifact decided to maintain silence. Therefore, Eren mentally nodded at the suggestion while replying: Alright! Thanks for the heads-up. Lets talk someday about our situation when you think the time is right. Eren focused on his current battle for the time being. He reyed the gems warning in his head. Only now did he realize how cunning Ramy was. He had been using silent spell casting all this time. No wonder he was trying to drag the match so much. And Ramy could do that while speaking in between. That meant his casting type allowed him to hit pause on the incantation. That meant his spell type was derived from two schools of spells, which allowed him to cast the silent incantation spells while being interrupted. Such spell type ces less burden on the mana circuit and focuses more on controlling the surrounding mana. Of course, since he was controlling the surrounding mana with his mana sense and not employing the mana circuit that he could control with better efficiency, the casting time was long. And any interruption would stretch it even longer. But the advantages of such a spell type made up for its disadvantages. First, it would catch the opponents off guard if cast carefully. Second, it wouldnt deplete the users mana as much as it would if they employed their mana circuits. That meant they could battle with their opponents for longer. Andstly, since the surrounding mana was getting used in the casting of the spell, the limiter on the spells output wasnt dependent on the users mana storage. They could cast such spells with the enhanced output if their intelligence and mana sense allows for. In short, Ramy had the potential to seriously damage Eren if his attacksnded on thetter, despite their differences in the BTP value. Winning the match was still a far-fetched idea in most likelihood. But Ramy seemed optimistic. He was probably trying to catch Eren off guard by distracting him and the audience with his fumble. His innocent fumble was probably faked too. The guy knew that his lisp would prevent him from speaking such words normally. Yet he still did it. He was aiming to take down the mammoth standing in front of him that was Eren with the element of surprise by his side. Eren wasnt aware of Ramys battle style from his previous timeline. Thats because thetter wasnt that famous. It mustve been because every opponent of his at that time would have taken countermeasures against him once his spell type and its weaknesses were revealed. Eren wasnt a spectator to these events in his previous timeline. So he couldnt have known. *Sigh! I cant never really underestimate an opponent, can I? Eren thought to himself. He saw a faint intrinsic diagram forming in front of Ramy. It was the manifestation of the spells activation. Since Ramy wasnt using his mana circuits to execute his spells, this manifestation was natural. Eren saw that the countdown was soon going to turn to zero. He kept his spellbo experiments aside for now. What he needed to do right now was to take down Ramy before he could cast his spells. He wasnt a fan of being injured by a newbie with his craftiness after all. Eren executed Blitz Steps as soon as the counter hit zero. The battle ring wasid over a sensor array. It could disqualify him if he casts the spell before the countdown finishes. But it apparently didnt stop Ramy from breaking the same rule because of the spells peculiarity. Eren quickly reached Ramys back and performed a lightning-coated chop on the back of his opponents neck. The difference in their body stats and the effect of Sedated Perception was enough for Eren to pull off such an act. Ramys spell diagram started dispersing in the air right after Erens chopnded on him. The guy started closing his eyes, indicating that he was about to faint. Sedated Perception got deactivated right after that. Eren looked at his opponent who by now crashed onto the ground. You almost got me, Wamy Wichards! Almost! The butcher had this thought as he turned to leave the battle ring. Chapter 96: Discipleship

Chapter 96: Discipleship

Please be seated. As Ive already said, Ill not waste my time exining the basics of potioneering. Some of you have passed my entrance test. Others need to take up private lectures conducted by other professors if they wish to learn the basics. Levine de Montmorency started her first lecture in the most straightforward manner possible. Of course, Eren and Jake were there among the seated students. The first year is only the beginning for you guys as students of LA. But I expect my students to have elementary knowledge in my field from an early age. Thats because five years are far too short for me to bestow all that I could teach you. The field of potion-making is as mysterious as the ranking journey itself. It needs a specific skill set that isnt found in every student of the subject. And thats a good thing for those who have it. Potioneering is one of the most lucrative businesses out there. That is if youre a good potioneer and know what youre doing. I cant teach you how to do business. At least I dont want to. But I can certainly guide you in the right direction when ites to the art of concoctions. The higher you climb the rankingdder, the more you realize the wondrous nature of mana. It is the genesis of all concepts that are rted to mana. And as these concepts, spread across various fields, have the same origin, it bes possible for an aplished expert in one particr field to mimic the expertise of someone in the other. Take our field for example. Potioneering at the rudimentary level is supposed to be limited to be used by rankers and animals. Basically by the living beings. But at its advanced levels, it can be used to strengthen a normal weapon in such a way that it bes an artefact. Use potioneering inbination with specific spells and the concoction will spread on any surface to act like an array. The elemental effects of spells can also be trapped into a concoction so that they can be used as instant spell executions. At its profound level, the potioneering can be used to advance quickly and steadily in your ranking journey without having any adverse effects. In short, the field is as vast as an ocean. Or probably more than that. It is only limited by the rankers talents and imagination. But you are far from achieving any of the marvellous feats in the field of potioneering yet. What you need right now is a strong start. The very first concoction form Ill be teaching you guys is a potion named Novice Speed Boost. As the name suggests, it is a potion intended for Novice rankers. It temporarily raises the AGI stat of a ranker upon consumption. The effect and potions active time would depend upon its quality. There are no drawbacks other than the fact that one would feel exhausted after the potions effect wears off. As you must have known by now, this Novice potion is one of the most basic concoctions Novice rankers carry in their person all the time. Since it could stay potent for months on end, it has a very high stalk-up value. Novice Speed Boost is an element neutral potion. Therefore, it can be used by anyone. But it is frequently used by closebat experts to enhance their natural advantage. Now about the potions form itself. Levine started describing the potions form and its intricacies. She was very detailed in her exnations. And she also told her students about any possible mishaps that could happen during the process. Most students present were d that they had chosen to get lectured by Levine over other professors. Usually, other potion-maker professors would start by teaching about elementary potions. But here, Levine had given them a recipe for a Novice potion right in her first-ever lecture. This was the most dream-like situation for students who wanted to make their career in the field. Thats because they could immediately start the practice for a Novice potion as soon as the lecture got over. These potioneer-wanna-be students didnt have many ways to earn Merps. But that could all change if they were able to make Novice potions. They could sell such potions to LA in exchange for Merps or they could trade them with other students. This was the biggest reason for Eren to join Levines private lectures. He could immediately start to encash his Novice pioneering skills while building a better foundation. He already knew about the potions form from his previous timelines. But he listened to the Adapt rankers exnation with absolute attention. Eren could now see that Levine was a better teacher than most Adapt level rankers teaching across various fields. Her suggestions were precise and her solutions to various potion-rted problems were on-point. Levine then talked about various aspects of Novice potioneering that one needed to pay attention to no matter what kind of potion they intended to make. Her lecture stretched till 2 PM, after which she decided to finish it by stating some precautions. The students left the lecture room. Eren told Jake to do the same and that hed catch up with his team in the canteen after some time. Hello, madam Montmorency. My name is Eren Idril. Honoured to be attending your lectures. I was wondering if I could have some of your time? Eren greeted Levine with a light bow. Thetter stopped reading from her notes and looked at the origin of the interruption: What is it, boy? You should have asked about the doubts rted to I dont have any doubts rted to the potion, madam Miss Levine is fine. Alright. Miss Levine, kindly teach me the modified recipe you came up with instead of the standardized recipe you just exined. Eren boy, do you know what you are asking? Of course, Miss Levine. I was trained by a C-Rank healer and a potioneer beforeing into LA. So I know what it means for a potioneer to teach their modified recipes to anyone. Im confident enough in my skills as a Novice potioneer. Plus, I already know about the standardized recipes of all stat value enhancement potions. What I want are the modified recipes of the same from you so that I would be able to make higher-star variants. Im ready to go through another round of tests if that can allow you to see me as a worthy disciple. Its not about your worthiness as a potioneer, Eren Of course, Levine was going to reject Eren. the guy just popped out from nowhere and asked her to take him as her disciple. A disciple-master rtionship was even more personal than what apprenticeship would entail. An apprenticeship ends when a student graduates or leaves LA. But discipleship could stay active for a lifetime. Unless of course if and when a disciple leaves their master behind. An apprenticeship was a professional way of forming a mutually beneficial rtionship between higher and lower level rankers. Although it was more up and personal than professor-student interactions, it still had limits. Moreover, it would usually have an expiry date. But discipleship didnt have such an end date in a traditional sense. The rankers custom dictated disciple should be considered as your kin. The disciples also had moral obligations to listen to their masters even if they lost contact for years on end. So it was natural that Levine would reject Erens ludicrous demands. But the butcher interrupted her before she could do so: Please hear me out, Miss Levine. Im not telling you to take me as your disciple without testing my worth. I also know that you are looking for a rare C-Rank ingredient called Malva Hibiscus. Eren said that and lightly smiled at Levine before continuing: And I know where to find it! ========================== Authors Note: Some references are taken from chapter 19. Give it a quick read if theres anything you didnt understand. ? Chapter 97: Beast Contract Spell

Chapter 97: Beast Contract Spell

I also know that you are looking for a rare C-Rank ingredient called Malva Hibiscus. Eren said that and lightly smiled at Levine before continuing: And I know where to find it! Ill get it for you tomemorate our master-disciple bond. Eren waited for Levine to answer patiently. He knew he was reaching it with the Adapt potioneer in front of him but he wanted to give it a shot anyway. Thetter narrowed her eyes and carefully looked at Eren. Then she spread her mana sense and carefully inspected the guy: Oh? You are very close to breaking into the mid-stage of the Novice rank. And what do we have here? Hmm! Element of lightning and theres something else as well. Element of time? It seems You have dual derived elemental affinities, Eren Idril. And both are rare as well. Let me pull up your file next. Levine requested LAs administration to send her a file on Eren via her spectral screen. She carefully read his history to verify his ims of being taught by a C-Rank potioneer from a young age. Only after confirming all this did she speak to Eren: Eren, I dont know how you know that I was looking for that ingredient but you are right. Im desperate enough to find it through anyone even if I have to take you as my disciple. I hope you know how difficult it is to find Malva Hibiscus. It is one of the most sought-after ingredients in the C-Rank. Unfortunately, it is also very rare to find and locate. Most importantly, itll almost always be protected by a C-Rank beast. Youd need a D-Rank party or higher to even steal something like this without duking it out with the beast. Plus, youd need to cross Lionhearts Beast Sanctuary and enter Thymisciras Amazon to even have a chance of finding it. You on the other hand are only F-Rank. I saw that youvepleted so many missions from Besanc but this expedition wont be like any other youve faced so far. How do you propose to achieve what you im to do even IF I were to consider that you know about its location? And there are so many risks involved for you in that expedition. You can even lose your life. Why dont we do it this way? You tell me about the location first and Ill reward you with. Miss Levine, I thank you for being magnanimous enough not to ask about the source and authenticity of my intel. And thank you for worrying about my well-being as well. Rest assured, I dont have suicidal tendencies. I know how to get my hands on that ingredient without harming myself. But Id need confirmation from you that youd take me as your disciple if I were to deliver the ingredient to you. Erenpleted his proposal with an air of stoicism around him. He knew the risks involved in gathering a C-Rank ingredient. It was located at the edges of Themyscira Amazon after all. In Erens previous timeline, the same ingredient was found and retrieved by a 5th year LA student whose feats got famous along with him after he was epted as Levines disciple. The butcher was going to take the page off from that guys page without being the wiser. *Sigh! Alright. But youd have to perform well in uing potioneeringb tests and prove your skills first. From your records, it is apparent that you are a good fighter. But how good are you as a potion master? Id like to see the answer to that question myself. Ill give you a go if you pass that test. You can prepare for your trip during this time. Of course, there wont be any official binding contract from my side. Youll just have to take my word for taking you as my disciple. Because I dont want my name to get dragged in case you die, get injured, or go missing during the retrieval. Itd be hard for me to convince your C-Rank guardian it wasnt my fault if you donte safe and sound from your trip. I know rankers need to maintain discretion among themselves. Everyone has secrets after all. So I wont ask you about the source of your information. But Id give you a suggestion anyway. Make sure that your information is solid. Ive seen far too many rankers falling into the trap of running after secret treasures only to get robbed by the ones who spread the rumours about such treasures in the first ce. Lastly, here. Ill lend these Novice potions to you. They might help you if you are in a pinch. You only have to pay for them if your retrieval trip turns futile. Otherwise, you can have them for free. Levine gave Eren a set of Novice potions that were worth thousands of Merit Points. Thetter didnt show any reluctance in taking the same. He knew hed seed. So he saw those potions only as freebies. Thank you, Miss Levine. Ill be going now. Eren bowed slightly before taking his leave. Levine didnt think much about Eren after the conversation. She was taking a gamble without any risk involved to her. Shell think about taking Eren as her disciple if and when hees in one piece with that ingredient with him. ************************* Hello. Id like to purchase a Beast Contract spell. Eren came to Novice Treasury after he had his lunch with his teammates. He assigned them their post-lecture training schedule and appointed Steve as an overseer. Renita wasnt happy that she was being bossed around by a berserker who was weaker than her. But she didnt argue in front of Eren. The scrooge didnt like to take second opinions on his decisions. Of course, he told his team they can set a betting amount for their respective practice duels. That way, theyd all be serious even if they were conducting a practice session. Erens teammates were happy after knowing that they wouldnt have to pay a cut to the scrooge because he would not be present with them. Whatever they gain during their practise sessions from their opponent will be theirs to keep. Eren skipped practise with his teammates and came to Novice Treasury to finally get his hands on a Beast Contract spell. Reens problem needed to be addressed after all. He couldnt make her stay as a pendant or a coffee mug all the time. Your name is Eren, right? The kid who converted all his Extols just a few days before the auction event. You were very lucky that time, werent you? What I find strange is your friends also had the same idea as you and liquidated all their wealth in exchange for Merps just at the right time. We can only call that a coincidence now, right? Haha! Anyway. About the Beast Contract spell. It is a rare, element-neutral spell that can be used by anyone. Plus, it doesnt have a specific rank in the sense that it is dependent on who is using it on whom. Its one of the most popr and most used transcendent spells out there among rankers. But most-used doesnt mean easily avable, kid. You need to say goodbye to 25K Merps all at once to have that spell. Eren knew the spells price was going to be astounding so he was mentally prepared. Thankfully, the E-Rank Mana Blessing had earned him a hefty amount. Plus, he kept on winning big in his ranking battles. He also ced external bets on himself through his friends to gather more Merps. Plus, he didnt even spare his teammates and collected Merps from them for providing guidance every time. Thats why his ount bnce had reached a staggering amount of 26,320 Merps. The butcher knew the Merps were only a way to gain better results. They dont hold any real value after all. Thats why he didnt feel reluctant in parting with the amount he had earned through various means. Eren bought the spell as easily as someone buying vegetables. This was a special spell that needed an array sheet to work in conjunction with the incantation. Thankfully, the amount of 25K covered all the necessities for him to cast the spell on Reen. ============================ Authors Note: Countdown to the 100th chapter begins from this release. 3! ? Chapter 98: Incoming Hardships

Chapter 98: Iing Hardships

Nichs Scott, the receptionist and the one in charge of Novice Treasury allowed Eren toplete his transaction before continuing: Haha! My boy, even the most rich-ass kids would find it difficult to part with such an amount while maintaining a straight face. But you are different, arent you? I see no fluctuation in your mana signature even when your ount bnce hase down by so much. Ive checked out the records of your Besanc missions and ranking war results so far. You are a capable lightning-element fighter who also has an unused affinity in the time element. I think you can take on a Novice beast and force it to submit to your will. This Beast Contract spell was the right decision on your part. The Beast Battle Arena is still yet to be opened for first-years. But LA has reared plenty of Novice mana beasts in advance. Im sure thered be a lot of lightning element beasts among them for you to tame. I can arrange someone for you to take a quick look. What do you say? Eren realized that the receptionist of the Novice Treasury was keeping tabs on him. But it couldnt be helped. The guy couldnt technically touch him on assumptions. But his and his teammates wealth conversion to Merps was far too coincidental for Nichs to ignore the event. Thank you, sir Nichs. But Id like to visit the Lionhearts Beast Sanctuary to tame my beast. Staying independent, huh? I dont dislike it. But there are many ways spell casting can go wrong. Are you sure you dont want it handled professionally in a controlled environment? Im sure. Good day, sir. Eren quickly left the Novice Treasury after his work was done. He didnt feel any negative emotions for him from Nichs. But that didnt mean hed let down his guard. Especially when he had so many things to hide. Next, he went to Besanc and epted some random lucrative missions. He was going to visit the beast sanctuary tomorrow and meet with Ma. He might as well earn some Merps while he was on it. ********************* Hello, Adapt Ma. How have you been? Eren slightly bowed and greeted Ma with his signature boy-next-door smile. They were at the LAs border check-post where Ma was positioned. Eren! d to see you. Im doing great, thanks to you. I scored a new D-Rank spell that I had been wanting to have from LA for years now. How did you find my ranking battles, Adapt Ma? Hmm. Your performance was more than enough to state your exceptional skills as a closebat fighter. But my only concern is that. Ma was about to say that Erens BTP and his progress in the ranking journey was still not enough for her to even think about offering an apprenticeship. But she was stopped midway when Eren spread his mana sense and imbued it with his mana signature. Ma felt that Eren was about to enter mid-stage in the Novice rank. His BTP value must be close to 18 if that was the case. She was surprised but didnt lose her cool: How? She threw a question at Eren only using one word. Thetter also replied concisely: Ill be disciplined by Adapt Levine de Montmorency soon. Eren spoke vaguely on purpose. But Ma thought for a while and concluded by herself after hearing his reply, nodding at him in response. This is the beauty of speaking half-truths. Eren thought to himself. Levine was a highly capable potioneer. She was known for making potions in various fields and categories. But the most sought-after potion she was famous for making was Novice Elixir. The potion had a high business value. It would sell like hot cakes within LA and outside it once Levine sold them through various channels. But the potion was heavily dependent on a few rare ingredients that were limited in production. Plus, the potions manufacturing process was tedious and time-consuming. Therefore, Levine only made a limited number of these potions each year. It was mainly done to boost her ount bnce so that she could invest money in research of her level. Novice Elixir was widely popr for its effect of increasing a Novice rankers body stat values without any major side effects. Of course, the increment had its limitations. It wouldnt allow a ranker to skip through stages within the rank. But it was very useful if a ranker had just crossed a stage within the Novice rank. Thats why Ma believed that Eren had used Novice Elixir to reach his current body stat values. The kids increment stopped at the boundary between initial and mid-stage after all. How did you convince that stubborn vixen to take you as her disciple? Ma still asked thest doubt she had. As far she knew, Levine wouldnt take a disciple unless it was something major done by the kid in front of her. Well, lets just say that I have the means to offer her what she needs the most right now. Malva Hibiscus! Ma blurted out the name of the ingredient she knew Levine needed the most. Only that ingredient can convince the Adapt potioneer to even think about taking a disciple. Yes. But lets focus on our deal, shall we? Eren diverted the subject to his apprenticeship after confirming Mas guess. He knew too much talk on that subject would expose his half-truth. Al alright. Listen, Eren. The reason I wanted to take Ken as my apprentice was because he was already in the mid-stage of the Novice rank. His mana core had been liquified and his mana circuit was expanding steadily within him. That is the bare-minimum criterion for me to teach and employ my apprentice with ease. The biggest difference between a Novice ranker in the initial stage and someone in the mid-stage is not the body stat values. It is the speed of mana recovery. A Novice ranker in the mid-stage can recover their mana and thereby stamina more quickly than someone in the initial stage. You might think it is not as important as body stat values. But you need to consider the daily routine an apprentice needs to follow to understand its importance. Doing an apprenticeship is no joke. You have to do everything a normal student has to do. Reserve a time for self-training. Then partake in the training scheduled by your master. And follow your master in their work. Plus, you have to take part in mandatory ranking wars. Even the most vibrant students would carry ck eye bags when they start their apprenticeship. Thats why it is not meant for first-year students. They need to get used to their current curriculum before pushing their bodies to the limit. No matter how hardworking you are, the efforts I put in you will be wasted if your body is in a perpetual state of exhaustion. Furthermore, the practice of closebat style would drain the stamina out of you in a jiffy. Youd have to face these problems even when your body stat values have shot up so much in such a short time. Thats because you are close to breaking through into mid-stage but you are not there yet. And it might take a while for you to achieve this stage breakthrough. And dont expect me to go easy on you because of your situation or your favour. Those are two distinct things. On the contrary, I might push you to your limits harder than I had initially nned just to make you cross that bridge of being a Novice ranker in the mid-stage. So you tell me. Do you still want to continue after knowing these hardships are heading your way? ========================= Authors Note: 2! ? Chapter 99: Diceros Left & Right

Chapter 99: Diceros Left & Right

So you tell me. Do you still want to continue after knowing these hardships are heading your way? I ept. Eren didnt even think for a second before replying. He already knew about the reason Ma was reluctant to take him as her disciple even after he had yed his cards right with her. He had known what she said was bound to happen to him. But the butcher was not going to shy away from putting hard work in the right ce. Plus, if everything goes ording to his ns, he might not have to struggle as much as Ma was nning to make him suffer. If the liquid stage was the minimum requirement for his schedule to proceed smoothly, hed just have to enter that stage quickly. Simple as that. *Sigh! Alright. Ill take you as my apprentice. Ill register the same in LAs records so that we coordinate our schedules smoothly. Now let me give you a gift for your valuable tip. You can also consider this as your apprenticeship reward on joining. Ma retrieved a set of two Katars from her storage. The des were 15inch long, sleek and sharp in size. Each weapon had an H-shaped horizontal grip, which would result in the de sitting above the users knuckles. Then there was an armguard woven into its construction that allowed for a better grip while securing the gripped hand. Because the weapons de is in line with the users arm, the basic attack with a Katar is a direct thrust identical to a punch. Thats why a Katar was referred to as a punching dagger. But the weapon could also be used for shing. The design of the weapon allows the fighter to put their whole weight into a thrust, enabling an exceptional piercing power. A katar user would target the head and upper body of their opponent, simr to boxing. The sides of the handle could be used for blocking. The defensive capabilities would increase, thanks to the armguard. But the weapons forte was almost unblockable thrusts if used at the right time. It also allowed for quick parries and swift shes. But it wasnt meant for defence. Not really at least. A dual-katar wielder had to enter the fray with all their bets ced on offence. They must be agile enough to dodge their opponents attacks and strike, made possible because of the weapons small size and light-weighted ness. Ma had practised katar arts that had a lot of concepts taken from knuckle boxing arts. Thats why she could teach Ken Riverine in the previous timeline. Thanks to that, the guy made it as a fine pugilist in his generation even before graduating from LA. Of course, Ken wasnt an ideal apprentice for Ma. She couldnt bestow arge chunk of katar arts to him due to him practising a closebat technique based on knuckle boxing. But it wasnt like she was looking to take him as his disciple. But Ma thought of another approach with Eren if he could sessfully sustain the training schedule assigned by her. Eren was a closebat fighter of the lightning element like her. Plus he was used to using daggers. Ma could raise him to be a somewhat exact copy of her closebat style. Provided the boy could keep up, that is. Eren took the weapons from Mas hand. They looked extremely simple yet exceptionally deadly. He heard thetters words when he was busy observing the artefacts in his hands: There are five-star F-Rank katars. Plus, they have lightning-element runes on them, making them element-specific artefacts only meant to be wielded by rankers of the same element. You wont find them in LAs Novice treasury or open shops due to them being five-star variants. I had received them as a gift. But I soon broke into E-Rank. So they are barely used at all. You are a lightning-element ranker who focuses on speed. This set is tailored-made for you. Id consider my debt towards you settled with this gift. And yeah, you can see the names the creator has given them on the inside of their armguards. Eren nodded at Ma after she finished speaking. He was all smiles after observing the weapons. He was happy Ma wasnt being stingy with her bestowal. As she said, the set was tailored-made for him. He checked the insides of the armguard carefully to locate the names and soon found some text in a very small font etched over the surface. Diceros Left and Diceros Right! The butcher read the names of his new names out loud. The parts Left and Right was indicative of the hands they were intended to be wielded with. Eren ran his lightning-element mana through the weapons and their inscribed runes lit up. Unlike the element-neutral daggers he was used to wielding now which had the tongues of lightning dancing over its surface, the weapons he was using now didnt leak any lightning. This was the indication that the elementalized mana was running through the weapons via the runes without facing any resistance. The katars only glowed faintly blue, and they looked less harmless than the daggers which used to shoot streams of lightning after every thrust and sh. But the butcher knew the weapons were many times more lethal than his now-ex weapons. Eren had never used katars in his previous life. So he wasnt sure how he should employ them in his attacks from now on. His battle prowess as a closebat fighter would get plummeted before it could see rise from its previous peak. That meant only one thing. More training was going to ensue. Ill give you a couple of days to get prepared. Meanwhile, Ill create a training and apprentice schedule for you to follow. Of course, your ID stone will keep track of everything and will let me know if you ck off. The punishments for such fouls would range from extra work, extra training regime, Merps penalty and more depending upon the severity. So make sure you follow whatever I tell you to follow and do. Im nning to run some errands outside LA in a few weeks. I want you to be a decent fighter of your rank by then. Is there anything else youd like to ask? No. Ill just run some Besanc missions in the forest and meet you right here after two days. Alright. Dont use the katars in the forest Eren. otherwise, a mishap might happen as you are not used to them. Ah! Thank you for caring for me, Miss Ma. You are as kind as you are beautiful. There it is. I was wondering where your glib tongue had gone off to. Humu. Praise me more and I might beat your ass a little less than what I had been nning on doing. Hehe! Here to serve, master Ma. Now, if youd excuse me! Eren bowed to his now-master after their conversation was over before heading swiftly towards the check-posts exit gate. He had the most important thing to do in the forest. The butcher was going to use the Beast contract spell on Reen. =================== Authors Note: Im sure most readers havent heard about a katar. It is a real-life weapon that is quite like a dagger but actually isnt. Whatever Ive mentioned about the weapon holds true to its real application as well. If you are interested, you can search with the term Katar Forged in Fire in Youtubes search box and watch the very first video to get a better sense of the weapons visual style and handling. Andstly, 1! ? Chapter 100: Transformation

Chapter 100: Transformation

Aaaaaaargh! An ear-piercing cry echoed through an untamed wilderness, away from the touches of civilization. The moonlight was barely keeping away the dark conjured by the forests dense vegetation. A boy in his teens could be seen struggling with something very peculiar inside a cave located seemingly nowhere in the middle of the wild. He looked to have short stature. His wavy ck hair was a mess and his skin was sweating buckets all over. Of course, he seemed to have already anticipated his situation and therefore was only wearing his pants. The ground beneath him was lit with various mana runes arranged in an array. That light generated by array activation was the only source of luminance in the pitch-ck cave. It looked like something semi-transparent was crawling on Erens skin, slowly making its way upwards after covering therge part of his torso and limbs. This very act seemed to be the reason behind his scream. His green eyes had been glowing with emerald luminance. His sharp but small nose and his V-shaped jawline had given him a kinda handsome yet boyish look. But all that charm could not shield him from his ongoing misery. His entire body seemed like it was on the verge of transformation. This was none other than Eren Elijah Idril. He had been going through a beast contract spell inside the Lionhearts Beast Sanctuary. He had chosen an isted spot for himself to go through with the process safely, away from the prying eyes. He hadid the spells array after confirming that the cave was safe for him to cast the spell. The butchers condition was special. The demon beast he was going to sign the beast contract with was already tamed by him through the blood ritual. He didnt know what would happen if he decides to proceed further with the spell. But he had concluded that it wouldnt be anything normal. Plus, he needed to keep Reens identity hidden. Therefore, he couldnt perform the spell inside the safety of his dorm room. Eren guessed that the process would garner attention. So it was better if he did it in the wild. And so far his guess had been spot-on, even more so than he had previously anticipated. Eren knew about the normal beast contract spell. It would allow the ranker to form an unbreakable bond with their tamed beast. But the spell itself was very simple. The ranker only needed toy down the array that had two array-eyes positioned in the yin-yang style. Then the ranker needed to stand inside one of the eyes and chant some incantations. The tamed beast whose will to fight had vanished needed to stay inside the other eye. The array would be lit up and the spell would activate after everything has been done correctly. The array would start shrinking. The runes present in the array would climb over the tamed beast and the ranker at the same time, finalizing the process. At the end of the spells execution, the beast would have its body melted and the resulting essence would get attracted towards the ranker standing inside the other array eye. The essence would merge with the ranker on a superficial level. It would form a corresponding beast tattoo over the rankers body, indicating that the process had been sessful. All this would happen in the case of beast contract spell getting performed normally without any blood ritual involved. The normal beast contract spell would destroy the body of a beast forever. Only its soul would remain trapped inside a runic tattoo that would have its visual features. In return, the ranker would gain some or all the advantageous features of the beast, depending upon their elemental and inherent naturepatibilities. Thats why rankers would perform the spell on the beasts who had the same elemental affinity and inherent nature as them. A synched contract between the ranker and beast would ensure that all the beastly powers get acquired by the former. The beasts soul would also get preserved without any abnormality. The part about inherent nature was vague. But generally, a ranker with ferocious inherent nature or battle style would prefer the beast of the same kind. And a ranker with sneaky attributes would choose to form a beast contract with an equally stealthy beast. The beastly features could be covert or overt depending on the way the ranker handled them. Some rankers who had made use of the beast contract spell would prefer to show their beastly features while the others would keep them hidden. But that was not all. A ranker could choose to invoke the soul residing in their tattoo through the beast manifestation. It was another part of the beast contract. It would create a semi corporal body out of mana for the beast to temporarily reside in and perform their masters bidding. It didnt matter if the mana body got destroyed. The beast would return safely to its masters side if and that happened, getting retracted into the tattoo. Or the ranker could choose to do it willingly after cancelling the beast manifestation of their ord. The spell was advantageous to rankers in many ways. First, their bodily resilience would increase. Some of the body stat values would shoot up, enabling the rankers to gain a one-time boost in their ranking journey. Second, the rankers would gain the natural talents of the beast while keeping their intelligence intact. It allowed for better use of the same beastly features, raising the overall battle prowess of the ranker in one go. Third, the mana body of the beast in the beast manifestation would only be limited by the rankers rank. An F-Rank user could only grant their beast a body made of F-Rank mana. But the beast would be able to exert the maximum potential of that particr rank with the body manifestation. That meant an F-Rank user in the initial stage could have a trustworthy, undyingpanion in the upper stage of the same rank in the form of their contracted beast, as long as they could support the mana consumption. This also meant that the beast contract spell did not have a rank restriction. Its rank would automatically rise with the ranker. Plus, once cast, the beast contract spell would remain active until the user decided to end the contract with their current beast. Upon contract termination, the beasts essence would disperse in the thin air and its soul would be released from binding. The beast that had its contract terminated wont be able to be summoned back. The ranker would also experience a regression in their ranking journey. But the side effects wont be too severe for them. Therefore it could be concluded that there were almost no disadvantages of the spell. It allowed a ranker to amplify their battle power in a short time without facing any apparent consequences. The beast contract spell wasnt called a transcendent spell for a show. But something entirely different to normal spell execution was happening to Eren and Reen. Reen had been blood bound to Eren through the blood ritual. So the array couldnt treat her as a different existence to Eren. The spell didnt destroy her body. Nor did it do anything to her soul. A fusion of bodies was taking ce instead of the fleshly essence of the beast turning into a beastly tattoo. The semi-transparent stuff on Erens body that was climbing up was Reen herself. She was getting fused with Erens body. The whole process was extremely taxing on both Eren and Reen. The former felt like his skin, his innards, and his bones were getting dissolved in acid. And thetter just sent distress signals to her master via their mental connection. Eren couldnt see what was happening to him because he had closed his eyes and bit his lips to sustain the severe pain he was feeling. But he could feel that his fleshly essence and Reens slimy stuff were getting mixed through the spell execution. All of Erens spells were inadvertently getting manifested as his bodys coping mechanism kicked in. That manifestation destroyed his clothes and made him butt naked. It took a while for the process to get finished. Eren was then seenying on the ground with his hands spread apart. His eyes were closed. He wasnt unconscious. Just severely exhausted from the whole ordeal. Eren stayed that way and fell asleep. He had already closed the only exit the cave had. His cynic, paranoid nature had forced him to choose a location that wasnt popted by any dangerous beast. So he didnt have to worry about his safety. **************** The dawn of the next day had just started making its presence known when Eren opened his eyes. He first looked around himself with his groggy thoughts and blurry vision. The cave was still dark. But there were rays of lights piercing the makeshift closure made out of rocks and leaves. Eren, are you awake now? The butcher heard a voiceing from seemingly nowhere. He recognised it to be Reens so he started to look around some more to find her. Reen, where are you? He couldnt help but ask. His disorganised thoughts were slowly calming down in his head. Im here! Said Reen. And immediately afterwards, Eren saw transparent slimy stuffing out of his palms. It looked like his skin was melting. But he didnt feel any pain. The slimy stuff oozing from the palms of his hands got concentrated and formed a mass before turning into the body of a beautiful female. Eren opened his eyes wide open after seeing Reen take a corporal body that wasnt a mana body formed due to beast manifestation. Reens body wasnt destroyed in the beast contract as it normally should be, thanks to the blood ritual with Eren. But that was not all. When Eren tried to get up, his hands and feet became jelly. This was the beast contract spells effect taken to the extreme. Normally, the appearance and manifestation of beastly features on rankers body had a limit. They couldnt cross certain boundaries set by the rankers body. But what Eren was seeing right now was the breach of those very boundaries. What happened to usst night wasnt a beast contract spell. The realisation struck the butcher and made him aware of his current situation. But that didnt help hime out of his current predicament. He wanted to get up but felt like he didnt have any bones in his limbs. His torso also felt like it could cave in if there was some pressure applied to it. Reen, how do you should I say solidify your body from the slimy stuff. Hmm? I just will it and it happens. Is it that difficult to do? Hehe! Am I perhaps a genius? Oh, you are. Now send me your thoughts so that I can analyse them and fix myself. Eren had decided to ask the expert. He didnt panic after seeing Reens features getting manifested on his body. Neither was he worried about whether or not it would make things difficult for him or not. He thought with a calm mind. He realized that the blood ritual wasnt the only spoiler in the beast contract spell. Reen herself was the biggest spoiler. Her elemental affinity didnt create any conflict with Eren at all. Not because she had lightning element affinity. But the butcher felt that she had affinities for all the elementals, making her element neutral. Same thing with Reens inherent nature. It didnt have any specific inclination towards anything. Her body, elemental affinities, and inherent natures were entirely malleable. The slime beasts were identified by their super flexible bodies. But they werent known for having all the elemental affinities orpletely malleable inherent natures. This was not natural. Nature sought bnce by distributing each creature with its share of advantages and disadvantages in such a way that itd negate things in the big picture. But Reen seemed like an exception to that rule. There is something much deeper hiding behind Reens existence. Eren concluded. Otherwise, she couldnt have been able to keep her body after the process was over. The beast contract spell destroyed the beasts body so that the contract would get established with less conflict. And there would be naturally some conflict within the beast and the rankerspatibilities, no matter how synced their elemental affinities and inherent natures were. But with Reen such conflict did not exist. She waspletelypatible with Eren to the point that the spell treated her the same as the ranker who was casting it. There was no beast tattoo as well. But he had just seen that Reen was part of his body a moment ago, sharing his senses and lending him hers. It was like Eren and Reen had be mutually inclusive and exclusive existence at the same time. *Sigh! Reen, theres something seriously wrong with you. He said that while analysing Reens incoherent thoughts for a solution to being jelly and solidifying at will. It took him a while to make sense of things. He soon figured out a way to make himself return to normal and get up. Reen had puffed her cheeks after hearing that. She wanted to register her protest. But Eren asked first before she could do so: Reen, do you feel any different? Um no! Not now. But I felt a little different while I was part of your body. And whats with that spell anyway? And why didnt you tell me Itd hurt this much to go through with that process? Reen again changed to her natural slime form before plopping onto Erens shoulder whileining a lot in Erens head. Then she changed into a miniature girl and kept on pestering him. She soon melted into Erens body without any resistance, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Eren wanted to shut her up. But an idea formed in his head after seeing Reens fluid transformation into various shapes. It clearly wasnt possible for him to turn jelly, he still had blood, bones, and other things that made him human after all. But what if he could change into different people like her? Eren immediately willed his body to stretch and adapt to a different shape. It was difficult at first. But he soon got the hang for it. The butcher first pictured himself to be Dom Walker, the first E-Rank hunter he had killed in this timeline. Soon his hair grew and changed colour. His statue increased in height and size. One could see a slightly different and naked Dom Walker standing inside a cave after Erens transformation waspleted. Of course, his first try at such transformation didnt give him spotless results. He still couldnt get all the facial features of Dom right. And his original features were slightly making themselves apparent. But even this was enough for him. With time, hed be able to take any shape he wanted with impable perfection. Dom-looking Eren had a wicked smile stered on his face now. He could achieve so many things with this new power of his that the possibilities froze him in his thoughts. But he prioritized one thing the most to take advantage of his newly acquired transformation powers. He needed to make contact with a certain someone while not being Eren Idril. Julie Ekheart, what are you up to these days? Eren smiled mildly after asking this question to nobody in particr. He knew things were going to get interesting for him now. ========================== Authors Note: 0! (Brace yourself for another long-ass Authors Note! You can skip this though, if you want. ;)) The 100th episode of VEH is here. Consume it while its still hot. ? We should always be aware of our beginnings. Thats why the 100th chapter of VEH pays homage to its first release with the way it was started! Plus, even without the authors note, the chapter is almost 3k words long, which more than double the usual length. (My recent previous chapters had avg WC of 1.3K) So thats another bonus to make the 100th chapter extra special! ? This release paves the way for Eren to let loose and start doing stuff in a way that he hadnt nned before. I always wanted Eren to have shapeshifting power. But the linear character progression stopped me from introducing it prematurely. But the time is ripe and all of us have waited long enough. Im excited as a writer. Im sure youd be too. ? We finally have Erens visual profile included in the description. It was decided by you guys with your likes getting counted as the number of votes. The decision was entirely democratic and the one with the most likes has been selected. Hope you dont regret your choice now! :p What else? Yes, the book cover. Sultry, aint it? *Insert authors smirk here It took me a couple of days to get ustomed to image editing and produce decent results. Had to dump some of my drafts before ending with the current image. (Shhh! Dont ask me who she is!? Its a secret until it isnt!) I wanted to keep textual at the bottom of the image. But the NSFW filter prevented me from doing that. Too much cleavy is injurious to health it seems. So what you see now is apromise! ? Ive also revamped my WNs cover pic along with the book covers of my other titles. I also have my logo now. The whole shebang! So do check them out too! It might not be the best image editing work youve seen. But it is the best I can do right now. Furthermore, VEH also has its dedicated Wiki Fandom now. It is currently 27+ pages rich. More details will be addedter on. Setting up a Wiki is extremely hard. I know I havent done a good job in a lot of areas there. But Im slowly trying to understand these things. I am but one man, after all. On that note, if anyone wants to help me and knows about how to set up a Wiki, let me know on Discord. Ill grant the editing rights on Fandom after confirming your ount and skills. The Wiki Fandoms link has been mentioned in the synopsis. But thats not all there is. You can also see a short poetic piece on the novel included now. So be sure to read that too. Just not out loud. We dont want our readers toe across as weirdos in front of their friends and families! Stay nerdy sneakily! *Adjusts metaphorical sses. Another piece of good news I wanted to share is that VEH finally got contracted. *Firecrackers going off in the backdrop I had changed my book genre midway and that had misced my work from going to any of the editors handling their respective genres. The book remained in limbo because there was no editor assigned to it. It was a mistake on my part. Hehe! *Walks away from destruction like he had nothing to do with it! Anyway! So now you can send me Lil coin packets we call gifts. They range from 10 coins onwards. Ill include shoutouts from my next chapter even for the smallest amount. The bigger gifts would obviously have extended shoutouts spanning across many chapters, depending upon their gift value. Ill also think about something else like extra chapters, new character introductions based on top contributors, and more! But lets keep those things aside for now. ? Whats more? When the novel goes premium and chapters get locked, Ill organise an exclusive event on VEH Discord soon. It will be to select a few dedicated readers among you and give you some vouchers for chap unlocks. VEH has gained an endearing audience. It has already received four golden tickets even when the novel is yet to go premium. Thank you @BoneMarr0w0, @SHADOW_WRAITH, and @Nicus87. Also, a sincere thank you to all the readers who have liked VEH so far. Your interactions keep the novel lively. So keep doing that. Im taking a break for a few days before the novel goes premium. And return on the 18th of this month. Ill start releasing at least one chapter a day after that. There would be bonus chapters if enough readers contribute! I hope you guys can contribute enough coins to keep me busy writing additional releases. ? Illplete my second vination during this break. Ive already written my will. Now Im ready to face that near-death experience once again! ? But Ill stay active on IG and Discord during my break if my post-vination wellbeing allows me to do so. Be sure to follow the IG as Id be uploading characters visual profiles and more on my Insta handle @GraybackNovels. You can drop all your queries in my Inta DM or join VEH Discord. But stick to the stuff that has happened in the novel so far. Just dont ask about spoilers! I wont say a word about that! You hear me, not a word. *Pssht! Some teaser info. maybe! ? Lastly, now that VEH has punched in 100 chapters, Im requesting another form of contribution from you. The kind that everyone can do. Its about time we start writing reviews about the journey so far. Even if youve already ced one, you can ce another follow-up review and talk about what did find amazing or disappointing in these 100 chapters. *Sigh! I know there are no intimate scenes after volume 1. So if you can, refrain from rubbing that salt on my wounds in your reviews. If you havent ced a review or your previous review was deleted by WNs filter bot, what are you waiting for? I expect a lot of funny, non-spoiling, and criticism-driven reviews from you during my break. Just make sure you dont use any NSFW words tho. Otherwise, your efforts wont be fruitful! Thats about it. Catch you on the flip side. ? Chapter 101: Purple Lightning Snake

Chapter 101: Purple Lightning Snake

Where are we going, Erni? Hm? Why did you call me Erni instead of the usual Eren? I just felt I should call you by that name. Aunt Nina calls you that, right? Hmph! I can call you the same then. And you didnt answer my question. ************ Eren was seen traversing through the forest again, heading away from the cave he had selected to go through his transformation at. Reen was now absorbed into Erens body. And they were talking via their mental connection. Of course, Eren was sharing his senses with thetter as well. After getting out of the cave, Eren had told Reen to destroy it. This was another of his safety precautions to keep Reen hidden from any prying eyes. The guy was always paranoid about random things. She could cast the same spells as him now after going through that transformation. The magic beasts and demon beasts had their way of casting spells. Their spellcasting was a fusion of various concepts. The concepts that humans referred to as schools of spells. The beasts didnt have to study the spells like humans. Theyd just develop a set of innate spells inherently avable to their species. Reen had her species-rted innate spells, which unfortunately werent that offensive. One of them was a healing spell that she had used a while back on Eren. But after the transformation, she could mimic Erens mana circuit within her and use it to cast spells like him. The most advantageous thing Reen had going for her was the fact that she had an elemental affinity in all the elements. And her innate nature of devouring didnt create any conflict with her casting of spells. The inherent nature devoured the concepts of humanoid spell-casting and allowed Reen to make them her own. Plus, Reen had Erens memories and experiences of those spells avable to her. So it was only natural that a C-Rank demon beast like her learned to cast the F-Rank spells instantly. ************* Well, we are going toplete some missions first. And then have a look at the site I told you about. But werent you going to involve Ma in your n to retrieve Malva Hibiscus? I am still nning to if theres a need. But Im just going to take a quick look first. If I can avoid manipting Ma into helping me, I would. Every instance of maniption takes a chunk away from theyer of trust after all. We need to use such instances frugally to make the best use of them. *Sigh! Erni, I still cant understand half the things you say. Never mind. Lets go to our next destination. Reen was getting smarter at interpreting a lot of things including human interaction. But the concept of maniption was still a difficult subject for her straightforward beastly mindset to grasp in a short time. Reen coated Erens legs with her slimy stuff to strengthen them before executing Blitz Steps her way. This was the absolute maximum speed the butchers current body could withstand without feeling any repercussions. Reen was making use of spell hyperdrive from Erens memories to get the maximum juice out of the spell while ensuring Erens safety. And as she was a C-Rank beast, she wouldnt receive any bacsh from the hyperactive spell execution as long as her mana storage supported it. Unknown to Eren and Reen herself, she was getting very adapted to using spells belonging to a particr school even though her mimicry of mana circuits within herself wasnt aplete match to that of humans. It was like she was trying tobine two concepts to create something that belonged to her. *********** These snakes are so irritating. You want me to eat them? This magic beast is called Nuu Haietlik or by itsmon name, Purple Lightning snake. Its a lightning element beast with a focus on speed and agility, just like me. And yeah you can eat some of them. But not before I battle with a few meant for my use. The retrieval of their bodies is part of my Besanc mission. I want the proof of a genuine battle present on their bodies before I can submit them to Besanc andplete that mission. A bunch of oversized purple snakes were staring at the new intruders who barged into their nests unceremoniously. At first, they only saw a mere human in the liquid stage of the F-Rank. With their sheer numbers, they could overwhelm him in no time. But then Reen started talking with Eren openly and made the poor beasts realize who they were up against. The boy was hiding a demon beast in his body. But their survival instincts kicked in the face of adversity. And it caught fire after seeing that the human boy was the only one who was going to go against them. The species of Nuu Haietlik, AKA Purple Lightning snake, was known for its speed and agility. Its lightning-based innate spells were strong too. But the beast had an unpredictable way of taking part in the frontal assault. It would retreat midway before initiating a counter move from the state of defence. Thats why it was difficult for F-Rank humans to keep up with the beasts attack if their ss wasnt focused on speed and agility as well. After all, no matter how powerful your spells are, its a game over if your attacks cantnd on the enemy and theirs do. Eren had Reens speed boost that she gave him after casting Blitz Steps her way. He made use of Sedated Perception to tackle the snakes speed and took care of them one by one. At the end of the fight, most of the young Nuu Haietlik backed down from a fight and retreated deeper into their dens. Almost all the adult snakes had been killed by Eren. Reen had already separated herself from Eren and was relishing the dead bodies of the snake buffet her master had created for her. Reen, make sure you eat them well, nice and slow. Because you are going to mimic their body type and innate spells. And manifest your presence in the form of these snakes when I call for your support with people around me. Thats right. Eren had another reason to hunt the F-Ranked Purple Lightning snake. He already had the Beast Contract spell in his possession. And it was in LAs records. The administration might get curious if he didnt make use of the transcendent spell to tame a beast for himself. Thats why he epted this particr Besanc mission. The records of Besanc and Novice Treasury would offer a cover for his newfound powers. As for Reen mimicking the magic beasts form. It was even simpler. She could mimic the specialities of the prey she ate. She needed to eat a couple of Nuu Haietlik more toprehend their way of casting the species-rted innate spells. But she had plenty of them to do just that. Reen morphed into a beautiful girl after she was done eating the snakes in her slime form. She mimicked the form of Nuu Haietlik exactly before jumping straight onto Eren. A wondrous scene was taking ce at this time. The giant purple snake was absorbed into the boys body and disappeared without leaving a trace. Next, the boy closed his eyes and concentrated while moving his lips a little. It seemed like he was talking to somebody. But it could also be that he was speaking spell incantations. When he opened his eyes, Eren and Reen were ready to cast their dummy Beast Contract spell. Erens skin started manifesting scales and a slight purple tinge over it. The area under his eyes also started turning green and his pupils seemed vertical, akin to that of a beast. Erens legs that had blue tongues of lightning surrounding them now had a few streams of purple lightning mixed. In short, Erens visage had changed drastically after executing the dummy Beast contract spell. Next, he tried the beast manifestation. Eren followed the instructions to a T but only a lifeless mana body appeared in front of him before dissipating into a thin air. This was to be expected. Reens soul hadnt left her body. There was no soul tattoo imprinted on the casters body from which to draw the soul. Thats why the beast manifestation part of the Beast Contract spell didnt seed. Eren needed to do more research on the mana body-rted spells so that he could emte this part of the spell too. Meanwhile, he could pretend that he hadnt mastered the beast manifestation. But whatever Eren had done now was enough for him to initiate his next set of ns. Even without the beast manifestation, he was confident in tackling most problems that mighte in his way. With this effortless execution, Eren now had the option to call forth and depend upon Reen when he was in a pinch without blowing his cover. Of course, Reen was only allowed to manifest the prowess of an F-Rank magic beast. Eren practised his moves while he was in the contract beast form. Reen had adapted to the snakepletely. Thats why her mimicry of the snakes manifestation allowed the butcher to experience the same boost in speed and agility as he might have had if he had gone for a normal Beast Contract spell with the Nuu Haietlik. He nodded to himself after confirming everything about the dummy spell was as per his requirements. He told Reen to cancel the manifestation before looking in a faraway direction: Now lets check out this thing called Malva Hibiscus, shall we? ============================ Authors Note: Hi. Hope you all are doing well. Yes, I survived my second vine shot. It seems there would be a dy for me to go premium because the content editor assigned to me is on a leave till Monday. Yet I decided to publish the chapter today anyway since a lot of regr readers would be expecting a release. Anyway, Ill finalize the schedule and will let you know as soon as Im looped in by my CE. Thank you @sir_dragon @carlitos and @waakaranai for sending gifts. Appreciate your contribution. Lastly, Ill release bonus chapter after Golden Ticket count hits 12. You can also send me gifts for me to perform another chapter release (separate from the bonus chapter release generated by Golden Tickets). Ill release the same once the cumtive amount from all the readers hit 100 coins. The counter will keep on resetting after it hits 100. A release will take ce after every such reset. You can start the counter and/or carry it forward by sending me a c (10 coins). Lets alle together to make this no-BS novel a sess story! ? Chapter 102: Training Regime

Chapter 102: Training Regime

Do you sense anything, Reen? Eren was seen hiding behind arge tree. In front of him was arge waterfall that had been created by the Leona river making its way through the uneven terrain. The other side of the river was regarded as the Themyscira region. Thats right! Eren was here to see if he could take away Malva Hibiscus without anyones help. Levine had told him hed be able to find the ingredient after entering the Themyscira Amazons region. But what she didnt know was that the ingredient was located not far from the border itself. The same border between the Amazons and LAs respective areas of governance. The butcher was hiding because the C-Rank beast that was protecting the Malva Hibiscus was said to be dwelling in this area. In the previous timeline, the time at which the 5th year student had retrieved the ingredient was during winter when the C-Rank beast that was protecting it was drowsy due to hibernation. But it was still summer during this timeline. Eren couldnt count on catching the C-Rank beast off guard. He had to either avoid the beastpletely or kill it then and there. Because the beast would keep on following his trail if he tries to break free after getting detected. Thats why he was depending upon Reens senses. She was scanning the area with her mana sense to locate the C-Rank magic beast. And since she was a demon beast, the mana beast wont necessarily act in a hostile manner after being scanned by her senses. Um I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the beast is old and injured. Its a tiger type beast that is suffering from an injury on one of its hind legs. It is currently resting on a raised tform created by arge rock located on the other side of the river. Not very far from here. The bad news is that the beast who must have injured it is also nearby. It is also a tiger type beast that is also suffering from a gaping wound on its abdomen. It seems there was a turf war. The nearest beast from us has lost the battle. But it is refusing to let go of the ingredient it is protecting. The young beast that has won the turf battle wants to make sure it is in good health before their showdown begins for the next time. But the old beast is cunning. It is nning to attack the young beast at night to take care of it for good, allowing it to secure both the turf and the ingredient necessary for evolution. Eren was left aghast by the amount of information that was provided to him. He couldnt help but ask: Reen, who told you about the beasts past and their current ns? The beasts themselves. They first asked me about the reason for my presence here. I told them Im just passing by before enquiring them about their current situation. They were relieved by my answer and told me these on their own. Oh! They also told me not to interfere in their business otherwise theyd forget the hierarchy and start to fight with me for real without worrying about the consequences. Reen said all this like it was the most natural thing in the world. Eren pped his forehead after hearing her exnations. Of course! She was a demon beast and couldmunicate with beasts of all kinds. He had subconsciously started treating her like a person. So he forgot about the peculiarity of the demon beasts. Then the realization hit him. What the fifth year student faced or dodged was not only a demon beast in its hibernation but also the one that had been worn down by the constant turf battles with another of its kind. But that realization didnt help Eren in his current predicament. He could create a distraction for the old beast and take the ingredient from the area under its control swiftly before running away. The C-Rank ingredient was going to be hidden and not get easily located. But with treasure-finder Reen beside him, he wasnt worried too much about that fact. He knew hed find Malva Hibiscus, retrieve it, and be long gone before the injured beast could snap out of the distraction and do something about it. But the second beast hadplicated matters. If he encroaches on the disputednd, both the beast will get focused on eliminating Eren first before setting their quarrel. That meant the battle was evident if he decides to make his move now. And he wasnt ready for such a battle at all. Even with a non-battle type demon beast fighting alongside him, he couldnt ovee the challenge raised by two magic beasts in the C-Rank. Plus, he needed to adjust his battle style to his current equipment and BTP level. He couldnt just enter the fray blindsided without fine-tuning his battle skills to his current standards. Erens mind was clear after thinking things through. It came to a decision quickly after having all the facts at its disposal. He needed to retreat ande up with a different n. The butcher wasnt suicidal. Neither was he someone who liked to put himself in mortal peril before being assured of the benefits. Eren retreated the way he came from without wasting a second more in there. He needed to n things up a little beforeing here again. But when his ns seed, he wont just have the ingredient but also the bodies of two C-Rank beasts. He could make a small fortune selling them off in a ck market. **************** Two days had passed and Eren was back at the check-post again. Ma was waiting for him there as they had nned. Holy Artemis, you broke through into the liquid stage already? Whaaa what did you do? The first question Ma asked Eren was driven by utter surprise. The boy had just raised his BTP suddenly. But now he had even crossed a small stage. There was something up with this student. Aaah! Yes. Even I wasnt nning to break through into the liquid stage of the F-rank but was still able to because of a transcendent spell. Go on. Ma wanted him to exin further. Which the butcher did with his blend of truth and bullshittery. He concluded his exnation with his recent sess inpleting the Besanc missions he had assigned to himself. Purple Lightning snake must have been an apt match for you to break through like that. Your choice to go for that beast was spot on. Thats the secret behind any sessful ranker. They are less famous for their talents and more for the choices they made along their respective journeys. You too are up to a good start. Anyway! Its good that you broke through the next stage. Itd help you greatly in the uing intrass ranking wars. And itd also help you in your regime nned by me. Lets not waste time anymore. Heres your regime. Your ID stone will keep track of your daily progress. Saying that Ma sent him his regime through her spectral screen. Eren opened the screen from his end and epted the same. Now he could see a new tab gets opened that read Official Apprenticeship. And the sub-tab had the list of his daily regime. The variety of exercises and the number of their reps were overwhelming. And what was even more overwhelming was the fact that he couldnt take weekends off in his exercise schedule. Eren had a sweat on his forehead just thinking about following this regime. And this was after he had broken through into the liquid stage. And he couldnt skip any of the variations or tweak the number of reps his way because the ID stone was going to keep track of things. The butcher never thought Ma was a low-key sadist by giving him this schedule when she thought he was still in the initial stage of the F-rank. Things would have gotten much worse if Eren had decided to break into mid-stage before meeting the voluptuous amazoness two days ago. Chop chop, boy. Your daily regime has started from today. If you want a productive afternoon and evening, you might want to startpleting the daily regime in the morning. And make sure to have plenty of nutritious food and sound sleep every day. Otherwise, your body would just break down instead of getting better due to the training. You will meet me twice a week. Ill inform you about the scheduled date, time, and ce along with the job type. Dont worry. I will make sure that your potion-making lessons along with the paid lectures you want to be part of dont sh with my meeting schedule. Ill go easy on you today since its the first day of your daily regime. But we will start fine-tuning your closebat skills and practise livebat practise from the next time. I want to see how well versed you are in using the beast contract spell. Ma had given Eren a concrete n. Now he had a stable path nned in front of him in terms of his closebat style. Ma would guide him thoroughly when ites to the nitty-gritty of the closebat style along with katar usage. He needed to take care of his progress in other departments on his own. Thank you, master Ma. Ill make sure to follow your schedule thoroughly. Ill see you after a few days. Eren bid adieu to Ma and made his way to his dorm house. The days were going to be long and weary from this day onwards for Osan Woods Butcher. =========================== AN: Hi. First of all, thank you @Devos90 for donating the Golden Ticket. ? I understand that some readers might not like reading about long author notes. Therefore they can stop reading and skip to the next chapter if they wish. But Id like to share a few updates regarding the novel and my ns with other readers. So please bear with me. Ill host a small contest on Discord since the premium has been started to give the winners their well-earned gift vouchers. Hope you can join the VEH Discord and take part in the same. ? Lastly, Im excited to tell you guys that Ive started another project. Its something Ive been thinking about for a long time, even before the start of VEH. I started this project because it suits this weeks writing content theme (WPC 234) perfectly. Thats right. Its a contest entry. Same as VEH. Please check out my new novel The Meta Oasis. Its an antihero story set in a dystopian age. . Ill be honest. The novel wont have any intimate scenes for a good while. Or it might not have them at all. But the plot still revolves around a cunning, ruthless protagonist that puts his self-interest first before anything else. Im sure most VEH readers would like The Meta Oasis equally. Therefore, kindly add it to your library and donate power stones to it. For the next two weeks, divert all your power stone depositions to The Meta Oasis. It needs them the most in this contest. And if you can, leave a short review based on the chapters published so far. Hope to see you there! ? Chapter 103: Making a Move on Julie

Chapter 103: Making a Move on Julie

497 498 499 500! Erenpleted thest rep of his push-ups andid on the ground, heavily perspiring. He didnt even have the energy to speak but he wanted to check on his progress. So he called out the spectral screen to check some numbers: Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organization- Lionhearts Adventurers Academy Academic Status- ss 1/C Ranked Status- unranked Merit Points- 2,516 + 50 Battle Points- 456 Base Stats: HP- 4 / 4 MP- 5.1 / 5.1 STR- 2.3 AGI- 3.8 INT- 3.2 BTP~ 18 BTP Visibility- Private Ranking Technique- Five-star, lightning element, Indras Levin F-Rank Spells: LE, Four-star, movement type: Blitz Steps LE, Four-star, defence type: Blitz Shield LE, Four-star, attack type: Blitz Bolt LE, Four-star, Area of Effect: Blitz Storm LE, Four-star, healing type: Blitz Heal TE, Four-star(?), misceneous: Sedated Perception Apprenticeship: Verified Daily Training Regime: Complete Run: 5KM / 5KM Pullup: 500/500 Situp: 500/500 Pushups: 500 /500 ****************************** Erens daily training regime waspleted with thest round of push-ups. He immediately gained 50 merit points as a result. This was another benefit of doing an LA-verified apprenticeship. Students would gain Merps for staying on their schedule. Although Eren was rich now, he always weed more Merps no matter how big or small the iing number was. Eren sat back up and executed his ranking technique. This was the quickest way to get rid of the exhaustion for rankers. And with the liquid-stage F-Rank mana flowing through his mana circuits, it took only an hour for him toe to normalcy. Eren then got fresh and went to Adapt Levines lectures. She took a surprise test of her students right after in which the butcher performed splendidly. The Adapt potion-maker didnt ask Eren about the ingredient retrieval. She figured the boy would tell her himself if and when he makes progress. Eren met up with his team members and discussed a few of the strategies that they could use in the uing inter-ss ranking wars. Then he took his leave and left the rest of the team members to their devices. The butcher was going to leave the LA grounds today. Every student could do that a limited number of times every month. And he used this privilege today to go to a bar named Blue Nightingale located in the city of Lionhearts. Students and LA staff would asionally visit the city to rx and unwind. It was the closest city they could be in that had all the luxuries they needed. Plus, the city had strong ties with LA. So the students and especially the LA staff would be treated with respect at any establishment in the city. Blue Nightingale was a well-known ce in the city of Lionhearts. Rich students would also hang out there from time to time. But LA staff benefited the most since they would receive exceptional discounts there. Eren wanted to go to this very bar because he had asked around and found out that Julie Ekheart was a frequent visitor here. The woman liked to party. Even when she was in the city of Osan, she had selected a nice ce to do her part of info-gathering at; another bar. Tonight she was going to meet someone really special and dangerous. ****************************** Lady, you owe me a drink! Julie was busy drinking her wine in the Blue Nightingale when she heard the weirdest im. She looked up from gazing at the edges of her ss to see a tall, slightly dark man who looked to be in histe twenties. He had a clean shave and short brown hair. He looked different but the guys facial features reminded Julie of Dom Walker. Then chided herself for thinking like that. The guy was either dead or hiding way deep in some remote vige somewhere. He wouldnte here, to the city of Lionhearts just to get captured and killed. Um what do you mean? Julie couldnt help but ask. She felt there was something off about him. But at the same time, she wanted to engage in talking with him. She felt like she could find a lot of her answers if she talked with this guy. I mean you have to take the responsibility. The guy replied with a dazzling smile. He didnt ask for her permission and joined her at the two-person table straightaway. To be honest, Julie didnt dislike that rude behaviour. She always preferred dominant men. Looks like this evening will be fun. But then again, I say that every evening Ie here. Julie had this thought and replied to the strangers smile with a gorgeous smile of her own. She had another sip of her drink and didnt say anything. The LAs assistant professor just looked at the man sitting opposite her and hinted with her eyes for him to continue. Hehe! I said you have to buy me a drink because I dropped mine after looking at you. Now you have to take responsibility for stunning me with your beauty at the worst possible time. The man replied with confidence at which Julie couldnt help butugh. This was the most creative and effortless pick-up line she had heard getting used to her all her life. The duo got to talking. Julie liked the guys mature talks that were sprinkled with a hint of wits and sarcasm. She got to know that his name was Ron Damian and that he was a private guard of a merchant troupe. The man carried himself with elegance. And whatever he spoke just made sense to Julie. Plus, he was an E-Ranker just like her. So their ranking status was also in sync. But the most attractive thing about him was the fact that he was rich. Julie liked all things rich. And the guy had made sure that hed show her his wealth by ordering expensive mana-imbued wines that belonged to the exclusive collection. After random talks, Julie asked Ron what else he had in his arsenal to impress her. To which, Ron was replied with unmatched boldness. Hahaha! Yes, I get creative sometimes when I see beautiful women like you. Okay, this is something I came up with just now while talking to you. Listen to this: ======================= AN: Hi. In case you cant recall, Julie Ekheart is an E-Ranker introduced in chapter 40 and has made sporadic appearances inter chapters. She is serving as an assistant professor in LA, being part of Lin Karrs panel. Chapter 104: Power of Cheesy Pick-up Lines

Chapter 104: Power of Cheesy Pick-up Lines

I get creative sometimes when I see beautiful women like you. Okay, this is something I came up with just now while talking to you. Listen to this: Girl, are you a dyed kingdom tax? Ron Damian asked Julie as they had just seen each other. Thetter was again intrigued by the formers approach: And why would you ask that? Julie asked while raising her brows and a hint of a smile on her face. Because youve got FINE written all over you! Ron delivered his jab with a smirk of his own! Julie couldnt help butugh wholeheartedly at Rons weird and extra cheesy pickup lines. But the guy was lucky. Because extra cheesy was exactly how Julie liked things to be. Hehe! Okay, one more and we shall finish our talk at the bar! Julie looked meaningfully at Ron after saying that. Her subtle message was clear. Ron needed to seal the deal with hisst chance so that they could spend the night together. Or he was going to have to talk to his bottle of rum. Either way, the talk at the bar was over. Ron seemed like he got the drift. He got semi-serious and gave her another verbal jab: Alright! Heres thest one: Girl, are you a haunted house? Julie didnt seem to like this delivery. Because all the other jabs Ron had given her talked about and praised her beauty. But this question was too odd for those types of positive answers. She thought the guy had gotten off the track but she gave him a chance anyway: Ill bite. What does that mean? Ron smiled faintly after hearing Julies obvious question. He kept quiet for a while to build anticipation. And it was working from the looks of things. He delivered his finishing punch when he felt the time was ripe: Because Ill scream when Im in you. Julie was surprised first after shing a hushed smile. That smile soon turned into a burst of genuineughter. She had been convinced: Alright! Tell me, Ron, where are we going next? Hehe! Mydy deserves only the finest of things. Lets go to Grand Hiyat. Ill call the carriage. Grand Hiyat was another famous establishment located in the centre of the city. It was preferred as a go-to stay by most nobles and important business tycoons who are passing through the area. Renting a room at the establishment highlighted Rons heavy wallet even more. Of course, Julie wasnt stupid. She knew a private guard couldnt afford to spend money like what Ron was doing in front of her. So she asked him about the same. But it seemed like Ron was came prepared with the answer knowing full well hed be asked something like this: Ron told her in a hushed voice that he and his employer were dealing in contraband artefacts found in the ck market. He was in charge of dealing with the buyers and delivering goods. And in return, his employer would share a part of the profiting from those shady deals with him. Only then did things make sense for Julie. She didnt judge the guy for dealing in the ck market. She was used to doing those things in her early years anyway. Even now, her unrestricted lifestyle wasnt exactly what one would call ideal. One wrong thing about Ron assured Julie that everything else was fine. Human interactions were weird that way. One would always try to find fault in a seemingly perfect-looking person just to feel better about themselves. Unblemished characters seemed to always create suspicions in peoples heads. *************************** Oooh! So this is the luxury room of Grand Hiyat. I must say, Im impressed. Tell me honestly Ron, how many women have you brought to this ce before? Julie whistled a little after entering the luxurious room Ron had booked for them. There were embroidered drapes, an elegant interior with intricately carved furnishing, and a king-sized bed with a seemingly fluffy bed. Every little item or shade of the said item was meant to bode well with the overall visual style of the room. The illuminance was sombre and mellow. And there was a faint scent of sandalwood present inside the room. In short, the ambience in the room was just right for passionate intimacy. Well, to be honest with you Jules, I havent brought anyone here. Hehe! Youd be the first. Ron said this while resting himself at the window seat that was decorated with floral printed sheets and lush pillows. He took out another bottle of wine from his storage. This was another expensive, E-Rank wine made from one of the finest ingredients. Ron traced his fingers along the edges of the cork. Seemingly pondering over something as yed with the merlot bottle in his hand. Why would you lie now, Ron? You and I both know you are a butterfly. Im not averse to it because, hehe, I also have my wings to fly. But the least we can do at this point is be honest about each other, you know. Julie smiled and sat beside Ron who was looking outside the window, gazing at the moons and stars. He didnt look at his intimate-partner-to-be and only chuckled before replying: Im not lying Jules. I said I havent brought anyone HERE in the luxury room before. I usually book normal rooms at the Grand Hiyat. So youre technically the first partner to be brought into the luxury room. I just thought you were special so I went the extra mile. Hope you liked my gesture. Julie was satisfied with Rons answer. She wanted to say she did like the gesture. But somehow she felt that the mood demanded silence. Therefore, the E-Rankdy decided to observe the guy for now. Ron brought out two wine sses after a while. And filled them up just enough so that one could swirl the content within without it spilling over. He ced one drink Jules and picked up the other. Ron swirled his wine ever so lightly in a clockwise and then in a reverse clockwise motion. Only then did he kiss the ss with his lips before gulping the E-Rank potion down, one sip at a time. Every action of Ron spoke that he was used to the life of luxury. The wine he drank, the clothes he wore, and the uncaring attitude to go for the most expensive choice in everything worth having meant the private guard had a sessful career as a middleman in the ck market. Ive caught a rich whale this time it seems. Good for you Julie. Now if you could just make him spend more money on you with tonights performance, thatd be great. Julie thought to herself. She already started to make ns on how to suck Ron dry of all his money. What she didnt know was that Ron also had his designs on her. Ron Damian was none other than Eren Idril in a disguise! ======================= AN: Hi. A gentle reminder. Please donate all your power stones to The Meta Oasis for the next two weeks. ? Chapter 105: Full Moon in the Sky P1*

Chapter 105: Full Moon in the Sky P1*

Ron Damian was none other than Eren Idril in a disguise! Eren was using Reen fused with his body to take care of the E-Rank wine, lest he suffers side effects. He decided to go with the name Ron Damian because he couldnt find a good name. But Reen told him to go with anything random after feeling his conundrum. So he derived the name Ron Damian from the word random itself. Eren didnt want to but somehow ended up taking a portion of Doms facial features. He still wasnt used to shapeshifting after all. Plus, Reen must have shared gene memories of her prey with Eren during their fusion. Thats why he could only change into a certain personality Reen had eaten so far. That restricted the number of people he could take the shape of. But the good thing was that he could tweak his appearance to make it look like he only looked like Dom but wasnt. This was the reason Julie thought Ron looked like Dom butter discarded that idea. Julie lifted the wine ss that was ced between the two and smelled the mild aroma of the wine before savouring it, a small gulp at a time. Any pep-talk was not necessary anymore. Ron filled both their sses up once they got empty and kept both of them busy in their current activities. Jules. Ron finally broke the silence looking at the full moon peeking through from a school of ck clouds outside. He looked deep in thought, almost mesmerized by something. Julie too looked outside, following her partners gaze while replying: Hm Thats what she could muster. She felt like the wine was having a strong effect on her. Plus, the way Ron talked made her feel like he had seen the world. Therefore everything he said was subconsciously followed through by her consciousness. Arent we all like a moon in the sky? No matter how bright we can shine sometimes, we always have a dark side. Ron aka Eren started spewing bullshittery wrapped in euphemism. He knew most women bought that stuff in bulk, no matter what their backgrounds or intentions were. And his long experience with women was starting to pay dividends. Thats because Julie forgot about catching arge fish at that moment and felt something deeply personal in that sentence. She felt like she too was like a moon. She had her moments in life. She had enjoyed life to the fullest she could. But there were also some dark shades to her that she didnt want the world to see. She felt like Rons sentence was specially made for her life. She kept her ss away and hugged Ron hurriedly. It was like she was intoxicated with an array of emotions that were making a mess inside her head. And that flurry of emotions needed a channel to get out. And Julie saw that channel in Ron. Eren hugged Julie back in response. He soothed her back with her pat. Then he went face to face with her and asked with a mild smile on his face, Jules What is it? Did I say something wrong? Eren asked her while raising Julies face with his two fingers ced right below her chin. He could see a deadly blend of regrets and lust in her eyes. Oh, Ron No, you havent said a word wrong. You are right. We all have dark sides to ourselves that we dont want the world to see. But I want you to make me forget about mine tonight. Make love to me Ron. Fu*k my brains out. Purge all my thoughts and let me find peace in exhaustion. Ron didnt need to be told twice. He immediately nted his lips on Jules. The first contact sent a jolt through Julies back. It was like a volcano was bubbling inside her. She was breathing heavily as a result. But that didnt stop her from giving the kiss all of her sheer focus andmitment. **************** Eren could feel that his wine had worked. This was the same wine he had gotten for Nina. But this was an E-Rank variant of the same brand. Eren was d he had spent a small fortune in acquiring a few sets of this wine for each rank, from F-Rank to D-Rank. Of course, Eren hadnt mixed any aphrodisiac in the wine. Nor did he need to use the wine and get her drunk to get into Julies pants. He needed the wine, a strong dose of it in fact, inside Julies system for what he was going to do post-coitus. And for that, he needed to tire her out and make her go to sleep under the strong influence of alcohol and sex. By now, the couple in the heat had found their way on the king-sized bed. Eren was on top of Julie, kissing and smooching her. His tongue made its presence known inside her mouth. He also nibbled thedys earlobes, sending her into the deeper parts of ecstasy with slight pain as her guide. Erens dick had woken up from its long slumber. He started rubbing his erection against Julies mound, letting her know of his little guys wakefulness. Aaah Ronny my tits grab them squeeze them bite the nipples hu hurry Thisdy was wild through and through. She knew what she needed and didnt shy away from asking for it. Ron undressed Jules till she only had acy bra and floral print panties. He dived right in and started squeezing the firm and ripe globes ced in his palms. Julie also lifted her back in the air a little in anticipation of her tits getting squeezed. She was enjoying every moment of pain and pleasure unleashed on her through Rons reckless usage of force. Ron too only had hisst piece of clothing on him. Julie tugged onto the edges of his underwear with her toes to subtly hint that he needed to get rid of it. Ron obliged. With the power of transformation, he was able to grow his average sized dick into a huge donger that would scare most teen girls. But Julie wasnt a teen. She was plenty experienced in this field. She was unable to look away from his long and thick and long rod, seemingly mesmerized by its visage. ======================= AN: Hi. Thank you @BoneMarrOwO for giving the novel another Golden Ticket. ? Erens coital escapades resume after a long while with this chapter. I think Ive improved a lot from my past self when ites to writing these scenes. But any constructive feedback is always appreciated. ? Chapter 106: Full Moon in the Sky P2*

Chapter 106: Full Moon in the Sky P2*

The pace of Julies breathing increased even more at the sight of Erens massive dick. The anticipation had her heart go on a rampage, beating like war drums. Rons strong and bulky arms gently embraced Julie. He started rubbing his bare schlong over her now-wet panties with even more vigour than before. Ron closed his eyes as his mouth reached for Julies soft lips. Thedy cooperated fully while closing her own eyes as well, savouring the moment. Mmm! The act of kissing and smooching againsted for a while. Ron released his lips after what felt like only a few moments to both of them, creating a thin thread of saliva between both of their lips as they disconnected. Ron AKA Eren used this moment to take a good look at the wilddy in heatying in front of him. Julies eyes spoke volumes about her current state. They told Eren that she waspletely immersed in the sea of lust. With all things said about her money-grabbing nature and her uncaring lifestyle, Julie was a beautiful woman. No doubt about it. Her shoulder-length hair was medium blue in shade. Her purple eyes sparkled with wild abandon as they intensively gazed at him, yet Eren could see a tinge of self-conscience flickering within. Julies rosy lips were soft and full. They were reflecting the faint moonlighting from the window because the coat of saliva was on them. The scene would cause any mans heart to race wild. Ron Ronny Jules mumbled Erens fake name in a hushed tone. Im listening, my dear! I hope this does not be our only night of togetherness. I want us to keep on meeting and explore each other. Julie didnt forget her mission to go fishing. She asked her rich partner to keep on meeting her in an alluring tone. Ron smiled lightly before whispering in her ears: Lets focus on the present first before moving to the future Jules could feel a tingling sensation in her pussy folds when Rons warm breath tickled her ears. Lets get those clothes out of the equation, Jules. Theyll only get in the way from now one. Ron started stripping Jules. His gentle and smooth movements revealed his expertise in this field. Momentster, Julie Ekheart was seenpletely naked on the bed. Her bottom lips didnt have pubic growth near them. Thedy liked to groom herself well. Jules had knockout knockers. Their size was huge for her seemingly petite figure. Her light pink nipples had gotten pointy due to the exposure to the cold outside and her ecstatic state. The rest of her body was well-sculpted as well, like a fine piece of statue. Her white skin was soft and smooth to touch. Eren didnt have aplete look at her butts yet, but he could tell it was round and thick. Jules didnt have a single hair on her limbs either. Erenid eyes on her heavy honkers that were a little red due to his consistent presses. His already stiff and recently enhanced dick hardened even more as a result. He wanted to press and molest them some more. Oooohh Ronny! Press them. Squeeze them. They are all yours to y with. Ron was nowpletely onto Jules. That allowed thetter to simplyy back and enjoy the sensation she was feeling. Aaaah. More Ronny Yes thats it aaaaaah Jules started moaning with her long breaths interrupting her speech in between. The anticipatory sensation in her pussy folds grew even stronger than before. Eren was satisfied after ying with Julies tits after a while. He slowly went down her next: Unlike the teenage girls who would close their legs first out of instinct, a veteran like Julie faced the situation head-on. She spread her legs without a care in the world to invite her partner into tasting the finest nectar he could ever taste tonight. Ron started kissing his way down. He first kissed her tummy and kept on kissing his way towards Julies thoroughly wet pussy. When the butcher reached near Julies wet cunt, a sweet and sultry fragrance aroused his nose. That caused his dick to straighten up some more in delight. Jules had already spread her legs. Her wet and moist pussy was out in full disy for Eren to see and take pleasure in observing. Without any further dy, Eren nted his lips directly against her pink petal box. And began exploring it with his tongue: Ahhhh! Jules couldnt help but utter a deep moan the second she felt something slippery enter the inner sanctum of her pink fleshy world. A violent tremble ran through her body in response to Erens glib tongue working overtime. Ro Ronny Damian you aaaaah you are good! Julies erotic moans were like words of appreciation for Ron. He increased the pace of his assault even more. The pussy juices flowed non-stop from Julies wet cave like a never-ending stream of droplets running across the surface of a ss window on a light rainy night. And Eren savoured everyst drop like a parched traveller in the middle of the desert finding a source of water to drink from. There yes! Right there! The E-Rank assistant professor grabbed her student-in-disguises head and pressed it against her mound while opening her legs some more and lifting her butts a little. The students tongue started exploring even the deeper parts of her fold as a result. A wave of relief washed over Jules as she came hard over Erens face. But the guy didnt want to stop. He began licking her clit while inserting two of his fingers inside her cave. Her pink button was still sensitive due to her recent release. So she wanted to pull Eren away from the spot for the time being. But the butcher never gave her the chance for a ceasefire. It wasnt long before Jules came hard again. The crystal clear yet viscous juice made its presence known on the bedsheet and Erens face. A thick smell of sex started to build inside the luxury room now. ======================= AN: Hi. Please consider donating gifts and Golden Tickets. Thanks ? Chapter 107: Big D Energy P1*

Chapter 107: Big D Energy P1*

Eren chuckled as he wiped his face off with another sheet nearby: Hehe! Forget the wine. This drink right here is more intoxicating. The LA assistant professor couldnt help but smile at that statement. There was also a shade of red on her cheeks, indicating no matter how bold and experienced in the game she was, Jules was still a woman with a bit of self-conscious. She covered her face with her hands to hide from her partner for the time being. But Ron removed those hands away and pressed them on either side of the bed before saying with a thirst for more written all over his face Lets keep looking at each other as we move in for the finale. Jules and Ron both smiled at each other after he said that. Thest bit of self-conscious was removed from Julies psych and she nodded affirmatively. Ron rubbed the fleshy pussy folds with his enhanced donger while he kissed the woman passionately. My dear, your pussy hole feels tight. It seems you havent been stretched by a dick of this size before. So brace yourself, okay? Aah! Yeah. Go ahead, Ronny! Ron was telling the truth. No guys that she had previously been with had a dick of this size. This was going to be her first monster dick experience. What she didnt know was that the guy who was currently low-key bragging about his size was average at best a few days ago. Eren felt like he had activated Sedated Perception as he slowly pushed the tip of his big dick into Julies cave. Aaahh hol. Hold on! Jules felt the pain of her pussy walls getting stretched in a long while. The corner of her eyes became a little moist. Her pussy was producing juices in abundance to make the penial entry as smooth as possible. This size is enough to exhaust her! Eren thought to himself as he continued to pierce Julies tight vaginal hole carefully. Her pussy walls were tightly wrapped around his meat stick. It was a memorable experience for both of them. Erens manually enhanced rod was finally fully inside Julies hole. The dicks mushroom-like head was touching the end of her hole. It was a confidence-boosting feeling for Eren as he hadnt experienced this kind of fucking in both his timelines, where he could exert so much dominance with just his dicks size alone. It was something he would never get tired of. How does it feel, dear, getting pierced by Rons spear? Ive hearddies say that- once you go Ron; others will let you down. I know I know the pun is bad. But that doesnt change the fact that it wants to convey, does it? Hehe! Eren openly bragged about his dick size to Jules in a teasing voice. Julie rolled her eyes at that pun. But she could not deny the tall im had a hint of truth hidden in it. Julie struggled a bit to lift her head to look at her stomach that felt like she had had a heavy dinner. She was even surprised that her pussy could take all that dick inside along its full length. Buckle up, Jules. The real fun starts now. Eren warned Julie like a gentleman he was. Seeing her nod, Ron Damian began moving his hips. He started with a slow pace and increased the intensity after Julies pussy walls adjusted to his current dick length. The moment of pain was gone and now she was showing signs of pleasure on her face. Ahhh! More Ronny! Fuck me aah.. more. Julies mind had be empty from all the distractive thoughts. The only thing she could feel now was an addicting sensation in her cunt and the profound bliss that came with it. The only sound that could be heard inside the luxury room of the Grand Hiyat at this moment was Julies seductive moans and heavy breathing with the sound of something akin to a lump of meat getting pounded in water. Ahhh! Harder baby! Destroy my pussy with your dick! Yeah, thats it. Thats the way. It is. Jules pleaded for a harder pounding as she tightly embraced Rons neck. Eren had no reason not to oblige. He tightly gripped onto her slim waist. And lifted her into the air to start a fresh round of pounding. Eren had alreadye once now. But his erection didnt fade as it was something that he had achieved not after getting exy but through his newfound powers. So he didnt have to worry about premature ejaction anymore. Eren felt like he had been liberated from themon shackles ced on the entire malemunity in this act. His size could be anything he wanted it to be. And his dick would stay standing even when he ejacted. He felt like a huge weight had been taken away from burdening his shoulders. That gave Eren the energy to keep on fucking an E-Ranker like Julie without showing signs of exhaustion. Of course, Reen had a lot to do with that as well. She had shot up Erens BTP values in the next rank by fusing with him while controlling her power output to that of the E-Rank. Erens thick meat rod started hitting the end of her pussy canal repeatedly, knocking intermittently on the entrance of her womb. The way Julies big rack jiggled with each of Erens thrusts was a sight to behold for him. The erotic look on her face, the sound of her butt cheeks getting spanked with his thursts enhanced the immersion further. Aaah! Ro ony! Itsing. ItseING!! Julie Ekheart tilted her head backwards and screamed thest part of her sentence loudly. He stuck out of her mouth. Her body shrivelled like it had a seizure instantly afterwards. Suffice to say that the pussy juices came out of her wet cave, like there was no tomorrow. But Eren became merciless after he got addicted to using his big dick energy. He didnt want to stop just yet. He continued to thrust his monster schlong into her. Eren again felt like he was close to reaching his climax. So he increased his pace some more. Julies previous experiences were paying their dividends. She soon recovered from her previous orgasm and got ready to brace herself for another. I I feel like I am going crazy, Ronny! Jules couldnt help mention her current state honestly. Hehe! Crazy is good, dear. We should all go crazy sometimes. The butcher said this while ramming his cock deep into the wet hole. He was feeling some tiredness as well. But he ignored it with his sheer will to fuck to his hearts content. Eren released another of his white loads into Julies pussy after a few more minutes of thrusting. He filled her vaginal canal with plenty of his thick cum. The quantity was such that the nut couldnt all stay inside the small internal space and some of it started dripping out. Chapter 108: Big D Energy P2*

Chapter 108: Big D Energy P2*

The Butcher lightly kissed the assistant professor at LA on her lips afterwards. However, despite already releasing his Yang Essence, he didnt pull his penis out of her hole, keeping the white substance tightly sealed within. The duo took this moment to catch their breaths. Julie was never this exhausted before. Not even her strenuous training as an E-Ranker came close to making her feel this spent. Ronny. That was so intense, dear. I feel like my head is still buzzing. And my legs have gotten weak. But still. I think I needed this. Thank you. Julie came clean stating her current condition. You are always well- e. Haha! And I should thank you for being such a bodacious and bold beauty. Eren used his glib tongue in another way to achieve the same result; please Julie! She was pleased with his reply, unting a mischievous smile in return. Yes, Julie had a smile stered on her face. Until she noticed that Erens dick was still rock-hard aftering so much inside her pussy! She quickly looked at Eren with disbelief written all over her face. Ronny why is your dick so hard after you just came? Thedy couldnt help but ask Eren about his unusual libido. To which the matter only chuckled and replied: Hehe! To be honest, my ranking technique is special. Releasing that little amount of nut would not even be close to my usual limit. Eren didnt want anyone to link the powers he obtained from the fusion with his demon beast to his real identity. So he made that thing about a special ranking technique up on the spot. There were numerous techniques and spells avable in all fields anyway. So he knew Julie would not raise doubt on his statements. The butcher lied through his teeth like a pro. Even he had realised that he had be apulsive liar, even more so than his previous self in the past timeline. Hed lie and cheat his way if that could prevent anyone from asking too many questions about himself. Julie was totally at a loss for words and kinda scared after hearing his answer. He was still not satisfied? Even though her body was still recovering from all that intense y? Please dont tell me that you are already at your limit, dear. That was only a warm-up. And you call yourself an assistant professor in LA? Hehe! Eren looked at Jules who wanted to say some in return but was stopped midway. She could only smile mirthlessly after that. This guy, although rich, handsome, and powerful, was going to be a bane of her life if she kept on seeing him. However, as worn out as her body may be at this moment, Julie could tell with certainty that she was craving for more of Erens rod getting plunged deep inside her wet cave. Jules mustered her courage after a few moments. She stared at him with a narrowed gaze that flicked with confidence and lust: You are going to pay for looking down on me, mister! Come at me with all youve got. And be prepared to be sucked dry of all your cum. Your balls are going to dete from releasing so much cum in one go. Hehe! Jules first started her im as false bravado. But the act of speaking the im out loud gave her the confidence she needed to act on it. Eren also smiled mischievously after hearing Julies statement. For the first time since she met him, Jules felt like Ron was hiding so much from her just from that smile alone. Her womanly instincts were right on spot but she was too lost in her lust to care about something on those lines. Very well, we shall y with each other all night! Lets see who gives up first. Haha! The butcherughed out loud. Then he started ploughing Julie again and thoroughly enjoyed the addictive feeling of making a mess of her pink petal box. **************** Seems like she is deep asleep. Reen, you cane out now. Erenmanded his demon beast to show herself. To which thetter obliged by separating herself from his body. Eren immediately felt like he had lost all his energy after Reen brought him down to his original F-Rank status. He felt like he could use some sleep too. But this was not the time. He had a lot to do and experiment on Julie. Thats why Eren went the extra way topletely exhaust Julie. He didnt want her to wake up or resist whatever he was about to do with her. Of course, he didnt want to hurt Julie. Killing or injuring her would make the authorities focus on the Osan Woods Butcher again, thinking he might be a possible culprit. And that would in turne back to haunt him. What he needed to do instead was gain information from her. But he couldnt ask her directly. As easy as she was, Julie Ekheart was still an E-Rank assistant professor at LA. So getting sensitive information from her in a face to face conversation, that too within only a nights interaction, was next to impossible. Plus, asking her upfront would raise Julies suspicion of him. So the butcher would be left with no gains and a target on his back. Sometimes asking about things wouldnd you in more trouble than staying quiet. What Eren needed was a way to extract Julies memories without harming her or leaving any trace behind. The spells, artefacts, and techniques would always leave a trace of their usage behind. And it almost always harms the person who was being subjected to the procedure. Eren didnt have such spells or artefacts in the first ce. And even if he did have them, he wont use them carelessly like this. He was supposed to gain information from Jules after all. Not create and leave the trails of his existence behind. Otherwise, thatd be counterproductive. But the butcher wasntpletely out of options either. What he did have made him able to gain the information without facing any repercussions rted to it. He had Reen! ======================== AN: Thank you @BoneMarrOwO for donating another set of Golden Tickets. Ill release a bonus chapter soon. Chapter 109: [Bonus Chapter] Extracting Memories

Chapter 109: [Bonus Chapter] Extracting Memories

Eren could use Reen to extract Julies memories and share them with him. At least thats what he was nning before using any other means. Reens powers were peculiar in a lot of ways. She wasnt a battle-oriented demon beast. But her other distinguishing abilities made up for thatck of traits. When Reen ate her prey, she processed their memories as well. But she used to ignore most of those fragmented memories because they werentpatible with her. Herck of sufficient intelligence was also a roadblock. All she could process were some bits and pieces that didnt make sense in her head. But all that changed with her new transformation, increasing her intelligence in the process. At least thats what Eren had conjured. The beast contract spell gave Reen the ability to process the memories of her prey better. The conjecture was based on the fact that Reen could extract the memories of Purple Lightning snakes that she ate. As her master, Eren could take a quick look through those memories via their mental connection. Reen shared her experience with Eren that what she used to process before were mostly blurred images. But now she could see them more clearly, that too as moving pictures with audio and surrounding details looped in. Eren wasnt aware of Reens power before the transformation. But that is because he wasnt made privy to these memory fragments before the transformation. It was like those foreign pieces of memory fragments stayed foreign in her head. But the transformation changed all that. And with Reens improved intelligence stat, it became easier for her to process those memories with efficiency. The improved intelligence also helped her share those memories with her masters as if they were her own and not some foreign entities. But that was not all. On that day, Eren had also observed that Reen could extract the memories from half-dead magic beasts before killing them. She would just spread her slimy mass over them and the memory extraction would begin as she slowly digested her prey. Thats what gave Eren the confidence to carry out this experiment. He wanted to see if Reen could still do that with humans as her prey. Extracting their memories without killing them. Of course, Eren wasnt aware how Reens prey felt at the time of their memories getting read by a foreign entity. And things were bound to get more difficult with a human with higher intelligence and perception getting subjected to this procedure. Therefore Eren exhausted Juliepletely beforemencing this part of his n. If this doesnt work out, hed have to tell Reen to kill the assistant professor while ensuring the me falls on Ron Damian. But that too had a problem. Ron Damian was a made-up identity. Anybody woulde to that conclusion if they start digging. So Eren wanted to give Reens powers a chance before he burnt his bridges. And he had to do it. The more he learned about Reen, the more he felt that the figures in the shadows wont let this matter go this easily. They had to have been cooking something. And he needed to know what that was. Eren knew being passive all the time wasnt always in his best interest. He needed to take some risks to gain leverage over his unknown enemies. Should I eat her? Reen asked while shapeshifting into a beautiful naked girl. She had now changed her proportions from petite to curvy, just the way her master liked them. Maybe that was done subconsciously after getting to understand Erens preferences or maybe that was intentional. But Eren was too focused on Julie to care. He looked at Reen with a serious expression while saying: No need to kill her as of now. Try to extract all her recent memories without harming her. She shouldnt wake up during the process. But be careful anyway. Now go. We dont have much time. Erenmanded Reen with a stoic voice. Reen understood and felt the seriousness of the matter. She nodded her head before again turning into her original slimy mass. The slumbering, half-naked Julies body was seen being covered by a slimy substance. And that slimy substance was glowing with a faint mana radiance. Aaah Erni The memories are too many With overwhelming details. Feeling weird. Reen sent a mental distress signal to her master as soon as the process started. Eren knew things wont go that smoothly so he was prepared: Alright, Reen. Stop for now. And rest. Eren sent her a mental message and observed Julies condition. The bodacious E-Ranker looked like she was having a bad dream. Her face was showing signs of stress and restlessness. But overall she was fine and breathing normally. Eren told Reen to go slow for the next time and focus anything about Osan Woods Butcher in her memories. Reen obliged and started her operation again after a while. The master-beast duopleted their operation and left the ce using the dark of the night as their cover. There was no meaning in staying there any longer and risk blowing their cover. Before leaving, Eren left a perfunctory letter on the rooms bedside table, telling Julie about how he enjoyed herpany. He told her that he was contacted by his employer and therefore had some urgent work. But that theyd meet again after he finishes the current assignment. The butcher had written this letter so that Julie gets pacified and doesnt start digging into his past. At least not anytime soon. Shed wait for Ron to finish his work before meeting her. Eren thought of a lot of things going wrong in his ns. His past experiences in the previous timeline gave him a reason to. Thats why he thought about countermeasures even before the problem arrived. The now-teen old man tried to implement precision in each of his moves. And thanks to those countermeasures born out of OCD behaviour, Eren had the information he wanted while ensuring his identity remained hidden in the process. *********** Eren was using a colt service to travel back to his dorm room. It seemed like he was pondering over something as he traversed through an almost empty road in the light of the breaking dawn. Reen had shared some of Julies memories with him that was rted to him and the subject of his interest. He couldnt help grabbing his chin with one hand and caressing it while controlling the colt using the leash with the other: Hmm! So they know Osan Woods Butcher or someone rted to him has entered the LA grounds! What should I do now? ========================== AN: This extra chapter is dedicated to all the readers whove contributed their time and resources into this work. ? Chapter 110: Trap Within a Trap

Chapter 110: Trap Within a Trap

Hmm! So they know Osan Woods Butcher or someone rted to him has entered the LA grounds! What should I do now? Eren had realized that he was in big trouble from peeking into Julies memories. She had been told a little amount of information by Lin Karr who himself was only privy to the information he had received from his superior till now. The butcher knew there was no loose end from his side. His carefulness knew no bounds when it came to his survival. But no matter how full-proof the execution of each of his actions was, there existed various specialists in the ranking journey who could predict and even prophesize something or the other about a certain event that might have happened or will happen in the future. The only thing he could do was to prepare himself in advance. Thats why the butcher was so keen on keeping tabs on Lins team. He knew that since that group has already been dragged into this mess, theyll be made aware of the updates whether they liked to listen to or not. But how can this information benefit me? What can I do in advance? The wheels inside Erens head started churning. He thought of various possibilities and probabilities. In the end, he concluded that, since they had included the aplice of the butcher part, they were not sure about him being here in LA. That could also mean Julie was given a limited amount of information. And they might have already confirmed through some means that the butcher was in fact on LA grounds. They could just be trying to figure out its identity. I still have some leeway. I need toe up with a simple yet effective n to get out of this mess. This Osan Woods incident just keeps on getting in my way, damn it. When will I be free from this hunt? No. Im thinking this in the wrong way. I only want the hunt to end from my end when I should be thinking about how it should end from their end. For a hunt to end, someone has to serve and die as prey. I need a decoy. Erens eyes shone with ethereal radiance aftering to this point. The figures hiding in the shadows were looking for the butcher because they hadnt found him yet. He needed to give them their butcher for them to stop looking any further. Thanks to the information he had right now, Eren could put forward another performance while ensuring his safety. ************** Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Somewhere within the dense forest on LA grounds, a group of students could be seen partaking in practise battles. This group was none other than Erens party. He had returned to his dorm room, gotten fresh and summoned his team members to practise with them. Currently, Eren was seen practising with Steve. He had told thetter to be vocal about his spell executions. And Steve was only following his orders. Steves new spell needed him to control the surrounding mana with the help of auditory mana fluctuations. Thats why he was shouting. Thanks to the berserker ss, it would not hinder his battle performance either. Eren had suggested the change of spell to Steve a few days ago when he had consulted thetter about his ipatibility with his previously practised spell. The spell Steve was practising now, named Kk, required him to shout his heart out while imbuing mana in his vocal cords. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Stop, stop, stop! Steve, I think you need to practise your control over imbuing mana in your vocal cords. Your output is not standardized so it is making things difficult for you. Maybe you should stop the spell practise and get back to the basics. Sometimes having the ability to cast spells is not enough. You also need exceptional expertise in casting them to make them a go-to tool in your arsenal. Practise your basics as Ive told you. Eren seemed the sole boss of his entire team. He would oversee the practise matches among his teammates from time to time and guide them in various fields. Steve was just another of his pet projects to raise an exceptional berserker that he couldnt be in his previous life. But it was not like he didnt have problems: Will you fight me now? Why are you hesitating like a shy little girl? Renita pestered him to have a duel with her again. The butcher had a hard time handling this littledy. First, her battle style didnt have many ws. And second, her moves and spells were rted to the ranger ss which he didnt know much about. So he couldnt give her much guidance. Without that guidance acting as leverage, Eren couldnt tame this fierce vixen who was the most cunning amongst her peers of the same age. She tried to bait him with an apt choice of words, or at least so she thought. s, Eren wasnt to be underestimated: Stop treating me like a little kid or a man insecure about his masculinity. Do you think being called a shy girl is insulting to me? I love shy little girls. They are.. Eren, my bro. You should stop doing any more damage to your image. Otherwise, these girls will see you as a pedo. The butcher wanted to continue but was interrupted by Jake with an awkward smile on his face. This little vixen had set a trap within a trap for me. Only then did Eren realize that even knowing about the bait wasnt enough sometimes. You needed toe up with an appropriate response to dodge itpletely. Hehehe! So you like little girls. Why dont we have a duel then? And I promise this news stays with our team. Otherwise, who knows? News on the campus travels fast and travels wide, you know. Eren didnt know whether to smile orugh at this. Pedo? Pfft! If these guys knew he had been sleeping with women much older than his current age, what would they think about him? But suddenly he was reminded of the Recluse R*pist incident from his past life and his expressions turned cold. Because even that incident was focused on tarnishing his image. Even when Renita was only making fun of him to have her way, the way with which she chose to do it irked him thoroughly. Id suggest that you keep your silly pranks to yourself, littledy. You wanted a duel, right? Youll get one. But that wont be because you baited me into it. 500 Merps, for one duel. Thats my charge to guide you. Pay up now ore again after earning the amount to have your wish fulfilled. Now tell me, are you willing to pay that amount? If yes, well have that duel right now! The scrooge made use of his newly introduced way to earn Merps to pressurize Renita. Only he was supposed to manipte these young guns. Not the other way around. Chapter 111: Ramy Richards Returns

Chapter 111: Ramy Richards Returns

Now tell me, are you willing to pay that amount? If yes, well have that duel right now! Ill make sure to teach you properly this time. Eren said all that in a scolding toneced with a mild threat. He had never used this harsh voice before. He was always calm and cool-headed. Thats why his little agitation came as a shock to him. His team members were confused and surprised by his uncalled-for harsh response. Some of them didnt know what was said and done between Eren and Renita as they were busy duelling among themselves. But they had understood that whatever thetter said had rubbed their leader off in the wrong way. Renita remained silent and her cheeks had gotten red. She knew she was pushing her luck. But she did it because she thought there were no consequences. How was she supposed to know Eren would take a simple joke so harshly? She also felt guilty for pestering him so much. She lowered her voice and head a little and spoke up: Of of course, Ill pay. And Eren, Im sorry if my little prank.. Steve, Ewen, hewe you aawe. Take me in your team, guys! Renita wanted to apologize to Eren but was interrupted by a weird sentence thrown their way from somewhere. She followed the source of that voice and saw a medium statured student heading their way. I finally found you hewe. I heawd that you aawe in Steves team. Take me in it, wont you? I wont disappoint you. Erens team members saw Ramy Richards asking about joining their party out of the blue. Nobody had seen iting, including Eren. Ramy Richards, what are you doing here? Eren was already irked by Renita. His head was starting to calm down. But then Ramy came with his sudden demand wanting to join their party. He felt like he had a headache. The butcher grabbed his forehead to soothe it a little with a light massage and waited for Ramy to answer. Thetter told them that he had been looking to meet him and Steve ever since his defeat by Erens hands in the intra-ss ranking war. Ramy was immensely impressed by Erens performance with him. The fact that his opponent had figured out the way with which Ramys spell worked without knowing about it spoke volumes about Erens expertise. Ramy was going to join a rtively well-established party before his defeat. But that match with the butcher had made him realize that there was always someone superior in everything you do. And like this Eren had his first fanboy! A fanboy with a lisp! Ramys will to follow Eren was so strong that he didnt budge when he was told that they already had seven fixed members in their team and he could only join as a forever reserve member. He was dissatisfied, yes. But that didnt discourage him frommitting to the team. Eren wanted to oppose this idea. But then he kept quiet. He pondered a little before okaying Ramys demand. There was no loss to be had to him and his team if they were only taking a reserve member in their team. The problem was for Ramy. Since hed be treated as a reserve member, Ramy would have to take part in minimum ranking war battle separately from his team if he didnt get to y. he d also get less share or no share at all in their winnings depending upon his involvement, which was going to be dicey for the most time. But Erens team itself had no problem keeping an extra member around. Eren nodded to Steve on which thetter okayed Ramys verbal application. By the way, Ramy, what is your ss and what was the spell you were trying to cast on me? Eren couldnt help but ask. He needed to know about the newest member in his team to formte how to make the best use of him: Oh, that! Hehe! My element is sound. And my inhewent natuwe is dissonance. I pwactise a wanking technique wted to sound as well. My ss is that of a knight. But My spells name is Suweeal Sound Swords. It lets me fowm two spectwal swowds made of sound vibwationspwessed into swowd fowms. These swowds, fowmed in the awea awoud me aftwew a sessfulpletion of silent incantation, can attack my opponent as pew my will. I can also wield them to pewform basic knight moves. Pweety cool, aint it? Erens and his team members brains stopped working trying to decode what the hell Ramy Richards was trying to say using so many Rs in his speech. It was like the guy wanted people to make fun of him. But Steve couldnt help asking with suppressedughter almost breaking past his control: So you have a lisp. And your elemental affinity is sound? Yeah. Whats wong? Ramy asked with part confusion and part anticipation on his face. Wong he says! Hahahaha! Nothing oh my god. Nothings wong here. You are hrious, Ramy. Im d you are part of our team. Now if we could just hire a trantor to understand what you said just now, thatd be great! Haha! Steve startedughing out loud while holding his stomach. Ramy had said too many lisp-influenced words in one go for him to stay in control. But not everybody followed his lead. Eren was again put into deep thought after hearing about Ramys characteristics. The element of sound indicated derived elemental affinity. The sound element users werent usually found around. But they werent extremely rare either. Therefore, there were plenty of techniques for the user to choose from. And yet, Ramy didnt harmonize his ss and its spell at all when he had so many right choices he could make use of. What the fok this guy was thinking when he was trying to attack me with a mid-range spell. He is a fokin Knight for devils sake! Haah! Most teens are stupid. I should lower my expectations. And who am I to judge anyway? It wasnt like I never made mistakes in my past timeline. Eren had this thought as he shook his head and smiled mirthlessly. Now he had another task thaty in front of him. Fine-tune Ramy into a better reserve member of their team. What the butcher didnt know was that his uing training would birth an exceptional sound element Knight in the future, in the form of Ramy Richards! ======================= AN: Hi. I know, Ramys speech can be painful to read. I have to show the intended lisp in his speech after all. Hope you can read the words by recing irregr Ws with Rs in words. Ramy is going to be a fun character in the VEH-verse. He is talented, fearless, and not shy of his lisp at all. But let me know if its too unbearable. Ill either not show the lisp in writing at all, reduce Ramys dialogues overall, or make him talk in the third person. Chapter 112: Marla’s Criticism

Chapter 112: Mas Criticism

Four days before the inter-ss ranking war! Eren could be seen trying very hard to beat Ma! He was in the courtyard of a medium-sized house. Located at the edges of the Lionhearts Beasts Sanctuary. Just a few minutes away from the check-post that allowed entrance to the forest. This was where Ma lived when she was on LA grounds. The butcher was using every trick in his sleeves tond one good blow even when he knew he wouldnt be able to scratch her. And unsurprisingly, all his attempts had been in vain so far. He had expected this to happen. But that didnt change the fact that he was also feeling miserable because of the power gap between them. Thats right. The butchersbat training with Ma had begun just four days before the uing team match. Even Erens Sedated Perception of working on hyperdrive didnt give him the edge he fantasized. The gap in their BTP value was too huge after all. With that much difference in the power, not even a transcendent spell could do much. Ma was at the peak of the D-Rank. She had been so for a while now. So handling a brat in the F-Rank wasnt a big deal for her. Still, thedy was impressed by her apprentices battle talent. She would have never thought that an ordinary and in looking guy like Eren would keep on surprising her till today. Eren was dwelling at his wits and bodys physical limits. Ma would only attack him passively while regting her strength to her students level. But one light blow from her was enough to send him meters away from his initial position. The battle continued to rage. Eren then drew his katars. The Diceros Left and Right made their eventual appearance. But Ma only chuckled a little in response. She raised her hands and asked the out-of-breath teen to e and get it with her index finger. Eren imbued his dual-wielded weapons with his lightning mana before diving right in for a head-on frontal assault. Ma didnt even try to defend and. Long story short, the butcher lost. The weapons wouldnt help him. They hindered his movements and attacks as he wasnt used to their handling yet. I think this should be enough for the day, dont you think? Hehehe! Or you want us to continue? Ma giggled and passed a remark. She knew the boy was spent. But his fierceness at the F-Rank had shocked her a little. She knew she couldnt do much better than him if she was the same age and rank. And this even though all the amazoness was blessed with an exceptional talent for a closebat type. Why dont you go ahead and of my head straight away instead of killing me in instalments? Eren lowered his voice while he talked. Almost whispering. But he knew Ma would be able to hear him. He wanted that to happen anyway. Hahaha! I was just testing your limits, silly boy. I need to know what you are capable of right now before gilding you in your path further. I must say, Im impressed. When ites to spell execution and timing, you are beyond any normal F-Ranker. Even a talented kid who has been groomed from their birth would find it to beat you in one or two moves. Plus, theres no hesitation in your moves. You see an opponent and you stop seeing anything more about them. I can tell that man or woman, young or old, all those things cease to matter to you when you identify someone as your enemy. Thats a good approach to have. No hesitation to take care of your problem thats in front of you. A closebatants mindset needs to be at least this firm for them to seedter on. Those are all your plus points. Nowes the criticism. Your control over your bodys movements is also good, but it needs some refinement. To be honest, it feels like your body is used to fighting like a berserker. You are a closebat warrior, so act like one and get at an arms length from your opponent. And only then unleash your attack spells for a maximum impact. Whats the use of maintaining a mid-range distance? Are you thinking about creating a safe distance to retreat in case your moves fail you? Its like you subconsciously want to execute a mid-range spell before following it with another attack. This is opposite to a closebatants instincts. Then theres your habit of wanting to go behind the enemys back to catch them off guard. That is again a berserker move after they use speed enhancement potion. They do that because they cant breach their enemys defence with finesse and grace like us. So they strive to avoid their defence entirely. It is not a bad strategy per se. But thats not how closebatants fight. We are frontline warriors who target the enemys vital spots while looking them right in the eye. We dont normally try to avoid the enemys defence. We sh with it upfront and poke holes in it. In short, you havent developed a closebatants instincts yet. I can teach you the moves. I can guide you when ites to your weapon handling. But the instinct part is something you need to develop on your own. Im not even sure if youve selected the right ss for yourself now. Will you not be better off as a berserker? Ma looked at Eren seriously and concluded. She knew the boy had a talent for being a closebat expert. It was just that his talent as a berserker was even more apparent. Shed like to have him as her apprentice. But she wouldnt guide him on the wrong path because of that. Therefore she spoke what she spoke truthfully. Now it was the butchers turn to decide. What she didnt know was that Eren already knew his shorings. He had lived a long life in his past timeline being a shitty berserker. Of course, his habits werent going to be that easy to get rid of. What Ma had considered a talent in berserking was merely his experience from the past timeline. =========================== AN: Hi. The traits Ma talks about in this chapter have made their presence known in Erens previous battles till now. ? Chapter 113: White Raven Crew

Chapter 113: White Raven Crew

What Ma had considered a talent in berserking was merely his experience from the past timeline. But he needed to admit that whatever else that she said was the truth. Old habits die hard. And in his case, he had already died once. So in a way, his berserking habits were more persistent than him. Im sure about my path as a closebat expert, Master Ma. Its just that I try to copy my friend Steve sometimes who is also a berserker. But Im sure your guidance would help me get rid of those habits for good. Steve would have coughed blood after knowing he was being used as an excuse like that. Im not sure how you can copy someone in a test and still score more than them. Anyway, its good that you are steadfast in your current path. So well go ahead with our training from the next session. Ill include some more exercises to increase your bodys flexibility. Well focus on that first before moving on to the katar arts. If you dont have any questions, you can consider yourself dismissed for today. And be sure to answer my calls when I summon you next. Hehe! I have a surprise for you. Ma said this and went inside her abode, leaving her apprentice to his devices. The butcher dusted his clothes off and found his way outside his courtyard. He was thinking about ways he could get rid of his berserking ways or implement them in his current battle style in such a way that they donte off as a hindrance. ******************** Rons Raiders 1/A vs. White Raven Crew 1/C! The teams are requested to approach the battle ring and prepare in the corners assigned to them. The battle will start in five minutes. Two groups of students could be seen approaching the battle ring surrounded by a crowd. Both teams had seven members each. One of the teams belonged to the ss of 1/A while the other was from ss 1/C. Ron Valencia was the team leader of his team Rons Raiders. He was confident in his teams strength. And most of all, he was confident about himself. Ron boasted the BTP value of 17 while his other team member Dino Moretti was unting the BTP value of 16. They both were exceptionally talented than their peers and had started their ranking journeys much earlier with abundant resources. Rons team had an unusual setup. It had two berserkers namely Ron himself and the other being Dino. The team had discarded the inclusion of a closebat expert to achieve this. But it didnt lose its battle prowess in the process. Thats because Ron and Dino worked excellently as a pair. The coordination between them had been fine-tuned for years. Thats because they were instructed in the path of a berserker by the same teacher that had taught them from their adolescence. The team focused on Ron and Dino getting prepared for their attacks while the other team members handled the first few minutes of the battle in a defensive mode. Then when they were ready, the other team members would retreat in the back followed by the duounching its sync attack. Ron had tried and tested this strategy many times now. They even conducted mock battles with other teams in total confidentiality. Their team battle practices showed promising results. Therefore, Rons team didnt pay much attention to the team they were up against. This team was only going to be their stepping stone to reach a higher stage of battles after all. What Ron and Dino didnt know was that there was someone in the other team whose eyes shine with cold-blooded brutality when he saw them. Eren couldnt stop himself from showing that glint in his eyes after he saw who his team was up against. The butcher looked down so that nobody would see the hate in his eyes. And nobody did. Except for Becky. She was the most sensitive towards Erens aura which had gotten even colder than normal ever since the other team made its appearance. What is this guy up to now? Becky thought to herself. Of course, she wanted to ask about the issue. but she figured this was not an appropriate time. And even if it was, this deep schemer would not necessarily tell her the truth. Hed just spout half-truths and half-lies coated with thoughts of euphemism to steer away from the topic. One had to say, Becky had an uncanny ability to judge a persons character. Ron Valencia and Dino Moretti. The two berserkers would get pretty famous for their featster on in their lives if things proceed as theyve been usually ordained. They were the same students who had harassed Eren in his previous timeline after Selena Slughorn started spreading rumours about him. In the previous timeline, Eren had to attendpulsory battle sses meant for all the berserkers. Thats because he had changed his path from being a potioneer to that of a berserker. These battle sses were held from the third academic year onwards and nobody was allowed to skip them. There, Ron and Dino would always pick fights with him and trash him up real good. They were all berserkers at that time. So it was still technically counted as a fair fight. It wasnt Ron and Dinos fault the guy had to switch paths in his third academic year after all. But today, at this time, this ce, and in this timeline, things would be different. The butcher would make sure of that. Hmm! What did I promise myself back then? That Id fry these guys balls, huh? Well, I obviously cant do that thing here. But Ill at least give them a small taste of hell heading their way. Eren thought to himself and sported the most cheerful smile on his face. To the rest of the team members and onlookers, it looked like Eren was trying to build confidence in them for their uing match. But to Becky, it felt like the smile of a devil before hemits his vile deeds. The five minutes are up. Both the teams should step into the battle ring now. The battle between Rons Raiders and White Raven Crew was about to start. =========================== AN: Hi. In case anyones wondering, Ron Valencia and Dino Moretti have been introduced briefly in chapter 64. Chapter 114: Raising the Bet

Chapter 114: Raising the Bet

The five minutes are up. Both the teams should step into the battle ring now. The battle between Rons Raiders and White Raven Crew was about to start. Whats our n, Steve? Which formation are we going to use against them? Becky asked Steve who in turn looked at Eren, hinting that he was going to be the one who decides. The butcher didnt take long to reply: Well go with the first formation. Im not sure about the rest but those two, Ron and Dino, are both berserkers. The defensive stance will put us in passive. That is enough for the two to overwhelm us given enough time. Eren concluded swiftly before stepping into the battle ring. When all of the team members of the battle entered the ring, the battle ring erected an energy shield to seal them all in from the crowd watching outside it. The first formation Erens team had practised focused on offence. In the first formation, Eren will start an all-out offence against their mage while the rest will keep the other members of the opposite team busy. Renita will be in charge of long-range attacks to support Eren when he needs it. Becky will halt the advances of the enemy berserker. And Jake will defend their side and provide a zone for them to fall back to. Steve would be given time to prepare and would only be utilized as a follow-up after Erens retreat. The first formation was the most ideal for the team they were up against. But it had a w because of the enemy teams formation. The enemy had two berserkers. That meant Becky had another berserker in her tter. Steve could help her take care of the other one, but as a result, he wont be ready to initiate his charged attacks. But since Eren had told them to go with the first formation, nobody had objected to it. They also knew no matter how many formations a teames up with, a temte wont necessarily match the scenario with 100% uracy. 5 4 3 2 1 Hold on! The referee was about to announce the beginning of the battle. But Eren interrupted him. He raised his eyebrows and was about to ask what was the hold about. But Eren cleared that for him in the next second: Ron Valencia of the Rons Raiders, our leader Steve wishes to talk to you. Eren put forward Steves name for his ns. Ron was confused but he nodded anyway. But nobody was more confused than Steve himself who had no idea what Eren was talking about. The team leaders and one of their extra members each met at the centre of the battle ring: Well we are listening. Hmm. Steve wants this battles stakes to be raised. Hahahahaha! Ron, these fools think they can win this battle. Can you believe it? Ackey would always act like ackey. Eren thought to himself and sighed at Dinos taunt. He didnt pay attention to him but focused his eyes on Ron before continuing further: If you are so confident in winning, I dont see any harm for you to ept Steves demand. You might even profit big if you raise the bet and win the match. The devil whispered into its victims ears. And the victims fell prey to his trap as he had expected: Hmm, you are right. So how much raise are we talking about here? Ron asked curiously. He didnt mind raising the stakes if that would help their team win big in their very first inter-ss match. He was expecting Steve to raise thepulsory betting amount of 200 to 1000 Merps at maximum. 10,000 Merps! Ron started coughing hard. Dino was stunned as well. And even Steve felt like he was having an out-of-body experience with his soul flying over him. But the butcher said this with a in face. What the actual fok! Ron, these idiots have gone crazy. Ive checked their credentials and earlier battle records. This Eren guy is good and their mage Becky and ranger Renita are decent. But this Steve here is total trash. He lost without even casting a spell. Hahaha! Lets ept their deal. If this bunch of idiots want to hand all their Merps to us, so be it. Who are we to stop someone frommitting an act of benevolence? Haha! Ron had figured out there was something fishy when he saw Steves reaction after Eren said that huge number. But he was distracted by Dino who made a fair point. He too had studied a lot of students performances. Eren was good. But there was nothing special about Steve or Jake. Frankly, he didnt understand how he got to be a team leader in the first ce. But the thought of earning 10000 points in one go finally blinded him. He checked with his members. They could collectively raise 11K Merps, just barely able to fulfil the raised bets requirement. Eren had alreadye prepared. He had liquidated some of his wealth into Merps. He did the heavy-lifting in his team and put 5K merps into the pool. The rest of his team members begrudgingly put forward the remaining amount. If they lose now, Erens team will cry rivers of blood. It was their hard-earned resource. Doing a part-time job while taking care of their curriculum was not easy after all. The team leaders from both sides approached the referee and made their intentions known to him. He couldnt believe the two teams would appear at the beginning of the inter-ss ranking wars and raise the betting amount to 10000 Merps. But he had no power to stop these students anyway. His only responsibility was to send the system prompt to the two team leaders about the raised amount. And once they epted from their end, the money would get automatically deducted from the loser team leaders ount and get credited to the winning teams leader. Both the team leaders epted the prompt sent their way. Eren, I hope you know what youre doing. Otherwise, we all will be fucked royally here. Steve, my man, stop being a wuss and y your character well. You are a berserker, for devils sake. Act like one. Your emotions influence your path as a ranker you know. Its just Later. Now we have the battle to win, 20K Merps to gain, and some scores hehe! Erenughed cheerfully as he pped his hands. ========================= AN: The minimum betting amount for an interss battle is 200 Merps. The teams can raise that value however they can after each others consent. The reference chapter is chapter 67. Chapter 115: First Casualty?

Chapter 115: First Casualty?

Later. Now we have the battle to win, 20K Merps to gain, and some scores hehe! Erenughed cheerfully as he pped his hands. Steve had never seen Eren so joyful before. Somehow he felt that the joy had nothing to do with the possibility of 20K Merps they might gain. For the second and final time: 5 4 3 2 1 0! Commence the battle. The crows started pping as the counter hit zero. Both teams started with their frontline fighters. Eren bolted to the opposing teams mage without looking at his back. The mage was going to cast spells using the grimoire he was holding in his hand. This school of spells made use of the words, abstract designs, and runes written on a grimoires page using the ink imbued in ones magic. It would take a long time for things to go correctly in writing a spells intended effect down in a grimoire. But once done, it would allow for a quick and effortless spell casting without worrying too much about the mana circuits within ones body. There was only one drawback in this school of spells. All the spells were dependent on the grimoire. If one can take the thing away or destroy it from a distance, then the mage of this school would be like a lump of meat on the chopping block. Eren had seen the opponents mage checking their waist and confirming the existence of the book before the start of the match. He had figured out that the guy was going to use a grimoire. The butcher already knew the weakness thates with using the grimoire for spell casting. So he already had ns to tackle him first and foremost. But the enemy team wouldnt let him have an easy way of dealing with their mage. Its tank raised an earth wall of 10m in one go and secured its mage behind it. Mas advice was ringing in Erens head. Its the closebatants job to tear down the enemy defences and attack them head-on. He didnt stop his advance as a result even after seeing a long stretched wall getting raised out of nowhere. Retreating means losing the advance that they had gained. And going around the wall would mean falling into a trap. Because he knew by now the team was ready to tackle him if he approached them from either side of the wall. What about upwards then? Eren activated Blitz Steps and stepped fiercely on the vertically stretched wall. He tweaked his movement spell a little to grant a pration power to his steps and climb the wall. The feet created a straight line of footholds in his path. It slowed down his speed but allowed him to continue his assault in the same direction. The butcher climbed the wall effortlessly. But it seems that the enemy team member had studied him. They had drawn the possibility of him climbing over the wall to meet them. So the tank dispelled the spell just at the right moment as Eren climbed it up and changed it into a giant fist manifestation spell. The surface right beneath Erens feet turned into a giant palm before it closed in on him quickly. Everybody saw Eren getting squeezed and trapped inside that fist. The enemy team was about to celebrate and Erens team was about to panic. The match hadnt evensted a few seconds and the White Raven Crew had its first casualty. Nobody had epted this. The n was to allow Renita to cover Erens path with her long-range spells from behind him. But the guy just rushed to the mage without coordinating with the ranger at all. Hehehe! That guy The mage was about to speak when he felt that someone was standing beside him. When he looked at the visage, he was utterly surprised before feeling someone had just twisted his guts bynding a brutal punch on his abdomen. The mage was going to cast a defence spell but found out that his grimoire was nowhere to be found. It was already taken away from him. The punch on the abdomen was so strong that it didnt trigger the gag reflex. Instead, it made him lose his footing and curl up like a freshly caught prawn. Eren smashed the mages head with his feet to make himpletely lose consciousness. One down! The butcher said to himself and smiled. He was having fun bullying these kids. His BTP was superior to all of them in these two teams. Of course, hed have an easier time dealing with them individually. And even with so many advantages stacked together, Eren didnt like to take risks. There would be no enemying back from their slumber after he had taken care of them. If it was a real battle, the butcher would have killed this defenceless mage then and there, only leaving his side after making sure he was gone for good. He kept the grimoire in his storage. Even if the team has a healer now and they heal him after some time, this mage would practically be useless without his book. Eren was in enemy territory. The teams dual berserkers had already gone ahead to engage with his teams members. That left two more members for Eren to take care of. He was going to approach the closest person to him and get rid of him. But a round of wind bullets approached the girl standing nkly looking at Erens visage. The butcher looked behind and found that it was Renita. She had followed till here atst. He nodded at her before approaching the enemy tank. He had given the feeble character for Renita to take care of. The ranger didnt like to pick on the butchers leftover meal. But the teams benefits came first. So she approached the enemy girl with dual mana guns in her hands. The enemy girl snapped out of her reverie after she heard the swooshing of bullets going right past her ears. Her ss was that of a ninja. She opened a scroll at her disposal and tore it and immediately she was covered in tough, shining snake scales. The bullets hit her but they couldnt do much damage. She readied herself for the battle with the enemy teams approaching ranger. But the butcher wouldnt know anything about this ninja vs ranger battle. Because he had stopped paying attention to it. His next target was the enemys tank. We face the enemy head-on. Mas voice was still guiding Erens actions. ======================== AN: Please note that there will be a one-chapter/day release for the next few days as Ill be travelling for some days. Although I can write while I travel, I dont want to do that with VEH. Otherwise, that would send invitations to a bunch of errors. Chapter 116: Chink in the Armor

Chapter 116: Chink in the Armor

We face the enemy head-on. Mas voice was still guiding Erens actions. The enemy tank felt an unprecedented level of danger after he saw that butcher was approaching him. He quickly cast an earth armour spell on himself that made his body get coated with a rockishyer of earth. The coating was almost done when Eren reached the tank. He had already drawn his katars. Although he wasnt great at handling them, his experience and expertise in weaponry were enough for him to handle a teen. Katars were called punching daggers for a reason. They came with exceptional prating capabilities that would get unleashed when the user just punched at their opponent wearing them. Their hack-and-sh performance was only subpar at best. But their piercing lethality in closebat range was unmatched. Eren punched at the opponents torso which thetter defended by bracing his arms in front of him to form an X. one of the katars pierced theyer of earth armour and lodged itself into the victims folded wrist. The tank cried loudly in response. Eren knew he didnt have a lot of time before the dual berserkers returned to take care of him after knowing about their teams situation here. And yet, the butcher didnt slow down his assault. He targeted the tanks lower waist with his other katar. He pulled out the lodged katar from his opponents wrist and was about to bend a little to inflict injury on his waist but by then his opponent had cast another spell. This spell was a small version of what the tank did after the butcher was standing over the edge of the wall he climbed. Another earth arm appeared right in the middle of the two students and it tried to grab Eren. Erens first instinct was to retreat and think of a counter move. But he was fighting against those instincts to continue his attack. The closebatant needed to find an opening in any case it was possible to find an opening for. Eren activated Sedated Perception at this time! Earlier, he was using Sedated Perception as an experiment to see how he can use it at the right time. Thanks to his experiments, he had learned that activating the time element spell at the beginning didnt give him maximum benefits. He needed to wait for the right moment. He needed this spell the most when he was thinking about the next move while fighting his berserking instincts. He thought to himself as he saw the earth arm closing in on him slowly: Lets look at the facts. This guy is an earth element user. So my lightning element attacks wont deal him good damage. The lightning effect damage would just get neutralized by his earth element mana. At least most of it would. Out of all the element users, this guy could have been, he just had to be an earth element user, a type Im naturally weak against. Guess, I need to start collecting spells that belong to other Great elements to at least cover my weakness. For now, if my lightning element spells are not that effective, Ill just save my mana for those two numbnuts. That means goingpletely hand-to-hand against the tank. A closebat expert finds a chink in the armour, huh? Lets do that. This guys earth armour spell is strong in defence. I could only lodge the tip of my katar into his wrist after applying so much pressure. But that armour also makes him slow to move in a fluid motion. I, on the other hand with my higher BTP, Blitz Steps and Sedated Perception, can dominate him. If I can only lodge the tip of my katar with this guys armour activated, Ill lodge it to a ce where itd matter the most. The tank was already on guard against Eren by this point. He had already made the area around his groins and joins extra protected by deploying a thickyer of earth armour at the ces. Only his face was partially covered in earth armour. With his speed advantage still by his side, the butcher used his katar again to punch at the tank. This time it wasnt the lower waist like his opponent was expecting an attack to approach from. Eren punched the guys face with his katar and the tip of the Diceros Right pierced the left cheek of the tank without almost no resistance beforeing out from the other cheek. Thanks to Erens controlled piercing, the katar had only pierced the cheeks while keeping the insides of the tanks mouth in a rtively safe position. The guy was about to shout horridly but was stopped by Erens uppercut that thetter had given him with his other hand after retracting the katar. But contrary to his belief, the uppercut was meant to lessen the damage not increase it: Keep quiet or your cheeks would be torn some more than they already are. Youd require more potions, more resources, more care, and more recovery time if you shout now. Youd have to retire from the match should you get released by me without dealing you more damage, of course. Nod if you understand? Eren had stopped the execution of Sedated Perception by now. He had dodged the earth fisting his way easily and found an apt angle to attack the guys cheeks. This was the most vulnerable spot he could find to attack on without getting penalized for injuring a student with malicious intentions. Eren always had malicious intentions regarding his enemies. He just didnt like to suffer himself because of it. The guy looked at Eren angrily after listening to his demands. He didnt even let him register his pain by shouting his heart out. But the tank still had some sense left in him. He understood what the butcher said was true. There was no point fighting this demon. Even with his agile earth hand spell acting as an offence and diversion at once, the small-statured and weak-looking butcher could dodge his attacks at point-nk. He was just a superior fighter than him in every aspect, except maybe for his element. Therefore, the tank sighed and nodded his head. Eren looked at the referee after hearing the tanks confirmation. The referee was paying attention to these two. He just nodded his head and hinted at the tank to step away from the rings active field. Just when Eren turned back to look at what his teammates were doing, he saw Dino heading his way at full speed. He was just a few meters away from him. Ron Valencia was still engaging with Steve, Jake, and Becky who had opened abined front against him. The duo must have observed by now that Eren had ploughed through their side. If hees and joins his team, things would get extremely one-sided. Thats why Ron told Dino to handle Eren and Renita both. The dual berserkers had already emptied the berserking potions inside their systems. They were stronger, faster, sharper, and overall more lethal than their usual selves. Renita ran towards Eren after seeing that he was going to fight with the berserker. Normally, a closebat expert would be at a disadvantage when it came to a close-range fight between them and a berserker. Therefore, she wanted to support Eren on time. She had already taken care of the ninja she was fighting with. The girl was left unconscious on the ground after Renita shot a dull, close-range wind bullet at the back of her head and dispersed the same right after the impact was made. Of course, the girl now had a blunt wound and the blood hade out. But the referee had observed that it was not a serious wound simple recovery potions couldnt treat. Plus, the blood loss could be covered with a few specific mana potions too. So there was no worry. You fokin bastard, what did you do to? Dino wanted to diss Eren while they were about to engage with each other. But thetter wasnt interested in the same old you threaten me and I threaten you chitchat. He used Sedated Perception straight away along with Blitz Steps and almost vanished from his position. Dino wanted to find Eren using mana sense but he quickly dropped that idea after seeing Renita had sent a volley of wind bullets his way. The ranger didnt hold back this time the way she did with the ninja. She couldnt afford to. Eren approached Dino from his left side. He had already waited long enough to teach these numbnuts a lesson. Now it was time to act. Dinos element was copper metal. He had coated himself in ayer of copper metallic armour. And there was a copper greatsword resting on his right shoulder. The swords edge had Sharktooth-like protrusions that looked like they were spinning. This was a custom-made, rune-carved artefact specially made to be used in conjunction with a particr elemental spell. Despite the heavy-looking appearance, Dino was pretty nimble on his feet. It seemed that the metal armour granted by the guys spell didnt restrict his movement. Aaah, I forgot. Dino has a copper metal affinity and Ron has an affinity for iron metal. Thats why these guys stay together after all. They could attack their enemies without worrying about each others safety. Plus, their spellbos work well when they are together. These numbnuts are looking for people who are experts in casting armour spells on themselves. That tank must be one of their permanent recruits. Time to show them that the numbnuts can still be crushed even when they are made of metals. Chapter 117: Zapping the Berserkers

Chapter 117: Zapping the Berserkers

Time to show them that the numbnuts can still be crushed even when they are made of metals. Eren had consciously selected Dinos left side. The copper berserker had kept his weapon to his right. So his left side was less guarded and hed face difficulty tounch an attack with that arrangement in response to the butchers approach. For the first time since the fight started, Renita became useful to Eren. She kept Dino busy while maintaining a safe distance from him. She knew a berserkers charged attack wasnt something to be scoffed at. The gunslinger made full use of her long-range expertise to keep the metal mean machine at bay. This was all Eren needed at the time. He approached Dino who had already detected him because of the formering into his mana senses range. But that didnt matter. Because Eren was too fast for Dino to respond on time at this close range. Eren reached Dinos left side just when thetter dodged an array of wind bullets and was prepared to break into his next sprint move. Eren activated the Blitz Bolt spell and let it run through his katars. Then he adjusted his stance beforeunching himself directly onto the moving metal b he knew to be Dino. The katars lit up with blue electric tongues. Eren found an opening at the guys left underarm and aimed his katars for a brutal punch. Dino was still trying to find bnce after he had dodged Renitas attacks. So even when he knew Eren was going to attack him, he couldnt do much about it. That, and the fact that Eren had been crazy fast. A distinct metallic clunk sound was heard as soon as the tip of his katar made contact with the berserker. The katars couldnt pierce the metallic skin at first. But then the electric tongues made contact with the shiny skin. And then Dino was zapped! If the earth was the worst elemental affinity for Eren to deal with, then affinities like metals were a huge blessing for him and a curse for his opponents. In his previous timeline, Eren was bullied by these two numbnuts only because he had to regress in his path to be a newbie berserker. But this time he was a closebat expert with all his perks stacked together. Plus, he had his past lifes experiences. And with his enhanced BTP value, he was practically an overpowered character if he fought one on one with these kids. Dinos irises were scrolled upwards and his eyes turned white for a second after experiencing that lightning spell. And thanks to that, his metal armour spell was broken. The katar that was trying to create pressure on the skin suddenly found reduced resistance. The katar pierced the skin and made its way inside. It breached the skeletal protection by utilizing the space between two rib bones. And the tip of the katar was only an inch away from piercing Dinos heart. The referee was caught unaware of Erens brutal move. He was about to intervene in the fight when he saw that Eren had retrieved the katar. The attack was just to scare Dino. And apparently, it worked. Because Dino had dropped his greatsword after being pierced by Erens katar. He was about to dere his bail-out when he felt a punch heading his face that couldnt be blocked by him on time. Eren too retracted his katars in his storage after seeing that the guy had dropped his weapon. Otherwise, the referee would have gotten the reason he needs to intervene in the battle. He didnt want that to happen at this time. Dino could only watch as that punchnded squarely on his nose. And the attack didnt end there. It was followed by a barrage of punches, all aimed at his nose that had been long broken by now. Yet, Eren wasnt satisfied with simple punches. So he executed the Blitz Bolt again on his fist and connected the said charged fist onto Dinos pretty face. The guy nearly passed out after facing the effects of the lightning spell and force behind Erens punches head-on. Dino fell to the ground. Renita was about to approach Eren and Dinos little battlefield. But their de-facto leader warned her with his eyes that she needed to join the rest of the team instead ofing here. This little precious metal man was his to y with: Renita saw a strange spark in Erens eyes at that time. The butchers emotional condition was influencing the way his spells and their effects behaved. The Blitz Bolt spell that he meant to only run through his fists had made his eyes shine with lightning in them. Even his open mouth seemed like he was hiding a sparkly source of light inside. The ranger wanted to argue with Eren but she wasnt even given a chance. Eren sat on Dinos chest and started punching at his face with all the energy he got while running Blitz Bolt at maximum potential. The streams of lightning flew every time his fists connected with the guys now-beaten-to-a-pulp face. The butcher was enjoying the moment. The same rules of the LA battles that these guys had used to beat him to a sorry state every time were now helping him vent his frustration of a lifetime. Dino would have passed out long ago now. And that would have relieved him from his misery as the referee would have announced his exit from the battle in ce of him. But Eren didnt let that happen. Whenever the guy was about to pass out, the butcher wouldunch a controlled Blitz Bolt at Dinos vital spots to trigger the bodys do-or-die response and keep him awake. Then he would follow with another barrage of fists aimed at his nose. Dino didnt know things would turn out like this. This guy who was sitting on his chest, punching him over and over again while keeping him conscious was a demon incarnate. He didnt understand why Eren was so fixated on making him suffer so much. Eren was about to throw another punch when he noticed a great force was heading his way. He looked up from his current smash-all-you-want assignment to find out that Ron was using berserkers charge to approach him. Come, if you want toe. Eren smiled merrily at the sight of the iing enemy. Heunched another spell by spreading his hands in a weing gesture just when Ron was a few meters away from him. Blitz Storm! This was Erens AoE spell. It created an area of the dense lightning field with Eren and almost-passed-out Dino at its centre. Ron was already running on fumes after fighting with Erens teammates all by himself. Although he stood his ground, their attacks had still affected him. He was able to fight and keep his senses only because of the boost gained from the berserking potions. But all that boost couldnt save him from Erens Blitz storm. The butcher was the bane of their metal armour spell. Ron couldnt see the whole thing but he had realized from Dinos state that Erens spell countered their body armour spell perfectly. It wasnt like Ron and Dino werent aware of the natural element weaknesses they shared against Erens lightning. Thats why their initial n was to let their earth-element tank handle the guy as the dual berserkers kept on pressuring the enemy teams remaining teammates. But that n fell apart when their tank tanked on handling Eren. they would have never realized that Eren was this decisive in his approach to tackle them. Ron was trying to keep calm as the head of his team. But after seeing that Dino was brutally getting his ass handed to him by Eren, he knew their chances of winning this match was zero. Eren had all his teammates standing in the battle ring while he only had himself to count on. Even if this lightning maniac doesnt participate in the fight anymore due to running out of mana and watching the whole thing from the sides, his teammates were enough to wear Ron down with each passing moment. And no amount of berserking potion consumption was going to change that. It would only dy the inevitable. Therefore, Ron had used another berserking potion in the heat of the moment. Not to tackle Erens teammates. But to deal maximum damage to Eren. this was a kamikaze move meant to make Eren pay the consequences of terrorizing his berserker teammate. But the terrorist himself was already prepared for Ron. Eren knew about how Ron thought. He was aware the iron-metal-man would target him as soon as he figured out the battles eventual oue. Thats why Eren was so miserly with his mana expenditure. He allowed Ron toe into his AoE spells range before executing it at the right moment. But he knew that was not going to be enough to deal with a charged berserker. Erens Blitz Storm made the guy whose chest he was sitting on finally get his due rest. He passed out. But the butcher stopped caring about him as soon as he saw Ron approaching. Sedated Perception was activated! Chapter 118: Squeezable Nuts

Chapter 118: Squeezable Nuts

Eren got up from his initial position and headed straight to meet the berserkers charge who had been slowed down to a snails speed from his perspective. The butcher ducked down and let the guys fists pass from above his head. Ron was a knuckle user. And his element was the wind. He would create quakes in the surroundings even with his fistsnding on the thin air. Thats how he had deflected the barrage of iing attacks from Erens teammates despite being surrounded. And he was going to make the same fists to tackle Eren before thetter got a chance to execute his lightning-based spells on him. But he had underestimated the little terrorist in front of him. All Ron could see was Eren seemingly vanishing into nothingness before appearing right under his torso. And the guy had alreadyunched his attacks before he could change the position of his fists. Eren grabbed Rons almost-metal-like balls and executed Blitz Bolt once again. This vile creature didnt care about any decorum. Or a silent agreement between men not to target each others groins. He just grabbed the nuts and let his lightning run loose in that sensitive region. No matter how charged a berserker was after drinking their potion, they would physically and mentally get frozen in this situation. Ron wasnt an exception to this statement either. And the fact that his metal element spell worked against him in this condition made things even worse. The metal armour spell was broken. The guys nuts became squeezable again. And squeeze Eren did. Without a moments dy. Rons sharp scream was heard by the entire crowd. He was kicked from his standing position because of Erens way of manhandling him in a closebat range. Although I must have made a lot of mistakes, this closebat style is fun! Im enjoying it. Hehe! The butcher was quite happy with himself. His grin could be seen by his current victim and it created a deep impression in his mind. Whose evil spawn did we just battle? Is he even human? Ron had a fleeting thought before being overwhelmed by his pain receptors. Because Eren started doing the same thing to Ron as he did to Dino. His punches found a new face tond on. The skin on Erens knuckles was thoroughly mutted despite coating the fists with mana. But he didnt care. Yet, Ron wasnt helpless like Dino. Nor was he that weak. And he was also wearing his knuckles at the time. He too punched Erens face. But too bad, the punch couldntnd. The terrorist was still too fast. Eren knew his Sedated Perception was taxing on his mana storage which was now running out of juice. Therefore, he deactivated his time-element spell and let some punches hit him and his face. But that didnt make him back away either. He replied to those punches with even more punches powered by his Blitz Bolt. All the students standing in the crowd as well as those who were inside in the ring at the time could see were two guys locked in a fistfight with each other. With oneying t on the ground and another sitting on his chest. The other unconscious guy was sleeping his ass off just beside them. Erens face had also gotten bloody with only a few punchesnding on it. This was due to the knuckles blunt force. But that didnt discourage him. Eren had reserved a separate portion of mana for his healing spell at the end of the fight. So he wasnt worried about getting hurt. He smiled and showed his bloody teeth to Ron beforeunching another spell. Thest additional spell his liquid-stage mana-core could support before almost running out of mana. Blitz Shield! Eren activated his only defensive skill at thest moment. It made him impervious to Rons knuckles for a limited time. Of course, the force behind the fist would still register an impact. But that was not enough for the terrorist to stop terrorising his victims. For the next few moments, only Ron would get injured due to Erens punches. And he would throw blood in the air from his mouth. Rons punches only pushed the butcher away and made him almost get up from his chest. But that vile creature would just use that chance to punch right at his chest before resuming his earlier position. This time, Eren didnt have the luxury to keep Ron awake. His own mana was running out. He needed to wrap things faster. He wouldnt getpletely blind in his revenge and get injured severely for his stupidity. And he didnt underestimate Ron. Thats why Eren dealt a decisive blow to the guy atst andunched thest Blitz Bolt while grabbing the guys forehead. Of course, he controlled the output to make him only lose consciousness. Ron stopped moving after Erensst attack wasunched. Eren let go of his victims forehead and sat right beside his unconscious body. The butcher took a deep breath. And smiled devilishly. Those who say revenge is foolish havent enacted it in the best way possible. I just took my revenge and I feel great. Upbeat even. Haha! The butcher executed the healing spell in his arsenal next. Blitz Heal! It had be his habit to think of countermeasures. So he had already made sure to reserve thest vestiges of his mana for this. His facial injuries started repairing themselves as the tongues of lightning danced over them. It took a while before the major injuries became the minor ones before almost vanishing from their spots. Eren had closed his eyes during this time for a better spell execution. He only opened them when his spell waspleted and there was no more mana inside him to support the spell any longer. The first thing the butcher saw was that he was surrounded by his teammates. It looked like they were trying to not meet his eyes. All except Becky. And Renita would only peek at him from time to time. Seemingly when he wasnt looking at her. Why are you looking like all of your cats have been killed at the same time? We won. Put a smile on your face. The butcher tried to act normal while trying to ease the tension. He didnt care about his teammates feelings. But they were needed for his next set of ns after all. And he had done all that he had done in public. Although total anonymity wasnt possible, the butcher still wanted to undery his characters brutality in his audiences heads. See. Didnt I tell you? His aura has always been cold like the cold-blooded maniac he is. We could have finished this match easily without him delivering this much pain and suffering to our opponent. But look at what he did. Becky wasnt happy with Erens way of handling things. She voiced her displeasure with her harsh words in the spur of the moment. But she had forgotten that there was someone in their team who could be harsher with his words. With the same glib tongue that he had used for various purposes till now. And whose fault was it that I had to act the way I acted? It was yours. Almost all of you. Except for Renita. You couldnt even prevent one guy that was given to you. Ron not only managed to break a three-person siege but also covered so much distance between me and him without you being unable to interrupt him. At all. I did what I did to take care of these guys faster. You are underestimating them if you think that theyd go down easily just because they were hit by some of your spells. And thats what happened with you guys. Becky, Jake, and especially you Steve. Ill sum up all your performances in one word: Pathetic! Jake and Steve dropped their necks after listening to Erens berating. They werent totally at fault. They were inexperienced at fighting battles after all. The books and the training wont necessarily make you a great fighter unless you keep on fighting and gaining experience. An experience that theycked. But Eren didnt pull back his punches even this time. He created a false standard for them to match up to. So that theyd work even harder than before. All while making peace with his way of handling things. The tank and the berserker kept quiet. But the mage still had some spunk left in her: Oh yeah? You say all that was necessary. But why did you keep Dino awake and make him not fall unconscious? We were still fighting but we could still see that because it was going on for so long. You could have joined us to handle Ron if it wasnt for the madness that you unleashed on Dino. Oh! This feisty fish is too intelligent for her own good. Should I, lets say, take her out of the waterter on? Eren thought to himself before shaking his head inside his mind and in reality. He shouldnt act impulsively just because someone questioned his actions. Otherwise, hed spend his life burying dead bodies and covering his tracks. That was also because of you guys. Thepulsive liar came up with another blend of bullshittery and truth right on the spot. Chapter 119: The Protagonist is Back

Chapter 119: The Protagonist is Back

That was also because of you guys. Thepulsive liar came up with another blend of bullshittery and truth right on the spot. What do you mean? Becky didnt let go of her inquisitive tone. But her luck was on her side. The butcher didnt finalize on making her disappear. You see, I could handle Dino on my own. But things would have gotten difficult for me if he had joined hands with Ron and you were still far too away to help me. It was clear that you couldnt handle Ron even with all three of youbining your forces. What chances do I have to go against both of them? Even with my element advantage, I could only dy the oue. Theirbined attacks shouldnt be underestimated. And especially Ron. You saw how surgically he fights despite being a berserker. With him around to guide hisckey, Dino too would have turned into an absolute menace for me and Becky. Thats why I had to put on a show. A show that would provoke Ron into doing something stupid. And it worked. He drank his berserking potions and used the effects on me instead of tackling you guys into a one sweep move. You know you guys are weak and inexperienced right? He could have wiped the floor with you guys had he put his mind into it. Ron overestimated you and you underestimated him. You could argue that it was still going to be our victory since he still had me and Renita to deal with even after defeating you. But Renita with her ranger skills is almost useless against berserkers like Dino and Ron. All she could do to Dino was keep him busy and annoy him. He didnt get injured by her wind bullets at all. But the impact would hinder his movements. So all he did was try to dodge some of the sprays of iing wind bulletsing his way. But that act wouldnt be enough when two berserkers are eyeing us. I yed to Rons rage so that he could use berserkers charge on me, using a good amount of portion from his potion boost to cover the distance between us in a jiffy. So that when he approaches me, Id have a half spent berserker to go against. I didnt want to criticise you because you were inexperienced. But now that it hase to this, let me say that the other team was better than us as a team despite having lost. You guys spent too much time on ying it safe and almost caused us to lose our first interss ranking war. Everyone looked at Becky after they heard what Eren had to say. They felt that she had opened her mouth unnecessarily. Eren had a habit of extending his speeches so much that hed force the other party to rage-quit on him. This time too he went above and beyond to highlight his team members inefficiency and ipetence to hide his terrorising side. And another reason Eren went into detail about his way of dealing with things was that the referee was listening. He wanted to make sure that there are no penalties for him and his team for his bending of rules just enough not to make them. Thankfully, the referee found some sense in Erens talk. He nodded his head at him before announcing the results of the match: The White Raven Crew wins this round. The amount of 10K merps would be deducted from the leader of Rons Raiders group. And it would get deposited into Steves ount, the leader of the winning team. Battle points would be allotted individually as per the performance of the students belonging to both sides. And a random battle pass would be credited into a student named Erens ount in a short while. The referee looked at Eren and his team after he announced the matchs results. He also dered the appropriate rewards to them and everyone else present in the crowd. Then he got close to Eren and spoke up in a normal tone that wasnt meant for the battles audience: Kid, you fought well. And your exnations are mostly valid. But they are drawn on assumptions. That meant you unleashed so much violence on your opponents because you assumed their leader to be too strong to deal with normally. And you targeted your opponents sensitive body parts without any hesitation, knowing full well they are also students like you and not your enemies in real life. But you are clever as well. You would stop just before it was enough for me to intervene. You say that your violence was to counter your opponents strategy to use tag-team battle moves on you. But your battle performance speaks otherwise. It seemed like you had nned this. I dont know what these guys have done to you. But Id suggest you dont settle your grudges in this way. Otherwise, things will only get difficult for you. About the battle pass. You know you would have gotten two battle passes instead of one right? I can not penalize you by serving punishment to you. But it is still within my right to reduce your battle awards. Fu*k you, old man! Take those passes and shove it up your wrinkly ass. My revenge tastes sweeter than honey right now. This was worth it. Eren had this thought on the inside but acted apologetic from the outside. He gave a courtesy bow to the referee to show that he agreed with his view. The referee turned and went away after seeing that his speech had brought a student on the path of righteousness. He had a smile on his face as he went away, thinking that he had seeded yet again in guiding the youth in the right direction. Unlike the intrass battles that were held in quick session, the interss wars would have some time between two matches. So the crowd left after a while. Rons team had already been retrieved by LAs medical team even before Becky started speaking. So Erens team was left alone in the rin. Soon Ana, Bel, and Ramy joined them on the ground from the spectators stand. Ramy couldnt stop praising their de-facto leader as soon as he got close to him: Eren, you were awesome. How can you fight like this at our age? Who taught you? Hahaha! My decision was indeed right. I chose the right leader to lead me. Now if you could just teach me Ramy started speaking in his lisp. But by now his team members had gotten used to his way of speaking. They would autocorrect his Ws and Rs whenever he spoke something absurd. Ramy had started painting Eren in the limelight. As if only he had fought and defeated Rons Raiders and others who battled with him were mere spectators. Of course, nobody liked that. Ramy, we took part in the battle too, you know. Jake couldnt help but register hisint. But the fanboy was as blunt with his words as the target of his worship was: Haah! You could have fooled me. It was Eren who did the heavy lifting. Without him, Rons Raiders would have raided your as Ramy butchered Rons team name with his lisp because it contained Rs. But he was interrupted by Becky again because she knew he was going to say something very inappropriate: Enough Ramy. You should watch what you say arounddies, you doofus fanboy. As Eren says. What you got between your legs doesnt matter when you are on the battlefield, Becky. Youll keep on losing if you keep on thinking of yourself as a woman first and a rankerter. And anyway, you dont like ady to me. Not yet. ******************** Becky was left speechless again. Not by the lord of bullshittery. But his newly acquired stooge. Her nose red and her cheeks reddened. Agreed, her feminine features werecking. But this fanboy didnt have to say that out loud. And it seemed that Ramy had also acquired Erens taste in women when he decided to follow him. The butcher didnt say anything in the whole conversation but justughed. This Sound Element Knight was worth putting effort into after all. Ramy didnt just stop at criticising Becky. He grilled Jake and Steve too. But let Renita off the hook because she had yed her part in helping his idol. Ana would justugh at Ramys witty remarksced with his unavoidable lisp. The guy was hrious at roasting someone. Bel on the other hand would only let escape hushedughter from his mouth. He was afraid of offending his teammates too much. Jake knew how to take humour and criticism well. So he didnt mind too much. But all the failures umted on Steve made him feel disheartened. He promised himself that he would do everything in his power to at least suit the position he was given in this team. Becky had a headache of her own. She regretted speaking anything critical about Eren. The guy himself was enough of a problem. But his sidekick was equally a pain in the ass. ******************** I saw the feed of your first inter-ss war, Eren. Not bad, not bad at all. You are indeed improving. Reshaping your basic instincts is not easy. And it cant be done in a few days. But youve taken steps in the right direction. But it looked like you had some personal vendetta against Rons Raiders. Is there something I should know? Ma had called Eren over to her ce near the check-post a few days after the ranking war. She raised her eyebrows at the end of her question, expecting an answer from her apprentice. But thetter just shook his head negatively, telling her he doesnt want to talk about it. Of course, she respected his wishes. Rankers had a right to have a private life after all. Alright, then. There are a few immediate changes you need to make to improve your battle prowess. Your katar handling is shoddy. It needs major work. So we wont focus on that right now. What you need right now are constant hand-to-handbats with someone of your calibre. Oh! There he is! Eren, I gave you a hint about an uing surprise thest time we met, remember? Hehe! Nows the time to reveal it. Meet yourbat buddy, Ken Riverine. He is going to be another apprentice Ill be having apart from you from today onwards. Eren turned back to where Ma was pointing and saw a handsome hunk making his way towards them. He was none other than the justice fanatic he knew from his previous timeline, the white knight, Ken Riverine! Fu*k my life! Eren cursed his luck again while stering a smile on his face to meet his so-calledbat buddy. ====================== AN: The protagonist is here, guys! If this novel was an eastern fantasy, he would have been called the disciple brother of Eren, if my cultivation knowledge is in check that is. Lol! Also, did you check the new cover? In case you are not on VEH Discord, the backdrop contains Mas visual profile. ? Chapter 120: Lovers & Rivals P1

Chapter 120: Lovers & Rivals P1

Eren cursed his luck again while stering a smile on his face to meet his so-calledbat buddy. The protagonist also had his signature cheerful air around him that the butcher hated so much. Yo, Eren Idril. Nice to finally meet you, man. I have heard a lot about you. You are doing great in the ranking war it seems. And I also heard that youve broken through the liquid stage of the F-rank aftering to LA. They say that you had help from Adapt Levine. But making people help you is also a form of strength in my eyes. Im looking forward to working with you and learning from you. Where does this airhead get so much energy from to speak to a total stranger like this? Eren had this thought right after Ken stopped talking. Ken was also a talker but not like Ramy. Ramys speeches wereced with sarcasm and wits. But Kens speeches oozed self-importance and judgmentalism. And the worst was that the protagonist was clueless about his manners and pompous behaviours. It looked like he had considered everything he did and said as something natural and just. At least Ramy knew how he came across as a person. But all that didnt deter the butcher froming up with perfunctory words to reply to Ken: Aah! What a surprise to meet one and only Ken Riverine from the earl house of Riverine. The pleasures mine, the pleasures mine. Hope we can serve our apprenticeship well and learn from each other. ******************** Frankly, Eren didnt want to deal with Ken just yet. He was superior to him in every way. Plus, his background was not something to be scoffed at. The guy was a ticking time bomb if someone with ordinary background decided to go against him. The butcher had thought that snatching Kens opportunity from him would be enough to deal a blow to him while keeping his distance in check from the justice freak. But naturally, he had underestimated the guys downright plot-armour luck. Ken had not only bounced back from his injuries dealt by the senior students but he and his earl family also came out on top in his political battle with Roody Orton and his viscount father. The Riverine earldom wasnt to be taken lightly. It pressurised Roody Ortons father from its various sources so much that thetter was forced to relent from his position in the royal court. Now Roody Ortons father was only a viscount. And a weakened one at that, due to his sudden absence from the royal court. of course, viscount Orton med his son Roody for making him take the fight he couldnt finish. As a result, Roodys gigantic support from his family was cut off. Now he had to struggle like amoner in the academy. It wasnt that Roody waszy in his studies and efforts to gain Merps. But the familys support had always helped him. Losing that was akin to creating a hindrance in Roodys path. The Roody household had a rude habit of ming their mistakes on someone else it seemed. because Roody too med Ken for his misfortune. But that was not all. By now, Roody and the other senior students who had targeted Ken for his rude behaviour had realized that they were set up by someone else. And their act of making a better man out of Ken had harshly backfired on all of them in some way or the other. Now all the victims of this incident were looking for the real culprit who they had met and talked with that day inside Besancs hall. Roody had decided that first, he would find the guy who had pretended to be Ken that day and use him as a punching bag for days on end to vent his frustration. Then, he would target Ken in silence and settle his scores with the guy as well. But the culprit too wasnt feeling too good either at this time. Maybe all those curses spoken in abundance by his victims had finallynded on him. **************** Ken here wants to be a weaponless martial arts expert. And he has chosen the path of a first saint. His elemental affinity is earth and his innate nature is tenaciousness. In a way, he is a perfect counter to you. Since Im an expert in punching daggers, I can of course teach him the basics about the path of a fist saint. And you both will be able to sharpen your skills against each other by participating in practice duels under my observations. I want you to polish your skills to the best of your abilities during these few days. We will soon leave for our outside mission and you will follow me as my apprentices. But before I proceed further with my n, I want to ask. Ken, with your element and calibre, you can be a ster tank or an unyielding berserker. So why are you choosing the path of a fist saint particrly? Ma threw a question at Ken about the choice of his path. Eren couldnt hold himself from making a serious face. That is because he knew Ken was going to spew rainbows out of his mouth with his answer: Adapt Ma, I thank you for caring about my future and well-being. And Im also grateful for allowing me to respond to your apprenticeship offer thiste. The reason I want to be a fist saint is that they dont use weapons in their fight. They fight with their bare hands and that is something Ive always admired about them the most. Blunt force attacks wont be as lethal as the injuries inflicted by the weapons. And I I want to avoid killing anyone if I can. I would defeat my opponent fair and square and then force them to find errors in their ways. I believe if given enough time, even the vilest of evil can be made to change its ways. Ken looked at Eren after he said that. He saw a serious-looking butcher and thought that the former was impressed by his thoughts and way of handling things. The protagonist was again pleased with himself for making another friend in his path towards greatness. But Ma found Kens naiveness to be cute. Although she didnt agree with his views, she did find some trace amount of logic in them. Thats why she didnt try to correct her second apprentices approach to the ranking journey anymore. Chapter 121: [Bonus Chapter] Lovers and Rivals P2

Chapter 121: [Bonus Chapter] Lovers and Rivals P2

Ma didnt try to correct her second apprentices approach to the ranking journey andid out her n in front of her two apprentices: Alright. Now I will teach both of you some basic weaponless martial arts using punches as the focal point. Eren, you need to pay attention to these pointers too. The katar arts that you will be using have these punching techniques as their basic foundation. Of course, the execution-style would change depending upon whether you have katars equipped or not. But youd learn to amodate the weapons into yourbat with enough practice. Are you guys ready? Ma asked Eren and Ken who gave her a nod from their end. She started exining the basics of weaponless martial arts to them while performing some demonstrations. The butcher hade to terms that he was going to have to bear the protagonists presence from now on. He couldnt touch him. Nor could he avoid him. The cynic man inside him wanted to choke this white knight with his hands. But Eren held onto his emotions. If I cant ignore him, I might as well use him to my advantage. The vile evil Ken talked about was now busy nning the formers downfall in his head. ******************* Renita, lets stop here. I dont want to sound too rude but youve hardly improved from ourst practise match. Stop burning Extols you have on Merps just so that you could keep on fighting with me. This is not healthy. And frankly, I dont see how I can help you improve as a ranger when my path stands at the opposite side of the spectrum from your path. New day, same old battle practises. It was another day of grinding for students in LA. Eren was battling it out with Renita while the others in his team had their own duels. But the butchers fight was over as soon as it started. Eren had admonished Renita without mincing his words. Contrary to popr belief, he was saying that for her own good. The girl kept on challenging him with Merps only to lose them all with each practise match. She had also betted and lost a significant chunk of Merps she had received by participating in the interss war. Eren wasnt sure what his teams ranger was up to. But he knew she wasnt treading in the right direction. She had be obsessed with training with him. She would often follow him. And keep an eye on him from time to time. At first, the butcher thought she had found a rival in him. A target she needed to beat before moving forward. She had also used a precious potion with the help of her family that shot her BTP value to 17. Just a step away from entering the liquid stage. Renita had done this right after she came to know that Eren had broken through into the liquid stage. His breakthrough and performance in the ranking wars were one of the hot topics among LAs first-year students. But it was soon reced with some other trending battles and breakthroughs. Students using potions to help them increase their BTP during ranking wars was amon practice. And a good portion of them would be lucky enough to achieve breakthroughs within the stage. So Erens sudden progress in his ranking journey didnte as a shock for LAs crowd. But Renita took that as something she shouldnt ignore. She felt that she should always stay close to Eren in his ranking journey, lest she gets left behind. The young girl hadnt realized that she had developed feelings for Eren. She thought of them as her drive to one day beat up this wretched guy who always acted like Mr. know-it-all in front of her and her team. But the butchers confidence and unwavering attitude had left a deep impression in Renitas psyche. She had subconsciously started admiring him for the feats he had achieved so far. So naturally, her subconsciousness told her to always be with Eren. Whether it was battling or banters, she would make efforts to engage with him using those as her tools. Even Erens criticism sounded to Renita that he was caring about her. She was not wrong to assume that. But the reason the butcher had to care about his ranger was different than what the youngdy was assuming it to be. Listen, Renita. I want you to be a strong and capable ranger. And a rangers job is not limited to battles alone. You need to also work on your tracking and observational spells. A ranger has a special advantage in executing those spells. You may think that those spells and skills arent necessary for ranking wars. And you may be right. But this is where most rangers, especially those who belong to LA, go wrong in their path. They prioritize their battle prowess over their ranger skills because of the ranking wars. And as a result, start as half-assed rangers in their ranking journey. It is never a good sign when you waver at the start of your path. And you dont know how true this is until it is toote to realize. I have heard about a ranger from LA who didnt know sh*t about tracking skills and led his team to their doom. I dont want my team to face the same fate. Therefore, I want you to focus on your non-battle skills as much as you prioritize your battle prowess. Can you do that? Eren asked with solemnity on his face. He was reminded of a certain un-ranger-like ranger when he was lecturing Renita. That ass*ole was the reason behind the butchersplications in leaving the Osan Woods soundly. But soon he was stopped from taking the trip behind the memoryne by Renitas weird reply: For you, Eren. Err I mean for our team, Ill do what you tell me to do. Renitas cheeks flushed as she looked down and said that. Only now she had realized that her heart had reserved another heartbeat for this wretched guy. ======================== AN: Roody Orton is mentioned briefly in chapter 73. Quick question. Who are you reminded of the most when the term un-ranger-like ranger is used? ? Chapter 122: City of Silvermoon

Chapter 122: City of Silvermoon

Are you guys prepared? Itll take a day and a half to reach Silvermoon city from here even with these good colts Ive rented. Hope youve packed everything you need. Ready to go anytime at yourmand Adapt Ma. Im sure Eren hade prepared as well. He is just too serious about everything if you ask me. So Im guessing he likes to n things. Haha! Ken answered Mas question on his and Erens behalf, which thetter didnt like. But he didnt let his displeasure known and just smiled in response. This asshat white knight is not as dense as he pretends to be. Kens remark about Erens habit of preparedness didnt go unnoticed by him. Therefore, the butcher always talked less when he was with his enemy. And yet, that almost-silent treatment ironically gave some details away. I need to make good use of my shapeshifting abilities to whoop this guys ass. Aargh! I just cant stand the brighter-than-the-sun smile that he shes for no reason every so often. The butcher was inwardly pissed at his fellow student. Thats why he did what he did best in the meantime Ken was chatting with Ma. Plotting! Ma enquired about her two apprentices preparations for a reason. They were about to embark on a rtively long journey to the city of Silvermoon. A city that was in the control of Themyscira Amazons. It was located right in the middle of the forest. With only one way in and out. The city of Silvermoon was one of the few important ces for the Amazons because it aided them in maintaining contact with the external world. The Amazons were a close-knit society and they would rarely have visitors at their core bases. But the city of Silvermoon was different. It was the centre stage for various business and transactions that would take ce between the Amazons and the outside world. *************** Eren and Ken had kept on taking part in practice sessions during these days. And they would also participate in their respective ranking wars. As a result of which, they were deemed as one of the rising stars in the first academic year. Of course, Ken was at the top of the first years whereas Eren just barely made it to the list. The white knight had given his all and battled the most in the ranking wars while the butcher only made his sporadic appearances. Erens ranking didnt gain momentum because he was controlling the instances of his participation. That prevented him from bing the absolute best within the first-year lot. But the terrorist had made sure that he is ced in the top-tier list of every category of the ranking war. He had also participated solo in the interss ranking wars to get nominated for that category as well. Eren maintained a ranking position of 7th and 9th in the intra-ss ranking wars solo and group categories respectively. And he was ced at 29th and 36th position in the interss ranking wars solo and group categories. The Inter-year ranking war was still about to take ce for students in the first academic year. But they were all gearing up for the same while participating in the ranking wars that were avable to them. The inter-year ranking war was considered as a foregone conclusion for most participants in the first year, whether they participated solo or in the teams. Thats why almost all the first-years were looking to only participate in thepulsory matches and reduce the coteral that they would have to pay by participating in teams. The first-year students grind these days was to ovee the future loss. And nobody could me them for thinking like this. Eren had limited his participation in the ranking wars because he had too many things to do on his tter. But the ranking ces he had reserved for himself in various categories were just the right spots as per his designs. The butchers ranking position attracted enough attention to make him known within the first-year crowd. But they werent so groundbreaking that he would be made the focal point of the students everyday discussions. Attracting attention was the white knights job. Eren wasfortable ying an underdog. And it wasnt like he had free time in his hands to y with the kids of his age. The exercise routine Ma gave to him itself wasnt something Eren could do with absolute ease at his level yet. Then there were potioneering lectures with Levine from time to time. Plus, he was training Steve and Ramy while giving pointers to others in his team at the end of the day. The practice battling sessions with Ken were also newly added to his to-do list. But that was not all. The butcher did not forget to keep on earning Merps while he was doing activities. He had started making a few basic F-Rank potions that were known to be widely used. Then he would sell them off to LA through Levine. But the butchers biggest revenue would starting from Jakes father. That is because the butcher had started producing the most potent potions that werent preferred by the masses but loved by the specialists. That was because they were controversial. And he was going to use Jack Sullivan to introduce his potions in the market of the city of Lionhearts. Jacks father had already opened a shop in the city and he was gearing up for an expansion. Erens potions werent something that would get sold like hotcakes. But they were still enough to draw some special customers. The whole reason Eren had kept a good rtionship with Jake was so that he could use his fathers connections to make some bucks. The butcher also had some other ns in his mind. But for now, this setup was enough. Eren had opened multiple fronts to gain the best out of his time and efforts. As a result of which, he barely slept for a few hours. But he didnt care. The young him could take it. And with the progression in the ranking journey, these herculean tasks would soon turn into chores. ************************ Alright! It looks like we are all set. But making our next move, let me first introduce you to one of the assistants I have who would also apany us during this mission. Meet Almera. She is an E-Ranker ranger with wind elemental affinity. Now that the formalities arepleted, grab the colts that are assigned to you and head out. Almera would stay at the front, leading us. You two will stay in the middle. And Ill tail you guys from a safe distance. Eren and Ken gave a courtesy bow to Alema who was newly introduced to them before making their way towards the city of Silvermoon. The butcher was excited. Because he knew this city was special in many ways from his past experiences. One of the reasons among them was the fact that the majority of its citizens werent humans. Thats right. The city of Silvermoon had Faeruns. ==================== AN: Thank you @ppp999 @Williams0306 @GojoVir and @TrafalgarLaws for sending gifts. I also thank @BoneMarrOwO @Greeko_suave @InquisitorCrusader and all the others who have sent Golden Tickets. Chapter 123: Faerun

Chapter 123: Faerun

The city of Silvermoon had Faeruns as its majority. They looked like humans except for their pointy ears and exceptional attractive features. They also had a coppery range ofplexions that made them stand out from the group of humans. The Faeruns were indeed species of elves that were reclusive, insr, feral and stealthy in nature. They preferred to remain close to nature and were rarely seen by other races. The Faeruns had their own customs and beliefs, most of which revolved around the concepts of predator and prey or life and death. They behaved in moderation with other races, including other species of elves. But they were also known to be fierce allies to those they consider their friends. Most Faerundies would join Amazons from a young age because their ideologies synched with the core values of the creed. Thats why the Faeruns held significant sway over Amazons. The city of Silvermoon was one of the rarest urbanized ces the Faeruns would be willing to visit. Otherwise, they would usually be found in their settlements spread across the huge forest that was under the Thimiscera Amazons control. Eren was excited because he had finally found a way to solve his problem with acquiring the precious ingredient Levine needed the most. Friendly contact with Faerun was what he needed to safely get his hands on the Malva Hibiscus. This was a good opportunity for the butcher to secure his discipleship with Levine. Thats why he let his colt run wild without worrying about his position in the formation. Something that Almera took offence to: Eren Idril, what are you doing breaking the formation all of a sudden for? Go back to your previous position at the back otherwise, Ill take things up with Adapt Ma. Almera shouted at the terrorist at which thetter nodded his head and was about to obey the orders he was given but was soon joined by Ken who followed his battle buddy in his misadventures: Ace Alema, please forgive us for breaking the formation. But why are we trying to maintain a formation when theres practically nobody around? We should just enjoy this journey and let our colts run loose on these abandoned paths decorated with greenery from both sides. Hehe! Eren had a grim face after hearing Kens remark: This **** ***** **** guy! He just had to raise death gs for both of us. And Erens premonition was right on the spot this time as well. You idiots, do what I tell you to do. Do you even know the mission given to us? If you refuse to maintain the formation anymore, then Ill have to Alema was about to finish reprimanding the two novice rankers she was leading. But before she could do so, the young amazoness sensed a foreign presence surrounding them. But her ranger-specific spells werent to be underestimated. She quickly caught onto what was happening and changed what she was about to say to Ken and Eren. Listen up, airheads. We are surrounded. Draw your weapons and prepare for battle. Ken, take a position to cover the direction that is in front of us. Eren you are assigned at the back. Ill stand in the middle and cover the area in a 360-degree range. Dont worry, we only have five enemies. Four of them are in the F-rank while only one of them is in the E-Rank. You handle the F-Rankers and Ill deal with the E-Rank enemy while providing you cover from behind. Dont worry? Dont worry? Does this bit*ch think it is okay for two LA students in the first year to go against four unknown enemies in the same rank just because one of us happens to be this fu*king protagonist? Erenined in his head while drawing his katars. Ken too wore his gauntlets on. The set of wearables was an F-rank artefact with runes and inscriptions that provided extra boosts to the earth element user. The rich boy had element-specific artefacts at his disposal. Eren couldnt be caught off guard by the formers sudden revtion that he considered being super cool. Ken had thought that bringing out his trump card at the right ce and the right time was cool and epic. What he didnt know was that someone in their group had an even more deadly trap prepared for the opponents heading their way. Look what we have here,ds. Two young thorns around one fresh-looking flower, waiting to be fuc I mean plucked. Pardon my foul mouth, young beauty. I dont want to ruin my first impression, you see before we get to know each other. Lets do our job here and take our rewards, boys. You will get whatever the brats have on them. And Ill have hehe! Eren, Ken, and Almera found themselves soon after they prepared themselves for a battle. They soon heard a man in his 40s making that threatced promation. Eren and Ken couldnt gauge the mans strength, but from the way their E-ranker was looking at him with daggers in her eyes, it was clear that he was an E-Ranker as well. The man stood at one end of Erens group. And the four positions manned by young-looking rankers. One of them was a female, the other three were guys in their early twenties. They had formed a Penta-star siege around Erens group. Who are you? And what business do you have with us? Dont you know we are from Ken, shut your mouth and pay attention to the situation at hand. They are not here to answer our questions. At least not yet. So ask them after weve dealt with them. Ken was about to ask a clicked question when he was interrupted midway by his battle buddy. Al.. alright. But what should we do now? As I said. Attack first, ask questionster. Eren went towards the enemy female ranker right after he said that. The enemy team was bewildered by the young rankers hasty reactions because of which they were caught off guard. Even Ken and Almera were surprised by Erens reckless move. They didnt expect him to enter the fray as soon as it was presented to him. The guy looked like he wanted to battle it out with someone as if he was on a schedule. The only female in the enemy camp didnt know how to react at first. But she soon came to her senses. The young man was still a few meters away from her. She started casting a body modification spell. Her fingers started getting elongated. Her stature was increasing. The hair on her body started growing rapidly. She was soon going to turn into a humanoid wolf monster. The female thought that her solo battle with this young and small-statured kid was going to be short-lived. She would soon be joined by any of her aplices and they would soon take care of him swiftly. The kid looked like he was well experienced in battles. His actions spoke volumes about his battle prowess. The female wasnt necessarily going to win because of her heretic spell and higher BTP value. But she didnt need to win the round in the first ce. All she needed to do was hold her ground and await someone from their team to join her. It was that simple a matter. But s, the terrorist didnt like to y by the book. He came within a few meters distance from the wolfina and threw something her way before heading to the next guy from her team that was standing beside her. What the terrorist threw the wolfinas way was a sealed vial of explosive potion that was changing its colour at a rapid pace. Chapter 124: Terrorism and Mutilation

Chapter 124: Terrorism and Muttion

What the terrorist threw the wolfinas way was a sealed vial of explosive potion. And it was changing its colour at a rapid pace. Agatha, you idiot, stop looking at the potion and throw that damn thing Kaboom! The vial exploded and soon a huge crimson domain was seen at the ce of the wolfina named Agatha. The st had generated a mana fire that was changing its colour from crimson to pink and back to crimson again. The explosive the little terrorist had used was an F-Rank potion from his collection. The vial had exploded while Agatha was holding it. There was no way she coulde out unscathed from that even with her body enhancing spell active. Eren of course didnt like to draw long battles if he could avoid them. And he especially didnt like the protagonist-ways of handling life and death situations. Like fighting multiple opponents at the same time. What he did right now was to even the yfield by a little. Why should he fight two opponents all by himself just because he could? He liked to squash the ants that bothered him without any hesitation in his mind. The explosive potion was one of the items Eren had made in abundance during his sleepless nights of potion-making. And it was also one of the items he had asked Jack Sullivan to sell in the city market in a low-key manner. As it was said previously, Erens potions catered to a niche audience. They werent meant for a mass audience. Instead, they would be used by people with special skills and purposes. Eren didnt pay attention to the explosion going off by his side and approached the guy that was standing at a distance from it. The guy had to force himself to steer his eyes away from the explosion and focus on the iing terrorist. Eren stopped midway and pulled another vial of potion from his storage before throwing it off in his next victims direction. Thetter was terrified by the formers act. He was about to run away from his initial position but soon found out that the vial was just about to hit his face. Eren had executed Blitz Bolt on his throwing hand this time of hurling the potion bomb. He hadnt done it earlier so that his next victim wouldnt take countermeasures against his speed and retreat in advance. Thats why the poord couldnt avoid the potion bomb. Or what he thought to be a potion bomb. The vial was caught by thed inches away from the tip of his nose. He was about to throw the darn thing off when he looked at the content within it. Unlike the potion bomb that had colour-changing liquid inside it, this vial contained nothing. It was an empty shell. This fuc*ker has thrown a dud to fool me. Erens next victim was about to spit blood in anger for the move the former had pulled on him. It was as if the butcher was saying he was not worth wasting his potion bomb over. Eren approached the enemy with his katar in his hands. The Blitz Bolt ran at its fullest potential, lighting up the edges of the dual weapons. This time Eren didnt target his victims vital spot. Something told him they needed to keep at least some of them alive for interrogation. The butcher cut off the shocked victims right arm, which his victim was using to hold the vial. The vial and the hand that held it in ce were dropped on the ground at the same time. Aaaaaaaaaah! The now-handicap victim shrieked like there was no tomorrow. s, his muttor wasnt satisfied with his quick work yet. He chopped the guys legs from his joints next. All this had happened within a few moments from the time Eren had gone ahead soloing two enemies in his terrorist-101 way. The spectators that included his team and the remaining of the enemy team were still processing the st that took ce just now. But they were all brought back to reality by the guys shriek. They looked at the source of that voice and found that it had been mutted beyond any immediate repair. The guy now boosted only one hand which he was using to check on his newly amputated regions. The blood had started spilling in abundance. He was lying in the now-expanding pool of his own blood. And he was too shocked to care about his teammates or anything happening around him. Eren didnt hold back and executed Blitz Bolt on the guys forehead to make him unconscious. Then he executed another Blitz Bolt variation andnded it on the victims freshly amputated region. This variation of Blitz Bolt produced white heat which was enough to cauterize the wounds. This guy is taken care of. My work is done here. Eren concluded his voluntary retirement from the battle. The deal he had with Ken and Almera was that hed handle two opponents, Ken would handle the other while the E-Rankers would sort things out between themselves. He had done his part. The butcher wasnt interested in doing someones work if he wasnt going to gain anything out of it. Eren, you Ken was about to say something when he was interrupted by the enemy teams E-Ranker who was pissed on certain someone: You spineless f*cker. Not only did you attack ady first but also Eren was salty because of Ken for days on end now. His mood was turning fouler by moment. Therefore, he wasnt interested in listening to someone lecture him about how rankers fight with honour and glory. Especially from someone like these guys who had previously outnumbered them. First of all, Ken, my man. Why are you so spaced out now when you can finally make use of those gauntlets that havent been used in the real battle yet. Those two little shrimps are your opponents. Go and battle it out with them. Ace Almera, I request you to take care of this hypocrite E-Ranker who is about to speak more nonsense in front of us now. Almera had just processed Eren amputating the enemy team members three limbs as if he was cutting some vegetables. No scratch that. Someone would put more thought into cutting veggies than Eren when cutting off limbs. So when she was hit with Erens obvious request, Almera was caught off guard again. She could only muster a single word to answer the terrorist muttor Al Alright! Chapter 125: Ranker’s Codes of Conduct

Chapter 125: Rankers Codes of Conduct

Al Alright! That was all Almera could muster before turning her attention to the enemy E-Ranker. She felt awkward fighting the guy now. Because it felt like her team was on the wrong side because of the poor fates her team member had dished out for the enemy. You little rat The E-Ranker was about to spit fire with his words but he was interrupted by the terrorist again: Also, dont call me a little rat. First, Im very sensitive about my height. And second, I only allow one person to call me that. The E-Ranker was speechless after hearing about Erens rebuttal. Was it even a rebuttal in the first ce when you dont even let your opponent talk? The E-Ranker got so mad that his eyes turned red. He was about to attack this little vile menace. But this time, Almera was prepared. She quickly took out a rune-printed crossbow from her storage and aimed at the E-Ranker before firing a mana arrow. She kept on shooting more mana arrows in rapid session to attack her opponent from various angles. The targeted E-Ranker had very good agility. The mana arrows couldnt touch him for the most part. And those which did only gave him slight injuries. But Almera had it covered when it came to the security of her members. The E-Ranker couldnt touch the two Novices without putting himself in danger due to the rangers uracy. That gave Ken enough time to tackle the two guys he was assigned with. One had to admit. The protagonist was strong. He was so strong that he could handle the two young rankers simultaneously without breaking a sweat. Plus, his custom-made gauntlets did half the work. Ken could have finished the fight within a few moments if he wanted to. But he would retract his attack every time it was about tond on the opponents vital spots. That dragged the fight more than it needed to. Eren had a headache watching Kens battle. He wanted to chop all three of them in half for wasting time on silly charades. The oue had already been decided the moment Eren had decided to reveal his potion bombs. The enemy team wouldnt have attacked a group with such a vile creature as its member. Ma showed up only when the enemy E-Rankers was about to run away. She dealt with them effortlessly and made him follow the same fate as Erens mutted victim. Forced slumber. The sudden battle was a wrap. Nowes the aftermath. Eren, you performed splendidly. Your presence of mind impresses me the most. And where did you get your hands on the potion bombs? But I hope you understand that this is not how closebat experts fight. We do not deal in explosives. And theres a reason for that. And you had the guy under control. You could have taken him captive as a whole instead of amputating three of his limbs. Remember this. Criminals would be seen as victims if you deal more damage to them than they ever could to you. Your case bes weak at that point even when you have been in the right all along. Ma didnt hold back from praising her apprentice while criticizing some of his actions. The guy had almost bombed the closebat style by using a potion bomb on his opponent. Normally, closebat experts wouldnt handle anything explosive. Because they were required to approach their opponents and engage with them by breaching their personal space. That would make them the targets of their own attack if the timing goes off. Putting at risk the personal space you are going to barge into was an absolute madness no closebat expert was willing tomit. But Eren was an exception. He had Sedated Perception as his go-to supporting spell. It allowed him to change his speed, direction, and orientation however he wanted to in the middle of the fight. As if he had all the time in the world to do that. Thats how Eren was confident in using potion bombs in his closebat style in the first ce. But just because he could doesnt mean he should. Or thats how Ma interpreted it. Rankers had a few unwritten rules collectively known as Rankers Codes. Most of them dictated how a ranker was supposed to fight with another ranker in a non-war-like situation. The way Eren fought broke most of the Rankers codes. He first used potion bombs as a means to deal with his opponent when he should have been engaging with them in close range. And Eren attacked a woman first before anyone else. Most male rankers would have considered it shameful behavior. But the butcher didnt feel even a shred of guilt. Because he had to die once to understand that everything was a fair game when it came to his interests. And sadly for his victims, his interests lied in them getting bombed and mutted. And rankers had a silent agreement with others in themunity. That they wouldnt incapacitate their opponents the way Eren did unless it was ast resort. Thats why the enemy E-Ranker was so mad at Eren. The guy didnt follow the script. He just went ahead and started dishing out violence with that irritatingly expressionless look on his face. Eren, I think youve gone overboard, buddy. And why did you use a potion bomb on a girl? We could have Erens team was converging at Ma standing in the middle. Ken asked the question as soon as he got close. Being women themselves, Ma and Almera wanted to hear Erens exnation too. They wanted to see what kind of rare creature they were dealing with. Ugh! This guys a headache. But I have to answer. Ma and Almera are listening. Eren took a long sigh before replying to Ken: Um I attacked her because I could? Isnt that reason enough? I mean they were the ones who asked for it. I bet she wasnt expecting to get attacked first. Her brain had been trained as per the Rankers Code. I used that against her to catch her off guard. And the second reason I attacked her was that she looked like the weak link among those guys. Its best to take care of the weak link first when you are outnumbered. Eren cursed the white knight a million times before replying. He knew the justice maniacs two opponents were safe and in one piece. He had just knocked them out with his punches. The whole reason Ken had taken up fist saint as his ranking path was so that he could kill less and bore more after all. At least thats what the butcher thought about his battle buddy. Chapter 126: The Cultists

Chapter 126: The Cultists

The logic behind your action on the female ranker seems sound. But why did you amputate the other guy? To vent out my frustration of having to talk with you. Eren answered Kens next question inwardly. But what he spoke out loud was entirely different than his inner monologue: I did that so we would get to catch these enemies and interrogate them. Havent you realised this part of our mission here? If Im not wrong, then Master Ma was trailing us from a distance because she wanted these guys to attack us. That means theyve been doing this for a while now. If Adapt Ma was with us, then this E-Ranker would have never dared toe out in the open. We were acting as baits to draw these sharks out. There can only be one reason for this set-up to have been arranged. Adapt Ma wanted to catch these criminals and take them as prisoners to interrogate them. But the leader of this small team is enough for interrogation. We dont need small fishes that dont know anything besides their own names. But that E-Rank would have run away as soon as things became difficult for him. We needed a strong reason to keep him here so that Master Ma could catch up with us and cover his exit. So I gave the guy a reason to stick around with us some more; hate. His hate towards me for chopping hisckey into pieces and answering rudely to his arguments. I did all that to keep the E-Ranker from running away for as long as he could avoid that temptation. Is this enough? Ir do you wasnt something more? Now, if you really want to ask questions, we already have three suspects that can serve as your targets. Eren took a long breath after answering the justice freaks questions. Then he looked at Marls who nodded at him in response. Erens right. The guy would have run away long ago if it wasnt for his anger on Eren. And thanks to that, we could catch them all. Yes. This was also part of our mission. The kingdoms of Edinburgh wants to maintain good ties with the Amazons. And these guys were creating unrest in that rtionship by attacking random travellers bound to the city of Silvermoon. So it wanted LA to take care of it. We knew they wont target veterans. So you students were perfect as bait. Hehe! I know that it is rude, but suck it up. Ive also been used for petty stuff when I was a low levelled ranker like you. Ken didnt like that he had been used. Eren didnt give a damn about it since he already knew how the real world worked and functioned. And Almera was just sad she too was roped into being used as bait with two Novices. Marls noticed Almeras crestfallen visage andughed before continuing: Almera, you shouldnt feel so down. If it had been only two F-Rankers traversing through this region, then this E-Ranker wouldnt have shown up. First, taking care of two people with four, all of them with near equal BTP values, was a sound decision from the enemys point of view. And second, two F-Rankers travelling alone in these regions despite the news of it being a dangerous area already out in the public would have been too suspicious. These guys would have smelled the trap. Therefore, you were included in the team to ease that suspicion. Of course, Erens and Kens sudden acts gave them more courage. And when they listened to Kens loud mouth, they thought that you guys are just regr travellers and decided to act. So in a way, Kens mistake helped us catch these culprits. Good job, Ken. That was no biggie, Master. I just did what should have been done to catch these criminals after all. Ken replied earnestly. But the butcher felt like puking blood by the cliched development. Where the protagonists silly mistakes end up benefiting him. And then there was Eren. the one poor fellow who had nned everything about the Osan Woods incident carefully. And took every precaution he could to cover his tracks. And yet, he was still caught in a bigger mess. If he could, Eren wanted to snatch the white knights luck to himself. His current one certainly wasnt working too great for him. Now what should we Eyaaaaaaaaaaah! Ken was about to ask Ma about their next set of ns when he was interrupted by a loud screech. It came from the domain of mana fire created by the potion bomb. Agatha had survived. She came out of the domain with her flesh almost burnt to a crisp and copsed on the floor. Soon herva-like epidermis (upperyer of the skin) cracked and pink flesh underneath became visible. But a rapid regeneration of new flesh and skin had already kicked in. And it didnt look like it was driven by the effects of the spell. It was something that looked like a natural healing process that has been expedited many times over. Interesting. These guys are cultists for sure. Eren had this thought after witnessing that phenomenon. Ken was surprised by what he was seeing but it seemed that Ma and Almera had already expected this. The cultist was a term used for rogue rankers who walked steadfastly on the heretic path of magic. A path that wasnt approved by the establishments running their respectivends. They didnt like to employ themselves to the kingdom just to get their hands on the higher ranking knowledge. They thought that the knowledge on magic and ranking journeys should be given freely and without any restrictions to everyone. The cultists didnt like that the kingdoms and empires were using the knowledge as leverage to make the rankers submit to them and increase their powers. The cultists were rebels of the society living in the shadows. They wanted to dethrone the current governments no matter which kingdom or empire they belonged to. The establishments actively hunted the cultists by putting bounties on them. These bounties would then be issued to various adventurers guilds so that mercenaries would take care of the hunt for the kingdoms. Various empires also had separate squads to take care of these cultists themselves. ======================== AN: The term cultist was first introduced in chapter 34. The bounty raised on Osan Woods butcher had been dered as a cultist bounty. Chapter 127: Rankers’ Restrictions

Chapter 127: Rankers Restrictions

Eren, you dont look surprised after seeing that rapid regeneration. Almera couldnt help but ask the butcher this question because of theck of enthusiasm on his face. Eren already had his answer ready: My aunt Nina had told me about the heretic path of cultists before. So even though its my first time seeing something like this, Im not that shocked. More importantly, should we save the girl? Even with her rapid regeneration, she is going to die if healing potions are not administered on time. The terrorist who terrorized his victim now had started caring about her. Almera wanted to point out theplete hisplete flip but was overshadowed by Mas next words: You are right, Eren. Without a healing potion or spell, she isnt going to make it. For now, lets save her and see if she could be of any use. Here, take these vials and use them on her. Meanwhile, Ill tie up the E-Ranker. Ken and Almera, you do the same for those two youngds. Ma handed a couple of vials to Eren before issuing her next set of orders. Her team members obliged and got to work. Soon the four cultists with their 13 limbs were safely secured. Ma had used rune-engraved chains to tie these menaces to arge tree. By the way, Eren, you didnt answer my question. Where did you get these potion bombs? Ma asked with curiosity. The potion bombs were technically not readily avable for purchase and sale. So their distribution and use was a rare event. A LA student with a mediocre background getting their hands on such an item was surprising. Oh, the potion bomb! But its Fret not, Eren. Lets just say I want these products too for research purposes. Ma gave a meaningful smile to the butcher at which he replied with a cunning grin of his own before answering: Oh. Yes, research. I also got these for research purposes. Im certainly not maintaining a good stock of them. If you also want to research them, I can give them some for you from my stock at the same price I bought them. My roommate Jakes father maintains a limited supply of them so that he can give these items to various researchers. He runs a small shop in the city of Lionhearts. You can directly get things from him if you want to do more thorough research. Here, Ill send you the shops details. Eren sent Mas Jacks shop details through his spectral screen. He knew the potion bombs would create a buzz sooner orter. What he was doing now was just some early publicity. Even the normal rankers had to agree with some of the cultists belief that the kingdoms restrictions were too overbearing sometimes. They wouldnt outrightlye in the support of these cultists by saying these things openly. But they agreed with these points nheless. ************************** This was the reason Nina couldnt teach Eren ranked technique even when he was perfectly capable to learn from her. The kingdoms restrictions prevented them from entering a proper student disciple rtionship. All she could teach him were some basics of potion-making along with the concoctions of some elementary potions. Anything rted to magic was extremely expensive to learn no matter which kingdom one lived in. Plus, only high-ranked entities were allowed to pass a few things to their family members privately after taking the kingdoms permission. Rankless mortals didnt have such easy ess to ranking techniques, spells, and anything that described anything about magic. And exorbitant money or someone high-ranked in your family could only give you ess to an introduction. Anything beyond that was a well-guarded knowledge that only the elite members of a kingdom-sanctioned organization could have ess to. Nina could have covered the real basics of ranking-rted potion-making herself without having to send Eren off to LA. But the Edinburgh kingdom, like most other governments, had ced a few written and unwritten rules about teaching magic. Only a licensed ranker appointed or approved by the kingdom had the right to teach magic to their students, apprentices, and disciples. The process to get such a license wasnt easy of course. And one had to serve the kingdom for a substantial period to get issued the said license. Whats more, learning introduction to magic and ranking journeys was expensive in the kingdom when bought through legal channels only because it would discourage arge popce from ever taking steps in their ranking journey. A significant number of poor people stayed rankless their whole lives without ever knowing whether they were good rankers or not. For example, the rankless Edinburgh Standard Technique that Eren was practising was easily avable through legal channels yet was extremely expensive at the same time. Most normal rankless people could not hope to buy it with ease. On one hand, these rules and restrictions were put in ce to prevent or limit criminal-minded rankers from causing mass destruction with magic. On the other hand, they helped the kingdoms in employing the rankers in their fold. Therefore, teaching about ranking journeys even to your family members without the kingdom-approved license or paying the handsome charge was considered a huge taboo. No Sane ranker would do that. Only cultists indulged in this form of knowledge exchange. Even if Nina could secretly teach things about potioneering to Eren, the fact that thetter obtained the knowledge through a non-official channel would ruin his prospects. Thats why Eren had to join LA, which would serve as his legal source of knowing about his ranking techniques and spells. *********************************** Eren saved Agathas life by making her drink the healing potions he had been given by Ma. This little feisty cultist was saved thanks to the Adapt rankers generosity. If it was left to Eren, the scrooge would have let her die than wasting potions on her. The butcher emptied the second vial on Agathas naked body to stabilize her condition. The girl quickly started recovering after the potions worked on dual fronts, from inside and outside. It took a few minutes for Agatha to look normal again. She was naked of course as all her clothes were long burnt away. He was about to touch the girl to make her awake but was interrupted by Almeras voice: Hey, Eren. I think I can take it up from here. Why dont you help Ken with his work? Oh! She thinks Im interested in thissss body. Im not. But should I y around with her? Hehe! Oh but but I want to finish the work Ive been given by my Master Ma first. I cant let things remain half-finished. Certainly not this. Eren talked in a daydreaming voice. His eyes were staring at Agathas body and his face carried the look of fascination. Chapter 128: Interrogation

Chapter 128: Interrogation

Oh but but I want to finish the work Ive been given by my Master Ma first. I cant let things remain half-finished. Certainly not this. Eren talked in a daydreaming voice. His eyes were staring at Agathas body and his face carried the look of fascination. You pervert, Why dont you state things honestly and say that Almera, the boys ying with you. Hehe! He has no reaction down there after seeing what he has been seeing. Almera was about to admonish the butcher but was made aware of the fact by Ma right on time. Then she realized the Adapt ranker had used her mana sense to keep an eye on Erens bodily responses. Things started with life-and-death battles and ended with lewdness in the air. Life is so fickle. The young Amazoness smiled mirthlessly at her thought before shaking her head. She walked off in the distance to feed their colts which were tied to a tree further back. Eren and Ma had already startedughing in the backdrop behind her. Ken had the face of someone who was yet to understand the joke. ***************** Wakey wakey, Mr E-Rank cultist douchebag. Ill ask you questions only once. We are tight on our schedules, you see. So you might want to answer quickly and truthfully. Ive separated yourckeys and will conduct another round of interrogation with them. And if I find any discrepancies Well, lets just say things would get much worse for you than they already are. Capiche? Now lets get down to basics. Whats your name? And which cultist gang do you belong to? The interrogation had been initiated. Ma was in the lead. Her team members were standing behind her. Haha! Prettydy, you dont even have a historian in your team. How are you going to establish that what I or any of us spewed was true or not? We just need toe up with the same story and we are good. Do you think we are not ready for an interrogation? Damn it. The guys spitting facts. Eren thought and looked at Ma whose eyes twitched in response to thetters retort. All of them were battle oriented rankers. But they needed a specialized ranker to do these jobs. Their interrogation was bound to be full of holes if they depended on usual means. Okay, hotshot. Heres another deal. If I cant find the authenticity of what you say to be true or not, Ill give that responsibility to you. Say what you want, however, you want, but by giving enough and relevant evidence you can produce. If you can convince me with proof that what you said was the truth then Id take you to the city of Silvermoon where you would be turned into a ve and live off a rtivelyfortable life. You can also try to break free from very and get back to what you were doing now. Tempting arent they? The prospects are limitless for you even now. I dont care either way. So its your job to make me believe that what you say is the truth. If you fail to do that, Ill just kill you all right here. I dont want to do extra work by taking you guys to the city. Now choose. What will it be? Ma came up with another approach to interrogation. The n is good but itcks finesses. Itcks a threat. Eren was no stranger to interrogation techniques. Ma was good, but he was better when it came to unconventional things like these. What the butcher said came to pass. The E-Rankerughed it off by saying: And why should I do that? If you want to kill us, just kill us. We are not scared of dying anyway. Ma had creases on her forehead after she heard that. She wasnt a pro in interrogations. Thankfully, a dark knight came to her rescue: Master Ma, allow me to do the honours. Eren spoke inly. Ma and his other team members looked at him strangely at his promation. They just couldnt wrap their heads around the fact that a mere student in the F-Rank wanted to lead the interrogation of a battle-hardened E-Ranker cultist. Eren, no offence but Hear me out, Master Ma. We have nothing to lose even if I ask this guy a few things. At best, we can learn a few things that you can confirm with your round of interrogation. And at worst, you can take over anyway if I dont gain anything. Not a bad deal, right? Ma pondered for a while before giving Eren a nod. But she was soon met by another of his strange requests: Madam Ma, I want to interrogate this guy in private. I mean, for real. That means no keeping tabs on what happens here with your mana sense. I wont say what Im about to do but trust me that you dont want to know. Please grant me this request as well. Eren gave a courtesy bow to Ma after he put forward another of his requests. The butcher didnt want to do this but there were a few things he wanted to ask the guy that he couldnt do in front of the audience. Ma sighed deeply before agreeing. The boy had already proved his mettle on various asions. There was some leeway he had earned with her as a result of that. Erens team went away from their earlier positions. The butcher waited for them before turning his attention to the E-Ranker. The cultist wanted to make fun of the mere teen in front of him. But for some reason, he subconsciously felt more threating from this novice than Ma who was an Adapt. Eren didnt speak but dived into a staring contest with the guy. Then he let his eyes roam on the cultists well-built body. The victim of eve-teasing got creeps from Erens strange gazending on his body. He felt naked in front of the boy. What what are you thinking little ra Dont you fucking say what you are about to say, you hear me? Havent I told you before? I only allow one person to call me that. Now, where were we? Yeah, interrogation. You see, these past few days have been shitty for me. Im forced to interact with the guy who makes my blood boil every time I even see him. So you can say that Im kind of on edge here. Ill not tell you to speak the truth right away. I dont want that. What I want is for you to take your time in spilling the facts. That should give me plenty of space to vent out my anger. Hehe! Lets start with the torture first and ask questionster, shall we? Hehe ===================== AN: The next chapter might creep a few readers. Proceed with caution. Chapter 129: Torture

Chapter 129: Torture

Lets start with the torture first and ask questionster, shall we? Hehe Eren removed a palm-sized pebble from his storage that had various inscriptions inscribed on it. He supplied enough of his unelementalized mana and the inscriptions lit up. Soon a semi-transparent dome with a 10m radius formed with him and the cultist in the centre. This was the sound istion artefact Eren was gifted with by Matt when he was in the city of Lauriel. The guy hade to the butcher to sign his death warrant with his own hands and blood. The butcher was just kind enough to grant him his request and ept this artefact as a payment. Sound istion artefact? Little bastard, how many victims have fallen in your hands for you to carry this type of artefact on you? Dont tell me you were counting on me to attack. The cultists eyes opened wide in surprise after he found that the terrorist had deployed a sound istion barrier around them. It strengthened his belief that this teen was not normal. These types of artefacts werentmon after all. They would only be avable in the ck market. And yet, this teen who didnt even have a shred of beard formed on his face had it in his possession. Haha! You are thinking too much. All this was just a coincidence. Now lets remove your clothes already. Wait. First, you need to know that I dont swing that way. Whatever BDSM sh*t you have on your to-do list, Im sure Agatha would be a better target for your ns. And second, ask me what you want to know about, damn it. At least give me a chance toe clean. Ill give you enough proof myself No means no, my man. I want to hear someone scream. This sound barrier is generated by an F-Rank artefact in the upper grade. And those rune-inscribed chains have made you equal to a rankless nobody. So I can let you scream all you want without worrying about interruptions. That is unless Ma decides to use mana sense on us. But Id doubt an Adapt ranker like her would break an agreement with her apprentice over a cultist like you. Now, wish me luck with whatever is about to take ce. And just enjoy the ride. Haha! Eren didntpletely remove the cultists clothes. He just slid the pants down and let the guys wienere out in the open. Then Eren took out his spare potioneering gloves and wore them. Next, he held a nearby trees long and slim wooden branch in one hand while with the other hand he held the guys dick in one ce. Then the terrorist drove that branch inside the dicks almost non-existent urethra cavity. The cultist screamed in pain and anguish. He would have never thought that someone could defile him in such a way one day. He would havemitted suicide had he known this was the fate had in store for him. But the butcher was smiling. He was carefully guiding the branch inside the dicks mouth with utmost care. As if he waspleting an academic project that needed his utmost attention. Through pain and suffering, the cultist was barely able to see the smile on the teens face. And he couldnt help but feel horrified by it. Who is the fuc*king cultist between us. Me or this devil? The cultist had this thought before it was overwritten by some more pain and misery. Eren had started to drive the branch in and out of the guys dick now. It was coated in blood. And the guy had peed himself. The amalgamated smell of urine and blood was unique. But Eren had seen the human bodily functions plenty of times in his previous timeline. So he wasnt discouraged by it. He was just d that he had worn gloves before the act. The guy was about to faint but Eren used another of his despicable moves to keep him awake. How can he let his main actor walk off the stage that he had taken efforts to set? Devil What do you want? Just fucking ask me already what you want. I swear on all that I hold dear that Ill speak the truth. Just stop this madness. I I beg of you. The cultist hade to realize that there were indeed some fates worse than death. The eternal slumber was a much better choice than experiencing something like this. But he knew that this devil in front of him wouldnt give him relief if he asked him nicely. Eren would only stop what he was doing if he came clean to him. And the cultist had already decided that hell speak the truth. His loyalty to his organization can go fuck itself in the arse. No amount of loyalty seemed greater for him to keep experiencing this torture method ever again. Now all the cultists wanted was to be allowed toe clean to this freak. Withdrawn already? Whatever happened to your cheeky attitude and your fearless ims that you dont fear death? They have gone to eat sh*t damn it. Just ask me What do you want to know. Do you want me to tell you my name? My names Hold on there, big guy. Well need a much bigger audience for your confession. But before I fetch my buddies up, let me say a few things to you. What you experienced was only a trailer. I have much bigger schemes that Im sure would please you even better than this little demo here. For example, how about chopping your dic*k off and then inserting that inside your arsehole? Youd give a new definition to the term I fucked up all by myself. Hehe! Wouldnt that be funny? The cultist felt like his soul was about to leave his body after he heard the devils proposed torture method. He felt that the kingdoms should hunt this vile creature instead of targeting poor blokes like him who only wanted to fight for some freedom. Listen to me, sir. Whatever Ill say will only be the truth. Ill not keep anything hidden from you. I promise. I dont care even if you kill me after Ie clean. Just just donte close to me anymore. You are saying no to my care that I can give you, huh? Alright. If thats what you want, Ill grant you your wish. Remember the talk that we had. But I want to ask you a few questions of my own before I bring my team here. You need to answer them as well. And for your sake, you better keep quiet about what transpired between us or anything rted to my personal line of questioning, you hear me? Otherwise Hehe! =================== AN: The F-Rank sound istion artefact has been first introduced in chapters 55 and 56. Chapter 130: Renar’s Plight

Chapter 130: Renars Plight

The terrorist adjusted his victims clothes and kept the branch and storage inside his storage. He wanted to throw the nasties away but Mas senses were sharp. She would pick things up from those items lying in the vicinity and get a fair idea about what happened here. Eren had already used a low-grade healing potion on the cultist so that his blood loss wouldnt affect what he was trying to say. Then he first asked a few questions about his organization and some insider information. The cultist was already on the edge after experiencing Erens vicious nature. He was scared of him. So he told everything thetter wanted to know from him, and then some more of his initiative. He even assured his torturer that his line of questioning wouldnt get revealed to his teammates. The butcher gave the cultist his seldom warm smile that a certain someone was known to sh now and then. The former patted thetters cheeks and stood up. Finally, Eren called his team members up from his ID stone. Did you find anything? Almera asked, expecting a hard no. But the butcher nodded his head before replying: We are about to. Ace Renar here wants to cooperate with us. You can ask your questions. What did you do to him? Almera couldnt help but ask. The guy looked like he was a tough nut to crack. She wanted to know how a teen managed to achieve what an Adept level ranker couldnt. Almera, stop asking pointless questions. If the boy wanted to let us know, he wouldnt have asked us to give him some private time with the cultist. Almeras cheeks reddened a little when Ma came in support of the butcher. The torturer shifted their attention to the cultist again to ease anyones curiosity about what he did to the cultist. Small details arent that important. Ace Renar, answer your question with honesty when they are asked. Adept Ma, you can take the lead. Alright. First of all, tell us all your identities, Ace Renar if thats what your name is. And whats your purpose of attacking travellers inbound to the city of Silvermoon. And dont tell me its about money. Because there are far more prosperous paths to do banditry on instead of this low-trade route. Ma folded her hands beneath her chest and replied. She had already ruled out banditry. Names Renar. As you must have already figured out, we are what you guys call cultists. We work for Beast Bloods. Its an up anding organization we have that works under a mysterious entity I dont know much about. I, like most others, joined Beast Bloods because I wanted to start my ranking journey without having to face the kingdoms suppression. I wouldnt try to sell my logic to you. Because I know deep down, you also agree with me on the fact that the ranking journey would have been much easier for all the rankers if the knowledge was made freely avable. But thew of equivalent exchange holds true even among us cultists. We have to contribute to our organization with our blood and sweat if we want to gain the ranking resources. Its just that the cultists organizations are more willing to share such resources in masses. This is where they have you beat. The kingdom wants to breed the elite in a controlled quantity. Whereas the cultists just dont care if the ranker is a genius or not. They dont care how far the ranker goes in their ranking journey with their talent, as long as they do what theyve told to do. Et vo! They have so many scapegoats like me and my underlings that they can just discard us anytime they want. Hehe! In a way, it would have been better if I obtained my ranking resources through the kingdoms legal channels. My progress would have been slower. But I could have avoided being bossed around by scumbags. Anyway! The reason we were attacking the travellers here was that we were ordered to do so. We were tasked with creating unrest in this region in any way we saw fit. And we chose this way. Various squads within the Beast Bloods have been ordered to perform the same tasks in various regions across the Edinburgh kingdom. And more cultist organizations like ours have already joined hands and are currently working in sync. You know, Ive signed a mana contract with Beast Bloods that dictates that I dont spill its secrets. Otherwise, Ill regress in my ranking journey before dying shortly after. The reason Im still alive and talking to you is because of these chains. Now that Ive told you what I know about the Beast Bloods current n, I reckon Ill die as soon as these chains are removed. Its in your hands to take preventive measures against the bacsh due to the contract breach. Save me or let me die. Either way, the bacsh should serve as proof for you to know that Im telling the truth. I only ask that you spare the kids that are with me. They havent even signed a binding contract with the Beast Bloods. Agatha is the most innocent one among them. The kid has done nothing wrong yet. You can say that this was her first job at our organization. Renar stopped talking and looked at Ma afterwards. He was expecting her to ask him a question but all we got was a tired sigh and an empathetic reply: Some people just have a bad start. I know someone who faced a lot of discrimination in the kingdom and defected to the cultists in the end. What she didnt know was that grass only looks greener from the other side. But its a mess no matter where you go. So I understand where you areing from. But making innocents pay for the hardships you had to face is never the right way to get what you want. Acer Renar, I cantpletely nullify the contract you have with your organization even with my D-Rank prowesses. So your ranking journey will regress for sure even with my intervention. It mightpletely halt as well. But what I can do for you is save your life. Youll still live. Just as a normal, rankless nobody. As for the kids that are with you, Ill see what I can do about them at the city of Silvermoon. You all need toe with us to get your punishments and start a new life, however shitty it might seem at the beginning. Just answer me one thing. The mysterious entity that you talked about. What more can you tell me about them? Ma only wanted to know about the person who was controlling the Beast Bloods from the shadows. As if she had already filled in the details of whats and whys from Renars exnation and the briefing she must have been given before taking up this mission. I Im fine with being rankless if ites to it. Maybe Im a failure as a ranker. But I might seed as being something else. Who knows? Hehe! So thank you for providing a way out for me and the kids. It might sound cliche, but we wont forget the kindness we have been graced with. As for that entity. I dont know much about them. I only know that the Beast Bloods head refers to them as The Ancients. Chapter 131: Arizihana Agnoth

Chapter 131: Arizihana Agnoth

As for that entity. I dont know much about them. I only know that the Beast Bloods head refers to them as the Ancients. Renar expressed his willingness to cooperate with Mas judgement on them. First, he didnt have a choice but to oblige. And second, he felt that the cultists organization and the kingdom were two sides of the same coin. One side of which was shiny while the other looked rusty. Ma narrowed down her eyes after she heard Renar talk about the Ancients. It seemed that she had connected a few dots in her head. But nobody in her team was willing to ask her. They knew there were a few things that the D-Ranker couldnt share with them. It was out of the sybus for the current ranking scale they were at. ****************** The kingdom wanted to control people to bring stability. The cultists wanted to destroy that stability in the name of freedom. And ironically, they controlled the rouge rankers joining their fold to get that freedom. In the end, the ordinary rankers couldnt escape the leash no matter which organization they belonged to. Why should Renar or these kids stretch their necks out for the organization that used them as pawns? Their capture by Mas team was a blessing in disguise for them. Only Renar had signed a binding contract with the Beast Bloods. So the kids had nothing to worry about. Had they quit upfront after joining Beast Bloods, they would be hunted down one day for betrayal. The cultists organizations had their honour to maintain after all. But now that they have been caught and punished for it, the organization wont involve more resources to take care of them. It would just be aplete waste as all of them were only serving as pawns. *************** Four days after the battle between Erens team and the cultists. A one and a half-day journey to the city of Silvermoon was stretched to three days because Erens team had new members joining them in the middle. Erens team had to catch wild colts in the forest to amodate the captured cultists travel. And since the newly caught wild colts werent meant for long travels, the travellers needed to take intermittent breaks. The cultists were still tied in runic chains, unable to cast spells or exert their mana outside. But they could move and perform daily activities in a controlled manner. Ma didnt let her guard down just because she was a D-Ranker. She had ensured that all the protocols rting to the transfer of captured personnel were followed. The group finally saw a giant city wall that had dense vegetation covering its surface. It looked like someone had performed a wood magic spell on it to strengthen the architecture and grant it additional properties it may have. The city entrance was contrastingly smallpared to the size of the city walls. A toon of guards was manning the entrance and talking merrily with each other. The guards werent humans. At least not all of them. There were some dark brown-skinned Faeruns among them who had pointy ears that would twitch as the cause of listening to something hrious. There were also elves of other lineages like sun elves, moon elves, and snow elves. Then there were dwarfs as well as half-bloods that were a mix of two distinct gene pools. The guards saw that a bunch of people on colts were approaching the city gates at a steady pace as they were joking among themselves. It wasnt rare for the city of Silvermoon to have visitors. But the travellers timing was odd. This was way past the usual dinner time. Normally, the visitors would ensure that they reach the city in the evening or at the break of dawn. So this uncalled-for visitation from strangers drew their attention. The toon had already been on the guard as it had been briefed about the recent attacks on the travellers. Therefore, the guards were about to form a formation when they heard the known sound of city gates opening from behind them followed by a known voice of their captain: At ease, boys. They are our friends. Well, at least some of them are. So no need to panic and let them in. This was the voice of the on-duty toon captain Ariziana Agnoth. She was a D-Ranker snow elf who looked like she had been bathed in light even when there was dark all around her. It felt like her clear and supple skin had a natural white glow. Ari had a beautiful face. She had curves at the right ces but her features looked moderate. She looked to be in her early twenties but one couldnt really tell the number when it came to elves. The elves would mature at the same time and speed as humans. But then their age would stagnate. But this was the case with rankless humans and elves. The age stagnation didnt matter when rankers started walking on the ranking journey. Their progress in their paths would decide their lifespan. And humans had the advantage to tread faster in their ranking journey aspared to the elves. So the concept of age wasnt paid much attention in the rankingmunity. Long time no see, Ari. How youve been. I see youve broken through D-Rank already. It calls for a celebration. And you are not getting away this time. You know that right? Ma greeted Ari with a kind of excitement shes rarely shown to anyone in LA. It seemed that the two Adepts were very close to each other. Thetter replied with tired expressions on her face: How many times have I told you? We elves dont stock our booze enough for your voracious drink-fest. We only drink a sip or two for rxation. Not like you who drink it for who knows what. Tch, tch, tch. I already told you your torn and tattered excuses wont work on me anymore. I want all of your Froastfoam ale collection and then some other varieties. Hehe! LA doesnt have good booze, you know. And all my stock has vanished. So Im going to let myself go in your care. Ma was very excited to have her booze fest get going. But she was interrupted by her assistant shortly afterwards, breaking her drunk-like chain of thoughts: Um, Adapt Ma. We have a few criminals to process first. Almera reminded Ma about her priorities that she had gotten skewed in the anticipation of getting dead-drunk. So thetter gave a disappointing re at her assistant before talking to her snow elf friend about the same. Meanwhile, Eren was perplexed about something after hearing the toon captains name. Hmm. Ari. Ariziana Agnoth. Where have I heard this name before? Chapter 132: Agatha’s Enslavement

Chapter 132: Agathas Envement

So the guys name is Renar. Beast Bloods, huh? Ive heard about them. But not much is known about their core practises. Its good that you guys caught Ari was about to make a formal statement regarding the prisoners Erens team had brought with them but was stopped after seeing a kid on a colt with only an intact arm on him. The rest of his limbs were missing from their joints. The guy looked crestfallen in his chains. As if death would be a mistress he was willing to hug with his only one intact arm. What did you guys do to him? Ari had to ask. Its not like she hadnt seen a ranker getting amputated by another ranker. But the one who got amputated was just a kid. A rankers code dictated that Erens team go easy on him even when he was in the wrong. Eren happened to him. But he was not wrong in doing that. I mean, he was wrong in chopping the guys limbs but he was not in his reasoning. Do you get it? I mean.. Ken was replying with a serious face, trying to defend his battle buddys actions. But it was not what the muttor wanted from him at the time. Just shut the hell up, you **** **** ****. You are making my case worse here with your talk. Eren wanted to fill the guys mouth up with a bucketful ofva to shut him for the time being. In the end, Ma took over and exined the event in detail without any bias. Ari nodded her head before dering her verdict: Alright. We will send the prisoners to the city prison for the time being. A panel of judges will regte their punishments as per the known crimes theyvemitted. The Ace ranker is here to stay. Hell not get away that easily. But I dont think we have much on the kids. So theyll be given lighter punishments. Greetings, Adept Arizihana. I was wondering if you could tell us what would happen to the Ace rankersckeys? Eren asked as soon as Ari gave them a brief about processing the criminals they had brought. He had a n in mind and wanted to confirm something first. Hmm? Im only guessing here. But from what I know, the kids will have to serve a minimum of 10 years of envement to the city of Silvermoon. It may be more dependent upon the judging panel and their behaviour. Renar will have to face a minimum of 50 years of envement. His ranking journey is over with his damaged beyond repair mana core. So the 50 years will be like lifetime envement for him if he survives that long. The group of cultists didnt like that their punishments were being talked about in front of them. As if they didnt exist in the same space as theirwful captors. But they couldnt speak anyway. Their mouths had also been shut close by the runic pattern drawn over their cheeks by Adept Ma. A jolt would pass through the captives tongues whenever they tried to open their mouths without permission. Thats why they didnt open their mouths without permission the entire time they were travelling. 10 years of envement, huh? Are we getting rewards from the city of Silvermoon for taking care of the nuisance for them? Eren asked with a slight bow. He was not sure who would make it worth it for him to spend his time and energy on a waste of time cultist catch and release, but he wanted his share for doing his work anyway. And he had another reason to ask the question as well. Rewards from the city of Silvermoon are indeed there. But theyll be given to Ma who would then distribute those as per your contribution. Im guessing you have something on your mind with the way you are asking about these things. No need to feel shy, Eren. just tell me what do you want? Alright then. I want Agatha to be enved to me with a binding contract. Everyone froze at Erens bold statement. They all felt that maybe Ari shouldnt have said no need to feel shy to this devious teen. The act was akin to leaving your door open while going outside so that the thief has an easy time robbing you. Agatha looked hatefully at the terrorist who had terrorized her. Then she got scared for her future if Eren bes her owner for at least 10 years. The guy was a freak. He would bomb girls without any hesitation. What would he do to them if they were his ves? Agatha didnt want to find out the answer to that question. She tried to run away with all her might but the runic chains lit up and made her stand still at her ce. Ma, the controller of those chains, didnt even look at the captives futile attempt to run and let the show go on. Something much interesting was unfolding after all. Her apprentice never ceased to surprise her till now. And what makes you think I would agree to your request? Eren, you are a student so you might not know. But envement is the biggest source of profits for city governments, approved by the kingdom. Its freebour with the only expense on the enved persons daily necessities. So giving a potential human resource away is a huge loss for any local government. Its all about economics in the end. If some of the city officials have their way, they would start a manhunt for even the pettiest of criminals and dish out maximum envement punishments to keep the citys budget in the profit. The criminals imprisonment is part of your mission. You will get paid for the sanctioned capture by other means. Why would the citys administration allow a brat like you to take up their valuable resource all to yourself? No. The city officials wont let me. But you can, Adept Ari. Im sure you must have a sway over the judgement. If you can plead from my behalf, Theyll let me have the ve. And why would I do that? You know about rankers codes right? Equivalent exchange. Whats in it for me? Well for a starter your life. Eren looked straight in the Adept rankers eyes after he said that. He had finally remembered Ari from his past life. =================== AN: About the **** **** ****. I just couldnt find better words than Eren would use to cuss the white knight. Normal NSFW words just didnt cut it. They didnt have that rage behind them that Eren is expected to feel while hurling them towards the protagonist. So imagine the worst terms Eren would use for Ken and fill in the nks. Also, do let me know the terms you came up with by including them in thement section so that I can use them on Erens behalf in the future. Just remember to alter your spellings to avoid the safety filter. ? Chapter 133: Equivalent Exchange

Chapter 133: Equivalent Exchange

Well for a starter your life. Eren looked straight in the Adept rankers eyes after he said that. He had finally remembered Ari from his past life. He had visited the city of Silvermoon when he was a good-for-nothing loser before the time reset. At that time, the then-lousy berserker had heard an important tidbit. It was about a certain toon captain of the city of Silvermoon whose tales of bravery and beauty were go-to topics for the citizens living inside it. Eren had happened to hear one such tale from the group of drunkards sitting across from his lone table when he was inside a beat-up tavern. The tale was about Arizihana Agnoth. First, the group talked about her beauty and then became sad over the fact that she had died. And the way she had died was also interesting to hear. Ari had died due to rushing in her ranking journey. She had used a D-Rank potion on herself while being at the E-Ranks solid stage for an expedited breakthrough. In her defence, Ari had done that because she was stagnating as a ranker. She didnt want to stay in the E-Rank for years on end and reach the next rank crawling. If she waited any longer, her prospects would end at D-Rank. And she wont be able to break through into further ranks even after using external help. Because her lifeforce would have gotten depleted by then. Thats why Ari had decided to take a bold step. She somehow got her hands on a lost and partially iplete potion recipe and ordered the best potioneer she could find in the city of Silvermoon to make it for herself by signing a binding contract of confidentiality with them. The potioneer had warned her that the recipe wasnt something that could be called a standardized model. Plus, it belongs to a lost school of potioneering that didnt have many schrs associated with it. At their best, the potioneer could only make the potion with half efficacy aspared to the original effect. And this was after the potioneer made sure that the missing nks are rightly filled with relevant details that belong to the lost potion-making school. And half efficacy was not the only problem the iplete potion would have. It would also cause unknown side effects due to there being no suitable neutralizing agent known by the potioneer that could eliminate them. But Ari epted the potioneers uses anyway. She was desperate and this potion was her only hope. In the end, she had used the potion to breakthrough into D-Rank and surprised a lot of her peers. But her breakthrough came with a cost. Unbeknownst to her, her mana circuits and her mana core were slowly getting ipatible with each other. The process started slowly and it remained undetectable until it was toote. Arizihana died by body implosion while she was participating in a battle with the cultist gang. She was executing a mana-heavy spell and that became a trigger for her mana core to go berserk. At first, the city guards fighting with her thought the cultists had executed a strange spell on her. Her body was brought back to the city of Silvermoon and an autopsy was done by a qualified panel of healers. The autopsy report gave out the real reason behind the toon captains death and everybody in the city became upset over that fact. Ari had a lot of admirers that spanned across males from various races and even females. She was one of the most important people in the city of Silvermoon after all. So when the news about Aris cause of death was out and that potioneer was somehow known by the masses, he was dragged out in the open beat-up hard by them. His clothes were torn and he ran naked in the street before being saved by the city guards, who then tortured him some more before finally kicking him out of the city. People who participated in the guys beating subconsciously knew the potioneer wasnt really at fault in this case. But they had to vent out their feelings somehow. And the poorb-rat became the channel to release their frustration. People had a strange mentality. They would me their healers for not curing them of ailments in the right manner. When it was their poor dieting habits that were the cause behind them in the first ce. And they would me their parents for failures their own lifestyle choices had brought them. Anyway! The death of the toon captain Arizihana, while she was battling it out with the cultists for the citys safety, had created a deep impression in the mind of the Silvermoon citizen. They had even created a statue of her that became one of the citys attractions points. But all of this was still a few years into the future in this timeline. Ari had just broken through her D-Rank. The ipatibility could still be resolved if treated in the right way. Thats why Eren brought the subject up to gain a ve for himself. Otherwise, he would have let the toon captain die without thinking twice. And what do you mean by that? If this is some sort of joke Aris mood was getting fouler by the second after hearing Erens wild im. An F-Rank teen was talking about a D-Rankers life and death. Of course, the snow elf felt offended. Please hear me out, Adept Ari. Im saying that for your benefit. Im a potioneer who is trained by a C-Rank healer. I can sense an ailment through my mana sense and your presence here feels like your mana circuits and mana core are in a war against each other. From Master Mas talk, youve just broken through the D-Rank, yes? But something feels off about the mana signature you are radiating. It is not stable. I dont think the ipatibility between the two is apparent yet but Id advise you dont wait until it does. Otherwise, you would implode while executing a spell someday. Heres my suggestion. Please hire a capable healer and ask them to check up on your current condition. If what I say is true, you can use your weight in the city to grant me a kingdom-sanctioned ve. If not, Im ready to pay up to 20,000 Extols to you. Hows that for an equivalent exchange? ======================== AN: Hi. Most of you must have noticed by now, but Ill dere it officially anyway. VEH has entered a win-win ranking starting this month. Readers can now avail privilege tiers to ess stockpiled chapters. There are two tiers readers can unlock and they would stay unlocked for this entire month. Tier 1 gives you ess to two chapters that havent been released while tier 2 lets you read 6 more chapters. My suggestion for those who want to support VEH would be to unlock the privilege tiers now at the start of the month to get the most out of it. The privilege unlock would help me as well as you when enough people are participating. So unlocking these tiers is always appreciated. The normal chapters would continue to be released regrly. And yeah, privilege tier 1 is only one coin away from getting unlocked. Thats it. Happy reading and keep your diet in check in the uing holidays. ? Chapter 134: When a Spell Stops Being a Spell

Chapter 134: When a Spell Stops Being a Spell

Hows that for an equivalent exchange? The butcher oozed confidence when he put forward his terms as if that poorss was in his bag as a ve. Agatha wanted to p the wretched teen in front of her. He was bartering with Ari while treating her as a form of goods. What makes you think that I have this issue, Eren? Ari didnt want to believe the wordsing from a teens mouth but his statements didnt sound too absurd to her. The potioneer had already told her about the possibility of side effects. Maybe this slowly increasing ipatibility was part of that side effect. But she still had to confirm her doubts. She couldnt just blindly trust Eren on his spections. Eren gave her a detailed ount of what he had observed. Of course, he twisted some logic and mixed truths with conjectures. But when he was done answering the question, everyone who was witness to that answer believed him. Alright, Eren. You have a deal. If what you say is true and Im indeed diagnosed with the issue you talk about, then you can take thatss as your legal ve. But I wantpensation of 40K Extols in case your predictions be invalid. Agreed? Agreed. Eren didnt have a reason to say no to Aris request. He even would have epted the deal of 100K Extols had she imed it. It was not like he was guessing her ailment. So he didnt have to pay a dime to her anyway when she finds out what he said to be real. Alright. Guards, take our prisoners to their cells. And close the city gates. Its about time we go inside. Lets go Ma andpany, the city administration has booked rooms for you at the Lamb Arms. Ill take you there myself. Ari took Erens team to the inn they were supposed to be staying in. Eren and Steve were exhausted by the long travels while Almera looked tired. Only Ma went outside with Ari for some drinks after they dropped the rest at the inn with the weird name. Eren was delivered food to his room and realized why the inn was called the Lamb Arms Inn. The Inn had served himmb stew, roastedmb leg, andmb ragu for his dinner. Eren had ordered plenty of food for two. The other serving was of course for Reen. She had kept quiet during the whole journey like Eren had asked her to do. It was about time to treat her to somemb meat for her patience. Reen separated herself from Eren and manifested into a gorgeous beauty with curvy features. She had learned to eat human food now. She still preferred to eat her meat raw by turning it into a soluble inside her ball of slime. But over the weeks she had learned to eat human food in a humanly way. Eren was leaving no stone unturned to educate her about urban etiquettes. Are you going to let me have that girl for food, Eren? I can feel that she is different from normal humans. Cant wait to digest her whole. Hehe! Reen said while picking a roastedmb reg and taking a huge bite from it. Eren mirthlessly smiled before shaking his head: Im not going to have a legal ve just so that you can eat her, Reen. Shell be very useful for my experiments. But that is for the future. Right now I want to use her for information gathering. Ill also ask Jack to amodate her into his shop so that she can help us run a seamless business. Eren said this and stopped to take a bite out ofmb ragu. He liked the vour of the dish. It was enough to tell him that the Lamb Arms Inn was not something an ordinary adventurer or traveller could afford. At least the city administration of the Silvermoon was not as thrifty as that of Osans. Eren thought to himself before being interrupted by Reens next words: I know how and why businesses are run from your memories. But I still dont understand why humans run these businesses. If they want to eat, they can just hunt and have food right? Why earn money when you can secure your food more directly? Reen threw another question at Eren which he didnt have an answer to. He knew she was just rambling but decided to clear some of her doubts: Reen, humans see a way past food and daily necessities. That can be our boon or bane depending upon how we make use of such vision. For example, human rankers need ranking techniques and spells to be a step above normal humans. And for humans to get them, they need to earn money and resources. Without the money to support them, I dont think many rankers can progress further in their journey. And we get these techniques and spells for free either. Humans are more vicious than beasts in that some of them would start killing their own kind if these techniques are readily avable to them. Eren took a spoonful ofmb stew in his mouth after saying that. He thought that he had solved Reens doubts but was soon proven wrong: Hmm? Buy the techniques you say? But why do you buy these techniques? Dont you have your own? And the very first human who became a ranker. How did they start their ranking journey when they didnt have any techniques or spells? Well Eren wanted to answer Reens questions but was soon frozen to silence. He had never really thought about why humans and other races like humans needed techniques and spell formations when the mana beasts didnt. Can humans enter or breakthrough into the ranking levels without any technique involved? Can they cast spells without ever learning about them? Suddenly Eren thought of the cultists. These heretics were pursuing long lost paths of magic that differed from todays practices. They were often unconventional and made little sense. But maybe there was more to these lost paths than met the eyes. Eren started reying his fight with the cultist in his mind and recalled how Agatha transformed in front of him. Reen, you witnessed Agathas beastly transformation spell with my senses. How did it differ from the normal spell? Eren asked his demon beast while looking earnestly at her. Reen put what remained of the roastedmb leg down on her te and thought about it for a while before replying to her masters question: Hmm! Should we still call something a spell when it stops being a spell? Reen looked at Eren innocently. But she didnt understand why Eren dropped the fork from his hand at her statement. When a spell stops being a spell Eren mumbled to himself as loads of thoughts started swirling inside his head. Chapter 135: Lucky Encounters

Chapter 135: Lucky Encounters

When a spell stops being a spell Eren mumbled to himself as loads of thoughts started swirling inside his head. Were the cultists right in pursuing the heretic paths all along? More importantly, if the rankers walk on their ranking journeys like beasts sans the ranking techniques and spell scrolls, will they face the same bottlenecks theyve always faced? The questions popped up in Erens mind like wild mushrooms. Then hepared Agathas body transformation with his attribute of shapeshifting. The ability he had gained by merging with his demon beast had also stopped being a spell. Erens shapeshifting worked on his willpower. It was influenced by his thoughts and only used the mana from his mana core as a driving force. He didnt have to activate the mana circuits in a specific way to initiate the shapeshifting. The ability wasnt totally in his control yet because of it. He didnt have a set temte to follow. But Eren knew with enough practise and willpower, he would be able to take up any shape he wanted to one day. A spell stops being a spell when it bes an integral part of your existence. Mana beasts had innate spells that worked on the same principle. They didnt have to study ranking techniques or practise spells to use them. They just knew what their innate spells were. But what was stopping humans from having their innate spells? Nobody could answer Erens questions because he knew some of them were taboo subjects within the rankingmunities. His questions were the same ones that the cultists would ask rankers when they were confronted by them for their actions. Eren didnt want toe across as a supporter of cultists ideologies out in the open. That would be detrimental to his future goals. What he needed was pre-processed data on the subject. And he had a person in his mind to give him that. Even if that person wouldnt know much, Eren would make sure that the secrets they carry in their bodiese out in the open for them. Reen, you cant eat Agatha. At least not anytime soon. Weve just found another use for her. The demon beast was still thinking of having more human nuggets as she wolfed down themb meat. Somehow eating the human dinner had increased her appetite instead of getting satiated. But we can find some other humans for you to target in this city by tomorrow. Every city has its share of scumbags after all. Yaay! The demon beast registered her happiness through her words and actions too as she raised her hands. Eren anyway was going to roam the city tomorrow. They were supposed to stay in the city for a few days before making it back to LA. Ma was yet to confirm the other part of their missions to them yet. So all they could do till then was to wait and explore the city in the meantime. Eren was hoping he doesnt have to roam the streets with Ken in tow. Sadly, his hopes were meant to be crushed under the protagonists foot. *********************** Knock knock knock! Knock knock, bang! Yo, Eren. Get up, man. How can you sleep till now? Its 9 AM. We need to buy some souvenirs from the city. Eren? Eren Idril! Hello. Eren was rudely awakened from his deep sleep. He heard persistent banging on the door of his inns room followed by his name taken by Ken like thetter was finding joy in chanting it. Aaargh! Fu*k this guy. Get the fu*k away from me you you Haha! Ive run out of abuses for this madman. You want me to eat him? Reen asked innocently in his mind. She woke up with him. She liked to sleep in her slime form on Erens chest. You know, thats not a very bad idea. Im considering it Naah. The guy has many uses for him to get wasted like this. Ill have to let him live. For now. Reen, from now on you are forbidden to tempt me into killing Ken. Because one of these days, I might just say yes prematurely. Youve gotten pretty crafty yourself over these days, but dont think that I dont see your agenda in helping me. But the question remains. What should I do with him now? Ill just pretend to be in deep sleep. Maybe hell go away on his own. Thought Eren andid back on his bed again drawing the sheets over him. Eren, Ace Almera is also with me. She is waiting for you too. Get up already man. Give me a break already! Ive socialized enough these days, like seriously. Eren had to get up and get the door after hearing that Almera too was waiting with Ken on the other side of the door. He couldnt afford to offend an E-Ranker over his petty need to avoid Ken. Reen merged with her master as Eren got up from his bed. Since their merging, Erens and Reens mana signatures had gotten synched. They didnt need to always keep themselves on guard about Reens existence getting exposed anymore. As long as Reen didnt make things too obvious, she would stay undetected by almost all the rankers. *Sigh. Come on in as I get ready. Eren couldnt get any less enthusiastic even if wanted to after seeing Kens bright smile. He couldnt even pretend to return the smile in response at this point. Almera was just standing there with her hands folded in front of her. Eren was wondering why Almera wanted to apany them but he didnt bother to ask. The girl acted aloof. The butcher wasnt in the mood to soothe her ego by asking her. He had an ego of his own to maintain after all. Ken acted as the glue that would make two opposing mas dubbed as Eren and Almera stay in ce together. He would effortlessly shift his talks between the two to keep the conversation flowing. A sure-shot weapon every protagonist has in their arsenal. Their talk-talk spells. Eren thought in his mind and shook his head as he got readied for his forced outing with the two. The trio started their city exploration soon afterwards. The entire city was bustling with structured shops and chaotic open markets getting crowded by humans, elves, and sporadic dwarves. To Eren, it looked like the number of merchants was more than the buyers themselves. The trio bought some souvenirs for themselves from a well-known shop. But then Ken had his lucky encounter and bumped into an elf girl when they were about to visit another ce. The two got to talking and spent a few minutes there standing right in the middle of the shops traffic. In the end, the elf girl was smitten by Kens personality and vision. She gave him her ID Stone details so that he could contact her. And she also told him where he can find her in case he wants to explore the city with her. Thetter kept the details to himself. But it seemed that he wasnt going to contact her anytime soon. But someone else in Kens group was paying very close attention to the groups interaction. Oh geez. Would you look at the time? Its quarter to fu*k-Ken-in-the-as* PM. The shapeshifter had a cunning grin on his face as the group bid adieu to the girl. Chapter 136: Doing an Elf P1*

Chapter 136: Doing an Elf P1*

I thought you were just going to ignore me when I told you Ill be here by the Moonviewke. But Im d you showed up, Ken. Lensa Carren was d Ken decided to show up just when she thought he wouldnt. She had gone out on a limb with the guy by inviting him thiste at night to a ce people seldom visited at this hour. There was something about Ken that had attracted her to take this bold step. And she was d she did. Because the guy looked extremely handsome and charming in the moonlight. He looked slightly different from his appearance in the morning. But she didnt put much thought into it, subconsciously thinking it was the effect of seeing the guy at night. Pleasures all mine, Lensa. But I was wondering what could we explore so far into the night when the entire city is about to sleep? Lensa was a sun elf and had dark brown skin. Still one could imagine a tinge of red appearing on her cheeks after hearing Kens remark. She tried toe up with a reason but the Ken saved her from her misery with his next words: Hehe! No need to panic. I came here knowing we wouldnt get to see much of the city, didnt I? What does that tell you? Im not sure how we clicked so instantly. Part of me feels this is just some kind of a dream. But if it is, I dont want to wake up from it. At least not before I get to know you better. Lensa was awestruck by Kens glib tongue. She felt it was effortless to talk to him. Ken would carry on the conversation like they had known each other for years now. The couple walked under the moonlight as they shared a little of their life stories with each other. Somehow Lensa felt the Ken of now was even more of a smooth talker than Ken of the morning when they first met. Lensa was looking gorgeous in her skin-hugging ck leather pants and white cotton tunic top. She was a beautiful girl with all the right facial features. Her nose looked a little smaller but that only added to her cuteness. Ken on the other didnt look as awesome as he always did. It was as if Ken was working on 80% visual appeal today. But that still didnt stop him from gaining the youngdys admiring nces. There was nobody to be found at the scene apart from the young couple when Ken led Lensa behind a big oak tree. Then he rested his back on the trunk of the tree and pulled Lensa close to him. What are we doing here, Ken? Ken was asked by the girl he just pulled over himself in a hushed voice. She looked ufortable at first being this close to a boy she never met before today. But Ken was rubbing her back with his palms like he was patting a scared rabbit. And that did the trick. You know what we are doing, Lensa. Cant we both stop pretending to talk about random stuff and just enjoy each others warmth? I feel confident we can. Its because youve made me realize that you dont need to know someone for long to make them enter your heart. The heart will open itself up without any resistance when you meet the right person. For me, you are the right person now. What do you think about me? Ken smooth-talked Lensa while continuing his back rubs. All this while he stared right into the elf girls eyes. Oh, Ken. I feel the same. I do. Dont know why. Im relieved, dear. Now lets make things official by cing a seal of approval, alright. You know what that is, right? Wha What is this seal of approval? Lensa had understood what Ken was getting at. But she tried to man herst line of defense before things started to heat up. But she was doing a poor job at that. Here. This is the seal of approval Im talking about. Receive it well. Ken ced his lips on Lensa as soon as he was done speaking. The girl tried to back away but her resistance was feeble. As if she didnt mean it. And that feeble resistance too was washed up when the waves of ecstasy started hitting the shore that was Lensas mind. She had to admit that her new partner was very good at what he was doing. A few moments after they began lip-locking, Lensa gently embraced her lover, leaning on him to provide him better ess to his roaming hands. Once they were both in the heat, Lensa became restless and started pressing her body more onto Ken. She was eager to feel the warmth of his body. Theres no need to be so hasty, my elf beauty. I am not going anywhere anytime soon. Though I mighte sooner than I need to. Hehe! Ken chuckled after he made that pun. T-This is all your fault, Ken! Lensas face flushed experiencing her state. Now that youve lit this fire inside me. Theres no way it would get extinguished easily.! Is that so? Eren chuckled beforeing close to his partner and whispering into her ears: Then Ill just have to add more oil into this fire myself and let it consume both of us. I Im willing! Lensa gave her approval to Kens advances and started to frantically kiss on his neck and his exposed corbone. Meanwhile, Kens hands had slipped downward to grab something very mushy. Ken started pressing Lensas butt cheeks as if he was carefully making a wheat dough. He felt that he was trying to grab the water in a tangible form. Ken let his shirt buttons get unbuttoned by Lensa as he started to unfasten the hook of thetters leather pants. He quickly pulled the pants down just enough to get the butt cheeks out. Lensa was startled by the cold wind grazing her naked butts. But soon she felt the warmth she needed to fight that cold. Ken had started his handiwork right away. Chapter 137: Doing an Elf P2*

Chapter 137: Doing an Elf P2*

Ken had started his handiwork right away after Lensas pants were pulled down. He tried inserting one of his fingers into her butthole as soon as he found it. Lensa wasnt expecting her rear entrance to be breached like this at that time. As a result, the hole puckered up and made it difficult for Kens finger to gain an entry. Rx dear. Its just us. Ken tried tofort her while he traced the edges of her butthole with his fingers. Her pussy had gotten moist by then and some of the pussy juices had made it till the rear entrance. Ken was using that liquid as a lubricant to soothe his entrance in advance. What why are you trying to put your finger in there? Theres a better ce nearby, you know. Lensa wanted Ken to excite her pussy instead of what he was doing right now. But Kens finger was adamant in entering the first cave it had touched upon from behind. Ken kissed Lensa again to ease her tension down there. Then he used the finger of his other hand to enter the pussy hole from behind. Lensa was ready for this. She was craving for this. So she allowed easy ess to her pussy by adjusting herself better. She spread her legs apart and squatted a little to allow for a deeper exploration than before. Now that she had gotten excited, Ken used that opportunity to coat his finger in Lensas pussy juices. Then she sent the soldier in for another march, hoping that this time things would be different. And that hope was not in vain. The soldier seeded in his mission of breaching the rear entrance. Ken aaaaah you are Just enjoy the ride, Lensa my dear. You are doing great. Ken Aaah I need to tell you aah, something. This would be my first time for both the holes. So youll have to be gentle with me. Lensa made a shocking revtion to Ken. She was a virgin. A teen elf of Lensas age hasnt done it yet? She was indeed special. Usually, almost all elves lived a liberated lifestyle. And they were used to starting their sexual exploration early. It didnt matter to them if their partners were elves or anyone else as long as they would connect with them. Thats why it was surprising for Ken to find out that he was dealing with a virgin elf. But soon that surprise turned into a radiant smile. Ken understood why Lensa approached him. She was probably looking for some handsome stranger to lose her V-card. And she had found him in Ken. A virgin, huh? I havent had a virgin in a long time. And this is a virgin elf. So this would be the first time for me as well. hehe! Ken thought to himself quickly and nodded at Lensa before continuing his smooches. Seeing that Ken was busy with her twin buns and not giving up on them anytime soon, the virgin elf started to fondle her breasts. All while responding to Kens liplocks. She had taken out her twin peaks out of her tunic top, thanks to her long neck opening that was only secured by the of thick threads. All she had to do was unfasten those threads to allow her ample breasts to pop out. Lensa was a virgin but she was still an elf. She knew what her body wanted at the time and knew how to get it. The girl had dropped her previous hesitation. Ken explored both her holes with his fingers. Lensas pussy juices were getting produced in abundance. A distinct smell of that juice was making its presence known in the surrounding area. Lensa felt the need to even the field. So she started to unfasten Kens pants as well. Soon the guys boner was out in the open. Lensa gasped after feeling Kens size down there. But she didnt back away from the challenge. She had heard from her friends that the first time was a little painful. So she just wanted to be done with those before she could really enjoy the act from that point onwards. Lensa started stroking Kens thick meat rod with her hand while her pussy and butthole were being explored by Kens nimble fingers. They had started exploring every nook and cranny of the elfs secret valley by then. Lensa dear, do you know what is the best way to please a man? Ken stopped what he was doing and asked his partner. Lensa was all ears. Her silence hinted to Ken to continue. But she kept on ying with the guys stick and balls. Yes. Thats the way. Stroke some more. But as I said, theres a better way to please a man. Suck my rod, Lensa. And suck it good. Give me the best virgin blowjob an elf has to offer. Lensa raised her eyebrows after hearing Kens demands. The guy sure knew what he wanted and how he could get it from her. Now she had to perform well in her first blowjob. Her pride as an elf was on the line. So Lensa went down on her partner. Most of their clothes were still on. But it didnt look like this was going to end as a quickie. Lensa followed Kens lead and sucked on his rod as her life depended on it. She also sucked on his balls upon his instructions. She couldnt say she was enjoying the process. But Kens approval encouraged her to keep going. Ken nutted soon inside Lensas mouth while deepthroating her. His jizz went straight in without any drop spilling out. But surprisingly, Kens rod didnt go down even after nutting so much. Lensa started doubting her sex-ed after witnessing that. But was soon pulled up from her thoughts physically and metaphorically by her partner. Hehe. Im just excited to be with you, Lensa dear. Your beauty needs at least this much respect from my meat. Ken started undressing after saying that. Then heid his clothes on the ground nearby. His intention couldnt be any clearer. Elves liked to stay in nature anyway. So not having four walls to cover her didnt be a mental obstacle for Lensa even when it was going to be her first time. Rather, she preferred it that way. She joined her human partner in his activities. She let him undress ever so slowly before gettingpletely naked. Lensas elf psych kicked in and she felt like this was her natural state. The girl was led by her lucky admirer as sheid down over the makeshift mattress. It was about time Lensa became a real woman. Chapter 138: Doing an Elf P3*

Chapter 138: Doing an Elf P3*

It was about time Lensa became a real woman. Ken got over her and started kissing her passionately. Ken first fondled Lensas boobs nicely. He sucked on the nipples one at a time while he pressed and fondled the other mountain. The girls young tits were not that big. But they were still big enough for Ken to y with them without any dissatisfaction. But Ken was soon done with ying with Lensas twin peaks. He now wanted to conquer the girls wet region down south. Ken slowly made Lensa spread her legs apart with the nudges of his hands. The elf girls pink paradise was ready for a visitor. Seeing her weing position, Ken began caressing her bottom lips with his magic fingers, causing Lensas body to shiver with delight. Aaaah Yesssss! There! Ken started moaning with her eyes closed. Her body grew increasingly warmer as herdy hole was getting excited due to the perfect massage it was reviewing. Lensas moist creek was spread open soon after. Kens fingers started wreaking havoc at the ce. He had specifically focused on her clit. Aaahhhh. Yesss Thats it, dear. The elf girls body trembled in the ultimate bliss she had ever felt. Her moans were filled with passion and excitement. Kens fingers had set the stage. Now it was time for the heros Lil hero to make an appearance. Ken adjusted his dicks position as he got over Lensa. Thetter had spread her legs wide apart so that her caves first-ever visitor would have an easier entry. Ken pierced Lensas pink heaven wide open with his divine-like rod. Thetters body spasmed as soon as she had her penial pration. Her pussy had already started releasing ample amounts of juices to make her first time asfy for her as possible. Lensa opened her eyes wide in shock. She had a look at Kens Lil Ken. At that, she felt that it was big. But what she felt inside her cunt was even bigger than that. Ken didnt show the first-timer any mercy and rammed his hot into her even hotter wet heaven. The elf girl felt the tremor of that impact in her soul. Aaaaahhh. You scoundrel. Aah you should have given me some time so I could prepare. Lensa loudly voiced her discontent at Kens ungentlemanly behaviour. Her pussy started leaking red blood to dere that she had been deflowered. Things would have been much worse if I told you. You would have felt even more pain and difort than now. Because then you would know the time it was heading your way. Ken acted like his scoundrel-like behaviour was for Lensas sake and smiled amiably. I just cant hate this guy, she mumbled back with a mirthless smile. Ken chuckled in response. This time he didnt fail to give a heads-up: Brace yourself, dear. Lets take you to the most beautiful ce! Ken soon grabbed her curvy hips from both sides and started thrusting his rod in and out. The pain Lensa felt at herher region receded and was reced by waves of pleasure. Aaaa! Aaaahhh! More, Ken! Push it harder! Lensas pleasure-driven moans soon filled the surroundings. She felt her body was being immersed in a pool of liquified mix of emotions. Ken could only oblige at his partners demands. He started fucking her with sharp thrusts in sessions. Lensas butt and her soul felt the impact of those wild thrusts. More Ken More. Go deeper! Lensa made that typical and almost impossible-to-fulfil demand every woman in the heat was known to make. She was telling Ken to grow his dick in the middle of the session so that her thirst for rougher fucking could be satisfied. But surprisingly, Ken seemed to have satisfied that demand. Suddenly, she felt his dicks size had stopped being what it was a few moments ago. The pressure on her pussys inner walls told her that their visitor had gone through a growth spurt. Lensa subconsciously exined to herself that it was her excitement that was making this phenomenon. She stopped thinking after that and indulged in her first coital experience. It wasnt long before Lensa came hard. She was a squirter. She squirted so much that the clothes beneath the couples body were heavily drenched. Lensa knew that she also had a urine discharge at the time along with her pussy juices. The moment of ecstasy got over soon for the elf girl and she felt embarrassed about her first messy time. Lensa quickly executed a water-based spell to make all her juices disappear in the thin air. Then she looked at her partner, expecting to see a disgusted face. But her worries were soon put to rest with Kens next words: Dont worry, dear. Its fine. If youve experienced this much bliss, then I should consider this as my honour. Now, shall we continue? Theres theres more? Haha! Of course. But only if you want. Lensa had asked her question with a shaky voice. And she was soon put into a dilemma by Kens wishes to continue their act some more. Part of her didnt want to indulge in this rigorous activity because her body demanded rest. And part of her wanted to say yes because her soul craved even more of what she had felt just now. In the end, thetter part won the battle and Lensa nodded at Ken. The duo soon started its next round of bonding and intimacy. The young elfdy cummed equally hard the second time. She felt that her throat had gotten parched due to all those activities of dehydration. But the white knight was still not satisfied. His rod was still as hard as ever. Lensa didnt think her wet cave could be any more amodating to that tireless rod god. Fortunately or unfortunately, her pussys role was over. Because Ken now wanted to take Lensas anal virginity too. Lensa, my dear, what do you say about this? I heard elves are always looking for new experiences. Ken pointed the tip of his rod to Lensas rear canal and asked. The girl had already stopped thinking about where to draw the lines for the first time. So she weed the formers suggestion with open arms and legs! Ken used Lensas newly produced pussy juices as lube and made his Lil member enter an even tighter ce than before. Lensa rolled her eyes at the widening of her rear entry. By now, she had started to actively look for pleasure in pain. And the youngdy found what she was looking for sooner than she had expected. Ken didnt leave her pussy feeling left out either as he rubbed the clit with one finger and inserted another finger in her wet hole. Soon, Ken told her to assume a doggy style so he could look at his thick meat going inside anding out of her rear entry. He also started pping her ass after he found his rhythm. Ken didnt think Lensa could have a wilder orgasm than what she had felt for the first time. But he was soon proven wrong. Thedy squirted again, in abundance. Lensa could not keep on continuing this activity any further. She was physically and mentally well past her saturation point. So she dered her retirement. Only then did she see Kens rod loosening its stiffness. Lensa had to admit. She had the best first-time experience she could ask for, thanks to Kens dominant yet amicable attitude. He had created a deep impression within her psyche because of it. Chapter 139: Misadventure

Chapter 139: Misadventure

Going back in time a little. Right after Lensa left the trio alone at the city market. Wow, dude. I think the elf girl is falling for you. She was telling you she visits Moonviewke at the full moon and today would be no different. Thats an invitation for you to join her if you ask me. Eren gave a firm pat on Kens shoulder after he got back to his team. Almera also smiled at Ken before saying: Ken, I think you should consider joining that beautiful elf. An elfs affection is not easy to gain. The E-Ranker also encouraged the boy to go on a date with Lensa. But the boy himself wasnt sure. He expressed his concerns: Im not sure if youve noticed, but look at this city and its people. The Faeruns carry a veryrge weight around here. It would be bad for all of us if things go wrong between me and Lensa. Ken was an airhead when it came to a few things. But he wasnt stupid. He had already figured out who was the boss in the city of Silvermoon. And he wasnt ready to put himself in harms way just to get on a date with an elf girl. But Eren kept on encouraging the guy. He also used Almeras opinions a few times that worked to his advantage. Finally, the white knight said yes to the dark knights suggestions. Almera soon bid adieu to her juniors. She figured theyll need some alone time to take some guy stuff between them. This was the moment Eren was waiting for. He changed his direction after finding out there were a bunch of taverns that sold elf ales at the opposite side of where they were heading. Ken didnt want to drink but Eren wouldnt have no for an answer. Eren and Ken got drunk heavily after finding a tavern. Ken thought Eren was on a drinking spree today as thetter had already drunk twice more than him. And yet, it seemed that only Ken was feeling the drunken high while Eren was still in control of his senses. Ken felt the F-Rank ale that they had just now was the most potent drink he ever had. He had only recently started drinking beers. But the elf ale was a huge step-up from that stage. The white knight soon reached his limits. He thought he should close his eyes to just rx in that drunken stupor. And the guy immediately followed the self-advice. Ken didnt remember what happened next after this point. He was too hammered to even breathe normally. His breathing pattern had gotten erratic as a result. Eren looked drunk. But he had sent that F-Rank ale to Reens way so that she could keep it out of his system. Thats why the butcher was in full control of his senses despite savouring one of the most potent F-Ranks drinks he knew of. Eren supported Ken in standing up and led him to an abandoned alley that had nothing at its other end. He dropped thetters body as soon as he confirmed nobody was looking out for them. Then Eren went back to the Lamb Arms. he made sure to meet up with Almera and told her that Ken had gone to the Moonviewke to meet up with Lensa and have his date. Eren also told Almera that he and Ken had drunk a little to make thetters pre-date jitters go away. The E-Rankerughed at that sentence. She could see that the duos little drinking game had been yed for longer than they should have considering Erens current condition. A drunken condition that he had faked masterfully. Not just with his acting. But also taking Reens help in influencing the functions of his internal organs, so that it would be like he was dead drunk. Eren retired to his assigned room soon after that nned encounter with the E-Ranker. He needed a witness that would testify that he was at the Lamb Arms, sleeping his ass off in his room at the time Ken had gone to meet Lensa. Eren slipped off from the inn as soon as he made sure that there was nobody to keep track of his activity. Then he again went to the alley he had dumped the white knight at. Reen, can you control my appearance to make it look like him? Eren asked Reen in his mind after finding the guy where he had left him. Of course, he had his face hidden with the mask. He wasnt in full control of his shapeshifting abilities yet. So he asked his demon beast if she could help. Or if they could work together to achieve the intended result. You want me to eat him, Eren? Reen asked with a tinge of hope reflected in her voice. She could finally get to have her favourite food if her master gave her a go. After all, she had to eat her victims to shapeshift into them impably. Um someday. But not tonight. I just want you to help me take the same form as this guy. Alone we both would have some problems. But Im counting on both of us working together to make this happen. Hmph! Wouldnt it be easy if I just ate him? Nobody would know what we had done here anyway. You dont understand, Reen. You are still naive in your thinking if you take everything at face value. Try to see past what you can see in front of your eyes. Im sure this assface has some defence mechanism active on him that would get triggered as soon as he was in any real danger. The retaliation of that mechanism should be able to hurt you if not outright kill you. Im saying that because I dont see how an earl house isfortable sending their important scion alone without any security detail. The fact that nobody is protecting him overtly and covertly solidifies my theory. And second, we dont want to create more mess than we want to in this situation. We are not blessed with this guys luck after all. I know that we are not strong enough for a frontal retaliation. And I also know that we can not afford to get careless even when we feel that the coast is clear for us. But rest assured, the wicked survive because they cant be trapped for their misadventures. Hehe! Said Eren, before ordering his demon beast to help him take Kens form. They had to try a few times before the appearancergely matched that of the white knights. There were some subtle differences but Eren was sure those would go unnoticed under the nights veil. He was also counting on the fact that Lensa and Ken had only met briefly. Like this, Eren pulled off doing the deed with Lensa while acting as Ken. And he was counting on the elf girls wrath to punish Ken after the way he parted from her. Chapter 140: Devon Carren

Chapter 140: Devon Carren

The next day after Lensas defloration. Afternoon 3 PM. Where is that human brat, Ken Riverine? Does he think he can do whatever he wants with our girls just because he has the backing of an earl? A loud voice boomed in the middle of the Lamb Arms Inns lobby. The patrons saw a huge crowd of elves creating a fuss at the receptionists desk. Sir, I can not allow you to barge into our inn without prior notice or reservation. If you want to meet with our guests, I can send someone to their rooms and arrange a meeting for you. Thankfully, the receptionist was also an elf man who seemed to be in his 40s. So he tactfully handled the crowd while sounding polite. But he didnt have to walk on the thin line anymore. That was because a certain D-Ranker, who happened to be at the lobby, hade to talk to them after hearing a familiar name through the elves mouth. Excuse me. Names Ma. Why are you looking for Ken Riverine? Ma asked the guy who looked to be the leader of the elf crowd. The guy wanted tosh out at the one who asked the question. But his better judgement stopped him after his mana sense sensed something dangerousing from the woman who stood in front of him with a leisurely attitude. Ma had purposely released a hint of her mana signature to make a silent warning to the E-Ranker guy. And that deterrence was enough for the guy to readjust his speech and stance before replying to her question. Maam, my name is Devon Carren. Forgive our rude behaviour in your presence. We only wish to talk to the young man named Ken Riverine. Its regarding the injustice my niece Lensa Carren faced because of her rtionship with the guy. Ma came to realize that her apprentice must have gotten involved in a lovers dispute after listening to Devons exnation. She couldnt interfere in this petty matter by using her ranking status. Especially when she had muchrger fishes to fry. Therefore Ma allowed Devon and a few of his mates to visit the inn rooms assigned to her team. She gave them Kens room number. But the D-Ranker asked Devon to call forth Eren and Almera as well when they meet Ken. She trusted her assistants judgement in handling this matter. ************** Get the fu*ck out, Riverine brat. And receive your ass-whooping for treating my niece like some cheap who*re. Ken heard a series of noisy bangs on his rooms door followed by an angry voice. He could barely open his eyes and his ability to hear things were also affected. So he heard the knocks and the guys voice in -2x reduced speed. He had barely found his way to his room this morning from a ce that was not very far from the Lamb Arms Inn. he didnt know what he was doing there or how he got there. He couldnt remember anything after his drinking spree with Eren. But Ken couldnt be bothered about all that. His head was spinning like crazy and his body felt like he was buried in the sand. Thats why he somehow made it back to his room before crashing on the bed. The white knight just let his sleep fix his current condition. But the sudden interruption by Devons knocks foiled his ns to sleep through his predicament. He had to get up against his will because he had also heard Almeras stoic voice, asking him to make his appearance. What happened? And why are you guys so loud? Didnt we have a day off today? Ken asked while holding his head in both of his hands, just to make him see better by massaging his forehead. But what he got in return was an even louder reply filled with unmasked anger: You wretched sod, do you even have a little shame? Or are you just another serial womanizer who needs some ass-whooping? Thankfully, Ken had shaken his head a little to make him stop hearing things at slow speed before Devons statement, which wasced with threats. It took him a while to process what was said to him: Im sorry, but do I know you? And why are you shouting so much? Eren, Ace Almera, what is this about? Ken saw his team members and asked them for some exnation. He figured it would be better if he talked to them instead of this elf bunch. Um Ken, what did you do to miss Lensa? Err I mean what happened when you went on a date with her? Eren asked with concern and care that one couldnt discredit as fake. The white knight seemed even more confused by Erens queries. I went on a date? I I remember Lensa from our meeting at the market shop. But nothing took ce after that. I have no idea what you guys are talking about. Ken hadnt had the faintest of what any of the groups were asking. But his honesty was taken as an uncaring attitude for his deeds by Devon and his friends This bastard, guys beat him. I dont care anymore about anything. His foul mouth and attitude need to be taught a lesson they wont forget. Hold up. Wha What are you doing? Leave me. Aaargh Ace Almera, please help. Ken was soon grabbed by his cor by Devon after saying that. His hands were locked stretched by guys standing on either side. Devon was just about to initiate acquaintance between his mana imbued fist and Kens face when he heard a voice from behind. Please hold up, Ace Devon. May I know the details of what happened from both sides before you start serving your vignte justice on the boy? Almera spoke at the right time. But in Erens point of view, it was the worst timing ever. He clicked his tongue after he saw Devons fists getting stopped by the E-Rankers proposal. Devon sighed after hearing Almeras question. It was tough for him to describe the events that took ce yesterday with his beloved niece. But he had to do it since another E-Ranker had asked who was an assistant to the D-Ranker he had met at the lobby. Alright! Ill tell you what this vile creature did with my niece Lensa. But Ill do what I came here to do soon afterwards no matter what you say. Heres what happened! Devon began narrating the events that he knew took ce between Lensa and Ken. Chapter 141: Redo of a Sleeping Beauty?

Chapter 141: Redo of a Sleeping Beauty?

Heres what happened! Devon began narrating the events that he knew took ce between Lensa and Ken. His beloved niece had found a date with a human kid. And the date took ce yesterday on the night of the full moon. Devon didnt seem like he was bothered by his niece having started dating or the fact that she was going on a date with a human. But his face turned grim soon afterwards when he started to describe what took ce after that. *********************** The night of the Lensas defloration. Lensa had to admit. She had the best first-time experience she could ask for, thanks to Kens dominant attitude. He had created a deep impression within her psyche. That was great, Ken. It may be my inexperience in this field thats talking here, but it was a view-changing thing for me. Now Im d I waited for you toe into my life before deciding to just go with it. But now youll have to take responsibility for all youve done to me, hehe! The not-maiden-anymore elf spoke what she truly felt from her heart. She had spoken thest sentence so she could get closer to her partner by putting the pressure of responsibility on his shoulder. She liked Ken and was hoping he would like her the same way. Unfortunately, Ken wasnt interested. He spoke after taking a long breath: Lensa, this may be an unforgettable experience for you because it was your first time. But for me, its a regr thing, if you know what I mean. And you were nothing but a clueless amateur in our entire session who didnt have a sense in pleasing their partners. Im disappointed that an elf can be this dense in sexual exploration. I had heard that some elves can sense their partners feelings and act ordingly to please them more. But I guess you are not one of those elves. And I must confess one thing to you. All this that took ce between us is just due to my heavy drinking of elf ale that skewed my tastes and influenced me toe here. The elf ales thate with their signature effects shouldnt be taken lightly. Ivee to realize this. I drank the Unscented Wind Empty Mind ale that Unmi elves are famous for making. My drunk brain thought it was a good idea to meet you here at the time I was drinking that cursed drink. And all this happened here was just a consequence of that. Lets forget what happened here. Im sure the ales effects would make me forget about this night too. This rity I have right now wont be retained tomorrow when I wake up. Because Id be forgetting everything I do under the ales effect. At least I hope I do. Because you are not my type. I hope you too forget about this event and never contact me again. Ill be taking my leave now. Farewell. Ken got up, got ready, and left the ce the couple was at. Lensa, on the other hand, started looking aimlessly into the void after she heard her partners opinion. The tears had breached the boundaries of her eyelids and were now flowing over. But she still wouldnt close her eyes. Lensa was crying with her eyes open. She felt lost and demeaned at the same time. This was the first time she was feeling such a strong concoction of negative emotions. What was her mistake? Blindly trusting a stranger and going what her heart wanted her to do? Or was her inexperience really to me? Lensa would have never thought that she could be hurt this way. Her heartbroken status had paralyzed her and her mana core was affected subconsciously. The mana core influenced Lensas mana circuits to freeze everything around her with an ice element spell of unknown origin. The girl just wanted to freeze everything for a while so that she wouldnt have to think of her current feelings of abandonment. Lensas feelings were so strong that her mana core responded by casting a spell that respected her wishes. It formed ayer of mana-imbued ice around her that was radiating a faint white light. Soon the formation of ice took on the shape of an ice b. It had practically sealed the young elfdy entirely without any scope for her to breath. But that white radiance reflected by the ice b had started to turn dim, glow bright, before turning dim again in a manner that represented a breathing cycle. The breathing light effect conveyed that Lensa was indeed alive inside that ice b. But the youngdy had stopped feeling anything. She was put in a vegetative state. And the most bizarre thing was, it was she who had done it. Lensa had also subconsciously wished that her naked body wouldnt be seen by anyone else while she was trying to get her thoughts together. The spell had responded to her wishes by making the ice b non-transparent in some ces. Now people could only see Lensas face and some of her features. The rest was covered by the ice bs non-transparent property in sensitive ces. The magic cast by the youngdy had stopped being magic and ended up serving her wishes to a T. Lensas family had started looking for her the next day when she didnte home. Devon soon found her traces and followed those to Moonviewke. He was going to scold the youngss for always making a scene. But it seemed that he was frozen too by seeing Lensas condition at the ce. He didnt even know what he was looking at. All he saw was Lensas stoic face frozen inside the ice b that was producing the breathing light effect. He was going to smash the ice and take her niece out but was stopped by someone over the ID Stones audio channel. Devon didnt argue with that persons suggestion that Lensas ice b shouldnt be broken but instead moved to her familys estate. He didnt know why that person had called him. But he had understood that something extreme had happened to his niece. That and the fact that the ice b he had just seen was not normal. It was so abnormal that the person he wouldnt expect to get a call from had called him to preserve that ice b. Devon arranged for a few people to transport the block of ice to his familys estate while he stayed at the same ce, waiting for the historian he knew to show up. Devon wanted to know what had happened to his beloved niece who he and his family had always protected from any harm. He also wanted to make the responsible person pay the price for leaving Lensa in this state with no limits ced on the punishments. The historian soon showed up. She couldnt get anything on the spell that had been used to cast that block of ice. But she found out what had happened with Lensa at the ce, thanks to her historian-specific spells. Thats how they got to know about Ken Riverine and what he had done to Lensa. ======================== AN: Unscented Wind Empty Mind ale is a special liquor. The reason for Eren choosing this ale to get Ken drunk on would be exined in the next chapter. Chapter 142: Effects of Elven Ales

Chapter 142: Effects of Elven Ales

Devons historian let him know about Ken and what he had done with Lensa, including what he had said in the end. Lensas young uncle was incensed after knowing her nieces heart was broken cruelly by this wretched human. The fact that he was under the boozes effect didnt lessen Kens involvement and responsibility in the situation. Devon would make sure to punish the guy who had forced his lovely niece to cut her connection from the rest of the world in such an extreme manner. Devon left out the part of Lensa caging herself in the block of ice using the magic of unknown origin and told everything else to Almera and Eren. The fact that such a reclusive expert had called to preserve that ice from getting destroyed hinted to Devon that he should keep the spell-generated ice block a secret for now. ******************* The Unscented Wind Empty Mind ale was famous for giving people controlled amnesia when they were under the ales effect. It was also renowned for changing their personalities into someone that only sought to fulfil their wishes if drunk in sufficient quantities. The ale would first make its users feel drunk and give them a good high. But if drunk in sufficient quantities, the effects of this booze wont stop there as another phase of the effect would get unlocked. In the next phase, the users would then be kicked out from their drunken stupor all of a sudden. They would get to experience the absolute rity of what they wanted to do the most in their lives. The absolute rity also implied that they would be aware of their current state of being drunk on the ale at the time of facing their desires. In this state, the users would seek to fulfil their desires without any bias on the pre-established opinions. Thats why it was considered as one of the most hrious or dangerous elf liqueurs depending on who drank it. The city administration was split in half between retaining the ale on the shelves of the bar and banning it entirely. The drunkards of this booze had created many messes in the city after they were put in the state of Empty Mind after all. They had disrupted public order and caused public property damage. But the city generated a hefty revenue from the selling of this booze. Some of its regr customers would ce orders in bulk no matter how many times the city administration raised the tax on it. So there were members of the city administration that didnt want to close this channel of hefty revenue by banning the drink. They forced the ones who wanted to do so toe to apromise. Apromise in which they would instruct the tavern owners inside the city to control the quantity of the Unscented Wind Empty Mind per person. As per the instruction, the tavern owners would have to stop selling the booze to a customer who was getting dangerously close to experiencing the ales Empty Mind phase. Otherwise, they would be questioned or even may be held responsible if and when one of their patrons does something radical while under the ales effect. But that didnt stop most booze owners from selling the stuff like what they had been doing previously. And they would always get away by paying the right person in city administration when one of their patrons was caught in a controversial case. Whats more? The ale didnt have the usual odour of alcohol. It didnt make the user exude the smell of being drunk. The ale meant the unscented part in its name. It was as if the concoctioner of the ale wanted people to experience rity of mind without them feeling like they are just drunk. The Unscented Wind was less like booze and more like a debuff potion with an additional effect or two. All the famous elf liqueurs were like this. Thats why Ma was so crazy about them. The Frostfoam ale that she had demanded from Arizihana was something the Agnoth family was famous for making. The Frostfoam would make the user feel the most intense chill and produce frost on their skin after drinking. Soon that frost would turn into a foam before disappearing into thin air. In a way, the names of elven ales were a dead giveaway for the effects they would produce. The ales effect was the reason Eren had chosen the Unscented Wind Empty Mind for Ken to get drunk on. He had already bribed the tavern owner. That too using Kens money. And made the guy pay for both of them using additional charges. Why should scrooge waste his wealth to get the guy drunk even when it was for his ns? The best part about this n was that Ken wouldnt be able to deny the charges he was pped with. The ale was known to make changes in the users normal personality. They would be extremely focused on getting the things they want at any cost. And they would do everything in their power to achieve that goal. Plus, they would be aware that their clear and extremely logical state of mind was due to the ales effect. This effect would just magnify the feelings and emotions users already had in their minds. It wouldnt alter their personality. Thats why Eren couldntpletely be rude to Lensa. Because the Ken people knew wasnt a rude or misbehaving person. Thats why Eren had selected his dialogues specifically so that they would give away that the guy was under the ales effect. The dark knight had set the close to perfection trap for Ken to fall in. And now he was anticipating his efforts to be fruitful. Eren made people assume that he stopped drinking before the ales effects kicked in while Ken went overboard and kept on drinking. And since the ales effect was potent, it changed his personality and turned him into a horndog that only wanted to fu*ck at any cost without worrying about his partners feelings. Almera could only sigh in disappointment after hearing Devons exnation. She knew that it wasntpletely Kens fault. But she also felt that he should face consequences for his actions, even when they were done under the ales effects. Almera retired to her room after the exnation ended, looking at Ken with pity. The guy was too stunned to process what he had done while staying aware of his surroundings. He was trying hard to jog his memory ofst night. So he didnt notice Almeras departure. The Ace ranker from Erens team had given her silent permission to Devon. He could do whatever he wanted with him now as long as it didnt involve something extreme. And so it finally happened. Eren watched in glee as his arch-nemesis was getting pounded hard by the enemies he didnt make. His only regret at that moment was that he didnt have popcorn to watch this awesome show. Chapter 143: Pay Per View

Chapter 143: Pay Per View

Wait let me exin I really wasnt aaargh! What are you doing? Grab his hands tight. I cant kick him properly otherwise. Aaargh. Bastard, Im telling you. It wasnt. aaaaaaaaough me. *Cough cough.* It was your damn ale. You should have banned it aaargh From getting served to Just shut the fu*ck up and receive your reward like a man. You were so confidentst night, right? Just thinking about it makes my blood boil. Guys, lets beat him up together. Aaaaagh! Help, Eren. Help me, man. You know Im innocent in all this. Just leave that boy out of your mess, you swine. And nobody woulde to save you after what youve done with my niece. For the next few minutes that felt like a breeze to Eren, he heard a cacophony of noises. But he wasnt paying attention to any of them. He was focused on watching this nuisance of a white knight getting his ass handed to him by the goons he had indirectly hired. Eren wasnt aware of what had happed to Lensa after he had left her there. And Devon kept that detail out from his exnation as well. So he had assumed that the girl was just sad and brokenhearted. Eren had assumed that the girl must haveined to her family about being treated as a cum-dump by Ken. He had remembered that Lensas family was influential from his previous timelines memories. So he knew it would not hesitate to take action against the earls scion, especially when he had misbehaved on its turf. Eren finally got to enjoy the fruits of hisbour. He felt all his efforts were worth it to watch this show. The scrooge was magnanimous enough to make an exception and pay with his own money this time to watch this pay-per-view in repeat. s, the show ended for Eren when Ken managed to blurt out the following amid the beating he was receiving: Fi. fine. Let me speak damn it. I I am ready to take the responsibility for my actions. Wheres Lensa? Hoh! Stop. Dont you dare to raise that fist on me again! Otherwise forget about me ever getting myself involved with the girl. Ken finally managed to make the guys stop beating him with his statements. They were enough for Devon to at least let him exin himself better before he started his next round of rewarding What do you mean by taking responsibility? Brat, exin yourself better. Otherwise, the next course of your meal is going to be aven more appetizing for you. I mean let me meet Lensa. I mean if I have really hurt her, let me say sorry to her. AND make amends to her. I want to hear from her mouth what I did or didnt do from her mouth. Ill let you guys know how I can make amends after that. Ken expected his answer would get appreciated by Devon because it was based on logic and reasoning. But he would have never guessed that his answer would irk the young elf uncle more. Thats because his niece had to be awake for her to talk with this wretched guy, which she was not. You just like to dig your own grave, dont you. Guys beat him some more for me. Wow! Should I gift this Devon guy a bouquet or something? The guys just unstoppable when ites to beating teens. Eren had this thought and smiled inside his head as he watched Ken getting pounded for another round. Eren hoped the white knight would get beaten up in front of him every time he opens his eyes in the morning. That would be a good start for the day. But s, Ken decided to open his mouth again against Erens wishes. Wait aaargh! Hold on. For Lensas sake, damn it. Listen to me. Something tells me Lensa would listen to my story. Im sure she would understand that I wasnt in control of my behaviour or function Thats the problem, you dimwit. She cant talk to you. She cant talk to anyone. Devon answered frustratingly. He knew the boy was talking sense. His point about the ale needing to get banned from the street was also hit the bulls eye. But like Eren, Devon too had started experiencing uncontroble irritation after looking at Kens hero-like face. What do you mean? Dont tell me she di Fu*ck you, Ken Riverine. No, my girl isnt that weak. Its just that Devon denied Kens grim predictions and sighed. He didnt know what to do with the boy anymore. One part of him wanted to beat this brat up till he died. And the other wanted to take him to his niece, hoping his presence and apology would bring her back from her icy slumber. Finally, the rational part took over and Devon decided toe clean to Ken regarding a few things about Lensas situation. He first dispersed all his teammates that he had bought to the inn, including the ones waiting at the lobby. He wanted to relive Eren too but Ken demanded that his friend and Almera should stay with him. Ken had understood that something had happened to Lensa after his supposed misadventure on her. He figured it was better to rely on his friends in this situation for his and Lensas sake. Devon decided that the guy like Eren who talked less and didnt butt into his business wouldnt spread the news about Lensas condition any further. And Almera was even tight-lipped considering she didnt even stay there to watch her teammate getting pounded by him and his team. So Devon invited both Eren and Almera into Kens room before locking the door. He then told them about what had happed to Lensa after Kens departure. Ken and Almera were shocked. But the guy who had caused this event was in even more of a shock than those two. He had dark lines on his forehead after thinking about a possibility. For hells sake, please dont turn this misfortune into a fortuitous encounter for this goddamn mother***** protagonist. Chapter 144: Silver Lining

Chapter 144: Silver Lining

This **** **** ***** fukin Ken Riverine. I should just kill him instead of petty plotting like this. Aaaaaaargh! Fu*k fu*k fu*k Eren was raging inside his room after Devon left. He was mad and pissed with the recent turn of events. But he wasnt really angry at Ken. He was angry at himself for inadvertently helping his enemy. Because he could see the trap that he had set for Ken was going to end up benefiting him in the end. Eren did enjoy the rare sight of Ken getting beat up. But at what cost? Erni, why are you breaking stuff inside the room? You never do that. I told you. You should have let me eat Ken. I still dont understand what he did to us this time though. Eren quieted down after he heard words of wisdoming from his seemingly childish demon beast. She was sitting on his bed with a bowl of chips in her hand. She was munching on junk food as she watched her master make a mess out of his inn room. Eren understood that he had lost his mind for real if Reen had to step in to talk sense into him. Eren took a long breath and looked around him. He had broken a few things inside his inn room. His heart pained when he thought about the cost of this damage he had to pay with his money. Losing his cool was not like him. He needed to think about things that he can do to find good in the bad. The protagonists luck would do this for him. But the butcher needed to find his own good luck with his actions. After Devons exnation, Eren had realized that Kens supposed impression on Lensas psyche was deeper than he had anticipated. The trauma had caused her to go into a vegetative state inside a block of ice, which belongs to the magic of unknown origin. If Erens grim predictions were right on spot, Kens presence was going to be the key in breaking that block of ice without harming Lensa. And knowing the guy, he would never leave a damsel in distress behind. Especially if he thought he was the cause behind it. Eren had alreadymitted to Devon that he was thinking of being in an official rtionship with Lensa. With his attitude and the elf girls delicately impressionable mind added in the equation, the butcher had already predicted that things would turn out to be a fortuitous affair for his enemy. Eren didnt remember much from his previous timeline regarding Lensas family, but he knew that it was influential. At least influential enough to not fear the consequences of messing with the earls scion if he decides to harm one of theirs. Ken would have another strong support to lean onto if the rtionship bes official. Eren was already worried that the guys background was too dangerous to go against openly. With Lensas family standing behind him as well, it might as well that he forgets about harming the strands of hair on his head. Eren didnt find any glory in the possibility of Ken getting pre-cucked if he entered into a serious rtionship with Lensa. He hadnt nned that thing in the first ce. And it was not directly benefiting him either. Erni, am I allowed to eat Ken now? Reen asked while eating her chips. Eren stopped pacing around in his room and looked at his demon beast. He shook his head and massaged his forehead before saying: This is still not the right time, Reen. The reason I messed with Ken was not only because I have a personal grudge against him. It was the major reason, yes. But it wasnt the only one. The thing is, this guy will just keep on climbing thedders of social status and personal powers if left unhindered. And hell have his biggest fortuitous encounter in some years due to those two things working for him. I wanted to create a blemish on his image with this scene. I also had some other ns in mind so that he doesnt be a threat in the future for me when I also enter the fray to im that encounter for myself. But now I see that fate is a fickle mistress. She wants to create a hero out of Ken. So me getting in progress will be squatted down like a fly by him directly or indirectly, and hell be awarded for lifting his hand. An insect as I might bepared to those ranking monsters, I dont wish to be treated like one. Therefore, Ill give up on messing with the protagonist for now. I dont want to passively buff the airhead any further than he already is. My life and my ns are more important than my grudges. And things in the present are more important to me than what might happen in the future. I I just hope this doesnte back to bite me back in the ass. *sigh. Eren sat down on his bed after concluding that his previous n of leaving Ken to his devices is the right choice even for now. He took some chips from the bowl Reen was holding and crunched on them while he tried to n something good in the blunder he had created all by himself: Oh! Do you want to find out how you can make use of this situation? Let me think as well. Reen copied Erens gesture and massaged her forehead like him while trying toe up with an answer to her masters worries. Eren could only smile at her for thinking about his well-being. He thought maybe all his bad habits were getting picked up by the impressionable demon beast. Maybe shell be seen as even eviler than Eren himself in the future. Because she doesnt acknowledge the hold of human values. She has only copied what Eren teaches her because her master wants her to blend in with his current society. Eren was having wild thoughts like this when he was interrupted by Reens next words: Erni, what do you mean when you say this Ken guy and Lensa getting in a serious rtionship? Chapter 145: Political Marriages

Chapter 145: Political Marriages

Erni, what do you mean when you say this Ken guy and Lensa getting in a serious rtionship? Eren didnt have much hope from Reen with her naive mind. And he didnt see how knowing about that thing would help her find a solution for his current mess either. But he entertained her questions anyway: Well, it can mean a lot of things, from not-so-casual flings to tying the knot for good. But for families like Riverine and Carren, casual flings dont exist. Their marriages and rtionships are always political and are formed based on mutual benefits. I would guess that Ken would seriously consider marrying Lensa. That means hell forever be tied to another influential family that is located here in this city, which is a strategic ce for the kingdom of Edinburgh. I was just now considering ying spoilsport. You know, create a hindrance between Ken and Lensa. That is in case Ken manages to bring hisdy-to-be back from her slumber. But now that I think about it No, Erni. You didnt understand. I am asking if Ken being with Lensa would make him unable to be approached by other possible mates? Um sure. The thing about the political marriage of two powerhouses is that they are almost always based on monogamous rtionships. At least for the public eye. So yes. Ken will have to give up on his bachelorhood if and when he is engaged officially with Lensa. Eren told Reen and had another bite of the fast food. Thetter perked up after hearing what her master said: Is that so? Then wouldnt it be better if we push Ken into getting engaged with Lensa? Hehe! What do you mean? I mean, things would get really difficult for a certain someone you know if Ken cant be approached for another political marriage. Reen smirked at Eren after saying that. She let her master decode what she had already said on his own while she focused on having more chips in one go. Eren was making it difficult for her to enjoy the potato chips sprinkled with roastedmb meat the inn had delivered to their room. Sienna Slughorn! It didnt take long for Eren to figure out what Reen was trying to hint at. He was surprised by Reens growing intelligence. And even more surprised that he couldnte up with the same thing on his own. Maybe the rage he had felt from his past timelines experiences had blinded him to see things. Thats right, Erni. Sienna Slughorn. If Ken bes engaged, her prospects of tying their two houses go in the drain. At least thats what Ive understood so far about how human societies work based on your memories. Said Reen nonchntly. Erni nodded at her while replying: You are right. In a way, it is good for us that this protagonist will be linked with the Carrens here rather than getting linked with the Slughorns. Haha! I want to see the bitchs face when shees to know that her pawn was put in the different chessboard altogether. Eren and Reen chatted for a while before deciding on a few things about how they should proceed further. The butcher had stopped underestimating his demon beast. Her cunning was in its most primal stages but it was one that he could count on for a change of perspective. **************** Brat, what is this kid doing over here? And Ace Almera, you want toe too? Devon had asked Ken to meet up outside the inn the next day. So that he could be taken to where Lensa was at. But the former found that thetter was joined by Eren and Almera. Luckily, Devon hade to the ce with a four-seater carriage. Yes. Ken is still a team member we have. Adapt Ma would want me to ensure his safety when he is going with you. No offence to your intentions though. Devon nodded at Almera after hearing her response. To be honest, he was relieved. At least in their presence, he wont murder the Riverine kid before he reached the Carren Manor. The group of four boarded the carriage that was in front of them and made their way to the Carren manor. The Carren Manor was a big, castle-like architecture that was home to all the members of the Carren n present in the city. Devon took his guests to one of the most restricted sections of the manor. A spacious hall with no furniture presented itself in front of Eren. There was arge array diagram drawn in the middle of this hall that was exuding a mild white light. A giant block of ice was seen right in the centre of that array. The block of ice was also exuding a particr light. But unlike the unchanging mild light of the array, this one was exuding a breathing light effect. What should I do now? Ken asked Devon without getting overwhelmed by anything in front of him. Thetter replied to him while shrugging his shoulders. We dont know, brat. You think one of our kids getting frozen is a regr event for us? Ken ignored the sarcasmced remark from Devon and fixated his eyes on the block of ice. He could see Lensas face clearly and it looked like that was an ufortable sight for him to look at. Let the boy go near Lensa. The rest of you, stay where you are. An aged voice spread across therge hall. Eren looked back and saw a middle-aged elf man walking in from outside. When Eren looked at him, he felt like he had the most serious headache since the time he was sent back in time. He had sweat formed on his forehead and his eyes felt like they were being stabbed by needles. Plus, his bodys survival instincts were sending warning signals to him to get the hell away from this man. Damn it. A high ranker. Reen, dont you dare do anything while this rude ass is here. ====================== AN: Trying to fit in a few more ranking concepts in the next chapter to make theme across more like conversations and less like info-dumps. So things are bound to get slow. Bear with me. Author Review After 150+ s

Author Review After 150+ Chapters

Ive included this review here because it couldnt fit the review sections word count limit. Ill try to go as in-depth as I can get without giving away spoilers. So please go through the entire review first before deciding to ce your questions. And kindly refrain from asking about the spoilers. A lot of things happened to the novel since I wrote the first review for VEH. First, it received a bronze price in WPC 218. Then it got contracted. Its about time I let the new readers know what they can expect from this title. Writing quality: I believe I have a sound sentence construction. And Im fairly confident in my linguistic skills. Yes, there might be some stray errors that I couldnt catch till now, most of them being just some ATD errors. But they wont hamper your readability. Writers develop a blind spot for their work. Thats they cant serve as the best proofreaders for their novels. Therefore, I request the readers to take up that role and point any error they do find so that we can fix them together. A simplement from you can help us give this novel a professional edge it may becking. Story dev: The novel gives a unique take on an extremely saturated market: MC going back in time. Still, Ive made sure to not take the beaten path and make this novel only a revenge or harem-centric story. It has those moments, sure. But collectively, it is much more than any of its aspectsbined. The storyline is optimally paced. It is neither too fast nor too slow. One might argue that the storyline could be made a lil faster, and normally Id agree with them. But the extended exnations Ive included have saved the novel from forming plot holes many times now. As a reader myself, I know how off-putting it can be to find a mood killer plot hole that throws entire story into a disarray. Therefore, Ive made sure to fortify the novel-verse with right descriptions depicting relevant world settings, things, people, and more provided at the right time. Character design: Eren Idril is a pathological liar and cunning maniptor. He prefers to catch his opponents off guard so that he can deal with them with maximum efficiency while ensuring his own interests are not hurt in the process. Certain mishaps have happened to him in his past timeline. And that has changed him to be the kind of person he is even in the current timeline. Therefore, hed always prioritize his benefits over blindsided revenge. And hed make his moves in the shadows for the most part to get the things or result he wants. If you are here for a an overpowered MC who goes through his obstacles like an unstoppable hurricane, you will be disappointed reading this piece. But if you want to watch a cynic, bitter minded, two-faced, andpulsive liar of an MC take on his challenges with absolute prudence and OCDish preparedness, then this book here is your cup of tea. Updating stability: since the novel has gone premium, readers would be assured of stablized updates. And Im counting on you guys to influence me into doing mass releases every so often with your gifts, Golden Tickets, and any other form of support you can provide. ? World Background: the novel world really starts to unfold after the end of volume 1. And expands extensively after chapter 100. VEH takes time to show its readers how diverse it can get. The cons: 1) the start of the novel has its info-dump moments. Ive tried to keep things in control but for a fresh novel to build up its lore, info-dumps are unavoidable. 2) the conversational dialogues can be a bit stretched at first. But thats because Ive tried to incorporate a lot of world-building information in them. 3) its not a har#m story even though Eren is polygamous. That means hed get intimate with a lot of women without marrying them. 4) the plotline is NOT $mut centric. The R18 scenes and otheric relief moments are only used sporadically to give a breather to readers from reading too much serious stuff all at once. 5) the RPG elements of the story kick after volume one finishes. 6) no OP MC. No instant power-ups. No level-defying abilities for MC to beat characters superior in ranking status than him. 6) there might be a few ATD errors that Im not aware of or yet to rectify. 7) A few longass author notes. Ive included them to open a dialogue with my readers while keeping them in loop about some extra information that is rtive to the current plotline. And now the Pros 1) no bs. Our boy doesnt involve himself too much in the life of women he is in bed with. Neither will he fight their battles for them. No offending of young masters just because Eren is dating someone good looking. 2) almost non-existent young master troupes. 3) Ive tried to bnce the grim stuff with situationalic relief moments. I feel that has kept the storyline from bing nd. 4) The power levels are based on the fusion of RPG elements and cherry-picked cultivation concepts. Ive done that to avoid unexinable system powers ups. And the inclusions a few well-known nuances of mana act as a solid reason behind any power-up. (You can read chapter 2 from auxiry volume to know what Im talking about) 5) no OP protangonist. Eren has to follow the same rules other characters in the novel verse are bound by. His only advantages are his knowledge about the past events he is aware of, his matured way of looking at things, and his beastpanion. And he makes use of all them sparsely while keeping his safety in check. 6) no plot armours for MC for the most part. Eren has to deal with the consequences of his actions directly or indirectly. 7) minimal attribute spec sheet dumps. No need to keep on thinking about MCs and others ranking statuses. The BTP(Base Stat Points) would eventually be the only value you need to get a fair idea about characters power levels. 8) well-crafted power structure and paths to magic incorporated with character ss. Something Ive invested time and efforts in. I belive we have something good in store here for all of you. At least wait till chapter 100 before you decide to quit on VEH. Because by then, Im sure itll have you hooked. Join my Discord or send an invite on Insta to stay updated or clear your queries. Details in the synopsis. ? Thats it. Happy reading! Chapter 146: Way of the Elements

Chapter 146: Way of the Elements

Damn it. A high ranker. Reen, dont you dare do anything while this rude ass is here. Eren warned his demon beast after witnessing that middle-aged man enter the hall. He immediately figured out the guy was a high-ranked who was at least in the B-Rank or higher. The guy didnt try to hide his ranking status either. He let his aura herald his grand entrance. Usually, the high rankers like him would contain their mana sense, mana signature, and aura within themselves in presence of the low rankers. Otherwise, the low rankers would face the same repercussions Eren had faced just now when they came in contact with such existences. This was one of the Rankers Codes after all. But this didnt care about the code. Not today. He wanted to make a statement. Ken also felt the same side effects after he sensed the mans presence. Almera was in better condition than these two. But she too looked pale. But none of them voiced their displeasure. The man was already rude and uncaring towards them. What good would it do to provoke him further? Ah, Im sorry, younglings. I usually dont meet with people so I forgot to contain my aura. At ease. The man retracted his mana sense and aura, which allowed the low rankers present in the hall to breathe a sigh of relief. He didnt pay attention to any particr low ranker though. He was focused on the block of ice in front of him. Go ahead, scion of Riverine. I want to see how Lensas subconscious reacts to your presence when you go near her. The man said this while looking at Lensas face. His statements felt more like an order than a suggestion. Either way, Ken had to oblige. He knew recluse rankers were erratic. They would get offended over the slightest inconvenience. Ken nodded his head to nobody in particr and walked ahead. He reached the block of ice and touched it with the palm of his hand. An extreme shiver ran through his body after the white knight touched the surface of the block of ice. He also fell under a short illusion of standing in the middle of a valley surrounded by ice mountains. And the weird thing was that the ice was exuding a faint white light with tinges of rainbow shades making their sporadic appearances. Ken immediately retracted his hand and the illusion stopped. He had understood one thing. What he had experienced just now wasnt just an effect due to his skin getting in contact with the ice. But due to something else entirely as the chill was felt by his soul not just his body. Way of the ice! Kens eyes opened wide in surprise when he realized what this block of ice contained within it. The way of elements was a mana concept that was not known to many low rankers. The way of elements was used by high ranked entities to cast their spells with. It would boost their spells to an unfathomable degree while allowing them to breach the ranking restrictions ced on the spell efficacies. In short, the way of elements was only employed by the high ranked entities to make their spells almoste to life. And low rankers didnt stand at the pedestal to utilize it. Furthermore, the utilization of the concept was a long shot when most low rankers didnt even know of its existence. Even a guy like Ken who had been given knowledge about a lot of ranking-rted things only barely knew a thing or two about the way of the elements. That is because most of the information about the concept was only made privy to the high rankers. And yet, an F-Ranker like Lensa had used the spell while incorporating the way of ice. How was this possible? Dont be so shocked, boy. Dont use your human standards to judge the calibre of an elf. Yes, it is what you think it is. Way of the ice. The middle-aged man cleared Kens doubts. Also, Erens as well, because he was paying close attention to Kens shocked face too. Do you mean it ismon for an elf to unlock the way of the element this early? Ken asked while lowering his head. But one could sense the tinge of unbeliefced in his voice. The high-ranked entity didnt mind and continued: No. I must admit that it is still surprising for an F-Rank elf to unlock the way of elements. And it would amaze you even further when you think about the lineage that is dominant within her. Please exin further, Sir. Ken wasnt aware of what the high-ranker was talking about. And ideally, he shouldnt be so casual in talking to this rude man. But he asked anyway as he wanted to know more about Lensa. Thanks to his protagonist luck, the guy exined it to him: Lensa is a Suryakht, or what you humans call a sun elf. The only trace of snow elf lineage within heres from her great grandmother. And yet, she is now an ice element user. To be honest, Lensa has dual hybrid element affinities. Light and Ice. But her ice affinity was never this prominent. But now Lensas ice affinity has shot up. Or it was slumbering within her and was only waiting for the right moment. Now she can give the prodigies of the snow elves a run for their money if and when she wakes up. Sigh! No matter how high ranked we get, we can never really predict how a rankers path can deviate from the initial estimates. Gramps Dan, forgive my rudeness but can we stop exining things to this brat and focus on waking Lensa up now? Its already been so many hours since she is in that state now. Devon butted in right after Dan finished what he had to say. The guy was in a hurry to wake Lensa up. He was worried about his nieces safety after all. Dan finally moved his eyes away from the block of ice and looked at his impatient family member because of which thetter started regretting speaking at all. But contrary to his imagination, Dan didnt exert any ranking pressure on him and just casually blurted out: We dont need this Riverine boy to wake Lensa up. ====================== AN: A new event is ongoing on All: Golden Tickets Count For Double. It makes it so that your Golden Tickets submissions on the novel of your choice would be counted twice their original values. So now is a good chance if you want to ce your GTs on VEH. You also get a Christmas Cracker for every Golden Ticket you spend. But thats not all. You also get a Christmas Cracker for every 200 coins worth gift(s) you spend. So there would be a Christmas Cracker for you if you gift VEH with two Inspiration Capsules (100 coins each) or four Pizzas (200 coins each). Ive also decided to take part in the event in my own way to increase the readers rewards a bit. Of course, itd be beneficial for this novel as well. During this event, Ill release a bonus chapter for every 100 Golden Tickets VEH receives. And Ill release a separate bonus chapter for every 2000 coins worth of gifts the novel receives. If you dont want to contribute all of the 200 coins on VEH, then that is fine as well. Just drop an Ice C (only 10 coins) or two on VEH. An extra chapter will get released when all of your contributions amount to 2000 coins. ? Chapter 147: Dynamic Dan

Chapter 147: Dynamic Dan

We dont need this Riverine boy to wake Lensa up. Devon was so pissed after hearing this old monsters reply that he felt like pulling the guys silky smooth hair and making him go bald. But he held his anger in. The guy was a recluse for real as he imed to be. And he didnt care much about his family members either. Up until Lensas incident that is. Then please wake her up. I dont How stupid can you get, Devon brat? Why should we wake her up when she is benefitting from this self-istion? Aaaah! I should focus on breaking through ranks just so that I can beat this ass*hole up one day. Devon had a red face as he clenched his teeth before finally managing to say the next words in suppressed anger: Then why did you tell me to bring the kid here? And what do you mean by Lensa is benefitting from getting stuck in the block of ice? I dont want her to starve to death just because theres a chance she can benefit from this. Hahahaha! You manage to crack me up from time and again, Devon boy. You seem calm, but theres theva of anger bubbling inside you. I dont know how you can keep your head straight despite having such a short temper. Devon bit his lips again and talked back: Gramps Dan, you still didnt answer any of my questions. Dans hearty chuckle turned into a mild smile before he replied to his descendent: Alright, alright! The reason I said she is benefitting from this situation is that she is now in a very peculiar situation. It is like the state of epiphany. But instead of the higher mana consciousness talking to you about a range of ranking subjects, it is limited to discussing the elements the ranker is affiliated to in an in-depth manner. The state of epiphany will benefit you in your ranking journey overall. But this peculiar state will help you gain new insights in the way of elements. Dan looked at Devon with meaningful expressions, as if expecting him toe to the gist of things on his own. You mean? It seemed that Devon was still struggling with the information provided to him by Dan. so thetter stopped beating around the bush and stated things clearly: In short, Lensa is safe and sound in this state and is gaining new insights in the way of elements rted to her. And dont worry about her sustenance boy, mana is an all-epassing matter that is both tangible and intangible. If the ranker is capable enough, they wont require anything else other than mana to survive and thrive in this world. Agreed, Lensa is still not on that level yet. But the responsibility of her sustenance is being taken care of by the mana itself. Or what you call the higher consciousness. So dont worry about her well being. At least not yet. Then why the fu** Err I meant why did we fetch an audience here? Shouldnt we let Lensa be as she is and keep the boy away from her? Devon looked hatefully at Ken and stated what he had on his mind. Boy, have you truly initiated a conversation with mana? I dont think you have. It is very addicting. You lose your sense of existence when you have a one-on-one with a higher consciousness. It can not be described in words. Why do you think high ranked entities be a recluse and are so unsatisfied talking to mortals and normies? Its because normal conversations cease to be interesting to them. After all, we stop defining the conversation that only uses words as a conversation over time. Have you seen people who can cast fire spells use normal means to light their bonfires? Its something like that. Devons anger was reaching new heights as he listened to the old fart rambling about his achievements. He didnt understand what this so-called addiction had to do with his nieces current condition. But this time he didnt interrupt Dan and let him finish what he had to say. No need to be so angry with me, Devon boy. I just said all that to make you understand that Lensa needs an anchor. Someone who can keep her grounded in this world as we know it. Otherwise, shell be like me. Or something much worse, I fear, considering her talents. Devons short fuse immediately lit up brightly after understanding what Dan had to say. He looked at Ken while talking to Dan: So this boy is Thats right. Ken should act as the anchor for Lensa. And it is always a good choice to have an anchor when you are immersed in these peculiar states. You see, most of the things that the higher consciousness talks to you about are something that may or may not apply to you. But most of us dont have a hold over what the mana wants to talk to you about. So the anchor acts as a disconnect button to an overall intriguing conversation. It enables you to control the flow of the conversation indirectly. This control also allows you to initiate the conversation of your own will when you have enough expertise. Devon took a long sigh after hearing the old monsters exnation. He didnt know what to do anymore to take care of her niece in the best way he knew. So he looked at Ken and gave him the threat to feel better about himself: Riverine brat, you better hope you can be this anchor or whatever to my Lensa. otherwise, Ill anchor your ass here for good. Ken felt that he was wronged. He raised his hand and pointed his finger at Devon. He was going to answer the threats thrown at him for no rhyme or reason. But the white knight was interrupted Dan before he could do so: Enough chit chat for now. Ken, lets do this the way you did before. But this time spread your mana sense around the ice block and imbue your mana on your hand while you touch the ice. I want to see how Lensa reacts when she feels your presence. Dan narrowed his eyes on Ken after he said that. He hadnt released his high ranking aura. Neither his words contained any threat. But Ken could feel that this was the most life-threatening situation he had found himself in. Chapter 148: Sleeping Beauty Awakens

Chapter 148: Sleeping Beauty Awakens

I want to see how Lensa reacts when she feels your presence. Dan narrowed his eyes on Ken after he said that. He hadnt released his high ranking aura. Neither his words contained any threat. But Ken could feel that this was the most life-threatening situation he had found himself in. But then again, the white knight didnt have much wiggle room either. So he stopped thinking and nodded to Dan before proceeding to act on thetters instructions: Erni, I dont think Ken will seed in waking Lensa up. Reen spoke as Ken started walking back to the block of ice again. Eren controlled the sheer surprise of his demon beast defying his orders for the first time and spoke back to her in his mind: I think I had told you to stay silent, littless. Im sure theres a good reason for you to risk defying my order like this. Eren raised his eyebrows after he said that. One could believe that he had done that in anticipation of events unfolding in front of him. But he was put on edge because of a different matter altogether. There is, Erni. Dont you want Lensa and Kens engagement to take ce in the future? This idiot needs to sessfully wake her up first with his presence for that to happen. But he wont be able to wake her up. And because of that, hell be hated by the entire Carren n. How will he get engaged to their girl even after she wakes up by other means after that? Reen said this before sounding a hmph in Erens head. The butcher was looking at Dan to gauge his reactions after he talked to Reen. He only continued speaking to his demon beast after ensuring the high ranking entitysck of reaction: You mean this guy isnt what Lensa is looking for? And how do you know this in the first ce? Eren again had ck lines on his forehead after he heard Reen talk. He had seen a chance to finally start getting back at Sienna with his seemingly botched-up operation. But even that possibility was turning out to be dim if Reens observations were on point. Her subconsciousness that is seeped into her mana sense is constantly looking for a particr mana signature. It is like screaming ones name out loud when you cant find them in a crowd. That mana signature is your Erni. I know this because I can sense these things of course. Eren heard another hmph going off in his mind. But he was too lost in his current predicament to care about any of that. So you mean she is looking for me? Or my presence? But how could that be? Doesnt my mana signature get colluded when I shapeshift? You had certainly told me so. Eren wasnt a fool whod halfheartedly start making a mess everywhere just because he had gained the unique ability of shapeshifting. He knew that there were spells and methods of several kinds that could help someone establish the identities from real to fake. But Eren had been assured by Reen that his mana sense gets colluded when he shapeshifts. It somewhat became the fusion of his signature and the signature of the person he had shapeshifted into. Thats why Eren had dared to shapeshift into Ken in the first ce. He had weighed the risks and made sure that he didnt leave a clue behind his misadventure. And yet, the protagonists luck had managed to retaliate against him. Im not sure about that either. Maybe she asked the higher consciousness to rify the colluded mana signature. And it rectified the collusion and let her know about the real thing? As I said, Im not sure. Anyway! The girl is looking for you and she wont wake up by herself until she senses your presence. Ill follow my masters orders now and wont say another word. Hmph! Why are you throwing tantrums now? Anyway, thanks. And yeah, keep silent. We shouldnt be pushing our luck here. Eren now had to figure out a way to wake Lensa up while making sure that it was Ken who did it. All this conversation only took a few moments in reality as it was rapid transferring of thoughts. So Ken had just touched the block of ice while imbuing his hand in unelementalized mana. And as Reen said, no visible change took ce. Can I tell something to my friend here that could help him wake Lensa? Eren suddenly spoke up after seeing that things would start deteriorating if he let them be as they were. He didnt leave his ce while doing that. Neither did he raise his head, lest the old monster finds some vague reasoning to hurt him because he didnt follow his orders. Oh? And what that might be? Dan asked while looking at the new participant in their conversation. Well, the things that might have happened between Ken and Lensa are personal. So I want to talk to Ken privately regarding a few things. It might help him wake our young miss. Dan thought for a while and retracted his mana sense from the block of ice. Others did the same. It was a silent agreement to let Eren have a word in private with Ken. Eren walked up to where Ken was standing. Thetter was looking at him with questions written all over his face. He still had his mana-imbued palm ced over the block of ice. Eren came close to Kens ears and talked random bullshit about womens hearts and their feelings. Then he patted the palm that was over the block of ice in a gesture to encourage him. Eren told his friend to release his mana sense while thinking about all the feelings of a maidens heart. It seemed that Ken did his best in following his teammates orders. And the butcher barely grazed the block of ice identally just when Eren was about to remove his hand from the back of Kens palm. He also sent a tiny burst of his mana sense at the time of that touch. So tiny in fact that one would mistake it to be an involuntary action by a low ranker. The butcher had excellent control over his mana sense deployment for his rank and age to pull this off. And that finally did the trick. The block of ice glowed brightly before melting at a rapid pace. And the shining water was just evaporating into thin air instead of making arge pool around. Lensa, the sleeping beauty was finally out of her self-confinement. Chapter 149: Settling Conflicts

Chapter 149: Settling Conflicts

Lensa, the sleeping beauty was finally out of her self-confinement. The ice still covered her most sensitive parts but the rest of her body was now out in the open. And she was also showing signs of waking up. Devon immediately called in the maids at the standby and told them to take care of his niece. The maids created a makeshift partition made of curtains around Lensa before getting her to wear clothes. When they were done, Lensa had already woken uppletely and was wearing a nice-looking dress. Lensa seemed perplexed by her current situation. Then she remembered what had happened between her and Ken. Her eyes became moist when she saw the reason for her heartache standing right in front of her. Ken brat, your work is done here. Well summon you when you are needed. Now get the fu*ck out. Devon immediately rushed to his niece and embraced her before saying that. He didnt even pay a nce at Lensas reaction. The elf girl was looking between Ken and Eren who was standing not very far from the white knight. She felt that she was missing the only piece of a puzzle toplete it but her abrupt awakening had forced the piece to grow legs and go into hiding. Eren breathed a sigh of relief internally after looking at Lensas reaction. Her bewilderment meant that his cover was not blown yet Ace Devon, I think you are forgetting what we had discussed. I told you Id be happy to help Lensa as long as I get to talk to her. Now that she has woken up, I want to remind you of my part of the deal. Ken replied to Devons fuc*k-you attitude with a stoic face. He wasnt afraid of the guy anymore because it seemed that half of his guilt had vanished into thin air after the elfs girl awakening. Brat, I told you Wait, uncle Dev. I want to talk to Ken as well. But before that Let me get freshen up first. There are so many confusing things filled to the brim in my mind right now. Lensa replied before Devon could throw Ken out of the Carren Manor. The uncle took a long sigh before agreeing to his nieces demands. He could never say no to her. Now that Lensa has woken up, half of our troubles are put to rest. Im sure that is the case for you as well. Well let the two housese to a mutual understanding now while ensuring their scions safety. Eren and I will take our leaves now. Almera spoke for the first time aftering to the hall. She was relieved that a major disaster had been averted. And she was sure that the two houses would fix a political marriage to fix this mess up nice and easy without creating a fuss that would be detrimental to both of their images. But her request to take leave was politely rejected by the sleeping beauty herself: Aah! I can guess what must have happened. Ace Almera, please stay here for a while so that I can talk to all of you. Lensa sneakily looked at Eren while she said that. For some reason, her mind wanted her to eye this seemingly unknown boy instead of looking at the real cause of her troubles. And she couldnt understand why. Thats why she wanted to talk to Eren to understand more about him. But she had already realized how things must have turned out because of her peculiar state. She would have to tie the knot to Ken in the future if things proceed as per their fixed course. Thats why she couldnt approach a strange man out in the open anymore. At least not so unabashedly. The elf girl was very worried about her familys image after all. Al alright. Well wait for you to get ready. But please know that we are on a mission here in this city. And Adept Ma might summon us anytime. So well have to answer her call if and when that happens. Almera relented while stating her condition. Lensa and Devon agreed to the same and arranged a living ce for them to wait. Dan was silent while all this took ce. He was seemingly looking at the void as if trying to think about the most mysterious thing in the world. Then he looked at Eren and narrowed his eyes before shaking his head in denial. The guy disappeared from his ce soon after. Nobody knew where he went. ********************** Ken and Lensa talked for a long while after she had gotten fresh. Almera and Eren gave them the privacy they needed and waited outside the room. The white knight exined his side of the story and Lensa had to admit he didnt have any ill intentions. She then exined her side of the story which the former listened to keenly. It seemed that Ken was the most ideal guy she could ask for. And she had already slept with him to know that he was really good in bed too. All things considered, that was one of the most important criteria for any woman to select her life partner on. But there was something in her mind that was bothering her. She didnt voice her opinions in fear that her future husband might get offended by it. But she wanted to talk to Eren for now. So she summoned the two waiting outside when she had a detailed conversation with Ken. The guy also seemed happy that hisdy-to-be was this cooperative. He had already told her that it was a yes from his side. The ball was in her court now which thedy tackled by dying her decision to say anything tactfully. Hi, there. Lensa. Hope you are feeling all better now. And I also hope that you and Ken be a thing so that the incident doesnt devolve into a family feud. Almeraid bare what she had on her mind. The elf girl seemed open-minded and pragmatic enough for her to do that. Lensa talked with Almera for a short while. They both smiled after knowing each others likes and dislikes. The ranking status between the two was kept aside and the two women had a brief girl talk. Lensa then made a strange demand: Um I wish to talk to Eren privately. I want to know more about Ken, you see. And who better than his teammate to tell me about a few things regarding him that even he doesnt know or cant tell me about? Hehe! Will will that be okay? Chapter 150: In Cahoots with the Cultists?

Chapter 150: In Cahoots with the Cultists?

Will.. will that be okay? Lensa looked at the trio after stating her logical demand. Ken and Almera had smiles on their faces while agreeing to her request. Eren smiled too. But his smile had a tinge of anxiety hidden in it. You enjoyed fuc*king a virgin elf, didnt you. Now prepare for the consequences, damn it. Eren cursed while sitting beside Lensa on the luxuriously plush sofa. Almera and Ken had already left the room. So, whats up, Novice Lensa Carren? Eren started first. The more quickly he is done talking to Lensa, the better it would be for him to get away from the mess. Thetter scanned him from top to bottom with her eyes before replying: Lensa is fine, Eren. Im sure you wouldnt mind me calling you just with your name either. I do mind in fact. Said internally before sayingpletely different outwardly: Yeah. Its fine. What do you want to ask about Ken? Ill tell you all that I know honestly. Hehe! Eren subtly moved the conversation towards Ken. He was expecting his move to achieve some form of sess. But s, the elf girl asked something else entirely: Eren, have we met before? Like, have youe to the city of Silvermoon in your childhood? Um.. no. This would be my first time talking to you. And the same goes for my arrival in the city of Silvermoon as well. Why do you ask that? Eren was a great actor and a pathological liar. But even he was finding it difficult to face the girls inspective eyes with ease. Its its nothing. I just thought that maybe we have met each other before. Maybe my thoughts are inplete disarray after experiencing that state. Please dont mind my weird questions too much. About Ken, lets see. Just tell me all that you know so far along with your interactions. Lensa finally let go of analyzing Eren. Probably because she didnt find any chink in his armour. She finally moved to talk about Ken in response to which thetter obliged and told her all that he knew and experienced working with him. Of course, Eren made sure that Ken is represented in the best light possible. Thankfully, he didnt have to lie much as the boy was the perfect rtionship material. Eren took his leave soon afterwards. Lensa couldnt help but watch his departing figure with keen interest. She still felt that there was something more than meets the eye when it came to the butcher. But she just couldnt put a finger on it. In the end, she let the matter go. For now at least. Shell have to dig deep in the future when the opportunityes. Or shell have to create an opportunity for herself. ************************ Where did you guys disappear to? Ma asked with her hands folded in an inspective posture. Erens team was back at the inn, in Mas room where she had summoned them to discuss the next part of the mission. Almera came forward and informed Ma about the recent developments that took ce regarding Ken. Ma didnt know whether tough or y it cool after hearing what had happened with the boy. But she couldnt help but choose the former at the end: Hahahaha! You guys underestimated elven ales. Thank god, nothing major happened apart from this debacle. Otherwise, I would have had to bring your dead bodies home. And Unscented Wind Empty Mind is the worst ale one can start elven booze with. You should have gone for Froastfoam. Its the best and the safest option for neers. Ma wanted to talk more about the booze but then she heard Almera clearing her throat. The Adept was reminded by her assistant that she was going off-topic. Alright! Time to tell you about the second part of the mission. Well move back to LA as soon as we finish this. From tonight onwards, well each be given an area outside the city walls to keep an eye on. We are looking for cultists and their links to someone in the city of Silvermoon. Most of the city administration doesnt know this part about the mission and we are going to keep it that way. Well each leave separately just before thete evening ande here to the inn in the morning. Dont worry about your safety. These days, Ive been busy and made some preparations. I had to recon the areas to make sure that those can be areas of interest. I used some of our captives intel for that. After confirming the areas, Ive nted a few articles outside the city zone at the areas we are going to monitor. Ill give you a recipient artefact each. If theres an outsider Adept or Ace ranker within a certain range, the artefacts will produce a visual signal and let you know where they are located. Youll have plenty of time to retreat if someone you cant handle shows up. Almera you will follow any suspicious E-Ranker when you find them using the device. And Ken and Eren will follow F-Rankers. Well try to keep our cover intact and follow them. And try to capture them if the cover gets blown. Killing them is thest resort. Well do the recon for the next three days. Well retreat to LA, whether well capture a new lead or not. Is there any part of the mission you dont understand? Ma asked her teammates and got no response in return, telling her that they all had understood their assignment. She nodded her head before started giving a few more in-depth details that she hadnt shared yet. Eren kept on listening to Mas instructions. But a part of him was thinking about the reason that led to the secrecy they had to maintain during the second part of the mission. And he narrowed his eyes after zeroing in on the most probable one among them. Someone big in the city of Silvermoon is in cahoots with the cultists! ======================= AN: Thank you @byrnem622 and emme_z for sending gifts. Also, thanks to all the readers who have ced their Golden Tickets on VEH. Chapter 151: Two Lil Nuggets

Chapter 151: Two Lil Nuggets

Somewhere outside the city of Silvermoon. Late at night, a teen ranker could be seen traversing through the forest zone. He was constantly looking at a disk in his hands that had one arrow pointed towards the ce the teen ranker heading towards. Hmm. Theres an unknown F-Ranker some distance away from here. Reen, rejoice youll get to have yourte-night snack. Eren said to his demon beast. He wasnt going to hand the cultists to Ma after capturing them like he was ordered to do. Neither was he going to secretly follow them. If one of the big shots of the city of Silvermoon was connected with the cultist, he didnt want to paint a bulls eye on his back by helping the case in any way. And he had his pet to feed anyway. Erni, dont use your katars for handling the food. You ruin it with your attacks and waste so much away. Waste not, want not. Let me take care of it nice and easy. Reen didnt want her food getting mutted by her master. She voiced her displeasure openly while separating herself from his body. She took on the shape of a young girl with just the right features. The demon beast was donned track pants and a hunters wear as she shapeshifted right into it. Here! Wear this mask. Eren handed her a mask and wore one for himself as well. Reen was not happy about the design of the mask though: Why do I have to wear these weirdly embroidered masks as well? They dont look good Erni. I hope you know that. Hahahaha! This style is something I picked up from the guy named Tumko Darata. Hell get famous for his deeds in the future. Anyway. The mask is eye-catching for a reason. Its so that the enemy registers the masks design the most and our other detail get blurred as a result. So you have to wear it. Remember Reen, never underestimate any ranker. They have so many ways to get back to you if you leave any clue behind. Eren had worn the mask while saying these things to his demon beast. He had also shapeshifted into Ron Damian to collude his mana signature. The mask was just a decoy. The cynic in him always thought about the worst oues and forced him to prepare a few countermeasures. Arent you going to at least try to investigate as youve been told to do? Reen asked curiously. She knew her master always did things carefully. If he has abandoned his mission that was given by an Adept ranker, there had to be a reason behind it. Not really. The F-Rankers we will deal with wont know much than what we already know. Thisbing operation is mostly for targeting E-Rankers and above. The F-Rank small fries are just for the show. But you always say that no matter how low a possibility was, we need to take them into the equation as long as they are not zero. Reen asked while keeping the same pace as Eren while heading towards their target. She had already spread her mana sense, ready to pinpoint the food she was craving for so long. This is not about the high or low possibility of something, Reen. This is about what those possibilities entail. If we dont find any lead, we get home safely without getting ourselves involved in the mess. But if we do find something, no matter what Ma says, we are going to be added to the mess. That is something I wish to avoid. Plus, this girl Lensa suspects something about me. It is better if we get to leave the city without interacting with her again. Hm! Target up ahead, 2 O clock from here. Will youe with me or state here? Reen had finally located her target with her mana sense. Her saliva was oozing out as she talked: Ille. No point watching their move when you can one-shot them with ease. Stealth or frontal? Stealth, always. Remember, stab your enemy in the back when you have the terrain advantage. Dont waste time in the killing. Eren guided his demon beast about their battle n that mostly relied solely on her. Thetter followed his order to a T and decreased her speed and movement sounds. ************************** Man, what are we doing here? Are you sure that the person would show up here? We were up all night yesterday and didnt find any trace of them. A guy in his early 20s asked his only partner. They were traversing the same area Eren was assigned to. The cultists were marching straight to their doom without knowing about their grim destinies. Well, they say that the person has been contract-bound to help us for a certain number of instances. And the higher-ups have used one of the instances to call that person here and aid us in our mission during these few days. The other guy looked to be in histe 20s. He was just a step away from crossing the F-Rank aspared to his impatient colleague who had just barely made it to the solid stage of the same rank. Hm. But couldnt that person tell us exact time and ce so that we could avoid such pain-int-ass exploration? Well, if we consider these steps as countermeasures to something, then it means that the person knows we are going to get tracked for our activities. So keep your voice down and focus on the task at hand. We are only supposed to make contact with that person. We let our leader know right away and retreat from there. I dont want to Toote for that. The person in histe 20s was going toplete what he had to say but he was interrupted by a young girls voice. They couldnt locate the source of that voice. But they didnt have to. Because Reen appeared right in the middle of them with her mouth dripping from saliva. It was time for herte-night snack. ========================== AN: I believe Reens minute behavioral details are crucial in highlighting her growth. But do tell me if the overall pacing of the storyline needs to pick up speed. Chapter 152: Et Tu Ari?

Chapter 152: Et Tu Ari?

Toote for that. This was thest line the guy in his early 20s heard. After that, his vision got darker and he stopped feeling his body. This was because Reen transformed into her original form and attacked the weakest link of the duo, as taught by her master. She spread her slimy mass and coated the guys entire body within it. The guy had almost died inside, making little to no movements when trapped by a C-Rank beast. It was just his body getting dissolved inside. The guy that was with him was horrified by the scenes unfolding in front of him. A mana beast of unknown rank had attacked them. And it was devouring one of them like it was no big deal. He tried to run away. But Reen created a rope from her slimy mass and extended it towards the man, tying his legs up as quickly as the guy thought of escaping. Help! Someone, please help us. The guy started shouting and calling for help. Someone in the shadows was irked by his actions. Reen, from now on, you are to prioritize your food doesnt talk when it is being had. Target its mouth first to achieve that. Eren came out of hiding after saying that. You! Brat,e here and help me. Ill give you all the money and resources that I have. The cultist tried hisst resort into tempting someone who unbeknownst to him was his attacker. Thetterughed after hearing the deal he was pitched: As cliched as it may sound, you can not bribe me with something which is going to be mine anyway. Reen, quick, we are on a schedule here. Eren ordered his demon beast to hurry up who was ying with her food. The side dish didnt stop striving for his chance to survive through: Motherfu*ker! Who are you? Wait Are you saying you control this horrible creature? Please Im begging you, dont do this to me. If its wealth you want on me, I can give it to you Eren didnt want to answer the guy but he kept on yelling in his direction. Reen was too engrossed in having her current food that she ignored her masters order of shushing her side dish. So the dark knight had to say something to shut him up. You misunderstand. What you have on you might be tempting. But it is not our main goal, Mr.cultist. What my demon beast want from you is your body. She is starving you see. Only now did the captured cultist realize that these attackers were looking for him. They were probably a part of the squad from the city of Silvermoon. The cultist knew the chances of his survival were low if he didnt do anything about his current situation. Arent your protocols dictate that the cultists should be taken prisoners first to draw the information from them. I have a lot of information about the current n the cultists have regarding the city of Silvermoon. The guy tried to milk the fact that he was needed by these rankers to investigate the cultists activities. Too bad, he met with a certain someone who didnt care about any of that. Yeah. Not interested. Keep that information to yourself and die with it for all I care. Reen, hurry up girl. The cultist almost spat blood after hearing Erens response. He hadnte across anyone from the rankers faction who breached the protocols assigned to them so brazenly. Wait. I know who we are supposed to meet. I havent told this to anybody because I only heard my leader say this in passing. I can tell you The cultist tried to sell the most important information he had in exchange for his life. He thanked his stars he hadnt signed a mana contract with his cultist organization because of his F-Rank. Otherwise, he would have died before leaking such information. Too bad, there was no buyer to what he was trying hard to give on discount: My man, do you even understand what I just said? We are not interested. Reen finished her first meal. The trace of the first guy she had eaten was nowhere to be found except the ID Stone on him. Then she started enveloping her tentacles onto her next meal. The meal-to-be cultist knew this was a life and death moment for him. He didnt care about the attacker reciprocating his wishes or not and said what he knew as ast resort: Hold on. Listen to me. The person who we are supposed to meet has an exclusive stock of Frostfoam elven ale. This is what I know. Now please The guy gave out the information he had once heard by chance to his attacker. Hoping the attacker at least takes him under custody after hearing that. But opposite to what he was expecting took ce at that time. Fuc*k, fu*k, fuc*k. Your dense motherfuc*er. I had told you I dont want to know. Yet you still gave me the worst information I could ask for. Reen, kill this fuc*ker this instant for me. Erens anger irrupted after hearing the guys response. He didnt want to involve himself in this shadow brawl between the cultists and the city of Silvermoon. And yet this idiot of a cultist who just had to value his life more than the information he had came clean to Eren against his wishes. Reen felt a strong surge of hatred her master had for this guy in her psyche. That prevented her from taking her leisure time to having her food. She quickly snapped the guys neck with one of her tentacles and absorbed him into her slimy mass next. What do we do now, Erni? Should we give this information to that Ma woman? Reen assumed her young girl form after having two human nuggets. She adjusted her clothes while asking her master about their next set of ns: Why the fu*ck would I say anything to Ma? Its her fuc*king friend Arizihana Agnoth who is involved with the cultists if what the guy said was true. Ill just let the woman do her dirty work in the background. Why the fuc*k should I care about what happens to the city of Silvermoon or its citizen? Now lets clean the traces you have left on the field, collect the ID Stones, and get away from this ce asap. Eren ordered his demon beast with a grim face and foul mood. He had figured out who the trojans horse was inside the city of Silvermoon as soon as the guy talked about the stockpile of Frostfoam ale. Chapter 153: Agatha’s Agony

Chapter 153: Agathas Agony

Did you make contact with the cultists? Or do you have any leads? Ma asked her team the next morning after they met up at the inn as they had nned. But all she got was a negative response from all of the teammates. She sighed after knowing her recon n wasnt bearing any fruit. Alright. Tonight will be thest day. If we dont find anyone tonight as well, then we will have to go back to LA without producing any results. This would affect our mission rewards severely but Im not too worried about that. What Im worried about is that the city of Silvermoon might fall into cultists hands. There are already campaigns taking ce in random regions that are drawing races apart from each other. The cultists are funding this cause and someone from the inside is helping them. Yet we cant destroy this channel even when we know so much about it. This is kinda frustrating. Ma said with disappointmentced in her voice. She wanted to help her friend in defending her city. Unknown to the fact that the very fried had shaken hands with the citys enemies. But this was not all. Ma finally gave Eren the news he was waiting for. Eren, your request has been processed. You will be presented with the official ve owner contract today by the citys administration. Do remember that you will be held responsible for whatever crimes your vements after they sign the very contract. The very duration is 20 years. After which, Agatha will be set free if her conduct is good and she hasntmitted any crime during her very. Eren was instructed about the master-ve contract. The former listened to the exnation clearly before asking another question: Adept Ma, can I use my ve tonight inpleting my mission after the contract formalities getpleted today? I dont see why you cant. Feel free to use her. And dont do anything naughty with her just because you can. Hehe! Ma said this and chuckled. She knew Eren didnte across as a horndog as most teens his age were known to be. She just tried teasing her apprentice a little. She is not my type, Adept Ma. Eren replied calmly. He didnt be flustered as she thought he would be. Hmm? What is your type then? Ma asked with some anticipation in her voice. This was not the first time Eren had replied boldly to her without caring about the difference in their backgrounds. And she appreciated his straight-shooter attitude every time she came across with. Why, its you, of course, Master Ma. I mean your type. A beautiful yet fierce woman who can take care of me when Im in a pinch. Hehe! The butcher readily admitted having no problem on having to depend on his woman. As if he was trying to find a sugar mommy instead of a partner for him. Hahaha! Cheeky. Alright. You guys can rest for the day. Letsmence our mission in the evening as weve done so far. Eren, someone from the city admins office will call you today and help you sign the contract. Ma dispersed her team after saying that. Eren went to his room and rested while awaiting the call from the citys administration. ************************** What am I doing here, you terrorist? Let me go. Its you who have hurt us. You should be punished for your vile acts. Not people like us. Erens inn room now had a loud resident. It was Agatha of course. She was sitting on the floor and was unable to move. Because Eren had told her so. The terrorist Agatha talked about was having his tea while looking outside the window. He could shut her up with onemand of his. But he let his new ve rage on. As if he was testing her breaking point. Why are you not even looking at me? Listen, I cant be any use to you. Why dont you let me go? And I canpensate you with something. Agatha said this while looking at her new master with determination in her eyes. She was going to do everything in her power to get rid of the forced envement ced on her. Hm? What can a lowly ve offer me? Do tell in detail. Eren finally looked at Agatha from head to toe after he said that. Thetter felt goosebumps raised on her back after he did that. But she controlled her nerves and replied boldly: Listen. I dont know much about the cultists ns. But I can show you one of their hideouts I was at. Agatha was hopeful the fish will take the bait. But s, what she was fishing was not something that could be attracted with such a weak bait: That hideout is as good as gone after you were captured. Most probably, it must have been turned into a trap so that you can lead me there and get rid of me. So Ill pass. What else? Eren swooshed his hands like he was swatting a fly while saying that. Agatha controlled her anger after looking at that gesture. This guy was too arrogant, she thought to herself. She came to realize that her parlour tricks wont work against this little terrorist. She needed to give him something solid. Ok. Heres another something that might be important to you. I believe, there is someone in the city of Silvermoon If you are talking about someone from the city of Silvermoon in cahoots with the cultists, we already know about it. And Im not interested in any of that either. But this city I already know about the person who has betrayed the city. Whaaaaa? You do? Even I dont know about that. But then why are you not telling Because theres no benefit for me in doing that. So Im not interested. What else do you have to buy your freedom with? Agatha was left speechless after knowing her terrorist masters ideologies. Who was the cultist between them exactly? This guy was even worse than the cultists who created unrest in the kingdoms because they wanted to break the shackles ced on the exchange of knowledge about magic and ranking journey. Her new master didnt ce importance on philosophical things. He only looked for his benefits and was willing to cross the boundaries of morality like it was no big thing. Agatha took a long breath after throwing thest card she had held onto as ast resort. I I can tell you more about the Beast Bloods and how they turn humans into Anthrops. Eren finally smiled after hearing what he was craving to hear: Im all ears. He said while finishing what remained of the tea in his cup. Chapter 154: Therianthropy

Chapter 154: Therianthropy

Im all ears. Eren said while finishing what remained of the tea in his cup. He fixated his eyes on his ve and gestured her to take a seat nearby where he was. Wha What do you want to know about Beast Bloods? Agatha felt nervous after sitting near her new master. Her instincts were now telling her that this person should never be harmed by her hands. Under any means, at all costs. Otherwise, she would have to face grim repercussions. For starters, tell me what is the object of the Beast Bloods? From what I know about you guys, every cultist organization focuses on a certain lost path of magic. All that it has done is doing, and will be doing will be linked to that path. So it is easier to predict the Beast Bloods next moves if I know about their motives. Tell me what you know about this first. Eren said while tapping his fingers on the surface of the desk table nearby. The tapping sound could be distinctly heard by the young ve, which created a subtle pressure on her psyche. She had to admit that her new master could see through a lot of deceptions with enough information at his disposal. Beast Bloods main objective is to sessfully revive the lost branch of magic that turns humans into demi-humans. Bing a therianthrope is the first major one needs to take before they can turn into full-fledged demi-humans. Agatha exined slowly. She watched as the terrorist in front of her, who was lost in a bunch of thoughts, suddenly asked her another question: Demi-humans, huh? Ive heard some legends. But thats not important right now. You can partially transform into a mana beast, right? Arent you a demi-human then? And on that matter, what is the difference between a therianthrope and a demi-human? Agatha seemed like she was expecting those questions to hit her sooner thanter. She cleared her throat before answering: The clear distinction between a therianthrope and a demi-human is how they can increase their numbers. The therianthropes cannot pass down their beastly traits to their progeny whereas the demi-humans should be capable of doing so in theory. This is the most straightforward definition Ive heard from my superiors. They also say that the real demi-human transformation is not something we therianthropes can hope to achieve. This paths end goal is for a human topletely transform into a beast when they need to and revert to their original whenever they want to. Agatha finished and looked at another empty teacup set as well as a neat-looking tea kettle ced on the desk table. There were also some snacks present. She was tempted to have those. The prison she was in only took care of her daily necessities. So Agatha was ready to change her pte after all her time spent in that gloomy prison. But she was waiting on the terrorist to allow her to have those. She wouldnt dare touch them otherwise. Eren saw that the girl was looking at the snacks kept on the table. But he ignored her silent request and verbally marched on: I get that the ranking prowess one could exert while being a demi-human might be more inparison than what normal humans can do. And thats a good advantage to seek. But I still dont understand why having the ability to pass down your demi-human traits to your progeny is such a big deal? I mean isnt bing a therianthrope enough of a sess for you guys? If you want to turn your kids like you, you can always do that when they are born. And then wait for them to start their ranking journey before making them go through the same therianthropy process you did. Simple as that. Why go the extra mile? Eren didnt know much about the cultists in his previous timelines. He had hunted a few for the bounties on their heads. But he didnt trouble himself to know about their goals or power structure. But the whole thing regarding Reen had made Eren take an interest in the path Beast Bloods was treading on. Thats why he started asking about the organizations information. Um. Im not too sure about that. They say that the superficial transformation that the therianthropes are used to doing is not enough to tap into the true power of being a demi-human. The real demi-humans would have the bloodline of both the human and mana beast present within them. But the therianthropes only store that blood in their body and trigger a superficial transformation. The beasts blood does not get integrated with our blood in our case. Agatha honestly told Eren what she knew. The young therianthrope knew that her master was able to discern her lies from truth, thanks to the envement contract. Hm. If the integration of blood is the key in turning humans into demi-humans, then shouldnt that have been achieved by now? Isnt that what happens with the beast contract? What is stopping you guys from bing a demi-human? They say it is not easy to get integrated with something that doesnt naturally belong to you. Bing a demi-human sort of goes against nature. So its not something that you can achieve on your whims. About the beast contract spell. Yes, it can be regarded as the same as bing an Anthropos in more ways than one. But it has a few key differences. Firstly, we dont need a beasts soul trapped within us for it to function the way it should. The beast contract spell requires you to choose the beast that ispatible with your element and inherent nature before forming a contract. We dont need to do that. At most, the Anthropos-to-be will only worry about the elementalpatibility. The procedure to turn humans into a therianthrope will harmonize the rest. It will form a symbiotic link between humans and their newly acquired beastly traits while eliminating the beast soul. Agatha said that and looked away from the desk table. She shouldnt torture herself in false anticipation if this wretched terrorist was not going to offer her the snacks that were just a few inches away from her. Erens face painted a clear picture that he was confused about something. He voiced his query without wasting time: Isnt therianthropy a better version of the beast contract spell then? Why is the former hidden from the popce and illegal whenpared to thetter? Agatha couldnt help herself from forming a smile on her face after hearing Erens question. Exactly. We cultists dont seem crazy now, do we? ========================= AN: The beast contract spell is exined in chapter 100. Also, Therianthropy is the ability of human beings to partially metamorphose into other animals through shapeshifting. Announcement: A new event is ongoing on All: Golden Tickets Count For Double. It makes it so that your Golden Tickets submissions on the novel of your choice would be counted twice their original values. So now is a good chance if you want to ce your GTs on VEH. You also get a Christmas Cracker for every Golden Ticket you spend. But thats not all. You also get a Christmas Cracker for every 200 coins worth gift(s) you spend. So there would be a Christmas Cracker for you if you gift VEH with two Inspiration Capsules (100 coins each) or four Pizzas (200 coins each). Ive also decided to take part in the event in my own way to increase the readers rewards a bit. Of course, itd be beneficial for this novel as well. During this event, Ill release a bonus chapter for every 100 Golden Tickets VEH receives. And Ill release a separate bonus chapter for every 2000 coins worth of gifts the novel receives. If you dont want to contribute all of the 200 coins on VEH, then that is fine as well. Just drop an Ice C (only 10 coins) or two on VEH. An extra chapter will get released when all of your contributions amount to 2000 coins. Chapter 155: Link Between Beast Contract Spell & Therianthropy

Chapter 155: Link Between Beast Contract Spell & Therianthropy

Exactly. We cultists dont seem crazy now, do we? The ve smirked at her master with that retort. But Eren gave her no response, indicating that she should proceed further. Yes. The Beast contract spell is an inferior version of the path of therianthropy. The ability to call forth the beast soul and make it inhabit the semi-corporal body made of mana might look like an advantage the contract spell has over Anthropos, but trust me when I say that it is not. You have seen my rapid regeneration abilities. Do you think the integration of beastly features on a superficial level through the contract spell would have been enough for me to survive the tragedy you had bestowed on me? You and I both know it wouldnt. Although what we follow isnt a real deal, it at least goes closer to it. The beast contract spell seems like an amalgamation of multiple schools into one just so that it could function and mimic the effects of therianthropy to some level. So the contract spell can be considered as a copy of something that is deemed as a copy of the original thing. They just added the beast manifestation part by introducing the beast tattoo in the mix to make the spell more attractive than the effects of therianthropy. And this is when Im only in the F-Rank. The power of therianthropes exceeds far beyond your imagination whenpared to normal Ace rankers and beyond. My superior said that the reason various kingdoms came up with the beast contract spell and legalized it within their territories was to prevent us from gaining rebel rankers as loyal followers. Because of that spell, the path of therianthropy was automatically preferred less by the rankers who wanted a boost in their ranking powers. And the kingdoms won in the end. The path of therianthropy was left behind, thanks to the beast contract spell. The kingdoms would charge hefty money to give ess to that spell. And rankers would still buy it anyway. Because it didnt contain as many risks as the therianthropy. Agatha finished her statements and looked sneakily at the snacks. She knew that the guy in front of her would not allow her to eat anything from that snack rack. Therefore, now she was trying to salvage her dignity by noting across as a starving person. Unfortunately for her, she was doing a poor job at it. This is interesting. Very interesting. So the kingdoms created the beast contract spell to counter the path of therianthropy the cultists have. Its like an economic tug of war between two merchants trying to sell the same kind of goods. Looks like I really didnt know how the world worked even back then. I need more data regarding this path of therianthropy. Wait a minute! If the path of misanthropy is so mysterious and the kingdoms dont want rankers exploring that path, why did they allow you to be enved by me? Unless Eren narrowed his eyes as he paused what he had to say and observed Agatha closely. Thetter couldnt help but smile mirthlessly before replying: Thats right. The path of therianthropy has a major drawback. The therianthropes cant use normal ranking techniques or spells meant for humans. Spells are not much of an issue. But the ranking techniques for us are really scarce to the point that they can now be regarded as non-existent. And thats not all. The therianthropes face bigger hurdles than normal rankers when they are breaking through the major ranks. The bottleneck can be so frustrating that some therianthropes choose to try extreme means and end up dying in the process. Thats why therianthropy is not as widely popr as the beast contract spell anymore. That transcendent spell has many shorings but is it better than the path of therianthropy in this regard. Agatha dered the fatal w of the therianthropy. Eren frowned after hearing what he had just heard before continuing further: So thats why they let you be my ve. They know the chances for you to break into the next rank are almost non-existent. A ve who can not progress much in their ranking path is only good for mundane very. As for the secrecy of the therianthropy path, I can guess that what youve just told me is something most top rankers already know and are researching covertly or overtly. And the biggest disadvantage of this path is enough to discourage the beginner rankers whove just started in their journeys if and when theye to know about the topic. Agatha shook her head before replying: Thats not all. They must have also looked through your history and your behavioural profile. The fact that they gave you a therianthrope as a legal ve who also happened to be an ex-cultist means that everything in your file is as per their liking. Plus, that guards captain has more influence on the city administration than you can imagine. Agatha smelled the air that contained the aroma of baked cookies and sandwiches after she said that. She tried her hardest not to give in to the desires that wanted her to just snatch that snack tray away. But her stomach was now making loud growling sounds. She knew Eren must have heard those but was acting like he didnt. But the ve owner wasnt paying attention to his ves small life struggles. He looked at the ceiling as if some understanding had dawned on him: Oh. That means they are counting on my recluse ass to keep things discreet whenever and wherever I can. Well, I can do that. Hm? You know awfully a lot about how this stuff works. What were you doing before you became a cultist? Eren suddenly realized that the ve in front of him must have lived a life before turning into a cultist. Agathas face became grim after she was asked the question she wasnt expecting in this round of questioning: You want to know what I was doing before turning into a cultist? Ill tell you if you help me get my revenge. Chapter 156: Scaring Agatha Into Submission

Chapter 156: Scaring Agatha Into Submission

You want to know what I was doing before turning into a cultist? Ill tell you if you help me get my revenge. Agatha looked at Eren with seriousness written all over her face. This was a long shot, her asking for this terrorist to help her get her due revenge on people who had messed up her entire life. But as expected, Eren didnt seem interested. He just shrugged his shoulders before replying: What is your revenge has got to do with me? Im not here to run your errands. You are to do that for me. You should forget about your revenge and focus on mine. Agatha almost spat blood after hearing what the terrorist had just dered casually. He didnt even show a tinge of emotion while saying he wasnt interested in knowing her background. Whats more? The guy had his to-do revenge list pre-nned and he wanted her help in achieving the same. Are you really a teen like me? Why do I feel like I am talking to an old man who is too fed up with the world to care about anything other than what he needs? Agatha sighed sadly after looking at her new master. You dont need to worry about me. I am plenty young where it counts and with enough wisdom where it needs. Hehe! But one thing I still dont understand. Even if you do achieve your goal and sessfully find your way to turn into demi-humans, youll forever have to stay in hiding. The kingdoms will open a joint front to tackle the guys like you. What lies after you find your way to attain demi-human status? Eren asked after he got up from his side. He had again started pacing around the room with his hands folded behind his back. As far as he knew and could tell from his experiences, the cultists were radical extremists. But they werent stupid. Thats why he had figured out that their end goal cant simply be to walk on the lost paths of magic or liberate its knowledge from the clutches of the kingdoms. No sane person would think about the well-being of the world before thinking about themselves first. Oh! Ace Renar had told me about this. All the cultist organizations are nning to join hands together and form a free kingdom of their own. All the cultists can be its citizens. And it would be the sole kingdom in which the knowledge rted to the ranking techniques and most spells would not remain restricted. At least thats what all the low ranker cultists believe. The Beast Bloods organization has also been promised an important ce within the proposed kingdom. I dont know much apart from this. Now, Ive told you all I could. Now can we talk about my freedom? What will be your next condition? If its sleeping with me, then I can Agatha wasnt stupid in thinking that giving the information that her new master had demanded from her was all that it was going to take for him to release her. She believed that the guy would think from his groins and make another personal request. Thats why she made that part of her deal as well. But she was yet to understand the kind of person her master was: Hehe! The information youve given me is still not enough. Agatha had expected this card to get pulled on her. So she remained calm despite the bubble of anger building in her mind and replied: The information Ive given is all I have. You can not expect an F-Ranker to know about everything to know about such secretive organizations, can you? Youd be called stupid if you were aiming to gain the juicy details about the cultists from a stray like me. Agatha felt good after dissing her new master indirectly. She knew the ve contract wont harm her since she was only referring to a possibility. The ex-cultist was expecting another rebuttal. But surprisingly the ex-Ken agreed to that statement: You are right. But it is still not enough to buy your freedom. To be honest, nothing can be enough for me to give you freedom. I just made it look like I was willing to exchange my ve ownership with the information you provided. It was done so that it would encourage you to talk in-depth about your initiative. The best form of investigation is when the target is influenced to take the lead to get investigated without anyone doing anything about it. Hehe! Yet, I can still grant you a different form of freedom if you want one. Eren said this and smiled sweetly. Agatha had goosebumps after witnessing that smile. She asked the butcher with doubt and suspicionced in her shaky voice. What What kind of freedom are we talking about? Eternal freedom of course. The freedom from all miseries that this life has served in your tter. Tell me quickly, do you wish to have this freedom? Agatha finally understood what Eren wanted to convey. He was ready to silence her for good in the name of granting her freedom. Her instincts to survive the potential threating her way triggered her to cast her therianthropic transformation while she said this: Id suggest you dont assume that things will go smoothly like thest time they did for you. Here, in this room, you can not use those bombs. And my transformation is enough Hahaha! Littless, you forgot that I can do whatever I want with you while ordering you to not retaliate. Although I will be questioned for my ves death, it wont be too bothersome for me. Especially since you were an ex-cultist. Plus, who said anything about using potion bombs? Reen,e out. Eren was right. Agatha had nearly forgotten at that brief moment that she was now a ve of Eren who could do anything with her. And her eyes opened wide in horror because she received another shock. Chapter 157: Targeting Cultist Hideout

Chapter 157: Targeting Cultist Hideout

Reen,e out. Eren was right. Agatha had nearly forgotten at that brief moment that she was now a ve of Eren who could do anything with her. And her eyes opened wide in horror because she received another shock. Reen suddenly manifested in front of Agatha as soon as her master called her out. The former looked at the ve in disgust before saying: This wont even be an appetizer for me, Erni. You should have arranged for more food. Said the demon beast in a young girls voice that wasced with a lot ofints. Then she opened her mouth unnaturally and showed her sawtooth-like teeth that were glistening with saliva. Agatha felt like her soul had left her body. The visual horror of seeing a young girl open her mouth like that was horrible enough. But Reen also released a hint of her mana signature which scared the sh*t out of Agatha. A C-Ranker!? No A C-Rank beast. That too in a human form. This thing here is a demon beast. Agathas pale face was finally painted with a grim realization. She couldnt have imagined that her new master was the owner of a demon beast as well, apart from her. Only now did the ex-cultist realize that her act of rebelling against her new master was not only foolish but also suicidal. And now Agatha was going to get eaten alive by the demon beast. This was the worst way to die for her. She wanted to exact her revenge before she met the angel of death. But it would have to remain a dream if she doesnt do anything about it. Sir Eren. Im sorry. I was mistaken to ask for the annulment of the contract before its duepletion date. I promise that Ill do all I can to follow yourmands from now on. Please dont kill me. Agatha finally made a desperate attempt to save her life. She kowtowed in front of Reen and Eren while she made her plea. Let me be clear that you wont be free from us even when the contract getspleted. Not the way you want at least. Tell me, are you still ready to serve me? Said Eren while closing in on Agatha, walking behind Reen. He said that amusingly, but the target of that statement didnt find anything funny in it. And yet, she couldnt help but smile mirthlessly before replying: Al alright. Ill stay as your ve forever. Please spare my life. Agatha thought what she said was enough to halt the demon beasts march. But thetter just kept heading her way. Whaaa What are you doing? Ive cooperated in every way, Sir Eren. And I wont even Hehehehe! Agatha was trying to pitch her case but was interrupted by Reens funughter. The former thought her end was near when the demon beast stood right in front of her, looking down on her potential food. Dont worry. This was just to nudge you in the right direction. I was talking to Eren about the snacks on the table behind you. Now step aside. Said Reen and waited for Agatha to step aside. She had kowtowed near the chair so it was difficult to get to the snacks before pulling the chair. It took a while for the young therianthrope to understand what Reen was saying. She hastily moved to the side after hearing that Reen wasnt targeting her. Reen started walking again. And said something in a low voice when she went past the ex-cultist: From now on, avoid sneaking a peek at food meant for me. I dont like it when my food is being ogled by others. Hmph! Aaah! Yes, madam. Thanks thank you for letting me know about your habits. Ill certainly remember that. And I apologize for staring at your food. It wasnt my intention to do that. *Sigh. Stop that. Erni doesnt like a subservient attitude at all. Act normally like you always do. Just follow the orders given to you and youll be good. Said Reen without looking back at Agatha. She sat on the chair Eren had used then started eating the snacks the inn had provided. Get up now Agatha. What can you tell me about these tokens? Eren threw two tokens that had a bunch of beast carvings at one side and a runic mini-array at the other. They were some form of ess tokens. But Eren couldnt figure out much after that point. Eren had seized these tokens from Reens cultist victims that she had just recently. They were stored inside the guys ID stones respectively. Oh. These are standard-issue Beast Blood tokens meant to be used by F-Rankers. But where did you get these from? Reens food sometimes gives souvenirs. Anyway, what are these tokens used for? Agatha tried not to think about the grim fates her fellow cultists must have faced in the hands of these two monsters. But she was failing miserably at the task. Um These tokens are used to ess our hideouts. But the one I know doesnt use these tokens. They must belong to another hideout that Im not aware of. Agatha answered honestly. She had figured out that her fate was now tied to this vile duo. There was no running away from them. She might as well cooperate with them fully to score some brownie points in their books. One had to admit that Agatha was a flexible person. And she had a survivors spirit. Hmm. It seems you have started to warm up to us. Hehe! Good. Now, how can we locate the new hideout? Do you have any means? Eren asked Agatha who answered him after nodding at him: Yes. Every Beast Blood F-Ranker has been given an element-neutral spell that can pinpoint the location of the hideout if you have the respective token with you. This is done so that the members dont get lost while returning frompleting their missions. Eren and Reen smiled at each other after they heard Agathas statement. They knew tonights recon was going to be more than fruitful for them. Chapter 158: Not Taking Prisoners

Chapter 158: Not Taking Prisoners

So? Where do we go from here? Eren asked Agatha who had held the Beast Blood token in her hand. She would often close her eyes from time to time and tighten her grip around the token to confirm that she was going in the right direction. The direction was shown by the spectral arrow projected over the token. Erens small squad was out tob the area for potential cultist activities. That was the official mission given to them anyway. But Eren used this opportunity tounch a sneak attack on another hideout he got to know, thanks to Agatha and two cultist victims of Reen. Just up ahead. Around 300 meters from here. What are we going to do once we get there? I dont think members from this hideout will recognize me. Agatha expressed her worries as she kept on travelling ahead of Eren and Reen. All three of them were all wearing Tumko Darata-style face masks, making them look like some form of rebellious rankers squad. What else? Plunder all this hideout has on therianthropy as well as money, and other resources in store. Eren said it was the most obvious thing in the world. And what about the people inside? What about them? Eren and Reen both looked at Agatha confusingly when she asked about how they were going to deal with the cultists present at the base. It was obvious to them that their death was a foregone conclusion. Eren had asked about the possible level of rankers present at the hideouts to Agatha. The ex-cultist had informed him that the hideouts that are essed by F-Rankers shouldnt contain a presence beyond E-Ranker. ************************ Why are we shifting our base of operation all of a sudden? A young cultist asked her senior when she was helping her pack some stuff up. They were inside what looked to be a smugglers den inside arge and wide cave. Because we suspect the causality of two F-Rankers who belonged to this hideout. It seems that the city of Silvermoon doesnt know about their deaths or isnt involved in the same. But we can never be too sure about something. The higher-ups dont want to take chances. Thedy who was packing the stuff replied while continuing her work. She was asked toplete the procedure for total abandonment of this base as soon as possible. She too had some questions of her own regarding the order she had received from her higher-ups. But for now, she decided it was best to ensure her safety first. But this is the most secure ce we know. I dont think we can find a geographically advantageous ce like this anytime soon. The caves entrance was protected by the array. And it was also hidden from the outside world, thanks to the illusion are created. Only the Beast Blood cultist members that had ess to the tokens could get inside. This was an auxiliary base for the Beast Bloods, separate from the regr base that was active in the region. Not every member of the organization had ess to it. They didnt even know about its existence. The young cultist thought that the higher-ups were acting scared without a valid reason behind their actions. Things were finally going good for him. He now had a normal life that was kept apart from the usual cultist activities he had to do. And this was all thanks to the proximity this base had with the city of Silvermoon. He wasnt too keen on moving out of this base because of that. I still think this is a hasty decision. This base is as safe as safe can be. Maybe we should The guy was going to continue his pestering but was interrupted by something in his throat. He looked down and saw that a katar had pierced his throat from the back. The sharp pointy end of the weapon had made it through the guys Adams apple and was now coated in the blood. The guy, who thought that the base of their operation was safe, died at this moment. Before even knowing what his mistake was. The date he had nned in the city of Silvermoon under the guise of being a normal ranker had been punctured along with his windpipe. The guys senior soon joined him in the afterlife. He died from his head getting separated from his torso. Please. Im telling you. The cultists are not the monsters you think we are. At least not these F-Rankers. Why must you kill them when you can scare them off and still get what you want from this ce? Agatha pleaded with her master and his demon beast to leave the low ranker cultists alive. She joined the duo from behind who was busy nning how to reap more lives. Agatha, I dont want to enforce the very restrictions on you because it is too bothersome and distracting. But I will if you dont start lifting your weight in this team. Do you understand? You want me to kill them? Why do you sound so surprised? It is very hypocritical of you to only attack rankers for your gain and leave the cultists be just because they might be like you, forced by the circumstances to join the organization. Eren said while cleaning the edge of the katar with the guys clothes he had just killed. But Agatha wanted to defend her stance: Arent we all hypocritical then? You want to remain a ranker while studying the lost paths adopted by the cultists. You are on the so-called right side of things, yet you are killing the cultists that can be let go with lighter punishments. Agatha thought she had won the war of words against her master with the statement she had made. But Eren just chuckled in response after hearing about his ves retort. Im not the hypocrite here. At least not right now. This is no manhunt of cultists like you think it is. You are wrong if you think that I dont hesitate to kill them just because they happen to be cultists. I would have killed them anyway if they were normal rankers, all the same. Now less talking, more killing. Reen, Agatha. Start killing all the cultists and rankers in this area. I dont want a single survivor. And we are not taking any prisoners. Said Eren before marching forward. He had just issued a massacre of cultists with his brief speech. =================== AN: Thanks byrnem622, DaoistmSaNvi, Greeko_suave, and other contributors for cing their Golden Tickets on VEH. I would have never thought the work would receive this much love in its first month of win-win. Thanks to you guys, VEH is one of the most trending novels of its season on All. The sheer number of notifications is now making it difficult for me to reply to all my readers. I love a meme-off as much as you. But now it is taking a toll on my writing time. So Ill have to limit my interactions here. Still, I try my best to resolve most queries that havent been raised before. You can join my Discord server and put your queries there if they remain unattended for two-three days here by me. Kindly avoid asking about spoilers. The Discord has recently uploaded visual profiles for Arizhihana Agnoth and Lensa Carren. And the visual profiles for Erens team members will be released soon. PS: We are just 18 Golden Tickets away from having a bonus chapter release. ?? Chapter 159: Massacre

Chapter 159: Massacre

A scene of massacre unfolded in front of Agathas eyes. She saw mutted bodiesid on the ground that were releasing a thick smell of blood. But she couldnt see the pool of blood as the den was poorly lit. She could find sce in the fact that the cultists didnt care about optimizing the visibility inside the den. And it wasnt like she wasnt involved in this massacre. Her hands and her clothes were painted in the cultists blood as well. She had to do her masters bidding after all. Numerically, most damages were done by her masters demon beast. Reens mere presence was enough to make the poor cultists freeze in their tracks. And then she would just take her sweet time digesting them up. But her killings would not leave any bodies behind. Eren on the other hand would just hack through his opponents like an unstoppable force. Sometimes it was hard for Agatha to follow his movements with her eyes. The teen would just disappear from his ce only to appear a few meters away from his initial positions. And the opponent would have already lost their limbs by the time that happened. It was difficult for Agatha to make a sense out of Erens way of killing his opponents in the most brutal way possible without even batting an eye. She felt that her master was no teen doing these battle-hardened activities. Only then she did realize that the terrorist didnt need the potion bombs to overwhelm her. He could have dealt with her just as easily even when he hadnt used those explosives. Collectively, the trio must have killed around 40 F-Rank and 1 E-Rank cultist by now. They had cleared an entire cultists organizations branch all by themselves even without forming a proper party. Stop staring like that and get to work. Reen wont be able to finish all the bodies and my ID storage can only store so much. Use yours to store a few intact ones and get the rest in one ce. Eren ordered Agatha after he killed thest cultist youngster who was trying to run away from the scene. He had really meant it when he said there would be no survivors. Whaaaa What do you mean by storing bodies in storage? Why would you even think of doing something like this? Agatha asked with a shadow of grimness spread on her face. She regretted joining the cult after she stopped being one. Because it was the reason behind her ending up as this monsters ve. Isnt it obvious? Reen likes fresh food. But she can eat the one in storage when she is feeling a little peckish. Agatha felt like puking after she heard that. She thought that her master was taking the bodies to leave fewer clues behind. But he was thinking of feeding his demon beast in his spare time. In Erens defence, he had to be efficient when it came to feeding Reen. her appetite was no joking matter. And he couldnt just kill random civilians and make him a target of the high-ranked entities. Killing cultists served multiple purposes for Eren. So he didnt think about sparing any of them at all from the very beginning. Agatha had to follow her masters orders. She and Eren took a few intact bodies in their ID storage. Then they started to gather the remaining ones to create a pile. A mini mountain of chopped up bodies and organs was created in a while. Agatha already felt numb to all these activities. She still wasntfortable in doing the things her master was asking from her. But her survival nature made here to terms with her current reality. What will we do now? Even if we burn the bodies up, the historians would find some clues or the other. Agatha asked while wiping her bloody hands on a piece of fabric she had torn from a dead cultists jacket. She hade to realize that Eren wasnt that stupid to believe that mere burning the bodies would get him out of the massacre he had created here. Ill take care of that. Reen reformed herself into that of a young girl and said after finally digesting herst body for the day. She felt content after having a hearty meal after a long time. You cant this mountain now, can you? Agatha asked with suspicion on her face. Raising a demon beast who seemed to hit their growth spurt sure wasnt easy. She thought to herself. *sigh. Sadly, no. I mean I can, but itll take a while. And Eren doesnt want us to wait that much here. So Ill just partially consume them. That will collude with the mana signature residues, making it difficult for the historians to know about us. Reen didnt find anything wrong in telling Agatha about her powers. She knew from Erens thoughts that he would never let her go alive once she had been taken in as his ve. Agatha had asked about how Eren had obtained Reen and from where. He told her just enough to give her some basic understanding of the demon beast. Reen finished her job. Now the scene of the massacre was difficult to retrospect even with the historians spells. Eren found a few barrels of earthen oil inside the den. He used the same oil and lit the whole thing inside it shortly after. Soon, the fire will consume the entire inside of the Den and spill outside. There would remain only ash as a sign of something that had existed inside this natural cave. But Erens team didnt wait that long enough. They had already looted the cultists treasury located at the inner sanctum of the cave. Now waiting anymore would simply be foolishness they werent willing tomit. Agatha had cold shivers as she travelled with her two teammates. They had justmitted the mass killing and all these two would do was nod at each other from time to time while making faces that said it wasnt a big deal. It was as if the entire conversation had happened in their heads. =================== AN: Thanks emme_z, DaoisteXkbM7, LordofKaizen, and Overlord_Venus for sending gifts. I can use all the cs I get. Receiving cs is Chadness! ?? Chapter 160: Wingman

Chapter 160: Wingman

Did you find anything useful? Ma asked her teammates the next day when they met up. She wasnt expecting any result from herst recon either. But surprisingly Eren came forward before reporting: Master Ma, I might have found something. I had discovered a presencest night with Agathas help so I followed it up as per your instructions. The chasested for about two hours before my cover was blown. I tried chasing that person but he just disappeared out of the blue. I can give you the details of my pursuit and show you the ce on the map where I lost track of him. Ma raised her eyebrows before nodding at Eren. She pulled a map scroll from her storage andid it in front of him. Thetter didnt waste time and gave her the exact details of his chase. Ma immediately contacted a few personnel and arranged another squad of E-Rankers with the city administrations help. She was made to believe that Eren was in the proximity of the cultist hideout. Hence the preparations. Eren knew that the ce was going to get found out sooner orter. The citys hotshot captain Arizihana Agnoth was ying on the enemys side. She would find out something was wrong with her contact in a few days. So there was no merit in keeping the crime scene a secret. By bing the information provider, Eren would have a valid reason for traces of his presence near the crime scene. And anything unexinable would get chalked under the anomaly created by Reen with her mana collusion. Eren also wanted some form of reward from the city administration for his hard work, even when it wasnt done for his employer. He would never say no to free money and resources. Plus, the butcher had again struck rich with the hideouts treasury! And he also had a lot of study material, scrolls, books, and research papers regarding therianthropy and other misceneous information about the lost paths of magic. That alone would get sold for a fortune in the ck market. But Eren hadnt robbed these study materials to make bucks off of them. He genuinely wanted to study and learn this path and see if he could make better use of it using his demon beast. Ma left the inn right after she told the teammates to disperse. She was going to lead the team of E-Rankers. She would eventually find out the crime scene Eren had left for her to find. And then theyd return to LA. It was going to take another day for that to happen. During this day, Lensa came to meet the team members again. She wanted to talk with Eren more. But the butcher made some excuse and left the inn faster than he left his crime scene. ******************************* Ken, what did your family decide about Lensa? Almera asked Ken while they were making their way back to LA. They hadpleted their mission and found the cultists burned-to-cinders hideout. Ken sighed before replying: My family only sees profit in the mess I didnt even create willingly. They are more than happy for me to tie the knots with Lensa. Someone from my family will meet with the Carrens ande to a formal arrangement. For now, Lensa and I have both told our families that well be focusing on our studies. But if all goes well ording to our families ns, then an engagement will take ce within a year. We are both helpless. For now, weve decided to be friends. And deal with the issue of the engagement a year after that. Ken replied with stoic expressions. His face looked perfect when the energising rays of the dawn kissed his skin. It was as if a prince was riding to unknownnds with a cause greater than him and everyone he cared about. Isnt it great, Ken? I mean you got an elf for a fiance now. Well, almost a fiance. But she is pretty and seems cool to hang out with too. You have the luck of a protagonist my friend. Makes me envious. Hehe! Eren said while guiding his colt. Agatha was right behind him whereas Ken and Almera were on either side. This time, Ma was leading them from the front. Ken seemed to be touched by his friends words. He gave his signature smile to the one who had brought that mess on him before replying: You are right as always, Eren. And Lensa intends to make friends with you too, you know. She told me that you were all praises for me that day when she asked you about me. Thanks, man. I now know that you have my back. Oh yeah, Lensa told me that shede to meet us in LA sometime. We can find a nice girl for you too by then and go on double dates. Thatd be fun. Haha! Ken offered to be Erens wingman magnanimously. Eren could only smile mirthlessly at that. He didnt know what to say to the guy who he had cucked. Without the intention to do so in the beginning. Hehe! I hope you guys havent bought those strange elven ales in stock. Otherwise, things might go wilder than they didst time. Almeras tauntnded right on Ken who immediately had a sullen face hearing that. It seemed that he would not even go within a miles range of someone drinking the debuff potion of an ale. Eren and Maughed heartily at Almeras timely punch. But soon the atmosphere became serious when Almera asked the D-Ranker about their missions details. Adept Ma, what happened to the cultist hideout? And what did you find there? Ma furrowed her eyebrows after hearing the question directed at her. Then she took a deep breath before slowing down the speed of her colt. Ma had told her teammates that theyll talk about the missions results after they left the city of Silvermoon. And it was now time to fulfil that promise: ======================== AN: Thanks aidan_chambers and TrafalgarLaws for your gifts. Also, VEH will have two bonus chapters today for scoring 286+ GTs in such a small time. Hoping we would meet the coin target as well and have another bonus chapter release. ?? Chapter 161: Conspiracies

Chapter 161: Conspiracies

Ma had told her teammates that theyll talk about the missions results after they left the city of Silvermoon. And it was now time to fulfil that promise: So we finally found the cultist hideout, thanks to the clues given by Eren. but it seems we were toote. The ce was already in ruins by the time we got there. And Ma took some time before replying: And there was no cultist alive at the scene. We dont know who, someone who might or might not belong to another cultist organization, had raided the ce before us. And they didnt just stop at the raid. They also killed all the cultists present at the hideout. The scene would have been gory, to say the least by our preliminary investigations. But other than that, the citys historians are having a hard time getting anything else from the scene. They are saying theres some kind of residual mana collusion that is affecting their ss-specific spells. Thats why we dont know the identity of the person whomitted a massacre there. Or if he was with his team. Because this does not look like a one-man job. Thats right, babe. It was a three-person job. Eren said this in his head before raising a question to his master: Master Ma, why are you saying that theres a possibility that it might be another cultist organization that did the massacre? Wasnt Beast Bloods a cultist organization itself? Id imagine birds of the feather flock together. Ma looked at Eren as if only nowing to understand that he was, in fact, a teen. He had shocked her with his wits and intelligence so much that she had started to treat him as an adult. She chided herself for that before replying: Eren, you might see the cultists as normal rankers. But they are not. And they dont operate as normal rankers do. They have their own set of rules that are based on a certain ideology: survival of the fittest. We rankers also believe in that ideology. But we are not fanatics about it. But cultist organizations would never hesitate to lose an inch to win a mile. They dont care about the members of their organization. Do you think theyll care about others just because they are also cultists like them? Only profits and power are eternal in a cultist organization. They can easily make cooperative bonds within themselves depending upon the situation. And they can break them just as easily if and when theres profit involved in doing that. Sai Ma after looking first at Eren and then at Ken. Thetter also nodded his head after that, confirming to her that he had understood. But what benefits can a rival cultist gang have to raid the ce? And isnt this time too coincidental? Someone raided the ce just before it was discovered by us. Did they want us to find the ce in the exact condition we found it to be? Eren asked with confusion written all over his face. The butcher was just trying to dig into what information the investigation team had collected so far. Thats why he asked the question in that way. Eren, you are smart. But you dont know about how cultists work it seems. Ask Agatha when you have free time, shell tell you. Cultists only look for benefits. And theres a benefit involved in raiding other cultist organizations hideouts. We found the treasury that was looted from the ce. That could be the motive. Another could be that Beast Bloods itself wanted to get rid of some of their members for some reason. But its as you said. Some clues had been deliberately behind. We have alsoe to the same conclusion that the ones who destroyed this hideout wanted us to find out about it. The chase Eren was involved in might have been staged from the get-go. Maybe just to close the case on this for good. Ma concluded her statement and looked at Almera with a meaningful expression. Thetter couldnt help but blurt out suddenly: The city administration! Almera looked at the D-Ranker and thetter nodded at her before continuing: Thats right. Thats why I didnt want us to talk about this subject within the citys limits. Some of the close confidantes I have in the city of Silvermoons administration department think that this hideout was brought out in the light to close a case on something we are not aware of as of yet. Up till now, we had only suspected that someone in the citys administration is involved with the cultists. But this incident confirms it. Boy, I love me some conspiracies. They are the best covers for guys like me. I didnt even have to take much effort in nudging them in the right direction. Theyll be at each others throats without me even doing anything about it anymore. As long as my cover stays safe that is. Eren could finally take a breath of relief after hearing updates about histest missions from Ma. The part of the city administration that was loyal to the kingdom was suspecting the unknown force within it that had gone to the cultists side. And Eren was sure, Arizihana would think that this cull of cultists in the shadows was organized by the city administration itself. And she was kept out of the loop because it suspected her of betrayal. This seed of suspicion nted in the minds of people from both sides will allow Eren to keep his involvement under the wraps. At least thats what it looked like to him. Thats all fine, Adapt Ma. But what about our rewards? The scrooge in Eren finally spoke up. Agatha couldnt help but shake her head after hearing what her master had just said. The guy had just looted a hideout all to himself. And he was still seeking petty rewards. Oh, shush you miser boy. You will get them. In Merps of course. Wait till we get back to LA. Ma said and made her colt gallop ahead. The team was returning to where it came from. Chapter 162: Mon Cheri

Chapter 162: Mon Cheri

Why did you betray us? Arizihana Agnoth heard the question directed at her. She was at an underground facility and talking to a spectral image that was projected above an array eye. The question was asked by this spectral image that seemed to have a blurry and unrecognizable visual profile Ari was pissed by hearing the question directed at her. She gripped her swords hilt hard before replying: Me betraying you? I should be the one asking the same question to you. You told me you would initiate contact with me in a few days. And I was waiting for days on end. And suddenly I got the news that one of your hideouts has been found out. My payment is due and the ones who were going to do that just had to go down in cinders. How are you going topensate me for my promised payment plus this dy now? The spectral image was silent for a while before replying: The city of Silvermoon is up to something. Did any news leak from your end? Nope. Why would I jeopardize myself by telling anyone about anything rted to you guys? It seems I was wrong in listening to you. You were always going to stab me in the back, didnt you? The spectral shadow couldnt help but chuckle after hearing Aris response. It wasnt long before it pped back: Ari, my mon Cheri. Why would Beast Bloods betray you when it was just about to receive its biggest award from you? I think theres some misunderstanding between us. And its fine if you dont want to trust cultists. Because the cultists are the bad guys right? But cant you trust your lover in this? Aris anger was at its peak when she heard a hypocritical answer from that spectral shadow: Trust your lover? You were the one who started with why did you betray us?. And you are telling me I should trust you because we are in a rtionship. The spectral image took a long sigh before trying to pacify the woman who had been scorned: I was just testing you, Mon Cheri. Of course, I didnt mean that. I have a few responsibilities to my organization, you see. The ones that force me to ask such questions and be done with it. But you can trust me when I say that we didnt betray the deal we had from our end. Didnt betray you say. You didnt even tell me the side effects of the potion recipe you gave me to break into D-Rank. I would have died in a few years if it wasnt detected at this stage. Said Arizihana while taking long breaths. Her chest was rising and lowering rapidly, a testament to the kind of visible anger she felt towards the spectral image. The spectral image again went silent before saying mncholically: The bastards didnt tell me. They were nning to kill you with the deal and were using me as the medium. I mean, I knew the water was always murky with the cultists. But I didnt know that they could be so insidious as well. So youre telling me you didnt know about the potions side effects? No, Mon Cheri. Honest. Why would I let my beloved Ari go through the deal if I knew it was rigged from the beginning? Are you sure about the side effects though? Yes. Im sure. I checked with the citys finest healer and came to know about the same. Ari answered. She was still angry. But one could say that it was subsidising. Are you alright? The side effects are gone? The spectral image asked with concern. Ari just puffed her cheeks before answering: Im fine, no thanks to you. The side effects are still there. But theyll be gone in a few months. Nothing to worry about anymore. Not that you seem to care anyway. And how did youe to know about the potions side effects? Because they have to be extremely covert if I know my potioneering right. Ari gave the spectral shadow answer to her question while pacing about in underground ce: Yes, the side effects were going to stay hidden until thest moment. My mana circuit was going to erode slowly in the span of a few years before the by-then unstabilized core imploded. Some Eren kid guessed the side effects, can you believe it? I wonder what that tells you about your potioneering skills? Ari then told the apparent potioneer about the events that came to pass after she met Erens team. The spectral image couldnt help but conclude what it had on its mind after hearing it got from Ari. Eren Idril, huh? The kid must be a prodigy in potioneering for him to detect the side effects even I couldnt foresee. That and his background of working under a C-Rank healer must have helped him. Anyway. The kid is not important. Tell me more about our darling Ma. Hehe! Im sure she must be missing me a lot. She is. But that wont stop her from cutting you in half if you go in front of her. What are we even going to do about her? Ari asked with a hint of worry. The spectral shadow seemed to have flicked before replying: Well, its not like I didnt try to get her to my side. Only you could understand me and my plight. But she didnt even make an effort to do so. To be honest, even Im clueless about how we should deal with Ma. Well need to meet in person to decide something like this. Plus, I havent had the pleasure to embrace you in a long time now. This should serve as a good reason. Hehe! Oh? Now you need a reason to spend time with me? Wow! I should just spank your ass the next time we meet. Unlike you, I dont need a reason to do that, you see. Ari let go of her swords hilt and folded her hands under her bosom before replying. One could see that her anger had faded into nothingness at this point. What she was disying right now was only a tantrum. The spectral image chuckled and took a sigh before voicing its next concern: It seems the side effects are nothing to worry about if you are this dandy about our next rendezvous. Ill dly offer my plush ass for you to spank, hehe. And dont worry, Mon Cheri. Well have our revenge on the Beast Bloods. We were nning to run from the Edinburgh kingdom anyway. Ill just fu*k with the cultists too if thats how they want to y it. But not right now. They still have something I want. So listen to me one more time. Well y it cool. For now, lets keep things strictly professional. Ill tell you about my nster on when the next time I contact you. Thats it for now, Mon Cheri. Take care and see you soon. Said the spectral before disappearing soon after. Ari sighed after seeing the shadow of the person she loved disappearing on her without even giving her a chance to say goodbye. From the looks of things, it didnt look like she was experiencing this frustration for the first time. Long-distance rtionships were hard. Ari could attest to that. She left soon after that and the underground area was engulfed by darkness. Eren didnt know that he had changed the fate of a lot of people along with the city of Silvermoon by his violent actions. And its not like the butcher would have cared even if he did! ===================== AN: Just in case one doesnt know. Mon Cheri is an endearing term in French, which means my dear. Chapter 163: [Bonus Chapter] Simmering Sienna Up

Chapter 163: [Bonus Chapter] Simmering Sienna Up

At the border check post of LA grounds, a pair of students could be seen engaged in a fast-paced duel. They were both exceptionally skilled for their ages and ranks. But the one who was observing and guiding them didnt seem too impressed. Ken, this is thest time Im warning you. Dont pull your punches when you see an opening. Eren is more skilled than you when ites to countering the attacks. Hell be able to take your hits. And Eren, I think youve gotten very skilled in using the arts I taught you in such a short span. But you seem heavily dependent on your response speed and leave some openings. Adopt a stance such that you dont have to wait for a counter. Even if you are baiting your opponent into it, using the same trick twice wont work on the same opponent. Ill include some stances and positions for you to practice your bodys bnce with. Youll have to incorporate them into your daily routine. You too Ken. Your daily routine will change along with Eren. I want to see the improvements I just mentioned in your next duel. Now take a rest for a few minutes. You guys are on border patrol duty today. Said Ma and left her two apprentices to their devices. She had finished her work. Now it was time for her to savour the ale that she had brought from the city of Silvermoon. It had been a few days since Erens team was back on the academys grounds. The Frostfoam was the reason the boys were left with a lighter workout. Otherwise, it would have been much worse than their current exhausted condition. Eren and Ken shed mirthless grins at each other after they were allowed to stop their duels. The duo was just about themence their border patrol when they heard a voice from behind them: Ken! Ken Riverine. Please wait up. Eren and Ken both turned simultaneously and saw a vivacious girl heading their way. She had red eyes and ck hair. Her face was sleek and her figure was slender and tall. Yet she had curves where they mattered the most. The girls skin was clear and had a rosy tinge. And her clothes were all kinds of expensive. Ken seemed to have recognised the girl and he gave her a weing smile. Eren on the other hand tried his hardest to control his killing intent. This was because she was none other than Sienna Slughorn. You meanie. I told you I need to learn martial arts from you. You even promised me that youd provide me with some guidance. But then you just had to go ahead and go out on a mission. I could have used your help to improve my ranking, you know. Siennained as soon as she caught up with Ken. Thetter couldnt help but chuckle before replying: Hahaha! I couldnt help it. Master Ma had a mission for us. We had to go do a few things in the city of Silvermoon. But Im back now. I can probably give you a few pointers tomorrow. At this time and ce. Sienna shed her million Eddies smile after hearing her sugar daddys reply. She was about to enjoy her small victory and nudge the white knight into interacting more with her. But a spoiler came from behind, barging into the duos conversation with a carefree attitude. He patted Kens shoulder before replying loudly: Look at this guy. Cant hide his joy after all. Telling everyone he had done a few things at the city of Silvermoon. Hehe! I wouldnt belittle them like this, my man. Eren looked at Sienna and grinned at her. She could see the guy seemed happy about his friends achievements, whatever they might be. But there was something about his smile that irked her. She couldnt help but ask the intruder what he was talking about: Hello. Names Sienna Slughorn. You seem to be Eren Idril, the guy Ken often talks about. A pleasure to finally meet you. Oh, hello Miss Sienna. Who doesnt know the scion from the Slughorn householding to LA? Hehe! Pleasures all mine. Um Eren, can you tell me what you meant when you said Ken was belittling his achievements? I know he often does that. Thats why I never get straight answers from him. So Id like it if you could shed some light on that if you dont mind. Sienna said while pinching Kens arm. She tried to act all cosy. But one could say that Ken seemed a little ufortable interacting with her now. That was starting to irk Sienna even more. She felt that there was something wrong with her approach to catch Ken in her. It wasnt working as effectively as it used to be. Oh, so you dont know? I had heard that you guys were good friends. So I assumed that you would be kept in the loop. But it seems that my man Ken is too shy to say the kind of stunt he had pulled in the city. Hehe! Who can me him anyway. Eren slipped a subtle meaning that Sienna wasnt trusted by Ken anymore to share his secrets with. And the meaningnded right on its intended spot. Sienna furrowed her brows. Then she smiled awkwardly before retorting: Hehe! What can I say? Ken is just a tight-lipped fellow you see. Oh, he wasnt so tight-lipped when he was in the city Silvermoon. His lips were all over the ce on someone. At least I assume they were. My man here has now started living his life to the fullest, Id say! Eren said that and gave a meaningful pat on Kens back before chuckling slyly. Thetter just scratched his head before smiling awkwardly in response. Sienna had a grim foreboding after looking at the boys interaction. It was the kind of interaction she had seen guys do when they had some good times with their dates. What do you mean, Eren? State things. One could hear a tinge of irritation in Siennas voice no matter how skillfully she tried to make it. But Eren didnt mind. He was enjoying the reaction. The girls face was changing colours as she subconsciously understood what must have happened with Ken. The butcher decided to hammer the final nail in the coffin with his joyous statement: Youd be surprised after hearing Sienna. Kens luck is too awesome, to say the least. My man now has a beautiful elf fiance. Hehe! Said Eren and nted a punch at Kens stomach lightly. Then he saw Siennas reaction with the corner of his eyes. ====================== AN: Siennas visual profile image would soon be uploaded on VEH Discord. Chapter 164: Raising a Ranger

Chapter 164: Raising a Ranger

Youd be surprised after hearing this Sienna. Kens luck is too awesome, to say the least. My man now has a beautiful elf fiance. Hehe! Said Eren and nted a punch at Kens stomach lightly. Then he saw Siennas reaction with the corner of his eyes. And he wasnt disappointed with what he saw. The rosy tint on Siennas face was reced with pale countenance before the redness came back again. But this new shade of red wasnt an indication of her charm. But rather than of the anger that was bubbling inside her. Ken, what does this guy mean? Sienna asked Ken loudly. Ken made a weird face at her reaction but then he shrugged it off and told her everything. Of course, Eren spiced things up than what was necessary and thoroughly enjoyed another pay-per-view he was craving to see. Sienna left abruptly. Ken wanted to follow her but Eren held him back, saying they had border patrol to finish. The guy couldnt help leaving Sienna to her devices on the advice of someone who was the mastermind behind his misfortune turned into a fortune. Eren wanted to burn the bitch up on a stake for what she did to him in the previous timeline. But he knew now was not the time. And death would be an easy release. He wanted her to keep on living in anger, agony and everything in between, the same way he had lived in his past life. But his ns on the bitch had to be put on a halt. He had too many things to do in his hands these days. The duo soonpleted their task and was back at the check post in the early evening. They were only required to patrol a limited area after all. Someone was waiting on Eren and Ken when they were about to part ways. Good job, boys. Open up your ID stone interfaces. Ill update your daily routine on Adept Mas behalf. Eren and Ken looked at each other weirdly but they followed Almeras orders. But not without Eren asking thetter about the D-Rankers whereabouts. *Sigh. She ODd on the Froastfoam and now shivering inside her room. Thats why I had to take special privileges from her to update your routine. Eren had beads of sweat after looking at the updated daily routine. He was just beginning to getfortable with his current schedule. But this progressive overload of exercise along with newly added stance practices made things difficult for him again. Ken wasnt in better condition either. But Eren knew the white knights chiselled body was capable of handling any exercise Ma could throw his way. That is enough for the day. You can leave it theres nothing else. And dont ck off. We might need to go on a few missions sooner than you think. Ken nodded at Almera, patted Eren back and left on his own. But the butcher stayed behind. He wanted to try his luck and request something from Almera. What is it, Eren? Oh, its nothing Ace Almera. I was just wondering if you can teach the in and outs or ranger to one of my friends. Eren was talking about Renita Diabreo of course. The girl needed serious training in her ss that wasnt limited tobat abilities. He wanted her to be proficient in the nonbat expertise of a ranger and there was only one way to do it. Make her learn from a good ranger. A ranger like Almera. Eren had seen her ranger capabilities when they were on their first mission together. He was very satisfied with the way the ranger performed. Renita used mana guns while Almera used crossbows. So there wasnt much the former could pick up from thetter. But Eren felt that his rangers battle capabilities were up to par for her as of now and they didnt need much refining. But Renita could use some help from someone like Almera when ites to nonbat skills. Hm? Do you want me to teach one of your party members about the path of a ranger? But Eren Almera tried to get out of the additional responsibility heading her way. But Eren used his glib tongue again and influenced her to take Renita as her unofficial apprentice. This was not without a cost. Almera asked Eren for a hefty amount of Merps as a one-time payment. Which thetter did begrudgingly from the outside. But he wasughing on the inside from experiencing how cheap it was. Of course, Eren wasnt doing this to help his teammate but himself. He knew the importance of having a good ranger in the team. So he was investing in his future so he doesnt end up with the same fate Isaacs party had to face. The second reason Eren did that was to get Renita off his back. The girl had lowered her persistence to learn from him. But she would follow and keep track of his movements nheless whenever he was around. That bothered Eren a bit. Almera told Eren that he should ask Renita to meet her. Theyll decide on their schedule separately. And since it wasnt approved by LA, theyll have to use their personal time to do so without benefits from the academy supporting them. ******************************** So youll have to meet up with Ace Almera and shell help you polish your ranger skills. Eren held a meeting of his team the next day. The inter-year battle was soon going to be upon them. They needed thorough preparations just to not lose pathetically. At least almost all the first-year students were seeing it this way. Erens party members were no different. They were also tense about the uing event. Because the second-year students had be active these days. This ranking war was going to be a treat for them. Second-year students would never be happy with the minimum betting amount. So they would approach their junior opponents as soon as the battle was established. They would then demand a sky-high betting amount. This was a protection tax the second-year students called it. If the first-year students agreed, theyll not be beaten up as badly as they might be if they didnt pay the protection tax. But that was not all. The first-year students would then be targeted by the second-year students that fought them overtly or covertly just so that they would have a rematch. And the rematch condition was the same as the previous condition: sky-high betting amount. Thats why Eren had said that it was better for his party members if they get apprenticed under an Adept. The bullying would decrease a lot if you had someone standing behind you, even if only in name. Chapter 165: Opponents Turning Allies

Chapter 165: Opponents Turning Allies

Eren briefed Renita about the arrangement he had made for her with Ace Almera. The girl was very impressed with him as a result, thinking to herself that the guy cared for her in his own way even when he acted recluse. Renita agreed to Erens arrangement without a seconds thought. She had meant it when she said shed follow his advice to a T. Eren also breathed a sigh of relief knowing that most of the girls free time would now be spent on her ss-specific training instead of following him that borderline on stalking. Eren wished to do the same with all the other members of his team. Jake needed a tank to show him that sometimes having one versatile spell in ones arsenal wasnt enough. Steve needed a capable berserker to tell him doubting his strength was the worst thing a ranker like him could do. And Becky needed a fine-tuning in controlling her mana consumption. Ana and Bel had officially started their ranking journey, thanks to Erens aid. The butcher had provided them with the tried-and-tested potions to help them breakthrough into F-Rank safely after he returned from his mission. Things were sorted with Ana. She was already working as an apprentice under a D-Rank healer in one of the academys infirmaries. Eren didnt need to worry about her. Bel was also self-sufficient in his ss-specific skills. But the guy neededbat training. He waspletely opposite to Renita in this regard. Eren was guiding his team members as he always did at their usual ce when he heard a voice from behind him. Yo. Steve and the cunning asshole Eren. Whats up? Eren furrowed his brow when he heard that. He was cunning, he knew that. But he hadnt shown his assholiess to anybody yet. And he certainly didnt permit anyone to spit facts about him. So he looked behind him. And saw Rons Raidersing towards his team. The other members White Raven were sent on the edge after it saw the opponents team led by its dual berserkers- Ron and Dino. You bastard, Dino. What do you mean by cunning Steve, calm down. Im sure our friends didnt mean it in that way. Lets talk with them. The rest of you guys, stay here. Eren calmed Steve down before things went out of control. The skirmishes needed to happen inside the battlegrounds. The ones that happened outside the battlegrounds would be heavily penalized by the academy. The scrooge in Eren always thought about his Merps before he let his other emotions take over. A calm-looking Eren and a pissed-off-looking Steve headed to their ex-opponents. The former had told his team to stay behind and they had obliged. Ron also ordered his team to halt at a distance before marching forward with Dino in tow. The two pairs met in the middle. And had a brief staring content. It was Ron who broke the silence first: Eren Idril, how are you? Dont pay attention to this loudmouth. He is still salty about his loss at your hands. Oh, Im fine, Ron. Thanks for asking. And I certainly dont mind a dog that barks. You know what they say about barking dogs right? Eren smirked at Ron without paying any heed to Dino who was looking at him menacingly. The butcher would normally ignore the jeers thrown his way. But something told him the opposite team hade here to negotiate. The first rule of negotiation was never to appear as the weaker side. You damn rat. You had gotten lucky that day. And our teammates were shi Dino, shut the fu*ck up before I lose my cool here. We are here to talk business. Not settle the old scores. Nows not the time. Eren had a chuckle after he heard Rons statement. It looked like he was confronting Dino and criticising him for his impolite actions. But Eren could see that Ron was just as pissed about his loss as Dino, if not more. He just didnt let it cloud his judgement. Eren, wevee here on an important business. Lets keep any differences we have on the sidelines. And make a truce. You know why we are suggesting this, right? The inter-year ranking wars. Eren didnt waste time dragging the conversation. He had already figured out why these dual berserkers hade to him. Ron nodded his head before continuing: Thats right. The inter-year ranking wars are always a lose-lose situation for first-year students. And almost nobody can get away from it, no matter how strong their background or battle prowess was. But what if we join hands together to go through this situation? Ron tucked his hands inside his trousers pockets and waited for Erens reply. Something told him the guy who had beat him fair and square knew what he was talking about. You mean forming two teams out of the team White Raven Crew and Rons Raiders. One team would be geared towards absolute loss. While the other would have a fighting chance to win their ranking war. Correct me if Im wrong of course. Said Eren and looked at the remaining members of Rons Raiders standing behind Rons back. The odds still didnt look promising to him even if they were to apply this tried and tested method of first-years. *Sigh. Dino was not wrong about the cunning part he said about you. Thats right. Lets break our teams temporarily for this inter-year ranking war and minimize our losses. What do you say? Ron sent the ball in Erens court after that. By now he had realized that Eren held a very important position in the White Raven Crew. he wasnt sure about Steves standing so he preferred talking to the closebat expert for now. Well, the idea is not bad. Its tempting even. But well only agree to co-operate with you under one condition. Eren said and looked at Steve. But now the berserker had gotten used to acting like a silent leader. So he folded his hands and waited for the real leader of the team to make a deal with the potential allies. All he had to do now was look stoic and act like he knew what Eren was talking about. And what is this condition you speak of? Ron raised his brows and asked that. He had an inkling that Erens condition wasnt going to be in his teams interest. Chapter 166: Unfair Split

Chapter 166: Unfair Split

And what is this condition you speak of? Ron raised his brows and asked that. He had an inkling that Erens condition wasnt going to be in his teams best interest. We want a 70:30 split in our favour. Said Eren with a straight face. Dino opened his eyes wide in surprise while Ron looked like he was shocked to silence. I told you Ron, this guys nuts. We dont need him for anything. I say we What did I tell you? But! .. Al alright. Ill just zip it. Ron finally silenced loudmouth Dino with his nk face and sharp gaze. Then he looked at Eren with the same intensity before replying: Eren, we want to be in alliance with you. Not turn into your ves, you know. Surely, we cane to a mutual understanding. But theres nothing mutual about that split. Eren didnt budge an inch and pressed on: It can be mutual if we consider who brings the most benefit to the alliance. Eren, I agree that your battle prowess is exceptional. But its still not much against the second-year students topletely dominate them. Even we Ron wanted to talk some more but was interrupted by Eren with his next statement: Im not talking about my battle powers. And I know that you know what Im talking about as well. Eren looked straight into Rons eyes after he said that. Thetter understood what he was talking about and sighed. Only Steve was confused about what Eren was implying. He asked Eren by opening a private audio channel with him. Eren, what are you guys talking about? Battle passes, Steve. They want me to use my battle passes in the inter-year war and benefit from them. The ones that I havent disclosed till now. Only then did the realization dawn on Steve. The battle passes. The perks and advantages the first-year students would receive by winning the intra-ss and inter-ss battles with exceptional performances. The top-tier first-year students who had won the battle passes would only use them in the inter-year ranking wars to tilt the match in their favour. This was how the first-year students had been given a fighting chance to score a win against second-year students. If they could pull this off of course. Ron knew that Eren must have won a good battle pass because of the performance he disyed against them. The cunning berserker thought that he should gain some advantage out of his loss. 60:40 in your favour. Thats my bottom line. Ron said and clenched his fist. He wouldnt be here if it wasnt for the battle pass. He knew that some exceptional battle passes gave the first-year students the advantage they needed to bulldoze over the second-year students. The price for winning against the second-year squad was extremely tempting. The sheer amount of Merps the second-year had to pay was one thing. Thats because the second-year students would have to pay at least ten times the betting amount if they lost against first-years. And that multiplier would go higher if it was pre-nned before the starting of the match. But the Merps payload was not the only thing. LA also offered attractive rewards that could only be gained by winning these matches. Theres no such thing as a bottom line, Ron. its just in your head. Youlle to realize this if you live long enough. Anyway, A 65:35 in our favour. And let me tell you one thing before you decide to refuse this offer. It certainly aint our bottom line, if you know what I mean. Said Eren seriously and folded his hands. Steve also subconsciously decided to follow the butchers lead and folded his hands as well. Then he resumed his previous position, thinking that he would look like a copycat if he were to follow everything Eren does. Ron understood what Eren meant when he said this wasnt his bottom line. Eren was going to say something deal-breaking if he didnt take his offer now. Ron realized that they were the weaker side in the negotiation. Eren had at least two battle passes that he knew of while they had only one. Technically, Erens team had more leverage to ally with any other team, which might dly ept his absurd split after thinking about the potential reward. Ron clenched his lips under his teeth before finally nodding. Dino wanted to say something at that point but Ron kept his index finger over his lips, shushing the loudmouth. Then he looked at Eren again and said: Now that you have your way, can we finally get back to the alliance formation? I suggest our team A should be There seems to be some misunderstanding, Ron. Ill tell you how we are going to split our teams. And youll have to follow my suggestions to a T. And why would I do that? Ron asked with suppressed anger. He was going to lose it talking to this cunning asshole. Because I know my passes. Lets just say one of them would only be effective when it is used with the split Ill be suggesting. Then tell me about your battle pass first. Hahaha! You are funny, Ron. Ill give you that. That was a good one. Why dont you tell me which battle pass youve received first? Ron sighed before shaking his head. He was just trying his luck here. He knew the first-year students would never dere which battle passes they received until the moment they used it. This was done to prevent any leak from taking ce and opponents taking countermeasures against those passes. Eren was confident Ron would budge from his position. That was because he had more battle passes than them. The edge he would bring to the alliance could not be scoffed at. And his predictions were on point. Alright. The split will take ce as per your suggestions as well. Now tell us your strategy. Said Ron after dropping his shoulders. Then he called his teammates over. Eren and Steve also did the same. It was time the alliance decided how it was going to score big in the uing inter-year ranking war. Chapter 167: Inter-Year Ranking War

Chapter 167: Inter-Year Ranking War

Next match in the inter-year ranking war. The Ravens of first-year students vs the Roodys Wreckers. The match will start in five minutes. The referee announced while standing in the middle of the battle ring and then retreated to his original position. Today was the second day of the inter-year ranking war. Thepulsory matches were going to get held for a few more days. And this match was one of them. The Ravens was the name of the party that had first-year students. Eren was one of them and Renita was the other. The rest of the teammates were taken from Rons Raiders. They were Ron, Dino, and the earth-element tank that Eren had trashed in the previous match. Erens team only had one line of defence. The tank. Something to fall back on in case they need a breather. The rest of the team members were all fighters. The team was akin to a giant ball of kamikaze attack. Roody Ortons team also contained five members including him. But his team looked more bnced than what the first-year students hade up with. All his members also looked more intimidating than the first-year newbies because of the subtle mana signatures they released out in the open. All of the members of Roodys team were in the liquid stage of the F-Rank. And all of their BTP values had crossed the mark of 20. That meant individually, the second years were superior to the first-year students. That meant, Erens team could only depend on the team y. They couldnt carry out individual raids. The butcher didnt like that but he had alreadymitted. And he was enough to y by the books when it suited him. The five minutes were up quickly. And the teams were called into the battle ring they were assigned to. Do you have anything to dere? The referee asked formally both the team leaders. Eren was assigned as the leader of his team. He came forward before stating out loud to the referee and his opponent team: Roody Orton, a word. Roody came forward uncaringly. He was intending to talk with the first-years anyway. He verbally shot forth as soon as Eren stood right in front of him: Eren, is it? Ive heard from you. Lightning element closebat expert. Werent those three your opponents in the inter-ss war? Yepp. What about it? Hehe! Nothing. It just means you guys understand your situation better. So, what were you going to talk about? I have a few things of my own to add as well. Lets just get this over with. Roody said after he looked at the referee. The match was a foregone conclusion ording to him. So he didnt want to waste much time on it. Id like to discuss the betting amount. Roody acted like he expected this from Eren. He smiled before saying: Eren, you already know what the standard rate is these days. The second-year students dont go below 15000 Merps as their betting amount. The most I can do is make it 12K. Well, I dont care about the so-called standard rate. I wish to change the betting amount. Said Eren with a stoic expression. Ron had creases on his forehead after he heard that. These first-year students wont learn the situation they are in. Thought Roody before replying with equally stoic countenance: Listen here, brat. Ive tried to be nice. You cant go below 12K and that is something you cant negotiate on. Otherwise, you know the consequences. Oh! It seems theres a bit of misunderstanding. Who said anything about lowering the prices? Said Eren with puzzled expressions. Roody thought for a while before replying: You wish to ept the standard rate? No. I want to go beyond that. 30,000 Merps! Roody had nk expressions on his face. Ron and Dinos expressions werent too different either. It took a while for Orton Jr. to confirm what he just heard: You mean, you wish to bet 30K Merps on a single match? How loaded are you and why do you wish to lose all that wealth in one go? Second-year students can go hard on you guys. But thats just how the academy works. You dont have to bend it backwards for us, you know. Roody thought that the guy was just scared of the second-year students bullying. So he tried to console him. But Eren didnt give him much time. Oh, we are not nning to lose here. Are you on board with the betting amount or not? Eren said and smiled at Roody. Thetter smiled mirthlessly after hearing his young opponents ns. I might have underestimated the delusion thates from winning a few matches in the first year against other first-years. Who am I kidding? I was like this guy as well when I was in the first year. Ill just make him realize the difference in our strength even when the average difference in our BTP values is no more than three digits. Thought Roody to himself before agreeing to Erens offer. There was no point in talking with the first-year delusional lunatic anymore. Eren smiled wholeheartedly after getting Roody on board. He called forth the referee and updated him about the new betting amount. The referee thought that it was the second-year student who was bullying the first-year students into submissions. He tried to talk Eren out of this deal. But thetter assured him that the proposed betting amount was something he had asked from Roody. Not the other way around. The referee of course didnt believe him. But this time he didnt argue and just approved the updated amount. But this was not all Eren had to say: We wish to use a battle pass on Roodys Wreckers. Roody raised his eyebrows after hearing that. He was expecting this to happen. Since the guy was so confident about the sky-high betting amount, Roody thought that Eren must have had a good trick up his sleeve for him to act this way. ========================= AN: Roody Orton is first introduced in chapter 73. He has also made a few sporadic appearances in chapters after that. Chapter 168: [Bonus Chapter]Keep One Out

Chapter 168: [Bonus Chapter]Keep One Out

We wish to use a battle pass on Roodys Wreckers. Roody was curious about the battle pass Eren was going to use on them. He was hoping it wouldnt be too detrimental to his team, making him score a pyrrhic victory. But he never once thought that a single battle pass would be enough to bridge the gap between the battle potentials of first and second-year students. s, Roody was in for a rude awakening. Because he could only maintain his thoughts of dominating first-years until he got to know Erens battle pass. Eren Idril is using his self-earned battle pass Keep One Out. He can make anyone team member of his opponent team leave the match. The Rons Wreckers will have to fight with only four members in this match. Eren Idril, choose the student you wish from the opponent team to get dropped out of the match. Eren smiled devilishly at Roody after he heard the referees confirmation. Fu*ck! Eren, listen here I wish Roody Orton to sit this match out. Eren didnt let Roody continue his statement and dered his wish to make the enemy captain abandon his team. He already knew that Roody was the most capable ranker in his team. Plus, theck of leadership would send his team into disarray. Roody looked hatefully at Eren but thetter didnt take back his decision. He had no choice but to leave the battle area. But not before telling his team members a few strategies he came up with within that short amount of time. Eren and Renita had practised a little with the dual berserkers and their tank Sharmin for a few days before the start of the inter-year ranking war. They hade up with some simple tactics that they could use to make maximum use of their DPS-centric team formation. Roodys Wreckers was wrecked from the get-go because of the absence of their leader. But it wasnt like the team members had bepletely useless. They still had higher BTP values backing each of them up. And their experiences in LA had also trained them for various scenarios in ranking wars. Roodys Wreckers had a rogue, a mage, a healer, and a tank in their team. Roody was their berserker, someone who took care of their mid-range attacks. Something they were missing because of him dropping out. A rogue was akin to a closebat expert. But theyd use crafty tricks in their attacks to sneak behind their enemies. Unlike the closebat experts, they wont engage with their opponent in a frontal assault. The rogue in the Roodys Wreckers had an affinity with the derived element of fog. That alone with his element-specific spells allowed the guy to generate and control a dense amount of fog in his surroundings. The referee started the countdown. And soon a bell rang in the surrounding area, indicating the start of the match. Eren knew the battle was not going to be won over easily just because he had used the battle pass. He never underestimated his opponents. But his OCD-ish behaviour kicked in for real when he knew the opponent this time was superior to him in BTP value. As soon as the ring was heard, Erenunched him towards the rogue. Thetter also had the same idea it seemed. Because his spells and fighting style made it difficult for his team members to help him. Eren was not alone. He was apanied by Renita. He had told the dual berserkers and their tank to hold the fort while he took care of the rogue. If left unchecked, the rogue had the potential to tilt the scales in the enemys favour with his sneak attacks at crucial times. Erens team needed to take care of him first. Boy, you seem pretty confident in fighting it out with a second-year. You at least have guts. But sometimes they are not everything, you know. Hahaha! Eren kept quiet at the opponents remark as they were about to sh. He didnt like to use talk-talk techniques to engage with his opponents. That was reserved for either before the battle to incite them. Or after it when he won over them to rub salt over their wounds. Sedated Perception was activated by Eren as soon as the fog started building up in the surroundings with the rogue being at its epicentre. He wasnt taking any chances to watch how the enemy reacted. The pre-emptive strike was his favourite move anyway. The rogue could only see Eren disappearing in the white fog he had created with his spell. But he only smiled devilishly after he saw that move. In the domain of fog, only his opponents could go blind. Not him. Thats because the rogues spell also acted as an extra sense for him to know the precise location of his opponent within the domain of fog. It would also interfere with the opponents mana sense and make it almost impossible for them to know his location. In a way, the rogues spell and his element was a perfect counter to Erens Sedated Perception. The butcher still had exceptional speed and reflexes due to his spell and ss. But he couldnt make the best use of them in the domain of fog. Eren vanished from the rogues sight but found himself getting surrounded by his opponents fog. His mana sense was also sending him mixed signals so he retracted it to avoid confusion. Damn it. How do I search the fuc*ker in this blinding fog. Eren took his two katars out and ran Blitz Bolt through them. He was ready for the opponents strike. He thought that maybe he had used Sedated Perception hastily without understanding the enemys battle strategy. What if he decides to draw out the match? Or if he leaves the domain of fog while Eren is inside waiting on him to attack? Eren started doubting his moves when he heard a familiar yet not-so-familiar voice in his head: Enemy iing. 4 O clock. The gem has talked again. ============================ AN: This bonus chapter is released in advance because VEH is going to receive another set of 100 GTs. ?? DPS means Damage Per Second. The term is used when a characters build or ss focuses more on increasing the potency of their attacks than on defence. Chapter 169: Nasal Mutilation

Chapter 169: Nasal Muttion

Enemy iing. 4 O clock. The gem has talked again. This time to warn him of iing danger heading his way. Thanks. Eren could onlye up with a simple reply because he had a rogue on his tail now. The Sedated Perception was still active. Yet the fog release was unnaturally fast. Erens time-element spell barely gave him the advantage to prepare for the counterattack. But the gems intervention was timely. It allowed Eren to narrow down his area to focus on and make full use of his time-element spell. Eren informed Renita that came with him to stay at a certain point within the domain of fog and wait for him there. The ranger wanted to ask him how they were going to locate each other in this situation after they separated but Erens look told her that his orders werent disputable. She sighed and followed Erens directions and disappeared in the fog. The rogue seemingly appeared out of nowhere as soon as Renita was gone. He thought that he had caught Eren off guard with his spell. But he was shocked to see that Eren was staring right at him when he showed himself. The rogue still had his share of battle experiences and his higher BTP value. Plus, he was akin to a ruler in his domain of fog. So he tried to find a chink in Erens defence by heading straight at him. Eren was already prepared. His sense of time was different from that of his opponent. So he was paying close attention to the enemys moves. A rogueing straight at him only meant one thing. He had another insidious trick he could use on him. Eren was right. The rogue had drawn out a whip artefact from his storage. But instead of the attached rope, it was now generating strings of fog that almost looked tangible. Eren didnt want the rogue to use that artefact on him. He had already started his attack with thebo of Blitz Bolt and Blitz Steps with Sedated Perception in the backdrop. All the enemy could see was a few tongues of lightning making their presence known every once in a while when Eren attacked him. But thanks to the fogs skewed perception, the rogue was barely able to defend himself from Erens attack. Eren knew time was of the essence. If he kept on fighting with this for longer than necessary, his team was going to lose. Thats why he thought of using an AoE right after he finished executing the Blitz Bolt through his katars. But his opponent was too smart to stay at the same ce in his domain of fog. He retreated into an unknown direction. And his retreat was covered by an even dense release of fog that interfered with Erens senses. The rogue had beads of sweat on his head after he saw the ferocity with which Eren fought. That too when he had odds set against him. The rogue was sure things would have be more difficult if he hadnt won this spell in the auction event and used it here against the butcher. The rogue was trying toe up with new strategies while he took a breather, thinking Eren would be busy finding him and assuming a defensive stance. Unfortunately, his opponent didnt wait for him to finish his preparations. Eren wouldnt have found out his opponents location if it wasnt for the gem. It told him exactly where the rogue was busy plotting things, hiding behind a smokescreen. The butcher didnt waste time. He executed Blitz Storm as soon as the opponent was within the AoE spells range. Executing an AoE on a single opponent was usually considered wasteful. But for this situation, Eren thought otherwise. The Blitz Storm lit up the fog and it gave off the impression that the raging rainy clouds had descended on the ground. But Eren wasnt admiring the little wonder he created with his spell. He was focused on his next move. The Blitz Storm finally caught the rogue off guard. The tongues of lightning descended on him. He was just a few moments away from coating himself with a denseyer of fog that would have lightened the attacks effect. But unlike him, Eren was more decisive with his attacks. He took advantage of the fact that the rogue was stunned because of being hit by the Blitz Strom and executed Blitz Steps. Eren got close to the rogue, ran Blitz Bolt at full power through his katars and swung one of them in front of the opponents face while he defended the whip attack with the other. Eren knew the whips swing was weak and only done to scare him. Yet he still defended himself from that attack. Because he knew the element of fog was special. It held the power to interfere with his senses. He didnt want to get stunned as well while he was in the process of attacking the rogue. The katars swing was lethal. It chopped off the tip of the rogues nose. Eren disabled the Sedated Perception after that. His job was almost done. Haha! I cut off your ego along with your nose. How does it feel, Mr. rogue. The rogue looked hatefully at Eren as held his nose. He was pissed by the guys savage way of attack-and-retreat. He immediatelyunched himself towards Eren, a dense cloud of fog surging behind him that attested to the anger he felt. Eren turned back and bolted. He was now chased by the rogue within the domain of the fog. He didnt forget to taunt him some more while he did that: Why arent you speaking now, Mr. rogue? You were so chatty Cathy before. Cat got your tongue? Or perhaps your nose? Haha! Eren jeered him some more as he ran off in a certain direction. Where is she? Eren asked the gem. He was counting on the gems help to pull this move. Thankfully, the gem didnt disappoint and told him what he wanted to hear: Shes 10 Oclock from your position. Contact in next 10 seconds. Chapter 170: Eren & Renita’s Teamplay

Chapter 170: Eren & Renitas Teamy

Shes 10 Oclock from your position. Contact in next 10 seconds. Eren smiled after he heard that. Why do you always talk to me when Im in the midst of a battle? Not that Imining. Anyway, Thanks again. Said Eren and bolted to the direction the gem pointed him. With the rogue chasing right behind him. He was mostly uninjured except for his nose. And he was pissed on Eren for cutting his nose. It was a humiliating act no ranker would perform on the other. In his rage, the rogue had forgotten that Eren was not the only one that had entered his domain of fog. Eren purposefully fell behind to let the rogue catch up to him. Once he was within his range, the butcher executed Blitz Storm once again. This time the rogue was ready. He coated his body in a denseyer of tangible fog just before the wild streams of lightning hit him. It didnt do much damage to him like thest time. It only hindered his march and froze him in his tracks. But that was what Eren was aiming for anyway. He bolted in a different direction while shouting at seemingly nobody: Renita, now! Renita came out of the fog with both her guns pointed straight at the rogue. She fired at him without wasting a moment as soon as she turned visible. Ah, fu*ck! This bit*ch was hiding here. The rogue could only have the spare time to think about this thought before his torso was riddled with mana bullets. The mana bullets whizzed through the air andnded right on the stunned rogues chest and stomach. Renita had purposefully missed the vital spots. Renitas bullets were meant for long-range attacks. So when she fired from mid-range that borderline on being close-range, the impact each of the rightlynded bullets generated was not something to be taken lightly of. The rogues body was shaken and pushed back with each bullet hitting him. But that was not all. Eren followed that attack with his Blitz Storm once again. The butcher thought that he wascking in mid-range spells that targeted an individual at that time. Eren had used the spell to keep a safe distance from the guy. He knew his attacks wont be as effective as he wanted them to be. And dragging the match by engaging with the guy was going to be detrimental to him even if he came out on top in the duel. The Blitz Storm was executed for its stun effect. Not for Eren to get close to the guy. But for Renita. The ranger made her mana guns disappear into thin air. She too had an AoE spell of her own. One that made Eren almost lose his first match with her. But Renita needed time to execute that spell. And that time was provided by Erens spell execution. Renita manifested loads of wind shurikens around her with her wind-element spell. She willed the wind shurikens to target the rogue while guiding them with her mana sense. The sheer number of wind shurikens made it difficult for the rogue to guard himself against even with his denseyer of tangible fog that kept on getting dissolved and rematerialized. The barrage of wind shurikens soon surpassed the rate at which the fog was getting rematerialized. The wind shurikens soon made contact with the rogue and his skin was finally pierced due to theck of manayer protecting him. The rogue was heavily injured. Renita tried her best not to make any fatal injuries. But the AoE attack was still potent enough to make the guy go on his knees. Eren didnt show any mercy. He approached the fallen guy quickly, grabbed his head, and executed Blitz Bolt. The fog tried to create a weak defence against his contact. And it tried to climb Erens hand. But it soon stopped ascending on Erens arm before getting dispersed into the surroundings. That was because Erens Blitz Bolt hadnded on its intended target. The rogue was finally zapped out of his consciousness as his body lost the strength to stay on the knees. The unconscious rogue was still supported by Erens hand as he still held his head in his vice-like grip. The roguended t on his face soon after Eren released his grip. His cut nose started bleeding again, making the battleground have a taste of his blood. The rogue had circted his mana and made it saturate on his wound to stop the bleeding temporarily during the battle. But that mana control was lost when the guy lost consciousness. And his cut started acting normally again. But the muttor who had cut the rogue didnt care about his opponents well-being. That would be the job of the academy. He quickly signalled Renita to follow him. And headed outside the waning domain of fog with his ranger on the tow. When the duo came out, it witnessed a discouraging sight. Sharmin, the teams only tank, was on his knees. His earth shield was getting crumpled by the barrage of fireballs executed by the opponent teams mage. The opponents mage didnt have to take any risks. She was protected by her teams tank. And was supported by her healer teammate. Ron and Dino tried alternatively to attack the opponents tank. But the mages spells were flexible. Sometimes simple was the best. It held especially true for sses like mages who depended heavily on their spells execution time. The fire element made it difficult for the dual berserkers to approach the trio who stuck together. Their metal skin spells would send the berserkers senses on overdrive. They would feel that the temperature of their skin would rise sharply every time the fireball spells hit them. So they stopped their attacks and went on defence. They supported their tank while making use of his earth shield to keep safe from the mages fireball. But the tank could only handle so many insistent attacks. He soon ran out of mana and his shield crumpled. The enemys mage had beads of sweat on her head. But she wasnt as tired. Nor was she out of mana. Thats because her healer teammate supported her mana consumption with supporting spells of her own. Ron and Dino made the same conclusion after looking at the situation they had found themselves in. They needed that wretched closebat experts help. Chapter 171: Quake Element Tank

Chapter 171: Quake Element Tank

The trio of mage, healer, and tank saw Eren and Renitaing out of the waning domain of fog. They had grim expressions on their faces when that happened. They had understood that it could only mean one thing. Their rogue had lost the fight. The emotions were opposite for Rons team. It found newfound hope in Eren and Renita. The dual berserkers and Sharmin watched with metaphorical starry eyes as their closebat expert and ranger joined them. A sort of ceasefire was created after Erens entry. Both teams went on guard against each other while observing the opponents movements. Eren used that opportunity to have a word with Ron. How are we doing so far? Bad. These three are staying close to each other. We need to separate them and take care of them individually. I can gauge that on my own, Ron. What I am asking is whether youve used your berserking potions or not? Ron made a weird face after hearing Erens reply. But he controlled his irritation and continued: We have used one potion each. And can take one more. Whats your n? Eren looked at Ron and Dino meaningfully after he heard that. He hesitated a bit before stating what he was thinking of: How confident are you in taking care of the mage? Ron replied immediately as if he was expecting this from Eren: Well, mage herself isnt the problem. I can sustain her spells while Dino goes close to her using Renitas cover fire from a distance. The problem is the healer who keeps on replenishing the mages mana supply. And that mage can use spellbos. And her spellbos can include triple-spell castings. Plus, she can stack her fireball spells. And lets not forget their tank. He had made it impossible for us to zero in on any one of them without facing the consequences. Eren assumed a wise mans pose after he heard that. He stroked his chin with his hands before concluding something about the enemy mage: Hmm. In short, the mage girl is hot. The healer is doing his job right. And the tank is tanky. Ron had creases on his forehead after he heard Erens remark. He didnt know why Eren was so chilled out when the favours were stacked against them. Especially when the guy had raised the stakes of the battle on his own, without consulting them. Just tell us the n. And well figure something out. Ron said frustratingly. He had understood that Eren must have a good n for him to act carefree like that. Alright. Heres the n. Renita and I will approach the tank and draw him away from the mage and the healer. Then all you need to do is keep on applying pressure on them. Meanwhile, well be taking care of the tank. Well be almost out of mana by then. But well join your battle to create faux pressure. Hows that? Ron could havee up with this idea on his own. But had he said that, Eren would have had to take more responsibility at his behest. Knowing the guy, he would have demanded more share from their split for his extra work. But since this n came from Eren himself, they had nothing toin about. Ron even though Eren was a good guy trying to win this battle at any cost. What about Sharmin? Will he also have to join either of us guys? Or do we use him to create a foothold in the battlefield? Ron asked while looking at the enemy. They also seemed to be discussing something among themselves. I could use him but he is not fast enough to retreat and advance skillfully. And creating a foothold on the battlefield is a good idea when you have people who can take your position and relieve you. This is not one of those times. So you take Sharmin with you. And remember, dont ck off. Theres a chance me and Renita would be unable to join your battle after our showdown with the tank. So try to pressure the mage from the get-go with your sidekick on the tow. Said Eren while looking at Dino. Thetter was about to pop a vein on his forehead after he heard being called a mere sidekick. Bur Ron stated condition before Dino had the chance to vent his anger: Sure. But well retreat if and when youe to join us. Our spells dont work together. Alright. Said Eren before talking something privately with Renita. She had a weird look after she heard what Eren said through the private audio channel. But she nodded her head to show her eptance. Great! Letsmence our ns then, shall we? Said Eren and bolted in the direction of the tank. The trio was ready. The tank was a quake element user. He was able to produce quakes in the surroundings. He was able to send those quakes through the ground, objects, and even though the air via direct contact or removing those limitations through the usage of quake-element spells. The quake element tank saw that Eren was heading and had a huge grin on his face. It was about time he let the new guy taste the power of his spells. The quake element tank stretched his palm open and pped them against each other in Erens way. Surprisingly, that p didnt produce any audible sound. But one could see the nearby air getting distorted as a result of that action. Eren was already briefed about the tanks ability. He immediately activated Sedated Perception when he saw that guy performing that particr action in his direction. Eren was barely grazed by the quake waves as he almost dodged it with his time-element spell. And that slight graze of that invisible spell was enough for the muttor to understand why the dual berserkers were hesitating to get near that guy. The quakes couldnt be stropped by any medium or item. They could only be dodged by getting out of the path of their travel. Plus, the quakes would travel through ones body and injure the internal organs. They also held the power to affect weak rankers blood cirction in their body. In short, staying in the range of those quakes was bad news. And since they were as fast as sound, the rankers didnt have much leeway to dodge them. What should I do? The guy is a tough nut to crack even with Renitas help. Thought Eren as he got away from the range of the next wave of quakes heading his way. =========================== AN: Exnations about spell-stacking, triple-cast, and spellbos can be found in chapters 90 and 91. Chapter 172: Stacked Sedated Perception v2.0?

Chapter 172: Stacked Sedated Perception v2.0?

What should I do? The guy is a tough nut to crack even with Renitas help. Thought Eren as he got away from the range of the next wave of quakes heading his way. Renita was providing him cover fire so the guy couldntpletely focus on the closebat expert trying to target him. You want to use Stacked Sedated Perception? Eren heard a voice in his head. It was from the gem. The butchers eyes lit up when he understood how using the stacked time-element spell can be a key to making the tank leave the trios formation. But then he immediately thought of the spells side effect and his mood was sour. The gem understood what the guy was thinking and replied: I can ease the side effects. But I can help you cast only about two Stacked Sedated Perceptionbos before I go into slumber. And easing your side effects will remove the possibility of enabling you to cast it for the second time. The ball was in Erens court now. Should he face the repercussions and save anotherbo usage for himself? Or should he only use thebo once and face reduced side-effects of the spell? Eren then remembered thebo spells side effects again and chose to go with the first option. Reduce the side effects of thebo. He let his decision be known to the gem. And it obliged. Stacked Sedated Perception made itseback at that time! Eren was barely able to manage the quakes from before. But he could now see the almost invisible quakes travelling through the air with ease. He now had the time to dodge them and approach the tank. Eren smiled after experiencing the effects of the spell. He could feel that he was more in control in the almost frozen world than before. His senses were also keeping up with slowed down time around him. Eren had figured out by now that the gem had an agenda to help him. There was no free meal in the world. The gem was probably helping him to get something from him when it asks for it. But Eren didnt worry too much about that for now. Right now winning this match was more important than anything for him. Especially, when he had ced a bet on so many Merps in this match. The tank saw that the enemy closebat expert who was till now dancing on the tunes of his quake spells disappeared in front of him. His quake waves seemed to have pierced the guy, but the instances indicated that all those were Erens afterimages. Then the tank felt a sharp pain in his guts. He was already lifted in the air before he saw who had hit him there. His body was flown about thirty meters away from his previous position. And his fall on the ground couldntpletely eradicate the momentum. The tank was dragged on the ground by that momentum and was thrown a few meters away from hisnding spot. Eren was still in his stacked Sedated Perception. He had kicked the guy earlier in his stomach using the Blitz Steps on hyperdrive and running Blitz Bolt through his legs. But he didnt stop there. He followed the tank as he flew in the air. And waited for his momentum to get killed. He performed the same action again as soon as the guy stopped moving. Eren had created a sufficient distance for the dual berserkers to attack the mage and healer without worrying about the tank. Those two were most wary of the tank because of the effect quakes had on their metal skin spell after all. Renita wasnt even given a chance to follow Eren. She was left behind even without her knowing she was left behind. She puffed up her cheeks after seeing Eren going full-throttle on the tank. She thought she was special when Eren had used the same speed against her. But this tank had made her realize her assumption was wrong. And she was not happy because of it. Renita soon followed Erens direction. Her speed wasnt as great as the current Eren, but her wind element movement spell had allowed her to be plenty light on her feet. The tank felt like throwing up after he received the second kick at the same spot the first kick hadnded. He was kind of scared after realizing the terror of Erens breakneck speed. But the tanks high BTP value and his strengthened body because of it allowed him to keep his cool amid the pain. He had realized that the lightning element freak was soon going to attack him. The guy immediately pped his hands all around him to prevent Eren from fearlessly approaching him. The quakes were sent in almost all directions and that created a dead zone with the tank standing in the middle of it. But Eren was nowhere to be found. The tank carefully looked around but only saw Renita who was approaching him from a distance. She had pointed her mana gun at him. Her figures were just about to press the triggers. But Renita wasnt looking at him while she pointed the gun. She was looking over the tanks head. The guy thought of a sudden possibility and his expressions darkened as a result. Eren was descending on the tank right below him at a rapid pace. Thetter had underestimated his current speed and his heightened perception. The tank thought his all-around quake execution was a preemptive strike. And for the most part, it was. But Eren was still able to see there was no way to get near his target without facing the repercussions of his internal organs facing the brunt of it. So Eren used the Blitz Steps to jump high in the air. He had already sent his mana circuits on hyperdrive. Hence, the output he had achieved was exceptional this time. The tank saw Eren approaching him from above him. And he wanted to send another wave of quakes towards him. The guy was defenceless at this point even with his crazy speed due to him being unable to manoeuvre in the air. But s, Eren had Renita give him her much-needed support at this time. She had already fired her mana bullets which started making their presence known on the tanks arms and legs soon after. The tanks quake execution failed because of the interruption from Renitas cover fire. And Eren got within the striking distance from his opponent as a result. ======================= AN: Side effects of Stacked Sedated Perception have been exined in chapter 90. Chapter 173: Into the Storm

Chapter 173: Into the Storm

The tanks quake execution failed because of the interruption from Renitas cover fire. And Eren got within the striking distance from his opponent as a result. This is it for me for now. Youll have to manage things on your own. Said the gem in Erens head and went silent. But thetter didnt have time to think much about it. Especially now since the stacked spell had turned into a normal time-element spell for him. Eren cancelled his execution of Sedated Perception as well. He didnt need it anymore. Plus, this wasnt thest fight he was going to be a part of for today. He needed to be frugal about his mana consumption. As a result of dispelling both the time element spells, Eren was now out of the diluted world. Hended right beside the tank the next moment. Eren had a sudden urge to kill this tank with a special derived element. After all, just like the fog guy, he too had the perfect counter against a closebat expert like him. But with so many witnesses watching his every move, he settled for only beating the crap out of him. Eren ran Blitz Bolt at its full potential through Diceros Right and performed a sh at the guys torso almost vertically. The tank had worn an armour artefact so he wasnt worried about killing the opponent in the process. The sh was only meant to make the tank go on defence. Which he did by raising his arms bracers against the sh. The sh was stopped by the bracer. But Eren then drew out Diceros Left and pierced the guys arm from below with it. Diceros Left was lodged right between Ulna and Radius bones of the tanks right forearm. The tip would have been out from the other end but the guys bracer wears prevented that from happening. But this was enough for Eren anyway. He didnt show any mercy and yanked the lodged katar towards him before twisting it. It took a while for the tank to register the pain of Erens mutting actions on his body. But when he did, all he could see was a white light in front of him apanied by the deafening noise of a whole lot of nothing. The sheer pain had short-circuited his senses. Erens lightning element attack also had a hand to y in it. But then his brain adapted to the pain and finally decided to process it. And that led to the tanks downfall. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhh. The tank shouted from his very soul after he felt the pain in his forearm. He forgot about the fight and defending himself and just sat right then and there on his knees, holding his pierced forearm with his other hand. The tank tilted his head back as he let his vocal cords relieve some pressure for him. But as he looked up, he saw a palm reaching his face. His body didnt feel like it should defy the palms procession for some unknown reason. Otherwise, the consequences would be even more severe. Eren grabbed the tanks face with his palm. His fingers spread all over his face. The gap in fingers allowed the tank to look at Eren for onest time for the day. Night night, mate. Said Eren out loud and ran Blitz Bolt through his palm. With it, he made the tank experience his sought-after relief from pain. Two down, two to go. Said Eren as he released the tanks face from his grip. He looked at Renita who was approaching him andmented: Good support. But next time, eyes on the opponent. Not on me. Renitas cheeks turned red when she heard that. She tried to mask her blush with fake anger: Its its all your fault. You should have told me about your move sooner. I was caught off guard and had to look for you. Eren scratched his forehead with a mirthless smile on his face before replying: I didnt know that Id be able to stack my spell in that situation. That came out of the blue. Hmm? Which spell did you stack? And what do you mean you didnt know? This speed isnt in your control? Something like that. Anyway, my previous instructions about the berserker boys still stand. Do you understand? Eren asked as the smile vanished from his face. Renita saw the butchers mood suddenly changing and replied honestly: I do. But Eren, think about the repercussions.. Eren shook his head before replying stoically: See. Im not forcing you to go through this. Even without you, Id be able to manage things on my own just fine. Decide. We dont have much time. Said Eren while looking at the full-fledged battle unfolding in front of him at a distance. The mage was bombarding the dual berserkers from all sides. Ron had managed to injure the healer with one of his berserker charges before retreating to his initial position. That had affected the recovery speed of the mage, who had now started to struggle to keep the berserkers in check. Eren started to walk in the direction of the ongoing fight, leaving Renita behind him to ponder over. One could see she wanted to prevent Eren from doing what he was going to do. But she also knew that he wouldnt listen after looking into his cold eyes. Renita finally clenched her fists before following Eren who had by then started running with his movement speed towards the mage. The mage saw that Eren was approaching her from a distance and she couldnt help opening her eyes in surprise. She had thought that it might take a while, but her quake element user teammate was more than enough to take care of the guy. She had already been proven wrong once when she had predicted the battle result between Eren and her fog element user teammate. Eren and Renita had beat him while staying in his domain. Now the same duo had pulled another stunt and beat their quake element teammate as well. Therefore, itd be a cold day in hell before the mage made the same mistake and underestimated this simple-looking Novice rankering towards her like an unstoppable force. Eren saw a barrage of fireballs heading his way when he was within the mages area of influence. This time, he didnt dodge. He didnt take any detours. Renita was right behind Eren, following him in his path. And all she saw was her heartthrob getting bombarded by the fury of stacked fire-element spells. Eren! Her shrill cry echoed in the battle ring and outside it. Chapter 174: Backstab

Chapter 174: Backstab

Eren! Renitas shrill cry echoed in the battle ring and outside it. She thought the guy had gone mad. He wasnt exactly his 100 percent due to the two battles he was part of. And yet he had gone right ahead to duel with the mage who was clearly in a better condition than him. That too in a front sh, when the mage held the advantage because of her AoE spells. Renita could only think of one thing when Eren pulled that move: He wasnt counting on my support this time. Unbeknownst to her, Renitas eyes were moist. But before she could process those emotions, a storm of lightning lit upright in the middle of the domain of fire. The domain created by the fireballs was soon breached by a person who only had a chainmail armour worn on his torso now. And that chainmail armour had gotten slightly red due to the effects of the mana generated fire. Eren hade out from the other way of that barrage of fireballs. The skin of his torso was sizzling and getting burnt due to being in contact with the chainmail artefact he had worn under his clothes. Eren quickly removed the artefact and stored it inside his storage. Most of his clothes were burnt off. Thankfully, he had protected the area around his groin by covering it with ayer of mana. So he was saved from being aughing stock in the academy. But thats not all he had done. Eren might be a masochist when he needed to be. But he was never suicidal. Thats because he had already executed one of his spells before heading right into the storm of fire. Blitz Heal! The lightning element healing spell was running at its full effect and trying to mend his scorched and burnt skin. As a result, his bare torso had loads of tongues of lightning dancing over it. Of course, it didnt do anything to make Eren suffer less in the fire. One needed a special kind of mindset to knowingly harm themselves for the sake of their benefits, even when they knew they could be healedter on. In his current condition, Eren looked like a thunder god if he was a teen and short-statured. But he didnt care about his appearance. He had shown his performance to the mage to create deterrence in her mind. To show her that he could survive the worst she could do to him. And that temporary deterrence showed its effect. The girl subconsciously faltered when she saw the madmaning for her. She started retreating backwards to create a safe distance between them. Eren only smiled after looking at the intended effect of his showmanship taking ce right in front of him. He shouted at the dual berserkers: Dino, Ron. Now! Dino and Ron were standing at the other side. They quickly understood what Eren was trying to do and approached the mage from two sides, trying to box her in. Everything happened within a few moments. The mage saw that she was soon going to get surrounded and had a determination filled in her eyes. She summoned another volley of fireballs around her and let her surroundings get consumed in them by detonating them all at once. She thought she would be safe inside her domain of fire. Unlike Eren, her clothes were fireproof because of the element-specific rune inscriptions on them. Dino and Ron immediately got consumed in the storm of fire along with Eren. All three are from different directions. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhh Aaaaaah! Unlike Eren who didnt utter a word despite his third-degree burns, Ron and Dino were pretty vocal about their situations. Their metal skin spell had again be their bane as the spell retained the effects of firended on it like a usual metal. Both of the berserkers somehow survived the firestorm. They survived by casting the metal skin spells on themselves for a short while before quickly dispersing it, then executing them again. They thought that now that they had crossed the domain of fire and closed in on the mage without her healer on the tow, things would soon move to the up-and-personal battles. Both of them activated their metal skin spells once again. And then approached the mage who could be barely seen standing in the middle of the firestorm. Dino and Ron nodded at each other before recovering their berserking potions. They had already started running towards their opponent who was gearing up another stack of spells by overdrawing on their mana. The berserkers were about to gulp their potions down. The mage was almost finished casting her stacked fire-element spells. But suddenly Eren came right in between them. He spread both his arms and murmured something to himself that his audience of three people couldnt hear: Blitz Storm! Said Eren and then smiled at the berserkers. Dino and Ron were confused at first before opening their eyes wide in surprise. This was the biggest betrayal they had faced. Thats because they were within Erens AoE spell when he executed it to supposedly target the opponent mage. The opponent mage was hit by Erens AoE spell too. She had already overdrawn on her mana. Plus, now she had to face the consequences of failed spell execution while facing the butchers lightning spell. At least to say she wasnt expecting Eren to cast such spells while his teammates were within the range. Thats what caught her off guard. She was expecting Eren to hold onto his spells when he got in close range along with his teammates. But who knew Eren had this nned from the beginning of the match? Erens Blitz Storm was detonated at this time, engulfing friends and enemies alike. Both sides were beaten and battered. So when the AoE went off, it made double the impact. Ron, Dino and the enemy mage were zapped till their irises dted. They were mere moments away from losing their consciousness. Chapter 175: Budding Emotions?

Chapter 175: Budding Emotions?

Sharmin was observing the battle with his mana sense as was the enemy healer. They looked at each other from a distance, with surprise and confusion written all over their faces. The healer was the first to move. She tried to help her friend by going quickly near her but she was stopped by Renitas mana bullets. She bit her tongue as she halted her advance. But then something amazing happened. When Sharmin tried to do the same, Renita fired bullets just below his feet too, subtly hinting that he should not approach the dual berserkers. Eren had told Renita to hold everyone off when he executed his AoE while the dual berserkers were within the range, under the guise of targeting the mage. This was an act of betraying the alliance. Eren team might never be able to ally with the rest of the good teams in their academic years. And Renita tried telling Eren that as well. She knew he had understood that too. And yet he still chose to go with his self-harming strategy. The guy had nned this from the beginning when Ron and Dino had first approached him. Eren had proposed a bunch of weird conditions while he was negotiating an alliance with Rons Raiders. One of those conditions was survival of the fittest. If anyone from Rons team were to get neutralized in the battle, they would have to relinquish another ten percent from their split per head. If two of the teammates from either team get neutralized in the battle, theyd lose 20 percent in total. Of course, Eren made him and Renita get included in the same condition as well. Thats how he made his conditions get okayed by the dual berserkers. The 10 or 20 percent might look small individually. But when the Merps of this amount were at stake, the 10 or 20 percent became the difference between day and night. Dino and Ron fell unconscious followed by the mage after facing the burnt of Erens AoE spell. Eren could now im the split of 85:15 in his favour by making the dual berserkers his prey. Eren had not only taken another small revenge on his enemies, but he had also benefited from doing the same. Plus, the butcher didnt want to ruin his image by openly betraying his alliance members. So he came with thispromise. Eren would still be doubted for his intentions by some students if not all. His sketchy way of executing his spell at the wrong time was questionable. But that would always stay as doubt and an open topic of discussion. Because there was no way to predict what would happen to the battle if he didnt make use of the opening the mage had kept open. When the storm of fire subsided, Eren was the only one standing. Albeit with a pale face and haggard stance. His clothes were almost gone. His bodys skin had tongues of lightning dancing over it, a sign of his healing spell getting executed at the time. Renita, what is the meaning of this? Sharmin asked Renita with a lot of emotions written all over his face. The most dominant among them was anger that he was barely keeping in control. I was only looking after you. That domain of fire wasnt something you could barge in ande out with your own will. Said Renita and then pointed at the opponent healer: Besides, I think we should take care of her first instead of settling our disputes now. Sharmin looked at the healer who was gripping his staff with both his hands as if anticipating an attack from any direction. Sharmin was already pissed at Eren. so he directed all his rage on the opponent. It didnt take long for the tank to neutralize the healer. Erens first inter-year battle of this timeline was won. With only three of his teammates left standing including him. All because he didnt forget to have one up over his assaulters of previous life while ensuring his benefits. Eren you shouldnt have Renita spoke softly as she approached Eren. She was looking at his current condition. The guy was barely standing on his two feet. But the butcher didnt let her continue. He spoke up before the ranger had a chance toplete her sentence. Renita, I know what I have done. Its selfish and petty. And we might face problems in the uing inter-year wars. But I needed to do this. Said Eren and held Renitas shoulder with her right hand for support. He let his entire body weight fall on her because he felt like his legs had be a jelly. The ranger supported him while having butterflies in her stomach because of her intimate proximity to Eren. Why? I dont see why you want to set yourself against Ron and Dino. They were just your opponents. And this alliance was based on the fact that both sides could look past what happened in that match. Renita was having a difficult time keeping her excitement in check. But thankfully, Erens replies made it easy for her to do just that. That was because his answers were creating more questions for her. Eren sighed. Then he opened the audio channel with her and continued in private: Lets just say I want them riled up on me. Its personal and you wouldnt get it. Nobody would. Said Eren and looked at the dual berserkers lying unconscious on the ground. He could see LAa caretakers were approaching the injured for treatments. Renita also followed Erens gaze while mustering the courage to say what she was about to say: I would get it, Eren. if you could just open up to me. At least Ill try. Renita was still looking at the scene unfolding in front of her- the caretakers approaching, then using potions to start healing the injured and trying to fix all the visible injuries. But one could see that she wasnt paying attention to any of the things. Eren looked at Renita after he heard that. He had a slight change of heart after he understood what she was trying to say to him. Renita wanted to be with him. She wanted to be with a broken and cynic person like him without any seemingly hidden agenda. Chapter 176: Lovebirds & Right Words

Chapter 176: Lovebirds & Right Words

Some of Erens emotions that he thought were long dead showed signs of their existence in his heart. But he shook his head before smiling mirthlessly: Well, some injuries cant be seen with eyes. The usual remedies stop working on those injuries because they turn into scars that stay forever with you, no matter what you do. Eren, try to trust your friends more. And I can be your confidante if you have some stories that you dont want to share with everybody. Erens eyes met Renitas and thetters heartbeat increased. The mini staring contest onlysted for a few moments. Eren shed a genuine grin at the ranger and said out aloud without using the audio channel. Renita, some stories are written more for the writer than they are for the readers. That being said, you have earned my trust with your actions today. And it is difficult for me to trust somebody. I dont know about being my confidante, but lets be friends first that are more than just teammates and rivals. Well think about sailing the boat when we are on the shore. Renita also smiled after she heard Erens statements. She was expecting the recluse Eren to act again. Perhaps her act to follow Eren in his ns despite there being no advantage for her in doing so had enabled her to get close to him, even if just a little. Any progress was better than no progress for her. Friends then! Renita said while shing a grin. Eren returned that with a mild smile of his own before replying: Friends. If you two lovebirds are done talking, can we ask you to get treated first? Before you go get a room with those injuries and worsen them. Said one of the caretakers while smiling at the seeming couple. Erens jelly legs found some strength in them after he saw thedy caretaker looking at them with mischief while teasing them. He let go of using Renita as his support and somehow stood on his own. Renita too straightened up her clothes and hairdo for no apparent reason before saying to Eren: Get treated Eren. you need it. Im mostly fine so a consumable potion should do the trick. Saying that Renita snatched the potion vial from the caretakers hands and walked out of the battle ring in a hurry. Eren stayed there with the caretaker to get treated with her healing spells. But he wasnt the only one who was getting healed. Ron walked up to him while he was being treated. The berserker wasntpletely fine. But he was trying his best to get the answers he needed from a certain wretched person. Eren Idril, Dino had told me that you were a cunning, maniptive, son of a bitch. But I didnt listen to him and got on board with your n. We did everything by your rules. Yet you backstabbed us. Why? Asked Ron with his menacing gaze. Eren had already expected a question like this. So he just shrugged his shoulders and replied nonchntly: I think you are stretching it when you say I betrayed you. I wanted to catch the mage off guard. She would have bombarded me before I could get close to her. Plus, I was running out of mana after dealing with two rankers back to back. I saw the mage had left an opening in her defence when she was concentrating on you guys. I saw my chance and took it. Said Eren and shifted his body a little to allow for the caretakers healing spell to treat the blistering injury he had received on his back. His behaviour irked Ron even more. Who are you trying to fool? I would have believed you if it wasnt for the condition you had ced earlier in our alliance contract. But looking at things now, you must have pre-nned this. At least have the guts to admit that you had nned to screw us from the beginning. Eren returned Rons sharp gaze with his cold eyes before replying: You know why I dont have to answer you? Its because I and Renita have carried you guys in this match. You couldnt do shit to Roodys Wreckers. And things would have been uglier had I not used MY battle pass. Tell me one thing before you use me of anything. What did you guys do in this match? What is your contribution? Holding the opponents off so I could do your work for you? Is that it? Eren purposely used his mana imbued voice to reply to Rons usation. This was to make others realize the importance of his and Renitas presence in the match. He knew his actions could be interpreted in apletely different way with the use of the right words. A trick he had been underestimating almost all of his adult life. Ron was tongue-tied after he heard Erens rebuttal. He had no answer to Erens usations, same as Eren had no answer to his. But the difference between the two was Eren was the one with the closing argument. This is not over yet, remember this Eren Idril. And you dont need me to tell you that our alliance is over. Ron started walking to Dino who was still getting treated. He had regained his consciousness but was in no condition to stand up yet. Hold up, Ron. You are forgetting something. Said Eren after he got up from his seated position. He dusted off what remained of his trousers and continued Our alliance stays intact until all our team members fight in the respective squads we have divided them into at least once. You can only break the alliance after that. This is one of the uses of the alliance contract. Ron froze in his tracks after he heard Erens words. He regretted not listening to loudmouth Dinos pestering. Ron should have read the terms and conditions of the alliance contract carefully before signing over it. Now his negligence was going to bite him back in the ass. Chapter 177: Collateral Damage

Chapter 177: Coteral Damage

Team Steves Stunners wish to use a battle pass. Steve announced firmly before the referee. He looked at Eren standing outside the battle ring in the crowd of the audience after he did that. The butcher nodded at Steve after that deration, giving him the confirmation he needed to proceed as nned. Steve Stunner had three of the White Raven Crews regr members- Steve, Becky, and Jake. The other two positions in the squad were filled by the regr members of the Rons Raiders. Eren Idril, what is the meaning of this? Why are you using your remaining battle pass on a losing team? Ron, who was standing not far from Eren couldnt help ask Eren about histest scheme. Thetter chuckled at him before replying: You say that our alliance is going to stay in effect after the mandatory matches. Ill use my battle passes however I want. Thats not for you to decide anyway, whether the alliance stays or disperses. But what will you gain by using the battle pass on the losing team? Ron was still trying to make sense out of Erens actions. By now he had understood that everything Eren did was somehow preordained to be extremely advantageous to him. Who says Steves Stunners are going to lose? Eren asked Ron with in expressions on his face. He looked as if it was getting boring for him to talk to the berserker. You mean the battle pass that Steve is going to use is that potent? *Sigh. Well, Ill give you a hint. Remember the use that we had for the squads we deemed as losing squads. Ron then tried to again recollect the contract he had with Eren regarding the alliance. The uses seemed to have been the key. His mind slowly processed the advantages Eren would gain after this losing team stops being a losing team. Ron and Eren had divided their teams into multiple squads. As per their agreement, or ording to how Rons team was made to interpret, only the squad Eren, Renita, Ron, and Dino was part of was supposed to win the inter-year ranking war, cutting the teams overall losses. The rest of the squads made up of the rest of the members from White Raven Crew and Rons Raiders were termed as bare-minimum gangs. They were only meant to participate in theirpulsory inter-year ranking wars and be done with them for the time being. Thats why Ron didnt object when Eren proposed that both their teams would bear the betting amount value individually as per the Squad Leader. That meant the squad Steve was leading would have its entire betting amount paid by members of White Raven Crew. Rons Raiders would have to pay the betting amount for the squad their team member was going to lead. Of course, that also meant that in the event of the squads winning their matches, the winning amount would go to the team who had paid the betting amount. This was one of the uses of the alliance contract set specifically for the bare minimum gangs. Ron didnt find anything wrong with the use at that point because either team was not gaining or losing anything because of their uses. But that equalization was based on the fact that all the bare minimum gangs either won their matches or lost them. But what if the squad White Raven Crew was responsible for winning their matches while the squad Rons Raiders was in charge of losing theirs? Then that would benefit Eren even more, and all the consequences of losing the matches will only be carried by Rons team. Rons rage was influencing him to forget about LAs rules and attack the wretched bastard known as Eren Idril right then and there. He had shafted him and his entire team with the kind of maniption he had woven into the very fabric of the alliance contract. The battle passes! You sly bastard, which one is it? The fact that you didnt use it in our match and let Steve have it to be used in his match means it is better than the one you had used earlier. Tell me which damn battle pass you handed over to your berserker. Asked Ron while clenching his fist. His nails had dug into his skin as a result, making his hand bleed a little. But Ron was too angry to care about the self-inflicted injury he was currently suffering from. Why dont you find out yourself? Look. Eren didnt mind the derogatory term he was assigned and pointed at the battlefield without looking at the angry berserker. Ron had to follow his direction and pay attention to the scenes unfolding on the battlefield again. The referee confirmed the battle pass Eren had shared with Steve on his Spectral Screen and nodded before announcing loudly: Steve Austin is using the battle pass Coteral Damage. He can make up to three members of his team leave the battlefield. In exchange, his opponent team would have to withdraw one additional member in addition to the same number. Steve, you can now choose the members of your team as well as that of your opponents team that will withdraw from the match. Rons face lost its colour after he heard the referees announcement. This battle pass was tailored to pave the way for Erens betrayal. Objectively looking, the battle pass Keep One Out Eren had used in his match had more value than the one Steve was going to use. Thats because Erens battle pass didnt demand a sacrifice from his team to inflict damage on his opponent. Coteral Damage was more useful only when the squad was confident in fighting with a reduced number of people than its projected arrangement. No other team would normally use this kind of battle pass as it would synchronize its teamy heavily. But Steve, Becky, and Jake were perfectly fine with the other two members from Rons Raiders getting eliminated. They preferred it that way too. Thats because they were expecting the same form of betrayal from those two members as the one their hidden leader had pulled on their team in his match, should they be allowed to battle in Steves squad. As he expected, Steve chose the only two members of Rons Raiders to get withdrawn from the match. And in exchange, he was allowed to eliminate three members of the opponent team even before they started with the match. Steve did what he was asked to do by Eren and eliminated three battle oriented rankers from the opponents team without wasting time pondering over it. Now Steves squad had three members including him while his opponent had only two. And one of them belonged to a nonbat ss, a healer. Steve had already set a hefty betting amount before the start of the match. And least to say, his squad won the match, raking in a big haul of Merps. The next match the alliance fought had a member of Rons Raiders serving as the squad leader. It was a seven-person squad. Ramy, Ana, and Bell were part of this squad. Needless to say, Erens winning streak ended at this point and the squad lost big time. But the butcher didnt n on making the squad his remaining members were part of to win their battle anyway. He was okay with his newbie members testing the taste of defeat while ensuring that Rons Raiders get almost a whole lot of nothing from the alliance. With this, Eren had made the maximum use of battle passes he had earned. He had even scored profit from the one that was self-inflicting in nature. Chapter 178: Does the Pursuit of Power Need a Reason?

Chapter 178: Does the Pursuit of Power Need a Reason?

This goddamn mother****ing Eren Idril has fu*cked us over one too many times now, Ron. I dont care what you say but Dino, I agree with you. This wretched man needs to be taught a lesson for messing with us. Dino was pacing around in the courtyard of their dorm house. Ron was sitting idly at the nearby bench, looking at his friend with cold eyes. But the coldness radiated from them was not directed at Dino. it was meant for someone who had screwed their team and him while keeping a straight face doing it. Dino was surprised that Ron agreed with his opinion. He stopped his pacing and asked to confirm: You do? Then tell me the n, already. I dont know about the others, but Im in for sure. If we can catch him off guard Dinos eyes radiated the pure excitement he felt from just thinking about enacting his revenge on Eren. But that excitement was soon reined by Rons next words: You do understand that jumping on any of the LA students would get us kicked out from the academy, right? Dont tell me you are just letting him go just like that because of these rules? When did I say that? Im saying you dont have to be stupid to get your revenge. Said Ron and got up from his position. He then started heading inside his home before stopping to look at his friend. I have already gotten some information on him. His daily chore includes going on border patrol. You know what I mean by that. Ron shed a devilish grin at Dino who couldnt help return that with heartfeltughter. Hahahaha! Yes, what happens in the forest, stays inside the forest. Dino followed Ron inside the dorm house after that. They had decided that they would not let Eren treat them like some disposable pawns without facing any consequences. What they didnt know was that Eren was baiting them to target him. The butcher didnt know how or when the dual berserkers were going to attack him. But he was counting on them to do just that sooner thanter. After all, all good hunters never follow their prey around. They just set their trap in anticipation and wait for them to fall into it. *************************** Eren, you shouldnt have irked Rons Raiders, man. I mean I do like that we raked in a hefty amount of Merps. But will it be beneficial for us in the long run? Erens team was at their usual ce of training. They hade together to meet up in the evening, a day after their first inter-year war. Becky was scrutinizing Erens actions and she was not alone at it. Others were in silent agreement with her. Thats how she got the confidence to speak in front of Eren who was observing his teammates silently. Renita pitched in right after that: Hate to admit it, Eren. But Becky is right. We have pissed off a lot of second years with our high betting amounts and then won them back with even higher prize money. Plus, the other top first-year students would hesitate to tag-team with us after they have seen how Rons Raiders ended up allying with us. *Sigh. We have won big, theres no doubt about it. But we will have to brace ourselves for the consequences heading our way. Eren was quiet at that point. He had the sudden urge to start his old habit of smoking the roll of fire-cured leaves listening to his teammatesints. He rolled his eyes before finally speaking up: There will always be consequences, guys. No matter what you do. Even the act of inaction can lead to some severe consequences. Trust me, I know this better than you do. So all you can do in this case is choose your actions right and anticipate the consequences. At least in this way, you are in control of whatsing for you. Becky shook her head right after Eren said what he said. She took a long breath before replying: Eren, thats a euphemism. What you say makes sense, but it isnt practical. We had no reason to pick a fight with Rons Raiders. Even with normal winnings, we would have still benefitted aplenty. Why go for sudden profits when your regr ie is steady and enough for your sustenance? Almost everybody agreed with Becky except Renita and Ramy. Renita was already an ambitious girl even before meeting Eren. and meeting him had only amplified that drive. Ramy had be a staunch Eren supporter now. He would agree to anything Eren would say and do. The guy with the lisp had be Erens yes-man. Thats why his teammate had asked him to keep quiet. That and the fact that his speeches would often turn the serious mood into one of uncontrobleughter. Eren looked at Becky while narrowing his eyes. It looked like he was trying to decide on something in his mind. Then he shook his head before putting his point forward: Why go for sudden profits when your regr ie is steady and enough for your sustenance? Hahaha! Becky, if you want to stay mediocre, do it after you get out of the academy. Dont try to drag me or my team members into that mediocrity with you. These are precious years of our lives. We need to grab every opportunity we could get to make it big after we get out of the academy. And staying low-key all the time wont ever let us be the best version of ourselves. I get that you prefer steady progress over these types of risky moves. And I can understand where it ising from. Rankers can be revenge-seeking animals after all. But staying in yourfort zone all the time will make you a toothless tiger in the future. Your ranking journey would stagnate with an attitude like yours. The rankers society has restrictions. And low-level rankers like us get the brunt of it. But the same restrictions be less restrictive as we climb the rankingdder. Why is that? Because a single high-ranker can have a say over a bunch of low-rankers due to his exceptional individual powers. The Merps I have now will help us get close to achieving that power. You wille to know about this in the future. Ana was the first to talk after she heard Erens speech that sounded like a prediction: But why seek a faster route to the ranking journey at the cost of hurting or making an enemy out of others? Ana blinked innocently after she said that. And Eren felt like he had a headache listening to her question. He massaged his temples gently with his fingers before replying: Why do you need a reason to seek power? You seek power because its the most fundamental part of our lives. Money, political power, social status, are all secondary to ranking prowess. Remember this from now on. Dont try to seek the reason behind why you want to be a powerful ranker. Treat it as your necessity to live a life that is worth living. Your kindness has no value if it stems from your helplessness. Only when you are powerful enough can you be allowed to be kind. Said Eren and walked towards the check-post that would allow him to get outside LA grounds. It was about time he visited Agatha and checked on her progress. His departing figure was thought-provoking in the eyes of his teammates. ========================= AN: Thanks Renovator, emme_z, Venom30, TempestSilver, HAREYKITO, GojoVir, Guilermo_Martinez_8963, SandeshKarki, TrafalgarLaws, and aidan_chambers for your gifts. Special thanks to EdiSong for gifting a Massage Chair (Thats like 50 cs lol). Chapter 179: Fruits of Labor P1

Chapter 179: Fruits of Labor P1

Uncle Jack, hows the progress so far? Agatha doing good? Eren asked Jack Sullivan, Jakes father. He was at thetters shop in the city of Lionhearts. Agatha was working as Erens contact and one of the store managers. Yep. Everythings fine. The channels have been established. I have taught Agatha a few things about the work we do here. The girl is a fast learner. She is picking up everything at an exceptional rate. Agatha had started living on the upper floor of the shop. Eren had arranged everything that was needed as a daily necessity for her. The trio was now gathered at her ce for the talk. The Anthrope wasnt happy her master was asking a third-person about her progress. She preferred that he ask her directly. But to Eren, Jacks perspective was more important. Good. Dont worry. I will send you consistent supplies of goods through Agatha. You just make sure that you only sell my goods to your trusted sources. We dont want things to go out of hand and attract heat unnecessarily. Jack nodded and agreed with Erens words: Yeah. your products arent meant for a mass audience anyway. The potion bombs already have a steady purchase channel. It is stalked by nobles and some authorities of the kingdom. Your aphrodisiac vials can also create a rift between the shop and female rankers. So that is something Ive kept under the counter as well. Of course, unlike the potion bombs, these products have more customers. And they can be sold for a huge profit margin. So keep on churning these products. Hehe! If Jake learns the potioneering from you and gets just as good, our profits will double. Eren nodded before replying: That is indeed good to hear. Dont worry about Jake, uncle. Hell be a good potioneer. But he needs time. And I would prefer if you take Agatha with you whenever the selling of my products is involved. I also had some other work that I could use your help with. Said Eren and looked expectantly at Jack. thetter just patted the teens shoulder before answering: Dont be shy, young man. This old merchant has a lot of contacts. Ill take care of whatever you need. Just say the word. Jack assured Eren with his merchant smile and attitude. Thetter just nodded his head as if he was only waiting for those words to get spoken by the merchant before saying Alright. I wont hold back then. I want C-Rank potion bombs or killer arrays of the same rank, at least two of them. When can I get them? Jack was still smiling when he heard Erens words. But that smile soon broke into an ugly expression when he heard Erens demands. He stuttered in a speech to confirm what he had just heard: Y you want C-Rank potion bombs? Eren nodded inly before exining: I know C-Rank potion bombs are weapons of mass destruction. So I wont press on that demand. But I believe C-Rank killer arrays can be arranged. I want the ones that are meant for ying the beasts of the same rank without injuring their bodies. Jack regretted boasting about his contacts to Eren. He smiled mirthlessly before trying to exin to the teen the hurdles in getting those things: Eren, what you said about the potion bombs applies to the killing arrays as well. Its just that the killing arrays for animals are rtively easier to get. That too is only applicable if we are talking about F or E-Rank animals and killing arrays. Things get exponentially difficult to get when they reach D-Rank. Yet, you want C-Rank items, which would be even more so. And you even need two of them. Even with my underground and ck market contacts, theyll not be easy to get. Plus, the kind of Extols we are talking about buying those things Oh, money is not the problem, uncle Jack. Just locate them and get them as soon as possible. Eren cut the merchant off in his speech and fast-tracked his purchase order. Thetter had no choice but to just give up on exining things to the teen. Thats because he believed that Eren would have the money to walk the talk if he had said so. Now he had to again deal with the shady people in a shady way to make the boys wishe true. Jack wondered if Eren being friends with his son was a good idea. Toote. Now Im stuck with this dangerous kid. Said Jack to himself and left Eren and Agatha to their devices. The master and ve had a few things to talk about. ****************************** Some weeks after Erens visit to the city of Lionhearts. Erenpleted his training regime with exhaustion coursing through his veins. Heid t on his back over his courtyards ground and recalled his status window. Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organization- Lionhearts Adventurers Academy Academic Status- ss 1/C Ranked Status: Intra-ss individual- 11th ce Holder Intra-ss team-based- 3rd ce Holder Inter-ss individual- 23rd ce Holder Inter-ss team-based- 16th ce Holder Inter-year individual- Unranked Inter-year team-based- 37th ce Holder Merit Points- 36,549 Base Stats: HP- 4.6 / 4.6 MP- 5.5 / 5.5 STR- 2.9 AGI- 4.7 INT- 3.5 BTP~ 21 BTP Visibility- Private Ranking Technique- Five-star, lightning element, Indras Levin F-Rank Spells: Lightning Element, Four-star, movement type: Blitz Steps Lightning Element, Four-star, defence type: Blitz Shield Lightning Element, Four-star, attack type: Blitz Bolt Lightning Element, Four-star, Area of Effect: Blitz Storm Lightning Element, Four-star, healing type: Blitz Heal Time Element, Four-star(?), misceneous: Sedated Perception Time Element, Three-star, misceneous: Ingredient Age Expedite Time Element, Two-star, misceneous: Ingredient Age Reverse Time Element, Three-star, movement type: Stunning Speed Fire Element, Four-star, attack type: Firesnake Fire Element, Four-star, attack type: Fireball Fire Element, Four-star, attack type: Firebreath Apprenticeship: Verified Daily Training Regime: Complete Run: 5KM / 5KM Pullup: 500/500 Situp: 500/500 Pushups: 500 /500 nks: 30 minutes / 30 minutes Stretching Position 1: 5 minutes / 5 minutes Stretching Position 2: 5 minutes / 5 minutes Stretching Position 3: 5 minutes / 5 minutes ****************** Eren felt that sought-after high one feels after working out after he looked at his BTP value again. All his hard work and his extended technique practising sessions werent failing him. He was just three units away from entering the upper stage of the F-Rank. ====================== AN: Merry Christmas, everyone. Take care of your diet during these holidays and dont consume too many empty calories. I Hope Erens training regime inspires you to make new year workout resolutions. ?? PS- Check out the new Christmas special book cover for VEH! Chapter 180: Fruits of Labor P2

Chapter 180: Fruits of Labor P2

Eren was just three units away from entering the upper stage of the F-Rank. Of course, he knew that the path of a ranker wasnt so linear. There existed bottlenecks andck of experiences in ones field, preventing most rankers from quickly progressing further in their ranking journeys. So what he considered to be merely three units of difference in BTP value might turn out to be a huge mountain to scale for him. But he wasnt discouraged by that realization. After all, this was Erens personal best in ranking progression in terms of speed. He would have never thought that he would be able to get this close to the upper stage of the Novice rank this early in this timeline. Eren figured that his current hard work or past timelines experiences werent the only reasons for his surprising progress. He could feel that the transformation he had been through by fusing with Reen also had a hand to y in it. The pursuit of power doesnt need a rhyme or reason. Thought Eren to himself and smiled. Then he looked at his ranking status and the same smile grew wider. Eren had performed breathtakingly in his ranking wars. The low ranks were due to him not gaining enough battle points, which in turn was due to him not participating in the ranking wars as much as the other top rankers ced above him. Eren filled the gap left by quantity with quality. He was managing so many things at once so it was only natural he couldnt initiate as many ranking wars as he wanted to. Eren didnt ignore his potioneering practice either during these weeks. Or more like, he couldnt. Thats because he was now injecting many of his products into the market, thanks to Agatha and Jacks joint efforts. Eren had bought two time-element spells at exaggerated prices from Levine de Montmorency that acted as the support-type spells for his potion-making. Ingredient Age Expedite allowed him to expedite the age of the ingredients, allowing him to get the ingredient at the right state for better potion quality. Ingredient Age Reverse did the opposite of Ingredient Age Expedite. But it had its limitations, as indicated by its two-star status. Still, these two support-type spells helped Eren a lot in histe-night potioneering sessions, enabling him to dish out more and better potions and other potion-rted items. Eren had also bought a movement type time element spell that made his entire body get attuned to the effects of diluted time, not just his mind. Now when he executed Sedated Perception and Stunning Speed together, he didnt feel like he was immersed in the body of water. The sheer movement resistance his body had to fight with while he was executing Sedated Perception had now turned into a mild inconvenience when itbined the effects of two time-element spells. Of course, the gem had also passively helped the butcher in adopting the three new time element spells together in a short time to their perfection. But he didnt gain any insights into these spells, contrary to his expectations that stemmed from his experience with learning Sedated Perception. Eren figured out that the gems slumber might have something to do with it. Apart from the three time-element spells, Eren had also added three fire element spells in his arsenal. His lightning element affinity granted him a bit of an edge when it came to using fire element spells. Eren had to learn the fire-element spells because he had faced the ineffectiveness of his lightning-element spells against some of his opponents with certain elemental affinities. The most bothersome opponents for him were those with earth element affinity. Erens lightning element spells would always fail to damage the earth element opponents the way he desired. He would use fire-element spells against such opponents to mitigate his disadvantage. Of course, Erens fire-element spell executions werent as potent as his lightning element ones. They consumed more mana and produced average results. But that didnt stop the butcher from adding extra cards to y in his deck. Eren had to learn the fire element spells the old school way, through practice and burnt skin. He used his ranking wars as means to test his new spells, making him unpredictable sometimes. Erens opponents couldnt even begin to guess what this wretched closebat expert was going to do in his battles. He would use his opponents to perform R&D on them, making them go all out in their rage. That would bring the butcher to the brink of his defeat. Only then he would use his standard spells to turn the result of the match around. Eren was now called a low-key masochist because of his performances in the ranking war. But he didnt care about his opponents or what was being talked about behind his back. Or more like he couldnt, since he had dipped his hands in one too many pies. The 36,549 Merps Erens status window was disying wasnt the real projection of his umted wealth during this period. That was because his Merps bnce was considerably reduced after buying two time-element spells from Levine and one time-element spell from LAs Novice Treasury along with three fire element spells. Eren had risked offending the dual berserker earlier than his nned retaliation because of this very progress he had blessed himself with. He knew having more Merps was the key to expanding his battle powers as well as his potioneering skills in a short time. Eren had many sleepless nights, extended training sessions, ranking battles with self-induced hardships, and various lectures to attend while juggling his apprenticeship duties. He had used every bit of advantage he could to make such progress in all his open fronts possible for him. Furthermore, the effects of his hard work werent limited to his status window alone. Erens growth spurt had kicked in due to his enhanced training activities, making him a few inches taller. Against his wishes, Erens beard was soon going to make aeback. And he felt that it was going to be fuller than before. He loathed grooming his facial hair, so this wasnt weing news for him amid the plenty of good ones. Eren still boasted a lean build. But his muscture was now more prominent than before. His mana signature and his presence also radiated a sharp aura that he was now finding a little difficult to mask. Eren lookedpletely different from his past self in the previous timeline. He was visually and otherwise on a different level than the sorry-ass-him he was before the time reset. The butcher felt like he was now more in control of his future path, thanks to these obvious and not-so-obvious transformations. Chapter 181: [Bonus Chapter]Hunter and the Prey

Chapter 181: [Bonus Chapter]Hunter and the Prey

Eren looked at his status window one more time before retracting the spectral screen. He was more or less on schedule with his ns. But for his next set of ns, he needed to be Levines disciple. The C-Rank beasts guarding the Malva Hibiscus were the hurdles he needed to take care of first before getting the discipleship. Thats why he had requested the killing arrays from Jack Sullivan. Agatha came to the LAs checkpoint and delivered Eren what he had demanded from Jack. Sullivan Sr. had to pull a lot of strings to provide Eren with two C-Rank killing arrays of the lightning element. Of course, Eren had paid a hefty amount of money in the form of Extols to get these two array scrolls. He had to spend a sizable chunk of wealth from his cultist hideout fund to get these. But Eren knew it was going to be worth it as long as he had the intact bodies of the two C-Rank beasts. And things would only turn for the better when he gets his hands on Malva Hibiscus. Now he needed baits to be ced over the killing arrays. The baits he had prepared for some time now. ********************* Ken, I think we should split todays border patrol between the two of us instead of covering the entire area together. What do you say? Eren asked Ken at the check-post that connected LA grounds to Beast Sanctuary. The former was confused before replying: But Master Mas instructions said we need to perform border patrol together. Why do you want to change the routine all of a sudden? Eren already had his answer ready. He shrugged his shoulders before replying: To tell you the truth, Ive taken up a few missions from Besanc and I need toplete them. Ill probably go deep into the forest. So I might as wellplete my border patrol while Im at it. I need some daylight before finding a temporary ce to rest. Andpleting the entire border patrol like usual would make things a little difficult for me in that regard. Realization dawned on Ken after he heard Erens truths mixed into lies. He agreed with thetters suggestion and parted ways from him. This was the moment Eren was waiting for. He didnt wait any moment and travelled in the opposite direction to Ken, deeper into the forest. ********************** Erni, they are still following you like usual. And this time, they seem to stick close to you. Reen reported to Eren after stretching her mana sense into the surroundings. This was not the first time Eren was getting followed. The followers were, of course, Ron and Dino. Eren knew and expected that they had been doing recon on him after their alliance was disbanded. Up till now, Eren had Ken with him on his border patrol. And he hadnt taken up any missions from Besanc to head into the forest. So when Eren went to Besanc and took some missions for himself, he knew the news was going to reach the dual berserkers soon. What Ron and Dino didnt know was that their covert trailing wasnt so covert to Eren who had Reens mana sense at his disposal. Yet he didnt change his direction or pace and continued moving forward. Soon the area that separated the neutral zone from that of the Amazonian region came into Erens view. He knows things are going to get exciting as soon as he crosses the boundary line and steps into the Amazonian region. Eren didnt rush. He paused for a while and rested. He also took out his food supplies and started fixing himself a hearty sandwich. Only after making sure that his preparations were ready did Eren move from his position. This wasnt apletely risk-free endeavour for Eren either. Thats why he had cold feet the very first time he had done his study on the C-Rank beasts. Not long after Eren crossed the boundary line and stepped further into the forest, he heard a voice from behind him: Eren Idril, long time no see. Eren turned around to see Ron and Dino standing not far from him, and his expressions turned grim: What are you two doing here? I dont think you have registered yourself with the Besanc. Are you two perhaps following me? Said Eren while sharpening his gaze. But Dino and Eren could see a trace amount of fear the butcher was trying to hide behind his brave face. Dino couldnt help gloat in front of his potential prey Hehe! Eren Idril, you fucking, conniving, backstabbing, son of a bitch. Youve tried our patience, you know that? Son of a bitch? How does he know about my mother so well? Thought Eren before replying to the loudmouth Ive tried your patience? What do you mean by that? And make it quick. Im running on a schedule here. Dino startedughing menacingly after hearing Erens nonchnt reply. He had to take a breather from hisughter to reply to his former opponent: Do you know why you could go scot-free after screwing over us the way you did? I think you know. And that made you cocky in pulling those stunts on us. Harming LA students on LA grounds counts for suspension as the least possible punishment. But it doesnt talk about the incidents that happen outside it, do you know why? The reason is simple. The academy wants us to be tactical in our ways of settling disputes. Do you know where we are standing now? Hehe! Ill give you a hint. Not LA grounds, thats for sure. Eren didnt seemingly get unfazed by Dinos naked threat and verbally bit back: Haah! You two remember that you couldnt beat me even after tag-teaming right? Why do you want to humiliate yourself when theres nobody here? You want to get your ass handed to you in secrecy? Dinos face turned red after he heard Eren words that stung like aggravated bees. He was about to reply with even more curses directed at Eren. But he was stopped from doing the same with his friend Ron around. Ron didnt want to gloat like Dino. But he wanted his victim to know about the predicament he had found himself in. So he spoke up next: Eren, maybe you havent realized that you are in trouble here. Have you? Thought Eren to himself as he maintained his outwardly stoic expressions. ================ AN: VEH will have another bonus chapter release in a few hours as a part of the Christmas celebration. ?? Chapter 182: Grim Realization

Chapter 182: Grim Realization

Eren, maybe you havent realized that you are in trouble here. Ron said in a threatening tone. Have you? Thought Eren to himself as he maintained his outwardly stoic expressions. What are you nning to do? Its not like I cant defend myself against two of you. My lightning element alone gives me all the advantage I need to bust your balls. Said Eren while folding his hands. He knew the duo must have taken some countermeasures this time against his lightning element spells for it to be this confident in itself. That might have been true. But dont you think we might have known that and we did something about it? Yeah? Like what? Said Eren with an uncaring attitude. Like this! Said Ron and showed Eren what he was wearing under his shirt by pulling the cor to the side. Eren understood where the berserkers confidence came from. They were wearing lightning spell proof armour under their clothes. F-Rank disposable artefacts, Eren guessed to himself. These types of armour wouldntst long. Because the runes inscribed on them would lose effectiveness with every barrage of spells it was hit with. But Eren also knew itd take a lot more effort than he cared to admit for him to exhaust their armour with his lightning element spells. But that didnt deter him from his stance. You do that Ive also been dabbling in fire element spells, dont you? The artefacts wont protect you from the elemental spells they are not designed to protect you against. Dino was the one to pitch in this time: Hahahaha! Empty threats. We know that you dont have full mastery over your fire element spells. And your derived elemental affinity can only give you so much edge while you are using fire spells. I think we can deal with those fire spells you throw at us just fine. Want to test out? Dino looked eager to beat the shit out of Eren. Thetter shook his head after listening to his statement before replying: It seems Ill have to teach you that its not the lightning spells you should be wary about. Its the one who casts them. Said Eren and ran Blitz Bolt through his arms. The Blitz Steps also showed the signs of being executed on Erens legs. Dino and Ron both got tense at that time. They had worn lightning resistant armours, sure. But they knew they couldnt do anything about Erens closebat attacks that focused on weapon injuries. They both had their metal skin spells. But that alone could not prevent their attacker from injuring their vital spots through blunt force generated by the weapons impact. Dino and Ron both executed their signature spells. They both turned into metal humanoids and drew their weapons. But what they saw next froze them in their tracks and numbed their minds. Thats because the guy that had just threatened them with severe retaliation went ahead and ran from the battlefield. Thats right. Eren ran as soon as he saw the dual berserkers preparing themselves for the battle. Ron and Dino had thought about Erens lightning element spells. And they were also confident about the fire element spells that he had disyed during recent battles. But they had never thought about the possibility that a cold-blooded guy like Eren would run away from them. Erens movement spell had reached a new level when his BTP rose to 21. The lightning element, closebat oriented technique he was practising prioritized his Agility stat. And yet Eren only showed his normal movement speed. Something that he had shown in his ranking battles till now. That was because Eren wanted the dual berserkers to follow him. Otherwise, he would have left them behind by now. Therefore Eren ran. And surprisingly, the dual berserkers followed him. They cursed his name and his non-existent family while doing so. The guy had be an unpredictable menace for them. Even taking revenge on him could be considered as putting yourself through a series of torture. The chase took ce for a while. Until Reen informed him about his pathid ahead: Erni, the old beasts territory is up ahead. Youll enter it in a few moments. Erens eyes lit up when he heard that. He took out one killing array scroll from his ID stone. The scroll was almost 5ft in vertical length. And it was about five times its vertical length when stretched open horizontally. Carrying this unusually big array scroll was a tough thing to do when the movement spell was in full effect. Thats why Eren only took out the scroll when it was the right time to do so. Ron and Dino were not far behind him. Eren had maintained just enough distance for them to follow him and not see what he was up to. Eren quickly stretched open the array scroll as soon as he barged into the old beasts territory. And he did the same with another array scroll at a safe distance from the first location. Erens pursuers could be seening from him as soon as he finished his preparations. He couldnt help but smile cunningly after he saw his one set of preys was right on time. And now he only needed the mana beasts to make their entrance, his second set of preys. By now, the array scroll had been crumpled into dust and the array had been stretched on the ground. The runes were now exuding faint lights. But they werent overly prominent yet. Have guts to fight us, you conniving rat bastard. Dino spoke loudly as soon as Eren was in his sight again. He could now only see Eren as his target of attention. The berserker didnt pay attention to the arrayyout exuding a faint light behind Eren. But Ron was still level-headed. That small detail didnt fail to register in his mind, enabling him to have a grim realization. Its a trap! He couldnt help mumble to himself after he connected a few dots. =============== AN: I want to stay positive, I really do. But the pragmatist in me tells me that the uing year wont be that different from the shitshow we have faced till now. Wear masks at densely popted public ces and events, everyone. Hope you have a safe and happy holiday. ?? Chapter 183: Trapped Prey P1

Chapter 183: Trapped Prey P1

Its a trap! Ron couldnt help mumbling to himself after he connected a few dots of the entire event in his head. But Dino was already rushing towards Eren before he could warn his friend about a possible risk involved in approaching their target. Dino, you meathead, just stop right there Ron tried to warn his friend about something. But Dino felt like he had waited long enough to take care of this wretched person. Ron, if you want to back out for the fear of possible repercussions from anyone from LA, then go ahead and retreat. Im not going to Dino was saying this while travelling at an even faster pace than before. Ron was right behind him. Eren was almost right within their berserks charge range. Dino retrieved his berserking potion from his storage space. He was a little hotheaded, yes. But he wasnt stupid enough to think that hed get rid of the closebat expert in front of him without breaking a sweat. There was a chance he would have to pay the price of underestimating Eren he couldnt be able to pay. Thats why Dino decided to go full throttle from the get-go to confront his opponent. Dino came closer. He was just some meters away from Eren now. He was about to drink the berserking potion when he heard thetter say his next words. Reen, now. Said Eren andmanded Reen to spread her mana sense and make hostile contact with the two C-Rank beasts in the vicinity. He also made her fuse with his body and elevate his BTP value to that of an E-Ranker. Then he ran his mana through the pebble-like item that was inscribed with runes. This was the controller of the killing array that was currently standing inside. And Dino was now within the arrays area of effect as well. All Dino felt with his mana sense was that Erens stats had suddenly shot for stars after he heard him say something to someone named Reen. He couldnt know Erens BTP value but the managed signature he gave off at that time enabled Dino to understand that his opponent was not an F-Ranker anymore. What the holy fuck? How can you break into E-Rank just like that? I knew there was something fishy going on with you. Hahaha! Ron, heres another reason for us to proceed with our ns. This guy is a treasure trove of secrets. Secrets we can use and get benefitted from. Even after knowing about Erens transformation, Dino didnt stop his advance. Eren had to admit one thing about the guy. He had selected the right path as a ranker. Its just that his choice in choosing his enemies was something he found faults in. Eren retreated from the opposite side and suddenly chose a cross-sectioned path. That inspired Dino to chase his opponent even more. But what happened next took the berserker some time to register in his head. Dino saw Erens legs getting coated with a mass of slime. And then that mass of slime coated his entire body in the next momentpletely before getting absorbed in his body and changing it. It looked like the skin of Purple Lightning Snake. It seemed that Eren was using the Beast Contract spell. But Ron and Dino both knew the spell wouldnt alter the casters BTP value and make them change upscale their rank. And then Eren just disappeared from his initial position and appeared at a distance that was outside the arrays area of effect. He showed his real speed equipped with his time-element spells, allowing the dual berserkers to understand that the chase was just a ruse. Eren didnt mind that his true agility potential was discovered by his enemies. It was toote for them anyway. He then pressed on the centre of the arrays control with his mana-imbued fingers. And the whole array let up instantly. Dino saw the ground beneath him had been lit up with intricate inscriptions he couldntprehend. He was confused before a slight shadow of worry crept up from behind in his head. Dino tried to advance towards the perpetrator of this weird phenomenon. But there was now one problem. He couldnt channel his mana through his body anymore. And his charge soon came to a halt when his feet were stuck to the ground. The inscriptions had climbed up on Dinos legs, making him freeze in his tracks literally. He was meat on the chopping block because of his current situation. Dino started cursing Eren. Then he started calling Ron for help. But he soon found his best friend Ron. He was retreating. He had started retreating the moment he saw the array lit up. By now Ron hade to realize that Eren wasnt someone they could mess with. The guysbat potential was one thing. His lightning element spells could also be managed. But he had practically nned this whole event even before they did after he saw the array setup. And that wasnt all. The conniving bastard could alter his body stats to make himself an E-Ranker. Ron could bet his left kidney on an assumption that this wasnt all Eren had in his arsenal. But it was all toote. Eren soon caught up with the retreating Ron and grabbed him by his neck from behind. Eren had also changed his stature for better control, and that had made it easy for him to lift Ron in the air by his neck. Eren then dragged the smart berserker towards the second array he hadid not far from the first one and thrown him inside the arrays area of effect. Then he retrieved another array controller and activated the array with its help, putting Ron in the same boat as his friend. Eren, listen to us. I dont know what you are up to. But let me be very clear about a few things. We only meant to scare you. Not permanently injure you or kill you. Im sorry it had toe to this. But we can always start again Ron immediately changed his strategy and tried to talk practically with Eren. but his ns were interrupted by his very own friend: Ron, you scaredy-cat. This is just some trapping array. Why are you acting like you are going to die by this wretched rats hand? Trust me, this conniving bastard doesnt have it in him to Dino was going to continue his dissing of Eren when he suddenly felt a heavy mana sense swept over him. He felt like his heart had stopped beating and the world around him had lost its colour. This was the effect of a high-ranked entity consciously making its presence known. ================== AN: Beast Contract Spell and Purple Lightning Snake have been exined in chapter 101. Chapter 184: Trapped Prey P2

Chapter 184: Trapped Prey P2

Dino was going to continue his dissing of Eren when he suddenly felt a heavy mana sense swept over him. He felt like his heart had stopped beating and the world around him had lost its colour. Ron wasnt in any better condition either. He felt the same effects as Dino, but unlike his friend, he could actually feel the level of threating from that effect. D-Rank? Ron couldnt gauge the strength of the one who had used their mana sense on them just now so he immediately assigned the threat to the highest-ranking entity he was familiar with. But soon the intensifying fear Ron felt from the iing enemy made him change his initial estimation. He had beads of sweat on his forehead as he came to a new possibility: C-Rank! Its a motherfu*cking C-Rank mana beast. Dino, my friend. We are fuc*ked! Eren didnt wait as soon as he sensed that dreaded mana sense washing over him. He made use of Reens enhancement of his body and ran the Blitz Steps to his fullest potential. His body stats had also been strengthened because of the demons beast active fusion. So Eren ran again, this time leaving two baits behind him. Now that the arrays had been activated, butcher operated them through their controllers. And made them stay invisible while retaining the effects they had on dual berserkers. The old beast came first and saw Dino and Ron both staying within the disputed territory. A territory between it and the young mana beast who was trying to expand its influence. So it focused on Dino first because he was closest to it between them. Then came the second beast. Dino pissed his pants after he saw the second mana beast of the same rank making its appearance. He tried his hardest to control his dder. But the second beasts hostile mana sense just made his body act on his own. Ron wasnt in any better condition either. He was on his knees, still unable to move. He didnt understand what was happening to him right now. Why did they end up here, in front of two mana beasts whose rank they couldntprehend for real? Ron understood that Eren had used both of them as baits. The mana beasts were very perceptive. They didnt know what the array or itsyout was. But they could sense the dangers getting radiated from it all the same. Thats why Eren needed bait in the form of Dino and Ron to make the beasts basic instincts take over. Instincts to kill the intruders in their territories first before worrying about the consequences. These instincts had made the beasts challenge Reens control over them at the time of their mana senses confrontation. Eren knew that Reens status as a demon beast wasnt high enough for them to ignore their territorial instincts. So the beasts would certainly not care anything about two puny F-Rankers. And they would try to eliminate the other party at all costs. And thats what happened. The beasts growled at each other as ifing to a ceasefire. They then focused their attention on their prey. Both the beasts stepped into their killing arrays, a moment Eren was waiting for from afar. He activated the trapping mechanism for the arrays at their full strengths. The beasts were just a few meters away from their prey when they felt their bodies getting devoid of the ability to make use of their mana. Both the beasts felt something was wrong as they tried to bolt from their positions. But their struggles werent fruitful. Especially the old beast that was already injured. It felt like it couldnt move at all. The beasts tried all their methods. They even tried to eliminate the berserkers in front of them, thinking eliminating them was the key behind their liberation. But just like Dino and Ron, the beasts too had lost the ability to employ mana or make use of their mana sense. Two sets of prey were tra[ped. Just as Eren wanted them to. He came out from hiding at that time and reached the area between the two arrays to observe the arrays functioning. Eren had two array controllers in each of his hands. He tossed them in the air and did some juggling acts as he paid attention to the beasts movements. Eren had to admit that the huge sum he had paid for these arrays was worth every Extol. He wouldnt have even thought of messing with two C-Rank beasts on his own in his current ranking status if it wasnt for these arrays. Eren was also worried about the arrays operability. The cynic in him thought that there was a chance that he might get duped. Of course, he wasnt doubting Jack. but those who provided Jack with these products. So when he saw that the arrays were working just the way they had been advertised, Eren felt some relief. He was about to press the detonation button on the arrays when he heard a faint voiceing from Ron. Ron was struggling hard to breathe because of his proximity to the C-Rank beast. He was sure that the beast wouldnt have to do anything as he would have passed out in its presence long ago if the array hadnt suppressed its mana. The way he saw it, Ron had only one way to get out of his situation. Talk with the one who had put them in the very situation. Thats why when he saw Eren approaching them, the sane berserker tried to have a word with him. Err Eren Idril. We are sorry for targeting you. We really are. Look, you can take everything that I own in my ID stone as a form ofpensation. These arrays you have used are clearly C-Rank arrays meant for the mana beasts. You you must have spent a fortune on them Ill see to it that you get that money back with my connections And I can Eren shook his head and cut him off with his reply: Offers tempting, Ron. Not going to lie But I dont like to leave loose ends behind if I can help it. Chapter 185: Illegal Slave Contract

Chapter 185: Illegal ve Contract

Offers tempting, Ron. Not going to lie But I dont like to leave loose ends behind if I can help it. Erens nonchnt attitude turned Rons mood and expressions sour. But he couldnt just give up just like that. Eren, what would you gain by killing us? Its not like we have a blood feud. And think about what would happen if LAes to find out. Your life will be ruined. Im saying this to stay alive, I agree. But it doesnt change the fact that its the truth. Instead, why dont we sign a contract thatspletely in your favour? Ill agree to any condition as long as its feasible for me. Eren kept on juggling with his two array controllers while hearing what his prey had to say before he executed what he had decided to do from earlier. He said this while continuing his circus act: Well, I can certainly go for the hush-hush contract. But its not that secure and it can be easily breached. It is more convenient for me to kill you and me it on the Amazons. Ill just have to carve the Amazonian symbol on any nearby trees trunk. Then itll be taken as you were killed because of trespassing into their territory. Its a weak excuse, but its the one thatll still work. After all, nobody fuc*ks with those crazy high-ranked femme fatal. Hehe! Rons eyes opened wide in surprise that immediately turned into his despair. Eren was right. The possibility of Amazonian sentries killing them was low, but never zero. Some of thedies were known to be hostile to outsiders even without the rhyme or reason. Ron and Dino thought the Amazonian region to be an ideal ce for them to take care of Eren. But only now did they realize that it was in fact a carefully selected region by their enemy to take care of them while facing the least amount of repercussions. If there were going to be any repercussions heading the vile characters way in the first ce. Knowing Eren till now, Ron was sure the paranoid guy like Eren would have even more countermeasures ready even if things do turn haywire for him. Ron knew he needed toe up with something that could bring some assurance to the wretched person in front of him to make him spare their lives. A way that can put them at the disadvantage so that Eren will at least consider sparing them. ve contract! We are willing to sign a ve contract with you. Eren raised his eyebrows after he heard Ron finally speaking what he wanted him to speak: ve contract, huh? I know how this idea sparked into your head. You must have done a background check on my information again and found out I now have a legal ve. A ve contract could work. Tighter restrictions. No easy way to breach the contract. And Ill always know something is wrong if and when that does happen. Good job, Ron. Im willing to consider your proposal. Said Eren and looked at the beasts that were growling in his presence. They have sensed that theirck of movement and entrapment has something to do with him. So they were trying to intimidate him with their gazes. Too bad, Eren didnt have any fear of the two beasts. Thats because he was by now confident in the two arrays he had spent a sizable part of his fortune on. Dino was mad after he heard Rons statements that conveyed that the guy had lost all his backbone after the entrapment. He couldnt help shouting at his old friend: Ron, for fuc*ks sake, man, have some dignity in dying at least. Theres no need to beg or apologize to this conniving bastard. We We will die fighting. Ron was pretty mad after hearing Dinosments. He verbally bit back in response: Once a meathead, always a meathead. Get this one thing clear in your head, Dino. you can live with dignity or shame. But theres no dignity to be had in dying. Dying is dying. And I dont want to die. If you want to die while keeping your so-called honour unsullied, go ahead. Be my guest. But dont drag me into your suicide fest. Said Ron while looking angrily at Dino. His gaze told thetter only one thing. Either get killed by Eren or get with the program. But Ron didnt need to convince Dino much. Erens next words did the job just fine: Ron, if the man wants to die, let him die. No need to get angry at him for speaking his mind out. Dino, we both shall kill you nice and easy before pinning it on the Amazons. Hehe! Here, Ron. take this. A ve contract. You know what to do. Just as Ron thought, Eren hade prepared. Then all of this was just pressure tactics. A tactic that worked on him so far because of him caving in. Eren wanted them to be his illegal ves. He just let hime to that conclusion on his own. Eren threw the contract Rons way and offered him just enough freedom of movement to catch it with his hands via the arrays controller. Thetter opened the contract scroll and read the terms and conditions carefully. This was an illegal ve contract, one which wasnt approved by the Edinburgh kingdom. Carrying and enforcing the contract was a punishable offence to both the owner and ves bound by the illegal contract. Hence illegal contracts tended to be even stricter when it came to information breachespared to their legal con=unterparts. And the severity of breaching the contract conditions was instant death. These were the C-Rank contracts Eren had also asked Jack to deliver to him along with the array scrolls. They were costly as well, butpared to the array scrolls, they were basically peanuts. Eren gave the ve contract to Ron and thought of teasing Dino some more. The array lit up again after Eren tinkered with its controller. The runes lit up on the ground started producing a buzzing sound. And a few tongues of electricity could be seen getting produced from nowhere. Dino regretted speaking so boldly. Then he looked at his old friend who didnt even pay him heed. Because he was busy reading the contract. Even a meathead like Dino had understood that this was all Erens n all along. But he was also sure that the wretched person was ready to make him disappear from this world should he decide to not cave in. Wait you mother*** Err I mean Eren. just wait. I I am ready to sign the ve contract. Dino finally decided to follow Rons example. Chapter 186: Array Detonation

Chapter 186: Array Detonation

Wait you mother*** Err I mean Eren. just wait. I I am ready to sign the ve contract. Dino finally decided to follow Rons example. Eren made an exaggerated face of surprise before telling the meathead: Whatever happened to your dignity, my friend? I thought you were going to die for your honour and glory. And I was kinda beginning to respect your choice for that, you know. Dinos pale face finally had some colour as it got to read from Erens remark. He wanted to speak and he raised his hands to do so, but just couldnt find the right words to put his side in the best light. Then Dino just dropped his head down in shame and regret. He had thought that death was easier than serving this wretched man who was all sorts of trouble. But he neededpany in his final endeavour. Apany he was expecting from Ron. Dino had been following Ron all his life since childhood. And his two betrayals in a row did hurt him a bit. But he had already known about this side of his friend. Ron was someone who would do anything and everything for his friends, except for dying. And Dino was still grateful to the guy for him to provide for his family. Plus, Ron had his reasons to survive and achieve the things he wanted to do. And Dino respected him for that. I Im willing to sign the ve contract. Just dont expect me to grovel to your feet now. Said Dino and clenched his fists tightly. Eren wanted to point out that grovelling to ones feet wasnt so different from signing the ve contract. But he spared the guy from another verbal abuse and threw another ve contract towards him. Both the berserkers read the contracts carefully with grim expressions. Any breach in the contract was going to result in the implosion of their mana core, including actively or passively seeking help to breach the contract. But they had no choice. The array would have an active timer. And it was ticking. Both of them were sure Eren wouldnt wait long enough and take care of them along with the two beasts if they took up too much time. Ron was the first to sign the ve contract with his blood getting used as ink, imbued in his mana signature. Dino followed in his footsteps soon after. Eren retrieved the contract scrolls from the dual berserkers and rechecked the contents as well as the imprints of Ron and Dino on their respective contracts. He did the same actions as the dual berserkers to imprint the contract as the owner. But hemanded Reen to sign the contract for him by using her mana and mana signature for imprint. Eren did this to make sure that Dino and Ron stay loyal to him without him getting directly involved. Plus, a high-ranked entity getting in contract with low-ranked entities would always make it difficult for thetter to breach the contract. Dino and Ron could feel some faint connection with Eren. But they felt like there was some interference. As if it was Eren and wasnt him at the same time. But they just chalked it under as their first time being ves to anybody. Eren had warned them that the very they were willing to undertake had no expiry date. They were going to have to stay as his ve or die to get free from their statuses. But the butcher assured the dual berserkers that most of their daily lifestyles would remain unaffected. And hed only summon them when he needs them. They could act like usual if and when there was no summon or order from him. And like this, Eren obtained two more ves. This time, two illegal ones. He couldnt make use of the dual berserkers openly. And their very statuses needed to be kept hidden for their as well as his sake. But now Eren could manage the dual berserkers to do a few things without getting his hands dirty. He never wanted to kill the dual berserkers. Just scare them into submission. Of course, Eren was still not content with the past life experiences he had with dual berserkers. He was going to make them suffer the consequences of that some more. But he had nowe to realize that these two guys were just looking after their interests. And he was just in their way. So they used him to cater to the benefits they could get by being friendly with Sienna. If the dual-berserkers could make use of him for their reasons, Eren could return the favour to them in the same manner. Plus, killing them wouldplicate his status with the academy. Even if he takes all the precautions and nothing gets traced back to him, the cynic in Eren believed that prevention is better than cure. Eren controlled the arrays with their controllers and allowed Dino and Ron to get out of their traps. Now only the mana beasts were confined to their respective arrays. What are you going to do with them? Ron asked while standing behind Erens back, on his right side. They were now at an ample distance away from the spot of the two arrays. Dino was standing on Erens left. Eren didnt need to look behind to answer the guy. He just shrugged his shoulders and said nonchntly: Why, kill them of course. The array can only stay active for so much time. Saying this, Eren imbued his mana into the two controls by grabbing them both in each of his hands and willing them to detonate the arrays using his mana sense. There was no sound. But an unmistakably dominant wave of C-Rank mana spread over the surrounding area. Two lightning element C-Rank arrays had been detonated! =================== AN: Our bodacious babe Ma is back on our book cover, boys! No more Krampus torture. (Although the image kinda highlighted vile evil hiding under the veil in a better manner, imao) Chapter 187: Pragmatist Slave Owner?

Chapter 187: Pragmatist ve Owner?

Two lightning element C-Rank arrays were detonated at that time! A sudden wave of blue light washed over the trios faces. Followed by a tingling sensation on their skin. Two lightning element C-Rank arrays had been detonated after all. It was going to interfere with ones senses even when the arrays effect was categorized as non-destructive to its surroundings. There was a sudden surge of C-Rank mana in the surrounding area. A surge that made the witnesses mana circuit go haywire for a short time. The arrays Eren had employed were specially made for trapping the mana beasts while preserving their bodies. The lightning storm that must have taken ce inside the array was contained by the spectral shield generated by the array themselves. Soon everything calmed down. The spectral shields vanished and the array lines on the ground started going dim. Only then did Eren and his two new hush-hush ves find the courage to approach ground zero again. Eren saw two almost intact mana beasts bodies of the C-Rank lying around. He didnt think it to be the case, but just in case the beasts were alive, he sent the dual berserkers to check up on the bodies. The butcher had used his ves right from the start to make them ustomed to their treatment. His life was more precious than his ves lives after all. He only approached the site for real when his ves confirmed it to be safe. The mana beasts bodies were still radiating the aura of how dangerous the beasts were when they were alive. Ron, use your ID Stone space to keep these bodies. Mines full. Eren asked Ron while looking at the bodies that were going to soon turn into a couple of treasure chests for him. But my storage space is full Well, take everything that you have out in the open then. You too Dino. Ill see what I can keep so that you guys have enough space to store a mana beasts body each. Ron understood that this was Erens way of demanding their resources from them. The guy was just being nice with his words. Contrary to the berserkers belief, Eren was a pragmatist ve owner. He sighed before nodding at Dino, who by the way, was taking long breaths to control his anger. Eren saw the resources the dual berserkers had and considered them to be overwhelmingly poor in front of him. But the scrooge in him decided to pilfer some of their rtively good resources as well. The bodies were soon retrieved by the dual berserkers in their storage spaces. Eren was going to contact themter on for further procession of the bodies. He was going to hand the bodies to Jack. Eren was tempted to harvest some body parts of the C-Rank beasts to himself so that he can store them in potion banks storage. Then he could take them out when he was confident in processing ingredients on those levels. But Eren knew that could take years on end. And immediate profits were more important to him than long-term gains at this point. So he decided to give up on salvaging some organs. Plus, an intact mana beasts body, that too of the C-Rank, had more value when it was intact than if he decided to dissect it. The way you had nned this thing, Eren, Im sure now. You have a specific reason behind your actions. What are you aiming for now? And why do you need us? Ron had retrospected the whole events leading to his very and asked his current owner. Probably, Eren incited them in their ranking war knowing they would react this way. Maybe Eren was counting on their retaliation all along. That meant Eren wanted them to have them as his ves. The ve contracts that he retrieved so readily right after he mentioned them further confirmed his suspicion. Ron didnt like his status. But he was d that he was alive. And he wanted to remain that way too. But knowing this wretched person, Ron feared that he would use him and Dino for high-risk tasks that wouldnt be short of suicide missions. Ron hade to sense Erens nature by now. And he was half sure about his well-educated hunch. You want a purpose for being a ve? Hahaha! Dont think too much about why I do things and the way I do them. And dont worry for now. I know what you are thinking. Things wont turn overwhelmingly risky if you follow my orders to a T. Even if I use you in certain situations, I want you to return from them alive. After all, ves are more useful when they are alive. Dead ves can only be used as fertilizers. You have your personal lives to take care of. And your growth as rankers is entirely dependent on you. Ill take no part in cultivating or sabotaging them. What I want from you is simple obedience. Do that and Ill assure you we can have a working rtionship. Said Eren and looked at Ron and Dino. he was waiting for them to process what he had said to them just now. Dino wasnt much of a thinker. And he was still salty about being a ve, which was normal for any guy in his shoes. But Ron was unusually cooperative about his new status. Eren didnt expect this much level-headedness from the berserker. And he considered Rons intelligence to be a risk for him too. He had a wild thought to kill the pawn he had just created. But Eren knew he was just being a cynic because his ns were executed the way he wanted them to. Whenever things went his way, Eren would find them suspicious, thinking that a storm was heading his way. Ron pondered for a while after listening to Erens exnations. He couldnt help asking another question to his owner: *Sigh. I dont know if anybody has ever told you this, Eren, but your way of exining things gives rise to more questions in ones head than answering the intended queries. Anyway, is it about killing someone in LA? Or kidnapping anyone? Let me be clear about a few things. If thats the case. We are not ideal rankers for your operations with the way our power and spells work. We are sure to leave traces behind. And that will eventually get tracked back to you. Ron tried to discourage Eren from putting them in dangerous situations by giving him a grim possibility. And he considered the worst in his owner and came up with shallow deterrence. =================== AN: Thanks TheForgottenLegend, Mitja_Leskover, and emme_z for your gifts. Also, thanks to all the Golden Tickets donors who have ced their GTs on VEH. Chapter 188: Smartass v2.0

Chapter 188: Smartass v2.0

Ron tried to discourage Eren from putting them in dangerous situations by giving him a grim possibility. And he considered the worst in his owner and came up with shallow deterrence. Haha! No need to nudge me in the so-called right direction, Ron. In case you forgot, Im smarter than you. At least rted to these things. You being my ves now is proof of that. Ill give you a hint to ease your mind. I want your help in dealing with a certain girl. Its not risky. And it should not put you in someones crosshairs as long as you are careful. Eren folded his hands after he said that. Something about dealing with a girl caught Dinos attention atst as his ears twitched in response to it. He couldnt help ask his owner about the girl: Who are we talking about? Eren saw the glint in Dinos eyes and smiled before shaking his head. He understood that the guy wanted to partake in his self-serving fantasies while not feeling any guilt in his consciousness. Dont overimagine stuff, Dino. Thinking isnt your forte anyway. And if I tell you the name of that girl now, forget about doing anything to her. You would be so shit-scared, your balls would retract inside you from their sack. Dino and Ron both looked at each other after they heard that. Dino wanted Ron toe up with a possibility with his big brain moves. Ron didnt disappoint his childhood friend. He came up with a possible name after employing the theory of Elimination by Aspects. Sienna Slughorn! Ron said that as soon as hepared the various female rankers Eren knew in LA. The butcher was right. The berserkers balls struggled to stay in their sack after he heard his hunch being spoken out loud. Eren, in his own twisted belief, thought that it was poetic justice itself if the same guys who had helped Sienna plot his downfall in the past timeline worked under him to do the same against her at his behest. The butcher couldnt extend the same courtesy to Sienna that he had offered to dual berserkers. Nothing was off-limits when it came to punishing her. She was the root cause behind most of his sufferings after all. The others who had helped her only served her as her pawns. So Eren was willing to learn from his enemies and take the page from their books while he catered to his interests. Eren was going to make sure that Sienna falls into an even deeper pit than he had found himself in his previous life. But that was difficult for him to pull off alone because of her background. Eren kept quiet for some time after hearing Rons spot-on prediction. A few moments had to pass before he replied with stoic expressions and a serious tone. Ron, your intelligence would save you from most dangers, provided you dont act too smart for your good. Said Eren. He was suddenly reminded of Ralph from the Osan Woods after witnessing Rons thought process. He couldnt help asking the guy about the same. Ron, are you, by any chance, rted to the guy named Ralph who I heard had been killed the Osan Woods Butcher? Ron was confused that Eren suddenly made an out-of-the-blue connection with him and Ralph. But he confirmed his suspicions anyway: Um yeah. He is my cousin. Or was. His mother and my mother are sisters. And my uncle Lin Karr is their only brother. Why do you ask? Now it makes sense. The extra smartness runs in the family. Too bad the same could not be said about their uncle Lin Karr. Eren thought to himself before looking at the smartass v2.0. Then he just shrugged his shoulders before saying: It was just some news I had heard about your connection with the guy who had died by the butchers hands. Never mind, Ill tell you about what you need to do in a few days. For now, you can disperse. Said Eren and turned his back on Ron before starting to walk in a certain direction. He still had another task to worry about now that the mana beasts were out of the picture. Malva Hibiscus. He didnt need berserkers help in locating the ingredient. So he could let them go. But Ron wasnt over with his questions it seemed: Was that beast contract spell you used back then? Eren just nodded in response like the pathological liar he was after listening to Rons query. He would never trust any person just because they were his ves after all ande clean with all his secrets: But then why havent you used the spell in your ranking battles till now? Eren resumed his walk in the direction of Malva Hibiscus after he heard that question. His slightly distant was heard by Ron, answering his question by not answering it: And why would I reveal all my cards for everybody to see? And do you think thats the only card I have? Hehehe! Eren seemingly disappeared from his position after he said that. Ron looked at his now-gone figure with sombre expressions. He had realized that he had messed up and gotten himself involved with a ruthless, cold, and calctive personality. Ron could feel that the societal bottom lines Eren had only existed because he was looking after his self-interests. He didnt follow them for the sake of others. And if there was the possibility that no repercussions would fall on him, Eren would be okay with anything and everything. Eren was not evil because of his actions. He was evil for the simple fact that he knew how to pretend not to be one. With outright evil, the person confronting them had time to prepare in advance. The chaotic evil is always on the path of self-destruction. And thewful evil can be easy to deal with since it doesnt try to break the established system. It was the neutral evil who could cause the most damage to the society if there ever was a benefit for them in doing so. Ron hade to realize that Erens personality made him fall under thest category. At least Im alive. And as long as Im alive, big brother Ralph, theres a chance for me to get revenge on the butcher for killing you. Dont worry. Ill make sure that the fuc*ker pays somehow. Ron consoled himself with such thoughts. His big brother Ralph was his role model and guiding light. Ron and Ralph were both birthed by their mothers inside a specialized array designed by Lins parents to boost the newborn childs stats from the moment they were born. The array seemed to prioritize the intelligence stat more though. Lins parents were very well-known to create and researching unique arrays like these. And they were very famous and influential because of them. Too bad, their only son couldnt inherit their gifts and sucked balls in the study of arrays. In conclusion, the role that the array yed in both Ron and Ralphs births became the foundation for their talents in analyzing things on a deeper level. Both the boys grew up in the same environment. But because of their enhanced intelligence, they werent social to the peers of their age. Ron and Ralph couldnt connect with others the way they connected because of simr thought processes. That made them look for support in each other. Things only changed for Ron a little when Dino became his friend. But that didnt make him create a distance between him and his big brother Ralph. So when news about Ralphs death came, Ron didnt take it too well. He had to process and release his bottled up emotions rationally toe up with the idea of taking revenge on the butcher. That line of thought got Ron on his feet again and made him put extra effort into his ranking journey. The berserker had also figured out from the rumours that the butcher wasnt a simple person to deal with. But he took it as a challenge rather than a deterrence. After all, his rational brain needed a clear goal to function, no matter how tall it might seem. Ron thought of taking his time and dealing with the butcher in the future when he became powerful enough to do so. What he couldnt have thought in his wildest dreams was the fact that the butcher who had killed the emotional support of a cousin was the same person he was currently serving as his ve. =================== AN: Who remembers Ralph the smartass? ?? Chapter 189: Mutagen

Chapter 189: Mutagen

Do you sense anything? Eren asked Reen. They were in the disputed area between the now-killed mana beasts. The dual berserkers had left the region. And Eren was now treasure-hunting with his demon beast to get his hands on Malva Hibiscus. I do. There are a few good mana-imbued herbs in the region. But the one with C-Rank mana is the only one as far as I can tell. Thats what you are looking for, Erni? Reen asked Eren after detecting the presence of herbs in the vicinity through har stretched mana sense. Thetter nodded and told her to guide him there to the herbs ce. Reen, the treasure-seeking mean machine led her master towards the ingredient he needed the most at the time. And thetter couldnt help sporting a smile after he saw the herb inside a narrow cave that had only one opening. Eren didnt approach the C-Rank herb right away. Because some herbs had a defence mechanism in ce. Rankers needed a few special techniques to harvest them. But Eren knew the ingredient wasnt of the harmful kind. Well, not really. But the ingredient was known to release an irritant gas in response to the perceived threats. The butcher had studied the ingredient at the academys library, knowing about all the information there was to know about the same. The irritant gas had the harshest ill-effect on the F-Rankers. But it wouldnt work on the C-Rankers. Therefore Eren told Reen to harvest the ingredient by giving her proper directions while he stayed at the back observing the process. But that was not all Eren had told Reen to do. He hade prepared after knowing about the irritant gas release of the ingredient and decided to harvest that as well. Therefore, he handed a potioneering F-Rank item to Reen that he had purchased from Jack. It was a simple container in the form of a run-inscribed vial. The user needed to run their non-elementalized mana through the item and it would suck in the surrounding air, safely securing it within itself. Reen did as she was guided by her master. She had picked up a few of Erens skills in potioneering as well. So she wasnt aplete amateur when it came to handling potioneering ingredients. Like this, Eren secured two crucial items from his meticulous nning apart from the two treasure-chests that were the mana beast bodies. Now the path to bing Levines disciple was open to him. ************************ Eren was seenying on his bed the next day. He was reading a tattered book that didnt look like it was taken from the academys library. This was one of the study materials he had seized from the cultist hideout. It seemed like the book contained a general summary on the study of Therianthropy and demi-humans, written by someone in the first-person narration: Eren read out aloud: Mutagen! This is the elusive gic element humans need for their sessful transformation into that of demi-humans and break their shackles of staying as ordinary rankers. Mutagen can be considered as the most basic form of a gic makeup that is based on the stable fusion of human and beastly genes. Ideally, a stable mutagen would be passed down through generations until it regresses into that of a human or beast ger down the line. But the study in the field of mutagen is extremelycking at the time Im writing this note for myself. Or to be more precise, the core studies that have been done till now are all either destroyed or kept hidden by the kingdoms. Most of the continents history of the past 700 years has many loopholes. And some descriptions of now-ruined areas and events are heavily redacted. If my guess is correct, then the entire continent faced something horrible of an unprecedented level in the past due to the rankers pursuit of bing demi-humans. Thats why all the kingdoms and empires came to a unanimous decision to get rid of anything that was linked with the study of mutagens and demi-humans. But this is where the establishments are going wrong. Oppressing the information would only birth the curiosity in rankers heads and make it grow at an incredible rate. Im no exception to this rule either. The study of mutagens and the lost path of bing a demi-human is fascinating to me. And one day that lost path shall not stay as lost to us anymore. The previous studies on this path have been kept away from the reach of normal rankers by the establishments. So we will just start things from scratch and arrive at the answer with our efforts. Its not like we didnt try. We experimented with the shapeshifter demon beasts and made them mate with human partners. But no matter what we did, no pregnancy urred from those experiments. We have concluded that human and beast genes are ipatible with normal methods of child conception. They repel each other. We had subjects mate daily for months on end. Yet there were no results. The path of therianthropy focuses on pseudo-mutagen that is obtained by using only the fusion of human and beast blood at a superficial level. And with all due respect to the rankers who have researched on and taken the path of therianthropy, it is nothing but a cheap imitation of the original. Therianthropy has many limitations. And it is something that makes you start from scratch with every ranker. That is because the pseudo-mutagen doesnt get passed down through generations. After all, therianthropy doesnt harmonize the human and beastly genes. The two distinct gene makeups of humans and beasts just get glued together through the use of a permanent spell instead of getting mixed. Theck of harmony between the human and beastly genes is the reason behind why therianthropy falls short in paving the way for rankers to be demi-humans. It is a half-assed answer to something that is immensely phenomenal. But Im not heartbroken. Because I found something of immense value while exploring a nameless rankers utopia. It was the skeleton of a human ranker with a bone density that was many times greater than the ordinary rankers. We have run some tests now. And we are sure that it is the skeleton of an actual demi-human. Although we cant do much after that due to the ruined state of the skeleton, we are now sure that demi-humans exist. Or can exist. Because they had existed back then when history was yet to be made and redacted. As long as we know that our hard work can get us the fruit we need, we are ready to bear the hard work. If the establishments want us to stop pursuing the lost path, let them try! C JJ Edgar. Chapter 190: Demi-Human?

Chapter 190: Demi-Human?

If the establishments want us to stop from pursuing the lost path, let them try! -JJ Edgar. Eren read till this entry and then closed the book to process what he had understood from it. Now he was sure that he waspletely ignorant in his previous timeline. Because he didnt know about the continent shaking events JJ Edgar person talked about in his journal. Neither was he aware of therianthropy and mutagen. And he was certainly not aware that demi-humans existed for real once. He wanted to take whatever that was written in this journal with a pinch of salt, but the various exnations the journal gave to defend the writers conjectures made sense to him. Wait a minute. Fuuuuuuck! Am I a demi-human now? Eren had a sudden thought after reading Edgars journal and couldnt help opening his eyes wide in surprise. He felt joy at first in seeding in something that many high-ranked entities had failed in. But that joy was soon reced with worry and concern for his well-being after he registered the possible repercussions. As per the journals exnations, all the big-league establishments spanning across the continent seemed to abhor demi-humans. Eren already had an active bounty ced on him as the Osan Woods Butcher. He didnt need to be a genius to know how the Edinburgh kingdom would react if it came to find out that Eren had seeded in bing a demi-human. The most strange part about this whole scene was the fact that Eren wasnt aiming for anything even remotely rted to bing a demi-human. Breathe, Eren. breathe. Take deep breaths and calm the fu*ck down. This is all just a conjecture. I need to look through the study materials carefully before making a well-educated guess. For all I know, I might just be something else entirely. Something in between an anthrope and a demi-human. Or maybe Im still a human with abilities that are like the anthropes. I dont understand what took ce that day. I never thought about the transformation I had after that uncalled-for fusion with Reen. But it looks like I need to look into it for real. Thought Eren to console himself. He denied being a demi-human, in the end, to assure himself that there wouldnt be another fresh manhuntunched on him. Because if that manhunt takes ce, itd involve all the big yers from the kingdom and possibilities outside it. Hed have to leave the academy, say goodbye to his future endeavours, and live under a rock all his life to keep his hide. But then Eren had a mncholic thought that maybe he had used two lifetimes luck on that gem. With the way things seemed to go haywire for him despite his meticulous nning, he couldnt be sure that the same wouldnt happen in this case as well. Eren smiled mirthlessly after he came to realize something. Things started to spiral out of control when Eren obtained Reen as his demon beast. It pointed to another possibility that he voiced to himself: Maybe Reen was the key someone big in the Edinburgh kingdom had made for themselves to turn into a demi-human behind everyones backs. If that is the case, then it would exin why they are looking high and low for my traces. Reen was an investment they never wanted toe out in the public. Itd be a huge conspiracy if some big-shot fe in the royal court is found to be dabbling in taboo experiments that were deemed forbidden by all the known establishments on this continent. Another conjecture bomb went off in Erens head. He wasnt sure on his hunch, but all the events and the information he had collected so far pointed to the same possibility. JJ Edgars journal had opened his eyes to various things that were hiding in in sight for him. But all his conjectures need to stay as conjectures. Thats because he didnt have much information on a lot of things that were linked to these possibilities. Therefore, Eren added another task to his to-do list: to know about the missing pieces of history of the entire continent that was dated back to 700 years or before. If what Edgars journal had written was considered to be true, then he knew that he wouldnt find much in the academys library. But he wanted to try nheless. Of course, Eren knew that he needed to act with even more prudence now. If he is a demi-human or the closest sample to being one, then death wont be the worst thing his fate would have in store for him. Hed be kept like a guinea pig in someb all his life with no way to escape ormit suicide at sight. *Sigh. As if being the Osan Woods Butcher was not enough. Now I need to worry about even this shit. I swear to the devil, if I find that buffoon who chose a low-level ce like Osan Woods to perform their cultist-like experiments, Ill fry their balls in boiling oil and make that person eat them with ketchup on top. Fuck! Um that is if they have balls and I have the power to pull this off. Eren was having a range of emotions in his head at the time. The demon beast connected mentally with him couldnt help asking with a downcast voice after she saw what her master was going through: Erni, do you regret involving yourself with me? Eren had already gotten up from his bed by now. He was pacing around in his room, with hands behind his back while the storm of thoughts raged in his head. Reen was sitting by his bed in a young girls form when she asked that: Hmm? Where did thate from? Said Eren with puzzling expressions and paused his stride-in-loop. Reen had to rify what she said: All your big problems and your pressing worries are rted to me. Isnt that a big enough reason for me to ask you that question? Said Reen with serious expressions on her face. But one could see a hint of worry and guilt hidden behind that seriousness. ================== AN: Thanks emme_z, Pietys, and TheForgottenLegend for your gifts. And thanks Waakaranai for your pizza. It was delicious, Lol. Chapter 191: [Bonus Chapter] Distinction Between Rankers & Cultists

Chapter 191: [Bonus Chapter] Distinction Between Rankers & Cultists

All your big problems and your pressing worries are rted to me. Isnt that a big enough reason for me to ask you that question? Said Reen with serious expressions on her face. But one could see a hint of worry and guilt hidden behind that seriousness. Yeah. I have to admit. You are the reason behind my problems, Reen. Eren said this while nodding nonchntly. Due to which Reen had a nk face. She thought her master would try to talk some sense to her, saying how wrong she was in thinking the way she was thinking. The butcher was unpredictable to even his demon beast, it seemed. But then Reen sensed Erens emotions and got angry: Hmph! Now I get it. You were just teasing me. Be d I dont like to bully my master. Otherwise, youd be in a lot of trouble. Eren smiled mirthlessly after he heard his demon beast throwing tantrums at him. She was bing more like a teenage girl than a feared demon beast. My point is even if I knew these troubles beforehand, Id still choose to make you mine. Thats because you are that important and precious to me. Eren tried to cajole Reen into submission. And it would have worked on almost any teen girl. But s, Reen could read his thoughts well. Important to you or your crafty ns? Reen said this and narrowed her eyes as if she was paying close attention to her masters moves and his statements. Eren scratched his head before continuing: Why do they need to be mutually exclusive in the first ce? You are important to me and my ns both. Besides, you were the reason behind a buffoon like Dom getting sessful in the previous timeline. Surely, we can do something about my rotten luck in future as well. Hehe! This answer finally satisfied Reen. It highlighted the importance of her existence in her masters life. Eren didnt deny that he had be her master for his interests. But he also added that she was an integral part of his existence now. Reen thought that Eren was investing his time and resources into too many things at once when he could have just focused on his ranking journey. All his nning and cunningness were not worth it in her eyes. Thats why she couldnt help ask him: Eren, I feel you are better suited as a cultist than a normal ranker. Why do you need to put this much effort into everything you do when you can join the other side and enjoy more freedom? Eren raised his eyebrows again after listening to Reens question that came out of the blue. He scratched his chin along with his barely growing beard before replying: Hehe! While I admire your efforts in looking after me, Reen, you are still too much of a greenhorn. You see rankers and cultists as two groups. But they are two sides of the same coin. Theres not really a difference between a ranker and a cultist when you think about it. One does all that they wish while the other does things in the dark. Said Eren and stored Edgars journal back in his storage space. Then he picked up the purple apple kept on the fruit stand and started eating it. He threw the other one to Reen who caught it with a trace of confusion still visible on her face. So why do humans see each other as cultists and rankers at all? Why cant they all just be rankers pursuing their own paths to power? Asked Reen while following her masters lead and eating the purple fruit she was handed to. Eren looked at the girl savouring the fruit and shook his head before continuing: There are some cosmetic differences between the two. And cosmetics matter. The biggest advantage cultists have over rankers is the way they share their knowledge about their ranking journey. It seems the bigshots among them have invested their time and resources into finding old and new paths to power that can be deemed revolutionary whenpared to what the rankers have today. Eren said while finishing his fruit. Now he had retrieved another book from his storage. This was a pioneering book about ingredients. He was reading on the irritant gas released by Malva Hibiscus and its uses. But then why are you hesitating to be a cultist? Your status as a potential demi-human is sensitive no matter which side you join or abandon. But with cultists, at least youd have more ways to learn about the lost path of bing a demi-human. Here, as a ranker, you wont gain much regarding how to tap into your true potential. If you cante out in the open regarding your potential demi-human status, But the cultists advantages end there. The establishments spread across this continent are way too powerful. They wont allow the cultists to prosper because they are anti-establishment. The cultists exist because the establishments want them to exist. The kingdoms and empires use the cultists as their powers in the shadows to create unrest in their enemys territory. In short, the cultists exist to serve as an excuse for the establishments to do their dirty work while shedding responsibility for their actions. No matter what they do inside and outside their territory, they always have one force to me for their mischiefs: the cultists. Sure, Id like my freedom. Which sane ranker who wants to progress faster and further in their ranking journey would ever say no to such an offer? But I dont want to sacrifice my safety because of it. Being a ranker has its disadvantages, I cant pretend that they dont exist. And rankers societal rules are bothersome. Whats even more bothersome is the way they are less restricted the higher you climb in the rankingdder. But even with all restrictions, staying as a ranker would give you a stable way to progress without being worried about the repercussions from the powers that are above you. Slow and steady progress in the beginning ranks is essential for a ranker. And its not that I wont ever swim in those murky waters. But right now, Im better off as just another ranker. Said Eren and closed the book he was reading. Reen was satisfied with her masters exnations as she looked at him pondering over something. Eren then retrieved the runic container in which Malva Hibiscus was stored. He checked the ingredient one more time to ensure everything is the way it should be. Eren stored the container after the final recheck and raised his hands towards Reen. Thetter just converted into her slime form and merged with the tip of his index finger before disappearing into his body. It was time Eren met up with Adapt Levine. ==================== AN: Thanks Venom30 for the pizza. Sure hit the spot. ?? This bonus chapter is dedicated to another set of 100 GTs we received. VEH is almost within the top 50 Golden Tickets ranking. I couldnt have asked for more in its first win-win month. Cheers! A few readers wanted to know about Erens take on the cultists. Hope this chapter answers your queries. Chapter 192: Master Ranker!

Chapter 192: Master Ranker!

Morning, Adapt Levine. Eren greeted the potion master with a courtesy bow. He hade to the small library attached to the potioningb, where Levine was busy reading through some books. Thetter looked at him and raised her brows before replying: Hmm? I dont think we have a lecture set for today, Eren. is something the matter? Eren shed a broad grin at the Adept rankers before replying: I got it. The thing that you were looking for. It took a while for Levine to realize what Eren was talking about. The look of urgency was seen on her face as she could only utter a few words to describe it: Show me. Eren didnt y the tease and retrieved the runic container from his storage space. Levine practically snatched it from his hands as soon as she saw it appear in front of her. Levine freed the C-Rank ingredient from its confines and observed it closely. An inspectional nce soon reced urgency, paving the way for unmasked ecstasy. Brint, Eren. This Malva Hibiscus is top-notch. Just the way I wanted it. You have even harvested it the right way. Im utterly satisfied. I know you want my discipleship to use my name and contact, Eren. But for this favour youve done for me, I dont see that as a problem. Here, take this. Bound it with your blood and mana. Levine handed a token to Eren, which had an image of a cauldron on one side and the name Montmorency on the other. There were also intricate runic inscriptions that seemed to glow with a faint light as soon as Eren touched them. This was a ranked item. Eren just didnt know which one. But he didnt dally and did what Levine told him to do. Soon the item was bound by the butcher who then looked at the D-Ranker for an exnation: Thats your discipleship badge, Eren. It will prove useful to you in the future. From today onwards, you are my disciple and Im your teacher. Id give you more details regarding our arrangement. But not now. Give me a few days to sort out some affairs that need my immediate attention. Ill contact you when the times right. Levine was clearly in a rush and wanted to deal with her problem immediately. Instead, she wanted to talk to the person who had be the delivery man for what she desired the most. Eren had realized this but he couldnt help but add ament of his own: Thank you, teacher Levine. Im d to be under the tutge of such a talented potionier. But Id like to remind you at the risk of sounding ignorant about your expertise. Malva Hibiscus is a mild ingredient in nature. But its effects would change drastically if its distilled with mana-core-healing potions that also tend to be mild. If you Eren wanted to continue warning Levine about something but thetter just chuckled before interrupting him: Hehe! Eren, you mean to say I wont be able to handle the effects of my creation because I made some rookie mistake? Eren shook his head before replying: No, I am not saying that. But Im saying that instead of adding another agent in your potion to act as the neutralizer, why not use the side-product of the same ingredient that it ispatible with? You have stored the irritant gas of the ingredient as well while harvesting? Instead of confirming Levines questions, Eren removed a portion of the irritant gas that was released by the C-Rank ingredient as a defence mechanism. He had another container of the irritant gas with him that he kept in his storage space. I think this much should be enough. Eren handed the vial to Levine, whose face was etched with surprise. The kid in front of her didnt understand the value of this irritant gas, but she did. With this, Levine now had both the ingredient and a stabilizing agent to concoct the potion she needed for so long now. She felt happy, yes. But her happiness was overshadowed by Erens in-depth preparation to harvest the ingredients the right way even when he knew nothing about their effects. The boy came prepared, I must say. Thought Levine before smiling wholeheartedly. With the irritant gas added to the distilling process, the potions quality she was preparing to brew would be exceptional even by her standards. Eren, do you know about my mana core damage? Levine couldnt help asking when she heard the guy talk about healing potions that treated damaged mana core. Malva Hibiscus could have been a dead giveaway if it wasnt used in various potion recipes. So Erening with that spot-on conclusion was still somewhat surprising for Levine who was waiting for her new disciple to answer her question. Oh, I just guessed after talking with my aunt Nina about Malva Hibiscus. You have regressed in your ranking journey, right? Although a C-Rank ingredient is ideally not suited for your requirement, Im sure potioners at your level will have countless ways to deal with such an issue. Eren used Ninas name again to skip any exnation about how he knew about things, which he knew because of the past timeline. Levine had regained her ranking status as a C-Rank Expert ranker in the past timeline. All thanks to her past-future disciple finding her the Malva Hibiscus. So he thought Levine had regressed to D-Rank from C-Rank. But he underestimated the effects ofpatible stabilizing agents the potions at higher rank needed to up their quality. The same stabilizing agent he had provided to Levine. Oh! So it was your healer guardian that might havee up with that conjecture. Hehehe! You are right about my regression alright. But lets just say that you underestimate me not only as a potioneer but also as a ranker. Eren was confused about what Levine was talking about. So he was about to ask for an exnation but it seemed that he didnt have to. Thats because Levine provided it for him with her next statement: Had it been only Malva Hibiscus, I would have only regained my status as a C-Ranker. But with thepatible stabilizing agent in my hands, I might just be able to create a Master rank potion. You know what that means right? Chapter 193: Acquaintances

Chapter 193: Acquaintances

Had it been only Malva Hibiscus, I would have only regained my status as a C-Ranker. But with thepatible stabilizing agent in my hands, I might just be able to create a Master rank potion. You know what that means right? Levine looked at her disciple with an amusing expression after she asked the rhetoric question. Thetter took some time to digest the words he had heard just now from his teacher. He only expressed his disbelief after some time: Master Rank potion! B-Rank! Teacher Levine, you were a B-ranker before regression! Now it was Erens turn to feel utter surprise. Contrary to his limited knowledge from the past timeline, Levine was a B-Ranker! She was a master potioneer who had regressed two ranks straightaway. Eren didnt even want to know about how she was forced to regress so much. He feared asking her about it would give her the impression that he was interested in knowing about her woes. Eren wanted to stay away from such controversial things as far away as he could, lest theye to bite him in the ass. He already had a terrible experience with being the Osan Woods Butcher and potential demi-human. There was no need to add another entry to that list. Hehehe! You look shocked, alright. Yes, I was a B-Ranker before my regression. And it is only a possibility that Id regain my rank back with the help of both the ingredient and stabilizing agent distilled into a Master potion. As an Adept, however, it will not be easy to create a Master ranked potion. I will need some help. Anyway. Ill be a bit busy for some days, Eren. My cure doesnt lie in me finding the right ingredients. I also need the right resources to get out of my regression for the better. Ill post a notice on your Spectral screens soon and halt all my scheduled lectures for a few days. Theyll only get resumed when I am done doing something about my regression. Ill take my leave now. Said Levine and got up to find her potioneeringb located at a distance from where she was. She knew it might even take weeks on end to get out of the ditch a Master potioneer like her had found herself in. Eren also took his leave after he heard that. He regretted only one thing in this deal: Damn it. I should have asked for something more. This was a huge opportunity for me to get something from a B-Ranker. But Fu****ck. Eren regretted missing out on a potential fortune he didnt seeing and therefore missed. The scrooge thought that Levine could have been milked for more than just her discipleship had he known about the importance of the stabilizing agent he had provided. ******************** Some days after Erens visit to Levine. Inter-ss ranking war. 1C White Raven Crew vs. 1A Stormborns White Raven Crew this time had a five-member squad that consisted of Eren, Renita, Steve, Becky, and Jake. The butcher was supposed to lead the charge in this match as well with Steve supporting him in his frontal assault. Renita was supposed to provide cover fire to their charge while Becky and Jake were meant to be the cushions they could fall back on. But Erens expressions changed from carelessness to seriousness as soon as he heard the name of their opponent squad. Thats because he had met up with the three members of that team while he was travelling towards the academy. Jason Storm, Ivor Osan, and Veronica Garcia. They were the same people Eren had met in the city of Laurel outside the grocery shop. Eren wasnt worried about Ivor, Veronica or the other two members of the team. But Jason was different. And this wasnt about winning or losing the match. Unfortunately for Eren this time, one couldnt forfeit thepulsory ranking wars without participating first. He had to y this match and be done with it. Just one match. Ill leave Jason to others and deal with the rest. Eren changed his battle tactics slightly. He let his teammates know about it. The other members of White Raven Crew had no reason to argue with Eren so they all agreed. Eren Idril. d we met again. How have you been? Im guessing pretty well after looking at your war ranking. Jason shed a mild smile when the teams met up just before the match. He was trying to get Eren into his friend circle. But the guy was more slippery than an eel. Every time he tried meeting him, the guy would just disappear from hisst known ce as if he knew who wasing to see him. But this inter-ss ranking war gave Jason a chance to finally have a word with this interesting fellow. And he was looking forward to having a long discussion with him after the match gets over as well. Jason and Ivor had gotten even more famous than Eren as first-year rankers. They were always within the top ranks. Like Eren, they also had progressed much further than their ordinary peers in terms of their ranking journey. Veronica was also quite impressive in her league. It was just thatpared to the rising stars in her team, she appeared to have a dimmer halo. Jason Storm. Right back at you. Your and Ivors names are all the rage these days among us first years. In the name of our acquaintance from before, I would appreciate it if you could just make it easy on me and my team. Hehe! Ivor was standing right behind Jason. He liked Erens ttering attitude and didnt find anything wrong with it. Osan Jr. was used to being treated as someone in charge all the time anyway. So when someone followed that practice in the academy when they didnt need to, Ivor would feel his ego getting soothed subconsciously. But there was that girl with an irksome attitude who seemed to always have something against the butcher. She couldnt help pitching in before any other members of her team had a chance to reply: Just get your sorry asses beaten up nicely and quickly. Then you wont have to suffer much. Veronica replied with an uncaring attitude that said she was getting impatient to prove her words right. And she also added another expression, in the end, to show her distaste in everything that was happening around her: Hmph! Chapter 194: White Raven Crew vs Stormborns

Chapter 194: White Raven Crew vs Stormborns

Hmph! It was impossible to miss Veronicas voiced attitude. With a mirthless smile on his face, Jason told Eren and his team to ignore his arrogant teammate. But Eren couldnt help narrowing down his eyes on Veronica: What is up with this bitch? Eren thought to himself as he shook hands with Jason before both teams separated. The match was about to start. The battle between White Raven Crew and Stormbornsmences in 3 2 1 Now! *************************** Announced the referee to the teams and the audience watching the match. A lot of students were fanboys of Ivor and Jason. They wanted to see their stars beat down their opponents while keeping their cool. Because thats what has happened in their matches so far. Whenpared to Eren, who had experimented in his ranking matches and struggled to win every time, Jason and Ivor dominated their opponents. Ivor was even more brutal with his opponents than anyone in the first years. He was a closebat expert like Eren. So he would get up and close to his opponents and beat them up ck and blue with his uncaring attacks. Ivors opponents would often spill blood one way or the other because of Ivors quick dagger work. And that was considered fan service for Ivors fans. Just like Eren, Jasons team had also focused on their attack potential. Jason was a battle mage, a specialized branch of the mage path that focused on mid-range attacks instead of the usual AoEs and long-range attacks the path was known for. Jason had an affinity for wind. It made his battle style quick and fast-paced. A second benefit of having the great element as your affinity is that your ranking journey is unhindered. Therefore, his BTP value was greater than Erens. Ivor was a closebat expert. But his simrity with Eren didnt end only there. He also had a lightning element as his elemental affinity. Additionally, his dagger arts made his attacking style quite simr to that of the butcher. His grandfather Isen Osan provided Ivor with plenty of ranking resources and extols. Plus, the guy was talented as well as diligently working. And he had a relentless drive to be the best in his generation. Jason was already a heavy-hitter in the Stormborns. Ivor, with his BTP value of 21, was akin to a loose cannon that was as deadly as it was precise. Veronicas affinity forva made her a unique first-year mage. It served her battle style that the two of the most OP members in her team were always moving. That gave her the space to cast her AOE spells without catching her opponents in them as well. Veronica had a BTP value of 17. She was about to enter the middle stage of F-Rank. Her mana-core was almost going to enter the liquid stage. She just needed a small push. The two extra members Jason had kept in his team were just there to fill the numbers. They were talented as well. Butpared to the rising stars and one talented bitch with attitude, they were akin to cannon fodders. ***************** Eren zeroed his eyes on the cannon fodders. As soon as he heard the referee making the announcement that the battle had started, he seemingly disappeared from his position. Eren appeared right in the middle of the battlefield. He had travelled a sizable distance between the two teams in a fraction of moments, making it difficult for Steve and Renita to follow him in his assault. But they werent worried about Eren. They had started to believe in him. He wouldnt take unnecessary risks for short gains. And he would be the first to retreat in case he saw an unstoppable danger heading his way. Renita fired off her rounds of mana bullets in the direction of Jason. Thats what she had been instructed to do by Eren. His instructions were to hinder Jason as much as she could while maintaining a safe distance from him. She had wind elemental affinity too. Plus her ss made her more nimble than the battlemage she was targeting currently. Jason grunted audibly before he started dodging the wind bullets seemingly homing on him. Jason was as fast as Eren when thetter only used his movement technique. When the battlemage gave it his all, he was faster than the butcher. So when Renita started firing, not a single bullet was able to touch him. But that didnt prevent Renita from targeting the battlemage. She stopped advancing after spanning a few meters with Steve. The ranger then nodded at thetter, suggesting the berserker to aid in Erens opening salvo. Jason was pinned by Renita and was taken out of the picture for a while. Eren could sense Steve following from behind. He looked at his berserkers and pointed at Veronica. He wanted Steve to take care of them or at least hold off the mage. Ivor had the same idea as Eren. He had moved ahead to deal with Erens remaining team members Jake and Becky while they were in their metaphorical stronghold. Team Stormborns cannon fodder saw an enemy closebat expert heading their way and couldnt help looking at each other with helpless smiles. This event was not new for them anymore. They have witnessed and gone through situations like these many times now. Thats because team Stormborns opponents would always target these poor fellows and their OP team members wouldnt care much about them. Therefore, the cannon fodders didnt lose their confidence. They prepared themselves for what they had always been preparing for: the worst. Unfortunately for them, that still wasnt enough. As soon as he was within the range of his targets, Eren activated his Sedated Perception and vanished into thin air. The cannon fodders had their backs against each other. But they had kept some distance from each other for the freedom of movement. This was the space Eren chose to seemingly morph into existenceC right in the middle of his two targets. Chapter 195: Berserker with Brains

Chapter 195: Berserker with Brains

The space Eren chose to morph into existence was right in the middle of his two targets. He executed the Blitz Bolt through both hands without wasting any time. Before the crowd could even see the cannon fodders epic struggle to stop being cannon fodders, they faced a vicious blow behind their necks. Erens simple attack literally and metaphorically made the hair on their backs turn straight. With his simple attack, the butcher made quick work of his two opponents. The side characters were taken care of. Eren narrowed his gaze on Veronica next. It was about time he returned the plements thrown his way by the mage withpound interest. ********************** Veronica was battling with Steve who seemed annoying to her. Thats because the guy also had an earth element affinity, which gave him a fighting chance against her. Veronica had turned the sizable area around her into a pond ofva with the help of her AoE spell. She was standing in the middle, creating whips ofva that shot forth from the pond from time to time. Steve was targeted by these whips whenever he approached close to her to take care of her. If this was a normal berserker, she would have taken care of them by now. Thats because herva pond made it difficult for the berserkers to close in on her even with their signature berserker charge. Plus, theva whips provided her with a very effective offence and defence mechanism packed into one move. So whenever an opponent would approach her, she would just wait for them to get near her before trapping them into herva pond. Veronicasva would eat away the invisible yet protective manayer the rankers had coated over their bodies, making them prone to serious burns. And she had enough control on her AoE spell to increase the temperature of theva even more if and when she needed to. Veronicasva, like her, was always boiling and seething. So usually her opponents would give up and forfeit their involvement in the match when their manayers would get burnt away by herva attacks. And yet, Steve proved to her that she wasnt the only one that was in total control of her spells. All these weeks fighting with Eren and learning from him the true path of a berserker had opened the guys eyes to a new reality. Steve now understood the attitude required to be a berserker in a true sense. Berserking isnt all about amplified power that is powered by berserking potions. Emotions also served as another type of fuel in a berserkers path. Aggression that caused rankers to shut off their brains wasnt always ideal. Total control over their movement and battle style didnt tap into the berserkers true potential either. But a controlled aggressiveness that made use of those emotions while keeping the rankers rationality in check granted the berserkers to truly make full use of their path. Steve had emptied a berserking potion in his mouth by now. As per Erens instructions he wasnt allowed to underestimate his opponent. And he could clearly understand that Veronica wasnt someone who he could tackle easily in the first ce. So he had to be fast and efficient with his battle style. He executed his earth element spells and made his hands and legs get wrapped in earthen armour. As the armour was mana-infused, it was lightweight while allowing easy movement. The armour was what kept Steve safe from Veronicas attacks. Of course, he was struggling to keep his armour on for some time without it getting hardened. This was because he came into contact with theva. But Steve had no problem with his armour getting crumpled down in the first ce. He would cast the spell again and make a supplementaryyer of armour appear on his limbs. Then Steve would charge at Veronica once again, making her almost unable to concentrate on any other detail happening around her battlefield. Plus, the berserker would always choose creative ways to get close to theva mage. He would sometimes go for a direct charge. And sometimes his direct charge would turn out to be a decoy to cast another earth-element spell in theva mages direction. Eren had guided Steve in choosing the right kind of earth element spell that would bode well with each other. And he had also polished his berserkers battle style closer to perfection than ever before. Earth Spikes! This was another spell Steve now had in his arsenal. Of course, he needed to get close to his opponents for it to work. But with his mana sense spreading forth in the surrounding, he would be able to cast the spell in any direction he saw fit. Plus, Steve could now stack his Earth Spikes spells. He was able to cast up to three Earth Spikes spells simultaneously by now. He was able to aplish all this because earth elements were readily avable no matter what his environment was. And the fact that the earth element was one of the great elements that focused on simplicity allowed Steve to stack three spells with only a few weeks dedicated work under Erens guidance. The Earth Spike spell had turned out to be a nuisance for Veronica. She was still rtively safe standing in the middle of her self-createdva pond. But the spikes would breach the defences set by her mana and would always make contact with her. Thats why she was forced to change her direction and line of attack from time to time. Steve kept her busy. But it didnt look like he would be able to tackle her sessfully by getting close to her. Neither did Veronica look like she would be able to break the stalemate anytime soon. ********************** The berserker and theva mage both had their hands full with each other. So they couldnt pay attention to Eren who was getting close to their battlefield at a rapid pace. Eren saw it was almost impossible for him to sneak on Veronica because of her AoE. So he decided to use his berserker as a decoy. Steve! Now! Shouted Eren and executed his movement spell. Chapter 196: [Bonus Chapter] Going Into a Shell

Chapter 196: [Bonus Chapter] Going Into a Shell

Steve! Now! Shouted Eren and executed his movement spell. Steve heard Erens call from behind him and shed a wicked smile towards his opponent without looking back. He retrieved another vial of berserking potions and used his berserking charge that aimed straight for Veronica. Veronica heard Erens shout too. She was taken aback by Erens speed to take care of the cannon fodder she had in her team. It wasnt that she was expecting them to neutralize Erenpletely. But she had thought that they would be able to at least hold the closebat expert off for a reasonable amount of time. She had thought wrong. Or maybe she underestimated her opponent thoroughly. Either way, she was under immediate pressure from two fronts. Veronica saw the enemy berserker drink probably hisst vial of berserking potion and knew that things were about to get serious. She had also realized that the first threat woulde from Steve. Even if he fails, the iing enemy can use the time to close in on her and force her to join a closebat battle. That would be a game over for her. Therefore, she needed to take care of the charging berserker first. She raised both of her hands in front of Steve and waved them as if guiding theva whips born from theva pond. Steve saw a barrage of iingva whips closing in on him. He couldnt help smiling after looking at the reddish-orange whips heading his way at breakneck speeds. Eren was right. Even a tough game bes fun to y against stronger opponents if you know how you can y your strengths. Steve thought and cast his other spell. Earth Spike! Veronica was ready as soon as she sensed the mana fluctuations in her surroundings. She started looking around her with the corner of her eyes, anticipating an iing attack from Steve. Veronicas alert reactions made the berserker more fearsome as he charged toward her. While under the effect of the berserking potion, he remembered Erens words about voicing his attacks with zeal to get the most out of them. So he followed his leaders advice. Earth Spike! Said Steve out loud. Veronica heard the guys shout and balled her fists in anticipation, seemingly preparing for a dodge-and-counter strategy. But s, White Raven Crews berserker had picked up a thing or two from their shadow leader. Steve had been told by Eren that berserkers in-battle shouts would sometimes fool the enemy into thinking the attack wasing, regardless of whether it was true or not. Even if the opponents knew that theres a chance the berserker was just bluffing, their subconscious mind would always think about the countermeasure to the enemy attack they had just shouted the name of. Steve employed Erens trick and decided to use it against over alert Veronica, making for a convincing bluff. The Earth Spike he had executed was not for her. It was for him. Thats right. Steve fired his Earth Spike right in the middle of his path toward Veronica. His feet were thrust into the air when he stepped on the ground outside thettersva pond due to the spike forming immediately beneath them. The size, speed of formation, and the direction of the spike had all been adjusted to suit Steves berserking charge. Like this, an earth element berserker seemed to have found an invisible pair of wings toplete his charge in the air. Without worrying about what was happening on the ground below him. Theva whips missed their mark. In response, they attacked the spike that sent Steve in the air, and it soon crumpled. But Steve had no use for it anyway. He appreciated Veronicas panic after she saw him seemingly flying towards her. Veronica retracted theva whips she had sent towards the spike and was getting ready to tackle the flying berserker who had his limbs coated in the earthen armour again. Veronica stopped caring about the opponents life andunched an all-out offensive against Steve with numerousva whips targeting him from all directions. The mage was confident her attack this time would produce results as Steve had no manoeuvrability while in the air. She thought wrong. Because Steve expected Earth Spikes again and created a new, bigger spike in his path just before the whips hit him. This time he didnt step on the tip but caught the spike with his hands. He manoeuvred his body such that it would change position andunched himself in the opposite direction he was heading in just now. Steve retreated using ast-minute manoeuvre. Veronica couldnt help cursing after she saw the berserker keeping his emotions in check and disying exceptional control and skill to get the most out of his simple spells. Fu*ck. You Steve or something. Fight me as you mean it, I dare you. Veronica gave Steve a naked threat. But he was all smiles after looking at his opponent seething in rage like boilingva. She was so preupied with obsessing over Steves retreat that she had forgotten his charge was only a decoy to buy time. The real attack on Stormbornsva mage came from White Raven Crews closebat expert. When Steve retreated safely from the whips, Eren hadunched his spellbo and elerated towards theva mage. Eren used the spellbo of Sedated Perception, Stunning Speed, and Blitz Steps. He felt like his entire body was as light as a feather as he approached theva mage in the seemingly stagnated world. The spellbo made him too fast to be recognised by an F-rankers mana sense, much less the visual perception done by the eyes. So when Steve retreated to a safe zone from Veronicas attack she almost didnt anticipate Erening her way. Almost. Veronica didnt anticipate Eren getting close to her in such a short time right after Steves retreat. Even so, she had anticipated that sooner orter one of her opponents would make her fight close range. Therefore as soon as she saw Steve sh a smile towards her, Veronica knew something was up. She didnt waste any time and raised her hands in urgency. Lava Shell! ==================== AN: This bonus chapter is dedicated to all those who sent gifts to support this novel. Thank you! ?? VEH is almost about to have its 200th chapter. Our book has progressed far ahead in every type of ranking category WN has than I anticipated as a newbie author. This is thanks to all the readers who have spent their time and resources on this project. I also have an announcement to make. There might not be a regr chapter release at the start of the next month for 2-3 days since Ill be uploading the privileged chapters first. Ill try to be as fast as I can with my release rate. But with the new year celebration approaching, it seems highly unlikely that I can get all the tiers running on the first day of the month. That being said, enjoy this whole week with your friends and family. VEH is not going anywhere. Itll have a stockpile in abundance once you are done socializing. See you in 2022! Happy new year and have a prosperous time ahead! Chapter 197: Staunch Believer of Gender Equality P1

Chapter 197: Staunch Believer of Gender Equality P1

Lava Shell! Theva pond around Veronica immediately started concentrating with her at the centre. Then it took the shape of a sphere with theva mage standing inside it. The red hotva unexpectedly cooled down rapidly due to the rankers mana interfering in the natural process. Soon the almostplete sphere turned charcoal ck in shade with bright crimson lines running on its surface like some intricate pattern. This was Veronicas defensive spell: Lava Shell. Lava Shell required that the caster first cast Lava Pond so that theva can be moulded into a sphere-shaped shell around the caster. That requirement made it impossible for the caster to use the Lava Shell without casting Lava Pond first. But Veronica didnt mind that the defensive spell had this requirement. She was used to using Lava Pond all the time. So she was d that the defensive spell yed to her advantage. The shoring of not being to be regarded as a standalone spell was bnced by the spells casting time. Since theva was already up for the spells taking, itrgely cut down on the execution dy while keeping it easy on the casters mana consumption. Thats why Veronica was able to cast Lava Shell with such ease. She was almost secured from external harm if and when the spellpleted the construction of the sphere around her. The inclusion of Lava Shell made Veronica even more confident in using her signature spell Lava Pond. Whenever she felt threatened shed enter the Lava Shell and spread her mana sense to observe the situation outside. The spell would buy enough time for her team to deal with the enemy waiting outside while Veronica stayed inside the shell safely. Although rare, Veronica had been saved by the spell several times in her teams previous battles. So when she sensed something was wrong, Veronica didnt have to think twice about which spell she was going to use next. Additionally, the spell was almostplete. But s, Eren had been too fast for anyone like theva mage. It held true even with her preemptive actions and her ideal spellbo. The sphere construction reached her shoulders in height, with only her head peeking outside. Another few moments and shed bepletely safe from external harm. This was when Eren showed up right above theva sphere in the air. He didnt waste any time. Because he knew that if he did, dealing with the bitch would be extremely difficult. Blitz Bolt! Veronica was almost done with her Lava Shell. There was only a small entrance over her head that was rapidly getting closed on her. But just as it was about topletely seal her in, a bolt of lightning made its way through the opening andnded on her. Eren had sent his mana circuits on hyperdrive to get the most out of the Blitz Bolt and extend its range a bit. As a result of its sheer power and stunning effect, Veronica was forced to dispel her defensive shield against her will. Veronica felt the full burn of the lightning spell. Thanks to her manayer that she had deployed unconsciously, she was still able to stay awake. Otherwise, she would have been long since passed out. Things could have been much direr had Eren concentrated his attack on her vital organs. But the butcher wanted to punish the bitch without getting punished for it. So he had chosen the back of Veronicas neck for the Blitz Bolts point of impact. Eyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! To cope with the spells adverse effects, Veronica screamed. There was no way her Lava Shell spell would be executed properly anymore. So she dispelled it before it was forcefully dispelled. Veronicas determination to act under the situation was what helped her regain some control and she cast her signature spell again. Her almost-formed Lava Shell was cracked before crumbling down. The remains of the shell along with the nearby ground quickly started turning intova. Veronica now had a brand-new Lava Pond to herself. The newly createdva whips were created from the Lava Pond. They started their hunt for the vile creature who had hurt their master till she almost soiled her pants. But Eren was expecting this and was already on top of things. Sedated Perception + Stunning Speed! Eren alsounched an altered version of the fireball spell and coated his feet with balls of fire. The Blitz Steps could not be performed after three spells were active so his trademark lightning feet were covered with only yellow blobs of fire. Eren had done this to counter Veronicasva for a short time. The blobs of fire will have their mana fire, which would prevent the mana fire generated byva from affecting Erens feet, only if temporarily. Eren only needed to step over the Lava pond for a short while anyway. So he didnt hesitate to abandon his Blitz Steps and settle for this variation to match the situation. Now with the distance almost negligible, it didnt take a long time for the butcher to get close to Veronica. He grabbed her face with his one hand while she was focusing on his afterimage getting pierced by herva whips. Eren ced his other hand right over the girls stomach and executed Blitz Bolt again while looking at Veronica in her eyes. Her sensitive dder had a bolt of lightning running through it along with other organs near her stomach. Veronica had just found the joy of capturing the vile creature with herva whips. The whips had quickly caught up with her approaching enemy and pierced him. No. This isnt right. Veronica thought and narrowed her eyes on Eren getting pierced by herva whips. When she observed that it was only the guys afterimage that had gotten pierced, she was reminded of a grim possibility. There was a possibility that Eren was faster than she thought and could handle her easily. Veronica wanted to look around her to pinpoint her opponents location. But it turned out that she didnt have to. Thats because Erens cold blue eyes were staring right at her the next moment when she thought of taking countermeasures. Veronica felt a bolt of lightning pass through her stomach. She was stunned before feeling numb from her waist down. Plus, Erens emotionless eyes made her scared for her life. It invoked the primal fear in her heart that she hadnt felt before. All this was enough for her to lose control of her dder. Veronica peed her pants in the battle ring. ===================== AN: Hi, there. VEH will have five privilege tiers starting this month. So I thought I should make a few things clear to new readers who arent aware of the privilege tiers. Feel free to skip this note in case you already know. What is privilege? Privilege lets you see stockpiled chapters ahead of their intended release date by paying coins. However, it is a subscription that is going to run out at the end of the month. Therefore, it is HIGHLY rmended you buy B-Rank and above privilege tiers at the start of every month as opposed to the end. Though it doesnt matter for the F-Rank and D-Rank tiers considering how affordable they are. If you just wish to support the author, buying the F-Rank tier and constantly unlocking the privileged chapters as theye out would be enough. It will contribute to their win-win unlocks, helping them get featured and have a wider audience. Privilege can sometimes contain a discount on chapter purchases, which means any chapters purchased through privilege will be discounted. This includes any chapters you unlock with coins after the initial privilege purchase. How to support the author? In general, reading, as well as voting with power stones/Golden Tickets, helps increase the poprity of our novel. But they do not directly support the author marily. The only way to do this is through spending coins on the novel. Do you want to get more coins while also giving the author the most money you can? Theres a simple way to do it. Buy coins through Paypal. You can get redirected to Paypal by clicking up to 15% more in the top-up section on your phone. Android and iOS tforms take their hefty cut if you pay through their app store, making authors only get around 27% of what you spend. If you purchase your coins using Paypal, the author will receive more of what you paid. Plus, you get more coins for personal use as well. So thats another win-win. In short, if you spend 100$ through the Android or iOS app store, the author gets $27. But through Paypal, they get $42. This is because the app stores take a massive cut from any profits. Unlocking chapters, sending Gifts, and buying privilege tiers give the same amount of money rtive to the coins spent. But Gifts would have a small bonus on top if they are rtivelyrge. You get a Golden Ticket that you can manually spend for every set of 500 coins you spend on unlocking chapters and privileges. However, you can get a Golden Ticket for about every 300 coins after buying Gifts. Thats why a 500 coin gift gives one golden ticket, while a 1000 coin gift gives 3 golden tickets you can ce on this book. Or any other book you wish to support. One of the most effective ways to support the author is by buying a 5000 coin or higher Gift. Because your contribution will be announced globally to all readers in the message section of the All app, enabling them to see the book through your contribution notification. Chapter 198: Staunch Believer of Gender Equality P2

Chapter 198: Staunch Believer of Gender Equality P2

Veronica peed her pants in the battle ring. But she didnt realize it until it was toote to do anything about it. In addition, she had worn white pants. So the wet stains were now easily visible to the audience. Eren smirked when his nose twitched in response to the uric smell. Although he wasnt sure, he was aiming for this same effect. He was aware of his spells effects his targets would have on their bodies after all. Try keeping your nose high with this incident forever etched onto the onlookers memories now. Thought Eren before balling his fists and mercilessly punching hard on Veronicas stomach. The youngdy who had just soiled her clothes was sent off in the air as the heavy fist hit her sensitive stomach region. The onlookers started registering what had happened with Veronica as she flew further away than her initial position. And the audience bursts into uncontrolledughter. The guys started jeering while the girls fanned their faces, looking as if they were feeling empathic embarrassment in Veronicas stead. Veronica was enraged after the vile creature forced her to have the most embarrassing moment of her life. She was incensed after hearing the jeers and taunts she heard from the crow surrounding the battle ring. Not long after shended, Eren had followed her to the ce she had justnded and punched at the same region the same way again. The result of that attack was the same as the previous one. With another brutal attack umting on her body, Veronica was sent into the air. Her stomach was punched again by Erens unforgiving attack before she was able to react to the embarrassment and rage she felt. And another terrible situation unfolded for her as a result of that pain. Veronica vomited all the food that she had eaten before her fight. And that vomit was distinctly visible as it flew in the opposite direction of the one she was flying towards. Ughhhhhh! This son of a bitch, Ill kill him. Veronica could only call names to Eren and threaten him in her mind as her mouth was foul and full of her vomit. It was not like Eren would find the part about his mother to be something to get angry about anyway. But the youngdy didnt know that. So she cursed Eren some more while she was getting beaten up badly by him. Erens barrage of attacks on Veronica continued only for a short while. He was quick and efficient about his assault, targeting his opponents soft spots. Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh! Veronica cried in agony and frustration. A pure, non-elementlizard wave of F-Rank mana was sent all around her with her standing at the centre. As a result, Eren was pushed back and was prevented from approaching his enemy. Veronica had a small breakthrough within the F-Rank! ************************ She was very close to having a breakthrough in the liquid stage of the F-Rank in the first ce. But she had felt like she was missing something when she practised her ranking technique for the past few days, whenever she tried to manually enter the breakthrough with the help of her technique. But this time, Veronica had a breakthrough even without having to assume a resting position or practise her ranking technique. This was known as the forced breakthrough. Forced breakthroughs didnt require a ranker to practice their ranking techniques. They would happen spontaneously when the rankers were in do-or-die situations. The word forced may have a negative connotation to it. But the effects of forced breakthroughs were anything but negative. Forced breakthroughs were something high-ranked entities would look for when they stopped progressing in their ranking journey through normal means. They would actively look for adrenaline-inducing moments by participating in mortalbat battles or exploring dangerous ces. One could say that forced breakthroughs required rankers to be extremely emotional. Veronicas breakthrough was not an exception to this assumption either. But instead of an unwavering survival instinct, she felt uncontroble fury. ****************** Veronicas anger towards Eren allowed her to take thest step required to enter the middle stage of the F-Rank. However, the ranker who had achieved the breakthrough couldnt register her sess because her mind was consumed by mes of anger. The wave of mana subsided before getting dispersed. Eren understood what had happened. But he didnt care that his opponent had a breakthrough in the middle of the battle and approached Veronica again. Aaaaaaah! Eyaaaaaaaaaaahh! Aaaaaaaargh Aaah! While Eren beat Veronica with only his fists, Veronicas repetitive shrieks could be heard in the surrounding area. He had coated his fists with his lightning and didnt need to execute any other spell besides that at this point. Since Veronicas thoughts were in disarray, she had stopped fighting back. Eren could have made her unconscious and neutralized her. But the butcher had just enough of the bitchs shit. Eren had decided to answer Veronicas verbal spats with his fist and asional kicks. He had let her leave even with all her transgressions against him without doing anything when they were in the city of Laurel. But not this time. It could be said that Eren was just being a staunch supporter of gender equality in a true sense. He knew that forced breakthroughs wouldnt necessarily grant the rankers instant power-ups if they werent aware of their situations or didnt know how to make use of that breakthrough. Thats why Eren didnt give his opponent any time to register what had happened to her and continued beating her. You you vile creature. This this is not over Veronica was at the end of her rope from losing consciousness. Yet she still somehow mumbled those when Eren got close to him. She was fighting so hard against losing consciousness to say those words because her rage was so intense. Yeah? You started this, bitch. Dont you fuc*king dare turn this into my mistake now that your squishy ass is handed to you. Thought Eren and shrugged his shoulders in non-vocal response. Chapter 199: Quadruple Spell Stacking

Chapter 199: Quadruple Spell Stacking

The butcher felt nothing as he looked at the result of using Veronica as his punching bag. She now had ck and blue spots all over her body. Her mouth had a cocktail of saliva, vomit and blood dripping from it. Her wet-stained white pants and her now messy hair added to her battered look. Eren was finally satisfied with this result. He smiled magnanimously towards Veronica as if granting the bitch her most desired wish. Byebye! Eren said as he grabbed Veronicas head and executed Blitz Bolt. Veronica Garcia could finally rest as she was sent to feel the bliss of unconsciousness. Needless to say, all this took ce within a span of only a few minutes. Eren took his time dealing with Veronica. But his perception of time would always get skewed while in Sedated Perception. So in reality, not much time had passed since Eren dealt with the cannon fodder. Eren finally looked up after watching Veronica Garcia fall to her knees before finally sleeping like a baby on the bare ground. He observed that his opponents team was not the only one who had its members neutralized. Ivor had taken down Jake and Becky just the way Eren had taken down Veronica. He could have finished them sooner but he had underestimated Beckys attacks and suffered a bit because of it. From that moment on, Ivor acted with prudence and slowly chipped away at their defence until finally neutralizing the teams tank. After Jake fell, it was only a matter of time before Becky followed her teammate in his footsteps. Renita on the other hand had still somehow kept Jason pinned with her attacks. But she was soon going to be out of breath and mana as she had expended a lot of thempared to her opponents. The reason for this is that they were waiting for the inevitable to happen. She would soon get taken down by the boy prodigy if things progressed the way they were progressing and there was no external intervention. He was on the verge of fighting Jason and helping Renita against his pragmatic judgment when his senses told him there would be danger soon befalling him. He looked in the direction of Ivor vs Becky and Jakes battle spot to see that Osan Jr was rapidly approaching him. Ironically, Osan Jr had almost the same kind of lightning spells Eren had. That was because they had both got them from the academys repertoire. Isen Osan had also pulled some strings to allow his grandson easy ess to better spells and techniques. Ivor was seen executing Blitz Steps. Their eyes met even from a distance. Osan Jr. couldnt help feeling excited after seeing how Eren fought with his opponents. Hahaha! You are doing well, Eren Idril. Very good. This is what I have been missing. Duel with a lightning ranker of almost equal calibre. Dont disappoint me. Prepare yourself. Ivor provoked Eren loudly and made his confidence in him and his battle prowess known to all his fans. The crowd broke into chanting Ivors name as they saw him about to engage with the guy who didnt know how to show leniency to the fairer gender. Another ass who thinks the world revolves around him. Thought Eren as he drew his katars out. He didnt know much about Ivors battle style. However, he knew the guy was about to be a pain in the ass to deal with if he didnt open most of his cards. Blitz Steps. Eren activated his movement technique as well and ran in the direction of Ivors to meet him head-on. The two lightning element rankers with almost the same type of spells were going to battle it out. Sedated Speed + Stunning Speed The world stagnated around Eren as he activated his time-element-specific spellbo. Unlike the rare but natural time element users, he didnt feel the bacshes of using the spells of the same element no matter how many times he executed them. So it was not strange that Eren would decide tobo-use his battle centric time element spells without worrying about the aftereffects. But that only made it so that Eren would have only one more active spell before his senses, mana consumption, and mana circuit felt overwhelmed. Eren had chosen Blitz Steps. He held his katar tight as he aimed at his opponent. But unlike the stagnated world around him, Ivor didnt feel stagnated at all. Ivor saw Eren start producing afterimages in his wake and knew his opponent wasing at him with all that he had got. But he wasnt frustrated or afraid by thetters scary speed. Ivor had his ways to make full use of his speed-centric elemental affinity. He activated the time-element artefact he had worn as a ring quadruple-stacked Blitz Steps. The F-Rank time-element artefact was a very rare item Isen Osan had bought for his grandson using his reach. The ring had limited usage each day. And each time it was discharged, it would need to be charged with an array that made use of Extols like a firece makes use of the wood. In short, charging the ring was a very tedious and expensive process that the average Joe couldnt afford to do. But Ivor wasnt average. He had secured the days usage of artefacts on Eren alone. Because he knew his battle with Eren wouldst only a short while before thetter beat him up. The time-element artefacts were rarer than the time-element users. That said a lot about their scarcity. So it was nothing short of a miracle when Isen found an apt artefact for his scion. The artefacts effects were simr to Eren experiencing Sedated Perception. But unlike Eren who supported the spell with his mana, Ivors enhanced perception granted to him by the artefact was autonomous and didnt require him to regte with mana. In short, Ivor was outsourcing Sedated Perception while importing its effects with his artefact ring. But that was not the only artefact he had. Ivors boots were also a pair of lightning element artefacts. Their usage was even simpler. They would help Ivor stack Blitz Steps, enabling him to stack the movement spell four times at once. Chapter 200: Drawing Parallels

Chapter 200: Drawing Parallels

This was Erens first time witnessing someone move in the stagnated world as freely as him. But he wasnt surprised. He knew the guy was loaded. And the money would always find a way to drag the impossible into the realm of possibility. Eren shot forth with katars drawn. Ivor marched forward with his daggers clenched in his hand. And their first-ever strike against each other took ce. As a result of the weapons shing with each other, a series of nking sounds could be heard in the surroundings. The audience could see a series of afterimages of both the lightning-element rankers battling toe to toe against each other. Ivor parried Erens jabs almost every time. Likewise, the former dealt with every sh of thetter effectively. It looked like a stalemate to the audience but both the fighters themselves knew Eren had a slight upper hand. Eren had a heightened, more refined perception of everything that was happening around him. This was because, unlike Ivor, who had given the responsibility of his enhanced perception of the artefact he was wearing, all of Erens senses were well invested in augmenting his real-time reasoning as a whole. This allowed Eren to make his attacks slip through Ivors defences sometimes. They were rare moments. And the cuts and puncture wounds he had inflicted on Osan Jr. were not that serious. But those wounds painted a grim picture for Ivor. But the sufferer didnt care. This was the first time he was pushed this hard against a ranker of his age. He felt unmatched exhration from battling with Eren. The high-speed battle continued for a while before Eren and Ivor both retired a side opposite from each other to catch their breaths. They felt that they were at it for quite a long time now. And their bodies felt tired, which was highlighting that belief. However, they both knew it was the distorted perception of time. Ivorughed heartily beforementing on the duel that took ce just now: I got to be honest with you, Eren. I didnt think you would have it in you to battle with me like this the first time I met you. Youve finally turned into a fine specimen for me to have a duel against. Why dont you disband your party ande to join us? Jason is looking for some trusted students he could count on. Maybe I can help you secure the ce Ivor spoke as if they were officially taking a break from their match. Renita and Jason were still fighting with each other in the backdrop. But that didnt invoke a sense of urgency in Osan Jrs mind. He knew Jason was going to win. If he didnt, Ivor was confident he could deal with both Eren and Renita. Unlike Eren, he hadnt expended his mana that much. That allowed him to take things leisurely. Or at least thats what he believed in. Eren and Ivor were slightly gasping for breaths. They both were perspiring and bleeding due to injuries inflicted on them by their opponents. Ivor looked more haggard than Eren. His clothes were torn at various ces. Because of Erens precise attacks at simr locations, Ivor had appeared to have suffered fewer injuries than Eren. But they both knew Ivors condition was much more severe. The referee raised his eyebrows when he saw that two students had stopped their duels. But he didnt interfere. A sufficient amount of time had passed by now. The students active participation was confirmed. Now they could choose to retire individually or call it quits as a team and the referee would allow them. But it didnt look like the duel between Eren and Ivor was able to get wrapped up after the referee listened to Erens reply that cut short Ivors speech: Listen here, man. We dont necessarily have to talk while catching our breaths. Why dont we both just shut our mouths and settle for another round when we are both ready? The conventional battle scenario dictated that Eren would either reply positively or diss him. But Eren had chosen neither and just told him to shut up in a roundabout way. After Eren spoke, Ivor raised his hand and pointed at him. But he found no words to counter Erens demands. In the end, he kept his mouth shut and chose to follow his opponents decision. Eren knew what Ivor meant when he said Jason was looking for supporters to form a team. In reality, he knew it was much more than just forming teams to participate in the ranking wars. Thats why Eren was staying away from Jason, lest the guy makes him an offer he cant refuse. Eren was no stranger to ignoring his problems while wishing that they would go away on their own. He had practically lived one life on that principle. Using this to deal with Jason was something that came naturally to him. Thats why Eren didnt want to have any word with Ivor. No matter what they spoke, the subject would alwayse back to Jason recruiting members for his team. The butcher nipped this problem in the bud by making Ivor shut up with his rude yet effective statement. The battle resumed. Eren chipped away at Ivors defences and thetter did the same to him. Since both of their weapons were being used against each other, it was only natural for both of their clothes to be bloodied. Yet, Ivor wasnt backing down. Heughed like he was feeling the greatest joy of his life while he was getting cut by Eren. That had already spooked a few of his fans in the audience while the others were turning into his zealots. The audience was in awe at the level on which Eren and Ivor were fighting against each other. Eren still acted normal and uncaring. That made Ivors maniacalughter even more eye-catching to the audience. They also started feeling pity for Eren, thinking that the guy was fighting with a maniac. Good, Eren. I now know you dont like to talk much. So allow me to show you with my actions that I can still outss you with one card I havent shown in the ranking wars yet. Hahaha! Bow down to me! Beast contract spell! ====================== AN: The 200th chapter is deceptively special. ?? Chapter 201: Alephee

Chapter 201: Alephee

Beast contract spell! Ivor said out aloud before a strong pulse of mana was generated all around him. Eren halted in his steps and chose to watch the show, lest his movements get affected by the series of F-Rank mana pulses setting off around his opponent. Ivors skin started forming scales. The now-hardened scale patterns had a slight purple tinge over them. Ivor was now looking more like a snake man with his vertical pupils and convoluted mana signature. Thats right. Ivor had formed a beast contract with the Purple Lightning snake. It seemed like a huge coincidence but Eren knew it was not. Because every closebat expert in a lightning element would have made the same choice for their beast contracts if they were in the same location and position as the students of LA. Forming a beast contract with Purple Lightning Snake just made sense for the guys like Eren and Ivor who had almost simr specializations and requirements. Therefore, Eren was a little surprised by the fact that Ivor had a beast contract spell that he hadnt used before. But he wasnt surprised by his choice to form a contract with. Erens eyes shined with cunning. Ivor was a suitable test subject to know about how much power and manifestation he should show when he makes use of Reen. In addition, he executes a faux beast contract spell. Osan Jr. had be a parameter on which he was intending to base his dummy spells effects. Reen, pay close attention to this guy. You have to manifest features on me that are the same as him when he uses his beast contract spell. Alright! Eren informed Reen, who confirmed Erens order. It was going to be Reen who would take care of the dummy transformation for him after all. He needed her to stay in the loop. Unaware of what Eren was thinking, Ivor who was totally in the zone,pleted his spell-induced transformation and charged at his opponent. This time he was much faster and looked stronger than before. The sudden spell-induced transformation stopped Ivors bleeding. His wounds showed signs of healing. The invisible manayer over his skin got thickened and became semi-transparent. It radiated a faint white light that seemed to bounce off of his skin. Ivor had initiated his attack as soon as his transformation was stabilized yet he still couldnt catch Eren off guard like he thought he would. He had thought that this would be Erens first experience seeing a transcendent grade spell being cast. After all, the spell cost crazy money. He didnt think a guy like Eren would have that kind of stash on him even with his C-Rank healer for a guardian. Eren had kept a low profile despite being one of the top-performing students in the academy. He sort of just blended right in among the students. So nobody was aware of all his trump cards. Because nobody had kept track of him or his activities. Unlike Ken, Jason, and Ivor, there were no fans of Eren in the audience. Well, there was one: Ramy Richards. But he didnt count because he belonged to his team. Therefore, nobody was aware Eren would have the beast contract spell too. Because nobody expected him to. This was what solidified Ivors belief that he was stronger than Eren. Because he had his beast contract spell to rely on in case things started heading south for him. Aaaaaargh! This was Erens turn to grunt with pain as he was kicked in the chest by Ivor savagely. Using the beast transformation spell would highlight the stats and characteristics of the beast rted to the contract. So forming a forced contract with the Purple Lightning spell had given Erens assaulter elevated levels of agility, even when the effects were deemed temporary. This effect along with his overall increased body stats made it easy for Ivor to breach Erens defences while staying nimble on his feet to avoid counterattack. It was now Erens turn to get thrashed around. And thats what Ivor did with his opponent. Those who inflict pain must have the courage to bear it as well. Eren thought while he was being beaten ck and blue by a closebat expert like him. He didnt flinch from the pain despite all those injuries. Although his mind was upied with observing his opponent, he felt disconnected from everything else. Erni, I think I got it. No need to get beaten up anymore. Use the faux beast contact spell. Ill raise your body stats to a sufficient degree so that you can beat this bitch up. Reen was worried about her masters safety so she made that announcement. But Eren knew she only wanted him to stop getting beaten up out of concern. She was also picking on his cuss words vocabry it seemed. But Eren didnt budge from his position. Ivor needed to show him all that he could do before Eren decided to change the game. But simply getting beaten up wasnt enough to make Ivor reveal all his potential. And Eren didnt have anything else that could work on the guy apart from the faux beast contract spell. Except Gem, are you awake? The question was asked in Erens mind to no one in particr. He was hoping the gem would answer his call. Otherwise, hed have to resort to using the faux beast contract spell to make aeback. Eren and Ivor both had retracted their weapons this time. They were both bleeding and had multiple cuts all over their bodies. By deploying a manayer on the wounds, they were suppressing bleeding. Eren was even more prone to severe blood loss than Ivor. This is because thetter had used the beast contract spell and turned his skin into the scale to mitigate the effects of the cuts. Thats why it was mutually decided by them to not use weapons anymore. As a result, both of them agreed to continue their weaponless duel. By contrast, if any of them crossed a certain threshold of danger, the referee would force them to forfeit. Eren waited for the gem to answer while he entered the defensive stance. He abandoned the attack and focused only on the counter. Only this way could he deal with Ivor. By minimizing his damage. I always knew I couldnt count on you. Reen, lets do this. Said Eren to himself and was about to execute his faux beast contract spell with Reen when he suddenly heard a voice in his head. Eren, dont be hasty. You can count on me. I was only reluctant because I would be put back to sleep if I helped you again. And you can call me Alephee. =============== AN: In the Kabbh origin, the name Aleph is symbolic of the universes origin. Chapter 202: Beast Manifestation

Chapter 202: Beast Manifestation

Alephee spoke up. The gems voice turned feminine as soon as it decided toe out with its identity. Alephee. Alright. So tell me Alphee, can you help me? I dont care if you are put to sleep if you can help me. Its not like you can be of much use to me when you are awake. Eren gave Alephee a clear cut answer that would sound rude but Alephee knew he was speaking the truth. She sighed to herself before replying: Alright. I can help you with casting thebo of Sedated Perception and Stunning Speed. I can augment the effect of thebo spell but it would be limited by what your body and mind can handle at the current level. That is enough. Ill take care of the rest. Eren said to Alephee as he wiped the blood clean from the corner of his mouth with his palms. It was time for Eren to return the favour to Ivor for all the service he had done to him. Sedated Perception + Stunning Speed The same spellbo had been activated for Eren. but unlike before, this time it was handled by Alephee. That meant Eren could now cast up to three spells simultaneously without facing any repercussions. Eren didnt tarry a moment longer and executed dual-stacked Blitz Steps. He felt as though he was moving faster than ever, even in a stagnated world. Ivor had enjoyed beating a strong opponent like Eren. But he thought it was about the time he wrapped it up and helped Jason, lest he gets angry at him. But just when he decided to deal a final blow, he found out that he was underestimating his opponent all along. Eren appeared right in front of the enemy closebat expert and decided to beat him up in his game. He first tried nting a punch under the guys chin. And almost seeded. Erens punch was blocked by Ivors palm subconsciously. It was his experience as a closebat expert that served him well. s, experience alone couldnt help him bridge the distance between him and his opponent. This was because Alephee was on a different perception realm altogether, thanks to Alephees elevation ofbo spell effects. Erens punch was blocked by Ivors palm so he used the elbow of the same hand to make a solid contact just below the guys sternum. This counter couldnt be blocked by Ivor who was trying to deal with Erens insane speed and reflexes with his sheer experience in closebat alone. Before Ivors body could react to thended blow, Eren pulled the hand that had grabbed his first punch with his other hand. He yanked it hard enough, dislocating it from Ivors shoulders. Aaaaaaargh! Blitz Storm. Ivor cried in pain. He then executed the lightning element AoE so Eren would be forced to retreat no matter what he did. Two lightning element attacks from two rankers wont ever be the same just because they had the same elemental affinity. Every spell would carry its casters mark. That was because every ranker had a different mana signature. The elemental attacks that used rankers mana carrying their mana signatures would bear the rankers mark. So when the attacks wouldnd on the opponent, the mark the spells carried would not match the one the recipient had. That conflict in mana signature would result in the elemental spells delivering their intended effect on their opponents even when they shared the same elemental affinity as the caster. This was the reason Eren had decided to retreat even with his lightning element affinity. But thanks to his elevated perception, he was long outside the AoEs range just before it was finished getting cast. Eren had also tried to interrupt Ivors spell execution with his barrage of attacks from all directions. But Ivor had gritted his teeth and didnt stop his execution until it was done. The butcher had to admit Ivors drive to be the most sessful in his generation wasnt to be scoffed at. The guy had talent, background, and determination to be the finest version of himself. Ivor maintained his AoE spell and made a determined expression before saying out aloud: It seems I underestimated you, Eren Idril. Who would have thought the city of Osan would have not one but two talented individuals. But I learn from my mistakes, you know. You want me to reveal all my cards it seems. So be it. Beast manifestation! The tattoo on Ivors back of the palm shined with bright luminance before a huge semi-transparent cloud of mana was condensed in front of him. Ivor touched the cloud of mana with his tattooed palm. As soon he did that, the tattoo lines on his skin got dimmed and the cloud of mana started restructuring itself. All this was happening when Ivor was standing in the middle of the Blitz Storm he was maintaining. Since the contracted beasts mana body was formed under the influence of his spell, its body wouldnt create a conflict with Ivors spells. This is because it had the same mana signature. That made the about-to-manifest beast immune to Ivors attacks and vice versa. This was the reason Ivor could cast the beast manifestation while remaining inside the protection of his AoE spell. It didnt take long for the beasts mana body to get constructed. It was akin to the natural body of the purple lightning snake. Only that it was semi-transparent and looked a tiny bit taller than usual. The crowd was awed by Ivors transcendent spell execution. It was the first time to hear about such a spell, much less see it being executed. Therefore, Ivor created new fans of his with that intimidating spell. The newly manifested snake spiralled his body around his masters in such a way that its body would be Ivors first line of defence from all angles. Only then did Ivor dispel his AoE to conserve his remaining mana. Eren looked at Ivor and the snake who returned his cold gaze with hostile intention. Things were going to get messy again for Eren. Chapter 203: Faux Beast Contract Spell Chapter 203: Faux Beast Contract Spell Eren looked at Ivor and the snake who returned his cold gaze with hostile intention. Things were going to get messy again for Eren. But Eren wanted this. This was his prime chance to closely observe the effects of a genuine beast contract spell. He had told Reen to pay attention to his opponents every move and any minor details he leaked in front of them. Reen obliged. Her C-Rank mana sense could be made discreet to lower-ranked entities if she wanted to be. She just needed to be wary of entities who were of the same ranker as her or higher. Since no one of that rank was in the vicinity, she spread her mana sense across the entire battlefield, sharing its feedback with her owner. Eren observed that Renita was huffing. She had tried her finest and had performed beyond what she could normally do in keeping Jason out of Erens way. But it was only a matter of time before she got either neutralized by her opponent or turned unconscious after overdrawing on mana. Steve had joined Renita and was also trying his best to give Renita a breather every once in a while. She had already cast her AoE spell twice. She used her long-range mana bullets to keep the prodigy away from her and her teammate, if only barely. Steve wasnt all that effective in dealing with Jason. He was helping Renita, yes. But he knew he would have been taken out by their opponent long ago had it not been Renita helping him with her cover fire. But the duo was running on fumes while their opponent adopted mana conservation strategy. All Jason needed to do in dealing with those opponents was dodge and wait for them to run out of their mana. It was not like Jason didnt try to leave the battle with Renita. The girl was very persistent with her attacks and thanks to her wind affinity, managed to keep up with his speed. Jason wasnt helpless against her. But he knew that a battle with her was going to waste his time. So Jason tried to storm out of his duel with the ranger. But Renita wouldnt let him go. She had been instructed by Eren to keep the guy out. And she had decided to try her best to fulfil the expectation her crush had on her. So the battlemage was helpless. He could neither advance nor retreat. Eren had made Alephee deactivate the spellbo after Ivor had executed his AoE. but he knew it was soon going to have to be activated again. Thats because the ranker-beast duo was just about to attack him. The purple snake attacked first. It slithered its way towards Eren in such a way that one could believe that it had flown towards its target. Eren made Alephee activate his time-element spellbo just when the snake was about to bite him with its long and sharp fangs. The shape of the snakes fanger was as real as real could get. It was just that Eren could partially see through them. Observing the beast closely in the stagnated world, he and Reen observed its mana body and the way it responded. What do you think, Reen? Eren asked while changing positions so the snake would miss its target. Reen observed some more for a while before saying: We can give you an appearance that would state that you are using the beast contract spell. But we cannot do anything about the beast manifestation. Mana bodies are one thing. Im sure we can find a way to manifest it the way we see in front of us if we look hard enough. But we cant do anything with the soul that resides in the tattoo. I kinda have an idea about how we can deal with the soul part. But Ill tell you that after the battle gets over. Lets concentrate on the battle for now. Reenmented and Eren focused on what was in front of him. Thetter nodded at her opinion and got out of the snakes attack zone. Eren knew fighting the beast was useless. It had a mana body that could generate endlessly as long as the casters mana could support the consumption. Eren needed to target the caster himself. As long as he could take care of him, the snakes mana body would dissipate on its own. So he prepared tounch his assault on Osan Jr as soon as he got out of the snakes attacking zone. Eren triple-stacked Blitz Steps and approached his opponent. He started with his kick-work this time. His legs were already wrapped in lightning. But with triple stacking of the movement spell, the lightning streams looked like they hade alive, flying in every direction they could think of. Ivor smiled at the iing kick. Because unlike before, he could see and pursue his opponents attacks just fine. That was because his body stats had risen as a result of the Beat Contract spell. Plus, Ivors time-element artefact was still working for him. That gave him the confidence and skill to deal with Erens insane speed. He had to admit that Eren was better than him in executing lightning element spells. The reason he thought Eren was fighting normally was that he was dependent on his artefact. Ivor didnt like there was a better lightning element user than him. He subconsciously wanted to harm Eren because of jealousy and envy. Ivor acted on those thoughts. He used his artefacts to their limits and made Eren get off bnce with his own footwork. Then aimed a punch at Erens neck, targeting Erens Adams apple. Eren was again shocked by how deep Ivor had hidden his trump cards, not unlike him. The guy had shown only a portion of his artefacts full potential. He saved that effect to be used with his beast contract spell, giving him the much-needed edge he was looking for. Ok. Thats enough to get a sense of how things are. Reen, prepare yourself. Faux beast contract spell. Eren shouted in his head as he saw the fist drawing close on him. Chapter 204: Concede

Chapter 204: Concede

Ok. Thats enough to get a sense of how things are. Reen, prepare yourself. Faux beast contract spell. Eren shouted in his head as he saw Ivors fist drawing close to him. Reen started the job she was assigned to do and Erens transformation started taking ce. Eren didnt expect the beast contract spell would elevate ones body stats to this level. Otherwise, he would have executed the beast-contract spell long ago. Erens transformation followed the same route Ivors had. His skin had manifested scales that were nearly identical to the one Ivor had. Eren somehow got out of the opponents attacking zone for the time being. Then he used his buffed movement speed to create a distance between the ranker, his beast, and himself toplete the transformation. Eren transformed a touch quicker than Ivor, which could be attributed to the formers mastery andpatibility with the spell. He too started looking like a snake-man d in lightning. Then there were his elevated body stats. Reen had done a fine job mimicking the effects of the beast contract spell. Because he knew she could have jumped overboard and boosted his body stats more than the spell allowed for. But she didnt do that. Instead, she had chosen to keep it as real as it was possible. Your pet is quite capable of listening to your orders. Eren suddenly heard Alephees remark on Reen doing her job well. But he ignored it. Because the snake and its master were drawing close. The purple lightning snake was first to arrive. Eren again dodged the snakes biting attack and decided to counter it with his attack. Ivor was running in his direction too. So he was the one to execute the Blitz Storm this time just as Ivor got within the range. The AoE kicked off with Eren as the centre. The beast with mana body got the most brunt of it. Ivor was rtively safe but this was still a significant blow to him. Eren finally decided to end the task of testing the beast contract spells effect by getting serious with Ivor. he knew Alphees buffs wouldntst long. So he needed to wrap this battle soon. The next couple of moments were kind of a blur for Ivor. That was because Eren had suddenly burst with exceptional power and control over his beast contract spell. It almost felt like he could be close to being an E-Ranker. Eren returned every punch and blow he was dealt with. He too beat Osan Jr. to a sorry state beforeunching the Blitz Bolt over his face to finally neutralize him. Eren had to admit Osan Jr. had a monstrous talent. It looked like Eren had an upper hand in the battle. And he did. After considering his battle history from his previous timeline, he was projected to win by a wide margin against the guy. Yet Ivor Osan had closed the gap pretty well using his time and resources. Plus he had Isen Osan behind him backing him up. Not to forget the fact that Ivor was extremely talented. Eren knew that he would have been long beaten to a pulp even if he had the same elevated perception of time he was feeling when dealing with Ivor. if he didnt have his experience, Eren knew Ivor would havee out on top even with all his buffs remaining active. Ivor copsed on the ground not long after Eren decided to end his battle. One could say that Ivors agony that came with the realization of not being the leading lightning-element closebat expert of his generation would keep his mood foul for days on end. But Ivor was not the only one who was neutralized by his opponent. There were sounds of another two bodies dropping on the ground. Eren looked in the direction of the sound and found out that his teams berserker and ranger had been finally neutralized by Jason. Jason too looked at Eren and then all the unconscious bodiesying around the battle ring. If this was a real fight, Eren would have the most number of kills by now. But that didnt prevent Jason from approaching the guy. You were as good as I thought you would be, Eren. However, if you kept swimming in the small pond, you would always remain an average nobody. Before we resume our battle again, I was wondering if we could chat for a while when the match gets over? Jason asked Eren with stoic expressions. But s, a certain someone was in the mood to talk: We might meet, Jason. But that wont be today. Lets just get this shit over with. Jason heard Erens reply and sighed. The guy was still as slippery as an eel even now. The least he could do was show him that there was a sky above the sky. Jason soon geared up another intensive battle. He prepared his mana circuits to cast his go-to spells. Eren made a statement just as he was about to attack. Not to him. But to the referee of the match. I wish to forfeit White Raven Crews win after my teams active participation. The reason being is that Im bloody, beaten, and exhausted. Eren said nonchntly and then looked at Jason who was too stunned to reply anything. Almost half the people in the audience wanted to fight with him because of his exceptional performance and some guiding words he would offer sporadically to his opponents. What Eren had said was an only half-truth. He was indeed bloody and beaten. But he could have still carried on with the match. Or at least tried to y another round with him. I should just stay as far away as I can from this guy. Thought Eren as he started to walk towards unconscious Renita to check up on her. This was after the referee approved his request. This was the first time White Raven Crew had conceded a match of its initiative. And it would be itsst as well. Chapter 205: Masochist?

Chapter 205: Masochist?

Did I see that right? Did this Eren guy also have the Beast Contract Spell from the beginning? The match was over. But the audiences discussion about what they had seen was not. One stunned guy asked his buddy standing nearby. The other guy was equally shocked by what he had just seen. I didnt even know such a spell existed before. Why would that ck hair guy take the beating from Ivor if he was so OP? The other guy couldnt help asking. A third guy pitched in toment. That Eren guys ranking matches always turn out to be like the one we just saw. He gets his ass handed to him by his opponents before he barely manages to score a win. This guy had seen more of Erens experiments-centric matches. The first guy who had heard this had a face that said he had some sort of realization: Oh! So he is a masochist. Hey watch youw tongue, big guy! Who aawe you calling a masochist? Ewen just likes to twy new spellbos in his matches. Hell beat evewyones asses withoeveryones a sweat if he decides to y sewiously. You undewstand that? A certain auxiliary member of White Raven Crew decided to put his shadow leaders case forward. The three guys looked at each other confusingly. Then they tried to recall what the guy had just said to them. They could barely decode what he had just said to them in their minds. My man, dont eat your meals when it is piping hot. Look what it has done to you. The second guy said this to Ramy with a straight face. It seemed he really believed Ramys lisp was due to him eating his food eagerly while it was hot. Fu*ck you! This is how Ive always talked. You awe here to pick a bone with White Waven Cwew, awent you? So be it. Lets have a wanking match tomorrow. Ill be suwe to bust youw balls at that time. Ramy felt angry. Not because he was called out for his lisp, not really. But he had to punish them for theirment on his idol anyway. Thankfully, Ana and Bele to do the damage control: *Sigh. Ramy, how many times have we told you not to argue with random people? How will you silence the entire audience who has watched Erens matches till now? Let things slide sometimes. Hi there, fellow students. Forgive our teammates rude remark. But yes, if you want to fight with us, it can be arranged. What will it be? Ana was smiling. And she looked cheerful while she highlighted Ramys challenge too. But the trio could not find that smile to beforting. Then it realized White Raven Crews performance in the ranking match that took ce just now. Nobody sane would want to invest their Merps on a losing bet. So one of the guys quickly came forward to deny the challenge. And the matter was sorted there. Ana was right, though. The entire crowd was abuzz with the performance that Ivor and Eren had shown just now while using the Beast Contract Spell. But then Eren had to just go ahead and call it quits right when things were beginning to get interesting. That had turned the audiences mood sour. And they vented their anger by trashing Eren for his weird fighting choices and cowardice. So Ana had to watch over Ramy, lest he runs his mouth off to every random student who makes any uncalled-forment on Eren. ******************* Renita Renita wake up! Eren was feeling tired as well when he was trying to wake his teams ranger up. Jason had made her overdraw on her mana, making her extremely exhausted. It resulted in her fainting as soon as her body couldnt take it anymore. Ummmmmm! Eren, is that you? You cant stay a moment away from me can you? Hehe! After drinking some recovery potions and Erens multiple attempts to try to wake her up, Renita finally showed signs of gaining consciousness. But apparently, it was a slow process. Eren smiled mirthlessly after he heard Renitas remark. He didnt try to correct her or get along with her dream-driven assumption. He just tried to wake her up for good. Why dont you stand up before I answer that. Renita, in case youve forgotten, we are still in the middle of the battle ring. Eren had Renitas head on hisp. The caretaker had just handed him the vial of recovery potion and began to treat the other students who needed care. So the butcher had to take Renitas head rested on hisp before he administered the potion. Renita processed what was being said to her slowly. Then she looked around. Then she realized she was resting on Erensp. Her cheeks turned red and her face showed unmasked awkwardness along with a slight bit of panic. Renita tried to get up from her position so fast that her forehead was hit hard against Erens chin. The guy who wanted to simply wake his team member up hade very close to losing the tip of his tongue with that act. Aaaaah! Sor sorry Eren. My bad. And the thanks for treating me. I I am good now. Eren caressed his chin that had just been assaulted by Renitas forehead. He looked at Renita and casually replied after he sighed a bit: All is fine if you are fine. Never mind that. Did you think about what I had said earlier regarding your spell? I prioritized waking you up because Ill soon meet with Adept Ma and Ace Almera after this. If you agree to my suggestion, we must inform your trainer by today so that she can get her schedule sorted. Eren said while looking at Renita with an expectant gaze. He had decided to invest his newfound wealth into his teammates so that they can give him better returns in the long run. The suggestion that he had given to Renita was only a part of it. ================= AN: Hi. So itll be a while before this chapter is seen by everyone since my price tiers still need to be built up. But its fine since we will still have time to achieve our goals when this chapteres out. The highest tier buyout VEH is going to have this month will be a Lil expensive because it wont have any discounts. So I wont force anyone to buy it. It would help me and the novel a lot if you did. But Id understand if you just settle for the B-Rank tier or lower. This month, youll have to put up with it to support the novel. We will bring down the prices from next month. VEH missed 5K unlocks in its first month by approximately 1K unlocks. But I think we can make that goal happen this month. We will then get to enjoy rebates on privilege chapter unlocks and discounts on tier buyouts when that happens. Apart from rebates on chapter unlocks and tier buyouts, VEH will also have a mass release event one week after we hit the 5K goal. So a week after we reach the goal of 5K unlocks in win-win, VEH will have a 5-chapter mass release event. And we will have a 10-chapter mass release event a week if and when we reach the 10k unlocks goal. Furthermore, VEH will have the highest tier buyout set to no more than 1000 coins if we reach the 10K milestone. The prices of the lower tiers will decrease too when that happens. So thats something to look forward to. Thanks for all the support till now and keep iting. ?? Chapter 206: Ellora Ruins & Ranker’s Utopia

Chapter 206: Ellora Ruins & Rankers Utopia

How are you, Erni? Do you miss me? Eren heard a familiar voice on his holo-call. He could see that the person was as cheerful and energetic as he remembered them to be. The holo-call opened a spectral screen in front of Eren which showed a real-time image of Nina. it made the butcher sh a radiant smile as he replied casually in response: Of course, aunt Nina. Not a day passes by without me major-missing you. And I dont even have to ask you this question. Your call now and then tells me all that I need to know. Hehe! Eren replied to Nina with teasing expressions on his face. Thetter puffed her cheeks while she made her dissatisfaction known: You seldom call me on your own. So I have to. And why does it sound like you take pride in the fact that I miss you more than you miss me? If anything, you should be ashamed of yourself. Hahaha! I was merely pulling your leg, aunt Nina. Of course, you can call me anytime you want. My schedule wont allow me to always pick them when you do. But Ill be sure to call you back when I miss them. Im doing well. And I have even greater news to share with you. Eren expressed another reason for his happiness. Nina was excited for Eren too. She couldnt help asking as soon as Eren finished delivering the news: Oh! A recluse like you can find joy in doing something. Thats news. Tell me what it is? I wouldnt call myself a recluse now. Hehe! Im part of the team known as White Raven Crew, did you forget? The news I have is rted to my ns rted to potioneering. Eren shed a knowing smile towards Nina. thetter could see in his eyes that it was something substantial. The C-Rank potioneer asked eagerly: Enough beating around the bushes, Erni. Tell me what it is? Hehehe! Youd be surprised. I have be a disciple of a Master ranked potioneer Master Levine de Montmorency. Shell soon start personally teaching me. Eren looked at Nina with an expression that screamed, How cool am I?. The healer was stunned for real before shing a genuine smile of pride and happiness: Thats awesome news, Erni. I bet youll be even more sessful than me in potioneering in the future as long as you dont ck off. So you were really interested in potioneering, huh? I thought your crush on me had more hand to y in you taking up optioneering than anything else. Hehe! Nina teased Eren a bit. But the guy didnt shy away from admitting that fact either. You are right, aunt Nina. It started that way, yes. But now Im genuinely looking to make a career in it. Ive never shied away from admitting that I like you and what you do in the first ce. After all, you are a very special existence in my life. Eren fawned over Nina with his glib tongue. Thetter was pleased and felt more secure than ever before. But her teasing didnt end there just because Erens words worked on her: Little rat, you say that now. But tell me honestly, how many hookups have you had in the academy so far? Eren paused for a while and pondered over it. Then he started counting with his finger. That got Nina riled up: Are you a rat in heat? Girls in the academy have be too easy. Hmph! Youll die of exhaustion, Erni. Eren burst intoughter after he heard that. He tried to make the misunderstanding go away that he had created himself: Rx, aunt Nina. I was just kidding with you. Moreover, whats up with you? Where are you? I can see that you are not in the city of Osan, thats for sure. Eren asked while looking behind aunt Nina. The holographic screen of the holo-call appeared very lifelike due to its rity, which allowed the butcher to observe the ruins of some old buildings he could see behind Nina. Oh yes, Erni. I forgot to tell you. I decided to follow your advice and not stay in the city of Osan anymore. This is the final stage of the C-Rank, and my ranking technique has practically stopped working. Ive decided to take the route of forced breakthrough. Currently, Im at the Ellora ruins just outside the Edinburgh kingdom. Theres been a rumour that some spatial distortions have been observed in the ruins. As a result of everyone thinking the same thing, Ellora ruins have be active again with adventurer parties. Rankers Utopia! An explored rankers utopia gives rise to so many possibilities. Everyone is here to try their luck. And Im one of them. Ive teamed up with some old associates of mine. Ellora ruins attract a lot of beast hordes from time to time. So many parties need to cooperate while alsopeting with each other. Its chaos out here. But Im enjoying this thrill Ive been missing for a long time. Hehe! Eren was shocked when Nina shared hertest update. From his past timeline, he had heard about Ellora ruins and the rankers utopia found there. A rankers utopia was a separate personal dimension created by a Sage ranker from the past. This was just before they attempted to achieve a forced breakthrough at the end of their lifespan. A Rankers Utopia, or just utopia, existed for the Sage rankers to choose their sessors and carry on their mantle. It was designed for low-ranked entities that hadnt progressed further in their ranking journeys. A rankers utopia will test the brave adventurers who take up the challenge to explore it and everything that it has to offer. The separate dimension would spell doom and despair to the unlucky candidates. But it could turn out to be the one-way ticket to sess for a few special or lucky rankers. There had been a lot of cases of rankers getting lost and never being seen after they entered rankers utopia. In addition, there were a few incidents in which rankers who inherited the legacy of the utopia achieved unbridled sess. Chapter 207: Shamrock

Chapter 207: Shamrock

Nina was trying to try her luck in the Ellora ruins. Utopias held many secrets within them. In the separate dimensions setup by Sage rankers, there were several ways for rankers to resume their ranking journey, bypassing their bottleneck. If they were lucky or talented enough to acquire them. Nina wasnt behind her ranking journey in any way. It was just that progressing in the B-Rank was an extremely challenging and time-consuming process. It would make the ranker feel that they were not progressing in their ranks at all. Forced breakthroughs were spontaneous. They didnt have normal limitations that would be ced on the ranker if they only limited themselves to practising ranking techniques. She believed that she should try her luck at forced breakthroughs instead of just following the standard routine. Aunt Nina, you dont need me to tell you that you should be careful in exploring ruins and any potential rankers utopia if there is indeed one at that ce. Im sure you would take excellent care of yourself. Plus, your job as a healer is always at a rtively safer spot than the rest of your team. Rankers Utopia is suitable for those who are prudent enough to look for opportunities. So I wont try to dissuade you from what you are nning to do either. But will you do something for me if I tell you? Without asking questions, that is? Eren suddenly asked with a face that said he was serious. Nina didnt know where the stoic shift came from. But she didnt mind giving in to Erens simple demands anyway: What is it, Erni? Anything serious? Eren shook his head before answering: First you have to promise that you wont ask questions. Only then will I be able to tell you. Nina heard this and felt a bit dubious about what Eren was trying to pull here. Yet her affection didnt allow her to say no to the guy: *Sigh. Alright, Erni. What is it? I might be needed somewhere else soon. So you need to wrap things up. Eren nodded before saying what he had intended to say: I have a solid lead that says that one will find the entrance to the rankers utopia right in the middle of a worn-out, dome-shaped construction at the northeastern side of the ruins known as Ajantas Temple. I dont have exact information about how to activate the mechanism to make the entrance appear. But this should be enough of a lead for you and your team to find out on your own. Grab whatever you can from the rankers utopia and get out of it as soon as you hear temple bells ringing in your ears. You dont wait for a second longer after you hear the bells. Be quick on your feet. Can you do this for me? Nina was about to ask her question right after Eren finished. But by pressing his index finger against his lips, Eren reminded her of the promise she had made. I know you have a lot of questions. But lets just say that I have found a reliable backer to help me with a few things. And he doesnt want to make his association known. Eren used bullshittery to exin what he knew from the past timeline. Thats right. He had already known about there being a rankers utopia being discovered in the Ellora ruins. But that event was bound to happen some years from now on. The news had spread through the kingdom and beyond. And a lot of high-level rankers had participated in exploring the separate dimension. Some died, while others who survived had brief bursts of fame and sess. Eren had heard that high-levelled rankers who had explored the utopia at that time hade up with an unwritten rule. It was to run for the exit as soon as they heard the bells getting rung throughout the dimension to avoid cmity on themselves. Apart from this small bit of detail, the only other information that was leaked to the masses was the utopias entrance. All the other details had been kept away from the low-level rankers of that time. So Eren of that time had limited information. Rankers utopia wasnt an ordinary ce to wander about. It was mainly explored by rankers of D-Rank prowess and above. Low-levelled rankers could also explore the utopia if it was made by the Sage creator taking them into ount. But even in that event, the risks to low-level rankers were just higher. That was the reason exploration of the ruins and utopias was limited to high-ranked entities. There were always low-ranker daredevils who would gamble on their luck. But most of them would end up missing, dead, or worseC traumatized for life. Erni, sometimes the mystique you maintain makes me worry about you. But it also has its charm, I wont lie. Hehe! Its not that I dont trust your wits. I do. Still, I also hope your backer isnt leading you by the nose. It seems you want me to explore the utopia in a hush-hush manner. But what should I say to my party? Nina didnt take much time to agree with Eren. She only asked how he wanted her to deal with the whole thing: Simple. Tell them that someone who has explored the utopia before your visit has tipped you. Also, dont keep the information to yourself after you are done exploring. Sell it anonymously to multiple parties and earn profits from it. It should also help you cover your tracks after others get involved. Youll have a week to explore the utopia before the mystical sound of bells spreads across the entire dimension. That should be enough time for you to wrap things up for good. Eren said while scratching his chin. He also gave Nina a few more details that he could remember about Elloras utopia. With utmost focus, the healer listened to the butchers suggestions and was determined to follow them. You say you have limited information, Eren. But the kind of information you have, if its true, is the most crucial one that I and my party could use to our advantage. Although I dont trust your backer, I trust you. So dont worry. Ill follow all your suggestions the way you want me to. If theres nothing else, Ill be hanging up. Nina seemed to be in a hurry. Eren guessed her party was about to move from their resting ce. He just shed a sly smile after he heard Ninas reply and asked with lewdnessced in his voice: Oh, theres one more thing. Whats the colour today? It took a while for Nina to understand what Eren was asking her. She blushed a bit before speaking with confidence and tease: Its a Shamrock coloured one with white stripes. Imagine that, little rat. Ill cut the call now. Leave you alone for some self-help may be. Hehe! Nina cut the call giggling. It was about time she and her party made a move on Elloras Utopia. ================= AN: Shamrock is a pte of green colour. Refer to chapter 39 in case you didnt get what Eren was asking Nina about. ?? Chapter 208: Eren vs. Ramy

Chapter 208: Eren vs. Ramy

Are you ready, Ramy? Eren asked his auxiliary team member. The warm and breezy evening was as uneventful as usual. The team members had found some time from their busy schedule to practise their skills. Eren was going to work on Ramy today. Its been a few weeks since the White Raven Crews match with the Stormborns. Jason had tried to contact Eren again. But Eren dyed the talk for now saying he had too many things to take care of, which was a genuine reason all along. Ramy had an untapped potential that Eren had seen when he fought the guy in this timeline. Thats why he decided to put his Merps to work on the guy. Eren spent his Merps to get the guy some spells and resources that suited him. He also trained him by tweaking his closebat style a tiny bit. Now it was time for the butcher to test the returns on his investment. I am weady when you awe, Ewen! Ramy was excited. Or maybe the word excitement was an understatement. The guy had started worshipping Eren instead of fanboying him ever since Eren had put his time and resources to help him. Of course, scrooge would never give things for free. He had told Ramy he needed to return the Merps he had invested in instalments. But the sound-element ranker didnt see it as something unjustified. He had also decided in his mind that he would follow his idols rules about money and everything else and make them his own. Good. Now show me what you got. The other members of the White Raven Crew stopped their practices after hearing Erensmand to start the battle. They too had seen their shadow leader training Ramy for all these days now. They wanted to know how much the auxiliary member of their team had improved. Ramy nodded at Eren and turned serious. He knew the guy in front of him wouldnt forgive him if he showed him some half-assed performance. Eren might just stop all his efforts to train him altogether if his performance in this practice match wasnt satisfactory. The Surreal Sound Sword spell was activated by Ramy. But the execution was a bit different than Ramysst time. Instead of manifesting swords made of tangible sound waves, he was using the real sword. The sword just had the spell-induced sound waves running through it, making it vibrate a small amount and producing a distinct sharp-pitched sound. It was as if Ramys sword was trying to sing in itsnguage. And instead of using the spell as a mid-range attack like thest time, Ramy was nning to use it as a closebat aid. These were suggestions given to him by Eren, enabling him to explore the potential of being a knight while keeping the core of his spells mostly unchanged. Since it was only running sound waves through a real sword, the silent incantation didnt take long and was almost instantaneous. Ramys mastery over his previous spells had improved too, making him able to cut the execution time while ensuring better output. Eren drew his katars. The two ran at each other before their weapons finally shed. And Eren immediately felt Ramys drastic improvements. Ramys overall expertise hadnt changed much. But his opponents would dread entering a closebat battle with him. That was because his sword that had sound waves running through it would pass those waves through his opponents weapon, making it vibrate uncontrobly. But that was not all. Up close, the sound vibrations would also affect the opponents reflexes as the sound waves would travel through the air and affect their auditory senses. Ramys opponent would get disorganized and their weapon control would go into disarray every time they made contact with Ramy and his sword. And this was just because of the change in the execution of one simple spell. Eren wasnt immune to the silent debuffs applied by Ramys spell either. In fact, he was still better off since his body and bones had been flexible because of his transformation. Had it been a normal ranker, they would have been debuffed even more. The vibration caused him to lose his grip on his katars for a short moment. And that short moment was all it took for Ramy to parry and attack Eren. Now that he had the chance, he took advantage of his attack against the butcher. One of Erens Katars, Diceros Left, was dropped by him. And his defence cracked. Ramy exploited it by holding Erens left hand and running another series of sound waves through it. Eren felt like his brain got fuzzy. His ears started ringing and his eyes could only see the world as some blurred holo-call disyed over a shaky spectral screen. Ramy pressed on and followed his attack with another swing of his sword now that he had caught his opponent and idol in a groggy state. The sword was about to make contact with Erens left side, which was defenceless because of the dropped weapon. s, Ramy didnt know about Erens transformation and his bodys adaptability under external influences like this. The sound waves should have made it more difficult for Erens muscles to function normally. His bones should have resonated with the sound waves, making his skeletal structure vibrate. As a result, the joints would be affected. But Erens body mitigated these effects because of its flexibility. It allowed the sound waves to pass through it without the muscles being adversely affected as a result. Thanks to his transformation, Eren was able to wake up sooner than Ramy had anticipated. As soon as he regained his senses, he cast Seated Perception and Stunning Speed at the same time. It seems I underestimated the guy. He has potential. Eren thought as he saw Ramy moving in slow motion to attack him while he was in the stagnated world. The butcher knew he would have suffered a bit if he hadnt cast his time-element spells at this time. Eren moved out of Ramys range of attacks a little. He adjusted his stance in a way that he would be able to attack his opponent from the waist down, by crouching under the iing sword. Eren balled his fist and ran Blitz Bolt through it before making itnd on Ramys almost defenceless stomach. The butcher had shown a modicum of mercy on his teammate and controlled the lightning element spells effect as well as the force behind his punch to make it easier for him to recover from the attack. Ramy Richards, you are doing well. But Im too selfish, you know. I wont allow you toe out in a better light when you are fighting against me. Eren thought to himself as his punch hit the intended spot. Chapter 209: OP Ramy?

Chapter 209: OP Ramy?

Ramy Richards, you are doing well. But Im too selfish, you know. I wont allow you toe out in a better light when you are fighting against me. Eren thought to himself as his punch hit the intended spot. But it seemed that Ramy was expecting this. Because he had already executed another sound-element spell on his body that would allow him to send invisible sound waves through his attackers body at the point of contact. The sound waves flowed through Erens arms that he had used to punch Ramy. In the stagnated world, he could sense the sound waves vibrating his skin as they passed through his body. This caused his muscles to be unable to maintain the force they were backing the punch with. With such debuffs put in ce, even hitting this guy is a sin now. Why do I suddenly feel like Ive created a monster with an always-smiling face? Eren did not regret improving Ramy up for real. But he regretted the fact that he wasntpletely immune to the guys effect despite having a transformed body. That would only mean Ramys attacks would be even more effective on normal rankers. Which in turn could mean the sound-element knight getting more zealous towards him. The punch finally showed its effect on Ramy who was now curling forward to deal with the blunt forces impact. But even with that natural reaction taking ce, Ramy didnt forget to use his sword to swing at Eren. Eren parried the sword with his katars easily. Due to his time element spellbo, he did not need to worry about the guy just experimenting with his newfound tuning. Or so Eren thought! Ramys silent incantation was taking ce right behind him. Eren could see the runic patterns getting printed in the air Ramy. The guy had been using silent casting ever since his match started with the butcher. Eren didnt panic. Ramys punch would cause him to be interrupted, and consequently, fail to cast his spell. Or at least thats what the butcher was hoping for. But he had underestimated Ramys resolution. The guy bit his lips and endured the pain caused by Erens punch. Then the Blitz Bolt affected him. In addition, the opponents lightning spell also helped him feel less pain at the point of contact due to its inherent stun effect. This resulted in him being able to endure the pain without breaking his spell execution. Erens onught continued in the stagnated world. Ramy endured all the punches and shes, coordinating his counter and strengthening his defence over time. It would have been easy for Eren if he had targeted Rams vital spots. But he didnt do that. The butcher was trying to test his knights potential in close range battle after all. It would defeat the purpose if the fight ended too quickly. Ramy shouted to his hearts content after sustaining a barrage of attacks from Eren. his silence casting had beenpleted. He now had multiple sound swords levitating around him, ready for his beck and call. The sound-element ranker didnt wait for the blurred opponent that was Eren to hit him some more. He willed some of the sound swords in front of him to attack the butcher while he kept some around himself to act as the first line of defence. Impressive. This guy can be more overpowered than me when fighting with multiple opponents. Eren cancelled his time-element spellbo and thought to himself. He realized that Ramy could tackle multiple opponents of the same rank simultaneously without losing his ground thanks to his unique battle style. The surreal sound sword spell allowed him to manifest multiple swords made ofpressed sound waves that would hum with a distinct sharp noise around him. These swords could be used for an attack as well as defence, making it easy for him to handle multiple enemies while ensuring his safety. The line of swords Ramy used as a defence made it difficult for Eren to approach the guy. Plus, the swords he had used for the offence were easy to break. But there was a catch. The swords were meant to be destroyed by Ramys enemies. Once the sword is destroyed, there would be shockwaves ofpressed sound waves getting spread in all directions. It was enough for the opponents auditory and other senses to be affected by the sound waves being emitted so close to oneself. Thats what happened with Eren. A sound sword woulde his way, and he would try to parry it. But even with his most efficient parry move, the said sound sword would then just detonate right after the point of contact with Erens katars. The sound waves would travel through Erens weapons and wreak havoc inside his body starting from the hands he was using to hold his weapons. It would also affect his senses, making it easy for other sound swords to approach and surround him. The biggest advantage of silent incantation was the fact that it wasnt entirely dependent on the casters mana. While maintaining the casters mana consumption under control, it could tap into the surroundings mana and enable them to get more out of their spells. The disadvantage of silent incantations having longer casting time was already taken care of by Ramys fine-tuned battle style. And he didnt forget to maximise his advantages as well. Whenever a sound sword would get destroyed, he would just manifest two more to take its ce. As a result, Eren was soon surrounded by an array of sound swords aiming at him. The butcher didnt panic. He straightened up his back and looked at Ramy with a smile: You have improved quite well, Ramy. I must give you that. But there are a few things you need to learn as well. Ramy felt like he had achieved something monumental after hearing praises from Eren. he knew Eren was kinda going easy on him. But he also knew the guy wasnt a type to praise someone just like that. What is it, Ewen? What do I need to do to improve? Well for starters, dont give your enemy a chance to talk mid-battle. Ramy heard a voice behind his ears and then his legs became limp. He fell to his knees while still looking at Eren in front of him, which soon turned out to be his afterimage. Chapter 210: Healing Magic 01

Chapter 210: Healing Magic 01

Well for starters, dont give your enemy a chance to talk mid-battle. Ramy heard a voice behind his ears and then his legs became limp. He fell to his knees while still looking at Eren in front of him, which soon turned out to be his afterimage. Eren could have knocked Ramy out. But he settled for breaking the guys stance with his lightning-powered punch. This time, Eren also sent Blitz Bolt through Ramys body the way he sent his sound way through his. Due to this, both were about to fail their spells. But Ramy had to give in first because Erens transformation allowed him to sustain Ramys debuff on him for longer. Plus, Erens BTP value was higher than his teammate. In the brief stalemate they experienced, Ramy broke first, causing him to suffer the fate of being defeated. That wasnt cool, Ewen. You say not let youw enemy talk, and yet you talked with me youwself. Ramy said while grabbing Erens hand that thetter had offered to make him get up from the ground. The butcher shrugged his shoulders before saying: I meant not to let your opponent talk when you have all the advantages or have them cornered. I didnt say dont engage with your enemies yourself. You should, when you want to buy time. Eren said and started walking towards his other teammates who were standing at a distance from them. Ramy followed him behind while asking him for some more tips: Ewen, is thewe anything else I need to impwove on? Eren didnt look back after hearing Ramys question. He scratched his chin and pondered a bit before saying: Your silent incantation takes time. Instead of suffering in silence, it would do you better if you followed your earlier strategy of buying time with, lets say, your intriguing usage of words. Your swordy needs a lot of work too. But even with your shoddy skill, it has allowed you to defend yourself while the silent incantation takes effect. With enough mastery and efficient spell use, it could turn out to be your biggest advantage in future. Eren said and beckoned at Ana toe forward with his index finger. The healer did as she was asked, a bit tensed by the test she was soon going to undertake. Eren had gathered his team to test the skills of his other team members that hadnt participated in the teams matches much. Among the trio, Ramy was the first to be tested. Ana was the next. Ana, are you ready? Dont worry. For today, just your healing skills will be tested. You havent even practisedbat arts. So theres no use testing that. Because you would suck at it. Eren gave it to Ana straight without mincing his words. Erens first half of his speech made her feel happy. As long as she could put her healing skills to the test and nothing else, she was pretty confident. But it was thetter part of his speech that made her upset a bit. But the butcher didnt pay attention to Anas puffed cheeks and carried on: Ramy,e forward. Ana, heal this guy. Ive given him a few blunt injuries as well as some katar wounds just for this test. Treat them all. Ana looked at Ramy as if he was some poor beggar. Eren had used him as a guinea pig to test Anas skill. But the guy himself wasnt bothered by Erens treatment of him at all. It only made sense in Ramys head that Eren would be this efficient with all that he does. Ana was a wood element user. Her healing spells augmented the effectiveness of her elemental affinity. As a result, she was able to heal most normal injuries in a jiffy without expending much mana. Ana walked up to Ramy and looked at his injuries at close range. Then she retrieved a seed from her storage space and dropped it on the ground. Ana then executed her spell, Beanstalk Betterment, which made the seed she had just dropped take roots in the ground and sprout with super elerated speed. The seed soon turned into a healthy-looking, lush green nt, which was twice Ramys height. It exuded freshness and vitality. It also dispersed a mild pleasant aroma in the air, calming the spectators senses. Under the guidance of Anas mana sense, the tree had its vines wrapped around Ramys limbs. The vines found their mark which was all the injuries on Rams body and started working on them by dispersing healing magic. Ramy felt like all his injuries were getting anaesthetized because of the cooling effect the vines had on his skin upon the point of contact. The cooling effect soon seeped deeper into Ramys body, reaching into his internal organs and healing his blunt force injuries. Once the internal injuries had been taken care of, Ana focused on treating the katar wound on Ramys body. The cuts werent deep enough. So it became easier for her to close them quickly. Ramy was fine a few moments after Anas spell was executed. Ramy was satisfied with what he had experienced so far. But Eren wasnt. He needed more. Ana, please recover his mana as well. Eren requested Ana as if it were amand. This was Anas real test. Recovering your mana passively or with your ranking technique was one thing. But recovering it for someone else was something else. It required the expertise of a healer. Ana recovered another of her nt seeds from her storage and followed the same procedure. The nt that popped up this time had the same height as the previous one. But instead of being pure green, the leaves of the tree were azure in colour. The azure tree didnt have any vines. Instead, it had flowers with buds of pollen packed in their centre. Under Anas mana sense guidance, the pollens were dispersed all around Ramy. they were dissolved into his skin right after they came in contact. The mana core in Ramys body was revolving rapidly as it was refilled with its depleted mana. This time, the processsted even shorter, allowing the knight to reach the peak of his status in no time. Chapter 211: Healing Magic 02

Chapter 211: Healing Magic 02

Ramy returned to his peak status. And everyone in the White Raven Crew gave Ana approval with their words. She was meant to be the partys healer in the future after all. Her position on the team was unique. Eren gave his nod to Ana too. But it seems that he still had something else to add: That was a good healing spell execution, Ana. And your off battle mana recovery spell is very effective too. But this was an ideal case scenario. A healer is required to do their job while they are active on the field as well. What about your in-battle spells? Anas mood turned serious again after realizing that her test wasnt over yet. Becky saw the change of the healers expressions and tried to give her a breather: Eren, why do we need to push her this hard this early when we dont require her to participate in matches? Ana has just broken through in her rank. Her spell execution is almost wless despite her newbie status. I think we should just Eren looked at Becky apathetically before replying in a cold voice: Shut your mouth when you dont understand what Im trying to do here, Reba. This isnt a ranking war where your life isnt at risk, regardless of what your opponent does. The Besanc will open for all of the students soon. Do you know what that means? Becky wasnt expecting Eren to turn so hostile towards her. She didnt understand what the guy was so hyper about. In addition to that, the name Reba being used instead of the usual Becky didnt go unnoticed by her. Wha what does that mean? Becky decided to end the stare game with Eren and finally indulged him in his question. It means soon the ranking wars will look like a childs game after you feel the real danger of being in a real battle, sans the academys safety. Thats when a partys test of strength truly takes ce. The Besanc will soon be open for all of us, not just me alone. First, you will be trained by academy-approved hunters and adventurers in a few basic skills. Then your party will be able to partake in Besanc missions collectively. This is when parties make it big or break for good. I want Ana to keep on training with that target in mind. Im fine with her not participating in the ranking wars with us. I dont care if she wins or loses in her matches as long as she can keep up with us with her progress. That answer didnt convince Becky. She tried to counter Erens statement with her logic: If we can work without her in the ranking matches, we can work without her in the Besanc missions. Eren shook his head before replying: Thats why I said shut your mouth when you dont understand what Im trying to do here. The biggest difference between a ranking war and a Besanc mission lies in whether you need a healer or not. You can participate in ranking wars without any healer and stille out fine. You cannot do the same in Besanc missions. A party will pay dearly if it doesnt have a capable healer in it. Ranger and Historian roles be significant in real-life missions as well. But the healers role tops that chart. I want my partys healer to be capable in everything she does. I want her to be ready for any situation we might have to deal with. Because our survival lies in her hands. Most importantly of all, my survival lies in her hands. So training and testing her from the beginning makes sense. I dont know about you. But I like living. And I want to keep on living. If you want to die by hiring an unpolished healer, youd need to find a different party. Eren said bluntly while keeping his eyes focused on Becky. This girl is either consciously or subconsciously vying for my position. Eren thought to himself. He didnt mind Beckys interference in hismands when it came to normal issues. But he wouldnt allow her to dictate the core team policies as per her whims. The butchers speech again made the effect it sought to make. Becky looked like she would say something but she kept quiet in the end. He had realized that arguing with Eren was sometimes more challenging than arguing with an unmovable wall. Eren shifted his focus to Ana again before asking her: Well, are you up for the task? Ana nodded after which Eren divided the White Raven Crew into two squads and arranged a mock battle. Ana was made to participate as a nonbat member in one of them. She was only required to heal her team members injuries or fill their mana storage while the battle was taking ce. There were two types of healing magic a healer could use to treat their team member. First was the passive healing that Ana had performed on Ramy. It consisted of using tools, arrays, herbs, and other items in conjunction with spells to heal a teammate of their injuries or refill their mana storage. Passive healing was useful after the battle got over or before it took ce. The biggest advantage of passive healing was that it could be performed on multiple members simultaneously while ensuring the healers mana doesnt get depleted that much. Its disadvantage would be the fact that healers wont be able to perform this type while their teams were moving or were participating in battles. Passive healing would just bolster and expedite the bodys ability to heal. It wouldnt take part in the actual process itself. A healers true test lies in the active healing skill. A healer proficient in active healing would be sought-after by many well-known professional teams. A healer would otherwise be earning off-field through passive healing. Thats why the ss of healers was a special one. It would separate the talented healers from those average healers early in the game. Though, some healers still choose to remain off-field despite being talented at active healing. They were a different breed. ======================= AN: Nina had treated Erens wounds once with the snap of her fingers in the early chapters. That was the case of active healing. Chapter 212: Historian Magic

Chapter 212: Historian Magic

In the active healing process, a healer was required to mimic the mana sense of those who were the target of their healing or recuperating magic. This was done with the help of their spells. Of course, there was no way it would be 100 percent urate. But the good thing was it didnt have to be. Mana in the surrounding area was generally pure, unblemished, with no sign of anyones mana sense. It would only be marked with mana sense when it was absorbed by rankers, making it part of themselves. It is the healers responsibility to act as a mediator between the ranker and the unblemished mana. Then they would actively try to imbue that mana with the rankers signature using their spells. It required exceptional intelligence to sense the fluctuations of mana sense and adjust the active healing spells ordingly to make it work. The recuperated mana would get partially absorbed by the ranker. The healing of wounds would be simr to first aid in active healing. A healer recovering their teammates mana would be a temporary top-up. The rankers mana cores would eventually reject the mimicked mana thrust into their bodies. It was only a matter of time. Once the mana with mimicked mana sense had dissipated, rankers receiving first aid would return to their original condition regarding mana depletion. But before the mana dissipation takes ce, rankers could use the mana their healers have provided them with to cast spells and keep things going for a while. Their spells effectiveness would suffer a bit because it was being driven by the mana that was not theirs. The active healing skill had be a sought-after skill among ranker parties despite all its disadvantages whenpared with passive healing because it offered rankers a way to fight back against a stronger foe. The side effects of active healing could always be dealt with passive healing after the battle is fought and won after all. Live to fight another day! This was what active healing emphasized. So it was natural that Eren wanted their healer to acquire the skill as soon as she could. No matter how impressive her passive healing skill was, Eren would judge her by her active healing performance. Eren observed Anas performance while she took part in the team y and performed active healing on her teammates. Since she was immature, she was required to touch her target of healing before initiating the spell. It was obvious that the active healing she performed while moving around on the battlefield was not as effective as passive healing. And yet, Eren was satisfied with the newbie healers performance. She really is a healer prodigy. Its worthwhile to invest resources in her. Eren thought to himself and pped his hands, indicating that the mock battle was over. The healer had passed with flying colours in her test and Eren didnt hold back conveying what he felt to the healer and his teammates. But the newbie test wasnt over yet. There was still one guy remaining with his messy, light orange-brown hair and oversized spectacles smiling nervously towards his teammates. He was soon called upon: Bel, you are up. Bel was patted on his back by Steve right after Eren called him up. The guy was about to almost fall off on his face because of that. He barely managed to keep his stance intact and came forward as a result of Steves push. Er Eren. Ive just broken through the F-Rank and all my spells are not fine-tuned to the way I like yet. Isnt it better if we keep this test until tomorrow? I can Eren cut the guy off before he could finish: Bel, we understand that you are nervous. But you dont have to be. We are not nning to drop you off the team just because you performed poorly. Neither are we intending to treat you especially because you performed exceptionally well? This is a test to see how we measure up individually in our ranking abilities. It is done now so we could adjust our team y based on the data we have on ourselves. So rx. Eren pacified Bel with the right words. He was cold and sharp with his words when he needed to. But he had also shown how to be encouraging in the right direction by the way he handled Bel. Al alright! What do I need to do? Bel asked while adjusting his sses that didnt need adjusting. Eren decided to tease him a bit: Well, the mock battle that took ce just now. Can you trace the entire event with your historian magic? Eren asked while folding his arms. It was as if he had asked Bel the most basic thing he expected his historian to do. Thetter started sweating buckets after hearing Erens demands. ***************** A historians magic involves finding the residue mana signature in the surrounding environment. The mana signature was the imprint of mana sense left on the items and objects handled by the rankers. The residue mana signature would be abundant or sporadic depending upon the way the rankers handled items or behaved in their surroundings. But it was never zero. Rankers would always leave their mana signature behind even if they merely passed by the ce. The residue mana signature would also dissipate with time. It would turn almost negligible after a certain period has passed. It was a historians job to make sense out of the residue mana signature. A talented historian could trace the residue mana signature left behind the rankers even after days or weeks had passed. But like all magic, historians magic also had its limits. Or to be precise, the historians too were bound by their talent and ranking status when it came to tracing the residue mana signature. A newbie like Bel couldnt trace the residue mana signature of so many individuals all at once. So it was natural that Bel had his face turn pale after hearing Erens expectations from him. Chapter 213 - On-field Assignments A newbie like Bel couldn''t trace the residue mana signature of so many individuals all at once. So it was natural that the historian had his face turn pale after hearing Eren''s expectations from him. "Er Eren. I don''t think I''ll I''ll be able to" Bel stuttered as he said that he would not be able to trace the mock battle that just took ce. This is because of the sheer number of varying mana signatures involved in the event. But Steve''sughter broke his chain of thought along with halting his stuttering speech "Hahaha! He believed that to be real. Bel, rx. Eren was just messing with you. At least I hope he was. Eren?" Eren smiled lightly before nodding: "Indeed. Bel, I was just trying to make you imagine the unexpected so that you''d feel well and perform well when the unexpected doesn''t take ce. You can trace mine and Ramy''s battle. Only two signatures were involved. Shouldn''t be a biggie." Bel''s rapidly beating heart finally started returning to normalcy after he heard Eren''s confirmation. He nodded at his shadow leader and started walking towards the ce the battle took ce. Bel spread his mana sense across the entire battlefield. Then he sensed the residual mana signature in the surroundings and executed a historian-specific spell rted to his element. Bel had the elemental affinity for fire. Since it was one of the great elements, it was easy for him to get his hands on the spells suited for him. Eren had also helped the guy a lot by guiding him and loaning him the much-needed Merps to buy those spells. The spell''s name was Fire Trace. Two figures made of fire appeared on the battlefield soon after Bel started executing the spell. They were identical to Eren and Ramy. Furthermore, the mes radiated the same shade Bel''s hair was. Bel looked like he was having a hard time as he was seen with his eyes closed and concentrating on something. He had a headache as soon as he had cast the spell. The headache would only increase with the number of residual mana signatures he had to trace. But two was still a manageable number for him. Suddenly, the two fire apparitions vanished from their original ces and appeared right where Eren and Ramy were standing before the battle began. Their posture was the same as that of the novice rankers who had fought there. Bel was sweating as he concentrated hard on keeping the spell active. His concentration finally paid off as his team members saw the fire apparitions move and attack each other the same way as Eren and Ramy did with each other. This was sans the spells and spell effects they had at the time of the actual battle of course. Ramy''s Historian spell execution wasn''t perfect. There were cases when the apparitions would just stop moving unnaturally orpletely disappear. But that didn''t stop Bel from casting his spells. All theatrics put forward by the fire apparitions were silent, giving the impression of a mute y. The White Raven Crew members saw their historian''s performance and they were very satisfied with his performance. Well, most of them were. ''Sopared to Ana, this guy is average. Still, I can make it work.'' Eren thought to himself as he watched the historian''s performance. His face looked devoid of blood as soon as his spell ended. The guy''s face had droplets of sweat forming over it, indicating that he had exerted himself in maintaining that spell. "Good job, Bel. You need to improve upon your tracing spell now. But that alone isn''t enough. You needbat experience too. Those attack and defence-type spells you''ve bought with the loaned Merps ought to be practised constantly so that you can use them when the situation arises." As a historian, Eren reminded Bel not to ignore thebat spells just because he is a historian. It is customary for historians to stay in the back like healers. But it wasn''t like they couldn''t partake in battles at all. Eren then looked at his other teammates before informing them about his ns: "Steve, you would be in charge of training Ana and Bel with theirbat-oriented spells. Remember, mock battles are one of the most efficient ways to improve on your spell executions in real-time." Eren looked at Steve and gave him the assignment which thetter agreed to without a second thought. He then assigned his team members various tasks and goals before addressing the newbies again In addition to improving theirbat skills, Ana and Bel can''t ck off on improving their ss-specific skills. I don''t care how you do it. And your status as a newbie ranker would only be considered as an excuse from now on. Do you guys understand?" Ana nodded seriously at Eren''s question while Bel looked afraid of the hardships heading his way. But Eren''s address wasn''t over. He focused on his entire team before saying aloud in a more serious tone than before: "I won''t always stay here in the academy. I have progressed further in the ranking journey than you guys. If my pace continues, it won''t be long before I break into the Ace rank. Once that happens, I''ll be allowed to take up field assignments. I''ll seldom be on the academy grounds after that. So you guys need to keep on working hard even without anyone there to monitor you starting from today onwards. Before joining, I had already made clear to you guys that the party we are forming now is going to continue even after we finish our academic years. And you guys agreed. That''s why I''m helping you in every way I can to elevate your ranking potential. This is my investment in you guys, and I want returns. Hehe! I hope you realize that I won''t let you quit on me after spending so much time and resources on you guys. The White Raven Crew will stay as White Raven Crew inside and outside the Lionhearts Adventurers'' academy." Eren smiled at his crew members and dered his ns that wereced with some subtle threats. Then he expounded on what he was saying and gave each of his team members concrete goals to work upon. It seemed that the White Raven Crew members were going to stay busy for a long time. Chapter 214 - Slavery Is Unfair "Did you guys do what I told you to do?" Eren asked Ron and Dino who were standing in front of him with their necks slightly tilted towards the ground as if they were waiting for his orders. Ron stepped forward before reporting: "Um.. yes. Kind of. We have started spreading the rumours. But I''m not sure they''ll hold up for longer." Ron said and waited for Eren to answer. Thetter nodded at him before adding "Thing about rumours is that they don''t have to hold up. You don''t have to worry about that. What about the possible candidates? Did you find any buyers for our small project?" Rons'' face turned grim after he heard that. The project Eren was talking about was very dangerous. If their names get involved after the scene takes ce, then death would be one of the lightest punishments they''d receive. "Eren, I have to ask before we do this. What did Sienna or her friends ever do to you? Why are you fixated on fuc*king them over?" Ron asked with a careful expression and voice. Eren just shrugged his shoulders before saying: "Let''s just say I don''t like her. That should be enough for you to give you enough motivation toplete all the tasks I give you. Anyway, I''m waiting for my previous question to get answered." Ron just gave up after hearing Eren being Eren. He remained unclear over why he was so upset with Sienna or her friends. But just like the butcher, Ron was okay with anything as long as it didn''te to bite him in the ass: "*Sigh. There are takers. We have stayed anonymous for now by only using remote contacts. But we are not sure how we can keep that stay anonymous once things blow out of proportions." "Ron, that''s for you to figure out. Stay anonymous ore out of the woodworks. Either way, I''ll cut ties with you if I see that the heat is about to reach me. I''d suggest you me things on the cultists. Leave enough evidence to point the authorities in that direction when they take up the case, which they will. But that''s just my suggestion. You can use it if you want to. And I''ll let you figure out the details yourself. But make sure we only go for the highest bidder and rake enough profits to take these risks." Ron was irked by Eren''s usage of the word "we" when it came to profits. But he''d have to deal with all the risks while Eren would stay in the background. ''very is unfair.'' Ron thought as he started discussing the details of his next set of ns with Dino while Eren was around. He wanted Eren''s opinion on his ns without asking for his opinion. Eren shook his head and smiled lightly after seeing Ron''s cunning in everything he does. The guy was as careful as him when dealing with shady things. If anyone could pull the n he had on Sienna sessfully while not getting Eren involved, then that would have to be Ron. Eren suggested a few corrections to Ron''s ns after he heard them. By doing so, they would be able to at least blur the lines between truth and lie, making it nearly impossible for authorities to link the stunts to them. ************************** It was the weekend as usual for Edward Jener. He was ab supervisor for first-year LA students. And he was doing pretty well at his job. Not because LA paid him well. But because he was getting much-needed extra ie from Sienna Slughorn and other rich students for helping them in theirb projects every so often. The help was almost-risk free. There were no ways to trace him as someone who was getting bribed. And the returns on his extra efforts were more than what he could have ever hoped for. So he was now used to spending his extra ie on a few extra activities at the city of Lionhearts on weekends. And who could me him? After all, the money should be earned so that you can spend it the way you choose. This weekend was not going to be any different. His pockets had just gotten deeper with the top-up he just received from his rich clients. Now he needed to vent out some of his stress. Edward had many vices. But booze, gambling, and hookers topped that list. So he first had some drinks. Afterwards, he headed to his known gambling den to try his luck. s, tonight was not his night. But Edward wasn''t discouraged. The extra money had turned him into a big ball of positivity. So his high-on-life attitude made him think about visiting the brothel house. He was just going to leave the ce after quitting his table. But he wouldn''t have imagined that he''d meet with the most beautiful woman he had seen in a while without leaving his table. She graciously introduced herself as Elena. She was the most unsuitable person one could find at the gambling house. When Edward met her, he came to know from his known associates at the gambling den that she had almost lost everything. The young woman approached Edward and asked him if she could watch him y. Edward had no reason to refuse so he simply said yes and decided to y another round. He had the money he needed after all. ''This woman''s luck has been rotten for her. But it seems to have the opposite effect on people shees in contact with. Hehe!'' Edward thought internally and chuckled to himself. This was because he had started winning his hands ever since he hade in contact with Elena. Edward could see it in Elena''s eyes that she was highly impressed with him. Thetter half of time at the gambling ces flew by in a jiffy. And the two gamblers came outughing just when the den was about to close. "Where to, Eddy?" Elena asked with a knowing smile that almost tlined Edward. It was time for him to exert the power of his bribed money and get into this young woman''s pants. Edward thought and led Elena to the most luxurious ce he could think of: Grand Hiyat! ''Not this ce again. This is the ce I had chosen to fu*ck someone''s brains out. *Sigh. At least we have matching tastes.'' Someone in "Elena''s" head spoke up. She couldn''t help chuckling after she heard the voice in her head. ===================== AN: Edward Jener is mentioned in chapter 74. Chapter 215 - Sending Edward Jener Off ''*Sigh. At least we have matching tastes.'' Someone in "Elena''s" head spoke up. She couldn''t help chuckle after she heard the voice in her head. Elena and the voice in her head decided to proceed as nned. The n was to make it appear that Edward suddenly won his gambling hands when he was Elena by bribing the den house in advance. Then use that as a base to establish a superficial rtionship between him and Elena. Edward bought the most expensive suite to spend the night with Elena and led her inside it before closing the door for the night. Edward had lost his game wooing normal women that weren''t hookers. So he was trying to figure some stuff out in his head when he heard Elena''s voice: "Edward, are you sure we are alone?" Edward was confused by hispanion''s question. Then he thought she was worried about her security and anonymity so he assured her with his words: "Of course, Edward. Then why would I pay for the most expensive ce and the most expensive suite in it? Hehe! Are you trying to go behind someone''s back? Are you cheating on someone with me? I''ll be honest. I am ttered and still open to moving forward with what we have right now. Haha!" Edward conveyed his feelings and eagerness to get on with the program even when he thought of the possibility of Elena having an extra-something with him as her target. "No, Eddy! I asked you because I want to eat you without leaving your bones behind. I''m hungry, you see." With her right hand, Elena caressed Edward''s cheeks and said that in a soothing voice. "Eat me up, you say. Kinky! I like that. Hehe!" Edward took Elena''s bodynguage as a cue to take his liberties with her. He tried to nt his hands gently on Elena''s slim yet curvy waist when his vision suddenly changed. Elena had grabbed Edward''s right hand just a few centimetres before it touched Elena''s waist. Then she twisted his arm in such a way that it was dislocated from his shoulder and almost broke off from the joint. The twist had made him turn, making Elena see his back. "Aaaaaaaaaargh!" Edward''s ear-splitting cry rang in the Grand Hiyat''s most luxurious room. However, it didn''t make it past the room. That''s because Elena had used her C-Rank mana sense to iste the room from the outside world. "Aaaaaaaaah! You fuc*king bitch what are you doing? And you are not an F-Ranker, are you? What do you want from me?" Elena didn''t respond. Suddenly, she broke all of Edward''s limbs one by one, as if they were a dead tree''s dry twigs. Edward couldn''t express his agony with words. He was going to have a good time with a young and beautiful woman that wasn''t a hooker. He wanted to please his fifth limb. But he would have never thought that all his other limbs would suffer the consequences of his carnal wishes. Edward was wiggling like a worm on the ground because the pain had been too unbearable for him. But the one who had caused the guy''s worm-like condition didn''t pay him much attention and started walking in the direction of the suite''s entrance. Ron Damien entered through the door after Selena opened it. Elena closed the door behind him gently and led the guy in where Edward was. Ron Damien ignored Edward''s cries and his weird moves on the ground because of the broken limbs and asked Elena: "Hmm. Same suite I had stayed in when I was with Julie. A predictable coincidence. Anyway. Reen, why did you have to break the guy''s limbs?" Elena voiced a hmph before replying "The creep was trying to touch me." Edward shoutedced with anger before Ron Damien couldment: "She fu*cking touched me first, damn it." Ron looked at Elena questioningly. Thetter just shrugged her shoulders before making her opinion known: "It''s alright if you touch your food. It is weird when it touches you back." "You, random guy, what the actual fu*ck is she on about?" Edward asked Ron without knowing about his real identity. As a response, thetter turned back into his original appearance and sized Edward up with his gaze. Edward''s pain was still there. But he still found it in him to process the emotion of surprise when he saw Ron shapeshifting into someone he had a vague memory of seeing at the LA grounds. "Are are you one of the LA students? What the fu*ck is happening over here? Are you behind all this?" Eren shrugged his shoulders before replying "That''s not relevant right now, Mrb-in-charge. What I want to know is what did you tell to any of your LA colleagues before leaving the academy grounds for a weekend? Hmm. Never mind. I''ll just ask Reen to extract your memories after I kill you. Reen, do the honours." Eren didn''t want to waste time interrogating someone who he had decided to kill from the beginning. His about-to-be-victim feared for his life for the first time since he had gotten into the situation after hearing Eren''s remark. He couldn''t help try to reason with his potential killer: "Wait! Please tell me, who are you? Do I know you? Whatever you think I did, I didn''t do it. I''m innocent. And I canpensate you for whatever might have offended you in some way. Let''s talk at least. Before we regret something." Eren listened to Edward''s negotiation-101 talk and answered without any expression. "Innocent people get framed and killed all the time. You had yed your part in framing me. Why should I not return the favour?" E-Rank Edward would have tried to use spells to help get out of the situation. But Elena AKA Reen''s had already damaged his mana core after breaking his limbs. So he was helpless despite being a senior ranker than Eren. Nothing worsened Edward''s irritation more than hearing Eren mention ying a part in framing him. He had looked through his memories and had concluded that Eren was speaking nonsense. "Look here, young man. Bullying others with a girlfriend that has a higher ranking status than you will not help you. And I think there''s been a misunderstanding. I barely recognize you as a LA student. How could I cause harm to you if I don''t even know who you are? And what would you get by killing me? If anything, it is going to be a nightmare for you to deal with the consequences of killing a LAb-in-charge." Eren shed an evil smile before replying: "Oh don''t worry. Soon, LA staff and all the students would abhor you and your name after I''m done with a few things. No point dragging this any further. Reen, bon appetit!" This was thest line Edward heard before his agonized soul was sent to theherworld. Chapter 216 - Fundraiser "I have extracted the guy''s memories. There''s nothing of significance that could backfire on our n." Eren heard Reen after she had finished him off without leaving anything behind. She shared the memories of her victim with her master after she was done extracting them. Eren closed his eyes and experienced Edward''s memories in the first person. He shifted through a lot of recent memory fragments and confirmed what Reen had said earlier. "Alright. Give me his ID Stone. We''ll need that as well any identifiable stuff inside to nt the evidence." Eren raised his hand and caught the ID Stone thrown his way by his pet. Reen had already destroyed Edward''s mana signature on the ID Stone, making it easy for her master to look through her victim''s stuff. "Hot damn. The guy was loaded. Look at all these Extols! We caught him on his payday. It''s like catching a horned sturgeon and finding caviar within it. Hehe!" Eren was pleasantly surprised to find his victim''s storage space, so he impolitely moved the abundance of Extols into his. He liked his victims when they dropped high-quality items and wealth. Of course, his victims couldn''t share those feelings. Eren then assumed the form of Edward Jener with the help of Reen''s fusion with him. She aided him in controlling his shapeshifting to get the desired visual profile. Then she separated from her master and assumed the appearance of Elena, the young woman who was seen together with Edward. Edward AKA Eren waited in the room for dawn to arrive. He could have left the crime scene early if he wanted to. The staff at the Grand Hiyat knew exactly what the supposed couple were going to do during their temporary stay. It would raise suspicion if he had left early. Raising the suspicion was fine this early in the game. But Eren was thinking about the investigation that''s take ce after he unleashes his revenge on Sienna. He wanted there to be as few loopholes as possible, even ifplete cover-up seemed like an impossible task. Now all Eren needed was for his illegal ves to do their job right. **************************** Ron of the berserkers had been very busy these days dealing with his shady contacts. He had been tasked with handling the core part of Eren''s designs on Sienna Slughorn. And he dreaded doing every part of it. Why wouldn''t he? He was en route to hurt someone whose family was known to hold significant power and influence in Edinburgh. Therefore, he tried to think of a few possible ways the n could turn out wrong and started implementing countermeasures for it. Ron wasn''t a cynic like Eren. Instead of assuming that everything would turn out wrong, he would build on the ns he was confident about. Ron and Damien had been asked to organize a secret event for LA students outside the LA grounds. Under Eren''s guidance, he had also started spreading rumours about the same. Among a select few students, rumours circted that the event was organized by Edward Jener to collect bribes in advance from students who could afford to pay. He would then make it easier for students toplete theirb assignments, making them pass their tests with flying colours. Almost every rich student knew Edward Jener was a sellout. So the hush-hush news didn''te as a shock to them. But what they were furious about was the fact that they had already paid the guy for their uing projects in advance. This was because he had demanded that they pay him first before he could help them. Sienna along with her friends Vivi Loren and Luna Selene heard the news and were equally incensed. That was because they had already paid their dues. Sienna had paid multiple times more than the others to get extra benefits. Despite this, the wretched guy was holding a fundraiser outside the LA grounds after raking in the Extols. But then another piece of news started circting that an academic event regarding potioneering will take ce. And the select few students who perform well in that event will get to attend the lectures of a B-Rank potion master. All of these rumours were only circted among students who had the background to pay for the bribe money. And they all naturally thought that Edward must have organized this "fundraiser" in anticipation of that event. The students who thought that they had beat the system found that this was a chance for them to gain even more benefits. It would also soothe their ego that all they needed to do to get ahead of talented students is throw some money and leave them behind. Sienna and her friends were no exception to that thought process either. Therefore, they along with almost all the other rich kids who had heard about the "fundraiser drive" decided to attend it. Edward Jener was a greedy man. But he had alwayse through for them. So there was no risk of investing in something dubious either. At least that''s what they thought. Ron hade up with both the rumours himself. He had retained anonymity in spreading them too. The first rumour was intended to lure Sienna and her friends to a specified location. The second rumour was to bolster the first one. Ron was not as connected as Sienna. But he too had his source in the academy which was his maternal uncle, Lin Karr. He had learned from him that soon a B-Rank potion master would be on the grounds of LA as a Master professor. Ron moulded that information into a rumour to give it a touch of authenticity. This was why the rich kids ended up buying into those rumours. Because just like Ron, they too had their sources in the academy that confirmed the potential existence of a B-Rank potion master. Ron knew that the most convincing rumours had bits of truth mixed in them. Hence, he circted the rumours while hoping that Sienna and her friends Vivi Loren and Luna Selene would fall for them. Otherwise, he would have to deal with an unhappy Eren.. And he would want to avoid such Eren at any cost. Chapter 217 - City Of Nilaami "What is this ce? It looks so creepy." Vivi asked Luna and Sienna. The trio along with the other rich kids had gathered at a private property. It was a simple yetrge house located at the suburban end of the city of Nami. The house had a wooden flooring that would produce creaking sounds whenever someone walked over it. Therge hall boasted a chandelier at the rooftop that was decorated with spiderwebs. And one could see that some parts of the house had been gathering dust for a long time. There were signs of recent human activities. But it was obvious that nobody bothered to renovate or clean the house and just used it as a means to conduct their business. That''s why Vivi found it ufortable to be at the ce. "There are auction houses for hire in this city. They are maintained by the city administrations. Although maintain won''t be the right word to describe what I''m saying, you get the gist. Edward Jener is going crazy. He is trying to give a professional touch to a deal that should stay under the table. What was he thinking by asking us toe here? Let''s just hear what he has to say before getting the hell out of here." Sienna answered in an irritated voice. The city of Nami was one of the closest cities to the city of Lionhearts. A colt ride would normally take up to five hours to cover the entire distance. ******************* The city of Nami was famous for its auction events. It would act as a host for such events organized by trusted authorities and shady organizations with equal and impartial attitudes. The city would just charge city tax with every transaction that has been made in such events, and rake revenue from it. In exchange for such a partial tax process, the city of Nami, for the most part, would try to look the other way when it came to buying and selling goods with questionable origins. The house that had been selected for the gathering was often rented for simr events in the past by a lot of out-in-the-open and hidden organizations. So it didn''t feel strange that "Edward Jener" had selected the same ce to summon the LA students with deep pockets under one roof. Another reason Eren had selected the city of Nami instead of the city of Lionhearts was that thetter was under the protection of the academy. The security in the city of Nami was prettyx, something he had been seeking for hising event. ************************* "d to see you all here, dear students. Hope you didn''t find it troubling to travel to this beat down ce. Hehe!" Eren addressed his fellow LA students with Edward''s voice and face. It had been some hours since he had killed the original Edward. And now he was using his identity to execute what he had nned for Sienna and her friends. "Eddy, what is the meaning of this? You could have kept this event inside the city of Lionhearts. I would have arranged a safe ce for you if you had just told me. What are we even doing here in the city of Nami as if you are conducting a professional auction?" Sienna voiced her opinion as soon as Edward was done greeting the students. It looked like she was very unhappy with the way her servant-likeb-in-charge had created difort for her. "Hehe! I''m using this ce for another event that wille up as soon as I''m done with you. I''m trying to be cost-effective, you see. I have paid a lot to the city administration to get the assurance I need in conducting my business here. So I''ll request your patience. Hehe!" Edward exined his position and that convinced a lot of students in the crowd. They didn''t minding here as long as they could be selected for the Master Ranker''s sses after all. Sienna still has herints. But she kept them to herself for now. It was better she let the event proceed and get away from this ce as soon as she could. Her womanly intuition was telling her this ce wasn''t safe for her. "Alright. You guys must have heard about a Master ranked potioneering to LA for their professorship, yes? Well, this news is true. As far-fetched as you might think, I was the one who had made it happen by giving the master ranker the ingredient they needed. The reason I gathered you guys here was to conduct an auction for the twenty ces Master Ranker is nning to fill with talented students. They are not going to bother to individually test you for your talents. So I will be left in charge of the selection. You know what that means, right?" Edwards shed a cunning smile that the students had expected but never seen on Edward''s face before. One of the students couldn''t help raising his doubt: "Edward, even if we buy those 20 seats, wouldn''t it still be dangerous? It is a Master ranker after all. What if they get unsatisfied with all our talents and question your im that we were the cream of the crop in our year?" Edward seemed unfazed after hearing the student''s question. He nodded at him before replying: "It is indeed a valid concern. But I''ll not be handing the seats to you without creating a spectacle out of it. I''ll introduce a rigged test for these 20 ces and give other students the impression that you have been selected through a natural process. As for the Master ranker''s dissatisfaction, don''t worry. Do you think a Master ranker keeps track of every generation''s talent thates after them? They''ll just think that your generation has regressed in talent and conduct their sses as per your level. So fret not. Everything will be alright as soon as you sign the anonymity contract." Edward handed them the anonymity contracts and asked the students to sign them. Chapter 218 - Special Treatment Edward handed them the anonymity contracts and asked the students to sign them. He gave the reason that since there were 33 of them present here vying for those 20 seats, there were going to be 13 unsatisfied students who might leak what took ce at this ce to get their revenge. By signing the contracts, every student would be granted anonymity whether they win or lose those seats. This would allow the students to bid for the twenty seats without worrying about revenge from the ones who couldn''t secure their ce. The students found sense in Edward''s statements. This was a Master Ranker''s ss after all. This was a huge opportunity for them to make contact with the potioneering of that stage and understand its principles. They wouldn''t miss such an opportunity by chickening out from the opportunity presented by their inside man in the academy. Edward conducted the auction for seats as soon as the students were done signing the contract. He allowed the students to bid and fight for every seat individually. That meant he had twenty rounds of bid in which the students fought with each other twenty times. In the end, the twenty students who were going to get the seats were selected. The remaining 13 students couldn''t do anything but suffer in silence. The ones who had won had paid more price in Extols than them after all. They could only me their unpreparedness foring here with less dough. But Edward wanted to milk the 13 students too. So he offered them more benefits in theb activities and took a sizable chunk out of their Extols stash in exchange for lofty deals he was never going to fulfil. The 13 students who had lost the bid felt some kind offort in the fact that they could get something out ofing here. And most importantly, their image as rich kids with deep pockets was maintained in front of their peers. This was the mental satisfaction they were looking for, which Edward targeted precisely. "Alright, kids. Wait for the test event to take ce at the academy. Rest of you who got the extra deals from me, it''ll take us a few days to work on them. But you should see the power of Extols you have used here soon. Till then, goodbye and have a safe journey." Edward gave his closing speech after which the students started dispersing. Sienna was d that the bid took ce without any hups. She cursed her worrisome heart that told her something was wrong. She had won the seat for herself. Vivi and Luna were not as loaded as her. So they required some financial support from Sienna which thetter gave without minding much. The Slughorns knew how to get the returns on their investments after all. Sienna and her two friends started to leave along with the other students when she heard Edward''s voice from behind: "Miss Sienna, may I have a word? Oh you two girls, Vivi and Luna, you can stay too for I have something important to tell you." Sienna was puzzled by Edward''s new offer. She was going to refuse to stay with her any longer. But she heard Edward''s hushed voice before she could do that: "Miss Sienna, I have a special deal for you. And this would be something exclusive to you, you see. That''s why I couldn''t bring it up when the other students were around. And your friends Vivi and Luna can stay if it makes you ufortable." Sienna was stopped from saying her no out loud by Edward''s reasonable exnation. She had paid the guy the most. She thought it was only natural he would give special treatment to her. Plus, she found the mental support she needed to stay behind with Vivi and Luna around. The girls were curious about the deal Edward was going to offer Sienna. They also felt that they owed it to the scion of the Slughorn since she had invested her Extols in them. Soon all the students left. And only the three girls and Edward remained at the scene. "Well, what is it?" Sienna asked impatiently. Edward smiled lightly before saying: "Please have some patience, miss Sienna. We have a few lurkers hiding in the shadows keeping an eye on you. We''ll wait for them to leave before we can proceed further. Meanwhile, drink this tea. It would help you calm your nerves." Edward retrieved a teapot and three cups from his storage. He offered a teacup to each of the youngdies present there before pouring the tea stored in the teapot. Edward had cast a fire spell on the teapot beforehand. The execution was for a brief period before serving the tea. That warmed the tea just at the right temperature, making it ready to serve. The three youngdies didn''t know about Edward''s elemental affinity beforehand. So they didn''t see any problem with it. They drank their teas one sip at a time, gossiping among themselves as they had always done, in this timeline as well as the previous one. The time flew by. The lurkers had already left after finding out Edward and the three girls were on guard against them. The youngdies had been talking about some juicy gossip by then so they didn''t mind continuing their talk a bit longer. But soon, without them knowing, the three girls became drowsy and were put in a state of forced slumber. Edward smiled after seeing the fruits of his efforts sleeping on the ground. ''Reen, any news?'' Edward AKA Eren asked his beastpanion. She had been scanning the area with her mana sense under Eren''smand. "Nothing suspicious. The lurkers have left for real. There''s nobody around except for us and the food err I mean these three girls." Reen''s confirmation soothed Eren''s mind. From his storage, he retrieved a bottle of wine and drank the contents without using a wine ss. "Hmm! Perfect" Erenmented after taking a few gulps of the wine.. It wasn''t clear whether he was referring to the taste of the wine or the progress of his n so far. Chapter 219 - Items Auction "Ladies and gentlemen, I''m your host for the night, Ron Damien. You can call me Ronny. Pleased to meet you. These are my associates, Mr R and Mr D. The youngdy you met before me is my guardian angel Elena. Yes, she is a C-Ranker." ******************** Ron Damien AKA Ronny AKA Eren was seen standing on an aptly ced podium. It had been some time since the students of LA had left the old house they considered as creepy and haunted. Now it was upied again by a bunch of shady people that exuded the vibe that they were either bloodthirsty criminals or used to hiding in the shadows. The entire environment, therefore, had a sort of macabre feel to it. And the fact that the people present as well as the host of the event, his guardian, and two associates were wearing face masks added to its visual effect. Ronny was unfazed by the presence of the dangerous-looking audience he had summoned through Ron''s shady contacts. This was because he had Reen standing behind him acting as Elena. She was acting as his guardian and served as the much-needed deterrent for the auction. Mr R and Mr D were Ron and Dino respectively. Eren told them toe to the ce, telling them to follow Ron Damien''s orders. Eren wasn''tfortable with sharing the identity of his alias with his ves. Nor did he want to make his shapeshifting power known to anybody. The cynic-him thought it would be better if Ronny was introduced as the new guy under his control. Ron and Dino thought that it was a strange coincidence that the guy they were supposed to follow a few orders of had a name that kinda sounded like their first names mashed together. What they didn''t know was that their names also had a hand to y in setting the name of his alias. Eren had to admit Ron had done a fabulous job in getting things done in the best way possible. Without Eren getting his hands directly involved. He felt like enving him and not killing him was worth it. At least till now. *************************** Ronny carried his opening speech further: "The rules of this private auction are extremely simple. The increase in bidding value should be at least 10 percent of the item''s original price. For example, if you have an item with the initial bidding amount of 1000 Extols, you can increase the bid by adding 100 into the original amount. The increase in bidding value that is less than 100 Extols will not be epted. But you can increase the bid with the amounts ranging from 200, 300, 400 and likewise in Extols. I hope everyone understands the rules so far." Ronny looked at the audience to confirm they understood what he had said now. Their silence meant their agreement. So he exined some more: "The bidding will continue unless there''s nobody to up the bidding value. Buyers can im the item that they''ve sessfully bid for right on the spot, delivered to you at your table by my associates. But the delivery will be done AFTER you have paid the bidding amount in full. Please ensure that you have the money you bid for. Otherwise, Miss guardian angel that you met before me will have to re-educate you in your ranking ways and lifestyle. Hehe!" Eren didn''t forget to use Reen''s presence as a threat to intimidate his audience a little. Upon hismand, Reen released a bit of her C-Rank mana sense for a fraction of a second. The people who hade here to spoil the private auction and take the loot for themselves aborted their ns after sensing Reen AKA Elena''s presence as a C-Rank warrior. They had understood that a swing of her hand was all it would take to take care of them. For good. They would never wake up from their eternal sleep if Renita decided to end their life. Now that the deterrence has done her job, it was time for Ronny to start with the actual event. "Now that the introductions are over, let''s get to this private auction you havee to attend without wasting your time. The first item in this list is an old scroll that has a five-star Wind element spell of the E-Rank written on it. We all know what a five-star spell of E-Rank entails. The bid will start from 2000 Extols. Please state your bid price fast. Once the three hammer hits have been rung and the item is imed by a certain individual, it will not be brought back in the auction again. Now let the bid begin." "2500 Extrols." "2800 Extols." "3500 Extols." The bidding value kept on increasing as more people decided to break their silence and chime in. Eren had kept the base value of the item low to tempt the buyers. But seeing the trend of bid increment, he knew he would be able to get more out of the useless spell in his possession than if just sold it in the ck market. Eren had a lot of useless items from the cultist hideout. So he decided to auction all the stuff that was of high value yet useless to him because of his unsuitable elemental affinity and current level. Eren kept on raking Extols with each item he auctioned off. Each item was useless to him but valuable in the eyes of the people attending the auction. Therefore, in a way, Eren was making crazy money out of his junk. Eren had learned long ago that considering things as precious or trash was a personal perspective that was based on the individual''s tastes and needs. So he always had it in his mind to do something productive with the items from the cultist hideout that was of no use to him. It took a while before the item auction ended. Eren had scored an unbelievable amount of Extols by now. But the auction event wasn''t over yet.. Eren still had more "things" to auction off after all. Chapter 220 - Auctioning Off Of Experiences "With thisst item''s sessful purchase, the item auction part of the eventes to an end. But this is not the only thing we have in store for you. I''m sure you must have heard the term "auctioning off experience". This is Nami after all, the city of "unique" auctioning events. I''ll exin this to the uninitiated. We are offering to sell you a chance to have an experience that might be unique to you. Every experience we offer will be special. So be sure to bid your price well. Because this segment doesn''t have a base price tag on experiences. You need to decide if the experience is worth it to you and set a price. If your price isn''t challenged by anybody, that experience will be yours to have. Please also note that the experience types are dictated by us. So they''ll have to be felt the same way we want you to feel them. Of course, some liberties are allowed. But changing the core experience program is not. I don''t need to repeat twice what would happen to you if you decide to breach these simple rules. You all are wise enough. If you are a faint of the heart, I suggest you leave the auction now, before the auction of experiences begins. Does anybody want to leave?" Ronny asked knowing that nobody would try to leave the auction. He knew his audience. This was Nami, the city of private auction events, shady deals, and even shadier people that seemed to have no bounds when it came to all things rted to degeneration. Eren knew half of his audience would be heretic cultists and half of them would be degenerate rankers. To them, the main event of the auction was starting now. They had attended plenty of such auctions while in the city anyway. "Good. Nobody left. Now let''s start with the first experience, shall we? Have you ever experienced the face of a ranker who is angry with you with all their blood and soul? Have you ever experienced halting someone''s ranking journey forever? This experience pack features a young girl whose mana core is up for your destructive attacks. She is a bright young girl from a well-to-do family. Furthermore, she is regarded as a talented and stunningly beautiful ranker of her generation. So the experience of destroying her mana core will surely be a unique one. I''ll present the girl to you so that you can check for yourself and decide the price for this experience pack 01. Mr D, please bring the girl selected for experience pack 01 and present it to our esteemed customers." Mr D was a bit hesitant after he heard Ronny''smand. This was a little too messed up for him. Destroying the ranking prowess of your enemy was one thing. Destroying someone''s ranking prowess when they had done nothing wrong was another. And yet, Eren had found another realm in settling his scores. He was trying to make money out of his enemy getting destroyed by him. In short, he wanted to get paid for exacting his revenge. But Dino did not have a choice but to obey. Using his stare, Ron indicated that he should follow themand as well. He entered into a small room and brought out a tied and silent Vivi on his right shoulder. The girl was frightened after seeing the scene in front of her. People were wearing masks and they all exuded vile presences that said they were all degenerates. But she couldn''t do anything. Thest thing she had remembered before falling into the trap was that she was talking with Luna and Sienna. She could have never imagined that she''d fall into this trap out of nowhere. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the girl for experience pack 02. As you can see, she is young and vivacious. She is an F-Ranker in the initial phase. You can choose your method to destroy her mana core. But you''ll only be given up to 5 minutes to do this. Plus, you can not harm the girl other than her ranking status. After destroying her mana sessfully, you will be offered an expansion pack in which you would get to talk to her and hear her curses and screams. The expansion pack would also have a time limit of 5 minutes. The girl would be taken backstage after the experience and expansion packs are over. Bidding for the expansion pack 01 opens now. Begging" Vivi heard what was going to be done to her and she was horrified because of it. She started kicking Dino and thrashing about to get free from her degenerate captives. But it was of no avail. Even Dino had thought of releasing Vivi under the pretext of her struggle. But the girl had been drugged and her ranking prowess had been suppressed. Plus, there were so many people in here with a higher ranking status that catching her would only be a matter of a few moments. Thus, her physical struggles or Dino''s mental struggles were in vain. "5000 Extols. Hehe! I want to see the look on this Lil birdie when she faces the ultimate despair in her life. Everyone, please let me do the honours." One muscr masked man stood up and curtsied everyone before stating his bid. It was obvious from his body, posture, and voice that he was a middle-aged man. But the mask made it difficult for people to see it. Audience members had already been warned against using their mana sense in the area to observe those under their masks. This was considered as a breach of privacy and the only punishment for that was death by Elena AKA Reen''s hands. The perpetrator had to find sce in the fact that their death would be quick and painless. The middle-aged man thought he won the bid. But his bid amount was soon surpassed by a sweet female voice. "8000 Extols. I practise a ranking technique that lets me use young girls'' mana cores to progress in my ranking journey. It even makes my skin more smooth, and supplier. This young girl is an ideal candidate for me. How can I allow anyone else to have her? Win your bid by raising your bidding amount, mister. Not your voice. Hehe!" =================== AN: Thest privilege tier has beenpleted with this chapter. The long struggle finallyes to an end. My bad, guys. I wasn''t as productive as I thought I would be. I had never dished out so many chapters at once so I was unable to correctly predict when thest tier would get filled up. It was damn tiring. ( ce "its done its over" meme in the chapterment if you feel the same about the wait I had you put though to, Lol) This was a rookie mistake that should never be repeated. Never will I enter a new month without a sufficient supply of chapters to support me. I''m thankful for all the support I got when the novel was in its downtime. We are still trending in top 10 in bi-annaul. This is truly amazing. All credit goes to the privileged readers who bought the tiers to support VEH. I''ll try topensate you by releasing bonus chapters randomly throughout this whole month.. Happy new year once again. Cheers! Chapter 221 - Unique Experience Pack "Win your bid by raising your bidding amount, mister. Not your voice. Hehe!" Thedy with the sweet voice berated the middle-aged man. And yet the man didn''t find it in him to get angry with her. This was because her voice felt enchanting to anyone who had heard it. The middle-aged man tried to raise the bidding amount. But every time he did that, it would be topped by thedy''s newly raised amount. The middle-aged man smiled mirthlessly after realizing that thedy wasn''t about to back down no matter what he did. So he gave up on the experience pack 01 and sat down by the table assigned to him. Thedy with the sweet voice won experience pack 01 in the end. She approached the girl still being carried by Dino on his shoulder. The guy saw that thedy was approaching them with a fervent look in her eyes and lowered Vivi down. The girl tried to break free again. But with her drugged status and Dino''s strong grip, she couldn''t dodge the grim fate Eren had bestowed upon her. "Um Ronny. My ranking technique requires me to follow a certain procedure, you see. So I''ll need a separate room to do stuff with my experience pack. Don''t worry though, the experience pack will not be altered much. Will it be okay now to give me some personal space with my pack?" Thedy asked Ronny. To which he replied affirmatively: "But of course, miss. Customer satisfaction is paramount to us. You will be taken to a separate room along with your experience pack. The expansion is included in the bid amount. So feel free to hear her cries. But no information sharing is allowed. My guardian angel will keep an eye on you through her mana sense to ensure the experience pack stays intact after you are done with it. I hope you don''t mind." Eren said and gave a courtesy bow to hisdy customer. He had a taller, more muscr visual profile when he was Ron Damien. So his bow didn''t look as elegant. "Sure. I don''t mind. Mr D, lead the way." Dino sighed and led thedy to a room while dragging Vivi. Eren didn''t wait for experience pack 01 to be over. He started the bid for the next experience pack. Experience pack 02 contained Luna. The conditions were mostly the same as the previous pack. But instead of the mana core, the pack dictated that Luna''s mana circuits be harmed. The expansion pack allows the buyer to break off Luna''s limbs and y the skin of both her arms. This time the expansion pack was won by the middle-aged man. He thought this pack was more suitable for him than the previous one. So he was d he could save his money for the pack he needed the most. The guy didn''t need a separate room. He started indulging in his experience pack right then and there. Luna cried and screamed. But to the guy who was inflicting pain, her cries sounded like the sweetest melody he had heard in a while. Soon the experience packs 01 and 02 were over with. Mr R. and Mr D. took the now-unconscious, ranking-status-wise wasted girls inside. Other normal rankers might think Eren was cruel with his revenge even if they learn about his circumstances. But in his head, the butcher thought he dealt lighter punishments to the two girls who had a hand to y in his downfall in his previous life. Through the experience packs, Eren had controlled the severity of the girls'' suffering. As a consequence, only their ranking statuses were lost, aside from a bit of bodily harm. Having trauma was also the other type of suffering that wouldn''t be visible. But Eren couldn''t care less about the girls'' trauma. His whole previous life had been marked by the trauma Sienna and her friends inflicted on him. So it was only natural they would have a trauma of their own as repentance, as far as Eren''s revenge was concerned. It might seem that Eren had gone much softer with Ron and Dino. Eren, however, thought the exact opposite. These guys were the pawns he could easily dispose of. Instead of a one-time event, Ron and Dino''s sufferings were going to be episodic. The main event of the second half of the auction was saved for the very end. It was now Sienna''s turn to get sold off as an experience pack. "Ladies and gentlemen, this experience pack is truly unique. Not because of its contents. But also because of the subject included in the experience pack. This featured girl is also a talented ranker of her generation. Her beauty knows no bounds. She has jet ck hair and crimson eyes. Her oval face spells perfection. Her smooth and clear skin is so sensitive that it turns pink as soon as you touch it even lightly. She is a fine specimen of how a ranker could be the epitome of excellence in every field one could think of. This experience pack features this special youngdy, making it even more special than previously two packsbined. Furthermore, she is a famous personality in the rankingmunity. I will not reveal her name or her origin to keep the excitement factor of the experience pack intact. But in theing days, you will be shocked to know the identity of the person. So when that dayes, you will regret that you didn''t get the experience pack should you choose to hesitate to buy it today. The speciality of this experience pack does not stop there, however. For this pack, we are going to have multiple participants. Ten to be precise. That means each ce will have its bid and we will select 10 people from you guys to unlock this experience pack. What can you expect, you might ask. Well let me tell you, for this pack, we want an explosion of carnal desires. Each of the ten people takes turns sexually pleasing themselves along with the subject in question. Everything sexual in nature is allowed as long as the subject doesn''t die from it. The experience pack will provide you with some personal carnal time with the subject through bidding. So the first ce bid winner will get to enjoy the subject for the first time all by themselves. This up and close personal proximity is only for a limited amount of time. The experience pack will continue until the 10th ceholder is satisfied. The requirement here is that you have to keep the subject active at all times in your adventures. The experience pack willst for three hours. Fret not. All of you and the subject will be given the recovery potions. These potions would allow you to deliver your full potential while enabling the subject tost all three hours. In the expansion pack, you will again be provided with some carnal time with the subject. But this time, all ten people will be summoned at once. I hope you know what that entails. Isn''t this experience pack 03 very exciting? It is open for auction now. Let the bid begin." Eren said out loud in Ronny''s voice.. One could hear and feel a tinge of excitement in that speech somewhere. Chapter 222 - Consumer Culture "In the expansion pack, you will again be provided with some carnal time with the subject. But this time, all ten people will be summoned at once. I hope you know what that entails. Isn''t this experience pack 03 very exciting? It is open for auction now. Let the bid for first ce begin." Eren said out loud in Ronny''s voice. One could hear and feel a tinge of excitement in that speech somewhere. "10,000 Extols." "12,000 Extols." The bidding value of first ce began to escte quickly. Eren couldn''t help feeling a tinge of excitement as he conducted the auction. ''You like framing guys for rapes, right? Now you can legitimately make that im against 10 of your bidders.'' Eren thought to himself. He felt that most of his grievances from the past timeline had been alleviated considerably. He did think of fu*king Sienna up pretty well. But every time he saw her, he would feel an almost uncontroble desire to cut her into a thousand pieces. Eren''s hate for Sienna was too strong for him to even think of doing the deed she had used him of doing. Her visage would send his blood rushing to his brain instead of towards his groin. That was because he couldn''t find it in him to see her as a woman. The bidding price for the first ce was the highest. Then it slowly depreciated with each passing ce. But Eren didn''t mind. He was just happy raking Extols while having his vengeance. ******************** Eren did not simply drug Sienna to make her unable to exert her ranking power. He had also administered her with a hallucinogenic that would induce panic attacks. Jake''s father Jack brought him the potion, which Agatha delivered to him a few days before the n started. Eren didn''t administer Sienna with an aphrodisiac because he didn''t want her to feel joy while she was being devoured by those ten degenerate rankers. He wanted the experience to make a deeper mark on her psyche, just like the Recluse Rap*ist incident had happened to him. The panic-inducing hallucinogenic potion he had administered to the scion of Slughorn would keep her senses intact for the most part. She would be aware of what was happening with her and around her. However, the potion caused her to see things exaggeratedly, triggering her sense of fear and rm. ******************* "What is this? Aaaaah! Why are there monsters surrounding me? Help, help. Ken help me these monsters would kill me. Help someoneanyone" The experience pack 03 was unveiled in front of everyone. Sienna was pinned to the ground by the same middle-aged man who had won first ce in the bidding. He beat her up a bit and made her scream before he could get on with the deed. Her scream was what gave him the hard-on in the first ce. Nine degenerate rankers surrounded the duo, waiting patiently for their turn. There were seven men and three women who had won the bid for experience pack 03. Thedy with the sweet voice who had won the first experience pack was also among them. But she was a little disappointed because this was not how she wanted to enjoy her pack. Thedy was also thinking that she had seen the girl somewhere or read an article or two with her image. But she wasn''t sure. Eren had already dered that the experience pack 03 would be special. As a result, she just assumed Sienna must be a rising star of her generation in Edinburgh. Sienna kept screaming as she felt she was getting ra*ped by devils from hell and beyond. The emotional impact of being defiled was getting heightened even further by the hallucinogenic potion Eren had administered her. The first ce bidder was soon done with his deed. Sienna was given a vial of recovery potion by Eren to keep her in her sense. Sienna was energized by the recovery potion as soon as Ron forcefully made her drink it. As a result, her suffering resumed and intensified even further with each passing bid winner. Soon all the ceholders had their turns. Everyone took a breather to cool off and talked to each other while smiling. Eren served the participants snacks and drinks to please them even further. To Eren, every participant who paid him Extols was his valued customer. He didn''t even nce at the freeloaders, much less offer them snacks or beverages. If he had his way, Eren would just put the freeloaders through the same form of torture as the one Sienna was facing. He would also curse their seven generations for wasting his time and resources. Scrooge in him was a staunch supporter of consumer culture after all. Now that the default experience pack 03 was over, it was time for the promised expansion pack. The participants were energized and the subject was terrified. That was because she was seeing the devils eyeing her with their piercing gazes that spoke volumes about their hunger for more. Sienna felt like dying was a better option than feeling the things she was feeling. She wanted to kill herself but the participants surrounding her would make sure that nothing of that sort happens. They had paid a hefty amount to the wretched auction organizer. Now they needed their money''s worth. Sienna would have settled for staying unconscious throughout the whole event. But Eren had made sure that every bit of pain and agony she feels by getting vited is etched onto her very soul. The expansion pack unfolded just the way Eren wanted it to. He had already arranged a couple of refreshing rooms along with a few sets of basic amenities so that participants could clean themselves up. Sienna was still awake. But she was now an empty husk of her former self. The formally arrogant-to-the-bones girl didn''t even speak or cry anymore. Her tears had run dry. Now she was looking nkly into the void as if wondering what had gone wrong in her life. Chapter 223 - The Slughorn Scandal Eren didn''t forget to ce a visual capture artefact that''d record the whole event in a 3D spectral format. It wasn''t that he only wanted to look at his revenge-fulfilment trophy. It was only a part of the reason. Eren was going to make multiple copies of the recording and sell them to the rest of the audience who couldn''t participate in the event. He had already announced that the buyers would get to buy the recordings at a reasonable fixed price this time, sans the bidding format. This wasn''t because Eren was satisfied with the amount of Extols he made. Scrooge felt all the money he had collected so far was still not as much as he would like to be under his control. However, he had another reason for spreading the visual content of this act. He wanted to sully the Slughorn name and damage its reputation. And what better way to do it than sell it to the degenerate rankers who would spread the captured content like an unstoppable wildfire. Eren didn''t just want to kill or put Sienna through a tough time as a form of his revenge. He wanted the entire Slughorn household to pay for the hell he had been forced to endure in the past timeline. The Sluhorns needed to be brought down from their high pedestal. And publicising this act was the beginning of that n. Eren wanted to create a potion industry that would rise within the Edinburgh kingdom. But the potioneering market had been extremely saturated because of the big yers like the Slughorns that had hogged the majority of sales and distribution chains. If the foundation of the Slughorns were to be shaken, the house would face some loss on the market. And that would allow small-time potioneers like him to breathe a bit easier. Eren had been coordinating with Jack for this very reason. Unlike the previous timeline in which he was prevented from making a living as a potion master, Eren wanted to dominate the kingdom''s market one day with his potions and make a killing out of it. Eren knew that this ill-publicity would not be enough to cause a huge loss in the market for the Slughorns. But it was a start. And this was just a bonus he had nned. The main price was the scar he''d leave on Sienna''s conscience. Soon the expansion pack was also over. And the participants were made to stop the act, lest Sienna bes too much of a dead fish. It would defeat the purpose of torture if the subject stopped feeling pain. Eren then handed the copied recordings, which were pebbles with runic inscriptions. These were all F-Rank artefacts of the three-star grade. Eren had already included the amount he had to put in buying the artefacts when he sold the recordings to his bidding audience. So he wasn''t at a loss. Eren knew nobody would recognize Sienna that easily. And he had made sure to keep her identity under wraps, lest the participants get chicken feet and run away from the bidding venue. The butcher knew nobody would even dare to touch Sienna had they known who they were literally fu*cking with. This is why he gave her hallucinogens so that her thoughts would be too distorted for her to identify herself. And instead of keeping thingspletely wrapped, he just revealed enough information to make more bucks out of it. Eren knew Sienna''s recording would get so famous that it would be analyzed repetitively by a lot of experts. The participants who had won the bid and actively ravaged Sienna up ran the risk of getting their identity exposed even when they wore masks. If that happened, the Slughorn household would make sure that all the degenerate rankers who had taken part in the event would pay with their lives and more. They would do this by actively hunting them throughout the kingdom. Eren knew that two more people would also get hunted apart from the degenerate rankers. They were Edward Jener and Ron Damien AKA Ronny. He had already taken care of Edward by killing him off first. So that was an almost dead end. And he was going to burn his Ron Damien identity after this event. The Slughorns weren''t the only people Eren had to worry about. He knew he would be equally hated by the degenerate participants for painting targets on their backs. While being hunted by the Slughorns, they would try to hunt him with all their might. So Ron Damien had to disappear the way Edward Jener had been. Eren sold all the recordings and bid farewell to his audience. Then he called Ron and Dino up and ordered them to do another of his bidding: "Sell the remaining recordings on the ck market. Make sure you sell it under the tag of Slughorn Scandal to make the buyers aware of what they were buying. Don''t use your regr contacts while selling the recordings in bulk and make sure you stay anonymous. This would be a one-time transaction. So try to get the most out of the deal. You''d get a 30% cut from this." Eren handed Ron the recordings in a storage device and instructed him to proliferate the recordings to blow the Slughorn Scandal out of proportion. This was a countermeasure if the degenerate rankers somehow came to know about the real identity of the subject and decided to sit on their recordings. Ron didn''t want a 30% cut from the deal he knew to be too risky to continue. But he also knew that vile creatures like Eren and Ronny shouldn''t be provoked. Especially when he was enved to them. So he sighed and nodded his head. Eren also told the berserker boys that had turned into his goons to take Sienna, Luna, and Vivi from this site and drop them somewhere safer. The butcher wanted thedies alive so that they could feel the agonies exacted on them by relivering them every time they closed their eyes. Eren told Reen to destroy the entire house with her lightning element AoE she had copied from him. He didn''t want a refund of his booking amount from the city administration anyway. Reen''s mana signature was convoluted. It would make it near impossible for any investigation team to use any historian or tracking rted spells at the site. Eventually, because of Reen''s spell, the rankers nearby woulde to check out the ce. So he left the ce with Reen as soon as she was done executing her spell. ''The Slughorn Scandal would be even more famous than the Recluse Ra*pist Incident. Hehe!'' Eren thought amusedly to himself as he travelled further away from another of his crime scenes. Chapter 224 - Rising Hunger A few days after the Slughorn Scandal. Eren could be seen practising his ranking techniquete at night inside his dorm room. He had assumed a meditative position with his eyes closed, tongues of lightning dancing over his skin. Eren could feel that the technique he had been using was making him feel that it had be slightly ipatible with him. It did make him progress in his ranking journey. But he was starting to have a hard time following the steps mentioned in the technique. Sometimes the mana points that the technique wanted him to activate would remain dormant. And other times, the mana would circte faster than he needed to through his mana circuits, forcing him to start the sequence all over again. And despite the slight ipatibility, his ranking journey had gotten fast-paced instead of slowing down. Tonight was no different either. Before his transformation, Eren needed to spend at least three to four hours every night practising the technique perfectly. But post his transformation, he could be done with his ranking technique in an hour despite having to restart a few times. Eren had first thought that the technique itself has a problem once the practitioner reaches closer to the upper stage of the F-Rank. It was known by rankers that a few techniques would speed up or slow down at a particr stage within the rank because of their peculiarity in channelling the mana through your body and strengthening the mana core. So the butcher drawing that conclusion wasn''t surprising. Eren hadn''t practised a five-star ranking technique in his previous life after all. He didn''t know what to expect. He never really linked the peculiar state he experienced while practising his running technique to his transformation at first. But reading JJ Edgar''s journal opened Eren''s eyes to the truth that was in front of him. Indra''s Levin was meant to be practised by pure humans. And he had ceased to be one when he transformed. Edgar''s journal had hypothesized that the demi-humans would not be able to practise ranking techniques. At least notpletely. Or the way they should be practised. This was based on the fact that a human''s position of mana points and mana circuits would be different from that of the demi-humans, because of the difference in their constitutions. Eren connected the dots and realized that something simr was happening to him. And yet when Edgar''s journal hypothesized that the techniques would be ipatible, it only created a slight difort for him. As if his body could deal with the ipatibility or mould itself up subconsciously to adapt to the technique. Indra''s Levin waspleted just fine. And Eren was about to get up. But before he could do that, the mana started to circte inside his body on its own and started activating the mana points on its own. This was as if the mana had a mind of its own. Eren decided to cancel the n of halting his technique and observed what was happening inside his body with keen eyes. Eren could feel that whatever was happening to him right now was not detrimental. He could feel that the autonomous cirction of mana was even better at nourishing his body and mana core than the current ranking technique he was practising. Minutes soon turned into hours. Eren had changed from technique-guided mana cirction to an autonomous one when it was over. He was hoping he could taste the incredibility of that small miracle once more. But s, it turned out that he was being too greedy. Autonomous cirction did not take ce. ''I have changed. Yet I feel like I haven''t.'' Eren sighed and recalled only his body stats onscreen: ************************ Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Base Stats: HP- 4.8 / 4.8 MP- 5.7 / 5.7 STR- 4.0 AGI- 5.0 INT- 3.6 BTP~ 23 BTP Visibility- Private ************************* ''Damn! My BTP rose again.'' Eren eximed to himself after seeing the autonomous mana cirction had shot up his BTP value. Now he just needed a little push to enter the upper stage of the F-Rank. ''This is way too fast even if I consider that the technique is five-star grade and I practise it diligently. It all must be due to my tra'' Eren''s chain of thoughts was cut by the extreme hunger he felt right afterwards. He felt like he could eat the food ordered for all his teammates all by himself if it was presented to him right now. ''What is this? What is happening to me?'' Eren asked himself as he caressed his stomach with his right hand to calm it down. He had never experienced his tummy making growling noises before. Eren had eaten moderately all the time, this and in the previous timeline. He had never overindulged when it came to food. That was because he ate for sustenance. And his sustenance would be ensured after he had just the right amount of meals every few hours. But the feeling of strong hunger Eren was feeling now had almost overwhelmed all his thoughts. It was to the point that he could now eat raw meat if it was offered to him. The butcher immediately retrieved all the staple ration he had in his storage and started eating them. But his demon beast was one step ahead of him. She had separated herself from Eren to let him practise his ranking technique without any disturbance. And she felt his extreme emotions of hunger as soon as he got out of the practice session. Reen always had a stash of food with her when she used to feel hungry. And since she didn''t have the abundance of stashed human nuggets in her storage all the time, the demon beast had opted to store good human food of every kind she had found interesting. She immediately retrieved some high-quality beef steaks that had been grilled to medium-rare and offered them to Eren. Thetter stopped eating dry food after he saw that his demon beast had produced a heavenly treat for him. He wiped away the dripping saliva from his mouth and started devouring the steaks as he had never had them ever in his life. "See, Erni. Didn''t I tell you before? Always stock up on good food." Reen said smiling and started having a piece of steaks too.. The duo then had the steaks in silence, enjoying every moment of it. Chapter 225 - White Raven Shop "Brrrrrrrrrgh!" Eren produced a loud burp after eating his fourth steak. He felt full and content now that he had ample food in his stomach. He could think again. "What was that? Fu*ck. I thought I was going to die from not eating." Eren asked out loud to no one in particr. But Reen was there to answer him: "Isn''t it normal to feel hungry when you don''t have food for a few hours? I find it strange that you ate so little before. This is the way we should eat, Erni. There''s nothing wrong with this." Reen told her master to make him feelfortable. Thetter smiled and patted her head before speaking to himself: ''Edgar''s journal doesn''t mention anything like this from what I''ve read so far.'' Eren thought before shaking his head. JJ Edgar was swinging in the dark when he wrote that journal. He couldn''t possibly know the extent of effects one would feel or experience after being turned into a demi-human. Eren had realized that this was Reen''s trait that had been passed down to him ever since his transformation. Only now did he truly understand what Reen was used to feeling now and then when she was hungry. This kind of hunger would have driven him mad if he hadn''t had his extended life experiences to keep him sane. ''No use thinking about it now. Anyway, hunger can be managed by simply eating enough food. It''s not the most troubling side effect of my transformational change anyway.'' Eren decided to deal with one problem at a time. He already had a lot of fish to fry these days. He couldn''t waste his time pondering over the fact that he would have bouts of hunger pangs from now on. ******************* "Eren is that you? How did you progress so much in such a short time." Agatha asked her master as soon as she saw him. Agatha was staying in Jack''s shop, where they were meeting. Eren hadn''t hidden his mana signature. So she could see a distinct difference. Thetter just shrugged his shoulders before replying: "Money and potions are enough to make miracles happen. Anyway, did you do what I had asked you to do?" ''This guy never shows all his cards even to his allies. His opponents would die in suspense.'' Agatha thought and sighed after realizing what kind of a person her master was. She then nodded at him before answering: "I purchased a two-story building near Jake''s shop with the money that you gave me. He helped us a lot with that. We utilized all of his channels and contacts to get the property confirmed. I''ve bought the property in your name. You just need to attest the document with your mana signature." ************************* Agatha had chosen a shop that was situated in a prominent location within the city of Lionhearts. The infrastructure of the shop was simple, elegant, and spacious. It had all the basic amenities and facilities. Furthermore, the shop also featured an ample-sized underground room that was suitable for Eren''s potioning experiments and productions, should he choose to perform them here. This was one of the must-have requirements Eren had set for the shop when he had tasked Agatha. Needless to say, she did everything by the book and got him his first store. The shop was meant to be used for Eren''s potions that he would be selling over the counter. The anthope was ordered to buy a ce near Jake''s shop so that the potions'' import and export would be easier. Eren also had ns to buy a shop in the city of Laurel. It was blessed with an abundance of potion-rted ingredients due to its herbs market after all. Agatha was supposed to go there once Eren had enough funds to make that happen. Eren was getting poorer by the day even when he was raking Extols in abundance. But that didn''t stop him from investing. He knew these investments were the gifts that would keep on giving once they''ve been set in ce. But that did make Eren more desperate for money. Even his pool of auction money was going to get dried up soon if and when he starts his business and tries to expand. He knew it was going to be a while before he started seeing profits. ************************* Agatha handed Eren a scroll that had an array seal ced at its bottom. He read the document carefully before imbuing the contract with his mana. The array seal reacted as soon as it came in contact with Eren''s mana. The seal changed itself and now had an intricate runic pattern. Eren handed the document to Ma for further processing. She only needed to ask one thing from him: "Congrattions, mas master. You are now a proud owner of a two-story shop in the city of Lionhearts. Now you only need toe up with a name I can register the shop with." Eren raised his eyebrows after he heard Agatha struggle with calling him a master. He replied nonchntly: "No need to call me master if you don''t feelfortable with it. It sounds cliched anyway. Just call me Eren. About the shop''s name. Hmm! I don''t want things to be tooplicated. Let''s stick with White Raven." Eren replied and started walking towards the exit. Agatha cursed herself for calling Eren master. She didn''t want to. But something hade over her and subconsciously affected her. When Eren came in contact with her, Agatha thought that her status as an anthrope was insignificant in front of him. The pseudo-mutagen elements coursing through her veins were feeling the inherent suppression of the higher being. And that suppression was was manifesting itself in her calling him master. Eren thought of something beforepletely disappearing from Agatha''s vision and turned back before saying: "Agatha, make sure that you finalize the procedure as soon as you can. Soon there will be a shit-load of political storms happening all around us. We don''t want to dy our ns by getting caught in them. And you can start living inside the White Raven shop once the procedure has beenpleted. The top floor will be yours. I''ll be leaving now.. See you soon." Chapter 226 - Marie "You can start living inside the White Raven shop once the procedure has beenpleted. The top floor will be yours. I''ll be leaving now. See you soon." Agatha was left to her own devices by Eren after he gave her permission. Thetter didn''t know what he was talking about. But she was sure about one thing. Her master had his fingers dipped in a lot of pies. Eren met Jacke next and talked about some finer details about his next set of ns. Thetter was happy to coordinate with him. Because by now he had realized that Eren was going to be an exceptional potion-master of his generation. It was always better to form cordial rtionships now that he was still growing both as a person and as a businessman. ****************** "Morning, teacher Levine. Congrattions on gaining your regressed ranking status back. And I might add that you look more stunning than before." Eren greeted his teacher before congratting her for regaining her ranking prowess as a Master ranker. Thetter hadn''t released any of her powers. There was no sign of her mana signature or mana sense. But Eren could feel that his teacher had gotten more mysterious than before. And he could subtly perceive a faint threating from her even when she did not do anything. This was akin to a beast-like perception that mana beasts were blessed with. For example, a wolf will never try to challenge the territory of a lion just because it was lying dormant. Levine''s physical features didn''t change much. But now she had a youthful vibe about her. Her skin had regained its lost sheen and shade, looking healthy pink. Her dull hair had regained its shine. And her ample bosoms looked firmer than before. Eren could see that the Master potioneer had gotten her youth back while extending her already long lifespan. Plus, he knew that this must have been just the beginning of her recovery period. By practising her original B-Rank ranking technique, Levine would turn the clock back on her bodily age. Levine smiled graciously after hearing Eren''sment before replying: "Morning Eren. I would have called you out for your glib-tongue if it hadn''t been the fact that you have praised my looks even when I had regressed into a D-Rank. As if you knew I was going to get my rank status back. Good. I have reentered B-Rank. But I''m still quite a bit away from resuming where I had been forced to leave off. *Sigh. Good things take time so I won''tin. Anyway, are you ready for your lessons? I have so many things to talk to you about. And frankly so short of time. I might have to wrap things up with a few basic points and then give myself enough time toe back to my previous status." Eren nodded before replying with a solemn tone: "Of course, teacher. Your ranking journey should be of paramount importance to you. And as your disciple, I''d want you to be at your peak. I''m fine with my basics getting covered for now. That''ll also serve as a test for you to decide how much you can teach me at my level." "Indeed, Eren. I''m d that you understand potion-making is not as easy as it seems. By the way, you are apprenticed under thatss Ma right?" Eren was confused before nodding at Levine''s question "Um yes. You don''t have to worry about my apprenticeship schedule with Adept Ma. I''ll take care of adjusting my routine as per your lectures." Levine shook her head before exining what she was trying to ask: "I didn''t ask because of your schedule. I was wondering to ask how Ma reacted when she found out that you had been epted as my disciple?" Eren got even more confused about Levine''s line of questioning now. But he answered everything truthfully anyway: "Well, she seemed shocked but didn''t say anything after that. For some reason, she also knew that you were looking for Malva Hibiscus. You know each other personally?" Levine smiled lightly. She closed the book she was reading and ced it on her desk. Then she poured a tea for herself while replying: "I can imagine there was a bit of anger mixed with the shock as well. I don''t know her as much as her sister. Marie was or is Ma''s elder sister. She served as my apprentice for a while. Marie wanted to be my disciple. But I had rejected her after seeing her talent. It was better than the average. But it was not enough to make me take her as my disciple. I had heard Marie had defected and became a cultistter down the line. But I had lost contact with her long before that. So listening to you being taken as my disciple must not have been a pleasant thing to hear for Ma. I have met with her. She doesn''t say it out loud. But she must think that Marie''s defection could have been avoided had I taken her as my disciple." Only now did the realization dawn on Eren. He remembered Ma sympathizing with Renar after he was done torturing him. And he also remembered how Ma had addressed Levine as an old vixen when he had first mentioned the Master potioneer''s name to the closebat expert. Eren''s line of thoughts was broken by Ma''s next words: "You seem to be in your thoughts. Don''t worry. I don''t hold anything against Marie or Ma. Those two sisters were always close to each other. So I can understand my rejection would have put Ma in a foul mood as well. I remember thatss Ma had an unhealthy obsession for elven ales. And it only worsened when she learned about her sister. Does she still get hammered on those ales?" Eren could only smile mirthlessly after affirming Levine''s guess. As it appeared, Ma had the same idea of drowning her sorrows in her drinks. Ma of now and Eren of the past both were trying to find a cure in booze when it didn''t solve anything in reality. But that realization has never been enough to stop the heavy drinkers anyway. ================= AN: Marie has been vaguely mentioned by Ma in chapter 130. Chapter 227 - White Raven Ale? "I''ll give you a stock of my elven ales. Instead of a debuff, this elven ale carries a buff that can nourish her constitution. Give Ma a bottle of my stock. *Sigh. Thatss can''t be cured of her addiction anymore. We can at least try to channel it differently." Levine retrieved two bottles of elven tales from her storage space and handed them to Eren. it was clear that the other bottle was for him to relish in. Eren wasn''t interested in the intoxicating effects of the ale. But he wanted to try the effects of the buffs the drink can grant him. "Teacher Levine, you keep calling Adept Ma asss and she is old. How old does that make you?" Eren asked without thinking after he retrieved those bottles and immediately regretted it. That was because it seemed that the atmosphere around him suddenly started turning colder. ''Damn it. I should never ask these old female rankers about their age.'' Right after, Eren praised Levine''s beauty with a glib tongue. Even with his skill with words, it took him a while to pacify the Master potioner. He tried changing the subject with another question just to be safe. "Teacher, are there elven ales with buffs as well? Why are they not known or get sold at liqour shops then?" Levine narrowed her eyes on her disciple as if she was still pondering if she should forgive him or not. She knew he had brought up the question to change the subject. But she answered anyway: "Of course. There are a few elven ales thate with their own set of buffs. Some can give you a pleasant high and help you circte your mana through the mana circuits better, making them sought-after drinks to be had just before you start your daily practice of ranking technique. Some can give temporary buffs that can increase a particr set of your body stats. While the other can help you cast spells better by exciting your mana points. The only drawback of elven ales aspared to the normal potions is the fact that they affect your senses. So they are not ideal for on-field operations." Eren listened carefully. He had never given a second thought to a rtively expensive yetmon beverage within the Edinburgh kingdom. He had taken it for granted in both his lives. There were so many wondrous ces, items, and more in the world of rankers. So something such as elven ales, even with their logic-defying effects, could be referred to asmon. At least that''s what Eren had thought. Eren had intended to ask the questions just to save himself from the heat. But he couldn''t help bing curious about the Elven ales as a result of the question he posed and the responses he received. "Teacher Levine, how do they make elven ales? Can anyone make them?" Levine chuckled lightly by pressing her palm against her mouth before replying: "The elven ales are easy to drink if you are someone rich with connection. But they are not easy to make. Why do you think they can only be made by elves? It''s not like humans haven''t tried to produce ales with the same type of buffs or debuffs. And some came close. However, they remained nothing more than cheap imitations. The elf potioners guard the recipes of their elven ales with their lives and only pass them down within their families or other elves. It is almost impossible for us to get the recipes from them. Well, some humans did seed in illegally obtaining the elven ale recipes. But then they would just mysteriously disappear somewhere. We can conclude what must have happened to them and who was behind them." Eren raised his eyebrows after he heard more information about the peculiarity of eleven ales. Levine''s answers had birthed more questions for him "Why do human potioneers can''t produce orpletely imitate a potioneering product no matter how fancy it may seem? Ore up with our versions of the ales? Do weck talent in our field than the Faeruns?" Levine shook her head after hearing Eren''s question. She drank a sip from her poured tea and exined to her disciple: "It''s the racial difference between us. I hate to admit it but the field of potioning is dominated by the elves because of their inherently higher proficiency in the way of the elements. It''s not a concept you could understand even when I exin it to you. It''s something you feel personally. Only that can make you understand the way of the elements. The recipe is only one part of it. The concoction of elven ales is heavily dependent on the potioneer''s understanding of the way of the elements. Since elves are better than us in that ranking field, our concoction stays as a poor counterfeit while theirs be a sought-after drink throughout the kingdom." Eren pondered over everything that was exined to him by Levine while caressing his chin. He suddenly remembered that he wasn''t aplete human anymore. Considering his newly acquired status as a non-human, he wondered whether this would facilitate his progress in the way of the elements. And if that in turn could allow him to concoct potions and ales that weren''t normally possible for humans. ''Can I seed in making my variant of an eleven ale?'' Eren had this thought and it started to take root in his mind. If he could make his version of elven ale, the elves wouldn''t have any bones to pick with him. Additionally, the humans would think that the ale was made by them. As such, they''ll at least try to buy the product as an encouragement to him and to show the elves that they weren''t lesser than them. What if he could use such a novel ale as his USP for the White Raven shop? If that was possible, it would give him the confidence to create his space in the potioneering market. Eren knew this was a long-haul project that couldn''t be achieved overnight. He had never studied potioneering past F-Rank after all. So he didn''t know how to incorporate a potioneer''s understanding of the way of the elements into the concoction. ''Let''s cover the basics first before I even think of something grandscale like this.'' Eren resumed his conversation with Levine after he had that thought.. This was the time for him to learn a few things about potioneering from the Master potioneer. Chapter 228 - Bend The Rules Eren resumed his conversation with Levine after he had that thought. This was the time for him to learn a few things about potioneering from the Master potioneer. Both only had about a week before Levine wrapped up a few things and went into istion. So Eren thought of making the best use of his time by halting everything else apart from his daily practise regime and focusing on the potioneering. He woulde to meet Levine every day and she would start teaching him from morning tillte evening. Thetter was focused on sharing all that she thought Eren could make use of on his current level. He first asked about all the information Levine had about the elven ales. Thetter only knew about some finer details but she exined to him all that she had on the subject. Then Levine started exining to her disciple about various things to consider when performing potioneering at his level. She gave him her take on his way of doing things in processing herbs, purifying ingredients, and the actual concoction process. The Master ranker also shared a bunch of her old notes with her disciple, telling him not to share with anybody. He nodded and kept them aside before asking "Teacher, are you going into istion immediately?" Levine massaged her head and made a face that said she was irritated before replying: "I want to. But someone has spread the rumours in the academy that I''ll be conducting a test to take a few students in as my apprentices. Now LA wants me to conduct a test. They said I can reject everybody if I didn''t like any of them. But I have to organize a test event at least. I swear if I find those idiots who think a Master ranker is free enough to run behind a bunch of teenagers, I''ll skin them alive." Eren maintained a nk face the whole time after hearing Levine''s threat but his mana signature fluctuated a little. That was enough for Master ranker to look at him with a questioning guess "Eren, you know something about the event?" Eren scratched his chin and nodded his head before speaking up "Um yes. Kinda. I also had heard about the rumour so I thought of sending my friend here for a test. Will that be okay?" Eren tried to use the bullshittry on Levine to hide his involvement in the case. It was him and his berserker goons that had spread the rumours to lure Sienna along with all the rich kids. Now that rumour was about to bite him in the arse. Eren could have two more days to learn from Levin if she wasn''t influenced by LA to conduct the test. But given the choice, Eren would still have spread the rumours. it was a crucial step in his n after all. Now he just needed to deal with the aftermath. That''s why he gave off the impression that his subtle mana fluctuation was due to him wanting his friend to get selected. Thankfully, it worked in his favour as Levine seemed to have found an answer to her time-consuming chores. "That''s fine, Eren. As my disciple, you can conduct a simple test on my behalf. The qualifiers would be those from my lectures And select the ones that you want. Just ensure that they are decently talented in order not to make it obvious that thepetition was rigged. Hehe!" Levine didn''t care about who was made her apprentice. It was the academy''s tradition to send students into apprenticeships. But she didn''t care about that tradition. The Master ranker had only wanted herb chores to be done by her apprentices. She didn''t assign them any more assignments. So it was a nice gig for potioneer students as well. Marie was selected as Levine''s apprentice for the same reason. The potioneer didn''t care much about Ma''s sister. This was another subtle difference between rankers and cultists. The cultists knew how to break the rules. But the rankers knew how to bend them to their advantage without breaking them. Levine and Eren were no different in that regard either. "Alright, teacher. I''ll conduct a test with the help of theb-in-charge assigned to you. I''ll select my friend Jake as your apprentice. He can maintain yourb and dob chores for us just fine. If you are alright with it of course." "Hehe! Why would I not be? We''ll get to discuss some more topics that way in the next two days without me spending my time regting a test that was created based on a false rumour." Eren spent the next two days with Levine, discussing some more potion-rted stuff. Levine had provided a lot of study material to him. Now that his brain was loaded with so much relevant information he hadn''t heard in the past, he needed to spend a great deal of time practising the art. Levine went into seclusion off LA grounds after those two days were over. She made the arrangements for Eren to organize a test and select Jake as her apprentice. Eren wanted Jake with him so that the guy could help him in his potioneering as his go-to henchman. He was going to use Levine''sb in her ce. So whenever he was busy in his potioneering session, Sullivan Jr. would be there to support him and his concoction. Eren was sure Jake would be happy that he was going to get selected as a Master ranker''s apprentice. His father would feel the same too, thinking that it was all Eren who must have put forward his son''s name. Eren was happy to give the man that impression even when he did it for his sake. He needed Jack''s help for his ns after all. The happier the businessman was, the better it was for him to ask him for favours. ================ AN: Hi. It''s been only 4 four days since the regr chapter release was resumed and VEH is already at the 55th rank of the all-time monthly trending at the time of writing this chapter. We are also ranked 13th of win-win, gaining on rank 12 steadily. Plus, VEH is staying in the top 15 of almost all the other categories in the bi-annual period. Thanks to top contributors Daoist_3296, Greeko_suave, Venom30 and all the other contributors for their Golden Tickets contribution. And thanks to egt161 for the inspiration capsule. Also, special thanks to dethrophes for pointing out ATDs and word choice errors in chapters while they are only avable in the highest tier. The content quality of regr chapters has increased because of it. VEH has also reached the milestone of 300K words with this chapter.. So we will celebrate this as well as all the other milestones with a new book cover and a bonus chapter. Cheers! ;) Chapter 229 - Aftermath Of Slughorn Scandal The Slughorn Scandal came out in the open in a few days. Eventually, everybody hade to know that Sienna Slughorn was involved in a grim cultist incident as a victim. There were also some rumours of two more LA female students involved but their names weren''t much known or discussed. Because Sienna hogged all their attention. The entire incident was now med on Edward Jener. Rumours about him being involved in cultist activities had already been spread by Eren''s berserker goons. Plus, the way Eren handled the whole thing while shapeshifting Edward strengthened those rumours even further. The Slughorn household was incensed. It had found Sienna in a poor state just outside the city of Nami. They tried to suppress the news in the fear of their name getting tarnished. The extensive content Eren recorded on that day eventually ensured that one of the most prominent business tycoon houses of the kingdom wouldn''t be able to keep things under wraps for long. LA had also tried to suppress the incident, lest it gets med for neglecting the students'' safety. But the captured content started getting circted within known and hidden rankingmunities and that''s when all the hell broke loose. The Slughorn household tried to change the identity of that person captured in the content to someone else. But the various experts in the field came out in secret saying that the content wasn''t doctored and it was indeed Sienna. The Slughorn household refused to confirm the mass suspicion, still insisting that it was Sienna''s lookalike. However, it also med LA for being careless about Vivi and Luna, who until now were hardly known by the masses despite being victims of the same incident. LA had tried to y it cool at first. But after hearing Slughorn House''s usations, it stopped doing it. It came clean with everything that it had found out about the case so far. As per the academy''s investigation, Edward Jener had defected to the cult while serving as ab-in-charge. The academy apologized for this "fact" openly and assured the masses that the mistake won''t be repeated. But LA didn''t stop there. Since it had admitted to Edward being a cultist, it had no qualms about saying what it had found out about him so far. The report concluded that the guy had been receiving bribes from students. LA also stated that Edward Jener was bribed by Sienna Slughorn to alter herb tests. She along with Vivi, Luna and a bunch of other rich students had been gathered by LA''s rogueb-in-charge to get bribes from them. And all of them had travelled to the city of Nami voluntarily to participate in that "fundraiser". This news sparked a huge storm in the kingdom. The Slguhorns regretted ming everything on LA. But the deed had been done. Slipping back from their stance was not beneficial. Thus, they continued to maintain their facade. This act affected the Slughorns'' business heavily. But in their defence, the incident was going to affect their business anyway. They just made it more difficult by trying to pick a bone with LA. Edward Jener and Ron Damien were dered as the most-wanted criminals by the Edinburgh kingdom. Both were dered to be closely linked with each other, working in the shadows for the Beast Bloods. As a result, Beast Bloods also emerged as one of the most talked-about cultist organizations within the kingdom. But Slughorns weren''t happy with just that. Both of Eren''s aliases were designated for separate anonymous bounty payouts. The Slughorns had also activated their underground channels to know more about anything rted to the two guys, Beast Bloods, and anything linked with the Slughorn Scandal. Slughorns eventually started zeroing in on the degenerate participants who had taken part in the incident. The famous potioneering house couldn''t officially dere the bounty on these characters as they had decided to stay firm on their stance that the girl in the recorded footage wasn''t Sienna. So just like what they did with Edward and Ronny''s cases, they dered big bounties on the degenerates anonymously. The kingdom-spanning manhunts began in every direction. A lot of adventurer''s guilds, famous parties, and private mercenaries had been roped in eventually. It became difficult for the degenerate rankers to stay in the shadows and save their hides. They all med only one person: Ron Damien AKA Ronny. They used their organizations to start pursuing leads on Ronny so that they could catch him first before rankers and whip his ass. Ronny had fuc*ked with both the rankers and the cultists. So his name, appearance, and other subtle details recorded by the eyewitnesses quickly got well-known. Being pursued by so many people at once had to produce some results. The masses soon found out that Edward Jener was seen at Grand Hiyat some days back. He had been a patron of the ce for a night and he had shown up here with a girl that had no background. The rankers suspected that the girl was the point of contact between Edward Jener and Ronny, which resulted in Reen''s Elena-like alias getting known to the public as well. It took only a few days before another news reached peoples'' ears that one of the degenerate rankers who was involved in the Slughorn Scandal had been hunted. The unknown bounty hunters had made a "blood eagle" out of him to make a statement, as suggested by the Slughorns. And this was only the beginning. Soon more of these stories started popping up. The crime rate in the kingdom also increased because rankers started using the Slughorn Scandal incident as an excuse to do their dirty work. They would kill the person that they had wanted to kill and me it on the bounty hunters who were out for the degenerate cultists. The Edinburgh kingdom observed that the increased crime rate was rted to Slughorns blowing things out of proportion. This was due to the crazy money they had started to pump into their underground channels. So it decided to suppress the house by raising taxes on its potion production under some silly economical excuse. As a result, the Slughorns had to increase their prices of potions by a small margin.. But it was still enough for people to badmouth the house for its greedy nature despite the problems it was facing. Chapter 230 - [Bonus ] Dumbfounded Roody Eren''s stunt had damaged the Slughorn house more than he had anticipated. And it was now on the back foot because of the Edinburgh kingdom standing against it. The house finally understood the message the kingdom wanted to convey with its actions loud and clear. It stopped pouring money into the undergroundwork and decided to wait a while. It was going to be a long while before the dust settled in for the Slughorns. That is if they don''t get dragged into another storm by a certain shapeshifter who had screwed them big time. ************************** Three months after the Slughorn Scandal. Nothing much had changed since the scandal became general knowledge among the rankers and cultists of the Edinburgh kingdom. The rankers were still hunting the cultists and the two people who were directly involved. The cultists were also hunting those two people in secret while staying in the shadows. The two sides were again ced in front of each other. And another series of cold wars had begun. But since it was a cold war, it had stopped being apparent. Now both sides fought in the shadows, and their battles took ce in the dark. The reason behind this whole incident was now facing another of his inter-year ranking wars. And he didn''t seem worried at all. ************************ The Slughorn Scandal had created a huge sensation in LA too. A lot of rich students had been forced to leave the academy or they had gotten out voluntarily. One could hear all of them cursing only one name under their breaths: Edward Jener. The guy had not only taken their bribe once or twice. He had also organized a fundraiser event to make them cough up Extols for something that he couldn''t control at all. Bue Edward didn''t stop there. He also got himself involved in cultist activities. And fuc*ked one of the few entities in the kingdom that shouldn''t have been fuc*ked. And by doing that, he had also widened their holes because of his association with them. The rich kids and the families behind them were angry at Edward Jener and all those he had been presumed to be associated with. But since LA had yed it safe and came clean in not defending itsb-in-charge, it was only natural for it to persecute the other students who were involved in the bribery as well. It had started kicking those rich students out of the LA grounds who were involved in the incident out after confirming their involvement. That''s why to save their skin, the other kids had decided to leave the academy themselves to salvage any further losses. LA stopped pursuing the students who had left the premises after their voluntary exit. That''s how the entire group of first-year students almost became clean of its parasitic student rankers. The butcher''s act didn''t only cause destruction. It had also brought other lesser privileged students some breathing room now that the game of talent was hard-reset again. *********************** Eren didn''t care or find pleasure in the fact that some of the hard-working students were low-key celebrating the Slughorn Scandal. He hadn''t done what he did for them anyway. Eren and his team were standing in front of their opponents. It was Roody''s Wreckers. And no, it wasn''t a coincidence. Roody had used his "right to battle" pass against Eren''s team to summon it on the battlefield against him and his team. "Eren Idril, long time no see. Did you find joy in beating my team when I was forced to stay out of it? Did you enjoy beating my teammates when they were down? Tell me, Eren, what are you expecting from this match? Do you have any hidden battle passes that I don''t know about? Hehe!" It was clear that Roody had been keeping tabs on Eren and his team. The butcher was busy in his pioneering sessions. He had focused most of his time on honing his elementary skills. So he had to obviously neglect the ranking matches and the battle points. His ranking in every field dropped. And because he did bare-minimum matches with absolutely no surprising moves or stunts, he didn''t earn any battle pass. Eren''s teammates had been in the same boat as him. That was because the butcher had assigned specific goals to work on. They were working almost as hard as he was on their schedule. If Eren couldn''t earn a battle pass during this period, there was no point in talking about his teammates doing something like that. They also did theirpulsory matches and became part of the bare-minimum gang of students. Roody''s snarky remark was a testament to the fact that he knew that Eren''s team couldn''t pull any more magic tricks this time. The guy was waiting for his first-year opponent to admit his wrongdoings because of encroaching despair. But Eren surprised him yet again. For the worse. "What are we expecting? Hmm. We are expecting to lose this battle, of course. Our chances of sess are non-existent without the right battle passes. Why did you ask that though? Do you think we are delusional? Or do you expect us to be some sort of protagonists from cliched novels to make us stand above the rest no matter what?" Roody still had the same smile stered on him that he had shed at the start of the conversation. But that smile somehow looked to be in a sorry state because of Eren''s blunt and honest reply. Orton Jr. raised his hand and pointed at Eren to say something. But he didn''t have words to describe what he was feeling. He found joy that the opponent that had shamed him and his team in thest inter-year ranking war in front of his second-year buddies was now admitting openly that he and his team were inferior. But there was no despair or shame in Eren''s voice that he was expecting. It sounded like he was just saying the usual things. Like two plus two equals four. And in this case, it was. But that didn''t stop Roody from being dumbfounded by Eren''s nonchnt expression. Chapter 231 - Julie Returns There was no despair or shame in Eren''s voice that Roody was expecting. It sounded like he was just saying the usual things. Like two plus two equals four. And in this case, it was. But that didn''t stop Roody from being dumbfounded by Eren''s nonchnt expression. "You are you serious?" Eren nodded before replying "I am. I would have epted my loss right now if it was allowed to." Roody didn''t reply after that. For some reason, Eren''s rational words made all the irritation Roody had umted in his heart vanish into thin air. So he sighed and proceeded forward to have his inter-year ranking match. Just as Eren had said, White Raven had lost against Roody''s Wreckers. Eren and his team had improved tremendously over these three months. But without the battle passes, they couldn''t fill the gap of power and experience they had with their opponents who were equally hard-working as them if not more. Eren didn''t put much of his efforts into the match either. That''s because he wanted to pacify the second-year students with his loss. The butcher thought one huge win was enough for the time. He didn''t mind losing some Merps in favour of second-year students leaving him alone. He couldn''t say he liked losing his Merps, but he had made peace with it. "Guys like you are rare, Eren Idril. d to have met you, even when it was not on the best of terms. Let''s grab a few drinks sometime." Roody brought his hand forward for a handshake with Eren and thetter epted his gesture. The former smiled lightly before starting retiring from the battle with his entire team. "Eren, why did you tell us not to give our best efforts in winning the match? We had a fighting chance, you know." Beckyined like always. Eren smiled like he didn''t mean it before replying: "No, WE didn''t. You all are too green to think that you could win against second-year students without the battle passes. I had a fighting chance if I were to fight only two of them, excluding Roody. I could have taken care of them using Renita the way I didst time. Of course, they would have been prepared for my moves, so it would have been a lot more difficult. So I would have been taken out as well as soon as I got rid of their tank and fog-element guy. I certainly couldn''t have stood a chance against Roody." Jake heard Eren''s statement and agreed with him fully. But he added his own thoughts as well: "I think Eren didn''t want us to conflict with the second year. Sometimes taking a step back can help you go a long way." Eren looked at Jake and patted his shoulder beforementing "Spoken like a true businessman in the making. I have high hopes for you, Jakey. My White Raven shop isn''t going to run by itself. By the way, you guys should worry about the uing Besanc missions. I''m sure you must have started attending the live demos already." Everyone affirmed what Eren was asking them. The Besanc was going to open for most first-year students who had sufficient prowess and battle experience to participate in Besanc missions now. Eren had been preparing his teammates for these missions for a long while now. The Besanc team missions were lucrative in terms of money and resources. But why were they equally dangerous as well. Most of the first-year parties would have their teammates heavily injured or killed in the Besanc missions. That would result in parties being dispersed and new parties getting formed as a result. The butcher didn''t want to put his efforts into recruiting members he couldn''tpletely trust because of the danger level of these missions. Neither would he shy away from those missions. That''s why he had invested so much time, effort, and resources into his teammates. It was almost time to receive dividends on that investment. But before that, Eren needed to meet with a certain person using one of his aliases for onest time. That was because he had received an interesting message from that person. ********************** "You sure took your time getting here, Ronny. I hope everything''s alright. Perhaps you have new followers now? Hehe!" Julie Ekheartmented right after she saw Ronny AKA Ron Damiene to the ce they had met and drunk before. She had used Eren''s anonymous contact method that he had shared with her to contact him. Eren had decided to burn his Ronny aliases for good. And he wouldn''t havee here even for this bodacious beauty. But the offer she had presented him with was tempting. Ronny had worn a face mask like every other participant in the auction event. Furthermore, he hadn''t been captured by the recording device. So his face was still a mystery. The bounties announced on him only contained him with his mask on. So nobody would have suspected Ronny to be the same person who was currently one of the most-wanted criminals. But Jules was different. Because she hade in contact with him before this kingdom-shaking event took ce. Julie had connected the dots between the Ronny she met and Ron Damien that was currently being talked about throughout the kingdom. That was because of Ronny''s talk with her. Ronny had said to Julie that he was serving as a middle man between his employer and his customers in the underground market. And Ron Damien in the news was said to have conducted an auction event of a few peculiar ranking items. So Julie contacted Ronny and asked him toe to meet her. She wanted him to be a part of her organization. An organization with which she couldn''t allow her association made public. Just like Eren, Julie had another facet to her. She was a cultist too! ============= AN: Thanks Waakaranai for your gift. Hope you catch up with thetest storyline soon.. You are way too behind lol. Chapter 232 - The Illuminati Julie had used her channels to see one of the items and found out that they were all from the Beast Bloods hideout. The same hideout that was known within the cultists to be destroyed by the city of Silvermoon. Ron Damien had already been connected with the Beast Bloods. So Jules assumed that Ronny''s employer must have belonged to the cultist organization. Cultists would seldom let rankers handle their business affairs. That meant Ronny was also a Beast Blood. Probably lower in rank than the person who had allowed him to conduct the underground auctions. Then the auction Ron had organized must have been his clearing-stockpile event that needed to be done before he went off the grid for a while. In Julie''s mind, it all made sense. Eren too had remembered why Julie was mncholic about the bullshittery he was spewing to make her sleep with him. When she hinted to him in the message she had left for him that she was a cultist, her talk of that night made sense for him too. Eren wanted toe in contact with a genuine cultist organization after reading through Edgar''s journal. He wanted even more research than the cultists had on Anthropos and demi-humans to understand what he was. Ron Damien''s cultist background as a member of Beast Bloods had already been presumed by Julie as a cultist as well. Now that the Beast Bloods branch near the city of Silvermoon was destroyedpletely, he could im that he was part of the organization too and nobody would be there to refute him. Plus, the name Ron Damien must have achieved a celebratory status within the cultists by now. His adventures or rather misadventures with the scion of Slughorn had be public knowledge. So it was easy for them to ept him as one of them. The best part of the whole thing was that Ron Damien was a masked entity for the rankers. His facial identity was still not known. Therefore, no rankers'' organization would be able to tie him up because he used his alias a few more times. So Eren took his risk and decided to let Ronny take the wheels on this one. He wanted to see what Jules was offering him: ************************* Coming back to the present. "You sure took your time getting here, Ronny. I hope everything''s alright. Perhaps you have new followers now? Hehe!" Ronny smiled before pulling a chair in front of the cultist-in-the-shadows assistant professor of LA. Thetter had chosen the same table at which Ronny had impressed her with his cheesy pick-up lines. "You are right, I''m one of them. Just like you. I wanted toy low for a few months at this time after things blew out of proportion than I had anticipated. But your message has forced me to meet you. Now tell me, why did you contact me all of a sudden?" Ron asked while pouring himself a drink from the wine bottle that he just ordered as soon as he got to the ce. Then he filled thedy''s ss as well before fixating his gaze on her: "I just knew you were like me when you left. It''s been a few years since I opened myself to a person without worrying about the consequences. So when I heard you pour your heart out in front of me, I had guessed that you must have also carried another identity. And identity that you couldn''t have made known to the public. Just like me. I heard about the Slughorn Scandal and figured out your identity. I also know that the things you sold at the auction event conducted at the city of Nami contained items that could only be found at a certain ce." Eren AKA Ronny retrieved the F-Rank sound barrier item from his storage and activated it. Then he raised his ss before gulping a sip from his wine ss. The butcher shed a smile at Jules before saying: "That''s right. I am one of the Beast Bloods. My branch members have all been killed. I survived because I wasn''t at the ce. See? I havee clean in confirming all that you seem to have figured out on your own. Now can we get back to the offer you were talking about?" Jules smiled at Eren after she saw that Ronny was still nonchnt about the whole incident. He was going to hide in the shadows, but something told her he wasn''t as concerned about his safety as he should have been. "Yes, Ronny. It seems you are in a hurry so I won''t beat around the bush. Why don''t you work for my organization now that you seem to have broken ties with the Beast Bloods? I mean you would have been safely sent to one of the Beast Blood''s hideouts if you were still being epted by them, am I wrong?" Julie asked while lifting her wine ss and airing the wine inside it in suave. Eren didn''t look panicked and replied just as easily: "Correct again as well. The Beast Bloods don''t want me because they havepletely given up on the branch at the city of Silvermoon. They don''t want to invite trouble by still being associated with me. Who can me them, right? Haha." Eren highlighted with his speech that at the end of the day every cultist was on his own. The concept was true for rankers as well. But with cultists, it had been taken to the extreme. "Yeah. Cultists cut down on the deadweights after all. But I know someone with potential when I see one. You shouldn''t have joined the Beast Bloods in the first ce, Ronny. They are all madds. What I''m offering you to be a part of is considered as one of the elitist groups of cultists. Should you choose to ept my offer, I will assure you that you won''t be mistreated in my organization the way you were by your anthrope friends." Eren raised his eyebrows before asking the question he was guessing the answer of: "Elitist cultivation organization you say? Might I ask what organization you represent? Jules smiled a cunning smile before saying the words in a hushed voice even when she knew the sound artefact was active: "We call ourselves the Illuminati!" Chapter 233 - Therianthrope Transformation Mimicry 01 "We call ourselves the Illuminati!" Julie confessed and looked at Ronny''s reaction. As she had expected, his eyes had been opened wide in surprise as soon as she said the organization''s name she was part of. Ronny AKA Eren was surprised. But it was for a different reason. This was because he knew that some years from now two of the cultists'' organizations would wage war against each other. Nothing much was public knowledge about the war between two cultist groups. But Eren knew one of them had its name revealed to the public as the Illuminati. The Illuminatiter had another conflict with another cultist organization but it soon found the allies it needed to keep on engaging with its enemies. But it was never revealed to the normal popce what the organizations were fighting about. The Illuminati had been in the limelight for some time during Eren''s previous timeline. But he had been too busy making ends meet to care about kingdom-level affairs. And now the same Illuminati had its members approach him. Eren guessed that whatever the reason for that conflict was, it was connected to why Julie had approached him. Because the timing of this whole thing made it appear to be the case in the butcher''s head. "Do you know about us?" Julie had a look of interest when she asked Ronny. Thetter nodded before replying "Only a few details. You guys like to infiltrate the establishments and remodel them from within to suit your needs. Why are you guys looking for me?" Julie shed a smile before affirming what Eren was saying "That''s right. Unlike Beast Bloods or most of the cultist organizations that are filled with degenerates and criminals, Illuminati only takes those people who have a rtively sessful career in their field. The reason is simple. We want to reshape the establishments'' beliefs from within. Anyone can cause mass direction if you think about it. Where''s the talent in that. Real talent is when you destroy the things you want to destroy and rece them with something better without making a noise. Beast Bloods had never allowed you to grow. But with my organization''s backing, I can assure you that you''d get more than you ever could be retaining your current affiliation. So what do you think? Do you want toe with us?" Julie asked with a subtle temptation in her voice. Eren didn''t reply immediately. He seemed to be thinking about something as he gulped the contents inside his wine ss some more before finallymenting: "I know that the cultists'' organizations work on one fundamental principle, no matter how radical or mild they are. Equivalent exchanges and equivalent benefits. If I have so many benefits just being part of your organization, surely there must be something in it for you too in recruiting me. Tell me what that is upfront. I always appreciate straight shooters." Julie hadn''t doubted Ronny''s intelligence. But keeping a sane mind in the face of benefits highlighted that part of the former''s personality she hade to admire. "Hm. You are right. But before I tell you that, I need to confirm something about you." Eren raised his eyebrows but he didn''t say anything. His silence was enough for Jules to continue: "I need to see if you can go through the therianthrope transformation before I tell you the reason for me inviting you to my organization. After that, I''ll ask you about some not-so-well-known details about Beast Bloods to confirm your association with Beast Bloods. Just to confirm your identity as a member of Beast Bloods. Finally, I''ll have you sign a non-disclosure contract. Are you willing?" Julie had stoic expressions when she said that. Eren didn''t take long as he finished his wine before replying: "I am." ***************************** A few days before the meeting with Julie took ce. Eren was talking with Agatha about a few details he had found in Edgar''s journal. "So do you not feel any voracious hunger from time to time? Or to be more specific, what has changed for you since you''ve gone through the therianthropic transformation?" Agatha was confused and irritated. Because just a few moments before, Eren was discussing business stuff with her. Now he had shifted to asking about Beast Bloods and her transformation again. She wasn''t used to sudden shifts of gears. But she forced herself to calm down before replying: "Not really. I feel that my trigger for anger and survival instinct has been altered from normal rankers. But I always had those emotions enhanced in the first ce. So I can''t say for sure. Why are you asking?" Eren pondered to himself after hearing his ve''s response. ''So nothing changes for Anthrops and people using Beast contract spells. Or the changes aren''t noticeable enough for the rankers on an individual level as they are for me. But it would be wrong for me to assume things based on Agatha''s words alone. I need to see her in action.'' Thinking this, Erenmanded Agatha to perform her therianthropic transformation in front of him. Thetter just sighed after witnessing her master''s erratic whims before obliging. Agatha started transforming. Her height grew a little. The muscles on her limbs became more prominent. Plus, she started having a distinct fur growth on those limbs. Her eyes also changed from those of normal humans to those that had vertical pupils. Agatha was a cute young girl. She was a bit shorter than Eren. But her transformation had pushed her height by four to five inches, allowing her to surpass Eren''s normal stature. He white hair and light green eyes were still the same after her transformation. But now they had the air of beastly aura around them. But the biggest change Agatha had after entering her transformed state wasn''t physical. Her mana signature now had the subtle aura of a mana beast mixed in it. Any normal ranker would be able to sense the deviation in mana signature because the transformation had caused the mana signature to spread forth in the vicinity. Meaning a normal anthrope of Agatha''s level couldn''t mask the signature once they entered their transformed state. That or Agatha just wasn''t skilled enough yet to do it. Chapter 234 - Therianthrope Transformation Mimicry 02 Any normal ranker would be able to sense the deviation in mana signature because the transformation had caused the mana signature to spread around in the vicinity. Meaning an anthrope of Agatha''s level cannot conceal their signature once they enter their transformed state. That or Agatha just wasn''t skilled enough yet to do it. Eren got closer to Agatha while she was in her transformed state. He started looking at her transformed body keenly which put her in an awkward state. But she stood still to let her master continue what he was doing. Eren started touching her skin and poking his fingers at her muscles. He was also using his mana sense to scan her entire body. Agatha started blushing because the butcher had already crossed the personal boundaries with this very act of his. That too with a straight face on. ''Reen, what do you think?'' Eren asked his beastpanion. All his senses were shared with her so she was observing the Anthrope girl with him. ''Hmm. Her skeletal structure had changed along with her muscture. But they are on a superficial level. But her mana signature has changed drastically. And yet, one can conclude that she is a human.'' Eren kept on analyzing Agatha''s body while caressing his chin. He thought of something and asked the C-Rank demon beast his next query: "Reen, you have seen Ivor perform his transformation. What would be the difference between the transformations obtained through beast contract spell and therianthropy?'' Eren could deduce the differences himself but he wanted Reen''s opinion since she could analyze these things on a deeper level than him because of her ranking status. ''Visually speaking, the two methods of transformation won''t seem that different from each other. But the beast contract spell only focuses on changing the muscture of the ranker. Whereas, therianthropic transformation goes beyond just muscture alteration and changes the ranker''s skeletal structure, only if temporary. This ve of yours has tried her finest to y it cool in front of you. But I can assure you that the process must be painful. Unlike the beast contract spell, the therianthropic transformation causes a ranker to feel pain. But in return, they get a muchrger boost in body state value than the beast contract spell users could ever hope for. Her five senses and her mana sense also seem keener than they would be if suppose she had executed only the beast contract spell. We have already discussed the deviation of the mana signature. Compared to the beast contract spell, the therianthropic transformation would make the ranker''s mana signature deviate drastically. Apart from these changes, I don''t see anything to be different.'' Reen concluded her analysis and waited for her master to register his thoughts. ''Will we be able to copy the therianthropic transformation the way we did with the beast contract spell?'' Eren asked what he was thinking finally. He was almost sure that he would be able to copy the therianthropic transformation with Reen''s help. But he asked just to be sure. ''Well, yeah. Your bones and your muscles have be pretty malleable ever since your transformation. You''d not suffer during your therianthropic transformation mimicry at all. The cosmetic effects are easy to copy and produce. What you need to worry about is the deviation in the mana signature. It won''t be the same as the beast contract spell. So alone, your bluff will be found out. Hehe! But you are never alone. With my help, the deviation in mana signature is no biggie. I just need to sync the tiny bit of my mana signature with yours. And the very attribute of my mana signature would cause the biggest deviation in yours.'' Eren heard this and smiled. ''Let''s do a demo of my therianthropic transformation shortly in front of thisss. I want to get her opinion.'' Erenmanded Reen to help him go through an anthrope-like transformation. Thetter didn''t have any problem with it. So she obliged: Eren used the purple lightning beast as the base of therianthropic transformation. Therefore instead of fur, his transformation started producing distinct scales over his skin. And just like the real one, his stature increased and his height even crossed Agatha''s enhanced height by 2 inches. Eren''s mana signature also deviated distinctly as his mana signature spread forth. One had to say that Reen had done her job fabulously. She had taken note of every little thing and made sure that all of them are implemented in Eren''s therianthropic transformation mimicry. Agatha was left dumbfounded after she saw Eren go through his transformation. At first, she had thought that Eren was executing the beast contract spell she knew him to be using. But her expressions and her thoughts changed as thetter had his transformation with her. "Eren, how can you perform Anthrope transformation? Did you take on the path of therianthropy?" ''Why would I take the path that is but a mere imitation?'' Thought Eren to himself before leaving his ve to draw her conclusions. He wasn''t obliged to answer her queries after all. But his transformation had positively confirmed something for him. It meant that he could act as a genuine therianthrope as well. This was another card he wanted to have in his deck. ************************ The butcher would have never thought the card he had prepared in advance was going to get used so soon. After hearing Julie''s demand to show him his therianthropic transformation, he was d that he hade prepared. It had given him the confidence to y Julie''s sudden curveball. "I can indeed show you my therianthropic transformation. But do you think this is the time and ce to do that?" Eren asked Jules with his signature smirk. His intentions couldn''t have been any clearer. "Hehe! That night wasn''t enough for me either, Ronny. Who says business and pleasure can''t get along. Grand Hiyat is under some heat right now. So it might not be a good idea to go there. But I know just the ce. You just need to follow me. Let''s go. Show me the beast that''s inside you." ================= AN: Julie''s visual profile will soon be uploaded on VEH Discord and my Instagram handle. ;) Chapter 235 - Under Her Spell P1 "Let''s go. Show me the beast that''s inside you. Hehe!" Jules said in a yful tone and got up from her seat. Eren smiled and retracted his sound-istion artefact before getting up as well. He gestured with his hand for hispanion to proceed. Eren found out after some time that Jules had led him outside the city of Lionhearts. Their rental colts had carried them miles away from the city in a few hours. "Where are we going exactly, Jules?" Eren finally asked after he chatted with Jules on random things during their journey. Thetter smiled in response before speaking up: "There''s this natural pond nearby from where we are. Despite what you might expect, the water feels lukewarm to touch even during the night. Perfect for us to get immersed in. I thought we should spice things up fromst time. Hope you don''t mind. Hehe!" "Hm. Alright. Why would I mind? I''m just d I don''t have toe up with killer pick-up lines this time. It''s gratifying when you get to spend quality time without having to work hard for it every once in a while, you know." Eren said and chuckled a bit. He made Jules remember the way they had met and interacted thest time. She shook her head and mirthlessly smiled before replying to him as they continued their journey on their colts: "I''m sure you know this, Ronny. But I''ll say this to highlight it again. Pick-up lines don''t work the way you think they do. The good ones can only fetch attention. It''s the one you are trying to woo that decides if they should work or not." Ronny didn''t take long toment as he sped up his colt to match up with Julie''s speed: "They serve as effective ice breakers, yes. And with such a finedy by my side, I''ll try to break or shave away the ice with all my might if I have to." Jules felt Ronny''s words working on her again the way they didst time. She smiled and pointed at the front before saying: "Hehe. You don''t need to break that ice when it has already been melted away, Ronny. Look, our destination is right up ahead. I''ll see what else your tongue can do apart from praising me so much." Ronny and Jules eventually reached their destination. The pond was located at the edge of a small cliff and wasn''t that deep. It was connected to a creek that was streaming down from the mountains in the distance. The running water would fill the pond before travelling downwards. But its temperature would rise while it was inside the pond. That was because there was ava vein at the bottom of the pond. It had turned the pond into a natural spa. Eren had to admit that the ce was pretty amazing. The location was covered by dense vegetation around it. Plus, it was only two nights away from the full moon. So the moonlight and stars had added to the already pleasing ambience. The light breeze carried a faint and fresh scent of the wild. Eren smelled it and found it pleasing. But he felt something was odd. He felt that the setting was too picturesque. Or rather, it felt too picturesque for him. So he asked Reen to confirm: ''What do you think?'' Eren could hear Reen chuckle in his head before she replied: ''Hehe! You sure took your time to notice it. Thankfully, you are using your head to think this time and not some other part. That''s right. It''s an E-Rank illusion spell that Jules is casting on you. She is what you humans call an illusionist.'' Reen confirmed Eren''s doubts. By now he and Jules had both gotten off their colts. They were holding each other''s hands as they walked towards the spa pond. The butcher could now see that the surface of the water was not serene as he thought it''d be. There were light bubbles that would pop up every so often. ''The reason behind the water staying lukewarm even during the night,'' he guessed. ''But why keep casting the spell on me now? And it sure isn''t working the way it should if I can feel it is affecting my senses. So why is she still casting it?'' Reen pondered for a while before replying to her master''s questions: ''I guess she doesn''t know that it is not working. Hmm. Your status as a non-human might have rendered the illusion spell on your senses practically useless. The spell itself isn''t harmless. So maybe she wanted to lower your guard before drawing the truth from you that you wouldn''t normally share. Hehe. Thisdy still underestimates you.'' Eren agreed with Reen''s guess. His body''s stats had been augmented to that of an E-Ranker using E-Rank strengthening he had achieved with the help of Reen. But it kept his intelligence unchanged. An E-Ranker''s illusion spell should have still worked on F-Rank Eren even when he was pretending to be an ace ranker. But his status as a non-human must have offset that logic. Julie''s spell was meant to be cast on humans after all. As a result, Eren felt his pleasure senses getting worked on. But his rationale stayed unaffected by that change. ''Now that I recollect the first time I saw this food err Julie. She had tried to cast the illusion spell on who she thought was Dom too when you had sent me to talk with her. Her spell didn''t work on me. But we can consider her to be a skilled illusionist if her spell can still affect you this much despite being a non-human.'' Eren nodded internally at Reen before stopping at the edge of the pond: "You look beautiful under the moonlight, Jules." Erenmitted as he embraced hispanion Thetter returned the hug she received before saying softly: "Ronny, I told you. You don''t need to break the ice. Sometimes silence is golden." "I know I don''t need to. But I want to. This everyday night has turned into a surreal moment for me now that you are with me. I feel like I''m living inside a dream." ''The spell is working. Just as they had told me, the illusion spells work fine on Anthrops.'' Jules felt relieved after she had assumed this point. Her vetting of Ronny would be much smoother and reliable if her spell was in effect while she carried her Q&A round with her partner. Or so she thought. Chapter 236 - Under Her Spell P2* ''The spell is working. Just as they had told me, the illusion spells work fine on anthropes.'' Thought Jules as she lifted her head and kissed Ronny on his lips. They both started feeling each other''s bodies as the light kiss turned into an extended liplock. Eren grouped Julie''s butt cheeks with both his hands as she started undressing him. He acted a tad intoxicated as if still under the effects of her spell and tried to rush things up a bit. "Slow down there, Ronny. Remember, business and pleasure need to get harmonized. Why don''t you show me your therianthropic transformation and stay at it before we start enjoying each other''spany?" Eren acted as if drunk on the feeling of lust as he nodded at Julie''s suggestion. Then he proceeded to execute the therianthropy transformation using Reen''s help. This time he used Agatha''s beastly features as a base. His eyes turned into that of a beast''s as the pupils turned vertical. The rest of the beastly manifestation was the same as what he had observed with Agatha. Tweaking his mana signature was taken care of by Reen. She had based the alteration on what she had observed with Agatha. That''s why Eren''s deviation in mana signature was akin to that of an anthrope''s. The duo paused their activities and let Erenplete his transformation. Jules looked at the changed sight of Ronny in front of her beforementing: "My my, Ronny. You should have started with this thest time, you know. So many lost opportunities." Ronny and Julie had been stripped of all their clothes by now. He stepped into the pond and stopped walking further as soon as he reached knee-level depth. Then he turned backwards and gave his hand to the illusionist that was with him before replying: "Don''t worry about lost opportunities, Jules. We can always make new ones when the time is ripe. Like what we have this time." Jules took Ronny hand in hand and followed him inside the pond. The water was pleasing to the skin and invigorated her. She felt that she should have cast the illusion spell on herself as well to enhance what she was feeling, just like Ronny. Ronny stopped stepping further into the pond as soon as the water reached his waist level. He then turned back and spoke up: If I stay in this state tonight, I''ll eat you whole, Jules. Hope you know what you are asking me to do." Ronny said in a deep voice. He hadn''t forgotten to ask Reen about modting his voice as well when he had entered his transformation. "Hehe! Don''t worry, Ronny. I can take it. You just empty your head and let your instincts take over you. Here, I''ll lead the way." Saying that Jules took Eren''s hand and ced it on her right breast. Her right nipple had hardened under the effects of her state. So Eren started his assault on her body by firmly pinching the pink bud between his fingers. "Ummmmm!" An ecstatic moan escaped Julie''s mouth. She held Ronny''s hand that was fondling her breast and pressed upon it, telling him not to stop. Thetter didn''t need more encouragement anyway. He caressed her left butt cheek with his other hand while fine-tuning the pink nipple with the other. Julie''s blue hair gave off a lustrous sheen as she tilted her head backwards, enjoying the ecstatic paining from Ronny''s fondling of her body. Pain. Since Ronny was in his transformed beastly status, he had started getting rough with the illusionist. But surprisingly or unsurprisingly, she didn''t mind. Her constant moans and constant chanting of Ronny''s name in ecstasy indicated she liked the rough treatment. Ronny carried on his assault as his face drew closer to Julie''s neck. His slightly canine teeth bit onto her neck. This was a move driven by Eren''s instincts. And as soon as he did, the blood that he tasted felt sweet in his mouth. Neither was he repulsed by tasting the foreign blood in his mouth. ''Hm? Do I like tasting blood now? Is this another consequence of being fused with Reen?'' Eren AKA Ronny thought to himself as he withdrew from his act. He didn''t mind tasting human blood. Neither did he care about the repercussions of the newfound trait he had found out about himself. Eren didn''t care that his very act could be deemed as cannibalism. Animals would eat others of their kind when they had to. Humans hypocritically thought they were above animals by putting such pretentious restrictions on themselves. And then they would proceed tomit even more vile deeds than animals ever could. Eren''s point of view was that if killing humans for the sake of his benefits was a normal thing for him, then devouring them was no different. But he had no desire to continue with the blood-drinking feast just yet. "Aaaaaaaaah! Ronny, you beast. More. I want more." Ronny obliged. Both of their groins were immersed in water. The butcher first started to y with Julie''s clit as he fingered her love hole with her other hand. The warm water doubled thedy''s pleasure level even further as she allowed her partner easy ess by adjusting her legs. ''She is almost about to lose her concentration and stop her spell execution.'' Reen informed Eren. Thetter nodded internally and stopped driving the illusionist to the edge. For some reason, he thought thedy should be in control of her senses while assuming that he wasn''t. Ronny started praising Jules some more before resuming the act. That momentary respite was enough for the illusionist to get back to her senses and maintain her spell. She started asking Ron some personal questions after ensuring from her end that he was way too deep to care about hiding facts from her. Their act carried on as she proceeded to guide his actions. She asked him about his experiences in Beast Bloods. Then proceeded to ask him about his recent adventure in the city of Nami. Like always, the butcher added a hint of truth in his lies and made her drink the cocktail of his bullshittery. Jules thought she was in full control of the situation. But unbeknownst to her, Ronny was choosing appropriate words to answer her interrogative questions with. Ronny had figured out that Julie needed the handicap of her illusion spell to know that whatever she was getting from him was the truth. So he just made her think that everything was working out her way. The mostpelling illusions were those when the subject thought they were inplete control of the situation after all. Chapter 237 - Under Her Spell P3* "Aaaah. Go deeper, Ronny that''s it that''s it there right there." Jules was getting screwed hard by Ronny in his beastly form. By now, her interrogation round was over. She didn''t have to maintain her illusion spell anymore. So in this round, she let go of herself and started enjoying every moment of being fuc*ked to perfection by herpanion. But Julie''s consistent guidance was annoying to Ronny. ''What''s this about "right there"? Bit*ch there are only two ces down south my di*ck could be in. And you should be d I can go deep if I want to. Go deeper! Haah! What would other guys have done if you asked them to suddenly pull the leftover dick out of their stomach?'' Eren AKA Ronny couldn''t help but have this thought. He had lifted one of Julie''s legs with his hand while she firmly stood on her other. The leg spread had been aptly used by Ronny as he could perform deeper strokes. Wet sounds filled the surroundings. As they were still immersed in waist-level water, the sounds of watery were prominent. They had an auditory pattern about them, dictated by Ronny''s slow yet consistent moves. He nutted inside Jules after a while. But that didn''t make him stop. He kept on driving his beast-sized co*ck hard inside her vaginal canal and pulling back out almost its entire length before shoving it deep inside her yet again. ''Someone is looking at both of you from a distance using an artefact. Possibly this girl''s associate.'' Reen''s voice sounded in Eren''s head. That made him stop for a few seconds before resuming what he was doing. He wasn''t surprised. Now he understood why this vixen had brought him here. It was to show what she had caught to her aplice. Eren kept on fu*cking Jules. Thetter hade twice now. But since they were doing it while standing partially immersed in water, her post-cum state wasn''t apparent. As the duo''s state of affairs continued, pond water and ''pound water'' kept mixing. "Clean my coc*k with your mouth, Jules." Ronnymanded Julie after a while. Just as a new climax was about to be washed over Jules, her partner interrupted his actions with a selfish request. The tone of his voice wasmanding, oozing undisputed dominance. ''I don''t dislike it. Hehe.'' Julie thought to herself as she proceeded to go down on Ronny. Thetter grabbed her head and shoved his di*ck down her windpipe as soon as she took it inside her mouth. Her gag reflex kicked in and Jules started choking on Ronny''s dick. But that didn''t stop him from driving his dick deep inside her mouth. He had grabbed her head by her head, giving him the control he needed to dominate his partner while having a blowjob. Jules soon started to enjoy giving head too. She used one of her hands to excite her pussy while she took Eren''s cock inside her mouth with its entire length. "It''sing." Eren said and pushed Julie''s head against his cock from behind. His produce soon found a cosy ce down thetter''s throat. Julie didn''t waste even a drop of Eren''s produce as she gulped it down entirely. There was also a bit of water mixed in, but that only made it easier for her to swallow the load she was given. "Argh!" Ronny grunted in pleasure as he released all his load inside Julie''s mouth. What surprised Julie was the fact that his di*ck was still standing rock hard post-nut. "This technique of yours sure seems intriguing. And" Jule got back on her knees andmented. Ronny could see it in her eyes as they met his. It was fear. "And what, Jules?" Ronny asked as he helped her stand up. Thetter smiled mirthlessly before replying: "And surprising. People would do everything you ask them to do on a condition that you give this technique to them." ''Yeah. Just be an Osan Woods Butcher and mess with all the bigshots in the kingdom.'' Eren spoke in his head as he used his Ronny alias to chat with Jules before their next session. The two took some breathers and got out of the pond. They continued their sessions all night as Ronny alternated between releasing his load inside Julie''s three openings. Julie had to wait until dusk fell before she requested retirement. This time Ronny didn''t force her. He soon got out of his beastly state and looked at his partner who was busy getting dressed up. He too followed her lead. Soon they were as prim and proper as they were before their extended carnal act. The person who was watching you has left the area. It seems you checked out in their eyes.'' Using her mana sense to confirm it, Reen said to Eren. That was all he needed to hear before asking his next set of questions: "Now that you''ve confirmed my Anthrope status, care to tell me what do you guys need me for?" Ronny asked with a stoic expression on his face. This time, he waspletely nk about Julie''s intention in approaching him this way. "Your status as an anthrope is more significant to us than you, to be honest, Ronny. Especially when you are now a rogue member of Beast Bloods who hasn''t gotten back to them yet." Ronny raised his eyebrows but remained silent. So it was his supposed anthrope status they were after. ''But the Illuminati aren''t Beast Bloods. Why are they searching on anthropes then?'' This question popped in Eren''s head. But Julie wasn''t going to tell him answers to all his questions just yet. To borate further on what she was saying, the former had to sign a nondisclosure agreement with her. "The Illuminati have found an entrance to an ancient purgatory. The exploration team needs a certain number of anthropes for us to open itpletely and see what''s inside it." Having finally received confirmation of Eren''s status, Julie exined to him why she had approached him. The butcher had already confessed to Jules while supposedly under her illusion spell that he was an ex-member of Beast Bloods with no intention of joining them again. She needed his presence as an anthrope to open purgatory. Chapter 238 - Ranker’s Purgatory Jules needed Eren''s presence as an anthrope to open purgatory. A ranker''s purgatory, or just purgatory, was simr to a ranker''s utopia in many ways. It was a separate dimension created by S-Rank entities in their final stage of the rank to choose their sessor by testing their mettle. But unlike the ranker''s utopia, a purgatory was created by heretic rankers of their time now known as cultists. A purgatory was much more brutal and dangerous to explore than a utopia. Purgatory exploration usually results in heavy casualties. But these risks carried substantial rewards. A purgatory usually contained the S-Rank entity''splete inheritance. High-ranked heretic rankers of their times would rob and plunder all the riches they could find. And then they would dump all their loot in the separate dimensions they created. As a result, a purgatory usually contained a variety of riches that appealed to rankers and cultists of different paths and elements. Purgatory was a sought-after ce despite the risks it carried because it offered heftier rewards upon its sessful conquest. Eren finally understood what the non-disclosure contract was for. It seemed that the Illuminatis wanted to keep this purgatory a secret from prying eyes. His expressions of surprise were then quickly reced by stoicism as this understanding dawned on him. He let Julie continue: "They say the way to Elysium is through purgatory. Because of the special nature of this purgatory, this statement couldn''t be more urate. It must hold a lot of unseen ranking resources we could use. Now that you know and have signed the contract, I''ll ask again. Are you interested in exploring the purgatory with the Illuminati?" Ronny shook his head before raising another of his doubts: "I''m not that easy tomit, Jules. You know that. I understand the secrecy and your extended line of questioning. But why the need to keep things a secret from other cultists? I have known cultist organizations joining hands with others of their kind in exploring the purgatories found in the past. The things you discovered are ideal for you to explore with Beast Bloods. Why the secrecy?" Jules chuckled in response to Ronny''s query before exining further: "It seems you were kept away from the organization''s politics when you were in the Beast Bloods. That bunch of rag-tag cultists are wilder than hungry boars found in the wild. What do you think they will do when they find a purgatory made exclusively for them? They will try to outy us, the ones who have found it first. Finders keepers, Ronny. We don''t want to share the purgatory with anybody else. Our appetite is that big. Cultist organizations forming alliances isn''t a novel phenomenon. In general, those seeking to explore purgatory seek out allies to share the damage and mitigate. But" Jules trailed her exnation, hoping herpanions turned allies would get what she was referring to. The butcher didn''t disappoint her: "But cultists are cultists. They would betray and backstab anyone for greater benefits. They would find loopholes in contract or face the grim aftereffects of breaching the contract itself to gain shallow benefits." Jules nodded her head before taking his line of thoughts further: "That''s right. The Illuminati have seldom operated with other cultist organizations. That''s because we understand how other organizations work. We have much better and efficient ways to deal with such problems. In general, we would activate our sleeper cell contacts within the kingdom''s hierarchy to find us external help. We usually try to sort such problems by ourselves without involving any other cultist organization. Anonymity and no-mess operations are our forte after all. It''s only when things get out of control do we look for allies. But this is not the time to look for allies, Ronny. This is our time to try to get all the benefits purgatory has inside it for ourselves." Eren scratched his chin in Ronny''s form. Another obscure point became clear to him at this point. ''So the reason this vixen is looking for rogues from the Beast Bloods is so that they won''t report it to their organization. Their absence would not be noticed by the same. Her illusion spell was for her to confirm that I''m indeed an ex Beast Blood and not connected to the organization anymore.'' Reen was also thinking of another point after she processed what the vixen had said to them. She let her master know what she was thinking: "Erni, the Illuminatis fought with an unknown cultist organization in the previous timeline''s future right? Maybe it was because of this purgatory that it had found. The other organization must be the Beast Bloods. Since this anthrope dominated organization partakes in the path tabooed by the kingdom, all the information rted to its existence and activities would get heavily censored or redacted entirely.'' Eren agreed with Reen''s conjectures. He even praised her before adding further: ''It seems the Illuminatis didn''t have a choice but to fight with the Beast Bloods in my previous timeline. The high-ranked entities of Beast Bloods are pure heretics at their core. When they discover the peculiarities of the purgatory in question, they will act with desperation. The Beast Bloods likely discarded or didn''t care about dominating the resources when they discovered that they couldn''t take on the Illuminatis alone. That means they leaked the news to other cultist organizations in the hopes of raising a united front to fight against it. It might have forced the Illuminati''s hand and it was forced to look for allies against the Beast Bloods and the allies they had found. That was how the war among cultist organizations might have taken ce in my previous timeline.'' "Ronny, what are you thinking? Are there any questions you want to ask?" Eren''s dialogue with Reen was interrupted by Julie as she thought he had some questions on his mind. Thetter shook his head before giving her the reply to her earlier question. "No. Everything is clear. I''m in, Jules. But I''d need some time to prepare. Like a few weeks to two months. Will it be okay?" Eren agreed to join the Illuminati''s expedition but with a condition. He couldn''t just walk into a lion''s den without preparing for countermeasures. Most of all, he didn''t trust the Illuminati. As sophisticated as they might seem in handling their business, they were cultists at their core. In this life, Eren had decided that he would do the backstabbing and not the other way around. Chapter 239 - [Bonus ] Lady Zee "I''m in, Jules. But I''d need some time to prepare. Like a few weeks to two months. Will it be okay?" Eren raised his condition. Jules was expecting this so she agreed to it immediately: "That would have been the case even if you didn''t ask about it, Ronny. My organization also needs to look for more rogue anthropes to join us in our exploration. Plus, we need to analyze purgatory and find out to whom it belongs. This is an ancient purgatory, Ronny. Ancient even by purgatory standards. So we can not let our guards down. We can take all the time we need and prepare ourselves for the unthinkable before we even think about entering that separate dimension. So take your time. We are in no rush." Eren nodded at Jules after hearing her reply. He had already started thinking about the things he''d need to explore purgatory. Eren would have suggested Agatha join the exploration as well. Unlike him, she was a genuine anthrope after all. But her association with the real him was part of the official kingdom record. His name would get linked up if he tried to sneak an ally into the exploration team. Maybe he could talk with the guys that were caught by Eren''s team while they were on their way towards the city of Silvermoon and get them onboard. But they were now part of the city administration''s resources. It wouldn''t just hand them over to him because he needed them. Eren needed toe up with a different approach. Agatha was his valuable pawn because of her involvement in his business. She had started handling his business well these days. He couldn''t just put her at risk for this exploration even if he finds a way to sneak her inside the exploration team. Renar and the rest his the team would serve perfectly as his disposable weapons within the exploration team. But to release them from the clutches of the city''s administration, he needed toe up with another shady n. ''I didn''t want to do this. However, exploring purgatory is far too critical. *Sigh. ckmail it is.'' Eren immediately thought of a makeshift n and kept it aside for the future. The details needed to be fine-tuned so his hands do not get burned in the process. "You are spacing out way too much Ronny. Are you sure everything''s alright?" Julie''s concerned voicended on Eren''s ears and he snapped out of his inner thoughts. He smiled at her before replying: "Oh, I was just remembering thest night we had. It seems I was so hyped about our time together that my memories have be fuzzy. Hehe! Would you like to create new ones with me in their ce?" Julie rolled her eyes before replying in denial: "Oh cut me some ck Ronny. I like things to be a bit rough, yes. But it''ll be beyond torture if I engage anymore in those activities with you." Eren chucked before agreeing to Julie''s decision: "Haha! You can''t me me for trying my luck. Anyway. Where are we heading next?" Jules shook her head before rifying her stance: "WE are not going anywhere. You are. Ie here to rx often. And I''d like some time alone. So" Eren nodded after understanding what Julie was talking about. He bid her adieu by kissing her on her lips before departing from the ce. Julie was left all alone. She waited by the pond for quite some time, watching her reflection in the water below. The dawn break arrived. And with it, came a shadow that appeared behind Julie. The illusionist could see the reflection of that shadow on the surface of the water. The shadow was of a maturedy who seemed to have a huge scar on her left cheek. Her features made her a very attractive woman in her 40s. But the scar gave her a domineering vibe. "Lady Zee, did you find him to be suitable for our mission?" Julie turned around and bowed in front of Zee. Thetter sized up the illusionist before replying with a hint of tease in her voice: "I''m surprised you can still stand on your own two feet after your rigorous activitiesst night. Do you need some more time to recuperate?" Julie''s cheeks turned red after listening to Zee''sment. But before she coulde up with a satisfactory reply, thetter carried on: "Alright. No need to get flustered. It was part of the mission after all. So I understand. And there''s nothing wrong with seeking pleasure in the work you do. That boy seems quite suitable for our mission. I was keeping tabs on your spell execution with my artefact as well. You were dangerously close to breaking your spell. Thank the heavens, things worked smoothly and our vetting was sessful. The person who tipped off the city of Silvermoon about the Beast Blood''s hideout has done us a huge favour. There are a good number of rogue anthrops roaming around in this part of the kingdom because of it. We just need to find enough of them before we think about our next set of ns. So far, you did a fabulous job. Keep in touch with this Ronny guy. Use "any means necessary" to get inside his head again if you find a chance to do so." ''This bitch thinks I''m some chea*p slut who''d open her legs for anything that remotely resembles a di*k. Well, to be honest, I''m indeed a slut. But I sure ain''t cheap. And with Ronny, it is more than just a casual fling. This granny won''t get it.'' Julie thought to herself before nodding at Zee''s instructions. There was no point in telling her senior about what she felt about Ronny. Thedy was one stone-cold bi*tch. It was now Julie''s time to retire from the ce, leaving Zee all alone. Once she was alone, thedy looked in the direction Ronny had gone off to and couldn''t help remembering what she had felt back then when she was observing Ronny from a distance: "Why do I get the feeling I wasn''t the only observing partyst night? It feels like there was someone keeping tabs on me as well." ================= AN: Thanks GojoVir for your gift. Chapter 240 - [Bonus ] Tracking Spell Renita was seen using her ranger-specific spells to lead her team through the Beast Sanctuary. Casting her tracking spell in the vicinity, she attempted tracking the team''s target for the mission. It was tracking a sounder of wild boars known as Earth Suidae. The Besanc mission the team had epted was to collect 40 tusks of Earth Suidae after all. Earth Suidae was an earth element wild boar species in the F-Rank. It was known for having a tough hide and exceptional endurance. Plus, its inherent earth element spell would allow it to create a sturdy exoskeleton made of earth, covering most of its body. Earth Suidae would literally be a tough nut to crack once it utilizes its inherent spell. Furthermore, it would travel in packs, traversing through the forest in search of food. It was an omnivore species and its appetite knew no restrictions. Killing an entire sounder of Earth Suidae and collecting the tusks was not an easy task because of these traits. Therefore, there were few takers among F-Ranker students for this mission. Eren had selected this mission because of its lucrative value. The reward in Merps was enough of a temptation. Plus, the mission would test all of its team member''s progress as well. It would give him a fair idea about how his party is fair as a whole in real-life scenarios. Renita''s wind-element tracking spell was simple. The wind would pick up the trails of various signs of life around her as she cast the spell. Then a group of dense gusts of white wind would flow in the directions of those signs of life while creating runic patterns in the air. The runic patterns would be based on the signs of life the tracking spell has picked up. So they held a meaning that the rangers could understand and decipher for the most part. ************************** Therefore, a skilled ranger would be able to tell more details about the target they were tracking by looking at the runic pattern their tracking spells would create. A reckless ranger would miss the obvious warning signs that the runic patterns imply, thus leading their team astray. It was obvious that the ranger ss had drawn parallels between it and the historian ss. But unlike the spells in the historian ss that generated in-depth analysis of recent past events, the spells in the ranger ss were fine-tuned to give only the necessary information for tracking while omitting the rest. The ranger ss spells were also less taxing on the rangers. The historians would only be called upon by the team when the purpose of their task was to know what had happened at a particr ce. The rangers would be better at tracking the team''s target in real-time. ************************* Renita was using her spell to do the same. After she cast her spell, there were many runic patterns created in the air around her. She dispersed the runic signs which indicated old signs of life as well those that indicated solo or a small group of animals. Her team wanted to track an entire sounder of boars after all. She finally saw the runic pattern that was indicative of her target after a while. She dispersed the rest of the runic pattern and concentrated on the one she zeroed in on. Renita had benefited significantly by being guided by Almera who was also a wind-element tracker. Thetter''s lectures had been paid by Eren to help his ranger in progressing further in her ss. Eren paid significant attention to raising his team''s ranger. And that investment was showing its effect now. Renita quickly understood the patterns and informed her team about the sounder''s current direction, its strength, and the ballpark range of distance away from the team members. This range was based on the traversing speed and psed time. ording to Renita''s estimations, the sounder they were tracking carried at least 25 members in it. They were at least 7 Earth Suidae adults with ate-stage F-Rank ranking. There were around 9 members that were in the lower stages in the F-Rank. Rest were unranked boars, possibly young infants who followed their parents around. The number of F-Rank beasts in the sounder wasn''t small. But Eren had said to his team members that ying this group of wild boars won''t be too difficult for the team if every member yed their roles right. During their trip through the forest, most of the White Raven team members were tense. All except Ramy who had put his worries to rest as soon as Eren told him not to worry. He would chat with his team members as they tracked their targets. A team member''s worry would be relieved by his fearlessness wrapped in theic touch of his lisp. It was the team''s first Besanc mission after all. And their shadow team leader had selected one of the most difficult missions a team of first-year students could find in the Besanc. "How faw awe we fwom ouw target?" Ramy asked Renita while looking at her with a serious expression. As if itching for battle with the beasts, he had already drawn his sword out. It seemed that he wanted to show his improvement to his idol. By now everyone in the White Raven could understand what Ramy was trying to say even when his lisp twisted his speech way too much. The ranger tried not tough at his question and answered honestly. "We should be about an hour away from their current spot ording to our and the sounder''s traversing speed. Eren, should we rest and recuperate before contact is made? We''ve been travelling for hours now." Renita asked her crush after thinking about her teammates'' condition. Jake was panting hard and Bel looked mortifyingly exhausted. Becky also gave her the hint that she needed to relieve herself. "Alright. Guys, we''ll stop here for a while. Get fresh and eat something. We''ll discuss battle strategy as soon as everyone has their grub." The butcher agreed to his ranger''s suggestion. They needed a sound n before starting their battle with one of the fiercest groups of animals in the F-Rank. =================== AN: Hi. I''ll update the VEH Fandom Wiki soon.. Let me know on Discord if anybody is willing to help. Chapter 241 - Dying Shrills The butcher agreed to rest after his ranger suggested it. They needed a sound n before starting their battle with one of the fiercest groups of animals in the F-Rank. "So AoEs right off the bat or frontal attack?" Steve asked while taking a bite of his ham and cheese sandwich. Other team members were also having their fill before their uing big boar hunt. "Neither. AoE won''t be effective on F-Rank boars because of how distanced they would be from each other even when travelling in a sounder. And frontal attack from a particr direction will only push the sounder to travel in the opposite direction, increasing our work." Eren said while having his second steak. These days he would often carry heavy meals to curb his increased hunger. His team members had observed the guy who always ate scarcely, changing his food habit so drastically. But they thought that Eren''s growth spurt had kicked in, increasing his appetite. Eren had also observed that his hunger had increased. He knew the reason behind it. But he didn''t mind. As long as he didn''t be fat like a certain someone in their group, he didn''t mind indulging in his newfound gluttony. "So what do we do? Lay traps?" Becky asked as she had a mouthful of veg sd. She had changed her diet as well. The sd she was eating contained herbs that were said to cleanse the mana circuits within the ranker''s body. The White Raven members knew this because Becky had made sure everyone knew about the health and ranking benefits her sd had. Still, nobody seemed interested in taking a bite of her pro-health food. "It would have been ideal toy traps and chip away the number of F-Rank beasts. But we don''t have that much time. We need to wrap this mission as fast as we can." Eren said and licked his fingers that were coated in the oil left behind by the steak. He had finished his second steak and was thinking of having another. "What do you mean we don''t have much time? This mission needs to bepleted 6 days from now on. That is enough time for us toy low and decrease our chances of being cornered by those damn pigs." Becky asked Eren as she took arge bite out of her sd in frustration. She wasn''t willing to face so many F-Rank wild boars at once. After all, her AoEs were her forte. And they won''t do much against these animals which were spread across arge area. "Ok. Let me correct that. I don''t have time to spend 6 days on a mission of this level. Just follow my n and we''d be back at the academy with our first ever team mission aplished with flying colours. Additionally, you have to keep taking on new missions in my absence. You need to return my loan amount, remember? You won''t be able to do that anytime soon unless you streamline the missions you take." Eren said with nonchnt expressions. He didn''t have time to spend 6 dayspleting the Besanc mission. The butcher had too many things lined up to care aboutpleting the mission with textbook perfection. He used his loan topel them. They were already scared of Eren charging them with crazy interest if they didn''t pay him back in full soon. Eren didn''t want anyone to ask him useless questions any further and exined: "My n is simple. We encircle the sounder from any possible direction. Then we''ll use Renita''s long-range attacks to kill some of the young and unranked boars. That will enrage the adult bars and they won''t try to run for a while. We will not kill all the young boars. To protect them, some of the adult boars will stay behind the sounder. The boars assigned to attack us wille for us at once. And Since we are attacking from multiple directions, they''ll also have to split up. We''llunch our mid and close-range attacks as soon as the boarse in our vicinity. If they try to retreat after seeing they don''t stand a chance against us, we''ll again target their younglings. That will keep them fixated on one ce. It would make our job of hunting them much easier." Eren exined his ns while having his third steak. He was finally feeling satiated so he took his time having his meal. The butcher wanted to use the boar family''s younglings as a hostage to efficiently kill them all. Becky didn''t find the idea tooforting but she didn''t object. This was a Beast Sanctuary. Human values and rules aren''t even worth a fart in this ce. So she didn''t pretend as they did in this case. ************************** "Bleeeeeeeh!" "Grrrrrrrrreeeehhhhhh!" "Dreeeeeehhhhh!" All of a sudden, three younglings in the boar family cried in shrill tones when the bullets hit their heads. Those shrills were all they could muster before their death and their bodies fell on the lush grass beneath them. The adult boars were busy eating the grass at this time when they heard the sound of their younglings dying out of the blue. They snorted their noses and rushed to the younglings'' bodies that were lying lifeless on the ground. They tried sniffing the younglings'' mortal wounds but only found traces of foreign mana they couldn''t identify. The wind bullets had been dispersed as soon as they did their job after all. But the adult boars didn''t have to track their new enemies because they showed themselves up in four different directions. The boars'' eyes turned red as they observed the enemies closing in on them. The boars assumed their roles without seemingly nomunication taking ce among them. Some of the F-Rank boars encircled their younglings, taking them under their protection. While others eyed the iing enemy while scratching the earth beneath them with their hoofs. It was clear with the boars'' intentions that they were not nning to let things slide and let their enemies have their way. Unfortunately for them, their enemies wanted them to be in such a state in the first ce. ================== AN: IK the onomatopoeia for young boars'' dying shrills would seem weird Lol. But that''s what I got.. Also, a group of boars is called a sounder. Chapter 242 - Breath Of Fire "Renita, that''s enough. Keep the rest of the young boars alive." Eren had split his team into four groups. His group contained only him and Renita as fighters. Bel was with them. But he was prepared to stay behind and provide support with his fire element spells. Eren shot towards the boar which was also heading his way with everything it got. It had already executed its earth element spell, enabling it to don a sturdy exoskeleton. Its animal instincts had informed the beast that Eren''s lightning element was going to be not that effective against it. Eren had executed his Blitz Steps along with Blitz Bolt on his two katars. But this time, instead of using any time element spell, he was trying a fire-and-lightningbo. Eren used the fireball spell he had learned and altered it a bit so that it would coat his weapons in the fire. Diceros Left and Right were now seen getting coated in tongues of purple-blue lightning and restless light orange mes. The mes would try to retake the shape of a fireball. However, Erenmanded them to stay dancing on the sharp edges of his weapons. He ran towards the approaching boar while trying to sync his lightning and fire element spells with each other. The fire-element spells weren''t that effective against the earth element defensive spells either. But they were still better than the lightning-element spells that had practically no effect at all. Eren didn''t activate his time element spells because although the boar was charging towards him at an rming rate, its speed wasn''t something he couldn''t handle. Plus, the earth-element defensive spell had also slowed it down to some extent by restricting its natural moments. Renita stayed behind with Bel to protect him. With their long-distance spells, she and the historian were supposed to provide support. Renita started shooting her wind bullets and targeted the chinks present at the boar''s joints. She was trying to avoid the boar''s exoskeleton and make her bullets reach its skin. Eren had already told his team members that the beasts'' bodies were a significant treasure for them. They were only told to gather the tusks if they strictly followed the Besan missions'' instructions. But they could still sell the beast bodies and make a side-profit out of them. The scrooge didn''t want to waste any of his efforts after all. By doing the auction in Nami, he had reaped the rewards of his revenge. It was only natural that he''d maximize his profits the most from this deal as well. This prevented him and his team members from attacking carelessly. They were only allowed to damage the beasts'' heads. Plus, the tusks that were present near the beast''s mouth needed to stay undamaged as they were part of the mission. So the choices the White Raven members could attack the iing boars with became very restrictive. Still, Eren''s strategy of making some of the boars protect their younglings while the others splitting up from their sounder to attack them had yed in the team''s favour. That''s because the team members weren''t bombarded with multiple targets at the same time anymore. They could have a breather while being ensured that the rest of the F-Ranker boars would stay behind. Renita''s precision-driven, wind bullet shots didn''t damage the boar per se. However, it certainly limited its speed and movement. That was enough for Eren who was running short on his go-to time element spell. The boar''s seemingly unstoppable charge was stopped somehow when its tusks met Eren''s weapons. The boar was just a tad shorter than Eren in stature. But its curved tusks were longer and shooting upwards, making them akin to a pair of curved swords. Eren was shot backwards while the boar stayed rooted in its ce right after their contact was made. But that didn''t stop the butcher from approaching his target again. The boar would have gained momentum on Eren right after pushing him backwards. But it was stopped by the ranger and the historian''s joint efforts. That''s right. Bel was also providing support with his fire apparition trying to attack the boar upfront. The fire apparition this time wasn''t humanoid but the boar itself. Although it looked like Bel was only casting one spell he was using two. Having traced the sign of life, the first one created the fire apparition of the beast they were battling. The second spell allowed him to control that apparition the way he wanted using his mana sense. Of course, there were a few restrictions ced on using thisbo spell as well. Plus, the DPS value of such a spellbo wasn''t decent. It only served to distract the enemy or keep it engaged until the backup showed up. The historians never excelled inbat spells. But that didn''t mean they didn''t have any. With the right set of spells, some historians were also known to have risen above their ss stereotype and dominated their battlefields. The fire apparition Bel had used wasn''t that strong against the boar either. At most the boar would feel its exoskeleton getting heated up and feeling a little burnt. However, this was not enough to get the boar to retrace its steps and fall back. The real boar ran right through the fire apparition boar when it collided with it. Bel wasn''t skilled enough in solidifying his apparitions after all. In addition, the fire apparition boar also did not suffer any injuries. That meant that Bel could make the spell collide with his enemies numerous times as long as he could support the mana consumption. Plus, the spell worked as a close, mid, and long-range attack. Renita and Bel provided the respite Eren needed to charge at the boar once again. He used his Blitz Steps toe closer to the beast. He maximized the movement spell''s effect and shot upwards, seemingly vanishing from his ce. The next moment he appeared on the beast''s back. Eren knew the beast''s body wasn''t able to get affected by any of his lightning element spells. So he didn''t bother to use his AoE. Eren caught the beast''s tusks from above by bending a bit. Then he brought his face close to the beast''s eyes before casting another fire-element spell. Breath of fire! Chapter 243 - Open Sesame Breath of fire! Eren executed his fire-element spell close to the boar''s eyes. He had selected that region because the exoskeleton couldn''t cover the beast''s eyes. "Biyeeeeeeeek!" The F-Rank boar cried in pain and anger. It had gotten blind at this point. So it let its instincts take over and ran straight towards Renita and Bel. ''This bitch won''t die this easily. I need to do something else.'' Eren thought and tightened his grip around the beast''s tusk with his left hand to secure himself on top of the beast as it kept on running. He then took out Diceros-Right that he had just stored inside his ID stone before aiming its tip straight at the beast''s eyes. Eren had coated his weapon with fire and lightning element spells. But this time it became detrimental to him as the beast sensed mana fluctuations reaching for its blind eyes and tilted its head forward in an exaggerated manner. The beast also stopped suddenly as he did that action. The force of inertia suddenly turned zero for the beast''s body. But the same could not be said for the adventurer''s body which was riding on top of its head. Eren was thrown in the air as the beast stopped its advance abruptly. His weapon was just a few centimetres away from the beast''s vulnerable eyes when the beast managed to shake him off of his head. ''Damn it.'' Eren thought as he adjusted himself in the air before safelynding on his two feet some meters away from the beast. He was thrown back a few meters more by the force with which the beast had managed to throw him while his legs were still on the ground. Eren cursed himself for running fire and lightning element spells through his weapons. He had understood that the mana fluctuations were the reason behind the beat getting tipped off of his attack despite being blind. "Renita, aim near the damn boar''s hooves. Don''t take a shot at it for the time being. Bel, I know it''ll be tough for you but create one more fire apparition and surround the beast from front and back. Don''t make the apparitions attack it. They are going to serve as a roadblock for the beast." Eren decides to corner the blind beast using Bel''s fire apparitions. He didn''t like running around with the beast. So he was nning to make it appear as though it''s been boxed. With Renita sending it warning shots and Bel covering the beast from two directions, the boar had only one way left. And Eren was waiting for it to make use of that path he had specially kept open. This time, the beast followed Eren''s script. It sensed that its left and right sides were dangerous to approach because of the fire apparitions. The way behind had been blocked by Renita''s warning shots. The beast brain made the only logical choice it could think of and decided to head towards Eren''s way even when it knew someone was present there. The butcher nodded to himself after seeing that the beast had decided to approach the seemingly least threatening path for itself. Diceros Left and Right were both called out this time. The butcher knew that since he had attacked its eyes, it would be extra sensitive around that part of its body. So he needed to attack the other vulnerable part of the beast where the exoskeleton didn''t cover the flesh. ''Damn it. I need to clean my weapons thoroughly after this fight.'' Eren''s face suddenly seemed to have the grim shadow cast upon it as he realized what must be done to y the beast. He activated Blitz Bolt and stacked it. And ran straight at the beast. It was but a moment''s dy for him to reach the beast. The beast''s tusks were again a few meters away from colliding against Eren''s dual weapons. But this time, Eren wasn''t looking for another collision. He activated Sedated Perception just before the weapons touched the tusks. The butcher found himself in a stagnated world, with the beast slowly approaching him with reckless abandon. This time, instead of jumping over the beast, Eren ducked down and moved forward. He crawled beneath the beast''s torso and came out from behind it. Eren saw that the beast''s genitalia was also covered by the exoskeleton while he was passing under it. When he got behind the beast''s back and stood up, he saw the only thing that wasn''t covered by the exoskeleton: the beast''s anal opening. The beast suddenly sensed that the human approaching him from the front had vanished. It was expecting the human to pull the same stunt as he didst time: jumping on top of it and targeting its eyes. So it was ready for it. But then it sensed that the vile human had somehow gotten under its torso. It was able to sense this since the human''s movement spell had lightning tongues encircling his legs. The lightning streams would send tickling sensations whenever they were near the beast''s body. So it didn''t need eyes to make itself aware of its existence in the vicinity. The beast was confused but it couldn''t think of moreplicated thoughts than this. It decided to continue on its path. The boar intended to break the siege after all. Not take part in a battle that it could feel it was going to lose. So it decided to speed up its retreat and join the sounder where it could feel safe again. It suddenly sensed that a very serious attack was heading its anal cavity that was left unprotected by its defensive spell. It wanted to stop and move the back of its torso away from the approaching attack. And it had also set the action in motion to kick the ground by its hind legs to shift the location of its rear entry away from the iing attack. But s, it was toote for the beast. When the beast sensed the attacking, Eren''s attack was already sure tond on its intended spot. Thetter had an awkward expression as his n to molest the beast almost came to fruition. "Open sesame!" ======================= AN: Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it, Lol.. Also, thanks Edward_Wood_jr for sending the novel its first Luxury car gift. ;) Chapter 244 - Wretched Prank Chapter 244 - Wretched Prank "Open sesame!" Eren said out loud and couldn''t help chuckling as the Diceros Left was lodged right in the beast''s anal cavity. The butcher didn''t stop there. He first cancelled his Blitz Steps and executed the fire and lightningbo he had previously used. Fireball! Blitz Bolt! Eren didn''t care about tweaking his fire-element spell this time and executed it the way it should be. He would usually create the fireball at the tip of his weapon before releasing it towards his opponents. "Bleeeeeeeeeeh!" Eren could feel that the beast''s cry this time was even more high-pitched than before. But it couldn''t exactly me the boar for that either. Since his weapon was inside the beast''s anal cavity, Eren couldn''t see the fireball he had executed. Neither could he see Blitz Bolt wreaking havoc inside the beast''s body. But Eren knew his strategy had paid off this time. Because the boar''s body froze in its steps as soon as he detonated two of his most potent attacking spells inside it. The earth-element beast was helpless when the lightning spell was executed inside its body. Its exoskeleton couldn''t do a damn thing about it either. It only took a few moments for the beast''s defensive spell to get dispersed. The exoskeleton crumpled down as the beast''s body came out in the open again. The beast''s eyeballs turned white and a dense volume of smoke came from its mouth. Its fur covering its entire body also stood straight for as long as the Blitz Bolt was active inside its anal cavity. Eren kept track of the beast''s vital signs using his mana sense while he executed thebo spells inside the beast''s stink-box. Only after he was assured that the beast was dead did he stop his execution and retract Diceros Left from its lodged position. The beast''s lifeless body fell on the ground as soon as Eren stopped executing his spell and took his weapon out. His vision got clear and he could see his ranger and historian approaching him in haste. Eren amusedly thought of something and threw Diceros Left towards Renita who was now only a few meters away from him. "Renita, here. Catch!" "Eeeeeeeek!" The ranger cried in surprise and disgust as she got out of the weapon''s trajectory as fast she could with her movement spell. She had seen what Eren had done with that weapon. So it''d be a cold day in hell before she even came close with something like that tainted object, much less touch it. Bel had also seen Eren lodging his weapon in the beast''s anal cavity while he was being protected by Renita from a distance. But he couldn''t see the butcher throwing his weapon towards them as he was running right behind the ranger. Bel''s face was right in the middle of the weapon''s trajectory. And the historian was caught unaware after seeing the tainted weapon flying towards him. His brain froze and he couldn''t think of the right action to dodge the weapon or to catch it with his hands. Thankfully, Bel''s luck wasn''t too shitty. So when the weaponnded on his face, it was the weapon''s hilt that made contact with his chin. That impact killed the weapon''s speed and made it non-lethal. But the inertia was still strong enough for the weapon to finish its flip. The t face of the weapon made contact with Bel''s nose. Momentster, it fell to the ground. Bel understood what had happened to him. He could still feel the hilt making contact with his chin that had forced his head back a bit. And besides that, he could also feel the t side of the de making contact with his nose. The de''s edges were coated with the beast''s blood. It didn''t have any faecal residue over it. But that didn''t stop the historian from imagining that there was indeed some beast poop mixed in that blood. His imagination was so strong that he could also smell the poop. Bel tilted forward and started vomiting after his imagination ran wild in his head. Right in front of him was Diceros Left, which he vomited over. The historian didn''t stop until he threw out all that he had eaten when the team took its break before the battle. Bel only stopped tilting forward when he realized that there was nothing in his tummy that he could throw out anymore. Eren and Renita were both approaching him. One with an awkward smile the other with guilt written over her face. "I I''m sorry, Bel. I didn''t know you wouldn''t be able to dodge that ursed weapon. And that weaponnded right on... I should have known and made you aware. It''s all Eren''s fault." Renita looked at Eren with a scorned face. Thetter maintained his awkward andced-with-a-tad-bit-of-guilt smile and said while raising his open palms in surrender: "I was just trying to test your presence of mind for the post-battle scenarios, you know. Sometimes you be most vulnerable when you step out of the battle, and that''s the opportunity an enemy in the shadow might use to attack you. Renita passed the test. But Bel you let''s say that you need to take that test again. Hehe!" Bel didn''t have the strength in him to argue with Eren. He wouldn''t have done it anyway even if he had the energy to spare. He was rational enough to understand that Eren''s prank wasn''t meant to harm anyone. So he just adjusted his sses before drawing his handkerchief out to wipe his mouth. Eren tried selling his bullshittery again. But he didn''t find the buyer in Renita who pointed a finger at him in usation before replying with a voice of critique: "You of all people shouldn''t say anything about the presence of mind post-battle. Did you even realize that the team''s battle with the group of boars wasn''t over yet before you decided to pull this wretched stunt?" Eren heard Renita''s valid usation and scratched the back of his head before replying with a salesman smile on his face: "Um. Don''t worry about our team members. With the way they are right now, I''m sure they can handle the beasts of these levels just fine. However, they don''t have to face a bunch of them." Renita wanted to rebut Eren some more but she didn''t have any words to do so. In a way, this was the first time he had counted on his team members to do the jobs they were given. She couldn''t find it in her to spoil this moment for herself or her team. Chapter 245 - Ramy Vs. Deviant Mana Beast This was the first time Eren had shown confidence in his team members to do the jobs they were given. Renita couldn''t find it in her to spoil this moment for herself or her team. Bel felt assured too when he heard Eren''s words of trusting his team members: "I I''m fine, Renita. And Eren is right. White Raven can handle a mission of this calibre just fine. Take a look there yourself." Bel pointed to a particr direction, nudging his two team members to follow his finger and observe the battle happening in the distance. Thanks to their enhanced vision, the three F-Rank LA students could see their mates engaging another boar. ********************** Ramy was paired up with Ana and Jake. Jake had been tasked with protecting Ana at all costs. She was the team''s healer after all. Her safety was paramount. The tank''s job was to make sure that she is protected while assisting Ramy. But it seemed that a certain someone didn''t want the tank''s help. Ramy was fired up for this mission. As soon as Eren gave his team permission to continue, the knight bolted towards the iing boar. "Bleeeh" As the knight approached the boar without assistance from his teammates, the boar snorted and voiced his aggression that sounded like a war cry. One could say, the beast felt that the human was underestimating it by daring to be reckless. The beast activated its defensive spell when it was a few meters away from Ramy. It started donning its armour-like exoskeleton as it ran. The process was smooth and instantaneous. In addition, the exoskeleton also had some runic patterns on it, unlike the armour that Eren saw on the beat he had battled with. The runic patterns had faint luminescence of their own. It started exuding more light as the beast got more aggravated. The Beast''s evolution and rank-up were closer than those of its peers. Therefore, it also had a shred of intelligence in it. The boar saw that Ramy had drawn his sword which didn''t feel normal to it. And it could feel through its connection with the earth and the earth element that Ramy''s body resonated with a certain white-noise-like sound that could affect its defensive spell. Yes, this beast was even more powerful than what Eren had fought in every possible way. Plus, the beast had another inherent spell that it had unearthed from its gic makeup. Ramy saw that the beast who was running towards him suddenly exaggeratedly raised its front legs and stomped them down heavily the next moment. This was another inherent spell of the F-Rank Earth Suidae, but it was rarely known for it. "Bleeeergh!" The beast cried again as its front hooves stomped on the ground. And Ramy saw his vision change because of going off bnce. **************************** The Earth Suidae species would have to evolve to break into E-Rank. The E-Rank species was known as Greater Earth Suidae. Aspared to the Earth Suidae, it was bigger,rger, and more ferocious. The Greater Earth Suidae species could execute the defensive spell of the Earth Suidae. It would generate rock-solid defensive armour around itself. As opposed to the earth Suidae, which would have a normal exoskeleton, the armour generated by the evolved species would have runic patterns on it. It was multiple times more resilient than the F-Rank armour-spell-generated variant because of this very pattern. The F-Rank defensive armour spell executed by the Earth Suidae was referred to as Suidae Armor. And the armour spell used by the Greater Earth Suidae was called Greater Suidae armour. Mana beasts and demon beasts practised the way of the elements differently. After evolution from its lower rank, the Greater Earth Suidae would strengthen its affinity with the earth and earth element. So it would be more sensitive to anything that was connected to the earth. What''s more? Apart from the resilient defensive spell, the Greater Earth Suidae was also blessed with an offensive spell. It would raise its legs and stomp on the ground to execute a mini earthquake-inducing spell known as Suidae Stomp. Normally, extra resilient armour and offensive spells were confined to Greater Earth Suidas of E-Rank. Earth Suidae would be able to ess the power-ups only after evolution. But there were some rare exceptions. There were talented entities in the mana beasts and demon beasts too. They would tap into their gic makeup early and discover the power-ups they would be granted after their evolution while still staying in the lower ranks. Such beasts were called deviant beasts. In most cases, deviant beasts were closer to their evolution into higher species. Like the case here. However, even if they were able to tap into the enhanced power-ups of their beast family, the power-ups themselves were restricted by the rank the beast held at the time. So the defensive armour the boar that was close to evolution into E-Rank had built around itself had greater defensive properties than its normal self. However, it still belonged to the F-Rank spell. It was a far cry from the original E-Rank spell the Greater Earth Suidae was known for. It was safe to assume that the beast that Ramy was going to battle with had armour that was stronger than usual. But it didn''t cross the boundaries of the F-Rank. The same could be said about the beast''s offensive spell. The spell''s area of effect and its intensity were more restricted than the normal Suidae Stomp. Still, this boar posed the most amount of danger than any of its peers. It was also in charge of the sounder. The reason it had zeroed in on Ramy was that it sensed the guy''s sound vibrations through its connection with the earth. The knight was believed to present the greatest threat out of all the approaching enemies by the beast''s instincts. So it rushed to tackle the man with the lisp. The beast''s confidence in itself wasn''t unfounded. Against the opponent is deemed the most dangerous for its earth element, it used its offensive spell most effectively, at the most effective time. ==================== AN: I was listening to Carry On My Wayward Son (Kansas) the other day and was surprised how the lyrics fit with Eren''s story so far. I now listen to it in the loop sometimes while writing VEH. Suggest me simr ssics in the chapterments or on VEH Discord.. Lyrics should bode well with VEH''s storyline though. ;) Chapter 246 - Hydro Whips Coming back to Ramy''s fight with the beast. "Bleeeergh!" The beast cried again as its front hooves stomped on the ground. And Ramy saw his vision change because of going off bnce. This was because the beast''s offensive spell had created a crater that had Ramy and it present at its centre. The formation of the crater didn''t affect Ramy to arge degree. What affected him the most was the quake that caused the crater. Ramy was about to regain his bnce when the beast got close to him. It didn''t give the knight a chance to attack. It took the initiative and attacked Ramy''s torso with its tusks. Ramy''s vision changed again as he was thrown in the air. Due to the blunt point of the beast''s tusknding on his chest out of the blue, he felt like vomiting. Thanks to the blunt tip of the tusk, it didn''t impale Ramy, but only threw him off in the air. Otherwise, his condition would have been much more severe. "Aaaargh!" Ramy cried in pain while he was in the air. The pain had moistened his eyes a bit. So he looked like he was going to cry soon. ''Damn it. This is not how I imagined my fight with this damn wild pork would be.'' Ramy thought to himself as he tried to find his bnce beforending safely on the ground. But the beast wasn''t willing to give him a chance. From the air, he could see the beast following the trajectory with which his body had been sent into the air. It would be waiting for Ramy when hended on earth from the looks of things. ''If that beastnds another blow on me, I''m fucked.'' Ramy thought as he tightened his grip on his sword that he was about to drop. He regretted not coordinating with Jake and Ana before he tried to solo the beast. "You fuck*king moron. Why did you run off on your own? Hang the fu*ck on." Jake''s voice could be heard in the distance. Ramy followed the direction of the sound and saw two whip-like streams of water approaching him at a rapid pace. The tank had already executed the newest spell in his arsenal that he had learned and mastered as soon as Ramy ran off on his own. He had a premonition that the hot-blooded guy on their team was about to create a mess somehow. "Hydro Whips!" A ball of water was gathered behind Jake out of thin air. Jake sank his back and allowed it toe in contact with him, just above his tailbone. Surprisingly, the water didn''t moisten Jake''s clothes upon contact. Jake raised his right hand and two whips were formed from the ball of water behind Jake''s back. He willed the water whips to travel in the direction of the now-flying knight. The water whips harnessed themselves around Ramy''s waist as soon as they made contact with him. Ramy felt a heavy tugging force as he was pulled towards where Ana and Jake were, breaking away from the trajectory his body was flying into. The beast realized that its prey was making an escape midair and snorted its nose loudly. "Bleeeeergh!" It sounded its signature war cry. The beast decided to change its tactics and attack the guy that was going to provide the haven for its prey. It raced towards the tank while thetter was busy pulling Ramy towards him with his water whips. "Damn it. Look what you''ve done, Ramy. I''ll have to work hard now. You better pay for my meals for a week to save your scrawny ass, you hear me?" Jake yelled and raised his left hand in the direction of the boar and cast his defensive spell. "Hydro-Shield!" ************************** Jake had changed his set of spells and the school of spells they belonged to under Eren''s guidance. His Yewiha Mekekeya defensive spell would absorb mana from its surroundings to create a floating defensive shield. Jake''s new spell based on a different school of spells, however, not only condensed the moisture from the surroundings but also created water by using his mana and the mana of the surrounding area. This school of spell had two advantages over the one Yewiha Mekkeya belonged from. First, the speed with which the execution would take ce was much faster, almost instantaneous even. Second, it would stay effective even in environments that didn''t have much moisture in the air. But with benefits came downsides too. This school of spells did not only use mana to condense moisture but also produce water. That''s why the caster had to consume more mana. Plus, it required a lot more concentration from the caster''s side to effectively execute and maintain the spell. This school of spells was troubling for Jake because he didn''t like to work hard at all. He devoted all his stamina to his business endeavours. So the school of spell he had chosen for himself was the easiest for him to master and execute. But Eren won''t let his tank stay in mediocrity, for his own sake if not for his friend''s. He made Jake change his entire repertoire of spells, forcing him to tap into his fullest potential as a water-element tank. *************************** "Hydro-Shield!" Jake shouted and almost instantly formed a shield made out of almost-solidified water before sending it towards the beast. The beast was caught off guard by the turn of events and stopped in its tracks after seeing the water shield flying towards him. But the beast soon got itself ready for the challenge ahead. It snorted, scratched the earth with its hooves, and charged towards the iing shield. As if it had forgotten that it was a boar, pulling off a move bulls were known for. ======================== AN: I had not nned the Besanc mission tost this long. But then I thought it''d be a suitable ce to show the progress Eren''s crew members had made over the months. Stating progress in passing and allowing characters to showcase the progress mid-battle are two different things after all. Not sure how many of you watched or followed Naruto Shippuden.. But Jake''s Hydro Whips could be imagined in the same way Killer Bee used his partial beast transformation (his octopus arms), sans the de work. Chapter 247 - Reverse Fortuitous Encounter? The beast soon got itself ready for the challenge ahead. It snorted, scratched the earth with its hooves, and charged towards the iing shield. As if it had forgotten that it was a boar, pulling the move bulls were known for. The water shield flew towards it with incredible speed. The beast increased its speed to meet it head-on. They finally shed with each other as the beast used its tusk to make contact with the surface of the shield. The beast''s tusks were met with arge force of impact. The shield didn''t let the tusks sink in even when it was made of water. It was as if the water had gained the properties of ice without turning into one. It was now the beast''s turn to be thrown into the air. The shield followed the beast as if waiting for the beast to drop from the air and smash it again. Just like what it was nning to do with Ramy. Jake managed to retrieve the sound knight safely as the beast struggled with his water shield. Jake was sweating a bit when he pulled Ramy towards him hard and made his crash behind him, near Ana''s feet. All while maintaining the defensive shield spell. "Ramy, if you pull this stunt again, then I swear to all the money I hold dear that I''d let you get skewered by the beast''s white tusk. Now get up and get patched up by Ana. Ana, please treat this buffoon as fast as you can. I''ll not be able to hold the beast for much longer before running out of mana." Jake said without looking back. Ramyy face down and butts up after crashing on the ground. He looked at Ana while maintaining that position and gave a pathetic smile as if to tell her everything was fine with him. The healer could tell that it was not. "Ramy, we could havee up with a smart n to tackle the beast, you know. Look at the state you are in right now." As Ana spread her mana sense, she began to analyze Ramy''s condition. She also helped him straighten his awkward posture while doing it. She touched the spot where the beast''s tusks had made contact with Ramy''s torso after finding out there was something wrong with it using her mana sense. Thetter winced in pain as soon as the healer ced her palm gently over it. "Aoweee! Broken ribs and injury to the liver. This is going to take a while, Jakey. Ramy calm your nerves and breathe easy." Since the tank protected her, Ana didn''t need to worry about her safety or mobility. She cast a passive healing spell to start fixing Ramy up. Meanwhile, the beast was headbutting the water shield again for the fourth time. The shield had won all three rounds. But that didn''t discourage the boar from trying its luck again. It was as if the beast was finding some sort of joy in getting itself injured with each collision. The beast''s eyes seemed to have shined with intelligence as it approached the water shield again. But this time, instead of using its tusks, the F-Rank boar decided to try something else. It raised its front legs, in the same manner, it had whenunching the Suidae Stomp spell. But instead of stomping on the ground, the beast decided to change the target to the shield''s surface. The beast''s front hoovesnded right on the shield''s front side. This time the shield''s surface produced countless ripples while the shield itself started shaking uncontrobly. "Um guys this exotic pork is up to something. You might wanna hurry up." Jake warned his teammates behind him in a grim voice. He was trying to maintain the execution of his defence spell for as long as he could. But it looked like the spell was going to get broken by the sheer tenacity of the beast. Ana expedited her healing process by inefficiently increasing her mana expenditure. It was a desperate move, but it had to be made. Ramy cursed himself for acting impatiently at the beginning and tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword. This time he was nning to coordinate with Jake and y the wild pork. He was even thinking of making skewered patties out of the beast meat just to have his revenge. The boar managed to stop the shield from advancing on him. But it seemed that the nose-snorter wasn''t happy with the tie. So the exotic pork snorted its nose again and echoed its beastly cry before pulling off the same move again on the shield. This time with even more ferocity than before. That managed to work in its favour as the shield was broken before the water got dispersed in the surrounding area. Some of the water droplets that were dispersed in the air reflected the sunlight after it fell on them and created rainbow-like light y around the beast. A simple boar managed to look majestic because of the feat it had achieved. But Jake felt that the light reflection wasn''t the only thing that was making the beast look majestic. There were uncalled-for mana fluctuations in the surrounding area that raised rm in his mind. "Damn it. This battle ended up being a fortuitous encounter for this exotic pork. Ramy hurry the fu*ck up. The damn beast is trying to achieve a breakthrough into the E-Rank." Ramy stood up from his seated position after he heard Jake''s warning. He knew when to take things lightly. And he also knew when to get serious. His presence of mind told him he had to act fast or the beast was about to be a serious nuisance for all of them. "Jakey, suppowt me with youw Hydwo Whips. Keep the beast tied at the ce fow a while. I''m going ahead." Ramy informed Jake this time and ran past him towards the evolving beast. He had to kill the menace in front of him quickly. ===================== AN: If anyone has hunted a wild boar before, they would know that these wild porks are as tenacious as I have made them out to be in the chapter. They just don''t fu*cking die no matter how many times you shoot at them. I have witnessed the hunt once and the entire scene is still fresh in my memory. Thanks, GojoVir, Waakaranai, TrafalgarLaws, and Naruto_Anime for your gifts. Special thanks to Edward_Wood_jr for sending the inspiration capsule and massage chair. Cheers! ;) Chapter 248 - Power Of Team Play "Jakey, suppowt me with youw Hydwo Whips. Keep the beast tied at the ce fow a while. I''m going ahead." Ramy informed Jake this time and ran past him towards the evolving beast. He had to kill the menace in front of him quickly. Jake''s mana storage was soon going to run out of mana. So he didn''t try to execute the water shield again. He knew the boar''s attention would be on Ramy now that he was leading the charge. So the tank wasn''t worried about his or the healer''s safety anymore. Jake then executed his Hydro Whips again. There were around six whips now. The tank raised his hands and sent them to follow Ramy. Ramy could now see the six whips following him, three on either side. This bolstered his confidence and allowed him to realize his full potential. ''Surreal Sound Swords!'' Ramy shouted the name of his spell in his mind to aid him in concentrating on its execution. ******************* Ramy remembered Eren''s words that he had said casually but left asting impression on Ramy''s psyche. Only now did he truly understand what his idol had been trying to say all along: "Moderately strong people who try to solo-fight their opponents and injure themselves when they could have received help from their teammates are not only stupid but also a nuisance to those around them. I''d rather have a weak ranker with me who knows his or her role in the team and acts efficiently on it. This is in contrast to someone who is talented but doesn''t want to contribute to team y. Soloing an opponent only looks cool when you can do it effortlessly. It is pathetic to not rely on your team''s strength only to suffer miserably while trying to fight all by yourself. It''s fine if someone doesn''t want to value their life. But why should I let them jeopardize my safety by making them part of my team?" Eren had said that to Becky while she was trying to argue with him over her role as a mage. She wanted to prioritize team ys that would allow her to cast her AoEs more. The butcher refused of course. He wasn''t naive enough to think that AoEs were the one-mould-fits-all answer to all the problems a team made of various rankers would face. He had made that speech to straighten her thinking. Becky just hmphed for an answer. It wasn''t clear if she would follow Eren''s words. Thetter''s words, however, were understood by another listener at this moment. ''Damn it. I hope lord Eren doesn''t get angry with me for my earlier actions. I''m already a reserve member of the team. He''d kick me out if I gave him an excuse to do so.'' Ramy thought as he ran towards his opponent who was trying to break into E-Rank. He finished his silent incantation as he got the boar within his spells'' execution range. ********************** "Surreal Sound Swords!" Ramy shouted the name of his spell in his mind to aid him in concentrating on its execution. The sword Ramy held in his hands started shaking with an inaudible sound frequency. There were also a bunch of sound swords forming around him as he approached the beast. "Go fowth my babies!" Ramy willed his swords to attack the beast and interrupt its evolution process. The now-formed levitating swords flew with exceptional speed and collided against the torso of the beast. It seemed that the beast didn''t target Ramy for no reason. Earth Suidae''s defensive spells were crippled by sound element spells. Upon colliding with the exoskeleton of the beast, the sound swords sent the sound waves they contained into the exoskeleton as soon as they collided. Jake could see that as soon as the sound swords hit the beast''s defensive spell, the runic pattern over it got dimmer with each hit until there was none. "Bleeeeeeeerk!" The beast also produced a cry that wasced in pain and surprise. The pain was because one of the sound swords Ramy had sent towards it had managed to hit the area that was already hit by the sound sword before it. The weak defence was breached by the impact of the next iing sword, forcing the beast to suffer its first injury. But Ramy didn''t let his guard down this time. He sent another volley of sound swords towards the beast and shattered its defensive spell. But the deviant mana beast still had another card in its sleeve that it could use if Ramy approaches it carelessly like before. That''s why he signalled Jake with hands and thetter understood what he was referring to. Immediately after Ramy''s surreal sound swords had made their presence felt, the water whips rushed to tackle the beast. The beast was still pretty shaken up and in a vulnerable state. So it couldn''t dodge and get away from the iing water whips. Four of the water whips were tied to the four limbs of the beast each. The secondst whip was turned into a farce before it tightened around the boar''s neck. The remaining water whip was there to hurl a certain someone at the beast. Ramy was suddenly seen flying towards the now-injured and about-to-evolve beast. He found himself right above the beast''s neck while in the air. Surreal Sound Sword! At this time, the boar was tied to its ce by Jake''s water whips, making it unable to execute its offensive spell. Its defensive spell was also broken by Ramy''s sound-element spell. Ramy executed his got-to spell. He imbued his sword with ultra-high sound frequency before swinging at the beast''s neck. His eyes gleamed with cold determination as he let his sound-powered sword do its work. The knight was confident that even though the beast was tenacious, it wouldn''t be able to harm him or his team if it was decapitated. And he was right. The beast''s body copsed on the ground with a distinct thud as its head flew towards the front. With the power of team y and wless personal spell execution, Ramy had in the about-to-evolve F-Rank beast in mere moments after his recovery. Chapter 249 - Blue Fire Domain With the backing of team y and wless personal spell execution, Ramy had in the about-to-evolve F-Rank beast in mere moments after his recovery. "Hm? Wasn''t that too easy? Why wewe we scawed of this wild powk when we could cut him this easily?" Ramynded on the ground and observed the beast''s headless torso beforementing. Ana and Jake followed him soon after. The tank heard the knight''s opinion and shook his head before making him realize the obvious truth: "The "powk" wasn''t EASY to kill. It wouldn''t have let you execute the spell that easily if I hadn''t tied it down. That''s why I said we should have done this from the beginning. Plus, I can see that your elemental spell was the bane of the beast''s earth-element defensive spell. That''s the biggest baddie in the sounder headed our way I guess. You are a trouble ma Ramy. There''s no two-way about it. Haha!" Ramy heard this only focusing on thest part Jake had said about him. He started arguing with the tank then and there while Ana was looking at them with a range of emotions making amotion in her head. She felt a bit guilty that she couldn''t help the duo fighting the beast. But she then told herself that her job as a healer was to assure her safety first and help her injured members if and when the need arises. This is what she aplished on this mission. Ana was also impressed by how Ramy had bounced back from his failure and faced the beast again without any hesitation in his stance. She wasn''t sure she could do that if she were in his shoes. The healer thought that she would surely have cold feet after getting injured by the beast the way Ramy had been. The team''s tank, Jake, was equally impressive in her eyes. He had done nothing particrly impressive or over the top during the mission. But he had straightened up Ramy and supported him splendidly. Jake''s strongest suit was his people skills and ability to make rational decisions despite any form of stress. Ana hoped that she as a healer would be equally talented as her teammates in the future. She thanked Eren in the mind for guiding her and allowing her the opportunity to be a part of this team when she was nobody; a rankless LA student. Another bunch of boars headed the group''s way while Ramy and Jake were arguing. The adult boars had seen Ramy effortlessly take care of their leader. The Earth Suidae was a one-track and revenge-driven species. The adult bears were not merely punishing the intruders for their transgressions. Additionally, they realized Ramy shouldn''t be given the leeway to catch him at any cost. Their young would be ughtered without a chance to fight back. When they saw another group of bears heading their way, they stopped fighting and prepared for battle. By now, Ana, Jake, and Ramy had found their rhythm and knew what to do. So their next battle strategy was formed without them exchanging their words. No matter how cautious and alert the boars tried to be while fighting Ramy, they still ended up underestimating him. Thetter also had realized that taking help from Jake worked in his favour. So he didn''t hesitate to coordinate with the team''s healer from the get-go. Needless to say, the trio took care of another bunch of boars after fighting with them for a while. Ramy did not have any serious injuries on him this time. So Ana didn''t have to do much. And she was happy about it. ******************* Becky was given free rein to tackle the direction she was assigned to. She was a mage with AoE spells after all. Her job was to engage the bunch of boars heading her way without damaging the tusks their mission had asked them to collect. I must have been given this role because I had once asked Eren to let me use my AoEs in my way. Damn it, the guy holds a grudge.'' Becky thought while seeing a group of boars charging towards her. They snorted their noses in unison, making their nostril-driven war cries reach her ears first. Becky raised her hand and drew a series of concentric mana circles in the air with the movements of her fingers acting as the brush strokes. Her school of spells required her to make such spectral runic circles in the void before she could cast the spells. Becky saw that the group of beasts had entered the range of her AoEs. She smiled and touched the innermost circle of the spectral rune in front of her before making a rotating action. "Blue Fire Domain!" ******************** Becky cursed herself for opening her mouth to often argue with Eren after hearing his battle n for this Besanc mission. But it was not like she enjoyed doing it. There was something about the guy that would just tick her off. She would argue with Eren all the time, yes. But she would also ponder over why she argued with him at the end of the day. Because Eren would always manage toe on top every time she did. Her elemental affinity and inherent nature had granted her unique ability. The ability to sense the coldness of a ranker''s aura. And she had sensed that out of all the rankers she had met in her life, Eren''s aura was the coldest. Becky''s spells could be considered as unique as thebination of her affinity and inherent nature. Her hybrid elemental affinity was fire, which was considered a normal affinity. But her inherent nature was the coldness, which had given her spell-generated fire a unique effect. Her fire would burn blue. And instead of scorching things, the fire would absorb all the heat from its targets, practically freezing them after their regr temperatures were brought down forcefully. ================= AN: Thank you General_Artreal, Waakaranai, GojoVir, and Venom30 for your gifts. Chapter 250 - Cold Haze Becky had two AoEs in her repertoire; Domain of Blue Fire and Cold Haze. She could only execute them when there were no allies around in the spell''s ranger. That''s why Becky wanted Eren to prioritize her AoE execution before any of her teammates started with their moves. She couldn''t control her AoEs the way she wanted to. She couldn''t make her spell exclude her teammates and only affect the team''s opponents. So instead of trying to control what she couldn''t, Becky wanted the team to start with her spell. In a way, her thinking was not wrong. She wanted to cast her AoEs with peace of mind. Then she would retreat from the frontline and let her teammates take care of the remaining targets that survived her spell. But the butcher was thinking long term. He had asked her to learn to control her AoEs. With her AoEs, it was possible. She was justcking the motivation to do so. So Eren gave her just that. He started suppressing her AoE executions under the pretext that his teammates'' battle styles weren''t able to amodate her AoE executions. He also gave a reason that her spells would be used as a backup n if and when things start turning sour for the team. All the members of the team would retreat to the backline during crunch time and her AoEs would be used for Eren and the rest to catch a breather mid-battle. As Eren demonstrated to Becky, they both can y the game of making battle strategies tailored to their tastes without caring about others. He came up with a n that was as right as hers without treating her AoEs as opening salvos. Meanwhile, Eren also told Becky that if she could optimally control her AoEs so that they won''t harm the teammates, then she could cast them almost anytime she saw fit. With this subtle suppression, he had given her the motivation she needed to work on her control. Now she just needed to act on that motivation. But instead of getting riled up, Becky procrastinated. The procrastination led to dissatisfaction, which in turn became the reason behind her sour mood every time Eren said something. Eren eventually figured out the reason behind why Becky was trying to pick a fight with him. But he just smiled in his head and carried on doing what he had nned, ignoring the teen''s tantrums. So when the chance to showcase her prowess was given to her, Becky decided to let it all out and release all her frustration. ************************** "Blue Fire Domain!" Becky executed her AoE as soon as the beast group got into the spell''s range. The ground beneath her had gotten covered in sky blue mes which started spreading in all directions. They covered the position the beasts were in while running. And only then did the mes stop spreading. When the mes touched the boars'' hooves, they began to climb on them as if they were searching for food. Preys that radiated body heat. The mes didn''t burn the beasts'' skin. But the beasts felt like their hibernation period had suddenly sneaked upon them. Their bodies'' temperatures dropped at an rming rate. As a result, the beasts couldn''t help but slow down their advance. The sky blue mes started showing a darker shade of blue as they absorbed the body heat of the beasts. The mes seemed even hungrier and started to absorb more of what they craved. As if these mes were intoxicated by the warmth of their targets. Almost no beast could fight off the sudden lethargy felt by them because of the blue mes. They stopped in their tracks as their bodies started turning stiff because of the thinyer of ice formed over their skin. The spell did not cast ice. It was the surrounding moisture getting condensed on the beast''s bodies that had eventually turned into the thinyer of ice after whatever minuscule heat was drained from it. Becky felt d that her AoE was working fine mid-battle just the way she wanted to. She had subconsciously feared that whatever bare minimum control she had over her spell would have been lost because of Eren''s suppression of not letting her use it during their ranking battles. But soon she got tense after seeing that two beasts from the group were still approaching her. Becky was sent alone in this direction. She didn''t have her usual tank protection acting as a to fall back on. She knew Eren was trying to push her over the edge with a formation like this. Haash! Becky sighed and made a fist of determination with her hands. If Eren wanted to force the best mage dormant in her, she would just show him that what she had right now was still enough to make him listen to her. Becky maintained the Blue Fire Domain''s runic circle with her right hand to keep the spell active. And with her left hand, she started drawing another runic circle in the void. "Cold Haze!" Becky executed another of her AoE. She had practised hard at stacking her AoEs. it wasn''t easy to stack spells in the F-Rank. And it became even more difficult tobine something like two AoEs. These few months of rigorous training were fruitful for her. As a result of her spell stacking, Becky started sweating lightly. She had the wild thought of cooling herself down with her mes too. But too bad, her body as a source of the mes was immune to the spell''s effect. The school of spell had been designed as such after all. The effects of Cold Haze paired up well with the Blue Fire Domain. Instead of using the mes as a medium to absorb the heat, this AoE would use air to absorb the warmth from the surroundings. The two beasts that were slowly but surely approaching the mage felt that their lungs had been filled with ice. The manayer that had protected their bodies from external harm was already weakened by Becky''s first spell. So when she executed her second AoE, the boars didn''t have a way to fight back. The two boars in the lead along with their mates behind them froze to death when Becky was done with them. Notably, the boars in the lead were only a few steps away from their now-panting target when they lost their lives. ==================== AN: VEH has 300+ Golden Tickets this month and counting. Thank you Greeko_suave, Venom30, Cardunkos, and all other GT contributors. VEH will have another bonus chapter in a few hours. Non-canon Trivia: Someone like Becky would be one of the most useless superhumans in a zombie apocalypse, Lol. Chapter 251 - [Bonus ] The Legend Of The Boar Berserker 01 Chapter 251 - [Bonus ] The Legend Of The Boar Berserker 01 The boars in the lead were only a few steps away from their now-panting target when they lost their lives. Becky had overexerted herself while running stacked AoEs. She could have used normal spells to take care of both the boars that were approaching her. That would have been a more mana-efficient choice. But the mage wanted to show off a bit. She wanted Eren and everyone in the team to see her in a better light. Subconsciously, she hoped Steve, Renita, and the rest to pay her the same amount of respect they did to Eren. ''Haah! I hope that guy saw what I have done here and will let me cast my spells more from now on.'' Becky thought and sat down on the ground that had been covered with blue fire, which was diminishing with each passing moment. The boars'' stiff bodies plopped one after the other. ''I wonder how Steve is doing'' Becky thought and looked in another direction which was assigned to the team''s official berserker. *********************** "Earth Armor!" Steve yelled out the name of his spell as he saw a group of Earth Suidae approaching him. For some reason, he was excited. He felt like these boars and he were so much alike. First, they had the same elemental affinity. Second, their spells also made them use their element to form armours around their bodies, just like him. Lastly, these beasts represented the path of a berserker at its core; controlled aggressiveness and undying tenacity to win over their opponents at any cost. Steve had decided that he would work hard and take up any solo Besanc missions he could find andplete them in his free time. With enough Merps, he can buy the beast contract spell Eren was using and form a contract with one of these Earth Suidae one day. Steve was left to man this alone by Eren. He had realized that the butcher showed confidence in his ability to handle the beast by doing this. So he didn''t want things to end on a disappointing note. Steve also realized that Eren had done this due to the simr elemental affinity and defensive spells he and the beasts shared. It would be easy for the berserker to stall for time with his defensive spell. Steve''s teammates could then help him deal with the beasts assigned to him after they had handled their share of boars. But the berserker in him knew this was his tform to truly test the mettle of his earth element spells. He rushed to the battlefield as soon as he saw his opponent. "Earth Armor!" Steve''s limbs started getting covered in earth-element armour soon after he finished executing his defensive spell. Then he used his multi-use spell tounch himself in the air. "Earth Spike" As Steve was running towards his opponents, an earthen pir-like spike of 12ft appeared immediately under his right foot. The speed of the earthen spike formation was so abrupt that itunched the berserker into the air. Steve had adjusted the orientation of the spike''s formation so that he would beunched forwards towards his approaching enemies. He flew in the air at an incredible speedC his ck hair was blown back as it was pushed by the wind pressure. Steve didn''t mind his hair getting messed up. His heart was beating at a rapid pace when he saw the beast''s hateful gazes following him as he flew towards them. "Hahaha! Take this, Spike Armor!" Stevebined his two spells and created abo attack. His earthen-armoured limbs suddenly grew spikes over their outer surfaces. The berserker''s flying trajectory began to descend in altitude as soon as he was ready with hisbo. "Bleeeeeergh!" One of the boars cried in pain as soon as Steve''s punchnded on its head, near its eyes. It had executed its defensive spell. But just like in Eren''s case, it failed to protect the beast''s eyes. And that became the spell''s bane as one of Steve''s earthen spikes lodged itself in the beast''s eye socket. The beast was still not dealt with, however. It tried to shake off its enemy by making exaggerated and wild moves. Steve felt like he was riding a wild bull in a drunken haze. But the berserker knew what to do. His grip on the beast was soon about to be lost. And the beast still could see with its other eye, which remained fine even after his attack. Steve decided to change that. He punched at the beast''s remaining working eye with his spiked armour hand, while he was still on the beast''s head. The beast cried in pain again and tried to shake Steve off its head with even more vigorous moves. Steve decided to use the now-blind beast against its peers. He used his hands that had their spikes lodged in the beast''s eyes and pulled them towards himself. It was the beast''s subconscious way of diverting the pain it felt. ''Perfect. I can make use of this pork patty to take care of another of its kind.'' Steve thought and yanked his hands in another direction, towards a particr area. An area that was crowded with the other beasts in the group that were trying to observe the weird battle. Earth Suidae would never harm another of their kind. And their enemy was currently riding one of their members. So they could only watch from the sidelines while making their dissatisfaction and anger towards their enemy known to him with their loud snorts. But soon those snorting noises of anger turned into the snorts of panic and rm. They saw Steve leading a blind member of their group toward them with threatening momentum. "aaaargh!" "Bleurgh!" "Bloooor!" The beasts tried to warn their blind members of their current position. But the beast was too much in pain and misery to listen to its peers'' calls. So the boars that were waiting on the sidelines could only do one thing to get out of the situation. Too bad for the beasts, Steve had predicted their retreat and prepared countermeasures. ================= AN: Thanks to Venom30 for the gift. Chapter 252 - The Legend Of The Boar Berserker 02 Chapter 252 - The Legend Of The Boar Berserker 02 Too bad for the beasts, Steve had predicted their retreat and prepared countermeasures. He cast a stacked Earth Spike spell and made a series of spikes appear behind the beasts, blocking their retreat. The beasts tried to run away by turning back. But they soon saw the crescent-shaped series of 12 feet earthen spikes blocking their escape from all directions. They were boxed in. "Choo Choo, you sons of bitches. Haha!" Steve said and directed the boar he was riding on onto the one that he guessed was the most dangerous among the beasts waiting on the sidelines. He stepped right foot onto the blind beast''s head and pressed down hard while removing his spikes from its eye sockets. The berserker jumped in the air using the beast''s head as a stepping tform. The beast''s head tilted downwards because of Steve''s jumpC its tusks were pointed right at the beast which was in front of it. The beast was busy trying to headbutt the spikes that had suddenly appeared and blocked its path. Using its tusk, it tried to destroy the obstacle. But then it heard its peers''motion and it turned back. The sight of the bling beast charging forth with its tusks pointed outwards was waiting for it. The beast tried to use its tusk as well to deflect the blow heading towards it. But s, it was already toote. The blind beast''s tusks rammed right into the trapped beast''s frontal torso after the two sets of tusks intermingled. The momentum of the blind beast was already too much for either of the beasts toe out unscathed. But the blind beast''s tusks made the situation even direr. The tusks first pushed the trapped beast backwards until it touched the spike that was located behind it. The tusk''s blunt force was enough for the trapped beast to feel pain despite its earthen armour spell. The force of the blunt impact prated the beast''s armour and broke a few of its rib bones. The beast cried in agony. But this resulted from the blunt force of the tusks. The blind beast''s momentum hadn''t been zeroed out yet. Its tusks pressed hard on the trapped beast''s frontal torso and started cracking because it couldn''t break the trapped beast''s armour. The beast was already touching the spike from its rear end. In response to the blunt force of equal magnitude, but of opposing victor, the tusks of the blind beast were cracked and were about to snap. But the first to show cracks and cracks were not the beast''s white tusks. It was the trapped beast''s defensive spell that had broken first after its collision with the blind beast''s tusks. The internal injury the former had suffered because of thetter''s sudden collision was enough for the injured beast to dispel its armour. The blind beast''s tusks were digging into the flesh of the trapped beast now as a result of the armour spell getting dispersed. Thetter''s tusks which were pointed upwards now hit the former as well because of the sheer collision force. The two beasts crashed heavily onto the spike that was strategically ced behind them. ''Damn it. Their tusks are cracked on their surfaces. Hope Eren and Besanc don''t mind them too much.'' Steve thought and cursed himself for pulling a stunt like this. It might look like the battlested quite a while. But in reality, only a few moments had passed. Steve watched the whole event from the air and regretted his reckless actions. Every set of tusks provided a substantial amount of Merps for LA students. Steve was sure a miser like Eren would critique him and his actions. He thought this would end when he found out about what happened to not one but two of the boars'' sets of tusks. Worst case, Eren would take a huge cut from his share of the mission as a form ofpensation. But the deed was already done. There was no benefit to be gained by crying over spilt milk. Steve could pull the same stunt again by targeting his next target the same way. But this time, he valued his potentially dwindling Merps'' share more and decided to engage with the beasts in one of the most primal ways possible- punching. The berserker retrieved his vial of berserker potion and drank it just before hended on the ground. He threw the vial down and broke it before wiping the residual potion off of his lips. Steve bolted towards the beast nearest to him as he felt the berserking potion''s effects kicking in. His earth armour spell gained even more toughness and durability as a result. Bam! He avoided the beast''s attack on time and punched it right in the torso from the side. Thetter was pushed in the opposite direction because of that seemingly uncalled-for punch. Steve had seen first-hand how the right amount of blunt force could allow it to breach the defensive spells. So he didn''t hold back and started exerting more force in his technique-driven punches. The other two boars wanted to intervene. But every time they tried, a bunch of spikes would get in between their charge. Steve handled the multiple beasts excellently with his mid-range Earth Spikes spell backing his y. He used them to retreat in the air where the beasts couldn''t touch him. The White Raven''s official berserker was on autopilot as he fought with the beasts. When he was done, thest of the three beasts had its defensive spell dispersed and its now-out-in-the-open body covered in blunt force injuries. This time Steve had made sure that the beasts'' tusks were unharmed during his battle. With thest potential threat dropping on the ground, the White Raven Crew''s first mission was technically over. It only needed a clean-up now. And a post-mission pork feast to celebrate the team''s feat was also due. =================== AN: I have tried to make White Raven Crew''s first Besanc mission as immersive as possible while showcasing its crew members'' progress. There were many rewrites before the scenes felt alive to me. Hope you enjoyed them. I''ll release a regr chapter and a bonus chapter in a few hours. Chapter 253 - Prattling & Pork Chops "Ewen, you wewe awesome as usual. You took cawe of that boaw, in what like a minute, right? *Sigh We wewen''t so lucky. It''s all Jake''s fault" White Raven crew was having dinner in the Beast Sanctuary. There were huge chunks of pork roasting over a couple of campfires. The pieces roasted before the current ones were already served to the members. The group was discussing its mission''s highlights while enjoying a delicious meal and root beers. They drank root beer instead of potion-like ranked ales because they wanted to keep their heads straight in the middle of the forest. "Listen here, you little sh*it. It was you who bolted towards the wild pork as soon as you got a glimpse of it. You''d be seriously injured if not dead if it wasn''t for me or Ana. Not only do you not thank us, but you also want to me your mistakes on us? Steve, let''s beat this guy''s ass up." Ramy tried to pin the me on his team almost letting the F-Rank beast evolve into a full-blown menace on Jake. But Ramy''s bullshit was too much for the tank. Thus, he proposed to Steve that he help him beat the team''s sound knight. "Oh, Jakey, you got that wong. I''m and will always be thankful to Ana. She has helped me a lot in this mission. It was a cewtain tank in ouw squad that didn''t offew me suppowt when it was needed when I fiwstunched my attack. We would have been done with ouw hunt sooner if it wasn''t fow that small instance of uncoopewativeness." Jake''s face turned red in anger when he heard Ramy''s tant lies. He felt that the guy was bing more and more like Eren in the art of bullshittery after following thetter''s footsteps. However, unlike Eren''s maniptive style, the sound knight''s talk was aggravating to listen to. Jake was going to get up from his seated position on the ground and grab Ramy up by the cor. But Eren spoke up before he had a chance to act on his intentions: Jake, don''t get your balls busted over Ramy''s talks. I was looking at all your battles from my position. I must say, I''m impressed. The progress you have made over the past few months is exceptional. Ramy, I hope you don''t need me to tell you that you started with a reckless move and jeopardized the safety of your squad." Eren said until here and then paused to observe Ramy''s expression. The guy seemed guilty after being called out for his mistakes. His earlier instance of ming Jake must have been his way to lighten the mood. The butcher thought to himself and continued: "But give credits when credits are due. You bounced back from your mistake pretty well. And handled that about-to-evolve boar excellently. Naturally, your element has a huge advantage over the boars. But the elemental spells the rankers use are a part of their individualities. So their strengths and weaknesses are carried by the rankers themselves. And so are the credits when they get efficiently used by them." Eren looked over at Becky and spoke up: "Becky, you did well." The butcher concluded hisment on the team mage in just four words. Becky was infuriated in her mind after she heard Eren''s concise response. She knew he was doing this on purpose. Almost everyone in the team appreciated her AoE stacking, which she disyed splendidly in the mission. Except for the team''s shadow leader himself. "Steve, the stunt you pulled back then has cost us a sizable chunk of Merps. The appropriate amount of cut will have to be taken from your share of the mission rewards." ''I fu*cking knew it. Eren would even ask hookers for their money for sleeping with them.'' Steved sighed and nodded at Eren''s decision. It''s not like he had much of a choice anyway. But he heard the guy talk more about him: Regardless of what we do with the damaged tusks, you handled the task with the proper amount of bravery and intelligence. As I said before, a berserker needn''t be mindless when entering the berserk state. As for the question you asked me. If you want to form a beast contract with Earth Suidae, I''d say go ahead. The beast is a good match for someone like you who is a berserker and a user of the earth element. And if you want to borrow Merps to get the beast contract spell, hehe! You know whom to ask?" Eren said and wolfed down another piece of pork chop. The whole team was now ustomed to the butcher''s appetite, so they only paid attention to his words and not his actions while he was speaking to them. ''I''d rathermit a robbery, get the thing I want, and get punished for it than to ask you for another loan.'' Steve snorted after thinking like that. At least the chances of him escaping the consequences of the robbery were slim, but not zero. But Eren''s loans were a debt trap. Eren understood what Steve was thinking and told him that the loan amount would incur zero interest. After all, the spell was meant to power both the team''s berserker and the whole team by extension. White Raven''s team members were all shocked when Eren let go of his ims of interest. Since all these months they had known him, this was one of the rare few times the butcher had shown them a slight bit of leniency. Steve was put in a daze by Eren''s offer. He was shaken up hard by Becky who then whispered in his ears that this might probably be Eren''sst form of mary help towards his team. So he has to take the butcher up on his offer. Steve agreed to Eren''s help immediately. thetter verbally marched forward after concluding on the berserker''s issue: "Speaking of spells. Jakey, your Hydro Whips spell is working so much better for you than I had expected. You need to keep on practising the spell until you can get absolute control over the whips. Bel and Ana are effective in terms of their nonbat roles. But you guys need to work on developing yourbat potential. Anywho! You need to take up more missions like these in theing days. I''ll be gone for a few days. So rake in as many Merps as you can. We are going to need them in the future." Eren said that after having hisst pork chop for the day. He was content with the amount of food he had and his team''s battle results so far. Now it was time to take care of some of his pending tasks. =================== AN: A lighthearted chapter before we plunge into some serious stuff. I''m trying to up the release rate. But a few personal chores that have popped up unannounced are preventing me from having the time to do so.. Let''s see if we can pick up speed in theing weekend. Chapter 254 - Blackmail Arizihana Agnoth could be seen in her study, looking through some administrative documents. She had worn a simple and elegant white dress that highlighted her moderate curves. Her waist-length hair was not tied. So the morning breeze that would enter through the wide window would caress her hair lightly and make its presence known. She was about to wrap up her paperwork and get ready to start her regr petrol duties for the day. But her usual routine was hit by a pause when she received a sealed scroll from one of the subordinates under her. The scroll was sealed by a runic line so she had to imbue it with her magic to get it unsealed. ''Meet me at Galvan cliff, just before the day sets in.'' The scroll only had these eleven words written inside it. But just before she could throw the scroll down thinking that it was from one of her admirers trying to confess to her most mysteriously, the mana she had imbued in the scroll came together and formed another set of words: ''I know you work for the cultists.'' The words disappeared along with the dissipating mana and the scroll contained only those eleven words again. Arizihana had a mini heart attack after reading those words. She clutched the scroll in her hand tightly and started thinking about who the person that had sent the scroll could be. ''Damn it. I took every precaution I could, but it still leaked out. It might not have been my fault though. Those damn Beast Bloods lunatics can''t keep their mouths shut. If the beans have been spilt, it must be from their end.'' Ari concluded and fumed inside her head. But there was another point to consider that she had forgotten to register before: ''This person didn''t rat me out to the city administration. That means they are either ying a guessing game with no conclusive proof or whatever they have on me isn''t solid. No. Wait, Ari. there''s a third possibility. They know that it''s you for sure and want to use it as leverage. ckmail!'' Ari''s grim face turned grim after she thought about the third possibility. She immediately got up and walked to her castle''s basement. There was an encryptedmunication array ced there which she would use asionally tomunicate with someone close to her who also happened to be a cultist. *********************** "*Sigh. Ma Cheri, I remember telling you not to contact me during these days. I have been a bit busy, you see. Anyway, miss me already? Hehe." A life-sized, flickering spectral image could be seen getting projected over the eye of the array that was located in Ari''s castle basement. The words were spoken by this very spectral shadow that initially expressed displeasure at being contacted by Ari. Butter on, the spectral shadow seemed to have been d that thetter had contacted her. One could say that the person this spectral shadow belonged to was very moody and fickle. "Haah! I''m not here to soothe your ego, May. This is serious. Remember the talk we had a few weeks ago? It hase to pass. Someone is trying to ckmail me today. I hope you can guess what they are nning to use against me." Ari said this with a stoic face while folding her hands. She wasn''t interested in the usual romance that would take ce every time she called the spectral shadow. The soup she had found herself in demanded serious attention not only from her but also from May after all. "Say what now? And wait, do you think it was because of us?" May asked after getting shocked by the news Ari provided her. The spectral shadow pondered for a while beforeing up with words to respond: "You are right. Maybe it was us. The lower ranks shouldn''t know your involvement with us. And the higher-ranked entities just don''t care about you or me. Hmm? Does that mean it is someone from the Beast Bloods'' middle order? Damn it, I can''t be sure." The spectral shadow agreed to Ari''s indirect way of saying all of it was Beast Bloods'' fault. But it couldn''t just zero in on a single person from arge pool of suspects. So it asked Ari about the recent turn of eve But surprisingly, it was Ari who gave the spectral shadow another reason to worry about: "Have you considered another possibility? That it''s neither a slip-up from my end or your end but a third party all along?" May grew quiet after listening to another of Ari''s concerns. The spectral image stopped flickering and revealed the person''s real identity it belonged to. This person happened to be a beautiful half-elf woman in herte twenties. May asked Ari all the details she could think of about today''s events. Thetter told her about how she received a sealed scroll. She also showed the scroll to her along with the content it had. "The sentence that describes your association dissipated into mana after you read it. Someone is trying to keep your association with the cultists intact. That''s a good and bad thing at the same time. Good because your identity would stay a secret in their hands as long as you did what they asked because we''re not dealing with an amateur ex-Beast Bloods member like I thought we were. Sigh. We won''t gain anything from the scroll. It''s an expensive E-Rank scroll so we know the person who used it is at least an E-Ranker. But that''s all there is to it. The scroll itself is easy to get. We can''t find shit through tracking the source of this document." Ari stopped tapping her fingers on her folded arms as an act of impatience and voiced her displeasure: "Duh! I know that already, May. I''m asking you what I should do now?" Ari asked and started tapping her fingers again. She was trying to act impatient and angry. But May could understand that was just a defence mechanism to hide her fears. The establishments were never known for their forgiveness towards cultists or someone who was proven to be linked to them. This held especially true for someone like Ari who was leading a battalion of city guards for the city of Silvermoon. It could be said that Ari had not lost her head in a panic if she was still acting this normal. May thought that and sighed before answering Ari''s question. "What can we do anyway? Let''s see who this fe is first. We''ll think of something after your meeting with this ckmailer takes ce. And Ari, if you find that they are alone and the information they have on you is doubtful at best, then you know what to do." Ari ced her right hand on the hilt of her sword hanging by the waist after hearing May''s response. A killer intent suddenly emanated from her serious stance. She concluded May''s line of thoughts in her head. ''Kill them!'' Chapter 255 - Sticking To The Script "Nice to meet you, miss Arizihana Agnoth. How was your day?" Ari was greeted by a deep and raspy voice when she reached the destination mentioned by the scroll. She maintained her silence and focused on the two people that were present in her vision. A tall, dark, and broad-shouldered man could be seen standing at the precipice of the Galvan cliff. He was looking at the setting sun and moving clouds with a look of keen interest. He had spoken to her without looking at her as if the mundane part of nature was more significant in his eyes than her. A petite youngdy could also be seen standing near him with her head looking downwards, giving off the impression that she was his attendant. Standing near the tall man with his heavy presence, her appearance seemed unimportant. Both the man and the youngdy had worn masks with weird and eye-catching embroidery imprinted on them. It was the same kind of mask a well-known rogue named Tumko Darata from different parts of Edinburgh was known to be wearing. People could tell from one look that the petitedy was the broad-shouldered man''s subordinate. But that would be the case if they only consider what was visually unfolded in front of them. Scanning their presences with mana sense would tell a different story though. Surprisingly, the man was an F-Ranker despite his heavy presence. And the youngdy who looked to be inconsequential was a C-Rank entity. Arizihana was quite surprised by the contradiction. But what surprised her, even more, was the fact that both thedy and the man had convoluted mana senses. Arizihana thought the duo was using an artefact. She tried to probe further with her mana sense but she was literally and metaphorically stopped in her tracks. The youngdy lifted her face and looked the Agnoth scion in the eyes. The youngdy had elegant facial features. Her eyes were deep blue and had a certain charm in them. But when she looked at the approaching Arizihana, thetter got a different message in her psyche. ''This is a warning.'' Ari thought and retracted her mana sense. She was only in the vapour phase of D-Rank after all. That too with a potion-induced breakthrough. She will have to wait a while for her rank to stabilize and for her to advance. So a warning from a C-Rank entity wasn''t something she could take lightly. Ari was thinking of silencing her ckmailer forever if she could confirm that the leak wasn''t spread further. But the presence of the C-Rank entity made her abandon that n. The scion of Agnoth stood a few meters away from the group. The man had already made an opening statement. He didn''t seem interested in speaking again. Irizihana yed the mind game by refusing to answer his question. But her indirect methods seemed to have been in vain. Because the man didn''t speak after that. Ari''s silly stunt came back to bite her in the ass. The silence was now putting pressure on her, the reason for that silence. She got frustrated and sighed in her head before speaking out loud: "Err Let''s cut the casual talk, shall we? Who are you?" Ari answered the man''s question with a question of her own. The man didn''t take long to turn around and finally face the elf, his target for ckmail. He nonchntly stepped towards Ari and replied casually: "You have never been ckmailed, have you, miss Arizihana. Allow me to give you a small introduction to the roles assigned to each of us in this small y we''ve got going here. You as the one who is about to get ckmailed will answer all our questions to the extent of your ability and knowledge. That''s the role assigned to you. You need to stick to your script. We as ckmailers will keep our identities under wraps. That''s because there''s nothing wrong with our heads. We will not answer anything that can be traced back to our identities. Why do you think we wore these masks? Just because they look cute?" ''Hmph! Could have fooled me. And only you think that those hideous masks look cute.'' Ari thought in her head. She also thought that if she were to ever be a ckmailer or a cultist on the run, she wouldn''t choose such eye-stinging masks for herself even if someone puts a mana gun on her head. The broad-shouldered man came closer to her, looked at moderately curvaceous Arizihana with a sly glint in his eyes, and replied with a now-yful voice: "Haha. You understood your role. That''s good. Now let''s restart our conversation, alright? Miss Arizihana, how was your day?" Ari helplessly shook her head before speaking up: "What do you think? Not pleasant, ever since I received your ckmail scroll." The man chuckled and started walking to his subordinate. He folded his right arm, ced the elbow on her shoulders, and rested his head on his palm before replying: "Yes! ckmail. It indeed is ckmail. But if you were to ask me personally, I wouldn''t want our interaction to bebelled with that word. It has a negative connotation to it. And I don''t like that. What we are about to have here is a simple form of exchange. Nothing too serious really. You have three people under your care that we want to retrieve and liberate. Give us those three people and we will be out of your hair. Simple, right?" ''This is simple indeed.'' Ari had that thought. But what she said waspletely different to what she was thinking: "That depends. Don''t y mysterious and give me clear-cut answers if they are not rted to your identities. Who are these people and what are you nning to do with them?" The man nodded in understanding andid down what he wanted in front of the renowned elf hero of her city: "Renar and his colleagues. The former Beast Bloods. We want to retrieve them. Give us those ves and your secret stays a secret forever. As for what will we do with them? Miss city protector, it''s just as I said.. Stick to your script." Chapter 256 - Die Is Cast "As for what we will do with them? It''s just as I said, Miss city protector. Stick to your script." The broad-shouldered man instructed Ari in a cold,manding tone while shing a gracious smile. When he said this, a part of his mana signature fluctuated and his aura briefly erupted. Ari felt the chills in her bones when she sensed his signature that wasn''t quite human. ''This guy is F-Rank? Some of these Anthrope cultists are a crazy bunch of degenerates with equally crazy techniques, I must say. Their heretic paths take them further away from who they once were. Sad and scary at the same time.'' Ari cleared her throat and spoke up: "Al alright. I understand. But I can''t just hand them over right away. They are the city administration''s property after all. I''ll need to buy them from the administration and then I can" The broad-shouldered man shook his head in denial and said out loud: "No, miss Arizihana. That''ll take a long time and raise suspicion. Instead, you can make up a false Beast Bloods case rted to their hideout and ask the city administration to lend Renar and his teammates to you. Then your official report will say that you were attacked by Beast Bloods while investigating the case and Renar and his colleagues were killed in the ambush. This way, the city administration won''t have to look for their human resource and the case will be closed then and there. This is the way you''ll do it. There will be no getting around it. Do we understand each other?" ''Damn it. There goes my n to buy time.'' Ari cursed the broad-shouldered mind in her head but nodded at his instructions outwardly. "Oh yes, we had four Beast Bloods with us as prisoners. But only three of them are serving the city as ves. Do you want me to fetch that remaining member as well?" Ari asked innocently. She sounded helpful, but the manughed mockingly before answering: "Miss Arizihana, you underestimate us. Do you think we didn''t do our background check before contacting you? She''s been taken as a legal ve. Bringing her into our fold will only raise our risks of being apprehended by the kingdom." Ari had to try sabotaging the man''s ns. But she sighed after seeing her silly trick getting caught by the man before nodding at him. "Good. Rest assured, I''m not trying to stir up trouble, Arizihana. You''ll find that I''m as easy-going as an innocent newbornmb if things work out my way." ''Comparing yourself to a newbornmb? You sure can lie as easily as you breathe, Mr Mask. Hehe!'' The broad-shouldered man could hear the petitedy''sughter and mockery in the back of his head. He just outwardly shrugged his shoulders before replying in the same telepathic manner he had heard thedy''s voice: ''What? I said, "if things work out my way". Which is true if you think about it.'' "Um Mister?" The broad-shouldered man''s telepathic conversation with the petite youngdy was cut short by Ari''s words: "Oh, you can call me Mr Mask." "Alright. Mr Mask, you are from the Beast Bloods, aren''t you? It''s fine if it''s just these ves that you want. But if you have any other schemes you are hatching right now, I''ll remind you that my connections with the Beast Bloods aren''tpletely severed. Even if they''ve turned sour because of the recent events. May Errr XXX will have to intervene in our exchange if you try to pull something I wasn''t expecting in this deal. This is my warning to you. As you said, let''s just stick to our scripts." The broad-shouldered man''s narrowed eyes suddenly exuded a cunning light when he heard Marie''s name. This time, he didn''t threaten back but just replied with a nod of his own. "Alright. Let''s finalize our n then." Ari said and started discussing the finer details about the n. There were so many questions she wanted to ask the duo. For example: what was so special about Renar and his colleagues? And what use could they be to the man? But she hade to realize that this man in front of her was not willing to share any information. So she thought of doing a thorough check on Renar and his colleagues herself before turning them over to the man. They might be able to help her approach the man from behind without him being aware of it. Ari started to plot as she discussed a few things with the duo. Ari wanted to include May in her mess from the get-go. But thetter was nowhere near her when this ckmail incident took ce. So she decided to use her name as a deterrent. Ari discussed and finalized the n''s details with the man. Any attempt at buying time or introducing loopholes was foiled by the man''s wits. So she just gave up trying to outsmart him in the end. *********************** A long time after Arizihana had left. "Reen, the coast is clear, right?" Eren asked Reen while he was in the form of the broad-shouldered man. He had shapeshifted into Ron Damien for a meeting with Arizihana. Reen had been there in the form of Elena. "Yes. There''s nobody following or tracking us as far as I can tell. This woman has kept the secret about her involvement with the cultists deep in her heart it seems. She doesn''t trust anybody to have her back during this situation." Eren agreed to Reen''s line of thoughts and replied: "It has turned into our advantage. Damn, I love messing with criminals. They just can''t ask for help openly. Suits me just fine. Haha! But hold on a moment. Who is this May? Or "err Marie" this woman was talking about? And why do I feel that I''ve heard that name before?" Eren stroked his chin as he was walking away from his ckmail site. His colt was located at a distance from this ce. "Marie is the name your teacher Levine spoke about when she was telling you about her previous apprentice." As she walked beside her master, Reen casually reminded him of this. Thetter froze in his tracks and pped his forehead after he remembered Levine''s talk with him. "Haah! If I am lucky again, then this would be Ma''s sister. *Sigh. Let''s hope she doesn''t get involved in this mess." Eren thought this out loud and followed after Reen who had gone ahead. The die had already been cast.. He might as well y the game to the best of his abilities toe on top in the end. Chapter 257 - Arthur’s "Pet" Project There was a drawing of a huge array about a hundred meters across on barren open ground. There were plenty of stars shining in the sky above. But the array itself didn''t need any starlight to make its presence known. That''s because the runic inscriptions it was made of were exuding a distinct milky white light. A middle-aged man was sitting atop a tform made of the inscribed stone, which was ced over the array eye. He had his eyes closed and was seen regting his breathing in a particr pattern. The man wasn''t alone in his surroundings though. An older man in his 50s and a young woman waited outside the array for the ranker sitting atop the runic stone tform to finish his work. "How long is this going to take, Sybill? We''ve been here for a few days now." Cybill seemed to have been irked by the man-in-his-50s''ment. She looked at him annoyingly before replying: "It was you that came to us asking for help, Arthur. A bit of patience can take you a long way. It''s not easy for Garvin either, you know. What you are seeing right now is him working his ass off for the rewards you promised us. I understand that you want to keep your mouth shut about it. But since you started asking questions, I might as well return the favour. What is your obsession with Osan Woods'' Butcher anyway? Why are you going to such extensive lengths to find him?" Garvin chuckled. But Cybill could tell the range of emotions Arthur was feeling right now wasn''t anywhere near to joy. It was also his leaked out mana signature that attested to her womanly instincts. "Hahaha! Let''s just say he has stolen something that I worked on for years on end. I spent so many resources on that project of mine that half of my wealth has vanished. But I never tried to cut costs on it even once. It was meant to be inherited by my son, after all. The guy turned all my efforts and ns to create something magnificent into shit. Why shouldn''t I hunt him? I will take away from him what is rightfully mine. If that is not possible, then I''ll imprison his ass and make him my ve for the rest of his sorry life. I''ll then kill him in the most painful way possible after taking away everything he snatched from me." Arthur shed a maniacal grin after he concluded what he was saying. This was the first time in a long time that he had expressed what he truly felt. He had been quiet about the whole thing for months now. Fuming from the insides. Cybill''s questions finally allowed Arthur to express what he truly felt about the Osan Woods'' Butcher. And he felt rather satisfied after doing it. Like a huge boulder had been lifted off of his shoulders. Arthur also knew that Garvin and Cybil were a trusted pair. They were the rankers who had dedicated their lives to the study of magic. In a way, he could rte to them. And trust them to keep this affair limited to them. He had also been nning something monumental ever since he explored a certain Ranker''s Purgatory. And this ambitious project of his had dragged him into the most fundamental studies of magic that no ordinary rankers had ess to. The years passed by. The more Arthur learned, the more he realized how little he knew about mana, magic, and the mysteries of the world he was living in. His exploration into that Ranker''s Purgatory and the studies that followed had allowed him to see ranker''s journey in a different light. But that study also made Arthur realize that it was toote for him to change his path. For him to pursue the long-lost path of magic, he had to regress in his ranks and turn all his life''s work to zero before he could go on. It wasn''t something Arthur was willing to do. He thought hard but finally decided against it. And yet he couldn''t let what he had studied and found so far go to waste. So he came up with the n to let his son take his ce. But all his ns were foiled by the wretched OWB. He had gathered into one single project all of Arthur''s wishes, resources, and hard work. And the result of that project was obtained by a man who came out of nowhere. And the most infuriating thing about the incident was that Arthur couldn''t find the guy even after employing all his covert and overt tactics. He had used the kingdom''s channels at his disposal to hunt the OWB officially, cing a hefty bounty on him. Arthur''s anti-OWB campaign had been working great. Thetter had been linked with a lot of falsified crimes by now. Arthurbelled him a cultist without knowing anything about it to turn the public sentiments against the butcher. Arthur had also put Jaime''s panel on the task of finding Osan Woods''s Butcher under the guise of the panel caring about their students'' welfare. Plus, he had hired a lot of external help anonymously to get even a shred of a clue regarding the butcher''s identity. But all his efforts had yielded no results. The exceptional third-party rangers he had hired would go round and round in the Osan Woods following the butcher''s trails and end up at the same ce they started from. The various leading historians he had hired only gave him vague descriptions about Osan Woods'' butcher being a rankless entity and other minute details that didn''t make sense. Arthur spent restless days and sleepless nights trying to track and know about the butcher in any way he could. But the usual methods didn''t seem to work. Thus, Arthur had to seek the couple''s help despite his initial reluctance. This was because Garvin and Cybill Karr were well-known figures in Edinburgh. And he wanted to keep his project away from the limelight if he could help it. But Arthur was forced to realize something by the illusive butcher. Thetter had a powerful backer. So his ruse to downy his cards would be futile, no matter if he decides to use them or not. So Arthur had to knock on Garvin''s door and ask for help. The nerd was happy to do so under the condition of promising rewards, of course. Arthur was furious and about to lose his shit after Garvin listed the things he wanted from him. But Garvin Karr, the genius array master, was his best bet to find or get a clue about the butcher''s identity. So he had to give in to Garvin''s wishes in the end. This was what dragged him to the barren ce. Now he was waiting patiently, or at least trying to wait patiently for the array master to fulfil his end of the promise. ========================== AN: Garvin and Cybill Karr had been mentioned briefly in chapter 66. Chapter 258 - Preordained Arthur had to give in to Garvin''s wishes in the end. This was what dragged him to the barren ce. Now he was waiting patiently, or at least trying to wait patiently for the array master to fulfil his end of the promise. Some more days passed by. Arthur came back to visit the couple again. Garvin was still at it again, meditating on the stone tform. Cybill came to greet him with two wine sses. She offered him one while taking a sip from the other. "I was wondering when you''ll be back. Don''t worry. Garvin shouldn''t take long now." Arthur nodded at Cybill and took the wine ss before asking: "What is the true purpose of this array, Cybill? From its runic inscriptions, I can guess that it is rted to guiding rankers to a state of epiphany. But I can''t understand anything beyond that." Cybill stirred the ss gently and took a whiff of the wine she was savouring before answering: "To be honest, Arthur, I don''t know much about arrays either apart from the basic stuff despite all these years living with the array maniac. But I''ll tell you what I heard from my husband. It is indeed an array that increases the chances of ranking entities entering the state of epiphany. Since it was initiated by us, it''ll have most of the limitations and disadvantages of the forced state of epiphany. Plus, the array also extends the amount of time one can stay in a state of epiphany without getting kicked out of it. Right now, that array has created an invisible cocoon of mana around my husband while forcing him to respond to his will. Furthermore, I''ve also made Garvin consume a couple of potions I created myself to help him in this task. It should give us better results overall." Arthur heard that and nodded before taking his first sip of the wine. He was pleasantly surprised by its taste. He chuckled before replying: "Hahaha! Enough about the arrays. Let''s talk about this wine. This is indeed a high-quality counterfeit, Cybill. I feel like my almost stagnant understanding of the path has been galvanized again. Even one of the most prominent potioneers of Edinburgh, Cybill Karr, can''t resist the temptation of trying to counterfeit elven ales. I don''t know what the elves will say about it, but human rankers of our ranks will surely be happy ande out of their caves to celebrate. I''m sorry for getting off-topic, Cybill. And you''d also have to forgive myck of knowledge about anything rted to potions. But why is it so hard for humans to concoct a potion that has the same effect as the elven ales?" Cybill didn''t like that Arthur called her wine brewing a counterfeit of eleven ales. But she had to admit that it was true. She sighed deeply before replying: "The study of mana is endless for researchers like us, Arthur. We are always curious and on our toes regarding the wonders that are yet to be discovered. But the more we learn about it, the more we understand that mana is not curious about most of us or our existence at all. It just sees us as parasites that are trying to leech the mana off and make it our own for our benefit and longer lifespan. Something that wasn''t preordained by nature to us." Arthur shrugged his shoulders before stating what he felt: "Isn''t that a normal thing for rankers though? It should apply to all the rankers out there. Not just human rankers. If mana sees all living beings who absorb and make use of mana as parasites, then that evens out the field for all of us. If everybody is special, then nobody is." Cybill had her eyes fixated on her husband. She observed his condition with all her senses while having a conversation with Arthur. She replied to Arthur after checking everything was still alright about Garvin and he was fine: "What I have learned after dedicating my entire life to the art of potioneering is that the world''s mana loves entities that are in sync with their base nature. We humans like to think a lot. I mean a lot. The wheels inside our heads are always churning. Some of us might even take pride in that. We define our behaviours by social norms. And in doing that, we prevent ourselves from understanding our true nature. Hehe! Maybe humans'' base nature is that they''ll always try to run away from their real selves." Arthur had a nk face after hearing Cybill''s roundabout reply. The former understood that her philosophies had slipped over the guy''s head so she chuckled again and summed it up for him: "What I''m trying to say here Arthur is that we humans add too much of our consciousness in everything we do. Whether it''s array inscription, potioneering, artefact crafting, or any other mana-rted field, the jobs rted to those fields require us to hone our consciousness. Conscious efforts like those help turn more of our kind into experts in our fields. But those same conscious efforts prevent us from bing true maestros. *Gulp Do you understand what I''m trying to say here?" After she finished her exnation and the drink, Cybill asked Arthur. Thetter nodded before adding on: "I do indeed. There are more human experts in every known field than the other races if the sample size is restricted to let''s say 100 random rankers. But the number drops down drastically if we were to only consider the geniuses of any given field. I still don''t get one thing though. Even if we do have a low number of geniuses in our fields, at least a few of them should be able to pull off the feats geniuses from other races have. We can even use those other-racial-geniuses and THEIR works as references. So what''s stopping us human rankers from doing something as easy as making a damn ale?" Cybill looked at Arthur with a hint of anger in her eyes. She wanted to rebuke him because he had just insulted her, her husband, and every other human genius with his speech. But sheter pitied hisck of knowledge despite being a sessful ranker himself. Her anger vanished after that. ''Cybill, you don''t get angry with men who know nothing.'' Cybill self-restrained herself before trying to reason with Arthur. Chapter 259 - Halflings ''Cybill, you don''t get angry at men who know nothing.'' Cybill self-restrained herself before trying to reason with Arthur: "Arthur, you need to understand this. Our extreme sense of existence taints our mana sense and mana signature. Because we employ our mana in our fields, the results we obtain are also tainted by that. The more we have that taint, the more inferior the quality of every ranking item we craft for ourselves. And it applies to lower-ranked humans as well as those who have progressed much further in their ranking journey. I would even go so far as to say that human rankers be more arrogant of themselves as they progress further in their ranks." After she said that, Cybill nced at Arthur to see if he got her meaning. Thetter simply maintained a poker face, giving her no clue that he got it. So she verbally marched on before Arthur could ask: "The world''s mana doesn''t like a part of itself to be forcefully snatched by the masses of giant egos. It wants the mana to be as pure as before we intercepted it. There is a direct corrtion between the way of the elements and the state of epiphany. You can only start walking on the path of your element once the world''s mana gives you the rights and direction to do so. In contrast, when a human subconsciously interacts with the world''s mana during their epiphanies, their egos prevent them from believing everything the mana has to say to them. We just can''t help it even if we decide to not do so before the state of epiphany hits us." Arthur wasn''t a genius researcher like Garvin and Cybill Karr. And he wasn''t that knowledgeable about the in and out of their respective fields either. But he finally gained something from the potioneer''s exnation: "You mean you need to enter the state of epiphany to make something like the elven ale? That would make elves monsters, wouldn''t it? I mean look at the amount of ale getting sold throughout the kingdom. I know it''s still rare and limited in quantity, but the amount is stillrge enough to scare most humans who know what that condition implies about ale brewing. If the elves can enter the state of epiphany that easily and that often, they can use that state to progress further in their ranking journey as well. And yet, we don''t see that many high-ranked entities in the elven race if we consider how easy it is for them to enter the state of epiphany. At least not on the surface. Why is that?" Cybill shook her head after hearing Arthur''s discussion and replied patiently: "I can''t answer that on behalf of all the Faeruns, Arthur. And I can''t say how their ale brewing or their practice of honing their elements work either. The fact is, though, that their way of life, their freedom to do whatever they wish and seeking out various experiences are crucial in their ranking journey. Those experiences and expressions of freedom be their mediators and help them inmunicating with the world''s mana when the state of epiphany finally hits them. That is something we can only emte on a cosmetic level. Most of us humans will have strong beliefs and opinions about everything we find worthy of our time and resources. This is how we''ve been designed. While most elves can see something miraculous in the most mundane of things. They''ll wear their hearts on their sleeves around you if they trust you. So if and when the state of epiphany hits them, the elves can get the most out of it. Their hearts are open to the path suggested by the world''s mana, regardless of how contrasting it sounds. This all happens subconsciously of course. Neither the elves nor we humans can consciously make our decisions while our psyches are suspended in that ethereal state. And neither of us can influence the mana to tell us exactly what we want to know. That''s why I said it alles down to the most fundamental nature of all living things." It seemed that Arthur had gained some insight, as he agreed with the potioneer''s patient exnations. And that understanding made him a bit reluctant toe to terms with it: "That would mean humans will always stay one step behind elves and other races that excel in their fields of expertise? Is there no way around it?" Cybill checked out her husband''s condition and replied to Arthur without looking at him: "I''m not aware of any such thing officially existing. Early researchers thought halflings would be the key to understanding and maximizing the benefits of the state of epiphany by developing ranking techniques based on their constitutions. But they dropped the idea as soon as it came out. Let''s take a child between a human and an elf for example. That child, whether it be called half-human or half-elf depending upon its appearance, will carry the shorings of both its parents in most cases. First of all, it will never be able to talk with the mana the way elves do because it is half-human. In addition, it won''t get better in its field even if it studies it diligently as it''s notpletely human either." Arthur knew halflings were considered worthless by pure-blooded rankers of all the races. But he didn''t seem to understand the reason behind it. So Cybill took a long sigh and borated further: "The reason I say this is because a human way of crafting ranking items depends on our ability to either consciously or subconsciously blend our consciousness into our mana signature. All our recipes and crafting techniques take our mana signature into ount. Of course, it taints the final products. But that is something we can manage and make peace with. But a halfling''s mana signature drastically differs from that of a human. This anomaly is serious enough to make all of our recipes and techniques virtually useless to the half-elf ranker. And since the halflings cannot hone their elements the same way elves can, the elven recipes and techniques also be equally useless to them. So a halfling suffers from both sides and has no real advantage over the races it was born from. Halflings are not respected by either race because they are considered useless. Plus, they are rare to be born in the first ce because the chances of their natural progeny are ridiculously low. So it seems nature and the world''s mana also don''t like their existence either." From her storage, Cybill retrieved a vial of potion.. It seemed she was preparing for something after looking at her husband''s condition. Chapter 260 - [Bonus ] The Manhunt Resumes "So a halfling suffers from both sides and has no real advantage over the races it was born from." From her storage, Cybill retrieved a vial of potion. It seemed she was preparing for something after looking at her husband''s condition. Arthur ignored Cybill''s actions and asked her in a serious voice: "Cybill, you started that whole exnation by saying you don''t know any official way that exists to remedy ourck of natural talent in the way of the elements. So how much do you know about the "unofficial" way? And how sessful will it be based on your calctions?" Cybil stopped looking at her husband and turned around. She narrowed her eyes on Arthur as if to discern something. Then she sighed before replying: "You of all people shouldn''t bring this subject up, Arthur. Do I need to remind you who you are? But as a researcher, I don''t like to cover the truth with a cocoon of lies. Since it''s you who asked me to talk about the forgotten history, I am bold enough to tell you what I know. Yes. The very existence of demi-humans in the past was the answer researchers were looking for. They were said to have all the advantages of both races. We both know from redacted documents about the history of this continent that the demi-humans were able to interact with the elements like the mana beasts. They did this by simply existing and developing the inherent spells rted to their bloodlines. And they could also produce ranking items like humans, estimated to be better in quality than us. Plus, they could practise their ranking techniques like humans to speed up their ranking journey even further. They broke through their ranks at terrifying speeds that would unbnce the natural order. They were the real monsters that walked this earth once. As for yourst question. I believe turning into demi-humans would have mitigated humans''ck of expertise in the way of the elements. I had heard the rumours that you were trying to learn more about demi-humans. Seems like those rumours were true. I don''t mind the curiosity, Arthur. Being a researcher in my field, I can even rte to it. But you need to understand this. The world works on an unseen equation that bnces things out. If there are so many benefits of turning into a demi-human, you can bet your ass that it would have equally terrifying repercussions. The demi-humans are the abominations of this world. So I hope you don''t go beyond satiating your curiosity and bring trouble to all of us." Arthur hmphed at Cybill''s warning before replying in a in tone: "I know what I''m doing, Cybill. I was just trying to get your opinion on these things. Besides, you might want to turn back and see how your husband is doing. It seems something''s happening to him." Arthur pointed at where Garvin was sitting while he said that. Cybill dropped the whole subject right away and turned around. She saw that Garvin''s body spasmed and knew it was time. Her husband had warned this would happen so she was ready to remedy the situation with her potion as soon as things settled down. The array''s lights had started dimming before getting brighter than before. They followed Garvin''s breathing pattern. And they immediately began exuding an erratic range of luminance once Garvin started spasming. Garvin opened his eyes and mouth abruptly. His eyes and the insides of his mouth had also been lit up in the same light the array was exuding. But slowly things seemed to be settling down as the lights grew dimmer by the moment. Arthur could now see that Garvin''s eyes didn''t have their iris at their usual ces. They had been rolled backwards, making his eyes devoid of the usual features they had as only the white sclera was made visible. Arthur''s spasms stopped. But his skin started drying up at a rapid pace. He quickly turned into a living mummy before his eyes could get back to normal. As soon as he was conscious of his surroundings and his conditions, he looked around and found his wife looking at him with concern while clutching the vial tightly. He nodded at her, telling her he was done and it was safe to approach him now. The ground on which the array was drawn started turning into a mini droughtnd. It started cracking, resulting in the formation of numerous drought lines. But Cybill didn''t care about what she was stepping upon. She quickly appeared in front of her husband, uncorked the vial, and helped him gulp down the content within it slowly. Cybill''s mastery of potion-making wasn''t just for the show. The potion''s effects kicked in and Garvin''s mummified state started reversing back to normal. His body let out an unelementalized wave of mana as it started to regain its appearance before this phenomenon took ce. Garvin took a while toe to his senses. He assured her with his eyes and a pat on her hand that he was okay. Or as okay as he can be at the moment. The repercussions of using this array weren''t over. But the real danger was past him. And his wife''s concoction had helped him a lot. Arthur didn''t care about the couple''s bonding time. He approached the duo and raised his eyebrow at Garvin. He was asking the array master subtly about what he had gained from the stunt he pulled just now in front of him. Garvin didn''t mind Arthur''s rude behaviour. He knew he was going to get paid handsomely for all the work he had done for him. Especially when he had learned one of the most crucial clues about the Osan Woods'' Butcher. "*Cough cough. Honey, I''m fine. No need to worry. Arthur *cough cough. I hope you remember your promise and bring me all the things I''ve listed to you. *cough Plus, I''m obligated to charge you extra for the damage to my mana core in the process. I''m sure a person of your calibre wouldn''t mind. But rejoice! Hahaha *cough cough. I have found something crucial you can use in your manhunt." Garvin coughed the whole way in his speech. But Arthur got his message loud and clear. He couldn''t help shing a cunning smile after he realized that the OWB manhunt can be resumed with a fresh lead. ====================== AN: Chapters 258, 259, and 260 tie up a lot of things that many might have considered as loose ends. They also provide exnations about some of the past and future events in the VEH-verse. I think people who have read Eren''s journey so far won''t need me to point them towards specific events anymore. That''s my confidence in you guys as dedicated readers. Plus, it''s part of the intrigue. Just so you know, I won''t confirm or deny any theories regarding uing events anymore. ;) VEH Trivia: Wrote this chapter while listening to Styx-Renegade. ;) Chapter 261 - Price To Pay "Rejoice! Hahaha *cough cough. I have found something crucial you can use in your manhunt." Garvin coughed the whole way in his speech. But Arthur got his message loud and clear. He couldn''t help shing a cunning smile after he realized that the OWB manhunt can be resumed with a fresh lead. But Arthur needed to know if the lead was solid or not. After all, he was about to pay the geek a hefty amount of resources for it. He wanted to make sure that it was well spent. So he asked to confirm: "How sure are you about the lead, Garvin? How can we trust the leads generated by this array?" Garvin looked at Arthur with a tinge of anger in his eyes. But he didn''t speak immediately. Cybill helped him get up and snapped her fingers. The earth-element mana and the earth beneath werebined to create a medium-sized table and three chairs. Cybill helped her husband sit on one of the chairs while she took the chair next to him. Arthur didn''t need an invitation. He took the remaining chair and waited for the array master to tell him what he needed to hear. Garvin returned to his normal condition when he drank the tea made by his pioneer wife. Only then did he look at Arthur in the eyes before replying: "That array was not my creation, Arthur. ording to the royal library where I got it, it came from one of the ranker''s utopias, which is still kept a secret from the public''s eyes. However, it was recovered long ago, so you probably aren''t aware of it. What this array does is enable the ranker to enter the forced state of epiphany. But if it had done only that, it wouldn''t be all that different from the arrays we know of, would it?" Arthur nodded his head while tapping his fingers on the surface of the table. He stopped his actions suddenly and guessed what Garvin was trying to say to him: "You mean you have to pay a price for using this array? It was obvious from your condition anyway. Tell me, what''s the catch?" Garvin massaged his stiff shoulders with both his hands and continued his speech: "As you might have guessed, the array keeps the ranker''s mind from falling into the subconscious state. This very state is needed for rankers to be immersed in their epiphanies, forced or not. But thanks to the activation of this array, you can still ess your memories and recall your experiences while you are in the ethereal state. You know what that means right? It means instead of the world''s mana solving your random doubts, you get to ask a set of specific questions to it." Arthur''s eyes opened wide in surprise after he heard what the array master was trying to say. Garvin verbally marched forward before Arthur could interrupt him I must say that the person who created this array must have been a genius lunatic. Lunatic because the guy only cared about the output of the array and not its aftereffects. It was almost like he wanted the rankers who use it to suffer consequences after they were done with it. There''s no countermeasure to prevent that. I guess he wanted to bnce things out before they got out of hand. That means the array forces you to pay a heavy tax for your transgression with the world''s mana when it senses that you were conscious while being in the ethereal state. Your mana core gets damaged right after you leave the state. There are other repercussions as well that I don''t want to mention. Basically, the higher your ranking status is, the greater the repercussions." Understanding dawned on Arthur. He recalled the former demanding extrapensation for his damaged mana core. "I''ll pay you extra, don''t worry. But you are not the man to pay that heavy a price just toplete my request, Garvin. You must have figured something out, I''m sure." Garvin looked at his wife and smiled at her, indicating he was thankful for her: "I didn''t. It was Cybill who mitigated the effects of using the array with her doses of exquisite potions. My mana core still got damaged after using the array. I have been able to reduce the damage a great deal after she administered me her remedies before and after the procedure. I should be able to recover from these repercussions in a few months. The world''s mana and its all-epassing higher consciousness don''t know how to lie. My point is, you can trust the intel I''ve gained after facing these repercussions, for asking the questions that you wanted to know the answers about." Artur had to believe in Garvin after closely examining his condition. Only after he was assured did he ask him about the lead: Garvin was a geek array master. But he was no pushover. He demanded he is paid first before he gave the lead to Artur. Thetter had a couple of creases on his forehead but he agreed to the guy''s demands. He retrieved all the resources that he had promised him from his storage. "Alright. Listen to this, Arthur. The lead I got is" He told Arthur what he had gained from the higher consciousness he had just talked with. Then he nodded at his wife who supported him in getting up. The couple soon left, leaving Arthur alone in his seat. He soon had another visitor in the form of apletely ck-clothed man who seemed to have appeared from thin air. His face had also been masked by the ck mask. He bent the knee in front of Arthur and ced his right hand on his heart as if performing a salute. "What should we do with this information, my lord?" Arthur looked at the man and said out loud in a voice that wasced with his suppressed anger: "What should we do? Hehe. We don''t want to scare the guy or create any ruckus. We grab him as soon as we confirm that it''s him using this lead. Anyway, what about my son? Is he progressing the way we wanted him to? I would still want to proceed with our earlier n if it''s salvageable after capturing that thief." Arthur narrowed his eyes and asked his servant. It seemed he was still hoping to continue with his project. ========== AN: I''m not feeling well. Headache, cough, light fever, and sore throat. I sure hope it is not what I think it is.. So expect dys and erratic timings in chapter releases for a couple of days. Chapter 262 - Jason’s Background "What about my son? Is he progressing the way we wanted him to? I would still want to proceed with our earlier n if it''s salvageable after capturing that thief." Arthur narrowed his eyes and asked his servant. It seemed he was still hoping to continue with his project. The ck-clothed man cleared his throat and replied: "Well, we wanted him to focus more on his ranking journey. But it seems he is enjoying the publicity he is getting. So he is a bit busy bullying kids his age. But I''m sure that''s just a phase that will pass sooner rather thanter. Jason is a smart kid for his age, my Lord. He''ll soon see that ranking wars are nothing but a distraction for him." Arthur nodded before asking in a grim voice: "Hmm. That''s good. Don''t give too much credit to his wit, Oliver. He is indeed smart but doesn''t know when or where to use it. *Sigh. All in due time I guess. The hormones raging in his veins need to settle down to make him truly focused on his path. What about Isen''s grandson? I had heard from you that he was no less talented than my kid." Oliver pondered for a while trying toe up with words. But he reported his observations just the way he felt about them: "Ivor Osan is more of a dark horse than I thought. He is growing at a tremendous pace as a ranker. We should consider inviting him under our fold." Arthur shook his head and replied immediately: "I would want to do it. But the man behind Ivor is a wolf in sheep''s clothing. If Ivor can be influenced by me at a young age, he can surely be influenced by his grandfather as well. Don''t underestimate their rtionship despite what thed feels about his household or his dead brother. Blood is thicker than water, you know." Oliver was silent after hearing his Lord''s reply. Thetter chuckled after understanding what his silence meant: "Are you wondering why I sent my son to the city of Osan under Isen''s care? One of the reasons was the project I ran in the Osan Woods. As soon as the project was finished, I wanted the kid on standby. But it''s also because I know Isen. Even if someone approached him from the shadows, he would never even think about harming my son. Sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don''t." Oliver nodded at Arthur as he kept his head down. He gave a slight bowing gesture towards Arthur, got up, turned around, and was about to leave when he heard his lord''s cold voice from behind him: "Oliver, did any more petty attacks on Jason''s life take ce apart from the ones I know of?" Oliver resumed his previous stance and replied slowly: "No, my Lord. Um the opposing force has stopped targeting Jason for quite a while now. Rest assured, we''ll still be vignt like always in protecting him to the full extent of our abilities." Arthurughed out loud when he heard Oliver''s politically correct reply: "Hahahaha! Opposing force you say, Oliver. That''s my wife you are talking about. You know it. I know it. You can at least be honest with me when there''s nobody around. She thinks killing my talented bastard son would secure the future of the weak kids she has given me. Frankly, I want to punish her for the misadventures. But it can also serve as the reason Jason remains on his toes. That pressure, that constant state of danger has contributed to his progress so far. I don''t want him to getid-back and lose focus anytime soon in his early years as a ranker." As always, Oliver didn''t reply to thement. He waited patiently this time to get dismissed by Arthur. He didn''t want to return to his kneeling position right after he got back on his feet again. "Alright, alright. You can leave now. Make sure to tell Jason he''d need to prepare in case he needs to follow through with the project. Provide him with some resources so that he can go through another body cleansing. And tell the Illuminati to speed up their operation too. That Ranker''s Purgatory is a treasure trove. I still regret my choice to share its existence with them. Nevertheless, cultists are the best tools for this type of operation. I''ve concluded that only a real demi-human can reap real rewards from that Purgatory. But I want to see how much the Anthropes can get from that ce. And keep an eye on the Illuminati too. Although we''ve worked with them before, cultists will always be cultists. They won''t shy away from backstabbing us when the rewards from Purgatory are lucrative enough. I don''t want any mistakes this time. Clear-cut results, Oliver. Do you get it?" "I understand my Lord. We''ll make sure of that." Arthur watched Oliver take his leave in silence. He remembered about Isen after his subject was inadvertently brought up. He had sheltered his son when Artur asked if he was willing when they had met up at the royal court one day. That was the reason behind Jason staying in the city of Osan. Later, Isen discovered what Arthur was doing in the in his backyard. Instead of directly demanding a bribe to keep his mouth shut, Isen just let him know the fact that he was aware. This was another political move he had yed on him, letting him decide the bribe amount. Arthur still didn''t know if whatever he offered was enough for Isen. Or if he was angry at him for carrying out a dangerous experiment on his territory. Arthur thought for a while and then shook his head. There was no point in dwelling on the past. In Purgatory, the real reward was waiting for him to grab it. He wouldn''t let it go away, no matter what. With a million thoughts running through his head, Arthur started to leave too. He had so many things to n and do in theing days.. What he didn''t realize is that the OWB he was searching so desperately for was also going to be crazy-busy just like him. Chapter 263 - Renita’s Progress Eren was shocked. He was shocked by Renita''s progress in such a short period. He was currently battling against her. It was a mock practice suggested by the ranger at their usual spot. ''Sedated Perception!'' Eren used his go-to time-element spell when he felt he was about to get boxed in. This time the bullets weren''t his enemies. The mana arrows made of the wind element had taken their ce. ********** Renita had another style in her repertoire without discarding her original one. This was thanks to her mentor, Almera who used crossbows in her battle style. Renita had been gifted an F-Rank 4-star crossbow artefact by Almera when she thought the young ranger could use the same efficiently in her battle style. Turns out the mentor''s decision was right all along. To a non-ranger ranker, mana bullets and crossbows wouldn''t seem that different. But they were two different battle styles for rangers. The biggest difference was in the way they were used. Most bullet-oriented battle styles required rangers to manifest mana guns with their mana before they could start aiming and shooting at their targets. But the use of crossbows and arrows in battle was almost always dependent on the artefact at hand. The gun-and-bullet style was famous for barrage attacks. It also helped rangers with long-range attacks. Because they would travel faster than the arrows. But the style also came with its own set of disadvantages. First, since it required rankers to manifest the mana guns first, it would cause dy and waste of mana. Second, it was not all that useful against closebat experts if they came within striking distance. The closebat rankers'' reflexes were effective enough to predict the bullets'' trajectory, take detours, andunch countermeasures. That''s why whenever Eren got close to Renita, it would be a game-over for her. The crossbow style, by contrast, does not require mana manifested weapons. Rankers were able to shoot out arrows from them as soon as they manifested them. Those who adopted this style were able to remain highly reactive to any sudden ambush while consuming a minimal amount of mana. But since crossbows were slow to travel in the long-range, not a lot of rangers used them. A ranger''s path required them to have a bunch of long-range attacks in their arsenal. And not everybody was interested in working hard to include another battle style at the cost of extra effort and work. Most rangers rely on guns and bullets. They would let their teammates take care of their vulnerability in mid and close rangebat. And it worked out for them for the most part. But Renita had decided to do more than most rangers. She had been working on the spell and the battle style ever since Almera decided to try it a few months back. She only asked Eren to battle with her using this style when she felt confident to do so. The Renita of the previous timeline didn''t use crossbows and arrows even after she had be famous as a ranger. That''s why Eren was shocked when she first showed him her brand-new battle style. Eren had forgotten that in her eyes there was a certain closebat expert that influenced her choice of battle style. She wanted not to be helpless against him when he got closer to her. That''s why she worked extra hard to mitigate her vulnerability against closebat experts by adding a new battle style. She hadn''t said this to anyone till now. She didn''t even use it whilepleting the first Besanc mission. Because she wasn''t sure how it would work in real missions. But her first Besanc mission made her realize something. It was the fact that she could only see Eren''s back and would not follow him as an equal if she didn''t change. She had reallized that he was that dominant with or without her help, both on and off the field. ****** Eren thought the mock battle was over since he was within striking range. But he was taken aback when the ranger retrieved a crossbow from her storage and started shooting. ''Sedated Perception.'' Eren relied on his time element spell to effectively dodge the mana arrows targeting his stomach. But that didn''t surprise the ranger. She only chuckled when she saw the surprised expressions on her crush''s face. For once, she felt like bullying him the way he used to do to her. Eren tried to keep a safe distance from Renita. But he soon found out that the mana arrows were of the homing type to his utter astonishment. The five mana arrows followed his retreat. At least two of them would have hit him if he hadn''t activated Sedated Perception. ''Wow. This girl is full of surprises.'' Eren thought as he retrieved his katars from his storage. He rarely used his katars anymore for mock battles. Only Ramy could get him to use his weapons these days. But Renita had been added to that list at this point. Eren turned back and assumed a defensive stance. There was no use running from the arrows when they could just follow him around. Even if they didn''t hit him because of his speed, they would just tire him out in the long run. ''Blitz Bolt'' Eren ran his lightning element spell through his weapons and made contact with the first arrow with it. The arrow and the weapon collided. Since the arrow was made from the wind element, it didn''t take much on Eren''s part to destroy it. But the arrow''s sudden destruction, which hadpressed wind as its foundation, led to the sudden emergence of the gale. And that gale pushed Eren''s hand back. The same hand which he had used to tackle the arrow with. Eren''s hand was now up to his head while his other hand was not ready to tackle another arrow that wasing for him. The second arrow made contact with his shoulder and destroyed his protective manayer. Unfortunately, his chainmail armour hadn''t covered that region of his body. The tip of the arrow was lodged deep under his skin and drew blood. The arrow was soon destroyed because Eren''s protective manayer was actively working to do so. But the damage had been done. ''Damn it. This is more annoying than the bullets at close range.'' Eren thought as he resumed his defensive position. He knew by then that he had to use his hands instead. But this wasn''t all he was supposed to do if he wanted to win this mock battle. Otherwise, it would turn into a mockery battle for him. Eren used his left hand to tackle the arrow, only barely. By that time his right hand had assumed the position he wanted. ''Fuck this shit. Let''s get to her.'' Eren thought as he finished defending thest arrow from the barrage. He again tried closing in on the ranger despite knowing full well another barrage was going to get aimed at him. ========= AN: Thanks to Hirak_barua for cing so many Golden Tickets on VEH all at once. ;) Chapter 264 - Don’t Fear The Reaper ''Fuck this shit. Let''s get to her.'' Eren thought as he finished defending thest arrow from the barrage. He again tried closing in on the ranger despite knowing full well another barrage was going to get aimed at him. ''Blitz Steps!'' ''Sedated Perception!'' Eren cancelled his Blitz Bolt and reced it with his movement spell. He again used Sedated Perception, stacking its effect. This gave him the boost he needed to dodge all the projectiles Renita had been spraying all around her and at him. Renita knew by now that she wouldn''t always be able to keep track of Eren''s movement when he uses his movement spell to its fullest. That''s why she hadn''t rxed even when he retreated. Because she knew he could gain his ground just as quickly as he lost it. So Renita had been firing all around her. She had a crossbow in one hand. While with the other, she had manifested her usual mana gun. She didn''t care about her mana expenditure anymore. Because she had realized by now that stretching the battle was nigh impossible with Eren in her current state. Eren had to pay the price for approaching Renita even with his astonishing reflexes and speed. Renita''s anticipatory rounds weren''t all random. She had studied the butcher''s moves and targeted the spots that she knew he could approach from. ''Bzzeeeet!'' A mana bullet grazed Eren''s cheeks and sped past it, buzzing in his ears as it tore through the space. There were a few more bullets that had found their targets. Eren had concentrated on dodging all the arrowsing his way this time. So he couldn''t dodge all the bullets. He had decided to dodge the arrows despite knowing they would be following him. He had a n to make them target their caster if and when he closed in on Renita. He would use Renita as his meat shield to defend against the homing arrows. That way she''ll either have to discard those mana arrows or suffer the consequences. Eren''s n worked this time. He sessfully got close enough to strike and got behind Renita. He cancelled his stacked time element spell and his movement spell when he was a few inches away from her back. The butcher had already stored his weapons away. He grabbed Renita''s waist with one hand from behind while the other hand''s index finger caressed her right cheek. The index finger had Blitz Bolt running through it, causing a tingling sensation. Renita only saw Eren''s afterimages dancing around her for a short time. And then her waist was grabbed from behind. Before she couldprehend what had happened, her right cheek felt weird. There was something crawling on it that was extremely cold yet extremely hot. It was a familiar feeling she had felt so many times before. It was an indication for her that she had lost. The tingling sensation had distracted her for a short moment. And that moment was enough for the homing arrows to get close to her. They would soon be targeting their caster if they weren''t discarded. Renita sighed and waved her hand. The arrows were dissolved in the same air they were birthed from when they were only a few centimetres away from her. "I I lost again." Eren heard Renita''s downcast voice while she was still in the position she was at. So he let go of her cheek and lifted his hand off of her waist before standing in front of her. "You did lose, Renita. But that''s also a good thing." Renita had a nk face after she listened to Eren. Thetter tried cheering her in his broken way. This was a genuine effort instead of his usual bullshittery. But for some reason, it came out wrong. ''Erni, that''s not how you should encourage this girl. Tell her she is getting better than her previous self.'' Reen spoke in his mind after hearing her master bomb his interactions with the ranger. Eren had a hard time agreeing with Reen. Taking advice like this from someone who couldn''t even speak thenguage a few months back didn''t sit right with him. But eventually, he gave in to his pet. "Err I mean you are getting better than your previous self, Renita. Your progress is terrifying. That''s what''s most crucial right now." Renita shook her head in denial before answering: "You don''t get it, Eren. I want you to see me as your equal. Not your follower." The butcher was stumped. He didn''t want to y dumb. But he also didn''t want to reciprocate her feelings. Renita read those feelings in his eyes and continued herself: "I know you don''t see us together, Eren. Not anytime soon. Or maybe forever? I don''t know how you feel about us. But I know what I feel about us." Eren couldn''t keep quiet after hearing Renita''s statement that bordered on a confession: "Renita, why do you want to be with me? What do you see in me? I don''t think I''ll ever be a suitable partner to you or anyone else. Why do you want to torture yourself by waiting for someone that''ll never knock on your doors?" Renita didn''t answer immediately. She pondered every word Eren had said. She would be lying if she told him she wasn''t hurt by his reply. But at the same time, she was expecting this. So the ranger looked in the butcher''s eyes, ced her hand gently on his chest where his heart was before speaking up: "Eren, remember when you had told us that the pursuit of power doesn''t need a reason? It is indeed true. But the same can be said about love. The pursuit of love doesn''t need a reason either. What good is a long life obtained by higher-ranking status if we don''t have the crayons of emotions to colour it up? Shouldn''t we try to gain everything that this life has to offer? You take pride in being selfish. How can you be selfish when you let go of one of the most significant aspects of life? I don''t want to have any regrets, Eren. If I can obtain everything this life has to offer, then when my timees, I won''t fear the Reaper." ''Shouldn''t we try to gain everything that this life has to offer? Not having to fear the reaper.'' Renita''s words were repeated in Eren''s mind as he remembered memories from his previous timeline.. He also remembered the cold and callous ce he was sent to briefly after he had died. What would it be like to not be scared of that ce? Chapter 265 - Talk With The Royal Bastard ''Shouldn''t we try to gain everything that this life has to offer? Not having to fear the reaper.'' His mind reyed Renita''s words and he recalled all his memories from the previous timeline. He also remembered the cold and callous ce he was sent to briefly after he had died. What would it be like to not be scared of that ce? The butcher was agitated and irritated by Renita''s reply. It was something that was shaking his whole being from within. Her words evoked those feelings and memories of his past life that he had been trying to bury deep in his soul. Eren remembered how Sienna treated him in his past timeline. He recalled the pool of emotions he had swirling inside his head that washed away all his hopes for having real rtionships. Renita could see in Eren''s eyes that he was struggling. She thought it was because of her or something she said that hurt him. So she lifted her hand from Eren''s chest and took his hand in hers before trying to calm his mind: "Eren, I don''t know why, but it feels like you were hurt because of something I said. I I''m sorry for that. Please know that it wasn''t my intention. I didn''t want to be pushy, trust me. The reason I told you this was because I feel like you are always way ahead of all of us. I wasn''t sure if I''d ever be able to say those words to you in the future. So I said this today when I found the right moment. The shadow of death looms over every ranker''s life no matter how cautious we want to be. And as I said, I don''t have to have any regrets when my timees." The storm of emotions running amok in Eren''s head finally quieted down when Renita talked some sense into him. He had subconsciously connected Renita''s words with his previous memories. She meant to erase those memories from his mind and rece them with new ones that could take their ce. "I... Renita I.." "Eren Idril, there you are. Long time no see, man. Can we? Oh?" Eren was about to say something to Renita that even he wasn''t sure of. But fortunately or unfortunately, he was interrupted by a foreign yet not-so-foreign voice. He and Renita both looked in the direction of that voice to see Jason''s teaming their way. Jason was the one who had spoken those words. He stopped his sentence midway after seeing that this wasn''t the right time for him to intrude on the guy''s personal space. This was when he was having a moment with what seemed to be his girlfriend. But it was already toote. Jason could see it on Renita''s face that he had already ruined the moment. He might as well go ahead and talk business with Eren now that the guy was here. Otherwise, Eren had be kinda like a slippery eel every time Jason tried to get close to him. Eren saw Jason heading his way. Thetter was thest guy he wanted to see these days. But frankly, he had run out of excuses to ignore and get away from him. Especially now, when Eren wasn''t in his finest mental state. ''Damn it. This guy, he is the g bearer of bad news.'' Eren cursed himself for allowing himself to be vulnerable in his heart. The reason Eren didn''t want to meet Jason or form a close connection with him was simple. Dom Walker was the original owner of Reen in Eren''s past timeline. He made his demon beast taming official and was subsequently invited to the kingdom''s capital. His journey to stardom and bing one of Edinburgh''s most celebrated heroes was famous throughout the entire kingdom. When Dom''s name was widely known, another detail spread throughout the kingdom. Arthur Renar, the Duke of Edinburgh, had a bastard son named Jason. This bastard son had supported Dom under his banner and waster named as Arthur''s sessor. Jason''s past was revealed slowly to the masses. And his struggle from the bottom of the hierarchy to his entry into the kingdom''s elite club had been an inspiration for many, especially all the royal and non-royal bastards who aspired to have their names etched in the annals of history like him. Eren was also in the know regarding Jason''s story. He hadter found out that it was the same guy he had seen in the academy. At that time Eren was struggling to make ends meet. So he had even tried to use his association with the guy a few times to get out of some situation. But s, nobody would believe him when he told them the duke-to-be was his batchmate from LA. It was only in this life that Eren had found it odd for Jason to start his academic journey from the city of Osan. And only after he tamed Reen did he start to see why the royal bastard was doing at a backwater ce. Eren guessed that Jason had something to do with the experiments conducted on in the Osan woods. Even if he wasn''t directly rted, he must have known something about it. Jason taking Dom under his banner was a clear indication of the same. So meeting a guy like Jason and having a conversation with him wasn''t something Eren could take lightly. He had tried every possible way to ignore and get away from him. But s, he couldn''t ignore him forever. "Eren, is this the wrong time?" Jason asked while looking at his hand which was held by Renita at the time. The ranger became conscious after she followed Jason''s gaze and released her grip. ''You stupid, stupid woman. Hold my hand damn it. Hold it now when I need it the most.'' Eren wanted to say that it was indeed a terrible time for Jason to interrupt. But Renita''s sudden action finally sealed the deal. Eren sighed, internally and out in the open as well.. It was time to talk with the royal bastard. Chapter 266 - Loose Cannon Eren sighed, internally and out in the open as well. It was time to talk with the bastard. "We were just practising, Jason. What''s up?" Eren assumed his casual form soon after. If avoiding Jason was impossible, he might as well use this meeting to gain intel on him. He just needed to make sure that no detail regarding Reen or Osan Woods'' Butcher got slipped by him. "Um it''s about our talk the other day. I wonder if you have time now that you are over with your practice for the day?" Jason asked again as a formality. But it was clear from his stance that he wasn''t willing to take no for an answer. Jason was apanied by Ivor and Veronica who stood behind either side. If stares could stab, Ivor''s gaze would have poked holes all over Eren''s body many times over. The butcher guessed that the guy hadn''t forgotten about his epic defeat by his hands even now. Veronica was eyeing him too. But Eren could tell her gaze was different from Ivor. She was embarrassed to make eye contact with him because of how the fight between them had ended. "Yeah. Let''s go grab our supper while we are at it." Eren agreed and shifted the venue of their talk to one of the LA''s canteens. He told his team to continue practicing. But for some reason, Renita decided to follow him. ********* "Eren, you are from the city of Osan. Tell me what you think about Osan Woods'' Butcher?" Jason began shooting rapid-fire right off the bat. Eren was expecting a question like this. So he didn''t panic. He took his time before replying: "Frankly, I had forgotten about the wanted criminal until you mentioned him. I am too distant from the whole affair to offer an opinion. Um I suppose he should be apprehended for the crimes he hasmitted. Other than that, I don''t have any strong points to make." Eren said this and took another bite of his bread dipped in Pork Sorpotel. There had been a lot of Earth Suidae subjugation missions in the Besanc. LA would take all the necessary ingredients from the beasts'' bodies and supply the rest to its canteens. That''s why the canteens had a lot of pork-centric dishes these days. "That''s fair. But what do you think about the whole case retrospectively? Is it a cultist activity like everybody thinks it is? Or are they using the cultists as an excuse to wash their hands off the case? I''m asking this because I know that your aunt Nina was part of the investigation that was conducted by the city administration. You must have picked up a pointer or two from that investigation." Jason was having a hard time watching Eren eat like he was starving for days. But that didn''t deter him from asking his questions. The questions that he had been meaning to ask from the first time they had met. "In case you weren''t aware, Jason, I didn''t assist aunt Nina much in her investigation. And her involvement in the case was pretty brief too if you ask me. However I feel about Osan Woods'' Butcher, it will not affect what he did or will do. So why should I make an opinion in the first ce?" Eren took a short pause after he finished the loaf of bread he was eating. He quickly grabbed one from Renita''s te and looked at Jason before continuing: But it seems that you want me to go the extra mile to entertain you, hehe. Fine then. Here''s what I think. Osan Woods'' Butcher was a smart ranker. He or she got into the woods, did what they had been intending to do with surgical precision, and got away from the crime scene just as cleanly. We can debate the identity of the butcher all we want. But that won''t erase what he had done. Neither will it affect him. Do you know what I think? The butcher will be more harmful to society when their identity is revealed." ''Tooting your own horn, I see.'' Reen spoke in Eren''s mind andughed when she heard Eren speak about himself in the third person. Jason listened to Eren talk and he had to admit he was right on point. He had thought that Eren knew something about the case because of the way he had provoked Ivor into spilling beans. But the royal bastard thought maybe he had judged the guy too soon. One had to admit that Eren''s poker face was impable. It did not betray the facade he was trying to maintain. Therefore, nobody could see through him. But it seemed that it still wasn''t enough for a certain someone: "Why do you think OWB was a smart ranker, you punk? If he had been smarter, he wouldn''t have killed so many LA students in the woods. This paints a bull''s eye on his back that he can''t get rid of. You remember who was among the people he killed, right? My stupid brother. If they were half as smart as you im the butcher to be, they would have let those students go instead of leaving the trail of death behind them." ''me it on your brother, dude. He left me no choice.'' Ivor was trying to pick an argument with Eren, thinking he was opposing his opinion. But this time, Erenpletely agreed with him. "Look, Ivor, if you want a rematch, just say that out loud. We don''t need to have a personal reason to fight. I''m ready anytime as long as the amount of Merps you ce as a wager is tempting enough. Brrrrrrrrgh!" Eren finished his speech and his meal at the same time and burped carelessly. His te was the only one that had gotten empty before everyone else, whereas others had only just started eating. Eren narrowed his eyes on Jason as he asked in a patient tone that wasced with seriousness: "It''s my turn to ask questions now, Jason. You are so fixated on Osan Woods'' Butcher. Even more so than Ivor who had gotten his brother killed by him no less. How are you rted to the case? And what''s that got to do with why are you trying to talk to me today?" ================== AN: Thanks to SereneOcean for cing so many Golden Tickets on VEH all at once. Chapter 267 - Retainers "The way you are so focused on the butcher in Osan Woods. Even more so than Ivor who had gotten his brother killed by him no less. How are you rted to the case? And what''s that got to do with why are you trying to talk to me today?" Jason realized that Eren wasn''t being cordial anymore with him after Ivor''s tantrum. He looked at Ivor admonishingly before replying: "Don''t pay attention to Ivor''s rude behaviour, Eren. He has lost his elder brother in the incident. So he can''t help getting edgy whenever that topic is brought up. I hope you can understand his situation." Eren stared back at Ivor this time while replying to Jason: "Heh! I do understand. Boss your way around students who don''t have a prominent background and stay low-key around someone who has a more powerful backer than yours. That''s not considered edgy, Jason. That''s the way of life for scavenger hyenas." "That''s it. You punk, let''s have a one-on-one right now" The way Erenpared him to a hyena angered Ivor even further than he already was. He got up from his seat and pointed his finger at Eren in a provoking way. He wanted to duel with Eren right away in the ranking war. But he was soon restrained by Jason''s words: "Ivor, you might want to sit down and let others speak. Everything is not always about you. Eren, I''ll also ask you not to provoke this loose cannon. It''s not what you think. This jerk has picked a fight with a lot of people regardless of their backgrounds. Roody Orton, Sienna Slughorn, and even Ken Riverine, who is known for being one of the friendliest people have made that cut. In some way or another, Ivor has attempted to make trouble for everyone who has brought up the topic of Osan Woods'' Butcher. And frankly, I''m done covering his ass." Eren was shocked at how Ivor had behaved with the big names. He now had to admit that the guy was truly an edgelord. Of course, he didn''t say it out loud. Eren wanted to wrap up the conversation as soon as possible. So he gestured to Jason with his eyes and allowed him to continue: "Anyway. You are right. I am involved with the case of Osan Woods'' Butcher. Or to be more precise, it is rted to my father and I was dragged into it as his son. The main purpose of OWB wasn''t to kill LA students andmit other heinous crimes in the Osan Woods. It was to steal something that belonged to me and my father. The killings were only there as coteral. Why am I discussing this right now with you? I just wanted to know a little more about you before giving you a chance to be one of my retainers. You see, Eren, my background is a bit special. And that requires me to gather some allies who are talented but are not that privileged yet. Do you understand what I''m trying to tell you?" Eren pretended to be shocked after hearing Jason''s speech. He raised his eyebrows before asking to confirm: "Retainers you say! Are you rted to the" Jason nodded at Eren before interrupting him: "That''s right. But I''m not allowed to make it official yet. I don''t have the "legitimacy" backing me yet, you see. So sharing this secret with you and your friend here can also act as a form of trust between us. What I want from you is pretty simple, Eren. Would you like to serve under my banner when I obtain that legitimacy? By you, I mean you and miss Renita here as well. She is no less talented than any of us after all. I''ll make sure you are taken care of in terms of ranking resources." Eren looked at Jason carefully before finally asking: "Okay, let''s say that what you say is true. Why do you need to gather allies right now? We are on the LA grounds, Jason. You need your teammates to survive here. Not retainers. Then why are you headhunting forckeys this early in the *cough* royal *cough* game?" Jason smiled amusingly after hearing Eren''s question. He took his time before responding: "Eren, have you heard of Royal Ren?" Jason said this and let his targeted audience figure out the meaning behind it. He knew his statement would detonate like a time bomb in Eren and Renita''s heads. At least for Renita, he got it right. She was shocked when she understood why Jason was looking for retainers. Eren looked shocked too but he was expecting this. This was because, although Jason had started his academic journey in LA, he didn''t conclude it at the same academy. He had been transferred to Royal Renar sometime after Dom made his demon beast taming public. As a result, Jason of the previous timeline was also waiting for his father''s project to bepleted in Osan when Dom''s presence ruined their ns. At that point, Dom might have formed some kind of understanding with Jason''s father, as he was made to cooperate. Jason stayed in LA for the first year. He left soon and joined Royal Ren after Arthur made sure there were no loose ends with his project and regarding Dom. Jason''s legitimacy was confirmed shortly after he entered Royal Ren. Eren knew this beforehand. Therefore, he wanted to avoid talking with Jason. His identity as the Osan Woods'' Butcher was one thing. Not agreeing with Jason to follow him in Royal Ren would certainly create a rift between them that might have repercussions for him in the future. Maybe Eren could y it cool and ride the wave, gaining an easy entry into Royal Ren. it was a holy ce for all young rankers after all. The ce was less like an academy and more of a fast-track guide for rankers to advance rapidly in their rankings. But leaving LA was not something Eren was willing to do.. He did not want to lose the advantage of the past timeline he could use for a future event. Chapter 268 - Helping Hands Leaving LA was not something Eren was willing to do. Not before that event took ce. That''s why he didn''t take much time before politely refusing Jason''s offer: "The offer is indeed tempting, Jason. I can''t speak for Renita, but I''ll have to decline. We all know Royal Ren is not a nice ce formoners like me. Maybe things would work out for you and our friend Ivor here. I can now see why he sticks close to you. You are his ticket to enter the ce he couldn''t go because of his brother''s death." Eren looked at Ivor and said this in a in voice. He remembered Ivor''s long-winded speech about how he was unable to go to Royal Ren because of Isaac''s death. With Jason''s support, Eren didn''t think the guy would have to worry about excessive non-disclosure contracts. His session to Isen''s position also won''t be hampered. Ivor wanted to rebuke Eren but he couldn''t. This was exactly why he was mindful around Jason. "I''ll always *cough... I mean I''ll also stay with Eren." Renita declined Jason''s offer as well. Jason raised his eyebrows after hearing Renita''s reply and asked them both onest time: "Do you guys know what you are denying? Eren, LA is indeed good for closebat experts. But Royal Ren has top-of-the-line closebat experts serving as assistant professors and professors. Renita, you''ll be losing the most out of denying this offer. LA is just not suitable for a capable ranger like you. No matter how much you strive for greatness, your growth will always be stunted here. Are you sure you don''t want to change your opinion?" Eren and Renita looked at each other after Jason finished. Eren could see in Renita''s eyes that she wanted to take Jason up on his offer. But not at the cost of getting separated from him. He nodded at her and then looked at the royal bastard before replying: "We are positive, Jason. Thanks for asking though." Jason had a stoic expression after he heard Eren''s reply. He wanted to get the closebat expert under his banner who was calm and collected, unlike a certain someone from his team. But since he had received a clear-cut no, it was about time he moved to recruit a few more trusted retainers of his age before his time in LA was up. "You''ll regret this, punk." Ivor couldn''t help giving Eren a threat before leaving. Only time could tell if it was empty or not. But for now, Eren didn''t feel like engaging with him or Jason. Veronica was silent the whole time. She was trying to steal a nce at Eren during the whole time of conversation. But Renita would catch her doing so and narrow her eyes looking at her. The ranger''s vignce made the youngdy self-conscious, preventing her from observing Eren up close. ************ There were two groups of rankers meeting inside an abandoned castle ruin. One group was made of two people who had worn eye-catching masks to cover their identities. The other was made of a young elf and three captives. "These are the people you want. Do what you want with them. I believe the deal we had with each other is concluded with this delivery, right?" Arizihana asked the man in the mask while folding her arms under her bosoms. Renar and the two young anthropes that were caught and enved with him were standing behind her. Their mouths and eyes were sealed with runic inscriptions. Plus, their hands and legs had been chained. "Hm. You did a good job, miss Arizihana. Nobody is looking for them right?" The broad-shouldered man asked to confirm. Ari nodded before responding: "That''s right. I did what you asked me to do. Lent them from the city administration under a made-up Beast Bloods case and dered them dead on paper soon after. There''s no heat in taking them." The masked man seemed pleased: "Haha. Good. Then I believe our business is done here, miss Arizihana." Ari felt a little relieved when she heard the reply from the masked man. She was also smiling internally thinking she had yed him. ''You''ll soon regret ckmailing me, you masked bastard.'' Ari had just thought this when she heard the masked man''s deep voice: "I hope you don''t try to pull a fast one on me with this deal, miss Arizihana. Otherwise, I won''t be responsible for the fallout." ''Did this guy just read my mind?'' Ari thought andbelled it as a coincidence before replying coldly: "I hope you also don''t try to do anything ''mischievous'' for your own sake. I''ll be going if there''s nothing else." Arizihana soon left the ruined castle building. Ronny AKA Eren waited for some more time before asking his pet about something: "Reen, are they clean?" Reen spread her mana sense and covered Renar and the other two young anthropes, affecting their psyches. The three captives were scared shitless when they felt the mana sense that was scanning them. But they couldn''t run nor call for help. All they could do was to stay still and wait for the nightmare to get over. "Apart from the weird smell they now carry, nothing else that sticks out like a sore thumb." Reen shared her findings with her master. Eren scratched his chin when he realized what was done to the captives: ''Weird smell, huh? Since Marie was a former apprentice of Levine, I can imagine her concocting a potion that can help Arizihana track Renar and the rest when she wants to. And this after I had told that cute elf to not try anything funny with me. I was half-expecting this anyway.'' Eren thought and shook his head. He was going to let Arizihana go without making her connections to the cultists known to anyone. There was no benefit to be had making her a wanted criminal in Edinburgh after all. ''How should we get rid of the smell, Erni? Should we consult Levine discreetly?'' Reen asked in the butcher''s head. She had fused with Eren once again after Ari had left. To which he smiled cunningly before making his intentions known to her: ''Why should we? Let her track us. Hehe.. We were short on the number of helping hands anyway.'' Chapter 269 - I Desire This Power Eren released Renar and the rest. Then introduced him to them as Ronny; a fellow anthrope who wanted their participation in exploring a ce meant for rankers like them. Renar could feel it in the butcher''s address that the possibility of their participation wasn''t up for the debate. The guy whose three limbs Eren had chopped off in his fight with him now had three different limbs attached in their ce. They were limbs taken from other dead rankers of the same rank. The surgeon had done a good job patching the guy up. But he couldn''t do anything about the different skin tones and textures he now carried on his doctored body. "Introduce yourself." Ronny asked Renar and the rest in amanding voice. The captives couldn''t see the C-Rank entity that had scanned them but they were wary of its existence. They couldn''t underestimate Ronny either because of the fierce aura surrounding him. "Name''s Renar, sir Ronny. I''m d someone from the Beast Bloods came to save us. Our surrender to the city of Silvermoon" Ronny raised his hand and told the guy to stop with the act. "I''m indeed an anthrope like you. And I was once part of Beast Bloods too. But not anymore. So you don''t need to exin yourself about how and why you were caught." Renar realized then realized that there were no Beast Bloods higher behind this guy. And the exploration he was going to be part of wasn''t nned by his previous organization. "Al.. alright. I''ll keep things concise then. I''m Renar. Boys, out with your names too." The young anthrope who had previously gotten beaten up by Ken introduced himself as Viper. And the guy whose limbs Eren had hacked introduced himself as Br. "Renar, Viper, and Br. Good to meet you. Before I let you understand your assignments, I want to see how well you can fight and use your anthrope powers. Renar, you are up first. We''ll fight without using any spells." Eren wanted to see how effective his new pawns were going to be. He wanted to gauge their strengths so he could make effective use of them. Plus, he had never fought using his E-Rank strengthening before. Anthropes had ess to the same type of spells other rankers had. But they were blessed with rtively higher body stats. The anthropes who could implement the high body stat values into their battle styles and turn that into their strengths would have the edge over normal rankers. Eren asked Renar to fight without using any spell because he couldn''t use any E-Rank spell. Only his body was strengthened to the E-Rank by Reen''s fusion after all. He couldn''t use the E-Rank spells on the borrowed body boosts. Renar nodded his head and manifested his anthrope transformation. His transformation was based on a crocodile-type mana beast. As a result of which the transformation turned his skin dark green before loads of scuts were formed on its surface. These scuts enforced the skin and made it more resilient. These scuts were the reason Almera''s wind arrows couldn''t take care of Renar previously. Eren used therianthropic transformation mimicry as well while Reen had strengthened his body into E-Rank. Since they were going to fight without any spells, Eren could focus on testing his and the genuine anthrope body''s limits. "Don''t hold back." Eren shouted before bolting towards Renar. Thetter had also understood that Eren meant business and no half-assed performance was going to impress him. Eren AKA Ronny and Renar got within striking range of each other. The former made a chopping action aiming for the target''s neck, which was blocked by thetter just as swiftly. Renarunched his counter by trying tond a blow to Eren''s stomach with his right knee. Even without the time-element spell, Eren''s perception in closebat range had gotten pretty sharp. He saw Renar''s right knee heading for his stomach. Instead of blocking it or stepping aside, he used his left foot to step on it, using it as a springboard to jump over his target. Zwhoom! Eren became airborne when he sessfully pulled that move. But the fight had just started. He united his right hand''s fingers into a fist and swung it forward as he was being dragged down by gravity. His fist was aiming at the guy''s cranium. Renar saw that Eren had almost disappeared on him when he tried low-blowing him with his knee. Before he could register what had happened, his mana sense told him the attack was going toe from above. Renar braced his arms in X formation up above his head without looking up. The timing was impable as the punchnded right in the middle of the X formation as soon as it was made. Eren''s E-Rank strengthening wasn''t all for the show. It packed a punch as it cracked the ground on which Renar was standing. Five feet wide and two feet deep crater was formed with Renar standing in the middle of it. But Renar himself was not injured at all. The crocodile scuts had absorbed most of the impact, enabling the genuine anthrope to carry on fighting. ''That''s impressive.'' Eren thought as he praised the resilience of the anthrope''s body. For some reason, it excited him too. If a copy can produce such promising results, how effective should a genuine demi-human transformation be? ''I desire this power!'' Eren thought and subconsciously grabbed Renar''s wrist. An unfelt-before pulse of mana was generated at that time. Eren''s skin melted and spread across the guy''s hand. It created a sizzling noise as the anthrope''s skin melted. Eren''s liquified skin absorbed all that plus Renar''s blood, producing a steam-like mana residue in the process. "Aaaarrrrrgh!" Renar yelled in agony. He couldn''t understand what was happening to his arm. The guy told him there wouldn''t be any spell usage. But now he felt stupid believing in some random man. Eren was bewildered too. He couldn''t make heads or tails of what was happening to him or his unintended victim.. But in the next second, the hand that had grabbed Renar''s almost melted wrist also turned dark green and had crocodile-like scuts over it. Chapter 270 - First Innate Spell Eren was bewildered too. He couldn''t make heads or tails of what was happening to him or his unintended victim. But in the next second, the hand that had grabbed Renar''s almost melted wrist also turned dark green and had crocodile-like scuts over it. Eren couldn''t think of what to do or react next. So he activated his F-Rank Sedated Perception to buy himself some time. ''What is this? Reen, you have any idea?'' Reen pondered for a moment before replying: This seems to be the innate spell that I use to digest my food. How did you learn it?'' Eren smiled mirthlessly in his head before responding: ''Hehe. Beats me. I didn''t feel like I was casting a spell either. It was as natural and effortless as breathing.'' Reen thought of something and asked her master to confirm: ''Erni, do you think demi-humans have inherent spells of the beasts they have absorbed the bloodlines of?'' Some sort of understanding dawned on Eren after Reen made her line of thoughts known to him. ''Quite possible. So inherent spell is what you get when a spell stops being a spell. I will have to experiment with this powerter on. This is not the time to make the pawns wary of me. Reen, how can I bring things back to normal?'' Reen shared her experiences of using her inherent spell with her master. Eren used those experiences to control the spell that had just awakened. For some reason, Eren could taste some blood in his mouth which he knew wasn''t his. His head also felt heavy and the arm that had disyed the properties of crocodile skin felt sore after it returned to normal. Evidently, the inherent spell had a few side effects. Eren''s arm returned to normal. But the same could not be said about Renar''s hand. Thankfully, only a small section of the epidermis of the hand had been melted and the rest of the skin underneath it was still intact. So it wasn''t a serious injury. At most, it would look like the epidermis had been burnt off by a fire spell. Eren cast an F-Rank fireball spell before quickly discarding it. This was to cover the traces of an inherent spell he had just executed. The butcher hadn''t figured out the whole thing yet. There was no reason for him to inform his pawns of the phenomenon that had just urred. He then cancelled Sedated Perception to process the time normally. "You you lied to me. Why are you using the spell when you told me not to?" Renarined and shouted as he looked up. He looked up just when Eren had discarded the fireball spell after activating it. Eren was still in midair. He pushed against Renar''s defensive X guard and used the recoil to jump back in the air. He did this before straightening himself andnding safely on his feet a few meters away from the anthrope. He retrieved an F-Rank healing potion from his storage and threw it to Renar before replying: "Err my bad, Renar. I identally activated my spell without intending to. You can use this potion to heal your wounds." Eren said and then looked at Br and Viper who were standing at a distance from the mock battleground. He was sure he had been quick enough in covering up the incident, preventing two novices from noticing the unusual nature of the incident. In contrast, Renar was too overwhelmed by pain to notice that a strange pulse of mana originated above his head. Renar did feel weird about an E-Ranker using the F-Rank spell in a fight where he had proposed not to use any spell. He also wondered how an F-Rank spell could hurt his E-Rank body. But rankers had many ways to pull something off like this. Eren felt like he should try the same thing with Viper and Br too. But he needed them as pawns for his exploration of ranker''s purgatory. Therefore, he didn''t want them to be scared by him. So he dropped the n. Eren no longer fought with Renar. Viper and Br were only asked to show him their fighting prowess by battling each other. The two obliged. "Alright, this is enough. You guys will have to sign a binding contract with me before I make some arrangements for you. It''ll take some time before we start our exploration. So rest well while honing your battle skills in the meantime. Are there any questions?" Br raised his hands and asked without any fear: "You are from the Beast Bloods? Howe we never heard anything about you while we were in the organization? Were you active in another region? And why us?" Eren in Ronny''s avatar just shrugged his shoulders before saying: "I was indeed active in a different part of Edinburgh and didn''t hear about you guys either until only recently. It is bothersome to locate the disbanded Beast Bloods members so I just freed you guys whose location was now public knowledge." Br tried asking some more questions. But Eren just released his mana sense and spread it across the region after getting irritated by the young anthrope''s persistent attitude. Renar, Viper, and Br at the time subconsciously felt like they were being suppressed by a higher form of existence than them. They stopped asking questions as a result. Eren had already arranged an anonymous ce for the three anthropes to spend a few days at. He was going to call them to action only at the time of purgatory exploration. He gave some more instructions to the anthrope before allowing them to depart from the ce. "Erni, what are you nning to do with them exactly?" Reen assumed the form of Selena sometime after she and his master were alone at the ruined castle and asked. Thetter looked at the orange-red sky coloured by the setting sun and replied slowly: "I am not sure. At first, I wanted to use them as disposable pawns in purgatory. But now I feel like I should use them to carry out some experiments. Let''s see what happens in purgatory. I''ll try to keep them alive if I can help it. We are running short on time because of the multitude of pies I''ve dipped my fingers in. *Sigh. We''ll have to focus on my shop and get it running before I enter ranker''s purgatory." Eren concluded and started to walk away from his previous position. Reen followed after him. He needed to get his affairs in order before he could experiment with his newly obtained inherent spell. The inherent spell wasn''t the only thing he had gained today. He looked at his normal body stats on the spectral screen after he had returned to normal. The butcher had a smile on his face when he saw the progress that had happened over just a few minutes: Chapter 271 - Psychological Changes The butcher had a smile on his face when he saw his progress that had happened over just a few minutes: ******* Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organization- Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy Academic Status- ss 1/C Ranked Status: Intra-ss individual- 13th ce Holder Intra-ss team-based- 4th ce Holder Inter-ss individual- 21st ce Holder Inter-ss team-based- 12th ce Holder Inter-year individual- 27th ce Holder Inter-year team-based- 33rd ce Holder Merit Points- 107,497 Base Stats: HP- 7.4 / 7.4 MP- 5.9 / 5.9 STR- 4.8 AGI- 7.9 INT- 3.8 BTP~ 30 BTP Visibility- Private ****** Ranking Technique- Five-star, lightning element, Indra''s Levin F-Rank Spells: Lightning Element, Four-star, movement type: Blitz Steps Lightning Element, Four-star, defence type: Blitz Shield Lightning Element, Four-star, attack type: Blitz Bolt Lightning Element, Four-star, Area of Effect: Blitz Storm Lightning Element, Four-star, healing type: Blitz Heal Time Element, Four-star(?), misceneous: Sedated Perception Time Element, Three-star, misceneous: Ingredient Age Expedite Time Element, Two-star, misceneous: Ingredient Age Reverse Time Element, Three-star, movement type: Stunning Speed Fire Element, Four-star, attack type: Fire Snake Fire Element, Four-star, attack type: Fireball Fire Element, Four-star, attack type: Firebreath Transcendent Spells: Non-elemental, misceneous: Beast Contract Spell (?) Non-elemental, misceneous: ??? (?) Apprenticeship: Verified Daily Training Regime: Complete Run: 5KM / 5KM Pullup: 500/500 Situp: 500/500 Pushups: 500 /500 nks: 30 minutes / 30 minutes Stretching Position 1: 5 minutes / 5 minutes Stretching Position 2: 5 minutes / 5 minutes Stretching Position 3: 5 minutes / 5 minutes ****** Eren noted that his inherent spell was listed under the transcendent spell. The ID Stone had limited functionality after all. It wasn''t designed to keep track of the kind of spells humans shouldn''t have in the first ce. A question mark was also attached to the beast contract spell since he was ustomed to casting the fake spell instead of the real deal. BTP of 30 units. Eren had reached the bottleneck of the F-Rank. That too when he wasn''t even done with the first year of his academic journey. Although it wasn''t much whenpared to other authentic geniuses, it was mind-boggling for Eren who had used the progress of his previous timeline as a frame of reference. Eren pondered over what triggered the rise in his ranking status. He could only guess that it was thebined effect of all his efforts so far, the use of his inherent spell, and mid-battle breakthrough. ********* "White Raven''s first week wasn''t very profitable. But it was also not a total disappointment either. You did good, Agatha." Eren was on the top floor of the White Raven shop where Agatha was staying. He was reviewing the progress Agatha had made over the past few days. The White Raven shop has been open for a week now. Eren had used Levine''s channels and her contacts along with the ones offered by Jack Sullivan to streamline his first-ever official business endeavour in this timeline. He had made full use of his status as Levine''s disciple to start his business. He also got an official license from the kingdom that allowed him to produce and distribute F-Rank potions. The business he did with Jack also grew along with his official one. He had already produced plenty of potion bombs and other controversial products that he couldn''t officially sell in his shop. These products found their buyers in the undergroundmunity through Jack. Agatha had been governing the whole process. She was a newbie at everything when she first started. But she quickly adapted to her role after consulting with Jack and learning the art of making more money from him. "Um thanks, boss. Are you also nning to carry out your n to open a shop in the city of Laurel?" Eren nodded before confirming what was asked to him: "That''s right. You''ll leave within a few days and personally watch over the progress there. Here''s some dough for the same." Eren retrieved another load of Extols and gave it to Agatha along with a hefty amount of Eddies. Thetter had stopped being surprised by the butcher''s wealth long ago. What she didn''t know was the fact that Eren''s reserves had almost dried up after sending this instalment her way. She quickly stored the money in her ID stone before asking something she had been meaning to do for so long now: "Boss, you are not an anthrope, are you?" Eren raised his eyebrows after hearing the question. He pondered for a few moments before answering: "You can say that. Let''s just say it''s a different branch of being an anthrope. Why did you ask that though? Do you notice any difference?" Agatha looked keenly at Eren. Then she closed her eyes and let her mana sense scan her master. She opened her eyes only after confirming what was on her mind: My status as an anthrope and my opportunity to closely observe you over these past days have made me realize something significant. Even though it doesn''t seem as though much has changed in you except for the upward trend in your rankings, I can sense that you are bing unique. Boss, I think you need to start looking over your shoulders. You are ying it cool now. And everything seems under your control. But troubles cane knocking on your doors if you grab any more attention than you already have." Eren was surprised. Not because of the content of Agatha''s warning. But over the fact that she was concerned about her master. Maybe she cared about him because she had her stakes in the equation. But that didn''t make her care any less caring: "Hmm. Don''t worry. I''m waiting for a breakthrough into E-Rank. When that happens, I''ll take up on-field assignments from LA and start staying away from all the prying eyes." Eren said this and got closer to Agatha on a whim. He ced both his hands on either side of her waist, brought his mouth closer to her left ear, and whispered his words: "Thanks for caring about me." Eren said slowly before kissing the young anthrope on her left cheek. Thetter was frozen the whole time. She didn''t know what to do or how to act in the situation. Agatha wasn''t expecting the sudden turn of events. And in Eren''s defence, neither did he. He merely felt that he should get closer to Agatha and acted on it. ''Some change has urred within me. And it is not only physical but psychological as well.'' Eren quickly linked up his sudden behaviour with his non-human status. He had first thought that the change was only limited to his progressions in ranking status and enhanced body stat values. But it turned out that it had also changed some wires in his brain. ''Hmph! So what? I''ll embrace the change if it can give me the power I need.'' Eren didn''t shy away from adapting to the changes. He had suffered too much being weak in his previous life to care about such things. If having more power alters his psyche a bit, so be it. Thinking this, Eren cupped Agatha''s face with his hands and nted a kiss on her luscious lips. Agatha opened her eyes wide in surprise when that happened. She first tried to gently push her master away. But that didn''t work out as the kiss progressed into Eren inserting his tongue into her mouth. ''I think this should be enough. It''s one thing to embrace the changes, but quite another to allow those changes to control you.'' Eren ended his kiss after thinking about it. He withdrew from his position and allowed Agatha to catch her breath. He smiled and shook his head when he saw the girl was still in a zone of her own. "I''ll be going ahead, Agatha. Keep in touch." Eren said this and left the White Raven shop. His previous timeline''s experiences had tempered Eren''s mind sufficiently enough not to get swept over by the changes brought out by his non-human status. It held true for now at least. Chapter 272 - Purgatory Exploration Begins The day of purgatory exploration. A woman was standing near a huge boulder that was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by dense vegetation. She was wearing a hunter''s outfit that was only a bit effective in undermining her hourss figure. She had been waiting for someone at the ce for quite a while now. And that someone had just decided to show up, long after dawn had arrived. "You like to make me wait, don''t you?" Jules greeted Ronny with a mild frown on her face. Thetter smiled at her, got closer, and kissed her on her cheek before responding: "I was busy getting some help, Jules. I hope you don''t mind." Ronny diverted Julie''s attention to the three rankers following him. One of them was in E-Rank while the other two were novice rankers. They were Renar, Viper, and Br. "Hm? You didn''t tell me" "Before you say anything, let me say that they are anthropes and emunicated from the Beast Bloods." Ronny made Jules aware of his followers'' identities before she could register herints. His diversion worked because Julie stopped her speech. It was in her interest that more ex-members of Beast Bloods joined this exploration. "Well, they''ll have to sign the binding contracts. We can''t just take random people in, you know." Ronny shook his head before saying: "No need, Jules. I''ve already done that. They are bound to me. And since I''m bound to the Illuminati, the same restrictions apply to them as well. Here, check them yourself." Ronny showed Julie the binding contracts he had Renar and the rest signed for him. The illusionist was content when she looked at the binding rules. "Alright, Ronny. Everything seems to be in order. Let''s head out then." Julie led Ronny and his group to a saltke not far away from the boulder. She stopped in her tracks and gave herpanions some instructions: "Listen up, boys. The site I''m about to show you is extremely sensitive. So be on your toes after you get there. Leave your attitude and arrogance out in the open here. Because there will be higher ranked individuals there. I don''t know about you, but I value my life. And people who show a bit of prudence when they are in the presence of high-ranked entities tend to live longer." "Where are we going exactly, miss?" Renar spoke after surveying his surroundings. He couldn''t see any route that would indicate there was going to be a sudden change of venue. Julie pointed her finger at the small saltke that was beside her where she was standing before dering further: "We have to dive into thiske. Follow me and you''ll find out." Jules said this and coated her entire body in her manayer before diving into theke. Renar looked at his group''s leader who just shrugged his shoulders and did the same thing Julie did before diving right in: The group swam to the bottle on theke and travelled through an underwater passage beforeing out of the water from the other end of it. Theke''s bottom was dark, chilly, and gloomy. But the passage opened up to a huge underground cavern above the water level that had numerous yooperlite stones studded over its walls. The yooperlite stones exuded enough luminance to offer clear visibility in the underground cavern. The group followed Jules as she started walking deeper into the cavern. There were some security precautions in ce in the form of array traps and the like. But Jules took care of them without triggering them with the token given to her. The token had pyramid insignia etched over it, indicating the security measures were put in ce by the Illuminati. ***************** They traversed deep inside the underground cavern after many twists and turns. They soon reached an open space that was almost 100 meters wide and twice as long. There was an insanely cryptic array drawn on the ground. And someone was waiting for them right outside the array. "Lady Zee, I''m here to report along with Ronny." Julie greeted what looked to be a feisty and mature woman in her 40s who had a scar on her left cheek. It was Lady Zee who had previously contacted Jules about Ronny. Lady didn''t reply with words but narrowed her eyes on Ronny and the anthropes following him. Jules exined things to her and introduced her to the group: "Ronny, this is Lady Zee. She''ll be in charge of our group in the purgatory exploration." Lady Zee smiled mischievously at Ronny before replying: "Young man, you sure impressed me with your let''s say "endurance" the other day. Too bad there was nobody who could handle your vigour for more than a few sessions. Hehe! You let me know if you want to get cosy with someone who can." ''This old-ass bitch is openly hitting on my man.'' It took a while for Jules to understand whatdy Zee was talking about. She couldn''t help but get a bit angry at her as a result. She looked at Ronny who had confusion written all over his face and breathed a sigh of relief. "Don''t think too much, Ronny. Lady Zee likes to joke around sometimes. Lady Zee, what do we need to do right now?" Lady Zee could feel that Julie''s mood had turned a bit foul because of her teasing. But that didn''t discourage her from eyeing Ronny one more time like he was some tempting side dish she needed to test. But the Adept ranker in her soon regained theposure she needed to guide her team. She addressed the same in a serious tone: "Guys, we are going to enter an unknown ranker''s purgatory. The others have already gone ahead and are waiting for us there. The spatial entrance is a tad unstable. So make sure you stick close to each other and brace yourself for the spatial turbulence." Lady Zee warned Ronny and his team before they stepped into the purgatory. Chapter 273 - Known Faces "Guys, we are going to enter an unknown ranker''s purgatory. The others have already gone ahead and are waiting for us there. The spatial entrance is a tad unstable. So make sure you stick close to each other and brace yourself for the spatial turbulence." Ladypleted her speech and retrieved loads of Extols before throwing them towards a few distinct sections of the array. She then closed her eyes, spread her mana sense, and concentrated. The cryptic array was lit up as it got activated, tearing the spatial fabric right above its array eye. The spatial tear soon grew in size until it was around 10 meters in radius. The entrance to the ranker''s purgatory had been opened in front of Ronny and his group''s eyes. "Let''s go." Lady Zee walked toward the spatial tear and then disappeared into it. Others were left to follow her lead. As soon as Ronny entered the spatial tear, he felt like his body was getting stretched in all directions. But that feeling onlysted a moment. In the next moment though he felt like he had found himself under the same boulder that Jules was standing beside on the surface. Ronny soon saw a change of scenery as he found himself right in the middle of snowynd. Cold seeped into his skin as it made its way towards the bones. Ronny quickly strengthened the protective manayer surrounding him while retrieving winter gear from his storage. In hindsight, Ronny AKA Eren had it pretty easy travelling through the spatial tear. Because he saw Renar and the two novices lying t on the snowy ground as soon as they made it through. Jules also didn''t have it easy. She felt like puking but willed herself to stand up straight after lightly pping herself. It took them a while to get used to their new environment. Only Lady Zee was unaffected by anything, thanks to her D-Rank status. Jules had already warned them about the environment. So they all retrieved the winter gear after stabilizing themselves. Eren tried to see what was in front of him. But all he could see was some spruce in the distance that had been covered by the seemingly never-ending snow. He could also see four tower-like shadows in four directions from where he was standing. But it wasn''t clear to him what those were. He tried asking Lady Zee about it but she beat him to it: "Everything will be clear once we meet the others. Follow me." Lady Zee chose a particr direction after confirming her position. She led the team to a gathering of rankers that had taken ce at a distance. Ronny could see a medium-sized group of people gathered around a particrlyrge spruce tree. A man in his 30s wearing a hunter''s outfit was standing on a stone tform that allowed him to have an elevated view from the rankers gathering around him. He imbued mana in his voice and spoke up as soon as he saw Lady Zee''s group joining the gathering of rankers. "With Lady Zee''s group finally joining us, our exploration team for the purgatory this time is nowplete. I know most of you are ex-members of the Beast Bloods we have chosen for this exploration. There''s a reason for this which you''lle to knowter on. The Illuminati doesn''t mind keeping any resource you''ve gained in purgatory through your efforts. We only ask that you let your findings be known to us and share the resource with us if and when it is too big for one person to keep it. I''m sure you must have read your binding contracts so this is just a fair warning. Don''t try to deceive us and we won''t have to take extreme measures. Simple as that. Any questions before I proceed with the n?" A young voice raised its question as soon as the man on the tform finished speaking: "Can we travel solo to explore the purgatory?" Eren in Ronny''s avatar recognized that voice as he looked in its direction. He saw some familiar figures as he located the source of that voice. The voice belonged to Ivor. He was also apanied by Jason and Veronica. But those were not the only people Ronny could recognize. Jaime''s party was also standing beside the group of students. Ronny covered his surprise by looking down when he saw Jaime, Linda, Ronald, and Verna were among the members of the exploration team. It made one thing clear to him when he remembered the first time he had seen them in the Osan Woods: ''The man behind them is connected to the Illuminati.'' Eren quickly thought of one person who could make use of his connections with the cultists this way while staying low-key. Jason''s father. Only he had the pull it needed to arrange something like this. ''But what are these guys doing here?'' Eren thought to himself as he straightened his back and assumed his stoic face once again. He heard the man on the tform responding to Ivor''s query after some time: "Being youthful sure is fun. Hehe. Brat, if you think you can travel solo in a purgatory world, be my guest. I won''t stop you. There are some encounters in the purgatory which are only beneficial for solo exploration after all. But don''te crying to us when you are frightened by the horrors of this ce that await you after you begin your exploration. This might be the first exploration of this kind in your life. So let me warn you. Don''t underestimate this ce. The Illuminati have lost quite a few members in this ce who were considered exceptional before their death. All your achievements are of no use to you when you are dead." Others might think Ivor spoke out of arrogance. But the man on the raised tform thought otherwise. He had meant it when he said he would allow him to explore purgatory alone. That was because there were tests in purgatory intended to be taken by individual rankers. They just contained more risks. ============ AN: Thanks Jeffrey_Hatter for the inspiration capsule and Hirak_Barua for the massage chair. VEH will have another privilege tier update for February. We have increased the number of chapters per tier while keeping the price range almost the same for the first four tiers. The highest tier will have another 8 chapters, justifying the increase in price. Hope more people will opt for highest tier this month to support the book. I am still not feeling that well. My stockpile was burnt due to the unannounced sickness. So I might take a day or two to build thest tier. But it won''t be likest time where readers had to wait for six days. Thanks to all the contributors who have ced their GTs and PSs on VEH. We have achieved the milestone of 5K chapter unlocks this month in the win-win segment.. Therefore, we will have seven chapters (5 bonus + 2 regr) mass release about a week from now. Chapter 274 - Underground Dungeon "What is this ce?" Ronny couldn''t help blurt out his surprise when he saw one of the four distant towers up close. The exploration team had been split into five groups after the man on the stone tform finished his speech. ording to him, this separate dimension had four towers located in four different directions. There was also an underground dungeon right in the middle, allowing for a team-based entry. The four towers were intended to test an individual''s ranking power. The southern tower was meant for F-Rank Novices, the west tower was meant for Aces, the east tower was meant for Adepts, and the north tower was meant for C-Rank Experts. The underground dungeon, just like the four towers, was supposed to have 7 floors, arranged in descending order. The difficulty will increase as you proceed further from floor zero. The underground dungeon had a veryrge cave-like entrance. The cave was almost 500 meters wide and the ceiling stood at least half that length from the ground. Ronny and his team were brought in first to try their luck in a group battle, whereas the high-ranked entities and rankers like Ivor who wanted toplete the individual tests headed to the towers depending on their ranking. "This is what we call floor zero, Ronny. Here''s where we''ll qualify to enter the dungeon. Just follow Lady Zee''s lead." Jules provided a brief exnation to Ronny when she heard her question. She was walking beside him whereas Renar, Viper, and Br were following him. Lady Zee was walking in the front, leading their squad. There were a bunch of squads like them in the group, led by Adept ranker each. Soon the entire dungeon exploration group found itself standing in the middle of arge array. The array lit up as soon as thest person in the group stepped into it. "Just rx and let the array scan and rate you. I''ll tell you what this is about in a minute." Lady Zee addressed her squad as soon as the array lit up. Ronny followed her advice and stood still. He felt that an artificial mana sense was scanning him. Artificial because he didn''t feel like the mana sense belonged to a living being. He guessed that the array had a built-in mana sense embedded into it, which enabled it to scan and rate the dungeon participants. Ronny felt that the artificial mana sense seeped into his flesh and bones before heading towards his mana core, observing and confirming everyst bit of information it could gain from him. Soon after, he felt that something had been written over his right hand''s palm. 99/100 This was Ronny AKA Eren''s rating as soon as the artificial mana sense finished scanning him. He closed his palm and looked around to understand the meaning of his rating byparing it with the rest of the participants. ''The score dipped again. It''s 55/100 now, just 5 points away from the cut-off. I''m afraid this year will be myst purgatory exploration.'' Lady sighed internally as she saw her personal score. This was not her first purgatory exploration. But every time she returned, her personal rating would plummet even when she had progressed further into her ranking status. Arthur had already told the Illuminati that purgatory wouldn''t entertain repeat participants forever. The personal score of 50 was the cut off a ranker needed to proceed further in the underground dungeon as well as towers meant for individual exploration. One''s ranking status wasn''t the only criteria behind the rating. Schrs at Arthur''s disposal as well as those within the Illuminati concluded that rankers'' previous purgatory exploration attempts, their age, and constitutions were also taken into ount. This allowed for a more bnced rating. Lady Zee exined this to her squad before demanding to know about the members'' individual scores: "Alright, tell me your individual scores." So everyone obliged. Renar scored 82, Viper 85, and Br''s score was 81. Jules on the other hand only scored 71. The pathological liar in Ronny just replied he got 87 when he was asked about it. The rating had faded anyway, reced by a circle with sections inside it. So he didn''t have to hide his palm before lying. "Hm? Jules, is this not your first time exploring purgatory? Why is your score so low despite your talent?" Ronny asked Jules when he heard about her score. He could tell from the scores of Renar and the rest that Jules had been rated low. Lady Zee smiled mirthlessly before replying: "That''s why it is said that purgatory is partial towards the anthropes. When talent is the same, anthropes are rated higher than normal people on individual ratings. We have explored purgatory with anthropes before, you know. But this is certainly our first with so many of you exploring the ce at the same time." Lady Zee exined to Ronny before Jules could. The next year, she was considering undergoing the anthrope transformation to make it to the cut off and explore purgatory once more. Ronny''s eyes had a strange light in them as soon as this detail was made avable to him. He had scored 99/100 in his personal rating. Thus, he was the one most qualified to explore this dungeon out of everyone present in the purgatory exploration team. Even the high-ranked weren''t exceptions. "What happens next?" Renar asked as soon as the squad''s individual rating was dered. Lady Zee just pointed her finger at her front as a response to his question, causing everyone to turn their attention in that direction. Various small spectral doorways had been raised from the ground after the individual ratings were assigned to each participant. The spectral portals almost became solid soon after their emergence. It was time to enter the underground dungeon! ====================== AN: Thanks to the top GT contributors omfgcookies, SereneOcean, Edisong, and the rest for cing their GTs on VEH.. A good start at the beginning of the month matters a lot. ;) Chapter 275 - Bigger The Risks Better The Rewards Various small spectral doorways had been raised from the ground after the individual ratings were assigned. The spectral portals almost became solid soon after their emergence. "The doorways allow for teams to enter the dungeon together. The teams would be taken to the first floor. Even though I say the first floor, every team will be assigned a separate dimension to battle. And the teams will remain separated from each other throughout their progress further into the dungeon. We can choose any doorway. They won''t matter no matter how near or far they are from the squads. Nor would the number of members in the squad affect the difficulty level of the test it receives. What counts is the average score of the squad that enters the dungeon." Ronny raised his eyebrows when he heard the exnation. He couldn''t help but ask Lady Zee about the question that had just been popped into his head: "Lady Zee, you mean to say the high scores and the low scores would get evened out in a group battle? How would that affect the rewards considering the average score of the squad would influence the difficulty level it has to face?" Lady Zee pped her hands in appreciation when she heard Ronny''s question. She responded quickly after: "Not just the brawn but the brain as well. Colour me impressed, boy. That''s right. Since the average score of the squad affects the difficulty level, it also affects the kind of rewards we get. But don''t think too much about it. What we are doing now is ying it safe, having the advantages of both worlds. The difficulty level increases exponentially as the squad approaches a higher average score. So having a bnced average score is not a terrible thing. The Illuminati had squad wipeouts in the dungeon when it had decided to group all the high-scorers." Understanding dawned on Ronny and his team when they heard Lady Zee''s exnation. They also understood that dungeon participation was the safest form of exploration in the purgatory if the average score was bnced out. Because the tower exploration would only consider individual scores for the level of difficulty offered to the ranker. "Bigger the risks, better the rewards." Ronny eximed after the wheels in his head started churning and he realized what the scene entailed. Lady Zee nodded before responding: "That''s right. That''s why most of the first-time participants were brought here first for group participation before trying their luck in the towers of their ranking status. Here, the idiots will be humbled and the geniuses will be made aware of the dangers they''d have to face if and when they decided to go solo. That''s it for the exnation. Let''s proceed to the first floor of the dungeon. You''lle to know the difficulty level of this unnamed purgatory eventually." Lady Zee dered before choosing a door to enter. The group followed her lead and soon disappeared into the ck void serving as its passageway. A spectral shadow appeared over the array eye when everyone entered their respective doorways. It narrowed its attention to the direction Ronny and his squad mates had chosen to before mumbling to itself: ''Someone worthy has finally arrived.'' ********************** "I''ll take care of the big guy there. You guys handle the rest as per your ranking status. Julie and Ronny, you guys take care of the two E-Rank hobgoblins. Renar, Viper, and Br stick close to each other and get rid of the five F-Rank goblins one at a time." When Lady Zee saw the squad''s opponents, she chose the most straightforward battle strategy. She was expecting a swarm of E-Rank monsters instead of facing the D-Rank Goblin Lord. But the purgatory always had a way of surprising the participants when they least expected it. So she wasn''tpletely taken aback. ''I''ll have to make some effort now.'' Lady Zee thought to herself before bolting towards the Goblin Lord. She had already made her squad aware that the monsters they were fighting with weren''t real but spectral apparitions that had minds of their own, just like the real deal. Their bodies would replicate the damage the rankers inflicted on them. And the spectral apparitions would disappear into thin air if and when enough damage is umted on them. After receiving his instructions, Ronny began heading to his battlefield. The hobgoblin soon returned the hostility it received from him and cackled before approaching him. Ronny took out a pair of daggers from his storage just when he was a few meters away from him. His mock battle with Renar had made him realize something when it took ce before the dungeon exploration. That he wascking the E-Rank spells when he was portraying himself as Ronny. So he had prioritized re-learning all the E-Rank variants of all the fire and lightning element spells he had. He had to use his underground channels with Jake and Agatha''s help as he couldn''t ask them from LA for obvious reasons. As a result, he could only get his hands on all the two-star variants. But that was enough for him to carry out his act. Incidentally, Ronny didn''t upgrade the time-element spells despite finding the two-star, E-Rank variant of the Sedated Perception. The miser in him thought that the price asked by the seller was too high for him to even consider buying something he was only going to use temporarily. It would be better for him to buy three-star variants or higher once he reaches E-Rank. ''Sedated Perception. Stunning Speed. Blitz Steps. Blitz Bolt.'' Ronny decided to start with a bang. Since he was basically an E-Ranker now with the previous experience of actually being one, he could now cast four spells at once. He still had an easy time with his mana circuits because two out of four spells he cast simultaneously were of F-Rank. Ronny became a lightning blur because of the spellbo he had decided to work with. In the next moment, he was standing behind his hobgoblin opponent.. Thetter had a bunch of illuminated cuts on his body that became visible after some time. Chapter 276 - Ronny Vs. Hobgoblins P1 Ronny became a lightning blur because of the spellbo he had decided to use. In the next moment, he was standing behind his hobgoblin opponent. Thetter had a bunch of illuminated cuts on his body that became visible after some time. "Rararararara." The hobgoblin apparition made a series of weird sounds after it was inflicted with wounds on its body. It turned back to tackle its attacker. But by then, only Ronny''s afterimage had remained there. But the hobgoblin wasn''t to be underestimated. As soon as he realized his opponent was too fast for him to handle, he released a domain attack to counter the speed. A bunch of thick, strong green vines sprouted from the ground and covered the area around the goblin. He was just about to press on when the vines obstructed his progress. They started grabbing at his feet, climbing upwards to prevent him from movingpletely. Ronny had to divert his attention to the vines that were gripping him. He cut the vines with his daggers that had Blitz Bolt running through them. But there seemed to be no end to the production of the vines. As soon as he cut one, two more would pop up. So he ended the time-element spell and concentrated on the Blitz Bolt and Blitz Steps. As Ronny was busy dealing with the vines, the hobgoblin approached him from his left side and attacked his axe. The axe''s swing was so forceful that it generated a gust of wind, letting Ronny know the iing danger just a brief moment before it happened. Ronny understood the lightning element spells wouldn''t be much effective against his opponent. So he shifted to fire-element spells. ''Fire snake. Breath of fire.'' Ronny cast two of his fire-element spells at the same time while changing his position a bit to tackle the iing attack. Aplete dodge wasn''t possible. So he chose to deflect the attack by diverting its force to the side. The stacked fire snake spell countered the vines that looked like green pythons themselves. The breath of fire was a diversion. Ronny directed that attack on the hobgoblin''s face while diverting the axe''s force to his side using both his daggers in a defensive X formation. Sparks flew when the weapons came in contact with each other. The hobgoblin couldn''t redirect the force of his weapon because his face was sted off with the burst of fire originating from Ronny''s breath. Now that the axe''s attack was diverted to the side, Ronny withdrew his right dagger from the defensive formation, spun around while swinging the hand for extra momentum, and tried lodging the weapon right below the hobgoblin''s rib cage that was an inch taller than him. But the hobgoblin seemed ready for Ronny''s surprise attack. That is because the domain attack of vines came to his rescue and wrapped his torso up, preventing him from facing a serious injury to his vital ce. ''The fuck kinda realism is this? And the most wretched kind of elemental matchup right off the bat at that.'' Ronny cursed the difficulty level of the first floor. He created a distance from his opponent using Blitz Bolt and observed his surroundings. I wanted to see how his teammates were doing since he was struggling so much. Lady Zee had retrieved a spear from her storage space and was handling her opponent pretty well. She was a ck-fire element user. With her element, she had created a trail of ck mes around her battlefield with her weapon attacks. But it didn''t look like she''d be able to wrap her battle anytime soon. Jules had incorporated ice-elemental attacks with her illusion spells. She would create ice statues of herself that created the illusion of her being everywhere at once. She also mixed illusions with her rapier attacks, trying to catch her opponent by surprise. And so far it was working. But she was still miles away from getting rid of her opponent for good. Renar, Br, and Viper had stuck together like they had been told. In response, their opponent formed a united front against them. Ronny could use them as meat shields to gain some time for a heavy counterattack against his opponent. But he couldn''t underestimate the force of the five monsters they were battling with just because they were in F-Rank. In the worst case, they coulde in between him and his opponent, wasting his counterattack opportunity. ''Damn it. It seems I''ll have to take care of this thing on my own.'' Ronny wanted to draw his go-to weapons Diceros Left and Right. But he was trying to maintain his identity. Although lightning element spells were notmon, they were not eye-catching either. Weapons like Diceros Left and Right, however, were easily identifiable. Especially when he knew the exploration team contained people from LA. Ronny gripped his daggers hard as he made his way through a series of vines heading for him. He cut through his obstructions and headed straight for his opponent once again. "Rararararara." The hobgoblin drummed his chest with both his hands before wielding his heavy weapon on his shoulder as he saw Ronny approaching him. He raised his left hand in the lightning-fire element user''s direction and another couple of branches of vines shot towards Ronny from almost all directions. ''Sedated Perception. Stunning Speed. Blitz Bolt.'' Despite the vine attack, only Ronny''s afterimage was caught as he made it past the hurdles. Just when he was a few meters away from the pumped-up hobgoblin, he executed his AoE while still maintaining his earlierbo. Ronny didn''t want to use AoEs this early in the game. Because he had guessed that the hobgoblin he was fighting right now might not be the only opponent he had to fight. But conserving his mana was also not a wise choice in his case after he saw the tenacity of the monster he was dealing with. Lightning tongues were let loose right in the middle of the vine domain as they produced a distinct chirping sound. The effect this time was much more impactful than Eren''s F-Rank spell execution as the AoE had been upped in the next rank. ''Blitz Storm.'' ================ AN: I''ve skipped on describing the goblins since most of us are aware of their appearance. We can skip the descriptions formon monsters and maintain an image catalogue on Discord and Insta to speed up the readability. Unique monsters would be excluded from this treatment.. Let me know if you want monsters in the VEH-verse described with brief descriptions anyway. Chapter 277 - Ronny Vs. Hobgoblins P2 ''Blitz Storm.'' A violent sh of lightning tore through the vines as Ronny kept on approaching his opponent. His speed had been decreased due to AoE requiring time to destroy the vines approaching him. But he had stopped running around. He ran straight in the hobgoblin''s direction with his daggers gripped tightly in his hand. "Rarara" The hobgoblin swung his heavy weapon towards Ronny as soon as he came in its range. But the tongues of lightning made contact with the weapon first and ran through it. The tingling sensation the monster must have felt was enough for him to lose the force behind his attack sharply. The hobgoblin''s entire body then came into contact with Ronny''s AoE. He dodged under the trajectory of the swung weapon and came only a few inches away from him. Ronny threw his right dagger in the air and used his now-free hand to grip the wrist of the monster that he had used to swing his weapon with. ''Blitz Bolt.'' Ronny executed his offensive spell while he was in closebat with his opponent. That direct contact allowed the E-Rank spell to inflict maximum damage to the target. As a result, the hobgoblin lost his grip on his weapon. Thud! The weapon created a thud sound as it was dropped on the ground. Ronny cast the time-element spell as soon as he realized his opponent was weaponless. ''Sedated perception. Stunning Speed.'' With the time element spell, he enhanced his perception, doing away with discarding the AoE and switching to the personal offensive. He missed wielding the punching daggers at this moment. But in the next moment, he tightened his grip around his daggers and started hacking through his opponent. "Rarararara!" The hobgoblin whined in pain as Ronny started giving him dagger wounds all over his body without any rest. With his vines, he tried to limit Ronny''s movements, but Ronny would use every tool at his disposal to inflict more wounds while avoiding the vines. So the hobgoblin gave up on restricting Ronny and concentrated on covering his body with the protection of his vines. He secured his limbs and torso with the vines and lifted his weapon again. By now, Ronny had inflicted a considerable amount of damage to the hobgoblin''s body. It was the vine armour that held the monster together. A long-drawn battle ensued, depleting Ronny''s mana reserve at a massive rate. But he persisted by making efficient use of all the tricks up his sleeve. "Rararara!" The monster finally let out his dying shrills as Ronny delivered thest blow to his head. He had plunged his daggers into both of the monster''s long ears, piercing the eardrums before twisting them hard. As a result, the brain matter was drawn out from both the ear wounds as the monster''s eyes bulged post mortem. ''Sururururu.'' The monster''s lifelike apparition disintegrated into a thousand light particles after Ronny confirmed his kill. He let out a sigh of relief when he found out he had one less opponent to worry about. "Ronny, don''t dilly dally. Help Jules up quickly." Lady Zee''s voice was heard just when Ronny thought he could continue with his breather. He sighed internally before looking in the illusionist''s direction. Julie had carried herself very well. She had inflicted enough damage on her enemy while ensuring her safety. But unlike Ronny who prioritized speed, the illusionist prioritized stability in her battle style. So she couldn''tnd a finishing blow to the monster. As a result of which, the monster would use healing spells once in a while on himself, turning some portion of Julie''s efforts into a big fat zero. "Jules, support me." Ronny announced his intentions as soon as he joined another battlefield. Thetter looked at him and couldn''t help but marvel how fast he had taken care of his opponent beforeing for her aid. Jules snapped her fingers and two more Ronny-like mirages appeared by his side. The mirages were created by the light reflection performed by the surface of clear ice sculptures. One would have to look hard and use their mana sense constantly and minutely to differentiate between the fake and real deal. The illusion also had a way to interfere with the ranker''s mana sense. Due to this dy between identifying the mirages and the real self, the attack worked as a way to confuse your opponent. Ronny understood what he should do as soon as his mirages appeared on either side of him. Jules was battling a hobgoblin with wind element spells at his disposal. He would createpressed air bombs on top of his palm before hurling them towards his opponents. Thepressed air bombs had a radius of around 20 centimetres. And they also had wind spikes all over them. The spikes would shoot like projectiles when the air bombs were made to go off under the monster''s influence. Spikes like these acted like wind bullets. The difference was in the area of impact they covered. Since the wind spikes wererger, blunter in size than the wind bullets, they would prate less but inflict more surface-level damage. Ronny couldn''t use his time-element spells if he wanted to use the mirages as decoys. They couldn''t keep up with his increased speed after all. So he decided to experiment with anotherbo. ''Blitz Shield. Blitz Bolt. Blitz Steps.'' Ayer of lightning armour appeared over Ronny''s body as he cast his defensive spell. Unlike the undefinedyer of F-Rank, the defensive spell of E-Rank had reshaped theyer into a spectral armour that fit Ronny perfectly. The mirages that ran with Ronny also had the same level of armour detail worn by them as soon as the original finished making changes. The wind-element hobgoblin saw three new rankers joining the battle. It seemed to have known that the two out of three entities that were approaching him were the mirages his earlier opponent used to confuse him. "Rararararara." The wind-element monster increased the number of air bombs he could send flying around him.. He hurled some of them at his three opponents as they levitated all around him. Chapter 278 - No Crying Over Spilt Milk "Rararararara." The wind-element monster increased the number of air bombs he could send flying around him. He hurled some of them towards his three enemies as they levitated around him. Swooossshhh. Pheweeeee. Some of the air bombs detonated around the three enemies that were approaching the monster. As a result of the detonation, the wind spikes on the bombs elerated. They shot through the air while creating a distinct whistling sound. Patooh! The wind spikesnded on the real Ronny''s body that was protected by his defensive spell and registered an impact. The spikes weren''t enough to break through his defensive spell. But they certainly obstructed his forward momentum by pushing him back and throwing him off bnce. The two mirages shared Ronny''s condition. But they would be fine as long as the real ranker kept on standing. It was thanks to them that the monster couldn''t focus on the real Ronny entirely. With his defensive spell still active, Ronny shortened the distance between him and the wind-element hobgoblin at a consistent pace. He made full use of the mirages maintained by Jules from afar and mingled with them to throw the hobgoblin into a state of confusion. ''Sedated Perception. Stunning Speed. Blitz Steps. Blitz Bolt. Blitz Shield.'' Ronny decided to go all-in for hisst attack when he found out he was at an optimal distance from his enemy. He used the mirages as a decoy. He wouldn''t hesitate to fight all out if someone came within striking distance, whether they were mirages or the real thing. Swissssssh. "Rararararara!" The hobgoblin cried in pain as he received his first personal injury from Ronny. Unlike the rapier wounds Jules made, which were quick but shallow wounds, the dagger wounds were precise and prominent. "Blitz Bolt!" Ronny shouted the name of his attack to increase its potency as he tapped onto the hobgoblin''s shoulder with his palm. The palm contact was the one he had used to run Blitz Bolt through his enemy. Then he gripped the same shoulder and used his hand as a support to lift his legs in the air. Ronny stood upside down on the hobgoblin''s shoulder with his hand exerting the body weight. He had done this to avoiding in contact with the monster''s air bombs he had detonated in his previous position. Ronny spun around using his hand as the lever and got off behind the monster. He changed his spellbo once he found himself at the desired position. ''Blitz Bolt. Blitz Storm. Fire snake. Fireball.'' An all-out offensive. Ronny cancelled his defensive spell when he found out he''d be out of the win spikes'' danger for a while. He stacked the Blitz Bolt and Fire snake multiple times for maximum impact. The stacked fire snake spell created multiple fire snakes that climbed the monster''s limbs before restricting his movements. They also created a distinct sizzling sound, as if raw meat was being cooked bying in contact with the fire. The stacked Blitz Bolt was run through Ronny''s daggers to increase their damage output. With the desired position in his favour, Ronny made full use of the spells he had cast and made quick work out of his opponent''s back. "Rarararara." The hobgoblin''s voice contained a mixed range of emotions. But pain and anger could be identified as the most prevalent among them. He spun hard while carrying two more air bombs in both his hands. But by that time, Ronny had left his previous position and created a safe distance from his opponent. "Raaaaaaaa" The monster wasn''t willing to call it quits this easily. He summoned all the air bombs around him, bolstering his defence to prevent Ronny from using the same move again. The move also decreased his firepower. But it was a trade-off he was willing to endure for a while. Snap! The monster snapped his finger and a visible white gale was wrapped around him like a shawl. Julie''s panicked voice was heard from behind before Ronny could figure out what the monster was doing: "Ronny, the monster is using the healing spell to heal himself. Hurry up and interrupt before he finishes patching himself up." ''This shitty purgatory is trying to kill us for real. And Jules, you are a moment toote to give me a heads-up. Say something like this beforehand, damn it.'' Ronny had only briefly looked at the fight between Jules and the wind-element hobgoblin. He wasn''t aware that the monster could use the healing spell so effectively. Only now did he understand why the illusionist had a hard time with this seemingly insurmountable obstacle. But there was no use crying over spilt milk. Ronny kept hisints to himself as he retrieved a random sword from his storage and threw it in the monster''s direction after charging it with the Blitz Bolt. The monster was expecting an attempt of interruption anyway. He just raised his hand and swung it like swatting a fly in the weapon''s direction. A gust of wind was created after the monster''s action, causing the weapon to travel only an inch away from his cheek. But the result was what Ronny dreaded and the monsterughed at. The hobgoblin''s serious injuries turned into minor ones, whereas the minor injuries disappearedpletely. The efforts Ronny had taken to injure the monster had been rendered in vain because of the monster''s strategic use of healing and defensive spells. "Rarararara." The hobgoblin that had just recovered from most of his injuries cried in victory and provocation when he finished his healing spell. He drummed his chest and looked at Ronny with a cunning smile on his face. ''Look at this guy, acting all smug. I wanted to preserve them forter use. But what the hell. I''ll have to show this green asshat that he is not the only one with bombs at his disposal.'' The monster''s smug reaction pissed Ronny for some reason. He retrieved from his storage what he was used to selling on the ck market these days. The terrorist was going to use potion bombs once again! Chapter 279 - Lady Zee Vs. Rock Goblin Lord The terrorist was nning to use potion bombs again. Ronny had prepared stalks of various items for this exploration. The batch of potion bombs was among them. Although he could only make the potion bombs in the F-Ranks, their sheer quantity was enough to make for the difference in ranks. Ronny returned the monster''s smug look with a smirk of his own before hurling the potion bombs in his direction. He retreated in the opposite direction as the bombs made their way forward. The monster didn''t recognize the danger level of the bunch of vials heading towards him at first. It''s only when the potions inside the vials started releasing luminescence and unstable mana pulses did he realize that his wretched opponent had implemented the same strategy as him. The wind-element hobgoblin tried to intercept the vialsing for him with air bombs of his own. But by then, the vials had covered a sufficient distance. They detonated as soon as the air bombs collided with them. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Several bombs detonated one after the other. The air bombs worked against the hobgoblin as they empowered the potion bombs'' detonation powers even further. The monster tried to cast the defensive wind-element spell around him. But the force generated by the continuous detonation plus the air bombs was so strong that it pushed the monster''s body backwards at a rapid pace. It prevented him from sessfully executing his defensive spell. "Raaaaaaaaaaaaa." The monster wailed in agony as he lost his left arm that he had used to defend against the detonation. His right leg was no more below his knee as well. The monster tried casting his healing spell again. But he soon found out that Ronny had followed him to his current position. ''You luck ends here, bitch!'' Ronny didn''t let the hobgoblin cast another healing spell. He used his daggers and targeted the monster''s open wounds. He used variousbo spells to further his advantage. "Raaaaaaaaaah." Another monster soon disintegrated into a bunch of light particles. Ronny let out a long gasp and sat on the stone floor once he confirmed that his second opponent was no more. ''I''m not doing shit anytime soon.'' Ronny saw that Renar, Viper, and Br had only taken care of two out of three of their opponents during this time. But he didn''t rush to their help. He just looked at Jules who understood his message and nodded at him before heading towards the trio. With Julie''s help, the trio soon triumphs over their three opponents. Julie led them towards where Ronny was sitting before running into a hug: "You were awesome, Ronny. Are you alright? And where did you get those vile vials?" Ronny patted Julie''s back while maintaining his seated position awkwardly before responding: "I''m alright, Jules. I''ll tell you about the vialster. Let''s focus on Lady Zee''s battle first." Ronny made Jules realize that there was still someone among them who was still fighting. She let go of Ronny, sat beside him, and focused her gaze in Lady Zee''s direction. A mini pond of ck mes had been created around Lady Zee''s battlefield. She didn''t look exhausted but her face told the spectators that she wasn''tpletely at ease either. Lady Zee''s opponent was a Goblin Lord, a monster of the same rank as her. He was a rock element user. That''s how he was able to defend himself against Lady Zee''s persistent elemental attacks. He would raise rock walls around himself whenever Lady Zee would try to enter closebat with him. In the dungeon, the monster adopted a dungeon-style battle style, trying to attack Lady Zee from the blindside. Lady Zee''s ck mes were destructive in nature. Instead of burning, the ck mes would make the things they incinerate implode from within. With her ck mes, she had imploded many of the walls raised by the monster. The debris of those walls would again explode into a million pieces as Lady Zee continued to pour more ck mes. "Burn and st off for me, you rock bastard!" Lady Zee finally had it. She pped her hand and cast her AoE. This created a parabolic domain of ck mes around herself that expanded and covered the opponent she was battling with it as well. When the ck mes engulfed the monster, he could do nothing but hide behind his walls. He understood creating the walls around himself would be futile so he summoned the rocks around himself and created a dome-type shell around himself. "Rararararaaaaaa" The monster cried from within the shell. Although he had secured himself from falling into the sea of ck mes with his defensive spell, some of the ck mes had alreadynded on his body. They made the monster''s limbs implode, rupturing the skin they were incinerating. Just when he thought the nightmare was over, the monster sensed that someone was trying to break his defensive spell. Lady Zee had climbed over the 9 feet shell. She was using her ranked artefact inbination with her destructive ck mes to create a hole inside the shell while her domain was active. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Lady Zee shouted as she plunged her spear coated in dense ck mes over the shell. Over the shell, spiderweb-like cracks appeared. The ck mes used the cracks to seep into them. Boooooooom! Just as Lady Zee jumped upwards, the ck mes worked their magic. They made her cracked shell implode, creating a hole in it from which the monster''s fear-stricken face could be seen looking in his opponent''s direction. "Oh, I love baking things. Hehe" Lady Zee said out loud and raised her hand, directing the ck mes created by her AoE to enter the hole she had just created over the shell. The ck mes poured into the hole almost like they were in a liquid state. Badoooooooooooooooom! The shell was sted into nothingness as it was engulfed by the ck mes all around it. It seemed that the monster had created a burial ce for itself with the shell acting as an oven.. Especially made for the baked goods that had goblin lord as the main ingredient. Chapter 280 - Test Of Endurance "That was some battle, Lady Zee. Here, use this." Jules threw an E-Rank stamina potion towards Lady Zee as thetter joined them post her battle. She caught the vial in her hand, uncorked it, and gulped down the content before saying out loud in exasperation: "Baaah! I hate this about the underground dungeon. Tests are almost always tailored to the participants. There''s no easy victory to be had in this ce." Ronny raised his eyebrows after he heard Lady Zee''sints. He had a simr doubt when he was battling with his opponent. "So the dungeon chooses our opponents based on our element and battle style? I can understand how it can program our opponents using arrays based on our elements. I feel that it also considers our battle style before giving us our opponents. Is that right?" Lady Zee nodded at Ronny and took a deep breath. The effects of the E-Rank stamina potion weren''t that effective for her rank. But she wanted to preserve her stock of ranked potions. "That''s right, Ronny. The scanning array we had to go through also takes our mana signature into ount. The mana signature is a topic of vast study for high-ranked entities. A ranker''s mana signature tells more about themselves than they care to share or let on. At the S-Rank, I don''t think the sages would care to differentiate between the F, E, and D Ranks. Our existence is like ants to them. We obviously can''t hide our battle styles and the way we behave on the battleground from an array created by a Sage ranker. So what we have experienced and will continue to experience can only be deemed normal, even though it might seem impossible to us right now." Jules, Renar, and the rest of the novices had smiles on their faces when they heard Lady Zee''s talk. But Ronny couldn''t find humour in that statement. He had been a D-Ranker in his previous life. He understood what Lady Zee was trying to say on a deeper level. "Ronny, where did you get those explosives?" Lady Zee had kept her eye on Ronny and the rest as she was battling with her monster. Ronny''s use of explosives had caught her attention the most when she saw how he had sted off his opponent. She could make better use of those explosives in her battle style if she could get her hands on some of those products. "Hehehe! These are called potion bombs. Let me tell you a little bit about them" Ronny smiled like a business about to pitch his product to his clients. He retrieved a set of vials from his storage and started exining to his audience how the products worked. He also told the ck-market shops they could buy them from that he knew had his products now. Of course, White Raven wasn''t among those shops. This was an opportunity for him to expose his local product to a wider audience. The Illuminati could buy stuff in bulk and give him instant profits. By the time he finished, the businessman and bullshittery expert in him had convinced Jules and Lady Zee to buy his pioneering items. Renar, Viper, and especially Br had terrible memories of the potion bombs. Br had lost his limbs because of the potion bomb thrown at him by that vile creature. They understood the reason behind the product''s poprity but they just couldn''t find it in themselves to purchase something that was the indirect cause behind their downfall. "So the first floor is clear for all of us, right? Where''s the entrance to the second floor?" Renar looked around and asked the question he was intending to ask for quite a while now. He had been meaning to change the topic of the potion bomb anyway because it was making him and Br ufortable. Lady Zeeughed at him like he had cracked the silliest of jokes before replying to him: "Hehehe! Do you think this purgatory is a ce to have easy tests and easier rewards? We haven''t cleared the first floor yet." Ronny and Jules expected it to be like this even though it was their first time. But Viper and Br couldn''t help showing signs of despair on their faces when they heard Lady Zee confirm the fears they had. They had been utterly exhausted in their battle with the five F-Rank monsters. They didn''t think they could take part in any more battles anytime soon. Lady Zee observed the novices'' expressions and tried to console them with her words: "Don''t worry. We are given time to catch our breath as we have right now. Exploring the dungeons is not a sprint, but a continuous marathon. Try to rest and get refreshed before the next set of tests requires our participation." Viper and Br breathed a sigh of relief when they heard what could only be called good news in this ce. finally, they sat on the ground and tried to get into their peak form by channelling their ranking techniques. Ronny, Jules, and Lady Zee had already started recovering their stamina with their ranking techniques as well. ****** The ground on which Ronny''s squad was sitting soon lit up with a series of runes as the light particles started forming masses of beasts around them. The beast apparitions this time were all in F-Rank. But the sheer number of them made the novice rankers afraid to face them. The masses of light particles had taken the shapes of the Wolfen beast Eren had the mortal enmity with. He withdrew his weapons and focused on the beasts'' groins. "Grab your weapons and get ready. This is a party battle. We need to stick together and tackle the beast wavesing at us." Lady Zee stood straight up as soon as she saw the next battleground getting ready for them. Jules found something odd in her senior''s words and couldn''t help but ask: "Waves? Lady Zee, don''t tell me, the beasts we see right now won''t be" Chapter 281 - First Floor Rewards 01 "Waves? Lady Zee, don''t tell me, the beasts we see right now won''t be" Jules asked with a dark expression on her face. Lady Zee smiled mirthlessly before confirming what she hade to assume: "That''s right. They won''t be thest. A next wave of the beasts would be created as soon as we finish dealing with this one. The number of waves would depend upon the average rating of the squad. With our luck as of now, we can expect at least five such beast hordes to attack us before this round is over with. Don''t lose your morals now. This is a purgatory after all. Not a utopia where the participants would be given room to breathe. Hehe. You''ll see the fruits of our efforts soon enough when this round is over. You will find that all was worth it when that happens." Lady Zee tried to cheer her squad members with her words. Br and Viper couldn''t find any constion in them because they were the ones who were most at risk in this battle. The group soon engaged in a party-style battle with the beast horde. Lady Zee served as a stable foundation around which the party could build its defence. Jules stayed with her and concentrated on creating more mirages of all of her squad members. It was going to be especially effective against the beast who couldn''t differentiate between the real rankers and their mirages at all. Renar supported his juniors by staying with them. Although the D-Ranker created a barrier between the squad and the horde with her ck mes, they fought the beasts they encountered. But the most menacing presence for the beast was Ronny who had entered the horde seemingly carelessly. He weirdly hacked through the beast horde. He would destroy the beasts'' groins before killing them all. At first, Ronny''s squad members thought the guy was just being tactful by targeting the beasts'' weak spots. But after a while, they came to realize that Ronny didn''t care about his and the beasts'' battle stances. Julie had awkward expressions on her face as she battled with her portion of the horde while observing Ronny''s brutal assault on the beast. She didn''t know the guy she was intimately involved with had this kind of weird fetish. Soon the first beast wave was over with. The squad members had minor to moderate injuries. But there was nothing serious that was done to any of them. Thanks to Lady Zee''s adoptive squad-based battle strategy, even the novice rankers found it not too difficult to face their first beast wave. The members who had not explored the purgatory came to understand why Lady Zee had said the exploration was going to be a marathon rather than a sprint. The subsequent sets of beast waves were going to test everyone''s endurance. ********** "Ronny, enough with that weird-ass way of dealing with the beasts. Even I feel sorry for the beasts now. Come and give me a hand here." Jules red her nose and demanded her guy help her. She also wanted him to stop abusing and molesting animals. Ronny looked at Jules and found out that she was about to be in a pinch soon. He sighed and decided to listen to the woman. ''Breath of fire. Fire snake. Fireball. Blitz Storm.'' Ronny used the spellbo to create a domain of lightning and fire around himself before plunging into the middle of the horde near Jules. That took some pressure off of the illusionist and she returned the favour by creating more mirages of her guy. Ronny couldn''t let the opportunity pass in vain. He attacked the beasts while they were busy concentrating on his mirages. His time-element spells paired up with his E-Rank movement spell gave him the speed he needed to pull this off. "Aaaaaaaaa!" Ronny used the right dagger and pierced the eye of a beast. He used the now-no-more beast''s head as a springboard to jump on another beast''s head before piercing the beast''s head in the same manner. Then he looked around and found out that others were almost done with their beasts too. This was thest wave of beasts they had fought with, as per Lady Zee''s calction. Purgatory never ceased to surprise them by throwing another beast wave at them. Br and Viper had to drink a bunch of potions mid-battle to maintain their performance levels at that point. This time, nobody wanted to jinx their situation by proiming that the beast wave they faced just now was thest. They waited for a while patiently. Lady Zee finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the ground getting lit up with runes again. This was an indication of them clearing the first floor finally. "At ease, guys. It''s time for first-floor rewards." A rtively small array was now visible in the middle of the first-floor space the squad was into. Lady Zee told the novice rankers to enter the array individually. Br entered the array first and walked toward its centre. The array lit up with brighter lights when it sensed that the novice ranker stood in the array eye. Ronny was confused. He didn''t see any reward being given to Br even after the array was lit up. Lady Zee cleared his confusion soon after: "Personal rewards will appear in the ranker''s ID storage. There''s no need for them to appear in front of other participants as well." Ronny nodded at Lady Zee after he heard that. Only now could he understand why Br was smiling meaninglessly while standing inside the array with his eyes closed. Viper and Renar soon followed Br''s actions one by one. Ronny let Jules go next. All of them couldn''t help but show the same types of smiles when they received their rewards and found them inside their storage. It was Ronny''s turn to receive his reward. He stepped inside the array and waited patiently. Soon he realized that there was an artificial mana signature trying to override his signature over his ID stone. Soon, ether magic was used to bring a few things into his dimension. Ronny sent his mana sense inside his storage to see what rewards he had received for all the efforts he had taken so far. He zeroed in on an ancient-looking book first because it exuded a soft light. Then he wrapped his mana around the book and opened its first few pages. He caressed his chin metaphorically when he realized what he had received as one of his rewards: ''Hmm! An unknown ranking technique that I can''t fully understand yet.'' ================ AN: Thest tier for February has been built with the release of this chapter. Sorry for the dy. I have a huge headache as I write this chapter. I wrote thest few on my smartphone. The toughest part of what I believe is Omicron''s suffering is over. (Didn''t bother testing. Just took over-the-counter meds to avoidplications that would contribute to my headache more). Thanks for your patience. Likest month, I''ll make it up to you guys by releasing bonus chapters throughout this month.. (Apart from the ones that are due a week from now.) Cheers! Chapter 282 - First Floor Rewards 02 ''Hmm! An unknown ranking technique that I can''t fully understand yet.'' The book contained a ranking technique of the E-Rank. It also had a drawing of an array over its back cover. The contents of the book were in an oldnguage he knew because of his academic studies in this timeline as well as the previous one. But he would need to spend a few days deciphering the contentpletely. ''The book can wait. Let me check the other rewards.'' Ronny focused his mana sense on the scroll that had appeared in his storage as a reward. He opened it and had a pleasant surprise written all over his face when he understood what the scroll was for. ''This is awesome. Another time-element spell. Can''t wait to try out this one.'' Ronny perked up as soon as he found out the scroll contained a time-element spell he hadn''t seen before. Unlike the ranking technique, he wasn''t sure would suit him perfectly, the time-element spell was something he could use to boost his prowess while staying in the current rank. Unlike the ranking technique, he didn''t have to wait to reap the rewards of his efforts. Plus, Ronny had a much-needed shortcut in the gem. With her help, he could make use of this spell in almost no time at all. He also needed to have a long talk with what he now considered as a spirit-like existence. But Alphee was still slumbering. That talk and this spell needed to be put on hold for the time being. Therefore, Ronny let go of the time element spell and picked up another scroll that he had received as his reward. This time it was a lightning-element spell. He checked another scroll and found a fire-element spell of unknown origin and a school of spells as well. ''No wonder the Illuminati are crazy about this purgatory. If every participant could receive rewards like these, then it is worth it to invest in a big project like this. However, it is imperative to ensure it stays a secret from prying eyes. Now I know why the cultist organizations fought over this ce in my past timeline. Their anti-establishment purpose of existence can only make sense if they have something like that to rely on.'' Ronny thought and put the scrolls of spells away. He had received a spell for every element he could use. And all the three spells were something he hadn''t seen or heard of. This was a massive haul for him just by considering the rewards he has received so far. But those were not the only things he had received. ''Fuck. An E-Rank katar set. And I had used daggers the whole time. This is a breach of privacy I approve of. Hehe!'' Ronny carefully examined the new set of weapons he had been rewarded with. These were two E-Rank weapons that were made for dual-wielding. Plus, they were of E-Rank, a rank higher than what his current default weapons were made of. Ronny wasn''t sure what star status the set held. But he was hoping and expecting it to be at least three-star or above. That would save him the trouble of finding a suitable default weapon set when he breaks into the next rank, which wasn''t too far away in the future. It was difficult toe across high-ranked weapons the further you travel into your ranking journey. Thus, he could be satisfied with a three-star weapon of E-Rank. Especially when he didn''t have to pay huge Extols for it. ''What do we have here? Hmm? Isn''t this a wearable artefact set with a spell inscription? Oh, my fucking devil! The boots are E-Rank too. This is too much. How is this Sage so wealthy? Ronny rolled his eyes even when they were closed after he realized the rewards he had received just for clearing the first floor were too tempting. They were so numerous that instead of evoking the greed for more rewards, he felt like he should act like a turtle after receiving the rewards he had received so far and not proceed any further. The previous life''s pessimistic loser in him was a staunch believer of the saying ''quit while you''re ahead.'' ''What can this dungeon offer as rewards for clearing further floors? It is low-key scares me to think about the possibilities. The Illuminati can''t let go of the meat pie this easily. I should expect a betrayal.'' The cynic in him saw a warning in his mind-boggling fortune so far. But then the practical part tried to find the reason for his massive haul in the performance he had disyed so far: ''I''m thinking about this too negatively. Maybe I''m the only one who will receive such rewards. My rating could be one reason. Another reason might be because I took care of two E-Rank monsters. Although I can''t takeplete credit for killing the second monster, I was the one who hadnded the finishing blow. Plus, what I consider treasures for my rank aren''t worth much to the Sage ranker. The difference of perspective should be at y here as well. I need to control my emotions from being all over the ce just by checking the rewards I received. If the underground dungeon can offer me this much, I''ll have to try the F-Rank tower using my strength as well. Soon orter, this identity is going to get burnt. I don''t think I''ll have another chance to explore this purgatory again. I''ll have to make the most of my first and possiblyst time here.'' Ronny soon regained hisposure and opened his eyes. Only a few moments had passed in the real world. He looked at his squad members to see they were also looking at him. Soon, Ronny''s position was reced by Lady Zee. She was also put in a cheerful mood after receiving her rewards. And yet, this was not all. The array summoned a huge pile of Extols that would act as the group rewards.. The purgatory had made its participants rich in both financial and ranking terms. Chapter 283 - Ronny Vs. Apparition P1 "What will it be this time?" Renar asked after observing the surroundings around him. The squad was on the second floor of the underground dungeon. It wasn''t much different from the first one in appearance. The members were situated in the middle of an underground space that was hundreds of meters long and wide. The roof was so high that one could barely see a series of big and small stctites hanging over them. "This time we are preparing to fight humans. Well, I call them humans, but they are just apparitions based on some previous rankers, I guess. You''ll soon see what I''m talking about." She exined to the group and looked a few meters away from where they stood. As soon as she had finished exining, a mana fluctuation was felt in the surrounding. Using the array and the dungeon''s mechanism, a battle ring-like structure was formed. Soon everyone came to know what Lady Zee was talking about. Six faceless apparitions had appeared on the other side of the battle ring. They looked human apart from the almost non-existent facial features. Instead of eyes, nose, and mouth, it was just in-looking skin. Additionally, they wore generic adventurer''s gear. "Damn, these guys are spooky. What are we supposed to do now? Fight straightaway?" Jules asked while looking at the opponents that had appeared. Lady Zee shook her head in denial before responding: "This time, it won''t be a total team effort. The rules should be listed right about now." Lady Zee finished speaking. And as soon as she did, a spectral list of rules appeared right over the battle ring, allowing the squad members to understand how the second-floor test was going to unfold. As per the rules, each team would send one member to battle as an individual. The loser would be eliminated while the winner had two options. They could choose to battle another opponent or could quit after their battle was over. Either way, they can''t enter the battle ring again. A team that can exhaust other teams'' members first wins the round. The rewards will multiply by twice if the victorious teampletes the round with two of its members remaining. The reward would be tripled if the winning team had three members remaining in their team. "Hold on a minute, if we lose this round, do we take a rematch or start from the beginning?" Renar asked after reading the rules. Lady Zeeughed aloud at Renar''s doubt: "If we lose the round, we are kicked out of the dungeon then and there. There are no do-overs in this ce. Not until we wait for another year. In case you don''t know, purgatory can''t be essed all year round. It only opens for a month every year, around this time of the year. For the rest of the time, it remains sealed. And no matter what we do, we can''t get inside. Plus, we can''t stay in purgatory forever. If we are alive by the time the purgatory is going to be closed, then we''ll be thrown out of the ce using space magic, no matter how much we try to oppose it." Lady Zee said this and looked at her squad members. Her gaze made everyone realize how serious the whole situation was. The members waited quietly for Lady Zee to give her instructions: "Alright. Now that you understand the rule, we''ll decide the order in which we can send our members for the fight. We can keep things simple to gain maximum benefits. We''ll send the one with the highest rating first. That would be you, Ronny. And the member with the lowest rating would gost. That way, the member with the highest ratings would have the chance to fight multiple opponents should they choose to do so. Ronny, try to clear at least two opponents. Jules will do the same. It would be enough for Renar to just win his battle. I''m expecting the novices to lose. So your and Jules'' extra opponents should bnce things out. This way, I''lle to know how much I would have to invest to make our squad win this round. There are a few spells I''d rather not use if I can help it, you see. Ronny, enter the battle ring. Your opponent will soon follow suit." Lady Zeeid the order in which her squad would send its members for their battle. As per instructions, Ronny would be first, Jules would be second, and Renar would enter the third. The fourth and fifth ces were reserved for Viper and Br respectively. Lady Zee would enter the battle ringst. Ronny nodded at Lady Zee and walked towards the battle ring. As soon as he entered the ring, an apparition followed his lead and did the same. Only after entering the ring could Ronny sense the ranking status of the opponent he was going to battle with. His opponent, like him, was in the E-Rank. Although unlike Ronny, who was at the liquid core stage of E-Rank, the apparition was at a solid stage. "*Sigh. There are no easy pies here." Ronny shook his hands and took out his daggers. Too bad he couldn''t use any of the awesome rewards he had received for clearing the first floor. ''If clearing the first floor gives you this much wealth, I wonder what else can be obtained after someone clears the second floor. I would want to defeat at least three opponents and increase the multiplier behind the rewards on my own as well. But let''s not get ahead of ourselves and jinx this thing.'' Ronny gripped his weapon hard as he observed the spectral counter that had appeared over the battle ring counting down the start of his first battle: 3 2 1 0 Ronny and his opponent bolted towards each other as soon as the counter hit zero. Ronny executed his firstbo to wee the apparition with a bang: ''Blitz Bolt Blitz Steps Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Fire Snakes.'' This was the maximum number of spells Ronny could support by sending his mana circuits into hyperdrive.. He wanted to save his stamina in the long run as he wanted to take care of three opponents. Chapter 284 - Ronny Vs. Apparition P2 ''Blitz Bolt Blitz Steps Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Fire Snakes.'' Ronny executed his spellbo. This time, instead of the fire snakes attacking the enemy, he had cast the spell in such a way that two fire snakes tied themselves around his arms. The snakes'' heads were right above the daggers'' tips he was holding with both his hands. Ronny''s Blitz Bolt was also maintained in a way that it would wrap both his arms with tongues of lightning. The false E-Ranker was maintaining two offensive spells on himself rather than releasing them. Only Eren could do something like this with the control he had because of his past timeline''s experiences. Julie couldn''t help but get shocked by the amount of control the guy had shown by executing his offensive spells in this way. "Hmm. No wonder the guy received such a high score in his rating. Ronny is trying to take things up a notch by starting like this. Maybe he is aiming to defeat more than two opponents. Julie, you need to step up your game as well. Hehe. Of course, not in battle. I meant in bed. The guy is ambitious. He won''t stay under the same skirt for too long." Lady Zee warned her junior when she saw how Ronny wanted to pull the stopper on what cards he could y. Jules nodded her head at the former when she heard her speak and clenched her fist. In the battle ring, a substantial amount of mana fluctuation took ce when the two opponents collided with each other. Ronny had used the daggers to meet the opponent''s sword. His arms were covered in lightning and fire. nk! In a defensive move, Ronny''s daggers blocked the sword. When that happened, Ronny was pushed back a few steps. He was only stabilized when he altered the Blitz Steps and strengthened it by pumping up its mana consumption. Ronny was shocked by the apparition''s prowess and his speed. His weapon agility wasn''t something to be scoffed at either. His opponent''s sword would have grazed his torso if he hadn''t activated his time-element spells beforehand. He soon recovered from his initial shock. He couldn''t break the X formation that he had made with his dagger to block the sword and trap the opponent''s weapon with it. So he used the spells he had maintained over his arms to do their work. Ronny willed his spells and guided them with the help of his mana sense. The fire snakes that were on Ronny''s arms started crawling forward. Simr to how they were ced on Ronny''s arms, they covered the opponent. But this time, instead of just resting, the fire-snakes started burning the manayer Ronny''s opponent was coated in with the help of their high temperature. Steam of mana and water starteding from the opponent''s arms as a result of the fire-snakes doing what they had been sent out for. But the misery didn''t stop there for Ronny''s opponent. Thetter also sent out the lightning-element offensive spell he had been using to bolster his defensive stance. The damage done by lightning and fire element spells at the same time wasn''t something Ronny''s opponent could brush off with ease. This was even when he was programmed to be higher in rank than Ronny. The cloth of the opponent''s sleeves was the first to be destroyed by the lightning spell. It was torn in multiple ces all at once when Ronny''s Blitz Bolt ran through his opponent''s arms. The torn pieces of the sleeves then caught fire by the heat and fire generated by the fire-snake wrapped around the opponent''s arms. That left Ronny''s opponent with only two choices. Maintain the stalemate with Ronny as he slowly destroys his manayer and affects him with his spells. Or break the stalemate by risking a counterattack from the false E-Ranker. Ronny would have liked it if their stalemate continued. His mana consumption would have been higher, but he would have gotten rid of his opponent with his two offensive exerting maximum impact on his opponent. The apparition finally chose to face the counterattack by pulling his sword back. But it had underestimated Ronny. Because thetter was expecting this turn of events as well. ''Blitz Bolt Blitz Steps Fire snake Breath of Fire Sedated Perception'' Ronny changed his spellbo as soon as he sensed the block he had maintained with his daggers feeling less pressure than previously. He understood the apparition was pulling back to restart the y. Therefore, this was a good time to counterattack. Eren released a stream of mes from his mouth towards his retreating opponent. This spell not only inflicted more damage but also blindsided his opponent. Ronny was not sure if the apparition without eyes could be blindsided. But he guessed that since the purgatory had ced the same number of restrictions on the apparitions as if they were real-life rankers, they would mimic the effect of being blindsided if the dungeon participant executed their spells with that aim in mind. He was right. Despite his blindsided vision, the apparation swung his sword in front of him as he moved backwards to counter the enemy that was approaching him. But it wasn''t enough to stop Ronny who had enhanced perception by his side. "Where are you running off to?" Ronny demonstrated the dagger arts taught by Ma. He cut through the opponent''s natural mana defence using one of his daggers and cut the opponent''s left hand from its wrist. He caught the hand that was cut by his weapon with his right hand before throwing it at his opponent: "Here, you dropped this." The hand still maintained its original state and didn''t disintegrate into light particles. It followed the logic of a real hand getting cut by Ronny andnding on the opponent''s face. "Aaaaaaaaaaa!" Ronny shouted as he used the small opportunity he had created for himself. He charged forward and attacked the opponents'' heart by plunging one of the daggers into it. The daggers had been coated with lightning and fire that destroyed the already unstable mana defence the opponent had and allowed the dagger to get lodged into the opponent''s heart. The opponent stopped moving when that happened. He looked down to see the damage done to him. But his body had already started disintegrating into light particles when he was in the process of looking up. Like this, Ronny had taken care of his opponent in the first few moments of the fight. It surprised not only Jules and Renar, but Lady Zee was also quite impressed by the guy''s presence of mind.. In addition, she observed that he had a fierce will to dominate his opponent in such a manner. Chapter 285 - Dom’s Apparition "Ronny, be careful of your next opponents from now on. Don''t get spooked or hesitate. Battle with them like usual. Remember, the opponents are apparitions generated by the dungeon. Not real rankers." Lady Zee warned Ronny with a strange message. Thetter raised his eyebrows when he heard that. But he nodded at the D-Ranker anyway. Ronny had taken care of his first apparition before it could even showcase the kind of spells it had. And he was nning to do the same with his next opponent as well. And start conserving his mana from the third battle onwards. Ronny''s mana expenditure had almost doubled because of his fast-paced y. But he had saved on the stamina he was going to need if he wanted to fight four fights. But the apparition that was supposed to be Ronny''s next opponent started to transform as soon as it stepped into the battle ring. Everything from the apparition''s facial features, stature, build, to its generic clothes changed. They all changed to make Ronny remember the first E-Rank hunter he had fought after finding a new lease on life. ''This is Dom Walker!'' Ronny recognized the changed silhouette immediately after the changes were finished. He now understood why Lady Zee said what she said. He needed to defeat someone he knew from the past. ''Wait a minute. This means the dungeon can read my memories. The fuck. How?'' Ronny understood another thing from the detail that had unfolded in front of him. The dungeon couldn''t arrange something like this without scanning the participants'' mana signature alone. Ronny hoped the dungeons or S-Rank entities couldn''t do that just by sensing the ranker''s mana sense. Otherwise, there was no point in trying to hide anything from the Sages. Most likely, Ronny figured, it was the array mechanism of the dungeon scanning the participants'' memories. But that didn''t make things any less spooky for him than they already were. Ronny had too many things to hide. He didn''t want someone unexpected to show up. Dom was still okay because nobody in his squad had recognized him. But he would be in trouble if someone they all knew showed up like an apparition. He then shook his hand before consoling himself: There should be a variety of ways rankers can pull off the same miracle at S rank. I was only a D-Ranker in my past timeline. That restricted view is limiting my imagination, enabling me tobel things around me as possible or impossible.'' Ronny reexamined his knowledge of high-ranking entities from his previous timeline and he found it to becking. But there was nothing he could do now. Plus, there was no time to worry about who the next opponent would be. Ronny needed to take care of his current opponent first. That being said, Ronny felt that the dungeon had messed up creating an opponent like Dom that was referenced from his memories. Because he didn''t have any attachment with the guy. If he could take care of him that day while he was rankless, he could certainly do the same now that he was a ranker as well. ''Blitz Bolt Blitz Steps Stunning Speed Sedated Perception'' This time, Ronny decided to get up close and personal and bring out his true potential as a closebat expert. The simplebo would cut down his mana consumption while enabling him to maintain his fast-paced battle style. ******* Dom Walker''s apparition looked just like him. But instead of the eyes, there were hollow sockets that were filled by the void. Theck of eyes in the eye sockets made Dom look a bit different from his previous self. Eren''s memory of Dom was notplete. It meant that he hadn''t seen him use his spells or element when he had killed him. The guy had been drugged by the butcher, due to which he couldn''t exert his mana for spell casting. Ronny understood that the details missing in his memory would be filled randomly by the dungeon. Dom hoped the dungeon didn''t possess omnipotent powers to figure out what Dom''s real element was, even though he had died without leaving behind a body. ******* Dom responded to Ronny''s iing assault by drawing out an Odachi from its sheath. He swung his weapon at his opponent and cut him in half. Or so it looked like. But what Dom had cut just a moment before turned out to be Ronny''s afterimage. Thanks to the Sedated Perception and Stunning Speed, the guy could manoeuvre easily despite having a small room to do so. Eren was seen standing behind Dom the next instant with his back to him. His two daggers were found behind him, in a position to pierce his opponent''s back. Just like Ronny''s fast movement left a series of afterimages in its wake, it seemed that Dom''s weapon mastery enabled him to pull off the same phenomenon. Because as the Odachi was seen taking care of Ronny''s afterimage, it also appeared behind its wielder in a defensive position. It had sessfully blocked Ronny''s attack. Ronny could imagine Adept Ma ring her nose at him for trying to sneak up behind his enemy and still failing the task. A closebat expert would rarely use sneak attacks like rogues and assassins. That being said, when they did use them, it was akin to an assassin''s sure shot kill. Or at least that''s how it was supposed to y out. Dom''s ranking status made him technically more powerful than Ronny because he was on the verge of breaking into the D-Rank when he was killed. The apparition stayed true to Ronny''s image of Dom and granted him the prowess of someone who was just a few steps away from breaking into the D-Rank. Ronny didn''t lose hope just because his weapon was blocked though. He decided to continue with his current spellbo. Ronny removed his weapon from the stalemate and quickly created a distance between him and Dom. Thetter was still slow tounch a sessful counterattack this time. A chirping sound was heard as Ronny executed his Bitz Bolt to full potential. He approached his opponent again, intending to make his attack count this time. ============ AN: A description I found on Wiki about Odachi. The Odachi is a traditional Japanese sword. It was mainly used by the samurai ss of feudal-era Japan.. The Chinese equivalent of this type of sword is the Miaodao, while its Western equivalent is Weihander or ymore. Chapter 286 - Elemental Fusion A chirping sound was heard as Ronny executed his Bitz Bolt to full potential. He approached his opponent again, intending to make his attack count this time. Ronny was seen creating afterimages in his path again as he collided with Dom one more time. This time he didn''t try to evade the long reach of the Odachi. Instead of stepping aside, Ronny was seen ducking under the swing that was aimed at him. Dom was supposed to be a lot taller than Eren when he was alive. The apparition-Dom was no different either. But since Eren was in his Ronny avatar, the difference wasn''t much. That''s why when Ronny ducked under the weapon''s swing and got back into position, his weapon had almost found its spot inside his opponent''s heart. But this was the time when Ronny came to know about apparition-Dom''s elemental status. A thickyer of wood covered the region on Dom''s body that was going to get pierced by Ronny''s lightning coated dagger. The lightning lost its destructive power as soon as it came in contact with the mana-generated wood''s surface. This spell-manifested wood was tougher than what wood is normally known for. Soon, the growth of wood started covering Dom''s entire body, creating an armour of wood in the process. Dom started looking weird as a result of the same. But Ronny understood that the visual appeal of a ranker''s spell wasn''t everything. If the spell looked uncool but did its'' job well, then Ronny wouldn''t hesitate to use the spell either. Ronny twitched his eye as he realized that the dungeon was again trying to test his limits. He was half sure by now that the real Dom wouldn''t have wood element affinity. It was given to apparition-Dom by the dungeon to be his good counter. ''Thank the devil I took care of the previous guy as soon as I could.'' With his lightning element spells reducing in their effectiveness after Dom''s elemental reveal, Ronny understood that a fast-paced battle style won''t give him maximum benefits. With wood armour covering his opponent from all angles, he couldn''tnd a finishing blow in a short period. When Ronny failed tond a blow at close range, he would be vulnerable to counterattacks half the time. Plus, Odachi''s long reach made it risky for him to retreat safely. Ronny needed to change his spellbo. Which he did: ''Fire snake Fireball Breath of Fire Blitz Steps'' Ronny decided to work with the fire-element spells at his disposal because it was effective against the wood element. He cancelled his time element spells to conserve his already rapidly depleting mana storage. ''Sururururu'' As soon as the two rankers collided, Ronny''s fire element snakes bit into his opponent''s armour. Fire snakes'' bites coated the wood armour in mes that produced a distinct sound when they started burning it up. But it turned out Dom also had a second set of spells just like Ronny did. He swung his Odachi first before retreating backwards and snapping his fingers as he did so. Dom used the mana within the environment and moisture to create floating masses of water. He raised his empty hand and guided some of the masses of water tond on him, bathing in the process. Dom had taken care of Ronny''s fire element spell. Thetter had dark lines on his forehead after learning of the recent turn of events. The dungeon was hell-bent on testing his mettle as a ranker it seemed. ''My high rating is to be med for this.'' Ronny quickly concluded after he saw his opponent was slowly turning out to be a very effective counter to him. Plus, fighting with Dom and not gaining an advantage was irritating for him. To Ronny, it felt like he had made no progress at all during the months in LA. But Dom wasn''t done there. Ronny could swear that the apparition-Dom was beaming with pleasure on his face as he lodged his Odachi in the ground in front of him before raising his hands to call all the masses of water towards him. Something weird happened at that time. Something Ronny AKA hadn''t seen in both his lives. He saw that Dom was making the element of wood and water merge as the masses of water collided against his wood armour. The wood started looking like it had turned into a dense sma as a result of fusion with the water element. The sma of wood reced Dom''s wood armour and became more refined than before. If the wood armour looked like a weird juxtaposition of nks, the sma wood armour took into ount the contours of Dom''s body, providing him with a customized fit. Dom''s sma wood armour also made him more difficult to approach. First, it was not just nks of wood covering his body anymore. The contoured armour allowed him to fill the chinks in the armour he had before the fusion took ce. Second, the sma wood was lighter and more durable than before. Instead of breaking right on the spot under the influence of force overload, the sma wood would get stretched and use that force as a source of energy to get disced. It would resume its previous shape and position after the force inflicted on it by the external source is extinguished. "What the fuck is this I''m seeing? Lady Zee, do you have any idea what just happened?" Instead of approaching the opponent directly, Ronny thought to gather some information about the phenomenon he had just witnessed with his eyes. That''s why he asked the Adept ranker to shed some light on the event. Ronny was wary of the opponent as he asked that question. But thankfully, Dom just stood there and allowed him to finish his conversation. "Boy Ronny, you are one unlucky fellow, aren''t you? This has never happened to any of us so far. Because none of us is qualified to face something like this." Lady Zee''s face was also painted with shock when she saw Ronny''s opponent.. Then she looked at Ronny in pity, as if he was a lost cause. Chapter 287 - Layla Lady Zee''s face was also painted with shock when she saw Ronny''s opponent performing elemental fusion in front of her. Then she looked at Ronny in pity, as if he was a lost cause. "Um... Lady Zee, nothing about your statement makes me understand what I''m supposed to do? Some boration would be helpful here. What is this elemental fusion?" Lady Zee shook her head in denial before replying to Ronny''s question: "Elemental fusion is something you can do when you have progressed further into the way of the elements. It is supposed to happen when you reach B-Rank or higher. I don''t know much about elemental fusion either. What I do know is the fact that elemental fusion is supposed to be synergistic in nature. Don''t underestimate your opponent even if my exnation sounds simple and rudimentary. Anything that has to do with the way of the elements has the potential to enable the ranker to exert more power than his rank could normally entail." Ronny rolled his eyes after he heard Lady Zee''s response. He couldn''t believe the dungeon was making him fight against something that belonged to the B-Rank. This was more than ying while the odds were against you. This was ying a game when the entire match was rigged. ''Elemental fusion is supposed to be synergetic? What does that mean?'' Ronny couldn''t help but ask the question to himself when he started processing Lady Zee''s words while his guards were up against his standing-still opponent. Reen was there to answer the question. ''Erni, I think I sense the elemental natures of wood and water have retained their properties after being mixed. From what I can tell, the armour the guy is wearing should have the electrical resistance of wood. And at the same time, it would be more difficult to burn because of the presence of water elemental nature mixed within it.'' ''Fuck my life!'' Ronny had to admit he had underestimated the difficulty of the dungeon. When he had taken care of his first opponent in the first match of this round, he had thought that things would be a little hectic. But he''d pull through because of all his advantages. Something like this though was beyond his scope of understanding or capability. He didn''t think he would be able to deal with an opponent of simr rank even when he was a D-Ranker from his past timeline if he started using the powers that belonged to the realm of B-Rank. ''What should I do now?'' He thought to himself as he gripped his daggers tightly. He was just about to give it his all by bolting towards his opponent when an unknown female voice was heard in his mind: ''Hello, Eren Elijah Idril. My name is La. You can call me the caretaker of this separate dimension. First of all, let me tell you that it''s not what you think. The dungeon is trying to help you.'' A voice identifying herself as La spoke in Ronny''s mind. It sounded ancient and young at the same time to him. Ronny had first thought that it was Alphee speaking in a changed voice to him. But La''s name told him otherwise. He knew full well the former would hear him, so he posed the question to himself. ''There''s no privacy policy left in this ce, is it? I''ll just skip the intro now that you know about me. Please tell me, La, what is not what I think it is?'' There was a short pause before La answered Ronny''s question the same way she had contacted him the first time: ''Hehehe! You are one paranoid ranker, aren''t you? Of course, I can''t hear your thoughts. Not really. It is the dungeon''s mechanism aiding me to understand the ballpark thought of what you are thinking, based on your fluctuating mana signature right now.'' Ronny didn''t believe La''s words. He made her suspicions known to her: ''Don''t bullshit me. You peeked into my memories to render this fellow right in front of me. How can you make this apparition if you haven''t looked through my memories?'' La giggled like a small girl once again before replying to Ronny: Hehehe! I sense a strong sense of you not believing in my words. I''ll tell you this. The rendition of someone you know from the past is not done by me. Master had automated that process from the get-go. I don''t have ess to those memories either. My master was very particr about who he was going to choose as his sessor. He didn''t want my point of view to get influenced because of my knowledge about the participants'' memories. He just let me use the dungeon''s mechanism to understand the participants'' real-time thoughts. This was done so that I could get a glimpse of how the potential sessor to the master''s heritage is as a ranker.'' Ronny heard La''s answer and rxed a bit. He didn''t want his memories scanned by someone powerful. His identity as an Osan Woods'' Butcher was one reason. The other, most crucial reason was the fact that he didn''t want anyone to know that he was carrying a logic-defying artefact in him in the form of Alephee. ''Alright, I believe you can''t read my memories. Simply because you don''t have the reason to lie about that part. But why should I believe you when you say that the dungeon is trying to help me when I see the dude pulling a move that doesn''t even belong in the E-Rank?'' Ronny asked La in annoyance. He was looking forward to his rewards for his extra work in this round. But he didn''t think he could win this match anymore. Not when the guy had be immune to both sets of spells at the same time. ''Look, Eren. The whole reason I contacted you now is that I don''t want you to rush into your battle thinking that the match is rigged. I said the dungeon is trying to help you and I mean it. Like thatdy said there, it is not something that happens to everyone whoes to this separate dimension trying to test their luck at bing my master''s sessor. The dungeon''s mechanism has judged your rating and performance so far and found that you are worthy to be tested like this. You need to understand that at your rank, there are not a lot of things you can know or understand. The elemental fusion is indeed rted to the way of the elements. But thatdy is just ignorant if she thinks these concepts only apply in the B-Rank.'' Ronny heard La''s exnation and pondered for a bit. The squad members saw him putting one of his daggers in his right hand. He used the now-free hand to caress his chin. They didn''t know that he was talking with La at the time. They just thought that he was making use of the dungeon''s exploit to take a breather before resuming his lost-cause battle again. La observed that Ronny wasn''t replying so she took the initiative again and exined to him what she was getting at: ''Your foundation as a ranker gets set in your early ranks. You need to start working on these concepts early in your journey as a ranker if you want to make use of powers like these. Having the ability to wield the elements like they are supposed to be wielded. A ranker should start working on these things from your current rank, especially if they don''t want to experience any tiring bottlenecks in the future. This dungeon is not trying to get you. It is in fact trying to help you by showing you the thing you need to start working on sooner. But I''d be lying if I said the dungeon doesn''t have any other reason behind this. It is indeed trying to test you as well. But there''s a subtle difference this time if youpare this with your earlier fights in the dungeon so far. This time, the dungeon is not trying to test your current ranking power. It is trying to test your potential as a ranker in the future.'' La paused after saying till here. She let Ronny understand what she was trying to say to him. Thetter thought to himself before some understanding dawned on him. He needed to confirm his doubts: ''You mean to say I can win this match if I just try hard enough? How? I can''t do what this guy has done. The synergy of the elements even when they have been fused! I don''tpletely understand these concepts. But I''vee to realize that the guy''s armour has made him immune to my lightning and fire element spells. And those are the only attacking sets of spells I have at my disposal. So you tell me, how am I able to win against this?'' La giggled like a little girl once again before replying: ''Hehehehe! I''m not one of those rankers whom you can fool easily. I know what you are. You need to use that power within you to fight this opponent.'' Ronny had a stoic expression on his face when he heard La this time. He had understood that she was talking about his status as a demi-human. But he asked to confirm: ''What am I?'' ''A half-blood, of course.'' La replied immediately. Chapter 288 - Half-Blood ''Half-blood? What does that mean?'' Ronny raised his eyebrows. He wasn''t sure if he had heard this term in either timeline. ''That''s right. A half-blood. What do guys call it these days? Oh yes! A demi-human.'' Ronny narrowed his eyes when he heard La say that. She, as the caretaker of this ce that has existed for who knows how long, must know some crucial information. the kind of information the current poption was denied ess to. La had approached him first. He might as well try and get some intel on missing pieces of continental history JJ Edgar was talking about in his personal diary: ''What can you tell me about this so-called half-blood existence?" La became quiet after Ronny asked the question. Just when thetter thought he wouldn''t gain any information from her, she replied in a mncholic tone: "Half-blood ns were once thriving on this continent. There was no ranker in existence that didn''t know about their rise to prominence when it was their era. Too bad none of them are in this world anymore. Except you, of course.'' Ronny raised his eyebrows again. But before he could ask La any more questions regarding the missing history, she spoke in a soft childish voice again: ''Enough talk about the past we can''t change. Chop chop, Eren Idril. You have a test to finish here. What I wanted to say was you can use inherent spells if you''re half-blood, right? Use them. You can rely on them to get you through the current challenge. Ronny had a nk face when he heard La''s suggestion. He tried to exin to the former why he couldn''t do what she had expected from him: ''La, as easy as it might sounding from you, let mee clean in saying that I only have one inherent spell I know of currently. And that is not something I can use against this guy. And how can inherent spells help in fighting something like elemental fusion? They don''t seem much different to me if you ignore their obvious peculiarity.'' Ronny heard a female voice when he finished asking the question. But it wasn''t from La. Lady Zee had been tired of waiting. And she let her displeasure known: "Ronny, what''s the hold-up? Finish your battle, will you? It''s fine if you only have one win. I''ll take care of the rest and make sure we pass this round. So don''t worry." Lady Zee thought that Ronny had gotten cold after he realized that his opponent could perform the elemental fusion. He couldn''t me the guy. She would probably hesitate to fight too if she were in his shoes. Then she calmed down and analyzed the situation. Her prior experience told her that the dungeon would never rig a match so much that the participants would have almost zero chance of sess. She knew there had to be some catch involved. She wanted to figure that out by battling with her opponent that could use elemental fusion as well. Maybe she could gain some insights after fighting with them. "Oh! It''s nothing, Lady Zee. I was just trying to catch my breath. I''ll start my test in a few moments. Just hold on." Ronny bought a few minutes for himself before using the same to continue his discussion with La. ''La, please answer my question.'' Ronny pleaded with La to hurry up and finish up whatever she had approached him for. Thetter had regained her nonchnce by now. She replied to him casually: ''Look Eren, anything that has to do with the way of the elements can only be dealt with the way of the elements. A half-blood is blessed with a shortcut when ites to wielding its elements. They just need to utilize the power of their blood to cast inherent spells. The inherent spells are based on the way of the elements from their get-go whether youpletely understand it or not. Therefore, you can say that a half-blood starts wielding their elements as soon as they break into the F-Rank. When my master had created this separate dimension, the half-blood rankers were a normal thing. And he would have preferred one of them to be his sessor as well. So he had programmed the dungeon mechanism in such a way that the half-bloods would only receive the tests that were meant to be taken by them. And something like dealing with elemental fusion was a no biggie for half-blood rankers.'' Ronny pondered for a while before replying: ''So that means I received this test because the dungeon thinks that I''m qualified to follow through with it because of my status as a half-blood. But I keep on telling you, this whole thing about being a demi-human or whatever you call it is fairly new to me. I wouldn''t be able to use my inherent spell against this kind of opponent. The most I can do is copy the physical traits of an anthrope on a superficial level when I cast my spell and make physical contact with them. I don''t think the way of the elements is something I can copy and reproduce. I''m guessing you are aware of how sensitive my status as a demi-human is these days. So you would understand when I say that I wouldn''t use my inherent spell in front of the audience. Even when I knew I could use it to defeat this guy. I don''t have the habit of creating more mess in the future just to take care of the current situation.'' Ronny made her position known to La. Shortly thereafter, thetter responded in a disappointing tone. ''Haash! The half-bloods would weep if they came to know the current standards and paranoid nature of thest kin they have left on this continent. Alright, I can make your squad members disappear from their current positions and keep them away from you till you finish your test.'' ===================== AN: Thanks Daoist930799 for giving VEH its first dragon. Chapter 289 - Optimized Compromise ''Alright, I can make your squad members disappear from their current positions and keep them away from you till you finish your test.'' Ronny shook his head before replying to La: ''That would just raise more suspicions in Lady Zee''s mind. I would rather quit this test than risk something like getting an entire cultist organization breathing down my neck.'' La sounded angry when she replied to him next: ''You gutless man. My bold and manly master shouldn''t have a scaredy-cat sessor like you. But I cannot ignore you either. Because it seems that you are the only half-blood left here. I''m only allowed to assist in my limited capacity. Keep that in mind and tell me, what do you want me to do? I can''t help you win the match with my participation if that''s what you are asking.'' Ronny rolled his eyes when he heard La''s childish standards in men that were not mindful about their own safety. He then tried to clear the air with his next words: ''No, you didn''t get it, La. I''m not telling you to rig the test from your end. I am not seeking participation from you or my team members. There''s a simpler way. Just change the opponent. And this time, if you can help it, make them not wield their elements. You can do this, right?'' Ronny asked with a hopeful voice. He didn''t want to give up on clearing the round with maximum participation. Especially when he knew there weren''t many floors he could clear with his current team because it was simply not possible. The average rating of the group would make it easy to clear the initial floors. But the group''s weak links would start to create problems when individual participation is considered on the tests as well. To clear the dungeon, the butcher would need a group of professionals who had the maximum potential to grow as the rankers. Something like his White Raven crew. But that was a possibility that belonged in the future. Ronny had to think about making the most of his current visit. So he asked La if the thing he proposed could be done: ''*Sigh. I can stop your opponent from using the way of the elements. But the dungeon''s mechanism will make it so that the difficulty level of your current battle stays more or less the same. And I don''t know what it will do with yours topensate for theck of an opponent who is not wielding their elements. Plus, your default rewards will also be affected by this change. In case you are still having doubts, let me go ahead and confirm that you have been given better rewards than your peers. It''s because you performed better than your peers, which in turn was made possible by the dungeon putting you through harsher tests. With me interfering in the test manually, your rewards won''t be as grand as they ought to be. So tell me, do you still want to proceed?'' ''This childlike existence is surprisingly obedient. I wonder what makes her listen to my requests. Two plus two equals four. Ramy shouldn''t be allowed to speak the word ranker in the presence of girls. Llllla. Alright, La. I''m okay with anything as long as it doesn''t get in the way of the elements involved.'' Ronny thought to himself. Then he mixed those with random words and another set of thoughts. So that they wouldn''t be read that well by La. Then, in his head, he agreed to her question. ********** The butcher was a nk te when it came to predicting thoughts through the real-time analysis of the mana signatures. That power belonged to the Sages. Sages were impossible for the butcher to deceive. But he knew how arrays could be used to analyze rankers in general. Since the arrays don''t have the mental capacity of a human, they will only behave the way they are programmed with runes. And the runes would not be able to differentiate between his real thoughts with fake ones he had introduced to fool the same arrays. Due to the cocktail of thoughts he had bombarded his mind with recently, La couldn''t figure out what he had been thinking about. But she ignored that when she received his affirmation and got to work. ********** Lady Zee was confused. This year''s dungeon exploration left her confused. First, she hadn''t expected to see that the opponent generated by the dungeon would employ elemental fusion in a battle against one of her teammates. Then another weird thing happened. Ronny''s opponent started changing into another faceless ranker. But the weirdness didn''t end there. The opponent apparition had also been joined by another faceless ranker. It seemed that her team member was preparing to battle two opponents simultaneously. Exceptions like these never happened in previous explorations. Not with her. Not with any of the other Illuminati members as far as she could tell. Ronny was part confused and partly relieved that La had pulled through. Then it dawned on him that the dungeon mechanism had optimized the difficulty level of his current battle. He needed to battle two opponents of higher-ranking status than him because he had avoided someone who could wield their elements. "What is happening, Ronny?" Jules asked in impatience. Ronny shrugged his shoulders before responding: "Beats me. Maybe there''s a glitch in the dungeon mechanism." Ronny med his special treatment on the glitch in the dungeon mechanism which was almost non-existent. Lady Zee couldn''t refute him either because she had been surprised by the way the dungeon behaved sometimes. So she let the matter rest. Soon, the first apparition turned into Dom Walker. The second apparition turned into Edward Jenner, the LAb-in-charge he had killed before starting his revenge n on Sienna. He smiled mirthlessly to himself when he thought of how he had taken care of Dom and Edward: ''I had killed both of these guys using Reen, thinking I had skipped battling with them. But who knew they would have their revenge like this by teaming up with each other to take me down one day?'' Chapter 290 - Potion Of Serenity ''I had killed both of these guys using Reen, thinking I had skipped battling with them. But who knew they would have their revenge like this by teaming up with each other to take me down?'' Just when Ronny was done pondering to himself the shitty luck he had faced so far and preparing tounch a frontal attack on his two opponents, he heard La''s voice that had returned to her childish tone: ''Hold it, hold it, Eren Idril. It''ll be too difficult for you to win like this. Wait a moment, I''ll give you something from my personal collection.'' La said and fell silent again. The next thing Ronny knew, there was an invisible array getting drawn over the ground he was standing on. An array that only he could see. This was the same array the dungeon had used to make the participants'' rewards appear in their personal storage. Ronny understood that La had sent something to his personal storage. As he hurriedly sent his mana sense into his storage. He expected to find an artefact or weapon that would help him deal with two E-Rank apparitions that had been blessed with higher ranking status than him. ''That''s it? A potion?'' Ronny thought and felt disappointed. La sensed his emotions and responded irritatingly: ''You dare treat this as some stamina potion? Hmph! Thank you lucky stars I gave you this concoction. From what I''ve observed about the rankers'' standards of the present times, you guys don''t have anything like these. At least, the concoction won''t be avable for guys like you, who were used as guinea pigs to farm this dungeon. This is called the Potion of Serenity. Even during my master''s time, it was extremely rare. It should only be used sparingly, otherwise, your mana core won''t be able to handle the disturbance in the mana circuits it creates. The potion will aid you in gaining insights into your element, enabling you to wield your element eventually. It''ll also help you bring out the true potential of your rank by sending your mana core into an agitated state.'' La sounded as if someone had belittled her toys in front of her. Ronny couldn''t help but continue his ridicule some more after hearing about the former''s exnation: ''It''s not like I can start meditation hereafter gulping the potion down my throat while my opponents are waiting for me to finish processing whatever insights I gain. There are other, better ways to help me, you know. Just give me an OP weapon or something already. Why should Ken Riverine have all the luck? Let me feel like I''m the protagonist of my own story at least once.'' Ronny replied in equal annoyance. La''s irritation grew as the former reciprocated her feelings. ''Listen to me, you shameless, gutless man. I don''t know what problems you have with this Ken guy, but don''t take that out on me. I''ve already done enough by offering you something like the Potion of Serenity. The Potion of Serenity will help you capture the true essence of all your life experiences as a ranker. It works the most effective when it is taken for the first time. The beneficial effects decrease and the *cough* side effects increase *cough* with repeated use, especially if the potion is taken again in a short timespan. You don''t need to meditate after taking the potion. It is supposed to be consumed while you are in the middle of a serious battle. That is the most preferred way to get the maximum benefits out of this potioning wonder.'' Ronny scratched his chin when he heard La expounding on the potion and started processing it slowly in his head. He zeroed in on one fleeting warning made by thetter: ''Hmm? What side effects? And why are you helping me so much? What''s your cut in all this?'' The butcher would always suspect something was fishy when someone was being overly helpful towards him. He hadpletely stopped believing that people could help him out of the nicety of their hearts. ''There are no side effects you should be worried about right now. Just take the damn potion already. And I''m always helpful, Eren Idril. I always have been. Not everyone is like you, you know.'' Ronny spat on the ground when he heard that. He responded right afterwards: ''I can recognize a fellow bullshitter when I see one. Out with it, La. Why are you helping me? Otherwise, I''ll quit this battle. I don''t care about the repercussions or rewards. My life is more meaningful to me.'' La seemed to have panicked when she heard the word ''quit'' from Ronny''s mouth. She sighed deeply before confiding in him: ''Alright, alright. The thing is, I''m bored and want to get out of this ce. Explore the outside world. Have you ever wondered how long I''ve been trapped in this dimension? Too long, too much, I tell you. And you are my key to getting out of here. I''m raising your chances to win something substantial here that can help you in your solo battles in the tower. The tower battles would be too difficult for you to handle otherwise in your current situation. Don''t think tower battles will be as easy as what you are facing here. You could even die inside the tower if you aren''t prepared. I need you to perform well in your tower battles and get the mark as a reward, Eren Idril. Due to your half-blood status, you are my only hope of getting the true inheritance of this ce. Why do you think I contacted you first? With that mark, I''ll be able to leave the ce with you. It''s my get-out-of-jail card. Of course, I cannot directly help you in battles because of the restrictions ced on me by my master. So the Potion of Serenity is thepromise I''vee up with without making my involvement overtly obvious to the dungeon mechanism.'' ''Oh! So this little ghost wants to leave the ce with me.'' Ronny thought and pondered over all the other details La had shared with him. La expected Ronny to pull out of the battle when she told him he could die exploring the separate dimension. But contrary to her exnation, thetter shed a content smile before retrieving the Potion of Serenity from his storage. He uncorked the vial and addressed La before consuming the potion in one go: ''I''m relieved now that I heard your ulterior motive, La. My faith in you has been restored. I will never put my faith in others'' goodness. But with your self-interests linked to my winning, I can finally get on with the program. You called me gutless, right? I think you''ve misunderstood my stance. My life is not so cheap as to expose myself to unnecessary dangers I can avoid. But for the right price and right rewards, I, Eren Idril, will not hesitate to shed my blood and put my life on the line.'' Ronny said and gulped down the Potion of Serenity. It tasted like water to him, leaving the minty vour and effect behind as an aftertaste. The next thing Ronny knew, his mana circuits and his mana core had started bing restless. His vision was also getting hazy as if he was drunk on the most potent booze of his rank. He felt that his mind was vaguely connected to something greater than his existence. The butcher was no stranger to the feeling. He had already experienced the state of epiphany. He was experiencing exactly that feeling right now. But the effects were diluted and different. Suddenly scenes from his past appeared in his mind as though some sort of image-viewer had malfunctioned and disyed loads of images all at once. Ronny felt delirious and in control simultaneously. He then looked at his two opponents that had been inactive so far, as if waiting for him to make a move. Ronny started having weird ideas in his head. The concepts of lightning, fire, and time were creating a cocktail ofprehension for him that he had started digesting slowly but surely. ''The lightning tells me to be fast.'' Ronny executed Blitz Steps while under the effects of the potion. But there was something different in this execution. The tongues of lightning that had coated his lower legs seemed tamer than before. They also changed their hue from dark blue to light blue before turning it into turquoise. But that was not all. This time, unbeknownst to Ronny and most of his audience, the tip of his toes had changed into lightning sparks. As the ws extended out of the shoe, they looked like ws of some beast peeking through the toe-cap. ''The fire tells me to burn everything.'' Ronny cast the fire-snake spell on both his hands. This time, instead of wrapping around the butcher''s arms, the snakes manifested themselves over his hand in such a way that it appeared as if the snakes had reced his arms. ''The time tells me everything converges and diverges at some point.'' Sedated Perception and Stunning Speed had been executed simultaneously. It seemed this time that the effects of both spells were synergistic. The almost-stagnant world around him looked clearer and more vivid to him. It seemed to him that quite a while had passed. But in reality, only a few seconds had passed since Ronny''s first spell execution. He became a blur to his audience soon after. ================ AN: Runningte today.. One more chapter will be released in a few hours. Chapter 291 - Animated Spell Ronny became a blur to his audience soon after he executed his spellbo. A small crater was seen on the ground where he was standing just a few moments ago. It still had a few lightning sparks dancing over it as a mana residue. Edward was seen retrieving a vial and throwing it on the ground. At first, Jules didn''t understand why Ronny''s opponent threw a vial of potion on the ground. But she soon got the answer. The potion soon released a mana miasma aftering into contact with the surroundings. The miasma soon formed a mushroom-like cloud in the battle ring. This was what Jules processed with her normal time perception. But her teammate perceived this event differently. Ronny had already reached Dom''s apparition. He threw a punch at the opponent''s tummy which was just barely getting covered by theyer of wood in the form of uneven nks. Ronny''s hands had been turned into snakes'' mouths by now. The punchnded on the guy''s upper abdomen before he could realize that Ronny had approached him. Although Ronny''s time element spells were in the F-Rank, the synergy he had found while under the influence of the Potion of Serenity allowed him to use the spellbo almost like an E-Rank spell. As a result, he was faster than before, allowing him tond the punch without his opponent taking precautions against it. The punch''s effects hadn''t even been processed by Dom''s body yet. But Ronny decided to carry on with his momentum and grabbed his opponent''s neck from behind. The grip that he had used to do that made it look like the fire snake had bitten at his back. Ronny had done this to make his opponent stay beside him and not fly far away as a result of his merciless punch. He wanted to pin Dom down so that he could keepnding blows on him while keeping him in close range. Ronny felt that his opponent''s body was going to take off. So he pressed the neck downwards and used his right knee to perform a low blow on the same spot he had punched the guy before. After that, he went behind Dom, locked both his hands, and hammered Dom''s back with thatbined hand-lock. Jules saw that as the cloud of the mana miasma was forming around the region, Dom was attacked by a blurred shadow. She could see the sparks of lightning and the light of the fire. She had realized that it was Ronny who had attacked the opponent with his extreme speed. She saw that Dom slumped forward as somethingnded heavily on his stomach. Then she saw that he had been struck behind his back by a substantial force that only left residue mana in its wake in the form of lightning and fire. Dom was pinned down on the ground with a loud thud. The ground beneath him cracked. But Ronny did not seem to slow down. As she could still see the sparks of lightning and fire wreaking havoc on various parts of Dom''s body. Ronny, like the battle-hardened ranker he was, had specifically targeted the guy''s vital spots whilending blows after blows at him. The battle had bepletely one-sided between Dom and Ronny in thetter''s favour. She saw that Dom''s wood element armour had yed a very small part in safeguarding him. This was because Ronny had been too fast for him toplete his spell execution soundly. A screech was heard from Dom''s apparition that didn''t sound human. He was seen using a movement spell that covered his legs with ayer of malleable wood. He used those legs to kick against the ground he was lying down on and hurled his body in the air. Ronny was still fast enough to see Dom trying in vain to leave the session of beating he had arranged for him. He formed thebined hand-lock again while he was processing the events in the almost-stagnant world and hammered down at the top of Dom''s chest. Because thetter''s levitating body was attempting to leave the ground, he had easy ess to the chest surface. Dom''s body had been covered by the half-finished wood armour that looked like it had been formed by mismatched wooden nks. There were sparks of turquoise lightning and light orange mes all over his body. The elemental residues of lightning and fire formed patches around his vital spots. Dom''s movement spell to escape Ronny''s unceasing attacks turned out to be futile. His levitating body was again sent back to the ground it came from. Seemingly frustrated by the screeching noise, Dom pped his hands and performed his AoE. The flying wood spears came into existence out of the thin air around Dom and Ronny and they all targeted thetter. Then he used his movement spell again to get away from his lightning-element opponent while sending the wooden spears forward. In an almost stagnant world, Ronny saw wooden spearsing towards him. His mind was still processing the insights he was gaining during the battle. Something was telling him to imbue his mana sense into the fire-snakes he had as his arms. Ronny just followed the instructions he was given by the higher consciousness and raised his hands. The fire-snakes seemed to havee to life when he shared his mana sense with his spell-generated reptiles. Ronny had just started to process the surroundings around him in multiple perspectives when he shared the mana sense in a way the higher consciousness had told him to. The first perspective was his own. These two perspectives belong to the now-lifelike fire snakes. ''Hisssssss'' The fire snakes hissed when they saw that the wooden spears were approaching them from all around them. They raised their heads and shot towards the arrows. Their tails were still attached to Ronny''s hands. But their fire-element torsos had been stretched tremendously. Soon, multiple fire-snakes were originating from Ronny''s palms. The number of perspectives he had to process also increased as a result. They each targeted the wooden spearing their way. Ronny was seen standing in the middle of a wooden spear storm that was closing in on him rapidly. The miasmayer was also present in the surrounding area. Things suddenly started going south for him. That was until a hive of fire-snakes made their appearance. Chapter 292 - Cloak Of Lightning Ronny was seen standing in the middle of a wooden spear storm that was closing in on him rapidly. Miasma was also present in the surrounding area. Things suddenly started heading south for him. That was until a hive of fire-snakes made their appearance. The number of wooden spears was more than twice that of the fire snakes. But that didn''t matter to the now-lifelike fire snakes. They all hissed and approached the spears closest to them. Each of the fire snakes bit off the tips of the wooden spears as soon as contact was made. In some cases, snakes even wrapped their bites around wooden spears'' hilts. Spontaneousbustion! Jules saw that as soon as the fire-snakes bit the wooden spears targeting their caster, they burst into mes before immediately disappearing into thin air. The fire snakes didn''t rest and targeted other stray wooden spears that were heading towards Ronny. The fire-snakes destroyed many wooden spears with their bites. Dom, however, had created more of them during that time. He sent the newly made ones towards his opponent. Edward stood next to him with his sword drawn. The fire-snakes seemed to have realized that it wouldn''t be possible for them to take care of all the flying wooden spearsing their way in due time. So all of them opened their mouths and hissed. Something strange happened at the time for Ronny. The multiple perspectives he was processing in his head seemed to have a mind of their own even when they were connected to him. The perspectives asked him for his mana. They wanted to cast a spell of their own. Jules saw that loads of fire-snakes Ronny had cast and positioned himself in their midst, opening their mouths towards the approaching wooden spears that had been newly formed. Then she saw the snakes creating a fireball each in front of their wide-open mouths. She opened her eyes in utter surprise as she realized something. It seemed that a stacked spell was casting a stacked spell of its own. Multiple small balls of fire were seen forming around the still-delirious Ronny. They were soon hurled towards the groups of wooden spears by their supposedly inanimate castersCthe fire snakes. ''Burn everything!'' Ronny mumbled to himself as multiple rounds of detonation took ce all around him in the surrounding area. The newly manifested wooden spears were caught in a series of detonations and were spontaneouslybusted. But some half-burnt wooden spears still made it past the fire explosion and started approaching Ronny. Jules thought that it was game over for her teammate as he still seemed to be in a daze. Ronny didn''t move even though he could sense that the mana-strengthened wooden spears were approaching him from multiple directions. He used his defensive spell this time. Blitz Shield! Ayer of lightning formed around Ronny. But this time instead of tongues of lightning dancing over his skin, the lightning had formed a densely knit and covered his entire body. The of lightning soon transformed into something different, guided by Ronny''s dazed mind. Now it looked like Ronny was wearing a cloak of lightning that covered every inch of his body from neck to toe. His head had also been covered in a lightning. The wooden spears that had made it past the series of fireball detonations soonnded on Ronny. They came in contact with his lightning cloak and their momentum was unrealistically killed off before they burst from within. The wooden arrows were imploded as a very high voltage ran through them. The lightning''s destructive voltage was so high that it had ovee the instion properties of the manifested wooden spears. All the arrows that came in contact with Ronny''s lightning cloak faced the same fate as their earlier counterparts. Meanwhile, the target of that attack who was in a daze of his own soon seemed to have been snapped out. The butcher woke up when he destroyed all the remaining wooden spears. He was woken out of his state because his body had subconsciously realized that it was running low on mana. The casting of stacked fire-snake spell and stacked fireball spell had cost Ronny a lot in terms of his mana storage. When he was snapped out of his potion-induced daze, he wondered how he had so much mana after pulling off a stunt as he did. Then the headache hit him. An excruciating form of headache he had never experienced before. He had started seeing things around him in a blur. He had to shake his head to regain normal vision. But the headache remained. ''It must be the side effects of the potion. That little ghost should have warned me, damn it. I hope this wretched headache is all there is to it for the side effects. *Sigh. No pointining now, anyway. I should focus on getting rid of Dom first now that I''ve also made him spend so much of his mana. If the apparition follows real-life logic, he should be as spent as I am. Ronny shook his head as he focused on his two opponents. If he was in full control of himself, he would have targeted Edward first because he seemed like the weaker ranker between the two opponents. Too bad, the subconscious-him wanted to dominate the biggest obstacle first. In doing so, he had left the potioneer unchecked for far too long. ''This miasma. My mana circuits and core have also been affected by this. The more I stay inside it, the more debuffs I''ll have to face. I could target Edward. But Dom would use that time to initiate a counterattack on me.'' In the end, Ronny decided to continue targeting Dom. He retrieved Diceros Right again and realized something. He could have targeted Dom using his weapons when he had first gotten close to him. But he dropped the thoughts of regrets and narrowed his eyes on Dom. ''Bud, you are not the only one who could use potions in battle, you know.'' Ronny addressed Edward''s apparition in his head before retrieving a vial.. It wasn''t a potion bomb this time. Chapter 293 - Soul Sense Ronny addressed Edward''s apparition in his head before retrieving a vial. It wasn''t a potion bomb this time. The vial contained an exclusive E-Rank potion meant to be taken by lightning users. It would help the rankers amplify the output of lightning spells almost twice their intended effects. Ronny drank the contents of the vial without a moment''s dy. Then he drank a couple of stamina potions of the same rank. The stamina potion would indeed make him recover the lost stamina from his over expenditure of it during the delirious state to a certain degree. Ronny wanted to use the mana recovery potion on himself too. But sadly, his mana core wasn''t exactly in that rank. He would have suffered the consequences of drinking the potion that wasn''t meant for him had he done that. Finally, he retrieved another vial of potion and emptied the contents of his two weapons. The potion contained a liquid that would destabilize the ranker''s mana circuits for a while if it goes into their system due to direct ingestion or through open wounds. It was a debuff potion meant for Ronny''s opponents. He figured two can y the game of debuffing their opponents. Edward''s potion enabled him to cast an AoE that was supposed to work because of long exposure while enabling him to retract from the battle if he could find shelter in his teammate. Ronny''s debuff potion on the other hand made hime in contact with the enemy. A contact he was more than willing to initiate. Ronny also knew that the longer he stayed in the miasma, the more detrimental it would be for him. But just when he was about to bolt towards his enemies, a voice sounded in his head. ''Duck and move sideways.'' Ronny heard Alphee''s voice and opened his eyes wide in surprise. His body responded to her instruction before he could process them and ducked on its own before using all the might of his movement spell to go sideways. Another huge crater was formed where Ronny was standing a moment before. Part of it was due to Ronny using his lightning element movement spell in its full effect. But the biggest reason behind it was due to an explosion going off at the ce. Soon a barrage of wood spears zeroed in on the same area Ronny was standing at and attacked it with all that it got. Had Ronny been a second toote, he would have faced heavy repercussions. ''The miasma is not only debuffing your body. It is also affecting your mind and making you fall into an illusion.'' Alphee gave Ronny shocking news. He had thought that the miasma was working slowly on him due to therge area it had to cover. But turned out the effect and the whole charade was just to make him let his guard down. Ronny came to realize that although Edward was a mere potioneer and his personal battle experience might not be much, he had made the best use of his field of expertise. The expertise he had almost been trapped in. The butcher was d that he had taken care of Edward through Reen without wasting efforts on himself. Otherwise, things would have gotten south if the potioneer was allowed to make use of the illusion-inducing potion. ''How strong is the illusion? Can the illusion expert Jules see what''s going on here?'' Alphee seemed to have been checking something. She replied after a while: ''Your teammates also can''t tell what''s happening here for real anymore. They are seeing what they had been seeing all this while. Julia and Lady Zee would be able to tell the difference after a while. But it won''t be anytime soon. The dungeon''s mechanism has boosted the spell''s effects.'' Alphee then told Ronny the real positions of his enemies that he couldn''t see because of falling under the illusion. He immediately listened to her and started creating more distance between him and his enemies before asking Alphee again: ''There are so many things I want to ask you, Alphee. I understand now is not the time. But you always initiate contact when the situation is dire and go silent when I have time to talk to you. So I''ll ask the most important questions for now. How can you detect the opponents? It''s just like thest time when you could detect my enemy through the surroundings that interfere with the mana sense for when I was fighting the fog guy. I''m now guessing it''s not mana sense you employ to detect these enemies. What is it?'' Alphee sighed before answering: ''It''s soul sense. It works differently than mana sense. It''s too early for you to use it, so I won''t bother exining it. Now, stop and run in the opposite direction.'' As always, Alphee kept her exnations short. But at least this time, the butcher got the answer to the previous question he was looking for ever since he had fought with the fog guy in a ranking battle. ''Alright. Here''s another one: Why can''t we have normal conversations? What''s stopping you from opening a dialogue with me when there are no dangers around me?'' Ronny asked as he dodged another barrage of wooden spears following him like homing missiles. He had followed Alphee''s advice and retreated to where he hade from. This enabled him to save himself from the sneak attack Dom hadunched with his wooden spears. ''*Sigh. It''s because we can''t have a conversation for long with your weak mana core. In case you don''t know, I''m bound with your mana core. My existence is tied to you now. But the same goes for you as well. The more activity I take part in, the more your F-Rank mana core will be put under pressure. Plus, I need some time to recover my powers. But your F-Rank ranking status is making it difficult for me to expedite my recovery process. I still have to employ F-Rank mana from the surroundings to heal my injuries. That''s like trying to extinguish a wildfire with a bucketful of water.'' Ronny listened to Alephee''s exnation and found sense in them. If Alephees existence was as grand as he thought it was, then his F-Rank mana usage would indeed make it difficult for her to recover from whatever she was recovering from. At her level, normal injuries or debuffs wouldn''t stand a chance. ''Alright. Last question. You could have made your appearance earlier, you know. Although I don''t mind you saving me in the nick of the time, I hate close calls, Alephee. I know you know that. I would refer to it if you give me a preemptive warning. Like, you could have told me I was under the illusion right after I had fallen into it.'' Ronny asked while getting away from another potion trap Edward had set for him using Alphee''s directions. The potioneer had started treating Ronny like some rodent that he could get to byying various traps. He had set up those all around the battle ring while Ronny was trying to run away from Dom''s wooden spears. Ronny had to admit that the apparitions'' timing was impable. They were teaming up like they had done this dance hundreds of times. The potion trap would make use of array drawing to sense the opponenting in the range. Then it would uncork the potion or make it explode depending upon the setup and potion''s operability. Ronny didn''t know which debuff potions Edward had used in the potion traps. And he wanted to keep that way. ''Don''t underestimate someone who has gone through Sage transformation. I don''t want to reveal my existence here if I can help it. The reason I started talking now was that I had made sure beforehand that the miasma was affecting the surroundings substantially. The mana sense of rankers is getting hindered because of the illusory trap you have found yourself in. so my talk here should not create a problem. For now. But that would all change when the miasmapletely disappears. Just like you, I''m not fond of taking unnecessary risks either. So I''ll keep my mouth shut, as I had been, so as not to attract the attention of something we want to avoid.'' Alephee concluded her exnation and went silent. Ronny didn''t mind. He had gotten more information out of her thanst time. It was enough for him for now. ''Soul sense, huh! This woulde in handy when under the effects of illusion spells or potion-induced debuff. I''ll have to search for this term in the academy''s library. For now, to hell with Dom. I''ll target this Edward fellow and stop him from any more potion traps.'' Ronny changed his battle strategy and shifted his focus to Edward due to his circumstances. He used Alephee''s guidance to his advantage and made his way through the miasma effortlessly. "Thanks for showing me that potion masters could fight their battles too. Rest now. Byebye." Ronny said to Edward''s apparition as his katar punched a hole through thetter''s heart. He had killed one of his opponents using Alephee''s help. ================ AN: The update rates have been dropped due to the suddenptop problem I''m facing for a couple of days now. I''m currently writing, editing, and uploading chapters from a borrowedptop that I have limited ess to. I''ll try to get my existingptop fixed if it can be fixed. Because all my data is there. It''ll also be easier on my wallet. Otherwise, I''ll go for a newptop.. Either way, kindly wait for 3 to 4 days before the update ratees back to normal. Chapter 294 - Animated Spell Combo "Thanks for showing me that potion masters could fight their battles too. Rest now. Byebye." "Ronny said as his katar tore a hole through Edward''s heart. He had killed one of his opponents using Alephee''s help. Had it been other real rankers, they would have changed their strategies after seeing that their miasma had failed to affect Ronny mentally. But there was only so much intelligence the apparitions could exhibit mimicking the real rankers. The butcher had never seen that unique way of implementing potions in the traps. He wanted to learn how to use them too. In a way, Edward had opened his eyes to the new possibilities. A potion-induced miasma can affect rankers'' senses and hinder their mana sense. A potion that can put a ranker under the illusion mid-battle. Lastly, those potion traps. If he could pair the potion traps with his potion bombs, they would work asnd mines. But all that would have to wait since he had a bigger fish to fry at the time. As soon as Edward''s apparition vanished, the miasma started losing its potency. Ronny created a distance between him and Dom, buying time to wear out the residual miasma. He wanted to fight Dom with all his senses working after all. Ronny was still juiced from the potions he had consumed earlier. But he was still wary of Dom. The apparition had a way to surprise him. He had thought that he had the guy, but apparently, he looked fine now. It was as if all that beating he had received from the butcher was just part of the hallucination. ''What the actual fuck? I remember beating the crap out of that guy. Why is he looking all dandy again? No. Wait, a minute, that woodpecker is actually looking better than before he was beaten up by me. This dungeon is acting shamelessly now.'' Ronny thought to himself and felt wronged about his luck. Alphee was there to clear the air: ''I kept tabs on them using my Soul Sense while you were busy dodging their long-range attacks and potions traps. The apparitions yed their part to keep it as real as it can get. I saw a potion guy passing vials of potions to the wood guy. Thest vial he was shown to be using must be some type of body-stat enhancing concoction. Hehe, just like you, he has also juiced up.'' Only then did Ronny understand that the dungeon wasn''t ying pranks on him. But understanding didn''t help him in his current citation. He sighed before gripping his weapons tight in both his hands: ''I''ve gained a lot of insights into my elements while I was under that state. I don''t think I can use them all with the same proficiency. But I have a few options to try now. Reen, strengthen my body and make it look like I''ve entered anthrope transformation.'' The butcher started changing right in front of his audience. He used his anthrope transformation mimicry as an excuse to make Reen boost his stats with their fusion. Then he bolted towards his opponent using the spellbo with different effects he wanted to try: ''Blitz Steps Sedated Perception Fire snake'' Ronny executed the spellbo while keeping the Breath of Fire spell on hold for now. He was nning to use it differently. Unbeknownst to the butcher, La noticed something when Rony used Reen to strengthen himself. She smiled cunningly and seemed to have informed something or someone about it. Dom was ready to face Ronny with his swords drawn. Swords. Dom was also suddenly blessed by the dungeon''s mechanism to be a dual sword wielder. nk! But his opponent was way past the stage of being surprised anymore. A distinct metallic nk was heard as Ronny''s katars made contact with his weapons. ********** Dom had parried Ronny''s attacks perfectly despite thetter using Sedated Perception to get a solid read on him. That meant Dom was supposed to benefit from enhanced perception as well. A potion-induced enhanced perception would work in a different way than a time-element spell. By enhancing the body''s natural image processing capabilities, the concoction would boost perception. That meant if the ranker''s eyes could only process 30 frames of images per second normally, then upon the consumption of the perception enhancing potion, that rate would increase as per the potency and rank. The enhanced perception achieved the effects of a time element spell differently. This was the reason the butcher was interested in potioneering after hearing the field''s vast applications from Nina. ********* nk! Ronny used his weapon skills to handle Dom''s counters. And so began their dance of weapons squaring off against each other at close range. The butcher was getting injured by his opponent''s attacks. But thanks to the strengthening done earlier, Dom''s attacks only rarely managed to break past his defensive manayer. He wasn''t the only one to get injured though. The butcher was using every trick in his sleeveC from sneak attacks, low blows, to downright dirty ys. This was to get back at his opponent for every injury he had caused him-- with additional interest. And yet, the butcher wasn''t satisfied. He continued parrying Dom''s attack. However, he made the fire snakese back to life by sharing his mana sense in the same way he had done while in his delirious state. ''Spell animation.'' Ronny mumbled to himself as another two perspectives popped up in his head. He felt like he had six eyes now. The two belonged to him. The remaining four belonged to the two snakes that were looking at Dom with some hostility. The fire snakes could now detach themselves from Ronny. They jumped from Ronny''s hand and crawled towards Dom at breakneck speeds. Dom tried getting away from the fire snakes. But Ronny didn''t let him. He increased the pace of his attacks to keep his opponent busy whilemanding his animated spells to attack. Dom then tried to sh at the snake using one of the swords while he used the other to parry Ronny''s attacks. The snakes remained unaffected when the sword made its way through their ethereal bodies. But they did indeed freeze in their tracks for a while. That''s because Ronny felt his headache worsening as soon as the snakes faced the attacks. Ronny shook his head again and ignored the headache while carrying on with his assault. As a result of which, the snakes resumed their strides and reached Dom. Each of the snakes climbed on Dom using one of his legs. At first, they wrapped themselves around the legs of their target and tried to burn away its defensive manayer. Some of the manayers did get burned away, allowing the snakes to physically harm the wood user. But that was not why they were there. They climbed further on Dom''s body. Dom must have realized with his limited intelligence that something sinister was heading his way. Hence, he executed his defensive spell again and made the weird formation of wooden nks grow around his body to keep his vital organs safe. They climbed to Dom''s waist and wrapped their torsos around it. Both snakes raised their heads and looked at Dom''s face. He was busy fighting Ronny, so he couldn''t keep an eye on the stacked animated spell. But he must have felt their lifelike gazes on him. Dom immediately tried to cover his face with his defensive spell. s, it was a bit toote. The snakes had already opened their mouths while tightening their grips on Ronny''s waist. "Breath of fire!" Ronny said and smiled. Dom''s vision changed as soon as he heard his opponent speak. A cloud of orange filled his vision. As the Breath of Fire was cast by both the snakes at the same time, their damage output was doubled. Dom gave out a sharp, inhuman shriek as his face was getting burnt away by the fire. But that''s not all the damage he was going to suffer now. Ronny used the fact that his opponent was practically blindsided tounch another set of attacks. He went close to the guy and started hacking through his body without any hesitation. First to get chopped away were Dom''s arms. His manayer was in disarray trying to focus on the immediate threat his face was facing. So the manayer around the other parts of the body got weakened. That was all Ronny needed to show why he should be called the butcher. Arms were only the beginning. He hacked through Dom''s guts next. Ronny had to admit that the dungeon''s mechanism was as real as it could get. Because he saw Dom''s intestines out in the open when he operated on his stomach. Picheeeek! Dom''s Adam''s Apple was finally pierced by Diceros Right as he faced the cloud of fire generated around it. Only after Ronny punched a hole through Dom''s neck did the snakes stop their execution of Breath of Fire before vanishing into thin air. The snakes vanished quickly because Ronny couldn''t keep the spell and shared mana sense active for any longer. His headache had gotten unbearable after he overexerted himself like that. "My job is done here. I''m out." Ronny said this loudly to nobody in particr.. But his teammates who had watched thest part of the battle got his message loud and clear. Chapter 295 - Interrogation & Introspection "My job is done here. I''m out." Ronny said this loudly to nobody in particr. But his teammates who had watched thest part of the battle got his message loud and clear. Ronny found a corner outside the battle ring to sit and start his recovery by practising his ranking technique. His teammates had a lot of questions but he made them realize with his actions that those could wait. Lady Zee shrugged her shoulders after she saw that Jules and others were staring at her for her decision. She cleared her throat before saying: "*Cough. Alright. We''ll talkter when everyone has finished. Now that Ronny has beaten multiple opponents in one go, the trend should continue with you, Jules. Go ahead and take on as many opponents as you can. Our order ofbat hasn''t changed." Jules nodded at Lady Zee''s instructions and stepped into the battle ring. She was on edge after thinking that she would have to fight battles with the same levels as Ronny''s. But to her surprise and ease, the opponents she was given weren''t that difficult to deal with when they werepared with what Ronny had. She took care of the first opponent she had easily. The next opponent she had gave her some trouble. But Jules used her illusion spells to sessfully trick her opponent. Her winning strike ended with that as she retreated. Renar went next. He battled his first opponent and won. He used his anthrope transformation in the second battle and barely managed to keep his victory streak. He too quit after two battles. Eren''sst two opponents were counted as one entity by the dungeon''s mechanism because of his special status as a demi-human. So his teammates still had four members to defeat. And since Julie and Renar scored two wins each, their team won by keeping three participants in the reserve. ************ "Care to exin what happened back there?" Lady Zee asked in an inquisitive tone to Ronny when she saw him opening his eyes. Thetter''s squad members for the dungeon were now sitting around him. The dungeon had given them time to rest and catch their breaths before proceeding further. It''s been a few hours since Ronny''s battles with Dom and Edward took ce. He had stabilized his condition since then and was now in his normal state. "Hm? What do you want to know?" Ronny asked to buy time. The wheels inside his head had already started churning to mix truth with lies and create a wonderful mix of bullshittery. "Don''t y innocent. Why did the dungeon treat you differently?" Lady Zee wasn''t stupid. She had realized that the level of difficulty Rony had faced was poles apart from what Jules and Renar were given to battle with. This wasn''t her first time exploring this dungeon. If it treats people differently, it would probably have a reason for it. She wanted to know why. "Hmm. I would have chosen the "how should I know?" route, Lady Zee, but I''vee with a prediction of my own. Because that''s what I had observed too. The dungeon indeed gave me special treatment, even when I didn''t ask for it. I guess that the level of difficulty rises with how in sync you are with your anthropomorphic transformation. It won''t make sense to you. But I''m sure Renar and the rest would agree with me." Lady Zee looked at Renar and thetter didn''t know what to say. In the end, he just nodded at the squad''s de-facto leader, backing Ronny''s prediction. But Lady Zee wasn''t done with her line of questioning yet: "Alright. What did you drink before the start of your battle with the two-opponent tag-team?" Ronny smiled at Lady Zee when he heard her question. He caressed her chin before answering: "Lady Zee, you must have read my profile report given to you by Jules, right? I was handling the stuff inside the Beast Bloods'' treasury before I joined your guys here. Hehe. Let''s just say there were some things I liked. And I decided to funnel them into my storage." Ronny didn''t want his team to know about La because he didn''t want them to ask him why she approached him. He was sure that she had not done this with any participants that hade here over the years. That''s why he changed the origin of the Potion Of Serenity he consumed to Beast Bloods'' treasury. As a result of which, Lady Zee sighed because she found no reason to doubt his words. "*Sigh. You are lucky you found that in the Beast Bloods'' treasury. The Illuminati has a record of that potion. Apparently, it is very difficult to concoct. The ingredients it needs are extremely rare and almost extinct. Plus, it can only be concocted by high-ranked potioners. That''s why one would require a huge amount of contribution to get that potion for themselves inside the organization." Ronny furrowed his eyebrows after hearing the potion''s description from Lady Zee. He had thought that the potion would not be recognized by any of his mates. But he had apparently underestimated thedy with the scar on her face. He didn''t speak even though there were so many thoughts running inside his head. He wanteddy Zee to continue which she did after a short pause: "The Potion of Serenity, as it is called, helps you connect with higher consciousness and get insights into the way of the elements. I''ve been trying to get my hands on that potion ever since I heard about it in the Illuminati. Too bad, it can''t be essed even by me without having something substantial to show for it. You didn''t need the potion at your level, Ronny. It is still too early for you to wield your elements. Had you given it to me, I would have paid you handsomely for the Potion of Serenity. I still can, if you have more than one." Lady Zee asked with hope in her eyes. She felt that the potion was a waste on Ronny who hadn''t even stepped into the D-Rank. Had she used it, she would have been able to reap greater benefits than him. At least that''s what she was thinking. ********* Lady Zee''s assumptions were based on what she had heard about the potion so far from her seniors and records found in the organization. But contrary to her belief, the butcher had suffered from drinking the Potion of Serenity. Even the one who had given him the potionC La also found it surprising that the butcher had progressed so much into the way of the elements in a single go. It was as if he had greater experience for his age as a ranker than she had thought. The butcher''s life experiences from the past and present timelines hade together. They hade together to make his consumption of the wondrous potion a greater sess story than he or any of his team members had realized. ******** Ronny shook his head and sighed before answering Lady Zee''s query. "I had another vial of the same potion. But I sold that at Nmi, for which I became famous. Had I known back then that the potion was so rare, I would have sold it for a higher price. I just knew that the potion was meant to be consumed mid-battle to have maximum benefits. And that''s what I did without knowing what it could actually do. I''m as surprised as you guys are after experiencing the effects of the potion myself." Lady Zee nodded at Ronny before continuing her round: "How did you manage to keep yourself safe in the miasma, Ronny? It would have been difficult for me to deal with the situation had I been in your shoes. But you used the same miasma as an advantage to turn things around. How did you navigate sessfully in that debuff-inducing environment?" ''She''s asking about Soul Sense.'' Ronny scratched his chin before responding: "Who says I navigated sessfully? I was just running wild and hoping for the best, using my anthrope senses as a base. More like an educated instinct, if you will. Thank the fuck, that yed out well in my favour. Things could have gone either way if you ask me." ''This guy says all the right things but why do I find them to be so irritating?'' Lady Zee said that to herself before sighing. Without any follow-up question to grind him, she thought she should just drop the subject of interrogation. "Let me give you some advice, Ronny. The spell animation you used after gaining insights. I don''t know if you know this, but it is not something that can be used casually. You share your Mana Sense to breathe life into apatible spell, enabling it to exert all its power to its fullest potential. But by sharing your Mana Sense this way, you are also making it prone to the opponent''s attacks. If your Mana Sense gets hurt during the battle by your opponent''s retaliation, it would affect your mental state adversely. That can''t be good news when you are battling with an opponent who CAN hurt your Mana Sense. They can use your disturbed psyche as an opening tounch an attack on you." ''Oh. So that''s where those bouts of headaches came from. When Dom shed at the fire snakes.'' Ronny had one of the questions he had about his previous state answered after listening to Lady Zee''s suggestion. But before he could thank her for the same, a small, familiar array appeared and lit up in front of him. The spot was in the middle of the battle ring that had already vanished. It was time for the second floor''s rewards! Chapter 296 - Second Floor Rewards It was time for the second floor''s rewards! "Didn''t the rewardse too early? We had to fight two rounds of battle to clear the first floor. And the second floor is cleared with only one round?" Renar asked in confusion. Lady Zee cleared his doubts with her response: "It''s not the number of rounds the dungeon considers but the level of difficulty you have to face as a team to clear the floors. Maybe you didn''t have to exert as much effort whenpared to the first floor, Renar. But Ronny and Jules had to bring out their absolute best. That contributed to the team''s credibility to clear the second floor. Plus, the dungeon would do what it does best- surprise you when you least expect it. It follows the known pattern only half the time." Renar looked at Ronny and Jules after he heard the exnation and remembered the fights that they had to suffer through to secure their victories. As Lady Zee had said, he didn''t face the burn of the second floor much. Since there were people who had outperformed themselves, the dungeon''s mechanism bnced their hardships by putting less burden on him. "Let''s not waste any more time. With our current performance, the third floor of the dungeon is the maximum we can go. I''d like to wrap things up after that. There are also solo towers that you can take part in. Jules and I would part from you guys after the third floor of the dungeon gets cleared and we get out of it. You can explore the dimension for some days and take part in solo challenges if you are okay with the risks. We''ll meet when Purgatory is going to close for this year." Lady Zee said and gestured to Br to step into the array. The usual followed and everyone had their turns. Ronny was thest to go since he had decided to practise his ranking technique some more to stabilize his condition. Contrary to Lady Zee''s grim prediction about the third floor, he was looking forward to it. He had so many insights to digest after all. Battles would be a convenient method of achieving that objective in the shortest amount of time. Ronny stepped into the array and closed his eyes. Next, he sent his mana sense into his storage and waited for things to appear like they didst time. It didn''t take long for Ronny''s rewards to arrive in his storage. Just like the first floor, there were multiple items this time as well. But his attention was drawn to one particr item as soon as heid his eyes on it. ''Hm? An egg with runes on it?'' Ronny wrapped his mana sense around his unexpected reward and inspected it. The egg was twice the size of his palm. The runes on it lit up when he tried inspecting it with his mana sense. But apart from sensing that the runes were there to keep the contents of the eggs safe, he couldn''t find anything about it. ''Reen, can you sense what it is?'' The butcher asked his demon beastpanion. Thetter just seemed to have shaken her head in denial before responding: ''No, Erni. The runes on the eggs are not letting me get a read on it.'' Ronny seemed to have thought of something before directing his question next to another of his partners that liked to keep her mouth shut for most of the time: ''Alephee, what about you? If Mana Sense can''t work, I bet your Soul Sense can. Would you like to help your host and friend here? At least pay the rent for living inside my mana core.'' The butcher asked yfully while disying his frugal attitude. Alephee seemed to have rolled her eyes before making a few things clear for him. ''Haah! Pay the rent you say. If I wasn''t there, you would have died by that wolf chewing on your dick. And no I can''t help you. Not because I don''t want to. But doing so might affect the reward you have. Soul Sense isn''t as simple as Mana Sense, you know.'' Ronny didn''t budge from that half-assed exnation. He wanted Alephee to rify a few things for him right now. So he pressed on: ''What do you mean? Does Soul Sense damage things every time it gets used? Why didn''t that happen when you used it in the battle?'' Alephee pondered for a bit before replying: ''The Mana Sense employs your mana to do things. It bes an additional sense that goes beyond the limits of the traditional senses. It lets you analyze things more deeply. But what if you could employ your soul to do the same and then some more? In Soul Sense, you have to spread your soul around you. That means your soul stretches beyond the confines of your body and treats the area around you as an extension of your body. If I do that with this egg and the eggs turn out to be alive inside the protection of those tunes, then my Soul Sense would negatively affect the fetus. A soul''s interference should not be taken lightly. Especially when it is being used on someone who hasn''t even been born yet. Now you tell me. Do you want to take the risk of running your reward just to satisfy your curiosity?'' ''Um, no. Let''s... wait.'' Ronny told Alephee and decided not to ruin his reward. He then focused his mana sense on his next reward-- an old tome that had a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism opened on its own when the book came in contact with the butcher''s Mana Sense. He opened the book and scanned the content written over it. The butcher was mesmerized by what he found inside the tome. He kept on turning pages after pages, giving them a quick read. He only stopped after he finished checking up thest page and registered his surprise to himself: ''Holy moly, it''s a jackpot. There are so many potion recipes I haven''t even heard exist. Most of them belong to F and E Ranks. Fuck! Some of them are also in D-Rank. This tome alone is worth all the effort I took to win my round on the second floor.'' Ronny was extremely pleased with getting his hands on the tome as a reward. He had also found the things he was looking for in it. He had found the recipe for the miasma potion that he had found intriguing. Plus, the tome exined in detail how the potion traps worked. Plus, the tome also gave him the ability to permanently strengthen his weapons using potions. In addition, a few recipes were given as examples of how the way of the elements could be used in the concoction of potions. Ronny had high hopes for the egg after he realized the value of rewards the dungeon had granted him for clearing the second floor. He turned his attention to other rewards after he begrudgingly kept the tome away. The butcher found a stock of various vials next. He immediately recognized a bunch of the vials. Because the content inside them had the same tint as Edward''s miasma potion when he had used it against him. The potions seemed to be 5-stars in quality too. This type of reward also put a smile on Ronny''s face because it gave him the immediate trump cards he needed to turn things around. Especially in the separate dimension. The butcher was never fond of making his safety dependent on the actions and reactions around him. Especially in Purgatory where he couldn''t count on anybody. These miasma vials would serve as get-away passes if things started turning grim for him. Other vials contained potions of the E-rank. They ranged from stamina potions to mysterious concoctions, carrying some known as well as unknown buffs and debuffs. The butcher then shifted his attention to a bunch of scrolls he had received as his reward. He opened them up and saw that they were all 5-star, E-Rank variants of his time and lightning element spells. ''Damn. This dungeon needs to be farmed for rewards. I''ll have to find a way to enter the dungeon and sneak Jake and the rest in here.'' The butcher thought to himself and read through the scrolls. The first floor had given him new spells while the second floor had raised the ranks of all his existing spells. The dungeon sure knew how to keep its participants interested. Lastly, he discovered a non-elemental F-Rank spell to make his weapons levitate and attack as per hismands using the mana sense as their driver. He remembered Dom''s way of handling the wooden spears and realized that the spell''s potential was alreadyid out in front of him in the previous battle. ''This non-elemental spell isn''t that special. But it can give me the variation I need to tackle my opponents in mid-range. Not bad.'' The butcher thought to himself and smiled. He retracted his mana sense after confirming all the rewards.. He couldn''t help sh a grin to his teammates when he stepped out of the array. Chapter 297 - Third Floor Ronny and his teammates went to the third floor after collecting their individual as well as team based rewards. It didn''t take long for the third floor''s entrance to appear before them. The third floor pitted the team against packs of Crimson Fire Foxes. The packs woulde at the group in a set pattern. The evolution of Crimson Fire Foxes was easy to distinguish. The number of tails they had were indicative of their ranks. The F-Rank Crimson Fire Fox would have one tail. The E-Rank fox would have two and so on. The packs Ronny''s team had to battle with would usually have one D-Rank fox or multiple E-Rank ones to make up for the rank. Rest of the foxes in the pack were usually F-Rank ones. Lady Zee had to exert more effort 9n the third floor than anyone else. That''s because the greatest threats in the pack would usually be handled by her. Crimson Fire Foxes would release fireballs from their mouths. The number of fireballs that could be executed as well as their damage output would increase with the mana beasts'' rank-ups. The group also had to fight mutated Crimson Fire Foxes that would be blessed with odd types of fire-element spells. So Ronny and his teammates were on their toes till they defeated the pack. But their misery would begin afresh with the arrival of a new pack. They were given only a few minutes of breather in between. The constant battles had eventually tired the group out. Br and Viper had it worse. Both of them had been severely injured by the time the group took care of the 6th pack. Viper''s left-half face has been burnt by the residual fire of the D-Rank mana beast''s spell because he couldn''t get away from the same in time. The burnt part of his skin looked as if it had melted and in the process of leaving its initial position it was hanging on to. Jules gave Viper an ointment that finally stopped Viper''s condition from turning into anything worse. But by that time the damage had already been done. The residual fire was from a deviant D-Rank monster that had already started welding elements. The injury left by a mana beast like this wasn''t easy to heal. A ranker had to be wielding his elements themselves to get rid of the foreign influence that had invaded their bodies. Plus, they needed near perfect control to battle that influence without damaging your body. The second method would be to find a healer who could wield their elements with excellent control. The third and final method to cure injuries like this was using potions and other such alchemy-based products that had been concocted by someone who could wield their elements. Plus, such potions couldn''t be mass produced. They had to be custom-concocted depending on the situation and condition of the ranker who was facing such an injury. ********* Viper''s teammates obviously didn''t have any of the means avable to them topletely cure Novice ranker. Therefore, the best they could do was primary healing that stopped the burnt skin from turning any worse. And yet, Viper''s condition was still lightpared to what Br had been inflicted with. The guy''s right leg had been torn off from the knee by one of the Crimson Fire Foxes he was battling with. This was the second time Br was suffering from such an injury. But the experience in the field didn''t help him have an easier time. He was finally rescued by Jules who stepped in as soon as her battle with the E-Rank fox had ended. But by that time, Br had already suffered from the maws of the mana beast. All she could do this time was offer him a potion to stop the bleeding. Since Br had faced the injury before, he had prosthetics in spare for his limbs. He begrudgingly took the F-Rank artifact prosthetic that fitted him perfectly after he imbued his mana in it. As a result, he started cursing Eren again in his mind, believing that the guy had cast some kind of curse on him. Since almost everyone performed mediocre at best and just barely survived the third floor, the rewards for the same weren''t that great. But this wasn''t the case for the butcher. Because he had performed exceptionally well for his rank, using all the cards he hadC from strengthening provided by Reen dubbed as his anthrope transformation to his newfound insights into spells and way of the elements. As a result, the butcher received another tome of potion recipes that contained newer recipes and covered some D-Rank recipes as well. He also received an encyclopedia on herbs and their effects. Although he couldn''t get the names of most of them, he knew he had hit the jackpot again. Because he could always find the relevant names by referring to history books. But that was not all. He had also received a bunch of life-saving potions and a few defensive artifacts. The first artifact he had received was an E-Rank watch that showed time but also contained a function of serving as a shield when he needed it to. He just had to run his mana through it and an almond-shaped bronze shield would appear in front of him. The shield had lightning-element runes, amplifying its performance when used by a lighting-element ranker. The other defensive artifact he had received was an E-Rank space-element artifact in the form of a pendent. It could create a spatial hole in front of him once every three days that would have the ability to send away the iing weaponry or spell thrown at him, only to make the same appear a few meters away from him. The spell-element defensive artifact could only be used once per three days because it wasn''t used by a space-element ranker. So it would take longer to get charged through the runes inscribed on it, which interacted with surrounding mana. Lastly, the dungeon had rewarded the butcher with another defensive artifact in the form of a simple-looking shirt in the E-Rank. It was a non-elementalized alchemy item meant to be worn by everybody. Instead of using the runs to grant it its defensive properties, the item had been immersed in the concoction once, granting it enhanced resilience against blunt impacts in the E-Rank. ''Boy, I can not wait to officially enter the E-Rank now.'' The butcher had this thought as he and his teammates got out of the dungeon.. They had decided to quit their journey while they still had the ability to do so. Chapter 298 - Something’s Up "As I said Ronny, I and Julie would take our leaves now. You guys can decide to explore the Purgatory or choose to stay put until our departure arrives. Either way, I wish you good luck. Julie, we''ll have to leave soon." Lady Zee dered her next set of ns sometime after the team got out of the dungeon. Since they were now out in the open where the cold had made its dominance known, everybody had worn their winter clothes back. The campfire was burning and the fragrance of grilled meat was in the air. ''Good luck, huh? Something''s fucking up.'' The butcher had a sudden thought when he heard Lady Zee''s statement and looked at her in face. She was staring at the fire burning in front of her as if lost in some thought. But the butcher could tell, this was just a ruse to prevent him from picking anything that would give away her real intentions. He had his fair share of betrayals while he was still being epted as a party member in the previous timeline after all. He knew those pre-betrayal faces and statements all too well to mistake them for something else. Despite all those thoughts running through his head, the butcher didn''t let the recognition of the betrayal show on his face either. He nodded his head at Lady Zee before responding: "Alright. We''ll meet at the time of our departure from the Purgatory. Take care, Lady Zee. Jules" Jules hugged him before Ronny could say any further. He smiled and caressed her back. He knew at that time that she wasn''t let in on Lady Zee''s ns. "We''ll surely meet at the end of this wretched exploration, Ronny. Just don''t take any unnecessary risks if you are unsure about something. Sometimes quitting the game ahead gives you more benefits than keeping on ying. Promise me you''ll take care of yourself, okay?" Jules said while burying her face in Ronny''s chest. Others were looking at the couple in a wide range of emotions. The butcher nodded his head while looking down at the illusionist, releasing her from her worries. ********** Jules couldn''t believe what she had just said. Since when did she be this caring towards someone she had only seen as a sugar daddy at first? The progression of her emotions in these weeks had baffled her more than anyone who saw the couple hugging each other. But she didn''t care. Jules could subconsciously connect more with Ronny because, like her, he too was used to having a mask they would have to wear for an audience. Her audience was the academy and other normal rankers she would interact with as an assistant professor of LA. Ronny''s audience on the other hand were all those with who he hade in contact. Jules hade to realize that whatever wrongdoings she had done, Ronny should have done something much worse for him to always wear that mask and make it a part of himself. At least he had the potential to cause a great disruption to the order around him. And yet, the guy didn''t look like he was burdened by keeping his emotions bottled up. To Jules, Ronny looked content in himself. Something she wasn''t able to do by living two separate lives at once. So in him, her mind had found the road to salvation. She had subconsciously thought that only he could understand him and the choice she made to survive. Unbeknownst to her or Ronny, the gold digger Jules had turned into someone she looked down upon the mostC a woman blindsided by the first sprout of love. But the surprise at her behaviour didn''t prevent her from embracing the warmth she was feeling right now. The surprise soon turned into recognition as she hugged Ronny even tighter for a few more seconds before finally letting him go. ************ "Alright. It''s time to leave. Julie, follow me." Lady Zee finally got up from her seat and started walking. Jules followed her orders and started walking in the same direction, right behind the D-Ranker. She then stopped and looked back. For some reason, she didn''t feelfortable leaving Ronny behind despite thetter assuring her of his prioritization on his safety. She finally shook her head as if rebooting her thought process. Then waved at Ronny smilingly before following Lady Zee''s lead. "What should we do now? My missing feet are going to be a handicap that my prosthetic won''t be able to ovee. Not the way you''d expect it to. Therefore, I suggest we stay put." Br said sometime after Jules left. He made his unwillingness to carry on further known to his teammates who were sitting around by the campfire just like him. Only Ronny was seen eating the grilled meat now. The other had already had their fill. "Hehehe! Boy, do you think staying put would assure your safety here? What do you think this ce is?" Ronny asked amusingly while taking another bite from his piece of grilled meat. Br raised his eyebrows but didn''t question the guy. He was just trying his luck with his earlier statement anyway. Br hade to realize that the guy whole had rescued them from being enved by Silvermoon city administration was not someone who he could fuck with. Therefore, he just wanted to serve his time under Ronny and get a chance to get back Eren when he could do so. Br thought that if he served Ronny well, maybe he could help him get his revenge on Eren who had cut all his limbs and humiliated him. So he kept his mouth shut when he heard the guy''s rebuttal. But his teammates didn''t have the same inhibitions. Renar was the first to raise his query. "Sir Ronny" ================ AN: So apparently, I had made myptop worse by operating on it, watching some Ytube videos. But it finally got repaired today. The regr release would resume henceforth. Thank you for your patience. Oh yes, I forgot to add an easter egg under chapter 296 because I had finished and uploaded it on my mobile. So here it is. I''ve already foreshadowed what will be in the egg. And it won''t be found in the chapters.. (The chapter title is another hint.) ;) Chapter 299 - Surrounded Renar couldn''t keep his mind at ease when he heard Ronny''s hint. He asked warily in a low voice as if his voice had the possibility of getting heard by some unknown stalker: "Sir Ronny, what do you mean by that? Could you please rify? Are we going to get attacked by the Illuminati? But." Ronny interrupted Renar before he couldplete his statements: "But we signed a binding contract with them that ensured our safety, right? Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but that won''t save us from our uing battles." It was Viper that raised his query this time: "So are you saying they''d take so much effort to breach contracts with us just to get our goods when the contract itself offers them a cut while avoidingplications? Sir Ronny, I think the bigger the organization, the more bound by the rules it seems to be. I don''t think high-ranked entities would take part in breaching contracts with nobody like us. What would they gain anyway? The goods that are treasures in our eyes but a pile of waste for them." Viper seemed to talk less, but when he did, he tried to be on point. Ronny shook his head after hearing his assumption: "I don''t know why you became a cultist if you were all this gullible from the beginning. I''m saying that they don''t have to breach the binding contracts with us. That''s because they won''t target us directly. The binding contracts only assure us that the Illuminati members won''t attack us. But it doesn''t cover the involvement of third parties and other squads they have hired to explore the dungeon. Try to remember. How many people did we see gathered on the first day?" Renar had dark expressions on his face as he blurted out: "You mean" Ronny nodded and finished up thest piece of grilled meat before confirming Renar''s doubts: "That''s right. At least half of them are our enemies now." Renar looked at Ronny and remembered what thetter had said about them in passing. Gullible cultists! They were indeed gullible cultists to ce their bets on a binding contract that had a huge loophole like this. Only now did he understand why Lady Zee and their group parted ways when they could have just stuck together. Higher-ups at Illuminati have already agreed to exploit the loophole. Why should they take a cut of rewards when they can just employ rogue rankers to take care of the squads that have won big?" "That bitch Zee, if I find her" Renar spoke softly but the hint of anger he felt for his de-facto team leader of some time ago was unmistakable: "Haah! What can you do to her even if you find her? She''ll squash us like the bug we are if we try to take it out on her. I''m not trying to take her side, but all of this must have been preordained by the true higher-ups of the Purgatory exploration. Most likely, she doesn''t have any say in it." Viper understood why Ronny was against setting up a camp now. If they stayed at one ce for longer than they needed to be, then they would be targeted by the rogue rankers that had been hired to hunt the explorers. "We better get moving" Viper wanted his team to move away from their current position after realizing the dangers they were surrounded by. But Ronny got up, dusted off the snow stuck to his butt, and replied while looking nkly ahead of him: "Toote. Prepare for battle." Ronny said and drew out his daggers from his storage. Renar and the rest quickly followed his lead after seeing the seriousness stered over the former''s face. Ronny wasn''t optimistic about running away unscathed from the danger he was soon going to face. He had always known he couldn''t count on the Illuminati to have his back. But the kind of pickle he had found himself in was unavoidable. Because he wanted to explore Purgatory at the cost of being backstabbed. And finally, he received what he was expecting. Sometimes he wondered if merely thinking about the most undesirable oues empowers them to be manifested in his life. "Look what we have here, Jer. Four lost littlembs are begging for their release from this hellish Purgatory. Hahaha! Don''t you think we should oblige to their requests?" A raspy voice rang in the surroundings. It came from the same direction Ronny was looking atC their front. Soon, Renar and the rest could see a lone figure leading a group of three rankers closing in on them. Ronny held his ground and didn''t reply. He maintained his position and deadpan expressions while gripping his hands on the daggers he was holding. That''s because the guy who spoke was an E-Rank existence that was just a step away from being called an Adept. He was leading three rankers that were in the solid stage of the F-Rank. Ronny wasn''t acting cautiously because of the team in front of him though. There was one more team of rankers who had blocked their path of retreat. "Gerish, don''t y with our targets. The job is supposed to be nice and clean. Finish what you see in front of you and move on. These nuisances aren''t the only ones we need to take care of, you know." The voice that came from behind didn''t sound as old as the man''s voice who wasing from the front. But it contained a certain authority in it that couldn''t be questioned by the likes of anyone present there. ''An Adept. Possibly in the liquid stage by the kind of mana signature he is emitting. Fuck. That Zee is indeed a bitch. I''ll fucking whoop her ass if I see her again here.'' Ronny gulped and thought to himself as he realized he and his team were being targeted by an Adept.. He had to pay the price for ignoring the tell-tale signs of being backstabbed to gain the rewards. Chapter 300 - Showdown "Bah! You are no fun at all, Jer. Look what being an Adept has done to you. You lost your yful side. Even though you left me behind and steered ahead of me, I''m not envious. I don''t want to be a hardass like you when I break into the D-Rank. *cough cough cough* Ptui!" Gerish huffed and coughed and spat on the ground. Rankers would usually not get colds or flu-- like that of unranked mortals. The fact that Gerish had a cough conveyed his condition as a ranker. If he wanted to survive, he had to break into D-Rank. Otherwise, he would die of old age. Jerry or Jer as Gerish liked to call him was leading the group of two E-Rankers and one F-Ranker. One of the E-Rankers was in the initial stage while the other was in the middle stage. ''Two more E-Rankers. Fuck.'' Ronny cursed and gestured to Renar and the rest toe closer to him. They needed to open a united front if they wanted to have even the slightest chance of getting out of this trap alive. Gerish and Jerry saw that their preys were forming a formation. But both didn''t mind. "Haah! Unlike you, I try not to delve into the past, Gerish. Besides, we have been summoned to take care of this task fast and get on with Sir Arthur''s task. We don''t have much time." Ronny''s ears perked up when he heard the name Arthur. But now was not the time to think about anythingplicated. What they needed to do now was get their sorry asses away from this mess. IF they could get away alive, that is. ''Time to sacrifice a pawn or two.'' Ronny thought about this as he looked at his teammates one more time. He had brought Renar and the rest because he knew he couldn''t count on the personnel the Illuminati would arrange for him as his team. He also brought them so that he could use them as sacrifices. He focused on a particr figure among his group as he made his ns: "You two, battle with that E-Ranker and finish him off quickly. The novices should take care of the novices. Gerish and I will block the group''s retreat. We will step in if you fail to do your job. But remember, you''ll have to pay the price if that happens." Jerry ordered his two E-Ranker subordinates and stopped walking. Gerish''s team looked at their leader, who nodded his head at Jerry''smands. Gerish also stopped walking ahead and folded his hands, looking at Ronny with a hint of amusement in his eyes. With the Adept''smands, Ronny''s immediate opponents were now known to him. He was set up against the two E-Rankers while Renar, Viper, and handicapped Br had to fight against four F-Rankers. The two E-Rankers encircled Ronny''s group and stood in front. The F-Rankers were gathered in the opposite direction. "Renar, listen to me. We can still do this, thanks to the rewards we have received in the dungeon. Fall back to this ce when you see me doing the same. We''ll provide cover fire for each other and who knows, we might be able to take care of all of them, hehe!" Ronny said this with false bravado and a mirthless smile on his face. But there was something in the way he said it that irked the Adept present there. But he decided to follow through with the n he hadid out. ''Haah! Kid, you want to put pressure on me and Gerish by deterring us from the trump cards you received from the dungeon. If you think that would be enough to scare us into leaving you alone, then you are still too green. And if you truly believe that those trump cards can save you from an Adept ranker, then I shall be the reason for your rude awakening.'' Jerry thought to himself as he saw his subordinates about to engage with someone who seemed to be the leader of the opponent team. He looked at Gerish next and gestured to him to hold his ground. "Just drop dead peacefully, man. No hard feelings." One of the E-Rankers was a male in his early 30s. He said this while he ran towards Ronny. The other E-Ranker looked like a male dressed in a woman''s clothes because the person had a girlish face. But his body was ripped like a dude on roid potions. He followed his teammate''s lead and bolted towards Ronny as well. ''Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Blitz Steps Blitz Bolt Blitz Shield Fire snakes Breath of Fire.'' Ronny sent his mana circuits into hyperdrive and pulled off a sic-spellbo right off the bat. His body grew hot, turning red in the process. It was obvious that he was exerting himself with the kind of spellbo he had executed. But he had no other choice. Battling with real human rankers was different than battling with the apparitions in the dungeon after all. The apparitions in the dungeon be predictable if you keep fighting with them. That is if you drive long enough to do so. But the real rankers were the real deal. That''s because one could never urately guess how battling with them would turn out without knowing anything about them. ''Erni, you are hurting yourself. Let me out. I''ll take care of them.'' Reen pleaded to her master after she observed his condition. Thetter denied her proposal and said in his mind: ''I''ll take care of these guys, Ren. Don''t worry. I''ll ask for your help when I need it. Maybe you can use your inherent healing spell to cure me post-battle. Plus, I want to see how many E-Rankers I can kill today by being all in. Hehe!'' The butcher said this while looking at his two opponents who were now just a few meters away from him. Three distinct mana pulses had made their presence known, indicative of three E-Rankers executing the spells in their arsenals. What his opponents didn''t know was the fact that Ronny was aiming to y not only them but Gerish as well, who was standing behind them. He had to paint the path of his escape with the guy''s blood if he wanted to survive out of this ordeal. ========== AN- VEH punches in 300 chapters with this release.. I take this milestone to thank all of the readers for being with me and Eren through our thick and thin. Cheers! ;) Chapter 301 - Miscalculation Three distinct mana pulses had made their presence known, indicative of three E-Rankers executing the spells in their arsenals. The first E-Rank male that was leading the attack took out a long spear from his storage and pointed the tip of his weapon towards approaching Ronny. The E-Rank female with a male''s body, who was also taller than the male ranker, took out a crossbow and aimed it at her enemy from over the shoulder of her teammate. Since the Sedated Perception was activated Ronny saw that the two-pronged approach taken by the duo was well-calibrated. He couldn''t dodge the spear, courtesy of its extended range. And he couldn''t back away from the crossbow E-Ranker pointed at him. The spear of the E-Rank was soon coated in mana as a weapon-enhancing spell was cast over it by the wielder. The weapon''s tip caught fire and it spread all around the weapon. Crossbow arrows seemed to be made of water-element mana. It made the edges of the arrows reflect light in rainbow colors. Although the multicoloured arrows were pleasant to look at, Ronny knew their effects would turn out to be anything but that for him. As Ronny was observing the two E-Rankers, his opponents were also doing the same. The leading E-Ranker saw that Ronny''s body suddenly turned red as he started approaching him. Then the guy was engulfed in lightning element mana and a strong mana pulse was spread in the surroundings as a result. ''We miscalcted. This guy won''t be easy to deal with.'' The Spear wielding E-Ranker had this thought as he got nearer to his opponent in real-time. He aimed the spear to be lodged right in Ronny''s right thigh while he drew out another spear from his storage. He was also preparing to cast the same weapon-enhancing spell on his secondary weapon. The spear-wielding guy soon realized that Ronny was not at his previous position anymore even though he observed that his spear had struck him right where he wanted it to be. That''s because he didn''t feel the recoil from the weapon he was expecting after piercing something fleshy. ''Damn it. The guy''s fast. I should inform that gori'' The spear-wielding guy thought of relying on his "gori" teammate more after he realized that Ronny wasn''t as easy to deal with as he thought he would be at first. But his chain of thought was soon interrupted by the sheer force he felt over his chest, where his heart was. The spear ranker looked down and saw that a dagger coated in lightning element mana had struck right over his heart. The force behind this attack was so powerful that the ranker wondered why he wasn''t pushed back. But he soon found the answer he was looking for. He felt a hand gripping his left shoulder, causing him to bear the consequence of being struck by the dagger while remaining in the same position. Ronny''s blurred image soon started appearing clearly in the spear ranker''s vision. He still had deadpan expressions from before. But his eyes the guy''s eyes were oozing bloodlust. Ronny appeared right in front of the spear guy, within his reach. He had made use of the space the spear guy had left free to manoeuvre his dual spears. If the spear had granted him extended range, it had also made him vulnerable to short range attacks initiated by the butcher. But that wasn''t the spear guy''s end. He was wearing chainmail armour inside the clothes of his fire element that immediately burst into mes after it had been struck by Ronny''s dagger. The fire-element mana fought off with the lightning element residue the dagger was trying to spread all over the ranker''s body. The armour''s mes could not remove all the lightning residue. The spear guy felt as if his outer skin all over his body was getting numb after it was subjected to the electrical shock. The spear guy didn''t wait for long. Then he dropped his left weapon and aimed his chop at Ronny''s neck. He also cast his movement spell that caused his feet to glow with fire. Plus, he adjusted the spear in his right hand so that the weapon''s hilt would target Ronny''s side waist. The spear guy did all that in one swift motion as he used his movement spell to retract and fall behind where his teammate was. But he again found that the end of his weapon had struck the guy''s afterimage. The spear guy gulped after he saw the kind of opponent he was facing. He felt even more dread after observing that the guy''s first afterimage could still be seen; albeit in a blurred, almost-disappeared manner. ''Damn it. I should have let that gori take the lead. This guy is insane. I might get killed in a few moves if I continue to fight him alone.'' The spearman thought this as he let loose his mana sense around him to anticipate Ronny''s sneak attacks. He picked up on something that wasing from his right side. But before he could take countermeasures, the attack hadnded on him. Ronny had attacked the spear guy using his dagger. Thetter had realized that it was the same ce he intended to hit the guy with his spear. "Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" The spear guy howled as his right thigh was pierced by Ronny''s left-handed dagger. The former understood that the move was meant to make a statement. A statement meant for himC tit for tat. The spear guy remembered his earlier bravado in telling the guy to drop dead peacefully. He had genuinely believed at the time that he was doing Ronny a favour by letting him die peacefully. The lightning element mana had found a new outlet to affect the spear guy now. The spear guy felt like his body had suddenly gotten naked. It was as if he had be an unranked boy from his childhood again. He felt the cold the way an ordinary kid would. ============== AN: Thank you John_Dover and _Transcendent for your gifts. Thanks, Daoist930799 and AndrewMurry for sending Luxury Cars.. Also, thanks Tanner_Minnick for the massage chair. ;) Chapter 302 - Ashton & Hilda– A Short Love Story The lightning element mana had found a new outlet to affect the spear guy now. The spear guy looked like his body had suddenly gotten naked. He felt like he had reverted to being a child again, feeling this cold as an unranked existence would. As a result of being electrocuted, the spear guy''s reaction and thought process had gotten slower. Ronny wasn''t someone to let go of this opportunity. He got behind the guy''s back with a spin while twisting the dagger stuck at the guy''s thigh. His second dagger was going to aim at the spear guy''s right lung right below the bottommost bone of the ribcage. ''This is it. There''s no escape this time. I''ll die for sure here.'' As the spear guy fought the ghost, his mana sense warned him of his current conditions. Ghost because every time he had tried to get to Ronny, all he had ended up with were afterimages. But just when the same ghost was about to run the dagger into the guy''s right lung from below the ribcage, a distinct metallic clunk was heard. The spear guy had found that his right side was still fine and had not been damaged in any way. He soon realized that his teammate had intervened. "Ashton, you idiot. Fall back. I''ll cover you." Ashton the spear guy soon heard a familiar voice that had irked him for some years now. That''s because thedy''s voice sounded manlier than him. But the same voice that had be his nightmare was sounding like the sweetest hymn from heaven he could hear in his current condition. ''I swear to all the things I hold dear, if I can survive the battle with this ghost, I''ll take thatdy gori Hilda out on a date.'' Ashton made a pact with himself after he was saved by Hilda. She had proposed to him so many times. After seeing her body juiced-up on male hormones, he naturally rejected Hilda''s advances. She had more well-defined abs than him, which was a turnoff for the guy. But he had decided that if she could save his life here, then he would try to look past the ordinary standards of feminine beauty and see Hilda for what she was as a person. "Yoooooooooou Noooooot Goooooooing Anywhere." Ashton''s daydreams of romance were soon put on hold after he heard a voice that sounded abnormally stretched to him. The voice sounded both far and close to him. ''No. This isn''t it.'' Ashton dropped his earlier perception of sound. The source of that voice was closing in on him at a rapid pace. That was the reason it was heard as if it was far and near to him at the same time. "Aaaaaaaaaaaa!" Ashton released a determined roar and focused on his movement spell and sent it to overdrive. His right thigh that had been pierced by Ronny''s dagger started spurting blood as a result. Though most of the blood was evaporated by the mes that were present because of his movement spell, some of it fell to the ground and left a trail behind. But Ashton didn''t care about the excessive blood loss. He focused on retreating because his life depended on it. His speed would soon enable him to travel quickly towards Lady Gori. But before he could feel safe in Hilda''s shadow, another dagger struck his neck from behind him. This time it passed through without any obstruction. That''s because Ashton could feel Ronny had stacked his lightning element spell to increase its piercing potential. As a result, Ronny''s lightning enhanced dagger tore through Ashton''s defensive manayer and pierced his neck as soon as the attack was initiated. "Noooooo! Ashton!" Hilda''s loud and screeching yell rang in the surroundings. Swoooooo! Swooooo! Swooooo! Ashton could hear loads of arrows whistling past all around him. Hilda was trying her finest to cover his retreat. But apparently, it wasn''t enough to stop the ghost from taking his prey by surprise. But it wasn''t like Ronny was unscathed. He spurted a hint of blood from his mouth, as he had to stack the Blitz Bolt spell. This was to deal with the guy''s defensive manayer in one swift move. The arrows zoomed past Ronny. Some of them even struck him. But by then, his updated and improved defensive spellC Blitz Shield had manifested. This defensive spell fought against the corrosive water element residue left behind by the struck arrows. It got rid of almost all the over-time damage delivered by the corrosive water element residue while suffering next to no damage. Ronny had already anticipated Hilda would use the time he had to slow down at a ce to attack Ahston as an opportunity to target him. He still carried on targeting Ashton because he was confident in maintaining his defensive spell against the barrage of arrows. But with every hit by the arrow and every bit of shield regeneration, arge chunk of Ronny''s mana was consumed away. He couldn''t maintain his spellbo for long if the consumption remained this high. That''s why Ronny finally released his fire-element spells to take care of the stray arrows that were flying towards him. A bunch of fire snakes appeared all around him. They opened their mouths and executed another fire element spell on their ownC the breath of fire. Suddenly, the battle area was lit up as a mini firestorm was summoned in the surrounding area. The fire was brighter than what Ashton had conjured. The fire snakes released their breaths of fire and took care of all the remaining arrows aimed at Ronny. ''Haah! I need to break into E-Rank, like yesterday.'' The butcher thought as he retreated away from Ashton after his fire spells were executed. The butcher considered the guy dead. There was no need to risknding a finishing blow and forcing Hilda to do something desperate while he stayed at the same ce for any longer. With his mortal blow to Ashton, the butcher had given a foregone conclusion to a love story that was soon going to end even before it began. Chapter 303 - Ronny Vs. Ashilda P1 "Ash! Are you okay?" Ashton fell to the ground on his knees as he gripped his neck with his weaponless left hand. He had propped his spear on the groundC using it as a support so that he wouldn''t fall to the front or on his back. Hilda ran towards him and asked about his well being while she shot another barrage of corrosive water element arrows towards the retreating Ronny. The firesnakes that were following their caster as if they were the real deal stopped once they sensed the iing arrows. The firesnakes opened their mouths and breathed fire again to take care of all the arrows aimed at the butcher. With thisst attack, they too disappeared into thin air along with what they had destroyed. Ronny returned to his previous position. He then discovered that Renar and the rest had also taken advantage of the opportunity toe to their temporary base. Ronny looked at the solid stage E-Ranker that was behind the duo he fought against. He didn''t dare look at the D-Ranker because thetter could use that as an excuse to attack him, putting his status as an Adept behind him. Ronny observed that Gerish was looking at him with his narrowed eyes. He was sure now that as soon as Ashton dropped dead, he''d join in the battle and try to end him in one sweep. Ronny would have preferred Gerish joining the battle now that Ashton and Hilda were still alive. In that way, he could retreat using his trump cards and avoid a fatal battle with the solid stage E-Ranker. The fact that Gerish was manning the path of the butcher''s retreat made things moreplicated for him. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have given a second thought to abandoning all of his pawns. Ronny had a doubt the Adept ranker had sensed his mana signature and concocted this battle formation to wear him out. He must have thought that he could use him as a sharpening stone to train the subbordinates he was given the responsibility of training. If that was the case, then his performance just now might have exceeded the Adept''s expectations. Otherwise, he would have attacked Ronny''s team with even more intensity. It also indicated that he had to wrap things up faster, lest the D-Ranker decides to crush all of them without caring about Rankers'' Code of Conduct. ''How''s the situation?'' Ronny asked Renar through his ID stone while maintaining his vignce. Thetter also seemed to be on edge as he kept his eyes on his set of opponents. ''In one word? Bad. Sir Ronny, Br offers only limited help because of his handicap. Viper''s injury has affected his performance too. I have to cover both of them while fighting my own battle in order to keep them from suffering any mortal injuries. And that in turn has forced me to sustain injuries of my own.'' Ronny scanned Renar and the rest using his mana sense to confirm his analysis. Thetter looked bruised and suffering from a lot of internal injuries. Br and Viper were suffering from blunt injuries on various parts of their bodies. Ronny then looked at Renar''s opponents and understood the source of those injuries. The three out of four F-Rankers they were up against were sporting maces in their hands. The guys looked like they had practiced the same kind of ranking techniques and practiced the same type of weapon arts. As a result, they could sync well with each other. These three novice mace-wielders were with Gerish. The F-Ranker that hade with the Adept was a Naboot user. It was also a form of blunt weapon but with an extended reach. Ronny and his fellow Anthropes were literally getting beaten to a pulp because of the four blunt weapon users they were up against. Therefore, Renar had correctly summed up the situation in one word- bad. Br''s condition was much more serious than all of them. He was huffing heavily. His blooded mouth indicated that he had coughed up a lot of blood as a result of the blunt trauma he had suffered after getting beat up so many times by his opponents. ''Alright. I''ll give you guys a few potions to heal your injuries and boost your stamina. Plus, a few potions bombs. Wait for my instructions. It is crucial for all of us to use the potions bombs at the same time when I give you guys a go. We''ll use the massive chain explosion as a diversion to escape and run towards the tower. If we take the dungeon''s format into ount, then the solo tower exploration will iste one yer from the other. You know what that means, right?'' Understanding dawned on Renar after he understood Ronny''s instructions. He didn''t take long to confirm: ''We would use the tower''s mechanism as a way to escape from these fuckers. That''s all fine, Sir Ronny. But I have a'' Renar wanted to know if the diversion would be enough for the Adept not to follow them immediately afterwards. But before he could voice his concern, Ronny shut him up using a part hurried and part annoyed tone: ''Tch. Don''t ask stupid questions now. Guys, prepare to receive your lot in one go. We''ll resume our attacks once we''re done exchanging potions.'' Ronny took three sets of potions out of his storage and made them appear right in front of his threepanions. They immediately stored what was given to them without a second thought and bolted towards their opponents. Ronny too didn''t wait anymore and started approaching the duo he just fought against. He saw that Hilda was using external potions on Ashton''s mortal wounds to keep him alive. The injuries still sparked with small tongues of lightning every now and then. It indicated that foreign mana that belonged to the butcher was wreaking havoc inside the spearman''s body. ''You had said that I should die peacefully before the start of the battle, right? I want to use that line against you. But consider yourself lucky that I don''t want to irk that old foggy anymore than I have to.'' The butcher pondered this as he drew his daggers again. The battles between the groups of Novices and Aces were going to resume following a short pause. But nobody noticed that the set of vials the butcher had given to Br was slightly different than his peers. Chapter 304 - Ronny Vs. Ashilda P2 ''You had said that I should die peacefully before the start of the battle, right? I can use that line against you. But consider yourself lucky that I don''t want to irk that old foggy anymore than I have to.'' The butcher pondered this as he drew his daggers again. He looked at the angry Hilda as he closed in on the duo. She was looking at him with a lifetime''s grudge. He just snorted his nose at that gaze. They were the ones who attacked him. He wouldn''t care about their love stories when they were the ones who had decided to be a hurdle in his path. The butcher yed with two daggers using one hand. He used his other hand to drink a bunch of potions and stabilize his condition just before he was stepping into Hilda''s attacking range. "You monster. Just before he was about to propose to me, you had to put him in that state. I''ll kill you. I''ll kill you right here, right now." Hilda proimed and aimed for Ronny. Thetter ignored her bravado. He wasn''t a big fan of conversing mid-battle unless it was him buying time anyway. The butcher disappeared from his position just when the homing arrows were about to hit him. That''s because he had already activated his spellbo by then. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Blitz Steps Blitz Bolt Blitz Shield Ronny wanted to limit his mana consumption this time. So he reduced the number of spells in hisbo. He had recovered some of the F-Rank mana using the potions. But using it for E-Rank was going to be extra taxing for him. Plus, he had already taken care of Ashton. And it''d be a while before Gerish entered the battlefield. It didn''t take long for the butcher to go behind the water element ranger''s left sideC away from where she was aiming at. He was about to target her but he saw that Ashton was moving towards him with his fire-element movement spell. ''I''ll help my gori kill this bastard if it''s thest thing I have to do. Besides, my death is not set in stone. I can ask for Lord Adept Jerry to fix me if we finish this fucker off on our own.'' Ashton was preparing to travel all the way to help the woman he had neglected so far. In helping her, he also saw the path to his survival. First-aid potions had already been administered to allow him to fight. Ashton knew he couldn''t battle the way he could before the mortal injury. But he believed that his grudge towards the ghost would enable him to transcend conventional boundaries. In short, the spearman was betting his life on the protagonist''s luck, if he had any that is. ''Ah. The nuisance. Time to finish it off.'' Ronny changed his target of attack after thinking about it. He bolted towards the approaching spearman while dodging the barrage of arrows. Ashton relied more on his mana sense than on his other senses in this round. As a result of which he could sense the danger approaching him even though he couldn''t keep track of the butcher. ''I''ll show you the real beauty of using dual spears.'' Ashton started swinging the two spears in sync around him. Standing in its centre, he created a sign of infinity around him using the swings of his weapon. This was the move he was about to perform before the butcher foiled his ns and attacked preemptively. Ashton felt a tug on one of his weapons when he was practicing his dual spear wielding arts. The mana sense also confirmed that it had struck something fleshy. But this realization didn''t deter him from giving up his weapon art. But before he could rejoice in his short victory, he felt his stomach getting hit by something heavy. He started flying in the air in a particr direction before he could understand what had happened to him. Ashton tried to look at his previous position while he was getting flown out in the air by sheer force. It was thanks to the armour he was wearing that he only took off the ground. Otherwise, the force was concentrated enough to punch a hole through his stomach. The spearman saw that Ronny was lying on the ground with his right leg in a position that indicated it was the reason behind him flying off. The leg had an enhanced coating of lightning surrounding itC indicating that his opponent had enhanced the power of his kick using his element. Ashton also saw that Ronny had left a trail of him sliding down from his initial position to where he was standing a few moments before. That meant his opponent wasn''t deterred in the slightest by his weapon art, and chose a straight path to confront him, albeit in a clever manner. The spearman then foundfort in seeing that Ronny''s left shoulder had been heavily injured by his spear. The tug he had felt just before he was forced to fly off in the air must have caused that injury. ''I injured him. Hahaha! I injured this damn ghost. He is not that invincible after all.'' Ashton started celebrating his small victory as he was flying. But his celebration quickly came to an end when he heard Hilda''s screech: "Nooooooo! Ashton. Watch out. I can''t change the directions of all of them." ''What is that gori on ab'' This was thest thought Ashton had. Before he could look at his teammate to know what she was talking about, his body was pierced all over by a bunch of arrows that wereced with corrosive water element mana. The butcher had made Ashton fly in the same direction Hilda''s barrage of arrows wereing from. At the cost of an injured left shoulder, he had taken care of the spearman and the iing arrows at the same time. ''Look at the guy''s smug face. Hmph! He thought he had one up over me.'' The butcher berated his dead opponent as his body started to fall on the ground. He also got up quickly and changed his position to gear up for the battle with the ranger. =============== AN: Thanks Roronoa_ZoRo for the gift.. Also, thanks to Pure Michigan for the inspiration capsule. Chapter 305 - Forbidden Spell "Ashton, Ashton, Ashton" Hilda frantically kept on calling her beau in the hopes that he would respond. But her arrows had finally sealed the deal for him. The spearman was dead even before his body hit the ground. ''This is my chance.'' The butcher narrowed his eyes at Hilda, who was emotionally unstable. This was a huge opportunity for him to take her out while she had been immersed in her grief. The butcher was about to run in Hilda''s direction but soon felt something ominous wash over his body. It was the mana sense of the Adept ranker that was used as a deterrent. Gerish also eyed the butcher and released his mana sense while he retrieved his il from his storage. The message was clearC stay where the fuck you are. Jerry didn''t show any emotions. But the old man seemed furious. It never urred to him that one of his subordinates would die on a mission where the risk was minimal. Plus, the guy had died such a pathetic deathC set up to be killed by friendly fire. Gerish was angry. Not because he felt hurt by one of his subordinates'' death. But because his death would reflect poorly on him as their leader. He was already facing a crunch in terms of money and resources because he was trying everything to break into the next rank. This incident would be used as an excuse by the higher-ups in the Illuminati to pay him less than what he was promised. And all of this would be because the butcher had to fight his inevitable conclusion. Gerish was about to enter the battle after Ashton was killed. In the moment after Ashton''s death, the rankers'' code of conduct was also on his side. But he was interrupted by Hilda who seemed to have been sober up by now: "Master Gerish, please wait. Let me finish what Ashton and I started. Please let me take this man''s life as a tribute to his journey beyond. I hope you understand the reason behind my selfish request." Hilda said and bowed to the old man who looked to be pondering over something. Then he looked at Jerry who nodded at him. Gerish sighed after he looked at Hilda. Then he gazed at Ashton''s body that was behind her. He put his weapon back and replied in a patient and slightly caring voice: "Hilda, I have taught you that one should always fight with a clear head if they value their life. You should also be aware that your request just now breaches that unwritten rule." Hilda thought that Gerish was about to deny her request. Her restless mind wanted her to plead some more. But the old man raised his hands and told her to hold on. "Let me finish, Hilda. I''ve handled my share of grief in life and understand where youe from. So I won''t stop you from seeking your vengeance. Just know that your deathmatch with this punk is currently not in your favour. As long as you understand that and take some precautions, you might be able to critically injure him. You can also use this moment to grieve over Ash''s death and retire from battle. Let this old man handle the rest. But who am I kidding? *sigh. I know you don''t want to back out now. So go ahead. Do whatever you want. And Jer, it''s all your fault you know. We should have handled this punk and his buddies from the beginning. Look what a mess this has spiralled into." Gerish finished and walked back to his previous position. Jerry didn''t reply to the old man''s provocation. Because he knew there was some truth in his statements. But he was an Adept. The death of an Ace member didn''t matter much to him anyway. Hilda didn''t me Jerry or Gerish. It was her and Ashton''s responsibility to fight the Ace rank opponent. Plus, they had already deterred the butcher from attacking her when she was in a vulnerable position. She couldn''t ask for more at this point. "You killed" The butcher didn''t want to talk. However, he was unable to remain silent after hearing the ranger''s usation: "Stop being hypocritical. It was you guys that had attacked me first. You guys couldn''t keep your advantage when fighting against just one person. And technically it was you who killed him. Not me." The butcher expected a violent reaction from Hilda after his mental jab. He wanted Hilda to get riled up over his provocative statements so that she could slip up and make mistakesC enabling him to finish her off quickly. But apparently, he had underestimated the ranger. Hilda had a mncholic smile on her face. She kept her cool and replied to the butcher''s statements without shaking this time: "My name is Hilda. Can I know your name?" The ranger asked the butcher with newfound calmness in her eyes. Ashton''s death had changed something within her. The grief was so intense that instead of being cleared out of her system through tears, it had seeped into her bones and psyche. That had allowed her to shift gears in the way she behaved instantly. The butcher had to answer when he realized Jerry and Gerish both were watching him with keen interest. He also replied with a nk look on his face: "You can call me Ronny." Hilda nodded her head at the butcher''s response before saying: "Ronny, I know I''m being hypocritical by ming you for Ashton''s death when it was us who had attacked you first. I''m sure you entered Purgatory after considering the risks involved. We all did." Hilda confessed and wiped the tears running down her cheeks. She clenched her fist while staring at her opponent before verbally marching on further: "And yet I can''t help but see you as the reason behind Ashton''s death. That''s because it''sforting for me that way. It''s only human to seek logic in hypocrisies when it suits us, right?" The butcher understood that the question was rhetoric. But he could also get the ranger''s point of view. So he couldn''t help nodding at her. Hilda saw that the butcher agreed with her sentiments and smiled mirthlessly. She looked at him with keen interest one more timeC as if to register the guy''s image in her head for before continuing further: "I understand you a bit after fighting with you and seeing your reactions just now, Ronny. The way you fought, the way you looked at Ashton''s body when it was falling, and the way you tried to rile me up just after his death. Even your deadpan reactions as I''m talking with you speak a lot about you as a person." The butcher didn''t understand what the ranger was getting at. He apuded her for keeping such close track of him during the peak of their battle. He was running out of patience. He would have preferred the battle continued because behind him the novice rankers were battling with everything they had. He needed to sync with them to make his escape ne to fruition. Under the shadow of an Adept ranker, he also had no choice but to listen to Hilda''s interventions. So he didn''t speak or nod this time and let her finish whatever she was getting at: "You are one of those rare, generation-defining geniuses, Ronny. And you would have probably climbed the ranks at an incredible rate if we hadn''t met. I confess that you are a magnificent fighter and ranker. I say that without any doubt in my head or using any shred of sarcasm. And even with all your achievements and potential, I can''t help but take pity on you and those who see you as someone significant in their life." The butcher raised his eyebrows after he heard Hilda embark on a different tangent. "Why is that?" As he checked on his teammates, the butcher asked Hilda. "That''s because you are a man devoid of most human feelings, aren''t you? Something within you has died. I don''t know what that is, but it has made you less human and more of an animated doll. Heck, I''m a cultist myself. So I''ve interacted with a lot of dreadful men and atrocious women. But they all still carried some shred of humanity within themC their version of it at least. The negative aspects of human nature are also what makes them human, you know. But you... you are stepping beyond the goodness and evil of human nature. You don''t have an anchor in your life that can help you stay who you are." ''I don''t have an anchor that can help me stay who I am? What does that mean?'' The butcher repeated Hilda''s statements over and over in his head. Some part of him understood what she was trying to say and some emotions within him were stirred up. But he didn''t let that hamper his vignce during the battle. Hilda retrieved her crossbow and closed her eyes for a while. She continued after some time: "The calluses on your heart and mind are so obvious to me even when I have been with you for such a short time. Imagine how those who call you their friend would feel everyday as they try to be with you. Their emotional investment in you is bound to be met with a loss. Therefore, I am also sorry for them. Let''s end this charade, Ronny. Hehe! Let''s die together. I''ll die as a broken-hearted woman who couldn''t find the love she desired in her life. And youC as an abomination that you are." Hilda opened her eyes and smiled wickedly after saying that. An unusual mana pulse was felt in the surrounding environment shortly afterwards. As the butcher felt the mana pulse, his expression changed. ''Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck! This is bad. A forbidden spell. This woman is on a suicide mission. Reen change of ns.'' ============= AN: Two more chapters will get released in a few hours. Thanks to PureMichigan and Waakaranai for sending gifts.. Also, thanks to Thomas_Jay_Martin for gifting VEH with a Dragon. Chapter 306 - Rain Of Acidic Arrows ''Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck! This is bad. A forbidden spell. This woman is on a suicide mission. Reen, change of ns. Give me the maximum body strengthening you can provide so that I will be ready toe out in case I need you. Do it fast.'' The butcher ordered and waited for Reen to oblige. Meanwhile, he executed his spellbo to prepare for the potential catastrophe: ''Sedated Perception x 2 Stunning Speed x 2 Blitz Bolt x 2 Blitz Steps x 2'' ********** The butcher restricted the number of spells and opted to stack the spells he had selected instead. Spell stacking has repercussions on one''s mana circuit since it goes into overdrive or hyperdrive when it is performed while executing a spellbo. The more spells you stack and the more spells you have in a spellbo, the more stressed your mana circuit will be. Stacking spells whenbined with additional spell stacking would result in dyed spell effects and overall reduced output as well as taking arge toll on mana storage. That''s why the butcher never stacked more than one or two spells while executing his spellbos. But this time he neither cared about the mana expenditure nor the diminished spell effects. He didn''t care about the dyed spell effects of multiple spell stacking either because he prioritized the results more than his initial struggles. He didn''t have the luxury of staying safe anymore. That''s because he was standing up against a forbidden spell. Casting a forbidden spell was simr to forfeiting one''s life as a ranker if not immediate death. That''s because it would destroy one''s mana core and mana circuits and make them unranked again. In most cases, it wouldn''t end there. The destruction of the mana core often resulted in the ranker''s death. It was not easy to get one''s hands on a forbidden spell of their element. That''s because they were legally banned by establishments all around the continent. Only someone like the cultist Hilda could get ess to them because of being connected to the Illuminati. But forbidden spells could surpass the rankers'' ranks as a trade-off for their future. They would sometimes be even more potent than the transcendent spellsC giving the ranker an unimaginable amount of power. ''This poorss. I had told her she could not beat her opponent to give her a reality check. Instead, she viewed it as something she had to ovee with the sacrifice of her life. Love can make you do stupid things. It''s not that I can''t understand her though.'' Gerish felt Hilda performing a forbidden spell and sighed. He didn''t try to stop her. This was something she had done of her own volition. This was something personal to her. He didn''t have the right to intervene even when he was her leader. Jerry too pressed his lips against each other and shook his head, as if watching a sad y unfolding in front of him with him in the spectators'' box. Hilda''s life was forfeited with hertest move, no matter if she wins or loses her battle with Ronny. He''d have to report two deaths to his superiors for a simple clean-up job. That thought also annoyed him. ************* The butcher received body strengthening from Reen as he executed his spellbo. This was just in time when the multiple spell stackings were going to put an excessive burden on his mana circuits. The burden was relieved as a result of the demon slime''s intervention. But she couldn''t help him with his mana expenditure. The butcher needed to act fast if didn''t want to find himself running on fumes amid his escape n. Hilda saw that the butcher had disappeared from his former spot and smiled heartily. She enjoyed the colourless expressions on his face as soon as she had opened her eyes after casting the forbidden spell. ''He can feel fear. Hehe! Maybe the guy was not as hopeless as I thought him to be after all.'' Hilda enjoyed the panic written on her opponent''s face. The inevitable walk towards her death was a liberating experience for her. She imagined holding hands with her departed teammate soon after she settles her affairs here. Hilda raised her hands over her head and the surrounding mana and the moisture in the air were starting to concentrate at one spot. Soon, a giant ball of dark green water with a radius of 50 meters was formed in the air that gave off a mana pulse exceeding the conventional standards of E-Rank spell. An unstable mass of water was hovering in the air. As if it would lose its form ande crashing down on the ground. "Run, you fucking rat, run. I want to see where you run off to. Hahaha!" Hilda startedughing hysterically as she started releasing the arrows that originated from the giant green mass of water. The arrows flew upward beforeing down at exceptional speeds. Therefore, it looked like it was raining green arrows on the battlefield. Arrows that hit the ground started melting theyer of snow. Soon, the ground beneath it would also get affected by the strong acidic nature of the arrows, releasing a distinct smoke. This was the rain of acidic arrows. ''Damn it. People keep calling me a rat even with my changed appearance. Do Ie across as shallow and sneaky to people?'' The butcher had this random thought as he started dodging the mana arrows aimed at him. A stray arrow that wasn''t aimed at him ended up finding a target as a result. The flesh of Ronny''s exposed arm, just below his biceps, was struck by the green arrow. It started burning while releasing a foul smell as a result. If left unchecked, the wound would soon fester, resulting in the formation of puss and something even more severe. Thankfully, Reen used her powers to heal her master in real-time as fast as she could while eliminating the foreign mana that was trying to invade his body. That enabled the butcher to keep his cool while he dodged more arrows, which was even more careful than before. Hilda saw Ronny leaving afterimages in his wake as he scaled almost the entire battleground with his run.. Although her internal condition was getting worse, she found joy in the fact that she would soon take care of Ashton''s killer with her own hands. Chapter 307 - Countdown Although her internal condition was getting worse, Hilda found joy in the fact that she would soon take care of Ashton''s killer with her own hands. At the same time, she apuded Ronny in her head for surviving till here despite the odds stacked against him. ''Jer, what do you think? The guy''s speed seems abnormal even if we take his lightning element into ount.'' Gerish contacted the Adept ranker he had known for so long and asked him about Ronny after watching him battle the way he battled. Jerry confirmed his suspicions: ''You''ve not turned senile after all. That''s right. Ronny''s perception of danger is too sharp to be attributed to the speed boost provided by the lightning element. Even while maintaining his speed, he almost has no blind spots. I''d say he is using a time-element artefact or something simr to help him fight this way. He doesn''t have the mana signature of a time element spell. And since even I can''t detect it, the time-element artefact must be of transcendent grade. It''s a higher ranked treasure that can still be used by a lower-ranked rat like him. Hehe! You know what that means, right?'' Jerry asked while shing a mild smile on his face as he looked at Gerish from a distance. Thetter also showed his only two front teeth while replying: ''That means the death of two Aces is worth it if we can get our hands on this treasure. Hahaha! And here I was worrying about what I should say in my report. This is terrific. I want to finish the bastard right off to get my hands on that treasure.'' Jerry nodded at Gerish''s suggestion before responding: ''That''s right. It might sound like overkill. But in about a minute, we''ll both move in and kill this rat and all his friends in one sweep. We''ve already respected Hilda''s dying wish by staying put this long. We''ll give her one more minute and see if she can wrap things for us. Either way, stay on standby and wait for my instructions.'' Jerry had decided to forget his rank and kill the Ace ranker in about a minute because he had realized that Ronny was carrying a treasure with him. the guy had started a countdown in his head as he watched the battle unfolding with great interest. Meanwhile, Hilda was busy enjoying every moment of her revenge with her dying breaths. She wiped the stream of blood from the corners of her mouth and said loudly: "Hahaha! I must say that you are pretty skilled at running, Ronny. But how long can you keep up your struggle? What''s there in life that a guy like you finds interesting? Maybe in death, we will find our salvation. You should ept your fate and die with me. Incessant Rain of Green Death!" Hilda talked ecstatically as she guided some of her arrows towards Ronny''s presence she was feeling with her mana sense. She had created a dense shower of arrows around herself to keep Ronny from approaching her. Meanwhile, she guided some of the arrows to target her constantly moving opponent. ''Erni, this is not sustainable. Let me out. You are hurting yourself this way. I''ll finish them all as fast as we can before we leave this ce.'' Reen pleaded with her master as she fixed the freshly opened wounds that kept popping all over his body. Ronny denied her while dodging some more arrows, only to end up trading them for a reduced number of arrows. ''Listen to me, Reen. If I''m right, this will not be the only team the Illuminati has tasked for the cleanup. I don''t know what kind of arrangements they must have made at this ce over these years. We risk.'' Ronny used both of his time-element spells to observe the only rtively safe patch amid the acid arrow rain. He made his way there while continuing his talk with Reen: ''We risk getting everyone on our back at the cost of taking care of only one team led by an Adept ranker. What if a Master ranker is tasked with capturing us after they find out your rank? That being said, it''d be foolish to think about the future if I didn''t have my present secured. Don''t worry though. Contrary to what the situation entails, I''m not a masochist. You''ll make your appearance. We just need a solid opening for you to do so. I''ll tell you when. Stay prepared.'' He kept an eye on his surroundings as well as his teammates. He spread his mana sense further and observed Br''s condition specifically. Br was barely surviving against his opponent, that too with his fellow anthropes'' help. He would often rely on them to defend against the attacks aimed at him. ''Now''s the time.'' The butcher thought to himself and gavemands to his teammates over his ID stone: ''Guys, it''s about time we said goodbye to these fuckers. Remember, you need to retreat to your left as soon as you throw the vials I''ve given you. We need to be in sync for this to work. The drop will take ce within 3...'' The butcher dodged some more arrows while giving instructions to the Anthropes. By now almost all of the clothes he had worn were in tatters because of the acidic nature of the arrows. He also had red patches all over his body that would release smoke because of the instant corrosion and regeneration that took ce. The butcher''s mana storage was expanding at a rapid pace. The mana circuits were stressed as they were. Plus, all the running had shaved off his stamina. He threw his daggers in the air with an impressive force. He threw them towards Hilda while imbuing them with enough mana to fight off the corrosive arrows that the daggers would encounter in their paths. ''...2'' The butcher took out a set of vials from his storage and held them by his mouth as he was running towards Hilda. Next, he retrieved his katarsC Diceros Left and Right. ''...1'' The butcher said this to his team as he gripped his freshly drawn weapons. The clothes on his body had disappeared by now. His chainmail armour, which he wore inside his clothes, barely adhered to his torso. He was basically naked from his waist down. The butcher stepped into the inner circle of the concentrated rain of arrows surrounding Hilda. Some of his flesh started melting despite him concentrating on his defensive manayer as a result of the increased acidic contact. ''....0'' Chapter 308 - Farewell Advice ''...0'' The butcher finished the countdown on hismunication channel and emptied the contents in the vials in his mouth by tilting his head upwards. The ranger had stopped caring about her safety. She had kept a denseyer of arrow rain around her so that she could stay safe until Ronny was killed. That carelessness towards her own life had enabled the butcher to make his n work against Hilda. Despite the fact that she was a ranger - a ss whose long-range spells could allow her to take so many countermeasures against him. The butcher stopped executing his time element spells and reced them with different spells in his repertoire. ''Blitz Bolt Blitz Shield Blitz Shield Fire snake'' A series of sts urred behind the butcher''s back. There were a few small st noises followed by a much louder, more potent one. The butcher didn''t look behind his back when he heard the sts go off. He shed a wide grin and contacted his demon beast in his head: ''Hehe! Reen, you know what to do.'' The butcher remembered what Hilda had said to him as he was approaching her. He couldn''t help strengthening his resolve in his head before he dealt a final blow to his opponent ''Will we find our salvation in death? I should just ept my fate and die with you? It is presumptuous of you to think that death will give you salvation when you have never died. I have died so I know. It''s not a ce I want to visit ever again. Abomination as I may be, I''m at least not stupid enough to think of such suicidal thoughts. If straying away from humanity can give me the power I want, then I shall walk further on this path than anyone. Heh! I can indeed help you though if you want to get to your happy ce.'' Hilda saw that the butcher was smiling at her as he came within a few meters of distance from her. She was preparing to confront him verbally. But she observed that a small, slimy mass had flown over her head and stopped her speech. She wanted to see what it was but the confrontation with Ronny was almost upon her. So she ignored a small mass that she couldn''t sense anything out of and concentrated all her senses on the butcher. The fire snakes appeared first around Ronny amid the rain of acidic arrows, then shot forth ahead of their caster. Their mana bodies would get damaged by the acidic arrows. But the butcher''s mana would soon heal the damaged parts. Ronny knew his mana consumption when he got close to Hilda would be enormous. The fire snakes were an instrumental part of his escape n. So he had to maintain their existence amid the shower of acidic arrows. That''s why he had drunk a bunch of F-Rank mana potions at the same time without worrying about their repercussions. That gave him the ability to retain the fire snakes and execute all his other spells at the same time. "You think your pet snakes can stop me? I told you, your death is as inevitable as mine. It makes my job a lot easier now that you''re in my range. Pay for killing Ashton with your life. Hahaha!" Hilda said and felt exhrated. Now that the butcher was in range, all she had to do was drop the giant ball of acid that was barely hovering over their heads. This would end both their lives. The fire snakes walked past Hilda and marched on behind her back instead of attacking her. Hilda had a nk face after she saw that the fire snakes weren''t meant to attack her. The ranger didn''t understand what Ronny was aiming at. But not that it mattered to her. The butcher charged his weapons with his offensive spell and approached the ranger who was practically defenceless without the crossbow in her hand. She aimed her crossbow amusingly at her opponent and fired a barrage of water-element arrows. The butcher deflected those arrows effortlessly with his weapons before closing the distance for good. Pinchuk! Hilda''s heart was pierced from her front by the butcher''s first attack. He didn''t stop there. He cut through the ranger''s torso with his weapon arts while using his defensive spell to fend off the severe acidic arrow shower. In addition, the butcher cut both of Hilda''s arms before tearing open her guts. Since she had cast a forbidden spell, her defensive manayer was almost drained. So it became easier for the butcher to cut her up the way he wanted. But even after facing such a brutal assault, Hilda couldn''t helpughing with the greatest joy she had felt in a while. "You think killing me would solve your problems, Ronny? Look up and think again. Hahaha!" The butcher continued with his attack and pierced Hilda''s Adam''s apple. Then stored his weapons in his storage. "Bitch, you think I wouldn''t take countermeasures against such a giant bomb hanging over my head? I''ve been listening to you yapping about nonsensical stuff all this time. Didn''t you get tired? Now let me give you some advice of my own as my farewell gift. In your next life, don''t wait for someone to kill your loved one to realize what you wanted to do all along. And in the next life, don''t practise a ranking technique that makes your body resemble that of a shredded gori. Sure, we do look for other qualities after getting to know you. But ample boobs and big butts that''s what men are in for at first sight. We are shallow like that. Byebye!" Hilda was left to crash on the spot by the butcher. He started running behind her without looking back. The ranger wanted to hold her pierced neck with her hands forfort but they were no longer attached to her shoulders. But even with that condition she couldn''t help but smile. She saw her opponent making futile attempts to escape from the radius of the acid bomb that was soon going to fall on both of them. Hilda adjusted her dying self and watched where Ronny was headed. Chapter 309 - Death By Irony Hilda adjusted herself and watched where Ronny was heading off to. ''This guy is in stupid. He is running towards my master Gerish who would kill him off for sure if the acid bomb doesn''t kill him. Hehe!'' But then she saw that something or someone had appeared in front of Gerish. It was the same slimy mass that had flown over her head a few moments back. It soon assumed the shape of a beautiful youngdy before releasing an Expert rank mana signature. The sudden appearance of the C-Rank entity and its release of an Expert rank mana signature deterred the old man from making any move. He tried to fight off the dread he was feeling but it was of no use when that entity released her demon beast aura. ''What in the world?'' Hilda witnessed with a dying light in her eyes how her opponent had secured a trump card all this time. As she watched, the old man trembled and took a few steps back in horror in front of the expert rank monster. And it felt like it was eager to eat the old man alive as a whole. The mana signature of the C-Rank monster conveyed the monster''s hunger to its prey before it could state its ns. Reen raised her hands and stretched them towards the sky abnormallyC as if her hands had been turned into fleshy whips. She grabbed something that was flying far away in the air before retracting them quickly. Before Gerish could draw his weapon with his shaky hands, Reen attacked the sold-stage Ace ranker with her newfound weapons using the same weapon arts her master was relying on. The weapons she had grabbed were the daggers the butcher had thrown earlier before drawing out his katars. They were of the F-Rank. But Reen enhanced their potential by imbuing them with her C-Rank mana. She attacked the old man in front of her without any shred of doubt in her mind. She didn''t need the daggers to take care of an Ace ranker no matter how skilled and experienced he was as a fighter and ranker. But her master had told her to use the weapons anyway instead of using her normal method to digest her enemy. Zick! Zick! Zick! The daggers started chopping the old man up without any resistanceC as if a hot knife was cutting through a b of butter. Reen only stopped when she made about 100 pieces of the old man within a moment. The pieces of chopped meat only dropped on the ground when she retracted her hands. "Reen. Now!" Reen heard her master''s voice and knew it was about time to rescue him from his impending doom. She stretched her hand and converted it into a blob of slime before dropping it over the chopped pieces of Gerish. She then absorbed all the pieces into that blob before retracting it and making it assume the shape of a hand again. Then, Reen stretched her hand in a whip-like motion towards the first fire snake that was in front of her. ******** The giant acidic ball had arrived at a threateningly close distance from the ground by now. But Hilda had stopped smiling because she understood what Roony was up to after witnessing what unfolded in front of her. She saw that the fire snakes had been crawling in line one after the other. When Ronny shouted at the monster that had taken care of her master, the fire snakes joined together to form a long fire-element rope. The fire-snakes lost their animated forms and stopped moving when they turned into a very long fire-element rope. It was over 100 meters long and about 8 cm thick. By now Ronny had reached the end of the rope that was closer to Hilda. Since it was still his tweaked spell, the butcher could control it the way he wanted to use his mana sense. He willed and made one end of the rope wrap around his waist securely. The mana consumption to maintain the solid-like form of the spell was enormous, especially since the rope''s length was so exaggerated. The butcher had drunk multiple mana restoration potions for this reason as well. This was his escape n he had to invest in heavily. The butcher had to admit the Potion of Serenity was a one-of-a-kind gift La had given him that just kept on giving. He could pull this stunt off because of his insights gained while he was in the ethereal state of epiphany. By the time Ronny was done from his end, Reen''s hand had reached the other end of the rope. She grabbed the rope and tugged it towards her with all her might. When the ball of acidic water finally hit the ground, it started spreading with a suppressed sound and caused a small earthquake. The post-contact suppressed sound was soon followed by water''s natural sound when it is allowed to run wild in an open space. Plus, the sizzling sound of the ground getting scorched and burnt off was mixed within it. The area of impact for the acidic ball losing its form was increasing at an exponential rate. Thest image in Hilda''s vision was that of the butcher leaving the zone of impact just before it took over him. ''He sure gave me weird but intuitive advice. Hehe! I shall follow it if I can.'' This was thest thought Hilda had before her body was consumed by the same acidic water she had created with her forbidden spell. Her mana core was destroyed a moment ago so she didn''t have a mana signature anymore. As a result, she couldn''t protect herself from her own spell because the mana mixed in it treated her as a foreign entityC something that needed to be destroyed. Before she could sumb to the injuries inflicted by her opponent, the ranger was killed by her own spell and condition. Technically, it wasn''t the butcher that finished off the couple. Both of them died by Hilda''s hands. If Hilda''s apparition came to life, she wouldugh at the irony of her situation. =============== AN: I''ll upload some weapons, spells, and other such illustrations on VEH Discord soon. Plus, VEH Wiki has been optimized thanks to TottalNooB. Check them out if and when you can. ;) VEH will have its mass release this weekend. Look forward to it. Also, thanks AC9 and Waakaranai for your gifts. Chapter 310 - The Great Escape P1 ''...0'' Ronny''s countdown was heard by his teammates while they were battling with their opponents. But there was a slight difference of time between when Renar and Viper heard it and when Br heard it. Br heard the voice a few momentster than his teammates. As a result, he was dyed in executing what he was supposed to do. And coincidentally, he had been taken a bit further away from his allies by his opponent at the time. But Br didn''t realize the dy. Having his senses focused on the immediate battle didn''t allow him a chance to do so. He dropped the vials he was given the moment he heard themand. And that sealed his fate for him. Ronny had given him a different set of vials than what he had given to Renar and Viper. It contained three vials of the D-Rank miasma potion he had received in the dungeon as one of his rewards. There were only two vials of the miasma potions of the same rank left with him now. The same miasma potion that had put him under the illusion and dulled his senses. The most advantageous effect of the potion was that it interfered with the ranker''s mana sense. So whether or not the ranker falls under the illusion, their mana sense would be disabled for the time the miasma was surrounding them. Since Ronny wanted to cover arge area in a short period of time, he had to go overboard with the three miasma potions. Because he wasn''t sure where Br would be at the time of the drop. The three miasma potions of the D-Rank getting released at the same time killed Br instantly. He didn''t even realize what struck and killed him. The area of impact was expanded at a faster rate than that of the soon-to-crash acidic bomb. That''s because Br was also given a pair of E-Rank potion bombs that he had used along with the miasma potions. The explosion of the potion bombs created a rippling effect that aided in spreading the miasma to the surrounding area at a faster rate. ********** Jerry was watching Hilda engaging in mortalbat with Ronny with keen interest. He wasn''t interested in watching a bunch of novices fight with each other. He would have the same amount of lethargy watching Hilda and Ronny fight too if it wasn''t for the anticipation of getting his hands on a transcendent grade time-element treasure. ''There''s no doubt about it. This kid is carrying a time-element treasure. There are no signs of time-element spells getting cast. And yet his response time to iing arrows is too impable for it to be a mere agility enhancement or perception enhancement effect granted by the potions or artefacts. Forget about the Illuminati. I''d rather keep it for myself than give it to those pompous ass bastards. I can convince Gerish to coordinate with me. I will just give him something suitable for his rank in exchange. Hehe!'' Jerry was busy scheming and making ns to betray his organization for the sake of time element treasure. And nobody could me him. That''s because transcendent-grade potions and artefacts were too rare to be simply referred to as rare. They would be seen as the kingdoms'' treasures as a result. Owning a transcendent treasure was like securing a trump card your enemies would never seeing. Additionally, the higher the rank, the greater the power of the treasure. So an Adept ranker like him could make better use of the treasure than what he was seeing Ronny doing at the time. ********** With thoughts of a small mutiny in mind, Jerry observed Ronny throw his daggers long and retrieve a new set of weapons. He then observed the butcher running towards Hilda while executing a different set of spells. ''That brat is up to something.'' Jerry had an inkling of mild danger out of nowhere as he saw Ronny changing his tactics. Therefore, he contacted Gerish immediately: ''Gerish, there''s something wrong with the way things are going down. Prepare to move'' Jerry wanted to expedite their eventual intervention in Ronny''s fights. But soon he heard a loud explosion followed by a series of rtively smaller ones. Then his vision changed as he saw a lightyer of fog wash over him. The response times of Jerry and Gerish had beenpromised when the series of explosions took ce because they just happened to be conversing. As a result, Gerish was caught off guard by Reen and Jerry was trapped in a miasma. The former ended up dead and thetter was caught in an illusion without his mana sense to help him understand what was happening outside the miasma''s area of effect. ************ Renar and Viper were fighting with their opponents at a distance from each other when they received Ronny''smands. They knew time was of the essence in getting out of the pickle they had found themselves in. That''s why they just did what they were supposed to do and used those vials against their opponents and retreated to their left side using their movement spells. The rush of adrenaline clouded their minds as well. So they didn''t bother finding out how their teammates were doing. They prioritized their own safety for the time being and followed the instructions that were given to them to a T. After retreating, they heard a much louder sound. But they didn''t bother looking to see who had messed up. Both thought of Br when the second explosion was heard. They assumed that he had messed up the timing of the drop. But at this point, there was nothing they could do. The two Anthropes were lucky and escaped safely without getting caught in the miasma. Only after covering a sufficient distance did they look back. At first, they weren''t sure of what they were looking at.. Then they realized that there was more going on than meets the eye instead of assuming that Br had screwed up. Chapter 311 - The Great Escape P2 At first, Renar and Viper weren''t sure of what they were looking at. They realized that there was more going on than meets the eye instead of assuming that Br had screwed up. They saw that the miasma had covered their previous battleground and then some more. They had known about the effects of the miasma cloud because of witnessing Ronny''s fight in the dungeon. They also saw that the Adept ranker had been caught inside the cloud. "What the fuck is happening here, Renar. Were you aware of this?" Viper asked Renar as they both saw each other running and came close to each other. Thetter shook his head and replied: "I don''t know jack shit, brat. That man is as cunning as a fox. Where the hell is Be" Renar was going to ask about Br''s whereabouts when he sensed the mana signature of a C-Rank beast going off behind him. His face turned pale as a result. "Fuck! Let''s just keep on running. I don''t know what else to do anymore." Renar came to a quick decision because of ack of choices. Just when the pair had scaled a sufficient distance, they heard the acidic mass crashing down on the ground and losing form. The mana pulse that was spread in the surroundings, as a result, wasn''t something that they could ignore either. "Big bro Renar, I think Huff huff huff" Viper huffed as he kept on executing his movement spell along with Renar. Thetter was trying to match his junior''s speed. The E-Ranker''s right leg had been slightly injured anyway during his battle. He battled with two opponents after all. So one of the counters made by the duo had got him. "I think I think.. I''m going to die here. You remember me telling you about Nasuta, right? Give my love to her and tell her that I''ll miss her. And huff huff huff.. that she can move on with her life without me." Renar had ck lines on his forehead as he heard Viper''s will-like speech. He grabbed the Novice ranker by his neck from behind, lifted him, and unleashed his true E-Rank speed at the cost of worsening his leg injury. He berated his junior while running away from all the mess that was going on behind him: "Brat, I''m not your messenger. Do this yourself when you survive. If we die, we die. But until that happens, shut the fuck up and focus on escaping." Viper shut his mouth when he heard Renar speak. He had a mirthless smile on his face as he felt the tough love. He then wondered what had happened to Br who was already not doing great from the moment this sudden farce had started. *************** Right after the acidic bomb touched the ground. Reen tugged her master towards her with all her might. She had tugged it in such a way that thetter''s trajectory would first send him in the air before he would be brought down by the eventual pull. As a result, the butcher didn''t take long to get pulled to where Reen was. He was going to crash hard from above due to the speed at which he was pulled. But the demon beast had things under control. Boing! She opened both her hands and embraced her master as soon as he was within the range. The impact of the crash didn''t make much sound. But her body was deformed as a result of the butcher''s inertia. But it soon turned to normalcy after killing off the state of motion the butcher''s body was subjected to. "Erni, are you alright?" Reen asked with concern on her face after she resumed her normal human form while hugging her master. Thetter felt the emotions she was feeling and felt a warmth within his heart for the first time in a long time. The butcher had just survived a huge life-threatening event. So it was natural that he would be on the edge. But the affection he felting from his demon beast soothed him a little, if only for a short time. ''I don''t know about the rest, Reen. But I would at least try to be as human as I could be for you and Nina. Especially you who had always been with me ever since our first encounter.'' The butcher had this thought and smiled to himself. He kissed Reen''s forehead gently to show her the affection she wasn''t shown before and caressed her hair. But then his features turned grim as he observed the cloud of miasma still active at a distance from where they stood. Then he saw the two of his teammates had been sessful in running away from their respective battlefields. He had to apud the luck that carried them to safety somehow. The butcher wasn''t sure Renar and Viper would survive the trap he had nned for Jerry. He didn''t want an Adept ranker on his tail after all. He was okay with sacrificing Renar Viper along with Br if the trap ended up killing them all. The butcher knew how the rankers'' organizational structure worked in general. The higher the status a ranker had, the more important their safety would be. That would mean their deaths would be taken more seriously than the lower-ranked members. In short, killing an E-Ranker old man and killing an Adept who seemed to be in the prime of his life were two different things. Killing an Ace would irk the higher-ups of the Illuminati. Killing an Adept on the other hand would make them dig deep into the situation. Killing Jerry wouldn''t be easier either even with Reen on his side. It would take time for Reen to finish him. The time thetter could use to summon more Illuminati and other hired help, which would be active elsewhere in the Purgatory. The butcher finally decided to preserve the pawns that had survived. "Let''s go, Reen. We don''t have much time." *************** AN: Thanks to kommers, A9C, and Waakaranai for the gifts. Chapter 312 - Eulogy "Aaaaaaah!" When Renar couldn''t suppress the paining from his right leg, he yelled. He released his grip on Viper''s neck and caught his knee with both his hands after assuming a crouched position. Renar had beads of sweat on his forehead that soon started to run down his face. He pressed his lips against each other and closed his eyes to deal with the pain. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Viper before saying in a shaky voice: "That''s it. My right leg is killing me. Viper, you go ahead. I''ll catch up with you soon." Renar wiped beads of sweat on his forehead from his shirt''s right sleeve as he spoke. The Novice junior shook his head beforementing: "Remember what you said, Renar. If we die, we die. But until that happens, focus on surviving. Haha!" Viper said and shed a cunning yet genuine smile on his face. Renar was stunned for a moment before feeling his junior''s willingness to put his life on the line for him. But being served his own words in a metaphorical tter by the junior irked him a little: "Now listen here, you little shit" But Renar felt a sudden mana signatureing from behind him. He thought their end had arrived. But then he realized it gave off a familiar feeling. "You two sure have time to chat around when we are being mortally targeted. Let''s keep moving, you idiots." Ronny dered as soon as he closed his distance between him and the duo. He saw they both disyed a range of emotions on their faces. The most dominant among them was the sense of puzzlementC indicating they had a lot of questions on their minds. The butcher shook his head before they could say a word: "Not here. Not now. Let''s get to a safe ce first. I''ll answer your questions while catching our breaths. Then we''ll part ways. Remember, inside the towers, amidst the danger, we will find the haven we are looking for right now." **************** "What did you do with Br?" Viper asked Ronny in a grim voice as they were sitting around a small campfire inside a remote cave. The cave was rtively small, measuring only 12 feet in height, 7 feet wide, and about 9 meters in length. Due to heavy snowfall outside, the mouth of the cave had been partially closed. It was thanks to Reen''s mana sense that they could find such a ce. "Isn''t it obvious? I used him as bait for our escape." Ronny said inly while looking at the campfire burning in front of him. He was making a meat stew inside a pan that was kept over the campfire to re-energize himself. "I won''t say you shouldn''t have done that, Sir Ronny. Because that would be in old hypocrisy. We wouldn''t be here talking with each other if it wasn''t for the fact that you used Br as bait. But the least you could have done is be honest with us two. I''m sure Br wouldn''t have minded either if he was let in on itC considering his situation at the time. There were so many things that could have gone wrong with your n. It''s pure luck that we survived your trap." As he saw the meat stew about to be made, Viper grabbed his empty cup. Although he wasn''t that hungry, he knew that he had to keep his body in an ideal state in this ce. Eating regrly and practising ranking techniques were core parts of that assignment. "I agree that luck yed a big part in your escape. But you don''t tell someone they are going to die no matter how pragmatic they might be as rankers. That''s not how it works. I''m sure your bonds with Br were strong. Maybe he would have agreed to be used as bait willingly to pave the path for both of you. But in doing so, he would have shown the behaviours of a suicidal ranker in his actions during the battle. Do you think an Adept ranker, no matter how ignorant he might seem towards your battle, would have overlooked that detail? I don''t think so." Ronny sighed and looked at both of the anthropes who were sitting in front of him. He verbally marched on after seeing there was no responseing from both of them. "Luck is not everything. Don''t underestimate your survival instincts as well. The way you retired from the battlefield is alsomendable. Plus, it was you guys who yed an important role in making that trap sessful. I''m sorry for deceiving Br when he was already doomed to die. But I''m not sorry for keeping you or myself alive." Ronny said and immediatelymented: "Oh! Bring your cups here. Stew is done." Ronny said and brought the hanging pan down from the campfire. He divided it into three portions. Renar and Viper took two empty cups, while Eren took the pan for himself. Since they arrived here, Renar had kept silent the whole time. Ronny could tell he wasn''t okay with Br''s death. He could tell from the E-Ranker''s face that there were so many questions he wanted to ask him. Renar was angry at Ronny for using his junior as bait. And frustrated that he couldn''t find a w in thetter''s escape n. He also felt irritated over the fact that he was helpless in all this due to hisck of personal power to change the oue single-handedly. But the butcher didn''t interfere Renar''s self-intervention. He left the guy to his own devices. Surely, the anthrope would soon find the answers to his questions on his own within his head. And would see that what he had done was entirely right. After all, Renar knew that Br''s condition at the time wasn''t optimistic for his escape even if he were to not be used as bait. Renar looked at the stew inside his cup and saw his blurred face inside it that was illuminated by the ever-dancing mes of the campfire. He sighed and raised his cup before speaking up: "To Br! A young man who suffered a lot throughout his short, miserable life. But at least, in the end, he died without feeling any pain. May his afterlife be pleasant and peaceful for a change." Renar offered a tribute to his fallen anthrope junior with moist eyes. Viper was also seen rubbing his eyes. But he snapped out of it after shaking his head and raised his cup as well: "To Br!" Ronny looked at both of his teammates and then at the pan he was holding. He wasn''t sure he should join this weird, non-alcoholic, stew-based toast cum eulogy. One reason was that he was the direct reason behind the guy''s death. Another difference was he began eating from the pan instead of the cup, unlike Renar and Viper. So raising the pan for a toast didn''t really seem that appropriate to him. But then he saw his two teammates waiting for him. He pressed his lips against each other and gave in in the endC raising his pan as well: "To Br!" Chapter 313 - Entering Solo Tower "Are they nning to keep on hunting us, Sir Ronny?" Renar asked after finishing his stew. He wanted to know their next set of ns from Ronny. He hade to realize that the guy had a lot of trump cards. Plus, his nning was impable. He just hoped that he or Viper wouldn''t be used as baits next. ''The devil you know is better than the devil you don''t, huh!'' Ronny looked at Renar as he had that thought and smiled internally. He had to appreciate the guy for his mindset. As hopelessly straightforward he was as an ex-cultist, the guy could keep a straight head under extreme pressure. "I don''t think so. The clean up arranged by the Illuminati isn''t meant tost long. They would only target weak teams like us and try to salvage any worthy rewards we may have obtained from the dungeon. The teams that are strong enough to cause coteral damage would be left alone. With our team, they must not have expected such a brutal retaliation. We were the spoilers they couldn''t seeing. Of course, they would be pissed at us. But they won''t employ all their clean-up crews to search for us over an old E-Ranker''s and a bunch of Novices'' deaths. That much damage to their force is taken into ount in their calction." Renar heard this and thought about the bigger picture. He couldn''t help asking: "How would the Illuminati deal with the aftermath?" Ronny didn''t take long to respond: "That''s what they hired help for. It indicates that they wanted to deny the responsibility for their actions if and when confronted by the survivors and non-attacked anthropes. Remember, they still need the majority of the anthropes who are strong enough to win big rewards. It''s just some small fishes like us that are seen as one-time gains. I believe a few groups of powerful anthropes that were included in the exploration already knew how the Illuminati behaved. But they ignored it because they knew it wouldn''t affect them. Personal gains are more important thanmunal harmony for most rankers. And if you consider the rewards Purgatory churns out for every participant, the self-induced ignorance is worth it." Viper got up from his seat and looked at the rays of fake moonlighting from the cave''s entrance. He put his hands into his pants'' sleeves for some warmth andfort before asking Ronny: "So it''s not hopeless out there as long as we get to our solo towers." Ronny nodded at his statements before responding: "That''s right. So long as we wait for the closing of Purgatory and bide our time in solo towers, the situation is under control. We''ll be out of harm''s way when that happens. Of course, we might have to deal with personal grudges from that Adept ranker. But the organization won''t back him in this endeavour. Plus, he''d have to wait for the expedition to get cooled down. He can''t just tantly kill us in front of other high-ranked anthropes." "Ptui!" Renar spat in discontent after hearing Ronny''s speech and got up from his seat. He rubbed his hands together to fight off the cold before saying in an irritated voice: "Baah! Politics. Us low-rankers are just tools in the eyes of those who sit at the so-called high table. So many of us can die from both sides and they wouldn''t bat an eye." Ronnyughed after hearing Renar''s words. He tried to put some sense into the anthrope''s one-dimensional brain: "Hahaha! I used to think the same. That politics is harmful to low-ranking people like us. But I''vee to realize now that the same politics can be used by low-ranked entities like us to survive and even thrive. We can gain all the benefits while avoiding most dangers. That is if we understand the rules and use them to our advantage." Ronny replied and started walking towards the cave''s exit. Renar knew it was about time. The E-Rank Anthrope dug a hole and buried some stuff that belonged to Br he had in his position and closed it up with the soil. He also kept a big rock over itC serving as a nameless tombstone. Renar feltfortable and a little less agitated after he did that. Viper also bowed to the tombstone. They both waited in silence for some time before leaving the cave. The rest was over and Ronny had already gone ahead. It was about time they all parted ways and entered solo towers of their respective ranks too. ********** A sky-high, ancient-looking building stood in front of the butcher. It made him appear incredibly small. There were various runs inscribed over its walls that would light up every so often and make their presence known. This was the F-Rank solo tower the butcher hade to. By changing his appearance, he made himself look close to his true self, but not quite. The entrance to the tower was massive. It was also surrounded by an air of mystery and hidden dangers that would give goosebumps to Novices that consider themselves its explorers. "Reen, you are a C-Rank entity. So I don''t know how the dungeon would react to your presence. Stay alert." Eren said to his demon beast, who was currently hugging his chest in her slime form. She wanted to stay that way to handle any situation that is too difficult for her master to handle. She was worried about his safety after feeling the atmosphere surrounding the solo tower. But then she thought about what Eren said and decided to merge with him and stay low while being fused to his body. It was better that the tower didn''t treat her as a separate individual and kicked her out because of her C-Rank. Eren stepped inside the tower''s entrance and the arraysid on the ground lit up in response. He soon vanished from his spot and was teleported to an unknown ce that wasn''t immediately made clear to him. The butcher heard a familiar voice as soon as he stepped inside the solo tower''s ground floor: "Nice to meet you again, Eren Ilijah Idril. I hope you have settled your affairs outside.. Because it''s going to be a long ride. Hehe!" Chapter 314 - Meeting Layla "Nice to meet you again, Eren Ilijah Idril. I hope you have settled your affairs outside. Because it''s about to be a long ride. Hehe!" La spoke in Eren''s head. But he also heard the voiceing from behind him. He looked back to see a young woman waiting for him there with her hands behind her back, an innocent smile on her face. La looked like a 13-year-old girl. She had dusky white hair that was borderline grey. Her skin was clear and supple with a light rosy tint on her cheeks. Her eyes were a mix of blue and purple, like the colour of a periwinkle flower. Her slender build made her look even younger than her face suggested. Most of La''s hair was let loose. But she had a fishtail braid running through her volume of hair. The most eye-catching apparel she was wearing was her Kettle Brim style hat with an oversized, 360-degree visor. Furthermore, she was wearing a simple white shirt along with a minimal bowtie that matched the colour of her eyes. The teenager-looking girl was also wearing a loose-fitting overcoat that became oversized towards the end of the sleeves. The peach-coloured skirt she was wearing boded well with the overall theme of her appearance. La was sporting a pair of fancy shoes that were studded with a green gem at the top of theirce guards. She was also carrying a broomstick in her hand for some reason, which she made disappear as soon as Eren looked back. "Out cleaning here?" The butcher couldn''t help passingment as he caught a glimpse of La''s broomstick. Laya puffed her cheeks after she heard the guy''s remark and chided: "This is how you greet me even though it''s our first face to face meeting? Bad. I have a very bad impression of you now." The butcher couldn''t feel anythinging out of La''s presence. If he didn''t know any better, he would just assume that she was a rankless kid who hade here identally. He scratched his forehead and smiled awkwardly before replying in a consoling manner: "I''m sorry, La. I didn''t mean to offend you with my bad puns. Alright, what do I need to do? Let''s get this thing started already." The butcher was keen to begin the solo tower exploration. He was excited about the rewards he would get after clearing the floors. The dungeon rewards were already plenty lucrative. So he was hoping he would get ever better items and resources as rewards in the solo tower after each floor he cleared. "What are you so eager for? People are hunting to kill you if you step outside now. Hehe! You sure like to make a mess wherever you go, don''t you?" La asked while shing a cunning smile. The butcher wasn''t surprised. He knew that she had referred to herself as the caretaker of this ce. She must have had a mechanism set in ce that would allow her to keep track of the Purgatory''s participants. "Whatever. They forced my hand so I just retaliated. Killing people isn''t forbidden here, is it? Otherwise, those guys wouldn''t have attacked me in the first ce." Laughed at thement before replying amusingly: "You are right, Eren. This is my master''s ce after all. It''s only natural that blood gets spilt here whenever there are new potential candidates." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard La''s response. He threw the most obvious question that popped into his head at her: "Who is the master of this ce and you, La? And why did you ask if I had settled my affairs outside or not?" La started walking towards him after she heard Eren''s question. She closed in on him until she was only a few centimetres away from him. She tilted her head forward and observed him closely as if he were some kind of specimen. "I''ll tell you all about it in a while. But let me see what I''m seeing here. This is also not your true form, I feel. Though it is difficult for me to say at this point because of my current condition. Why are you acting like a chameleon when there''s nobody around? Do you find fun in making other appearances that are not your own?" The butcher had a nk face after hearing La. But she verbally marched on before he could defend his stance: "Aah! I got it. You must feel like you are not that good-looking. So you change your appearance with your half-blood powers to cope with being ugly. Am I right? You have also increased your height with your transformation. Originally, you are tiny, aren''t you?" The butcher''s nk expression soon turned grim when La gave it back to him for his openingment. However, he didn''t like to act on his temper and upset Purgatory''s caretaker more than he had to. "Tch! You are no fun, are you? I was expecting a small reaction from you, but maybe I overestimated you. That brooding face is not good for your health and looks, you know. Alright. You will learn about my ce''s master soon enough." ''You might meet her too. If you survive the first floor that is.'' La thought to herself before exining further: "Anyway. Knowing about my master''s is not relevant right now. I''m sure you wouldn''t have heard of her even if I told you her name. What you want to focus on is how you can clear the tower''s first floor. I had asked you if you settled your outside affairs or not beforeing here because there''s a chance you might die here. Plus, the first floor is equipped with a time dtion array. That means a few days inside the tower is akin to only a few hours outside. So it might be a while for you before you step outside even if you do survive. At least you''d feel that you''ve spent quite some time before you get out of the solo tower." La said and retracted her head to her previous position. She then smiled menacingly: "IF you survive that is." =========== AN: A few readers wanted me to describe my characters in depth, which I often like to be brief about. I hope this style of writing is a wee change.. La''s visual profile will soon be uploaded on the Discord server and Instagram. Chapter 315 - Robbed Of Resources La gave Eren a customary warning. But the butcher was now far too invested in the tower exploration to back out now. His silence gave La the affirmation she needed. "Alright. Let''s get you started. Stand inside the array and keep an eye on it. You will be scanned for what you are carrying in person. You are only supposed to fight with the weapon or weapon set of your choice. Any kind of artefact is not allowed. The artefacts, the potion, and, anything that can help you clear the dungeon in a fly will be taken away from you for the time being. It will be given back only when you step outside the tower. Only your first-aid potions would remain with you along with other basic necessities. Upon your death, your items and resources would stay here, at which point the tower would kind of recycle them. But you''d have no use for them anyway after your death. So I doubt you''d have hard feelings. Hehe!" The butcher was surprised that most of his gear and trump cards would be taken away from him before entering the first floor of the tower. But his doubts were soon cleared by La who seemed to have read the puzzling expressions on his face: "This is not a group dungeon, Eren. Solo towers have their own set of rules. Here, your value as a ranker is tested. I know that it would be unfair to a few rankers who belong to nonbat professions. But this is how the ce has been designed. The dungeon exploration was merely meant to tempt rankers into exploring the solo towers. The rewards were used as bait so that the rankers would be willing to enter the solo tower even after knowing about the high mortality rate." ''The first floor seems to be a killing machine for rankers. Damn it. I should have asked for more details on the solo tower. But I doubt Zee would have told me about these things honestly.'' The butcher had a few creases on his forehead after he realized the danger he was going to be in on the first floor. "Don''t worry, Eren. Give all that you got. I''m sure things won''t be that difficult for you. Hehe! Now, let''s get started." La said and raised her right hand towards her side. A small array lit up amid a pitch-ck ce that seemed to expand from all directions. The lightsing from that array breathed a breath of life into the dimly lit atmosphere while generating a synthetic yet synchronous mana pulse. "Thanks for your exnation, La. I''ll be going then." Eren nodded at La before starting to walk towards the array. He heard La''s young voice from behind: "I can''t help you with your test so I''ll take my leave as well. Good luck, and do your best to survive on the first floor. Your life and my release depend on it." La said before seemingly vanishing from her ce. The butcher didn''t look back and stepped into the array soon after. The array lit up brighter after it detected that a ranker had stepped inside its eye. The system scanned him and began identifying the belongings he carried both on his person and inside the ID storage. First, the butcher''s artefacts disappeared. Since they were worn out and of not much use, he didn''t care about their disappearance. But his heart whined in pain as he saw his resources as well as his Extols disappearing from his storage space. ''What the fuck? Why is it taking my Extols from me? Does this stupid tower think I''ll somehow bribe my opponents with them? Or them at my obstacles and create some sort of miracle with a pay-to-win strategy.'' The butcher watched as the rewards that he had received from the dungeon disappeared from his storage. He realized that Purgatory was not as lucrative as he had thought it to be. Especially if the ranker decides to visit solo towers after their sessful exploration of the group dungeon. That''s because the dungeon would get back all the rewards it had given out if the ranker decided to explore the solo tower and died inside it. Eren was pissed after seeing almost nothing left in his storage space except for his recently used Katars. ''Baah! The tower just fucking robbed me of my resources. This ce has given me another reason to survive. I''d be a ghost if I had to and get my damn things back. You ain''t getting any free stuff from me, you capitalist tower.'' Eren''s line of thoughts was soon disturbed when he sensed a mana signature of a space element trying to pull Reen away from her fused condition inside his body. His expressions turned grim when that happened: ''Damn it. The tower is even more detailed with its array setup. Reen, don''t act up and don''t move. Stay where you are. Let''s see what happens.'' The array''s lights flickered as the synthetic mana signature washed over Eren. The processsted for a few moments before the mana signature stopped scanning the butcher. The butcher couldn''t understand what was happening. Thankfully, Alephee spoke up to clear his doubts: ''The array can detect Reen''s mana core. It''s the only distinguishing feature she has that is different from you now. But it couldn''t separate her from you because it detected that she was a part of yourself. Wait. That loophole is of no use to you. The array is taking countermeasures.'' The butcher heard Alphee''s voice in his head. Before he could ask what she was talking about, he felt a distinct mana signature acting on him once more. This time, it was even more prominent andplex than before. And contained multi-element nuances within it. ''Erni, I think something is happening to my mana core.'' Reen spoke up after she couldn''t prevent the changes from taking ce with her mana core. She trembled in horror as her mana core was sealed by some unknown runic technique. It wasn''t long before she was basically turned into a rankless demon beast. The butcher was made aware of Reen''s position and his expressions turned grim. But Alphee rified what had happened to Reen right away: ''Don''t worry. Reen''s mana core would return to normal when she steps outside this dungeon. The runes are space-bound to this tower. They don''t have any power outside.'' Eren and Reen both were calmed down after Alphee told them about the demon beast''s temporary situation. The butcher sighed and took his katars out. He clutched them hard in either of his hands before the array started lighting up brightly. The array lit up with blinding lights in the next moment, and Eren disappeared from his ce. He had been teleported to the first floor of the solo tower. =============== AN: The pace of the chapters seemspromised because of the in-depth descriptions I''ve included.. There will be a bonus chapter released in some time topensate for the slow pace. Chapter 316 - [Bonus Chapter] Wraiths "What is this ce?" Eren found himself in a ce far different from what he expected to get teleported to. He looked up and saw the night sky that was studded with glittering stars. But the sky was devoid of the moon. Then he looked around and found out that he was teleported to a barrennd above a mountain. Arge and expansive tform was created. It looked like the peak was chopped off by something very sharp in one go, allowing for the creation of such an unnaturally t tform above a mountain. The wind felt cold. But it didn''t feel like it was being influenced by the snow. Plus, it was too stable to be called a natural windC considering the height Eren sensed he was supposed to be at. Eren used his movement spell and moved over to the edge of the tform. He saw that the mountain he was on was one of many in the range of mountains surrounded by a dense forest. The tform was created when the mountain''s peak was chopped. And yet, it stood taller than the other mountains in the mountain range. "Wondering where you are? Let me tell you that this ce exists for real. What you see in front of you is a look-alike of the actual ce. But it''s not in what you call the Edinburgh kingdom though." La''s voice was heard in Eren''s mind. He thought to himself and concluded. The solo towers send their participants to field dungeons that are based on real ces. "What do I need to do?" Eren asked while maintaining his vignce. He couldn''t see any opponents in front of him. But he felt that the wind was getting chilly by the second. "Survive, Eren. Survive in this ce for seven days and seven nights. We''ll talk about the next step afterwards." La said and stopped talking. Eren also sensed a fluctuation of mana right at the centre of the tform. He got tense and tried executing his spellbo in anticipation. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Blitz Bolt . ''Hmm? There''s something wrong with the time-element spells.'' Eren felt his time-element spells not getting activated when he was about tounch hisbo. Alephee''s voice was heard in his mind before he could try to cast the time-element spells one more time. ''Time-element spells won''t work here, Eren. At least not in the usual way. That''s because the entire ce is rendered on a time-element array. Remember what the caretaker told you. A few days could pass in here while in the real world it would only mean you have spent a few hours inside.'' Eren furrowed his eyebrows after he heard Alephee''s statement. He kept his eyes at the centre of the tform. A medium-sized,plex array was lit up on the groundC indicating something was going to appear from it. ''Can''t you do something about it, Alephee? I mean you created a miracle once when you sent me to my past. Allowing me to use my time-element spells shouldn''t be impossible to you.'' Alephee replied soon after: ''It''s not that I can''t do it. It''s the tower''s mechanism. It will sense that an anomaly has been created inside the time chamber. We don''t know how it will react to that anomaly. So my suggestion would be that you drop the idea of using your time-element spells here. The risks might not be worth the advantage you seek in your battle.'' Eren heard Alephee say inside his head. He could choose to override the dungeon''s time-element spell restriction with Alephee''s help. Or he could drop the time-element spells from his spellbo. Eren thought of something else as he was watching the array at the tform''s centre getting brighter by the moment. He couldn''t help asking Alephee about it: ''Alephee, your existence wasn''t detected by the tower. So you are beyond the tower''s fail-safe mechanism. Is there any way you can help me besides enabling me to use time-element spells?'' Eren asked with hopes in his eyes. He needed all the help he could get from the looks of things. That''s because the chilliness in the air has grown since the array appeared. He felt a strange mana signature in the surroundings that he hadn''t felt in either of his lifetimes. The butcher hade to realize that he was going to fight off an unknown kind of creature. Not knowing about your enemies raised the difficulty of the battle. ''Sorry to burst your bubble, Eren. I won''t be able to do much if you want to avoid the repercussions from the tower. Plus, I''d like my existence to stay hidden from the tower''s mechanism. For some reason, I feel that La isn''t the only one keeping an eye on you. But I can give you heads-up for your uing battle by making use of my soul sense. I''d have topromise on being put to sleep if I tried to exert my consciousness like this. But your survival is more critical here at this point.'' ''Do it.'' Eren didn''t take long to reply. He had already been exposed to the potential of a soul sense application in battle. Alephee''s tips were also weing. The butcher could trust her because their existences were interconnected. Alephee spread her mana sense after she got Eren''s confirmation and used it to scan the iing enemies. Only a few moments had passed since the array appeared. ''Eren, I have bad news. Against your uing enemies, your lightning element offensive spells will almost be of no use at first. Use all your fire-element spells. Those would help you the most in dealing with their rotten bodies.'' Alephee informed Eren, who immediately cast his spellbo. He didn''t have the luxury of taking his time and considering her suggestion. Blitz Steps Fire snake Fireball Breath of Fire. Eren executed his spellbo that focused on his fire-element spells. Immediately, his feet were surrounded by tongues of lightning. His katars'' edges caught fire as he tweaked the fireball spell to do so. And there appeared a bunch of fire snakes around him that all focused their gazes on their new enemies that had started appearing from the arrays. "What the fuck are those?" Eren couldn''t help his shock when he saw his enemies. He soon heard two voices in his head,ing from Alephee and La at the same time, saying the same word in unison. "Wraiths." Chapter 317 - Surrounded By The Undead "Wraiths." What Eren saw gave him shivers. These were not ordinary monsters he had battled in his past life. He doubted they could even be called monsters at this point because of their appearances. The wraiths looked like humanoid rankers of mixed races. But the flesh on their bodies was mangled and rotten. Many wraiths were missing the flesh on their face and limbs, making the skeletal structure that is found within them visible to the naked eyes. Many wraiths were missing eyes in their eye sockets. Some had yellowish-white crowns in ce of the scalp. Some had missing teeth. Others had their limbs fractured and twisted in an abnormal direction. The wraiths were wearing tattered clothes that looked like they would turn to dust anytime now. Some of these monsters also carried in their hands old, worn-out weapons that didn''t look threatening at first nce. But Eren could feel with his mana sense that the wraiths had their own brand of magic working for them. The mana signatures they gave off were simr. And they had coated their worn-out weapons in the same mana signatureC making it difficult for the butcher to feel the potency of the weapons and the magic the wraiths were using. ''Eren, the wraiths are the product of forbidden magic used on the dead bodies of the rankers. Beware, these guys are not apparitions like what you battled in the underground dungeon. Only a few tricks can work to counter them. Fire-based spells are one of them. The physical damage you can inflict on them will have almost no immediate effect on wraiths. It is only when your fire-element mana invades their bodies that you will see satisfactory results. Wraiths use only one form of magic irrespective of the element the dead bodies of the rankers were previously associated withC theherworld ice element. The wraiths you see still have their physical bodies. But they can also exist for some time in their mana-body form before getting dispersed into nothingness. Do you understand what that means?'' Eren made a suppressed gulping sound as he heard Alephee''s description of wraiths. Forget about the lightning spells. If even his physical attacks fail to yield results, then he was screwed by the tests on the first floor. ''It means I''ll have to be wary of them even when I destroy their corpses. They are almost like ghosts that reside in the bodies of the deceased. Wait. Dead rankers! Are these the bodies of the rankers who hade here and died in this ce? This fucking Purgatory is giving a new meaning to the word recycle. Fuck!'' Eren cursed the way this ce handled the dead bodies of the rankers. Not because he was empathetic to them. However, these guys died and made his job more difficult. "Skrreeeeeeee!" The silent wraiths that were walking aimlessly in silence produced a sharp sound in unison when they saw a live ranker looking at them from a distance. At least 25 of them appeared all at once. And they all started running towards Eren without a moment''s dy. ''What rank do these guys have? I can''t sense shit.'' Eren gripped his weapons hard as he saw the horde of wraiths approaching him frantically. Some of them were threateningly agile even with their twisted limbs and corpse-like bodies. They looked at Eren like he was their mortal enemy and produced the same sharp sound in unison as if to challenge him. ''The Wraiths don''t have ranks like the normal rankers. But what I can feel from my soul sense, they are as powerful as an F-Ranker in the solid stage.'' Eren listened to Alphee as he started running towards his enemies. There was nothing he could do or use to defend himself in this open terrain. He might as well take the initiative and attack them instead of running around and wasting his stamina and mana. ''Fuck! This dungeon is trying to kill me. I''d have to fight this undead horde for seven days and seven nights? What the fuck!'' The gap between the difficulty levels of the underground dungeon and solo towers was huge. But it was toote for regrets. Eren used his movement spell and got close to the horde of wraiths that were eyeing him. He was followed by his fire snakes. The first thing that hit Eren was the rotten smelling from the bodies of the wraiths. The second was the abnormal mana signature the monsters were giving off. The third was the soul-freezing cold he felting from their bodies. ''I''ll kill you again to give you the rest you fuckers deserve. Sleep motherfuckers, sleep for fuck''s sake.'' Eren was especially agitatedpared to the usual battle stress he was able to cope with. Hence his cursing had increased. The same cursing speech he used to have when he was a nobody in his previous life. The uing battle with the wraiths had made him revert to his previous foul-mouthed self. "Breath of fire." Eren released his fire-element spell from his mouth as soon as he appeared in the middle of the monster horde. The fire snakes that were following him entered the battle as well and executed the same spell at different ces. The pitch-ck night lit by the starry skies soon found a set of new light sources in the form of streams of fire generated by the fire snakes and their caster at the same time. "Skreeeeeeeeee." The flesh burning stench started exuding from the wraiths'' bodies as they were subjected to the fire. But that didn''t prevent them from confronting their attackers fearlessly. It was as if they didn''t care what would happen to their bodies. Eren wasn''t done yet. He stacked his movement spell as soon as he saw the wraithsing to get him. By now they had surrounded him from all sides and there was no way to run. Therefore, he charged up his legs and jumped high-- the only ce he could retract to for the time being. Eren first tossed his katars in the air. Then he executed his fire-element spell as soon as he found himself stabilized in the air a few feet above the ground. The target of his attack was right below himC concentrating on his previous position. "Just fucking die already. Fireballs." ================= AN: VEH will have a mass release tomorrow. The illustration of wraiths will be uploaded to Insta and Discord soon.. Also, VEH reached the milestone of 400K words with this release. Cheers! Chapter 318 - Life Drain P1 "Fireballs!" Eren stacked his fire-element spell and directed them towards the bunch of wraiths that were eyeing and screeching at him. Eren had jumped about 20 feet in the air. As he was getting pulled down by gravity, he executed two more fireballs to ease the fall and damage the monsters simultaneously. "Screeee!" A sharp, deafening noise reached Eren''s ears and almost made him lose his bnce as hended on the ground. Alphee came to his rescue at the time. She covered his body with her soul sense. ''Don''t attack the wraiths carelessly. Use your powers well. First, seal off your ears with your defensive manayer. And use the fire snakes to your advantage.'' Eren showed that he agreed with Alephee by blocking off his ears using his defensive manayer. Then he caught the weapons that were about to hit the ground near him. Swoosh! Eren lit his katars on fire and swung them towards the nearest wraith that hade to confront him. Since the wraith was near him, it had already caught fire. The wraith was an elven sword warrior. He was much taller than Eren. He ignored the sh Eren''s weapon caused on his torso. Then he swung his sword at Eren. But thetter dodged it by tucking under the swing and getting near him. By now, Eren''s animated fire snakes had formed a perimeter around him. The surrounding fire snakes fought and prevented the wraiths from breaching the perimeter. The snakes that were inside the perimeter fought with the remaining wraiths that were near Eren. Eren couldn''t hear the sound of the battle anymore. His skin was tingling from the vibration of sound that bombarded him. Plus, the chill he felt before was intensifying at the moment. The elf warrior wraithughed hideously after Eren''s precise attacknded on his back from below. He punched towards thetter with his empty hand while holding his sword above his head. ''Watch out. The wraith is looking for coteral damage. He is nning to attack your body at the cost of chopping off his hand.'' Alephee''s voice was heard in Eren''s mind as he was about to engage with the elf warrior again. He retracted his hand just when it was about to hit the guy''s lower rib cage. Eren retreated immediately and tried to distance himself from him. But soon, he saw through one of his fire snakes'' vision that another wraith was about to attack him from behind him. While retreating, he kept an eye on the elf warrior wraith. ''Damn it. There are just too many.'' Eren cursed and stopped retreating before employing his movement spell to its fullest potential. He dodged to his left just when the dwarf elf was about to attack him from behind using his axe. Eren''s skin tingled again. He knew that both the elf and dwarf wraiths were mad at him for not being an obedient victim. They both were screeching at him at the same time. His natural defenceyer felt the tremors produced by the mana-infused screech. But before he could stabilize from just changing his position and attacking one of the two wraiths, another monster attacked him from the front. It had the body of a human female. Eren couldn''t change the direction of his movement in time. He was missing his time-element spells more and more in this battle. Those spells were a boon for quick and calcted movements that he could n after seeing the attacking. The time-element spells had allowed him to dominate most of his opponents while avoiding any fatal injuries. The female wraith didn''t carry any weapon. But the nails on her hands were longer than normal. Her fingers also had been elongated. The flesh on her body had dried and shrivelledC forming wrinkles all over. But her eyes carried a hint of water in them. The old-hag-looking female wraith was fast with her hands as she didn''t carry any weapons. She smiled hideously at the butcher as she grabbed his right hand. The one he was using to stabilize his position by cing it on the ground and using it as something to kill his momentum with. Eren felt as if all his energy in his right hand was being sucked dry as soon as the female wraith grabbed his hand. He watched to his horror as his fleshly hand was starting to turn wrinkly and losing its original colour. "Get the fuck off of me, you fucking old hag." Eren shouted loud and swung his katar at the hand the female wraith had used to touch him. He saw that the female wraith was still shing an unsightly smile as she swiftly evaded the attack aimed at her. Eren felt the chills invading his body even after the female wraith left his hand. Theherworld-ice element pervaded inside him and started to freeze his flesh and bones. Even a portion of his blood in the nearby veins had turned into tiny blocks of bloody ice. ''Quick. Run your fire-element mana through the right hand and expel the foreign mana currently trying to shut the organs down. I''ve stopped it from spreading further in your body with my mana sense. But it would take efforts from your end to get rid of it for good.'' Eren retreated as he heard Alephee''s suggestion. He gathered three of his nearest fire snakes and assigned them to the three directions around him. He stopped amid his fire snakes and observed what was happening around him with vignce. Thankfully, the elf warrior wasn''t that fast because his right foot was twisted in a weird direction. The femur bone of the right leg seems broken as well, preventing him from following Eren at a steady pace. Eren guessed that the elf warrior must have overexerted himself to close his distance from Eren and attack him first. As a result, his right femur bone was broken and his right foot was twisted. The dwarf warrior had just taken his axe out of the ground where Eren stood a few moments ago. The female warrior smiled coquettishly at him again. She seemed to be high on something. The female wraith''s eyes that were just moist a moment before had produced two distinct lines of tears on her cheeks now.. But contrary to the usual emotion associated with tears, the monster seemed ecstatic. Chapter 319 - Life Drain P2 The female wraith''s eyes that were just moist a moment before had produced two distinct lines of tears on her cheeks now. But contrary to the belief associated with the tears, the monster seemed ecstatic. The female wraith stretched her tongue and reached towards the tears running down her shrivelled cheeks. She used the tip of her tongue to lift the drop of the clear liquid that had a dash of purple-blue hue mixed in it. She sent those drops down her throat using her excessively long tongue as a slide. Then she traced the moist path of the tears they left behind with her tongue. The female wraith looked like she had the biggest orgasm of her afterlife when she drank those tears. Eren felt a chill run down his spine as he witnessed that. Things were not looking rosy for him from the very first night of the trial. He looked down at his caught-on-fire shrivelled hand that was slowly gaining colour and returning to its previous state as he kept on running his fire-element mana through it. ''What the fuck was that, Alephee?'' Eren asked while looking at the three immediate opponents that were closing in on him. Alphee didn''t take long to reply: ''Life Drain!'' Alephee said. But before she could provide Eren with an exnation, La''s voice sounded in his head: "That was the Life Drain ability of the Wraiths. A few deviant wraiths can suck the vitality of their opponents. Be careful and don''t let them touch you again." ''Hey! I was about to say that. This mischievous rascal beat me to it.'' Alephee''s unpleasant voice echoed in Eren''s head as he had dark lines on his forehead. He asked Alephee in a grim voice: ''You knew about this?'' ''Well, yeah.'' ''Don''t give me your casual ''yeah''. Say stuff like this before they fatally injure me, damn it.'' Eren replied with a burst of anger. He soon heard Alephee''s sulky response: ''But I was only reminded of it when the female wraith''s ability worked on you.'' Eren sighed internally before asking the gem''s spirit in aforting tone: ''Alright, alright. What else can you tell me about it? Is there anything I can do? Is there any way I can prevent the old hag from getting high on my life force?'' There was no point in wallowing in the things that had already happened. The pragmatist in Eren showed himself at the time of his crisis and enabled him to ask the right questions: ''No, Eren. You can''t block the ability with your mana defenceyer as you did with the wraiths'' screech. Technically, the manayer and your mana itself would be a part of your life force. The vitality-sucking wraith would be able to suck your vitality as soon as she touched you. You can only try to avoid contact. That''s the right way. The second best is that you cut her arms first before destroying her body. Still, the discovery of a deviant wraith isn''t all terrible. Hehe! I''ll tell you of another measure you can use against these wraiths which the cheeky rascal conveniently avoided sharing with you. Deviant''s wraith''s eyes turn the ethereal energy found in the life force into a liquid form-- those tears. Do you understand what I''m trying to say?'' Eren processed what Alephee told him as he watched as the mini battles between his fire snakes and the wraiths intensified. He immediately felt as if he had a salty taste in his mouth. He confirmed to be sure: ''You mean, I have to'' ''Yepp! You can drink the tears to gain your lost vitality back and then some more. It won''t taste salty or anything unptable despite how it looks. You can also store it away forter use. Even a single drop will do the trick. If you process it using your ranking technique properly, it can be beneficial for you and help you get over the bottleneck in your ranking. I''d suggest you take out the eyeballs of that wraith and store them inside your ID storage. They would be able to produce a drop or two within a week or two on their own even after they are taken out. The removed eyes can keep on producing those tears for a few months'' ''Keep it concise, Alephee. We don''t have much time here.'' Eren stopped Alephee from rambling about the health benefits of having a deviant wraith''s eyes in his possession. That''s because soon his three attackers and he would be within striking distance of each other. The fire-element mana did affect the wraiths, causing them to slow down considerably. But it couldn''t finish them off. The fire snakes were also going to disappear because Eren felt like his headache would soon make him dispel the animated spell. Furthermore, taking care of the many fire snakes around him was also taxing on his mana expenditure. It meant that the longer he fought the horde of the wraiths, the grimmer his prospect was going to be in the end. What if he had to be in the fight with them for seven days straight? Eren had a depressing look on his face when he realized the kind of soup he had found himself in. As if to take pity on him, La spoke in his mind and tried to give him some hope: ''Don''t worry, Eren. This ce follows the rules of real life for the most part. The wraiths can''t exist in daylight. You only need to fight them till dawn arrives, which is ten hours from now as per your perception of time. Their bodies would burn, and their spectral forms would be destroyed. They''ll be taken care of on their own when that happens. You don''t necessarily have to win against all of the wraiths. As I said earlier, you just need to survive the seven days on the first floor. Hehe! Isn''t it easy? Do your best.'' ================= AN: Thanks A9C for the gifts. Chapter 320 - Dealing With The Dwarf Wraith "You don''t necessarily have to win against all of the wraiths. As I said earlier, you just need to survive the seven days on the first floor. Hehe! Isn''t it easy? Do your best.'' La finished her speech on a cheering note. That certainly relieved some pressure off of the butcher''s psyche. But the ck lines on his forehead didn''t disappear as he realized the much-needed respite was still ten hours away from him. ''Easy? Easy? This fucking brat.'' Eren wanted to curse La for her easy remarks. But he stopped himself and tried to self motivate himself instead: ''Heh! It''ll be impossible to clear the floor at this rate if I just get scared at the beginning. Snap out of it, Eren fucking Idril. You are better than this. Just 10 hours, right? I can do this.'' Eren said to himself something he didn''t truly believe. The odds were still stacked against him. He needed a trick that could work against the wraiths while enabling him to face the least amount of repercussions. But first, he needed to take care of the three immediate opponents he was about to face all at once. He thought about it and activated another spell: Blitz Shield! Ayer of lightning appeared around Eren''s body and was converted into a lightning overcoat. It had fewer runic patterns than he previously had when he was in the ethereal state while in the underground dungeon. Still, it was a huge improvement over the normal defensive spell he was used to. Eren had not yet gotten attuned to all the insights he gained after consuming the Potion of Serenity. However, he was able to aplish this in an expedited manner due to the constant battles he was having. Eren used his movement spell to his fullest and approached the dwarf first who looked the weakest among the trio. He employed the fire snakes that protected him to attack the other two. He sent one snake towards the old hag. The other two were assigned to deal with the elf sword warrior. "Breath of fire." Eren used the fire-element spell through his mouth as soon as he got close to the dwarf wraith. The dwarf wraith screeched when he was subjected to the fire. He repelled it by condensing ayer of dark blue ice on his body. ''This is theherworld ice element Alephee talked about.'' Eren thought to himself before he stopped executing the spell. He used his weapons arts on the dwarf just as he was repositioning himself after being subjected to the fire. ''Swoosh.'' Eren chopped off the wraith''s axe-holding hand before aiming his next attack on his eyes. But the wraith was unfazed even after the separation of his limb. He spun around quickly and ducked. Then he picked up the dropped axe using his other hand and spun it towards Eren''s legs while still maintaining his close-to-the-ground position. ''These fucking dwarfs are nimble with their weapons even after they die it seems.'' Eren cursed and hastily jumped using his quick movements. This time, the jump wasn''t as high. But it gave him the altitude he needed to cast another fireball spell on the dwarf. ''Screeeeeeee!'' The dwarf screeched as he was subjected to an even more fire-element attack. ''Destroy their hearts and brains. They are anchored to their mortal bodies because of those two organs. As long as those organs are intact, you won''t be able to destroy them in one go.'' Eren heard Alephee''s suggestion as he was about to fall to the ground. He had a light of hope in his eyes when he heard the information. ''Information like this..'' Eren redirected his stance and headed towards the dwarf wraith. He tightened the grip around his weapon and spun in the air. By now, the monster had stood on its own. But before it could look up, it felt somethingnding on either side of his shoulders with a significant force. Eren had ced his feet right over the dwarf''s shoulders. The momentum of his fall hadn''t slowed down. It passed through his body and was exerted on the dwarf, causing him to be on his knees as a result. The butcher didn''t waste time. He squatted and ran one of his katars directly through the monster''s cranium from above. Then he grabbed the monster''s shoulder with his hands and stood on it, allowing his legs to swing vertically and generate momentum behind the monster''s back. Eren ran his lightning element movement spell to its fullest to increase the right leg''s speed and prating power. Then he used the same leg to puncture-kick the dwarf from behindC just where his heart was supposed to be. Picheeui! The right leg was through the monster''s body as soon as the attacknded. It also damaged the heart in the process. From the dwarf''s front, the rotten ck blood was dripping with dark blue mana residue. And when Eren took his right leg back with equal speed, the same blood was spurted on the ground behind the monster as well. ''(Information like this) ... should have been given as soon as the fight had started.'' Eren finished his sentence only after he had defeated the monster. He had destroyed its brain and heart simultaneously with one attack. He hade to realize that attacking the wraiths this way, using fire-element spells first and then following them with attacks on their hearts and brains, would give him the maximum battle efficiency. Eren jumped andnded on all fours to see that the dwarf wraith''s body had started crumblingC turning into dust before disappearing into thin air. He was just about to get up from his position when he sensed a threating from where the dwarf''s body was. The dwarf''s apparition appears from the crumbling dust that was once his body. It screeched even louder than it could while it had a mortal body and flew towards its enemy at an rming rate. Eren was about to execute his breath of fire again when he heard Alephee''s voice in his head: ''Eren, remember when I told you the lightning-element spells wouldn''t be useful? That was before you destroyed their bodies. You have to use them on the wraith''s spectral form to deal with them.'' It was Alephee''s warning that made Eren smile in mirthless amusement. Hispanion had a serious problem streamlining the information she was supposed to provide him. But he didn''t let it get to him and changed his spell: "Blitz Bolt!" Chapter 321 - F! "Blitz Bolt." Eren executed his go-to lightning element spell for the first time in his battle against the wraiths. He ran towards the approaching apparition and directed the bolt generated from his finger to pass through its heart again. Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee The mana defenceyer couldn''tpletely prevent the sound from entering Eren''s ears as the apparition screeched with all that it could. It was infused with the lightning element mana as the bolt ran through it. The form started dissolving in the air as a result. And yet, the apparition continued screaming at its opponent who by now was frozen in his steps. That was because the screech had temporarily made him lose control over his body. He had goosebumps on his body and it felt like his soul was getting affected by that screech. The dwarf''s apparition had opened its mouth unnaturally wide as it produced that soul-shaking voice. Eren''s lightning-element defensive element was still intact. But it looked like the attack was not something it could block on its own. ''*Sigh! You owe me a hundred, Eren.'' Alephee sighed and spread her soul sense to wrap Eren''s body within it. The invisible and immaterial protection granted by her was what allowed Eren to finally gain control over his body. He was about to thank hispanion but her urgent voice was heard in his head again: ''The sword wraith managed to break its siege. Behind you.'' Eren opened his eyes wide when he heard Alephee''s voice. He rolled to the front and tried using his movement spell to get far away from his current position. But he couldn''t manage to do that while remaining unscathed. The sword warrior of the elven race swung his sword unnaturally as he spun around. The move was fast as if he was chopping a huge tree in one go with that amateur-looking stance. The action taken by the sword wraith was so sudden that it created afterimages of the sword. This made it look like the motion he had performed just now was pathetically slow. Due to this, no matter how quickly Alephee warned Eren, his right leg was shed in the back. The Achilles tendon of his right leg had a huge sh on it as a result. "Aaaaaargh!" Eren yelled in pain as he managed to get away from the sword warrior. He ceased using his movement spell when he was at a sufficient distance from his attacker. The sword did not manage to reach the butcher. But the sword''s dark blue mana infused attack converted the rest of the imbued mana into a flying sh that injured the butcher. The attack''s dark blue mana was concentrated in the form of a sh. Thus, it was able to break through the butcher''s defensive spell and its inherent defensiveyer with ease. The dark blue mana started pervading Eren''s body as it numbed the feeling of pain after a few moments. It was as if he had no sh wound on his right leg at all. If Eren didn''t know any better, he would just assume that his right leg didn''t have any injury at all behind its back. This was one of the scariest parts of the battle against the wraiths. A sense of pain was needed to gauge the danger the injury carried. If the ranker doesn''t feel the pain and is not aware of the injury, the dark blue mana would progress at a faster rate. This is because the ranker wasn''t aware it had entered its body. "How did he" Eren wondered how the sword guy managed to break through the siege first even though he had already assigned two fire snakes to him. He finally got his answer when he looked around. The fire snakes were no more. All of them were dispersed. The wraiths who had been subjected to the fire-element attacks were slowly walking towards him with even more of their bodies missing. Eren realized that the dwarf''s attack had paralyzed him and his mind. His stacked animated spell in the form of fire snakes which shared his consciousness was dispersed when that happened. ''Wait a minute. If all the fire snakes are disappeared, where the fuck is that old hag'' Eren''s mana sense suddenly sent him warning signals that wereing from his left side. But it was already toote. The old hag had sneakily approached her prey and touched him on his left arm, just below the shoulder. "Screeeeeee!" Eren''s thoughts were still a bit distraught. Therefore, he had forgotten to strengthen his natural defenceyer one more time post his mind-freezing moment. So when the old hag opened her mouth to scream at him, he took the full brunt of that attack. ''Not again.'' Alephee spread her soul sense and covered Eren''s head with it. By the time Eren snapped out of the mind-numbing effect, the old hag had managed to break through his unstable defensive spell and inconstant defensiveyer. She touched his bare skin with the tip of her right index finger''s long nail. Eren''s life force was drained at a rapid pace when the human female wraith managed to touch him. The nail had also managed to inflict a wound on Eren''s body. The old hag sent her dark blue mana into Eren''s system through that wound. Ideally, Eren''s lightning-element spell shouldn''t have been broken so easily by the old hag. But since he had suffered an injury to his right Achilles heel and his body was invaded by the foreign mana sent through it, his defensive spell became unstable. In addition, the old hag''s screech that sounded so close to him made his overall defence even weaker. Before the butcher could do anything about the invading dark blue foreign mana wreaking havoc inside his body or get away from the old hag, the sword elf wraith''s next sh was upon him. The sword wraith had managed to cover the distance between him and Eren when thetter was busy dealing with the old hag''s screech. The wraith sent his flying sh towards his opponent before he reached him. Eren''s left hand has now been grabbed by the old hagC basically pinning him to his ce. His right leg was injured. Plus, he was distraught in mind and mana control. He only had one thought running through his head as he saw the flying dark-blue sh approach him at a rapid pace: F! ================== AN: Three more chaptersing up soon! ;) Chapter 322 - Mortal Danger Eren couldn''t stop cursing his luck when he saw the flying sh closing the distance between them at a rapid pace. By now his arm had been tightly grasped by the old hag despite the lightning-element mana invading her body and doing damage. ''Eren, I I can''t keep my consciousness active any more. The rest of the fight you need too'' ''Alephee? Alephee! Fck!'' Alephee''s feeble voice sounded in Eren''s head. She had been put to sleep due to the overuse of her soul sense. The butcher realized the most horrible day in his life since his rebirth had gotten even more unbearable after the soul sense protection offered by Alephee was retired. This was perhaps the biggest danger he had found himself to be in ever since his new lease on life had begun. Eren''s movement spell couldn''t be executed properly due to theherworld-ice element pervading his right leg. He could only do two things at this point: strengthen his defensive spell and use his right hand''s palm as a defensive weapon. It would be necessary for him to use abination of fire and lightning elements to kill the flying sh''s momentum and lethality. Then he would have to sustain the rest of the flying sh with his defensive spell. Plus, his vitality would keep on getting drained by the old hag as he tried to prioritize his safety. Eren did exactly that and followed his makeshift n to a T. He first executed the Blitz Bolt and maintained its form without releasing it. He then fired a fireball as well. He sent both of them towards the flying sh at the same time when it got within striking range. Swoosh! Fire and lightning attacks caused some damage to the flying sh. Mostly due to the Blitz Bolt, the fireball spell was spread over arge areaC decreasing its potency. Lightning element spells were good enough. But they had terriblepatibility with theherworld-ice element. Still, every reduction of the sh''s potency counted in Eren''s situation. The next couple of moments were driven by Eren''s instinct to survive. That moment of danger had helped him revisit his primal sense. Just when it was about to hit him, Eren dared to touch the old hag with his own ord and pulled her in between the attack and him. His vitality was drained at a rapid rate as a result of his bold attack. The better half of the sh travelled through the left side of the female wraith''s west while the other half was yet to make contact. Even after travelling through the old hag''s body, the sh hardly lost any momentum. "Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" The old hag became ecstatic when she received Eren''s life force in abundance after he touched her directly. The butcher was about to lose consciousness as well due to too much of his vitality getting zapped from him. This was also due to the invasion of foreign mana in his system. The shnded on Eren''s waist too because he was about the same height as the old hag. The right side of his waist had its outeryer breached. It managed to decrease the flying sh''s potency even more. He suffered severe injuries to his waist as a result of the sh. But the attack didn''t make it past the waist. "Aaaaaaaargh!" Still, the flying sh managed to open Eren''s waist 5 inches deep before it was dispersed. Its consequences would be equally horrible. The pain finally snapped Eren and gave him momentary rity. He hade to realize by now that the feeling of pain would soon be stopped by theherworld-ice element invading his body from multiple points of origin. He probably only had a few moments to initiate a counterattack and get through this life-threatening ordeal. Otherwise, he would have to say goodbye to the second chance life had thrown at him. There probably won''t be a third. "Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Eren''s skin tingled with one more round of soul-shaking sound as the old hag felt ecstatic despite the left part of her waist gettingpletely shed open. Eren watched to his horror as the rotten flesh began to regenerate itself. ''My vitality! This bitch is using my vitality to heal herself.'' Eren''s healthy cheeks had started to shrivel by now. His cheekbones were starting to be prominent as his vitality was draining at a rapid rate from him. Eren saw the old hag sh him a hideous smile as if she was mocking him for his poor efforts to avoid his fate. The primal instincts that had been awoken due to the flying sh were rekindled when he saw the old hag''s eyes start producing more tears. The old hag stuck her abnormally long tongue out and was about to savor her nectar. But soon she felt her tongue being grabbed by a half-shrivelled hand. Swish! Eren drew out the katar from his storage and cut off the old hag''s tongue. He knew the time was of the essence. The elf swordsman would soon reach his position. It''d be game over for him if things kept progressing the way they were progressing. That''s why the butcher stopped caring about the increment of his vitality drain and let his instincts take over him. He first got close to the hag''s face and stuck his tongue out. He licked both the lines of tears that were running down the old hag''s cheeks. Eren felt energized right away when the two small drops of the hag''s tears ran down his throats. The rity of his mind returned for goodC no longer dependent on the feeling of pain. Even his wounds started mending at an unnatural rate. Eren saw with the corner of his eyes that the sword wraith was about to reach his ce. The elf had already assumed a position to attack him and the hag from his swing. Eren stopped caring about his injury and ignored the old hag''s angry veils. He looked at her almost ripped-in-half waist that was getting mended at a rapid pace. "You will love the way I make you open up! Hehe." The butcher chuckled to himself before driving one of his katars into the old hag''s still-open waist injury. Chapter 323 - Use Of The Inherent Spell "You will love the way I make you open up!" The butcher said this to the wraith before driving one of his katars through the old hag''s waist injury right above her pelvic girdle. The katars were already imbued with fire-element mana. That along with Eren''s sheer force that he had mustered from his body going into survival mode enabled him to separate the wraith''s waist from her torsopletely. "Let''s dance." Eren then held the human ranker wraith''s torso like he was holding a girl in his arms for a formal dance. His vitality started draining and the human wraith tried to injure his back with her long nails as well. But he didn''t care. The wraith had her tongue cut out and her mouth had been already mangled. She couldn''t hurt him with her mouth. So he could always drink the tears from the wraith''s eyes as soon as they ran down her cheeks. Providing he kept up with the loss of his vitality and did not lose consciousness before the tears reached his system. All these things happen in a short time. By then, the sword wraith had reached Eren''s ce. Thus, he kicked the human wraith''s lower body toward him while he retreated in the opposite direction. The tears were generated again. Eren drank them up while stretching his tongue just like the human wraith did. His body had been altered to do that after all. ''Blitz Bolt Blitz Steps Blitz Shield Fire Snake Breath of Fire'' Eren reconfigured his spellbo after he drank the tears again. He was now in a constant cycle of getting his body shrivelled due to the Wraith''s Life Drain and getting revitalized after drinking the tears. Just when the sword wraith was about to swing another attack directly at Eren, he had to redirect his attack towards a lower half of the human wraith''s body as it flew straight at him. He cut it up in a single sh. And looked ahead to see that Eren was retreating again. Away from him and towards the other wraiths that had been slowed down due to the exposure to the fire. "Screeeeeee!" The sword wraith screeched and tried to follow Eren. but soon he was met with three fire snakes who bared their fangs at him while stretching their fire tongues. They executed the spells they were empowered with by their caster as soon as their opponent came into their attacking range. Breath of fire! The sword wraith was subjected to three streams of fire from three different directions. He tried cutting the snakes down. But since they were ethereal, they would just reform and carry on their attacks. The snakes would indeed get affected by the dark-blue mana invading their ethereal bodies. However, it was not enough to stop the attack they had been assigned. At least not anytime soon. Eren retreated at a sufficient distance and stopped. The slow wraiths had also surrounded him from behind. If he retreated anymore, he would have to fight them. A fight now was something akin to suicide. He already had his hands full with the female wraith even when she had been cut from her waist down. Eren drank from the newly created tears andid the female wraith on the ground. She started crawling and trying to injure his legs as soon as Eren released her. The butcher had to use his movement speed to dodge her attacks. Nevertheless, cutting the lower body of the old hag had made his job easier. "We should get those pretty eyes tested, beautiful!" Eren sarcastically said to the screeching wraith as he deposited his weapons in his ID storage. He ran his fire-element mana through his arms and executed the fire snake''s spell by tweaking it a bit. Eren''s arms were coated in orange fire. The fire changed its hue as it approached his finger and appeared more incandescent. It meant that the fire coating his finger had more concentration of fire-element mana. Eren ran the same spell through his legs as well. The legs also had a coating of fire and lightning element mana as a result. "Sreeeee!" The human wraith screeched at her oppressor as her remaining two limbs were pinned down by the butcher''s legs from either side. Her screech was mixed with the collective wraith noises of all the monsters that had encircled the butcher from every possible angle. Eren was in trouble. He couldn''t be sure he would be able to survive this night even if he managed to take the eyes out of the monster. He could only use them to his advantage. In hindsight, he had made a lot of mistakes fighting with the wraiths. But since he didn''t know about the existence of these monsters, it was only natural that he would struggle. As a result of the pressure he was feeling from all around him, Eren''s survival mode that ran on his instincts remained active all this time. By squatting down, he sat on the chest of the human wraith. "Screeeeee!" Sizzle Sizzle! Eren''s fingers touched the area around the wraith''s eyes and they started burning the rotten flesh they came in contact with. The butcher didn''t wait long enough and inserted his fingers into the eye sockets. He used all his force to dig both of the eyes out from the eye sockets and yanked them out. His skin tingled when it was bombarded with the wraith''s heightened screech as a response to the atrocity he hadmitted on her. The eyes started dripping with the mixture of ck blood, dark blue mana residue, and vitality-enhancing tears when they were gouged out. The butcher did not think twice and drank the mixture by holding his eyes right above his open mouth. He had used his right hand to hold both the dripping eyes by the muscles and veins attached to their ends. Eren''s left hand subconsciously reached for the female wraith''s face as he was busy drinking the weird mixture. His left hand was morphed into a slimy form on its own. The slimy mass was spread all over the human wraith''s face. Eren was subconsciously using his inherent spell on the human wraith. ================== AN: Thanks to all the readers who have followed Eren''s journey. He wouldn''t have made it here without your support. This would be thest chapter to be released in February 2022. The two bonus chapters as well as the regr ones will be uploaded tomorrow; i.e. in March. This month has been a bit tough on me due to me getting down by COVID followed by my unexpectedptop failure. VEH''s upload schedule was thrown into disarray as a result. Despite those challenges, we managed to remain in the win-win ranking. Cheers! Things are going to get more exciting in the VEH-verse. Our boy is on the verge of metamorphosis, which is going to be physical as well as psychological. Plus, the Osan Woods incident is about to take a strange turn (Not so strange if you got the foreshadowing, lol). Hope you stay tuned for more in March and all the months toe. ;) Special thanks to Aizen and Sharon_Eicheub for sending massage chairs. Chapter 324 - Taboo Eren was subconsciously using his inherent spell on the human wraith. Slimy, dark blue smoke made contact with the rotten skin of a wraith. It started melting at a rapid pace and soon turned into a liquid. The wraith''s entire skin and muscle on her face and then some more were missing when Eren''s left hand in slimy form was done with it. The wraith couldn''t even produce noise anymore because of the liquefaction of the vocal cords along with her face. But that didn''t prevent her from struggling with her hands. She tried to scratch Eren with her nails, which she had somehow managed to extend till they reached Eren''s body. Eren was still drinking the weird mixture. But his skin soon turned dark green with crocodile-like scuts over it. This was his body''s self-defence mechanism that had kicked in. The crocodile-like green scuts were the same one Renar was used to having when he entered his anthrope transformation. Eren had assimted with Renar''s blood and flesh and derived this power from him when he was sparring with the guy. That anthrope-like power had finally made its appearance in the real battle. Eren didn''t want to use it because of the side effects he had felt at the time. But not being critically injured was criticalqqqqqq to him. The scuts and the hardened skin prevented the female wraith from damaging Eren''s skin in any way. The rate at which she could suck Eren''s vitality also dropped. But Eren wasn''t paying attention to what the female wraith was doing to him. The mixture of what he was drinking was wreaking havoc inside his body and healing him at the same time. Eren felt like his throat and his windpipe were on fire after drinking the mixture. The dark blue mana residue also conflicted with the existing mana in his body. The two of them were repelling one another- as if to deny each other''s existence. But the tears worked wonders for him. They soothed the burning sensation, aided him in healing all the injuries he had faced, and energized him while clearing his head. The female wraith tried to retaliate by trying to freeze Eren. But Eren was done with his energy shake by that time. He threw the wraith''s eyes inside his storage and saw what was happening around and below him. The wraiths were slowly but surely closing in on him. The fire snakes he had employed now could only do so much. The sword wraith was also about to wrap up his battle with the fire snakes. Then he looked at the female wraith and realized what he had done with her. Her entire skeletal face was visible since there was no flesh to cover it. Eren then looked at his scuts-riddled hands and understood what had happened. ''I used my inherent spell. Again. On this old hag.'' Eren concluded quickly. But he felt something was missing. The inherent spell hadn''t finished its job. So this time, he decided to use it on his half-finished victim andplete the assimtion. Eren got up from his squatted position while still keeping the female wraith''s abnormal hands pinned to the ground. He didn''t think twice and used his inherent spell on the old hag with both his hands turning into slime form and covering her entire body with it. ******************** Unbeknownst to Eren, an earthquake shook the area around the Purgatory''s entrance. This earthquake was felt at various ces outside the separate dimension. Even ck clouds had gathered in the sky above the entrance. "Fufufufufu! I like this boy already. Trying to walk on a taboo path without any hesitation. La, let''s change the previous n a bit. No matter the first floor''s results, you have my permission to save the boy if and when he is about to die. Intervene if you have to. I''m not sure the boy will survive the process of assimting with something like that. So you are allowed to use the recovery potions from my collection as well." A known ancient voice contacted La and told her to assure Eren''s safety in amanding voice. The voice seemed old and fragile. But it also contained a certain dignity thates from wielding so much power. La heard the voice and nodded her head to nobody in particr. Then she focused her attention on the spectral screen in front of her that had Eren''s live feed on disy. She felt that the task of keeping Eren alive was too difficult to perform when he was trying to mess with the natural order of the world. ''What is that idiot trying to do? His mana core is going to burst at this rate.'' With her newly acquired rights, La activated Purgatory''s mechanism. A teleportation array was lit a few meters away from her in a seemingly endless ce. She was nning to teleport straight to Eren and bring him back with her before things got out of control. But just when she was about to use the teleportation array, she opened her eyes wide in surprise and stayed frozen in her ce. A look of disbelief painted on her face. That''s because she saw what was happening with Eren. ********************* Eren felt like his body was about to explode after he retracted his slime form and willed his hands to resume their previous shape. He was immediately brought to his knees as he felt like his body was going to implode from the fluctuation of mana running through every fibre of his flesh. "Aaaaaargh!" He yelled in agony as his body started heating up. His clear skin had turned red. And his eyes were bloodshot. His skin was all overlooked like there were loads of bugs running around everywhere beneath it. The fluctuation of mana finally reached Eren''s mana core. This was due to the severity of the fluctuation as well as the involvement of foreign mana. But then, the runic symbols that were imprinted on the core as well over the region just under Eren''s navel lit up. That phenomenon stabilized the fluctuation before eventually killing it. The unbearable pain and unclear thoughts stopped giving Eren a splitting headache. The unknown and incoherent whispering in Eren''s ears finally stopped when the fluctuation stabilized. Eren got up and looked around. He saw the wraiths of the horde had almost closed in on him. And the sword wraith seemed to have gotten rid of his animated spells. But most of his attention was on his right hand as he raised it. Eren willed it and his right hand turned semi shrivelled before the nails on his fingers started growing. The hand didn''t look like the one the old hag had. But it also didn''t look like something a human should have. Eren''s psyche was also branded with an unknown spell in the end. It was the old hag''s wretched ability that she had used against him so many times by now. Life Drain! Chapter 325 - Turn The Tables Eren''s psyche was also branded with an unknown spell in the end. It was the old hag''s wretched ability that she had used against him so many times by now. Life Drain! Even though Eren referred to the newest addition to his repertoireC Life Drain as a spell, he knew that technically it wasn''t one. It was simr to his inherent spell in more ways than one. But he also felt that there was something different about it. Eren''s skin colour returned to normal. But there were still a lot of changes taking ce inside his body. His core that was about to burst had now been stabilized. It also had even stranger runic patterns etched over it now. Compared to the previous runes, the new runes had a differentnguage. Plus, the same runes were visible briefly down his naval region before they sunk into his skin. The dark blue mana that the wraiths were used to employing stopped creating a conflict with Eren''s existing mana. It couldn''t mix with the normal mana or get channelled by the mana core. It justy dormant in Eren''s mana circuitsC not causing any harm anymore. Eren looked at his abnormally long and thin fingers as well as sharp grey nails. The skin of his hand had retained its original hue. But it had turned scaly and chapped. The hand also had blue veins visible over its skin. It meant that the dark blue mana present within his mana circuits could now be channelled through his right hand. ''Erni, are you alright? Should Ie out?'' Reen asked with a lot of care in her voice. She had tried her best to help him by trying to fix his injuries from within. But she could only do so much with her sealed mana core. Eren reassured her with his words and made her calm down. ''I''m fine, Reen. You don''t have toe out. How can you help with yourck of ranking anyway? I can handle this battle now that I''ve turned to normal. It''s just that I feel. Different!'' Eren finished talking with Reen as he observed and felt the changes within himself. The time seemed to slow down for him even though he knew he hadn''t used any time element spell. His senses could now differentiate between living and dead beings more vividly. Plus, the stench of rotten bodies didn''t bother him anymore. Eren looked at the female wraith''s position. Nobody was there since he had digested it using his inherent magic. But Eren wondered why there was no spectral form of the wraith attacking him anymore. It was as if she was digested along with the rest of her body. ''Did I also digest her soul? Is that even possible?'' Eren wondered to himself and then dropped the subject. Now was not the time to think about these questions. He had only dealt with one deviant wraith. There were a few others who needed to be taken down. Drinking that mixture earlier had fixed Eren and returned him to his prime condition. His mana storage and his stamina also seemed to have been recovered. Now was the time to make use of all of them to unleash a fearsome counter. ''Blitz Steps Fire snake Fireball Breath of Fire'' Eren executed hisbo and zipped towards the sword wraith. Thetter had eradicated another fire snake by now. Thest fire snake''s body had been infected with dark blue mana due to the consistent sword shes it faced from the sword wraith. The sword wraith was just about to deal the final blow to the fire snake when he sensed something or someoneing towards him at an elerated pace. The sword wraith was confused because the opponent he had tried targeting a few minutes before was now giving him a different feeling. His mana signature had remained the same for the most part. But the few minor changes he observed within it indicated that he was like themC an abominated wraith. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The sword wraith ignored the fire snake and directed his attack at the iing Eren. He unleashed his move to its fullest potential and sent three sword shes flying towards thetter. Eren was ready and in prime form at this moment. He also didn''t feel much threating from the wraith''s invading mana anymore. He dodged the first shing at him easily. He barely got away from the second. The third flying sh was unavoidable. Therefore, Eren took out his katars and assumed a defensive stance while maintaining his movement spell. Pitaang! The sparks flew and a distinct nk was heard as the flying sh shed with the fire imbued katars. The wraith''s mana attempted to invade Eren''s hands as it battled with the fire. It tried to freeze both his weapon and his hands. But the mana became harmless as soon as it made contact with Eren''s skin. Eren shed a cunning smile towards the sword wraith. He had gained a huge advantage in the battle with the horde of wraith after inadvertently using his inherent spell on the female wraith. "You have been a pain in the ass for me all this time. I''ll fuck you up for good, my dead elf friend." Eren said and appeared right in front of the sword wraith. He cut his stomach as soon as he found the opening to do so. But the wraith didn''t care. The wound on his body had already started to ice up and was about to close. The sword wraith made a direct sh at his opponent. His sword''s edges were now shining with dark blue manaC giving it a threatening vibe. But before he could deliver that sh, the sword wraith''s attack was abnormally interrupted by the redirection of mana. The sword wraith felt that his mana was getting drained out of him by some foreign forceC the cause of redirection. The dark blue mana sheen on his sword got dimmer beforepletely vanishing. He looked down at Eren''s hands and saw that they were bathed in a dark blue colour. Eren had dipped his hands into the sword''s wraith''s stomach through the wound he had created and executed his newly gained ability. The tables had been turned on the sword wraith. Chapter 326 - Timber! Eren had dipped his hands into the sword''s wraith''s stomach through the wound he had created and executed his newly gained ability. Since the wraith didn''t have any vitality, all he could extract was the wraith''s mana. Since he couldn''t channel the dark blue mana through his mana core even though it had bepatible with his mana circuits, Eren couldn''t use it the way he wanted. The most he could do was release all the deposited dark blue mana in his mana circuits through his hands in one goC as if expelling it. That''s what he did right afterwards. Kachaaaaa! The elf wraith''s rib bones broke and produced a sound when the dark blue ice suddenly flooded his insides. The origin of that deposition was Eren''s hands of course. Eren didn''t try to control the mysterious mana in any way. As a result, the deposition of ice that had suddenly taken ce inside the wraith''s stomach didn''t have any fixed shape. It just started expanding inside the wraith''s bodyC expelling everything that stood in its way after freezing them solid. The formation of ice started spreading on the wraith''s body from the outside as well. Eren had released all the previously umted dark blue mana as well as the mana he had just absorbed from the sword wraith all in one go. That too without worrying about casting any spells. So the rate of ice formation was rapid. The attack turned the sword wraith into an ice statue. The swing of his sword remained iplete just a few inches away from Eren''s neck. His sword didn''t have any dark blue mana radiance. "Timber!" After pushing the frozen statue of the wraith by his shoulder, Eren spoke aloud. It fell on its back and broke into multiple pieces shortly afterwards. The sword wraith had been sessfully taken care of. "Screeeeeee!" An apparition of the sword wraith emerged from its corpse, which had been broken into several pieces. It screeched and ran straight towards its opponent. The butcher had learned his lesson fromst time. He was already departed from his previous ce before the sword wraithid eyes on him. With his movement speed in full effect, he approached the sword wraith''s apparition from its left side and used his lightning spell on it: "Blitz Bolt!" Eren used his lightning element offensive spell to attack the apparition. It was busy screeching at his previous ce, so it was caught unaware. "I wonder" Eren had a wild thought and used his newly gained spell on the apparition''s spectral form by touching it: "Life Drain!" The apparition started fading down as soon as Life Drain was used on it. The butcher smiled joyously after seeing the spell''s effects on the apparitions. ''So that''s what happened to the old hag. I do not know what this spell will do to the apparitions or how it will affect me. But for now, this will be useful to take care of these damn wraiths.'' Eren then took his time and used his spells in moderation to take care of all the wraiths. The fire snakes prevented the wraiths from ganging upon him. Plus, by now, he had found a pattern to take care of the monsters in an efficient way. First, he cast fire spells on the wraiths. Then he would follow it up by using Life Drain on them. He would then use the dark blue mana he had gained to freeze and destroy the wraiths'' bodies. Eren would then n his lightning element attacks on the wraiths'' spectral forms just enough to slow them down. Lastly, he would use Life Drain on their spectral bodies and make them disappear. Eren had also started using Renar''s crocodile skin spell to protect himself against the wraiths'' attacks. His skin would get sore and his headache would return every once in a while as a side effect of shifting between so many irregr spells. But he suppressed the feeling of frustration mixed with annoyance and marched on. The n he had concocted to farm-kill the wraith was easy on Eren''s mana consumption as well. He would only have to expend it on his lightning element spells. The rest of his attacks were based on his use of Life Drain and stealing Dark Blue mana from the wraiths to use against them. The battle continued for hours on end. There were only a few wraiths left by now. And they had already slowed down. Eren checked on his condition while taking a breather as he watched his remaining opponents with vignce. He was about to run towards the nearest wraith and begin killing the remaining wraiths as well. But just then, he heard the wraith''s screech in unison. Their bodies started exuding smoke while they started running in the opposite direction from rainC as if they were looking for something. Only then did Eren realize that the sky was not pitch ck anymore. Even though he couldn''t see the sun, the first rays of dawn had hit the wraiths. Contact with the sunlight caused the wraiths'' bodies to exude that smoke. Their bodies were disintegrating. The wraiths couldn''t run long enough. And it was not like the barren ce had any shade they could use to hide under. Soon, their corpses were disintegrated and their apparitions were forced toe out. Those forms too couldn''tst much in the daylightC fading away. "Haah!" Eren took a long breath after his fight with the wraith was officially over. He was almost going to die in the battle if he hadn''t gained the Life Drain from his fight with the old hag. But now with the newfound strategy, Eren could finish the wraiths off if he was made to fight them again. His survival in the solo tower for seven days was going to be rtively easy at this point. Or so he thought. "Hahaha! Would you look at that rxing face? I''ll enjoy bursting your bubble, Eren Idril. I suggest you take plenty of rest before things get hectic again for you. The daylight battle is going to start soon in three hours." ''This fucking *********. I''m gonna fuck ***** '' Eren heard La''s voice and he couldn''t help cursing back in extreme irritation. Chapter 327 - Draconic Lizards P1 "You surprised me yesterday. I thought you were going to die of a mana core explosion. How did you survive?" La appeared in front of Eren when he was done practising his ranking technique. He had already gotten fresh, ate enough food for his storage and used a bunch of recovery potions on himself. "Well, I don''t know myself." Eren said inly, which was the truth. But he found it odd that La didn''t ask or care about the other feats that he had pulled off. As if she was expecting a series of miracles from him. He didn''t press the matter. The less he talked about it the better it would be for him. "Hm. Maybe my master is just that talented. Anyway, I hope you are ready. The wraiths aren''t going to be the only opponents you''d be fighting on the first floor. With each passing day, the number of opponents in the daylight and at night would increase. So you won''t have it easy even if you find an efficient strategy to cull the numbers." ''Hm? What does she mean by her master being great?'' Eren felt puzzled at first. He became irritated by the fact that the number of monsters he had to fight would keep on increasing - making his battle strategies useless. He sighed and let the caretaker finish her job in silence. La looked at Eren from head to toe as if she wanted to ask him something more. But then she shook her head as if thinking about something and summoned an array some meters away from where they stood. "What is it this time?" The array began to light up, signalling that whoever would battle Eren would soon appear from the same. While being vignt about it, he asked La. "Oh don''t worry. This time, there''s only a bunch of mana beasts you are about to fight. They are in the same rank as you. It''s just the number you''d have to worry about. A new batch would appear as soon as you are done with the first batch. Don''t try to underperform here, Eren. The more you kill, the better your rewards will be after thepletion of each full day. So you might want to consider putting all out in every battle." Eren furrowed his brows after hearing La''s reply. He asked to confirm: "You mean to say I''d get rewards every day for seven days based on the number of opponents I kill? How would you calcte my skills and what would be the rewards?" La smiled cunningly after hearing Eren''s reply. She waved her hands replied casually like it was her stuff that she was giving out to him for free: "Oh, nothing fancy really. Just some higher-ranked artefacts and potions. How did you like that miasma potion I created? You used that on those preys of yours, didn''t you? The potions that will be offered as rewards will be at least of that calibre. More, if you can perform better. Like I said, nothing much! Nothing much. Hahaha!" Eren had creases on his forehead from the bratty behaviour of La. But he didn''t let it get to him and asked patiently: "And how would I know about my progress?" La opened her eyes wide as if she had forgotten something very significant. Then she scratched her right cheek and shed an awkward smile before speaking up: "Aaah! I might have forgotten to give you a tracking array. It was... you see... supposed to let you know about your progress in terms of the battle points. So the progress you made yesterday you know... Hehehe!" The creases on Eren''s forehead increased as he heard La talking again. He felt like strangling the ipetent brat for her negligence. What kind of caretaker of a separate dimension of this scale forgets about such a crucial thing? "Are you perhaps gone senile because of all the years you had to spend in here?" Eren asked with a psycho smile on his face. He nearly diedst night. And all that had turned into a fruitless endeavour. It would have been better if she hadn''t told him about the rewards. Now all he could think about was how his efforts had gone into the drain. La puffed her cheeks after hearing Eren''s diss: "How rude! You shouldn''t ask ady''s age. You are a mannerless man, Eren Idril. You are most likely to get in trouble with high-rankeddies if you pull the same stunt on them. Hmph!" ''Meh! I already have and survived.'' Eren thought to himself before letting things be. There was no point in arguing with someone who looked and behaved like a teenager. "Alright. Just forget it. Give me the tracker now. I don''t want to miss out on earning my battle points anymore." Eren asked slowly,ced with frustration. This dungeon was more pain in the ass than he thought. It was lucrative, no doubt. But a pain in the ass indeed. La pointed her index finger at Eren as if she was about to use him of something. But then she also let the matter go because it was her mistake in the first ce. She tried to make amends though: "Hmph! I''m not as petty as you, Eren Idril. By the powers vested in me by the master, I will grant you 100 battle points for yesterday''s kill. Usually, a battle point is counted after every monster kill. If their levels are lower than yours, it may take two or more monsters to give you one battle point. You didn''t kill wraiths worth 100 battle points yesterday. So aren''t you happy now that you profited from bullying a young, innocent girl?" La exined to Eren how the first floor''s reward system worked. Then she generated a small array a few centimetres levitating from the palm of her right hand before sending it towards Eren. The butcher didn''t have to do anything. The tracker array was absorbed by Eren''s right-hand palm as soon as it came in contact with it. It showed the number 100 written over the palm when he opened it up in front of him. By now the teleportation array hade into action. It lit up brightly in a blinding light before allowing a bunch of mana beasts to enter the ce. Eren felt the chill run down his back first when he sensed the beasts'' presence with his mana sense. Then he saw the creatures'' appearance after the array''s blinding lights faded out. "What the fuck are those?" Eren asked La angrilyC as if he had been tricked by the little girl into doing something he wasn''t supposed to do. Thetter smiled and waved her hands at him and started to fade away. Her voice was heard in his ears before shepletely disappeared: "These are the special mana beasts I created and raised using my master''s help. You won''t find any official name given to them yet because they don''t exist outside. I just call them Draconic Lizards. They are pretty, aren''t they? Hehe! Best of luck and bye-bye!" =========== AN: Illustration of Draconic Lizards has been uploaded on Discord and Insta. Chapter 328 - Draconic Lizards P2 "These are the special mana beasts I created and raised using my master''s help. You won''t find any official name given to them yet because they don''t exist outside. I just call them Draconic Lizards. They are pretty, aren''t they? Hehe! Best of luck and bye-bye!" La exited the scene and left Eren to his devices. Thetter was too stunned to say anything after hearing what the irresponsible caretaker of the Purgatory had said. But the first thing he did after snapping out of his surprise was shout at the brat: "Pretty? Pretty? Pretty my ass. Why don''t you just fucking kill me and be done with it? It''d be easier that way for both of us. What kind of mana beasts are these? They almost made me pee my pants with their presence alone. I''m not too optimistic about keeping them dryer for longer. Where did you end up, brat? Screw your rewards. Fuck this ce. Just get me outta here. I''m no daredevil you think I am. Wait. Where are you? Are you even listening? Oi. Oi. La! La! Lay the fuck!" Eren started shouting at the spot where La was standing previously. But unfortunately, the caretaker had already left. Leaving him to battle with the mana beasts that looked like a novice ranker''s nightmare. But Eren''s questions weren''t answered by La. He could imagine the bratughing her ass off somewhere at his misery. Saying that Eren was afraid of fighting with the beasts that had appeared was an understatement. His mana sense had given him enough warning to indicate that the beasts weren''t normal. The Draconic Lizards were indeed mana beasts. But their dreadful mana signature put them in the uppermost tier of the mana beast ranking hierarchy. The Draconic Lizards looked like normal F-Rank mana beast lizards that had been put on steroids. They were at least two times bigger than the normal mana beasts. The Draconic Lizards were at least 8m in length and 1.5m wide. They had four legs and had ck scales that exuded a lustrous sheen under the sunlight. Plus, their tails were as long as their torsos. The most distinct features of the mana beasts were their fangs. They boasted a fang each on either side of their mouth''s corners. As if this wasn''t enough, there were three of them summoned to the ce at the same time. Eren didn''t even have the confidence to take one of them down without losing an arm or two in exchange. And he only had four limbs to sacrifice. "Grrrrrrrrrrr!" The Draconic Lizards started growling at Eren from afar when they firstid eyes on him. But they didn''t approach him. As if he wasn''t significant enough for them toe to him. But then they observed him shouting at thin air in a high voice and took it as a challenge to them. The draconic part in them was ignited and they made their presence known at the same time: "ROARRRRRRRRR!" They let loose their roars and created innumerable vibrations in the air. The target of those vibrations was a puny demi-human who was trying to quit the game but wasn''t allowed to. Eren heard the roar of the dragon and felt like jumping off the high cliff and finding a way to escape from there. He didn''t know how he could battle with three mana beasts of such a frightening aura at the same time. The most strange thing about them was the fact that despite the overwhelmingly powerful mana signature they gave off, they were still in the F-Rank. Technically, Eren should have been able to handle them. But his senses told him there was something off about them. Like, they had been modified and weren''t part of the natural order any more. Eren saw the draconic lizards slowly making their way towards him without running. They kept growling at him while trying to find any other opponent or prey they could in the vicinity. This small human nugget wasn''t going to be enough for the three of them. "Fuck my life! The rigged fight is inevitable. I I miss my mana bombs. Fuck. The least you could do was give the bombs to MC, damn it." Eren said without addressing anyone in particr as he watched his three fearsome opponents approach him. He took a long breath to get some rity. "You want to test the limits of my power and resolve, right? So be it." After he said that, the butcher''s eyes turned cold. He was fearful about his safety, yes. But this was also the time he was the most dangerous. His concentration turned to its peak level as he started running various calctions in his mind while eyeing the approaching beasts. ''Blitz Bolt Blitz Steps Fire snakes Fireball Breath of fire'' Eren''s body started turning red as he stressed his mana circuits and sent them into hyperdrive mode right off the bat. He drank a few vials of mana recovery potions from his storage that was left behind by the dungeon. But Eren didn''t drink the concoctions right away. He held the collective liquid in his mouth by expanding his cheeks and keeping his mouth closed. In short, he had drunk the potions as a precautionary measure against the gically modified mana beasts. Eren bent forward and touched the ground with his right hand while keeping his right leg forward. His feet started getting coated in lightning. Nine fire snakes appeared around him, hissing at their opponent. And then Eren disappeared from his position and appeared right in front of one of the lizards. His fire snakes were following him and would soon catch up to him. But he didn''t have the luxury to wait for them. "You first, Little Lizzy!" Eren said to the lizard in front of him. He then used one of his spells in his repertoire. A spell that he wouldter realize that he shouldn''t have used. "Fireball!" ======= AN: Thanks to A9C for the gift. Chapter 329 - Enderflame P1 "Fireball!" After getting close to one of the lizards from its left side, Eren cast his fire-element spell using both of his hands separately. He then jumped high using his movement spell and released both of the fireballs onto the beast''s torso. Eren then executed his movement spell again and tried to create a safe distance from the beast he had just attacked. And to his surprise, he found that he could easily be able to do so. ''What the fuck? These huge-ass lizards are slowpokes as fuck!'' Eren turned back and saw the lizards still maintaining the speed they had approached him with. The beast he had attacked also seemed fine. He even looked a bit faster than the rest as he had started to lead the other two. The scaly, shiny ck skin of the beast that had been bombarded with two fireballs at once exuded orange light before returning to normal. Eren felt puzzled by the phenomenon and tried to perform the same attack on the same beast againC this time right over its back by jumping over it. Then Eren attacked the other two lizards with fire-element spells with the help of his snakes as well. He had only generated four fire snakes this time. But they were half as big as the lizards. The butcher had opted for quality over quantity with his fire snakes after considering the kind of opponents he needed to battle with. Eren preferred fire-element spells over his lightning element spells because they could be executed by him while maintaining his distance from his opponents. The lightning-element spells he had in his repertoire were ideal for closebat battles. In addition, they weren''t meant to be executed efficiently when the beasts were sorge. Eren made efficient use of the fire spells and his fire snakes to target the three lizards. He had alreadynded plenty of attacks on all three mana beasts. But Eren soon found out that his fire-element attacks were giving him no results. The lizards would not get affected by the fire element spells at allC as if they were immune to all the fire-element damage they received. Their skin turned light orange in response to the fire-element attacks they would receive. Once the smoke cleared after the fire attack, not a single burnt area or bruise would remain. ''Something is wrong. I can sense their threat level is increasing.'' Eren had his mana sense locked on the three mana beasts as they had done on him. He had no trouble getting away from the beasts. But he also couldn''t hurt them at all using the fire-element spells. Plus, his mana sense told him the beasts were getting more dangerous with each passing moment as he kept on attacking the beasts. ''What should I do? If I don''t attack and just keep on running, I won''t gain anything. But if I attacked, these fucking tanks would just tire me out before eating me whole.'' Eren thought as he maintained his safe distance from the lizards and let his fire-snakes do the attack in sync. But the more he took part in the battle and the more he watched the behaviour of the beasts, the more puzzling it felt for him. That''s because the beasts would only focus on Eren. They won''t try to attack the fire snakes that were spewing fire on them. This was the total opposite of how the beasts usually behaved. Eren initially believed the lizards were focused on him and didn''t care about the attacks that didn''t bother them. But he changed his mind when he saw that the lizards'' bodies soon started to have faint traces of runic patterns on them. ''Don''t tell me. Are these giant crawlers getting powered up by my fire-element attacks?'' Eren waved his hand and made his fire-snakes stop attacking the lizards after he realized his mistake. But by then the runic patterns were bing distinct. As if they didn''t need external help anymore. Eren had maintained a sufficient distance from the battle between the lizards and fire snakes all this time after he realized his attacks weren''t working. But at this time, his mana sense sent him warnings of ultimate danger even when he was quite far from his opponent. "Rawr!" One of the beasts roared at Eren after his runic patterns became prominent. But this time the roar contained a breath attack that the butcher had never seen before. Green mes! The mana beast attacked Eren with a stream of green me breath aimed at him. The temperature of the green me was so intense that Eren felt like his body would melt away even if he was standing far from it. The breath attack covered the distance between the beast and Eren quickly. Thankfully, Eren was quicker. He managed to get away from the green mes just in time. However, passive heat from the mes still affected his body, causing his newly worn outer clothes to dry-burn a bit. His hair would have gotten burnt too if hadn''t strengthened his manayer right afterwards. As soon as the breath attacknded, a cloud of green fire appeared where he stood before. It turned the ground intova and created a crater of around 5 meters in diameter. The path by which the green-me breath attack travelled from was traced on the ground. It created a small canal from the ce where the mana beast stood and connected to the crater that was created in Eren''s former ce. This was the most intense fire attack Eren had seen in both his livesing from an F-Rank beast. It was so overwhelming that the butcher didn''t think the attack should be ssified as F-Rank. Only after witnessing the attack did Eren realize the reason behind why his mana sense was picking danger signs from the slowpoke lizards even if all they could do was chase him slowly. The breath attacks the mana beasts used wereparatively faster than their overall battle style. He would have been turned into a skewerless kebab before melting away if his danger-sensing psyche, developed by his fight in his previous life, had been wrong by even a single second. The appearance of green mes now served as a deterrent to Eren''s fight against the mana beast. He couldn''t run from the beast. Nor could he approach them using his fire spells. Chapter 330 - Enderflame P2 The appearance of green mes now served as a deterrent to Eren''s fight against the mana beast. He couldn''t run from the beast. Nor could he approach them using his fire spells. ''Heheheh! You seem surprised, Eren. Weren''t you acting all haughty in front of me? Why don''t you show your swag to these babies of mine?'' ''This idiot, shallow-minded, amateurish fucking brat. I''ll whoop her ass one day for ying with me like this.'' Eren heard La''s voice in his head and started cursing her. But right now he needed information from her. Anything that can aid him in his battle with the three is near impossible to deal with. He gulped the potion he was holding in his mouth to recharge himself and asked aloud: "La, what can you tell me about the beasts? What are their weaknesses?" Eren asked directly while he changed positions from one ce to another. Thetter didn''t like that it seemed. She replied immediately in a pouty tone: ''I didn''t hear any "please" in that request, Eren.'' Eren gripped his fists and controlled his anger after he heard La''s response. ''I''ll remember this, you snotty brat.'' Eren thought to himself before forcing the next set of words out of his mouth: Please tell me about the beasts, La. And do it soon you know before I get DRY ROASTED TO DEATH." Eren forced himself to respond with absolute focus. But in the end, his frustration did leak out of his words. La furrowed her eyebrows after she heard Eren''s responseced with anger directed at her. But she found it more amusing when she thought about it and replied casually: "Alright alright. I''m not supposed to help you. But since I messed up your previous battle tracking and this is just handing out information, I shall entertain you. You must have realized by now that the beasts have almost full immunity against fire element attacks. And they can use those attacks and absorb fire-element mana from them to unleash the green mes. About weaknesses? Hm! Well, they are slow. So you can easily dodge them. Plus, they are well they are kinda dummy beasts. Their intelligence is not at par with the mana beasts of their calibres. So you might want to avoid showering them with fire. And maybe use their low intelligence to your advantage. I have already told you enough. Now show me a fierce fight. Hehehe! And yes. Remember. Those three are not the only ones. I expect you to take care of plenty of beasts if you wish to get high rewards." Eren heard La''s exnation and his eyes shone with cunning when he heard about the beasts'' low intelligence. He had the doubt himself as well, but La''s exnation confirmed it for him. She had given him a clue while being vague about it. But his mind soon derived an optimal strategy based on that hint. "By the way, La. What the fuck are those green mes? And what have you done with those beasts that all have runic patterns on them? They all can''t be deviant beasts, can they? You have done something to them." La was about to drop her conversation with Eren when she heard Eren''s deductionsced with worry. She felt proud and elevated that the mes managed to invoke a sense of fear in a guy like him. ''You will soon learn all about it, Eren. If you survive the first floor that is. Have some patience. And those green mes are only a copy of the original. You will have nightmares if and when you get to see the real deal. The real green me has a name, you know. It was once feared by many as Enderme. Hehehe! Survive, Eren. We are counting on you.'' ''We!'' Eren heard La''s response and focused on a particr detail. He momentarily forgot about making his battle strategy and thought about something more serious: ''Something''s definitely up. The brat is not alone in this. Another caretaker? Most likely Unless'' Eren paused his thinking and dodged the swing of the front limb one of the mana beasts had thrown its way. By now he had stopped using fire-element spells altogether and was using lightning-element spells to wear the mana beast out one at a time by kiting them. He again created a safe distance from the beast and shook his head after resuming his thought process: ''Naaah! No way. Purgatory has been around for more than a few centuries. Even before the formation of the Edinburgh Kingdom. And ording to Zee, there are signs in Purgatory that tell the Illuminati that it is as old as the period of Lost History, if not older. Nobody. Not even an S-Ranker can survive that long no matter what they do.'' Eren reyed La''s earlier responses along with the recent one he had received and came up with a scary conclusion. He discarded that conclusion after he derived it because it didn''t make sense. Or maybe he scratched it for his convenienceC to soothe his mind. ''I''ll deal with thister. I''ll need to think about Wait Life Drain!'' Eren had almost forgotten about his newest addition when he was overwhelmed by the presence of the mana beasts created and raised in captivity. His lightning-element spells were doing little damage to the beasts because of their sheer size. But they were at least not as detrimental to him as using fire-element spells. The beasts had also stopped releasing the green mes because Eren got closer to them. It seemed that the beasts were collectively scared by each other''s mes and wanted to avoid a literal friendly fire. As low as their intelligence may have been, they were right on point with their survival instinct. Eren changed the direction of his steps and executed Blitz Bolt to its fullest potential. He headed straight to the beast he had inflicted the most damage on using his lightning-element spell. As soon as he got close, Eren jumped high and appeared on the beast''s back. He quickly got to his knees and touched the beast''s skin that was now trying to generate a mana field to prevent him from doing any damage. Eren used his spell on the beast without allowing the beast to take countermeasures against him: "Life Drain!" Chapter 331 - Life-Drain Enhancement Mode Eren used his spell on the beast without allowing it to take countermeasures against him: "Life Drain!" The butcher''s senses became numb when the spell started working. He felt like he had consumed a hot manga for lunch and it was now coursing through his veins. His body ached. But he also felt a sense of pleasure in that pain. Blitz Bolt Blitz Steps Blitz Storm Blitz Shield Blitz Steps The butcher''s lightning-element spells that he had activated through his mana circuits were released on their ownC as if to vent the excessive energy his body was consuming. ''The fuck is this feeling. I feel. Great!'' The butcher''s steps were shaking because of him staying still while the movement spell had been cast. So he controlled his mana circuits and prioritized his offensive spells. ************ Eren felt his mana core increase its rotation speed to keep up and regte with excess mana his body was getting through the Life Drain. The ability-like spell worked differently than all his previous spells. It would first take the mana from Eren''s opponents. Then it would erase the mana signature of the ranking entity it carried then add Eren''s mana signature before sending it into his system. This way, there was no repulsion. As a slime half-blood, Eren''s constitution yed a major role in the assimtion of the excess mana. Otherwise, the mana core and the mana circuits might have rejected the excess mana that had entered his system even if it had carried his mana signature. This was because of the mana core''s autoimmune response to the newly injected mana. The spell was not limited to depleting opponents'' mana. It would also zap away the opponent''s life forceC making them feel exhausted over time. Eren on the other hand would feel energized thanks to the extra dose of stamina and strength he had received. After receiving the enhancement through Life Drain, Eren also felt his muscles bulge and his height increase. His hair turned white and his green eyes turned blue around their rims. His skin also became paler, as if it had been devoid of all its blood. His mana storage had also been expanded for the time being. Eren''s enhanced stats weren''t meant to be permanent. His body would soon return to normal once he stopped using the Life Drain spell. But while he was in this state, he was a lot stronger than his normal self. It worked even better than the enhancement offered by Reen. This was because the threshold for the body stats to get enhanced was significantly higher than what Reen''s enhancement granted. *************** Roarrrrrrrrr! The draconic lizard that was hit by the spell''s effect roared in anger. Its pride was irked and it wanted to eat the pest that was trying to harm it. But before it could do so, Eren''s spells went off over its back on their own. Initially, the beast felt the sensation of his back being zapped by two distinct footprints caused by Eren''s unwanted movement spell. But soon the annoying footprint was reced with spells like Bitz Bolt which were executed by his legs. Blitz Storm was detonated over the beast''s back and that finally affected it. It was also affected by the Life Drain. As a result, the beast stopped roaring and started running towards the other beasts. It wasn''t obvious because of their huge physique, but the beast had lost its weight and size ever since the Life Drain had been used on him. It felt its body weakening, its mana storage depleting, as well as feeling slightly drowsy all of a sudden. The other beasts who were following Eren''s movements couldn''t understand what they were supposed to do because of him standing over the remaining beast''s back. But when they saw that the same beast was heading towards their way, they growled and let their intentions known to their kinC stay back or suffer the consequences. ''Now''s my chance.'' Eren thought to himself and executed Blitz Bolt to its fullest potential. As a result of his Life-Drain enhancement, his body, mana circuits, and rate of mana consumption had been increased to another level. Therefore, the lightning rod-like stream generated by the spell was much more intense and potent. The Blitz Bolt travelled through the air and hit the nearest beast that had put up a guard against the iing lizard Eren was riding on. The spell''s power this time managed to hurt it enough to feel threatened by it. ''Here ites.'' Eren''s mana sense, which had been focused on the vignt beast, suddenly sent him warning signs. He knew what was about to happen and executed his lightning element movement spell on hyperdrive. ''Swish!'' Eren jumped hard to his left, and he was thrown about 10 meters up in the air. He looked back while he was airborne and saw the sight he wanted to see. Roarrrrrrrr! The vignt mana beast''s animal instincts took over its low intelligence and it executed its breath attack on the iing beast. The stream of green me hit the slowly running beast and it roared in pain. The other vignt beast didn''t know what it was supposed to do. But when it heard the roar, it decided to target the iing beast too and released the breath attack it had been umting all this time. A huge ripple of mana was detonated where the running lizard was followed by the cloud of green fire. This cloud kept on increasing its size the further it levitated from the ground. In witnessing the results of his efforts, Eren was d to let the shock waves from the st carry him even further than his intendednding destination. When hended on the ground, Eren''s normal visual appearance had been restored. The excessive energy that had been pumped into his system had been depleted. But somehow, a small portion of it became a part of him for good. ''Damn. I feel I''ll soon have a breakthrough.'''' Eren concluded after observing the changes in his body. He shed a cunning smile while looking at the remaining two lizard beasts.. What he had assumed to be a threat turned out to be an opportunity in disguise for him. Chapter 332 - Solid Spark On the seventh day of Eren''s entry into the tower. Nighttime! "Screeeeeeeeeeee!" Eren was fighting a horde of wraiths. They screeched collectively when they saw their opponent kill more of their kin with his spells. Eren had used his go-to fire element spells against the wraith hordeC fire snakes and breath of fire. The elemental reptiles had created a perimeter around him so that he could hunt the monsters with ease. The butcher saw a group of three wraiths advancing on him while he was busy moving from another group. But he was already aware of his surroundings and wasn''t panicking. Using the fire snakes, he slowly destroyed the bodies of the wraiths in the perimeter. There were only a few wraiths present inside Eren''s self-created isted battleground. The first group consisted of the four wraiths while the one who was trying to take Eren down by surprise had three wraiths in it. The Wraith''s bodies were destroyed in groups because they had attacked and stayed together to face his assault. Soon, the spectral forms of the wraiths would appear and try to destabilize him using their screeches. And yet Eren didn''t feel like worrying. He shed a mild smile and cast thetest spell in his repertoire. A throwable medium-range spell he never used before. "Solid spark!" **************** Compared to thest time when he was on the verge of dying, he felt at ease even when the intensity of the battle had increased. In contrast to his first day, Eren wanted to be part of more intense battles like these because it was helping him digest all his gains. And Eren had a lot to digest and process. This was because of the rewards he had received on the fourth day of survival in the tower. He had stocked his battle points to get the rewards after looking at the list of items avable and their prices in battle points. The most expensive item among the rewards was Potion of Serenity. He had to burn two days of his battle points to get the potion. But he did it without any hesitation. Eren hade to realize that the brat had done a huge favour for him by granting him the Potion of Serenity. Without it, Eren still would have been an almost normal ranker in terms of the spells he had. He knew he wouldn''t have survived if he didn''t have the fire snakes as well as the enhanced version of his defensive spell. Of course, Eren had realized that La did it for her own reasons. But that didn''t lessen the benefits he had received from the potion. La had warned him that the potion wouldn''t be as effective as the first time. With each use, the potion''s efficiency would only decrease. But that didn''t discourage Eren from getting it. Eren hade to realize that the potion would be worth all his efforts even if it worked half as well as the first time. He was right on point with his prediction. ********************* "Solid Spark!" Two distinct-looking lightning-element shapes started taking shape over Eren''s palms. They were zig-zag in shape and were about a meter long. Bzzzzzzt! They buzzed like bees with various tongues of electricity dancing over them. The Sparks illuminated Eren''s visage in the ck night and made him as well as the lightning rods distinctly visible amid the horde of wraiths that were glowing with dark blue mana around them. The process of creating sparks was rtively fast and easy. Eren threw both the sparks he had generated over his palms at the two groups of opponents. One was thrown at the group that had a cluster of four wraith bodies while the other was aimed at the group that had three bodies in it. Swoosh! Swoosh! Bzzzt! The solid sparks flew through the air at an incredible speed. They were detonated and created a micro-domain of lightning as soon as they hit the targets. The wraiths'' spectral forms were just emerging from their destroyed bodies when the solid sparks hit them. A small, domain-like cloud of lightning was created after the detonation of the spell. Screeeeeeee! The wraiths'' spectral forms produced another round of screech. But this time it was more of a dying scream and wasn''t harmful to Eren at all. The spectral forms were destroyed when Eren fired two solid sparks at the same positions. ''Heh! Solid Spark is effective for short and medium-range attacks. Let''s see what the lightning cloak does.'' The butcher thought of the lightning cloak variation of his spell that he had perfected after drinking the Potion of Serenity for the second time. He had only changed his defensive spell to that of a cloak visually before consuming the potion. The effects were rtively superficial. But it didn''t have the runes inscribed on it. The same ones the cloaks had when he first wore it during his battle in the underground dungeon. But thanks to entering the forced ethereal state for the second time, Eren was able to identify the errors in executing his defensive lightning spell and improve on it. The spell''s effects were strengthened as a resultC enabling its caster to face the horde fearlessly. Eren purposefully moved near another group of wraiths and allowed them to hit him. The first wraith used his spear on him and aimed for his heart. The impact of the spear couldn''t be negated by the cloak. So he was forced to take a few steps back. The second wraith followed that attack by directly grabbing his right arm and letting his dark blue mana do the trick. The mysterious mana spread over Eren''s cloak-covered arm. It created a denseyer of dark blue ice that would feel extremely cold to the bones for a normal ranker. The third wraith tried to injure Eren by using an old-looking il on him imbued in dark blue mana. The ball studded in pointy metallic protrusions hit Eren''s back and tried to freeze him from the point of impact. But the butcher only smiled as he was getting thrashed about by the wraiths. That was because the injuries he was receiving from the wraiths weren''t even worthy of him uttering an ''ouch''. The cloak of lightning''s mana consumption would increase after taking each injury. Mana consumption increases with the severity of the attack. That''s why Eren couldn''t indulge in his testing phase for longer. Lightning element insights have been sessfully tested. Hehe! Now it''s time for me to test the only fire-element insight I haven''t used in battle yet.'' Eren thought to himself and snapped his fingers as he was getting a one-sided beating from the restless wraiths. Chapter 333 - Hatchlings Of The Flame P1 ''Now it''s time for me to test the only fire-element insight I haven''t used in battle yet.'' Eren thought to himself and snapped his fingers as he was getting a one-sided beating from the restless wraiths. When hey down on his back, being kicked, pierced, and maimed without getting any injuries, he saw a fireball with a radius of about a meter being created. The creation of the fireball was taking ce right in front of Eren''s eyes as he was looking at the sky. The wraiths that were beating him had realized by now that there was some time bomb being created over their heads. So they paused and looked at it collectively. The fireball soon stabilized. But instead of attacking anyone, it kept hovering in the air. Then it started shrinking as it released a conflicting mana pulse. "Screeeeeee!" The wraiths tried to use their sound attack on the fireball. As if to answer their call to battle, the fireball started growing multiple fire snakes from its outer surface. The fire snakes acted as if they had been rudely awoken from their slumber. They turned their heads down and hissed at the wraiths in unison. ''Let''s see what happens!'' Eren thought to himself and executed his assault. The fire snakes charged at the wraiths that were looking towards them. Their tails were still attached to the fireball as they attacked their opponents. Seven wraiths remained inside the perimeter. So the seven snakes were able to deal with them. They first wrapped themselves around the wraiths before biting them on various parts of their bodies. Eren turned to his side and rolled his way out of the eventual detonation of his spell fusion. He heard the wraiths screeching and screaming as he got up from the ground and stood up. ''See you. Never, bitches!'' The fire snakes that had wrapped themselves around the wraiths detonated suddenly and a cluster of fire broke out. The rotten flesh of the wraiths was spread all around the area along with the ck blood. The dark blue mana residing in it evaporated as soon as it made contact with the ground. Eren was standing at a sufficient distance from the detonation. By the time his spell fusion detonated, he already had a couple of Solid Sparks ready. He threw his lightning element spell twice as soon as he confirmed the wraiths'' bodies were destroyed. The seven wraiths'' spectral forms stood no chance when they were subjected to the lightning treatment of the two Solid Sparks. ''Oh! The results are better than I had anticipated. I can also use the spell to restrict multiple opponents at the same timeC making it a crowd control spell. What should I call this spell fusion? Hmm! Let''s get started with Hatchlings of the me!'' Eren decided to name his fusion spell Hatchings of the me. Fusion spell had two variations, however. He had tried a crowd-control variation on the first try. Therefore, he would try a less mana-intensive variation that targeted an individual. Eren only had a few stamina and mana recovery vials of potion left in his storage now. Thankfully, the tower had given him first aid options. He retrieved the bottles and drank the contents in them while looking at the opponents surrounding him outside the perimeter. ''Let''s lure a few wraiths in.'' After Eren consumed a set of potions, he allowed a wraith to enter the perimeter. This wraith was a female goblin that was basically naked. She had daggers in both her hands and was looking at Eren with a dark blue glow in her eyes. "Screeeee!" The female goblin somehow could use a strange movement spell. She almost disappeared from her spot and tried to appear behind Eren''s back. The butcher was already aware of her movements. However, he was shocked that the wraiths were still capable of surprising him with their spells. He also noted that a few wraiths disyed better intelligence than their mindless kins. The butcher chose a frontal showdown. In no time, he had his pairs of katars in his hands. He assumed a defensive stance below his ribs from behind just as thedy goblin''s dagger was about to hit him. nk! A distinct metallic sh was heard as the butcher parried the goblin''s sneak attack. He observed thedy goblin''s feet and saw that they had been turned into a statue of dark blue icepletely. She had also left a trail of ice deposition on the ground because of her usage of the movement spell. ''Hmm! Interesting. The spell is effective. But it has a drawback.'' The butcher thought as he retreated after pushing the goblin''s weapon away. He watched as the female goblin almost disappeared from him again. This time, instead of straining his mana sense, the butcher looked at the ice deposition that was forming on the ground. And figured out the direction of the attack the goblin was about to take. ''Fireball'' Eren executed a set of two fireballs over his palms and sent them upwards. They hovered over the battlefieldCawaiting to be redirected and detonated by Eren''s mana sense. Eren then deployed another set of two fireballs the same way and used his katars to parry the sneak attack one more time. ''Screeeeee!'' The female goblin seemed angry that she was blocked once again. But she wasn''t discouraged. She retreated using her exceptional speed, trying to perform the same attack and hoping to obtain different results. But as she was performing her high-paced movement, the female goblin realized something had suddenly appeared in her path. She didn''t seem afraid of the single fireball. But she changed her mind anyway, as a precaution against it. But as soon as she changed her direction, the goblin saw that another fireball was waiting for her in her tracks. When she reached the spot, she screamed! ''Screeeee!'' When the female goblin was about to change her direction again, another fireball hade to meet her from her left side. This time she stopped for good and decided to confront the fireballs by forming ice shards. ================ AN: Never say never! Lol. Thanks to A9C and emme_z for their gifts.. Special thanks to Hirak_Barua and _Transcendent for sending massage chairs. ;) Chapter 334 - Hatchlings Of The Flame P2 When the female goblin was about to change her direction again, another fireball hade to meet her from her left side. This time she stopped for good and decided to confront the fireballs by forming ice shards. Her daggers and arge part of her hand were sealed inside the shards. The edges of the shards were sharpC making them look like some sort of weapon. The goblin''s appearance looked intimidating as her hands and feet were covered in dark blue ice. ''Swoosh!'' The goblin used her movement spell to get close to the fireball near her before shing at it horizontally using her right shard. The fireball was split into two as a result of the dark blue mana invading its newly created edges. But it soon generated a conflicted mana pulse and gave birth to two fire snakes from both the split pieces of fireballs. These me hatchlings were smaller and seemed nimble than their original variations. They tried to attack the goblin using their exceptional agility with their mouths open wide. But thedy goblin wasn''t having it. She shed at both the approaching snakes with her shards and attacked their source with her round kick. The series of movements was performed quickly, making it look like a single action. Thedy goblin screeched in joy when she realized that her attack was sessful this time. The fireball and the two me hatchlings were disappearing into thin air. But just when she was about to resume her sh with the butcher, she felt something dangerous approaching her. The goblin looked around and saw that three fireballs were closing in on her from three different directions at a rapid pace. The trapped woman tried to get away from the triangle of the trap. But s, the fireballs had already covered a substantial distance when she was busy fighting with the me hatchlings. Eren was observing the female goblin and controlling his spell fusion from afar. Previously, he was busy fending for his life. But the battle for survival had been turned into an opportunity to research and develop new strategies based on his newfound powers. Eren watched as the female goblin was cornered by his fireballs. They each produced a bunch of me hatchlings. But instead of attacking the female goblin wraith, the me hatchlings were merged and created a of mes around her. ''Screee!'' The female goblin screeched and shed at the thin of mes around her. She had realized that there was a danger in the. But the me hatchlings weren''t easy to destroy this time. They connected and resumed their previous shape after allowing the shards to pass through them. The dark blue mana that had slipped into the of mes wasn''t enough this time to make it disappear or create an opening. That was because Eren didn''t try to restrict his use of mana as he had done with his first fireballs. Eren had used the first fireball as a decoy. He allowed the wraith to destroy it easier to let her guard down. But with the of mes, he allowed it to tap into his mana reserve as much as it needed. Eren retrieved another bottle of mana and drank it as he watched the female goblin trying in vain to sh at the me of the and break free from it. "Screeeee!" The female goblin finally couldn''t take it and decided to break the siege by running directly at it. The ground beneath her feet was frozen solid as she was seen concentrating on her movement spell. Seeing this, Eren had a smile on his face. He tweaked his spell again from afar and resumed watching the show. Swoosh! The female goblin disappeared from her position and the of mes was suddenly stretched in a particr direction. But instead of allowing the object to pass through, the of mes held on as if it had gained solid-like abilities. "Screeee!" The female goblin screeched as the of mes was stuck to her body. Soon, the was contracted and it covered her body entirely. Her rotten flesh was sizzled and smoke came out as the of mes started burning it from all over. The female goblin tried to struggle by waving her hands all around. Then she started self-harming by using her shards to get rid of the of mes and her skin along with it. Eren caressed his chin as he watched the goblin wraith struggle. He started performing calctions and deductions in the air. It took him a while to get satisfied with his research. Snap! Eren snapped his finger and the of mes suddenly changed its behaviour. It started producing more mes and covered the goblin''s every part in it. The wraith was turned into a humanoid torch as the of mes was slowly bing indistinguishable. Swoosh! Eren threw another Solid Spark on the goblin''s fallen, charred body as its apparition was trying to emerge from it. As a result, it disappeared post the lightning element spell''s detonation. ''Hmm! This variation of fusion spell is limited in its application when used against normal rankers. It only worked on the goblin wraith because she didn''t have much mental acuity. She let the fireballs get near her after falling for my trick. But the same might not happen with intelligent rankers. They would have various ways to evade the fireball attack. Plus, their artefacts and defensive spells would lessen the damage they face by the of mes after its detonation.'' Eren deduced the drawbacks of his fusion spell after watching the goblin wraith''s struggle. But he smiled after he thought about the one plus point it had: ''But once the opponent falls into the of mes, I can close in on them and deliver a mortal blow as they are busy getting free from it. Hehe! This is great.'' The second dose of Potion of Serenity had been too fruitful for the butcher even with its reduced effect.. And he was all smiles because of it. Chapter 335 - Breakthrough Into E-Rank "You sure are full of surprises, Eren Idril." Eren got up from his seat and looked in the direction of that voice. La had appeared near him out of the blue. He had easily cleared the wraith hordest night and was waiting for thest battle with the Draconic Lizards to start. "It''s about time, right? I''m ready for those Little Lizzies." Eren got up and shed a casual smile at the young-looking girl. Thetter puffed her cheeks and replied in an irritated manner: "You! Stop calling them Little Lizzies. They were supposed to give you trouble. Not make you stronger. You already broke through into E-Rank because of them. I can''t afford to let you use them as your ranking resource. It''s not easy raising them in captivity, you know." Eren raised his eyebrows and asked to confirm: "You mean" La begrudgingly nodded her head before finishing Eren''s sentence. "That''s right. You don''t need to fight the DRACONIC LIZARDS - that is their name by the wayC to clear the first floor. We consider that you have already done that. You are the first half-blood in a long time to have cleared the first floor. Um congrattions or whatever. It''s time for your main reward for clearing this test. Hehe! Are you ready?" ************* La asked Eren while shing a cheering smile that looked ominous. It told him that either the girl was up to something or that the reward this time was going to contain something suspicious. But then he was reminded of the progress he had made after entering Purgatory. He recalled his status window to self-assured himself before answering the caretaker''s dubious question: ******* Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organization- Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy Academic Status- ss 1/C Ranked Status: Intra-ss individual- 16th ce Holder Intra-ss team-based- 5th ce Holder Inter-ss individual- 26th ce Holder Inter-ss team-based- 14th ce Holder Inter-year individual- 29th ce Holder Inter-year team-based- 39th ce Holder Merit Points- 139,107 Base Stats: Affected by External Interference. Stats Are Significantly Lower Than Their Shown Values. HP- 11.6 / 11.6 MP- 9.2 / 9.2 STR- 7.6 AGI- 10.4 INT- 7.8 BTP~ 46.6 BTP Visibility- Private ****** Ranking Technique- Five-star, lightning element, Indra''s Levin (Not usable anymore) E-Rank Spells: Lightning Element, Four-star (?), movement type: Blitz Steps Lightning Element, Four-star (?), defence type: Blitz Shield Lightning Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Blitz Bolt Lightning Element, Four-star (?), Area of Effect: Blitz Storm Lightning Element, Four-star (?), healing type: Blitz Heal Lightning Element, Four-star (?), attack-type: Solid Spark Time Element, Four-star (?)(?), misceneous: Sedated Perception Time Element, Four-star, misceneous: Ingredient Age Expedite Time Element, Four-star, misceneous: Ingredient Age Reverse Time Element, Four-star, movement type: Stunning Speed Fire Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Fire Snake Fire Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Fireball Fire Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Firebreath Fire Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Hatchlings of the me 01 Fire Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Hatchlings of the me 01 Transcendent Spells: Non-elemental, misceneous: Beast Contract Spell (?) Non-elemental, misceneous: ??? (?) Non-elemental, misceneous: ??? (?) Apprenticeship: Verified Daily Training Regime: Iplete (Tracking Paused Upon Request: No Penalty) Run: 0 / 5KM Pullup: 0/500 Situp: 0/500 Pushups: 0/500 nks: 0/ 30 minutes Stretching Position 1: 0 / 5 minutes Stretching Position 2: 0 / 5 minutes Stretching Position 3: 5 0/ 5 minutes ****** Eren had easily broken into the E-Rank two days earlier after his newfound spell and constant supply of Draconic Lizard provided him with a shortcut. He had battledst night''s wraiths effortlessly due to his increased battle potential. It was just that his stats were restricted by the towerC making him fight as an F-Rank. La had told him that the towers inadvertently provide somewhat of a cheat for those who break through into their ranks while inside them. They will not be sent to the tower that corresponds to their rank. As long as the test was in progress, only the rank at the time of entrance would be considered. Instead, the tower would restrict the stats of the ranker and increase the number of monsters the ranker has to fight each day. This would keep things as challenging as they were supposed to be. And yet, breaking through into rank while being in the tower was beneficial because the type of challenge didn''t change for the rankers ording to their newly obtained rank-up. So even with reduced stats, the rankers would have a rtively easier time than before, thanks to their enhanced perception and senses that couldn''t be restricted much. But events like this were rare. There was only one other person besides Eren who had broken through the next rank while battling inside the tower. That person had survived their ordeal and gained the right to visit the inner sanctum of Purgatory. Or so they were led to believe. Last night''s wraith horde clean up was a safe testing environment for Eren because of that. And he had made full use of it. Eren looked at the BPT value shown in the spectral window and couldn''t cease to be amazed by it. He had not only broken into the E-Rank but also progressed much further than he had hoped for. This was due to the supplement of life essence and filtered mana intake provided by his Life Drain spell. Part of the credit would also be due to all the insights he had gotten after the consumption of the Potion of Serenity. This is in addition to his progress in understanding the elements. As a result of the constant battling environment in the past few days, he immediately progressed further in the E-Rank after his initial breakthrough. Eren also observed that there was now a new entry in the Transcendent Spell category. He guessed that the ID stone was referring to the Life Drain. Eren''s two spells that he had obtained through the use of the potions were also listed now. Plus, he had sessfully upgraded all his time, lightning, and fire element spells into E-Rank after getting them from Purgatory as rewards. The lightning and fire element spells previously had four-star ratings. But since Eren gained insight into the nature of the elements, he would tweak their execution as per his knowledge and requirement. Therefore, those spells had crossed the boundaries of being four-star spells. Eren sent his mana sense inside his body and observed his E-Rank core spinning inside the deepest parts of his mana circuits slowly. It now had strange runes inscribed over it. Plus, the mana core gave off a peculiar feeling to Eren which wasn''t present before. Eren''s F-Rank ranking technique had be useless after his breakthrough. In the E-Rank, hecked the required ranking technique. But he would look for it once he left Purgatory. He also needed to trante the ranking technique he had received from the underground dungeon as a reward and see if it was useful. **************** "You dare to ignore me, Eren Idril. You you are doing it on purpose. I''ve understood your nature now." It seemed that La had kept talking to Eren while he was busy taking joy in his ster progress. He was brought back to reality when the former startedining in an annoyingly louder voice: "Whaaa what! I was just checking my stats, La.. Before I answer your question, please clear a doubt I have first. How many people cleared the first floor before me? And how many left the ce alive?" Chapter 336 - An Audience "Before I answer your question, La, please clear any doubt I have first. How many people cleared the first floor before me? And how many left the ce alive?" Eren asked, trying to look as casual as he could be. La smirked at him before answering yfully: "Hehehe! The result you obtain by clearing the first floor of the tower is different from other rankers, Eren. They wouldn''t gain the same type of rewards as you. Plus, certain rewards are only reserved for the half-bloods that the normal ranker or even bad-copies like anthropes wouldn''t get. Even if you count the normal rankers, the number of people clearing the tower floors is usually very low. And it gets lower the further you climb inside the tower. But no matter what kind of rewards the normal rankers get after barely surviving through their ordeals on their respective floors, they wouldn''t obtain the mark I told you about in the dungeon. Because they are not half-bloods. Plus, yours is a special case even among the half-bloods. You''ll find out soon enough. Just don''t freak out when you do it. Hahaha!" Lapleted her statements and started lighting while holding her hands over her mouth in vain. The butcher was half jittery and half curious about what La was talking about. He wanted to see what this so-called "mark" La was hinting at ever since his entry into the underground dungeon. Finally, the curious part inside him won over and he replied in affirmation to the caretaker''s previous question "Alright, La. I''m ready. Show me the rewards." Eren was expecting the spectral screen La had shown him earlier to disy the list of rewards and their battle prices for him to choose from. But contrary to his assumption, La didn''t pull up and screen. She snapped her fingers and made an array appear on the ground, with him standing in the centre. "Hehehe! This time you will have to get those rewards yourself, Eren. Listen to this for your own benefit before you leave. Be polite to my master. She is not as tolerant as I am, you know. She might get angry at your silly remarks. And trust me, you don''t want to anger her. Hehehe! I hope to see you alive so that I can finally leave this boring ce. So all the best!" La spoke but Eren was too stunned to reply immediately. As the array on the ground was getting brighter by the moment, he asked with sweat trickling down his forehead: "Master you master! La, are you telling me you found a new master in recent years?" La looked at him with a puzzled expression before answering him seriously: "No silly. Nobody has the calibre to make me serve them apart from my master. You are going to meet the master I always had and will always have." Eren opened his eyes wide in surprise and shouted out loud: "Wait a fucking minute. I don''t want any." The array lights exuded blinding lights and teleported Eren before he couldplete his sentence. La smiled devilishly post the butcher''s departure before disappearing from her ce as well: ************************* A massive castle-like structure stood before Eren when he was teleported away. The white snow had filled his vision everywhere he looked. But the castle was void of any ice umtion. He could feel the warmthing from the structure that stung his skin more than the ice could. ''Who preheated this castle to this degree?'' Eren had a weird thought in his head while trying to make sense of the ce he was at. An abyss-like pit served as the castle''s perimeter that Eren couldn''t see the bottom of. There was only one huge bridgeway he could use to enter the structure. Eren didn''t want to enter the structure. But he sensed that he couldn''t escape from this ce unless he met up with whoever master La was talking about. He might as well be lenient and endure the ordeal than irritate the caretaker''s master by running away. "Eren, my man, you can do this. You have had more difficult experiences in life before. Compared to that, this thing is nothing. I hope." Eren motivated himself before starting to walk towards the entrance of the castle. He soon crossed the bridge and saw a huge doorway weing him with its equally huge, widely opened doors, which were inscribed with various runes. They weren''t active and were only exuding a dim light. But Eren could sense that the runes, the size, and everything about the ce were way out of his league. Eren kept walking. It was supposed to be daylight ording to Purgatory''s logic. But the ce he was teleported to didn''t look like it had exposure to sunlight for ages. There was a feeling that this part of the separate dimension was forever stuck in the twilight zone. The light got dimmer as Eren entered the corridor. He took one more step and realized that he had crossed a thinyer of something he hadn''t sensed before. The ce looked the same. And he wasn''t teleported. He felt more chills while inside the castle than outside, where there was heavy snowfall. Eren looked above and saw that the ceiling was about two hundred meters above him. The corridor was also about 20 meters wide and about 80 meters in length. A faint light emanated from the other end of the corridor. As he entered the corridor, the butcher tried to suppress his nervousness. Something seemed off to him. As if he would be forced toe here one day even if he had avoided entering Purgatory using the Illuminati''s connections this time. ''Toote to back down now. If I''m going to die here, so be it. But I want to look death in the eye this time. I refuse to die as pathetically as I didst time.'' Eren steeled his heart and kept on walking. Renita''s words were suddenly remembered by his disturbed psyche and calmed him down a bit: ''Don''t fear the reaper.'' Chapter 337 - Seizure Eren steeled his heart and kept on walking. Renita''s words were suddenly remembered by his disturbed psyche and calmed him down: ''Don''t fear the reaper.'' The corridor opened up to arge hall that made Eren feel like his existence was only akin to that of dust. There were huge pirs that stood at equal distance. The runs on those in-yet-intimidating pirs looked as if giant pythons had wrapped their bodies around them. The hall''s ambience was just enough for him to see a few meters ahead of him. The pirs were visible only because of the dim lights the runs inscribed over them were illuminating. So Eren decided to spread his mana sense. And regretted immediately. A chill ran down Eren''s spine. Then it doubled back and entered his brainC making his thoughts freeze in their tracks. ''Wh what the fuck is that?'' Eren retracted his mana sense to avoid losing control over his body and thoughts. He had never felt anything close to something like this even in his past life when he was a D-Rank adventurer. And he had seen a lot. Felt a lot. But apparently, it was not enough. No event in his previous life could prepare him for this. Because the first thing Eren felt with his mana sense was the erect skeleton of a 100-meter giant standing tall at one side of the hall. ''This this sensation it''s beyond B-Rank. No. Fuck no. A? No. I am a fucking fish in the pond. S-Rank? Yes. That must be it. That giant skeleton belongs to the S-Rank entity. It''s dead and yet so intimidating. I why did Ie here?'' Eren froze in his tracks after he saw with his own eyes the giant''s skeleton that stood without any support. It didn''t have any clothes over it. Like it had been stripped of all its dignity. The skeleton''s head was positioned towards the ground. As if it had been summoned at a parley after its defeat. ''This this is not normal. I had heard about the myth of giants once. But to see the actual remains of a giant that too that of an S-Rank entity. This is not normal by any standards.'' Eren concluded and pondered a bit as he stepped away. He had tried to maintain a sufficient distance. The mental pressure of being near an S-Rank entity''s remains would kill him or more likely, make him a lunatic if he stays near it any longer than he did. Eren felt fear beyond fear. And that feeling numbed his sense of danger. He felt so much fear in such a short time that his mind stopped processing the same emotion. That feeling of numbness became a boon as he hardened his resolve to continue exploring further. ''Maybe using mana sense in this ce is a terrible idea.'' Eren thought and decided not to use mana sense at all. He kept on walking and found the skeletal remains of another giant. Then another. Then another. ''Six. Six giant skeletons. Is this a nightmare?'' Eren''s skin turned red as he pinched himself hard. But what he thought to be a nightmare didn''t end. He even tried testing thews of the real world by touching his feet and kicking the ground. This was in an attempt to see if he was dragged into an illusion. But the tests confirmed that what was unfolding in front of his eyes was a reality. ''Even illusion spells can''t pull off something like this. This this stranger than reality ce exists in reality.'' Eren''s body was covered in goosebumps as he concluded. He kept on reying the visuals of the giants that he had seen with his eyes and wasparing them. One giant had a missing femur. Others had a broken ribcage. One''s skull had been badly fractured. But they all shared a few things. First, their bones had turned snowy white. This whiteness of bones wasn''t natural. It was as if the skeletons had been subjected to acid baths. Second, their heads were positioned downwards. ''S-Rank entities like them not wearing any clothes post mortem? This this is tant desecration. It''s as if'' "Somebody''s mocking them? Yes, boy. You are right. I''m mocking them. I killed them after all." Eren felt like his soul had left his body and he was having an out of body experience. His senses got overwhelmed and his body erupted into spasms. But his psyche made him feel like he was still standing. In front of an endless starry sky. Eren''s body started vomiting all that he had left without him being aware of it. His muscles atrophied. And his heart rate increased to abnormal levels. His mana circuits had already gone haywire. And his mana core would burst in a few moments if things didn''t change. "Hmm? Oh! Forgive me, boy. I''m not used to having visitors." The voice spoke. But Eren couldn''t hear it because of all the white noise his brain was processing. But something happened to his body soon after the voice spoke. It was wrapped in something mana-like, which stopped the spasms. Eren''s brain was still a bit slow to return to normal. But his heart started lowering its beats at a steady pace. What was beating like war drums were slowly quieting down as if to indicate the end of the army procession. It took a while for Eren''s body to return to normal along with his psyche. He didn''t think he would ever forget this feeling ever again. This was the feeling of absolute worthlessness in front of someone who had everything. This was the feeling of having nothing and standing in front of someone who had everything. Every feat he had achieved so far. Each of his exceptional performances. His every aplishment since he was brought back in time. They all seemed worthless andughable in front of this presence. He felt like killing himself for even daring topare himself with this presence. Eren knew he wasn''t like this. He would rather die than feel inferior in front of somebody like this. He already had his share of pain in the past. Normally, he wouldn''t be willing to throw his self-esteem away like this. And yet. This feeling felt natural. Like that of an instinct. Eren fighting this feeling in his head and making his existencerger than what he felt at the time was what his psyche considered as unnatural at the time. "Are you okay now?" The voice asked inly. Eren would have said no.. But s! Only if he could hear, understand, and speak at this moment. Chapter 338 - The Will To Survive "Are you okay now?" Eren''s eyes still hadn''t returned to normal. His vision was spinning. He felt like he had the nastiest vertigo and that had been multiplied by many folds as the voice kept talking to him. "Hm. Maybe not. I think you''ll need some help... Le,e down here and help him." The voice spoke andmanded the caretaker. Immediately, a youngdy appeared in front of Eren. She looked a lot like La. But there were a few subtle differences. Too bad, Eren couldn''t spot them and thought her to be the one who had spoken beforeing here: "Lay. Is that you? Ta take me away from here. Like, right now. Please ple I don''t *cough cough cough cough*... I don''t want to die here." Eren spoke with some difficulty. Only after speaking did he find out that he had a sore throat. His windpipe felt like moltenva had travelled through it. "Poor boy. Eren, is it? My name is Le. You can consider me to be La''s sister. It seems you are not... well. Anyway, I''ll just cure you with this." Le sat near Eren with her legs folded and gently ced his head over herp. She smiled lightly as she did that and caressed his hair. Eren still couldn''t control his body the way he wanted to. But he tried to stay still and allow the young girl to pour some potion into his mouth. He figured it was better to take the potion than suspect anyone in his condition. The contents of the vial were soon emptied inside Eren''s mouth. His mana circuit quieted down quickly as soon as the potion was dispersed into his body. His mana core started spinning as usual. And his atrophied muscles were already on the path to normalcy. "You will be alright now. I''ll take you and let you have a word with the master. Take care, Eren. It was a pleasure meeting you." Le said and made Eren sit with his back straight. She then gently got up from her position and waved her hand to say goodbye. ''No, don''t leave. Stay with me.'' Eren wanted to verbalize his thoughts. But Le had already disappeared after an array was lit up below her feetC leaving Eren behind. Eren had only realized that the girl he had met was not La. Because she was so sweet and caring towards him. Eren didn''t want to look at the origin of the voice that had spoken to him earlier. But he didn''t have a choice. The sooner he gets over with this dreaded audience, the better it would be for him. Eren looked ahead. The giant hall had been explored further. As it turned out, he had been moved by Le without realizing it. The skeletons of the giants were behind him. Nevertheless, when he turned to look ahead, he saw another skeletal structure. It was a humanoid cranium. Just that. The rest of its body was missing. This time, Eren could look at the cranium normally. He didn''t understand why at first. But then he observed a thinyer of mana had coated the cranium''s surface. He guessed that theyer was what prevented the cranium from affecting him. ''Even if I don''t have to face the repercussions, I can feel it. This part of the skeleton the entity it belonged to'' "Yes. You are right. He was almost beyond the S-Rank when he was killed. It was pretty challenging, I might add. Killing him, I mean. Especially when I had just broken into Sage Rank. I was on the verge of joining them once I was done with these lots. So what you see here are my trophies. They might not look pretty. But they keep mepany." The ancient voice spoke again. The voice wasced with unwavering pride this time. Eren observed that there was a throne ced above the giant cranium at the furthest end of the hall. The red carpet that the cranium was ced on had been stretched out. It was as if it was the giant''s blood escaping from his cut neck. Eren, in his delirious state, traced the carpet with his gaze and found himself sitting on its other end. Then he looked at the giant cranium that was looking at him with hollow eye sockets, which looked like two abyssal tunnels to another world. Eren shifted his vision and looked above the cranium again. This time with more rity than before. He could see a person sitting on a throne made of white bones. These bones seemed to be made of normal human-like bones. ''There''s someone there...'' Eren rubbed both of his eyes with his feeble hands and looked at the seat again. He then narrowed his eyes as she observed who was sitting on such an intimidating throne. Eren saw a mummified body of a person. It was properly clothed, armoured even. But the armour looked worn down. It had barely any hair leftover its head. Its skin was so dry and wrinkled that Eren assumed it would turn to dust the moment anyone even tried to touch it. Eren didn''t dare to look at the face of the mummy. He didn''t know if it could be interpreted wrongly by a higher-ranking entity present here. Of course, he didn''t think that Mummy was trying to speak to him. Upon seeing the mummy, he assumed that it was part of the trophy collection arranged in an intimidating manner. ''What are those? Chains?'' Eren saw that the mummy''s body had been connected with the chain pattern that disappeared behind the throne. Eren then tried to look elsewhere when the mummy''s mouth moved. He then heard the voice once again. The information was processed more clearly this time. It was the voice of a female. The voice seemed frail at first. As if it could be overridden with a single ''shhh''. But Eren could tell there was an unmasked right of dominance embedded in that voice. ''Don''t tell me this mummy'' This time, Eren felt the mummy''s gazending on him as he slowly opened his eyelids and looked at him. His skin had tingled when that had happened after all. The voice continued before he could say anything in his defence. "Yes, boy. It''s me you are talking to. A ghost from the past, if you will, fukufukufuku!" Eren dared to look at the Mummy''s face when he heard the voice again. The skin on the mummy''s face was almost superficial at this point. But the dark green eyes told him a different story. They looked as if the will to live and survive was burning strong within them. Chapter 339 - Witch Of The Enderflame "Yes, boy. It''s me you are talking to. A ghost from the past, if you will, fukufukufuku!" Eren dared to look at the Mummy''s face when he heard the voice again. The skin on the mummy''s face was almost superficial at this point. But the dark green eyes told him a different story. They looked as if the drive to live and survive was burning within them. Eren could feel his eyes and his entire being burning just by staring at those eyes. He looked down and tried to snap out of the unintended intimidation again. Eren realized that the high-ranked entities would have advanced their rankings and their use of elements to an unprecedented level. Their powers and their moods would unintentionally affect the surroundings around them. No matter how careful they were not to let their emotions affect their surroundings, they were still walking death sentences to low-level rankers. Eren didn''t speak. He didn''t know what to say at this point. This was the first time he had seen or met up with a Sage ranker. Although she appeared to be barely alive, the first Sage ranker he had met was a terrifying being. Eren still couldn''t get rid of the feeling of helplessness he had felt a few moments back. He felt like days and weeks had passed while he was in that state. In that state, all of his past traumas came back to haunt him. That helplessness was now mixed with the feeling of innate fear he felt towards this terrifying existence. So his emotions and his thoughts were all over the ce at this point. The sage ranker could guess what was happening to him. She pondered a bit and shakily raised her hands before snapping her fingers. Immediately, an array appeared under the giant''s skull and teleported it away along with the chains that were supposed toe from the ground. A gorgeous woman in herte 20s was standing in the ce of the skull. She was wearing a sensual leather bodice along with a full set of armour consisting of an armguard, leg guard, and waist gear. A simple-looking dius was seen hanging from the waist strap. This young woman had white hair. Her eyes were dark green like the most precious emerald. She had a petite nose and an elegant oval-shaped face. Her clear skin had a tinge of red on her cheeks. Her small lips were the colour of red cherries. Her height seemed to be 5 ft 10 inches. But because of her slender figure, she looked much taller. This young woman with a mesmerizing look had an equally hypnotizing figure. She had ample proportions and curves in the right ces. In more ways than one, she was the epitome of feminine beauty. "This should do it. Little boy, don''t get crazy on me just yet. I have a lot of tasks to assign to you." A soft, young voice filled the giant hall. It was the most pleasing sound Eren had ever heard in his life. But it also carried a kind of authority in it that couldn''t be questioned by someone like him. Eren looked at the source of that voice and was surprised by the beauty of the youngdy he was seeing in front of him. He looked around and found out that there was no sign of the giant''s skull, the throne, or the chained mummy in the hall anymore. It was just this gorgeousdy who had mesmerized him with her effortless charm. "Who who are you?" Eren asked as drops of sweat trickled down his face from his forehead. He wasn''t sure why, but thedy''s pretty figure was even more intimidating to him than the mummy. That was because the vibes he was getting from her, even with her seemingly utmost constraints, were that of a high-ranking entity who was at her peak. "Little boy, has the outside world''s way of life fallen so much that the rankers don''t abide by the rankers'' code anymore. Who gave you the right to ask about me without introducing yourself." Eren felt like his body was burning in some mystic green haze just after the Sage ranker spoke to him. He shook his head and found that to be just an illusion. But his head was starting toe to its usual ce now that the potion''s effects were starting to kick in. "Please ept my humble bow, Lady Sage. My name is Eren Elijah Idril. Your shadow alone is a blessing to my puny existence. Kindly forgive my rude behaviour. I didn''t mean to offend you." Eren controlled his almost powerless body and made a deep bowing gesture while sitting down at the same ce. This was the kind of bow a Sage ranker like her deserved. This was the respect her rank carried in the rankers'' society, no matter which faction she belonged to or what intentions she carried. "Hmm! This is much better. I knew your name, boy. I had been keeping tabs on you after all. Maybe it is normal for your generation to skip on etiquettes. But I was raised differently. Different times, I guess. My name is hehe! It''s so odd to say my name now. I feel weird for having to introduce myself to an Ace who hasn''te out of his shell. I''m sure my name has been removed from the annals of Anfang''s historypletely. But there was a time when I was referred to as the monstrous prodigy by the whole of Anfang. My name was." Eliza stopped when she felt like she was tooting her horns. Her prideful nature stopped her from continuing any further on those lines. So she took a deep breath and continued: "Never mind. Name''s Eliza. Eliza Samael." Eliza paused and gave a bewitching smile to Eren before continuing: "They used to call me Witch of the Enderme." ''Enderme!'' The sight of the devastating green mes filled Eren''s vision when the name was mentioned. He knew that if it wasn''t that the beasts were slow in their movements, he would be turned into a charred body by those mes as soon as they surrounded him. And that was the attack of the low ranked mana beasts.. What if a Sage Ranker like her decides to unleash those mes? The butcher gulped as he became even tenser in his current situation. Chapter 340 - Clean Slate Project P1 "I have been waiting for you toe here, you know. But the people you were supposed toe with were different. I consider it more of a prison than a home, but you are wee. I''ve been waiting for you for quite a while now. Hehe! You are the sweet fruit of all my efforts I have taken from thest few centuries." Elizamented while walking towards Eren slowly. A small spark of green mes would appear beneath her steps as she continued her stride. Eren guessed that any ordinary floor would have been ruined by the mes even with a faint contact. "Sage Eliza, you mean you were waiting for a demi-human like me?" Eren asked with as much politeness as could pour into his voice. Thetter shook her head and continued: "I know the alliance purged the demi-human ns long ago. Even if they do exist, they won''te out of their hiding and explore ces like these. The survival instinct can make a coward out of the bravest of rankers, after all. What I mean by my previous statement is that I waited for your arrival because of what you have inside you. Do you understand what I''m trying to say?" Eren feared Eliza was talking about Alephee and got tensed. But then he remembered that her presence wasn''t detected by the dungeon or tower''s mechanisms at all. Eren pondered for a bit while keeping his head down until he eventually came up with a conclusion. He raised his head again and asked to confirm: "My demon beast? Reen?" Eliza stopped in her tracks and looked at the teenager before bursting into evilughter: "Fufufufufu! Yours? Yours? Boy, do you even know what I had to do and how long I had to wait to make that creatione into existence? The thing that you have obtained by your sheer luck is mine. It always has been. Arthur Renar was just the tool I used to aplish that since I couldn''t venture outside. But nobody, and I mean nobody has the right to call that thing theirs in my face." Eren opened his eyes wide in surprise as the world spun around him again. A swirl of thoughts was raised in his mind before it became a storm strong enough to make him forget about his rank and asked Eliza in a cold voice: "You mean you were behind Reen''s creation? What do you mean by using Arthur Renar as a tool?" Eliza heard Eren''s question thrown at her and found it amusing. She didn''t get angry. She didn''t let her emotions affect her surroundings anymore. "Fufufufufu! I need a new body, Eren. You saw what state my original body was in. A soul sense manifestation is what you see before you. But my original state is that of an old decaying ranker on the verge of leaving this world forever. I have used all the methods I can, known and unknown, to dy the eventuality that''s about to hit me. My Sage rank also has its limits. I can only cheat death for so long." Eliza paused and then raised her hands to look at them. She then looked upwards and sighed before continuing: "That''s why I needed a new body. A body that can host my soul without creating any conflict. An ideal vessel that doesn''t reject my residency while allowing me to keep all my powers and ranking status intact for the most part. You must be aware of your demon beast''s special traits even without me telling you. Why do you think an artificial demon beast with those strange properties was created in the first ce?" Eren felt a varied range of emotions when he heard Eliza''s shocking deration. All this time he had been thinking only the upper echelon of Edinburgh''s kingdom was involved in the creation of Reen. But he never would have imagined in his wildest dreams that someone like Arthur Renar could be used as a pawn by a Sage ranker to do her bidding. All so that she could gain a new lease on life. Eren felt even more fear than before. That''s because facing reality was terrifying. But facing reality alone was even more terrifying. ''What if Reen gets taken away?'' Eren kept his hand on his left chest and felt his heart rate increase. There was a tinge of anger mixed in his range of emotions as well. Anger that was directed to anyone and everyone that was looking to take away an integral part of his newfound life. Eliza saw what was happening to Eren. she could almost decipher all his emotions and most of his thought process with her powers. But she didn''t speak. There was no empathy in her eyes. "Reen''s physique is made in such a way that a vessel using her as the base won''t have any mana signature conflict no matter who resides in it. The vessel would be able to amodate rankers of any elements and inherent features. If there is any form of conflict between a soul and its vessel, the body would reject the upancy of the soul immediately. Even if I were to create an artificial human infant using the stem cells based on my current body, the body itself would develop a trait of its own. It would never be devoid of its inborn elemental affinity and innate nature. No matter how simr kids are to their parents, they can never bepletely like them, can they? That''s how the will of the world works. But what if you create a clean te and imprint what you have already etched onto your existence? Something that is created by keeping the will of the world from interfering in its genesis. Now that''s what I''d call starting with a clean state! Right?" Eliza looked at Eren and narrowed her eyes. But thetter knew she wasn''t exactly eyeing him. It was as if her gaze had entered his body and was staring at Reen. Reen was equally shocked and terrified by the revtion. She tried to hide even deeper while pleading with Eren to save her from getting separated from him. The butcher had no answer to her pleas. Never had he desired the power to change his fate as he did now. Never had he felt so helpless to change his destiny as he did right now. The only thing he could do was to put his pride aside. And beg. Ask for a miracle to save him and his truepanion from their present predicament. Or beg that everything that exists in this world gets destroyed along with them. "Reen is connected to my existence. She she is someone I can''t live without. Before you do anything to us or ask anything from us, please tell us the whole story. I wish to know." Eren bowed to Eliza Samael and spoke with his voice shaking uncontrobly. Unbeknownst to him, tears were forming in his eyes. ========= AN: Carry on my wavered son.... Chapter 341 - Clean Slate Project P2 "Reen is connected to my existence. She she is someone I can''t live without. Before you do anything to us, please tell me the whole story. I wish to know." He bowed to Eliza and spoke tremblingly. Unbeknownst to him, tears were forming in his eyes. They rolled down on his cheeks and onto his clothes. And new tears kept taking their ce. It was more terrifying than dying a meaningless death to feel separated from the only person who knew about his new start and cared for him. Reen was equally afraid of being separated from him. She felt her survival was meaningless if she didn''t have Eren. Only now did the butcher realize the importance of someone or something other than his goals in his new life. He worked tirelessly every day to improve his ranking status. Never realizing what he already had was an equally crucial part of his life. Eliza thought it was only fair that she fulfilled Eren''s request before carrying on with her next set of ns. She nodded lightly at him even when his head was down and continued speaking: "The concept of creating an artificial demon beast was something my half-blood n hade up with when it was at its peak. It was supposed to strengthen the half-bloods, humans, and all the other races involved in the cmity of that time." Eliza said until here and her expression changed. She closed her eyes and reyed all the scenes from her past in her mind. It took a while before she picked up from where she had left off: "However, things happened, and my n decided not to reveal their research to the public. I had vehemently opposed that seemingly selfish decision. But it turned out I was not as prodigal as people had made me believe. That decision turned out to be right when the half-blood ns were betrayed by all the other races in the alliance. Our fates had been sealed at that point. But we at least prevented ourselves from making our backstabbers even more powerful than they already were." Eliza tried not to let her emotions influence the surroundings around her while she was saying that. She had advanced so much in the way of her element, that the surrounding mana itself wanted to bend to her will. As a result of which, green mes suddenly appeared around the duo and encircled them inside it. ***************** Eren could feel that the green mes produced by the Draconic Lizards would pale inparison to the mes he was witnessing right now. The beasts'' mes disyed enhanced damage potential because of their higher-than-normal temperature values. But theycked a certain intent in them. Of course, the green mes Eren was currently encircled with didn''t hurt him. He did not use his mana sense to check out. He feared even his intangible mana sense would get affected aftering in contact with something like this. The mes unintentionally produced by the Sage ranker were now carrying an intent. An intent of corrosion. An intent of total annihtion. Eren could feel that as long as the Sage ranker wished, even the high-ranked entities of her level would find it difficult to extinguish these mes with any normal means. They would only get extinguished after their target ends its existence. Hence, the name Enderme was an apt fit. ******************** Neither Eliza nor Eren paid attention to the mes surrounding them. Sage continued after getting her emotions in check: "Long story short, I was stabbed in the back along with all the rest of the half-blood rankers. I was injured and almost on the verge of dying, but I managed to run away. I have been biding my time in this ce ever since." Eliza started pacing around the hall for a while as if to gather her train of thoughts. She took her time and continued with stoic expressions on her face: "When I came here, I was helpless and distraught because of the annihting tragedy that had happened to me. I was dying. But on my deathbed, I entered a state of epiphany and found a way to survive. I found a way to bid my time and wait. My epiphany had also blessed me with more than my temporary fix. It also enabled me to see a way to craft a vessel for myself. There was only one thing left for me to do: rework my n''s ambitious project that had never been finished before. But to do that I needed to go outside this separate dimension. Something that wasn''t possible for me anymore." Eliza was seen clenching her fists as she said all this. She continued right afterwards: "I was frustrated and angry at the game I was forced into by my fate. I had a way toe back stronger than before. And exact vengeance on those who had harmed me and my n. But I couldn''t use it if I wanted to stay alive. Have you ever experienced something like this? When the frustration of this levelsts as long as mine did, it bes easy to take your own life. It can be easy to give up. But I did not do that. You know why?" Eren knew the question was rhetorical. He just sat there and listened. His tears had dried up, but his eyes were still red. Yet surprisingly, there was a certain rity to his face. That rity made him grasp and etch into his memory every word the Sage ranker had said till now as well as the one she continued speaking: "Because I was part of the reason the half-blood ns faced their doom. I had to carry this burden. Otherwise, who would avenge them if I, supposedly thest surviving Sage from their side, decides to call it quits? But do you know, Eren? Even the shittiest of luckes with an expiry date. Mine did when a certain someone stumbled into this separate dimension." ============ AN: There''ll be peace when you are done Chapter 342 - [Bonus Chapter] A Purge Shall Begin Anew "Even the shittiest of luckes with an expiry date, Eren. Mine did when a certain someone stumbled into this separate dimension." She paused after a few minutes and continued in a voice that wasced with amusement: "Arthur Renar was in the C-Rank at that time. On the verge of achieving his breakthrough. It seemed that he had been stuck in that rank for quite some time. So he decided to achieve a forced breakthrough by adventuring into the unknown. That''s how he found this ce, by his and my sheer luck. Fufufufu!" Eliza looked upbeat when she thought of how her n to revive herself was rebooted after Arthur''s arrival. "That idiot entered the first floor of the C-Rank tower and faced his tribtions. Additionally, he made it to the next rank and survived seven days on the first floor. Ideally, I wouldn''t have bothered meeting with him. I might have killed him to vent my frustration." Eliza said and shook her head. Then she sighed in irritation before verbally marching on: "The world had moved ahead and changed so much while I was inside here. Creating a "clean te" was even more difficult now than before. Plus, now I would have to be wary of newly risen Sages as well as the old monsters that could be aware of my identity. Then I looked into Arthur''s memories through the dungeon''s mechanism and found out he was a duke-to-be candidate for the Edinburgh kingdom. I realized then that I''d need someone of at least Arthur''s status to make things happen without worrying about exposing my identity outside. Hehe! That day, I found the right pawn in him who could invest his wealth and resources in my project. I made La meet him and offer him a deal he couldn''t resist." Eren saw a smile sprout on Eliza''s face when she said this. He knew this smile. It was the same smile he used to have when his machinations on a group of people were about to be fruitful. "A ranker''s progression after they break into B-Rank and above is heavily influenced by their progress in the way of the elements. I told him through La that I could help him expedite his progress into the way of the elements if he takes on the whole "clean te" project under his belt. I also told him he would have the true reward of the tower''s first-floor clearance even if he was no half-blood, to begin with. Plus, he''d be able to get ess to the old paths of magic that weren''t seen in the continent anymore because of howplicated the politics of the ranking society had gotten. I would provide the research roadmap for the whole project as well as the knowledge rted to it, which my n had gained in the past. He would just need to make sure the project ran smoothly and the oue was delivered sessfully to me." Eliza chuckled as she said this. Eren came to understand how deeply woven Eliza nned to revive herself when he heard and understood how things had taken ce. "So this was enough to bait him?" Eren asked out of curiosity. Eliza shook her head before continuing: "No. The guy was too ambitious for his rank, I must say. Arthur was finally sold when I told him I would allow a certain number of Anthropes and other human rankers to visit the separate dimension. That is if he kept the news of its existence within his circle. He immediately entered into a binding contract with me through La. The project would eventually even out after he farms the ce through other participants, he must have thought. This will enable him to get his hands on even more exclusive stuff. The fish had taken the bait. Now I just had to reel it in slowly. He had ess to just enough of the project''s research content that could be used in the development of an artificial demon beast. I kept him waiting for the rest of the rewards." La waved her hand and a statue of a seven-headed serpent appeared at the ce of the giant''s skull. It was half as big as the skull. But it looked eerie and had strange vibes attached to it. Only the first head of the statue was facing forward. It looked like the rest of the heads were still asleep. Eliza continued while looking at the statue: "This statue was the reward he most desired. This was what kept him on track. But it''s not like the guy ispletely loyal to the cause. I know what is he up to. So it''s fun to watch him trying to double cross me. I knew he was nning to dy on his part of the deal. He wants to use his bastard son as an example to test out and fulfil his own personal of goals. He wants to make him the half blood ranker of an artificial demon beast." Eliza looked at the statue and smiled. She continued soon after: "But everything had been still under my control. That was until the artificial beast managed to escape. I thought I would have to wait longer to find you through Arthur''s hands. But turns out I didn''t have to. With you here, I''m one step closer to reaching my goals. You don''t know how long I''ve been waiting for this." Eliza thought of something and replied with a certain passion in her eyes: "Hehehe! The time I spent here was lonely, Eren. Have you ever witnessed such a long period pass by you? I kept my mind busy by writing down my desires. Today, I''ve found my audience in you." Eliza raised her right hand after she said that. Immediately, the green mes that were surrounding the duo disappeared only to get consolidated and wrapped around her raised hand. She started speaking slowly. But the intent she had as a Sage ranker seeped through every part of the surrounding and made her voice echo inside Eren''s psyche as he watched her and listened to her helplessly: "Deep within me I spark my fire Let no man Douse my desire To soar the skies, I did try For my lost pieces, my heart did cry But I let that not stray me I let myself not betray me For I''ll rise once again From the ashes of those who I me A purge shall begin anew When I light my Enderme!" ============ AN: Lay your weary head to rest Chapter 343 - Dragon Half-Blood "A purge will begin anew When I light my Enderme!" The green mes that were wrapped around and dancing over Eliza''s hand suddenly shot up in the sky and created a domain around her. The mes started morphing into a beast after theypletely engulfed Eliza''s visage in them. First to form were huge wings that remained open. Then a serpent-like torso appeared. The torso sprouted four distinct limbs that were equally intimidating as the overall size of the beast because of their girth. The limbs started forming razor-sharp talons. The back of the beast''s crown and neck started growing horn-like protrusions. The rugged dragon scales soon covered the beast''s entire body. The long tail also had a series of protrusions over it. The beast looked small when it waspared to the overly exaggerated, grand scale hall it had manifested itself in. However, it was still too big for the human teenager who was sitting ducks in front of it. This was a green dragon that stood 70 meters in height. Its long torso and huge wings made it look even more intimidating. "ROARRRRRR!" The acoustic vibrations and mana ripples of a dragon''s cry permeated the surrounding area and prated the ground the beast stood on, causing them to travel long distances. The cry was followed by a breath attack that was aimed at the sky. Arge cloud of green mes was created in the air that released a menacing mana pulse. "You. you are a dragon half-blood?" Eren asked with his trembling voice. His body had goosebumps all over it just by being close to this thing. Nevertheless, it seemed that Eliza had taken conscious efforts not to hurt Eren physically. Eliza looked down and gazed at an ant-like existence that was Eren. She stretched her neck and brought her dragon-face only a few meters away from him before stopping. The size of her maws was enough for her to eat twenty Erens in one go. Maybe more. She breathed through herrge nostrils and released a dense st of warm air before replying in a reptile grunt: "Yes, Eren. The house of Samael was a dragon-half blood n. Heh! At one point, we were regarded as one of the strongest forces of rankers present on the continent of Anfang." Eren could see the insides of Eliza''s maws as she talked while keeping her huge beastly countenance near him. He could see that her huge pinkish green tongue also had a barb-like protrusion on it. Whether or not she decides to swallow them whole, the way down her throat won''t be pleasant to her victim. Eren knew that part of the reason Eliza had disyed her dragon manifestation was that the excitement she had felt after knowing the fruits of herbour were almost in her hands. And the other part of the reason was that she wanted to intimidate him. Because it was the same scare tactic Eren woulde up with against someone. The most difficult part about this realization was that even when he knew that Eliza was using psychological pressure on him, he had to admit that it was working. It was chipping away at the defences set around his psyche bit by bit. When Eren blinked again, Eliza''s dragon manifestation was over. A slightly seductive yet dignified looking young woman stood in its ce. She looked at him with her hands folded under her chest and said in a determined voice: "But the house of Samael is no more. So it doesn''t matter how my n was and what its achievements were in the past. What matters is what I do from now on. And I intend to settle scores with all my debtors. You know a thing or two about revenge, right? I''m sure you can understand how I feel." Eliza smirked at him before continuing: "I don''t want to harm you, Eren. Even if you were created using an experiment that was aimed at something entirely different, you are still technically a half-blood. I don''t want to erase you if I can avoid it. So you just need to hand over the demon beast that rightfully belongs to me. No harm wille to you. But before you answer, let me rify this. What you say or decide won''t change the oue for me. It''d only change the oue you''d have. Because I''m getting what I want either way." Eliza dered her domineering policy inly while looking at Eren with eyes that were devoid of any sympathy. Thetter had too many shocking experiences in a day. So his deadpan expressions had stopped reflecting the conundrum his mind had found itself in. Eren was also tired of being toyed around with. Just when he was about to voice his anger, a weak yet determined voice was heard in his consciousness: ''Erni. Don''t say anything stupid. The situation is beyond our control. Don''t worry. I''ll I''ll be fine. Maybe we could meet in the future. Just take care of yourself, okay?'' Using their mental connection, Reenmunicated with Eren and morphed out of his body. She hade to realize that it was practically impossible to stay close to Eren when a Sage ranker wanted to draw her out. Moreover, she could end up hurting Eren before getting the results she always wanted. So Reen decided to show herself without waiting for the Sage ranker to drag her out. She had taken the appearance of Elena. Her eyes had gotten red. Stress, sadness, and fear could still be seen on her face. Most of all, her presence felt so feeble than before because of her mana core still being restricted by the tower''s restrictions ced on her. Reen started walking towards the stoic-looking Eliza when she heard a trembling voice from behind that she almost couldn''t recognize. "Reen wait. Don''t go. Sage Eliza, I''m sure you''d have countless methods up your sleeve to achieve the same results differently. Please spare Reen. It it may sound presumptuousing from a nobody like me in your eyes, but I can do anything you ask for as long as you assure her safety." Reen heard Eren''s voice and turned around to see his humbled visage. She couldn''t believe it was the same Eren she had known all these months and grew fond of. Then she recalled it was the same desperate Eren she had seen in his past timeline. She felt happy that Eren cared about her this much. And worried that her absence might leave him broken again. The series of mental traumas Eren had faced today had made him regress into his former self. The dried lines of tears were moistened once again as he saw the tears in Reen''s eyes. "Erni, take better care of yourself, okay? I''ll I''ll be leaving." Reen continued to walk towards the Sage ranker after she said this. Eren saw that and his heart felt like it had been pierced by a thousand swords all at once. He tried to get up and run towards hispanion but soon found out that a huge yet intangible force kept him seated on the ground. Eren couldn''t get up. He was unable to change the oue due to his insufficient strength against the Sage ranker. The only thing he could do was to verbally vent out the feeling of despair that had overwhelmed his entire being." "Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!" Eren let all his emotions run amok inside his mind and cried with all his might. His bloodshot eyes and running tears erased the halo that surrounded an exceptional ranker. Eren had gone back to being a pitiful figure who was drowning in his hopelessness and anguish. ====================== AN: Don''t you cry no more Chapter 344 - Desperate Times Desperate Deals "Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!" Eren let all his emotions run amok inside his mind and cried with all his might. His bloodshot eyes and running tears erased the halo that surrounded an exceptional ranker. Eren had gone back to being a pitiful figure who was drowning in his hopelessness and anguish. In the next moment, Eren''s hair started turning white and his skin turned pale as he entered the Life Drain enhancement mode. Elise furrowed her brows when she noticed a strange ripple emanating from him. The ripple of the strange mana pulse reached the seven-headed serpent''s statue and all of the serpent heads came back to life. They raised their heads and hissed at the origin of that mana pulse. ''Perhaps'' The strange mana pulse and the even stranger reaction of the statue serpents did not go unnoticed by the Sage ranker. She raised her eyebrows and thought of something. As a result of which, she quickly thought of something and recalled the force that was keeping the newly advanced Ace ranker pinned down to his current position. "Eren Eren Eren!" Eliza tried to call the Ace ranker but it seemed he couldn''t hear her. So she waved her hand and made Eren stand up on his feet. Then she got near to him and pped him: Thaaaaap! A p sound got mixed into Eren''s cry and the butcher was brought back to reality. His crying stopped as a result. His hair and his overall appearance returned to normal. Then he was made to look in Eliza''s direction before thetter spoke up: "Eren, I didn''t mean to imply that you won''t ever have yourpanion back. I''m saying she would stay with me until my experiments on her arepleted. In exchange, you''d have to do my bidding on the outside though. Do you understand what I''m saying here?" Eren stared nkly at Eliza''s eyes. Sage ranker no longer held any respect in his eyes. But when Eliza gave him hope, some rity was injected into them instead. A cold-blooded rity that he hade to cultivate because of his past experiences. ''This kid he holds a grudge. Maybe as much as me, if not more.'' Eliza thought. There was a part of her that wanted to kill the Ace ranker for showing her impudence. A part recognized him as trouble. Then another part of herughed at herself for being intimidated by an Ace ranker. This was, in ranking terms, someone who had just started walking on his two legs after all. How dangerous could he be? She was finally snapped back when she heard Eren''s hoarse voice that had gotten devoid of any fear: "What do you mean?" Eliza retracted her force and stared into Eren''s eyes. She could see the guy had stopped caring about what happened to him anymore after his separation from Reen. Eliza couldn''t intimidate a broken man. She had no use for someone whocked the sense of personal safety. Because using guys like these was more harmful than using someone mediocre. So she had to give him hope and keep him invested in her cause. So she decided to not push Eren off his edge anymore and spoke in a clear voice: "I''ll be honest with you, Eren. I would have killed this demon beast to make a suitable vessel had she been delivered to me the way I had wanted her to. I would have also been fine if she had been experimented on by Arthur for profit because he couldn''t have introduced irreversible changes with his calibre. But there''s something unique that has happened in your case. There may be a lot of factors attached to it. I am a Sage ranker, yes. But I''m not omnipotent. And my powers are especially limited in my current state. That''s why, since you''ve formed a connection with her and made her yourpanion, things have gotten a littleplicated. Her no-elemental-conflict trait has been made restricted to you exclusively ever since you formed the bond with her. Though I have methods to erase your influence from the artificial" Eren interrupted the sage ranker out of the blue when she was speaking to him: "She has a name, Sage Eliza. Please call her Reen from now on." Eren spoke callously. Although he had included the word "please", Eliza knew that itcked the anxiety and helplessness from before. ''That white-haired transformation has made him even more of an abomination than he was before.'' Eliza thought and revised her statements: "Hmm. I do have methods to erase your influence on Reen. But it would be easier for me to use her constitution sample differently. If I proceed with the troublesome but more sought-after route, I would have the most suitable vessel, Reen would be saved, and you would have yourpanion back. Are you in?" Eliza spoke, keeping her voice steady and her face expressionless. Eren hade to realize that it was the Sage ranker''s n all along to make him her next pawn like Arthur. Someone with fewer resources, and no backers. But someone who was less suspicious and more liberated. Eren Reen was standing behind Eliza. She was looking at him with guilt written all over her face. But within that guilt, there were also hints of gratitude and hope mixed in. Gratitude because she hade to realize that he would go to any lengths to protect her. And hope that she will be able to be with him if and when the dust settles. Eren had realized that dealing with a Sage ranker was a lot tougher than he could even think of. An old monster like her wasn''t someone he could easily hoodwink of. In the most likely case, he would end up with the short end of the stick in dealing with her. Just like Arther had been, even if he wasn''t aware. ''Desperate times, desperate deals.'' Eren finally made up his mind before speaking up "I''m just getting dragged into another mess I never intended to be part of.. Nothing new for me. Tell me what do you want me to do?" Chapter 345 - High Functioning Psychopath "I''m just getting dragged into another mess I never intended to be part of. Nothing new for me. Tell me what you want me to do." Eliza could tell Eren had suddenly flipped the switch in his head. This was good and bad news for her at the same time. The good news was that the guy wasn''t as useless as she thought him to be. He could still be useful to her. The dragon half-blood started seeing Eren as a broken young man that could keep his emotions in check given enough time to recoup from his miseries. Eren could spend his life self-loathing if he didn''t have anything to look forward to. If he didn''t have any goals in his life. But Eliza could see that he would also grow stronger from the hardships he faced given the right conditions. A high functioning psychopath. Guys like Eren would be capable pawns for a Sage like Eliza. He could n things with minimal guidance from her. No matter the cost, he was able to adapt to real-life situations and take measures beyond conventional ns to ensure the end goal was achieved. The problematic part about using a psychopath as a pawn was that one could bet that the moment the maniptor let their guard down, the same pawns wouldn''t hesitate to stab them in the back. They would have designs on everybody and anybody they see as their opponents. But Eliza knew she had Eren''s characteristics too. A ranker who had managed to be a Sage was sure to have their hands painted red in others'' blood. This was the mindset needed to rise above the restrictions ced on rankers by society and by nature itself. ''Heh! Two can y that game, cute kitten. You are a few centuries too early to mess with me.'' Eliza smirked while looking at Eren and casually said: "Don''t worry, I won''t tell you somethingpletely impossible for you to do. I just trust your ability to n things and your abilities as a slime half-blood. I only ask for results. The way to get them is totally up to you, provided you don''t expose my identity or anything about me until I''m not ready." Eren had realized that Eliza must have drafted countless backup ns by now to serve as failsafes. She first sensed his bond with Reen and intimidated him by subtly implying that she was nning to kill her. She made him cry in front of her. To make him realize that he could be hurt. The Sage was practically unfazed when Reen escaped from the research facility even when Arthur was burning in rage and anxiety. Eren came to realize that Eliza must have the means to track Reen in case she escapes from him, judging by her absolute confidence. Means that she hadn''t shared with Arthur for some reason. She just watched Arthur making futile attempts to get Reen back. She watched as he contacted various experts and spent fortune tracking the artificial demon beast down. The kind of mental fortitude Eliza disyed made Eren realize that he was too far away from her as a ranker. He was also striving for his goals at any cost. But had he been in her shoes, he wasn''t sure he could have maintained the cool Eliza showed him. In short, Eliza would have multiple ways to bring Eren to this ce. He had just made her job easy bying here. This realization was very disheartening for Eren. but it also made him realize that there was nothing he could have done to prevent this oue. He sighed after this thought came to his mind and responded: "Alright. Tell me what an Ace ranker can do for a Sage? And do we need to sign a binding contract?" The witch of the Enderme chuckled and responded right after "Fufufu! Don''t be so hasty. There are a few details about the outside world that are missing in my equation. I will have to send La outside with you to fetch them through her. She will inform you once I am done. And don''t worry about the binding contract. There won''t be any." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard the witch''s response. He thought this deal was too good to be true. He could just leave the kingdom and settle elsewhere if and when he gets outside Purgatory. There was no need to risk his life doing something potentially dangerous for a Sage if he didn''t have a binding contract topel him to do that. Eliza could not walk outside. And Eren won''t enter the separate dimension. No matter how rich the rewards for progressing through the dungeons and towers would be. The puzzling expressions on Eren''s face made Eliza chuckle even more. She exined to him the reason soon after: "It looks like you don''t know. You underestimate a Sage ranked entity way too much, Eren. We are not on the same page for you to sign a binding contract with me. A binding contract with a Sage would immediately shatter an Ace ranker''s soul because of the sheer burden it would have to face." ''Hm? Does that mean'' Eren found it difficult to control his smile when he heard that. But it still made his lips curl upwards. He had not personally interacted with even an A Ranker in his past or current timelines. So he was unaware of such restrictions ced on the usage of binding contracts. But this supposed negative aspect of the contract came as a blessing in disguise for him. Or so he thought! Eliza watched him react that way and smirked at him before moving on: "Heh! Don''t celebrate too early, cute kitten. I have what I need to keep you in line. Fufufu! But before I tell you anything about that, I want you to meet someone. Maybe you''d recognize him right away." Eliza said and waved her hand. Immediately, a teleportation array appeared near the duoC indicating that something or someone was getting brought over here from another ce. Eren felt even more puzzled by Elia''s response. He wanted to ask what she meant by that. However, he stopped himself when he saw the array light up and teleport someone over. The array of lights eventually faded, allowing Eren to see a young man who had light ivory hair. His eyes were lively and full of spark. His facial features were sharp. His body structure was lean yet muscr. And he was exuding a menacing vibe because his hands, legs, chest, and back were tied by runic marks. His lips were also seen to be closed by the same runic pattern. "Ivor Osan? What is he doing over here?" ********** Eren couldn''t help but exim. He wasn''t expecting to see someone from his academy getting summoned here. Ivor Osan left to explore the tower alone, skipping the underground dungeon. Ivor was a genius and ferocious ranker with multiple trump cards in his sleeve. Eren would hate to admit it but he knew Ivor''s innate talent was greater than his. He might win against Ivor now. This would be because Eren had gained multiple power-ups in a short time and had previous experience as a D-Ranker. The butcher knew that even if he could dominate the guy in the end, the fight itself wouldn''t be one-sided. That''s why Eren wasn''t surprised that Ivor could survive the tower''s first floor. Plus, Ivor was a normal runner. So he guessed that his time in the solo tower wouldn''t have been as hectic as him. ******************* Ivor looked up from his seated position and narrowed his eyes on a guy he knew well from LA. he tried speaking up and moving his body some more. But the runic marks over his body lit up and forced him back to his previous position. Eliza hadpletely and consciously withdrawn her presence. And she was looking at Eren with a faint smile on her face. Ivor couldn''t speak. Nor could he run back to the only guy he knew. But his eyes were telling Eren what he also wanted to say at that time: ''What the fuck is happening here?'' ================== AN: Oh Mama, I''m in fear for my life From the long arm of thew! Chapter 346 - Slap Fest ''What the fuck is happening here?'' Eren looked at Eliza with the same expressions Ivor had written all over his face. Eliza chuckled before making a few things clear: "Fufufu! Eren, why don''t you ask this kid why he was brought here? I want to see how long it takes for you to realize the sheer oddness of your luck." Eliza snapped her fingers and the runic marks over Ivor''s lips vanished. Thetter didn''t know what change had taken ce at first. But he soon found out that his facial muscles had returned to normal. He opened his mouth and tested his voice before shouting at Eren: "Eren Idril, what is the meaning of this? Who are these bitches and why have you brought me here?" Ivor looked at Eren, Reen, and Eliza and spoke up with anger and frustrationced in his voice. Reen was too distraught to care. But Eliza heard Ivor''sment and raised her eyebrows. She pointed an index finger at him while raising her hand slowly. Eren saw Eliza''s actions and had creases on his forehead. Ivor couldn''t have known he was talking about C-Rank demon beast and an old as fuck Sage. But the butcher did. So when he saw Eliza''s finger getting pointed at Ivor, he tried to intervene. He is yet to figure this stuff out himself. He couldn''t let the guy die before that happened: "Wait, Sage Eliza. I''ll punish him for you. No need to get your hands dirty dealing with a Novice." Eren purposefully used the word Novice and made Eliza remember the rankers'' code of conduct that she had rebutted about some time ago. Thetter wrinkled her nose at Eren''sment. But she took her hand downC indicating she had agreed with him. Ivor always had a loose tongue. But he wasn''t stupid. He would only unleash his foul mouth on someone he could afford to offend. So when he saw what had just happened and what Eren had addressed the gorgeous youngdy with, he started to process what the situation entailed. "Sage? Who is Sage here? Eren, my man, don''t use words carelessly like that. You might get in trouble one day for saying something so casually like this." Ivormented and looked at Eliza again. She looked normal to him. He couldn''t use his mana sense because of the restrictive runes. He felt no sense of danger from her or Reen. Plus, Eren was practically nobody in his eyes. He figured the people he''d be with will never be that prominent, neither in socio-political standings nor in their ranking status. Eren didn''t speak. He walked towards Ivor and looked at him closely. Then remembered his task and made a quick work of the fellow student''s right cheek. Pataaaaaaaaaaah! Eren pped Ivor hard with all his might while not employing mana in his attack. The guy was sitting ducks because he couldn''t use his mana core after all. Ivor''s face was tilted to his left. The print of Eren''s palm and fingers was slowly bing visible on his right cheek in the form of a red tint. Ivor was too shocked to react. He just couldn''t understand what was happening to him anymore. But Eren''s p had irked him. He had already lost a fight against him. "You bastard. What the fuck are you." Pataaaaaaaaaah! "Saving your life." Eren pped Ivor''s left cheek this time with equal force before casually replying. Ivor was seething and confused at the same time after listening to Eren''s response amid the white noise that was starting to ring in his ears. "What the fuck do you mean" Pataaaaaah! Pataaaaaah! Pataaaaaah! Pataaaaaah! . . . . . . . Pataaaaaah! Eren didn''t let the guy speak and continued to p him. This had turned into less about punishing Ivor for his impudence against a Sage ranker and more about the frustration he was carrying in his heart. ************* The butcher had to admit that the feeling was cathartic. Beating Ivor senseless made Eren feel like he was transferring part of his bad luck to him. That''s why he felt happy doing it. He even wondered if he could transfer all his bad luck to him by doing this. Eliza smirked at Eren''s actions. She understood what was going on. But didn''t intervene. Her irritation towards Ivor was cated. But she wouldn''t miss an entertaining scene unfolding in front of her. She was also expecting to see fun reactions from Eren when he found out what Ivor''s role was. This was a wee change in Eliza''s routine after many years of solitude. **************** "Haaah! Ivor, you fucking numbnuts, you have been too much of a loose cannon and a pain in the ass. Like, for fuck''s sake, understand that the world doesn''t revolve around you. You hate your brother and his stupidity so much. But you are walking on the same path as him." Eren spoke while grabbing Ivor by the cor and looking down on him. Thetter couldn''t take tant disrespect from amoner like Eren and spoke while gritting his teeth that had been bloodied by the p fest: "You are dead, Eren. Did you hear me? You are dead. Do you know who my grandfather is..." Pataaaaaaah! Eren pped Ivor again before "Your status as a LA student and your background as Isen Osan''s grandson mean shit to me here, at this ce. Try to read the mood here, would you? I have had it at the academy with your naked threats and your edgelord behaviour. The ps are a way to teach you to keep your tongue on a leash for the rest of your life, however long or short it may be. Now answer my question concisely and truthfully. Otherwise, you''d be forced to face another round of beatings. This time it won''t be limited to your face though. I have a few questionable habits, you know. Plus, I''m not in the right mood right now. I might take that out on you. " Eren stared at Ivor coldly before looking at his crotch. Thetter shivered when he heard the butcher''s warning. For some reason, he believed the threats to be true. "Wha aaaah... Ptui!" Ivor spat umted blood in before continuing: "What What do you want to know? Let me make it clear though. I would have absolutely no idea about half of the stuff you''d be asking. I have questions of my own, damn it." ====================== AN: Lawman has put an end to my running And I''m so far from my home! Chapter 347 - Spoiler Title [Chapter title at the end.] "What do you want to know? Let me make it clear though. I have no fucking clue about half of the stuff you''d be asking. I have questions of my own, damn it." Ivor said and looked at Eren with expressions that screamed that he was feeling wronged. The butcher thought about it for a while then turned his neck back at Eliza. The Sage had an amused expression on her face. The butcher realized that he couldn''t get any answer from the witch anytime soon. So he focused on his p-fest victim at hand: "First of all, I can understand Jasoning here. But what are you doing here? This isn''t a ce a baron candidate like you would visit carelessly." Ivor replied Eren with a question of his own that was soaked in his feelings of irritation: "Oh yeah? You are not even important enough to know about this ce. So what the fuck are you doing here?" Ivor looked Eren in the eyes and said with a voice that was a mix of anger and frustration. His feisty nature wasn''t something Eren could straighten up with one round of pping. In response to Ivor''s question, Eren maintained eye contact with Ivor and held him by the cor with his right hand. Then with his left hand, he tried to reach for Ivor''s crotch. The p-fest victim looked down and saw that Eren''s left hand was getting dangerously close to his little Ivor. A primal fear overtook him before he shouted as quickly as he could: "Ho hold on, you pervert. I''ll tell you. Jason insisted that wee here. I wasn''t sure if I should join this Purgatory expedition. So I tried contacting my grandpa about it. But no matter what I did, I couldn''t talk to him. There would always be some fringe problems present no matter which mode ofmunication I tried using. When Jason''s pestering almost turned into low-key threats, I decided to relent. He had told me he''d take care of our security in a separate dimension. And I believed the guy. Why would a bastard scion of house Renar lie, right? Don''t tell me, were you also invited? Ivor asked and puzzled Eren even more. "You said your Isen couldn''t be reached. He must have assigned you a few men as your detail, right? Where are they?" Ivor said without a moment''s dy: "They all suddenly left a note to me saying they had an urgent matter to look after. And they abandoned their duties at the same time." ''This kid is still wet behind the ears. Leaving notes for urgent matters, all at the same time? Looks like they are dead.'' Eren thought to himself. The more answers he got from Ivor, the more confusing it became for him. So he just narrowed his eyes and said: "Go on. Tell me everything that has happened since then." Ivor spoke up right afterwards: "I was going toin to my grandpa, but that geezer had already left our ce in the city of Osan along with the rest of my family." Hm? What makes Isen Osan feel like he has left his barony with the rest of his family? That too without informing his grandson? What the fuck is going on? What has happened outside?'' Eren had multiple calctions running in his head while Ivor continued: "I don''t know what has happened since then. It seems for some reason, Jason''s men have glued their eyes on me. They always stayed around wherever I was heading. I decided to clear the solo tower first because I wanted some alone time to figure this out. But after I cleared the first floor, these runes appeared on my body and tied me up. I was teleported to a barely lit ce that I couldn''t even see. I stayed there for who knows how long. Then I was teleported here and saw you. Now you answer my question. What are you doing here?" Eren scratched his chin when he heard Ivor''s statement. ''They have been keeping tabs on Ivor. Something has spooked Isen Osan and he left his barony. Jason insisted Ivore here even though the details that were ced on him were nowhere to be found. What has this guy done?'' Eren looked at Ivor with puzzling expressions. Elize chuckled after looking at the interrogation and gave Eren a hint: "Fufufu! It was Arthur who told me he had somewhat fulfilled his end of the deal. By dragging this kid here and practically gifting him to me. You know what deal he had with me, right? I was looking for the signs of Reen''s presence on this Ivor kid. Imagine my surprise when it was you who disyed them instead. Do you understand, Eren? It took me a while to figure out what was wrong on Arthur''s end as well. Fufufufu!" Eren raised his eyebrows and tried to sum up all the facts he had with him at the time out loud: "Arthur''s deal with you was regarding Reen. He was supposed to hand you Hold on a fucking moment" Eren then looked at the puzzled Ivor and thought of something radical: "Isen Osan is most likely MIA probably because he sensed somethinging for him? Thenes this edgelord. His bodyguards vanished. He couldn''t contact his grandfather. And then he is forced toe here. Arthur says he has kept his end of the deal by delivering this guy He is assuming Ivor has Reen with him But how can a bigshot like him assume something like this? Reen is with me" Eren opened his eyes wide in surprise and looked at Ivor as if the guy was a hidden wonder of the world: "Wait a minute. Reen is supposed to be with the Osan Woods Butcher" Eren turned to Eliza and Reen while pointing a finger at IvorC shock and unbelief were written all over his faceC before speaking up in a loud voice: "Those sods think Ivor is the Osan Woods Butcher!" =============== AN: Hangman ising down from the gallows And I don''t have very long! ;) If you can, read chapter 199. Then re-read chapter 200''s title, content, and author''s note. Chapter 267 also contains some behavioural signs about Ivor, along with Garvin Karr''s derived clues (listed afterwards) toe to this conclusion. In a way, all of Ivor Osan''s interactions and his background (his links with the city of Osan, his rtionship with his brother Isaac, Isen''s rtionship with Arthur etc.) culminate towards making him get stamped as OWB (Osan Woods Butcher). You can find the tidbits in other chapters as well. Even though it has been kept vague till now, I hope some of you saw iting. ;) The second volume of the VEH is about to conclude. The OWB storyline, or more correctly, a huge part of it, will be wrapped up soon. VEH might take a short break before the start of the third volume. It''ll be around 30 chapters before that happens.. This is just a little heads-up. ;) Chapter 348 - Slap Fest 2.0 Eren turned to Eliza and Reen while pointing a finger at IvorC shock and unbelief were written all over his faceC before speaking up in a loud voice: "Those sods think Ivor is the Osan Woods Butcher!" Eliza chuckled for a while before nodding at his statement. Eren looked back and forth between Reen''s, Eliza''s, and Ivor''s faces. The p-fest victim was also confused about what Eren had said for a while. It took him a while to process half the stuff Eren was saying and immediately had a frozen-in-fear look painted over his whole being: "What What nonsense are you sprouting? I''m no Osan Woods Butcher, you dimwit. And who are you guys? Who is this bitch Reen" Ivor was about to curse Reen some more. By then Reen was also too shocked to feel down about her separation from Eren. And when she heard Ivor cursing her, her anger exploded. She disappeared from her spot and appeared right next to Eren before continuing the p-fest again. Pataaaaaah! Pataaaaaah! Pataaaaaah! Pataaaaaah! Reen smacked Ivor hard. It was all thanks to her suppressed rank that the guy was alive. Otherwise, his face would have be a meat patty. "Haah! That. That felt good." Reen felt her palms go numb after she kept on pping Ivor for a minute. But instead of noticing the sore palms, she felt a lot of her stress had been released. One had to say that Ivor''s entry was an apt mental relief for both the demon beast and her master. Reen''s stressbuster p-fest on Ivor kinda altered the sorry state of Ivor''s face for worse again. It made Erenugh a bit. Technically, the butcher wasn''t in a healthy mental state at the time. But seeing Ivor do worse than him in almost every way soothed him a little. He forgot about his problems for a while and just enjoyedughing at the guy''s misery. "Hahaha! Ivor, meet Reen. You made a pact with her within the Osan Woods. Baah! This is hrious. I thought my luck was terrible. But dude, you''ve outperformed me. Hahaha!" Eren said to Ivor while trying to control hisughter. Osan Jr had started to realize that he was being framed for something he wasn''t part of. But he still wasn''t aware Reen was the same ill-famous demon beast that the OWB had tamed. He wasn''t even aware that he was standing there. "Eren, what is going on? How How did I get tagged as the Osan Woods'' Butcher?" Ivor asked with a trembling voice. But unlike before, his eyes were calm. As if he had been snapped out of his sorry state. In the ranking war, he had be the same cold-blooded novice who had be famous in LA for his bold battles. "How, you ask? I don''t know much either. Sage Eliza, please tell us how they get this wrong with the OWB?" Eren redirected Ivor''s question to Eliza because he wasn''t aware of it himself. The Sage ranker smiled before answering: "I''ll tell you what Arthur told me. He told to me how the research facility that was used to artificially create Reen was attacked by a monster horde one day. Of course, the facility was protected so nothing happened to it. But that disturbance somehow caused a malfunction in the mana supply and maintenance array unit that was supposed to imbue mana into Reen''s form. Originally, she was only supposed to have an F-Rank with a reworked mana core. The type of experiment being conducted, along with Reen''s constitution and the array''s malfunction, enabled her to be a D-Rank in a short amount of time. Fufufu! Can you guess what happened next?" Eliza would always try to hide herugh with her left hand, which would suppress the noise of her chuckle. Eren took note of this personal trait of hers and spoke up: "So they weren''t expecting to find a D-Rank entity there. I can guess that Reen must have woken up and wreaked havoc at that ce before escaping." Eliza looked at Reen and smirked before saying: "This rogue beast of yours almost ate everyone working there. Then she took control of the demon beast to hunt the escaped ones and ate them too. Only then did she leave the research facility. The research papers my n had on the supposed creation of an artificial demon beast did talk about the appetite problem of the beast because of her mana-induced rapid cell regeneration. But I didn''t think it would be to this extent. Anyway, Reen escaped. That almost caused Arthur to go insane. He must have expended a lot of his wealth on that experiment. When he learned about the tragedy at the research facility and the case of Osan Woods'' Butcher, he tied the two events together. He concluded that Reen''s escape was prenned by the butcher. Reen ended up bing his familiar after all." Eren had a nk face as he opened his arms to receive the hug Reen was giving him at the time. She rested her head on his chest and he caressed the back of her hair before replying: "That Arthur guy is really... something. Why does he think everything is a conspiracy? Somebody should fucking make him realize coincidences do happen in real life." Eliza shook her head andughed before narrating the story further: "Arthur was pissed at the Osan Woods'' Butcher to say the least. He wouldn''t have batted an eye had heC or youC killed thousands of people. But this was the money that he had put on the line. Plus, the deal with me was not something he could or would willingly break. He was already running behind schedule. So he used various methods to hunt the butcher. I must apud you for the way you covered your tracks because you remained in the shadows even after he hired a panel of historians to track you down." Eren couldn''t figure out whether the apuse was genuine or not. But he bowed his neck a bit to receive it. But Ivor almost screamed at Eren after hearing Eliza''s exnation so far: "Ho hold down! Who is the Osan Woods Butcher here?" Chapter 349 - Unlucky "Ho hold down! Who is the Osan Woods Butcher here?" Ivor shouted and started looking at everybody. Then he started looking in the void as if trying to see someone that could be hidden. The more he learned about the incident from Eliza''s mouth the more his heartbeat kept on increasing. "It''s Eren, little eel. He almost fooled an entire kingdom of yours with his performance. Get on with the program already." Eliza said to Ivor in a reprimanding tone. Then she pondered a bit while looking at Eren and said in a casual tone: "I was once a Novice ranker too, Eren. So I can understand how cunning and smart you''d have to be to pull off what you did." ''Heh! I wasn''t even a Novice by then.'' Eren thought to himself in the deepest part of his psyche. But he didn''t interrupt and let Eliza continue "Let me tell you one thing. I regret trusting Arthur. And I regret that Reen got away instead of being sent to me the way she was supposed to be. I''ll be blunt here. I may end up killing you in the future. Although highly unlikely, you may end up backstabbing me too. But I''m d it was you that took Reen away instead of some half-assed ranker. Reen represents my n''s genius in the field of genes and mana-rted studies after all. I would have killed you without worrying about the consequences if you didn''t impress me with your performance on the tower''s first floor. I won''t let my n''s legacy be used by some dim-witted nobody." Eren had a stoic expression on his face as he heard Eliza''s tant way of saying things. He also realized that the Sage ranker was being serious about everything she said. He didn''t try to reassure her that he wouldn''t betray her. Instead, he just nodded before speaking up: "So what did Arthur do next?" Eliza smiled and started walking towards the ce the giant''s skull was at. She summoned her bone-made throne next and sat on it leisurely before continuing: "Arthur couldn''t track you down. So he used some external help. An unusual one at that. I believe he must have found someone who could use a Seer array. The ranker that helped him is either a genius or crazy to use a Seer array. Ites with a lot of repercussions. Some are out there. While the others take some time to manifest. It might be that I''ve underestimated the dedication of today''s rankers or that they are straight-up stupid. anyway, Arthur got what he paid for. A few clues regarding Osan Woods'' Butcher. Or at least he thought he did." Eliza said and propped her head on her palm using her folded right armC its elbow ced on the throne''s armrest. She then looked at Eren while mischievously asking him: "What do you think those clues were, Eren?" Eren caressed Reen''s back to soothe her and pondered for a bit. Then he looked at Ivor before saying: "Whatever the clues are, they made Ivor be seen in a very bad light. I''m guessing the clues were regarding themonalities we shared?" p! p! Eliza broke her stance to lightly p towards Eren before continuing: "Yeah. Here''s what Arthur told me had found from some ranker named Garvin Karr. The first was that the Osan Woods'' Butcher was a young male in his teens. The second was that he had a lightning-element affinity. Then there was another peculiar thing this Garvin fellow found out about the Osan Woods Butcher. That he had an active time-element artefact on him. Another was the fact that he was using beastly transformation powers to raise his body stats. Then there was circumstantial evidence. Like the butcher had been established as a closebat expert who uses daggers or simr weapons due to the way he killed in Osan woods. Arthur had told me that he made some inquiries in your academy. And easily found out that this little eel was very handy with his weapons. He liked cutting people up. He was apt for a butcher''s profile that was made for you. Eren, guess who, apart from you, had all those conditions met for him? Fufufu!" ''No way! Ivor Osan!'' Eren thought and looked at Ivor with a lot of surprise and a bit of pity in his eyes. ''Maybe I did pass him some of my bad luck by beating him in the ranking war and now. Should I beat him some more?'' Eren had a wild thought. But he still couldn''t believe he was let off the hook and Ivor taking all the heat for him just like that. He let go of Reen and walked up to Ivor. he raised his downed head by grabbing him by his hair and asked Eliza: "But why did Arthur and hisckeys didn''t apprehend Ivor outside and check if he had Reen or not? Why did they send the guy here?" Ivor was speechless at that time with a nk look on his face. By now he had realized that he was in deep shit. Plus, only now did he register what Eren calling the young woman sitting on the throne meant. She was a Sage ranker. And he had called her a bitch. He wondered how he was still alive. Eren''s beatings were the least of his worries now. "Well, Arthur had told me all the details and consulted me. I had predicted Reen''s natural abilities and told him he shouldn''t approach Osan Woods'' Butcher carelessly. First of all, Reen would have the ability to merge with his body. Second, she mightmit something terrible if her master gets harmed or gets captured. We also had to make sure that a demon beast like her doesn''te out in the open and all her powers are not known by the popce. The safest easy to apprehend Reen was to make the Osan Woods'' Butchere here. That''s why I told Arthur that he just needs to make sure that the butcher gets sent into the Purgatory and I''d handle the rest. He agreed with me and arranged everything." ''That makes sense.'' The real butcher nodded while looking at the nk expressions of the fake butcher. He pondered a bit before asking another doubt he had: "Still, Sage Eliza, I can say for sure that there might have been a lot of discrepancies in dering Ivor as the OWB. How did they look past them?" Chapter 350 - [Bonus Chapter] Choice "Still, Sage Eliza, I can say for sure that there might have been a lot of discrepancies in dering Ivor as the OWB. How did they look past them?" Eliza chuckled while ying with the green me dancing over her index finger and said: "People see what they want to see, Eren. There were indeed a lot of discrepancies, and Arthur shared them with me. He ignored them after considering one person in his mind. That little eel''s grandfather. What was his name again, hm? Yeah Isen Osan. Arthur guessed that Isen was maniptive enough to create those discrepancies and throw him off. Do you know what''s funny though? Arthur had decided to ask for help from the person he didn''t fully trust. And when Isen supposedly backstabbed him, he med the guy for being too devious. I guess he has a love-and-hate rtionship with Isen. Arthur believes Ivor is the Osan Woods butcher and Isen is his backer and protector. That''s because it makesplete sense for him. That along with most of the evidence pointing at Ivor sealed the deal for the little eel here. Arthur tells me Isen ran away along with his whole family the moment he sensed the dangering for him. So all he needed to do was drop the guy here and wait for my confirmation. Fufufufu! Now you tell me. What should I tell him?" Eliza asked innocently but that made Eren frown. Ivor Osan had to be the unluckiest person apart from him. And he never technically hurt him. That didn''t mean Eren cared for him or tried to y the heroC telling Eliza to tell Arthur the truth. Eliza''s question had a deeper meaning that didn''t escape his mind. If I tell her Ivor is the butcher of the Osan Woods, then the bull''s eye behind my back would haunt Ivor instead. But that would mean Eliza would have the means to control me. Haha! Now I understand what she meant by not needing a contract. Even if I leave the kingdom and try to reach the farthest corners of this continent, a bunch of high-ranked entities would keep on hunting me unless I be dead or get captured. And it''s not like she had to dere that I''m the Osan Woods Butcher to make Arthur hunt me in the first ce. I''m sure Arthur won''t think twice about anybody like me even without bothering to ask who I was or what I did.'' Eren caressed his forehead. He felt like he was going to have a killer headache. Too many shocks had been suffered by his psyche. For the time being, he was trying not to think about them to function. But new problems didn''t seem to stop popping up. "Al alright, Sage Eliza. Please tell him it was Ivor Osan and that you got the beast. Are you nning to keep your end of the deal to him?" Eliza shed a bright smile at Eren when he agreed to her unwritten and unsaid ckmail. She knew he would get around. In a way, cautious and intelligent men were easy to predict for her. "Hehehe. Since he didn''t fulfil his end of the deal, I don''t have to. But to keep the facade intact, I might have to offer him a piece of the pie he is trying to gobble up." Ivor who was quietly listening and processing every word that had been said with keen and stoic expressions suddenly yelled out with an agitated voice: "Wait. Eren, you can''t do this with me. What have I ever done to you? My dreams. I wanted to be the most prominent ranker of my generation. You dering me as the Osan Woods Butcher might" Eren''s headache seemed to have been increasing. He pressed his temples and spoke upC interrupting the fake butcher: "Listen here, Ivor. We don''t even know if you''d survive past today. What future are you talking about then?" Ivor was about to argue some more. But after listening to Eren''s remark, it looked like aherworld ice element had been used on him. The guy looked like a frozen statue. "You want me to kill him?" Eliza asked casually while raising her index finger again. The green me she was ying with was still dancing over her finger. Eren knew that small me would be all it would take for Ivor''s body to pass through instantbustion. Eren looked at Ivor and observed him for a while. The butcher could see it in thetter''s eyes that he was struggling toe to terms with his eventual death. The butcher thought for a while beforeing up with a n: "No. I don''t like to leave loose ends. But" After saying until here, Eren stopped. Then he sat in front of Ivor who was already on his knees and said out loud: "I won''t say I sympathize with you, Ivor. Sure, I didn''t n this to happen. But am I d that you have taken a huge boulder off of my shoulders? Absolutely yes. Will your family suffer because of this? Yes. But your family has already left you and is probably safe by now. You and I both know Isen Osan is not someone who''d get captured or interrogated by Edinburgh''s forces. He must have been on a safe route out of the kingdom. If he is not already out of the kingdom that is. Will your reputation get plummeted? Yes. But to a ranker, reputation is nothing but a passing cloud. When you break enough ranks, the reputation will follow. What''s so fun about breaking ranks with legal resources? If your reputation has already turned to shit, you might as well plunder all you want for yourself." Ivor listened to Eren''s statements and snorted his nose before saying: "If being on the run is so liberating, why don''t you do it?" In response to Ivor''s question, Eren just looked into Ivor''s eyes and said tly: "Because, first, I don''t want to. And second, I can avoid being on the run. You can''t. Simple as that." Chapter 351 - Mark Of The Seven Sins P1 "Because, first, I don''t want to. And second, I can avoid being on the run. You can''t. Simple as that." Ivor''s face turned red in anger when he heard Eren''s answer. But Eren raised his hand in a stopping sign before exining what he wanted to say: "Let me rephrase that. You and I both have a few choices to ourselves here, Ivor. My choice is to be honest or to be smart. Tell me, what would I choose? I''d ratherplete the task given to me by Sage Eliza in silence than worry about being hunted. I''m not sure my survival rate is above 5% if I proceed with this option. Would you like to know what your choice is? Be a cultist and stay in the shadows for the time being. Or... die. Sometimes in life... our intentions don''t matter. Our pasts don''t matter. What matters is the number of choices we have at the time. Now choose, what will it be?" Ivor narrowed his eyes and said in a cold tone: "You killed my brother." Eren nodded and epted the charges straightaway: "I did. But that jackass came at me first. And from the way you spoke with him, I''m sure there''s no brotherly love lost between you two." "That doesn''t mean" Ivor tried to rebuke Eren''s statement but thetter interrupted him once again: "Ivor, you don''t need to pretend anymore. I can see that your ambition to be a high-ranked entity is much stronger than any of your emotions. I may be your brother''s killer. But I don''t kill without a reason. Or unless someonees in my way. Otherwise, I wouldn''t be talking to you. I don''t know what torture Isen or Isaac must have done to you. But I can identify a damaged man trying to hide behind his grand-scale ambitions when I see one. Look me in the eye and tell me you cared about your brother or his death." Eren looked at Ivor in the eyes when he said that. The two maintained eye contact for a while before thetter asked another query he had: "Why are you telling me this? It''s not like we were close in LA. I''m pretty sure I must have pissed you too along with most of the hypocrites there. So why the soft spot all of a sudden?" Eren just shrugged his shoulders and got up. He started walking towards the throne and said to Ivor without looking back: "My reason to keep you alive is simple, Ivor. I may have some use for you. That day, when we first met, you had told me about your aspirations. That was a pretty rambling speech, yes. But it was also something I found to be spoken with passion from your heart. Now I wonder. Do you have the guts to survive the odds and rise above everyone? Or do you want to call it quits because the road you had nned for you has now been blocked? What will it be, Ivor?" Ivor looked at Eren''s departing figure and then closed his eyes. He spoke up when he raised his head and opened his eyes full of determination: "I am ready to walk on the path of cultists." Eren nodded his head when he heard Ivor''s resolve and spoke to Eliza: "Sage Eliza, you can keep Ivor here till the heat on him dies down. It won''t be anytime soon. But you''d at least have some entertainment, right?" Eren bowed at Eliza after he said it. Thetter chuckled and looked at Ivor before speaking up: "Fufufu! Eren, are you sure? The boy is naturally more talented than you. I feel multiple binding contract marks ced on your soulC telling me you are at your limit in taking ves. So you won''t be able to sign a ve contract with him anytime soon. Do you still want to risk it?" Eren smiled mildly and looked at Eliza and said without batting an eye: "Well we all like to have strong pawns at our disposal, don''t we?" Eliza understood the hidden undertone behind Eren''s statements and chuckled. She had to admit that she had found someone with the same mindset as her after all these years in Eren. She only dared to deal with him this way because he was still an Ace ranker. His powers were too weak to affect her. Ivor heard the duo refer to him as if he were some sort ofmon good. He wanted to hate Eren and Eliza. But he had to admit that whatever they said was true. ''I need power. More power. I''ll think about whatever I have to do only after I gain enough power.'' Ivor thought to himself before taking a long breath. He hoped he wouldn''t have to return to the first floor of the tower again. But his hopes were bound to be crushed for Eliza''s entertainment. ******************** "Is that it? Shall I leave now?" Eren asked after getting up. He was talking with Reen for hours on end. She had moist eyes. But she had stopped crying when Eren pacified her with his glib tongue. Finally, when everything was said and done, he decided to move on. "Don''t you want the reward first for clearing the first floor of the tower?" Eliza said and looked at the seven-headed serpent statue. Eren followed her gaze and observed the statue in detail for the first time. It measured three times his height. The statue wasterally erged towards its top. But it had a smaller size at its bottom because all seven-headed serpents shared a single torso. "What is it? Don''t tell me I need to take this home with me?" Eliza shook her head as if she was expecting Eren to hide his disturbed mental state with witty remarks. She spoke up after looking at him keenly: "This is the true reward for clearing the first floor of the tower, Eren. You will receive a mark as you keep on clearing the floors. The mark of the Seven Sins." Chapter 352 - Mark Of The Seven Sins P2 "This is the true reward for clearing the first floor of the tower, Eren. You will receive a mark as you keep on clearing the floors. ... The mark of the Seven Sins." Eren caressed his chin after he heard that. He was about to ask what the mark was. And how would it benefit him? But turned out he didn''t need to because Eliza told him about them on her own: "The marks let you tap into other nes and use their mana powers for your own. As for the specific benefits or disadvantages, they grant to the ranker, they may vary as per the rankers themselves. Fufufu! I''m sure you''d be morepatible with using the mark than anyone else I''ve known. Because you were already seen using another ne''s mana as your own." Eliza rified and created more questions in Eren''s head. He decided to ask the most pertinent question first - what was its purpose. The Sage answered right afterwards: "Each mark manifests differently within each ranker. So I can''t say for sure how it would manifest for you. But the use of these marks would expand as you keep on ranking up. Provided you don''t get consumed by them in the process. The mark of the Seven Sins can also aid rankers in progressing much faster with their proficiency in the way of the elements. This was the reason Arthur wanted the true reward of clearing the first floor." Eliza sighed and got up from her throne. She walked up to the statue where Eren was, stopped beside him, and spoke up once again after folding her hands: "*Sigh! It''s too much hassle to talk about them when you won''t understand the majority of what I''m saying. So just consider them as a way to boost your powers with a bit of repercussion every time you use them. Be warned though. As I said, there are several risks involved in using the mark. So only use them when you are in a pinch. And don''t activate the power of the mark consecutively. It''ll only harm you more. Plus, the use of these marks outside Purgatory will be considered as you walking on a heretic path. So you need to make sure you don''t use the mark on normal rankers or make sure there are no witnesses to avoid any trouble." Eliza warned and borated on the mark''s attributes. Eren listened and was amazed by such a thing existing in the rankers'' world. He cursed the previous him because he was akin to a frog in a well. "The Mark of the Seven Sins" refers to a series of marks that are etched onto the ranker''s existence as they keep on clearing the tower''s floors. Therefore, you need to clear another floor of the tower to receive your second mark and so forth. There are seven marks in the Sins series. They are the mark of pride, the mark of greed, the mark of lust, the mark of envy, the mark of gluttony, the mark of wrath, and finally the mark of sloth. This is the statue of a seven-headed serpent. It contains the conscious will essence of seven nes connected to each of the seven marks. As I said, the seven-headed serpent has its collective consciousness. It has observed your performance on the first floor. And since you''ve cleared up the first floor, you will be qualified to receive a mark." Eren listened carefully before asking another set of questions that came to his mind: "Which mark will I be receiving first? Is there any order?" Marks can be received in any order. It all depends on what the seven-headed serpent statue thinks you are apt to receive at the time. As the ranker receives more marks, the burden on the ranker''s body to act as the conductor of the foreign mana increases. Their souls would also get affected. You know what that means, Eren?" Eliza asked Eren who was standing beside her. Eren answered after carefully processing what was said to him: "It means I need to keep on moving forward in my ranking journey to receive more marks of the Seven Sins." Eliza nodded before exining further: "That''s right. That''s why the tests also get tougher with each floor. You need to have a ranking status of at least the solid stage of the Ace rank to attempt the second floor. The requirement only increases as you move up the tower. It is foolish for you to think about clearing the second floor or beyond with your current powers, Eren. You''d die on the second floor and above even before you had time to curse this ce or me." Eliza said and then turned her head to look at Eren. He was still staring at the statue. But she could tell he hadn''t looked at anything and was lost in his thoughts. She continued without waiting for him to respond: You need to consider whether you want the mark with all its repercussions and benefits right now. Or you want to skip on it. The tower''s usual rewards would open up for you if you voluntarily give up gaining the mark. I''d rather you ept the mark. Because the tasks I''ll be telling you won''t be a walk in the park. The mark may provide you with a chance of sess and ultimately help me get the vessel I need that much faster. But I won''t force you to take the mark. Because the marks need eptance from their bearers to make them work. The choice is yours. What do you want to do?" Eliza said and waited for Eren to respond. Eren smiled after Eliza finished her sentence and started to circle the statue. He came to his previous post and stood before the Sage and dered what he felt from the bottom of his heart: Sage Eliza, I had the notion that Sage rank was the limit for rankers. I believed that being a Sage would grant me the liberty to act freely in the world. Enjoy its riches and all that it had to offer without worrying about anything. But meeting you has broadened my horizons. My ambitions have risen along with them. It''s not like I''m not scared of you anymore. My heart still quivers in your presence. I''m probably going to have nightmares after today. But there''s something else mixed in along with that fear. A desire A desire to be freer than the current you. A desire to surpass Sage rank and beyond." If walking on the path of sins would allow me to fulfil my desires that much faster, then so be it." Chapter 353 - Part Of The Process "A desire to be freer than the current you. A desire to surpass the Sage status and reach beyond. If walking on the path of sins would allow me to fulfil my desires that much faster, then so be it." Eliza frowned when she thought that Eren was underestimating her status too much. But she then felt the changes in his presence. As she gazed into his eyes, she felt the desire to surpass the current shackled-by-fate Sage ranker that was her. Eliza also felt that each of the words he spoke hade from the bottom of his heart. She snorted her nose to show her displeasure. But it wasn''t like she didn''t get the meaning behind what he was saying. She had the desire to surpass her Sage rank too after all. ''This boy has yet to walk. But he is already dreaming of flying high in the sky. Heh! I need to strengthen my resolve as well.'' Thest surviving Samael thought to herself before speaking up: "Alright. Remember, this is something you''ve chosen for yourself. Now stand close to the statue. I''ll activate the array." Eren nodded after he heard Eliza''s instructions. He walked near the statue and stood in front of it with his hands behind his back and his head tilted upwards. The butcher could hear Eliza''s voice from behind as she activated the array and spoke in a strange tongue that didn''t look like it belonged to this world. The array started exuding bright light before dimming them down the next momentC as if it was breathing. A strange pressure was felt by Eren. He felt like the scene in front of his eyes would change if he closed his eyes now. It looked like whichever ce he''d be seeing after his eyes got closed was not rejecting his presence. "Things are moving faster than I thought they would. Don''t close your eyes, Eren. Keep them open." Eliza''s voice was heard just when Eren was about to close his eyes. He furrowed his brow at the strange instructions. But followed them anyway and waited for her next set of instructions. "Eren, draw a drop of your mana-imbued blood and let it fall on the ground. Then raise your left hand in line with your shoulder and maintain the position." Eliza spoke and resumed her incantations. Eren nodded nkly before retrieving Diceros Left de. He consciously retracted his mana defenceyer and let an F-Rank weapon hurt him. Droop! A few mana-imbued blood drops fell on the ground. The array beneath Eren''s felt absorbed them up as a result. An otherworldly mana pulse was released at the time. Hiss! The seven snakes opened their eyes together and hissed at the same time while looking at the sky. Then they looked down and focused their gaze on a young Ace ranker who was standing inside the array with his now-cut palm. ''Something is wrong. All seven snakes have been awakened at the same time.'' Eliza thought. But she wanted to see what was happening so she held on. Soon the array lit up brightlyC indicating the awakening process wasplete. One of the seven snakeheads got closer to Eren''s face and looked him in the eyes. ''Thank the devil I have been stared by a dragon before. I don''t fear the snake as much now.'' Eren thought to himself as he started back at the snake without batting an eye. The snake stuck his ck tongue out and flicked it. Then it opens its mouth and shows its two sharp fangs. Before Eren could feel the fear of being stung by the animated beast again, it moves rapidly and bit his left hand that had been raised and maintained before. "Aaaaaaaaaargh!" Eren felt like ayer of ck had suddenly appeared before his eyes. He experienced immeasurable paining from his entire being. At the same time, he felt like he did not have his usual body anymore. Reen saw and felt that Eren was in pain. She tried to approach him but was immediately frozen in her steps by the Sage ranker''s intangible force. "Calm down. It''s part of the process." Eliza said to Reen before refocusing her attention on Eren. She saw Eren on his knees with his eyes closed. He was crying his heart out. But Reen and Ivor couldn''t hear his cry. Only Eliza could because she had activated the array. His left hand was bleeding with tworge gaping holes. The fangs of the snakehead hadpletely pierced his arm. Two distinct holes could be seen on Eren''s armC one near his wrist. The other was on the upper arm. "Aaaaaaargh!" Eren kept on yelling with his eyes closed. Eliza knew that since the array wasplete and stable, Eren''s soul was now bound to the ce. It wouldn''t get pulled inside any ne. So it was okay for him to close his eyes now. The first snakehead returned to its previous position. Eren on the other hand started to change. He assumed the appearance of his Life Drain mode. His hair had turned while. His eyes turned dark blue. The array then began exuding dark blue mana from its inscriptions above ground. The dark blue mana started to converge around the two gaping holes on Eren''s arms. It seeped into his arm and as it did, the wounds started closing up. Eren''s clear and pale-skinned arm started getting etched with abstract lines and symbols while the wounds inflicted by the snakehead were getting healed. The mystic lines started to expand and spread over his entire arm, shoulder, and neck before travelling to the other parts of his torso. ''First mark ispleted.'' Elizemented to herself and breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted Eren to have the mark because her n needed Eren to be as strong as he could be. But maybe she let her guard down thinking the process was over. Hisssssssss! Another snakehead showed signs of activity and moved at lightning speed.. It reopened the healed wounds on Eren''s wounds by biting him the same way, at the same ce. Chapter 354 - Unique Monster "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!" Eliza heard another of Eren''s screams and opened her eyes wide open. She couldn''t believe the second serpent head had also bitten Eren right after the first head was done. ''I I should wait and see. Maybe he''ll survive. I hope so. Damn it. If the boy is gone, it''d be tough to find another suitable pawn. Or go back to my wed vessel n.'' Eliza cursed herself after realizing she had let the second snake bite Eren. this was not supposed to happen at all. In her era, a lot of rankers had gone through this procedure. Nobody would receive two sins marks at the same time. But it was already toote to stop the process. Eliza saw as the runes lit up differently and foreign mana of a different origin had started to pour through the array runes. This mana was purple coloured. It seeped into Eren''s open wounds and birthed its own mystic lines over his skin. The runic symbols also spread across his torso before disappearing. ''That''s it. Right?'' Eliza asked herself unsure of answering her own question. But then she saw the third snake moving and opened her eyes wide in surprise. ''Oh hell no!'' Eliza was on alert this time. She used her soul sense and manifested tworge dragon hands. And sent them to grab Eren''s body and defend him from being bitten by the snake. The third snake hissed at the dragon hand that hade in its way and created a mana ripple that destroyed it instantly. But by that time, the other hand had managed to drag Eren out of the array and close to Eliza. The scion of Samael saw that Eren''s appearance had changed again a bit after going through the second bite. His eyes had turned purple and his hair turned whiter than before. Eren''s small stature was rapidly altered. From 5ft 7inch, he went 6ft 3inch in one go. The muscles on his body werepressed and he disyed a lean build that was devoid of any fat. Eren had been relieved of his misery after the bites were done. At least he wasn''t yelling or moving his body uncontrobly anymore. His eyes were closed shut. And he had been clenching his fist. Eren''s eyeballs were moving inside his closed eyelidsC indicating that the guy was having a really disturbing dream. Pressure on Reen was relieved as soon as the array vanished and the snakes turned into statues again. She came running towards Eren and brought his head over herp. She caressed his head, her tears falling on his cheeks and over his eyelids. Reen called out to him. Both audibly and through her mental connection with him. But Eren remained unresponsive. She could only feel that he was safe and in no immediate danger. She used her palm to wipe the sweat that formed on Eren''s face along with her dropped tears. Then she looked at Eliza and asked in an using manner: "Sage Eliza. Wh what have you done? Where''s the rankers'' code of conduct you had previously talked about? He Eren is just an Ace ranker, you know that right?" Eliza looked like she would pop the vein on her forehead when she heard Reen''s usatory remark. She raised her finger to speak but ultimately decided not to say anything. She sighed before bringing her hand down and started walking towards her throne. ''What What was that? The third serpent head was ready to bite that boy too. What kind of unique monster has this boy turned into? Will he survive the two consecutive bites all at once? Had I not intervened'' A swirl of thoughts started brewing inside Eliza''s mind when her soul sense manifestation was moving towards her throne. She looked at Eren again and felt his vital signs. They were in disarray but he was safe. His soul was still intact. And his mana core had not been ill-affected. But everything else about Eren had gotten foggy for Eliza now. She couldn''t read his immediate thoughts anymore. Nor could shepletely identify him as one like her ownC a half-blood. ''Maybe I''m thinking too much. Of course, someone that was blessed by my n''s legacy was going to cause surprises like these.'' Eliza thought and vanished from her spot along with her throne and the serpent statue. She also had too many preparations to do now that her nning needed to be changed. She also needed to meet La and give her a specific set of instructions. There were only three live people left in the gigantic and dimly lit hallC prisoner Ivor, stressed Reen, and sleeping Eren. The prisoner Ivor was going to stay in a separate dimension for an indefinite time. Reen''s upancy status in Purgatory wasn''t that different from the prisoner either. But fortunately or unfortunately due to her role in constructing Eliza''s new vessel, she would be looked after well. Eren on the other hand would soon leave the ce along with his two henchmenC Renar and Viper. Thankfully, he had already asked Eliza to ensure their safety. They had been teleported back to the ground floor of the tower just when they were about to fail to clear the tower''s first floor. ********************************* ''Erni...'' ''Hehehe! It''s Shamrock!'' ''Don''t fear the ripper.'' ''Someday you are going to tell me all your secrets over a couple of beers.'' ''You you are an abomination.'' ''Oh, Ronny... you are driving me crazy.'' ''Listen here you brat, we don''t care if your name is Tumko Darata or Humko Darata'' ''A purge will begin anew when I light my Enderme.'' ''We are different, you and me. Always remember this, my boy.'' ''Look at this loser Oi grandpa Why do you want to join the Escalon Guild? We don''t keep any leechers in our midst.'' ''I think you''ve got some wrong ideas, brat. We are not into young boys.'' ''Remember the name that will be the reason behind your ruin. It''s Sienna Slughorn.'' ''Devil Stay stay away from me. What do you want to know? I''ll tell you. But just stay the fuck away.'' ''You need to learn how to torture people, do you understand?'' ''Eren, stay with aunt Nina for a few days. I''lle to pick you up after I find your father, okay?'' ''Eren'' ''Eren'' ''Eren'' "Erni" Eren felt his consciousness gaining senses after what he felt like years had passed. It felt like he had lived his whole life once again. But the order of the events that hade to pass had gotten whack. Even before he could open his eyes, Eren felt that he had a nasty headache. He also felt something different about his body. It didn''t feel like his usual body anymore. "Where. the fuck." Eren was about to ask about his whereabouts when he saw a huge dragon head looming over him. His eyes were opened so wide that he felt that they might pop out of their eye sockets. Screeeeee! Eren also heard the dreaded sounds of wraiths'' screeches all around him. There were also various sounds of yells and incantations mixed within them. "I I''m dead." Chapter 355 - New-Normal "Shit! I I''m dead." Eren was about to get up but found out that his body had been frozen. "Erni Ereni can you hear me? Are you alright? What happened? What are you pointing at?" A familiar sound in Eren''s ears. He blinked once as he thought all his thoughts through. When he looked again, the dragon''s head was nowhere to be found. The screeches of wraiths also vanished. Even though he did not want to, he kept searching for the same dragon head and wraiths. However, it turned out his neck was stiff and his headache was agitated because of his futile attempts to move it. "Erni take it easy. How are you feeling?" ''This is Reen!'' Eren recognized Reen right away. Instead of turning his head around, he adjusted his gaze and saw that she was staring back at him with worry written all over his face. Since her mana core had been sealed, it would take efforts from her end to shift forth and back between her slime form and human form. So she had maintained her human form to take care of Eren during the time he was unconscious. "Where are we? I feel like I had a lifetime''s worth of horrible dreams." He responded with slight difficulty in raising his voice to audible levels. "That''s it... we are safe for the time being. How are you feeling?" Reen didn''t want to dissuade him from waking up by telling him they were still in Purgatory. So she gave a vague answer and asked for his well-being. "Hm? Well.. my My head hurts. And my body it feels like it had been collided with and wrecked by the biggest and worst Earth Sudae boar. "Where are those damn wraiths? And where is" "Erni, what are you thinking? It must be a dream. There are no wraiths here." Reen took Eren''s hand in her hand and caressed it. Only then did Eren try to look around again by getting up slowly. He sat straight and found out that he had been sleeping on a simple-looking bed. He looked around and found out that he was in arge and spacious room with a ceiling as high as 10 meters. There was almost no one in the room beside the bed. Reen was sitting beside Eren''s bed on a chair that looked worn out. She had changed clothes and was now wearing a white top and light green pants. There were no windows or doors visible in the room. Only a faint light emanated from the teleportation array''s runic symbols. "Shit we are still in Purgatory aren''t we?" Eren asked with a grim expression on his face. He was half expecting that everything he had seen in the dream was just thatC a dream. But reality struck him after he woke up and made him go back to sleep again. Almost. Eren felt his bones creaking and his muscles aching as he tried to sit up. He looked down and observed his body. And for a second, he thought that he was looking at someone else''s. His skin had turned paler. His legs seemed longer. He just felt different than before. He used his mana sense on himself and couldn''t believe the feedback he received. ''Wait a minute'' Eren looked at Reen and had an idea. He closed his eyes and used his mental connection with Reen to see himself with her eyes. He saw a young man in his early twenties naked from the waist up. He only had white pants from the waist down and they looked afresh like they had just been changed. This young man had sharp facial features. He had voluminous white hair that had grown to his shoulder length. He had nty eyes with light red irises. His rtively small nose and his V-shaped jawline added to his charm. Plus, he had a sort of otherworldly vibes around him. "This this is me? How?" Eren closed his eyes and re-examined the status of his body. He could tell that he was not using his body alteration innate spell. That meant this was his natural state. Or more like another natural state had been added to his previous "normal" state. Eren activated his mana core and felt the Ace rank mana circting in his mana circuits. He used his transformation skill to turn into his natural state and found that it had also changed a bit. His shoulder-length. Jet ck hair now had a lustrous shine. His green irises looked to have taken on a darker shade. The rest of his features remained the same. But he looked more mature now. Additionally, this state also maintained Eren''s enhanced stature. He looked to be about 6 feet now. Coincidently, his normal height was now simr to the alias he was used to usingC Ronny. Eren felt like he had not eaten in months and was starving. The new appearance also raised another doubt in Eren''s mind. He asked his beastpanion to confirm: "Reen, how long have I been out?" Reen pressed her lips against each other as her eyes became moist. "At least six months. Maybe more. I I stopped counting after some time. You were out for so long, I thought you''d never" Eren raised his eyebrows again. He couldn''t say he wasn''t surprised. But it also made sense to him after checking up on his condition. "Stop. Stop. I''m fine now. And perfectly alright. You don''t need to worry. How did I survive so long without food though? And wait Purgatory! Did it get closed?" Eren asked with some nervousness. Reen replied shortly: "Sage Eliza told me that you were kind of in the state of epiphany. So your body didn''t need food to sustain itself. She also predicted the time you would need to wake up. So she turned this room into a time chamber and adjusted the dtion of time ordingly. So that you won''t miss out on your schedule. There are a few hours left before Purgatory closes." ''She didn''t want me wasting HER time.'' Eren thought to himself and tried to get up. His muscles had been atrophied. But it only took him a few minutes to get the situation back to normal. He could still ess his ID storage. Eren took out his choice of clothes. He was about to wear them when he realized they no longer fit him properly. ''Heh! Bye-bye shorty Eren Idril.'' Eren whistled and said to himself. Then he threw his short clothes on the ground. For the time being, he was okay only wearing his pants and getting ustomed to his taller stature. He would wear clothes that were suitable for his aliaster on. ====================== AN: The illustration of Eren''s white-haired appearance will be uploaded on Insta and VEH Discord soon. Chapter 356 - Exiting Purgatory "It''s almost been a month, Renar. Our dry food ration is about to run out. And we can''t find an exit from this ce. What should we do now?" A nervous voice sounded in an empty and humongous space. The ambiance of the space was maintained by the runes over the ceiling. The luminance was just enough to walk around the space without having to use mana sense. "Just be d that we were pulled away from danger just when we were about to die. Those blood-starved beasts were too horrible. The month is about to be over. ording to that bitchy witch Zee, we would be automatically ejected out of the separate dimension as long as we remain alive. So hand on and stay on your toes. We can''t really rx here even though it looks safe." The duo that was conversing in the gloomy space was none other than Renar and Viper. They had spent their days post their first floor battle failures hereC waiting for the day they got out of Purgatory. But both of them were feeling nervous and bored because they had nothing to do. They had been battling with each other to pass time. But they would stop after a few minutes and maintain their energy reserve in case any emergency arises. Just when they were about to start another spar to pass time, they heard a known voice from behind them: "There you are. I have been looking all over for you guys." Renar and Viper looked around and saw a familiar figure closing on them out of nowhere. It was Ronny who they recognized instantly. But when they spread their mana sense and checked up on him, they felt something was off. "Ronny? What happened to you? You were on a solid stage of the Ace rank before now.. You seem to be in a liquid stage. How did you regress in your ranking status?" Ronny pressed his temples with his right hand as he was getting close to the duo and replied shortly after: "Errr let''s just say that the tower whooped my ass. I''m d I survived the first floor at all. Never mind that. Are you guys ready? You need to be if you don''t. Look behind you." Eren gestured with his eyes and made Renar and Viper look behind their backs to see an array had been lit up. Eren didn''t wait for them to make a decision and started walking towards the array. Viper and Renar looked at each. Thetter shrugged his shoulders and followed RonnyC leaving Viper to do the same. ************************ "Did you kill the rest of the Isen''s spies as well?" Jerry asked his new subordinates. The old ones had been taken care of by Ronny''s team when the series of sts imed their lives. Only Jerry survived that battle. That too only because nobody came for him when he was under the illusion. "Yes, Adept Jerry. We killed all the guys that were given to us in the list. We killed all seven of them. ''Seven huh! It seems Isen really pulled all his stoppers in trying to rescue his grandkid. Too bad, Arthur saw iting.'' Jerry thought to himself and shook his head. Then refocused his gaze and said to his subordinates in a low voice: "What about that guy Ronny? Did you find that fucker?" The lead of the subordinates had an awkward time answering the question. He scratched the ars below his right ear and bowed a little before answering: "Boss Jerry, that was not really part of our original assignments. Still, we did as you asked and tried to track them. We found the trails leading to the solo towers. We couldn''t do anything more. We don''t have any power in the solo tower after all." The creases on Jerry''s forehead increased when he heard his subordinate reply to him. He felt like admonishing him some more. But he saw that a teleportation array had appeared behind themC indicating it was about time they all left Purgatory. The teleportation arrays would appear in front of every alive participant when it was time to leave Purgatory. It didn''t matter whether they were in the tower or somewhere else in the Separate dimension. They would just have to step into the array and they would all be teleported to the entrance of the underground cave. Not using the teleportation array was dangerous. After a certain time, if the participants don''t use the array and try to remain in Purgatory, they would be ejected out of the Separate dimension through spatial tear. The participants'' safety wasn''t guaranteed when they had been ejected through the spatial tear nor would the location of the teleportation be fixed. Therefore every sane participant would use the teleportation array as soon as one appears in front of them. Jerry had to do the same too if he wanted to get out of the ce safely. "*Sigh. Never mind. If we couldn''t kill him here. We would kill him outside. Heh! We''ll see him soon. Follow me." Jerry started walking towards the teleportation array and nned another way to kill Ronny off. He had deceived him, killed all his subordinates including Gerish who was very close to him from his Novice ranking journey. But most of all, Ronny had a transcenden-grade time element treasure on him. All his losses would be justified if Jerry could just get his hands on that item after killing the guy. ******************** "Oh look who do we have here? You guys survived the "towers" after all. Good for you." Ronny, Renar, and Viper heard a known voice right after they were teleported to the entrance of the underground cave. They had appeared right in front of that voice''s source after all. It was Lady Zee who smiled at them most graciously while weing them with perfunctory words. "Ronny you are safe. I was worried about you." Julie Ekheart rushed towards Ronny and hugged him. She softly said to him while hugging him: "I I didn''t know. You have to trust me." ================== AN: Skip this if you want. Boys, Eren is out of Purgatory. Phew! Now that we look back, we were in Purgatory for a very long time. 84 chapters to be exact! It could have been a mini arc. Major things happened inside Purgatory. But it shouldn''t be seen as anything random. VEH''s storyline was supposed toe here since Reen was introduced at first. A lot of seemingly boring details add up to make aplete picture in this form. I am also aware that this should have been expedited. Maybe my writing style is not suitable for All''s fast-paced environment. But it''s fine. I don''t and will never regret being here. Because those who support me and VEH are here. And I''m grateful for them. For some reason, Eliza feels more fit for the book''s title than Eren, LOL. In my mind, she has overshadowed himpletely. The very first Sage VEH has introduced acts as an indicator that shows how much room for growth Eren has as a ranker. But Eliza is more than just a Sage. She is an exception among the most exceptional Sages. So taking her as the standard for every Sage won''t be apt either. Her epess will be revealedter down the line. Least to say, as of now, Eren can''t hold a candle to Eliza even with her on the verge of dying. In more ways than one, she has be bigger than what I had nned her to be. It''s true what they say, it seems. Some stories write themselves. Writers are just a medium. Anywho. About Purgatory. Eren fought way too much in that ce than all the instances of his previous battlesbined before this. He had a lot of close calls that he never used to have due to his OCD-ish nature. When a man who has gotten used to of his nsing to fruition experiences that no amount of measures can save him from his loss, the depression feels at that time is on a whole new level. People who are used to YOLOing their daily lives may find it difficult to understand it''s severity. I''m sure all of us have experienced something like this. So just imagine those feelings getting amplified by times 100. Fate is a fickle mistress though. She shafted Eren but also blessed him by making Ivor the OWB. But then again, which would worse? Getting stamped and haunted as the OWB or letting Eliza hold a leverage? Sigh. As a reader of my own story, I''m d that Purgatory ended. But not the way it ended. We left our girl behind after all. Does it make sense that I look at VEH with two separate perspectives? IDK. The reader in me is downhearted a bit. But I''m looking forward to the day when Eren knocks on Eliza''s door again. ;) What was Eren''s best or worst performance in Purgatory ording to you? What do you think or hope would happen in the next volumes? Or which character did youe to like or hate? Let me know in this chapter''sments.. Plus, kindly look forward to Volume 02''s end as well. Cheers! Chapter 357 - "Help Will Find Us!" "Ronny you are safe. I was worried about you." Julie Ekheart rushed towards Ronny and hugged him. She softly said to him while hugging him: "I I didn''t know. You have to trust me." Jules could tell that Ronny was in a sour mood. She tried to clear the air around her name- lest he thinks she was involved in the "clean up" operation. Ronny didn''t say anything. He just lightly tapped Julie''s back and gestured to her to give him some space. Renar on the other hand couldn''t keep his cool for longer. "Lady Zee, you sure" Just when Renar was about to confront an Adept ranker, he felt a tap from behind him. Ronny had stopped him from worsening the situation. He pulled him back and walked ahead towards Lady Zee. He stopped a few meters away from her and looked her in the eyes before saying: "All that you have done for us, all your efforts, Lady Zee, I''ll be sure to remember it." Ronny also shed Adept Zee his most innocent smile. Her skin had slight goosebumps when she faced him. This was even though she was a whole rank ahead of the guy. Somehow, Ronny looked like he had regressed into his ranking. "What happened to your mana core? Why did it regress?" Lady Zee narrowed her eyes and asked Ronny. Thetter simply chuckled before answering: "People happened. Monstrous people. Never mind that. We only wish to get out now. Tell us where to drop the goods we are bound by the contract to drop it for you guys." Lady Zee sighed and directed the group towards a separate ce meant for the participants to drop their agreed portion of the rewards they hadmitted to share with the Illuminati. Ronny and his henchmen stuck to the contract and shared some of the fortunes. Ronny had mostly shared the loads of Extols he had gained from the underground dungeon along with rtively less significant potions. Every other participant did the same. Ronny talked with Jules some more and told her when and how she could contact him. The group parted ways with the rest of the Illuminati. It seemed that unbeknownst to Ronny, Renar, and Viper, a group of rankers followed by an Adept was on their trail. They kept on maintaining their distance for a while. Things soon took an ugly turn. ********************** "What What is happening? Why is there an earthquake?" Some days before Ronny''s exit from purgatory. An earthquake took ce that could be felt in the vicinity of Purgatory''s entrance. A group that was camping in the vicinity became alert because of the sudden event. "Calm down, Ari. It might just be something natural. No need to panic." Marie said to Arizihana while still skewing a few pieces of meat on the campfire. Ari shook her head before replying: "Then what about the strange mana pulse setting off? Can that be a coincidence too?" Ari asked. But this time it wasn''t Marie who had answered. "This seems to be the consequence of something forbidden taking ce somewhere. But it''s weird. It''s not as prominent as it should be. Is there. Any separate dimensions nearby?" A man who looked to be in his 60s said to himself. He had his eyes closed and his palms were touching the ground as if to get a read on the earthquake that had just happened. "What should we do then, Grandpa Tai? Try to follow the source of the disturbance or stay on the trails of those anthropes?" Marie asked while carrying a few pieces of meat on a te for Adept Tai to eat. He stood from his position, took the te, and shook his head before saying: "No need. We stick with the rats. I have a feeling they might lead us to something significant. Besides, who said following Renar and following the source of this disturbance are two different things?" After stating his prediction, Tai began eating the meat. Ari and Marie looked at each other with their eyebrows raised. They had followed the trail of Renar, Viper, and Br till here because of the tracking potion Marie had Ari use on them. But the trial ended in the vicinity of the underground cave''s entrance. And there was no sign of Renar and thepany yet. So Tai concluded that there was an entrance to the separate dimension nearby. There were other rankers nearby the campfire too. They all belonged to a different branch of Beast Bloods. Grandpa Tai was their leader on the mission. He told them to spread out so they could wait patiently for a few days. Their prey eventually came to them. *************** "I don''t see anyone following us. Are we really being tailed? Your deductions just might be your paranoia, you know." Renar said to Ronny while they were using their movement skill to traverse through the forest. They would go to the nearest city first and then take a colt service from there. Ronny had already told Renar and Viper about the next set of actions they were supposed to take. They would part ways with him after finding the city and following his instructions after their separation. But Ronny insisted that they should not reveal their true intentions just yet. They were now heading in the opposite direction from their destination. The reason Ronny gave to the duo was simpleC they were being followed. "You can bet your furry ass that we are being followed. Hehe. don''t worry though. Help is on the way." Renar raised his eyebrows when he heard another of Ronny''s predictions. He was a simple man. As a result, he didn''t like to calcte so far ahead as his leader. He sighed and wondered out of curiosity: "Where is that help then? How can we find it?" Ronny smirked at Renar''s question and narrowed his eyes in front of him while maintaining his speed. He nudged Renar and Viper to look ahead and said in a calm tone: "No need to find it. The help will find us. In fact" Chapter 358 - "I Got What They Waitin’ For!" "Someone''sing. Get your asses ready. Arizihana, tell the other rankers who have spread out to circle the ce and not let anyone pass the perimeter. They can call for backup and fight to dy until all of us reach the scene. Marie, check your tracker and see if it has be responsive again. We''ll head towards the mark without taking detours." Tai dished out a series of orders right after he sensed a sudden foreign presence using the artefact worn as his wristband. He would use it along with his earth-element mana and sense vibrations from miles away. He would do that by touching both his palms on the ground. Marie and Arizihana both got to work. Marie took out a sk and drank the content stored in it. Immediately, her vision changed. Everything around her turned dark and she could only see two yellow apparitions moving at a rapid pace 2 O Clock from her location. "There. But one member is missing. Should I look for him more thoroughly?" Tai shook his head in denial and replied: "No need. We''ll focus on the ones we can track. Arizihana, you know what to do?" Ari nodded and contacted other members of her team to circle the area they would be soon heading to. Meanwhile, everyone else present at the scene got ready to head out under Tai''s lead. They soon saw what they were tracking. A group of three men were heading straight at them without the care in the world. They didn''t change their directions even when they sensed Tai''s grouping in front of them. "Heh! Today''s youth has gotten bold it seems. It looks like I need to humble the young. Haha! It would be fun." Tai had a rare smile on his face as he saw Ronnying to meet him fearlessly despite his early-stage Ace rank. He was reminded of his rashed behaviour as a young ranker because of him. ''Sir Ronny, do we need to fight?'' Renar asked Ronny using his ID storage. Thetter denied the suggestion and said only one word in response: ''Stall.'' Tai stopped moving when he saw Ronny and his group was only a few meters away from him. He opened his mouth to speak: "Where do you think you are going, young" "Thank god you are here. We were trying to look for you all over the ce. Did you bring enough force?" Ronny said in a hurry with a voiceced in anxiety and excitement. Tai was confused by the guy''s behaviour and speech. "What are you talking about" Tai wanted to stall for time too. He wanted his perimeter getting secured. So he didn''t mind having a conversation with the strangers that they were supposed to confront. But Ronny spoke before letting him finish again: "We, the Beast Bloods, finally found the entrance to a separate dimension. Hahaha! We expect our achievements to be celebrated with plenty of rewards. Oh yes. We also thank you for giving us the opportunity." ''This guy is talking rubbish. But wait'' Tai raised his eyebrows when he processed the words: separate dimensions. He couldn''t help asking: "Brat, tell us where that separate dimension is." Ronny nodded affirmatively with a smile on his face. He started to respond with hopeced in his voice: "Of course, master. It is" "Kill that fucking man!" This time Ronny was interrupted by another voice that sounded familiar to him. Jerry had appeared at a distance from behind Ronny. He used his movement speed to close the distance and was about to jump on Ronny and his team. ''Gotcha bitch!'' Ronny thought to himself and headed straight to Tai as if he was asking for his protection. Thetter was confused at first. But then he reyed the whole scene and felt like the nerve on his forehead would pop up any second: ''That brat... Tricked me.'' Since Ronny and Renar were already ready and knew what to do, they first headed in Tai and his group''s direction before quickly taking a hard turn at the left side. Jerry''s group and Tai''s group both were going to follow him. But then they saw each other and expected worse. "Attack." "Kill them all." Jerry and Tai both gavemands to their respective subordinates. A battle was going to ensue between both groups. The cause of that battle was now running away from the battlefield along with his two subordinates. He saw the rankers securing the perimeter heading his way and gave only onemand to the two Anthropes with him. "Let them have it." Eren drew a new set of Katars that he had gained from the underground dungeon. The runes on the weapons lit up when he imbued them with his Ace rank mana. Stunning Speed Sedated Perception Blitz Bolt Blitz Steps Eren activated his spellbos and immediately two heads flew high in the sky. For a guy always trying to hide behind the rankers'' code, he was pretty savage in cutting two Novices'' heads up. In Eren''s defence, there was no Ace ranker present within them. Not that it mattered to him. Renar and Viper also worked their best and took care of the rankers Eren left behind for them to deal with. ''Leave one behind. Keep him half dead and pretend you hastily confirmed his death. Then leave with me.'' Renar heard Ronny''s weird instruction over IDmunication. But this was no time to question the guy''s motives. He okayed it and kept one guy barely alive before moving to the next one. Ronny and his team quickly left the ce and headed straight without looking back. They soon disappeared from the crime scene they had just created. "Why did you tell me to leave one guy alive?" Renar asked while trying to match up with Ronny''s speed from behind. Thetter smirked before replying coldly: "Because that guy would act as the messenger and tell the rest of the guys that we broke the perimeter. That would make the guys on perimeter duty either chase us or focus on the battle that is currently happening in the middle of the area they secured. I bet the leader would try to prioritize the battle at hand and call the guys off on us. He''d use them as reinforcement soon." Renar had a weird face after hearing that. He wanted to ask his next question but Ronny filled the nks for him: "You want to say that it doesn''t affect us because that was bound to happen? That we only prevented a few rankers from chasing us? Heh! I don''t give a fuck about Novice ranker or even Ace rankers chasing us anymore. What I wanted was for them to focus on the battle with Jerry''s group. And. create an opening for me." Renar got tensed when he heard Eren''s cold voice. He could feel the guy''s aura sending a child down his spine. He asked to confirm: "What What do you mean? What opening?" Ronny stopped moving abruptly when he heard Renar''s question. Thetter was going to sh with him from behind but he changed his stride in time and went ahead of him. Viper did the same. They both looked back to see Ronny staring at them with his murderous gaze. A gaze that was not directed at them but for someone far in the distance. "You need to leave. Do as I said and then contact me. We''ll talk after a few days." Renar could feel what Ronny was going to do. So he massaged his temples and tried to dissuade him: "Don''t. There are two Adept rankers present there." Ronny shed an evil grin at Renar''s suggestion. He then seemingly disappeared from his position. But his voice could still be heard by the duo. "Those two are the reason I''m going in there. I got what they waitin'' for." ========================== AN: I told you long ago, on the road I got what they waitin'' for! ;) Chapter 359: Little Witch 359 Little Witch "Those two are the reason I''m heading there. I got what they were waiting for." Renar just sighed and took a long breath. They started to head towards the city that Ronny had chosen for them. From there, they''ll start working on the n they had been given by him. He had offered a major part of the remaining Extols to them for them to use. They also had their shares. So it wouldn''t be a problem for them to start executing Ronny''s ns. "Will he survive? Why do I think that we have been enved by a low-key maniac that uses a facade of calmness to fool everyone around him?" Viper asked Renar as they started moving. Renar smiled lightly before replying: "Hahaha! It could be reversed as well. A cold-blooded psychopath shows a wide range of emotions just to throw his audience off. You can never really know about that guy. But I''ll admit one thing about him. The guy has the will to walk the talk. Our first meeting was right after we were freed from the city of Silvermoon''s very. He had told me he''d fix my destroyed mana core. And he did, even if partially. He didn''t care about the cost of the potion that can pull something off like this. It is still possible for me to remain an Ace ranker at the solid stage. But I would never be able to break through beyond it. That''s the condition of my mana core right now. But then hees and tells me he''d fix my mana core for real, which can enable me to resume my stagnant ranking journey. Would you believe him? I know I would. Simply because I want to. Hahahaha!" Viper saw Renarughing like he had heard the joke of the day while running away from their potential pursuers. Thetter continued even before Viper asked him anything further: "The guy gives me hope, Viper brat. That''s why I''m gonna trust him. If we could believe in Beast Blood who did almost nothing for us, we could believe in a guy like him." Renar spoke as he moved forward with his movement spell. He loved the thrill of doing something so unimaginable to normal humans. He also found exhration in exploring the separate dimension and breaking away from sieges like this. Renar felt more alive than he ever was while spending his time doing menial work in the city of Silvermoon. Renar had told Ma that he was okay with being rankless and living a peaceful life. But he''d be lying if he said he wouldn''t miss being a ranker. The promise of being able to resume his ranking journey filled his mind and body with newfound excitement. "Can we trust Ronny? I mean look at what happened to Br? Ronny used him" Viper was about to continue but he was interrupted by Renar right afterwards: "Don''t go there, brat. We are both alive because of that, not just him. In a way, we are equally guilty of killing Br off even if we weren''t part of Rony''s previous ns. You understood it then. The moment the guy is dead, you try to shirk responsibility. Should I call it cowardice or petty consciousness born out of convenience?" Renar''s words turned Viper''s mood sour. He asked in a low voice: "So are you saying we should spend the rest of our ranking lives enved by that man, big bro? How can you be so malleable is beyond me." Renar understood that Viper wasn''t only talking about the deal with Ronny. But also about the way he handled his capture by Ma. He was also reminded of the torture he was put through by the vile man named Eren. he shook his head to relieve the painful memories before continuing: "You''ll learn a thing or two as you progress further in the ranking journey, Viper. Shit happens. As simple as that. It is up to us whether we want to move or stay in the same ditch. It''s not like I''m saying Ronny is all good and we shouldpletely trust him. I''m saying exceptional rankers like him are also somewhat predictable. From what I''ve figured about him, as long as we keep on being useful to him, he won''t try to harm our interests either. That''s all I need to be honest. The thing is Viper brat, the further you go up the rankingdder, the more pressure you feel from the high-ranked entities, from the establishments, from your organizations. Some rankers break under that pressure. I believe Ronny is of another kind. He would thrive under that pressure and outshine the rest of the rankers in his generation. If I have to follow or be under any guy, I''d rather be under someone at least as capable. That''s what I feel. Now you need to figure out something about yourself too. What do you need, brat?" Renar slowed down his speed and looked back at Viper who was pondering over something. Thetter looked back at him after some time and smiled mirthlessly before saying: "Ha! It''s not like I have a family I can rely on or rely on. You are the only one I know and can trust. I''ll just follow you. That''s notplicated for me. Hehe!" Renarughed at Viper''s decision. They both stopped talking and resumed moving ahead at full speed after that. ***************** Eren changed to his white-haired appearance as he continued running toward the field he had left behind some time ago. But he was using a different route to do so. When he was a sufficient distance away from his intended location, he stopped and looked around. There was nobody in the vicinity. But he could still hear faint sounds of battle from afar. Eren unbuttoned his cor and took out a triangr coloured pendant he was wearing. It looked like a minimal, in essory that would mostly be worn by rankers. The ss fixated in the middle of the pendant had a bluish-green tint that made it look eye-capturing. Even upon close inspection, the pendant looked nothing more than an essory. But it was a storage artefact. A special kind. One that could house a certain bratty girl. ''What do I do to get her out?'' Eren pondered over the pendent and imbued it with his mana. It took a while before La appeared, holding a potion book in her hand and a foul mood on her face. It seemed that Eren had disturbed the little witch''s reading time. Chapter 360 Playing Spoiler

Chapter 360 ying Spoiler

"Not even a day outside Purgatory and you already started calling me up? Maybe that Reen girl spoiled you too much, Eren. This is not the way an Ace ranker should behave. I know what you are doing. But fight your own battles, would you? Don''t drag me into this." La said to Eren in aining voice. Thetter snorted his nose before replying: "Stop being such a pretentious brat, La. What have you got inside that''s so significant anyway? Didn''t you want to see the outside world? We are outside, you know. You might as well roam, let loose, and help me at the same time." La hmphed and puffed her cheeks before replying: "Haah! I would indeed roam the world and see things. But it would not be because you told me to. I will do that on my own when I want to. Right now I''m busy reading. I need to brush up on my skills, you see. Unlike a certain someone, Master Eliza is counting on me. I don''t have time for your silly antics." Eren rolled his eyes and looked at the book La was holding and said in a teasing voice: "Hey. How many years have you needed to study books like these? If you couldn''t grasp what''s written to this point, your chances of understanding itpletely tonight are practically zero. Am I wrong?" La stuck her tongue and puffed her cheeks. Nevertheless, she closed the book and tucked it away in her storage. She folded her hands below her almost non-existent bosom and said in a low voice: "What do you want? You know I have a few limitations. So don''t ask me to take care of all your problems" Eren raised his hands and gestured to her to stop saying anything further. He then rified what he wanted from her. Thetter finally relented and nodded her head. **************** Tai and Jerry were both proficient rankers and leaders of their teams. They couldn''t battle with low rankers on the same battlefield. So they made gestures to each other and chose a rtively open area a few 100 meters away from the main battlefield. For a few minutes, they fought. It was a sparring match to test the waters for both of them. Since both were Adept rankers, the destruction they caused in the surrounding area was considerable. Yet none of them looked like they were fighting seriously. Both Tai and Jerry hade to realize that the former had the upper hand because of his superior ranking status. But Tai knew that the disparity of power between levels of the same rank could be filled by using appropriate artefacts. That''s why Tai had been vignt in dealing with Jerry. There was an unwritten consensus in both the opposing teams that their respective Adept rankers should be left alone. So it was just the two of them in the area. Tai and Jerry both were closebat fighters. The formerunched another round of kicks at thetter. Jerry''s effective parry using his forearm as the guard halted the attack. He was about to pull the leg against which he had just defended himself from. But Tai retreated to a safe distance before that. Tai thought of something and decided to open a dialogue with his opponent. "Greeting my fellow Adept ranker. My name is Tai Kawan. Why are you guys chasing those three people? And where did you guyse from out of the blue?" Tai looked at Jerry, who was also looking at him in the same way. Thetter snorted after hearing Tai''s question. He introduced himself as well before replying in a cold voice: "Stop pretending like you don''t know anything. You prepared such arge team close to the entrance and you are telling me you don''t know? Do you take me for a fool?" Tai frowned and the creases on his forehead increased when he heard Jerry''s usation. He hade to realize that Ronny''s statements were made just so that he could create a rift between two teams even without knowing the reason behind it. But after hearing Jerry''s rude reply, Tai hade to realize that it was toote to negotiate now. Even if he could prove that Ronny didn''t have their assistance, Jerry would likely not listen. "*Sigh! Don''t say that I didn''t try to find a peaceful way after this. I guess I''ll have to sweat it out. If there''s no use in verbal exchange, let our hands and legs do the talk." Tai chanted and circted his earth element mana within his body. The ground beneath him started vibrating and the vibrations soon reached Jerry. He knew Tai was getting serious now. Jerry channelled his wind element mana and prepared himself. The two rankers used their movement spells at the same time to scale the distance between them and meet in the middle. Both Adepts were fixated on each other. Almost all their senses were locked onto each other. Only their mana sense could help them identify any threatening foreign presence around them. So far they had detected nothing. As a result, they were sure that both of them were fighting each other alone. And nobody would interrupt their fights anymore. But just before their fists were about to meet each other, both Tai and Jerry sensed something and looked upwards. Something was getting dropped and was about to hit the ground. They both thought that it was the opponent''s sneak attack and didn''t try to catch it, lest something happens to their hands. Both sides were about to retreat. But the drop had already hit the ground before they could do so. They both saw that it was a vial of potion that had broken in front of them. However, before they could exchange confused stares, their vision changed. Because of that vial break, both Adept rankers had fallen victim to the illusion. It was the same D-Rank illusion bomb a certain someone had received as their reward. Only one illusion potion of the same rank remained in his possession after this drop. The cause of their current state was watching them from far in the sky, right over their battlefield. Eren had yed a spoiler in the battle between two Adept rankers. Chapter 361 Hexen Bee

Chapter 361 Hexen Bee

Those two Adept rankers had both fallen victim to the illusion caused by that vial break. It was the same D-Rank illusion bomb a certain someone had received as their reward. Thest of them. The cause of their current state was watching them from far in the sky, right over their battlefield. Eren was standing at the edge of a long wooden broomstick that had been suspended still in the air. It had runic symbols on it that had been lit up due to the artefact being imbued with mana. This was La''s artefact and she was sitting carelessly on the other end of the broom, reading her book. Her legs were swinging as she kept on flipping pages. The young girl didn''t even look down when the potion was detonated. Eren had only requested La to give him a ride on her artefact and fly over the Adept rankers'' battlefield. He wanted her to stabilize the artefact so that he could watch the battle from afar while maintaining a safe distance. Tai and Jerry both weren''t expecting any aerial intrusion so they hadn''t spread their mana sense in that direction much. Eren had expected that to be the case, that''s why he was up there. ******************** Eren had a long chat with Eliza and La regarding their n. During that talk, he had found out that La could fly using the broomstick artefact. So he included that in his n after having the opportunity to do so. La was very angry when Eren referred to her artefact as the broomstick. She had named it Hexen Bee and made Eren repeat it a few times to make him remember the name. Eren figured the artefact was named as such because of the bee-like low noise it would produce while it was active. Eren wasn''t acting out of empty spite for Jerry, Arizihana, or Marie for that matter. This was not revenge or a result of his disturbed mental state. He was certainly not in his optimal mental state. But that didn''t stop him from thinking ahead-- thinking of what is right for him in the long run. Killing an Adept ranker wasn''t easy. The higher one''s rank is, the more trump cards they would have for all kinds of situations. Had Eren not intervened, the Adept rankers would not have entered the battle. They would have let their subordinates settle scores instead of fighting till death with each other. Their respective organizations would also prefer it this way. They could afford to lose Novice rankers. They would only frown upon losing Ace rankers. But the Adept rankers'' deaths would be treated very differently than the rest. Eren knew that Jerry would most likely survive the battle even if he set him to fight against the Beast Bloods. He didn''t want any Adept ranker on his tail. Plus, Arizihana and Marie had also focused on him because of the ckmail. Eren needed a breather from his enemies so that he could n his next steps without having to watch over his back. For that, he needed to give his enemies different targets totch onto or kill them from the roots. So the butcher hatched a n right after he saw the condition of the battlefield. He realized that Jerry and the Adept rankers from the Beast Bloods would have their separate showdown away from the main battlefield. This was a makeshift n. But one that he needed to do anyway. ****************** A few minutes after the potion getting detonated right in the middle of two Adept rankers. "I think, in about a minute, it will be safe for you to pluck their heads. Provided you take necessary precautions. But do it fast. Because as the potion-released D-Rank mana starts to subside, the Adepts'' defensive manayer will start toe back to normalcy. You wouldn''t be able to hurt even their hair when that happens." La said as she flipped another page. Eren nodded before responding: "Bring this broom Errr I mean bring the Hexen Bee down. I don''t want to jump from here." La frowned and berated Eren: "You You are an idiot, Eren Idril. You can never be the protagonist like this. I allowed you to jump from here and make that coolnding pose like a true protagonist. And this is what you reply to me with? You don''t want to jump from this height? Tch tch tch. What are you scared of? A few strained joints! We can fix them. Do the jump already." Eren had double the amount of creases he''d normally have on his forehead. He keeps his eyes fixated on two idiot-looking Adept rankers battling with each other in fear while talking with La: "You have a very twisted and unrealistic sense of how a protagonist should be. Where did you get these ideas from anyway?" La scratched her nose like she had beenplimented for her knowledge and said proudly: "Books. Those years in the separate dimension were very lonely. I had a huge stock of novels and I read them all many many times over these years, hehe." Eren had a suspicion in his eyes when he heard La''s response. He looked back at her. Then at her book. And said in a grim voice: "You said you were brushing up on your skills because of your master''s n. Don''t tell me you were reading a novel this whole time?" La''s facial expressions froze and her eyes opened wide. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, she had a mild cough. "Cough cough cough. I think the minute is up. I''ll bring Hexen Bee down. Get rid of those idiots in the Elemental Condensation Stage before they get snapped back to reality." La moved the Hexen Bee down before Eren couldment on her reading addiction anymore. Thetter just sighed and started missing Reen more than before. Had she been here, he wouldn''t have had to be so careful in offering two Adeps. What happened next was very predictive. Eren jumped down from a rtively safe distance above the ground and did a safending, minus the pose. He then used his full force to kill both almost-defenceless Adepts. Just as La had said, the butcher chopped their heads off for quick deaths. Then he stored their bodies in his storage space before jumping on the Hexen Bee again. With these two kills, Eren had ensured that Beast Bloods and Illuminatis would go at each other''s throats. They would both keep him on the backburner if not entirely forget about him. Plus, there would be no personal revenge-seeking from Jerry anymore. He wasn''t sure about Arizihana. But he figured with the death of an Adept in their hand, Beast Bloods would hit pause on using her for the time being and do some introspection. The historians would only find that someone had dropped a D-Rank potion and suspect it would be Jerry. Because the peculiarity of the illusion potion would indicate the existence of separate dimensions that might have old-gen concoctions like these. Eren''s presence and his signature as an Ace ranker weren''t prominent enough to leave a mark on the battlefield of two Adepts. Plus, he had arrived and departed on a flying artefact. That meant tracing his retreat would be even more difficult. Either way, Ronny''s alias won''t be hunted anymore. That would ensure his safety. La took off in the direction set by Eren as soon as he got up on Hexen Bee. Thetter looked at the open sky that was revealing more of itself as they travelled across at high speed. This was his first open-air flying experience that was closer to flying. And he had to say it was rejuvenating. Eren looked at his red hands that were soaked in Adepts'' blood. He smiled mildly and looked at the stars that were shining over his head before saying something only he could hear: "Protagonist? Heh! I''m no protagonist." Chapter 362 Back to LA

Chapter 362 Back to LA

"Do you guys think Eren is safe? What is taking him so long?" White Raven Crew had received a message from their shadow leader that he''d be back after his long absence. He had taken up a long-term mission with Besanc and had been absent for almost a month now. Renita was anxious to meet Eren so she would ask questions like these every about a minute or two to her teammates. The team had been waiting for Eren to show up at their usual practice area. Everyone in the White Raven Crew was present at that time. And for some reason, Ron and Dino were waiting on him too. "Rx, Renita. If he had called, he''de. Eren won''t" Jake tried calming down. But Ramy yelled in excitement as soon as he saw someone making their way towards the group: "Thewe he is. Ewen is hewe guys! ... I think?" Everyone in the group saw someoneing casually towards them. Each of them spread their mana sense and sensed the presence of Eren. Or as close to it as it could get anyway. But then they saw the person''s appearance and doubted their senses. That''s because they saw a tall young maning for them. Plus, he seemed to be an Ace ranker. "Don''t tell me that''s Eren!" Steve stood up from the wooden log he was sitting on and narrowed his eyes. Nobody could believe that the person they were seeing was the same Eren they knew of a month ago. "What''s up, guys? Everything''s well, I take it?" Eren shed a mild smile at his teammates and stopped a few meters away from them. Renita was the first one to get close to him. She asked with a voice that wasced with part excitement and part confusion: "Eren you are Eren! Right?" Eren nodded before tapping her shoulders in a friendly manner. He was much taller than her now. So the angle of their eye contact made Renita look up to him in a literal sense. She was already looking up to him in a metaphorical sense anyway. "Yes. How are you guys?" Eren looked at his other teammates while stroking Renita''s shoulder. Jake came first and asked with a shock written all over his face: "What happened to you dude? Take my money and give me whatever that blessed you with this fucking unfair makeover. You also broke the Ace rank? How?" Eren chuckled lightly before answering the questions that had been bugging everyone: "Hahaha! The power of money is undeniable in most cases, Jakey. But sadly, this one is not one of them." Eren''s smile suddenly vanished and his voice got a bit serious before he continued: My missions didn''t turn out as well as I had nned. I was put in mortal danger by the beast horde and was forced to run away. Long story short, I failed my mission but managed to achieve a forced breakthrough because of it. About my drastic physical changes. Sigh. They happened to me as soon as I broke through into E-Rank. It''s not that rare. Happens to a few rankers when they rise through forced breakthroughs. I was just one of them." The way Eren bullshited nudged his teammates in the direction to make sense of his overachievement in Purgatory. Breaking through into ranks would sometimes lead to many unusual wonders. He used that fact as the reason behind his progress. ''La, that potion would be effective, right?'' While Eren was talking to his teammates, he asked the bratty resident inside the pendant that he had worn under his shirt. Thetter replied with a haughty attitude: ''Of course, Eren. The potion would suppress your rank to the very early stage of the Ace rank. The suppression would be maintained for more than 100 hours unless you try to use your mana core without any restrictions.'' La reassured Eren and put him at ease. As he had said, he could exin the physical changes with his rank up. But he couldn''t exin how he had progressed so much into the E-Rank without attracting the attention of other students and the academy. He had already talked to La about it. And she had offered to help him with certain goods she needed. of course, they were a bunch of brand-new books she wanted him to buy for her. He agreed without any hesitation. The talk continued for hours on end. Eren would sometimes link up the events that had happened with him in purgatory in reality with his fictional version of them taking ce in the Beast Sanctuary. His teammates would talk about the missions they took and the advancements they had made. Eren also talked about Ron and Dino, the dual berserkers, for a few minutes, away from his group in private. The White Raven crew members wondered what the guys were nning. But they didn''t pry. Eren was tightlipped about most of the things he did in private anyway. Eren sparred with them one-by-one to test their progress. He was in the Ace rank, while his teammates were still in the Novice rank. So no matter how hard they tried, they couldn''t beat him. Finally, the day was about to end. Eren and his group were sitting in a circle. He pped his hands to grab everyone''s attention before speaking up: "So I''ve already taken up my on-field assignment, guys. I''m supposed to report to the ce in about a month. I''ll take a rest in the dorm tonight. Then I''ll go to the city of Osan first and meet Aunt Nina before heading there. I hope you break through into E-Rank soon and start taking up on-field assignments too. There are always limited slots per assignment type. So you need to hurry up." Eren nudged his teammates to progress faster in their ranking journeys than they already were. He had already finished his formalities with LA. The assignment would take him away from LA grounds. So he won''t have time to guide his members anymore. And the assignments would usuallyst for a few months. So it would be difficult for him to keep track of them personally. Jake got tense after he heard Eren was heading to the city of Osan. he spoke up right after: "Eren, be careful on your way to our city. My old man has been keeping tabs so he told me. I heard that the atmosphere is tense around there with added security enforcement from Edinburgh. And we don''t know why, but for some reason, Isen Osan has been reported missing with his entire family. I would havee with you too. But since you want me to focus on my growth, I won''t." ''Can you tell that fat kid that the reason for that is sitting in front of him?'' La voiced her sarcasticment in Eren''s mind. Thetter just smiled mirthlessly before nodding his head at Jake. he also had another thought of his own: ''Damn, Edinburgh is going to face a shitstorm soon.'' Chapter 363 Haywired Emotions

Chapter 363 Haywired Emotions

"Eren, why do you look so off?" Renita asked Eren when they were alone. The sun was about to set as they walked aimlessly. Thetter raised his eyebrows when he heard the ranger''s question. "Hm? What do you mean?" Renita looked into Eren''s eyes which had a slight shade of blue in them and pondered a bit as if she was collecting her thoughts. She responded after taking her time: "Maybe I''m just imagining stuff in my head. Previously, you appeared to be a man on a mission. You wanted to be stronger than anyone at your level. You wanted to advance in your ranking journey more than your peers-- and all of us in White Raven Crew for that matter. But now it looks like you''ve lost your way a bit. Like you are trying to ask for help from someone who isn''t there anymore." Renita paused then looked ahead to break the intense eye contact in the fear that she might forget what she was about to say. She took a deep breath before continuing: "Did something else happen in that Besanc mission? I know that you were never that cheerful. But it feels like you are especially depressed since you came back. Are you are you alright?" ''This woman''s intuitions are scary. Is she spending more time with Becky?'' Eren thought to herself. He sighed and replied to Renita after a long silence: "I I don''t know how to best describe what I''m feeling, Renita. It feels like no matter how hard I try to avoid suffering, my luck finds me in my ditch. It beats me up like I''m some lowlife, then leaves me in the same ditch before I have a chance to move on. The most frustrating part about this is that my luck stops being shity just when I''m about to give in to my despairs. It keeps a tiny me of hope alive in my heart, which in turn, burns me from within. I don''t know how else to describe it.... but sometimes, hope is more frightening to me than hopelessness. Because in hopelessness, a man can find peace. In destion, a man can find a ce to get lost in. No matter how hard I try to stay away from the troubles, theye to me as mothse to the only me they could see in the ever-expanding darkness. I''m not afraid of doing the hard work, Renita. You know that. But doing it because you are being manipted to gain the rewards you want while under the... Let''s say "influence" of someone, is not something I would ever enjoy. I I like to be free, Renita. You talk about fate, so tell me. Do you ever feel the need to be free of yours? How would you deal with your fears?" Eren asked while looking ahead. It looked like he was talking to Renita. But she knew it was more of Eren''s monologue to himself than a dialogue with her. She let him lost in his thoughts for a while before speaking up: "Eren, I neitherpletely get what you are talking about nor will I pry because it seems it is difficult for you to open up. But I''ll say this. You had been looking too far into the future at the cost of ignoring your present. Maybe that long-sightedness has and will continue to help you. But don''t forget what you have today. You shouldn''t neglect the things you have right now to get the things you want in the future. That''s what I was trying to tell you earlier too, remember? That you live your present to its fullest So that you don''t fear the reaper when your timees." Renita talked while looking ahead and seemed lost in her thoughts. That''s why she didn''t realize that the butcher had frozen in his tracks behind her. She looked around and found out that Eren had been left behind. She looked at him and saw his body shaking slightly. She didn''t get it at first. So she retraced her steps and walked back to him. The butcher had his neck down. His eyes were closed. But Renita could tell he was reliving some very unpleasant memories. She thought he was remembering his desperate struggle for survival that made him achieve his forced breakthrough. Renita felt guilty about making Eren emotional. She instinctively hugged him and tried to soothe him. Soon she felt the mild seizure-inducing shock Eren was experiencing. Eren''s memories of Purgatory resurfaced when Renita spoke about not having to fear the reaper. He remembered listening to her voice saying this in a loop when he was stuck in his series of horrible dreams for what he felt like years on end. He also remembered Eliza''s terrifying presence. He remembered the times he hade close to his death. His thoughts while he was in those situations. His eventual separation from Reen. Like he had lost an integral part of himself that he won''t get back anytime soon. Eren tried to control himself and finally opened his eyes. He had tried to shut his other senses from the real world to suppress his emotions running haywire in his mind. So he wasn''t aware that he was being hugged and his back was being caressed by Renita at the time. Eren''s hands were still shaking. He looked down and felt that his body had gotten colder than usual. He had dark expressions on his face as he realized that his condition was getting worse with each passing day outside Purgatory. ''I I need to find a solution.'' Eren thought to himself before subconsciously hugging Renita back. He caressed her back too and inhaled her smell by keeping his nose close to her neck. The close contact and that light lemony scent soothed him a little. ''Yes I want this.'' Eren thought and started hugging Renita some more. He started to findfort in her embrace. Soon his caressing of the ranger''s back turned intense and he began to guide his hands closer to her derriere. Renita had ample proportions for her age. She felt Eren''s hands near her intimate regions and felt a bit shy and a bit excited simultaneously. She hugged him even more tightly as if she was afraid of being stared at by him when she was experiencing these sensations she hadn''t experienced before. Eren''s fears stopped giving him the shakes when he was aroused. Unbeknownst to both of them, some mystic runic symbols had started appearing on his left chest and were spreading further over his chest. The butcher kissed Renita''s neck at the same time he groped her butt cheeks with both his hands. The action had been very startling for the inexperienced ranger. Her first instincts wanted her to get away from him. But she fought with the maiden''s jitters and held on. She wanted them to be more than friends after all. And this time, he had taken the initiative to respond to her feelings. She felt various shades of being excited, afraid, and aroused at the same time. The ranger could barely register what she was feeling at the time: ''This What is this? My body is melting in his embrace.'' Chapter 364 Blueballed

Chapter 364 Blueballed

''This What is this? My body is melting in his embrace.'' Renita thought before letting her body run on autopilot. She rubbed her face against his chest. Soon, she discovered that one of Eren''s hands had abandoned its previous task. She was just about to wonder where it was when she felt a gentle lift under her chin. Eren lifted Renita''s face and brought his lips closer to hers. He looked her in the eyes. She seemed drunk on her feelings. Eren shed a wicked smile before initiating his first lip-lock with the girl. ''Mmmmmm!'' Renita hummed when she felt Eren''s lips on hers. Soon Eren''s tongue invaded her mouth while his free hand pressed her left butt cheek. With his right hand, Eren started grouping Renita''s perky left boob. He felt the nippy getting aroused over her clothes and twisted it a bit. "Oh Eren. aaaaah!" Renita let out a soft moan as she spoke Eren''s name seductively. This encouraged Eren to continue his endeavour. He used his index finger to trace the ranger''s butt crack while intensifying his smooch some more. ''What has this turned into I don''t dislike it but to be doing this out in the open'' Renita''s rational mind was telling her to pause what they were doing. But the irrational side took over soon after-- when the waves of pleasure overwhelmed her senses. Renita''s feminine region started getting wet. She subconsciously started rubbing it against his body. She liked feeling his body''s presence there. Eren was just about to insert his hands into Renita''s pants from behind when he heard an unwanted voice from behind: "You guys should get a room." Renita opened her eyes wide when she heard the voice. She was snapped back to reality as she looked at the source of that voice. This was Lin Karr''s voice who was looking at the couple from a distance while smiling. It didn''t take Renita long to separate herself from her supposed crime partner. She adjusted her clothes and said to Eren in a hurry: "I''lle to say goodbye to you tomorrow before you go, okay? Don''t don''t leave before that." Eren was left speechless and unsatisfied as Renita walked away to her dorm in a hurry. He stood there unsure of what he was supposed to do. He wanted to follow her. But then he heard Lin Karr''s voice again from behind him: "Eren, young man, I see that you''ve broken through the Ace rank. That''s one way to celebrate your breakthrough I guess. Congrattions. I see that the rank-up did you a favour by making you look almost as smart as me. Almost. Hahaha!" Eren was still looking at Renita''s back which soon disappeared when he heard Lin''s voiceing from behind him. He didn''t immediately turn away but thought of a wild idea: ''This fucking airhead wants me blue balled. What are my chances of killing him if I use a bunch of potion bombs on him?'' Eren finally found his happy ce in his head as he turned back. He was sting the guy with potion bombs after potion bombs in that happy ce. Lin saw the smile on his student''s face and smiled back. But for some reason, he felt that Eren was smiling for a different reason rather than greeting him with it. "Thank you, Professor Lin. How can I help you at this hour?" Eren asked while staring into the guy''s eyes. Lin understood what might have ticked the guy off soon after. But he had to do it since he had some work to assign to Eren. He couldn''t wait for the guy to keep on going at it until he was done. Lin scratched his right cheek and smiled awkwardly before he said it: "Well, I''m d that you asked. Um you have taken an on-field assignment right? Are you nning to visit the city of Osan first?" Eren raised his eyebrows before nodding. The supposed array master continued: "That''s good. As you might have heard, Isen Osan, that shady old geezer, has been missing for some time now. Frankly, if you ask me, that guy was trouble, to begin with. Anyway, soon a ranked officer from Edinburgh will take charge of the city. Can you help me pass a message to him? It wouldn''t take you more than a few minutes to do it." Eren got confused after Lin''s strange request. Lin continued his speech quickly before he could ask the guy about his reasoning: "You see, Eren, this message is kind of a personal deal between him and me. And I don''t want to use official channels. I can''t go because well... Something big is about to blow up. And I''m needed here for that. So youe into the picture. Will you do it?" Eren scratched his chin before asking: "What do I get in return for this?" Lin had ck lines on his forehead after he heard one of his students asking him formission for doing a simple job. He sighed and tried to offer him a few Extols: "How does 50 Extols sound to you?" "Weak." "Then 100!" "Still weak." Lin was pissed when he heard Eren''s greedy nature. He pointed a finger at him before speaking in an anger-suppressed voice: "Listen here, you spoiled brat, just because you gained an Ace rank does not mean" Eren stopped him from saying any further with his hand gesture before responding: "It''s not about your or my rank, professor. It''s about the type of message you need to send. Since it is so secretive that you can''t use official channels, I believe it holds a crucial piece of information. The price increase I''m about to announce is rted to that. Nothing else." Lin had to agree the logic behind Eren''s greed was sound. But that didn''t make him feel better about it. "How much do you want?" Lin said while trying to check the amount of Extols he had on him in his storage. Eren smiled at him, giving him the creeps. The butcher raised his hand and showed five stretched fingers. "Five hundred Extols." ''This fucking brat'' Lin''s soul almost left his body when he heard Eren open his greedy mouth and give him his charges for availing of his private courier services. ====================== AN: *Cough Sorry for you know blue balling you guys along with Eren! me Lin Karr for this. Eren shall resume his "adventures" from chapter 367. Ie bearing good news though. The entire scene, spanning seven chapters, will be released in one go during the weekend. We have Daoist930799 to thank for this mass release as he gifted VEH its first super giftC a castle. Let''s make sure to thank him if and when you see himmenting on VEH''stest chapters. Chapter 365 Remedy for the Nightmares P1

Chapter 365 Remedy for the Nightmares P1

''Look at that poor man. He must have half-emptied his Extols stock just to maintain his reputation as your professor. I''m surprised you stopped at 500, to be honest.'' La said from inside her pendent abode. Eren smirked before answering: ''That''s because I''m about to open this array thing and read the contents inside it. Of course, I''ll give him a discount in advance. I''m not that heartless.'' Eren said like it was the most obvious thing and looked at the t metal disk that had an intricate array inscribed on it. La chuckled at the guy''sment before replying: "Do you even know what that is?" "I don''t. But how hard can it be?" La chuckled before answering: "I think your head iscking in blood since all of it was rushed to a particr region. Cough. It looks like someone has stored spatial coordinates on an encrypted array disk. Hmm. The study of arrays in the world has progressed it seems. The runic design looks morepressed and efficient. Anyway, you won''t be able to gain anything out of it if you don''t have apatible incantation. It acts as the key to disying the contents within it. You can also try to break it with a counter array. But a safety mechanism has been built inside it. The message inside it would get immediately destroyed if someone tries to breach the safety mechanism." Eren started thinking about several ways he knew from his past life that could help him decipher the message as he continued walking towards his dorm. La asked when he was silent for too long a time: "What are you thinking about?" Eren pondered a bit before speaking up: "I can''t decipher the content for sure. But I can use the guy''s money and hire a professional to do it. I''m thinking about where to go and how to kill the guy when he is done opening this message?" If one could see La inside hervish pendant abode, they would find that she had been left speechless. She had to admit that Eren would be able to solve any problem beyond the field of his expertise. He could do whatever his heart sets out to do as long as he had money, resources, and will do it with that mindset of his. She was just getting to know Eren after all. She didn''t think the guy, in a sense, was as cruel as his master. She sighed and responded: "No need to look for a professional. I can do it, for the right price of course." Eren smirked before replying: "Five books on random topics." La snorted and replied: "You think, just because I look small, I''m a brain dead child too? Tc tch tch, Eren Idril. I want those 500 Extols you got." This time it was Eren''s turn to snort. He sarcastically replied to her: "You are just a shut-in who only dreams of wanting to explore the outside world but has no heart to do it when the moment arises. What would you do with all that money anyway? 10 random books. No more." La felt wronged. She wanted to say she would explore the world and gather the information she was supposed to gather after a few days once she was done with her preparations. But Eren was right too. She didn''t need money to do it. The young girl was already loaded. She was just trying to take a jab at Eren but failed to do it. She sighed before answering: "Twenty books. They all need to be different. That''s my final offer." Eren sighed as if he had been robbed of his precious resources. He replied in an exaggerated downcast voice: "You drive a very tough bargain, Missy. Fine. But I thought your area of expertise was potioneering. How can you solve an array problem?" Laughed in response. She sounded proud when she responded next: "Hehehehe! The field of potion-making seems to have regressed in the world in contrast to the field of array. Or you are just downright ignorant of all things potioning. Listen to me, Eren. When you gain enough mastery over your field, you can solve the problems in other fields using your tricks. The path of potioning is pretty mysterious and all-epassing after all. Send that array te to me. I''ll decipher the contents without triggering the breach protocols. You just remember our promise." Eren nodded and headed towards his dorm. He found Jake to be busy with his concoctions when he got in. Eren greeted him casually and talked to him about various things for a while. Then left for his room because he didn''t want to disturb the guy''s serious concoction session too much. Ereny on his bed and closed his eyes. Soon he felt sleep taking over him. This was probably the first night in a long while where he felt this safe. But it seemed that contrary to his belief, the disturbing dreams hadn''t left him alone. They kept on increasing in intensity. Eren soon found himself being stared at by therge dragon head from above. He found himself getting surrounded by wraiths and Draconic Lizards. The scariest thing among them was Eliza Samael herself who was standing over the giant''s skullC staring at him with a smirk on her face. Her hand was engulfed in Endermes reaching for the sky. Her serene voice echoed in his mind that he heard amid all the screeches and wails. ''Deep within me...'' Screeeeee! ''Let no man...'' Roar! ''A purge shall begin anew...'' ''Rarararararara!'' ''When I light my Enderme!'' ''Eren...'' ''Eren...'' ''Eren...'' **** The sound of something heavy breaking down suddenly echoes in Eren''s room. Tadaaaaak! "Fuck fuck fuck it''s getting worse. These... these nightmares would make me mad one day. I... I need a drink." Eren was rudely awoken from his nightmares when it was too much for his brain to process. His body started channelling mana on its own at a rapid pace because of its disturbed mental state. His bed broke as a result and he was rudely woken up. It was thanks to his istion arrays in ce that the sound and mana disturbance didn''t summon Jake to his room. Eren retrieved a bottle of strong liquor from his storage space. His hands were shaking. The guy was drenched in sweat. And his mouth felt parched. His body had entered into another state of shock. Eren thought of gulping the whole bottle down in one go. He almost uncorked the booze with his trembling hands. But he kept the bottle aside on the ground and clenched his fist to stop himself from drinking at the time. Eren stopped himself because he remembered his past timeline. The addiction to booze hadpletely ruined him. His overindulgence and his emotional dependence on it had destroyed all his prospects as a ranker and as a functioning human being. The stress he was feeling right now because of those nightmares was even more than what he had felt at that time when Sienna had shafted him. The magnitude and scale of his mental breakdowns werergely different. Eren knew himself well. He knew that once he starts seeing booze as his solution to the nightmare, he''d head down on the same path he had fought so hard not to walk on in this life. "La you Do you have any remedy for this? And why the fuck is it affecting me this much? Did your master do something to me?" Chapter 366 Remedy for the Nightmares P2

Chapter 366 Remedy for the Nightmares P2

"La you Do you have any remedy for this? And why the fuck is it affecting me this much? Did your master do something to me?" La hmphed at his question before replying: "If my master wanted to break you, you would have been certified idiot by now, Eren Idril. Try to remember, will you? I had already warned you not to get scared or intimidated when you go meet my master. Do you think I was kidding or speaking in euphemism? The first thing you do when faced with someone who can use soul sense is to protect your soul from getting affected by it. You do not let your emotions make your unawakened soul vulnerable more than it already is. My master didn''t want to do anything with you. But her soul sense as a Sage was bound to affect you because of your breakdown there. Your nightmares are because of the external influence you have on your soul right now. A residual influence, which should eventually vanish on its own. These nightmares would eventually stop. But how long it''d take depends on your soul and its ability to get rid of foreign influence." Eren finally understood there was an external reason behind his nightmares. That gave himfort because he thought he was going crazy. He looked at the ranked bottle of liquor and had another urge to uncork it. The butcher fought that urge and asked La: "Give me a solution, La. Is there any way to expedite this process?" La looked at Eren''s condition. He was still sweating all over. She could still shake his body and sighed. The young witch thought for a while before answering: "There is indeed a solution I can think of right off the bat. It could be beneficial for you in the long run as well. You can try ingesting the stalks of Ster Sativa that can help you get rid of foreign influences on your soul. It could also aid in strengthening your subconscious control over your soul. It is a ranked herb. Its rarity increases with the increase in rank. Safe to say, its price would increase with it too. I don''t know how rare it is nowadays. But since it is needed in the concoction recipes of a lot of potions, it wouldn''t be that difficult to get." The E-Rank booze was again stored within Eren''s ID storage. He had bought it to drink at his leisure, after all. He wouldn''t be dramatic enough to break it for no reason and waste his Extols or his beloved booze. He had just refused to drink it when he was emotionally at his weakest. "Do you have any stalks on you? I don''t think I''d be able to sleep without something like that in my system these days." Eren wiped the sweat off his forehead and asked with a bit of hope in his eyes. Sadly, he was going to be disappointed by the young witch''s answer: "Of course not. Eren, Ster Sativa gets spoiled if you store it carelessly without using an array. Since it is easy to obtain, the potioners would just get it when they need it." Eren''s expressions turned grim when he heard La''s response. He was low-key scared to try to sleep now. "Is there any other temporary remedy?" Eren asked expecting a no in response. But this time La surprised him: "Hmph! Why don''t you try doing those lewd things? They seemed to work for a leecher like you." La intended it as a joke, of course. But thetter found it usible and he was ready to give it a shot. Eren thought of messing with La for her rude tone of voice. He raised his eyebrows before asking in disbelief: "Lewd things with whom? You?" La seemed to have frozen in shock. She burst in anger soon after: "Pervert I knew you were eyeing me. Stay away from me. I I suddenly don''t feel safe with you." Eren heard La''s exaggerated reply and snorted before replying: "Eyeing you? Pfft! With that t chest of yours, the possibility of that is lower than me being beaten down by a rankless human. Anyway. I guess I gotta go and" Eren looked at the shaking of his hands and continued: . Look for a solution." La understood what he was trying to say and immediately replied: "You. Don''t look down on ady''s endowments, you pervert. And *cough*... size is not everything. I''m cute and I know it. Hmph!" La said and looked at the pendant he was wearing before continuing: "Anyway, remove the pendant before you carry on with your lewd activities. Don''t worry. My humble abode is, for worse or worse, space-bound with you by master''s magic. It would appear on your personnel when you are at a certain distance away from it. I''m saying this because I don''t want to watch more of what I already saw in the evening. Hmph!" Eren smirked at La''s reply and removed the pendant. He kept it on his pillow before heading out of his room. Eren saw Jake was still busy in his potioneering projects when he came out. He had a wild idea to get back at La for her witty jabs. He approached his roommate when he put his sk down and asked: "Jakey, my man. How''s it working out?" Jake was a bit surprised by Eren''s approach to starting a casual talk. Usually, he''d be so tight-lipped that he wouldn''t even notice him even if they lived in the same dorm house. Therefore, it wouldn''t take long for him to guess what could be the cause behind it. "I thought we already talked about everything there is to talk about regarding your departure. Hmm. What do you need, Eren? If it''s your loan of merit points and Extols, then I can only say you need to wait" Eren interrupted Jake before he could continue: "You got it wrong Jake. I wanted to ask if you still have "those" magazines we had bought from the city of Lionhearts." Jake was shocked before forming a "cultured" smile on his face. Heughed like a baby hyena before asking him: "Kekekekeke! How many do you want?" Eren shed an evil grin before answering with one word: "Yes!" Jakeughed his heart out and retrieved all of his items in front of his pal. The guy had collected a lot over the months. He offered them allC thinking Eren might need them for the road tomorrow and then for his stay in the city of Osan. Eren looked at a huge pile of magazines in shock. After he whistled and pped his friend''s back, he deposited all those magazines in his storage. He walked back to his room again after that. Jakeughed again and shook his head before resuming his potioneering project. "La, are you done with the array disc?" Eren asked as soon as he entered his room. La was surprised the guy finished his adventure this early. Then she thought he must have had cold feet to approach Renita. She appeared in front of him with the array disk and a vial of potion: "Not so brave, are we? Hehehe. Yes, I''m done." ==================== AN: Brace yourself for the mass release tomorrow. ;) Chapter 367 Burnin’ For You P1

Chapter 367 Burnin For You P1

La appeared in front of him with the array disk and a vial of potion: "Not so brave, are we? Yes, I''m done. Thankfully, a sub potion was already present in my storage. I just tweaked it a bit and made itpatible with this array. You just need to pour it on the array disk. And it would disy the encrypted message till the potion doesn''t evaporate. The potion would evaporate and the encrypted message would vanish after getting disyed for a minute or two. You''d have that much time to see the contents of the message. This method is going to keep the message encrypted and will not leave any trace of breach behind it. Hehehe! How do you like me now, Eren Idril?" Eren gave La a thumbs-up and tried to take both the disk and the vial of potion away from her. She saw his hands reaching for them and took a few steps back in a hurry before answering: "Not so fast, you vile man. You need to pay up before you can ask for the goods. I am no charity potioneer, you see. Then again, given the kind of rewards I get from a thrifty man like yours, I might fit the bill. Sigh!" Eren smiled and retrieved a whole pile of "books" that he had just received from Jake. Thankfully, Jake didn''t want to be caught reading them openly in public ces. That''s why he''d always remove the spicy coversC making them seem like normal reading materials. La was pleasantly surprised by a new library-like collection of books. Eren took advantage of her surprise to grab the items he wanted and safely store them in his ID storage. "As you can see La, I have excelled above and beyond in fulfilling my end of the deal. Now I''ll take my leave. Enjoy reading a brand-new collection. Hehehe!" Erenughed in a suppressed manner and moved towards the door. He activated the istion array before closing the door. He knew things would bound to get chaotic in his room once La realizes what she had been given. He didn''t want Jake getting caught in the crossfire. Jake was taken aback when Eren was seen leaving his room. He asked suspiciously: "Eren, are you done?" Eren was in a hurry to leave the ce so he just nodded before stepping out of the house. Jake watched him leave and sighed beforementing: ''One-pump man, huh! Being fast is not always a good thing.'' Eren wasn''t there to hear Jake''s uncalled-for burn. He made his way towards Renita''s dorm house using Blitz Steps. Meanwhile, La walked to the new pile of books and excitedly lifted one in her hand to read its contents. She found it odd that all the books looked like separate volumes of various books. But she didn''t judge a book by its size or cover. The young witch opened the first page of the book she had just taken in her hand and tried to read with enthusiasm. La smiled as she read the first page of the book. Then her face began to change as she read. Her expressions got grim as she flipped a few pages and found a few spicy images. La threw the book on the ground in anger and looked at the pile in suspicion. She picked another book and flipped a few pages. Then she checked another. Her face turned red when she realized that all the "books" she had received from Eren were "cultured" books. "That petty man I hate him!" La stomped her feet while clenching her fist and walked inside her abode with anger written all over her face. Then she came back with a vial of potion in her hand. She threw it on the ground and disappeared into herpact abode. The potion released a dense white mana fume that started disintegrating everything that it came in contact with. All of Jake''s premium collection along with Eren''s broken bed were disintegrated into nothingness soon afterwards. ********************* Becky observed that Renita hade to her ce all red-faced. She looked as if she had a fever. But before Renita could ask the ranger about it, thetter had already retired to her room. Renita changed into her nightdress after taking a quick shower. She changed into a ck nightdress, which seemed to be made of satin. She also wore a silky satin robe of the same colour over the dress. This was Renita''s routine. She liked to change into simple light and less restrictive nightwear to sleepfortably. As shey in bed, the night felt so restless to her. She started thinking about what had taken ce between her and Eren and her cheeks immediately flushed with excitement. Renita''s excitement kept on bubbling inside her as she thought of Eren''s hands roaming all over her back. She also remembered her buns getting squeezed by him. Renita''s hand subconsciously moved towards her crotch as she kept thinking about Eren and the feeling of being embraced by him. She rubbed her womanhood over her clothes as she closed her eyes. The act gave her the pleasure she was seeking at the moment. So she increased the speed at which she was rubbing her clitty over the clothes. Soon that wasn''t enough. So Renita inserted her hand inside her panties by lifting her short dress. She directed her fingers to excite her clitty and inner folds of her now-wet pussy just the way she wanted to. "Aaaaaah, Eren!" Renita started calling Eren''s name as she kept on fingering herself vigorously. She was spreading her legs open and closing them once again in her lustful fantasyC uncaring about the world outside her room now. Unbeknownst to Renita, Eren hade to her ce and knocked on the main door of the dorm house that was shared by Renita and Becky. They had moved into the house as members of the same team. "Eren, what are you doing here?" Becky asked while tilting her head a bit in puzzlement. She couldn''t understand Eren''s reasoning for visiting their ce thiste at night when they had no mission nned. Additionally, he was supposed to leave the LA grounds. "Yeah. What''s up? Is... Renita in there?" Renita raised her eyebrows and gave Eren a critical look. ''This guy is up to no good. And he is also looking kind of distraught.'' Becky folded her hands under her bosom and said in a serious voice: "Eren, we both know you are not exactly rtionship material. I don''t want Renita getting hurt" Eren''s expressions turned grim as heard Becky''s speech. Normally, he would not havee thiste at night to meet Renita. Especially when Becky was here who would always argue with him over something or the other. Eren didn''t hate her for it because the girl was just trying to rise above him subconsciously. As a member of his team, it was a positive thing for him as much as it was for her. But that didn''t mean that Eren would just suck up the criticism thrown his way. Plus, Eren''s mental condition had been disturbed a bit. He neededfort in Renita''s arms. That was the only way he could escape his hellish nightmares. "Stop! Is she in there or is she not? You just need to answer that, Becky. This is not a philosophical debate we are having about my personality. I don''t want to use my mana sense in this region ande across as rude. But you know what? My patience has limits. And you don''t want to test them now." Eren looked at his slightly trembling hands. Then he looked at Becky coldly before continuing: "Not tonight." Chapter 368 Burnin’ For You P2*

Chapter 368 Burnin For You P2*

"Not tonight." Eren looked at Becky with his narrowed down eyes. His unstable mental state was manifested in his aura and made Becky take a step back subconsciously. But she tried one more shotC thinking she was doing right by her friend: "Renita Eren, Renita is not feeling well tonight. You might want to.." Becky was about to finish what she was saying when she felt a surge of mana in the surrounding area. Tongues of purple lightning and orange mes surrounded Eren''s body as he coldly said to her while looking her in the eyes: "You know what, Becky? Get the fuck off." Eren cut Becky off while inadvertently channelling his Ace rank mana. He stopped Becky from being a hurdle by the door. She took a few more steps backC allowing Eren to enter the house. "You might want to find another ce to crash tonight." Eren said to Becky without looking at her. He made it sound like a suggestion. But Becky knew that it was anything but. Eren headed towards Renita''s room. Becky gulped and sighed. She decided to listen to his threat and act on it. That''s because Eren was a patient and rxed guy in front of her. So when he showed her this side of his, she knew he meant business tonight. ''Take care, Renita. Eren is an exceptional ranker. We all know that. But this guy is no good news as a partner. I tried my best to warn you. And I tried my darnedest at stopping him. But it looks like some heartaches can''t be avoided. Sigh.'' Becky uttered a monologue inside her head and left the house. She thought of heading to Ana''s ce for the night. ****************** Knock knock! "Renita, are you awake?" Renita heard a knock on her door followed by a known voice. A voice that had gotten a bit more masculine after that person''s change of appearance. "Eren?" Renita stopped ying with herself and thought she was hallucinating. Then she heard the knock again and got rmed. She was in apromised position at the moment and wasn''t expecting any visitors. ''This is Eren why is he here?'' Renita thought to herself before feeling butterflies in her stomach again. She couldn''t decide whether to open the door and jump at the guy or send him away so she could have some peace of mind. "Seems like you are sleeping. I''ll go then." Eren''s voice sounded distant this time as if he had taken a few steps back from the door. That finally got Renita moving. She sprang from her bed, tidied her clothes a bit, and opened the door right away. Renita thought Eren had retreated on his way out of the house. But it turned out he was standing right in front of her with his arms foldedC a smirk on his face. He had tricked her into opening the door quicker. Renita''s cheeks were about to turn red. But she looked back to hide her excitement and asked in a low and shy voice: "What What are you doing here?" Eren chuckled a bit and stepped forward towards Renita. He noticed a very peculiar smelling off of her and from inside the room. But he ignored it for now. Eren stood very close to her before cing his right hand on her cheek and caressing it. He spoke after a bit: "You wanted to say goodbye to me right? Well we have all night." It took a while for Renita to understand what he was getting at. She was speechless before forming a faint smile on her face. Eren didn''t wait for Renita''s reply and embraced her. Thetter ced her head on his chest again before speaking up: "Eren, answer me this before we move any further. Will you be with me forever?" Eren smiled when he heard Renita''s question. He was also remembered for his nightmares. Renita''s calming voice had apanied him while being subjected to that misery. That made him embrace the girl even more firmly. He replied after taking his time: "Renita, believe me when I tell you that I have looked the reaper in the eyes and came back. This was not the first time for me. And it probably won''t be thest. But what happened to me now was let''s say a perspective-changing event." Eren took a deep breath before continuing further as he stroked Renita''s back while she was in his embrace: "But when I was at my lowest andpletely broken down, I remembered your words and guiding voice that gave me some courage to fight my inner demons." Renita felt Eren''s hands stop roaming over her back as he said so. He had clenched his fist and she could feel his hands shaking a bit. The ranger hade to realize that Eren was either suffering from post-battle trauma or something much more serious. Renita wasn''t stupid. She understood that being with her was Eren''s way of coping with that trauma. But that fact didn''t repel her from him. It brought her closer to him than ever before. She felt that she had found a tiny, peaceful ce in his slowly beating heart for her to reside in. After all, he saw her as something he could rely on. Renita knew she didn''t have to speak. She just stayed in that position and enjoyed his warmth. Her hands had also wrapped him in her embrace now. Eren continued after taking a long breath: "I''m not sure about the future, Renita. Because I''m not sure about my life or where it''ll take me. In the face of the tasks that await me, it will be difficult to keep my head above water and stay afloat. But I''m sure about one thing. I want to spend time with you today and every day that we can spend in each other''spany. I want us to be together for however long my and your life allows us to." Eren then chuckled and moved a bit away from Renita. He took her face in his hand before replying: "Call me selfish for depending on you to deal with my shit. But I''m not afraid to admit anymore that I need you. Just like you, Renita, I don''t want to have regrets. Now you tell me, what do you think? Do you want us to continue?" Renita smiled after she heard Eren''s version of a broken confession. She knew the guy was always a smooth talker. But tonight, whatever he had said wasn''t a facade. She felt that only she was privy to this version of Eren''s side and feltfortable about it. Renita didn''t reply in words. She pulled Eren inside her room before locking the door behind him. The ranger found the strength to look in Eren''s eyes as she effortlessly removed the loose-fitting robe hanging by her shoulder and let it drop. She stood proudC keeping her hands on either side of her chest that entuated her curvaceous figureC in that sensuous-looking attire. Her image was bathed in the silver moonlight that bounced off of her smooth skin and silky hairC giving both of them a lustrous sheen. ''I like girls who take charge.'' Eren thought to himself and smiled. He narrowed his eyes before tilting his neck forwardC intending to kiss a gorgeous girl that was before him. Eren wrapped his hand around Renita''s petite body again. He could feel more of her due to the flimsy fabric of the dress. Since she had discarded her robe, the sleeveless hands were now out in the open along with arge part of her neck area. Eren could also see Renita''s cleavage that highlighted the prominence of her perky boobs. Eren nted his lips on Renita''s and immediately forgot about the nightmares. His hands stopped trembling as they got busy feeling the ranger''s soft body up. Ummmmmmm! Renita groaned, getting bolder by the second. This time, she inserted her tongue in his mouth while pulling his head on her. She had grabbed him by his hair as she dictated the pace and intensity of the smooch. As Renita retracted her head back to take a breather, a few strands of saliva would form. She could see that the guy was in heat now. His drunk eyes were screaming that he needed her. She also felt pleased that she could invoke so much passion in Eren. In her room, in her own space, whichcked anyone else apart from her and her partner, Renita found the confidence she needed to march ahead fearlessly. Despite this being her first time, Renita didn''t feel nervous as she was in the evening. Eren''s speech and his emotional involvement in her had given her the mental satisfaction she needed to push through with this life-altering experience. Chapter 369 Burnin’ For You P3*

Chapter 369 Burnin For You P3*

Eren''s hands started roaming all over Renita''s body from behind. Since the dress was short, he could also feel her exposed thighs. He lifted the dress up to feel her buns over the undies as well. Renita had only worn panties under her dress. There was no innerwear for her breasts. So her nipples were poking out. Eren could feel her twin peaks, which now had two pointy buttons, brushing against his chest. The ranger had been turned on for good. Renita guided herself and Eren to her bed before lying over it on her back. She smiled and opened her arms wideC inviting her beloved. Eren removed his shirt in one swift motion before lying on top of the ranger. The kissing resumed. The groping continued. The sound of Renita''s suppressed moans filled the room. "Hmmmmm! Eren. My body It''s burning. Your touch the entirety of yours I need more more" Renita thoroughly enjoyed being with Eren. She had now grabbed Eren''s hair near his ear and was now gilding him over her neck as he licked and kissed her. She let him taste every inch of her neck before pushing him down. Her message couldn''t be any clearer. Eren needed to pay attention to her excited nipples. The robe was barely holding together under Eren''s assault. Beforeunching his assault on the snowy twin mountains, he smiled at Renita and easily tore her robe off. It was torn right in the middleC exposing Renita''s tits. They were a feast for his eyes. Renita had adjusted the room''s array to set a pleasant ambience. Plus, the night''s half-moon was sending just the right amount of luminance to make Eren see Renita''s well-sculpted body with all its brilliance. "Damn you are one beautiful babe, Renita. I''m d I waited for my let''s say puberty to hit me. Otherwise I don''t think I would have had the confidence to be with you." Renita giggled as she heard Eren''s smooth talk. She enjoyed watching his thirsty gaze on her body. She had to admit that liked the attention from her man. She had been craving for it for a while now when she had first confessed to him. "Always the one with the glib tongue. Am I that good looking?" Renita asked while folding her hands behind her head. She then raised her angle of view by cing her head on them. She also adjusted her posture in a way that her boobs woulde closer and look more prominent. She assumed the pose of a seductress subi that was aware of the influence her beauty would have on her victims. The girl didn''t like that gravity was making it difficult for her boobs to remain as perky as they were. So she channelled her mana lightly and made them assume their original shape. "Hehe! You know you look beautiful, Renita. You are just fishing forpliments now. Not that I''mining. After all, no amount of praise can truly describe your charm in words. Yes, my darling. You are indeed beautiful. And sexy. And criminally attractive. But now, I''ll just let my impulses take over and praise you through my actions. Hehehe. Brace yourself." He dived on Renita''s left nipple and took it in his mouth. Renita felt surprised because of his sudden attack on her. However, she couldn''t help shing a smile as she caressed his hair with both of his hands and threw her head back on the bed. She had closed her eyes and enjoyed every moment of it. He sucked and nibbled on her left nipple while pinching the right one with his other hand. He pinched it like he was fine-tuning a knob on an array printed apparatusC as if he was just trying to find the right settings. Only to restart the search all over again. "Aaaaah Er Eren the other one suck the other one" Renita was very vocal about what she wanted at this time. Eren smiled and obliged. He bit on the right nipple a bit before sucking on it. Hepped up the are and the small peak with his ever-restless tongue. His saliva was now all over Renita''s breasts. She also had pinkish-red spots all over them due to the butcher''s savage way of pleasing hisdy. Renita wasn''tining though. She found the bnce between pleasure and pain to be intoxicating. Eren got back to her and kissed Renita again. This time, he sent his hands between her tightly closed thighs and caressed the soft supple skin there. The girl was on fire down there. Eren kept on tracing his fingers and guiding them upwards towards Renita''s crotch as he pinned her down with a major part of his torso. Renita tried to hold Eren''s hands by instinct. Therefore, he caught both her hands and pinned them down over her head on the bed with his left hand. In confinement, Renita found her salvation. She smiled confidently and gestured for him to resume his actions. Eren ced his right hand on her womanhood. He could feel the heat and the moisture it had produced. Renita was only wearing panties under her satin dress. The thin material of the innerwear wasn''t enough to prevent the wetness from making its presence known. Eren raised his eyebrows after noticing the excessive amount of wetness. He also realized that the wetness had been transferred all across thece cloth. It had been a while since she was wet down there. "Were you thinking about me before I came here?" Eren asked with a smirk on his face. Renita''s cheeks were flushed a bit. And she fought hard to maintain eye contact. But she pulled it off and nodded. This was the man she had epted in her life. If she couldn''t be open to him, who would she confide in? Eren rubbed his palm and fingers on her pussy some more before tearing the only cloth remaining on Renita''s body. Then he took the same fingers near his nose and inhaled them. Renita was lyingpletely naked in front of Eren. Her wide hips and her ample boobs weren''t the only features working for her. Her lustrous and voluminous untied hair had spread over the bedsheet. As he looked at her, Eren could see she was in the same drunken state as he was right now. Her luscious lips were glimmering. Her cheeks had turned pink now. Her shapely neck was incredibly tempting to smooch and bite on. Her boobs could keep him focused on them for hours on end if he decides to y with them to his heart''s content. Renita''s long legs looked sensuous. Her milky white thighs would show a spot of red on them whenever he touched them with his callous fingers. His fingers were craving that cloud-like softness. Renita had a bit of pubic growth over her pussy. But that added to her overall feminine beauty. Eren could see that the pubic area had a few small droplets of her previous vaginal discharge. Eren could also see Renita''s moundC the front of her pussy that was trying to hide a puffed up clitty with its moist inner lips. The room was filled with a feminine scent emanating from the region. An aroma that Eren liked inhaling. "I smell a beautiful maiden who will soon step into womanhood. Reni, once I start, it''d be difficult for me to stop. Are you ready?" Eren asked while looking at RenitaC his signature crooked smile stered on his face. Renita pondered for a bit before finally asking Eren the question she had been meaning to ask him: "Eren, will you see other women when we are not together?" The butcher smiled at her statement as if he was expecting that. He answered her with a question of his own: "You know me pretty well now, Renita. Tell me what you think?" Renita puffed her cheeks in fake anger before replying: "A loose cannon like you would definitely cause problems. Becky was trying to prevent me" Eren''s expressions turned sour as he heard Becky''s name. He cut her off immediately: "Screw Becky. We are together. This is between us. Who gave that nagger the right to interfere between us?" Renitaughed when she heard Eren''s answer. She put her point forward in a patient manner: "Hehehe! I like that you are at least this possessive of me, Eren. I''m not saying Becky has the right to talk about us. I was saying what I had replied to her when she tried to paint you as the bad guy, which you are by the way. Hehehe." Eren raised his eyebrows but didn''t speak. He let Renita continue: "I told her that you will be the only man I''ll ever have in my life if you decide to ept me. I will not ask for anything that would make you feel restricted with me. The only thing I wish is that we could stay together for as long as we can. And you treat me well. I wanted to clear this up with you before we proceed any further. So that you wouldn''t feel burdened by taking my maidenhood. I want you to be free. So that you can choose to be with me out of your choice." Chapter 370 Burnin’ For You P4*

Chapter 370 Burnin For You P4*

"I want you to be free. So that you can choose to be with me out of your choice." Eren felt the innermost chamber of his heart forever getting imed by this gorgeous youngdy in front of him. He realized at this time that Renita had also be an integral part of his new life apart from aunt Nina and Reen. "I won''t promise you those two things with words, Reni. I''ll prove them to you with my actions. Nowe here. Let me devour you." Eren said cheerfully and went right on top of the pinned ranger. He kissed her deeply. Then he bit her lower lip while touching her fully exposed clit. The sensation of pain and unfelt pleasure ran through Renita''s body and made her mind explode with emotions. "Mmmmmmmmmmmm!" Renita moaned and opened her legs wide. Eren was adjusted right between her legs. She closed her legs around him to hold him in the same position. It took a toll on Eren''s freedom of movement. But he didn''t mind. Plus, he had a flexible constitution. So that didn''t bother him anyway. Eren excited her clit until it expanded and became even more prominent in size. He then sent his index finger deep down her wet valley while tracing the moist inner folds of her vaginal lips with his free fingers. A musky aroma started to linger in the air as Renita''s vaginal juices started toe out in abundance. Herdy part was working on overdriveC ensuring the ranger had a good first time. Eren kissed her neck before taking her right nipple in his mouth again. By now he had freed his left hand. He sent his now-freed hand under Renita''s butt cheek. He kept on kneading the buns for a while. Then he let the hand explore some more of her butt crack before finding the anal opening. Renita opened her eyes wide when she felt Eren''s finger tracing the rim of her anal opening. She gasped when she felt her anal and vaginal openings getting breached at the same time. Moreover, Eren bit the nipple he was sucking on at the same timeC preventing her from registering her shock in words. Renita felt like her soul would leave the body as she arched her backC as if she was trying to get upC only to crash back on the bed with a sudden motion. It looked like her body had been possessed by the way the pleasure waves inside her were making her move. "Erennnn aaaaah don''t stop don''t stop aaaaah... It''sing Eren it''sing." Renita''s petite pussy sprayed a bountiful of nectar over Eren''s busy hands and on the bedsheet. The musky aroma intensified when the light breeze coincidentally seeped into the room through barely opened windows. "Don''t rx yet, hon. We are just starting." Eren said before starting to go down on Renita. He kissed her navel before inserting his tongue inside. Since Renita had started sweating, Eren''s tongue would register a salty taste from time to time. But he didn''t mind. Eren felt that Renita''s body had a vour of her own that was so much apart from the other women he had been with. He enjoyed tasting that vour and tried his best to record it for good in his consciousness along with tonight''s whole scene. So that he can relive them anytime he wants. "Eren at least let me clean up before" Renita tried to prevent Eren from going down on her thinking she had created a mess downtown. Thetter looked at her with a smirk before saying: "You have all the confidence to face tonight''s night. But you stillck the experience, my dear. It''s fine. Just try to enjoy the ride for now. I''ll have you return the favour next. Hehehe!" Eren said before resuming his journey downwards. Eren first nted a kiss on Renita''s moist pussy mound and gave the puffed clitty a simple lick. Renita felt a jolt of lightning pass through her, thanks to how oversensitive it had got post her release. The feelings of getting turned on or her getting fingered were not the only reason Renita felt that jolt. But it was because Eren was carefully using a bit of lightning mana with his touch now and then to excite Renita. He did it with his tongue this time too. The tip of his tongue would produce a micro lightning spark as he started exploring Renita''s vaginal folds. This was done while Eren was still driving the finger of his other hand into her rear canal. Renita had just reached her orgasm. That''s why she could still hold on. But her senses were getting overloaded thanks to the butcher''s tricks. He had decided to leave asting impression on his girl''s mind. Something she can cherish in his absence. She''d also look forward to their next session because of it. "Eren Eren Eren.. Eren Lick. Yes, baby lick there. Yeaahhaaaah" Renita had taken the charge again after her emotions told her to. She grabbed his head from behind and lifted her pelvis in the air a bit. She pressed Eren''s head against her pussy while stretching her legs open some more. In the hope that his tongue would reach even deeper parts of her wet pussy. Eren smirked and stretched his tongue abnormally. It stretched so long that it stopped looking like the tongue of a human. He startedpping up her pussy with exceptional agility because of the stretched length. "Aaaaah... You devil. More give me more." Eren chuckled internally after he heard Renita''s reply. He increased his speed more while spreading Renita''s legs wide apart with both his hands. The ranger''s pubes had only been present at the top. Her vaginal lips were still devoid of any obstructive growth. So Eren''s tongue found no hairy roadblocks. Eren stretched his tongue straight next and sent it inside her pussy hole. The vaginal walls contracted on his fleshy tongueC making him taste the nectar straight from the tap. The tip of his tongue could still feel her hymen to be intact. But it didn''t do anything with it. This was a job reserved for his little member. His dick naturally wasn''t little anymore because of his sudden growth spurt. Eren started pulling his tongue in and out while exciting her clit and asshole with both his hands. The girl soon couldn''t take it anymore. Her vaginal walls contracted some moreC enabling the butcher to sense that she was reaching another orgasm. Therefore, the butcher increased the speed of his tongue going in and out while giving equal focus to her southern parts. This was all it took for the ranger to reach the second orgasm in a row: "Aaaaaaah Eren... It''sing. Aaaaa!" Another ample amount of Renita''s pussy juices were released which felt like a Tsunami-like force to her. She had trapped Eren''s head inside her closed legsC his face getting pressed from behind by her vice-like leg grip. It took a while for her to gain normal senses and release Eren''s neck from her vice-like leg grip. "This was delicious!" Chapter 371 Burnin’ For You P5*

Chapter 371 Burnin For You P5*

"This was delicious!" Erenmented while looking up to Renita. He could see the ecstasy she had felt just now. He wiped his face with the torn fabric of her dress before kissing her neck again. "You are up you know." Eren said and thenid on his back next to her. He was still wearing his pants. Renita smiled when she saw Eren''s bulge. She channelled her Novice rank mana through her body to get rid of the tiredness she was feeling and tied her hair into a bow at the back of her head. "Eren you you need to guide me, okay? I haven''t done this. So don''tugh at me for doing anything seemingly stupid. Your words are horrible and not helpful at all when building up morale." The butcher smiled but didn''t reply verbally. He nodded his head and let her know that he was ready. Renita sat straight on the bed and looked at Eren''s crotch. Then she ced her right hand on the bulge. The butcherughed at her action before speaking: "It won''t bite, you know? Let''s take the pants off first." Eren raised his head using both of his hands as pillows. He now would have a clear idea of what the amateur "blower" would do to him. Renita remembered how Eren had done it before giving her a tonguestorm and decided to follow his cue. She first got on top of him and kissed him. Her pussy was now rubbing against his crotch which made both of them more ecstatic than they were. She kept on rubbing her mound against him which added more spice to her otherwise normal performance. Renita ced her folded knees beside either side of Eren''s waist. Slowly, she moved her kissing drive downtown. She ced her right hand in between them and tried to get her hands on Eren''s manhood, which was still wrapped inside his pants. She rubbed the tip of his duck with her palms before giving it a firm squeeze while she was busy kissing him on his neck. "You. Hm... you are doing surprisingly well, my dear." Eren smiled as he looked down and observed Renita doing the "job". The ranger felt pleased that whatever she was doing was being appreciated. She didn''t bother to reply. She carried on and kissed his pecs before moving further down. Renita traced Eren''s abdominal muscles with her tongue before nting a few kisses on his navel. She then tucked both her hands into either side of his pants and pulled them down. "Oh my" Renita could tell while operating Eren''s dick with her hands that the guy was packing. But the actual image was more intimidating than she had imagined it to be. She asked her partner with fear and doubt mixed in her smile: "Eren will it... Fit?" Eren smiled casually before nodding: "Of course, Reni. Don''t worry. Hehehe. Pussies can scare people off with how adaptive they can get. Focus on the task at hand. Don''t get discouraged and distracted. Everything will be alright." Renita nodded and returned a confident smile of her own. She took care of all of Eren''s clothes first. She was about to fall on him but Eren grabbed her arm and made her look at him in confusion: "Wrong way, Reni. Get that perky ass on my face." Eren smirked and told Renita about the position she was supposed to assume. Thetter felt her cheeks reddened. She just had her second orgasm. Any more excitement down there would make herpletely crazy. So she pursed her lips before responding: "Eren my puss... Er It is a bit sensitive now. I can" Stunning Speed Sedated Perception Eren activated his time element spells and adjusted Renita''s body on top of him by himself. That too effortlessly. A bit of bedroom agility was expected from an Ace ranker like him. Plus, he was dealing with a Novice that couldn''t follow his movement anymore. Then he cancelled the spell and startedpping up her pussy lips. This was the first time he had used his time element spells this way. Eren wondered how Alphee would think of using his time-element spells this way before discarding that thought. Renita didn''t know what had happened at first when her vision suddenly changed. But before she could process what had transpired, her pussy sent her another wave of sensitivity and pleasure. She looked down and saw that she was already sitting on Eren''s face with thetter "going to town" with enthusiasm. "Aaaaah... you rascal at least... Aaaah... give me a moment aaaa to prepare. hmmmmmmmmm." Eren ignored Renita''s futile objections and grabbed her by the neck with his left hand. He then pulled her down towards his groinC her mouth a few centimetres away from his 8incher. He had adjusted his dick''s size and girth beforehand so it would be easier for Renita to amodate it for her first time. Unlike what he did with Jules, the butcher had been surprisingly caring towards the ranger. Renita realized that further discussion was unnecessary. She was feeling her pussy gettingpped up by Eren''s abnormally active tongue. He was also stimting her clitty, vaginal entrance, and her rear gate at the same time. She felt d that she had taken a shower. Renita first kissed the mushroom head of Eren''s dick. Then she traced the foreskin umted at the crown with the tip of her tongue before weing the head into her mouth. All while feeling the waves of ecstasying from her groin and washing all over her. Eren felt the top of his dick getting swallowed. He could feel Renita''s inexperience showing so he spoke up by hitting pause on his ongoing task: "Reni, use your tongue more. Keep your teeth a bit away. And use your hand to massage my dick from its base. Everything else... I''m sure instincts would figure on their own. Hehe!" Eren said started kneading Renita''s butt cheeks. Renita reyed Eren''s directions in her head and immediately got to work on them. She took hold of the top half of Eren''s dick in her mouth. The other half of his dick was being stroked with her grip moving up and down across its length. "Hmmm! Good. Now take the whole rod in." Eren ced both his hands on the back of Renita''s head before thrusting his cock inside. Renita opened her eyes wide as she experienced a sudden gag reflex. But before her jaw could close, Eren channelled some more lightning element mana and stunned her jawline muscles and prevented them from reacting. He prevented her from closing her jaws on his dick. Not that she could hurt him with his Ace-Rank body. This was done to make her feel more confident. Renita''s eyes had gotten a bit moist. But Eren also needed relief. He had to get a bit rough with the ranger. Eren drove his cock inside out Renita''s mouth while cing one hand against the back of her headC keeping it in ce. He pped her butt cheeks with the other hand. Renita''s pussy was ravaged by his tongue storm. Soon, Eren nutted inside Renita''s mouth. Since the tip of his dick was deep inside, most of his thick white produce flowed straight down her throat. Renita could only taste and feel a bit of it as she wiped the corners of her lips. And yet, surprisingly, Eren''s dick hadn''t gotten down even after he had juste. Renta sighed when she realized that. This was going to be a long night for her. That realization made her excited for more. Chapter 372 Burnin’ For You P6*

Chapter 372 Burnin For You P6*

"Haaaa! Eren I I need a breather!" Renita got up from her mount that was Eren''s face, turned quickly, and crashed beside him while catching her breath. The butcher shook his head in denial before retrieving a vial of potion from his hand. "Here, drink this. This night is for us, Reni. Hehe. We are going to make use of every moment to make sure you give me a proper farewell." Renita caught Eren''s potion in her hand and puffed up her cheeks to make him register her displeasure for being so selfish. The butcher didn''t mind being stared down. He just smiled shamelessly while waiting for Renita to drink the potion. He then casually shook the vial in front of herC provoking her to drink it. Renita sighed before snatching the vial that her man was dangling in front of her. She uncorked it and drank the contents in one go. She then activated her mana core for her body to better absorb the potion''s properties. The ranger felt rejuvenated soon after. "I might have started awkwardly because of my inexperience. But since this is what you want, I''m gonna make sure your balls run dry of their cum by the morning. Hehe! Don''t underestimate me just because you broke into Ace rank." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Renita''s confident remark. He couldn''t understand the source behind her sudden confidence. He then looked at the vial in her hand that he had received from the underground dungeon. It was supposed to be a rare all-stats-recovery potion that he had used on her. ''Hm! I need some more potion products of this kind for this particr activity. Maybe I''ll find something good if I look carefully into the recipe book. Guess I''ll check it out when I officially take over my assignment.'' The butcher responded to Renita''s provocation with a provocation of his own: "Oh yeah? Words are meaningless? Prove it with your words, Reni. Hehe!" Eren pulled Renita up to him and kissed her neck. He ced both his hands on the back of her buttocks and gave them a few squeezes each. He ran his index finger through her vaginal crack. Eren inserted two of his fingers into her wet hole with a bit of difficulty. Renita grunted while she was being prated by Eren''s fingers. She rubbed her entire body on his again to deal with the pressure her vaginal walls were feeling at the time. Eren started to slowly drive the fingers in and out as he rubbed the tip of his cock against her clit. To prepare her pussy for the eventual pration, Renita kept her pelvis over Eren''s groin without sitting on it. Having that additional liberty made it easy for Eren to excite herdy part even more. Once her vaginal walls started producing ample amounts of juices again, Eren stopped fingering Renita and lifted her head to make her face him. He looked her in the eye before asking: "Look me in the eye as I take your virginity." Eren said and narrowed his eyes. His domineering nature had charmed Renita even more and suppressed all her fears. She needed someone to take control of the game when she was unable to. The ranger also suddenly felt that both of them were extremelypatible with each other in this way. They would give each other the reins to control the y without any mimunication. "Hehehe! I''m kind of afraid. But not really since it''s you. Do it Eren Idril. Make me yours. Now and forever." Renita responded to Eren''s domineering gaze with her passionate and loving eyes. She looked at him and all of him while guiding her pussy close to Eren''s dick. She felt the tip of his dick touch her. "Go ahead. Take control, mister. Take control of all of me." Renitaid t on Eren and whispered in a low voice into his right ear. Her pussy near the tip of his dick. Her boobs pressed against his chest. Thetter needed no further encouragement. He used his hand to guide his rod at the tip of Renita''s stretched cave. Then he pushed her waist down on him some more using his other hand and pushed his cock inside. "Aaaaaaaaaah." Renita felt her vaginal walls getting stretched as they had never been stretched before. As she hugged him tightly, her head rested next to his with their opposite cheeks touching. Shepletely closed the distance between them to prevent herself from subconsciously lifting her groin away from its current position. Eren''s bodily warmth also gave her the support she needed to get through being prated for the first time. Renita clenched her fists and pursed her lips. She closed her eyes and tried to bear the pain. The butcher on the other hand felt something different that he had never felt before. A mystic spell was imprinted on his psyche at the time. A few runic symbols and lines appeared on his chest that shined with a purple glow. Thanks to the imprint, Eren knew exactly what the spell was supposed to do and how to use it. Mark of Seven Sins: Lust! ''This ability is dangerous.'' Eren temporarily stopped moving his cock inside as he realized the ability one of his two Sins marks had granted him. He cancelled its activation and made it remain dormant, lest he hurt Renita while their first union was taking ce. The runic marks on Eren''s chest disappeared. And Eren breathed a sigh of relief. "Eren?" Renita''s voice finally snapped Eren back to his current task. He got rid of his confusing thoughts and gripped Renita''s hips from both sides before slowly driving his dick in and out of Renita''s pussy. "Aaaaaaah!" Renita released a cry that was mixed with more pain than pleasure as Eren''s dick pierced deep inside her. The pleasure was still there. A pleasure that she felt after realizing that she had be one with the man she loved. "Channel your mana and hold on for a bit, Reni. It''ll soon be alright." Eren whispered into Renita''s ears as he slowly drove his cock in and out of Renita''s now-bleeding cave. He also wondered how she was able to keep her hymen intact despite being an extremely agile ranker due to her ss and moves. Renita''s body began to sweat heavily, forming ayer of sweat on her body. Tears ran down her cheeks. Tears that spoke more about the satisfaction she felt than her maiden pain. Renita''s groin area had be an oven. His thrusts were slowly driving her crazy. But she held onto Eren. She held onto him as if her life depended on it. She also started to use her pussy walls to squeeze Eren''s dick. She was beginning to take control of her vaginal muscles. "Eren my pussy my insides my entire being is burnin. I''m burnin'' for you." Renita spoke more for herself than for Eren. Thetter, however, graciously smiled at her words. He slowly started increasing his pace and responded: "I''ve found my calm As I''m surrounded by the warmth of your mes. Thank... Thank you for being there for me, Reni. When I needed you and all of you the most, you believed in me. I promise I promise that we''ll be together for as long as we both breathe." Chapter 373 Burnin’ For You P7*

Chapter 373 Burnin For You P7*

"I''ve found my calm As I''m surrounded by the warmth of your mes. Thanks... thank you for being there for me, Reni. when I needed you and all of you the most. I promise I promise that we''ll be together for as long as we both breathe." Eren thrust his cock inside as he felt the vaginal walls wrapped around him. His cock felt like it had been dipped intova. That''s because Renita had started channelling the mana around her groinC making the temperature of her body around that area rise more than what the activity entailed. There was no use in gradually increasing pace anymore. Eren gripped Renita''s waist firmly. Then he started thrusting with his usual speed. Pat! Pat! Pat! The sound of flesh meeting flesh filled the room. The lewd smell was getting stronger by the moment. Renita''s moans and Eren''s low grunts made up the rest of the atmosphere. Renita started to feel less pain around her pussy. Slowly. That pain was reced by waves of pleasure. And soon.. the pleasure was converted into ecstasy before ultimately metamorphosing into pure bliss. "Aaaaaah. Eren drive deeper. Harder" Renitamanded as she straightened her back andpletely enjoyed riding on her man''s dick. She locked her hands with Eren''s and threw her head back as she was being fucked by Eren. Pat! Pat! Pat! Renita''s ass cheeks made a pping noise every time Eren''s front pelvis collided against them. Renita was meeting Eren''s thrusts with equal enthusiasm as she kept on bringing her hips down hard on Eren''s cock. Unlike thest time, Renita took her time reaching the point of her orgasm. This time, she was more in control of her body. The seconds turned into minutes. And minutes into hours. Renita was down on her third vial of all-stat recovery potion now. The ranger had gone through multiple rounds of orgasms by now. And yet, she had been going stronger till now, thanks to her drive to be with Eren for the entire night. Renita''s body had umted fatigue. Her skin had turned light pink all over. The entire bed was ruined because it had been drenched by both of their love juices. She had reached the point of another orgasm. Even rankers'' bodies had their limits. Since the first light of the dawn was going to break soon, Eren had decided this will be theirst session. "Oh, Eren... Aaaaaah! Deeper! Harder! Give it to me. Yess! Yess! Ram that dick inside. Fill me up." Eren and Renita both stood on their knees. He was entering her from behind this time while squeezing her boobs with one hand while stimting her clit with the other. He didn''t slow down even after he felt the ranger was about toe again. Eren kneaded Renita''s left tit with his right hand and squeezed it hard. His handprints had appeared on various parts of her body. They were most prominent on her ass cheeks and her tits. With his right hand, he reached out for Renita''s clit and yed with it like it was some kind of musical instrument. His dick was ramming as hard as it could into her pussy hole. By now, Renita understood that Eren was not overying her pussy''s strength to amodate his dick. She found pleasure in weing his big and rock hard little member inside her. She wanted it to stay inside her. "Aaaaaaah Eren I''ming! I''ming, Eren!" Renita''s entire body shuddered as she cummed hard on Eren''s dick. She felt like she had lost all her strength to even stay on her knees anymore. She had maintained her position thanks to Eren''s grip. Otherwise, she would have crashed on the bed t on her face. Eren rammed his dick inside a few times then cummed inside her once again. This was the sixth time he had nutted on her. Each timested longer than thest. He would have still signed up for one more session but he could see that Renita wouldn''t be able to handle him anymore. "Kekekeke! What happened to fucking me till my balls run dry? They can still produce plenty of milk for you, girl. Tired already? Tch tch tch!" Eren sarcasticallyughed before teasing Renita. Thetter turned her head while lying down and looked at her boyfriend with tired and angry expressions. "Hmph! Just wait till I break into the Ace rank. I''ll zap all that pride away and maybe fracture your hips when we meet at the time." "Hahahahahaha!" Erenughed andid over Renita. He rubbed his limp little guy between her butt cheeks before lying beside her. He plopped his head on his raised hand and ran his index finger over Renita''s backC as if writing something abstract with invisible ink. His touch induced goosebumps to rise on her sensitive body, which then soon subsided when she got used to his after-ys. ************* "When will you meet me next, Eren?" Renita asked while lying down on her tummy. She had also folded her handsC stacking them on each other before resting her head over them. She looked at Eren with her keen eyes. She felt content and happy. Renita wanted this bliss to continue. But she knew that Eren wouldn''t slow down his ns for her. It was her job to catch up to him. But she at least wanted a time frame from him so she could have something to look forward to. She wanted to have a happy thought in her head as she was striving to move forward on her ranking journey. Eren pondered for a bit before answering: "I honestly can''t tell, Renita. The assignment only specifies a rough time frame within which I need to be on my assignment. But it can be extended beyond its normal duration, allowing LA to expand the time frame automatically. So I won''t be visiting LA when I''m there. You won''t be able to meet there either. Additionally, there are some personal matters I need to attend to. With my advancement to Novice rank, my time at LA grounds will be virtually nonexistent. I could have taken lectures from Adept rankers and spent time as a normal LA student. And I had nned to do just that. But this unexpected Ace rank advancement was also too sudden for me. I''ll need to make a few changes to my previous n now. The personal matters that I need to do right now won''t allow me to stayid back even when it is the beginning for me as a ranker. Then again, I don''t think I would have chosen to restrict my growth even if I did not have these matters to deal with. *Sigh. So it''ll be a while before I see you. You and all the White Ravens." Eren looked at Renita''s eyes. He caressed her cheeks affectionately before replying: "But I have faith in you as my woman. I also like to believe other members of White Raven would break into Ace rank sooner and choose to take up on-field assignments like me. It would be beneficial to all of us in the long run if we did that. I have a few ambitious ns for all of us. Hehe!" Chapter 374 Farewell

Chapter 374 Farewell

"I have a few ambitious ns for all of us. Hehe!" Renita kept on looking at Eren as she listened to himC as if trying to burn his image in her mind. She was indeed a bit upset about the fact that Eren won''t be with her anymore. But she thought about her prospects with him and cheered herself. She shed a bright smile at him before pulling his cheeks and speaking up: "Eren, make sure that you stay ahead in your game. Otherwise, I might catch up to you and leave you behind. Hehe!" Renita said beforeing closer to his face and nting a gentle kiss on his cheeks. She continued speaking up without any hesitation: "I might sound a bit selfish for saying this. But I''m kind of d that you had a life-changing experience on your mission. It hurt you. It also took the halo of being a ster ranker from you. But it has made you more you. The rewards won''t mean anything if you lose yourself in obtaining them. What happened to you on that day might not have been that terrible. You feel more anchored to reality now. Instead of looking at the future and trying to live in it. Sure, you''d feel distraught for a few days. But it won''t stay that way for long. I know Eren Idril wille out of this experience even stronger than he was before." Renita said and smiled elegantly at Eren. Thetter didn''t know what he should reply with. He just smiled mirthlessly and nodded his head. Eren then got up and channelled his fire mana throughout his body to instantly clean himself. Renita had already done the same with her wind-element mana. Eren took out some fresh clothes from his storage and started wearing them. Renita observed her stateC almost zero stamina and her mana core fresh out of mana. Despite her difficulty, she was about to get up. But she heard Erenugh before she could do that: "No need to get up, Reni. Rest. Heh! I''ve received your warm wishes just fine. Kekeke. Focus on your ranking advancement from now on. Take up Besanc missions instead of participating in ranking wars now. Earning Merps won''t mean anything if you don''t have the real-life experience of a ranker''s life." Eren looked at Renita seriously before smirking at her "We will stay in touch. If I see that you are slowing down, your perky ass is going to have to face a p fest when we meet up. Hehe!" Eren got ready with his clothes, came near Renita and kissed her forehead. She also grabbed his neck and smooched him on his lips. Only when she felt ready did she release him before finally bidding him goodbye. *********************** "Eren, I didn''t know our apprenticeship wouldst so short, you know. But I''m d I had an apprentice like you. Hehe! The missions were never boring with you around. Here, take this." Eren had been asked by Ma to meet her before he left the grounds. Thetter returned to his dorm house where all the White Raven Crew members had gathered to bid him adieu. Eren headed to meet Ma after he wrapped up his meeting with everybody. Thetter handed him an exquisite-looking bottle of elven ale as a goodbye present after they had an in-depth talk. Eren bowed a bit before epting her gift and then stored it in his ID storage before asking: "Thank you, Adept Ma. Will you keep on teaching here in LA?" Ma raised her eyebrows after she heard Eren''s sudden question out of the blue. But she answered him anyway: "Working here was part of my responsibility, Eren. To act as a mediator for minor issues. Anfang alliance they call it. Things between the alliance sides can get prettyplicated. *Sigh. Frankly, I''m tired. I don''t see myself as a capable mediator, to be honest. So if and when they find a suitable recement for me, I''ll drop this job and explore the continent a bit." Eren had long since realized that high rankers would never be able to enjoy peaceful lives for long even when they had the freedom to do so. It seemed counterproductive to have high ranks when one looked at things this way. The drive to pursue their next rank up would keep the rankers on their toes forever. But in contradiction lies life''s true meaning. Eren saw Ma as one of the most distinguished rankers of her generation who was shackled from being something much greater because of her current role. That''s why he asked to confirm. He nodded before proposing: "There will be some intriguing news I will share with you in the future. It should be interesting enough for you to leave the job and join me. Hehe. Please look forward to it." Eren smiled mildly which made Marl look at him with a questioning gaze. She was about to ask him what he meant. But it seemed Eren wasn''t done asking questions: "Adept Ma, about the unique event that was supposed to happen between Edinburgh''s top academies. Was it postponed?" Ma was shocked when she heard Eren''s question. But then she sighed thinking that the event was too big to keep secret for long anyway. Especially from people who were actively looking for it. "That''s right, Eren. The announcement regarding the event was supposed to be done by now. But it seems something troubling has happened. The Edinburgh kingdom is prioritizing that matter first before they could allow the academies involved to hold the event." Eren nodded after hearing Ma''s news. He had thought as much. He also knew the reason behind the event getting postponed. He took his leave from Ma''s ce and headed for the exit. This was the same event he wanted to attend with his White Raven Crew. the same event he had them train so eagerly for. Eren thought to himself as he made his way out of LA grounds: ''Edinburgh would prioritize the Osan Woods Butcher and try to hunt Isen Osan down. It''s only a matter of days before the news of Ivor Osan being the OWB is released to the masses. Of course, they won''t let academies carry through with their ns with a societal turmoil and increased cultist activities that are about to follow the news release.'' The real butcher sighed internally after he understood his interference had caused a butterfly effect. He feared the effect would only increase as he ranks up to and makes too many changes in the current timeline. ''Be that as it may, it''ll be a cold day in hell before I allow anyone else to take the rewards I''m eyeing for in this timeline.'' Eren decided internally and narrowed down his eyes as he sat on the colt he had hired. He was going home. Chapter 375 Army Deployment

Chapter 375 Army Deployment

"Brat, where are you heading? This is a restricted zone now." An Ace ranker in solid stage wearing full te armour asked a young man who was casually making his way on a mildly active road. Only a few colt-drawn wagons and carriages were allowed to pass through the curfew initiated by Edinburgh''s army. Ace ranker was assigned to the guards'' toon around the city of Osan. The young man in front of him looked like he was loaded. So the guard decided to extort him for some extra money in exchange for granting him entry. "Hello, Ace?" The young man asked for the guard''s name. "Ace ho. You can call me ho, the squad leader. I''m in charge of the city of Ocean''s perimeter detail. You see, brat, we are only allowing the entry of essential supplies into the city. So it''d be difficult for me to allow you entry. That is unless hehehe you can make me believe that your entry to the city is indeed essential." The young man nodded in understanding before retrieving four Extols from his storage. He got down from his colt. He calmed the beast by stroking its back. Then he caught the leash by its mouth and walked with it towards Sergeant ho. "Nice to meet you Ace ho. My name is Eren Idril. You can check my ID storage which can prove that I''m a resident of the city of Osan. Here are some reasons for you to consider my entry into the city as essential." Eren offered ho four Extols that he thought should be enough to gain entry. He could have done many things to avoid paying the bribe. But he thought it was better that he chooses the easy way out instead of trying to fight with the system or evade it. ho was indeed pleased to see that the young man had casually taken the four Extols out. But if the guy can pay four Extols without any fuss, he can surely pay more, right? At least that''s what ho thought and addressed Eren in a suppressed anger: "Brat, you think I''m some kind of beggar trying to ask you for charity? I''m a squad leader in the army. I''m in my 30s, yet I am already a solid-stage Ace ranker. Do you know what that means brat? That means the "reasons" you gave me just now are not enough. I need more of them." Eren had creases on his forehead when he heard ho''s greedy demand. He also released his Ace rank mana and spoke up: "Ace ho, please be kind towards a fellow Ace. This is all I have. I''m a student from LA here to spend a few days in the city before leaving for my on-field assignment." Eren used his Ace rank mana and his identity as a student of LA to create pressure. But this in turn irked the guy even more. "You academy students think that this whole kingdom is your oyster, don''t you? What does it matter if you are an LA student? I''ve seen your pompous kind. I''m not letting you go until you hand over double the "reasons" you are offering me. You get it?" ''Heh! This guy is just like you with his greed for money. How do you like meeting a half-brain-dead version of yourself, Eren? Hehehe!'' Lamented in Eren''s mind. Thetter just ignored her in response. Eren narrowed down his eyes on ho when he heard the guy''s tant disregard for his identity. His voice got in response as he spoke up: "Look ho. I''m not in the mood for a quarrel over a few Extols. We are both Ace rankers and we should both act with a bit of modicum, don''t you think? Here I''m offering you six Extols. I suggest you take it, lest you regret itter." Stunning Speed Sedated Perception He took the guy''s right hand before cing the extols in his palms. He had activated his time elementbo before he did so. ho didn''t know what had happened after he blinked but his right palm felt like something was ced over it he looked down and found out that he was holding six Extols at the palm of his hand. ''What what just happened?'' ho had a difficult time believing a young ranker like Eren who was in the early stage of the Ace rank could intimidate him so much. He was about to lose his cool when he heard a voice from behind him: "ho resume your position already. What are you doing dilly-dallying with random strangers?" Another soldier shouted at ho from behind him. He was with the whole squad when he approached ho''s position. ho turned back and regained some of the courage he was beginning to lose by sensing his squad behind him. He mustered his courage and tried to act cool. The guy stored the Extols away, lest the soldiersing from behind snatch it for themselves. Then he looked at Eren and said in a threatening voice: "Brat, don''t think this will be enough to ensure your safety. I''d watch my back from now on if I were you. Get the fuck out now. Your empty threats aren''t scaring anybody here." ho said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead under Eren''s gaze. He felt like the temperature of the surroundings had suddenly dropped and yet he was being subjected to a sea of mes. Eren did not react after he heard ho''s false bravado. He didn''t want to create any scene so he left the squad leader alone as his squad was catching up to him from behind him. Eren climbed onto his horse and rode into the distance, towards the city of Osan. As ho watched Eren depart, one of the guys in the squad asked him a question. "What happened, ho. Why do you look so spaced out? The boy gave you trouble?" ho snapped back to reality when he heard his squad member''s question. He snorted aloud before responding: Kelmar, those young guns from the childish academies, you know about their pompous attitude, don''t you? Because of their connections to institutions, they believe they can boss us around. He was one of them, that boy. Well, I agree that I demanded a bit more entry fee from him than our usual rate. But he used his identity to threaten me. I''m kinda pissed about that." The guy who asked Renar that question also looked at Eren''s figure and registered his image in his mind. He thenughed menacingly before soothing his squad leader with his words: "Hahahaha! That''s it, right? Don''t worry, ho. We can''t let our leader''s reputation get sullied like that. We''ll find an opportunity to get back to the young kid. The brat won''t know what hit him! Kekekeke!" ho felt a friendly tap on his back after he heard that. Then another. Then some more. Heughed cunningly after he was assured of most of his squad members'' involvement in his petty revenge. Chapter 376 Reunion with Nina

Chapter 376 Reunion with Nina

Eren was standing in front of a known apothecary. An apothecary that could be seen to be closed for business. But he knew it would wee him. This was the home he hade to call his own after his parents abandoned him after all. ''You are here!'' Eren thought to himself as he felt a familiar, non-hostile mana sense wash over him. He shed his signature grin that was borderline evil to look at. He then took a deep breath before heading towards the entrance. His nty grin was still stered on his face. Eren didn''t knock on the door. The resident of the home knew he was there. So he just stood in front of the doorC waiting for it to get opened. "Tch. You are no fun, Erni. You should have broken the door in your eagerness to meet me. Your patience tells me you are not passionate." A soft female voice spoke with dramatic irritation. The irritation also contained a lot of warmth, which he was unable to ignore. The door was gently opened and the source of that gentle yet firm voice came into Eren''s view. This was a prettydy that looked to be in the prime of her life. She looked much younger than thest time Eren saw her. Her smooth and supple skin now appeared to be more attractive because of its light tanned hue. Her figure was even more seductive. Her features were even more beautiful than Eren remembered. "You you didn''t tell me you broke through into B-Rank?" Eren said and stepped forward to embrace the most caring woman he had known since his childhood without worrying about her ranking status. Thetter also did the sameC opening her arms wide to hug him with equal eagerness. "Hehe. Just like you didn''t tell me you broke through. Guess we both wanted to surprise each other." Nina ced her head on Eren''s chest as she hugged him gently at first. Her hug became tighter the moment she inhaled his scent. "You you have changed so much too, Eren. I saw your changed look on the spectral call and was surprised by it. But this? Meeting you in person makes me wonder if that breakthrough was something normal. You downyed the risks while telling me about them, didn''t you?" Nina pinched the skin of his left chest as she asked him in a part worry and part caring voice. Thetter caressed her back and closed the door behind him by using his left leg. Eren smiled mirthlessly when he heard Nina''s observation which was right on spot. He sighed before responding: "I changed but I also didn''t. I''m still that Eren that you have taken care of and raised for so many years now. You are even more of a home to me than this brick-and-mortar ce. So in that sense, I''m still me." Nina rubbed her head against Eren''s chest when she heard him endearingly speaking about her. She responded quickly after: "Your glib tongue would not save you this time, little rat. I want the details. How did you breakthrough? Did you gain any insights? I want them answered in full detail along with the questions I''ll be asking you regarding your first-year experience." Eren smirked and gave Nina a big hug once againC his hands on her buns. He gave them a firm squeeze out of the blue before responding: "Of course. We also need to "catch up" on this, don''t we?" Nina felt a wave of excitement wash over her. But she controlled it and allowed Eren''s hands to rest on her buns for a while before lifting them. She gave a cunning smile of her own andmented: "You need to work hard from scratch if you want us to "catch up". Take me on another date, Eren. it should be different from the one we hadst time, understood?" Nina nodded before pinching Eren''s cheeks with both her hands: "Alright, little rat, we have so much to talk about and do. I know you must have been thinking we don''t need to go on a date to be intimate anymore. I also yearned for you all these months. But I want you to take some effort. I don''t ask much, Eren. I just want us to be more than our physical rtionship. Hehe. But I understand you must have been, should I say, pent up thinking about me. I am too, I won''t lie. Let''s just consider this as a constion prize for both of us for now." The pinching of cheeks turned into the hold as Nina drew Eren''s face close to her. After looking him in the eye, she nted a kiss on his lips. Eren closed his eyes and embraced her once more. He let his hands roam all over her back. The butcher caressed her buns and squeezed them once again while inserting his tongue inside Nina''s mouth. "Hmmmmmmm!" Nina moaned in a suppressed voice and hugged Eren''s torso tighter. She also rubbed her groin against Eren''s freshly formed bulge. The pair stayed in that position for a few minutes. Eren was getting bolder by the moment. Grabbing Nina''s tits and buns with his hands, he began to excite her on two fronts. Nina was enjoying this. But she didn''t let her need to be with Eren take the best of her. She forced herself and Eren to break their smooch and got a step away from him while puffing her cheeks in false anger: "This was supposed to be a teaser. No getting ahead of our schedule, little rat. I want a memorable date likest time. You better give me one. Otherwise..hmph!" Eren pursed his lips when he heard Nina wanted him to woo her all over again. He thought that with Nina, it would be a straightforward fuck that he could indulge in. But that didn''t discourage him from recovering from his surprise and shing a smile andmenting: "Of course, we both have our rank ups. We need to celebrate. Let me n a few things. We''ll schedule a date in a few days. You also need to tell me how you broke into the Master rank and how your experience in Ranker''s utopia was." Nina nodded at Eren with a charming smile. She replied as if they were on a schedule: "Alright! Chop chop, Erni. Go get fresh first. I cleaned your room for you. I hope you are hungry because I made pancakes. I''ll be waiting downstairs." Chapter 377 Nightshade Duchy

Chapter 377 Nightshade Duchy

"So you came here a week ago, huh? I thought your Utopia exploration was over a few weeks back. Something must have taken your time. What was it?" Eren asked while devouring another pancake covered in maple syrup. He had been talking with Nina ever since he had gotten fresh and came back downstairs. He was done narrating his side of the story. His version of what really happened anyway. Nina could tell Eren wasn''tpletely fine. Sometimes his fluctuating mana signature would leak, showing his agitation. So she had asked him about it. Eren came clean in saying that he had been suffering from a few nightmares. Of course, he couldn''t tell her everything. Therefore, he med his condition on post-battle mental stress and trauma, which Nina believed. She told him it was very normal for every ranker. She knew it was part of their growth process. She also felt satisfied that Eren had shared his fears and his vulnerability with her. "Yeah. Well, I had to sign a non-disclosure contract with the party I explored Utopia with for the duration of a few years. So I won''t be able to tell you much about the trip right now. But it was beneficial for me. Your tips helped me and by extension, my whole party a lot. Isn''t it funny though, that the party that benefitted from your tips is now refusing to share information with anyone, you included. Hehe. But since you had asked me to be discreet, I didn''t object. Currently, the party leader is busy selling that information to some of his contacts. Just like you had suggested, which I suggested to him in turn. The good thing about the deal was that I got extra resources than what was previously agreed upon after we got out. I got my hands on a bunch of healing spells that worked for me. I will also have to resume my studies on healing arrays because of the resources I got from the trip there. Let''s just say I''ll be a bit busy from now on. I took my timeing here because I had to meet with a contact person from the Escalon guild. I''m thinking of joining them for a while. At least until the end of your academic years. So when they approached me under the suggestion of my party leader, I had to check them out. Then I did some information gathering regarding the same. I need resources, Erni, now that I''ve stepped into Master rank. Resources of my rank. I won''t be able to get them until I leave this city. Escalon guild is nning to offer me a good deal in terms of ...." Eren''s eyes narrowed down when he heard the name Escalon guild from Reen''s mouth. He paused eating, wiped his mouth off of the syrup stains using the napkin ced beside him. And spoke in a patient voice: "Yeah aunt Nina, I don''t think you should join the Escalon guild. I''ll rmend another guild if you are looking for a healer-centric guild. Esca fucking Lon guild sucks hairy rat''s balls" Nina red her nose when she heard Eren''s foul words: "Language, little rat. Plus, you are eating. Have some table manners." Eren''s irritation turned intoughter when he heard Nina object to his use of foul words. He decided to tease her a bit: "Hmm? I remember you calling my penis as dick and yourdy part as pussy when we were doing it. Where wasnguage then?" Nina''s cheeks immediately had a red tint painted over them. She hmphed before responding: "That was during our us-time. I obviously won''t stop you or myself from having our "liberties" when we are doing it. But this is different. You need to maintain a proper, gentlemanly bearing when you are with me. I''ll only give you a free pass when it''s our *cough* as I said, us-time." Nina found the courage she needed to keep her face straight while she was speaking it. Eren sighed. This was not the first time he had seen the contradiction incarnate make her point using her sense of logic. This logic had many practical ws. But he didn''t borate any further on this topic. He used a more serious tone to address Nina this time: "My point, aunt Nina, is that the Escalon guild is no good. How about you go to Healers'' Nirvana? With yourtest rank promotion, it won''t be difficult for you to get it." Aunt Nina observed Eren''s aversion to her joining the Escalon guild. She wanted to ask him why that was the case. But Eren cleared it for her even without her asking: "Remember the backer I told you about? He has some dirt on that guild. And it isn''t pretty. That guild is liable to face some problems soon even though it looks like it is growing at a rapid pace. Healing Nirvana is still a worthwhile ce to be even if the Escalon guild doesn''t face problems soon. Plus, it focuses on healing arrays, the area of study you have decided to continue studying. There''s also one more plus point to joining Healing Nirvana. Hehe!" Nina was awed at how much information Eren had collected on various guilds that were currently active all across the kingdom. She had only heard about Healers'' Nirvana because she was a healer so there were a couple of instances she''d hear the guild''s name from her co-healer rankers. Otherwise, Healers'' Nirvana was a very low-key guild. What''s more? The guild was ced very far from where the city of Osan was. It stayed operational in the Nightshade Dukedom, the northernmost region of the kingdom. While the city of Osan was located at the bottom of the Ironside duchy. So there would be barely any news regarding Healer''s Nirvana Nina could hear while staying in the city of Osan. She wasn''t even aware the guild focused on making healing arrays. This alone had piqued her interest. But she wanted to hear another reason from Eren, which seemed more interesting for both of them. "What is it, little rat? Tell me." Nina asked after having thest bite of her pancake. Eren smirked before responding: "You know I''ve taken an on-field assignment right? But I haven''t told you where it is. Can you guess? Hehe!" Nina was pleasantly taken aback by Eren''s words. She replied quickly, with excitement and puzzlementced in her voice: "Nightshade duchy? But LA doesn''t send its students there for on-field assignments, right? Why were you given such an odd assignment?" ====================== AN: In chapter 60, it was mentioned that Edinburgh had four grand dukedoms, which were divided ording to the kingdom''s four heroes, who served as the first king''s retainers. Nightshade Dukedom is named after Nira Nightshade. It was mentioned to be located in the northern part of the kingdom. Chapter 378 Ivor’s Past

Chapter 378 Ivor''s Past

Eren poured himself a ss of orange juice and took a sip before replying: "It''s not that LA doesn''t offer any student assignments there. It''s that nobody wants to go there. That duchy is not the focus of Edinburgh and has been low-key neglected by rankers and merchants alike. I can understand the reason behind it. It''s not easy to get there. Plus, the rankers living near the borders need to be on their toes for monster invasions because of the region''s peculiarity." Eren finished his ss of juice in a big gulp. Then he traced the rim of the empty ss with his index finger before continuing further. "Which LA student would like to go there, put extra effort when they had just advanced into Ace rank, only to face more risks and rtively fewer rewards? Nobody, as far as I can tell. That''s why there''s hardly anyone from LA going there for assignments. I chose that ce because I have my ns there. Hehe! I''ll tell you about it after some time when I start working on it." Nina had a query after hearing Eren''s exnation. She didn''t know much about the northern duchy. So she had to ask. "Erni, will we be able to meet each other asionally if I decide to join Healers Nirvana?" Eren shook his head after hearing Nina''s question. He replied after taking a light sigh: "Sadly no, aunt Nina. I''ll be near the city of Arangar while you would be active near the city of Curar. Two different ces in the same duchy. So it''d be hard to physically meet. But it''d still be better than you staying here. Because if you stay in the Lionheart duchy, we''d only be able to meet after my assignment gets over. So what do you think? I have a second suggestion in my mind if you think it''d be too ufortable for you to live in the Nightshade duchy." Eren asked while fixing his eyes on Ma. He didn''t want her to get involved in his ns. But he couldn''t really think of someone else who could help him if and when he needed it. Eren wanted to have Ma as ast resort to any of his problems, should they get too much out of control from his hands. That being said, Healers Nirvana was really a good ce for a healer like her. So Eren knew that he wasn''t doing anything wrong with her. In addition, it might be a bit better that she stays away from the Escalon guild. He knew how shady the guild was better than anyone. He was once under its shadow after all. Nina heard Eren''s questions and pondered a bit. Of course, she wanted to be with Eren. but she also needed to think about her ranking journey. Especially now since she had just broken through the Master rank. It was only when she found sense in Eren''s suggestion did she finally ept it: "Alright. Let''s stay in the same duchy. I''m sure we can find some time for ourselves if we coordinate with each other. I don''t want to live in the city of Osan. Nobody knows about my rank breakthrough here yet. And I want to keep it that way before living. Otherwise, they''d approach me to temporarily take charge of the city now that Isen Osan is gone." Nina said after looking outside the window from her position. Eren chuckled before responding: "Heh! You like a simple life, don''t you? I won''t me you. But there''s this one question. What do you know about the city''s increased army presence? And how did you get inside the city without revealing your rank? They didn''t tell you to go through the inspection array?" Eren asked while scratching his chin in contemtion. Thetter chuckled before answering: "Hehehe. Don''t underestimate a Master ranker just because she is someone you know, Erni. I have my ways. I only know what the general populous in the city of Osan knows so far. That Isen Osan suddenly disappeared with his whole family. His grandson that had gone to LA with you is also missing. But I''ll tell you what I think. As far as I know Isen, he is not someone who would make abrupt decisions. Nor is he a person who could be made to disappear without leaving a trace behind. That means Isen had left on his own knowing full well the city is going to face some turmoil because of it. I''m not worried about his disappearance. I''m worried about the reason that made him disappear." Eren nodded before asking another question: "Aunt Nina, what can you tell me about Isen''s family in general. Isaac and Ivor for example. You have interacted with Isen so many times by now. You must be aware of something ordinary people or rankers might not know." Nina raised her eyebrows after listening to Eren''s question. She got up from her seat and walked towards the window and started responding after she was standing near it. "I guess it''s natural for you to have curiosity since Ivor was with you in the academy. I indeed know a bit about Isen''s family and Isen himself. Contrary to popr belief, Isen is not only politically motivated but also exceptionally ambitious as a ranker. He only cares about family because it suits his political image. And he only cares about the political image because it gives him the right to obtain the ranking resources generally not obtainable for ordinary citizens of the kingdom. So it was natural that he''d ignore what was happening inside his family. Isaac Osan, for example, had always been a troubled kid. I had heard from the Healer''s association that he''d often torture animals when he was mere 5 years old." Nina looked at Eren from her position and sighed before continuing: "Raising children is difficult. Especially if you are a ranker and want to focus on your journey. But neglecting them to this extent also shouldn''t be taken lightly. I tell this from my personal experience as well as from those healers who used to interact with Isen''s family because of their rtionship with the city administration. Isen and his son messed up raising those two boys." Eren nodded in understanding after hearing Nina''s exnation. He got up and went near her. He stood beside her and asked again: "I hear Ivor was an exceptional ranker even from a young age. What can you tell me more about him?" Nina didn''t understand why Eren was trying to pry into Isen''s family matters. She wasn''t all-knowing about the topic either. Just the bits and pieces she hade to gather because of her contacts in the city administration, her status as a prominent healer in the city of Osan, and her links with the Healers association active in the city. Eren on the other hand wanted to know more about the pawn he was raising. He wanted to see if he could use the guy''s background to influence him in a certain way. After all, he was trying to use a guy whose brother he had killed. If Ivor wasn''t so talented, Eren would have preferred straight up killing him. Chapter 379 News Breaks Out

Chapter 379 News Breaks Out

Nina sighed when she saw Eren wanted to continue speaking on the topic she was least interested in. So she told him everything she had learned about the topic at hand: "Isaac''s strange behaviours only increased as he grew up. Isen got the wind of this thing. The guy was worried about his image more than his grandson''s well-being. So he restricted the news about his eldest grandson from spreading. But ever since Isaac''s younger brother Ivor grew up a bit, his troubled self seemed to have vanished. He started behaving like a normal human being." Nina looked at Eren after she finished speaking. He seemed particrly curious about Ivor''s background. So she told the butcher what she had learned about him: "Ivor on the other hand started bing more reclusive. He started his ranking practices way early and was seen to be deeply dedicated to them. His natural talent as a ranker also aided in his growth. I don''t know what must have happened between the two brothers. Eventually, Isaac would always talk about his brother endearingly while Ivor would always resent him for it. Ivor has never spoken positively about his brother. At least that''s what I heard from other people who were in touch with the family. Then there was that incident which people in the healer association often talk about in a hushed manner" Eren''s interest was piqued when he heard Nina giving him the prelude to the information he might use. He didn''t have to say anything because she continued right after: "One day, a panel of healers was dispatched from the healers association to Isen''s residence. There was an emergency involving Ivor. His mana circuits had gone into haywire. Plus, he had some injuries. Neither Isen, his son, nor any capable ranker from the Osan household was around at that time. So the maids had called the healers association after finding Ivor in the state he was. The healers visited the Osan residence after treating Ivor andmented that Ivor had peculiar injuries. Of course, when Isen came back, he summoned the same healers and told them to sign a non-disclosure contract. We don''t know what happened to Ivor or the part Isen yed in his injuries. But one thing is certain. Ivor wouldn''t have been upset about his brother''s demise." Nina concluded and looked at Eren with a questioning gaze. Thetter just shrugged his shoulder before responding: "I was asking because Ivor''s behaviour in LA was pretty erratic. He fought with a lot of people. But he also had a huge fanbase because of the way he fought in ranking wars. The guy''s an enigma, aunt Nina. I just wanted to make sense of his overall personality." Nina nodded after she heard Eren''s reasoning. Thetter thought of changing the subject after he learned what he needed. It didn''t give him anything useful. But he knew that sometimes information just needs to be collected in fragments. It''d only make sense when all the fragmentse together and make aplete picture. Eren smiled and kept his right hand on Nina''s shoulder. He gave her a side hug, got close to her ears, and asked her teasingly: "Miss Nina, tell me today''s colour, will you?" Nina chuckled after she heard Eren''s question. She pondered a bit as if recalling a bit and told him when she seemed to have remembered it: "Shamrock!" Eren raised his eyebrows and acted exaggeratedly surprised. He asked Nina as if he was in disbelief: "This was the same colour you had told me aboutst time. Don''t tell me, dirty undies?" Nina had a nk face after hearing Eren''s reply. Soon that nk face was painted with shades of anger. Nina disappeared from her position only to reappear before Eren could understand what had happened. Out of nowhere, Eren had one of the remaining pancakes thrown on his face, which then proceeded to fall off of his smirking face. "Little rat, I like that colour. I have multiple pairs of them of the same colour. And it''s riching from you who didn''t wear them until a few months ago." Eren and Nina bothughed to their heart''s content as they talked and took jabs at each other. The day was spent in them talking about random stuff and nning their date along with some dry action. *************** Two dayster! The shocking news spread quickly throughout Edinburgh. Ivor Osan was the Osan Woods Butcher! He had killed his brother and his friends in the woods before heading to LA. He had been missing since the charges against him were confirmed. Ivor Osan now had a cult bounty on his head. The price was enough for high ranking mercenaries to start drooling in anticipation of catching him. Isen Osan had sessfully escaped to the kingdom of Leyos, which was an adjacent yet enemy nation of the Edinburgh kingdom. He had acted fast and didn''t let anybody know about his next move once he knew what the higher-ups of the kingdom were nning to do with him. Since he held an influential position in Edinburgh and was part of the inner circle of the kingdom, he had been dly weed by the elites of the Leyos. He was provided shelter. The higher-ups of the Edinburgh kingdom were extremely pissed. They had charged Isen Osan with mutiny and also ced a bounty on his family''s heads. But Isen Osan has crossed to the other side now. Edinburgh''s bounty only applied to its territory. Unless some high-ranking assassin willing to upset the higher-ups of the Leyos didn''t take it upon themselves to take up Edinburgh''s bounty and finish Isen off in the Leyos'' territory, the Osan Sr. was safe and sound. Everybody in the Edinburgh kingdom, from mortals to rankers, hade to realize that the cultist activities in various regions would spike because of these pieces of news getting circted. Moreover, as the cult activities increase, so would the activities of local thugs who would use the cultists'' names to execute their nefarious ns. The security of various significant cities within the kingdom, including Osan, was tightened. The army had been dispatched to various ces. Additionally, soldiers have been given enhanced rights to apprehend anyone they find suspicious. As a result, some wicked element in the army had be an even bigger menace to local authorities than thew-and-order problems they were currently having. Things were going to be tense in various regions of the kingdom for a while. The peace between Edinburgh and Leyos also started looking fragile after a long period of stagnation. Chapter 380 [Bonus chapter] Stellar Sativa Smokes

Chapter 380 [Bonus chapter] Ster Sativa Smokes

"Do you have E-Rank Ster Sativa in your storage?" Eren was at a herbal shop in the city of Osan. He was shopping for various things today. He asked about the herb to a young herbalist who was running a herbal store for potioneers. This was Jake''s subsidiary shop that was connected to the city of Laurel. So the chances of the shop had what he needed now were quite high. Plus, he didn''t have to pay anything here. Jake had told the manager who was working under him to politely take care of Eren''s needs without asking him a penny. "We do, Ace Eren. But what do you need it for? Potioneering or consumption for meditational use?" Eren pondered for a while and decided to learn about the difference. "Can you tell me the effects of the herb when we use it for potioning or direct consumption? Also, I would like to see the products first." The Novice herbalist nodded and fetched a staff member from his shop to bring the goods. Eren saw a stalk of the dark-green herb before him that had been dried a bit. He also saw a simple-looking, palm-sized, wooden box that had an array inscribed on its surface. The herbalist started describing the herb''s effects: "Ace Eren, the stalk of herbs you see in front of you are what we call Ster Sativa. They are rtivelymon among potioneers who are heavily dependent on the usage of stabilizers in their concoctions. If it is used in its raw form, it acts as a stabilizer. And in its processed and concentrated form, it can elevate the quality of potions that aid in enhancing Intelligence stat. But the stalks of Ster Sativa are not ideal for direct consumption. Of course, you could consume them if your rank allows it, but they won''t give you the most satisfactory results if your aim better results in ranking practice or" The Novice herbalist looked at Eren and had an inkling. Having lowered his voice: "Ace Eren, are you suffering from any battle-rted stress or anxiety? Or do you want to treat your nightmares that mess with your mana circuits?" Eren internally apuded the herbalist for his knowledge rted to herbs and their usage despite his young age. He nodded to let the guy know that he was indeed looking to buy the herb to treat his nightmares. "Very well then. As I said, Ace Eren, these herbs are not ideal for direct consumption. You''d waste much of their potency if you do that. That''s why we have these." He ced the wooden box in his palm. He imbued his mana in the box and immediately a simple smoke appeared over the array. Turned out that the box was a storage unit for Ste Sativa sticks. "This is a Ster Sativa stick you can smoke as per your needs every day. It would calm your mental state while keeping your mana circuits in control. They say that it also nourishes your soul. There are no side effects of using these sticks. However, you might need to avoid them in some serious situations as the effect they produce might interfere with your decision-making. The stick is often used by time-element rankers to deal with the side effects of using their spells. It helps them have fewer time-dilution episodes." The shopkeeper handed Eren another box of Ster Sativa Sticks that was yet to be mana bound. Eren grabbed the box and bound it with mana. Then he sent his mana sense and found a sizable number of sticks stored inside using the spatial magic. The internal storage of the box also sported arrays meant to keep the sticks in an ideal condition. Eren took a hold of the Sativa stick that had appeared over the wooden box''s array in between his index and middle finger. He first inhaled the stick by bringing it close to his nose and felt his mind calming down just by its aroma alone. The stick also seemed to react with the surrounding manaC diffusing the mind-calming aroma in the air. But it would also degrade the smoke''s quality the longer it was out in the open without being smoked. Eren put the smoke in his mouth, held it with his lips, and lit it by using fire element mana on his index finger. The butcher inhaled the smoke it generated as soon as the stick was met with the me dancing over the tip of his index finger. The effects kicked right in! Eren''s shakes that he kept suppressed and under control seemed to have decreased considerably. The agitated mana circuits he had been having for days on end now seemed to have calmed down a bit. Plus, his mind was free of his memories of the nightmares he had yesterday. Eren realized that, unlike the booze that hindered his mental capacity and his hand-eye coordination, the Sativa stick sped up his thought process. ''Hm? Used by time-element rankers to lessen the side effects of casting their spells, huh? I used the spells of that element so many times yet never experienced any side effects. I can only conclude that it is rted to Alephee. I wonder what would happen if a time-element user who doesn''t have the side effects of using their spells starts to smoke one of these babies while the execution of their spells is still ongoing? Heh! No point in wondering. Let''s give it a try. Sedated Perception! Eren activated Sedated Perception right after he took a puff from Ster Sativa. He felt that although the time delusion didn''t increase with the effects of the puff, he was in more control of himself in the stagnant world than he was before. Sedated Perception he was using till now would overload his mind with a lot of useless information. But the puff from Ster Sativa had given him a way to focus on what was important. ''This this is great. If it could work on my nightmares and make them disappear, it would be worth it to keep loads of these in my storage. Hehe. Plus, it''d also serve as something I could use to lower my booze cravings." Eren felt like he had found a suitable substance to take care of many of his issues in one go. He immediately asked the shopkeeper for the price. Turned out that the Sativa sticks were a bit expensive. But no cost was too steep for his sanity and relief. Chapter 381 Self Intervention

Chapter 381 Self Intervention

Eren started walking to the apothecary while smoking his Sativa stick. He had been told by the herbalist that the residual smoke might immediately put the mortals to sleep if they were standing close to him. Novice rankers might also get affected by the passive smoking of the Ster Sativa, but they needed to stay within a close range from Eren for a certain time for that to happen. That''s why Eren chose a rtively less popted route for his return. He could hear people were a bit on edge everywhere. They were discussing thetest official news that had been announced all over the kingdom. Eren used his Ace rank senses to listen to mortals talking at the far end of an alley. He stood at a side and kept on smoking as he listened to the group of four men and a woman. "Did you hear about Ivor Osan? That brat was the Osan Woods butcher! You might not know but that kid was messed up from the moment he was born. His elder brother Isaac was no different either. Did you hear about Rotohons?" Ady in her mid 30s asked the group of men who were listening to her like she was their most trusted source of insider news. Eren figured thedy must be working in the inner circle of city administration as he smoked his Sativa stick. "Hm? You mean Rick Rotohon? The guy who was allegedly looking to change the ownership of the city of Osan to himself? I heard Isen and Rick could never see eye to eye. What about him?" One of the men in the group seemed more informed than his peers. Thedy nodded at the guy''s question and responded: "That''s him alright. Now that Isen is not here and the city head''s position is empty, he has all the reason to make his presence grander than ever before. He hase up with some dirt on Isen and his family. Rick says Isen''s grandson was not stable from the moment he was born. He had started r*ping young boys of unknown backgrounds before killing them. Rick says he has been sheltering one such victim who managed to survive at thest moment. Rick also ims that Isen knew about these things but did nothing and protected his grandson instead. He even suppressed many such incidents. They say Isaac also tortured his younger brother. But there are not many details about it." The group of men who listened to thedy''s revtion opened their eyes wide in surprise that Isen, who they had thought of as just a nasty politician, was in fact much worse than they had thought. One of the men sighed and voiced his opinion: "Then it''s no wonder Ivor turned out to be the butcher. He must have killed his brother to take revenge on him for all of his transgressions against him. This is all just messed up. We can only wish that all of the Osans just get purged so that the city of Osan gets to have a new start." The group kept on talking but Eren wasn''t listening anymore. The information he had gained along with the information given by Nina finally created aplete picture for him to understand why Ivor turned out to be the way he wasC a brother-hating ball of arrogance. Eren realized that Ivor''s edgelord persona was his defense mechanism to cope up with the abuse he might have been subjected to some years ago by Isaac. The butcher also had another thought as he started connecting the dots. ''So that''s why Isaac was so fixated on taking me with him. Heh! The guy was trying to make me another of his victims without any repercussions. Too bad I whooped his ass instead of the other way around." Eren started creating a clear picture about Ivor and his past as he thought of many different things at once. The Sativa stick was aiding him in his deductions. ''Hm. That also exins the reason why a stubborn edgelord guy like Ivor would yeild to my interrogation as soon as I scared him by taking my hand near his groin. The guy is scarred by sexual abuse and his edgelord persona is just a facade. His thought process ir his personality won''t change until he thinks he bes strong enough to rise above his helpless self. Marching ahead in his ranking journey gives him the mental satisfaction because of that. Ivor is nothing but a victim of his circumstances. A talented victim nheless.'' Eren concluded Ivor''s profile in his head as he walked towards the apothecary while taking out another of his smokes and using it. He had his vices. He had just controlled his intake to make them not affect him as strived to be a better version of his past self. Heughed to himself as he looked at the Sativa stick in his hands and had another thought in his head: ''It''s not like I''m better than him. The guy is at least trying to fight hard against his circumstances. Meanwhile, I''m just looking for ways to make them work for me. We have two different mindsets. We are victims of two different circumstances. But unlike me, the guy''s will to march ahead in his ranking journey is untainted by all the experiences he had collected. Ivor''s experiences, good and bad, had shaped him to be the person he is. He is still fighting the odds ced against him. When met with the choice of being on the run or bing a cultist, the time he took toe to a logical decision was apudable. Not a lot of teens in his position could have done that. I couldn''t have done that if it was my previous self.'' Eren stood just the outside of apothecary''s gates and inhaled thest puff of his stick before thinking to himself: ''Meanwhile, my circumstances broke me. I''m trying to get my lost pieces back but they just keep on breaking some more. *sigh. All hope is not lost though. There''s a way as long as there''s life. Maybe we both would rise above our circumstances and give this wretched world our flying fucks.'' Eren concluded his self intervention and smiled. He threw the butt of his sativa stick on the ground and extinguished the residual fire with his shoes before entering his house. Unknown by the fact that he was being monitored by a certain military group using its top-of-the-line surveince artifacts. The group went away as soon as Eren entered his house. They didn''t want to upset the "C-Rank" healer living with Eren after all. The butcher on the other hand found himself alone in the room and rubbed his hands in excitement. Aunt Nina had gone outside for some work. It was time for him to prepare for his date. ================ AN: Wanted to describe Ivor''s circumstances and the actual reason behind why Isaac did what he did way earlier. But the progression of the ongoing plot didn''t allow us to take a peek into the past. Thankfully, Eren''s return to the city of Osan enabled us to get a glimpse of our edgelord''s mindset. It also provides us with a different point of view on the same scene that had happened way earlier in VEH''s storyline. Just as Eren has said, Ivor has the potential to rise above his circumstances one day! ;) Chapter 382 Abilities and Spells

Chapter 382 Abilities and Spells

"Wee, Miss Nina, to this humble abode we both call home." Eren opened the door and greeted Nina who had just got back from finishing her affairs with her trusted person in the Osan Healers Association. With his gentlemanly hand gesture, he gave her a cordial bow before inviting her in. The Master ranker smiled and got in. one could see a dash of excitement in her eyes. Tonight was the duo''s second dinner date. This time, Eren had arranged everything at home instead of picking a venue outside. Nina couldn''t roam much in the city because she wanted to keep her rank-up under wraps before she reached Nightshade Duchy. So she only met her trusted contact and had her arrange everything she needed to do before leaving the city with Eren. Nina had been using an artefact to limit the spread of her natural mana fluctuations while also being conscious of her surroundings. It was a simple artefact. But it couldn''t prevent someone at that rank or higher than E-Rank from using their mana sense on the user. Although the city of Osan didn''t have many E-Rankers and above, Nina didn''t want to risk it. She was already done serving the kingdom. She didn''t want to swim in the murky waters of political matters again. Nina raised her right hand in front of her and allowed Eren to lead her in. Holding her hand, he closed the door behind him. Then he led her to the vast living space he had just emptied of all its furniture. The living space featured a dinner table along with the food trolly that was ced nearby. There were a couple of chairs. A bed was ced near the window at the far end of the living space. Nina saw an array disk lying in the middle of the living space. It was also an E-Rank artefact that was used to recreate the recorded audiovisuals stored on it in the form of 3D spectral form. Nina looked questioningly at Eren. She wanted to ask him what the disk contained. But she held back and let Eren lead her and reveal his ns at his pace. Nina was wearing a white mini dress with green floral patterns printed over it. She had worn strappy heels, making her appear a bit taller. Nina''s waist-length hair was creating a cascading visual appeal behind her back. The pair of petite golden earrings she had wornplimented her overall outfit. Plus, she was wearing the same perfume Eren had gifted her some months back. Eren had worn a simple grey zer and white shirt underneath it. The grey coloured pants boded well with the zer and coordinated with the dash of white highlight he had underneath the zer. His leather belt and cognac shoespleted the ensemble. "What are we having for dinner?" Nina asked as she was guided to her dinner table seat by Eren. Thetter brought the food trolly near her and started serving her the exquisite ranker-specific dishes he had ordered from Soiree Gracieuse. "We have some mouth-watering dishes on our menu tonight, Nina. First, we have lobster meat from an F-Rank monster-sized lobster that has been garnished with herbs and spices. Then we have pastry twists that would have an E-Rank concoction to stimte your mana circuits. Then there''s" Eren lifted the lids over the ranked cuisines he had ordered from Soiree Gracieuse. He introduced them to Nina one by one as if he was the restaurant''s staff working his usual shift. There were also mortal cuisines he had included in the menu to enrich the variety even more. Nina was impressed. She told Eren which cuisines she''d be having for now. Thetter nodded and served the selections before picking a few items from the trolley for himself. There were also a couple of E-Rank and C-Rank wine bottles that he uncorked and poured for both of them respectively. "How did you like Stroganoff made from the meat of the D-Rank beast? I can''t eat it so you''d have to describe the taste to me." Eren said this while eating the roasted beef of the E-Rank beast. Nina took one more bite out of Stroganoff and inspected it with her taste buds before passing her judgment: "Not bad. But the beast''s meat doesn''t contain much mana essence. I guess the beast was on the verge of death. Plus, the cooking techniques performed on it are mediocre. The city of Osan really can''tpete with some of the big-league city-states. Trust me, Erni, the food here would look pale to you as a ranker when you eat for the first time there." Eren nodded and started talking about other topics of interest with Nina. he didn''t have a rich lifestyle in his past timeline. So even when he had visited the so-called big-league cities in the past, he had only eaten the cheapest food from there. And he didn''t stay there for more than a couple of days because of the expenses they had. One of the reasons Eren was thrifty in the timeline was because he was always running short on money in his past timeline. That feeling of despair he had because of hisck of money had pushed him to be the man he was today. Eren and Nina chatted withughter in the air. They had their share of double innuendo jokes they both dished out at each other. The night was turning out to be one filled with fun and eroticism at the same time. ******************* Eren knew things were about to be cosier once they started with the main event of the date. Therefore, he thought of asking the Master ranker a bunch of questions he had for a while before things progressed further. As eager as he was to spend time with Nina, he hadn''t forgotten that he still had to gather information for his ns ahead. "There was something else I wanted to ask you, Nina. I''m not sure how much you can share. But since you have crossed into the B-Rank, and haven''t signed any official binding contract with any institutions yet, this is as convenient a time as any for me." Nina got a bit serious and nodded at Eren. Thetter gathered his thoughts for a while before asking: "Nina, what are the inherent spells? Can humans have them in their arsenals? If yes, then how? There''s one more question I have. How do we differentiate between inherent spells and abilities?" Eren was thinking about the answers to these questions since his fight with Renar. He also had an innate spell of his own now. But he had only used his abilities subconsciously when his life was in danger or by instinct. He couldn''t control the spell the way he wanted to unless extreme conditions were present around him. Eren wanted to haveplete control over his innate spell and his abilities. Therefore, he needed the Master ranker''s guidance. Someone who he could count on. Chapter 383 Date and Discussion P1

Chapter 383 Date and Discussion P1

Nina pondered for a bit while looking at her wine-filled ss. She sent a bit of sangria down her throat before replying: "It is indeed a good time for you to ask me these questions, Erni. The previous restrictions that were ced on me have been loosened quite a bit if notpletely disappeared. Plus, we are going to leave the city of Osan. The origins of our knowledge be vague when we change our locations. But" Nina took another gulp from her wine ss after stirring it a bit and continued: "That doesn''t mean you and I are out of the system. Especially you. During your on-field assignments, you may be questioned about your knowledge. Plus, sometimes gaining knowledge that isn''t relevant for your rank can be detrimental instead of helpful. Therefore, I''ll withhold certain details so that you and I would have usible deniability. Will that be okay?" Nina asked Eren who was already executing this. He nodded his head immediately and gestured for her to continue: "Alright then. About innate and inherent spells. Distinguishing them is simple. Innate spells are bloodline locked spells that are bound by the genesis of your blood. Only mana beasts and demon beasts have it. There was arge group of rankers who had ess to innate spells like that in the past. You know who, right?" Nina stared intently at Eren after she said it. Thetter understood that she was talking about half-blood ns. Nodding his head in agreement, he encouraged her to proceed ahead further. "Good. Inherent spells, however, are almost like innate spells. The only difference is that you don''t need a bloodline to make a spell of your choosing as an inherent spell. In short, when you master a certain spell to such a degree that your mana core or your existence, in general, gets imprinted with the runes that embody that particr spell, then it bes your inherent spell. Almost always, inherent spells can only be the spells of the elements rankers have an affinity with. Unless a ranker stubbornly practices and executes a spell they don''t have an affinity with all his life, it is near impossible for them to make that spell their inherent spell. Simply put, when you make a spell your own, it bes your inherent spell. Low-level human rankers don''t usually have inherent spells because they are not proficient enough in any of their spells to make any of them their inherent spells. Do you have any doubts so far?" Eren had once again begun eating when Nina asked him. This time, he started eating lobster meat that wasden with herbs and spices. Nina wondered where the guy was keeping all that food around. "Only one. Does that mean the demon beasts that take human forms would develop inherent spells apart from their innate spells if and when they reach certain proficiency in them?" Nina apuded Eren for asking her the right question. She nodded and chose her words carefully before replying: "That''s right. That''s why a sessful taming of a demon beast who can or has the potential to assume human form is strictly regted. Thankfully, only high-grade demon beasts could do that. Like, the beasts who are in the B-rank and above. But at that point, the rankers who can tame demon beasts of that calibre are already absurdly stronger. So handling the demon beasts at that rank doesn''t seem like a big deal." Nina''s half-filled ss was refilled by Eren when she stopped. Thetter also filled his ss up with wine suitable for his rank. ''Heh! My Reen did it when she was in C-Rank. Guess she''s a special case.'' Eren thought proudly to himself and nudged Nina to continue. Nina verbally marched forward after feeling a bit pleasant and tipsy as the wine''s effects were starting to kick in: "If you don''t already know, innate and inherent spells incorporate the way of elements by default. They are easier to cast, less burdensome on your mana storage, and provide enhanced outputs or effects. In some cases, such spells can be so powerful as to bypass the ranking boundaries, allowing the rankers to produce, let''s say, 120% of their original power. You know what that means, right? Two rankers of the same rank. If one of them has an inherent spell while the other only has ess to normal spells, then the former would easily be able to dominate thetter. That''s why "those" groups of people were feared by normal rankers. The sheer potential they possessed as rankers must have been terrifying. Becausepared to those people awakening the innate spell hidden in their bloodlines, the probability of normal humans acquiring inherent spells was much lower." A lot of Eren''s doubts were cleared at this point even when Nina didn''t get into the nitty-gritty of the whole thing. He then asked another pertinent question that he wanted to ask. "What about abilities then, Nina?" Nina saw Eren finish his dinner, gulp down his ss full of wine, and light up a Sativa stick to smoke. She didn''t like that he was smoking like some hooligan in front of her. But she knew that it was part of his treatment. So she sighed and continued: "Abilities are something that only rankers who have innate or inherent spells can think of. In a way, they are the next evolution of spell casting. The main difference between spells and abilities is that thetter stops using your mana circuits to cast its intended effect. Entirely. Can you imagine? Employing mana without using your mana circuits? Casting something like that would be as effortless as breathing. That is what ability is. In short, the ability is when a spell ceases to be a spell. Nina''s exnation made Eren realize that his half-blood powers as slime and his newly acquired power Life Drain were in fact abilities. Because they ignored employing his mana circuits. His Sins series powers were also going to be abilities by that logic. And yet, Eren didn''t know how to use Life Drain and Devour. They didn''t work on mana circuits or mana points. That''s why they didn''t have a specific way with which he could activate them the way he wanted to when he wanted to. Nor could he tweak them as per his needs, the way he used to do with his spells. "Nina, how do they activate abilities if they don''t use mana circuits?" Chapter 384 Date and Discussion P2

Chapter 384 Date and Discussion P2

"Nina, how do they activate abilities if they don''t use mana circuits?" Eren asked while smoking his Sativa stick. He made a mental note to get an ashtray because Nina was giving him the stares for asionally dropping the ash on the table. "There is no specific way to activate the abilities, Erni. the activation either gets imprinted on your consciousness or you define them on your own." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard that. He didn''t understand what Nina meant by defining the ability''s activation. So Nina expounded further: "I don''t know why you are asking about abilities when you are only E-Rank, Erni. I suggest you don''t focus on these things as they would waste your time. There are some lunatic rankers out there who actively pursue these things and neglect their ranking practices. Abilities are granted naturally when you have reached a certain point in your ranking journey and the way of the elements. So it makes zero sense that you pursue something that is bound toe to you if you just focus on your path as a ranker." Eren shook his head when Nina thought that he was trying to waste his time pursuing advanced forms of magic. He rified: "It''s not that I want to delve into the whole thing, Nina. I''m asking because I want to know how that mutant mana beast had so much advantage over it." A realization dawned on Nina. She understood that he was asking because of the close call he had with the beasts in Besanc. The one that gave him the shakes. ''That must have been one hell of a mutant beast.'' Nina thought to herself before continuing: "Alright, Erni. I don''t want to be vague about it. But it''d be difficult for me to define the abilities in a particr way. They can vary greatly depending on the rankers'' elemental nature, their habits, and their proficiencies. Some abilities would turn out to be so crude that you''d rather use spells instead of them. There are times when rankers awaken with such terrifying power that they can dominate all their peers. In general, high-ranking entities don''t share their experiences with other rankers. Because it would be of no use to others. Plus, sharing about how their abilities get triggered is like allowing your opponents to have a trump card on you." Nina saw that Eren was beginning to show disappointment on his face. So she sighed and thought of sharing her experience. "Alright. I''ll share my experience with you. Hehe! I was called talented for gaining the ability in my C-Rank. You have seen me performing healing magic with the snap of my fingers. That''s what my ability is. It had be my inherent spell first. An ability needs a trigger for its intended effect to manifest. If the way to activate them is not imprinted on your consciousness, then the only thing you can do is make a conscious effort to define that trigger. The same thing had happened to me. I had to make conscious efforts to trigger my healing ability with the snap." Nina finished another ss of wine after staying there. She felt it was boring to continue discussing the topic, especially when "good things" were nned ahead in the evening. But she decided to satiate Eren''s curiosity for the moment, lest he be distracted when it was show-time. "Abilities can be triggered in many ways. Sometimes just thinking about them is enough. In some cases, just mentioning a word, like its name, is enough to trigger it. Often, a simple gesture would be all it takes to activate your ability. A snap of fingers in my case. Even simply raising a hand in a certain way would allow the ranker to tap into their abilities if they have defined their activation that way." Nina''s exnation until this point immediately reminded Eren of Eliza''s hand gestures. He had seen her raising her hand in a lotus fashion to cast her Endermes so many times in his nightmares now. He couldn''t forget how a single action was all it took for Eliza to cast her mes. It was as easy as breathing to her. Eren processed all the information Nina had given him and cross-referenced it with his experiences. He had another question he wanted to ask: "Nina, can low ranked entities never have ess to the inherent spells or abilities?" Nina chuckled lightly at his question before answering: "Don''t feel despair, silly. A ranker''s journey gets tougher the further they progress on it. Everything will eventuallye to you. I''d say you are doing pretty well considering you were rankless before joining LA. But there are always exceptions to every rule. Sadly, ordinary rankers cannotpete with the prodigies of their generation. People who are struck by epiphany might get lucky and aplish everything they can when they are in the state of epiphany. Something that would normally take you years to achieve with sheer diligence and hard work. The world is not fair, Erni. You just have to figure out how to make effective use of the opportunities you have. Even the unluckiest of rankers would have the days they could use to get further ahead than their past selves." Eren nodded when he heard Nina try to cheer him up thinking he was just traumatized by the danger he faced during his mission. He smiled lightly and held her hand that was resting on the table before replying: "Don''t worry about me, Nina. I''ll not waste my time trying to obtain something that isn''t meant for me yet. I was just curious. That''s all." Eren said while caressing Nina''s hand. Next, he drew another drag from his cigarette and asked another question he had been thinking about ever since he received marks for the Sins series. "Nina, do you know anything about ranking entities using foreign mana?" Nina had a surprised expression on her face when Eren asked that question. She wasn''t sure how to answer the question. But she had understood that he was having these doubts for a while now. So she sighed and responded: "What do you know about the source of the existing mana, Erni?" Chapter 385 Date and Discussion P3

Chapter 385 Date and Discussion P3

"What do you know about the source of the existing mana, Erni?" Nina asked Eren who pondered on that question for a bit. He had finished up his Sativa stick by now. He didn''t find it appropriate to light another stick in her presence right after he finished the first one, lest she thinks he had gotten addicted. He had gotten addicted to his vice. He just didn''t want the Master ranker to know about it. "From what I have learned so far about mana, the genesis of mana is a mystery. We don''t know how the races came to harness the power of mana. The source of this world''s mana is bound to this world''s residents. Maybe there are other worlds out there. Worlds that might bepletely different or exactly simr to this one. But the mana those worlds would have would be different than what we have here. Am I correct in saying that?" Nina nodded when she heard Eren''s answer. She was d that he wasn''t obtaining any dubious information. She rified it further. "That''s right, Erni. I don''t think we should talk about the world atrge at this point. Besides, even I am not qualified to talk about things at that scale. But let''s talk about the source of mana itself. You know that wemunicate with higher consciousness whenever we are in a state of epiphany. This higher consciousness is often influenced by the world''s will in general. The mana this world contains also has the world''s imprint on it. The difference between native and foreign mana is that both will have different imprints on them that would correspond to their respective worlds. There were heretics in the past who could tap into the foreign world''s mana and use its power to gain an overwhelming advantage over their opponents. The use of foreign mana is part of old paths of magic that are not practised anymore. At least not openly anymore." Eren nodded his head and spread his mana sense in the room. He knew he was stretching his luck by asking questions like these on his dinner date with Nina. So he decided to move forward with his next set of ns before asking any more questions. The array disk that had been kept in the middle of the living space was activated after Eren operated on it. Immediately the scenery in front of the duo''s eyes was changed. Nina noticed that her surroundings had changed visually. She found herself near a medium-sizedke that was reflecting the well-lit skyden with sparkling stars. The blue hue of the sky made it look otherworldly. Among the many sparkling sources of light, the half-moon was visible in the sky. She could see that there was a range of dunes surrounding the space in the distance. Thekeside where her dinner table and Eren were, was covered in light purple and blue vegetation along with a bit of regr green. The pier by thekeside tempted her to take a dip in the water. The entire scene looked gorgeous and had a touch of a fantastical vibe about it. The array didn''t rely solely on creating a visual impact. It also incorporated various other arrays based on multiple elements to add other effects to the scenery. Nina could feel a light breeze that carried the scent of the wild. The sound of theke''s mildly moving water was also added to the mix. Only the elements of reality that Eren had chosen could make it to this fantasticalnd. The dinner table was one. The bed in the distance was the other. This array created a real-life atmosphere in the duo''s living room, causing them to feel like they were in an unknownnd. Of course, if they use mana sense now, their vision would change and they''d again find themselves on the ground floor of their apothecary. Then again, Nina and Eren wouldn''t use their mana sense here and ruin the mood for themselves. This was not all. Eren operated the array disk again and immediately a soothing flute tune started ying in the background. The tune was soon apanied by other instruments thatplimented the flute tune while it was being yed slowly. This was a slow dance number Eren had yed with the help of the array disk. The beats were apt for a romantic Waltz. Nina shed a very gracious smile after finding out Eren had taken efforts to arrange a date like this for her. A part of her knew that she was being a bit selfish by demanding something so "extra" from him. But she thought she should at least ask for something like this from the guy she was with. Eren got up and walked near Nina. He asked for Nina''s hand for a dance. Thetter was already pleased with his arrangements. She didn''t waste time in offering her hand while getting up from her seat. "My my, Erni. This is quite a nice setup you have here." Nina said and approached Eren. Thetter ced his left hand over her waist while his right hand was locked with hers. Eren smirked before responding: "Follow my lead." Eren began a slow waltz. Nina followed his lead while smiling at him. The music in the background was soothing to hear. The gentle breeze produced by the array along with the overall visual atmosphere set a new definition of romanticism for Nina. "Mdy, would you be kind enough to answer some of thest questions I have while we are dancing together?" Eren asked Nina politely. Thetter chuckled because Eren couldn''t pull off being polite. The formal mannerisms and etiquettes would always sound awkwarding from him. But she didn''t mind now that they were near each otherC slowly dancing and touching each other. She had also understood that instead of boring her by asking questions inly, Eren had started this dance earlier than he had nned. So that she doesn''t feel bored. The healer liked that her guy was aware of her moods and was taking measures to keep her mood uplifted. Therefore, she responded positively: "Alright, Erni. Go ahead. You''d have as much time as this song ys in the background." Eren grinned and asked his next question: "How does using foreign mana affect a ranker?" Chapter 386 Date and Discussion P4

Chapter 386 Date and Discussion P4

"How does using foreign mana affect you?" Eren asked as he swung Nina round on the tune. Thetter gracefully returned to her previous position afterpleting the spin. She replied as she followed Eren''s lead again. "First of all, pulling something like that can''t be done by normal methods. As a second consequence, using foreign mana without any pre-arrangement would cause your mana core to burst. Rankers would die if they used foreign mana without knowing what they were doing. The third hurdle in using foreign mana is one of the biggest reasons why nobody shouldn''t try heretic methods like those. Foreign mana is imprinted with the will of its respective world, and so it should ce a heavy burden on the user''s consciousness. The effects of the foreign mana would progressively affect the rankers as they used more and more of it. I don''t know much about this field either. Just consider that it would be problematic for the ranker when the burden exceeds a certain limit." ''So that''s why the Seven Sins series requires you to rank up and strengthen one''s soul before another mark is bestowed upon. I need more information about these things but I won''t get it from Nina. Alephee is in slumber. And I can''t count on La.'' Eren kept on dancing with Nina while talking with her on random topics. He would often joke with her or throw cheesy lines at her to keep her from getting annoyed with him. His hands were also starting to get active. They were brushing over Nina''s breasts and derriere. He was trying to make it look natural to maintain his gentlemanly demeanour. But Nina knew him better. Eren asked the Master ranker another question after some time while trying his best to lead her. "Nina, what would be the advantages of using foreign mana then? Using foreign manaes with many risks, but I''m sure their benefits will bnce them out if not outweigh them altogether. Otherwise, it makes no sense that the rankers of any era partake in these activities." Nina nodded and responded while not missing a beat in her steps: "Before you understand the benefits, I want to know how much you know about spells and their origins. Tell me how you would categorize spells and their origins." Eren and Nina''s bodies were almost sticking to each other now. It had stopped bing a Waltz and now they were more focused on feeling each other out. Eren took his time to answer. "There are various schools of spells present on the continent of Anfang that have been said toe from various ces. Each school has its own way of employing mana circuits, spoken or non-silent incantations, somatic actions, materialponents, and focusponents to produce different forms of spells. Thenguage we employ in the spells'' incantation only indicates that they originated from a distinct ce somewhere. The history of the continent of Anfang has been blurred for a while now. So it''s difficult to track the exact source. But it is safe to assume that some spells did not originate from here. But we don''t have to find the source to categorize the spells. The same spell effect can be obtained in a variety of ways. The most appropriate way to categorize the spells would not be by the school theye from. It is better to consider the effects the spells produce to ssify them." As he spoke, Eren ced his left hand on Nina''s right buttock. Thetter maintained a knowing smile on her face and nudged him to continueC both with his actions and his speech. "The rankers consider a few main categories of spells as their go-to spells while the cultists have their own way of looking at this thing. For example, most of the rankers'' spells fall under conjuration, transmutation, divination, evocation, illusion, or enchantment types. There are other types of spells like binding magic, ritual magic, and necromancy. But they are either banned or limited in their applications. Binding magic for example has been limited to making binding contracts. Wait a minute. Are you saying that employing foreign mana gives you the ability to branch out from the main forms of magic?" After Eren asked Nina, his left hand stopped grabbing Nina''s left bun. Thetter didn''t like that he was processing her hints in his mind and ignoring the current tasks at hand. But she replied anyway. "That''s right. Usage of foreign mana has been said to birth novel forms of magic. The manifestation of that magic would be extremely personal. So we wouldn''t always be able to fit it into the categories we know of. This would be one of the biggest advantages of using foreign mana. Known forms of magic can be countered with known solutions. But how would you counter something on the spot if you don''t know what kind of form or effects it would have?" Eren nodded and decided to ask a few brief questions before dropping the subjectpletely before the background music had finished. He then focused on his time with Nina as another romantic music started ying in the background. The butcher now had basic information about everything that had happened to him. He hade to know that somehow he had received two Sins marks. He decided it was paramount for him to understand them before he could use them. Eren doubted that the nightmares he was having were all solely due to Eliza''s soul sense affecting his soul. He guessed that it could also be connected to him receiving Sins marks. Especially when he received two Sins series marks at once. Eren thought that Eliza had done it merely to keep him under her leash. Unbeknownst to him though, Eliza was equally surprised by the way that ceremony had ended. ''No point thinking about what that old monster is nning. I''ll find out about it eventually. Meanwhile, I need to find a way to activate my second mark as soon as possible. I need toe up with my ns. There won''t be more Ivors I could count on every time I found myself in a mess.'' Eren was having a whirlpool of thought in his head when he heard Nina''s slightly irritated voice. "Erni, stop thinking about these things now. I''ve already told you enough. Now live in the present, mister." Eren was snapped back to reality after Nina''s mild warning. No matter how cosy he was with the Master ranker, he didn''t want to offend her in any way after all. He smiled and used his mana sense to control the array''s spectral projection. The illumination of the surroundings suddenly got a bit dimmer as the music in the backdrop changed to something soothing. The gentle breeze carried notes of white musk and ombre rose. Nina was pulled into Eren''s embrace soon after she experienced the subtle changes in the surroundings. She rested her head on his chest as they stood there enjoying each other''s warmth for a moment. Things were about to get heated from this point on. ================ AN: Volume 01 of VEH featured spells using differentnguages in their incantations. A lot of doubts that the readers might have regarding the same should be put to rest with these chapters. Plus, these chapters serve as a basis for Eren to use his Sins series marks. The entire dating scene has been used to lower the negative impact of having an extended info dump. Eren and Nina''s time together would be penned down in the next couple of chapters. ;) Chapter 387 A Dash of Creativity P1*

Chapter 387 A Dash of Creativity P1*

"Why did you choose Nightshade Duchy, Erni? What are your ns there?" Nina asked while she was resting her head on Eren''s chest. Thetter was busy kissing her neck when he heard her speak. He paused from his task and answered her: "You remember me telling you about my discipleship under Master Levine De Montmorency, right? I talked with her before she entered istion. Let''s just say she can be very helpful to me where I am heading. Master Levine was still isted when I left the LA grounds. But she''ll contact me once she gets out of it. I''ll tell you about my ns when that happens. They are rted to potioneering, of course. Therefore, I could use your assistance as well. But enough about that where were we?" Eren asked Nina and nted his lips on hers before she could answer. The healer felt her body shiver with delight as she felt like she was melting in Eren''s arms. "Ummmmmm!" Nina''s heart raced as she responded to Eren''s smooch with equal enthusiasm. She bit his lower lips while tightly hugging him. Thetter felt the force with which she was hugging him was lowkey hurting him. But he channelled his Ace rank mana and negated its effect. ''Heh! This time, my balls are about to get emptied for real. It''ll be me who''ll be asking for breathers.'' Eren pondered this and smiled internally. He grabbed Nina''s buns and gave them a firm squeeze. He had to admit that the goods he was handling were quality products. "Why do I feel like your buns have be mushier than before? Not that I''mining. Hehe!" Eren broke his lip lock topliment Nina. Thetter smiled and sped her arms around Eren''s neck before answering: "Well you like puns, don''t you? Here''s one for you. All my assets are yours for the taking." Eren chuckled when he heard Nina hurling him the crass humour he often used to serve her. He lifted her into a princess carry and carried her to the bed located a distance from them. He gently ced Nina over the bed before climbing on top of her without a moment''s dy. They kissed again while feeling each other''s bodies. Eren was d his stature had increased. He thought his misfortune was a blessing in disguise at least in this department. "I won''t lie, Erni. Your sculpted body has made you a kind of hunk. Plus, you are bing a more responsible adult. I feel blessed to have you. Sometimes, I wish we could just stay here, forget about everything, and spend our lives in each other''spany like this. My life was empty and colourless before we got together. But at least during that time, I had you all to myself. I might sound selfish. But I want that to happen again. I want you all to myself." Nina whispered her sweet nothings in Eren''s ears as he was busy devouring her neck. Then she grasped his hair and guided him onto her petite neck. "Hmmm! I am all yours now, Nina. And we can never be truly separated from each other. To be honest, I never cared about this city just because I spent my childhood in it. My attachments are with you. As long as your presence is there, that ce will be my home to return to." Nina smiled mirthlessly when she heard Eren''s answer. She had to admit that the guy knew what words to use to keep his women in check. Nina''s nipples tensed when she felt Eren''s bulge grinding on her womanhood. She had wrapped her legs around him as he was making a buffet out of her bodyC devouring her entirely with his kisses, hands, and groin grinds. Eren slipped his hand under Nina''s body and squeezed her left buttock. He didn''t like that there were clothes between them now. "Hatchlings of the me." Eren executed his fire-element spell and soon his body was wrapped by two hatchlings of me. The spell had been used to burn the clothes over the bodies of the duo. The flimsy fabric didn''t stand a chance. Nina had already lowered her natural mana defenceC allowing the me serpents to burn her clothes away as they started crawling all over her body. She felt ticklish because of them. Eren was sharing his senses with the serpents. He could now feel more of Nina at the same time because of the me. Even the butcher was surprised that he hadn''t thought of using the spell this way. ''Sometimes all a man needs to spice things up is a dash of creativity.'' Eren''s need for burning Nina''s clothes had enabled him to step into a new realm of possibilities. He controlled his me serpents and made them open their fangs and bite all over Nina''s now-naked, tempting body. Eren spread Nina''s legs with his hands and went down on her. Meanwhile, the me serpents climbed over Nina''s torso and bit her erect nipples with their mouths. Eren generated a bit of lightning mana on the tip of his tongue and licked Nina''s pink button first. The small jolt along with the attackunched by the me serpents on her body was enough for Nina topletely give in to her desires. "Oh, Erni.. That''s it. Lick my pussy good baby." Eren wanted to shout nguage" when he heard this. But he chuckled to himself and let the matter go. As his left hand spread the pussy lips, he inserted two fingers of his right hand inside the warm, wet cave. The inner fold of the pussy was made visible. He didn''t want to risk extending his tongue unusually like what he had done with Renita. This was the Master ranker he was dealing with. Not some newbie Novice who was a virgin. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Eren controlled his spell and made it enhance his perception of time slightly. Then he made his body capable of keeping up with the pace by using a time-elementbo. Nina could now reach new heights of ecstasy with Eren''s simple buff. Chapter 388 A Dash of Creativity P2*

Chapter 388 A Dash of Creativity P2*

Nina felt her entire body had been set on fire, which was technically true as well since the me serpents were all over her body. She gripped the bedsheets with her hand and threw her head back as she was being eaten by Eren. "Aaaaaah! Hmmmmm Oh, yes. More, Erni. More." Nina had mowed thewnpletely down there. So Eren''s tongue had unrestricted ess to the inner folds of her pussy. And by now he had made full use of it. Eren heard Nina''s moans so he decided to tease her a bit. He stoppedpping up her pussy and got on top of her. Nina was rudely awoken from her bliss when she felt that Eren was not tongue-storming her anymore. "Whaaaa.." "Press your massive jugs together, Nina. I wanna titty-fuck!" Nina was cut off before she could register her objection to Eren''s selfish behaviour. Eren didn''t wait for her to respond verbally. He ced his now-hard 9incher thick cock between her jugs and looked at her with a smirk on his face. "You you have grown so much, you selfish little rat. Hehehe!" Eren''s package had increased even more than Nina had anticipated. The girth of his cock had also been doubled. She realized that the guy was about to drive herpletely insane by his sheer size alone. She gripped Eren''s cock in both her hands and started stroking it before speaking up: "Alright. Consider this as a present from me. But if you act selfishly again, I''ll make you fuck me even if your body turns into a mummy, got it?" After hearing Nina''s threat, Erenughed aloud. He knew she would not hesitate to make it true if he decided to push his boundaries. But he didn''t care. At least not this time. In response, he just started thrusting his cock in her handsC telling her to get on with the program already. Nina was taken aback when the me serpents crawled to her pussy and began to excite her down there. Their serpent tongues startedpping her up to her wet cunt. The first snake concentrated on her now-erect clitty while the other started licking the wet valley. "Aaaaaaaah. This this aaaaah. This is a devilish way to use your spells, Erni." Nina said amid her moans. She had brought her boobs together with her hands and was getting titty-fucked by Eren. But thetter felt that this was not enough. "Hmm! You like it though, don''t you? Your pussy has opened a water fountain down there, hehe! You need to step up your game. Don''t just grab your boobs together. Suck on the tip of my tongue." Eren tapped Nina''s pussy with his right hand, hoping to excite herdy part even more. The me serpents allowed Eren''s touch through without interrupting the mission they had been given. Before Nina could speak, Eren used his left hand to push her head near his cock. Her mouth was brought closer to his cock as it was getting sandwiched between her globes. Nina was already on edge because of Eren''s multi-front attacks. She opened her mouth and took the tip of his dick in. The position was a bit ufortable for her. But she held on and decided to give it her all. Eren kept on pushing Nina''s head from behind. He grabbed her hair and thrust his cock deep inside her mouth. He felt that only the tip of the cock getting all the wet attention was not enough anymore. Soon the titty fuck stopped and he concentrated on ramming his dick inside her mouth. He ced both his hands over the back of her head and started pushing his cock in and out. If she wasn''t a Master ranker, she would have felt suffocated by Eren''s unrestrained actions. And yet, she didn''t dislike it. She cooperatedpletely and spread her legs widerC allowing the me serpents to eat her up with their agile forked tongues. Eren had decided to turn wild because of her ranking status. He couldn''t keep up with her for as long as she could with him. So he had decided to make his time count. "I''m mmmm. Close. Keep at it." Eren grunted as he felt like he''d burst soon. Hepletely took control of Nina''s face and used his legs to push his dick down her throat. He nutted inside her mouth soon enough. "That that was amazing!" Eren felt good going wild on Nia. Heid next to her and let her take charge. Nina didn''t wait long. She saw that his dick was still stiff. Thanks to those ever-restless me serpents, she was now feeling the fire in her pussy literally as well as metaphorically. So she got over him and sat on his groin before holding his dick with her hand from behind and guiding it inside her slippery cave. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaah this is a good dick!" Nina''s eyes widened in surprise and excitement as she weed Eren''s cock inside her. Before she could slowly amodate the little guy that was Lil-no-more, Eren grabbed her by the butts and pushed it deep inside her in one swift move. "Raaaa raaascal!" Nina''s eyes grew wide in surprise as she felt Eren''s dick digging deep inside her. She threw her entire weight over his torso and hugged him as she felt the dick moving. Taaaaap! Taaaaap! Taaaaap! The sound of flesh meeting flesh was a synchronous rhythm in the couple''s ears. Eren squeezed Nina''s buns with both his hands as he drove his cock deep enough before almost popping it out of her. His balls had gotten wet because of Nina''s pussy juices trickling down on them. The musky smell of her body filled the room. It got mixed with the pleasing scent of the array-produced environment and created an aromatic symphony of its own. "Stay stay with me!" Nina rode on Eren''s dick as she pounded her ass over his groin. Thetter was now grabbing her tits in both his hands while using his propped legs to push his dick upwards to meet Nina''s descent. "Aaaaaah aaaah it''sing." Nina felt a dam bursting inside her pussy- cumming heavily on Eren''s dick. She shivered as all her pent up sexual desires were being satisfied so far with this act. Eren was about to get up from his position. But he was forced to resume his stance when Nina pressed her hand on his chest in an authoritative manner. "I. haaash!.... I''m just getting started, Erni!" Chapter 389 A Dash of Creativity P3*

Chapter 389 A Dash of Creativity P3*

"I. Haaash!.... I''m just getting started, Erni!" Nina tied her hair in a bow after she said that. Erenughed. But in hisughter, there was a slight mix of fear. Maybe he teased Renita too much. Now Karma wasing to bite him in the ass. Eren''s dick becameid after he cummed twice in a row, even though he was able to maintain erections for longer. He didn''t want to give the Master ranker too many ideas. He feared he too would be a mummy-like Eliza if his erection prowess was discovered by Nina. Nina started kissing Eren on his neck while hisid cock slipped out of her slimy pussy. She bit his earlobes before marching downwards. She started sucking on his nipples as she kept on grinding her ass on him. ''This woman is in heat.'' Eren thought and decided to counterattack Nina. He controlled his fire snakes once again to excite her groin, while he fondled the globes before him. "Aaaaah more more" Eren let his dick turn hard again after some time. By then, the snakes had made all the residual bodily fluid turn into thin air with their controlled heat treatment on the couple''s bodies. And yet, Nina''s pussy started producing more love juices when she felt the snakes'' tongues were getting to town down there. She felt excited and thirsty at the same time. Eren knew what was going on so he retrieved another wine bottle from his storage and handed it to Nina. This was the same elven ale that Ma had given him for his consumption. The wine''s name was Frostfoam. Her favorite. Nina smiled as she took hold of the bottle. She uncorked the lid and drank straight from it. As a result of the hurried action, the contents of the bottle spilt all over her. "Hmmm. Your nipples look even more tempting now that they have been voured with wine. Come''er!" Eren pulled Nina towards his face and got her boobs on top of his face. Nina chuckled at his action. She understood her task well and started pouring the wine from the top. Eren sipped on the wine as he sucked on Nina''s nipples. He immediately felt his body slightly freezing. A thinyer of ice started forming over his skin as he gulped down more and more of the win. This was Eren''s first time trying Frostfoam. He understood that Ma had ordered a custom concoction for him to drink. Because the effects were too prominent to be sold to the general popce. Nina didn''t have such effects on her body because the ale was lower ranked. It did make her feel rejuvenated and slightly chilled though. ''Hmmm! I need to tap Ma''s ass too in the future for pranking me like this.'' Eren thought as he continued to ravish Nina. Thetter felt that Eren''s dick had resumed its previous glory once again. She started rubbing it between her butt crack as she kept on pouring more wine on her tittiesC ever so slowly, one tiny stream at a time. Nina drank the rest of the wine herself and threw the bottle away. A distinct sound of ss breaking was heard. But the couple didn''t care. "Are you ready?" Nina asked. But she didn''t wait for him to respond. Eren''s cock was already wet by the pussy juices by now. She reached for it by slipping her hand between their torsos. She stroked the adorable little beast a bit before making the tip knock on her rear door. "Go ahead!" Eren said confidently. His dick twitched in Nina''s hand to show his affirmation. The healer shed a grin and lowered her pelvis slowly on his dick. "Aaaaaah... the thickness is too much for this.." Ninamented with tightly shut eyes. She then pursed her lips and used her hand from behind to control the pration. She now knew Eren would try to psyche her and drive his whole shaft inside in one go if she left him unchecked. That''s why she was using her grip to control his movement. Eren watched Nina slowly adjusting to his girth for anal pration. He decided to let her have her time. He retrieved his Sativa stick from his storage and called out his me serpent to light it up. After lighting it, the me serpent climbed back over Nina''s torso. It wrapped itself over her waist and bit her nipples. The other serpent was doing the same. Nina slowly started stomping her ass up and down on Eren''s rod as he smoked. She was kinda irritated because of his cocky attitude. But she also had to admit internally that he was driving her even crazier than before. Taaaap Taaaap Taaaap It was the fleshly melody Eren heard that made him exert some effort. He started driving his dick upwards as he drew in drags after drags from his Sativa stick. "Will you... Aaah stop Aaah smoking already?" Nina asked as she was getting pounded in her ass by Eren''s long and thick rod. Thetter chuckled and offered her his smoke instead of obeying her demands. Nina was slightly angry but also low-key chuckling at the way Eren was behaving. She had to admit that the Sativa stick had soothed all his remaining anxieties away. Nina took hold of Eren''s smoke as she was getting fucked. She adjusted herself a bit and took a drag. While the stuff was too low for her rank, it did provide her with a pleasant sensation because of the novel experience she was having with Eren. "You you are aaaah. You are about to make me a crass human like you, Erni." Nina said after she finished the half-finished Sativa stick she had been given. She was also beginning to enjoy her session with Eren a bit more now. ''Heh! I stopped being human a long time ago.'' Eren chuckled as a response to Nina''s answer and finally took hold of Nina''s buns with both his hands. He channeled his lightning element mana throughout his body and made Nina''s skin tickle a bit. In one swift motion, he made Nina get down on all fours and stood on his knees behind her back. In another moment, his dick was piling inside her anal entry once again. By now, he had another smoke in his hand. He kept on tapping her butts with his empty hand as he enjoyed smoking. ''Aaaah! Good life.'' Eren thought to himself as he burst inside Nina once again. Her anus queefed when he removed his dick from it. His white milk came out from her holeC dripping down on the bedsheets and her thighs. And yet, Eren knew this would not be the end of Nina''s thirst for him. He watched as Nina looked at him with her head tilted and even more hunger in her eyes than before. "This is going to be a long night!" Eren chuckled as he got back to hug Nina from behind. Nina weed him from behind and pushed her back in his embrace. The couple was going to continue until one of them tapped out. Chapter 390 Know Thy Enemy

Chapter 390 Know Thy Enemy

Eren woke up the next day and it was evening already. His eyes were heavy and he felt exhausted. ''Aaargh! My back hurts. My balls ache. And my dick feels like it would fall off.'' The butcher checked on his condition and concluded. Then had used too much mana in his session with Nina and he didn''t have any ranking technique yet to actively refill his mana storage. So he relied more on passive mana harnessing now. He was still in the living room when he awoke. Nina had kept the apothecary closed so there was no need for him to go back to his room again. There was no array-generated spectral environment anymore when he looked around. He got up from his bed and spread his mana sense. Nina was absent. Eren found Nina''s note by the dining table. She had cooked him a hearty meal before leaving for her work. She had told him in the note that she''d take a few days to return. The note was burned in Eren''s hand before he started to have his meal. He also had some work at the city of Laurel where Agatha was currently waiting for him. ''I need to hurry to the city of Laurel too. Need to wrap all my affairs in the Duchy of Lionhearts before entering the Nightshade Duchy.'' Eren thought as he decided to catch up on some reading while having his food. Taking a worn-out book from his storage, he opened it up using its bookmark. This was JJ Edgar''s journal that he had obtained from the cultist hideout he had looted. He started reading the contents of the books as he took a bite out of his first roasted chicken leg. "Demi-humans. What were they? Why did they vanish from the continent from Anfangpletely? Are they extinct for real? Or are some of them still hiding somewhere? My interest in the demi-humans has been piqued from the moment I discovered that demi-human skeleton. I feel that" Eren kept on reading and found out that Edgar was used to making and noting down a lot of conjectures. They may or may not be relevant to the butcher anymore. So he decided to speed-read the contents to save time. My helping hands have discovered another bunch of old documents scattered about this wretched kingdom. They shed light on the era before Anfang''s redacted history, if only in a small way. I have to admit that I had been using the wrong term to describe the entities that have fascinated me. I now understand that demi-human is more of a general term. They were referred to as half-bloods in the past. The half-blood rankers were able to pass their bloodline powers to their progenyC enabling them to establish half-blood ns. It seems that they were a force to be reckoned with in their era. The house of Samael has been mentioned multiple times in these documents. Their bloodline''s powers remain a mystery to me. But it seems it was one of the strongest half-blood ns in existence." Eren was stunned as he continued reading. The rest of the parts about House of Samael were Edgar''s conjectures so he would have to take them with a grain of salt. But it seemed that Eliza wasn''t lying when she said that her n was special in her era. Eren flipped a few pages and kept on reading. "Mutagen. Theponent of the blood that allows the half-bloods to tap into their bloodline powers. But what is mutagen at its core? My research into this field has been refined, thanks to my experiments and my extensive reading. It has allowed me to form a hypothesis that is based on a lot of research-oriented data. Mutagen is, in my opinion, a key to unlocking pre-established innate spells bound by nature itself. The key was given to the mana beasts first. But someone down the line found a way to get it for humankind as well. Thus, the half-bloods were born. One particr thing about the human species is that it doesn''t have its innate spell by birth. A pure human bloodline doesn''t have any key that can unlock any pre-established spell. But surprisingly or unsurprisingly, it can act as an ideal host for one. With this key, the half-bloods can acquire their innate spells faster than normal humans obtain their inherent spells. The time with which they turn their innate spell into their abilities should also be mind-boggling whenpared to normal rankers. The key also helps the half-blood progress faster in the way of the elements because it contains the very secrets of the element the mutagen ispatible with. I can now see how this might have been seen as an unfair advantage by normal human rankers." Eren hade to realize that a lot of this Edgar fellow''s conjectures were right on point. He apuded the guy internally as he had his third chicken leg and kept on reading. "It seems that the house of Samael was once a normal pioneering n who had gotten their hands on the bloodline of some mythical creature. Since then, they have be a half-blood n. Its research into mutagens was further enhanced after obtaining the bloodline. Several documents hint at the cmity that took ce even before the redaction of history. It seems that the house of Samael was in charge ofing up with methods to aid all the rankers of that time in dealing with the cmity at hand." Eren finished another roasted chicken leg and cleaned his hands with the napkin ced beside him. He then lit up his Sativa stick before pondering over what he had read so far. ''Hmm. Know thy mummified enemy! I need to learn more about this tragedy. But since even this Edgar fellow couldn''t find much about it, I might have a hard time just scratching the surface. If only I could get my hands on the rest of Edgar''s journals. Or perhaps meet him in a friendly manner, if he is alive that is.'' Eren thought to himself. Then shook his head negatively. ''Naah. He would be a high-ranking entity even if he is alive if I''m not wrong. Why would he help me?'' The butcher finished reading Edgar''s journal. "Heh! This House of Samael was made up of a bunch of visionary rankers." Chapter 391 Master Key

Chapter 391 Master Key

Eren resumed reading further into Edgar''s journal. "Heh! This House of Samael was made up of a bunch of visionary rankers. Research into mutagens seems to drive it a great deal. It looks like they were preparing to create a dummy mutagen that in itself did not hold any bloodline-rted innate spell. The document I have with me conjectures that the Samaels were aiming to create a nk mutagen. Something that would act as the master key to unlock the pre-established spells obtained by other bloodlines. Documents also state that the house of Samael did not announce whether their research was sessful or not. The documents also specte that it was a failure. Still, that was a pretty ambitious project. The sheer efforts they must have taken along with the number of human experiments they must have performed might have made them evil in normal rankers'' eyes. If only if only I could get my hands on some of their research documents! What a day it would be." ''If only I could get my hands on YOUR journals. Guess we don''t always get what we want buddy.'' Eren shook his head in denial and sighed. Then he continued to smoke and read the journal. There was a lot of vague talk about mutagen and the supposed master key along with the most prominent half-blood ns of the bygone era. Eren also found some brief theories Edgar had penned down regarding someone named Witch of the Enderme. He had found a personal note from a bunch of normal rankers of that time that said she was akin to a god among rankers. Edgar imed that Witch of the Enderme was an urban legend at the time. Because he had found a couple of documents that described her deeds and found them too ludicrous to be true. So he didn''t mention them in his journal. ''My man, Edgar. You had one job!'' Eren sighed as he kept on speed reading Edgar''s journal. Soon the journal started talking about a discovery that interested him. "This is HUGE! I have to write it down to curb my excitement. The half-bloods still exist on the continent of Anfang! So some of my predictions were true after all. They''ve gone into hiding though, for some reason. I had to sign a strict binding contract and had to perform so many tasks to win their confidence. But just yesterday, I was contacted by one of them who told me he''d be willing to maintain contact with me if I did a few things for him. He is a member of a very secretive cultist organization called the Ancients. An organization that I believe to contain the majority of half-blood rankers if not all. He wants me to be part of a small cultist organization that walks on the path of therianthropy. I''ll be leading one of their core projects based on my ranking status and my knowledge in the field. I told him I''d think about it. But the benefits of being part of such an organization are huge. I''d get to dabble in live human experiments while maintaining a link with their contact. I''ll be running an organization named Beast Bloods. Hehehe! The name is enough to hint at the path that the organization has set out on. I don''t mind that the Ancients have set up everything about the organization themselves. It seems they had already nned a few things about this stuff a long time ago before contacting me. All of a sudden, I have so many things to do now. Plus, I have been provided with some research material as well as plenty of funds by my half-blood contact to do a few things for him as well. Lehan Duchy is just the beginning. I''ve been encouraged to open branches in other duchies too starting from the duchy of Lionheart. And find trusted colleagues I can count on to run those branches before repeating the same process in another region. It looks like Beast Bloods won''t just be limited to Edinburgh. I guess that the Ancients are gathering more people like me who are interested in the old paths of power and using them to create branches of Beast Bloods. Maybe they are nning something big. Maybe they just want to create more chaos. Why should I care? I''m just a man on the path to knowledge. So basically, theing years are bound to be interesting. I''ll just have to make sure I keep the contact in the loop regarding my progress so far using" Eren processed all the information he had read so far and his eyes seemed to have shined with a cunning glint. It sounded as if the Beast Bloods were closely linked to the Ancients, which in turn could lead him to the existing half-bloods. If all of Edgar''s conjectures and his experiences were true that is. Eren kept on reading the journal and found out a few things he could use to start his search. He finally finished speed-reading the entire journal before lighting another smoke. ''Maybe I''d have better luck in the Duchy of Lehan. But that is secondary. Contacting the Ancients is not my priority right now. It''s more like I shouldn''t contact them too quickly due to my artificial half-blood status. The living and breathing master key they think doesn''t exist. I need more information. Everything about the Ancients and the Lost History. Maybe I can ckmail Arizihana again? Then again, I created a messst time I came into contact with those guys. I guess I should wait until the dust settles.'' Eren kept on thinking of many things before discarding most of his ideas. The trip to the city of Laurel is more urgent than thinking about these things for him at this point. He needed to start preparing for a lot of things. Therefore, meeting Agatha had to be the top priority. *********************** The city of Laurel. Eren was looking at the report handed to him by Agatha while sitting down on afy sofa ced inside Agatha''s living space. She had opened another shop in the city of Laurel under Eren''s guidance and had reserved a well-lit room for herself upstairs in the shop. The city of Laurel was the focal point for a lot of potioners, herbalists, and merchants. Eren''s elementary products were immediately popr when they hit the market. Even his ck market products were sold for higher prices. Agatha hade to realize that opening a potion shop in this city was a very lucrative idea. She had wondered why a thrifty man like Eren was willing to spend so much money to nt his roots here. But now it all made sense to her. "Tell me how things areing along, Agatha?" Chapter 392 Settling Affairs

Chapter 392 Settling Affairs

"Tell me how things areing along, Agatha?" "I have found a few capable potioners and some staff as you''ve asked along with a capable manager to handle the shop''s daily affairs. And I''ve made them sign binding contracts with the manager. And I''ve only signed the binding contract with her. As per your instructions, I''ve enlisted Jack''s help to sell our ck market products. It''ll be treated as a separate ount from the shop''s affairs. But sadly, we can expect our profits in the ck market to go down soon." Eren raised his eyebrows and looked at Agatha standing in front of him inquisitively. But he figured out what the problem must have been before she responded. "Oh, I get it. Counterfeits! They arrived already?" Agatha sighed and nodded her head before speaking further: "That''s right. The potion bombs that we were selling now have stiffpetition. There are at least three variants that canpete with our products in terms of both output and price. What do we do now? Change our focus from potion bombs to something else?" Eren chuckled at Agatha''s response before speaking up: "It''s not like potion bombs werepletely unique to the ck market. They were still avable to rankers with deep pockets. We just made them avable to the masses. We created a buzz because of the price at which we sold it along with its enhanced output. That was all made possible by the unique recipe I had found. Um... let''s just say that the recipe wasn''t mine, to begin with. I borrowed it from somewhere. So no need to sulk for missing out on something that didn''t belong to us in the first ce. The counterfeits would always keep on appearing no matter which product we choose to focus on. So don''t worry about anything and maintain our current operations as they are. Our profits would take a hit for a time before getting stable. Plus, the potion bombs are not the only thing we''ll be dependent on. There would be a wide range of new products that would make the White Raven potions famous in this kingdom. Hehehe!" Eren giggled as he smoked. He didn''t forget to get an ashtray this time. Agatha wanted to ask which products they''d beunching but Eren spoke up before she could do so. "It''s helpful that you''ve hired the manager to take care of things here. I''ll let you handle her. Also, you need to focus on your ranking practice as well. I can see you''ve barely made any progress." Agatha looked at Eren like she had been wronged when he said that. He had made her handle everything regarding his shop affairs. And now he was expecting her to be apetent ranker too while handling these things. "Hehe! Don''t look at me like that. The new manager should give you plenty of time. Stay in the city of Laurel for some time. Settle all our affairs here. Take Jack''s help if and when you need to. Then you''d have toe to the Nightshade duchy. Meanwhile, take these recipes and have the potioneer start making them in batches. They are notpletely groundbreaking. But they should give us the variation we need to minimize the negative impact of counterfeits getting introduced." Eren handed Agatha a bunch of pages containing new recipes. She took the pages from his hand and immediately began reading a few. She had found that although the products weren''t unique, the products always contained an additional effect or two. For example, she found a potion recipe that could restore a person''s stamina and recoup his strength while enabling them to experience extreme focus. In short, the potions created based on these brand-new recipes were multi-purpose products. They had a good potential to be popr in a short time. Like Eren had said, they''d be able to prevent the extreme dip in profits with this updated line of products. "This this should help us a lot. I''ll arrange a rotation for the potioners to start making these products in rotation. Our regr production is bound to get affected. But we have made plenty of stockpiles by now. So that shouldn''t be a problem. Um When am I supposed to leave for the duchy of Nightshade? It would be better if you could share a time frame with me, you know." Agatha asked with a bit of nervousness. Eren looked at his anthrope ve keenly before asking her. "What ns do you have?" Agatha looked down and said in a small voice that Eren could barely hear "I I need some personal time. I''ll only need two weeks to settle my affairs. I didn''t get time to do that until now. But with the new manager and you leaving, I thought I''d better take care of that before heading for the Nightshade duchy." Eren thought about Agatha''s request. Then he remembered the things she had said when he had intimidated her using Reen. He then sighed and looked at his assistant before speaking up: "Agatha, I know I should be thest person to speak about letting things go and not seeking revenge. But I''d say this. Make sure that you are strong enough to seek justice for yourself before you take any step in that direction. And from the look of things, you are not strong enough. At least not right now." Agatha clenched her fist when she heard Eren''s response. Technically, he hadn''t said anything wrong. But that realization still irked her a bit. She responded while controlling various emotions that were raging in her mind. "You you don''t even want to listen to my side of the story. And now you want me to lecture on it? In case you forgot, it''s almost impossible for me to break into Ace rank because of my status as a therianthrope. I will use potions to reach the solid stage of the Novice rank and then carry out my ns. I''m not heading out a n either. I''ll use a bunch of potions to my advantage now that I know how to use them. That''s the most prepared I could get anyway. I''ll neither ask for your help nor get you involved in any way. Do Do you still n to stop me?" Chapter 393 Small Talk Big Moves

Chapter 393 Small Talk Big Moves

"Do you still n to stop me?" Eren chuckled after he heard Agatha''s response that sounded like a challenge. He shook his head before speaking up: "I still want to avoid listening to your sob story if I can. There are a lot of people in the world who would have an even more heart-wrenching past than yours. What makes you special?" Agatha wanted to respond with a lot of words. But no words came out of her mouth when it came to talking. Eren continued speaking before she could get over her silence. "That being said, I can help you step into Ace rank." Agatha shook her head in denial as if she was expecting this solution to be preached by Eren. "Even with the anthrope-specific ranking techniques, the chances for anthropes to progress further in their ranking journey are extremely low. So obtaining such a technique at such a high cost might result in a huge loss if I end up staying stagnant in the Novice rank. I know how you value your money. You would sell me immediately on the ck market to recover your losses." Eren raised his right hand that was holding the smoke and pointed at Agatha to say something. But he stayed speechless for a while. Then he coughed before speaking up. "*Cough. That''s not what I was suggesting, Agatha. I''m saying we could try a different approach. Something that would make you capable of practising normal ranking techniques of your element." Eren finished his statement and took a drag. Agatha narrowed her eyes before asking the first question that came to her mind. "You are not bullshitting me the way you bullshit with other merchants and your clientele, are you?" Eren was again made speechless by Agatha. She seemed to be on-point with her verbal punches. "No bullshittery. But it''s just that I''d need some time, which I''m always running short of these days. It might take a few months. But you''d see the results if you choose to be patient. In the meantime, I suggest that you use potions to reach the solid stage. Then use your current ranking technique to stabilize it. Keep your revenge ns on hold till then. Remember, revenge would only make sense in your head. So you should n everything before setting things on fire." After speaking, Eren threw the butt of the smoke into the ashtray. Then used his mana sense to operate the small array ced at the bottom of it. The ashtray caught fire on its own and cindered everything in it into nothingnessC making it clean and as good as new. Agatha was finally convinced and she decided to put her ns on hold for a while. She wasn''t suicidal. She only tried to make haste because she thought she had next to no chance of upping her rank. "Al... alright. I''ll postpone my task. I''ll focus on expediting the manufacture of these uing products. And also prepare for moving to the Nightshade duchy. I''m sure you must have nned a few things from your end. So I''ll need your input from time to time." Eren nodded at his assistant before deciding to read up on a rune-sealed scroll he had gotten from his underground contact. It was information rted to various cultist organizations and the regions in which they were presumed to be active. He had started collecting information about the Nightshade duchy through legal and illegal means. Eren raised his head from reading the scroll and looked up at Agatha, who was standing awkwardly beside him. He narrowed his eyes and asked. "Is there anything you want to ask?" Agatha yed with her hair as if she was a bit nervous before asking something random. "Um I don''t know. Well Oh, yes! I I always wanted to ask you something. Why do you act so thrifty even though you are getting richer even as we speak?" ''Small talk?'' Eren pressed his lips when Agatha asked him a question. He had realized that she wanted to ask him about something else. The question she threw at him was just a ruse. But he decided to answer the question honestly anyway. "Well I wasn''t always like this. But you tend to value your financial stability extremely when you almost get kicked out of the city for not having enough money to pay the monthly city tax. Then forced to take some extreme measures only to end up almost getting eaten by some beast in the most horrific way possible. Things like that are... let''s say bound to leave a scar on your conscience. You''d do anything in your power to prevent it from happening again. But that''s not the question you wanted to ask, was it? Tell me what you think. I''m listening." Eren asked while continuing to read from the scroll. Agatha yed with her now-long hair some more before asking in an even lower voice than before. "Um that kiss what what was that?" Eren replied without thinking while reading the scroll. "Hm? What kiss?" Agatha didn''t speak and let Eren think it through. Thetter remembered after a while that he had kissed Agatha on a whim when they were in the city of Lionhearts. He smirked and stored the scroll in his storage before saying. "Gee I don''t know. Let me confirm by doing it again." Eren disappeared from his seat and appeared right in front of AgathaC startling her. She was about to take a few steps back. But she found out that her waist was locked in the same position because Eren had grabbed it with both his hands on either side. Agatha nervously looked upwards only to find out that Eren was staring down at her with mischief in his eyes. She had a range of emotions at that time. But before she could process them for what they were, her lips were sealed by Eren''s. Eren caressed her waist while inserting his tongue into Agatha''s mouth. She wrapped her hands around his neck and resigned herself to his sudden attack. Eren broke the lip-lock himself after a while. He caressed Agatha''s hair and patted her before speaking up: "Sadly, we don''t have time to go any further than this, Agatha. I got to meet up with Jack now that he is here along with a few of his contacts. But at least we''ll have something to look forward to when we reach Nightshade Duchy. See you soon." Eren said and separated from Agatha. Thetter seemed too stunned to speak. But she followed his gradual disappearance with a glint of expectation in her eyes. Chapter 394 Stake Out

Chapter 394 Stake Out

Time of dusk. A region covered in an untamed wilderness not far away from the city of Osan. The full moon peeked through the passing clouds. It was asserting its dominance amid countless glowing balls of lights. Despite the warm season, the night was much colder than expected. "Kelmar, are you sure the kid will take this route? Maybe this was a dumb idea. We can call this off, you know." Clinton ho asked his buddy and confidante while staking out a certain route on top of a big tree''s upper branch. Meanwhile, he kept in touch with others scattered around the area who were doing the same as him- keeping their eyes on the road. Clinton ho was the same person who had obstructed Eren on his way to the city of Osan and demanded an absurd amount of "entry fee" from him. A huge part of him wanted to get back at Eren just for the sake of curbing his anger toward all the studentsing from institutions like LA. Kelmar and a few other members of his squad had the same mindset. Others had apanied this off-the-books operation as a form of brotherhood. But there was a part of him that was telling him there was something off about the guy. That''s why at the veryst minute, he suggested to his buddy that they should call off their operation on Eren. Kelmar snorted his nose at ho''s ns to back out of their n. He replied to his squad leader in a berating voice. "Damn it, ho. You are our leader so you better act like one. You didn''t say this the whole time we were tailing the guy. Now that our n is about toe to fruition, do you want to waste away all our efforts? And for what? Just because the guy has a C-Rank backer?" ho shook his head before replying. "Don''t underestimate a C-Rank in their absence. Even if that woman is just a healer, she might get us in trouble with any potential connections she might have. Plus, now that I think about it, that entire scene wasn''t such a big deal. No need to off the guy just because he gave us fewer Extols." ho suddenly started making sense, which wasn''t something bloodthirsty Kelmar wanted to hear. The vice-captain responded to his captain patiently. "You are talking about the repercussions that might happen if and when we are found out. We have done a lot of under-the-table deals and killed a bunch of rankers just because they looked at us funny. How many times were we questioned?" Remember that everything has been done to ensure that nothing can be traced back to us. So no matter what we do here, that C-Rank entity won''t have a clue. Hehe! There''s no need to get nervous dealing with Ace rankers when we have all our trump cards. Plus, we received all these toys to y with. But there are no cultists that have the balls to mess with us. All these toys would just disappear if we didn''t use them. We might as well seek out the target ourselves to do field practice, don''t you agree? Plus, we might spare him after ying with him a bit. We are nning to keep our identities hidden anyway. Let him think that the bandits did him dirty. Hehehe!" ho hade to realize that his egocentric and pointless revenge had turned into a way for some of his soldiers to vent out their stress. Kelmar was their on-field leader and was actively involved in the operation. ho wanted to prevent them more than ever. But then he thought that maybe they should proceed with the n as they had nned. Otherwise, his reputation would take a hit in the eyes of his squad members. He finally discarded the idea of retreating. ''Maybe Kelmar is right. This isn''t our first time doing ''target practise'' for fun and it won''t be thest. The kid might be talented. But so what? He can not win against a squad of rankers, especially since we have our tools to take care of him. Hehe! Maybe I was getting cold feet for nothing. Now I kind of want to see the despair in the kid''s eyes when he sees he has no way out. I want to crush his smugness. I''ll spare him only when he begs for his life. But not before breaking his limbs.'' ho self-motivated himself and resumed looking at the off-road path. This was the path they had made sure Eren would take with the rest of their team members who would join them after their target had been surrounded. They were currently following him from a distance using artefactsC ensuring Eren doesn''t get suspicious about their setup. They finally heard from their sentries ced in the distance that someone was traversing through the path they had their eyes locked on. Everyone started looking at each other and contacting one another via voicemunication. This was the show-time. ************************** "Something feels off." Eren said to himself as he continued riding on his colt towards the city of Osan. He just had to travel for about five more hours and he''d be home. But for some reason, he had an inkling that he was being followed and watched upon. The butcher spread his mana sense around in all directions and found nothing except a few mana beasts that couldn''t hurt him. But this information made him more alert to his surroundings than ever before. ''Give me a minute.'' La said suddenly. And a minute she took before responding further. ''Hmm. I just used a potion to confirm. Somebody is indeed following you. But they are using artefacts and potions at the same time to suppress their presence to its bare minimum. La talked to Eren via their voicemunication through ID storage. She was in her pendent abode. She had been busy with a lot of activities while inside the pendant these days. Plus, Eren''s activities with Nina had made sure that she would stay away from him while he was in the city of Osan. but she had followed him to the city of Laurel. The news of a few odd events had reached Eren''s ears when he was heading to the city of Osan from the city of Laurel. This was after settling his affairs with Agatha. This was the reason he was traveling at night. But now he wondered whether that was a wise decision. Chapter 395 Hubris

Chapter 395 Hubris

The news of a few odd events had reached Eren''s ears when he was heading to the city of Osan from the city of Laurel. This was after settling his affairs with Agatha. ording to the city''s message board at the entrance, travellers should avoid the regr route toward the city of Osan. There were signs of a mana beast horde attacking passersby under the leadership of an Ace rank one. There was also news that the city of Osan might be put into lockdown for a couple of days for some security reasons. As a result, the travellers were advised to make ns ordingly- either don''t go to the city of Osan or make haste and get there before the lockdown begins. Eren pondered a bit and chose thetter option. His time in the Lionheart duchy was short after all. He had to make another batch of potions for his personal use before his departure to the Nightshade duchy. He could use the lockdown days to make potions and make out with Nina some more if she is home. Plus, he had to check out the geo-coordinates saved on the array disk given to him by Lin Karr. A hunch led him to think it was rted to the Osan Woods'' Butcher. But he couldn''t determine exactly what he would find at the coordinates. Did you use potions to find out if any followers were pursuing us? How does that work?'' Eren was fascinated by how La would sometimes use potions for herself. So for a moment, he put the news about him being followed on the backburner and asked the first question that popped into his head. ''That''s simple actually. I took your scent into ount and eliminated it from the equation. Then I used an array to amplify the sensory feedback that surrounding rankers'' scents might have on a Scent Detection potion. Currently, there are four distinct lumps in the potion that are growing as a result of four separate feedbacks. That means four rankers are still following you.'' Eren was impressed by La''s creative potion usage. He hadn''t even heard that potions could be used this way. But he quickly snapped back to reality and asked La via voicemunication. ''What can you tell me about my pursuers from those lumps?'' This time La was impressed by Eren''s deduction that the lumps could be used to determine which rankers the scents belonged to. She didn''t take the time to tell him just that. ''Two Ace Rankers. Both are in the gaseous stage. Then there are two Novice rankersC both in the solid stage. One has just broken through into the solid stage while the other is about to step into the Ace rank. Thetter is the female ranker the group has.'' Eren scratched his chin to think about who might be targeting him. But he drew a nk. Then he focused on another particr detail. ''Wait a minute. You said they are using artefacts and potions at the same time to hide their presence. All are using the same artefacts and the same potions?'' La took her time to perform another round of experiments with her potions. She was using the feedback the surroundings would have on the potions to figure a few things out. ''It seems that is correct. They are all using the same type of artefact and the same type of potions. But what would I do with this information?'' La asked as Eren kept on moving forward on his colt. The butcher smiled coldly before responding. ''See? The book smarts are useless if you don''t know how to make use of the advantages you gain through them. I asked you that question because I wanted to see if it was a motley crew of bandits we are dealing with. Instead, I wanted to see a team of professionals who are used to working in sync. The bandits are out of the equation right off the bat. They can''t afford or be trained to use something like that in sync. With such perfection.'' Eren had retrieved his smoke from his storage by now. He lit it up. Took a few drags before speaking up as he rode on his colt with a rxed speed. ''Plus, having the same kind of artefact for everyone''s use might only be possible for big guilds and rankers'' teams that ce custom orders to the artefact forgers. Otherwise, there would almost always be some form of a discrepancy between two artefacts of the same kind. To make two artefacts of the same rank and grade the same, the craftsmen would have to use high-grade techniques. Such techniques are highly regted. You won''t find some shabby weapon forger making them in a rundown workshop.'' La was confused even more than before. She wanted to ask what his deductions would have to do with identifying his pursuers. But Eren resumed speaking even before she had the time to ask about it. ''I don''t think I''ve pissed off any guild or rankers'' parties, well-known or otherwise. So they are ruled out of the equation. Therefore, I am left with only one option. The army!'' Eren narrowed down his eyes when he said this to La. He was acting normally. But he was mentally preparing for action. ''Military-issue artefacts. Only army artefacts can be standardized like these. And only army personnel can be trained to use such artefacts with this perfection. Plus, I recently had a verbal spat with that brain dead Ace ranker, remember? I just don''t get how I offended him so badly that he resorted to this? It doesn''t make sense. These army soldiers are acting more like cultists than the cultists themselves.'' Laughed at Eren''s answer when she heard him say that. She replied in the voice of a young girl. ''To be honest, you have it too easy these days, Eren. In my master''s era, everyone was out to cut each other''s throats for profits. The rankers'' code of conduct would only be followed in the case of high-ranking entities. Rest of the rankers who were in the same rank as you were fair game. The establishments of today may be able to enforce certain rules over rankers, but that won''t change their nature. As soon as a ranker embarks on their ranking journey, they are cursed with it. Rankers have hubris! So don''t search for reasons behind every nutcase ranker''s actions. Chances are you won''t always find something that would make sense to you.'' Chapter 396 Lamb to the Slaughter

Chapter 396 Lamb to the ughter

La continued speaking to Eren while she was ying with her vials. Eren''s crisis didn''t affect her mood. ''Rankers have hubris! Don''t search for reasons behind every nutcase ranker''s actions. Chances are you won''t always find something that makes sense to you. You and not even my master are exceptions to this rule. It''s the way you channel your hubris and turn it into something positive or negative that sets your path as a ranker. Peace has softened the rankers of this generation. What I see is a wee change. ughter them, Eren.'' Eren stayed vignt as he listened to La without saying anything. He was trying to appear as normal and carefree as possible. He had thought of changing his route but La told him that he was now surrounded by a lot of array traps. They could go off as soon as Erenes into the vicinity. In short, Eren didn''t have any choice but to move forward. Running away would bring more trouble. This way, he could at least catch his opponents off guard when they decide to act andunch a counterattack. ''What kind of array traps have theyid, La? Is there any trap where I''m headed? Eren asked La. He was now near the position where ho, Kelmar and other soldiers were. Thetter took new vials and observed the newly formed lumps in them before answering. ''I''m no array master, Eren. I only know a few basic arrays that are rted to potioning. But I guess that they are arrays to counter your lightning and fire element spells. There may be other arrays along with additional features that I am not aware of. These guys are testing the effectiveness of these arrays it seems. They have nted all kinds of them all around you. I can''t give any more details with myck of expertise and my current position.'' Eren nodded internally before responding in a cold tone. ''Damn it. Running away doesn''t seem like a viable option. Going forward seems even riskier. And staying at the same ce might make them get a read on me. They might decide to denote the arrays right away if that happens without giving me the time to create countermeasures against them. Fuck it. La, what can I do about these traps?'' Eren now had a frown on his face as hemunicated with La. He was getting pissed because of the pettiness ho had shown him in targeting him. He would have understood if the guy initiated the mano-e-mano challenge whatever reasons he might have for targeting him. But this was just a waste of resources for the sake of petty revenge. ''There are many ways to break an array if you know what you are dealing with. But sadly, I don''t know anything about that. The most I can do now is create a counter array potion. But I''d need a closer look. Keep your guard up and proceed further.'' La suggested it to Eren who then decided to follow up on it. By now, even his colt was beginning to act restless because it had sensed something disturbing through its animal instincts. That''s why Eren had to use the leash inscribed with runic patterns to control the domesticated mana beast. Eren didn''t know how many of the rankers were waiting for him there. That''s why he had decided to go for the kill right off the bat. With thoughts of mass ughter in mind, the butcher was marching ahead with a seemingly rxed demeanour. ********************** "Are you ready, ho?" Kelmar asked while licking his lips and shing an evil smile. He drew his weapons from his storage. Two mana gunsC one was meant to be used in case of sniping. The other was meant for medium-range attacks. "I I am." Clinton ho drew a long sword from his storage and gripped it tightly. The soldiers around them started drawing their weapons too. They had a lot of blood on their hands. Acts they did for the kingdom''s so-called safety in the past were not something they could erase from their memories. Therefore, these soldiers had be jaded in taking lives. It didn''t matter to them that the victim of their attacks would be a criminal or someone innocent. Kelmar''s first n was simple. Surround Eren with army-issue array disk traps to box him in. Mess with him a bit. And then leave after looting all that he had on himC making him think that they were robbers. Kelmar failed to anticipate Eren''s way of dealing with his enemies. But that was because he was treating him like any other normal student at the top institutes. That''s why messing up with a kid, using army-issue artefacts, and leaving him half dead orpletely dead were things that madeplete sense to him in his head. What he didn''t know was the fact that Eren had decided to kill on sight whereas they had decided to y with him. The squid members of ho had thought that they would try all their experiments on Eren. If he survives, so be it. They would keep their cover as bandits. But if he turns out to be problematic or if their cover gets blown, they would kill him. This was n number two. In either case, they would clean out the battlefield and keep their involvement hidden. As ast resort, if they were found guilty, they would dere Eren as a cult member. They would announce that they had performed a surgical strike on him to prevent or reduce innocent lives from being killed. Ambush was a standard response to handling a dangerous lone cultist after all. But some soldiers in the operation were already thinking of crossing the line and ming it on the heat of the battle. They had be too used to hiding behind the army''s protection. The soldiers surrounding the area were alerted. They too would join the battlefield as spectators to watch their sole victim struggle in vain. Clinton ho stepped in front of Kelmar and decided to show off his leadership skills. He cleared all his doubts and spoke to his team members via voicemunication. ''Alright, guys. Listen up. Start approaching the guy from all directions as soon as I give you a go. I''ll let you y with him a bit with your new toys. It''s not like we''d get to use them on Osan Woods Butcher. So use them to your heart''s content. If things be tough because of any of the kids'' trump cards, just remember to give Kelmar a bit of space and he''ll snipe him from here. Clho Four, stay with our ranger Kelmar. ho Seven, ho Eleven, ho Three, you would only surround the guy without involving yourself in a battle. Your turn woulde if the kid survives the assault made by the rest of the guys. Everything is clear?'' ho asked in his usual tone. It was as if he had asked the question numerous times. There was only one word spoken by everyone at the same time. ''Clear!'' ho nodded before speaking further. ''Good. Treat this as your regr army drill, hehe! Don''t let me...'' ho''s speech was interrupted when he saw Eren approaching the location they had chosen for the battle. Smirking, he spoke again through voicemunication. ''Oh look, our target is in sight. Like amb to the ughter. Haha. You know what to do. Go!'' Chapter 397 The Mute Spectator P1

Chapter 397 The Mute Spectator P1

''Oh look, our target is in sight. Like amb to the ughter. Haha. You know what to do. Go!'' ho ordered his men to take action. And they all seemingly disappeared from their spots. **************** Eren felt some presence suddenly making itself known in front of him. He looked ahead to find out that a medium-sized man was approaching him using his water element movement spell. His feet had been coated in water that was helping him jump and spur his stride forward with exceptional agility. "Where do you think you are heading, kid?" The one who approached Eren from the front was a closebat expert. He dered his intentions with his words and his actions and he swung and unted his Warhammer without any head attached at the tip. Without the head, the Warhammer looked like a rod of metal that wasn''t useful at all. But then the man imbued his water-element mana into it and the runic inscriptions on it lit up. The weapon was nowpleted. There was now a sizable hammerhead on the Warhammer, made of dense water gathered at its tip. The shape looked solid even though the moonlight was getting passed through it. The more the closebat expert poured his mana into the weapon, the denser and more powerful the hammerhead got. Eren stood up on his colt''s back and drew out his katars. He didn''t say anything as he saw the hammer-wielding ranker approach him without any fear. ''The weapons they are using! They are a cut above the standard Ace rank weapons. I wonder how much money I''d get after I sell them.'' Eren had a random thought as he channelled his mana into his legs and cast his lightning element movement spell. He had stopped worrying about the colt since the enemy decided to blow their cover. So when he cast a lightning-element spell over the colt''s back, the Novice rank mana beast fainted on the spot. It crashed onto the ground without a moment''s dy. But Eren was not at his usual spot anymore. Heunched himself backwards and created a room for himself to deal with the closebat expert approaching him. ''Any moment now.'' Eren thought and clenched his katars tightly. Without thinking he did a cartwheel flip and executed his lightning element attack-type spell on his weaponsC Blitz Bolt. He swung it without any hesitation. Purely on his instincts. And the butcher''s instincts were right on target. A person''s head was chopped off at that moment. The killer was barely aware of his actions. But the victim died without even knowing how he died. The Warhammer soldier approaching Eren from his front was too stunned to advance. He was only a few meters away from his target. Yet he felt like the target that he was approaching so fearlessly wasn''t something he could deal with on his own. A soldier from the Edinburgh kingdom who was assigned to the city of Osan to protect it from the cultists died a silent death at this momentC without his killer uttering a word from his mouth. The Warhammer ranker''s feet felt like they had been trapped in quicksand after he watched Eren stare briefly at the about-to-fall body of his victim. He disappeared from his position before the body hit the groundC leaving only a few sparks of lightning in his ce. The Warhammer guy saw that Eren had appeared in front of another of his fellow squad mates. This was a woman Ace ranker that was only supposed to support the mission. Eren again used his katars to his advantage. Before she could draw her sword, he used the punching daggers as if it was some form of agile artistic handiwork and drove one of them right through her heart. The water-element soldier didn''t know what he was seeing at the moment. All the surrounding noise had been cut off from him as he watched the butcher do what he did best- butchering people with an emotionless face. ''No. Not emotionless. What... what is that?'' He see a faint smile on Eren''s face. As if the guy is happy that he got jumped by their squad. As if he found relief in being ambushed the way he was ambushed. The solider of Edinburgh had first thought they were doing something unjust. But now it felt to him that killing this demon was exactly what their job entaild then to do. ''The question is... can we... can we do it? Can we kill this monstrosity that doesn''t feel human at all?'' The Warhammer guy stopped channelling his mana into his weapon as he had this random thought in his head. The hammerhead first started dripping water beforepletely losing its shape all of a sudden. The water fell on the guy''s torso and dripped on the ground. And yet, the feeling of being drenched because of his spell wasn''t enough for the guy to snap back to reality as he watched his target targeting his peers. There was mayhem taking ce in front of the Warhammer-wielding ranker. He was supposed to close in on his target. Themand was to act as if he was about to attack Eren while grabbing all the attention for himself. The guy that the butcher had cut the head off of was supposed to engage with Eren in their simtion. The water-element closebat soldier wasn''t briefed by ho on what he was supposed to do after the one who did the sneak attack failed in his execution. He wasn''t briefed on what he was supposed to do as another of his female peers was getting killed by their target. Though he doubted he could take action against a cold-blooded killer like Eren even if he was informed of the possible countermeasures. The guy lost his grip on the unique artefact he was endowed with through the mission as his hands started shaking. He felt dread as he watched the butcher ce his foot on the female ranker''s tummy while she was standing stunned in front of him. He used his foot to push the body of the female ranker forward as he drew the lodged katar that was stuck in her ribcage out. The butcher swung his katar as soon as it was drawn out of the ranker''s chest and spun it around with his agile hand movementsC like he was performing a circus act of juggling with his weapons. This juggling act was done to get rid of the blood and flesh the edge of the lodged weapon was coated with. Since the butcher pulled it so abruptly, the wound ejected blood and flesh when the weapon was pulled out. Eren, who stood in front, was about to be sprayed with blood and flesh. But he swung and juggled his weapons at surreal speeds before disappearing from his spot. The Warhammer guy saw the spray of blood and flesh hit empty air. There was something else flying in the air too. A lump of flesh that took a while for him to identify as the female ranker''s left breast. Eren had either yanked or chopped the female ranker''s left tit and left her to die on the spot. Was it the breast getting chopped or yanked? The water-element soldier acting as the witness to the whole scene couldn''t be sure. His mana sense was barely keeping up with Eren after all. He couldn''t hear the noise of duels, victims'' screams, the cries of his fellow soldiers ormands getting dished out by ho and Kelmar on the voicemunication. He had been reduced to nothing but a mute spectator at this moment. ================== AN: The hammerhead of a hammer consists of its face, neck, wedge, and cheek. Plus, a typical Warhammer has two faces on either side. That''s where a certain shark breed''s name is derived from. The illustration of Warhammer that has been used as a reference for this chapter will be posted on @Graybacknovels Insta soon. Chapter 398 The Mute Spectator P2

Chapter 398 The Mute Spectator P2

Eren had either yanked or chopped the female ranker''s left tit and left her to die on the spot. The part ofdy ranker''s body that she was most proud of when she was alive would soon be one with the earth, losing its former splendour. The flesh that many once lusted after was now on gory disy for all to see. The closebat expert that was given the job of acting as a decoy felt that everything that was happening in front of him was stuff from his nightmares. He didn''t care that the two of the guys that were supposed to be hisrades in arms were nothing but two dead bodies now. He was more worried about how or when he could wake up from this nightmare. The mute spectator felt like he had been watching a spectral scene recorded on the array disk unfolding in front of him in slow motion. He felt like quite a lot had happened since he yed this scene. But somehow he was also aware that barely a few moments had passed since the series of events had started taking ce. The water-element closebat expert was using his mana sense on autopilot. He processed the feedbacking from it subconsciously as though he wasn''t in control of his senses. He also felt that the mana signature Eren had released just before the start of the battle was part of the reason he felt this dread. He had been standing closest to the butcher when that had happened after all. He felt on a deeper level that none of them was in the same league as their target. That none of them could be as inhuman as the ghost in front of him was. ''This guy he isn''t human. He is a devil in a human''s skin.'' The mute spectator had this thought as his mana sense felt Eren''s presence. This time it was quite far away from himC where the squad''s healer was supposed to be. The spectator watched as the butcher tried attacking the healer of their group. But this time he was stopped by another team member from his team. This soldier was assigned to protect the healer at all costs. He was the tank of the team. Other team members of the closebat expert''s team were also heading towards the butcher''s position. While four of the others chose to head in four different directions away from the battlefield they were assigned to. It wasn''t long before they reached the array disks. The array disks were nted in the ground like one-time use rundmines at a set distance from each other. The four rankers that stood on the array disks started chanting incantations while imbuing their non-elementalized mana into the array disks. The runes on the array disks lit up in the four directions at the same timeC releasing a distinct mana pulse. Each of the array disks had started creating a semi-transparent manayer outside their perimeter. The manayers extended in all directions. Soon they would meet with each other and create a rectangr box that would iste the battlefield from the surrounding area outside it. But the mute spectator couldn''t keep tabs on his team''s current progress. It was the time that slowed down only for him. And the ones moving around in front of him were nothing but mirages and ghosts that would soon disappear from the face of the earth if and when he blinks. But blink he could not. Coming back to the situation unfolding in front of the spectator at the moment. He watched as their healer was sessfully rescued by their tank. The tank had already executed his earth-element spell and two earth golems were formed using the mixture of existing earth and mana. They were twice the height of the average person and looked like badly shaped humanoid dolls that were wearing armour made of mud. They also had a club each. One of the golems swung the earthen club at Eren who was approaching the team from the front. Soon, however, it became apparent that it had struck Eren''s afterimage. The golems were slow to react, but their spellcaster was not so sluggish. The tank pped both his hands on the ground and sent his mana into the ground through his hands. Four shabby-looking walls will soon be raised from the ground. He aimed to surround himself and the healer with four walls, while the golems fought against the abomination. The tank only needed to buy time as the rest of his teammates were on their way to reach the scene. Once that happened, the bloodthirsty demon could be dealt with. The n was well-executed. The actions of the healer and tank made sense. The execution of their defensive n was impable. The speed at which the walls were getting raised was also exceptional. And yet, thebination of all those things falling into ce couldn''t stop the butcher from executing what he had set out to do. Another heart-wrenching image was imprinted deep into the mute spectator''s psyche as he watched his team''s healer getting killed. She was also ady ranker. Eren had suddenly appeared in front of the healer, covered in lightning and fire. The tank was just behind him looking at the butcher''s afterimage that was going to get smashed by the golem''s attacks while the walls rose. The butcher pierced her throat with his lightning-d katar, then yanked out herrynx without mercy. He always liked to kill the healers this way if he could help it, lest they shout and make their assigned protectors aware. Thedy ranker watched inplete horror as her organ was handed to her. However, she couldn''t yell nor could she make the tank in front of her aware of her current condition using her scream. That was because her voice box had been made inoperable. ''This this demon he''ll be the end of all of us if we don''t do something soon.'' The Warhammer-wielding ranker thought for a moment and then looked up because he had sensed something. He observed a semi-transparent box made of mana was getting constructed. It wasn''t long before the box wasplete, isting the entire battlefield. ''We can only hope this is enough to stop this monster.'' Chapter 399 In a Pinch

Chapter 399 In a Pinch

Boom! A st had taken ce on the battlefield only a few meters away from where Eren was standing. He knew that killing any soldier in his current condition was impossible for the time being. He was surrounded. There were too many rankers for him to even try to engage with any of them now. Still, he had made most of his time by executing four Ace soldiers and critically injuring the fifth one. This feat had been made possible because of his early prediction of the ambush. Eren alone had killed four Ace ranker soldiers without sustaining any injuries. Only hands were bloody. His clothes had remained spotless amid the short but intense mini battles he had executed while enhancing his reactions with Sedated Perception and Stunning Speed almost the whole time. He had to admit that the army had geared up these soldiers too well. They were a challenge for him because of their artefacts. For example, he couldn''t sense the assassin that hade to attack him from behind at all. It was only because he anticipated the move that he could kill him so quickly. Plus, he was also getting threatening vibes from Stephan''s Warhammer. That''s why he had maintained his distance from him. He had used the tank as bait to injure him with the potion bomb. Because he knew the guy would be able to dodge the bomb easily with his speed. Eren had to stop his kill streak now. That''s because he couldn''t execute his lightning or fire element spells anymore. The rectangr manayer seemed to have produced its intended effect. There was a stalemate happening right now that quickly turned into a stare-down. There were around 30 pairs of eyes focused on Eren. He only looked ahead in front of him towards the person he had seen beforeC Clinton ho. The guy was looking hatefully at the butcher. As if he was the one who had ambushed ho''s team while they were doing heroic deeds for the kingdom of Edinburgh. ho and Eren did not say anything to each other as they observed the night''s silence while maintaining a sufficient distance. The rest of the soldiers were waiting for ho''s orders. The squad leader decided to take things slow to minimize any further casualties on his end. He had seen with his stretched mana sense the sheer explosive nature of the butcher. He would tear through many of his soldiers before they could subdue or kill him. ho regretted targeting this monster. He and Kelmar had just thought of having fun while taking a bit of vengeance on Eren for their personal satisfaction. Had he known things would turn out like these, he would have never offended Eren when the meeting took ce for the first time near the city of Osan. ''What is it, La? What is stopping me from executing any of my spells?'' Eren asked La while he remained silent on the outside. He had thought the times of mortal danger were behind him for the time being when he got out of Purgatory. But the situation hinted in the other direction. He was targeted by two cultist organizations as soon as he hade out of the separate dimension. But even that wasn''t enough. Now he was getting targeted by ho for a reason that didn''t make sense to him. The things happening to him were starting to piss him off. He was notpletely stable after Reen was taken away from him anyway. Eliza''s presence and the mark of the seven sins had burdened his mind even more. And now these things had finally made his cold-hearted attitude crumble into pieces. A bubble of rage was building within him. Stephan had misinterpreted his smile during the earlier battle. It wasn''t the smile of joy. The butcher''s smile was a sign of suppressed rage and all the negative emotions getting riled up in his mind. ''It''s an element restrictive array. Since they restrict two types of elemental spells, it could be called array integration. You can''t use your mana for any of your lightning or fire element spells while trapped inside the array. The good thing about this array is that it is not restrictive to a specific person. That means you won''t find any lightning or fire element ranker on your opponent''s side. The problematic thing is that'' ''Let me guess. They must have considered that. The rankers that had been sent at the perimeter to keep the array active are either lightning or fire element rankers. Since they have to keep the array active, they don''t need to cast any of their spells anyway. In short, I''m basically a dud while this array is active. Can Can you do something about it? Is there a potion that can lift the restrictions? Eren asked while keeping his Sedated Perception active. He had activated it so he could have more time to think while he conversed with La. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, she could keep up with his enhanced perception. ''I''m afraid potion alone won''t be able to cut it this time, Eren. I can make a potion to make your bodypatible with a filtered mana source and make you absorb the same through the pendant. That way, you could use the filtered mana source to cast your spells. But the source of mana needs to be outside the manayer created by the array integration. And I''d need a supportive spatial array to tap into the external mana source.'' Eren wasn''t interested in La''s description. He asked, narrowing his eyes on ho. ''Answer clearly!'' Eren kept his response short which indicated his urgency and irritation at the same time. La sighed and took a moment to ponder before responding. ''I can do it. But I''ll need the E-Rank space-element artefact that you won inside the dungeon. I might damage it a bit if notpletely ruin it by using it as the eye of a spatial array. But I don''t think you''din about it at this point. Plus, I''d have to stay inside the pendant to keep the spatial array running.'' Eren smirked before asking another question. ''Do whatever you want. I want to ask something else before we do this though. Can''t we use that broomstick of yours to make our escape from this whole thing?'' Of course, Eren didn''t like his odds against so many enemies who intended to take his life. The most sensible solution for him was to run away from the whole thing if he could help it. La responded with a voice that spelt helplessness from her end. ''Sadly, we can''t. You''ll have to get out of this mess by wading through it.'' ======================== AN: The 400th chapter finds Eren in a pinch. Milestone chapters are always special that way, Lol. I won''t keep on hold for long though. The closure to volume 02 of VEH will be uploaded soon. Another good news is that we won''t be taking any breaks. Cheers! Chapter 400 Full Boom! A st had taken ce on the battlefield only a few meters away from where Eren was standing. He knew that killing any soldier in his current condition was impossible for the time being. He was surrounded. There were too many rankers for him to even try to engage with any of them now. Still, he had made most of his time by executing four Ace soldiers and critically injuring the fifth one. This feat had been made possible because of his early prediction of the ambush. Eren alone had killed four Ace ranker soldiers without sustaining any injuries. Only hands were bloody. His clothes had remained spotless amid the short but intense mini battles he had executed while enhancing his reactions with Sedated Perception and Stunning Speed almost the whole time. He had to admit that the army had geared up these soldiers too well. They were a challenge for him because of their artefacts. For example, he couldn''t sense the assassin that hade to attack him from behind at all. It was only because he anticipated the move that he could kill him so quickly. Plus, he was also getting threatening vibes from Stephan''s Warhammer. That''s why he had maintained his distance from him. He had used the tank as bait to injure him with the potion bomb. Because he knew the guy would be able to dodge the bomb easily with his speed. Eren had to stop his kill streak now. That''s because he couldn''t execute his lightning or fire element spells anymore. The rectangr manayer seemed to have produced its intended effect. There was a stalemate happening right now that quickly turned into a stare-down. There were around 30 pairs of eyes focused on Eren. He only looked ahead in front of him towards the person he had seen beforeC Clinton ho. The guy was looking hatefully at the butcher. As if he was the one who had ambushed ho''s team while they were doing heroic deeds for the kingdom of Edinburgh. ho and Eren did not say anything to each other as they observed the night''s silence while maintaining a sufficient distance. The rest of the soldiers were waiting for ho''s orders. The squad leader decided to take things slow to minimize any further casualties on his end. He had seen with his stretched mana sense the sheer explosive nature of the butcher. He would tear through many of his soldiers before they could subdue or kill him. ho regretted targeting this monster. He and Kelmar had just thought of having fun while taking a bit of vengeance on Eren for their personal satisfaction. Had he known things would turn out like these, he would have never offended Eren when the meeting took ce for the first time near the city of Osan. ''What is it, La? What is stopping me from executing any of my spells?'' Eren asked La while he remained silent on the outside. He had thought the times of mortal danger were behind him for the time being when he got out of Purgatory. But the situation hinted in the other direction. He was targeted by two cultist organizations as soon as he hade out of the separate dimension. But even that wasn''t enough. Now he was getting targeted by ho for a reason that didn''t make sense to him. The things happening to him were starting to piss him off. He was notpletely stable after Reen was taken away from him anyway. Eliza''s presence and the mark of the seven sins had burdened his mind even more. And now these things had finally made his cold-hearted attitude crumble into pieces. A bubble of rage was building within him. Stephan had misinterpreted his smile during the earlier battle. It wasn''t the smile of joy. The butcher''s smile was a sign of suppressed rage and all the negative emotions getting riled up in his mind. ''It''s an element restrictive array. Since they restrict two types of elemental spells, it could be called array integration. You can''t use your mana for any of your lightning or fire element spells while trapped inside the array. The good thing about this array is that it is not restrictive to a specific person. That means you won''t find any lightning or fire element ranker on your opponent''s side. The problematic thing is that''please visit ''Let me guess. They must have considered that. The rankers that had been sent at the perimeter to keep the array active are either lightning or fire element rankers. Since they have to keep the array active, they don''t need to cast any of their spells anyway. pAn,Da-n0v e1,c In short, I''m basically a dud while this array is active. Can Can you do something about it? Is there a potion that can lift the restrictions? Eren asked while keeping his Sedated Perception active. He had activated it so he could have more time to think while he conversed with La. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, she could keep up with his enhanced perception. ''I''m afraid potion alone won''t be able to cut it this time, Eren. I can make a potion to make your bodypatible with a filtered mana source and make you absorb the same through the pendant. That way, you could use the filtered mana source to cast your spells. But the source of mana needs to be outside the manayer created by the array integration. And I''d need a supportive spatial array to tap into the external mana source.'' Eren wasn''t interested in La''s description. He asked, narrowing his eyes on ho. ''Answer clearly!'' Eren kept his response short which indicated his urgency and irritation at the same time. La sighed and took a moment to ponder before responding. ''I can do it. But I''ll need the E-Rank space-element artefact that you won inside the dungeon. I might damage it a bit if notpletely ruin it by using it as the eye of a spatial array. But I don''t think you''din about it at this point. Plus, I''d have to stay inside the pendant to keep the spatial array running.'' Eren smirked before asking another question. ''Do whatever you want. I want to ask something else before we do this though. Can''t we use that broomstick of yours to make our escape from this whole thing?'' Of course, Eren didn''t like his odds against so many enemies who intended to take his life. The most sensible solution for him was to run away from the whole thing if he could help it. La responded with a voice that spelt helplessness from her end. ''Sadly, we can''t. You''ll have to get out of this mess by wading through it.'' ======================== AN: The 400th chapter finds Eren in a pinch. Milestone chapters are always special that way, Lol. I won''t keep on hold for long though. The closure to volume 02 of VEH will be uploaded soon. Another good news is that we won''t be taking any breaks. Cheers! Chapter 401 "The Winners Define the definition of Justice!"

Chapter 401 "The Winners Define the definition of Justice!"

''Sadly, we can''t. You''ll have to get out of this mess by wading through it.'' La said and looked at the Hexen Bee that was immersed in an excessivelyrge cauldron filled with a strange potion ced beside her. She sighed when she saw the bubbles still forming in the concoction her flying artefact was dipped in. She carried on speaking without Eren asking her about it. ''I''ll tell you before you ask. I can only guide Hexen Bee to a certain level, but I can''t control it the way I want to. Let''s just say that it has its consciousness that gets fatigued the more I use it. It is because I''m technically not someone who can use it effectively. Eren smiled mirthlessly after hearing La''s exnation. It sounded more like what used to happen to Alephee. He didn''t understand how that stuff worked. But he at least realized that the young witch''s flying artefact would remain inoperable for some time. It won''t be the escape card he wanted it to be. ''You can''t always have what you want in life, huh? Heh! It''s not like I counted on things to get changed for me. So that''s also fine.'' Eren sighed and retrieved his spatial artefact from his storage. He had La summon it in her own space shortly thereafter. Before preparing her makeshift array, she checked the artefact first. If Eren could see La''s personal space and what she was doing in it, he would see that La had emptied a couple of vials on the floor. Then used her powers to control the contents of the potion poured on the ground. Soon the potions began to mix. A circle was drawn under La''s guidance using the mixture of potions as its ink. The runs started getting drawn inside the circle. An array-eye started taking ce around the area La was standing. La appeared outside the array but she had left the butcher''s artefact inside the array eye. She sat outside the array and closed her eyes. In the next second, the runes within the array start lighting up. ''It''ll take us a while. Buy us some time.'' Lamanded Eren while continuing to operate on the array. Thetter did not have to do anything. ho started speaking right after he confirmed that everyone from his team apart from those who were stationed to keep the array running had been summoned to the ce. "You vile devil, I knew there was something wrong with you the second I met you. The way you killed my soldiers. Don''t think you''ll die an easy death after doing something like that. We''ll skin you alive before slowly killing you. We already know that you use fire and lightning element spells and have taken countermeasures against you. You can''t do shit in your current" ho had let go of his previous ns to keep his identity hidden and make it look like the bandits did it. He confessed his identity bying in front of Eren without a mask on. His intentions were clear. There would be no mercy shown for Eren. Not anymore. Eren raised his hand and ho stopped talking. Then he gripped his hands hard on his dual weapons before responding: "No need to offer excuses. We are all rankers here. We know how it works. I''d say the same thing I had said to someone before. At that time, I was the one who had ambushed him and he was the victim. He had done nothing wrong to me and yet I had gotten rid of him. Now, I''m on the receiving end of the so-called "unjust" treatment. Thingse full circle. Such is life, hehe." Eren chuckled to himself as he spoke. He took a long breath before continuing. "You want to kill me now because our truths are different. And I want to kill you because you brought that difference up of your own ord. Nothing more. Nothing less. Despite all my efforts, if you can kill me with your setup and your advantage in numbers, you will prevail in our sh of truths. And whatever you say will be right. If I can manage to kill you all despite the odds that are stacked against me, then whatever I say will turn out to be right. The winners define the definition of justice after all!" Eren pulled out a vial of potion from his storage. He uncorked it in no time and drank it quickly while keeping his gaze fixed on ho. This was a mana recovery potion that he had consumed. But since it was the one he had gotten from the dungeon as the reward, it had other attributes as well. Eren did not have any active ranking techniques at the moment. So even his passive mana recovery was a bit slower than usual. So he had to depend on the mana recovery potion topensate for that. Thetter narrowed his eyes when he saw Eren using potions. But he concluded that Eren''s desperate struggle was going to be in vain. ho had an overwhelming numerical advantage after all. So he let the guy drink his potion whilemanding a few of his soldiers to change their positions and stay on standby. They''d move to attack Eren soon after this stalemate ends. ho was cautious of the potion bombs Eren had used. Although Eren couldn''t use his elemental spells, ho hade to realize that a few of his soldiers would die if they approached him carelessly. So he was buying time to attack him so he couldunch a surprise attack. Coincidentally Eren wanted to buy time off too. ho startedughing maniacally after listening to Eren''s speech. "Hahahahahaha! "The winners define the definition of justice." I like that. We at least agree on this thing. We had first thought of just messing with you a bit and testing all our gears at the same time. But I''ll be damned if I let you walk out from here without facing the consequences of killing ourrades." ho gave a few orders to his squad members after he said this to Eren. The members started showing signs of movement while keeping tabs on their targets. ho continued his speech shortly afterwards. "Maybe you were right in defending yourself. Maybe myrades died because of their ipetence. And yet, what you said also makes sense. If we kill you here, whatever we assume to be or say out loud would be the truth. On that note, I''ll make sure that you arebelled as a cultist after we kill you. I''ll make my brothers martyrs that died protecting ordinary citizens from a maniac like you." ho started closing down his distance from Eren bit by bit. "It''s as easy as snapping my fingers, you know. The army has special rights when it is given the reins to handle a particr region. I''ll just say that you were supplying the potion bombs on the ck market. And when confronted, you killed my fellow squad members before you were subdued and brought to justice. The potions bombs are getting out of hand in Edinburgh. Thews for that have gotten stricter. Look, we have a few potion bombs ourselves that we can say we seized from you. We could say that you were nning to do something in the city of Osan with these things found in your ID storage." ho showed a vial of potion bomb he had retrieved from his storage. He dangled it in front of Eren to make him see the supposed incriminating evidence behind his legally justified murder. Thetter didn''t get angry. Now it was Eren''s turn tough maniacally. "Hahahaha! You bunch of numbnuts." ho stopped in his tracks when he saw Eren reply weirdly like that instead of getting flustered as he wanted. He heard Eren speak up next before he had a chance to demand an exnation. "Those are counterfeits." ==================== AN: Skip this if you want. I know I''m runningte. The timing was just not right for me to write the end scene for VEH''s Volume 02 as I thought it would be even though it was the weekend. Everything is fine. I had just forgotten that this was a festive weekend here due to my busy schedule. These past few months have been kinda a blur to me with almost no social life at all. So I was made to change that about me for today. I''ll try to finish volume 02 as quickly as possible now that I''ve found some quiet time. I''ll upload chapters as soon as I finish editing them. By the way, do you remember the talk about the difference between truths Eren had with a certain someone in the past? The talk had taken ce at the beginning of the chaos Eren had caused right after his time leap. It only seems fitting that we pay homage to that scene here at this point. ;) PS: Happy Ramadan and happy new year to whoever is celebrating them today. ;) Chapter 402 Buying Time

Chapter 402 Buying Time

"Those are counterfeits. Hahahahaha!" Eren said before drawing a few potion bombs from his storage. He dangled them the same way ho did before speaking up. "These are the real deals. Some of them have yet to hit the market. Come and get some." Eren said and taunted the leader of his enemies. Thetter was even more on Eren than he already was because of his unfazed attitude. He didn''t understand what Eren was trying to say. But he hade to realize that Eren was determined to harm some of them no matter how cautious they got. ''Commence the attack. Don''t forget to attack in pairs or groups. Finish this fucker off. We''ll grieve about our deadradester.'' ho sent orders via ID-stone-linked voicemunications. He maintained a safe distance from Eren while guiding the others in his team. He saw a group of four rankers attacking Eren while a pair of ranger rankers got close to him. This wasplete bullying without considering the rankers'' code. Eren could not use his movement spell and create a distance from his approaching enemies. He couldn''t get much away from them anyway considering he was surrounded. So he let go of ying defensive. The butcher activated the only spells he could activate at this point. Stunning Speed Sedated Perception The time-element spells could still be cast for Eren without any problem. He couldn''t use them to their fullest potential because his other spells were getting disabled for him. But his enhanced perception and his entire body experiencing time differently allowed him to see how his approaching opponents were nning to attack him. In an almost stagnant world, Eren saw a bulky guy running straight at him. He was apanied by two rankers on either side. Thest of the four rankers was moving around himC probably aiming to attack Eren from behind. A party attacks from all directions. Eren also saw that two ranger rankers had pointed their ranged weapons at him. The male ranger was using a crossbow while the female ranger was using a bowsword. Both of their gears looked top-notch because of the distinct mana pulses they generated. Eren smiled when he saw the setup ho had used to take care of him. No matter what he did, no matter how skillfully he made his moves, he knew that he would not be able toe out unscathed from this attack. ''La! I can''t dy things any further. You might want to speed things up. I''m going to have to start the party early.'' La preferred concentrating on activating and maintaining the operation of her makeshift array instead of replying to Eren''s update. But she chanted some incantations a bit faster than she had been previously doing. A switch was flipped inside Eren''s mind as he said this. He gripped his katar in one hand and yed with two vials of potion bombs with the other hand. ho saw that their team''s berserker was charging toward the butcher with ferocious momentum. His stature and his muscr build had already made his presence intimidating. Plus, the semi-transparent tiger-head created with the berserker''s wind-element mana added extra impact to his charge. ho was d that they had prioritized activating the element restrictions array before dealing with Eren. The guy''s reaction time was no joke. Lightning-element rankers were known for their exceptional speed. But Eren stood out the most out of all those rankers ho hade across. ho found joy in the fact that Eren was locked in his position. But he didn''t allow himself or his team to be easy on him. The only way the butcher couldn''t hurt them was when he was dead and stayed dead after all. ho watched as his team''s berserker pped his hands together while releasing his mid-range offensive spell. The giant wind-element tiger head that had surrounded him opened its eyes and started approaching its target with equally overwhelming momentum. Eren stood in front of the approaching spectral tiger''s head and began moving about his katars at exceptional speed. He seemed to have realized that the tiger-head was a cluster of wind des stacked together. The offensive spell was linked with the wind-element armour the berserker wore. He had also progressed enough in the way of the elements to be able to use armour as he did. ho''s vision was blocked because Eren was caught in the middle of the swarm of wind des that had assumed the shape of the tiger head. The wind element mana had also created a cloud of dust around Eren. ho or anyone couldn''t properly get a read on Eren''s condition because of the peculiarity of the mana pulse generated by the artefact-linked spell the berserker had released. All they could hear was a distinct sound of metals shing against something that seemed tangible. nk! nk! nk! Then all of a sudden, all the soldiers suddenly sensed Eren outside the cloud of dust. The ranker near him quickly continued on his trail, thinking he had a chance tond another blow on the running butcher in his injured state. The target had gotten sucked into the wind de storm of that magnitude and was injured as a result. This was not an opportunity a soldier like him would miss. Eren''s appearance after he got out of the wind-element de storm was bloody and pitiful. He was injured. He had cuts all over his body. His blood had started to paint his clothes red. His hands were injured the most. That was because he used them the most to dodge or defend against the wind des that targeted his vital organs. And since he had been using unelementalized mana to protect and defend himself, the severity of each of the injuries was higher than usual. Eren quickly found out that the ranker soldier closest to him was hot on his trail and others would follow soon. However, he did not attack the person who approached him just now. His targety not too far from where he was standing. ho had fucked up by not prioritizing Stephan''s safety the way he should have been. He was currently being attended by a Novice ranker who was making him drink the healing potion. ho must have thought that Eren would be too messed up in the wind de storm to reach for Stephan who was critically injured because of getting bombed by Eren. but he wasn''tpletely taken care of yet. But thanks to his time-element spells that weren''t taken into ount during the elemental restriction array, Eren was able to avoid getting critically injured. He had already predicted that big attacks would always leave an opening for him to act on as long as he could weather them without getting incapacitated. =============== The illustration for the bowsword will be uploaded on Insta handle soon. Chapter 403 "Finish Him!"

Chapter 403 "Finish Him!"

There were only a few exceptional soldiers in the enemy group. And the mute spectator was one of them. Eren couldn''t let him get back in the game. Swoosh! The Novice ranker who was treating Stephan didn''t understand why his vision suddenly changed. Eren cut off his head and threw it behind him. ho watched in horror as the bloodied devil continued to attack in such a ferocious manner despite getting caught in the storm. He also couldn''t believe that he could move like this without any movement spell on him. ho saw his Novice ranker soldier getting beheaded by the demon. The soldier following behind Een saw that the head wasing toward him. The soldier''s eyes turned bloody as he saw one of his juniors getting beheaded in his presence. He subconsciously tried to catch the decapitated head. But he heard ho''s panicked voice soon after. "You fucking idiot. Dodge that thing." Yet, it was toote. Boom! Another bomb st resounded in the vicinity. Eren had nted a bomb inside the decapitated head before throwing it towards the ranker trailing him. He didn''t have a way to survive the st even though he wore a defensive artefact on him. That''s because just as Eren had said, the potion bombs he had used hadn''t hit the market yet. It was the expensive variant of the same recipe that had spurred the ck market. Since it was costly to manufacture, Eren didn''t choose to mass-produce it. But its enhanced output hadpelled him to store a few of them for his personal use. Two spiders died within a few moments of Eren emerging from the cloud of dust. And soon that number turned into three when he pierced Stephan''s heart. Life Drain! Eren used his ability on Stephan right after he stabbed him. But he couldn''t indulge in the feeling of revitalization for long. That''s because he sensed a heavy projectile flying toward him at breakneck speeds. This was a flying swordunched by the woman ranger''s bowsword gear. The butcher lifted Stephan''s injured body and ced it in front of him before ducking to the side. His extended nails were still digging in Stephan''s half-burnt body as he kept on using Life Drain on him. ''Something''s wrong. His movements seem unnatural. Is he also a time-element user? Plus, this weird mana pulse he releases. This guy is a cultist, no doubt.'' ho and his teammates linked Eren''s Life Drain to the spells of the cultists. They were now even more determined to kill him. Eren suddenly felt that his Life Drain had almost stopped working on the guy. He realized the guy had finally sumbed to his injuries after being subjected to bombing, his ability, and the short sword that had pierced his left eye. The tip of the projectile protruded from the back of the guy''s head. "You fucking devil. I will chop you into a million pieces." Another ranker approached Eren as he dodged another flying sword made of water-element mana targeting him. But before he could worry about tackling the guy, a projectile pierced Eren''s left shoulder near his neck. "Epic fucking job, Kelmar! Kill this fucking abomination." Eren was surprised he couldn''t sense Kelmar''s attack at all even with his Sedated Perception and Stunning Speed. Then he realized Kelmar''s mana bullets were uniqueC made from the element of space. They were shapeless, invisible, and didn''t generate any mana pulse. One had to admit that the projectile was a very effective assassination tool. ''Hahahaha! That''s why I love hunting young foxes like these. They never know what hits them when I target them. The expressions on their faces when they get wounded or killed by my bullets are just priceless. Plus, this army-issue artefact is just a perfect match for me. I''ll enjoy all my hunts to their fullest with these babies.'' Kelmar thought to himself and chuckled internally after he saw expressions on Eren''s face with his vision-enhancing spectral disy produced by his eye gear. He had to admit that the army hadn''t pulled any punches in equipping the soldiers with the finest gear when they were assigned to the city of Osan. Maybe the kingdom was anticipating something big to take ce after knowing that it was Osan Woods Butcher''s home city. Yet the preparations made for the OWB and to counter other cultist activities were being used against Eren. It had turned the battle into a hunting game for soldiers. Kelmar chuckled internally because he didn''t want his teammate to feel he was heartless forughing after his teammates'' deaths. He was heartless and twisted in his mind. He just didn''t want to make it seem that obvious to his teammates. ho watched as Eren was being targeted by so many rankers and their spells all at once. He would evade, dodge, or run away from one attack only to face another executed by another soldier who was nearby him. The guy''s enhanced perception had kept him alive otherwise he would have been dead a long time ago. ''Eren, the array is working. The potion is ready. Drink this. It''ll automatically make your bodypatible with the filtered mana source I''ve opened through this array.'' Just when despair was beginning to set in, La''s voice was heard by Eren through voicemunication. He was in a very poor state by now. So he didn''t waste time asking or saying anything to the young witch. He just dodged another bullet aimed at his vital spot with instinct. The three rankers that had earlier approached him were closing in on him. It would be only a moment''s dy before he was hit by either the flying sword or void bullets. Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! ho saw Eren gulp yet another potion from his position and chuckled hatefully. He had already concluded that the butcher''s attempts to stay alive were only dying the inevitable. He saw Eren standing motionless again. And he had no potion in his hands. His insidious method of bombing people had alerted those surrounding him. They wouldn''t fall into the same trap a third time. The berserker guy with his wind element spells was one of the three rankers that were battling with Eren at the moment. There was a thin swordsman who would sh with Eren''s weapons and create a stalemate. The third ranker was another woman with the ss of a Ninja. She would use the stalemate created by the swordsman ranker to target Eren. so far she had been able to injure Eren''s right thigh and right forearm using her ice-element kunai. Even after drinking his potion, Eren''s condition seemed to be getting worse. ho figured out that Eren''s end was near. "Finish him!" Chapter 404 Collateral Consequences

Chapter 404 Coteral Consequences

"Finish him!" ho instructed the three rankers who were taking turns targeting Eren to attack at the same time. Three rankers understood their assignments and seemingly vanished from their respective positions at the same time using movement spells. "You are dead you fucking rat!" Eren was greeted by the berserker right in front of him. He caught both of Eren''s katars with his gauntlet-protected hands and waited for his teammates to finish the job. His teammates understood his clues andunched their most powerful attacks against Eren. The swordsman targeted Eren''s back while the ninja targeted his neck. "No. You are!" Eren said and smiled with a bloody mouth. His appearance was that of a man that was subjected to various tortures. He looked beaten and on the verge of dying. But when he stared into the berserker''s eyes and spoke those words, thetter subconsciously believed him. ho watched as the unthinkable happened even though the element restriction array was still active. Lightning sparks bloomed in the middle of the battlefield-- prevailing over the faint moonlight and washing the surroundings in a purple hue. Blitz Shield Blitz Bolt Blitz Steps Blitz Storm A cloak of lightning was the first cast over Eren. It rendered the two rankers'' attacks ineffective. Then came the execution of Blitz Bolt. As the butcher''s offensive spell ran through his weapons, it zapped the berserker that was holding them with confidence. Eren didn''t hold back with his offensive spellC fearing the guy''s attack-type armour might have defensive properties as well. But contrary to his belief, the spell worked fine on him. "Aaaargh!" The berserker was brought down to his knees after getting electrocuted in the way he did. He opened his mouth to shout to deal with the havoc Eren''s mana was creating in his body. But maybe he shouldn''t have opened his mouth to shout. Because that''s what Eren used to finish the guy off. Swoosh! Swoosh! Pinhook ho watched in utter horror as Eren chopped out the berserker''s left cheek entirely. Eren then pierced the guy''s head through his open mouth with the same form of artistic handiwork his katars had disyed so many times now. The berserker''s shout had indeed relieved him from his sufferings. But Eren made that relief permanent by finishing the guy off for good. "Noooooo! Andy! You you monster!" The ninja woman seemed especially shaken by the berserker''s death. She got into close range without worrying about anythingC training to target the back of Eren''s neck that didn''t seem protected by his defensive spell. ho''s heart was racing as he saw Eren being able to cast his spells even while under the constraints of the array. Now he just wanted the guy to die at the cost of any number of soldiers that was necessary to bring him down. To amodate Eren''s wanton use of spells, La had created a potion that would allow his body to get attuned to a different source of mana linked to the spatial array, and also strengthen Eren''s mana circuits so that they were able to sustain his spell casting. She had also added mana recovery properties to the potion, enabling him to replenish the mana reserves he was beginning to feel depleted. Now he could fight an extended battle. "All all of you. Attack the bastard. Kill this cultist monster and avenge our fallen brethren." ho ordered all of his teammates that were watching the battle taking ce with equal amounts of horror and shock stered on their faces. Even after listening to ho''s orders, none of them reacted for the time being. This allowed Eren to take care of both the rankers that were on him. He first released his lightning element AOE and stunned the swordsman and thedy ninja. Then he swung his katars vertically upwards between thedy ranker''s legs. All while his time-element spells were active. ho saw Eren swing his lightning-d katar to vertically chop thedy ranker up. He had swung his katar upward from the space between her legs but couldn''t go beyond thedy ranker''s ribcage. As a result, her torso was almost vertically cut in half right in the middle. Her guts and internal organs started falling. The katar was stuck in thedy''s torso so the butcher let go of his weapon to deal with the swordsman. "What kind of monster cuts someone like this?" ho mumbled to himself as he saw thedy ranker still trying to get close to the berserker''s mutted body in her current condition. The butcher was not there to stop the couple from having their final reunion. He focused his attacks on the swordsman next. Only now did the swordsman realize that Eren had been fighting with him all this time without strengthening his weapons with his spells. That''s why the stalemate had taken ce in previous rounds of exchanges. But now, Eren was cutting various parts of the swordsman''s body with any form of opening he could find in the swordsman''s defence. The only reason the swordsman was able to fight Eren was because of the cover fire provided by two rangers soon after. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Eren dodged most of the projectiles he was being subjected to all at once. As if the rangers had just awoken from their shock at the same time. The rest were taken care of by his cloak of lightning. Yet the void bullets still managed to hurt him since they twisted the spatial fabric around the cloak of lightning. Eren wanted to go toward Kelmar right away because he had realized that he needed to take care of the pest as soon as possible. But the guy was firing shots from a tree that was beyond the siege that he was subjected to. He would have to take care of more rankers before he could kill Kelmar. ''Fuck it.'' Eren strengthened his defensive spell even further and stopped thinking about the coteral consequences of everything else raining down on him for the time being. He ignored the projectilesing his way and concentrated on the swordsman. Clunk! Clunk! Clunk! Clunk! Clunk! Pichook!'' Eren fought through another round of weapon mastery battle with the swordswoman. Then he court-martialed the soldier and relieved him of his duties for life by driving his katar through his right ear. Eren took the swordsman''s runic sword from his hand as he was shocked by how he had been killed. The butcher''s katar was stuck in thedy ranker''s rib cage after all. And he couldn''t get it back in time due to his ongoing battle. Eren wielded the sword in his left hand and resumed his fight. It was not how he wanted to face the battles he was struggling through. But he also couldn''t face the crowd with only one katar in hand. Pich! Pich! Pich! A flying sword managed to lodge itself into Eren''s left shoulder just when he was done dealing with the swordsman. A few void bullets had riddled his back. A cost he had to pay for ignoring the attacks of the rangers and focusing on the swordsman. Eren didn''t even bat an eye as he looked at the wound created by the sword projectile. The swordsman''s body in front of him was just about to fall to the ground. His brain had been pierced but his body was alive and breathing hinting to the butcher that he could still execute his ability on it. Life Drain! Chapter 405 Image of a Successful Ranker

Chapter 405 Image of a Sessful Ranker

Eren used Life Drain on the swordsman to recover some of his stamina and mana back. His injuries would heal as well after using the ability. But he felt like he wasn''t utilizing the Life Drain to his fullest potential. Plus, the two rangers were making it difficult to exercise his power in peace. ho was terrified after seeing Eren''s battle presence and the way he had handled the whole thing. Technically, ho held all the advantages. And yet, Eren was beginning to fight back in such a way that he ignored most of those odds that were against him. "Attack... Fucking attack him, damn it. Kill him using whatever gears you have been given. Bring me the guy''s head. That''s an order." As ho shouted in real-time as well as in voicemunication, the remaining rankers surrounding Eren snapped back to reality. The rankers looked at each other and then toward where their rangers were ced. They were looking for some kind of assurance and support as they faced what they believed to be a cultist monster. Then most of them attacked Eren at once after making a quick decision. Their army training kicked in and allowed them toe up with a solid strategy to battle the monster as a group. Some of the rankers still stayed behind and spread around. They were now either trying to help the ones already attacking Eren, supporting them, or trying to find an opportunity to join the battle. Eren had made full use of all his spells. The Hatchlings of the me spell he had executed at the right time allowed him to kill three more rankers and injuring three more. The Solid Spark spell enabled him to prevent his enemies from casually approaching him. His other spells also made their due appearance at the right time at the cost of damaging his mana circuits and straining his mana core. The mana core was now beginning to develop a tolerance to the mana recovery potion. As such, the concoctions were bound to be less effective the more he used them. Yet, Eren didn''t stop. He couldn''t stop. He shut off his thoughts andpletely depended on his instincts and his experiences so far to guide him. He killed another two rankers using his closebat moves. Then injured some more while facing injuries himself. The more he killed, the more furious the soldiers would get at him. They also had let go of their safety and were attacking Eren based on their styles and openings. But there was only so much one Ace ranker could do against an army squad of Ace rankers who were equipped with all sorts of artefacts. Swoosh! Swoosh! Kelmar finally found a clear shot of Eren''s legs and took it. By firing at the correct timing, thetter struck both of his calves with void bullets. Furthermore, a flying sword had pierced his right forearm. Eren''s injuries finally umted on his body. He prevented himself frompletely falling to his knees by nting the sword he had borrowed from his victim into the ground. He looked to be in a terrible state. But his presence felt even more dangerous than before. "Wait!" ho''s order was heard by his teammates who were about to resume their attacks on Eren. The guy used his movement spell and approached Eren while keeping his guard up. He stopped once he concluded that the distance was ideal for him to talk with the target. "Heh! So you are not invincible after all. Eren Idril, you are a cmity for the mortals and rankers around you, the city of Osan, and the entire kingdom itself. We deem you too dangerous to be left alive. Team ho has exceeded expectations in all its missions. Many of them were not what one would call morally correct. But we did them anyway for the kingdom''s safety. Although our intentions at first didn''t align with that goal, killing you would help assure that all the same. You are a cultist after all. Anyst words before you are sent on your final journey?" ho questioned Eren and drew a runic dagger from its sheath. This was also a unique, army-issued artefact that could be used by rankers of any element, thanks to the runic inscriptions etched on it. The team leader had saved the most unique artefact for himself. Eren didn''t bother epting or denying ho''s ims that he was a cultist. He just narrowed his eyes on ho and his dagger while taking deep breaths. He couldn''t sense anything about the dagger but figured out it too would be something special. He coughed and spat blood. Then he chuckled loud before responding. "Hahahaha! Not invincible? Danger to the city of Osan and the entire kingdom? I thought I was the master of bullshittery. But you sir, put me to shame. I humbly admit my defeat if it''s the contest of shamelessness between us." Eren said and startedughing. That made him cough out more blood, which he spat out again. ho was getting angry at the butcher for Eren pointing out the statements that didn''t sit well with him. But he kept quiet and started running his unelementalized mana through the dagger. Everyone in the vicinity was waiting for Eren to get killed at this point. The target, surrounded by many injured rankers, continued speaking. "Last words? We''ll see who else gets to have thest words. Heh! If I can''t win, so be it. I''ll just make sure that the survivors will remember me forever. Hahaha!" Erenughed and looked around him. His intentions were as clear as day. The first person to approach him will face his kamikaze attacks. He continued speaking after he got the effect he was hoping for. "I''m not angry at you guys for ambushing me just for a hunting game masked under the garb of petty revenge. I''m not even angry at my situation or my luck. The one who can kill people without any reason shouldn''t be shocked when someone tries to do the same thing to him." Eren said this and shook his head as if he was disappointed with someone before continuing. "I''m angry at myself for overthinking things because of my distraught mental state. Like some naive ranker who hadn''t seen the world, I was pondering whether I did the right thing by taking revenge on people who hadn''t done me any harm in my second chance at life. I wondered if it would have been better if I had just let things be instead of trying to pacify my old self. I started doubting the most ideal image of a sessful ranker that I had created for myself. Was it correct? Did I achieve anything worth being proud of? Or was I just being a douche like you guys are?" Chapter 406 "Have You Ever Met a God?"

Chapter 406 "Have You Ever Met a God?"

"I started doubting my ideal image of a sessful ranker that I had created for myself. Was it correct? Did I achieve anything worth being proud of? Or was I just being a douche like you guys are?" Eren dissed himself and his enemies. Then he chuckled and verbally marched forward: "Having a broader perspective changes you as a whole, you know? It makes you think that all the things you had done were of no significance in the grand scheme of things. Never meet your heroes, they say! Do you know what''s an even more soul-crushing experience? Meeting gods! Their presence makes you feel inferior. Their mere gaze is enough to let you realize you are nothing but a speck of dust. Feelings like these make you restless because they keep on growing in your head no matter how many times you try to get rid of them. Tell me, ho, have you ever met a god?" Eren asked the enemy leader while looking him in the eyes. Thetter raised his eyebrows before responding grimly: "What are you even trying to say here?" Eren threw his head back andughed loudly before speaking up once again. "I''m saying that I''m angry at myself for being so naive. But I''m also thankful. It''s thanks to you guys that I could finally clear up my head. This battle was a much-needed experience for me to see the obvious truth that was eluding me for quite some time now. It helped me re-learn the things I had begun to forget." ho was seriously agitated by Eren''s creepy thoughts. He regretted allowing Eren to say hisst words. But now that he had, he wanted him to continue what he was saying. His curiosity got the better of him. "What the fuck does that mean?" Eren pped his head as if a realization had dawned on him and struck him like a eureka as a response to ho''s question. "It''s thanks to you guys I came to realize how fucking stupid I was. Yes, my revenge on people who haven''t done anything wrong to me doesn''t make sense if I only consider the current me. But now I''ve realized that it doesn''t have to make sense. I should do this as a tribute to the old me. Nothing more, nothing less." Eren said this and tried to get up on his feet using the sword as his support. He managed to do so after a while and spoke again. "The world won''t be a better ce just because I decided to act as a model person. And it won''t change much even if I decide to strive for my goals at the cost of harming others. It would continue to work the way it has, with or without me, no matter what I do or don''t do. In reality, we are just balls of flesh inted with egos, running all around the surface of this earth until we are eventually defeated. The world doesn''t give a shit about us. By us, I mean all of us low rankers. Then I might as well forge ahead and exploit everyone and everything to its fullest. Because that''s also something this world has deemed to be alright." Eren''s deep breaths stabilized a bit as he got up. He stabilized his stance and continued. "I''ve also realized that a broader perspective doesn''t help much if you are not capable of having one in the first ce. What use is learning the ways of the king is it to someone who is just another thug in the streets? A thug like him is better off learning how to survive from other thugs. Thanks to all of you, I''ve realized that I had been carrying so much shit in my head. Never will I ever doubt the decisions I have made since my second chance. I''m now ready to ept all the rewards and consequences thate with me pursuing my goals. I''m ready to ept myself for who I am. And what I am is someone willing to deal with any obstacle that blocks their way. Someone willing to pay the price for their selfishness. Someone who won''t care about ruining hundreds or thousands of lives if it could help them propel me forward to the pinnacle of this world I''ve been yearning for. I guess one needs to have this realization if they are striving to stand above the others." ho believed that Eren was delirious due to the fight and the serious injuries he sustained. Laughing, he spoke up. "The mindset of the gods? I see you are preparing for your afterlife. Care to tell me which god did you meet before you die? Maybe we can meet them too. Hahaha!" The soldiers started chuckling when they heard ho taunt Eren. The subject of thatughterughed with them before responding: "Hahahaha! Careful what you wish for." Eren said this before vanishing from his position. He appeared right beside the closet guy from his position and aimed to hit the back of his neck. But ho and his teammates were ready for something like this. They attacked Eren all at once using precise attacks from their spells and weapons. The rangers also supported their teammates by shooting the right projectile at the right time. Eren stopped caring about the attacksing his way unless they weren''t targeting his vital spots. Because it was impossible to dodge all the attacks. He prioritized killing as many rankers as possible without worrying about the injuries. The battle continued and another two officers were killed by the butcher in the most brutal way possible. But by now, Eren''s body had also been brutally injured. He had fractured his right forearm which was pierced by multiple rounds of void bullets. His left shoulder was dislocated. And there was blooding out of every pore of his body. Eren again found himself in the middle of ho''s teammates. The leader himself also traded a round or two. He had to admit that without his teammates'' and rangers'' support, he would have died tens of times in his short battle against the butcher. This whole time, ho was channelling mana through his unique dagger. Although it could be used by any ranker by using their unelementalized mana, the channelling of mana itself would take a considerable amount of time. Finally, the runes etched onto the metallic de of the dagger lit upC indicating it was ready to be used. "Good riddance, Eren Idril." ho said before throwing the dagger toward Eren using his rogue-ss spell. The weapon cut through the air and approached the butcher with threatening momentum. This was the time Eren was most exhausted and most beaten down. The fingers of his fractured right hand had been cut off by a ranker. So he couldn''t hold the katar properly. His left hand wasn''t any better with the gaping wound in his forearm. Eren''s knees had already suffered damage due to Kelmar''s void bullets. Plus, his incessant movements aggravated the injuries. One had to say that ho had chosen an apt time for his unique weapon to make a debut. The butcher''s vision was beginning to blur. But he never gave up fighting the fight. His anger and his dissatisfaction with himself kept him focused in the battle even during his pitiful state. He narrowed his eyes, stretched his mana senses, and braced himself for the iing weapon. He was very confident in deflecting the projectile if notpletely dodging it. But something weird happened when he was expecting the dagger to hit his weapon. It vanished into thin air. Eren had already stretched his mana sense but he couldn''t get a read on the weapon''s location. Warning bells sounded in Eren''s mind and he re-cast his defensive spell. The butcher''s responses were pretty impressive. Plus, they had been enhanced by his time-element spellbo. Yet all of that couldn''t keep him safe from the weapon''s attack. Pichook! The dagger appeared right in front of Eren''s chest by distorting the space fabric. It also seemed to have twisted Eren''s defensive spell and pierced his chest where his heart was. Eren''s heart was pierced by a space-element dagger. Chapter 407 Demanding Sacrifices

Chapter 407 Demanding Sacrifices

Eren''s heart was pierced by a space-element dagger. Eren looked down when he felt an unbelievable amount of pain in his chest. He could feel that the dagger had pierced about three inches into his heart. It would havepletely pierced his chest and came out from the other end had it not been for the enhanced protection his cloak of lightning had granted him. "Hahahahahahahahahaha!" ho let out a burst of cheerfulughter when he saw Eren''s current condition. Within that joyousughter, there was a feeling of relief mixed in. The other rankers surrounding Eren also breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the dagger had pierced Eren''s heart. It should only be a matter of time before the guy drops dead on his own. There was no need to face his suicidal attacks anymore. Kelmar also shot another bullet right at the hilt of the dagger to show off his marksmanship. He had stopped targeting Eren''s vital spots because his guard used to be always up. Plus, his cloak of lightning was something he couldn''t easily get rid of using his long-range attacks. For that, he needed to close the distance. But Kelmar knew that as soon as he entered the battlefield, the butcher was about to target him. But now that Eren seemed frozen in his steps, it gave him the chance to target the guy again. Zoom! The flying sword zipped through the air and cut off Eren''s right hand from its joint. She saw that Eren''s cloak of lightning was fluctuating because of his current condition. She saw the chance and took it. ''Damn it, Eren. You couldn''t even handle these low lives. I''ll stop maintaining the array ande'' La wanted to stop maintaining the array ande out of her personal space to help him. He was an extremely crucial piece in her master''s n after all. She couldn''t let him die. And the way he was heading, it wouldn''t be long before he hit the dust. Therefore, she grabbed a unique potion from her collection intending to use it on him as soon as she got out. ''There'' "Hehehehehe! Hahahahahaha! This is fun. Never did I imagine the feeling of anger could be so addicting. If indulging in this feeling is sinful, so be it. If indulging in this feeling is evil, so be it." La was stopped by Eren. She didn''t understand what the guy was thinking. Any more dy and he''d drop dead. Yet she sensed something really strange. His pierced heart was pounding more than usual. It was not oozing out blood like it was supposed to. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! The stabbed heart that was supposed to pour out gallons of blood was now beating more aggressively than before. La felt that if one was within a meter''s distance away from Eren, they could hear his heartbeats. Eren''s aura kept on changing as the heartbeats grew louder. Eren started hearing foreign chants spoken by various voices in various ways as he felt the ache in his heart. But he could tell that there were other emotions mixed with the feeling of pain. He remembered Nina''s description of foreign mana sources, spells, and abilities. He subconsciously processed that information along with the feelings in his heart and got a hint of what he was supposed to do. Slowly the foreign chants started to make sense to Eren in his subconscious mind. They were asking something from him. Eren closed his eyes and concentrated on the chants. He felt everything around him go ck the next moment. Suddenly, he found himself in an ethereal ce where he saw a giant heart beating with war-drum-like thumps. The sound each of the thumps made was very intimidating. Yet, Eren didn''t feel threatened by it. He felt that it was something that belonged to him. The void didn''t contain anything. Or more precisely, Eren couldn''t see anything in space apart from the giant heart. Now that his consciousness was summoned into this ce, the butcher could hear the chants clearly. He could understand their meaning on a deeper level. ''These voices. They are talking to me. They are asking me if I''m ready to bear this sin and all that it means. They are asking me if I''m ready to bind this power to my existence.'' Eren mumbled to himself as he listened to the chants. He also understood what he needed to do at that time. "Let my wrath scare them beyond anything they''ve ever felt. Let theme within the measure of my wrath And burn to cinders, illuminating my path. This ability This binding I ept it.'' The surroundings resonated with Eren''s voice with an unnatural echo. The next thing he did was to drive the dagger deeper into his heart with his own hand. BZZZZZZZZT! An otherworldly mana pulse was released into the surroundings with Eren acting as its origin. Rankers surrounding him were blown tens of meters from their previous position by the release of that mana pulse. La understood what had happened the moment she felt the changes happening outside. Eren had awakened one of the seven sin marks. The dagger was driven into his heart to bind his ability with this act of self-harm. Eren''s heart was chained into various runes when he drove the dagger deeper. In the next moment, he opened his eyes as he pulled out the dagger. Eren realized how the ability would work the moment it was bound to him. It was now bound by the action of his heart getting pierced. It meant that he needed to pierce his heart and experience the pain the action entailed every time he wanted to use the ability. ''You You are a masochist, Eren. Why did you bind your ability like this?'' Eren ignored La''s question and looked at his surroundings. He wondered why nobody had attacked him while he was standing still with his eyes closed. So he checked up on ho and his team as well as himself. And he finally understood the reason behind it. All of the rankers had been driven away by the mana pulse that was released from him. The rankers were stunned, shocked and were beginning to dread Eren even before that. His presence now had be so ominous that they were subconsciously scared of closing in on him. Eren saw ho''s dagger in his hand that was now coated with his blood. Then he felt the wound that was made by it with his own hands. The gaping wound was still there. The pain was still there. But the blood didn''te out of it anymore. Eren shook his head when he understood what he had done. Maybe he truly was a masochist. But he kept those thoughts aside and concentrated on his current tasks at hand. Now that Eren had gained this otherworldly power and understood how to activate it, he needed test subjects to use it. And they gathered around him. Eren caressed the wound on his chest as he looked around trying to find ho. He chuckled when he found him lying on the ground with his legs spread out. The guy was using his hands to crawl away from Eren as he watched him with horror-filled eyes. The leader of his team hade to realize that he along with all his teammates were going to be put in mortal danger soon. "You lot Didn''t you want to meet God?" Maybe it was because of the ability''s binding effect. Or maybe because of the otherworldly mana pulse that was released not too long ago. But Eren''s voice somehow sounded deeper than it was supposed to. ho and his teammates were frightened by his question, which sounded like the voice of something sinister. Only his spectators felt this change though. The butcher raised his hands and spread them to both sides as he spoke his next words. "In this ce At this moment I AM YOUR GOD! And I demand sacrifice. Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Wrath!" Chapter 408 Domain of Wrath

Chapter 408 Domain of Wrath

"Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Wrath!" A dome-shaped manayer, made of the same otherworldly mana pulse that was released earlier, was birthed into existence around Eren. At the same time, Eren''s appearance started changing into his new-normal form. His hair turned white and his eyes turned red. Plus, the runic inscriptions on his body which looked like abstract tattoos started spreading over his torso and limbs. The red-tinted manayer started spreading further under Eren''s guidance. It soon encountered the array-generated manayer. Theyers seemed to have a conflicting presence with each other. Finally, the red-tinted manayer managed to override the array-generated manayer before spreading past it. The mana-dome covered where the two rangers positioned on opposite sides of the battlefield were located. It only stopped growing further when it included distant enemies. The runes started floating over the dome''s surfaces as soon as it was stabilized. It separated the environment inside the dome from the world outside. Kelmar and the bowsword ranker, who were too stupefied to react to the dome-shaped manayer, were finally snapped into reality. They had ominous feelings in their hearts as they watched the mana dome stop only after bringing them inside. Kelmar was the first to act on his instincts. He tried to run away from the battlefield without worrying about any of his soldiers or ho''s order. He cast his movement spell and tried to breach the mana-dome and reach the other side. "Aaaargh!" Kelmar''s voice could be heard in the nightly silence. The dome-shaped manayers had been stretched by the ranger''s movements only to throw him back with greater momentum than his approaching speed. That was not all. Kelmar''s skin that had touched the mana-dome began melting on its own. As if he had touched an intense form of mana acid. His hands, the skin on his knees, and some of his face started melting first. Soon, signs of skin melting appeared on other parts of his body. The front of Kelmar''s body soon had no epidermis whatsoever. He looked like his skin had been surgically removed and his red muscles were exposed out in the open. Kelmar''s suffering didn''t end there. The red-tinted mana that hade into contact with him through his touch started invading his mana circuits. The mana soon reached his mana core and interacted with it. The next thing Kelmar felt was his mana core getting imploded from within. The implosion ran through his mana circuits and burned it away too. Kelmar continued screaming in an attempt to cope with the excruciating pain he was experiencing. His teammates were keeping tabs on him through their stretched mana sense as well. A cold shiver ran through all their spines as they realized the consequences of trying to get away from the battlefield. ho was terrified by Eren because he observed the devil gazing directly at him with a smile stered on his face. His pitiful condition was the stuff of nightmares for him. So when he observed Kelmar''s state with his mana sense and heard his screams, ho started shivering on his own. His mental state was already affected by the mana pulse that was released a few moments ago. Kelmar''s condition only cranked up those feelings of fright to eleven. But what happened next was even more bizarre. Everyone observed as Kelmar''s body started changing post his mana core destruction. He started to appear as something non-human in appearance. Kelmar was getting consumed by the anger that he felt due to the insurmountable amount of pain he felt. The feeling of "I don''t deserve any of this" had made the seed of anger sprout in his head which then bloomed into full-fledged wrath. Kelmar''s body started growing taller as the wrath inside his head started growing. He lost all hair on his head and it began showing signs of deformity. His muscture also appeared to be changing. It now had warts at the most prominent muscle definitions. Kelmar''s epidermis was destroyed by now. His red muscles were getting puffed up as warts over them grew with each passing moment. His left hand also started changing all of a sudden. He lost his palm and his fingers as the radius and ulna bones of his arm fused before bing arge fang-shaped bone. Kelmar''s muscles grew around the fang bone with rapid but unstable regeneration. The muscle fibres of his body were showing signs of getting torn because of the stress they were feeling. He had no clothes on. The ranger waspletely naked. Yet there was no sexual organ to be found. As a result of his transformation, he became genderless. "Kyaaaaaaaah!" Kelmar released an angry scream as his transformation wasplete. He stood up and looked at everyone on the battlefield with inhuman-looking eyes. Kelmar fixed his eyes on the ranker closest to him and released an angry roar at him. Thetter didn''t understand what was happening at first. But soon he saw the creature that was previously called Kmr approaching him with threatening momentum. The guy tried to run away from Kelmar. Kelmar, despite not having the mana core, had be incredibly fast. His speed when he could use mana was nothingpared to what he could achieve with his mere muscles alone. The otherworldly mana temporarily boosted his muscles to an unimaginable level. The mutant created by Eren''s strange ability could not control his actions. That mutated flesh held only a sliver of his previous ego, which was constantly breeding feelings of anger, injustice, and rage toward everyone around him. ''Why didn''t you feel the pain? Howe you get to be lucky and I don''t? Why are you still human and I am not?'' The ego kept on thinking like this as its body attacked the ranker that Kelmar once identified as his teammate. As he approached the man, he used his inhuman physical speed and agility to drive his newly formed fang-shaped bone through his stomach from behind. "Kiyaaaaah!" The mutated creature released another scream as it lifted the skewered body of the soldier it had just killed. ============ AN: Will upload the illustration for the mutant creatures on Instagram and under the chapterments soon. Chapter 409 Creatures of Wrath

Chapter 409 Creatures of Wrath

"Kiyaaaaaah!" The mutated creature released another scream as it lifted the skewered body of the soldier it had just killed. ho wasn''t sure if what he was seeing was real or just an illusion conjured up by an illusion spell. Or was he trapped in a nightmare? He couldn''t be sure. He watched as Kelmar turned into a mutated creature. The captain looked on as his former vice-captain attacked hisrade. He watched as the creature lifted the victim''s body in the air after skewering it on his fang-shaped bone. Then he watched as Kelmar tossed it aside like it didn''t mean anything to him anymore. He then looked around and saw another ranker that was not far away from him. "Kiyaaaaaah!" The mutated creature made its intention known by releasing an angry cry towards its next target. The ranker knew that running away from the creature wasn''t going to solve anything. "Fight let''s fight this creature together. I won''t be able to take it down by myself.'' The soldier found the right words to say to the rankers around him. They also understood that they had to put everything aside and prioritize killing the creature. Kelmar approached the ranker and tried to do the same thing with his new prey the way he had done it with hisst prey. Too bad, the ranker used his runic shield and his defensive spell together to tackle the muscle-powered bone-fang. "Kiyaah!" The creature released a roar of anger as it found out its prey was trying to evade getting killed. The muscles on its body grew even more exaggerated than they already were as Kelmar indulged in the feeling of wrath. ho wet his pants when he saw the mutated creature overpowering the ranker who was well-versed in defence. He watched as the creature got tackled by three more rankers at once. And he watched as Kmr''s body got heated up and released mana-smoke in response to those attacks on him. Kelmar soon seemed to have killed or incapacitated two more rankers with his inhuman physical power alone. And injured the third one. Only after doing this did his body finally sumb and spontaneouslybust. The shield-wielding ranker was at his limit when the fight ended between the four of them versus the creature. And three of hisrades were already dead. He had thought that it wouldn''t take long for the creature to kill him now. But the shield ranker almost felt like crying with joy when he saw that Kelmar''s body had suddenly caught fire. It burned in red mes at an elerated rate before there was nothing left of it anymore. The red me that burned its source wasn''t extinguished though. It startedpressing and shrinking while releasing a distinct yet weird mana pulse. The shield guy wasn''t sure what he was supposed to do now. But he was d that the mutant creature was finally taken care of. But something strange happened yet again. Suddenly, the same red me that was levitating from the ground flew towards someone that was the root cause of all that had happened so far. Eren extended his hand as the palm-sized red me came toward him. It then disappeared into his body through contact with the tip of his index finger. "Aaaaaaah! These pure feelings of wrath. I like them. Hehehehe! Give me more!" Eren said as if speaking to himself. But somehow his voice was heard by all those present in the Domain of Wrath. They watched in horror as Eren''s injuries started healing themselves after the consumption of the red me. The wound on Eren''s chest stayed open. But he could not feel any paining from it anymore. His other injuries were also getting healed. His fractured bones creaked and mended themselves. His ruptured muscles were brought back to their pristine condition. And his open wounds in the other parts of his body stopped pouring out any more blood. Eren then looked at his cut fingers that didn''t heal and realized something. "I need more." Eren said and looked at ho again. He started walking towards ho at that point. Thetter suddenly thought even shitting himself wasn''t going to be enough to process the fear he was feeling at the time. "Stop stop this devil. Aaaah! Team ho, if you want to see tomorrow''s sun,e together as a team and kill him. He he is still injured and won''t be able to handle all of us." ho''s survival instincts kicked in and overpowered his fears. He got up and ordered his team to unite under him. The teammates in the surroundings also hade to realize that their chance of survivaly in acting as a team and helping each other out. Eren was about to be attacked from all sides by the attackers. But they soon heard the voice of the devil as he kept walking towards their leader. "Heh! Are you sure you can afford to attack me? Look at the bodies of those the creature of wrath killed." Eren chuckled as he made all the rankers look at the bodies of the Kelmar''s victims. Two rankers almost died, while the third one was critically injured. Their fears came true, as Eren had hinted. They soon started turning the same way Kelmar had passed through a few moments ago. "Kiyaaaah!" "Kiyaaaaah!" "Kiyaaaaah!" The three mutated creatures released their cries unanimously as they each chose a different ranker to attack. The rankers had to prioritize killing the mutant creatures again because their lives were put in danger all at the same time. Just like that, the rankers started battling with their previousrades for theck of better choices. But it wasn''t a fight they could win. Because they would soone to realize that the more they fought and the more they got injured, the more the numbers on the opposing side would rise. And even if they managed to kill the creature before it killed them, it would only strengthen Eren more. In the domain of wrath, the rankers could feel the wrath building in their hearts. And the caster of this domain weed this situation with open arms. Eren was about to burn everyone in the mes of wrath before consuming them as a whole. Chapter 410 Gaining Experiences

Chapter 410 Gaining Experiences

"Stay stay the fuck away from me, you abomination! You won''t get away from casting this devilish magic, you know. You will get hunted for" ho started talking and shouting with mana imbued in his voice. He hoped that some ranker group would take notice of this battlefield. But then he remembered that he had chosen this spot specifically because it was barren. Only lone rankers like Eren who wanted to travel to the city of Osan at the time of lockdown would choose this way. But this realization didn''t stop him from screaming his heart out. He dished out a lot of threats directed at Eren with his scared voice. Sadly, the so-called monster approaching him didn''t seem to care. Meanwhile, La had thoughts of her own when she witnessed how the mark of wrath had manifested in Eren''s case. This was the most powerful manifestation of the Sins series ability she had seen so far in the Ace rank. She couldn''t believe that power like this was granted to someone in just the Elemental Condensation stage. It may be that the way this freak chose to bind this power to him was the reason for such a crazy ability granted to him. The world''s will involved in the equation must have been pleased by the freak''s resolve.'' La concluded as she watched the events unfold around the battlefield. She was partly okay with Eren unlocking such power for himself. It only meant that her master''s ns would have higher chances of sess. But she was also partly worried because she hade to realize that the guy would never allow them to treat him as a pushover. ''Wait. He has indeed acquired a troublesome ability but there''s no need to panic. He can''t do anything in front of my master. I just need to keep closer tabs on this guy.'' La concluded and let the topic rest. She didn''t have to maintain the array anymore because the array had been broken by force, thanks to the release of Eren''s Domain of Wrath. But she still chose to stay at her ce and watch the show. "Would you shut the fuck up already? If you want to call me names, pick one and run with it.'' Eren disappeared from his position only to appear in front of ho who had never stopped retreating step by step. He choked the guy''s neck with his hand and continued: "I meant every word I said, you know. I''m thankful for you guys. You have cleared my head and helped me get rid of all my doubts." Eren said while shing a gentle smile at ho. Eren had started to pour the wrath mana inside ho''s mana circuits through his grip the moment he was caught in it. As a result, ho couldn''t cast any of his spells due to the foreign mana invading his body. Eren tightened his grip around ho''s throat and brought him closer to him before continuing further. "I ept the evil that''s part of me now. I won''t lose my shit again no matter who stands in front of me. Your threats don''t matter to me. Whatever happens to me, know that none of you is making it out of here alive. And don''t worry about me. Heh. One way or the other My evil will not only survive in this world but also thrive here. No matter if it stays under the veil ores out in the open." As he said it, Eren imbued all the anger that he felt because of experiencing his weakest moment in Eliza''s presence into his heart. The same heart that was powering his domain. Eren''s anger was a crucial element in keeping the Domain of Wrath active. The more he tapped into his anger, the stronger it became. And the more he used this domain, the more his anger would be zapped away from him. He could feel happiness after releasing all his rage in that way. Eren had to say that the feeling of using this ability was intoxicating. He felt like he was releasing all his anger into the world. And the guy had a lot of it pent up in his heart. ho started changing under the influence of wrath mana that he had injected into his system by force. He released ho''s neck to observe the transformation closely. Meanwhile, almost all of ho''s teammates were busy with the creatures of wrath that were getting out of their hands. Some of them had started to get out of the domain using various methods instead of running blindly as Kelmar had done. But no matter what trick, artefact, spell, or potions they used, they would always get repelled by the barrier at thest second. Then the wrath mana would invade their bodies and make them experience uncontroble anger towards everything and everyone around them while affecting their mana circuits and mana cores. The deserters would turn into creatures of wrath soon after getting infected by the otherworldly mana. And it won''t take long for them to either kill their opponents or get killed in the process. A bunch of wrath mes flew towards Eren. He epted them into his body while watching ho transform. But suddenly he felt that some weird and unexinable thoughts were forming in his consciousness. Eren closed his eyes again and processed those thoughts only to find out that they were not his own. They were the thoughts and experiences of his victims burnt to cinders by the mes of wrath. All the experiences that they had felt rted to the feeling of anger or wrath were now being processed by him. That was not all. In addition, Eren began to analyze the weapon masteries of his victims as well as their progress in their respective ways of using the elements. He processed them like they were his own. Or more urately, Domain of Wrath had enabled him to digest his victims'' experiences as rankers and turn them into his own. Eren was only beginning to understand the true potential of his ability as he started processing those experiences. He couldn''t help but open his mouth and mumble to himself when he realized what was happening. ''Phew! No wonder Arthur wanted this power.'' Chapter 411 Anger Management

Chapter 411 Anger Management

''Phew! No wonder Arthur wanted this power.'' Eren said as he watched ho shed his epidermis and start transforming into the creature of wrath. He had remembered that Eliza had stated that Arthur was eyeing the true reward of Purgatory from the very beginning. Now he understood why that was the case. It wasn''t that Eren could grasp everything about the rankers'' experience through his ability. He could only retain a portion of those experiences and make them his own. But the fact that he could do that was revolutionary itself. Eren could now practically master many weapon arts and battle styles if he umted and grasped enough experience about them the way he did. Then all he needed to do was fine-tune them with some real-life practice. This is easy. As a result, he would be able to master a particr weapon or battle style within a few weeks. This is in contrast to the years normal ranked soldiers spend in training. Then there was the matter of the multiple ways of the elements and their respective progressions that he had to ount for. Eren wasn''t sure how he could make full use of all of those experiences. However, he could use the progress he had made in the fire element, lightning element, and time element. He needed quiet time to process these gains. It wasn''t something he could do right off the bat. At least the ability hadn''t progressed enough for him to do that. But with bigger rewards came increased risks. ''This ability also has some risks.'' Eren narrowed his eyes on the creature of wrath that was standing in front of him like it was waiting for hismand. Eren didn''t say anything. He just looked at his body while pondering over the risks of using this ability to its fullest that he had learned subconsciously. "Go kill your fellow soldiers." Eren said to ho now that he had now be a creature of wrath. Although he couldn''t understand human words anymore, he could still process Eren''s emotions as the caster of the domain. It immediately left its ce and moved towards the nearest battle between the rankers and the creature of wrath. Eren then closed his eyes and was about to harness the power of wrath mes. But then he sensed something and ducked. Eren''s mana sense in the Domain of Wrath had been amplified by many levels. Yet it took him time for him to sense the life-threatening attack that was executed on him just now. Eren looked and found out that it was the bowsword woman who had used her special runic projectile sword against him. She wasn''t as impulsive as Kelmar. As a result, she wasn''t as desperate to fight or flee from the creatures of wrath as the others. She instead concentrated all her efforts on killing the root cause of these events. One had to say that her strategy was right on the mark. Her timing was apt. Plus, the gear she had used was an ideal tool. Too bad, she hadn''t understood the full scope of the Domain of Wrath. "You This is the Domain of Wrath, you know. Try not to provoke me too much. Otherwise, it would be disastrous for both of us." Eren said that while clenching his fist. He tried to calm himself and not let his anger take over. "Then again, it is already bad for you no matter what you do. So I understand your struggle. Hehehe. Let me give you the relief you want." Eren said and cast his spells. Blitz Bolt Blitz Steps Sedated Perception The bowsword-wielding ranger saw that Eren had disappeared from his position and immediately became wary of him. She cast her AoE as soon as she understood the severity of her situation. She had never thought that Eren would be able to dodge the unique assassination tool, which she had saved for emergencies like these. A small dome of water-element mana was created around the ranger woman. Sword projectiles were soon going to appear in that domain that would target her approaching foe. But what she hadn''t realized was the fact that she had underestimated Eren''s current form and his stats while in the Domain of Wrath. The mes of wrath did not only heal Eren''s bodypletely but also boosted his stats temporarily. With the absorption of each me, each stat would be boosted further. That meant that he would get stronger the more he kept on killing foes that were inside the Domain of Wrath. Currently, Eren has consumed around 10 wrath mes. So his stats were boosted way more than his normal levels. So when he executed his movement spell, the butcher was already within the striking distance behind the ranger''s back even before her AoE was perfected. Eren wasn''t someone who would wait for his enemies to make a move. Particrly when he was using the Domain of Wrath. He feared that he would lose control over his anger once a sessful blownded on him. Pichook! Eren didn''t waste time. There was no exchange of words. There was no stare down. Just a simple form of efficient killing. The ranger woman was already weak in closebat. Plus, thanks to Eren''s boosted stats, the game was already over before it began. Eren pushed ahead and crushed the ranger''s head with his vice-like grip alone. Just like that, both the rangers of ho''s team along with the leader himself had turned dead within a few moments of the butcher''s domain expansion. There were only a few rangers that were fighting a vain battle with the creatures of wrath. Eren looked at his bloody hand which now had some grey matter sticking to it. The hand immediately caught fire and red mes could be seen burning every bit of that matter along with the ranger''s blood into cinders. The dead ranger''s body also began to burn, and the mes rising from the body of the dead ranker were soon absorbed by Eren. ''No. my approach needs to be improvised. Too much anger is bad. But what if I can control my anger and put it in the right direction?'' Eren thought as he watched the red me disappear into his body. At that moment, he decided to test the limits of his ability by experimenting on himself as well. The butcher let his anger consume him. Chapter 412 Aftermath

Chapter 412 Aftermath

The butcher let his anger consume him. Immediately, his body started transforming too. His muscles that were already well-defined became even more prominent as they grew in size. His stature was increasing as well. But there was no muscle rupture or bone-breaking in his case. There was no epidermis falling off. His mana circuits and his mana core stayed stable too unlike the creatures of the wrath. Eren realized at the time that he was under the influence of anger and mana of wrath. And yet he was still conscious and fully aware of his surroundings. His unique constitution as a slime half-blood had made the transformation easy for him without losing any of his previous powers. But the physical boost he had received because of his ability was even more unbelievable. He felt that he didn''t need any spell to take care of someone of ho''s level anymore. He could do it with his physical prowess alone. Eren decided to test the limits of his mental acuity to keep himself sane while voluntarily submitting to the feelings of anger. Now instead of growing even further than he already was, the transformation took a different turn. Some otherworldly tribal tattoos started appearing over Eren''s arms and limbs as more wrath mana was injected into his system. Eren was also experiencing his psych getting consumed by feelings of anger and destruction. Just when he thought that he would lose himself in his anger, Eren stopped the process. Had it been the previous Eren, he would have been consumed by these feelings a long time ago. But the realization about himself and the path that he had gained had helped him not lose control over his anger. Eren''s stature had grown and his muscle definition had also increased. But his appearance didn''t change much from his white-haired transformation. But the tribal tattoos he had received under the effects of wrath mana were shining with red luminance. The tattoos were trying to spread all over his body. But Eren stopped their growth and only limited them to his limbs and some potion of his neck. "Time to check things out!" Eren said and approached the nearest team of five rankers who were battling with two creatures. The creatures screamed at the iing Eren before stepping aside. It was as if they had suddenly realized who was the leader of their bunch under the umbre of the red dome. The creatures couldn''t stay stable though. Or Eren didn''t care enough to keep them stable under his control. Both the creatures instabusted as soon as the butcher reached their ce. Eren had travelled a sufficient distance toe here. He was as fast as he used to be. But there was a difference. This time, this was his pure non-spell-influenced speed that he had achieved only through his physical prowess. As a result, he had left a trail of substantial depressions on the ground that seemed like spider webs. "Spare us, oh" A survivor ranker was punched in his face the next second before he couldplete his plea. The raw power behind the punch was so strong that it had generated a gale that threw other rankers near him away from the target. The ranker''s head was no more. It had burst into so many tiny particles that they were swept away by the gale that had been created by Eren''s punch. But soon Eren started feeling his muscles getting sore as his feelings of anger were increasing with each kill. So he decided to turn things down a notch. ''Hmm! I need to keep my emotions in check under the effects of the domain. The time for the experiments is over. Need to wrap things up.'' Eren thought to himself and used his mana sense to order the creatures of wrath under his influence to go kamikaze over their opponents. He also used his pure physical powers to take care of some of the rankers who were trying to y safe even now. Just like that, the hunting game that ho started was ended up by Eren in his way. When everyone was killed, Eren cancelled his ability and the red-tinted dome disappeared into thin air. The wound over his chest also started closing as soon as the disappearance of red mana took ce. Eren sighed as he realized the unpredictability of the ranker''s life. He couldn''t believe that hisst days in the duchy of Lionhearts would be full of such surprises. ********************** La finally came out and observed the carnage that had happened all over the battlefield. Not a single corpse that had remained on the battlefield was in a normal condition. Some rankers were resistant to the transformation caused by the red mana after all. Or the level of red mana they had been injected with wasn''t enough for them to go through with the transformation. Either way, now Eren had bodies to take care of. The entire battlefield screamed that it was Eren who had done this carnage. Even a newbie Ace historian would be able to find clues about him because of his dominant presence that had been etched onto the surroundings. The red mana did help Eren in colluding his mana signatures. Plus his white-haired transformation couldn''t be linked to the normal him. But his involvement in the crime scene was just too much even as his regr self. "So what are you going to do about this mess?" La asked as she aired herself with her palm as if to show she wasn''t okay with the sight she was seeing. But Eren knew that this was just a show-off. The young witch was as heartless as him when it came to these things if not more. "You tell me. Personally, if I can''t avoid it, I really don''t mind being a cultist. But it would be troublesome for your master if I had to do all the things in the shadows." Eren had resorted to ckmailing of course. Chapter 413 Declaration

Chapter 413 Deration

Eren had resorted to ckmailing. La snorted when she heard Eren''s response and shook her head in denial as if she was expecting this. She also knew that even though it was ckmail, it contained the truth she couldn''t ignore. "Sigh. Alright. Collect all the corpses in one ce. I''ll also get to work. We need to finish this faster. We also might benefit from the harvest you have reaped from such diligent work." Saying that La took out a giant cauldron from her storage. It was the same type and size of the cauldron she had immersed Hexen Bee in. It was 3 meters in height and 5 meters in diameter. Eren didn''t understand what La was doing but he didn''t waste time asking her about it. He started collecting all the corpses and the chopped off parts in one ce near the cauldron. He didn''t forget to store the ID stones of his victims as well as their unique, army-issued weapons for himself as he did that. La''s preparations were also done by this point. First, she looked at the pile of bodies and body parts that were oozing everything they had ever contained. A thick stench of blood was permeating the air. La scanned her surroundings to make sure that Eren didn''t miss anything. She nodded to herself after confirming that everything was alright. "Okay. I''ll take a few minutes to process these "ingredients". You can do whatever you want till then." La said to Eren and started throwing a few vials into the already existing mixture present inside the cauldron. Then she used an unelementalized spell to throw a few ingredients before moving her gaze to the pile of corpses and organs. One after the other, the corpses and other unidentifiable body parts levitated from their positions and started getting dropped inside the concoction. When La was ensured that everything had gone inside, she took out the lid from her storage and ced it over the cauldronC closing its mouth. Then she started operating on the cauldron herself. The previously invisible runes over the artefact were illuminated before a green fire was conjured at the base. The green fire couldn''t be called Enderme. Nevertheless, it was something close to it. La sat beside the cauldron and started mumbling a few chants. Initially, the runes were stretched out on the ground a few meters before they began to glow with a breathing effect. Eren saw all this and came to realize that he hadn''t even begun his study in potioning even though he was practically living his second life. That''s because he could barely understand what La was doing. But he understood one thing. And that was the fact that La shouldn''t be disturbed in the process. So he decided to leave her to her devices and find somece to rx. This was technically still the middle of the night. But the time was tilting towards the hour of twilight. Eren decided to take a walk. ''If my map-reading skills don''t suck balls, there should be a cliff nearby.'' Eren thought to himself and started walking in a particr directionC leaving La alone. He didn''t think he needed to worry about her safety anyway. With the way La was going, Eren was also sure that his identity would stay safe at this crime scene. He wondered if the historians could even detect this ce as a crime scene when La was done with it. La''s intricate setup made him think like that when he was standing next to it. ****************** As his hands were covered in dry blood, Eren took out a Sativa stick before lighting it. He had returned to his normal appearance when he reached the cliff. His clothes barely held onto his body. And the light wind was making their job even more difficult as he stood at the very edge of the mountain cliff he came here to see. There was a valley of dense green wildlife spreading down below from where Eren was watching. The bright moon was right in front of him and somehow looked exaggeratedly muchrger than it was supposed to be. White moonlight illuminated the valley below the cliff. Eren was able to remove the reins over all of his thoughts on such a peaceful night. He let them run free in his head. Soon, he would have to leave the duchy of Lionheart and enter the duchy of Nightshade. So it was natural that all his thoughts were revolving around those changes. But even while having multiple thoughts to process, Eren wasn''t conflicted anymore. The battle that had happened just now had been pretty helpful for him to see what he was supposed to seeC the naked truth of the rankers'' world. ''I''m not living in a peaceful ce. There''s no peaceful ce in this world as long as there are rankers and mana added into the equation.'' Eren thought as he took arge drag of his smoke. The drag seemed to have given him some sort of rity as he shook his head before adding further. ''No scratch that. There''s no peace as long as there are living people involved. Rankers or not. Mana or not. Human nature is the same at its base. We are all cruel beings if we just dig deep within ourselves. Some of us know it. And some live their whole lives without being aware of their true nature. Should I call them lucky or gullible? Hehehe.'' Eren''s thoughts then shifted to his past life which was full of misery. He then thought about the changes he had introduced in this timeline and their aftereffects as he smoked. Eren had ambitious ns for the ce where he was heading. Most of his projects depended on the effective execution of some of these ns. Of course, he didn''t want to go there under the circumstances he was in right now, but he had no choice. Then his ever-restless mind thought of Reen and he started feeling the heartache. He felt even more pain than when it was pierced some time ago. The domain of Wrath was like a catharsis for him so he wasn''t angry anymore in his situation. But he did feel that the determination to see the metaphorical "view at the top of this world" was getting stronger in his heart. Eren narrowed his eyes as he suddenly remembered Eliza''s face and everything she represented to the current him. He realized that he could still feel shivers running through his entire body if he decided to relive the memories he had at the time of their meeting. Eliza''s voice kept reverberating in his head as he took out another Sativa stick and lit it up. Eren thought as he kept on thinking about the way Eliza had worded her intentions to him. He chuckled after having another random thought. ''That was a good piece she had written. Do all Sages need to possess such skills? Hehehehe!'' Eren chuckled to himself as he had that thought. But that thought stuck in his head and kept on growing. Audience or not, Eren felt like he needed to voice his feelings too. So he took a long drag from his Sativa stick and released a cloud of smoke in the air before saying aloud. "As their dried and dead blood Paint my skin merlot My calluses are chipped away And liberated are my thoughts Their souls shall be torn asunder Their bodies shall nourish the soils The debtor will settle the debts Wasted not will be my toils To find peace Amid a clusterfuck of misery All I need is but a chance To rewrite my history My mask of sanity slips away There''s nobody to tell the tale Even the gods won''t see iting When a Vile Evil Hides Under the Veil" A moment after Eren dered his deration, he threw the butt of his smoke. Then he chuckled to himself and started walking in the same direction he hade from. The butcher was about to get busy for a while. ===================== AN: End of Volume 02. Skip this if you want. Volume 02 of VEH concludes with this chapter. We also reached the collective milestone of 500K not too long ago. Volume 03 will find that Eren has left Lionheart Duchy. The region would be different from where he is right now. Plus, a few things mentioned in volumes 01 and 02 will start to converge. How was volume 02 as a whole? What are you looking forward to in volume 03? Let me know in thement section of this chapter. I take this milestone as an opportunity to thank the entire reader base of VEH. It wouldn''t have been possible to make it this far without you. Conveying special thanks to the top GT contributors: Daoist930799, muhehe08, and Greeko_suave. Simrly, conveying special thanks to Top 10 VEH fans: Daoist930799, Venom30, Drin27, jay29, Daoist_Broodstar, Sheepy2312, FlyingHippopotamus, Jeffrey_Hatter, Edward_Wood_jr, and Chris_Garry. That''s it. See you all in volume 03. Cheers! ;) Chapter 414 News Hour

Chapter 414 News Hour

Two months after Team ho''s mass wipeout. Eren was seen drinking at a lounge facility made for Edinburgh army personnel. He was sitting alone at his table in a corner away from any attention. He had worn arge ck overcoat and ck pants. There was an insignia of the kingdom of Edinburgh attached to the right shoulder in the form of a strap. On his left shoulder, there were runic inscriptions that would spectrally project his army joining details if and when he runs his mana through it. This was the standard uniform in the Edinburgh army for Ace rankers like him. It was just that nobody else had worn their uniforms in the lounging area apart from him. They were all in casuals or their personal gear. He had ordered a known but rtively rare Elven ale on his tabC Frostfoam. He was also seen reading a spectral book that contained army regtions, the geography and topography of the nearby region, and some other details that only the army personnel of the Edinburgh kingdom were supposed to be privy to. After reading some pointers, Eren would jot down a few of them or whatever he had learned from them into his journal. The other people would give him weird looks whenever they passed by his table. That was because he was writing things down in a book instead of saving them on his ID Spectral screen. Eren had been inspired by Edgar''s way of noting things down. So he had also started to write whatever he deemed relevant to him. ''Hm! Got to say the elven ale provided here is a bit different but that''s not necessarily a bad thing. The shit packs a punch.'' Eren said to himself as he drank from hisrge mug. He had started to cherish times like these nowC thanks to the experiences he had had so far. They had taught him that life happens amidst a series ofedies and tragedies. Eren had also stopped fearing his alcoholism now. He hade to realize that the Sativa stick was a viable vice. And since it wasn''t something that could be detrimental to him or his growth, he didn''t have to worry about getting used to it. Now the booze was something Eren would drink to rx and unwind. He was d for himself that he could drink this way, with this mindset. However, peace doesn''tst forever, just like the rxing liquid in his pint. "There you are!" Eren heard a familiar voice behind him when he was enjoying his alone time. A few creases appeared on his forehead as a result. But he controlled his irritation and lifted his hand and waved without looking back. "Why are you drinking alone, Eren? You could havee with your squad, you know. We are heading outside the army base to drink. Want toe?" This was a young elf male in his mid-twenties. He had grey hair and grey eyes. He looked charming and attractiveC highlighting his pure-blooded elven background. He had first patted Eren on his back and grabbed a seat in front of him without hesitation. The guy had asked Eren the same question twice in a day, expecting the same answer from the butcher. "Sigh! I already told you, Arjun. I have some work. You guys can enjoy yourselves and have fun. I''ll meet you when we are ready to resume our on-field duties after two days. I mean, we all have our personal lives outside of our duties, right?" Arjun pursed his lips after he heard Eren''s response. He knew that it would be difficult to convince Eren. This was going to take time so he decided to join Eren. "Excuse me. I''ll have what this guy''s having." Arjun ced his order with the bar staff nearby before responding to Eren. "Heh! I know why you don''t want toe. It''s because of Sid, right? Man, you shouldn''t pay much attention to him if you ask me. The guy talks bullshit sometimes. You can just listen with one ear and let it out with the other. Haha!" Arjun said and picked up the pint of Frostfoam that was just ced in front of him. He drank two-three gulps before putting it down and waited for Eren to respond. Thetter shook his head before replying: "It''s not that, Arjun. I couldn''t care less what the guy thinks about me or says to me as long as it''s not totally off the line. I''m here toplete my on-field assignment in peace and that''s what I''m focusing on." Eren tapped his fingers on the table as he continued his speech. It''s nothing personal, Arjun. It''s just not my style to waste time arguing with idiots or getting offended by them." Arjun smiled mirthlessly after hearing Eren''s "I don''t give a fuck" answer before speaking up. "Your nonchnce is exactly the reason that guy is getting irritated. Now he thinks you are looking down on him. Sometimes, it won''t hurt for you to act your age and settle things for the better, Mr wise-ass!" Arjun said and downed the elven ale served to him. He didn''t like drinking Elven from any ce because they would always be diluted. The guy was used to drinking strong stuff. Even what Eren had considered strong wasn''t good enough for him. That''s why he regretted following Eren''s lead in ordering up booze. However, he was known to be spontaneous like that. So he forgot about his dislike for diluted elven ale. He then chugged some more booze down his throat before continuing his speech. His demeanour suddenly changed before he spoke up. "Listen, Eren. I don''t want to lecture you on how to behave. Especially someone like you who does everything right. However, sometimes you have to give 110% to the team. If you want to work with your team and want your teammates to have your back, you need to adapt. There would always be guys like Sid who would hate on guys like you. Of course, those people would also be made to change their behaviour sooner orter. But you also need to make conscious efforts to reach out to your teammates. You can''t just ignore them and pretend they don''t exist." ''I can. It''s you who won''t let me.'' Eren said to himself internally. He then finished his drink and lit up his smoke. Only after releasing a dense cloud of smoke, did he find the right words to respond to Arjun with. "Look, Arjun. I never wanted this position of vice-captain. It''s just these stupid rules and regtions that you, me, and every other ranker in here are bound by. If a person is dense enough to hold a grudge because of this, I''d rather ignore that person as much as I can. I''d rather focus on the personal tasks at hand. I''m already behind schedule. We are only supposed to report to duty for three days of the week anyway. The remaining four days are mine. So unless I''m assigned any on-field mission, I''d rather spend my time my way than be part of a team even during my off-hours. You wouldn''t have found me here in the army base if it wasn''t for the fact that I''m supposed to meet someone here." Eren replied leisurely as if he wasn''t affected by Arjun''s request. Thetter felt like he was about to have a headache talking to the butcher. It''s not that he hadn''t talked with Sid, who had quarrels with Eren over his position as deputy vice-captain. But just as Eren had said, Sidro Zas was as unreasonable as Eren had painted him to be. So he had thought that maybe talking to Eren would solve this thorny problem in their team. He didn''t want these two guys to be buddies. He just wanted them to find amon ground on which they could bothe together and work in their squad without generating any on-site conflicts. Arjun wanted his stubborn teammate to do more. But a spectral screen popped up in the lounge area before he could try to talk sense into him. It projected a female narrator in army uniform who was meant to provide regr updates about the Edinburgh kingdom. Every day at 8 PM was a new hour in the army base. Spectral screens like these would pop up inside various army facilities to keep the soldiers updated about things happening inside the kingdom. Eren and Arjun both shut up at this point and listened to the news given by the newsdy. "Good evening and at ease. This is a standard daily update at 8 PM. First, we''ll look into the news about Nightshade duchy" The newsdy began describing major crimes and cult activities in the duchy Eren was currently in. Then she talked about the monster activities in the duchy before shifting her focus to the neighbouring forces. Eren had observed that the number of cultist activities and other crimes in the Edinburgh kingdom was slowly rising. He had also understood the reason behind these things. It was none other than himself. Or to be precise, his identity as the real Osan Woods Butcher. She talked briefly about many things that happened in the Nightshade duchy. Then she started narrating about other duchiesC one at a time. Finally came the Lionheart duchy. And this is where everyone in the lounge and other parts of the army base paid close attention. This section of the update was ted to cover news about the OWB, after all. "Team ho posted in the city of Osan is still missing. It is assumed that the Osan Woods Butcher may have a hand in its disappearance. The report has yet to confirm the deaths officially. But it is assumed that their lives have been lost on duty. The Lionheart duchy has announced a welfare package for the affected families" ''La didn''t disappoint me.'' Eren smirked after hearing the news. Chapter 415 Investment

Chapter 415 Investment

''La didn''t disappoint me.'' Eren smirked after hearing the news. He had been keeping tabs on the news rted to Lionheart duchy ever since he came to this ce. So far, things had worked out exactly the way he wanted them to. He finished all his projects in the city of Osan and left with Nina toe to the duchy of Nightshade. Travelling to this ce would have taken them months if they took regr transport. So they chose the shortest method: using kingdom controlled teleportation arrays. Eren and Nina only needed to travel to the city of Lionhearts to ess the teleportation array. Even a one-way trip using a teleportation array was threateningly expensive in Eren''s eyes. Nevertheless, since this was an on-field assignment, he was exempt from paying the fee. Eren had also arranged for Agatha toe to the duchy of Nightshade. She had taken a few days to wrap up her affairs and arranged everything the way Eren wanted her to. Then she used Eren''s arrangement to go to First Salvation, which was on the border of Edinburgh. A bunch of tasks were awaiting her there, assigned by her master. Eren had also uncovered something of significant value after revisiting the Osan Woods following the spectral coordinates stored on the array disk. He only delivered the disk to the person Lin wanted him to deliver it to after he was done with it. Suffice to say, he had struck a metaphorical gold when he reached the site. But the effects of these fortunes were going to take some time to surface for him. Renar and Viper were preparing to take a long route to the duchy of Nightshade. This was because they had been assigned a few tasks along the way. That and the fact that Eren was too frugal to spend teleportation money on two more subordinates. The newsdy in military uniform kept on talking but Arjun had something on his mind so he asked Eren about it. "Eren, you are from the city of Osan, right? How was Isen Osan?" Eren had expected questions like these thrown at him even before he entered the army camp. So hepiled a few standard answers ready for standard questions like these. The two kept talking for a while. "Tell me Arjun, you are a talented ranker yourself. Plus, you were running for the vice-captain role along with Sid and Dianna. Howe you aren''t as frustrated?" Arjun shook his head before replying: "Experiences matter more to the elves than holding onto any positions. It''s not that I''m not frustrated. Hell, I''m doing the vice-captain''s job for you by trying to make peace between you and Sid without getting any rewards for it. But I''ll be fine, Eren. All my grievances vanished after looking at you. If you were any less worthy of your position than you are right now, I would create a bigger ruckus than that doofus." Eren raised his eyebrows after listening to the ranger talk before replying. "So you think I''m still not worthy of my position?" Arjun shed a grin before bursting into a burst of heartyughter. "Hahahaha! That doofus Sidro would have considered that as me praising him. Alright. Seems like you have made up your mind. So I won''t bother you anymore. But be sure to report on time. I''m not nning to send you reminders anymore. Consider that my way of getting back at you. Kekeke! See you on the battlefield, my friend." Arjun finished his drink in one big gulp before taking his leave. Eren breathed a sigh of relief when he did that. He didn''t have anything against the guy. It was just that his ns mattered more to him than bonding with his teammates at the time. Eren wasn''t nning to stay in the army forever anyway. So positions didn''t matter to him. This job was just a means to an end. He had taken up this job to enter the Anfang Bands without any hindrance. ****************** "Sorry for beingte, Eren. I was busy with some personal stuff, hehe." Another person showed up at Eren''s table and took a seat exactly where Arjun was sitting. This was also another of his squadmates. She was a redhead human that looked to be in her early twenties. She was tall and had a medium bust. Her waist also has the right curves. She wasn''t in her military attire though. She had worn her casuals. A skin-hugging blouse that only covered her bust and cargo pants that were ced way below her navel. Her curvy mid-waist region didn''t fail to grab the onlookers'' attention. "It''s fine, Dianna. So tell me, what do you have for me?" Eren had ordered a few snacks to munch on while waiting for Dianna. Thetter couldn''t resist the fish fingers. She picked up one and started nibbling on it before replying. "Eren, before you buy thatnd, I need you to understand something. Thatnd won''t gain anything and would end up as a dead asset in the end. Are you sure you want to proceed even after knowing this?" Eren smiled after he heard Dianna. He had realized that she wasn''t really worried about him. This was just her way of keeping the "I told you so" card in hand in case he acts up in the future. "Yes, I''m sure. I wouldn''t have asked you otherwise. Will you tell me now?" Dianna shrugged her shoulders as if to convey "she had tried" and took another fish finger from Eren''s snack basket before responding. "Alright. Even though my family owns thatnd, it''s not like we are doing anything over it. I already asked. This is the amount my uncle wants me to pitch to you." Dianna drew a number on the table with her slim fingers and long nails. The exuberant price Eren had to pay for a seemingly deadnd made him whistle. But he also knew that this was an inted price. So he kept on bargaining with Dianna, who then kept on calling her uncle to receive instructions from him. The sessionssted for a while before both parties agreed. "Sold!" Dianna hammered the table with her hand when she said that. Eren also smirked after realizing that the first few steps of his n were heading in the right direction. Chapter 416 Anfang Badlands

Chapter 416 Anfang Bands

"You showed up on time today. That''s a fresh change. Hehehe!" Arjun weed Eren when he saw him approaching. This was the meeting spot they had chosen to gather before heading up for their usual clean up mission. "I''m not someone who always runste, you know. I had been very busy settling my affairs in the early days ofing to this ce." Eren replied to Arjun with a light smile. Eren''s squad had 33 members. There were seventeen Ace rankers in the team along with an equal number of rookie soldiers in the Novice ranks. Of course, not all of the 33 soldiers had been gathered at once at the same ce. Life at the army camp required squads to divide their schedules in such a way that things would work for all of them. There were too many tasks given to a single squad. So the squads would be divided into groups of two or three depending upon the task. "Heh! I wouldn''t be surprised if the guy gives the same excuse not to show up when our squad runs into some trouble." A harsh voice sounded in Eren''s ears. He looked past Arjun and saw the man to whom it belongedC Sidro Zas. Eren didn''t pay him much attention. The guy was eyeing his position long before Eren came into the picture all of a sudden. Sidro Zas, Arjun Ruku, and Dianna Remus were potential candidates for the position of vice-captain ever since their previous vice-captain was assigned to a different task. But then Eren chose to do his on-field assignment at the duchy of Nightshade and that put a halt to the trio''s race. The position he had secured was that of deputy vice-captain. It didn''t seem that strong at first. But should Eren decide to continue serving the military post his graduation from LA, his position as vice-captain will be cemented. Students of top academies enjoyed this advantage the most. ********************** The duchy of Lionhearts was different from the other three duchies because of its geographical position. It was the only duchy that didn''t face any Bands because it shares its borders with the kingdom of Leyos. The same kingdom that Isen had escaped to. The remaining three duchies of Edinburgh had their borders shared with Anfang Bands. Anfang Bands were the ces that were upied by the monster tribes like goblins, orcs, cyclops, kapre etc. Anfang Bands was not one ce but amon term for all the ces where the monsters had established their dominance throughout the continent of Anfang. That''s why the presence of guilds was not that prominent in the Lionheart duchy. But the other three grand duchies differed greatly from the southern one in this regard. Anfang Bands had been used to define kingdom borders by many establishments. That meant two establishments would usually have Bands dividing them. The kingdoms then assigned their respective armies to keep the Bands in check. The kingdoms would tacitly agree not to reim the Bands from their side because it served as an ideal neutral ground. Plus, for some reason, the monsters'' presence in the Bands didn''tpletely disappear no matter how many purges the kingdoms ordered. Thend that the creatures had upied wasn''t worth the cost ofmitting to war against them. So over time, the establishments came to a mutual understanding that Bands would be used as neutral grounds to define each of their territories. They would also be harvested for resources from both ends without anyone iming pre-defined ims over them. The armies of the kingdoms would organize regr clean-up operations to keep their borders safe from sudden monster invasions. The aim of these clean-ups was not total purge but poption control. Of course, the monsters would not leave things lying down. They would attack the borders of human establishments from time to time. So the army of each kingdom yed a big role in keeping their normal popce safe from monster invasions. This was the reason not just Edinburgh but other establishments also focused on cultivating young rankers through their academies or other such practices. High-ranked entities were only used as deterrents in such regr skirmishes. The real battles would unfold among low-ranked citizens of their respective establishments. The resources found in the Bands would be used for a variety of goods. Not just positioning or other forms of alchemy, they would also be incorporated into making weapons and other such gears. The economies of almost all the establishments were hugely dependent on Bands. Eren had taken the on-field task so that he could enter it from the Nightshade duchy''s side. The Bands were heavily restricted zones in which normal citizens wouldn''t be allowed entry. Only the army and certified guilds were allowed to send their teams into the Bands. Then there were some areas in the Bands that only the army could enter. The region in Bands Eren wanted to enter was one such area. The guilds would pay kingdoms a fixed cut as an annual tax. In return, they were allowed to build certain facilities near the borders or in the safe zones of the Bands. Of course, there had been times when the monster invasion had gotten so intense that they would have the potential to threaten a substantial poption of the establishments. Some special protocols would be initiated during such times. This was the reason why the case of Osan Woods Butcher was blown up so big. Only the Lionhearts duchy was considered rtively peaceful in Edinburgh. As long as the treaty with the Leyos kingdom was intact, the southern duchy was the least troubled region of the kingdom. So when the peace in Lionheart waspromised, almost everybody thought of a foreign hand. And Isen''s escape into the Leyos kingdom only worsened that suspicion. However, what Eren''s team was currently doing was a regr clean-up. At least that''s what the butcher wanted his team to think. He had different goals in his mind. The Bands were going to be his yground eventually. Chapter 417 Altashia

Chapter 417 Altashia

"Heh! I wouldn''t be surprised if the guy gives the same excuse not to show up when our squad runs into some trouble." Eren didn''t reply to Sid. But he had decided that he would kill the guy and me it on the Bands if he found a chance to do so. The butcher preferred the act of biting instead of barking after all. "Has everyone gathered?" A young yet dominant feminine voice suddenly rang out. Eren looked up and saw a girl in her early twenties standing at the tip of a branch on a tree not far from their ce. She seemed as tall as the current Eren. This girl was also wearing a military uniform. But there was a single star on her strapC hinting at her position in the squad. She was the captain of Eren''s group. "Yes, Captain Altashia. All 14 of us are ounted for now that Eren is here. We are ready." Arjun replied while bowing a bit. Altashia was not only their captain but also a superior ranker to all of them. At such a young age, she was an Ace ranker in the solid stage, just a step away from ranking up. That alone was impressive enough. But her family''s military background and her status as a Royal Ren student enabled her to dominate almost everyone in her team with her presence alone. Plus, she gave off a unique aura. An aura that stated that there were plenty of things about her that made her dangerous. Arjun was no pushover. But he respected his captain because of her talents. The guy had challenged her plenty of times already with no single win to his name. Altashia looked at Eren briefly before nodding. She seldom chatted with anybody. So Eren didn''t feel odd about her non-verbal gestures. He also understood that she was an introvert like his past self. So he too decided to adapt to her preferences and simply nodded. "Alright. Today. We have to clean up an orc tribe that is getting too close to the neutral border. The recon team has stated that the tribe has five Orc Leaders and 17 Orc Soldiers." Eren raised his eyebrows and looked at his group when he found out about the enemy''s strength. There were 14 of them equipped with military gear. Seven of them were in the Ace rank while the rest were in the Novice rank. Monsters had their stages of evolution. Their reference names would change as per their strengths. An Orc Soldier was equivalent to the Novice ranker whereas the Orc Leader was simr to the Ace ranker. In short, Eren''s team held an overwhelming advantage. Their numbers were overkill. He shook his head when he realized its connotation. The army was about the efficient deployment of forces to the right ce. It would never allow a team to have an easy time on its mission because it was not cost-effective. ''That can only mean one thing. The recon team has an unconfirmed target.'' Eren quickly came up with the conclusion. And in the next moment, his conclusion turned out to be true. "The recon team also has a reason to believe that the tribe has an Orc Lord amidst it." Altashia spoke next and jumped from the branch. A gale of warm wind cushioned her fall. A crow of average size zipped past the tree''s branch andnded on her left shoulder. It rubbed its head affectionately against her neck. Altashia patted the bird with her right hand as she watched as her teammates started having stressed expressions on their faces. An Orc Lord was equivalent to a D-Rank entity after all. "Don''t worry. ording to the recon team, the Lord has lost his im to power and his territory. He was banished from his ce along with the tribe members who supported him. He''ll be injured from his duel with the young Lord and probably waiting to recuperate in silence. That''s why the recon team couldn''t confirm his existence. That being said, an Orc Lord is not something you guys can handle. So I''ll take care of him. You get the ones that are left behind. Understood?" Altashia spoke softly but her voice was heard by everyone. Eren had to say Altashia was a beautiful girl even though she gave off a cold and domineering aura. She was almost his height with her long legs. Her arms were also long and slender. Her figure seemed petite despite her tall stature. But her ample bust made up for all the curves she was missing on her hips. Alterashia let her shoulder-length blonde hair fly. Her blue eyes added extra charm to her already-attractive facial features. Everything about Altashia spelt perfection. It was no wonder that she had so many admirers in and outside the army. Sid was no exception to her charm either. The guy was smitten by her. This was the reason he was extra hurt by not being allowed to be a deputy vice-captain. He had lost so many valid reasons to be with her by losing that position. And that too, to a brat who didn''t seem to appreciate Altashia''s charms. Contrary to Sid''s assumption though, the butcher was indeed interested in his captain. He just didn''t like to show it so overtly like a certain bull-headed idiot. ''I''ll plough this beautiful woman when the time is right and make her submit to my Sin. Hehe!'' The butcher thought to himself as he listened to the tactical n his captain hade up with. She had crafted a simple setup that would enable her team to get the maximum monsters remotely before the frontal crash unfolded. Years of experience shared by all the teams led to well-defined military practices. In addition, the month-long incubation period in the military ensured that the most standard tactics used by army squads were known to those who had just joined. Altashia retrieved a rectangr-looking, array-inscribed tform after she was done briefing her team. This b was 3 meters in width and 6 meters in length. The Ace rank artefact levitated from the ground at a fixed height. It was a standard utility vehicle issued to every captain to transport their team. Chapter 418 Raid

Chapter 418 Raid

The Edinburgh kingdom along with a lot of other establishments had heavily controlled the usage of transportation-rted artefacts because of its potential to pose a serious threat to publicw and order. In the hands of the crazy rankers and even crazier cultists, even a simple thing such as the levitating tform could be used to cause mass destruction. There were cases in the past of cultistscing these artefacts with explosives and creating a chain effect that led to mass panic. Afterwards, they used the same type of artefact to run away from the forces chasing them. As a consequence, almost all cities in Edinburgh did not allow their citizens to use such modes of transport, even if they could afford them. In ce of these modes, colt-hire was incorporated to keep things under control while creating employment opportunities for unranked citizens. Even though it was technically not a flying artefact, it was pretty fast. Faster than standard modes of transportation. Plus, it allowed multiple rankers to be transported at the same time. That''s why such equipment was mostly restricted to being used by the army and kingdom-sanctioned personnel. Eren and his team got onto the tform and imbued their unelementalized mana into the tform to confirm their identities. Their feet were secured by the runic lines that got on their skin right after they did that. Altashia set up a simple energy barrier after ensuring that everyone was on board. She operated on the artefact and made it levitate off the ground. It ran on Extols as well as rankers'' mana. But the Extols were usually reserved for emergencies. Eren''s team began moving forward. Despite the uneven terrain, they rode at exceptional speed, faster than any colt riding ranker. ******************** The raid on the orc tribe was going to happen at night when those monsters would be the least alert. Eren''s team found what they were looking for soon after following the directions of the recon team. A perimeter made of simple wooden logs had been created by the tribe and they had been ced on the two sides of the tribe''s camp. There were huts made of wood, stone, mud, and dry grass. The huts were of varying sizesC hinting at the position of their upants in the tribe. There was only one one-story structure visible in the camp. The rest of the huts only had ceilings made of wooden logs and dry grass. "Well, what is your assessment?" Altashia asked Arjun and DiannaC the team''s two rangers. They both looked at each other and decided that Arjun would brief them about the situation. "The recon information checks out for the most part. Hate to break it to you guys, but there''s indeed an Orc Lord present in the tribe. But his vital signs are not stable. Captain, should we proceed as nned?" Arjun asked Altashia with a serious look on his face. Orc Lord was no joke even though he seemed to have been weakened. Even though Altashia was on the verge of breaking into D-Rank, she was technically not prepared to handle a monster of that level yet. Altashia patted her ck raven affectionately before looking at Eren. "What do you think, Eren?" This was Altashia''s way of saying that Eren needed to be more involved in the decision-making process in the team. He couldn''t just let Arjun handle all the duties of vice-captain for him and watch as a bystander forever. "Presence of an Orc Lord indeedplicates things. We should keep our n for kitting out perimeter security the same. But instead of prioritizing the small fries, I would suggest we go straight for the Orc Leaders. Orc monsters are known to exhibit strange spells. So it would be better if we took care of the leaders first for a change, instead of the standard military practice of prioritizing targeting the weakest link first. Captain Altashia shouldn''t show herself until the Orc Lord makes their presence known. We''ll focus on the small fries right after we get rid of the Orc LeadersC leaving the Orc Lord to her entirely." Eren didn''t hesitate to state his n. Altashia nodded after hearing him and making a decision. "We''ll follow Eren''s way. You are allowed to use traps to keep the Orc Soldiers busy." Altashia was a woman of few words. Those present agreed to her n and waited for the sky to turn darker. ******************* Two orc soldiers were ying a game of strange runic symbols on their makeshift table, which was just a wood log cut in half at waist length. The two orcs were seen conversing with each other in their monsternguage. At first, they seemed to be only a few steps away from turning their verbal spat into a physical altercation. But that was just how the monsters conversed. The game of the runic symbols seemed to have reached its tipping point when both the sentries stopped ying and looked in a particr direction. They then looked at each other and continued conversing on a more serious note. Bree! One of the Orc sentries made a strange and high-pitched sound. This called out for a bunch of Orc soldiers stationed nearby the pair toe to their ce. Five Orc soldiers seem to be heading in a certain direction to investigate the disturbance. This was the team one of the Orc Leaders had decided to respond with after he heard the report of a strange mana pulse from the sentries. The monsters responded to threats and strange phenomena in typical patterns. So the raid tactics were based on those responses. Sweeeee! Sweeeee! Sweeeee! Three green, ice-element arrows cut through the night. Two of the arrows lodged themselves into the eyes of an Orc Leader who hade out at the perimeter after the sentries'' call. The third arrow pierced the space between his eyebrows. The Orc Leader was dead before he could even respond to the life-threatening attacking at him. His body crashed onto the ground as thest embers of his life turned cold all of a sudden. An Orc Leader was killed within a few moments of the team''s raid. Suffice to say, chaos broke free into the monster camp the next moment. Chapter 419 Rigor Mortis

Chapter 419 Rigor Mortis

Chaos broke free into the monster camp the next moment. Breeee! Breeee! Breeze! The cacophony of orc noises pierced the night''s silence. Several Orc soldiers ran outside their huts with weapons in their hands and shouting something in Oguage. Some of them hade out in their birthday suitsC clearly indicating what they were doing inside. Still, both male and female orcs looked ready to battle from the moment their call to battle was heard. Sweee! Sweee! Sweee! Another bunch of green arrows flew towards the camp. A few more orc soldiers died on the spot the same as the first Orc leader had died. This execution-style long-range attack wasunched by Arjun Ruku. He liked shooting his target in their eyes so much that it had be a game for him. Equipped with a vision-enhancing spell and artefact along with the top-notch runic bow for his rank, Arjun could be seen as a grim reaper for his orc opponents even without getting his hands dirty in the process. He was sniping the monsters from a considerate distance with unbelievable uracy. ''People in the army really like their hunting games, huh!'' Eren watched as Arjun sniped one Orc Soldier after the other. After a while, the monsters had tried to zero in on the source of the iing arrows. Too bad, Arjun could turn his elemental arrows mid-air using his mana sense while avoiding getting detected by the enemy. He would mix such attacks with his regr onesC making his enemies dreadful of his attack. Arjun''s ice element was poisonous by nature. It would act on his victim''s heart. So if the opponent was unable to negate hisced-by-the-poison-nature mana in time, it would intrude their mana circuits through their mana circuits and act on the heart freezing and poisoning everything in its wake. Arjun had killed four Orc soldiers alone and injured three. The Orc Leaders had toe to their fellow brethrens'' rescue to stop him from increasing his count. But drawing them out was his exact goal anyway. "Dianna, my darling. You are up." Arjun said to his fellow ranger who was ced in the other direction from where Eren, Arjun, and other soldiers were. This was a multi-front raid after all. "Hehehe! Roger that." ! ! ! There was no noise. No mana fluctuation. Seemingly no flying projectile to keep track of. And yet one of the Orc Leaders crashed onto the floor as if he suddenly remembered he needed to sleep on time. Another Orc Leader had been incapacitated at the start of the raid. It wasn''t like the Orcs weren''t using any defensive spells or that they didn''t have any mana defenceyer. But all of that couldn''t prevent them from falling susceptible to the rangers'' attacks. And both of them now had focused on the Orc Leaders alone. Atst, the Orc Leader who was standing amid his fellow Leaders screamed and raised his hands. Immediately, a defensive-type, dome-shaped manayer was created in the airC taking a significant part of the camp under its protection. Something hit the spell-created dome as soon as it was conjured by the Orc Leader. It was dissolved before the witnesses could discern what it was. By now almost all the surviving Orc members hade under the manayer''s protection. The Orc Leader who had executed this spell sat on the ground and closed his eyes to strengthen the dome-shaped mana defence some more. Because he was expecting a stronger reaction from his hidden enemies. And his predictions came true. Another bunch of projectiles crashed onto the dome-shaped mana defence before crashing down. This time the orcs could see what they were. The projectiles were a dense mana-smoke shaped into darts. These smoke-element darts had beenunched by Dianna of course using another military-issue artefact given to her. Her mana had retained its formlessness even though it was made to take shape through the use of her spellC making the darts undetectable for the monsters. The smoke-element mana would cause hallucinations and seizures among other effects rted to the nervous system of its victims. Thebination of Dianna''s element and inherent nature boded well with each otherC enabling her to take care of her opponents efficiently. And yet, her attacks shared a huge weakness. The darts she could produce with her spells couldn''t carry much prative power. So they could be easily blocked once her target got a lock on the projectilesing their way. Sweeeee! Sweeeee! Tch! Tch! Arjun didn''t stop attacking the Orc Leaders even after the mana defenceyer was created. He focused at a particr point on the mana defence and sent multiple arrows. They hit the same point of contact one after the other. Unlike Dianna''s projectile, Arjun''s arrows could pack a punch. Break! A huge hole was created in the mana defenceyer. Just enough for him to send more arrows into it. But by now the Orcs had gotten wary of the flying projectiles. They had started using their defensive spells and equipment to effectively defend against the approaching projectile. But the hole in the enemy''s defence was not created for the projectiles to go through. It was created so that Eren''s team could enter the dome. The ranger''s job was finished. They could only support the team from now on. Immediately after entering the dome, the Novice rankers approached the Orc soldiers and used array traps on them. These array traps would allow the rankers to catch their enemy in another energy field with them. These energy fields would provide the original caster with some buff effects while applying some debuff on their enemy. The Orc Soldiers and the Novice rankers now had their battlefield. The Orc Leader who had cast the mana defence dome was protected inside the inner dome he had created for himself. He had sealed the gaping hole in the dome by now, locking Eren''s team and most of the tribe''s warriors inside. "Time to test these babies." Eren retrieved a new set of weapons and wielded each of them with either hand. He wanted to test the new gear he had been using for a long time now. Upon his request, a new kind of weapon had been given to him instead of his usual katars. They were Shamshirs. A pair of swords meant to be used by closebat experts like him. He had named them Rigor Mortis! Chapter 420 Purple Reaver

Chapter 420 Purple Reaver

Rigor Mortis! The new weapons were meant to make quick work out of the enemies in an up-and-front sh. The medium-sized weapon sported a rtively slender de that was a bit wider in the middle. It also boasted runic inscriptions that stated that it was element-bound. The weapon''s length was bigger than the katars he had been using till now. It was rtively straightforward as it was projected from the hilt. It developed a pronounced curve around halfway down the de. The point of each of these Ace Rank runic des was tapered, making it an excellent thrusting and stabbing weapon. The bnce of the sword would usually fall right around the apex of the curve. So it was better if the user gave the weapons a spinning or swinging action to make the best use of them. Sweesh! Eren found the nearest Orc Leader woman and swung Rigor Mortis Left at her without a moment''s dy. He wanted to take down thedy orc''s left arm with his quick and agile movement. But only ended up chopping two of her left hand''s fingers. Eren had been trying to fill the gaps missing between the weaponprehension he had absorbed from his victims. He had been practising the weapons inside the army camp on a couple of rankers in the form of practice duels. Initially, everybody in the army camp including some of his squadmates was ready tobel him as a hasty ranker. That was because Eren was abandoning his katar mastery for something he wasn''t experienced in. But he shut their mouths by quickly adapting to the weapon''s style and developing his own moves from theprehension he had digested. Even Eren was surprised by the ease with which he had adapted himself to the weapon during these two months. The practise didn''t cut it anymore. He wanted to try his new battle style on his opponents for real. And this battle was the perfect opportunity for him to do so. Kreeeee! The orc screamed and executed her movement spell. Green vines appeared all over her body starting from her feet and safeguarded her. Eren''s execution of his shamshir arts was exceptional. But it wasn''t without its ws. They showed up distinctly in real-life scenarios. But this was exactly what the butcher wanted anyway. Thedy orc got away from her attacker that had appeared in front of her like a ghost. She had considered Eren to be the most dangerous among the intruders that hade to raid their camp because of his speed and the kind of aura he gave off. Only after ensuring that a sufficient distance had been created did the orcdy cast her attacking spell on him. It was a wood element spell that manifested as countless vinesing out from her chopped and no-chopped fingers. They multiplied in the blink of an eye and zeroed in on Eren as he was nning to get close to the orcdy again. ''Time to test this out!'' "Purple Reaver!" Eren imbued his lightning-mana into his weapons and cast a weapon-centric spell that was inscribed onto them. This was a flying sh spell that used Eren''s mana to create a lightning-element sh. Swoosh! Chirp! Two purple shes flew toward the green vines approaching him from both sides. They cut up the vines like hot knives through butter and continued to approach thedy orc. The purple shesnded on thedy orc as she was still busy getting away from them. But it was of no use. Because the shes were a bit faster than her. Eren''s inherent nature had seeped into them after all. Breeeee! Thedy orc cried in pain and looked at her attacker with malice in her eyes. Two distinct-looking flesh wounds had been created on her torso which ran from her shoulders to her waist. This was although she had guarded herself with the green vines. She would have been cut down vertically if that was not the case. There was a feeling of fear mixed with the malice in thedy orc''s voice. Her body was beginning to feel numb because of Eren''s lightning mana intruding on her body. She had to channel her entire mana at the cost of hurting her mana circuits to get rid of the foreign influence on her wounds. Still, her muscles felt sore like they had been atrophied due to Eren''s lightning mana. Eren''s opponents had told him about the after-effects of one facing the lighter variants of Purple Reaver. Hence he named his two swords Rigor Mortis. Thedy orc decided to go all out and enter an enraged state. Just like the mana beasts and demon beasts had their berserking stages, the monsters had ess to the rage state. It was more like a ranker''s forbidden stage. But the post-usage effects of the rage stage on monsters were much lighter than what rankers would face after casting the forbidden spells. But Eren didn''t want to wait for his enemy to power up. He seemingly disappeared from his position and appeared right above the orcdy. He was merely 7 ft away from her headC levitating above her in an upside-down manner while experiencing the near-stagnant time dtion. Purple Reaver! Eren again executed his weapon-specific spell and released two new flying shes at the orcdy from above. Thetter was still looking at the afterimage she was seeing at his previous position when the purple shes approached her. Sweesh! Thedy orc''s head was split open from above right in the middle when the two shes hit her in the same ce. Eren''s military-issue weapons had allowed him to dominate his opponent within only a few moments of his sh. ''Hmm! This attack is indeed great. It has basically allowed me to extend my attacking range while still keeping me in closebat. Damn! These army-issue weapons are no joke. The only downside is that the attack eats up too much of my mana. I''d have to be wise about when to use such attacks in case the fight is going tost long.'' Eren thought to himself as he wasing down on the ground from his flight. He cancelled his enhanced perception after hended on the other side of the orcdy as her dead body was beginning to crash down. Eren then looked around and saw his squadmates still battling with their respective opponents. He didn''t want to work extra than he needed to so he just observed those battles as he lit up his Sativa stick to smoke. Chapter 421 Captain’s Orders

Chapter 421 Captain''s Orders

Eren then looked around and saw his squadmates still battling with their respective opponents. Since he didn''t want to work harder than he had to, he lit up his Sativa stick and smoked it as he observed those battles. He first focused on Sidro Zas, who was battling an Orc Leader. The berserker of Eren''s team had worn army-issue armour that had various gems embedded in it connected by a series of runic inscriptions. He was carrying an Ace Rank spear. His opponent was an Orc Leader that seemed to be focused on defence. He was seen carrying arge shield that boasted the monster version of strange runic inscriptions. Breeee! The Orc Leader let out a battle cry and raised his free hand. Three earthen golems appeared in front of him that had the same appearance and shape as the caster. The golems soon acquired earthen armour. Unlike Eren who didn''t let his opponent cast her spell at all, Sid preferred focusing on executing his spells and making this battle as epic as possible. His motive was clear. He wanted Altashia, their captain to understand how powerful he waspared to Eren. He was so driven by the thirst to fight a shy battle that he didn''t pay attention to Eren who was already done with his duel. Sid focused on his transcendent spell and released it when he was done with it. Beast Contract Spell! Lightning Bull! *************** Sid was also a lightning element user like Eren. But unlike Eren''s speed, thetter''s inherent nature focused on the element''s destructive properties. Plus, he had ess to the beast contract spell that he had gained after joining the army. Sid was a normal ranker who had joined the Edinburgh army when he was an unranked boy. He had slowly climbed up the army ranks and became a part of the cleaning crew division. The army squad that was made to explore and manage the Bands was given more resources than their normal counterparts. In addition, special spells such as the Beast Contract Spell were easily avable to them after they umted certain merits. This was the biggest advantage the army would have over the academies. While the academies focused on the overall progress of a ranker as a whole, the Army focused on only one aspect of the individual rankerC explosive power. That''s why most army squad members who were used to entering the Bands would have Beast Contract spells and deadly army-issue weapons. They wouldn''t be allotted to someone like ho or his team this easily. *************** Red Lightning Bull! Sid cast his Beast Contract spell. A dark brown bull covered in red lightning appeared in front of Sid. He let it attack one of the golems. He, on the other hand, focused on strengthening his features with his beast contract spell. Sid''s arms grew at a visible rate. His size suddenly changed. His stature also increased quite a bit. Breeee! A distinct mana pulse was released in the surrounding area. It indicated that Sid''s opponent had entered his rage state. Sidughed louder when he saw that his challenge had stepped up his game. To him, it meant that he would have more room to show his awesomeness to his crush and captain. One had to say, Sid was a believer in fairy tales. He wanted the proverbial happy ending with Altashia. And he was ready to extend to any lengths for that to happen. The Orc Leader saw that a bull beast with the mana body was approaching him so he yelled out and sent one of his golems to meet the iing enemy. Meanwhile, he strengthened his defence position some more with two more summoned golems. ''Damn. Hats off to this delusional fool. He surpassed the limits of idiocracy I had assumed for him. Because of this, I had directed you to focus on the Orc Leaders from the very beginning of the battle. The more evolutionary stages they pass through, the higher their potential to birth something unexpected mid-battle. The number of golems this Leader can summon is just unreal. Monsters are even more unpredictable than mana beasts when ites to casting spells and the limits of their battle potential. Heh! The guy can go ahead and die for all I care. I just hope he doesn''t create trouble for me. Heh! Wishful thinking, Eren.'' Eren thought to himself as he watched the battle with his enhanced perception. These days, he was consciously making efforts to test the limits of his time-element spells. He wanted to see if they could give him the supposed side effects or if he waspletely immune to them even after extended usage. Furthermore, Eren hade to realize something after he had used his sin series ability: Domain of Wrath. For a spell to be an ability, he either needed extreme luck or intervention from someone way stronger than him. OR, he needed to get familiarized with the spell so much that it would be second nature to him. So now, he would often execute Seated Perception at random. He wanted to make conscious efforts to make the spell into his ability as soon as it could. sh! The red lightning bull shed with the golem and tried to lift it using the lightning-d horns it had. Too bad, the earth-element golem didn''t receive any damage from either the lightning or the physical force with which the bull had charged it with. It just allowed the bull''s horns to pass through its torso before restoring the torso that was just destroyed with more earth-element mana. Now the bull''s horns were stuck in the golem''s torso which it couldn''t get out no matter what. It continued to release more lightning element attacks but in vain. Boom! Boom! Boom! The bull''s sturdy back was hammered by the golem''s hands locked together. To make matters moreplicated, another golem appeared beside the previous one. Boom! Boom! Boom! It didn''t take long for Sid''s bull to get sent back to him soon after he had cast it. But he didn''t have time to look into that matter. Because he already had his hands full with the golems protecting the defensive specialist Orc Leader. Chapter 422 An Introvert’s Heart

Chapter 422 An Introvert''s Heart

Pitchook! Sid pierced a golem''s torso with his runic spear. The de passed through the golem''s body and came out from the other side. He retrieved it again only to attack the golem in the same manner but in a different areaC it''s head with blurred features. ''This delusional fool is not aplete idiot after all. He is trying to find a golem''s heart first.'' Eren concluded as he watched the battle. A golem''s heart was a dense cluster of mana that was inside the golem. It was what made the golems functional. Golems didn''t need additional healing spells. The caster only needed to make sure the golem''s heart doesn''t get pierced and it would keep on regenerating itself as long as it was given sufficient mana. Another golem took a shot at Sid with an earthen sword in its hand. Sid had to move his attention away from the guardian golem that was protecting the Orc Leader and focus on the attacker. "Lightning Bull''s Rush!" Sid cast another of his berserking spells. This was supposed to be a spell he would use after drinking the berserking potions. Instead of concoctions, he relied on his army-issue armour to enter the berserking stage. The gems embedded in the armour along with the runic inscriptions etched over it were lit up. Immediately afterwards, two golems were destroyed almost at the same time because of Sid''s Bull Rush. The spell enabled him to use his Beast Contract spell and create a spectral form of a bull around his body. In sync with his caster''s movements, the spectral bull destroyed two golems that came in its way. But to his shock, Sid found out that two more golems had been created in the meantime and he was busy destroying the previous ones. It finally dawned on Sid that he should have focused on the Orc Leader at the cost of self-harm by the golems. That way his suffering would have ended sooner. ''Heeeeeeeeelp Seeeeeeed, Aeeeeeeeeren.'' A feminine voice sounded in Eren''s ears through his ID storage while his Sedated Perception was still active. It was asking Eren to intervene in Sid''s battle. So the butcher cancelled his time-element spell before responding with only one simple word. ''Sure.'' They were the captain''s orders after all. To be frank, he was expecting them to reach him much sooner. Eren took a long drag out of his smoke before throwing it on the ground and extinguishing it by stepping over it with his right foot. He soon disappeared from his position. ****************** Altashia was keeping tabs on the battlefield through a vision-enhancing artefact worn over her eyes in the form of simple-looking sses. If Eren was there with her, he would appreciate the geeky charm she exuded at the time. Altashia caressed the head of the baby crow sitting over the soldiers as she remained hidden. She was waiting for the Orc Lord to show up, assuming that there were no dangers to his life. ''This guy is weird.'' Altashiamented to herself as she watched Eren enjoying his smoke right in the middle of the battlefield. She should have reprimanded him for being so careless and irresponsible. Especially considering that he was acting as the team''s deputy vice-captain. But then she remembered the burst of power Eren had exploded into a few moments before to take care of his opponent. No matter how keenly she looked at the guy, she could never decipher himpletely. Altashia considered herself to be pretty all-knowing about the men she hade across. Most were smitten by her beauty but were afraid to talk to her. Their interactions with her could only be summed up in one wordC awkward. She knew she was a talented ranker. That made her even more intimidating. So she had no friends in her childhood. Royal Ren was an awful ce when it came to making friends. That institution was full of politics and power ys that she didn''t want to be part of. This environment forced Altashia to adopt an aloof attitude that was part of her defence mechanism. Instead of people around her limiting their interactions with her, she would do that herself by trying to act like an introvert. Soon, her introverted nature moulded her into the kind of woman she was. It became a part of her. Altashia was aware that Sid had feelings for her. But to be frank, she didn''t consider him as her equal in any of the fields she excelled in. it wasn''t that the guy was mediocre. But her expectations were just that high. That''s why she wasn''t involved with anyone romantically. But then she met Eren Idril and something in her heart started beating along with the heartbeats. She would feel strange vibesing from him whenever she was close to him or interacted with him, however, limited that was. Her womanly instincts told her Eren was interested in her. However, he never exhibited any sign of the same. So her mind was in a split. Her interest in the butcher grew as a result. Altashia smiled mirthlessly when she saw Eren taking this fight nonchntly. This was even while he knew there was a danger of an Orc Lord taking the bait and suddenly showing up. It was as if he had seen things that were much more terrible than the intense battle unfolding around him. Altashia soon had to snap out of her reverie for Eren. Because she realized that Sid was soon going to be in a pinch. She sighed as she understood Eren''s stance. He didn''t reply to any of Sid''s unreasonable taunts. But he had other ways of getting back at the berserker. Altashia hade to realize that Eren''s mindset was detrimental to team y even when he could do team y very well in the army drills. The guy was just that talented even in things he didn''t particrly believe in. Altashia also felt that Eren was a dangerous man. He was willing to see Sid die at the expense of being overwhelmed by the Orc Leader''s golems that he was constantly producing. Eren wouldn''t intervene in the battle anymore unless she told him to. So Altashia finally used her voicemunication channel tomand the guy. Despite all his anti-team actions, Altashia didn''t develop any negative feelings about Eren. She thought it was cool, which surprised her. Eren seemed almost as talented as Altashia if not more. The exceptional ranker in her treated the butcher''s coldness as one of his charms. Her brain processed all those emotions and information about ErenC on a conscious and subconscious level, and created intrigue for him in her heart. ================ AN: Guys, Code Red. I''m kinda simping on Altashia! ;) Chapter 423 Roo Roo

Chapter 423 Roo Roo

''Roo Roo, what do you think of him?'' As the butcher was taking thest drag out of his smoke, Altashia patted the baby crow sitting on her shoulder and asked. Roo was the name of the baby crow that watched the battle unfold in front of it with keen and intelligent eyes. ''Hm? Do you also think he is weird? Hehehe. Weird how though?'' The baby crow narrowed its eyes while alternating looking at him with both its pupils at a time before croaking in a low-pitched manner. Yet somehow, Altashia was able to understand what that croak entailed. ''Hehehe! What do you mean he feels just like me? Are you calling me weird too? You can be so silly and childish at times, Roo. Hehehe. You are just beginning to learn humannguage and etiquette after all. Maybe I shouldn''t ask you about these things.'' Altashia patted the baby bird''s head and concluded the matter. The young raven on the other hand croaked some more before keeping quiet. Eren vanished from his position to participate in the battle between Sid and the golem-making Orc Leader. Sid was going to get crushed under the weight of a giant mace that was going to fall on him soon. That was the attack initiated by a new golem who hade to make trouble for the berserker while he was busy tackling three opponents. "Damn it. You fucking beast, show your worth." Sid forced the contract beast to manifest itself once again. This act was surely going to put the beast''s soul under a strain. Something that could potentially damage it and make the beast tattoo disappear. But Sid didn''t care anymore. Meeeeerh! The lightning bull was manifested once again. It let out an angry growl that was mixed with some pain and agony. It snorted its nose towards its master before focusing its gaze on the two golems nearest to him. He scratched the earth with his hooves before charging toward his two enemies with reckless abandon. Meanwhile, Sid was beginning to feel some load getting off his shoulders because he had two fewer enemies to deal with. But this is where he got blindsided. "Creeeeee!" A golem-looking opponent that was battling with him for a while suddenly stopped his rigid movements and burst into action he hadn''t performed yet. He summoned tworge axes on either hand and got into a striking range from Sid. Woooosh! The golem swung one of his axes horizontally, which the berserker easily avoided. But this was the decoy the golem-looking opponent had used to get him into a vulnerable position. The berserker had ducked from the horizontal attack by tilting back exaggeratedly. But now that he saw the other axeing for his heart from above him in a vertical swing, he had nowhere to dodge. Ba-dump! The earth-mana imbued weapon tore through the armour. It lodged itself deep inside Sid''s left shoulder as he fell t on his back because of the unbearable force he experienced. "Aaaaaaaaaargh!" Sid cried in pain. Yet the attack''s noise had suppressed his scream. The magnitude of the force was so overwhelming that it had created a crater in which the berserker and the golem-looking opponent had found themselves. At thest moment, Sid had shifted his torso a bit and changed the point of impact for the weapon from his heart to his shoulder. The berserker armour he was wearing also negated a substantial amount of damage. Otherwise, the surprise attack would have killed him on the spot. But it was not like he was in better shape now. The sword of death was still hanging over his head due to his fragile condition right now. His first-response lightning spell couldn''t do anything to deter the Orc Leader from attacking him any further. When the attacknded on Sid''s armour, a dense pulse of mana was released. The tremors ran through the weapon before it reached its wielder. Those tremors made the earthen armour skin crumble, revealing the real opponent hiding within. This was none other than the Orc Leader himself. He had mixed himself within one of his golem creations from the very moment he had started casting the golem creation spell. Mana pulses were going off everywhere in the vicinity. Additionally, the nocturnal darkness, as well as the dust storm triggered by the battle, had made it difficult for everyone to see. The Orc Leader took advantage of this situation and doubled himself as one of his golem creations. In addition, he conjured a special golem that looked and felt just like him to take his ce holding the shield. Sid had realized that he had been tricked. He only considered the Orc Leader to be a defensive specialist. He would have never imagined that the monster could pull off something of this calibre. Kahkahkahkahkah! The Orc Leaderughed weirdly as he literally and metaphorically looked down upon his opponent. His decoy n had been a huge sess. But that was not all he did. He used his other hand andunched another vertical axe sh at the berserkerC aiming to split his brain open into two. One had to say that, unlike a certain berserker, the monster didn''t indulge in mid-battle vainglory for long and attacked one final time when the time was most ripe. Swoosh! The axe was swung and its de was just about tond right in the middle of Sid''s face. But something tugged at the orc''s arm and the attacknded right above the target''s head. Neither the orc nor the berserker was aware of what happened at first. They took some time to realize that someone had intervened at thest moment. Altashia saw Eren appearing right in the middle of two participants and pulling the Orc Leader''s arm at him at thest second. This caused him to miss the target that was Sid''s face by only a slight margin. The attack still damaged his hair and gave him a weird haircut though. Chapter 424 Kill Steal

Chapter 424 Kill Steal

The attack still damaged his hair and gave him a weird haircut though. "Aaaa... Oooooooooooogh!" He cried in pain again, loudly at first before the cry became suppressed. Altashia was confused by it. Surely, a berserker like him shouldn''t cry about his hair getting cut mid-battle. But then she adjusted her specs in a geeky way and looked at the scene carefully. Eren had appeared in between the two opponents and was seen standing over the axe that had struck Sid in his shoulder. With his other foot, the butcher had practically stepped on Sid''s face. It suppressed his scream because the heel of Eren''s footwear was right inside the berserker''s mouth. The wound on Sid''s shoulders worsened because Eren had stepped on the axe with his other foot. In addition, he refused to allow Sid to relieve the pain by putting his shoes in his mouth. If Sid could die of embarrassment and uncontroble anger, he would have died many times by now. "Purple Reaver!" Eren used the heel of the foot that was ced over the axe as an axis and spun rapidly beforeunching his weapon attack. As Sid was unable to anticipate an attack from the orc leader, thetter was also unable to anticipate an attack from someone like Eren right when he thought he had the berserker. Eren had used the same diversion tactics the Orc Leader had employed. He had used Sid as the bait tounch a surprise attack on the orcC knowing full well that his teammate was going to get brutally injured because of this. But the same tactic allowed him to cut both of Orc Leader''s arms off in one swift attack. Breeeeeeeee! This time it was the orc''s turn to wailing in agony. His eyes turned red and his already-opened mouth opened exaggeratedly as he looked hatefully at his newest assant. He used his movement spell to retreat while gilding the nearby golems that were surrounding the trio to attack both of the human rankers. "You are on your own now." Eren said to nobody in particr. But the one the message was meant for heard it loud and clear. The next moment, Eren disappeared from his position. ''Eren oh Eren how can you be so petty even during the battle? Hehehe!'' Altashiaughed when she saw what had unfolded on the battlefield. She had to admit that the butcher had indeed saved the guy''s life. But he had also made sure that the berserker received his not-so-subtle response to all the nders Sid had thrown at him. Next, she saw Eren focusing on the retreating Orc Leader. He now had a bunch of fire snakes surrounding him that followed him in his pursuit. They would engage with any goleming his wayC allowing him to continue the chase. The battle progressed as both of Altashia''s teammates gained their advantage back. Soon, Eren disappeared from his position and appeared right in front of the now-handicapped orc, like some ghost. Swish! An orc was decapitated the next moment while Eren was seen spinning in front of the now-cut body like a mini fire and lightning typhoon. Blood gushed forth in a fountain and reached for the sky before bathing the butcher in its shower. At least that appeared to be the case. But the monster''s blood fell to the ground without touching any part of the butcher''s body. It was then made clear that the mini typhoon was an afterimage and Eren had again disappeared from his position. ''Hmm. Roo Roo, did you mean to say that Eren is as good as me as a ranker? It''s unbelievable that he has progressed so much in the way of the elements at his age without any firm background. He is indeed admirable. Sorry for doubting you, dear. Hehe! You are a good boy!'' Croak! Croak! Croak! The baby crow started croaking frantically as if he had something to add to his owner''s assumption. But all he received was a gentle tap on its head. So it stopped croaking and indulged in being petted by its master. ******************** There was another human ranker Vs Ord Leader battle going on in the other corner of the battlefield. It was between earth-element ranker Lyon and a hammer-wielding monster who had a diamond-element affinity. Lyon Muff Dyke was Team Altashia''s tank. Although he had one of the mostmon elemental affinities, his inherent nature ''Absorb and Repel'' made him special. He could create walls and use them to defend himself and his teammates just like any other earth elemental tank. But instead of hardened walls, the walls produced by Lyon were more rubber-like. His inherent nature had allowed him to use his opponent''s physical attacks on him. Any attack that was sustained by one of his walls would be converted into a stationary force inside the wall by it getting depressed at the point of impact. Then it would release a burst of dense mana pulse from the same spot the attack hadnded on. This dense mana pulse was powered by the opponent''s force itself. Lyon would convert that mana pulse into a spectral punch by coating his earth elemental mana over it. This way, the opponent would be forced to fight with themselves every time they fought with the tank. The Orc Leader that was battling with Lyon was frustrated by now. He had various blunt injuries on his body even though he had a diamond-elemental defence spell active. This was because his offence as a diamond element monster was much more prominent than his defence. Lyon observed the situation at hand and thought that what he had done so far in ying safe was good enough. Now he needed to wrap up his battle. For the first time since the start of the battle, Lyon summoned his weaponC a pair of runic gauntlets. The runic details shined when the tank put them on. He struck his fists at each other beforeunching an attack on the ground. Lyon struck the ground with his fists with an exceptional force that seemed to be generated out of nowhereC with no momentum backing it up. And yet, the ground didn''t seem to have gotten affected. The force just seemed to have seeped right into the ground without leaving any trace behind. It only generated a light mana pulse as a response and the ground beneath his feet seemed to have turned jelly. But that was it. But the next thing the diamond-element monster saw was that his vision was changing as he was taking a flight in the air. His nervous system took some time to process the impact. But the next thing he felt was a huge force ramming just below his chin, which was the reason behind the guy''s sudden flight. ''Hehehehe! It always gets them.'' Lyon thought to himself and chuckled as he watched his opponent getting thrown off about 30 feet in the air. Now he only needed to give a finishing blow to the orc. But then, he opened his eyes wide as he saw something. He made an unsightly face as he shouted at somebody that was also seen in the air like a ghost just behind the in-flight orc. "Damn it, Eren! No kill-stealing, you **** thief." Chapter 425 Orc Lord Baran

Chapter 425 Orc Lord Baran

"Damn it, Eren! No kill-stealing, you **** thief. s, it was toote. The night sky in Lyon''s eyes lit up with purple lights as Eren used his weapon to attack once again. It was about to chop off the in-flight Orc Leader''s head. But then a D-Rank mana pulse was released followed by the orc getting covered in quicksilver. The flying shnded on the metal-like surface of the quicksilver that protected the orc and nullified Ere''s attack without showing any form of wear. ''Orc Lord is here.'' Lyon and Eren both got wary of their surroundings all of a sudden as they both thought of the same thing. They dropped the idea of killing the Orc Leader and retreated to the outskirts of the camp. Breeeeeee! A mana-induced monster scream rang in the vicinity and suddenly an 8 feet Orc Lord appeared on the battlefield. He had finally decided to show himself after Team Altashia''s persistent killing of his tribe members. This Orc Lord had the same piggish facial characteristics as his lower-ranked brethren. But somehow they looked more intimidating. He had a fresh scar on his face that looked like it was struggling to mend because of the foreign mana invasion. The scar had azure spots around its edges that seemed to be spreading outward. The Orc Lord also had a straight posture unlike the Orc Leaders and Orc Soldiers. Furthermore, he stood like a typical military ranker, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings while keeping his guard up. His grey hair was a mess. The skin around his neck looked haggardC clearly indicating that he had aged. But his eyes shone with a distinct intelligence that couldn''t be found in other orcs. The Orc Lord looked around and saw the carnage that had been unleashed inside his tribe''s camp. He looked at the dead bodies of hisrades with stern eyes before observing all the humans that were trying to run. "You humans Kill all!" With a deep and growling voice, the Orc Lord spoke in humannguage. He spread his mana sense and covered his surroundings with it. Low-ranking human rankers tried to flee from the battlefield when they were affected by the monster''s mana sense, which was full of his anger. Most of them got on their knees out of fear. And those who still managed to keep on running thought that their efforts were going to be in vain. Sid''s condition didn''t improve even when he was an Ace ranker. His mental state is already disturbed by Eren. Getting caught in the monster''s mana sense worsened his condition and made him shiver with fright. The Orc Lord on the other hand didn''t focus on anyone that seemed fragile to him. He focused his gaze on someone running away from him without getting affected by his mana sense at all. "You I''ll kill first!" ***************** Eren immediately fled after he saw the Orc Leader was being protected by a D-Rank spell. He could tell that it was no ordinary spell. It was cast by someone who had progressed considerably in their knowledge of the elements. Plus, the mana pulse that was released told him that the monster was as strong as someone in the solid stage of the D-Rank. Eren ran in a particr direction. The direction that would allow him to meet up with Altashia. Only she could handle someone like this monster. Duelling him would only dy or expedite their inevitable, which was their death. It wasn''t long before he heard the monster''s promation that he would kill all the humans. Monsters could speak the humannguage after they had progressed in their evolution, provided they interacted with humans or held them captive in the past. Some intelligent monster tribes had set up their own societal rules and customs that were not all that different from human customs. The tribe''s customs were all dependent on factors like the head of the tribe leading them, the number of intelligent entities in the tribe, and geographical factors among other things. So it wasn''t surprising for Eren when the Orc Lord spoke the humannguage. But what surprised and stressed him were the next words that sounded ominous to him. The next thing Eren felt was that he was in a quagmire in that he was running ahead. However, instead of progressing further, his actions seemed to have the opposite effect. He realized that the monster had zeroed in on him. Eren stopped running when he realized that. And then turned around and zeroed on the monster who was looking at him a few meters away from him. "Yo!" Eren greeted the Orc Lord with a slight bow that he didn''t mean. He gripped one of his Shamshirs while taking out his smoke with the other hand. The butcher took a brief drag and released the smoke before adding more. "What took you so long?" The monster felt challenged by the butcher''s behaviour. To make him fall on his knees, he released all his D-Rank prowess and concentrated all his mana sense on him. Eren sensed the pressure on his psyche increasing. He felt like he was submerged in a very deep ocean current and there was no way for him to reach the surface and breathe. He felt like he was going to lose control over his limbsC the feelings of helplessness increasing by the moment. And yet, his facial expressions didn''t change. He raised his shaky hand and took another drag before speaking up. "My man,e at me or leave me alone. What will it be?" The monster took a while to understand what Eren was saying. He broke into his signature monsterughter when he did. He thumped his left chest hard with his right hand twice before replying: "Name Baran. You?" Eren smiled back when he understood the gesture. The monsters would only tell their names to human rankers like this when they felt they deserved to know each other''s names. It was akin to acknowledging each other''s strengths. The monster had practically lowered himself when he stated his name to someone in Ace rank while he was an Orc Lord. "Eren Idril!" The monster nodded before responding with just one word. "Die!" Chapter 426 Demon Spell

Chapter 426 Demon Spell

"Die!" Baran said before stretching his hand in front of Eren. Immediately a levitating mass of quicksilver appeared in front that looked highly viscous. It had a water-like fluidityHowever, the dense mana imbued in it gave the impression that it was something heavy instead. The quicksilver mass approached Eren at an incredible pace while changing its shape. It had now taken the shape of a huge silver arrow. The tip of the silver arrow looked extremely deadly as it reflected the moonlight it was awash with. But soon Baran realized that Eren was much faster than he had given him credit for. The arrow struck Eren but it turned out to be an afterimage he had left behind before disappearing. Baran''s D-Rank mana sense wasn''t something to be scoffed at though. He stretched it and found Eren''s location before guiding the arrow-shaped quicksilver towards him. The arrow was aimed to hit Eren but it was deflected by a wind-element de that had appeared in front of him all of a sudden. The next thing Baran saw was a barrage of wind-element arrowsing at him from above like a downpour. Altashia had finally decided to intervene. And yet she couldn''t be seen anywhere on the battlefield. ''The sky!'' Eren and Baran both thought of the same thing. They stopped what they were doing and looked up to see a huge bird flying over them. Craw! A distinct croak was heard on the battlefield as Altashia joined with her demon beast Roo Roo. It had changed its size drastically and was now serving as a mount for Altashia. Even among her talented peers, Altashia was considered to be one of Edinburgh''s best of her generation because of this advantage. That she had a demon beast. Contrary to Eren, Altashia''s demon beast was approved by Edinburgh to be bound with her. But as a consequence, she had to serve in the army for some years. Baran dropped the idea of killing Eren because he felt a serious threating from Altashia even while she was technically a rank lower than him. He summoned his quicksilver back and used it to create a makeshift shield in front of him to protect him against the wind-element des that didn''t look normal to him. This was also a weapon-centric attackunched by Altashia with her army-issue runic scythe. The weapon was unusuallyrge. The de span of the weapon was almost 2 meters and the staff of the weapon exceeded the welder''s height. Yet, Altashia seemed to have no problems handling her weapon. In fact, she could handle it masterfully as if the weapon''s size was normal for her. Eren first created a distance between himself and the battlefield now that the Orc Lord''s attention was divided. He then found a secure spot for him to watch someone else use their demon beast in the battle. Maybe he could learn a thing or two from the pair. ''Hmm! This will do,'' Eren found the top of one of the tallest trees outside the battle zone and sat on one of the tallest branches before starting to smoke again. Then he saw Altashia releasing some more wind-element flying shes at the Orc Lord who was defending against them using his quicksilver spell. ''Hm? Why is he scared of Ace Rank attacks? Even though he might have been injured due to'' Eren stopped his sentence midway when he saw what happened in front of him. Altashia stopped releasing wind des after a while. She then looked at Orc Lord with narrowed eyes before swinging her empty hand horizontally as if trying to y a string instrument. She looked as if she was about to perform a solo dance to some slow music. But the effects the act generated made it anything but elegant. The surrounding ground and trees along with Baran''s quicksilver that had sustained the barrage of wind-element des suddenly caught fire. The fire had been generated from the same shes that were left behind by the wind-element des. ''Holy ***********. This is an ability, right? Or is she using any artefact as a handicap to enhance her output? Either way, this is huge. How shallow were my previous life''s standards that I found this to be extremely unbelievable.'' Eren thought as he took a long drag from his smoke and released it to make a mini cloud in front of him. ''Damn. I need to get my hands on Altashia.'' Then he looked at his smoke suspiciously as if it had put those words in his mouth. ''Erm I need to get my hands on her secrets.'' Eren corrected himself and took another puff before rehashing his thoughts again. ''Maybe both.'' He nodded to himself as if to have reached a satisfactory answer to one of the mostplicated questions. He watched as the shes in the ground and other elements present in the surroundings acted as a source of fire all around the Orc Lord. ''So that''s why Baran was avoiding the flying shes. Yet it doesn''t make any sense that the Orc Lord would avoid such attacks for spells of Ace Rank level. Unless'' Eren thought to himself as he watched with keen interest. By now, the orc Lord was surrounded by a sea of golden fire. He dispelled the quicksilver to dissolve the mana-induced mes that were mixed in it before making it appear once again in front of him. ''Just'' "Demon spell" ''What I" "Burning Abode." "Thought'' Eren finished his thought as Altashia''s extremely low voice echoed in his ears. He then saw the mes converging around the Orc Lord and created a cabin-like shape. It trapped with Orc Lord within it before releasing a dense mana pulse. As if something had happened inside the house. ''Craw!'' Roo Roo croaked at the same time the mana pulse was released in the air. That mana pulse sted some of the fire that was coating the ming cabin and made it spread to the surroundings. Everyone else who had begun to fight their own battles stopped when they felt the mana pulse. There was no doubt in everybody''s mind that the mana pulse that had been released was indeed of the Ace rank. Due to its sheer density, it somehow reached the Adept level. As the me house dispersed into thin air, everyone, including Eren, looked for the Orc Lord within it. Or at least his charred body. But all they found was nothingness. Chapter 427 Aftermath P1

Chapter 427 Aftermath P1

''She she killed him?'' Eren asked the question to himself. He wasn''t clear on that detail yet. Because various mana pulses fired off at various points on the battlefield made it impossible for anyone to keep track of everything even with their mana senses. But with a demon spell, it was in the realm of possibility. A demon spell was something only someone owning a demon beast would have ess to. Since the demon beast and the ranker get connected on a deeper level through blood ritual, their existence as mana wielding entities bes synchronized. The results of taming demon beasts changed with each ranker and the demon beast itself. But there were a few things inmon. Like, there was a possibility of a ranker''s mana signature gettingpletely attuned to their demon beasts and vice versa if they shared a deeper bond. It wouldn''t happen overnight. It might not happen at all. But once it did, it would allow the ranker and their beast to boost each other''s spells. It meant that both the tamer and their demon beast would be able to cast the same spell at the same time. The effects of such spells would be more than their normal summation would produce. There were other variants of the demon spells as well. But the fact that such spells required the participation of both the tamer and their demon beast remained unchanged. ''Damn it. My Reen is so much better than this shitty crow. If there was not so much rank difference between us, every spell of both of us would have been a demon spell.'' Eren criticized Roo Roo for no reason. He also felt jealous that Altashia could team up with her familiar so openly without worrying about consequences. The reason Altashia could cast demon spells was simple. She and her demon beast both belonged to the E-Rank. They used the same rank of mana so they could cast the spell easily. This was not the case with Eren and Reen. She was in the C-Rank, while he stood much lower than her in terms of ranking hierarchy. Although she could technically use lower ranked mana, the synergy needed to execute demon spells wasn''t there. This was not apatibility issue but rather the issue of not practising the execution of demon spells together. Eren didn''t prioritize the casting of demon spells at all because he couldn''t use such spells openly like Altashia. And since Reen was a C-Rank, they didn''t need the demon spell to enhance the output of any destructive spell. Reen''s solo casting of the C-Rank mana or spell was enough to deal the maximum damage the pair could dish out to their opponents. Technically, every spell the butcher had could have been made a demon spell because of his unparalleledpatibility with Reen. If only he had enough time and freedom, the effects he could have produced with Reen would have been much higher than any demon spells in existence. ''No point thinking about the ''could have beens''. We can reflect on our lives all we want by looking backwards but it can only be lived forwards. Such is life.'' Eren thought to himself and finally jumped down from the tree. Altashia had also jumped from her demon beast at the same time after getting close to the butcher. They bothnded on the ground at the same time not too far away from each other. Eren and Altashia''s eyes met before the former asked the question that was bothering him. "Did you kill him?" Altashia smiled mirthlessly before shaking her head in denial. "No. He escaped. That monster was too crafty. With my show of power, I forced him to run away from his tribe. Guess he calcted that fighting with me wouldn''t be in his best interests." Eren nodded when he heard Altashia''s response. He had to admit that this young girl was amazingly talented. A naturally gifted genius that was rarely produced. The fact that she could cast a demon spell not only spoke volumes about the bond she shared with her beast but also her inborn talent. Handling the demon spell was not as easy as it looked. It takes fine control over one''s mana and the ability to match up the outflow of mana with that of your demon beast. Otherwise, such a spell would be haywire on the battlefield long before it could hurt the enemy. "Our job was to only take care of the orc tribe that had gotten too close to Edinburgh''s borders anyway. Our job has been aplished more or less. Although some orc managed to survive and flee, it is unlikely that they would dare toe any closer to the border." Altashia nodded while walking closer to Eren. She patted the baby crow that had justnded on her shoulders before continuing. "That''s right. Exiled orcs are likely to be epted into other orc tribes if they are lucky. Or would get killed by the creatures of the Bands. It''s frustrating though. That monster would have been more useful for the army if we could have caught him alive. I yed it too safe after considering his rank. I should have fought him on the battlefield." Altashia had the Scythe yer ranking technique, which set her ss as a mid-range warrior. It had allowed her to make full use of her two affinities: fire and wind while ensuring the weapon arts got incorporated into her moves effectively. Altashia was blessed with the best ranking technique for her aptitude and the most effective resources that were avable in the Edinburgh kingdom. Additionally, her natural talent helped propel her forward more than any of her known peers, which were equally privileged as her if not more. Eren wanted to say that Latashia shouldn''t take an Orc Lord lightly. That she had done a good job ying it safe by keeping her distance from the monster. But after rewinding her performance in his head and feeling her post-battle presence up close, he changed his mind and decided to keep quiet on the subject. Just like in the case of Baran, he had not seen Altashia''s full potential as a ranker. So it was better not toment on that subject. Chapter 428 Aftermath P2

Chapter 428 Aftermath P2

As Altashia approached from his front, Eren turned his gaze behind her. He could see hisrades approaching him. Some had serious wounds and some were only slightly bruised. However, everyone was practically uninjured, considering the level of the battle. Eren spoke up after pondering something. "Altashia, how long has it been since you had Roo?" Altashia was initially confused by Eren''s question that was not rted to their mission. He rarely discussed topics that were not mission-rted. However, she was d Eren had used her demon beast''s name rather than simply calling it a beast or a crow, as had been done by others. "Umm. Not that long. This was barely more than a year ago when I bound Roo Roo with me using the blood ritual. Just as this boy was breaking into the Ace Rank." ''Amazing. Unlike me, who relies on my past life''s experiences and advantages, she is indeed a naturally gifted ranker. Ken is like her if I ignore the guy''s dense brain. I had thought that powerful rankerse from powerful backgrounds. But rankers like her make me wonder if it''s their presence that makes their backgrounds seem so impressive. Because somehow I feel that with or without her family''s help, this girl would have more or less stood in the same position she is standing in today.'' Eren thought to himself and kicked the butt of his nearly finished smoke in the air after taking thest drag out of it. He didn''t realize that he was staring at Altashia the whole time while he was having a monologue in his head. That made Altashia feel a bit awkward. However, as she observed Eren''s gaze, she discovered that it was devoid of lust. He was looking at her like some kind of puzzle that needed solving. "Hahaha. Eren, do you want to battle with our captain now? I''d pay to see someone else apart from me getting their ass handed to them, you know." Arjun spoke up as he approached the pair. He was leading all the other members of the team. The guy didn''t have a scratch on his body. He didn''t participate in the battle after all. Eren smiled after hearing Arjun''s jab. He also wanted to duel with Altashia. But he also knew that he was not ready to fight with her using his normal strength. He needed to cast the Domain of Wrath if he wanted to stand a chance in tilting the favours to his side. The butcher hadn''t be senile to seek a pyrrhic victory only to invite troubles his way. "Unlike you, I am not a fan of getting my ass handed to me. When I challenge our captain" Eren smiled at Altashia before continuing. "... It''ll be after knowing that I''d win." Altashia wasn''t surprised by Eren''s confidence. She hade to realize that he should have his trump cards in his sleeves. She was surprised by the fact that he intimidated her. As if duelling with him was not going to be as easy as she had initially thought it would be. Roo croaked and pped its wings as if he was angry after hearing Eren''s time-bomb-like challenge. The beast''s master chuckled and patted its head before tranting his words to Eren. "He is kind of saying "Come at me. I alone am enough to take care of you." Hehe! Ignore him. He is just a child in human years after all. And Eren" Altashia met Eren''s eyes with a shine in her eyes that she hadn''t shown anyone before. A shine that indicated the level of excitement she had long forgotten when fighting with someone from her generation. "I''ll be waiting for the day when you challenge me." Eren nodded at Altashia when she finished her sentence. Arjun wanted to add more fuel to the fire but someone spoke up first before he could do so. "Captain Altashia, I want this man removed from our team. He has knowingly harmed me during the mission. Everybody saw that. Arjun, you saw that, didn''t you? Dianna?" An agitated and angry voice was heard from the back of the team. Sid was slowly making his way to the front while dragging his injured feet and tending to arge wound on his shoulder. "Look what he has done to my shoulder. As per the army guidelines" Sid was about to continue spewing some more hate towards Eren who again acted like he didn''t care about the guy anymore. Because he knew he didn''t need to put his side forward. Altashia would do that for him. Not because she liked him or anything. But because he intercepted the battle in such a way that no disciplinary action could be taken. "Hate to interrupt you, Sidro, but I think I know army rules better than you. Eren has taken the right action at the right time. You should be grateful for being alive because of him." Sid felt like the beating he had received from the Orcs was nothing inparison to the blow he received from his crush''s words. The fact that they came from her for the guy he hated the most made it even more frustrating for him. "Captain Altashia, you saw him injure me by erging the wound on my shoulder, right? This assho.. err I mean this freak even put his heels in my mouth" Altashia shook her head before replying. "That could be interpreted as Eren securing the enemy weapon by pinning it in its ce. That thing about your mouth could just be something unavoidable since Eren had to protect you by cing himself between you and the monster. Most of all, Eren was sent to battle with the monster you were engaged with under my orders. You should have been morepetent in dealing with the enemy you were assigned. The fact that you did not and are still using someone who did the work for you falls in line with something that vites army guidelines. Should I proceed and charge you instead?" He chuckled at Altashia''s subtle provocation, which she had delivered to Sidro without being loud or out of her natural aloofness. He looked at Sid next, who was looking at the butcher with daggers in his eyes. "Um what should we do now, captain?" Arjun tried to lessen the heaviness of the atmosphere by asking the right question at the right time. Altashia shook her head as if disappointed in someone before answering the ranger''s query. "*Sigh. Just the usual. Secure the area. Destroy the corpses. Look for anything valuable in the camp. And try to find the leads that might lead to where most of the orcs have escaped. We''ll rest here at the orc camp after taking care of the corpses. The rest of the procedures will be followed in the morning." Altashia ordered her team and everybody nodded. Each of them got to their assigned positions except for the ones who were severely injured. Eren was charged with body disposal. He walked into the distance before disappearing from his peers'' line of sight. Unbeknownst to his team members, his right hand had suddenly gotten paler before his fingernails turned into talons. ''Life Drain!'' Chapter 429 Blood Seed & Shapeshifting

Chapter 429 Blood Seed & Shapeshifting

Life Drain! Eren had managed to activate this ability at will after learning about it from Nina and his experience with the Domain of Wrath. He now only needed to shake his arm as if tremors ran through them while thinking about Life Drain in his mind to activate the ability. He hade to realize that abilities would be bound to certain organs of one''s choosing. Ranker''s organs served as nk paper and higher consciousness as ink to etch runes that enabled one to wield abilities. Eren had been wondering if abilities could get plundered if he has the ranker''s organ that was etched with their ability. He may be able to assimte that organ into himself through his half-blood powers. Eren knew things wouldn''t be as simple as he had made them out to be. Plus, ability wielders were a rare breed among rankers for him. So his experiments would have to wait. Eren used his Life Drain on a lot of dead bodies. And yet, his stats only increased marginally. Generally, the Life Drain would top up his stats at their maximum and give them a temporary boost. Stats retaining some semnce of their elevated status was only a residual effect. But he didn''t think that was all there was to his slow growth. He med the low levels of his targets and his ever-advancing ranking status. The more he progressed in his rank, the more difficult it became to increase any of his stats permanently. Still, every small gain mattered to him. Plus, he couldn''t let these freshly dead bodies be put to waste. He was assigned to destroy them. So he might as well use Life Drain on these freshly deceased bodies before he disposes of them. Life Drain worked best when the target was alive though. Plus, he needed an orc target alive for another reason. ''Hm! This orc seems alive. Let''s try it on him.'' Eren finally found a live Orc Soldier who was taking hisst breaths in the furthest corner of the tribe''s camp. He had tried to run despite his severe injuries. But Eren guessed he had been hit by Dianna''s projectile before he could make it. She must have been ying with her lower-level targets since he didn''t die immediately. It forced him to hallucinateC worsening his injuries because they were left unattended. He first drank the potion La had given him to neutralize any weird mana pulse that would get generated due to his experiments. Only then did he proceed further. ''Life Drain: Devour'' Eren''s hand turned into a slime form and spread all over his target. The barely alive orc tried to struggle against something he didn''t even understand. But all was in vain. His body started disintegrating at a rapid pace beforepletely disappearing. The butcher had also learned how to harness half-blood ability consciously. He closed his eyes and turned his slimy mass into his hand like usual. Various memories started flowing inside Eren''s head along with some knowledge about the weapon the victim used. He couldn''t understand theprehension he had received from the orc that covered the way of the elements. The butcher guessed that since he wasn''t familiar with the orc race, the victim''s interpretation of the elements would be quite different from the human point of view. ''Heh! It''s not that I won''t be able to understand them ever. I just need to get familiarized with being an orc for these things to make sense. I''m no longer human. So why should I let my understanding of the elements be limited to that of humans'' point of view?'' Eren shook his head as he thought to himself. Next, he activated his half-blood ability consciously to make it work the way he wanted it to work for him after giving it the blueprint it needed to assume the orc''s shape and copy his mana signature. Eren had tried his half-blood ability on mana beasts directly when he was out hunting alone. To his disappointment, it didn''t work on non-sentient entities. It was like the blueprint he had received from them was tooplicated for the current him. It gave him no reference on a subconscious level that he could use to start his shapeshifting. But at this moment, in the case of this orc, he had obtained the reference he needed to shapeshift into an Orc. He first processed all the Orc''s memories slowly including hisnguage. After that, he focused on keeping the information he needed and removing the one that was too much for him. Finally, he refined the essence of the orc he had absorbed and converted it into a single drop of blood. He then stored it inside his body close to his heart, isted by a thin but firmyer of mana. This was the reference point he needed to turn into an orc. He named it Blood Seed. From now on, he needed to create a Blood Seed from his targets if he wanted to shapeshift into them. Currently, he could only store one Blood Seed in him at a time. Any more and the Blood Seeds would create a conflict with each other, resulting in the butcher losing control over them. The butcher opened his eyes and looked around. He mumbled a few words only after confirming that everything was alright. ''Shapeshift: Model Orc'' If Eren hadn''t drunk La''s potion before, a distinct mana signature would have been felt by Eren''s squadmates that were closest to him. Changes began appearing after the wave of mana signatures passed without being released into the air. Eren''s skin started turning rough. His stature remained the same but his muscles started bulging. His torso got beefier and his thighs also erged to look like the robust leg of the orc monster. The butcher''s hair length also increased. His mouth was widened and his eyes bulged. He was soon endowed with lupine ears and lower canines that resembled a boar''s tusks. Even his body odor changed. Eren''s skin colour also changed. But instead of turning dark green like it was supposed to, it had turned greyish green. The butcher smiled hideously when the shapeshifting waspleted. Everything about him changed into that of an orc. He looked at his hands and his torso before nodding to himself. He was dripping sweat from his forehead when he finished his shapeshifting. This was the closest the butcher hade to shapeshifting into his target. It had consumed a lot of his mana and used up all his concentration but it finally seeded the way he wanted it to. Chapter 430 Total Control

Chapter 430 Total Control

''Haah! I can''t do anything about the skin colour. But it''s not aplete deal-breaker. The orcs would just assume I''m from a tribe they don''t recognize.'' Eren concluded before moving his hands and feet in a way he wanted to. Then he executed his movement spell to check out if he had any problems casting it. So far, he was content with the results. Non-sentient entities didn''t work for Eren because he couldn''t create Blood Seed from their bodies for him to initiate shapeshifting. Entities with intelligence higher than a certain level were also difficult for him to shapeshift into. That was because the Blood Seed created from their bodies would have a lot of their consciousness mixed into it that he couldn''t get rid of. That''s why Eren wanted to experiment with monsters. He had concluded that Orcs would be one of the easiest monsters he could shapeshift into because unlike the beasts, they had sentience. But it wasn''t as developed as humans. His guesswork was right on the mark, and he had managed to shapeshift into the monster just right. Nheless, the Blood Seed also had the orc''s consciousness extracted into it, no matter how insignificant it might seempared to humans and alike. That was a taint in his shapeshifting. That''s why it manifested into Eren''s skin colour deviating from his victim''s appearance. ''This is as good as it gets. I can move across the Bands without leaving any trace using this shapeshift model. I needed this to get to that ce.'' Eren shed a cunning grin and let go of his shapeshifting to return to his usual appearance. He then got back to his work and destroyed all the orc bodies before leaving the scene. ********************** "You punk, you tried to steal a kill from me, didn''t you? I''llHikick I''ll do the same to you someday. You''ll see. Don''t cry to me when that ha ha happens. You got it?" Lyon spoke after getting drunk on dwarven mead. He was a dwarf after all. But he was pretty tall for a dwarfC measuring five feet and six inches, so nobody would call him a dwarf despite being one. His peers just called him a midget which would have seemed offensive to dwarves. But since even dwarves doubted that he was one of them, the guy was just bullied by his peers most of the time. Lyon was always pissed off at his squadmates for this reason. Tonight, the butcher became the reason for his outburst. He pointed his chicken tenders at Eren usingly while he spoke up what he had to say. Eren''s team had settled into orc camp for the night. Some soldiers ate their meals earlier and were assigned to the perimeter detail. The rest were sitting around arge campfire, which was created by lighting a shabby hut on fire. "Sigh. When will you understand this simple truth, Lyon? The key to a happy life is forgiveness. We should all just forget about our previous grievances and support each other. There''s nothing to be gained from carrying out revenge-driven acts. Don''t you agree with me, Arjun? Please make this lost soul understand." Eren said while having Frostfoam. This was one of the brands he had stocked up on before leaving for the mission. The rest of the rankers were already impressed by Eren''s almost insatiable appetite. The butcher must have emptied the meal meant for 6 Ace rankers in his stomach. Yet he was still eating the Ace rank mana beast meat Altashia had hunted for her teammates. Arjun spat and sprayed the elven ale he was drinking in front of him when he heard Eren''s response while Lyon choked on the chicken tenders he was eating. The spat eleven ale was sprayed straight into the campfire and produced a burst of mes that reached for the sky. The ranked ales were highly inmmable. The rest of the rankersughed before looking at Sid in the distance who had joined the perimeter detail. They knew that the guy would have lost it for sure and attacked Eren right then and there if he was here. "You *cough cough* you of all people shouldn''t talk about forgiveness you sly fox. And how can you be so so shameless hikik saying those things with a straight face?" Altashia chuckled when she heard the conversation Eren had with Lyon, Arjun, and the rest. She had considered Eren to be a very serious man. But the guy just kept on surprising her by showing various facets of his ever-intriguing personality. Soon, Arjun returned to the perimeter detail to relieve Dianna of her ranger duties. Thetter came and sat with Eren. The seductress immediately started chatting and flirting with the butcher. Altashia found it ufortable to see something like this. Then she criticized herself for feeling ufortable. Dianna was opposite Altashia. She was a direct girl who wouldn''t shy away from saying what she wanted. So she was able to mix with her peers as easily. ''Roo Roo, do I need to change?'' As Altashia spoke to her demon beast in her mind, she sighed. Thetter croaked at her first before looking at Eren and Dianna with hateful eyes. ''Hehehe. Don''t be silly, you bloodthirsty bird. No harming Dianna, alright? She''s one of my teammates.'' Altashia foundfort in the fact there was at least someone like Roo who could truly understand her and always be with her. She then got up from her seat and nodded at the teammates that looked at her before walking towards the camp''s boundaries. She thought she should do guard duties, lest her demon beast starts thinking of multiple ways to make Dianna suddenly disappear from their team. ************* "So you are saying you got your hands on a transcendent-grade time element spell you can give me?" Eren asked Dianna while having another slice of mana beast meat. She hade to give Eren an interesting piece of news because she knew that he was looking for good time-element spells. She had first thought that Eren wasn''t someone who could use time-element spells even though he had been shown to have an affinity for it. The guy didn''t show any side effects after all. He told Dianna that he would only use it primarily for his potion-making and rarely for battles. He also convinced her that he was using an artefact to curb the side effects and also mask his time-element spells. "That''s right. It''s one of the most well-known time-element spells after Sedated Perception. Its name is Total Control! While it is considered a transcendent spell, its effects are only supplementary. That means the spell would grow in rank with you. But its effectiveness highly depends upon the way you use it." Dianna said while running her index finger across Eren''s arm and chuckled a bit before replying: But since it''s a time element spell and a transcendent grade at that, I''m sure you can understand why the Remus Auction won''t sell it for anything less than 20K Extols. You should even consider the price as a discount given to you because you know me. So tell me Eren, do we have a deal? Offer closes soon, you know. Hehe!" Chapter 431 A Deal with Benefits

Chapter 431 A Deal with Benefits

"So tell me Eren, do we have a deal? Offer closes soon, you know." Dianna said and started drinking her brand of elven ale. Eren pondered a bit before asking with a stern face. "My funds are kind of dried up after buying that plot ofnd from you. Can''t you offer me some more discount?" Dianna shook her head before replying: "Remus Auction House is one of the few kingdom-sanctioned sources you can buy such spells from, Eren. But as a result, we have to give a fixedmission per transaction to the kingdom''s Treasury department. A huge cut from those 20K Extols is going to find its way into the kingdom''s sleeves. Any less than 20K, and the offer won''t be worth it for us." Eren sighed dramatically and drank from his pitcher after he heard that. He already knew that 20K Extols for a transcendent-grade time element spell was a steal-deal. Dianna chuckled and thought of teasing the butcher some more. "Well there''s one way you can have another 50% discount sponsored by me." Eren''s eyes lit up after hearing Dianna. He raised his head and looked at the ranger who was also looking at him with her yful gaze. ''That is if you sleep with me.'' As an added touch, Diana made the offer over a voice channel. She thought a serious and focused guy like Eren would lose his calm. But contrary to her expectations, she saw him maintaining his serious face before answering her in the same manner. ''Listen here, Dianna. If you think I''ll sleep with you just to get a 50 percent discount on the deal'' Eren chugged the contents inside his pitcher whole before moving on. "Then you are abso-fucking-lutely right. Just get the spell first and tell me when and where." Eren smirked and said thest part out loud which caught Dianna off guard. She then burst into a burst of cheerfulughter before responding with only one simple word. "Deal!" Eren nodded and yfully took a closer look at Dianna''s bust while knowing full well that she was aware of his gaze. Dianna didn''t shy away from a bit of y and stretched her shoulders apart before bringing them closer to make her cleavage look more prominent. She was wearing semi-revealing clothes as always. So she didn''t have to do much to unt her assets. "Those are some premium goods, Dianna. I''ll be waiting for our deal to get finalized. Cheers!" Eren toasted to Dianna before getting up from his ce. He started walking towards the watchtower Orcs had built and somehow survived the battle. The ranger looked at him and shook her head while smiling. She thought she had the butcher all figured out. But what started as a prank was now turning out to be something she was also looking forward to. ******************** ''You want to get cosy with your team''s ranger and captain at the same time? How ambitious!'' Eren heard a familiar voice in his head that he hadn''t heard for quite some time now as he was walking towards the watchtower manned by Altashia. The voice belonged to Alephee, which surprised him a bit. ''Haha! It''s not ambitious if you know what you are doing. It''s been a while, Alephee. Did you sleep okay? Hehe!'' Alephee spoke in a in voice that seemed devoid of any emotions. ''You can say that. My recovery speed increases as you progress further in your ranking journey. And I can see that you''ve made a lot of progress already. The marks of sins hm let''s talk about themter on. For now, tell me about La and that pendant. My memories of your progress are fuzzy because of my state at that time. So it would be better if you tell me what happened from the moment I drifted into slumber.'' Eren nodded and slowed down his stride while telling Alephee everything. Thetter took some time to process everything before asking Eren another question. ''So where has this La gone off to?'' Eren shook his head in denial before answering. ''She wouldn''t tell me. She is not obligated to. Her loyalties lie with Eliza after all. That young witch often wanders off solo and teleports straight into the personal space of this pendant artefact after every few days. She should be back in three or four days considering she left just before I joined this clean-up mission.'' Eren said and reached out his right hand to check it. Every time La appears in the storage space of the pendant, he feels a distinct mana pulse that can only be felt by him. This is because the artefact had been bound to him. ''Hm. Okay. What are you thinking about then? Because I don''t see you working for Eliza obediently. But you can''t also do much considering she has too many things as leverage over you.'' Eren lit up his smoke when Alephee reminded him of how helpless he was when it came to Eliza. These small victories won''t matter if he fails to trante them into something that he could use over the Sage if and when things start turning south for him. ''One step at a time, Alphee. Are you with me?'' Alephee asked the only other person besides Reen he could count on for the pinch he was in. Thetter chuckled before responding. ''I won''t be able to do much directly. But'' Alephee took a brief pause before pressing on. ''I''ll be helpful in other ways. I''m with you, Eren. I have to be if we want to leave this ce together. It''s just a Sage we are dealing with. Hehe! Don''t worry too much.'' Eren nodded internally before executing his movement spell to take a long jump. He had reached the watchtower by the time Alpehee finished speaking to him. "What''s up, captain?" Eren asked Altashia after he got up on the watchtower. It was a tiny wooden room with huge windows serving as walls. She was seen patting her demon beast while gazing at the void with nk expressions on her face. "Hm? What are you doing here, Eren?" =================== AN: Here''s to new beginnings and second chances. Happy Easter guys! Cheers! We have changed the book''s cover. So check it out if you haven''t already. The character that has blessed VEH''s cover with her presence will be revealed in uing chapters. We will have a mass release next weekend. Meanwhile, two more chapters are on their way. It''s time for an egg to reappear soon. ;) Chapter 432 Opening Up

Chapter 432 Opening Up

"Hm? What are you doing here, Eren?" Altashia got pulled away from her line of thoughts when Roo let her know that there was someone else in the watchtower''s room apart from her. She turned around only to find the person that was the reason behind most of her stray thoughts standing with his hands behind his back. Her cheeks had a tinge of red as a result. But by now, she was a pro at maintaining stoic expressions. So that experience didn''t fail her here as she asked the reason for Eren''s sudden visit. He was given off time to rest because of his involvement in the battle. He shouldn''t have been in the perimeter detail. "Oh, I came to check up on you. And relieve you of your night watch duties of course. Don''t worry. I''m fine. Let''s just say that I have discovered a way to quickly recover my stamina and my stats. Hehe!" Altashia was reminded of Eren''s voracious eating habits even though that''s not what he meant. She smiled and asked another question in the spur of the moment. "Your "appetite" indeed knows no bounds. Got bored from flirting with Dianna so you came here?" This time Eren was taken aback. Even Altashia was also lowkey shocked that she tried to intrude in someone else''s space like that. This was her first time doing something like this. Eren saw the twitch behind Altashia''s stoic expressions and realized that the captain was on the verge of breaking character in front of him. He smiled and shook his head before responding. "Dianna and I well... Let''s just say we have a business deal. Forget about that. You should get up and take a rest as well. Let me man this tower." Eren just shrugged his shoulders and acted like he didn''t care what Altashia was trying to imply. He just had his agenda to carry forward. Altashia pursed her lips and looked at Eren closely. She looked like she wanted to ask Eren a lot of things. Then she resigned to leaving them be and replied. "Eren, I''m the least tired person in our team. I don''t feel like I need to rest. You are the one who is supposed to be resting, you know." Eren chuckled before taking out another bottle of elven ale from his space along with a wine ss. He filled the wine ss half-full and poured some ale into his pitcher. "Here. have this. This elven ale can increase your understanding of the fire element upon drinking. This is a unique blend that is only avable in the Lionheart duchy. You won''t find it here. Think you should give it a try. It''ll also help you rx a bit." Eren offered Altashia the wine ss while he drank from his pitcher. Thetter looked at the ss and pondered for a bit before taking it in her hands. The butcher did note here to woo Altashia. At least that wasn''t his primary reason to seek herpany tonight. He wanted her to rest and resign from her inspective duties so that he could sneak out and check up on a few things. He wanted to get to a certain ce that he had heard about from his past timeline. And this orc camp was the closest to that ce that he had evere. So he needed to do some recon before setting his next course of action. This area of the Bands was restricted to military personnel. So he couldn''t get to it by joining any guild. This was one of the major reasons Eren took on assignments in the Nightshade duchy. He couldn''t do what he had been intending to do if there was someone like Altashia keeping a watch over the camp. The sooner she retires, the better it would be for him. Altashia started drinking some more with Eren. The pair talked about a lot of random things. Then the closebat expert and warrior both exchanged notes on how they could deal with a certain opponent they had seen in today''s mission. The butcher''s witty replies would crack Altashia up from time to time. His glib tongue worked wonders when it had the backing of his Sativa-induced mind. This was the first time Altashia could open up to someone like Eren. A feat she had thought she would never be able to achieve. After loads ofughter and pegs after pegs of booze, Altashia finally loosened up to Eren andmented. "Sorry for asking something personal earlier, Eren. I just hehe! I just thought that you were a lot like me you know someone who keeps to themselves. That was until today when I saw a different shade of you. And felt it personally after talking with you." Altashia looked at her half-finished drink after saying this. She swirled her wine and took another sip before continuing. "You are indeed a lot like me. Yet I can see that you are more than any of the facets you have shown to any of us so far." Eren smiled when he heard Altashia say all this about him. He also marvelled at the fact that a girl of her age could think so deeply about so many diverse and subtle things at once. He had to admit that he was not this mature when he was her age. But Eren didn''t say any of this out loud. He wanted to hear all that Altashia had to say without any interruptions. The ale sure hits the spot, Eren. My fire-element mana is circting on its own without me feeling any difort. Where did you get this?" Altashia had another sip and couldn''t help praising the butcher''s booze collection. Eren knew she wasn''t really asking for the ale''s location. It was just the booze talking. So he let her return to her original line of thoughts without saying a word. "So where were we? Yes you! You surprised me. Um How should I exin this? To me, it felt like you betrayed the camp of introverts I assumed we both belonged to. How stupid of me." Altashia was starting to feel the effects of the Ace ranked wine Eren had given her. She came very close to Eren and ced her index finger over his chest in an using manner before continuing further. Chapter 433 Hatched

Chapter 433 Hatched

Altashia came very close to Eren and ced her index finger over his chest in an using manner before continuing further. "You are responsible for my rude yet much-needed reality check. Maybe it''s my hubris to try and judge a book by its cover. It''s an old habit of mine from my shut-in childhood. Hehe! It won''t go away that easily. My loneliness findsfort in judging people from afar. As it turned out, I was right for most people when I did this. But I''m d that you were an exception. You became my eye-opener by being just that." Eren felt puzzled by what the drunk Altashia was saying. It felt like she was trying to link one small incident with every other scene that had happened to her in the past. But that didn''t deter him from making use of the opportunity. The butcher ced his hands on her hips and pulled her towards him before bringing his face very close to hers. The tip of their noses almost touched each other. The butcher could feel Altashia''s warm and long breathing that was nowced with the aroma of the booze. The butcher''s steady breath, which was a mixture of alcohol and Sativa stick, was also felt by thetter. For some reason, thatbination didn''t repel the warrior. "Wha what do you think you are doing, Eren?" Altashia asked with a slight stutter in her voice. Her index fingers that she had ced over Eren''s chest were still between them. And she was applying some pressure through that finger as if telling Eren to step back. But the butcher knew that was just for the show. The force didn''t have enough weight behind it for him to think about respecting her space. "What am I doing? Hm! That''s a good question. Let''s say I''m trying to get rid of the loneliness you feel. Would you like to help me?" Eren asked while maintaining his distance from Altashia. The warrior''s body felt like it was burning as the ale''s effects were beginning to kick in for real. Eren could feel her body warmth increasing as he stroked her waist with both his hands. "I I''m not sure, Er. Eren. What ah do do what you feel is right" The butcher couldn''t understand Altashia''s speech impediment due to her being drunk or overstimted. But he understood one thing. That the proverbial iron was hot enough for him to hammer it. He shed a gentle smile before whispering in Altashia''s left ear. "Close your eyes and respond just how your heart wants you to respond." Eren kissed Altashia''s forehead before continuing. He then lifted his hands and used them to secure her face from both sides before kissing her closed eyelids. By now, her fire-element mana that was excited by the ale was surfacing on various parts of her body in the form of tiny wild mes. But the girl was too busy doing what Eren had instructed her to do. As a result, Eren started feeling some light burns on his hands that were holding her face. But he didn''t tell Altashia to fix it, lest she snaps out of her current zone. Eren then nted a soft kiss on Altashia''s left cheek. Then he drew his face away from her to look at her state. ''She wants more. Better give it to her.'' Eren thought before deciding to dive right back in. He tilted her face using his hands and adjusted his own ording to it before nting his lips over hers. Altashia didn''t respond to Eren''s kiss at first. But he knew she was too stunned and too drunk to think straight. Plus, her inexperience in the matter didn''t help her much. Eren sucked on her lower lip before sending his tongue inside Altashia''s mouth. He let his hands roam free on her back while he did that. The ice broke eventually. Altashia''s hand, which she had used to poke Eren''s chest, changed its position and grabbed Eren''s cor. Her other arm reached for the back of Eren''s head and grabbed his hair. "Ummm!" Altashia hummed as she continued to enjoy Eren''s advances on her. They both felt that the senses of time had gotten skewed for them as they indulged in each other''spany. While things had gotten wilder than Eren had nned, his objectives remained the same. After tasting Altashia some more, he intended to break the kiss. But that moment came sooner when something poked his cheeks. Roo was trying to poke Eren''s cheek with his beak. The bird didn''t quite get what was going on exactly. But he hade to realize that Eren was not doing something weird to his master. Plus, his mental connection with her told him that she was starting to feel good. But her thoughts were a mess all the same. One of those thoughts told her to get away from Eren. So when Rood heard that, he got to work. He was anyway sitting over Altashia''s other shoulder from the very beginning even though the pair had forgotten about him. Eren couldn''t take the bird''s disturbance anymore and finally snapped. "What is this shitty bird trying to do? Poke a hole through my cheeks?" Eren''s words finally brought some sense into Altashia''s head as she was pulled back into reality. There was a hue of red on her cheeks that indicated that she could think and be shy for a bit about everything that had happened just now. But before she could respond to Eren''s annoyance with her demon beast, the demon beast himself decided to address his grievances personally. He felt like his status as a demon beast was challenged when he heard the butcher call him a shitty bird. "Craw!" Roo croaked while releasing his demon beast aura. He also added his mental waves into the mix as an added effect. But before Eren could respond to such provocation, someone else did it for him. There was something in Eren''s space storage that cracked. It was Eren''s egg that he had received as a part of his rewards from Purgatory. Eren could feel that it was creating weird mana pulses inside his storage sense so he took the egg out. Apparently it had been hatched and was now ready to let it''s upant out. "Keeeee!" A sharp and high-pitched scream was heard in the surroundings as it fought the effects of Roo''s croak. Something was angry at the baby crow for trying to unt his skills in front of the butcher. Chapter 434 Monster and Beast Categories

Chapter 434 Monster and Beast Categories

"Keeeee!" A sharp and high-pitched scream was heard in the surroundings as it fought the effects of Roo''s croak. Something was angry at the baby crow for trying to unt his skills in front of the butcher. Crack! Thump! An unexinable suppression was detonated in the surroundings all of a sudden. The suppression was not entirely rted to mana. It was a form of mental suppression that could cloud the minds of low-ranked entities who are exposed to it. The soldiers that were made to be a part of the perimeter detail were the first group of people that got exposed to it apart from Altashia. Arjun was among those who could identify this phenomenon within seconds. "This a demon beast is evolving!" Arjun thought of Roo at first. But then he felt that the feeling he got wasn''t something he could rte to Roo. This beast was from a different hierarchy. "This feels like an epic-tier demon beast! Damn it. I hope it doesn''t belong to any of our opponents. I have to see and check it out." Arjun said and instructed a few of his fellow soldiers. Then he disappeared from his position and started approaching the source of this newfound potential trouble. ******************** The rankers of Anfang had categorized beasts into multiple categoriesCmon, umon, mutant, epic, legendary, andstly mythical. The categories or tiers were based on how much of a threat the beasts belonging to their respective categories posed to normal rankers or urban settlements. Common beasts were the least threatening and could be handled by local forces if the beast region or area within the Bands needed subjugation. Umon beasts were those who needed special arrangements otherwise their special attributes carried the risk of causing casualties. After mutant beasts, rankers'' teams had to be careful when dealing with subjugation. Their strengths couldn''t be predicted by normal standards. One of the boars Eren''s team had fought and in belonged to this category. Epic and legendary tier beasts were normally limited to Bands. Rankers'' teams rarely ventured too far into the Bands because they feared such beasts. If legendary tier beasts were the king of their regions then the epic tier beasts would be those who were vying for that position in their next evolution. In general, ranker teams - including those from the army and guilds - encounter creatures of the mutant category at most. Epic tier beasts would normally be handled by special forces present within the armies and guilds. No matter which kingdom or establishment, rankers of Anfang would not mess with legendary beasts willingly. Because battling with them was bound to turn into a catastrophic event for all the parties involved. The ying of legendary beasts could not be done by one team or army. Various forces within any establishment''s army and guilds would work for hand in hand to deal with this level of threat. Typically, a ranker would at least need to be in a C-Rank to be part of such a legendary raid. Mythical beasts were exactly that... mythical. Forget about messing with them. Establishments would surrender their regions to such beasts without even trying their luck at fighting for them. If any of such beasts decided to attack human settlements, then kingdoms would forget all their grievances ande together to deal with such an existence. That''s because their survival depended on them. Both mana beasts and demon beasts could be categorized this way. It''s just that the dangers would increase multifold per category when it came to demon beasts due to their crowd control abilities. Then there were special cases. Or to be specific, certain families of beasts werebelled with a particr category. This was done without taking into ount the level of threat they might or might not pose to rankers and their settlements. That''s because some bloodlines carry a higher threat potential than others. Normally, low ranking beasts don''t exceed the mutant tier standard no matter their ranking status. That''s because establishments could arrange appropriate response teams with ranking status corresponding to the beasts to deal with them most efficiently. There were few standards of measurement in ce other than this vague generalization that would help the ranker distinguish between the beast categories. Calcting the rough BTP estimates using the artefacts was one way. The BTP limits for each rank were different for beasts. There was arger difference between the initial and final stages of the ranking for the beasts than between human rankers''. The bottleneck difference per BTP was also significantlyrge. Rankers would often use artefacts when they were doing their recon missions to find out which rank, type, and category of beasts they were dealing with. This was the primary method to formte subjugation missions. The intensity of psychic waves the demon beasts could produce would attest to their categories. The more intense their psychic wave was, the more crowd control abilities they would possess, posing a much higher level of danger. It was said that each of the demon beasts carried the potential within them to be the progenitor of their race or type. Crowd control was limited for the other races. But for their race, such high-ranking demon beasts would be able to obtain total control over all their lower-ranked kin. This was what made them different from being referred to as mana beasts. Even monsters on individual levels were categorized the same way. As a result, the monster subjugation mission tended to consider monster tribes as a whole instead of just individual monsters. Plus, monsters were less likely to travel into urban areas or enter urban territories by leaving their tribes alone unless a coup had taken ce. So monster subjugation missions were often limited to the area near the boundaries of the Bands where the exiled members were forced to go. ************* Altashia''s demon beast was called WindFire Jackdaw. Just like his master, he too had an affinity with fire and wind. It was an ideal match for the warrior. It would grow and eventually step into the epic category when it bes a high-ranking entity. Further category progression would depend upon the beast''s potential as a demon beast and his luck. But Eren''s hatched egg released such intense psychic waves that Arjun could confirm that it belonged to the epic category at its birth. He wasn''t sure who had captured such a beast. Arjun told the rest of the rankers to stay alert. He then approached the tower, which had suddenly be a focal point for all of the rankers present at the orc camp. Chapter 435 Regality

Chapter 435 Regality

"Keeeeh!" The egg cracked and out came a chick that had its eyes closed, which he didn''t open for some reason. It was coated with amniotic fluid when it first broke free of its shell. It didn''t have any feathers over its body. The chick had its beak open because it was crying at Roo who was now sitting over his master''s shoulder. He had stopped trying to scare Eren. It was his time to be subdued by a beast of a higher tier than him. Eren had been taking care of the egg in his free time just as instructed by La ever since he came out of Purgatory. He would often imbue it with a semnce of his mana in a controlled manner. Then he would wrap his mana sense around the egg to make the embryo get attuned with his mana sense. Apart from safeguarding the egg, the runes over the egg were also meant to act as the medium between the beast and its tamer. They allowed the beast to get familiar with Eren''s Ace Rank mana straight away while it was still in its pre-birth state. Eren also poured his blood over the runes from time to time so that the beast bes bound by him even before it is born. This served as a form of blood ritual that was required to tame the demon beast. Eren had started feeling another channel of mental connection had been opened between him and some entity that didn''t seem to have any thoughts for a few days now. He had tried talking to the chick on that channel but so far he only felt the emotions of endearment from it. This was how the hatched beast could detect Eren getting affected by Roo''s psychic waves, even if only a bit. It had already started treating the butcher as its kin. So it decided to break free from its eggshell instead of waiting for things to proceed naturally. To set the records straight with the baby bird who had dared to act this impudently in front of his kin. The chick stopped screaming and stopped releasing psychic waves when it felt that the tiny bird which had dared to against its master had been quieted down. The sheer intensity of those waves made Roo realize that the newborn would be treated as the leader between them if they decided to subdue the nearby mana beasts at the same time. The chick was in the Ace Rank from its very birth, thanks to Eren familiarizing it with his Ace mana through the runes'' help. This enabled the beast to bepatible with Ace rank mana at its starting point. That''s right! The chick was a creature of Ace rank from birth. And yet, it wasn''t done with its progress. It opened its mouth once again. It wasn''t to intimidate anyone. A mini whirlpool of lightning and fire element mana was created as the chick opened its mouth. It started growing longer and wider ever since its inception. ''He is devouring fire and lightning element mana in the air. That looks like a derivation of my half-blood powers.'' Eren thought to himself as he watched his newborn demon beast strengthen his position in the Ace Rank by devouring the surrounding mana with his unique inherent spell. He could onlye up with one exnation to answer the question he had asked himself. ''It seems that those runes and the blood ritual were the reason behind how this beast turned out to be the way it has.'' Eren concluded and watched as his demon beast progressed further and underwent drastic physical changes. Eren and Altashia stepped aside as the mana storm was created around the newborn demon beast. The limbs that looked malnourished were the first to be strengthened in the process. The skin without any hair suddenly started growing beastly golden brown fur. The fur could be seen to have a subtle shine over it, which was an indication that it had been strengthened by mana. The beast''s forelegs looked just like the hind legs except they grew bird-like ws and ck talons that gave off a menacing vibe. The hind legs of the beast were more beastly. The beast also grew a tail that was the same length as its torso, which looked flexible and prehensile. Eren concluded that the beast could use the long tail like a whip. Except for its shoulders and up, the demon beast now had a lion''s body. He also seemed to have a very flexible spine considering it had its back bent inwards way more than normal to deal with the pain of the mana-induced sudden growth spurt. The hind paws also grew thick ck talons that looked retractable. The beast appeared to have a very low body fat percentage. Its body seemed to have been packed with muscles that still looked underdeveloped for the time being. The limbs grew rapidly and stabilized, enabling the demon beast to stand on its four legs firmly. Next, dense feathers could be seen to erupt just below the beast''s shoulders, starting at the high back. They looked glistening and smooth as if they were waterproof. Contrary to golden brown fur, the feathers were snow-white in colour, making them have a distinct visual appeal. The beast''s body measured 5ft in height and 7ft in length. But his growth didn''t end there. Two eagle-like wings erupted from the tops of the beast''s shoulders with a wingspan twice its torso''s length for each of the wings. Eventually, the beast''s head became more of what it was born with. It looked even more eagle-like with a sharp, razor-edged sickle beak. With his Ace Rank progression stopping after breaking into the solid stage of the Ace Rank, the beast''s body also stopped progressing any further and stabilized. The mana storm around it simply vanished into thin air, allowing the spectators to take a closer look at his regal form. "This this is a gryphon. Epic tier!" Altashia mumbled to herself. But because everything around her was quiet, Eren could hear it as well. Thetter shared her surprise as well. That''s because beasts like gryphons were very rarely seen by normal rankers. Rankers'' teams usually had to go deep into the Bands for this to happen. The butcher looked at his newly acquired demon beast and had to admit that he looked intimidating, courtesy of his inborn regality. And this was when he was just born. ================ AN: Chapter 298''s author note foreshadows Eren''s demon beast. It''s featured in the cover pic of my profile here. ;) Chapter 436 Argo

Chapter 436 Argo

The mana signature the demon beast gave off also had a resemnce with Eren''s mana signature. The mental connection he shared with his newborn demon beast also stabilized, enabling both the beast and him to feel what the other was feeling or thinking about. The butcher had to admit that despite all that had happened, purgatory was a huge opportunity for Eren. Maybe an epic-tier beast wasn''t enough for her, but for Eren who couldn''t count on his most trusted partner, this beast was a huge power-up. Eren also understood at this point that Eliza had only offered him the beast so that he could make effective use of it when she assigned him the task she wanted to be done by hook or crook. He didn''t believe for a second that the beast was offered to him out of Sage''s goodwill. After all, a gryphon could be a suitable mount for him to fly. And that enabled a more effective set of tactics he could apply to all of his ns. Tactics that were difficult to counter. Due to his underdeveloped physique, it looked like he wouldn''t be able to support the butcher''s weight in a constant flight. The most it could do now was give him a short flight experience or help slow down his sudden vertical fall. But the beast will eventually grow in a normal manner after a few more months. The beast was still yet to open its eyes. He turned his neck 180 degrees towards his master before turning his body in that direction as well. He walked up to Eren and rubbed the back of his forehead against Eren''s face while growling a bit. "Hm? Who am I? Well you can call me Eren. Your master." Guttural! "What does Eren mean by that, you say? It''s just my name that was given to me after I was born." Guttural! "You want a name too? Well.. that makes sense. Let me think." Eren patted the beast''s head while understanding the beast''s intentions through his mental connection with him. It looked like the conversation was going in multiple directions all at once as Eren kept on giving many seemingly coherent and incoherent replies. The beast already measured up to his shoulders when he greeted his master for the first time after his birth. His half-opened, curved ckshine beak of a mouth would release a guttural sound whenever the butcher answered one set of questions. "Argo!" Eren said his newborn beast''s name out loud and finalized it while patting him and caressing his soft-feather-like neckline. The beast didn''t mind the name and released some more guttural sounds in affirmation. Croak! Altashia''s demon beast produced a low pitched noise towards his master when he witnessed an epic-tier demon beast''s birth. He had subconsciously understood that Argo was at a level above him in the beastly hierarchy. So he tried to make his concerns known to Altashia. Argo heard Roo''s croak and narrowed his light blue eyes on him as he turned his head 180 degrees. Eren had to admit that his beast was blessed with a lot of seemingly simple yet convenient features at birth. Since he could now share his senses with Argo, he could see what was in front of him from two perspectives. That is if he used his mental connection with the demon beast. Argo rubbed his head against Eren''s chest before straightening his neck up. Then he started walking towards Altashia and her demon beast. His walk was a little shaky since he had just been born and his feet felt wobbly to him. But that didn''t prevent Argo from exuding a regal aura a beast like Roo could never match up to in their current ranks. Roo wanted to assume his true form as well. But Altashia prevented him from doing so. She didn''t want a fight to take ce between the two demon beasts. Argo stopped a few inches away from Altashia and looked at Roo who was sitting over her left shoulder vigntly. He brought his neck closer to the baby crow before making another set of guttural noises. Altashia looked at Eren who was standing in front of her at the other corner of the watchtower''s observation room with keen eyes. It was clear she was looking for a trantor. Eren massaged his forehead before stating what his demon beast wanted to convey to Roo. He looked like he was anticipating trouble dealing with Argo. "Um he is saying that if Roo makes one more pass at me or him, he''ll have him for his next meal. He is also saying that he is very hungry and could use some nutrition." Altashia raised her eyebrows and looked at Argo again when she heard Eren''s statement. The beast didn''t even flinch when he felt her presence. Even without Roo''s help, she could beat the crap out of the current Argo. His beastly senses should have been enough to make him understand just that. The Mana and Demon Beasts respected power above all. They wouldn''t be imprudent to act against someone ced higher than them in the food chain unless there were special circumstances. And yet, Argo was bold enough to make that im in front of Altashia. Something told her the beast was extremely prideful and battle thirsty in nature. So much so that he could suppress his beastly natureC indicating a will to fight someone stronger than him without any hesitation. ''This guy seems even more of an edgelord than Ivor.'' Eren sighed after talking to himself. He already startedparing Argo with Reen in his head and found out that he was lucky to have Reen as his first partner in crime instead of Argo. Especially when he was handling things rted to the case of Osan Woods'' Butcher. At that time, If he had a demon beast like Argo instead of Reen who wasn''t aggressive by nature, he would have had a tough time covering his tracks the way he had covered them. Roo didn''t reply to Argo''s challenge in any way. It stared at him for a while before bringing his neck down in submission. Altashia''s assumptions about beasts dide true. The only beast that followed the pattern was hers. Meanwhile, she looked at Eren with keen eyes. Now with this beast added into the equation, Eren had one more trump card in his sleeves. It didn''t seem that far-fetched anymore that he would challenge Altashia to a fight in the future not far from today. Chapter 437 Freedom-Loving Individuality

Chapter 437 Freedom-Loving Individuality

"Kiyeeeeee!" Argo let out an exciting cry after he saw the world outside from the spacious windows of the watchtower''s room. He looked at Eren and pped his newly formed wings before letting out some more guttural noises. "You want to go outside? I mean you can" Argo didn''t wait anymore after he processed Eren''s permission. He broke through the windowsill and the wooden construction of the room and jumped out the window. It seemed that he was already tired of the confines of the cramped room. Argo took a huge lead with his jump and travelled a bit in the air, thanks to the momentum he generated with the push of his hind legs. He then pped his wings rapidly in anticipation of the unfettered flight he desired. But things don''t always work out ording to n. "Kiyaaaaaak!" The cry this time reflected shock and desperation. Lil Argo had to learn his life lessons on the very first day of his birth. He crashed to the ground right after the momentum of the jump was killed by gravity. Altashia ran to the window Argo had jumped from. She wanted to see if the demon beast she had just witnessed being born would die from his stupidity on the very same day. Eren didn''t move from his position. He just kept on massaging his head as if he was already aware of what was happening down there. Argo got up from his awkward position on the ground and shook his head vigorously. He then cleaned himself up with his beak before releasing another cry at the sky. Next, the demon beast started running on the ground while pping his wings as hard as he could. It wasn''t long before Argo''s jumps started looking like broken flight attempts. This continued for a while. The demon beast finally seeded in having a stable flight experience after some more tries and desperate struggles. "Kiyeaaaaah!" A sharp and loud eagle cry was soon heard and spread across the orc camp. Argo soon started zipping across the camp''s territory with incredible speed. His flight wasn''tpletely stable yet as he would sometimes m into the ground all of a sudden. But that didn''t prevent the beast from experiencing what he was born to experienceC freedom! "Arjun, no need to be afraid. It''s Eren''s demon beast. You cane here." Altashia said to Arjun as she felt his presence with her mana sense. The guy was trying to maintain a safe distance from the watchtower in fear that it was taken over by monsters or a wild demon beast. As the ranger climbed the watchtower, he appeared at the edge of the broken windowsill. He was followed by some other soldiers who had alsoe to check things out. "Eren, care to exin?" Altashia asked Eren after everyone was gathered in the watchtower room. Thetter sighed and served them a fresh course of bullshittery he had cooked up some time ago. That he had ventured a bit deeper into the Bands one day on border patrol duty. That he came across the egg while exploring an unknown cave located at the very top of some mountain peak. One had to admit that telling lies came naturally to Eren. He couldn''t have exined the origin of the egg properly without raising suspicions had he still been in the Lionheart duchy. But now that he was in Nightshade Duchy, especially in an area that borders the Bands, the egg''s made-up origin made sense. Arjun and other soldiers were more surprised about the fact that Eren had an epic-tier demon beast than anything else. They started asking about the so-called mountain peak he had gotten the egg from. Maybe other soldiers would get lucky too if they decided to follow his head. The butcher burst their bubble by telling them that there was nothing else in the cave apart from the egg he had received. Plus, he told them that he didn''t remember where he had been and mapped out arge and dangerous area for them tob through. The difficulty of locating the same cave caused other soldiers gathered around Eren to give up on trying. The team''s captain listened to everything silently from the sidelines before finally speaking up. "*Sigh My family had to go to extra lengths to find someone like Roo for me. And you just randomly picked up a demon beast that was an apt match for you. Talk about luck!" Altashia sighed before and after she expressed her bafflement over Eren getting his demon beast. She then straightened her posture, adorned a gentle smile on her face and continued. "That being said, I''m d that I''m not the only tamer in our team now. Plus, we both have flying mounts. Maybe we can race sometimes when your Argo grows up a bit to see who is faster among them." Eren returned Altashia''s smile with a smile of his own. He was about to reply that Roo might not stand a chancepeting with him once Argo gets adjusted to flying. That''s when he heard Argo do that for both of them. "Kiyeeeeeh!" Eren smiled mirthlessly before tranting his demon beast''s thoughts to Altashia. "He says, "Bring it on!" Eren''s statement was followed by another eagle cry. The butcher tranted that for his teammates as well. "But not before he practices some more." Then Altashia exined the process of registering the demon beast to his name in Edinburgh''s official records. He was serving in the army anyway as part of his assignment. The process would bepleted shortly after he raised it. He could do that after the team gets back to the army camp. Eren might be asked to extend the duration of his army duties. Or he might need to participate in a kingdom-level mission to legally own the demon beast inside the kingdom of Edinburgh. but that woulde after he gets back to the camp. Argo eventually came down from his first flight andnded on the watchtower''s ceiling, which made the wooden ceiling creak. He had somehow caught a Novice rank Earth Suidae in his talons. It was apparent by the prey''s body that Argo had dropped it many times before picking it back up. "Kiyeeeh!" Argo cried while looking at Eren. "Oh, I''m good. You can have that for yourself." Eren conveyed his refusal to eat an Earth Suidae to his freedom-loving demon beast. Thetter must have thought ''more for me''. Because he shook his head and pped his wings a bit before closing them. Then he started to dig in without the slightest care for his surroundings. One had to admit that Argo was someone who liked to be self-reliant even while being Eren''s demon beast. He had hunted the first meal of his life all by himself without depending on anyone. Nobody knew at the time that Argo''s name and his individuality would one day be recorded in the annals of Anfang''s history forever. Chapter 438 Bottled-Up

Chapter 438 Bottled-Up

"What are you nning to do with him?" Altashia asked Eren while looking at Argo who was having his feast. The butcher sighed while looking at his demon beast. He ignited his smoke using his fire mana, and then took a long drag. He responded while staring nkly at the white fog he had just exhaled. "The key question is, what will he do with me? When you lose something that matters to you, do you have the guts to seek something at the cost of being reminded that you can lose that too?" Eren said and looked at Argo. But Altashia felt that Eren''s line of thoughts had focused on someone other than his newly blood-bound demon beast. She could also feel that Eren was missing someone even when he should be happy about finding someone he could always count on. So she had to ask. "Are we still talking about Argo, Eren?" Altashia''s question reminded Eren that he had lost track and started missing Reen because Argo reminded him of her. After he hade out of the separate dimension, his mental connection with her was not stable. He couldn''t feel what she was feeling through her senses. That worried him the most. He didn''t know what Eliza was doing with her. He could only find sce in the fact that the existence of his mental connection with Reen hadn''tpletely vanished. But this was not something Eren would be satisfied with. ''I''ll burn that mummy along with this whole kingdom down if she decides to use Reen as a sacrifice. Sages or gods, I''ll find a way to chop down anyone whoes in my way.'' Whether he knew it or not, Argo''s personality was resonating within Eren as he thought of something radical. He then chuckled to himself before having another thought in his head. ''Heh! They call me the butcher right? I''ll be sure to live up to that name when the timees.'' Eren then looked at Altashia who was looking at him with keen eyes. They were again left alone in the watchtower while the rest of the gathered rankers scurried about doing their duties. Eren''s distraught state had created a ripple in his mana signature and it gave off a cold feeling. His aura had be bloodthirsty for a while. Since she was so close to him, Altashia couldn''t miss that. She wanted to ask him what he was thinking. But the butcher beat her to it by telling her what he was thinking at the time. He wanted her to get back to Argo''s topic so that she would not ask him what he was feeling when he was giving off that aura. "I want Argo to be like me yet I want to be like him when the dust settles around me. We are two different breeds, Altashia. Two different animals altogether. It''s not even a day since I got him and I can already feel his intense desire to stay as free as he is now. These feelings will only grow from here. Since I''m connected to him, these feelings echo within me. I''m afraid it''s me who is going to get swayed by his emotions rather than the other way around." Eren told Altashia the truth so that she would not ask for another truth from him. He pressed on to change the topic to something that would benefit him. Since Altashai was well connected with Edinburgh and in some capacity privy to the controlled information kept hidden from most rankers, he wanted to try his luck at asking her exactly that. "You know what it''s like. What do you think? How can the bond between us and demon beasts be so personal? What is the blood ritual? How can it affect us so much? What is it about the connection with the demon beasts that have such power to capture the hearts of rankers? What is the reason behind demon beasts being so different from mana beasts? Why do the establishments want more of them in their fold through us and yet fear them?" Eren collected all the questions he ever had about the demon beasts in his mind and released them all at once. Because just like some of his primal emotions, the questions he had about things he barely understood were also bottled up way past his mental limit. He needed to understand the demon beast and their significance in the lives of those who were bound to them. Altashia had realized that Eren was trying to change the subject to hide the inner agitation he had just felt. She felt that he had hoarded a lot of things in his head. But she also knew by now that the guy was tight-lipped about a lot of things. So there was no getting rid of his nature anytime soon. He won''t tell her anything just because she asked him nicely or shared an intimate moment with him. In a way, she could rte to him. Because she was a lot like him. So she patted Roo sitting over her shoulder before using a voicemunication channel to speak to Eren. ''Eren, I don''t need to tell you how strict Edinburgh is in controlling the flow of information regarding the demon beast. I''m one of the lucky ones who didn''t have to sign a strict binding contract because of my family''s connection. So I can at least talk about it to some extent. Normally I wouldn''t have told you anything. But since you have asked this after getting bound with a demon beast and struggling to make sense of it, I''ll let you in on a few details. After all, I am a demon beast owner myself.'' Altashia paused and watched as Roo flew in the sky. The demon beast had changed his shape midway after he left his previous position and assumed his normal form. Then she continued as she watched Roo flying off in a distance. ''The establishments of the Anfang don''t fear the demon beasts. Not really. I mean if it is their crowd-control ability we are talking about, then yeah, it does possess some danger. But it''s nothing the establishments can''t deal with using some form of preparedness. What the establishments fear is the power of shapeshifting. Demon beasts and half-bloods fall in those categories. That''s because they can tap into the power of shapeshifting and cause some severe havoc. This fear stems from the period of Lost History of Anfang. I don''t know much about Lost History myself. So your guess is as good as mine when ites to assuming what might have happened during that time.'' Altashia paused and took a long breath before proceeding. ''But even that is not the main reason behind why the kingdoms of Anfang fear the shapeshifters.'' Chapter 439 Transcendent

Chapter 439 Transcendent

''But even that is not the main reason behind why the kingdoms of Anfang fear the shapeshifters.'' Eren narrowed his eyes as he listened to Altashia. A range of thoughts kept forming in his head before disappearing just as quickly. But he didn''t say a wordC hinting Altashia to continue. Thetter did just that. ''But even that is not the main reason behind why the kingdoms fear the shapeshifters. You have to understand that the power of shapeshifting doesn''t belong to this world. Humans can''t shapeshift by the natural order of this world. They say that whenever someone taps into the power of shapeshifting, they corrode this world''s consciousness and allow a foreign world''s mana and consciousness to seep into it. I don''t know what that entails. But considering the measures taken by all the establishments in unison despite all their grievances and conflicts, we can assume that it''s not something good.'' Altashia said and looked at Eren who was seen smoking while immersed in thoughts of his own. Her gaze focused on his lips for a moment, remembering the kiss they had just shared. She then looked at his facial expressions and realized that he wasn''t thinking anything even remotely rted to that moment. ''How stupid of you, Altashia. Of course, it''s not a big deal for him. It''s only a big deal for you because it was your first kiss. That guy must have'' Altashia wandered off on a different tangent for a while in her head beforeing back to the point of getting discussed between them. ''The blood ritual is you validating a demon beast''s existence in this world under your name as the native resident of this world. It''s sort of like you are making the beast an extension of yourself so that it doesn''t get treated like an outsider. You are taking responsibility for that beast. In return, the demon beast''s personality changes when you bind it with yourself through the blood ritual. The beast absorbs a part of your existence and personality. That''s why the tamed demon beasts are often a lot like their masters. That freedom-loving individuality you see in Argo? A part of it is the beast itself. However, your personality also yed a role. Or a facet of it at least. The demon beast bes loyal to you and only you, who is a native of this world. And by that extension, it bes loyal to this world because you are part of this world. As for why such a deep bond gets created between the demon beast and their tamers? Well, if something is an extension of your existence, why would you not feel attached to it? Will you ever feel detached from one of your limbs?'' Eren nodded his head in affirmation after hearing Altashia''s response. He didn''t get why demon beasts were treated as outsiders of the world. They were supposed to be just mana beasts with higher intelligence. So he started hypothesizing in his head. ''Were the mana beasts getting possessed by something foreign to the world resulting in the creation of demon beasts? If so, why are demon beasts vulnerable to being bound by rankers at the time of their ranking breakthrough? Does something happen when they are breaking through? Do they lose some form of protection at the time of their breakthrough?'' These were the assumptions Eren hade up with after reading through a lot of information he had collected from various sources in his past and present timelines. Nina''s exnations about foreign mana along with Altashia''s statements created a blurred picture for him that could only get clearer as he kept on learning new things. "Onest question, Altashia. Is it possible for a ranker to get bound with more than one demon beast?" Eren narrowed his eyes looking at the void. This was thest doubt he had. He knew his guess in this matter was spot on. Still, he wanted to confirm. "Um no. Not by normal methods at least. The lost paths of mana may contain cultist methods that I am not aware of. But they would also have negative side effects for rankers with more than one mana beast. And they should be apparent from the very moment someone tries doing something like that." After confirming something in her head, Altashia spoke. As if she was trying to read something she hade across a long time ago. She took a short pause before continuing. "Normally, if someone tries to blood bound a second demon beast, their mind breaks and the blood ritual fails. Even demon beasts don''te out unscathed from this. Their mana cores get destroyed and most just die. There are plenty of records regarding this very thing, tried by cultists and rogue rankers. The records are avable in my family''s ancestral library. So this is something I can say with confidence. Why are you asking though? It''s not like you would always get lucky and find another demon beast by chance. Hehe." Altashia chuckled and looked at Eren who was also smiling. Thetter was smiling for a different reason though. While Altashia was exining things to Eren, he suddenly remembered that he was technically bound with two demon beasts. Which, to his knowledge, was something that was considered nearly impossible. He didn''t feel any negative side effects of having been bound with the second demon beast. His mind was as clear as it was before Argo was hatched. Ago seemed to be in good shape as well. He then remembered Eliza calling Reen a clean te. One of her traits as a demon beast was supposed to create zero-conflict with any form of elements, mana or existence. She was created to keep this world''s consciousness from seeping into her very being. It meant that her bloodline powers gave him the ability to transcend the limits set for ordinary rankers. He realized why he was sopatible with foreign magic after he got over the initial rejection. ''n of Samael and itsst scion Eliza. I don''t know what you were thinking by creating someone like Reen. But your legacy I''ll show you how it should be used.'' Chapter 440 Courage

Chapter 440 Courage

"Thank you for sharing things and your experiences with me, Altashia. I don''t know how to repay you. You seem to have everything." Eren shed a light smile to Altashia when the pair was done talking. He returned the gesture before adding more. "My pleasure, Eren. You don''t have to repay me with anything. Hehe! I only cleared some minor doubts you had because I wanted to help a fellow demon beast owner." Eren smirked before activating his time-element spell along with his movement spell. Altashia saw him disappear from her sight only to appear two inches away from her. Altashia''s mana sense could keep up with Eren''s movements, no sweat. So she didn''t understand what he was doing as she stopped ghostly hands that had appeared beside either side of her face with hands of her own. "I know one way I can repay you. I''ll show you if you could allow me." Altashia''s cheeks turned red as Eren''s voice was heard near her right ear after he seemingly morphed into existence. She was about to argue but Eren cut her short. "I saw the way you looked at me when you thought I wasn''t paying attention. Why look at the goods from afar and torture yourself when you can just have them? I certainly won''t allow myself to go through that form of torture if I could help it." Altashia thought that ale''s intoxicating effects were cut short by the incident that had unfolded. But now that Eren had gotten so near to her, she felt that intoxication once again. She soon realized that this intoxication wasn''t caused by the ale but by something much more primal that she hadn''t experienced yet. "Eren What happened between us was just an ident. I" Eren chuckled before cutting her speech short. "If that was an ident, I''m fine with those idents happening over and over again. I''ll not shy away from getting you drunk to try that same move again, you know." Altashia had a nk face after Eren said what he said. Shen then burst intoughter. "Hehehe! You are very shameless. How can one man have so many different shades to him?" Eren closed the distance between him and Altashia some more by walking a step closer to her. Their bodies were almost touching each other. "Why should I feel any shame in kissing a girl as talented and gorgeous as you? If I need to be shameless to have a chance with you, I''ll strive to be the biggest shameless Edinburgh has ever seen." Altashia couldn''t stopughing when she heard Eren''s witty response. Her recluse heart was also softened by thepliment she received from him. It wasn''t that she hadn''t receivedpliments. But she could tell that Eren meant every word he said. "Eren, do you want to be with me?" Eren nodded his head without a second''s dy when shia asked him the question on a serious note. She narrowed her eyes and looked into Eren''s before proceeding. "You will only be with me while we are together. And nobody else. Will you agree now?" The butcher suppressed a sudden urge to cough as he maintained eye contact with Altashia. He had almost forgotten that not every female ranker would be like Nina, Renita or Jules who would just allow him to plough around. "How about we get together first and then work on details?" Eren shed a forced smile. Altashia smirked at his reply before responding. "Being with me isn''t as simple as you thought it''d be, is it? Frankly, I don''t see a problem in you epting this. I have a better background. I''m a superior ranker than you as of now." This time Eren''s facial expressions turned somewhat serious. He put his hands down and responded after a short pause. "Talent, background, and dedication to work hard aren''t everything. Sometimes you need the courage to stand up with your broken pieces and show it to the world that there''s still a fight left in you." The interaction that was supposed to be romantic suddenly took a strange turn. Altashia knew that she was the reason behind it. She didn''t like to sugarcoat her words. So she meant it when she said she was a superior ranker than Eren. "You think you have that courage and I don''t?" Eren shook his head in denial before replying. "You didn''t get it. Couragees only when you are scared. You were never scared of anyone. So of course you wouldn''t have it." Altashia chuckled when she heard Eren''s response. She didn''t want to hurt the guy. So she ced her right hand over his chest and replied. "Eren, what you said makes sense on a philosophical level. But it doesn''t change the ground reality. And please don''t get offended. It wasn''t my intention." Eren ced his right hand over her and pressed on it before responding. "Give me a month and three chances. Without any of our demon beasts getting involved. I''ll challenge you to three duels. If I don''t win even after the third try, I''ll ept anything and everything you say. But After I win, you will retract your statement that you are a superior ranker ande on a date with me without any of those conditions. Deal?" Altashia puffed her cheeks as she heard Eren''s proposals as if she had been offended. "You can''t beat me anytime soon. At least not within a month. I''m close to breaking through to my current rank while you are still.." Eren just shrugged his shoulders in response before adding up. "All the more reasons for you to ept the deal. Why worry when you can win the challenge easily?" Altashis smiled mirthlessly as if she had given up on convincing Eren. "Alright. One month. Three tries. Let''s see how much you progress within this one month." Eren understood what Altashia said and smiled. She had told him she would win all three tries after checking out his progress. If nothing else, Eren liked Altashia''s subtle way of giving a burn to someone. Eren dropped his shoulder and turned away as if he was being disappointed. Altashia saw that and felt a bit guilty about it. In feeling that she let her guard down. The next thing she knew, her lips were pressed upon something and her normal vision was blocked by someone very close to her. Eren had nted a lip lock when Altashia least expected it. She didn''t feel like responding to the guy''s rude way of dealing with these delicate things. So she pinched his stomach with her hand while imbuing it with her mana. But even that didn''t help. So she pushed him away with great force. Eren was thrown outside the open window while making a whistling noise. Hended just beside Argo, who had just finished his first meal. The blood of his meal was all over the ground. Thankfully, Erennded just outside the bloody and messy area. "Kiyeeeh!" "Yeah. I''m alright." Eren consoled his demon beast and stood up from his position. He dusted his clothes and looked at Altashia, who was smiling. That fall of his had taken out all the grievances she had with him. The butcher returned her gaze with equal yfulness before mumbling something very softly. He didn''t use mana-imbued voice or voicemunication when he did so. But Altashia was able to lip-read and understand what Eren had said just fine. She smiled when she decoded his message as she saw him walking towards Argo while dusting his butt off. ''Altashia darling, this is called courage.'' He had said. Chapter 441 Oni Dungeon

Chapter 441 Oni Dungeon

A man and a demon beast were seen traversing through the night sky at a critical velocity. "Not even a day and you are already on your way to bing a fat bird, Argo. It''s your weight that is bringing us down. I''m as light as a featherpared to you." Eren spoke to his demon beast amid their unstable flight. Argo was trying his best to p his wings and maintain a stable flight. But with Eren over his back, things were just too difficult for him for the time being. In a few moments, he would lose altitude andnd poorly on the ground, losing his bnce. "Kiyeeeeh!" Argo registered hisints by releasing a sharp eagle screech. The poor beast looked like he was going to be very angry at his master for taunting him while he was struggling to survive his flight. "What do you mean I''m being mean? Life is not all about eating pork, Argo. *sigh. It is indeed cruel. Get with the program already." Eren said and jumped from the beast''s back just as he was about to crash to the ground. As a result of his jump''s recoil, Argo lost the semnce of bnce he had. He crashed to the top of a huge tree that had loads of vines attached to its thick and dense branches. Crack! Swish! Reek! Argo broke through many of the branches and became tangled in the vines. His body was engulfed in them, making it difficult for him to move. But it was also thanks to them that his fall was cushioned. He stopped just a few meters away fromnding face down on the ground. Eren on the other hand used his movement spell tond safely beside his demon beast. He looked at Argo and sighed before retrieving Rigor MortisC his Shamshir. Swish! Swish! Swish! The branches and vines were cut down in the next moment. As a result, Argo met his eventual fate and crashed face-first into the ground. "Stay here. I''ll cover the rest of the way myself." "Kiyeeee!" "No. I''m not ditching you. I only said I''d take you out because I wanted to get away from the camp. And if we keep on doing what we just did, it''ll be difficult for me to maintain the time limit. I guess I''ll have to reach the ce using the normal methods. Eren patted the beast''s head after he said that as a form of constion. He knew that making Argo his mount was taxing on the demon beast from the beginning. But since he couldn''t get Altashia and the rest of the rankers off his back using the covert methods anymore, he decided to use Argo as a means to get away from the camp, telling everybody that he was preparing to try simple flight trials with him. "Kiyeeee!" Eren didn''t reply to the beast''s objections anymore. He just retrieved two dead bodies of Earth Suidae and presented them to him as a form of constion. "I was just messing with you. Here, eat this snack. Um let''s say your sister also likes to eat a lot so I used to stock up on food like this. You should be d that the habit never really faded away." Eren said and started walking in a particr direction after looking at the star alignment. He waved his hand without looking back at his beast who was trying to call out to him. "Stay put and don''t create a fuss in the area. Remember, you are still only an Ace rank beast. And a newborn at that. Other stronger beasts will not hesitate to have sumptuous bird meat as a buffet, just the way you devour your food." Eren gave a final piece of advice to his pet before seemingly disappearing from the ce. He knew that no matter how untamed Argo might seem, he would listen to his instructions just fine. He was rushing to a ce he only knew from widely spread information from his previous timeline. This was the ce he wanted to recon in peace without bringing any of his squadmates to join him in his exploration. *************** ''There it is.'' Eren could finally see a mountain with weird twin peaks, which looked like it had grown a pair of horns. This was thendmark he was searching for. He used his movement spell to quickly approach the mountain before starting to look around. He eventually found what he was looking for. There was a small passage that one could only ess after jumping down a vertical cave located at the same mountain ridge. It was covered by dense vegetation so Eren took some time. This cave was only 8m deep from the ground. Erennded inside the closed space and could see the only route he could take if he wanted to proceed further. Eren coated his hands with his fire-mana powered mes and started walking down the passage. The passage led him to arge, closed-off cave that had a high ceiling and ample space. The cave had runic patterns drawn all over its walls, ground, and ceiling. The cave had yooperlite stones embedded at the right ces and corners, giving it a macabre ambience. There was mana fog lingering everywhere whichpromised Eren''s vision and mana sense. But he could see what he wanted to see from his position. There were a bunch of steps that looked like they would lose their solid state and crumble away if anyone stepped on them. The steps led to an altar that was ced a few meters above the ground. The altar looked simple yet gave off otherworldly vibes. A human-shaped skull was attached to its wall, except for two horns on its forehead. ced below the skull was a runic stone construction with a small depression in the middle. This gave the depression the appearance of a stone vessel. Eren was running behind schedule, so he didn''t hesitate anymore. He walked ahead and walked towards the altar that was ced at the other end. He took out Rigor Mortis and shed his hand over his right hand to draw a line of blood. Next, he let his blood drop right in the middle of the depression over the stone tform. The butcher was seeking entry into the Oni dungeon. Chapter 442 Tumko Darata’s History

Chapter 442 Tumko Darata''s History

Eren let his blood drop right in the middle of the depression over the stone tform. Immediately afterwards, a strange mana pulse was released in the surroundings with the altar as the epicentre of it. The skull with the two horns levitated in the air while the altar split vertically right in the middle. A thin, semi-transparent manayer was created in the space that was open by the split altar. That manayer looked like the surface of ake, with ripples forming in between. Next, the horned skull turned around on its own and radiated a blinding red light that fell on the water-surface-like manayer. As a result of which, the ripples stopped forming on the surface and became stable. This was a subspace that led to the Oni dungeon. A subspace was different from a separate dimension. It was still part of the same dimension. It was just that it was isted from the rest of the world in various ways. Eren closed his eyes after he saw that the ripples had be stable. He concentrated on the Blood Seed located near his heart and tapped into his shapeshifting ability. Eren''s muscles started growing while his mana signature started feeling less and less like that of a human. His body first transformed into that of an orc. His face followed right afterwards. Soon, an orc-looking Eren was seen standing over the altar near the mana screen. He looked down and confirmed everything was okay. He thought of something and removed his army outfitpletely. He changed into clothes made of beast skin and monster armour that the orcs used to wear. He had collected them before his assigned task of destroying orc bodies. ''Here goes nothing.'' Eren said to himself as he approached the mana screen. Soon he passed through the screen and entered a space he had been meaning to enter for quite some time. ************************ Tumko Darata! This was the name of an ill-famous thief in Eren''s previous timeline. He had been famous for a lot of his heists and deeds. Some said that he worked for the cultists. Others said that he was working for the kingdom of Edinburgh because of his military background. The guy had always maintained his mask even during his time in the army. Since warts on his face due to mana imbnce were genuine, no one cared about seeing his face. Those who had seen his face deleted that incident from their memory because the warts were truly horrible to look at. Nobody was aware of what had happened with Tumko. But after he and his squad mates retired from the army, it was said that they started robbing the wealthy. They would often target the rich families within the duchy of Nightshade and loot a lot of their ancestral ranking resources. But one day, Tumko and his ex-soldiers serving as his thief gang ran away after a heist had turned wrong. Tumko''s team tried to run away from the unknown pursuers that were hunting them. When the hunt started involving high-ranking entities, not many were able to seed. Since half of Tumko''s team was reported to be dead by high-ranking entities openly targeting them in various cities each of the members had tried to hide in, the news of this incident couldn''t be kept secret from the masses. That''s why the remaining members of the Tumko''s team decided to seek shelter in the Bands. But that didn''t stop their pursuers. By then, even Edinbug''s army had gotten involved. The members were ex-soldiers after all. They knew a lot more about Bands than normal rankers. So they had chosen a path that was only known to army personnel. The members of Tumko''s team had managed to breach the security array and entered the controlled area normally only avable to the army. They had done this to get away from the potential guild-hired mercenaries that could have been hired by an unknown force. The news kept on getting updated and started turning more bizarre as the days passed by. It was reported that Tumko''s team had managed to disappear into the Bands. Nobody knew where they could have wandered off to. Since the historian''s spells and other tracking techniques and artefacts didn''t work that well in the Bands, Tumko''s team managed to keep the details of its disappearance a secret from the rest of the world. A few years passed by without any news about Tumko and his squad. But everything changed when one of Tumko''s team members decided to supposedly betray him. He ran back to the kingdom of Edinburgh and decided to spill the beans. The betrayer revealed that their squad hade across an unexplored dungeon with D-Rank ratings by ident during one of their clean-up missions while they were serving in the army. They all entered it to escape potential pursuers sent by the Edinburgh army and the unknown force that was after them. The betrayer stated that they hade to realize that the dungeon was a precious as well as dangerous find. So everybody in their team decided toe to visit it after they got ready to do so. But the route and the n they had formed to enter the dungeon after their service in the army got over was the same one they had used to enter the controlled region. This was not how they had nned to visit the dungeon. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Tumko''s team entered the unexplored dungeon with their lives on the line. A lot of members of Tumko''s team had died during the sudden dungeon raid because it was filled with a lot of monsters. It was all thanks to the military gear, resources and supplies the team had stocked up on that half of them managed to stay alive. But big risks were sometimes followed by bigger rewards. After clearing the dungeon of its monsters, they found unbelievable riches and ranking resources inside the subspace. The quality and quantity of the resources the betrayer said Tumko''s team had found made the masses question the authenticity of the news. But it was still within the realm of possibility. But there was one artefact the betrayer had said they found in the dungeon that sent the kingdom of Edinburgh into an uproar. ================== AN: Tumko Darata has been first mentioned in chapter 15. Eren''s weird masks that he often wears are inspired by him. ;) Chapter 443 Masks and Defense Mechanism

Chapter 443 Masks and Defense Mechanism

There was one artefact the betrayer had said they found in the dungeon that sent the kingdom of Edinburgh into an uproar. That was because it was something that could jeopardize the border security of Edinburgh along with other forces who shared borders with Bands. A monster-controlling artefact that could help its user enve monsters of the same rank as them. Although it was supposedly limited to D-Rank, the artefact used a different method to enve monsters than soul-binding mana contracts. A typical soul binding contract wouldn''t work on monsters anyway. In addition, if the ranker already had a set number of ves, they couldn''t add more without burdening their souls more. After a certain limit is crossed, the soul of the ranker who signed ve contracts with an excessive number of ves than he could handle would break. This would turn them into lunatics. This artefact was a big deal because it transcended the limits of how many ves a ranker could take. The betrayer of Tumko''s team said that the user of the artefact could keep on taking ves without infringing on their souls. The news of such a magnitude was bound to create a storm in the kingdom of Edinburgh. Even the kingdom of Layos along with other forces seemed interested. Who wouldn''t want to create a personal army in the Bands even if the soldiers were bound to be limited to D-Rank? The betrayer also disclosed information about how to find the dungeon and benefit from it. He also revealed the confirmation that the remaining members of Tumko''s team along with the leader himself weren''t ready to leave the dungeon yet. One can imagine what must have happened after the news was made public. Several techniques were used to confirm the authenticity of the news, including the Seer arrays at the cost of huge resource expenses. To their utter delight, they soon found out that most of what the betrayer had said about the artefact and its location was true. This created mass unrest in the Bands. Countless mercenaries tried to breach the borders of the controlled region. Most of the potential intruders failed. A few people, however, managed to enter the controlled area and confirm that there was indeed a dungeon there. But the people who ventured inside the dungeon would disappear without a trace. And there was no help to be gained from powerful rankers either. That''s because an entity that had exceeded the D-Rank couldn''t enter the dungeon. Plus, since the artefact along with other resources were supposed to be limited to D-Rank, the rankers above that rank weren''t interested in this dungeon. The low-ranked hunters and adventurers had to get their hands on this treasure themselves. Numerous rankers of D-Rank and below attacked the dungeon without thinking about the consequences. And yet, no team could conquer the dungeon that was taken by Tumko and his team. It was only after a few months that people started doubting the betrayer''s intentions when they couldn''t conquer the dungeon no matter how well prepared the raid got. He had just released the news of the incident and disappeared. Only now did they start asking about his background and the reason for which he had decided to betray Tumko. Then the unthinkable happened. One day, an army of monsters of D-Rank and belowunched a well-executed campaign against the kingdom of Edinburgh. This attack was different from previous monster horde attacks on the army of Edinburgh. This campaign wasunched by Tumko and his team. The monsters involved seemed to have been trained like humans. Yet they could make use of their monster-specific skills to their fullest. The frontline army of Edinburgh which consisted of mostly low-ranked soldiers was run over like it meant nothing to the monsters. Soon after, the kingdom of Edinburgh took the necessary action. High-ranking entities were involved to stop the monster march. But themander of the army along with his trusted confidantes was already nning something big. They had used the monster march as a diversion to execute what they had been nning for a few years. Tumko killed some of the pursuers of his team the same way they had killed his teammates. Then he destroyed the younger generation of the family whose home they hadst raided. Tumko wasn''t left unscathed. He had lost his left arm. Only three members of his team remained alive along with him by the time he was done with whatever he had set out to do. Tumko and his three members disappeared into the Bands once again. After that, they woulde back to hunt their remaining enemies from time to time using various guerri tactics. They had killed some more people before the news about them along with their enemies just disappeared into thin air. This was the legend of Tumko Darata. His name struck fear in the hearts of many rankers with rich backgrounds. His strategies and his monster army created fear in the hearts of most of Edinburgh''s soldiers. And his execution-style killings of his enemies made him a dreadful personality in the eyes of many ordinary rankers. Nevertheless, the dread effect also brought Tumko into a spotlight he couldn''t escape from. Rankers were strange creatures. They started worshipping the same guy who had created unrest in the kingdom and their lives by extension. He started garnering fans from both the ranker and cultist factions. To them, Tumko was freedom of expression. His act of only targeting the rich gave him instant poprity within the non-so-rich strata of citizens. Most of Tumko''s fans wouldn''te out supporting him openly. They would show their support differently. Soon, Tumko-exclusive merchandise hit the market. Various versions of the masks he had worn when out in the public eye were made avable for purchase by the general popce. This was the origin behind the strange masks that became hugely popr in the Edinburgh kingdom during Eren''s previous timeline. But this timeline had something different in-store. ***************** Eren was also one of the buyers of the same masks. He had started wearing them because they would help him blend in with the rest of the crowd. Since they couldn''t see his face, they wouldn''t view him with hate, malice, pity, or indifference. At least that''s what he felt and took sce in. The butcher of the previous timeline soon grew fond of the masks because they served as a defence mechanism for him. They had provided him with a psychological relief he had sought for a long time. That''s why he would always keep tabs on the news regarding Tumko Darata. The man who was the symbol of fear and panic in ordinary rankers'' eyes was an inspiration for him. That''s why Eren crafted the masks himself in this timeline and would often wear them when there was a need for him to do so. Although he hadn''t walked on the path to destruction in this timeline, the way he looked at these masks in this timeline didn''t change. But the sentimental value he had for the mask didn''t stop Eren from having designs on the treasure that was supposed to belong to Tumko. In this life, he would be the one to control the monsters using that groundbreaking artefact. Chapter 444 Stranger Thing

Chapter 444 Stranger Thing

''Here goes nothing.'' Eren who was in an orc form said to himself and passed through the semi-transparent manayer. Thus, he disappeared from his previous ce only to reappear inside the subspace. Eren didn''t know when or how, but suddenly his centre of gravity changed along with his surroundings as he walked through the semi-transparent manayer. He found himself immersed in a body of water. Eren quickly adjusted to his surroundings and got up on his two legs. He was standing at the bottom of what seemed to be a medium-sizedke. The part of thekebed he was standing on had an array drawn over it using dimly shining crystals arranged in an almost star-shaped format. He had never seen ore across such crystals before. Eren had his mouth closed and he had stopped breathing for a while to focus on his surroundings. He deduced that this strange-looking array was the entrance and exit of this subspace. ''Hm. Thiske and the water in it seemed to be normal and no different from those found in this region of the Bands. No risks so far. I guess I can swim upwards now.'' Eren thought to himself before starting to swim to the surface of the water. He didn''t forget to remember the position at which he had appeared just now. **************** "Haaaaah!" Eren took arge breath when he reached thekeshore. He looked around and found out that the scenery in front of him was no different than the Bands he hade to this ce from. The same type of gigantic trees surrounded theke that could be found in the Bands. There was the same type of mountain ranges he had seen in the Bands just beforeing here. The moon and the stars along with the nightly ambience were the same as well. What differed from the Bands was the way he felt aftering here. He was using his mana sense in a limited capacity, restricting its range to his field of vision. He hadn''t extended its range beyond that limit, lest some hostile force takes note of the foreign presence. But even without using the mana sense, he could feel that this subspace was dangerous. ''I''m already in monster form. Exploring this subspace should be easier for me than it was for Tumko and his team. Altashia and others might get suspicious and start looking for me. It''s already close to dawn. I don''t have much time. I might as well check out a few things and see if I could get my hands on the artefact without aggravating any monsters.'' Eren thought to himself and started walking in a random direction. All while maintaining his image as an orc. ************************ Tonight was a night like usual for the drunkard g. Hunting for Novice ranked Armadelo beasts that could only be hunted at night. Because during the day, they take the shapes of normal rocks using their inherent spells, making it difficult for any hunter to catch them. Aramdelo beasts were 2 meters long, making them rtively medium-sized beasts. Their skin was used to make armour. Their mana core could be incorporated in various earth-element artefacts. Their meat could be used as an ingredient for creating earth-element arrays. But when he was going to wrap up thest hunt and call it a night, he found out that he was not alone in the woods. He stretched his mana sense and found out that there was an orc looking at him from a distance. g found it strange that an orc was looking at him with keen eyes. That''s because he was an orc himself. And he couldn''t identify the guy. g shook his head and thought that maybe he had too much rum for tonight. Then he started approaching what looked like one of his tribemates. "Buddy, give me a hand, vile you... eh... veaa... of for fushk''s... fuck sake..." g was trying to say "will you" but ended up twisting the words because of the booze. He pped himself first to give himself some rity before speaking again. The p seemed to have worked this time. "Haah! So where were we? Oh yes. Can you help me bud? Store these two Armadelo beast bodies in your storage area. Mine is already full. Hahaha! Maybe I had too much to drink yesterday as well. I didn''t empty the stock I had stored thest time." g said while approaching the orc. He had killed the beasts using array traps that would manifest sharp water-element javelins whenever the Armadelo walked over them. g''s daily routine included setting traps during the day and collecting his harvest at night. He was so used to the routine that he could do this even when he was drunk. "Why are you getting so spaced out? It''s me. g. Did you drink too much as well? Hahahaha!" g approached his tribesman in a friendly manner. He wasn''t sure why but he was feeling that there was something different about him. But the heavy alcohol he was drinking subdued his curiosity and sense of danger. So he only processed the information he wanted to process. g found it weird that even after talking so much to the guy, he didn''t reply. He just stood there with nk expressions on his face. By now, g could almost confirm that he was not his tribemate. "Hm? Buddy? Are you perhaps from a different tribe? This part of the forest is assigned to our Durbag tribe as per thest Oni Festival''s rewards. Were you not aware of this?" Utter silence! By now, g had sensed that the stranger orc he hade to meet in the forest was acting strange. He took his javelin artefact from his storage space as a precaution and shook his head once again to get rid of his light drunken stupor. Just when it looked like things were about to get tense, g saw the orc opening his mouth and showing his somewhat chopped tongue. It took him a while to process that the guy couldn''t speak. "Oh, you can''t speak? Why didn''t you say anything sooner? Hahaha!" gughed out loud. But then he understood the absurdity of his statement and felt awkward about it. "*cough! I mean um... what are you doing here? Are you looking for a ce to stay? Were you renounced by your tribe?" The stranger orc took some time before nodding at g''s statement. Only now did the hunter rx thinking that the stranger he hade across was only a stray that was looking for a tribe. It wasn''t like the orcs had many tribes here. They were near the bottom of the hierarchy at this ce. With limited resources in hand and too many mouths to feed, orcs getting strayed from their tribes wasn''t too rare of an event. "Alright. Alright. We can''t use my storage space anymore. And your storage space must have been stripped from you. So let''s carry these Armadelo bodies on our shoulders. One for you and one for me. I''ll take you to Sharog after we are done with my job. Maybe she can find a job and a ce to stay for you." g said and got back to tending to his harvest for the day. The stranger also followed his lead and eventually lifted one Armadelo body over his shoulder. g nodded at him and started leading the way. Work was finished. They were heading back to his tribe''s camp. g had no idea that the stranger orc he had invited into his tribe was way stranger than he gave him credit for at this point. ============== AN: Thank you ppp999 for rewarding VEH with a magic castle. VEH''s mass release in the next month will have you to thank for it. On that note, I''m not sure I''ve thanked you in Author Note previously, but if I have, thank you Daoist930799 (brov, change your ount name to something cooler already, lol. It''s weird to address a bot-like name.) once again for gifting VEH with a castle at the start of the month. We will have a mass release tomorrow. ;) Thanks, Venom30 for your consistent gifts. Also, thanks to Waakaranai, mehoffJackman68, FireEngine, 1706704236, _Dark_Mist_, Daxinjian, Daoist7x6p6b, Rumtwist, Darkswan, and GojoVir for your gifts. I''d like to take this opportunity to thank all my top three GT donors and top 25 fans supporting VEH as well. I''ll use your handle names or variants of them in naming new characters as a token of appreciation. Or you can suggest me the names that you prefer. Don''t worry. Not all of the new characters will be monsters. ;) Also, let me know if you have any objections to it. Cheers! ;) Chapter 445 Entering the Durbag Tribe

Chapter 445 Entering the Durbag Tribe

"g, are you done with your work? And who is this newbie? I haven''t seen him before." Sharog asked g after he came to meet her while she was working in themunity hall. She zeroed in on a stranger orc that was following g like a shadowC barely visible and almost ignorable. Too bad for the stranger, Sharog paid especially close attention to tribe members like these who were usually up to no good. g greeted Sharog and exined to her the stranger''s situation. Only then did she turn her inquisitive gaze away and stood in front of him. "Our tribe doesn''t take freeloaders, Mr. stranger. What can you do? Array management? Potion making? Hunting" Sharog received a nod from the stranger after she said hunting. She looked at the stranger one more time from top to bottom beforementing. "Um don''t get me wrong, stranger. It''s not that I don''t want to give you hunting assignments. But you don''t look like a hunter to me. Do you seriously want to take up hunting or would you prefer to stay in the camp and have it easy?" ''What the fuck is thisdy monster saying this time?'' "The stranger orc," asked Alephee while staring nkly into space. Thattter had acted as his trantor ever since he hade in contact with g. ''She is asking if you are sure about hunting or are youfortable with something that wouldn''t force you to venture outside this camp.'' At first, Eren didn''t know how to reply to thedy orc''s question while maintaining his image of being mute. Then he raised his left hand, stretched his palm open, and made a butcher-like sh action over it using his right hand to indicate that he was okay with hunting. Sharog raised her almost invisible eyebrows and narrowed her eyes on the stranger. She then decided to test the guy using her scale as a measure. "Alright. But let''s have you fight with someone of your level before I can assign you anything. I want to know your battle skills so I can assign you proper tasks after all." Sharog said and smirked at the stranger orc. She then patted his left shoulder with her hand before suggesting he follow her. They were going to enter the practice battlefield that was created in the heart of the camp. ***************************** Eren was lost after entering the Oni dungeon. The size of this dungeon was enormous. It looked like somebody had messed up big with spacews to create this subspace. "Do you want me to help?" A familiar voice sounded in Eren''s head just when he was thinking about using his mana sense and letting it spread around him. The butcher smiled and replied. "I don''t mind the help. But how are you going to help me?" Alephee chuckled before replying. "It''s simple. I''ll use my soul sense to find you something or someone that can help you. And since it is soul sense, it won''t get detected by monsters of this level." "Do it." Eren didn''t waste time pondering over Alephee''s help. He knew that she also sensed his urgency. "Hmm. There are many monster races here. And some members of those races are not very far from here too." Alepheemented as she processed the information she received from her soul sense. Then she had a hint of excitement in her eyes as she reported hertest finding to Eren. "Oh this is good. I found an orc nearby, 3 hours from here. It seems this is the orc''s regr hunting area. Want to meet and talk to him?" Eren was about to nod when he sensed that he had been forgetting the most critical weakness of his monster shapeshifting. He didn''t know how to have a conversation in monsternguages. He had processed the memories of the orc he had ingested using his half-blood powers. But those memories were still fuzzy. Plus, knowing about thenguage and speaking it in a way that would not raise suspicions in the monsters'' heads were two different things. So he couldn''t count on that to have a one-on-one with the next orc he meets. I should probably eat more of the monsters I want to create Blood Seeds from next time so I can refine their blood altogether. Then process the cherry-picked memories from all of them to build a believable monster of that race.'' Eren came up with a solution for his current problem that he could apply in the future. But that solution won''t help him now. "Hey, if it''s an orc, maybe I can kill him and use my half-blood powers on him. That should help me understand the oguage better." As Eren approached the orc, he decided to kill him. But Alephee sought a more peaceful solution. "You don''t need to kill an orc to understand what he is saying. I can do that for you using my soul sense." Eren froze in his tracks when he heard Alephee''s way of doing the recon without having to kill anyone for it. "How can soul sense help one understand monsternguage? I''m not doubting you. Just being curious." It didn''t take long for Alephee to reply. "The feedback from soul sense that you''d receive would be different from mana sense. Mana sense mimics all your five senses to give you a clear picture of your surroundings. However, soul sense extends far beyond that. Imagine it like themunication that takes ce between you and your demon beasts. This would be a case where you canmunicate with everything and everyone around you to some degree. You not only share senses, but you can also stay in the know of each other''s feelings. That''s how soul sense could help you understand what people are saying without understanding theirnguage." Eren was impressed by the potential uses of soul sense. He wasn''t even aware things like this existed in his previous timeline. Now he couldn''t wait to awaken his soul sense. The rest of the scene happened just like how g experienced it. Eren still wanted to kill the orc and process any memories he might have had regarding this ce. But things like that could always wait. It was just that Eren was stunned when he first saw g. That''s because he acted way too human-like for a monster of his rank. This was not a normal sight for him. Chapter 446 Sharog

Chapter 446 Sharog

Eren was stunned when he first saw g. That''s because he acted way too human-like for a monster of his rank. He was just an Orc Leader. And yet, he walked and spoke like a normal human would. ''This how could monsters of this ce be so non-monster-like? Alphee, do you have any idea?'' Eren was having a monologue while g was trying to talk with him. Alephee pondered for a bit before responding. ''Hmm. I guess that this form of intelligence in monsters is due to some special artefact or potion of equal calibre.'' Alphee replied casually while Eren observed g in front of him with keen eyes. He still looked like the orc he had seen in the Bands. But there was an unmaskable glint of intelligence in his eyes. g walked upright instead of having an arch back like usual. Plus, his hand gestures and facial expressions were more human than monster-like. ''This What kind of ce is this dungeon? Is this even a dungeon to begin with?'' Eren felt like the mystery about this ce was intensifying even when he hade in contact with just one monster. He cancelled his ns to kill g for short-term benefits and decided to use him to make contact with the rest of the monsters. Eren just morphed his tongue and showed it to g to make himself mute, the only thing that had the possibility of blowing his cover. Then he would use his monsternguage trantor to answer g''s question in either a nod or denial. Eren and g kept on walking for more than an hour before they came across an orc camp. But this orc camp looked more like a mini-city than the camp he had just cleaned out in the Bands. The construction of the orc camp was robust and built tost. The perimeter walls were around 7 meters high and equally thick in diameter. They were made of stoneworks, like the rest of the two and three-story constructions that could be seen through the open gates of the camp. Eren and g hade just when the hunters of the tribe had decided to leave the camp for their hunt. They were riding Baison-like mana beasts. The hunters wore sturdy armour and unted runic weapons. Plus, one of them carried what seemed to be the g that denoted their race and tribe. Setup like that made these monsters look like well-organized cavalry. ''What the actual fuck is going on in here. I''ve heard that epic grade monsters and above tend to have a proper societal structure in the Bands. But this this I don''t know what to call this anymore. These are just basic fucking orcs we are talking about. How can they be so different from the orcs I just fought with?'' As Eren observed the orcs inside the camp after gaining entry into it through g, his puzzlement continued to grow. The guy had a simple house made of rock walls and wooden logs for the ceiling. He also had a backyard with arrays etched onto the ground using another form of shining crystals that the butcher couldn''t recognize. Next, Eren and g stored the bodies of the mana beasts they had carried inside one of the arrays. Thetter then operated on the array and made it cast a thin, dome-shaped manayer over it, sealing the meat for good. ''Monsters who know such detailed array techniques! Damn. The monsters in the Bands are just country bumpkins if we ce these guys in front of them.'' The more he listened to g''s ramblings through Alephee''s trantions, the more he realized he had underestimated Tumko''s achievements. This ce was not as easy to conquer as he thought it would be for him. Plus, finding that artefact seemed even more of a herculean task for him after considering the kind of monsters he would have to deal with if he decided to do things upfront. When Eren met Sharog, he was already immune to culture shock. So he didn''t act surprised when he saw an orcdy that looked more like a human woman except for her pointy ears and dark-green coloured skin. There was no wild air surrounding Sharog. She had ck hair and purple eyes that created a contrast against her green skin. She had a lean build with prominent curves. Plus, the monsterdy''s revealing clothes did nothing to hide her other features. Sharog''s bust was barely covered by a bra-like set of straps that ran from below her chest to over her shoulders. The same straps had shoulder guards attached to them along with the leather cape. The cap was, of course, made of from the Armadelo skin with runic inscriptions carved over both of its faces using an unknown ink. Sharog had worn a simple loincloth that did nothing to hide her thunder legs. The loincloth was secured in ce by metallic chains that entuated her round hips. Sharog was also wearing armguards, but Eren was so engrossed in her fuller feminine features that he didn''t pay attention to anything else. Even with all that, Eren hade to realize that Sharog was an Orc Lord. She seemed to be in the gaseous stage of the D-rank in human terms. That means she had been a newly promoted, young member of her orc tribe that was given the responsibility of managing the tribe''s daily affairs. In short, Sharog looked like a warrior who could tease her male opponent with her looks alone before killing them. Eren listened to her speak, understood what she was saying to him thanks to Alephee, and started following her to the inner sector of the camp. Eren imagined Sharog''s round hips would be swaying seductively with the way she walked in front of him. Too bad the monsterdy was wearing a cape. Otherwise, he would have had plenty to look at. ======================= AN: Sharog''s illustration will be uploaded shortly in the chapterment section. Chapter 447 Nurbag vs Borul P1

Chapter 447 Nurbag vs Borul P1

''Damn it. An Orc Lord right off the bat. I''m confident in running away from her if I use my Domain of Wrath. That is if she cares enough about her tribesmen. But winning against her is impossible.'' Eren thought of his contingency ns even before there was a sign of conflict. Then, all of a sudden, the sinner of lust took over the paranoid Eren as he looked at Sharog''s seductive walk. ''Hmm. Although monster ves were avable in some cities, I never did it with them. Heh! But that was when I was human, if only barely. Maybe it''s about time I changed that and lost my monster V card.'' Eren thought and nodded at himself. But then he thought of the difference between their ranking status and assumed that the chances of that happening with Sharog anytime soon were almost zero. ''Never mind. My chances with Sharog are low, but they are never zero. I need more samples to test my Sins ability anyway.'' Eren thought before looking at g who was also walking beside him. Since the guy had invited him into his tribe, it seemed like it was his responsibility to see things through. ''What''s with this doofus g? Addressing an Orc Lord casually like that with no respect? He could have at least told me. I might have lost my shit meeting that bodacious monster woman if I didn''t have Domain of Wrath to rely on.'' Eren hade to realize that he didn''t feel any threating from Sharog even when she was an Orc Lord. She looked and seemed like an Orc Soldier, the very beginning of the monster ranks. But that made the butcher even more apprehensive. Usually, monsters were not known for masking their powers for any reason. That made him realize that Sharog was not only powerful but highly in control of her powers as well. Alephee chuckled when Eren had this thought. She rified a few things for him. ''Monsters don''t follow rankers'' code of conduct, Eren. They have their own set of rules. Most of them are skewed towards individual and group strengths. But almost all of them convey one thingC simplicity. Way of address might be a big issue for humans and other sentient races. But for monsters, it is something they use for convenience. As long as g doesn''t outrightly start bashing an Orc Lord or challenges them in a formal duel, he can address them normally.'' Only now did Eren realize that he was looking at monster society from a human perspective. He nodded internally at Alephee''s statement before concentrating his focus on Sharog''s seductive stride. *************************** "Beat him Nurbag! Finish him." "Nurbag is going to win today as well. Damn it. I should have bet my money on him instead of this weak-ass Borul. I wonder how much refund I will get if I pull back from the bait now." "Borul, you pathetic man. At leastnd a punch on Nurbag before you get knocked out. Aaaaargh" "Nurbag is indeed a true orc. Someone that could give a fair challenge to other races. I''m rooting for him in theing Oni Festival." A battle ring was formed amid a bunch of two and three-story buildings at the heart of the orc camp Eren was in. Orcs of all genders, ages, and professions crowded the venue. This was the time of dawn break. The sky was just beginning to light up with an orange hue. Yet, the crowd looked like they wouldn''t start doing their work unless this match gets wrapped up. Some orcs had climbed the two-story buildings and were sitting atop the wooden ceilings to have an uninterrupted view of what was happening inside the battle ring. There was a bulky-looking orc beating a frail-looking orc with his gauntlets. The frail-looking orc''s body was getting thrown about in the air or forcefully dragged across the ground as he kept on receiving mana-imbued punches. The frail-looking orc''s name was Borul while Nurbag was a gauntlet wearing monster. Whenever Nugbag threw a punch, a gust of wind would be generated along with it. It would give his punches more force. As a result, Borul''s body seemed to drift along with the wind and got thrown all over the battle ring. "Lady Sharog is here. Make way." An orc shouted after he saw Sharog walking towards the battlefield with a stranger orc and g in tow. Everybody greeted Sharog by nodding or calling out her name. Then they made way for her of their own ord. ''Well, what do you know? The low ranked orcs do respect the Orc Lord after all.'' Eren said to Alephee who then rified the same thing using a serious tone. ''Of course, Eren. What I meant to say earlier was that the monsters don''t care about titles and etiquettes. Titles such as Orc Soldier, Orc Leader, Orc Lord, Orc Overlord, Orc King, and Orc Emperor are created by you guys. Monsters don''t address each other this way. That being said, they do respect individual strength. You will not find a monster that is an exception to this statement.'' Eren nodded once again before sighing. He realized that the rankers'' code of conduct was only a euphemistic take on ''might makes it right. The monsters had approached the same concept directly, ignoring anything that did not need to be included. Sharog stopped just at the edge of the battle ring that was protected by the mana membrane and watched the fight from afar. Other spectators returned to their previous roles and started to either cheer for Nurbag who was renowned for his Fist Arts or jeer at Borul who was known to be a newbie and an unreliable performer. The fight continued for a while. Strangely though, no matter how many times Nurbag beat Borul up, thetter kept on standing up, even if with wobbly feet. This pissed off Nurbag even more. So he decided to KO the guy once and for all. Nurbag got close to Borul who was busy casting his earth-element defence armour and grabbed his shoulder all of a sudden with his right hand. He threw a punch in his face with his right hand the next moment. Swish! Thomp! Borul''s face was thrown backwards after Nurbag''s punch seemed to have connected with its mark. Nurbag released his grip over the guy''s shoulder and lifted his hands to indicate that he had won. Chapter 448 Nurbag vs Borul P2

Chapter 448 Nurbag vs Borul P2

Borul''s face was thrown backwards after Nurbag''s punch seemed to have connected with its mark. Nurbag released his grip over the guy''s shoulder and lifted his hands to indicate that he had won. People started chanting Nurbag''s name even more. The guy immediately activated his movement spell and walked towards the edge of the battlefield to receivepliments from the spectators. Borul on the other hand was seen standing just the way Nurbag had left him. His earth armour spell seemed to have crumbled away. The semi-transparent wind-element mana obscured his face, throwing it backwards. The guy looked like he was passed out while standing up and would fall at any time. Yet suddenly someone said something to seemingly nobody. "Enough with the drama. Wrap things up fast. I have things to do." Eren heard Sharong speaking because he was standing close to her. He wasn''t sure how many spectators around her could have overheard the statement. But apparently, the guy it was intended for heard it loud and clear. Borul shook his head before resuming a straight posture all of a sudden. He had a gentle smile on his face that conveyed that he was totally fine. Only now did people realise that even if Borul''s simple-looking clothes made out of beast skin looked ragged and dusty because of Nurbag''s thrashing, the guy himself waspletely fine. He didn''t have any injuries on his body whatsoever. This sudden development quieted the cheering crowd. All eyes were suddenly fixated on Borul and Nurbag''s limelight was taken away from him as easily as he had gained it. Nurbag still had his hands raised with closed fists in victory. People came to realize that he was shouting with them the whole time because the whole crowd quieted down unnaturally. "Yeeeee Hell yeah... I won fuckers! Hahahaha! That was an easy win, baby. That dirtbag Borul was nothing but a Hmm?" Nurbag had a puzzled look on his face as he registered the sudden silence of the crowd. Following the spectators'' gaze, he nced back to find Borul staring at him with a smile on his face. ''Didn''t I just beat the guy? Why is he'' Nurbag couldn''tplete his thoughts because Borul appeared right in front of him like a ghost. But he wouldn''t be afraid of the guy just because he made a smalleback. This wasn''t Nurbag''s first battle after all. Swish! Tah! Swish! Tah! Swish! Tah! Swish! Tah! Swish! Tah! Nurbag started throwing punches at Borul at incredible speeds. The spell-powered speed was so high that it looked like he had grown an extra set of arms and attacked Borul with all of them at once. This time, Borul didn''t generate any earth armour. Nor did he get swayed by the fist-fighter''s punching force. Standing there peacefully, he handled all of his punches with his open palms alone. For the first time since the battle started, Borul had tried to defend himself actively instead of relying on his earth-element armour. His speed as he tackled those punches was unbelievable. If there wasn''t a rule of spectators only using their vision to see the ongoing battles, a lot of mana senses would have been sent towards the pair fighting. The rule was designed so that the participants wouldn''t get distracted. "Stop generating wind-elemental force with your punches, Nurbag. It makes me aware of the direction of the punch it ising from." Nurbag''s punches were easily handled by Bulur while he lectured him with aid-back look. "You can use your wind-element mana to create spectral punches and attack me from my blind spot while using your real punches as a distraction. That way I''ll have fewer openings in your offence to take advantage of." Borul said all the right things. But for some reason, it pissed off Nurbag even more. He would rather the guy taunt him the way he did during their previous round. He didn''t care about anything anymore and increased the force behind his attacks to a new level. Yet Nurbag could feel that not even a single punch from him was making a difference. Borul looked the same as he did before starting their current round. Borul wasn''t done lecturing Nurbag yet. "Your Fist Art is immature. As far as the progress of your element is concerned, it is inadequate. And the way you use your spells is also not optimized. And yet, you have won against many of your opponents because of your ferocity. It makes up for almost all the drawbacks you have in your fighting style. Your passion as a fist warrior orc is unmatched in your generation." This time, instead of just criticizing, Borul also highlighted Nurbag''s plus point. His speech was steady when he had spoken all this. His voice was mild. And the things he said made sense to everyone, including Nurbag. Borul decided to end his speech and the duel with hisst piece of advice. "That being said, Nurbag. You need to work on a lot of issues at once. We can revisit the things I mentioned after some time. But you need to prioritize one issue that needs immediate attention." This time, it looked like Borul had grown multiple limbs as he kept up with Nurbag''s insanely fast pouches. Then all of a sudden, Borul decided tounch an offence for the first time. One simple punchnded on Nurbag''s right chest, just below the shoulder. Eren had observed with his Sedated Perception that the punch hadn''t even connected with Nurbag''s body. Yet he could see the shoulder region forming a depression all of a sudden. The spectators watched in awe as Nurbag disappeared from his position only to sh with the dome-shaped mana membrane located at the edge of the battle ring. Slip! Badum! Nurbag''s body stayed on the mana membrane so long as the vector force was still acting on it. Then it fell on the ground with a distinct thud produced by his weight and all the heavy defence gear he had worn. Nurbag was in a world of pain at this time. His shoulder felt like it would just crumble away. Yet he pressed his right shoulder with his left hand and managed to lift his face while lying down. He was looking at Borul who was returning his gaze with a smile on his face. The guy was waiting for Borul to finish his advice. "You have a weak defence. Work on that first before everything else." Borul said and started walking towards Sharog. Despite his injuries, Nurbag listened carefully and nodded at no one in particr as he closed his eyes. One had to say that Nurbag was prideful but wasn''t aplete fool. He only listened to his opponent when Borul beat him fair and square. Now anybody could tell that the fist-fighter was done for the day. Wtt ================== AN: Two more chapters will be uploaded soon. Chapter 449 Varhan P1

Chapter 449 Varhan P1

The audience, now quieted down, hadn''t recovered from the shock it had received a while back. And the results of the match baffled it even more. "This My guy won? I don''t believe this. Did I win my fucking bet with such odds? Hahahahahahahaha! Oh! Aaaaaah! I''m a rich orc now. Hahahaha! Where are the bitches and the booze? I''m throwing a party at my ce. Only hot orcina are invited. Come one,e all! Hahahaha!" The silence observed by everyone was suddenly broken by a random orc who looked like he was about to break into a tribal dance. He was the same guy who had ced his bets in favour of Borul on a whim before the start of the match. Since the guy''s chances of winning the match were extremely low, he was bound to receive serious returns on the amount he had invested in. ''Bitches and booze? Hot orcinas? Um Alephee are you sure that the betting guy said all the things?'' Eren asked Alephee with doubtful expressions as she tranted the betting guy''s speech for him. He soon received a response from her. ''Well I may have twisted some words to fit the context you understand.'' Eren had a nk look on his face as he asked Alephee a question that he didn''t need an answer for. ''Um... What kind of image do you have of me and my contexts anyway?'' The butcher sighed and dropped the subject quickly as he noticed the changes in his surroundings. That cry of happiness and excitement was enough of a spark for the spectators to start getting crazy once again. Now everybody chanted Borul''s name while ignoring Nurbag. Most of them had conveniently forgotten the fact they had thrashed him not too long ago. But Borul wasn''t paying attention to any of thepliments and invitations from the Orcinas. He walked with his leisured stride and stood in front of Sharog who was standing on the other side of the safety membrane. "What can I do for you, Lady Sharog?" Borul asked and looked behind Sharog to see the two orcs that had apanied her. He narrowed his eyes on Eren for a moment before looking at Sharog with his signature subtle smile. Subtle for an orc at least. "Didn''t you say you don''t have enough people for the trial? Want to test this guy?" Sharog pointed behind her back with her right thumb while looking at Borul. Thetter looked like some understanding had dawned on him before responding. "We indeedck able hands. But that doesn''t mean we can take up anybody. We are limited by numbers in the trial after all." Sharon nodded before proceeding further. "That''s why I brought him here. Test his battle strength. If he performs well, I''ll assign him a hunting task based on his performance. We''ll see how hepletes the task. If he can perform well in the hunt, you can consider taking him in the team for the trial. How does that sound?'' Borul pondered for a bit then looked at Eren. He then snapped his fingers as if giving a sign to somebody and the mana membrane covering the battle ring disappeared. Then he scanned the stranger orc with his mana sense before responding. "Difficult to tell about this guy. Where did you get him? Exiled from other tribes?" Borul looked at Sharog and Ulga before dismissing his question. "Never mind. New guy. What''s your name?" Eren maintained a stoic face at the guy''s question before looking at g. Thetter understood his intentions and came forward to speak. "Um Borul the thing is the guy''s tongue had been cut out so he can''t speak. But he confirms that hees from a different tribe. I guess they stripped him of his name as well." Borul didn''t like to listen to sob stories. So he just nodded before scratching his head and responding in the sameid-back manner he had addressed his opponent just now. "Um wee to our tribe. It is better if you are assigned a name. So I''ll do the honours. Hm how about Varhan?" Borul received a nod from Eren to let him know that he was okay with the name. Neither the one who was named nor the one who named cared about it. So the matter was settled quickly. "Okay. That settles it then. You will be known as Varhan in the tribe. Now get in. Let''s see how much of a hunter you are." *********************** Just when the people had decided to leave their spots and go about doing their duties, they saw two participants entering the field again. Nurbag was also taken away by two orcs. Immediately, the mana barrier was raised over the battle ring, indicating that a fight was about to happen. The guy who had just won a fortune through the bet was tempted to gamble it again. Double or nothing-- that was his way of life. This time he focused his eyes on a newbie orc who now seemed less impressive in front of Borul because of thetter''s recent performance. ''I know the trend now. The less impressive the guy is, the more chances he has to secure a win. I''ll invest my newfound wealth in this newbie. Let''s gamble one more time. Hehehehe!'' The betting guy thought of a master n and immediately acted on it. Then he watched and waited for the battle to start. ******************* "I''ll tell you the rules of the duel in case you aren''t aware. Only blunt weapons are allowed. Handbat is preferred. You can use any spells and target any spot of your opponent''s body. The winner will be decided if either of us forfeits or gets incapacitated. Should we start?" Borul received another nod from Eren as a way to show his affirmation. Thetter nodded as well before opening his arms wide. "You can attack me all you want." Borul proimed only to learn that Varhan had disappeared. He appeared right in front of the defensive specialist and threw a punch at him. But before the punch could be thrown, Borul felt that something was behind his back targeting him. Thus, he decided to bolster his back this time with a defensive spell while concentrating on his front. He wanted to block Varhan''s punches just the way he had done for Nurbag. Too bad, Varhan had taken the advice Borul had given to Nurbag seriously. He had opened multiple fronts at the same time and was attacking the defence-specialist orc with it. The hatchlings of the me had made their appearance in the arena. Chapter 450 Varhan P2

Chapter 450 Varhan P2

The hatchlings of the me had made their appearance in the arena. Four fire snakes had surrounded the two orcs fighting each other. But they only targeted one of them. Despite this, neither the beasts nor Varhan''s fists could connect with their target. There would always be some distance maintained whenever they tried to close in on the guy. ''Gravitational force that is focused on repelling!'' Eren quickly figured out Borul''s inherent nature. Being an earth-element ranker, he had ess to all the earth-element spells. His inherent nature had given him a unique battle style. A style in which he could ignore the opponent''s offence and wait for an opportunity to strike back. In addition, the guy was able to move rapidly by generating reverse gravity force with his movement spell. He could also jump crazy high using the same spellC making him unable to be disadvantaged when it came to moving about and dodging the attacks he didn''t want. But that wasn''t all. Borul could generate a maic field around him. With it, he could sense the iing attacks even from his blind spots. Targeting him while his attention is divided was difficult, but not impossible. But making those blows count was the true test for Varhan. Sedated Perception! Stunning Speed! Erin AKA Varhan activated his time-element spells and observed the guy. To his surprise, the guy could keep up with his enhanced perception thanks to his maic field paired up with his mana sense. Plus, Borul could perform quick movements by using the maic field and their attraction and repelling force to its fullest. His only drawback against Eren was his normal vision which could not process the visual information as fast as his other extra senses. Eren observed the guy closely while he traded blows with him. The punching dagger arts that he had learned from Ma had their uses when it came to throwing punches too. It was just that Eren had to adjust his position and keep himself closer to his opponent than he had to had he been using katars. ******************* "g, where did you say you found Varhan?" Sharog was stunned by Varhan''s performance. Although Borul was not at a disadvantage against the guy in any way, the way Varhan fought with him was quite shocking. These were no amateur moves. g repeated the events of a few hours ago before returning to his position. He too was amazed by Varhan''s performance. He wondered if he could benefit in some way from giving the tribe another worthy hunter. Sharog saw as Borul dodged, blocked, and redirected all the attacks Varhan threw at him. And yet, Borul also didn''t seem to have a real advantage over Varhan either. The high-speed battle andck of ability to use mana sense made it difficult for the audience to keep the condition of the participants in check. Everybody hade to realise that Borul was just ying with Nurbag from the beginning. Nurbag would have been beaten to a pulp if he was in Varhan''s ce. The crowd started cheering for both. It was divided into two groups. One that supported Varhan whose name had to be announced to the public as they had kept on asking g about it. The other group had be his ardent followers. ''One.'' Swish! Swish! Block! Block! ''Two!'' Bock! Block! Swish! ''Three!'' Eren was keeping track of how many times within a span of a few seconds Borul had to dodge his attacks instead of blocking them using his repelling force. Of course, the guy was also doing his darndest to throw Varhan''s maths off by constantly changing the number of dodges or blocks he would be doing. Every once in a while, Borul would throw a punch at Varhan that was coated with an earth element mana that generated a strong repelling force. By now Varhan was out with all the go-to cards he had in his sleeves. Thus, he defended himself with his defensive spell. Yet the cloak of lightning couldn''t block the invisible force. This forced Eren to get thrown about like he had been hit by a huge bison all of a sudden. Eren would get back in the game quickly afterwards. But his attacks couldn''t touch the guy. After fighting with Borul for a while and observing his every move with his enhanced perception, Varhan finally figured out what he needed to do to make his attacks count on the guy. Varhan needed to be a bit faster than he was at the time of attacking. Plus, he needed two more fire snakes for Borul to feel overwhelmed. Eren had observed that Borul would choose to dodge the attacks using his exceptional movement spell instead of blocking them using his equally exceptional blocking spell. All his efforts in keeping track of the guy''s habits had helped Varhane up with his n. Now it was time for execution. Sharog saw as Varhan summoned two new fire snakes. He also increased his speed by sending his mana circuits into hyperdrive. Only Eren''s afterimages could be seen across the battle ring. Yet, this didn''t discourage Borul from entering the teaching mode with Varhan once again. When they both got away from each other and created a safe distance, the original orc started talking. "Varhan, you are a great addition to our tribe. So I''ll say a few things which you might or might not be aware of. Your triple element spell castingplements your battle style. But you are focusing on speed. There''s no timing or uracy in your attacks." ''This cocky bastard just won''t shut up.'' Eren thought and attacked. With even more ferocity than before. He sessfully blocked and dodged all of Eren''s attacks on multiple fronts while directing some of them on Eren himself before saying something once again. "With exceptional uracy and timing that can be honed, even an ordinary ranker would be able to counter your moves. I''ll show you." Borul stopped using his offensive and defensive spells and dodged the fire snakes'' attacks. He let the butcher get into his striking range and disyed extreme mastery over his hand movements. He let Eren''s punch travel towards his face before shing a smile. Just when Eren thought the punch was going to hit Borul, thetter used thebination of his spells to redirect the attack on him. The speed, timing, and uracy with which Borul did that were wless. That''s why even if Eren could see the attack with his enhanced vision, he couldn''t do anything about it. Chapter 451 Battling an Orc Lord

Chapter 451 Battling an Orc Lord

Varhan could see the attack with his enhanced vision, but he couldn''t do anything about it. The punch he threw at Borul was effortlessly dodged by Borul before thetter performed a chopping motion right at his arm joint. Varhan blocked the chop with his other hand as he could see iting. But Borul used that block as an opportunity to spin around to the other side and performed another chop. Just like Eren, Borul could send his mana circuits into hyperdrive too. Swoosh! Only Sharog could see what had happened. But she too was limited by her vision alone. The rest of the crowd only saw Eren punching his own shoulder before getting thrown in the air by Borul''s round kick that had hit him at the same spot. "Okay, I have to admit. I may have exaggerated a bit when I said even an ordinary opponent would be able to counter your moves. You were almost able to block my attacks, which is something. There''s no doubt in my mind that you are a cut above the average. But my suggestion still stands. You need to work on your timing and uracy of the attack." Varhan quickly got back on his feet and used his movement spell inbination with his enhanced perception to counter Borul''s way of using his blocks and dodges to his advantage. This time the fire snakes were ced at the front lines to keep Borul engaged while Varhan targeted the guy''s blind spots. "Not bad. You can think ahead. But do you think only you can take this battle up a notch? Hehe!" Borul used his movement spells to get away from the siege instead of tackling all the attacks thrown his way. He then changed his direction midway and approached Eren who also intended to get close to him. Borul raised his right arm and tugged at it as though he were holding a thick rope. Then he swung it upwards. Varhan felt his right leg getting pulled by something and immediately understood what had happened. The real orc could use his gravity-rted spells to apply a gravitational pull on an isted region. As a result of Varhan''s control over his spell and how he had performed that move, Varhan felt as if a ghost hand had actually grabbed his leg and pulled it upwards. ''Hmm. This orc is as crafty as you. Also, I need to tell you something about him after your duel is over.'' Varhan heard Alephee''sment as he was flying mid-air because of Borul''s unexpected move. But he did not have the time or patience to respond. The fight continued for a while. Neither side looked anywhere near their breaking point. But the match was slowly tilting towards Borul. ''Time to drop the charade and get serious I guess.'' Eren breathed heavily and thought to himself as he maintained a safe distance between himself and his opponent. He was expecting a fierce fight. But he didn''t know that Borul would be so difficult to deal with. He was ying with Nurbag in his previous match. ''No use, Eren. Do you think he is seriously fighting you? He will just match your level as you be more serious. Plus, I wouldn''t rmend going all out here. Your half-blood powers are working fine as of now. But your moves and your spells give the impression of strangeness. Monsters have cases of mutation. Your strangeness must have been tagged under the same category by Sharog Borul. So might want to keep things that way instead of doing something that can blow your cover.'' Eren heard Alephee''s thoughts and calmed down a bit. Ideally, he should have thought along the same lines. But thepetitiveness induced by this match was too overwhelming for him to ignore. He had to admit that fighting with Borul was a unique experience. Not because he hadn''t fought with any sane orc before. But because Borul''s analysis made sense to him as well. ''He is hiding his strength isn''t he?'' Varhan asked as narrowed his eyes on Borul who was looking at him from a distance, with a mild smile stered to his face. The crowd had grown wild by now. They had never thought that the dark horse of the previous match would be met with another dark horse in such a short period. Varhan was unable to give 100 percent in his battle because his centre of gravity for this body had changed. The moves he wanted to perform were not synchronized in the right way for him to make the most of them. Maybe if he had a few days to adjust to his orc body, he would have had better results. Second, he didn''t have ess to his weapons. Most of his battle powers came from him making effective use of his closebat weapons. In addition, with the army-issue weapon set like Rigour Mortis, his ability to fight had been enhanced. So when he fought barehanded, it was no wonder that he was put at a disadvantage. And yet, the butcher knew that even with all those disadvantages stacked against him, it shouldn''t have been this difficult for him to tackle the Orc Leader. No matter how intelligent and tactful he was then normal orcs. ''Looks like you sensed it. That''s right. He is also hiding his strength. More than you. I was nning to tell you after the fight. But since you''ve guessed it, it shouldn''te as a surprise for you. Borul, if that is indeed his name, is an Orc Lord. He is only a step away from bing an Orc Overlord. Furthermore, his progression in his handling of elements exceeds the normal standards set for his level. So no matter how hard you fight with him, you won''t be able to win. That is if you guys keep on fighting and he stops pretending.'' Eren struggled to maintain his nk expressions when he heard about Borul from Alephee. He wanted to run away from the camp he had just gotten into without worrying about the consequences it might have on his ns. After all, the future could only unfold in front of him if he was alive to see it. Chapter 452 Insidious

Chapter 452 Insidious

"You were only supposed to test his battle prowess and not make him injured to this degree." A familiar feminine orc voice sounded in Varhan''s ears as hey on his back. He had an unnatural depression that had made his right shoulder look like it had been deted. This was Sharog of course, speaking to someone who had put Eren in his current medical condition. Varhan opened his eyes and tried to adjust his blurred vision by blinking his eyelids a couple of times. Then he tried to get up and soon came to realize that it was a terrible idea. "Aaaaaaargh!" An orc-like monster voice was released in the middle of what seemed to be a spacious room that had tworge windows that served as its left and right sides. There was only onerge exit at the front. There was a minimal amount of furniture in the room. Arge wooden table could be seen not from Varhan''s makeshift bed. It had many beast skin scrolls ced over it along with tiny array disks with runic inscriptions, projecting various regions in 3D spectral forms over them. Sharog and Borul both stopped their conversation and looked at the fake orc who had tried to get up from hisfortable position. Borul sighed and cast his spell, making Varhan lie on his bed again. This time, he couldn''t get up easily. ********************* Varhan finally stopped screaming and tried to recall what had happened in his duel with Borul. He remembered everything not long after that. Varhan and Borul were duelling for quite a while even after the former had finished talking with Alephee and came to know about the former. From then on, Varhan fought to survive not to win. Of course, Borul didn''t like taming Varhan. He had started to enjoy his duel with young blood like Varhan too. So he increased the intensity with which he attacked Varhan. The butcher didn''t like being treated like a small fry either. He felt angry that he had met another entity that was powerful enough to y with him. It reminded him of Eliza and all the other powerful assholes of rankers that he had met with in his previous timeline. That''s why Varhan stuck with what he did best. He bided his time and attacked Borul''s crotch with all his might when the opportunity arose. Borul wasn''t expecting such an insidious attack from his fellow male orc. Since he had restricted his powers to that of an Orc Leader, he felt every bit of pain Varhan wanted him to feel and then some more. Plus, the mental scar it had left on Borul''s psyche at that time wasn''t something to be ignored either. Borul was angry, to say the least. And he also felt a bit of fear of this young orc. So for once, he coated his punch in his gravitation-powered earth-element mana and punched over his opponent''s right shoulder seriously. The result of which can still be seen on Varhan''s shoulder. Varhan flew from his spot and crashed hard on the mana membrane before losing consciousness. The match was called off by Borul at that point after he realised his mistake. But almost all the spectators had already considered him to be the winner of the match. There was this one guy in the crowd who howled after he saw Varhan losing his consciousness. When everyone was busy cheering for Borul, this guy cried for Varhan. The butcher had no way of knowing that there was a gambler in the audience who wanted him to win more than his desire to win the match. ******************** "Here. Drink this and stay down. You will be patched up soon. Let me have a word with Borul first." Sharog spoke up and ced a wooden container of orc booze in his hands before resuming her talks with Borul. This time, Borul adjusted his gravitational powers in such a way that it would not let any sound waves pass through a thin-dome shaped manayer he had created around him and Sharog. They both talked for a bit before nodding at each other. Then Borul took his leave, carrying the sameid-back expressions he had shown to his audience in all his matches. ''This shit''s good. No wonder g was so buzzed when I met him. Maybe I should merge the elven ale''s and this monster booze''s recipes to make my White Raven ale.'' Meanwhile, Varhan gulped the orc booze down his throat while lying down. His shoulder pain almost disappeared as he drank the concoction. He had to admit that although the booze didn''t contain any additional properties like elven ale, it packed a punch. He felt that his half-blood powers were going to kick in to fix the injury he had on his shoulders. He just needed to use Life Drain on someone to speed things up. But he controlled his functions and let his injury stay the way it was. "I take it you are feeling a bit better. *Sigh. Borul went overboard a bit. To force his hand the way you did though, we have to admit that you are also a skilled fighter for your level. Now get up slowly. I''ll help you fix your injury." Sharog said and told Varhan to follow her. Thetter followed thedy orc''s instructions. This time, since Sharog had not worn her cape, the view he got was a lot more pleasing to his eyes. Verhan looked around and found out that he was inside a multi-story building. It didn''t look to be too far from the battle ring because he could still hear the cheers and jeersing from there without strengthening his senses with mana. He was on the second floor. The stone-like construction of the building looked sturdy. Spacious windows aptly ced at appropriate intervals made the corridors and overall interior of the building well lit. There also seemed to be array disks arranged strategically to function as light sources when daylight gets over. Varhan climbed to the uppermost floor of the building where a couple ofdy orcs could be seen tending to an injured orc hunter. They had him sit inside an array while they worked on it. They sped up the process after they saw Sharog and quickly fixed his open wounds before inviting Varhan to take their ce. ''Healing array too? How the fuck did Tumko conquer this ce? Or did he at all?'' Varhan thought to himself as he sat over the array eye. Chapter 453 Culture Shock

Chapter 453 Culture Shock

''Healing array too? How the fuck did Tumko conquer this ce?'' Varhan thought to himself and felt a bit baffled as he sat inside the array. The orc nurses got their cue from Sharog and fired up the healing array. Immediately, a cocoon of mana enveloped Varhan''s whole body. It first extracted Borul''s foreign mana from the injury before elerating Varhan''s healing process. It didn''t take long for the cocoon to draw out Borul''s residual earth-element mana from Varhan''s injury. Then it started working on the injury itself. The noise of bones creaking was heard before the ruptured tendons and muscles started mending. The dark green epidermis was thest to get fixed. "All fine now?" Varhan nodded to Sharon''s question. She then motioned for him to follow her. The pair ended up in the same room they came from. "Varhan, your fighting capabilities are unquestionable. So much so that it makes me wonder which sane tribe will let you go. Did you receive your rity AFTER getting exiled?" Varhan didn''t know what to say to that question. He was d she believed he couldn''t speak. Otherwise, he would have been in a real pinching up with bullishittery right off the bat. Varhan just nodded at Sharog thinking that there was no harm in doing that. Thetter also shed a pleasant smile before speaking further. "That''s good. I''m d that g invited you to our tribe. We''ll talk about your hunting assignment next. I have a few jobs you can do in a group or solo. But judging by your battle style, I think you''d prefer solo hunting missions more. Here are some of the assignments I''ve shortlisted for you. Tell me which one you want." Sharog started operating on the tiny array disk on the table and started using them to show Varhan where and what he was supposed to hunt. There was also a "how-to" included in that disk along with the list of items that were necessary for the hunt. Sharog then made Varhan choose the hunting assignment he wanted. Thetter nodded and pondered a bit after reading the hunts'' descriptions over the spectral screens before zeroing in on a particr one. The most convenient part about this assignment was that he didn''t need to visit the camp until it was over. And thepletion of the assignment would take many days. Plus, it could be revised to allow more time than stated so a better harvest can be obtained. The mission gave him the cover he needed to leave subspace and enter it when it suited him. Sharog then handed him the mission-rted array disk along with the mission''s rations in a storage space artefact in the form of a ring. The dark-golden artefact had an orc head as its motif. The ring was inscribed with space-element runes. Varhan was just about to leave after binding the ring to himself when he heard Sharog''s next words which shocked him to his core. "Varhan, want to copte before you go off on your mission?" Sharog''s words felt more foreign to the butcher than the foreign mana itself. He almost spat out "I''m souwei?" Souwei because he had a self-induced chopped tongue, which would make him speak like Ramy Richards. But he controlled himself and gave Sharog a nk expression, which wasn''t difficult for him to do at the time. ''As I said earlier, don''t look at monsters from the perspective of humans. If you had paid attention to the orc camp you had raided beforeing here, their lifestyle would have been made apparent to you.'' Alephee spoke to exin but she felt like it had fallen on deaf ears. She then decided to just stick to acting as a trantor for the butcher. "Why are you looking like that?" Sharog seemed confused. Then she looked at herself as if to confirm if she had lost her charm all of a sudden. This was an unexpected culture shock for the butcher but not unweing. He just wanted to confirm a few things first. ''Alephee, how can an Orc Lord invite an Orc Leader to sleep with her? Is this a trap?'' Alephee responded quickly after. ''Monsters don''t see hierarchies the way humans do. I think Sharog wouldn''t have asked to sleep with you if she hadn''t seen your performance just now. This is just the way monsters are.'' Varhan realised how naive he had been when he first had designs on Sharog. It never urred to him that she would have designs on him as well after his fight with Borul ended. This was an unexpected harvest. Sharog on the other hand thought that Varhan was prevented from copting in his previous tribe because of his ''unawakened from slumber'' condition. A condition she assumed he was relieved of only after leaving the tribe. In monster societies, only strong men and healthy women would usually have copting rights. It was meant to promote the birth of better offspring. To be honest, even other humanoid rankers like humans, elves, and dwarves, along with each of their mortal poptions, followed this rule. It was just that they were more discreet about it. On the other hand, monsters preferred not to use pretentious concepts as a smokescreen in choosing their partners. Sharog saw Varhan nodding his head and shing a smile. She didn''t waste time and invited him to bed. Thetter followed her lead. ''Damn. I have dealt with women who are stronger than me before. Nina is much stronger than even her. Yet I nailed her. And she''ll be a suitable test subject for my ability. Hehe!'' Varhan AKA Eren thought to himself and slept beside Sharog who had propped her head over her folded arm. She looked Varhan in the eyes while running her fingers across his body. The butcher had stopped being passive about it a long ago. He too started teasing Sharog''s body with his touch. "You are a very interesting man, Varhan. Let''s have a pleasant start to this day while satisfying each other. Hehe!" Sharog then grabbed Varihan''s monster dick by slipping her hand inside his beast-skin pants. There was no hesitation in her eyes and her movements. The butcher felt his dick gettingrge in Sharog''s hand. ''Damn. This Orc Lord thought about doing it with me at this hour when the day had just begun. Not that I''mining. This will be interesting!'' The butcher thought to himself and let himself get consumed by his desires. Chapter 454 Mist of Lust*

Chapter 454 Mist of Lust*

Easy ess! This was what Varhan noticed first when he was caressing Sharog''s big green buns. She was only wearing a loincloth to cover herdy part after all. Her buns werepletely exposed. Although her skin''s texture was a bit different to touch for him than a human female''s, it was indeed soft to the touch. ''Why can''t they all wear these clothes irrespective of their races?'' Varhan pondered this as he let his finger slip into the loincloth. The valley between two peaks was deep as expected. But it did not stop the explorer sent on his behalf from moving ahead on his journey. Varhan''s finger grazed over Sharog''s rear entry first. He teased the spot by trying to insert his finger into the first cavity he had found. "Ummmm!" Sharog moaned and got on top of Varhan by rolling on her side. She spread her legs on either side of him so that he could continue exploring her down there. Sharog rubbed her pussy over Varhan''s bulge while she kissed him. She had grabbed his unemployed left hand before keeping it over her right tit. Her bust size wasn''t ordinary in any sense. Varhan''s fingers sunk into her plush flesh as he started fondling her boobies. Varhan twisted Sharog''s nipples with his fingers as he smooched her. She was the only one who had inserted her tongue into his mouth. For the first time since he had entered, the butcher regretteding up with the idea of chopping the tongue. The butcher yanked off the loincloth along with the waist chain it was attached to, allowing him to explore the now-wet ce. He didn''t waste time teasing and inserted his finger into Sharog''sdy hole while observing her reaction. "That''s. The way. Aaaaah! Excite me more." Sharog spoke her words while indulging in the waves of pleasure she was feeling. By now she had lifted her torso a bit to look at Varhan before adjusting herself and bringing her tits on Varhan''s face. Her message didn''t need decoding. She wanted him to suck on her globes. Varhan retrieved his hand that was busy exciting Sharog''s pussy and started fondling both her heavy jugs. He squeezed them both before adjusting himself to suck on Orc Lord''s right boobie. Sharog started vigorously rubbing her pussy over Varhan''s bulge. Finally, she couldn''t take it anymore and cast her spell on Varhan''s clothes and armour. Immediately a sandstorm that was created from thin air enveloped the pair along with the bed they were on and started rotating at controlled speeds. Varhan was surprised at first. But he didn''t let that stop him from what he was doing. He kept on sucking on Sharog''s boobies and squeezing them with his normal strength in intervals. The sandstorm only acted on both of their clothes and the shoddy armour Varhan was wearing. Soon the clothes and the armour crumpled away and the dust was mixed into the sandstorm. Whoosh! The sandstorm exploded outwards before disappearing into the same ce it hade fromC thin air. Two orc bodies were left naked on the bed after the dust settled. Varhan wasn''t willing to be left behind. He executed his own set of spells and manifested two fledglings of mes. They were smaller than usual this time. Almost a foot long with serpent-like tongues that stuck out of their mouths. Both the me thread snakes climbed onto Sharog''s thunder thighs and started biting all over her mushy butts. Their tongues started making their presence known on her skin. "Aaaaaaah! Varhan. You are goooood!" Sharog squatted over Varhan''s crotch while pressing his chest with her hands. This way, her crotch was more essible than before. The snakes didn''t need more direction. One of the me thread snakes started licking Sharog''s rear entry with its ever-restless tongue. The other snake focused on the clit, which was more prominent than a human female''s. "Aaaaah... There! Keep doing it." Eren turned his attention away from Orc Lord''s breasts and gave his hands a new task. One of them was ced over Sharog''s left buttock, firmly squeezing it. The other snake was assigned to the pussy duty. By now, Varhan''s orc dick had stiffened to its limit. The green vein coiling around it was distinctly visible. The dick was rubbing against Sharog''s wet crack from behind. "Put it inside. Do it." Varhan heard Orc Lord''smand and he obeyed. He adjusted his dick with the hand that was exciting her pussy and brought the tip of his dick to herdy hole''s entrance. Then he watched her as he drove his shaft inside the Orc Lord''s cave. "Aaaaaaaah! Good. This is a promising dick., Varhan Fuck me now, fuck me good. Aaaaah!." Varhan didn''t need to be told things twice on this topic. He started pushing his dick upwards to match up with the speed Sharog was bringing down her hips with on his dick. Tap! Tap! Tap! Sharog let go of her hair and shook her head as she rode Varhan''s shaft. Thetter had manifested even more thread snakes that were licking and biting her all over her body now. Some were biting her nipples while the others focused on her shapely neck. "This this is good Varhan, if you don''t mind, I''ll call out Urs and Urz too, after this round. They too can benefit from this dick." Urs and Urz were the same orcdies that had worked on the healing array, which was used on Eren not too long ago. They were Sharog''s assistants in addition to serving as the tribe''s healers. Urs and Urz were also pretty good-looking twins. The two orcdies had slim bodies and petite breastspared to Sharog. Their bodies were sculpted with muscle, adding extra visual appeal to their already striking monster looks. Sharog wanted the twins to be added to the y as well. The butcher was once again made to realise that he had seriously underestimated the monsters. He didn''t mind having more test subjects and a source of lust for himself. Varhan didn''t take long to ept Sharog''s proposal. He nodded at her while driving his dick deep inside the wet monster cave. "Gooooood. But first satisfy me. Aaaah! More!" Sharog started bouncing on Varhan''s dick heavily. It was clear that she was going to have her first release soon. The Orc Lord had closed her eyes, totally lost in her carnal pleasure. The butcher thought that this was an apt time. ''Mark of the Seven Sins: Mist of Lust!'' Chapter 455 Revelation*

Chapter 455 Revtion*

''Mark of the Seven Sins: Mist of Lust!'' When the butcher activated his Sins series ability-Sin of Lust-the mana in the surroundings began to change. A light mist started lingering in the room. Its density increased slowly throughout the passing moments. This was the first time he was using his ability on someone. Unlike the domain of wrath, this ability''s effects were hidden. The target of this ability wouldn''t know what was going on until it was toote. The condition for this ability to be triggered was obvious. The butcher needed to feel the sensation of lust while he was having sex. On that note, he was d that he didn''t have to activate the ability by self-harm. The effects of the ability on the target were even simpler. It turned the butcher''s partners into his ves without infringing on his soul. It only infringed on his target''s souls, leaving a permanent mark on them that attested to his ownership. The Mist of Lust generated by the ability transformed emotions of lust into foreign mana. There were almost no differences between this type of mana and native mana except for the fact that it didn''t contain the world''s will. Only the butcher was able to see the mist. His targets would only feel that every ounce of their lust was getting extracted from them. Yet they would find that they were more turned on than ever. The sense of pleasure, bliss, and an orgasm would increase many a fold when the butcher and his target were surrounded by the mist. When the targets felt bliss through sexual release, that was the time when their souls would be at their most vulnerable. This was the time the ability would show its effect and etch the butcher''s brand of ownership on the target''s soul. The ownership brand created by the sin ability would be such that it would blend in with the target''s soul without leaving any trace or obvious after-effects behind. It would only affect the target''s primal consciousness, making them see the owner of the Lust brand in a different light. The mist would increase as the target and Eren expressed their feelings of lust. Brands would be created using the target''s very emotions. Therefore, it wouldn''t be something their soul would be averse to. In this way, the brand will blend into the ves'' souls, making it near impossible for them to break free. Varhan found it ironic that he needed to use the ability on orcdies to help him get his hands on the monster ve maker artefact. His ability had a limited reach, whereas the artefact was essential for controlling the horde of monsters. The main advantage of the Sins series ability was that the butcher would gain absolute loyalty in addition toplete control. Even the strictest of mana binding contracts wouldn''t give him the loyalty part. And he didn''t think even the artefact woulde close. The Sin of Lust was capable of changing the very soul of Eren''s targets. Plus, unlike the mana binding contracts which couldn''t exceed a certain number or the artefact which was limited by the rank, the butcher''s ability had no such limitation. As long as the ability was triggered at the right point, no matter whose soul was privy to the ability''s effects, they would get branded. It held true until the targetcked the soul sense to stop the brand from taking over their souls. In short, as long as the targets didn''t oppose the brand with their soul sense, Varhan would be able to turn any partner he sleeps with into his ve. ******************* Sharog''s pussy was wrapped around Varhan''s dick as he kept on pounding her while she rode his hot rod. She would use her muscles to squeeze his dick with her walls. In the meantime, he would squish her erect buds with his fingers, squeezing her big jugs. "Aaaaah! Aaaaaaah! Harder.!" Sharog''s seductive moans echoed in the spacious room. Due to the mist''s effects, she felt that this was apletely different level of pleasure she had never experienced before. Varhan kneaded her velvety butt mounds with both his hands. Then he started pping them with his hand. The deed created new waves of pleasure and bliss in Sharog''s mind. The butcher sensed that the Orc Lord was about toe, and thought that it was the appropriate moment to brand her. He grabbed her buns with both his hands from either side, drove his dick deeper into her slippery hole, and executed the branding process. "Aaaaaaaaaaa!" Sharog released a sensuous moan before crashing onto Varhan''s body while his dick was still inside her. She had closed her eyes. Swoosh! Varhan watched as the mist began to converge into the form of an abstract rune before disappearing into Sharog. Immediately, she felt that something about her had changed. Something deep. She looked at Varhan and realised from within that this was no orc she had slept with. Yet, she felt that he was the most significant person in her life. And she would do anything to please him. "Ver no My. My Lord... who are you?" Sharog asked Varhan with a bewildered face. Thetter responded by asking her another question. "This building how safe is it?" Thedy Orc Lord immediately understood what Eren had meant when he asked that question. The connection she had formed with Eren using the lust brand was just like the connection thetter had with his demon beasts with a few minor differences. So even when he had asked the question in humannguage, she understood it clearly. The connection allowed both of them to sense each other''s thoughts and emotions. It also allowed them tomunicate with each other without using IDmunication. Now the butcher didn''t even need Alephee''s trantions. "My Lord... nobody woulde to this building without my permission. Plus the security array is working and under my control. There''s nobody in the building apart from me, you, and the twins upstairs." Eren nodded before starting to shapeshift into his normal human form. He didn''t like being an orc after all. The body''s centre of gravity had made him unable to move the way he wanted to. Both during his duel with Borul and even right now when he was "duelling" with Sharog, he felt like he was not being himself. So he decided to find hisfort zone once again now that the coast was clear. "Hu. Human. My lord you. You are human. No, wait... You look human, but you''re not. How?" Chapter 456 Brand Loyalty*

Chapter 456 Brand Loyalty*

"Hu. Human. My lord you. You are human. No, wait... You look human, but you''re not. How?" Eren smiled after he processed the emotions Sharog felt. There was a feeling of shock, obviously. Then there was a sense of puzzlement. But there was no sense of rm or disgust. With his connection with her, he could feel that she would never object to Eren no matter what he was in reality or what he did to her. "How and why parts wouldeter. I have questions of my own. But first let me "taste" you to the fullest." Eren cracked his neck by rotating it to his sides and smiled after hemanded Sharog. He knew that the Orc Lord was now under his control. "Ye yes my lord." Unlike the ve-specific way of address spoken by Agatha, Eren didn''t object to Sharog speaking it. That''s because he could feel that it wasn''t forced. Calling him by any other name would make her feel ufortable instead. Sharogy on her back and opened her arms for Eren. Thetter looked at the orc and her body with keen interest. Then he smirked at her and made her look at his dick which was growing in size. Eren didn''t increase the length of his dick by that much. However, his little guy''s girth increased twice as much as his previous size. The veins on his rod looked fuller and more prominent than before. Eren hoisted both of Sharog''s legs on his shoulders soon after. Then he pressed them towards each other with his hands applying pressure from the outer sides of her thighs, making them stick closer to each other. Sharog''s pussy walls were brought closer as a result. Eren gripped her legs with his hands while pressing them against each other and drove his dick inside thedy orc. He could feel that the squeeze his rod felt this time was more prominent than before. He also made one of his fire snakes lick her clit while the other fire snake was given the task of stimting her anal opening. Two more snakes had already bit into her titi buds. "Aaaaaaaaaah. My lord!" Sharog couldn''t help moaning with all her pleasure spots inside her pussy and other parts of her body getting activated at the same time. She had never thought that she could feel so overwhelmed by the act. The warmth and wetness Sharog''s pussy produced because of Eren''s actions this time were also on another level. The butcher enjoyed having his rod getting so tightly wrapped inside what he felt like an oven. ************************* This was Eren''s third session with Sharog. The butcher had been turned on by Altashia previously. But couldn''t get his hands on her. So he released his pent up desires on Sharog. The Orc Lord was brought into a new level of sexual high under the effects of Mist of Lust. Her pleasure senses were working overtime as she was being pounded over and over again by her new master. Eren could feel what Sharog was thinking at this point. Amid the cacophony of thoughts and emotions, there was one resolution she had developed on her own. That she would only let him have the pleasures of her body. Sharog had decided that nobody but her lord had the rights to her body. Eren concluded that this was the effect of the brand his ability had left on Sharog. A weing effect nheless. Since he wanted all his women to be with him and only him. With the effects of the brand, he didn''t have to worry about making these things explicitly clear to his Lust-born ves. Eren''s lust-born ves were determined to be loyal to him in every way he could think of. They were loyal to the brand he had inscribed onto their souls. The butcher never stopped pounding Sharog even when he had nutted inside her for the third time. He continued with his act. This time, he made the Orc Lord get on her fours before ramming into her from behind. Another tipping point had been reached for Sharog. She couldn''t help screaming Eren''s name as a result. "Aaaaaaaaah! Lord Varhaaaaan" p! "Wrong. Call me Eren. Eren Idril." Sharog was stopped when he took the butcher''s fake name. He cleared the confusion by telling her about his real name. But not before pping her raised buns in the process. "Er Lord Eren. Ravravage me all day. This feeling so so addictive! I I''ming." Eren raised his eyebrows and looked outside the window to confirm what time it was after being reminded by Sharog. He realized that the afternoon sun was about to appear in the clear sky. ''I ugh I don''t have much time.'' Eren thought to himself and increased his pace while pping and kneading Sharog''s mushy ass. He had to admit that the Orc Lord had a very seductive and tempting body. The butcher made Sharog stand on her knees by pulling her hair and making her back stick to the front of his torso. He grabbed one of her massive jugs with one hand while with the other he excited her clit. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! Ooooooooo. Oooooooooo haaaaaaaa!" Sharog dropped all her body weight on Eren right after she cummed. His dick was still inside herC now coated in her wet juices. The aroma of the same is now permeating the air. In other words, enhancing the intensity of what was already there in the room. Eren pumped his dick into Sharog''s wet cave a few more times before releasing his load into her. He then caressed her hair before pulling it out. Her pussy queefed as the rod exited. As if her pussy walls wanted to keep him in there even longer. She wanted more from him. This level of exercise was nothing for an Orc Lord like her. But time was of the essence for Eren. So he made her turn 180 and face him. "Sharog, I enjoyed being with you. We will continue our session another time. Right now I''m pressed against time. Can you get your assistant toe down here? I want to brand them as well." Sharog was a bit disappointed that her sessions with her master were over. But she readily epted his instructions and used hermunication tool to contact her assistants. Monsters with enough intelligence and teamwork used these prints tomunicate with themselves. These prints were often printed behind the monsters'' ears in the form of tattoos unique to their mana signatures. Soon, the twin orcdies were brought into the room exclusive to Sharog. Eren had assumed his orc form once again. Sharog told them to get sexually involved with Varhan while she ran some errands. The butcher had asked the Orc Lord to check up on a few things for him while he branded the twins. Thetter sighed and epted hismand while getting upset over the fact that only twins would get to enjoy her lord''spany this time. The twins didn''t find anything odd in the request and readily agreed. The rest of the session proceeded exactly as Eren wanted. He ravished the twins to his heart''s content while keeping a check on time. Eren had sessfully branded the twins when the Orc Lord returned after a few hours. There were two more fangirls for Eren now apart from Sharog. The butcher had to admit that he liked being seen on such a pedestal by these three orcdies. His ego, which was already inted to begin with at the time, received another huge boost as a result. "Fun times are over, for now,dies. Now we need to talk. About this ce. About what I want from here. About everything." Eren said after getting clothed. The three orcdies who had bent their knees in front of Eren listened to him with ardent expressions. =============== AN: I tried uploading Sharog''s illustration as a chapterment many times. But it turns invisible due to the stupid NSFW filter. Sigh! Visit GraybackNovels on Insta if you want to check it out. ;) Chapter 457 Wind Wings

Chapter 457 Wind Wings

"Where the fuck has he been? Didn''t I tell you guys that Eren is a shady man? His eyes the way he looks at me. And all of you. It''s like he doesn''t care about any of us." Berserker Sidro Zas spoke up as he was tired of waiting for the same guy who had be the biggest hurdle in his chances of bing the vice-captain. He had said half of what he had said about Eren from the heart. The other half was meant to decrease Eren''s rapport with other teammates. "Shut the fuck up and wait for captain''s orders, Sid. Bitching about every little thing isn''t going to make you a vice-captain. It''s not like you were sent there to look for him. Cap Altashia had been searching for the guy on her mount. At the most, we''ll wait here for a few more minutes before heading back to the base. And organise a search party for him." The tank ced a gag order on Sidro before looking at the sky aimlessly. Most of the soldiers were now by the orc camp''s front entrance, waiting for Altashia. She had been flying around on her demon beast to look for Eren when he wasn''t back by the afternoon. It was now close to sunset and they were running behind schedule. Just as Lyon had said, if Eren doesn''t get found in the Bands by the end of the evening, the army will have to organise a search party for him. And they will have to prioritise since the guy is now the owner of an epic tier demon beast. Sid didn''t want to miss out on the opportunity to criticise Eren some more. So he was about to speak up once again at the cost of offending their always-grumpy tank. But just then "Kiyeeeeeeeh!" Sid heard a distinct eagle cry when he had just opened his mouth. He knew by that voice that the guy he had been badmouthing had finally decided to show up. ********************* Eren had left the Oni Dungeon after having a long talk with his Lust-bound ves. The orcdies told him everything they knew about the subspace without holding anything back. In return, he told them what he was after in the subspace. Sharog knew more details about the Oni dungeon than her two assistants. She was looking after most of the tribe''s affairs in ce of the tribe leader after all. Eren doubted Borul ever since he knew he was hiding his strength from Alephee. So he asked Sharog about it. She straight up told him that he was the real tribe leader of the orc tribe the butcher had found himself in. Borul''s real name was Durbag, the same name his tribe was known as. He had sealed his mana core and suppressed his powers using a technique, which prevented him from being seen as an Orc Lord. it also stopped him from taking the final step into being an Orc Overlord. He had done this to prepare for the Oni Festival that was about to take ce inside the dungeon soon. Eren soon came to know about the guy''s reason behind taking this route. He had to admit that Borul Durbag was a crafty guy to havee up with the idea to spoil the Oni festival and take the benefits for himself. Now all the butcher had to do was use Borul''s preparations to his advantage. To aplish this, he needed to prepare properly before returning to the Oni dungeon. He still had enough time based on his calctions. The main challenge was finding a way into the dungeon in the army-controlled region without raising suspicions. After all, not all of the on-field missions would be ced in the same region and given to the same team. Alephee came to Eren''s rescue at that time. She guided him into creating a rtively short-distance spatial exit array using the Extols he had on him. The butcher had to burn through most of his Extols stockpile to do this. He was d that he had borrowed a chunk of Extols from Nina before resuming his assignment. The butcher chose an obscure location for the array inside the cave that served as an entrance to the Oni Dungeon. He only had to build a corresponding entry array to get back to the ce without worrying about intruding on the army-controlled territory. He just had to make sure that the spatial entry array gets created within a certain distance from the exit array. This meant that it needed to be created not far from the Orc camp he had raided with his team. Erenid out his ns in front of the orcdies and readily agreed to his everymand. The finer details could be worked upon via their mind links. Then he exited the dungeon the same way he hade from. The butcher had checked the reliability of his mental connection with the orcdies. He had found out that although they had trouble sharing their senses, the sharing of thoughts itself was no problem. The second thing Eren did aftering outside the Oni dungeon was contacting Argo. He hoped that the guy had stayed put just the way he wanted him to. Argo answered him quickly with emotions of excitement swelling in his mind. Argo had made effective use of his free time. He tried to fly solo some more and was sessfully able to tap into one of his inherent spells. It was a wind-element spell that was intended to enhance his flight capabilities by strengthening the impact his wings had on his surroundings. Now, he was able to fly at a rapid pace with increased manoeuvrability than ever before while keeping the pping of his wings to a minimum. Eren named the spell Wind Wings for his convenience. The butcher was surprised for a bit after finding out that Argo was a tri-element user. He had only shownpatibility with fire and lightning at first. He suspected that this was also caused by his zero elemental conflict. Argo soon came to pick Eren up after knowing about his location. The newborn demon beast greeted him with an excited cry but didn''te down right away. He showed the butcher what he was capable of by performing dives and spins in the air. He even tried to mess with him by diving straight at him with his talons stretched as if he was about to grab the butcher. Since Eren could read his demon beast like an open book, he just lit his smoke up and watched his shenanigans with keen interest. He didn''t forget to congratte Argo by patting him on his head when he finally decided tond in front of him. Chapter 458 Visiting City of Arangar

Chapter 458 Visiting City of Arangar

Argo flew at breakneck speed towards the orc camp with Eren on his back. The butcher couldn''t smoke with such wind pressure crashing on him. So he decided to change his vice and started drinking the stock of elven ale as he thought of Argo''s tri-elementpatibility. ''It''s about time I follow Argo''s steps and start learning spells from other elements. The spells of wind and water elements would give me enough variation to tackle almost any type of move. They would be rtively easy for me to learn too. With my constitution, it won''t be too difficult for me to learn the basic spells from most of the elements.'' Eren sighed after he thought of this. He drank up some booze straight from the bottle before churning some more thoughts into his head. ''It''s just that time had never been on my side ever since I woke up in this timeline. How will I find time to practise spells from other elements? There are other problems as well in practising multiple elements at once.'' Eren stroked the demon''s beast''s neck with his hand as he carried on drinking some more elven ale. ''Hmm! My lightning element is a hybrid element made of wind, water, and fire. I have already started working on fire elemental spells. So I''ll focus on wind elemental spells next. Water elemental spells woulde afterwards. Mypatibility with water and wind would be easy to exin because of my lightning affinity. Plus, it would help me against my obvious weakness in facing earth-element spells.'' Eren made some ns for the future. These ns won''t help him in his solo mission in the Oni dungeon. But they needed to be made nheless if he wanted to stay ahead of his hardships. ''Caw!'' Eren was about to polish his dungeon exploration and artefact acquisition n. But then he heard a distinct croaking from the right side of him. He and Argo turned towards the source of that noise at the same time. ''Let''s meet our pursuers, little guy!'' Erenmanded Argo who then released an eagle cry before heading towards the source of that noise. ************************** "Altashia darling, did you miss me?" Eren said to Altashia as they were both flying towards the orc camp with the evening sun going down the horizon behind their back. Thetter just snorted her nose before replying. "Where had you gone off to? Everyone thought that the Bands had imed another Edinburgh soldier for good. It would have been quite a mess to report the missing case of a new demon beast owner. So I had to do something about it and search for you." Eren shrugged his shoulders before drinking thest sip of his elven ale. He then threw the empty bottle away, wiped his lips with the back of his right hand''s palm and patted Argo before responding. "This guy needed some training, Altashia. He has be a fat bird by eating so much junk. So I had to get him into shape before he could begin to see his potential." Altashia had alreadye to realise that Argo could use spells to fly now. She was surprised by his speed in gaining the spell. But she reasoned it herself with the beast belonging to the epic tier. "Altashia, didn''t you have some work in the city of Arangar? Want to visit the ce with me during our long break?" The city of Arangar was the nearest big city to the army camp. It was also home to a lot of guilds'' branches that had an active presence in the Bands. The city''s strategic cement had made it a buzzing ce for hunters, adventurers, and army personnel alike. Altashia nodded at Eren''s proposal before looking ahead. The teams would be granted a week-long break whenever theypleted a certain number of missions sessfully. Altashia had nned to visit the city when the long break would arrive. But having Eren in tow was something she hadn''t nned. There was a bit of excitement in her mind regarding spending time with thetter. ************************* ''Sid was again trying to bring your image down. The guy''s grasping for straws at this point. Maybe you should talk to him.'' Arjun warned him about what Sid had been up to in his absence when Eren rejoined his group. Argo was tired from sprinting to camp while carrying him. So Eren had decided to let him fly and follow the team while he rode the colt. Eren looked at Sid with nk expressions on his face. Then he narrowed his eyes and looked at the guy one more time before looking ahead. ''Talk? I''ve already decided his fate.'' Eren thought to himself before speeding up and bringing his colt nearer to Altashia''s. Sid saw that and thought that Eren was trying to snatch his crush from him. He was about to follow him and talk with Altashia too. But then he heard a loud, mana-imbued eagle cry projected right at him. This was a threat from Argo. The demon beast didn''t care much about army rules. His intentions were reflected in his cry. The berserker begrudgingly decided to carry on with his current position and not disturb Eren and Altashia. The team sessfully reached the camp. Eren''s registration as a demon beast owner was finallypleted. The butcher would have had to serve in the army for a long time for his ownership of Argo. But Altashia used her family connections to cut down the period by a lot. Eren also had the option of participating in the kingdom-organised missions and reducing thepulsory army service. But the butcher had decided that he won''t be participating in any such missions anytime soon even though he had met the minimum requirements. Having an epic-tier demon beast was a big thing for many inside the army camp. But it wasn''t that unheard of either. The buzz about the same soon died down. Argo was given a spacious hall near Eren''s room inside the camp as a ce of upancy. But the demon beast liked living on higher altitudes. So he would often find the tallest tree inside the army camp which could support his weight and rest there. It had to be noted that Argo had yet to alter his body size using magic, a signature spell of all demon beasts. This was the first step into shape-shifting he wouldn''t be able to take until he matured a bit more. But Eren didn''t mind taking things slow with Argo. He had already proved his aptitude by unlocking his inherent spell practically right after being birthed. So the butcher wouldn''t put more stress on his pet anymore. A few weeks passed just like that. And the day arrived for Altashia and Eren to visit the city of Arangar. Chapter 459 Clearing Doubts

Chapter 459 Clearing Doubts

Two demon beasts were seen following a carriage at a uniform speed. They were Roo and Argo. The carriage they followed contained their respective masters. The owners were prohibited from entering the cities with their demon beasts unless special permits were issued to them. Plus, the distance was too much for two Ace rank beasts to fly with their riders on their backs. Therefore, the two rankers chose this mode of transport. The demon beasts would need to wait outside the city of Arangar for security reasons. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Eren asked Altashia without looking at her. He was looking at the ever-changing scenery while exhaling his smoke outside the carriage window. They were heading towards the city of Arangar, a ce about a 14-hour carriage ride away from the army camp. The carriage they were riding in had no wheels. It was a Novice rank artefact that had a simple levitation array inscribed at its base. The carriage would levitate above the ground, guaranteeing bump-free travel for its passengers. That''s why even when they were being pulled by two powerful colts at high speed, Eren and Altashia did not feel any difort. The interior of the carriage barely moved. The carriage was driven by a rankless mortal. He had made sure that his clients were well taken care of by trying to make this trip a pleasant experience for both of them. Various snacks and beverages were ced inside the spacious carriage that measured 4 metres in length and 2 metres in width. The seats were plush with velvet covers draped over them. They were ced on the opposite side of each other. One side was solely for Eren''s use while the other was upied by Altashia. There were two veryrge windows on either side of the carriage cabin. Eren was sitting in one corner of the cabin. Altashia was sitting on the diagonally opposite side from Eren. "I''m trying to figure out why the guy who had tried to flirt with me so many times got so silent eventually?" Altashia asked with an almost stoic face. But the corners of her mouth were stretched into a light smile. "Heh! It''s simple really." Eren kicked the butt of his smoke outside the window and looked at Altashia with a slight smile of his own before responding. "This can not be a one-way street, Altashia. I tried approaching you many times since we shared a kiss, but you didn''t reciprocate enough. I can only take that as a hint." Altashia had a nk expression on her face. But she cursed herself in her mind for acting so aloof. She liked Eren''s overt and covert attempts to approach her. She enjoyed his attention. But she didn''t want to get out of herfort zone while doing that. So even though she was starting to get interested in him, she acted as if she wasn''t. Eren acted like he meant the words he said. He took out a spell scroll from his storage and started reading on it. It was an Ace rank wind-element spell that he had received from the army after applying for it. He had paid in his contribution points. The Wind des Tornado was a rtivelymon spell among wind-element users. Its mana circuitbination was simple to understand. Additionally, the spell was optimized to be used in close and mid-rangebats with a low mana cost. Eren had already understood the basics of the spell. Now he was looking at the spell''s variations and how to activate them using the modtion in mana points. The butcher liked to be precise with his spells after all. "Only strong and determined men can afford to date a strong woman. Weak men would find excuses." Altashia finally replied after some time. While keeping a straight face, she looked out the window to avoid Eren''s gaze. She wanted to convey to Eren that he had given up too soon. The butcher stopped reading from the spell scroll and looked at Altashia before bursting into a heartfulugh. "Hahahahaha! Oh boy! And here I thought I was being extra cheesy." Altashia had a red tinge on her cheeks when she heard Eren''sughter. But she didn''t reply and continued looking outside the window. They were only an hour away from the city of Arangar from the scenery outside. Eren stoppedughing quickly after. He then returned to reading the spell scroll. "I don''t know which idiot spoke that line, Altashia. It must be a woman who doesn''t know shit about "strong and determined" men." Altashia focused her gaze on Eren again when he said that. She was about to say something when Eren continued while continuing to read up on the scroll. "The thing about strong men they respect themselves way more than their pursuits in partners. The line you said just now seems more like an excuse some of the most egocentric women woulde up with to justify their unreasonable smugness. Only determined men can afford to date a strong woman? Bullshit. I''d rather be with someone who respects me for the attention I give her, no matter how she is to others or how sessful she is as a person. Why not face your feelings head-on and ask the guy you like without waiting for him to approach you if you consider yourself to be strong?" Eren chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. Then he put the scroll back into his storage, closed his eyes, and tried to recall everything he had just read. So far everything seems okay. Altashia didn''t know what to say when she heard Eren''s reality check. She had just said what she had intended, which was to keep Eren''s attention on her. But she didn''t know it would have the opposite effect. "Eren, maybe I didn''t mean to say it like that. But don''t you think your views are equally harsh as well? What''s wrong when a girl wants her man to fight for her?" Eren shook his head again as if to convey that Altashia still didn''t get what he wanted to say. He rified it by replying immediately. "There''s nothing wrong. But I''ve made my intentions clear to you. But your responses to those intentions reflect the doubts you have in your heart. Now, for a change, I want you to fight for me after your doubts get settled. I want you to be on the frontline now." Chapter 460 White Raven Guild

Chapter 460 White Raven Guild

"I want you to be on the frontline now." Altashia heard that and thought that it made sense. Yet, she still had some doubts. She decided that now was the right time to get them cleared before they reach the city of Arangar. Altashia paused for a bit. Then she pressed her lips against each other to gather some courage before asking. "Eren, what do you like about me?" Eren heard the question with closed eyes and smiled. Only now did he have the girl on the right track, after many of his failed attempts. He replied quickly afterwards. "There are many things I like about you, Altashia." Eren didn''t want to sound vague. But there were many things about her. So there was no way to prevent it. Unsurprisingly, Altashia wasn''t impressed. "Well, tell me what you like about me the most." The butcher, with his eyes closed, didn''t even take a second to reply. "Your looks, your body, and your boobs." A velvety pillow was thrown on Eren''s face right after he had said it. The guy had expected a projectile to target him anyway when he had decided to say this. So he let the pillow hit him. He was just d that it was a pillow, the nearest item Altashia could grab onto from her position. "Shallow. You are too shallow, Eren. Just like the rest of them." Eren chuckled after hearing Altashia''s response before proceeding further. "Haha, you got it wrong, Altashia. I set myself apart from the rest by being honest about my shallowness. Beauty is only skin deep they say. But do you have to be ugly to be a kind human from the inside? Can''t you be beautiful from the inside out as well? Even if you aren''t, is having a beautiful body necessarily a bad thing? People try to find a deeper meaning behind everything that''s happening around them. In doing so, theyplicate their lives. For better or worse, I''m not one of them. So when I said all that about your physical features, I meant it. Of course, I also like the other things about you. But I''d be lying if I had said that I started looking at those points about you first." Altashia was stumped by Eren''s disturbing honesty. She had thought that he liked to keep things to himself. Only now did she realise that he would only try to be tight-lipped when it suited him. She took a long breath and looked outside the window once again. The carriage was now on a wide, multine straight road that had been built using limestones as its foundation. The city gates could be seen in the distance. Altashia and Eren''s carriage was surrounded by a lot of other carriages as well. Like their carriages, these carriages were either approaching or leaving the city, depending on whichne they were in. Altashia tucked her hair behind her petite ears before asking one more question to Eren. "Eren, would you have still liked me if I was not as beautiful or talented as you say that about me?" Eren opened his eyes right when Altashia had finished asking her question. He had finally mastered a spell for the wind element. Now he just needed to test its on-field application and tweak it as per his needs. He replied soon after. "Nope. Beauty and talents are integral parts of you. What''s the point in taking that away and liking the iplete you? It just doesn''t make any sense to me. Also, that question is silly. It does nothing but highlights your insecurities. Of being with someone who wants to be with you because of what you are from the outside." Altashia sighed when she heard Eren''s answers to all her questions. Those questions were meant to probe Eren''s intentions. But the answers he gave ended up probing her psyche instead. "You are right, Eren. I indeed have insecurities that stem from my loneliness. But that''s also because I don''t have experience of trusting other people like this." Altashia said and shed a cheerful smile mixed with yfulness before adding. "Especially if the guy is like you." Eren raised his eyebrows and pointed his index finger at himself. He then shrugged his shoulders as if to say he didn''t know what she was talking about before responding. "What do you mean? I''m the most honest person Edinburgh has ever seen." ''I''ll take a raincheck on that.'' Alephee was the first to respond after Eren made his bold im. Alterashia, on the other hand,ughed non-stop while trying to suppress it with her hands. The butcher ignored those responses and carried on. "My point is, Altashia, don''t be scared by new experiences just because they are novel. Everything in life happens for the first once. We already have our bet in ce. If and when I do end up winning it, remember the discussion we had just now." Eren smiled and got up. Then he changed his position and sat right beside Altashia to see the city gates from her side of the window. The warrior also shed a grin before following the butcher''s gaze. They were about to enter the city of Arangar. ********************** Eren and Altashia were inside a giant hall. There were spectral screens projected everywhere that dictated various tasks assigned to various people. "What''s your name, sir?" Thedy on the other side of the counter from Eren asked him. The butcher and Altashia were in Arangar city''s administration building. They had entered the city by the evening yesterday. So they had decided to crash at an inn. Of course, against Eren''s wishes, there were two separate rooms booked. Eren had some work at the admin office so Altashia followed him. Her personal affairs would only get done by tomorrow so she didn''t mind following Eren. "Eren Ilijah Idril. These are my ID details." Eren gave the counterdy his name. Then he projected his ID details on a spectral screen in front of her, enabling her to confirm the validity of those details. "How can we help you, sir?" Thedy asked Eren. He clenched his fists before rxing them and said calmly. "I want to create a guild. Its name would be White Raven." Chapter 461 Full "I want to create a guild. Its name would be White Raven." Eren said and took a long breath. This was something he had wanted to do for a long time now. He didn''t want to be under any guild in this timeline, no matter how good-natured they might seem or be. Plus, the opportunities he was seeking demanded that he form his own guild instead of relying on rankers he couldn''t really count on. All his preparations in LA were meant toy the foundation for having a guild. And now he was taking the first step towards that goal. Altashia was taken aback by Eren''s decision for a while before thinking things through. It was not umon for students from prestigious academies to start their own guilds. Plus, since he was not nning to stay in the army for a long time, he might as well start these things early. Eren''s active army service also made the city administration morefortable in vetting him. His documentation and his LA records were wless. His ranking status as an Ace ranker was sufficient for him to form a guild and serve as its guild master. Eren had to pay the registration tax as well as half the amount of annual tax at the time of registration. He was officially broke after spending Extols on creating an exit-array inside the Bands and spending it on making his own guild a reality. Erenpleted all the formalities with the counterdy. She was able to streamline the process, thanks to Eren''s active army service status and association with LA. The White Raven guild was born at that point. "Sir, we would need one more member for the guild apart from you to give it an active status right away." The counterdy asked and looked at Altashia. She had to admit that the Ace ranker she had just seen was very attractive. The counterdy was willing to admit this even when she was a woman with straight preferences. "Eren, you didn''t tell me. I''m not ready to be" Altashia didn''t want to be associated with any guild. Her family had its own guild after all. They would get mad at her for joining a stranger guild instead of what was avable to her at home. Eren looked at Altashia with questionable experience. He then waved his hand and told someone behind the warrior ranker to approach them. Altashia turned back to see a cute-looking greyish white-haired girl approach them. She was a bit timid. But her presence exuded a beastly aura. She had worn standard adventurer''s clothes. Dark green track pants with dark brown, sleeveless armour over the white shirt. Although she wascking in terms of beauty whenpared to Altashia, thetter had to admit that the approaching girl had her own set of charms that set her apart from the rest. "Took you long enough, Agatha. How have you been?" Eren hugged Agatha as soon as she reached the pair by the counter. Thetter was surprised at first by such a warm wee by her master. But that didn''t prevent her from hugging him back. Eren was genuinely happy to see a familiar face after a long time. He also wanted Agatha to realize that she is valued by him. So that she would focus on the tasks assigned to her and not chase after a blindsided revenge and ruin his ns for both of them. Of course, another reason Eren hugged Agatha in front of Altashia so intimately was that he wanted to make her a bit jelly. And from the looks of it, it seemed to have worked. Because he saw that Altashia was trying to read some texts over the spectral screen ced in front of them to not be seen as awkwardly looking at them. That act made her look more ufortable in Eren''s eyes.please visit "I''m fine, Eren. It was your fault for giving me such short notice, you know. Otherwise, I would have arrived on time." Agathained a bit before shing a mild smile at him. Thetter chuckled and shrugged his shoulders before addressing the counterdy once again. "Agatha will be registering as White Raven''s first member." Eren told the counterdy and had Agathaplete the formality. Thetter nodded at him before shing the ID stone''s spectral screen. "Oh, you are a legal ve of Sir Eren Idril. Ideally, you wouldn''t be counted as a regr member. Since Sir Eren has served in the army, he has certain privileges that can exempt you. Here, ce your hands over this array disk." The counterdy addressed Agatha in a normal voice after checking her details. But Altashia heard it and raised her eyebrows even higher. She couldn''t help asking the butcher. "You you have a legal ve?" Eren looked at Altashia as if this was obvious before responding. "Yeah. But she''s more of my assistant than anything. I wouldn''t call her that." ''Yeah. Because you already have "proper" ves in the Oni dungeon.'' Alephee added on. But Eren ignored it and watched as Agatha finished her registration into the White Raven guild. The guild had been granted an active status when that happened. So, they could technically take up missions assigned by any city admin office, open army missions assigned to guilds, or receive personal requests from other rankers. Although the White Raven guild was far from taking any lucrative missions for itself even though it had gotten into the system, it was still a start. By having an active status, the guild would be in the loop regarding various open missions sorted by region. Agatha listened to what Eren had said about her and felt pleased. From her point of view, her master had been a block of stone emotionally for most of the time. His actions were dominated by his desire to seed at every stage of his life. But Agatha could tell that something had changed in Eren since a few months ago. Like his dreams, emotions, and everything rigid about him had been re-programmed by someone. Of course, Agatha weed the change. Chapter 462 Agatha Returns

Chapter 462 Agatha Returns

"I want to create a guild. Its name would be White Raven." Eren said and took a long breath. This was something he had wanted to do for a long time now. He didn''t want to be under any guild in this timeline, no matter how good-natured they might seem or be. Plus, the opportunities he was seeking demanded that he form his own guild instead of relying on rankers he couldn''t really count on. All his preparations in LA were meant toy the foundation for having a guild. And now he was taking the first step towards that goal. Altashia was taken aback by Eren''s decision for a while before thinking things through. It was not umon for students from prestigious academies to start their own guilds. Plus, since he was not nning to stay in the army for a long time, he might as well start these things early. Eren''s active army service also made the city administration morefortable in vetting him. His documentation and his LA records were wless. His ranking status as an Ace ranker was sufficient for him to form a guild and serve as its guild master. Eren had to pay the registration tax as well as half the amount of annual tax at the time of registration. He was officially broke after spending Extols on creating an exit-array inside the Bands and spending it on making his own guild a reality. Erenpleted all the formalities with the counterdy. She was able to streamline the process, thanks to Eren''s active army service status and association with LA. The White Raven guild was born at that point. "Sir, we would need one more member for the guild apart from you to give it an active status right away." The counterdy asked and looked at Altashia. She had to admit that the Ace ranker she had just seen was very attractive. The counterdy was willing to admit this even when she was a woman with straight preferences. "Eren, you didn''t tell me. I''m not ready to be" Altashia didn''t want to be associated with any guild. Her family had its own guild after all. They would get mad at her for joining a stranger guild instead of what was avable to her at home. Eren looked at Altashia with questionable experience. He then waved his hand and told someone behind the warrior ranker to approach them. Altashia turned back to see a cute-looking greyish white-haired girl approach them. She was a bit timid. But her presence exuded a beastly aura. She had worn standard adventurer''s clothes. Dark green track pants with dark brown, sleeveless armour over the white shirt. Although she wascking in terms of beauty whenpared to Altashia, thetter had to admit that the approaching girl had her own set of charms that set her apart from the rest. "Took you long enough, Agatha. How have you been?" Eren hugged Agatha as soon as she reached the pair by the counter. Thetter was surprised at first by such a warm wee by her master. But that didn''t prevent her from hugging him back. Eren was genuinely happy to see a familiar face after a long time. He also wanted Agatha to realize that she is valued by him. So that she would focus on the tasks assigned to her and not chase after a blindsided revenge and ruin his ns for both of them. Of course, another reason Eren hugged Agatha in front of Altashia so intimately was that he wanted to make her a bit jelly. And from the looks of it, it seemed to have worked. Because he saw that Altashia was trying to read some texts over the spectral screen ced in front of them to not be seen as awkwardly looking at them. That act made her look more ufortable in Eren''s eyes. "I''m fine, Eren. It was your fault for giving me such short notice, you know. Otherwise, I would have arrived on time." Agathained a bit before shing a mild smile at him. Thetter chuckled and shrugged his shoulders before addressing the counterdy once again. "Agatha will be registering as White Raven''s first member." Eren told the counterdy and had Agathaplete the formality. Thetter nodded at him before shing the ID stone''s spectral screen. "Oh, you are a legal ve of Sir Eren Idril. Ideally, you wouldn''t be counted as a regr member. Since Sir Eren has served in the army, he has certain privileges that can exempt you. Here, ce your hands over this array disk." The counterdy addressed Agatha in a normal voice after checking her details. But Altashia heard it and raised her eyebrows even higher. She couldn''t help asking the butcher. "You you have a legal ve?" Eren looked at Altashia as if this was obvious before responding. "Yeah. But she''s more of my assistant than anything. I wouldn''t call her that." ''Yeah. Because you already have "proper" ves in the Oni dungeon.'' Alephee added on. But Eren ignored it and watched as Agatha finished her registration into the White Raven guild. The guild had been granted an active status when that happened. So, they could technically take up missions assigned by any city admin office, open army missions assigned to guilds, or receive personal requests from other rankers. Although the White Raven guild was far from taking any lucrative missions for itself even though it had gotten into the system, it was still a start. By having an active status, the guild would be in the loop regarding various open missions sorted by region. Agatha listened to what Eren had said about her and felt pleased. From her point of view, her master had been a block of stone emotionally for most of the time. His actions were dominated by his desire to seed at every stage of his life. But Agatha could tell that something had changed in Eren since a few months ago. Like his dreams, emotions, and everything rigid about him had been re-programmed by someone. Of course, Agatha weed the change. Chapter 463 Guild Asset

Chapter 463 Guild Asset

"Are you done with your work here, Eren?" Altashia asked when Agatha finished the process. Eren shook his head in denial before retrieving a rune-sealed document from his storage. He walked ahead to the counter once again and unsealed the rune with his mana sense before presenting it to the counterdy. "I''d also like to register this plot ofnd under White Raven''s property." This was the same plot ofnd Eren had bought from Dianna Remus. A considerable amount of fortune earned from Purgatory and his other adventures had been spent on it. That included the money he had earned from selling the artefacts he had received from the in soldiers and all his other victims. Of course, he had kept some of the useful things to himself. But Eren had in too many high profile rankers while he was in the Lionheart duchy. Most of the artefacts and other items he had received from them carried heat. Especially the army-issue artefacts. So he had sold the artefacts to a pawn shop that was linked with a cultist group and made quick bucks from them. Although he only received around half the value of the artefacts'' original price, their quality and quantity had given him enough Extols to meet his ludicrous needs. The counterdy checked the document by cing it over the array disk and validated it to be real. The plot of seemingly deadnd was soon registered under White Raven Guild''s banner. Agatha was stunned by how much the butcher nned ahead in terms of guild assets. She wasn''t aware that he had also secured the property for the guild even before making the guild a reality. "Now, I''m finished. At least here. Let''s celebrate. Altashia, treat us to a tasty lunch. You know, to congratte us on the foundation of our guild and the acquisition of its assets. Hehe!" Eren said to the warrior ranker while cing his arm over the other side of Agatha''s shoulder in a friendly manner. He had tilted over to the anthrope, cing half of his body weight on her. "Hmph! You are shameless. It should be you who treats me for owning something like this." Altashiained when she heard Eren''s ridiculous demand. Thetter sighed and admitted the truth. "We should have. But as you can see, we had to pay for so many things all at once. We are broke now." Eren said with a helpless sigh. Agatha heard this and tried to open her mouth to speak but Eren stopped her from doing so by contacting her via ID stonemunication. ''Don''t say a word, woman. There is no doubt you have received plenty of profit from our legal and illegal sale of potions. But Altashia doesn''t know that and I''d like to keep it that way. Running a guild is no joke, Agatha. We will need to spend every penny with utmost caution. Besides, that girl is loaded. It would be a waste to not profit from her.'' Eren quickly said all he had to say to Agatha without Altashia hearing about it. The anthrope sighed when she realized that although her master had indeed changed in some aspects, his core beliefs had remained the same. He was the same frugal and greedy businessman she had known him as. "*Sigh. Alright. Let''s find somece to eat first." Altashia gave up arguing about petty things with Eren. She had already learned her lesson not to engage with him in a verbal spat. It was much easier to beat his ass than to win an argument against him. ********************** "I''ll have some Ace Ranked steak along with a bottle of Frostfoam as a starter. Then I''ll have some" Eren kept on adding multiple cuisines to his menu when a mortal waiter came to take the table''s order. He, Agatha, and Altashia were now patrons of a well-known restaurant named Amazing Arangar, which was near the city admin building. They had reserved a patio table on the first floor. The floor was empty except for a few groups of rankers who seemed to be busy among themselves. Eren ced orders for both himself and Agatha as if he was treating her. He then looked at Altashia, who was staring nkly at the butcher''s behaviour. The warrior ranker sighed and ordered a couple of dishes for herself as well. This was the first time she had met someone who would ask for a treat from her while trying to date her. The butcher had be a unique existence in her eyes as a result. "Altashia?" The trio heard a distinct voice directed at their table just when the food arrived. While serving rankers, the waiter didn''t waste time. He served the food as per the orders and scurried downstairs. They all looked to see a young man in his twenties approach them with a charming smile stered over his face. He was a tall man with a lean build. His muscr definition and form-fitting clothes made him look like a capable ranker. "Morty? What are you doing here?" Altashia replied with a question of her own. Although her expressions were in, Eren could tell that she was not exactly happy seeing the guy here. "Oh, I was here for some work. Never thought I''d meet you outside the Royal Ren grounds so soon. A wee surprise. Hehe!" Morty started walking towards the trio''s table before stopping when he was standing beside Altashia. He continued as if he had remembered something. "Oh! Now that I think about it. I had heard that you were stationed at the Kadhak army camp. So finding you here shouldn''te as a surprise I guess. Hahaha! Small world." Morty just pulled up a chair that belonged to an empty table and sat beside Altashia. The bunch of rankers he hade with looked at him and chuckled before finding a different table in the corner. As if they wanted him to have his time. Altashia subconsciously looked at Eren when Morty sat beside her. But the butcher just smiled and blinked once- telling her he was not offended by her acquaintance''s rude behaviour. Altashia sighed and decided to soothe the tension around the table that only she felt was there. She cleared her throat and prepared to make some introductions. Chapter 464 Deal with the Derringers

Chapter 464 Deal with the Derringers

Altashia cleared her throat and made introductions. "Eren, meet Morty Derringer. My batchmate from Royal Ren. Morty, meet Eren Idril. He is my squad member, assigned as the deputy vice-captain." Altashia made a short introduction. But Eren registered the surname Derringer and thought of a famous weapon-making family active in Edinburgh. He smiled at Morty courteously and the other nodded at him as a formality. "Altashia, would you minding with me to do some sightseeing in the city? I had nned to go with our batchmates who hade here with me. But they are a rowdy bunch. I''d rather prefer to have thepany of someone calm and collected beside me. Hehe! What do you say?" Morty asked and looked at Altashia''s expressions. She was looking at Eren who was busy eating his freshly served food. It seemed that it didn''t affect the butcher that his city exploration ns with her for the day were being ruined by a stranger. Morty once again followed Altashia''s gaze and looked at Eren. The guy was having a good time eating and talking to another girl he had with him. ''Just what else can you expect from a student of LA?'' Morty sighed internally when he looked at Eren''sck of table manners. But now was not the time to belittle the guy. It seemed that Altashia had already made ns with him. And him asking her out for an outing was going to put a dent in that n. Morty knew Altashia wouldn''t do something like that. Since she had said so from the beginning, she would honour her agreement with the goofball in front of him. So he needed to get his permission for Altashia toe with him. "Erenbuddy! Would you mind if Altashia came sightseeing with me? We have a lot to talk about during our time in Royal Renar you see. So I''d owe you one if you could just, you know, go do your own thing." Morty asked with a gracious smile. Eren stopped eating and looked at the man. Then he opened the Frostfoam up before pouring it into his mug. The butcher took the first sip of elven ale Ma had introduced him to and let a shiver run through his body, calming everything down. He answered only after feeling that calmness. "Al, do you remember the conversation we had before we came to the city? Hehe. Do what you feel is right. Our friend here needspany after all." Morty thought that Eren had cancelled his ns at the mere suggestion of him. He liked people who knew their position in the hierarchy. Al on the other hand understood itpletely differently. ''I want you to fight for me. I want you to be on the frontline for me.'' Eren''s words reverberated in Altashia''s head when he made her remember the talk in the carriage. She sighed when she understood his intentions. "Morty, I don''t think I''lle with you. Besides, Eren and I have more to talk about regarding our uing missions. Thank you for asking though." Altashia politely declined Morty''s offer. She knew that the guy was trying to get close to her. She even doubted that her meeting him was a coincidence like he had said it was. Morty was left speechless by Altashia''s statement. It took him some time to regain hisposure before speaking up. "Alright. See you around Altashia." Morty was about to leave when Eren ced his empty ale on the table and addressed him. "Hehehe! Morty, how serious were you when you said you owe me one? I had given Al clearance from my side, as you can see. If she doesn''t take it, it is her call." Eren finished his tter as he spoke. Morty looked at him with a surprised look on his face. ''Is this guy for real? Are you nning to make me pay for his gratitude that became useless to me in the end?'' Morty thought before responding. "Of course, Eren. Tell me, what can I do for you?" Morty said that regardless of what he felt at the time. Because, unlike someone who had ravaged his food as if he had never eaten food in his entire life, Morty Derringer had a reputation to keep. "Brrrrrugh!" Eren nodded before burping aloud. He had to admit that his hunger as a slime half-blood was no joke. It was taking an increasinglyrge amount of food for him to feel satiated with each passing month. The butcher then ran his mana through his body and made the residual food and stains on him disappear into thin air. While taking his smoke out, he started speaking. "Your name is Derringer, right? Are you perhaps rted to the house that gets Edinburgh''s weapon-making contracts?" Morty didn''t want to sit by the table anymore now that Altashia had said no to him. But Eren''s topic soothed his ego a bit. So he smiled and nodded his head before replying. "That''s right, Eren. Arge part of the army-issue weapons and artefacts you guys use in the active service are made by us. You want me to ce a custom order for" Morty didn''t mind fixing an artefact or two for Eren to up his image in Altashia''s eyes. But Eren interrupted him before he could finish. "No, Morty. You are not getting it. I''m not looking to ce a custom order. Rather, I want to know if you guys want to ce an order with me." Eren said this while hitting the inside of his mouth with the back of his hand. Then he put that into his mouth before lighting it up with his fire mana. Morty had a puzzled look on his face when he heard Eren. He didn''t get what the guy was saying. He asked for an exnation. "What do you mean, Eren?" Eren took a long drag from his smoke and released it in the air. He spoke up only after indulging in the effects of his smoke for a bit. "Well, you need raw materials for artefact manufacturing, right? I want to ask if you can ce an order for those raw products. Don''t worry. I''m not talking about a meagre amount or a one-time deal. Let''s say you will be charged 20% less than the market price for a certain period in exchange for cing a security detail in your name. We can discuss other finer details of the deal at ater time. But this is roughly the deal I''m offering. I think you will soon find out that it is not something you want to miss out on. The choice is yours though. And yeah. The offer closes soon!" ================ AN: Thanks a ton Drin27 and ketsueki_Hasu for your super gifts. Two castles in a day at the start of the month was a pleasant treat. Thank you Venom30, Pietys, TrafalgarLaws, Dream98, _DaRk_MiST_, GojoVir, Drifter, and Waakaranai for your gifts. Also, special thanks to Daoist_Culture for the luxury car and consistent engagement through all yourments. VEH will have a mass release by the second or third week of the month. Cheers! ;) Chapter 465 Baby Steps

Chapter 465 Baby Steps

"Offer closes soon!" Eren said as he took his drag. Morty held hisughter back when he heard what he considered to be a goofball finish speaking up. He took some time toe up with the right words before speaking up. "Eren, I don''t want to belittle you. But you don''t understand the scale with which my family''s business works. This is not something a single individual" Eren shook his head again before interrupting the guy. "I of course understand the scale. Why do you think I''m asking you instead of going to local channels? Because they can''t handle the quantity I''m talking about. I''ll not be doing this transaction with your manufacturing line in an individual capacity. The White Raven Guild will handle this transaction with you. The reason I''m giving a 20 percent discount and asking for on-site protection is that the guild''s roots are not deep enough." Having finished a substantial amount of smoke, Eren used the ashtray. He then added. "By the way, I''m also thinking of approaching the Lobaev household if you say no." Eren had no ns to approach the house of Lobaev. It was a rival house of Derringers. It was looking desperately to win more army contracts for itself than Derringers and rise above its current position. And currently, it was giving a toughpetition to its rival by being extremelypetitive. ''Take the bait!'' Eren thought to himself. And thetter did exactly that after pondering for a bit. "Well, I don''t have anymanding powers over our family''s business transactions. And I doubt you would want to discuss it right away. I can arrange a business meeting for you to meet the right personnel from my family''s side in this city. You can figure out the detailster. How does that sound?" Morty understood what Eren was trying to do. But he didn''t want to take a chance and offer Lobaev another piece of meat they could be having. Of course, he doubted Eren when he said he had understood the scale of the business. The butcher''s mediocre background still undervalued him. But there was no harm in listening to the man. "That''s all I ask for. White Raven Guild is Looking forward to doing business with you. Err your family." Morty nodded at Eren when he heard the perfunctory remarks. He had ordered dwarven booze for himself a few minutes ago, which was just being served to him. He took a sip from his drink before asking Eren another question. "By the way, Eren. I have never heard about this White Raven guild. Is it not active in the Nightshade duchy?" Eren shrugged his shoulders before replying casually. "Oh, I''m sure you haven''t heard of us. That''s because we just registered our guild beforeing to eat here after all." Proof! Morty sprayed all his Darwen booze on himself when he heard Eren''s statement. He then looked at Eren with a sense of bewilderment written on his face. But thetter just looked him in the eyes with a straight face and didn''t say a word. He then looked at his batchmate who then sighed and nodded her head. She confirmed that what Eren had said was indeed true and she was a witness to it. "You! I hope you know what you are doing. My family doesn''t like to fuck around when ites to business you know. y with them and you''ll find that you suddenly have a lot of idents in your life. You still want me to proceed?" Eren just nodded his head and kicked the butt of his smoke away. He imbued his fire mana into it, which made it disappear into thin air before it hit the ground. Morty sighed and nodded, sharing his contact details with Eren. He then looked at Altashia as if to look for some exnation regarding Eren. She didn''t offer him any. So he got up and bid his goodbyes. "Once again, it was a pleasure meeting you, Altashia. I''ll be near the city of Arangar for my on-field assignment as well. You can always contact me whenever you want if you need anything. Eren. Miss Agatha. Good day." ************************ "I thought you were trying to date that girl, Altashia. How could you just allow that Morty guy to take her with him in the morning?" Agatha asked Eren while sitting at the edge of the bed. Eren, Agatha, and Altashia was back at the inn they had rented after a day-long city exploration. Altashia had observed that the master-ve duo had a good rapport between them while she was apanying them. It waste in the evening when the trio ended their sightseeing. Eren made Agatha stay with him in his room under the guise that he wanted to save money. Altashia had a not-so-obvious pout when she heard it. Al didn''t say anything to Eren or offer to spend money to book a room for Agatha. Because of the fear ofing across as insecure and possessive. She then berated herself for thinking like that as Eren and she were not even seeing each other. Eren and Agatha finally settled into their spacious guest room while Al retired to her own seprate space. Tomorrow, Eren was going to apany Altashia while she took care of her work. Eren and Agatha changed into somethingfortable when everything else was done. The anthrope girl had worn silk-looking loungewear. A light pink top matched with loose-fitting pink pants. She asked while swinging her feet in the air. Eren on the other hand was only wearing pants. His bare torso reflected the moonlight falling on his ripped muscle details. He stood by the open window trying to think of something while looking at his hands. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Eren sent a bunch of wind des into the air by shing his hands horizontally in the open space, outside the window. This was the tweaked variant of the Wind de Tornado he had learnt recently. Then he raised his hands towards them to control them with his mana sense. Immediately, the stray wind des that were heading in different directions started converging before spinning around each other at a rapid pace. Like a mini-tornado that was levitating aimlessly in the air. ''Heh! First, there was the deal with the Derringers. Then a satisfying execution of Wind des Tornado. Today was fruitful. Not bad. Baby steps, Eren. Baby steps.'' Chapter 466 Minerva’s Utopia "Thatnd you registered as the guild asset? Is it not barren?" Eren chuckled before responding. "It is. Otherwise, the house of Remus wouldn''t have let it go." "Then how?" Agatha asked right afterwards. Hehe, thatnd doesn''t have any value by itself. But soon it will serve as an entrance to a ce that will be rich in resources." Eren said and rolled on his back. But not before pulling Agatha over him in one quick motion. He embraced her and caressed her hair before bringing her right ear closer to his mouth. He whispered the next words into her ears while stroking the back of her head. "Minerva''s Utopia! You will soon be very busy, my love. Let''s get rid of some of that pent up stress in your body before that happens." *********************** In Eren''s previous timeline, the house of Remus was one of the few organizations that had seen a sensational rise to sess when the entrance to Minerva Midea''s Utopia was found on the barrennd they owned. The house was already famous for its groundbreaking auction events. Thend it had received from one of its patrons as coteral when they failed to repay the amount was seen as a dead asset by the house''s high ranking scions. The family nned to get rid of it soon. But one day, a spatial tear appeared on the samend and thend''s value changed from a dead asset to housing Remus'' most precious possessions. One of the most crucial things to note down about Minerva''s separate dimension was that it was called Utopia and not Purgatory. That''s because it didn''t test the participants as harshly as something like Eliza''s Purgatory would. The participants were able to enter the utopia safely before getting tested for various skills. Minerva Midea was a known Sage ranker. Her field of study was potioning, specifically the external applications of potions instead of just consumption. So it was natural that the utopia created by her was dedicated to the potioners. Participants would be tested more on their potion-making skills than on theirbat skills. This was not to imply that Minerva''s Utopia did not wee non-pioneers. But it was said that only a skilled potion-maker could find the true legacy of the ce. Andrium was the mostmon reward found in the separate dimension. It was discoveredter that Minerva had created a unique process to create Andrium authentically using potions as the catalyst. Nobody could figure out how she did that. But that didn''t prevent them from entering the Utopia as participants and getting their hands on the ores of Andrium rewarded to them. There were other potion-rted resources in the separate dimension too. One such resource was Mega Mandrakes. It was a nt-type monster that was unnecessarily huge and clumsy. Its body was made of roots and it had branches and stems of roots for its limbs. The monster had poor eyesight. Its only inherent spell was the instant creation of dense vegetation around it with its overwhelmingly pure earth-element mana. And most of all, it wasn''t aggressive. Minerva''s separate dimension hosted a near-endless army of these monsters ranging from F to C-Rank. The participants could take the monsters'' bodies as rewards after battling with them. Due to this, the utopia became a highly sought-after destination for potioners. Most of Mega Mandrake''s body could be used to make potions. The monster''s heart was its most precious ingredient because it had the properties of replenishing the lost or worn out life essence upon consumption. Its other body parts could also be used for different purposes. Participants were also granted other rewards such as Extols, weapon strengthening potions, and other unique concoctions. So, even though the real inheritance of the separate dimension could not be found, the number of participants who visited the ce only increased with time. After some years, nobody was interested in finding the real inheritance. Everybody started treating Utopia as a ce that could be farmed for resources while facing a minimal amount of danger. House of Remus secured the spatial tear first before starting to construct an ever-growing city around it. It couldn''t charge the participants for entering the Utopia because it could not im its ownership. But it did the next logical thing. The organisation devoted all its resources to create a city around the entrance and began charging a huge entry fee to get into the city. Soon, the city of Minerva became a ce for rankers to earn quick bucks at the cost of paying a hefty entry fee. Moreover, the house of Remus would make deals with the participants and charge a fixed price based on what they won in the separate dimension. Even with so many taxes and cuts imposed by the family and the Edinburgh kingdom by proxy, the participants still found that they were making profits. And considerable profits at that. As the number of participants increased, the wealth of the Remus family only grew further. It didn''t take long for the family to recover its investment cost. The family did the sensible thing and invested a fixed share of its profits to grow the city of Minerva even further. The city of Minervater became a go-to spot for newbie and veteran rankers alike. The city birthed various businesses unique to its ecosystem. Once the house of Remus began epting permanent residents for the city, the value of its real estate skyrocketed. The spatial gate would ur once a week at a fixed ce and time. Participants will be sent home four days after entering Utopia. Plus, it only allowed rankers from F to C Ranks to enter. The city would have its own set of customs and rituals in future based on how the spatial tear operated. That meant the day of the entrance every week would be the busiest day for the city''s business faculties. And four days after the participants'' entrance were the days when the businesses saw another huge spike in their profits. The city would see constant traffic of rankers from Novice to Master ranks. It became the reason for the house of Remus to rise to prominence in the years following the city''s foundation. Dianna didn''t know that Eren had nned to screw her in more ways than one by snatching this ce from her family''s grasp. Update thetest chapter at Chapter 467 An Opportunistic Chameleon "You will soon be very busy, my love. Let''s get rid of some of that pent up stress in your body before that happens." Eren said and kissed the young anthrope on her lips. Thetter responded by opening her mouth and allowing his tongue to roam inside it. "Ummmmmm!" Agatha moaned when she felt Eren''s hands exploring her body with vigour. She felt as he grabbed her buns and gave them a firm squeeze. She copied her master and inserted her tongue inside his mouth as well. The kiss dragged on for a couple of minutes before Agatha broke it up to gasp for some air. Her eyes looked like she was a bit intoxicated. But she still held onto the vestiges of sanity as she asked her master. "Did... Did you know that Derringer scion woulde there as well?" Eren chuckled as he heard the young anthrope''s query. He stroked her back and felt her supple skin through the flimsy fabric before responding. "You overestimate me. Our meeting with him was a total coincidence. I had a different n in mind. But I thought I shouldn''t let go of the opportunity when it has been presented to me." Eren said, lifting Agatha''s night top from behind. His fingers stroked her bare skin and felt that the young anthrope''s body temperature was rising. She had worn strappy underwear inside to support her bust. The butcher traced the strap of the innerwear as he added on. "Why should I get into a cockfight with the guy when I can just use him as my stepping stone?" Agatha also chuckled when she heard Eren''s creative way of handling potential romance rivalry. Instead of getting into a fight with the guy, he had used him to gain a significant advantage in his ns. "Not... not letting opportunities slip by, you say? You were trying to woo someone else in the morning. But now you are trying to get into my pants. An opportunist indeed." Eren smirked when he heard Agatha''s witty remark. He had concluded that he shouldn''t chase after a skirt he wasn''t likely to get any time soon and ignore the one he had ess to. So Eren chuckled and responded to Agatha while looking her in the eye. "Well You were so busy observing my actions concerning others that you missed something very important. I look at you the way I look at money too. With keen interest." Agatha felt pleased by Eren''s broken way of praising her. She shed a gracious smile before kissing Eren again. This time with more passion while applying all her body pressure on him to pin him down. ******************* Agatha subconsciously thought of how she had met this crazy and cruel man that was now her master. When Eren had fought with her, she could have never imagined that she would be able to get in bed with him. Agatha was in an emotionally vulnerable state when she joined Beast Bloods. She didn''t know what she was doing apart from trying her best to get the personal powers she needed. Her mind had been consumed by thoughts of revenge before meeting Eren. But everything changed when she was enved andpelled to submit. Eren channelled Agatha''s emotional vulnerability the right way by making her do all the grunt work. He made her see that the world worked on a different principle than she had initially thought. There were no happy endings. At least not for everybody. This cruel world owed her nothing. It was her job to take advantage of everything it had to offer. ''Personal interests are of paramount importance. Ensure that your help isn''t taken for granted when you extend it to your friends. And don''t get burned in the fire you set for your enemies.'' Eren had once told her. His actions, his principles, and his indomitable will had created an unremovable impression on her fragile psyche at that time. Most of all, she had seen him putting in insane amounts of dedication and work most rankers their age wouldn''t normally invest in. Rankers had their personal lives too after all. Yet, Agatha witnessed Eren spend hours on end during potioning experiments while not skipping his ranking practice. He would then carry on doing his routine without taking any breaks. He would meet up with his clients in the most professional ways and carry out overt and covert deals that had multiple chances of turning violent at the moment''s notice. The kind ofmitment Eren showed towards achieving his goals made Agatha feel how naive she was in expecting the world to help her when she needed it. She realized that the world doesn''t bend to anyone''s will. Not unless you force it to. And when Eren gave so many responsibilities on her shoulders, that was the time Agatha metamorphosed into the kind of woman she had beC practical, business-minded, and someone who would put her interests first. Her and her master''s interests. Agatha''s journey with Eren started with her hating his guts to her core and wanting nothing more than to kill him. Then when she was enved by him and scared into submission, the same feeling of hatred changed into being neutral about everything before finally transforming into something productive. She wanted to learn all that she could from him when that happened. At first, she thought that she was cooperating with him for her interests. For her revenge. But with time, she realized that he had taken the ce of her kin in her eyes. That''s because in the whole wide world, only he taught her how to handle life. How to deal with the emotions of anger and hatred. How to channel them into something productive. So when the opportunity to be intimate with him presented itself to Agatha, she didn''t shy away from it either. She had be an opportunist like him too, whether she cared to admit it or not. Agatha didn''t care about how cruel and cold-hearted he was to his enemies. Or how he behaved differently when dealing with different people, changing the colours of his personality to blend in with them like an opportunistic chameleon. The young anthrope didn''t care about Altashia either. At this moment, her only thought was to share the moments of passion with her master. This was a man who had made her see how the world worked. This was a man who had given her courage and confidence when there was nobody in her life that could do that for her. The young anthrope had decided that tonight would be her time to be selfish about what she wanted the most at the moment. She wanted Eren to indulge her all night long in her carnal desires. Update thetest chapter at Chapter 468 Employee Satisfaction P1* Hot! That''s what Agatha was feeling. The cold breeze tempered by the moonlight that was entering through the half-opened window did nothing to soothe the fire Eren had lit up within the depths of her body and soul. Eren pulled back from the kiss this time and rolled to his side once more, bringing Agatha under him. He kissed her right cheek before nibbling on her right earlobe while kneading her twin peaks with both his hands. "Aaaaaaaah slow Eren!" The cries of pleasure escaped Agatha''s mouth. She grabbed the back of Eren''s head as a reassurance that she was in control of his actions. But she also knew that wasn''t the case. The guy just liked to do his own thing when it suited him. He had teased her quite a lot when they were in the Lionheart duchy. That had ignited the spark in her for the first time. And now that spark had been turned into a wildfire that couldn''t be extinguished anytime soon. Eren knew that Agatha was still a Novice ranker so he needed to take things slow. Plus, she was also inexperienced. So he decided to excite her a bit more before heading to the main act. Eren kissed her some more before heading his march downward. He licked across the length of her neck while unbuttoning her night top. When it looked like too much bother, Eren got up, got on his knees while pinning Agatha between her legs and executed histest spell. "What." Agatha wanted to ask Eren what he was doing but only received a smirk as a response. She pouted her cheeks to show her dissatisfaction. A batch of micro wind des appeared in the next moment and ripped through Agatha''s outer clothes without hurting her. The wind des only left her innerwear intact. They carried the torn pieces of clothes with them before dispersing outside the window. "Hmm! You are stunning Agatha. Those boobs are muchrger than I imagined them to be. That''s a pleasant surprise." Eren said and resumed his attention on Agatha''s tits. He slid one of her globes out of its strapped cage and started sucking on it. With his hands, he took hold of the now-erect bud on her other tit and worked on it like twisting a delicate knob. "Stunning you say Am I Aaaah... More stunning than... Aaaah... Altashia?" Agatha managed to form a question amid the overloading waves of pleasures hitting her one after the other. Eren heard her question and chuckled internally. He didn''t reply to her immediately. He kept on doing what he had intended to and sucked on her right boob some more before raising his head in her direction. "Hehehe! One should always appreciate what they have at the moment. Right now, at this moment, you are more beautiful than her and any other woman I''ve ever seen." Agatha processed Eren''s statements and found them to be ludicrous and politically correct. She was sure that he would make a sessful politician if given a chance. But she was not in a position to demand a more pleasing answer. She found sce in the fact that he had called her stunning of his own ord. Eren didn''t wait and let Agatha process what he had said for much longer either. He brought his face down to her left boob before sucking on its nipple too. Agatha had small hair protruding around her nipple region. Therefore, her are was a bit rough to the touch. The tip of Eren''s tongue felt as if she had gotten goosebumps on her slight brown pleasure spot. But that didn''t stop Eren from doing what he wanted to do. Meanwhile, his hands started moving downwards. He caressed Agatha''s t stomach with distinct ab details before stroking the region below her navel. He could feel that her body temperature kept on increasing the further downwards he went. Eren pressed on Agatha''s feminine mound over her innerwear. The slimy wetness had already made itself apparent on her undies. He stroked and massaged right over her clit and made her pussy ooze some more juices. "Aaaaaah! Thisssss...." It didn''t take long for Agatha to experience her first orgasm of the night. A hot stream of pussy juices was ejacted, making her undies and the bed below it get drenched in the same. Agatha had subconsciously transformed into her anthrope form when she experienced her orgasmic high. Her white-grey hair grew longer along with her nails and her pupils turned vertical. Her ears also showed beastly features. It took a couple of long and drawn out breaths for Agatha to calm down. Her anthrope transformation was also retracted for the most part. But she retained her vertical eyes and her long nails. A distinct sexually tantalizing aroma spreads in the room. Something that turned Eren on. Yet he was not driven by his needs. After all, he could always think a lot clearer when his balls had been recently emptied. Agatha had spread her legs wide previously. She closed them a bit before caressing her pussy to soothe her. All her actions were observed by the butcher, who smirked before adding more. "Wow! A lot of pent up emotions, I take it!" She only opened her closed eyes when she thought the waves of pleasure had subsided. Shey on her back with Eren on top of her, looking down at her with mischief in his eyes while standing on his knees. His expressions told her that he was far from over. "And whose. Haaah! Whose fault is that?" Agatha said and pulled Eren up to her with her free hands. She kissed him on his lips again before nting her lips all over his face. Her hands scratched his back with her long nails, leaving a trail of barely visible red lines, which then disappeared as soon as they appeared. Eren cooperated with Agatha while making sure that she enjoyed every bit of his actions. His sexual needs were well taken care of by the monster girls not too long ago. So he focused on making this a pleasurable experience for his guild''s very first member and frontline manager. Happy and satisfied employees are known to deliver enhanced productivity after all. Update thetest chapter at Chapter 469 Employee Satisfaction P2* Slurp! Agatha broke her liplock with Eren after what felt like an eternity and a short period to her at the same time. She gasped for air when her mouth was released from her master''s lip siege. Her undies had been removed as soon as Eren found the opportunity to do so. Agatha felt a bit awkward at first because she had not mowed thewn down there. But as was the case with Nina, the butcher was perfectly fine with women having a bit of pubic growth. Eren had made Agatha cum again by going down on her. His agile tongue found its target amid the dense pubic growth. He didn''t do anything overly extravagant. Her first experience needed to be tamed. So she can experience a new high when he takes things up a notch in the future. Agatha was knocked out of her senses for a bit when the second orgasm hit her. Her eyes were rolled backwards, her tongue came out of her mouth, and her hands grabbed onto the sheets so tight she tore them through them along with the mat below. Eren felt the need to drink the dwarven rum that was given to him by his team''s tank. So hey beside Agatha after he had finished giving a nice oral to Agatha. Then retrieved the bottle of rum and drank straight from it, neat. Despite the dwarf''s repetitive warnings that he should dilute it a bit to open the booze up a bit and explore the vours added to it. Eren was still fully clothed while Agatha had lost hers. Only now did she realize that she was too pleasure-driven to take Eren''s needs into ount. "Eren I I am..." "Hey it''s fine. You are allowed to prioritize your pleasures. Here, drink this." Eren offered Agatha some of the dwarven rum he was drinking. Agatha smiled when he heard Eren''sid-back response. She didn''t feel awkward being naked in his presence anymore. The young anthrope took the bottle from him and tried to follow in his footsteps. Phroooooop! Agatha threw up all the rum she had drunk on Eren when she tried to gulp a mouthful of it down. Although it was a Novice rank concoction, the punch it had was too much for the young anthrope''s palette. Plus, since Eren offered it to her neat, the burn she felt in her mouth was too much for her to control her reflex. "Hahahaha! I I am sorry, Agatha. Look at your face though Hehehehe!" Agatha pouted her cheeks again when her rascal of a master tried to make fun of her again. She decided to take charge and dominate him a bit. "Here drink our shitty booze all by yourself." Agatha then handed the rum bottle to Eren again. She then tied her long hair into a knot before smirking at him. "It seems you have a lot of energy to spare. Let me have some of it. Hehe" Agatha chuckled and cast her water-element spell on Eren. Thetter raised his eyebrows but didn''t do anything. He kept on drinking as he watched azure-coloured water-element mana form a levitating pool of abstract mass in the air. Eren hade to realize that Agatha was a water-element spell user. But he didn''t know her inherent nature. Additionally, he had never seen her fight for real. In theirst battle, Eren had dropped a potion bomb on her without the young anthrope having an opportunity to disy her skills. But that was water under the bridge. Agatha had chosen a different form of duel to showcase her skills. She guided the water-element mass that was formed in the air and let it cover Eren''s entire body save for his head and the arm which was holding the bottle of rum. **************** ''Hm? My stamina is depleting. The depletion rate is low. Furthermore, the spell has a lot of loopholes that allow the target to easily avoid it, but that is an unusual inherent nature to have nheless.'' Eren thought to himself as he let the azure water deplete his stamina. It had also tried to delete his mana but for some reason, it wasn''t able to. Eren figured out that it was either due to Agatha''s low-level ranking status that only allowed her to process Novice ranked mana. Or now that he had Sins series abilities, his mana had started carrying trace amounts of foreign mana although it was not overtly visible. It could also be that Agatha was not skilled enough to use her spells. Or her status as a mere anthrope prevented her from tapping into the true potential of such a skill. Either way, Eren concluded that her inherent nature was not normal. It possessed some of the same properties as his half-blood powers. Yet it didn''t feel that otherworldly to him. The spell and its powers belong to this world. What''s even more interesting was the fact that Agatha had found a spell and ranking technique that could utilize her inherent nature so well. Eren doubted that there were many rankers with the same inherent nature as her. This meant the source from which she obtained such a spell and technique was special. It also exined why Agatha was finding it difficult to find a suitable ranking technique, even if her anthrope status was taken into ount. Her near-stagnation in ranking status could also be exined. Eren also came to realize the fact that Agatha would be a menace to her opponents if and when she starts her ranking journey at normal speed. She would be a fearsome opponent to deal with as she keeps on ranking up. And unlike him who had to ensure his secrets do not get leaked, Agatha could use her powers freely. That meant that she could use such a spell openly without worrying about retaliation from the kingdom and its other forces. Eren had decided that he needed to prioritize finding a suitable ranking technique for Agatha or hire some high-ranking entity to create one themselves, basing it on her current technique. Although it might not be the most optimized technique and the expenses could be huge, it would all be worth it if Agatha manages to break into Ace rank and then some more. He was anyway going to have arge money inflow in the future. =============== AN: Thanks Ketsueki_Hasu and Daoist_Culture for your super gifts. Here''s a pre-mass-release mass release of four chapters as a thank you. It would also serve as a remedy against blue balls, lol. ;) Update thetest chapter at Chapter 470 Employee Satisfaction P3* Eren watched as the azure water that had wrapped his body got uplifted in the air before covering Agatha''s naked body the same way. The butcher fired up his mana sense and observed that Agatha''s somewhat tired body was recovering at a rapid pace. She was using his life essence to recover from fatigue. ''So that''s how she survived that potion bomb''s st. She wasn''t just helped by her anthrope body. She must have also used this spell to survive.'' Eren watched as the sweat on Agatha''s body disappeared when the water element mana was dispersed. She looked like she had just gotten up, bathed, and was ready to face the day. "Thank you for energizing me, Eren. Hehe. You look a bit surprised!" Eren had stopped drinking the rum when he watched Agatha use her spell. But he was snapped back to reality when she made thatment. He chuckled before responding. "Heh! I''m d that you got a chance to refresh yourself. We have a long night ahead of us. And we don''t want to tire you out in the first inning. Nowe here." Eren said and executed Hatchlings of the me. A bunch of fire snakes appeared around the bed and Eren used one of them like a whip to lift Agatha in the air. One of the fire snakes, which had wrapped her waist with its tail, carried her weight while remaining on the ground. Another four fire snakes had appeared and wrapped around Agatha''s four limbs. They had fireballs under their bodies, which enabled them to levitate. The fire snakes'' prisoner Agatha was lifted off the ground as a result. Of course, Eren had adjusted his spells in such a way that they wouldn''t hurt the young anthrope. The tasks were a bit too stressful. But the butcher thought it was worth it to add a re to the conventional y. All this happened within a few moments. Therefore, the young anthrope was very surprised. "hehe you devil don''t go too wild on me." Agatha chuckled when she looked at Eren from above the ground. She had subconsciously tried to free her limbs from the snakes'' grasps. But they both knew that her struggle was not genuine. The guy was staring at her while looking upwards and finishing thest few gulps of his rum. She watched as he controlled hisbo spell and made Agatha''s bunse right in front of his face. Hiss! The fire snakes that had wrapped their tails around the ends of Agatha''s limbs hissed in unison as they flew off in four different directions. This made the young anthrope spread her legs and arms in the air, enabling the butcher to see Agatha''s wet hole with all its glory. Like a book which was wide open in front of him, tempting him to read further. Eren coated his tongue in fire-element mana before giving Agatha another lick down there. Smirking, he added further. "Hehe! Delicious and rejuvenating. It''s healing water alright." Eren said and gulped down thest sip of his rum. Afterwards, he threw the bottle on the bed and spread Agatha''s levitating legs in the air with his hands before adding more. "Agatha dear, between your water and my fire, who will extinguish whom? Let''s find out." Eren said and resumed giving another oral. She experienced another level of ecstasy when the butcher did the same thing to her using his fire-element coated tongue. She wanted to grab the back of his head to slow him down and guide him just the way she wanted to. But her fire shackles prevented her from doing anything like that. This time, Agatha waspletely at Eren''s mercy. And mercy he did not show this time. He stimted the clit with one of his hands as he kept on licking the wet crack along its full length. At the same time, he used another hand and inserted his middle finger in the young anthrope''s tight and clenched rear opening. "Aaaaaaaah! Where. Where Aaaaaaah stop. Not there! Oh. aaaaaah" Agatha was hit with another batch of pleasure waves as she felt her rear entry was being vited by Eren''s finger. She had thought that Eren was so gentle with her all this time. So her backdoor would be safe even if it waspletely exposed to the rascal. She had thought wrong. Eren slowly drove his finger in and out, which was inside Agathas'' ass. His tongue y, however, had been taken to a new level. His other hand was moved to Agatha''s clit, and love juices gushed out of her slimydy part at a normal pace. Eren circted fire mana throughout his body and made his night pants disappear into the thin air. The smell of instabusted burnt cloth didn''t disturb him because his nose was busy taking a whiff off Agatha''s pussy. He had also rubbed the tip of his nose over her wet crack to give her a unique form of sensation. This waspletely different from fingering her orpping her pussy up. "Aaaaaah Err Errren released my handsssss!" Agatha wanted a false sense of security while she was feeling extremely sensitive down there. Yet the butcherughed and continued. It wasn''t long before a spray of hot love juices was unleashed right in Eren''s face as Agatha cried in ecstasy. "Rel release me. I I want toy down." Eren smiled and channelled his fire element mana throughout his body again, making Agatha''s release disappear into nothingness. He then brought her face closer to his and dispersed the fire snakes. But not before catching her with his arms and safely cing her between his legs in front of him. He nted a soft kiss on her cheek and caressed her hair before asking. "How was it?" Agatha wrapped her arms around Eren''s neck in her stead position and let herself get pressed against him. She then executed her water-element spell again, engulfing them both in the mass of water that has manifested again. As the azure spell started working, Agatha''s face started looking rejuvenated. She looked him in the eyes before responding. "Awesome. I want more!" Update thetest chapter at Chapter 471 Employee Satisfaction P4* "Awesome. I want more!" Agatha said and kissed Eren on his lips. She could feel that Eren''s dick was poking against her tummy as she did that. Ehs reached out her hand between them and took a hold of it. She started working along its length as her tongue invaded Eren''s mouth. Then she made him sleep on his back by slowly putting her body weight on him. The young anthrope was on top of the butcher again. Agatha kept on stroking Eren''s 8incher as shey on top of Eren. thetter had made a habit of adjusting the length and girth of his little guy ording to the women he was being with as well as their needs at the time. Agatha started kissing Eren on his neck first before proceeding to his chest. She kept kissing her way downwards before she reached her intended spot. The young anthrope didn''t wait long. She tried to take Eren''s whole dick in one go in an attempt to show that she knew what she was doing. "Cough! Cough! Cough! cough!" Too bad, she choked on it when the dick''s tip hit the uv. The young anthrope''s eyes be watery when she looked at Eren before trying to look somewhere else. Eren was watching her every move. He chuckled before adding. "Hahaha! It''s fine. Take your time. A simple, slow and steady blowjob is better than any exotic one." Eren said andy on his back again with his head looking at the ceiling. He then pulled out his smoke and started smoking as Agatha resumed her work with revised guidelines from him. Agatha first started sucking on the tip of Eren''s cock as she fondled his balls. She then started letting his dick slide inside her mouth bit by bit until she had taken almost all the length in. This time, the gag reflex didn''t kick in. Agatha''s mouth produced a lot of saliva on its own. Saliva began dripping from her mouth. She used the same stuff to dip her hands in before caressing and ying with Eren''s balls. ''Hm. Natural talent. I''m more blessed by women of natural talent. Except for that young elf. She was a total noob. Wonder what she''s doing now.'' Eren first acknowledged Agatha''s skills. Then he thought of Lensa for some reason. He would often think of random things when he was smoking Ster Sativa. As if his soul was interacting with the mysteries of the world and he had no control over it. Eren then smoked with one hand while grabbing Agatha from the back of her head with the other. By now she had started taking his dick in and out of her mouth at the usual speed. The saliva her mouth secreted acted as a natural lubricant and helped her a lot. "Hmmm! Good job. Now take it all in." Eren soon finished his smoke and held Agatha''s head with both of his hands before starting to lift his hips, matching her rhythm. Of course, he didn''t increase the speed of his thrusting all at once. He increased it gradually while enjoying the process of getting his dick sucked by the virgin talent. A low grunt was heard. And Agatha felt like something hot had been poured into her mouth. Like some liquid metal that was highly vtile. She didn''t need to exert much effort gulping it down because Eren had already released his seed at the back of her throat. Eren gave an appreciative nod at Agatha when she looked up and met his eyes. Her confidence rose as a result. So she rubbed the trace amount of Eren''s cum with the back of her right palm. Agatha cast her water element spell and cleaned herself and Eren up before charging herself some more. Her jaw hurt because of the moves she had just performed. So she channelled her mana and used Eren as an energy source to fix that about herself. Agatha got up on her fours and approached Eren while her pelvis moved rhythmically. Her knees were soon ced on either side of Eren as she lowered her groin over Eren''s. She rubbed her pussy over hisid dick before kissing him again. Eren soon found out that Agatha still hadn''t dispersed her spell. She had produced the azure water in her mouth. Her spell-imbued lips sucked more stamina out of Eren as the kiss continued. ''This cunning girl. I would have been a dry skeleton by now had I been a Novice ranker.'' Eren thought as he pped Agatha''s buns with both his hands at the same time before grabbing them hard. He squeezed them and parted them further. Then he rubbed his now-erect dick over the entrance of her pussy. "Aaah do do it. Deflower me." Agatha mumbled to herself. But Eren heard her message loud and clear. He did not need any more encouragement. He adjusted his dick with his hand before driving its tip inside Agatha''s cave. Agatha bit on Eren''s lips and kissed him like her life was dependent on it when she felt his member get inside her. She had used the kiss as a self-induced silencer. But that soon turned out to be futile when she felt her pussy walls getting stretched further. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Agatha cried while wrapping her hands around Eren''s neck. Thetter could hear her scream clearly since it was released right beside his left ear. But he didn''t mind. With one hand he caressed her back. With the other, he stretched her right leg and made it spread even more before pushing his rod in. The tip of Eren''s dick had felt that something was blocking his way. The force with which he rammed his dick inside was strong enough to deal with it as soon as he felt it. Something hot and not slimy dripped down Eren''s dick. He could easily discern the smell of blood in the air when it was released this near to him. "You are a full-fledged woman now, Miss Manager. Thanks for letting me open your shop. I''ll be its only permanent customer from now on." Update thetest chapter at Chapter 472 Employee Satisfaction P5* "You are a full-fledged woman now, Miss Manager. Thanks for letting me open your shop. I''ll be its only permanent customer from now on." Erenughed amusingly and grabbed Agatha''s waist before driving his shaft into her wet hole. Thetter had tightened the farce of her arms around his neck. She used a few beastly features of her anthrope transformation subconsciously to deal with the not-so-pleasant pain amid the waves of ecstasy she was feeling. "Aaaaaaaah Er Eren slow a bit slower!" Eren heard Agatha''s request and decided to slow it down. But he also knew that she just needed to be excited some more before she could feel the true bliss of getting pounded by him. Hatchlings of the me! Eren cast his go-to spell for these activities and made the fire snakes work on the various sensitive parts of her body. One of the snakes crawled near her wet hole where Eren''s dick was still active and started licking the ce. The other hatchling crawled to her rear entry and started licking it with its forked tongue. The other two snakes wrapped around her waist and started sucking on both of her nipples, asionally biting on them. It didn''t take long for Agatha toe around. In her drunken haze, she whispered sweet nothings into his ears. "Go go go . A bit faster. Har. Harder." Agatha urged and Eren obliged. He lifted his pelvis in the air a bit using his folded legs and increased the force and pace of his poundings. Taaaph! Taaaph! Taaaph! Agatha opened her tightly shut eyes gradually. As her pussy clenched on the ever-restless membering in and out of her cave, only to return with even more vigour, she was starting to feel turned on. She let go of all her self-imposed restrictions and moaned her heart out. "Aaaaaaah! Aaaaaah! That''s... that''s it. Deeper. Go deeper." ''They always want it to go deeper after a while. Lucky for you gals, I can always go deeper.'' Eren smirked and increased his dick''s size mid-coitus. He also increased his pace some more while holding Agatha''s hips from both sides, lest she gets rammed so hard, that she flies over his head. Agatha''s snowy and round butt turned red as a result of all that excessive coteral damage they were receiving. The owner of those now-red buns was equally surprised by that fierce pounding. She wasn''t ready for this. "Wh. Aaaaah.... Ere. Eren Aaaaaaaah!" This time, Agatha didn''t try to dictate Eren''s moves because she couldn''t. Although she wasn''tfortable at first, she soon found out that this was the sought-after level up she was seeking. She channelled her mana throughout her body and made it bearable enough for her to take that pounding from her master. Eren kept at it for some time. His intensity only kept increasing with each passing minute. The anthrope took some time to reach her tipping point. But when she did, they both knew that it would be more intense than her previous ones. "I. I''ming." Agatha announced. But Eren could already tell that after gauging the way Agatha''s pussy walls were reacting. They clenched his dick before releasing another gushing fountain of love juices. Agatha emptied whatever stuff her wet canal had stocked up on and dropped it on Eren''s torso as if she was lifeless. She was also breathing heavily as she kept her right ear close to Eren''s heart. "Want more?" Eren asked with a slight chuckle as he caressed Agatha''s back. Thetter took some time to answer. But her answer wasn''t verbal. It came through the execution of her signature spell. "This is a form of cheating you know." Erenined while smiling but didn''t stop Agatha from drawing his stamina for herself. Agatha was gaining her lost strength back the more her spell stayed activated without any resistance from Eren. She replied as soon as she had the strength to do so. "Fancying from you, my master. All means are valid as long as you get what you want without incurring losses. That''s what you told me once. I''m only beginning to find some logic in it. That''s all. Hehe!" Agatha said while sitting on Eren''s tummy with her legs bent. The butcher smiled mirthlessly when he heard Agatha''s counter. It was his chickens that hade home to roost after all. "Heh! Don''t get cocky just because you can recover using my strength. I can see that it had its limits. Every time you use it, it gets less effective. That means you also receive a reduced rejuvenation in return." Eren said this while he raised his torso from the ground with folded arms. Then he used one of his hands to caress Agatha''s face and smiled mischievously before adding further. "If there are limits to your spell, let''s test them out, shall we?" *************************** The night of pleasure was over. Eren had predicted it right. Unlike his ability, Agatha''s spell came with plenty of restrictions. By the middle of the night, she couldn''t absorb Eren''s essence even if she wanted to and copsed. Eren was tired as well. He too slept with Agatha in his arms without any care in the world. The dawn break had to arrive for Eren to open his eyes. He had had a good night''s sleep after a long day. As a result, he was thoroughly refreshed, even if only mentally. Physically, he was starving. So he walked towards the same window he had left half-openedst night and opened itpletely. The morning wind and the warm sun rays greeted him when he did that. Eren took out some beef jerky from his storage and started eating it while observing the dense forest behind the inn and the warmly lit morning sky. He then uncorked another bottle of dwarf rum and started drinking from it in silence, sans the thoughts and schemes in his head. Just like his balls, yesterday''s session had thoroughly emptied his mind of all his mental clutter. The butcher had to admit that the act of ploughing was one of the most effective remedies to most of his worries. Update thetest chapter at Chapter 473 Laying Foundation "Eren, you you woke up already?" Agatha asked while getting up from the bed, rubbing her eyes. As soon as she got up, she could feel that her hips and legs were sore because of yesterday''s prolonged session. "Morning, Miss Manager. Care to join me for a drink?" Looking at Agatha, Eren asked where he stood. Thetter looked at the same brand of the bottle that had made her feel like she was drinkingva and decided to ignore the offer. ''I I''m a mess.'' Agatha said to herself when she looked down at her body. Her hair had turned unkempt and her body could use a bath. Plus, the fatigue wasn''tpletely over for her. So she channelled her mana throughout her body and rxed her muscles. Then she cast her azure-water spell and let it gather around her, drawing life essence from the surroundings. Her sore body and fatigued state were curbed to some degree. Agatha then freshened up by quickly immersing her body in the azure mass of water. Finally, she changed into an adventurer''s outfit while her body was covered by the spell. Agatha was ready to face the day within a few minutes of her waking up. Eren had to admit that she broke a huge stereotype with her day-to-day moves alone. Meanwhile, he still stood by the window naked and not caring about how he reeked or looked. "Eren, wear some pants maybe. Altashia wille to meet us soon, you know." Agatha said and pouted while looking at her master. But not before taking a sneak peek at his crotch. She then smiled to herself and contacted the inn and told them to bring some food overusing the array disk. Eren nodded at Agatha and threw a rune-sealed document at her. He then retrieved his set of clothes and started wearing them while dictating the course of actions Agatha needed to take. "This is another copy of the document that states the plot ofnd that I had talked to you about belongs to us, the White Raven Guild. Keep this to yourself." Eren said while channelling his fire-element mana throughout his body. The butcher got clean even faster than Renita. If thetter had broken a stereotype with how fast she got ready, the former had strengthened it for his gender with his move. Agatha imbued her mana into the document and realized that now it was bound to her mana signature. She quickly released the rune and started reading it while sitting at the edge of the bed. Eren then threw another bunch of documents and scrolls on the bed beside her while pulling his pants up. He added further as he buckled his pants. "This would be our rough ns about thend. In these documents. you''d find the references, the right person we can contact for the right job, and some other smaller plots ofnd we can obtain from other owners that are attached to thend we already have under our name." Agatha looked at Eren suspiciously when she heard his intentions to buy more lots ofnd. The one that they had was already enough to establish a decent-sized city. For now, they didn''t need to waste more money on buying morend. At least that was the first thought she had when she heard her thrifty master''s diabolical decision to spend money extravagantly. Eren smirked at her when he figured out what she was thinking. He rified it for her. "It won''t be for our use. We''ll buy thosends now and sell them after the entrance to Minerva''s Utopia gets discovered. Kekekeke. We''ll sell thosends for quadruple the amount of their current buying value and rankers would still buy them. We don''t have to wait for our guild''s city to be built for this instant profit. Investing in this way will allow us to make a quick profit. We can then use that money on our big project." Eren said while buttoning his shirt. Agatha realized what Eren''s n was when she heard Eren''s n. It made sense to her. But there was still one huge problem. "Eren, we don''t have that much money lying around. Sure, we can purchase a piece ofnd or two that is on the outskirts of our ground zero with what we have right now. But to buy the quantity you want us to buy" Eren sighed when Agatha addressed this problem. He shook his head before replying. "I know what we have is a chump change for the ns we have hatched. But let''s start slowly. Take one step at a time. Sell some of our assets in the Lionheart duchy if you have to. Meet with people. Raise a legal query in any information guild, bribe the city officials, or arrange a recon using ck-market channels. But try to find out about the owners of thosends. And use any means necessary to get thosends at the lowest rates possible. Target the weakest owners first. Lie, beg, borrow, and steal. But get most of thosends under our wings." Eren said and started wearing a dark brown runic jacket over his white-coloured shirt. He then groomed his hair using his fingers as ab before adding more. "The documents and scrolls I have given you should be helpful to you in your task. The rest of the nks you would have to fill in yourself. I know it''s not an easy task if you are the only one doing it. Plus, the scope of your share of work would only grow if our initial nes to fruition. Maybe we''ll find somebody in the future who can help you. But for now, you have your hands full." Then Eren walked towards the door after breakfast had been delivered outside their room. He brought the food trolley near the dining table and prepared Agatha''s tter before handing it out to her. He didn''t use any te for himself and started eating the food straight from the vessels ced on the trolley. "Eren, there''s one more problem. Even if everything works out ording to our n for the future, we still have to live in the present. We don''t have any substantial weight at the moment. All our ns are based on the fact that Minerva''s Utopia would appear on thend we own. I will never doubt you. But how will you convince the others? And even if we manage to convince the parties, how will we stop them from taking us out of the picture entirely when they understand thend''s true worth? I''m sure that the Derringers would have plenty of ways to make an Ace ranker submit hisnd to them." Update thetest chapter at Chapter 474 Agatha’s Past? "I''m sure that the Derringers would have plenty of ways to make an Ace ranker submit hisnd to them." Agatha said while eating with a worried expression on her face. Eren nodded at her to indicate that he agreed with her line of thoughts. But then he smirked before responding. "That is indeed true. Our side is bound to appear weaker in negotiations with the big leagues if you and I lead the negotiations. But what if a high-ranked entity with a solid background does that for us?" Eren said and started eating. Agatha had ordered his favourite kebabs for him skewered with what appeared to be mega toothpicks. The meat was prepared from an unranked mana beast. So it didn''t have any rank-strengthening properties. In ranker''s terms, it was fast food. But that didn''t stop Eren from having it. He liked fast food. He had lived almost all of his previous timeline''s life on fast food after all. Agatha had ordered herself a bunch of Novice ranked dishes. Eren wanted to tell her that buying stuff in small quantities only to have more of it in terms of varieties shouldn''t be seen as maintaining a healthy diet. But he refrained from saying that and let her process what he said. "You mean you have someone who can do that for us? Your aunt Nina?" Eren shook his head in denial before answering her. "I won''t mind Nina representing the White Raven Guild as well. And she would happily do it since she is also here, in the Nightshade duchy. But we need someone who is not only a high-ranked entity but is also backed by a known and powerful organization. Only then can we sessfully get into business with the Derringers. Don''t worry though. I have just the person in mind. I''ll take care of it before the meeting with Derringer takes ce." Eren said and gobbled almost all of the kebab pieces from the food trolley. He then turned his attention to the escalope served with salsa. He started eating it piece by piece without using the utensils as he listened to Agatha''s next question. Agatha finished her breakfast and cast her spell again to clean her hands. Then she started massaging her forehead just above her eyebrows as if she had just started to understand the hectic workload lined up in front of her. "Alright. I''ll let you worry about it. It''s not like you haven''t done crazy things before. I''ll leave now and start working on these things. Sigh. You sure know how to make me work." Agatha smiled nervously. She then took all the documents and scrolls Eren had given her into her storage and prepared to leave the room. But then she felt a light tug on her right wrist and before she knew it she was in Eren''s embrace. "How was our first time?" Eren asked Agatha while caressing her hair and nting a kiss on her forehead. Thetter was taken aback by the sudden development. But she weed it nheless and replied with a smile on her face. "Couldn''t have asked for anything better." Eren smirked before responding. "Look forward to the next time." Eren released his embrace and let Agatha go. They had already worked on some of the finer details about their n the rest they would figure out as per the situation. Eren wasying the groundwork to enter the pool of sharks and carve out a piece of territory for himself with his grand-scale n of establishing White Raven city. Land of Minerva''s Utopia was going to be a guild asset, as well as a source of fortune and trouble for the guild. However, he found the potential problems that would arise to be too mediocre. He would alwayspare those problems with Eliza in his mind and wouldugh at himself for underestimating them. He knew his perception of danger had been changed forever ever since he met the first Sage in his life. And yet, he could do nothing about the way he processed his situation. "The vultures are bound to appear when they see a juicy piece of unimed meat." After some silence in the inn room, Eren spoke. He took a long drag out of his smoke before speaking to himself once again. "Let theme then." Eren said and walked out of the room, heading downstairs using the array-powered tform serving as the lift. Altashia had already told him that she had gotten fresh and was waiting for him at the inn''s lobby. ''I''m surprised you didn''t enve Agatha with your Sins ability, Eren.'' Alephee asked Eren when he was heading downstairs. The lift had no doors or walls. It was just having a slow and steady descent through an open passage meant for its dedicated use. The scenery in front of the butcher kept on changing as he answered her question. The target''s perception of me changes because of that ability. I can''t control that part of the ability yet. Why would I break my assistant''s personality just to make her do the same stuff while looking at me with starry eyes? Changing perceptions is dangerous. Women who are enved by me using that ability can never offer me any advice or object to anything I say. Because for them, everything I do and say is correct. Although I take a lot of precautions when doing something, it''s better to have an unfiltered second opinion. That''s why I won''t abuse that ability recklessly.'' Eren said as he stepped off the array-powered tform. He could see Al in the distance, sitting on the couch that was meant for the inn''s guests. So he started approaching her. But he was frozen in his steps just a few meters away from Altashia when he heard Alephee''s next words. ''That makes sense. By the way, Eren. I didn''t say this yesterday because you were busy with Agatha. And I guess she doesn''t know it herself. Someone has also used masking magic on her. But she''s a real half-blood. Maybe you should listen to her story when she tries to tell that to you the next time.'' Update thetest chapter at Chapter 475 Arangar Collosseum ''Maybe you should listen to her story when she tries to tell that to you the next time.'' Alephee suggested Eren nonchntly. Thetter was so shocked that he forgot to greet Altashia even though she hade to stand in front of him, shing a smile. ''That spell she performed in front of us that gave her away?'' Alphee pondered a bit before responding. ''More like... I didn''t pay much attention to her until she performed that spell. And her status as a half-blood was apparent as soon as I did.'' Eren regretted not letting Agatha exin how and why she had joined the Beast Bloods. Now he wanted her to tell him everything he needed to know about her past. Eren had nned on contacting half-blood forces in the future that were hiding from the normal popce somewhere. He had been wanting to do it ever since he realised how necessary it was to know about Eliza. They must have a lot of information about her. ''Hmm. If she doesn''t know about her half-blood status do I assume that half-bloods live their lives without knowing about their roots?'' Eren asked this question before shaking his head in denial. Alphee had shared another crucial piece of information that told a different story. Masking magic altered a person''s mana signature. It also had some other features. But for the most part, it was used by really cautious high-ranked entities to hide in the shadows for whatever reasons. A low-ranked entity using masking magic was unheard of because they weren''t capable of casting them. Only high-ranked entities would dabble in these forms of magic that yed with the very existence of a ranker. The fact that someone had used this magic on Agatha indicated two major things. One was that at least her parents or someone she knew were aware of her status as half-blood. They had used the therianthrope transformation as a medium to hide her half-blood powers in in sight. Second, since even Agatha wasn''t aware of her status as a half-blood as per Alephee''s deductions, it could be safe to assume that her parents, like the rest of the half-bloodmunity, wanted it that way. Themunity must havee up with a set of guidelines that they were supposed to follow. It meant that something must have happened to Agatha''s family before she was given the rite of passage to know about these things. Eren realized that the conclusions he had reached so far must have been very close to reality, despite therge gaps left by Agatha''s untold history. He was about to ask more about Agatha to Alphee when he felt a series of taps on his left shoulder. "Eren. Eren why are you zoned out like that? Everything alright? Where''s Agatha?" Altashia had been trying to talk with Eren for a while now. And she had thought that he was listening at first. But then she realized that the butcher wasn''t paying attention to her when she asked him a couple of questions but got no response from him. "Oh? Hmmm sorry. My bad, Al. I was thinking of something else. Agatha had her work lined up so she left early in the morning. What were you saying?" Eren spoke quickly after recovering from his unresponsive state. Al felt like she wanted to ask him something else but decided not to. She sighed and repeated her previous question. "I was asking if you would like toe with me to the Arangar Colosseum or do you have any other ns? You are not obliged to return the favour just because I apanied you yesterday, you know." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard the term Arangar Colosseum. This was the top attraction point of the city and its major source of ie. He had heard of the ce in his past. But at that time, he was too poor to get in as a spectator and too weak to participate as a contestant. "Heh! The Arangar Colosseum is one of the main reasons I came to this city. Of course, I''ming with you." Eren tapped Al''s shoulders in a friendly gesture. He then hinted at Al to lead the way with a smirk and an elegant bow. ************************* "Ladies, gentlemen, and rankers of all kinds, wee to the Arangar Colosseum. Just like every week, we have something special nned for you this weekend. But before that, let''s start with today''s scheduled matches. First, we will have." Eren had found himself inside a big amphitheatre. Measuring 588 metres in length, 556 metres in width and 457 metres in height, this multi-storey architecture looked eye-catching. It was capable of housing arge crowdfortably. The architecture of the Arangar Colosseum blended with the visual style of the overall city. Built of limestone, it boasted a sturdy construction. And with the strategic engraving of runes and arrays, the colosseum would ensure that plenty of light and fresh air gets summoned to make spectators'' viewing a pleasurable experience. There was heavy security all over the ce. Rankers ranging from Rank F to Rank D were serving as security detail at various entry points of the colosseum. One could imagine that there would be additional security that included even more powerful ranking entities, which wouldn''t be visible to the spectators. The spectator''s seats were arranged in such a way that they would be easily able to see what was happening on the centre stage. Plus, big spectral screens were projected in the air, covering multiple POVs, to allow an immersive experience for viewers sitting anywhere. The noises of cheers and jeers wereing from every corner of the colosseum. The food vendors would add to that noise by shouting about what they were serving and delivering them to their customers'' seats with even greater zeal. One could imagine that this setting had be a norm for the audience of the Arangar Colosseum. Everybody in the amphitheatre was able to talk to their neighbours amid the cacophony of noises. Update thetest chapter at Chapter 476 Layla Returns Eren had been sitting in a reserved seating area inside the colosseum, which was separated from the normal popce. There were only fewer than 100 seats at his booth. And most of the seats were empty. Therefore, the spectators at the butcher''s booth sat sparsely and away from each other. Al was sitting beside Eren in the front row of the reserved booth, looking at the spectral screen in front of her. It was projecting an image of a man in his early 50s announcing various names to the audience. These were the names of the participants that would soon begin battling each other for the spectators'' entertainment. The entries of duelling pairs would keep on getting added to the ever-refreshing battle list disyed on the spectral screen as the announcer announced them. The Novice rankers'' battles were first to get scheduled. The Ace rankers'' battles would take ce after that. Plus, there was only one D-Rank calibre duel that was supposed to happen at the end of the event. This was supposed to be the special event of the day. But Eren couldn''t figure out how special it was other than the fact that the duel would involve Adept ranked entities. "Dear spectators, before we start with the first match of the day, I would like to congratte all the participants for earning a spot today. That''s because the winner within the F and E ranks would be able to join the annual Titus tournament without having to go through the qualifier rounds. This year''s Titus tournament is special. Sponsors havee forward with their initiative to offer many prizes to the participants. The biggest and most lucrative rewards would be given to the winner of course. Let''s not talk about the non-mary rewards and only consider the grand prize of 100,000 Extols. Tempting isn''t it? Hahahaha!" Eren narrowed his eyes when he heard the prize money for the game. ''No wonder so many rankers want to get inside the ring just for the sake of others'' entertainment.'' He thought to himself. Eren looked at the respective spells and BTPs arranged in front of them. The disy of participants'' spells and their BTPs did two things. First, it made each one of them aware of their opponent''s cards. This would allow them to take necessary precautions against them, making the battle a tough nut to crack for all of them. Plus, the disy of the participants'' BTP values would allow the betting organisers to calcte the odds of someone winning or losing matches. They would decide the betting amount in favour of and against each match and its participants. ''You want to take part in the Titus tournament?'' Alephee asked Eren when he seemed to be pondering over something. She knew his dire need for money after all. Thetter just chuckled internally before answering. ''Hell no. I don''t have time for these games. I had enough of them in LA. I just want to rece someone who''s bound to win and take all the money and prizes for myself.Pa nda Novel Hehe. I don''t have to create Blood Seed to transform into humans either. I''ll just need to select my target well, get the money, and make everything about him disappear into thin air.'' Eren thought as he started studying the names of the participants who had already been selected for the Titus tournament. He then zeroed in on a few of the Ace ranked ones that had fire or lightning affiliates. ''Interesting. I have no idea how promising those who have already qualified are. I need to check the betting values ced on all of them. That would give me an idea of who to target. But first I need to know about this tournament.'' Eren thought to himself before asking Altashia. "What is the Titus tournament, Al?" Eren asked while reading through various spectral screens that disyed information about multiple yers, their records, their achievements in the colosseum so far, their losses, their active years in the colosseum so far, and even their injuries. Altashia was also looking at the spectral screen the same way. She replied in mana imbued soft ice that could be heard by Eren even with all the noises the duo was surrounded with. "Well, Alexander Titus is the current city lord of the city of Arangar as well as a baron. The tournament was first organised by the first city lord of this city who had that as his daily name. Hence the name Titus tournament. The annual tournament in itself is pretty simple. The participants in the final round have to survive for 100 hours and be thest person standing. But thepetition for the event is always brutal no matter which year it is. A lot of rankers die. There are cases of even those who had sessfully won the contests sumbing to their injuries before they could enjoy the fruits of theirbour. If you are thinking about joining the tournament, I suggest you don''t. First, we have army duties. Second, nobody will be held responsible if you die in the tournament. The risks might not be worth the rewards for you since your progress in the Ace rank is not high enough." Altashia said and shed a look of concern in Eren''s direction. The butcher smiled mildly and assured her. "I was just asking, Al. Anyway, you said you had some work here, right? What is it?" As a response, Altashia suggested that Eren look at a particr screen. There was one unique screen at the top that hadn''t been changed since it was shed. That''s because it only had one entry "XXX vs. XXX" written as its content. This was supposed to be the main event of the day scheduled at the end of the day, fought between two Adept calibre rankers. Eren didn''t take long to conclude. "Oh! You are duelling with someone, I take it. Who is it? And why are your names and everything about both of you redacted?" Altashia smiled mirthlessly when she heard it. She replied the answer to that question with one word. "I''ll be battling with a Renar." As if this shock was not enough, Eren felt a weird mana pulseing from his pendant. He predicted that La had returned. She soon proved him right by speaking to him over his voice channel. ''Eren, we need to talk.'' Chapter 477 Fire Wings ''Eren, we need to talk.'' As soon as Eren felt La''s presence inside his pendant, she immediately spoke. He understood that the work Eren was required to do for Eliza had been decided by the young witch. ''How much time have we got?'' While staring at the spectral screens, Eren asked La. He got his response soon afterwards. "We have time. It''s just that we don''t have many means to do these tasks.'' La said and sighed. ''Let me worry about the means. I just want a clear picture before I can make my moves. Anyway, let''s talk after I''m done for the day.'' Eren responded and looked at Al who was looking at him with keen interest. "What?" Eren asked the warrior ranker while shrugging his shoulders. Thetter looked at him carefully and narrowed her eyes beforementing. "You are acting weird today." Eren realized that he must have spaced out again after hearing La''s voice out of nowhere. So he fake-coughed and asked her another question. ''So who is this scion of Renar? And why do you have to fight him here?'' Eren asked Altashia on the voice channel while waving at a food vendor, asking him toe over to the ce. He got a bunch of burgers for himself. He then looked at Al and then at the variety of food that was prepped up nicely on the cart. Thetter pursed her lips before getting some crispy nuggets to herself. ''He is from Royal Ren of course. My batchmate. The guy''s mother is a Renar so his father married into the royal house. He is so far away from the line of session that he shouldn''t be seen as Royalty at this point.'' Al said and had a crispy nugget to herself. Eren, who was observing her, found the action to be cute. But he waited patiently for her to add on. ''I once fought with him during the ranking battles and beat him. He has been possessed to beat me ever since. He must have convinced someone from the Titus house to organize this event. It is rare for someone with an official Renar surname to take part in these kinds of public events. So it''s no wonder that they obliged.'' Eren nodded at Altashia after hearing her exnation. Then he processed the term ''Adept calibre battle'' that the announcer had specifically used. He concluded that the Renar that was in question would have to be nearly as talented as Al for him to get tagged as an Adept calibre ranker along with Al. ************* The announced duels were taking ce in multiple battle rings hosted by the colosseum. There was arge body of water serving as the base ground. There were fiverge, rune-inscribed battle rings levitating over the artificialke. The battles would be fought over the five rings at the same time. Getting kicked outside the battle ring was considered the opponent''s loss. It was the same for knocking them over until they could not respond to the referee. Other than that, the ranker had to admit their defeat and get ready to ept a penalty from the Colosseum''s management at the cost of saving their life by quitting their match. The main objective of the duel was entertainment for the audience. They liked to see the brutality getting unleashed on the battle rings. That''s why the duelers weren''t allowed to use any defensive artefacts. In addition, neither of them could quit early without making the battle worth it to their audience. Otherwise, they both would receive a penalty. Everything else was fair in the battle. Thepetition emphasized aesthetics more than any other part. The Arangar Colosseum was not liked by old rankers who meant business. But it was a huge sess among young and impressionable rankers as well as the rich mortal popce. People from all over the Nightshade duchy woulde to the city of Arangar to watch these matches. As such the city was very prosperous generating huge revenue. It also paid arge chunk to the kingdom in the form of tax. As the battles continued, Eren paid close attention to a bunch of lightning and fire element Ace rankers who had made it to the qualifier rounds. There were only 2 lightning element rankers. Both didn''t fit Eren''s criteria for a new ''skin'' to get morphed into. One of them had almost the same spells he had in his arsenal. But Eren knew the guy wasn''t strong enough to make it past the qualifiers. The other lightning element ranker focused his battle style on apletely different set of spells. Therefore, Eren had to drop him too. Eren finally settled on a guy with fire element affinity. He was a 20ish looking young man named Tuan Aag who used almost the same type of spells as Eren. He just used a different spell to base his battle style on, which was Fire Wings. Two wide wings made out of orange fire would appear behind the back of Tuan on either side. He would use and control those wings using his mana sense to temporarily fly in the air. Then he woulde crashing at his opponents while folding the wings around him. This made him look like a mini meteor that was falling from the sky at an amazing pace on his enemies. And since the opponents weren''t allowed to use defensive artefacts inside the colosseum, they would have to either dodge Tuan entirely or face him with the same explosiveness as he had. Nobody was prepared for a confrontation like this. Especially if the defensive artefacts were removed from the picture. As a result Tuan easily made it to the qualifiers. With an amazing betting amount skewed towards his win in the semi-finals, people in the colosseum were cheering his name with much enthusiasm. ''Haah! There''s no easy meal in the world. Time to learn Fire-Wings while this guy works hard to reach the finals.'' Eren realized he could disy the spells he had just fine, making them seem like they were his real trump cards. But he couldn''t take the guy''s go-to spell out of his battle stylepletely. That spell had made him too famous for the butcher to ignore. Chapter 478 Go Wild!

Chapter 478 Go Wild!

Eren had decided to rece Tuan and enter the final round of 100 hours in his ce. The qualifiers, the semi, finals, and the finals would take ce over a few weeks. So the butcher still had time to learn about Fire-Wings and incorporate them into his fire-element based battle style. Of course, Eren hoped that Tuan would make it to the finals. Otherwise, he would just be wasting his time learning about a new spell he thought he had no use for in real life. Because in real life, the usage of defensive artefacts was not restricted. So after a sessful block, the user of such a battle style was exposed to a severe counterattack from their opponent. ''I hope you reach the finals and bring me good fortune, Tuan. You have my best wishes.'' Eren finalized Tuan as his next "skin" and decided to do some recon on him afterwards. Then he looked at Agatha once again, took a sneak peek at her shapely bust, and asked another question. ''That exins why that guy is fighting with you in such a way. Since you beat him in the ranking battle, his win over you has to be a public event to regain his image as the pristine "royal" that he is. And this Colosseum would give him all the audience he would need to do that." Al smirked and narrowed her eyes in the void before saying out loud. "Hmph! If he wins that is." ''Feisty! I like you a little bit more every day.'' Eren smiled at Al''s reply andmented on Al''s reply. Thetter looked at him keenly and tucked her hair bangs behind her ears. She didn''t say anything. Nevertheless, Eren concluded that she appreciated his confession dubbed as apliment. Eren fist-bumped her shoulder from his side and asked her another question. ''But that doesn''t exin why you were ready to take him up on his scheme. What are you getting in return?'' ''A transcendent-grade spell and a transcendent-grade artefact. The idiot''s offering me a fortune for his vanity. I would be more of a fool than him if I did not take advantage of his royal reach, however limited it may be. Hehe!'' Finally, the winners of the Novice and Ace ranks were decided. Thepetition thatsted almost all day was finally over. Now it was time for the main event. "Dear spectators, we at Arangar Colosseum, always strive to make your viewing experience as immersive and intriguing as possible. Today is no different. What you are going to see is a rare event. So please ensure that you pay attention to everything that unfolds at this stage. Pa nda Novel How rare, you might ask? Well, the final event will let you witness" The announcer knew his job well. He took a dramatic pause to build up the excitement before dering it out loud. "The final event will let you witness how a Renar fights. That''s right! We have a royal in our midst. And he will show us what it means to have a royal heritage." The crowd grew wild after knowing that they would be able to see a royal fight. Some of the spectators tried to contact their peers outside the colosseum to summon them inside. Some tried contacting guilds that dealt in information. For all of the spectators, this was indeed a rare opportunity. That''s because the royals rarely disyed their battle skills, often skipping public events like these to keep their image unsullied. Even if they knew they could win, they kept their appearances to a minimum to maintain a mystic image. And yet, there was a royal willing to go to such extra lengths to engage in a duel with someone, in such an extravagant manner. The incident was bound to create waves. "But if you think that''s all we have in store for you, you couldn''t be more wrong. Our royald''s rival is just as special. She''s known as the prodigy of the Argas n. The granddaughter of one of the kingdom''s most celebrated heroes, Crimson Ghost, also known as Altair Argas." Eren opened his eyes wide when he heard the name Altahir. Then he looked at Altashia as if pondering over something. ''Hmm. My endeavours are riskier than I thought they would be. Her surname was bothering me a bit. Now I understand why.'' Altashia also knew what Eren was thinking about when she saw him looking at her with interest. She smirked at him beforementing. "What? Got cold feet?" Eren seemed to be in deep thoughts after hearing the question as he finished his grub. He answered after dusting his hands off of any crumbs. "The cold has seeped into my bones and frozen my blood. Want to warm me up?" Eren said seriously before starting tough. Altashia could only maintain her frown for a while. She too shed a smile at him, finding some form offort in his answer. In the meantime, the announcer kept on speaking about the two contenders and their backgrounds. Finally, he called out the opponents. "Without further ado, let''s wee Rodrick Renar." By now the five battled rings hade together and fused using earth element mana to form a unified battle ring. A young man with dark brown hair and tall stature appeared seemingly out of thin air in the middle of the unified ring. He carried a stoic expression on his face. He was wielding a broadsword with one hand. His green eyes seemed to be looking for someone in the crowd. The young man remained calm and maintained serious expressions amid the series of ps, cheers, and calls made for him. The crowd was just beginning to cool down after some time. But then "Now let''s wee Altashia Argas with equal enthusiasm." The announcer called out to Al and looked in her direction as if he were already aware of her presence. "Well, that''s my cue." Altashia got up from her seat and climbed the railing of the gallery-like tform the next moment gracefully, like an ever-restless butterfly. Her movements generated light gales as if the wind was making way for her while carrying her weight. She looked halfway back only to receive Eren''s encouraging words. "I shall think of payingpletely for our date in the future if you win this duel. Go wild!" Chapter 479 Countering A Prodigy P1

Chapter 479 Countering A Prodigy P1

"I shall think of payingpletely for our date in the future if you win this duel. Go wild!" Altashia heard that and had nk expressions on her face for a while before bursting into a burst of cheerfulughter. She looked back at him and gave him a cunning smile before turning to look ahead once again. "Hehe! I''ll hold you up to that." Altashia said and jumped from the railingC a gust of wind following her. Eren made a gulping sound and sent his mana sense into his storage space to count the meagre Extols he had. ''Err maybe I shouldn''t have said that. Especially to someone like Al who is used to having a "good life".'' The now-broke Eren thought to himself and sighed. He then recalled the condition that he needed to beat Al before asking for a date. And that gave him some form of relief. This way, he had some time to be rich again. The crowd grew hysterical when they saw someone so gorgeous jumping from the high railings only tond directly a few meters away from Rodrick. The gale she had brought with her was so strong that it created a cloud of dust. The wind almost blew the announcer''s wig that stood nearby. Luckily, he was fast enough to pin it over his head with both his hands before it could fly off. Heughed nervously to himself and concluded that nobody saw that. ''She did the protagonist jump. I like that.'' La spoke out of nowhere. Eren just pretended that he didn''t hear her. ***************** "Hello, Miss Altashia Argas." Rodrick greeted his opponent first with a light bow. Thetter also returned the gesture by nodding at him. The royal scion carried on with his words. "I''d like to thank you for indulging me in my request. As promised, I will hand over to you both the items I have promised you if you win this duel. I shall also share any of them you wish, even if you lose." Al narrowed her eyes when Rodric talked about her loss and still being given the awards. She didn''t like that Rodric was making it look like a charity event for her. That he had already assumed that he would win the duel. Rodrick understood what Altashia was thinking and offered a rification. "Don''t mistake my acknowledgement for arrogance, Miss Altashia. I have learned my lesson well. Fighting with you in the ranking battle has been an eye-opener for me. Please consider this an exchange of gratitude." Rodrick spoke with seriousness. Altashia sighed and nodded at him. The announcer, serving as the referee for the final match, saw that verbal exchange was wrapped up between the two celebrity participants. So he announced loudly while channelling mana through his vocal cords. "Alright. The greetings are over. Now''s the time for action. Commence battle in 3 2 1" ''This should be fun. Now I''ll know what I''ll be up against.'' Eren thought to himself as the spectral screen that was showing the countdown in sync with the announcer''s announcement disyed the number all the spectators were waiting for. ''0!'' Swoosh! The moment the countdown hit zero, Rodrick Renar gripped his broadsword and swung it towards the seemingly motionless and expressionless Altashia. One could swear that the Altashia thatughed at Eren''s silly puns and the Altashia who stood before Rodrick were two different rankers. A sword sh made of water-element mana was birthed into existence out of thin air before travelling towards Al. In response, Al raised her hand and swatted at the iing sword sh. Fwoosh! The sword sh was met with a near-impregnable wind elementyer that seemed invisible at first. But when it travelled some more through the sameyer, the wind-element mana was made visible to the naked eyes with its light grey coloured hue. It was apparent that Al had increased the density of the mana she had employed in that attack. Altashia closed her raised hand and the water sh was crushed by arge wind-element hand that had just manifested. As a result, water poured out of the wind-elemental hand, indicating that the sword sh was dispersed. ''Sigh. There ends my reliance on Rigor Mortis and Purple Reaver when battling with this girl.'' Eren thought to himself as he watched the scene unfold in front of him through Sedated Perception. The time-element spell was used to see Altashia''s battle style without missing any detail. He was sure that if it was the previous him, he would not have messed with a girl like Altashia even if he was offered money to do it. It spoke volumes about Altashia''s level of threat to the current him. Because the past-him would have done almost anything for the money, except sell his ass for it. He also understood Altashia did not use any special spell to defend herself. Her mastery over the elements had been incorporated into her regr spells. She could make her elemental mana as tangible or intangible as she wanted, enabling her to exert more than 100 percent of the spell''s power. She could step into the Adept rank in terms of the effectiveness of spells if she went all out. This was beyond Eren''s current field of expertise. ''Maybe I am indeed trying to nail someone way out of my league.'' Eren whistled as he saw the wind-element mana losing its shape only to be reformed into a long chain. He didn''t understand the purpose of those chains, but he could clearly see that Altashia had been nothing but effortless in whatever she was doing in the battle ring. ''Heh! That''s what makes it fun.'' Eren thought amusingly with a wicked grin on his face as he kept on watching the duel. "Impressive. Miss Altashia, allow me to praise you for your progress in the way of the elements. This is one of the most impressive disys of one''s mastery over the elements I''ve seen from our generation." Rodrick did not shy away from praising his opponent. He was not deterred from having his attack blocked. He was expecting the same oue anyway. But he also realized that he had underestimated Altashia once again. Her mastery over her elements had increased once again since thest time they fought, even if by a small margin. Rodrick wanted the world to see how capable Altashia was as a ranker. He wanted to justify his loss in the Ranking Wars. It was one of the reasons he had arranged this grand spectacle in the first ce. But he also wanted the world to see histest development. As if he was trying to prove his worth by winning over someone as talented as Altashia. Altashia simply nodded at Rodrick''s praises. Thetter smiled and gripped his sword with both hands before adding more. "But you are not the only one who has improved since our battle." Chapter 480 Countering A Prodigy P2 "You are not the only one who has improved since our battle." Rodrick dered and cast his spell. He was using a school of spells that required him to perform a series of hand signs corresponding to that spell. The berserker threw his weapon in Altashia''s direction and ran towards her chasing the weapon while performing hand signs. Altashia narrowed her eyes when she saw Rodrick''s actions. She didn''t retreat. Instead, she raised her hands and used her mastery of the element once again. This time, instead of hands, the wind-element mana manifested as grey-coloured chains. The corners of each of the links in the chain wereva red. The grey links withva-red details looked like the chain had just been made by the forger after taking the links out of the cksmithing forge. Altashia had disyed that she couldbine her mastery of wind with her mastery of fire with this move. Most of the spectators in the first row felt a dangerous sensation when sheunched her attack. A swarm of chains that had sprouted out of nowhere approached Rodrick and his weapon with the same ferocity they were approaching Altashia with. Several chains were aimed at the weapon. The other swarm of chains headed straight for Rodrick. Just then, a giant water snake appeared behind Rodrick. He had used the water below the tform to expedite the casting process while adding more ferocity to the animated spell. With the amount of water that had been used to create the water snake''s body, it wouldn''t be easy to get rid of the spell. Kiyeeeeee! The water snake had an umbre-like fin around its neck that was raised when it released a sharp cry. The chains that were directed at Rodrick changed their direction and headed for the dragon instead. However, the sheer density of the water snake''s body prevented the mana-generated chains from pinning it in one ce. On the other hand, the weapon that Rodrick threw released sword shes on its own when the chains were about to wrap around it. The sword shes released this time were even more ferocious as they cut through the chains like they were cotton threads. The broadsword released a different kind of mana signature that didn''t belong to a human or any other living entity for that matter. Yet one could feel that it bore some resemnce to the mana signature Rodrick had. ''That''s a transcendent-grade artefact. Controlled by an Ace ranker, no less. My my! Even if the consciousness of that weapon is at an infant stage, it has indeed been awoken. It is a huge achievement for the boy. Altashia needs to step up her game soon.'' La spoke in Eren''s head. Eren narrowed his eyes and watched Al''s next moves with keen interest. He was collecting data on his opponent after all. He needed to understand her and her capabilities first before even thinking about challenging her to a duel. Altashia saw that both her chain attacks were ineffective in stopping Rodrick''s advances with his weapon. So she tried to retreat to create a distance between herself and her opponent. That''s when the second water snake appeared from behind her. By the time Altashia realized something was approaching her from behind, it had already caught up to it. The water snake at the back seemed to have gulped Altashia''s body first. Trapping her in its stomach. The weapon Rodrick threw prated the snake''s body without any resistance, aiming at the now-trapped Altashia. Meanwhile, the first water snake and Rodrick arrived on either side of the second snake with vignce. Rodrick executed another two water snakes and was ready to attack Altashia no matter where she appeared. Ssh! The snake that had gulped Altashia started exuding fiery red light, which spread from its stomach to its entire body at crazy speeds. It wasn''t long before the snake cried in pain before its body burst like that of a water balloon.Pa nda Novel Instead of a temporary escape, Altashia chose to destroy the snake without worrying about her mana consumption. When she came out of the snake''s belly, the spectators saw that she was still fine and not even drenched in water. But arge volume of steam could be seening out of her skin and clothes. The weapon attacked on its own while the remaining dragon opened its maw and shot a high-pressure stream of water in Altashia''s way. Meanwhile, Rodrick started making some more hand signs. The mana signature he was releasing at this point was even more intense than before. "Miss Altashia, you''d pay dearly if you keep on underestimating me." Rodrick said out loud while increasing his speed of making hand signs. Altashia, who was busy dodging the attacks of the sword and the water snake, heard that and looked in the berserker''s direction while narrowing her eyes on him. *********************** Rodrick had changed his attack style since he had fought Altashia. He hadpromised on his berserker''s way of handling things and decided not to approach the warrior girl like thest time. It had put him at a disadvantage of not being able to use the explosiveness of berserker attacks. But at least it prevented him from suffering major injuries likest time. Saying that Altashia was proficient with her scythe would be an understatement. Her weapon mastery was as impressive as her progress in the way of the elements. At close range, she was able to defeat Rodrick easily. He couldn''t fill thatrge of a gap even with his transcendent-grade weapon due to his limitations. Rodrick had lost badly in his previous battle against her. And he had to admit that she was a superior ranker than him in more than one area of expertise. If he was any other ranker, he wouldn''t have challenged Altashia unless he was sure he could beat her. But as a royal, he needed to keep up appearances. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to survive the politics and members of his own familying for him. This duel was no different than a battle for survival for him. That''s why Rodrick decided to put Altashia at a disadvantage from the very beginning while facing some adverse effects of using a different battle strategy. Using his wits and nning, the guy was trying to win over the prodigy. Rodrick decided not to let Altashia exert her full potential in the battle. He put her at a disadvantage by not allowing her to use her weapon to its fullest. The spells he cast on her would be able to deal with her weapon just fine. Even if she could destroy his spells, the elemental and surrounding advantage he had would allow him to cast the spells all over again. Plus, he knew about the peculiarity of her attacks. The flying weapon shes released by her weapon were able to catch fire at her behest. So keeping his distance from her would give him enough room to dodge those time-bombs of attacks. With this approach, the battle would then be about endurance. The ranker who could keep on fighting till the end while keeping their mana consumption in check would win. Rodrick ced his bets on not letting Altashia use her superior weapon mastery and her preference for close-rangebat to put her at a disadvantage. Plus, she did not have her demon beast with her in this fight, which could allow her to use long-range attacks effectively. =============== AN: If you think Eren''s dream of beating Altashia is far-fetched at this point, you are not alone in thinking that, Lol. She is the real deal, unlike the seemingly mediocre boy who is relying on his past experiences. A genuine prodigy in the VEH-verse. The butcher needs to do something extreme to beat her anytime soon. ;) Also, I am aware that the battle may seem a bit stretched. I''ll upload a new chapter with the battle''s conclusion shortly. Chapter 481 Water Wyvern "Miss Altashia, you''d pay dearly if you keep on underestimating me." Altashia, who was busy dodging the attacks of the sword and the water snake, heard that and looked in the berserker''s direction while narrowing her eyes on him. A momentter, she was seen standing still, facing the sword and the water snake''s attacks. "As you wish, Rodrick." Altashia said nonchntly and drew out her weapon. A weapon that was bigger than her stature. The de span of the scythe she owned was around two metersC making it look deadly. sh! A wind de ring was created around Altashia the next moment and it seemed that the world had be silent. The ring expanded in all directions. First, it effortlessly cut through the water snake in its path. Then the ring shed with the flying weapon and almost snapped it in two. Kreeeeech! A sharp cry was released by the sword that sounded like a human infant''s cry had been altered to make it more ear-piercing. The sword chose to retreat under her master''s orders when he felt her pain. Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Altashia spun her weapon around her effortlessly a few times as if she was trying to check its bnce. Rodrick and the rest of the audience watched in awe as they saw her handling her scythe with artistic mastery. Rodrick''s broadsword retreated and moved towards him. He held its hilt with his mouth and imbued it with his mana directly, making the crack that had almost broken it in half mend at a rapid pace. His hands were busy finishing the series of hand signs. "Any more moves you want to try on me?" Altashia asked Rodrick with a light smile on her face. It seemed that she enjoyed interacting with her weapon in this way. She stood with her left foot on the sharpened chine of her weapon''s de while the snath of her weapon was tilted towards her upright posture. Her right foot rested on her left leg''s knee. Her left arm was wrapped along the length of the snath. Her folded right arm was resting on her headC its palm ready to grab the weapon at a moment''s notice. ''Show off.'' Erenmented and shook his head while smiling mirthlessly after he saw Altashia assume that stance. But he also had to admit that there was a certain charm Altashia was exuding at the time. Something that could not be ignored. It was like she had be one with the weapon, emitting the same threatening aura. Eren also concluded that this wasn''t intentional on Altashia''s part. She was just in sync with her weapon, listening to its call as it listened to hers. Her mastery of it made her see it as part of her body''s extension. That form was as natural for her as standing upright on her legs. The spectators took a few moments to realize what had happened. And when they did, all they saw was a halt to the match. This halt was granted to Rodrick by his opponent. Every gaze was fixated on shia in the next moment. They had heard the question she had asked Rodrick. But at that moment, they had alle to realize that Rodrick had gotten himself into trouble the moment Altashia''s weapon was drawn. Rodrick had dodged the wind de ring that wasing for him by jumping at the right time. But he found out that the battle ring now had random patches of the me dancing on the ground, including the ce where he had previously stood. Although Rodrick hadn''t stopped his hand signs despite getting intimidated by his opponent, his facial expressions spoke volumes about his mental state. The water snake''s body turned into the water before evaporating because of Altashia''s residual fire-mana affecting it. It seemed that a controlled haze was making its presence known on the ground. "Rodrick, you didn''t answer me." Altashia asked her opponent. Thetter was finally snapped back to realityC his expressions turned grimmer. Pa nda Novel "Th... Thank you for waiting. I indeed have a move I want to try." Rodrick released the sword''s hilt from his jaw and finished his hand signals. His sword stood straight in front of him with no signs of the previous crack. As a result of Rodrick''s sessful hand-sign casting, a giant mass of water started gathering behind his back the next moment. The animated spell he was performing was going to be bigger than the 3-meter water snakes he had manifested not too long ago. ''A transcendent-grade spell.'' Lamented inside Eren''s mind. Thetter watched with keen interest what kind of spell would allow Rodrick to have such confidence against Altashia who had chopped all his n into two with one swift move of her weapon. Roar! A strong and intense mana signature was released followed by a draconic roar. It came from the mass of water behind Rodrick that was slowly getting moulded into a definite shape. A snake-like head was first to be formed. Then came the same umbre-shaped fin around the neck that the water snakes had disyed. The neckline extended rapidly before attaching to the newly formed torso. This torso was slender and still snake-like. But it had a rtively broader chest along with the rib details that the previous water snakes didn''t have. The next to form were therge wings that came attached to the front limbs, which also had ws. The hind legs and a long forked tail were thest to form. The creature''s hind legs were smaller than its body. The tail, on the other hand, was rtivelyrge. Roar! The creature released another draconic roar once the spell wasplete. This time, the animated spell manifested a creature that was twice asrge as the water snake. It also gave off an intense mana signature. Indicative of the fact that it would be many times more difficult to deal with than both the water snakesbined. "That''s. That''s a wyvern!" The announcer mumbled to himself. But because he was wearing a sound-element artefact on him, his mumblings were heard by everyone in the amphitheatre. The crowd grew silent for a short while before bursting into even more madness. People started shouting like their lives were dependent on it. Forget about mortals, a wyvern was a rare sight even for the most experienced rankers who had ventured rtively deep into the Bands. Rodrick was almost out of his mana storage. His forehead was dripping with sweat. Plus, he was a bit out of breath. He had regained the confidence he had lost after the animated spell was cast. He smiled to himself and took a long breath to calm himself. Then he jumped on the water wyvern''s back before looking at Altashia. "Miss Altashia, what do you think?" Altashia was seen waiting patiently. She let her opponent finish casting his spells. Eren understood what her intention was. She wanted to defeat Rodrick at his fullest potential so that he wouldn''t bother her again. Although she liked free royal gifts, she wasn''t dependent on them. "Hm. What I think doesn''t matter. Let''s test it out, shall we?" Altashia said and gripped the snath of her weapon with her folded right hand. The next thing spectators saw was Altashia disappearing from her position along with her weapon. ================= AN: Chine is the sharpened inside edge of the scythe''s curved de. The shaft of the weapon to which the de is attached is called a snath. Chapter 482 How Animated Spells Work Chapter 482 How Animated Spells Work ''Hmm. That transcendent-grade spell requires a live consciousness.'' La spoke up when the water wyvern was formed. Eren raised his eyebrows and decided to ask the obvious. ''What do you mean?'' La took a short pause before continuing. ''You know how animated spells work right? They use your elemental mana as a basic building block to create a mana body for the stray consciousness of a beast corresponding to that spell. They say that the world''s mana has higher consciousness. It epasses everything and anythingC the living and the dead, as well as everything between the two nodes.'' La''s words caught Eren''s attention. He hade to understand that La dabbled in a lot of animal experiments. Those Draconic Lizards were her creations using Eliza''s blood as the base. So it was natural that she would study everything rted to animated spells, beast contract spells, and any spell or experiment that dabbled with the subject of mana beasts and demon beasts. ''Does it mean the animated spell works like necromancy?'' Eren asked while he was watching the duel between Altashia and Rodrick. He could ask such a question without worrying about missing crucial details of the match because he had his Sedated Perception active. La was able to keep up with his enhanced perception. It seemed like this was her favourite topic. So she didn''t take long to answer. ''No. Not necromancy. That''s an entirely different ballgame. This is more of a consciousness borrowing. The reason one can only start casting animated spells after they experience the epiphany rted to it is due to this fact. It enables you to temporarily separate that vestige of consciousness from the higher consciousness. And since the basic building block, which means the mana body for the beast''s consciousness to reside in, is made of the mana you used, it would always contain your mana signature. Additionally, a part of your consciousness is added to allow you to remain in control of the animated beast. The animated beasts born out of such spells follow the basicmands given to them through your mana signature. This is because your influence is integrated into their updated form of existence. Otherwise, why would a stray consciousness follow a ranker''s orders?'' Eren recalled that he was able to cast Fire snake only after drinking the Potion of Serenity anding in touch with higher consciousness through his forced epiphany. He hadn''t thought of these things in the past. So it only started to make sense to him at this point. He asked his next question while pondering over many things at once. ''How does Rodrick''s spell differ from the normal animated spell?'' La smiled as if she was expecting this question. She exined it to him quickly. ''The transcendent-grade spell Rodrick has used skips the part where he needs to borrow the beast''s consciousness. The hand signs he performed required more time to cast this spell. It was because he was trying to call out to a live consciousness that wasn''t mixed with the higher consciousness. This makes the animated spell moreplicated than it already is. In addition, the fact that it is a wyvern''s consciousness ces more burdens on Rodrick''s mind than he is willing to show in public. The fact that he can do it while still being in the Ace rank can only mean one thing. The live beast whose consciousness Rodrick has summoned here using his unique means is already tamed by him. Thus, he could afford to do something like this. Otherwise, the spell would have gone haywire by now. Do you understand what I''m getting at?'' Eren opened his eyes wide in surprise before raising a doubt. ''Rodrick has a water wyvern as his demon beast?'' La chuckled before confirming his doubt. ''That''s right. I guess the royals have their own perks after all. Using a spell like that is different from using regr animated spells. Although it increases the casting time, you still get to have some perks. First of all, the consciousness won''t get affected no matter what you do with the mana body. It can regenerate indefinitely as long as your mana storage keeps up. Second, the animated spell stops being a spell. The beast summoned into existence this way can use all its spells as long as the right elemental mana is provided to it. That means, it can cast almost all the spells its main body uses. I guess that just like you guys, Rodrick hase here with his demon beast. He must have gotten special permission to keep the beast inside the city. Or he must have used some spatial support spell to summon the beast''s consciousness from afar, possibly outside the city''s borders. Either way, Rodrick wanted Altashia to not be able to use her demon beast while he faces her with his. That guy must be desperate for a win. While not everyone will understand his trick, I''m sure that the high-ranking entities watching the fight have already realized this. What kind of honour would he gain if one of them decides to address his act to the public?'' Eren listened to La''s exnation and focused on the battle. Thetter looked at Rodrick in a new light before mumbling to himself. ''Heh! Screw the high-ranking entities. Fuck the public. What would one have to do to cheat so creatively like this? I''m notining. Just want to know his secrets.'' Eren wasn''t worried about Altashia even when he knew that Rodrick was kind of ying dirty. Even if she didn''t get the whole picture, she showed no signs of stress on her face. That meant that Rodrick was still something she could manage on her own just fine. Plus, Rodrick had followed all the rules of the games while exploiting the loopholes. If Eren could have his way, he would invite the guy to join his guild for his talent at finding the legal way to cheat. s, no matter how distant he was from the main branch, Rodrick was still royal. Why would he join the butcher''s guild that had no reputation? ============= AN: Always wanted to describe the animated spell ever since its introduction in chapter 291. The purgatory mini-arc was focused on battles so couldn''t include it there. Fortunately or unfortunately, this seemed like the ideal time and ce to exin. The battle between Al and Rodrick is over in the next chapter for real. Hehe! *Laughs nervously!'' Chapter 483 Dragonkind Chapter 483 Dragonkind ''Doesn''t this make the spell close to the beast contract spell?'' Eren asked as he saw Altashia suddenly using her movement spell with his enhanced perception. She could also use her way of the elements to strengthen her movement spell, allowing the spell to achieve greater results. It would have been tough for him to follow her movements even if it was him on the ground without his time-element spell. ''Yeah. The beast contract spell is inspired by a lot of ancient spells. You can say that it is a nerfed down version of the spell you are seeing. The beast contract spell requires the ranker to kill the beast in order to harvest its soul instead of summoning its consciousness outside its body. As a result, the beast contract spell is easier and faster to cast.'' Eren processed all the information La had given him and understood itpletely. La paused for a bit before continuing. ''The main advantage of the spell Rodrick has performed is that you would never be your beast''s bottleneck. It would have its own growth as a ranking entity. Plus, unlike the beast contract spell, the beast''s body and the beast itself don''t rely too heavily on the caster once the spell has finished its sessful execution. So both variants of the spell produce almost the same results. But the way they go about it is different. My master''s era didn''t have the beast contract spell. Personally, I feel that the feat of the ranker who came up with the beast contract spell after studying many such spells and extracting optimal parts of them is tremendous. I would have liked to meet them and exchange notes.'' La concluded and let the matter rest. It felt like she needed someone to discuss research matters with. So she was looking for ways to expound on these subjects with the only guy she could talk to. Eren also focused on Altashia''s fight. So far he had found no opening in Altashia''s battle style that he could exploit. But that didn''t mean that he should stop looking. ******************** "Hm. What I think doesn''t matter. Let''s test it out, shall we?" Altashia swung her weapon at the water wyvern from a close range. A significant amount of wind and fire mana had been imbued in the sh along with her mastery of the elements. Roar! The water wyvern had a huge gaping sh on its neck. It cried in pain when Altashia got below its neck without any fear andunched her weapon sh at its seemingly unprotected area. ''Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy. Good going, Al.'' Eren praised Altashia for her move. But that didn''t change the fact that he was going to criticize her for not striking Rodrick when his spell wasn''t finished. Things would have ended pretty abruptly. But the beast was already preparing to take flight when Altashia approached her. Her attack couldn''t stop it or Rodrick from getting airborne. Altashia was pushed back when the wind generated by the beast''s wing hit her directly as she was standing right below it. That prevented her from attacking the beast once again. Roar! Another draconic roar was released by the water wyvern as it attempted to fix its half-chopped neck with the mana from its surroundings. Since it was airborne and had gained a sufficient altitude, Altashia''s threat had been greatly reduced. Since it was a mana body, the beast didn''t take long to fix itself. Plus, some of its body parts started to show draconic scales on themC indicating that the beast was stabilizing in its new vessel. The beast pped its wings repeatedly as he stared at the human who had hurt it. Although this was its mana body, it could still feel pain when it was injured. Roar! The beast released a deafening roar at the human who had attacked it. It made a grabbing motion towards her with its front limbs that had wed at the end where its wings had joined. Altashia felt a dangerous sensation around her. But before she could act on it, the shape of a giant w made of water-element mana appeared around her with her in the middle. The manifestation of the w was so instantaneous that Eren couldn''t believe it wasn''t prenned. ''Heh! Why do you think dragonkind is respected and feared no matter which era or race it is. Its ability to cast magic far surpasses your imagination. And this is just a wyvern we are talking about. Hehehe! No use telling you right now I guess. Just know this. The dragons aren''t a mythical ss for nothing.'' La spoke up as if she understood Eren''s state of mind. He also realized that the little witch had another intention. She wanted him to forgo the thoughts of ying smart with Eliza. "Riptide!" A giant wave of water was formed in front of Rodrick before it picked up speed. As it travelled forward, it transformed into a de sh. The shape of the de sh resembled a crescent moon. Rodrick wasn''t sitting ducks either. He knew Altashia wasn''t someone who could be defeated solely by cheating. Her existence alone was enough of a cheat. So he sent one of his weapon-based spells her way to prevent her from escaping from above. The w had five fingers that looked like five giant pirs that stood around Altashia. The ground beneath her had been converted into an icy surface that soon looked like it too was made from the water wyvern''s dragon scale skin. No human or ordinary demon beast could achieve this level of detail in such a short time. Yet, Altashia shed a light grin as she looked up and saw Riptideing from her. Eren had a feeling she had been through a lot worse for her to act this way. When you face someone much stronger than you, your sense of danger is altered. Eren concluded that Altashia had met up with her version of Eliza. Chapter 484 The Scythe Queen Chapter 484 The Scythe Queen Altashia saw that she was targeted from many fronts. In response, she first created a series of de shes around her using her weapon. The way she handled her weapon was mesmerizing as it was precise to a T. She did not do anything unnecessary. No movement wasted. It looked like the weapon she held had a life of its own as it moved around her at the touch of her fingers. sh! sh! sh! sh! The warrior ranker destroyed Water Prison w effortlessly at the cost of tapping into a huge amount of mana from her mana storage. Her forehead was soaked in sweat after she was done spinning around herself. Her weapon was still being spun by both of her arms above her head. Altashia looked at Rodrick, who was looking at her with serious expressions. He knew what he was doing was inappropriate. But he needed this win. He was just that desperate. Even though Altashia had managed to destroy the Water Prison w, she had consumed more than half of her mana to pull it off. A few more attacks by Rodrick''s water wyvern would be able to make Altashia run out of her juices, making him win by default. This was all he wanted. Rodrick tightened his grip on his weapon again. In addition, he had enough mana to cast a few more rounds of Riptide. He decided to press Altashia with them as much as he could by timing it with his beast''s attacks. But all his strategy was based on the fact that Altashia would just stay where she was and take his beating. "If you think getting airborne would save you from my attacks, let me prove you wrong." Altashia said and raised one of her hands. A hive of fire and earth elemental chains was formed once again. These chains climbed over her weapon''s snath and gripped it hard. The next thing Rodrick saw was that Altashia had sent her weapon flying at him. But unlike his weapon which had consciousness, this weapon was controlled by Altashia''s chains. And that was all she needed to attack with. The beast roared at the iing weapon and started casting the spell. But the weapon changed direction suddenly and elerated at the same time. sh! sh! sh! sh! sh! sh! A barrage of de shes wasunched by Altashia in mid-air and they all flew toward Rodrick and his beast''s direction. Roar! "Aargh!" It wasn''t long before a human''s and a wyvern''s cries of pain could be heard at the same time. But s for both of them, this wasn''t the end. The shes that had affected their bodies caught fire. Altashia''s fire-element mana invaded Rodrick''s system at the same time as it corroded the beast''s mana body. Putting both of them in a vulnerable position. ?????-????? Altashia raised her hand towards the flying duo and focused her thoughts. She could feel her mana invading her enemies'' bodies. She opened her eyes a momentter and brought them down hard as if she was pulling something down. The fire-element mana that had invaded Rodrick''s body changed shape. The fire and wind element chains began sprouting from the wounds. It wasn''t long before the chains were wrapped around both bodies within a few moments. Altashia was pulling on her chains when she made the yanking down motion. The airborne duo both pulled a few meters nearer to the ground from their previous position. Rodrick was givingmands to Wyvern to fly at high altitude, even though it had lost its bnce due to all the chains restricting its wings. Altashia appeared right in front of the now-brought-down water wyvern like an apparition. When she had yanked those chains, she had connected those chains with the chains she had sent the duo''s way. She then used the linked chains as a pulley to bring herself to their height. She then used her weapon unhesitatingly, aiming for the mana beast''s entire body. This was the final nail in the coffin for both the beast and its owner. Swish! A giant fire-element sh bloomed in the air that overshadowed everything with its mana signature alone. The beast''s head was cut down. Its spell caster also had various shes all over his body. They both fell to the ground when Altashia swung her weapon once again. The duel was over when Rodrick got so critically injured that he lost his control over the spell and the water wyvern''s mana body was dispersed. Altashia used the wind as a cushion once again tond safely on the ground. Her scythe''s de had been coated with Rodrick''s blood as it hade in contact with his body. The guy would have been chopped down into minced meat if Altashia hadn''t controlled her attacks. Altashia spun her weapon around her once again to get rid of Rodrick''s blood. Although she was breathing a bit heavily with beads of sweat running down her cheeks, she was fine. One could tell that she still hadn''t gone all out against her duel with the royal. "The winner of this epic no super epic duel is Altashia Argas!" The announcer was the first to get snapped back to reality after witnessing such an intense battle. He announced the battle''s result with a voice coated in excitement he had long forgotten to feel while acting as the witness to such duels. The audience took a while to register the entire set of events. Some looked at the spectral screens above the battle ring to see what had happened in slow motion as the screen was ying the highlights of the duel. The crowd became wild when they saw Altashia in action. Her onscreen appearance made her feel like she was dancing through her whole duel instead of battling. When she drew her weapon in the highlights, her visual grace only increased. "Altashia I''ll give you 10,000 Extols for shaking hands with me!" "Altashia, I''ll I''ll give you all my wealth. Just wave at me." "Altashia!" "Miss Argas!" "The Scythe Queen!" "The Wyvern yer!" The spectators shouted their hearts out to call out to Altashia. Their emotions were all over the ce as they witnessed her feats. Their individual appreciation soon turned into crowd hysteria as they kept on shouting her name. Some had started giving her unofficial titles too. Altashia didn''t pay attention to any of those cheers. She looked in Eren''s direction and smiled after she put her weapon back in her storage. Thetter made a gulping sound when he felt her piercing gaze on him. ''She''s a dangerous woman.'' Chapter 485 Acquainting A Royal P1 Chapter 485 Acquainting A Royal P1 "Hehe! Was I wild enough?" Al asked Eren when they met after her battle. The crowd had be berserk trying to meet her. So the organizers had decided to keep her from prying eyes for some time till they vacated the premises. Therefore, she had been made to wait in a spacious lounge hall inside the amphitheater. Eren was escorted to where she was after her request. Altashia had thought that this was the temporary glory she was basking in. But she didn''t know that a lot of rankers had recorded her duel on their image recording artefacts and array disks. Her fame was bound to increase with time. Eren smiled when he heard Al greet him with that question. He nodded affirmatively beforementing. "More than I had asked you to be. Are you fine?" Eren asked while observing Al closely. Then they both took their seats by a plush couch that was part of the hall''s interior. "I''m fine. You should see the other guy. Anyway, Did you find any?" Al said while drinking the fruit juice that she had been served. Of course, she was also waiting here for her rewards from her opponent. Rodrick had been taken for first aid treatment right after the battle was over. She guessed that it wouldn''t be long before the healers patched him up. "What are you talking about?" Eren asked with puzzled expressions. Al smirked at his response before adding further. "Don''t try to y dumb with me. You were looking for my weaknesses so you can exploit them when we do fight each other. Tell me, did you find any?" Eren had a nk face when he heard Altashia''s statement. He couldn''t help chuckling before adding further. "Hahahaha! Oh yes. I was looking for your weaknesses. I might have a faint idea. But I won''t tell you. Unlike someone who likes to give their opponent some time casting their spells, I''d like to keep my opponents on their toes." Altashia pursed her lips when she heard Eren''s jab pointed at her. She sighed beforementing. "Sigh! You don''t know Rodrick as well as I do. The guy has his share of troubles. Plus, I had to put on a show to make him feel that the rewards he had wagered on this duel were worth this duel. Otherwise, he''d just keeping back." Altashia said, receiving Eren''s nod in return. Then she put down her half-finished ss of fruit juice and listened to Eren speaking some more. "By the way, Al. How did you know that I was looking for your weakness?" Altashia looked Eren in the eye beforementing with yfulness added to her tone. "Hehe. Those keen eyes are always looking for something. And don''t think I don''t notice when you nce at me. I can feel that on my skin from miles away. Hmph!" ''Introverts are blessed with some peculiar powers.'' Eren thought to himself before shing a wicked grin to Al. They were about to chat some more when a rankless staff member announced the arrival of Rodrick. "Miss Altashia, thank you for entertaining my selfish request. You will find what we had agreed upon in this storage artefact." Rodrick still had some wounds on his body. But they had been turned into barely noticeable scratches that didn''t bleed anymore. His expression was serious as if he had lost more than just this battle. Altashia took the storage ring from Rodrick and sent her mana sense inside. She nodded her head at the royal before stowing the ring away. With this, their deal was over. Rodrick sighed after giving Altashia her due reward. He was about to leave when he saw Eren sitting not far away from Altashia. He couldn''t recognize the guy. And someone who kept Altashiapany had to be special. So he thought of making friends. "Hello, pleased to meet you. Name''s Rodrick Renar. Are you a friend of Altashia?" Eren, who had just taken his smoke out, was caught off guard by the guy''s question just when he was about to light it up. He looked at Rodrick while holding his smoke in his mouth. He took out the Ster Sativa he had just ced in his mouth before replying. "Yo. Name''s Eren Idril. I am simply the deputy vice-captain of Al''s squad in the army. Nice to meet you too, Rodrick. You fought well out there." ''Al? Is he that close to this monster?'' Rodrick thought to himself and smiled mirthlessly before replying. "You don''t need to utter flowery words, Eren. I havee in contact with plenty of such people all my life. Now, I''d rather have someone criticize me for my weaknesses so that I can improve upon them. Oh! On that note, Miss Altashia, can you tell me where I got it wrong? I thought I had everything about you figured out. But you still surprised me. You hadn''t shown this level of explosiveness in Royal Ren''s Ranking Wars. Not even against that assho Err I mean not even against Rehaal Renar." Rodrick cancelled his ns to leave when he asked. Now that the topic had been raised, he had to gain something out of this wretched deal he had made for himself. But Altashia''s answer was only going to disappoint him. "Hehehe! I want to drain someone of their money if the opportunity arises. As a result, I had to make sure I wing big. Hmm. As for the post-battle analysis, I''m sorry Rodrick, but I''m only used to receiving guidance, not imparting it. Plus, I may not be the right person to do it in our case anyway. You''d be better off asking a third person who saw both of us duelling closely." ?????-????? Altashia''s answer worsened Rodrick''s already downcast face. He nodded at her half-heartedly before starting to leave. Altashia felt a bit of pity for the guy. Then she looked at Eren and thought of something before adding on. "Rodrick, maybe you can ask Eren about his opinion? He has watched our battle from start to finish. Maybe he could shed some light on your ws." Eren looked at Altashia as if he didn''t want to criticize some random dude, especially if it was instigated without giving him a fair warning. But, s. It was toote. Rodrick stopped his retreat and turned around once again beforementing. "Miss Altashia, Eren, no offense but" Altashia shook her head before interrupting Rodrick with her words. "Don''t underestimate him. He is also a demon beast tamer like us." Chapter 486 Acquainting a Royal P2 486 Acquainting a Royal P2 "Don''t underestimate him. He is also a demon beast tamer like us." Altashia''s statement froze Rodrick''s speech. He looked at Eren once more intently. The two had a small staring contest which Eren won in the end. So the royal shrugged his shoulders as if to say there''s no hurt in trying before addressing Eren. "*Sigh. Eren, what did you think about my battle style?" Eren lit up his smoke when the stare-down ended. He took a much-needed drag and rxed on the bed before looking at the royal and opening his mouth. "Hm. You offered Altashia two transcendent-grade rewards, right? What do I get in return?" Rodrick saw that it was only fair that a simple-looking guy like Eren would ask for rewards from him, a royal, under these circumstances. So he didn''t hesitate to reply. "Sure. What do you want? I''ll offer you something good if the advice is worth it." Rodrick shed a royal smile at Eren. he didn''t know what was in it for him in the future. So he might as well behave like a royal when he still had the chance. Eren also shed a broad smile that said "jackpot" before responding. "A transcendent-grade spell of course." Rodrick suppressed the urge to cough like a rankless mortal who had been sick and bedridden for months on end when he heard Eren''s statement. Before he could say anything, however, the butcher continued with his words. "Just hear me out, Rodrick. If you can distribute it as a reward for one friendly spar, I''m sure you won''t have any problem giving it to someone who could help improve your battle style. The way I see it, you were going to give the spell to Altashia anyway if you won or lost. For whatever reason you may have, you wanted her to be your ally like she owed you one. The battle was just a ruse to make that happen. That way, Altashia and her family would see you in a positive light. I don''t want to get into royal politics. But if the royal administration can enable you to grant someone a transcendent-grade spell, I''m sure they can make another exception. I''m not saying I''ll be a worthy ally for you to invest your resources on. But from the looks of it, you don''t have many options anyway. Why not use the resources you already have to ce your bets on a gamble?" Altashia opened her eyes and looked at Rodrick when Eren made her see Rodrick in apletely different light. The royal, upon seeing Altashia looking at him with shocked expressions, sighed and nodded at her. He admitted that whatever Eren had said was the truth. Of course, one of the reasons Rodrick fought Altashia was that he saw her as one of the toughest opponents in their generation. But it wasn''t that his pride was hurt because of one loss. He just had to act like a royal nheless, because it was expected from him to act in such away. The backing behind Altashia was no joke. Rodrick had just used his loss as a way to make connections with Al, and her family by proxy. He thought that his act of hurting a royal was pretty believable. He could have never guessed that a random stranger would be able to see through him. "Eren, you sure surprised me. Alright. Since you have put it this way, let''s gamble. What the heck! Haha. I''ll offer you the same transcendent-grade spell I offered to Altashia. Since it is rted to the demon beast, you can benefit from it as well. Now tell me. What are my weaknesses?" Eren didn''t even flinch when he said his next words. "Stop fighting with your brain. And start using your brawn in a fight once in a while." Rodrick listened to Eren and took some offence in that statement. He wanted to retort. But Eren didn''t give him a chance. "You are a berserker right?" Rodrick paused for a moment before nodding his head in affirmation. The butcher pressed on. "This would be the second berserker I''m gilding. I have to charge extra money for berserkers from now on." Eren remembered Steve Austin as he took another drag from his smoke before marching forward. "Before I say anything, can we put your royal status aside for a few minutes?" Eren looked Rodrick in the eye and let the question stay in the air for a while. Rodrick had another brief staring contest with the butcher before relenting once again. Before addressing the seemingly nobody, he looked in the direction of the door. "Alright. Give me some time with my friends here. Please lock the door and let nobody in. Please do not act on what my friends say about me in this room. At least until I say so." "Understood!" A hoarse male voice resounded in the lounge hall. It had an unknown origin. But before Altashia could locate the source of that voice, the lounge''s big door suddenly closed. Rodrick sat on the couch that was in front of the one Eren and Altashia had sat on. The butcher thought of something and threw a new smoke at him out of the blue. The berserker caught it between his index and ring finger just as quickly before looking at Eren with puzzled expressions. Hatchlings of the me! A thread snake of only five centimetres appeared on the tip of Eren''s finger. It crawled its way to the smoke Rodrick was holding in no time and opened its mouth to light it up before dispersing into thin air. Eren waited for Rodrick. The royal understood Eren''s gesture. For some reason, he feltpelled to do what Eren was asking him to do. He sighed and took a drag from the smoke the butcher had offered to him. Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough! The royal started coughing violently as soon as he took the drag. This time, he couldn''t help coughing like a rankless mortal on his deathbed. His eyes got red and watery. His face was the colour of a tomato. "Hahahaha! Take another hit. Don''t worry. It''ll grow on you. You''ll need its effects to understand what I''m about to say to you on a deeper level." Eren said amusingly as he looked at the coughing royal. Chapter 487 Path of a Summoner P1 487 Path of a Summoner P1 "Hahahaha! Take another hit. Don''t worry. It''ll grow on you. You''ll need its effects to understand what I''m about to say to you on a deeper level." Eren said amusingly as he looked at the coughing royal. Thetter looked angrily at the butcher. This time, the staring contest didn''tst long because Rodrick couldn''t keep his watery eyes open for long. "I''m not saying anything until you take a few proper hits." Eren said as he took a long drag from his own smoke. Rodrick felt angry that he was being looked down on. So he steeled his heart and his lungs before taking another drag. Cough! Cough! Cough! Altashia saw that Rodrick wasn''t feeling too good after the second hit as well. She felt another bout of pity towards him. So she tapped Eren''s hand beforementing. "Eren, he is not a drug addict like you. Why can''t you say whatever you have to say to him without trying to make a smoker buddy out of him?" Eren still had his eyes fixated on Rodrick who was trying to bring his breathing to normal while holding his chest. He replied to Altashia after taking another drag. "Al, this is a talk between men. Why don''t you go outside if it bothers you? Or maybe stay quiet and don''t disturb us if you want to stay here. What will it be? You tell me." Eren looked at Al after he finished his statement. He saw her pouting with her hands folded under her bosom. She looked like she was going to say something to him. But Eren''s unflinching gaze and his stoic expressions shut her up. She merely hmphed to register her dissatisfaction with him before looking in front of her. Rodrick was listening to everything unfolding between the couple. It looked like Eren was trying to criticize Altashia. But he felt like the subtle dissing was meant for him. Rodrick took another hit out of his smoke after exhaling a long breath. Then he took another. Then another. His expressions rxed after a while as the effects of the Ster Sativa kicked in. "How are you feeling now?" Eren asked Rodrick. Thetter nodded his head slowly before responding. "As... as light as a feather. How How do you stay functional after smoking this?" Eren smirked before answering. "Because I used to do a lot worse. But we are not here to talk about any of that. We are here to talk about your battle style. I need you to pay me your undivided attention. Do you understand?" Rodrick processed Eren''s words slowly before nodding his head. He was d that he was sitting in front of his new counsellor. Otherwise, he might have tripped. Not that he wasn''t tripping mentally at the time. "You need to quit being a berserker. Start from scratch. That path is not meant for you." Eren said and let hisment sink in. Altashia was the first to open her eyes wide in shock. But before she could say anything, Eren raised his index finger and pressed it against his lips, telling her to keep quiet. "I I now understand the reason behind why you made me smoke this shit before giving me advice. I would have hehe I would have left you guys by now after listening to something absurd like this." Eren shook his head beforementing. "Nope. That''s still the trippy-you talking. You would have had me beat up by your goons'' hands if I had said this before that "shit" as you called it calms your nerves. If it was not in front of Al, it would have been done when I was alone." Rodrick shed a cunning smile at Eren when he heard that. He wondered how this seemingly unnoticeable youth could be so perceptive about him. "Hehe. Cough! Cough! Cough! Alright. Give it to me straight. What are you trying to say to me?" Rodrick said after taking another drag. He kept on observing the trails of smoke that he had released for no reason. He found this job to be more intriguing and rxing than dealing with royal politics. Eren saw that Rodrick was finally at a ce where he could listen to his advice with an open mindset. So he continued after taking thest drag out of his smoke. "Rodrick, I''m sure you might have gone through an aptitude test and found out you were suitable for being a berserker. Maybe you still are. But that path can not bring out the best in you. I mean look at what you did in your duel against AI. Did you even fight like a berserker? All you did was execute ns you had alreadye up with in your head. Does a berserker fight like this? Hell no." Eren said and watched Rodrick clenching his fist. He was angry. Not on anyone else, though. On himself. The butcher could see that every word of his stung him like a hive of bees. He didn''t feel pity for him and carried on. "Even if you win by employing strategies like this, what''s the point? Don''t get me wrong. I''m not against someone using their brains in battle. But your ns should be adjusted as per your battle style. Not the other way around. Going against the path you have set for yourself to fit the n is counterproductive. I''m sure you are smart enough to see that yourself. You are asking about someone else''s opinion on the way you fought. That makes it pretty obvious to me that you are starting to have doubts." In a flick of his fingers, Eren kicked the remains of his smoke into the ashtray. A sigh escaped his lips as he rested one hand on the couch''s arm support and verbally marched on. "Still, you chose to not fight like the berserker that you are in the fight. No matter how dense a ranker might turn out to be, they wouldn''t do something like this under normal circumstances. I''m guessing you had strong reasons to do this." Eren said and looked at the closed door after saying this. When he was sure that there was no movement, the butcher pressed on. "Here we are now, with you left wondering. Was it worth it? Let me clear that doubt for you if you still haven''t found the answer by yourselfC It''s not." Chapter 488 Path of a Summoner P2 488 Path of a Summoner P2 "Here we are now, with you left wondering. Was it worth it? Let me clear that doubt for you if you still haven''t found the answer by yourselfC It''s not." Rodrick had closed his eyes by the time Eren finished his talking. For a while, nobody uttered a word. Eren wasn''t in a hurry. He gave his royal acquaintance enough time toe around. Rodrick opened his eyes after a while and sighed beforementing. "Hehe. When I had finished my aptitude test, the very first option generated by the aptitude array was bing a tank. But I thought staying so passive wouldn''t be in my best interest. So I rejected that. The second option that it had given me was that of a Samurai. But I wasn''t willing to inflict pain on myself to enhance my spell output. So I rejected that too. The path of a berserker, which was the third choice the aptitude test array had given me, then became an easier choice for me. The array probably gave me those two options because I had been trying to do everything for who knows how long. My desperation to see me as a better ranker than all of those royal mother" Rodrick had lost all his breaks by this point. Eren knew he wouldn''t stop by himself. So he had to intervene. "Rodrick! Bud. If you want to get into trouble, do it when you are alone. Not when you are with us." Rodrick snapped out of his trip when Eren called his name abruptly like that. The butcher had used a mana-imbued voice projecting it straight into his ear canal to enhance the sound''s intensity while keeping the volume normal for Altashia. Rodrick shook his head when he was brought into reality by Eren''s ear-piercing voice. He nodded at the butcher and took a drag from his smoke again before continuing further. "I I''m sorry. Where was I? Yes! My choice for being a berserker. You are right, Eren. Physically, I may have a talent for being a berserker. Despite this, I find it difficult to enter the berserk state even when I drink the berserker potion. I wasn''t like this, mind you. However, my circumstances have made me too paranoid. I guess some rankers are born that way. Not everyone can walk on the path they choose for themselves with absolute confidence. That''s why I envy Miss Altashia. She is indeed a warrior. The way she acts, the way she moves, the way she thinks that it isn''t her job to start advising someone. And the way she shows kindness only after the fight is over. These seemingly insignificant things count. They make up a whole picture. Compared to her, I''mpletely lost. What am I? Tell me Eren, what am I? What should I do?" Rodrick asked and finished his smoke as well. He had to admit that these thoughts were getting better processed under the Ster Sativa''s influence like the butcher had told him they would. Otherwise, he would have shut these thoughts the moment they sprang into his head. That''s right. Rodrick was having doubts about his path even before Eren had raised them for him today. But every time he had them, he would suppress or ignore them because of the implications they had. Changing the path now would mean wasting his progress in the Ace rank. Like Altashia, he too was close to breaking into the Adept rank. Just a step or two more, and he''d be an Adept. Changing Rodrick''s path now would result in his ranking status regressing. That meant starting from the initial stage of the Ace rank from scratch. Plus, his existing mana circuits would be fried. He''d spend a few months recovering. If everything about changing sses worked smoothly for him, this was the best-case scenario. Rodrick sighed and addressed the biggest concern he had for Eren. "Eren, my problems wouldn''t end with me left with wasted time and resources should I choose to follow through with the change of ss. I''m in a shark tank, you see. If I show weakness at this point, I might get eaten raw. Hehehe!" Rodrick said and smiled mirthlessly. Eren didn''t ask for any exnation from the guy. He just shrugged his shoulders and responded. "Just change the damn tank for a while. Don''t swim in it unless you know you are qualified enough to enter it." Rodrick chuckled at first when he heard Eren''s statement. Then he opened his mouth to speak while raising his hand. But his hand and his speech froze in their tracks as he pondered over Eren''s reply. He lowered his head and started mumbling to himself while looking at the ground aimlessly. "Change the damn tank for a while Change the tank Change the tank! Can I do it?" Rodrick pressed his forehead with both his hands trying to think about something. It took a while for him toe to a decision. His eyes sparkled with determination when he raised his head and looked at Eren again. "Eren, ording to you, which ss should I take? Tank or Samurai?" Eren saw the change in Rodrick''s behaviour all of a sudden. He didn''t know what had happened to him. But he thought of wrapping this up as soon as he could. So he decided to shoot straight. "Neither." Eren observed Rodrick''s reaction when he said that. The guy stopped getting shocked at the butcher''s answers anymore. By now the royal waspletelymitted to taking Eren''s advice to heart. The butcher wanted this effect from the get-go when he offered Rodrick the smoke. In so doing, the royal was able to let loose all the doubts he had been suppressing in his mind since only he knew when. Despite seeing that Rodrick knew about it subconsciously, the butcher exined. This was a way for him to highlight the realization that had already dawned on Rodrick. "The tank would have worked for you seeing that you prefer to keep a distance from your opponents. Plus, the water element is a suitable choice for a tank. But tanks don''t engage with their opponents the way you do. Plus, they are defence specialists. Something I don''t see you bing anymore. I''ll not pretend to know about the path of the Samurai. But I guess you rejected that path yourself for some reason. No point circling back to it." Rodrick nodded his head in agreement. He couldn''t wait for Eren to finish showing him the path he didn''t see for himself. "Then What do you want me to do?" Eren smiled before responding. "Something the aptitude test didn''t tell you. Stop caring about the path being mainstream or not. Forget about the perks or drawbacks it offers. Fuck the aptitude test. Fuck everything else. Be an animated spell specialist, Rodrick. Be a Summoner." Chapter 489 Pros and Cons 489 Pros and Cons "Be a Summoner." Eren said and looked at Rodrick thoughtfully. Thetter took a while to understand what it would mean for him. "Do you mean I should only concentrate on increasing my mental strength? Pump up my Intelligence stat while ignoring the rest? Eren, there''s a reason why this ss isn''t opted for by most rankers these days. The aptitude test will never show" Eren shook his head before replying. "As I said, Rodrick. Forget about what the aptitude test says. It can only test your aptitude based on the data that has been fed into its array. Agreed, it gives the most efficient result for most rankers. But you, as an individual, are not "most rankers", are you?." Eren said and got up from his seat. He started pacing around the room while ying with a thread sized fire snake he had summoned on the tip of his index finger. "I guess intelligence stat is always looked down upon because it barely affects a ranker''s spellcasting ability. A ranker is more likely to overburden their mana circuits than stress their mental faculties while stacking or casting multiple spells at once. But things change when you look at spells that use your mental powers by default. Animated spells are one such type." As he spoke, Eren made the fire snake he had summoned change shape in front of him. The snake got progressivelyrger by the moment until it had an erect head the same height as Eren''s. It opened its mouth in front of its master under hismand. The butcher touched the fangs of the snake''s open mouth with his bare hands and carried on. "The summoner ss has its drawbacks, yes. You would stop enhancing your other body stats. This means they would only increase at a slower rate when you advance to the next stage or the next rank. But" Eren said and made another fire snake of the same sizee into life besides the first one. He started ying with both of them. After a while, he continued. "But if you take up the summoner ss and increase your mental stat values, you would get to summon more of such beasts than any other ranker could imagine doing. Think about the idea of getting surrounded by an army of undying soldiers that would stay forever loyal to you. I don''t know about you. But I find that pretty cool. You can solo clear any raid inside the dungeon or out in the field when you reach high enough rank with that ss." Eren said and looked at Rodrick. He was still pondering over many things. Then he looked at Altashia who wanted to say something. But since he had ced a gag order on her, she was instead staring at him with the same pout on her face. Eren raised his eyebrows beforementing. "Al, you want to say something?" Al nodded before opening her mouth to speak. Functional introvert as she may be, she could only keep quiet for so long. ?????? ???? ????????????.???. "Eren, summoners have a huge weakness. They are the same as mages in that sense. Take them out first and their summons disperses in thin air. And since their other body attributes are weak, they are easier to target. Even more so than mages who could at least cast defence spells on themselves. Why do you think the ss doesn''t have many rankers practising it anymore? Rodrick would be at a disadvantage the moment someone" Eren smirked at Altashia before interrupting her. "Heh! You don''t think I know that summoners are even more of a ss cannon than mages? But so what? Every ss has its pros and cons. Which ss is immune to this simple rule? Rodrick would indeed be more vulnerable than he ever was if he takes up the summoner ss. But that is only until he masters his path as a summoner. Don''t forget. The animated spells cast by regr rankers and animated spells cast by summoners are two different things. Furthermore, the summoners can breathe more life into each of their summons, making them more powerful individually. When Rodrick reaches a high enough rank, he can also cast Monster Summon spells. Why would he be afraid of anyone attacking him if he has a huge monster army protecting him? Umm I''m biased towards having a monster army. But you guys get my drift, right?" Eren said, expecting another rebuttal from Al. It arrived shortly afterwards. "But that is only when he progresses sufficiently in his summoner path, Eren. What would he do until then? Not fight? Is he willing to risk his life every time he enters battle? Will he always rely on his teammates? I mean it''s not entirely impossible if you think about it. But I don''t think Rodrick would like to count on others. The reason his paranoia gripped him was that he couldn''t count on anyone after all." Altashia said with a worried expression on her face. She was looking at Rodrick as if it was her fault he had started doubting himself. She then snapped out of her silly thought process all by herself before Eren could do that for her. The butcher kept on ying with his fire snakes. He had summoned another snake of the same size by now. He was trying to punch them on their noses while telling them to dodge it. The dual feedback he was receiving while performing those punches was causing disharmony to his movements. Eren knew that his intelligence stat was increasing ever since he had started smoking Ster Sativa. And if the rumoured effects of Ster Sativa were to be believed, it was also going to help him awaken his soul sense faster. Therefore, he hypothesized that there was a corrtion between intelligence and soul sense awakening. He didn''t voice his hypothesis though. Because it was too early to say anything on that matter. "Rodrick won''t like to be dependent on others you say? But he already depends on someone to have his back." Eren said and smiled at Altashia. He then looked at Rodrick who also looked at him with the light of understanding shing in his eyes. "Aqua. My demon beast!" Chapter 490 The Lazarus Project Chapter 490 The Lazarus Project "Aqua. My demon beast!" Eren nodded in agreement with Rodrick''s realization before continuing forward. "That''s right. Summoners are ss cannons. But demon beast owners would find it convenient to have such a ss. They would always have their beasts to count on, no matter if they are battling solo or in a team. Theirpanion can support them until they get high enough in their ss." Eren said and remembered the animated spell Rodrick had executed in his battle against Altashhia. He started pacing in the room with his snakes in tow before speaking further. "What''s more? Rodrick''s demon beast can take flight. That means he''d always have an option to retreat. With the Summoner ss, he can just keep a safe distance from his enemies and overwhelm them using his summons without facing any consequences. His demon beast also has a few long-range attacks. The wyvern basically nullifies all the drawbacks of being a summoner. It''d be a shame not to take advantage of it. Don''t worry too much about regressing in rank. It will only getplicated when you break through to Adept rank. Ace rank is still nothing. You still have time. Plus, I''m sure that you would take enough precautions while changing your ss to minimize the recovery period. You''d have royal means at your disposal. Use them. Who would if you didn''t?" Eren said casually. Rodrick pondered with his head down for a bit beforeing to a decision. "You are right, Eren. I''ll I''ll fucking do it. To hell with everything else. Thanks, man. It''s not like I didn''t consult my problem with high ranking entities. But for some reason, I couldn''t make a decision. Because their suggestions didn''t click with me. Yours did. It''s like you know what it takes to be a berserker and also know what it takes to abandon that all of a sudden. Just wait for a few days. Your copy of the transcendent-grade spell will be delivered to you after I clear it up with my people. You have my word." Rodrick stood abruptly from his seat and started talking while walking in Eren''s direction. Thetter nodded before shaking the soon-to-be-ex berserker''s hand. ************************ "So this is Aqua. Rodrick, she gives off an extremely intense aura." Eren said after looking at Rodrick''s demon beast. He saw that the wyvern was a full-grown demon beast that looked intimidating. Aqua was the same size and had the same features as the animated spell Rodrick had disyed during the battle. But the real deal was leagues apart from the fake. Eren, Altashia, and Rodrick hade outside of the city to fetch their demon beast. The city walls could still faintly be seen in the distance. Rodrick''s demon beast was the closest in the area. The butcher had also had a suspicion that Rodrick had found a way to sneak his demon beast inside the city''s protectiveyer. But he didn''t ask. "Of course, she looks intimidating. She''s an epic tier after all. Where''s yours?" Rodrick asked while stroking his demon beast''s long neck that was wrapped around his body like a snake''s embrace. The wyvern was making guttural sounds to indicate that she liked it. Screeeeeeeeech! ???s ??????? ?s ?????? ?? ????????????.???. Before Eren could answer his beast''s whereabouts, a sharp eagle cry resounded in the surroundings. Aqua raised her head at the sky and growled when she heard the screech. A ck shadow that was far up in the sky soon started taking shape before Argo''s features were revealed. The beastnded right in front of Eren in the next moment while generating a gush of wind. "A gryphon? That''s rare. Even rarer than a wyvern I''d say. How did you tame him?" Rodrick asked while trying to calm Aqua down. Eren exined to him the answer he had already prepared while petting his demon beast. Altashia on the other hand was waiting with her demon beast for Eren to wrap up his conversation with the royal. Argo wanted to challenge Aqua for a duel. But the butcher forced him to drop the idea since he was barely half the size of the wyvern. Eren and Altashia had decided that they would ride their beasts for some time. Then find a colt service in a nearby city when their beasts get tired. Rodrick was also going to part ways with them here. Before experiencing a life-altering change, he had so much to do. The three demon beast tamers got onto their respective mounds soon after discussing some more. Rodrick smiled at Eren before saying his parting words. "I''lle to meet you someday after I change my ss. Crash at your ce for a few days, wherever that is. Will that be alright?" Eren didn''t understand what Rodrick meant by hosting him for a few days. But he needed the guy to give him his copy of the transcendent-grade spell. So he nodded at him nheless. "Excellent. Good luck with your newly-founded guild, my friend. We''ll fight again after my ss changes, Miss Altashia. Hopefully, I''ll make it interesting for you at that time. Hahaha!" Rodrick patted his demon beast as he spoke. Aqua released a draconic roar at Argo before pping her wings. The royal paranoid soon disappeared from the duo''s eyes. Eren could see a few shadows in the distance following him in his direction from the ground. Eren and Altashia soon left the ce too. The butcher never stopped flirting with the scythe queen the whole way. Amid those flirtatious talks, Eren also kept on thinking about summoning, animated spells, necromancy, and their links with the revival techniques. Rodrick''s dilemma about his path had made the butcher see his problems in a different light. Eren had been studying some of the half-destroyed research papers of his own on the sidelines. But since they were incoherent due to the poor state they were in, he couldn''t make sense of them for the most part. By sheer coincidence, the same research papers had suddenly started to make sense to him when he got busy solving someone else''s problems. What about the source of those half-destroyed research papers? They were obtained by the butcher from a ce that had it''s geo-coordinates encrypted into the array disk. It was given to him by Lin Karr. Eren decided that he needed to do some experiments of his own on this subject. After all, he was tasked with reviving a Sage. He wouldn''t want to be in the dark when the timees. ********************************* "Haah! We finally have time to talk." La appeared in front of Eren when he was back in his room inside the army base. Her features were still the same. She had worn a simple grey dress adorned with white floral details. The young witch had gotten rid of her witch hat for a change. She had worn spectacles this time, giving her a nerdy look. "Indeed. I''m so busy these days, you see." Eren said casually while checking the mission his team was assigned for the week on his spectral screen. The young witch twitched her nose beforementing in a sarcastic tone. "Busy getting in girls'' pants, you mean. Hmph! But it''s not like you are willing to change your ways. So I might as well ept the leecher that you are and carry on with our n." La sighed. She then adjusted her specs and took out a few scrolls from her storage. Sheid them open on the only work desk the room had before verbally marched on. "I have done everything Master Eliza had asked me. All these days, I have been gathering information about the things she needs to revive herself. Master is also okay with it after I consulted with her. Now it''s our job to get those things as soon as we can." La said and mmed her open palms on the table to grab Eren''s attention. "I call this the Lazarus Project!" =================== AN: The description of animated spells that we had to read through a few chapters back can be linked with the Summoner ss''s information. The advantages, as well as disadvantages Eren has faced so far after using the animated spells, foreshadow everything that has been said in thesest few chapters. Because Summoner is a very special ss, its details have been extensively discussed. The chapter''s name is special too. Without spoiling too much, a shout out to Ash*** and Hil**. ;) VEH will have a mass release after this upload. Stay tuned. ;) Chapter 491 Simbelmyne’s Flower Chapter 491 Simbelmynes Flower "I call this the Lazarus Project!" Eren stopped looking at his spectral screen and looked at the scrolls and notes scribbled by La. They were written in anguage he didn''t quite get. It was partially the samenguage he was used to. But the meaning behind most of those words didn''t make sense to him. Eren closed his spectral screen and stood from his chair. Then he walked up to the table and pulled up another chair before sitting on it. The notes, maps, and everything La had gathered was now clearly visible to him. The young witch was on the other side of the table, standing while tilting her body weight on the table''s surface with both her hands. La liked that Eren was trying to give her undivided attention. She took a long breath before continuing. "Eren, you need to understand this before we proceed further. Both master''s and Reen''s survival depend on these tasks. I''m not trying to pressurize you. Just reminding you is all. I hope you understand this." Eren smirked at La when he heard this. But he didn''t say anything. He started tapping his finger on the table, indicating that she get on with whatever she wanted to say to him. "Alright, we can now proceed since we got that out of the way." La said and started rummaging through her pile of notes and scrolls before pulling out the scroll she was looking for. She opened it in front of Eren for him to see beforementing. "I''ll start with this. Simbelmyne''s Flower. Its trees are only found on the mountain peaks. The flower blooms only when the world''s mana seeps into it while imbuing it with a part of its consciousness. Hence, even if you can find the trees, you won''t necessarily see a fully bloomed flower." Eren was handed the scroll regarding Simbelmyne''s flower along with its possible locations. All locations were outside the kingdom of Edinburgh. Plus, some of the locations seemed to be in the middle of the Bands. Eren had stressed lines on his forehead as he kept on reading the scroll. La let him think for a while. Then she proceeded forward. "Don''t worry too much though. We don''t have to search aimlessly. I zeroed in on the locations using potions and arrays myself. What''s more? When Simbelmyne''s Flower blooms naturally in a wild habitat, it is rare. But some potion-makers dabble into farming these kinds of herbs "in the greenhouse." Eren kept the scroll on the table and looked at La who was smirking at him at the time. He tapped his fingers on the table andmented after pondering for a bit. "Let me guess. The flower can be bought. But since you did all the research by yourself, I''m guessing it won''t be easy to buy." La nodded at Eren''s answer before replying. "That''s right. The Simbelmyne''s Flower is a transcendent-grade treasure. That means it can use any rank''s mana to sustain itself. But the concentration of mana needs to be at crazy levels to induce blooming in the greenhouse. Maintaining a greenhouse for such a ranking resource is not an easy task. The Extols needed to keep the mana generator arrays functional is not something an individual can sustain for a long time." Eren shook his head before interrupting La. "Keep that geek stuff to yourself. Just tell me where we could buy this from and how much does it cost? La puffed her cheeks when her exnations were interrupted like these. She liked talking about such topics. But apparently, the butcher would rather be back flirting with Altashia if his patience were tested. So she decided to cut short her description of the Simbelmyne''s flower and responded. "*cough. Alright. The Simbelmyne''s flower can not be bought casually. At least not these days. It can only be imed through auction events. And there is high demand. That''s why I also researched the potential natural locations of the flower. Don''t worry. I know you are broke. If we are looking for the flower and reach within a certain distance from it, I have a trick that can make us locate it instantly." Eren narrowed his eyes on La and asked in a low voice. "Don''t try to divert from my question. How much are we talking about?" Laughed nervously before raising her hands and showing "One" with her index finger. "1000 Extols?" Eren asked dubiously. Subconsciously, he knew La wouldn''t hesitate for that much money, even if it meant a lot to him. La confirmed his suspicions. She shook her head in denial before responding. "More than 10,000 Extols. And that''s a starting bid. Plus, we might need a batch of four Simbelmyne flowers in case of emergency. So that''s hehe roughly 50,000 Extols." Eren stopped tapping his fingers on the table when he heard the amount. Stress lines on his forehead increased. La tried to cheer him up with her actions and her words. After walking close to him, she tapped his shoulder as if she were greeting a long-lost friend. "That''s why I said we can look for the flowers naturally. Don''t worry. It shouldn''t take long for us" Eren shook his head in denial before replying. "No. After reading these notes, I can guess that finding the flower won''t be as easy as you are making it out to be. Not to mention exploring the Bands would be dangerous. I don''t like facing dangers if I can avoid them or if they are not worth it. I''d rather invest my time in something productive. Although I don''t have that much money on me now, I''ll. I''ll just have to find ways to make that amount." Eren narrowed his eyes and thought of something. He then turned his head to his side facing La and asked. "I''m guessing you also know the ce that would auction Simbelmyne''s Flower?" La nodded at him and responded. "Yep. For once, I would want your leecher powers to exceed their normal potential. That''s because House Remus is known for auctioning precious herbs that are grown in the greenhouse. And Simbelmyne''s Flower is included in their asional auction events. You need to make a move on that Dianna girl." ================== AN: Brace yourself for a ten-chapters mass release. ;) Chapter 492 Shallots Mirror Chapter 492 Shallot''s Mirror "You need to make a move on that Dianna girl." La patted Eren''s back with encouragement. Thetter looked at her strangely before responding. "You want me to act like a hoe to get your herbs?" La coughed a bit before responding thoughtfully. "Semantics. I''d describe it as you just being your usual go-getter. It''s not like you are too pure to do something like this. Plus, that Dianna girl seems like she would give you a good deal in exchange for sexual favours." This time it was Eren who coughed. He looked at La once again from head to toe before thinking to himself. ''I often forget this little monster has lived for who knows how long even before I was born. My age and experience in both timelines are akin to zero in front of this loli-looking witch.'' Eren sighed to himself after he had that thought. He then decided to confess. "I well we already have that kind of arrangement in ce." Dianna had agreed to give him a time-element spell called Total Control in exchange for sleeping with her and he had agreed. But La wasn''t with Eren when he talked with Diannast time. So she didn''t know about the arrangement between the two. "Your leecher powers have exceeded my expectations. But that''s all right. That''s good. Hehe. I have potions for everything. Do you want performance-enhancing potions? Potions that can give yourdy an extra high? Or something to make you grow two di" Eren pulled La in front of him, made her turn, and pressed his palm against her mouth to shut her up. In that process, La was wrapped in his embrace, with her back leaning against his chest while he was still sitting on his chair. She was made to sit on hisp in the end. Eren continued while keeping his palm pressed against La''s mouth which was still trying to say something. "I already have everything covered when ites to my dick enhancement. Growing two of them won''t do me any good. At least for now. Thanks for letting me know the extent of your potion-making expertise though. I now know who to ask if I want to spice things up in bed." Eren chuckled before getting serious. He then added. "The problem lies not in our arrangement. But the rarity of the flower, its price, and Dianna''s position in the family. At most, she can allow us to attend the auction when it happens. She won''t be able to give those flowers for free as you are expecting from her even if we convince her to." Eren released La''s mouth after he said that. Thetter acted like she was out of breath for a moment before responding angrily. "You you release me from this position first. I I just knew it. You already have your eyes on me. But let me tell you" "Focus!" Eren said loudly in La''s ear while he resumed checking up on the scroll rted to Simbelmyne''s Flower. The young witch snapped out of her fake innocence and replied. "That also works. But only if youe up with the money to buy the stuff upfront. And don''t forget. It ismon for auctions to make you pay more than your expectations." La said while adjusting herself properly on Eren''sp. Using his spectral screen, Eren started reading everything that was open knowledge about the flower found in the army database. Eren also found the image for Simbelmyne''s flower in the army database. It had about 16 petals on the outermostyer. It also features eight inner petals, which surrounded a horn-like protrusion. The petals of the flowers looked ethereal with their blue hue that would change from dark to light blue before changing back to dark in a cyclic pattern. The horn-like protrusion on the other hand looked solid and as real as it could get. With its dichotomy of real and ethereal, the flower was a rare urrence in nature. Eren also found the flower''s description under its image. It said that taking a few whiffs of Simbelmyne''s flower and turning it into a potion through distition was able to positively affect a ranker''s soul sense. If they had awoken it that is. The soul sense that was enhanced by Simbelmyne''s flower would find it easy to harmonize with the world. Eren wasn''t sure what the description meant by harmonizing with the world. But he could guess that Eliza''s soul sense was bound to be in disarray if and when she acted against the natural order of the world. The flower was supposed to be her way to curb those negative implications if not outright eliminate them. "*Sigh. What''s next?" ????????????.??? Eren sighed before La. This was still an easy task for him to manage. He felt that the tasks La, and Eliza by proxy had for him were only liable to get more difficult as he worked through the list. La also turned serious. She stretched her arm and fetched another scroll that was lying on the other side of the table and opened it in front of Eren and her before continuing. "Next we need this. Shallot''s Mirror. This is also a transcendent-grade treasure. I''ll tell you what it does so that you don''t have to search for it separately. It is a space-element artefact that deals in souls. It can house a soul in an isted space inside it without the soul facing mutation, dispersion, or any other adverse effects after leaving the natal body. This is also one of the most critical things we need in our project." La said while pointing her finger over the diagram of the artefact. Eren saw that Shallot''s Mirror was indeed a mirror that had an intricate pattern made out of metal-like elements serving as its frame. The mirror was oval. But the surface of the mirror had a ck hue and it didn''t reflect anything. Eren also read the description under the image by La. Since it was written in anguage he could understand this time, he could read it. It said the same thing La had said along with how to use it. Chapter 493 Soul Seed lnsertion Array Chapter 493 Soul Seed lnsertion Array "You haven''t mentioned the possible ces we could find the mirror at. That means" Eren didn''t have toplete his sentence. La did it for him. "Yes. it''s already in possession of a family. I don''t think I can help you in any way in getting that mirror from its owners. You need to figure out how to get the stuff on your own." Eren nodded aimlessly before adding on. "We can forget about asking for the mirror upfront. First, anyone who owns a transcendent-grade treasure would not part with it willingly. Even if they could, they would ask for an exorbitant price. Something I''m not willing to pay. Where is this mirror? And who is the current owner of the artefact?" Eren asked while reading the scroll. He soon got the answer he was looking for without La having to say anything. "House of Lancelot located in the city of Lancelot. Fuck! Are there any alternatives to this artefact?" ************************** Eren gasped when he read the artefact was now owned by the house of Lancelot. It was a famous artefact-making house. It was also known for running a state-of-the-art weapon smithy and an elite guild. The house of Lancelot only catered to high-ranking entities. The guild run by the house would only ept or issue high ranking missions. Therefore, it had a very niche clientele and association with other rankers'' organizations. Moreover, the house had devised an ingenious scheme to keep powerful rankers working under its banner. The house would offer discounts for custom orders ced by C-rank rankers and above. Provided they serve the house for a certain period through their guild or undertake the tasks that it tells them to do. The discount would be based on the duration of service or the severity of the task. Of course, since it only dealt with high-ranking entities, the service they needed to provide wasn''t anything demeaning. For the most part, the Lancelot guild ran like any other guild. However, it had ack of low ranking missions that were usually carried out by any normal guild. Furthermore, the house of Lancelot always yed fair and offered the rankers a fair deal in exchange for the efforts they put in. If any ranker performed way beyond what was expected of them, they would be awarded cutting-edge weapon artefacts that wouldn''t pale inparison with army-issue items. As a result, a lot of rankers served happily under their banner. Messing with them was akin to painting a bull''s eye on your back that would not be missed by high-ranking entities. **************************** "Are there any alternatives to this artefact?" The butcher asked after picturing the trouble that could potentially ensue from trying to obtain the artefact by any means. He''d rather try his luck finding a Simbelmyne flower in the Bands than this almost sureshot way tomit suicide. But s, La''s answer was only going to disappoint him. "Eren, there are indeed other ways to achieve the same effects as the mirror can produce. But they are either too high ranked for you to perform or the items they require are even more difficult to find. There is also an array method. But neither you nor I have the expertise or resources to construct something of that calibre. Obtaining Shallot''s Mirror is something you have a chance to achieve no matter how difficult it looks. And to be precise, all the other options I''ve listed also take this thing into ount. Why do you think I took this long toe up with this project?" La said while folding her hands under her non-existent bosoms, leaving Eren speechless. He grunted and used some foul words randomly to vent his frustration before speaking up. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuckity fuck! Damn it. I''ll I''ll need toe up with a n for this." Eren said in a voice that was devoid of confidence. He then exhaled his smoke. La knew that she would be the primary target of passive smoking if she stayed in the same position, so she quickly rose from her position and straightened her dress beforementing. "I''m sure you cane up with ways to achieve these two things just fine, Eren. You just need to put your half-blood powers to proper use, is all. Master Eliza counted on your powers more than she counted on you when she ryed these tasks." La said and coughed a bit. Eren knew she was hesitating to state the task that was next on her list. So he sighed and spoke up. "Spit it out." ?????? ???? ????????????.???. La smiled as if she was guilty of something and continued. "Hehe! You might not like it. But it is what it is. Shallot''s Mirror is not the only thing we want from house Lancelot. Its weapon smithy contains the Soul Seed Insertion array. They use it to insert beastly consciousness into weapons, making them either high-grade weapons or transcendental grade weapons that grow with their rankers. That array is the reason behind House Lancelot''s sess in weapon manufacturing. They breathe life into their weapons after all. I think that guy Rodrick''s weapon was also made by them. We will also need the array''syout for our project. I can modify it to suit our needs if and when we get our hands on it." La said after unfolding the next scroll in front of Eren. Then she looked at him sneakily to observe his expressions. Surprisingly, his face was calm and collected. "You stopped caring?" La asked with a puzzled expression. Eren shook his head and took a long drag out of his smoke before responding. "It''s not that. I think it''s better for us that the array belongs to the House Lancelot. Saves us some time and trouble looking for it in someone else''s house. Whether I use the tip of my dick or dip it all the way in doesn''t matter if I have to nce" the Lancelots anyway. I might as well rob them of all of the things I can get from them." In one breath, Eren released his smoke. La pursed her lips and twitched her nose after hearing Eren''s crass way of putting his point of view across. After that, she pressed her palms against her mouth to contain herughter. The pun took a while to kick in. "Hehehehe! That''s right. Whether you push it in all the way or... cough cough cough. I mean, yes. It saves us time." Chapter 494 Astral Projection Potion Chapter 494 Astral Projection Potion "Hehehehe! That''s right. Whether you push it in all the way or... cough cough cough. I mean, yes. It saves us time." La said and straightened her dress for no reason. She then hurriedly picked up another scroll and spread it in front of Eren. Thetter kept his smoke between his lips and picked up the scroll with both hands. La continued speaking as the butcher kept on reading the content through the smoke. "The next thing we need is an Astral Projection potion. I don''t have to say this at this point. But I''ll say it anyway. This one''s also a transcendent-grade potion. There are a couple of good points in regards to obtaining this potion. First, I can make it just fine if I have all the necessary ingredients. Second, most of the ingredients used in the potion are rtively cheap and easy to obtain. There are only a few herbs that are difficult to find or expensive. Additionally, it is produced in sufficient quantities by many famous potioners of your time. It is a somewhatmon potion among high-ranked entities after all. Some potion makers have be rich concocting this potion. So it shouldn''t be too challenging to find either." La said and started pacing around the house in front of the work desk. She adjusted her specs and scratched her nose before continuing. "As for the usage of the potion. The potion is used for detaching the ranker''s soul from their mortal body so that they can experience a deeper state of epiphany. We know that the state of epiphany urs less frequently as rankers age and progress forward in their journey. The more you age or the higher your rank, the less likely you are to experience that state. This holds true for most rankers." Eren thought of interrupting the young witch because she had gotten into the zone of exining things. Her zone was more for herself than for her listeners. The butcher thought that this was her way of dealing with the stress just like he used his smoke to relieve some pressure off of his mind. So he sighed and let her continue. "This is the reason Astral Projection Potion is famous among high-ranked entities. To induce Epiphany, they lock themselves in an array-induced environment and consume potions that could help them achieve it. They use the Astral Projection potion at the end just when they feel they are about to slip into the state of epiphany. As a result, their souls leave their bodies temporarily when they experience that ethereal state, enabling them to reap greater rewards than they possibly can. This potion is especially famous among high-ranking elves. They also use this potion before starting their elven ale process to get better attuned with the way of their elements." Eren thought of Lensa and her grandfather-like figure Dan Karran when the effects of the potion were exined by La. He had heard that old monster speak extensively about the way of the elements and the state of epiphany. Plus, he had heard that the old elf was a recluse and would often lock himself somewhere. ''That cunning elf must be using this Astral Projection drug. His erratic behaviour and the addiction he seemed to have towards the state of epiphany suggest he might be a frequent user of the potion. He might also be overdosing on it in fact.'' Eren thought and made a note of Dan Karran''s potential rtion to the potion. By this time, La had spoken some more geeky stuff about the potion that Eren considered unimportant. Soon after, she concluded her exnation. "In the end, I can say with certainty that finding the ingredients and concocting the potion ourselves would still be a cheaper option. I''ve listed the ingredients as well as the price difference between the two ways of obtaining the potion." Eren kept on reading the ingredients listed by La as she spoke about the potion. She had also written down a rough recipe of the potion along with ways to change the process in case any anomaly urs. The ingredients ranged from Ranks F to S. Thankfully, the young witch had also written down lower-ranked variants for the high-ranked herbs while adjusting the portions and recipe ordingly. This was Eren''s first time seeing even a roughyout of the transcendent-grade potion. He had to admit that La had left no stone unturned when it came to potioneering details. Even after seeing it for the first time, Eren could understand half of what she had written. That was a lot for him. "You spoke about the good news. Tell me the terrible one." La gave him an awkward smile. She re-adjusted her eyesses before speaking up. "The ingredients are rtively easy to find. The concoction is where things get a bitplex. First of all, I''ll need a special array made for the concoction process. Then, I''ll need a unique set of equipment that is etched with ether-element runes" This time Eren didn''t wait for La to finish her exnation. He cut her off with his next words. "Don''t worry about the potion-making process. Don''t worry about the concoction at all. We will try getting the potion ourselves." La was impressed that a miser like Eren was prioritizing getting the potion in such a manner. But she started having doubts. So she thought it was better if she voiced them. "You want to pay for the potion as well?" Eren chuckled and released another cloud of smoke from his mouth before responding. "Hahaha! If things work out as per my n, we will get that stuff for free." Eren dropped the scroll that described the potion on the desk. He already had a lot of information in his head. He could see that La had put a lot of effort intoing up with the Lazarus Project. It was as detailed as it was grand. Having gone over the project''s details, the butcher was starting to have a mini project of his own. ================= AN: Dan Karran has been introduced around chapter 147. Chapter 495 New Vessel Chapter 495 New Vessel "Is there anything else?" Eren asked after dropping the Astral Projection Potion''s scroll on the table. La looked at his behaviour and looked at his smoke with keen interest. The butcherughed when he saw that. "Hahaha! Don''t worry. It''s not the high-me talking. I have a n to get the potion. But we might need to go back to the Lionheart duchy for it. In any case, obtaining the potion isn''t our priority as of now. But as I said. Give me a detailed breakdown of everything that we have to do to execute this project. I need to see the whole picture before we start with anything." La looked at Eren in the eyes and realized that he was speaking as he meant it. She sighed and nodded before responding. Her voice had gotten more serious this time. "Eren, this project has been created after taking into ount the resources that are avable in this era. I have also taken your capabilities as a ranker into ount before zeroing in on alternatives. But I have my limitations too. This project also needs one vital ingredient that you won''t find discussed in any of my research. That''s because I couldn''t find it. Or more like locate "them"." La looked at Eren thoughtfully after she said this. Thetter processed her words slowly. At first, he didn''t get what she meant. Eventually, he put all the pieces together and concluded. He spoke in a low voice and voiced his conjecture. "Eliza needs a vessel! Is is that right?" La smirked at Eren before nodding her head. As she sat in the chair in front of him on the other side of the desk, she expanded her conversation. "Sometimes your genius is almost frightening. That''s right. Master Eliza needs a vessel. A fire-element female ranker who has progressed at least till D-Rank, preferably C-Rank so that her body can sustain the process. What''s more! She needs to be especially attuned to the way of fire. Only then can we use a sample from Reen''s constitution as a primer to make the vesselpletelypatible with my master''s soul." Eren smirked at La when she finished exining. After considering what the effects of the things that the project needed would be as a whole, the vessel part was obvious. Simbelmyne''s flower was made for Eliza so that her soul would stay in harmony with the world. Any anomalies that she might have developed due to the use of abnormal means to prolong her life would get eliminated because of the herb. Shallot''s Mirror was meant to be used as a temporary abode for her vessel when she leaves her natal body willingly. The treasure would keep her soul safe till the final process waspleted. The Astral Projection Potion was not meant for Eliza. It was meant to be consumed by her newly acquired body''s existing owner so that her soul would leave the body without there being any damage to it. Finally, Eliza would make La use samples taken from Reen as a primer, making the soulless bodypatible with Sage''s soul. Eliza would be revived with a new body at the end of the project''spletion. The existing vessel owner''spatibility with the fire element and her special attunement to the element would assure that Eliza would be able to use her Endermes with the newly acquired body. This was her ability after all. She couldn''t leave it behind and let it disperse with her original body. "Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!" Eren startedughing loudly when he saw the whole picture for himself. Hisughter sounded downright maniacal to La''s ears. "That''s why she didn''t kill me or Reen back then. No matter how carefully she did everything, Sage Eliza would have encountered anomalies in her new existence if she had relied solely on Reen''s constitution. Although she did tell me that she had a n B she preferred, she made it sound like she could do things either way. But now I understand why she chose to wait instead of getting revived right then and there, killing Reen. Heh! n B my ass. This was your n fucking A all along." La didn''t show any expressions when she saw Eren making his im. Her nk look soon took a sharp turn as she shed a wicked smile of her own before responding. "Always keep your hand hidden from the other yers at the table, Eren. I hope you don''t mind. It wasn''t personal. It was just something my master did as an assurance. After all, she is a perfectionist. Hehehe! You''ll see her grandeur when she starts walking on the earth with a brand-new vessel." Eren chuckled some more and looked at the smoke that he was holding between his fingers. Meeting with Eliza had traumatized him. But now he hade to realize that her dependence on him was more than he had given himself credit for. Had he known this sooner, the mental stress he had suffered and was still suffering till this point could have been lessened. ''Sage Eliza. You yed well. But there will be a day when my y starts.'' Eren praised Eliza whileughing instead of feeling dejected. He had already hit rock bottom in this timeline, after experiencing nightmares. He had be immune to such insights that were intended to mock him for his breakdown. Instead, he starteding up with his own schemes. Eliza''s dependence on Eren''s involvement in the Lazarus project worked both in his favour and against him. In favour, because now he could rest assured that Reen wouldn''t be mortally harmed by Eliza at this point. She was only going to be used as a part of the process after all. Reen was being experimented on by the Sage to extract the primer needed for her uing vessel. It was preferable for the Sage to have Reen alive in case there was an anomaly in the primer when it was applied to the vessel. But the necessity of his involvement also held negative connotations. Eliza was willing to extend to extreme lengths to make this ne to fruition. And she only had Reen as her bargaining chip against Eren. The butcher could imagine that Eliza wouldn''t shy away from killing Reen after extracting everything from her to make a statement for him. ================ AN: The word primer shouldn''t be confused with anything rted to paints, Lol. In biochemistry, it is a molecule that serves as a starting material for a polymerization process. Basically, a primer can act as the bridge between two different DNA modules. Chapter 496 Liberation from the Nightmares Chapter 496 Liberation from the Nightmares Eren processed every detail of the Lazarus Project along with the implications it held in his head as he smoked. When he finished his smoke, the butcher felt like a buzzing noise in his head had finally been put to rest. Like he had shed a skin. He felt like he didn''t need the smoke to deal with his nightmares. In fact, he didn''t feel like he would have nightmares at all. ''Don''t worry. I''ll not abandon you. A necessity has be a choice. That''s all.'' The butcher looked at the smoke he was holding and began to speak to it. Contrary to the indications, he was perfectly sober when he said it. He looked at La who was looking at him with keen interest and a mild smile stered on her face. As he drew thest breath from him almost burned out Ster Sativa roll, the butcher addressed her. "It seems you couldn''t find such a vessel. Aren''t there any arrays or potions you can use to find the right one for your needs? Then we can worry about how to take her hostage." Eren ced an order for breakfast through his spectral screen after he said that. He had to pay Extols to have food delivered to his ce. But he was too invested in listening to the project to go out and have food at the canteen. So he decided to indulge himself by paying for his food. Eren didn''t care about the fate of the one who gets chosen as the vessel as long as it didn''te back to bite him in the ass. If sacrificing an unknown fire-element female ranker would allow him to get Reen back, he would not hesitate to kill loads of such rankers at a moment''s notice. La sighed and looked outside the window from her seat beforementing. "The problem with locating a suitable vessel is that there are too many samples. There are a lot of female rankers who are up to 90%patible with being my master''s vessel. But I want that number to rise. I can''t decide because there are too many choices to choose from. So I''ve increased my criterion level to make sense of my aversion to choosing a vessel myself." Eren could see that La was suffering from an abundance of choices. This must have been due to the adaptability of the primer derived from Reen''s constitution. Having too many choices was equally stressful as having no choice at all. "What do you want me to do then?" Eren said while staring at the closed door of his room. He was anticipating the arrival of the food he had ordered for himself. La shrugged her shoulders before replying. "I want you to look for apatible vessel. I know it won''t be easy. But I''m too close to choosing one myself. I know I''ll hesitate before and after I make up my mind about it. So it''s better that you do it." Eren had to say that La was extremely loyal to Eliza. He was ready to do that job for her. That way, he could control and minimize the fallout that may potentially hit him. But before he could convey his agreement, he received a prompt on his spectral screen. The man hurriedly took the food basket inside after rushing to the door. Eren ate his breakfast at the desk - poached eggs and cinnamon rolls. The eggs used for the former cuisine were the eggs of a ranked, flying mana beast. The cinnamon rolls were mortal food that Eren had ordered as a dessert. Eren started eating the poached eggs as he addressed La once again. "Just tell me the method for finding the suitable vessel and I shall see if anyone fits our bill. We can then n how to make her disappear without raising any rms. Though the D-Rank is the minimum requirement for the vessel, it is bound to create some ripples. Plus, it won''t be easy for me to take down an Adept at a frontal sh even with my Sins abilities. We''ll have to use shady means to make that happen." La nodded her head in response to Eren. She took out a vial of potion from her storage and threw it in Eren''s direction. Thetter caught it easily and kept it in front of his food. He stared at the vial that had water-like colourless liquid in it while eating. "This vial of potion will change colour when anypatible fire-element female rankeres into your vicinity. Depending on the intensity of the red colour, the vessel will have varying degrees ofpatibility. A faint-red colour would indicate the lowestpatibility while a dark blood hue will indicate close to 100 per centpatibility. We are aiming for the colour of the vial to be at least sangria red. When that happens, we can start nning our next move. Let''s test the vial on all the fire-element rankers we have encountered or surrounded ourselves with at the time. Who knows? We might get lucky." La didn''t sound too optimistic when she said this. Eren guessed that La was looking for a sangria red, but was being met with a pte that was lower than that. "Lucky? Hahaha! There''s no such thing as" Eren was about toplete his sentence when he froze in his speech. He stopped eating and recalled La''s requirements and found out that most of them were a match for a certain ranker he had already interacted with. "Hehe! I think I know who could be the appropriate vessel for the project. We just need to get her at the right time." Eren chuckled before continuing to eat. He then narrowed his eyes when he thought about that person. La sighed when she looked at Eren''s confidence. She then braced herself before continuing. "There is also one other requirement. We need sacrifices Eren. A lot of them. After all, my master''s will start at D-Rank, depending upon the vessel''s ranking status. But there is one one-time method in the project we can use to make her shoot up to her current Sage rank in one go." Eren narrowed his eyes when he heard more people needed to die for Eliza topletely revive herself. He addressed the young witch in a low voice while staring at the colourless content of the vial that was slowly changing colour in his presence as well. "Let there be sacrifices then." Eren said casually. =================== AN: Apatible vessel for Eliza has already been introduced. Let''s say that her name foreshadows her role as Eliza''s vessel. ;) Chapter 497 Set-up P1 Chapter 497 Set-up P1 The clear sky was lit with the dying lights of sunset. The winds carried the smell of something burning. "Why Why are you doing this to me? Please stop. I. I''m sorry. I''m sorry. Just leave me alone." A young woman''s pleading voice was heard in the forest not too far away from the city of Arangar. Her carriage looked like a meteor had fallen over it. There were a bunch of bodies that were lying around the carriage as well. They were wearing guard uniforms. The guards'' bodies had been partially charred. But it was apparent that there had been a few blunt traumas on or near their heads. Because their heads seemed to be squashed. The young woman who had found herself in trouble was quite pretty. Her figure was not bodacious. But she had the right curves in the right ces. She had long hair. Plus her green eyes and her petite nose made her look cute. But she soon found out that cuteness wouldn''t help in times like these. The young woman didn''t manage to run far away from her carriage when tragedy fell on her from the sky. She was a Novice ranker herself. Butpared to the battle prowess of her assant, she was a nobody. "Sorry? Sorry? Hahaha! You are saying sorry to me right now. But all I hear is that guy fucking you to his heart''s content as you moan under him. You fucking whore. You could have told me if you wanted money. I would have done everything in my power to give you the life you want. Why do you think I joined the Titus festival, risking my life? That was all for you. All for you damn it. But now I feel pathetic. What use is the money when I can''t even keep my wife loyal to me? I fucking loved you, Tista. I I. Hahaha! I''m so angry that I want tough. I can''t even form sentences." A young man in his 20s was standing in front of the kneeling woman. He had only worn cargo pants for clothes. His open torso spoke volumes about his strict body routine. He had a wide chest and well-defined abs. His muscr arms and pumped cor made him look like a veteran fighter. The muscles of his legs peeked through his pants which were torn in various ces. The young man was smiling. He chuckled from time to time. But nobody would say that he was enjoying the moment. That''s because his brown eyes were filled with tears. No matter how much he wiped his tears with his hands, they would make their presence known in the next moment. After all, the cause of his sorrows was right in front of him. "Tuan what What was I supposed to do? You you were not at home most of the time. We were broke together. Veraal was only trying to help me. We didn''t know when it" Tuan''s anger reached its peak when he heard Tista giving himme excuses. It was true that he was not home most of the time. But this was also because of her that he had to take part in guild missions. She would often buy things that she didn''t need only to throw them away when she liked them. The couple''s financial crisis was mostly caused by Tista''s careless attitude. Yet Tuan neverined. He had thought that his wife woulde around when they had their child together. And now. Tuanughed at his ipetence in not seeing the real Tista for the lying manipting bitch she was. He was blinded by love after all. When Tistained to Tuan again about wanting to move to a better city away from the city of Arangar, Tuan had taken it to his heart. The city was great for adventurers and hunters alike. But it was no ce to raise a family. Plus, because it was so close to the borders of the Bands, it always carried the risk of being attacked by a monster horde. So when the Titus tournament and its prize money were announced, it was Tista who had suggested to Tuan to take part in it and win it for her. Tuan was an experienced adventurer. He hade to the duchy of Nightshade from the duchy of Lehan during one of his missions. He stayed here after meeting Tista, falling in love with her over time. Tuan had thrown his settled life at the duchy of Lehan to be with Tista. And now she was giving him pathetic excuses about how adultery was justified. Naturally, it angered Tuan to no end. Tista regretted being with her lover Veraal. She had an affair with her lover on a whim, as a way to spice up her dull married life. She didn''t think she would ever get caught. That''s because she would make sure to schedule her rendezvous with her Veraal only when Tuan was out of the city. But she could have never imagined that some vile creature would stalk her and leak her affair to her husband. She regretted not knowing about the person who had fucked her so royally in the ass more than her husband and her lover ever could. "Tista Tista What did I do to deserve this? Did I ever mistreat you? Did I ever yell at you before today? Tell me. I want you to tell me before you die, you lying whore." Tuan was very emotional in front of his cheating wife. He kept repeating the same thing. As if he was afraid to take the final step and kill her. Using the private guards hired by her lover, Tista attempted to escape Tuan. She knew that even though the city of Arangar had offered her protection from her husband, he could always snap and kill her without worrying about the consequences. That''s why they had hatched a clever n to run in disguise. But that n came back to bite them in the rear. It was like giving Tuan the opportunity he needed to strike at them. Veraal was not among the pile of bodies because he had managed to run away. He was an Ace too, after all. No matter what Tuan did, he couldn''t take care of the guy who had cucked him in one swift move. "Tista I" Tuan was going to vent out his frustration more in front of his wife. But he heard an unknown voice interrupting him. "My man, kill the bitch and be done with it. There''s no point dragging this scene any more than it needs to. I''m short on time, you know." Chapter 498 Set-up P2 Chapter 498 Set-up P2 "My man, kill the bitch and be done with it. There''s no point dragging this scene any more than it needs to. I''m short on time, you know." A shadow dressed inpletely ck attire appeared on an upper branch of the tree not far away from the husband and wife duo. The shadow was wearing a jacket with a hood. It was also wearing a weird yet eye-catching mask. Tuan opened his eyes wide in surprise when he saw that shadow. "You it was you who had thrown that array disk at me and ran away." Tuan pointed his finger at the shadow and said aloud. The shadow nodded at him before speaking up. "That''s right. You should be thankful that I uncovered your cheating wife in front of you. Now kill her off and let me do my job. I wasn''t nning to intervene between the two, honest. But your reluctance to get rid of that bitch is getting on my nerves." Tuan felt angry when he heard the shadow speak. He clenched his fists and spoke in a voice that told the shadow he was controlling himself from yelling out loudly in anger. "Listen here, stranger. I don''t know why you did what you did. However, I am not grateful to you at all. I. Hahaha you might call me a stupid fuck. But I would have preferred to remain unaware of the fact that I was being cucked. Still, I appreciate your gesture. Now would you please fuck off from here so I can have my talk with my wife fuck this bitch." Tuan said and looked at Tista again. The young woman wasn''t paying attention to the conversation her husband had with the stranger. Her mind was upied with thoughts of her survival. Tista assumed that herst chance of saving herself from her eventual fatey with the shadow. She looked at him and asked in a pleading voice. "Kind sir save save me from my maniacal and abusing husband. He is trying to kill me for no reason. He simply wants to get rid of me so he can have my possessions. Please save me. Please. My friend Veeral will reward you handsomely." Tista kneeled in the shadow''s direction and asked in a very convincing, damsel-in-distress voice. Her appeal would have convinced most rankers who didn''t know about the whole matter. Sadly for her, this shadow was the same vile creature she had cursed a few moments ago under her breath. "You mean this guy?" The shadow threw something in the air. Tuan was about to react, thinking it might have been something harmful. But then he saw what the object was and froze in his tracks. The objectnded right in front of Tista. At first, she didn''t understand what it was as her watery eyes clouded her vision. But then she wiped them off and saw the object clearly. It was Veeral''s decapitated head. "Veeeraaal... No." Tista cried and looked at the decapitated head with fearful eyes. She started crawling away from the head as if it was about to bite him. "Sigh! Tuan, I expected better from you. The first rule of the ambush. Don''t leave any loose ends." The shadow spoke with a bit ofment in its voice. Tuan looked at the Veeral''s head keenly to confirm it was him. He took his time to confirm that it was indeed what it looked to be without any trickery. This realization made him worried about the shadow''s capabilities. It could take care of the Ace ranker in such a short time. Its speed was exceptional. Plus, it gave off an odd aura. "Are you from the Duchy of Lehan?" Tuan asked, wary of the shadow. Thetter remained quiet for a while before responding. "No. And I''ve already given you the chance to take care of your wife and be done with your revenge. If you can''t make up your mind about killing your wife, don''t hold me responsible for making that choice for you." As the shadow spoke, it tucked its hands into his sleeves and rested its frame by its shoulder against the tree''s trunk. It looked like it hadn''t suffered anything in its battle against Veeral. Tuan struggled in his head toe to a decision. But he ultimately couldn''t kill the love of his life. He would have forgiven her if she had opted to walk out of their marriage. He would have forgiven her if making use of him was all she did. He would have also forgiven her if she hade clean to him even now. And admitted to her wrongdoings. But Tista was adamant about making it his mistake. He would never have peace of mind if he didn''t take care of the mess at his hands right now. But before Tuan could struggle mentally any more, a purple sh was released from the shadow, cutting everything in its path. Tuan was too distracted to react in time. And the fact that Tista had crawled away from him didn''t help either. Swoosh! Tista didn''t know what hit him. She died the same way her lover had. Her decapitated head fell behind her body without making much noise. Tuan saw what had happened. He was dumbfounded as a result. He didn''t know how to react at first. Then he felt a feeling of relief wash over him. He didn''t want to get joy from seeing his wife''s dead visage. But for some reason, he couldn''t help doing just that. And the fact that it was someone else who had killed him gave him another form of satisfaction. "You who are you? And what do you want?" In response to Tuan''s question, the shadow remained silent. At this point, the daylight was almost over. The shadow decides to answer Tuan''s question after adjusting the pair of Shamshirs in its hand. "Does it matter? You want to kill me too for killing your wife right? The human psyche is strange, really. It can cause people to do injustice to the same person who has helped them in their time of need. I don''t have to say anything to you, or you to me. If we are meant to fight, either way, we might as well get on with the program." The shadow said before gesturing to Tuan to approach it by opening its arms wide. "Come. Let me see what the semi-finalist of the Titus tournament, Tuan Aag, also known as the magnificent me Feathers, can really do. Chapter 499 Helpers Helper Chapter 499 Helper''s Helper me Steps Fire Ball Fire Wings Tuan Aag employed his go-to spells to battle with the unknown shadow. He didn''t know what he was supposed to do with the guy. On the one hand, he had revealed his wife''s adultery to him, the cause of his despair. On the other hand, he had managed to end her for good without burdening himself, making the tragedy somewhat bearable. Yet Tuan couldn''t shake the feeling that the guy hadn''t done this out of the goodness of his heart. It looked like a big conspiracy was raised against him without him knowing anything about it. Swoosh! Tuan jumped high with his fire-element movement spell. Then he applied his fire-element spell on his weapons, tweaking the fireball spell. Lastly, he executed his signature Fire Wings to stabilize his jump while still ascending as if he was really taking a flight. The Fire Wings would only help him glide over the air for a limited period before ultimately bringing him down. The spell didn''t allow for a sustained flight. But that didn''t mean it was totally useless as most fire-element rankers had thought it was. Tuan had created a unique battle style around the Fire Wings spellC making him known as the me Feathers inside the Arangar''s colosseum. He was using this tactic on the shadow for the fourth time now. The night''s darkness was soon swept away when the Fire Wings came to be. Soon, a human-like figure who looked like it was going to soar through the sky stopped ascending and pped his fire wings. Tuan located his target quickly before wrapping his body inside his wings. He then turned into a meteor-like object that rapidly approached the shadow. Tuan was able to elerate his meteor-like attack by modting his Fire Wings spell and other support spells. Therefore, it was almost impossible for ordinary rankers topletely dodge him no matter how vignt they try to be. s, Tuan was met with disappointment yet again. The shadow had managed to dodge him a fifth time as well. ''How How could this be? How fast are this guy''s reflexes?'' Tuan thought as he stood up from his position on the ground. A giant crater had formed around him as a result of his meteor-like attack''s impact. The shadow was standing just at the edge of the crater and looking at him with eyes devoid of any emotions. "You you set this whole thing up. What''s your goal?" Tuan asked while gripping his dual swords in his hands tightly. He didn''t attack in a rushed manner this time because he hade to realize that his opponent could dodge his meteor attack without breaking a sweat. The shadow didn''t take long to respond. "If you think this is all just some big set-up to try to get you out of the Titus tournament" ???s ??????? ?s ?????? ?? ????????????.???. The shadows paused and amusingly looked at Tuan. It chucked before resuming. "... Then you are absolutely right. Now let me show you where you arecking." After saying this, the shadow disappeared from its position. The next moment, a series of violent weapon shes could be heard in the surroundings. ****************** "Aaaaaargh!" Tuan yelled in pain when he was inflicted with another injury on his hands by his opponent. His hand felt like it was getting numb from the foreign mana that had entered the system through the wounds. Tuan was finally brought to his knees after a battle thatsted for more than an hour. He had tried everything in his arsenal to fight the guy on an equal footing. And for a while he did. But Tuan''s opponent was acting like he was there to see him fight at a close range. The shadow kept ying defensive while prioritizing evading all the attacks thrown it''s way. It only attacked when it found the right opportunity to do so. The fact that Tuan wasn''t mentally in the right ce didn''t help him in his cause either. Normally, he would have changed his strategy and tried a different approach after realising that the shadow was ying defensive. But he treated this battle as a way to vent the frustration he was feeling. By the time he realized all his mistakes, he was already on his knees in a battered state. Looking at his opponent in front of him with his bloodied body and face. His cuts were already more numerous and severe than during the Titus tournament. "I I now understand. You want to win the Titus tournament. Or want someone else to, possibly your employer." Tuan said while huffing as he was out of breath. He spat out the glob of blood that was blocking his windpipe and spoke again. "If you want me to quit. I''d quit the tournament. But please Please don''t kill me. I have some things to do that I had ignored while being blinded by love. I don''t want to die with regret." Tuan said and dropped his head in submission. He knew his condition better than anyone. There was no way for him to get out of this situation other than submission. "See? How easy it was toe to the right decision if you could just look past your emotions. Hehe. I shouldn''t be the one to preach this though. I know what it is like to be overwhelmed by the voices in your head." He said as he stepped closer to Tuan. He raised his Shamshir and pressed it against Tuan''s neck. Thetter didn''t feel any fear of dying. In any case, he had asked to be spared not for himself. That plea was screaming "I tried". ''Are you sure I would be able to take up another ve?'' Eren asked the voice in his head. The voice; Alephee replied promptly. ''It should have taken a long time. But your constant smoking of Ste Sativa leaves has positively impacted your soul. You simply smoked too much. The relief you felt after realizing what the Lazarus Project was was not just a feeling. You have sessfully gotten rid of Eliza''s residual soul sense. It has given you the ability to add one more conventional ve mark. You can turn Tuan into one of your pawns just fine.'' Alephee concluded, bringing a smile to Eren''s face. Chapter 500 [Bonus chapter] Hit-List Chapter 500 [Bonus chapter] Hit-List "Why were you so ready to sign a ve contract, Tuan?" Eren asked after removing his mask and hood. Tuan had willingly signed his ve contract with Eren, giving him the assurance he needed toe out in the open in front of him. "How how should I address you?" Tuan asked after gulping down the healing potion Eren had provided him. Thetter shrugged his shoulders before responding. "Just Eren would be fine." Tuan nodded before replying. "Well, I have some unfinished business in the duchy of Lehan. I would like to eventually move there when I''m sessful and fulfil my promise to a certain someone." Eren looked at Tuan thoughtfully before nodding. He wasn''t interested in Tuan''s personal life anyway. Eren was doing a solo recon on Tuan and came across his wife''s affair by ident. He couldn''t have been able to target Tuan if he had stayed in the city during the tournament''s season. So he hatched a n. The reason Eren told Tuan about his wife''s affair was so that thetter could confront her. Then he tipped the wife''s lover too, forcing them to make a move and flee from the city with haste. The situation unfolded just the way Eren wanted it to. At first, Eren was nning to kill Tuan using his Sin of Wrath ability, taking all his attainments in the fire element for himself. But he changed his mind a few days ago when he saw and heard what the guy could do. Furthermore, Alephee had informed him about his soul''s status after his talk with La had finished. That allowed him to ept the guy as one of the rankers he could count on. ''So you have a soft spot for people who were wronged by women. Never knew you could still surprise me with your behaviour.'' This time it was La who said this. She was busy with her tasks inside her pendant abode as well. Eren ignored the young witch for her witty remarks like always and addressed Tuan. "Alright. Did the Titus tournament give you any identification tag to confirm your identity as Tuan Aag?" Tuan nodded unhesitantly before bringing out a coin that had runic engravings. It would project his name spectrally when he imbued it with his mana. He exined the same to his new boss before adding up. "Eren, if the prize money is of importance to you, I can participate and try to win for you anyway. Money was never my centre of gravity all my life. I only wanted it because" Tuan looked at the dead body of his wife that was ced not too far away from him. He felt as if a dagger had pierced his heart before the weapon got twisted inside of him. But his brain found pure joy in seeing her dead. The fact that Eren had killed the guy who had cucked him made him look at Eren in a favouring light. "You are only capable of reaching the semi-finals of the tournament, Tuan. You can''t win it with your current skills. I''m not belittling you. I don''t haveplete confidence in winning the tournament. At least not easily anyway. And you''ve seen the difference between us firsthand. Sigh! But yes, we could certainly use the money." Eren said in a low-energy voice and brought out his smoke. Contrary to what Tuan thought of him, Eren was worn out by the battle too even though he didn''t look like it. The fact that he had to fight and kill Tista''s runaway lover also added to his exhaustion. He could only keep up and handle everything because of La''s potions. Eren was about to light it up with his fire-element mana. But then Tuan did it for him by executing a mini Fire Fall at the tip of his index finger. Eren took a drag out of his smoke before adding on. "Don''t worry about the tournament. Leave it to me. You need to leave the city of Arangar and join my assistant Agatha. She is short on helping hands. Listen to hermands. I know you wouldn''t be much help with managerial work. But I want you to lessen her burden in any way you can. You''ll find her here." Eren handed Tuan an array disk that contained basic information about Agatha and the White Raven guild. With this, the butcher had gained another member for his guild as well as a helper for his helper. "By the way, Tuan. How many Extols do you have on you?" Tuan was taken aback by Eren''s question. But he answered truthfully anyway. "About 3000 Extols, give or take." ''With his newly acquired deep pockets, this man doesn''t care about money. And he also doesn''t hesitate in lending me some. I already like this guy.'' Eren thought to himself and nodded at Tuan before making his demand. "*Cough. Give me about 2000 Extols, Tuan. I''ll return them to you in a while with interest." The butcher felt awkward asking for money from his now-henchman. But he needed it to carry his next set of ns. Plus, the fact that he was as financially broke as Sienna was from the inside didn''t help him. It wasn''t in Tuan''s nature to judge a person by how much money they had anyway. For better or worse, he didn''t care about it as long as his daily necessities were met. In this way, he was totally anti-Eren. Tuan handed Eren the Extols he needed along with his identity token. He then started cleaning the battle scene like the butcher had told him to. He would then head out in Agatha''s direction once he was done with his current task. Eren had left the ce as soon as he was done with settling his affairs in the region. He only needed to return to the city of Arangar after two weeks, when thest round of the tournament was scheduled. The butcher was working overtime clearing his hit list. ************************* "Come on why are you shy now, Jasmine? You told me you''d like to do it in the Bands, didn''t you? Well, we are in the Bands darling. Danger everywhere. Hehe! Doesn''t it give you a new form of high?" Sidro Zas was trying to force his way with a cute girl that dangerously resembled Altashia by her facial features. They were in the Bands, not far from the border. The region was less dangerous than Sid was making it out to be. The moonlight of the full moon peeked through the dense vegetation and made its way to the ground. Sid had found a suitable spot for his "Bands adventure" with the girl he had randomly met and instantly hit it off with. The girl was also an Ace ranker. Although she had just broken through, her rank was enough for anyone to assume that she was capable of adventuring outside like this. Jasmine told Sid that she wanted him to take her to the Bands where there was a chance of monsters appearing. Sid used his army privilege and sneaked her into the region just so that he could get lucky with the girl he just met. The girl appeared distressed at first. But if one looked carefully, they would find that she was handling him masterfully. She also looked like she was waiting for someone. "You did a good job, Sylphie. Here''s your reward." A shadow appeared out of nowhere not far from where the duo was. Sid could not process or understand what was going on and how the shadow came so near him without him noticing. While he was at it, the same shadow threw a pouch containing 1000 Extols at the girl. "Your work is done. Now get the fuck out." Eren coldly said to Sylphie. Sylphie understood that it was only meant as a warning to her despite his rudeness. "Pleasure doing business with you, kind sir." Sylphie responded and bowed a bit to Eren. Then she returned to her gorgeous elven appearance, no longer bearing Altashia''s features. "Wait what?" "Bye-bye.!" Slyphie didn''t exin anything to her victim. She waved at Sidro before disappearing from her spot. The guy with the erect penis was left with the butcher who was here to kill him. Unlike Tuan, Eren preferred killing a snake like Sid thousand times over. He wasn''t willing to absolve himself from butchering his team''s berserker. Some problems needed to be uprooted from their base before they fester and turn bigger. ==================== AN: VEH punches in 500 chapters with this upload. I thank all my readers and the support they have shown towards this niche project of ours. I''m grateful to all of you for being with Eren. He may not be the coolest main character you have read about. He may have his moments of weakness. But our boy has tried to stay true to all his aspirations, however right or wrong they might be in anyone''s eyes. Things are about to get interesting. This milestone also serves as a starting point for Eren to kick things up to the next gear. He will now grow at a speed that didn''t seem possible previously. We better keep up. That''s about it. Cheers! ;) Chapter 501 Array Traps P1 Chapter 501 Array Traps P1 "Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Sid asked the shadow as he covered his boner with his hand. At first, he saw that this was a ssic case of trapping men inpromising situations and drawing money from them. But when the shadow''s eyes met his, all of Sid''s "excitement" was washed away and he felt a threat of death looming over his head. He wasn''t sure what the situation he had gotten himself into was, but it wasn''t something he could brush off his shoulders and move on. Sid quickly wore his army-issue armour and wielded his lightning-element spear. He also cast his Beast Contract spell. The berserker got his confidence back when he took the precautions he thought would be enough to deal with the threat. "I asked you a question, you asshole. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Sid pressed his words and spoke in a low voice when he asked the same question. The shadow chuckled before responding. "Stop asking silly questions like these Sid. Why would a guy in a mask tell you who he is? Use your brain for once man. Then again, you thought someone named Jasmine could be a girl who is particrly interested in you. You can''t even identify a made-up name that is usually used by hookers. So expecting you to read the mood is foolishness on my part." Eren paused while drawing a strange dagger from his storage space. He started imbuing his mana on it as he stared at Sid. Thetter had a stoic expression on his face as he replied to Eren''s usations. "Um... I think there''s some kind of confusion. Perhaps you are a pimp seeking payment from a different person? Because I''ve never been with hookers." Eren heard this and his smiling face behind the mask stiffened. He had forgotten that not everyone was like the previous-timeline-him. It was he who had a lot of experience with hookers. And he was projecting that on this poor guy who was just trying to get lucky with his Altashia-look-alike. ''At least I''ve changed now.'' Eren thought to himself and he felt happy about the money he must have saved by not seeking professional services. He still didn''t think there was anything wrong with him availing of such services. It was just that the miser in him had better and more convenient options. Trying his luck with Altashia was liable to put pressure on his wallet though. ''I''m sure she''s worth it.'' Eren continued to have random thoughts as he confronted his team''s berserker. The guy didn''t seem like much of a challenge to him. Plus, with the setup he had nned for Sid, it was only a matter of time before Eren got his desired results. Eren had decided to seek professional help in luring Sid here. He needed the guy to be in the Bands for his procedure. The butcher''s team had justpleted another mission. So the team members had another free weekend they could use for themselves. The butcher had chosen this time to take care of Sid forever. Contrary to what one might think though, confronting and killing Sid was less personal and more of an experiment. "Here. Catch this." Eren threw a vial of potion at Sid who was already looking at him warily. He saw the guy throwing stuff at him and immediately assumed it was something dangerous. While retreading using his movement spell, Sid made the Red Lightning Bull rush toward the potion. The bull which was the product of the Beast Contract spell charged forwards towards the vial and caught it in its mouth. The vial broke as a result and an invisible gas spread in the vicinity. The bull snorted its nose and got busy spinning around itself as if it was expecting an attack from every direction. Sid was sure that he had already escaped the potion''s area of effect. But then he saw the shadow following him using his movement spell and throwing another bunch of vials at him. Three vials wereing at Sid from three directions. Sid wanted to confront the guy and his potions. But without knowing about the effects of the potion, doing something like this would be foolish. So he chose to run in the only direction that was free of risk for him. Or so he thought. As soon as Sid chose to run over a certain region, an array trap was activated with his presence acting as the trigger. It quickly sprung a manayer, trapping Sid inside it. This was an array trap! The same array of traps he had seen in Purgatory''s underground dungeon. He had already started his studies on the book he had received as his floor clearance reward from the Purgatory''s underground dungeon. The book contained all the basic stuff about the construction, maintenance, and operation of the arrays. Four distinct open vials were made visible at the four distinct corners of the array trap inside the manayer. They all released a dense amount of smoke from their mouths. This time, the smoke''s hue was light green. "Poi mana poison!" Sid cried out in rm as he saw the smoke''s colour. Immediately, he stopped breathing and focused on getting out from under the array. Meanwhile, he controlled his contract beast and made it attack him. Meanwhile, the butcher was looking at him as a researcher would look at the mice he had put in one of his cages for the experiment. Eren retreated to a nearby tree''s upper branch with one long jump using his movement spell. It was just a moment toote for the bull to hit him from the side. The bull charged at the tree trunk on which Eren had climbed. But this was not a one-and-done attack it seemed. The bull pulled out his deeply pierced horns from the trunk with a sudden pull. It then retreated a few steps only to charge at the same tree with greater zeal than before while snorting air through its puffed nostrils. It kept on charging at the trunk while releasing red bolts of lightning. But as the tree''s wood was an instor, Eren remained safe on one of its branches as he watched Sid''s struggles with keen interest. All of Sid''s attempts to break free from the array trap were futile. The mana poison soon entered his system because of the constant smoke released by the four vials. Things were only going to get worse for Sid from this point on. Chapter 502 Array Traps P2 Chapter 502 Array Traps P2 All of Sid''s attempts to break free from the array trap were futile. The mana poison soon entered his system because of the constant smoke released by the four vials. Sid eventually got on his knees coughing a mouthful of blood. His mana circuits had gone haywire after consuming the poison. It resulted in him suffering multiple organ failures at the same time. The poison wouldn''t have acted this way this fast. But the array trap enhanced the effects of the poison by modting the mana inside it to favour the poison. Eren had been studying the array traps ever since he got the book from the Purgatory''s underground dungeon. Since the subject of the array waspletely new for him, it took him a while to get the hang of the setup. The butcher hadn''t used anything like this in his previous timeline. So La had helped him from time to time in her own limited capacity whenever he had doubts. The potion-making part was rtively easy for him. He thought of testing the fruits ofbour on Sid when he was convinced that he could use array traps in his battles. Like usual, the butcher had thrown out the dud vials. They all released a unique mana pulse after their detonation. But they didn''t have any adverse effects on the subject. Eren had used them only to lure the berserker into his trap. Eventually, the array trap was burnt out. The manayer was dispersed, revealing Sid to be lying on his back. His Beast Contract spell had been cancelled because of his condition. Hecked the mana to support his breathing. So using it to maintain a spell was a long shot. Eren hadn''t stepped foot on the ground since Sid was caged inside the array trap. He had watched from a distance as Sid was on hisst dying breaths. The butcher decided to see his target once the coast was clear for him to do so. "Just just tell me who the fuck are you? What did I do to deserve this?" Sid huffed as he asked. It was gradually getting difficult for him to breathe. "No. Why should I?" The butcher spoke in a in tone. His response aggravated Sid to no end. He started coughing violently in response. He was trying to say something to him. But his condition forced him to suffer through bouts of coughing instead. ''He is angry. This is good.'' Eren smiled when he saw Sid''s condition. ''Alphee?'' Eren called out to his time-element gem''s spirit. La was not with him this time. She had been sent to do some more reconnaissance for their Lazarus Project. ''The coast is clear.'' Alphee responded briefly. This was all the butcher needed to hear. He looked at the dagger he had been imbuing with his mana and stared at it for a brief moment. Then he clenched his other hand before suddenly driving the dagger deep into his heart. The dagger''s tip disappeared when it was just about to make contact with Eren''s chest. Soon, half of the dagger''s de disappeared as Eren seemingly drove the weapon into his heart. "Hmmmm!" Eren grunted with his tightly shut lips as he felt a sharp pain in his heart. Even though it didn''t look like it, the dagger had pierced his heart for real without causing any external injury. This was the same dagger Eren had obtained from ho. He was using it to activate his Sins series ability. "Domain of Wrath!" Eren mumbled to himself as an otherworldly mana pulse was released in the surroundings with him acting as the source and epicentre. This time, the domain was not as substantial as the first time the butcher had activated his ability against team ho. It was the foreign world''s consciousness that gave the butcher the ability to cast a domain of that size thest time the ability was awakened in him. It was sort of its way of acknowledging him as capable of wielding the ability he was given. This time, he didn''t have that helping hand. But he didn''t need a muchrger domain anyway. He was not very far from his target after all. Eren didn''t waste time. He raised his hand towards Sid and tapped into his powers. In the next moment, Sid''s body started to change. "Aaaaaaaargh!" Sid released a painful cry once again as his mana circuits that had already gone haywire were burnt away by the forced entry of foreign mana. His mana core was destroyed in the next moment. After that, Sid''s bodyposition began to change. Eren watched with dead expressions as his nuisance turned into the creature of Wrath. "Haaah! I can feel his fury. This purity of rage will be fun to digest. Hehehehe! This will be interesting." Eren smiled as he stared at the creature of wrath that was a lot bigger than any of the previous creatures he had seen. Sid had turned into a 9 feet tall creature of wrath that started at Eren with unmistakable rage in its eyes. This rage wasn''t necessarily directed at the butcher. This was a blindsided rage that didn''t have a specific target in its eyes. La had given Eren a batch of vials that contained within themselves a unique potion. The element of shadows around him could render him invisible. It blended his figure with the nearby shadows, enabling him to get close to anyone without blowing his cover. His ck clothes weren''t ck by default. It was shadow-element mana sticking to his visage due to the potion''s effect. Eren had used the potion for the first time when he approached Tuan. This was the reason why the guy was surprised when the butcher popped out of nowhere. Eren decided to anger Sid a bit more to get more benefits from him. The effects of the potion that were still active around him were undone when he removed his mask. His real self was revealed to Sid who had been staring at him with no intention of doing anything. Eren had onlymanded him to pay attention to him after all. "What''s up, little bitch?" The butcher extended a warm greeting to his only audience. Chapter 503 Gaining Red Lightning Chapter 503 Gaining Red Lightning "What''s up, lil'' bitch?" The butcher extended a warm greeting to his only audience. At first, the creature of wrath didn''t react. But it slowly dawned on him that it was forced to take the order from the same guy he hade to loathe so dearly. It added to his fury that he couldn''t do anything to Eren even when he wanted to tear the guy to shreds. This was because of his newfound physical might that was growing at an rming rate. Eren shed a mild smile at Sid before continuing his talk. "Do you still remember me? This is your deputy vice-captain, Eren Idril. I''m here to deputize your ass for good for all your sneaky attempts to stab me in the back." Eren chuckled and started walking around the creature with his arms behind his back. He was observing the creature like it was some sculpted statue of intricate details carved upon its surface. "And oh yeah. One way or the other, I''m gonna nail Altashia. Imagine that. Imagine is all you can do anyway. Since you won''t stay alive after tonight. Haha!" Eren said when he circled back to his previous position, facing the creature in front of him. Sid looked like he was trying to piece things together. When it did, it released another angry roar as its size expanded some more. Roar! The flesh of Sid''s body started stretching way past its stic limit. It wasn''t long before his overgrown muscles were ripped out of the thinyer of skin that was holding them together. As the butcher continued to spew venom under his Domain of Wrath, Sid''s anger was pushed beyond the limit. Finally, his body burst into a million pieces of flesh, blood, bones and more. The butcher was ready for the implosion from the beginning. He had cast a thinyer of non-elemental mana in front of him to save himself from getting drenched in Sid''s remains. A pure me of wrath was seen floating where Sid''s body was. The guy was always angry at Eren from the moment he showed up. The butcher adding oil to that fire was what made the me even more refined than it was supposed to be. Eren weed the mes of wrath on his open right palm. He closed his eyes and let the me get absorbed by his flesh. Eren felt like his entire body had been set on fire. But he didn''t feel threatened by it. He weed the feeling because of the effects he was producing inside his body. His mana core started spinning at a rapid rate. His mana circuits started expanding and making new mana pathways. He realized that his ranking status was improving at a remarkable pace. A dense cloud of Ace rank mana appeared and surrounded Eren. He soon broke through into the liquid stage of the Ace rank and kept climbing. But that was not all the gains he was digesting at the time. Way of lightning! Sid was a lightning-element user just like him. He had attained a sufficient level of mastery for his level in a different aspect of lightning. Now the butcher was digesting Sid''s gains and making them his own. Eren''s body was coated in purple lightning all this time. Now streams of red lightning bloomed amid the mana cloud. One could see that Eren''s eyeballs were still moving under the closed eyelids as he processed Sid''s aplishments. Lightning''s destructive aspect! Eren was always familiar with the speed aspect of lightning. Throughout his previous timeline, he honed and perfected that part of his element as he rose to higher ranks. However, this time, his lightning acquired a new property. Eren''s gains didn''t stop there either. The butcher also received the soul of the red lightning bull from Sid, which was his contract beast. Since Eren knew how the beast contract spell worked, he subconsciously executed the spell and let it create a tattoo over his left chest peck. Bellow! A bull''s bellow sounded in the surroundings as the beast got a new owner. Ideally, it shouldn''t have been possible to get a contract beast even if you kill the original owner. But Eren''s ability from the Sins series broke thatmon sense. The bull retracted into its new home. For once, it seemed happy that it was free from its previous abusive owner. It didn''t care if the new owner was more evil than Sid. It just wanted to be treated better by its owner now that it had been subjected to the fate of servitude. Eren still had his eyes closed. He was in an epiphany-like state at this moment. But he wasn''t having a conversation with the world''s mana. This was an epiphany given to him by Sid''s life experiences as a ranker. The butcher also received some of his memories along with his experiences. Eren subconsciously smiled as he processed Sid''s memories. He came to know that the guy had the same designs on him too. He was just preparing to use some veteran cklisted bounty hunters to pull it off. Eren opened his eyes after a while and took a long breath. He then looked at his hands before executing his go-to spell. Blitz Bolt! This time, the spell''s feel was different from what he was familiar with. A red sh of lightning danced on the tip of his fingers. His arm was covered in red lightning streaks too. Blitz Steps! Eren used his movement spell with his newly gained red lightning element. In the next moment, the ground beneath him cracked more than usual, creating a spider-web-like small crater under each of his feet. Eren realized that the red lightning wasn''t suitable for his movement spell. His purple lightning did a better job while causing less damage to the surroundings. But he was also sure that the red lightning would enhance the damage output of all his offensive spells without him sending his mana circuits to hyperdrive or overdrawing on his mana core. "Perfect!" Chapter 504 Enhanced Stats Chapter 504 Enhanced Stats "Perfect!" The butcher spoke out loud and shed a cunning smile. He had an inkling that if he targets any capable lightning or fire element ranker, his attainment, as well as his ranking status, would take a huge boost. But he hadn''t expected that it would be to this extent. "Just what I was in dire need of. Wish there were more guys like this stupid fuck." Eren looked at a broken armour when he said that. It was the same armour Sid had worn. It had been broken due to the wearer''s body shape changing all of a sudden. Eren didn''t want to use Sid''s armour anyway since it was as risky as it was unneeded for him. Eren then summoned his status window to take a look at his gains. ******* Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organizations- Edinburgh Army (Nightshade duchy) Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy Academic Status- ss 2/C Ranked Status: Not applicable due to on-field assignment Base Stats: HP- 13.2 / 13.2 MP- 11.5 / 11.5 STR- 11.3 AGI- 13.9 INT- 8.7 BTP~ 59 BTP Visibility- Private Ranking Status: E-Rank (Liquid Core Stage) ****** Ranking Technique- Ungraded and unrecognized Ranking Technique E-Rank Spells: Lightning Element, Four-star (?), movement type: Blitz Steps Lightning Element, Four-star (?), defence type: Blitz Shield Lightning Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Blitz Bolt Lightning Element, Four-star (?), Area of Effect: Blitz Storm Lightning Element, Four-star (?), healing type: Blitz Heal Lightning Element, Four-star (?), attack-type: Solid Spark **** Time Element, Four-star (?)(?), misceneous: Sedated Perception Time Element, Four-star, misceneous: Ingredient Age Expedite Time Element, Four-star, misceneous: Ingredient Age Reverse Time Element, Four-star, movement type: Stunning Speed ***** Fire Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Fire Snake Fire Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Fireball Fire Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Firebreath Fire Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Hatchlings of the me 01 Fire Element, Four-star (?), attack type: Hatchlings of the me 02 Fire Element, Three-star, support type, Fire Wings (Unoptimized) ***** Wind Element, Four-Star, attack type: Wind des Tornado ***** Transcendent Spells: Non-elemental, misceneous: Beast Contract Spell: Red Lightning Bull Non-elemental, misceneous: ??? (?) Non-elemental, misceneous: ??? (?) Apprenticeship: Completed ****** ''Unbelievable! This puny jackass gave me the same boost those Draconic Lizards had given me at that time when I had used Life Drain on their gigantic bodies. How How is this possible? This defies the logic that was already unconventional in my case.'' Eren felt happy and puzzled at the same time. His puzzlement only grew when he looked at his status window carefully. ''What is this? I now have a beast contract spell? Red Lightning Bull? When did that happen? HOW did that happen?'' Eren scratched his chin as tried to remember the state he was in. He could only conclude that he had managed to make the most out of his Sins series ability by angering his victim to no end. He had robbed Sid of all his possessions by taking the beast contract spell from him as well. ''Hmm. I can''t use this beast contract spell openly even if I want to. That asshole''s disappearance and my usage of the same contract beast as him would raise suspicions. On that matter, I won''t be able to use red lightning openly either. At least not right away.'' Eren sighed and concluded that he would gradually make his gains known to people around him. But he needed to test a few things out. Therefore, he clenched his fists and executed multiple spells on both his arms at once. Purple Blitz Bolt Red Blitz Bolt Purple Blitz Shield Red Blitz Shield Eren stacked his two spells. And used two different attainments of lightning on each of those, enabling him to virtually execute four spells. Yet, his mana circuits weren''t as stressed as they should have been. ''This this is great. These spells are only stressing my mana consumption. And yet, it is not something I need to be overly worried about. I can use them just fine without having to do any tests. Heh! This dickface gave me a huge reward!'' Eren couldn''t stop smiling when he saw the effects of purple and red lightning spells getting executed by him simultaneously. This was the reason why high-ranking entities focused on the elemental attainments more than fussing over progression in their ranking status. They hade to realize with personal experience that the ranking status would follow suit eventually when one keeps on progressing in the way of their elements. The progression in the elemental attainment did not only have far fetched gains. They also provided the gains that could be used and implemented as soon as they are made. For example, a high enough progression in the way of the elements not only enhanced the spell''s output but could also make it produce altered output based on varying attainment. If the ranker practised multiple aspects of the same elements, they would be able to cast the same spell with different effects. Eren ended his thought process and looked around him. There were hardly any signs of battle. He destroyed the overly visible traces with his spells. For the residual man signatures that could be tracked, he had a cure ready in his arsenal. Eren started pouring vials after vials of potion in various ces that had signs of battle. This was the potion La had created using team ho''s corpses. It was meant to traumatize the historians if and when they tried to get a read on what happened at the ce that was affected by the potion. The potion contained an abominable mana signature that was the fusion of all the dead bodies of team ho La had put in her witchy cauldron. She had added extra ingredients so that the abominated mana signature starts affecting historians when they cast investigative spells. La''s potion was an insidious move on historians. The historians that were employed in investigating the team ho''s disappearance had varying degrees of mental attacks depending upon their ranking status and mastery over their historian ss spells. Even high-ranking entities weren''t immune to the effect. It was just that they could shrug off the effects of using the means avable to them. But the result was the same no matter which historian it was. They couldn''t make heads or tails of the area affected by the potion''s effects. Eren was so impressed by the potion''s effects that he named it Potion of Innocence. The moment he confirmed the potion''s effects were genuine, all he could say to La was "shut up and take my money". The butcher a drop of such a potion was enough to secure a circumference of hundreds of meters. This was how potent La had made the potion to be. Plus, the sheer number of Team ho members that were boiled and concocted by La was enough for the potion to have some serious punch. Eren was so impressed by the potion''s effects that he named it Potion of Innocence. The moment he confirmed the potion''s effects were genuine, all he could say to La was "shut up and take my money". Eren knew this was a must-have potion he should have on his person at all times. After all, he never knew when he had to act like the butcher he was. =================== AN: La makes the Potion Of Innocence in chapter 413. Chapter 505 Rootless: Half-Blood RankingTechnique Chapter 505 Rootless: Half-Blood RankingTechnique The existence of Potion of Innocence was also one of the reasons Eren had dared to make a move on Sid. otherwise, he would have had to wait patiently for a few raids. By that time, Sid would have had made some more ns to hurt him physically and mentally. Eren had more than enough potion on him to create crime scenes after crime scenes without leaving a trace. Plus, the potion was a tried and tested product. After all, this was how he had stayed undetected even after killing an entire army squad. ''That brat has done me a solid by creating such a potion. Even if she has her interests on the line, the fact that it has benefitted me hasn''t changed. No matter what happens between us in the future, I should thank her for this.'' Eren thought to himself as he finished securing his crime scene. With this, he didn''t have to worry about the army''s investigation of its missing personnel. "Yeah. You cane down now." Eren said to seemingly nobody in particr. In a few moments, an epic tier mana beast with a lion''s body and eagle''s headnded in front of him. Argo greeted his master by rubbing his beak at his cheeks. It then made a few guttural noises that only his master could understand. "Hmm. If I hadn''t nned on devouring the guy''s elemental attainments, I would have let you eat it. Maybe next time, alright?" Eren said and patted Argo''s head. He jumped and climbed on his back before lying t on his back, his right leg folded over his left. He tapped his demon beast with his handC indicating for him to fly away. Argo didn''t make a sound. He left the crime scene as silently as he had entered it. Eren had entered the region using Argo tooC giving him almost no scope to leave his traces behind. Eren knew that Sid''s disappearance wouldn''t just be brushed away. Plus, his teammates would be questioned first before the on-field investigation starts. This was the reason Eren chose not to confront the berserker directly. He didn''t fight with him at all, even though he could overwhelm him with all his advantages. ''I should have my alibi ready. And I know just the ce. Hehe!'' Eren said to himself and chuckled before telling Argo to fly in a certain direction. Then he summoned his status screen again to observe new and old changes. Eren had gotten his hands on a ranking technique for half-bloods. This was one of the rewards he had received in Purgatory. He had managed to sessfully trante its contents using references from old archives he had ess to from the army database. Eliza''s n hade up with this ranking technique, meant to be used by half-blood rankers originating from their creation. The n had never managed to sessfully make a slime half-blood out of their creationC so the technique was still in its testing phase and wasn''t optimized. It had halted the projectter on before the half-blood ns were faced with cmity. This unrecognized and unnamed ranking technique was not element-bound. It meant that it focused on letting its user harness non-elemental mana. Half-bloods had their ranking techniques after all. The fact that Eren could still use human ranking techniques despite being a slime half-blood was only due to the peculiarity of his half-blood powers. ''The fact that I can use and harness any element with no conflict should also mean I can use non-elemental mana as it had never been used by the rest of the rankers. I just didn''t know the ranking technique I was given would focus on that aspect of my powers.'' Eren scratched his chin as he thought about his ranking technique. Since the technique wasn''t optimized, he had always found it a bit difficult to practice. But since it didn''t focus on converting the non-elemental mana into the elemental manapatible with the user, it was a bit faster for him toplete the required mana cycles. After some time, Eren got better at using his ranking technique. He could now practise it any time he wanted. His mana storage would be filled up faster because of the non-elemental nature of the technique whenever he did practise it. The butcher thought a bit about it and decided to name the technique Rootless Technique, for obvious reasons. He wasn''t sure if he could get his hands on theter variants of the technique. Yet he decided to practice it after thinking it over. The advantage of half-blood techniques over those that were not was the fact that they were tailored to the respective half-blood rankers. It helped them hone their half-blood spells and abilities by strengthening the mutagen that was part of them. Eren had learned from Edgar''s journal that high-ranking half-blood techniques practised by high-ranking half-bloods would allow them to have atavism. This allowed even theter generations of half-blood ns who had diluted mutagen to keep their half-blood powers intact. The half-blood ranking techniques were what kept the half-blood ns thriving for as long as they did. Eren''s half-blood powers were unique. He was sure that even Reen didn''t know what she was capable of. Meaning, that he had to discover his powers on his own. Therefore, the butcher decided to start early in his endeavour. As long as he harnessed his mutagen, he would discover the extent of benefits it could offer him. Eren also concluded that Eliza must have given the technique to him since she wanted to see what it could do. After all, he was the sole ranker who could use it from its inception. She was keen to know what the extent of her n''s research had brought about in the world. Eren knew that his ranking progression would slow down by a lot if he only focused on his half-blood ranking technique. But he had his abilities. The Domain of Wrath and Life Drain both allowed him to push forward in his ranks with greater speed and efficiency than any ranking technique could allow him to. This was the reason he dared to practise the technique. He only intended to use it to better harness his half-blood powers. The ranking progression was going to rest on his abilities'' shoulders. Chapter 506 City of Ainari Chapter 506 City of Ainari "Argo drop me down there. And wait nearby." Erenmanded his demon beast. Thetter released an eagle cry before descending to the ground. Argo didn''t have tond on the ground. Eren jumped from Argo''s back when he maintained an altitude of approximately 10 meters. Argo flew off in the same direction he came from. He had seen a few mana beasts he could hunt and eat in the nearby forest. He was preparing to do just that. Eren hadnded near the city of Ainari. Since it was located a bit away from the Bands borders, it had a bustling trade of merchants and rankers alike. He was here to meet Dianna Remus. The ranger of his team had offered him a barren plot ofnd, which waster converted into a guild asset. One of the main attractions in Ainari was the Remus auction house. The other was a ce called Mystic Revitalization. They both attracted a lot of rankers. The increase in rankers'' numbers would spike every month as the auction event was arranged at the start of every month. In more ways than one, the city of Ainari was a lot like the city of Nmi from the duchy of Lionheart. It had its own set ofws. But where the city of Nmi was mostly frequented by cultists, the city of Ainari was popted by neutral rankers. Of course, Eren wasn''t here to take part in any auction. He was too broke to even consider anything like that. At least for now. He was here to get his hands on the Total Control spell as well as Diana. **************************** "You finally made it. I was beginning to think you weren''t cut out for this deal. Hehe." Dianna greeted Eren with a friendly hug and led him inside a building. The ce was named Misty Revitalization. They had walked together inside the building. Dianna had worn a cute dress in white with red stripe ents over it. Itplimented her wine-red hair. It was neither too tight nor too loose, stretching till her knees. Her red lips, deep-looking eyes, and petite nose made her look pretty and yful at the same time. Her hip-length hair was tied in a simple bun. She smelled ofvender and all kinds of floral freshness. She did not wear any essories on her. And she didn''t need those to grab attention. Her presence alone was enough for that job. Mystic Revitalization was a one-story building located near the northern district of the city of Ainari. It had a spacious and luxurious lobby. The space was well lit and smelled of an ocean breeze, thanks to the usage of arrays. The facility had arge weing counter that was manned by young and cheerful women attendants with smiles stered on their faces. They all stood in a straight line along the length of the long counter, weing their patrons one at a time. "Good morning, dear guests. How can we revitalize you today?" The waitress asked when it was the duo''s turn to make a reservation. Eren wasn''t aware of anything about the ce so he let Dianna take the lead. "Hello. We would like to book a spot for two for the whole day today. Which venues are currently avable?" Dianna asked elegantly while tucking her hair behind her ears. The attendant replied promptly. "Of course madam. We have Abandoned Lake, Underground City, Barren Garden, Moonview Hill, Misty Spring" The attendant started speaking a bunch of names or terms that Eren didn''tpletely get. But he saw Dianna''s eyes lit up when she mentioned that Misty Spa was avable. She replied hastily. "Please book Misty Spring for us for the whole day. Here''s our payment." Dianna didn''t waste time. She booked Misty Spa by paying upfront in Extols. Thetter received the money in the array ced near her side of the counter. "Thank you for choosing Misty Spa, dear guests. Here is your array key. You can do it whenever you feel like it." The attendant ced a palm-sized array disk on the counter after confirming the payment. Dianna nodded at her and took the array key before grabbing Eren''s arm with her other hand. She then led him towards a giant array. The array was being used by a lot of people at once. They would walk inside the 15-meterrge array eye and use their array key by imbuing their mana over it. The rankers would disappear from their spots in the next moment. "Hehehe, this will be fun, Eren. Imbue it with your mana. I''ll do the same." Dianna asked Eren to hold the array disk from one end while she held it from the other. The butcher smiled at her, seeing her excitement. He then did what hispanions had asked him to do. Soon after, the pair was teleported away from their location. ****************** "Hmm. This ce is interesting." Eren said as he found himself in a seemingly different ce than the city of Ainari. That''s because this ce wasn''t buzzing with people. There were no densely ced buildings or facilities. The spring in front of him kept on producing bubbles. The spring was like a giant pond that had been well-defined by man-made architecture. There was an outer dining table shed nearby the spring along with a one-story wooden cottage that was carved with elemental runes. The ce looked real, as did everything inside it. But there was a touch of mysticism surrounding it. That''s because ayer of dense white fog had surrounded the spring. As a result, this spa seemed both real and fictional to Eren. Eren also found out that he and Dianna were not alone in this seemingly isted space. The pair were greeted by two gorgeous unrankeddy servants. Dianna led him to the open dining space near the bubbling spring. The butcher smiled at what was in front of him. A variety of cuisines were ced over the dining tableC awaiting the duo''s consumption. Chapter 507 Still Worthy Chapter 507 Still Worthy "Let''s eat first, shall we?" Dianna asked Eren, receiving his nod in response. He had to admit that she had chosen an excellent ce for their date with benefits. "You look beautiful today, Dianna. And your choice of ce is just as awesome as you are. I''m d we hit it off that day." Eren raised a toast to Dianna, the ranked wine poured in his ss by one of thedy servants. She stepped aside after setting up the duo''s table and waited for them in silence. "Hmph! Did you notice that I looked beautiful just now? I''m sure you wouldn''t have waited this long topliment Altashia." Dianna replied with a pout. Eren chuckled and drank from his ss. He taste-tested the wine by keeping it in his mouth for a bit before finally gulping it down. It started stimting his mana core as soon as it entered his system. ''Good wine.'' Erenplimented his drink before replying casually. He felt like it''s been a while since he had used one of his powers. The power of bullshittery. "I was just waiting for the right moment, Dianna. Your beauty andpany are like fine wine. It should only be indulged in when the ambience is just right." Eren swirled his ss of wine as he spoke. He then picked a cheese cube using the toothpick and ate it. "Hmm. Does that mean Altashia is not fine wine?" Dianna''s ego was soothed when the butcher elegantlyplimented her. But since she had received such praises, she wanted to fish for more. Eren chuckled when he understood Dianna''s subtle undertone. She wanted him to say that she was more stunning than Altashia. Which they both knew was untrue. But vanity often doesn''t like to see reality with its eyes open. "Comparing yourself against someone is something I wouldn''t ever do. Aren''t you a unique individual yourself? If I do that, wouldn''t I be neglecting your uniqueness?" Eren spoke and his expressions turned stoic. The butcher just wanted to bring more depth into his bullshittery by sounding serious after all. "Dianna Remus, I wouldn''t treat you the way your family treats auctionable items. You are you. Additionally, I wouldn''tpare you to anyone because there is no need for aparison. It''s not an auction, is it?''" Eren said before adding further. "Does does that make sense?" Eren asked earnestly. But if anyone paid any attention, they''d find a hint of uncertainty in his voice. But when the butcher looked at Dianna, her expression looked serious too. ''Did did I overdo it?'' Eren started to doubt the power of his bullshittery. He thought that he needed to use it more often so that he wouldn''t lose his touch like this time. "Sigh! You are right, Eren. I''m sorry for asking silly questions like these. I was just trying to poke fun at you. But I didn''t know I was demeaning myself in the process. I guess one can''t really see these things clearly unless they are staring at the big picture from a distance." Dianna sighed and touched the edge of her wine ss with her lips before taking a sip. She then smiled mirthlessly before continuing. "Thank you for making me realize that I was walking on the same road my family has walked on for so long. Comparing one thing or person to another and putting a price tag on them." ''It it worked. I''m still worthy!'' Eren thought to himself and raised his wine ss once again towards Dianna. Thetter responded to his gesture with a light smile. As they ate their breakfast, they talked about random things. The topic of routine military missions also came up. The topic of discussion slowly turned to each other''s lives before they joined the army. Eren didn''t mind the wait. He handled all questions with the skill he had shown earlier. He had a habit of enjoying his puns more than his listeners did. "Eren, this is the Total Control spell that you were looking for. I know our deal. I only pitched it as a joke at first. But now I''m d that I did." Dianna said after taking out a rune-sealed scroll from her storage and cing it on the dining table. She then pushed it to Eren''s side before continuing. "I''m giving you this because I don''t want our experience together to feel transactional anymore. Here, you can have this. You can have this and leave the ce without anything happening between us. And that''s fine with me. Or you can have this and still choose to be with me. No matter what you choose, I''d bepletely fine with it. This way, it won''t be a transaction. I like our bonding here. And I want it to grow." While tucking her red hair behind her ears from both sides, Dianna said. The butcher smiled and kept the scroll in his storage without any fancy theatrics. He hade for this spell mainly. There was no way he would leave without it. But that didn''t mean he would leave without reciprocating Dianna''s approach. "See? I''m still here." Eren said as he folded his arms while looking at Dianna mischievously. Dianna smiled and nodded at him. She then told the twodies who were waiting for them to clear the dining table. Eren and Dianna were then led to two different chambers inside the wooden cottage by the twodies. They were then helped by the twodies to wash their bodies before they entered the spring. Eren stripped out of his clothes as soon as the bathtub was filled with water-element mana through the usage of arrays. Although the mortal servant couldn''t employ mana, she had an array disk in her possession she could operate on. It was made so that even unranked entities would be able to operate on it through their touch alone. It wasn''t long before Eren was washed and offered a simple robe to wear. He got outside and waited by the spring''s edge. He had lit up his smoke as he observed everything around him. He was tempted to use his mana sense in the area. But Dianna had insisted that he shouldn''t do that and ruin the fun. So Eren decided to honour her request. ''All thingse to those who wait.'' Eren said to himself and smiled before taking a long drag of Ster Sativa stick. Chapter 508 Spontaneous Desires* Chapter 508 Spontaneous Desires* "Let''s go in!" As soon as she reached the spring, Dianna spoke to Eren. She had also worn a simple robe that clung loosely to her body. Her hair was still wet from the bath she had received. Her after-shower perfume ofvender and jasmine was making its presence known. "Of course, dear." Eren replied to Dianna endearingly before loosening the knot by his waist that made his robe adhere to his body. He got out of his only piece of clothing, standing naked in front of his team''s ranger. Dianna looked at him and his body keenly before giving an "I am impressed" smile. She chose not to follow in his footsteps and kept the robe on. "Let me free you from these shackles of decorum too." Eren said, taking the hint. He unfastened the ribbon-like article that encircled Dianna''s shapely waist. The robe split into two, offering Eren the view he was starting to crave for. Eren also shed an "I am impressed too" grin at Dianna before gently tugging the robe away from her shoulder des that were keeping it adhered to her body. The ranger''s seductive body was now being feasted upon by Eren''s ever-roaming eyes. Dianna had ample breasts. Her erect pink nipples made them look even more tempting to be grouped on. Her curvy waist and her thick thighs were in leagues of their own though. Dianna had kept her body well-groomed. She had only kept a patch of pubic growth in the shape of a reverse red triangle just above herdy part, the tip of the triangle pointing straight towards her wet valley. Eren wanted to explore Dianna''s body with all his senses. But they both knew that this wasn''t the time to get handsy. Eren looked at Dianna and offered her his open palm to grab on to. Dianna smiled and ced her hand on his, making him lead the way. The butcher kicked the butt of his smoke and stepped into the spring water. As soon as he did, Eren felt his mana core spinning at an elerated rate. Every drop of water on his skin opened up its pores. And he felt like his umted mana impurities were getting dispersed in the water before vanishing on their own. "I wasn''t paying attention earlier. But how how much did you pay for all this, Dianna?" Eren asked with a voice that was part surprised and part amazed. He then helped Dianna step into the water while holding her hand. It was easy for the duo to enter the spring thanks to the gradual steps. Dianna chuckled after hearing Eren''s answer before continuing. "Remember our estate deal? Well, my family allowed me to take a substantial cut from it, thinking I well. Hehe! I''ll be honest, Eren. They thought I had sold a barren piece ofnd at a high price. So it is kind of our money." Dianna chuckled and observed Eren''s expressions. To her relief, she found him smiling. Eren didn''t say anything about the deal. He just led Dianna deeper into the spring water. The rejuvenating water around the duo kept on working its magic, enabling them to experience a pleasant sensation throughout their bodies. Eren could feel that the mana-exfoliation effect he was feeling was natural. This was a natural spring that had such properties. It was just that the effects were enhanced with the help of suitable arrays. Eren and Dianna walked till their bodies were about half-immersed in the spring. The warm water was creating light clouds of steam around them. "How do you feel?" Dianna asked after a while. By this time, they had both closed their eyes. They both were concentrating on observing the mana cirction in their bodies. "Just great. I suppose it would have its limits. But this thing can help us in our ranking progression if we keep on using it every once in a while." Eren said with his eyes closed. Dianna was still holding both of his hands in hers. Thetter nodded before responding. "That''s right. But that''s not the only thing this subspace can do. Hehe!" Dianna said and pulled Eren closer to hers. Thetter opened his eyes with a smirk on his face. He knew it was about time. The deputy vice-captain held his team member''s cute face with both his hands and tilted her head upwards. Then he got closer to her before nting a passionate kiss. "Ummmmm!" Dianna wrapped her arms around Eren''s neck as the suppressed moans somehow slipped from her mouth. Those monas only increased when with one hand, Eren grabbed her left titty, and with his other, he grabbed her tush. Dianna liked the fact that Eren took full advantage of the score when he was given the opportunity to. All she had to do was make the first move. She could see that the rest would be handled well by her partner just fine. It also made her subconsciously realize that Eren was inplete control of himself. Dianna could feel that Eren''s erection was not poking her below the water. She grabbed the back of his hair with one hand and made him direct his wet kisses on her neck. She grabbed Eren''s shaft with her other hand and started stroking it along its length. Eren grouped Dianna''s left titty with even more pressure than before while sending the middle finger of his other hand into an expedition. An expedition of a valley that was now underwater. Eren stimted Dianna''s rear entrance with his middle finger before moving further. Dianna stood on one leg and lifted her other leg a bit to allow Eren to explore her pussy from behind. After a while, Eren grabbed Dianna''s buns and lifted her to see him face to face. The ranger seemed drunk on ecstasy. She kissed him and inserted her tongue into his mouth while wrapping her legs around his waist. As if sensing the spring users'' activities, the rejuvenating water whirled around the duo. It generated multi-coloured breathing lights under the base of the spring to further engage the pair''s senses. No talk was necessary. No words need to be said. Eren and Dianna were both being led by their spontaneous desires. Chapter 509 Zero Gravity Session P1* Chapter 509 Zero Gravity Session P1* No talk was necessary. No words need to be said. Eren and Dianna were both being led by their spontaneous desires. "Hmmm. Er Eren. Let me show you something. Hehe. I''ll bet you''d love it." Dianna said and took out the array disk given to her by the receptionist. She then imbued her mana inside it while sending her mana sense into it. The next thing Eren knew, his legs were getting lifted off the ground. His body had started levitating. He looked in front of him to find out that he was not the only one being affected by the phenomenon. Dianna was also slowly lifted into the air with him. "Space element! This spring has a space element array inscribed on its bed!" Eren concluded with a surprised voice. Dianna chuckled before nodding her head. To remain stable in their situation, they each locked hands with the other. The duo''s bodies emerged from the water before they became airborne. Eren felt like his body was weightless and could be swayed by even the most gentle of winds. Yet, he didn''t feel like his centre of gravity or his bnce had changed. Soon, the duo was about seven meters in the air. The water followed them in streams and started swirling around Eren and Dianna. They would sometimes be submerged in a huge glob of water. Afterwards, the water would be drawn away from them in batches of streams that would take the form of serpentine-like creatures, leaving them alone with their devices. Those creatures soon started having distinct shapes and revealed themselves to be draconic pythons with bodies made of water. Every once in a while, they hissed at Eren and Dianna while grazing their bodies. A gravity zone had been established above the spring water. The draconic pythons and the duo stay floating in the air. The sunlight that was peeking through the clouds met with the steam and watery, creating rainbow-coloured luminance around the couple. Eren continued kissing Dianna and exploring her body with his hands. Thetter responded to his touch with carefree moans. Eren found it easy for him to lift Dianna as the zero-gravity region aided in his y. He had to admit that this was the most unique ploughing experience he was about to have in both his timelines. He decided to cherish it to its fullest. Eren lifted Dianna''s hips near his head and parted her legs. As he let go, he noticed that she was still at the spot where he had stopped holding her. Eren smirked and looked down and around. He then looked at the array disk Dianna was clenching in her hands. He took that away from her and imbued it with his mana. ''So that''s how it works.'' Eren smiled and started controlling the array. In the next moment, the draconic pythons reduced their shape and turned into rope-like beings. Upon Eren''smands, four of them came towards Dianna. Each of them wrapped their tails around one of the ranger''s limbs. Then they stretched in four different directions, making Dianna spread her legs even further. Dianna saw what was happening around her with her ecstatic haze. She cooperated with Eren''s way of handling matters. She liked a man who knew what he was doing. Eren decided to explore Dianna''s wet cave with his tongue. He used one of his hands to spread her pussy lips before touching her pink button with the tip of his finger. "Aaaaah Eren!" Dianna moaned and started to close her legs. Too bad, the draconic pythons turned rope prevented her from doing the same. She opened her eyes wide in surprise and delight as she experienced an amazing oral. She wanted to clench Eren''s head with her hands to control the invasion of his tongue her way. But since even her hands were tied, all she could do was moan and speak Eren''s name repeatedly. "Aaaaah! I''ming Eren. Aaaaah!" Diann released an ample amount of love juices while clenching her fists. She then dropped her head backwards and started breathing a bit harder as a way to cope with the orgasm she just had had. "You are delicious, Dianna. Let me clean you up now, Hehe!'' The game had just begun for Eren. He operated the array and created two more draconic pythons out of the spring water below him. The newly formed pythons flew towards the duo before being used as the streams to clean Eren and Dianna separately. The snakes were dispersed in the air after they were done. By now, Eren had gotten the hang of how the zero-gravity region worked. So he flew above Dianna who had closed her eyes suspended in mid-air. The snakes-turned-ropes had freed her limbs, enabling her to soothe her pussy with her hands. Her clit had gotten too excited by the wretched devil''s constant attention. She soothed it by gently massaging it and the area around it. Diann opened her eyes to see Eren''s face in front of her. He was smiling while pulling her into his embrace. She smiled back and returned the gesture. "It''s your turn now." Eren said in Dianna''s ears and handed her the array disk control. He then rolled around, causing her to fall on top of him. His back was now facing the surface of the water beneath him. Dianna smirked before summoning another draconic python with the array''s help. It flew above the pair before locking his eyes on Eren. It reduced in size and crashed into Eren''s face at an incredible speed. Cough! Cough! Cough! Eren''s face was hit hard by the mass of water that had a considerable amount of momentum. Some of the water got into his nostrils, making him cough. "Hehe! This was for being so harsh on me when I told you to take it slow. You rascal, you even tied me up. Consider it as a payback for that. Hehehehe!" Dianna giggled as she watched Eren''s expressions turn grim. He maintained his stoic face for some time before looking at the ranger with an evil glint in his eyes and a crooked smile on his face. Dianna didn''t know that Eren had decided that he would breach her rear entrance for her transgression against him. After all, he did not have the qualities of being forgiving. Chapter 510 Zero Gravity Session P2* Chapter 510 Zero Gravity Session P2* Dianna tied her loose hair in a bun while sitting in the air without any support. She then bent her back towards Erens erect dick which was craving her attention. She summoned another miniature python from the spring water and made it lose its form and turn into a blob of water. Eren looked down to see that the blob of water had immersed his dick inside it. Dianna inserted her hand in the bulb of water and gripped his cock. She started stroking it while looking at Erens expressions. Eren smirked at Dianna before rxing his body. Heid straight on his back and took out another Ster Sativa stick before lighting it up. Dianna didnt like that Eren was not prioritizing their time together. So she pinched the tip of his dicks foreskin with her other hand. The butcher chuckled at Diannas small acts of rebellion and took a few long drags from his smoke. ? Dianna sighed as she watched Eren paying her no heed. She decided it was about time to turn things up a notch. With determined expressions on her face, she bent down and took Erens cock in her mouth. Eren chuckled as he felt Dianna trying her best to give him an attention-seeking oral. She also fondled his balls, making him a bit tense no matter how impervious he was to blunt damage as a slime half-blood. But in being tense lies half the fun. He would feel her taking his dick out of her mouth. She would then use her tongue to lick the mushroom head before running it across the shafts length. She would often trace the dicks most prominent vein with the tip of her tongue before taking his dick back in her mouth again. From time to time, she would summon the spring water to make the blowjob more interesting for Eren. Thats terrific, Dianna! Ill award you with this. Eren grabbed Diannas head with both hands before saying that. Before she could understand what was happening, he deep-throated him and released all the load he had in his balls at once with a low grunt. Dianna was overwhelmed at first. But she handled it nicely and allowed the load to enter her system without any opposition. When Eren removed his cock from her mouth, his cum had already been swallowed whole. Hmm. I never thought about this before. But I hope my load as a slime half-blood doesnt cause any effects on these girls in the long run. Eren had his random moment of post-nut-rity, something that made him chuckle internally. He then looked at Dianna to see that she was using another water summon to clean herself. You are a very mean man, Eren Idril. Dianna said and pouted, highlighting his second instance of not keeping her in the loop. He just chuckled and pulled her on himself with his hand. He nted a kiss on her forehead before responding. Indeed. But that doesnt mean I dont appreciate you being a sport. Allow me to show you my appreciation, mydy. Hehe! Eren said and pressed onto Diannas perky tits. He then shifted her a bit and took her right nipple in her mouth which had turned to its normal state. With the other hand, he started fondling her other breast. It didnt take long for her to feel in the groove again. The now-erect nipple in his mouth was a testament to it.a??a ??????? Erens little guy woke up from its self-induced slumber when he wanted it and started rubbing against Diannas butt crack. The ranger understood her partners intention while her boobs were being raved about by him. She reached out for his dick with her right hand and stroked it a bit. Then she rubbed her pussy crack with its tip to make it ready for insertion. Ummmmm! Dianna released an ecstatic moan when she slowly drove Erens dick with her hand into her pussy. She also seemed prepared for the moment as she operated on the array disk and created arge mass of water floating over their heads in the distance. When Erens dick was all the way inside Dianna, an artificial downpour was initiated. Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! The acoustics of rain overshadowed the subtle sound created by flesh meeting flesh. Dianna rode on Erens dick slowly at first while allowing him to suck on her other boobC one of her hands guiding his head. Her other hand reached between them and stimted her clit. Mark of the Seven Sins: Mist of Lust! Unbeknownst to Dianna, Eren had activated his Sins series ability. This time, he wanted to tweak its effects a bit. So he tried to consciously repeat his intentions in his head as he activated his ability. Dianna started feeling high after the sins series ability got activated. She was met with a slowly increasing desire that she needed to have more of Eren. Eren received a passionate kiss from Dianna as a result of her answering her inner feelings. Aaaah. Oooooh what what is this? How aaaah am I feeling this good? Dianna broke her kiss and asked nobody in particr. Her voice told Eren how turned on she was, thanks to the enhanced effects of his ability. He kept his ability active and decided to take things into his own hands while they were in this peculiar zero-gravity sex session. Eren grabbed onto Diannas waist with his hands and started ramming his little guy inside her with greater force and speed than before. Her butt started getting pped by Erens thighs as he thrust balls deep after each pull-out. Dianna clenched Erens dick with her pussy walls shortly afterwards. She then threw her head back as she came for the second time in a row. Eren weed her with open arms when she crashed onto him the next moment. That that was Dianna tried to catch her breath by resting her head on Erens chest. The rain had stopped just when Dianna came on Erens dick. She took a long breath beforepleting her sentence. That was great Master! Chapter 511 Zero Gravity Session P3* Chapter 511 Zero Gravity Session P3* That was great Master! Dianna spoke and surprised herself a bit. But she was too exhausted to process the emotions she was feeling. Eren took the array disk from her hand and controlled it to bring them down. The two were soon submerged to waist level once again. The springwater started churning around them, giving them the freshness they needed at the time. As the rejuvenating water worked on Dianna, it imbued her body with the right mana. Eren quickly realized that the space element array was supported by a lot of other array variants at the same time. The beast animation array was one such support array. The other was the healing array. Eren caressed Diannas back while holding her in his arms. She had gotten rejuvenated once again, thanks to the spring water and healing arrays effect. Eren something has happened to me, isnt it? Why do I feel such a deep connection with you? I am willing to listen to your everymand without worrying about its consequences. This cant be because of the intimacy we shared just now. You you have done something to me, right? She had a puzzled expression on her face as she realized the emotions and the state of her mind. The butcher wasnt surprised to hear her question. He had anticipated such a reaction after the way he had used his Sins Series ability after all. Using Sin of Lust on Dianna was too risky because she was Erens teammate. Her obedient behaviour towards him might have been a red g for him. Therefore, he never intended to use the ability the way he had used it on Sharon and her two assistants. It was also a form of the experiment to see whether he could pull it off. Even if Eren could ask her to behave normally, he was sure that those who had been marked by him had their level of normalcy skewed. Listening to his advice and following hismands would have been her new realityC making it normal behaviour for her. This was the reason why Eren had decided to tweak the effects of his ability a bit. He had decided to keep Diannas pre-brand self and consciousness as least affected by his ability as possible. During his use of the ability, he recited the desired effects in his consciousness. As a result, Dianna retained most of her pre-brand self even after she got branded. She still started seeing Eren as the most significant figure in her life that she should do everything in her power to please. But she also retained the reality of her earlier self, making her recognize that her change wasnt normal. Are youining? Eren asked with a smile on his face as he started stroking the lower part of her back. Her hip-length wet hair that was sticking to her skin as well as the back of Erens hands, masked his advances. No. I just asked because I wanted to confirm, master. I I mean, Er Eren. Eren narrowed his eyes as he felt the struggle Dianna was having in dealing with her new reality. She was stuttering because of the conflict she was having in her head. He sighed and concluded. No matter what I do, the effects of this ability would be apparent one way or the other. Plus, I dont know how it can affect anyone as a ranker. I better not use the ability on anyone I cant or wont want to get rid of.a??a ??????? Still, Im happy that I was able to control the ability to some extent. Practice makes a man perfect. Ill just try different things with different new partners. Eren thought to himself as he groped Dianas butts. Frankly, he could convince Dianna to help him attend the auction just fine without having to use the ability on her. But he didnt want to attend the auction. Eren had ns of his own when it came to attending the auction. And Diannas absolute loyalty was needed to execute it to perfection. Thats why Eren decided to use the ability on her while tweaking it a bit. Well, thats terrific to hear, Dianna. Although Id prefer you to call me Eren, you can call me Master when we are alone. Your call. However, keep in mind to greet me by my first name when we meet in public and during our missions. Is that understood? ? Eren whispered in Diannas ears as he gave a firm press to her mushy buns. By now, his stroking and pressing of her posterior had started to turn her on once again. She was even d of the fact that Eren had decided to get intimate with her again. With her psyche slowly settling and adjusting to her brand-new reality, the ranger replied in a low voice that she had been asked the question. Yes yes, master. Dont worry. You wont have to face problems because of me. Eren could confirm that even though her original personality remained intact, Dianna was able to understand his intentions like his monster ves did. He felt d that even if he couldnt prevent Dianna from totally acting normal, he could make it work while keeping her loyalty steadfast. Alright then. Hehe! Lets rx and enjoy ourselves first. Ill tell you what I need you to do afterwards. Eren said to Dianna. Thetter just nodded her head softly. The smile on her face returned soon afterwards. She looked at Eren before holding his face in both her hands. The next step didnt have to be taken by her. Eren did it for her by kissing her on her lips. Ummmmm! Diannas body started to feel a distinct form of joy as Eren kissed her. She responded to his kiss by hugging him even tighter and rubbing her pussy over his soon-to-be-erected cock. As Eren operated on the disk, both of them took pseudo flight once again. But this time, he didnt go that high. He just made it so that their bodies levitated just above the surface of the water. This made it look like they could walk on the water and stay there without casting any spells. Eren started kissing Dianna on her neck and made her turn around in one swift motion. He then started rubbing his cock against her butt crack, which he had woken up from its slumber. Diannas cunt rebooted the production of love juices. The ranger reached out to her pussy with one hand and started stimting her clit. In the meantime, she started to pinch her erect nipple with her left hand. Its time I imed your other hole, Dianna. Hehe. Eren smiled and said to his partner in a voice that reeked of yfulness. Chapter 512 Zero Gravity Session P4* Chapter 512 Zero Gravity Session P4* Its time to take things up a notch. The butcher smiled and said to his partner in a voice that reeked of yfulness. ? Eren helped her in her endeavours with his freely exploring hands while making her feel the presence of his cock. He then dipped his fingers deep inside her pussy to coat his hands with the natural lubrication. After coating his dick with the same, he had another random thought. Its ironic that I need lube to give mydy an anal even when Im a slime half-blood, huh! I need to figure a few things out about myself. The butcher thought the half-blood ranking technique he was practising might allow him to dig deep into his potential as a slime half-blood. But that woulde in the future. Right now he needed to focus on the task at hand. Eren grabbed Diannas waist with his left hand after a while. Then he took hold of his dick with the other before pointing it right at Diannas rear entrance. Master Eren go go slow. Dianna made her concerns known to her master. She wasnt sure she had allowed him to breach her ass today. But she knew that she couldnt say no to him in her current state. The realization made her happy and stressed at the same time. But the butchers next words made her stress vanish. Hehehe! Think of it as my revenge for you throwing water on my face. Your ass is mine now, Dianna. Brace yourself. Eren said with a bit of a chuckle added in. Diannas stress was reced with a pout on her face. Her pout soon broke into a look of surprise when she felt what had just happened to her virgin rear canal. Aaaaaaah master you devil owooooo! Eren had prated Diannas ass before he could finish saying his warning. of surprising andforting her at the same time. Dianna moaned and cursed her master for continuing his streak of surprising her with his moves. At first, Dianna felt like this was the most inconvenient way of having sex. She felt her asshole stretching bit by bit as Eren drove his dick deep up her ass slowly but surely. Eren understood Diannas mental state with the connection he shared with her. So he decided to be easy on her. He first brought her on her fours before making her stretch her legs and open up her pelvis by pushing it towards him. He then grabbed her waist with both hands before concentrating on his task. Eren summoned another bunch of mini water creatures that climbed on Diannas body from her legs. They were about five centimetres in length and looked a lot like his mini Fledglings of mes. They climbed up Diannas legs and headed straight to where the action was taking ce. They used their tongues to soothe the painful pration effects Dianna was suffering through. Dianna started feeling a bit better when the water creatures started working their magic. She then channelled her mana throughout her body to get rid of the rest of the fatigue she had been umting. When Eren reached deep inside her ass and felt the warmth his dick was wrapped in, he felt that he was missing out on anal a lot. He decided he would change that about himself in his future endeavours. Eren wasnt sure his partners would share his enthusiasm save for Nina. But he could always make them get used to it. Diana also began to enjoy the activity. Aaaaah mo more. Go a bit faster, Eren.a??a ??????? Dianna said as she felt waves of pleasure recing the small bouts of pain inside her body and psyche. She reached out her hand behind her back and looked back at her master who was slowly starting to pound her ass. Eren grabbed Diannas hand with his own for support and pped her butt cheek with the other. He gradually started increasing the speed of his thrusts as Dianna cooperated with him. It didnt take long for her to befortable on her knees just like Eren was just above the surface of the spring water. Then she guided Erens hands onto her tits as she exited her pussy with her hands from the front. Aaaaah Aaaaah Aaaaah! More master. Fuck my ass! Aaaah. Its all yours. Make me yours and only yours forever. Dianna voiced her feelings while she was experiencing a sexual high that she had never felt before. She had nowe to realize that she would ask Eren to do anal with her herself in future. Eren grabbed Diannas tits and gave them a firm squeeze every time he rammed his dick deep inside her ass. He also made her turn and kiss him as if what they were doing was not enough. Aaaaah Eren Iming. It wasnt long before Diannas body jerked all of a sudden as she released all her vaginal juices at once. In the next moment, her knees felt weak, and she almost fell t on the surface of the spring water. But she was held tight by Eren from behind before she could fall. Lets lets rest for a bit, Eren. Lets get a massage before we get started with our session. Dianna suggested in a low voice while resting her head against Erens chest. He nodded as he picked up the princess and carried her in one swift motion. Carrying the ranger, he started walking outside the spring. The attendants had disappeared from the scene. They presented themselves to Eren and Dianna a few moments after learning that the pair hade out of the spring water. Eren and Dianna were then led to two massage tables by the unranked female attendants. They were inscribed with arrays and runes on their surface, making them ranked items. Eren and Dianna soon felt the bliss of being massaged by elemental hands. The elemental hands were made of fire, wind, water, earth, lightning, snow, and various other elements. They would operate separately on the duos bodies at various ces. By prating deeper than the skin, they would stimte the rankers mana points, enabling them to rx and enjoy their massage. The elemental hands were spectral, created by condensed mana of the particr element. They were generated by the array after considering the rankers bodies that were inside the array eye. The female attendants were just there to activate and shut off the arrays when the patrons demanded. Eren and Dianna resumed their Zero Gravity Session soon after feeling revitalized by the massage. This time, Dianna led Eren into the spring water. She took charge of their y, the way she wanted. The butcher happily obliged. The next day. Eren and Dianna emerged from the subspace they had explored thoroughly. Their rtionship had changed a lot since before they entered the subspace. For both of them, especially Dianna, what had begun as a casual fling had soon developed into a non-separable bond. With Diannas loyalty ensured, Eren could now ask for her help in the designs he had for the Remus auction. Chapter 513 Titus Tournament Begins P1 Chapter 513 Titus Tournament Begins P1 Good day, everyone! Dear mortal guests and respected rankers, please feel at ease in your positions. I, dius Red, wee you all to the final round of the Titus tournament. dius Red started his speech with his loudest and most cheerful voice. His enthusiastic speech was apanied by the sound of musical instruments ying in the backdrop. Today was the day of the Titus tournaments final round. There were 32 contestants in the final round. This was the event that pitted one of the most talentedpetitors the Arangar Colosseum had produced throughout the year against each other after all. The colosseum was packed with people. People of all kinds of backgrounds had been summoned under one roof to cheer for thepetitor they had been rooting for throughout the year. There were loads of spectral screen panels of all sizes showing various things to their viewers. Some showed the previous battles of thepetitors that were taking part in the final round of the Titus tournament. Some screenspared onepetitor with another, making crowds of people argue over what they were seeing. Some people in the audience would call stats bullshit. Some of the nerds would even venture ahead and develop their own version of statistical analysis to make predictions about a certainpetitor. The betting houses were busy. The food vendors were even more so. There were even merchants selling doll-size replicas of variouspetitors. The event spurred the citys economy to far higher heights than previously estimated. The reason for that was simple. This yearspetitors were exceptions among exceptions. Each of them had its own fanbase by now. Eachpetitor had its own fan booths in the colosseum where its most loyal fans would gather around. Novice rankers and mortals would hoist the gs bearing the name of their idols or the effects of their signature spells. The fan booths had created their chanting style and songs too, which would highlight thepetitors feats they supported and discourage theirpetitors. There was silence in Tuan Aags room, making him feel removed from the mour of the colosseum. This was the waiting room he had been given to use before the game. Tuan wanted to smoke his Ster Sativa. But that would break Tuans character, so he controlled his urges. Instead, he drank to calm his nerves. This is going to be tough without me not having ess to my lightning spells. Then again, sending real Tuan in would be no different than giving up on price money. Tuan sighed as he thought to himself. He then drank Frostfoam straight from the bottle and looked outside the only window the room had. Tuan had been given a waiting room that was located at the uppermost level of the colosseum, like every other participant. He could see it packed to its brim with a sea of people and couldnt help feeling a bit stressed. He was stressed because he was going to act as Tuan in front of such arge audience. Plus, Tuans dedicated fanbase was no joke. They would analyze his every move andpare it with the moves or actions the real Tuan had taken in previous battles. ? The butcher had practised enough to get in Tuans skin. Even taken tips from real Tuan by spectral calling him. Still, he wasnt sure everything that hed do will jell well together.a??a ??????? I need an act. Something that can justify any w that I might show. Tuan said to himself and looked at the bottle of Frostfoam in his hands. He then thought of the real tragedy that had struck Tuan and thought of an idea. The butcher within him couldnt help but sh a cunning smile after finalizing the idea. ************************ Ladies and gentlemen, nows its time to move on to introducing ourpetitors. They will all enter the grounds with an aim to win this years Titus championship trophy awards. So its your job to cheer them and show your support for their goals as I call out their names. The first name on the list is Drin Dawn. A young man in his 20s suddenly appeared right in the middle of the colosseums battle ring. The runes of the spatial array were lit up around him. The fireworks were released as soon as he arrived at the scene. They soared high in the sky before bursting in the most eye-catching way possible. The explosion of multi-illuminance light depicted a short scene of Drin winning over his opponent before dispersing. Drin had been teleported to the scene. Spending Extols on a spatial array and unique alchemical products just to have a unique visual appeal for thepetitors was akin to burning money away for a bit of warmth. But the organizers of the events knew this was all worth it. For todays event, they had already warned the audience about not using the audiovisual artefacts to record the fight scenes. The colosseums security had already confiscated a lot of those artefacts that the rankers had tried to slip into the colosseum with as well. This was so that the organizers could see the recordings of each fight on a separate array disk. The fights would be spectrally recorded, allowing the viewers to relive the fight as it happened through lifelike spectral projection. Pre-booking money for the fight recordings had already been collected from all over Edinburgh. And with seating tickets ten times more expensive than normal, the colosseums administration was practically swimming in the pool of Extols and Eddies. A bit of expenditure on fireworks, array operation, and other visual effects was no biggie. Drin was a solid-stage Ace ranker. With a medium build and a stature that was neither tall nor short, he looked insignificant andcked overwhelming presence in the ring. But his 20ish something appearance attested to his talent as a ranker. This is troublesome. I could have entered the ce normally. Drin sighed as he walked out of the spatial array. Although he was trying to walk normally, he could feel that his centre of gravity had been a bit altered. His body felt heavy. And his blurred vision was slowly returning to normalcy. These side effects were caused by the spatial array. The side effects were only temporary and would wear out after a couple of minutes. But that didnt mean Drin would like them. As a result of his mood, he didnt wave at his fan booth. But that in turn made his fans cheer for him even louder. Chapter 514 Titus Tournament Begins P2 Chapter 514 Titus Tournament Begins P2 Drin Dawn has fought many battles and bested a lot of tough fighters to reach this ce. Of course, you guys remember his epic fight with dius began recounting the deeds performed by Drin in his journey to bing the finalist of the Titus tournament. That made the guy even more stressed because he didnt enjoy being in the limelight or being fawned upon by the masses in such a manner. But then he remembered the prize money and decided to put up with dius hype about him. Drin was a human. His ck hair reached to his chin. A loose bunch of hair on the side of his face. The rest of his hair was tied in a ponytail. He had ck eyes and a slender, square-shaped face. Drin had worn a ck coat and brown cargo pants that looked like a mortal apron but werent. He was wearing long boots that had runic details over them, enabling the onlookers to realize that they were ranked artefacts. Even though he had Dawn in his name, Drin gave aloof vibes, making people realize that sometimes names dont tell theplete picture about a person. The guy kept his head down and his hands behind his back. He stood seriously while he waited for dius to finish talking about him. Now lets hear a word or two from our championship contenders mouth. Drin, please tell us, how has your journey been so far. And are you looking forward to winning the championship? ? dius invited Drin to speak up and address the crowd. He didnt have to move anywhere or raise his voice. An array had appeared where he stood. This array was designed to project his live spectral image over the colosseums aerial space, which was ten times the size of his original. His voice was also set to get amplified so that the audience could hear him loud and clear. Drin felt this was such a drag. He sighed and looked above him at the bright sky that seemed void and empty to him. I I thank all of those who have supported me and cheered for me all this while. I am not as glorious as you might think I am. Sigh! Im just a man looking to win prize money for my own reasons. Drin looked nkly at the sky and spoke. There was a certain air of loneliness that surrounded his visage, which was felt by the audience and the organizers alike. But Drin did not pay attention to the mood of the audience. He looked straight at the booth that was dedicated to his fanbase before speaking up once again. The battles I won so far were all due to my persistence. Still, Im grateful for the support you have shown me so far. Drin looked like he had remembered something and smiled mirthlessly to himself. He carried on with his speech while maintaining that same smile that wasnt a smile. This is the first time any of my deeds have received encouragement and support. Frankly, it would have been the happiest moment of my life if even one person was cheering for me. Thats how desperate I was for recognition. So you can imagine my surprise and unbelief at the fact that so many of you are calling my name with such excitement. It is gratifying and scary at the same time. Scary because I fear I might disappoint you. Drin said, and suddenly his face turned stoic. He bowed a bit in front of his fan booth and said his final words. No matter what happens in the finals, Ill always keep this memory safe inside my head. Also, Ill try to live up to your expectations with every shred of bone and every drop of blood left in my body. Please give me strength through your cheers. Thank you. Drin said and stood straight. It took him a while to realize that the ever-noisy Colosseum had grown quiet in the middle of his speech, after listening to his heartfelt words.a??a ??????? p! Then one p was heard from somewhere. It was followed by another series of ps somewhere else. Soon the entire Colosseum became even wilder than before. Drin Dawn! Drin Dawn! Drin Dawn! Drins name was heard all over the colosseum. Not just his fan booth. Drin looked at the audience while turning 360 degrees in his position. He pursed his lips and waved his hands at the people waving at him. Drin realized that he should have stuck with the Hello and thank you that he had nned previously. The limelight he so abhorred was shining brightly on him because of his speech. Drin took a long breath after he realized his mistake. He shook his head and wished that the audience would shift their focus to someone else. Drins wish soon got fulfilled. Because dius summoned another participant. The same procedure was repeated. Every participant that was introduced afterwards received the same kind of treatment. Each of them was weed with enthusiasm by the crowd. Since Drin had set the bar for speech so high, the rest of the participants followed in his footsteps and poured their hearts out in front of their audience. It wasnt long before the 16th participants introduction was over. It was now time to introduce the 17th participant, that was Tuan Aag. dius did his part and spoke volumes about Tuans achievements in the tournament. He set the right atmosphere for Tuans epic entrance and activated the spatial array that was in his control. A distraught-looking man appeared at the center of the battle ring. He was holding a bottle of booze in his hand. His eyes appeared dead. His expression looked like he was lost on his way and was about to ask for direction from someone else. Tuan had put on a pair of ranked shoes with the symbol of Phoenix etched onto them. Long yet baggy cargo pants he wore carried runic symbols that made thempatible with the fire element mana he cast. The loose and frail sleeveless jacket he wore for his torso did a poor job of covering his chest. dius was a bit stumped looking at Tuans condition right now. However, he carried on with his duties and concluded his introduction with the appropriate words before asking Tuan to speak. Me? Do you want to hear something from me, a broken man? What can I offer you guys apart from empty words and a shit ton of my sorrow? Hahahaha! Tuan opened his speech with wildughter that didnt sound joyous at all. Chapter 515 Spice Chapter 515 Spice Me? Do you want to hear something from me, a broken man? What can I offer you guys apart from empty words and a shit ton of my sorrow? Hahahaha! Tuan opened his speech with wildughter that didnt sound joyous at all. He then drank from his Frostfoam bottle till it was empty before breaking it on the ground. Mr Tuan, no littering on this sacred ground of warriors. dius said with a face that screamed he was not happy with the way Tuan was behaving in front of his audience. This event was going to get recorded. Its recordings were to be sold throughout the kingdom. He cared about the events image after all. Hahahaha! The sacred ground of warriors. No littering allowed you say. Adept dius, forgive me for saying this. But I dont recall you calling someone out because they chopped off their opponents limbs. dius had a blue vein popped on his forehead when he heard Tuan speak. This was supposed to be an event about people fighting. Now because of one guy, it had turned into a moral dilemma. Mr Tuan, chopping off limbs and other body parts, spitting of blood, and other such instances wouldnt be considered littering because they are part and parcel of thepetition. Your heavy drinking and breaking of your ale bottle, however, cant be considered part of the championship, can it? I suggest you join a drinkingpetition if you want people to celebrate the way you drink. dius spoke without any flinch in his voice. Tuan seemed to have been thinking a bit. He then hid his face behind his stretched palm before replying in a voice that sounded shaky, as if he was crying You you are right, sir dius. Im sorry for my rude behaviour. Guess, Im just looking to vent these feelings of frustration I have. As he uncovered his face, Tuan said. One could see that his eyes had suddenly turned watery. His facial expressions also indicated that he was about to cry. dius thought he should apprehend Tuan and possibly kick him out of thepetition. The guy wasnt steady. He was just beginning to walk in that direction. Just then, he received a voice message. dius, dont do anything, you idiot. This is a spice we shouldnt miss out on. Do you even understand the entertainment value of such a scene? The Extols well earn this time will soar through the roof. Hehehe! Keep going. Oh! Even better. Make that Tuan guy talk more. dius stopped when he heard the voice. He sighed and returned to his position before speaking up. Tuan boy, I see that you are in a lot of pain. Although this battleground has witnessed many men cry and scream in physical pain, you are probably the first person I have seen that has been hurt by something much more profound. None of us can help you deal with whats creating a mess in your head and eating away at your heart. But we can lend you our ears. At least Id like to. Dear guests, what are your thoughts? Do we lend this man our time and listen to his story or do we continue with ourpetition? ? As the host of events at the Colosseum, dius asked in a serious voice that no one had heard before. His voice was enough to do half the job. The other half was taken care of by Tuans mind-blowing acting performance.a??a ??????? Tuan we are here for you. Tell us what happened This Adept ranker promises you, Aag boy. If you were ckmailed for being one of the finalists of the tournament, I swear to Tuan, my heart breaks when The audience started imbuing mana in their voices, addressing Tuan and showing their support. The mortals too cheered and made a cacophony of noises their way, that collectively sounded meaningless. Thepetitors, on the other hand, have a variety of emotions. Some wanted to listen to what Tuan had to say. Some others were neutral about it. While some just wanted to get on with thepetition. Introducing each participant and making themmunicate with the audience had already consumed a significant amount of time. Then somepetitors wanted to listen to what Tuan had to say for their own beneift. So that they can use it against him if and when he is pitted against them. Yet, nopetitor came forward to stop Tuan from speaking up any further. They all looked at serious-looking dius and decided to reign in their reactions. Alright. Thats enough. I, dius, in my capacity as the host of this years event, thank the audience for showing its support to one of our tournaments participants. diuss brief speech quieted down the restless crowd once again. The host of the event then looked at Tuan before speaking up. Tuan, you have about five minutes to say whatever you have to say. Then we shall start the tournament, with you or without you. Is that understood? dius narrowed his eyes on Tuan and released his Adept rank mana sense. It wasnt meant to harm him. But warn him. Tuan nodded at the guy and released a fire snake at the broken shards of the bottle. The shards were heated rapidly before dispersing. Tuan coughed a bit and shook his head as if he was trying to shake the drunken haze he was currently gripped by. Then he looked at his dedicated fan booth before replying in the same shaky voice. First of all, Im deeply sorry to all my supporters about losing my self-control at such a crucial time in my life. But know that it wasnt intentional. Tuan said and wiped the tears from both of his eyes with his hands before they could roll off of his cheeks. He then made a few nasal sounds of taking deep breaths before continuing to speak up. I I dont know how to say this. Hahaha! I feel humiliated by this situation. Im sure half of my supporters would change sides if they knew what had happened to me. Tuan said and started pacing about on the ground with his hands behind his back. His 10-meter giant live spectral image was following his movement above him in the space too. The thing is I was cucked by my wife. Chapter 516 Covering Flaws Chapter 516 Covering ws "The thing is I was cucked by my wife." Tuan smiled mirthlessly towards his fan booth which had grown silent like the rest of the stadium. Once he was sure that he had the desired effect, he continued. "I and my wife Tista had been happily living in a small home that I thought was sufficient for both of us. The budget we had for both of us was always tight. But we had only basic needs. Who cares about money if you have love to support you, right?" Tuan shook his head as ifing to terms with the answer he had found to his question. He then sighed and continued. "Then suddenly, my wifeins that we need to relocate. You must find a better ce, a higher status, and better ranking resources for both of us. Better of everything. I I didn''t know what to do. My biggest reason for entering thepetition was to win money for this same reason. I wanted money because my Tista had demanded it from me. What was I supposed to do? Say no to her. Never! Hahaha! I will even fight the butcher of Osan Woods for her. Taking part in the Titus tournament was the least I could do." Tuan said and looked above him, trying to mimic the performance of Drin that he had just seen. He then started telling the audience about the betrayal that he faced from Tista. The butcher had an easier time narrating the events because they were all true. Of course, he added a bit of ir to his style to make them stand out more. A sparkling form of bullshittery! Tuan''s performance as a heartbroken man ruined by his circumstances was impable. His speech along with his bodynguage created a distinct impact on the audience''s collective psyche. Of course, he kept the fact that Tista and his lover had been killed. He just said that they ran away from the city of Arangar, which was true. "So this is my story as a failed husband and failed ranker who couldn''t even keep his emotions in check. Once again, I''m sorry for my behaviour and the fact that you guys had to listen to a sad story when you hade here to be entertained." Tuan bowed in front of his fan booth first. Then he bowed in all four directions as well. He then took out the dual swords from his storage and coated them in his fire element mana before speaking up. "I admit that my mental health is fragile. I also admit that the personal tragedy that had struck me out of nowhere is going to affect my performance as apetitor in some way or the other. But rest assured, I''ll give it my all in this tournament. If previously, I had decided to bring out my 100 percent in the battles that are about toe, then this time, I''ll exceed my limitations. Unlike some people who are afraid of not meeting your expectations, I will surpass them. I, Tuan Aag, will rise over my tragedy." Tuan then used one of his swords to sh at his wrist, drawing blood. He then dripped his other hand''s four fingers in the blood that was gushing out before using them to create four simple yet bloody stripes on his chest before saying out loud. "People present here as well as those watching from afar. Hear my pledge. I, Tuan Aag, will either win this tournament or die trying. There''s no in-between." Tuan tucked the swords away in his storage. Then he imbued his mana on his wound and it stopped bleeding. His enhanced healing ability kicked in and the wound got closed faster than it had appeared. Drin narrowed his eyes on Tuan when he heard him speak about some rankers in thepetition having performance anxiety. Drin couldn''t help but think over his statement as a result. ''Hahaha! This is some entertaining footage we got here. Good job, dius.'' The voice spoke in dius''s ears. This time it took a bit longer for people to recover from their state of silence. Most of the male rankers didn''t know if they should cheer for the guy for his conviction or offer him a few encouraging words to console him. Most of the female rankers and mortals alike in the audience felt like their hearts had been squeezed by such a betrayal. Some of them even wished they coulde forward then and there and try to mend Tuan''s broken heart by being with him. Then the audiences'' reactions kicked in all at once. People started chanting Tuan''s name with even greater vigour than any of thepetitors had suggested. It was a tall im for Tuan to dere that he would win the tournament. But the audience always loved the idea of a dark horse. So they started cheering Tuan''s name all at once. There was indeed a small group of rankers who made fun of Tuan and taunted him. But their voices were drowned by the overwhelming support of the rest of the rankers. They were busy showering Tuan up with their praises and well wishes. ''This should be enough to cover my ws. Now I just have to win.'' Tuan said to himself and joined the rest of thepetitors in line in the end. He was quite proud of the showmanship he had just disyed. What he didn''t know was the fact that the act he had just pulled off was going to make Tuan extremely popr in the future. Especially among thedies. Even dius was a bit impressed by Tuan''s way of handling his mental burden. He nodded at Eren before continuing with the next opponent. Tuan was back to his usual self when all of the 32 finalists were ounted for. In response, he gazed at dius, who didn''t wait long enough to resume the Titus tournament. "Now that the formalities are out of the way, it''s about time we started with the tournament." dius introduced a brand-new array that was not visible before. It looked like this too was a spatial teleportation array. ''Looks like we are heading somewhere.'' Tuan made a quick note of the events. Chapter 517 Rules of the Game Chapter 517 Rules of the Game "Hmm. What should I do now?" Tuan asked as he looked around himself. He found himself in an abandoned city that featured ruined, old houses and buildings. The city looked like a relic from the past long forgotten. He was sent here along with all the other contestants after standing inside the grand array activated by dius at the end of his speech. ************************ The rules of the game were not too difficult to understand. The Titus tournament was going to run for seven days. Each day of the tournament wouldst from sunrise to sundownC a total of twelve hours. Participants were only allowed to stay active and hunt during these 12 hours. Trying to sneak in on one another outside the 12 hours would cause the offender to get kicked from thepetition. Each participant had been given a wristband that would keep track of their location and status. It would also keep track of the Titus points they would earn each day. There were two ways to earn Titus points. The first was to go outside the city and hunt the array-generated spectral copies of mana beasts and monsters. Thepetitors would earn Titus points ording to the level of difficulty of the mana beasts and monsters. The mana beasts and monsters would range from Novice rank to Adept rank. The contenders would get drops and Titus points for ying the targets. The drops would contain healing potions, artefacts, alchemy products, and other daily necessities that may help the rankers during their stay during these seven days. Titus points would be deposited immediately on the rankers'' wristbands after they had in the targets. They could also team up to kill Adept level targets. The total Titus points awarded for ying such a target would then get divided among the participants that were part of the raid. The co-op raids were more lucrative as the Adept level target had a much higher Titus point value even if it got divided among multiple rankers. But it was a bit risky to run co-op raids. That''s because of the second way thepetitors could earn the Titus points. By taking hold of others'' wristbands and crushing them,petitors could gain all the Titus points their victims had on their wristbands. Consequently, if and when co-op raids were sessful, the biggest risk apetitor had came from their mates who had just fought with them. Solo mana beast and monster hunts were rtively less lucrative. But they didn''t contain any risk of betrayal. Plus, one didn''t have to depend on anybody as long as they chose their targets well. Fights were prohibited both during the day and at night in the ruined city. One could use any ruined house for their upation during these seven days. They could also make use of any hidden drops the houses may have. The use of items obtained from drop sites would not be frowned upon. The entire ruined city and the hunting area outside it were under observation by a giant observation array setup. The audience outside was able to see their favouritepetitor in action through various POVs. Or they could watch the collective feed that was getting projected on the aerial space of the colosseum. The most significant battle at that time would be spectrally unfolding inside the colosseum ring, just as it was in the ruined city. In short, the event was a pay-per-view event designed to cater to the various viewing needs of the audience. There were 32petitors inside the ruined city. They were allowed to use any strategy they wanted, provided they did not breach any rule of thepetition. At the end of each day, eachpetitor would receive a message on their wristbands. The alert would tell them their position in the tournament ording to the Titus points they had. This also meant that the biggest earners of Titus points ran the risk of being targeted by otherpetitors. Meaning the top earners needed to watch their backs the most. Thepetitors also had a self-quit option they could use through their wristbands in case of any emergency. Apart from that, the organizers of the Titus organization held no responsibility for the safety of the contenders. Throughout the seven days, the spectators in the colosseum would visit the venue at sunrise and leave after sunset. dius would be activelymenting on the most eye-catching battle that was getting projected on the colosseum''s battleground live. The entire city of Arangar''s schedule had been adopted to suit the tournament''s timing. This was the biggest cash cow for the local vendors and the city''s administration alike. Of course, they would make the spectators'' convenience their priority. ****************** ''Do you sense anything?'' Eren asked to be the only voice he could count on in the tournament. He got his answer shortly afterwards. ''Hmm. This looks like a real city that had been pulled into a subspace. I guess the person who did this must be at least what you call a Grandmaster ranker. Apart from that, hehe! Yes. The city is littered with various drops. I can sense your opponents in the city as well, struggling to make sense of their surroundings just as you are. Do you want me to tell you where they are?'' Tuan couldn''t help shing a smirk when he realized that Alephee understood his intentions. He responded promptly. ''One step at a time, Alephee. First, I''ll need reliable weapons. Tuan''s dual swords don''t suit me. I''ll need a pair of weapons that can aid me in the close and mid-range. Can you sense anything like that in the drops hidden in the city?'' Tuan decided to cheat his way through thepetition right from the get-go. He knew that Alephee''s soul sense was the most powerful tool he had at his disposal in this ce. Unlike the mana sense of thepetitors that were restricted by the arrays, her soul sense couldn''t even be detected by the array system. ''I found one such hidden drop that can help you get what you want. But you need to hurry. There''s another ranker approaching the same spatial array that may give you your choice of weapons.'' Alephee warned Tuan and provided him with directions. Thetter narrowed his eyes and disappeared from his positionC leaving a zing trail behind in his wake. Chapter 518 Katalina Reich

Chapter 518 Katalina Reich

"Hehe! My lucky streak continues." As she approached the nearest drop that she had found by ident, Katalina rejoiced. When theirpetitors walked inside the grand array activated by dius in the colosseum, they appeared in the ruined city at random ces away from each other. Katalina was no exception to the rule either. But the ce she had found herself in was an old inn. When she explored the premises, she found a fresh scroll sitting on a giant desk that didn''t seem to be part of the ruined setting. The scroll was nk. But it projected the location of the chest drop when Katalina imbued her mana into it. This was how she was able to locate the drop despite the restricted mana sense that only allowed her to sense a bit further than her eyesight''s range. Katalina Haidern was a young Ace ranker that looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had off-blonde hair that was a bit longer than her shoulder line. Her ruby red eyes would be the centre of attraction if someone got close to her. She wore a tight crop top that highlighted her ample bosom. Her denim pants were worn below her navel, exposing her shapely belly in the open. The stature of 5.9ft made Katalina a rtively tall woman. Her long legs, wide hips, and slim but well-defined waist added to her feminine charms. Katalina was wielding a rapier in her right hand as she ran towards the drop using her wind-element movement spell. She figured that other rankers would be busy finding their way outside of the city. Not everybody was able to be lucky like her andnd in the same ce where the drop location''s clue was. So she decided to make full use of the situation and get her hands on the drop before things got messy. Just when she thought that there was nobody in the vicinity, her limited mana sense picked up on a ranker''s presence. The ranker was heading towards the same location as her. ''How how is this possible? Are there multiple clues in the city that point towards the same chest? Damn it.'' Katalina realized that she spoke about her lucky streak way too early. She concluded that the tournament''s organizers would have nted multiple clues that point towards the same drops, making the rankers aware of each other''s possessions. This was so that they would have designs on the rankers who got them, creating temptation for confrontation. Katalina''s deductions were indeed correct. But it wasn''t this way in her case. Her opponent was not dependent on the drop''s clues. ***************** "I suggest you back off, prettydy. Today, I''m not fucking around." Tuan addressed Katalina when they met each other near the same drop site. There wasn''t anything visible to the naked eye. But both knew that there was a spatial array that contained a treasure of significance. Katalina didn''t know what it was. But Tuan did, thanks to Alephee. "Hehehehe! Don''t think you are entitled to have your way with thedies just because your wife betrayed you. I''m sorry for your situation. And I''ll not judge. But I''d consider you to be a dense man if you think your words alone would make me back off from getting what''s rightfully mine. I came here first, you know." Katalina said with a bright smile on her face while clenching her weapon''s hilt. She brought up Tuan''s wife so that he would get affected by the topic and show her a chink in his armour. Something she could use to overwhelm him. No ranker would want to fight with another ranker this early in the game. That''s because there was no gain to be had doing that. Nobody had even earned a dime of Titus points yet. Only a few people were bold enough to leave the city straight away and start their hunt. Most of thepetitors were busy carefully nning their strategies while paying close attention to their surroundings. And yet there was someone like Tuan Aag who seemed eager to attack Katalina. She would have suggested a split of rewards. But something about her opponent''s gaze told her he wasn''t interested in a settlement. In response to Katalina''s remark, Tuan didn''t give any verbal response. He just gave a simple smile that bordered on being psychopathic. The next thing she knew, a meteor-like object was heading in her direction at breakneck speed. "This bloody cash" Katalina didn''t get toplete her sentence. That''s because the meteor-like object that was Tuan himself was already upon her. The first thought in her head after seeing Tuan approach her was to change her position. Too bad, Tuan had already taken countermeasures for it by raining down fireballs in every direction. The rain of fireballs was dense and there was hardly any safe passage for her amidst it. ? ?? ??-?? ???. ??? The fireballs themselves were not that scary. But she had an inkling that by the time she dealt with those fireballs or dodged them, Tuan would be able to tackle her just fine. In that case, she would have lost the advantage of creating a strong defence around herself. ''This bastard. How is he able to execute spells in such a way?'' Katalina cursed Tuan in her head as she held her ground and raised her rapier in front of her in defence. She had another brief thought just before Tuan made contact with her. ''I have seen this cuck bastard''s battles. Although his usage of Fire Wings was indeed creative, he wasn''t this fierce. His mastery over the way of the elements has increased by that much in such a short span?'' Katalina braced herself and waited for the point of impact. "Haaaaaah!" Boom! Katalina screamed in a loud voice just before Tuan''s attack made contact with her. In addition to bolstering her defensive spell, it also boosted her courage. For some reason, Katalina felt pressured by Tuan''s attack-first-ask-questionster attitude even though she hadn''t fought him before. Katalina also cursed Tuan''s wife because she thought he was being so aggressive against women because of her. Chapter 519 The Unwise Owl

Chapter 519 The Unwise Owl

Boom. Katalina created a windshield in front of her as she looked up only for it to be met with a huge kic force generated by Tuan''s attack. The windshield held on for a few moments. But that didn''t prevent the shocks of impact from reaching the surroundings and eventually the ground on which the female closebat expert stood. A distinct crater was formed with Katalina standing in the middle of it. When the dust settled she saw Tuan standing on top of her solidified windshield with a pair of swords in either hand. Katalina''s hand that she had used to support her windshield felt a bit heavy. Some of the pressure that Tuan''s attack had generated found a way to affect her arm. ''Mo monster!'' Katalinamented in her mind. But her actions didn''t make it seem that she was overwhelmed by Tuan. She didn''t get flustered and raised her other hand before speaking up. "If you think that your mindless aggression can scare me, think again." A bunch of wind element spikes grew from the shield and tried to attack Tuan only to see that it was his afterimage that they had struck. Katalina spread her mana sense and realized what she needed to do. nk! A distinct metallic sound rang in the surroundings as Katalina''s rapier was met with one of Tuan''s swords. With his other weapon, the fire-element ranker tried to strike at his opponent''s neck. There was no hesitation in his attack. Suddenly, some more wind spikes grew from the ground itself and acted as a block in Tuan''s attack path. Tuan''s other sword was met with the trunk of the wind spike that was broader from the bottom. By the time he ran his fire-element mana through his weapon and sliced through the block, Katalina retreated to a safe distance. "Katalina is it? That was a smart move and use of spells. Mind listening to my advice?" Tuan didn''t approach Katalina immediately. After gripping his swords firmly, he lowered them in a rxed manner before looking at the female closebat expert. "What is it?" While increasing her vignce against Tuan, Katalina responded. Thetter chuckled before speaking up. "You said mindless aggression doesn''t scare you, right? To be honest, that''s exactly what a sane person should be scared of. You don''t realize how liberating it feels to experience ''mindless aggression''. One can get addicted. I know I can. Hahahaha! Then again, I get addicted to my vices easily. So there''s nothing new about it. Hehehe!" ? ?? ??-?? ???. ??? Katalina now truly believed Tuan''s wife had hurt him on such a level that it had affected him as her husband and ranker as well. There were cases of rankers achieving extraordinary feats after suffering through tragedies after all. His progressing further in his fire element attainment wouldn''te as a shock to anyone after knowing about his life experiences. That''s because the way of the element was dependent on the ranker''s emotions. But that also meant that Tuan was mentally unstable during this period. He was talking about things that partially did make sense. But then he would wander off on a different tangent, making Katalina feel like she was hearing something random. Katalina regretted engaging with such a time bomb this early in thepetition. She also realized what Tuan was trying to say with his speech after looking him in the eyes. He was warning her that all his moves would resemble kamikaze attacks. But it was toote. The die had already been cast. She couldn''t back down and lose her image. That''s because Katalina was sure that her fight with Tuan was going to be aired outside. They were possibly the only two fools who would engage with each other so soon. Katalina took a deep breath and decided that it was her time to take the initiative. Untamed aggression is better handled with tamed aggression after all. Katalina encircled Tuan using her movement spell and executed wind-de shes at him from all directions. This made Tuan jump in the air to avoid the flying des without breaking a sweat. But Katalina had anticipated his exit strategy and was ready for his move. Hoot! A guttural mana beast sound was released in the surroundings as arge white owl was seen approaching Eren from above the skies. It agitated so much air with his flight that it created a wind pressure. The beast was a wind-element entity. The beast''s body was made of wind-element mana. It had abined wingspan of about 6 meters. It had sharp ck ws that were visible amid his porcin white feathers. Its sharp blue eyes were locked on Tuan as he flew in his direction without any care in the world. It was as if Tuan was eager to be wed by the bird. ''Heh! Thess relies on her beast contract spell. Normally, I would try to escape and deal with the rest of her traps. Too bad, I got to act my part.'' Tuan thought to himself and cast his go-to spell. Katalina was preparing to meet with Tuan from the side with her wind des ready to be released at a moment''s notice. But to her surprise and delight, she found that Tuan didn''t change his trajectory. He set out on his way to confront the contract beast. But soon her expression turned grimacey. That''s because she saw Tuan using his fire snakes as asso to grip her beast''s legs just above its ws. He then used it as a hanger to swing away from his previous position. Tuan was swung high in the air as a result of his creative use of the fire snakes. He was at a height that was unattainable with his movement-spell-powered jump. So he decided to make full use of it. "Fire Wings!" Before the beast could figure out what had happened to its prey, the unwise owl felt a strong force colliding against its back. All it could do was cry in pain as it approached the ground without any control over its flight. Chapter 520 Anduril And Lnvi Blaze

Chapter 520 Anduril And Lnvi ze

Kieee! Katalina''s contract beast released a shriek that didn''t sound very owl-like. The fire-element mana of Tuan''s meteor-like attack had struck the beast''s back with such momentum and force that it crashed to the ground without making any attempts with itsrge wings to stabilize its flight. Boom! The beastnded on the same spot where Tuan had stood earlier. It had crashed right in the middle of a previously existing crater that had been made by Katalina''s wind des colliding against each other from multiple directions. That crater only widened after the fallen bird made contact with the ground. Boom! Another small crater was formed beside the crater made by the beast''s fall. But unlike the beast, his attacker was seen standing upright when the dust settled. His swords drawn and his fire-element mana still circting throughout his body. Hisrge Fire Wings added anotheryer of intimidation to his image. ''This is do all guys turn monsters after their girls ditch them?'' Katalina wondered as she saw Tuan while maintaining her distance from him. She felt her contract''s beast''s condition through her connection with it and found out that it wasn''t doing well. The owl''s white feathers were burning. Tuan''s fire element mana had prated his mana body and was affecting its foundation. It was corrupting the wind mana that was acting as the body''s primal element. "Tu Tuan, can we talk?" With stress lines visible on her forehead, Katalina asked. She would be foolish to engage with such a monster if the rewards were not worth the efforts. She wasn''t even sure she could fight with the guy on equal grounds anymore. Tuan didn''t turn back. He stayed in his position only to see that Katalina had dispersed her beast contract spell. The beast was in pain. Such wounds on its mana body were going to affect its soul as well. So its master decided that there was no need to make those injuries more severe. Katalina clenched her fists and spoke up. "That drop. I give up my im on it. In exchange for co-operation in raids. What what do you think?" Katalina couldn''t back down without gaining anything in return due to her viewers watching her move. Furthermore, she could not continue battling with the maniac either. So, she decided to give up the im on the reward to gain him as a raid partner. This way, her image won''t be ruined. "Hmm. That''s a smart suggestion. I can''t help but agree. Hehe! But we''ll talkter, miss. Let me get my reward first." Tuan responded without giving the suggestion much of a thought. He then started walking in a particr direction without worrying about Katalina. Thetter felt a bit aggravated by the fact that she had to take a step back. But the next moment, she took a breath of relief at the fact that she didn''t have to engage in confrontation with the fire monster in front of her. Eren scanned the region with his mana sense and found an anomaly at a ce which didn''t generate any feedback for him. He walked towards that area and imbued his mana through the ground. A pair of identical swords appeared out of thin air and were seen levitating in front of Tuan immediately after he did what he did. These were fire-element swords meant to be used by battle mages like Tuan''s current fighting style. They supported close range as well as mid-range attacks. The swords had an orange-yellow tint on them as if they had juste out of the smithy. It was as if yellow and orange fires had been condensed to make these swords. They had fire-element runes etched onto them close to the hilt that attested to their nearly wlesspatibility with anything that was rted to fire. The weapons had a simple hilt that offered an optimal grip. The crescent guard of each sword was inscribed with hybrid runes to make the sword lightweight. These hybrid runes enabled the weapons to be used for close-quarters and mid-rangebat. These runes alone made the weapons exceptionally exquisite. Eren gripped both the swords in either of his hands and imbued them with his mana. Then he swung them a few times to get a better feel for them. He was immediately satisfied with the weapons. They seemed like the right match for him to carry out fire-element attacks. ''These des are exceptionally lightweight despite the mana-influenced metal that is used in their construction. They are perfect for my closebat moves. Plus, the spell that is inscribed onto them'' Eren channelled his fire-element mana through the weapons and swung them to release the flying shes at an empty area in front of him. Yet, he couldn''t see anything but two blurred and hazy crescent-shaped lines travelling towards the ground. Immediately afterwards the ground in front of Eren caught fire in a stretched X format. This was the effect of his weapons'' shes that he had performed just now. And yet, the shes released by the weapons using fire-element mana were sopressed and un-mana-like that he could barely sense them. The cut the swords had generated on the ground was exceptionally distinct even though Tuan had barely put any mana into them. Plus, the fire ignited by fire-element mana had the property of elerated burning. It meant that the attacks would inflict more damage over time in a short span. ''Hehe! This is like me trying to copy Al''s attacks. Real or fake, it doesn''t matter if the results are the same. In any case, they sure are keepers. I''ll let Tuan announce that he had gifted these des to me.'' The butcher said to himself and swung his weapons a few more times and used the inscribed spell some more. He named the spell Invi ze because of its effects. His excitement for the weapons was natural. He hadn''t wielded elemental weapons of such quality in his previous life. Plus, the butcher now had two sets of weapons for his two elements. And both weapons had their own spells inscribed on them. The butcher would have never thought that he would be able to diversify his attacks so much in this timeline in such a short time. Tuan kept the weapons in his storage after ying with them a few more times. He couldn''t help carrying a cheerful glee on his face. Coming from a guy like him, it looked downright maniacal. ? ?? ??-?? ???. ??? Anduril. That''s what he had named his new set of weapons. Chapter 521 Monster Drops

Chapter 521 Monster Drops

? ?? ??-?? ???. ??? "You done checking on those rewards that originally belonged to me?" Katalina asked with scorn on her face after she saw Tuan walking toward her. Thetter chuckled before responding. "They were not meant to be much use to you anyway. Those weapons are suited to my element." Tuan said and stood a few meters away from Katalina. The afternoon sun was upon them, which was directly hitting Tuan''s eyes. So he used his hand like a canopy and started looking for a shade. The butcher soon found a ruined building that looked like it was some sort of infirmary in its prime. So he started walking towards the ruined infirmary before telling the female closebat expert to follow him. "You don''t follow Titus tournaments, do you? The drops are not fixed. They change as per the ranker''s element and style" Tuan raised his eyebrows before realization dawned on him. He had thought that Alephee announcing the ideal drop meant that the weapons were fixed. Alephee zeroed in on the type as per his needs and let the array used for drops handle the elemental part of the weapon. "Anyway, what''s done is done. You can keep those weapons. But you must also help me get the next drop if and when we find it." Katalina red her nose as she spoke. It was obvious from her speech and demeanour that she wouldn''t take no for an answer. Tuan consulted with a voice in his head before nodding with a sigh. As if it was going to be such a troublesome job for him. Katalina''s mood improved when he received an affirmative nod from Tuan. Only then did she start taking her co-op with Tuan seriously. "You don''t look like it, but you are a reliable team yer, aren''t you?" The female closebat sighed after she threw a rhetorical at Tuan. She continued speaking as she followed him. "Since the battle is over, there would be no viewing angle. Those heavyweights must have started engaging with the monsters and mana beasts by now. When will we start our raids?" Tuan didn''t reply immediately. He kept on walking and reached the ruined infirmary. The butcher only spoke when he was sitting on the steps that led to the upper floor of the building. "Katalina Er Can I call you Kat? I''ll call you Kat." Tuan said matter-of-factly as he retrieved another bottle of Frostfoam from his storage. He started drinking in the middle of the day. It was his way of celebrating the ownership of such exquisite weapons. Or more like, he was just finding an excuse to drink to curb his cravings for a smoke. Tuan adjusted himself after drinking Frostfoam and carried on. "Kat, we have seven days to go. We have barely entered into the finals. Why the rush? I can bet you all the Extols I have right now. This is because the top earners of the first day and the top earners of the fourth day would be different as a whole. And those top earners won''t be the same on the seventh day either. You know why that is, right?" Tuan asked Kat and threw the ss at her. Thetter caught it and looked at it dubiously. Then she stared at him for a brief moment before following his example. She immediately felt the chill induced by the Frostfoam followed by her mana circuits getting stimted. With a pleasant sensation coursing through her veins, she opened her mouth to respond. "Rankers targeting the top rankers of course. I know what you are trying to say here. That earning significant Titus points from the first day is a liability. We would be targeted that much harder. But we can''t avoid earning points forever, Tuan. Have you looked at your drop? The top earners would be the ones who would be ying more powerful monsters and mana beasts, which in turn would give bigger drops as rewards. We''d be left behind if we stayed on the fence for too long, and other rankers would strengthen themselves with the drops. We can''t ck because of this. We shouldn''t." Katherine said, and threw the Frostform back at Tuan. Thetter nodded to show that he agreed with her before continuing. "You are right. We can''t ck around. So we won''t. But we don''t necessarily have to have more ambitious targets. If the drops are what you are worried about, I''m sure we can find them in the city if we just look hard enough." Eren said and continued to drink. Katalina cursed him for not offering her another round in her mind before continuing. "So what is your n? Run around the city while the rest of thepetitors are out, earning points and better drops?" Kat shook her head in denial. She took a long breath and continued. "Plus, the drops in the safe area and the drops in the hunting area would bepletely different in terms of how rankers can use them. Maybe you got lucky with the drop just now. But the drops in the safe area generally pale inparison to drops in the hunting area. The drops here would only contain normal items like weapons, support artefacts and potions. But the drop in the hunting area might offer one-time use items in addition to normal items, effectively shifting power bnce." Tuan cursed his lips when he heard that. Frankly, he hadn''t paid attention to the tournament''s history. In his previous timeline he barely heard anything like this happening in the Nightshade duchy. So he informed Kat about it. "Er I am not aware of how the tournament usually unfolds. I guess the pattern would be the same every year even if the venue changed. So there are more advantages to staying active in the hunting area and collecting monster drops. Can you tell me how much of an advantage we are talking about when we collect monster dropspared to staying here in the city and taking a safe approach?" Chapter 522 Effects Of Total Control

Chapter 522 Effects Of Total Control

? ?? ??-??? ??, ?,?,? "Can you tell me how much of an advantage we are talking about when we collect monster dropspared to staying here in the city and taking a safe approach?" Tuan asked with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. Katalina hade to realize that her raid partner had entered the tournament without knowing anything about it. In his defence, he was too busy clearing his hit-list and practising the fire-element spells to his utmost to care about the tournament''s history. Katalina wasn''t aware of Tuan''s struggles. In addition, she did not care or want to know. Still, for her benefit, she decided to be patient with Tuan and replied to him while remaining calm. "Collecting monster drops has several advantages. For example, they might contain something like a one-time-use potion that significantly increases your strength, let''s say twofold. Obviously, there would be temporary repercussions for rankers using them. He won''t be able to stack it or use it the second time without making those repercussions permanent. But one-time use items like these are always handy to collect and keep handy in your storage. You never know when you will need them. These items would act aspetitors'' trump cards when they are in a pinch. And we are all going to be in a pinch soon orter in these seven days. It''s only a matter of when." Katalina said and sighed. Eren raised his eyebrows when understanding dawned on him. He realized how naive he was thinking he could use Alephee''s help. His initial goal was to collect multiple resources scattered as loots throughout the city to bolster his offensive and defensive capabilities, with Alephee''s soul sense. The strategy made sense to him because he wasn''t aware of the tournament''s facets. Thepetitors were forced to fight with the targets and each other from day one. After all, with an event like this, the organizers didn''t want to have dull days that could affect their viewership and affect their daily gains. Tuan didn''t want to take the risks if he could avoid them. But he couldn''t just sit around and let otherpetitors collect all the trump cards either. "Hmm. I guess you are right. We do need to start earning Titus points and monster drops then. But first, let me get the feel of the hunting area and do some recon on my own. These first two days, we would prioritize hunting and earning whatever we could find separately. This ce looks like it could be our base. Let''s meet here for two days and discuss our findings. How does that sound?" Tuan asked Katalina and handed her Frotfoam finally. There was only a mouthful left in it. But she practically snatched it from him as soon as he raised his hand and responded. "All right. And Tuan, let me tell you. Don''t try to double-cross me or else" Katalina asked while trying to sound menacing right after taking thest sip of Frostfoam. But the chill induced by the booze was so strong that her voice was shaky as if she was shivering to her teeth. So her warning sounded funny to Tuan. He chuckled before responding to her threats that weren''t threats to him. "Hehehe. Rx, Katalina. I would only double-cross someone who is set to win the tournament. As I said at the start of this tournament, I''ll do anything to win this farce I''ve put myself into to make it worth my time and effort. Frankly speaking, you can''t win this tournament." Katalina was frozen in her tracks when she heard how tant Tuan was in his speech. Thetter spoke some more before she could react and argue with him.? ??? a ???e? "I''m not trying to question your abilities as a ranker but your mindset, Katalina. Take what happened between us for example. I guess you cared more about how your stance was going to look to the audience watching us from outside when I told you to back off. After seeing how continued engagement with me was likely to harm you more, you came to a logical conclusion and made the right choice. Maybe it was a smart move. Maybe what you did was right for you. Sort of like cutting your losses early and turning your misfortunes into fortunes right? But have you considered that maybe that''s what I wanted you to believe with my aggression?" The butcher asked and retrieved a potion he had in his storage. It was the same multi-purpose potion that La had given him, which he would drink when he was in a pinch. After drinking the concoction, Tuan was revitalized and he didn''t need to put up a front anymore. **************** Tuan didn''t show it but he was tired from showing such explosiveness in such a short time in his duel against Katalina. There was one more factor to his fatigue that Katalina had overlooked. Total Control! Tuan had been using this support-type time-element spell from the very beginning of his battle. What it did was simple. It would allow the time-element mana to be mixed with all his other elemental spells and dy or expedite their effects and casting times. This was how he was able to overwhelm Katalina in such a short time. The spells he had performed against her and her contract beast were all strengthened by his time-element spells. Total Control reduced his other elemental spells'' casting times and limited their effects to be delivered within a short span, increasing their explosiveness and effectiveness. Tuan''s attainment in the fire element wasn''t as profound as Katalina thought it was. His time-element magic gave her that impression. In that regard, Total Control was the butcher''s most effective support type spell in his arsenal yet. It allowed him to gain full control of his spells and tap into all their potential. But the spell also increased Tuan''s mana expenditure. If it wasn''t for the support potion he had drunk earlier before using Total Control, he would have shown signs of fatigue much earlier. ****************** "You you were faking it. You made it look like it was so simple to you. You.. you rascal" Katalina raised her finger and pointed at Tuan in an using manner. Thetter chuckled and threw the empty vial of potion in the air. Beforementing, he sted the bottle and dispersed it with a small fireball. "You are missing my point, Kat. I was faking theck of fatigue that made you think engaging in battle with me was useful. But my aggression wasn''t all fake." The butcher stood up and summoned his new weapons in his hands. He smiled crookedly at the female closebat expert beforementing. "Try me if you want to." Chapter 523 The Switch Of Sanity

Chapter 523 The Switch Of Sanity

"Try me if you want to." Tuan asked and released his mana sense. This time, there was all his fierceness reflected in it. The Sin of Wrath had also yed a huge part in sharpening his aura to feel like a bloodthirsty sword. Katalina felt Tuan''s presence and made a gulping sound. She could see it in his eyes and through his presence that Tuan was even more capable of violence than he had previously shown. "Al alright. No need to intimidate me any further if it''s already working. Get to the point." Katalina said while folding her hands under her ample bosom. Tuan admired how quickly she recovered from being on the backfoot and came forward to talk to him in an equal manner. Tuan did what he was asked to do when he realized that Katalina was worth having as his raid partner. He called off his mana sense and stored his weapons away before continuing. "My point is, you need to be a bit crazy to achieve sess in life. You are not crazy obviously. And I''m not saying being pragmatic is always a bad thing. You may be able to limit your losses after analyzing the situation in your favour. But" Butcher said this before walking up to Katalina. For some reason, she reminded the butcher of the old friend he had in his past timeline. She was just like Katalina, fierce and logical at the same time. Hers was one of a few fond memories he had from his life that was feeling more and more like a dream these days for him. ? ?? ??-??? ??, ?,?,? Unfortunately, she was killed by her naivety in Eren''s past timeline. The butcher stood only an arm''s length away from Kat after walking up to her. He looked her in the eyes before speaking further. Yet, sanity is also one''s shackle, Katalina. And don''t get me wrong. I''m not liberated from the shackles of my sanity either. Just now I was considering staying in the ruined city and collecting all the drops while avoiding the hunting areapletely. It was a sane decision considering my situation. And yet, you could see the obvious w in it, can''t you? It''s all a matter of perspective that allows us to peek into the future. The difference between you and me is simple, Kat. I know how to turn the mental switch of my sanity on and off when I see the need to. Can you?" Tuan stared intently at Katalina and asked. She was affected by his presence and his words. The closebat expert couldn''t help herself from replying to his question by shaking her head in denial. Tuan nodded at Katalina beforementing. "Good. Self-realization is the starting point. Your inability to break free from sanity is why you can''t win. You need to find that switch and learn how to make it work for you. I''m not saying this just to make you drop the idea of backstabbing me. That is there. But no matter who they are, I want people who fight with me to be capable. My survival depends on it." Katalina didn''t understand where Tuan wasing from. But she felt that whatever he said was spoken from his heart. The fire-element ranker in front of her might have ulterior motives for saying what we said. Still, the advice made sense to her. So she nodded before replying. "Hehe. I guess you have a n in mind that requires me to go overboard. But don''t worry. I''m all in. Let''s be crazy and see where it takes us. Let me find that switch by being just that."? ??? a ???e? Katalina said with a newfound glint in her eyes. With her steady voice and keen gaze, she spoke further. "Tuan, I ept whatever you have said to me. Maybe I''m not cut out in the first ce. But that won''t stop me from trying. Reach for the stars and you mightnd on the moon they say. I''m nning to do just that." Katalina produced a genuine smile on her face when she spoke out about what she truly felt. It was as if she was liberated from the burden of trying to win the Titus championship. She also stopped caring about her viewers and her fan booth. Now all she wanted to do was try to find that switch Tuan spoke of. Katalina and Tuan talked some more before disappearing from the ruined infirmary that was going to be their base for the next few days. They also exchanged the rune imprints that would allow them to contact each other through ID voicemunication. ****************** ''What was that?'' Tuan heard a voice in his head all of a sudden when he was traversing through the hunting area. From every side, dense vegetation covered the ruined city, making it difficult for sunlight to prate the area near the ground. It''s been a few hours since Eren had left the safe area of the ruined city. He had already killed a bunch of mana beasts and monsters that ranged from Novice rank to the beginning of Ace rank. He had gotten a bunch of normal potions as the monster-drop and 3240 Titus points in return. ''What was what?'' Tuan asked, confused by Alephee''s question. Thetter rified it for him. ''I''m talking about you lecturing thatss so extensively back then. It was as if you cared for her. Or more appropriately, what her image represented in your memory.'' Tuan shrugged his shoulders while he was making his way toward a particr spot. He replied after thinking about things from the past for a bit. ''Um it''s not so much as care but more of paying back for all that "she" had done for me. Yes, I know. They are both two different people. Maybe it wouldn''t make sense that I started seeing her in Katalina. But I don''t have to make it make sense. It was just something I did on a whim.'' Alephee seemed to chuckle in his head. The butcher was not aware the gem spirit was capable of producing such emotions. She spoke right afterwards. ''Eren Idril, will you define that feeling as love?'' The butcher was stumped for a bit when Alephee asked him that question. But he didn''t falter in his answer. He replied with a mirthless smile on his face. It was something very simr to it. Too bad, I was already broken beyond the limit within which she could help me. I don''t me her, though. It''s my insecurities that prevented me from taking any steps toward her. By the time I decided to fight the demons in my head, it was already toote.'' Chapter 524 Medicine For The Heart

Chapter 524 Medicine For The Heart

''It''s my insecurities that prevented me from taking any steps toward her. By the time I decided to fight the demons in my head, it was already toote.'' Alephee liked Eren being honest with his feelings. This random encounter with Kat had made him take a trip down memoryne. Yet, it couldn''t shake him from what he had set out to do in the present. Alephee tried to see if the butcher was nearing his breaking point and asked him another question. ''Are you capable of loving someone now?'' Eren didn''t answer Alephee''s question immediately. He located a bunch of Goblin Soldiers and one Goblin Lord and killed them all after a short span. He then collected his drops and changed location. Tuan then found himself sitting leisurely on a giant tree''s branch that was located about 12 meters away from the ground. His back was against the tree''s giant trunk. He could feel the evening sun''s light brushing against his skin from the shadows of leaves above him. Tuan looked around and stretched his mana sense. Alephee also didn''t warn him about anything. So he took out his Ster Sativa stick after what felt like an eternity to him and lit it up. ''The facious affair onlysted a while, Sucking the life out of my soul, tearing my beliefs asunder. The endless sins now bind my heart, It cannot love back, it cannot love any further.'' The butcher said to himself, answering Alephee''s question after giving it much thought. The afternoon breeze created a windy noise as it blew and ruffled the tree leaves. Eren stared nkly at the light and shadows ying a game of tag all around him, bing lost in his thoughts. Alephee stayed silent and let him enjoy his smoke for a while. Even after making so many connections in this timeline, Alephee could still feel that Eren felt lonely. Reen''s separation from him only made matters more difficult for him on a psychological level. Eren tried to find some sort of relief from his addictions ever since she was separated. That''s why he always seemed to be either smoking or drinking more often than previously. The condition he had after meeting up with Eliza became the medium he could use to make sense of his overindulgence. Knowingly or unknowingly, Eren''s vices became his answer to processing the same feelings he had been battling within the previous timeline. So even now, when Alephee reminded him of fond memories, he chose to process them with his newfound addiction. Suddenly, when he was lost in his thoughts and emotions, Eren felt like he was connected to the world around him on a deeper level. He could feel that he didn''t need his normal senses or his mana sense to observe what was happening around him. He felt that his body had be formless. His soul had seeped into every matter near him, be it the wooden trunk, tree, the ground beneath it or the wind epassing the void. The picture of that experience imprinted in his mind was like nk paper. But he knew that the moment he asked it a question by infusing it with his thoughts, that nk paper was able to answer his question with more profundity than he thought the paper was capable of. This experience was brief and expired as suddenly as it had arrived. In the next moment, everything became normal. Eren''s vision returned to normalcy. There was no white nothingness spreading in all directions in front of him. This random experience made the butcher confused and lowkey scared. He thought that he had lost control of his body during that time. This was akin to a near-death experience for him. He could say that with certainty because he remembered the moments before he was dead in his previous timeline after all.? ??? a ???e? "What the fuck was that?" Tuan got up from his seat hurriedly and spoke upC his eyes constantly looking for threats nearby him. He suspected that somebody had used an illusion spell on him. But Alephee''s next words eased his worries. ''Don''t worry. That was not an illusion spell you had fallen victim to.'' The miracle of Alephee''s lowkeyughter urred again before she added on. ''Congrattions, Eren. You had the first sign of your soul sense awakening just now. It is only a matter of time before you can fully awaken it. Frankly, I''m shocked that you could awaken your soul sense this early. Even if it was Eliza''s era, you would be called a monstrous prodigy for achieving something like this at your current level.'' ''Soul sense!'' Eren repeated that term a few more times in his head to make sense of the out-of-body experience he just had. He wasn''t sure how experiencing something so freaky would mark him as a monstrous prodigy. But that experience itself indicated his growth as a ranker. So he considered that as a positive sign and sat back down to enjoy the remaining smoke that he had almost dropped. ? ?? ??-??? ??, ?,?,? Eren once again tried to invoke the same phenomenon by closing his eyes and remembering the experience he had. But it didn''t get triggered this time. But he wasn''t disappointed. He chuckled to himself and remembered the chain of thoughts he had before the sign of soul sense awakening hit him. The butcher couldn''t help but sigh when his thoughts circled back to Reen and the memories that were invoked by Katalina. Alphee understood Eren''s mood. He was trying to find sce by letting his mind wander off to things he found pleasant from the past. But trying to stay in the past is not healthy for the present. Therefore, Alephee decided to put all his directionless wandering to rest by saying something she came up with. ''It runs ahead and slips away. Yet it remains the same as it has always been. It kills you a thousand times, Only to wash away your endless sins. Time is, after all, a different kind of medicine.'' Alephee said to Eren, bringing a light smile to his face. She was trying to tell him that time would heal him. That it would serve as the medicine for the heart and cure his heartaches and longings one day. It won''t be today. It won''t be tomorrow. But he just has to wait long enough till it works its magic on him. Chapter 525 Signs Of Soul Sense Awakening

Chapter 525 Signs Of Soul Sense Awakening

''Alphee, did the sign of soul sense awakening appear because I had stopped smoking for a while? Then when I finally did'' The butcher then snapped out of his past life and focused on his present and future after listening to Alephee''s words. She was right. He''d have to die every day in his work to be a better ranker than yesterday. Only then could the passage of time show him the results he desired. Otherwise, it will be a pointless journey that will one daye to an end. Alphee felt Eren''s mood changing. She approved of his fast decision-making and replied promptly. ''There''s no sure-fire way to awaken soul sense. Some prodigies achieve it while taking a brisk walk under the moon. Others achieve it while being consumed by the state of epiphany. Some others awaken their soul sense amid battle. Others achieve it by fulfilling their lifelong dream and living in the most memorable moments of their life.'' Eren was looking at his smoke the whole time Alephee was giving him the exnation. He couldn''t help mumbling. ''That means this smoke'' ''Hehe. That''s right. That''s why they havebelled the instances of someone achieving their soul sense awakening by consuming Ster Sativa stick as rumours and not solid fact. It only works for some people. You were lucky enough to be among them. But forget about today''s alchemical studies in this field. I can say for sure that the stick has helped you a lot. Your mental condition is the other half of the puzzle. First, your soul was under duress because of being exposed to Eliza''s soul sense. You were gued by its residual effect for a long time until you were able to get rid of it recently. And let''s not forget that you are an old soul in a new body. The experiences you have are unique. Additionally, you have your own goals to surpass Sage in her game along with your determination to beat her. All your emotions, experiences, and aspirations exposed your soul to a greater burden than it was already facing.'' Eren kept on thinking about all the things Alphee was saying as he smoked. He had shbacks to all the scenes in his life that had a huge impact on him. The montage of memories had a few blurred pictures because he didn''t want to clear them in his mind. Then some were as in-depth in their details as the reality itself, making him feel that the scene happened to him not too long ago. Eren also kept on looking at the smoke he released as he saw the montage of memories ying in his head. He always told himself that he was smoking to get rid of Eliza''s influence on him. As soon as that reason was taken away from him, he subconsciously told himself that he was smoking Ster Sativa because he wanted to awaken the soul sense. But he could not have imagined that his excuse would turn out to be genuine one day. He also felt that he needed to find a new reason to limit his addiction, once the soul sense awakens for real. The butcher would love smoking and drinking as long as they didn''t hamper his growth. "So my misery is also the reason I have awakened my soul sense so early. Hehe! At least something good came out of it.'' Eren chuckled andmented to himself. Alphee''s voice echoed in his head the next moment. ''That''s also spot-on. When something is put under constant pressure, it either breaks apart or expands into something much more substantial. The matters of the soul follow the same principle, more or less. ? ?? ??-??? ??, ?,?,? So don''t worry about having to limit your smoking from now on. Don''t smoke more than usual either. Let your emotions guide your soul. Those who experience the first signs of soul sense awakening would keep on experiencing that sign at random moments until the soul sense awakenspletely.'' Eren nodded after hearing Alephee''s response and got up from his position. He disappeared from his spot soon after, leaving a bunch of mes behind where his feet were that were extinguished right afterwards. *********************? ??? a ???e? "How was your first day, Kat?" Tuan asked Katalina after they met up in the evening at the ruined infirmary. The entire city was a safe area where the contestants couldn''t attack one another. Both closebat experts didn''t have to worry about sneak attacks. It was a few minutes past 7 PM. Meaning the live feed had been cut off for viewers and only the organizers of the Titus tournament were keeping an eye on the contestants. Tuan was in the same clothes he had in the morning. But Katalina was in different clothes. ''She must have changed beforeing here. I wonder if the organizers would dare to air female rankers changing their clothes to their exclusive viewers.'' The butcher thought to himself and chuckled. He knew the idea was very lucrative. But nobody would dare to implement it and mess with the Amazons that were known to champion female rankers'' rights. The duo was having dinner, which they had received as consumable drops. A mix of rankers-only food along with mortal cuisines. The Tituspetition wasn''t known for serving the most delicious food after all. Competitors ate the food as a way to sustain themselves throughout thepetition. They could have hunted the mana beasts to satiate their hunger. But since the beasts were array generated with no real bodies, thepetitors ced rations as consumable drops for each random hunt. Katalina took a bite out of her ham sandwich. She chewed it a bit and gulped it down. She then drank Frostfoam given to her by the butcher before replying. "Hehehe! Pretty neat actually. I scored cough I mean I scored a decent amount of Titus points. I chose a bunch of easy targets, mostly kobolds. They would give low Titus points. But since they usually stay by their monster nests, you can cast an AoE. And boom! You would take care of a huge number of them at once, giving you a lot of points. I also killed a pair of ck Wind Panthers and got four vials of spell enhancing potions rted to the wind element. Not a shabby harvest I say. What about you, Tuan?" Katalina told Tuan everything except for her Titus points. She didn''t trust the guypletely yet after all. Thetter couldn''t me her. In addition, he did not want to know her points either since he was sure she wouldn''t be in the big leagues. So he ignored her fumble at the mention of Titus points and continued. "My gains were also decent. Got a bunch of potions and one-time use alchemy items. Did youe across any otherpetitors?" Katalina''s smile changed and turned into a frown when she heard Tuan''s question. She nodded affirmatively before replying in a serious voice. "I did. Three of them actually. They were prioritizing their hunts too it seems like you said they would. So the encounter took ce without causing any scene. But I could feel that they seemed to have decided that they would target me after a few days. Heh! If they think I''m easy to bully, I''ll have a surprise waiting for them." Tuan expected Katalina to meet thepetitors. After all, she didn''t have a handy Alepheepass tool with her she could use to traverse through the hunting area without encountering anyone she didn''t want. A smile spread across Tuan''s face as he looked at Kat before asking her another question. "I found a clue about another safe drop. There is no rule prohibiting us from checking out the drops at night. Want to check it out with me?" Chapter 526 Lilys Team Chapter 526 Lily''s Team "Hm? Two rankers are heading somewhere, thiste at night. Isn''t that odd?" Ketsu let his two raid partners know about what was happening around them. He controlled his voice in a way that only his mates could hear him. He was wearing spectacles that didn''t have any sses in the frames. Instead of sses, a thinyer of semi-transparent mana served as the lenses of the artefact. It offered the artefact''s wearer enhanced night vision. Ketsu was a ranger. He had used various means at his disposal to make it to the finals. He was used to studying hispetition so that he could take countermeasures against them. Even now, he was sitting on the rooftop of a worn-down building, trying to check up on random details. The entire city looked like a ghost city under the moonlight with no sound of anyone or anything whatsoever. Still, Ketsu was not willing to retire to bed this early without doing his routine recons. "Well, we can''t attack anyone as long as we''re all in the safe area, can we? Leave them be. We should all sleep, Ketsu. The days of fighting against each other are still ahead of us. Haha!" Wildermented after getting up to the rooftop in one swift jump. He was a tall, tanned, and muscr guy with a bald head. Even his eyebrows were nowhere to be found. The guy looked like a mortal wrestler who was used to putting up a show of having the strength of rankers while staying unranked. Such stunts were really popr among mortals. Instead, his barbarian-ss aura would tell anyone that his strength was not a show but the real deal. Wayne Wilder''snding with his bulky build upset the already worn down rooftop and a portion of the uppermost ceiling serving as the terrace''s tform fell. The fallen debris was about to create noise when Ketsu used his sound magic to iste it, keeping the night''s silence intact. Ketsu shook his head in disappointment. He said in a voice that could only be heard by Ketsu and his other partner. "Damn it, Wayne, keep it low. Otherspetitors would be doing reconnaissance on us, you know. If you keep causing trouble, I and Ang will team up together and rob you of your resources even before the day we have decided to part ways. Because your actions are about to be a liability at this rate." Ketsu said and adjusted his spectacles over his eyes once again. He could only see two rankers moving in the same direction. They were slowly getting away from the trio. If Ketsu wanted to follow them, he would have to make quick decisions. Wilder was about to speak up and register hisints regarding how Ketsu treated him. But he was silenced by the ranger''s next words. "I can''t think of any other reason behind finding a safe drop location for those two to be travelling at night. Those guys must have found a clue or something for the drop. We hehe... we should follow them." A hint of excitement shed in Ketsu''s eyes. He liked the idea of taking things from other rankers. But Wilder was there to put reins on his thoughts. "We don''t need mediocre drops from the safe zone, Ketsu. Don''t you know it''s better to get the monster drops? And we are already doing that. Who''s bing a liability now by taking unnecessary detours?" Wayne Wilder said while folding his hands. The dark blue tank he was wearing was stretched to the limit from the chest area when he did that, a testament to his powerful physique. He was wearing dark cargo pants that couldn''tpletely hide the muscles of his legs. Suddenly, a third person appeared on the rooftop. Unlike Wilder, this personnded on the rooftop with light feet, sans any noise or overwhelming presence. It felt like this person couldn''t have been detected by normal senses if they hadn''t spoken just now. Therefore, Ketsu didn''t have to create a sound barrier. "Wilder, you muscle maniac, we all know that monster drops are usually better than drops hidden in the safe area. But there are always exceptions. Ketsu is right. We should follow them and see what happens. If neither side can attack, that is all the more reason for us to keep an eye on our opponents. You guys stay behind me and maintain a distance. I''ll track those lucky bastards." Lilymented in her usual cold voice. Her assassin ss made her ideal for espionage operations like these. She wore a bluish-ck outfit that hugged her body tightly and highlighted her petite feminine curves. Yet, if one were to blink, they might lose sight of her because of the way her outfit was used to blend in with the surroundings. One could tell that the assassin''s suit she was wearing was meant for rankers of a specific element. Ketsu smiled and nodded his head to tell Lily that he epted her lead. Wilder had a nk face when he was told to shut up by both his raid partners. He shrugged his shoulders and sighed, epting the decision made by the majority. Usually, it was him that jumped the gun and got into trouble. This was the first time he was telling others not to cause trouble. And they moved ahead and ignored him. Wilder had the taste of his own medicine at this time. Only now did he understand how much an ass he had been to his team members outside thepetition. The trio quickly came to an arrangement. Lily led the operation while Ketsu and Wilder followed behind. Ketsu also used his sound-element spell on Wilder to make him not produce any noise from his barbarian-specific movement spell. ******************** Two rankers were seen using the rooftops of ruined constructions to make their way to a particr destination. The fire-element ranker''s movement spell was most eye-catching in the night because he left a trail of ze behind him. There was a wind-element ranker following him. All she generated with her movement spell was an invisible gale. She just had to touch her toes lightly on the terrace. Her single step was enough to propel her tens of meters forward. ''Someone''s following you.'' Alephee reported Tuan when he was making his way towards the safe drop with Katalina. He heard her remark and responded with a smirk on his face. ''Heh! I''m fishing anyway. Let the baby salmons take the bait.'' Chapter 527 Making an Ass out of the Assassin Chapter 527 Making an Ass out of the Assassin "Open it. It''s for you." Tuan said to Kat after they reached the drop site. It was another ruined location with traces of ruined constructions and destroyed homes. Thetter looked at him suspiciously because there was nothing in the vicinity she could feel with her mana sense that could imply that there was a drop. Tuan pursed his lips when he found out Kat was looking at him with doubt and suspicion in her eyes. He had forgotten that he knew the location of the drop because of Alephee. There was no way for him to sense it with his mana sense either. ''Fuck it. I''ll just activate the array and let her open it. That shouldn''t make the drop change its element ording to me, right?'' Alphee replied promptly to his question. ''It shouldn''t. As long as you guys are quick enough.'' Eren decided to follow Alephee''s advice and stepped ahead. This time, the array wasn''t imprinted on the ground. It was woven into the very spatial fabric of the empty void. ''What should I do now?'' Eren asked Alephee while maintaining a stoic face. That''s because he didn''t want the organizers to know that he got to the safe drops by other means. There were clues scattered across the subspace. Only those clues were supposed to reveal where natural drops were located. In addition, organizers could not keep track of all participants 24 x 7 as they roamed around the ruined city site and the muchrgerndscape of the hunting grounds. There were obviously some dead zones that couldn''t be recorded due to conflict generating between various arrays. Alephee had helped Tuan locate those inactive live-stream zones. He had passed through them specifically to make the organizers lose sight of him. This way, he would have a valid excuse for locating the clues while nobody was looking. Now all he needed to do was act his part and pretend that he had read through the clues. Alephee told him that he just needed to feel the void space in front of him with his fingers imbued with his non-elemental mana. That way, the array would take some time to determine the ranker''s element while it was activated. This time should be enough for Tuan and Kat to make a switch. Things proceeded ording to n, and Kat sessfully managed to open the array drop. The spatial fabric ruptured briefly and ejected a pair of shoes. Each shoe had a pair of small, bird-like wings attached to either side around its heel. This was a wind-element artefact meant to be used by a ranker like Katalina. Katalina opened her eyes wide in surprise as she looked at the levitating pair of artefacts. She stretched her mana sense around it to see if they were indeed real and not an illusion or trap. "This this I don''t know how to thank you Tu" Katalina was about to touch the artefact with her hands as she thanked her raid partner and benefactor. She had said that she needed him to find a drop site for her on a whim. She couldn''t believe Tuan would be able to pull it off something like that just a day into the tournament. But before she could take possession of the artefact she felt with her mana sense that Tuan wasing at her with a cruel grin on his face. She turned around while cursing her luck and her naivety to think that there were free lunches in this world. "Tuan you son of a bitch." Kat quickly drew her rapier and tried to attack the iing Tuan with her wind-element spells. But Tuan was way faster. He disappeared from her sight only to appear behind her back. nk! The sound of metal hitting metal rang in the surroundings. Kat was a bit confused before checking her body. She thought the bastard had backstabbed her in a metaphorical and literal way. ''I I am fine. Then'' Katalina found herself to be unharmed. She then stretched her senses some more and turned back to see Tuan''s Anduril des shing with something invisible in the air. The pair of artefacts were just a few meters away from that weird sh. Slowly, the invisible des that had engaged with Tuan''s Anduril started taking shape. They were a pair of Schmitter''s that were as ck as the starless night sky. Soon the wielder of those des emerged from the blur. Lily had tried to snatch the artefacts from Katalina because she too had an affinity for the wind element. Plus, these artefacts looked like they could be a perfect match for an assassin ss like hers. "How How were you able to detect me?" Lily asked with vignce in her eyes. Tuan seemed unshaken when he saw her materialize out of her spell as if he was already aware of her existence there. This realization alone was enough to make her raise her vignce against a ranker like him. "Um let''s say I was expecting guests when I was starting a barbecue." Eren said as he took his weapons back to his storage room. He kept his hands behind his back and looked at the assassin in front of him with keen eyes. ''Hmm. Pretty face but small boobs.'' Tuan said to himself before shaking his head in denial. ''Heh! I shouldn''t be so judgemental. Big or small, they can all be pressed with equal affection.'' Tuan thought as he stared intently at Lily. Thetter couldn''t be sure where he was looking due to his shifty eyes but her feminine instincts told her that he was checking her out. "That that doesn''t even make sense. You must have known about me and my spell from the beginning. Tell me how." Lily asked with a frown on her face. She gripped her hands around her weapons tightly before staring back at the guy with the same intensity in her gaze. It''s just that the motive she had in her eyes for him was different. "Miss Lily, have you forgotten that we are all contestants in the Titus tournament? All of our names, spells, and battle styles are public knowledge. Of course, I''d know about you. Are you that stupid?" Tuan asked the question with an expression that said, "Can you believe this idiot?". Then he made fun of her with hisst set of words. Lily opened her mouth to say something to the fire-element ranker in front of her. But she found out that there were no words that could help her make aeback. Her subconscious mind decided to act out with violence. "Listen here" ''Don''t be like this muscle-brain Wilder, Lily. Put the weapons down. Otherwise, you''d be disqualified." Chapter 528 Zephyrus and Untamed Winds Chapter 528 Zephyrus and Untamed Winds "Listen here" ''Don''t be like this muscle-brain Wilder, Lily. Put the weapons down. Otherwise, you''d be disqualified." Lily was about to walk toward a weaponless Tuan with weapons drawn in her hands. But she heard a distressed voice just as she was a few steps away from the guy. She looked behind to see Ketsu standing behind her with Wilder standing behind his back. The ranger''s medium stature and frail-looking physique created a contrast against the muscr-built Wilder serving as the background. Lily was confused for a bit before realizing her mistake. She looked at Tuan to see that he was weaponless. "The safe area I" Lily had drawn her weapons instinctively when she saw Eren attacking her in her invisible form with his weapons. And she got too preupied with her range of thoughts afterwards to recognize the clever trap Eren had set for her. "Forget about Lily getting disqualified. Why hasn''t that guy been disqualified yet for drawing his weapons?" Wilder asked while ring his nose and looking at Eren with the intention of battle. Ketsu sighed and exined. "That''s because the guy drawing his weapons could be seen as defending the artefact their team just found. Lily drawing her weapons in response at that time would be considered part of self-defence. But any more aggression from either side would be the reason for either of them, both of them, or all of us getting disqualified." Ketsupleted his sentence and looked at Tuan with the same curiosity. He had studied everypetitor of the finale by watching the recorded copies of their battles with other rankers. He hadn''t thought of Tuan as someone this crafty at that time. Lily quickly stowed her weapons in her storage. She then retreated to where her raid partners were. Eren clicked his tongue after seeing that his trap was not sprung. He then reappeared from his ce and reappeared in front of the safe drop reward. The levitation magic wore off as soon as he grabbed hold of the pair of shoes with both hands. "Here. Bind them and wear them from this moment on." Tuanmented after appearing beside still-shocked Katalina. He then gave her the artefacts while still looking aheadC his gaze fixed on the trio that had just crashed the party. Katalina had too many questions to ask. She also wanted to convey her apology for doubting him. But Tuan''smanding tone made her prioritize what he had asked from her. She recovered from her stupor and wore the shoes quickly before readjusting her grip on the rapier. Then she remembered that this was a safe area and nobody had drawn ''Haah! Toolte.'' Lily sighed internally as she saw Katalina wearing the shoes she had wanted. She had been attracted to them as soon as she saw them for the first time. As a result, she immediately thought of bending the rules instead of breaking them. After all, conflict with other rankers was not allowed in the safe area. But there were no specific instructions about what to do. Too bad, Tuan saw through her ns and prevented her from getting her hands on the artefacts she had wanted. She cursed the guy in her head before speaking up. "Tuan, Katalina, although we''repetitors in the tournament, we shouldn''t have to be enemies. I propose that we cooperate in a raid in exchange for" Lily was trying to pitch a deal with the duo. The exchange of artefacts for co-op in a raid. But Tuan startedughing like he had heard the biggest joke beforeing up with his verbal response. "Miss Lily, you think too highly of yourself and your two goons. I suggest you get your heads out of your asses and read the situation. We are not interested in any kind of deal from thieves like you. Now do us a favour and kindly fuck off." A gentle smile radiated from Tuan''s face as he spoke. His words, on the other hand, painted a different picture. Lily narrowed her eyes on Tuan when she heard the vicious wordsing from him. But she also couldn''te up with a better reply because she knew she was at fault. So she spoke the only thing she could speak. "Watch your back in the hunting area in theing days, Miss Katalina, Ace Tuan. There would be predators roaming to hunt for their prey." Lily said and responded to Tuan''s gentle smile with a gracious grin of her own. She then gestured for Ketsu and Wilder to walk in the same direction they hade from. The trio disappeared from the scene soon after. Katalina breathed a sigh of relief when Lily and her raid partners left. She knew that nopetitor would try to attack another in the safe area only to get eliminated. Still, subconsciously she felt stressed because of the assassin''s weird spells. Out of all thepetitors, Kat found Lily to be difficult to deal with because of the assassin''s way of doing things. If the involved rankers'' ranks were the same, two vs three was never a positive sign for the two. *************** "Tuan, these shoes are just awesome." Katalina spoke after the duo returned to the ruined infirmary. She spoke while using her new artefacts. She now understood why Lily was so desperate to obtain them at the cost of being called out as a thief by Tuan. Katalina was fascinated by the shoes'' capabilities. She named them Zephyrus. This pair of artefacts allowed its wearer to experience a brief flight. Additionally, it enhanced the wearer''s wind elemental movement spell. Plus, the pair of artefacts had an inscribed spell. Untamed Winds! Swoosh. Katalina disappeared and appeared some meters away from her previous position in a blink. Even with the casual execution of the artefact''s spell, she was a bit faster than Tuan. Or to be precise, Tuan was using thebination of his fire-element movement spell along with his time-element spells while keeping his lightning element movement spell out of the picture. As a wind-element user, Katalina''s speed was already better than normal rankers. But with the shoes on, she broke all her previous records easily. ===================== AN: Little under the weather. Will try to stick to the regr release but there''s a possibility it might get dyed. Chapter 529 Apology Chapter 529 Apology Tuan was standing next to a window frame that had no windows anymore as Katalina tried on her new pair of shoes. Rankers or mortals, he guessed women would always be fond of fancy footwear. His thoughts drifted from one topic to another as his hands rested on the window''s ledge. With his rxed posture, he looked outside and stared at the glittering night sky. Ever since he had experienced his first sign of soul sense awakening, he felt different about the world around him. It was like there were a lot of worlds within the world he was seeing and interacting with. He could almost tell that the world was trying to speak to him in anguage that only they both understood but couldn''t speak or write in. At first, that experience scared him. But then he figured he felt scared because of how novel and enlightening that experience was. He got scared subconsciously after realizing how addicting the feeling of losing one''s self within the world can be. ''My thoughts and emotions are like some form of energy that keeps my soul active. And Ster Sativa is like those pair of flying shoes thisss is wearing, enabling my soul to take flight from the ground.'' The butcher couldn''t help connecting whatever was happening around him with whatever had happened to him in the afternoon. He let his mind wander some more. ''In that moment of flight, I''m connected to the sky that has no limits. As my altitude increases, I have an endless possibility to expand my vision. From there, all I need to do is look down. Heh! Looking at the whole world from a height that makes it appear like a minuscule thing. I bet that will be something interesting to see.'' Tuan wanted to smoke badly right now. But he controlled himself. He needed to find another dead zone in which he couldn''t be recorded before he could indulge in his sought-after vice. Unable to smoke, Tuan could only retrieve one of thest bottles of Frostfoam left with him. He uncorked it and smelled the booze by bringing it to his nose. He remembered his past life when he used to do the same thing with the cheap alcohol he was used to having. Katalina smelled the booze too and looked in Tuan''s direction. By now, she too had gotten addicted to Frostfoam after he had offered it to her a few times. She cancelled her flight and appeared next to Tuan. She also remembered what she needed to do. "Tuan I I am sorry for doubting you." Katalina pursed her lips and looked at Tuan with a hint of guilt on her face. She clenched her hands when she said that. Her innocent expressions could melt even the toughest of hearts. Tuan didn''t look at Katalina immediately. He was too busy smelling his booze and observing the night sky at the moment. He just jumped out of the window frame and sat on the ledge, keeping his legs outside the window. With his hand, he tapped on the portion of the ledge that was beside him, indicating Katalina to follow his example. Kat thought for a moment before doing the same. The two were now sitting on the window''s ledge on the second floor of the ruined infirmary. Both had their legs slightly swinging in the air as they enjoyed the night sky. "You better be sorry for what you did out there. I gave you the drop''s location, allowed you to have its reward, and even defended your reward at the cost of painting a bull''s eye behind my back. I have nowe to believe that no man should ever help a so-called damsel in distress. Because first, help is taken for granted. Second, they won''te to help you when the roles are reversed." Eren said with a serious look on his face. Once again, he mixed what he really felt with what he was faking, creating a spectacr mix of bullshittery. Therefore, Katalina was unable to distinguish his lies from the truth. But she wanted to convey her sorry. So that''s what she decided to do next. "Tuan, you can''t me me for not trusting youpletely. We are in apetition together. We would soon turn out to be each other''s enemies as thest day of thepetition approaches us." Tuan looked at her with a "are you kidding me right now?" look. Kat understood what he was trying to say to her with that look. So she sighed and spoke up. "Yet, you helped me despite uspeting. So that kind of bes a moot point." Kat looked at the stars after following Tuan''s gaze. She continued speaking up as thetter started drinking from his bottle of booze. "Me not putting my trust in somebody is not apetition thing though. It just makes my job easier because I have a valid excuse not to trust you. I don''t know which damsel you were talking about who didn''t appreciate the kind gesture you had offered to her. I''m sorry to bring up her subject, but were you talking about your wife?" Kat questioned Tuan before realizing that she shouldn''t have. After all, Tuan had a breakdown at the opening event just before being sent here. She decided to shift gears with her next words. "Err anyway I hope it''s not me. It can''t be me. That''s because I have not and will not take your help for granted." Katalina clenched the window''s ledge with her hand as she spoke. A few creaking sounds were made by the ledge''s worn out wood as she did so. Listening to that sound, the closebat expert released her grip and continued to verbally march on. "First of all, I''m no damsel. I can take care of myself, no matter how difficult the road gets in front of me. No matter how much loss I incur as a result. Heh! I was a mortal girl not too long ago, you know. There was nobody to help me. Still, I survived. That being said, I don''t want to ignore the genuine help that''s offered to me. I have seen the harsh side of the world. So it gets a bit difficult for me to count on other people, that''s all." Katalina started talking about her childhood. She told Eren about the only friend she had and needed to take care of. Someone that she wanted to send to the Duchy of Lehan, where she could get treated for her illness. ''Hm? I guess my bullshittery had an unwanted effect and sent thisss on a different tangent altogether. I need to restart our conversation.'' The butcher thought to himself and sighed as he had the thought. Chapter 530 Replacing Bad Memories Chapter 530 Recing Bad Memories ''Hm? I guess my bullshittery had an unwanted effect and sent thisss on a different tangent altogether. I need to reboot our conversation.'' The butcher clicked his tongue as he had the thought. He handed Kat the booze in his hand. He then coughed a bit before speaking up. "Kat, what you''re saying is not an apology. A proper apology hasyers to it, you know. The "I''m sorry part" has already been covered by you. But you are still yet to handle "How can I make it up to you?" part." Katalina was interrupted from her talk when she heard Tuan''s response. She looked at him intently and nodded her head before speaking up. "Forgive me, Tuan. I have a habit of oversharing. Yes, you are right. Tell me, how can I make it up to you?" Kat said with seriousness on her face and in her voice. This was the first time in a long time she wanted to share her experience to somebody apart from her ill friend. She felt d and sad at the same time. d after realizing that she could form another bond without faking it. And sad for the fact that her current condition wanted her to focus more on winning the tournament than making friends inside it. Tuan smiled when he heard Kat''s reply. He replied to her with a mirthless smile on his face. "Hehehe. Now that sounds like an apology to me, Kat. Hmm. I''m not sure I should tell you this. But I indeed have a request in my head." Tuan said with a tinge of sadness in his eyes. Katalina too was affected by his mood along with the booze''s subtle high. She nodded her head a bit frantically in response to Tuan''s question. Tuan continued soon after. "You already know about what happened to my wife, Kat. I had really loved her. It''s sad that she couldn''t love me the way I did. What''s even sadder is the fact that she couldn''t be honest with me." ''Eren, are you the best man to talk about honesty?'' Alephee asked in the butcher''s head. But he ignored it and continued. "There were a couple of things we used to do as husband and wife, Kat. The memories of doing those things are forever burnt in my memory. I can''t drown them. Nor can I delete thempletely. All I can do is rece those memories with better ones. By doing the same things with someone different. One of those things was a couple''s slow dance that I and Tista had done during one such night as picturesque as tonight''s." Tuan said with a little vibrations in his sound that indicated that he was being emotional. His eyes also looked in the void and tried to see something that wasn''t there. He spoke up after taking his time. "Would you mind if we danced together for a brief period maybe? It would certainly help me put your face in my head for those memories." Kat was a bit taken aback by Tuan''s odd request. But after witnessing his breakdown at the event, she could believe it. The guy''s performance was also impable. Plus, it would also help her repay the gratitude she owed to Tuan. She decided to proceed further and nodded her head. Tuan smiled when he heard Kat''s reply. While he was having those aimless thoughts, the butcher had alsoe up with a strategy to win the tournament. He needed Kat''s help to win the tournament. He could only count on his Sins series ability in his n. His time was short. So he decided to put things into motion from day one. ****************** A soft, joyous, and orchestral symphony started ying in the ruined infirmary. It was very pleasant and soothing to listen to. But with the setting of a ruined city, it would sound haunting to any mortal passing outside the building. The source of this pleasant symphony was an array disk that was producing live-like audio effects. It was as if the entire band was ying inside the ruined construction with all its instruments put to good use. A couple was seen slow-dancing on the tunes of the lyric-less track. The array disk also provided the necessary mellow illuminance to suit the mood. Katalina found it oddly amusing that she was dancing with someone she barely knew in a ce where they were supposed to fight. "Tuan I''m also sorry for calling you son of a you know" Katalina said hesitantly as he followed Tuan''s lead and swung in his arms lightly. The butcher was proving himself to be a capable ssic dancer. Despite his desires to act otherwise, he behaved gentlemanly with thedy in his arms. But it was only a matter of time. "Hm? Oh that. Yeah that''s no biggie." Tuan discarded Katalina''s apology for calling him a "son of a bitch." He had long decided that he wouldn''t get offended when someone called him anything remotely like that. Katalina sighed and decided to give up understanding Tuan for tonight. The guy acted like he was a man on a mission when he battled his way through the finals. And now, he was showing so many ranges of emotions that she could hardly believe it was the same person. Thanks to the butcher''s earlier showmanship, his image as the real Tuan Aag was maintained. Otherwise his minor and major ws as acting like Tuan would have been highlighted a long time ago by experts and fans alike. As the tune started getting slower and intimate, it brought the pair dancing to its tune closer than ever. Tuan put his hands just above her posterior as he kept on leading her with finesse andpletely in sync with the tune. "You you are full of surprises Tuan Aag. I could have never pegged you for a good dancer." Katalina said as she spun around herself when given a cue by her partner. Thetter smiled beforementing. "It''s the small tricks I picked up from say myst life before I started living for myself." Tuan said and pulled Katalina closer to him all of a suddenC embracing her in the warmth of his hug. Before the wind-element user could react in time, her lips were locked with the butcher''s. "This was one of the memories of Tista that I wanted to rece." Tuan said in Katalina''s ears as if they were the whispers of the charming devil. Chapter 531 Tuan vs.Lilys Team P1 Chapter 531 Tuan vs.Lily''s Team P1 "This was one of the memories of Tista that I wanted to rece." Tuan whispered in Katalina''s ears. Thetter wanted to pull away from the guy who took advantage of the moment. But for some reason, her body didn''t agree with her thought process. It wanted to be embraced by him just the way it was being embraced at the time. Tuan ran his hands across Katalina''s back as he pulled his neck away from her and looked her in the eyes. He could see that she was confused, a bit angry, and her desire to repay Tuan''s gratitude was diminishing. Tuan knew the hesitation would only make her pull away from him. He needed to end her hesitation by taking matters into his own hands. And that''s what he did next. He raised Kat''s face with his hands and kissed her again. The butcher''s tongue moved rhythmically as the song yed in the background as he inserted it into her mouth. One could say that he was inplete control of his senses and had a mind to spare to enjoy the music while performing such a focus-demanding activity. It didn''t take long for Kat to respond. She hugged Tuan tightly, making him feel like she was trying to merge with his body. Tun''s hands, which were itching to grab something mushy, finally did what they intended to do. Kat felt her ass getting grabbed by Tuan''s hands as he explored her mouth with his ever-restless tongue. She could never have thought that a simple dance session would turn this way with a stranger and herpetitor she had just met. Kat felt her body melting in Tuan''s embrace. She wanted things to proceed even further than this casual warm-up. But then she remembered she was a contestant in a tournament that was being observed by the organizers. She didn''t want to be seen inpromising situations even though she subconsciously knew the organizers wouldn''t partake in filming such activities. The risk of being targeted by the Amazonians was no small matter. "Tu Tuan, there are live feeds. I" Katalina broke free from Tuan''s kiss and embrace and responded, short of breath. Thetter didn''t feel disappointed. He nodded his head and pulled her into his embrace once again. Katalina was about to make an angry face at Tuan''s advances on her despite her warnings. But then she felt his hands caressing her face. He smiled before responding to her decision. "Hmm. Next time, we''ll find a ce where we won''t be watched." Tuan pulled away from Katalina on his own as he said. He climbed the ledge to sit on it. He intended to finish the remaining gulps of Frostfoam still left in the bottle in peace while admiring the stars. ''How Why did his wife leave him? Was she braindead?'' As Kat watched him, she couldn''t help herself from having this question in her head. She also became curious as to how Tuan could get detached from such an instance so suddenly and function normally like nothing happened. She sighed and walked towards him before resuming her seated position over the ledge as well. The raid partners then started talking about the ns for tomorrow as if the instance earlier had been nothing more than a dream. And yet, Katalina could feel a subtle tension in her interactions with Tuan. She felt like Tuan was a man of many facets. Her consciousness wanted to see all of his other sides he hadn''t shown her yet. This tension also made her talk with Tuan some more. She was enjoying the tension and all that it implied. She was also enjoying Tuan''s gaze on her, responding to it by making Tuan get subjected to the same gaze of equal intensity from her. The more she talked with him, the more Katalina realized Tuan hid more cards in his sleeves than he was willing to show. She would hate to admit it, but her mind had been smitten by the intrigue Tuan had to offer to her. Tuan took the lead and carefully crafted a rough n for them to deal with any form of the danger posed by the trio they had just met. ording to his predictions, they would be safe for the next two days. Lily and her raid partners would only attack Tuan and Kat when they had gathered sufficient Tuan points by the third day. The hunt should be worth the effort after all. ******************** On the third day of the tournament. Safe area. Lily''s Base. "Today''s the day right. I can''t contain my excitement right now. It''d be fun to squeeze that Tuan brat''s neck for his defiance against us." Wildermented as he fist-bumped his own gauntlets together. This was the third day of the tournament. Thepetitors would start to target each other''s raid teams starting from today. Lily and her team were no exception to the rule either. Plus, they had a fixed target in their minds. "That fire bastard Tuan was hiding a lot of his strength in thepetition, it seems. He is already 14th on the Titus list. Who will get his point for themselves?" Ketsu asked while scratching his stubble that had grown in these three days. He didn''t bother grooming these days and kept on watching or keeping tabs on his otherpetitors. Lily was there to answer him. "We don''t need topete within ourselves for his points. I just want that artefact for myself. If you two stay close to each other while destroying his wristband, the Titus points would get divided between the two of you equally. I had temporarily paired up with a different ranker in these three days when you guys weren''t with me and tested it myself." Lily said while looking at her raid partners intently. She continued after gathering some of her thoughts. "What''s more? That girl Katalina doesn''t look like a pushover either. She is 16th in the Titus ranking as of today. So there''s no need to fight for Titus points. We''ll get plenty for each of us if we can take care of them effectively. The more pressing question is can you find him, Ketsu?" Lily said, sharpening her ck scimitars on an array tform that would imbue the weapon with wind-element mana. Whenever she made contact with it using her two des, sparks erupted in the form of ethereal wind-elemental des in tiny form. Ketsu smiled wickedly and showed his raid partners an array disk. He imbued it with his mana and made it project a 3D map of thepetition area they had explored so far. There were three dots clustered together in one ce, which was representative of all three of them. There were then a pair of red dots located somewhere in the hunting area, far from the blue dots. "You know who those red dots are, right?" Chapter 532 Tuan Vs.Lilys Team P2 Chapter 532 Tuan Vs.Lily''s Team P2 On the third day of the tournament. Hunting area. Right in the middle of the seemingly vast wilderness. "Are you sure they''de today? And how would they know that we are here anyway?" Katalina asked as she waited for her raid partner to finish setting up something on the ground. Thetter stood up from the ground and shook his hands before disappearing from his position. He appeared right next to Katalina and replied. . ?`?`m "I''m sure. We should never underestimate our opponents, Kat. I''m sure they might have a thing or two that can enable them to spy on our location. Especially that ranger fellow who was with Lily. Hehe! I have prepared a special treat for them. It''ll be sad if those guests don''t show up for my party." Tuanmented as he looked into the distance. These three days were very lucrative for him. He had hunted a lot of monsters and mana beasts with Katalina supporting him. They had divided the Titus points as per their contribution in the battles, courtesy of the manual sharing of Titus points offered by the wristband''s spectral menu. **************** Tuan had also battled solo in a bunch of his battles against the beasts and monsters. He tested his Total Control spell effectively and learned how to use it within a few days. He also took control of his new set of weapons, Anduril. He would often use the spells engraved on the des to give himself a breather from his constant closebat engagements. Unbeknownst to most rankers, Tuan had sessfully targeted three contestants and taken them down. The battles were brief and one-sided. They all took ce in areas with poor live-feedpatibility. It meant that Tuan''s battles were prone to glitches when the organizers tried to broadcast them to the outside world. The organizers considered it odd that Tuan would find such ces with ease. They started looking for the cause and found out that Tuan would also use fire-element arrays beforemencing his battles with the monsters and mana beasts. They were part of his trap mechanisms. The array expertsmented that Tuan''s use of arrays might be the reason behind him creating a disturbance in the live feed. Upon hearing this, the organizers decided not to prevent Tuan from using the arrays. Because that was not against the rules they had already stated. As a result of Tuan''s battles with other contestants happening in the glitch prone recording ground, most of his battles remained a mystery to the viewers and the organizers alike. And since the upper management had isted the eliminated contestants until the end of thepetition, there was no way to know what took ce in the battle. Despite Tuan''s wins, his battle points didn''t increase by arge margin. That''s because he had battled with top 15 opponents in the Titus list. The majority of run-of-the-mill and official battle experts concluded that Tuan''s opponents had quit on him by opting for the emergency protocol. They must have destroyed the wristbands themselves before the protocol summoned them back from the isted subspace. Some battle experts called Tuan unlucky because all his efforts to take down the opponents had gone down the drain. Even if he had managed to stay within the top 15 himself, the gaps between the number 15, number 10, and number 3 segments were exponentially getting wider by the day. It won''t be enough to finish in the top fifteen to stay in the tournament. ,c`o`m Still, the footage that the organizers could salvage from Tuan''s battles made his fans cheer for him with newfound enthusiasm. That''s because, in that footage, he looked nothing but even more dominant than before. All his fire-element attacks had taken a new leap in terms of raw firepower. Tuan''s attacks were more precise than before. His speed shocked most of those who had carefully observed him throughout thepetition. They were the ones who linked his overall progress with his higher attainment in the fire element. Katalina didn''t ck around either. Shepleted cleaning out various pockets of areas in the hunting area. She also sparred with other contenders. She managed to eliminate contestants who ced 23rd and 26th in the Titu list and made their points hers. She also ran her solo raids and gained a significant amount of Titus points. She and Tuan would form a raid team whenever one of them found a monster nest that was packed full of Novice ranked monsters. Of course, the duo had their difficulties because of ack of variation in their sses. Both preferred close-rangebat. Plus, none was proficient in ranger spells, making it difficult for either of them to gauge their targets'' strengths. The most they could do was identify if the horde of monsters had an Ace or Adet ranked entity in them or not. Still, that was enough for the two rankers. They would only choose nests they were capable of clearing. Most of the nning was done by Tuan. But Katalina executed her part with just as much efficiency as Tuan had expected from her and then some more. ********************* "We gained a lot during these three days. That''s because your decisions are always on point. But sometimes I wonder if you assume too many things will turn out as you expect. You predict things as per your logic, Tuan. But not every ranker thinks with that much profundity when they make a move." Katalinamented while resting her back against a giant rock wall that was part of the natural rocky protrusion in the area. This was the site they had used to y a lot of monsters not too long ago. This was also the site where the glitch of video feedback was going to be present because of Tuan''s recent work in the area. It seemed random. But with Alephee''s soul sense, Tuan controlled the timing when the video feed would stop workingpletely for the viewers and organizers. He just needed to cut the feedback at the very end when the battle was about to conclude. Katalina had said that they should change the ce. But Tuan stopped her and told her that they should be expectingpany. But even after an hour had passed, there was nobody around. So Katalina started doubting the predictions made by Tuan. Tuan didn''t open his mouth to exin. In just a few days, Kat hade to recognise the grin he shed in front of her as he followed his gaze in front of her. She understood that something was up and stretched her mana sense in front of her. ''I don''t expect my opponents to move ording to my assumptions. I expect them to move ording to their schedule. In short, I like to bait my fish. Wouldn''t you call me a skilled fisherman, Kat?'' Tuan told Katalina about Thetter smiled mirthlessly and drew out her weapon. The battle between the duo of closebat experts and Lily''s team was about to unfold. Chapter 533 Teasing The Assassin Chapter 533 Teasing The Assassin "You don''t seem surprised seeing us here." Lilymented when she appeared like a ghost in front of Tuan. Her two raid partners were catching up to her from behind. "Hm. Should I act surprised like this?" All of a sudden, Tuan painted surprised expressions on his face effortlessly. His eyes were jittery when he did that. His mana sense was fluctuating abnormally as if he was suffering through a mental shock. Plus, Tuan''s bodynguage conveyed the aura of an afraid person. As if he was scared for his life upon seeing his most dreadful enemying in front of him out of the blue. If Lily was greeted with the fake face Tuan had just shown her, she would have believed that she had got him. ''This this chameleon bastard should win an award for excellent acting.'' Lilymented to herself while maintaining a stoic expression. For some reason, her subconscious mind told her that either she should get the guy on her side or stay as far away from him as possible. . ?`?`m Soon, Lily''s acquaintances caught up to her and stood behind her on either side. The realization that Ketsu and Wilder had her back gave Lily enoughpetition to face her opponents. "Ketsu, Wilder, just be clear. I''ll have the artefact. You can divide the Titus points Tuan has between both of you. But Katalina''s Titus points would get divided among the three of us. Are there any objections?" Lily addressed her raid partners openly. She wanted to highlight her agreement with Ketsu and Wilder once again before they started the battle. But she also wanted to create subtle pressure in the minds of her opponents by provoking them in this way. "Kat, you can keep that baldy and ranger busy. Beat them however you want. But that petite assassin ass is all mine. When the opportunity arises in the battle, I intend to p it as hard as I can. See if it jiggles like a jelly or stays inconspicuous like thatdy''s boobs." Tuan said with a serious look on his face. The rankers, including Katalina, froze in their tracks and had baffled expressions on their faces. Ketsu couldn''t help but chuckle and look at Lily''s posterior while he did that. Wilder took a while to process the joke. As a result, he became angry with Tuan for underestimating him and found his partner to be enough to handle him. But then he processed the rest of his statements and startedughing. "Hahahaha! Tuan, my man, I Cough.. cough cough I mean I''m sure it would jiggle just fine. It''s just that those things are packed tight in those assassin clothes so" "Wilder you shameless prick shut the fuck up." Wilder was admonished by Lily before he could finish his sentence. The former used his palm as the suppressant he needed to control hisughter. Ketsu too followed his lead and decided not to make eye contact with Lily when he did that. Lily decided that it was a terrible idea to y mind games with Tuan. The guy didn''t look like it. But he was better at it. This was her second time almost getting tricked by him without him doing anything about it and just using his mouth to speak. "I suppose you don''t want any peaceful resolution, Tuan. That''s fine by me." ,c`o`m Lily said to Tuan while giving him a lowkey hateful look. Then she looked at Katalina beforementing. "But Miss Katalina, you don''t have to suffer because of Tuan, wouldn''t you agree? Just hand the artefact over to me and I will permit you to walk out" Katalina shook her head in denial before speaking up. "Forget it. Not happening. This guy is scarier than you." She pointed at Tuan who was still rocking his fake-shocked expressions. He gave those expressions to Katalina who then had stressed lines on her forehead. She addressed her raid partner with a frown on her face. "Cut it out!" Tuan didn''t reply with words. He disappeared from his position leaving a me of the same size as him in his ce. It was as if he had been instabusted into thin air. The next thing Katalina saw was Lily locking both of her swords in a defensive position in front of her. She barely managed to deflect the orange-red des that hit against hers in the most violent way possible. Lily was no expert in frontalbat. Frankly, the wholepetition was such that it didn''t allow her to take full advantage of her assassin ss. Still, she had learned a lot of support spells to make her capable of tackling frontalbats and long-range attacks. Lily used rune inscribed clothes that made her resistant to blunt forces. She also drank potions that enhanced her strength and resilience. Plus, the execution of support spells bolstered her strength and other physical attributes a step further. Yet, she still felt her hands turning numb in a frontal sh with Tuan. That''s because Tuan was using his fire-element spells to generate momentum out of nowhere. With the use of Total Control, the explosiveness behind even his normal closebat attacks had increased to a whole new level. Katalina understood her assignment and attacked Ketsu with her flying shes. She then used the potion bomb given to her by Tuan on Wilder. With this, she was able to make sure that both of Lily''s raid mates stayed on her and away from her fight with Tuan. "Why should I attack this little girl when I can just attack the man who seems interesting? Hahahaha! Ketsu, look after yourself. I''ll beat the crap out of this Tuan brat quickly before joining you." To Katalina''s surprise, the potion bomb did not affect Wilder. The guy didn''t even try to dodge the potion or its area of effect. He just stood there in the middle of the bomb''s st and came out unscathed when the dust settled." "Tuan" Katalina tried to warn him. But Tuan was already aware of what was happening around him. He cursed his luck for Lily having a tank-like existence in her team that also seemed capable of fighting like a berserker, sans the use of berserker potions. ''Fuck. I guess some things don''t work out ording to n. Maybe I see the situations and assume things that fit my logic. Chapter 534 Ketsu vs Katalina Chapter 534 Ketsu vs Katalina ''Fuck. I guess some things don''t work out ording to n. Maybe I see the situations and assume things that fit my logic.'' Tuan self-reflected for a brief period before turning around to see Wildering at him with a wide smile on his face. He disappeared from his position just a moment before Lily pierced the guts of his afterimage and charged ahead to meet the barbarian. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Total Control Fire Steps Fire Wings Fireball Fledgelings of the me Tuan didn''t hold anything back and sent his mana circuits on overdrive. In the next moment, he was airborne with wings of fire attached to his back. Lily was met with a pair of two 2-meter long fire snakes that hissed at her before she could pursue their caster. She smiled after seeing the two snakesing for her. She disappeared from the scene using her assassin ss specific spell, not leaving any trace of her behind that could allow the rankers present here to track her. Lily thought Tuan managing to detect her at the time of the flying shoe artefact was a fluke. So she decided to test that theory again. The animated spell contained the consciousness of a real snake extracted from higher consciousness. It couldn''t detect her presence on its own unless its caster was aware of it either. Too bad, Eren was still aware of her position, thanks to Alephee. The fledglings acted like real snakes and attacked the air as if it were empty. A momentter, an invisible human figure was seen on fire because the snakes had encircled her body with their trunks. Swoosh! The snakes'' bodies were shed into multiple pieces before the invisible figure jumped from its position. The mirage of invisibility was snatched away from Lily as she materialized herself not too far away from her previous position. A volume of smoke wasing from all over her body. She was unscathed. But Tuan''s fire element mana had affected her runic clothes, making them catch fire. She would have gotten some burns if these mana-strengthened runic clothes weren''t on her. ''Haah! I guess I need to take care of these damn snakes first.'' Lily gave up on sneaking up on Tuan while he was battling with Wilder. She took a nce at her opponent and clenched her fist before running towards the snakes. She had meant at her disposal to take care of animated spells after all. ******************** "You won''t win this battle. I suggest you give up your im on that artefact and walk away from this mess. Even if we would fight it out eventually, it doesn''t have to be today when you are less prepared." Ketsu addressed Katalina while not uttering a word from his mouth. His sound-element spell allowed him to produce sound from any point in space where his mana sense could reach. ''Tuan was right. It''s no fun being targeted. The fun starts when you target your opponents and take things from them instead of finding ways to keep their hands away from yours.'' While she was looking at her shoes, Katalina thought to herself that she had be fond of themtely. She hmphed in response to Ketsu''s statement and attacked him once again using her flying shes. This time though, she didn''t stop sending her attacks at the ranger. He was trying to keep his distance from her with his ranger specific spells that were more effective in the long range. She flew in the air using her artefacts and approached Ketsu. Thetter was made aware by his mana sense that the flying shes were closing in on him before his eyes could even perceive them. Just then, he saw Katalina flying. Before he could think of a strategy to deal with any more iing attacks heading his way, he found out that the closebat expert had appeared right above his head. Katalina had used an inscribed spell on her artefact. She felt d that the spell worked exactly as she had hoped and caught the ranger off guard. Usually, she would struggle with the ranger ss which wasmon among the closebat experts. Her shoes helped her ovee this weakness. Swoosh! Katalina delivered another series of flying shes toward Ketsu before appearing behind him. She then used another spell at her disposal and generated two wind-element cannons to fire at Ketsu. Katalina forced Ketsu to face the flying shes she had executed in the very beginning. The ranger used his movement spell and disappeared from his position. He was soon about to face the flying shes with the disc-shaped sound-element barrier he had generated in front of him. Just then, an owl''s hoot was heard. Ketsu looked back to see Katalina standing at his previous position, pointing upwards. Her contract beast was approaching Ketu at critical velocity with its talons stretched. It also released a rain of wind-element shrapnels that looked like its feathers. Katalina saw Ketsu generate the second disc-shaped barrier above him to save himself from the owl''s feather-shaped shrapnels. He was just about to strike his first barrier when the wind elemental shes at him. The next moment, shrapnel struck his second barrier. Ketsu had his hands full. He was about to change his position when he sensed the wind-element cannons firing a pair ofpressed balls of white mana from two different directions. "Oh, fu" A mana st urred at Ketsu''s position. Katalina showed her opponent as well as her fans that she hadn''t reached this stage through sheer luck. She was capable of overwhelming otherpetitors if they dared to mess with her. To her surprise, however, she saw Ketsu still standing firmly at his ce. He was injured. His blood was starting toe out of various ces on his body. Thepressed ball of wind-element mana released needle-like shrapnels that had pierced his natural ana defence to some degree and ruptured his skin all over his body. "You you almost had me." Ketsumented while holding his pierced shoulder with a hand, which was leaking blood. His other hand was ced over his heart. Chapter 535 Calling Her Bluff Chapter 535 Calling Her Bluff "You you almost had me." Ketsumented while holding his neck which was leaking blood with one hand. His other hand was ced over his heart. Ketsu had used a defensive spell he had at his disposal at the right time that allowed him to fend off almost all of the shrapnels targeting his body. He feared he might have been critically injured if he hadn''t deployed the spell at an optimal time. The ranger didn''t like using his defensive spell. That''s because his element wasn''tpatible with defensive spells and anything that was rted to the materialization of mana. He had to convert sound-element mana into sound waves that would stack upon one another and act as a defensiveyer around his body. He depended on the density of the sound waves as well as the kic energy stored in them to deflect the attacks targeting him. As a result, his mana expenditure was too high whenever he executed those spells. The disc-shaped sound element barriers he had used earlier were the lighter version of the same concept employed by his primary defensive spell. It changed the direction of the attacks and any shrapnels so that they missed their targets, rather than deflecting thempletely. Ketsu had his mana storage halved to half its capacity instantly a few moments into the battle. He had to admit that Katalina had got him good. Katalina had picked up a thing or two after observing how Tuan fought during these three days when they raided monster nests together. His attacks always left an opening behind them and made his opponents choose or prioritize that opening. Then he would set traps covering that opening, which would get triggered as soon as his opponents passed through them. The butcher had been using the array-traps extensively ever since he had gotten a hand of them. That''s because he was used to such tactics. After seeing the way Tuan fought, Katalina couldn''t help but be inspired by his battle style. She tried to mimic him in her fight against Ketsu. She hade to realize that most of Tuan''s traps were unavoidable because of the way they worked. Even if one''s opponent knew that there might be traps ahead, they would still subconsciously choose to prioritize their safety by avoiding immediate dangers. These kinds of traps were based on the survival instincts of ranking entities. As long as the targets can''t ovee the survival instincts they have, they won''t be able to save themselves from falling into such traps. Ketsu used his arm''s sleeves to wipe the blood that was all over his face. He then took a long breath before summoning his weapons. Two rune-inscribed flintlocks made their appearance in Ketsu''s either hand. He gripped them firmly before imbuing them with his sound-element spell. There was no sound. But suddenly Katalina felt a white noise that permeated through her whole body. The next thing she knew, her vision had gotten blurred and she had lost control of her footing. Ketsu had fired his sound bullets at Katalina and denoted them a moment before they hit her. His firing rate was low. But due to his element''s specialty, he could fire from a long-range and control his bullets'' trajectory and detonation with his mana sense. Aaaaaaah! Katalina gripped her head with both her hands and pulled her hair due to sound-element mana affecting her senses. The detonation of sound waves affected her sense of direction andpromised her vision. Her hearing capabilities were temporarily lost. She couldn''t even hear her own screams. Ketsu had been preparing his sound-element attack for a long time before the sonic bullets made their appearance. He only pulled out the artifacts with which he could extend the range of his stacked spells when they were ready. Ketsu imbued his mana into the flintlocks once again. He also cast the defensive disk barriers to keep himself safe from harm while he recharged the flintlocks. Katalina decided to be decisive when her head was splitting with the sounds of so many things all at once. Consequently, that overwhelming sound had cleared her mind of any confusing thoughts. Then there was one thought that had been lurking inside her brain for thest few days. Before, it had been overshadowed by all her other dominant thoughts. But then, at this moment, it found its chance to shine. At that time, she remembered Tuan''s words about not being intimidated by others. ''Sometimes, you need to turn off the switch of sanity to win over your opponent.'' Katalina reiterated Tuan''s words in her now-empty head and decided to act on them. She took control of her situation by sending her mana circuits into hyperdrive in the next moment. This was done without allowing her mana points to ry the mana they had forward. As a result, her body started turning red. The surface-level muscle tendons on her limbs started swelling. "Aaaaaaaaaah!'' Katalina couldn''t help screaming in pain. As a result of her insane act, most of the foreign sound-element mana got expelled from her system at the cost of damaging her internal organs. She chose to partake in self-harm to gain control over her body. Unknown to the butcher, his words had converted a superior-than-average ranker into a battle-hardened personality. Katalina''s spells were about to disperse due to her losing control. So when she snapped out of her pain in the next moment, the wind-element ranker provided them with a significant amount of mana without having to worry about mana consumption. Katalina''s beast contract spell received arge chunk of her mana. Her owl produced a sharp sound in the next moment that wasn''t very owl-like and attacked Ketsu with newfound vigor. Ketsu was about to be done charging his flintlocks when he suddenly felt pressurized. He was attacked first by cannon shellsing from two directions. Then the owl cast its spell and made him change his position constantly. As if that was not enough, he saw Katalinaing at him without any fear in her eyes despite him holding the flintlocks. Ketsu had studied his opponents. ording to his recons and the profile he had created for Katalina, she wasn''t this aggressive. She should have prioritized her safety first beforeing at him like some kind of daredevil with vengeance on their mind. ''What what the fuck has happened to her in these days?'' Ketsu asked himself. He then thought that Katalina was putting up a front and decided to call her bluff. Chapter 536 wild wild Wilder Chapter 536 wild wild Wilder ''What what the fuck has happened to her in these days?'' Ketsu asked himself. He then thought that Katalina was putting up a front and decided to call her bluff. He pointed his flintlocks at her and fired a series of bullets made out of iplete spell castings in her direction. he effects of these dummy sound bullets weren''t anywhere near the real deal. But these bullets were easy to cast. Ketsu would always mix them with his real ones to deter his opponent from charging at him. He was a ranger after all. He liked to keep his opponents at a distance from him. Katalina saw the bullets and changed her direction midway. It was her logical side that caused her not to charge at her enemy. In the end, she couldn''t keep the switch of sanity turned off for long. Some habits die hard, after all. It is not that her decision was not the right one for her in her situation. The wind-element ranker had managed to keep her safe from immediate harm while preventing herself from getting beaten by her opponent. Katalina retreated to a safe distance before staring at her opponent. They were both bloody and in an almost identical situation. There was a short stalemate before the decisive battle would soon begin. *********************** "Tuan, I have been itching to fight with you for a long time. Hahahaha! I''m sorry forughing at your misery, but what happened to you was really funny." Wayne Wilder said while pounding his fists against one another and adjusting his gauntlets against one another. Then he poured his mana into them and spiky protrusions formed over the knuckles. It meant that Wilder''s attacks were not limited to blunt force damage. He could also inflict puncture wounds on his opponents with the help of his wearable artifacts. Wayne scratched his beard with his artifact-wearing hand andmented once again. "I say let the bitch leave if she wants to. A guy like you can surely find another one." While smirking, Wilder finished what he wanted to say to Tuan. "In any case, you''d have to go out and explore the world to find your next true love. Why wait till thepetition is over? Let me help you embark on your soulmate searching journey by eliminating you right here and now. Hahahaha!" Boom! A meteor-like fire-element spell crashed onto Wilder''s position as soon as he finished saying what he had to say. The image of Tuan that he was seen talking to turned out to be an afterimage. Tuan had decided not to engage in a verbal spat with the barbarian. From his understanding, the bald muscle maniac only understood thenguage of fists. So that''s how he was nning tomunicate with him. When the dust settled, Tuan could see that there was a giant, semi-transparent tortoiseshell covering Wilder''s body within it. Slowly, that shape expanded and grew limbs. Thest to be formed was the tortoise head that stretched and looked at Tuan with a menace in its eyes. It released a series of guttural sounds to intimidate him as well. ''A barbarian with a tortoise-type contract beast. How odd!'' Tuanmented to himself and created a distance between the tortoise and Wilder. Thetter stepped out of his contract beast''s semi-transparent body and poured more mana into his spell. As a result, the tortoise''s semi-transparent body solidified and looked like the real deal. Wilder jumped on his contract beast''s back and stood on it with his hands locked behind his back. Wilder continued to speak casually as if Tuan''s earlier attack didn''t mean anything to him. "Boy, I tried having a few words with you before our duel. But it seems you are in a hurry to receive a beating. If that''s what you want, then be my guest. Luko Shanko, have at him." ''Who names their contract beast with such a weird name? This guy is the definition of weird.'' Tuan had this thought when he heard Wilder''s words. But his expression changed in the next moment when he saw the tortoise running at him at an unbelievable speed. ''What the tortoises were supposed to be slow.'' Stunning Speed Sedated Perception Fire Steps Fire Wings Tuan executed all the spells that would allow him to dodge a mini hill-like contract beast with ease. He dodged to the side and jumped before using his Fire Wings to glide out of the troubled position. While in the air, he pulled up the military database entry on the mana beast he had just dodged. ording to the database, the mana beast was called Gopher Earth Tortoise. Just like he had seen just now, the species had a parakeet-like beak serving as its mouth. It was an earth-element mana beast that was known for its resilient shell and various earth-element-based attacks. The tortoise species wasn''t known for its speed. But there were always variants induced by the inclusion of mana. Kind of like an exception to every rule. The Gopher Earth Tortoise species would sometimes produce a deviant mana beast that was capable of oveing its inherent slow speed by unlocking an innate spell. It would generate an anti-gravity field below its hooves and use it to speed up its steps. As a result, the mana beast had an excellent speed without its steps making any sort of noise or impact on the ground. Tuan read all the information the military database had on the mana beast while he was in his Sedated Perception. Then he closed his spectral screen and observed his nextnding. To his surprise, he found out that the mana beast had almost caught up to his diversion. It wouldn''t be long before it reached the same ce he was about tond. At the same time, he could see that the mana beast had used its earth-element spell. There was a circle of spikes forming with Tuan''s supposednding spot as the center. The mana beast was trying to box Tuan in. Tuan was about to change directions by controlling his Fire Wings in the air. But then he realized Wilder was not sitting atop the tortoise''s shell anymore. He knew something was wrong and turned around. Wilderughed when he saw Tuan around just before he was about to hit him with his spiked punch. He didn''t hesitate and coated his hands in earth-element mana. The spikes in his hands grew about 15 inches as a result. The attack started looking less like a punch and more like a bunch of spike-like protrusions stacked together to impale somebody. Wilder served as the prime example of how wild the barbarians could get in their attacks and their battle style. "See you outside, boy. Don''t let anyone take your next woman ever again. Hahaha!" Chapter 537 Barbarian Wway Chapter 537 Barbarian Wway "See you outside, boy. Don''t let anyone take your next woman ever again. Hahaha!" Wilder spoke out loud beforending his punch on Tuan. But as soon as he did that, he knew his attack had been dodged. That''s because he didn''t receive any feedback of impact through his punch. Wilder was just about to turn to his right when he saw an orange-sh heading for his neck. He raised his hands to block it with his artifact-protected palm. nk! A metallic sound made its acoustic appearance. Tuan''s attack was stopped. But then Wilder felt something strike his chest. The next thing he realized was the fact that Tuan had bolted from the scene using his movement spell and Fire Wings at a greater speed than he had shown earlier. ''How the fuck his guy is so fast.'' Wilder was about to finish his chain of thoughts when he looked down at his chest again where he felt some weird sensation. He observed that now there was a star-shaped array mark printed all of a sudden over his tank-top. A ck ink spread on its own, maintaining the form of the star as it spread. Soon, the ink made it past the tank top and spread all over his body. The star-shaped array attached itself firmly to Wilder''s torso. The small array trap used his own mana as glue that Wilder was leaking through his body''s natural defenses to keep the vial of potion bomb stuck to him. This vial of potion was ced in the middle of the star-shaped array. And it was changing its color rapidly. Wilder immediately understood what it was when he saw it. He would have never thought that the Tuan guy he had seen battling in thepetition would use something like a potion bomb. That too inbination with an array trap. Wilder tried to pull the vial stuck to his chest with all his might. But he could feel that he wouldn''t be able to pull that vial from its position before breaking the array trap first. And it''d be toote if he tries to break the array trap. "This mother fuck" BOOM! The potion bomb exploded when Tuannded on his spot a sufficient distance away from Wilder. The butcher looked back to see Wilder as well as his contract beast getting engulfed by a dense cloud of mes. Tuan retrieved a scroll and opened it. There was the same star-shaped array trap''syout printed over it. He ced his hands over theyout and imbued his mana. In the next moment, the array trap vanished from the scroll and appeared over his palm. Tuan had reloaded the array trapyout over his palm because he knew one st would not be enough to take care of Wilder. His guess was right. A distinct mana pulse was released from within the cloud of mes soon afterward. "Aaaaargh!" Wilder came out of the cloud of mes and smoke screaming. He had an earth-element armor spell covering every inch of his body. However, it looked like it had been cracked. The mes had managed to prate his defensive spell with the help of the potion bomb''s explosive power. "Aaaaah! You motherfucking son of a bitch, I''ll fucking kill you." Then Wilder disappeared from his position. The defensive spell he had cast had taken the shape of his body. After the caster left the defensive spell, the empty shell remained in its position. It crumbled soon afterward. The man that had emerged from the earth armor now had crack-shaped burn marks all over his body. Only the clothes near his groin had been saved due to the baldy prioritizing his junk''s safety. All his other clothes were lost. As a result, the burn marks could be clearly seen. They looked like tiger stripes on his tanned body. Wilder charged at Tuan with an exceptional speed he hadn''t shown before. It was clear that he was pushing the boundaries of his spell beyond the scope of their normal output. Thanks to his ss-specific trait, he could bring out 120 percent of any of his spells'' effects at the cost of enraging him and decreasing his intelligence. The barbarian way of enhancing a spell''s effect was a dual-edge weapon. It was focused on the ranker''s rage-controlling abilities. As the rage of the barbarian builds up, it lowers the intelligence stat. After it dips below a certain value, the ranker won''t be able to cast any more spells until their intelligence stat recovers. The more rage a barbarian felt, the more powerful the effect of their chosen spell would be. It would also expedite the process of barbarians not being able to cast any more spells. The rage-driven mentality would alsopromise the ranker''s natural thought process, making it difficult for them to n and think clearly after analyzing the situation. Tuan could feel that Wilder was trying to maintain his rage to keep his contract beast spell active. Tuan didn''t know but Wilder had ordered his contract beast to cast his shell-like defensive spell on him. That''s how he survived the st. The defensive armor spell he had used earlier only took half the burnt, which had been escaped in his direction due to the shell-like spell cast by his contract beast. Wilder was a bit apprehensive about Tuan''s insidious way of using array traps and potion bombs. Wilder maintained the beast contract spell for the fear of having to use Luko Shanko again,manding the beast to cast its shell spell protection on him. Wilder''s earth-element movement spell was also based on gravitational force. The bald ranker glided over the ground as if he was ice-skating on the most slippery grounds. Tuan smiled cruelly when Wilder was approaching him. He gripped his orange-red swords tightly before releasing a flying sh at the guy. This time it wasn''t just a regr attack obtained by imbuing weapons with elemental mana. Invi-ze! The inscribed spell of Tuan''s orange-red swords. Wilder didn''t see anything. He didn''t even feel the attack until it was toote. The next thing he knew, his torso had been inflicted with a bloody sword cut. Chapter 538 Fire Wings and lnvi Blaze Combo Chapter 538 Fire Wings and lnvi ze Combo Invi-ze! Wilder didn''t see anything. He didn''t even feel the attack until it was toote. The next thing he knew his torso had been inflicted with a bloody sword wound. It cut from the upper extremity of his right leg to his left shoulder. The sword cut caused the wound to catch fire before the blood could make its presence known. Also, it cauterized the wound instantly, preventing the blood from escaping. ''Hmm. That''s a negative side effect of using Invi ze. It would have been better if he had bled a bit. Then again, I can''t control my attack after it gets delivered like Al. So it''s not the des'' fault.'' Tuan thought while processing the details happening around him. Wilder, on the other hand, felt like super hot, high-pressure air had entered his system when the sword wound first hit him. And when the wound caught fire, his nervous system was overwhelmed with pain receptors working overtime. "Aaargh!" Wayne cried out with no restraints on his vocal cords. But then "Aaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaaaaa! Hahahahahahaha! This is more like it. Hahahahaha!" The barbarian yelled in pain at first. But then Tuan saw his yell turn into joyousughter. As if he had learned to embrace his pain and found something worthwhile in it. Tuan had forgotten the fact that just like berserkers taped into their madness to bring out 120 percent of themselves, barbarians would use their anger to fuel their attacks and defense. Some barbarians would also be able to boost their instant recovery the angrier they felt. Each ss had its advantages and disadvantages. No ss would reign supreme all the time. But the barbarians were made for upfront battles. Because anger was one of the most primal emotions a ranker was subjected to in such battles, especially when they were on the losing end. Tuan knew something was up. He could see Wilder''s wound getting closed at a visible rate even in his near-stagnant world. He had maintained a safe distance from him because of the guy''s overwhelming strength. But when he saw Wilder''s healing spell doing more than it was supposed to do, the butcher knew the time to y defensive was over. Invi ze! Invi ze! Invi ze! Invi ze! Tuan sent a bunch of flying shes toward Wilder while he was encircling him with his movement spell. He then jumped high and cast his signature spell. Fire Wings! This time, Wilder was ready for the shes. Simrly, his contract beast appeared right next to him at just the right moment to secure him inside its semi-transparent body. The contract beast cried in pain and agony when the flying shes hit its body. Just as it was about to look up to see the butcher''s position, it was struck by a massive blow over its shield-like shell. Boom! Fire Wings and Invi ze! The attack initiated by Tuan looked like the red-orange-looking meter was covered in white rings around it as it was crashing onto its intended target. The white rings were there because Tuan had used his des'' inscribed spell without releasing it. As a result, the rings formed as Tuan spun around himself to perform the meteor strike. The shield broke. The mana body of the contract beast was dispersed, revealing the Barbarian inside who was using a healing spell to try to heal himself. Still, there was no rest for the wicked. Boom! Tuan''s enhanced meteor strike struck Wilder''s back as soon as the first defense broke. A bunch of Invi ze attacks was released at the same time from Tuan''s weapon set all at once. There was no cry of pain this time. Tuan created a distance from the crater Wilder had now found himself in and raised his swords in front of him. A me was burning in the middle of the crater that was also sending waves of heat haze in all directions. Wilder''s body caught on fire. It was enveloped in Tuan''s overwhelming fire-element mana that acted as the me''s fuel. "You you are one of a kind, Tuan Aag. Hehe. I''m d I could fight you here. But don''t write me off just yet. Let me show you what a barbarian can do when they lose themselves in their rage. Receive me well with all you got, boy. Because this duel has just stopped being a part of thepetition for me. Hehe! This would be fun." Wilder stated while sounding utterly peaceful. He didn''t sound this content within himself even while he wasughing before the battle began. Tuan could feel that Wilder too knew how to turn the switch of his sanity off. A bunch of warning bells sounded in Tuan''s head all at once. Before he could act on them, Wilder was already on his tail throwing his gauntlet-enhanced punch at him. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Fire Steps All of Wilder''s senses including his instincts were only tasked with one goal. Kill TuanC the guy who had be the reason for his uncontroble rage. His rage had reduced his intelligence, which prevented him from performing the spells he wanted when he wanted. He couldn''t formte any n or stick to one anymore. Barbarians did not need to n their rage mode anyway. It worked purely on instincts and the capabilities of rankers'' bodies. The more well-endowed a barbarian''s body was, the more time they would be able to sustain rage mode. Wilder subconsciously sensed that Tuan was already getting away from its range of attacks even when he had caught him off guard. So he used his earth-element spells to prevent him from escaping. In the next moment, Tuan found out that there were a bunch of earth-element walls rising all around him in variousyers. Plus, there were spikes in the earth preventing him from fleeing in specific directions. What''s more? The ground on which the battle was fought had patches ofrge potholes and small dunes which could hinder his progress. Tuan''s movement spell got less effective because his steps didn''t get the footing needed for it to work the way it was supposed to work. Not to mention the fact that Wilder''s movement spell had also been bolstered by his rage mode. Tuan saw in slow motion as the guy caught up to him in what felt like a blink of an eye in a non-stagnant world. ''Oh fuck!'' Chapter 539 Disarming the Assassin Chapter 539 Disarming the Assassin ''Oh fuck!'' Tuan cursed as a spiked punch was directed right at his guts. He dodged most of the spikes targeting different parts of his body. But Wilder used his earth-element mana to create more spikes sprouting from the knuckles of his fists. They also had a metallic shine to them now that Wilder had entered the barbaric state. Tuan''s body had already been punctured before the blunt force acting on it, sent him tens of meters away from his previous position. Wilder didn''t give his opponent a chance to recover. He followed after Tuan andnded some more punches at him. Wilder lost himself in his rage. He would react instinctively to the butcher''s every move and find the most effective strategy to counter it at the cost of self-harming him as well. As a result, Wilder suffered grievous injuries to his body as well. But his opponent''s condition was much more serious than his. By the time Wilder was kicked out of the rage stage forcefully by his body, Tuan was barely standing on his two legs. He had gaping holes all over his body as a result. Some of the leaked blood had painted him red, making him appear as if he had bathed in a pool of blood. Tuan and Wilder both maintained a distance from each other after their brief spar that thetter had won. But they knew this temporary truce would be broken by anyone, anytime. Tuan had prevented the blood from spilling from the wounds with the help of his natural mana defense acting as the barrier. But he knew he wouldn''t be able to hold his condition for much longer. But that was still secondary on his list of priorities. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Total Control Since Eren was struggling, Alephee cast his go-to time element spell herself to help him. She hadn''t done this since his first duel with Renita in the Ranking Wars. The butcher had always been careful not to get himself cornered. He had taken every precaution he could. But since he wasn''t using his lightning-element spells, it tranted to him battling with an experienced and exceptional Ace ranker handicapped. He had to face the consequences of his actions. ''Eren, you lost control over your animated spells. That assassin''s attack is iing. 8 O clock. Don''t try to dodge it. Deflect it the way I tell you, when I tell you.'' Tuan''s blurred mind got some form of rity as he was forcefully pulled into the near stagnant world by Alephee. Had she not done that, he would have been able to use the lightning element spells and blown his cover. It was a matter of survival for him after all. Tuan didn''t answer Alephee verbally. He handled Lily''s attack the way Alephee wanted him to. As a result, the assassin was disarmed before her neck was grabbed by the butcher. He grabbed both her hands behind her back with one hand. Then he spun her around and made her act as a shield for him. Her back touching the front of his torso. "You think you can sneak up on me without any consequences, huh? Think I''m only proficient with words, do you?" Butcher said and pped Lily''s ass hard. He had done it using his hand covered in fire-element mana that tore a bit through her runic suit and inflicted a substantial blunt force on her tush. Her now-slightly-exposed buttock featured a red and slightly burnt hand print over it as a result. There was nothing erotic about Tuan hitting Lily''s ass the way he did. He just thought that he should honor the words that he had stated before the start of the match. He also increased the strength behind his grip on Lily''s neck, making her feel like her neck would snap in two before she died of asphyxiation. Contrary to what Lily had thought, Tuan didn''t give her any concession just because she was a female ranker. He treated her with equal fierceness his other opponents were subjected to. "Wilder, cough cough cough you bald-headed maniac. You couldn''t even take care of cough cough I''ll give you that artifact you asked for cough cough Now help me." Lily made a deal with Wilder while she was being held by Tuan. He had also ced his other hand over her heat while coating it with fire-element mana. He had one of Arundel''s hilts being held by his teeth. The sword''s edge was in line with her neck which was covered by his grip. Tuan didn''t wait for Lily to finish her deal with Wilder. He had already started moving in a particr direction, hoping Katalina would be ready for the move. He maintained the reins he had leashed on Lily while moving in that direction to control her movements. Wilder was utterly exhausted after he had been kicked out of his rage state. His body ached and hurt all over. His mana circuits had been suspended in the hyperdrive for so long that they couldn''t be brought back to normal anytime soon. His internal injuries were growing by the moment as a result. He was nning on letting Lily handle Tuan when he got off the barbarian-ss-specific power boost. But he felt disappointed in his raid partner when she was caught so effortlessly. He was nning to save her anyway since she still had some use for him in theing days. Even so, the offer she ryed to him made her rescue all the more tempting. Wilder let Tuan create a distance from him willingly. He instead chose to stabilize his condition for the next attack. He didn''t want to enter the rage state and make his condition even worse. Plus, his mana storage was almost depleted. So he needed a sure-shot way of taking care of Tuan without burning his or Lily''s hands in the process. Wilder put his spiked gauntlets away and took out his mace. This was an artifact he rarely used because it was used to deliver overwhelming blunt force, killing most of his opponents in the process. As a ranker, he was given a lot of tasks that required his targets not to die. Hence, Wilder limited the use of his main weapon and reced it with the gauntlets. Furthermore, now he had much better control over directing his strength at an isted spot. The weapon made sure that the impact didn''t deviate from its intended spot. Wilder first cast his earth element spells and created walls and spikes in Tuan''s path of escape. He didn''t have to do much because the butcher stopped retreating as soon as the walls started surrounding him. Wilder thought his opponent was beaten by exhaustion too, just like him. "Aaaaaaaa!" Wilder released another battle cry before changing at Tuan with his remaining mana and all that he had. Chapter 540 Switching Places Chapter 540 Switching ces "Aaaaaaaa!" Wilder released another battle cry before changing at Tuan with his remaining mana and all that he had. He had to admit that Tuan had pushed him to his limits. He was a lot tougher than he had initially thought him to be. "Hahahaha! Tuan, I have to admit, you surprised me. You deserve to be in the Titus finals, kid. But your journey ends here." Wilder opened his eyes that he had closed briefly andmented. Tuan could feel that something had happened to the barbarian when he opened his eyes. It was as if he had been given sufficient time to recharge himself. ***************** Wilder had another barbarian ss-specific spell he could use with the help of a ss-intrinsic spell that acted on his body. For a brief period, he would be able to revitalize himself and use the environment mana as his own without having to channel it through his mana core. The barbarian ss had ess to pretty weird spells. It also amodated a lot of battle styles that ranged from raw to refined. But the ss wasn''t an exception when it came to having to deal with the aftereffects of one''s actions. The consequence of using this ss-intrinsic spell was that he would be bedridden for a couple of days. His mana core could also be temporarily damaged by processing the environmental mana unfiltered. Wilder''s rage state would also bepromised until the residual unprocessed mana has gotten rid of. Pure mana in its surroundings would contain the will of the world. When he taps into the rage state while his unprocessed mana is still in his system, he might be a ranker who has lost their identity. Wilder won''t be able to make full use of his barbarian ss even if he finds a way to heal himself using the help of potions. Normally, he wouldn''t do something like this for Lily because they were only temporary allies. But Lily had something Wilder needed. An earth-element armor artifact that allowed for enhanced healing after sustaining damage on any part of the wearer''s body. It could pair well with the healing spell and his rage modbo, making him forget about the self-harm tactics he used to get himself involved against his better judgment. The artifact could also help him recover from the adverse effects of using the ss-intrinsic spell. Lily knew that Wilder wouldn''t try to save her under normal conditions. He would wait for Ketsu to be done with dealing with Kat before teaming up with him to take Tuan down. So she threw a bait at him knowing that he would bite. She only held on to the armor so she could get higher value for money from earth-element rankers anyway. But now, nothing was more important to her than staying in the Tituspetition. But both of them forgot about the possibility that Tuan might be using Lily as bait to make Wilder attack him. Often, being part of the colors prevents one from seeing the big picture. Tuan allowed Wilder to approach him with patience and calm. On his face bloomed a cunning smile he had not previously shown to Lily''s team. In that moment, Lily, who was closest to him, felt something was amiss. She tried to warn Wilder about it. But her neck was choked even harder than before as a result. The next couple of seconds were kind of like a blur to Wilder and Lily. When he had approached Tuan, he had made sure that Katalina and Ketsu were far away from interfering in their duel. He didn''t want the butcher to have anyst-minute respite. Yet, when he was just an arm''s length away from Tuan, he found out that the butcher had disappeared along with Lily. Ketsu had appeared in their ce with equally shocked expressions. "Wilder.. Don''t" Ketsu cried and raised his flintlocks in front of him. He fired at the barbarian''s thighs so that he would be stopped from taking any threatening steps toward him. But it was already toote. Ketsu''s sound bullet inflicted more damage to Wilder on top of the damage he was already suffering from. The round of bullets, however, could not put an end to the barbarian''s momentum. Plus, a ranger like Ketsu wasn''t proficient in closebat. He had poured all his efforts into maintaining his distance from Kat for the same reason. Wilder could only divert his weapon''s attack at thest moment in order to control the assault on his raid partner. And that''s what he did. Ketsu was spared from having a life-threatening injury because of the guy he called muscle-brain keeping his muscles and brain in check. Yet, the pain was unavoidable for both of them. Boom! "Fuck. You fucking baldy." "Aaaaaaaaah my brain...." Ketsu and Wilder both cried loudly in unison. Wilder crashed onto the ground Ketsu stood on with his hands clutching his head. The muscles of his legs were affected by the sound-element mana invading his system too. Ketsu was sent tens of meters away from the ground zero of the attack. They were both unaware that the butcher had ced a space element array even before Lily''s team visited him. The butcher had once seen the usefulness of a space element array in action when he was against ho and his army buddies. She had used his space-element pendant artifact as the basis for creating a separate channel for mana to be supplied to him inside the array that was made to lock him from casting lightning spells. The butcher had asked about the inner workings of the array La had used along with the way his space element pendant could be incorporated into it. Since the minimal damage it had sustained was rectified by Later on, it could be repurposed for space element arrays like the one he had used a few moments ago. The butcher was yet to utilize the artifact the way it was designed to be utilized. But with his increasing studies and interest in the field of arrays along with his consultation with La and Alephee, he was able to draw an array that could pull off such a feat. This was a contingency n he had already told Kat about. She had led Ketsu at the right position for Tuan to switch ces with him at the crucial time. =================== AN: The space-element array that is mentioned here is an altered version of the one created by La in chapter 403. Chapter 541 Soul Sense and Sins SeriesAbilities Chapter 541 Soul Sense and Sins SeriesAbilities When Lily realized what had happened, she also realized the fact that she had messed up with the wrong man. No artifact was worth this trouble. "You. You cough knew we wereing. You baited us." Lily said in a weak voice. One of the assassin ss'' weaknesses was most of her camouge spells couldn''t get cast until she lost any physical contact with the other ranker. Her physical stats weren''t strong enough to battle with Tuan. Plus, the battle with Tuan''s animated snakes wasn''t exactly a breeze for her either. That battle had already taken a toll on her. With that threat of getting kicked out ofpetition or life looming over her head, Lily decided to make a deal with the devil. "Sp spare us. We won''t bother you again. Cough I''m sure you wouldn''t want anything to do with us. But I''ll say it anyway. If you want, we can still help clear any big monster nest cough." Tuan tightened the grip around Lily some more before speaking up. "I don''t need your help. I only need the Titus points you collected so far." Saying this, Tuan looked into Lily''s eyes coldly. But before he could get his hands on her wristband, he felt something dangerousing for him. Wilder had lost himself to his rage once again. This time it was disastrous for both him and hispetitor. Because this time, the barbarian didn''t even have a shred of control over himself. Wilder was prone to feats of anger and rage because of his ss. And getting yed by Tuan like this certainly didn''t sit well with him. Add to that the effects of the sonic bullets fired at him by his own raid partner and his new injuries that piled on his previous ones. The result of this cocktail of emotions brewed by such events could only end up making him angrier than he ever was. Tuan saw the lost-in-barbarian-rage Wilder up close when he approached him again. The barbarian''s stature as well as the muscle mass of his body had erged due to his rage state. His skin had be red and ky like that of a reptile. All of his physical stats had been boosted to another level. "Wilder no. Cough run, Tuan. He might kill us both before dying himselfter." Lily remembered Wilder discussing his ss attributes along with his own experiences. Lily and Ketsu had both been warned about something like this. He told them that they should prioritize their safety and leave the fights they were in, in case this happens. Tuan''s first instinct after seeing Wilder''s condition was to throw Lily at him before bolting from the scene along with Katalina. But then something in his head told him to hold his ground. He did not see the need to be afraid of someone unable to control their emotions and bodies by losing themselves in a fit of rage. This was somethinging from the deepestyer of the butcher''s consciousness. Tuan also felt that if he acted on his first instinct and ran away from the scene, he might get away from Wilder. He would also be able to maintain his distance from him using various means. But he would lose an opportunity to have something much more precious than the tournament''s reward. So he decided to stay. He looked at the approaching opponent with nonchnce. With eyes that didn''t have any hint of fear or doubts about himself. Ohm! Tuan suddenly felt like he was listening to white noise without stepping into a stagnant world. The world around him started exploding with colors. The world came alive in his head and started telling him things about itself he didn''t know it had or knew about. Another sign of soul sense awakening was manifested at the time. This time, Tuan didn''t feel like he had lost control over his body. It was more akin to him gaining unlimited sets of limbs that kept getting stretched in every possible direction. Then he felt some obstructions while feeling the world around him. There were a few objects or beings that he couldn''t perceive with his newfound sense easily. Therefore, he used his soul sense to forcefully breach all the restrictions which held him back. Subconsciously, he only wanted to know about those things that were trying to remain a mystery. This "something" was Wilder and all the other rankers around him. Lily wasn''t spared by Tuan''s immature soul sense either. After being hit by Tuan''s soul sense, Wilder lost all his anger in one go. It was then reced by fear and survival instinct. "Aaaaaaaaah stay stay away I. I am sorry." Wilder''s wilderness was zapped away when he was pulled out of his rage state. He quickly regained hisposure before getting down on his knees just a few meters away from Tuan. Wilder didn''t want to stay there of course. But he had lost control over all his limbs. It was as if his soul was finding it difficult to control its natal vessel because of the interference from a foreign soul which was more powerful. Lily had it much more difficult. She lost control of her consciousness and fainted after being affected by Tuan''s soul sense. Her eyeballs were moving inside her shut eyelids, a testament to her suffering from some sort of shock. Possibly nightmares. Katalina and Ketsu were also affected by Tuan''s soul sense since they too were within its range. Katalina wasn''t negatively affected by the soul sense since his hostility wasn''t directed at her. But she felt like she was being read like an open book by the soul sense. Ketsu had it much better than his raid partners. He was already suffering while lying on the ground because of Wilder''s attack. So when the soul sense hit him, he only felt irrational fear towards Tuan apart from losing control over his mana circuits that were already overburdened, to begin with. He also felt uncontroble rage towards Lily and Wilder. It was apparent that Tuan''s soul sense was carrying residual effects of his Sins series abilities. But since he had done it subconsciously, he wasn''t in control of its effects. Tuan could also subconsciously realize that these weren''t activations of his abilities. But more like imprinting other existences with his own marks of Sins. His own definition of Sins. Of course, these marks didn''t replicate the original effectspletely and couldn''t be called permanent. But those effects were substantial in their intensity for the time being. ********************** Team Lily''s resistance was abruptly destroyed by Tuan''s soul sense manifesting all of a sudden. Even Kat took a while to realize that she didn''t have to fight anymore. She had also been affected by Tuan''s soul sense. But unlike Lily''s team, her emotions weren''t altered. "What... what did you do?" With a voice coated in vignce, the wind-element ranker appeared beside her raid partner. Her eyes looked at him and everything around them with caution as she did that. Tuan''s second sign of the soul sense awakening was brief as well. This time, he wasn''t as stunned or surprised after it was finished as in his previous incident. He let go of Lily''s neck, making her fall to the ground like a corpse getting dropped. He then dusted his hands before responding to Kat''s question nonchntly. "Nothing really. Let''s just say that these pests were taught a lesson by me." Chapter 542 Preparing for the Showdown Chapter 542 Preparing for the Showdown "What What do you want from us?" Lily asked while remaining on her knees. Wilder and Ketsu had both followed her example. Wilder was the most scared looking at the devil in front of him. After all, he was greatly affected by Tuan''s soul sense. Wilder could feel subconsciously that Tuan was no human. Or at least not the normal human he was appearing to be. Tuan looked at the trio kneeling in front of him with a nk look on his face. Most of what happened after his second sign of awakening became a blur to him. So he was still processing those feelings in his mind. "Hm? What can you offer me? Just hand over the Titus point and get kicked out of thepetition peacefully." Afterpleting his thoughts, Tuan spoke. Lily looked at her raid partners when she heard Tuan talk about their retirement from thepetition so casually. Both Wilder and Ketsu nodded their heads. They felt inherent fear towards Tuan because of the residual effect of his soul sense still fresh on their souls. Plus, Tuan''s existence had be too special for his soul sense to be categorized as normal. Plus, soul sense awakening was already rare, to begin with. His half-blood powers and Sins series abilities had inadvertently affected his soul sense as well. So while Wilder and Ketsu feared Tuan thinking that he would be extremely dangerous if he were angered by them, Lily felt an unnatural pull towards him. There was a nagging voice in her head telling her to approach him with a fresh start. The assassin also found it weird that she didn''t feel anger towards the fire-element ranker despite him pping her ass so hard and treating her so badly. But before Lily''s team couldmit to her exit from thepetition, someone else spoke to Tuan in his mind. ''I like your n to end the tournament the way you want, Tuan. I think you should include them in that n.'' Alephee spoke to the butcher while activating Sedated Perception once again. Thetter observed that she was getting more involved in his matter by the day. One of the reasons was that her soul recovery status was better than before. But the butcher also felt that Alphee was trying to speed up his ns. As if the goals he wanted to achieve in this timeline weren''t all that significant to her. So she was helping him in her own way to achieve them and be done with them once and for all. The butcher thought that her level would always be characterized by that mindset. So he didn''t bother making his thoughts known to Alephee and responded to her regarding the topic she had raised. ''What do you mean?'' Alephee rified. ''Those three have been affected by your soul sense the way you had been affected by Eliza''s. But they are not like you. So the level of fear they feel towards you is greater and more profound than what you had been feeling towards Eliza. What I mean to say is you can ask them anything and they''ll obey you within these few weeks until the residual effects of your soul sense get washed off. Even if they want to betray you, their subconscious mind will prevent them from doing so. This is the power of the soul sense. Your soul sense. Soul branding will resonate with your wishes, causing those affected to bend to your will as a result. Unless they have a soul strong enough to resist the resonance that is. Controlling others with a soul sense also had its adverse effects. So Eliza didn''t dare to do something like that with you. But I don''t think you need to worry about that.'' Alephee knew Tuan knew almost nothing about the soul sense. So she rified a few things for him. Thetter looked at the three opponents with keen eyes before asking Alephee another question. ''Power of the soul sense, you say? Do the powers of soul sense differ? Do they vary with each ranker?'' Alephee didn''t take long to answer Tuan''s question. ''The analytical powers of the soul sense are the same for all rankers. It''s how they affect the world and people that makes them different. Your soul sense, for example, is influenced by your Sins series abilities currently.'' Alephee said and paused for a bit. This allowed Tuan to connect dots and look at Lily''s team in apletely different light. The former continued soon afterward. ''Eren, you have to understand the fact that not everybody can awaken their soul sense. Some rankers can step into Sage rank and still not have the necessary qualifications to awaken their soul sense. A person''s soul has nothing to do with their mana core or the state of their body. So when anybody awakens their soul sense, every aspect of it represents who they are and what they seek in their life. That''s what enables them to affect the world and people around them through their soul sense.'' The butcher decided to trust Alephee''s instructions and changed the demands he had from Lily''s team. "Hm. None of you would be able to win the tournament. That holds true even if you leave the game now or are allowed to stay. I hope that much is clear for all of you. Still, staying in the game and receiving secondary gits shouldn''t sound too bad to you either. What do you say?" Tuan said with a light smile on her face. Lily was confused by what he was trying to say. She raised her query. "What do you mean by that, Tuan?" Tuan''s light smile turned into an evil grin before he exined to them what he expected from them. To his surprise, he didn''t have to tempt or scare the trio much. *********************** Lily''s team agreed to Tuan''s conditions unanimously without raising any sort of opposition. Although they wore disgruntled expressions on their faces, nobody dared to defy any of his wishes. Lily asked Tuan what he had done to them. Thetter smiled cunningly and said it was part of the effect his strategically ced array had brought forth. He also told them that the effect was illusion-spell based and hence temporary, lest they get swallowed up by negative feelings while suffering from the residual effects of his soul sense and be a nuisance for him instead. Even though Lily found his reason to be not sitting right with her, the fact that she didn''t know about the arrays and her weird emotional state when it came to Tuan prevented her from cross-questioning Tuan. The butcher couldn''t help but smile at the convenience of his soul sense setting off right when he was in the middle of a battle. Then he dismissed the trio after instructing them to stay in touch. Tuan talked with Kat while hurrying to the safe area, finalizing the finer details. Thetter also listened to his arrangements with keen interest as if he was her de-facto raid leader. The duo was preparing for the showdown that was approaching all of the rankers. Needless to say, the remaining days of thepetition were going to be interesting forpetitors and their viewers alike. Chapter 543 Clearing Monster Nests Chapter 543 Clearing Monster Nests On the sixth day of the Titus tournament. The hunting area. High noon. A man and a young woman were seen waiting outside arge mountain cave that was releasing mixed mana signatures in the surroundings. It was apparent that arge fight had taken ce inside. Or it was still ongoing. "Everything is set?" Tuan asked Lily. She was serving as his raid partner for the raid arranged by him for today. This was the secondst day of the tournament. The original 32 participants had been reduced in number by the third day of thepetition. Now only 13petitors remained. The ranking updates for the tournament had also been changed since the fifth day. Now, everybody could see the real-time ranking positions themselves as well as otherpetitors. Basically, the game was pushing thepetitors to fight among themselves instead of just focusing on farming the Titus points by targeting the monster nests and mana beasts. "Affirmative. Wilder is kiting the Adept ranked Goblin Lord right now. Katalina is trying to distract him with her best efforts using her aerial maneuverability. Ketsu is also ying his role in making the monster confused and angry by firing sonic bullets at him. All of them are keeping a safe distance away from him. Plus, all that disturbance generated by us is preventing the monster from casting his spells." Tuan nodded his head after hearing the report. She was being kept in the loop by Ketsu using his sound element spell. Like the Bands, there were some monster caves in which the usual conversation tools wouldn''t work. But Ketsu''s sound element spells were impervious to these effects. His spell output could be adjusted to take into ount the fluctuations in mana in the monster nest surroundings. That''s why he was able to keep hismunication open with his partner during the raid. Tuan scratched his beard that had been growing for six days and asked Lily while narrowing his eyes. "I''m sensing a "but" in that report." Lily smiled mirthlessly before replying. "Yeah. All three of the rankers we have sent in are at their limits. They won''t be able to help us once they draw out the Goblin Lord outside the cave." Tuan wasn''t surprised by her report. Although he had told the rankers with him that they would target the Adept rank monster, he knew their capabilities in executing certain tasks beforehand. He was hoping Kat, Ketsu, and Wilder would be able to help him and Lily in their task after clearing the monster nest by themselves. But he was okay with them drawing away from the battle as well. That''s because he had already taken precautions. ''Should be right about now.'' Alephee said after scanning the monster nest with her soul sense. Hearing this, the butcher screamed out loud. "Retreat!" Lily watched as Tuan disappeared from his position. She too faded into existence after hearing his warning. "Screeeeeee!" In the next moment, a goblin cry was heard by Tuan and Lily. The first toe out of the cave was Wilder. He was covered in his blood as well as monster blood. The expressions on his face and the way he executed his movement spell told Tuan that he was already using rage mode. Among the first toe out of the cave were Kat and Ketsu. She was holding him by his hands as she used her flying artifact to keep both of them airborne. Ketsu looked exhausted after keeping the monster busy for so long. He was running on fumes now. Without Kat''s support, he wouldn''t have made it to the outside of the cave. What followed them was a Goblin Lord wearing tribal armor. Unlike the regr goblins, he had ck hair on his scalp tied into a ponytail. He was wearing gaudy earrings that made his earlobes stretch downwards. The Goblin Lord was also wearing what looked like to be pants made of thick beastly skin. The front of his chest that wasn''t covered by his armor featured runic tattoos. He was a 9-foot-tall monstrosity that was clutching his head as he chased the three intruders that hade to bug him. ''Disperse. And maintain vignce. You don''t have to fight anymore. But keep an eye out for other contestants targeting us or our kills.'' Tuan spoke into the group voice channel. Since everyone was out of the monster cave, IDmunication could be used tomunicate with each other. Wilder, who had juste out of his rage state, looked exhausted. He wanted to crash at a nearby ce. But he knew the fight with the Goblin Lord would get violent. He didn''t want to be a nuisance to the guy who he feared more than the Goblin Lord at the time. So Ketsu, Kat, and Wilder retreated into the distance following Tuan''s orders. He had be the de facto leader of every raid they had made so far. And they were working non-stop to clear the most lucrative monster nests. So sticking to his orders came naturally to all of them by this point. Plus, they had also targeted other contestants under Tuan''s orders. There was no such thing as a rankers code in apetition this fierce. Tuan would target a couple of rankers with his whole group of five rankers including him. And overwhelm them with numbers. If La was here, she would have objected to the butcher''s way of dealing with these things. Because these acts were usually performed by antagonists in the stories she had read so far. The thing she hated the most was the fact that Eren had proved her books wrong many times. As opposed to the righteous side winning through sheer breakthroughs, the viinous side that the butcher was usually a part of almost always managed to win. This went opposite to her fairy tale logic. It was no exception this time either. "Screee!" The monster screamed as he felt something had cut the tendons of the backs of his knees all of a sudden. He shouldn''t have been hurt by the cut from the Ace Rank artifact. But since his natural defense waspromised due to his mental state as well as the fact that he was caught unaware, it made it easy for the hidden assassin to do the job she was assigned to do. The monster was brought to his knees. He shook his head and pped himself to bring his senses back to normal. Then he sensed an odd mana-pulse setting off around him. ''Now.'' Tuan thought to himself as he activated the array trap in which the monster was currently trapped. Chapter 544 Dispatching Goblin Lord Chapter 544 Dispatching Goblin Lord ''Now.'' Tuan thought to himself as he activated the array trap in which the monster was caught. The ground lit up and the distinct mana pulse intensified. In the next moment, a blinding orange-white light bloomed in the middle of the array. Boom! The terrorist had resorted to bombing an Adept-level monster this time. The trap had been set with almost all his potion bombs set in a series together so that they would generate a st powerful enough to affect an Adept-level monster. The array was supposed to keep the potion bombs hidden from the monster''s mana sense as well as intensify the explosion''s effects a level further. "Screeeeee!" The monster''s scream announced to Tuan and the rest that he was still alive and kicking. But he was in extreme pain. And his ability to cast spells was againpromised. "Screeeeee!" Another monster scream followed the previous one in a short while. This was in response to Tuan''s series of flying attacks that he had sent at the monster while he was still surrounded by clouds of me and smoke. Tuan didn''t want to give the monster any rest. He was also worried about getting ambushed by other rankers while they were busy finishing the raid. Thus he hastened the process of killing the Goblin Lord. He disappeared from his position and appeared close to ground zero before throwing the remaining vials of potion bombs he had. Lily watched Tuan opt for the overkill yet again. She sighed and stopped in her tracks. The assassin gripped the space-element dagger given to her by Tuan hard before going back the same way she hade from. The dagger''s unique properties were another reason she was able to hurt an Adept-level monster. "Screeee!" The monster jumped in the air with his remaining strength. The injury on his legs worsened as a result. But he didn''t seem to care. Upon getting airborne, he started looking at the intruders who had dared to fight with him on his home turf. The monsterunched his body in Tuan''s direction with a wild expression on his face after sensing he was the leader of the intruders. He also drew out hisrge Dodao and shed it at his newfound target. Stunning Speed Sedated Perception Fire Steps Fire Wings Tuan managed to free himself from the flying sh as he became airborne too. Then he used his Hatchlings of the me spell to create asso of fire snakes. He sent it in the monster''s direction, hoping the assassin in his raid team would get the hint. Lily was already prepared for something like this. She appeared like a ghost behind the Goblin Lord and made a stabbing attack on the monster''s chest where his heart was located. By now, the monster hade to realize that there was a hidden enemy that he couldn''t see. He had also sensed there was an attack iing for his heart. That''s why he fortified his natural defense and swung his Dodao behind him. And yet, the space-element artifact worked its magic. It didn''t have to pierce through the armor or the monster''s natural defenseyer. Its tip disappeared into the fabric of space and appeared right when the dagger was driven deep inside the monster''s heart. The tip of the dagger was now visible from the other side of the monster''s chest. The monster was shocked and enraged. But he didn''t scream this time. He knew what had happened to him even before he looked down to see the effects of his enemy''s attack. He grunted in pain before deciding tounch a counterattack. Lily was engulfed by the mana signature released by the Adept level monster when he was fighting for his life. Her stomach was almost going to be cut in two by the direct sh. But then she felt something gripping her legs by her ankles. She felt a strong pulling from that harness before her body was dragged downwards towards the ground. Tuan had managed to secure Lily just before she was about to be harmed by the monster. She was brought down towards him at breakneck speed due to his vigorous pull. The young assassin was swiftly caught in a princess carry. But before she could savor the moment, Lily was thrown behind Tuan''s back. The guy disappeared from his position right afterward. Swoosh! Just when the monster thought his situation couldn''t get any worse, Tuanunched his meteor-like attack on him. At that time, the monster was just a few meters away fromnding on the ground. Since he was airborne, he couldn''t find a footing he could use to maneuver his way out of the attack''s trajectory. Thud! The monster''s body crashed to the ground with a loud thud when it was forcefully elerated by Tuan''s meteor-like attack. Suddenly, a series of Invi ze attacks was released from the sword set. Another crater appeared in which another me flower bloomed. Before the monster could make another scream, his head was decapitated by Tuan who now looked like he wasn''t satisfied with chopping only one head. Unbeknownst to the butcher, his soul sense was still manifesting in many ways. It was still in its early stages. The out-of-body experience he was used to feeling was not the only effect of the signs that were associated with the soul sense awakening. The butcher''s importance had been raised to an irrational level in the minds of those who had been affected by his soul sense right after he killed the Adept level monster. It was as if killing opponents stronger than he gave him the emotional boost he needed to bolster his soul sense. His soul would forever record the experience of such a kill. Tuan''s raid mates felt that they needed to do everything in their power to make his wishes be reality. Even now, after killing the Adept ranker, instead of being relieved that the fight was over, they felt his bloodlust for more such kills. Tuan calmed down shortly afterward and looked at his work. The monster''s body started disintegrating. The residue of monster blood on Kat, Ketsu, and Wilder also started disappearing as it too was something that was generated by the array. With this kill, the raid on the Adept-level monster nest was over. The wristbands on each contest involved in the raid started updating the Titus points they had earned automatically. Chapter 545 Bianka,Ray, and silvera Chapter 545 Bianka,Ray, and silvera With this kill, the raid on the Adept-level monster nest was over. The wristbands on each contest involved in the raid started updating the Titus points they had earned automatically. Tuan essed the spectral screen of his wristband and checked the rankings. 1st ce- William Shank- 149,8965 Titus Points 2nd ce- Drin Dawn- 148,4543 Titus Points 3rd ce- Tim Westmoor- 115,127 Titus Points 4th ce- Katalina Reich- 99,643 Titus Points 5th ce- Bianka Bluedust- 73,897 Titus Points 6th ce- Lily Geist 42,565 Titus Points 7th ce- Ray Rinehart- 36,583 Titus Points 8th ce- Langdon Lark- 34,589 Titus Points 9th ce- Silvera Rehrook- 31,356 Titus Points 10th ce- Tuan Aag- 28,548 Titus Points 11th ce- Wayne Wilder- 26,464 Titus Points 12th ce- Reva Sunstar- 21,665 Titus Points 13th ce- Ketsu Hasu- 19,033 Titus Points ''Hmm. The first three ces in the ranking have be ridiculously out of reach for other rankers. I hope my n works.'' Tuan thought to himself as he noted the rankings of thepetitors along with their respective Titus points. Since Ketsu didn''t perform well during these days, he was cedst in the ranking. He was heavily injured by Wilder''s attack so he couldn''t help it. ''Heads up. Someone''sing.'' Alephee She was the first to sense an external presence heading Tuan''s way. The second was Katalina who was looking outward from their battleground. She wasn''t surprised by the discovery because of the warnings given to them by Tuan. The closebat expert informed all her raid partners shortly afterward. ''Gather up. Draw your weapons.'' Tuan gave simple instructions which his raid members followed immediately. As soon as they did, they noticed a group of rankers had appeared a few meters away from them. For some reason, this new group was maintaining a safe distance from Tuan''s group. This was a group of three people. It contained twodies and one male ranker. The male ranker seemed like a ranger from his presence. But he had a massive, muscr build that was not ranger-like. His dark brown hair was let loose, giving him a clumsy yet handsome appearance. And yetpared to his gigantic, masculine body, his face was rtively small and cute to look at. His face looked like it had been ced on the wrong body. This ranger-like man carried a thick crossbow in both his arms, as if ready to shoot at a moment''s notice. A serious expression was on his face and it appeared he was pondering something. This man''s name was Ray Rinehart. 7th ce holder in the Tituspetition. He excelled in both ranger-specific skills as well as a few closebat skills because of his special ss. Ray Rinehart was a Horde Breaker. It was a ss made by the fusion of two sses, one of which was a ranger ss. Taking this ss had allowed him to y multiple monsters in monster nests and clear out such ces with rtive ease. The second ranker that was part of the group that had arrived at the scene was Silvera Rehrook. She was a pretty elf that looked to be in her early 20s. She had silver hair, pale white skin, azure eyes, and a small nose. Her elvish ears added extra charm to her beauty. Silvera seemed to have a petite build due to her cleric ss. But nobody would underestimate her anymore. The remainingpetitors had to be more special than usual. The group was led by a buxomdy standing at the front. She looked to be in her mid-30s. She had voluminous ck hair that grew past shoulder length. Her skin looked petite and had a soft pinkish hue. Her pretty face was as alluring as her light blue eyes. Thisdy had a rtively tall stature that boded well with her hourss figure. Her legs were slender and had a creamy texture to them as if they had been carved out of a white marble b. Her ample bust and pear-shaped posterior added another level of allure to her seductive stride. She walked ahead for a few more steps before stopping abruptly. She cleared her voice before looking at Tuan. Thedy narrowed her eyes before addressing him. "Hello, my Name''s Bianka. Tuan, you are the leader of this group right?" Bianka said and looked at all the other rankers that were with Tuan, surrounding him. She smirked at that sight before continuing. "We have kept our tabs on you guys. You all look tired and weak. Hehehe! Perfect timing I''d say. I won''t beat around the bush. Hand over your wristbands. There''s no shame in getting kicked out of thepetition on the sixth day. Do this, and you will exit out of this tournament without losing face." Bianka replied and released her mana signature. Her twopanions did the same, telling their opponent that they were ready to battle anytime they wanted. Tuan was expecting intruders like this so he didn''t reply with words. He released his mana sense and activated all the nearby arrays in the region that were in his control. Even the ground on which Bianka and her team stood had just been covered by an array that had just lit up. A series of distinct mana pulses was felt by all the rankers in the vicinity as the dormant arrays were activated by the butcher at that time. Various patches of the ground were lit up in array format in the region. Some gave out faint illuminance. Others were extra bright. Finding the way out of the region without stepping on any of them was near impossible. "This entire region is rigged by me, Miss Bianka. Only I know the exit through this maze of arrayndmines. Call me a pessimist if you will, but I have always suffered from fate''s hands. So now I like to stay prepared in case it thinks I''m still easy prey." Tuan said and looked at Bianka''s other two raid partners briefly. He focused on Ray while adding more. "You came at the most appropriate moment after we had defeated the Adept level ranker. That''s not a coincidence, is it? You must have seen what my array can do from afar. You have tried to maintain a safe distance from me even now because of that array trap. Tuan returned Bianka''s smirk with a smirk of his own before adding in the end. "Tell me, Miss Bianka. Would you like to y with me in a game I like to call Who Gets Bombed First?" ================= AN: Thank you Daoist_Culture for the Super Gift. We will have two extra chapters in 9-10 hours. There could have been more. But I haven''t been able to write sincest week due to feeling unwell. I''m fine now and will start to stockpile again. Chapter 546 Hoodwink Chapter 546 Hoodwink "Tell me, would you like to y with me in a game I like to call Who Gets Bombed First?" Tuan said while folding his hand behind his back. His gaze told the hyenas that hade to feed on the free meat that they would have to pay a steep price for their aggression. ''Ray, you saw his fight from afar. What do you think?'' As Bianka heightened her vignce against Tuan, she asked Ray. She hade to realize that what she had considered being a broken man hurt by his wife''s betrayal was actually exceptionally cunning. Bianka was after Katalina''s Titus Points. Securing that many points would make this sneaky attack worthwhile. But she needed to assess the risk before attacking Tuan''s group and targeting Kat. ''Sigh. Yes, I saw him take care of that monster. To be honest, we underestimated him, Bianka. Thest array trap he had used was enough to capacitate an Adept ranker. Even if all of us are in the solid stage of the Ace rank, we would be mortally injured if we got caught in hisndmines.'' Ray spoke in voicemunication while maintaining a stoic face. Silvera heard his response and added on. ''But what if he is bluffing? These array traps are weird. I don''t think they are used by our generation of array masters. So it is difficult to gauge or analyze them. What if that guy is banking on this peculiarity of array traps? What if some of the array traps are duds?'' One had to admit that an elf''s sensitivity to everything rted to mana was exceptional. Silvera quickly identified that the array traps Tuan was using belonged to the previous generation. Because there were several generations ofyouts and temtes, she couldn''t identify which era they belonged to. And the study of arrays was as profound as mana itself. Ray shook his head and replied to Silvera in a serious voice. ''Even if he is bluffing, do you dare to take chances with array traps that can take down an Adept ranked entity? I sure as hell won''t follow you in testing his bluff.'' Bianka didn''t say a word. But she was listening to everything both of her raid partners talked about. She also agreed with Ray''s judgment and decided to pull back. "You got yourself another day, Tuan. Congrattions! Hehehehe! Enjoy thisst day of peace. We''lle for all of you tomorrow." Bianka replied and retreated in the direction she came from. Her raid partners looked at Tuan and his group for a brief moment before following her example. Katalina and the rest took a sigh of relief after some time when there was no sign of anyone approaching them. This was a much-needed breather. Nobody could afford a second battle withpetitors after clearing a monster nest that had an Adept-level Goblin Lord as its leader. "When did you nt so many array traps? Are you array master or something?" Lily asked while being impressed with Tuan. She had thought that she would either have to fight for her life or run for her life topete. But thanks to Tuan''s stare down, the opponents had retreated without any sign of battle. This was a miracle because it was the 6th day of the tournament. "Array traps? Um they were all empty threats. Just theyouts I had inscribed on scrolls before nting them in the ground. This is not my first time fooling rankers with duds, Lily. And it certainly won''t be thest either." Tuan said and detonated all the array traps at once. And as he had said, no explosion urred anywhere. Silvera had assumed that some of the array traps were duds. Whereas, all of Tuan''s array traps were duds. He had averted the biggest crisis of thepetition by hoodwinking Bianka''s team. Katalina was the first to startughing like a maniac after she realized what Tuan had done. The rest followed his lead and startedughing too. Tuan smirked before telling everyone that they needed to get into the safe zone, lest they all get caught for their bluff. **************************** "What What is this ce?" . ??? Katalina asked while wondering about the location Tuan had found for both of them. They had entered a ruined building that was supposed to be hidden frompetitors and organizers alike. But thanks to Alephee, Tuan had somehow found ess to spatial distortion thatpressed the space before expanding it inside another subspace. ording to Alphee, this area waspletely free of any prying eyes watching over them. Katalina was assured by Tuan that they would not be watched by anyone outside the subspace. This ce was a giant library that had no books but only bookshelves. There were giant study tables and chairs. But they were all covered in dust. Surprisingly, this library hall didn''t look as damaged as the rest of thepetition site. There were indeed signs of wear and tear. But those signs of decay were not prominent enough to be called part of the ghost city into which they were summoned. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling of the library''s hall. Somehow the moonlight was still peeking through the giant gallery-like windows. When Katalina peeked through the windows, she saw a shattered mirror-like sky and the surroundings that reflected the ruined building. When she looked up, she saw many moons that acted as the light source. All of them produced bright moonlight, but when it came down, it was severelycking. As that moonlight was somehow lost in its way to light up this ce the way it should be. As illiterate in the field of arrays, as she was, Katalina concluded that this snow-globe-like space was an anomaly within the ghost city. She was now sure that the organizers wouldn''t be able to see them. Because they wouldn''t have let this ce exist in the first ce had they known about it. Tuan concluded that he needed to activate the arrayyout that had the chandelier in the middle of its eye. So he extended his mana sense and did exactly that. The chandelier came to life and started producing a pleasant glow. The giant library hall lit up and breathed new life into the gloomy atmosphere. "Ummm I was just looking for clues regarding another safe drop location and came to find this. Frankly, I don''t want to know about the ce. Some mysteries are better left to the imagination. Most of those who chase after solving such mysteries end up bing part of them." Chapter 547 lnside the Spatially Distorted Space Chapter 547 lnside the Spatially Distorted Space "Most of those who chase after solving those mysteries end up bing part of them." Tuan said while looking at the scene in front of him with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. He thought of exploring the ce a bit and immediately followed up on that thought. No matter how much he didn''t wish to know about the ce, he had to inspect his surroundings first. Alephee used her soul sense again to scan the ce. It was she who discovered the ce and the way to enter it. She had told Tuan that the ce was an anomaly created by the ovey of many spatial arrays and runes ovepping over one another. It couldn''t be found with mana sense because it would react with anything in spatial distortion. Since there was no way to find or scan it, it could not be fixed. Only something like a soul sense would allow the array master or someone who was in charge of isting the space to detect this ce. ''Hmm. Eren, you should check this out.'' Alephee said to Tuan before directing him towards a peculiar bookshelf that seemed all empty. Upon hearing his partner''s instructions, Tuan didn''t hesitate and destroyed the bookshelf with his fireball spell. Katalina was stunned when Tuan suddenly started casting an offensive spell. But she didn''t disturb him and instead thought of adopting the wait-and-watch approach. After all, he was the one who had found the ce. That was enough of a reason for her to trust his antics like these. When the huge bookshelf was destroyed and its debris was sted elsewhere, it revealed another spatial distortion, this time on the ground on which the bookshelf was on. Now it looked like a mercury-like substance was serving as the base for the bookshelf that had stood at the same ce for who knows when. Tuan didn''t hesitate and dipped his hands into the mercury-like substance. It was surprising to discover how quickly he sank into the ground without any opposition. When he retrieved his arms, he was holding something in his hand. After retrieving it, he ced it on solid ground and dipped his hand inside the mercury-like surface only to take out another item of the same kind. Tuan started retrieving a bunch of old books that couldn''t be found by normal means. Even Kat was stunned by his discovery. She was too stunned to react at first. But then she picked one of the retrieved books up and analyzed it with her mana sense. "What is this junk, Tuan? This is unreadable." Kat put her just-picked-up book down in disappointment, registering her displeasure. Then she picked another one before putting that down too. ''That''s why academy education is so crucial.'' Tuan sighed and muttered in his head. But he didn''t stop what he was doing and kept on retrieving more space from the spatial distortion. When he finished, he had retrieved 24 books in total. Only then did he start picking up the books and checking them. ''Hmm. Same problem with thenguage. I''ll need some time to decipher them. But it can be done. At least a portion of each book can be recovered.'' Tuan thought of decoding a single portion of each book whenever he had time to do so. This way, he could get a preview of the content each book would have. Then he could prioritize a particr book that might have the most relevant content for him. "Um maybe I''ll find something about these books when we get out of the subspace. Don''t bother with these findings too much. This was an unexpected gain, to be honest. Not the main reason why I had brought you here." Tuan shed his cheeky smile at Kat after he said that. Thetter knew what he was talking about. Yet she decided to act clueless. "Oh? What other reason might there be?" Tuan stepped closer to her and brought his face closer to her before whispering into her ears. "Why, of course I brought you here so we could..." Tuan paused for a moment and observed Kat''s reactions. He chuckled when he saw some traces of excitement in her eyes before continuing. "So we could fight in peace. Away from the spectators, far from any of thepetitors. Away from thepetition itself." Kat had a nk expression on her face when Tuan voiced what he had in his mind. Now she regretted acting dumb. She could have avoided the whole tease. But her fake ignorance was nowing back to bite her in the rear. Tuan understood what was going on in Kat''s head at the time. Previously, he had only thought of teasing her. But now that he had proposed a duel, he genuinely wanted to test out his battle skills. Especially against a fellow closebat expert and see if he could learn a thing or two from them. Or polish his style by looking at how others from the same ss as his fight. Of course, Tuan wanted to get intimate with Kat as well. He was the one who had been provoking her about it during these days, making her crave intimacy. But the night was young. There was no need to rush. Tuan pulled Kat into his embrace and caressed her back before continuing what he was saying. "I know what you are thinking, Kat. But we have time for that. Meanwhile, why not prepare ourselves for tomorrow''s event? Two closebat experts battling with each other without using any weapons or spells. Only relying on their techniques to face each other. How does that sound?" Katalina found the idea to be logical after she thought about it. She returned Tuan''s embrace with an embrace of her own before pulling away from him. She then stated what she had in mind. "We can fight the way you want us to, Tuan. However, there is no room for pulling any punches. Is that okay?" Katalina said smilingly and hammered her fist into her open palms. She seemed pumped to beat his ass for some reason. Tuan chuckled before answering. "I''m just d that you think I have enough leverage over you for me to hold back against you." Tuan said with a mirthless smile on his face and shrugged his shoulders. Katalina smirked at Tuan''s sentence before stepping away from her previous position. Tuan also did the same and looked at his opponent. In the next moment, the two closebat experts were seen battling. They both had stopped using their mana circuits, making them fight like mortals. Without the use of the mana, spells, or weapons, the battle was solely carried out with the technique both of the rankers had. The butcher was using the technique Ma had taught him in the timeline. But unlike the original, he was adding his own moves to it. He was creating his own style that could amodate various types of weapons as well as weaponless fighting. Chapter 548 [Bonus chapter] Kisses andHickeys Chapter 548 [Bonus chapter] Kisses andHickeys Katalina was breathing hard. The sweat on her forehead was dripping down her cheeks. But she was enjoying her battle with Tuan. She felt that she was getting back to basics after what seemed like a very long time. In the library hall, two rankers fought like they were rankless. Tuan too was taking long breaths while his body sweated all over. They had been dueling for about half an hour by this point. "You... haah... you swing toote and your counterattacking style is clumsy, Kat. Don''t try to pull away from your opponent whileunching a counterattack even when your instinct tells you otherwise. At least not always. Because that takes away half the power you could ce on that attack. That''s what happened when you fought against Ketsu, right? You would have dealt even more damage to him had you pressed on with the advantage you gained. Remember, there are no do-overs in a real fight. Decide when to take on the offensive at the right time. Draw them in. And then bam" Tuan threw a punch in the air while highlighting the errors he had found in Katalina''s fighting style. Thetter took that with an open mind and had something to say to her sparring partner too. "Tuan you are *long breaths* an exceptional closebat fighter. But you think too much about creating a loophole in your defense to set up a counter. Don''t you think the loopholes in your defense should appear naturally?" Tuan wanted to say that allowing the loopholes to ur naturally would not give him an advantage. That''s because its very definition meant that he wouldn''t be ready for counterattacks. But then he decided to be a considerate listener and allowed Kat to finish what she was saying. "I I know what you are thinking. But hear me out, Tuan. After fighting with you for a while, the opponents woulde to know what you were up to. Even if they could fall for the same trick twice or thrice. There would always be a limit. And you would lose an advantage you could count on soon." This was another no-brainer for Eren. But he also realized that Katalina was trying to tell him something that she couldn''t correctly frame. So he kept his mouth shut and let her borate on her idea. "You told me about the switch of sanity and how to take control of it. But why should it have to be a one-way switch? We can act aggressively for a certain period and then switch back to being cautious the next moment." Aggression for a closebat expert was letting the enemye into their striking zone or forcing their way into the enemy''s defense. Then, you can attack the opponent while not prioritizing the defense. As a result, closebat specialists be fearsome enemies of most rankers, if and when they both are in each other''s striking range. But as a consequence, closebat experts also ran the risk of getting heavily injured if and when their strike is blocked or diverted. Or if the ranker they are targeting is supported by other rankers with support-type spells. The closebat expert being cautious was the opposite of what being aggressive was all about. This style would be used when they were low on mana storage or when they waited for someone in their team to provide them with a cover. In this battle style, the closebat experts would strike their opponent only when they noticed a weakness in defense that would eventually be revealed if they waited. Katalina''s advice was so simple that Tuan had overlooked it. He had indeed switched between these styles when the situation demanded him to do so. But they were not conscious efforts. He would usually operate on autopilot when battling with his opponents. And that usually gave him the advantage he sought. But what happens when his opponent has better technique than yours? Or if his opponent''s perception can keep up with or even surpass his own? At that time, something unexpected like breaking the flow of his battle style might give him the chance to have one up on his opponents. This advice had the potential to make the butcher''s closebat attacks even more unpredictable than they normally were. He just needed to make deliberate efforts, sometimes battling against his instincts to follow up upon an attack. Tuan smirked at Katalina before gesturing to her toe at him. Thetter took a few deep breaths beforeunching herself at Tuan. Another round of mock closebat battle urred that didn''t seem like it was mock spar at all. Both of the rankers gave their all while incorporating the suggestions given to them. As a result, both of their attacks became more refined than they were. Even subtle improvements in closebat techniques would be augmented by mana and spells to a whole new level. This could be a decisive factor between a win and loss when battling against an opponent who was equally capable as you, or maybe more. They both realized that Tuan had the upper hand in mana-less closebat. Just when Kat thought there would be another round in such a fruitful spar, she was again shocked by Tuan''s abrupt actions. As if the guy was a firm believer in never letting anybody know about his next move. Tuan suddenly used his mana and mana circuits to execute his movement spell. The next thing Kat knew, she was pinned down against a wall with her hands raised above her head in an X formation. Tuan had used one hand to pin her this way. While with the other, he was caressing her waist. Tuan brought his face closer to Katalina and said to her in a low voice that she felt only she could hear. "The advice you gave was really helpful, Katalina. Let me thank you for that." Tuan nted his lips over Kat''s when he said that in his hushed voice. Thetter responded to the kiss by opening her mouth and allowing his tongue to roam inside it. "Hmmmmm." Katalina moaned and released her hands from Tuan''s grip. She then used them to hug him more tightly, pulling him closer to her. All her pent-up desires that Tuan was invoking in her in these few days found a vent. And out they poured. Tuan was wearing a loose-fitting sleeveless jacket to cover his torso. Katalina found it easy to get rid of it. She ran her fingers all over his abs and chest. Then she used her own moves to flip their positions. Now Tuan was leaning against the wall while Kat was savoring him to her fullest. She raised her toes and kissed him some more before moving her march down south. Tuan felt his neck region being smothered with kisses and hickeys at once. ''Oooh! She bites. She''s like a cute kitten hungry for some milk.'' Tuan chuckled and caressed Kat''s hair while allowing her to do what she wanted. The butcher inhaled her jasmine-like aromaing from her body and hair, which soothed his mind and aroused him at the same time. Katalina got engrossed in the act and started licking and kissing Tuan all over his torso. His musky scent made her more ecstatic by the moment. Tuan was gearing up to activate the Mist of Lust. He was going to reveal the real him to her once she gets branded. So that he can let her in on the n he had hatched. Chapter 549 A “Job” Like No Other* Chapter 549 A Job Like No Other* Tuan''s pants were ripped to shreds. Katalina used her wind-element des to get rid of his clothes. The butcher sighed when Katalina did that. He thought he could use those pants some more. They had reusable value in his eyes. But s, a woman in heat doesn''t care about her or her partner''s clothes. At least Katalina didn''t. "This you are packing quite a tool, Tuan. I thought" Katalina got on her knees while Tuan was leaning against the wall in leisure. He was nowpletely naked and full of confidence. And Katalina could understand why. She was stroking his 8incher with her hands whilementing. Thetter smiled when he understood Kat''s implications. He chuckled before responding. "You thought my wife Tista must have left me because of my small package. Let''s just say that she never really got to enjoy MY dick to its fullest. Hehehe! Now Enough talk. Use your mouth for something more interesting." Tuan said, grabbing Kat''s head with both hands before bringing it closer to his crotch. Thetter had just opened her mouth to talk when she received Tuan''s not-so-little guy inside it all of a sudden. Her gag reflex kicked in. but Tuan was ready. He had already coated his dick in mana. So there was no fear of Kat identally biting on it. But she still suffered a cough and her eyes turned watery because of Tuan''s literal dick move. The wind-element ranker looked at Tuan with puppy eyes. The butcher smiled casually and caressed her hair beforementing. "It''s your fault for making me remember Tista. Hehe. Let''s start over." Tuan said while patting Kat''s cheeks. It looked like Kat wanted to say something. But now was not the time. Because Tuan had started moving his hips and driving his dick in and out of Kat''s mouth. Kat pped both of Tuan''s hands away in a show of her anger. She didn''t back away from giving him a head though. She ran her fingers through her hair and tied it up in a ponytail. ''This woman is on a mission to give a magnificent head. I''m rooting for you, Kat.'' Tuan cheered for Kat in his mind as she geared up for her job. He stopped moving his hips and let her work on his dick. Katalina started fondling Tuan''s balls while working on the tip of Tuan''s dick with her tongue. She then started her deepthroats while creating suction with her mouth. She would tickle Tuan''s balls with every swallow of the dick. Her tongue worked its magic inside her mouth. She traced bulging veins on Tuan''s dick with the tip of her tongue. After a few strokes, she would take his dick out and use her spit as lube. Tuan thought he should aid Kat. Because helping her was helping him. He took out the half-finished bottle of Frostfoam he had saved for himself. He then offered it to Kat, who snatched it from his hands. "Hmph! You said you ran out of this stuff." Kat said while ring her nose. Tuan liked her angry way of giving blowjobs. He chuckled once more before adding up. "I have. Can''t you see it''s half-finished? I offer you my share and you still act as if it''s my fault. Women never seem to understand me. They don''t care about the sacrifices I make for them. Sigh!" Tuan''s face was sad as he spoke. His voice also started sounding downcast. Kat''s heart moved a bit. Almost all the content inside the bottle was consumed by her as she drank from it. She was about to offer Tuan thest sip of the drink. After receiving "I''m good" from him, she didn''t hesitate to finish the alcohol. When Kat took Tuan''s dick in her mouth again, thetter felt like he was jamming it inside a chamber of ice. It struggled to stay erect because of the chill that ran through it. This was the effect of Frostform that Tuan''s dick was subjected to inadvertently because Kat had just drunk it. His mana core was also spurred because of the indirect contact with the elven ale like this. ''I would have had to close my shop now if I didn''t haveplete control over my dick. Thisss doesn''t even know what she just did. Then again, I was the one who offered the booze to her. So it''s basically my fault. Sigh.'' Tuan thought and sighed to himself before having another thought as he watched Kat suck his little guy with passion. ''Still, this is a blowjob like no other. Heh! A man should wee novelty with open arms.'' The butcher smiled to himself after concluding his chain of thoughts. Meanwhile, he let Kat work on his rod. Since he didn''t have to do anything, he entertained himself by having random thoughts. Then he closed his eyes and made his mind nk topletely enjoy Kat''s head. Katalina was so lost in doing her "job" that she didn''t even check up on Eren looking up. Her diligent work soon showed its results after a while. The butcher nutted deep inside her mouth after he thoroughly enjoyed his first-ever Frostfoam-induced, chilled blowjob. "Here. Drink this Darwen ale named Bardora''s Brew. It''s not as addictive as Frostfoam. But I don''t think you''d mind having it." Tuan retrieved another bottle from his storage. The runic patterns over the battle told Kat that it was still undergoing mana imbibition. This was a unique way of brewing that the dwarfs were known for. Elves focused on the way of the elements in the brewing process while the dwarfs let the world''s mana decide the vor and effect of the booze they brewed. Obviously, the runic patterns ensured that no harmful concoction could be created. But apart from that, everything about the dwarf ale was almost always a wild game of luck. That was unless some dwarf families decided to stick with brewing a particr kind. Katalina uncorked the bottle and took the first sip with wariness in her eyes. Upon discovering that the taste and effect of the alcohol were mild and bearable, her expressions eased. She stood up next and started walking towards the library''s window with the booze in one hand. On the other hand, she gestured to her partner to follow her with a seductive smile on her face. Her long legs and her creamy thighs were a sight for Tuan''s sore eyes. Her buttcheeks moved rhythmically, tempting him to ravage them the first time he got them. Katalina drank from the bottle as she reached the window. She then ced the bottle on the window''s ledge before tilting forward. Her buns popped behind her backC the moonlight bouncing off of the surface of her mushy tush. "What are you waiting for?" Katalina turned back and looked at Tuan while maintaining that position. Thetter smirked at her before standing behind her. Around Katalina, the near-stagnant wind seemed to havee alive. Her jasmine scent was diffusing in the air. But that scent now carried hints of sexual aroma created by her pussy juices. Tuan inhaled the air around Katalina and found it invigorating. The butcher grabbed the bottle of booze that was being ced on the window''s ledge and drank from it. He tasted the ale and found that it had a woody vor to it along with a dash of lemon zest. It spurred his mana and revitalized his body while giving him goosebumps as a side effect. Apparently, the runic patterns infused the booze with earth-element mana in a unique way. Tuan caressed Katalina''s buttcheeks with his hands and could feel the dwarven ale''s effects had affected her too. He could feel her light goosebumps as he stroked those plump cheeks. The micro hair follicles on her skin reacted to his touch and made their presence known. Katalina''s ass was as soft as the cloud. Her creamy and supple skin turned rosy as he squeezed her buns to his heart''s content. "This ass is mine now." Tuan mumbled to himself before bringing the tip of his dick near Kat''s dripping wet vaginal entrance. As it prated, he activated his Sins series ability. Mark of the Seven Sins: Mist of Lust! Chapter 550 Kat Conquest* Chapter 550 Kat Conquest* Mark of the Seven Sins: Mist of Lust! The butcher used his ability on Katalina without any hesitation. At first, Katalina didn''t like that Tuan just inserted his dick inside without exciting her pussy from behind. But soon she came to know why. He didn''t have to take the traditional route because she could feel the waves of ecstasy start hitting her as soon as Tuan''s rod reached deep inside her. "Aaaaaaah! Tuan you." Katalina grabbed hold of the window''s ledge while still bending forward. As Tuan started to drive his rod inside out, she felt that most of her pleasure points were getting activated all at once. She looked outside the window and saw that there were many reflections from the same window. "Aaaaaah... Aaaaah... Aaaaah!" Katalina heard a familiar voice - her own. After hearing her own voice, she realized she was being taken into a world of pleasure she had never experienced before. She could see Tuan and her doing the deed in the reflections that could be seen because of the distorted space''s uniqueness. She could see the expressions of lust written on her face. She could see Tuan ramming her pussy from behind as he enjoyed the dwarven ale. Tap! Tap! Tap! p! Tuan would also p her buns from time to time. But instead of objecting to it, she found the act to be delightful and weed it by spreading her legs some more. While he remainedmitted to his mission, Tuan kept the unopened bottle of dwarven ale inside his storage room after corking it. He then reached for Kat''s clit from behind and started to excite it with his brisk fingers. "Aaaaaah.... Tuan harder go harder." Kat urged Tuan to be more violent with her. The Mist of Lust was adding fuel to the fire. The originator of the mist didn''t need to be told twice. He gripped Kat''s hips from either side with both hands before increasing his speed and force. He also tweaked his dick''s height and girth a bit and stretched her pussy walls some more. Katalina''s mind became nk after a few such thrusts she received from her partner. Her eyes rolled back and she lost all her strength in her legs. If Tuan hadn''t held her hips with his hands, she would have fallen to her knees. "Haaaaah! Haaaaa! Haaaaaa!" Tuan didn''t stop humping Kat even when she had cummed. She wanted a breather. But for some reason, she was still excited to get more of his dick even though she was tired. As she received those vigorous thrusts from Tuan, Katalina looked in front of her to see a familiar scene. But instead of Tuan, there was another man in his ce fucking her like nobody''s business. Again, for some reason, she didn''t feel surprised or repulsed. She felt that she belonged to this man, and only to this man. The wind-element user found it surprising that she could have such feelings for a stranger. "Tu no my aaaah my lord. Who are you?" Katalina asked while enjoying the butcher''s dick. She extended one of her hands behind her to be grabbed by her Lord. And thetter did so while increasing the intensity behind his thrusts a little more. "Call me Eren. Eren Idril. It''s a Haaah!" The waves of ecstasy didn''t only affect Kat. Eren felt that all his stress was getting washed away in those waves as well as he enjoyed Katalina''s wet and warm cunt. He groaned in pleasure before finishing his greeting to his ally he could count on from now on. "It''s a pleasure to meet you in my original form, Katalina Reich. Let''s have this night to ourselves before we talk about thepetition." Eren said as he regained hisposure. "Ye. Yesssssss my lo Eren." Eren brought Kat from her bent position and made her close the distance between her back and the front of his torso. He then lifted one of her legs with his hands and thrust his rod deeper inside her. Kat clutched onto the hand that kept one of her legs from touching the ground. With the other hand, she grabbed Tuan''s neck and rested all her weight on his chest. The butcher yed with her bouncing jugs some more. And just when he felt her pussy walls contracting around his rod, he pinched her right nipple with his hand while providing her with a power-packed insertion from behind. "Aaaaaaaaaah!" Kat''s pussy squirted loads of love juices as she felt her remaining bit of strength getting drained from her. Tuan released her leg before swiftly lifting her in a princess carry. ''Hmm. Ladies are drained a lot by the Mist of Lust. Only higher ranked entities than me can sustain the effects and carry on without external assistance.'' Erenpared all his experiences with variousdies while he activated the Sins series abilities. Sharog could keep up with him even after being branded though he hadn''t taken any precautions to not change her personality. But the same could not be said about the two orc assistants she had. Therefore, he concluded that his partners'' ranks yed a substantial role in sustaining the aftereffects of his Sin of Lust. "Eren will will you allow me to stay with you?" Katalina asked with some concern in her eyes. Her facial expressions were filled with signs of exhaustion. But her eyes showed that she was also a bit worried. Her voice was coated in insecurities she didn''t know she would have after tonight. Eren smiled at her mildly before putting her over one of therge reading desks the library hall featured. He caressed her cheek first. Then she pinched her nose in amusement. The butcher took out an all-stats recovery potion from his storage and offered it to her beforementing. "Indeed, Kat. I''ll tell you all about it. But don''t you want to continue with our union a bit longer?" Kat smiled cheerfully after hearing Eren''s assurance. She felt that no part of her wanted to stay away from Eren, whom she began to call her master in her mind. She grabbed hold of the vial that was offered to her before drinking the contents inside. Just like Dianna, Katalina had alsoe to realize that something had happened to her. And just like her, she too felt d that it did. A new vigor was poured into Katalina''s body as her mana core and her mana circuits were nourished and stimted. A pulse of wind-element mana was released from her body, indicating she was as ready to begin as she could be. "Yes, Eren. I''m all yours, for tonight and forever." Said Katalina before pulling Eren on top of her. She nted a passionate kiss on his lips as she stroked his dick with her hands. She could now understand all of Eren''s intentions perfectly. Therefore, she braced herself and found joy in knowing that she would have all of his attention till dawn. Unbeknownst to them, chaos was brewing outside the distorted space. The Tituspetition had entered its final phase even before the dawn of the 7th day arrived. === AN: Check out Katalina''s reference art that will be uploaded in thement section of this chapter soon. ;) Chapter 551 Tim and Langdon Chapter 551 Tim and Langdon "Where are you guys?" Tuan asked his raid partners for voicemunication aftering out of the distorted dimension with Katalina. They were in the safe zone. There was still a few minutes before the dawn of the seventh day announced its arrival. Katalina looked less worried about thepetition than before. As if all her stress had been taken away from her. As if she didn''t worry about winning the Titus tournament anymore. ''WHERE ARE WE, YOU SAY? Where were you guys? We couldn''t reach you. Neither could we find you." Tuan raised his eyebrows as he heard Lily''s distressed voice. Then he nced around him and stretched his mana sense in all directions. He immediately noticed that there was some disturbance in the area that wasn''t previously seen. There were a lot of residual mana signatures along with the debris of fallen buildings that were previously standing, if only barely. ''Let''s say I was held up in some serious work. I have no idea what has happened here. I and Kat are inside a safe area just a few minutes away from where we were supposed to meet.'' Lily took her time before replying. ''What the hell are you still doing in the safe zone? Do you even know what has happened after youst saw us?'' ''Nope. As I said, I was out of the grid for a while. Now stop beating around the bush and tell me what''s going on.'' Tuan spoke to Lily without making any noise. He and Katalina moved quickly after realizing there was something wrong. ''The safe zone is no longer safe. At midnight, safety was revoked. The notification was sent directly to our wristbands. We knew we would be targeted by Bianka''s group as soon as that news was made known. So we ran into the hunting area to wait for you guys. But it''s only a matter of time before Bianka finds us. I don''t know how you managed to stay off the grid while we were all in the same subspace participating in the same tournament. But you better watch your.'' ''Kat, talk with Lily and meet up with her. I''ll tell you what to do after this mess gets over.'' Tuan said and stopped executing his movement spell. All his ns were thrown down the drain when the safe zone stopped being a safe zone. So there was no point in discussing ns that couldn''t be done now. He also cut hismunication with Lily and let Kat handle the talk. That''s because there was a group of two rankers standing right in front of him. "Tuan let me help you" Katalina tried to stay with Tuan instead of following his orders blindly. This was the consequence of him retaining her personality for the most part. He sighed before cutting her off. "Don''t worry about me, Kat. You know what I can do. Let me handle them. You help out Lily. Go.!" Tuan said in a low voice before narrowing his eyes on his new opponents. They were two guys who stood at a sufficient distance from each other. It was apparent that they were not only wary of Tuan and Kat but also each other. This was thepetition''sst day after all. The temporary raid partnerships the rankers made were supposed to expire today. The betrayal coulde from anyone and anytime. "Tuan Aag. Hahahaha! It''s nice to finally meet you on the battleground." A man with long, dark-cider hair greeted Tuan with extreme haughtiness in his voice and bodynguage. He had his hands folded as he watched Tuan with keen interest. As if he wanted to dissect him and search for something within him. This man had a reptile-like face. He had an average build and stature. But his expensive mage-type clothes were what set him apart. He also released a mana sense and tried to scan Tuanpletely without worrying about the rankers'' code of conduct. Tuan had to interfere with him using his own mana sense to make him back off. "Tim Westmoor, right? You say it''s a pleasure to meet me, but your actions are telling me a different story. I won''t ask you why you want to battle with me. I just want to know why me first." Tuan asked as he urged Katalina to retreat. Thetter tried to do just that. But seeing her leave, Tim''s associate showed signs of activity. He released his mana sense and did the same thing Tim had tried to do with Tuan. The second man that was with Tim was yet another baldy in thepetition named Langdon Lark. But unlike Wilder, he had a Melchett mustache that he liked to caress with his hands from time to time. He wore a gaudy dark green overcoat. All his other apparel and essories also matched the color of his overcoat, making him look like a relic from a bygone era. That''s because he did not have an eye for today''s fashion sense at all. Kat got angry at the mustached baldy''s rude behavior. She was about to turn around and engage with him. But then she found out that she didn''t have to. Because Tuan sent a flying sh at Tim without considering the consequences he may receive from Langdon or Tim. Langdon pulled away from his mana sense and was forced to focus on the iing flying shes. He waved his hands in front of him and suddenly a wall of water was erected between him and the iing attacks. Sizzle! The Invi ze shes that Tuan had released from his Anduril swords were easily blocked by Langdon''s water wall. All they could do was exhaust some of his water-element mana and make sizzling noises as they disappeared. But Tuan''s surprise attack had done the job it was meant to do. Katalina had taken advantage of her being left out and retreated to the back; she then activated her movement spell and her flying wearable artifactC disappearing from the scene. She was ordered by Tuan to do her task. And that was what her soul was urging her to do. Tim didn''t mind Langdon getting stopped from hunting for Katalina''s Titus points. He folded his hands and spoke out with great confidence. "Hahahahaha! Forgive my pal Langdon for being such a goofball. He doesn''t like it when someone interferes with his hunt. He hade here to fight with your new girl. As for why you first? That''s an even simpler answer. Who is a better fire-element ranker between us? The me FeathersC Tuan Aag or King of Fire SerpentsC Tim Westmoor? I just want to know the answer to that." Chapter 552 A Rare Class Chapter 552 A Rare ss "Who is a better fire-element ranker between us? The me FeathersC Tuan Aag or King of Fire SerpentsC Tim Westmoor? I just want to know the answer to that." Tim said with passion for duel burning in his eyes. Tuan realized that Tim must have only started looking at Tuan as his equal after the finals because he hadn''t bothered him till today. The guy looked like he was just being made aware of what Tuan could do in the finals. ''Someone must have tipped him. They might have also exaggerated my feats to this dense head to keep me busy here.'' Tuan had only one possible suspect when he made this prediction. ''Bianka Bluedust. That big-titty woman must have set this guy against me after knowing about his character for wanting topete against capable fire-element rankers.'' Tuan gritted his teeth when he found out his ns were going to get hindered yet again without him irking anybody in the process. First, the organizers decided to spice things up by eliminating the safe area in the middle of the night. p??d? n?ve? The butcher was busy doing the deed with Katalina. So he didn''t maintain contact with Lily who was outside with Ketsu and Wilder. He finally realized the thought behind a famous proverb-- Sometimes a dick cannd you in a lot of trouble. Tim and Langdon came out of nowhere. They weren''t included in the butcher''s equation until he was done with Bianka''s group. And they both were in the solid stage of the Ace rank. So it wouldn''t be easy to take care of them while he acted like someone else. Bianka nned to iste Katalina from the rest of her raid partners. Yet even she did not expect that the protection of the safe area would end abruptly. Her raid team started chasing after Lily and her partners to draw Katalina out. Lily had also hoarded a significant number of Titus points herself. So the hunt was going to end up lucrative either way. If they manage to capture Katalina, Lily, Ketsu, and Wilder that is. Tuan narrowed his eyes on his opponents when he drew his conclusions based on a few details and assumptions based on all the events that had unfolded. ''If I can''t handle them using my Tuan identity, I''ll just have to make sure that I can fight them by being the real me.'' Tuan came up with a makeshift n and decided to act on it. He did not want to paint his hands red by killing opponents. Not when there was such a huge audience involved. s, the two opponents had made him sign their death warrants by being an obstacle in his path. Still, he wanted to minimize the damage he would have to incur to Tuan''s fame. The guy was his henchman. He didn''t want bad press for him. Coz that would be detrimental to his next set of ns that revolved around the foundation of the White Raven guild. "You want to challenge me with Langdon around so that he can backstab both of us when we are busy battling each other?" This was Tuan''s way of showing mercy. He decided he should limit the casualties by drawing a wedge between the two raid partners. He had no use for turning water-element rankers into food for his growth. At least not yet. He also judged that a suspicious ranker like Tim was easy to influence with his words. And his prediction was spot on. "Langdon, maybe you should get away from this battleground. No hard feelings man, but I don''t trust you. I don''t think you trust me either. So that kinda makes things easier for us to part ways, right?" Tim looked at Langdon and spoke. He had his doubts about Langdon from the beginning. He just didn''t say them yet. Until Tuan voiced them for him. Langdon looked like he wanted to say something. Then he looked at Tuan hatefully as if the guy had ruined so many of his ns just by existing. "Tim, you beware of this guy Tuan. He is not as simple as I had assumed him to be. He says all the right things. But in a way that would favor only him. Trust me when I say this but you are easy to make a fool of. Although I do not doubt your battle skills, guys with deceptive auras like him shouldn''t be taken lightly." Langdon was warning Tim for his own good. Because he could still use the summoner as his raid partner to take down stronger opponents. But Tim seemed to be more upset by his words than to notice his confidence getting boosted. He interrupted the water-element ranker before he could finish. "Oh yeah? Why don''t you just stay behind and watch me fight with Tuan? We had been betting Titus points on so many battles now. Consider this one as "winner takes all." If I win against Tuan fair and square, you would offer me your wristband just before quitting. And if I couldn''t, we will stay as a team for as long as we can. And I''ll offer you my wristband when I''m near my end of the line in the game. Of course, Tuan would be half burnt by the time we are done fighting, so you can also take his wristband as additionalpensation. What do you say? Of course, to prevent ourselves from getting attacked by each other, we''ll have to sign a binding contract, if only for this match." Tim smirked with confidence and patted his chest when he said that to Langdon. Thetter was about to leave, but Tim''s offer was too tempting. All he had to do was observe the battle between Tuan and act as a spectator. In return, he would either get Tim''s or Tuan''s Titus points. "Hmm. deal." Langdon pondered for a brief moment while stroking his fuller mustache beforeing to a decision. He also knew what Tim was thinking. It was a way to build pressure on Tuan by telling him that no matter what he did while battling Tim or if he won or lost, the end result would be the same. Langdon had to admit that although Tim wasn''t the brightest bulb in any room, the light he produced had given him clear sight in risk assessment. In the tournament, he earned the title Fire Serpent King for his performance in the battles. It wasn''t because he was only skilled at burning things. Because he was attuned to a fraction of the higher consciousness, he could sense the dangersing at him subconsciously. So he used that trait to select his opponents. Tim had a rare ss after all. He was a summoner. === AN: Summoner ss and its links with higher consciousness as well as ranker''s intelligence have been mentioned in chapters 485, 486, 487, and 489. Chapter 553 Trashtalk Chapter 553 Trashtalk Tim was a summoner. The more capable fire-element rankers Tim faced, the more his understanding of his element grew. The more his understanding grew, the more powerful he became. And the more powerful he got, the better fire-element rankers he could battle with. This was the cycle Tim had created for himself. All while taking risks that weren''t too fatal. But there was something about Tuan that he couldn''t ce a finger on. He didn''t look to be as strong of a fire-element user as he had thought him to be. At least not as strong as Bianka had portrayed him to be. And yet, the Fire Serpent King had an inkling that things weren''t as clear as they looked to be. Langdon''s words only confirmed his doubts. As he was used to tapping into the higher consciousness for his summons, Tim had a special sixth sense to analyze his opponents. He would get certain knowledge about his opponents even before he fought with them. Through that sense, Tim could feel that he was a better fire-element user than Tuan. so he concluded that Tuan must have better artifacts or weapons he hadn''t shown to the world yet. This wasn''t enough to get Tim back out. He also felt that his understanding of the fire element would grow tremendously if he manages to beat him up. So instead of pulling away from the battle or letting Langdon take his leave, Tim chose to box Tuan in. Not knowing what kind of entity he was trying to box in. Tuan heard what the two raid partners were talking about. They were conversing out in the open instead of using IDmunication. He could onlyugh mirthlessly at this point. ''Well, I did my best to limit casualties so Tuan didn''t stand out too much. But if his name is going to get the limelight, I might as well add a few blemishes to make his legend believable.'' Tuan had a gentle smile on his face as he thought of killing and consuming both of the humans. "Enough talks, you pyromaniac bastard and piss-water baldy. Why don''t you show me what you got instead of sucking each other''s dicks?" Butcher cursed himself for having such a weak game in trash talk. To be honest, he had prepared a lot of verbal jabs for Bianka and her team. But the twopetitors in front of him were wild entries. So this is what he coulde up to. His only hope was that these two guys were straight and not in a rtionship. Otherwise, his trash talk would sound more like apliment. Langdon was visibly furious when he heard Tuan''s words. He looked at Tim beforementing. "Tim, you better get this guy for good as soon as you can. No dilly-dallying. Otherwise, I''ll be stepping in to kick and take both of you out." Tim was also irked by Tuan''s foul words. What he didn''t know was that Tuan was only warming up earlier. Tim discussed with both of them some more before Tim could seriously consider hurting him for real. "Tim WestmoorC The King of Fire Serpents? Hahahaha! Who even came up with that pretentious title? Tim, my man, are your fans as obnoxious as you? I''ll skewer your ass in my fire and feed that to dogs before calling you anything like that. Then again, your name is Tim. So I guess any title is fine as long as it doesn''t have the word Tim in it, am I right? Hahaha!" Tuan spewed some more verbal venom through his mouth before getting the reaction he wanted from Tim. Both rankers were stunned by Tuan''s handling of the whole scene. But slowly, they couldn''t help but develop animosity towards Tuan. Of course, the trash talk alone wasn''t enough to make the two sane rankers angry. But unbeknownst to all three of them, Tuan''s soul sense was still manifesting passively, carrying the residual effect of his Sins series abilityC Sin of Wrath. That had started to affect Tim and Langdon subconsciously as well. They both signed the binding contracts immediatelyC ensuring they won''t backstab each other in their fight against the butcher. Tim would attempt to remove Tuan all by himself depending on their condition. But Langdon would step in if and when he sees the summoner losing. "That''s it you piece of cucked shit. Now I understand why your wife left you. it''s because of your foul mouth." p??d? n?ve? Tuan shook his head and smiled with a wicked grin after hearing Tim''s rebuttal. He responded just as quickly. "No, Tim. You don''t know the whole story. She left me because she caught me cheating behind her backC with your mom." ''Eren, just because your mother is what she is, it doesn''t mean everybody would be okay with their mother getting dragged into their problems. They''ll get'' Alephee spoke suddenly when she heard the butcher''s vicious words. Then she realized that was his n all along. To make the guys angry. She realized that Tuan had made up his mind to use his Sins series abilities on them. Tim didn''t offer any verbal response this time. The guy was fuming with rage. There were literally mes surrounding his body at the time. He closed his eyes briefly before casting his spell using silent chanting. A series of me pirs were created all around Tim. A unique mana pulse was released all at once by the me pirs, making Tuan unable to reach Tim while he was mid-casting the stacked animated spell. Langdon had also decided that he was only nning to wait for a few minutes before stepping into the battle. The guy wanted to rip Tuan to shreds before making him whole again only to rip him to shreds once more. If Tim was angry about his mother getting dragged into the mess, then Langdon was angry at Tuan for questioning his orientation. He stroked his thick mustache again to console himself. Eight lifelike fire serpents made their appearance on the battlefield at the time and they all stared at one guy-- Tuan Aag. ''So this is how a real summoner fights.'' Tuanmented in his mind as he stopped in his tracks. Chapter 554 Deceived Chapter 554 Deceived ''So this is how a real summoner fights.'' This was the butcher''s first time seeing a summoner in action. He wanted to approach Tim and interrupt his casting, but he knew Langdon had the right to interfere if Tim was about to get harmed by him mid-casting. It was as if they both had the contracts ready and were waiting for each other to bring that up. There all the butcher could do at this point was to wait and watch as the bright orange-colored pirs of me took the shapes of giant python-sized serpents. p??d? n?ve? Hiss! Eight serpent-like hissing sounds were released in the surroundings at the same time. The eight me pirs changed into serpent bodies before starting sporting lustrous red-ck scales. Each of the serpents was 15 meters long. These serpents had mana bodies. Yet they felt very real as their mana bodies started having features of real-life serpents-- like patterns and dots. If one could see what was happening outside the subspace inside the colosseum, they would find out that Tuan''s fight with Tim and Langdon had obtained a prime slot in the aerial space that projected what was happening inside the subspace spectrally in real-time. This was one of the showdowns a lot of people wanted to see. A capable fire-element ranker against an equally dedicated fire-element ranker. This was the battle they sought afterC to see who was better in their use of the elements. Tuan looked solemnly at the eight giant fire serpents that hade to life and were slithering around Tim as if he was their one true master. He realized that he was heavily outnumbered. Hatchlings of the me! Tuan cast his own animated spells and made six fire snakes around him. They had semi-transparent bodies made of fire-element mana. Tuan, in theory, should have been able to even outnumber his opponents on the yfield by using his animated spell. But he soon realized his mistake when he realized that there was no outnumbering a summoner. ''These animated spells are the real deal.'' Tuan thought as he stroked the head of one of the fire snakes that was slithering around him in defense. He then looked at his animated spell and realized howrge the gap was inparison. While Tuan''s spells indeed looked like snakes, they were far from being directly rted to reality. His animated spells didn''t have any prominent scales. His animated snakes also seemed less active than Tim''s. As if theycked something to make them as lively as the real deals. The butcher couldn''t help but praise the superiority of Tim''s animated spells. He knew what the results were going to be if he sent his snakes to fight against those fully-matured-looking serpents that had draconic features on their faces. Yet, he sent them to attack anyway. Tim kept four serpents to himself for protection against any sneak attacks from Tuan. Then he sent two of his serpents to fight while the other two waited on standby. Tuan didn''t need any protection from his summons like Tim. He let all of his animated fire snakes approach one of the serpents before encircling it. Hissss! The serpent that had draconic features for its face looked at Tuan''s fire snakes as if it was looking at something hideous and repelling. It executed a spell of its own and white mes came out of its mouth. Bzzzzt! Tuan watched in shock as white mes started affecting the bodies of his fire snakes. Those white mes looked more like the inherent spells of mana beasts than something Tim had bestowed upon them. Screee! The fire snakes screeched and hissed as their mana body kept on getting disintegrated and regenerated. Even though they could recover their mana bodies after being supplied with the mana they needed, the rate of destruction was much higher than what Tuan could enable them to keep up. ''Hmm. White mes. And there are eight serpents like these. I I kinda understand why he was called the King of Fire Serpents. Anyway, time to act on my crude yet simple n. I can only hope it works.'' Tuan thought to himself as he stopped executing the me spell and let the snakes disperse. He then looked at Tim who was also looking at him with amusement written all over his face. "Not so bold on the battlefield, huh? I thought with the way you talked big, there would be at least somepetition between us. But s" Tim said with fake sympathy that nobody had asked him before continuing. "Just say that you let go of your me Feathers title and surrender your wristband. As far as I am concerned, I will forgive you for all your misconduct. You''d have to ask Langdon for forgiveness separately." Tim thought Tuan would retreat with his disy of superiority. And usually, the real Tuan wouldn''t have been able to defend himself against such a talented fire-element ranker. But unfortunately for Tim and Langdon, he wasn''t the real Tuan. "Don''t act cocky just because your ss-specific spells are better than my ordinary spells. Saying something like that" The butcher was addressing Tim and Langdon when he suddenly halted before opening his eyes wide in shock and terror. He pointed his finger at the area behind Tim and Langdon before speaking up with an absolutely terrifying voice. "The the other rankers are here. We are surrounded." As Tuan used his movement spell, he expressed panic with frantic expressions before running in a particr direction. Tim and Langdon both looked warily behind their backs. They subconsciously believed that they had a chance of being targeted by the otherpetitors. So when Tuan said something that triggered their belief, they had to look back. Both Tim and Langdon were dumbfounded when they saw what was behind their back. Both of them were fuming with anger as they realized what had happened to them. They had been deceived by Tuan into believing that otherpetitors were targeting them. This was a crude trap the butcher had set to get away from the battlefield. It still worked because his opponents were expecting an ambush from other rankers. Tuan wasn''t interested in being part of a losing fight. He knew Tim was a better fire-element ranker than him. Tuan duped the two rankers and ran from them as if his life depended on it. Of course, Tim and Langdon followed him soon after. With a lot of curses and abuses in their mouths. The duo of rankers thought that Tuan was trying to dy the inevitable. When in fact the butcher was leading them to where he hade from with Katalina in tow. Chapter 555 The Unchangeable Outcome Chapter 555 The Unchangeable Oue "Wh. what just happened?" Tim asked Langdon with bewildered expressions. This was a strange turn of events in which they found themselves in apletely different ce. They both saw that there were countless reflections of them with the same bewildered expressions all around them. They felt as if the images were near them one moment and very far the next. It was as if they were in a maze of broken mirrors adjusted at various angles that reflected their reflections multiple times. These confusing images could even be seen in the shattered mirror-like sky. Both rankers decided to walk a few more steps ahead of them and the space around them became clearer. The self-reflections they saw all around them were only present in the shattered sky above their heads. But it was now looking like a real sky in terms of altitude instead of just a fake ceiling previously seen. There was no air. No other sign of life. It was the eerie silence that made Tim and Langdon more nervous. There was only one building located at a distance from where they stood. If Langdon had to guess, he would call it a library. But the building was too well preserved to be considered part of the ghost city''s construction. "This this is spatial distortion." Langdon spoke more to himself than to his pal Tim. His mana sense spread in every direction as he raised his vignce. Then he carefully walked towards the library building while adding up. Tim, I once read about this space anomaly. I think we identally entered a" Langdon was going tobel the incident as an ident. But then he remembered the guy they were pursuing was nowhere to be found. Plus, he started to realize that Tuan was way toofortable while being pursued like this by them. ''Something''s wrong.'' Just when Tim had the premonition, Langdon spoke up. "Tim we need to" Boom! Just when Langdon thought to retreat into the spatial tear they hade from, an explosion sounded behind them. To their shock, they saw that the spatial tear was closing up. A figure shot through the now-closing spatial tear like an arrow coated in purple lightning andnded at a distance from them. When the two rankers adjusted their vision, they saw a familiar face staring back at them with a smile on his face. "Tuan?" Tim recognized that it was Tuan who wasst to enter the ce even when it was him they were chasing. The situation indicated that the guy was already prepared for spatial distortion to take ce even when it was invisible to the naked eye and mana sense. ''He he brought us here.'' An rm bell rang in both Tim and Langdon''s heads. Tim cast his animated spells once again without any dy. This time, since his mana circuits were already active by the same spell, it didn''t take long for him to conjure eight serpents. He continued with the usual setup he hade to familiarize himself with. Four serpents for his defense and the remaining four for the offense. Langdon also thought that an anomaly like this made their mana binding contract null and void. He didn''t have to keep himself away from the fight anymore. Langdon also cast his spells and created a tornado of water around him. He also pulled out a deless sword hilt from his storage space. When he poured his mana into it, the runes etched onto the hilt lit up and a de made of water element mana was formed that reflected the sunlight in multi-color. "You you nned this, didn''t you? What are your motives? And how do we get out of here?" Langdon asked while raising his sword in front of him in a defensive stance. He looked at Tim who also understood his gesture. They both needed to stick together to handle this cunning guy and whatever he had set up for them. Both Langdon and Tim thought that Tuan was after their Titus points, not realizing the graveness of the situation they were in. They also assumed that this was yet another safe drop location that could be found using the clues spread around in the subspace dedicated to thepetition. Tuan smiled mirthlessly at them before responding. "Maybe there''s a treasure to be found in the debris of my shipwreck. I hadn''t set this up, boys. No matter how two-faced I might be, I''m telling the truth this time. But life happens when you are busy making ns. Now all I can do is get on board with whatever my circumstances throw at me. I hope you don''t me me. And I''d understand even if you did." Tuan drew his two swords and spoke. However, he held an Andruil sword in one hand and a different sword in the other. His face and stature also started changing all of a sudden while his facial skin stretched and created a different face. Within a few moments, Tuan changed into apletely different person. Even his mana signature changed into something Tim and Langdon both weren''t familiar with. The butcher soon resumed his normal appearance and looked at them with the same mild smile Tuan had given them. The right half of his body was covered in lightning-element mana as he was holding Rigor Mortis with his right hand. His left hand was holding Anduril, making his left side covered in fire-element mana. This was the first time Eren could wield two of the elements he had been familiar with, with such ease and proficiency. He concluded that focusing on fire-element spells and not using the lightning element at all had somehow fixed the misbnce he never knew he had. Assuming Tuan''s role was paying dividends in a manner the butcher couldn''t have imagined. "What in the world." Tim couldn''t help but mumble at the phenomenon he was seeing. The warning bells in his head kept on ringing. But he was as prepared to face Tuan as he could be. So there was nothing that could be done about it. Langdon saw Tuan turn into Eren and for some reason, his forehead glittered in sweat all of a sudden. He steeled his heart, clenched his fists, and spoke with all the bravado he could muster from within him. "You are not Tuan, are you? If you don''t back off now, we will press the emergency switches we have on our wristbands" Eren shook his head in denial before cutting Langdon off. "The wristbands don''t work here. I was here the whole timest night. So I know and can confirm." Eren said and smirked before adding up. "My point is, you are all stuck here together until I kill you both off. We can debate over the hows and whys of the whole thing if you want to. But that''s not going to change the oue for you. You had your chance to pull back from being the obstacle in my n before. But not anymore." Chapter 556 Ertaur Chapter 556 Ertaur Eren said while gripping his sword hard. He stopped smiling when he narrowed his eyes on his two prey. He released his mana signature in the surroundings, letting both the rankers feel his intentions. This wasn''t part of thepetition anymore. Even when they knew participating inpetition may lead to idental death, whatever that was about to unfold couldn''t be called an ident. Tim and Langdon realized that the stakes for this battle were much higher than they thought they were. They couldn''t help but look at each other at the same time when that happened. "This guy wants to kill us. Tim, we better stick together. I don''t sense anyone beside this fake Tuan. so I believe we can take him on just fine and still be in thepetition." Langdon spoke first. He spoke about retaliation and counterattack. He wasn''t one who would go down without a fight just because he had been boxed in by a single guy of their rank. That too someone who was still in the liquid stage of the Ace rank. Only now Tim realized why he was not sensing any threatening aura from Eren''s fire-element spells alone. The guy was basically fighting with half his powers. But that wasn''t enough to make the summoner feel down about himself or about his prospects of winning against Eren. "No matter who you are, no matter what your intentions are, if you think you''d take care of both of us just by isting us, you are in for a surprise." Tim said and waved his hands forward, sending two of his me serpents in Eren''s direction. He sent other two snakes to go long and attack him from his sides while he was busy handling the first set of animated beasts he had sent his way. Langdon also cast his spells. He made ice shards of some of his blob of water and sent it in Eren''s direction. He didn''t overdo his attack for the fear of him affecting Tim''s fire-element attacks. The verbal exchange was over from Eren''s end at this point. So he decided to focus on his actions rather than his words. ''I''m going to enjoy this hunt.'' The butcher had a wicked smile to himself as he saw the attacks approaching him. He was already prepared for the iing force. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Purple Blitz Steps Red Blitz Bolt The butcher''s perception was enhanced when he executed his time-element spells. As he watched the attacks closing in on him, he thought of going all out. He looked at his left chest peck before mumbling something in his head. ''It''s time for you to show me what you can do buddy. Go wild Ertaur!'' The butcher causally named his contract beast before releasing him out in the open for the first time since he had received it. Beast Contract Spell: Red Lightning Bull. Tim and Langdon saw Eren just disappear into thin air before the attacks they had sent him his way could affect him. The speed and agility that he had shown by being Tuan couldn''tpare to his original speed when he was using his lightning element movement spell. Before the two snakes could decipher what happened to their target, they detected a dangering for them from in front of them as a distinct mana pulse was released where Eren was previously standing. A bull''s bellow was heard and a cloud of red lightning appeared on the battlefield. That cloud slowly took the shape of a giant red lightning bull which charged at the two snakes even before his mana body could formpletely. "This damn imposter how many trump cards he is hiding" Langdon said out aloud in frustration when he saw the red bull charging at Tim''s animated beasts. Even though he knew Tim''s beasts were superior inparison to the beast contract spell, the beast contract spell was more optimized for the mana consumption. That meant Tim''s number advantage over Eren was going to be impacted by the single introduction of the red lightning bull. Langdon was just processing these details in his head when he felt a danger iing from his left side. "Where are you looking?" Eren said while approaching Langdon from his front. Only now Langdon realized that it was Eren''s afterimage he was staring at. The butcher gripped his two swords before releasing their inscribed spells on the guy at once. Purple Reaver! Invi ze! Two distinct flying sword shes zeroed in on Langdon at breakneck speeds. Thetter used his blob of water-element mana and turned into a wall before summoning a mini tornado in front of Eren. a bunch of shards were formed within the tornado before they were swung across in every direction near Eren by the tornado''s rotational momentum. Red Blitz Shield Eren didn''t run this time. He used the destruction aspect of lightning to cast his defensive spell and proceeded to approach Langdon. A cloak of red lightning was formed on him that covered almost every part of his body. When the ice shards hit theyer of red lightning cloak, they broke down instantly. But since the quantity of the ice shards was dense, some of them managed to prate through the cloak by ovepping the point of impact. Eren smiled viciously as he was getting injured by the ice shards. He suddenly turned back and attacked at the me serpent that had managed to approach him by decreasing its mana body. Tim had tweaked his animated spell a bit because he understood the need of the hour. His usual animated beasts couldn''t keep up with the butcher''s speed anymore. So he reduced their body size and made them more agile before sending them towards him at the right time. Purple Reaver! The butcher knew the lightning-element attacks weren''t going to do much harm to the animated beasts. So he decided to fight the fire with fireC his fire. Even if he knew the sh was going to make it so that Tim won every time, all he wanted to do was not win but buy time. Buy time to finish Langdon. The shes hit the moving snake and it hissed in pain. As a result, it slowed down and looked at its master for support. It started traveling in his direction as if it wanted an immediate treatment. This was a disadvantage of animated beasts gaining sentience beyond a certain level. They acted as if they were alive and feared the dangers of death if their summoner couldn''t control them properly. Sensing that the animated beast was hurt and seeking shelter in Tim, the butcher knew now was the time to strike Langdon with all that he got. And he wouldn''t miss a chance like this. ''Here Ie, Langdon!'' === AN: While pondering over the red lightning bull''s name, I came to know that the name Minotaur is derived from two wordsC Minos and Taurus. The word basically means Minos''s Bull. So now you know how wended on the name Ertaur. ;) Chapter 557 Red Bull Rush Chapter 557 Red Bull Rush Tim''s intelligence stat had allowed him to summon eight animated beasts at the same time, which had ess to their unique spells as if they were their inherent spells. But he was yet to control thempletely the way he wanted to. Frankly, Tim couldn''t be med for his beasts not being inplete control of himself. The ss he had chosen for himself after considering a lot about his potential ensured that he wouldn''t have any guidance he would have easy ess to. It was only through his sheer perseverance and battle with talented fire-element rankers that he had reached this point. He had learned a lot from his enemies. So he carried on with that trend until he could achieve visible sess as a summoner. "Don''te after me, you idiot. Attack him. Attack that imposter." Tim shouted while releasing a strong mana signature. That action finally rebooted the animated beast that was sent to attack Eren. It was joined by another serpent of its kind. But Eren had achieved what he wanted to achieve by this point. He got his solo time with Langdon by keeping all of Tim''s animated beasts and him away from the water-element ranker. Langdon had created defensive water shields and sent shards of ice in Eren''s way. But he managed to dodge them all without breaking a sweat. Some of the sword shes that were sent his way were indeed blocked by his defensive spell. And he managed to dodge some others using his movement spells. He also nulled a few shes by colliding them with his own shes that he had sent in the air using his water-element sword. One could tell Langdon had only recently adopted weapon-style fighting. He couldn''t employ his weapon the way it was capable. But some of the sword shes that the butcher had sent towards Langdon managed to hit their mark. Rip Rip Rip "Aaaaaaaargh!" Langon cried in pain and agony when one of Eren''s flying lightning-element shes managed to inflict a deep cut on his left toe. Just when he thought the tow was saved from beingpletely cut off, a fire-element shnded on the same spot, wreaking havoc on the already injured leg. ''A chance!'' The butcher''s eyes shone with wicked light as he approached Langdon and got him in his striking zone. He released his AoE after reaching a few meters away from Langdon. That''s because he knew the two serpents wereing to attack him. Red Blitz Storm. ????w???ov??.co? The ground on which the butcher stood cracked when he released his AoE spell powered by his destruction aspect of lightning. The two snakes as well as Langdon were within the range of the spell. Hissss! "Aaaaargh!" Langdon was electrocuted once again despite him putting the barrier of water-element mana against Eren''s attack. Since his water-element spells didn''t work well against Eren''s lightning element attacks, he got most of the spell''s burnt despite bracing himself for it. The red lightning did more damage to the enemies than Eren had anticipated. The destruction aspect of the lightning was wild and untamed. Additionally, it caused damage to the surrounding area as well as to the rankers nearby. Eren regretted that he still couldn''t handle red lightning the way he wanted to. This was his newly gained power. And he hadn''t had a chance to use it after gaining it until today. So he couldn''t really make the attack focus more on the rankers and less on the surroundings with his spell output. Meanwhile, the red lightning bull was more efficient with his red lightning usage than his master. He couldn''t fatally damage the two me servants that were keeping him busy. But the opposite was also true. He barely felt any damage from the draconic serpents'' fire breaths and fireballs. The non-prized nature of the two elements along with the fact that all three of them had mana bodies made their battle stretch out. But Ertaur wanted to shine some more in his first battle since gaining a new master. It bellowed and mes his nostrils before stomping on the ground with his solid hooves. Before he disappeared, the ground beneath his feet cracked. Red Bull Rush! A linear path was created on the ground. A path that was made by splitting the ground on either side. The next thing Tim knew, one of his me serpents had been thrown some 10 meters high in the air like it had been given wings. The animated beast''s body was coated in a dense cloud of red lightning as it flew across thendscape. The red lightning prated deep through the serpent''s mana body and hurt its consciousness. The mana body started dispersing on its own before it couldnd on the ground. Ertaur had used one of his inherent spells to take care of a me serpent. He had used a considerable amount of mana to pull it off. But he hoped his master wouldn''t be angry. Ertaur''s timing to use Red Bull Rush was spot on. While Tim was busy calcting risk assessmenting from Ertaur, Eren focused on finishing Langdon off for good after inflicting a serious injury on him. He supplied his contract bull with even more mana while approaching his target once again. "Stay the fuck away, you impos" Swish! Eren chopped off the guy''s wrist with which he held the sword. His Blitz Bolt had gained extra prative power after using it with his red lightning. The next to get cut off was the other wrist which Langdon had subconsciously raised in defense. Eren threw his weapons in the air and caught Langdon by his throat before executing Blitz Bolt once again with both his hands. The water-element ranker''s body was overburdened with foreign mana as the red lightning-caused havoc inside it. Langdon barely hung onto his consciousness when he was subjected to such an intense case of electrocution. He had lost control over his limbs because of the lightning''s stun effect. He wouldn''t recover from his condition until he expelled Eren''s mana from his system. But the butcher''s choke-inducing grip over his throat was acting as a source of red lightning, keeping Langdon stunned and unable to take any action for the time being. Eren could kill the guy if he wanted to. But now was not the time. He sensed somethinging from 5 O''clock to get him and threw Langdon in that direction. Just when Tim prevented Ertaur from attacking him, he saw Langdon was picked up from the ground by Eren. he knew that his survival was also dependent on Langdon staying alive. In response, he dispatched one of his animated creatures that were meant to defend him. The target was Eren while he was busy handling Langdon. Unfortunately for him, Eren''s mid-battle presence of mind was exceptional. Chapter 558 Digesting Gains Chapter 558 Digesting Gains Eren had been prioritizing dealing with Langdon while not forgetting to keep tabs on Tim. Plus, his contract bull also shared updates with him in real-time. "Aaaaaaaargh!" The white mes that the animated beast had cast from its mouth had found a target that was not meant for its attack. After being electrocuted, Langdon was now roasted by his teammate. ''Now''s the time.'' The butcher thought to himself before drawing the space-element dagger from his storage space. He gripped its hilt hard and pursed his lips. Then he looked at his targets cruelly before driving the dagger through his heart. Argh! The butcher grunted in pain when the tip of the dagger pierced his heart without leaving a mark on his body. When he opened his eyes, they had changed their color. His hair started turning white and tribal tattoos appeared all over his torso. Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Wrath The butcher activated his sins series ability and targeted Langdon who had suffered the most in his attacks. And since he was also attacked by Tim who had gotten a bit distracted dealing with Ertaur, the butcher guessed that it wouldn''t take long for him to convert Langdon into a creature of wrath. For all his miseries, the guy had to be angry about someone or something. "Aaaaaaah" In the next moment, Langdon''s anger peaked and he started turning. The butcher thought that Langdon would be angry with him for subjecting him to such hardships. Tim for not retracting his attack. But he was angriest at himself for sticking with Tim despite his initial n of withdrawing from the scene. Only now did he understand the warning given to both of them by the butcher at the very beginning. Just like that, a creature of wrath was created at the scene, leaving Tim dumbfounded and scared when he looked at the process. Even with the animated beasts surrounding him, he didn''t feel safe anymore. *************** Tim Westmoor was getting tortured to no end. "Aaaaaargh!" A mournful cry sounded from Tim''s mouth as his right hand''s fingers were first bitten clean off by his raid partner. He then chewed them up while looking like he was enjoying them. The next to be served as food for the creature of wrath was his left hand''s fingers. This time, the creature of wrath didn''t have to do the grunt work. The butcher had chopped them off from him using his sword. Tim was lying down in his pool of blood. There were a lot of sword cuts he had suffered all over his body. The creature of wrath was sitting over his chest, drooling with his hideous mouth open wide. Ertaur the red lightning bull was standing not too far away from Eren. He was prepared to use his Red Bull Rush once again in case Tim tries to pull something off despite his depleted and damaged mana core. "Aaaaaargh... You monster just... just kill kill me." Tim spoke with a fit of pent-up anger in his eyes. But the butcher wasn''t satisfied with this level of anger. He had been keeping his domain of wrath active for quite some time now. He had fought with Tim and Langdon quite a bit since his battle with Tim and Langdon began. The butcher also had a lot of burnt marks because of Tim''s spells. His clothes had be ragged too. His White Haired Transformation had lost its edge as he looked tired and worn out battling with two rankers. Plus, he was reaching his limit before he lost control over himself and indulged in his wrath. Eren controlled himself and looked at Tim with his red iris, which were surrounded by the red veins in his eyes. He controlled the creature of wrath and asked him to attack Tim''s sr plexus next. A wave of immeasurable pain ran through Tim''s body as he felt his sr plexus being hit by the creature of wrath''s brutal punch. He couldn''t help but yell in agony once again. He started cursing Eren while his eyes were filled with tears. His anger at this time in the domain of wrath was unprecedented. The peak of his anger made Tim bitter about his circumstances, making himment over his actions. ''Haaah! Finally.'' The butcher thought to himself and exhaled loudly before walking closer to Tim. He squatted near his head and kept his hand on his head before using his ability. Meanwhile, Langdon''s body had reached its limit. It exploded into multiple pieces of meat before leaving a calm white me behind. When the butcher stood up again, both of his opponents were dead. They left their ID stones and wristbands behind them-- souvenirs for him to collect. Furthermore, two white mes were levitating around him calmly, waiting for him to get assimted. Eren had made sure that he angered Tim till he couldn''t feel anger before using his ability on him. Therefore the me he had left behind was the purest and calmest of the two. He decided to consume the gains left behind by Langdon first. He raised his hand andmanded the smaller, less pure me between the two toe to him. When itnded on his palm, it was absorbed and instantly disappeared. Way of water! When the butcher closed his eyes, he gained attainment in a new element he hadn''t gained in either of his timelines before. As his mana core spun around rapidly, it tried to break the small barrier between it and the solid stage core of the Ace rank. Langdon''s experiences as a water-element ranker were substantial. As a ranker who had stayed till the finals in the Tituspetition, Langdon''s achievements in his element weren''t to be scoffed at. A cloud of Ace rank mana was created around the butcher once again. He also kept on processing the water-element attainment with his eyes closed as he tried to progress further in his ranking journey. Eren''s burn marks were healed first. His now shoulder-length white hair was moving in the wind as a gentle gale was caressing it. Then his internal organs were nourished and his fatigue was taken care of. His almost empty mana storage was also replenished as if he had practiced his ranking technique with 100x speed. And yet Sigh! Eren opened his eyes after a while when he digested the gainsing from Langdon. Having failed to break into the solid stage, he sighed in disappointment. ''Never mind. I still have this.'' The disappointment on Eren''s face was washed away when he looked at the me that Tim had left behind. He couldn''t help but smile mildly as a result. Chapter 559 Solid Stage of Ace Rank Chapter 559 Solid Stage of Ace Rank Eren got rid of his ragged clothes and walked toward the me himself before touching it with his bare hand. ''Don''t disappoint me.'' Before closing his eyes, the butcher addressed the me. He could immediately feel that the me left behind by Tim was on a whole new level than what he had digested so far. The torture techniques he acquired during hisst timeline paid off at this point. "Hmmmmmm!" The butcher felt like he had the most soothing orgasm he had in a while after he started processing the wrath me. His mind became nk as he lost himself in the process. Something pulled his consciousness into an unknown ckhole that skewed the concepts of space and time. State of epiphany! Eren was dragged into a wondrous state where his connection with the higher consciousness was established all of a sudden. At first, it remained static, as if the higher consciousness wanted to remain as a mute spectator. But the butcher''s willpower, his umted experiences, and his immature soul sense made it possible for him to have a forced conversation. It suddenly urred to Eren that his use of fire-element spells up to this point had been too mediocre. His questions about the way of the fire were answered by the higher consciousness even before he asked them. ''Fire. Something that has the power to purify. To baptize. Applied correctly, it has the power to affect the tangible and the intangible. The way of fire is not only about burning everything to cinders. But to demolish something that had be fragile over time and make room for something new. Sometimes what''s dead and useless must be burned away to make room for new beginnings. Sometimes death is the salvation a few things need before they are re-sprouted anew.'' The butcher found himself to be inplete bliss as he experienced Tim''s attainment in fire and made it his own. With each passing second, he was gaining an unprecedented level of knowledge in the way of fire. It was as if he was re-living Tim''s life experiences from his childhood till the moment he died. With each passing second, the butcher''s state of epiphany resembled weeks and months of diligent work that he would normally have to invest in making such progress. He was channeling the Rootless ranking technique unconsciously throughout this process, making the clouds of Ace rank mana appear once more before him. His gains weren''t done yet. ''Way of fire. Let the brittle bits of the past ignite and burn in my fire. Let my path ahead get lit up as those mes begin to dance in front of me. No. I will not turn my back on the zing light. No matter how much destruction or regeneration they cause, they are born out of me and thus are a part of me. I ept this element as part of my existence.'' Tim''s attainment in his element and ss was only the beginning. It served as a foundation for Eren to gain a firm grasp on those attainments. Something that he could call his own. It meant that the butcher didn''t stop at making Tim''s achievements his. He started adding his own experiences and his own understanding of fire to those attainments. He started to progress further in the way of fire than what was previously dictated by the wrath me left behind by Tim''s previous self. ''O mes of the past and fires of tomorrow, I''ll witness with open eyes, your smoke, soot, and haze. It''ll be a cold day in hell before I forget the reasons That required such a ze.'' During Eren''s ascension to the solid stage of the Ace rank, a distinct pulse of mana was released in the surrounding area. His core used the Ace rank mana present in its surroundings to stabilize its condition. Eren had a feeling he would advance faster and further than he did in his previous timeline. When he unlocked Life-Drain enhancement mode, that belief was strengthened further. The Rootless ranking technique that he was currently practicing focused on bloodline purification and atavism. Using only the experimental ranking technique, he wouldn''t have been able to progress in such a short time. But then, Eren gained the Domain of Wrath to counterbnce the odds that had been ced in his way. The Domain of Wrath gave him the confidence he needed to finally ept the ranking technique meant for his bloodline. But even with all his advantages, Eren could have never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would be able to break into the solid stage of the Ace rank anytime soon. He subconsciously thanked Tim and Langdon for such a valuable contribution in making him grow at such speed. Things were yet to get wrapped up. "Aaaaaargh!" Eren suddenly cried in pain and went to his knees when something painful started happening to his body. It was as if his blood was boiling and trying to escape from the orifices of his skin. Ertaur tried to help his master by getting near him. But his mana body was dispersed before he could reach Eren. The bull''s soul was dragged into the tattoo ced on Eren''s chest before he could reach his master. Since Eren had lost control over his body and mana circuits, the beast contract spell couldn''t remain active. This wasn''t something Eren had imagined would happen when he had said ''don''t disappoint me'' to the me. His mana circuits and mana points were changing as per a brand-newyout. That''s why the butcher was experiencing an unbearable amount of pain. It was as if someone was trying to remove all the veins in his body at once. Eren spat out a mouthful of blood as he yelled in agony. It happened because his internal organs were getting hurt in the process. Still, the butcher was doing a lot better than any normal ranker, thanks to his unique half-blood constitution that reduced the effects of most side-effects of such a cruel process. Otherwise, he would have been in a life-threatening situation by now. Eren''s aura started fluctuating when that happened. His mana signature changed once again into somethingpletely different. Despite all that, his Rootless ranking technique was still active. Since it wasn''t rted to any ss or element, it didn''t create any conflict for him. That''s right. Eren was transitioning through a ss change. He was bing a summoner. Chapter 560 +Summoner Class Chapter 560 +Summoner ss Eren was bing a summoner. This was not what he had signed up for when he had decided to join the Tituspetition. He never would have imagined changing his ss at this point in his life. If he had any control over the process, he would have aborted it long ago. But for better or worse, he didn''t have any control while he was in that state. He felt like he was being yed by his bad luck again. Eren could understand everything that was happening to him. But he was a prisoner inside his own body with no control over its functions anymore. Things only got more difficult for Eren from that point. He was then gifted with a killer headache. It was as if someone was drilling through his crown to take his brain out. Eren was in so much pain that he couldn''t shout or yell anymore. All he could do was bear the uncalled-for pain and wait for it to end. And yet... things weren''t as terrible as he made them out to be. It was Eren''s good luck that the ss change was happening inside the spatial distortion and not out in the subspace for everyone to see. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been allowed to leave by the authorities. That''s because he was undergoing a ss change without using any supporting tools or techniques, which were familiar to them. What was even more logic-defying was that Eren was undergoing a ss change when he was in the solid stage of the Ace rank. And yet, his ranking progression was not regressing. That meant he didn''t need a new rank, an updated technique, tools, or any form of support to get through the ss change. The entire Edinburgh kingdom and rankers''munities all over the world would have hunted Eren down in trying to gauge his secrets had he been through his ss change in front of the live audience watching the Tituspetition. When the process was finally done, Eren felt like his body had been through a severe form of torture. This torture was something he hadn''t even performed on any of his enemies or other rankers. If Tim''s soul was still present at the scene, he would have celebrated seeing the butcher in his current condition. Dom and all his other victims would have joined him in celebrating this moment. ''You want my help?'' Just when Eren thought he would fall unconscious against his will, he heard Alephee''s voice. That voice sounded sweeter than honey to him in his current situation. He nodded his head in his mind and tried hard not to give in to the forced slumber his body was demanding from him. Eren''s solid stage mana core that had been depleted in the process of him changing his ss started spinning in reverse under Alephee''s influence. She was merged with him through his mana core so she had certain control over it. The mana core only stopped spinning when it was back to its full potential. As a result, Eren could channel his mana throughout his body to somehow gain control over his limbs. The first thing he did after gaining control over his arms was take out a vial of all-states recovery potion from his storage before drinking it up. The potion''s effects kicked in immediately, and the fatigue and soreness that he felt all over his body were greatly reduced. "Fuck what aaargh shit shit shit this throws away all the ns I had for winning the Titus tournament. How will I fight now? That fucking wrath me" The first thing Eren did after feeling somewhat better was curse his heart out. He slowly got up and looked around himself. He then looked at his hands and torso to see if there were any other visible changes he wasn''t aware of. For some reason, he was in his Life-Drain Transformation mode. His white hair and almost blue eyes attested to that. Visually, nothing seemed to have been different from what was usual for Eren. But his ss had been changed to that of a summoner. He felt like he was operating a foreign body when he channeled his mana through his newly reformed mana circuits. For some reason, he also felt that his thought process was more enhanced now. He was troubled by his situation. But that didn''t make him regret the choice he had made anymore. He felt like something like this was bound to happen one way or the other as he explored his Sins abilities. He regretted only the timing of its arrival. Feeling frustrated, he took out his Sativa stick and lit it up quickly using his fire-element mana. He took a deep breath out of his stick and filled his lungs with its smoke. While releasing the smoke through his nose and walking aimlessly in front of him, the butcher cursed some more in his head. He thought about how he could escape from the Titus tournament without drawing attention. ''How are you feeling right now?'' Alephee asked Eren while sounding feeble again. The butcher heard her voice and responded quickly. ''Don''t tell me you are drifting off into slumber now? Alephee now is not the time'' Alephee cut him short by adding up. ''Don''t worry. I''m not sinking into slumber. Let''s just say that I''m just trying to conserve my consciousness. Things would have been a bit different had you not broken into the solid stage of the Ace rank before your ss change.'' Alephee assured Eren that she was not nning to sleep on him. The butcher realized that he was starting to depend on Alephee which he shouldn''t be doing after he processed his own words and hers. But by now, he had stopped treating Alephee as an alien after her selfless involvement in his affairs. She had aided him when he needed it the most, and for all the character ws the butcher had within him, he was grateful. So he didn''t feelpletely repulsed by his dependency on her. He just needed to make sure that he kept it to a minimum for his own sake. Her existence was special after all, he didn''t want her getting discovered by some high-ranking entity. After being assured by Alephee, the butcher took a sigh of relief before answering her first question. I don''t know what''s going on with me. This ss change smacked me in the face and pulled the rugs out of my legs. I was only beginning to dig deep into bing a closebat expert. But this... Let''s not talk about the efforts that I made in the past for my closebat ss and the impact this ss change would have on my future. My immediate present has also been damaged beyond repair. I need to say goodbye to those 100 thousand Extols I could have won from'' Eren felt like he needed to vent his frustrations to get them out of his head. But Alephee cut him short once again. ''I think there''s a bit of misunderstanding. The ss change has been bound to your Life-Drain mode. You can have your previous ss back when you revert to your normal self.'' === AN: Life Drain Enhancement mode and its characteristics have been mentioned in chapter 331. Chapter 561 A Small Price to Pay for Salvation Chapter 561 A Small Price to Pay for Salvation ''The ss change has been linked to your Life-Drain mode. You can have your previous ss back if and when you revert to your normal self.'' Eren nodded his head and spoke up. ''That''s right. Now I''ll have to'' The butcher stopped smoking and paused his line of thoughts when he processed what Alephee was trying to say. Having a part doubtful and part hopeful look on his face, he asked Alephee. ''Are you sure?'' Alephee took some time before speaking up. ''I''m sure. Your enhancement-mode Life-Drain never really matched your normal state. Because it was based on an ability that shouldn''t exist in this world. When you were in a state of epiphany, the world''s consciousness was not ready to initiate a conversation with you. So you subconsciously chose to make that mode a part of this world. In doing that, you reconfigured the mana circuits and mana points the mode had by default. And while doing it, you changed it based on theyout of the summoner ss you had received from Tim.'' Alephee said and took a pause. She decided that she would ask Eren to do something for her when they get out of the subspace. She was feeling bored by only talking in the guy''s head without being able to interact with the world normally, sans her soul sense. She sighed and put that thought aside before continuing. ''But the higher consciousness can''t think as clearly as an individual. It can only give attention to one person at a time. After all, it has the entire world and all its denizens to keep tabs on. So I didn''t realize that you have, for theck of a better term, what can be called malleable mana circuits and mana points. Even though your Life-Drain mode now has summoner ss, you can have multiple modes if and when you tap further into your bloodline powers. With multiple modes, you can have a variety of sses. Whoever came up with the artificial slime project while being part of this world was a genius. If I had my previous powers'' Alephee paused for a moment to consider a few things. The butcher was listening to her. But he let her have her time. He trusted her as much as he trusted Reen because they both were part of his existence. So he just kept his silence and smoked Sativa Stick, enabling her to gather her thoughts before speaking once again. ''My point is, your bloodline powers can give you more advantages than you ever thought were possible. The reason I approved of you choosing to practice your half-blood ranking technique was because of this. Finding something deep within you is always a better choice than looking outside for something that you may or may not find suitable for you. You just need to revert to your normal self and your closebat ss would be avable to you. Though, I believe you''d have to go through some form of pain. It won''t be as unbearable as you felt for the first time. And reverting to your original state or essing the Life-Drain mode won''t be as easy as it was before. But it should be tolerable as you get used to the whole thing. What''s also good about the ss change in your case is the fact that you don''t have to regress your ranking status. Nor would you require any special preparations. You should also thank your past self for sticking with the Rootless ranking technique despite all its drawbacks. Due to your choice to practice half-blood techniques, you were able to keep your consciousness and your body intact even after such an unexpected ss change. Otherwise, your body would have been forced to sleep before I could intervene. I''m not sure my intervention would have helped you much at that time anyway.'' The realization dawned upon Eren when he heard Alephee state things out clearly for him. The Life-Drain enhancement-mode was something he seldom used because of the repercussions it carried if someone got a clue about it. The butcher''s mana signature waspletely otherworldly when he was in that mode. So doing anything with that mode active was akin to leaving traces of his abominable existence behind. But now since his mana circuits had been altered, Eren could feel that his mana signature now belonged to this world despite it being different from his normal state. He didn''t mind that. He weed the difference. By doing so, he was able to change his identity that was not based on anyone. Eren looked at his hands after thinking about something. His skin during the Life-Drain mode had gained a bit of texture. It was still paler than usual. But now it looked bearable to look at. He stopped looking like a frozen corpse now. Life-Drain! He regretted activating his ability immediately after that. "Aaaaaaaaah fuck!" Eren felt like his arm would be split vertically in two when he activated his ability. His skin covering both of his arms kept on wiggling as it reverted back to being as pale as it was before while using Life-Drain. It was as if countless worms had suddenly got under his skin and started moving on their own while creating that wiggling effect on his skin. ''As I said, malleable constitution. You made a deal with world consciousness while leaving a loophole like this behind. Now you still have ess to Life-Drain while your mana signature belongs to this world. A small bit of pain like that isn''t such a terrible deal considering the advantage you have gained now. Um... what do they say? A small price to pay for salvation.'' Alephee cleared the air behind why Eren felt pain activating the Life Drain before he asked about it. Thetter smiled mirthlessly when Alephee told him to be masochistic while looking at the positive side. But Eren had to agree that what Alephee said was the truth. Earlier, he had kept his Life-Drain mode hidden. Even if he could use the ability while he was in his normal state, the otherworldly mana signature would still leak out. Plus, using the ability while not in Life-Drain enhancement-mode made the ability''s gains less efficient than they were supposed to be. So he seldom made use of his ability to not draw any unwanted attention. But now, he could use Life-Drain without having to worry about it. At least, he won''t be branded as an abomination if and when he gets caught using it. ''Things would be interesting from now on. I gained another trump card I can use. I need to operate with the same prudence. But I''ll be using it more often from now on.'' The butcher thought to himself and smiled while looking at his wraith-like hands and overgrown nails. Despite their hideous and spooky appearance, his hands started looking beautiful to him. Chapter 562 Countdown Chapter 562 Countdown Eren looked at the pool of blood Tim had left behind. He then looked at his naked body and observed that some part of blood and meat that belonged to Langdon was still stuck to him when the water-element guy exploded in front of him like a water balloon. Eren channeled his fire-element mana throughout his body and got rid of all the traces of blood and meat. He also felt that his understanding of the fire element had deepened quite significantly. He believed he had left Tuan behind both in terms of elemental attainment and ranking status despite starting practicing fire-element spells muchter than him. He took out another set of clothes from his storage and wore them. Since they were the same set of clothes Tuan had given him in different shades, he didn''t look much different than before the start of the match. The real Tuan had kept things simple by opting for the same style. The butcher also didn''t find anything wrong with the real Tuan''s perspective on clothes. Eren resumed his train of thoughts once again while looking at himself through countless reflections from the surrounding. He couldn''t help butpare the wrath me of Sid with the me he had just consumed. The state of epiphany I experienced was weird. After digesting Sid''s wrath me, I had an epiphany-like experience, which was rted to his memories and life experiences. But this time, I was connected to higher consciousness. Was it due toa|?'' Eren half-finished his smoke while having a stray thought like this. Alephee wanted him to remember that there was a Tituspetition currently on. And that he needed to hurry. But she kept that prompt on the backburner for now before confirming his suspicions. ''That''s right. It has to do with your soul sense. Even an immature soul sense can help you reap more benefits than you could imagine. That''s why having a soul sense at the beginning of one''s ranking journey is so critical. You can make soul sense and do your bidding while in a state of epiphany. You can also enter the state of epiphany willingly without any potion or array''s help if you know how to use your soul sense. Only people with soul senses are capable of negotiating with higher consciousness. The fact that you pulled it off while having a partially awakened soul sense is a tremendous feat.'' Eren nodded his head after Alephee confirmed his suspicions. He canceled his Life-Drain ability and felt the mana circuits of his arms changing again while gritting his teeth. But before resuming his normal state, he decided to check his status now that he had broken into the solid stage of the Ace rank. ******* Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organizations- Edinburgh Army (Nightshade duchy) Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy Academic Status- ss 2/C Ranked Status: Not applicable due to on-field assignment Base Stats: HP- 14.4 / 14.4 MP- 12.9 / 12.9 STR- 12.5 AGI- 14.9 INT- 10.5 BTP~ 65 BTP Visibility- Private Ranking Status: E-Rank (Solid Core Ace Stage) ****** Ranking Technique- Rootless (Custom Name) ****** ''Hmm. My intelligence score received the biggest boost this time. Probably because I was able to get a summoner ss for myself. Malleable constitution, huh? Maybe I can tweak my stats while keeping the BTP the same in the future. That''s if I gain enough control over my bloodline powers and adjust my mana circuits as per my ss.'' The butcher thought to himself as he checked his stats once again. The biggest boost he had gotten was in the INT stat, also known as the intelligence stat. Yet, he felt that he would be the most ipetent summoner with an intelligence stat value like that. He needed more stat points in INT for him to truly tap into the true summoner''s potential. But since he had arranged his mana circuits subconsciously and did not have any summoner-ss specific ranking technique, he couldn''t boost his intelligence stat the way he wanted to. ''Wait a damn minute.'' The butcher came to realize something. This epiphany was him getting approval from the world''s mana for using the Life Drain mode. But Life Drain mode was not the only otherworldly mode he had. Eren had Sin of Wrath mode in which his eyes would turn red. He reckoned that he also had Lust mode, which he hadn''t entered yet for some reason even though he could use its ability just fine. All of those modes, also known as bodily states, felt natural to him. But he also knew that they had an otherworldly source of origin. Thus, whenever he used them, he needed to make sure there were no witnesses or loose ends after using those abilities and modes. But what if he gets all the Sin series abilities and unlocks every ability? With each ability and its mode, he would have a ss to assign that mode to. He would then need to find a way to arrange his mana circuits ording to the known ss that was part of this world''s rules. This would remove the otherworldly aura the modes possessed. Then he would be able to use Sin series abilities openly without being hunted down by high-ranking entities. With each mode and each ss, he would have a different mana signature. Each of those would not be simr to the normal signature he has, and yet they would all indicate that he waspletely part of this world''s system. So the normal-him wouldn''t be linked with either of those identities. Neither would it attract anyone from the big leagues, even if he decides to ''make a ssh''. Eren could never imagine that he''d be able to make use of his Sine Series abilities like this. The prospect of using their modes to unlock new sses for himself. He had to admit that the value of having Sins series abilities had just doubled because of such possibilities. ''If only I could get the rest of the Sins Series marks... No... No use thinking about the future when my present needs my attention.'' The butcher snapped out of his thoughts and checked the time on his wristband''s spectral screen after essing it. He had received a supplementary feature when he had exited the spatial distortion with Kat earlier in the day. It now sported a countdown timer that had been added at the upper right corner of the spectral screen. Remaining time: 11 hours. Thankfully, the countdown didn''t stop even after Eren was in the spectral distortion. Otherwise, things would have gotten problematic for him by now. Only 11 hours were remaining until the Titus tournament was over. The butcher needed to hurry. He grabbed hold of the two wristbands that his victims left behind and couldn''t help but sh a cunning smile. Since Tim and Langdon had died in the spatial distortion, their wristbands were technically his. He didn''t shy away from getting them for his use. Chapter 563 Array Setup for Spectral Renditions Chapter 563 Array Setup for Spectral Renditions "How should I exit from this ce?" The butcher asked Alephee while still in his Life Drain enhancement mode. He was going to revert to his closebat mode just before getting back to where the otherpetitors were. Eren stayed in his summoner ss mode because he wanted to create an intentional trail using that as his ss. This way, the historians would only find out the trail of summoner ss ranker still being present, making Tim a mysterious person that died and lived at the same time. He was also going to use Potion of Innocence to make the matters blurry enough so that his version of the story holds up and doesn''t get questionedter. ''Hmm. You obviously can''t enter the previous entrance using your current ranking status. There''s a way or two that you can use. It''s where the right-most corner of the library building was supposed to be. Not too far from the spot where you took those books out." Eren''s fight with Tim had coteral effects on the surroundings. The library building that was somehow dragged into the spatial distortion wasn''t an exception. Eren nodded and decided to check the ce. It wasn''t long before he found a series of spatial tears that were present under the debris of the library''s copsed structure. Eren now understood how he found those books in the library. The juxtaposition of spatial runs had created chaotic elements near the library building that made the space too delicate. It had various pockets of spatial tears that could be made visible if enough elemental chaos was unleashed near it. Something like fire-element spells setting off in the vicinity. "There are so many spatial tears which one should I take?" Eren asked Alephee while trying to sense the spatial tears using his mana sense. He knew he wouldn''t gain anything valuable. But he wanted to check anyway. ''Well... if I use my soul sense on all of the spatial tears, I may be forced to sleep once again. So we have to be prudent in our selection. You choose which one to check out first. I''ll just confirm if it''s safe to enter or not.'' Eren sighed when he heard Alephee. ''You are putting me in a tough spot here, Alephee. With my luck, we''d end up right in the middle of twopetitors'' spell collisions.'' He understood that Alephee was making it easy for him to ept his choice. If it was him who chose an exit, and it turned out to be disastrous, he could only me himself. ''Fuck it. Let''s check the very first spatial tear out from the right, 5 meters away from the ground.'' Eren decided to try out the very first prominent spatial tear he hadid his eyes on and decided to try it out. Alephee didn''t mind and extended her soul sense to check for any possible mortal danger. ''Hm. I don''t know what to tell you, Eren. Your choices have a way of surprising yourself as well as others around you.'' Alephee had a deadpan voice in Eren''s head. But he had started to recognize the subtle moods behind her tones now. She sounded like she was amused by what she had found on the other side of the spatial tear. Eren smirked when he understood the subtle meaning of Alephee''s words. It at least meant that the space on the other side was safe for him to enter and check out. That assurance was enough for the butcher. Before diving into the spatial tear, he checked everything around the distortion once more. He also sent his mana sense inside his ID stone''s storage space, keeping it on standby to take out another vial of the all-stats recovery potion should he need it. Only after confirming everything was in order did he jump inside. "Aaaaargh!" The butcher screamed in pain once again when he made it to the other side of the spatial tear. He now understood that Alephee''s definition and his definition of a safe route were different. He had felt his skin tear and hurt all over his body as a result of the spatial storm and gravitational spike. These two were present inside the spatial tear he had entered to get outside of the anomaly. The skin on the butcher''s entire body was now torn in various ces, in various forms. Still, it wasn''t too serious for him because of the ss change he had just gone through. Eren grunted in pain while pursing his lips and stood up on his two legs somehow. He then looked around and found himself to be inside a cave-like structure. Its ceiling was studded with a bunch of yooperlite stones. There was no direct sunlighting from any source. The air was stale, stagnant, and damp. There was no sound or sign of any activity. Just a few faint shes of rune luminescence shing off at various ces. Eren looked at his surroundings and stopped cursing in pain. He wanted to know where he hadnded. But before spreading his mana sense and getting the hang of things, he needed to fix himself once again. The butcher regretted that his newly worn clothes had be bloodied after he jumped in the spatial tear. He then worried about the dwindling supply of an all-stats recovery potion he had in his possession. Eren was about to take out another vial of recovery potion when Alephee stopped him. ''Save it for another time. Didn''t you want to use Life Drain now that it has been altered? There are a few targets you can use that on.'' Eren stopped himself from consuming the potion when he heard Alephee''s words. He nodded internally before spreading his mana sense in all directions. Since she had put it this way, the butcher was sure he wasn''t surrounded by his potential enemies. "What the where am I?" A drop of sweat trickled down Eren''s forehead when he spread his mana sense and found out what his surroundings were hiding under the cloak of poor light. The first thing he noticed was the fact that the space was quiterge and didn''t seem to contain any exit. It meant the space was either istedpletely or the entrance and exit to this space were highly secured. But the thing or things that shocked him the most was the number and ranking status of many living entities in the isted space beside him. Chapter 564 Making Ideal Use of Life Drain Chapter 564 Making Ideal Use of Life Drain But the thinga| or things that shocked Eren the most was the entities living here in this isted space beside him. Various mana beasts and monsters were present all around Eren. Several of them were only F ranks. But some were in the same rank as him. What generated the drops of sweat on the butcher''s forehead was the presence of entities that had higher ranking status than him. And there was quite a lot. Eren was going to make usatory remarks about Alephee about her way of giving him a heads-up. But then he thought of checking the location again. This time more thoroughly than before. Seeing this isted space, Eren concluded that it wasn''t normal. That''s because even after he came here in this space all of a sudden without being invited in the middle of so many entities, he wasn''t attacked or stared down. That was odd. In the end, Eren discovered that these ranked monsters and mana beasts were slumbering inside an array dedicated to each of them. The runic chains were bound to each of their limbs, ensuring that they stayed in the array all the time. Eren walked over to a wood-element E-Rank Red deer that was ced near him. He didn''t enter the array. He did not touch any part of it. He just stood beside the array and watched what was going on. Eren had started to form an idea as to what this ce was after seeing the array setup up close. He also checked up on the mana beast that was trapped within it. Even though he was no good at the subject of array traps, the study of array traps was now making him understand the few basic array functions and ways to identify them. Alephee decided to pitch in and fill in the nks in Eren''s predictions. ''You are on the right track, Eren. These are the same monsters and beasts that you had been fighting over sincest week.'' ''How?'' Eren asked with a light of curiosity in his eyes. Alephee didn''t take long to answer. ''The array setup in which these creatures are locked creates real-life-like spectral copies. These spectral copies with mana bodies were what you and otherpetitors fought with. The array is these creatures'' prison and what keeps them alive. The array setup also puts the creatures to sleep. But the array setup can notpletely mimic the state of epiphany. Therefore, a makeshift system has been introduced in which food is supplied externally. So those runic chains that you see seeped into the creatures'' limbs also provide them with bio-energy to sustain them. In a way, those chains that are imprisoning them are also the ones that are keeping these prisoners alive.'' Understanding dawned on Eren as he processed Alephee''s exnation. So this was how the enemies for the contestants were created. All those monsters and beasts he and the other guys killed were only copies of these animals with their mana bodies. They were acting and appearing just the way the organizers wanted them to. ''Does that mean Eliza also has a setup like this inside her Purgatory?'' The recurring spectral enemies and how they can be near invincible, so they can exhaust the champions. This was the same setup Purgatory had. Eren couldn''t help linking what he had experienced in Purgatory with what he was seeing right now. Of course, Purgatory didn''t only contain spectral targets. The Draconic Lizards La talked about were real. Otherwise, the butcher''s Life Drain wouldn''t have worked on them. Plus, the wraiths that had been summoned weren''t a spectral rendition of something alive. ''More or less, yes. But we can see that Eliza had been dabbling with the concepts of life and death. She is trying to revive herself from the grave that she has almost fallen into. So her experiments with wraiths and Draconic Lizards aren''t part of the same setup. So she also collects the souls of those who have died there and experiments on them when she feels like it. The wraiths she had made you fight with must be part of her experiments, failed or otherwise. What you see here are only ranking entities that are bound to their mortal shells getting rendered in spectral forms. What Eliza has run in Purgatory can be called an advanced form of the same setup.'' Alephee exined to Eren and made him realize the difference between the two setups. Seeing that he seemed interested in learning more about the array set up, she exined it in detail as well. Eren nodded his head when Alephee was done exining. After understanding the nitty-gritty of the setup, the butcher couldn''t help but smile wickedly at the potential opportunity that he can make use of when the timees. ''Eren, your wounds are kind of serious if left untreated for long.'' Alephee''s timely prompt made the obsessivepulsive serial nner snap out of his chain of thoughts. He looked at his body by looking downwards before looking at his arms. Gritting his teeth, he decided to make use of his ability that he seldom used. Life Drain! The first victim of Eren''s Life Drain was the E-Rank Red deer. Alephee navigated his way inside the array without triggering any of its defense mechanisms. Once in, all he needed to do was prate his fingers deep inside the beast''s body on its exposed back. The beast didn''t wake up. It couldn''t. The array''s consistent operation ensured that the butcher could use his Life Drain on his first victim without experiencing any conflict. Eren''s injuries started healing at a rapid pace when the ability got activated. He then closed his eyes and channeled his ranking technique once again. When he received a unique supply of mana, his mana core spun rapidly. A unique atmosphere was created around the butcher as he felt every cell in his body was getting rejuvenated. The mana purified by the Life Drain also entered other parts of his body, strengthening his muscles. The butcher felt like he had just had a satisfying meal when he was done with the Red deer. By now, the beast''s corpse had been mummified. ''Heh. I feel like my ranking status is improving. It is a bit slow, but progress is progress. And this is as good a time as any to test the full extent of Life Drain.'' The opportunist in Eren couldn''t let go of so many defenseless preysid in front of him like a gourmet buffet. He was seen walking towards his next target with his w-like fingers outstretched. Blood from itstest victim dripped from the tip of his sharp nails. Chapter 565 Rigging the Field Boss Chapter 565 Rigging the Field Boss "This this is the same Goblin Lord that I fought with, right?" When Eren got to his next victim, the goblin lord that was slumbering inside the array looked familiar to him. Then he remembered that it was the same Goblin Lord that Kat and the rest had managed to lure out of his monster nest. He had then killed the mana body of this Goblin Lord, giving everybody a hefty amount of Titus points. Eren didn''t touch the F-Rank mana beast and monsters because they were no use to him. And he had killed and drained the life essence out of a bunch of mana beasts and monsters in the E-Rank. He soon realized that he wasn''t using Life Drain and his current situation efficiently. He was subconsciously avoiding the mana beasts in the D-Rank when they were all slumbering and of no danger to him. Eren quickly stopped using Life Drain on E-Rank monsters and mana beasts and instead used his ability on D-Rank monsters. The Goblin Lord was going to be his first victim in that segment. ''That''s right. This guy is the same Goblin Lord you fought with. But what are you doing with that what is that?'' Alephee confirmed Eren''s hunch. But she was puzzled when she saw him taking out an array disk that featured a ss-like tform in the middle. The center was also etched with runes, making it a ranked artifact. Eren smirked when he found Alephee puzzled for the first time in a long while. He didn''t reply with words though and activated his ability. Life Drain: Devour Eren''s arms forgo their defined forms and change into slimy shapes. The two slime globs stretched towards the Goblin Lord''s body before nketing over itpletely. "Grrrrrrrrr!" The Goblin Lord growled in his slumber when he unconsciously felt that something was wrong with his body. Eren was about to bolt out of his current position if he had shown any more signs of awakening. But fortunately for the butcher and unfortunately for the Goblin Lord, the monster couldn''t wake up to defend himself. "Grrrrrrrrrrrr!" "Grrrrr!" "Gr" "..." It took a while but Eren finally managed to breach the monster''s natural mana defense before digesting his entire body with his half-blood ability. This time, he had chosen to use his ability this way instead of just puncturing his victim''s body and drawing the Life essence out. This time, he wanted to create a Blood Seed out of the Goblin Lord. Eren closed his eyes and processed the monster''s life essence as well as his memories. This time, it didn''t take long for him to make a Blood Seed out of the monster because of his earlier experience. Eren drew the mana-coated drop of blood out of the tip of his fingertip and let it levitate over it. He then took hold of the array disk and slowly ced the Blood Seed over the ss surface of the disk. A blood slide! Eren imbued his mana inside the array disk and it activated the array and runes were etched over it. The blood slide vanished from the array disk''s tform after the array was activated. The slide was secured inside the array disk while ensuring that the essence of the Blood Seed remained intact and unharmed. ''Oh!'' Eren knew Alephee would understand what he was doing once she saw it. He was creating blood slides for various monster forms. He already had Orc form''s Blood Seed stored within him. As a result, he couldn''t save another Blood Seed. So he hade up with a way around ever since he got out of the Oni dungeon. It was the first time he used his preparations. Eren then looked around him. There were a lot of monsters around him, most of them of Ace-rank caliber. But there were some monsters with D-Rank caliber as well. ''I damn it I don''t have time to process all this free stuff.'' The butcher felt frustrated that he couldn''t reap more benefits out of the opportunity that was in front of him than he already was doing. He needed to prioritize his potential gains now. The mana sense Eren used to scan the area revealed a dreaded presence right in the center of the isted area. This was an Adept-level monster that was so close to breaking into the next rank. An Ogre Lord. ''This... this is thest Field Monster they have kept as a group challenge for us.'' Eren quickly recognized the monster when he first saw his gigantic body. The Ogre Lord was a 12-foot mini giant with an overwhelming physique. He had bulging, muscr limbs and a terrifying face. He still wore his arm guard, loincloth, and footwear-looking artifact made out of beast skin. The Ogre Lord''s consciousness inhabited the array-made mana body that he used to protect arge area on his own. As if he was still unaware that it was not his real body. Every contestant had learned about this monster because of his terrifying mana signature that he would release. It was to let everyone know that the area he was protecting was his territory. No contestant dared to approach the Ogre Lord. This was because they knew only collective efforts by all Top 13 contestants would allow them to think about challenging the ultimate field boss. And yet, nobody was sure they could beat him. The Ogre Lord''s Labrys alone would be able to pulverize all the defense they might put against him. ''Eren I don''t think you should waste time making Blood Seed out of the guy. You wouldn''t be able to get through his mana defense quickly.'' Alepheemented in Eren''s head after seeing that Eren had stopped at the array setup imprisoning an Ogre Lord. This monster was only a step away from bing an Ogre Overlord. Thus, the faint pressure he was released was still intense. ''You think too highly of me, Alephee. I''m not bold or stupid enough to mess with this monstrosity. Who said anything about making a Blood Seed out of this monster? I can''t even extract life essence out of him using the normal method because I know I won''t be able to breach his mana defense on time.'' Eren looked at his pale arms and said that. His overgrown nails looked deathly and piercing. But he knew his limitations. Forget about piercing the Ogre Lord''s skin, the butcher won''t be able to scratch him anytime soon even with his body only passively defending him. ''Then'' Alephee paused as if she understood Eren''s intentions halfway. ''Let''s create a malfunction in the array.'' Eren smiled and told Alephee what he wanted from her. Thetter chuckled lightly in his head and told him what he needed to do. He was going to rig the Field Boss battle from here. **************** Time Remaining: 25 Minutes The final day of the Titus tournament was about to wrap up. In thest two hours, eachpetitor''s location was getting revealed on the wristband''s spectral map. It was clear that the organizers wanted chaos to unfold in thest two hours of thepetition. Not just first ce, all the ces within the top 10 were significant because they all carried rewards. The lucrativeness of rewards was in descending order starting from the first ce. That meant the better the ranker''s rank, the better rewards they would get. "Raaaaaawr!" In pain and agony, Cyclops Lord screamed. But his cries didn''tst long. That''s because he was soon decapitated by a ranker who seemed to have done it without much effort on his end. However, only he knew that the monster had been a difficult challenge for him. He had beads of sweat rolling down his forehead as he looked at his monster kill. This was yet another Adept-level field monster that he had solo-killed. Drin Dawn and William Shank were in an entirely different league than the rest of thepetitors. They didn''t form any raid teams and solo-raided the monster nests using their individual battle powers. They also didn''t target other rankers. Because at their level, they would earn more Titus points killing monsters and beasts than targeting rankers. Drin wiped the sweat forming on his forehead with his arm''s sleeve before essing the wristband''s spectral screen. Even he knew there was only one person who could keep up or exceed his Titus point earning rate. That was William Shanks. But for thest two days, Drin had been on a grind. He had cleared a lot of monster nests and tough field monsters all by himself. With this monster kill, he hoped to rise to the position of first ce holder. With the bubbles of expectations forming in his heart even when he didn''t want to, Drin looked at the updated ranking. But what he saw left him in a state of shock. === AN: Field boss (Field Monster or Field Beast) is a term used for monsters or mana beasts that are seen out in the open. They are generally stronger than any of their variants and capable of iming territory for themselves. Labrys is a double-headed ax. I shit you not, another name for it is "bipennis". :D Also, do you guys remember the Goblin book cover we had? It illustrates the Goblin Lord whom Eren made a Blood Seed out of in this chapter. ;) Chapter 566 Reaching Climax Chapter 566 Reaching Climax With the bubbles of expectations forming in his heart even when he didn''t want to, Drin looked at the updated ranking. But what he saw left him in a state of shock. 1st ce- Drin Dawn- 829,7935 Titus Points 2nd ce- Tuan Aag- 798,8241 Titus Points 3rd ce- William Shanks- Chapter 609,6969 Titus Points Drin only paid attention to the first three rankings. That''s because he had always been in the top three since he entered the tournament. He had decided to y it slow and steady for a few days to gauge the situation. But then William started to gain on him by clearing monster nests after monster nests. Drin began doing the same after a few days. Thest couple of days had seen Drin and Wiimpeting fiercely for Titus point earnings. Both of their fan booths were the most excited crowds among a sea of people attending the live telecast from the Colosseum. Neither of them thought to attack the other. Because their Titus points spoke volumes about their battle potential. Drin and William both knew that taking care of each other was more difficult than handling Adept-ranked monsters. They both would end up injured in the best-case scenario, which would prevent them both frompeting for the first spot. Furthermore, they both knew that other contestants wouldn''t shy away from ying spoilers in their duel if and when they battled. In that case, both of them would be eliminated by weaker contestants. This was something they both didn''t want. So it was a tacit understanding among the Top Three that they would never chase after one another. Drin was d that he was finally ranked first after all his effort and work. But he was surprised by the way Tuan had surpassed William and gained the second rank. That too, on thest day of the tournament. Just when only a few minutes were remaining. This was the fastest growth Drin had seen a ranker record in a day. And that too, when William was still working hard topete with Drin. ''How How did he manage to do that? Thest time I checked he was nowhere near us.'' Drin felt confused and shocked after seeing Tuan in second ce. He then looked at the screen and found out that a bunch of names was missing from the list of contestants remaining on thest day. ''It doesn''t make sense that Tuan gained so many Titus points in a day. Unless.'' Drin thought of a possibility and looked in a particr direction. The contestants all knew there was a Boss Monster in the subspace posing an almost impossible challenge for them to take on should they all decide to take on. The Ogre Lord was only a step away from bing an Ogre Overlord. As confident in their battle potential as both Drin and William were, they didn''t dare step anywhere near that monster. Because they, along with all the other contestants, knew he wasn''t mean to them. At least not by forming small raid teams. They all needed to work together to take down the Ogre Lord. But who would do something like that and risk getting backstabbed by others? ''That Tuan is an interesting fellow.'' Drin thought and shook his head whileughing mildly. He thought that Eren had killed the ultimate field boss they had by forming an equally ultimate raid team before reaping the most benefits for himself. Only a few minutes were remaining until the end of the Titus tournament. So Drin stopped worrying about his ranking position being taken by William. The guy was going to be a third-ce holder in the tournament unless he found someone or something to give him arge chunk of points. ''Or William could just target Tuan to make up for the difference in Titus Points.'' Drin thought as he stepped down from the Cyclop''s chest he was standing on. The monster''s spectral body started disintegrating soon afterward. But just as Drin was about to sheathe his sword, he saw someone approaching him using their movement spell. "Yo Drin. Help a friend out here." The approaching ranker had a male voice. Drin adjusted his eyes and kept his mana sense on the alert. Even though he didn''t sense any threat from this approaching ranker, the one chasing the guy was an entirely different story. "Tuan" Drin identified the face behind the voice when it came into his vicinity. He wondered whether Tuan wanted to fight him for the first position. But thetter rified his intentions even before he asked about them. "Help me defend me from William. For your own sake." Tuan circled Drin without approaching him any further than thetter felt threatened with as he said that. He was also sweating a lot, enabling Drin to know that he had been running away from Wiim with all that he had. Drin was about to respond when he saw another ranker approaching him with even greater intensity than Tuan. He was none other than William. William wanted to deal with Tuan as soon as possible to at least gain second ce. He knew that first ce wasn''t possible because he couldn''t defeat Drin in thesest minutes. But with Tuan, he could at least try. So all he could do was eliminate Tuan and take what he felt was rightfully his. A stalemate had been reached at this point. With Drin standing right between William and Tuan. This Top Three Showdown was shown live on almost all of the Arangar Collesseum''s spectral screens. This was the climax scene viewers outside the subspace had been waiting for. Almost every spectator was watching even the smallest of movements performed by Drin, Tuan, and Wiim with absolute interest. The betting houses were getting overcrowded with all sorts of betting scenarios. This was the peak event of this year''s Titus tournament. "Drin I hope you don''t interfere between me and Tuan. I just want to deal with this fire bastard. I have no intentions of fighting with you or winning the first position any longer." William offered a truce to Drin while narrowing his eyes on Tuan who was looking at him with a pleasant smile on his face. For some reason, that smile irked him the most. It was as if Tuan was mocking him for being able to snatch his ce at the veryst stage of the tournament. His smile also seemed ufortable to Drin. It was as if he was okay with whatever result the final day of the tournament wraps up with. Either that. Or Tuan knew what the result of the tournament was going to be with absolute assurance. Chapter 567 The Finale P1 Chapter 567 The Finale P1 "Drin boy I hope you don''t interfere between me and Tuan. I just want to deal with this fire bastard. I have no intention of fighting with you or winning first ce any longer." Drin remained quiet for a while. But before he could even think about replying, he heard Tuan chuckle from behind him. "Hahaha! Will you think you can make a fool out of Drin? Defeating me means winning thispetition for you. That''s because I have enough Titus points to help you surpass Drin''s Titus points easily. Let me tell you one thing, Drin. I''m very weak and tired right now. I''ll lose to this guy within seconds if you DON''T interfere in our matter." A blue vein on Drin''s forehead popped when he heard Tuan''s unabashed response. This was tant ckmail. Tuan was saying that should Drin choose to act as a spectator, he would lose his position as the first ce holder. William had had it with all the mocking he had suffered from Tuan while he was chasing him down. The guy not only mocked him but his mother as well, making him want to beat the closebat expert all the more. Of course, William was aware that Tuan was doing all that to distract him while he was chasing the guy. But what infuriated him more was the fact Tuan''s strategy worked and he had managed to run away towards Drin with him on the toe. Upon hearing Tuan''s ckmail, Drin turned to face him without worrying about William. He looked the guy in the eye before speaking up in a cold voice. "Tuan, I suggest that you don''t try to use ckmail on me. If you are that weak, maybe I''ll eliminate you on my own. Let my first ce be even more prominent.'' William got stressed when he heard Tuan speak. But he wanted to see the frightful reactions of Tuan at that point even more than getting his second ce back. But Wiim saw Tuan speak with the same nonchnce and carefree attitude as before. He heard him speak to Drin next. "What would you gain by attacking me anyway, Drin? Your ranking in the tournament is already set. Adding a few more points or an entire bulk of them by defeating one of the top three rankers shouldn''t change anything for you, right? Besides, if I stay in second ce, I''ll give you all of the Extols I would win." Tuan looked at Drin and shed a businessman-like smile. Then he looked at William and smirked. William concluded that Tuan was determined to take second ce in the tournament even if it meant losing prizes. The event was broadcast live. They were not required to sign binding contracts to make such ims. Even if Drin ends up not taking up the offer, Tuan was fine with it. After all, he only needed to dy his showdown with William long enough till the tournament got over. William decided to act. He used his movement spell and disappeared from his spot. But just when he was about to make his move on Tuan, he received Drin''s interference. Drin effortlessly blocked William''s broadsword with his rtively feeble-looking Katana before speaking up. "You''d have to forgive me, William. The offer''s too tempting. Besides, Tuan is right. I can''t let you get his points and gain the first ce over me." William startedughing maniacally when he heard Drin''s words. He responded in kind. "Hahahaha! Drin boy, don''t think I''m scared of you just because I asked you nicely. Think this through. Is that your final answer?" Drin didn''t reply with words. He just grabbed his Katana firmly and stared at William. He was also paying attention to Tuan, in case the guy who had set the two up against each other wanted to take advantage of their situation. Drin had not thought of Tuan as a schemer when he had first seen his battle. But he had to give it to the guy foring up with such a simple yet effective n. ''The betrayal changes a person.'' Drin thought to himself while he saw William continue hisugh. "Hahahaha! If that''s what you want, Drin, then so be it. You and me. Let''s dance." William and Drin then started fighting officially when only a few minutes were remaining. Both of their fan booths grew wild as they saw the fight they had been waiting for unfolding in front of their eyes. The organizers of the tournament were also pleased after predicting that the sales of their array disk recordings would be record-breaking. Meanwhile, the cause of this fight had created a sufficient distance from the battlefield. Now Tuan was looking at the fight from a safe distance while he waited for the final moments of the tournament. ''Haaash!'' Tuan breathed a sigh of relief when he made Drin fight his battle for him. He knew that he couldn''t break his Tuan character anymore even with his newfound ranking status and fire element attainment. Besides, William and Drin weren''t opponents he could take on effortlessly. Using La''s potion again, he reduced his rank to that of his previous self. Because he was now only a step away from reaching the Adept rank. He had kept himself away from checking his status to not feel emotional about his own progress. The butcher decided to check his stats only after the event was over. Eren''s previous life ended when he was a D-Rank adventurer in the solid stage. He had entered that rank when he was well past his prime in that life. Compared to his previous self, his ranking advancement in this timeline was astronomical. ''Focus, Eren. Now''s not the time to think about the past.'' Eren criticized himself as he watched Drin and William fight. Contrary to what both Drin and William had been thinking, Eren had no ns to y spoiler in their battle that was only meant to give the tournament''s audience its needed pay-per-view. Eren didn''t have to take risks because thepetition wasn''t about thest person standing. It also wasn''t about knowing who is the strongest ranker among all the contestants. This tournament was about gaining maximum numbers of Titus points. So that''s what Eren had focused on from the very beginning ever since he had nned to switch ces with real Tuan. By this time, the rest of the contestants present in the subspace started gathering around the battleground of Drin and William. Katalina, Ketsu, Lily, and Wilder were among them. Those who had stayed till thest day of the contest were allowed to stay in the subspace even when their wristband got snatched or destroyed. It indicated that they would win constion prizes ording to their rankings in the Top 10. Suddenly, for the first time, a giant spectral screen appeared right above Drin and William''s battlefield. It disyed a countdown timer that was slowly reaching zero. "10" Each of the contestants mumbled the disyed digit in their head or out loud. By this point, they had given up on improving their ranks and came to ept the current rankings. Hence they all rxed a bit and waited for the thing to get over. "9" ''This is it.'' Butcher thought to himself before contacting Katalina who was standing not too far away from him. ''Kat It''s time.'' Chapter 568 The Finale P2 Chapter 568 The Finale P2 "8" ''Kat it''s time.'' Just as Katalina watched the countdown hit 8, she heard Eren''s voice on her voicemunication channel. She executed her movement spell and appeared right next to him in the next moment. At the scene, Katalina''s sudden use of a movement spell didn''t pass unnoticed by the rankers. They saw her approach Tuan without fear of an offensive strike from him. Some of them thought that something was up and started paying attention to them. "7" Tuan took out a bunch of items from his storage space and threw them on the ground. "6" Katalina also took out a bunch of items from her storage space and added them to the pile already present in front of Tuan on the ground. "5" "What are they doing?" Bianka couldn''t help but say out loud after she observed Katalina''s actions. She wanted to get Katalina''s Titus points for herself. But the surprise organizers had in store threw all her pre-nning down the drain. Even chasing Lily to draw Katalina out only bit her in the ass. This time, it looked like Katalina was more ready than she was to take her on. Equipped with her flying artifact, potion bombs, and runic scrolls that contained array traps, Katalina became a major headache for Bianka. The closebat expert became even more difficult to deal with after teaming up with Lily, Ketsu, and Wilder. The teamwork they disyed was not wless. But they made up for it with their cunning and usage of array traps. In the end, Bianka gave up on getting Katalina''s points. She gave up on her entire raid team and focused on Reva Sunstar. She wanted to iste Langdon and get him next. But he was nowhere to be found. So Reva was her only choice. Bianka''s team y with Ray and Silvera panned out and they were able to get Reva''s wristband for themselves. They immediately crushed it and shared the Titus points equally among themselves. Katalina and Lily''s team decided to listen to Tuan''s suggestions after he contacted them. He told them to focus on clearing the monster nest he had given them directions for. His suggestion also gave them lucrative results. That too with hardly any effort. It was as if the monster nest had been drugged by someone beforehand. All the monsters that were present inside the monster nest were extremely slow and their reaction times were highlypromised. Plus, there was no boss monster to be found. As a result, Katalina and Lily''s team only took less than half the time to clear out the nest. Lily had thought that clearing a monster nest at this crucial time was a terrible idea. But after finding out that Tuan''s suggestion was right on the money, she began to see him in a different light. She had learned from Katalina that he was being targeted by Tim and Langdon before she was forced to leave his side. The closebat expert started looking more worried about him than she was about herself. This sudden change of behavior in Katalina''s personality caught Lily off guard. She wondered what kind of magic Tuan had done on her. Ray became curious about Bianka''s words. He followed her gaze and looked at Tuan and Katalina that had just appeared beside him. He then saw them making a pile of some items and decided to cast a long-distance vision spell. They were standing in the opposite direction from Tuan and Kat after all. "4" "They holy fuck they are wristbands!" Ray Rhinehart finally got to know what the pile in front of Tuan was made of. He screamed in shock that bordered on horror. At first, Bianka and the rest of the rankers didn''t get what Ray meant when he was looking at Tuan with wide-open eyes. As if those eyes woulde out of the sockets anytime. It didn''t take long for the rest of the rankers to catch up with what Tuan was about to do. "3" Katalina''s wristbands hade from the contestants she had beaten in the past. The butcher had given her the idea to collect wristbands and crush them at crucial times. So she had kept some of the wristbands while crushing the rest to keep her rankingpetitive. Eren had then demanded her share of wristbands from her after he branded her with his Sins series ability. Thetter was happy to oblige. She was even ready to give Eren her wristband herself. And the butcher had nned to use it if the situation arose. After all, Katalina was now his people. And the butcher won''t shy away from using that to his advantage. But the moment the butcher''s rendezvous point with Team Lily waspromised and they couldn''t form a team as he had wanted them to, all his earlier ns were thrown for a toss. The butcher was going to target Bianka''s team first, and then Drin or William depending upon the situation at the time. He nned to take their wristbands while letting Team Lily get eliminated in the process. As per his deal, they still would have been within the top 10 even with their wristbands getting owned by him. But fortunately for both Tuan and Team Lily, things didn''te to that. After the butcher realized that he was trapped in the isted space containing the array set up for monsters and mana beasts'' bodies, he changed his n. As a result of the cheat that he was able to introduce into the array set up, he cleared the Field Boss solo. Tuan first weakened the Ogre Lord by introducing a malfunction in the array setup that was maintaining his live body. After discussing the timing of his appearance with Alephee, the two waited in the isted space. He also collected a few more blood slides while waiting inside the isted space. Then used the same way to exit the space and get back to the ruined library building. Using Alephee''s advice carefully, he chose another spatial tear and exited the distortion. By the time he hade out, only a few hours were remaining. Tuan then contacted Katalina and told her to focus on clearing the monster nest that he had rigged the monsters off. Meanwhile, he rushed towards the Field Monster that only he knew had been weakened so much that a few hits from him were enough to destroy it. Tuan''s position skyrocketed and he was recorded as 2nd ce holder after he solo-killed the Field Monster. The result of his battle with the Field Boss was that Ogre Lord couldn''t be rendered into a mana body anymore. That was because he died soon after his mana body was destroyed by Eren, thanks to the array''s gradual malfunction. "2" "Fuck. Stop him." Bianka was driven nuts when she saw what Tuan was about to do. She didn''t know why she was so mad at him when he had hoodwinked all the contestants at the same time. Somehow, due to her prior meeting with Eren, she took Tuan''s deceptive actions quite personally. Bianka cast her movement spell and approached Tuan. Her raid partners didn''t follow her. The team was broken after they had defeated Reva Sunstar. It was a miracle that they didn''t fight among themselves. So following Bianka in her assault didn''t make sense to them. "Ugh! Get the fuck off!" With no interest in his voice, Tuan pulled out thebrys he had collected from the Field Boss. Maybe his luck was exceptionally favorable today. Because the artifact waspatible with fire-element mana. This was a weapon carried by a 12-foot muscr monster. So obviously, it wasrger than normal weapons. The two ax des the artifact featured were broad and gave off a threatening vibe with the runes inscribed on them. It was as tall as the butcher, and its weight made him wield it with both hands while channeling his Ace rank mana into his arms. The weapon was clearly oversized for Tuan''s stature and build. But that made him wield it with even more passion. This was the first transcendent-grade weapon artifact the butcher had his hands on in both his timelines. Even when he wasn''tpatible with the weapon''s art, its rarity alonepelled him to try it when he got a chance. Tuan didn''t do anything fancy even though the weapon had an inscribed spell etched onto it. He simply channeled his fire-element mana into it before releasing it all at once into apressed flying sh. Whooom! A zing trail was created on the ground as it split apart, creating a 6feet deep trench. The butcher was almost liable to lose his bnce and fall off on his butt after swinging the oversized artifact. More than half of his remaining mana from his mana storage was zapped away in that single flying sh. The butcher felt like his Ace rank mana was not enough to bring out the weapon''s true power. He could feel that only Adept-rank mana could somehow scratch the surface of the weapon''s potential. The butcher only had to scare Bianka away with his new weapon. And that goal was achieved without a hitch. Bianka remained frozen in ce when the trench dug out by the weapon was only a few meters away. If Tuan was a bit more off-bnce, Bianka did not dare to imagine how her condition was going to be at this time. Tuan had already understood the weapon''s potential after using it for the first time. His forehead was dripping with sweat as his mana circuits were made to work overtime by the weapon''s ever-so-hungry mana consumption. His breaths were uneven, more so now that he finds wielding this badass weapon to be exciting. The other rankers were also shocked by Tuan''s disy of might. They also recognized that the weapon belonged to the Field Boss. This realization hit everyone like a wrecking ball. ''Was that Field Boss only meant for a show?'' Bianka and almost everyone had the same thought after they saw Tuan possessing the transcendent-grade weapon. They regretted the fact that they didn''t try their luck with the Field Boss and simply chose to ignore him, enabling a chance-grabber like Tuan to get his hands on such a sought-after artifact. Even Drin and Wiim paused their fight when they saw themotion. They both looked in Tuan''s direction only to find out that he too was looking at them with the same smile he had first greeted them with. "Thanks, Drin. I''ll treat you to a drink someday." As the butcher said out loud to Drin, he channeled fire-element mana through his right leg. "That fucking fire bastard. Drin you fucking moron. He that oh fuck" William Shanks saw what Tuan was about to do and what the oue of his actions might turn out to be. He became mad after approaching Eren with uncontroble anger in his eyes, using his movement spell to its fullest potential. He wouldn''t have minded if Drin won the first position because he knew the guy had more potential than him. But for some reason, the crafty ''fire bastard'' as he liked to call Tuan, winning the tournament didn''t sit right with him. ''Toote.'' Said Drin to himself before smiling mirthlessly. He dropped his shoulders and watched the spectral screen above him show an updated digit. Meanwhile, upon Tuan''s orders, Katalina had already distanced herself from him. "1" With his zing right leg, Tuan crushed the pile of wristbands that hadid in front of him in one move. His wristband was getting updated with Titus point so fast that it projected a spectral screen that kept on adding Titus points to his default score. "O." Just when Tuan''s wristband was done updating, the countdown timer of the Titus tournament hit zero. And with that countdown, the Titus tournament was officially over. The winner of the tournament along with all the other ceholders was decided at that point. Chapter 569 Champion Chapter 569 Champion "You fucking fire bastard. You took us all for a ride. You son of a" William yelled in anger when he saw what Eren did. Thetter maintained his smile while pointing upwards with his finger. "Zero! All the contestants and dear viewers, please note that the Titus tournament concludes at this point. The contestants are prohibited from performing any offensive activities. Any prohibitory action will result in contestants losing their ce in the top 10 list." William stopped in his tracks when the announcement was made by a rigid, feminine voice. His facial expressions changed from anger to frustration to disappointment to eptance in a matter of moments. The rest of the rankers were too stunned to speak or act at this point. Rankers like Silvera and Wilder weren''t even aware what had happened because they were only paying attention to the battle between two Top Three contestants. Soon after, another announcement was made by the same feminine voice as the spectral disy got updated. "The top 10 ceholders of this year''s Titus tournament, starting from ce 10, are as follows. 10th ce- Silvera Rehrook 9th ce- Ray Rinehart 8th ce- Bianka Bluedust 7th ce- Ketsu Hasu 6th ce- Wayne Wilder 5th ce- Lily Geist 4th ce- Katalina Reich Congrattions!" The spectator disyed the ce holders from 10th to 4th positions and stopped. It then changed colors andyout and disyed the next set of names with bolder and bigger fonts. "Following contestants have made it to the Top 3 segment of the tournament. 3rd ce- William Shanks- Chapter 609,6969 Titus Points 2nd ce- Drin Dawn- 829,7935 Titus Points Congrattions!" Disying till here, the spectral screen gotpletely nk before bursting with any eye-catching theme of orange fire and Fire Wings. This was a personal touch the organizers had provided to him for his position. The alchemy products embedded inside the arrays went off and soared the skies, both inside the subspace and at Arangar colosseum. They sshed a beautiful vista of colors by using the evening sky as their canvas. A visual rendition of Fire Wings was disyed over all the screens that were avable for all the viewers to see. The most epic moments in Tuan''s battle scenes also started reying in reels in the background. This visual rendition of Fire Wings could be seen getting reflected in every viewer''s eyes as they stared at the live telecast with fervent gazes. Soon those eyes saw the name they knew was going to get disyed. "1st ce- Tuan Aag- 831,Chapter 5789 Titus Points Tuan Aag wins this year''s Titus Tournament. Congrattions! Contestants will be summoned back to the Arangar Colosseum in: 3 2 1 0." ****************** "Sorry to keep you away from your limelight, Tuan. Please bear with us. Can you tell me what happened with Tim Westmoor and Langdon Lark?" While the rest of the contestants were teleported to the Arangar Colosseum to receive apuse from their fans, Tuan was summoned to a different ce away from the cacophony of stadium''s noises. The question about Tim and Langdon''s whereabouts was asked to Tuan by dius Red. he was the same guy who had acted as the host of this year''s Titus tournament. The same guy who had introduced the contestants to the audience one by one. This was a spacious room with runic luminescence creating a pleasing ambiance. Uan was sitting beside arge work desk in afortable sofa chair. dius was sitting on the opposite side of the table with his locked hands ced over the table. Tuan was ready for such questions from the moment he had decided to digest Tim and Langdon as his gains. He sighed in a mncholic tone before speaking out. "Sir dius, I don''t know what happened to them. But I can tell you events that took ce after they started chasing me." Tuan knew that the organizers couldn''t see how they entered the distorted space or the activities inside it. So he started telling dius the chronological order of events by mixing facts with his blend of bullshittery. Tuan told dius that he and his pursuers had entered a weird space when they continued their chase. He also made some bold ims. "Sir dius, I can say for a fact that Tim and Langdon were cultists. As soon as they found out they couldn''t be monitored by you guys because of the distorted space''s peculiarity, they started casting weird spells that didn''t seem to belong to our usual kind. They also wanted to silence me for good after I recognized that they were cultists. And they would have seeded in doing so had I not found a spatial tear that led me to the Field Boss''s territory." Tuan conveniently made up Tim and Langdon''s cultist identities on the fly. He knew that the distorted space and the now-ruined library was eventually going to get found out after the two rankers'' deaths. So he told them the location of the distorted space himself while ming the potential existence of his spells'' unusual mana residue on Tim and Langdon. He also told dius that Tim was a weird summoner ss user and that he imed that he could kill the monsters and use them as his summons using a special procedure. dius raised his eyebrows when he heard Tuan speak. Frankly, he felt that a normal cultist wouldn''t talk so much about themselves to the guy they were going to silence. But then he reasoned it out himself while saying ''you never know with those cultist punks'' in his head. Tuan then med most of the happenings inside the distorted space on Tim, knowing full well that his actions as the summoner ss individual were also going to get pinned on him. dius didn''t say anything for a while after he heard Tuan speak. He waited for the incident report by his men that had gone on preliminary investigation. It was soon delivered to him on his ID stone''s spectral screen. Almost everything about what Tuan had imed was reflected in the preliminary incident report. He furrowed his brows when he saw the mention of one potion in the report. dius stomped his open palms on the desk hard beforementing. "Damn it. My personal historian is in critical care. Who the fuck made this wretched Format History potion? And some evil, greedy bastard has started selling it in the ck market, making it difficult for anybody to track them down." dius lost his cool in front of the same evil, greedy bastard he was talking about. Chapter 570 Meeting Gladius Chapter 570 Meeting dius dius lost his cool in front of the same evil, greedy bastard he was talking about. He then controlled his frustration seeing that Tuan was observing him with keen eyes. dius cleared his throat before adding up. "In any case, thanks for sharing your plight with us. You have pointed our investigation in the right direction. Is there anything you want to ask?" Tuan nodded his head before asking dius with genuine curiosity. "Sir, what is Format History?" dius expected this question from Tuan. Tuan''s inquisitive look prompted him to answer clearly. "It is a name given to a particr kind of potion by Historians in recent days. Um. Let us say that the potion was first seen to be associated with a very sensitive case going on in Edinburgh. So almost all of those who are well known in royal affairs know about this potion. I wouldn''t have known about it myself had it not been for the fact that one of our Historians was externally contracted by the army to investigate the recent disappearance of army personnel." dius closed the spectral screen that was in front of him and got up from his seat. He got up from his seat and added some more facts about the potion he knew of. "This potion is very insidious. It mentally affects every historian who tries to investigate the area affected by the potion''s effects. New cases of usage of this potion have popped up in various ces within the kingdom. I''m already inclined to believe that Tim and Langdon are cultists because this potion is involved in the incident. They also managed to sneak into our isted space. Maybe that was their goal all along. And you were just caught in their n identally." dius'' assessment left the butcher with a nk look on his face because he was genuinely surprised. It seemed that he didn''t need toe up with any more bullshittery. Its production would be taken care of by dius himself. It was him that had started selling limited quantities of the potion on the ck market to cover his tracks. Otherwise, every incident rted to the usage of the Potion of Innocence would get linked with Osan Woods Butcher. That was something he didn''t want. The butcher had set things in motion before he made his move on Sid to cover the traces of his involvement. But he could have never imagined that the same move would save him in an unforeseen case he was made part of. The butcher also found it amusing that the historians hade up with their own name for the potion. To be honest, Format History sounded more logical and mass appealing to him than his version which reeked of personal touch. "By the way, Tuan. How did you manage to kill the Ogre Lord?" dius asked, narrowing his eyes on Tuan. Thetter didn''t flinch and told him the truth. "When I got out of that weird space with a shattered mirror-like sky, I was very close to the Field Boss''s territory. I had just evaded a life-threatening attack from Tim and was looking for a ce to hide. At that time, the rankers'' live locations were yet to be disyed on the contestants'' wristbands. So I thought of using Field Boss''s territory as a deterrent and hiding just outside it. I had a basic recovery potion in stock. So I just needed to wait for a while till I could resume my participation in thepetition." Tuan shed a heartfelt grin after he said that. He continued with a tinge of enthusiasm on his face. "But who would have imagined that the Field Boss''s mana signature would feel so weak after I reached the ce? I decided to check the boss out in case someone was battling it to reap the benefits by being... you know a kind helper." dius smirked at Tuan when he heard Tuan speak about wanting to y spoilsport in someone else''s kill. However, this level of cunning was expected from the contestants who had reached this far. So he didn''t mind and let the butcher continue. "When I got near the Field Boss, his reaction times seemed way off. As if he was struggling to even move his neck or walk properly. So I started to test the waters. I started with my flying shes that worked way too well on the Ogre Lord. Then I got closer to him a bit and executed some more of my mid-range spells. And the next thing I know, I had already in the Field Boss. This was an unexpected gain I hadn''t seening my way. Hehehehe! Maybe it was a rare urrence of good fortune I was blessed with. Something that came after I suffered at the hands of my wife first and then by Tim and his other cultist buddy." dius chuckled when he heard Tuan''s point of view. He had also figured out why Field Boss was so weak after reading through the report. dius nodded his head at Tuan before responding. "The reason behind this is also mentioned in the report. I have no problem with telling you. But you''d have to promise that you won''t talk about this event to anyone. We don''t want any bad press attached to the Titus tournament, you see. And Tim and Langdon potentially being cultists kind ofplicates things for us. If you know what I mean." dius was ordered by his higher-ups in the report to buy Tuan''s silence. Titus tournaments getting linked with cultists and cultist activities was something the organizers wanted to avoid at any cost. Eren had already understood how things would y out when he mentioned cultist activities. His change into the summoner ss, usage of Potion of Innocence, and the localization of his ability Life Drain had given him the confidence to set things this way. Therefore, the butcher nodded before speaking up. "By all means, sir. Honestly, even I would like to avoid being targeted by Tim''s and Langdon''s fans. You know how it is. Conspiracies spill out like wildfire. Maybe some ardent fans of Tim and Langdon woulde up with a wild theory that I was in fact the cultist. And somehow I set those guys up, painting them as the bad guys. Therefore, if you could keep my name out of this, it would be much appreciated. This would be mutually beneficial for both of us. So I don''t think you''d mind." Tuan said while bowing to a higher-ranked entity like dius. Thetter was very pleased with Tuan''s reasoning. He was going to ask about him signing the confidentiality contract. But now it seemed unnecessary. "Alright, Tuan. Things get a bit easier if all are in the same boat of avoiding rumors. It was a summoner ss Tim who was performing some kind of experiments on monsters and beasts slumbering inside the isted space. For some reason, he also died from the experiments he had performed on those monsters. In any case, you benefited from Tim''s misdeeds. We don''t hold it against you though. That first ce is yours to hold onto. As long as you keep quiet about the whole incident. We''ll take care of announcing Tim and Langdon''s disappearance our way." dius smiled and nodded at Tuan, unaware of the fact that he was sabotaging his own investigation. In front of the same man who was the reason behind Tim and Langdon''s deaths in the first ce. Chapter 571 Idolized Chapter 571 Idolized dius still had onest thing to clear with Tuan after taking care of all the investigative matters and getting into an arrangement of convenience. He coughed awkwardly before speaking up once again. "By the way, Tuan, that Ogre Lord''s Labrys. I suppose you have it. Frankly, that Ogre Lord was ced just for intimidation. We weren''t expecting the contestants to actually y it. The artifact that you have is kind of precious and rare. Would you mind giving it to us?" dius asked and sighed. The double-bitted ax was supposed to increase the Orc Lord''s destructive power, making it near impossible for the contestants to even think aboutunching a raid on him. The artifact was something that had been found in the ruined city. It wasn''t supposed to be taken by any ranker. "I I really like that ax sir. Can Can you consider that as my payment for cooperating with your investigation? Besides, the contestants as well as the viewers have already seen me using the ax. So don''t you think it would be bad publicity for the House Titus if the organizers make me give them the weapon I earned through the monster drop. Especially someone like me, the winner of the tournament?" Tuan asked with an awkward smile on his face while scratching his forehead. This was the first transcendent-grade weapon he hadid his hands on. He wouldn''t let it get taken away from him just like that. dius Red heard Tuan''s speech and pondered for a bit. Everything the butcher said made sense to him. So he contacted his higher-ups once again and had a brief chat. dius then looked at Tuan with a bright smile beforementing. "Tuan, good news. You can have the weapon. But you won''t be able to have anything else apart from the 100 thousand Extols. You''d have to let go of other gifts we had arranged for you. Is that okay?" "Deal." Said Tuan immediately. The butcher didn''t even ask dius about what other prizes were going to get awarded to him apart from 100 thousand Extols. That''s because he knew that those gifts won''t contain another transcendent-grade weapon. Therefore, he had no interest in them. After settling a few more details with Tuan, dius was very satisfied with Tuan''s way of handling things. He felt like he wasn''t talking to someone hot-blooded guy but a guy as mature as him. Finally, dius wrapped up the whole thing by adding further. "Alright. Your fanbooth no.. the entire Aranger stadium is waiting for you. It would be too boring to see them using the normal means. Hehe! Come with me." dius chuckled and told Tuan to follow him. The two were soon out of his study room and went towards another hall that had an array etched onto its ground. "We made some special arrangements for our winner. Go ahead. Stand inside the array eye." ******************** "Drin Drin. You did great, my man. That Tuan guy was too cunning. Had it been a mano-e-mano showdown, there''s no way he would have won by defeating you." "Katalina. Marry me!" "Hahahaha! Wayne Wilder is the true champion of this tournament, no matter what anyone says." "Bianka would have made it into Top 3 with the way she was going had it not been for the safe area getting revoked in the middle of the night right? Did you see the kind of trap she had set for Katalina and the rest?" "Don''t beat yourself too much, Ketsu. You did really well for a ranger. But teaming up with Lily was a bad choice." "Silvera Rehrook, we from the elfmunity are proud of your achievements. We would be happy to invite you on our Bands exploration." "Lily marry me!" "Wait, aren''t you the same guy who asked Katalina to marry you?" "Yeah so what? I''d like to marry them all. Hahahahaha!" The Top 10 of the tournament were received with various praises and a bunch of criticisms as soon as they all appeared collectively in the middle of Arangar colosseum. Each of them then proceeded to approach their respective fan booth to greet their loyal fans. A raised tform was created in front of each booth to allow the contestants to stand up on it and listen to their fans. It also acted as a security set up in case any of the fans tried to breach the security protocol and get handsy with the contestant. Each contestant knew what to do. They maintained their cheerful expressions while waving at their booth and the rest of the arena from time to time. But there was one fan booth that did not receive any contestant greeting it. Tuan was yet to arrive at the scene. Not just his fans, almost all of the viewers present in the colosseum were waiting for his entrance. As the sun was just about to set, the orange-red sky of the colosseum was lit up anew in a fiery light. This light came from the opening of two giant fire wings that bloomed in the sky out of nowhere. The Fire Wings had a wingspan of 50 meters each. When they made a pping motion, a haze wave was generated that traveled to the arena at a rapid pace. The colosseum''s defensive measures kicked in and they created a thin mana membrane to stop the haze from harming the viewers, especially mortals. "That there''s someone in the sky pping those wings." "Holy. That''s Tuan Aag! What a badass entry! Woohoo!" "Tuan.!" "Tuan you fucking cheater cock!" "Tuan my idol!" "Long live the me Feathers! Our one and only god of mes!" "Hahahaha! I knew Tuan from the moment he entered the city of Arangar. Look where he has reached now because of my guidance." "Tuan I I''ll give you what your cheating wife couldn''t. My absolute and untarnished loyalty. Please please marry me." Tuan slowly approached the ground as the giant wings that were behind his back allowed him to descend slowly. He wasn''t controlling those wings because they weren''t cast by him. The organizers had hired an array master to pull this visual trick off. Booom! Again, various fireworks painted the sky in various colors just when Tuan touched the ground. Behind him, a huge golden gate made of eye-blinding brilliance appeared and out came dius. "Rankers and respectable viewers I give you the champion of this year''s Titus tournament. Tuan Aag!" Chapter 572 Accepting Rewards Chapter 572 epting Rewards "Rankers and respectable viewersa| I give you the champion of this year''s Titus tournament. Tuan Aag!" dius greeted his audience as soon as he stepped out of the array-generated golden gates. He had his tform that started levitating off the ground as soon as he stepped on it. The contestants'' tforms also started levitating at the same time before surrounding dius in a circle. Tuan''s tform was levitating at the same height as dius''. Others'' tforms were located at a bit lower altitude. dius first talked about the Top 10 contestants, starting from the Top 10th position. He depicted each of their battles and gave them appropriate praise for their aplishments. The battle scenes of each ranker were shown on the spectral screens as dius addressed them and their aplishments. The audience also listened attentively, apuding their respective idols from time to time. It was a while before dius moved on to finally address Tuan and his deeds. "Dear viewers, this year''s tournament was about strength, courage, and cunning. The strength to surpass the odds. The courage to face your fears. You need cunning to outsmart your opponents. Tuan Aag has done all of that and then some more, outshining hispetition by arge margin in each of those segments. And that''s why he is standing as the winner of the tournament in front of all of us." One had to say that dius was an excellent host. His way of putting the narrative forwards was impable and wless. He depicted Tuan''s achievements in such a heroic way that even the butcher doubted whether he really was the hero they thought he was. dius also came up with valid reasons for each of Tuan''s actions. He dered that Tim and Langdon were caught rigging the array setup the subspace had and hence were kicked out of the tournament. ''How do you feel when the dead bear the me for something you do? It''s almost like a pattern now. First Dom. Then these guys. Hehe!'' Alepheemented in the butcher''s head as she also listened to dius'' tweaked narration of the events. The butcher smirked at herment but chose to remain silent. In his defense, both those circumstances weren''t nned by him. dius''s patchwork of events continued. "The Field Boss'' job was to intimidate the rankers. But do you guys know the other reason for the monster''s existence in subspace? It was to test the contestants'' courage. Had any of them chosen to form a raid team and initiated the attack on the monster, it would have meant that those involved in the team were bold and brave-hearted enough to take on something that was beyond their limits." dius looked at the audience. Then he looked meaningfully at each of the contestants with a smile on his face before continuing. Not just Tuan. If any one of the rankers, either collectively or individually, had tried to raid the monster, they would havee to know that the monster was only a test of their courage. He could have been dealt with easily if any of them had just tried to attack him. Only Tuan was bold enough to attack the Ogre Lord solo. If that isn''t enough of a testament to his unparalleled level of couragepared to other Top 10 contestants, then I don''t know what is." Drin looked down and narrowed his eyes when he heard Galdius exin about cing the Field Boss as a decoy. Then he looked at Tuan as if trying to understand something about him. ''I checked that Ogre Lord myself. He was no decoy. At least he wasn''t when I checked him out. Did they only make him weak on thest day? Or did Tuan find a way to solo-kill a quasi Ogre Overlord?'' Drin was just thinking along those lines when he heard dius'' words. "The Ogre Lord was only supposed to get weak when you approached him intending to fight. This was a test of courage. It would have lost its meaning if everybody could figure out that the monster was a decoy." Drin smiled mirthlessly when he heard this aptly ced exnation. He stopped thinking about his loss and sighed. He thought that maybe he was getting jealous of Tuan because he snatched his first ce. Almost every other contestant had the same thoughts as Drin running in their heads. They finally put it to rest when they heard dius speak. But for all of dius'' talks, his rational exnation was a cover-up. He didn''t want people to know that the Ogre Lord''s array setup had malfunctioned after all. "Tuan has not only won our hearts with his disy of courage against the Ogre Lord but also has won a genuine transcendent-grade artifact that he received as a monster drop. Ace Tuan Aag, all your efforts have made it possible for you to have these achievements. We thank you for showing us the valorous way with which you fought these days. Please ept this gift as your championship reward as well." dius sent a sophisticated-looking ammolite stone toward Tuan using levitation magic. Thetter caught it instantly and infused it with his mana. Due to its precious and fine workmanship, it was also an expensive storage space artifact. In the next moment, arge spectral screen was emitted from the stone, which disyed the contents inside. Loads and loads of Extols were disyed by the spectral disy, indicating that Tuan had indeed received 100 thousand Extols that was promised to him. ''Damn. They could have given this to me normally. There was no need for such a shy disy.'' Eren sighed and kept the storage space. He then bowed towards dius, letting him know that he was fine with the gift he had received. Thetter smiled and talked more about his performance. Eren''s tform was finally sent back when dius was done speaking about him. By bringing Drin''s tform forward, he then started speaking about him and his battles. Drin was going to receive 40 thousand Extols as a second ceholder. Eren knew that the subsequent prize money and items for the rest of the rankers were only going to get lower in terms of their value as the rank decreased. This was the reason the contestants were fighting about better ranks even though they knew they wouldn''t be able to win the tournament anyway. When dius was finally down with thest contestant, Silvera Rehrook, he concluded this year''s Titus tournament and bid adieu to his viewers. The contestant also joined him by waving hands at the viewers that had slowly started to leave the premises. Just when Tuan thought he could move on to his next set of ns, dius told all the contestants that there was going to be a celebratory banquet for all the Top 10 ceholders tonight. Chapter 573 Banquet and Self-Promotion Chapter 573 Banquet and Self-Promotion "I I am sorry for acting on impulse, Tuan Aag. The days inside that ruined city were a bit stressful for me. Plus, we were all sent there to fight against each other. I hope we can look past our initial conflict and stay as acquaintances." Lily offered a friendly handshake to Tuan which thetter epted quickly while greeting her with a mild smile. Tonight was banquet night for all the Top 10 ceholders. It was meant to congratte the contestants that had stayed till thest day of the tournament. All the city officials, a few members of the Titus family, and some merchant families were invited to the event. It was hosted at avish restaurant''s open terrace that was located in the heart of the city of Arangar. Tuan Aag was seen to be in formals. He had worn a simple white-colored shirt and navy-blue pants. There was a runic detail of Fire Wings on the shirt below his left shoulder, near the heart. It would illuminate with fire-element mana from time to time. One had to say that the butcher was well-dressed for the asion. Lily had worn a ck colored dress that entuated her pear-shaped body. Her dress would sometimes reflect the chandelier light falling on it strangely, making it as if Lily''s body had be one with the night''s darkness. Tuan could tell that every outfit that was sent to contestants'' rooms was given a personal touch ording to each ranker. Tuan shook hands with Lily and pressed them firmly before responding. "Indeed, Miss Lily. We fought together as one raid team after our quarrel. I also like to apologize to you for being heavy-handed on your ass as I was saying Err sorry for "that" hit. Please know that it was in the heat of the battle. Even though that was not on the best of terms, I''d like to call you, Ketsu, and Wilder my allies outside thepetition as well. And I hope we see each other again even after this banquet as allies." Lily''s cheeks had a tinge of red when she heard Tuan talking about pping her ass. She could still feel Tuan''s palms on her butt cheeks as if the p had just been delivered. With the residual effects of Tuan''s immature soul sense and Sins series ability fusion still lingering on her, she couldn''t help but get more involved in Tuan and his affairs as she talked with him. Lily also wondered how a dreadful man like Tuan whom she hade to know in the previous week could talk so casually like apletely different person. She was curious about Tuan''s next ns. So she didn''t shy away from asking him. "What would you do with all that money, Tuan?" ''Bunch of monster girls, elven ales, and Sativa sticks!'' La spoke in Eren''s mind as if answering Lily''s question in his stead. She hade to him through her pendant adobe after he stepped out of the subspace. Tuan could be seen having a stiff face all of a sudden with a vein on his forehead threatening to pop out. Lily wondered if she had asked him something very personal. "Tuan, I asked out of curiosity. If you are notfortable" Lily tried to ease the matter. But Tuan''s response came soon after. "Hehehe I just remembered something that I had forgotten to do. There''s this brat that I want to beat up. But they keep disappearing on me from time to time." The butcher spoke and left everyone listening to him puzzled. He smiled awkwardly and coughed to clear his throat before speaking again. "I don''t mind answering your question, Lily. I owe this money to one of my trusted friends named Eren Idril. He is starting a guild. So he could use this money toy a better foundation. Eren is an honest man and an exceptional ranker. And I see him bing a very sessful leader in the future. Both Katalina and I will be joining that guild. That''s why we decided to cooperate after knowing that we both would be joining the same guild." Katalina joined Tuan just as he finished exining. She found it difficult to suppress herugh that threatened to slip out of her pursed lips when she heard the butcher tooting his own horn. She had worn a slip dress with frill details at the bottom. Her seductive curves as well as her captivating stride made Tuan excited about the night following his banquet. Lily looked at Katalina to confirm Tuan''s im. By that time, Kat had gotten better control over her emotions and maintained a stoic face. She nodded affirmatively at Lily while handing Tuan a drink that she had brought along with her own. "Tuan, you are joining a guild? I mean with your reputation now, you can join almost any guild that you see fit. Hahaha!" Wilder spoke out loud while patting Tuan''s shoulder. Apparently, he heard his conversation with Lily and walked right in between their conversation. The rest of the rankers got curious after hearing Wilder and started walking toward Tuan. Thetter smiled cunningly before responding. "Oh, I''ll not be joining any well-established guilds, Wilder. They are too rigid and don''t care enough about us low-level rankers. Even the most friendly guilds will fail to provide fast growth for low-level rankers. The most popr names are only centered around providing high-ranking entities with the resources they need. I''m not ready to invest my time and work in a ce where it only benefits others for the most part." Eren looked at the growing audience that was gathering around him. He took a short pause and took a small gulp from his wine ss before speaking up. "Therefore, I''ll be joining my friend Eren''s guild, the White Raven Guild. This guild will be a game-changer in Edinburgh''s history, I''m telling you. Hehehe! Remember its name well. Soon this name will make the headlines in Edinburgh. You guys cane and contact me if you want to join when that timees. Hehe!" The butcher started praising the guild and the guild creator, AKA himself, with his glib tongue. When he was done, his audience started asking him various things about the guild, which allowed him to talk about the guild''s base of operation and its field of expertise. A lot of rankers and merchants hade to realize that White Raven was just a freshly established guild. On paper, it didn''t matter much. Some merchants also contacted their information sources on the spot and came to know that the guild only had one asset that was deader than the dead in terms of mary gains. Yet, since it was Tuan Aag, the champion of this year''s tournament speaking about it, the listeners decided to make a note of the White Raven guild. They would at least check it out in a few days, if there was anything to check out that is. ''Self-promotion at its finest. Do you feel no shame in blowing your own trumpet, Eren?'' La spoke again. Tuan wasn''t angry at the criticism made by someone who he considered to be a cheeky brat frozen in time. He chuckled before replying to her as he was busy talking with other rankers, merchants, and contestants. ''Nobody would promote my guild for me, La. And it needs promotion. Badly at that. So I got to improvise. This is business.'' The appointment with the Derringers was drawing close. The butcher was doing everything in his capacity to ensure that his newfound guild gets the start he wanted it to have. ******************** "Well yed, Tuan." The audience near Tuan stopped speaking when they heard a known mana-imbued voice. They looked at the approaching figure and started gossiping on their own. "If I stay in second ce, I''ll give you all of the Extols I would win." A chuckle was heard made by the same voice when it spoke the sentence as if it wasn''t it''s own. "That was the deception-of-the-year statement for me. Deceptive but good." Tuan also recognized the voice that came from behind him when he was busy talking with Bianka. Thetter had alsoe to congratte him as well as know more about the White Raven guild he had talked so much about. He looked back and saw Drin Dawn approaching him with a wine ss in his hands and a smile on his face. Tuan chuckled when Drin reminded him how he had set him up. Drin came to realize that Tuan had no intention of paying him any extols now that he understood the meaning behind his condition. But Drin wasn''t someone who couldn''t move on from things that had happened in the past. He and Tuan talked about various things, especially about the quasi-Ogre Overload. Tuan invited him to check out the White Raven guild in the future as well as they talked. Thetter looked hesitant at first. But when the butcher was done exining things to him, Drin was convinced that he needed to find start-up guilds like these for his own growth. The butcher had lit a fire of curiosity in the minds of every ranker, contestant, and merchant contact he had met at the banquet. After all, a brand-new guild like White Raven could use the talents he encountered on the night of the banquet. Chapter 574 Legalizing Ill-Gotten Gains Chapter 574 Legalizing Ill-Gotten Gains "What did they ask you?" Altashia asked Eren right away when she saw him leave the army administration building located inside their camp. Their squad was questioned one by one regarding the disappearance of Sidro Zas. Altashia, Dianna, and the rest of the team had already been questioned. Eren sighed before answering. "What could they ask me? The usual, you know. They asked me about my interaction with Sid. This wasn''t something that could be hidden in the army anyway. So I told them the truth. That things weren''t all smooth between me and him. But I also said that the signs of conflict were always raised by Sid. And I dealt with them by not acting on them for the most part." Altashia nodded when she heard Eren speak the truth. She had also reported the same thing in her report so that Eren could be kept out of being med for Sid''s disappearance. Eren and Altashia started walking towards the army gates where the rest of the team was waiting for them. This was another regr monster clean-up assignment that they had received that needed to be done within 3-4 days. Eren pondered for a bit and looked at the sky. He sighed once again before adding up. "I also told them about a strange encounter I had with Sid just a few hours before he''s supposed disappearance. He hade to meet me. I didn''t tell you guys because it didn''t seem relevant to me at that time. But I guess I failed to register the kind of hell he was suffering through at that time." Altashia raised her eyebrows and looked at Eren as she walked beside him. A gentle breeze caressed her bouncy blonde hair. Her keen blue eyes stared at the butcher and registered how charming he looked in the morning light. She didn''t ask Eren to borate with words. She just pinched his arm as they were walking side by side, letting him know that she wanted to know more. "Ouch! You know, Al, someday, I''m gonna have to pinch you in the same way. You won''t be able toin at that time. Just saying!" Eren caressed the red skin that was pinched by Altashia and soothed it by gently tapping his finger over it. As a result, Altashia pinched him again while pouting. Eren was reminded of his aunt Nina when she did that for the second time. She too liked to pinch him from time to time. He wondered if all the beautiful women he liked were made from the same mold. ''I sure know how to pick them.'' Eren thought to himself and chuckled to himself. He then resumed his serious stance after flirting with Altashia in his own way before continuing. "Sid hade to meet me one day, I guess just before his disappearance. He looked upset. I thought he was about to start another fight with me. So I was going to leave but he started his speech with an apology." Altashia had surprised expressions on her face when she heard Eren talking about Sid apologizing to him. Before she could ask some more, Eren continued. "I know what you are thinking. Why would Sid apologize when he''s been trying to mess with me for so long, right? Frankly, I don''t know the answer to that question myself. But I could tell at that time that the guy was hurting. Maybe all those jeers and taunts aimed at me were just his defense mechanism trying to make sense of his situation. He didn''t get the position he wanted. He didn''t get the girl he wanted. So all he could do at that time was channel his anger on one guy that was the reason behind both of them being taken away from him. They all flocked to the same guy who appeared out of the blue. Who could not get angry at such a lucky man? I know I would." Altashia listened to Eren and nodded her head as she continued walking with Eren. Then she understood the meaning behind Eren''s words and pushed him with both her hands. "I I am not your girl. Hmph!" Eren chuckled a bit and carried on with his exnation. "My point is. Now that I look back, I can understand Sid a bit. His anger was not well-ced. But I could see why it would affect the way it had affected him. After all, who gets a second chance at life when it fucks you out of nowhere?" Eren said and ced his arm across Altashia''s shoulder in a friendly manner. He ced a significant part of his body weight on her before continuing. "So that day, when I was out near the city of Ainari with Dianna, Sid came to me and apologized. He admitted that all the disagreements between us were initiated by him because of his personal reasons. Dianna and I then invited him to join us on a leisure hunt. We talked about various things that day before our topic of discussion turned towards the element of lightning. At that Dianna left us. But we kept on hunting and talking. I talked to Sid about my attainments in lightning and return, and he shared some of his gains with me. He also told me that contracting the red lightning bull helped him greatly in understanding the nature of red lightning. He rmended contracting the same beast to me if I ever wanted to pursue different attainments in lightning." Eren had created his fake alibi with Dianna after he had branded her with his Sine Series ability. He told Dianna he was with her when hest saw Sid so that the case wouldn''t have him as a suspect from the very beginning. She had included his version of events in her report as well. The butcher knew how critical it was for an investigation to start in the right direction. Because it would produce different results with each new start when things were blurry. So it was imperative for him as well to make sure that the investigation didn''t start in the right direction. After all, he was already on schedule with Eliza''s n. He couldn''t afford to get entangled in any conspiracy, no matter if he was the brains behind it or not. This time, it wasn''t difficult for Altashia to believe Eren. That''s because rankers with the same element often exchange notes about their achievements in the way of the elements with each other. It was supposed to benefit both parties involved. So it was amon practice among all the rankermunities. "I told these things to the panel assigned to investigate Sid''s disappearance as well. Now that the guy is presumed to be dead, I guess I and those inspection guys are thinking the same thing. That Sid was trying to do something extreme to himself using an unsafe cultist remedy. That''s why he came to meet me that day and talked about our attainments. Maybe he was trying to break into the next rank while using my elemental attainments as the catalyst. And maybe the sorry he said was just in case he doesn''t survive the procedure." Eren said while sighing. This was a not-somon practice among rankers who sought quick breakthroughs. Yet, it wasn''t that rare either. In cultist ways, one could either reach the skies or die trying. So Sid''s apology to Eren could be seen as him signing his will in case things didn''t work out for him. Eren and Altashia walked in silence for a while. They could see the squad members waiting for them. Eren finally let go of Altashia''s shoulders and started walking alongside her. With a stoic expression on his face, he added up. "I guess it''s safe to say that Sid couldn''t make it. Maybe he felt like he was getting stagnant and got desperate. And paid the price for it. I couldn''t prevent him from taking such extreme measures for his growth because I couldn''t see his next move. Maybe I had no right to interfere in his affairs in the first ce. Strangely, he chose me to talk with when he was at that crossroads of his life. A ranker''s life is fragile. I understand this more than anything now. To be honest, I don''t feel sorry for his death. But I do feel honored that he said sorry to me before his death. The least I could do for him as a way to show my gratitude for giving me this closure is to gain attainment in red lightning. I have made my intentions known to the Army administrative office. And they are ready to provide me with the necessary resources in exchange for my contribution points." The butcher exined to Altashia as he kept on walking beside her. If Sid''s soul was there, it would have cursed Eren for even making use of the inquiry into his disappearance to his advantage. The butcher drained the former red-lightning ranker of his existence. And yet it wasn''t enough. It didn''t matter that the guy was no longer there. The butcher still found some use in his post-disappearance procedure. Eren and Altashia then joined their squad and embarked on their mission. Everyone in the squad could see that Eren was getting close to both Altashia and Dianna. He would often switch between talking and flirting with them asionally whenever he had a chance to do so. Eren had also informed his squad about his intentions to get a red lightning bull as a contract beast. He borrowed some army points from Arjun as well to get his hands on runic steles about red lightning from the army treasury. Eren needed toy the foundation for his usage of red lightning and Ertaur. After all, his duel with Altashia was drawing closer. He needed to use all his trump cards against her if he wanted to win. Chapter 575 [Bonus chapter] Money, Status, and Power Chapter 575 [Bonus chapter] Money, Status, and Power "Eren, are you not worried that Altashia will see your closeness with me as a sign for her to back off from involving herself with you?" Dianna asked as she led Eren into the Remus Auction House, one of the most sought-after attractions in the city of Ainari among various rankermunities. Because tonight was the night of the quarterly auction. Quarterly auction events held by House Remus were especially attractive to rankers of any rank. That was because it would contain unique treasures and resources usually not found even on the ck markets. "Hehehe! It seems like you don''t know how your kind operates or you have a natural blind spot for it. Most women are attracted to a sessful man who already has someone in his life. It''s like a litmus test for you girls to measure a man''s worth. It may sound presumptuous and whatnot. But it is what it is. Women try to run away from the fact that they can like a guy for being rich and promiscuous. And I can understand why they may like such men. It''s the denial of this natural selection that irks me a bit. Women say that they would want to be paired with a good man. Good men who are naive believe this to be true. Then you gals go ahead and kick those guys in their balls." Eren chuckled and saw Dianna''s nk expressions. She was slowly starting to develop stress lines on her forehead. But the butcher knew he could confide in her just fine because he had branded her. He was also d for the fact that he had retained her personality while branding her. That way, he could see her change of expression and get amused by it. Eren shook his head as he stared nkly in front of him. As if he were lost in a distant memory of once being one of those good-hearted human beings himself. He also felt that he was not doing justice to women who had stood by their words and stuck with their men in the hour of their need. Like the one woman who had his back when he was at his lowest in the previous timeline. So he cleared some air around it. "Perhaps a few women are indeed like that, liking men for their sincere heart and honest intentions. Maybe some women like to see the good in men that they have yet to see for themselves. Perhaps these strong women make their men stronger just by embracing them without any ulterior motive. Such women are rarer than Legendary-tier monsters and beasts. And fortunately or unfortunately, stray values don''t define the median. Not epting the basic rule of natural selection is women''s w. Guys have their fatal ws too, maybe we have them more than women. But for all the shorings we have, for the most part, we are true to ourselves and what we need. You won''t normally find a male, ranker or otherwise, that likes a girl for the wealth she has. Or the skills or ranking status she has earned. We see their physical characteristics first and foremost. The personality and all those nuanceseter on. I don''t care how shallow it might sound, that is the truth I havee across. I may be generalizing a lot here. There would only be a few exceptions to this rule too. But as I said, stray values don''t define the median. As far as status symbols are concerned, most men are impartial to the aplishments women may or may not have made in their lifetimes. That''s not something most women can do while choosing their mates." Eren had justpleted his mandatory mission assigned to Altashia''s squad in the army. During that time, Eren talked a lot more than usual with Dianna. So thetter had asked him the question taking that into ount. Dianna had also registered Altashia stealing nces at them while the duo was talking or co-operating in the clean-up mission. Dianna was going to object to Eren''s point of view with a frown on her face. But Eren continued his "wise sage" speech some more. "Besides, Altashia would find it unnatural that I suddenly stopped talking to you after I branded you. Or distanced myself from you. Us getting close to each other when she is still undecided about her feelings towards me is what''s natural. That way, she''d get jealous. And jealousy is the fire I want her to burn in for the time being." Eren chuckled and took a long drag out of his smoke. As he indulged in a subtle high that was provided to him by the Ster Sativa, he let his mind wander off some more and spoke up. "I know what I''m saying may seem like I''m reaching. And maybe I''m. But this is something I havee to believe in after recollecting the scenes of my past. After picking up the fallen pieces of myself and constructing myself anew. I''m not arrogant enough to believe that my beliefs are 100 percent right. But they are mine. I ept them without any hesitation. There''s something powerful in the belief that is based on one''s life, Dianna. It has the power to bend reality into a version you see fit for yourself." Dianna seemed like she wanted to respond to the butcher''s statements that sounded more like an inner monologue than a conversion. But it seemed that he wasn''t done. He saw her wanting to speak up and held his hand to make her pause before continuing. As if he had already understood what she was trying to say. "Don''t think I look at all the women the same way, Dianna. And don''t think I want to disparage any of them. I don''t see the women I''ve branded as them losing their individuality. I want them to grow with me if they haven''t already surpassed me. After all, you all are the ones I can count on if and when the shit hits the fan. People can live their lives however they want, as long as they can find peace with it. But there are some fundamentals to life that are tantly obvious." Eren took out the fancy storage space jewelry he had received from the Titus tournament. He imbued his mana and let it project the content inside it to Dianna. Loads and loads of Extols are arranged in neat piles. With such an extravagant disy of his newfound wealth, the butcher spoke up with surety in the truth of life he had found for himself. "Money. Status. And Power. These are the biggest chic mas. And they are a lot more than that. They are the pursuits of life that a man should aspire to have above all else. No matter which timelines or worlds we live in." Eren chuckled andmented. Dianna had a hard time arguing with him when she was half agreeing with him herself. It felt to her like Eren had had his range of experiences with women in the past, which he couldn''t shake out of his psyche. Dianna sighed and found sce in the fact that Eren did not put all the women in the same category. She hade to realize that she was branded by an old soul in a young gun''s body. ******** "How are the preparations?" Eren asked after he was seated in a private chamber that had a couple of sofa chairs and a coffee table. Dianna was sitting beside him with her legs crossed seductively. In front of them was a spectral screen. It was disying an empty stage that only had its lights on. The auction had not yet begun. "Everything is just how you wanted it to be. But are you sure, Eren? Won''t it be easier if" Dianna wanted to say something but she was abruptly cut off by the butcher''s next statement. "Don''t worry, Dianna. My n won''t ruin House Remus'' reputation. In addition, it won''t cause any trouble for you." Eren said and took out his Sativa Stick. After abandoning Tuan''s avatar, he enjoyed smoking even more than before. He had decided that he would take asional breaks from smoking or drinking just so that he could enjoy them more when he does it. Dianna shook her head before replying. "I''m not worried about House Remus anymore. Not even myself. I''m more worried about the repercussions it may have on you if you ever." Eren chuckled before cutting Dianna off once again. "Everyone is innocent until they are caught. So don''t worry. We just have to make sure that we don''t get caught." As soon as the butcher had said it, therge spectral screen in front of him showed signs of activity. The stage lights turned brighter before a brte in herte 20s appeared on stage seemingly out of nowhere. She had worn an elegant dress that made her look even more stunning than she naturally was. "Good eveningdies, gentlemen, and respected rankers from all fields. House Remus is pleased to host its Quarterly Auction Event. Most of you know the rules. But I''d say them anyway, in case of new patrons joining us." The brte started describing basic rules about the auction, which Eren listened to keenly. He had already been briefed by Dianna regarding the same. So this time, he was just revising his n in his head while listening to the rules. The brte then officially started the auction. She began with basic ranking resources in the Novice rankers before moving on to the Ace ranks. The transcendent-grade resources were kept for thest. Chapter 576 The Robbers and The Robbed Chapter 576 The Robbers and The Robbed "The next item on our bid is a stalk of five Simbelmyne flowers. For those of you who don''t know, the description of this precious herb should be updated on your spectral screens. This is a transcendent-grade treasure. It is a sought-after herb by many alchemy and potion manufacturingbs. Instead of selling it through the usual demand chain, we have brought this stalk into the open sale as a way to showmitment toward our patrons. A bid for the five Simbelmyne flowers begins at 35K Extols. The patrons are allowed to raise the bid as and when they see fit, as set by the rules mentioned earlier." The brte host announced the bid Eren was waiting on. Even La couldn''t keep quiet in her pendant abode. After analyzing that the chamber was secure and that only Dianna who had been branded by Eren was with him, the young witch appeared out in the open. "Who the fuck!" "Calm down, Dianna. She''s one of us." Eren calmed Dianna down before she could create a fuss seeing La appearing in the chamber out of nowhere. He also used his mark to pacify her by mentally establishing a connection with her. "Eren is she your daughter?" Diana looked at the cute teen girl while asking the question. She was wary of her because she couldn''t sense her rank. She could not confirm that the young girl was a mortal either. The fear of the unknown was an instinct. Erenughed out loud before he made it clear. "Hahaha! No. But I can only hope she calls me "Daddy" one day, Hehe! Anyway. My point is, don''t worry about her." While looking at the back of La, Eren reassured Dianna. The young witch was busy staring at the screen and confirming the state of the flower. She had confirmed that the flowers were in just the right condition for their need. Now she just needed to immerse them in the right potion to preserve them. Dianna found relief when she confirmed that Eren hadn''t branded an early teenager like her. She then mirthlesslyughed at herself for setting boundaries for Eren like his wife. ''But. This is no ordinary girl. Even though I can''t sense her ranking status, I can feel a subtle pressure. As if she is a walking potion-bomb.'' Dianna thought to herself and observed La with keen eyes. She then looked at Eren to exin her identity to her. The butcher felt Dianna''s thoughts and smiled at her mildly. He raised his hand in her direction and held hers in his. ''Later.'' He mentally sent her the message he wanted to convey to her. The young witch was wearing a dark green dress with her signature witch hat that was also of the same color. La looked charming and bursting with youth when she appeared and made her presence known to Dianna. "Eren, I''d have indulged in our routine spat with you. But now is not the time. Look, the bid has already reached 48K Extols. You know we HAVE to get these flowers, you know that right?" La said earnestly after she looked back at Eren who was still seated on hisfy sofa chair behind her. La didn''t pay attention to Dianna or her question and walked toward Eren. Seeing that there was no other ce to sit, she stuck her tongue out to Eren before sitting on hisp. Eren didn''t mind and let her sit as he finished up his smoke. He then looked at Dianna who was looking at him suspiciously before smiling mirthlessly. "This is not what it looks like. She just pretends to be naive." Eren pulled La''s cheeks as he spoke. He then picked up the array disk that was on the coffee table in front of him. He imbued it with his mana and operated on it. "VIP chamber 9 has put forward the amount of 55K Extols for the flowers." A spectral screen could be seen appearing right in the middle of the stage. It was visible to all the patrons participating in the bid. It was refreshed and showed the entry of VIP chamber 9 and the bid amount that was pitched by its upant, which was Eren. "55K won''t cut it, Eren. Bid for a higher amount. Scare yourpetition off." La said while adjusting herself on Eren''sp. Thetter shook his head in denial before speaking up. "The ones who are bidding work for potioningbs or well-established alchemy masters. Or work as apprentices under potioners. Even if that host says that she has kept the stalk away from those potionbs by selling them here, all the auction is doing right now is skipping a fixed price range offered by the demand and supply chains that are connected to suchbs and potioners. By doing that, it is trying to get a better deal out of the existing and uing stalks of herbs the House Remus has in store for them. This is yet another market strategy to drive up prices. Those bidders that you see are not as interested in raising the price as you think they are. But they have deep pockets to match my bid just fine." La was about to ask him something. But Eren knew what she and Dianna were thinking and answered the questions that had been raised in their minds soon enough. "I''m bidding knowing all this because it''d be fun to make those rich bastards spend more. Also, I can''t reserve a private chamber with 10K Extols and not participate at all. That would look suspicious. So I''ll just bid on everything else to mess with them. After the auction for transcendent-grade items ispleted, it will sell the old items it has in stock in lots. Dianna says that instead of the individual items, it''ll be mystery boxes that will be auctioned off, which will contain various useful and useless things. Kind of like a flea market for the rich. I''ll buy something cheap that catches my eye at that time." Eren said as he looked intently at the screen. His bid amount was topped by another bidder. But he only added 2K to Eren''s offer. The butcher smiled when his predictions turned out to be true. La twitched her nose and muttered in displeasure. "This is not even that rare of an herb. Why are they engaging in petty fights like these by bidding so low?" Then she looked at Eren and asked in frustration. As if all of her fantasies were getting crushed by Eren''s prudence all the time. "I don''t know why you want to y so safe when you have so many trump cards. Why do you have to be so sneaky all the time? Can''t you juste out in the open and demand what''s yours? My suggestions still stand. Drop a bid amount of 80K to shock all the bidders out there. Then they''d think you are some kind of bigshot and let you have the flower. But then they''d try to ambush you and try their luck at getting their hands on the flower for free by killing you. But you''d be" La narrated her thoughts as if she could see the future unfold before her eyes. By this time, the highest bid for the flowers had risen only to 55K. Eren chuckled heartily as he interrupted La before she could continue with her fantasies. "Maybe you have read too many fantasies, La. Or maybe, there would indeed be an ambush set in ce for those who take up all those transcendent-grade items for themselves. Cliched stories are based on real human emotions that are cranked up to max after all. In either case, you are still confused about the side I''m on in these stories, real or fantastical. I''ll not be the one defending the items that I bought with my own money in this case." Eren said and picked La up from hisp and made her stand up. He then got up and walked towards the spectral screen. As he watched the product details and bid amount update, he narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly. "Because I''m the one who robs." Chapter 577 Collecting Trophies Chapter 577 Collecting Trophies The dense forest outside the city of Ainari. Waning crescent moon night. "You devil... May the almighty Vulcan burn your soul to Ugh!" A fire-element ranker who was looking to be in histe 30s was seen saying hisst words before his body started to mummify at a rapid pace. His mana storage and his life essence were sucked out of his body before he could offer any more resistance. The ranker died while cursing the man who had pierced his gut with his pale bare hands. He had worn a weird-looking mask that hid his facial features. "Did you get it?" Eren asked La who was seen searching for something on the dead bodies of men who had already died and been mummified. She opened the palm of one such dead body and poured a concoction she had in her vial onto it. Soon after, an ID stone was extracted from his wrinkled, mummified hands. La picked it up and closed her eyes to examine it. She shed a cheerful grin as she confirmed something she was looking for. "Hehe. Yes. Eren, this mugging business is so exciting. I never thought of the other side of the coin in the stories I had read about. That the bad guys can break it big if they n ahead and n well." Eren had amassed 100k Extols so he could attend the auction by showing that he had enough wealth to participate. Dianna had sent him an invite to the auction because of her position in the family. However, she was nowhere near the family hierarchy to allow him to attend the event without skipping that requirement. The 100K Extols he had won were only meant for him to gain entry into the auction event in the VIP chamber. Of course, he had to pay 10K Extols just to reserve that chamber for himself. But that was a price he was willing to pay for his anonymity. Though not without cursing the House Remus for their way of doing business. Eren smirked at La before releasing the fire element ranker. He wondered who this Vulcan fellow was. But he let the matter go after feeling that his stats had increased slightly yet again. The butcher smiled and essed his Status Window. Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organizations- Edinburgh Army (Nightshade duchy) Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy Academic Status- ss 2/C Ranked Status: Not applicable due to on-field assignment Base Stats: HP- 13.4 / 13.4 MP- 12.2 / 12.2 STR- 12.5 AGI- 13.9 INT- 10.2 BTP~ 62 (Exceeded normal standards set for Solid Stage Ace Rank) BTP Visibility- Private Ranking Status: E-Rank (Solid Core Stage) ****** ''Heh! I became one of those geniuses that are above the normal standards.'' Eren smirked when he saw his BTP value had exceeded the normal limit of Solid Stage of Ace rank. He was very proud of his aplishments. After all, this was the first time in both of his timelines that he had achieved a feat like this. ''This is all due to Life Drain and Domain of Wrath. Maybe what Nina said was true. A person''s abilities reflect their desires and needs. I wanted to be stronger faster so my abilities were manifested keeping my desires in sight.'' Eren looked at his haggard and wrinkled hands and thought to himself. He had already achieved the BTP score of 62 after his fight with Tim and Langdon had ended. A small increase in his stats with his recent victims wasn''t enough to show up in his overall BTP value. Still, progress was progress. Eren was worried about another problem after he saw his BTP value though. Even with his stats making progress, he didn''t feel like there were signs of his breakthrough into the Adept rank. Despite being in the solid stage of the Ace rank with such a high BTP, it still felt as though his body as a vessel and his mana core as an energy source had not reached their saturation point. This was a disadvantage of being one of the genius rankers. They exceeded the BTP values defined by their respective ranks. And yet, even with their enhanced stat values, they would be stuck in the same rank for a while. Altashia was facing the same problem as well. Her BTP value had also exceeded Ace Rank. But her ranking breakthrough was nowhere in sight. ''Hm. Ever since I started using the Rootless technique, my agility stat is not increasing much. It''s like every stat is trying to be on the same level. My intelligence stat has got the biggest boost among all those values.'' Eren analyzed his growth while retracting his Life Drain ability. His arms were once again in pain as a result of his actions. But by now, the butcher was getting used to it. And with each use of his ability, he felt like the pain was reducing. "Eren. Eren. What are you thinking about? You are creeping me out here." La started acting innocent and naive once she confirmed the stalk of the Simbelmyne flower was safe. Eren ignored her and called out his demon beast that was soaring in the skies somewhere near. ''Argo. Time to leave.'' Eren let his demon beast know that they were getting ready to leave. He then used the Potion of Innocence on the battle-scarred area after burning the bodies with his fire-element spells. Eren had ambushed this group of rankers after they had left the Remus auction house. It was the same group that had obtained the stalks of Simbelmyne''s flowers. The Remus Auction House had taken every precaution it could to assure its clients that they would have a safe passage. Each group of patrons would be sent via spatial arrays to random locations outside the city of Ainari. This made it near impossible for anyone to keep track of anyone. Too bad, Dianna had already rigged the patrons'' exit. Upon Eren''s suggestion, Dianna had coated the entry tokens of the patrons that were involved in the auction with an almost undetectable tracking potion. La''s potioneering knowledge along with the potion book that Eren had obtained from the Purgatory made it possible for him to concoct a potion like this. Eren had never forgotten how he was ambushed by Team ho in the middle of nowhere using their potions and gears. Therefore, he also sought out potions and gears that would allow him to do exactly that. This was the potion Eren had created after three days of experiments. He didn''t neglect his potioning practices while he worked on his other frontiers. La had offered to help him to expedite his ns. After all, her personal stakes were also involved in the n. But the butcher held on with his experiments and finally managed to concoct the potion to La''s satisfaction. Dianna yed an instrumental role in setting this trap for the butcher. Without her involvement, he would have had to buy the stalk using his own money. Which was something he hadn''t nned to do from the very beginning. Eren had kept Dianna away from his robbery to avoid suspicion. She was told to wait at the auction house and not follow him. He assured her that things were in control, making her listen to his words. Argonded near Eren and pped his wings to create a gale of fresh air. He didn''t like the smell of low-quality food getting roasted so he cleared the air for himself. Unlike his chimera form, Argo was in aplete eagle mode. He had learned to shapeshift in a unique way that was unlike other normal demon beasts. Where normal demon beasts could only change the size of their bodies, Argo had learned to take the forms of an eagle or lionpletely. Eren had stopped getting surprised with Argo''s growth after he had realized that the beast was using his devour ability on every consumable mana beast he could get his paws on. Just like him, his beast was growing at an unbelievable speed. "Where are we going?" La asked while walking leisurely in the recently torched field. Eren smirked before answering her. He had a vial of potion in his hands that would change color whenever he moved it in a certain direction. "Now that every ranker that was involved with the auction is marked with the tracking potion, it would be silly to be satisfied with one reward. It''s time we maximize our gains when we still can before calling it quits." Eren replied and climbed onto Argo''s back. La smiled slyly and nodded. She disappeared from her position and sat near him, with her back against his torso. The trio was nning to try hunting a new prey or two tonight. They had trophies to collect that didn''t really belong to them. Chapter 578 Runic Stele Chapter 578 Runic Stele "H. How? How did you break into Solid Stage so quickly?" When she saw Eren approaching her with a charming smile, Altashia inquired. He continued walking and gave her a gentle hug before responding. "Well it seems Sid sharing his attainments and his experiences in using the Red Lightning helped me a lot. And when I used the red-lightning runic stele, I reaped far better gains than I thought I''d reap." *************** The butcher wasn''t lying when he said he had progressed even further in the way of the elements than before. This was courtesy of the runic stele lent to him by the army. It was just that he had exaggerated its effects. He made the runic stele responsible for all the progress he had made, most of which was due to his abilities. A runic stele was a metallic surface or a stone''s face that was etched with runes made by at least a Grandmaster level ranker. Such a stele could only be carved by a ranker of this caliber who had reached a certain point in their elemental path. Hence these runic steles were precious. They could only be obtained from official sources without going broke. Of course, the ck market would also contain runic steles obtained by cultists during their explorations. But most of the time, such steles were counterfeits. Then there were the runic steles, which were meant to harm the rankers that used them. Because of this, the legal method of obtaining these steles was more expensive, but also more reliable. One also had to note that runic steles weren''tmon ranking resources. Only rankers who had backing or rankers who had made enough contributions to their establishments were privy to use them. Furthermore, since the lightning element wasn''t thatmon, the amount of army contribution points required to lend such a stele was no joke. That''s why Eren had to use Arjun''s help to get his hands on this precious ranking resource. The runic stele for the red-lightning element that the butcher had received was a square-shaped metallic surface. It would spark with red lightning every time someone touched it. This runic stele was created by a ranker with an official title of Red Ripple. In the stele''s description that Eren had read before collecting it, Red Ripple was in the liquid Stage of the A-Rank at the time of creating it. The ranker was expected to iste themselves and find an ambiance that generated manapatible with the stele and ranker''s affinity. Then they were supposed to drink supplementary potions, if any, to ease their mana circuits and minds before touching the stele. The stele could be used by rankers imbuing their element''s mana into it. The stele would then slowly take control over the ranker''s five senses. This would enable them to experience the spells, conditions, fragments of memories, and thoughts of the ranker that had created the stele. Some steles would also contain the personal messages of the rankers who had made them. They might also contain the guidance recorded by such entities, enabling the low-level rankers to benefit greatly from them. Of course, such steles would cost even more. Eren had not used runic steles in his previous timeline. He didn''t have the reach he had today to get his hands on such premium stuff. He also had to thank his military status for this. Eren was provided aplete set of items and ranking resources when he applied for a red-lighting runic stele. When he first used the stele, he couldn''t gain anything from it. Then, during his third session, his attainments in the red-lightning aspect of lightning suddenly improved even further because of one particr instance that was recorded in the stele. And yet, Eren didn''t dwell on the stele much. Becauseprehending all the experiences and thoughts that were recorded in the stele could take weeks on end if not months. And that was not something he was willing to invest in at this point. He was only using the stele as a reason for his attainment in the red lightning anyway. So he didn''t mind. Plus, the runic stele was going to stay with him for the uing months before he was required to submit it back to the army. So he had ample time to further his understanding of lightning. The use of runic steles wasn''t limited to rankers'' statuses only. Anyone could use them, even if they were not as high ranked as a ranker who had created them. It was primarily concerned with the ranker''s way of using the element, it was not rank bound for the most part. It was a general rule that only Ace rank entities could use runic steles to gain and improve attainment in the elements. Since Novice rankers are not aware of the elemental aspect of their elements, they were not able to take advantage of the stele. Their path as a ranker had only begun when they were in the Novice rank after all. ********** "I I''m speechless at your improvement, Eren. I could have never thought you''d be able to get into the Solid Stage of the Ace rank so soon." Altashia said with expressions of bewilderment written on her face. Eren smiled and responded. "Neither did I. But sometimes speaking your goals out loud helps you channel your efforts in the right direction. This is one of those instances." Altashia also returned his smile with an understanding nod and a slight smile of her own before narrowing her eyes on him. "So are you looking for trouble with me?" Eren smirked and did not reply verbally. He took out his two swords and imbued his mana into them, enabling them to bathe in the aura of their respective elements. The Rigor Mortis was in his right hand while Anduril was in his left. Altashia narrowed her eyes on the Anduril. She felt she wanted to ask something. But on second thought, she decided to ept Eren''s challenge right away. "I should have figured it out after you invited me here of all ces. Hehe! Eren, I won''t be easy on you just because you are my FRIEND. I hope you know that. Hehehe!" Eren heard Altashia''s statement and his smiling face was frozen. His dual-elemental mana stopped manifesting for a while before bursting into intense waves. The butcher was angry about being friend zoned. He was angry because, after all his progress with Altashia, she still dared to only refer to him as ''friend''. He knew Altashia was just trying to tease him. This was evident by the way she emphasized the word "friend" in a dramatic manner. But this was a tease he wasn''t willing to overlook. "Altashia darling. It''s the other way around. Don''t expect ME to go easy on you just because I want to tap that perky ass." Chapter 579 Eren vs. Altashia P1 Chapter 579 Eren vs. Altashia P1 "Altashia darling. It''s the other way around. Don''t expect ME to go easy on you just because I want to tap that perky ass." Eren said and shed a cheerful smile at Altashia. Thetter snorted in anger beforementing in displeasure. "Hmph! I''ll suck all that confidence out of you dry in a while. You just wait." Altashia said while folding her hands. With a scornful look on her face that looked exaggerated to Eren, she added up. "How do you want to do this? Use this army battle ring or take the duel outside where we can use our demon beasts?" ********** Eren had invited Altashia to meet him on the army battle ring designed to be used by soldiers. It was a standard open space with a rigid, limestone tform that was strengthened by earth-element runes. The battle ring was covered in a mana membrane that restricted spell output to the environment of the battle ring. There were many battle rings close to each other. They were all inside arge stadium-like structure that was meant to be used by spectators who hade to watch or analyze the ongoing battles. Other rankers were dueling with each other in different battle rings as well. But unlike the Arangar Colosseum, there were almost no spectators in the audience booth. Life in the army was hectic. Almost nobody was willing to use their free time to watch other army personnel duel with each other when they could step outside and live life a little. Eren could understand the hidden meaning behind Altashia''s proposal to change the venue. Altashia must have thought that Eren was still notpletely prepared to take her on. And she didn''t want to get him disappointed in his progress after he couldn''t beat her. Furthermore, she was unwilling topromise on her ethics or be lenient towards him, believing that it would also hamper his development. So she was allowing Eren to use his demon beast in the battle. They both knew that Argo was superior to her Roo in terms of flight capabilities and aerialbat. Plus, Argo''s inherent spells were getting more potent by the day. In short, Altashia wanted to even the supposed odds in Eren''s favor by allowing him to use Argo in the battle. Despite the haughty attitude, she was showing at the time, the butcher couldn''t help but smile at the care Altashia was showing towards him. ''That kiss we shared has worked for sure. I was beginning to think that was all in my head after seeing Al trying to keep her distance from me. I wonder what''s stopping her from being with me?'' Eren thought to himself. He had hismunication line open with La, enabling her to eavesdrop on his thoughts. ''Gee I don''t know. The fact that you try to get into every girl''s pants is attractive enough. What could keep a talented girl like Altashia from seeking yourpanionship?'' Eren again made a weird face as if he had just eaten something bitter and unptable when he heard La''s response. He had it up to his neck this time. He decided to respond in a quiet voice that was devoid of any agitation. ''Keep on trying to roast me like that and I''ll shove those Simbelmyne flowers up in a very dark ce. A ce where you won''t be able to see them despite being closer than ever to you. Imagine how those flowers would look if they were disyed like a peacock''s plumage.'' La who was chuckling after making thatment suddenly got stiff and had angry expressions on her face. She was about to berate Eren some more but ultimately decided not to. Angering Eren when he was trying to win Altashia''s favor was not a smart idea. An idea that she had indulged in any way because of her irresistible urge to taunt Eren. ''Sometimes ying with fire makes you aware of its nature.'' La nodded to herself and justified her act of roasting Eren every chance she got. She then stopped keeping tabs on Eren and focused on the scrolls opened in front of her in her pendant abode while he dealt with his troubles outside. ************ "Haha! Argo has be even more threatening than what you are giving him credit for, Al. that bird brain learns that from me, after all. Although I''m thankful for the care you show towards me despite acting opposite, I don''t need it." Eren smiled genuinely at Altashia and ended their banter by saying what he felt at the time. "Let''s not worry about each other, Al. Let''s not worry about the oue. Let''s just give it our all and see who wins." Altashia smiled at Eren as well before raising her head to look at the open sky that had the afternoon sun in full splendor acting as their witness. "Enjoy the battle, huh?" Altashia mumbled to herself and took out her scythe from her storage space. She immediately started spinning the oversized weapon around herself masterfully to get attuned to it. While he stood still and gripped his weapons tightly, the butcher heard Altashia''s mumbling. "Enjoy the battle indeed." ********************** "Hurry the fuck up, youter elf. The duel between our captain and Eren is going to start anytime." Arjun was grabbed by his shirt cor and dragged into the army''s practice arena that housed all the battle rings. He and Lyon were still quite a distance away from where he was supposed to meet his squadmates. Arjun, who was busy reading a book at the time wearing schrly specks, found his surroundings changing at a rapid pace while his body felt weightless. He tightened his grip on his almost-fallen book and recognized the person whose hand was holding him by his cor. "Lyon leave me you dwarf devil Did you learn that weird spell just to drag me like this?" Arjun''s own voice seemed distant to him as he was dragged by Lyon using his movement spell. The dwarf tank member of Eren''s team had gotten his hands on a new movement spell that allowed him to create a repulsion effect under his feet. Plus, Lyon''s inherent nature of ''absorb and repel'' was morepatible with this movement spell than his previous one. This enabled him to use his legs as if they were springs. Contrary to what Arjun was thinking, Lyon had changed his movement spell because it had allowed him to increase his stature in the battle, if only temporarily. It was only when he found Dianna seated in the spectator''s zone of the arena did Lyon stop moving and let Arjun''s cor go. Arjun fell t on the ground as a result of his careless action. Dianna was with the rest of Eren''s squad mates who were all busy looking at a particr battle ring. She waved her hands at Lyon and Arjun when she saw them from a distance, telling them she had reserved seats for them. "Did we miss anything?" Lyon asked Dianna while looking in front of him and taking a seat beside her. Arjun took another seat beside her while adjusting his specks that he only used to wear to look like a cool and geeky elf. He had conveniently forgotten the fact that he was dragged into the arena like a dead weight by Lyon. Dianna smiled and replied. "Not at all. The duel will soon begin." === AN: Lyon Muff Dyke has been introduced in chapter 424. His name is an anagram of a well-known anime character. ;) Chapter 580 Eren vs. Altashia P2 Chapter 580 Eren vs. Altashia P2 "The betting''s open. Who do you think would win?" Lyon asked while putting his hand forward in front of Dianna. He also looked at Arjun while doing that. Letting them know that he was in charge of handling the bets. The rest of the squad members were equally excited. But they all wanted to bet on Altashia. Only Dianna was willing to bet on Eren. And upon her forced request, Arjun begrudgingly agreed to wager on Eren. Since only two of them were willing to bet on Eren, they had to pay a higher amount than the rest of them. That was Lyon''s way of doing business. He''d only invest a small amount of his money into this small-scale business. As a result, he''d get smaller profits. But his losses wouldn''t weigh him down either. Lyon also introduced other options on which his squad members could bet. For example, betting conditions like who wouldnd the first hit? Or who would use support potions first? It could be said that this wasn''t the dwarf''s first rodeo. Just when Lyon was done settling the betting business, he was prompted to grab his seat and keep quiet by Dianna. He obediently agreed to her stare and looked in his direction. "It''s about to go down, huh!" Lyon rubbed his hands against each other and waited for the duel to end. No matter who won the duel, he knew he''d be in the profit because of the way he had set the bets. "Dianna, why do you think Eren would win? Haven''t you seen my duel with our captain? Do you think I''m weaker than Eren by that much margin?" Eren and Altashia had drawn their weapons and had entered a mini staring contest when Arjun addressed Dianna with a curious look on his face. Thetter smiled before responding honestly. "Honestly, Arjun? I don''t know how strong Eren is. But I know this much. Since he had chosen to challenge captain Altashia, he had his things figured out. Unlike you, Eren won''t challenge the captain just for the challenge''s sake." Lyon agreed with Dianna''s statement and added on. "Arjun, you only challenge the captain knowing full well that you''d lose. It has be a way for you to gauge your progress, to see how you have improved sincest time. Eren... challenged the captain with the aim of winning. I can feel it. The guy has no intention of holding..." Just when Lyon was about to finish his sentence, he felt a distinct mana pulse that went off in the battle ring. This pulse was also felt by the rest of his squad mates. He and everybody else stopped talking and extended their mana senses towards the battle ring. Altashia had made the first move! Swish! The captain of her squad swung her massive scythe in Eren''s direction and sent a flying sh toward him. She then disappeared from her position and appeared right behind Eren. but this time, sheunched another bunch of flying shes towards her right. The spectators saw Eren''s image blur before getting pierced by Altashia''s shes. But then they saw another bunch of shes that their captain had sent in apletely different direction. Eren appeared on the other side of Altashia''s flying attacks. This time, it looked like he wasn''t willing to change his position in approaching his opponent. "Hea| he is not trying to dodge. Is he mad?" Arjun closed his book and gripped the railing that was in front of him before standing up from his seat. He criticized Eren for not trying to dodge Altashia''s shes. That''s because her shes had a unique peculiarity. They would carry her fire-element mana in apressed form and react with her will and mana sense whennded upon the target. As a result, they would catch fire upon Altashia''smand, no matter if they had dealt enough damage to their target or not. Altashia''s attacks dealt damage over time. So it was wise to dodge her attacks as much as possible. Arjun knew how agile Eren was. He knew he could dodge their captain''s attacks if he wanted to even when it seemed like he had no chance of doing so. But the next second, a cloud of red lightning bloomed in the middle of Eren and his iing shes. Instantly, a red lightning bull assumed his mana form before dding itself with sparks of red lightning tongues. The bull also charged at the iing fiery shes head-on while adjusting its two horns in alignment. A ball of lightning was formed between the two horns that the bull used to sh with the flying shes. Zoom! There was no sound of shing attacks at first. But then the ground on which the bull stood was ruptured and depressed while the bull cried in pain. Most of the flying attacks were handled by his inherent spell. But there were a few flying shes that managed tond on his mana body. They immediately cut skin deep and wrapped the bull in a zing fire. This was within only a few moments after Eren and shia''s duel had started. And the Queen of Scythe had already made her opponent''s contract beast cry in pain. A few squad members lost their bets and had to pay Lyon as a result. He then took his cut and gave the money to those who had won this particr bet. Eren seemed to have disappeared from his position. Then Arjun and others felt him appearing right over the bull''s head. He used it as a tform to jump and approach Altashia with newfound vigor. "He used his contract beast as a decoy. What a heartless fellow." Lyon said, smirking. Dianna looked at him with a displeasing look at first. Then she sighed as if half agreeing with him. "That''s not it. At least that''s not the whole picture. Eren has strengthened his contract beast by casting a defensive spell of his own on him. Look." The bull that was covered in red lightning suddenly got covered in purple tongues of lightning as they formed a beasty cloak around his body. They got rid of the residual mana of Altashia''s attack and wrapped his body in a protectiveyerpletely. The red bull now looked like it had a thin purpleyer around its body. It roared and charged at Altashia while his master closed in on her from another direction. === AN: VEH crosses the milestone of 700K words with this chapter. ;) Chapter 581 Eren vs. Altashia P3 Chapter 581 Eren vs. Altashia P3 ''Brace yourself, Ertaur. Even with the defensive lightning cloak, it''s still gonna hurt. Bear with me.'' Eren discussed his contracted beast as he charged ahead. He was approaching Altashia from her 3 O clock while his bull was charging at her from her 6 O clock. Altashia smiled a bit as she saw Eren using a two-pronged attack to target her. She thought she should return Eren''s favor with equal fervor. A distinct mana pulse was released from Altashia once again as she cast her spell. A spell that she had seldom demonstrated to anyone outside her n''s battleground. Caw! Caw! Caw! Animated spell. Altashia had used a stacked animated spell. Three crows, boasting the same stature as their master, appeared around her. Two of them went towards the approaching Eren while one of them headed towards the charging bull. Another stacked animated spell went off at that moment. Hatchlings of the me. Two fire snakes appeared alongside Eren as he continued to approach Altashia. She was changing her position rapidly as she sent her animated spell forward, making it difficult for Eren to pin her down even using his exceptional speed. Hisss! The golden-colored flying crows tried to attack the two snakes using their vice-like grips and fire breath attacks. But the snakes had fire breaths of their own. They executed their variants andunched themselves in the air. The two snakes wrapped their bodies around the flying crows and used their mouths to cast fire breaths on them continuously. Even with aerial advantage on their side, the animated crows became defenseless in front of the fire snakes. ''Eren''sa| animated spells are leagues apart.'' Altashia saw and felt her animated spell practically getting obliterated by Eren''s hatchlings of the me. The timing and pattern of attack used by the animated snakes against her golden crows were wless. Those attacks almost felt like they were performed by real mana beasts who had a firm grip on their inherent spells and their body parts. Eren''s animated spells were livelier than Altashia''s. She couldn''t beat him relying on her animated spell alone. Altashia smiled and felt rejuvenated. She was getting excited by Eren''s battle potential. This was the man who made her heart beat faster every time she saw him. A part of her consciousness liked and preferred his dominant side. Her other part wanted to dominate him instead. Stuck between her two facets of thoughts, Altashia was bing more engaged with Eren''s affairs than she let on. ''Even though I have feelings for you, I''ll fight this fight seriously. I am sure you want it this way too. Surpass me with your caliber. That is if you have what it takes to surpass me, Eren Elijah Idril.'' Altashia smiled and gripped her weapon hard before throwing it over her head. A hive of chains sprouted from the palms of her hands, made from the fire and wind elements. Those wind-element chainstched onto her scythe and allowed her enhanced maneuverability over her oversized weapon. Eren was ready for this. He didn''t shy away from approaching Altashia even though she seemed twice as dangerous as she was a few moments ago. Swoosh! Altashia swung her weapon around her like a whip, effortlessly controlling its trajectory. As if the weapon was weightless. As if she had done this a thousand times without breaking a sweat. But the effects of the attack were anything but normal. A subsonic sound was heard as a wind-element crescent moon de was manifested and expanded rapidly along the lines of the weapon''s trajectory. It was as if the scythe''s de had erged itself before manifesting itself like this. This flying attack covered an area of 30 meters. It then grew some more before it started approaching its target at crazy speeds. Eren could still perceive Altashia''s attack with his senses enhanced and his body made to elerate due to his time element. Therefore, he was able to cast the movement spell on time and jump 10s of meters high in the air. But Ertaur wasn''t so lucky. sh! The red lightning bull''s body was sliced in twoterally even with Eren''s defensive spell protecting him. He was already engaged with the golden crow that was sent his way by Altashia. So he didn''t have the time to perceive the attack. He wouldn''t have been able to dodge it even if he could. The red lightning bull''s mana body disintegrated quickly when it was injected with Altashia''s foreign mana in such a heavy dose. Even his soul was affected by that attack. And that was a big feat considering it couldn''t have been affected by normal attacks. Altashia''s mastery over her element was not something to be scoffed at. ''This girl... just as I had expected. She didn''t fight all out against Rodrick Renar.'' Eren gulped as he saw the crescent moon-shaped flying sh still wreaking havoc in its path as it traveled ahead. It had targeted both him and his bull at the same time by big crazy big. The timing and position of that attack were also wless. This mana-dense attack left patches of ground in its wake as it traveled away from Altashia. These patches were either covered in mes or marked with visible scars. Purple Reaver! Invi ze! Eren decided to test Altashia''s defense by using his weapons'' inscribed spells at once. He had already seen how Altashia would deal with such attacks by observing her battle with Rodrick. But he had decided to test the waters anyway. Two flying shes made their way toward Altashia as she was just about to adjust her stance with her weapon. Altashia smirked before raising her hand above her head. Since Eren hadunched these attacks while being at an altitude of 10 meters from the ground, his attacks were zeroing in on her diagonally downwards. Two giant hands made of wind elements were created by her before she sent them to intercept Eren''s attacks. "These tricks won''t work on me, Eren. You already know that. Come up with something better." Altashia spoke without any agitation in her voice. As if she was speaking basic math, like 2 plus two equals four. And Eren could see why when heprehended her response that was acoustically stretched because of his enhanced perception. At first, Eren would shut down his auditory senses when he was using his time-element spells. Butter on, he changed his style and decided to listen to his surroundings for enhanced awareness. Usually, he would find his opponents'' speeches funny whenever they addressed him while he was using his time-element spells. That''s because even the meanest of words would get dragged so much for him that their voices would usually be a joke to him. But this time, Eren didn''t find anything funny when he heard Altashia''s statement that was devoid of any arrogance even though it sounded the opposite. He knew she meant it when she had said that. Eren''s shes were dispersed in thin air when they were grabbed in the palm by Altashia''s simple spell. As she squeezed both her hands in real-time, the hand manifestation mimicked her movement and squashed Eren''s attack until they were no more. Chapter 582 Eren vs. Altashia P4 Chapter 582 Eren vs. Altashia P4 The two wind-element hand manifestations were all that it took for her to nullify Eren''s flying shes. She had shown Rodrick this move, making him desperate for a win by using his transcendent-grade weapon on her. And even that wasn''t enough to stop her from dominating him. Eren canceled his time-element spells andnded at a distance from Altashia. He smiled mirthlessly at his captain before looking at his swords. Eren shook his head and sighed before sending his weapons back into his storage space. Altashia was going to ask if he wanted to fight with bare hands. But she didn''t have to after she saw the butcher drawing another weapon set." "Back to basics!" Eren wielded his katars once again when he saw his flying shes wouldn''t have any effect on Altashia. He had already confirmed the same when he had watched her fight with Rodrick. We were just testing that assumption. Diceros Left and Diceros Right! Although Eren had received these Ace Ranks variants during his Purgatory exploration, he was still fond of his Novice ranked katars even though he couldn''t use them. So he gave their names to these variants as well. The names were a way to pay homage to the first set of weapons that he had used extensively when he was in the Novice rank in the second timeline. Eren didn''t directly approach Altashia. She too straightened her stance and looked at him keenly, awaiting his move with a mild smile on her face. ''I I''ll run out of mana earlier than her if this keeps up, even though it''s her that is using suchvish attacks. How high is her attainment in her elements for thisss to pull such a feat off?'' Eren thought to himself for a moment before shaking his head. He then punched himself in the face while gripping the weapon by its hilt. The butcher then made cracking sounds from his neck with his knuckles before rotating his wrists. Another series of cracking of bones followed. ''This feeling I hope we don''t kill each other by getting so addicted to fighting each other.'' Eren thought and chuckled before narrowing his eyes on Altashia. He felt like he needed to give his absolute best and attack Altashia without any limiters ced on him for him to have a chance at beating her. The next moment, he disappeared from his ce. ************** "She she can use animated spells too?" Arjun mumbled to himself as he watched Altashia manifesting three golden jackdaws in the battle. This was the first time he had seen her using an animated spell. What was even more frustrating for him was the fact that she didn''t use it when he had challenged her multiple times. It meant that she didn''t consider Arjun a threat enough for her to cast this spell. But then he saw Eren''s animated spells and understood why Altashia treated him more seriously than him. The hatchlings of the mes that he had seen before were nothingpared to what Eren had cast in his fight with their captain. ''He progressed so much in such a short time?'' "Don''t get jealous over others'' achievements and cough up the money. You lost another bet of "Who casts a previously unknown spell first?" The dwarf Lyon''s words made Arjun snap out of his line of thoughts and looked at him. He was demanding he gives his share of the money in his palm that the dwarf had raised in front of him. Arjun sighed and took out a bunch of Extols from his storage before giving it to Lyon. he was facing too many shocks at this point. He wasn''t in a mood to argue that he wasn''t involved in instance-wise bets that the dwarf hade up with. "Don''t worry, Arjun. You are doing well. It''s just that keeping up with a prodigy is no easy matter." Dianna said while patting the elf''s shoulder in support. Thetter couldn''t help but think to himself. ''But Eren seems to be doing pretty well in that department.'' Just when Arjun thought Altashia was done revealing her trump cards, he saw her execute her giant crescent-moon scythe sh. He had goosebumps all over his body when he felt the signature of that attack with his mana sense. This time, Arjun was d that Altashia hadn''t used it on him instead of feeling demotivated. That''s because he knew such an attack had a higher chance of harming him fatally. The attack''s reach, speed, and intensity were so overwhelming that it nullified all the advantages he had as a ranger. "I I''m a frog in the well. You guys, if you ever see me wanting to challenge our captain again, then. Beat the hell out of me. I give you my consent." Arjunughed heartily after he said that. The elf blood in him didn''t let him suffer the mental burden of his self-realization. He had decided that instead of challenging his captain, he would challenge Eren instead from now on. "What What is our deputy vice-captain doing now?" This time, it was one of the squad members that said out aloud. Arjun and the rest turned their attention away from Altashia to Eren and saw that he had removed his weapons and stored them. They were all confused at first before it finally dawned on them. Then Eren''s squad mates saw him drawing his katars out. They remembered Eren had first taken part in mock battles using his katars. Only now did they realize that Eren was wielding his swords with mastery that he had gained in such a short time. "That showoff he is a prodigy himself for keeping up with our captain like that." Lyonmented while he was busy counting the Extols he had gained. He regretted the fact that he didn''t know much about Eren''s progress. Had he known, he would havee up with more betting deals to make even more profit. "Things are about to get serious. I think it''s wise if we call in a healer from the army and tell them to stay on standby." Dianna spoke with a stoic expression on her face. She was connected with the butcher through his brand. She could feel what he was feeling at the time. Arjun nodded while looking ahead before getting up from his seat. ''This bloodlust... the side of Eren that he has not shown to anyone here.'' Dianna thought to herself as she watched the butcher disappear from his position. She couldn''t help but shiver when she felt the killer instinct that he had masked so well. Weirdly enough, that made her even more attracted to Eren than she already was. Only now did she realize what the butcher meant when he had highlighted the importance of money, status, and power. Chapter 583 Evenly Matched Chapter 583 Evenly Matched "You know, I had almost forgotten that Eren was a katar user before he joined the army. The guy''s weapon mastery over swords has increased to an unbelievable level if we take that into ount." Lyon said while ordering snacks for his seat from the spectral menu. Dianna smiled before replying unknowingly. "Thank you!" Both Lyon and Dianna had nk faces when thetter replied in such a way. The ranger coughed and continued. "I mean, yes. His expertise in weapons is indeed exceptional. But we have yet to see how much he has progressed in his understanding of his elements." Lyon looked at Dianna for a while and observed her expressions with his narrowed eyes. Then he sighed and resumed watching the fight. Arjun soon returned with an Ace-ranked healer in tow. She was in her army uniform, unlike Eren''s team members who had alle there in casuals. Arjun grabbed his seat again and watched as Eren tried approaching Altashia yet another time. The butcher dared to venture within striking distance of Altashia because of his enhanced perception. And the effects of his time-element spellbo were apparent. No matter how much Altashia tried to attack him, she would be a moment toote and end up dispersing his afterimage. Altashia was seen surrounded by a bunch of Eren''s afterimages that were all seemingly attacking her at once. This was the effect of Alephee extending her hand and enabling him to quadruple-stack his time-element spellbo. From her 4 o''clock position, Eren approached Altashia only to find an impregnable wall created by the handling of her weapon. She was seen as a virtuoso when it came to handling the oversized scythe. The Scythe Queen title that the audience of Arangar Arena had granted her was not for the show. The butcher on the other hand struggled a bit in the beginning due to his changing of weapons. But then he found his rhythm with Diceros'' set and used them to perfection. He too handled his weapons like an artist, colliding his punching daggers with Altashia''s Chine just at the right angle to deflect her attacks. He would then immediately try to follow his parries with offensive strikes of his own. But Altashia seemed ready for those too. By this time, she had closed all her senses and focused only on her mana sense to cope with Eren''s speed. It seemed that she was having a hard time keeping up with his speed. That''s because a few of Eren''s attacks would breach her defenses andnd on her body. Altashia''s natural mana defense would kick in. Even so, it couldn''tpletely counteract the butcher''s merciless attacks. She soon had multiple sh wounds all over her body that oozed blood. Her petite-looking skin was now subjected to this brutal form of abuse. Eren wasn''tpletely unscathed either. Altashia relied on her superior weapon mastery that she had honed from a very young age to deal damage to Eren. The butcher had fewer sh wounds on his body than Altashia. But the wounds he did have appeared to be serious. The butcher didn''t care. He just strengthened his mana defense further and carried on with his attack. He knew full well that retreating now would mean giving Altashia a breather. Something he didn''t want as of yet. Arjun and the crew watched with stressed expressions as their captain and deputy vice-captain shed at each other without slowing down. They would also be seen using their respective spells to throw each other out of their game. Eren had to admit that Altashia was leagues apart from him with just her being able to keep up with him despite them both having the same ranking status. Although Altashia seemed to have a higher BTP value than him, the butcher didn''t think the difference would be so big for her to pull off such a feat against him. Especially when Alephee tried to help him despite him telling them he wanted her to remain as a spectator. ************ ''This girl she was only toying with Rodrick Renar.'' The butcher concluded in his head as he fought Altashia''s wind-fire flying sh at close range with his own weapon inscribed spells. He kept onparing her performance with the one that she had shown against Rodrick and found it to be greatly different. Eren had expected that Altashia hadn''t gone all out fighting against the royal. But he did not know that she could be this terrifying. It had been a while since the duel had started. And yet, all the butcher could do was draw a stalemate between him and Altashia at close range. And for that he was unsatisfied. If Rodrick was here in Eren''s ce, he would have celebrated his feat and considered it a part of his victory. Eren and Altashia had both expended a significant portion of their mana. They both knew the stalemate wasn''t meant to help anyone and would leave a bitter taste in both their mouths should they continue doing what they were doing. "Let''s let''s get serious now, shall we?" Altashia huffed and spoke out. She was short of breath and her body was dripping with sweat and blood. She shook her head and stood still the next moment before channeling her fire-element mana throughout her body. She cleared all the grime, sweat, and blood with that move and looked at Eren with a smirk on her face. Altashia felt like this was the first time in a long while she had enjoyed a duel to this level. With her grandpa Altair, she had a very difficult time. But she didn''t consider herself to be at his level in the first ce. So she didn''t feel anything even when she was beaten countless times by him. But with Eren it was different. He had proved with his performance now that he could take her on without her worrying about the consequences that may or may not follow. The freedom to act as she wanted. This was the first time since her fights with grandpa Altair that she could enjoy such freedom. Erenughed and understood what she meant. He nodded at her before responding. "Are you sure, Al? I''ll still have a bit of an advantage if we cast that." Altashia smirked before responding. "Who says that? Let''s test the spell out. You''d soon find out who has the advantage." Altashia said as if she knew what she was talking about. Eren smiled mirthlessly before realizing that she already knew what she was getting before Rodrick came up with his offer. Her connections weren''t to be scoffed at. Eren and Altashia were talking about the transcendent-grade spell that Rodrick had given them. While Altashia had received the spell by defeating him, Eren had to make the guy high and metaphorically fly in the sky before hoodwinking that spell from him. Altashia and Eren both nodded at each other before executing the same transcendent-grade spell. "Demon Beast Transformation!" Chapter 584 Demon Beast Transformation Chapter 584 Demon Beast Transformation Beast Transformation spells elevated the ranker''s body stats as well as heightened their mana storage for the time till their transformation was active. It also provided them with a few beastly features that could be visible or invisible. La had predicted that Rodrick''s demon beast was somewhere in the Aranger city because of how his other transcendent-grade spell worked. And she was right. But only partially. Rodrick had used the Beast Transformation spell to keep Aqua close to him when he had entered the city. This was another benefit of having a Beast Transformation spell that the demon beast tamers had high use of. The Beast Transformation spell required one to have a spatial runic tattoo first. This would enable them to create an isted space near their heart through the use of spatial magic. Only demon beast tamers who had apatible mana signature with their beast could do something like this. This was the first step of the spell. The spatial space near the ranker''s heart needs to be inhabited by their respective demon beast for the spell to work. This was the second step. The third step of the spell was to establish a connection between the ranker and their demon beast for the transformation to take ce. The demon beast could not be summoned when the Beast Transformation was active. The beast would also feel weakened because it shares its body stats with its tamer. And it would require time for the beast to get out of the weakened state even after the spell is ended. These were the disadvantages of the Beast Transformation spell. But the advantages of such spells far outweigh the disadvantages. The primary advantage was that demon beast tamers could take their beasts inside any city and keep them with them. The kingdom-sanctioned demon beast tamers only needed to dere that they were the official user of such a spell and that they were carrying their demon beasts with them to enter the city. Of course, they would be prohibited from using the Beast Transformation spell or making their beaste out in the open unless they were defending themselves. This was the security protocol in most cities. This was why Rodrick didn''t use the Demon Beast Transformation even though he had it. That and the fact that using the demon beast spell while Altashia didn''t have her own might have put an obvious blemish on his victory. Even worse, his loss would have been far more scorn-worthy if he had lost to Altashia even with the transcendent-grade spell of such a kind working for him. The Demon Beast Transformation would allow the ranker to borrow more powers from their demon beasts as they ranked up. The transformation would also be more and more beast-like. The power output of Demon Beast Transformation would keep on growing with the ranker and their demon beast as they progressed in their respective ranking journeys. When a ranker reaches a certain level, they can borrow the attainment of their demon beasts to reinvent their spells. This would give them apletely different effect or output level to their spells. The Demon Beast Transformation spell was also heavily controlled by the establishments including the kingdom of Edinburgh. Normally, it is only granted to demon beast tamers who have sided with their respective establishments or entered into an extended contract with them. The spell''s effects and output were also dependent on the connection they shared with their demon beast. Rankers with exceptional chemistry with their demon beasts would benefit more from the spell''s body stat boost and mana storage expansion. That''s because, with an increased connection like this, the manapatibility between the ranker and the beast would increase, enabling them to gain an enhanced boost. The ranker could tweak the Demon Beast Transformation when they became proficient enough in it. It meant that they could choose to manifest only a certain part of their demon beast while avoiding the other. They could also tweak the spell in such a way that they drew more boost from their demon beasts at the cost of weakening their demon beast severely. The spell''s potential was tremendous. The only limit came from the rankers and their demon beasts. The more capable and proficient the ranker was in using the spell or the more powerful a demon beast was which was tamed, the more fearsome the spell''s output would be. That''s why Altashia was ready to fight with Rodrick Renar in the Arangar stadium. She knew exactly what she was getting when she made a deal with him. Rodrick also understood the importance of such a spell. He had used it as a bargaining chip to gain Altashia''s favor as well as her family''s by default. Eren got this spell by chance. He didn''t even know what he was getting until it arrived in encrypted array-inscribed storage space. Rodrick had to contact Eren via his IDmunication and give him the voice key to make the scroll appear in front of him from the stored array-inscribed artifact. The array disk made for the runic inscription came with the spell''s scroll. It would just need blood samples from the ranker and their demon beast to create a runic imprint that could be used by the ranker as the tattoo. This way, each tattoo would be different from the other because of the different mana signatures involved. The security provided for the spell spoke volumes about how much the kingdom prioritized control over its usage. In the wrong hands, the unfair advantage provided by the Demon Beast Transformation spell would create a lot of security risks. The butcher hade prepared for challenging Altashia knowing full well she too would start using the spell as soon as she got her hands on it. Argo was with him at the time of him challenging the warrior ss girl. It seemed that she too had the same idea of testing the spell''s effects. Especially since it was Eren who also had ess to the same spell. *** "Demon Beast Transformation!" A unique mana pulse was released in the battle ring when both the participants of the match drew a temporary truce to execute their respective spells. The spell was exclusive to demon beast tamers. And it needed some time to get executed the right way. Eren''s eyes turned beastly as he activated the Demon Beast Transformation spell. He now boasted vertical pupils that allowed for an enhanced vision that was unlike his normal one. He could now see the hair follicle on Altashia''s body in a magnified manner if he chose to focus on it. This was the case even when she was standing at a quiet distance away from him. Next to change were Eren''s hands. His fingers changed their forms and made his hand look like Argo''s vice-like w. His body''s muscle mass was also strengthened by the mana and beastly connection he shared with his demon beast, making him grow in stature and build. Plus, he now sported lion-like canines that peeked through his lips. Since Argo had features of both the eagle and the lion, Eren too contained visible features of both. He felt like he wasn''t using the spell optimally. But he knew he needed to get more proficient in using the spell for him to truly tap into the spell''s potential. === AN: Rodrick Renar promises to give Eren Demon Beast Transformation spell in chapter 486. Chapter 585 The Difference in Spell Proficiency Chapter 585 The Difference in Spell Proficiency Eren felt like he was in his previous timeline, being a berserker and drinking a berserker potion. Yet, he could feel that the boost he had received from the Demon Beast Transformation spell was a tad bit higher than what the Berserker potion allowed. And this was when he and Argo were just in the Ace rank. When he had only just started using the spell. He couldn''t even imagine how fearsome the boost would get as both he and Argo kept ranking up and gotpatible with using the spell. Eren focused on Altashia and observed that she had more control over the spell because of the tamed mana signature that she was giving off. Her stature had also increased a bit. And her pupils had turned vertical as well. But apart from these not-so-apparent changes, there were no visible beastly features that could be seen on her body. It seemed that she only strengthened her internal organs and boosted her body stats with the spell''s somewhat controlled effects. But maybe Eren had judged too soon. Because by the time Altashia was done stabilizing her Demon Beast Transformation spell, she sported tworge ck wings that made her look like an ethereal existence. Altashia had full control over wings it seemed. Unlike the butcher, who was busy with other projects and potioning, she spent time mastering the spell. p! p! p! Altashia pped her ck-feathered wings and took flight. She spun her oversized scythe and looked in Eren''s direction while shing a haughty smirk. The ability to take stable flight had changed the whole game and tilted the chips in Altashia''s favor. The Demon Beast Transformation spell couldn''t be maintained for a long time. And the addition of organs that weren''t present by default cut short the spell''s active time even more. But Altashia was fine with all that. The reason for that was seen on Eren''s face when he saw her take flight. ''Damn I really want to kiss this woman right now.'' Eren gulped empty air as he watched Altashia staring at him. He was intimidated. That''s because he knew that the warrior ranker had be many times more dangerous than she was because of the mere inclusion of two wings. It also made her more attractive in his eyes than she already was. It was as if she were a fallen angel with ck wings as often depicted in fantasy stories from La''s books. Furthermore, Al''s usage of the transcendent-grade spell also highlighted the difference between the pseudo-prodigy-him and the natural-prodigy-her. It was like the spell was meant for her use. As if Altashia was used to tweaking spells on the fly. Only now did Eren understand that having an epic tier demon-beast wasn''t everything. One''s mastery over the spell as well as the connection they shared with their demon beast was also an additional factor to consider. The difference in spell proficiency in using the same spell was as clear as day and night for him. ''If only I had my Reen right now.'' Eren clenched his hand and mumbled to himself. Then he thought that he was cing Argo in a bad light for his ipetence. He immediately corrected his faulty logic. ''All good things take time. I''ll get Reen back eventually. Argo will only get better with time. And I''ll master this spell eventually. Right now, I need to y with the cards I have been dealt with.'' The butcher sighed and looked up. Altashia was waiting for him to give her the sign. Even though she knew her flight capabilities had a timer attached to them, she wanted Eren to sort out his thoughts first. Altashia was a kind girl, in her own warrior-like way. Her kindness was different from the kindness born out of pity or sympathy. Her kindness was based on her opponent''s capabilities and her rtionship with them. She won''t pull any punches in the battle for kindness. But she''d offer her opponents a chance to present all they could. What Eren had considered being Altashia''s fatal w stemmed from her grandpa Altair''s way of training her. He would allow her to showcase all her progress before making a move. So this habit was subconsciously adopted by her as well. "What did you say about having an advantage, Eren?" Altashia tried to taunt Eren while cing her palm on her right cheek. She acted cutely. But the butcher could only smile mirthlessly at her antics before responding yfully. "No need to wait. Come and get some, Al" Eren beckoned at Al using his right hand''s index finger. He then yed with his punching daggers artistically as if he was a juggler of his weapons. In a way, he was preparing for all the danger that was going toe his way. His restless hands and restless hearts foundfort in those activities. Altashia didn''t need to be told twice. She pped her wings and appeared just a few meters away from Eren in the air before swinging her scythe in his direction. Before one knew it, multiple flying shes were heading Eren''s way from different directions. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Blitz Steps When Eren used his go-to spellbo and tried to move, he was overwhelmed by the feedback he received. His enhanced body stats had made it possible for him to go even faster than his personal best. Moreover, he strengthened his movement spell so that he could move the way he chose in a world that seemed almost stagnant to him. As a result, almost all of Altashia''s flying shes missed their target even when she had an altitude advantage. Almost! *** A storm of fire and wind-element mana raged inside the battle ring. It was also washed in red and purple lightning shes from time to time. "This Demon Beast Transformation spell is so epic. I can''t believe those two are in the Ace rank after watching and witnessing the battle. That''s it. I want that spell as well. I''ll ve in the army for as long as it takes for me to get my hands on it." Arjun red his nose in anger as he watched Eren and Altashia fight to their hearts'' content without worrying about each other''s injuries. He was angry at nobody. He just felt like he deserved to have this spell more than any other. "It is because you say some stuff like this that is the reason why I always doubt you of moonshining my dwarven ale and recing it with cheap knockoffs. You''d need a demon beast first before you can try to cast the spell. Set your priorities right before you jump the gun." Lyon said while snorting at Arjun. Attempting to make aeback, thetter raised his finger and pointed at him. But in the end, he got nothing. So he put his arm down and sighed. He had gotten a bit too excited seeing the two Ace rankers fight with capabilities beyond their rank. ''I''d also get a demon beast. Maybe I can ask the army to enroll me into THAT program.'' Arjun thought to himself and clenched his fist. He started to have ns of his own as he watched Eren and Altashia fight. Chapter 586 Alephee’s Intervention Chapter 586 Alephees Intervention "Aaaaargh. It fucking burns!" Eren whined in pain and agony as he tried to extinguish the burning sh that was inflicted on his torso from his right shoulder to the left side of his hip. He channeled his mana and sent his mana circuits into hyperdrive to get rid of Altashia''s foreign mana that was trying to get into his system. He canceled his time-element spells and focused only on his movement spell to ensure foreign mana was expelled as quickly as possible. He also retreated from his initial position to create a distance between him and Altashia. s, Altashia refused to give him any more breathing room. By putting pressure on Eren, she tried to maintain her advantage over him. She executed her animated spells once again, knowing full well that the butcher would be too busy to stack or execute additional spells. Sedated Perception! Alephee used Sedated Perception once again to aid Eren. Thetter was a bit confused and irked by Alephee''s meddlesome attitude so he had to ask. ''Alephee, I had told you I''d handle my battle with Altashia. Yes, I''m struggling now. But you and I both know that this is not a surprise to me. I''m guessing you have a reason behind not listening to my wishes. It''d be better if we were on the same page while I fought with this girl. Tell me, what''s bothering you.'' As Eren ducked attacks initiated by two golden jackdaws who were also on his tail, he said. Their caster was following them from behind while trying to restrict his path by sending flying shes toward him. Alephee was quiet for a bit. She waited for Eren to get to afortable position by creating a distance between him and the iing attacks before replying. ''Eren, I neither mean to judge nor have any ill intentions. It''s just that these personal affairs need to be dealt with as soon as possible. Your ranking progress isgging what I want you to achieve. It is a lot faster than yourst timeline. And even in the present, it can be regarded as better than average.'' Alephee said and sighed. The butcher could tell that Alephee was deliberately vague. Quite frankly, he had too many questions to ask her. But he also knew that she wouldn''t reveal anything that was beyond his level. So he had bided his time. But the thing she had just said irked him even more than he already was. Thanks to the breathing room offered by Sedated Perception, the butcher managed to create afortable distance from all his attacks before asking her. ''Well you say you don''t mean to judge but you are judging anyway. You know I detest euphemism when it''s not done by me for my own benefits. I don''t want to have any confusion between us seeing that you are so close to me. Tell me what''s bothering you. Is my progress not good enough? And why is it bothering you?'' This was the first time Eren had asked Alephee a question that sought answers from her that she wasn''t sure she should share. This was the reason why she had only yed as a spectator for quite a long time. But her involvement in his business broke that silent agreement between them. So now she had to answer. ''It''s not about the speed of your progress, Eren. Not really. It''s about who you areparing yourself to. The pool of rankers your judgment is based on is what I want to address. The rankers you areparing yourself to are like fish in a pond. They don''t know that there''s a wider world out there. I know I''m not being fair by seeing your progress through a standard that you haven''t seen yourself. But let''s say that you haven''t straightened up your priorities.'' Eren had another stress line on his forehead as he listened to Alephee. She would choose the weirdest of times to have a deep conversation with him. He knew these conversations would leave him with more questions than answers. He was especially uninterested in engaging with Alephee now when he had his hands full dealing with Altashia. But he had also understood that Aelphee had no ill intentions in raising concerns. So he decided to clear the air between them as he dodged and counter-attacked Alephee''s attacks. ''Is it rted to Sage Eliza and the Lazarus Project? Because'' Alephee cut him short and replied. ''No. That''s not it. I know you are using your time wisely, and I approve of all the steps you''ve taken so far. But your personal growth is what I''m most concerned about. Do you only want to win over Sage Eliza? Is that your ultimate goal? Don''t forget even she was bested by her opponents even when she was a Sage, a half-blood, and a prodigy all in one. I know your goals stretch far beyond a Sage rank. Despite this, I do not see a true desire on your part that can make you stand out among yourpetition. I know it''s not your fault. Maybe it''s me who has kept things to myself as I didn''t want to burden your mind further. But I guess it''s time we changed that about ourselves. It''s time I push you toward an even higher sky. It''s time I started taking things in my hand to better guide you whenever I feel that you are slowed down due to your circumstances or your own faults.'' Alephee spoke seriously. It''s been a while since Eren had heard her speak so earnestly. He didn''t mind Alephee''s guidance. It was even better for him if she got more involved in his progress. So he asked her while keeping an eye on his opponents. One more golden jackdaw had been added to that list by now. ''All right. I assume you find something wrong with my approach to fighting with Altashia. Tell me what it is.'' The butcher didn''t beat around the bush. He hade to realize that Alephee was trying to expedite his progress by skipping his natural learning curve. He liked shortcuts too if they would help him be a better ranker. So he asked without any hesitation. Alephee was d that Eren was on board with her thought process just like that even though the timing at which she had decided to do it wasn''t optimal. She had alsoe to recognize that the butcher had meant it when he had said to his teammates from LA that the pursuit of power does not require a reason. The butcher was not adamant about findingfort in his current circumstances. Neither was he content with his current progress even though he felt proud of himself for whatever progress he did achieve. Eren knew that there were rankers more talented than him who were also blessed with ample ranking resources he couldn''t even imagine them having. Altashia was just one of those fearsome rankers. So he always sought to have better goals than before. As Eren strived to live a better and more fulfilling life than his previous timeline, he was continuously reinventing himself and his mindset. She also replied promptly by asking him another question. ''Eren, how much do you know about the path Altashia is on? The warrior ss as they say it.'' Chapter 587 Warrior Class Chapter 587 Warrior ss ''Eren, how much do you know about the path Altashia is on? The warrior ss as they say it.'' Alephee said and made Eren ponder a bit. He sighed and replied honestly. ''Honestly? Nothing much. I hear that it is a ss that allows for enhanced weapon mastery as well as better spell executions. But I don''t know how one achieves that. Plus, there are not many warrior-ss rankers that I came across even in my previous timeline. So knowing about them or their path didn''t seem pertinent to me.'' Eren said and sighed. He had ignored his academic studies when he enlisted in the army. He had tried to change that and learn about the warrior path when he set his goal to defeat Altashia. But he''d have had to pay for any information that was worth his time. The butcher now had plenty of Extols. But he knew they would get used to his newly formed guild. So he needed to be frugal about his expenses. Alphee had first thought of having Eren have his natural learning curve. But since she had decided to help him elerate his growth, she needed to be upfront about a few things. All so that Eren''s progress doesn''t get hindered by roadblocks that were taking more time than necessary to get cleared. ''All right. Eren, the reason you won''t see many warrior-ss rankers around you is because of the ss''s peculiarity. Rankers in the warrior ss have full control over their mana circuits and mana points. You know what that means?'' Alephee asked Eren while he avoided another series of shes sent at him. Since he was having a hard time, Alephee decided to stack Sedated Perception once again. It made it easy for the butcher to get out of his new danger zone. ''Complete control over one''s mana circuits and mana points you say? I''d guess a ranker would have better control over their spells and they''d be able to tweak the spell''s output and effects easily.'' Eren said after pondering a bit in the nearly stagnant world. By now, he had gotten intrigued by the things Alephee was trying to say to him. So he didn''t mind anymore that he was stretching his battle with Altashia. ''That''s right. But there''s more to it than that. Havingplete control over one''s mana circuits and mana points is a dual-edge weapon. If you don''t know what you are doing, your opponents won''t have to do anything to beat you. You''d be toast every time you try to fight your battle.'' Alephee said and allowed the butcher some time to process what she had said. Only then did she continue. ''What you call warrior-ss ranker would have the control they need to effectively turn a certain segment of their mana circuits off and overload a certain region of circuits. This allows the warrior ranker to amplify a certain attack or spell after shutting a certain portion of their circuits. This act alters the flow of mana within their system, unlike the normal pattern set by the spell. It''s like a controlled berserk state that can be entered without having to rely on the berserker potion. Or like the barbarian''s rage mode without having to feel heightened emotions. This is also the reason why Altashia has so few spells in her arsenal. But the few spells that she has, she has mastered them all, allowing her to unlock 100 percent of their potential. Maybe more when she gets serious.'' Eren opened his eyes wide in surprise when Alephee dug deeper into the warrior ss for him. By now he had sweat on his forehead because of the multiple activities he was doing right now. But one had to wonder if the sweat was because of him getting stressed after learning about Altashia''s ss. ''That that is a broken ss then. If there are no potions or heightened emotions involved, the boost won''t produce the adverse effects that are associated with them. The enhanced stats would be treated as the natural state of the body for the time being. Wouldn''t that make Altashia too overpowered? Damn it. I should have thrown her a challenge after polishing my way of the elements some more.'' Eren tightened his grip on his katars and spoke to Alephee. He had now nned to take a stand and face Altashia head-on. So he was preparing tounch a close-range attack by getting into the striking zone. Alephee chose an appropriate time to reply when she saw Eren safe from another series of attacks. Altashia was getting pissed because of the butcher''s passive way of handling things. She had been on the offensive for quite some time now. She didn''t expect Eren to remain on the backfoot for such a long time. So she too decided to let hime into her range before attacking him with another serious strike. One could say their thought processes were in sync with each other when it came to battling. ''Broken you say. Warrior ss does have its advantages. But that is only possible if the ranker has fine control over their ss-specific skill. Maybe you can''t figure it out because you don''t really understand what it means to haveplete control over one''s mana circuits. So listen well. A spell''s way of execution changes when a warrior ss decides to amplify their spells or normal attacks by altering their mana circuits and mana points. That would mean the change needs to be as per the portion of mana circuits and mana points that the ranker decides to switch off or overload.'' Eren''s gaze turned serious when he understood the repercussions behind having such fine control over one''s mana circuits. It meant that the ranker needed to alter the spell execution every time and deviate from the original spell model as per their needs. This was akin to trying out a different spell every time that looked and felt the same. But its execution would be different every time the warrior-ss ranker decided to enhance the spell''s effects through unusual means. Alephee chuckled after sensing Eren''s thoughts and added on. ''It seems you now understand how much of a prodigy Altashia ispared to you. That''s right. No average ranker could take up a warrior ss. This is a ss meant for the elites. Even being a prodigy won''t cut it. It would only get you to the start line. One needs to suffer through hell and risk frying their mana circuits and mana points multiple times over and over again to learn about the warrior ss and its nuances. To gain control over their mana circuits, the ranker must continue to self-harm. I bet the girl''s early years must have been very difficult if she is this proficient in her ss.'' Alepheemented and let Eren process the information she had given him. Thetter just kept on reevaluating Altashia as he listened to hispanion. He couldn''t help chuckling mirthlessly before responding. ''Are you trying to say that I''m not even an average Joe in front of rankers like Altashia? Because if you are, I''m inclined to agree with you.'' The butcher said and chuckled. One could have detected a hint of gloom in his tone had he said that out loud. ''No, silly. I''m trying to make you understand the obvious advantages and disadvantages of the warrior ss. For example, Alephee could keep up with you even while you had time-element spells to enhance your perception, reaction time, and spell executions. Do you know why that is? Take the warrior ss''s specifics into ount and think again.'' Chapter 588 Wind Blade Tornado Chapter 588 Wind de Tornado ''Take the warrior ss''s specifics into ount and think again.'' Eren heard Alephee''s suggestion and pondered for a bit while thinking about the closebat spar he had with his opponent. He had found it pretty unbelievable that a ranker of his same ranking status as him would keep up with him even while his time-element spells were in full swing. Especially when Alephee was pitching in as well. He then opened his eyes wide, as if he had acknowledged something. ''Altashia she she had closed her eyes at that time. I guess her auditory senses were also cut off when she was sparring with me. Did she do that by controlling her mana circuits?'' Alephee replied immediately. ''That''s right. That act wasn''t random ormon even when it looked just that. Altashia had heightened her perception by overloading the mana circuits in her brain and boosting her intelligence stat value temporarily. The power to temporarily boost stats whenever and however the ranker wants without any trigger requirements or side-effects from them. Therein lies a warrior-ss ranker''s true potential. But it also highlights the measure of weakness a warrior has to face because of the way they achieve that power.'' Eren''s eyes seemed to have brightened when he finally understood Aelphee''s words. Those extravagant weapon movements that Eren saw Altashia do were also achieved by following the same principle. Altashia would just control her mana circuits and boost or adjust the physical prowess needed to handle the weapon. As part of her weapon handling, she would use her non-boosted state, allowing her to seamlessly switch from physical boost to agility when needed. That''s how her weapon handling looked artistic and effortless. ''That means Altashiapromises on other functions whenever she is amplifying her spells or attacks. While improving her intelligence stat, shepromised on her other senses. Shepromises on her agility when she performs those single-move weapons attacks. And shepromises on her mana expenditure rate when she is physically boosting herself. That means'' Alephee chuckled andpleted his sentence for him. ''Whenever she performs something that seems extravagant and logic-defying, her safety ispromised because of her state. The most effective time to attack Altashia is right after she performs one of those big moves. That is the time she is most vulnerable.'' Eren stopped running around and stood in his ce when his hunch was confirmed by Alephee. Only now did he truly understand the intricacies behind Altashia''s attacks. He had to admit that the warrior ss was meant for a ranker like her. Or more specifically, her talent and her diligent work had bothe together in harmony to make her the finest version of herself. One fearsome ranker dominated the battlefield with her presence alone. Even her seeming weakness didn''te across as a real weakness to Eren. It was just simple logic taken to the extreme. The real problem was staying near Altashia after she performed those big moves and living to tell about it. ''I won''t know if I don''t try to find out.'' Eren smiled mirthlessly before preparing himself for the iing attacks. Blitz Shield A cloak of purple lightning was formed over Eren''s body. Blitz Storm Tongues of red lightning started jutting out from the surface of the lightning cloak. Eren had only cast the AoE spell. He hadn''t released it yet. He was waiting for the right moment to do so. ''This is it. Here goes nothing.'' Just when Altashia and her animated jackdaws got within a few meters from Eren, he let loose his AoE and approached his opponent using his movement spellC Blitz Steps. A cloud of red lightning bloomed in the middle of the battle ring. The animated jackdaws'' bodies were pierced by foreign lightning mana that only sought to destroy everything in its path. The birds wailed in pain before some portion of their bodies started disintegrating. Eren didn''t bother casting animated spells of his own even when he knew he held an advantage over Altashia when it came to their showdown. That''s because he was counting on his next attack. Red Blitz Bolt! The butcher started his assault from the front and sent his red lightning attack in Altashia''s way. Then he disappeared from his position and jumped using his movement spell. He jumped till he was at the same altitude as her. Altashia was shocked by the sudden explosiveness Eren had shown her. But she wasn''t worried. She pped her ck wings and started zeroing in Eren''s direction with her weapon spinning around her. Red Blitz Bolt! Eren charged his daggers with his red lightning mana before throwing them high in the sky. It was only meant to be used as a diversion so that Altashia''s concentration would be split in his weapon''s direction as well. He then raised his arms and shed them as if they were swords themselves in Altashia''s direction. He had executed a spell he hadn''t shown to anyone in the army yet. Wind de Tornado! This was the wind-element spell Eren had practiced and perfected a few weeks back when Agatha was with him. He had been sitting on this spell for a while until he was confident enough in using it. The butcher also stacked his spell but didn''t initiate the attack with the second attack. He had kept the stacked Wind de Tornado dormant to be usedter. Swish! Swish! Swish! As a result, arge number of wind des were created in the air all at once before soaring towards their target. Altashia soon found out that she was going to be consumed by a mini-tornado made of wind des spinning rapidly around her. Altashia was taken aback by this mid-range attack performed by Eren. And the spell''s output made it abundantly clear that Eren''s affinity with the element was not low. Plus, he had chosen to attack her when she was rtively close to him in the air. That cut down on her maneuverability topletely dodge the attack. Eren had forced Altashia to give him another of those overwhelming flying sh attacks at the cost of more mana expenditure. It was like he was baiting her to bring out her top performance. Altashia was Altashia. She wouldn''t try to bide her time by ying safe. Especially now, when she knew she could finally go all out against someone of her generation. She began to enjoy every moment of her fight with Eren once again. === AN: Eren masters Wind-de Tornado in chapter 464. Chapter 589 [Bonus Chapter] Demon Spell: Burning Abode Chapter 589 [Bonus Chapter] Demon Spell: Burning Abode Altashia was soon going to get consumed by Eren''s sudden wind-element attack. She had already checked those iing wind des with her mana sense. Furthermore, she felt that she needed to be wary of Eren''s weapon set that he threw earlier. She had seen him fight. He''d always shock his opponents with hisplex moves, by making them take the decisions he wanted them to take. So she didn''t try to escape from his iing attacks in a hurry. And in doing so, she fell for the same trap she wanted to avoid. Eren''s wind-element des weren''t individually that strong. They won''t be able to break her defensive spell if they attack individually. But with their quantity, they could attack the same area multiple times faster than her mana defenseyer could keep up. Plus, due to her ss requirement, most of her attention had gone to controlling her mana circuits and mana points. So she couldn''t strengthen her mana defense manually. Altashia was forced to show her hand. The warrior-ranker stabilized her flight in the air using her wings and gripped her weapon hard. Wind and fire element chains started sprouting from the surface of her arms,tching onto her scythe. Swish! Time seemed to have slowed down for the spectators as they watched Altashia perform the same move she had used on Rodrick Renar and his demon beast Aqua. The mana pulse of that attack was so intense that it didn''t feel like an attack initiated by an Ace ranker. No, even among the Adept rankers, that attack would still have garnered attention from its spectators. A circr flying sh that expanded in all directions disrupted the surrounding mana and hindered the iing des. The wind des crashed onto therge solidified wind and fire element flying sh and dispersed immediately after touching it. Altashia''s flying sh was also crumbled down before breaking into multiple mini shes that fell on the ground beneath her like rainfall. The ground immediately caught fire without burning anything solely due to Altashia''s remaining mana sustaining the mes. All of Altashia''s other attacks had also caused the fire to break out in the nearby vicinity. This was when the ground did not have anything to burn. One could imagine the havoc she might raise if she fights near an area infested with mmable objects. Eren saw Altashia''s attack approaching him in his near-stagnant world and had stress lines over his forehead. This was his test. He had forced Altashia to show her hand. But if he couldn''t pull off what he had nned to do, the very act was almost certain to backfire on him. Wind de Tornado! Total Control! Eren released the second stack of the same spell that he had kept dormant at the same time. He also elerated its effects with Total Control so that it would keep up with his enhanced perception. Just like Wind des Tornado, Eren had also kept the Total Control Spell hidden from his mates. This was so that he could use them against Altashia at the right time. With this, almost all of Eren''s trump cards that he could count on had been used. Altashia saw Eren get surrounded by his wind-element spell within a fraction of a moment before disappearing from his space. He had changed his position by going even higher than his previous altitude with the power of Wind des Tornado lifting him. Eren''s mana sense waspromised at that time and he couldn''t keep up with the des'' speed that had been elerated by his Total Control spell. As a result, even though he was uninjured, his clothes were ripped apart by getting caught in the tornado. Eren barely managed to keep his pants on. But his torso was now out in the open as his casual army shirt and jacket were torn apart by the wind-element spell. But he didn''t care. He had achieved what he had set out to do. ''Now''s the time.'' Eren thought to himself and canceled all his active spells save for his time-element spells. He then executed his next set of spells as he started losing altitude rapidly. He adjusted his body and approached Altashia just like a meteor approaching earth. Eren already possessed the maneuverability needed to perform moves like these due to him acting as Tuan. The experience behind Fire Wings'' attack was now helping him. Fireball! Wind de Tornado! Red Blitz Bolt! Eren first exposed Altashia to a bunch of Fireballs that he had elerated the production of using Total Control. Then he surrounded her with Wind des Tornado once again to create mental pressure. Finally, he charged his punching daggers with red lightning as he waited to check on her condition. Altashia had beads of sweat on her forehead after she had cast that logic-defying spell. She was used to getting some breathing room after such a spell made its presence. She thought this time would be no different. But Eren''s approach right after her spell was over had caught her off guard. The mini fireballs were squatted by the wind-element hands she had created in haste. She also sent flying shes at the iing wind des to deflect and clear the airspace around her. After getting rid of the fireballs, semi-transparent hands also surrounded her body. And yet, some of the fireballs and wind des managed to prate the defense she had set up in haste. "Aaaaah!" Altashia couldn''t help but cry in pain as she was hit by some of the butcher''s attacks. Her petite skin on her arms was first burned off before getting shed because of Eren''s attacks. She had used her hands as thest line of defense to protect her vital organs from being targeted. For the first time in a while, Altashia was angry. Not on Eren. But on herself. Her grandpa Altair had warned her she was prone to serious attacks after she used the ss-enhanced attacks she used to perform by tweaking her mana circuits her way. That is if the ranker could figure out the basics behind her attacks. ''It feels like Gramps Altair would beughing right now if he was here. Laughing at me for my ipetence. I I hate him.'' Altashia red her nose in anger when she remembered Altair''s warning that finally became true. She stopped the flow of her blood by strengthening her mana defense and looked up at the red mass of lightning that was approaching her rapidly. ''This this is why I love him.'' Altashia smiled as she held onto her weapon and looked at Eren in the eyes. Thetter was also looking at her keenly with stoic expressions. It was apparent that he was serious about defeating her. By putting his life in danger, he had created an opportunity to strike her and defeat her. She could rte to the resolve Eren had disyed for her. They both were almost burnt out by this point. Altashia was even more so than Eren because of her being on the offensive for quite a longer time than him. They had left their spectators gasping in shock and inferiorityplex. In demonstrating their high level of might and exceptional ability, they had demonstrated that the genius rankers were not necessarily followingmon sense. And yet, the fight was not over until it was over. Altashia still had thest embers of mana left in her to cast one more spell. She let go of her Demon Beast Transformation spell and allowed her ck wings to disperse in the air. She too started losing altitude while looking at the iing Eren. Altashia hesitated for a bit before strengthening her resolve. She was sure Eren wouldn''t want to win the fight at the cost of her holding back. She would feel guilty too if she ever did something like this. Most of all, she didn''t want topromise on her warrior mentality. ''Eren, my love, I hope you ovee this spell!'' Altashia closed her eyes and mumbled to herself before using her final trump card. "Demon Spell: Burning Abode!" === AN: Altashia uses Burning Abode in chapter 426. This is the same spell that she used as a deterrent against the Orc Lord Baran. Chapter 590 Elemental Fusion: Wind-Fire Wings P1 Chapter 590 Elemental Fusion: Wind-Fire Wings P1 "Demon Spell: Burning Abode!" Altashia''s mes that had spread all over the battlefield due to her flying shes started converging in the airspace of the battle ring. They quickly closed in on Eren as he was getting closer to Altashia. Altashia had dispersed her ck wings because she couldn''t have maintained them for a long time anyway. The second reason was that she wanted to cast this spell. She wanted to create a space between him and the approaching Eren while he came close to the ground. This was so that she could control her stray mes in the vicinity. Her Demon spell was fueled by the existence of her stray mes in the vicinity after all. The mes changed their shade to a golden hue as they converged around the falling Eren. Their temperature also seemed to have shot up due to the demon spell''s amplifying effects. Typically, a demon spell would require the demon beast tamer and their demon beast both to work in unison to cast it. But there were a few ways around it. By using Demon Beast Transformation, the ranker had all the power. "Mother" Eren was consumed by the sea of golden mes before he could curse to his heart''s content. That sea of fire quickly took the shape of a small cabin before starting to lose altitude at the same pace as Eren had been. Altashia controlled her descent with her wind-element mana. She then easily found her footing on the other end of her weapon''s snath. Then she used her feet to jump while using the snath as a tform and side-stepped. She also stored her weapon in her storage before using her movement spell to create a distance from the about-to-be-impacted ground. A series of actions took ce seamlessly and werepleted before a moment had passed. Boom! The ground shook a bit as the Burning Abode crashed onto the ground while still retaining its shape. A series of crackling sounds were heard as the mes spread in the nearby area once more. Altashia watched with concerned eyes as the destruction of the battle ring caused by her started unfolding in front of her eyes. It felt like she had won even though she did not even have a shred of mana to fight the battle anymore. But she did not find joy in that part. She was worried about Eren''s safety and criticized herself for overdoing on her part. **** A few moments before Eren was engulfed by Burning Abode. The butcher felt a unique yet familiar mana pulse when he approached Altashia. He searched his memories and quickly narrowed the possibility down to the execution of one spell he had seen Altashia cast once. Eren couldn''t believe that Altashia could also cast Demon spells when she was in the Demon Beast Transformation. This level of proficiency in spells she had disyed was far beyond Eren''s expertise. Despite his previous timeline experience, he was unable to ovee it. Eren began cursing out loud and then in his head as he was being consumed by golden mes. Due to the enclosed burning environment in which he found himself, he thought his skin would liquidate and burn away. So he cast his defensive spell and shrank his body into a ball-like form by hugging his knees. Blitz Shield Fire Wings Wind des Tornado ying defensive for a while allowed Eren to cast such spells even when he was running low on mana. First, he cast his defensive spell. Second, he executed Fire Wings and wrapped them around him as he hugged his knees. Third, he deployed Wind des Tornado to surround him. "This fucking Fuck... Fuck... Fuck!" Eren cursed some more as he felt like his skin would get burnt to a crisp before crumbling down in front of him. This was when he was surrounded by threeyers of defense. Although the attacks in the outer perimeter weren''t defensive, they had done their part in filtering the damage that would have otherwise fallen on the butcher had he only relied on his defensive spell. ''Eren, don''t y defensive for long. Altashia is not keeping this spell active. Additionally, shecks the mana to forcefully dispel it. You''ll be toast soon if the healer on standby doesn''te to save you.'' Alephee reminded Eren to act despite his first instinct to y defensive inside the Burning Abode. He came to know that there was a healer outside waiting on them in case things go south. The healer''s intervention would mean he had lost the duel he had fought so long to win. ''Damn it.'' The butcher''s eyes shined with cruel light as his expressions turned bitter. He gritted his teeth and decided to fight back against the odds stacked against him. Eren had another episode of soul sense awakening at that time. But he gritted his teeth and subconsciously prevented himself from getting immersed in that feeling. Losing sense of being this time meant he would be severely injured even if the healer does decide to intervene. ''This house of mes isn''t enough to stop me. I''ll rise above every me that tries to burn me.'' Eren''s closed eyes widened, reflecting the sea of fire that he was surrounded by. His eagle-like pupils were shining with a light of their own as he looked upwards. Kiyeeeh! A few moments ago, Argo had responded to Eren''s strong emotions of triumph over adversity. He pped his wings from inside the beast space created by the transcendent-grade spell and sent an eagle cry into his master''s mind. Eren''s skin started exuding smoke and his defense manayer started chipping away due to Bruning Abode''s DoT. He gritted his teeth and released his two spells that were acting as the first and second line of defense. He concentrated only on maintaining his purple lightning cloak. That''s because he was preparing to cast a unique fusion of spells that he hadn''t cast before. ''That''s right, bud. Our freedom nobody should be allowed to take that away from us.'' At this precise moment, Eren had an epiphany to perform elemental fusion due to his budding soul sense and the stress he was under. That too, using a demon spell he had just gotten ess to. "Elemental Fusion: Wind-Fire Wings!" === AN: Elemental fusion was first exined in chapters 286 and 287. Wind Wings was first introduced in chapter 4Chapter 57. Lastly, Fire Wings was first mentioned in chapter 477. Chapter 591 Elemental Fusion: Wind-Fire Wings P2 Chapter 591 Elemental Fusion: Wind-Fire Wings P2 "Elemental Fusion: Wind-Fire Wings!" Eren mumbled to himself as he cast a spell that was unique to him. First, Fire Wings were created behind his back. At first, these wings seemed a lot like what the original Tuan used to use. But in the next moment, the wings spread some more and increased in size on their own. The Fire Wings were then coated by wind-element mana and they started to fuse with fire-element mana. Swish! At that time, there was a strong gust of hot haze. And despite being of the same nature, this haze fought with the burning temperature created by Burning Abode. The unbearable temperature that was going to burn Eren''s skin stopped affecting him when he pped his wings and created a gust of wind. This gust had embers of fire mixed in it. Fire embers were flying around Eren, creating their own space around him. A safe ce in which Eren found relief. A hive of fireflies buzzed around Eren, carried around him by a gust of wind in a set pattern. It was as if someone had just kicked the biggest campfire they could find and the sparks of fire and unburnt coal were dancing rhythmically in the air. Fire embers flying around Eren had properties of both wind and fire elements. And yet, they were not limited by their parent elements. The butcher could feel that a wide realm of possibilities had opened in front of him when he had achieved elemental fusion. He also felt that his attainment in the fire and wind element had been strengthened because of this feat. He could also recognize that the embers of wind fire were only in their elementary stage at this point. They were limited by his attainment in the wind element which wasckluster at this point. Eren wouldn''t have achieved elemental fusion in his current rank if it wasn''t for all the experiences he had gained so far. His connection with Argo also yed a big role. Argo''s inherent spell Wind Wings was gained by Eren as a demon spell when he strengthened his bond with him. Altashia had achieved her demon spell by practicing with her demon beast from a very young age. The butcher, on the other hand, had gained such a spell from Argo due to the bond that he had shared with him even before thetter''s birth. Eren also felt that the elemental fusion that he had seen in the Purgatory had also left its mark on his psyche. So when he had his epiphany, all those experiences werebined to allow him a fusion of elements. He also found it strange that he had achieved elemental fusion in the elements he had the least amount of experience with. Compared to his lightning element attainments that he had gained from his previous timeline, his attainment in fire and wind elements only really progressed when he was in this timeline. Altashia had dual-element wind and fire affinity as well. Having to face her in a serious duel that threatened each other''s life certainly took Eren''s proficiency in the same elements to the next level. And vice versa. "My knowledge of the wind element has been strengthened due to my connection with Argo. But my fire element has shot up because of my Sins Series ability. I have absorbed the attainments of others and made them my own. These attainments are varied in their aspects even if they belong to the same element. Maybe gaining attainments in various aspects is the key behind progressing at a rapid pace in the way of the elements." The butcher mumbled to himself quickly as he looked around him. Unbeknownst to him, his Wind-Fire Wings were pping on their own. It''s as if they had their own subconscious. That action of his wings was keeping him safe from harm amid the sea of golden mes. Eren couldn''t help but smile when he experienced this phenomenon. A phenomenon that was created by him. He also felt that he should practice his Rootless ranking technique in this environment to stabilize his gains, which could bring him even greater rewards. s, he did not have much time. ''Eren, I have reached my limit maintaining Sedated Perception for you. I won''t be able to assist you anymore. These These repeated instances of me using my powers have drained me a bit. I must take a short nap. We''ll talk some more when I wake up. Take care till'' In Eren''s head, Alephee spoke in a voice that faded until he was no longer able to hear her. In the next moment, his enhanced perception was canceled and he was pulled out of his near-stagnant world. Only now did the butcher realize that Alephee had kept the Stacked Sedated Perception running when she sensed that he was experiencing an epiphany rted to elemental fusion. She had done this so he could reap the maximum benefit out of it while not getting bothered by the healer''s intervention. This had also helped Eren stay in the game. That''s because Altashia wouldn''t have waited this long for Eren toe out of the Burning Abode if he was not processing time in his near-stagnant world. Somehow, Eren''s mana storage which was running on fumes was also restored to its full capacity when he was having the epiphany. As a result, the butcher was now free to use anybo of spells he wanted without having to be frugal about any of them. ''Yeah. Rest well, Alephee. I appreciate the intervention you gave me earlier. I feel that the talk has also aided me in gaining ess to elemental fusion. I thank you for that. And don''t worry. I''ll manage somehow. For now at least.'' Eren addressed Alephee, unsure if she could hear him or not. He could feel that she had been trying to get more involved ever since he got out of Purgatory. His breakthrough into the Ace rank had given her the ability to do so. But she was also invested in him on a deeper level. That''s how she could prioritize his well-being despite knowing that the overuse of her powers in such a short time would put her into forced slumber. ''It''s about time I scheduled my date with Al!'' Eren chuckled before spreading his wings to take a flight. He was about to destroy the cage that was trying to hold him down. Chapter 592 Accepting Defeat Chapter 592 epting Defeat Moments after Eren got locked inside Burning Abode and crashed to the ground. "Whya| Why isn''t heing out?" Altashia mumbled to herself before spreading her mana sense in the vicinity. She almost had no mana to intervene in the attack she had cast herself. "Erena| Eren!" Altashia yelled and her heart began to beat faster as she felt that Eren was hurting inside her spell. She started regretting casting Burning Abode on the butcher and felt that she needed to do something. So she started running in Eren''s direction without worrying about the injuries that she had suffered due to the duel. The sh wounds that were on her body were threatening to open once again after her mana defenseyer ran on fumes. By doing so, it simply prevented the wounds from opening, and it lost all its defensive capabilities. As Altashia started running in Eren''s direction, her wounds opened up. The bare-minimumyer of defense she had waspromised at the moment and her body was most vulnerable at this time. Yet, Altashia didn''t stop running. There were drops of tears running down her cheeks as she found herself unable to speak anymore. *** "Ia| I think you should go. Get Eren out of that damn thing." Arjun mumbled to himself as he watched the climax of battle unfold in front of his eyes. Then he realized that he hadn''t said anything to the healer. So he looked at him frantically before yelling. "Sir, I''m sorry, Sir Adept healer. But what the fuck are you waiting for? Please save our team members." Arjun''s violent voice jolted everyone out of their daze. They were so mesmerized and stunned by Eren and Altashia''s battle that they had forgotten to check on either of their conditions. Only now did they realize that Eren could be in mortal danger. For the first time, Arjun was angry at his captain for executing Burning Abode on Eren. He had witnessed her fight with the Goblin Lord as well. That demon spell almost took care of a Goblin Lord. It had scared the D-Rank monster so much that he didn''te to im his camp even when Altashia''s squad was there for the whole night. And yet, Altashia had chosen to cast that spell on Eren, who was only in the Ace rank. If Arjun didn''t know his captain so well, he would have called it an attempt to murder. Arjun saw Altashia running in Eren''s direction with tears running down her cheeks and sighed. Using his power alone, he wouldn''t be able to dispel Burning Abode any time soon. So he decided to let the healer handle that part while he held onto his guilt-stricken captain. He stood over the ledge of the audience booth''s railing and was about to jump into the arena. *** The Adept rank healer had also been stunned by Eren''s duel with Altashia. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that he would get to witness such a high-level duel between two Ace rankers. When Arjun yelled at him, the healer felt a bit angry at him for his rude behavior. But then he was a bit ashamed because he forgot his duties. So instead of scolding his juniors, he decided to prioritize the work that he was supposed to do. But just when the healer was about to jump out from the second floor''s audience booth and get directly into the arena, he felt a unique mana pulse from the Burning Abode. The rest of the rankers felt that pulse too. All of them focused their eyes and mana senses on the Burning Abode. As if they all hade to realize that something was afoot. As if they were going to witness something special. Rumble! The Burning Abode was sted away in an instant. Thepressed form of fire-element mana spread in every direction. The mes werergely dispersed in the thin air. However, some mes managed to survive the st and were burning brighter than ever in the vicinity. Some of the fire-element mana was headed for Altashia. Due to her physical and mental condition, she was vulnerable to being injured because of her physical and mental condition. But suddenly Altashia realized that the view in front of her was changing rapidly. She had focused so much on Burning Abode and the person locked inside it that she forgot to register what had happened to it. Altashia was lifted off in the air as the vision in front of her suddenly blocked. Because of her distraught state, she didn''t understand what had happened and looked sideways before looking upwards. The warrior-ranker saw a familiar face smiling at her as she was being held in a princess carry midair. As a result, she couldn''t help but smile and cry at the same time. "Youa| youa| Erena| are you alright? Ia|" Eren smiled mildly as he saw Altashia''s condition. He responded while spreading his newborn wings. "You thought I was dead? Tch tch tch! I thought you knew me better than that." The butcher teased Altashia before readjusting her in the air once again. He wasn''t used to his flight maneuverability yet. As a result, he was struggling to keep himself and his plus-one in the air as he controlled his elemental fusion wings. Only now did Altashia observe Eren''s wings that gave off a peculiar mana signature. She observed that the wings he had were so different from her. Altashia''s feathers were bird-like andpletely ck. But Eren''s wings were an ethereal fire that had taken the shape of draconic wings. Plus, he didn''t have to maintain the motion of pping wings. Because half of his work would be done by tweaking the pressure he had on the surrounding air. Altashia''s mind calmed down after she saw Eren was safe. Her chaotic mana circuits caused by her heightened emotions found some respite. As a result, her natural mana defense was restored, if only barely. And her wounds stopped bleeding. She took a deep breath before replying with stoic expressions that said that she was trying to tame her emotions. "I''m just d that you are alive. I ept my defeat." Altashia said and wrapped her arms around Eren''s neck as thetter held her by her hips. They were both standing in front of each other in the air. Altashia had epted her defeat. But she did not stop it just there. She brought Eren''s face close before nting a kiss on his lips. Thetter epted her advance with open wings and closed arms as he guided both of them down to the ground. Altashia could feel Eren''s elemental fusion because of the embers of the fire still surrounding him. When she came so close to him and felt the mana signature exuded by his wings, she was beginning to have ideas of her own. A kiss seemed toplete the puzzle that had been left iplete for a long time. Just when Erennded on the ground with Altashia, they were surrounded by the clouds of Adept rank mana that visibly manifested around them. The butcher understood what was happening as soon as it started happening. Altashia was breaking into the Adept rank! Chapter 593 Altashia’s Breakthrough Chapter 593 Altashias Breakthrough Altashia was breaking into the Adept rank! She had been stuck at the solid stage of the Ace rank for a long time. But no matter what she did, she couldn''t achieve a breakthrough into Adept rank. That was until now. Eren realized what was happening so he helped her sit with her legs folded before stepping away. He watched from a distance as Altashia started using her ranking technique. The Adept-rank mana that was condensed into a form of small clouds gathered around her as two semi-transparent rings of fire and wind element mana started spinning around her in opposite directions. This was Altashia''s ranking technique that had allowed her to harness her dual elements. Altashia started digesting all her gains from the battle along with the experiences that she deemed relevant. Eren''s disy of elemental fusion had also inspired her. That along with his performance had created a deep impact on her psyche. But there was one more person who had yed an instrumental role in her life. Her Gramps Altair. She had watched him fight up close. So his influence was also significant in her breakthrough. Zooom! A st of wind and fire element mana was detonated in the next moment with Altashia at its center. Since the mana involved in the incident was of Adept rank, Eren didn''t waste time in retreating further back while keeping his eyes focused on Altashia. When the st of fire and wind mana subsided, Eren saw Altashia standing up with her eyes still carrying faint traces of mana. It made her eyes shine amid the cloud of dust that was around her. Adept rank! Altashia had sessfully broken into Adept rank. That too by achieving elemental fusion. But the effects of her elemental fusion were different from Eren even though the same parent had been involved. Whoosh! A tornado of wind was created around Altashia in the next moment before it caught fire. Altashia spread her hand and let the tornado expand outwards as she enjoyed ying with her elements. At the time, her limbs were also soaked in wind and fire elemental mana. But there were no mes. Instead, her arms and legs appeared semi-transparent and were emitting light orange and yellow hues. As if her limbs were a spectral source of light. The fire and wind-driven tornado expanded outwards and suddenly vanished into thin air. But a tornado of the same kind appeared soon after, even further away from Altashia with arger circumference. But the eye of the tornado remained the same, which was Altashia. Eren took a while to understand what had happened. Her fire-element mana had disappeared into wind-element mana before reappearing once again. This was as if her attacks passed through an invisible hurdle seamlessly, bypassing any roadblock in their path. "Thisa| this is Crimson Ghost''s power. Captain''s Elemental Fusion is a lot like her grandfather Altair''s ability." Arjun appeared beside Eren and spoke out. He too was watching Altashia''s breakthrough with keen eyes as he said it. The butcher had only heard about Altair Argas in his previous timeline. He wasn''t aware of what kind of ranker he was. But something told him what Arjun was saying was based on reality. Altashia let go of her control over the mana and the mana which was doing her bidding was scattered. Once her limbs returned to normal, she searched for Eren with eager eyes. "Want to battle it out again, Eren?" Altashia smirked at Eren before challenging him to a duel again. Thetter could only smile mirthlessly at her jab before shrugging his shoulders. "Even if you beat me now, it still won''t count, Al. You have to honor our deal because I beat you fair and square." Altashia chuckled before answering honestly. "Why would you think I''d renege from that? In fact, I''m looking forward to it. Remember what you had told me just before my fight with Rodrick?" The butcher furrowed his eyebrows and scratched his forehead for a bit. He seemed to have been in deep thought before responding. "What did I tell you? I don''t remember. Al." Altashia folded her hands and looked at Eren with a pout on her face before adding up. "Don''t take me for a fool, Eren Idril. I know that you remember very well what you said that day. I''ll sell one of your balls on the ck market if you decide to y dumb anymore. Don''t forget, I''m an Adept ranker now. Hmph!" Altashia replied haughtily, leaving Eren nk-faced and gulping empty air again. The butcher was d that he had beat her. And he was d that he had achieved elemental fusion. But Altashia had achieved her breakthrough into the D-Rank while he seemed to be stuck in the Ace rank for a while. This had again tipped the bnce of power in Altashia''s favor in their rtionship. The butcher raised his eyebrows and asked suspiciously. "Only one? What would you do with the other?" Altashia pursed her lips before answering bluntly. "Well, one might have some use for it in the very distant future. Cough! But that''s not the point. My point is you stick to your words." Eren was speechless at Altashia''s response. He decided that he''d nut carefully in every woman he sleeps with now. He straightened his clothes and adjusted his hair, which had gotten a bit messy during the flight before adding on. "Haah! Someday I''d wash that smugness off your face. Till then, I''d have to oblige and bide my time. Sigh!" The butcher sighed heavily and agreed to Altashia''s proposal. He had promised her that he''d pay all by himself for their date if she wins the match against Rodrick. At that time, he had thought that beating Altashia was a distant dream. So he had said that in a joking manner. Never would he have thought that Altashia would hold him to his end of the deal. "Hehe. Good. I have many things nned. Nowe with me. We''ll have to discuss a few things." Altashia grabbed Eren''s arm in a bossy manner and made him walk beside her. She didn''t even pay attention to Arjun as the duo walked away from him. The ranger chuckled when he saw his captain behave like that. Arjun had gone to congratte Altashia. But she ignored himpletely. Arjun knew that it wasn''t intentional on Altashia''s part. She was just too excited to finally be an Adept ranker. That and the fact that she was going to be on a date with Eren had upied her mind, leaving no room for any other person or thing. Arjun was d that at least someone was able to crack the shell of her aloof persona and get to her. He reserved his best wishes for now and decided to return to the audience booth where the rest of his teammates were discussing the battle so fervently. Chapter 594 No Good Deed Goes Unpunished P1* Chapter 594 No Good Deed Goes Unpunished P1* The city of New Beginnings. Inside a premium suite of an inn. A couple could be seen lying naked and engaged in a duel of passion. "Miss manager, you are so aggressive today!" Eren chuckled as hey on the bed with Agatha on top of him, kissing him frantically over his neckline. Thetter looked at her and narrowed her eyes when she heard that. "Not that I''mining. Bring out the animal that''s inside you." The butcher smiled mischievously and hugged Agatha, bringing her face closer to his. This was the couple''s third round. And yet, Agatha wanted more. She had already used her stamina and essence replenishing spell on Eren. It had allowed her to stay in the game for hours on end. "It''s all your fault. Do you know how much work you had relegated to me? Do you have any ideas? No, you don''t. And even if you do, you won''t care as long as it''s getting taken care of. Now it''s your responsibility to help me rx. Hmph!" Agatha kissed her master passionately after she said that. She opened his mouth with her right hand pulling down his chin. Then she inserted her tongue into his mouth while rubbing her pussy over his now-erect cock. "Aaaaaah!" Agatha moaned as she felt her pussy getting excited again. The butcher was just lying down like a dead brick, allowing her to do whatever she wanted with him at the time. She didn''t need his help anymore. Just his erect rod was enough for her use. Agatha kissed Eren and reached out her hand from behind her. She raised her pelvis in the air and adjusted the tip of Eren''s rod near her wet entrance before taking it all in at one go. "Aaaah! Don''t don''t just lie there like like a dead fish. Since when . Aaah . Did the so-called conventional roles get reversed?" Agathapleted her sentence with difficulty as she bounced on Eren''s rod on her own. Even she was surprised by her sexual drive tonight. She didn''t know she would enjoy being with her master this much after seeing him for thest time. Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Agatha. So he decided he''d take things into his own hands. In his mind, he thought he was only trying to help Agatha by allowing her to take control of her desires. But that was seen as beingzy apparently. ''No good deed ever goes unpunished.'' Eren muttered to himself and sighed dramatically. In the next moment, he pulled Agatha on him and adjusted his legs. He then rolled to his side with Agatha and made her lie on her back. He smirked before responding. "Miss manager, remember. You had asked for it. Hehe!" Eren grabbed and parted Agatha''s buns from behind with both his hands and shoved his dick deep inside Agatha''s wet hole. Then he started fucking her frantically and watched as her torso moved rhythmically in response to his thrusts. Her boobs were also shaking because of those thrusts, making them look more grabbable in Eren''s eyes. And grab them he did. "Aaaaah... that''s it. Eren fuck me deeper baby!" Agatha ruffled her hair with her own hands and grabbed her forehead in ecstasy. Her cheeks had gotten red and her eyes were staring at the void. Her breathing was heavy and long and her pussy was dripping wet with an ample amount of love juices. Eren had to admit that he couldn''t take all the credit for turning Agatha on to this extent. Therger part of it came from her own sexual drive. But that didn''t mean the guild master won''t take things up a notch even further. The butcher adjusted his dick and increased its girth in real-time, causing Agatha''s pussy walls to feel pressured once again. He adjusted the size just so that it would fit Agatha''s holepletely yetfortably. He then made Agatha lie at the edge of the bed and readjusted himself. Then he lifted her legs in the air and made them stay closed. He then applied pressure on her legs from either side with his arms which were wrapped around them. The stretched pussy walls felt more pressure because of Eren''s move and all of Agatha''s pleasure points were stimted at once. Eren could feel the pressure Agatha''s pussy was exerting on his rod as well as the rise of temperature inside. Eren then cast Hatchlings of the me Spell and sent a mini snake to stimte his woman''s clit. The pink button was already swollen from overstimtion. So when the snake''s tongue touched Agatha on her extra sensitive part, she couldn''t control it anymore. Her whole body jerked and shivered as a huge wave of ultimate bliss washed over her. "Aaaaaaaaah!" Agatha had orgasmed once again after a few minutes-- an ample amount of obscene orgasmic was squirted out of her pink petal box. Even aftering so much, Agatha still had the energy to spare. She pulled Eren into her embrace and kissed him as if her life depended on it. In the next moment, she pinned him down and looked into his eyes as she breathed heavily. Eren could see that the lust in her eyes was yet to be washed over. The butcher felt like pping and giving her a standing ovation for her performance. He couldn''t do that with his hands pinned like that by his manager. So he did the next best thing. He raised his hip and rubbed his cock against her butt crack. Then he gestured to Agatha to do the honors. "Eren I just came. Can you wait a few minutes?" Agatha said and smiled at him. She then cast her stamina-replenishing spell once again, making both of their bodies get immersed in an azure pool of water that was levitating not far from them. She was readying herself for the next round. "Heh! Who is talking about your pussy? There''s always "another" way." Eren chuckled and freed his hands from her. He watched his manager''s expression change into one of concern as she replenished her essence and stamina with her spell. Eren grabbed her buns and adjusted his dick so that the cap of his rod touched her rear canal entrance. The puckered butthole shut its door even harder when it detected an intruder trying to barge inside. Eren looked into Agatha''s eyes and smiled. Part of her was excited and part of her was against the idea. So he used his glib tongue and caring actions to calm her down. "Don''t worry. Your pussy had done an awesome job coating my rod in its lubricant. You''d be fine. Now, look me in the eye as I conquer your ass mine." Eren drove his dick into Agatha''s anal opening right after he said that, catching his manager by surprise. Agatha was so tense by the act at first that he could only insert an inch before he couldn''t drive any further. "You you are just... aaaah mean to the extreme, Eren Idril. This ooof is not what I meant when I said you ssssssstop acting like a dead fishhhhh." At this moment, Agatha shared Eren''s thoughts that he had not too long ago. That no good deed goes unpunished. Somehow it finds its way to fuck you in the ass when you are least expecting it. Chapter ?595 No Good Deed Goes Unpunished P2* Chapter ?595 No Good Deed Goes Unpunished P2* "You you are just... aaaah mean to the extreme, Eren Idril. This owieee is not what I meant when I said you ssssssstop acting like a dead fishhhhh. Ooooooh!" Agatha said and clenched her fists as she felt Eren''s hot rod slowly but surely drilling into her rear entrance. She pursed her lips but still couldn''t help but let a few moans escape from her mouth. Eren just smiled but didn''t reply with words. He let Agatha process his actions at her own pace. His patience paid off. "Oooooh!" Agatha leanedpletely on Eren''s torso and adjusted her pelvis. She then stretched her legs more and made her anal opening more essible. "Ssssslow go slow!" Agatha whispered as she dispersed her spell. She had already been charged up once again by Eren''s stamina. Nevertheless, the pain of getting her ass fucked could not be relived by replenishing her stamina. Eren chuckled in amusement and chose to oblige. He wrapped his hands around Agatha and slowly started to thrust his cock inside the tight entrance. It felt pleasant to feel the anal walls squeeze his dick with even more pressure. The temperature inside was even more pleasurable for his little guy than Agatha''sdy hole. Agatha didn''t take long to adjust to Eren''s thrusts. She slowly sat straight with her legs spread apart on Eren and started to enjoy riding her master''s dick with her anal opening. "This aaaahhh... I could get used to this. I I could get aaaaaaadicted to thisness." Altashia mumbled to herself as she started enjoying the surprise anal session. It wasn''t long before her anal walls gotpletely adjusted to the butcher''s rod, allowing her to adjust her bouncing acts with liberty. "Comee with me!" Agatha ced her open palms over Eren''s chest andmanded him to bounce aggressively on Eren''s dick. Thetter smiled and nodded before holding her ever-restless hips with both his hands from either side. He made his leg muscles take charge and started thrusting deep into Agatha''s tight cavity, meeting her downwards thrusts with even more power. Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! The sound of flesh meeting flesh became even more prominent as a result. The butcher elerated his thrusts and drove Agatha into the next level of insanity induced by ecstasy. Eren could see that Agatha was going toe again after a few more thrusts. So he matched her timing and nutted deep inside her just as she crashed onto his torso with all her stamina drained out of her body. She was finally satisfied. More than satisfied. She was blissfully happy. It was just that her ass rim felt like it was on fire. She lifted her head and looked into Eren''s eyes, ignoring the difort. "That that was really good, Eren. You''ll never steer away from catching me off guard, will you? Hehe. But I adore you all the same." Agatha smiled and nted a soft kiss on Eren''s cheeks. She then rested her head on Eren''s chest andy there for quite a time. The butcher knew that Agatha was satisfied. And he was content with their extended session too. So he didn''t demand more from her manager and let her rest. Their room was filled with a soothing atmosphere as a cool breeze entered the room at midnight.? Eren remembered he had to give Agatha something. This was the set he had prepared just for her beforeing to the city of New Beginnings. "Hehe! Miss manager, do you remember what I had said to you before either of us left for Nightshade Duchy?" Agatha was just silently enjoying being with Eren and resting when she heard him ask a question. Her expressions were puzzled as she rolled to Eren''s side and propped her head on her folded arm. "Is it about the potion distribution channels and relocating our potioner staff in the nightshade duchy? I''m just waiting for the" Agatha was about to continue to state out her ns when she was interrupted by the butcher. "Not that. I had told you I''d take care of your ranking technique problem. Well here it is." Eren took out a runic book that was manually written along with a scroll and a bunch of vials. He then exined the items to his guild manager. "This is what I havee up with. The book contains a ranking technique that is based on your current one in the Novice rank. But it is not anthrope-specific. Not really anyway. And yet. You''d still be able to practice it just fine. Hehe! What''s more? It covers everything till you can break through into Expert rank. You''d have no bottlenecks at least when ites to the ranking technique till then." Eren shed an "I am awesome" smile at Agatha while tapping on the book with his open palm. Thetter was surprised that the book contained everything that she needed till she reached the D-Rank. What surprised her, even more, was the fact that the technique was not therianthrope-specific. That meant she would have more freedom to choose conventional spells that are rted to her element. Plus, her progress would be as fast as a normal ranker without any additional difficulties. Agatha snatched the book from under Eren''s palm and started reading it as quickly as she could. She muttered a few incoherent words before saying her mumbling out loud. "How how did you find such a thing?" Eren understood Agatha''s question even when she had not yet constructed it. She was asking him how he managed to find a technique meant for her while not making it anthrope-specific. So he chuckled before replying. "It''s all because of this potion. You''d just have to drink it to make your body adapt to the technique before practicing it every time. The scroll contains the recipe for the potion. And these vials contain the potion itself. So you''d be practicing a normal-like technique that would allow you to cast almost all the water-element spells we can think of. All while remaining an anthrope and taking advantage of all the perks it has to offer." Agatha put the book away and picked up the scroll to check out its contents. By now she had picked up a few nuances of the potion recipes by seeing so many of them. She didn''t understand everything. But she could see that the potion was simple to make even if it was her who tried making it. All the shortcuts and alternatives to the original recipe had also been penned down. Eren smirked as he saw Agatha''s expressions. He pulled her cheeks before adding up. "Hah! With this in your possession, you can''t ck anymore, Miss manager. Try to keep up with me, would you?" Chapter 596 Quasi Half-Blood Technique Chapter 596 Quasi Half-Blood Technique "Thank you, Eren. I... I don''t know what else to say." Agatha hugged Eren while the potion vials and scroll were still between them. Those items were getting in the way. So she released her grip and stored all those items in her storage before hugging her guild master once again. For quite some time now, Agatha had been stuck in the solid stage of the Novice rank. She wanted to remind Eren of his promise. She noticed, however, that he was extremely busy with his ns. So she had decided to hold until the guild started running its basic operation. Eren fulfilling his promise to her without her reminding him of the same came as a shock to her. She couldn''t help getting emotional over the fact that she won''t have to worry about getting anthrope-specific techniques anymore. Her path to higher ranks had just been paved by her master. "No need to thank me." While caressing Agatha''s back, Eren spoke. Then he thought of something and chuckled before pping her exposed buns with both his hands. "Or to be precise, no need to thank me anymore. You already paid the price with your mushy buns." Agatha hugged Eren some more as she heard it. The butcher was again going to have another erection at the time. But he controlled his urges and tapped at Agatha''s back before saying. "Miss manager, why don''t you try practicing the technique now after drinking the potion. I want to see its effects." Eren said and looked at Agatha who was a bit surprised by his haste. But she didn''t mind. She wasn''t sleepy and all her stress was relieved due to receiving a thorough pounding from Eren. Plus, she was excited about her technique too. Eren watched in silence while sitting on the edge of the bed as Agatha got ready to practice her ranking technique. Since she was practicing in front of Eren, she didn''t bother wearing clothes and sat on the ground with her legs folded. She started reading the book and understood its nuances quickly. That''s because the technique was based on the one she was already using. She then closed her eyes and re-reviewed the technique in her head while calming her senses and internal organs. Then she retrieved the required potion vial from her storage and uncorked it. Smelling the potion with her nose out of force of habit, Agatha closed her eyes and drank it in one gulp. She could feel that the potion caused a disturbance in her mana circuits. And it was a bit painful for her. But the pain wasn''t something she couldn''t tolerate. So she took a long breath before channeling her mana through her body as per the procedure described in the technique. ''Alephee, are you there?'' Eren asked Alephee while looking at Agatha''s progress carefully. He got an answer to his question soon after. ''Yeah. I''m trying not to fall into another uncontrolled slumber. Let''s just say that I have a nasty headache. What are you up to?'' Alephee asked in a low voice. The butcher could sense that Alephee was not in her previous condition. But he had to ask her and call out to her this time. ''Well, headaches are the most bothersome. So I won''t force you. But could you keep tabs on Agatha with your soul sense and find out if anything is wrong with her technique or the potion she has just drunk?''? Alephee pondered for a bit before replying. ''You don''t trust La?'' Eren chuckled as he heard Alephee''s doubtful expressions. He narrowed her eyes on Agatha as she started channeling her technique. But one could tell that he wasn''tpletely focused on her. Eren had decided to take La''s help ever since he found out Agatha was a half-blood. The young witch had done a lot of half-blood-rted experiments. So her mastery over her spells was unquestioned. La referred to Agatha''s existing technique that the no-aware-yet had given him a copy of. Soon, she found a workaround in the form of a potion. She first adjusted the technique her way and then created a potion to rectify a few problems. ''I''d be a fool to trust La blindsided. And gigantic fool at that. A few friendly interactions with her won''t mean she is my ally. Neither I nor she is naive enough to think like that. No matter how childish she may act. What we have is a business transaction. She helped me. And I help her. But I won''t expect loyalty from her when her loyalty lies with Eliza.'' Eren addressed Alephee while folding his hand. Alephee wanted to take some more rest. But she decided to heed Eren''s call since she too found it reasonable that Eren doesn''t trust Lapletely. Alephee spreads her soul sense just enough so that Agatha gets covered in it and analyzes her progress silently with it. She then pays close attention to her mana circuits and her mana pits. ''Hmm. The technique La hase up with is not bad per se. And everything is working as it should. But there''s something she hasn''t told you about the potion.'' Eren narrowed his eyes when he heard Alephee''s analysis. But he thought he should let herplete her speech before he made any judgment. ''Don''t worry. It isn''t harmful to Agatha. The potion does its job in making her mana circuits adaptable to the ranking technique La hade up with for Agatha. But that''s not all the potion can do. It is also purifying her bloodline and nurturing the mutagen within it. With the potion involved, La has turned it into a quasi-half-blood technique for Agatha.'' Eren''s understanding grew as he understood what La had done. ''That research freak must have been treating Agatha as one of her experiment subjects. She thinks she is still in Purgatory. And that can get away with doing anything.'' Eren snorted and kept his eyes on Agatha as he added to his previous statement. ''Heh! I''ll let her assume just that. I don''t mind Agatha having a half-blood technique''s effects anyway.'' Eren had not asked Agatha about her past because he feared he might derail her from her current mindset by doing that. She had just gotten out of her revenge drive and was focusing solely on their guild. For his benefit as well as hers, he wanted to keep things this way for both of them. Plus, he was not yet ready to get involved with half-blood forces yet. He had so many things to do. Frankly, he was running short on time. So he didn''t want to open another front for himself and get burned in the process. ''You might want to stop pondering over random things. Pay attention to what''s in front of you. Agatha is breaking into the Ace rank.'' Chapter 597 Agatha’s Breakthrough Chapter 597 Agathas Breakthrough ''You might want to stop pondering over random things. Pay attention. Agatha is breaking into the Ace rank.'' Alephee pulled Eren out of his sea of thoughts and made him look ahead. Thetter snapped back to reality and watched as clouds of Ace rank mana surrounded Agatha and disappeared within her soon after. Agatha was surprised that she experienced a breakthrough only after the first cycle of her technique. Nheless, she knew what to do when she was ready to break through and kept her technique running with closed eyes and the utmost attention. Agatha''s breakthrough was seamless and effortless. She didn''t feel any trouble breaking into the Ace rank because she had been ready to step into it for quite some time now. She had also achieved more than enough in terms of her elemental was only a matter of finding the right technique. Et vo. Agatha felt like all the efforts that she had thought were going to go in vain had finally paid their dividend at this point. Under the butcher''s orders, she had been consistently practicing her technique every night no matter how busy she was during the daytime. She had thought that since she wasn''t progressing any further in her rank, her efforts would be put to waste. Fortunately for her, she was wrong. Frankly, Eren wasn''t counting on La toe to Agatha''s aid much. He knew that the witch would be able to help him since she knew a lot about the half-bloods. But he was always on guard against her, suspecting any foul y. For better or worse, the butcher''s paranoid nature was always with him. And this time it was no different. That was not to say that Eren waspletely happy with Agatha having a potion-dependent technique for herself. A technique that waspletelypatible with her was what he wanted. But that woulde after he makes contact with the half-blood forces. The technique Agatha used at the time assured a seamless path for her till she breaks into Adept rank. For now, that was enough. ''Hmm. Let me speed up her ranking journey some more.'' Alephee said and Eren felt like her existence had expanded beyond his mana core that she was upying. In the next moment, a bunch of Ace rank mana clouds was summoned into existence around Agatha again. The half-blood manager had kept the technique running through her mana circuits when that happened. She did not know why her mana core became even more active. The gaseous state Ace rank core had started condensing more mana as it spun at a rapid pace, only stopping when the state of the core turned liquid. "This.... How?" Agatha opened her eyes and asked a puzzling question. She wasn''t surprised about her breakthrough. But she was shocked because she immediately stepped into the liquid stage. Eren knew it was Alephee''s doing. He didn''t know how she did it. But for now, he chuckled and tried to create an exnation out of thin air. "What do you mean, how? It''s the potion''s effects. How''s the technique? I didn''t cut any corners in trying to get the most effective technique for you, you know." Eren rubbed his hands like he was doing a lucrative business transaction while he said that. Agatha chuckled before getting up from her position. She stood proud in front of him with her seductive curves bouncing the light blue moonlight off of the creamy skin. Agatha spread her arms for Eren in an inviting gesture before speaking up in a low and erotic voice.? "Well... I''m all yours." A gust of wind was generated around Agatha as soon as she said that. A bunch of wind des rotated around her at a rapid pace and lifted her in the air. The manager was thrown into Eren''s open arms the next moment as he jumped into bed with her. *** The next morning. At the inn''s lobby where Eren and Agatha had spent the night. "Long time no see. Renar. Viper. How have you been, guys?" Havingst seen his subordinates in the Lionheart duchy, Eren greeted them. Having emerged from Purgatory, he parted ways with Las He had sent them on a bunch of assignments. The first was to make contacts with merchants as they traveled from the Lionheart to Nightshade duchies in an old-fashioned way. It was to create virtual distribution channels for potions and supplies the guild would be pumping into the market all over the kingdom eventually. Eren''s first target wasunching his guild''s products on a mass scale in the Lionheart and Nightshade duchy. That''s because he already had basic contacts in the Lionheart duchy due to Jake''s father. And he had been quite active in the Nightshade duchy for quite a while now. Eren had stayed in contact with the two guys as they visited various ces and made contract-bind deals with a few merchants. He guided them from time to time. He also told them which ces they should contact based on the knowledge he had from his previous life. Renar and Viper had done their job with dedication. They knew that with all the ranking-rted bridges burnt off for them because of their past, Eren was their only salvation. "How have you been, you ask? I... I''m tired. Mentally more so than physically. Never have I thought in my wildest dreams that doing business would be so difficult." Eren chuckled and patted Renar''s shoulder. He didn''t say anything and let him vent. "You know why doing business is difficult? It''s because people can be incredibly stupid. They''d keep on asking the same things over and over again. Or haggle with you for pointless profit margins. This is it. I demand a week off after doing so much work. I''m nning to just get wasted and eat a shit ton of myfort food during this week." Renar said and sighed mncholically. Eren could see that the guy was tired, mentally more so than physically. And Viper was in the same state as well. s, the butcher could not grant them the mini-vacation they wanted. "Sorry, boys. No rest for the wicked. We are about to enter the big pool of sharks now. We can''t afford to ck off. Oh, there she is! Renar. Viper. Meet our Miss manager." Chapter 598 No Rest for the Wicked P1 Chapter 598 No Rest for the Wicked P1 The butcher could not grant Renar and Viper the mini-vacation they wanted. But he knew just the person who could cheer them up and make them work even more. "Sorry, boys. No rest for the wicked. We are about to enter the pool of sharks now. We can''t afford to ck off. Oh, there she is. Renar. Viper. Meet our Miss manager." Renar and Viper turned their gazes to where Eren was looking and saw a beautiful girl approaching them. Agatha had worn her signature adventurer outfitC hit boots, cargo pants, and a simple-looking top hidden under her sleeveless leather jacket. Even though she was the manager, she liked to stick to her roots. Agatha looked confident in her stride. As a ranker, her presence was mild yet subtly dangerous. As if she was a sheathed sword that only looked harmless because it was sheathed. With such responsibilities came a sense of confidence. Agatha hadn''t paid attention to grooming anything about herself physically or mentally. She just kept working on the assignments given to her by the butcher steadfastly, one step at a time. And that work had changed her, making apetent ranker and an exceptional manager out of her. Renar widened his eyes when he saw Agatha''s changed look. She was the same girl he knew way back when they were in the Beast Bloods. A girl who was set on doing anything she was assigned to with utmost dedication. This was so that she could get more ranking resources and achieve the fastest breakthroughs. At that time, Renar was her senior. It was he who led Agatha, Viper, and Br into attacking Eren''s squad at that time. Later on, when they had been caught, he had asked Eren to spare the girl because it was her first job rted to assassinating people. He had told them that Agatha was the most innocent among them all. Eren hade to clean Renar and Viper after he burned off his Ronny identity. This was when he had met them a few days ago in the same city while waiting for Agatha''s arrival. At first, Renar was shocked before wanting to kill Eren on the spot, even though he knew the guy could beat him up just fine. But after receiving several bacshes because of his contract with Eren, he had to drop the idea. The butcher then treated Renar and Viper to a hearty dinner and booze as a form of constion. This was the least he could do for putting Renar through such a horrible torture method. It took a lot of booze and a lot of bullshittry from Eren''s end to make Renare to terms with his current condition. Viper eventually found it funny when he heard what Eren had put Renar through in the past. Eren didn''t have to do much after that. Because Renar''s anger was shifted to Viper instead of him. Eren then also told the duo about Agatha, and that she would being to meet them in the city after she gets done with her work. Renar couldn''t believe that Eren had listened to his request of keeping Agatha out of harm''s way in his own unique way by keeping her with him. Although Renar knew the butcher had a selfish motive, he didn''t overlook the fact that his act had guided the naive girl in the right direction. What surprised Renar, even more, was the fact that Agatha had broken into the Ace rank. This was despite the difficulty he knew she had faced in finding the right technique for herself. The Beast Bloods had asked her to collect a significant amount of contribution points for a therianthrope technique that would barely work for her. This was the reason she had decided to start participating in assassination and ambush missions given to Beast Bloods members. s, she met Eren on her very first mission that was about to give her a significant amount of contribution points. But at this point, she had achieved a breakthrough without the cultist organization''s support. That meant she was equipped with a technique that was suitable for her. Acquiring the Ace rank enhanced Agatha''s beauty and feminine charms. Her presence was more lively and she seemed more rooted in reality than thinking about some distant revenge. Her mana signatures also seemed more attuned to everything around her to Renar. In short, she was doing well. Renar had to admit that Eren had treated her well.? Renar had treated the young rankers given to him to lead as his younger siblings. So he was really happy seeing Agatha''s progress. Agatha was d to see Renar and Viper too. Especially Renar because he had shown care for her. She hugged Renar and Viper with a smile on her face and started talking to them for quite some time while Eren stood there on his own. It was a while before Agatha chuckled and asked her ex-senior. As if she wanted to ask him that question for a long time. "Big bro Renar, this is something I have been meaning to ask you for a long time. Your name always intrigued me. Are you perhaps" What Agatha intended to say wasn''tpletely impossible. A lot of royal members were rumored to have sired royal bastards. Renar chuckled depressingly before shaking his head in denial before speaking up. "You still focus on the tiniest things, Agatha. Haha! No. It''s not what you think. That was just my parents getting fascinated by royal names. This world is filled with a lot of parents who just get inspired by the weirdest of characters. And then keep their child''s name to their liking. Without thinking about what impact the child would have grown up with abnormal names." Renar said andughed. Agatha was also relieved that she wasn''t dealing with any remote royalty. She couldn''t help making a jab at Eren after thinking of something. "Hehehe! And here I was thinking Eren has managed to rope in a royal for a guild that he has just started. No matter how much money we have. We are still as poor as poor can be when ites to running a guild. Which legitimate royal would even pay attention to someone like us? We are basically starting from zero here." Eren chuckled as well when he heard Agatha''s remark. But he also felt that Agatha was excited about the project as well, no matter how much work sheined she had put in. As a result, she now views the guild as her goal. So Eren listened to Agatha''sints about how they had nothing and just smiled. And instead started talking to Renar as they made their way outside the inn. Their next destination was a carriage hiring service. "How are things between Beast Bloods and Illuminati? Last I heard, there was some talk about two cultist organizations at war with each other. Was it them?" Eren asked as he took out the Ster Sativa stick from his storage and lit it up. He listened to Renar''s response while feeling the rxing effects of his smoke. "You bet it was them. Hahaha! We fuc" Renar was about to cuss. But then he decided he shouldn''t say offensive words in front of Agatha. In his mind, he was still treating her like a kid. "Cough! We screwed them pretty badly, haven''t we? They are still at each other''s throats over the loss of their Adept rankers. Their skirmishes aremon in the Lionheart duchy these days. Things are just looking to escte between them at this point." Renar said while getting excited. Chapter 599 No Rest for the Wicked P2 Chapter 599 No Rest for the Wicked P2 When Renar first heard about the butcher''s n about taking down two Adept rankers by himself while he was barely in the Ace rank at the time, suffice to say that he was rather skeptical. Yet the madd pressed ahead and killed two entities from two powerful organizations. All so he could make them fight with each other and forget about his Ronny identity that he had burned long ago. Renar had also realized that he and Viper had indirectly benefited from Eren pulling off such a feat. Since the two organizations were busy with each other, they couldn''t care less about the rankers who were with Ronny that day too. This allowed them to travel through the two duchies without any problem. The butcher smirked when he heard the news about the two cultist organizations. He couldn''t help thinking about Jules and Lady Zee when he thought about the Illuminati. ''I have to meet them.'' Eren narrowed his eyes when he thought about this. He then sent his mana sense into his storage space to check on a unique potion. ''Soon.'' Eren thought to himself and shed a cunning smile. He then let go of his thoughts and retrieved another vial of potion from his storage. "Renar, this is for you." With a puzzled expression on his face, Renar caught what Eren casually tossed his way. It was a green-colored potion that looked like it would have fizzled once he uncorked the vial. "What is..." Renar was going to ask him about the content in the vial. But then something struck him and he felt like a jolt had passed through his body. He asked with a shaky voice to confirm. "Is this the potion to fix my mana core?" Eren nodded at Renar''s question while he smoked his Sativa. This was something he had concocted for Renar himself after referring to the potion book he had received from Purgatory. With the solid Ace rank, Eren found it a bit easier to concoct potions like these. Now he had better control over his Ace rank mana and enough to imbue materials with. They had made the concoction of Ace rank potions rtively easy. The butcher didn''t stop there. "Viper. Renar. Here are your ranking techniques till the Adept rank." Eren provided Renar and Viper with their respective ranking techniques that were also tweaked by La. Unlike Agatha, Renar and Viper weren''t half-bloods but therianthropes. So they didn''t need the potion''s assistance. The technique that they had been given also supported their progression to the Adept rank. Plus, now they didn''t need therianthrope-specific spells. Because their current techniques allowed them to cast normal spells ording to their elements without worrying aboutpatibility issues. As such, both of them didn''t need to worry about any hurdles ced in their ranking journeys anytime soon.? Eren knew he and his newfound guild were only allowed to metaphorically stand at the start line at this point. They needed a strong start from the get-go to even think about surviving in the big boys'' game. That''s why Eren was doing everything in his power to strengthen his teammates however he can. The efforts he had invested in the academy and his methods of training his ssmates also stemmed from this n. All so that he could have the start he wanted. "Eren, what happened between us in the past. Due to that, I still have a scar on my psyche. And maybe I''ll never really get it out of my head. But as a ranker, I understand the reason behind your actions. The help and the opportunities you have offered us are too many to count. I have watched you when you were no more than a brat when I first met you. And now I see you as a young man with overwhelmingly grand ambitions. The difference between the two is huge. Whatever happens in the future, I believe you deserve to rise to the top. Even if I am nobody right now and my words don''t hold much sway, I believe my statement to be true. As such, I will say this with the utmost honesty. That Ipletely ept you as my leader. I don''t know how else to thank you for the things you have done for us." Eren smiled after hearing Renar''s emotional speech. He coughed and responded. "Well, you can always pay me in Extols if you want to repay me." Renar and Viper were stunned when they heard that. This was the first time in their life that they witnessed a leader asking money from his subordinates for something he had done for them. Only Agatha was seenughing as if she expected Eren to say that. "You thrifty-ass broke guild master, we didn''t get paid for all the work we had put in whileing to the Nightshade duchy. Not only do we not get any reward for that but we also have to pay for something you supposedly do for your own gains? Where''s the logic in that? Don''t expect any dime from me, you hear me? I''m goddamn broke." Renar pulled his hair in frustration as he said that. Instead of pacifying his guild member or sympathizing with him, the butcher did the only thing we wanted to do at the time. Roast Renar some more. "Look at that, Agatha. A broke Renar! Also found in the kingdom of Edinburgh! It''s like seeing a virgin hooker." Agatha and Viper couldn''t help butugh at Eren''s pun. Theyughed and cackled at each other while teasing Renar some more. Renar was pissed, to say the least when he heard Eren''sment. It was as if all his childhood traumas hade back to bite him. So he charged at Eren intending to punch in his gut, only to be hit by the consequences of his binding contract. The group''s talk and antics continued as they continued walking through the bustling city. Eren and the rest made their way through a very active crowd of rankers and mortals alike and found themselves in front of a carriage rental service''s outlet. They were traveling outside the city of New Beginnings. It was a four-day ride from their current ce. They were going to visit their guild''snd. Chapter 600 [Bonus chapter] Foundation of White Raven Guild Chapter 600 [Bonus chapter] Foundation of White Raven Guild Early morning. Around 8 AM. The morning rays were starting to get warm. Yetst night''s cold was still making its presence known. An endless expanse of barrennd in all directions. With no sight of any natural or manmade ce of shade in sight. The dry winds blew freely over thend, humming an abstract sound in the ears of those watching the scene. There was only one giant teau in the middle of the near-endless barrenness that seemed to stand out. It stood at a height of 2600 meters above the ground. This almost square-shaped teau was around three kilometers in length. It featured a giant t-mountain top that also had nothing growing on it. They hade to this desertnd for a reason only they knew. These winds, theck of presence of any living being, as well as the natural elements of thendscape told the story of thend better than the visual nothingness. The visitors, who appeared to be passing travelers, headed toward the teau. Just a bunch of rankers seemingly moving from nowhere to nowhere. But was this the story of an infertilend staying infertile for the rest of its foreseeable existence? Or could the current view be part of the "before" and "after"parisons that would get drawn and discussed at length in the future? Only time could tell. *** "Don''t tell me this god-forsaken, destend is our guild''s asset." Renar said with a voice coated in disbelief. He, Eren, Viper, and Agatha had reached the guildnd from their carriage a few moments ago. Renar was taken aback by the contrast he saw between reality and the supposed fairytalend Eren had painted for him. ''This entire continent is godforsaken. It is called thend of the faithless for a reason.'' Alphee heard Renar''s statement andmented in Eren''s head. Thetter narrowed his eyes when he heard that. But he didn''t say anything. He then focused on observing Renar''s exaggerated despair with fun. He hade to realize that the anthrope was used to wearing his heart on sleeves. Unbeknownst to the fact that he was turning into the group''s entertainment, Renar was busy seeing a grim future ahead. So he couldn''t help cursing some more. "Damn it. We are going to stay broke for a long long time if this is our guildnd. Look at it. Who wille here to interact with us? How can we open trade here? Which merchant union will start markets here? Even if we get an automated mission assigning system from the kingdom, how are we able to get regr clients? Those clients were supposed to be the ones where we have the biggest chance ofmitting tax fraud, damn it. Broke. I only see broke days for all of us." Renar cursed after seeing a barren, rockynd without a single tree to serve as an excuse for the local popce. There was no water source nearby either. Although creating constructions and artificial sources of water wasn''t too difficult for rankers, they would have to bear the cost of running a setup like this. With their already tight financial budget, Renar wasn''t the only one who thought things were going to get a lot worse before they could get any better. Renar just kept on listing all the disadvantages of thend to Eren and the rest. He did not worry about whether his plea would be heard by any of them or not. He also started kicking or smashing with his feet the random pebbles and rocks that were unlucky enough to get in his way. Renar believed that thisnd was one of the worst ces to buy for their guild asset. Contrary to what he might be thinking, the butcher couldn''t agree more with Renar on all of his statements. "Hahaha! Renar, you don''t know how funny you are." The butcherughed heartily for the first time in a long while before adding up. "You are right. We are fucked six ways to Sunday if we only depend on this piece ofnd for anything other than to serve as our base. But we are not nning to do that. Renar, one day you will reminisce about these days of our struggle. It would happen when this ce transforms into something huge. When that dayes, I hope you will climb the biggest building of that time and say out loud "Eren Elijah Idril is my daddy" for every mortal and ranker present to hear." Eren said jokingly to Renar while taking a long drag out of his smoke. The butcher knew this ce was bound to see its rise. He just couldn''t estimate how high and prominent that rise would be. Renar looked at Eren with suspicion written all over his face. "I''ll only believe it if it happens when it happens," he snorted. The butcher shrugged his shoulders before mumbling in a low voice "I just don''t get why people don''t trust me when I say something to them." The butcher followed Renar who just kept on wandering. As if forced to walk without any energy left in his body, the anthrope ranker made his way without picking up his feet. Viper was with his big brother Renar, consoling him by patting on his back. Agatha walked beside him while thinking a lot of things at once. Frankly, she was a bit skeptical too. She had already seen thend. The butcher had sent her here to do recon. Then he had asked to buy nearby properties, which were owned by various rankers of various backgrounds. Agatha had done her part just as the butcher asked. She had targeted the weaker owners first. She offered them reasonable rates. However, if things escted beyond her financial capabilities, she would use Tuan as a deterrence.? Thankfully, Tuan and his powers were enough to deal with the few skirmishes she faced. That was because Agatha only chose to deal with the owners who could be manhandled by Tuan if push came to shove. ''Only put pressure on those who we could afford to put pressure on.'' The butcher had said to her. Agatha handed Eren the mana binding contracts of ex-owners of the nearbynd for him to inspect as they walked side by side. Each of the mana-binding contracts marked the space on the map it had. The contract would light up and sh the owner''s name over the folded contract scroll. The piece ofnd nearby would also react to the contract if it were nearby. The earth array setup in each mapped piece ofnd would project the owner''s name on a big spectral screen. Seeing that he was in the vicinity, Eren imbued the contract scrolls he held in his hand before activating the disy of ownership function. Within seconds, the ground on which he was standing along with distant grounds shed his or Agatha''s name. "This... looks more stunning than what I had imagined it to be." The butcher smiled to himself after he saw the sight of his name being disyed over arge expanse ofnd. Barren and in the shabby state it might be in, this was the ce he could call his own. This was his achievement. Compared to his previous life where he didn''t know if he''d be able to eat a hearty meal or not, this was a huge step-up. The scenes of his past hardships started ying in front of him as he handed those contract scrolls back to Agatha and quietly waited for someone toe. It wasn''t long before another series of rental carriages pulled at a steady pace by strong F-Rank colts was seening in Eren''s and his group''s direction. The butcher was still busy enjoying his smoke and lost in his thoughts when Agatha prompted him. "Eren, Tuan is back with our potioner staff and some earth-element rankers from the construction guild." It took a while for Eren to turn around and look in the direction of the carriage fleet that was heading its way. He smiled when he used Argo''s vision to zoom in on a masked person who was looking at them from the window of a leading carriage. "Took you a while. What were you doing all this time?" Eren greeted Tuan while tucking one of his hands in his pants'' sleeves. Thetter had worn a mask to cover himself. But the fire in his eyes and the surge of fire-element mana around him made Tuan easy to spot even with the mask on. "It''s all your fault, Eren." Before Eren could ask Tuan what he meant by that, his conversation was interrupted by Agatha who seemed to be on schedule today. "Where do you want the construction to take ce? The ce we had decidedst night while fu... Cough... I mean the updated ce or the ce that you had previously thought was a smart idea." Eren scratched his chin when he heard Agatha''s answer. He pondered for a bit before replying. "The ce we came up withst night. Start constructing our guild''s building on the Kukenan teau. Heh! If nothing else, that ce will at least provide us with a better view." "BETTER VIEW OF WHAT? FUCKING DIRT AND STONES?" Renar yelled from a distance. Apparently, he was indeed paying attention to what the butcher was saying even from afar. Eren ignored Renar''s plight and Tuan''s pending conversation. Because he suddenly had more significant things to do. Eren started discussing things with Agatha and the leader of the earth-element Adept ranker who had visited the ce at Eren''s request. The butcher had hired his guild''s services. When the n was finalized, the Adept ranker nodded and led his team to the teau. The day did not stop for anybody. Before Eren could keep track of time, the sun was already going to call it quits. The gray clouds gathering in the backdrop of the orange-lit sky reduced the daylight even more. But thankfully, the construction of the very first building on the barrennd wasplete. It was a basic, three-story building that stretched for about 100 meters in length. It had a bunch ofrge halls for various purposes along with a lot of rooms meant to be used for a range of purposes. This building had no perimeter walls. There was not a single piece of furniture or a runic enhancement inside it. There was nothing in it that could tell the onlookers that the building belonged to a wealthy man who had it all figured out. But this was Eren''s start. And he could swear that, at this moment, it looked many times morevish than even the wealthiest of facilities he had seen in his past. The earth-element rankers had done their job well. Eren had only paid for their basic services. And that''s what he got for his money''s worth. A premade array had also been engraved by the Adept ranker at the grand entrance to the building, serving as its weing tform. As if it were missing something, the array eye was blinking dimly. Eren walked up the array eye with smoke in his one handa his calm eyes looking at everything they could see. His group was behind him led by Agatha. She too had a face with a lot of emotions painted on it. Eren took a long breath and tried to capture the moment in his head. He then retrieved a scroll from his storage and imbued it with his mana before dropping it right over the array eye. The scroll disappeared into the array eye, and a distinct mana pulse was released. In the next moment, a series of spectral lights shot into the air that disyed a name that was not known to many. White Raven Guild! === AN: Kukenan is a real ce. The teau''s real-life dimensions have been retained. ;) VEH punches in 600 chapters with this release. Thanking all the readers for making it here with Eren and me. Cheers! Chapter ?601 Minerva’s Utopia Appears Chapter ?601 Minervas Utopia Appears "You did it, Eren." Agatha''s voice came from behind Eren as he gazed at his barren guildnd from the rooftop of the guild building with nk expressions. Thetter didn''t turn around when he noticed Agatha had followed him up there after settling some matters with other guild members and the construction guild. He chuckled before responding. "Well, it''s a start, Agatha. We have a lot to do. Did you coordinate with Renar and Viper?" Eren asked while smoking another of his Sativa sticks. He had been trying to keep his Sativa consumption in check for a better impact on his budding soul sense. But this day was an exception. Agatha was still busy thinking about something when she heard the butcher''s question. She replied after a while. "We have talked about some basic stuff. But from the looks of it, the distribution channels for our products should give us enough exposure in the market. The problem is our current potioner staff. It is not enough by a long shot if and when all the channels start working at their full capacity." Eren chuckled before replying. "Use the channels as per our production. The distributors and the shopkeepers haven''t signed any exclusive contracts with us anyway. That way, we''ll earn less profit margin. But we also don''t have to worry about being on a tight schedule. And don''t worry about hiring new staff. This ce will be the potioners'' sacred ground once Minerva''s Utopia opens up. You''d be more worried about how to reject potioners when that happens." Agatha nodded and sighed a bit. But before she could respond, Tuan spoke next and let her know that he had alsoe looking for Eren. "I kind of figured out you wouldn''t make such a big investment on an infertilend that was so close to the city of New Beginnings for nothing. There is a Utopia factor added to the equation. When can we see it?" Eren turned around when he heard Tuan speak and replied promptly. "Well, I don''t know the exact date. But it won''t be long now. I just hope we get enough time to finalize our deals before the news breaks out. More importantly, Tuan. Why are you still wearing your mask? Didn''t I tell you that you could stop wearing it two days after the Titus tournament gets over?" Tuan snorts after hearing Eren''s query. He replied after removing the mask he had been wearing and pointing at his face with both his hands. "THIS face is giving me a lot of trouble now. I can''t even walk on the streets in peace, thanks to the stunt you pulled off in the tournament. I have be a celebrity overnight." Tuanughed depressingly and continued. "What''s more? You even let everyone know that my wife left me. Now all thedies I meet think my heart is broken. They are now trying to cheer me up by asking me out. Pity dates I call them. I don''t know if they are genuine or not." Eren startedughing when he heard Tuan speak about a unique problem he had. He became popr among rankerdies after Eren won the Titus tournament under his name. The performance that the butcher had put up along with his exceptional acting had started paying dividends to Tuan. Regardless of whether he wanted it or not. Eren tapped Tuan''s shoulders before speaking up. "So what if they are pity dates? Do you know what you do with them? You make use of them, Tuan. Go out. Try your luck with thedies, my man. This glimmer you have right now will fade away eventually. Instead of trying to run away from the limelight by using the mask, you might as well make use of it. You need to understand that there is no surefire way to get over someone. But a betterpany always helps. It''s fine to seekfort in a beauty''s embrace. It is fine to seek another embrace too. I''m not telling you to go on a rampage. But be out there, man. The wound on your heart won''t heal overnight. But the healing has to start someday, right?" Eren strode past Tuan, leaving thetter alone with his thoughts. The butcher was tired of overthinking for now. He needed to vent and celebrate. Therefore, he ced his arm across Agatha''s shoulders and led her downstairs toward her private chamber. Miss Manager was also looking forward to positive returns from her guild master. Tuan smiled mirthlessly when he heard Eren''s speech and processed it. It wasn''t that deep or philosophical, to be honest. And yet he couldn''t deny the butcher''s logic. Therefore, he had decided that he would make use of the fame that did not belong to him. All so that he could forget the betrayal that had been consuming his mind even now. *** Eren''s prediction came to pass in a week. A spatial tear was seen not too far from their guild''s building and the Kukenan teau. Minerva''s Utopia had been opened up. Eren had first thought of cing his guild''s building near the spatial tear where he knew it would appear. After all, the entrance to Utopia was going to be a guild asset. And he wanted to keep it close to himself. But Agatha wanted to make use of the teau as a symbol of the guild''s elevated status by cing the guild building on it. In the end, the butcher chose to follow Agatha''s suggestion. Nobody was present at the site other than Eren and his mates when the entrance opened. He told the rest that they''d keep the news regarding Minerva''s Utopia secret for as long as they can. Eren warned Agatha and the rest not to follow him and entered the Utopia on his own. His guild members didn''t know what he was up to. But they saw hime out of the separate dimension with haggard outfit and a wide smile on his face. *** The next day. "Master Levine, your student Eren greets you." Eren was seen talking with someone on a spectral screen. The long-distancemunication array had been pre-arranged by him in the guild building. It was located inside a separate hall dedicated to suchmunication. He had also ced security measures and istion arrays in the hall, making his spectral call more secure than ever. The butcher had to pay a significant amount for creating a secure line like this as well. But he had done it without a second thought. The person that he had called was Levine de Montmorency. The potioner that had taken him as her official student. Chapter 602 Contacting Levine Chapter 602 Contacting Levine "Eren, I''m sorry we couldn''t meetst time due to my circumstances. But I''m d that you called me. Where are you these days?" A beautiful woman was seen smiling at Eren when she first saw him. She seemed to be busy in her potionb. And yet, the Master ranker had kept all her tasks on hold when she heard the Ace ranker call her. "Master Levine, I know that you are in the Nightshade duchy. Will you please considering to the city of Arangar to discuss a business proposition?" Eren bowed in front of his potioning master as he requested her to meet him at the city of Arangar. He was asking a B-Rank entity to do something for him. Even if she was his master, he needed to be humble about it as well as rational. "Hehe! As sly as ever, Eren Idril." Levine said and chuckled when she saw her student''s demeanor. She finished jotting down a few things in her journal at the desk before responding to him. "It was as if you knew where I''d be before deciding to contact me using the contact array mark I had given you. That''s right. I''m at Montmorency estate. I would have summoned you here instead ofing to you. We have a lot to catch up on. And I want to see your progress as well. Plus, there''s so much I have to teach you now that you''ve broken" Levine narrowed her eyes when she saw Eren smiling at her when she said something about his rank. She had a suspicion in her mind so she asked. "You you haven''t broken into Adept rank, have you? How much time did I spend in istion?" Eren chuckled when he saw Levine looking for her journal entries. He coughed and cleared her doubts. "Ahem! Master Levine, I have not yet attained Adept rank. But I''m close. I didn''t want to arrange a meeting with you to learn from you. At least not this time. There''s something big heading my way. And I wanted you to be a part of it." Eren hesitated to continue speaking. Then he clenched his hands and looked at Levine cunningly before adding up. "I know that you need a big win too." The butcher looked down and perked up his ears, waiting for Levine to give him a positive reply. He knew a bit about her past from the very beginning. It was for that reason that he was so eager to learn from her and be her official student. *** Levine de Montmorency belonged to the House Montmorency. It was a renowned house in the kingdom of Edinburgh for the processing of raw ingredients and other potion-rted activities. It didn''t excel in potion manufacturing per se. The Montmorency House was home to many exclusive potion-making recipes. Several of the n''s members were pioneer potioners who explored various branches of the profession. They would invest all of their efforts ining up with novel, better ways to concoct potions, known products, or otherwise. The n members of the Montmorency n, therefore, preferred dealing with raw products. As a result, they opened up dedicated channels for dealing with potion ingredients. If House Slughorn was famous for its all-epassing potion manufacturing line, House Montmorency was known for its greenhouse-manufactured products. They had exclusive control over the time-element arrays and spells that could be used to process the products in a certain way, in a controlled environment. Eren had gotten his time-element spells for the processing of ingredients courtesy of Levine. He had used them thoroughly in all his potioneering sessions. Thanks to these spells, he had managed to concoct better potions in a rtively short time. House Montmorency was going to be an ideal partner for Eren in his endeavor to manage the produceing out of Minerva''s Utopia. In his previous timeline, House Remus had contacted House Montmorency for the same reason. At that time, however, the handler provided by the House Montmorency to manage the raw materialsing out of Minerva''s Utopia was different. It was someone named Ottoman Montmorency. In Eren''s previous timeline, Levine was injured in an ambush. That injury caused her to regress to her previous ranking status. Levine sought shelter in LA due to this ambush. She was in a vulnerable position and being backed by a powerful force was the most effective protection for her. That''s why she had taken up the job as LA''s professor. It was rumored that the ambush had been organized by someone in her family because of the power struggle the n was facing. Levine''s faction was pitted against another faction. And her injury had put her faction at a disadvantage. But now that Levine was a Master ranker once again, she had decided to indulge in her n''s power struggle once again. But since she was absent for quite some time, her position had gotten a bit weaker. Levine needed a win for herself. A win that would make her faction within the n stronger than the opposing faction. What better way for her to score big than gaining exclusive rights for produce brought out from Minerva''s Utopia? Eren also guessed that since Levine wasn''t back in the power struggle by this time, Ottoman Montmorency should be the leader of the opposition faction to Levine''s. Being allowed to process an entire Utopia''s raw products must have strengthened his position in the n by a lot. That''s why Levine of the past stayed in LA for a long time instead of returning to the n''s estate. But this timeline was different. Eren wanted Levine''s faction to win and get the faction''s support for himself. For that, he needed Levin''s full cooperation. *** "What proposal do you have in mind, Eren?" Levine had stopped underestimating her student when he had done what he had imed to do and brought her the ingredient she needed to heal her. It seemed that he had a n to make this proposal beneficial for both of them. So she looked at Eren with keen interest and waited for him to make her a deal she couldn''t refuse. Eren nodded with a stoic expression and started retrieving a bunch of items from his storage in front of Levine. These were the products he had gotten his hands on from Minerva''s Utopia. Instead of words, Eren believed the raw products he had disyed in front of Levine would help his cause more. Chapter ?603 Market Presence Chapter ?603 Market Presence The city of New Beginnings. Just before the sun is about to make its presence known in the sky. Commoner district. Rankers market. Every corner of every street is bustling with activities. Shouts of merchants trying to bring customers to their local shops or joints. A group of adventurers haggling with a merchant who seems unwilling to lower his prices. Noises of known and unknown origins. Mana signatures of various items and mana senses of various rankers shing with each other. Chaos is considered normal. One''s wealth is their only identity. An old potion-selling shop on the corner of some seemingly forgotten alley. A bit away from most of the crowds and activities. An adventurer party had taken up a mission in Monster Canyon. The usual. Almost every ranker party here was nning to visit Monster Canyon after all. "Look at this potion, Zeref. An E-ranked all-stats recovery potion for just 2 Extols. And just one Extol for three vials of the same potion in the F-Rank. This... looks like a good deal for our party. Don''t you think so?" With a voice coated in excitement, someone said. "Hmm? An all-stats recovery one? And for that cheap a prize too!" Zeref pondered a bit. But then some memory of a previous incident struck him and he shook his head beforeughing loudly. "Hahaha! That''s a dead giveaway. Lien, listen to me. Don''t get sucked into those vague concoctions. Those are likely unsessful attempts by some newbie potion maker who is trying to get their money''s worth. It won''t have the efficacy we need even if it does what it advertises. Better go with Slughorn potions. They are reliable and safe. Although their price is a bit steep and the potions won''t have an all-around effect, they are trustworthy. You need potions you can count on in Monster Canyon after all. Otherwise, you''d end up as a monster or beast poop one day. Hahaha!" Zeref, an Ace-ranked adventurer patted his party mate and cackled. As Zeref he had seen the world and Lien was just a newborn who wasn''t aware of how the world worked. Lien wasn''t convinced by Zeref''s pessimism. He didn''t outright reject his friend''s point of view. But instead, I tried to get more information about the product. The vial of the potion had a faint runic engraving. Upon channeling mana through it, the vial''s cap projected the manufacturing detail of the potion along with the manufacturer''s name. "Hmmm? White Raven. Zeref, Tisha, have you guys heard this name before?" Zeref only chuckled in response before shaking his head in denial. Tisha''s response remained the same. One part of Lien wanted to put the potion''s purchase on hold. But the other part thought the deal was toopelling to let slip even without trying. Zeref asked the shopkeeper who was busy handling another pair of rankers. "Sir, could you please tell us anything about this manufacturer named White Raven?" Lien jumped into the conversation the shopkeeper was having with his two new customers. Additionally, he pushed the customers the shopkeeper was talking to, making him even angrier. Lien had just broken into Ace rank while the shopkeeper was in the solid stage of Ace rank. Even if ranking statuses were to be put aside, the fact that Lien had offended his higher-paying customers got on his nerves. To say the least, he was a bit irritated. Thus, the shopkeeper smiled at Lien before answering the impatient ranker. "Heh! Young man, you seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. Take this as a warning from me. At the ce where you are heading, your nature may end up bing your fatal w. Monster Canyon is not as easy as people make it out to be. Only the most vignt survive there. Impatience like yours might hurt you in that monster-filled environment." Lien had a nk face after hearing the shopkeeper''s retort. He was about to snap but his friend Zeref put his hand on his right shoulder and slightly pressed it. Then he took over the conversation. "I''m sorry for my teammate''s behavior, uncle Alto. He just recently joined our guild and was assigned to my party. This will be his first visit to Monster Canyon. He''ll surely remember your valuable advice." Zeref said and looked at Lien with eyes that made his intentions known. Lien clenched his fist before deciding to follow his vice-captain''s lead. "I''m sorry for being out of line earlier, sir Alto." Alto had seen his fair share of young rankers in his career. He was a sessful merchant. Even though his shop looked old and he didn''t have much staff, that was only a ruse. He had multiple shops that would cater to customers of various economic brackets. Even though it looked like Alto had given this advice to Lien out of spite, it wasn''t entirely true. He had said what he said to make the young man aware of the dangers of Monster Canyon as well. That''s because he had seen too many inexperienced rankers and interacted with them just a few days before their eventual deaths. In Alto''s memory, they all acted like Lien. always in a hurry to make quick bucks. These young guns would get inspired by various stories of rankers striking metaphorical gold in Monster Canyon. And then they would rush to that ce only to get killed in the most brutal way possible. There was a reason Monster Canyon was a newbie killer. Alto looked at Zeref and realized that Lien would be led by an experienced ranker. So he let go of Lien''s behavior, apologized to the customers he was tending to previously, and told them to wait a bit. Then he cleared his throat before answering Lien''s original query. "Zeref, look after this Lien in Monster Canyon, will you? Haha! Anyway, I shall answer your very first question, boy. I don''t know much about White Raven. So I can''t say anything for sure regarding the authenticity of the brand''s manufactured potion. To be precise, I know they work well on paper and theb results are also promising. But I don''t know much about their effectiveness in the middle of a battle." Lien sighed when he heard Alto''s statement. Maybe Zeref was right. Perhaps he was being too optimistic regarding his first trip to Monster Canyon. Maybe the fact that he felt like the king of his small hill when he broke into the Ace rank was just his imagination. Lien was about to put the vial of White Raven potion on the counter to return it to Alto. But the shopkeeper''s next words made him reconsider his actions. "Although I don''t know much about the product or its manufacturer, I can tell you something else about it." Alto narrowed his eyes before looking at all sides. Then he lowered his voice to its bare minimum before responding. "You didn''t hear it from me, but I was told that White Raven has some connections with the Montmorency family. I also heard that the manufacturing guild behind these potions has that famous Tuan Aag as its guild member." This time Zeref and Lien both were shocked. The Montmorency name was enough to make White Raven''s market presence appear solid in customers'' eyes. Plus, Tuan was in the news all around because of the Titus tournament happening not too long ago. These things were enough to influence customers to at least try White Raven to try once. Therefore, both Zered and Lien looked at each other before voicing their demands out loud in unison. "We want to buy these White Raven potions." Chapter 604 Getting Levine Onboard Chapter 604 Getting Levine Onboard "That Alto guy is your paid actor, isn''t he?" A woman ranker with a blood-red hood pulled over her head seemed to be conversing with a ck-haired young man. The woman''s face was covered and her rank was not distinguishable. Unbeknownst to Lien, Zeref, Tisha, and the shopkeeper, they were both being observed by this duo who stood not too far away from the outside of the shop. One could feel subconsciously that messing with the red-hooded woman was a terrible idea. An idea that would make them realize their doom. Yet they also couldn''t look away from her or her seductive curves. The ck-haired young man who was with her looked average. But if one looked deep into his green eyes, they''d see tinges of blue that had gravitational powers of their own. "Hehehe! No, master. I mean not really. He is one of the shopkeepers in my distribution chain. I was ready to pay him to advertise my products for a bit. But he told me he couldn''t put his shop''s reputation on the line for something that may or may not do well in the market. Especially in the long run." Eren said and watched as Lien''s group left the shop with a bunch of White Raven potions. Even with the shopkeeper''s wless response, the most he could do was convince the trio to buy a small portion of vials with White Raven brandings. Still, Eren couldn''tin much. This was the very first time his products were getting sold in the city of New Beginnings. He had to stay patient with the first line of buyers toe up with better reviews for his products. Eren was sure his sales would skyrocket as a result of word-of-mouth publicity. Patience was the key. "White Raven is rumored to have an association with House Montmorency, huh? That was all your doing, wasn''t it, you sly devil?" Levine seemed to have smiled when she said that. Eren scratched the back of his head beforeing clean. "Well, he told me he wouldn''t put his name on the line. So I just told him to spread the news. One was about Tuan joining the White Raven guild. And the other is me being under your tutge. Both are true news. But they don''t directly assure the buyers of my product''s quality. So I told Alto to add a bit of mystery by saying that they were rumors. The real sale of White Raven products will begin when the first line of customerse back with their reviews." Eren knew the markets in the city of New Beginnings were going to be the biggest litmus test for his projects. That''s why he made use of every advantage he could count on to maximize his profits. "Alright. You are supposed to be a potioner first and a businessmanter, Eren. I''m d that my student ns to sell potions on such a grand scale. But you need to remember the basics before trying to make money out of your skills." Levine felt that Eren should remain on the ground while he is starting up a new business. So she held onto her praises and gave him a few uncalled-for pointers while chuckling a bit. Levine stopped leaning against the alley wall and straightened her posture. Then she started walking in a particr direction. Eren followed her and started speaking. "We''ll leave for the city of Arangar in a while, Master. Meanwhile, I want you to check this one out." Eren said and threw a heavy chunk of metal in Levine''s direction. Thetter caught that chunk effortlessly and looked it up. "Andrium!" Levine''s eyes weren''t visible through her hood. But if one could see them right now, they would observe that they were exuding a faint light of their own. Eren chuckled before continuing. "My market presence is just the beginning. What you see in your hand is why I called you to meet with me. Of course, I''ll seek help from my most talented and charming master when my stakes are this high." Eren smiled lightly and bowed a bit again in front of Levine. Thetter also made sure to register the ninjapliments he had thrown her way. She couldn''t say she disliked it. Levine was a foot taller than Eren when she hadst seen him in LA. Now their roles had been reserved. And yet, Levine could tell that it was the same guy who hade to find her. Levine smiled and received Eren''spliments by pushing him a bit away from her as they were walking side by side. She pondered for a moment, and then she gave the piece of Andrium back to her student. Levine would be lying if she said she wasn''t impressed by her student''s resourcefulness. Levine was skeptical when Eren invited her over to witness his growth. But she hade to realize that everything this guy had been doing from LA was to prepare for a monumental move like this. Levine was tempted to join him. But she couldn''t find it in her to put her student at risk because of her selfishness. So she stated what she had in mind. "You know about the power struggle between me and Ottoman within my n, right? Pairing with me would mean the Ottoman faction will oppose you in the future. If this thing is as big as you are making it out to be, then once Ottoman knows about it, he''ll being for you and your guild. Of course, I and my faction will do our part to keep you and your interests unharmed. But there''s only so much we can do when Ottoman starts getting serious. Remember, Eren. The one who defends has to be right all the time. But the one who strikes only needs to be right once." Eren chuckled when he heard Levine''s warnings. Frankly, he knew about these risks even before he approached Levine to be his backer and handler. But there were risks everywhere when the stage and stakes were this high. He might as well take calcted risks and try to strive for better growth than stay at the bottom of the barrel all the time. "Hehe! Master Levine, thanks for thinking about me. But I know what I''m getting into. To be honest, it won''t just be Ottoman. There would be other yers that woulde out of their woodwork when they understand how valuable Minerva''s Utopia is. Adding your enemy to that list won''t make that much difference. I''d rather have you on board with my ns than trust some stranger I don''t know. If Ottoman is an unwanted byproduct of that decision, so be it. You and your expertise are worth the risks White Raven may haveing its way." Eren said and sighed. Then he looked up at the sky that was slowly starting to get brighter beforementing. "I don''t want to create a ruckus if I can avoid it. But I''d rather strike first than be on the defensive all the time." With a tinge of cruelty in his expression, Eren looked at Levine and spoke further. "After all, I''ll only have to be right once." Chapter ?605 The City of New Beginnings Chapter ?605 The City of New Beginnings "Why did you summon me to the city of New Beginnings instead of the city of Arangar? Don''t tell me it was just to show me your products'' market presence?" Levine asked while sounding suspicious. The duo had moved to a quiet restaurant in the noble district of the city. Eren had ordered ranker-specific food for himself and Levine. Eren stopped eating his steak and looked at Levine before responding. "Master Levine, as your student, do you trust me?" Levine didn''t even take a moment to answer. And she did it with a very serious face. "Not even a bit." Eren had nk expressions on his face when he heard Levine''s answer. But before he could object he heard Levine''sughter. "Hehehe! I was just kidding, Eren. I trust you. Tell me what else you are nning?" Eren smiled mirthlessly before resuming his serious stance. "Master Levine, I want you to invest in me. I want a suitable plot in the city of New Beginnings that would serve as my guild''s branch. It would also be used as a destination and a storage facility for all my potions. I know what I''m asking is a lot. But getting a ce in the city of New Beginnings is not only not cheap but also a near-impossible task for low-level rankers like me." "And that''s where Ie in," Levine replied promptly, smiling at Eren. Levine didn''t have an appetite so she only ate a bit. She swirled her ranked wine inside the wine ss she was holding as she kept on pondering over Eren''s proposal. She took a while to reply. "You are right, Eren. The city of New Beginnings is used as a chess board by one of the biggest yers this kingdom has. A guy like you owning a property here would only invite more trouble for you. But" Levine sighed and took a sip from her wine ss before speaking up. "I''m not as rich as you think I am. At least not anymore. I don''tpletely control my n''s finances. I can only influence it to a certain extent because of a few people backing me. If only Ottoman wasn''t in the picture" A faint killing intent emanated from Levine, which made Eren''s forehead wet with beads of sweat. He was d there wasn''t anyone on the rooftop of the restaurant where they were sitting. Otherwise, people would have known that there was a Master ranker in their midst. Levine was trying to hide her whereabouts from Ottoman, lest he ambush her again. The potion makers were never so easy to kill. Especially a high-ranked potioner like Levine. Eren was confident that Levine would at least be able to get away if and when that happens. But he could not say the same thing about himself. Eren heard Levine''s exnation and sighed. He then took out a book from his storage space before presenting it to Levine. The B-Rank potioner took the book from Eren''s hand and started reading from it. The more she read, the more curious she got. That''s because she found the contents of the book fascinating. This was a copy of the book Eren had received from Purgatory. It contained a few lost recipes as well as techniques that were termed extinct. Of course, Eren hadn''tpletely copied the book down. Just some essentials that would get Levine interested. The book didn''t contain anything rted to B-Rank. But that''s beside the point. Levine was intrigued by the methods that had been used in the recipes. These methods werepletely different from what the current potioners used to do. Levine was already nning to introduce a few changes in some of her concoction processes after getting inspired by her fast reading when she heard her student''s words. "This is a portion of the book I''ve copied. Let''s just say I discovered it while searching for something else. I can share all the contents of the original book with you. That''s all I can offer for now anyway. Won''t you tap into your winter fund for me? I know what I''m offering won''t be worth the efforts you''d have to put in. But that''s a start, right?" Eren used some more sophistry to convince Levine to use her investment to buy a piece ofnd for him in New Beginnings. They both knew that sooner orter, Ottoman would find out about such a big purchase. But they both didn''t care. Levine assured Eren that she would get the piece ofnd in the city of New Beginnings as expected. Of course, the butcher would have topensate her for her investment, which he agreed to instantly. Only then did Eren breathe a sigh of relief. For his ns, he needed a ce in the city of New Beginnings. But there was only so much he could do when the problem wasn''t limited by his financial situation alone. The city of New Beginnings was one of the biggest cities in the kingdom of Edinburgh. It was up to 30 timesrger than Arangar City. It also saw huge traffic rted to rankers'' activities due to its geographical position. The city of New Beginnings was a city located near the entrance to a ce called Monster Canyon. It was not only big in terms of its size or poption density. But it was also home to various guilds and adventurer parties. This city-state had its own Duke. It had various districts. Each district had its own city lord. Getting a ce in the city of New beginnings was next to impossible for Eren. He also didn''t want a bull''s eye on his back. That''s why he asked Levine to do his bidding for him. Fortunately, the butcher had seeded in his n. Now he only needed to wait and see things fall into ce for him. After all, the city would never stop attracting more traffic. It was the most famous city close to Monster Canyon till now. The city served as a one-stop-shop for rankers on expeditions to Monster Canyon. Therefore, it was always lively, always churning money. Unbeknownst to the citizens of New Beginnings, the foundation of a new city that was not too far from the Monster Canyon had just been established. A city that had the potential topete with New Beginnings. Chapter 606 Monster Canyon Chapter 606 Monster Canyon Three days afterward. Starting that day, the White Raven guild had a two-story building in the city of New Beginnings. It was located in the Guild District where all the other guilds active in Edinburgh had their branches. The building looked old and decrepit. Arrays and runes previously carved in the premises had been erased in haste. As a result, some runes meant to exude light were turning off and on sporadically. Like some haunted theme park made for mortals'' entertainment. It had broken windows and cracked walls. The arrays meant for water generation had malfunctioned, spraying jets of water in between. It wouldn''t take a genius to figure out that the building needed a thorough revamp. Eren felt like discarding all his tasks and bing a robber to satiate his ever-increasing need for money. No matter how much he earned and conned people, his needs would always find ways to make holes in his sleeves. "*Sigh This is all I can do on such short notice, Eren. I hope you are not too discouraged." Levine said while walking seductively ahead of Eren inside arge and empty hall of the White Raven guild. She had gotten rid of the hood and cloak that came with it. As a result, her bodacious curves were out in the open for Eren to see. Eren''s mana sense registered Levine''s presence clearly after he took off her red cloak. He guessed that the apparel was what kept her ranking status hidden. Levine had entered the liquid stage of the B-Rank in such a short time. Or to be precise, she had gained her regressed rank back after recovering this whole time. From the looks of it, she was closer to breaking through the solid stage. With her restored rank and powers, Levine also looked younger and more beautiful than before. It was as if she was traveling back in time as she advanced in her rank. And yet, Eren didn''t try to ogle at Levine''s increasing feminine charms. He stuck toplimenting her in the nicest way possible. The butcher knew when not to think with his dick after all. "Haha! I am not in a position to bargain, Master Levine. This is already more than enough. So what if it is far away from the main road of the guild district? We''ll manage just fine." Eren said while smiling mirthlessly. He meant what he said. Having his presence in the guild district was critical for him and his guild, no matter how insignificant it may seem. "I got this ce from Amazeballs Assassins. Hehe. That''s a funny name for a guild. Anyway, I heard the guild''s main party was half-wiped in Monster Canyon and the other half was injured severely. Their misfortune helped us get this property easily and within our budget. I just hope the ce doesn''t be a curse for budding guilds. Don''t repeat the previous owner''s mistakes, Eren. Stay vignt in Monster Canyon no matter how simple the missions might seem." The previous owner of the building was a rtively small guild that had decided to close its shop and move elsewhere. Levine had used her contacts to get this ce for herself and leased it to the White Raven guild without any harsh conditions. Monster Canyon! Eren chuckled depressingly when he heard Levine''s warning. He knew the horrors of the Monster Canyon first hand. After all, this was the ce he had died in his previous timeline. Even at that time, he hadn''t underestimated it. It was just that Monster Canyon had a habit of catching rankers off guard. A part of him wanted to tell Levine that Monster Canyon was not something that would spare you if you just stayed vignt. It was also not the ce that would give you rewards proportional to your efforts. The ce was just unpredictable. The city of New Beginnings was created as a result of Monster Canyon''s existence. It started as some well-known guilds of the pasting under one roof under the then king''s orders and deciding to do clean-up operations with the military''s help. As more guilds came and started following the pattern, a new city was built over time. The name of the city captured the emotions of every ranker that wanted to explore Monster Canyon. Though the ce carried huge risks, it was also packed with unimaginable opportunities. Opportunities that can lead to new beginnings. Or a tragic end for that matter. The rankers that had benefited from exploring Monster Canyon were too many to keep track of. The figure almost surpassed the number of rankers who had gone missing in the ce, never to be seen or heard from again. Apart from the riches and exceptional rewards it had to offer, Monster Canyon was also famous for one more thing. It helped rankers achieve breakthroughs when they were struggling with their bottlenecks. The nature of the mana in the ce was such that it allowed rankers to advance to the next level or rank. The ce was known as a monster haven because of its peculiarity. It was a giantnd that had many entrances and exits. The monster-influenced mana was strong in the Monster Canyon. It had many monster nests, monster settlements, and monster dungeons that had unknown origins. Even the mana beasts that existed in the Monster Canyon were mostly tamed by monster settlements into doing the monsters'' bidding. Monster Canyon was a ce for heroes and rising stars. It was a ce for those who wanted to be more than their supposed limiters ced upon them. It was also a ce for desperados and daredevils. It was a ce where one would turn to when all their options had been exhausted. Eren of the past timeline hade here to have a new beginning just like everyone else. It was also to get rid of the bottleneck that had been bothering him for years. In the end, Monster Canyon had imed his life. But in a way, it had also provided him with the new and refreshed beginning he craved for. The city of New Beginnings had delivered what it had promised to give to its poption with its name. ''Back to square one. With higher stakes than before, with a better game than before. Monster Canyon... Oh, Monster Canyon. Let''s see who prevails this time.'' Eren said while clenching his fists. He subconsciously brought his fists closer to his groin in a defensive stance when he remembered the tragedy that had struck him moments before his death. Eren had a score to settle with the ce. Not just for iming his life, but the way it had been imed as well. === AN: Thanks Drin27 for your super gift. ;) Chapter ?607 Finalizing the Deal with the Derringers Chapter ?607 Finalizing the Deal with the Derringers The city of Arangar. Inside a private facility that belonged to the guild Obscure Embers. A spacious hall and arge round table. Five people could be seen sitting around the table. It could be seen from their sitting arrangements that the four rankers were divided into two groups. One group contained a young man and a gracious yet seductive-lookingdy. The other was made of three men of seemingly different ages. "Eren, you didn''t tell us a Master ranker would be involved in this deal. Then again, whatever makes youfortable. Hahaha!" Morty spoke first and broke the silence that had ensued for quite some time. He knew there was a psychological y involved here. Something along the lines of whoever speaks first has to makepromises in the end. But frankly, he was tired. And a bit affected by the deafening silence. He had to speak. Eren smiled when he heard Morty Derringer''s words and responded in a cheerful voice. "Hehe. My master has always been involved in this deal. Do you think I''m qualified enough to follow through with such deals when the stakes are this high? You tter me, Morty." Eren replied and nodded at Morty in a friendly gesture before looking at the two people who were sitting on either side of him. The man on the right was not that much older than Morty and shared his facial characteristics. The man on Morty''s left side on the other hand looked old and in his 60s. And yet, his body was firm and his posture was upright. ''Late-stage Adept rank.'' Alephee said in Eren''s head when he was looking at the old man. The butcher guessed these guys must have been Derringer''s family''s fixer summoned from the upper echelon to see if the deal was worth it. The young man who looked a bit like Morty must be his cousin that had been sent here to see what Morty was up to. "Eren Idril, what is it that you would be doing business with us with? And what kind of deal do you expect from us? I''d suggest we get on with the updates instead of doing formalities. What do you say?" The old Adept ranker spoke up in a calm voice. Eren didn''t have to speak. It was Levine who opened her mouth for the first time. "Minerva''s Utopia. Eren has a plot ofnd that features its entrance. We are here to make a deal with you about the raw products it will generate in the future. Are you interested? That is me getting on with the updates instead of doing formalities. How is it?" Levine spoke with calm dominance in the same stoic manner she treated her students in LA, except Eren. With the butcher around, she could be a bit more rxed with the way she interacted. As the knowledgeable old man listened to Levine''s passive-aggressive way of making him eat his own words, he frowned. And yet, he could do nothing about it since she was stronger between them. Then he started processing the actual words and their meanings that Levine had conveyed and his stoic countenance. He stopped writing in his journal as his pen fell. His face was covered in shock. His next words expressed his disbelief. "Minerva Sage Minerva! She was a potioner. Oh my heavens! Are you sure, Master Levine? Eren boy?" The old man spoke with excitement. Eren imagined his eyes had signs of Eddies and Extols imprinted on them as he spoke. He wanted to lead the conversation and used Levine as a deterrent. But he decided that he should let Levine handle the rest if she wanted to. Therefore, instead of leading the conversation he just retrieved three brick-like pieces of Andrium and ced them on the table. He then made the surface of the round table spin, making the Andrium bricks avable for the Derringers to check on. Eren and Levine both looked at each other and smiled as they saw the Derringers going silent with their keen eyes all over the bricks. The old man retrieved a small scroll that had a small and intricate array printed on it. He ced the brick in the center of the array. Immediately, the array started exuding pure white light. "Pure is too pure. Eren Idril, where did you find this?" Excitedly, the old man said. Frankly, he was looking forward to dominating Eren when he first heard about the meeting taking ce. But Levine''s presence had made that a pipedream. Eren chuckled and replied slowly. "The same ce my master told you about. Minerva''s Utopia. There are a lot more from where that came from." "Suddenly" the Adept ranker realized the conversation had started on the wrong note. And that being a Derringer doesn''t mean he will always win every argument. So he cleared his throat and said in a very caring voice. "Young man, it seems we were a bit hasty in starting our talks. Let''s introduce ourselves, shall we? My name is Roth Derringer. I handle some of the business-rted matters our House has with its partners. I am pleased to meet both of you." Roth then looked at the young man beside Morty and hinted to him with his eyes that he needed to follow his lead. Thetter nodded at him seriously before adjusting the cor of his shirt and replying. "Hello, and nice to meet you. I am Mateo Derringer. You can say that Morty is my younger cousin. I graduated from Royal Renar three years ago and am currently working under uncle Roth to learn the basics of business from him." Morty officially introduced himself next even though he knew Eren knew about him. One had to say that Roth''s demeanor had changed 360 degrees after learning that Eren and his side represented a gigantic opportunity for House Derringer. Mateo was taking notes. Eren was looking at Roth and Morty with amused expressions. He spoke up and extended the formality. "What''s up? Name''s Eren Elijah Idril. I am a student from LA currently serving in Edinburgh''s army as a part of my on-field assignment. My guild White Raven owns the ce that features the entrance to Sage Minerva''s Utopia." Eren said while taking out his Sativa stick from his storage. He tried not to smoke in front of his master. But now that they were not alone, he could take some liberties. The butcher took the first long drag out of his smoke and spoke soon after. "I''m hoping we can strike afortable deal for both of us. I don''t want to seek any other party because that would be a hassle. But I will look for alternatives if I find that the deal iscking for me." Chapter 608 Boots on the Ground Chapter 608 Boots on the Ground "I will look for alternatives if I find that the deal iscking for me." Eren looked at Roth when he said that. He knew that only Roth had the real power bestowed upon him by the n to take such decisions. Roth nodded at Eren''s statement even though it wasced with the threat of reneging on the deal. He had dealt with so many rankers in business that he was used to subtle threats like these. In business, one must put pride aside and think rationally. At least until a certain line is not crossed. Roth thought that things were still in his control even though Eren had a Master ranker by his side. He had a whole House Derringer behind him. Even though the opposite party had a B-Rank, he did not need to worry about them. Therefore, Roth turned to Levine and asked her courteously. "Master Levine, I take it? Please allow us to know a bit about yourself." Eren looked at Levine who had a light smile on her face at that time. She maintained her carefree attitude and spoke up without haste. "Hello. I am Levine. Levine de Montmorency." Roth''s eyes opened wide when he heard Levine mention her full name. He then looked at Eren one more time, as if to confirm she was speaking the truth. Eren didn''t have to respond to his look. Levine took out a runic emblem from her storage and ced it on the table before spinning the surface. Roth quickly held the emblem in his hand and imbued his mana into it. He sighed and gave Levine her emblem back before speaking up. "Forgive me and my juniors, Master Levine. We couldn''t hide our negligence of not knowing about you beforehand. Please state your terms. We will try to amodate you in every way we can as long as my House does not suffer a loss." Roth looked at Levine seriously as he spoke. He had stopped paying attention to Eren when he realized that a major decision-maker from House Montmorency was sitting in front of him. Eren didn''t mind this effect. He was rooting for this effect from the very beginning. Otherwise, Roth would have wrung him dry in the deal. He did not underestimate the man''s business skills or rank. Levine knew what Eren wanted from House Derringer. So she started talking on his behalf and listing out his requirements. In Roth''s opinion, his House would have to walk the extra mile in a few areas. Yet, in the end, he found that the deal was fair for both parties. "Hahaha. I''m d that we are on the same page about this deal. Please allow us to send a few rankers from our side to enter Minerva''s Utopia to finalize the deal." Eren didn''t mind that and agreed quickly. He also knew that if Levine wasn''t here with him, he would have first checked on the Utopia before making any deals. The name Montmorency had acted as a kind of assurance for him. Just when Eren was about to get up, Levine ced her hand on his shoulder and made him maintain his position. Thetter didn''t have to ask for a reason. Roth spoke further. "We have only talked about Andrium at this point, young man Eren. About the other raw products from..." To deter Roth, Levine narrowed her eyes and spread her mana sense in his direction. She let him get stressed under her aura before speaking up. "Eren only talked about Andrium with you because he would only sell that to you. House Montmorency has all the rights to buy all the other raw products. Especially those that are associated with potioneering. Eren does not call me Master because of my ranking title. I''m also his teacher and his guide. So consider that it is him who is speaking when I make certain decisions for him and his assets." Eren nodded at Levine''s statement without a second thought. Roth wanted to try his luck, but it seemed that it would be in vain. But then Levine''s next words reached him and he breathed a sigh of satisfaction. "Of course, processing of Andrium will be entirely handled by you. And if there are other raw products that House Montmorency had no use for, we will let you know. After all, this pie is too big for any single organization. Both of our houses need to work together to ensure that neither our interests nor Eren''s, are harmed. You know what would happen once the news about Sage Minerva''s Utopia gets out, right?" Levine stared at Roth knowingly, and thetter nodded at her and started making calls. The Master potioner tapped her fingers in front of Eren''s portion of the table. The butcher didn''t know what she was asking. But then he looked at where her master was looking and realized what she was demanding from him. Eren quickly took out another Sativa stick from his storage and handed it to her. Meanwhile, Roth appeared to be talking with someone over ID stonemunication. He took his time before speaking up. "House Derringer is ready to dispatch two Master rankers, 7 Adept rankers, a group of 30 Ace rankers, and a sizable bunch of Novice rankers to the scene. They will stay there for about a year. We can talk about increasing or decreasing House Derringer''s presence on the groundter on." Levine shook her head in denial as she took her puff from the Sativa stick. Eren hade to realize that his thought of not wanting to smoke in front of his master was foolish. She looked pro at this. Of course, he knew that the reason for her using the Sativa sticks was him. He had involved her in his mess after all. "Not enough, Roth. House Montmorency is thinking of hiring a Grandmaster ranker. But that wille at ater stage if the need arises. I and other Master rankers will be staying in Eren''s guildnd for a long time. But we will be sending 10 Adept rankers and 40 Ace rankers. Then there''s the need for arranging security and surveince arrays at strategic locations. We also need to start building the basic infrastructure of a town. A town that would have the potential of growing into a city eventually. Our ns need to take such arger picture into ount." Levine paused and took a long breath after saying that. She caressed her head as she thought of many things at once. Now that she had epted Eren''s proposal, she needed to make Minerva''s Utopia a sess story for all of them. Her position in the n was now linked to its sess. Roth listened to Levine''s statements with keen interest but didn''t reply. Because he knew she wasn''t finished. "Of course, we''ll need to run the n by the kingdom''s bureaucrats and get it sanctioned. Our sides need to lobby the royal court for that. We''ll also have to think about how we are intending to keep the vultures away from the meat on a diplomatic level. Obviously, Eren doesn''t have anything on him that can help us create a city out of thin air. And resources from Minerva''s Utopia would take time to provide us with profit. That means we need an initial investment from both our ns. Eren can be charged separately for our investment over time so that this construction project is profitable for everyone. But initially, we''ll have to pour much more money into this project than we could earn." Levine suddenly thought of Ottoman, and the wrinkles on her forehead intensified. She shook her head and sighed before marching on. "I know how n meetings work. Not every n member will be up for the task. So we both will have to make quick decisions and get most members of our respective houses onboard. The news about Minerva''s Utopia is only known to Eren''s team, me, and you guys for now. But it''s only a matter of days before it spreads like a wildfire. We have more things to do than I''ve listed out in less time than we can estimate. The scope of this thing is muchrger than my student understands. I''ll be honest and say that I hadn''t thought that I''d be raising a city from the ground up one day. But I also doubt you have yed this game when the stakes are this high, even if we consider this as your domain. In short, what you have proposed to us is not enough. Call the higher-ups of Derringer House who would be in favor of this proposal ording to you and let them know. We need more boots on the ground from your side." Eren kept his mouth shut when the two got talking about the finer details of their deal. He let Levine handle the bargaining part while he spoke to her on her ID to make his intentions known to her. Minerva''s Utopia was going to make or break the White Raven guild. Therefore, the talk dragged on for hours on end. And each side made their concerns and their positions known to the other. When Eren was out of the facility, the deal was still getting finalized between House Derringer and House Montmorency. His master and Roth were still in talks. They had let their juniors go free when the skeleton of the deal had been finalized. Eren looked at the darkening sky and smiled. ''Hehe! White Raven''s name will spread throughout this kingdom in a few days.'' He chuckled and started walking in a seemingly unknown direction. He soon disappeared into thin air, leaving behind shes of lightning and fire. Chapter ?609 Praises and Poetry Chapter ?609 Praises and Poetry The city of New Beginnings. Late afternoon. Mellow sky. South-bound winds that were neither too warm nor too cold. A ck-haired guy with emerald green eyes and a clearplexion is seen waiting for someone besides arge, array-run fountain. This is the Lifestyle district of the city. It features various shops and activities that cater to the leisure interests of rankers. The ck-haired guy is wearing a semi-formal outfit. Dark blue denim pants and a simple white shirt paired with a long jacket in a dark brown shade. His eyes are glued to the scroll his hands are holding stretched in front of him. As if trying to make the right use of his idle time. "You are always on the clock, aren''t you?" A serene feminine voice sounded from behind the guy. He smiled while still looking at the scroll. He closed the reading material and stored it in his storage, then turned toward the source of that voice. Beautiful. This one word was enough to describe the young girl that was approaching the green-eyed young man. She walked with unparalleled grace. There was a certain charm about her movements that couldn''t be exined with words. She was as mesmerizing as the most exquisite of paintings. Ethereal and timeless. Her blue eyes sparkled when the sun rays hit them directly. It was as if a deep blue sea was trying to fit into that tiny iris. Her lustrous blond hair was left loose. She didn''t seem to care much about them as she just adjusted the bags by tucking them behind her ears. The blonde girl had worn a sophisticated ck-as-ink dress that looked elegant from every angle. The ck-rose embroidery details on the dress and ck-rose frills over it bode well with the dress'' visual appeal. ''I thought sometimes her beauty couldn''t be put into words. But I have to admit I did a good job anyway.'' The young man apuded himself for being so creative. Then he felt proud that he was going on a date with someone this stunning. "Well... what are you looking at?" The blonde girl had walked up to the green-eyed young man without him realizing. Or to put it more precisely, he was so engrossed in describing her beauty to himself that he lost track of time and ce. "Hm? Oh! Oh, yes. I was saying to myself how beautiful you are looking today of course. How can I ever look away from something this charming? I almost want to throw my cleverest cheesy pick-up lines. All of them. Every single one. In the hopes that at least one would crack you up. At least one of them would work on you." The young man, for the first time in a long while, spoke his truth and nothing but the truth. Even he was surprised by how easy and liberating it was to just state the facts. These days, he has been nothing but a scheming womanizer. So he liked being an honest womanizer for a change. The blonde girlughed when she heard the young man''s opinions about him. She also felt ttered and delighted. d for the fact that she was going on a date with him. d to know it was happening. And finally, d for the fact he was being hopelessly romantic about her. "Oh? Interesting. So very interesting. Hmm. Why don''t you tell me how beautiful I look as we make our way to our reservation?" The blonde girl spoke and held the guy''s arm in hers before starting to walk in a particr direction. The ck-haired guy was all smiles when that happened. It was a smile that seldom appeared on his face. Otherwise, his smile screamed certain doom for anyone who saw it on his face. Praises and poetry. The young man had a certain way with words. His praises were on-point and personal. Sometimes very odd. But felt all the more weing to the girl who was receiving them with the way they had been said. To the young girl''s surprise and delight, she also found that there was a poet somewhere in there in the body of a 6ft tall closebat expert, who on his usual days, was trained to harm people up close. A stark contrast to his otherwise persona. The pair was in a bubble of their own. They didn''t notice things happening around them even when thete afternoon''s hustle-bustle was too loud and rambunctious to ignore. It was as if they had found a new world in each other''spany. Away from the schemes. Far from the brutality of the world. Distanced from their problems. The ce they were heading to did not have to be picturesque. Their journey toward that ce was what mattered to them. The young girl kept on listening as her partner praised her, talked with her, and made ns with her. He would sometimes go off-topic and talk about his crazy venture. A new guild. A new city. A new y that would change his life, for better or worse. But he was out there. He was taking chances. He was moving ahead. She listened to everything he had to say with the utmost attention without ever interrupting him. Because she knew those things were being spoken in the depth of her partner''s heart. She was happy for him. She was also excited for him. She had been watching him make use of every chance he got to maximize his profits. Maximize his rewards. It was as if the man was on a mission. As if he wanted to prove to somebody that he wasn''t a failure. She was inspired by that tireless pursuit of his. She was selfish enough to want what he had and what she wascking. An ambition. And a passion to make that ambition a reality. Seek and ye shall find. She found her goal. She aspired to be a better ranker than him. She wanted to be close to him. She wanted to reach the top of this world with him. That''s because she could see that that''s where he was heading. And in the end, she wanted him. The young man was still a bit far from tasting the fruits of hisbor. But she knew it was only a matter of time. The blonde girl had only seen one other man this driven and set on aplishing big things in life. His story and the heights he had reached told her that the young man would soon reach that height too. Maybe surpass him one day. They soon reached the ce they had reserved for themselves. Against the young man''s wishes, the blond girl had asked him to book the entire terrace of a fancy restaurant all for themselves. This was a huge waste of money ording to the young man who seemed to be struggling with his finances. But she seemed to not care. Because she knew he would be rich soon enough. She had his promise that he would do everything she asked of him. And that''s what he did. Albeit begrudgingly. The blonde girl was a bit introverted. She wanted alone time with her guy. Yet she wanted to do everything a date was supposed to be. So this expensivepromise was her logical conclusion. Chapter 610 Intimacy and Separation Chapter 610 Intimacy and Separation Evening time. The sun looked dim as if it was running low on its array-powered batteries. The golden rays of the disappearing star made the white clouds and flying birds stand out more. The winds carried the smells of all kinds of food. There were a lot of street vendors selling mortal food. Some shopkeepers kept their businesses open exclusively for the city''s ranker poption. The ck-haired young man and blond-haired cute girl were holding each other''s hands firmly as they were watching a drama y together at the city''s open amphitheater. The actors and behind-the-scenes experts were all Novice rankers. Earlier, the couple had ventured on a shopping spree post their lunch date together. The girl got herself all kinds of clothes and essories, both ranked and rankless items. Of course, her date paid for them all. Unbeknownst to the blonde girl, the young man was cursing the shopkeepers and itemancers for their high prices while disying a graceful smile on his face. He could not hide the fact that the smile was forced. The trained eyes of the shopkeepers were made to see through their customers. Yet, they didn''t show him any mercy. In his mind, he even thought that they were crueler than he was to his victims. Attending the y was the girl''s idea as well. She had nned her whole day meticulously, and the y was an integral part of it. With their spells and array setups, the actors gave a vibrant touch to the y. Their acting skills were only so-so. But when it came to the dramatization of the verbal and physical fights, they seemed more visually appealing than real-life affairs that only spilled blood and gore. The blond girl oddly enjoyed the y in front of her while the ck-haired boy kept on dissecting theirck of skills in choreographing the fight scenes. He talked about the producers failing to add a touch of reality to the drama. He talked about how they could have effectively made use of certain spells or arrays. But the blue-eyed girl onlyughed at the guy''sments. He always said them at the right time when the actors were about to fumble. The pairughed at the actors'' expense. And so did the audience. And yet, theughter only seemed to cheer the actors up even more. The drama also contained a humorous element after all. While it looked idental, theedy was nned and nted at the right time. The y ended soon after. The happy and satisfied audience started to leave. The viewers had already paid for the show using Extols. If it was up to the ck-haired young man, he would never spend his money on such ys. He was in dire need of money after all. Such expenses would only make more holes in his sleeve, which was already bleeding money. But now, he was d that he hade here and watched the y. He was beginning to think that maybe he should cut himself some ck and enjoy the moments once in a while. He was bound to stay broke for a long time. He might as well be even more broke by enjoying these moments with his date. The couple walked in the direction that would soon take them outside the Lifestyle District. Their next destination was the northeastern city entrance, which was far from them. They had to use rental carriages. *** "Eren, I''ll have to tell you something." Altashia spoke after she and Eren boarded the carriage. She was looking outside the window as the scenes in front of her kept on changing. The wide streets of the city of New Beginnings weren''t to be scoffed at. ''Hm. My city will also need big roads and rental carriages.'' Eren made a note of these things before responding to Altashia. He had already understood why Altashia had gone silent the moment she had gone silent. "You are leaving the army, aren''t you?" Eren asked. A light smile appeared on his face. A smile that wasn''t really a smile. With a stoic expression on her face, Altashia nodded to Eren. Unlike him, she wasn''t bound by her on-field assignment anymore. She didn''t have to prove to the kingdom that she was a trained ranker. That''s because her status as an Adept ranker was proof enough. "Um. My Adept rank has allowed me to graduate from Royal Ren. It has also allowed me to make use of the special resources the academy has to offer to its Adept ranked students. I don''t have to serve in the army anymore. I am also relieved of any binding contracts. Staying here would only hinder my growth." Eren patted the back of Altashia''s hands while holding them in his. A smile spread across his face before he added up. "You better not ck, Al. I''m right behind you and I''ll do my absolute best to overtake you soon." The couple remained silent for a while. Eren and Altashia both knew that this was bound to happen when she had a breakthrough into Adept rank. This date was the first time they had been this close to each other. But it also served as a way for them to bid farewell for the time being. Intimacy and separation. Contrary to what Eren was expecting, Altashia didn''tugh at his jab. She did not deny his im. She narrowed her pretty eyes on him before speaking with a serious expression. "I''m inclined to believe you would do just that if I stayed here. Why do you think I''m leaving this early? Don''t underestimate me, Eren Idril. For a change, I''m nning to go all out with my ranking progress when I leave the army. Let''s see who wins the duel next time. Hmph!" *** Eren gulped empty air when he heard Altashia''s promation. If her progress till now was her taking things at her pace, he dreaded to think how far she would go when she dedicates herself to advancing through her ranks. Eren''s progress had intimidated Altashia. Now she thought of bing serious in her efforts. So she contacted her Gramps and told him about her breakthrough. Altair smiled at her when he was called by his granddaughter. But in the next moment, he told her how slow she had be. And yet, instead of her usual anger toward her grandpa, she agreed with him. "I want to train with you for a bit. I also need some guidance." Altashia spoke to Altair on the call. Thetter was a bit surprised by his granddaughter''s sudden shift of mood. So he had to ask her what had changed. "I... I lost." Altashia said those words with difficulty before cutting her call, leaving Altair with a nk face. Soon that nk face broke into heartyughter when he realized that his granddaughter had finally tasted the bitter fruit of loss. Altair thanked the person who had defeated Altashia. Because of them, Altashia had found the drive she was missing in her ranking journey. Because of them, she was now able to invest her heart and soul into her hard work. Altair didn''t know that his granddaughter had not only lost a duel but also her heart to the same man. He also didn''t know that she had decided to cover all the bases with him before her separation from him. Chapter ?611 Floating Island P1 Chapter ?611 Floating Ind P1 An array-powered flying small ind was left levitating motionless in the sky. The ind was a small piece ofnd that was about 1500 square meters in size. Though it didn''t look like it, this flying ind was an A-Rank artifact that was rented by a well-known merchant guild. This small ind had avish greenwn and a simple two-story house, which had all the amenities. Plus, it had an open gallery on the top floor so that its upants could admire the view. The floating ind could only be rented for one night. It required volumes of Extols just to reserve a ce for booking. Thanks to Eren''s status as an active member of the Edinburgh army, he was allowed to borrow funds for this leisure activity. Otherwise, there was no way he would have been able to afford an experience like this with his current financial condition. The flying ind, thewn, and the sparse trees, along with the simple-looking house all seemed both real and ethereal at the same time. The moonlight showering on them gave them an otherworldly vibe. Dating Altashia was expensive. At least this date was. The girl meant it when she said that she would make full use of his promise. "This. This is a beautiful view, Eren." Altashia said in a voice coated with exhration. What she was seeing was indeed a one-of-a-kind view. She was 5,000 meters above the ground. The full moon in front of her looked like she could touch it with her bare hands. Everything beneath her looked so tiny she felt it was inconsequential. Eren smiled as he watched Altashia''s excitement. ''Of course, it''s beautiful. I have a loan on my head for this view, damn it.'' Eren muttered to himself and took a long sigh. He then chuckled and joined Altashia in her sightseeing. Tonight was not the time to think about the robberies. They were both flying demon beast tamers. So they weren''t strangers to high altitudes. But both of their demon beasts were still young chicks in demon beast years. They wouldn''t be able to reach this height anytime soon. Furthermore, this was a flying ind. Riding one''s demon beast wouldn''t invoke the same feeling. There was a boat located at the edge of the floating ind with a runic air balloon attached to it. It could be used to fly around the ind in open space. The flying ind artifact had been given spatial control. And the boat''spatible array-based functions were in sync with it. The boat could only be used within 300 meters of the center of the flying ind. That meant the couple could step outside the ind using the boat and roam around the ind as well as over it if and when they want to. Eren led Altashia onto the small boat. Since he had paid for the whole package, he was entitled to make use of all the privileges his loan had granted him. "What will you do after I leave? Chase Dianna?" Altashia said with a smirk on her face. She was sitting near one corner of the boat while Eren was sitting near the other. Two wooden oars could be used as des to propel the boat forward. Although the boat''s direction and speed could be controlled using one''s mana sense, Eren made use of the oars anyway to add an authentic touch to their date. Two rankers were now sitting inside a wooden boat that featured an air balloon over it. They were moving in circles around the ind, which was suspended motionless in the sky. They could have talked about many things. Or they could have just sat there without talking, just enjoying the view. Yet Altashia asked about the other girl who hadn''t been mentioned in their previous conversation since the date had started. Eren was now used to questions like these thrown his way. Therefore, he would always prepare his answers beforehand. He chuckled before answering. "Haah! My next targets are monster girls." Eren chuckled as he said that. Altashia was caught off guard by his answer. She thought Eren was joking. And before she could think otherwise, her date followed up. You shouldn''t overthink this, Al. I have my fair share of experiences, and I embrace them all fondly. But do you really want me to talk about them and ruin the experience we have right now? I''d rather you talk about us than anyone else. Besides, I''ll give you one thing. I have never been with a girl more stunning or talented than you." He said with a serious expression on his face. His mana signature was steady when he said that. His eyes looked right into Altashia''s. Altashia responded by nodding at Eren. After that, she smiled and started talking about other things and her uing ns as the boat was rowed from nowhere to nowhere by her date. Eren stopped the boat at the same gallery they had used earlier. The pair got off the boat, which then quickly started flying off to its original position without anyone manning it. *** The pair talked about everything. They had made their ns known to each other. In the future, they would push themselves forward in their ranks with everything they had. But soon... the silence began to dominate their conversations. This extension of silence was amusing for Eren and stressful for Altashia. "What what will we do now?" Altashia asked with her short breaths and low voice that almost sounded like a whisper. She was standing by the railing of the gallery. Eren was behind her, looking at the scenery with his chin over the side of her shoulder. His arms tied around her waist like a firm noose. "What we came here to do of course." Eren whispered in the same manner into Altashia''s ears before turning her around. Their eyes met. Their warm breaths were partially visible due to the night''s cold. A near-stagnant atmosphere that didn''t have any visual or acoustic disturbance. A seamless nting of his lips onto hers didn''t take long for it to turn into a passionate kiss. === AN: This Blueballs-preventive mini-mass-release is thanks to Drin27. :D Chapter 612 Floating Island P2* Chapter 612 Floating Ind P2* Inside the bedroom on the top floor of a simple-looking houseC atop the flying ind. The couple shared arge, velvety bed. Sounds of smooches and moans. In one corner of the room, a firece created a cozy atmosphere that covered the entire space. The smell of wood-burning almost masked the musky smell of two bodies in heat. Almost. The lighting from the hearth was suddenly getting brighter before producing the sounds of wood popping. Eren was lying on his back with Altashia on top of him. Her legs spread on either side of his waist. Her butt crack rubbed against his wood. The dress she had worn had lifted her folded knees, which had enabled her to spread her legs as she did. "Ummmm!" "Aaaaah!" Sounds of some more smooching and bodies getting in contact with each other. Eren''s hands had minds of their own. They were exploring every inch of thendscape that was Altashia''s body. Altashia was on literal and metaphorical fire. Her understanding of her element had grown since she achieved Adept rank. The surface of her skin would catch fire every time it was touched or caressed by Eren''s ever-restless fingers. A fire that was not harmful to him. And yet, it intimidated him all the same. "These clothes... are so damn obstructive" While kissing and smooching, Altashia managed to say a few words. Her body was now rubbing against Eren''s. She was now in heat. And her partner''s clothing was now a nuisance in her attempt to devour him the way she wanted to. "Let me... let me get rid of them." A touch from Altashia''s fingers running over Eren''s clothes was all it took to get rid of them. She had a fire of her own at her fingertips. Soon, Eren was in his birthday suit. No piece of clothing was left on him because of the spell-generated incineration. Eren didn''tin. In addition, he did not feel out of his element. He was perfectly fine being naked in front of a virgin who acted like she was the boss of this whole event. The butcher smirked and a bunch of hatchlings of mes appeared around the couple. They climbed on Altashia at breakneck speeds before spreading their fire. "Eren wait I like this dre" Late. It was toote. Eren''s casting time in animated spells had improved beyond his rank. The hatchlings of the me he generated were more lively and potent than before. Add to the fact that the Adept ranker who had been in a trance-like state, the me hatchlings'' raid on Altashia''s clothes was a sessful endeavor. Unlike Altashia, Eren had kept some articles of clothing on Altashia untouched. The ck brassiere that held her ample jugs, which was made from flimsy material, had survived the fire. Or more precisely, it served as a visual treat for the arsonist who had started the pro-naked me movement. p! Eren pped both of Altashia''s ass cheeks with his hands. She had worn ckcy undies as well. Her buns were half exposed and ready to be grabbed by his untamed hands. Altashia pouted when she saw her favorite dress was no more. Then she felt Eren''s hands on her buttcheeks and her pussy started dripping some more. A sultry smell was released in the air when that happened. Eren''s nostrils knew what had happened and he started groping at her ass some more before rubbing his fingers over her mount from the back. Altashia enacted her revenge for her favorite dress by digging right in and biting on Eren''s lips before inserting her tongue into his mouth. Completely ignoring the fact that it was her who had incinerated Eren''s clothes first. ''Damn, this feisty woman.'' Eren said to himself with blood dripping from the fresh bite Altashia had inflicted on his lower lip. He wiped the blood with the back of his hand before rolling to his side when Al was on top of him. The positions were reversed. Eren was in charge. He pinned Al''s arms above her head with his one hand. With the other hand, he groped her boob while licking her neck. "Aaaaah!" Altashia''s legs kicked empty air and her back arched as she felt another wave of ecstasy hit her. No matter how confident she acted, every touch of Eren in her sensitive ces was a bit too much for her. Eren kneaded Al''s boobs into abstract shapes while they were still d in a bra. The brassiere was keeping her ample jugs together, enabling him to peek into her cleavage. A visual treat for his eyes. He also felt that their size had increased after Al''s breakthrough. "I have to say ck does look gorgeous on you, Altashia darling. Hehe. Pose for me. Cup your boobies into your own hands, would you?" Eren said after he stopped kissing her. He also released the hands that were bound. Thetter was not happy that she was stopped from smooching him some more. And she frowned when she heard her partner''s strange request. "Cup them with your own hands, why don''t you? They are all yours. Nowe here." Altashia tried to pull Eren toward her again. But the butcher squatted down and swept them away with a smirk on his face. Soon after, he reiterated his wish. "I''m not asking much. Let me watch you squeeze them firmly with your hands. Where''s the harm in trying?" Altashia gave another pout to Eren before doing what he wanted from her. She grabbed her own boobs and gave them a firm squeeze. The butcher ced his hands on hers before following her actions. Eren always liked Altashia''s boobs. He had been pretty vocal about it in the past as well. Her first thought was that he was merely saying it to express his affection for her in his own lewd way. But it turned out that Eren had a thing for her boobs. This made Al happy and excited at the same time. She found more joy in doing what she was doing. She started to y with herself for real by twisting her nipples between her fingers. This sight was exhrating for Eren. He adjusted his position and brought his hips closer to Altashia''s tits. His erect rod was now clearly visible. Altashia had sneaked a peek at Eren''s 8incher earlier. But she didn''t want to dwell on it after imagining how it would fit inside her. But now that it was right near her face, she couldn''t ignore it any longer. "Hold your tits together. I have a "job" for them." Chapter ?613 Floating Island P3* Chapter ?613 Floating Ind P3* "Hold your tits together. I have a "job" for them." Eren said and pursed his lips beforeughing a bit. His voice was domineering yet casual. Altashia chuckled when she saw Eren''s love for her boobs was stronger than she had initially anticipated. A pleasant surprise. That made her proud of her assets. She did what she was asked to do and held her breasts together with her hands. The hatchlings of the me climbed on her breasts and made her brassiere disappear into thin air. "Damn. Their size and plushness are just the way I like them to be." Eren said and brought his rod closer to them. This would be his first tittyfuck after the start of his second timeline. And he needed boobs like these to perform the act, which normally wouldn''t be as thrilling to him as it was now. Eren drove his dick between her tits and into the cleavage Altashia had created by pressing her boobs from either side. At first, she didn''t feel anything. But then Eren started twisting one of her nipples with his one hand. The five 3-inch hatchlings of the me that were on standby acted fast when they understood what their master wanted. They made their way behind him and made Altashia''s ck undies the target of their fire. "Aaaah!" Altashia couldn''t help but moan when she felt Eren''s hand on herdy mound as he kept on driving his dick in and out between her cleavage. She hadn''t taken care of her pubic growth because she didn''t feel it necessary. The blonde pubic hair had a darker huepared to the hair on her head, making them look curly and golden. Like threads of gold that glistened with Al''s love juices. "Hmm. I don''t want to state the obvious but at the same time, I can''t just ignore it. You are pretty wet down there, Al. Spread your legs apart. Let''s give your pussy the attention she deserves." Eren spoke in a voice that indicated he waspletely in control of his emotions. Although he was enjoying the feel of Altashia''s boobs around his dick, it didn''t prevent him from focusing somewhere else on Al''s body at the same time. Altashia spread her legs and felt Eren''s finger rub her clit. Her body''s first response was to close her legs once again. But she held on and kept them open. "Aaaaah Eren. Slow and steady. I''m a bit oof sensitive down there." Altashia let go of the one end of the breast as Eren''s hand did the job. She then used her free hand to grab the wrist of Eren''s other hand, which was slowly working on her pussy. Altashia guided Eren''s hand along the length of her pussy crack. She felt her partner''s fingers wantonly massaging and exploring herdy part, making it moister than before. As Eren yed with Altashia''s dripping wet hole, he increased his strokes and drove his dick through two ample jugs at exceptional speed. He inserted his finger inside her while rubbing the clit with his thumb. His agile fingers as slime half-blood allowed him to do maneuvers that usually weren''t possible for a normal man. To make the tittyfuck morefortable, he spread her love juice over her boobies with his on-the-job fingers. The sound of the hearth''s crackling fire and Altashia''s moans were almost in sync. She resumed holding her boobs as per Eren''s wishes once again seeing that he was focusing on cumming on her tits. Just when Eren was about to burst, Eren heard Altashia''s words that she spoke with some difficulty from the height of her orgasmic point. "Eren I I can''t hold... Sheesh!" Altashia suddenly spun her head to the left and bit her lips hard as waves of ultimate bliss washed over her entire body. Her eyes were rolled back before the eyelids closed on them. Her pussy squirted the warm, wet, and sticky love nectar she was keeping and building inside her. The curly golden pubic hairs were drenched in her pussy juices, sticking close to her skin. Eren came on Altashia''s tits before lying beside her. He took a long breath before looking at Al who still had her eyes closed and smiled. A thick, musky scent started permeating the room that was stronger than before. It was mixed with the burning smell of wood and created a unique aromaticbination. Altashia slowly opened her eyes when the waves of ecstasy subsided. She still wanted more. But now she was in better control of herself. The warrior-ranker adjusted her vision and turned towards her partner who was looking at her from her left side. She tucked her hair behind her eyes and looked at him with her pretty blue eyes before speaking up. "Your hands are magical, Eren." Eren smiled before returning thepliment he received with apliment he had for her. "So are your tits, Al. Look at them. They heave up and down as you breathe. So beautiful." Eren said while fixing his gaze on Al''s naked titties. She followed his gaze and saw that her partner''s white load was on them. She also realized that some of it had stuck in her hair above her right ear. If she hadn''t turned to her left, the thick load would have gotten in her eyes. A dry haze was created around Altashia as she channeled her Adept rank mana through her body. It made every residual stain on her body disappear, whether it was hers or her partner''s. She had gotten fresh in her own way. This time, Altashia grabbed her tits with her own hands before pressing on them to entice Eren some more. She looked at him yfully before speaking up. "If you like them so much, I''ll feed them to you for as long as you like." Saying that Altashia climbed back on Eren and let her tits fall on Eren''s face. She copied Eren''s move and reached her hand behind her to stroke Eren''s dick. Eren wasn''t quite ready for Altashia''s sudden move. But he didn''t mind. He weed it with open arms and an open mouth. Delicious. Although Altashia''s right nipple didn''t have any distinct taste, it felt delicious to Eren. He used his own hand to fine-tune her other free nipple. On the other hand, he began to work on her pussy some more. The two rankers had their hands full satisfying each other. Chapter 614 Floating Island P4* Chapter 614 Floating Ind P4* "Eeeeeeeesh!" An ecstatic feminine moan was released from Altashia''s mouth as she cummed on Eren''s groin hard. Eren removed his wet fingers from her pussy and wiped them on her thighs. He then grabbed her pear-shaped ass and pped hard on it. Altashia maintained her position as she adjusted her vision and looked at Eren who was still pinned down from his waist because she sat on him. She managed to smile at him before tying her hair into a knot. She was getting ready for the final act. She steadied herself and channeled her Adept rank mana through her body, getting rid of any fatigue. She took a long breath before speaking up. "Eren before we proceed any further, I have to warn you about something." Altashia smiled at her partner as she said that. She didn''t mind giving him her first time. But someone else might. She needed to make sure Eren understood what he was signing up for. Eren looked at her with his eyebrows raised. "What is it?" He asked casually. "You see. Gramps Altair is very protective of me. And I don''t think I''ll be able to hide anything from him. You know where I''m going with this, right?" Eren realized what was going on, and he startedughing. He patted her asscheeks with his hands one more time before responding. "Hahaha! I''m not scared of any Crimson Ghost. I''ll whoop his ass too if he bothers me too much." This time, the butcher wasn''t thinking with his brain. Nevertheless, even if he could, he would have chosen the same answer. Altashia had a tinge of anger on her face when she heard Eren talk badly about her Gramps. But then she smiled after thinking that she had made her stance clear. She also felt relieved that Eren wasn''t scared of her Gramps like the rest of the guys. Eren pulled Altashia onto him before she could think of any more excuses to dy the inevitable. He kissed her and inserted his tongue into her before rubbing his now-erect dick over her dripping wet pussy. Then he broke the kiss and made Altashia look him in the eyes. He adjusted his dick with his hands and positioned it right in front of her wet cave before speaking seriously. "From this moment on, you will be mine. And only mine. Here, in this kingdom. And any other kingdom. Any other continent. And other worlds. You''ll stay mine. Always." Then Eren kissed Altashia''s forehead. Thetter looked at him endearingly as she listened to his voice. She felt his heartbeat by keeping her hand over his chest. She inhaled his scent and recorded it in her memories. She looked at his serious face and stored it deep inside the memory pce of her most cherished moments. Altashia spread her legs further. Adjusted her pelvis and made her pussy more essible to Eren''s dick from behind her. She stared at him with her blue eyes before responding to his feelings. "Eren, your presence has filled my monochrome life with colors. It has inspired me to reach heights that I couldn''t see before. Make me yours. For now. Forever." Eren smiled when he heard Altashia look at him with her pretty eyes. He watched her expressions with keen interest as he slowly drove his dick inside her. For a while, there was no obstruction. Altashia''s pussy walls had tightened around Eren''s rod. But since she had spread her legs and adjusted her pelvis, his pration wasn''t too harsh on her. Eren held Al''s hips with both his hands from either side when he felt a thin veil of something obstructing his rod from prating deeper into her. He shed his signature grin as he shoved his meat deeper into Al''s wet cave. "Aaaaaah! You bas" Al couldn''t help cursing when she felt the pain of turning from a young girl into a woman. Her nails dug deep into Eren''s shouldersC bypassing his mana defense. And yet, he didn''t mind. They both were in pain. And they kinda liked it. "Hehe! Think of this as removing one''s loose tooth when you are still a mortal child. The faster you do it, the sooner the pain will subside." Altashia channeled her Adept rank manaC ignoring whatever bullshittery her partner hade up with to justify his scoundrel-like acts. She hmphed and tightened her grip around Eren''s shoulders some more before responding. "Now that... Oof... the deed has been done, let''s see whosts till the end. With my Adept rank mana backing me, I''m sure I''ll be able to take "extra care" of you." Eren was impressed by how quickly Altashia recovered from her first-time pain. She also threw a challenge at him based on her higher-ranking status. So the butcher decided to go all out too. Eren liked to reply with his actions more than his words. He started slowly driving his dick deep inside her pussy. Her love juices now had tinges of red mixed with them as they ran along the length of Eren''s rod and onto his balls. "Aaaah. Slow, Eren. Let me get adjusted, first." While adjusting her hips some more, Altashia said. Having lifted her pelvis a bit higher than her previous position, she assumed Eren wouldn''t be able to make full use of the rod''s length. But every time she tried to create a distance, her pussy would find that she was still getting filled with equal vigor and length by Eren''s dick. Altashia didn''t pay attention to this phenomenon. She was too busy coping with the pain that was slowly going away. It was reced by an even more ecstatic feeling than before. Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! "Aaaah. More Give me more. Right there! Yessss!" Eventually, the pain was nowhere to be found. And Altashia herself responded to Eren''s thrusts from below by ramming her pussy onto his rod. Altashia looked up above her and let loose her blonde hair. She pinched her nipples before letting Eren do the job for her with his hand. It didn''t take her long to ride his dick with all she had. With each deep thrust, she wanted more from her man. With each deep thrust, her body was edging closer to another orgasm. One that was more intense than the previous twobined. Eren pped Al''s buns. He kneaded them to his heart''s content before focusing on her boobs. He made full use of his leg muscles to drive his rod deeper into Al''s wet cave with gradually increasing speed and force. He also used his me hatchlings to excite his partner some more. They were all over her body. Particrly licking her sensitive areas. With me-tipped forked tongues. Eren had done everything he could to make Altashia''s first time a pleasurable experience for her. His efforts paid off soon enough. "Aaaaaaaah!" Altashia''s body shuddered as she squirted all over Eren''s dick and thighs. His face was covered with her blonde hair as shey helpless over him. Since Al had challenged him, he had decided to raise the stakes for her. Altashia got hold of herself and channeled her Adept-ranked mana once again. Her body had been tempered by her breakthrough as well, enabling her to recover her stamina more quickly than ever before. "Haaah! I should have known. The closebat expert in you is taking our lovemaking as a duel. Hehe! If that''s how you want to y, so be it." Altashia said while tucking her hair behind her ears. Her smirk told the butcher that she was ready for another round as soon as she was done with her orgasm. "By all means." Eren said and his Little Guy woke up with new vigor. This time, he increased the girth a bit more to fill Al uppletely and put pressure on her pussy walls. The butcher rolled to his side once again, pinning Al down below him. Thetter weed his charge with open arms while looking at him endearingly. Eren prepared himself to go down on Al. The Amazon of golden hues was waiting for him. ''It''s going to be a long night.'' The butcher chuckled to himself before embarking on his southbound charge. Chapter 615 Full White Raven guild. Morning 7.30. Agatha''s chamber. The study hall. With semi-revealing clothes on, Agatha sat at her desk. Eren was sitting on the other side. The desk was full of scrolls andyouts. There was a small array that was projecting a pair of spectral screens. The first screen disyed a map of the guildnd. The other screen had a sheet of vague numbers that didn''t really make sense to Eren. There was a small staring contest going on. Agatha looked at Eren some more before finally voicing her question. "So you''re telling me, not only did you run out of money these days, but you also have a loan on your head?" She said this as she caressed her forehead with her hands as if she was experiencing a headache. Only now did she understand why Eren had been such a caring and gentle loverst night. It was all so that he could drop this bomb on her. She then asked Eren how much the principal amount they were talking about in the loan was. The butcher scratched the back of his head, coughed a bit, and answered Miss Manager honestly. "It''s roughly 50,000 Extols give or take." Agatha didn''t think she could get any more shocked at the moment. But Eren''s answer proved her wrong. "Do you even know our financial condition? What did you do to get a 50K Extol loan on your head?" The butcher sighed and told Agatha his side of the story. "You don''t understand, Aggy. That money is bound toe back to us with double or triple the amount. Let''s consider this as an investment." Agatha looked at Eren keenly when thetter finished speaking. Frankly, she couldn''t tell whether or not Eren was speaking the truth. So all she could do was sigh and give up. "Alright. Perhaps we can tap into some of our reserve funds" Eren shook his head in denial when he heard Agatha''spromise. He took out his Sativa stick from his storage and lit it up before exining a few things to her. "I don''t want money, Miss Manager. I just gave you a heads-up about my situation so that you don''t count my contribution when making ns regarding the guild''s construction matters. Remember, the guildes first. These first few months are critical for us. We can''t afford to use the guild money recklessly no matter how much of a pinch we may be in." Agatha smiled when she received Eren''s answer and nodded at him. This was the Eren she knew. He had never been reckless with his spending. Plus, it was him that had given her the rights to manage his assets. He could have tapped into the guild''s reserved money himself and there would be nobody to stop him. It turned out she didn''t have to worry about anything. She furrowed her brows before asking her master.please visit "But what will you do if you don''t have any money on you?" Eren shrugged his shoulders before replying to her. His tone spoke of his carefree nature. "Oh. Don''t worry about me. I''ll soon be going off the grid for a while. I have made my arrangements just waiting for a few things to get settled so that I can finally concentrate on the ns that had been dyed for a long time." A sense of puzzlement spread across Agatha''s face as she listened to Eren''s answer. She thought that she knew everything about Eren there was to know about. He seemed to have ns beyond the biggest project he had undertaken as well. Agatha adjusted her sleeveless string-top that was basically nightwear before propping her head on the cradle she had made with her before asking him about the ns. "What are those ns? You want any of our help?" Eren felt that the half-blood manager of his looked cute under the morning rays that were falling on her through the window. Her gray eyes sparkled in the sunrays. Her figure-- ever so enchanting. Agatha had started treating Renar, Viper, and Tuan as part of her resources. She could spare one of the guys for Eren if he had another project running. Any more and her guild ns will slow down. Eren shook his head in denial before answering her. "Nobody can help me. You can keep everyone busy here. I''ll handle my things from my end. I just expect you to take care of all the guild-rted tasks on your own when I''m gone." Agatha nodded when she heard Eren''s answer. But before she could say or ask him anything more, the butcher looked behind him as if he had sensed something. He then looked at Agatha with a grin on his face before speaking up. "As for things I''m waiting out on herees the first lot." A knock was heard on the door. Agatha first changed her outfit by wearing an overcoat. She then operated the runic array that was ced on her desk and let the person in. It was Renar who seemed to have been wearing formal clothes. He had alsobed his hair, which made him look like apletely different person. Agatha and Eren both could see the excitement written on his face. Before they could ask anything from him, the guy spoke up as soon as he reached the desk. "Hahaha! Agatha, Eren. It''s great I could get both of you here at the same time. I just received some good news from Viper. The sales of our potions have skyrocketed all of a sudden. The distributor chain is getting crazy with its demands. Our stocked potions that we have prepared for a long time are already being used. And with the current demand, we''ll be out of deliverable goods within two weeks." Renar said while pping his palm on the table. He had first thought that they were going to stay poor for a long time before they could see any cash flow. But it turned out that the butcher''s multi-front strategy was paying dividends. This time, Agatha wasn''t as surprised as Renar thought she would be. Eren had already given her a huge shock with his loan amount. So this news was something she managed quite well. In fact, she was expecting news like this. Chapter 616: Setting Things In Motion for the Guild P1

Chapter 616: Setting Things In Motion for the Guild P1

White Raven guild. Morning 7.30. Agatha''s chamber. The study hall. With semi-revealing clothes on, Agatha sat at her desk. Eren was sitting on the other side. The desk was full of scrolls andyouts. There was a small array that was projecting a pair of spectral screens. The first screen disyed a map of the guildnd. The other screen had a sheet of vague numbers that didn''t really make sense to Eren. There was a small staring contest going on. Agatha looked at Eren some more before finally voicing her question. "So you''re telling me, not only did you run out of money these days, but you also have a loan on your head?" She said this as she caressed her forehead with her hands as if she was experiencing a headache. Only now did she understand why Eren had been such a caring and gentle loverst night. It was all so that he could drop this bomb on her. She then asked Eren how much the principal amount they were talking about in the loan was. The butcher scratched the back of his head, coughed a bit, and answered Miss Manager honestly. "It''s roughly 50,000 Extols give or take." Agatha didn''t think she could get any more shocked at the moment. But Eren''s answer proved her wrong. "Do you even know our financial condition? What did you do to get a 50K Extol loan on your head?" The butcher sighed and told Agatha his side of the story. "You don''t understand, Aggy. That money is bound toe back to us with double or triple the amount. Let''s consider this as an investment." Agatha looked at Eren keenly when thetter finished speaking. Frankly, she couldn''t tell whether or not Eren was speaking the truth. So all she could do was sigh and give up. "Alright. Perhaps we can tap into some of our reserve funds" Eren shook his head in denial when he heard Agatha''spromise. He took out his Sativa stick from his storage and lit it up before exining a few things to her. "I don''t want money, Miss Manager. I just gave you a heads-up about my situation so that you don''t count my contribution when making ns regarding the guild''s construction matters. Remember, the guildes first. These first few months are critical for us. We can''t afford to use the guild money recklessly no matter how much of a pinch we may be in." Agatha smiled when she received Eren''s answer and nodded at him. This was the Eren she knew. He had never been reckless with his spending. Plus, it was him that had given her the rights to manage his assets. He could have tapped into the guild''s reserved money himself and there would be nobody to stop him. It turned out she didn''t have to worry about anything. She furrowed her brows before asking her master. "But what will you do if you don''t have any money on you?" Eren shrugged his shoulders before replying to her. His tone spoke of his carefree nature. "Oh. Don''t worry about me. I''ll soon be going off the grid for a while. I have made my arrangements just waiting for a few things to get settled so that I can finally concentrate on the ns that had been dyed for a long time." A sense of puzzlement spread across Agatha''s face as she listened to Eren''s answer. She thought that she knew everything about Eren there was to know about. He seemed to have ns beyond the biggest project he had undertaken as well. Agatha adjusted her sleeveless string-top that was basically nightwear before propping her head on the cradle she had made with her before asking him about the ns. "What are those ns? You want any of our help?" Eren felt that the half-blood manager of his looked cute under the morning rays that were falling on her through the window. Her gray eyes sparkled in the sunrays. Her figure-- ever so enchanting. Agatha had started treating Renar, Viper, and Tuan as part of her resources. She could spare one of the guys for Eren if he had another project running. Any more and her guild ns will slow down. Eren shook his head in denial before answering her. "Nobody can help me. You can keep everyone busy here. I''ll handle my things from my end. I just expect you to take care of all the guild-rted tasks on your own when I''m gone." Agatha nodded when she heard Eren''s answer. But before she could say or ask him anything more, the butcher looked behind him as if he had sensed something. He then looked at Agatha with a grin on his face before speaking up. "As for things I''m waiting out on herees the first lot." A knock was heard on the door. Agatha first changed her outfit by wearing an overcoat. She then operated the runic array that was ced on her desk and let the person in. It was Renar who seemed to have been wearing formal clothes. He had alsobed his hair, which made him look like apletely different person. Agatha and Eren both could see the excitement written on his face. Before they could ask anything from him, the guy spoke up as soon as he reached the desk. "Hahaha! Agatha, Eren. It''s great I could get both of you here at the same time. I just received some good news from Viper. The sales of our potions have skyrocketed all of a sudden. The distributor chain is getting crazy with its demands. Our stocked potions that we have prepared for a long time are already being used. And with the current demand, we''ll be out of deliverable goods within two weeks." Renar said while pping his palm on the table. He had first thought that they were going to stay poor for a long time before they could see any cash flow. But it turned out that the butcher''s multi-front strategy was paying dividends. This time, Agatha wasn''t as surprised as Renar thought she would be. Eren had already given her a huge shock with his loan amount. So this news was something she managed quite well. In fact, she was expecting news like this. Chapter 617: Setting Things In Motion for the Guild P2

Chapter 617: Setting Things In Motion for the Guild P2

Agatha nodded at Renar and told him to grab a chair beside the butcher. Thetter looked at Eren confusedly as if to ask him whether the good news that he had given them was good news or not. Eren just shrugged his shoulders and stayed silent and asked Renar to just sit down beside him. Meanwhile, Miss Manager operated on the spectral screen and checked on the condition of her stocks. She then pondered a bit before answering. "That''s good. Tell them we are increasing the price for each type of our goods by 1.7x the previous amount. Sell our stocks to those who are willing to buy. Cut the ones that refuse to do business with us with our price hike." Renar didn''t know much about logistics. But even he knew such a price hike would affect the distribution chain. He was also not proficient in math. But he could see that 1.7x the previous amount was a subtle way of saying that White Raven was intending to double the price at which they were willing to sell their products. "Agatha, I am not objecting to your decisions, but are you sure? This kind of price hike might make us lose some avenues" Agatha sighed and answered Renar''s query. "You are right, big brother. But a niche presence in the market is always better than an intermittent presence. We want to keep injecting our potions into the market, whether they get used bymon rankers or elites. Do you know what happens when we run out of our current stocks and consumers are forced to find alternatives? There would be a sudden decrease in demand after we start supplying the goods again. By the time we resume operation on a grand scale, various counterfeits would have arrived. Trust me, I have experienced this on a smaller scale when I was in the Lionheart duchy." Agatha then looked at Eren to see him smile at her. It was him that had guided her with his harsh stance when their potions first got counterfeited. Now she was handling these things on her own. His smile gave her the confidence she needed to proceed with her decision. She paused before addressing Renar again. "Plus, 1.7x is still a great deal for our potions. In the future, I might raise the price even more before settling on something reasonable. The potions'' effects are what I am most familiar with. I can say for sure that our concoctions are one of a kindpared to thepetition we have in our segment. I''m sure most rankers would be inclined to save our potions for emergency use. White Raven potions won''t be a regr product for the rankers for a while. The market for Slughorn potions and others of such kinds will remain somewhat intact. We''ll not attract their wrath by being a niche product." Agatha said and took a long breath. She had expected their sales to increase dramatically from the start. She just didn''t know that the demand would be to this extent. And that too this early. Eren was very satisfied with Agatha''s way of handling things. She had be prudent when it came to marketing and logistical decisions. He now had even more confidence than before to leave things in her care. Renar looked at Eren to confirm and all he received was a nod from him. He didn''t add anything or overwrite any of Agatha''s decisions, giving her full autonomy over the guild''s potion manufacturing affairs. Just when Renar was about to leave, they all felt a distinct mana signature that belonged to the B-Rank. The source came from outside the window. Agatha and Renar both got tensed when they felt that presence. Aside from Eren''s smile and expression, the non-threatening aura of the mana signature reassured the ex-Beast Bloods that the B-Rank entity was not a threat. A young yet mature woman appeared on the ledge of the study hall''s window the next moment. She looked stunning in her simple adventurer attire. But a loose waist belt that was loaded with vials of potions told the onlookers that she relied on potions. Renar and Agatha met the Master ranker woman for the first time. But Eren knew her personally. Levine de Montmorency was on White Raven''snd. And she was here to stay. The butcher got up from his seat and walked up to the window before offering her a hand to grab onto. Levine epted her student''s gesture and graciously entered the study hall. Eren smiled at her before making introductions. "Agatha, Renar. Meet Master Levine de Montmorency. She is my potioning master and also our guild''s backer. From now on, she''ll mostly stay on guildnd. Agatha, make sure you prepare another chamber for Master Levine by the end of the day." Eren said while leading Levine to his seat. Renar had gotten up after seeing that A Master ranker was about to sit beside him. He and Eren stayed standing while Agatha was made to sit by Levine herself before asking a question to her. Agatha nodded at Eren''s suggestion before looking at Levine with tensed expressions. "So you are Agatha. Eren has talked about how well you are handling things for him. I guess we have a lot to talk about since this guy says he is going to be out of the picture for a while, who knows for what reason." Agatha gulped empty air before nodding at Levine. Frankly, Levine had tried to keep her presence as lowkey as possible. However, she was unable topletely put both rankers at ease from the start. Levine informed Eren that the Montmorency family members of her faction will being to the guildnd soon. She was also coordinating with Derringers at the time. Additionally, their people would arrive at the same time. Upon Levine''s request, the Derringer n had increased its man force deployed on the ground. She mostly addressed Agatha who was in charge of all guild matters and let her know about a few things. Levine also discussed the construction of buildings, arrays, and perimeter walls around guildnds. As Agatha listened to her talk, she realized how deep the water Eren and she were currently swimming in was. Agatha felt overwhelmed as she kept on listening to Levine''s talks. The mere presence of a Master ranked potioner had deterred her enough. The discussions about the construction also made her realize the guild she now called her own was poorer than she thought. Chapter 618 Beginning of a Legend Chapter 618 Beginning of a Legend "Drin, what do you think? Are we making the right choice bying here?" Bianka Bluedust asked Drin with a voiceced with doubt. Drin was ranked second in the Titus tournament. So his opinions mattered to them. Drin Dawn, William Shanks, Lily Geist, Wayne Wilder, Ketsu Hasu, Bianka Bluedust, Ray Rhinehart, and Silvera Rehrook. All of the top Titus tournament finalists hade to the White Raven to check things out under "Tuan''s" suggestion. They were led by Katalina Reich who seemed to have been already familiar with the ce. Unlike her group, Katalina wasn''t in doubt about her enrollment into the guild. She had already joined Eren''s guild. Drin looked at Bianka and then the rest of the rankers who seemed to be looking at him as well. He pursed his lips and started thinking out loud. "Let''s see. White Raven potions seem like something you''d want to keep on hand in case things go south. The guild seems to have the backing of two famous houses. Tuan and Katalina have joined the guild and seem to be very pleased with it. And then there''s that" Drin looked in the direction of the guildnd that was supposed to feature the entrance to Minerva''s Utopia. It was located in a cave that was inside a small hill. Almost conspicuous. Yet, now that it had appeared, it would send distinct mana signatures in the vicinity. And the guild''s building was within reach. Ketsu nodded at Drin''s statements before speaking up. "That''s right, guys. Owning a Utopia shouldn''t be underestimated. The guild is bound to see a sudden rise to prominence if they make effective use of the resources that they are rewarded with. A growing guild like this gives us more chances to grow ourselves. We just have to endure the initial hardships that are part and parcel of being part of a new guild." Ketsu was walking about a new guild being targeted by established guilds. This was amon practice to decreasepetition. Even though White Raven was protected by two big houses, this only extended to preventing high-ranking entities from interfering. Their presence acted as a deterrent against such rankers. But the two big houses would not normally get into the affairs of Novice and Ace rankers. So nobody in the Titus group was foolish enough to think that they would only get to have all the benefits by being part of a budding guild. Kitsu''s words implied that White Raven members would face challenges inpleting their missions if theye across parties of well-established guilds. But every big and small guild would have rivals of their own. And risks were everywhere, no matter where one looked. So Ketsu''s words didn''t deter anyone from thinking about joining the guild. But then there was Silvera who was still unconvinced about something. "There''s one thing you guys are not paying attention to. Minerva''s Utopia and potion manufacturing. This guild had its hands full dealing with potions and other activities rted to it. Will it be able to focus on normal rankers who are not potioners?" Silvera said while speaking softly. Her silver hair had been tied behind her head. This question was well-ced and valid. So almost everyone nodded at the statement. But then there came a voice opposing it. This was spelled confidence. This voice spelled ambition. "Potioneering is a tool for White Raven. A means to make money. Our business will never impede our rankers'' growth here. On the contrary, it would support them." The group then saw a ck-haired young man making his way towards them as he spoke using his voice imbued with mana. "Plus, you will be able to take White Raven potions at a discounted rate. You will get priority entry into Utopia when we figure out a few things. I believe these should be enough to make you think favorably about our guild." Eren said while being led towards Bianka''s group by Tuan. This was the guild''s master that hade to meet them personally. "Eren!" Katalina rushed in Eren''s direction as soon as she saw him. The butcher smiled at her before taking her into his arms the next moment. "What in the world" Bianka voiced everyone''s thoughts. It was the first time they saw Katalina acting cozy with someone other than Tuan. They were of the impression that she was with him. Eren didn''t pay heed to the questioning gazes and reached the group before continuing where he had left off. "White Raven won''t prepare your path for you, but it will prepare you to walk on it. Knowing the difference between the two would make the difference." Eren said and smiled looking at the Titus group. He had fought with them and against them. So he personally knew almost each of them. Eren''s words struck a chord. Their meaning was simple and something that highlighted how alone the ranker was in their ranking journey. Ultimately, it all came down to how well prepared a ranker was for their ranking journey regardless of how many resources were made avable to them. The group members also felt that Eren''s presence was somehow known to them. But they couldn''t put that feeling into words. Drin and the rest then processed to meet with Tuan who greeted them the way he should. He had already been briefed by Eren for that. Eren stayed silent for a bit before being introduced to the group one by one. Katalina still held his hands in hers. Eren cleared the remaining doubts of the group by speaking up once more. The White Raven guild takes its name from a fairy tale legend referring to a mythical beast named White Raven. They say that it is asrge as the sky itself. And yet, some stories depict it as a regr bird." Eren chuckled before lighting his Sativa stick. With his wind-element mana, he shaped a miniature white raven out of his smoke that pped its wings in front of the group. The butcher continued to work after marveling at his impromptu art. "The beast is unique even among the mythic tiers because they say that it can control all the elements. They say that it is so unique that it travels from one world to another. Without any restrictions ced on it. An entity that is not bound by one world. That''s why the legends depict it as a form of higher existence. Something that is not understood bymon sense." Eren''s White Raven flew through the sky before disappearing into thin air before the group. The butcher sighed and spoke his final words. "Obviously, the guild and I, as its founder, don''t expect this to be treated as the truth or anything like that. I just wanted to convey that the guild will remain all-inclusive to rankers of all backgrounds, irrespective of their past. Legends originate from humble beginnings, just like ours. So consider this as a prediction. White Raven guild would one day earn its name. With or without you, the guild would rise to unprecedented heights. Now the ball is in your court. Do you want to be in the spectators'' seat? Or do you want to be a part of this process?" Chapter ?619 Baran’s Predicament Chapter ?619 Barans Predicament Orc Lord Baran. An old Orc Lord like him had a very tough life. He had risked his life many times for his tribe. He remained steadfast on his evolutionary path while trying his hardest to care for his tribemates. Just when he had thought that he would reign supreme and rule over his tribe forever, a young gun named Kba appeared out of nowhere and kicked him out. At that time, he was at the peak of his evolutionary rank. Kba, who had fought him for the position of the tribe leader, was no ordinary monster. He seemed blessed by something that wasn''t supposed to exist on this continent in this era. Plus, he also seemed too young to be an Orc Lord. A battle for dominance ensued. The blessed monster showed Baran that sometimes diligent work wasn''t everything. One needed to stack all their advantages together to survive in a brutal world. The result of the battle was a foregone conclusion. Baran lost the match. And with it, he lost his right to rule his own territory and his own tribe. What was even more devastating was the fact that the entire tribe saw how he was defeated. As a permanent marker for his defeat, Baran also received an azure scar on his face by Kba that couldn''t be healedpletely. It reminded him of what he had lost and who he had lost it to every time he touched his face or every time he saw his reflection. Kba''s vigor, techniques, spells, and overall battle prowess when he fought with Baran were exceptional. It seemed that he hade from a very peculiar ce that nurtured battle warriors. Baran refused to believe that Kba had humble origins like the rest of the orcs in the Bands. But this realization couldn''t help Baran in his predicament. Kba''s charisma as a rising leader of the orc tribe couldn''t be denied when he won against Baran effortlessly. As a result, the tribe epted him with open arms and open legs. The rules for monster societies were simple. The one who had power would have all the advantages. No matter if the power was gained through diligence or shortcuts. The tribe''s strength was used to gather ranking resources. Plus, all thedies. The leader had ess to all resources and leisure activities. The position of a tribe leader wasn''t sought after for nothing. So when Baran fell from such a pedestal, he found it very difficult to cope with his situation. Thankfully, some of the support he gained during his rule over the tribe remained with him and stayed with him after he left the tribe. The diligence and care he had invested in his early years had paid off during his difficult times. So when he left his main tribe, he found that these monsters had followed him. Things such as loyalty and camaraderie were rare in monster societies if the majority of the members hadn''t received their rity. But monster societies weren''tpletely heartless either. They could feel loyalty and all the other range of emotions as they spent more time with their tribes. And these feelings only grew as the monsters progressed in their evolutions and received their "rity." Baran was just beginning to settle in his newly built tribe base, with monsters he could count on. He was recovering his powers and waiting to strike hard at the young gun who had dethroned him. He wanted to show Kba that he still had fire left in him. s. Fate never stopped ying cruel tricks on Baran. Another cmity befell the old Orc Lord and his newly formed tribe. The enemies were different. Their intentions were even more sinister. A group of human rankers had decided that somehow his new base was close to their settlements and attacked them. Orc Lord Baran was pissed beyond measure. The trouble kept oning not because of anyone but because of his own bad luck. He felt like cursing the god of orcs if there was any. Baran''s tolerance was exhausted finally. He was injured but not toothless. He also observed that the humans and human-like beings that had attacked him were lower in rank than him. This was enough to reveal himself despite his injured state. For once, he wanted to bully those who were lower in rank than him. Just to feel confident about himself. When he showed himself, he was out to kill. He spread his mana sense over the territory being attacked by human rankers and scanned the area. There was someone among those humans who had piqued his interest the most. So he thought of dealing with that person when he first showed himself. The human young man that Baran hade across was a very peculiar specimen ording to Baran''s logic. Even when he had exerted his Monster aura on him that belonged to his status as an Orc Lord, this Ace-ranked young man acted like it was no big deal. Baran was impressed. This was the first human he hade across that could withstand his Monster Aura while still being in the Ace rank. As a gesture of respect for his bravery, he disclosed his name first and asked the young man his name in return. Eren Idril. The young man respected the culture of the monsters and gave him his name. Baran was grateful to the human for that. And in the next moment, he wanted to kill him for it. After all, they had attacked his tribe first. Orc Lord Baran still remembered the guy''s name. His image and brave stance were still fresh in his mind. But it was just that. He never considered Eren to pose a threat to him. He was just about to finish the guy when someone else intervened. Baran realized toote that there was someone else among the human attackers who posed a mortal threat. If he had sensed this presence beforehand, he wouldn''t have shown himself at all. The first time Baran saw Altashia, she was looking at him from her flying demon beast. He could immediately feel that the girl was not something he should mess with. His monster instincts were tingling seeing her. Just like they were when he met the young man named Eren. The demon beast tamer didn''t allow Baran much room to escape or retaliate. She cast her demon spell on him and almost took his life. If it hadn''t been for his quick thinking and his attainment in his element, he would have been killed by a human who was supposed to be lower in power status than him. Baran had to pay the price for his escape. Monster evolutions could not be reversed in most circumstances. But still, he had regressed into the beginning of the Orc Lord stage. Such was Baran''s sad life. === AN: Orc Lord Baran gets introduced in chapter 425. Chapter 620 Challenger Chapter 620 Challenger Baran was back to square one when he fled from his newly created tribe. But at least his presence on the battlefield had deterred humans from concentrating on him. That had allowed some of his trusted followers to run away from human attackers. The incident also strengthened his image as the leader of the escaped tribe. The tribe was no more. But Baran could always form new tribes somewhere else in the Bands as long as he had monsters he could count on. And that''s what he did. He rebuilt his tribe from scratch. His tribe grew to its previous size by fighting the smaller orc tribes in the Anfang Bands and absorbing their poption. Finally! Baran thought that his time hade. He worked diligently with his remaining tribe mates to settle on newnd, away from the mess. Away from all the failures, he had experienced in his life. Time heals everything. Baran kept on putting his all into everything he did. His leadership qualities also increased as a result. He had set everything up in his tribe. There were Orc Leaders assigned to various tasks. A hierarchy of ranks had been created. Now all he needed to do was focus on his progress as a monster and enjoy life. That''s why he summoned 25 virgins into his private chamber. These hot orcinas were specially picked by him and his subordinates from the tribes he had defeated. This was his reward for all his arduous work. The conquest campaigns he had been running these few weeks and the blood he had shed for the same were worth it for this reward. Each of these Orcinas had attractive facial features. Apart from their green skins, they looked like human females. And all of them had bodacious curves and busty bodies, making them more beautiful than average humandies orcs hade across. All of these Orcinas were Orc Leaders. They were all trained for battle, ying various roles. Their progress in their respective elemental attainment was also substantial. Another positive thing about these hot Orcinas was that they had all received their "rity". In short, these young monster girls were not only going to be his ythings. But also huge support for his tribe. These smart and stunning Orcinas would prove their usefulness to the tribe in due time. But that would have to wait. He hadn''t summoned them in his chamber for such grand-scale ns. Right now. At this moment. Orc Lord Baran wanted to find redemption from the tragedies he had faced in his life. As old as he was, he still had a life left in him to partake in such activities. He just worried that he might have taken more than he could chew. 25 seemed like a big number to him when he saw them all together. It was especially distressing now when he had regressed to the beginning of his Orc Lord status. Performance anxiety. ''Never mind. I can always excuse myself by saying I have things to do when I can''t get it up. I am the chieftain of my tribe after all.'' Baran''s problem-solving skills were developed over time. He came to a logical solution to his numerical problem. He also patted himself on the back for being so intelligent. Tonight was the night. Yet, just when he was about to taste the fruits of hisbor, his pentagram-shaped contact tattoo near his ear was activated. Someone was calling him. ''What is it? Didn''t I tell you I''d be busy tonight? It''s a time like these when I regret saving you from those vile evil human rankers.'' Baran replied in a tone that conveyed extreme irritation. It was the same Monster Leader who he had saved using his powers when the humans had attacked his second tribe. The same Orc Leader who Eren had tried to kill-steal from Lyon. He had now be Baran''s point of contact for the rest of his subordinates. The Orc Leader felt wronged by Baran every time he was reminded of how he was saved. He then sighed before reporting things to his savior. ''I''m sorry, chieftain. But there''s one man who has defeated every one of our guys of his caliber in these few days. Tonight, he wants to challenge you for the position of chieftain." The Orc Leader informed his leader honestly. Since they had attacked and absorbed a bunch of small-time tribes from Anfang Bands, there was always a case of internal conflict between the newly added members and previously present members. These disputes were easy to settle in monster societies. A fight. Whoever won the fight would be the right one. That''s what the tribespeople were doing after Baran decided not to expand his tribe via conquest any further. They were trying to find the most suitable roles for themselves by fighting for them. They were challenging each other inbat to see who would be stronger. Then they would distribute the positions of power and responsibilities ording to the battle results first and personal preferences second. Most Orcs wanted a position in the hunting parties. That''s because they received a significant share of resources after the tribe leader. Of course, the orc women preferred to mate with them as well. So an orc challenging another orc for a battle was amon sight and part of the daily routine. But apparently, someone had applied this dispute-settling method to challenge Orc Lord Baran. A lower-level monster was challenging a higher-level monster in terms of evolution. Now, this was a rare incident. It could be seen as an insult to the higher-ranked monster. Especially, when he was supposed to be the chieftain of that tribe. This was personal. Baran had to respond in kind. "Damn it." Baran cursed aloud before looking at the fruits of hisbor that he had yet to taste. He sighed and spoke up. "Stay here and getfy, my treasures. I''lle back quickly." Baran ordered 25 hot Orcinas before stepping outside his chamber. He was determined to beat this challenger to a pulp for interrupting his leisure time. Chapter ?621 Orc Leader vs. Orc Lord Chapter ?621 Orc Leader vs. Orc Lord Baran''s tribe. A battle ring could be seen, located in the middle of the tribe ground. "Which tribe did you belong to before joining us?" Baran asked an Orc Leader who seemed to be just a step away from evolving into an Orc Lord. This Orc Leader looked young. But he also looked like he had strayed a bit from his evolution path. A mutant. The Orc Leader didn''t reply to Baran''s question. He was standing in the ring looking at Orc Lord Baran with a cold gaze, who by the way observed him from outside the ring. Baran frowned when he didn''t receive anything from the challenger. He was about to attack him then and there but soon heard his go-to subordinate Raadoo''s voice. "Chieftain, it seems he is mute. And his name is Varhan. He has written his name in front of me so that we can call him that." Baran nodded to seemingly nobody when he received the news. Then he spoke with the challenger he believed would be an asset to his tribe. After all, Varhan had defeated all the other Orc Leaders. He needed to cultivate assets like him if he wanted his tribe to grow. In the end, he decided to address the guy''s troubles rather than kill him. "Listen, Varhan. We can have our duel whenever we want. But the oue of this duel is already clear. So I hope that you don''t leave the tribe after getting defeated. We need individuals like you. You are strong and able-bodied. I''m sure we can find a ce for you at the hunters'' party. Prove your worth there and you''d be made captain of your party. How''s that?" Baran guessed that Varhan must have gained his rity from the way he was behaving. He was not surrounded by a wild aura. Only controlled chaos. His progression in the element also seemed too significant for him to not receive one. He offered him all the perks he could think of to get a positive response from him. Baran wasn''t expecting any verbal reply from Varhan. But fate had decided to shock him yet again. "No, Baran. You got it all wrong. I hope YOU don''t leave the tribe after getting defeated by me. That is if I spare your life after defeating you." Varhan spoke in an orc tongue. Although his speech was a bit funny, his meaning had been conveyed effortlessly. The butcher was slowly progressing in his attempt to learn a foreign tongue. Varhan''s speech was delivered in a cold tone, which surprised everyone. First, the audience was shocked that Varhan could speak when he had remained silent for a few days since he was integrated into the tribe. Then it was left aghast by the words Varhan had used to address Baran. Even with his regressed powers and aged appearance, Baran was still an Orc Lord. Baran didn''t have to be a genius to know that Varhan was mocking him using his own words. Hearing this, the Orc Lord wanted to beat this young orc lord and put some sense into him. The battle ring was their tform to prove who was qualified to lead the ever-growing tribe. Varhan smiled wickedly when he saw Baran enter the ring. *** Demon Beast Transformation Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Total Control Wind-Fire Wings The butcher was here to dominate. Using the most potent spells he had at his disposal, he began. Baran had just summoned his quicksilver element into existence when he saw Varhan being all out after an exchange of a few moves. The Monster Lord was stupefied, to say the least. ''Is he also blessed?'' Baran thought to himself and his gaze intensified. He wondered if the guy was sent here by Kba. The same young Orc Lord who had defeated him. That would exin why he wanted to challenge him and take his position. "You tell your boss that I''m not afraid of him." Baran yelled before manifesting arrows made of quicksilver above his head and aligning them up in an arc format. He raised his hands and sent those arrows flying towards Varhan while he created some more quicksilver to defend himself with. Swoosh! The arrows flew at breakneck speeds and aimed at various parts of Varhan''s body all at once. Yet, Varhan didn''t fear them at all as he saw them zeroing in on him. His right hand sported a Shamshir known as Rigor Mortis while his left hand was gripping a fire-element sword. The butcher could have dodged the arrows just fine. But he wanted to break Baran''s reliance on his arrows. So he decided to withstand his attack using his elemental fusion. p! The Wind Fire Wings spread out before covering his entire body like an egg''s outer shell. He also had his weapons positioned defensively in front of him, to protect his vitals. Zoom! The arrows collided with Wind-Fire Wings and a distinct mana pulse was released in the surrounding area. A mana manifested spell of Ace-rank collided with something simr to one of Adept-rank. And yet, the Adept-like spell couldn''tpletely outss the Ace-ranked spell. The elemental fusion had allowed the Wind-Fire wings to incinerate the majority of the arrows while eating away their vector force. ng! The few arrows that did pass through the wings shed with the butcher''s weapons and stoppedpletely in their tracks. The Wind-Fire wings were more powerful than the butcher had imagined. And this was when the spell wasn''t meant to be used as an offensive or defensive spell but only as a support spell. ''Wings and projectiles. This Orc Lord Baran has given me a wonderful idea for using my Wind-Fire Wings in the future. Hehe. I must thank him.'' The butcher thought and opened his wings wide, revealing his unscathed orc form for Baran and his entire tribe to see that had gathered there to watch the battle. An Orc Leader had managed to block the attacks of an Orc lord. The audience couldn''t decide if Varhan was more talented or Baran was just too old to pose him any threat. Baran saw with anger and fear as Varhan smiled at him after revealing himself. He watched with trepidation as thetter took a flight in the air using his wings. A huge wind force would be generated whenever he pped his wings, along with a mana pulse which told onlookers that what they were seeing wasn''t a normal spell. Varhan stopped a few meters away from Baran and looked down from his position to address him. "I don''t have any boss you speak of, Baran. But I don''t mind being one myself. Now let''s see if you can survive my attacks." Varhan said as he summoned fireballs into the space above him. A bunch of wind des also formed around each of the fireballs, giving them an additionalyer of lethality. The butcher always wanted to spam spells like this from the sky on his victims. The feeling was akin to lording over his opponents. And he loved it. As Baran looked up and focused his gaze, his eyes reflected the light of so many fireballs that had appeared in the sky above him. He gulped empty air as he prepared his quicksilver to be used as a shield. A futile attempt to lessen the damage. Even Baran knew that the match was settled at the time. What he didn''t know till now was the fact that the one flying above his head like a cmity was the same human male he had seen a few months back. Chapter 622 Lost in Translation Chapter 622 Lost in Trantion "Breeeeergh!" An orc shrill resounded in the battle ring. Baran had various sword wounds on his body. Some of his skin had been burnt. Others had been electrocuted and still had lightning streaksing out of them. Baran''s body was being invaded by foreign mana. Mana''s rank was lower than his body could handle. Therefore, the damage wasn''t something he couldn''t deal with at all. But the way the elements were used in those attacks made it possible for the foreign mana to stay inside his body and deal damage over time. Now Baran had slowly festering wounds on his body. "Breeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Skoh Shesh" Eren in his Varhan form had stress lines on his forehead as he listened to Baran saying something to him angrily in orc tongue. He found it difficult to keep up with the monster''s tongue even though he could understand it. Especially now, since Baran was seen rambling about endlessly. ''You want me to trante?'' Alephee asked Eren before chuckling a bit. Thetter sighed and responded. ''Naah. I''m good. Let the guy speak. I''m too tired to decipher the whole thing. But this old monster is saying how life is unfair to him.'' Varhan hade down from his flight. With this elemental fusion, he reached new heights in fire and wind elemental attainments. Wind-Fire Wings was a powerful spell. But it turned out that it was way too powerful for his current level. His mana storage couldn''t keep up with such a potent spell for a long time. There was a reason rankers and monsters progressed further in the way of their elements as they progressed further in their respective paths to power. Having regr attainment in the element wasn''t necessarily a bad thing. Because it supported the entity''s existing capabilities. It would appear that the butcher had surpassed his rank when it came to the ways of fire and wind. So now he had to use the spell sparingly if he wanted to keep on fighting for longer. Varhan wasn''t unscathed in his fight against Baran either. He had various puncture wounds on his body. But they were all on non-critical spots. The butcher was back to experimenting with his spells once again. A lot of the wounds he had received were due to the wrongbination of spells he had chosen to employ at the time. And yet, he wasn''t bothered. Baran didn''t pose him any threat. This was the right time to experiment. Against someone who could take his spells head-on. Varhan realized that Baran wasn''t about to shut up anytime soon. As he cleared his throat, he spoke carefully in orcish. "Yo, my man, Baran. I think there''s a bit of misunderstanding. What untouched treasure are you worried about? I''m not trying to steal your treasure. At least not unless it''s something too significant. I am even fine with keeping you alive. Anyway. Let''s finish this first." Varhan said and cast his movement spell. Alephee wanted to correct Eren''s misunderstanding of the foreignnguage. Baran didn''t mean ranking resources when he said the word "treasure." He was referring to something else. But she figured out that Eren woulde to know what Baran was talking about eventually. So she kept quiet and let Eren handle all the matters. Varhan approached Baran with two swords in his hands. He had taken out the Rigor Mortis set this time. He had a high level of attainment in the elements of wind and fire. However, he could still improve his lightning element attainment. This was the case even when he had digested the gains of his former army colleague. ''I need a new lightning element snack.'' When the butcher considered digesting another entity that possessed lightning element affinity, he licked his lips and showed signs of greed. He did this while approaching Baran. Thetter got spooked by his opponent''s facial expressions and started screaming again. "De de devil. I I''m fine with you taking my treasure. Just don''t make me your treasure. I don''t want to be any guy''s treasure. Just just kill me. I am old enough to ept my death at this point. Fuck. Life is so unfair." Baran dropped to his knees and canceled his quicksilver manifestation just when the butcher reached him. He arched his eyebrows in confusion before asking his opponent. "What is the meaning of this? Why did you stop?" Baran took a long breath and shook his head in denial before replying. His nails were digging into his palms. "Just just kill me." Baran said and stretched his neck. The butcher retreated into a distance just in case the Orc Lord was up to something. Then he lowered his weapon before speaking up. "Why do you want to be killed? Didn''t I say that I could keep you alive?" The butcher meant what he said to Baran. Originally, he had nned to kill Baran or any other orc monster he saw that was up to his mark. But he changed his ns after seeing Baran could be managed by him into helping him. The guy had regressed into his powers. This was good news for the butcher as he could exert his dominance on Baran without worrying about any mutiny from him anytime soon. The butcher was going to enter the Oni dungeon soon. But before that, he needed to refine his Blood Seed that was associated with the orc monster race. He could do that by targeting high-ranked orc monsters and using his bloodline powers on them. Alephee had noted that Eren needed to be careful in using his spells when he was in his Orc form. That''s because their spell signatures weren''t quite monster-like. Refining the Blood Seed was the remedy he had found for that problem. So after settling his affairs with his guild, Eren entered the Bands in his Varhan form. He was killing orcs by targeting lone orcs from various orc tribes and refining his Blood Seed while staying within them. That was when he saw the tribe getting attacked by Baran. The butcher recognized Baran instantly. As a result, he mixed himself into the chaos and came to Baran''s newly built tribe grounds after thetter took over the attacked tribe. The Orc Lord who had the power to kill Eren a few months ago was now on his knees begging to kill him. Due to this scene, he couldn''t help but smile after noticing his progress. Chapter ?623 An Orc’s Treasure Chapter ?623 An Orcs Treasure Baran''s tribe grounds. Midnight. A shabby butrge one-story house made of earth-element walls and wood-element detailingC serving as a chieftain''s house. A spacious hall that had yooperlite stones attached to its ceiling. But the hall didn''t need any extra light source as one side of the hall opened up to a big garden. Rather, it was wild vegetation that looked like a garden. The moonlighting from the garden area of the hall was bright. The yooperlite stones just added to the ambiance. One had to say that Baran was very particr about the aesthetics of his living space even while being a monster. A book should not be judged by its cover. A monster shouldn''t be judged by his circumstances. There was an orc sitting leisurely on a shoddily crafted chair. His legs stretched over the nearest wooden structure, which served as a poor excuse for a work desk. This orc had won over Baran in front of his tribe. That too, while being an Orc Leader. His position as a chieftain was assured at this point. He just needed to take care of the former chieftain his way. That former chieftain was still on his knees. Two Orc Leaders were standing beside him, acting as the guards that served the new boss. There was also another orc in the hall. An Orc named Raadoo. He was standing behind everyone else. He was Baran''s subordinate and wanted to see the fate of someone who had saved him. If possible, he wanted to return the favor to Baran by pleading for his life. "What are you guys doing here? Disperse. I don''t need you." The butcher swatted his hands and told the guards as well as Raadoo to leave. The guards looked at each other before nodding at their newly appointed boss and exiting the hall. They stepped outside and waited by the gate that served as a wee passage for the chieftain''s house entrance. "Chieftain Varhan, could you spare Baran?" Radoo bowed his head in front of Varhan after the guards left and asked him. Before departing from here, he needed to know what would happen to his savior. "Hmm? Why do you guys assume that I''m nning to kill him? At this rate. I really might just go with it." Raadoo was tense after hearing Varhan''s statement. Varhan responded with a chuckle. "Haha. Don''t worry. I''ll not kill him." Varhan scratched his chin as he looked down at Baran. He decided to experiment with his recently learned monster tongue and added on. "He is going to be my "treasure" after all." Raadoo opened his eyes in shock when he heard Eren''s statement. He then looked at Baran as if taking pity on him. "De devil. Just kill me. I don''t want to be your treasure." Baran tried to drag himself away from the monster who had defeated him. His frightened face and his bodynguage told the butcher that he was fearing something even more sinister than death. "What the fuck is wrong with you old man? I just said I''ll not kill you. And you are still so scared of me. Look, the night is beautiful. This wind is soothing. Rx a bit, won''t you? Why talk of death when we can talk about treasures?" Raadoo shivered when he heard the butcher''s statement. He suddenly felt like he should let the former and new chieftains have their privacy. "Chieftain Varhan, I I shall take my leave." Raadoo bowed once again and stumbled in front of the butcher. Baran looked back at his previous henchman and shouted at him. "You. Raadoo. You backstabbing bastard. Don''t leave me in the hands of this vile orc. I fucking saved your ass, damn it. Help help me." Varhan lost it when he saw the two orcs behaving like some sort of maniac. He started walking towards Baran with his arms wide open. "Old man Baran, see I don''t have anything in my hand. Just cool down, will you? What is going on here? I think there''s some kind of mimunication between us." Baran still had his guard up against Varhan. He raised his hands in front of him and made a big old "stop" gesture before responding. "Varhan you devil. I''m an old man. And my preferences are not like yours. I I don''t want to judge you. But please keep me the fuck out of this, you bastard. Talk talk from a distance. Not one step towards me. Otherwise, I''dmit suicide." Varhan stopped in his tracks when he saw Baran''s extreme reaction. He then looked at Raadoo who was also looking at him warily. The guy was undecided on whether he should leave or listen to his former chieftain and savior. ''Alephee, what is going on?'' Eren hade to realize that his orc tongue wasn''t as polished as he thought it was. At least not to the level where he could understand its nuances. So he figured out that there was a chance these guys got spooked because of something he had said. Alepheeughed in his head. It took a while for her to control herughter and answer him. ''Hehehe! An orc''s treasure is different from what you are thinking it to be. It is not wealth, a resource, or artifact.'' The butcher''s face turned dark when he thought of a possibility. Then he reyed Baran''s statements in his head and found them to be identical to the ones he had heard before. The incidents in which his "preferences" were misunderstood. "Baran, Raadoo. What do you guys mean by the word treasure?" Varhan asked with stress lines on his forehead. They just looked at each other confusedly before returning their gazes to Varhan with even more confusion written on their faces. They couldn''t believe an orc wasn''t aware of the usage of this word. ''Just spill the beans, would you?'' The butcher said to Alephee frustratedly. Thetter kept onughing in his head before answering. ''Hehehe. This will be the third time this has happened to you, Eren. You''d have to forgive me for finding this funny and entertaining. Of course, I''d want it to drag on even though I wasn''t nning on it at first. Anyway, I''ll tell you. What orcs consider treasures are their partners. Or to be precise, partners they mate with. Do you understand what I''m trying to say? Hehehe!'' === AN: In chapter 620, Baran addresses the Orcinas as his "treasures". :D Chapter 624 Realization and Revelation Chapter 624 Realization and Revtion "Old man. Cough. I now understand what is going on. Don''t worry. You are not my treasure. You will never be my treasure. I assure you." The butcher said while resuming his seated position. Then he coughed and cleared some more air around him. "Onlydies are my treasures. So you guys don''t have to worry. It was just confusion on my part. Umm... Just forget about it." Baran and Raadoo both looked at the new chieftain with suspicion written on their faces. The butcher furrowed his brows looking at their faces and replied. "Don''t look at me like that. I mean why would I lie to you? I''m your chieftain after all. You guys should be ready to be my treasures if that''s what I wanted from you." Alephee startedughing some more. Eren ignored her and looked at Baran before continuing. ''So, that''s what you were talking about. Where are these treasures you speak of?'' Eren spread his mana sense around him and found out that there were 25 orcinas upying anotherrge hall on the first floor. That hall that looked like a bedroom also had minimal furniture. It featured a very spacious bed that could amodate around 12 people at the same time. The butcher looked at Baran as if he was seeing him for the first time. He couldn''t helpmenting. "Old man Baran, do you even have this much life left in you to do it with all of them at once?" Instead of replying to the question, Baran looked at Varhan angrily beforementing. "You said you''d not steal my treasures. Are you turning back on your words?" Varhan was left speechless after seeing that this old monster was ready to lose his life but not his "treasures". He pped his hands in appreciation beforementing. "I must say, Baran. You have your priorities figured out. I respect that. But there''s something you are forgetting. I had said I wouldn''t steal it if it wasn''t too significant. Sadly, I like this treasure. It is significant for me as well. Plus, those prettydies stopped being your treasures the moment you lost the duel with me." Varhan smiled after remembering one more detail that Baran had said to him during the heat of the battle. "You had said something about untouched treasure. Old man Baran, did you say that correctly or did I hear it wrong?" Varhan had a yful smirk on his face as he asked the former chieftain. Thetter knew that the rascal was going to find out soon anyway. So he sighed beforementing in a sad voice. "That''s right. Your timing to challenge me was impable, damn it. I wouldn''t have minded losing to you, leaving the tribe, or even dying as much as I did now, had I done the deed with my treasures before our duel. Those 25 treasures are untouched. They have also received their rity. Their talent as orcs is going to shine even more as they keep on evolving." Varhan couldn''t help smiling from ear to ear when he heard Baran clear the doubt he had. He looked at Raadoo before ordering him. "Your name is Raadoo right? Could you go upstairs and ask the Orcinas on the top floor toe? They must be aware of the change in chieftain. But they would be worried about their safety, I guess. Inform them of thetest developments. Assure them of their security. And guide them downstairs." Varhan said nonchntly to Raadoo. Thetter was just relieved that his newly appointed chieftain didn''t have "designs" on Baran or him. He quickly made his way upstairs, leaving Baran and Varhan alone. "Why didn''t you kill me?" Baran asked Varhan after taking a long breath as they waited for the 25 Orcinas toe down. The former was sure that a budding chieftain like Varhan wouldn''t like leaving loose ends like Baran behind. And yet, he was still alive. Varhan looked at Baran while narrowing his eyes before shing a cunning smile. He chuckled before continuing. "I may have some use for you with the way you inspire loyalty in your tribe. Why would I lose a capablemander when I will soon have an army of my own?" Baran got confused after hearing Varhan''s words. He had a lot of questions in his head. So he decided to ask the most pertinent ones first. "Were you sent here by Kba?" The butcher shook his head in denial before answering honestly. "Who the fuck is that guy? I hade here in the vicinity to kill some orcs and just happened to find you here. I thought I should check out your progress since I hadn''t seen you for a long time. So I came here." Baran nodded at Varhan after listening to him. He then asked to confirm. "You were not after the chieftain''s position?" The butcher scratched his chin and decided to light his smoke. He took out his Sativa stick and lit it up. "Haaah!" The butcher took a long puff off of his Sativa stick and kept the smoke in his lungs for a while. The stick made crackling noises as the force of suction increased. He then released all the smoke in one go before answering. "Not really. I mean, I could always add more numbers to my uing army. Why waste useful resources, right? But I would be fine with or without this tribe. I''ll be honest here, Baran. I hade here to kill you. But after seeing the way you manage your tribe, I changed my mind. Do you have anything else you want to ask?" Varhan said while narrowing his eyes on Baran. Thetter looked at the new chieftain and sighed before shaking his head in denial. "No. Since you. Have defeated me, I ept your position as this tribe''s leader. My tribe can prosper if you don''t mistreat its members. I also ept whatever you decide to do with me. I''ll be your subordinate if you want me to be. You can banish me if you want. Or or you can kill me. I''d only ask for painless death in case it''s the third option you go for.'' Baran quickly made peace with his changed reality when he calmed down a bit. The butcher smiled when he got Baran where he wanted him to be on a psychological level. By this time, the sounds of footsteps echoed through the hall. There was a group of monstersing in the former and new chieftains'' direction. It wasn''t long before the Orcinas stood in front of Varhan with Raadoo leading them. He had done his job well for the new chieftain. He was hoping for a prestigious position for a job well done. Raadoo was bored of serving as a messenger for chieftains and the rest of their subordinates. Varhan looked at each of the Orcinas and couldn''t help but make a lowkey whistling sound. He then admired the "treasures" chosen by Orc Lord Baran. They all had shapely figures. It was as if Baran had cherry-picked monster girls for him. Orc Lord Baran knew that look. A smile appeared on his face as he adjusted his almost burnt and destroyed armor outfit beforementing. "These treasures are selected from all the tribes I managed to win over after my defeat. When I was defeated by those vile humans" Varhan stopped in his tracks as he remembered something. His face darkened as he started connecting the dots in his head. ''This smell. The way this Varhan smokes. And wait. What did he mean when he said he hadn''t seen me for a long while?'' Baran reyed the butcher''s statements in his head. The Orc Lord felt like a mini-explosion had been detonated in his head as he looked at Varhan with a look of disbelief and confusion. There was a tinge of horror mixed in those emotions as well. "You.." Chapter ?625 Acceptance Chapter ?625 eptance ''Hmm. Virgin orcs. They''d have to be rarer than mythical beasts.'' The butcher looked at the Orcinas he was surrounded by andmented. He stopped paying attention to Baran, who was having a stroke not too far away from him. ''I''d have to say they are all beautiful though. Damn. This old monster sure knows how to pick them.'' The butcher looked at all the Orcinas and smiled. His smile was gracious andforting. At leastforting for orcs. Thedies also felt a bit rxed when they saw their newly appointed chieftain smile at them. It was a form of assurance that they won''t be mistreated. The butcher was just beginning his conversation with some of the beauties when he heard Baran''s dread-filled voice. "You. Are you that Eren Idril? A human?" Varhan smiled wickedly when he heard Baran''s answer. "What took you so long to figure out?" The guy had finally caught up with the hints he had thrown at him. The butcher never wanted to hide the fact that he was Eren when he thought of making Baran one of his monster army handlers. He needed monster handlers he could count on. And for that, he''d have to let those subordinates in on one of his ns. And that wasn''t possible unless they knew what he was doing. Raadoo and the Orcinas surrounding their ex and current chieftains didn''t understand what the talk was about. But in the next moment, they felt like they had been pulled into a different space. A space where only the anger in their hearts and minds existed. Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Wrath The butcher had pierced his heart with the space-element dagger as soon as he finished conversing with Baran. He wasn''t nning on using his ability on anyone here. He only used it as a deterrent. Since the butcher''s rank and elemental attainments have risen, his Sin Series abilities have also increased in their potency. Even he was unaware that his Domain of Wrath had be more dreadful than before. The butcher had cast the domain to create psychological pressure on his witnesses before he showed them what he was about to do. He controlled his bloodline powers and shapeshifted into his human appearance. "You I knew it. I refuse to believe it. But I knew it. But wait. Are you the same Eren Idril I met with when the humans attacked me?" Baran said before taking a few steps back from Eren. He recognized Eren from his facial features. But since the butcher had white hair and blue eyes, the rest of the appearance didn''t match Baran''s memory of Eren. The Orcinas as well as Raadoo looked even more shocked than Baran. Some of them had thought of attacking Eren. Some had thought of fleeing the scene. And some had the idea of gathering the rest of the tribe to help them process who their new chieftain was. And yet, they couldn''t move. They subconsciously felt like something bad would happen if they tried to flee from this ce while the Domain of Wrath was active. One had to say their monster instincts were on point. The butcher ignored everyone except Baran. He fixed his gaze on him as he walked toward him once again. This time, Baran couldn''t backtrack from his stance even when he wanted to. He felt like he had regressed into his evolution and became an Orc Leader again. "Yes, I''m the same Eren who you thought of squashing like an ant a few months back. But I''d have to correct you when ites to my race as a human. I''m no longer that. At least notpletely anyway." The butcher''s voice was deeper than usual when he was in his white-haired transformation while the domain of Wrath was active. His voice alone carried a distinct mana signature that didn''t belong to this world. Since the butcher was only wearing a sleeveless jacket made of animal skin, his tribal tattoos were out for everyone to see. His wild and dominant visage created a deep impact on his onlookers'' minds. Eren stopped walking only when he was standing a meter away from Baran. Thetter, who had just stood from his kneeling position, was forced to take a knee again. "Even when we met, I was this Eren Idril. Anyone who has seen this form of mine has not lived to tell the tale. I''d like you and the others present to be an exception to that unwritten rule. But I guess it all depends upon the choices you make. Baran, do you remember the three options you said I had in dealing with you? Do you still believe I can take either of those options?" Eren''s voice sounded like the voice of those entities who Baran knew were supposed to either bless or curse people. He then remembered what he had said to Eren previously and understood what he was saying. For some reason, Baran was at peace when he saw that Eren wasn''t aplete human. He took a moment to process his thoughts, clenched his fists, and bowed his head in front of Eren before speaking up with a voice coated in determination. "I understand what you mean. Since you have shown me this form of yours, I don''t think you''d spare any of us if we decided to leave the tribe. Therefore, I''m ready to serve you or die right here. The choice is yours." Eren was pleased with Baran''s decisiveness. But he still wanted to probe the guy a bit. So he raised his eyebrows at Baran and asked in a doubtful tone. "You are ready to serve me even though you know I''m not an orc?" Baran looked up after he heard the butcher''s question and nodded before responding to his statement verbally. "My liege, since you can shapeshift into an orc, there''s an orc in you. This orc was talented enough to defeat an orc who was more evolved than him. I''d feel no shame in serving the orc that''s within you. That is if you allow me to do so." Chapter 626 Squashing the Rebellion Chapter 626 Squashing the Rebellion "I''d feel no shame in serving the orc that''s within you. That is if you allow me to do so." Baran said with a serious expression on his face. He had already forfeited his life when he had lost. There was no future for him if he kept falling off his grace. He didn''t have the strength or courage left in him to start a new tribe. So it was okay to call it quits for him. He had also given up his hopes of evolving any further than an Orc Lord. He was in any way the weakest Orc Lord there was due to his repeated injuries. With thoughts like these running through his head, death seemed like a peaceful solution for Baran for all his miseries. But then he saw Eren shapeshifting-- bringing forth powers that didn''t belong to this world. This was the same guy who was not even worth his time a few months back. That meant the progress he had achieved in this short time was tremendous. Baran started having hopes of a better future if he got to serve someone like Eren. He didn''t mind serving someone more powerful than him. Might make right. This philosophy was ingrained into Baran''s very existence. So he meant what he had said to Eren. ''Sweet.'' The butcher thought to himself and chuckled. His snickers were like the snickers of the devil inside the Domain of Wrath. "Very well. I ept your allegiance, Baran." Butcher then intensified the summoning of foreign mana inside the domain of wrath and asked for his next question. "What about you?" Eren asked, nkly looking in front of him. But Raadoo and all the Orcinas realized that the question was meant for all of them. "I agree with whatever Baran has said. I''m ready to serve you as my chieftain if you allow me to." Raadoo replied quickly. He had already thought of following Baran. So this decision came easily to him. The majority of the Orcinas were on their knees after the Domain of Wrath had be active. They had found logic in whatever Baran had said. And they were about to follow suit. But then 6 Orcinas stood up, came forward, and objected to the butcher. "You you are no orc. We don''t even know what you are. It would be better if you leave this tribe and" The leader Orcina of the faction that had decided to oppose Eren acting as their chieftain tried to put her opinions forward firmly even when there was a certain vibration in her voice. As if speaking those words was taking everything she had. Apparently, her "rity" was working against her. That''s because the butcher raised his arm in her direction before even looking at her and swiped his hand. In the next moment, the Orcina started changing. Since she didn''t have as much anger because of her dominant emotion of fear, her transformation into the creature of wrath wasn''t as menacing as it could be. The butcher wasn''t particrly interested in digesting the Orcina''s gains. She was an Orc leader who couldn''t offer anything worthy to Eren who was close to breaking into the D-Rank. This time, Eren just wanted to make a statement with his move. So he didn''t care about refining the monster''s attainment and concentrated on expediting the Orcina''s transformation. The creature of wrath that the rebel Orcina had turned into soon started producing wailing sounds. Her skin ruptured and her beautiful form turned hideous, sending shivers through the Orcinas'' spines. Snap. The creature of wrath''s body imploded shortly after. But the butcher had already cast a mana barrier using his wind element just before the implosion. He didn''t want the mess to spread in his temporary home. The butcher was a clean freak in his own way. A small me of wrath appeared where the Orcina had stood previously. The butcher raised his arm, beckoning for the me of wrath to float towards him. He realized that attainment was rted to the way of water. Plus, this Orcina was very handy with hammers as her choice of weapon. The butcher digested those gains and found them to be surprisingly substantial than he had first estimated them to be. His ability to wrest his victims from their attainments had also improved. He digested his victim''s gains less messily than he had done in all of his other instances. And yet, the remaining 5 Orcinas that had decided to rebel quickly changed their rebellious minds. Now all of the Orcina were kneeling. While they had awakened to "rity", the rebel Orcinas were not foolish enough to rebel against their survival instincts. The butcher made the wind manayer disappear into thin air. He then burned the residual flesh of the Orcina that had tried to oppose Eren using hatchlings of the me. The fire snake ate her bone and flesh with its mouth and gulped it down before dispersing into thin air. There was no trace of the rebel anymore. Eren smiled as he looked around him once again. The hall grew quiet as a mouse. Eren had basically isted the hall from the rest of the tribe grounds when he had activated the domain of Wrath. So nobody came forward to approach the chieftain''s house. Eren returned his gaze as he dispersed the domain. His appearance changed back to his ck hair and green eyes as a human. The same one that Baran had remembered him as. Eren still had his smoke remaining in his hands. Whilemanding his Orc Lord subordinate, he took a slight drag. "You''d act as a chieftain-in-charge in my absence, Baran. Everything would remain as it is. You''d just have to follow any additionalmands from me if and when they are known to you. Is that clear?" Baran was overjoyed by the fact that he would still get to act like a leader in Eren''s absence. He couldn''t hide that joy from the butcher as he saw the old monster smiling in a controlled manner. "Yes, my liege. Is there any order you have in mind right now?" Chapter ?627 Discovery of New Worlds Chapter ?627 Discovery of New Worlds "Yes, my liege. Is there any effective order you have in mind?" The butcher scratched his chin as he thought of the dilemma he had. He wanted to hunt an Orc Lord and refine his Blood Seed. But since he had spared Baran, he wascking a target. "Is there any nearby Orc Lord you know of? I need to kill them for my use." Eren talked about killing an Orc Lord as effortlessly as someone asks for dessert after dinner. Baran had stress lines on his forehead at first. But then an electric jolt ran through his spine as he thought of a name. He chuckled heartily before responding to his chieftain. "My liege, there''s indeed an Orc Lord not too far away from here. He is currently residing on the very first tribal ground I had. His name is Kba." Eren understood that speaking Kba''s name was also a way to settle a personal grudge he had against the Ord Lord. he had heard the guy talk about Kba in his ramblings after all. The butcher didn''t care that he was helping Baran by targeting Kba. He only asked the following. "How strong is hepared to you? I mean the previous you, before any of your injuries. Not the current you." Baran bowed his head and sighed in sadness when he heard the question. He spoke the truth soon after. "Very, my liege. He was able to take care of me when I was at my peak. And he did it quite effortlessly. He did not kill me immediately because he did not want other Orc Leaders to rebel against him. But that was back then. He also seems to have pretty effective leadership qualities. By now, he must have turned every Orc Leader to his side. What I meant to say is that he works well in groups. And his individual powers aren''t to be underestimated either." Baran spoke and looked at Eren again. He wasparing his new master to the man who had kicked him off of a high pedestal first. The butcher recognized the gaze so he asked him. "If I and Kba fight, who woulde out as the winner?" Baran didn''t take long to answer. "Kba, my liege. You are strong. But Kba is stronger. Plus he has been blessed. You won''t be able to deal with something like that using normal means. Not unless you use your otherworldly powers. And even then, he mighte out as the winner." Eren heard a very interesting term from Baran so he couldn''t help asking. "What do you mean by blessed?" Baran nced at Eren curiously at first. Then he realized that being an orc was only a part of his powers. He was formerly a human from this world. So he might not have known some things because of his lower rank. Baran took some time gathering his thoughts before slowly telling Eren. "My liege, blessing works like that weird power you have. It has foreign origins that don''t belong to this continent. Its powers depend upon what kind of blessing it is. The one Kba has can boost his physical prowess twofold, making him exert greater power than he is normally capable of for a short time. I think this would be the simplest blessing that there is. Yet, its powers aren''t to be underestimated. Bybining his enhanced physical prowess with his spells, Kba was able to win over me even when he was weaker than me." Eren found that the world of monsters that he had previously seen in his previous life was just the tip of the iceberg. He didn''t know about these things before. But the more he learned, the more questions arose in his head. "Baran, first of all, tell me what is rity? What happens when monsters receive their rity?" Eren started pacing around the empty hall with his hands locked behind his back. He also started thinking about various things in his head. There was a chance that the Oni dungeon shared these peculiarities called blessing and rity. By now, Baran hade to ept that Eren wasn''t aware of the most closely kept secret of monsters. The monsters who hadn''t received their rity weren''t capable of talking about it. And the monsters who did prefer to keep their mouths shut even when they were interrogated by most humans. The establishments of various regions also maintained silence on these things. That was if they knew about these things at all. As if talking about these things might lead to questions they didn''t want to answer. Baran thought that it was appropriate to stand up on his feet since Eren had walked towards the garden that was at the further end of the open hall. The Orc Lord also followed his new master''s lead and walked towards him with the rest of the Orcinas and Raadoo in tow. He stopped a few meters away from the butcher and resumed his talk. "My liege, which humans call a monster, is said to gain rity when the inherited memories in their bloode to them again. These memories are rted to a different continent. Having these memories allows the monsters to not act like savages. They start to behave like the original inhabitants of the monster continent they once belonged to when they receive their rity. Some monsters acquire the ability to manufacture weapons. Some gain the rity of array making. The knowledge thates with these memories is based on the monster continent. So they woulde across as something different than what the humans living on this continent have developed." This time, it was Eren''s turn to have a mini explosion in his head. He suddenly started to see why the monsters in the Oni dungeon were so advanced and why they had such a well-structured society. Blood memories. Monster continent. A continent that was different from Anfang. A brand new world with different possibilities. The butcher shed a cunning smile when he processed what Baran had to say. He couldn''t help getting excited after he realized there was indeed a vast world out there just as Alephee had suggested. === AN: Anfang means the beginning in German. ;) Chapter 628 A Monster’s Clarity Chapter 628 A Monsters rity Eren needed more information like this. He needed to know more about these things so that he could tread carefully in the future. The more he knew, the better it would be for his path as a ranker. The butcher also realized that he was being made aware of these things by Baran because he had won over him as an orc. He wouldn''t have divulged what the monster had been treating as an open secret to him otherwise. "So what do you remember about the monster continent when you receive this rity? And do all monsters get their rity as they walk the path of their evolution? Or is there any special condition that needs to be met?" Eren asked while looking at the bright moon outside. He could see the waning crescent moon but his mind was trying to picture something else. Something unknown that he hadn''t seen yet. There was something in the butcher''s mind that was waiting for the information from Baran toe through. Baran looked behind him and saw the faces of Orcinas and Raadoo. He only got nk stares in response. These orcs also didn''t know what they were supposed to do when such questions were asked by their new chieftain, who wasn''t exactly one of them. "My liege, everyone awakens a different part of these memories. But before you understand when the rity hits monsters, you need to understand why it isn''t present from the moment of the monsters'' birth. This continent is called thend of the faithless. It is isted from the rest of the continents by something that even we don''t know. What you call monsters are in fact the denizens of different continents. And yet the denizens of the other continents are seen upying the Bands. Some of them are born on this continent. But some denizense here from their mother continent. Do you realize what it means?" Baran decided to trust his future with his new monster. He had decided to provide as much information as he knew to his new master. A sudden realization dawned on the butcher as he understood what Baran was trying to say. "If this continent is isted, and there are instances of new monsters from different continents appearing, then it can only be that the other side is using some kind of back door to send their denizens to this ce. Am I correct?" Baran nodded before verbally affirming Eren''s conjecture. "That''s right. Even though most of us are born here on this continent, there are cases of original denizens of that continent appearing here. If my guess is correct, Kba is one of them. When the original inhabitants of the continent enter this isted continent, they are robbed of most of their memories and sanity. They turn to their primitive instincts and act as the monsters that you know of. Gaining rity grants us monsters these realizations. The most easily avable cure to getting these blood memories and gaining rity is walking steadfastly on our evolutionary path. It is avable to all monsters, of any race, of any kind. With each evolution, we unlock more memories of the continent we originated from, whether we were born here or traveled here. With progress in evolution, we gain more rity. Our way of the elements gets enhanced because of it. And with each evolution, we stray further from the image of the so-called monsters humans often see us as." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Baran''s exnation up to this point. There was something about the Oni dungeon that bugged him. So he couldn''t help but ask. "You know the stages humans use to categorize monster evolutions, right? When do you guys start getting rity normally? What is the earliest evolutionary rank for it ording to you? And is evolution the only way to receive rity?" Baran didn''t take long to answer. "There''s no one size fits all for this thing. Ultimately it all boils down to the aptitude of the so-called "monster". Some monsters can gain their rity when they evolve into a Monster Lord. Some gain them when they be Monster Overlord. The earliest time for most monsters would be when they be Monster Leaders. These Orcinas have all received their rity. The monsters who receive their rity when they are Monster Leaders are considered to be prodigies among us. But evolution isn''t the only way to get rity back. There are other factors such as life and death struggles, emotional highs, or the external influence of artifacts or potions that may bring rity to the denizens of the different continents. Those born here have it easy, since even without their rity, they can work as tribe members for the monsters who have already received theirs. But I believe that the original denizens of the monster continent who use the back door and enter thend of the faithless get the biggest bacsh for doing so. To the point that they turn savage and be berserk as soon as they take their first step here." Baran said while sorting through his thoughts in his head. He knew that only a few humans with deep backgrounds would be privy to such information. That''s because he had captured a lot of human rankers and had interrogated them when he had received his rity. None of them knew of something like this. ''Hmm. So the Oni dungeon has something that can give rity to almost all the monsters it houses. Almost all of the monsters behaved uncharacteristically for monsters. If this rity is as difficult to get as Baran ims to be, then the poption of the Oni dungeon doesn''t follow the norm. Too bad I couldn''t interrogate Sharog or those Orcs twins much because of the restrictions ced on them by "that" entity. Otherwise, I would have been privy to this knowledge much sooner.'' Eren thought to himself and turned back. A smile on his face. Onlookers couldn''t figure out whether the kind of smile they saw was good or bad for them. "Baran, you still didn''t tell me about the memories you had gained of the monster continent. How can all the monsters have inherited memories? And why are the denizens of that continent sending their popce here where they would be robbed of their memories and a lot more? I want to know everything." Chapter ?629 Backlash Chapter ?629 Bacsh "I want to know everything." Eren said with anticipation in his eyes. Baran nodded and opened his mouth to speak. "My liege, I don''t know how we can have blood memories. In addition, I am not aware of why the original denizens of the monster continent keep oning here through the back door. But my blood memories tell me that this continent was not always like this. Something happened to this continent and it was shut off from the rest of the worlds that are out there. When we gain rity, we not only gain information rted to the monster continent and various professions but we also receive these emotions that we can''t describe with words." Eren looked at Baran with a nk expression when he heard the guy speak. Thetter knew that he was asking for more exnation. So he continued after taking a short breath. "The thing I told you right now was conveyed to me through those emotions. These emotions can sometimes influence us to do certain things. Like our calling. Sometimes that calling affects us in a certain way. Like, pestering us to attack human settlements. So this is the downside of having rity. So you can say that if the monster horde attack is initiated by monsters, it would be rted to the monster in charge receiving rity." Eren didn''t care about monsters attacking human settlements. Or humans attacking creatures living in the Bands. He was on either side. He was on his own side. So he just nodded at BaranC encouraging him to speak further. "For the most part, gaining rity is beneficial for all the monsters. Even monsters that have lost themselves to savagery have a primal instinct to gain that rity. That''s why all monsters are desperate to go through their evolution process. It is ingrained in our genes." Baran took a long pause and looked at Eren intently. He had a feeling he shouldn''t say anything about the monster continent to him any further than he already has because he was an outsider. This feeling was part of that calling. However, he decided it wouldn''t hurt to go all the way since he had already decided to rest his future in Eren''s hands. "As for my memories rted to the monster continent, I only have them in bits and pieces. But they tell me that the continent there is ruled by" Suddenly, he felt a strange mana pulse around him. It was as if the ground itself was causing this phenomenon. Freewebn?vel.c?m. In the next moment, he felt like puking as his mana circuits became overburdened with the inflow of mana that he had not initiated. As if he were on hyperdrive without casting any spells. Baran felt like gravity had turned upside down for him and crashed onto the ground unable to shout or ask for help. Raadooo immediately grabbed Baran. He dragged him to the side and proceeded to give him a healing potion concocted by the tribe. The messenger for chieftains sighed when he saw Baran''s situation. As if he knew this was bound to happen. The Orcinas present at the scene acted in the same way. Eren looked at Baran confusedly. But then he also felt that something was happening inside his body. Due to the sudden inflow of mana and his blocked mana points, he felt like the mana points would be burnt off due to overload. The same symptoms as Baran. And yet, the butcher''s slime half-blood constitution allowed him to not be in a simr situation as Baran even when he had received the same kind of bacsh. Instead, he just had a killer headache. "This" Eren felt a subtle dread when the bacsh of something which he couldn''t exin hit him. It was as if this bacsh was only a warning. Things would get a lot uglier if he kept on pushing his luck. He was shocked to discover that he was only an Ace rank ant. It was as if he was made aware that he was nothingpared to higher existences that he wasn''t even aware of yet. Eren grabbed his head with both hands and stepped outside the hall to take fresh air. He sat down on the ground with his legs folded before taking out Sativa Stick. The butcher wanted to get high to forget about his bacsh-induced migraine. Alephee sighed in Eren''s head before continuing. ''That''s why I was being vague about a few things, Eren. Let''s just say that this entire continent is covered by one colossal array. It would not be in your favor to know about these things at this point. It autonomously works toward causing bacsh whenever someone talks about something that should not be discussed within the continent. So in a way, not only do the establishments on the continent not want to let you know of these things but the continent itself is set against it. To have this conversation or to say it to someone else or to ask for their opinion, you''d need to take special countermeasures. Asking these things to a monster while inside Bands was a wise move. Frankly, I''m surprised that you could learn this much from Baran without the bacsh hitting you much sooner. It could only mean that'' Alephee said and pondered for a bit before speaking further. ''For now, you are not ready to hear or know about these things. You are far too weak to make use of any of those opportunities that you could gain from leaving the continent of Anfang. Focus on increasing your rank to at least that of a B-Rank. Only then can I tell you about these things.'' Alephee didn''t continue and stopped talking. Eren, who was fighting off migraine at that point, listened to Alephee''s statement in his head and clenched his fists in helplessness. Alephee understood what he was struggling through in his head and spoke to him in a consoling voice. ''Eren, when I said you need to stopparing yourself to the rest of the rankers in the pool, I only wanted you to expedite your ranking journey. I didn''t mean for you to change the pool itself. Therefore, don''t get discouraged when you see that the peak is too far. Concentrate on stepping one foot in front of the other. Hehe. And even these five nes are nothing in the grand scheme of things. I''d say that there''s always a wider sky.'' Chapter 630 Soul Sense Awakening Chapter 630 Soul Sense Awakening Eren kept on listening to Alephee''s words as he smoked. He chuckled when he felt Alehee''s voice had be softer while exining things to him. He knew the reason. ''Don''t worry, Alephee. I''m not down or anything after learning that I''m not qualified enough to understand these things. It was just that I felt anticipatory tiredness after learning that I had to be in the B-Rank. My advantages from my previous timelines almost stopped working in my favor after I entered D-Rank. I was at a solid stage in that rank, just a step away from entering C-Rank. So the maximum I can push my luck of having an expedited ranking journey would be when I reach C-Rank. And even that is going to be a while.'' Eren said and sighed. He theny on the green ground on his back and stretched his arms and legs before bridging his right hand closer to his mouth. He took a short drag out of his smoke and kept it inside his lungs. The crescent moon in front of his vision got blurred a bit when he slowly released the smoke from his nostrils. The butcher suddenly felt refreshed. He started seeing this goal as something he should look forward to. So he gathered his thoughts beforementing to Alephee in a calm voice. ''I have too many things to do here. I''ll settle those first. Also, thanks for trying to cheer me up. Don''t worry. Eren Idril is not someone that would break under pressure. At least not the one on this timeline. Hehe. Maybe my way of looking at this thing is at fault here. I might benefit from not having any experience beyond the D-Rank. I would be able to start with a fresh perspective that way. So now, I''m looking forward to entering the Master rank and beyond.'' Eren felt like his past timeline''s experiences had indeed helped him. But they were also turning into an old skin he eventually needed to shed. Topletelye out of their shadow of influence and have a fresh outlook. The butcher''s headache vanished eventually as he continued smoking. He returned to normal soon after. Eren remained to lie on the ground. He foundfort in being close to the elements. The moon right above his head and the sky itself serving as a roof over his head was afortable feeling for him. Eren closed his eyes by instinct and let his mind wander off to wherever it wanted. He let go of all his worries and embraced the excitement he felt after understanding the scope of the growth he could achieve. The excitement he would feel as he progressed in his ranking journey. The excitement he''d feel after learning about something that was considered taboo here. And the excitement of an adventure that he would be able to partake in when he leaves the continent of Anfang. Suddenly, a simr sensation returned to him. His strong desire to ovee the limitations set on him intensified. It was as if the butcher''s soul was trying to rebel against the restrictions ced on him. Ohmmm. White noise was heard within the butcher''s mind as he felt helpless once more. The mind that was trying to learn and think about various things at once began to learn things around him. Soul Sense Awakening. At this point, the butcher fully awakened his soul sense. He felt like it worked much like the mana sense, only many times more detailed and intuitive. It was as if Eren could interact with the world around him in a different way than before. He could feel the consciousness of the world that the mana carried and its flow. His soul sense also strengthened his mana senseC making it have arge field of view while enhancing the feedback it sent to him. Butcher had awakened his soul sense as a result of the bacsh from the world. He also felt that gaining the knowledge of a bigger picture that was out there had allowed him to feel exhration and intrigue. And that in turn had helped him awaken his soul sense. Baran and others weren''t aware that Eren''s soul sense had been awakened. As his soul sense spread around when they were in proximity, they felt that an overwhelming, ambitious, and extremely dangerous entity was checking them out. They became aware of their surroundings as a result. ''This is great, Eren. You havepletely awakened your soul sense. Hehe. I must say that your ambitions are growing faster than either of us thought they''d grow.'' Alephee said with a chuckle. Eren also shed a cunning smile when he heard her. The signs of soul awakening have been appearing for a while now. They just needed a trigger. And it was finally provided to him at this point. "My liege, are are you alright? What What was that?" While grabbing his head, Baran stepped outside. The rest of the Orcs followed him. He asked in part confusion and part dread as he kept on looking around him. Eren chuckled before answering. "Hehe! Don''t worry. It was me. And thanks for trying to answer all my questions even when it looked like you were working against your instincts. I''m not sure when or what. But I''ll try toe up with an appropriate reward for this dedication of yours in the future." Baran felt amazed by the butcher yet again when he heard the strange phenomenon was caused by him. He felt like he had taken the right decision by epting Eren as his master. He just wished that he doesn''t question anymore regarding this topic. Eren looked at Baran and spoke up to relieve him of his troubles. "Baran, I''ll not ask you about the monster continent. The bacsh was less because we were in the Bands. But we shouldn''t push our luck too far. Whatever I gained from learning till her about how monsters originate from you is enough for me." Only now did the butcher realize why Bands was known for such erratic behavior from monsters. The historians'' spells didn''t work properly in Bands because they carried traces of foreign mana. This was also the reason why the establishments couldn''t get rid of the monsters no matter how many cullings they initiated. The Bands served as the summoning grounds for monsters from the monster continent. Chapter ?631 Mortal Combat Chapter ?631 Mortal Combat Kba was chilling. The sun had just set. The smell of fresh food getting prepped lingered in the air. That''s because the whole tribe cooked at the same ce at the same time inside an open kitchen hall that also served as a gathering ce. It had dinner tables and benches that could be raised from the ground by imbuing mana over the arrays that stored them. This level of nitty-gritty couldn''t be seen in any typical Orc settlement. The smell of fresh meat stew getting cooked wasing from the same tribe''s kitchen. Kba didn''t need to be present in the kitchen. His food would be served to him as soon as it was made. That''s why Kba felt rxed in his room, ying a game of cards with one of his Orcina treasures. There was soft music being yed by an Orc who had received rity about music. Rankers of continent Anfang would have received a cultural shock seeing an Orc ying music and a pair indulging in it. One shouldn''t judge a monster by its ferocity. Kba''s private chamber was asvish as his taste in music and Orcinas. It was meant for the chieftain of such a big tribe like him. The pce was located on the top floor, which was the most secured ce in the pce thanks to the apt cements of guards and arrays. The pce itself was a grand, three-story construction that appeared poorly constructed but wasn''t. It was made of limestones that were summoned into existence by earth-element spells. Unlike a typical Orc chieftain residence though, it was painted with colors. There were runes and arrays in the pce that served as amenities. Kba had a room dedicated to every one of his Orcinas in his harems. There were 25. It seemed there was a custom for Orc chieftains to have 25 Orcinas. "My treasure, it looks like you are going to lose. Why not call it quits and head to bed? I''m sure we can squeeze in a quickie before dinner? Hahaha!" Looking at his treasure with mischievous eyes, Kba said to her. The Orcina looked around and put her cards down. She was letting the guy win. Otherwise, he would throw tantrums. One had to say that Orcina had received her rity very well. "My lord, don''t you need to seek out that previous chieftain Baran? I hate to say this, but there are some Baran sympathizers left in the tribe. You''d profit more if you strike him early while he is still down with his injuries." Orcinamented before looking outside the grand window that was letting the starlight in. There was a New Moon tonight. So the usual brilliance of the night star was nowhere to be found. Kba didn''t mind that the Orcina had subtly changed the subject. He smirked before speaking to her.. "Investing time to find that loser geezer, you say? I have better things to do with my life. Besides, I need tribute for the Oni festival. I''m too busy collecting that to concentrate on him." Kba then got up from the bed and started walking towards the gallery that was on the other side of the grand window. Therge-field view offered by the gallery allowed the chieftain to have a look at things happening inside his tribe grounds. Inhaling fresh night air that was a bit cold, Kba replied in a confident voice to his treasure. "Besides, that guy would never make aeback. The mutiny could only happen if the guys challenged me again and won. But I don''t see that happening. Hahaha!" The Orc Lord said while patting his open chest. He was only wearing ck pants while keeping his torso bare. On his back was a strange tattoo. A tattoo of an Orc face that looked menacing. He had also worn a silver ne that was etched with runes. The Orcina named Resha nodded at Kba''s logic after hearing it from his mouth. She just didn''t understand why she was getting paranoid over a potential mutiny when she had seen how easily Kba had beat Baran. Just when she thought that she should allow her chieftain to have his way with her, a guard asked for permission to enter the private chamber. Kba noticed that the guard who was supposed to bring them dinner was earlier than usual. So he allowed him to enter the chamber through their voicemunication channel. In the meantime, the musician Orc who was ying a flute and zither stopped ying his track without vocals. He surveyed the room on his own and excused himself from it. "My Lord, Baran is here to challenge you, once again. He is asking for mortalbat." While bowing humbly, the orc guard continued. "He says he needs you to fight him in front of all your trusted Orc Leaders so that they can see you lose." Kba was stupefied when he heard the guard''s words. She shrugged her shoulders in response, indicating that their conversation just now and Baran''s presence were nothing more than a coincidence. In the next moment, Kba startedughing like a maniac. He couldn''t believe that a loose end hade forward to allow itself to be tied by him. Generally, a challenger would not kill an old chieftain even if he had won. This was done to highlight the importance of the chieftain''s position. The second was to keep the Orc Leaders from getting angry about their former chieftain''s death. In general, even if the monster had lost, if they had served as the tribe''s chieftain they would have been allowed to live. They would only get banished from the tribe or serve the new chieftain depending upon the new chieftain''s stance. Of course, this was only applicable to tribes that had the majority of their poption receiving rity including former andtest tribe leaders. That''s why Kba didn''t kill Baran. But all the formalities were off if the guys came knocking on your door asking for mortalbat. Even Baran''s hidden supporters won''t be able to do anything if Kba kills him now. "You could have lived a less-privileged but happy life and died in thend of the faithless you were born into. But no. You just had to make your death as spectacr as possible. Haha! This is way too hrious. For this joke alone, I''ve decided to give you a swift death. Hahahahaha!" Chapter 632 Throw. Swoosh. Kaboom Chapter 632 Throw. Swoosh. Kaboom The battle ring. Several spectators gathered around the open space meant for duels. Sounds of cheers. Calling names and curses. This was the atmosphere Kba had found himself in when he stepped out of his pce. His usual Tuesday. He was walking towards the battle ring with a pep in his step and a smile on his face. This smile told everyone looking at him about his confidence in winning this challenge. The challenge of mortalbat was hurled at him. This challenger was the tribe''s ex-chieftain whom he had to regretfully spare. Sometimes, Kba hated Orc customs because of rules like these. Kba saw the challenger soon enough. He was the same old, haggard Orc Lord that he had defeated not too long ago. He looked even weaker than before. There was a chance he might regress into his evolutionary stage if he keeps up with this streaka a rare instance of devolution among monsters. And yet, Kba could see that there was a certain calm air around Baran that he hadn''t seen before. He was looking at him with strange eyes. It took a while for Kba to understand the emotions reflected in his eyes. It was sad. And pity. But what Kba found odd about that gaze was that the sadness and pity were directed at him. As if Baran was worried about what was about to happen to Kba after this duel. "Do you still think you can get your chieftain position back by challenging me to mortalbat?" Kba asked Baran after he stepped into the ring and stood before him, maintaining a safe distance. He stared at the ex-chieftain while drawing his azure-colored sword from his storage. This time, he would kill the guy for sure. Nobody could stop him. Baran sighed after he heard Kba''s question. He had visited his former tribe with a few of his trusted Orc Leaders from his new tribe. They received the same jeers and curses as Baran, offered to them by Kba''s staunch supporters. Yet, they didn''t react to any of them. Standing outside the battle ring, they expressed their guilt. They didn''t care what would happen in the duel. Instead, they were more worried about something that was about to followter on. Baran pursed his lips and looked around him a bit before replying to Kba''s question calmly. His voice had low-key mncholic vibes. "No, Kba. I no longer seek that position. I have already epted a new chieftain as my liege. I havee here to challenge you under his orders." The spectators listened to Baran''s response at the same time as Kba did. The surroundings around the battlefield grew quiet before bursting into chaos. Kba''s supporters cheered while Brana''s supporters that hadn''te out in the open felt disappointed. The Orc Leaders that had supported Kba were all standing at the perimeter of the battle ring as requested by Baran. ording to the ex-chieftain, they were going to witness Kba''s fall. But all they were doing right now wasugh at Baran for his false bravado. "Hahahaha! You know why that new chieftain has sent you here, right? He is asking you to die bying to meet me." Kba was in the same joyous mood as he always was when he said that. Only now did he understand why a sane guy like Baran would choose toe here willingly. He had thought that the old man must have some tricks up his sleeves. That''s why he didn''t attack him right away and maintained a safe distance from him. As spontaneous as Kba was, he wasn''t stupid. His rity had given him the ability to not underestimate his opponents just because he had beaten them once. Kba then patted his bare chest with his right hand before making a promation. "My men, no matter how Baran''s status is right now, he was a former chieftain of this tribe. He hase here to ask for a glorious death. And it shall be given to him. But let''s also honor him by conquering his existing tribe and taking it under our wing. That coward chieftain doesn''t deserve to rule over their tribe members if they send an old man like him to battle." Baran chuckled when he heard Kba''s smart pitch. He was trying to make his supporters and Baran''s supporterse under the same banner and cause by pitting them against his new tribe. This way, the differences between them would get resolved while Kba expanded the tribe. The Orc Leaders that were supporting Baran wouldn''t mind fighting a new Orc Lord that had dethroned Baran. In this way, they will prove their loyalty to Baran after his death, before being assimted into Kba''s camp permanently. A master stroke. Kba''s rity would put most humans'' cunning to shame. Kba''s speech garnered support from all of the Orc Leaders that had gathered to watch the duel, including Baran''s supporters that were standing behind. Baran didn''t waste any more time. He summoned his quicksilver from thin air, letting his opponent know that he was ready for a fight. Soon, the fight that supposedly had a preordained result began unfolding in front of the spectators'' eyes. Baran was losing ground. Kba was tackling each of Baran''s attacks effortlessly with his normal spells. It seemed like he wasn''t even putting half of his strength into fighting the ex-chieftain. Unknown to Kba and his existing tribe, there was someone else watching the fight from over their head, in the sky above. A man was standing on the back of an eagle-type demon beast. They were flying right above the battle ring that was hosting Baran and Kba''s duel at this point. The butcher looked at the battle ring that was far below him with his eagle eyes. He could keep track of what was happening during the battle, thanks to his eagle vision. The time was ripe to make a move. "*Sigh. This is thest one." The butcher thought to himself as he took out thest vial of a certain potion that he had received from Purgatory. He raised the vial in front of his eyes and stirred it a bit. Red Solid Spark. In the next moment, a bolt of red lightning was created around the vial. Eren held the red lightning bolt in his hand and gripped it firmly as the restless red streak of lightning danced around it. Throw. Swoosh. Kaboom. === AN: Solid Spark is introduced in chapter 332. Also, in the second-tost paragraph of chapter 360: ying Spoiler, Eren uses a certain potion to take care of two Adept rankers. This is the remaining vial from that batch. Chapter ?633 Reading Minds Chapter ?633 Reading Minds A few days before the attack on Kba. Eren had branded all 24 Orcinasst night with the Sin of Lust. He branded them while he was in his human form and kept tabs on their psyche using his soul sense. All of them passed the butcher''s screening process that he had developed thanks to his soul sense. The Orcinas, with their rity, werepletely loyal to the butcher now. Despite receiving external help in the form of a supplementary potion, the guy was still exhausted the next day. Yet, that didn''t stop him from having a smile of satisfaction on his face. Or from conducting the meeting he had with Baran and his trusted Orc Leaders. It was as if the butcher had received his own version of rity when he did it with 25 Orcinas at once. *** Gathering hall inside the chieftain''s house. "My liege, do you want us to go to war with Kba''s tribe?" With worry lines on his forehead, Baran asked. The monster could only get over the fact that all his untouched treasures had been imed by the new chieftain. "No. I specifically said I only want to get rid of Kba. Juste with me and point me towards your old tribe''s location. And I''ll take care of the rest." Eren ate a lightning-mana-influenced apple that was suitable for his rank as he spoke. Fruits like these were rtivelymon ranking resources in Bands. It was Raadoo who had suggested these fruits to Eren, saying that chieftains would usually consume these fruits after tending to their treasures. To regain their spent vigor. The Orc Leaders looked awkwardly at Baran after their new chieftain said something like that. They didn''t dare to object to their newly elected leader in human form. They had given that job to Baran. Baran''s creases on his forehead increased when he heard the butcher''s statements. He coughed a bit before reacting calmly. "My liege, Kba is not a street hooligan in Bands that you could kill just by finding him. He has an entire tribe backing him. You can''t deal with an entire tribe with your individual powers, can you?" Eren was busy eating the lightning fruits that tasted just like an unranked apple, except that they gave his gums a slight jolt when he took a bite. It was surprising for the first time. But then Eren got used to eating these purple lightning apples. After taking thest bite out of thest fruit, Eren chewed it like he was enjoying the jolts he was receiving from the bites. He only replied once he gulped the content down. "Why would I target the entire tribe when I just want to kill him?" Eren looked at Baran with a puzzled expression. He thought he had made his intentions clear to Barn. Yet, the former chieftain had organized this meeting with his trusted circle to discuss this topic. Baran pressed his temples and massaged them a bit before answering Eren. "My liege, this is not how an Orc fights. Especially if they are chieftains of the tribe. Kba could challenge me openly because he didn''t have a tribe at that time. A battle between two chieftains would get their tribes involved. Why do you think I fought wars with the tribes I assimted with? If you want to take over Kba''s tribe" Eren shook his head and interrupted Baran with his words. "I only want Kba because he is an Orc Lord. a powerful Orc Lord at that. I don''t care about what happens to his tribe afterward." Eren was thinking that Raadoo had given him a wise suggestion about the food as he said that. With thoughts of stocking up on these fruits running through his mind, the butcher continued. "Look, Baran. I know I don''t know or care much about Orc customs. But you need to understand one thing. If any of you Orcs want to follow me, then forget about the customs that restrict you from doing the things you want to achieve. Get rid of them from your mind. The so-called rity you have gained needs to be refined to suit your needs as per your current situation. Don''t depend on it so much that you forget what you have learned by living here on this cutthroatnd. The rity you have received would work against you in your favor if it restricted you in your growth." Eren said and looked at the Orc Leader. He could see that they had difficulty reading faces at that time. That alone told the butcher what they were thinking. So he looked at them with his narrowed eyes before adding on. "Listen here guys, you are not on the monster continent anymore. What is it called? Yes! Land of the Faithless. An apt name I must say. You are on the continent Anfang where only profits matter. That''s why I like this ce. This continent as a whole. You don''t need a strong backer to survive here. Not really. It''s controlled chaos here. One just needs to know how to make chaos work in their favor to reap benefits from any adversity. If I want to kill someone that I know I can kill without getting my hands burnt in the process, I''ll kill that person in a heartbeat. Without worrying about customs, processes, or morals. I want you to change your ways and adapt to this mindset. Fuck those Orc rules. Fuck the customs of the monster continent. I wasn''t nning on it but, for your better or otherwise, I am this tribe''s chieftain. So I want my tribe to follow my logic. My way of doing things. A monster army that follows mymands whether they are in line with the rules of the monsters or not. Do you understand?" When Eren spoke hisst word, he spread his soul sense to every Orc Leader and Baran in range. In the next moment, the Orc Leaders felt like they were immersed in a sea of fire and lightning storms at once. They felt that there were a bunch of punching daggers flying in the air and cutting their bodies up. They looked at their chieftain in that state and saw him staring at them with his cold eyes. It was as if they were being read like an open book in front of him. As if he was looking into the depths of their soul. "Shilson, is it? If you think about leaving the tribe one more time, I''d have you leave this continent. And not through the back door, which the inhabitants of that continent use to enter Anfang. Do you understand what I mean?" Eren spoke looking at the guy taking a knee in front of him at the extreme right. The guy had sweat dripping on his forehead when he heard the butcher''s words. ''He he can read minds.'' Shilson thought to himself while controlling his shock to the extent of his abilities. Yet, he was unable topletely hide them. He also looked at the butcher with a fearful expression in his eyes. The butcher chuckled when he felt Shilson''s emotions with his soul sense and replied. "Hehe. Yeah, Shilson. You can say that I read minds. Isn''t the only chieftain you''d ever have in your foreseeable life cool and amazing?" Eren asked rhetorically while smirking at every Orc Leader present in the audience. They all looked at him with vignt eyes and fearful expressions before nodding in agreement. Chapter 634 Crash. Locate. Kill Chapter 634 Crash. Locate. Kill Just when Kilba had thought he was going to win against Baran for good, the Orc Lord executed his movement spells and bolted in another direction. The Orc Leaders that hade with him had already made their move. This escape was well coordinated. Running after throwing a mortalbat challenge was not an Orc custom. So nobody at Kba''s camp was prepared for such a custom-defying, abrupt activity. With nk expressions, they watched Baran and his men escape from the scene. They didn''t have to travel that far. And they were also not worried about being pursued. Because they knew what was going to happen next. "What the catch fucking catch that dirty old man and his" Kba was about toplete giving orders to his men when he felt something threateninging at him with lightning-like speed. He stopped midway through and looked up. Throw. Swoosh Kaboom. A sh of red lightning. A distinct mana pulse that belonged to the Adept rank was spread after the vial''s detonation. A mana miasma was summoned right in the middle of the battle ring that trapped Kba and his most trusted Orc Leaders. As a result, those Orc Leaders died instantly without making any sound. Nothing happened to their bodies. Because of the illusion potion, they became brain dead. Most of these Orc Leaders were Kba''s supporters. All of them died when they saw the red bolt strike someone or something. Kba was trapped in the illusion right after the bolt of red lightning struck him on his chest. The vial of illusion potion exploded on his chest, giving him no chance to take countermeasures. *** "Kiddo, take this. We are heading down." Eren addressed Argo and threw an alchemy pill in the air. The young demon beast screamed an eagle screech before diving towards the falling pill. Arno''s pill was heading in the same direction as the battle ring. The butcher also popped a pill for himself as he saw them getting closer to the ground. Crash. Locate. Kill. *** Eren knew about the w in using the illusion potion when he used it. He couldn''t enter the mana miasma that it generated after he cast it on his victims. Otherwise, he''d get caught in the miasma too. His Ace rank was ineffective in countering it. Eren couldn''t kill Adept ranked Jerry whom he had first used the illusion potion because of the miasma. He used the miasma potion once again after getting out of Purgatory on Jerry and an Adept ranker from Beast Bloods named Tai. He detonated the potion bomb when the two Adept rankers were busy dueling with each other on their own. Eren had to wait for the miasma potion to wear off in the surroundings before killing Tai and Jerry. Since they were alone and had no witnesses, he didn''t have a problem executing his kill. But the situation this time was different. Eren knew there would be spectators this time who would be able to intervene if he waited for the miasma to wear off before killing Kba. Just as Baran had said, Eren couldn''t find the entire Orc tribe. Plus, Kba was no small fry either. His blessing might allow him to snap out of the miasma''s illusion faster than Eren''s assumption. Various predictable and unpredictable things could go wrong while executing a hit on Kba. This alchemy pill was something Eren had asked La to make to counter the miasma''s effect for a short while. Alchemy was a branch of potioning that dealt with capturing a potion''s effect inside a pill. La had no problem dealing with this request. It was just that the ingredients that were required to concoct such a pill put more financial burden on Eren. He could only take two pills of such a kind. But he didn''t mind. Since there was only one potion, two pills were enough. *** Kba saw that he was back in the Oni dungeon. During the Oni festival, he proved his worth to that entity. This time, the challenges were even more gruesome and lethal. This time, there were more opponents. And this time, the blessing was supposed to be even greater than what he had received so far. Kba cleared all the challenges and took care of all his opponents. Just when he was about to receive the blessing with the help of that entity, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. A pain he couldn''tprehend. He subconsciously processed that the pain didn''t belong to the world he was seeing. The pain finally snapped Kba back into reality. He looked around him to see that there was a fog of green-looking miasma around him that waspromising his visibility. His vision was already blurred due to being caught in an illusion. So it took him some time to process what he was seeing. An Orc Leader was standing nearby him. With his blue eyes devoid of any emotion, he stared at him. Kba didn''t recognize this Orc. In addition, he did not understand why he was standing so close to him. He was about to ask the Orc about his identity when he felt that the pain in his chest had intensified. He looked down to see that the blue-eyed Orc had driven a dagger deep inside his heart. "What the" Kba didn''t have words to describe his confusion. Before he could process what was happening, the Orc twisted the space-element dagger some more before pulling it out. Kba watched with pure bafflement as the Orc drove the same dagger into his chest. This time, without appearing to cause any external wounds. "What are you looking at, you dickhead? I just killed you." p! The blue-eyed Orc spoke in broken Orcish and pped him with the back of his hand. This time, Kba heard him loud and clear, thanks to the effects of that p. Kba was enraged. And Eren was happy seeing that rage building inside him. Before the orc lord with blessings couldnd a final punch and end his life, the butcher used the ability he had already nned to use on him. Time was of the essence. "Domain of Wrath!" Chapter ?635 Baran’s Plans of Tribe Assimilation Chapter ?635 Barans ns of Tribe Assimtion "Domain of Wrath!" Eren said softly. In the next moment, a mini-domain was formed taking him and Kba under its dominion. Kba''s body started changing. Eren had also executed his Life Drain ability on the monster using the gaping wound left behind by the twisting of the knife. Kba''s Adept ranked mana defenseyer that was made non-existent because of him falling under the illusion was just about to kick in when the butcher did that. As a result, the monster''s stamina was drained from him as well as his life essence. In the moments following the robbery of Kba''s life essence, the effects of Sin of Wrath could be seen on his body. His body started changing into a creature of wrath. ''Time to move.'' Eren said to himself as he watched his hit on Kba was executed just the way he wanted it to be. He didn''t even give the monster a chance to fight back. For the most part, Kba wasn''t even aware of what had happened to him, who had done it, or what he was doing. He looked out at his demon beast who was fearlessly rampaging through the mana miasma while having a feast. Being a demon beast, he had enough intelligence in him to understand that only he was immune to the Miasma around him. And no matter how many mana signatures are gathered around him, they couldn''t close in on him. So Argo was having his fill. Turning into a lion, he devoured thepletely dead monsters and half-dead Orc Leaders who were around the perimeter of the Miasma domain. Some Orc Leaders who were present outside the miasma''s area of effect could feel that something had happened to their leader. He wasn''t giving any orders. The Orc Leaders that were trapped in the illusion spell''s area of effect had gone silent too. They had only seen a red lightning bolt strike him followed by the creation of miasma domain and something huge entering it right afterward. Mana sense wouldn''t work in the miasma domain because it infringed on its operability. In a way, the potion created a domain of its own when it was used. ''That''s enough, bud. Let''s go.'' Eren said to Argo''s consciousness. The demon beast was about to let out a lion''s roar to register hisint but his master stopped him. ''Don''t. I''d feed you something else after this gets over. Let''s go now.'' Argo growled at his master in dissatisfaction before changing into his eagle form seamlessly. He lowered his back for Eren before gripping the creature of wrath in one of its talons. Before anybody could figure out what it was, a distinct cluster of red lightning was seen flying away from the mana Miasma. This red cluster was packed into a spherical domain of wrath that flew in the sky. The miasma domain started dispersing into thin air right after the cluster of red lightning flew away. Eren wanted to digest Kba without interruption. He wanted to take everything that he had to offer to him. This wasn''t possible when he was under the threat of interruption and attack from Kba''s tribe. So he just took him away to a different ce where he wouldn''t be bothered by anyone. Meanwhile, mayhem ensued in Kba''s tribe after the Orc Leaders found out that their chieftain was missing. After calling back the pursuers who were chasing Baran, they decided to focus first on their chieftain. Monsters didn''t have historians. But they did have shamans. The shamans began searching for clues and discovered that their chieftain had been abducted alive. If only barely. Two parties were created as a direct response by the Orc Leaders. Each party had a shaman in it. The parties started zeroing in on their chieftain in the same direction Erenhad had moved. Using two different routes. It was clear that the abductor had ridden a flying beast. Sadly, the tribe didn''t have a mount of its own. Otherwise, the search and rescue operation would have been much smoother. Meanwhile, Baran and his team had managed to escape safely. They all breathed a sigh of relief when they found out that Kba''s tribe had prioritized their chieftain''s safety. A predictable move. It was them that had done something unpredictable for Orcs. Shilson, who was reprimanded by Eren, sighed when the group stopped to take a rest. His voice was a mixture of vignce and doubt. "Did, Did we do this right, Baran? It feels so wrong in my heart. This way of killing is totally against our" Baran snorted before replying to him. "Didn''t you hear what the chieftain said? We need to forget about our old customs and move forward with a more progressive mindset. And don''t ask me if it''s right or wrong. I''m not your chieftain anymore. Why don''t you go ahead and ask this question to the real chieftain and hear his answer? I''m sure he''d be happy to answer you if you asked him nicely." Shilson gulped beforeing up with a revised response. "I I am fine. On second thought, we Orcs do need to change our ways. It''s a fortunate thing that we have a visionary chieftain watching over us. He''d surely lead us to greater heights than before." Baran chuckled when he heard Shilson''s response. He then started nning for his next steps. As per Eren''s logic, they should leave Kba''s tribe. He had said that since he would kill Kba and almost all of his Orc Leaders that were his staunch supporters, it would only be the neutral faction and faction that supported Baran that would be contesting for the position of chieftain. None of them would try to mess with Baran. Baran agreed with Eren''s logic. But he was unsatisfied with this oue. For the most part, the guy was only thinking about his benefits. Although he had not made his tribee into the crosshairs of other tribes, he had also not done something that the tribe could benefit from. That''s why Baran decided to step in and do a few things for the new chieftain on his own initiative. Plus, he cared about his previous tribe. So he had decided to approach the tribe again so that it could be assimted into Eren''s tribe. Of course, he would face opposition from a few Orc Leaders. They weren''t stupid. The Orcs were not unaffected by his act of running away from the battle ring just before their chieftain was attacked. So this time, bringing a group of Orcs to initiate talks wasn''t enough. Baran needed tounch a campaign to assimte his previous tribe into Eren''s. ''I I need to talk to him.'' Baran thought to himself before looking in the direction the red cloud of lightning had moved in. The monster Orc Lord had started thinking like a truemander of the monster army. Chapter 636 Killing Kilaba Off Chapter 636 Killing Kba Off At the peak of a small, t mountain top. The midnight moon was spreading its pleasant, mellow light over the dense vegetation around the steep mountain. This mountaintop wasn''t anything special. Nevertheless, it provided Eren with a safe ce to carry out his next activities. Kiyeeeh! An eagle cry resounded in the surroundings as a man and a demon beastnded on the t mountaintop away from Kba''s tribe location. This time, he knew he wouldn''t be disturbed. Eren was at its wit''s end trying to maintain his domain of wrath around him and Argo as they were flying. This was all while he controlled the creature of wrath that would have be berserk if he dispersed the domain. Eren didn''t underestimate Kba even when the monster was about to die. His evolution as an Orc Lord wasn''t to be scoffed at. If it wasn''t for thest vial of illusion potion he had in his vial, he wouldn''t have thought of messing with someone like Kba. ''All good thingse to those who wait. AND act at the right time.'' Eren chuckled as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. Being Eren''s demon beast and having a blood connection with him, Argo was immune to the domain of wrath''s negative effects. Yet, he was still angry for being interrupted from having his free meal. "Here, you fat bird. Have this. You are a growing boy after all. Eat your fill." Taking the bodies of five Ace-ranked mana beasts that he had earlier hunted, the butcher spoke. There were various kinds of beasts for Argo to pick from. Kiyeeeh! This time, this was a happy eagle cry. Argo pped his wings and generated a gust of wind around him to show his satisfaction before turning into his lion form once again. This form was ideal for savoring the delicacies around him. Argo started eating right away with the first mana beast that was closer to him. Meanwhile, his master was busy observing the creature of wrath he had created and incubated for so long. Kba looked drastically different from his previous appearance. Instead of having light green skin, he now had ruptured dark green skin with scutes on it like that of a crocodile. He also had a festering azure hue on his skin that seemed to have a distinct mana signature of his own. The tattoo on his back was not recognizable anymore. He looked like the creature or wrath that had been poisoned before being injected with something sinister. Kba was so angry even while on the verge of death that he had ripped the skin around his chest. He had also torn his stomach, making his guts leak out from that tear. "Breeeeeeeh!" Kba yelled in agony, frustration, pain, and other emotions Eren wasn''t sure he could process anymore. But then, Kba shocked him with his next action. "Youuuuuuuuuuu. Whooooo Areeeeee Youuuuu?" Eren was surprised that creatures of wrath could talk. Kba''s voice was weird. As if there were many people inside that inted giant body of his that no longer belonged to an Orc. The moonlight falling over his 10 feet tall, pure muscle body that was on the verge of imploding looked intimidating. Eren didn''t reply to the Orc directly. He was finding it difficult to control his ability anymore because of the sheer pressure with which the Orc Lord was fighting against his control. "Why do you care, Kba? You are just a guy on his deathbed. If you care about me, you must also be concerned about your treasures, right? Guess what would happen with them? Hehe. That''s right. I''ll im them. Or maybe I''ll offer them to my subordinates for a job well done. Your treasures would be the properties of my entire tribe." Eren said in his Orc form andughed out loud. His goal was to make the guy lose his sanity. So that the Orc Lord would give in to the emotions of angerpletely, which were bubbling inside his heart and brain. Therefore, he began painting a grim picture of all his possessions with his vicious tongue. "Breeeeeeh!" The azure hue on his body started spreading further at a rapid pace when Kba lost control of himself. He hadpletely lost any shred of his ego as Kba the chieftain at this point. ''Eren, kill him. Now.'' Alephee spoke in Eren''s mind when the azure hue started spreading further than Kba''s chest. It had already covered the monster''s limbs and torso. A distinct mana pulse that he had never felt before was released into the surroundings. The butcher had a thought that if he didn''t have an awakened soul sense, that mana pulse would have affected him mentally. It would have incapacitated him long enough for the no-more-Kba creature to wrest away the control from him. Eren didn''t ask for the what, why, and how when he heard Alephee''s voice. He had recognized that it wasced with urgency. The what and why of her urgency could be addressedter. Summon. Swoosh. Chop. A wind-de tornado was summoned by Eren before heading in the monster''s direction. Suddenly, Kba''s truly monstrous body was missing its head over its torso. Drop. The head was carried in the air by sitting on the wind de, thanks to the Wind de Tornado spell. It dropped a few meters away from the body behind it when Eren dispersed the de. The blue hue that was spreading over the monster''s body stopped spreading when the head was cut off. The butcher raised his hands and swiped them in the direction of the body. Burst. The monster''s body was imploded. Blood, bones, and meat were all over the floor. This time the butcher did not have the concentration required to maintain a mana shield. As a result, the dark red blood and chunks of meat were spread all over him as he was standing not too far away from the implosion. "Hm?" It surprised the butcher to see what was left behind after Kba had been detonated into nothingness by him. Instead of the usual, there were two mes of wrath floating over the space where Kba was. Chapter ?637 Soul Spell Chapter ?637 Soul Spell "Two wrath mes, huh?" The butcher was amazed that bringing Kba into the domain of wrath had given him two wrath mes. The butcher was about to dispel the domain when Alphee''s voice sounded again. ''Don''t dispel the domain just yet. We need to take care of the second me first.'' Eren narrowed his eyes when the gears in his head started churning. He asked Alephee while looking at the second me which was azure blue and a bit smaller than the regr wrath me. ''Is it rted to the monster continent?'' ''Yes.'' Alephee said promptly. Eren didn''t ask her anything regarding the azure blue me anymore. He just wanted to know what he was supposed to do next. He had already kind of surpassed his limit in keeping the domain of wrath active. It had started to affect him and he was feeling a bit of anger toward anything that he thought of. Still, the butcher was in control of his emotions. ''Wait. Let me seal it with a time-element sealing spell.'' Alephee said to Eren before executing a spell he hadn''t heard of. In the next moment, the azure-blue me stopped flickering and stood still as if it was just the image of the me he was seeing. Alephee also cast a spell on the usual wrath me, freezing it in space and time. The butcher was taken aback by what he was seeing. It now looked like both the mes had been frozen in ice blocks that wouldn''t melt no matter how much heat is provided to them. These frozen mes were about to fall on the ground, but the butcher used his wind element des to carry them in his hands. The butcher wasn''t surprised that Alephee could do it. But he was shocked by how she did it. "This spell... How did you do it?" Eren didn''t feel any mana signature from this spell. There was no fluctuation of surrounding mana either. He did not feel that Alephee was using his mana to cast time-element spells like usual. It was something he hadn''t seen or heard before. Alephee chuckled before answering him. ''This is what is known as the soul spell. It can only be cast by those who have soul sense. *Sigh. Now that I''ve cast it, I''ll take a short nap afterward.'' Eren''s eyes sparkled when he heard a new branch of the spell had opened up for him when he heard Alephee''s somewhat tired speech. He was about to ask her if he could learn something like this. But it was Alephee who anticipated the butcher''s question and answered him. ''Don''t get too excited. It is too early for you to cast soul spells. Your soul has juste out of its shell. Let it grow and mature a bit. I''ll tell you when you are ready.'' Eren became angry at Alephee''s words. But he knew it wasn''t due to what she had said. The domain of wrath was affecting him. Alephee realized what was happening andmented. ''Both of these mes can now be stored inside any storage space artifact. They woulde to life once you imbue your mana into them. I suggest digesting the usual wrath me inside the Oni dungeon. That space would provide you with maximum protection and safety for this. The azure-blue wrath me is a bit special. Let''s go to the Oni dungeon first before we can discuss this thing.'' Eren had a couple of questions in his mind. But since Alephee had said that the Oni dungeon would be an ideal ce to digest his current gains, he stopped asking her. He didn''t mind waiting a bit to digest these mes. *** The search and rescue party for Orc Lord Kba finally reached the mountaintop as per the clues their shaman had provided. Eren hadn''t done anything special to hide his tracks since he wanted these monsters to follow him. So that they would know what had happened to their chieftain. The death of a chief would demotivate tribe members to stop chasing anyone. That''s because the fight for the next chieftain would begin shortly thereafter. The tribe was going to have a hard time controlling internal conflicts and dealing with other hostile tribes. When the search and rescue teams reached the scene, all they saw was blood and gore spread everywhere at one corner of the mountain top. Every organ and every bone of something or someone was broken into many pieces. The strange mana signature around the ce created by the potion of innocence made it more difficult to identify the body that burst like a water balloon there. Shamans also vomited and became ill when they tried to cast their detective spells. But suddenly one of the Orc Leaders found something suspicious in the distance. There was a branch of a tree that was lodged in the ground. It looked weird because there was no other vegetation in its vicinity. "Chiefieye Kba!" An Orc Soldier who was there to check on the Orc Leader''s orders yelled in surprise when he saw that something was ced at the top of that tree''s branch. He hadn''t yet received his rity. Therefore, the way he pronounced the sentence in orcish made his tongue as broken as the guy who had killed Kba. The branch had been used as a stand to hang Kba''s head. Eren had arranged Kba''s head in this way to make a statement for the Orc Leaders. That he knew they wereing and he was ready for them in case they decided to press the matters further. *** After killing Kba, Eren had gone back to the army toplete a bunch of army assignments. Altashia was relieved from the army. He was offered the position of leading his army squad. Eren refused his promotion in the army and gave it to Arjun. In return, he told the handsome elf that he should return the favor by managing things without Eren in the picture for a few weeks. Eren alsopleted a bunch of assignments by being part of the different army squads in these two weeks. This was so that his records of clearing the missions stayed fresh in the official records. He would then depend on Arjun to make his absence from the army unnoticeable. The butcher knew how the system worked by now. And so did Arjun. They would not shy away from bending the rules in their favor for their own benefit. During his free time, Eren received inputs regarding the potion manufacturing and supply chain from Renar and Viper. Lastly, he contacted Jake''s father to streamline the process, at least in the Lionhearts duchy. Eren also kept tabs on the construction of White Raven town by keeping in touch with Agatha and Levine through spectral calls. He added his input whenever needed. The rest of the responsibilities were given to both women. Three weeks after killing Kba, Eren was back in his Orc tribe to check on them. He was going to enter the Oni dungeon after wrapping these things up. And of course, meet his treasures. And the first thing he heard was Baran doing something way out of the script. Chapter 638 Leadership Qualities Chapter 638 Leadership Qualities "You did what now?" Eren was shocked when he heard that Kba had sessfully managed to merge his old and existing tribe. Previously, Eren had only about 700 members tomand. Of which 26 were Orc Leaders. Now after the takeover, he had around 1600 Orcs to lead. Of which 64 were Orc Leaders. Eren''s tribe had 64 monsters who could stand toe to toe with Ace rankers. This was more group strength than what he had officially gathered under his guild''s banner yet. Eren couldn''t believe that letting Baran live and making him one of his subordinates would grant him this much manpower. The old monster had returned to visit his old tribe that was busy infighting after Kba''s absence. Kba''s tribe needed an Orc Lord to lead them now that Kba''s death had been confirmed beyond the shadow of a doubt. As there were no orcs at that stage, the choice fell to choosing from Orc Leaders. And that''s when all hell broke loose. Just as Eren had predicted, the tribe was facing an insurmountable conflict. Baran didn''t want his previous tribe to split into various small tribes led by various Orc Leaders. So he decided to take things into his own hands. Baran wanted to inform the butcher. But since the guy had just upped and left as he had said he would, Baran took this decision as the chief in charge of the tribe and acted. Baran took a substantial portion of his warrior Orcs and hunter Orcs under hismand and visited his previous tribe. Of course, most Orc Leaders were hostile towards him. Even the monsters that had supported him felt disappointed in him. It was obvious that the one who had killed Kba belonged to Baran''s side. It sullied the Orc Lord''s reputation in front of his old tribe because he didn''t officially beat Kba. Baran knew what was about to happen. So he asked the shamas to perform a special spell on him with the help of arrays that belonged to the monster continent. It would temporarily devolve the Orc Lord into Orc Leader. Baran then challenged all the Orc Leaders in his previous tribe to fight him in groups. The Orc Leaders couldn''t believe that an Orc Lord would willingly step down from his evolutionary pedestal just to prove his worth. And prove his worth Baran did. All the Orc Leaders who were opposing him in his former tribe were defeated by him. He did it while getting heavily injured in the process. Baran didn''t deny that the entity who killed Kba had nothing to do with him. He used monster rules to take back what once belonged to him. ''Use the rules of the game to your advantage. Don''t get shackled by them.'' His new chieftain had said to him. And that''s what he did. "Kekekeke! I just did what I wanted to do for a long time. I had gathered those men under my banner and worked with them for years. It was my diligent work that had brought that tribe together. How could I let it go to waste just like that? I wanted to give you a fair warning. But you cut all yourmunications with us during this time. And my window of opportunity to act on this matter was closing." Baran said and observed Eren''s reactions, which gave him no clue. So he kneeled in front of the butcher before adding on. "So I made this decision on my own. If any of my actions have caused you any sort of trouble, I''m up for any punishment that you give me." Eren was impressed. He thought that the rity Baran had received after being an Orc Lord was beyond normal standards at this point because of the monster''s old age. He had refined his rity more than other intelligent Orcs who were just aware of how things worked. Baran was now starting to see why things worked the way they worked. p! p! p! Eren pped his hand in appreciation for the old Orc Lord beforementing. "Old man, you did a great job. I remember specifically telling you that I didn''t want Kba''s tribe because it would make me have more responsibilities than I could afford to have." Baran gulped subtly when he heard the butcher''s response. He had taken this action after assuming that Eren wouldn''t mind his old tribe getting assimted with the new one if he was released from such responsibilities. He was about to find out if that assumption was right or wrong. Eren chuckled after realizing what Baran was thinking and spoke up. "Old man, I meant it when I said that you did a great job. That wasn''t a sarcasticment. You figured out what I meant by my previous decision and worked to keep that decision intact while moving forward in achieving your goals. You understood the assignment. Sometimes, the one who is at the top is not always right. I''m no exception to this rule either. But you''d have to forgive me foring up with that decision because I underestimated your ability." The butcher said and took a bite out of the lightning apple he was carrying in his right hand while pacing around in the chieftain house''s main hall. He chewed the fruits some more before continuing. "I think in more ways than one, you are a better leader than me, old man. A better chieftain. I''ll not shy away from admitting that. Sometimes being the most powerful is not enough to lead a group. Being the smartest isn''t a hard and fast rule either." Eren paused after he said that. He stepped into the garden and observed its scenery once again. He looked at the ground that had enabled him to unlock his soul sense by lying on it and chuckled. This was daytime. The morning sun was just beginning to spread its brilliance all over thend. Eren walked a bit andy on his back, on the same spot he hadst time before taking a lungful of fresh air. Eren''s iplete point left Baran unanswered. So he followed his chieftain and sat near him before asking. "My liege, what is enough to lead one''s tribe?" Eren had a smile on his face as he replied while closing his eyes. "It''s the ability to connect with your subordinates on a deeper level. You can do a better job than me when ites to that. Being a leader also means choosing the right person for the right job. In that way, I''m also a capable leader because I chose you to lead the tribe in my absence." Baran cackled when he heard Eren tooting his own horns while praising him. Praisesing from Eren felt weird to him. This was something he felt Eren would say instead. Eren chuckled as well before continuing. "I remember the very first time you decided to show up to save an Orc Leader from being killed by me. I took your actions into ount when I decided to make you mymander. But I could have never imagined that you''d be able to do this with so many Orc Leadersa connecting with them on a personal level the way you could. This is something only you can do. Old man, it''s admirable that you are sharpening your leadership qualities like this. Because I''ll soon make you lead a monster army that would be much more than you thought you could lead. Hehehe." Chapter ?639 Prelude to Chaos: Little Eel P1 Chapter ?639 Prelude to Chaos: Little Eel P1 Eren talked at length with Baran and gave him a fewmands to follow. The most criticalmand he had given them was to relocate the tribe to the Monster Canyon. Baran had stress lines on his forehead when he heard the butcher''s decision to move the tribe. But Eren retrieved an array disk from his storage space. This disk contained a rough map of the Monster Canyon and the safe passage Baran could take to move there from the tribe''s current location. All the while staying inside the Bands. Eren had used the Edinburgh army database to create this safe route for his tribe''s relocation. Baran just needed to follow the route to its T and relocate the tribe to Eren''s intended spot. Relocating the tribe was not easy. Especially when Baran had such arge tribe. So the safe route Eren had given him that missed the other monster tribes made Baran breathe a sigh of relief. Eren told Baran he did not have to rush the relocation project. He told him to take a few days to prepare. And asked Baran to prepare a special troupe that could be used to lead the tribe members. Meanwhile, he suggested to Baran that he should task Orc Leaders to capture and tame mana beasts that could be used in this project as mounts and more. After saying what he had to say and doing what needed to be done, Eren bid adieu to Baran, other Orc Leaders, and his treasures. With every pending task taken care of, the butcher was now ready to enter the oni dungeon. *** A mysterious mountain top was seen to be shrouded in mana fog. This mountain-top was usually barren. But now it had hordes of undead walking and running around everywhere with their junk armors and mangled bodies. A young man with a lightning affinity was seen battling with wraiths. He was butchering the decayed and rotten flesh on these wraiths without any remorse, disgust, or apprehension. The title of "Osan Woods Butcher" wasn''t wasted on him. He had green-lightning-d daggers in his hand. He would use his movement spell and his mastery over his element to deal critical damage to every wraith he came across. No wraith horde was able to hold him down for more than a few seconds. Additionally, he was using his beast contract spell creatively. He would create a giant apparition of his purple lightning snake with green lightning tongues around it. He would then use its trunk as a safe passage for zipping through his opponents. It is as if an electric eel had created its own lightning water stream to overwhelm its undead enemies. The purple lightning snake was notpatible with green lightning anymore. He needed a different contract beast. For now, however, he made do with what he had. This young man was a prodigy in his own right. With a stoic expression on his face, he dealt with dozens of wraith hordes quickly. It looked simple. Only he knew how hard he had fought to gain control over his way of element like this. Or how hard he had struggled to execute the beast contract spell in this manner. He had way too many close calls this year. He wondered if there was a part of him that died during this time. The part that sought recognition. The part that sought to prove to his grandfather that he should have counted on him more than his abusive brother. The young man had suffered greatly in this isted environment where all he was told was to fight and do nothing else. He was thankful for this ce for that. That''s because loneliness bothered him. It reminded him that he was not wee in the outside world. That he would be skewered alive for something he hadn''t done. So this torture pce became the young man''s paradise. It was his personal brand of hell that he foundforting. "Lightning Wave!" The young man mumbled to himself as he decided to finish the rest of the wraiths with his AoE. He had not learned this spell through any scroll. No. It was his own creation that he had created after receiving an epiphany. An epiphany after months and months of battling and doing nothing else. A cluster of light green lightning was created around the young man before turning into a green-liquid-like substance. A lightning element spell that had properties of water. The streaks of green lightning were like water-immersed branches of money nts that didn''t disappear. They stayed in the lightning water and glowed green in color as they multiplied. The young man swung around himself with his dagger drawn and raised at both his sides. The lightning water that was created around him spread in all directions. As the lightning water spread, a bright green glow appeared. The lightning branches that were immersed in the elemental watertched onto their targets before glowing brighter by the moment. The young man had kept his dragged into his storage after executing that spell. He was breathing hard. And he had sweat on his forehead. But one could tell he had no problem standing toe to toe with the wraith hordes once again. He had the energy to spare and could dominate. Crack. Crack. Crack. The wraiths'' bodies burst open. Their armors shattered. Their weapons were thrown away from them. Even the ground that the wraiths had upied cracked below them. Those cracks resembled lightning patterns found in lightning water. p! p! p! "Little eel, I must say you have improved yourself tremendously over these past few months. I am thoroughly entertained by your performance." A charming yet dangerous woman appeared out of nowhere in the air behind this young man. Thetter didn''t say anything. He still had deadpan expressions in his eyes. But he turned around and bowed a bit before raising his head. The dangerousdy nodded after she received that bow. She slowly made her descent and touched the ground with her right foot ever so slightly. In the next moment, she was standing close to the young man who was still bowing down to her. "Your way of lightning has taken a divergent turn. I am not sure I have seen any lightning element ranker with this version of lightning attainment. I am not sure if there would be anyone in the present who could pull off something like you. Then again..." Chapter 640 Prelude to Chaos: Little Eel P2 Chapter 640 Prelude to Chaos: Little Eel P2 Then again" The young man was visibly distressed at the sight of thisdy. He knew she was watching him. His miseries were a way to entertain herself after all. But he didn''t dare raise any objection. For he knew there were things worse than death when it came to dealing with a Sage ranker like her. No matter if one of her feet was in the grave or not. The youngdy chuckled and looked at her hands which were manifestations of her soul sense. She touched the back of her right hand with her left hand to feel something she wasn''t feeling. It was as if she was missing something. Something she had been craving for centuries on end now. "Then again, it''s been a long time since I was out. At this point, anything I see would be a surprise to me. I''m excited, little eel. Excited to get out." Eliza addressed Ivor Osan, who was bowing down in front of her. He knew that even if these words were addressed to him, they were more intended for the speaker herself than for him. Ivor raised his head after a while. He didn''t meet thedy''s eyes. But he could feel that his skin would start to melt in her presence because of the aura she gave off. The Endermes were part of her existence. They didn''t need to manifest themselves to make Ivor this apprehensive about them. "Is it time?" Ivor asked, guessing Eliza''s intentions. The youngdy chuckled before answering. "Fufufufu. That crafty kitten is up to something again. He has solid ns, though. I give him that. And they seem sane enough. La is on schedule with her ns. So, she might need your help. So I want you out." Eliza said and surveyed the area around her before scrunching her nose in disgust. She raised her right hand and made a half-lotus gesture with it. In the next moment, stress lines appeared on Ivor''s forehead as he experienced a dreadful sensation all around him. A sea of Endermes had been summoned on the mountain top out of thin air. In the blink of an eye. That spell''s level was Sage-level. If it wasn''t for the barrier Eliza had created around Ivor, the guy would have been baked to perfection with just the heatwaves alone. A cooked eel on an air fryer. After Ivor''s second blink, the Endermes were snuffed out. He gulped as he witnessed a Sage spell being used casually to clean the wraiths'' bodies. They were no more. Their armors were no more. Their smell was no more. Their residual mana signature was no more. It was as if the ce had never seen an outbreak of wraiths before. "Sage Eliza, you know I have a bounty on my" Ivor felt his spirit catch fire when he tried to object. Eliza wasn''t doing anything to him on purpose, of course. Each emotion she felt was making the Endermes manifest all around her. And right now, she was a bit irritated. "If I say you need to be out, you will go out, little eel. Of course, I know there''s a bounty on your head. Don''t worry. I''ll let you walk out without anyone keeping tabs on you. No historian assigned to track you would be able to get to you." Eliza said and pursed her lips. She then kept her index finger on her lips as if pondering over something before correcting herself. "Umm nobody would be able to track you unless you are being tracked by a Grandmaster ranker or above. Or a Master ranker historian who is very skilled. Then I can''t help it." In frustration, Ivor clenched his fists when the absolute certainty of a Sage ranker turned conditional. But he tried not to think about anything. He knew she could read minds when he was this close to her. So he kept his mind serene and empty of all thoughts as he listened to her patiently. Eliza chuckled when she observed Ivor''s reactions. She had to admit that in those months, Ivor had not only grown physically but also showed extreme improvement in his ranking journey. By now, he had also strengthened his mental fortitude in dealing with her. The almost-mummified Sage liked teasing young boys with her frightening charms. She sighed when she got no response from Ivor about how bitchy she was and continued. "I have kept tabs on the outside world through the reports sent by La. Therefore, I don''t see a Master ranker or beyond tracking you since the heat around Osan Woods Butcher has died down a lot. Therefore, you should be fine with the measure I provide you. You have stepped into Adept rank now. So that''s another level of protection you would have against historians and users of Seer arrays, who would be trying to pinpoint you once in a while." Ivor nodded at Eliza''s statements after he heard her. Just yesterday, he had stepped into Adept rank after he was done battling with four Draconic lizards at once. That was another instance where death almost embraced him and he ended up breaking into Adept rank. ''Guys like you shine brightest in adversity.'' Eliza had said that to him after his breakthrough. It was her way ofplimenting him. It was also her way of telling him that his breakthrough was thanks to her. After all, she had given him those adversities. "That''s it? Just help La out? I''ll be free to do whatever I want after that?" Eliza chuckled before starting to speak. Of course, things weren''t as simple as Ivor had hoped. But they weren''t asplicated as they seemed either. She just needed another pawn from her side before the process kicked off and ended up being the poster definition of Domino''s effect. She would pay Ivor his due rewards. She wouldn''t care what happens to him after her work is done the way she wanted. Ivor was about to be out of Purgatory after what he felt like decades. The ce had given him dark circles around his eyes. He didn''t know how he was going to feel after seeing something normal and mundane from the outside world after all these months. One part of him was scared to venture out and wanted to stay inside this dreadful ce because he had grown familiar with it. But then another part of him grew excited. If he could enjoy being surrounded by wraiths, draconic lizards, and monsters for most of the day every day for months, how hard could it be to step outside and feel the thrill of being chased by the entire kingdom? The title of Osan Woods Butcher had not been obtained by him. But perhaps he should be the killer the kingdom sees in him. That''s what he felt as he listened to Sage Eliza''s words. He nodded at her in the end, attesting that he would listen to her. Ivor Osan was out the next day. With a seemingly different appearance but there were a few simrities with the original him. He looked older than before. He also had a different mana signature. Aplete makeover that paid tribute to his former self. He was a different person from the inside too whenpared to the one he was before entering Purgatory. The guy had dropped his edgelordness. Now he was a calm storm. And this storm was heading toward Nightshade duchy. Towards the White Raven guild. Chapter ?641 Prelude to Chaos: Slughorn Moves Chapter ?641 Prelude to Chaos: Slughorn Moves House Slughorn''s Estate. Lionhearts Duchy. Edinburgh kingdom. A wide study room was full of ancient-looking scrolls, worn-out yet precious books, and array disks that contained volumes of information in different formats. Various books were kept open at various locations. As if somebody was reading multiple books at multiple corners of the room all at once. The mahogany-looking furniture inside the room looked expensive. But that didn''t stop the room from being seen as the messy space of a caveman. The air in that room was stale and reeked of old paper. There was barely any light in the spacious study room that was cluttered with various things. Furthermore, the room contained a distinct presence who was reading from a scroll spread in front of him on a desk at one end of the room. "Sir, these are the reports you requested." An attendant in his 30s appeared out of thin air and ced an array disk on the desk in front of the old ranker. This old ranker was reading the content from the scroll. He then lowered his head and waited silently for the old ranker to react. Sitting at the desk reading a scroll was a man who appeared to be in his 80s. His skin was wrinkled and his eyes looked old and hollow. The hair on his head was white and unkempt. It was as if the man had stopped caring about how he looked. The man listened to the attendant and nodded. But he didn''t raise his head and kept on reading through the scroll. He mumbled a few words to himself as if he was reading through the scroll and trying to remember the contents of that scroll. After that, he sighed and put the scroll away before bringing the array that had been delivered to him by the attendant. The old man in his 80s activated the array disk using his mana and mana sense. A spectral screen with sheets of data appeared in front of the mana with additional information. The old man kept looking through the sheet and narrowed his eyes on a particr detail. He scratched his scalp while looking at the attendant before asking. "Who the devil''s tarnation is White Raven guild?" The attendant was expecting this question. So he cleared his voice before speaking out. "This is a newly formed guild, Sir. It was registered in the Nightshade duchy not too long ago. It looked like the guild was a solo project of an Ace ranker at first. But it turns out that the guild leader got the backing of House Derringer and House Montmorency all of a sudden. Sir, do you remember the news about Minerva''s Utopia opening up in Nightshade duchy not too far from the city of New Beginnings?" The old man scratched some more and processed what his attendant was hinting at. He opened his eyes in shock after he understood the connotation. He then essed the data from the array disk and studied it a bit before replying. "Oh? This tiny guild holds thend that features the entrance to Utopia, is it? Hehe! I may have gotten old but I''m not senile yet. I bet that his chosen guy is House Montmorency''s pawn right from the start. May all those achievements be robbed from me if that turns out to be wrong." He said this before he started coughing badly. He then took out a potion from his storage before gulping it down in one go. The old man''s body started glowing as the potion''s effects kicked in. His cough stopped and he breathed a sigh of relief before adding on. "Be that as it may, we can always remain as bystanders when House Derringer and House Montmorency are making moves. Although the White Raven potions are not meant for regr use yet, they are starting to hurt our niche market." The old man looked at the data on his spectral screen once again. The attendant was used to the old man''s devious schemes in business by now. So he asked vigntly. "Sir, do you want me to contact our ck market manufacturing line to start making counterfeits for White Raven potions? That would be the easiest way to cut down their growing market presence and hurt them." The old Montmorency chuckled when he heard the attendant''s line of thoughts. He had to admit that this thought did cross his mind briefly not too long ago. But then he scraped it away as quickly as possible. He spoke about the reasons for doing so. "I told you to remain vignt and not get paranoid over a newbie guild that may or may not survive till the next winter. It is difficult to stay afloat in the business when there are so manypetitors. It is especially tougher for someone like White Raven guild who has no previous background or record to speak of. Don''t underestimate Slughorn potions'' quality and their market presence either. The name has a strong foundation. We survived the debacle thatss had created for us..." The old man stopped talking midway and sighed. He didn''t want to partake in victim ming. But he had to admit that Sienna had lost her way in potioning long before that dreadful incident happened to her. Sienna was sent to LA to learn potioneering from the best. The old man had pulled a few strings and had arranged for her to attend Levine''s lectures without having to pass the test. The old man knew about Levine''s state and what she was doing in LA instead of taking charge of her n. This was a perfect opportunity for him to let one of his n''s scions benefit from her situation. After all, he knew Levine''s teachings would be pristine. Something House Slughorn would never be able toplete them with. But the girl skipped those lectures and chose the easy way out. Finding a guy of her own and bribing him to pass her potioning tests. Instead of doing many things she could do in LA, she chose to cheat her way out. The incident that had happened to her also urred because she had wanted to cheat. Sienna''s incident had hurt the Slughorns'' market presence directly and indirectly. And it was just starting to recover. But suddenly a new guild had arrived trying to take over the niche market. The old man had to admit that the timing of this new rival was impable. Chapter 642 Prelude to Chaos: Chasing After the Homunculus Chapter 642 Prelude to Chaos: Chasing After the Homunculus The old man massaged his forehead with his wrinkled hands and scrawny fingers before adding on. "My point is, we don''t need to take extreme measures just yet. Lower the prices a bit on our niche products and increase them by a fraction for our regr concoctions. This way, we wouldn''t take a loss and start giving toughpetition to the White Raven guild. Hmm? What else? We also need to observe the market in the City of New Beginnings. That market has the power to break or make new guilds and their products. It also weights to give us a substantial blow in our earnings. We''ll need someone from our n to go to the city of New Beginnings. How is Sienna holding on these days?" The old man asked, looking at his attendant. Thetter straightened his back before replying. "The illusion spell that we have cast on her is still working, sire. She has forgotten about the whole incident. But she still has nightmares and those can''t be cured. For the most part, she is behaving normally. Lady Sienna appears nk when someone asks her about "that" incident. Suddenly, she snaps back and resumes the conversation as if she had never been asked that question. The Master Illusionist that had cast a spell on her has said that this is a normal reaction. And wouldn''t bother her day-to-day affairs." The attendant gave a detailed report about Sienna''s current status to the old man. Rarely did this potioner from House Slughorn leave his cave-like home. For most of the year, he would be cooped up in his potionb, lost in his studies. So it was natural that he didn''t know about Sienna''s current status. "Hmm. Alright. it''s fine for now, I guess. Tell her that she needs to go to the Nightshade duchy. Arrange a ce for her in the city of New Beginnings. She''d be our point of contact for our House. It would also serve as a change of scenery for her. Apletely new environment and added responsibilities should give her less trauma. Maybe cure her of her nightmares." The old man said while scratching his neck. Then he remembered Sienna''s carelessness and her usual behavior. He coughed and continued. "Also, send a few capable men from our house with her. If Sienna makes wrong decisions, tell them they need to guide her. I''ll also visit Nightshade Duchy in a few weeks. Hehe. I want to know all there is to know about a Utopia from a Sage potioner after all. Cough cough cough. Never mind me. Just tell Sienna to get ready and leave for Nightshade Duchy in a few days. Tell her I''ll join her after some time." The old man concluded his decision and stood up from his position. He had a hunched back and inwardly arched posture when he stood up, making him look a lot shorter. "Yes, sire." The attendant left his position after saying this. The old man wasn''t there to listen to his attendant''s response. He was also absent from his position, leaving therge study room empty of all things living once again. *** Arthur Renar''s Dukedom. The gigantic fort served as Artur''s pce that was fortified from every corner with steep perimeter walls etched with fortifying runes. This was his home and also his base of operations. Arge audience hall in which there was only one chair ced on the tform that was raised higher on the floor. Arthur was sitting on the chair with his head resting on the palm of his folded right arm. Oliver was kneeling in front of his Duke Master. There were other runners present in the audience as well. Wearing the samebat armor and gear as Oliver. They seemed to be Oliver''s squad he was in charge. "Did you find anything about that damn homunculus? My Seer tells me she''s out of Purgatory." Arthur had a nk expression on his face. But Oliver could tell that his lord was angry. He felt like he was created for all the work he had done creating an artificial demon beast. Eliza had never stood in front of Arthur. She had always talked with him through La, making her the face of Purgatory''s lone permanent dweller. So ording to the duke, La was in charge of Purgatory. And he couldn''t contact her during these months using his normal means no matter what. That''s because La had given him a spatial-boundmunication method that would work over long distances. But it was not something she could use outside of Purgatory. Neither Eliza nor Garvin Karr the Seer could talk to him without exposing her identity, thanks to Garvin Karr the Seer by his side. Arthur had received various awards after he had supposedly handed over the demon beast to La. But what he needed the most was Sin Series Mark. And he felt like he was being ignored after his part of the deal was ended. "My lord, we looked into the recent conflicts between Illuminati and Beast Bloods like you asked us to do. There may be someone that got out of Purgatory and shed with either of these cultist organizations. But we don''t know anything after that. We also conducted independent searches throughout the kingdom and outside it. But so far the results aren''t substantial. As for the other task you had given us. We have found Isen Osan''s family located in the kingdom of Layos. But it is heavily guarded. The most we can do right now with our current manpower is keep tabs on him. It would be helpful if you could point us in the right direction and tell us what to do." Oliver said humbly as he knelt. Arthur tapped the fingers of his other hand on the armchair and pondered a bit beforementing. "The conflict between those two cultist organizations was a lead that was given to me by Garvin. If it doesn''t pan out, just let it be." Arthur sighed and looked up before adding on. "Good job on Isen''s case, Oliver. You have never disappointed me. We can never be too sure about that wretched old man. Keep an eye on him for now." Arthur said as he got up from his throne-like chair that was eerily simr to the real throne in Edinburgh. He scratched his stubble and looked at all his subordinates before dering. "As for the clue regarding that homunculus. I havee across one clue. She is likely active in the Nightshade duchy. There are no more clues about that little runt, who has kept her profile very low till now. But this is enough as well. Oliver, prepare your men. We will go to Nightshade Duchy." Chapter 643 Prelude to Chaos: Demonmir Chapter 643 Prelude to Chaos: Demonmir The crack of dawn. 5.45 AM. Nightshade Duchy. House Montmorency estate. A muscr man in histe 40s was swinging his two double axes in empty air. He was practicing his weapon arts atop a rtively small mountain top that had a small house at its other end. This man had long white hair that was tied behind his back. His face was like that of a hawk, with his sharp nose, sharper eyes, and even sharper jawline. His muscr and well-defined arms looked intimidating. Through his pants, his legs appeared equally pumped. His muscture was that of a man whocked any fat in his body. This white-haired man was not wearing anything to cover his torso. As if he was proud of the way he looked and wanted the world to see his pro-testosterone physique. The house he was used to living in was small and only had basic amenities. He didn''t wear or unt any fancy artifacts either. It looked like the man was used to living a simple life. A life meant for warriors. Yet only those who knew him knew how much power he held over his n or its wealth. In a sense, he was a fine specimen of a human male that seemed void of any worldly attachments. A serious and upright-looking man. Yet if Levine was asked what she thought of this man, she would describe him as the most conniving son of a bitch. She would then curse the person who had asked her this question which made her talk about him. This man who was wielding dual Labrys and practicing his weapon arts in silence was none other than Ottoman de Montmorency. He was called something different by his subordinates though. A kingdom-bonafide title that served as his unique identity. A man who was riding a condor-type demon beast suddenly appeared in the sky before jumping down from his mount. Hended a few meters away from where Ottoman was practicing. He kneeled before his Lord and spoke up. "Lord Demonmir, We found out that Lady Levine was up to some unusual activities these days. I''m here to inform you of the same." When Demonmir AKA Ottoman heard the name Levine, his wind and lightning element duality manifested around him. He was practicing his weapon arts without the use of mana till now. So the guy who had taken the knee hadn''t felt threatened afternding a few meters away from Demonmir. But now the condor-owning messenger felt like maybending this close to the Demonmir was a terrible idea. Because he felt threatening vibesing from him as he swung his dual Labrys with a tinge of mana that leaked from him unwittingly. Wind and lightning elemental fusion. A gust of blue wind was generated all around the Demonmir before it took the shape of a flying attack. This attack closed in on the condor-type demon beast owner so fast that he didn''t have a chance to react despite being an Adept rank. The demon beast would have turned berserk andunched a suicide attack on the Ottoman if the beast owner had died in front of him. Thankfully for both of them, Ottoman quickly took control of his inadvertent attack and dispersed it in thin air before it could hurt his subordinate. The Demonmir did not own any fancy artifacts for the most part. However, his ancient-looking dual Labrys set was the only exception to this rule. The white-haired man looked at his weapon set and pondered a bit as if revising what he had just done. He then closed his eyes while putting this set back into his storage. Demonmir only replied when he was ready. "Hm? What is my dear cousin up to these days?" Demonmir shed a cunning smile after he had said that. That smilepletely broke the earlier image of him as an obedient yet upright man. His voice was deep and produced subtle vibrations in the surroundings due to his attainment in the wind element. The listeners would feel the vibrations and electric discharge in the air whenever Demonmir spoke to them. Simrly, his recent achievement in the elemental fusion of wind and lightning should not be ignored. Despite his serious looks, the guy was very happy with the fruits ofbor his istion had brought him this time. Practicing his weapon arts was Demonmir''s way of celebrating his sess. The flying type demon beast owner quickly got over the life-threatening crisis he had just faced and turned to his Lord obediently. "Lord Demonfir, Lady Levine had taken a few substantial steps while you were busy in your istion. I came to meet you as soon as you got out. Lady Levine has gotten herself and her faction of the Montmorency n involved in a tri-party deal. This deal is regarding the management ofnd that hosts the entrance to Minerva''s Utopia. Here are the details." A runic scroll was made to approach Demonmir as it levitated in the air. Thetter caught it effortlessly and imbued his mana into it while closing his eyes. The runic scroll established a connection with Demonmir''s mana sense and started painting the recorded visuals of a city under construction. The visuals also contained distant footage of spatial tear and the golden gates around it, which served as the entrance to Minerva''s Utopia. "Minerva huh? She was a Sage, right? What do we know about her?" Demonmir didn''t flinch after he saw the visuals of Levine''s faction getting so active these days. He liked challenges anyway. And he loved breaking people''s confidence when they thought they were at the peak of their life. A new scroll was given to Demonmir. This scroll contained information that was rted to Sage Minerva. Ottoman had a surprised expression on his face as he browsed through the information with his eyes closed. "Hoah! My dear cousin hasnded on a gold mine it seems." Demonmir scratched his white stubble as he said that. He then walked toward his subordinate and asked him. "The report mentions the White Raven guild and Eren Idril. But there''s not much information about them. Why is that, Colton?" Colton, the condor-owning demon beast tamer sighed and spoke truthfully. "The report doesn''t have much on those two because they don''t have anything on them in their official or non-official records, my Lord. Eren Idril is the founder and guild master of White Raven. If I had to guess, Eren must be the pawn of House Derringer. Maybe House Derringer had internal conflicts of its own. And hiring some unknown guild to be the face of this thing is a way for one of their factions to keep the profits to themselves." Colton gave his conjecture to Demonmir that he hade up with after studying the information rted to this case. Not knowing that the one who he had called a pawn was the mastermind behind the whole thing. Chapter 644 Prelude to Chaos: Campaign Chapter 644 Prelude to Chaos: Campaign Demonmir listened to Colton''s analysis of the White Raven guild and agreed with him. This was too big a pie for a small guild to get its hands on. Ottoman scratched his white beard some more before thinking of something significant. "How did White Ravene to possess thisnd? Did thatnd belong to someone else or was it owned by the kingdom?" Colton didn''t take long to answer. "The guild happened to buy thend that once belonged to Huse Remus. I contacted people to find out how much House Remus agreed to sell thend. I couldn''t get the exact number. But they say that it was sold for a dirt cheap price because thend was barren from the get-go. Then House Derringer and Master Levine''s faction of House Montmorency got on board this project and immediately dispatched their powerhouses to the scene. They have also hired some mercenary help for the time being. The ce is as secure as it can get." Demonmir started pondering as he listened to further details given to him by his subordinate. He was a cunning man with high ambitions. So of course he thought of taking over Levine''s faction while keeping House Montmorency''s interests intact. "Hm. We need to shake things and see what tickles. Set up a meeting with House Remus. Those old fogies from House Remus must be infuriated right now because of the price for which they must have sold the golden goose. They can be turned into our allies. Contact House Derringer and ask them how the overall profit margin of Utopia''s resources has been divided. Tell them we are willing to offer a tad bit more if they get my faction onboard and ditch Levine''s." Demonmir came with a two-pronged approach on the spot after he heard most of the details regarding Minerva''s Utopia. Colton nodded at his Lord''s decision. But he couldn''t help asking him about Eren''s guild. "My Lord, what about the White Raven guild? Do we take action against their members?" Demonmir chuckled before answering. "Of course. Big or small, I don''t give a damn. Pests need to be taken care of as soon as we find them." Demonmir said with his eyes gleaming with cruel intentions. "ughter them all," he said effortlessly. Colton felt firsthand the bloodlust hidden in that statement as Demonmir''s mana signature leaked out. His elemental fusion was stimted by his emotions, wrapping his body in a gust of dark blue wind that buzzed with particles of lightning. "That being said, I''m sure my dear cousin must have anticipated my actions and taken a few precautions. So we don''t want to burn our hands doing something that could be solved with money. We don''t have to get our hands dirty to take care of the pests. We pay for pest control. Find us reliable pest control. Do you understand?" Colton bowed a bit more than he already was to show his agreement. He was about to get up. Then he thought of something and asked her out. "My lord, are you entering into istion once again?" Demonmir was about to resume his practice of weapon arts when he heard Colton''s question. He replied to him while getting his weapon ready. "No. My ranking progress will stagnate if I stay cooped up in my house. I guess I''ll have to check out Minerva''s Utopia with my own eyes soon. Maybe I''ll meet up with my dear cousin as well. Hehehe. I''m dying to see her face." Saying that Demonmir started swinging his weapons in an artistic form. It was as if the weapon sets had be a part of him. Thanks to Demonmir''s superb elemental attainment, he unwittingly created a zone of up to 20 meters around him that was filled with Demonmir''s weapon attacks. This was without using any of his mana. This was a purely physical force of destruction that wasced with his elemental fusion. *** Somewhere in the kingdom of Layos. Isen Osan''s Abode. "Expert Isen, what do we do with the Edinburgh''s spies that are keeping an eye on you?" An army officer in a simple military uniform asked Isen Osan casually. He was speaking to him from the position of equality. That was because he also ranked as an Expert. Isen and the army officer were currently on the terrace of Isen''s current vi. It was located in the middle of dense vegetation that would tell the onlookers that the patch of Bands was not too far from here. And yet, this was the most secure ce Isen could have asked for. Since this ce was near the border of the Kingdom of Layos and the Asikha empire. Which was furthest away from the kingdom of Edinburgh. And since the ce was near the border, the kingdom of Layos had offered Isen Osan military protection. It was because it was easier to do so. "Hehehe! Expert Saisha Goren, those are not Edinburgh''s spies. We are too far away from Edinburgh for it to send its spies here. They are my close friend Arthur''s spies. What can I say? The guy''s crazy about me. Hahaha!" Isenughed off the fact that he and his family were being spied on. That''s because he knew that those spies wouldn''t dare to do anything here. The Layos kingdom''s military presence was too strong here. In fact, Isen marveled at the fact that Arthus could dispatch the spies here without worrying about the official repercussions if they are found out to be linked with him and Edinburgh''s royalty by proxy. The guy had stopped caring about cross-border politics it seemed. "Alright. I was just asking. Since you want to keep them around, I''m sure you must have some n. Just remember, the date is drawing closer. We need to use anything and everything against Edinburgh for what we are about to do." Isen nodded at Saisha Goren before asking him a simple question with curious eyes. "How''s the talk going on?" Saisha Goren''s deadpan expressions suddenly changed and he looked at Isen with intense eyes before replying to what he knew. "Our side has already talked with the Asikha empire and some of the nearby establishments that are near our two kingdoms. The Asikha empire is willing to sit on the fence when weunch our campaign in exchange for some trade deals in their favor. Some of those with whom we are in talks will alsoe around eventually. They might even join the fray if we decide to "share" the gains. We hope that all of us can work together in this campaign to cause the most damage to Edinburgh. Isen smiled joyfully when he heard Saisha Goren''s response which depicted the kingdom of Layos'' progress. Starting a war campaign wasn''t easy. The kingdom had thought of a lot of things before deciding to proceed with the n Isen hade up with. Isen looked outside and narrowed his eyes. He appeared to be looking at the spies who were watching him intently for a long time before saying to himself. ''You''d pay for ruining my ns, Arthur. The Kingdom of Edinburgh. Soon, I shall engulf you all in the biggest war you have ever seen. And you don''t have anyone to me but yourself for it.'' Chapter ?645 Prelude to Chaos: Ill Omen P1 Chapter ?645 Prelude to Chaos: Ill Omen P1 Somewhere in the Lionheart Duchy. Inside the fort of a Renar n. One of the branches of Renar royalty that had been kept out of the contest for official royal seats at the royal court. A royal-like bath house that had a giant pool, fake mountains, arge jacuzzi that allowed for bubble baths, and an array-created waterfall. The dense volume of steam hadpromised the visibility of this space intended for bathing and leisure. There was a sound array that produced sounds of birds chirping and other nature-like acoustics. A lone woman was bathing in thisvish bath house. Just unwinding her troubles by half-immersing herself in the jacuzzi. She was all naked. Even the dense steam could not seem to hide her feminine features. They were too prominent. Thisdy had voluminous crimson red hair. Her hazel eyes created a subtle contrast against her red hair. The shape of her eyes was akin to a lotus petal, enabling her gaze to have a sharpness she desired. Her cherry red lipsplimented her hair. Her rosy skin was as soft as the word soft describes it. Yet, being infused with Expert rank mana had made it deceptively resilient. She had a huge scar on her left cheek. But that didn''t diminish her beauty. In fact, the scar had enhanced her appeal by a notch. Now that thisdy was not wearing anything, one could clearly see the tribal tattoos she had recently gained on the right side of her body. Her right arm and right leg were partially covered by the blue tribal tattoos. Her bosom was ample and would give her deep cleavage whenever she wore something enticing. The heavy breasts were now exposed. Her pinkish red nipples were in an erect position, suggesting that these heavy-looking breasts were enjoying the freedom she was giving them. Her waist was slim. But the slimness ended there. The curves became prominent around her hips. Her thick thighs and her rotund derriere were a sight for the sore eyes. Thisdy-in-bathing was a tall mademoiselle. After working under the illustrious Illuminati, her ambitions were even higher. Her recent breakthrough into C-Rank had allowed her to enjoy the perks that came with the rank. A femme fatale. Being a member of arge cross-kingdom cultist organization that was known for corrupting people who were in the status of power was certainly not a bad idea. Especially once one had reached her rank. This was her rxing time. She had just broken into C-Rank. As a result, her 40ish looks had been drastically altered. She still carried the aura of a mature woman. But her looks would tell the onlookers that she was a woman in her early 30s. As if she had taken a dip in the fountain of youth before rxing in the bath house. Suddenly she frowned. "Let them in." She said briefly to someone on voicemunication after thinking for a moment. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. The seductive and mature-lookingdy heard footstepsing from behind her. As she sat in the jacuzzi, she didn''t nce back and sipped the ss of wine she was holding. "Lady Zee, this is the new recruit you had asked me to bring." A young woman in her early 20s and lustrous blue hair addressed Lady Zee. She also had a seductive figure. Her bust size had Lady Zee beat. And yet, the blue-haired girl knew that Lady Zee''s charms exceeded hers. She was bolder and more assertive than her. And her Expert rank had made her even more intimidating than she was. "Jules, you came back so soon? Did you perhaps leave your job as a professor in LA?" The blue-haired young woman, Julie Ekhart smiled mirthlessly after listening to Lady Zee''s interpretations. She had to admit that she was right on point. ''Why Why isn''t Lady Zee asking me anything or looking at me?'' The young elf girl who looked to be in her early twenties asked Julie Ekhart with a bit of worry in her eyes. Her name was Tara Far and she was a high elf. She had shoulder-length pink hair and round-like violet eyes. Her elf ears were longer than normal elves, allowing the onlookers to recognize that she was a high elf. She was rtively tall, standing at 5.9ft tall. She had ample proportions despite her lean build. But the two women she was in contact with were giving her an inferiorityplex. ''Don''t worry, Tara. Lady Zee often does this. Just let me talk to her a bit okay? Rx.'' Jules consoled Tara before answering Lady Zee''s question. "You guessed it right, Lady Zee. I quit being an assistant professor in LA under that guy Lin Karr as soon as he gave us a clear indication that nobody was targeting us anymore. First, it was Isen Osan. Then it was Arthur. Both wanted to get information about Osan Woods Butcher from us when we had barely solved the case. But things have changed now. Ivor Osan has been dered as Osan Woods Butcher. Isen Osan is in the kingdom of Layos. And Lin tells us that Arthur has his hands dipped in a lot of pies these days. So we are free to do what we please now." Lady Zee chuckled when she heard Julie''s response. She had guessed that Jules wanted to quit LA for a long time ever since Ron had disappeared. Lady Zee guessed that Jules wanted to quit Illuminati too and start looking for Ronny. She was just waiting for the right time. "What''s your name, little girl?" Lady asked in a soft voice before slowly turning around and getting up from her half-immersed-in-water state. She smiled at Tara as soon as she saw the young elf. ''This this is also a first-time experience.'' Elves craved new experiences. So she stopped herself from looking away when she watched a seductive woman like Lady Zee get up from her position and stand proud in her naked form. "Tara Far, Lady Zee. it''s a pleasure to finally meet you." Chapter 646 Prelude to Chaos: Ill Omen P2 Chapter 646 Prelude to Chaos: Ill Omen P2 "Tara Far, Lady Zee. It''s a pleasure to finally meet you." Tara wanted to say more than just a name. Perhaps a formal introduction to her ss. Just to serve as an ice breaker between her and her newly appointed boss and Expert ranker. But her attention was divided when she saw the light scar on Lady Zee''s wless face. And she was left speechless when she moved her gaze away from her scar only for it tond on her naked body. This was even though she was a girl herself. ''She she is such a show-off.'' Jules pursed her lips and shook her head in denial as she watched Lady Zee''s exhibitionist behavior. Her seductive figure looked even more enchanting because of her drenched-in-water looks. The droplets of water were still running down from Lady Zee''s crimson red pubic region which had a darker hue than her normally visible hair. Tara thought Lady Zee''s thick thighs had the same size as her waist. She regretted not eating enough at that time. As if eating enough was the answer to gaining thick and shapely thighs. Lady Zee nodded at Tara while wearing a mild smile on her face. She then channeled her mana through her body and generated ck mes around her. Lady Zee was just trying to dry herself and get dressed. But she observed that her action had spooked her audience right after her ck mes had made an appearance. "Um You''d have to forgive me. I broke through C-Rank recently. But I''m not inplete control over my rank''s mana yet." Lady Zee had failed to keep her mana signature in check when she allowed her ck mes to manifest themselves. As a result, the lower-ranked Jules and Tara were exposed to her erratic and intimidating mana signature. ''*Sigh. Effects of forced breakthroughs.'' Lady Zee sighed and dropped the matter. She quickly got herself dressed in front of her subordinates while talking a bit with Jules. By now, Tara had also started opening up. The recruit in the Illuminati hade to realize that although Lady Zee was known to be fierce and bold, she was very considerate to her juniors. "Are you still worried about Ronny? Still looking for him, Jules?" Lady Zee asked Jules after talking about organization-rted stuff. Jules was expecting this question from her superior. She responded honestly to her. "Yes, Lady Zee. But not for getting back with him. I just want to know what happened to him. That guy just upped and disappeared into thin air without leaving anything to track him. I just want to know if he is alive or or dead." Jules said while controlling her emotions. But Lady Zee could see worry lines on her face that weren''t visible to anybody that didn''t know the ex-assistant professor of LA. Lady Zee had taken a scroll out by now. She was reading blocks of texts that seemed to be ever-changing on the scroll. It was more of amunication artifact that was limited to text messages. "Hm. Having closure is a good thing. But finding him might take some time, Jules." Lady Zee smiled at her junior before reassuring her. "Don''t worry. I''ll help you look for that bastard when we finish our next mission. If you find him and want to settle a new life with him, I''d talk to my seniors and allow you to walk out of Illuminati too. Contrary to what one may think, the Illuminati is perhaps the only cultist organization that isn''t bloodthirsty or revenge-seeking. We''ll let you be just fine. Maybe with a severance package too, if you perform well in the next mission. Or we can convince Ronny to join our fold. Hehe. The possibilities are endless if you know where to look for them." Jules felt gratified that she had someone like Lady Zee as her superior. Although she had tried to hit on Ron a few times, Jules knew she liked to tease all her juniors. "Thank you, Lady Zee. Hehe. Let''s find that guy before making ns. Also, what is the mission this time?" Because she was no longer associated with LA, Jules could now actively carry out the missions that were avable to Illuminati. As Lady Zee had said, the Illuminati was a profit-seeking organization. So of course, all its missions were highly lucrative for even low rankers like her. "Hm? They want us to check out a newly appeared Utopia in Nightshade Duchy. You know, the usual stuff. How can we gain ess to the Utopia? Things like that. We''ll be heading out as adventurers. You''ll be you. And I''ll have to make some changes to my presence. That''s where Taraes in." Lady Zee exined the details of the mission briefly beforemanding. "It should still be a few days before we move to the Nightshade duchy. I cannot use kingdom-controlled arrays. So I''ll have to look for some other alternatives. Some illegal teleportation arrays maybe." Lady mumbled to herself before closing the scroll and putting it away in her storage. She smiled as she walked toward her subordinates and addressed them. "You girls can use this bathhouse here. Stay here in this ce. Nobody would bother you. I''ll have to finish some work and be back in a few days. We''ll leave for Nightshade duchy after that. You can also use this time to prepare." Lady Zee had already walked past the duo when she finished her statements. Tara breathed a sigh of relief when Lady Zee was absent. "She she is so scary Jules. Nothing like what you described her. Were you trying to prank me?" Tara asked while pouting. Jules chuckled as she looked at Tara and then around her. She liked taking such rxing and fun baths too. Jules chuckled and started undressing after scanning the whole ce with her mana sense. She quickly got into the pool and almostpletely submerged herself, saving only her head before answering Tara, who also seemed to be following her lead and undressing. "Lady Zee bes unfettered when she isfortable with people around her. And I think you''d soon get used to her after she starts interacting with you more. Hehe." Jules said to Tara as she watched her get into the same pool with her. Tara started diving deep and swimming across the wide pool while Jules stayed where she was, rxed and a bit nostalgic. The pool reminded her of her date with Ron after all. "Jules Why is Lady Zee called Lady Zee? Doesn''t she have a name?" Tara asked from the other end of the pool while imbuing her voice with mana. Julie was expecting this question to arrive sooner orter. She quickly got over her nostalgia and replied. "Hehe. I had the same question so I asked around. Nobody knew anything at that time. But I once met up with a higher-up from Illuminati and they told me about this. Some higher-up in the Illuminati had objected to Lady Zee''s name, saying that it was an ill omen. He had forced her to change her name or face some severe consequences. He was also spooked by her ck mes it seems. So the Illuminati gave her the name Lady Zee. Of course, Lady Zee was not happy. But the higher-up who had forced her to change her name was a B-Ranker. So she has decided to reach B-Rank as fast as she can and challenge the guy. Hehe. Lady Zee is nning to change that ranker''s name to something really funny when she defeats him in an open duel." Jules replied and reversed the roles of follower and followed. She too started swimming leisurely in water that seemed to be just the right temperature. Tara was lowkey impressed bydy Zee''s steel-like temperament at that time. If it was her, she would have quit such an organization if someone had forced her to change her name. Lady Zee was nheless trying to regain her honor while remaining within the organization. The young elf''s curiosity grew even further when she learned the term ill omen. She couldn''t help asking her now-senior. "Jules, what is Lady Zee''s original name?" Jules swam some more and got close to Tara. she stopped swimming when she heard her question and pondered a bit, mumbling a few names that sounded identical. A few attempts to get the name right. "That''s right. Eliza! That''s Lady Zee''s real name. The Z in Eliza makes for Zee in Lady Zee. But don''t call her by her original name. We are prohibited from doing so." Jules chuckled as she saw the puzzled expressions on Tara''s face. She added up further. "Hehe. Don''t worry. You are not the only one. It makes no sense how this name can also bring bad luck. High-ranked entities can be so weird sometimes." Jules said before diving into the pool. Her junior also followed her and started enjoying her free time. A few days from now, the trio would arrive at the Nightshade Dutchy. They needed a rxing time like this before they started on their uing mission. === AN: Volume 03 of VEH is about to wrap up. I''ll create a special chapter in the auxiliary volume after we finish this volume. That chapter''sment section will host VEH''s illustrations, old and updated alike. Chapter ?647 Prelude to Chaos: The Last Blood Bastion P1 Chapter ?647 Prelude to Chaos: The Last Blood Bastion P1 The Lufthansa Duchy. Westernmost region of Edinburgh. Untamed wilderness. Near Bands. Around 2 PM. Mana-harnessing redwood trees have made it almost impossible for the sunlight to reach the ground even at the peak of the afternoon. There''s one such giant tree in the middle of the monstrous vegetation that has a trunk with a circumference of up to 100 meters. The tree is not special because of its unusuallyrge trunk. It is special because it serves as a gateway to another subspace. This subspace is called The Last Blood Bastion by its denizens. There''s a giant city hidden in this subspace. Asrge as the city of New Beginnings. Evenrger if one were to consider the patches of urban settlement outside the city walls. This subspace has its own ecosystem. It is as big as the Lufthansa Duchy. Compared to the subspace''s spatial dimension, the size of the city and its smaller settlements are insignificant. This urbanized settlement as a whole is known as the city-state of Ancient Blood, run by an organization called the Ancients. An organization that is known outside the subspace as a cultist organization. The city was established for half-blood residents of the Anfang continent. The subspace and the giant city it featured were essible from several entrances scattered across the continent. The giant tree trunk found in the Lufthansa region near Bands is only one of many entrances. Only half-bloods have ess to the entrances to enter this space. The mutagen in their blood serves as their key to getting into the only haven that has been left for Half-Bloods in this era. Ancient Blood has many regions and their respective deputy representatives. Each deputy is in charge of their own region as well as additional responsibilities provided by the Ancients. Fenris province, inside the Ancient Blood. Governed by the Fenris n. Fort Fenris. A spacious hall that serves as a meeting room. There''s a long table that can be used for both dining and holding meetings. There''s one high chair at one end of the table, which is reserved for the n''s head, who is also serving as the duke of the Fenris region. There''s a man currently upying this chair. This man has ck hair and wolf-like eyes that are vertical. He looks to be in his early 30s. But looks are often deceptive when ites to rankers. It bes even harder when these rankers are turned out to be half-bloods. This man is surrounded by a wild beastly aura. He has uneven stubble on his face, indicating that the man doesn''t make an effort to groom his beard. This half-blood man has a muscr physique semi-hidden underneath his open fur coat that serves as the only piece of clothing for his torso. His well-defined chest and abs are out in the open for everyone to see because he has not buttoned his fur coat. To be precise, there are no buttons on his coat. He doesn''t need it. This man is having an afternoon lunch in silence. There''s nobody to serve him anything. He is picking things he likes straight from the vessels they have been served in and eating them voraciously without leaving anything behind. "Alright. Don''t just wait outside. There''s no right time. Come in and tell me what you came here to discuss." As he ate his fill, he said. He had picked up another leg piece of an unknown ranked beast that was still imbued with mana. He brought that roasted leg piece to his mouth but stopped himself from taking a bite. The young man watched as the only entrance to the hall was being used by a young woman. She had been waiting for him to finish his meal for quite some time now. He saw her bow in front of him before speaking up. "n Head Sirius, I''m sorry to bother you while you were eating." Seeing Sirius Fenris, the young woman said and bowed a bit. She then looked at the roasted leg piece he was holding near his mouth and had a peculiar shine in her golden eyes. Sirius shrugged his shoulders before telling her. This young woman''s name was Fiona Fenris. She had a shapely figure, ck hair, and golden eyes. She had worn leather pants and an exposed-shoulder top. She also had a hood attached to the top, giving her a mysterious appeal whenever she raised that hood over her head. Fiona had olive skin that wasn''t tan at all. It meant that she was most active at night, whether she was inside Ancient Blood or not. "Take a seat, Fiana. Grab yourself something to eat while you tell me your report." Fiona was surprised by her n head''s offer. She gave the reply that was expected from her. "I... I wouldn''t dare, lord Sirius." Sirius sighed when he heard Fiana speak about not wanting to dare. Yet for some reason, her eyes couldn''t look away from the roasted leg piece he was holding. He coughed before speaking to her in a domineering voice. "I, Sirius Fenris, head of the Fenris n in the city of Ancient Blood, order you to sit with me and share a meal with me, Fiona. Haah! This should be enough of an excuse for your gluten brain. Now sit and start eating before I get angry." Sirius said while taking a bite from the roasted leg piece that was covered with various spices and herbs. He feared that if he kept his food dangling in front of this gluten subordinate of his, she would be driven mad by hunger and then would forget what she was supposed to do. Her Lord offered Fiona the food for apelling reason, and Fiona grinned in satisfaction. She bowed in front of him one more time before grabbing a seat beside him. She followed her Lord and picked straight from the roasted-leg piece basket. Then she remembered that she was ady and shouldn''t show any ill mannerisms in front of Sirius'' presence. So she coughed and thought of grabbing a dish first. ''Oh yeah, the report.'' Chapter 648 Prelude to Chaos: The Last Blood Bastion P2 Chapter 648 Prelude to Chaos: The Last Blood Bastion P2 ''Oh yeah, the report.'' Fiona smacked her head after she realized that she had almost forgotten about her purpose foring here after she saw the food. She coughed and looked at Sirius before speaking up. "Lord Sirius, it seems our diligent work is starting to pay off. My sources tell me the war between the kingdom of Edinburgh and the kingdom of Layos is almost imminent." Sirius observed Fiona keenly and chuckled when he saw her reaching for the tes. He snorted his nose beforementing. "Hmph. Fiona, my dear, no need to act like someone you are not. I have seen you eat dirt in your childhood. Why are you acting all fancy now? Have at it, kiddo." Fiona bit her tongue when she heard her n Head criticize her for acting polite. She shed another grin at him before taking the roasted leg piece straight from the basket. "You were saying?" Sirius seemed to have dark spots under his eyes when he watched Fiona getting busy with her eating. He then med himself for offering her food. Fiona smacked the back of her head with her hand before continuing as she ate. "Aaah! Forgive me, Lord Sirius. Where was I? Oh yes. My sources tell me the kingdom of Layos has contacted the Asikha empire and has struck a deal. Better trade deal in exchange for the empire not getting involved in a war campaign against Edinburgh. The kingdom of Layos is also approaching other kingdoms, big and small, that surround the kingdom of Edinburgh and asking for a contribution from them in the war campaign. From the looks of it, things are progressing well for Layos." Sirius nodded after hearing Fiona''s report from outside the Last Bastion. Half-blood ns would only keep a few of their members active outside the subspace at any given time. Additionally, the mode ofmunication was always isted. While on their respective missions, the half-bloods outside the subspace would keep their identities hidden. They would keep themunication channel open mostly within themselves. But to make news reach inside the subspace, they''d have to send one of their members inside the subspace again. The Last Blood Bastion had many points of entrances and exits throughout the Anfang continent that could be used to dispatch half-blood squads efficiently. "That''s good to hear, Fiona. But things will only get better for us half-bloods when the entire Anfang continent is engulfed by mes of war. Not just the kingdom of Edinburgh or its neighbors. That being said, it is always wee news for us when a war breaks out. Our missions can be carried out in kingdoms undergoing war, and we can eliminate the important officials and people of status in those kingdoms. The me would always be ced on the opposing forces. Hahaha. This is the right time for us to get active in the Edinburgh kingdom once again. And in the continent of Anfang outside this subspace as a whole as well." Sirius cackled after he said what he had to say. But then he pondered a bit before adding something else. "Hmm. Fiona, I don''t think it''s our efforts that have borne fruit. I think it''s the Osan Woods Butcher fiasco that keeps getting uglier. It''s a gift that keeps on giving for Edinburgh royalty." Burp! Sirius stopped eating when he burped loudly. His hunger was satiated after eating plenty of food. He got up from his seat and walked towards the only balcony the hall had, which also served as its light course. This balcony also sported a giant clock over it from the outside of the fort. And the view it provided was that of the region in the city-state that was under the n Fenris. Fiona got up from her seat. But she wasn''t done with her food. So she picked the basket that had roasted the leg pieces of the ranked beast and followed her Lord into the balcony. "Heh! It doesn''t matter who caused the war to break out. What matters is the fact that it is going to break out. The Ancients will y an active role in the war. As a n, Fenris shouldn''t be left behind. We need more half-bloods. More the merrier. How is the search and rescue operationing along? Carry it more thoroughly in Edinburgh. We want to get half-bloods in our fold before the war breaks out. There should be enough time." Fiona observed the change of voice and demeanor in Sirius'' voice and knew that he wasn''t fooling around anymore. So she gulped her bite, took the basket in her storage, and wiped her mouth with the back of her right hand before replying. "Lord Sirius, we have managed to find 45 half-bloods within thest 6 months from Edinburgh kingdom alone. But it is more difficult to carry out these tasks when Edinburgh''s Blood Punisher Force is active." Sirius had expressions of controlled wrath on his face when he heard the term Blood Punisher Force from Fiana. "How many this time?" He asked while controlling his emotions. Fiona shared the same sentiment with her lord. She clenched her fist while responding. "23. They killed 23 confirmed half-bloods before we could rescue them safely. They had been getting a lot more effective with their search techniques as well. They are starting to pick on the dormant mutagen hidden in unaware half-bloods''." Fiona said and dropped her head in front of her lord. Sirius was feeling the same calm evening breeze over his body as he looked ahead. He replied to Fiana without looking back. "It''s not your fault alone, Fiana. We all share the burden each time a half-blood gets killed by the establishments of Anfang just for being a half-blood. We are made to hide like rats, cover identities like cowards, or stay unaware of our heritage for the rest of our lives. Heh! The half-bloods n will soon start taking action against these bastards who think of us as nothing but mere cockroaches to be stepped on. We will take back the glory we had from the bygone era. There''s a change of eraing for the whole of Anfang." Sirius said these words silently. Those words were more for himself than for his audience. But Fiana''s mind was stirred after hearing her n head''s determination once again. She bowed to him and started to leave. Fiona stopped in her tracks when she remembered something. She turned back and asked Sirius. "My lord, concerning the special bloodline of the n Adolphus that you had said we had to rescue. Unfortunately, the Force got to the family first before we could rescue them. The couple was among the 23 half-blood casualties." He had unpleasant expressions on his face as he gripped the ledge of the balcony hard with both his hands. The limestone tform cracked a bit when he did that. "And?" He asked, guessing there was something else Fiana wanted to say. "The Force thought they were done with the family and left the ce. But we used our own methods to find out that the couple had a girl child that wasn''t part of the causality. We dug some more and found a name. Agatha Adolphus. We have a reason to believe that she may have survived. Should I prioritize her search and rescue before moving to our other missions?" Sirius smiled when he heard Fiona''s question. "By all means." He replied simply. Chapter ?649 Prelude to Chaos: Last Ditch Efforts P1 Chapter ?649 Prelude to Chaos: Last Ditch Efforts P1 Nightshade duchy. Bands. The only urban settlement from the current battleground, which was deep into the Bands, was the city of Curar. "Aaaaaaargough!" A monster howl could be heard from the only patch of open ground surrounded by dense vegetation. This patch was recently created. C-Rank and B-Rank spells being cast one after the other led to the creation of this battleground. The residual mana signatures of mana spells and monster spells could be felt everywhere. It was an indication that a fight between powerful entities had taken ce. Each side had their juniors too, who had battles of their own. Suffice to say that the adventurers'' side had almost won against the monster hordes. It was only the leader of the tribe that was alive and kicking to take care. The monster that howled was a Gnoll King. He had hyena-like facial features and a humanoid form. He stood at around 9 feet tall. His body was covered in fur. His tribal armor was barely clinging to his body. And he had wounds all over. Swish. Swish. Swish. The four wind shurikens homed in on the monster as he was running away from the ground zero he had helped create. But s, his pursuers didn''t want to let him go this easily after he had killed and eaten countless parties of adventurers dispatched from the city of Curar. "Aaaaaaargh! Vile adventurers, you''d pay for this." The monster''s words were meant as a threat. But they sounded pitiful because of his shaky voice and his current situation. His right arm was first to be chopped off. Then the left arm. Still, the monster didn''t stop his retreat. And yet, the pursuers knew the monster wasn''t heading anywhere. After suffering these injuries, the monster''s mana defense finally gave in. His injuries suddenly became much more severe than they should be. There was a dense plume of smokeing from the injuries and the chopped-off arms that had fallen to the ground. In the next moment, the monster''s body started shrinking as if something was siphoning off his life essence from his body. The chopped-off arms dried and turned to dust as the life essence stored in them was extracted from them using a wind-element array spell.. This was the reverse of healing spells that had been cast on the Gnoll King, who was simr to a ranker in their B-Rank. The wind-element array was located in the sky, following the monster and his pursuers like an umbre. The spectral runic symbols on the wind-element array floating over the high-ranking entities'' heads shined their brightest as they siphoned almost all of the life essence of the Gnoll king. It was spinning in a clockwise direction the whole time when it was siphoning the life essence. But suddenly it stopped and started spinning in the opposite direction. The Gnoll King''s body had been mummified by this point. He crashed to the ground and he had no energy to even howl and call for backup that even he knew was no more. "Spare spare me. I''ll not eat humans, elves, or dwarves from now on. No adventurer meal for Jolo. I pro" Before he couldplete his sentence, the wind shurikens that had zoomed in on the monster''s fallen body had done their job. One of the shurikens cut his neck cleanly while the other attacked his remaining limbs. The ranker who cast this spell had dealt with the monster thoroughly so there''s no chance for him to make a surpriseeback. The wind shurikens and the unusual array floating in the sky were cast by the same ranker. She had a healer ss. But she had shown that she could take part in fights just fine when the situation called for it. She was a beautiful woman. In her early 30s. She had slightly tanned skin. She was a tall, slim, yet buxom mademoiselle, with dark gray hair and violet eyes. Her prominent feminine features made her exceptionally striking. She had been injured in this monster hunt. And so were her squad members who had been following her closely. It was she who told them not to intervene. She wanted to test her limits. And that''s exactly what she did by almost defeating a Gnoll King. A healer ss almost soloed a Gnoll King! This news could create a buzz in the city of Curar. But the beautiful healer wasn''t interested in this buzz. As the healing array over her head started spinning anti-clockwise, the refined life essence that was taken from the Gnoll King was given to the healer, mending all her injuries that she had suffered during the monster purge. The healer prioritized her own safety first. Only when she waspletely healed from her injuries did she send the refined life essence to heal her squad members'' injuries. "This this was really a job well-done kiddo. I could have never imagined the Nirvana array would be mastered to this extent by you. We are really d to have you on board." A man who appeared to be in his 70s, in the solid stage of the B-Rank, praised thedy healer who had just managed to deal with the Gnoll King. He was also a healer, one of the elders and old members of Healers'' Nirvana. "That''s right, Master Nina. You were so awesome. Hehehe! A healer taking care of a Gnoll King. The whole city would be crazy after hearing this news." A young girl who looked to be in her teensmented. This Adept ranked young girl focused on swords and had a bunch of healing spells at her disposal. She was also a member of Healers'' Nirvana. The other rankers who were with her standing behind the old man also chimed in and praised Nina a lot. The Healers'' Nirvana guild was a healer-centric guild that focused on healer arrays and healing array spells. However, it didn''t take healers as guild members exclusively. It had rankers that had other sses too. It was just that they would be equipped with their own set of healing spells and artifacts. The guild was known for nurturing resilient rankers. From the guild''s founding some 200 years ago, there has been almost no casualty. This was a huge achievement because the Bands that was near the city of Curar was always in a constant state of war with monsters. Other guilds would often make derogatoryments like the rankers of Healers'' Nirvana were like cockroaches, never dying no matter if the mission turned out a failure or sess. But the members of the guild took it as a positive sign for their efforts. === AN: The city of Curar was first mentioned in chapter 378. Chapter 650 Prelude to Chaos: Last Ditch Efforts P2 Chapter 650 Prelude to Chaos: Last Ditch Efforts P2 Praises followed by more praises. Nina smiled when she receivedpliments from her guild members. She was really happy joining a healer-centric guild like Healers'' Nirvana. It was a low-key guild that would only take selective missions. They would always be high-risk, high-reward missions. The high-risk factor would be managed by their healing-specific arrays and the high-reward factor would be enhanced by properly harvesting their loot. That''s why Nina had only attacked the monster''s limbs and neck and kept his torso almost intact. His heart and other organs could be harvested, enabling the guild and her to have an extra source of ie. Nina was really d that she had listened to a certain little rat and came to this guild. Her healing array of talents had also started to shine after joining this guild. "Kiddo, now that this wretched Jolo is taken care of, we can finally move on to purge the monster nest in the region near Kavaske. I''ll tell the guild master that we" The old man was already moving on with his next mission that was going to be conducted by them in a few weeks. Nina, on the other hand, shook her head before replying. "I''ll only be here for a few more days, Master Amory. So I''m not sure whether I''ll be able to attend the big mission. It would be better if you counted me out." Nina bowed in front of her senior after she made her intentions known to the guy. The old man raised his eyebrows and pondered a bit before nodding at her. "Alright, kiddo. Take some time off. You had been working hard for all these months. You deserve a break." Amory sighed and massaged his forehead with his wrinkled hands after he thought of theplexities that would arise after counting Nina out from a few of their high-reward missions. He smoked his pipe as he mumbled something under his breath, thinking of counter strategies that would have to be employed. However, he didn''t stop Nina from taking her break. Amory Stowage had a pronounced nose and sunken eyes. The bags under his eyes and his wrinkled skin were like aplishments of old age. He had white hair and a long white beard. Amory liked to smoke ranked herbs from the pipe he always used to puff on. Today was no different. He took out his pouch and filled his pipe with more of the stuff he was smoking before taking a long puff. *** "By the way kiddo, where are you heading?" Free?ebn?vel.c?m. Amory asked while releasing smoke from his nostrils. One would wonder if his way of smoking pipes had anything to do with his big nose. Nina and Amory were left alone after Jojo''s tribe had been purged along with him. The members that hade with these high-rankers had started harvesting monster bodies and the resources the tribe had kept hidden. Nina was watching over her junior guild members'' progress from a hilltop along with Amory when she heard him ask the question. The smile she had this time was not something Amory had ever seen on her face as she spoke up. "Well, I''m heading to the city of New Beginnings first. Then I''ll take a detour to meet with someone I know." Amory''s eyes shined with a peculiar light when he heard about the city of New Beginnings. That''s because the name of that city brings to mind Monster Canyon. A ce that was supposed to be thest report for rankers stuck in their bottleneck. A ce where rankers gambled with their lives to either win big or die trying. "Uncle Amory, you should go with Nina." A young feminine voice was heard from the two Master rankers'' backs. Both turned to see a blonde woman approaching them from the sky with golden butterfly wings. This blond elfdy had smooth and supple skin that seemed to glow with a golden hue. She had advanced way beyond her rank in elemental attainment. She had topaz blue eyes and a pretty nose. Her lips were cuter because of their smaller size. And her cheeks looked like they were always exposed to the gentle morning light. She didn''t have an overabundance of curves. But her slim figureplemented her angelic looks while adding a sophisticated charm to her presence. She was the guild master of Healer''s Nirvana. Jina Jiang. She also had a kingdom-certified titleC Goldy Wings. As soon as the golden butterfly wings vanished into thin air, a small fairy-like existence appeared sitting on Jina''s shoulders. She was a bit taller than an adult''s ring finger. She appeared rxed on Jina''s shoulders as thetter safelynded on the ground. Amory and Nina both bowed when Jina appeared from behind them. Thetter smiled mildly and nodded at them before continuing. "Try your luck in Monster Canyon, Old man Amory. With the way you are going, it won''t be long before your hopes of breaking into Grandmaster Rank arepletely extinguished. I don''t want that to happen to you. I know that you still want to try your luck. And that you''d always regret that you didn''t strive for the Grandmaster rank when you had the chance." Amory was left speechless when his guild master who was only in the liquid core stage of the B-Rank lectured someone like him who was close to breaking into the next rank. He was speechless not because he thought whatever she said was audacious. But because he understood that the guild master read him like an open book. Jina was asking him to risk his life in an attempt to achieve a forced breakthrough into the A-Rank. If one looked from the sidelines, it would seem that Jina was telling him to embark on a suicide mission. But Amory knew that Jina would have kicked him out of the guild a long time ago instead of applying roundabout tactics like these. If getting rid of him was her end goal. Amory was getting older. And he needed this kind of push to pursue his dreams. But he still had concerns of his own that came with his position in the guild. Jina smiled at him after reading his face and said. "Don''t worry, Sir Amory. I''ll take care of high-profile missions from now on. You apany Nina to the Nightshade duchy. She is the core member of Healers'' Nirvana now. We should at least provide her an escort of your caliber." Jina chuckled before looking at Amory keenly. "Uncle Amory, I''m confident that you''ll get to Grandmaster rank. Come back to us even stronger than ever before." "Nina, please take care of our old man." She added, looking at Nina. Thetter smiled and responded affirmatively. "I''d like to go with Master Amory and Master Nina too, guild master. I just became an Adept. So I would like to travel a bit. And I''d like to be near when uncle... err... Master Amory breaks into Grandmaster rank. Hehe." The young girl who was cheering on Nina suddenly appeared where the trio was standing and made her intentions known. It was clear that she also had confidence in old Amory. The guild master didn''t take long to approve the young girl''s travel ns. Old man Amory was emotional. He turned around instead of facing thedies and kept his gaze fixed on his juniors who were wrapping up the scene. "My my eye allergies are acting up again." He mumbled in a mosquito-like voice before rubbing his eyes. He then focused entirely on making the smoke from his pipe surround his face. Thedies looked at each other and chuckled. They knew that old man Amory didn''t have eye allergies. But they didn''t try to call him out on it. They let the emotional Master ranker keep his dignity as he geared himself forst-ditch efforts of breaking into Grandmaster rank. === AN: Amory Stowage is an anagram. ;) Chapter ?651 Prelude to Chaos: A Terror Inducing Ability P1 Chapter ?651 Prelude to Chaos: A Terror Inducing Ability P1 The city of Silvermoon. Lionheart Duchy. Carren Estate. An open field in the middle of Carren forest. The evening sun was making the sky very picturesque as it was about to set. But there was someone who could form miniature suns of their own. The first things to be formed in the air were drop-shaped lights that looked like miniature suns. These drop-shaped suns were radiating yellow light. But they were so bright that they would look like white balls levitating motionlessly in the air if someone decided to stare at them directly. This bunch of mini-suns, each about 2m in diameter, were at a fixed distance from each other. They each gave distinct and strong mana pulses. They contained so much purified mana that each of them would deliver 10 times the damage of a normal fireball spell of their size. And yet, this was not why they were conjured. It wasn''t the most effective use of their existence. After all, they were not made of fire-element mana. They were running on the light element mana, a derived element from the fire element. An elf was looking at these floating balls of lights with curious expressions. She could feel the heat radiated on her skin even when they were about 10m away from the ground. She looked at these mini-suns and found that the formation wasn''t making sense. This sun elf had a golden brown skin toneC indicating her Suryakht or sun elf lineage. She had green eyes and a moderately sized nose. Her lips were fuller and bright red. And her rtively tall stature and shapely figure made her stand out as beautiful even among the elf poption which was known for being blessed in that department. ''This ability is very powerful. I just don''t know how to handle it. And Gramps Dan won''t tell me.'' The youngdy stared at her grandfather who was sitting on arge rock about 20 meters from her, looking at whatever she was doing with a stoic expression. Unlike the older generation that was known for guiding the younger generation, this old man preferred to stay on the sidelines and just observe the youth making countless mistakes. The old man who was busy looking at the miniature sun realized that the young elf was asking him for guidance with her cute expressions and a pout. But he chuckled and didn''t budge. To convey his no, he shook his head in denial. As the young elf girl sighed, she decided to finish casting her ability. She raised her hand and closed her eyes to concentrate. She opened her closed eyes in the next moment and made her mana do her bidding. Something unthinkable happened at that time. The miniature suns started getting covered by the frost that soon turned into round-looking ice balls. Then these ice-shaped caskets were stretched vertically and started looking like lenses made of ice. Ice lenses that had light-element balls within them. As soon as they were covered by the ice element lenses, the miniature sun began to dim, only to grow brighter a momentter. They started getting dimmed and brightened at regr intervalsC as if they were breathing. Snap. The young elf snapped her fingers with her right hand and the miniature suns suddenly glowed. A buzz sound could be hearding from the ice lenses in the next moment. This created an echo of the same sound by producing audio waves of the same wavelength. Bzzzzzzzzet! A bright light beam was emitted from a random ice lens and sent to the ice lens in front of it. The light seemed to disappear into the ice lens as soon as it hit the surface. It then came out from the opposite direction with twice the brightness and speed. One could tell that brightness wasn''t the only thing that had gotten intensified within the light beam. The density of light mana had also shot upC just waiting for the right opportunity to turn into fire mana andbust the first thing it hit. The second ice lens did the same as the first one. Harness the light and shoot it to the Ice Lens while enhancing the volume of light mana contained in that light beam. The cycle repeated until thest ice lens emitted thest light beam into the distance, away from the caster and the field. Shoot. Hit. Kaboom. Everything happened fast. The old man had just chuckled at the young elf''s struggle. In the next moment, she detonated a bomb-like spell into the horizon. The sound waves of that st took some time to reach their audience. But the light generated by that spell had already made its presence known. This st was akin to at least 30 potion bombs in the Ace rank exploding off at the same time. If the young elf heightened the intensity of the light beam a bit more by adding a few more ice lenses, she could take down an Adept ranker like it was no big deal. Even now, no Adept ranker who knew her and her current battle potential would be crazy enough to challenge her without any countermeasures. Even among the most dreadful rankers, this young elf was very dangerous despite her cute and charming looks. "How was it, Gramps, Dan?" The young elf asked while scrunching her nose. She wasn''t happy with the way her ability worked. It felt a bit off to her. And the fact that it caused sts instead of personal attacks made her worry about her battle potential as a ranker who would be paired up with a squad. "That was just great, Lensa. I can''t believe an Ace ranker can cast something like that. Hahaha. I guess they''re right about what they say. The next generation will always surpass the previous one." Old man Dan Carren pped when he saw Lensa''s ability firsthand once again. He knew even without her conflicting state of mind, her ability was only strengthening. As if it was still evolving into something greater than it already was. === AN: Lensa was first mentioned in chapter 135. Dan first appeared in chapter 145. Also, Lensa''s name foreshadows her ability. Had been sitting on this for a long time now. ;) Chapter 652 Prelude to Chaos: A Terror Inducing Ability P2 Chapter 652 Prelude to Chaos: A Terror Inducing Ability P2 "Tch. I know that, Grandpa Dan. I want to know if this is all I can do with my ability? Aren''t there any other uses you can think of? You know about both sun elves and snow elves. I''m sure you can think of something that I can make use of." Lensa said with dissatisfaction written all over her face. Dan raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips before asking a curious question to this youngdy. "Hm? Why do you want your ability to produce something different in the first ce? You are a ranger and you are going to break into Adept rank soon. This is the right time for you to transform into a mage, Lee. And the transition won''t hamper our growth in any way. I''ll guarantee it." Lensa shook her head before replying. "This detonation-inducing ability isn''t my cup of tea, Gramps. I don''t know how I got this. Or who I was thinking about when I was in the state of epiphany." Lensa''s state of epiphany was very peculiar. Her body had been trapped in ice for a long time. At that time, her body was glowing and producing the same type of breathing effect as the miniature suns trapped in the ice lends produced. Lensa''s ability made each miniature sun akin to a bomb floating in the sky. The light beam that was produced from each such lens would be like the bomb''s detonationpressed in a high-density beam form before getting passed to the next ice lens. The effect of detonation would only get enhanced the further it was processed through the ic lens system. "Hmm. Don''t think too much about it, my child. Although I have a few ideas, I''d rather youe up with your own ways to use this ability you have gained." Lensa''s face brightened when she thought Dan would guide her. But her expressions sank when hepleted his sentence. The potion-junkie Dan smiled mirthlessly before exining. "My dear, I don''t want to taint your elemental attainment with my knowledge or understanding. I think the way you are doing it is pretty admirable. It''s fine if you have to perform a few trials and errors. The answers that you''d find after reading through those would be better than mine. That''s for sure." "But" Lensa wanted to raise a bit of objection. But Dan nodded at her before adding up. "I can understand your concerns, Lee. What you have is a pretty powerful ability. But it is indeed overkill for your current rank. You won''t be able to make much use of it in personalbat. Plus, it expends too much of your mana and would force you to run on fumes in a few minutes. So the only option you''d have is to depend way too much on your team to have your back after you perform to your ability." She nodded in understanding at Dan''s perception of her weakness with rapid head movements. Dan disappeared from his seated position and appeared in front of Lensa in the next moment beforecing his right hand''s palm over Lensa''s head. He ruffled her dark brown hair that had a golden hue and said encouragingly. "Don''t worry too much. If this thing bothers you long enough, we''ll take you on a trip to the entire kingdom. We could visit Bands from another duchy. That trip should provide you with plenty of inspiration to solve your current problem." Lensa didn''t like Dan ruffling her hair, so she backed away after a while. She straightened her hair with her hands before responding with a curious glow in her eyes. "Then we will go to the Nightshade duchy, Gramps. The city of New Beginnings. I want to visit that ce." Dan chuckled before answering on the spot. "Where are you guys going?" Someone else joined the duo when they were busy chatting with each other. It was Devon Carren. Lensa''s uncle. "Uncle Devon, we were thinking about traveling to the Nightshade duchy to have a change of space. Would you pleasee as well?" As she hugged her uncle, Lensa pleaded for him toe with both her words and her endearing actions. The hot-tempered elf was equally soft-hearted when it came to his niece. He immediately agreed and added. "Sure... sure. Would you like me to drag that Ken brat''s ass with us as well? He is technically your fiance. This is his responsibility as well." Lensa smiled mirthlessly when Devon brought up Ken''s topic. For some reason, it felt very wrong to her to associate herself with him. She hadn''t said anything to anyone regarding her conflicting emotions. So she was waiting for her advancement to Adept rank to settle this matter. "Uncle Devon, Ken has been dispatched to Lehan Duchy for his on-field assignment." Lensa had kept tabs on Ken and a certain someone. She had nned to visit LA before the academic year''s end. But she suddenly got the news that a certain someone she was nning to see there had gone ahead and settled himself in the Nightshade duchy. Her decision to go to Nightshade was not random. Devon and Dan both could tell that Lensa felt ufortable talking about Ken. So they both looked at each other. The old man criticized Devon with his gaze for bringing his subject up when she wasn''t ready. Thetter coughed a bit before adding up. "*cough. Never mind then. We are heading to the Nightshade duchy for you to fine-tune your ability right? I don''t want to taint your elemental attainment as this old man has said. But I have an idea how you can naturally mix up your spells. That way, you can have something to rely on until you figure out a way to use your ability. We can opt for that option before traveling to Nightshade Duchy." Lensa and Dan both were puzzled when they heard Devon''s statement. Thetter didn''t take long to answer. "Demon beasts! We''ll get one for our dear Lensa. Dan, you''d better cough up your money instead of getting high on your potion vials. Do you hear me?" Dan started arguing with Devon when he brought up the topic of his potion usage. It was uncalled for ording to Dan''s logic. Thetter would only say a few words under his breath only for Dan to get angrier at him. Because he thought Devon was dissing him. Lensa didn''t know or understand which side to pick. So she chose to remain as a bystander. As the evening sun began to set, the trio began discussing their Nightshade duchy trip. Chapter ?653 Prelude to Chaos: Catching Up P1 Chapter ?653 Prelude to Chaos: Catching Up P1 Lionheart Duchy. Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy. 2nd Year Monthly Ranking Wars. Recent spells cast at various locations seemed to have stirred up the battle ring set up for second-year students. The rankers involved were panting. Some more than others. "We we ept defeat." A group of LA students had fought against another group. The match between the two groups had barely started. Yet, the results came in just a few minutes. The spectators weren''t surprised. "Lionel''s Lions are defeated by White Ravens." The referee announced the result with an impartial tone. And some spectators in the audience became wild. And yet, those who had won barely smiled at each other before retiring from the stage. This was going to be theirst match together for a long while. They would be sent on on-field assignments on some days. That''s because they all had broken into the Ace ranks. "Damn. Isn''t White Raven getting better with each match? Especially Ace Renita. How is she just a ranger with all that closebat experience?" An audience member asked another viewer who was just as impressed with the White Ravens. They were first-year students after all. It was natural that they would get impressed by the performance standards set by second years. But there was something else that had attracted the audience. Something that was beginning to set White Raven members apart from the rest of the second-year students. Renita Diabreo. Bel Longstone. Oriana Amaris AKA Anna. Ramy Richards. And Reba White AKA Becky. These were the participants in the match that had just concluded. "Ace Renita is indeed a show-stealer, Sunny. But you know who else has improved tremendously?" Sunny pondered a bit when he was asked that question. He looked at the departing figures of White Raven members and zeroed in on one particr figure. "Ramy Richards? The guy just cracks me up every time he speaks. But hell, I couldn''t have imagined that the sound element could get this destructive. I think he could have soloed his opponents if he had the right defensive artifacts to wear." Nax chuckled a bit before responding. "Hehe. Yeah. The guy''s hrious. And he is making full use of his affinity for the elements of sound. But that is expected from a ss like his. He is a Knight ss, Sunny. So it''s not a surprise when he performs this well." Nax also looked at the almost disappeared White Ravens and couldn''t help looking at the spectacle-wearing guy with geek vibes who was seenughing awkwardly with his team. It was as if he was getting shy because of the praise he was receiving from his team members. "What I''m surprised by the most is the prowess of historian Ace Bel. It''s a nonbat ss, Sunny. How did he conjure those powerful apparitions is still beyond me. If I didn''t know any better, I would have taken him for a ranker with a summoner ss." Sunny opened his eyes wide in surprise when he was reminded that Bel was a historian. White Raven had insisted that Bel fight the fight despite the norm that historians would stay away from their team''s ranking battles as much as they could. They were told that Bel should generally be included in the White Ravens'' formation by someone in the team who had left the Lionhearts duchy for a while. He didn''t want a historian on his team that could be a burden. So he had pushed Bel to have realbat experience. The fruits of that decision and Bel''s efforts were now showing. Becky and Ana had already be famous. Becky had stepped up her game by a notch ever since she hade to know that her team''s de facto leader had left her in the dust. With an Adept ranked mage guiding her, her journey as a mage became streamlined. Becky wouldplete missions in Besanc to pay for the tuition fee of an Adept-ranked mage. She had been busy with missions, daily practice, and tuition all this time. And now she was gearing up to go on on-field missions to broaden her horizons. Renita Diabreo had gotten even more serious in her ranking journey than she ever was. She had focused more on her elemental attainment than breaking into the next rank. As a result, it took some time for her to break into the Ace rank. As a result, she advanced directly to the liquid stage of the Ace rank when her breakthrough came. Students had started calling her a prodigy because of that. So for the most part, she would be alienated fromparisons. People wouldn''tpare prodigies with any other rankers. Oriana Amaris had seen steady progress. She had broken into the Ace rank before Renita. But now the tables had been turned after thetter''s breakthrough. The White Raven members who were absent from today''s team formation had also advanced to Ace rank. Jake had already received his on-field assignment regarding potioning. The guy was mostly focusing on his potioning stuff while treating his position as a tank as his secondary profession. The most outstanding member among the White Ravens was none other than a certain berserker who had surprised everyone with his performance a few months ago. With his exceptional battle skills, he had managed to surpass his teammates and almost all second-year rankers. "Guys the Boar Berserker. He has arrived to meet White Ravens." Out of breath, someone approached the waning audience. To get here, he had used his movement spell with all his vigor. The first-year students who had decided to go about their affairs suddenly turned around and started heading in the same direction White Raven members had walked. Boar Berserker. This was the title given to Steve Austin by the first-year students after they saw his battle against Rudy and his team. And that was not a one-off. He again outperformed his opponents in another ranking war and bested dual berserkers by battling solo. His beastly performance in these battles was the main reason behind his title. Another reason was the fact that he now had bonded with a boar-type demon beast. Chapter 654 Prelude to Chaos: Catching Up P2 Chapter 654 Prelude to Chaos: Catching Up P2 "You did a good job, Bel. I think you are redefining what historians can or can''t do for our generation. Hehe." Becky praised her team''s historian. The group was going to have a meal together before setting off in their respective directions. Despite their wishes to hang out together, all of them were busy with their work. Sopulsory ranking battles like these also became their respite to meet and greet each other. "Hehe. I just followed Eren''s advice and started conjuring apparitions every time I had some free time. Well, my roommateined because he started hearing ghost noises. In the end, she she left me alone before cursing me. Saying that I would marry a ghost. I I guess it was all worth it now." Bel scratched the back of his head and adjusted his specs while he said that. Becky and Renita looked at each other and sighed after they heard Bel''s roommate had left him. They knew that the guy had started developing a crush on her. And yet, he didn''t stop his practice of conjuring even at her behest. Some sacrifices were necessary to walk steadfastly on the rankers'' path. Bel had his sacrifices. So did others who had tasted the fruits of sess. "Bel, my man. Don''t wowwy about that hoe. I''ll hook you up with this big boobs chick I know. She''d be the pewfect match fow you." Ramy Richards chimed in after hearing Bel''s story. Becky scrunched her nose and Renita coughed when they overheard the loudmouth speak some derogatory words. Becky was about to reprimand Ramy once again. And Bel was about to register his willingness to embark on such a blind date with Ramy''s contact in a low voice. Just then, they heard a familiar voice. "Yo. I heard you had a ranking battle today. So I came by to say hello." Someone had used mana to make their voice travel long distances without getting loud. White Raven members turned at 3 O''clock to the source of the voice and saw a huge boar strolling in their direction. Someone was sleeping on that huge boar''s back while drinking from the wine pot. Boar Rush. In the next moment, the boar that was away from them came within a few meters of distance from them and stopped walking. It blew its nose and let its master know that they had arrived at their intended spot. Steve jumped from his demon beast andnded in front of his friends with a broad grin on his face. Ramy was the first one to reach, seeing his team''s fabled berserker. Steve''s demon beast was a ferocious-looking boar who acted tamed when he was surrounded by his teammates. He had a mix of orange, white, and dark brown fur, as well as two huge tusks. His eyes were red and menacing. Add to the fact that he was 3 meters tall and some four meters long. Intimidating was the only word the first-year students could describe Steve''s demon beast with. Despite his wild looks, the demon beast had received a cute name from Steve. Wilbur. Wilber received pats from Renita and the rest before going away a bit to eat fresh green grass that was growing not too far from the group''s rendezvous point. "Hahaha. Steve, let''s fight. I want to see how much I impwoued. A knight versus a bewsewkew. I was looking fow you anyway. A wowthy opponent. Ouw battle will be legen" Steve had creases on his forehead as he listened to Ramy''s naked challenge. The creases increased each time he spoke words that had R in them. "DARY.!" Steve spoke thest part of legendary himself so that he wouldn''t have to listen to Ramy''s version. Then he sighed and let the matter go. He had heard Ramy speak even worse words with his speech impediment after all. The rest of the White Raven greeted Steve with almost equal enthusiasm as Ramy. The guy had be an overnight sensation when he sessfully bound himself to a demon beast. Steve had gotten his hands on a beast contract spell in the first year. After the battle against the boar horde, he decided to sign a contract with one of the mana beasts. He needed a suitable mana beast to sign the beast contract with. Therefore, he had decided to visit the same ce where his team had fought the boar horde in the past. When Steve reached the ce, his luck peaked. He was able to bind with a demon beast who was trying to evolve into the Adept rank. Of course, he had to take some risks in achieving this feat. And he was heavily injured because of having to prate deep into the woods surrounded by mana beasts. The demon beast kept these animals there as perimeter detail so he could go through his evolution in silence. But at the end of his ordeal, Steve had gotten his hands on the demon beast who was a whole rank ahead of him. Add to the fact that the demon beast was a deviant of its race, which enabled Steve to boost his body stats as his tamer. The demon beast was an apt fit for a berserker like Steve. It also had its unique powers that allowed Steve to dominate the battlefield spectacrly even without getting his demon beast directly involved in fights. It was not that Steve depended heavily on his status as a demon beast tamer. He had also worked hard to earn the title given to him. The guy had made an impression on everyone who saw him fight with his tireless efforts and his luck. Several first-year students followed Steve''s actions since he was thrust into the limelight. Somehow they hade to know that Steve liked eating burgers and fries before going off on missions. Steve''s followers had somehow convinced themselves that this "warrior diet" was one of the key ingredients behind his sess. So they started eating mortal food too. But then, most of them started gaining weight despite being rankers because of the sheer quantity of the food they ate. In summary, Steve''s followers determined that the diet only suited Steve. Steve had already fought his battles. He was scheduled for his on-field assignment too. Eren was very particr about White Raven members getting real-life battle experiences. Steve was sure that the guy would have forced them to take on-field assignments one way or the other if any of them showed disinterest. The White Raven members decided to change their meeting location since the first-year students had started to gather around Steve. The life of a celebrity wasn''t something Steve wasfortable with. *** "So guys, when are you leaving?" Steve asked his team members while having a burger and fries. The members had gotten used to legend Steve''s not-so-legendary eating habits at this point. "I''ll be leaving in 3 days. Lufthansa Duchy." As Renita ate her fill, she said. Her assignment was there. Others reported their respective timeframes and locations. None of them had been appointed at Nightshade Duchy because other duchies had been prioritized by the kingdom at this point. "That scheming bastard left early. I don''t know how many people he must have swindled by now in the Nightshade duchy." Steve chuckled when he remembered Eren. Renita had a frown on her face when she heard Steve talk about Eren in a derogatory way. Steve saw her face andmented. "It''s fine, Renita. It''s how we address each other. Err... Just don''t tell Eren I called him that maybe." Steve said and chuckled. Beckyforted Renita too by rubbing her arms and adding on. "Don''t worry. We will all be able to see each other by the end of the second year. "That" event ising. We better be prepared. Otherwise, the ones Eren will be scheming against will be us. Hehehe" Renita chuckled when she heard Becky''s remark. She knew that Becky had said this thing in passing. But there was some truth to it too. One had to be extremely diligent in their ranking progress to stay with a driven man like that "scheming bastard". ''I must catch up with him.'' Unbeknownst to them, the White Raven members present and absent at the scene had the same thought at this instant while doing whatever they could to progress in their respective ranking journeys. Progressing at their own pace. Chapter ?655 Prelude to Chaos: The Missing Ingredient Chapter ?655 Prelude to Chaos: The Missing Ingredient A well-lit potionb somewhere in the Lionheart duchy. Various arrays had a range of cauldrons from big to small ced right at their array eyes. There were test tubes, scrolls, and various ingredients scattered across many tables and tforms ced at multiple corners of theb. Sounds of potions bubbling. Smells of various kinds could make the inhaler wonder whether what they were inhaling was aromatic or not. Suddenly, a caldron exploded. The concoction it held within itself was going to spill everywhere. Just then, the array beneath the cauldron lit up and created an energy shield around the cauldron, preventing the potion from spreading everywhere. The same thing happened with the second cauldron. Then the third. Then the fourth. This was a regr day in this potionb. It was run by a halfling after all. A halfling potioneer who was trying tobine an elf''s way of making potions and human recipes. So far, the results weren''t promising. "Fuck balls. I was this close this time." Someone mumbled after they saw the state of their failed experiments. They were standing not too far away from the cauldron and array setup. The raised tform at 5m from the ground helped the observer look after even the distantly ced cauldron with ease. The tform also served as the control center for the arrays. The control center could be used to spatially transfer the ingredients into any of the cauldrons present in theb. The observer had spent most of their time over thest few years developing this array-driven setup. They had worked tirelessly in this endeavor even at the cost of being undermined by their organization for all the effort they took. One could imagine the level of frustration they must have felt at that time. This halfling smiled mirthlessly and took a long breath before controlling the smaller array-prints that served as the control of this big setup of 50 cauldrons. "Marie, you shouldn''t overwork yourself, you know." After a long wait, someone finally opened the big door behind the control room and entered the potionb, bringing fresh air in. The halfling paused what they were doing and chuckled a bit before turning back. "Ma Cherie, I''m d you finally decided toe here and meet me." When Arizihana Agnoth saw Marie look at her with her mild smile, she also returned the gesture and smiled. She quickly closed the distance between them and embraced her. "I missed you too. The city of Silvermoon has been put into disturbance once again. This time by a different cultist organization. So it took me some time." Ari exined the reason behind her dy while being embraced by Marie. Thetter ignored everything and kissed her lover on the lips. And released her from her hug only after nting a peck on her cheeks. But then the duo got serious. "Do... do they know?" Marie asked Arizihana. Upon which thetter shook her head in denial before responding verbally. "I don''t think so. Otherwise, their attacks on the city would have been more daring. I think they are just probing. Not sure what they are looking for." Marie nodded before sighing. "Beast Bloods tried to eliminate you by giving you a spiked recipe since they knew you were let in on this by me. But they can''t keep this thing a secret from everyone forever. Sooner orter, someone will find out." Ari nodded at her lover''s statements and followed her towards the control room. Knowing that Marie was busy with her potioneering, she did not stop her from finishing what she had started before their time together. "How are the experimentsing along?" Ari asked worriedly. She didn''t care if the experiments failed. She was just worried about the impact failure would have on Marie. Thetter also understood what Ari meant and what she was asking about. So she rified it for her. "I was kind of expecting these rounds of failures anyway, Ari. It''s not easy mixing two schools of potioning, you know. I can feel that I''m doing everything right. I can feel that my research is heading in the right direction. It''s just that I think I''m missing an ingredient. Something that would act as a pacifier between these two methods." Marie spoke passionately with a glint of mad scientist madness in her eyes. She closed her eyes and adjusted herself before reassuring Ari. "Don''t worry Ma Cherie. I''m not downhearted by my failures. If anything I''m even more excited than I was thest time. Because I can feel that sess is within my reach. Hehehehe. I''ll end elves'' monopoly over elven ales if my experiment seeds. I''ll also show teacher Levine that her decision to cat me out just because of my halfling status was not the right one at all." Marie sighed and was about to begin thest step of her experiments when she heard Ari speak of a different matter. "How''s Beast Bloods faring against the Illuminati?" There was a cold war between two cultist groups, the Beast Bloods and the Illuminati. At this point, both sides had forgotten what they were fighting for. But the ones who were present at the scene that had started the whole thing couldn''t help remembering that scene over and over again in their minds. "Illuminati shouldn''t be underestimated. Instead of directlybating the Beast Bloods, they have employed roundabout tactics. They are making the local forces under the control of various city lords take action against us. Beast Bloods are especially getting targeted in various cities despite there being cultists from other organizations present as well. And the is getting cast wide." Ari just nodded at her but didn''t say anything. She knew Mari would add more. "That being said, Beast Bloods has a few tricks up its sleeves. The backer behind the organization is also trying to increase its presence in the kingdom of Edinburgh it seems. The Ancients are not leaving any stones unturned in their quest to have aplete grip over the kingdom''s scattered local forces. It is employing the same strategy as the Illuminati. But nobody knows what their true motives are. The Ancients supporting Beast Bloods was not a revolutionary thing per se. However, they have increased their support for the Beast Bloods after the conflict with the Illuminati. So we''ll have to see which sidese on top and stay on top in this whole matter." He added some ingredients to thest 4 cauldrons that had not blown up yet. She knew that these cauldrons were going to burst too. She just wanted to know how much time they would take before that. She needed to find out what she was missing in her potioneering. Chapter 656 Prelude to Chaos: Eternal Hardships for Eternal Growth Chapter 656 Prelude to Chaos: Eternal Hardships for Eternal Growth "Are you nning to take part in the conflict between the two organizations?" Ari asked worriedly as she watched Marie ving away at her project. Thetter stayed busy operating on arrays while answering her. "Well... I don''t want to. But there''s nothing I can do if there''s an order from above. I''ve already upset my superiors by not finding any clue regarding that wretched Ronny." Mariemented and her expression changed into that of anger. She and Ari had bothe to realize that they had been yed by Ronny into following him. It was because of this pursuit that the Beast Bloods hade into conflict with the Illuminati. The guy had just disappeared from the face of this world after he had done what he did. It was he who made two cult groups fight each other for something the Beast Bloods weren''t even sure what it was. Ari pursed her lips beforementing. "Yeah. We shouldn''t have followed him. He baited us into doing exactly what he wanted us to do. But that was in the past, Marie. What''s done is done. And I have an idea where we can get our new start." Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Just then the remaining four cauldrons were imploded and Marie stopped operating on the controlling arrays. Despite her failures, she had a mild smile on her face as she mumbled to herself. ''Hehehe. I''m more sure of it now than before. This procedure works. It would work if I can get just the right neutralizer.'' Marie dusted off her hands and shut off the potionb''s experiments. She used the kill switch array and all the runic inscriptions on the apparatus and arrays stopped glowing. The mana fluctuations in theb almost disappeared. Marie then used a wind-element array to clean the foul air within theb before replying to Ari with a smile on her face. "Are you talking about Minerva''s Utopia, Ma Cheri?" Ari nodded before replying. "That''s right, Marie. Minerva was a Sage potioner. Her Utopia would surely have a solution for your problems. Or point you in the right direction. Let''s visit and check it out. I''ve heard that the guild that''s handling the entrance to the Utopia would make the Utopia open to every adventurer for a set fee on some days. There''s no reason for you to not try your luck. If you need me, I''ll be there for you." Ari said while ying with the empty test tube that was kept on the array control tform. Marie looked at Ari ying with the test tube intently before responding. "Hehe. I had been nning to do just that ever since I heard that it was a Utopia created especially for potion makers. I can tell Beast Bloods that Ronny''s trail ends near the city of New Beginnings. We''d have a valid reason to visit the ce after that. We would also avoid all the problems. There would be no need for us to participate in the conflict between two cultist organizations fighting it out. But what about your duties as the guardian of the city of Silvermoon?" Marie walked near Ari as she said that. She took Ari''s test tube and began to y with it in the same manner. Ari smirked at Marie before answering her. "Meh! I''ll just quit. Let those elf fogies sort out their business. I can just say that I''ll have to set off on an exploration." It was decided that Marie and Arizihana would visit the Nightshade duchy and Minerva''s Utopia in the future. But at this point, they had more pertinent things to do. *** The borders between Besanc and LA. 3 PM. A spacious check-post-like facility that featured array controls of all the nearby security and surveince arrays. A ranker was sipping Frostfoam ale inside the spacious room with various amenities. Drinking ale even before the day is over. This woman was used to aid-back lifestyle. She was assigned as the middle person between the Amazons and LA. She was also in charge of this check post. This D-Rank woman had a very attractive and cute face. She had a curvaceous figure that never ceased to garner attention. Her leisure hours were spent imbuing her mana sense into a runic stele to improve her elemental attainment while drinking Frostfoam. Usual stuff. Usual day. Knock. Knock. A knock was heard on the door and she let the visitor in with a loud e in." A young woman entered the room. She had dark brown hair and a cute face. She was in herplete ranger attire. Something she foundfy in. "Adept Ma, there''s an encrypted message that hase for you." Almera gave Ma an array disk that she had collected from one of LA''s facilities. It was an encrypted message intended for Ma. Ma raised her eyebrows before taking the array disk from her and putting it in front of her on her desk. She scanned it with her mana sense to see who had sent it. Almera was about to leave the room. But Ma stopped her. "Almera, you might want to hear this." Ma said and imbued the array disk with her mana. In the next moment, the array disk projected a miniature, spectral body of a young man with ck hair and green eyes. Ma knew this person. He had served as her apprentice for a while. And now he had sent her this message. "Greetings, Adept Ma. I don''t know where I''ll be when this message reaches you. But I know where my guild would be when it does. Hehe. You must have heard about the White Raven guild by now, I''m sure. Remember the opportunity I talked to you about at the time of my departure? I''m d to announce that the time hase. White Raven is my guild. And I would appreciate it if you could join my guild. Please consider this offer from your humble apprentice." The mini Eren smiled and waved goodbye before his spectral image stopped floating above the array disk. Almera was a bit surprised when she saw it was Eren who had sent Ma this message. She had heard about themotion that had been caused by Minerva''s utopia. She hadn''t dug deep enough to discover Eren was the founder of the guild. The almost nameless guild master of the White Raven guild was just seen as something that was put in ce by either House Derringer or House Montmorency. Almera was about to ask Ma for something when the spectral message was yed once again. "Oh! By the way, if Adept Almera is listening, please allow me to extend the same invitation to you as well. I would like nothing more than to have a ranger like you onboard in my guild. Right now, I''m not much. My guild has nothing to show for it. I also know that I and my guild have been undermined in all of this. And I''m fine with it." The spectral Eren had a smile on his face. The kind of smile bothdies had seen on his face before he woulde up with his schemes. But this smile had another facet to it. As if he was speaking something extremely personal to them. "I won''t promise you anything right now because that would onlye off as a sales pitch. Just know this. My guild and I won''t be undervalued forever. What''s so fun about staying in afortable ce all the time? A ranker''s path demands eternal hardships for eternal growth. That''s it. Looking forward to seeing you both in the Nightshade duchy. And yeah. White Raven would have plenty of Frostfoam in stock, Adept Ma. Just letting you know. Hehe." Ma startedughing when she heard the scheming fellow''sst words in the message. With an excited-for-adventure voice, she asked Almera. "Almera, what do you think?" The ranger had so many questions in her mind. But in the end, she just dropped them all for the time being and smiled before responding. "I''ll follow you in your decisions, as always." Chapter ?657 Prelude to Chaos: Paladin of Pain P1 Chapter ?657 Prelude to Chaos: Pdin of Pain P1 Kukenan teau. A newly constructed facility that was ced further away from the White Raven guild building. It was underground and didn''t have any conventional entrances or exits. There were various spatial arrays ced at one corner of thisrge facility that served as the entrances or exits. Thisrge hall held nothing but what seemed to be raw ingredients for alchemy and potioning. This hall was also used as a facility for monster taming. Monsters that were captured from Minerva''s Utopia by Levine and other B-Rankers who were onboard with White Raven City''s construction n. Load. Aim. Shoot. A ranger-ss ranker shot a syringe of potion on a nt-type monster using a runic blowgun. The nt-type monster was trapped in an array as if it had been waiting to get shot at. The nt-type monster was known as Mega Mandrake. It was a 14 feet tall monster made of roots when it was in its Monster Soldier rank. These monsters wouldn''t have fixed shapes. So their evolution would be different from each other. The Mega Mandrake trapped inside the array was of Monster Lord rank. It had a humanoid body from its waist up. But it seemed like his torso was stuck inside a gigantic blue flower. The various thick roots below the flower served as the monster''s legs. "Aaargh! Seref likes to be freeeeeee. Why bother Seraf? Leave Me free." Seref the Mega Mandrake spoke his words in humannguage with some difficulty. It was obvious that he didn''t like getting trapped inside an array. He was personally captured by Levine and was brought here to be tamed. But in the next moment, the Monster Lord stopped speaking and his eyes got diluted. The syringe had injected a very potent concoction that served as a way to control the monster. The one who had shot the syringe at the monster was also special. His name was Will Evan. And he was not a normal human. Will belonged to a race of humans known as mini giants. Will himself was 12 feet tall; an average stature for the mini giant race. He belonged to Levine''s faction and was brought here to aid in the city''s construction matters. Will''s father was a Montmorency n member. Therefore, he was considered a descendant of the House Montmorency. This 12 feet mini giant was an Adept ranked ranger who was tasked with handling these nt-type monsters. Will had shoulder-length hair that cascaded down his long face. He had ck eyes and a square-cut face. He didn''t have any stubble showing. Plus, he had a cleft chin that gave him distinct looks. Will was wearing a typical adventurer outfit with an overcoat made of bear-type mana beast. He also had a ne that featured a monster nail as its pendant. He also had a long knife attached to his belt. "Adept Will, is it done?" While looking closely at Seref, Renar, who was standing behind Will, asked the ranger. They said that Mega Mandrakes were not aggressive monsters. But Renar didn''t like to take chances. "Um in about a minute." Will said, after gauging the potion''s effects by wrapping the monster up with his mana sense. Only when he confirmed that the potion had worked did he respond to Renar. "Yeah, it''s done. Take this array disk. Imbue it with your mana sense while giving orders to Seref. He should listen to you just fine. The effects of the potion willst for three days. You would have plenty of time toplete your tasks." Will replied and gave Renar the array disk. The eye of the array disk contained the same green potion that was in the syringe. The array disk served as the way to give the tamed-by-potion monstermands. Renar imbued his mana sense into the array disk and felt a connection getting established with Seref. He smiled before addressing Seref. "Don''t worry, Veggie Man. You don''t have to do much. Help us make this barrennd not seem barren and I''ll treat you to plenty of water. Haha." Renar chuckled before nodding at Will. Thetter nodded back before dispelling the array trap, letting the tamed monster free. "Call call me Seraf." While still feeling delirious due to the potion''s effects, Seref said. Renar pursed his lips before responding. "Aaah! I''m sorry. You are a Monster Lord. I haven''t dealt with monsters of your caliber. So I get shocked whenever you guys start talking. Seref. I''ll remember that. Let''s go outside. I''m sure we can manage to findmon ground by the end of the third day." Renar said as he led the Mega Mandrake towards the array serving as the exit. Renar was tasked with creating habitablend nearby the under-construction city that would soon be named White Raven city. And so far, his project was progressing nicely thanks to these nt-type monsters. Forests and vegetation were the foundation of ecosystems. Every sessful city needs this ecosystem to keep prospering. The Mega Mandrake only had one spell in their arsenal which couldn''t technically be called something offensive. It was an earth-element spell that created dense vegetation around it. It was almost like permanent summoning magic that was restricted to only trees and nts. The vegetation created by the Mana Mandrake was ideal for the soil on which it had cast its spell. The nt-type monster was like a forest-making factory, enabling the rankers controlling it to raise dense forests out of nowhere. Slowly but surely, thends surrounding the uing White Raven city were changing. Renar was doing his darnedest to control these monsters and employ them the right way. But too quick a prosperity almost always brought troubles with it. This time, it was no different. Rankers from House Derringer and House Montmorency heavily protected the soon-to-be-built city. But that didn''t mean the guildnd would bepletely free of intruders. "Such a frightening pace and progress. It''s almost like somebody predicted the whole thing." Thedy ranker, who stood at the edge of the mountain tform surrounded by newly created dense vegetation,mented after seeing the progress of the city for herself. She couldn''t see the city construction itself because she hadn''t prated deep into the White Ravennds. However, she didn''t have to. The area she was surrounded by spoke volumes about the city''s construction progress. === AN: Mega Mandrakes were first mentioned in chapter 466. Chapter 658 Prelude to Chaos: Paladin of Pain P2 Chapter 658 Prelude to Chaos: Pdin of Pain P2 "Such a frightening pace and progress. It''s almost like somebody predicted the whole thing before taking necessary steps to achieve this." Reva Rain mumbled after seeing the progress of the White Raven guild. She had been sent here from her guild to see how the White Raven was faring. And she had to say that the newly formed guild was doing better than she had expected. Reva had a medium stature and adequate feminine features. She had brown red hair and a light scar over her right eyebrow. Her nose was kind of big, making her look not-sodylike. She also hadrger-than-average lips. Her gray eyes shined with subtle cunning as she scanned the whole area for a unique spectacle-looking artifact. Reva was wearing a ck-gray vest on a loose-fitting brown full-body suit. Her dressing sense was odd. But it never hampered her movements and her work. "Boss Reva, should we delve deep?" A dusty blonde girl in an assassin outfit asked. Her leather bodysuit disyed her prominent bust and shapely posterior. She always carried a crossbow on her back, which she didn''t like to keep in her storage. This assassin had weird eyes. It looked like she had no sclera. Her blue iris had taken its ce in both her eyes. "This should be enough, Shalen. We are only here to look. The Escalon guild doesn''t make rash decisions. We n things and act when the time is ripe. And right now, it''s not the time." Reva said in a cold and callus voice devoid of emotion. Shalen Craft nodded at her superior''s decision before adding. "Should I tell the members of the Escalon guild not to follow the White Ravens?" Reva looked at the void and pondered a bit before replying. "Just mess with them a bit. We want to see House Montmorency and House Derringer''s reactions. Are you done with your recon from your end?" Reva asked, removing her spectacles and storing them in her storage space. It seemed that the job was done from her side. Now she only needed to report the findings. "I am. But I often get confused when you say "mess with them a bit". Because your idea of "a bit" is different than all of us." Shalenmented about her superior''s bad habits and waited for her to answer. Reva chuckled before responding. "Hmm. Let''s see. We will adopt a softer approach this time. Chop off one of their members'' arms. This should be just the right level of action to test the waters." Shalen nodded after hearing a clear-cut order from her superior. Although her expressions didn''t say much, the blonde girl was satisfied that the orders weren''t ambiguous likest time. "Alright. Let''s go. We don''t have time to dilly dally." Reva said before disappearing from her spot. Shalen followed her lead soon after. It was only after they were gone that a member of the Derringer n hade to check the area. The ranker couldn''t have recognized Reva even if they had met. But there was someone else in the White Raven who would have recognized Reva Rain immediately. Reva Rain was the one who had taught Eren the torture methods when he was working for the Escalon guild in the previous timeline. She wasn''t called Pdin of Pain for no reason. But maybe "taught" was not the right word to describe their rtionship. She had forced Eren to acquire exceptional torture methods while numbing his feelings for human pain. *** "Sis Agatha, I have some news." Viper entered Agatha''s office beforementing. Thetter was busy analyzing something on her spectral screen when she heard Viper''s words. She raised her hand and gestured for the guy to sit in front of her while she finished reading what she was reading. "Viper, do you know how many adventurers have registered for our first exploration program into Minerva''s Utopia?" Agatha said with bright eyes and a beaming smile on her face. Viper shrugged his shoulders before replying. "10,000 rankers maybe." Agatha chuckled before correcting him. "Try about 95,000 rankers. Hehehe. The number is so big that we''d have to divide the first exploration program into various batches and allot them an exact time slot. We received 100 Extols each from each of them. Do you know how much revenue we would have generated?" Viper opened his eyes wide in surprise when we did the quick math of adding two zeros to the already exaggerated number. He was about to say something to Agatha and had raised his hands to do so. But then his expression changed to one of confusion. He retracted his hands and tapped his right hand''s index finger on his pursed lips before raising a doubt. "What do you mean by "would have"? Those scoundrels didn''t pay us?" Agatha sighed before shaking her head. Her voice was helpless as she corrected him. "They did. The registration wouldn''t have gone through otherwise. But House Derringer and House Montmorency would take most of the cut ording to our agreement. We''d be left with only 67,000 Extols after their cut." Viper took a long breath and whistled as he released that air just as quickly. He then looked at Agatha with incredulous expressions beforementing. "Damn. You are indeed in the big leagues, Sis. You are attaching the word "only" to 67,000 Extols, you know." Agatha smiled mirthlessly at his statement before exining it to him. "Well, our boss has a loan of 50,000 Extols on his head. Even though he says he''ll manage it, I''d like to clear his ount in his absence." Agatha said helplessly before asking another question. "By the way, Viper, what news were you talking about?" Viper clicked his tongue after he realized that he had forgotten to talk about it. He coughed before telling Agatha what he hade here to tell. "Sis, the White Ravens are ready to take on the very first big mission into Monster Canyon. They had asked me to tell you. They''ll be leaving together in the afternoon." Agatha stopped what she was doing after she heard that. As a manager, she thought she needed to meet and greet the rankers that were embarking on this mission. Agatha, Viper, and all the other members of White Raven knew the dangers that existed in Monster Canyon. They had also anticipated probe and retaliation from other guilds. And yet, they couldn''t help but be excited to see how their guild''s very first team performs in Monster Canyon. === AN: Escalon guild has been mentioned in many chapters by now. However, it was first introduced in chapter 354. There''s also a statement in the same chapter that was added as Eren''s shbacks, which was said to him by Reva Rain. ;) Chapter ?659 Prelude to Chaos: Echidna Chapter ?659 Prelude to Chaos: Echidna Oni Dungeon. Right in the middle of the dungeon''s vast subspace, there was a huge pyramid-like construction. It had various floors and four sides. Each of the sides featured aptly distanced steps that could be used to climb the pyramid to its top-most floor. This top floor only featured a giant open hall. It was called sacred telesterion by all the monsters that had upied this subspace. The telesterion was about 500 meters long and 100 meters wide. It also had a sturdy ceiling that was supported by the equidistant giant pirs, which boasted glowing runic details. There was a raised tform at the far end of the telesterion. It seemed to serve as a throne tform because it had a throne at the end of its steps. There was a humanoid monster sitting on the throne atop this telesterion. He was looking at his audience with mild disinterest in his eyes. This humanoid monster was different from his audience. There were not many like him present in this subspace. He and his daughter were the only two monsters of their races. This monster had cruel facial expressions even when it didn''t look like he was angry or displeased with someone. He had white hair, red skin, and golden eyes. Two prominent horns were jutting out of his forehead. He didn''t seem all that muscr. But nobody would question his strength because he was what humans used to call the Monster King. Someone who couldpete with a B-Rank entity. This was a fully grown Oni. A legendary monster that was rarely found in the Bands. If Edinburgh knew about such a monster''s existence so close to their borders, they would do everything in their power to hunt him down. He was what could be called monster royalty. A dark crown was ced over his head to emphasize his status. But it was not just an eye-catching essory. This was a genuine otherworldly artifact. "How are the preparations for the festival?" The Oni King asked his audience in a deep and authoritative voice that resonated through the telesterion simply because of the monster''s control over his mana. This monster was effortlessly strong. Stronger than most B-Rank entities put together. Closer to bing the Monster Emperor. This monster''s audience was made of various races of monsters. Each of these monsters was a tribe leader of their respective tribe located inside the subspace. Orcs, ogres, goblins, gnolls, cyclops, and other kinds of monsters that adventurers seldome across. There were multiple tribes in each of the races. So there were multiple tribe leaders, belonging to the same race. The tribe leaders belonging to the same race were positioned together. And all of the tribe leaders were united in the fact that they were all kneeling in front of their king. "My king, the preparations for the Oni festival areplete. The emissaries you had sent outside have allpleted the task assigned to them." The one who replied to his kind was an Ogre who seemed to be in charge of all the tribe leaders of all the races. He was kneeling closer to the throne tform than the rest. This Ogre was named Ror. He was a muscr monster in human-like form. His prominent muscle details were intimidating to look at. He also had cruel expressions on his face. But somehow they managed to look pretty in the presence of an Oni. Ror paused for a while before adding more. "My king, all the emissaries havepleted their tasks. But there''s one thing I have to report to you among one of them. We have lost contact with Kba. Although he has sent his offerings for the Oni festival, I feel we should check up on him to know more." Ror replied in the samenguage that Oni had used. The Oninguage was treated as the primalnguage by all the monster races. So the monsters who had received their rity couldmunicate with each other using royalnguage as themon tongue among all of them. The Oni''s King''s golden eyes shined with curiosity as he listened to Ror''s report. He adjusted his seating position over his throne and prodded his head over his folded arm''s palm before finally responding. "Let it be. Kba had been given a divine blessing before he was sent out at thest Oni festival. If he couldn''t protect himself even with something of that caliber working for him, I don''t see any point in heading out to check things out for him." The monster King said and smiled before looking at his audience. His long red horns reflected the moonlight off their smooth surface as he made a popping sound out of his neck. Keeping his right-hand palm behind his neck, he spun his neck a few more times as if bored before making a domineeringment. "The Oni festival is a sacred event for all of the children of Echidna who live outside it. Thend of the faithless is no ce for us. It''s not our home. But this festival enables us to feel like we never left Echidna, if only for a short time." The Oni King stood from his seat. His 12-foot stature towered over the tribe leaders. He started walking in front of him and walked down the steps with his hand behind his back. The tribe leaders, who were already quiet and motionless on their knees, held their breaths as their king started walking through the path that divided the audience into two groups. The Oni King was walking on the beast skin that was ced in the middle of the telesterion, serving as the regal carpet. He was looking in front of him into the void as he spoke further. "Someday, we will have to conquer this continent to spread our faith. And we can''t do that if we stay weak and docile. Our rity is a precious gift, which is given to us for a reason. We are sent here to open the closed doors from inside. This sealed continent will one day be open to the gods'' presence. And that will be the greatest moment for all of the children of the Echidna irrespective of where they are." === AN: Monster categories have been exined in chapter 434. Chapter 660 Prelude to Chaos: Echidna’s Authority Chapter 660 Prelude to Chaos: Echidnas Authority The Oni King Harjahar said and stopped in his tracks before looking around him. He then focused on a particr Orc leader whose mana signature fluctuated after he hadpleted his speech. Harjahar walked to the orc leader and narrowed his eyes at him before asking. "Borul, you got something to say?" The Orc Leader who had been asked the question gulped before answering his king. "No my king. Your speech has stirred my emotions. Forgive me for losing control." Borul replied, keeping his head down. The other Orc leaders who were beside him also got nervous because of their king''s focus on them. Harjahar looked carefully at Borul before nodding. "Very well." He said casually and walked away, enabling the Orc leaders to breathe a sigh of relief including Borul. Harjahar knew that there would be some resistance to the Oni festival among monsters who had received their rity a bit too much. This is because the Oni festival demanded not only the sacrifices of the Anfang''s real residents but also the sacrifices of monsters born here. In fact, the festival was nothing more than a sacrifice event for their god, where the defeated were killed. In exchange, the vestige of god that had been summoned would bless a few children of Echidna. The sacrifice also served another purpose. When enough sacrifice energy was umted, it would open a warp gate between the two continentsC two different worlds. Children of Echidna, as Harjahar liked to call them, could use this warp gate to get into the continent of Anfang. The warp gate was unstable. And it only allowed one-way entry. That meant the monsters from the continent of Echidna who had gotten inside the sealed world known as the Anfang couldn''t get back to where they came from. At least not most monsters. Only the Oni kind could use the warp gates two ways. Meaning only the Oni race had the power to go back to the Echidna after visiting Anfang. Of course, the Oni''s ability to travel to and fro had its restrictions. Yet, it was what made Oni special in more ways than one in front of a regr monster audience. The Oni festival was just a convenient name for an event that made these two unthinkable things possible. It did this at the cost of sacrifices by the monsters and native denizens of Anfang alike. Some monsters like Borul were already against the idea of sacrificing their kind just to please a higher existence who would then offer them peanuts in the form of a blessing. One had to say that monsters who were born in Anfang were starting to get affected by thend''sws. They had started seeing things from a different perspective that wasn''t influenced by faith. Harjahar was no pushover though. He also didn''t get angry that the monsters like Borul would y catch and release with what could be considered mutiny. Every king had resistance in his royal court. It doesn''t mean he should squash the resistance with brute force. It would only make matters moreplicated and allow for even more rebellion. Harjahar knew how to keep this resistance in check. He just needed to increase the pressure on the resistance group and offer more rewards for those tribes and monsters who weremitted to the cause. Harjahar walked up to his throne and climbed the stairs halfway before turning to his audience once again. "If the blessed children of Echidna die outside this poor excuse of an abode of ours, it doesn''t matter. Basically, it means they were only worth that much. If the denizens of Anfang kill one Kba, we will create even more powerful, stronger warriors than him. Don''t run away from the festival. Embrace it. And we would see that some of you be strong enough to step outside this space and conquer the world that''s outside." Harjahar then imbued his mana into the crown he was wearing, empowering it. In the next moment, all the monsters who were present inside the hall felt like their hearts would burst from within. This was because of the strong vibes they received from the crown. When the crown cast its powers on the tribe leaders, their minds were overwhelmed by them. They had thought that they were already fearful enough. But the use of the crown made all the tribe leaders realize that there was always some space for more fear. This crown was the same artifact that was said to be used by Tumko in the previous timeline. The artifact that had attracted hordes of adventurers into the Oni dungeon at that time. *** Echidna''s Authority! The children of Echidna inside the subspace were familiar with this crown artifact. The artifact was responsible for so many monsters in the subspace receiving rity despite not undergoing much evolution. The artifact was not fabricated by Tumko Darata''s team member who was presented as the whistleblower. It really held the power to control the monsters. He had just lied that it was in Tumko''s control. In the previous timeline, when Tumko had entered the Oni dungeon, he had started robbing the monster tribes of their resources by ughtering them using their army-grade artifacts. But they couldn''t do much when Harjahar learned about the incident and sent his force to capture Tumko. Harjahar wanted more human sacrifices so he could make his loyal confidants receive more blessings from their god. So instead of killing Tumko the right way, he gave him a choice. All he had to do was to attract the denizens of Anfang into the Oni dungeon without raising suspicion. In exchange, he would get to live and be offered a blessing from their god. He also held a chance to travel to Echidna if he stayed long enough for Harjahar to employ some unconventional methods to pull it off. It depended on sacrifices and the quality of sacrifices after all. Harjahar knew that his n to use Tumko had an expiration date. And that sooner orter, the in-flow of low-ranked denizens of Anfang would stop. But he was fine with it and all the other risks that came with the n. Because by that time, he would have achieved his goal on the continent of Anfang. Harjahar considered thend of the faithless to be a backwater ce. He wanted to finish his assignment here and go back to Echidna as soon as he could. Hence the haste. The other choice for Tumko was to get constantly tortured by the monsters until his will broke. Harjahar wasn''t merciful enough to grant the intruders a quick and painless death. Things became clear for Tumko once he understood what choices he had. He and his team agreed to help. Who would choose to get tortured when they could get more powerful and travel to a different world and see its riches? Tumko immediately came up with a n to attract adventurers of all kinds into the Oni dungeon. He also wanted to take revenge on people who had wronged him while at it. Kill two birds with one stone. Harjahar approved of Tumko''s ns when he pitched them to him. He first made sure that Tumko and his teammates were loyal to the cause by cing curse marks on them. Then he offered them a monster army they could control so they could attack the kingdom of Edinburgh. Things progressed as Tumko and Harjahar had nned in Eren''s previous timeline. At that time, Tumko and his team had managed to travel outside Anfang. What happened to them afterward was lost in the sands of time that didn''t exist anymore. === AN: Borul was first mentioned in chapter 447. Tumko Darata''s history and incident rted to the monster-controlling artifact were exined in chapter 442. Chapter 661 Prelude to Chaos: Kirin 661 Prelude to Chaos: Kirin Echidna''s Authority. Har Jahar canceled the effects of the monster-controlling artifact after its brief use. Clearly, his intent was only to use it as a deterrent here. "We need to stay together on one page for Echidna''s prosperity. The Oni festival would proceed as per our customs with no changes whatsoever." Har Jahar said in a deep voice. However, he also knew that the iron fist was only so effective. It had its limits. Plus, the sacrifices only worked best when there were genuine feelings attached to them. Har Jahar needed the monsters to take part in the process willingly. Therefore, only deterrence won''t be effective. To make the tribe leaders and their tribes submissive to his authority and cause, he had to adapt a carrot-and-stick strategy. Therefore, he looked around before calling someone who seemed to be absent from the crowd. "Kirin! My child. Show yourself." Har Jahar said to nobody in particr. In the next moment, however, a young Oni appeared in front of him and bowed her head. This was Har Jahar''s daughter, Kirin. She had two horns attached to her forehead just like her father, attesting to her Oni lineage. But the simrities kind of ended there. Kirin looked more like a human than a monster. She had clear rosy skin with a distinct red tinge. She had a gorgeous face and a cute nose. Her eyes were golden just like her father''s. But they didn''t have any cruelty hidden in them. Kirin had red-as-cherry lips that looked extremely delicate. Her ears were elf-like but not quite as stretched. She had waist-length golden hair thatplemented her eyes. She had tied it in a ponytail while leaving the long golden bangs to fall on her forehead, drawing attention to her beautiful eyes even more. The young Oni had a bodacious figure that was unexpected considering her cute face. She had ample jugs to give Sharon a run for her money. Her slim waist and shapely posterior were enough to make other female monsters have an inferiorityplex. She was tall, measuring more than six feet. Butpared to her father, she could be considered young and small. Kirin was wearing a warrior outfit meant for Oni women. As such, she revealed most of her feminine curves and assets. And yet, nobody dared to stare at her. Everyone liked keeping their heads attached to their necks of course. Kirin was an oddball in a hall full of monsters. She was exceptionally beautiful. She didn''t look like a monster even though she was sporting horns that were the sign of monster royalty. And her glowing green earrings would tell onlookers that she knew how to look elegant and cared for her looks, unlike most monster women. Kirin was a Monster Overlord. She had just stepped into this evolutionary stage. And yet she could take care of most C-Rank entities with ease, thanks to her high elemental attainment. Kirin had a hybrid element affinity-- spatial mist. As such, she was proficient with space, fire, and water elemental spells. Her elemental attainment was so strong that ever since she had stepped into the Monster Overlord stage, her body was always surrounded by mist. A mist that interacted differently with the spatial fabric. With her elemental affinity, she could hide in in sight by twisting the light and oing senses sent in her direction. The mist was part of her behavior. She would remain hidden most of the time until called upon. Her elemental attainment had been ingrained into her behavior. Or to be precise, her yful yet pure behavior had shaped her elemental attainment in such a way. Even now, Kirin''s feet weren''t touching the ground when she stood and bowed in front of her father. She was standing on a cloud-like white mist that would solidify only for her. As if the mist that surrounded her belonged to a different spatial fabric. "Lord Father." Kirin replied to Har Jahar''s summons with simple words while keeping her head down. Har Jahar smiled before announcing to the crowd. "You all must know from your rity that Oni lineage can be gained with a ritual only known to Echidna''s Oni royalty. Your existence as the children of Echidna will get altered when you follow through with that ritual." Har Jahar shed an evil smile and looked at the young monsters before adding up. "During the Oni festival, whoever pleases our god the most will have a chance to experience the Royal Rebirth. I''ll offer my daughter''s hand to the person if and when the festival''s champion sessfully passes through the process." Kirin was shocked after hearing that her father was nning to wed her to someone from the continent of Anfang. He often referred to the original denizens of the Anfang as well as monsters born here as lowlives. No matter if the champion turns into an Oni royalty or not, Kirin didn''t think her father''s point of view would change about the champion. He''d still see him as someone that was born a lowlife. His father''s behavior had also shown Kirin that she wasn''t as precious to him as she had thought herself to be. ''Is it because I''m not a pure-blooded Oni? Because I was born here?'' A progeny between a monster and an elf shouldn''t have existed. Therefore, Kirin''s birth was an anomaly that might not repeat itself. Her existence was special. Her birth had doomed her to be seen as false Oni royalty in her father''s eyes. 12:42 Har Jahar still treated Kirin as her daughter and gave her every support he could. He awakened her rity way early when she was small and taught her all the customs of Oni royalty as well as the culture of Echidna. But there was ack of fatherly love attached to that teaching. Kirin thought of this and pursed her lips in destion. She was conceived when her father had his way with an elf captive born here, who died after giving her birth. She was born here and yet received rity that belonged to the children of Echidna. A progeny between a monster and an elf shouldn''t have existed. Therefore, Kirin''s birth was an anomaly that might not repeat itself. Her existence was special. Her birth had doomed her to be seen as false Oni royalty in her father''s eyes. Har Jahar still treated Kirin as her daughter and gave her every support he could. He awakened her rity way early when she was small and taught her all the customs of Oni royalty as well as the culture of Echidna. But there was ack of fatherly love attached to that teaching. Still, since Har Jahar had notpletely abandoned her, Kirin had respect for his father. She still believed in Oni royalty customs and as such didn''t raise any objections upon hearing her father''s sudden decision. "That''s not all. Since the champion would be an Oni royalty, they would be able to travel back to Echidna when the warp gates are opened. A new world is waiting for those who are willing to put their lives on the line with all their heart and emotions poured into the festival. Therefore, dare to take risks. Don''t hesitate to shed blood whether it''s yours or someone else''s. The festivals depict the greatness of a culture. Let me see the greatness of Echidna with my own eyes while we are all still here." Har Jahar sat down on his seat and spoke. He then allowed the tribe leaders to make a final decision regarding the Oni festival under his presence. Kirin disappeared from her ce after she realized that her role was over. She got back to dueling with her retainers afterward. Each tribe leader had an agenda. Some tribe leaders were like Borul while others supported the Oni festival wholeheartedly. Borul had hidden ns of his own to make this subspacepletely free of Har Jahar''s control. However, even he or anybody couldn''t have known that the biggest spoiler of the Oni event was about to enter the dungeon. === AN: Kirin has been on VEH''s cover for quite a while now ;) Chapter 662: Prelude to Chaos: Kirin

Chapter 662: Prelude to Chaos: Kirin

Echidna''s Authority. Harjahar canceled the effects of the monster-controlling artifact after its brief use. Clearly, his intent was only to use it as a deterrent here. "We need to stay together on one page for Echidna''s prosperity. The Oni festival would proceed as per our customs with no changes whatsoever." Harjahar said in a deep voice. However, he also knew that the iron fist was only so effective. It had its limits. Plus, the sacrifices only worked best when there were genuine feelings attached to them. Harjahar needed the monsters to take part in the process willingly. Therefore, only deterrence won''t be effective. To make the tribe leaders and their tribes submissive to his authority and cause, he had to adapt a carrot-and-stick strategy. Therefore, he looked around before calling someone who seemed to be absent from the crowd. "Kirin! My child. Show yourself." Harjahar said to nobody in particr. In the next moment, however, a young Oni appeared in front of him and bowed her head. This was Harjahar''s daughter, Kirin. She had two horns attached to her forehead just like her father, attesting to her Oni lineage. But the simrities kind of ended there. Kirin looked more like a human than a monster. She had clear rosy skin with a distinct red tinge. She had a gorgeous face and a cute nose. Her eyes were golden just like her father''s. But they didn''t have any cruelty hidden in them. Kirin had red-as-cherry lips that looked extremely delicate. Her ears were elf-like but not quite as stretched. She had waist-length golden hair thatplemented her eyes. She had tied it in a ponytail while leaving the long golden bangs to fall on her forehead, drawing attention to her beautiful eyes even more. The young Oni had a bodacious figure that was unexpected considering her cute face. She had ample jugs to give Sharon a run for her money. Her slim waist and shapely posterior were enough to make other female monsters have an inferiorityplex. She was tall, measuring more than six feet. Butpared to her father, she could be considered young and small. Kirin was wearing a warrior outfit meant for Oni women. As such, she revealed most of her feminine curves and assets. And yet, nobody dared to stare at her. Everyone liked keeping their heads attached to their necks of course. Kirin was an oddball in a hall full of monsters. She was exceptionally beautiful. She didn''t look like a monster even though she was sporting horns that were the sign of monster royalty. And her glowing green earrings would tell onlookers that she knew how to look elegant and cared for her looks, unlike most monster women. Kirin was a Monster Overlord. She had just stepped into this evolutionary stage. And yet she could take care of most C-Rank entities with ease, thanks to her high elemental attainment. Kirin had a hybrid element affinity-- spatial mist. As such, she was proficient with space, fire, and water elemental spells. Her elemental attainment was so strong that ever since she had stepped into the Monster Overlord stage, her body was always surrounded by mist. A mist that interacted differently with the spatial fabric. With her elemental affinity, she could hide in in sight by twisting the light and oing senses sent in her direction. The mist was part of her behavior. She would remain hidden most of the time until called upon. Her elemental attainment had been ingrained into her behavior. Or to be precise, her yful yet pure behavior had shaped her elemental attainment in such a way. Even now, Kirin''s feet weren''t touching the ground when she stood and bowed in front of her father. She was standing on a cloud-like white mist that would solidify only for her. As if the mist that surrounded her belonged to a different spatial fabric. "Lord Father." Kirin replied to Harjahar''s summons with simple words while keeping her head down. Harjahar smiled before announcing to the crowd. "You all must know from your rity that Oni lineage can be gained with a ritual only known to Echidna''s Oni royalty. Your existence as the children of Echidna will get altered when you follow through with that ritual." Harjahar shed an evil smile and looked at the young monsters before adding up. "During the Oni festival, whoever pleases our god the most will have a chance to experience the Royal Rebirth. I''ll offer my daughter''s hand to the person if and when the festival''s champion sessfully passes through the process." Kirin was shocked after hearing that her father was nning to wed her to someone from the continent of Anfang. He often referred to the original denizens of the Anfang as well as monsters born here as lowlives. No matter if the champion turns into an Oni royalty or not, Kirin didn''t think her father''s point of view would change about the champion. He''d still see him as someone that was born a lowlife. His father''s behavior had also shown Kirin that she wasn''t as precious to him as she had thought herself to be. ''Is it because I''m not a pure-blooded Oni? Because I was born here?'' Kirin thought of this and pursed her lips in destion. She was conceived when her father had his way with an elf captive born here, who died after giving her birth. She was born here and yet received rity that belonged to the children of Echidna. A progeny between a monster and an elf shouldn''t have existed. Therefore, Kirin''s birth was an anomaly that might not repeat itself. Her existence was special. Her birth had doomed her to be seen as false Oni royalty in her father''s eyes. Harjahar still treated Kirin as her daughter and gave her every support he could. He awakened her rity way early when she was small and taught her all the customs of Oni royalty as well as the culture of Echidna. But there was ack of fatherly love attached to that teaching. Still, since Harjahar had notpletely abandoned her, Kirin had respect for his father. She still believed in Oni royalty customs and as such didn''t raise any objections upon hearing her father''s sudden decision. "That''s not all. Since the champion would be an Oni royalty, they would be able to travel back to Echidna when the warp gates are opened. A new world is waiting for those who are willing to put their lives on the line with all their heart and emotions poured into the festival. Therefore, dare to take risks. Don''t hesitate to shed blood whether it''s yours or someone else''s. The festivals depict the greatness of a culture. Let me see the greatness of Echidna with my own eyes while we are all still here." Harjahar sat down on his seat and spoke. He then allowed the tribe leaders to make a final decision regarding the Oni festival under his presence. Kirin disappeared from her ce after she realized that her role was over. She got back to dueling with her retainers afterward. Each tribe leader had an agenda. Some tribe leaders were like Borul while others supported the Oni festival wholeheartedly. Borul had hidden ns of his own to make this subspacepletely free of Harjahar''s control. However, even he or anybody couldn''t have known that the biggest spoiler of the Oni event was about to enter the dungeon. === AN: Kirin has been on VEH''s cover for quite a while now ;) Chapter 663: Prelude to Chaos: See You When I See You

Chapter 663: Prelude to Chaos: See You When I See You

''Eren Erni is that you? Is that you? Is that really you?'' Reen was dreaming. But this dream was special. She was in her usual na form while Eren was in his ck-haired form. They were both looking at each other while being surrounded by pitch ck darkness hidden in the veil of white smoke that kept moving from nowhere to nowhere. Smoke had also seemed to divide them, preventing them from closing the distance between them. As soon as Eren and Reen moved toward each other the smoke would cover their vision only for them to find themselves away from each other once again. ''Reen? Is this a dream? I never had nightmares after Eliza''s soul sense residue vanished on me. This is strange.'' Eren thought to himself. But somehow the Reen in his dreams could understand his thoughts. She seemed to be angry at Eren''s statement. ''What do you mean, you selfish master? Am I part of your nightmares?'' Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Reen''s speech. She had indeed opened her mouth to speak. But the conversation happened telepathically. ''Of course. You gave me nightmares.'' Eren replied seriously, which made Reen upset. She had seen his condition when he was still in Purgatory. She couldn''t deny that her existence had a major role to y in it. But before he could get any more downcast, Eren chuckled before replying. ''You gave me nightmares, Reen. but not in the way you are thinking. I have already said. I don''t regret forming a bond with you. No matter what happened. But separation from you was bound to affect me somehow. The nightmares were only a part of the symptoms.'' Eren said while looking around him. He was trying to figure out what this ce was while having a talk with the first existence he had truly confided in after his new lease on life. His true confidante. An inseparable partner. Reen''s conflicting expression eased before breaking into a smile when she heard Eren''s words. She must have asked this question many times by now. But each time he would tease her before opening up to her. She liked the routine they shared even after such a long time of separation. Eren opened his eyes wide when he understood what this ce was. He also understood why he could ess this ce. ''This this is the soul space Alephee had talked about. My soul sense! Its awakening has allowed me to pull your consciousness here. I see. So ess to this space is required to cast soul spells.'' Eren then remembered thest activity he did beforeing to this space. He was taking a nap in his Orc tribe before starting his journey to the Oni dungeon. The tribe was in the process of moving to a new home. Reen didn''t understand what Eren was saying. But now that she had realized that this was real Eren and not some dream, she wanted to ask him something. ''Eren how are you? Are Eliza''s tasks bothering you?'' Eren was pulled from his chain of thoughts when he heard Reen''s statement. He knew that he wasn''t inplete control of his mind while he was in this space. It was making him forget things. He needed to concentrate hard to remember things. ''Hm? Don''t worry about me, you silly slime. I''m fine. I''m more worried about you. Tell me all that the old hag is doing to you.'' Reen was pleased when she heard about Eren''s well-being. The connection she shared with him was very faint and often distorted. Therefore, they both couldn''t keep tabs on each other. But now that they were together in this isted space, she could understand and feel him just like she used to. ''I I''m fine as well, Eren. Sage Eliza is very patient with me. For her research, she takes a portion of my body, just enough so that it won''t hurt me and can regenerate quickly. But recently, her experiments have been getting a bit serious.'' Reen said before clenching her fist and speaking authoritatively for a change. ''Erni, you have to find a way to get us both out of this mess. And fast. I I haven''t seen anything yet. I want to be with you. We should just get the hell out of Edinburgh when we meet. I know you''d do everything right. I just want you to do it faster. Ugh. I I''m so frustrated these days. I have already seen everything that is allowed for me to see here. I''m so bored of having the same type of mana beasts served raw to me as a meal just because I''m slime. I mean don''t mind that most of the time. But I''d like a proper dish once in a while, you know. And then there''s'' Eren''s smile grew wider when he saw Reen finally being honest about her feelings of frustration. He didn''t disturb her though, allowing her to vent to her heart''s content. He spoke only when she was finished. "Haha. Don''t worry, Reen. When the timees, we won''t stop after leaving Edinburgh. That old hag can''t eavesdrop here. So this should be an ideal ce for us to stay in contact. However, I''m not sure we can have a chat like this anytime soon until I get firm control over my soul space. So listen to what I have to say here regarding my n." Eren spoke up with a serious expression. Reen nodded at him and listened to his ns and what he was up to with keen interest. She was also made aware of her role in his ns. Eren and Reen talked for hours on end like that. Having finished their serious discussion, they resumed their casual conversation. They both knew this connection was special. Eren''s awakened soul sense and the unique bond they shared had enabled them to blur the spatial boundaries for them to have this talk. When the smoke started getting denser and the visibility started getting a lot hazier than it already was, Eren and Reen knew their time was up. Reen had a tinge of wetness in her eyes as she saw Eren waving at her. His smile assured her that he was still as strong and determined as before. As such, she left everything to him and trusted him before disappearing from the soul space. Eren''s smiling expressions turned into that of wrath post-Reen''s disappearance when he realized how he was forced to stay away from Reen. As the white fog surrounded his body, he clenched his fist. The next thing he knew, he was sleeping in his spacious bed in theter afternoon. His treasures had already started working in the tribe and allowed him to sleep some more. Eren looked outside the window and stared at the clear blue sky. He inhaled the air of the wild and drew energy from its freshness. ''Hm. That was a good talk. But meeting her in person would be much better. Chop chop. Time to move.'' Eren said to himself and got up. He jumped from the first floor''s window and headed to a natural waterfall he could use to freshen up. The tribe was busy packing their gear and using space artifacts for ease of travel. It was as if the entire town was being dissolved into various artifacts. Eren met four of his treasures while he was passing by and invited them to have a bath with him. He needed a thorough cleansing and massaging after all. *** "My liege, our preparations are done. We will start our journey when the next day''s sun breaks. What will you do?" Baran addressed Eren while thetter was feeding Argo in his eagle form. Unlike Baran and the tribe, who had to wait for the next day''s sun to rise, a lone wolf like Eren was okay with traveling in the evening. Especially when he had Argo. Baran was in a better mood than before because of Eren''s generosity. He didn''t im Kba''s treasures for himself. Instead, he allowed the Orcinus and the Orc Leaders to find themselves a match within his tribe. Might make right. Since Baran was stronger than Orc Leaders and second only to Eren in the tribe, he weed five Orcinas to be his treasures. One of them was Resha, who was thest Orcinas Kba had been with before his eventual abduction and killing. Resha now handled the tribe''s affairs along with Baran as the most trusted treasure he could count on. The old orc found a new me to feel the warmth again. He felt like his luck was not so shitty anymore. "Hm? I am preparing to get a monster army for us of course. Take care of the tribe, old man. You know who to look out for and who to target in Monster Canyon, right?" Baran nodded before answering. "ughter the vultures thate to take whatever and whoever that belongs to our chieftain." Eren smiled at Baran and looked at Resha before nodding at her. If Baran was his general, she would have to be one of Baran''s lieutenants. This Orcina was very capable as well. Eren climbed on Argo''s back and looked around. A once-thriving tribe town looked deste now that various things that made it live were no longer there. Only Baran, Resha, and a few other Orc Leaders hade to see him off as the rest were assigned different tasks. "*Cough* Old man, don''t overdo it, alright? I''ll be leaving. See you when I see you." Argo was told to take a flight by Eren. The demon beast had a mind of his own. He morphed his head into that of a lion and roared at his audience before pping his wings. Baran looked with keen interest at Eren as he flew away. Only when Eren and Argo were no more than an unrecognizable dot in the sky did he turn around. The Orc Lord with new vigor at the Orc Leaders who were waiting for hismand. Their skin was tingling because of Argo''s uncalled-for intimidation. "We have got ourselves a troublesome chieftain. Get to work, my people. This is just a prelude to chaos!" === AN: VEH''s third volume ends with this chapter release. I enjoyed writing this volume more than the second one. Especially thest 20 or so chapters. I''ll upload reference arts in the auxiliary chapter soon. Or stay connected through Insta or Discord for the same. The next release for VEH would be a few hourste. Meanwhile, you can check out my recently released book Infinite Mana In The Oasis (Infio). You can either use the search box to locate the book by its name or visit my profile and go to Original Works. Some of you may already know this. So ignore the text thates after this. Infio is part of the same multiverse and features a futuristic Earth that is exposed to mana. It also shares its connection with Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil. But right now, it''s too early toment on it. So I''d like it if we treated the new book as a fresh entry. The advantage of reading VEH to this point would be that consuming the concepts in Infio would be easier. For the most part, you''d breeze through the read. Eren from the new book is different from VEH''s Eren. The former is developing the cold-bloodedness that is required for his new reality while keeping his humanity in check. Whereas VEH''s Eren is only recently gaining a semnce of emotions as he keeps on getting stronger. They also share some simrities but their way of handling things is going to be a bit different. The major reason for the differing personalities of the two Erens is their natural alignment. Neutral evil vs anti-hero who has some self-imposed boundaries. As such I''m not sure how many readers of VEH would like the new book or the new Eren in it. I suggest we read the first 50 chapters to get a proper feel. See you in the next volume or thement section of my new project. ;) Chapter 664: Espying: Final Sacrifice

Chapter 664: Espying: Final Sacrifice

The river of time. Unceasingly flowing through the past, the present, and the future. It irrigates all worlds with its reality. It connects the beginnings with the ends seamlessly. It pairs up with space and supports the existence of all that exists in the multiverse. The river is ever-flowing. The time is ever-changing. The river of time flows through all the fabric of existence and allows things to be born, prosper, and die in an endless cycle. Without its ever-flowing nature, everything in existence would be nothing but a lifeless oil painting. Everything living and otherwise is akin to a small fish in this ethereal river that gets carried by its currents and eventually reaches its destination. There are rules for traveling in the river of time. Nobody is allowed to swim in reverse or swim ahead of the current. Nevertheless, there are always exceptions to every rule. Exceptions that break the known norms and leave a distinct mark on the ever-flowing river of time. As if they were whirlpools that bent the currents in their direction. What happens when these ever-flowing currents are bent by one of these whirlpools? What happens when such exceptions take ce? It would allow one to re-experience the past. Or give a glimpse into the future. The events from this point onwards serve as one of these glimpses. *** The Oni dungeon. At the peak of the only giant pyramid located in the middle of the subspace. The sacred telesterion. The monsters of various races had climbed the pyramid and upied various floors that existed as the steps of the pyramid. There was almost no societal hierarchy among monsters while they were being part of the festival. They were all the children of the Echidna after all. The usually lonely and deste pyramid felt like a world of its own as the monsters gathered over it and interacted with each other. They had cheered and jeered at the worshippers who had yed their part and fought with their opponents. Almost all of the losers of the mortalbat had already died. The pyramid would draw unknown energy from the emotions of these spectators and sacrifices. This energy would then be shared with the winners of the duels. As the festival progressed, more cheers were heard in the surroundings. More emotions were stirred. The unknown energy began to umte over the winning worshippers. The energy would then be amplified when the worshippers received it, fusing with their very existence. These winners would then be pitted against one another, resulting in the winner getting stronger than ever in the process and the lower losing their lives and the unknown energy that had been part of their existence not long ago. The cycle of winners fighting against other winners continued. Finally, two warriors had umted a crazy amount of sacrificial energy in their bodies. The result of the battle between these two warriors, also known as worshippers by their audience, had just been decided. A powerful ogre had lost against an even more powerful orc. This ogre was the only worshiper who had been left alive and not killed immediately. That was because he was the final sacrifice. A sacrifice that would summon a vestige of divine presence among them. The festival would end when the loser ogre gets sacrificed at the sacrificial altar that had reced Har Jahar''s throne in the Sacred hall. The kill shall be done by the final winner of the festival. And he will receive Kirin''s hand in marriage as well as the blessing from the divine. The Oni festival had almost ended after days spent selecting the two final worshippers. The winner of the festival would kill the loser finalist and be an arch worshiper, worthy of receiving the blessing. This was the moment of final sacrifice. While the monsters were present on various floors of the altar, their tribe leaders congregated on the top floor of the pyramid. The festival''s final moments were witnessed by them. A sacrificial altar had been raised using the flesh and bones of the defeated worshippers'' bodies. The remains of the dead worshippers had dried up before fusing to create a dried and almost-dead-like tree trunk with no tree leaves present on it. The tree trunk gradually became the sacrificial altar as more worshippers kept on dying. At this point, the altar''s tform had been raised some 7 meters away from the sacred hall''s floor. There was a series of steps that one could use to reach the top tform of the altar. The top tform of the altar had arge bowl of fire serving as the hearth, which held an azure me. The me was set against a hazy blue water-like spatial fabric that seemed to connect to a different world. Distinct otherworldly mana-pulses were emanating from the fabric of space, which had stopped being intangible and invisible for some reason. The water-surface-like spatial fabric would stretch sometimes and would trace various shapes and figures before returning to its normal state. It was as if someone was trying to reach this side of the fabric from the other side. Har Jahar was standing at the bottom of this sacrificial altar with his hands behind his back. Kirin was beside him. The Oni King had acted as the overseer of this festival. It was his responsibility to ensure the rebels did not do as they wished. He handled festival matters as the king of this ce. He was to make the festival a sess. Kirin was standing silently beside her father. But her eyes would quickly scan over an Orc Leader before looking away. This Orc Leader was special because of the incredible feat he had achieved. He had defeated an Ogre Lord while still being evolutionarily at a lower stage than him. His battle performance had pleased the pyramid as well which seemed to have a mind of its own. The energy originating from sacrifice, which was umted in the winner''s body in significantly higher amounts than the Ogre Lord, had a hand to y in his win. His mute status had worked in his favor and had given him mysterious vibes. His audience became his voice as they shouted and yelled at his opponents. This Orc Leader was about to be the first child of Echidna in the Oni dungeon to receive a blessing while only being at his second evolution stage. Therefore, the audience praised and cheered this orc warrior. Monsters or not, the spectators always liked underdogs. The dark horse of the event. The show-stealers made the audience stand in its seats and cheer for them with all their might. Kirin was no exception to this rule either. Chapter 665: Espying: Destiny

Chapter 665: Espying: Destiny

The Orc Leader was standing in front of the defeated Ogre leader who was on his knees. They were standing directly in front of the sacrificial altar not too far from Har Jahar. The other tribe leaders who had survived the festival were surrounding the altar in a circle. Everyone was watching the final moments of the Ogre Lord with keen interest. The Orc Leader had an atypical look for his kind because his skin was not as green-colored as the rest of the orcs. Yet, nobody would dare to question his race because his orc bloodline felt purer than the rest of them. Almost as if the worshiper had performed some kind of ritual to radiate such an unadulterated presence of his kind. This Orc Leader had a rxed posture and expressionless face as he looked at the Ogre Lord he had not defeated not too long ago. He was supposed to decapitate the final worshiper and offer his head to the azure me that was flickering over the sacrificial altar. The Ogre Lord too seemed different from his kind. He almost looked human with his light brown skin and human-like face. He had shaved his head from the sides, leaving only hair for the ponytail. Except for his ears, the rest of his face resembled that of a human or elf. Yet, he was a pure-blooded Ogre. He was as tall as the Orc Leader. He was carrying arge broadsword attached to the back of his waist by his belt. The Ogre Lord liked his sword it seemed. He wanted to spend his final moments staying attached to the weapon he had been carrying all this time. The Ogre Lord was wearing beastly leather pants, a shoulder guard on his right shoulder as well as an armed guard on his left arm''s wrist. The Ogre Lord looked tired. He had downcast expressions on his face. But he wasn''t scared. It was as if they had already predicted his fate. His father, on the other hand, was a different case. "My King, please, I beg you." A shaky Ogre voice resounded in the surroundings as another Ogre begged for something from his knees. This was an Ogre Overlord. And the final sacrifice''s father. "Please spare my son. I have served you with all my heart and soul. I only ask one thing in return. Sacrifice me in ce of my son." This Ogre Overlord was none other than RorC Har Jahar''s right hand that had served him even before their arrival on the continent of Anfang. He was speaking to his king in a shaky voice, his eyes full of tears, his expressions distorted. As a father, he was more upset by the turn of events than by the final sacrifice himself. Har Jahar looked at Ror with an expressionless face and his signature dead eyes. Rory''s outburst was preventing him from concluding the festival. He looked at his most trusted servant before responding. "You know very well we can''t do that, Ror. Your son Kaalmaahen has umted sacrificial energy. Only he or this Orc is capable of being sacrificed at the end of the event. And I won''t allow anyone to kill the Orc, which could collude with the sacrificial energy we have umted." Har Jahar said in a heavy voice that was devoid of any emotional fluctuations. Ror clenched his fist and looked up with a sense of determination written on his face. He was about to address the Oni Kind when his young son''s voice came from behind him. "Father. Enough!" While maintaining his position on his knees, Kaalmaahen spoke. His voice was low and unspirited. But there was determination mixed in it somewhere. "Just like you told me, we are children of Echidna. And if sacrificing me is for the greater good of the Echidna, so be it. Don''t say anything more. Don''t do anything more." Kaalmaahen said and looked at his father before shing a genuine smile. "I''ll just like to tell you one thing before I go. You have been a great father. Thank you for the life you have given me so far." Kaalmaahen said, his voice breaking for the first time. Nevertheless, he controlled his emotions and nced at Har Jahar before adding up. "My king, please forgive my father''s outburst and proceed with the ritual. I have nothing more to say." The Ogre Lord said and bowed his head. He then closed his eyes and controlled his heartbeat, which had be erratic for some reason. When the darkness engulfed his vision, it brought some relief to his restless psyche. He had so many things to achieve in his life. Yet, at this point, they didn''t matter anymore. The darkness that he was seeing with his closed eyes was going to be his new reality. He wondered if the relief that he was feeling right now wouldst forever when the darknesspletely imed him. The Ogre Overlord was about to throw some vicious words at his king. But his son''s voice stopped him. The Orc Leader who was looking at this scene had a shine in his eyes as if he was reminded of something simr. As if something like this had already happened to him. Feeling powerless against someone stronger than oneself. Being helpless in the face of circumstances. Har Jahar was tolerating Ror''s behavior for quite some time at this point. However, he decided to disy his powers when he saw the disrespect shed in his subordinate''s eyes. Ohm. A sickening and dreadful feeling spread in the entire sacred hall as Har Jahar released his mana sense coated in his aura. In the next moment, the entire crowd who had been whispering all around stopped their mumblings and fell to their knees. Even Kirin was no exception. Everyone quieted down when they saw Har Jahar''s vicious smile. Before saying anything, he looked at Ror. "Don''t get cocky with me just because you are about to enter your next evolution, Ror. I have tolerated your insubordination enough. The children of Echidna need to abide by the rules. I fear your rity is working against you if you think you can just anger our god just because you are in a different continent." Har Jahar spoke authoritatively. He then looked around him and challenged the audience to question him on his stance if they had the guts. Nobody came forward. Har Jahar raised his eyebrows when he saw the Orc Leader standing on his feet still even after feeling his aura up close. However, the Oni King ignored it for a moment before concluding what he wanted to say. "Let me put it clearly for you. Nothing can change Kaalmaahen''s fate as the final sacrifice to our god. Another god would have to appear here in person and stop the process themselves if they want to change his destiny." Chapter 666: Espying: Thriving Evil

Chapter 666: Espying: Thriving Evil

"Varhan, sacrifice Kaalmaahen and end this charade." Har Jahard ordered Varhan in a callous voice. Thetter nodded casually at the Oni king before walking towards the final sacrifice. "War drums!" Har Jahar demanded in a stern voice. There were various-sized war drums ced everywhere on the pyramid. Har Jahar''s demand spurred the crowd and the monsters assigned to the war drums manned their positions and started doing their job at the same time. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump Thump Thump. The war drums started throbbing in unison as they yed a mystic sound. The bass of that sound was stirring people''s emotions, making them more lively than they were before Ror''s breakdown. Varhan took out a weapon that he hadn''t brandished in the festivalC a space element dagger that he spun around in both his hands artistically. His steps matched the beatsing from the war drums. ''This orc'' Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Har Jahar looked at Varhan''s carefree attitude as he approached Kaalmaahen and looked at the orc keenly. This orc hadn''t bent his knee in front of him earlier. As if he didn''t view entities of his level with that much importance. Varhan kept his cool despite the vestige of Anfang''s world manifesting itself. This was an exceptional mental fortitude only had by those who had already seen and experienced things that they felt were worse than this incident. Har Jahar couldn''t punish Varhan even if he wanted to because he had the power of sacrifice and faith umted in his body. The umtion would get tainted if heforts him now and the worshiper starts treating this procedure as something detrimental to him. ''Hmph. Even if he gets blessed in the end today, what happens after the blessing is not God''s concern. I''ll deal with him after the festival''s over.'' Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Har Jahar decided to kill both Ror and Varhan after the end of the festival. But that would have to wait. He needed the Orc Leader to finish Kaalmaahen. Ror''s death while oath-bound to the world''s will would result in bacsh for Har Jahar instead. However, there was a simple way to deal with this problem. Let Ror''s oath nevere to pass. Har Jahar just needed to kill Kaalmaahen without anyone''s interruptions and that should be it. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Kaalmaahen sensed Varhan approaching him amidst the pounding war drums and opened his eyes. He had heard his father''s agony through his speech and kept quiet. However, now that his death was drawing closer, he wanted to have a word with his killer. "Varhan, I have seen your battle and experienced it for the first andst time. You deserve the blessing and any other positive thinging your way." Kaalmaahen said and paused. He looked at Varhan''s eyes for a bit before asking another question. "Can Can I ask you to check up on my father now and then?" Varhan shook his head in denial before answering in an Oni tongue. "No," he said simply. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Kaalmaahen pursed his lips before taking a long breath. "Very well," he said and was turning his neck at 4 O''clock to look at his father one more time. But then something clicked in his mind and stopped rotating his neck. He felt something was weird about Varhan saying no to him. He looked at Varhan with a confused expression as if wanting to know whether the noise he heard from him was his hallucination or not. Har Jahar didn''t really pay attention to or care about Varhan''s supposed mute status. So he didn''t catch on. However, most of the audience in the sacred hall was different. Before they could ask Varhan any questions, the guy himself spoke up after looking at Kaalmaahen. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. "I mean you can do that yourself. I''m too busy looking after my own shit to care about anyone else these days." Varhan said and spun his dagger around his body with his catch-and-release weapon approach. He had said thest statement in his normal tongue. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Eren looked in the distance where Sharog was and spoke up, seemingly to nobody in particr. "Do it." . "Yes, my Lord." Somebody in the distance answered. Borul assigned Sharog the task of spoiling the festival using the array setup that he had been creating for quite some time now. This was what the rebellion was counting on to take care of Har Jahar. However, the array setup was supposed to be triggered after the festival came to an end. Not before. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Varhan was using the same setup using Sharog as a trigger. The audience in the vicinity as well as the monsters who had climbed the pyramid froze once more. This was because the entire pyramid had lit up with runes that are part of arger array. "This... this this fucking Sharog you traitor Why did y" Borul cried in disbelief as he witnessed Sharog''s betrayal at a crucial time. He knew what the array was supposed to be because he was the one who had cast it using very careful nning. And now someone else was using that setup. Bzzt. It was toote. The array was fully operational before Borul and other rebels could escape from it. They were locked in their positions and their mana, as well as their life essence, was siphoned away from them. All the mana and life essence that was being siphoned from the monsters, who were helplessmbs by this point, was being used to stop one existence from acting up as the most powerful existence in subspace. All these things happened so fast that only those who had known about this setup could get a semnce of understanding of what was happening. Others had been caught off guardC including Har Jahar. "Hmm?" Har Jahar found out that he couldn''t use his mana or elemental attainment anymore. A small array appeared under his feet that was connected to all the monsters by runic threads. This sight confused him. The confusion transforms into a serious frown Har Jahar then tried to move only to realize that he couldn''t. Only now did he connect the dots and had disbelief written on his face. "Rebels! Fucking cowards. Release me this instant or else" "Or else what?" Varhan spoke up in a voice that showed a drastic change. He disyed a cunning smile on his face as he observed his n hade to fruition. He was hindered by the array''s effects. He, Sharog, and her twin assistants present at the sacred hall were the only ones who had not been connected to the siphoning array. Kaalmaahen who had epted his death watched as Varhan smiled and yed with his dagger in hand. He watched with an incredulous expression as the Orc Leader drove the dagger into his heart. "Vile rebels! This is a god''s sacrifice you are interfering in. This act of evil will be purged by our god" Har Jahar yelled with all his might, warning the rebels they shouldn''t mess with the ceremony, lest the about-to-be-summoned god get angry. "Hahahahahaha!" Varhanughed like he had heard the funniest joke in a while. He turned around and disappeared from his position before reappearing near Har Jahar. The tall Har Jahar towered over Varhan when he was so close to him. He didn''t like that. Har Jahar had thought he couldn''t get any more shocked today. But he was proven wrong when Varhan''s body started changing shape and started appearing as tall as him. Varhan came within a meter''s distance of Har Jahar and looked him in the eye beforementing. "Har Jahar, is it? I''m not on the rebel''s side. "Neither of us is on your side." Har Jahar started feeling a weird sensation throughout his body as he watched Eren''s eyes that he came to realize were not monster-like. He felt like his body was sending him warning signs to get away from existence like Varhan. His survival instincts that had been put to slumber suddenly woke up and started telling him that something bad was about to happen to him despite him being the Oni king if he doesn''t get away from this seemingly unimportant Orc Leader. Eren''s body had started producing tribal tattoos over his torso as the dagger was still lodged into his heart. His voice grew heavier and grimmer as he continued. "Purging evil? My evil will not just survive. It''ll thrive. In this world. And worlds that are beyond." Eren''s devil-like voice was heard by all the helpless spectators. He removed the dagger from his heart and wiped his blood on the de with Har Jahar''s face before casting his vile ability. The sacred hall that was supposed to be blessed by the divine was where he cast his ability. "Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Wrath!" Chapter 667: Espying: A Perfect Opportunist

Chapter 667: Espying: A Perfect Opportunist

"Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Wrath!" Eren said while shing a smile. The tribal tattoos over his torso became more prominent as the domain of wrath expanded around him and Har Jahar. The monsters in the audience who were locked in their ce by their siphoning array felt another wave of dread washing over them when the domain of wrath expanded. Har Jahar was the one who was most shocked by the mana included in the domain expansion. He looked at the Orc Leader with pure disbelief on his face. His voice was shaky as hemented out loud. "This this is the mana that belongs to "that" ce. How can you ess this mana?" Har Jahar looked at Eren as if he was seeing a ghost before reiterating his question. "HOW CAN YOU ACCESS THIS MANA? TELL ME!" Eren smirked before responding. "I don''t even know what "that" means here, horned man. But I''ll just assume it''s a world different from Echidna or Anfang. Now don''t make me talk too much. My Oninguage is not fully developed yet. I''ll say something that might creep you out too." Eren said and raised his hands. In the next moment, the wrath mana started to invade Har Jahar''s body. The Oni King felt the changes happening inside his body and used his mana points to expel the wrath mana. Eren frowned as he understood what had happened. He realized that Har Jahar was stronger than his vague expectations for him to use his domain of wrath on him. Even if he was locked inside a siphoning array. In the end, Har Jahar sessfully resisted being turned into a creature of wrath. *** As the monsters on the war drums stopped their work, there was a voiceless atmosphere in the sacred hall. Therefore, the audience could fully concentrate on what was happening in front of them. They saw that the prime worshiper of the festival had not only rebelled but also done something unimaginable to their Oni King. The rebel faction among them was equally shocked and confused. The rebels didn''t know whether to celebrate these turns of events or condemn them. Because Varhan was potentially doing what they had prepared this n forC taking care of Har Jahar and starting a new life on the continent of Anfang away from the shadows of Echidna. The rebels didn''t want any connection with the Echidna because it had started demanding more and more sacrifices than thest time. The monsters who were born here had started to think for themselves instead of the world they weren''t part of anymore. This was thend of th e faithless. Where self-interests mattered more than devotion to an entity that may or may not be able to help them in their times of need. This thought became more and more prevalent as theter generation of monsters kept on being born in the Anfang and started unlocking their rity. Har Jahar had ruled over the monsters of subspace with an iron fist. He didn''t care what the rebels thought. For him, Echidna and its customs were everything. So they had decided to take things into their own hands and sever their connection with the Echidna for all time. Borul was one of the leaders of the rebel faction. He was a firm believer that the continent of Anfang was a betternd to prosper for those who had been born here. He had started seeing this continent as his worldC his home and treated Echidna as a ce he didn''t belong to anymore. And he was not alone in this. However, Har Jahar would not have approved of the monsters living in the subspace dropping their faith and adopting the values of Anfang. The rebels didn''t want to hurt the faction that supported Echidna''s values. All they wanted was to leave on their own terms, without being cursed. Har Jahar needed to be dealt with for good for this to happen. And that was what the rebels were working on all this time. Eren had observed that Borul''s tribe had an advanced array of knowledge when he had first entered the tribe. He had seen g preserve his meat inside a spatial array that had almost stagnant time. He had seen Sharog''s assistants heal the tribe warriors using the healing array. There were various other instances in the tribe where the runic arrays that originated from Echidna had been employed creatively. Eren soon realized that Borul was the reason behind his tribe''s extensive array of usage. E had awoken very detailed memories of arrays and runes when he had received his rity. And he had decided to use this knowledge to hatch this n. Borul was the assumed identity of the tribe''s real leader Durbag. He was supposed to be injured at the previous Oni festival when the sacrifice required was not as demanding. His tribe had reported that Durbag had isted himself to recover from his injuries and advance in his evolutionary stage. Durbag then regressed and locked his evolution using the array imprint etched on his back. Only Sharog and a few other elders of the tribe knew about this. Har Jahar knew about Durbag''s array-rted memories. Monsters of Durbag''s original caliber were required to inform their king of the rity they had received. So the Oni King was vignt when it came to Durbag. However, Borul''s identity as an average orc warrior was not worthy of attention from the Oni King. &nb sp; Durbag AKA Borul used festival preparations as a way to nt this array over the array setups that were overtly visible. He received help from his other rebel members for doing so. The rebel faction of the monsters in Oni Dungeon''s subspace was more ready than ever to get rid of their cruel leader Har Jahar once and for all. This was after the festival was over. Because that''s when he should have been most vulnerable. But they could not imagine that the fruits of theirbor were being consumed by someone like Varhan. Thetter had struck at just the right time to catch both Har Jahar''s side and the rebel side off guard. A perfect opportunist. Chapter 668: Espying: Defying Authority

Chapter 668: Espying: Defying Authority

In the end, Har Jahar sessfully resisted being turned into a creature of wrath. "Hahahahaha. Orcd, do you even know what you are ying with? I don''t know how you got ess to this power but let me tell you something. This power is not meant to be used by the children of Echidna. If they continue to do that, they will be corrupted until they have lost all rity. Also, you should have taken care of Echidna''s Authority from me before getting on with your ns. I still have what it takes to use it on someone like you who is standing this close to me." Echidna''s Authority. Har Jahar was still wearing the artifact on his head when Eren had made Sharog activate the array. The Oni King used every ounce of strength he could muster while being confined into the siphoning array to take care of a pest in his eyes. Ohm! Varhan''s expressions changed as he felt like he was pulled into a different ce that has many times more gravitational force than normal. Har Jahar saw the changes happening to the Orc Leader''s face and startedughing maniacally. "Hahahaha! Fools. You all are fools. A mere orc ant that thinks he can get rid of me just because I''m trapped inside an array. You''d kill me? Me? Hahaha. This was the biggest joke I''ve heard in a while. You rebels have trapped me sessfully, I''ll give you that. But none of you are qualified enough to kill me." He then looked at Ror knowingly and chuckled before adding up. "And you have trapped the ones who are qualified to kill me inside the same array. Hahaha. What a pinch you rebels have found yourselves in. What aedy of errors! Soon. The siphoning array also has its limits. I''ll be out of the array''s effect in no time and" Har Jahar was about to diss Eren and other rebels some more. Thetter had given up on making the Oni King understand that he was not part of the rebel faction. Eren just chuckled and shook his shoulders. Sharog and the twin Orcinas were then instructed to do something for him. "My deardies, increase the array''s effect on this buffoon." Eren said as he fixed his eyes on Har Jahar. "Yes, my Lord." Three Orcinas responded to Eren''smands at the same time. They had assumed the role of the array controllers in the setup. The role was only given to Sharog by Borul at first. However, for better control, Sharog created two more channels and made the twin Orcinas in charge of them. The array controllers weren''t required to be of a particr evolutionary stage. They would serve their purpose just fine as long as they had mana sense to guide the controlling runes. < . p>In the next moment, Har Jahar felt like his body had lost all its energy to stand up. The array''s restrictions suddenly became more intense, which brought the Monster King to his knees. The runes that were only on the floor around him had now climbed on his body and spread over different parts of his skin. They started looking more and more like chains than runes at this point. The siphoning array started drawing more powers and life essence from the rest of the monsters as a result. At this rate, the siphoning array was going to break sooner than expected. Eren would be dead if the array broke and the Oni King sets him free before he kills him. And yet, the butcher didn''t let his urgency rush him into making mistakes. He stored his space element dagger in his storage and took out his two swordsC his Rigor Mortis set. He swung them around a bit to get a better feel for them. Eren was still under the effects of Echidna''s Authority while he did that. Or he was supposed to be. Har Jahar stopped getting surprised at this point and started thinking rationally. Why wasn''t the monster-controlling artifact working on him? Has the artifact been tampered with? Har Jahar concentrated and decided to make a Gnoll Lord who was on his knees not too far away from the target of the artifact''s effect. In the next second, that Gnoll Lord started wailing and howling before clutching his heart and head, attesting to the Oni King that the artifact was working fine. "You Why isn''t Echidna''s Authority working on you? What what the fuck are you." The Oni royalty started looking at Eren who was in his Orc form in a different light when he realized that thetter could defy the artifact''s effects. It was clear that he was different from the other children of Echidna. He just wasn''t sure by how much. The Orc leader shrugged his shoulders and smiled lightly before answering in a in voice. "Hm. The artifact isn''t working because I''m not one of you. Simple as that. As for what I am? I am what I need to be." Eren said and started transforming once again. His body reduced in size and started changing into his white-haired human form. Har Jahar and the monsters were left aghast by how much shock their prime worshiper was giving them in a span of such a short time. "You are you human? No this can''t be. A creature that can use THAT mana without getting corrupted by it. A creature that can shapeshift into an Orc in front of me without getting noticed. A creature that can hide so deep just to strike at the right time. You how did thend of the faithless give birth to someone like you?" Eren had closed in on Har Jahar while thetter analyzed him. He shook his head to let his shoulder-length hair get away from his eyes and responded. &n bsp; "Hm? Let me see. A few cups of abandonment issues and a pint of false charges-- all topped with lots of humiliations. Stir the mix up well before garnishing it with a handful of regrets. That''s how I was made. A damn swell cocktail, am I not? You had told me to end the charade, Har Jahar. Guess I''ll do just that. Got ces to be, you see." Eren said and raised his hands. He coated his weapons in his lightning mana and crossed his arms like two des of scissors before swinging them in the opposite direction. Har Jahar''s head was right in the middle of their path. Swoosh. Bzzt. Cut. Chapter 669: Espying: Breakthrough Into Adept Rank P1

Chapter 669: Espying: Breakthrough Into Adept Rank P1

Swoosh. Bzzt. Cut. The red and purple lightning crackled as Eren swung his weapons in the opposite direction from each other. His des touched Oni King''s skin and managed to breach his natural defenseyer. Two distinct cuts were formed on either side of Har Jahar''s neck. The des cut his flesh and prated halfway into it from either side. And yet, Eren couldn''t chop off the Monster King''s neck. His mana didn''t even pose a threat to the monster who was only a step away from bing a Monster Emperor. Eren had to struggle to get his weapons out of their stuck ces. This whole time, the audience was bbergasted by what they were seeing and the Oni King maintained a stoic expression on his face. The wounds on his neck started healing immediately after the weapons were pulled out because of the monster''s passive regeneration kicking in. His evolutionary status as an Oni King was so strong that even the body''s elerated regenerative properties started looking like a healing spell. Oni King only groaned a bit when he felt his neck getting injured by Eren''s attack. Frankly, for the first time after so many years, the monster felt fear. The Monster King had managed to keep his dignity intact as an Oni king by acting tough and silent. However, only he knew how his balls almost ended up crawling back into his sack never toe out for a second time when Eren hadunched his attack. "Hahahahaha! Ant. You worthless fucking ant." Har Jahar found the strength in him to mock Eren for his failure. A tinge of desperation could be heard in his voice. Despite his words, he was starting to treat Eren as a real threat. He just wanted to make him mentally unstable with his words, a job which he was failing miserably at. s, Eren had seen Eliza. p! Eren pped the Oni King''s face with the back of his right hand. He then pressed his index finger of the same hand against his lips in a gesture to make someone observe silence before speaking up. "Quiet. I can feel how shit-scared you were. No need to act tough in front of me, should I say father-inw?" Erenughed and nced at Kirin, who was entrapped within the siphoning array in her ce. Thetter also wore a nk face and had no discernable thoughts he could sense with his soul sense. Eren smirked at the Oni King''s daughter. Then he looked away from Kirin and focused his eyes on Har Jahar again beforementing. "Har Jahar, when I say you will die today, you will die today. If not swiftly, then painfully. Just wait your turn." Eren told Har Jahar in his Life Drain form with his red eyes, supposedly staring into his soul fearlessly. Eren wanted to kill Har Jahar using his Wrath ability and process his gains. But that seemed impossible because the monster was able to resist the wrath mana. Eren was just too weak to make his wrath mana potent enough to work on Har Jahar. Then he had thought of using his Life Drain ability on him after killing him. That way he would be able to get maximum benefits out of the monster''s death and improve his ranking status further post his death. &n bsp; Eren was sure he wouldn''t be able to use the Life Drain on Har Jahar while he was alive. He didn''t have the power to wrest the life essence away from his living body. That left him with only one option. Eren summoned a sizable wrath me that had been sealed by Alephee''s soul spell all this time. He held it in his hands as if it was a me-shaped sculpture of ice that had been frozen in time, which it was. Eren pondered for a while before asking his Orcina ves. "Sharog, how long can the siphoning array hold?" Sharog had beads of sweat on her forehead as she guided the channels that regted the siphoning array. Upon hearing Eren''s question, she checked up on her condition as well as the twin assistants'' before answering. "My lord, another 15 minutes." Eren nodded to her statement before asking another woman who was his partner in all this. ''Alephee, how much time do you think it would take for me to digest this me from Kaba?'' Alephee didn''t take long to reply. ''Don''t worry. I''ll help you digest your gains. I''ll also wake you up at the right time if you experience a breakthrough-induced epiphany. Your gains would be a bit lower because of that, but I don''t think you wouldin about the kind of situation you have found yourself in." Eren smiled mirthlessly at Alephee''s statements and agreed. To reap maximum benefits, he wanted tobine Kaba''s and Oni King''s wrath mes into one. Eren had nned to kill Har Jahar this way from the moment he learned about his existence from Sharog. That''s why he waited all this time to digest the wrath me left behind by Kba. However, he now understood that the n was impossible to execute. Eren looked at Har Jahar and shed a cunning grin before saying out loud. "It''ll be over soon." To unseal the me, Eren immersed his mana in it. The sealing spell dispersed and the wrath me returned to life. Eren closed his eyes and let the me disappear into his body through his palm. Eren felt the implosion of his mana core as soon as he felt the wrath mes being absorbed by his body. His body started oozing out impurities from his skin all over as he went through his rank upgrade. Breaking into F-Rank granted one the ability to wield their elements. In breaking into E-Rank, they were able to stabilize their elements to provide a secure path for their ranking journeys. Breaking into Adept rank was considered one of the deciding factors of a ranker''s life because it dealt with Elemental condensation. In this breakthrough, the mana core will be etched with the mystic elemental runes of their respective elements, condensing them into the core. This enabled the rankers to wield their elements with greater speed, power, and efficiency than ever before. The potency of their average Adept ranked spells is also enhanced by several degrees, thanks to Elemental condensation. Rankers often experienced a huge bottleneck in their Adept rank because of the Adept breakthrough''s peculiarity. For prodigies like Altashia and a pseudo prodigy like Eren, the case was even more severe. In Eren''s previous timeline, Eren had been stuck in the Ace Rank for decades before achieving a potion-induced breakthrough. That too after spending all his savings on the potion. As a result of the unnatural breakthrough, his elemental runes gained through Elemental Condensation were less effective in his past. It had bankrupted his potential for another rank breakthrough. Hence, he never reached C-Rank in his past timeline. However, this time it was the pr opposite situation. The Elemental Condensation Eren had achieved with his breakthrough was unique and one-of-a-kind even by half-bloods'' standards. Chapter 670: Espying: Breakthrough Into Adept Rank P2

Chapter 670: Espying: Breakthrough Into Adept Rank P2

Normally Eren would have had more difficulties achieving Adet rank because of his special existence. However, Kba was a monster who had progressed enough in his evolutionary path to allow Eren to ovee his ranking bottleneck without a hitch. Eren''s Elemental Condensation was different from any other ranker though. His mana core began incorporating worldw runes of all the grand elements rather than just the ones he was used to. Eren gritted his teeth and felt every muscle in his body rupture and rebuild. Every cell in his body was now incorporating more of the world''s mana into it. His flesh and bones were getting strengthened by mana as if they were artifacts in their own right. An Adept-ranked mana cloud was soon summoned all around him. His mana core spun with even heightened efficiency than before and drained the mana cloud surrounding him. After another couple of minutes, Eren''s breakthrough into the gaseous state of the Adept rank was stabilized. Eren had broken into Adept rank once again in this timeline. However, this did not mean that the process was over. Way of the water! Kba had an affinity with the element of water. Plus, his elemental attainment as a monster in his 3rd stage of evolution was also substantial. As a result, Eren''s water element attainment started increasing at a rapid rate while he digested Kba''s understanding of the element. Eren entered into a state of epiphany at that moment, and his mana core started spinning again. This time, it summoned an even denser form of an Adept ranked mana cloud than before. The Elemental Condensation runes rted to water etched on Eren''s mana core started getting moreplex as the core spun around itself while absorbing more Adept rank mana. Har Jahar started getting more worried about his well-being as he saw Eren''s breakthrough with his own eyes. He knew that the breakthrough of the abomination that was in front of him was anything but normal. He wanted to scream and distract Eren from gaining any more attainment while under the effects of the State of Epiphany. Meanwhile, Sharog focused on her former king some more and attached more runes to his body, shackling every muscle. Har Jahar and the rest of the audience watched as Eren digested all the gains he was due from Kba''s kill. Eren could have indulged in his epiphany for longer. But Alephee reminded him that he had more important things to attend to. Eren opened his eyes with a smile on his face. He was happy. And nostalgic as well. Nostalgic because it had taken him so long to break into D-Rank in his previous timeline. He knew that those experiences had also helped him get to his Adept ranker faster. His ranking journey was virtually free of bottleneckspared to hisst life. &nb sp; However, the struggle he had had to face in his past was exceptionally difficult for him. He did not truly enjoy his breakthrough into D-Rank because of that. "The ce is different. My circumstances are unusual. The time is different. Yet. It''s still me. It''s all me." Eren mumbled to himself as he looked at his hands and his open palms. They were brimming with youthfulness and energy, unlike thest time. His potential was still in its budding phase, he could feel it. Eren turned around and saw the same scene he had seen before his breakthrough. He ignored the gazes that were fixated on him and started walking towards Har Jahar once again. "Har Jahar, oh Har Jahar. Have you experienced something like this? If I kill you now, will you get to see anything I just did? Tell me. Do you want to find out what life is made of after experiencing death?" Eren said, his voice still deep, that was the sign of his wrath mana even though he didn''t have wrath domain anymore. Despite only having a few minutes to spare, Eren had managed to surpass even the wrath mes'' standards of water element attainment gains. Eren had previously digested the water attainment from Langdon when he was still in the Titus tournament. Then he killed off a rebel Orchina from his tribe, which had water element affinity as well as weapon arts rted to hammer. In this time''s state of epiphany, Eren had managed to make all his elemental attainmentse together, using Kba''s water attainment as the foundation. He had fused them and created something that waspletely his. Har Jahar watched as Eren came close to him once again. He was now an Adept. The Oni King was not ashamed to show the frustration on his face anymore. This was no human, beast, half-blood, or monster. This was an abomination that would take on any form when it felt like it. There''s nothing wrong with being fearful of abominations. Looking at his struggles to say something, Eren gestured to Shargo that he was okay now and she could allow him to speak. Thetter nodded and decreased the runic restrictions ced on the Oni King. The Oni King took a long breath before asking Eren in a grim voice. "You What is your name? What is your real name? Tell me." Har Jahar asked while looking at the azure me that was still burning in the distance. A final gamble. He was hoping the god''s remnant shadow was paying attention and would help him somehow. Because he had started to realize that Eren hade prepared to kill him no matter the circumstances. ''Don''t tell him. This Oni is pretty crafty. He wants you to get cursed.'' Alephee spoke in Eren''s mind and thetter looked at Har Jahar with an appreciative nod. "Good. You are looking for ways to fuck with me even in yo ur dying moments. This is what thend of the faithless is all about. The struggle for survival. Guess you did learn a few things from here." Eren stopped smiling when he said that. He activated his wrath ability in his usual way once again and injected the wrath mana into his own body, making it gain even more muscr definitions. This also helped him increase his stature a bit. His red eyes started sparking with red radiance as he spoke to the Oni King with an even more monstrous voice than him. "Fortunately or unfortunately, your struggle ends here." === AN: Eren gets Langdon''s water elemental attainment in chapter 558. Chapter ?671 Espying: Hammer of Persistence Driving the Nail of Success Chapter ?671 Espying: Hammer of Persistence Driving the Nail of Sess "Fortunately or unfortunately for you, your struggle ends here." Eren said and took out a water-element artifact that he had saved from his time in the duchy of Lionheart. It was an army-issued hammer that he had found to be very unique. Despite his money crunch, he had saved this hammer among all the things he had collected. He didn''t include it in the list of artifacts he had sold. It once belonged to someone who Erenter referred to as the Mute Spectator of Team ho. Ironically, the same artifact was now going to be used on another Mute, Har Jahar. His mouth had been sealed off again by the runes under Eren''s order after all. Though the artifact was still in the Ace Rank, it served as a suitable testing apparatus for him to y with his newly gained water attainment. He channeled his water element mana and imbued it into the weapon before activating the runes etched onto it with his understanding of the way of water. Eren lifted his hammer over his head, and the Warhammer grew in size. The hammerhead turned into a pure mass of water that looked like water but behaved like ice. It had the same shape as the weapon Eren was holding earlier in a muchrger size. The hammerhead boasted a length of 10 meters and a width of 4 meters. The handle of the artifact also grew along with it. The density of the liquid was increased with the weapon''s runes and Eren''s elemental attainment. The weapon now weighed around 800 pounds, a weight even more exaggerated than its size. Yet, Eren could wield it effortlessly. He tightened the grip around the weapon''s handle and let it fall on its target. Eren hammered the artifact onto Har Jahar with exceptional speed. He had also activated Total Control to expedite his actions and generate even more force. The moment it connected with the Har Jahar''s horns that were raised above his head, a distinct mana pulse could be felt. Raise. Grip. Boom. "Aaaaaargh!" Har Jahar watched Erenw''s actions with extreme dismay before feeling the extreme pressure that forced him to touch both his hands to the ground. The ground beneath it would have cracked as a normal limestone tform. Har Jahar wasn''t spared from screaming a yell that told everybody that the Oni King could feel pain. When Eren lifted his weapon with both his hands, the audience found that their king was barely injured. But his back had deformed because of the sustained point of impact. Har Jahar''s regenerative powers were activated once again, allowing him to recover from the blunt force attack. However, he could feel that Eren was just getting started at this point. He was not worried about the Warhammer that gave off Ace rank signatures upon activation. He was worried about the way Eren had chosen to activate the weapon as well as his time-element-driven extreme speed. Eren had overloaded the weapon runes with Ace rank mana as he still had ess to it at the Adept rank. However, he didn''t stop there. He also used Ace mana as a primer to make his Adept rank mana enter the weapon''s runes. The weapon creaked even after its first use. Yet, Eren didn''t care. He was just testing his water elemental affinity anyway. He gripped the weapon once again before hammering it down on the Oni king. Bam. "Aaaaargh, you coward. Free me. Fucking free me. You cannot" Bam. Creak. "Aaaaagh. Fuck. Young man, we can talk about" Bam. Creak. Bam "You fool, do you even know.." Bam. Bam. Bam. "Oh Lord merciful, I pray to you" Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. Eren smirked as he realized this was thest use of the weapon left. He overloaded the weapon with his Adept ranked mana and made the weapon double in size before hammering it down for thest time. Booooom. The Warhammer shattered after its use and released all the water it was holding. The water spread all across the Sacred Hall''s floor before some of it dispersed in the thin air. The audience watched the whole scene with dark expressions on their faces. They were left aghast by the final sacrificer''s boldness to treat their Oni king this way. Even the rebels feared that they couldn''t have done a better job than Eren. Har Jahar''s dark purple blood was mixed in the water around him. The siphoning array''s runes were still active on him. So he couldn''t move much. He had to take this humiliating beating while standing on this spot. If Har Jahar manages to free himself from his shackles, the audience was sure that he''d kill everyone including Eren, rebels, and even the monsters who supported him. Because that would enable him to silence everyone. This was a matter of his reputation back in Echidna. Har Jahar''s body had been deformed oddly. Yet, it was still trying to regenerate the torn skin, muscles, and fibers that were in horrible condition all around his body. Eren had hit Har Jahar from every possible angle using the hammer in different shapes and sizes, leaving him with blunt trauma on every part of his body. "Aaaaaaah! You bastard. Free us. We can''t tolerate our king getting humiliated like this. I challenge you to a duel. If there''s any Orc blood left in you" As a result, the Orc Lord managed to free his mouth from the restrictionsced by runes and began to speak loudly. The first thing he did was to throw a duel challenge at Eren who looked at him disinterestedly. "I''ll deal with you. I''m short on time, you see. Sharog!" "Understood, My Lord." Eren was able to enjoy near-death silence in the Sacred Hall again. There was only a minute left before the siphoning array broke. Yet, he acted like he had all the time in the world. "Now for the finishing blow." Eren said to Har Jahar who was beginning to think that he might just survive the ordeal. Eren didn''t seem to have anything on him that could mortally injure him. He looked at his white-haired enemy before chuckling. "Cough. Cough. Cough. You fucking rat. Don''t worry. I won''t let you die easily when these bounds are loosened. You''d experience the true torture methods of Echidna that would drive you insane. Hehehehe. Hehehehe. Hehehehe. Cough. Cough" Har Jahar spoke while coughing blood. His internal injuries seemed more severe than they looked. Yet he didn''t care. His Oni King body could no longer withstand abuse. Eren wouldn''t have been able to injure him at all if it wasn''t for the siphoning array. "You think I only have toys to y with you, do you?" Eren said in a grim voice to Har Jahar. At that moment, Har Jahar knew that this was thest conversation he was ever going to have with a live person in this life. Eren had pulled out his transcendent Labrys. Chapter 672 Espying: Shapeshifting into Oni Royalty Chapter 672 Espying: Shapeshifting into Oni Royalty Eren had retrieved his transcendent-grade Labrys. This was a fire-element Labrys Eren had received as his reward for winning the Titus tournament. This was the only transcendent-grade weapon he had in his arsenal. The one he needed to take care of Har Jahar for good. Eren channeled his fire-element mana into the weapon and the runes etched over it lit up with crimson golden radiance. Swish. Eren targeted Har Jahar''s neck once again with one side of his weapon. The ax de that was used on Har Jahar managed to easily prate through Har Jahar''s natural mana defense. And almost chopped off his neck. Spill. From Har Jahar''s almost chopped neck, blood gushed everywhere. Eren also felt the monster''s bloodnding on him, which was akin to an acid-like bath for him. Eren''s skin started burning as smoke came from where the blood hadnded on his skin. His Adept level mana defenseyer couldn''t do anything about it. Way of the water. Eren channeled the water element mana and created a levitating pool of water around himself. He then used it to wash before dispersing it in thin air. A trick he had learned from Agatha. Swoosh. Eren used his Labrys on the Oni King once again on the same spot where he had inflicted a fatal injury on. His body was trying its best to rapidly regenerate flesh. At this point, the flesh around his neck was pulsating as if it was trying to mutate. However, Eren''s second attack on the same spot sealed the deal and chopped off Oni King''s head clean. Kick. Eren kicked Oni King''s body after chopping his head off so that the blood wouldn''t spill again. Har Jahar fell t on his back with the blood spilling on the ground this time, creating a stream of purple-red blood. Oni King Har Jahar had died at this point. Eren was staring at him with hateful expressions as he died. He would have cursed Eren verbally before his death. s, he couldn''t speak because Eren had chosen his neck as his target. Eren climbed on Oni King''s corpse and shook his arms. His hands wrinkled as his fingers started growing ck nails. Eren didn''t wait for a moment and used his ability on the Oni King now that his body was defenseless. His arms started turning jelly-like before they ballooned into huge volumes of slime. Now that he was in Adept rank, he found out that he was able to use his bloodline powers more effectively than before. He was in more control of his partial slime form than ever before. Only a few seconds were remaining until the siphoning array wore off. The audience had started talking about various kinds of words. Some of them were panicking. Others had decided that they would take care of this final worshiper that had ruined their festivals. Whereas, the rebels were happy that their tyrant king had finally died. However, most of them were scared of Eren. For some reason, he looked more horrifying than the Oni king himself. Subconsciously, he had be a god in their eyesC a god of death and carnage. Eren didn''t pay any attention to what was happening around him. He already had what he wanted to have in his possession. He had taken possession of that thing just before Oni King''s head flew off. . A dense mass of colorless slime was spread all over Oni King''s lifeless body and smoke started toe out of the slimy substance. Eren frowned as he realized that even after being killed, the Oni King''s body was too potent for him to create a Blood Seed out of. Eren wanted to have an Oni Blood Seed in his collection of course. He had heard much about this monster royalty and wanted the option of being able to shapeshift into one of the Oni races. Eren pursed his lips and endured the pain that wasing from his slimy form. It was difficult to digest Oni King''s body. However, it was not impossible. Sedated Perception x3 Stunning Speed x3 Total Control Eren enhanced his perception as well as elerated his digestion speed with the time-element spells. Since the Oni king had died, his body was like an ingredient that didn''t have sentience. So he used one more time-element spell at his disposal. Age Expedite. Eren only used Age Expedite around Oni King''s heart, leaving the heart away from the spell''s effect. This made it easier for him to lower the body''s acid-like effect. He was making Blood Seed out of his heart blood and he wanted it to be as pure as possible. Amid the chaos that was slowly starting to take ce all around him in slow motion, Eren was in a time bubble of his own. He sessfully extracted Blood Seed from Oni King''s body before turning his arms into normal. He immediately absorbed the Blood Seed and used it to start shapeshifting. "You fucking lunatic. You are dead. You hear" "sphemer! Only our god can forgive you for your transgressions. Let me send you to him." "Although we wanted to kill Har Jahar, the fact that somebody else did it that was not part of any of us is still a matter of deep shame for all of us. Let''s kill this abomination right here and right now. He is the enemy of both of our sides." "Kill him!" "Kill him!" "Kill him!" Eren''s skin started turning red and he began growing horns from his forehead. His stature also started increasing just as the crowd was about to attack him as a whole. He then took out the thing that he had taken away from the Oni King and wore it on his head. An indication of the ruler of this subspace. Eren assumed aplete Oni lord form and started imbuing his mana into the monster artifact he hade to collect. He smiled before canceling all of his time element spells. It was as if somebody had started ying a spectral movie normally after watching it in extremely slow motion. Eren stepped forward to meet the crowd that wasing to confront him head-on before activating the artifact. Echidna''s Authority. Chapter ?673 Espying: The Kingkiller P1 Chapter ?673 Espying: The Kingkiller P1 Echidna''s Authority. Eren activated the effects of the monster artifact and freed his demon beast Argo at the same time. Since he did what he did with Har Jahar''s body while his time-element spells were active, most of the monsters weren''t caught up to what he had done. Roar! A lion''s roar was sounded in the surroundings as the monster''s artifact''s effects washed over the audience all around Eren. Thetter also spread his mana sense while acting his wrath domain in a unique way. Eren now had better control over his elements and his abilities than ever before. He hade to realize that he didn''t need to stab his heart to activate his wrath domain. All he needed to do was keep his hand over his heart and mimic the effects of the heart getting stabbed with his newfound control over the heart muscles. Eren had just kept his hand over his heart to activate the ability. He soon came to realize the ability''s effects had increased with his rank up. Now it didn''t necessarily need the wrath domain. He could use the ability to inject his body with wrath mana even without using the domain. Plus, thanks to his epiphany, he had now found a very peculiar way to use his Sins series ability with his soul sense. The audience that was gearing up to use an array of spells at their disposal to either watch from the sidelines, run away or towards the abomination suddenly felt like they were in a quagmire. The first thing to hit the approaching audience was the effect of the monster artifact. It brought half the number of the audience onto their knees. The other half was selectively spared from experiencing the effects of the artifact. Eren could sense the hostility and other emotions projected towards him, thanks to his soul sense. Therefore, he controlled the artifact''s effects and channeled them only on those who wereing to get him. Then, the effects of Eren''s soul sense aired up when the Sin of Wrath started taking roots in monsters with weak mental fortitude. Instead of hating theirmon enemy, they started hating their kith who were beside them. The chaos that was reaching its peak was immediately killed by a lion''s roar in the end. Only then did the spectators realize that something had been changed about their king''s killer. Eren had stopped looking like his usual self. He now had red skin, two horns, and golden eyes. His stature had increased, close to 9 feet. He had turned into an Oni Lord that looked very different from Har Jahar while still carrying some of his racial traits. As soon as the butcher assumed that form, Kirin''s eyes, which were already fixated on him, shined and the curse mark on the back of her hand radiated a faint lightC a sign that the oath wasplete. Ern knew that he didn''t have to refine his Oni Blood Seed till his B-Rank because the Oni King''s blood held the capacity for him to assume his evolved forms. It was just that his current ranking status couldn''t support those forms yet. The monsters affected by the artifact and Eren''s mana sense controlled the emotions of dread, despair, rage, and wrath in their minds and started to process what just had happened. None of them could believe that there was someone like Eren existing in thend of the faithless. They had thought that only Echidna was full of anomalies. Turns out, the biggest anomaly of them all was existing in the world, which some of them had earlier deemed less worthy than their ancestral world. Eren cranked the effects of the monster artifact as he kept on walking fearlessly in front of hisC his stride slow and his steps confident. His shoulder length white hair waved and cascaded his Oni looking face that still had the features of his other forms. Just like his every other monster shapeshifting, Eren had assured a divergent Oni form. Unlike Har Jahar who was bald, he had white hair on his head. As a result, he carried a certain vibe around him that wasn''t quite monster-like yet even more intimidating. The monsters who had been subjected to the artifact''s effects started falling to their knees once again. Some of them collectively crashed onto the floor, creating patches of fallen monsters in the nk raised to destroy Eren. As he observed its effects, Eren came to realize that the monster artifact was not limited to only D-Rank caliber monsters. It wasn''t exactly a transcendent artifact. Yet, all the monsters no matter their race or evolutionary stage were subjected to the artifact''s suppression. Eren chuckled when he realized that Tumko and his team had lied about the artifact''s restrictions along with other facts about it. They couldn''t be med. Had it known that the artifact was capable of affecting every monster, it would have provoked Edinburgh to take extreme measures. Like, mobilizing their Grandmasters and Sages into action. Something they were wise enough to prevent from happening in the past timeline. Roar. Argo roared once again. This time it was for Eren. As the audience quieted down, the roar sounded even more distinctly in the sacred hall. Eren stopped in his tracks and looked at Argo once again. "No, you can''t eat the Oni King''s body, you fat cat. I might have some use for it. However, you''d soon have something else to eat. Just hold on for a few." Eren addressed Argo''s query with stress lines on his forehead. He pressed his temples and felt his horns with his hands before thinking about something. ''Alephee., can you cast your spell on Oni King''s corpse?'' ''Sure.'' Alephee said and started casting her spell. This time the first spell she had cast was different from her sealing spell. The Oni King''s headless corpse assumed its previous position before the head was chopped off. The dark purple blood that had spread everywhere was summoned back into its body in the same way it hade out of. The spell ignored the blood that was too diluted, lost, or changed and focused only on the blood that hadn''t lost its blood energy. The Oni King''s chopped head flew back on his corpse and reattached itself with a distinct bone sound. The wounds on the Oni King''s body somewhat started looking as if they were mended as well. ''Let''s leave an arm for Argo.'' Eren said and chopped off the corpse''s left arm. He could feel that his beast''s hunger was at its peak. Normally, the tamed demon beasts would progress along with their masters because of their connection. Especially when their elemental attainments werepatible. But the beast''s breakthrough would arrive step by step, within a span of a few weeks. However, Eren knew that the demon beasts he had as his partners were special existences. Reen was in a league of her own. Even Argo had his devour ability. Their connection had allowed Argo to expedite his elemental attainment as well. And right now, he was hungry and in an urgent need to devour a lot of food. Argo''s was trying to break into D-Rank rank as well. Chapter 674 Espying: The Kingkiller P2 Chapter 674 Espying: The Kingkiller P2 The audience started fearing that Oni King was about toe back to life after watching what Eren was doing with his corpse. An irrational fear that only affected their minds for a second before logic took control of their faculties once again. They observed that although Oni King''s body had been somewhat restored to its original form, it was still a corpse. Alephee then cast her sealing spell on the monster''s corpse, making it seem like it had been frozen with ayer of ice on it. ''You can now store the body. I I''ll take a short nap if you don''t mind.'' ''Sweet dreams.'' Eren smiled and replied. He then used his wind de tornado spell to bring over to him the frozen-in-time corpse of the Oni King before taking it into his storage. He left the chopped arm of the Oni King on the floor. Alephee had sealed it with her sealing spell, so there was no blood leak. A suitable snack for his demon beast who was about to advance to the next rank. If he could digest something like this arm, that is. "Kneel." Eren said calmly to everyone in the audience who had not been affected by the artifact or his soul sense. The ones who were hostile and the ones who were neutral were already controlled by him using the artifact. The ones who had not shown any hostility were the only ones he had left behind. Most of the ones still standing were rebels. Others were just tired of sacrificing their lives for someone they could only refer to as their god. The silence gripped the sacred hall once again. The butcher had his hands behind his back as he started pacing around. This sacred hall had be his stage to showcase what he could do to his potential army. "First Ror, is it? What is your stance on the whole matter now that everything has happened in front of you?" Eren asked Ror, who had kneeled after Eren had demanded it from everybody. He was spared from the artifact''s effects by the butcher because there was not even a shred of hostility he could detect from the Ogre. Ror looked up and stared keenly at Eren before answering in a serious voice. "What is there to think about? I''m already oath-bound to serve you since your intervention has saved my son. My life is yours, my king. I just want my son to live through this ordeal. I ask nothing else." Eren nodded at Ror after he said that. epting him as his subordinate was easy because he had already seen him taking the oath. That''s why he had figured out that Ror wasn''t hostile towards him. The only feeling he felt from him was that of unquestionable loyalty. "Hm. Kaalmaahen doesn''t look hostile either so there''s no need for me to do anything with him. There shall be no sacrifice to any god that is not even here." Eren said to Ror and all the others before shing a simple smile. His Oni form however gave it an added evil touch. "King? Savior? God? Those are just titles you could give to anybody. I will be your everything from now on. Those who are against this will be dealt with very soon." The butcher warned before moving his gaze towards Kirin. "Har Jahar''s daughter, Kirin. I also don''t sense any hostility from you. It would be stupid of me to ask why since I know your father cursed you to follow his conditions. Even though I fulfill those conditions, the fact remains that I killed your father. Are you sure you want to be someone like me?" Eren asked thoughtfully. To make his subordinates believe what he had to say, Har Jahar cursed his daughter based on a few conditions. The final worshiper who sessfully gets converted into an Oni. Eren had fulfilled the condition when he morphed into an Oni Lord. "Lord husband, even without the curse, I believe I have to follow Oni traditions." Eren liked Kirin''s temperament. She was a fierce girl who put forward her opinions clearly. Yet, he could sense that there was a bit of yfulness within her. Although Eren was taken aback a bit by her way of addressing him, he made peace with it just as quickly. He was called many things by many people. The word husband was the least of his concerns on that list. By this point, Eren had stopped seeing monsters with humans'' way of seeing things. These monsters were from a different world. They had their own traditions. Their separate values. That''s why he wasn''t surprised that Kirin would still choose to be with him even after he had be her father''s killer. He could indeed sense some bitterness in Kirin that was directed at him. However, that bitterness didn''t prevent her from following her Oni traditions. The moment he had shapeshifted into an Oni, he had be her husband. There was no other ritual that needed to be followed. Eren suspected Har Jahar''s attitude as a father also had some hand to y in it. He wasn''t Ror who would do anything for his child. He was a king who happened to have a child he didn''t want. Kirin was a ruthless and determined existence as an Oni too. It was in her blood to see things with an eagle-eye view. Her instincts as a monster also told her that going with Eren was a wise choice. So that''s what she chose for herself. "Kirin, I ept your allegiance. Stand up." Eren walked up to Kirin and offered her his hand. Thetter weed his venture and gripped it with both hands before standing up. "Kaalmaahen, you can rise too." Eren said simply, allowing thetter to get up. He then looked at his father who smiled back at him. Least to say the father-son had lots to talk about. However, they reserved that forter after their newly crowned king finished doing what he was about to do. Kirin, Ror, and Kaalmaahen stood at a distance from Eren and he addressed the crowd once again. "You lot, I am not telling you to change your traditionspletely. However, they would have to be modified as per my will. Those who disagree, I challenge them toe forward." Chapter ?675 Espying: Heavy-handed Approach Chapter ?675 Espying: Heavy-handed Approach "Those who disagree, I challenge them toe forward." A p was heard when Eren pitted his palms against each other after he threw hismand into the crowd. The monsters were free to discuss at this point. There were no restrictions ced upon them. Yet, they knew approaching Eren and confronting him had be even more difficult now that Ror was on his side. He was an Ogre Overlord who was a step away from bing an Ogre King. No other monster was at his level in the audience from any faction. However, in monster traditions, someone proposing mortalbat was considered sacred. There wouldn''t be external support involved in such battles when the challenger himself had thrown a challenge. At least that''s what the audience thought after hearing Eren''s words. The Orc Lord that had previously spoken up against Eren stood up after hearing Eren''s supposed mortalbat challenge and came forward with a confident stride. It looked like he wasn''t afraid to show that he didn''t care about Eren or his show of power. "You I don''t even know what to call you. Is Varhan even your real name?" Eren looked at the Orc Lord without saying a word. He could tell that this Orc Lord was from a different Orc tribe. The Orc Lord smiled after he observed Eren''s silence and continued. "It is a deep shame for us Orcs that you entered this ce by being one of us. Even if you control the crown, I refuse to believe that you are one of the children of Echidna. You will be purged from existence by Kon in this mortalbat. This way, I will wash away the blemish that all our Orc tribes have to bear for nurturing someone like you amidst our mist." Eren had to say the guy had articted his thoughts well. However, there was a bit of consistency in his logic. If he refused to believe that Eren was not one of them, why would he believe that the butcher would follow monster tradition? That we would settle the conflict with traditional mortalbat? Eren wasn''t interested in correcting the Orc Lord. His cat-bird was hungry. He needed a plentiful diet of monsters to evolve. But before he could say or do anything he heard Ror''s voice from behind him. "My king, please allow me to speak." Eren raised his eyebrows and looked back to see Ror bowing his head in his direction. He shrugged his shoulders beforementing. "Make it quick." "Understood," Ror said and came forward from Eren''s side. He looked at the audience with serious expressions beforementing. "The children of Echidna need to understand that we are not savages. We have rules and traditions. My king has only asked that they be modified to suit his needs. Not outright discard them." Ror started speaking. Eren could feel with his soul sense that a lot of monsters who werepletely supporting Har Jahar had started having doubts in their psyches when they heard Ror''s words. The Ogre Overlord hadn''t be the king''s right hand for the show. He understood the monster mentality and how to influence it in the direction of his king''s will. The Ogre Overlord looked at Eren and the crown on his head before adding further. "What''s more? I''d like to remind everyone about the peculiarity of Echidna''s Authority. It can only be used by Echidna''s Oni royalty. The fact that my king can use the crown is proof enough that he is not only one of us but also someone qualified to rule over us. This is as per Echidna''s tradition, right?" Ror looked at the audience with a smirk on his face after he said that. Whispering sounds ensued in the sacred hall that collectively sounded like chaos. Yet, Ror and Eren knew exactly what they were talking about. Eren was shocked by the fact that Echidna''s Authority was bound to only the Oni race. He was also shocked that Ror could use this fact in a way that would instantly put him on a higher pedestal than the rest. Eren looked at Ror in apletely different light after he managed to bring down the opposition the neutral parties had in their minds to an absolute low. He can always rule over the monsters with Echidna''s Authority. But it wouldn''t be the same as them willingly and wholeheartedly serving him. What Ror had done now was a step in that direction. Kon the Orc Lord was left speechless when Ror was done speaking. He readjusted his stance and said out loud. "Even if that is the case, the fact remains that the former king obtained his position by deceit and trickery. That is not in line with Echidna''s values. I ept the challenge of mortalbat by the new king" Kon was about toplete his statement when he was interrupted by the butcher''s words. "Wait a minute. Who said that it was mortalbat? I don''t care about those mortalbats or why you need to do them. I only asked the opposition toe forward because Argo is hungry. And as the caring and benevolent king that I am, I can''t just kill anybody here, can I? Ror, kill this guy and feed it to my demon beast over there." Eren said and took out his Sativa Stick. He lit it up and watched Ror look at him with tense expressions. The ogre had just shifted public opinion of Eren in his favor. The kingkiller was doing something that would nullify all his efforts. . Argo roared when he heard Eren''s words. His mouth started drooling and he looked ready to pounce on Kon even when he was supposed to be weaker than an Orc Lord. one had to say that Argo''s confidence in himself was on another level. Not even his master could match up with his level of confidence. "My king" "Do it." Ror was trying to persuade Eren into taking back his decision. But thetter shut him off before he could do so. The Orge Overlord could only sigh at that point and oblige. Kon took some time to realize that Eren hadn''t thrown a mortalbat challenge as per the monster traditions. They were still looking at Eren from their point of view because that''s the only one they had. In the next moment, Kon''s heart was pierced by the Ogre Overlord''s bare hands. The Orc Lord didn''t even have a chance to register his dissatisfaction. When the Ogre Overlord''s mana invaded his body and shut down his organs, he died while still standing. Ror then threw the Orc Lord''s body in Argo''s direction, which Argo caught with both his front legs in a pouncing manner. He held the corpse by cing one of its legs over it before activating his devour ability. The Orc Lord''s body started disintegrating in the small typhoon of mana and essence Argo had created in front of his open mouth. Unlike Eren''s slime half-blood powers, Argo''s devour ability first disintegrates his target before allowing him to devour only their purest of mana and life essences. "Who''s next?" Eren asked while releasing a dense cloud of smoke from his mouth. Chapter ?676 Espying: Myriad Shapeshifting Chapter ?676 Espying: Myriad Shapeshifting "My king you you can''t do this to us. I voiced no opposition. I did nothing" A recently evolved Gnoll Overlord pleaded with his new king to spare his life. However, thetter stood at the same ce and looked at him impartially beforementing. Eren had killed almost a dozen Monster Lords and slew almost triple that number of Monster Leaders at this point. He then zeroed in on this Overlord from the Gnoll race. He had fed them all to his demon beast Argo who was closer to breaking into D-Rank by now thanks to his essence-rich diet. Argo beast faced no bottlenecks, thanks to Eren''s rank and his connection with him. Now he needed a final push toplete his breakthrough. "You said nothing. But you were thinking about it. Your thoughts are loud enough for me to take action. I don''t want someone who''d backstab me at crucial times." Eren said while narrowing his golden eyes on the Gnoll Overlord. He had used Echidna''s authority on the monster, making it easier for the Ogre Overlord to take care of him. The Ogre Overlord was one of the three Monster Overlords the Oni dungeon had. Ror was the most senior among them all with his status as someone who could be called a quasi Ogre King. There was a Goblin Overlord who had been in a neutral faction not too long ago. But he had changed his mind and came to Eren''s camp right away after seeing his new king''s way of handling things. The monsters'' new king was even more of a tyrant than Har Jahar was. At least the former king cared about Echidna''s traditions and rules. All of the people in the subspace were supposed to benefit from his methods of killing monsters. However, Eren didn''t care about any of those. Ror could only oblige at this point. Just when he was about to execute the Gnoll Overlord, thetter spoke up. "My king, I I was wrong. I was indeed thinking about backstabbing you. But I now realize my mistake and am ready to be curse-bound by you or anyone else of your choice. You shall have no opposition from me." Gnoll Overlord Deiz said as he was lifted from his neck by Ror. the ogre looked at his king, ready to receive orders from him. Eren pursed his lips beforementing. "I am a reasonable man, Deiz. This is the solution I was expecting from the guys I had killed earlier. I am not naive enough to think that you''d immediately be loyal to me after I have assumed Har Jahar''s position. It''s fine if you think I am not the king you wanted. It''s fine if you don''t see me as one of your own. And it''s okay if you feel those feelings while doing exactly what I tell you to do. Your actions need to be more loyal to me than your thoughts. And if you think of backstabbing me, I can only deal with you with a heavy-handed approach." Eren spoke calmly to his audience while imbuing his voice with mana. If possible, he didn''t want to kill the Gnoll Overlord either. He was an asset that could be used in various ways. The only reason Eren ordered Ror to take care of him was that he had sensed that Deiz was nning tounch another rebellion against him. He was no Har Jahar who would tolerate a rebellion just because they hadn''t taken any action when he was king. That was exactly the reason for the former Monster King''s downfall. Eren canceled Gnoll Overlord''s execution and asked Ror. He then asked Ror to curse-bind himself with Deiz, ensuring his loyalty to Eren by proxy. Roar! Argo roared at his master when his food was taken away from him. Eren threw Har Jahar''s hand in front of him before telling him. "Eat this. This should be enough to make you achieve a breakthrough." Argo was overjoyed when he finally got to eat the delicacy he had been eyeing for so long. He changed into his eagle form within a fraction of a second before catching the hand that was thrown over his head. Argo used his devour ability on the Oni King''s hand. And in a few moments, the mana cloud of D-Rank gathered around him. The Monster King''s body part was a potent ingredient. Only devouring a bit of it was enough for Argo to break into his D-Rank. Kiyeh! An eagle cry was heard as Argo grew in size and his mana signature changed into that of a D-Rank beast. He also generated psychic waves that could suppress those weaker than him, which was rted to demon beast rank-ups. "Master! Me the greatest!" Eren heard a voiceing from his demon beast. He was confused at first. It took him a while to realize that Argo''s breakthrough had now granted him the ability to talk like humans. Despite speaking in broken form, he was speaking to him in humannguage. Eren raised his eyebrows before feeling stressed. This demon beast was way too bold and cocky to say something humbling. His first words when he started speaking were that he was the greatest. "I back." Argo said awkwardly to Eren before using his wings to fly away from the sacred hall and into the skies of Oni Dungeon. His voice sounded like the voice of a teenage boy who was only beginning to learn it. Eren didn''t even have a chance to reply to him. Argo had only devoured a bit of Oni King''s arm. He was already full from whatever little he had devoured. So Eren took the rest of the arm back into his storage. He was nning to make a chewing toy out of the Oni King''s hand to satiate his demon beast''s excess cravings. By this point, the rebellion had died. Those who Eren deemed suspicious were forced to be curse-bound. There was no neutral side to be found. All the monsters had only been given three options. A- be with him wholeheartedly. Get cursed and stay by his side. And finally, CC Die and be Argo''s food. . Eren could sense with his soul that the monster poption was under his total control. There were indeed some doubts and worries in the monsters'' minds. But they could be dealt with over time. Eren thought of something when he sensed the monsters'' state of mind. "Now that everything is settled down, let me put up a final show. Something that''ll knock your socks off so to speak." Eren said and morphed into a Goblin Lord in front of his audience. The spectators looked with their mouths wide open as they realized the final worshiper was more than meets their eyes. Erenughed when he saw the monsters'' reaction and absolute silence. He didn''t just stop there. He shapeshifted into an Ogre Lord next. Then Gnoll Lord. Cyclops Lord. Eren returned to his normal ck-haired human state after taking all the monster forms he had saved from the separate space of the Titus tournament. He broke the eerie silence with his next words. Chapter ?677 Espying: Transgressor Chapter ?677 Espying: Transgressor Eren returned to his normal ck-haired human state after taking all the monster forms he had saved from the separate space of the Titus tournament. He broke the eerie silence with his next words. "As you can see, I''m more than any of you can hope to be. The child of Echidna? Human? Half-blood? Abomination? I am all of those and then some more." As Eren drew hisst drag from the Sativa stick, he said. As he released it slowly from his lungs while looking up, he continued. "Starting from today, nobody would die for any other god. You won''t have to die for me either. At least not like this. Not without rhyme or reason. Such a waste of resources. Instead, you''d serve me with your life. Insubordination will not be tolerated. It can only end in death or worse. However, serve me well and you''d be rewarded. My brand of evil would bring doom to my enemies. But it won''t have to bring chaos to those who are on my side." Eren said and looked at his audience who had been listening intently. His soul sense had started affecting them, making their psyches subconsciously attuned to his vision. Eren then looked at Ror before continuing. "If you want to findfort in seeing someone you know as the child of Echidna be your superior, so be it. Ror, you''d manage the Oni dungeon from now on. You''d only be below me and above the rest of the Echidnae. Squash the rebellion mercilessly. And reward those who you see fit. Follow my orders to a T if and when I call upon you and the Oni dungeon''s army. As simple as that? Understood?" Eren asked Ror casually. Ror was someone he could trust because of his oath to the will of Anfang. He couldn''t stay in the Oni dungeon anyway. And he couldn''t ce so many monsters in Monster Canyon all at once without raising suspicions. He had already been nning to leave the Oni dungeon in someone''s care if he manages to take over the ruler position. Otherwise, he''d just steal Echidna''s Authority from Har Jahar using another n. Eren wasn''t counting on Ror defecting to his side. That was a pleasant surprise for him. It became the reason why he proceeded to kill Har Jahar instead of escaping with the monster artifact. "Yes, my king. I shall serve you with all my heart." Ror looked at Eren with a look of admiration in his eyes. At this point, the rest of the audience had started considering Eren as their king and Ror as his minister in charge. Ror took a long breath before asking. "My king, please tell us your name so that we can carve it in our memories and never forget about it." The audience started whispering once again. It seemed like everybody hade to realize that the name Varhan was fake. It was only logical that they knew about their king. "My name?" Eren smiled when he heard Ror''s request. He then looked at the azure me that was burning inside therge bowl kept on the altar''s tform. He narrowed his eyes before chuckling. "Hang on a second." Eren said and started walking towards the altar. He walked a few steps before freezing and looking at the unattended war drums in the distance. "War drums." He said without looking at anyone. In the next moment, the monsters who had been assigned to the instruments took their respective ces and started ying them just like before Har Jahar''s death. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! A mystic tune started getting yed on the war drums. Eren felt the slumbering sacrificial energy on his body being stirred once again. He looked at Kaalmahen and found out that he was experiencing the same thing. ''You up from your short nap?'' Alephee could use more of her powers after Eren''s breakthrough. The spell she cast for Har Jahar''s corpse was proof of that. She could also recover from her forced slumber faster, thanks to his mana core now having ess to Adept mana. ''Hm? Are are you done settling the rebellion already? Did you kill everybody?'' Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! ''Hm? Do I look like a murdering maniac to you?'' Eren said seriously, forcing Alephee to chuckle and finally snap out of her slumber. She asked him as he resumed his walk towards the sacred altar. ''Alright. What do you need?'' Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Alephee asked Eren before casting her soul sense all around him. She immediately came to know what he was asking of her. ''Sealing a divine me of that caliber will take some time.'' Alephee pondered before adding further. ''We can, however, use sacrificial energy, which has umted within any Kaalmahen''s body, in my spell, as a means of sealing it. Sacrificing energy is of no use to you at this point anyway. So I don''t think you''d mind.'' Alephee finished her exnation and Eren agreed immediately. ''Do it,'' he said simply. In the next moment, Alephee cast her spell and extracted the sacrificial energy umted on Eren and Kaalmahen. The azure me started burning brightly when Eren reached the tform. However, in the next moment, Alephee''s spell started working on it. The sacrificial energy that was floating in the form of a white cloud was used to surround the me before sealing it in the time-element spell. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Crack! A crack ran through the altar, splitting it in two vertically. The stony, rune-inscribed limestone ground of the sacred hall cracked as well when the me was sealed in Alephee''s time-element spell, freezing it as if it was covered in ayer of ice. The spatial fabric that was above the azure me was active this whole time. It rippled like someone sprinkling drops of water on a sereneke''s surface before. But at this point, the ripples intensified and distinct energy was felt from the spatial fabric. ''Am I safe?'' . Eren asked Alephee while narrowing his eyes on the spatial fabric that was getting increasingly restless. Thetter chuckled before answering. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! ''Hehe. Yes. Completely safe. All the other side can do is scare you into unfreezing the divine me.'' Eren smiled as he folded his hands behind his back and watched the spatial fabric create a typhoon in the middle of it. He couldn''t see anything since it was dark from the other side of the spatial fabric. All the runes inscribed on the pirs and the ground lit up as there was a heavy presence in the sacred hall. In the next moment, a voice was heard from the other side. "Who whooo is this transgressor?" Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! The voice seemed stressed, as the presence was not summoned by offerings of sacrificial energy. Eren narrowed down his eyes and smirked before opening his mouth to speak. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! "I" Chapter 678 Rewarding Sharog* Chapter 678 Rewarding Sharog* The river of time. The glimpses it shows to some of its chosen travelers get blurred in their memories as mirages. The anomalies don''tst long. Sooner orter, the clock resets and everything returns to normal. Only time can tell what it has in store for its travelers. *** The Oni festival was about to start in a few days. Sharog''s private chamber. Durbag tribe. 6 PM. "My lord, you are back." Sharog greeted Eren by hugging him firmly. Thetter smiles and hugs her back before proceeding to caress her cape-covered back. "How is everything?" Eren pulled away from Sharog and smiled. He looked around and found the ce to be just as it was thest time he had visited it. He walked towards Sharog''sfy bed andid peacefully on his back. The fresh air was making its rounds into the chamber, thanks to therge windows of the chamber. The setting sun had painted the sky golden orange, making the chamber well lit yet not too warm on the eyes. Eren could smell the meat roast that was getting cooked somewhere in the distance. However, he was hungry for something other than food this time, Eren found the bed to be very plushy and easy to rx into. Sharog had paid special attention to her master''s preferences, changing the bed to something better than thest time. Eren positioned himselffortably on the bed and turned to his side. He then used his folded arm as a resting ce for his arm before patting the space on the bed beside him, indicating Sharog to be there. Sharog was happy to oblige. Sheid beside her master in the same way he had before speaking up. "My lord, since Durbag is the one who created the array I told you about, he is considered as one of the leads of the rebel faction. He is nning to use the siphoning array to trap the king before killing him with the help of someone named Deiz. Deiz is what humans would call a Monster Overlord. Killing the king won''t be easy even for someone like Deiz. However, the rebel faction is counting on the siphoning array to do its job." Eren nodded his head as he ced his free hand on Sharog''s curvy waist. His soft touch created waves of pleasure in the Orc Lord''s seductive body. She proceeded to tell him everything about the rebel faction''s n to overthrow Har Jahar. Sharog gave detailed reports of the Oni festival that was going to be held in the Oni dungeon as Eren''s hand started exploring her body. She controlled her urges and did what she was asked to do, making Eren appreciate her even more. "Hm. You and the twins have worked hard. It seems a reward is due. Hehe. Come here." Eren said and pulled Sharog on top of him effortlessly. Thetter was already excited to be with her lord. She quickly started destroying his tribal clothes using her sand-element spell. She sat on his groin with her legs stretched to either side while she did that. Eren raised his eyebrows as he witnessed Sharog''s aggression. However, he didn''t prevent her from destroying the clothes. He had a lot of orcish tribal clothes and armors he had kept in his storage, which were given to him by Baran under his orders. *** Eren had entered the Oni dungeon''s subspace not too long ago. He immediately located the Durbag tribe without any hassle andpleted his mission officially. Eren had chosen the mission to collect the bodies of the Sun Seeker Falcon. It was a bird-type mana beast with an affinity for fire. Subspace and Bands were both home to the beast. It was amon mana beast of E-Rank with a wingspan of about one and a half meters. Spotting the beast was amon sight. However, the beast would only stop flying at midnight and would start flying before dawn, making it difficult to hunt. Eren tasked his newfound tribe to hunt plenty of Sun Seeker falcons while he had his good times with his treasures. He then used the amount of mana beast "he" had hunted to exin his absence. The closer it approached judgment day, the more paranoid the entire rebel faction had be. Eren didn''t want the spotlight on himself by entering the tribe sote with nothing to show for it. Durbag''s altered identity Borul would have seen him as an anomaly otherwise. Eren and Sharog talked intermittently with each other as they enjoyed each other''spany. As a result, he told Orc Lord about the n he hade up with to take over the rebel faction''s existing setup. Eren just needed to activate the siphoning array before its intended activation using Sharog''s help and that''d be it. Sharog was the second most knowledgeable person on the subject of arrays after Durbag. Durbag had insisted that since he had received exquisite rity rted to arrays and more and that the array creation was going to be his responsibility, he wouldn''t have someone else outside his team he couldn''t count on to take control of the array. The rest of the members of the rebel faction didn''t have anything against Durbag''s demands. So they agreed to it immediately. Durbag didn''t want to draw Har Jahar''s attention to him, who already knew about the presence of the rebel faction. Therefore, giving themand over the array to Sharog was the most logical option Durbag could think of. The controller of the array needed to stay inside the array eye all the time. Sharog was just an Orc Lord in this subspace. Har Jahar wouldn''t pay attention to or be suspicious of an unassuming Orc Lord like her. Durbag''s n was wless. His array was exquisite. The rebel faction''s teamwork wasmendable as well. . The only mistake they made was trusting Sharog too much. *** The discussion about the n Eren had hatched wasplete. He and Sharog had both decided on finer details before stopping to talk about the Oni festival altogether. The work hours were over for the Eren squeezed Sharog''s mushy buns with both his hands as she kissed him passionately on his lips. Their clothes were nowhere to be found by now. Eren inserted his tongue into Sharog''s mouth which she hungrily sucked on. She had started to grind her wet pussy on his erect member by now. So he stopped kneading the Orc Lord''s derriere and touched Sharog''s wet crack from behind. "Aaaah!" Sharog moaned softly near Eren''s ear as she was close to his face. She then reached for Eren''s cock with her hand and guided it into her slippery cave just as quickly. Sharog moaned further near his ears as she felt Eren''s rod parting her pussy walls anew. She knew it was going to be a night full of passion when she heard Eren''s next words. "Sharog, ask the twins toe here while we are at it. Let me reward them as well." Chapter ?679 Lasha and Luna* Chapter ?679 Lasha and Luna* ''Lady Sharog, we have arrived.'' Two Orcinans waited in front of an opaque energy barrier as one of them reported their status to their superior Sharog. The barrier was securing a corridor that led to Sharog''s private chamber. ''Come aaaahe in.'' The orcina that had contacted Sharog smiled when she heard her voice through her voicemunication. The fact that their superior was speaking in a not-so-normal manner could only mean one thing. Their lord had decided to bless them with his presence. The barrier was dispersed in the next moment, allowing the twin Orcinas to enter. And it was raised again when they got in. The first thing the twin Orcinas saw was that Sharog was in apromising position. They bowed their heads before speaking in unison. "My Lord." Tap! Tap! Tap! Eren was standing near the bed while Sharog was sleeping at the edge of the bed with her legs spread apart. He had pinned Sharog on the bedC her arms above her head with his one hand. He had used his other hand to support her stretched leg up in the air as he plowed her vigorously. The two pillows he had kept under her hips had given him a better angle to pleasure the Orc Lord. Not that the angle mattered to him much as he could use his half-blood powers to adjust to any situation. Eren decreased his strokes inside Sharog when he heard the two Orcinas speak and looked back. They were the same twins who had healed him once after his injury inflicted by Durbag acting as Borul. Lasha and Luna. Eren smiled and observed them keenly while he continued driving his dick deep into Sharog. He observed that they wore the same gold-like jewelry he had them wearing previously. Both the girls looked simr in their features with slight changes in their overall appearances. Except for their light green skin, Lasha and Luna were just like human girls in their early 20s. Luna had shoulder-length mint green hair and eyes the color of unripened lime. Her resin-colored lips were soft and luscious. Her big golden earrings attracted the most attention after her cute face. Luna had arge bust and arge derriere for her size. Her orc lineage had also gifted her subtle muscle definitions that barely made themselves known. She had also prepared herself for the meeting with their Lord after a considerable amount of time, just like her sister. Lasha was a bit taller than Luna, measuring 5.9ft in height. She had ck hair that cascaded down her pretty face and fell on her sizable jugs. Her ears appeared more elf-like than her sister''s. However, she didn''t wear any eye-catching earrings like her sister, enabling one to focus on her other pretty features. Lasha had defined abs that were visible because of her attire. Just like her sister, she had worn a neat blouse and skirt, which had left her tummy exposed. One had to find the simrities in their facial features to know that they were twins. Otherwise, their individualities were prominent enough for anyone not to get confused between them. "Wee, my treasures. Would you mind joining the fun? Let me treasure you to my heart''s content. Hehe." Eren spoke wless Orcish. He hade to learn bits and pieces about the Orc culture from Baran and his tribe. It was time he put that knowledge to use. She gazed at Eren with awe before speaking in an emotional tone. "My Lord Eren did you learn ournguage and our culture for us?" Lasha was mesmerized by Eren''s way of greeting them as well. She too was looking at Eren with metaphorical stars in her eyes. Eren was speechless for a while before nodding in a serious tone. "Hmm. It is only natural that I learn a bit of culture for my treasures. Nowe." Eren thought of going with the flow and decided not to correct a pleasant misunderstanding. The butcher''s way of handling things had added a bit of romance to their session. Even Sharog was impressed as she listened to Eren''s statements while enjoying the carnal pleasure. She stretched her legs some more and freed her hands from Eren''s vice-like grip on both of them. She took his hands in hers before guiding them on one of her bouncing jugs. Luna and Lasha stood on either side of Eren. They could see their superior was writhing on the bed under the effects of ecstasy while being fucked at a steady pace by their lord. They could smell the earthen aroma that was lingering in the air even more prominently than before as they approached the couple indulging in fornication. Sharog, Luna, and Lasha didn''t mind finding themselves in the same room with their lord in this situation. Every Orc chieftain had the right to have 25 Orcina treasures. And in their minds, Eren was already much more than just a chieftain. He was bound to be the king of all Echidnae in the Oni dungeon after all. Eren weed both the girls in each of his arms and semi-hugged them. The twins wrapped their hands around Eren as well, surrendering their nightly fates in the hands of their lord. Eren grabbed Lasha''s buns and squeezed them while turning his head toward Luna. He nted a soft peck on her luscious lips. Both the girls moaned a bit as they felt Eren''s touch sending pleasure waves through their bodies. Eren increased his pace to fuck Sharog as he continued to explore the twins'' bodies. He could feel that Sharog was close to her orgasm. So he decided to push her over the edge and add extra spice to his activity. Hatchlings of the me. Stunning Speed Total Control. Eren cast his spells one by one and let them do their job. Three small fire snakes appeared on the bed at that timeC each was tasked with pleasure an Orcina. These hatchlings stretched their forked tongues and voiced their snake voices before getting on with their job site. With stunning speed and total control, Eren had better control of his strokes than before. He had only used the mild variants of the spells. Thus, Sharog was gradually driven to a higher realm of lust and euphoria while Eren was busy with the twins. Little by little, the two Orcinas'' clothes were burned and disappeared in thin air as they felt the hatchling of the me climb their bodies. Eren soon got two Orcinas ready for action by making them wear their birthday suitsC their gold-like pieces of jewelry still on them. At this time, the twins looked like treasures by any definition of the word. Chapter 680 Less is More* Chapter 680 Less is More* Sharog was in bliss. The carnal waves of pleasure kept on washing over her as her body was pushed by Eren''s deep strokes. Then all of a sudden, her master decided to increase his pace. He stretched her pussy walls with the shift of his pace as well as altering the size of his rod. Sharog wasn''t an Orc Lord for nothing. She clenched his hot member inside her with her vaginal muscles and tried to hold it inside. Her way of keeping up with Eren''s pace. However, the more she clenched, the more aggressive Eren became. Her pleasure receptors were soon overloaded as her eyes rolled behind her eyelids. "Aaaaaah lord Eren I I am oof!" Soon, a gush of pleasure nectar was released from Sharog''s wet hole, drenching Eren''s cock, balls, and thighs in it. Yet, he continued to plow unfazed by what had happened to what he was plowing. Eren couldn''t be med. He was too busy with the twins by his side. He pressed Lasha''s jugs and twisted her nipples with his fingers while kissing Luna''s neck. Her shoulder length was getting in the way before. Realizing this, Luna had tied her hair with the help of her golden hairpin, allowing him seamless ess to one of her sensitive spots. Sharog''s pussy had gotten sensitive after her third release in a row. Her desire to have Eren''spany and his sole attention on herself had made her selfish. That''s why she only informed the twins after she hade for the second time. However, she thought that maybe she should have used the twins to share the burden with. Because Eren seemed like he had been with a lot of Orcinas at once before this. This session didn''t seem like his first adventure with multiple partners. And yet, Sharog didn''t ask for any break. She watched her Lord pleasure all three of them with equal enthusiasm and doesn''t want to be left out. "Hehe. Take this. Mytest invention. Hehe. This potion shall be the savior for all of us." Eren had indeed kept tabs on Sharog. He had gotten a bit rough with her in the previous two sessions because that''s what she wanted. However, he could understand her predicament. Therefore, he offered her histest creation Pleasure Paradise. It was thetest creation Eren had crafted after studying the potion recipes of various kinds, including the recipes found in the book he had received from Purgatory. Pleasure Paradise was a simple potion that would boost the libido and drive of those who consumed it, irrespective of their gender. Eren had already tried this potion with his other Orcina treasures as well as on himself, sessfully testing the potion''s authenticity. The Pleasure Paradise was going to be another White Raven sess story. He had already shared the recipe with his potion manufacturing team. This team was busy creating its stock before releasing it in multiple ces at once. A simple marketing strategy to generate hype in the market. Eren could always use Mist of Lust on his already branded women, making them experience the ultimate form of sexual pleasure. However, he had decided not to make his subordinates feel crazy by experiencing that sexual high over and over again. It could be detrimental to their mental health and their growth. Plus, he could test his newfound types of potions on them. Of course, humans and monsters had slightly different constitutions than each other. So the potion''s effects were not that potent on monster girls. Yet, the effects they did generate gave Eren the confidence tounch the potion in the new market of the City of New Beginnings. Eren hadn''t stopped on Pleasure Paradise. The White Raven had various ranges of products lined up forunch and mass release. Even in his absence, his projects were taking shape. The Pleasure Paradise vials he had with him were just one of the early batches he had made himself before streamlining their process for mass manufacture. Sharog consumed the potion right away after Eren offered it to her. In the next moment, her body felt re-energized and her vaginal oversensitivity faded away, being reced by waves of pleasure once again. "Get on your fours, Sharog." Eren said to the Orc Lord before moving a bit away from the bed. The potion Shargo had consumed had not only given her increased libido, but it had also gotten rid of any fatigue she might have had, rejuvenating her. She quickly assumed the position her Lord wanted, stretching her ass out for easy ess to her holes. The fire snake that was on her thighs immediately climbed up and started licking Sharog''s clitoris with its forked tongue. It also generated a pleasant warm sensation where his mouth and body were, making Sharog moan some more. "Aaaaaah... Lord Eren you more!" Sharog moaned while keeping her head pressed against another pair of pillows. Her voice sounded distant because of how she had hidden her face. Sharog was busy being pleasured by Eren''s fire snake spell which shared a mental connection with him. The control he had over the summoned spell beasts had increased to another level, thanks to the passive effect he received from having a summoner ss. Eren now understood that the quality of the summoned beasts was more critical than the quantity. His experiences in various fields had made him wiser. Three snakes were more than enough to please threedies. Plus, he could always count on himself to act as a spoiler whenever he pleased. Sometimes, less is more. He had also used the same philosophy with his dick sizeC adjusting it to the pink petal box it was in instead of increasing its length and girth without putting any thought behind it. Eren''s rod could be as big as hisdies wanted it to be, enabling them to enjoy their sessions with him to their fullest. While Sharog was busy with Eren''s summoned snake under his control, Eren focused the better part of its attention on Luna and Lasha. By now, he had them face himC embracing them both with either of his arms. Eren kissed and smooched both the monster girls intermittently while exploring their bodies with his restless hands. The bed still had a lot of space despite being upied by Sharog. So, Eren just lifted both the girls up in his arms and carried them. Eren dropped them on the bedC making them sleep side by side. "Tonight''s the night. The festival starts early for the three of us." Eren chuckled before getting down to business. Chapter ?681 Pleasure Paradise P1 Chapter ?681 Pleasure Paradise P1 Luna felt overjoyed. Her body started writhing under Eren as he kissed and rubbed his body on her. She could hear-- feel his warm breaths on her. And she could hear her sister lying to her left, moaning subtly as Eren''s hand explored her wet cave. This carnal y had already been going on for hours on end. The silvery white light of the waning crescent moon had entered the room through therge windows. It passed through the thin curtains, which could not stay in ce due to the intermittent gusts of wind. Sharog was lying next to Luna. Her already dripping pussy was getting soaked by Eren''s hands. He extended his arms in a non-human manner. They had lost their definite structure and definite structure and were easily adapting to the tasks that they had been given responsibility for. Eren was closer to achieving Adept rank at this point. He had more effortless ess to his half-blood powers than ever before. And consciously and subconsciously he was making use of those powers in a variety of activities. Luna could feel herdy mound being pressed against Eren''s dick. She pressed her hips upwards and adjusted herself before opening her legs to make her pussy more approachable. "Lord Eren I" Eren paused nibbling on Luna''s nipples when he heard Luna''s faint voice amid the moans and callings of Sharog and Lasha. He got back on Luna once again while exciting Sharog and Lasha. He looked Luna in the eye before whispering in her ears. "Don''t be shy. Drive it in with your own hands." Luna would have had a pout on her face if she wasn''t so ecstatic. She wrapped her eyes around Eren and caressed his back all over before trying to pull him closer to him. Something that wasn''t possible since the duo had zero distance between themselves. Luna bit her lips and spread her legs some more, keeping them over the Orcinas to either side. That act excited the two Orcinas even more as her legs started brushing against their sensitive thighs. However, Luna was too horny to know or care. She took hold of Eren''s rod by reaching her hands between them and felt it to be warm and veiny. She stroked it a bit as Eren lifted his hips and facilitated her actions. Luna tugged on Eren''s dick to bring its tip closer to her wet entrance. And to her surprise, she found out that Eren''s dick had extended unusually while his hip was at a sufficient distance away from its required spot. "Hehe. Don''t worry. It''ll be amodated to your needs." Eren was inplete control of himself when he said that. The post-nut rity he had achieved after his time with Sharog was still there with him. In a sense, he was now engaged in phnthropic work. Luna didn''t need to be told twice. She adjusted herself before gilding Eren''s dick inside her. As his dick slid in, Eren closed the distance between them and brought his hips to their intended spot while adjusting his shaft''s size. Luna couldn''t help crying out Eren''s name in pure ecstasy as she felt his dick fill her entire pussy canal perfectly, just the way she wanted it. Eren also increased the size of his middle fingers and drove them inside the two Orchinas sleeping on either side of Luna. They were writhing in bed, driven by their desires, with their legs open wide. Their moans synched and the trio of Orchinas moaned in various ways while taking their master''s name in some way. Eren extended his thumbs and used them to excite the two Orchinas'' clits. Sharog guided Eren''s hand in the direction she wanted it to go. Lasha closed her legs up intermittently as she got used to the heightened sensation of a sexual high. Eren slowly started to drive his dick inside Luna as she experienced his deep and powerful strokes with her entire body. Her ample jugs bounced and shook as she met Eren''s thrusts with her amodating hips. Eren activated Mist of Lust for the first time and the atmosphere started turning even more mystic and euphoric for the three Orchinas. The ability only needed pration to be released. As soon as it was activated, it would work on those around Eren who Eren deemed fit. Lasha started ying with her boobs, firmly pressing them and pinching them to satiate the new hunger she was feeling. Sharog was desperate to find some sanity in the insanely ecstatic sensation Eren was making her feel. So he altered the size of his middle finger and used it to prate her rear entry while fingering her in her pussy. "Lord." "Eren Lord Eren." "Aaaaaaaaah!" Even more energetic moanings and callings ensued as Eren took the game to a higher realm. He kept on exploring for a few minutes as he increased the pace of his explorations step by step. "I... Ah! " Luna was the first to yield. She was even more of a squirter than Sharog. She breathed heavily as the post-coitus fatigue overwhelmed her. Under the mist of Lust''s effects, she still wanted more. However, Eren knew better. He canceled the effects of the mist from affecting her too much. Her hot juice gushed out of her wet cave and drenched the bedsheet under her. Eren drove his dick into her again and nutted inside of her. He kissed her passionately which she responded to by wrapping both her arms and legs around him while his dick was still inside her making rounds. Lasha scored second ce and her moan was the loudest as she came. Forfort and intimacy, she hugged her sister and Eren together. The fire snakes that were on Lasha and Luna dispersed in the air. Meanwhile, the fire snake that was nibbling on Sharog''s erect nipples intermittently changed its job designation and headed south. Sharog experienced a new high as her clit was tongue-stormed by the forked tongue of the fire snake while both of her holes were getting fingered by Eren''s exceptionally agile and unsurprisingly nimble and flexible fingers. Sharog arched her back while spreading her legs and using them as support to lift her hips in the air as she came hard. Unlike the young guns, this mature Orcina bit her lips and held all her moans together until only another ''Oooof'' sound escaped from her mouth. "Sharog, Luna my treasures. Take a break. Hehe. You need it." Eren made Sharog and Luna take a break while he focused his attention on Lasha. This young Orcina had been waiting for her turn for a long time now. Her patience soon paid off. Chapter 682 Pleasure Paradise P2* Chapter 682 Pleasure Paradise P2* Luna and Sharog got up together to take a bath and freshen up. Their master had told them to take a break. That meant they''d soon be summoned for another round. The two Orcinas couldn''t wait for their next turn. Eren drank another vial of Pleasure Paradise. Not that he was in dire need of a potion. But he liked to be at his peak when performing anyway. Surprisingly he could keep up even with no to minimal usage of the Pleasure Paradise. He realized that his Sins series ability was also evolving. It was replenishing his stamina slowly and surely in a subtle way. The effects weren''t prominent yet. However, he knew they would be when he reached the Adept rank. ''I wonder if I could distill Mist of Lust and add it to Pleasure Paradise. That way, I''ll be able to enhance the effects of the potion.'' Eren then thought of another possibility. What if a guy drinks that potion who he had never met before and starts to think about him under the potion''s effects? Eren had dark lines on his face as he canceled the idea of mass producing his Sins series potion. ''Hm. I should only make it in limited quantities and hand it out to only those who I see as my let''s say targets.'' Eren thought of a very creative idea to make use of the Sin series potions. Of course, he knew that mere drinking of the potion wasn''t enough to make anyone get branded with his mark. However, if the potion could make it so that he''d start looking abnormally more desirable to thedies who had consumed it, his efforts would still be worth it. Eren had a feeling he''d need this potion if he wanted to execute his ns rted to the Lazarus project. The House Lancelot wasn''t something he could easily mess with. The use of a potion of this kind could certainly make his job easier if he found the right target and the right means. The butcher would always think about his next steps even while he was enjoying rxation and fun. He had started to enjoy the process of striving for his goals while entertaining himself in the process. The stress of the pending tasks thaty in front of him was still there. But moments like these gave him plenty of breathing room. Eren chuckled to himself and snapped back into his thoughts. He focused his gaze on Lasha who was drinking the same potion as him. She gulped the potion down slowly and channeled her mana into her body for the potion''s effects to kick in. She immediately felt rejuvenated and her desires spiked. She looked at Eren coquettishly before saying in a soft voice. "Lord Eren, I am ready." Lasha said while lying on the bed and running her fingers over her legs seductively. She ran the tips of her fingers all over her thighs before moving upwards. She writhes in ecstasy as she felt the effects of Pleasure Paradise enhancing what she genuinely felt about her time with Eren. Lasha ran her finger through her voluminous hair and tossed it in the air before opening her arms to wee him. She beckoned him to satiate her desires that had been wreaking havoc inside her body and mind. Eren smiled when he looked at Lasha. He threw the empty potion bottle that he had been holding behind him and jumped on her. The pair rolled on the bed from one side of the bed to another as they kissed and caressed each other''s bodies to their heart''s content. A lot of smooching and flesh-meeting-flesh sounds ensued. Lasha was experiencing a euphoric high as she met and bonded with Eren on a deeper level than flesh. Her connection with her master strengthened as she felt what Eren wanted from her. Lasha took the initiative and got on top of Eren. Her tongue was inserted into his mouth as she kissed him. She rubbed her body while at it and allowed Eren''s fingers to excite her pussy by stretching her legs wide. "Ummmmmm!" The young Orchina moaned in a hushed manner as her lips were sealed because of Eren''s lip lock. She pushed her waist back and forth and responded to Eren''s fingering with self-driven enthusiasm. Eren ran his free fingers through Lasha''s dripping wet crack while he inserted his middle finger into a slippery hole. He used the natural lubricant her pussy generated to coat his third finger with it. He then used the same finger and dipped it slowly inside her anal opening. Lasha became crazy when apletely new sensation hit her. As she kissed him passionately, she came and released her love juices with a distinct shudder running through her entire body. Only when her pleasure waves subsided did she stop kissing him. "Haaaash!" Lasha took a long breath and readjusted her vision which had gotten blurred for a moment. While looking at Eren keenly, she smiled at him. There was a fire in her mind and body that wanted more. And only more. "I I''m just getting started, Eren." Lasha felt even more intimate with Eren than ever before. Her mental connection with Eren strengthened, allowing her to address him more casually. Eren smirked before asking her. "Do you know what I want?" Lasha met Eren''s smirk with a seductive smile of her own. "I do," she said before adjusting her position. In the next moment, she spread her legs on either side of his face and allowed him to lick her pussy with his already stretched tongue. "Aaaaaah oooooh!" As she ran her fingers through her hair again, Lasha the loud moaner couldn''t help releasing another ecstatic howl. She tossed her head back and enjoyed thoroughpping from his tongue. "Oooof!" Lasha felt another orgasm building inside her. However, she didn''t want toe alone. Adapting her tunnel vision to Eren''s stiff member, she immediately jumped into action. Lasha stretched her legs even further and allowed Eren unrestricted ess to her moist cunt as she bent forward. She took hold of Eren''s dick with her hands and stroked it a bit before taking it in her mouth as much as she could in one go. ''This girl had gone mad it seems. Note to selfC Pleasure Paradise works particrly well on somedies. Effects have a chance to exceed the normal limit. I must include the note in a statutory warning. Greedy as I might be, I''m an honest businessman when I need to be.'' Eren had a random thought of his own as he enjoyed Lasha''s head. He chuckled before focusing on the task literally in front of him. "Ooooooo!" Lasha''s body shuddered as she experienced another orgasm. But she couldn''t moan loudly this time as Eren held her head from both sides just when she was about to. He then drove his dick deep inside her a few more times before releasing his load into the back of her mouth. Lashay beside Eren after she managed to get off his body. She looked at him with satisfaction written on her face. However, her master needed more. And she was ready to take on the challenge after a short break. Luna and Shargo came to Lasha''s rescue just in time when she needed them to be. Eren engaged with both of the monsterdies that were waiting for him. Eventually, Eren conquered Lasha''s wet hole with his sin-blessed rod. The butcher meant it when he said the festival had started early for him and the three monsterdies. They enjoyed each other''spany thoroughly. They needed more y to prepare for more work that was waiting for them in the future. Another on-field test of Pleasure Paradise was sessfully conducted that day. A potion that was bound to make White Raven concoctions famous not just in Edinburgh but in other kingdoms as well. In the future, rankers would start buying the potion for its statutory warning because that sounded more like a plus point than a side effect. Chapter ?683 Hunting for Wrath Flames Chapter ?683 Hunting for Wrath mes "Who who the fuck are" Swish. Cut. Drop. A Cyclop Lord''s head was separated from its torso while he was on his knees. His body had turned red with the wrath mana building inside him. He wasn''t able to dispel it. But he could not get rid of it. At this point, the Cyclops Lord had been half turned into a creature of wrath. Despite this, he still maintained his mental rity due to not letting the mana progress toward his head. So the butcher just chopped his head off of him. Once the head was severed, the still-alive body became the creature of wrath almost immediately. It then imploded and gave the butcher the wrath me he was looking for. Eren had already used his Life Drain ability on him along with his half-blood powers to refine the Blood Seed of Cyclops Leaders into Cyclops Lord. This was Eren''s 16th Monster Lord kill in the Oni dungeon. He was silently killing all over the Oni dungeon subspace. Because he had a valid reason to. The Oni festival was about to start and killing off each other''s tribe members was sort of an unwritten tradition in the Oni dungeon. The missing tribe members would automatically be assumed to have been in by other tribes. Eren made the most of his Sin of Wrath ability and progressed in each of the great elements'' attainment. He had controlled his ranking breakthrough while doing that, saving it for when he kills Har Jahar to maximize his gains. The Monster Lords Eren had killed belonged to different races of monsters. It was possible for him to refine all his Blood Seeds as well. This way, all his monster forms had been upgraded. Now they only needed Eren to catch up. ''Hm. The way of the earth and spear arts. Not bad. My attainmentcked greatly in the earth element.'' Eren opened his eyes andmented to himself after he had finished digesting the wrath me he had gained from the Cyclops Lord. Then he looked ahead and saw his three Orcinas. Sharog, Lasha, and Luna had used a triangle istion array to iste the Cyclops Lord. Sharog had received this arrayyout from Durbag. Even if he was killing under the garb of Oni festival tradition, Eren wanted to be through with his killing. After all, his final n was more critical than gaining Wrath mes from monsters. Plus, he also liked not being disturbed by third parties from any side. The istion array had allowed Eren to kill the Cyclops Lord without any difficulty. This was how he had killed the rest of the Monster Lords as well. "My Lord, do you want to continue your hunt?" Sharog asked while looking at Eren. Lasha and Luna were closing in on him from different directions as well. "Hm? No. Any more killings and the tribes might get suspicious. We have used the cover of the Oni festival enough. One should know when to quit when they are ahead. Plus, I need to make the digested gains my own and integrate them into my path before I think of having any more. Eat too much and one would have a bloated tummy. Hehe." Eren swung his Rigor Mortis set to get rid of the blood on it. He then kept the weapons inside and began walking toward the Durbag tribe. His killings had disrupted many tribes'' ns. Now it was time to participate in the Oni festival and start the final phase of his ns. *** 22nd day of the Oni festival. Three days away from the final event. Durbag Orc tribe vs Jorhan Orc tribe. A giant battle ring was formed not too far away from the Oni pyramid. The earth element monsters had done a fine job creating an arena out of nothing. The tribe members of the Durbag tribe were staring at the Orc Leader who had been selected as one of the worshippers from the Durbag tribe with awe. The Orc Leader''s name was VarhanC the Orc who was first seen as a random wild card entry by the Durbag tribe. Varhan had gained huge poprity among the Echidnae, regardless of their race. The Orc Leader was like a storm that ravaged the battle ring. This storm imed the lives of those who were foolish enough to stand in his path to victory. The main reason for the Oni festival was to generate sacrificial energy. As such, the audience''s emotions and the defeated worshippers getting killed were a huge part of the festival. Each tribe was allowed to send five of its members as worshippers. The winning was supposed to kill two of the worshippers of the opponent tribe. The winning side would decide who to sacrifice from the defeated tribe. A tribunal was held in the evening before the Oni festival. The worshippers from each tribe, the opponents, and other finer details were discussed and set that evening. The Durbag tribe had done surprisingly well in this festival thanks to its three stars. First was Borul who had effortlessly defeated all his opponents. The second was Nurbag, who dominated the battlefield with his fierce fists. The third was Varhan who had emerged as the dark horse of the tournament. Through a variety of strategies and ys, he had defeated his opponents using weapons from other tribes. Varhan was bold and unpredictable. He was fast on his feet and his strikes were precise. One could feel subtle suppressioning off him if they looked at him for a long time. Seeing him in battle, they soon turned that suppression into admiration. Within these 22 days, Eren had gained a lot of fans among the audience. The children of Echidna could subconsciously feel that Varhan was one of them even if he looked like an Orc. As a result, he generated a wide range of fans across all the children of Echidna. The tribes were allowed to send their tribe members one by one or they could battle in groups after mutual discussion. Today, the tribe had agreed to engage in individual battles. Borul and Nurbag had already won their respective matches. Now it was Varhan''s turn to seal the victory for his tribe. Chapter 684 Show-Off Chapter 684 Show-Off "Varhan..." "Go get himVarhan!" "Varhan, you bastard, I lost all my money betting on you a few months ago. Yet, I still chose to bet on you today. Haha. Double or nothing baby!" "Varhan make the Durbag great again!" A cacophony of noises and cheers were heard by Varhan all around him as he stepped into the battle ring. After today, the Oni festival will be fiercer. After today, the winning team was supposed to kill 4 of the defeated members of their opponent tribe. Meaning only one tribe member would get to live from the defeated tribe. Varhan was a crowd pleaser. Instead of acting all stoic and cocky, he greeted his audience with a wave of his hands and a smile on his face. It was as if the guy was furthest away from killing anyone. Like he had done nothing but phnthropic work for the monsters around him in thest few days. This was the face of an abominationC smiling and weing. A vile evil that had been hidden deep under the veil of deceit and deception. An evil that wouldn''t be seen as such until it was toote for its victims. The audience became even more enthralled when Varhan waved at them. They were stunned when he jumped using his lightning-covered feet and used his Wind-Fire Wings to flit through the air like a free bird. Swoosh. p. p. p. p! Eren flew closer to the audience booth and touched and pped the hands of those who had raised them when he was flying closely over their heads. Nobody had done this at any Oni festival before. "Oooooooh!" "Varhan. Here! Pleasee here!" A group of small Ogre children raised their hands and shouted at Varhan using all their might. They had used the Oninguage, an indication that they had received their rity early in their age. Varhan smiled and flew over the group of Ogre kids and pped their hands before returning to the battle ring once again. His opponent had arrived after all. "You you are a show-off!" Laki the Orc Leader addressed Varhan and used him of creating hype around him. Thetter simply nodded before casting his spells. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Blitz Steps Wind-Fire Wings Purple Reaver Eren exploded into action and decided to overpower his opponent. In the next moment, Laki''s right arm and left hand which was holding a runic sword were chopped off. Bzzt. Swoosh. Chop. "Aaaargh!" Laki tried to create a distance between himself and his opponent. A second before, he was trying to converse with his opponent. Eren''s attack hade from seemingly out of nowhere. It was as if the guy didn''t value the Monster Leaders'' lives anymore. A sphere of wind was getting created around Laki as he decided to use his defensive spell on him. Yet, he found out that his vision had suddenly changed. He could see his own body from a third-person point of view at this point. He observed that his body was missing a head. His head. The duel was over as soon as it finished. Laki''s supporters hadn''t even begun to shout out his name when he was dered dead by everyone without a shadow of a doubt. The duel was well predicted in advance. And yet, Varhan''s fans loved it. "You you were supposed to offer the sacrifice by the end of the 5th duel between our two tribes. You you have broken the rule. I demand justice." The Orc Lord that was supposed to be the leader of the opponent tribe cried foul. Each team was allowed to have one Monster Lord who could lead their team. He was an Orc Lord from the Jorhan tribe. "Hm? How were you supposed to register a win for your tribe when three of the duels had been won by us and only two duels were remaining? Pray tell all of us. Maybe you have received an advanced form of rity than the rest of us." Borul spoke in Varhan''s ce who was a mute. Despite Borul''s questionable gaze and puzzled expression, the smirk on his face couldn''t be concealed. Borul was mocking Laki. Eren smirked at the opponent too. The question elicited hystericalughter in the audience as well. At this point, all of Echidnae had be immune to the sight of killing. They didn''t even look at Laki''s headless corpse when theyughed. "Hahahaha. This Varhan is too domineering. Wish we had a tribe member like that." "Hehe. too bad he is an orc. He would have been more sessful if he was an Ogre like us." "I liked that he sacrificed his opponent right away. That way, his opponent suffered less." "Yeah. I wonder what the king would have to say." The audience looked at Har Jahar who was present on a raised tform. He had a throne-like seat on which he was sittingfortably. His eyes were lifeless and he looked bored. As if the duel that just ended in front of him was not entertaining enough for him to pass the time. Kirin was standing not too far away from him on the same raised tform. She had been watching Varhan''s fights with keen interest as well. Just to learn a few things from him at first. And yet, the more she stared at him and the more she observed his moves, the more mystified he had be in her mind. She couldn''t understand how an Orc Leader would have this much talent without any resources offered to him. "Hm. Yeah. I''ll allow it. The sacrifice has beenpleted after all. Varhan, don''t do anything troublesome again." Har Jahar ruled his decision in favor of Varhan. And even if he didn''t, Varhan was confident enough to battle with the Orc Lord as well. But why should he if there was nothing to be gained of real value? Varhan bowed at Har Jahar, indicating he was okay with his "king''s" decision. A king he nned to kill at the right time. "You have a headache too it seems. Step into the ring. I know a sure-shot way to treat it just like Varhan." An Orc lord from Varhan''s tribe stepped into the ring. Varhan nodded at him before retiring from the battle ring. It wasn''t his job to handle the opponents anymore. Varhan walked out of the battle ring while the two Orc Lords were gearing up for their iing battle. He didn''t forget to wave his hands to his cheering audience once again. Chapter ?685 Selection Chapter ?685 Selection Oni festival. The final day. Morning 8 AM. Orc vs Ogre. After various tribes fought each other, only these two tribes had all their members alive. One of them was an Orc tribe consisting of five orcsC the Durbag tribe. The other was an Ogre tribe that Kaalmaahen had participated inC the Shakh tribe. The Shakh tribe originally belonged to Ror Shakh. However, it waster passed on to his son while Ror focused on serving his king. Compared to the Shakh tribe, the Durbag tribe was a wild card entry nobody had expected to make it this far. There could be two opponents in the events leading up to the final sacrifice. One from each tribe. Even so, the ritual needed the sacrificed energy to focus on only two opponents. Tintinnabtion! A giant bell was levitating over the battle ring 5 meters away from the ground. It was motionless and silent a moment before. But when it started ringing, it changed the whole atmosphere of the surroundings. The bell had a height of 3 meters. Its mouth had a diameter of about 1 meter. It had a particrly ample sound bow that was producing mystic sounds every time the bell''s pendulum-motioned pper was struck on it. The runes on the bell would be lit up every time it rang. The bell''s sound had be even more prominent because of the absolute silence observed by the audience. Har Jahar had straightened himself up as well, indicating that the procedure was very significant to him. Everybody had grim expressions on their faces. No matter which team lost, the audience was going to remember their names. They cheered for both teams. The festival''s ruthless setup had jaded the monsters'' emotions. However, most of them couldn''t help but feel sorry for the tribe members of both tribes. Ting! Ting! Ting! The bell rang as members of both tribes walked in. They also wore serious expressions on their faces. Almost all participants had groomed themselves a bitC wearing ceremonial armor and clothes or donning a precious ornament themselves. They hadn''t worn these ornaments for themselves. This was part of the procedure. The ornaments served as memorabilia in case they ended up dying. Echidna ornaments can either be imed by the winning team or by the tribe to which the soon-to-be-dead Echidna belonged. Varhan was seen wearing a simple pendant. It was the same pendant he always used to wear. So he didn''t need to travel out of his way for today''s events. Har Jahar got up from his seat and looked at the motionlessly levitating runic bell keenly before addressing his audience. "This is an auspicious day for all of the children of Echidna. Today will be the day the final worshiper and the Blessed will be known to us. Both are equally respectable in our eyes. The Oni festival will not only bless the Blessed but all of us. Therefore, open up your hearts and let your feelings flow out of them like the rapids of a river trying to take over the banks. Let the final selection begin." Har Jahar said and bowed to the bell before sitting on his throne-like chair. The two tribe members were standing on either side of the bell, apart from one another. Their hands behind their backs- facing the crowd with nk expressions. Ting! Ting! Ting! A wave of unknown energy manifested in the form of white and azure clouds all over the battle ring. It epassed the entire region all at once, making the battle ring look like an ethereal space that should only exist in fantasies. Ting! Ting! Ting! As the bell started ringing, the sacrificial energy started congregating around the tribe members. Since only two opponents were willing to fight to decide who would be the Blessed and the final worshiper among them, the tribe members and the audience were all nervous. At first, the cloud-like energy rose to the waists of the Shakh tribe members. After a while, it climbed Kaalmaahen''s body until it reached his chest. It climbed down on other members'' bodies before dispersing away. Half of the sacrificial energy that had been manifested in the battle ring started entering Kaalmaahen''s body before disappearing. At this point, it was clear to all who would fight from the Shakh tribe. Kaamaahen getting selected for the final duel wasn''t surprising for anybody because he was a Monster Lord and led his tribe. He held an influential position in his people''s hearts. Therefore, his victory or defeat would cause the majority of people to experience intense emotions - either positive or negative. These emotions could also be employed to generate more sacrificial energy. Some people felt joyous and some felt worried about Kaalmaahen. Kaalmaahen had proven his caliber numerous times before. He was no underdog. So of course, people started feeling various emotions when they found out Kaalmaahen would be part of the final ceremony. Plus, even those who were celebrating from Kaalmaahen''s camp were only doing it after assuming he was going to win. Who would be able to beat such a talented prodigy? Therefore, only Monster Lords had gotten selected as the participants for the final ceremony in the Oni dungeon''s history. The audience wanted to chant Kaalmaahen''s name. However, they waited for the ritual to end. Ting! Ting! Ting! Durbag tribe also had to follow the same process. The clouds of sacrificial energy started gathering around the tribe members. They slowly climbed over the bodies of each of them. Ting! Ting! Ting! As the mystic sounds of the runic bells echoed in the surroundings, all the remaining clouds started congregating around the person in question. Someone who hasn''t yet be a Monster Lord. "Varhan!" There were so many mumbled noises mixed with surprise and other emotions at the same time. The name Varhan was repeated in those whispers, sticking out like a sore thumb. The clouds on other tribe members'' bodies had dissipated. The rest of the sacrificial energy was absorbed into Varhan''s body in a few blinks. Varhan had been selected for the final ritual along with Kaalmaahen despite just being an Orc Leader. Chapter 686 Aspect Fusion Chapter 686 Aspect Fusion ''Hehe. That show-off! He didn''t know how the ritual worked.'' There was someone in the Durbag tribe who thought of this when he saw Eren getting selected for the final ritual. Heughed on the inside while maintaining serious expressions on the inside. Durbag had participated in this time''s Oni festival under the false identity of Borul. He had used special means avable to him to pass off as Monster Lord. He had regressed into his evolution stage to pull this off. Otherwise, the ritual would have detected an anomaly in him. Varhan was asking himself to be part of the final ritual by being so connected with his audience. Since their emotions were focused on him the most out of all the members of the Durbag tribe because of how interactive he was, his selection was a foregone conclusion. Still, the children of Echidnae couldn''t help but be surprised by the fact their history was changed at this point. They then observed Varhan''s stats getting boosted with the sacrificial energy. The ritual was meant to even out the ground by making Varhan stronger. It was making his stats reach unprecedented levels for an Orc Lord, prepping him to fight off another challenger. After all, Kaalmaahen was a step ahead of him in terms of the evolutionary stage. "This I didn''t know this could happen!" "Right? I wouldn''t have believed someone of his evolutionary caliber would get selected for the final ritual." The people started whispering and murmuring among themselves as the two contestants were finalized. Ting! Ting! Ting! The bell that had been ringing for quite some time at this point suddenly disappeared, allowing silence to take over the surroundings once again. In the next moment, people started calling out Varhan and Kaalmaahen''s names. The atmosphere became boisterous once again. All of them were eager to see the final ritual take ce. Varhan felt ted. He felt like his body had the stats of an Orc Lord without stepping into that stage. He swung his arms around and clenched his fist. He then stretched his legs before performing his movement spell. The results were more than satisfactory. He looked at the crowd who was cheering for him and smiled before waving his hands. This was the reason he was showing off anyway. *** Kaalmaahen had brown skin that was different from normal ogres. His ogre-like pointy ears made one realize that he had a monster lineage. His hair had been cut extremely short from the sides. And the monster also sported a goatee. He looked ready for the battle with his fully equipped gear. Varhan on the other hand looked like he hadn''t prepared enough for the final event. He was wearing the same tribal Orc armor and dark brown pants. He had Rigor Mortis in one hand and Anduril in the other. The two opponents were silent and observing each other amid a cacophony of voices. It was as if they didn''t hear any of the disturbance that might force them to pull their focus away from each other. Kaalmaahen smiled at Varhan and spoke first. "Forget about being mute, I don''t see you as a fan of speaking during a battle anyway, Varhan. Your mana signature is tooposed for you to see the need of agitating your opponents verbally. Hehe. That''s good." Kaamaahen sighed and added up. "Too bad we had to meet this way. I would have loved to know more about you." Varhan raised his eyebrows when he heard Kaalmaahen''s words. He realized that thetter was indicating that he would beat him so easily that he won''t have a chance to know him at all. Varhan could also understand that this was not false bravado. The guy was genuinely powerful enough to beat someone like Varhan. Kaalmaahen took out his broadsword and wielded it effortlessly with one hand. He swung it around a few more times to calibrate his moves and only stopped when the results started turning satisfactory. Swing. Swoosh. Cut. Kaamaahen was the first to charge at Eren. His wind-element proficiency was nothing to scoff at. Varhan found out that the area around him had turned jelly-like. It was as if the wind had turned semi-solid as it covered him from every angle, forcing him to stay at his ce till Kaalmaahen reached. ''Should I eat him too?'' Varhan licked his lips as he saw Kaalmaahen approach him. He chuckled before channeling his mana throughout his body. Aspect Fusion. Fusion of purple and red lightning! Varhan first cast a Lightning cloak that took on a more defined form around him. The runic patterns manifested over the lightning cloak were even more detailed andplex. Except for a few lightning shes, the serene-looking cloak radiated a red-violet hue. And yet, one could feel that the cloak was giving off an even more prominent mana signature than before. Eren cast his next set of spells and effortlessly released himself from Kaalmaahen''s trap. The only thing the Ogre Lord could slice in the next moment was his mirage. ng! Kaalmaahen felt a threatening vibeing off of his 3 O''clock and met it instinctively with his broadsword. In the next moment, a metal shing sound was heard as Varhan''s dual swords shed against the Ogre Lord''s heavy weapon, forming a cross. Purple Reaver! Invi ze! Varhan''s two des buzzed as if they were making a chirping sound. The runes etched on them lit up as their inscribed spell was activated at the same time. ''This guy'' Kaalmaahen gazed into Varhan''s green eyes and couldn''t help but feel stressed. The Orc Leader had activated his weapon spells when he was standing this close to his enemy. The meaning of that act was simple. It was either that Varhan had an overwhelming confidence in the defensive spell that he was wearing at the time. He didn''t care about the repercussions of a spell sh when he was standing on this cloth with his opponent. Both would mean trouble for Kaalmaahen who had thought that he wasn''t underestimating Varhan. Turned out he was wrong all along. Chapter ?687 Hiding a Trump Card Chapter ?687 Hiding a Trump Card Purple Reaver! Invi ze! Varhan''s weapons seemed to sing a sacred metal hymn as their inscribed spells were activated at the same time. It was toote for Kaal to pull away orunch another offensive without breaking the defensive formation. ''This fucking Orc brain bas'' As he began casting the healing spell on his body, he cursed Eren in his mind. He knew his defensive spell couldn''t be cast in time. So he chose the next logical thing. Release. Lights. Kaboom. Kaal had also used his weapon spell against Varhan''sbo attack. The two vs 1 weapon attacks collided against one another and created a swarm of fluctuating mana that cracked the ground. A mini white sun seemed to have been birthed inside that domain as it started expanding outwards rapidly. Two figures were seen pulling away from the expanding domain in the opposite direction from each other. Kaal was injured. Even with his preemptive measure, the wounds on his body told him as well as onlookers that he hadn''t gotten off lightly. Lightning mana was trying to enter his body. His natural mana defense was being burned away by the fire element mana, with each passing moment. There were various mini-de wounds all over his body. Kaal''s ceremonial armor had various bruises over it in just one exchange. If he didn''t know any better, he would have assumed that he had the evolutionary disadvantage over his opponent. Kaal then looked at the figure in the distance that was covered by clouds of dust and abination of lightning and fire mana. When the figure swung his swords, the dust clouds were instantly repelled. Kaal was shocked by what he was seeing. Varhan''s lightning cloaks had been torn off in ces. The torn patches disyed wounds that his body had to endure. But these wounds were so abysmally low in quantity and severity that the Orc Leader could be regarded as unscathed. The Aspect Fusion had allowed Eren to bolster his defensive spell to a whole new level without using excessive mana. The cloak not only protected him against any attacks, but it also tried to fight them off using the destructive properties of red lightning. Therefore, any attack that wasnded on Eren would not only have its attack power halved but it would also get repelled to some extent. This is because the red lightning mana created destructive fluctuations to repel the attack. This was the reason Varhan had chosen to deploy his weapon spells in closebat, something that he hadn''t done previously. The various wrath mes he had digested from the monsters he had hunted in the past few days were starting to show their effects. "Look look at that? Varhan is almost uninsured after shing with Kaalmaahen. How could that happen?" "You tell me. I thought it was the other way around, with Kaalmaahen dominating the battlefield and Varhan losing ground." "Hahaha. It seems Varhan has been favored by our god. Don''t underestimate the Orc race." "Hm. There might be some truth to it. In the end, the sacrificial energy did make Varhan stronger than before. But we didn''t expect it to be so potent." The audience discussed various topics as they watched Varhan and Kaal engage in their duel once again. This was the final battle. People were more invested in this match than in any other held at the festival so far. ng. ng. ng. Kaal and Varhan exchanged various blows in a short while. The former couldn''t believe that the sacrificial energy had given his opponent this lethal advantage over him. But as he kept on fighting with Varhan, he came to realize that he was not giving enough credit to the guy himself. "You Varhan The orc race should be proud of having birthed a warrior like you. I''m d I could fight with someone this talented for the final duel of the festival. d and also regretful that you''d have to die after disying such an inspiring disy of strength." Kaal was out of breath when he said this. He had a smile on his face when he said that. The people who were supporting him immediately started praising him for his valor in stating something positive about his opponent. Contrary to what Kaal was thinking, Varhan had started insulting the Ogre Lord in his mind. ''This bitch still thinks he''ll win this match. I wonder where he gets that confidence from.'' Eren said to himself and the worry lines on his forehead intensified. It meant that either the Ogre Lord was full of himself. Or he had something to rely on. Something that he hadn''t shown yet. A trump card that was going to score Kaal a win despite Varhan''s performance? ''Time to increase the heat and poke the ogre.'' Eren thought to himself beforeunching his set of spells. He disappeared from his ce and appeared 5 meters in the air over the Ogre Lord''s head. The Wind-Fire Wings had appeared behind Eren''s back. He coated his swords in his mana before folding the wings andunching a meteor-crash-like attack on Kaal. Zoom. Kaal was taken aback by Eren''s sudden ferocity. Additionally, thetter had not yet used this attack at the festival. So the Ogre Lord was taken aback by it. He raised his broadsword and put it between him and Varhan''s iing attack. Boom. The ground beneath Kaal''s feet cracked and depression of about 20 meters was created as Varhan''s meteor-like strike hit him. The fire and lightning mana of the attacks surged and started attacking Kaal''s body once again. Kaal ignored the heaviness his muscles felt and the stress his bones had endured. He gritted his teeth and swung his broadsword with all his might, forcing Varhan to retreat to a safe distance from him. Cough! Kaal coughed a bit and spit blood. His internal organs had been injured because of the Orc Leader''s attack just now. The Ogre Lord didn''t have a chance to dodge the attack. "Hehe. You are doing well, Varhan. You are really talented. Nheless, let me exin why I am meant to be the chosen one between us. I didn''t join this festival out of my initiative, to be honest. But now that I have, I might as well benefit from it." Said Kaal and smiled at Varhan. He lodged his weapon into the ground near him and cast the spell that had stopped being a spell for him. He was going to use his ability. Chapter 688 State of Echi Chapter 688 State of Echi "I didn''t join this festival out of my initiative, to be honest. But now that I have, I might as well benefit from it." Kaal said and cast his spell. It was supposed to be a body-altering spell that temporarily increased his stats by enhancing his muscles. But he had cast it so many times that it ended up bing his ability. A distinct mana signature was released from Kaal''s body as his stature started increasing. He had started looking more and more like a regr ogre now that he was using his ability. However, he no longer looked like an average ogre in terms of size and muscle definition. Kaal was as tall as Varhan before his transformation. But he increased his height to 10 feet at first. Then the next stage of transformation took ce and it increased his stature from 10 to 12. "Raaaaaaaargh!" The Ogre Lord looked at the sky and roared in a beast-like voice as he entered the final phase of his transformation. His eyes dted and his iris changed color. The gray shade in his eyes had been reced with white. The length of his hair increased and its color changed. It turned white and orange-red. The muscles on his body pumped and then pumped up some more. They swelled so much that it started to look like they would soon tear his skin apart. "What the has Kaalmaahen received a blessing already?" A young Ogre Soldier asked another in disbelief. He had only heard that it was difficult for Echidnae to enter the berserk state after receiving rity. The Echidnae would only be able to ess it once they reached a high enough evolutionary stage. The Ogre Lord near them also had serious expressions as he watched Kaal transform into a very ferocious existence. He lookedpletely different from his normal appearance. There were no rxed or weing signs on his face anymore. Instead, they were reced by those of anger and hatred. The spectator Ogre Lord kept his gaze locked on Kaal while addressing the question the Ogre Soldier had raised beside him. "No it''s not the effect of a blessing. This is something Kaalmaahen achieved with his natural talent. Technically, almost all of the children of Echidna are capable of activating their berserk form right from their very first evolutionary stage. But it is difficult for us now that we are here in this confined subspace away from our ancestral world." The Ogre Soldiers listened and exchanged a few words between themselves. The person who had asked the previous question seemed very curious. He looked at the Ogre Lord before asking him another question. ''Warrior Gol, why is it difficult for the Echidnae who live in this confinement to undergo this transformation?'' Is it because of this world''s restrictions?" The Ogre Lord had a light smile on his face as he listened to his junior''s question. He looked at the young ogre and studied him a bit before answering. "No. It has nothing to do with Anfang. It''s kind of our fault. We all receive our rity from Echidna''s Authority at a very young age. This rity grants us various bits and pieces of memories that are passed down to us through our blood." Kaal had somehow gained his sanity while still maintaining his transformation after a few moments. There was a slight grayish tinge to his white eyes, but only barely. He started swinging his broadsword violently, causing wild gusts to appear around him with deadly wind pressure. Varhan had maintained his distance from Kaal all this while. He lookedposed and calm. But one could tell that he was a bit intimidated by Kaal''s transformation. The Ogre Lord kept track of the ongoing progress with utmost interest. Only when he was sure that the stalemate would continue for a while did he add further. "Gaining rity too early and gaining it in a way that is not supposed to be gained isn''t always beneficial for the Echidnae. At least not in the long run. Of course, rity aids us in our progress. It lets us be more than just mindless beasts. But it has also made us stay away from our base nature. All children of Echidnae are THAT when ites to their rootsC wild and unfettered by restrictions. Restrictions that rity enforces on us. So it is only natural that the Echidnae living inside the confinement will lose the way to tap into their true potential and transform. To gain rity or to gain the ability to turn into an Echi? Choose one and the other will be found far away from you. It''s like trying to walk in opposite directions at the same time." The Ogre Soldiers listened intently to the Ogre Lord''s exnation. By this point, even other Ogre Soldiers had started paying attention to him. "But then..." Another Ogre Soldier who was not involved in the conversation pointed at Kaal before asking the question. Turned out he didn''t have to explicitly say it as the Ogre Lord anticipated it just fine. "How can Kaalmaahen enter the state while still being an Ogre Lord? This is what you want to ask, right? There are many ways to achieve rity and then seek the state of Echi. The first is to keep on using a body-altering spell that the young children of Echidna don''t pay close attention to because it doesn''t give them any feasible advantage. Obtain enough mastery over the spell and it links with your dormant powerC enabling you to tap into the state of Echi. The second is to experience potion-induced madness under the supervision of your senior. There are other ways as well. But they would be less effective than these two. Don''t forget who Kaalmaahen''s father is. Ror had all the knowledge and means to guide his son in the right direction. I''m sure he must have used all the means at his disposal to give his son a potent advantage over others." The Ogre Lord smirked as he spoke. He narrowed his eyes on Varhan and looked at him with a sense of pity in his eyes before concluding. "Kaalmaahen didn''t need to use the state of Echi because all his opponents were easy for him to deal with. Varhan''s impressive disy of power, however, provoked him to use his trump card. I guess Varhan should celebrate that he managed to make Kaalmaahen go all out. Nothing less could be expected from someone who is going to be a final sacrifice." === AN: Don''t confuse the word Echi with hi. :p Chapter ?689 Spiritual Attack P1 Chapter ?689 Spiritual Attack P1 Kaal was being showered with a lot of praise for his talent. The audience was in awe after witnessing his transformation. If his looks were intimidating for his opponent, they were praiseworthy for all the children of Echidna. However, Kaal''s father Ror was not happy with the way Kaal had used his trump card. Or to put it more precisely, he was forced to use his trump card in a hurry. Ror looked at Varhan the Orc Leader and narrowed his eyes. He knew that he had purposely yed a mind game with Kaal to force him to use his trump card early. ''Hm. Still, Kaalmaahen''s transformation can''t be underestimated. It doesn''t matter if you have been forced to y your hand if it is good in the first ce. Just be careful, my son. This orc looks like bad news.'' Ror said to himself as he watched his son''s actions. "Varhan" Kaal spoke in a deep voice that didn''t sound like his own. He was looking at Varhan, who was also watching him closely. Kaal felt like he''d lose his reasons and give in to his beastly temptations right away if he let his guard down. The controlled state of Echi was difficult to control and not everybody could do it. This state was a blessing and a curse at the same time. It all depended upon how the children of Echidna handled it. In good hands, it couldpletely change a negative oue. And if it was used by an incapable person, it would cause more harm than benefit as the user would lose their reasoning. Kaal shook his head and took control of his blurred mental state beforementing. "Let me warn you, Varhan. You''d have to forgive me if I end up severely injuring you before the ritual of final sacrifice." Kaal warned not only Varhan but also other Echidnae with his statements. The final ritual needed for the defeated worshipper to stay alive after their fights got settled in the battle ring. He couldn''t just kill him here like the rest of the matches before. "Don''t worry. I''ll have someone intervene if either of you is about to lose your life." Har Jahar spoke from his seated position in a voice that wasced with absolute confidence. Kaal bowed toward his king before picking up his weapon once again. "Varhan here Ie!" Said Kaal as he gripped his weapon tightly. In the next moment, he disappeared from his position, leaving arge depression at his previous spot. Contrary to the ground beneath, the wind waspletely silent and didn''t generate any motion, seemingly breaking themon sense for Monster Soldiers. ''He is fast.'' Varhan only had this thought before activating his time element spells to enhance his perception to his maximum. Alephee also aided by stacking the spells further, augmenting their effects. As a result, Varhan ducked just in time to let Kaal''s broadsword pass over his head. And even his exceptional reaction time wasn''t enough to save the tip of his hair from being cut in the process. Varhan saw Kaal raising his right leg to be used as a pivot axis. He was nning to spin his weapon around in 360 degrees while inclining it downwards to take care of his opponent. Kaal could keep track of his status as well as his opponent''s due to his enhanced perception granted by the transformation. That''s why he was shocked by Varhan''s reaction time with which he had managed to dodge his blow. Eren used his right arm like a foothold to stand upside down. He then spun around and connected the base of his toe to his opponent''s chinC trying to give him an uppercut with his kick. Swoosh. Connect. Boom. The lightning mana-coated kicknded straight under Kaal''s chin forcing him to pause his weapon movement and making him look upwards. But that''s all it could do. It couldn''t damage the Ogre Lord in any way. Eren wasn''t waiting for the damage to show its effects anyway. Right afternding a kick, Eren had used the arm that Kaal was using to swing his weapon with as a base to stand on it with his other leg in a seemingly unnatural manner. As if his body didn''t have any bones capable of maneuvering like that. He then used the same arm as a tform for him to jump away from his opponent. He had a serious look on his face as he sessfully fended off Kaal''s first attack. ''Forget speed. His body is as tough as steel now. This is going to get'' Eren was unable toplete his thoughts as he felt his opponent approaching him in his almost stagnant world. He gritted his teeth and spun in midair, meeting Kaal''s broadsword with his two swords. ng. Force. Swoosh. Eren was thrown about 20 meters away from his position. The force generated by Kaal''s weapon wasn''t something he could brush away. His body was hurled in the same direction Kaal''s attack wasunched in. ''I''d get cocky too if I had a transformation like that.'' Eren thought to himself as he prepared himself for Kaal''s iing attack. He could still perceive the monster''s attacks just fine and could effectively take the necessary steps toe out unscathed from most of them. However, the main problem was something different. Eren had lost the ability to injure Kaal while he was in his transformed state. His body was pumping mana through his body like crazy, strengthening his muscles and natural mana defense to whole new levels. Eren didn''t have infinite mana to support his spells. Plus, he could only apply aspect fusion to his lightning cloak as of this point. If the situation continued, he would run out of his mana storage, enabling Kaal to win by default. ''You think only you have the trump cards up your sleeves?'' Eren narrowed his eyes as he watched Kaal approach him with a ferocious stride and wild weapon movements. In his near stagnant world, he cast his movement spell, approaching the Ogre head-on. Eren smirked and activated one of his trump cards. Soul sense. Chapter 690 Spiritual Attack P2 Chapter 690 Spiritual Attack P2 Kaal felt like a foreign consciousness was trying to invade his mind. His control over his senses and logical thinking was already heavilypromised because of his transformation. So when he got into Eren''s soul sense range, he felt like he was suddenly having countless thoughts that didn''t make sense to him. Invi ze! Purple Reaver! Eren cast his weapon spells by side-stepping a bit away from Kaal''s and his weapon paths. He then spun around and cast another spell. Blitz Bolt. Eren spun around Kaal again while he was still confused and almost killed the momentum he was building. He took both his weapons into his storage and generated two Solid Sparks in both his hands. Gripping them hard as he was still spinning, he reached Kaal''s other side when he stopped rotating. Bzzt! Eren lodged first Solid Spark inside Kaal''s left thigh like a dagger. He used his other Solid Spark and prated it deep into his stomach. But he was unable to keep himself unharmed after performing such a close-range maneuver. Swish. Connect. Boom. Eren''s defensive spell that he was still maintaining vanished into thin air as he started flying through the air with critical velocity. The state of Echi couldn''t be taken lightly. Kaal had managed to subconsciously act after receiving an injury from Eren. Kaal followed his instincts and let him do all he could to ensure his well-being. As a result, Eren was sent flying in the air right after he used his attacks tond on the Ogre Lord. ''This bloody Ogre I''ll fuck him up!'' Eren thought to himself as he was still being pushed by the vector force of Kaal''s attack. He closed his eyes and cast his spell while trying to get a hold of himself. Eren suddenly heard a white noise as his senses started processing the effects of Kaal''s punch on his right shoulder. His pain receptors soon got overloaded and he started coughing blood as a result of his internal injury that spread all over his body. Eren''s spell execution was disrupted, causing a bacsh in addition to his internal injuries. He canceled all his spells and executed his healing spell to focus on healing. His body hit the ground violently before it was dragged further away from hisnding position. Swoosh. Crash. Scree. During Eren''s forced impact, his natural defenseyer dug a small crater in the ground. Some of the impacts couldn''t be fended off by the defenseyer. As a result, he received a series of bruises and some more internal injuries. "It fucking hu fu" Eren almost cursed aloud with a seemingly cut tongue. But then he closed his mouth abruptly and prevented himself from speaking. Since he had used humannguage to express his frustration, nobody could decipher it anyway. At least not in his current situation.? Eren got up from his position and looked at his opponent vigntly. He had suppressed his soul sense right after using it. Using soul sense on live entities, especially someone of Kaal''s caliber was different than just using it to gather information. It affected Eren''s mind as well. So he had to limit its use. Eren was using the passive effect of tapping into the soul sense. Or to be precise, the passive effect generated on people around him by his improper use of soul sense. He hadn''t learned anything about soul sense. So his struggles with it using it were bound to exist. Kaal had two faint sh wounds on his body that drew blood. One ran from his left shoulder to his right waist side while the other was inflicted on his back. This was because Eren was spinning around Kaal while heunched his weapon attacks. The Solid Sparks had managed to draw even more blood from the ces where they were currently lodged. These Solid Sparks were forcefully injecting his mana into the Ogre Lord''s body as they were losing their solid forms. "Aaaaaargh!" Kaal''s mind eventually returned to normalcy as he felt unbearable paining to his left thigh and stomach. His confused state hadpromised his mana defense, allowing the Solid Sparks to prate deeper into his muscles despite their enhanced sturdiness. Kaal gripped his hands around the two Solid Sparks and gritted his teeth before pulling them both out at the same time. He threw the Solid Spark right away as soon as he got them out of his system, treating them like snakes that hade to bite him. As Eren was being healed, he looked over at his right shoulder. He had decided at this time that he would look for a water element healing spell in the future now that he had achieved sufficient attainment in the element. Something rted to water had high efficiency with healing-type spells. Eren gripped his right shoulder with his left hand and looked at the void hatefully before correcting it from its dislocated position. He then coughed and spat some more blood before wiping his mouth with the back of his right hand. Only a handful of Echidnae could manage to keep track of what had just transpired between the two worshippers. They all realized, however, that they had underestimated both worshippers by a wide margin. Cheers were followed by more cheers as the two worshippers stared at each other while maintaining a stalemate. Kaal shook his head once again and focused on Varhan before speaking up. "Varhan you you can use spiritual attacks?" Varhan didn''t know what the monster''s version of using the soul sense was. However, he guessed that it was something rted to it and nodded anyway. Kaal had shocked expressions on his face when he received a nod from his opponent. Even Har Jahar chuckled after witnessing what had just happened between the two worshippers. He looked at Varhan amusingly before speaking up. "Hehehe. Being able to initiate spirit attacks while still in the second evolutionary stage. That''s a rare talent. Varhan, you could have be one of god''s emissaries with your current talent back on Echidna." Har Jahar finished his sentence and smirked at Varhan. He then assumed his previous stoic expression, prompting both the participants to continue with their match. Chapter ?691 First Spell Creation Chapter ?691 First Spell Creation ng! ng! ng! Two worshippers were seen fighting inside the battle ring. The Ogre Lord and the Orc Leaders exchanged moves at various ces within a short period. Both worshippers had been at it for a while. They had used their trump cards to their fullest. And yet, their opponent didn''t seem to get deterred by them. Wind-Fire Wings Varhan used his fusion spell when he was pushed back by Kaal''s weapons attack. He used his body''s momentum to propel himself into the air before stabilizing his flight. Varhan''s wings started feeling the pressure as Kaal started entering his wind element to make the air around unnaturally heavy. The Orc, however, resisted this alternation with his own affinity to the wind element and took an even higher flight. "Varhan... no matter how many times you try to find respite in the air, it''s not going to do you any good." With the force of the jump, Kaal created a mini crater. He somehow managed to get close to Varhan beforeunching his attack. Kaal created numerous wind-element flying shes aimed at Verhan during this time. At the same moment, the air around him turned jelly-like and tried to pin him in his ce. Wind-Fire Wings pped and their fire spread around. It prated the jelly-like air that had been created around Varhan. With another st of mana that was generated due to the spreading of wings, the jelly-like substance was incinerated, enabling Eren to move once again. Varhan narrowed his eyes as he tried to change his position quickly. But at this point, he hade to realize that it was not possible to dodge all the attacks thrown at him. Blitz Shield Varhan wore his defensive cloak once again as he used his weapon spells to defend against the iing flying shes. Just when he thought he was done with everything, the jelly-like wind-element substances started forming around him. "Hahaha. Even if you can fly, the wind is my ally. Let''s see how you deal with this. Wind Fangs!" Kaal said to Varhan as he was seennding on the ground. He had already started casting another wind-element spell around Eren. He raised his free hand to guide the projectiles he was making. A bunch of snake-fang-shaped projectiles began to form around Eren in the air. Each of these fangs was milky white and about a meter long. Their pointy sides pointed straight at Varhan. Varhan looked at Kaal with a serious expression before smirking at him. He then started flying downward at critical velocity while his body was being coated in fire element mana. ''That meteor-like strike once again? I''ll not fall for it the second time.'' Kaal told himself and smirked. He guided the wind fangs to follow Varhan''s movements and prepared himself to counter his iing meteor-like strike. Varhan saw Kaal immediately trying to put himself in a defensive position. He had an evil smile on his face as he suddenly changed his course of action. He stopped in the air abruptly before flying way higher than before with Total Control and his time-element spell. ''Time to test this move.'' Kaal thought to himself as he made his wings wider and spread them. He then started pping them while injecting them with his mana. The wings soon started to develop feather-like shards that buzzed and glowed with their distinct mana pulses. The wind fangs generated by Kaal had almost caught up with Eren''s sudden maneuver. They were about to close the distance when a shower of sparking fire-element shards hit them. These were the same shards Eren had created on his wings. Then they began raining down upon the iing wind fangs and on their creator, who had taken a pseudo flight once again to approach him. Boom. Boom. Boom. The wing fangs were sted off by various small wind-fire shards attacking them at the same time in quick session. Their creator was caught off guard as well. He couldn''t run anywhere because he was in the air. He could not change his course. All he could do was defend himself with the weapon he had. Bang. Bang. Boom. Kaal faced numerous attacks from those small shards that managed to break past the defense created with his weapons. The sheer volume of the feather-like wind-fire shrapnels was so overwhelming that they managed to breach past Kaal''s natural mana defense bynding on the same spot. "Aaaaargh!" The fusion of wind and fire had exceeded conventional damage output and its limitations. It started to hurt Kaal as he was forced to stop his pseudo flight and approach Eren. Kaal gritted his teeth as he defended himself against the shrapnels falling from Eren''s continuous use of the spell. He knew that he only needed to make it through the match and Eren''s mana storage would soon run out before him. Kaal wanted to face Varhan at his peak. But he didn''t want to die at the festival to achieve that. Like most monsters who were born here, he wasn''t overly attached to Echidna or its beliefs. Thus, when he saw that Varhan was giving him a tough fight, he immediately resorted to ying the endurance game. Eren knew Kaal was nning to maintain a distance after seeing that he could use his fusion spell to attack. Even he was surprised by the spell''s effect when he first saw it. This was the first spell Eren had created with his own attainments in both his lives. The first spell he could callpletely his own. He had this idea when fighting with Baran. And after continuous practice and countless revisions, he created this spell that was based on his wind-fire elemental fusion. The first spell Eren had created was a fusion spell. In addition, it was an indicator of his progress in his elemental attainments. Eren watched Kaal approach the ground hurriedly and smiled. He wasn''t willing to allow him to run anymore. The duel had been dragged on for far too long already. "Fire Snakes!" Chapter 692 Defeating Kaalmaahen Chapter 692 Defeating Kaalmaahen "Fire Snakes!" Fiverge boa snakes appeared on the ground. They wererger than Eren''s previous summons. They were also more lively and seemed to have muchrger fangs. These five snakes hissed as they watched their prey approach them at critical velocity. The summoned creatures leaped from their positions and targeted each of Kaal''s limbs respectively. Thest boa snake targeted his neck. Hiss. By the time Kaal realized Eren had set a trap for him on the ground, it was already toote. He ignored the wind-fire feathers crashing on him and turned toward the ground. He used his broadsword to chop the boa snake''s head which was trying to attack his neck. But he couldn''t do anything about the others. The wind-fire feathers crashed onto his back and exploded. The boa snakes tightened around his limbs and bit wherever they could. Then they stretched all his limbs until he was unable tond safely. Boom. Kaal crashed to the ground with his transformed body, creating a mini crater. The snakes also felt pain when they crashed with him. However, they recovered from their pains quickly and cast fireballs each, adding to Kaal''s misery. All this while, Eren rained down his wind-fire feathers on him continuously. The butcher didn''t stop there. He soon manifested two Solid Spells in his hands before throwing them down right on Kaal''s already exposed back. Boom. A cloud of lightning mana bloomed amid the chaos created by fire and wind element mana. The red lightning canceled Kaal''s weak mana defense and allowed other spells to do more damage to him. "Aaaaaargh!" Kaal yelled in pain as he was bombarded with multiple spells at once. Before he could muster the courage and energy to change his position, he felt two feetnding on his open body. Red Blitz Bolt. Eren executed his attack spell from his feet and pierced Kaal''s back. Since his feet hadnded on the upper side of Kaal''s exposed back, one of the Blitz bolts struck the area near his heart. The other pierced his right shoulder. Kaal tried to get up from his position after feeling immense pain. However, he was prevented from doing so by Eren''s continuous use of various spells on him at the right time, on the right limb. The audience watched in absolute silence as the events started unfolding in front of their eyes. They could have never imagined that Ror''s son would get owned so badly in the final match. "My son..." Ror was just about to approach the battle ring when he felt Har Jahar''s presence locked on him. He looked at his king pleadingly, knowing full well what he would say. And that''s what he got to hear. "Don''t interfere in the ritual, Ror. You know what happens when someone interferes in the ritual, right? You don''t want your original tribe to get wiped out, do you?" Ror watched with maddening emotions as his son was bombarded with a variety of spells by Varhan. In the end, he couldn''t watch it anymore and dropped his heada his eyes getting moist in the process. For he knew and could predict the result after this. Kaal''s transformation came undone after sustaining so many spells. The transformation itself was taxing on the body. So it came as no surprise when he felt incapacitated when he was kicked out of the state of Echi. Kaal had been crying in pain and agony all this time. But when Eren thought that Kaal couldn''t retaliate anymore, he stopped his attacks. He was exhausted too. And almost out of mana. The butcher wiped the sweat on his forehead with the back of his right hand while trying to catch a breath. Varhan stepped away from Kaal and allowed him to turn and sleep on his back. He then looked at him to see his sorry face and almost moist eyes. As he struggled to get up, he looked at Varhan. However, he couldn''t. His limbs didn''t support his movements after all. Varhan looked at Kaal and nodded his head in denial. He then took a long breath before pointing one of his swords at his neck. He swung his other sword and sent a mini Purple Reaver attack that created a line on the ground near his neck. A warning attack. Varhan then looked at Har Jahar meaningfully. Thetter waited for a while before addressing Kaal. "Kaal, if you don''t get up before I count to three, I''ll consider this duel to have been won by Varhan." Har Jahar said and looked in the audience''s direction before speaking out loud. "One..." Kaal gulped and closed his eyes, causing teardrops to run down his face. He knew he wouldn''t be able to get up from his current position in such a short time. So he admitted his defeat in a shaky voice while looking at his father. "I... I ept defeat." There was a deathly silence in the surrounding area as Kaal spoke. Har Jahar stopped counting immediately and looked at both the worshippers with interest. He didn''t say anything for a while and just focused on observing Ror''s reaction at the time. Kaal''s eptance had sealed the fate for himself. It also marked the end of the duel. The audience didn''t speak for a whole minute before starting to p for both the worshippers. There were also agitated speeches for Kaal and congrattory speeches for Varhan. However, at this point, neither of the worshippers was paying attention to any of them. Har Jahar got up from his seat after some time. His aura spread throughout the surrounding area, creating a heavy atmosphere. When the boisterous atmosphere quieted down, he spoke up in an emotionless tone to dere the match results. "Varhan of the Durbag tribe wins the duel. Kaalmaahen will be given the responsibility of serving as the final sacrifice. With this, the festival has entered the final phase. Bountiful rewards await us all. We all have something to look forward to." Har Jahar smiled at his people before disappearing from his position. It was the time for final sacrifice. Chapter ?693 Learning About Sacrificial Ritual Chapter ?693 Learning About Sacrificial Ritual "Who who is this transgressor?" An unknown voice sounded in the Telesterion as the spatial fabric above the air rippled from various points. All of the Echidnae got down on their knees and bowed in a submissive manner as they heard the voice. It was the voice of their god''s priest after all who was supposed to be even more significant than their king Har Jahar. Eren was standing on the altar tform near the spatial fabric disturbance. He knew that the question was meant for him. The butcher held his arms folded behind his back as he looked at the ripples that were getting generated over the lucid spatial fabric. He chuckled before answering. "I I am what I need to be. Who am I talking to?" Ror was visibly stressed when his new king casually addressed their god''s priest, without answering any of their questions. But at this point, he couldn''t do anything. "Hm? You don''t know who I am? How can" The voice wasced with surprise as it heard Eren''s response. It also seemed to have learned something from that brief exchange. It took its time before adding up. "Your Oni tongue sounds broken. And you don''t know who I am. Am I talking to the denizen of thend of the forest?" The voice asked Eren with curiosity mixed in its voice. Thetter knew he couldn''t hide that fact from the owner of that voice anyway. So he chose to y a different game before cutting all forms ofmunication. Eren raised his hand and gestured for the war drums to stop ying. The sound of the war drums was somehow suppressed after the voice started talking. It was as if the war drums were located far away from the sacred hall. So when they stopped beating the war drums, the already present silence only intensified. Eren then took a long breath before answering the question he was asked. "That''s right." Eren spoke in a simple Oni tongue. It prompted the voice to ask another obvious question. "Har Jahar?" "No more," Eren chuckled before answering. The voice was silent for some time and didn''t speak. The spatial ripples also stopped forming with the same intensity as before. But they didn''t stop. "I see. What are you nning to do now?" The voice started sounding grimmer than it already was. It had also started to change the atmosphere of the sacred hall. Ror and Kaal looked at the back of their newly crowned king, who kept his posture casual before answering. "You tell me. What would benefit me the most? What opportunities are you ready to offer me? And at what cost?" Eren had decided to poke the beast and see if he could gain anything out of it. The voice again took its time to reply. "I understand now. I would like to know more about you but that can wait. First of all, let me tell you that there are a lot of benefits you can get just by doing what I tell you to. You just need to release the divine me that you have taken hold of." The voice asked Eren to release the divine me just as Alephee had predicted. However, it had not yet embarked on the offensive against Eren. He knew the owner of the voice was thinking that there would be benefits to be gained for themselves if they cooperated with him. And that''s what Eren was making them think anyway. Eren and voice then started to have a brief chat about how the sacrifice ritual worked. The butcher was testing the limits of Anfang''s world will by asking the voice various questions. Eren had alsoe to realize that the pyramid was the reason behind him not suffering any bacsh this time. The reason the final sacrifice could be held here is because of the subspace and the pyramid. So this was the right ce for Eren to gain as much information as he could about the world of Echidna. The voice had also started to realize that Eren was not interested in sacrifice and the energy generated by it. He was also not too keen on increasing his ranking status with the help of sacrificial energy or blessing. He was more interested in how it could be generated and used to open the spatial channels between the two gates. But it wasn''t that easy for Eren to conceal his intentions from the owner of that voice for long. Soon, the voice started treating the knowledge it held as its asset. It controlled the flow of the information while suggesting to Eren things he needed to do to gain benefits. There were times when the connection wouldpletely disappear before the priest put some effort on their end to reestablish it. They both knew that it was done by the Anfang''s Will so they kept on recalibrating their questions and answers. In the end, Eren had a general idea of how sacrificial energy could be used. He was also made aware of how he could gather it using various means and procedures. In addition to keeping a connection with Echidna, the energy was also needed to open a channel between the worlds. "Transgressor, our Lord God is kind and merciful. Even though you have caused a significant disturbance in the ritual, I can see that you are willing to cooperate. Could you not release the divine me in good faith? We can then form a mutually beneficial setup and take our talks further. You are from thend of the faithless. I am sure you are still not aware of many things about the past and present. Your path to power is also limited by yourck of knowledge. Believe in our god and we shall offer you all that you desire. How does my offer sound?" Eren had almost gotten what he needed from the voice. There were some obvious nks left behind by the owner of the voice. But they were easy to fill for Eren with whatever knowledge he had gained from the digested memories. His purpose was fulfilled. Now he needed some time to use the knowledge to his advantage. The whole time the voice was thinking about using Eren as Har Jahar was not there to sort things out for them anymore. "I''ll think about it." Chapter 694 The Name They Shall Be Loyal to Forever Chapter 694 The Name They Shall Be Loyal to Forever "I''ll think about it." Eren said and smirked. The divine me was not lit up on the altar anymore. He then summoned his two swords and jumped. His two powerful shes caused the altar to crack. "You" As the connection was severed, the voice could not finish speaking its thoughts. The spatial fabric returned to normalcy when the altar cracked and another huge amount of sacrificial energy was released from it. Alephee helped Eren condense the energy in a sphere of 10cm radius before freezing it with her time element spell. Like this, Eren had severed Anfang''s connection with Echidna for the time being. ''When I am ready'' Eren said and smiled crookedly while spinning the sphere over the tip of his index finger. In the next moment, the sphere was lost and he looked around himself. He jumped from the altar that was almost cut in half andnded near Kirin. He offered her hand to get up and led her towards a certain ce. Thump! Thump! Thump! The sound of war drums was heard once again as the Echidnae saw their newly crowned king lead Kirin towards the throne tform that was located beside the altar tform. The butcher sat on the throne first. He then invited Kirin to sit on hisp before looking at the crowd. "You wanted to know my name, right?" Eren''s voice sounded in the ears of his audience. The spectators started looking at him keenly as a result. His soul sense spread in the audience, letting them know that he was inplete control of the situation that was unfolding in front of them. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! The war drums didn''t cut Eren''s voice with their sound. Instead, they provided a mystic charm to it, as if what he was about to say next wouldn''t be a casual statement but a prophecy. The children of Echidnae were influenced by the unique atmosphere that was created in the sacred hall at this point. They all knew that from this point on they had cut their ties with Echidna. They were now a different breed of beings that did not belong to the foreign world they thought they belonged to. They belonged to their new king. The king they had seen transformed into many of the children of Echidnae in front of their eyes. They needed time to process what they had experienced today. But at this point, nobody held the doubt in their minds that Eren was their king. They listened to him intently as he addressed them and was about to say his name. "I am the man who will join the pantheon of the highest order there is. Sages or Sovereigns are only titles for entities standing at the top of the food chain in thend of the faithless. I will exceed those peaksC those titles of Anfang one day and search for higher peaks." Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Eren said and wrapped his arm around Kirin''s waist. Because she was so close to him, she was affected by his charisma and his soul sense the most out of the audience. The butcher caressed her rosy cheek with his fingers before adding up. "I am not saying I''ll be the most benevolent leader you will ever have. I might end up being more tyrannical than Har Jahar ever was. But I can assure you this. you won''t have to risk your lives without the promise of gaining anything of equal importance anymore." Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Eren felt the emotions of every Echidnae that were directed towards him and smiled. He tucked Kirin''s golden hair behind her elf-like ear and pinched her earlobe a bit before speaking further. "What are my goals you ask? I want the power of every form so that I can enjoy the freedom of every kind. This was something that was said to me when I was very small. Have dreamsrger than your existence. Through dreams, you gain strength. Through strength, you gain power. Through power, you gain victories. Through victories, your chains are broken. I didn''t understand it back then. But now I do." The effect of Eren''s soul sense on his audience increased as he spoke. The spectators started feeling a bit of a headache because of it. Some gritted their teeth and tried to keep their sanity in check while under the influence of what they considered to be a spiritual attack. Even Eren wasn''t immune to using his soul sense on so many people all at once. Despite this, he discovered that he had the capacity deep within him to maintain its effects before speaking further. "Being weak is a crime. Glorifying the weakness and trying to make it a norm is even worse. Thus, I shall seek power, wealth, and more. I will be evil about all my needs and desires, no matter what the cost is. And do my absolute best to achieve them." Eren had beads of sweat on his forehead as he felt his soul sense won''t be able to hold out much longer. Unlike the mana sense which wasn''t taxing to use in most cases, the soul sense was taxing on the person''s very soul. Still, he held on. This was the absolute control Eren wanted to imprint on every monster that was present in the sacred hall today. This was the proof of power he wanted everyone to have of him. Eren looked at the now-pale faces of his spectators and couldn''t help but smile. The sight somehow gave him the strength he needed to conclude things. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! "Anfang, Echidna, or the countless worlds and countless universes I know nothing about. My goals won''t change no matter where I end up. You can join me in my quest to reach for that pantheon. Be a spectator on the sidelines and watch me do the same without you. Or you can oppose me and get your existence erased from your current reality. Either way, I''ll get there. Either way, I shall reach the pantheon of infinities and im my throne there." Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! "Eren Elijah Idril. That''s the name you shall be loyal to. From now on and forever." Chapter ?695 Minerva Town Chapter ?695 Minerva Town Minerva town. This was a town inside Minerva''s UtopiaC a separate dimension a sage ranker named Minerva Midea had created to find a capable inheritor for her legacy. With the way things were progressing, this town was destined to be a city. Minerva''s town was surrounded by lush green forests and vegetation from all sides. In other words, the forest was part of the city''s ecosystem. The residential ces for rankers and the management staff along with merchant shops were constructed around the tree trunks of giant trees. These tree houses and tree shops would host a variety of rankers. A small river was flowing through the town, but its source and destination were unknown. This beautiful town would be reflected in the clear water of the river. The reflection of the blue sky gave the town an ethereal feel. To reach from one shop to another while staying above the trees, various bridges and pools were constructed. The town would always have a lively vibe as soon as the first rays of the dawn bathed it in their illuminance. Separate dimensions had their own ecosystems. Therefore, there were giant flowers, trees with giant fruits, and extravagantlyrge mushrooms surrounding the town. Some had even be part of its construction. This town could only be essed on a specific day of the week. One had to travel to White Raven city first to get here. After that, they would have to wait for the time when the spatial gates, which appear every week on a set schedule, would ept new challengers. Today was going to be another new day in which this town would wee new patrons. After entering the separate dimension, they would stay there for four days. After these four days were over, the participants would be brought outside the separate dimension. The gates would only open three days after the previous batch of participants were kicked out. However, that only applied to those who participated in the tests conducted on the test grounds. In the separate dimension, the town was known as the safe zone. Those who had never left the safe zone could stay there for an indefinite period. This was how the birth of a brand-new town took ce in another dimension. It was run by the joint venture of three parties involvedC White Raven guild, House Montmorency, and House Derringer. The merchants and the staff appointed by the three forces could stay inside the separate dimension as long as they didn''t leave the safe zone. Each week, they would wee a new batch of rankers and offer them a variety of services. However, the town only served as an emergency stockpile for rankers. Those who knew what they were doing would buy everything they needed from White Raven City where it was cheaper. The three forces controlling the separate dimension had purposefully raised the prices inside the town so that rankers would start drawingparisons in their heads about prices. Then they would begin preferring to buy in White Raven city and feel smart about their purchases. After entering the separate dimension once and participating in the testing ground, rankers had to observe a four-week cooling down period in which they wouldn''t be allowed inside Minerva''s Utopia. The cooldown period would increase as the rankers progressed inside Minerva''s Utopia. The repeat participants would also see a decline in the rewards that they would receive in terms of quantity and quality. However, the testing grounds weren''t the only ces inside the separate dimension that could be exploited for resources. Minerva''s Utopia was a treasure trove. Its value would only increase with time as long as the people managing the ce knew what they were doing. And so far, they were doing an awesome job. *** The White Raven city. White Raven guildnds. Edinburgh. This city served as the entrance to Minerva town. As such, it was getting busier ever since its inception a few months back. It now boasted giant city walls that were manned by various rankers starting from Novice to Adept. One could imagine that these were only the forces that were shown on the surface. The city had many superior rankers guarding it against the shadows at all times. The city walls did not mean the city would stay inside the secured area. It was still growing outward with various structures still getting built outside the first city wall. Soon, White Raven city will have multiple districts with this rate of growth in construction and poption increment. The city walls would only be used as reference points to distinguish between different districts. White Raven had tremendous potential for growth. Nearbynds were all owned by a single guild. Since it waspletely under one force''s control, there were no disputes about its near limitless growth. It would only take a few decades for the White Raven city to give a challenge to the city of New Beginnings if things progressed at the same rate. Of course, the city of New Beginnings was also growing, albeit at a slower rate than before. So for onlookers, it was tough to tell if the White Raven was a viable recement for New Beginnings or not at this point. The name White Raven had already created hype in rankers'' psyches by being in the limelight for so many reasons. The guild''s potions were getting sold at record-breaking levels and its tie-ups with two giant houses spoke volumes about its capacity. Everything was being managed to its optimum level by those at the right ce with the right designation. The city''s management had turned into a clockwork where the system would take care of any of the problems arising inside the city without any of the higher-ups getting on the case personally. White Raven city, which was being built in an intrinsic circle pattern, already had a radius of 50 miles. And this was just the beginning. It housed a variety of shops, restaurants, and other rankers-specific facilities. Each day, it would wee several rankers that hade here to try their luck inside Minerva''s Utopia. Today was going to be no exception either. "Lady Zee, it seems we have reached the ce." Chapter 696 Lady Zee in White Raven City Chapter 696 Lady Zee in White Raven City "Lady Zee, it seems we have reached the ce." Julesmented as she saw the city walls of White Raven from a distance while riding her colt. She was apanied bydy Zee on her right and Tara Far on her left. The trio had taken their time ining here from Lionheart Duchy. The Illuminati sent them here to investigate the separate dimension and see if it could be used for their purposes. There were threedies dressed in normal adventurer attire approaching the city at a normal pace. Lady Zee had be the focal point of the trio for the spectators heading in and out of the city. Her ranking status as an Adept ranker and her beauty couldn''t make her stay unnoticed after all. Lady Zee was about to tell the duo about something when she noticed another duo of rankers that were a bit ahead of them. They were also riding their colts toward the city. She recognized one of them instantly. It was Arizihana Agnoth from the city of Silvermoon. ''Hm? What is Silvermoon''s city guard captain doing here?'' Lady Zee arched her eyebrows and thought about it. She then concluded that White Raven city was enough of an attraction for every ranker in the kingdom to visit at least once. "Let''s go. We don''t want to be left behind." Lady Zee said and increased her speed. *** The trio entered the city after paying the entrance fee. There were many queues for applicants to enter the city. Therefore, the process was rtively faster even amid the huge in-flow traffic. Lady Zee led the two youngdies toward a unique facility inside the city that handled Utopia''s entrance-rted applications. She started observing the city''s ever-growing splendor while on her way to the facility. She could see there was a huge teau in the center of the city. It was so far from the rest of the city''s construction that it didn''t look like it was part of the city''s construction. Yet, she could see that the ce served as an observation tform for all the three forces that were running the city and managing the separate dimension. The Kukenan teau also boasted various constructions, not all of which could be seen from where Lady Zee was standing. She needed to get to a higher altitude to see what was really up there. However, she also knew that the teau was the stronghold of the three forces. They wouldn''t allow trespassing or her meddlesome attitude toward the rankers. Lady Zee and the girls with her hade here to get information about the ce and the White Raven guild itself. As such, she noted all the things she could observe in her mind. The trio reached the ce soon. Lady Zee saw Arizihana at the same facility once again. She was going to enter Minerva''s Utopia just like them. There was another long line awaiting their participation. They could gain ess to the separate dimension by registering at the counter at the end of the line. Her first task would be securing her entrance before proceeding with the rest of the recon. Lady Zee, Jules, and Tara made it to the counter. A gorgeous attendant in blonde hair greeted Lady Zee with a charming smile on her face before speaking up. "How can we help you today, Ma''am?" Before Lady Zee could speak up, Jules'' surprised voice came from behind her. "Sha? Sha Hinsken? What are you doing here?" Sha raised her eyebrows when she heard a familiar voice speaking. She stretched her neck to see the source of that voice only to be shocked by finding out who it belonged to. "Julie Ekhart! I am working here of course. What are YOU doing here?" Lady Zee sidestepped and allowed Jules to take charge. She also found it convenient that someone from her group knew the staff of this ce. She might be able to get more info from her this way. Jules stepped forwards and greeted Sha with a smile before responding. "Hehe. It seems like you didn''t know. I left LA in silence after all. I am no longer an assistant professor in the academy. But I also didn''t know that you''d leave LA toe here. When did that happen? And how did that happen?" "Dear madams, could you have your reunion somewhere else? We are waiting in line here, you know." A female ranker protested against Sha and Jules'' casual talk with her voice coated in annoyance. They both looked at each other mirthlessly before Sha called out to someone to take her shift. Lady Zee and Tara followed Sha and Jules as they found a rtively secluded corner to have their talk. Sha spoke first. "Hehe. It seems like you don''t know or care enough about who this city belongs to. That''s why you are asking the question I guess." Jules was confused when she heard Sha''s statement. She looked at Lady Zee who just shrugged her shoulders, letting her know that she didn''t know what Sha was talking about either. "What do you mean? Does it belong to someone we both know?" Sha pursed her lips before answering. "That depends. Did you pay close attention to your first-year students?" Jules'' eyes opened wide in surprise as she understood the implications of what Sha had just said. She asked to confirm. "Does that mean the city is owned by..." Sha chuckled and responded before Jules couldplete her question. "Hehe. That''s right. The city was founded by one of LA''s students who you should have run into when he was in his first academic year. Eren Elijah Idril. That''s the name of the founder of the White Raven guild. He is also serving as its guild master and technically the owner of this entire city and its setup. I was invited by him toe here to handle this facility. Not Just I. He has invited a lot of LA staff, offering better ie and ranking resources than LA. Soing here seemed like a natural choice." === AN: Sha Hinsken was first introduced in chapter 71. Chapter ?697 Test of Wisdom Chapter ?697 Test of Wisdom "Eren Idril..." Jules mumbled the name under her breath a few times before putting a face to the name. She remembered the young man with whom she had traveled to the city of Lionheart from the city of Osan. At that time, she was with Lin Karr and others, trying to find shelter under the protection of the academy. Jules never could have imagined that such an insignificant-looking boy would one day own a controversial city like White Raven. She was really taken aback by Sha''s revtion. Shaughed at her surprised look before adding up. "I was the same as you when his message reached me. Hehe. But enough about me. Why did you leave LA? Have you decided to be an adventurer once again?" Jules'' expressions changed when she heard Sha''s question. She quickly thought of wanting to meet one guy before figuring things out for herself. But she didn''t want to talk about her problems with someone like Sha. So she smiled and nodded. "That''s right. We are here to take a look inside Minerva''s Utopia. Can you please arrange three entry passes for us, Sha?" Sha looked at the other two women behind her. She looked at Lady Zee and realized that she was an Expert ranker. She bowed to her before responding. "You have seen the crowd, Jules. Most of the entry passes are already sold out in reserved bookings." Sha sighed and looked at the crows that had been gathered at the counter. She looked at Jules and pondered a bit before adding up. "There''s an alternate way you can get entry passes for yourself. But it''s going to cost you." Lady Zee stepped forward and introduced herself when the conversation moved toward getting entry passes. Sha told the trio that they needed to buy the premium entry passes that were four to five times the normal rates. This was because they hadn''t booked their passes in advance. Another way to obtain entry passes is by bidding. Another set of employees was assigned to the bidding process. It holds bidding events intermittently during the day. Rankers with deep rockets would be able to obtain entry passes that way without having to deal with the reservation. Sha offered the trio expensive entry passes through her connection before resuming her duties. Lady Zee watched the former LA staff from behind andughed. "Hehe. Whoever is running this ce is extremely greedy. As far as I know, Minerva''s utopia doesn''t really have a limit on the number of rankers it lets in per week. But someone has decided to make it a limitedmodity to drive its prices higher. And people are following these made-up rules like sheep." Tara also chuckled before adding up. "We bought the entry passes at higher rates. We are part of that herd now." Lady Zee looked at Tara with a frown on her face. Her somewhat angry expression soon became one of defeat. "*Sigh. You are right. The beauty of this rigid system is the fact that even when one knows how it works, one can''t help but be part of it. Let''s go." *** The trio eventually ended up in the town of Minerva. The threedies explored the bustling town a bit before ending up buying basic information from a White Raven information counter. The separate dimension had four testing grounds located in four different directions from Minerva''s town. The safe zone was located in the center of the separate dimension that was bigger than the city of New Beginnings. They had four days from the moment they entered Minerva''s Utopia to walk through the four testing grounds. Furthermore, they could simply explore the area for resources rather than participate in the testing. The northern testing ground was a giant potionb building located around 300 miles away from Minerva town. Rankers could use the teleportation array located at the northern gates of the town to reach the testing grounds. Or they could travel there manually to search for other resources. The potionb was made for the Test of Wisdom. It would allow potioners to showcase their craft and get rewarded handsomely for it. Minera was a Sage potioner. So it was only natural that her Utopia would be focused on the craft of potioning. As such, the northern testing ground was what attracted the potioner crowd the most. The northernb was a giant building made out of runic limestones. It had four floors that were dedicated to ranks F to C. The rankers would be sent to the floors via another spatial array outside theb building. Once inside theb, the rankers wouldn''t be allowed to leave until they eitherpleted or forfeited the task they had been assigned. They had a day to prepare for the task they had been given. Failure toplete the task in a day would also be considered a failure and thus no rewards would be offered to such rankers. Talented potioners would certainly be able to finish the task before the deadline, enabling them to clear the first testing ground within a few hours. They could then use those hours to explore the separate dimension before moving on to the next testing ground. The rewards obtained by clearing the Test of Wisdom were various precious potions and potion recipes. Minerva''s Utopia had be a sacred ground for all the potioners in the previous timeline from F to C Rank because of this very reason. Even this timeline was bound to follow the same route. Lady Zee couldn''t find the information about the tests themselves because the information was said to be unreliable. The tests would be different every time and there was no set pattern. So there was no way to cheat or prepare in advance for the test. "Let''s check the ce out." Lady Zee said as she headed to the northern city gates. She observed that Arizihana and her friend had the same idea of checking out the test of wisdom first. Chapter 698 Meeli Chapter 698 Meeli Every ranker would have a tattoo imprinted over the back of their right hand when they entered Minerva''s Utopia for the very first time. This was a dark blue, circle-shaped tattoo with runic details inside it that made it look like an array. The magic of the separate dimension etched this tattoo onto rankers'' skin. Within the separate dimension, it was used for a variety of purposes. Arizihana and Marie entered the teleportation array located at the northern gates of the pro-green town. While waiting inside the same array, other rankers conversed among themselves. Soon the teleportation array lit up and the rankers waiting inside disappeared from their current position. They appeared 300 miles away from their previous position at the site reserved for the test of wisdom. Over 4000 rankers of various races and backgrounds arrived at the testing grounds. They all saw a giant potionb waiting for them that was in the middle of dense vegetation. Despite the surrounding forest looking untamed, theb did not appear to have been left to its own devices to be overtaken by nature. Theb as well as the area around it looked well maintained. The ground on which the rankers were standing looked like a well-groomedwn. There were various garden spaces arranged inrge blocks around theb, making it seem like there was a caretaker in charge of this ce. The rankers soon found out who that caretaker was. "Wee participants." A soft yet firm voice sounded all of a sudden that was coated with mana. The rankers who hade here to attend the test of wisdom turned their heads to the source of that voice and saw an elf-looking child had appeared at the entrance of the giantb out of nowhere. The caretaker had a bit of a mature face for her childlike height of 4ft. She had a curious gaze with her dark green eyes. Her stout nose looked odd with her rtivelyrge nostrils. Her lips were also exceptionally prominent and puffed up for her facial features. With a measurement of up to 15cm, the girl also had longer-than-usual ears. She had a slim build that made her look delicate. This child was dressed in peculiar attire. She was donning a helmet with an eagle''s motif on it. A blouse that was made of vines and worn-out leather. She had worn shorts made of the samebination. She also wore an armguard in her left hand. And she was holding a wooden staff that was longer than her stature. The wooden staff she was holding looked to be a very special artifact. It had snake-like green energy coiling around it continuously as she held on to it. The caretaker had also worn leg guards made of green vines and leather. Even though it looked weird to most rankers, the girl herself was veryfortable and seemed to be in her element. When she confirmed that she had the summoned rankers'' undivided attention, the caretaker smiled and raised her free arm in a weing position before addressing them once again. "I wee all of you to my master''s humble abode. Your wisdom for potion concoction will be tested on this testing ground. The participants are meant to be potioneers. But it''s not a hard and fast rule. Even normal rankers can try their luck." Meeli spoke in her soft and firm voice that sounded clearly in every ranker''s ears no matter how far they were from her. She looked at the crowd carefully before speaking again. "You must already be aware of some or all of the rules. But I''ll mention them again anyway. I''ll divide the rankers ording to their ranks and send them to the floor that is suitable for their respective rank. The first floor is reserved for the Novice rankers, and thest floor is reserved for the Expert rankers. The rest of the rankers will be sent to the middle floors. I''ll assign the test as per the floors and their difficulties would be adjusted to the rankers'' ranks." Arizihana listened carefully as Meeli the caretaker of the separate dimension exined the rules. She had confirmed that the rankers would be assigned a task to concoct a potion using the ingredients made avable to them in a set time. They could use any recipe they knew of or use any processing method they were familiar with. The concoctions would be collected and judged simultaneously at the end of the test. The top three ceholders who had performed better than the rest would receive special prices. All those who had sessfully concocted the required potion would be given a potion or two as rewards. There were points to be gained from each testing ground. Each testing ground would allow rankers to score points out of 100. It was said that those who scored 100 on all of the testing grounds would be allowed to take a special test by Meeli. Clearing the test would make the ranker who had cleared it the inheritor of Minerva''s legacy. The rules were simple. Almost all the testing grounds inside Minerva''s Utopia were favorable for potioners. The northern testing ground was especially so. As such, most of the rankers that had chosen toe here were potioners. Lady Zee''s group and others like her who were no potioners or barely knew anything about concocting them hade here to check the ce out. Lady Zee wanted to finish her recon on other testing grounds first before she focused on the southern testing ground which was meant for rankers like her. However, for rankers like Marie who hade here for potioneering opportunities, the test of wisdom was their center of focus. The halfling looked at her partner beforementing. "Ma Cherie, I don''t think you should waste time participating in this test. You can head out to the other testing grounds. I''ll meet you there once I''m done here." Arizihana nodded at Marie''s suggestion and watched her back as she started walking towards the array meant for her rank like the rest of the participants. The halfling had decided that she would perform her best in the test of wisdom. She soon disappeared from Ari''s sight and appeared inside theb. Meeli''s visage appeared on each floor simultaneously when the rankers for the test across all ranking statuses were finalized. She pped her hands before announcing with a smile on her face. "Let the test begin." Chapter ?699 Test of Courage Chapter ?699 Test of Courage The western testing grounds inside Minerva''s Utopia. It was a ce known as Mini Monster Canyon in that its entrance was just like the Monster Canyon found outside the separate dimension. However, the size of this Monster Canyon was rtively smaller and the monsters were only restricted to being nt-based monsters. It was called a Test of Courage for the simple fact that the nt-based monsters had created their unique hierarchies inside the Mini Monster Canyon. The monsters and the participants were not separated ording to their rank. Any ranker could face a monster of any level. The Mini Monster Canyon had an invisible spatial barrier that rippled every time the rankers stepped forward to enter the canyon. Upon crossing that spatial barrier, they would be teleported to anywhere inside the Mini Monster Canyon. Therefore, the challengers were not able to n ahead for the courage test. They had to immediately decide if they wanted to continue their journey inside the Mini Monster Canyon or leave the ce. The rankers could choose to leave the ce immediately after entering if and when they realized that the heat was too much for them to handle. They''d just have to activate their tattoos on the back of their right hand and they would be teleported outside the Mini Monster Canyon. The rewards for staying inside the Mini Monster Canyon were the corpses of the nt-based monsters they yed. Apart from that, the rankers would also be rated out of 100 points. They would be scored as per their performance inside the Mini Monster Canyon. Rankers could stay inside the Mini Monster Canyon for up to a day before they were sent outside by the Utopia''s preset mechanism. Since it did not have much to do with potions, most rankers who were not potioners preferred participating here. Arizihana hade here using another teleportation array after leaving Marie to her devices. She knew Marie would take her time toplete the test of wisdom correctly. There was no point waiting for her there. A hugendscape opened in front of Ari as she got close to her destination. There were mountain ranges that were obscured by clouds and mist. The sunlight felt dimmed because of these mystic elements lingering in the air. It felt as if the air there was wild and full of life. It was as if the whole fauna of the ce was one giant beast breathing in and breathing out to create the mist and mana miasma. The Mini Monster Canyon had a giant entrance between two mountain ranges. The ce was supposed to be less intimidating than the actual Monster Canyon outside. However, it didn''t feel like that for most rankers who hade here to challenge the test. Ari soon heard the sounds of rankers waiting outside the canyon''s entrance in groups. "We are a group of five, looking for a healer. If there''s any healer among you, please join us. We will ensure equal destruction of resources among all of us. Plus, the healer will have a bonus." "We need a ranger for our team, you guys. A ranger who is also well versed in tracking spells. If there''s any ranger among you, I''d" "Berserkers! We are a Berserker specialist team looking for two more berserkers. The resource distribution will be determined by the contribution of the efforts." "We need an Ace ranked closebat expert. Ours is the most well-bnced team of rankers, onlycking a closebat expert to serve as our group''s damage dealer. If there''s any close" Ari could see various groups waiting for more rankers to join them outside the field set for the test of courage. People who pass through the spatialyer in groups will be sent inside the Mini Monster in groups for the most part. This was the reason rankers were forming their own groups outside the canyon''s entrance. Even if the rankers couldn''t control which ce they would be sent to inside the canyon or which monster they would have to face first, they could increase the chances of their survival and better resource farming by being part of arge group. These groups were made of rankers with mixed sses, backgrounds, and ranking statuses. Most of these groups woulde to a formal agreement before entering the canyon. The critical point to discuss was the resource distribution which needed to be discussed beforehand before the group entered the canyon. Hence, the area outside the canyon''s entrance had turned into a market-like ce where people of various backgrounds were checking each other out like merchandise. Only C-Rank entities were bold enough to enter the ce without any groups. At their level, forming groups would serve no purpose and would only slow them down without any tangible benefits. Ari naturally decided to be a part of the group to minimize the risk of entering the testing grounds. She didn''t want to be part of arge group so she gazed around her without saying anything. She soon found out that there was a group of two guys waiting silently a bit away from the crowd. It didn''t seem like they were much keen on looking for anyone to join their team. Ari approached the two rankers while observing them keenly. One of them looked like a tank. The other was a closebat expert. Like Ari, the tank was an Ace ranker in the solid stage. He appeared to be in his 40s with the typical heavy armor outfit that was expected from his ss. He looked like he was brought here against his will but was too afraid to voice his dissatisfaction. The other person was a young man in his 20s who had worn light gear for easy movement. It looked like the tank was afraid of this young man. This closebat expert had brown eyes and dark auburn hair. He had a well-defined jawline and a light brown beard. Ari felt that his nose was just the right size for the rest of the young man''s facial features. He stood six feet tall. He had a slim build that attested to his ss as a closebat expert. His gaze was steady and the air around him felt like he was ready for a killing spree. "Are you looking for another member to form a party?" Ari asked while looking at the closebat expert. Chapter 700 Bert Chapter 700 Bert "Are you looking for another member to form a party?" Ari asked while looking at the closebat expert. The closebat expert had something special about him that Ari couldn''t quite put a finger on. It appeared that he was in charge of the small group based on power dynamics. It took another moment for Ari to realize why that was the case. The closebat expert was an Adept ranker. Although it looked like he had just broken through into the D-Rank, he was still a rank ahead of her. The closebat expert looked Ari in the eyes before nodding. "We are indeed looking for someone to join a party. You are a knight, I take it?" Ari nodded at the young man''s question before adding up. "That''s right. I specialize in medium-range spells. Do we wait for more rankers to join us?" The closebat expert shook his head in denial before speaking up. "There''s no need. This old man here is a tank who can cast healing spells just fine. I know just enough ranger-specific spells to be able to help us in our hunts. Since you are a knight, I assume you''d be able to do a variety of roles yourself. We are more than capable of challenging the test of courage. Any more, and the test would lose its meaning." The scoring system of Minerva''s Utopia was automatic and impartial. It would consider even the smallest aspect of performance shown by the rankers to judge them. Usually, bigger groups would have lower personal scores because of this system. Because of that, it was suggested that the rankers taking the test seriously should assemble a team with minimal numbers and enter the monster Canyon. Otherwise, no matter how well they had performed while being part of therger group, their score would not be satisfactory. Arizihana could understand why the closebat expert wanted to keep the group''s number to its minimum. But she still thought they would at least include one more member to have a bnced team. But before she could suggest anything regarding the inclusion of one more ranker into the group, the young closebat expert spoke first. "That settles it then. My name is Bert Chu. You can call me Bert. This old man is Romel. What is your name, Miss?" Roman was a bit angry when he was referred to as an old man by Bert a second time. But he had learned his lesson not to piss Bert off even before he had stepped foot inside the separate dimension. Roman was a swindler who looked for opportunities to make quick money. And he had been quite sessful in his endeavors after entering White Raven city. He had started selling counterfeit potions to rankers before changing his identity. Of course, Romel was vignt in who he was swindling. He wouldn''t have tried to swindle someone like Bert had he known he was an Adept ranker. Just like Arizihana, Romel was unable to tell what Ber''s rank was until he allowed him to know. But by the time Bert spread his mana signature to let Romel know that he was a D-Ranker, he had already sold him a bunch of potions most of which were counterfeits. Bert didn''t punish Romel with a heavy-handed approach. Instead, he just made hime with him into the separate dimension. Bert''s cold eyes and his bloodthirsty air didn''t allow Romel to say no to him. And now, Romel was stuck with Bert for who knows how long. He started to regreting to White Raven city to look for swindling opportunities. Arizihana pursed her lips and sighed in her mind before telling Romel and Bert her name. They introduced themselves a bit more beforeing up with a simple battle strategy. The trio soon entered the Mini Monster Canyon. *** Shambling mounds. These were the type of monsters Arizihana, Bert, and Romel were up against. They wererge, animated nts with predatory tendencies. They were also known as shamblers. These nt-based lifeforms were moving, vaguely man-shaped monsters of rotting vegetation. They fed off of the flesh and blood of living creatures they had engulfed and crushed within their bodies. Arizihana, Bert, and Romel were sent near a swampy region. The surroundings had a foul odor that wasn''t immediately apparent. The nt-based monsters around the area were used to trap mana beasts. The dead mana beast bodies would rot inside the nt monsters'' partially see-through bellies. This was the origin of the rotting smell. Shambling mounds had nt-based bodies that looked to be made of the tree trunk, vines, and green leaves. Their bodies were also covered with flowers, which gave off an alluring aroma. The flowery aroma masked the rotten smell the monsters exuded. The monsters would then camouge into trees, before attacking the mana beasts who came into the area due to their aroma. It had been around 20 minutes since the fight had started. There were tens of Shambler Soldiers and mbler Leaders lying on the battlefield. All dead and waiting to be imed as rewards. Arizihana and Romel had fought for the most part. Bert was supporting them whenever possible while trying to conserve his mana. There was a reason for him to do so. Arizihana was fighting with a Shambler Leader and four Shambler Soldiers at the same time. Her ice-element spells had created chunks of ice on the battlefield that were scattered all around her. Her ice-element sword had red and green colored gooey stuff attached to it that could be called the Shamblers'' blood. Romel was defending the fort against two Shambler Leaders. He was a tank with heavy defense armor and defense-oriented spells. Thus, he was tasked with only keeping the Monster Leaders busy. He was to make sure they didn''t interfere with Arizihana''s fight. These monsters had a set pattern of attacks. They would extend their limbs like vines and try to capture their opponents in their grasp. Their touch was acidic and they had durable bodies that resisted most sharp objects. The only way to kill them was to crush their head-like matter that was inside their bodies sitting over their torso under the protection of vines and wood-like skulls. Ari had to close the distance between the monsters and attack them using her sword. Her sword needed to prate deep into the monsters'' skulls for her attack to work. Just when Ari was done taking care of two more Shambler Soldiers, she felt a distinct mana signature from behind her. Bert smiled and disappeared from his ce when he felt the mana signature of three Shambler Lordsing at them. He appeared 50 meters away from his previous position and took out his two D-Ranked daggers. Bert didn''t stop there. Fortunately, these nt-based monsterscked the brain to coordinate like normal monsters. They had approached the trio from the same direction. It allowed Bert to cast his spell on them all at once. Lightning Vines! Chapter ?701 A Wanted Man’s Way of Having Fun Chapter ?701 A Wanted Mans Way of Having Fun Lightning Vines! Bert raised his hands toward the iing Shambler Lords and a wave of lightning mana surged all around him. The green lightning streaks appeared and began grabbing onto the iing monsters like the vines of predatory trees. "Grrrrrr!" The Monster Lords growled when they were subjected to Bert''s unique lightning-powered attack. But the scariest part was yet toe for them. Lightning wasn''t that effective against nt-based monsters because of their affinity with wood elements and their lightning-resisting properties. However, what if the lightning fuses with water and the fusion changes the derived element into something entirely different? Bert had jumped over the Shambler Lords'' heads when they were restrained in their positions by his lightning vines. He cast his next ability when he was sure that the monsters wouldn''t be able to run away. "Lightning Wave!" Bert''s AoE enhanced the effects the lightning vines were delivering on the Shambler Lords. It first conjured a dense mass of green water and trapped the three monsters inside a liquid sphere. The elemental fusion between lightning and water increased the potency of lighting to a whole new level. Inside the transparent, green-tinted sphere one could see that the three Shambler Lords were writhing in pain and agony as their bodies started to chip down because of the overwhelming lightning effect. The lightning vines started to multiply at a rapid pace inside the lightning-fused water. The nature of this water seemed no different than normal water as it looked liquified and free-flowing. Yet, the fact that Bert, who had jumped over the Monster Lords'' heads beforehand, could stand over the giant sphere attested that the nature of the water wasn''t as simple as it let out to be. Arizihana was shocked that a lightning element user could use their lightning like that. She had never heard of anyone with this ability. And the way with which Bert took care of all three Monster Lords at once without breaking a sweat told her that this was not the extent of his powers. ''What in the world is this man? Is he some old monster in disguise?'' Arizihana had this thought as she watched Bert jump down from the sphere he had created with his ability. She could already predict what must have happened to the three Shambler Lords who hade to her tomit suicide. Thud! Thus! Thud! The water sphere that had entrapped three monsters within it dissipated after Bert jumped down from it. And the monster bodies crashed onto the ground with loud thuds. Bert looked at Arizihana and Romel who were still not done with fighting with their lot of monsters. He frowned beforementing. "You might want to focus on your battles. If I end up killing all those monsters, I''ll take their corpses for myself." Arizihana and Romel looked at each other when they heard Bert''s statement. They had agreed before entering the Mini Monster Canyon that the corpses of monsters will be kept by those who kill them. The two couldn''t believe that a D-Ranker would have dibs on lower leveled monsters just because of the arrangements they had made beforehand. They gritted their teeth and focused on their respective battles. On the market, the Shambler corpses sold for a lot of money. A Shambler Soldier costs 100 Extols, while the body of a Shambler Leader could be sold for up to 300 Extols. The bodies of Shambler Lords were even more precious and could be auctioned off at various ces. With his daggers in hand, Bert kept his eyes on his surroundings in silence. Seeing that things were under control, he didn''t try to help the two rankers anymore. The two people took care of their business after 10 or so minutes. Just when they were about to move to a different spot to continue their hunt, Bert felt something glow in his storage space. This was an array disk meant to be used for long-distancemunication. Someone was trying to contact him from outside the separate dimension. He needed to go outside to tap into this channel ofmunication. ''It can probably wait. I''ll see what this dimension has to offer first.'' Bert pondered before leading the two rankers with him to a distant location. Just like most of the rankers who hade here, he was checking Minerva''s Utopia out. He could see why the separate dimension was generating so much hype across all the rankermunities. Even cultists were mixed in the crowds. This space was a treasure trove for potioners and rakers of other inclinations alike. They could easily earn double what they had paid foring here. Even with all the charges the management of Minerva''s Utopia imposed on the rankers, it was worth it. ''That bastard fox surpassed my expectations.'' Bert couldn''t believe that he once attended the same academy as the owner of White Raven city and saw him as just another pebble. Now that he looked back, he felt like his past was all a dream. He was once the promising heir of a baron who was set to enter the prestigious Royal Renar academy. But then the twist of fate hadnded him in LA where he shined once again with his sheer talent and hard work. Just when he thought that things could finally take off for him, he wasbeled with the title of the Osan Woods butcher. He had his appearance changed because he still had an active bounty ced on his head. His entire existence had deviated from his previous self. So much so that even his grandfather Isen Osan won''t be able to recognize him. Bert was none other than Ivor Osan. He hade here to check things out and meet up with Eren and La. However, he was unable to reach either with the means given to him by Eliza. So he had decided to spend his time exploring Minerva''s Utopia. Of course, he didn''t contact anybody other than these two. He was very cautious of his identity. That''s why he picked Romel when the guy tried to swindle him. A thief like Romel was easier to deal with than a ranker with any known or unknown connections. Chapter 702 Lensa’s Test of Patience Chapter 702 Lensas Test of Patience Ivor was very impressed with the progress Eren had made over these months while he was busy fighting wraiths and whatnot. He was sure that he couldn''t have done something of this magnitude even with his previous connections and reach. Perhaps he went through his own version of hell. A person doesn''t change overnight. They don''t start a pseudo empire like this on a whim.'' Ivor thought to himself before concentrating on the task at hand. He was enjoying his time in this separate dimension. Unlike the previous separate dimension he was forced to stay inside, this ce wasn''t trying to overtly kill him. So it was natural that he was having a good time venting out his stress on monsters. *** The eastern testing grounds. This was the test of patience, conducted inside a greenhouse. It boasted a flower-shaped structure with four distinct energy barriers serving as the four petals of the flower. The roof of each building was transparent, while the energy barriers served as its walls. Each of the four sections of the greenhouse harnessed four different ranks of mana from rank F to C. Meeli would send the participants to the greenhouse ording to their ranks, where a test would be administered. The rankers would be judged independently by Meeli as per the expertise they had shown as per their rank and the ingredients they had been given. The test of patience tested rankers for their patience in handling the raw ingredients. This was an essential pre-procedure in potion making. As such, it was no surprise that Minerva''s Utopia would undergo the same test. This test also judged the rankers by the points they scored out of 100. The top three ceholders would be given special rewards per test. The rewards this time were the raw ingredients and precious herbs. The potioners were supposed to take the test specifically. That''s why those who had gathered here for the test were mostly potioneering experts. The test had already started. The participants concentrated on the test they had been assigned by Meeli. Lensa was maintaining a steady flow of mana to imbue into Yellow Fire Flower, which was ced inside an array in front of her work table. This was the raw ingredient she had been given to work with. The Yellow Fire flower was a very delicate raw ingredient. Pour too much mana and it would burn with the yellow mes it would create around itself. And pour too little, it would refuse to bloom. To process such an Ace-ranked raw ingredient, an array was needed. Lensa was quite an expert in potioning herself, thanks to the basics taught by Dan. She had sessfully cast an array with her mana before cing the raw ingredient she had been given by Meeli. The flower was just about to bloom and her test was going to be over after three hours of utmost concentration and patience. However, she suddenly experienced a mana interference caused by another ranker and her mana flow stopped. Fwoosh! The Yellow Fire flower caught fire inside the array and started burning immediately. The mana interference faced by Lensa resulted in her array facing a malfunction. Lensa had failed the test. The elf girl was very angry as she watched her Yellow Fire flower burn in its mes. She wasn''t angry because she had failed the test. But she was angry because she failed it. After all, someone else meddled. Lensa looked at the source of that mana signature that caused the interference. She found out to be a girl who was giving her test not too far away from her desk. Lensa saw that it was a human girl with red eyes and ck hair. She had dressed sophisticatedly. And she carried herself with a sense of superiority only she felt about herself. When Lensa turned to look at this girl, the girl looked back and shed a weing smile. Mixed within that smile was a hint of mockery. Lensa refused to resort to the same tactics now that she was out of the test and itspetition. But she wasn''t someone to let this slide easily either. "Madam Meeli, may I have a word?" Lensa imbued her voice in mana and made it so that otherpetitors wouldn''t get disturbed by her voice. Meeli who was seen sitting quietly on the raised tform ced in front of all the participants opened her eyes and stretched her neck to look at the source of the voice. Meeli flew towards Lensa in the blink of an eye before responding. "Can I help you, child?" Lensa found it awkward that someone who looked like a child called her a child. But she ignored what had just happened. Hearing this, Meeli sighed and looked at the girl who had interfered briefly. She then shook her head before responding to Lensa. "I know what just happened, child. I was paying attention, you know. But there''s something you need to understand. As part of the patience test, you should handle the raw ingredients with care. While external interference is unfortunate, potioners are expected to handle it on their own by being prepared for it beforehand. Because you were not prepared for interference, you failed the test by default. Thus, I am sorry to say that the result won''t change for you even if I acknowledge that it was notpletely your fault." Meeli said and sighed. She then looked at the girl who had interfered unjustly in Lensa''s test but didn''t say anything. For the participants who were still processing their ingredients, the test was ongoing. They weren''t aware of the sh that had happened between the two girls. And Meeli wanted to keep it that way until the test was over. Lensa clenched her fists when she heard Meeli''s statement. But she couldn''t do anything about it now that the test was over for her. Just when she was about to use her tattoo to get herself out of the testing grounds, she was stopped by Meeli. It seemed that Meeli was not done with Lensa. The caretaker of the separate dimension looked at the cheater girl who was upied with her work. The caretaker essed the information embedded in the tattoo and found out the girl''s nameC Sienna Slughorn. Chapter ?703 Leveling the Playing Field Chapter ?703 Leveling the ying Field Meeliforted Lensa with her pats on her shoulders before speaking up. ''I know I''m being harsh on you, my child. But the rules are set by my master and I can''t break them. This would also serve as a reminder for you to never be careless in any of your tasks at hand. From all these bitter experiences, you are only meant to grow as a professional. It is also meant to train you to be better potioner if you are indeed nning to pursue the path of potioning seriously. I see talent in you. Don''t worry. You can try the test again after a month. The difficulty would increase since it would be your second time performing the same test. But I''m sure a patient girl like you would pass it the next time with flying colors.'' Meeli smiled and telepathicallymunicated with Lensa through the tattoo. She patted her head by floating in the air beforeing down just as quickly. She then looked at Sienna before resuming her position on the raised tform. A few hours flew by quickly. Some of the participants were done with their tests. Only a handful had managed to process their ingredients in the right manner. Most had failed their tests. But they still waited to see who would be the ceholders. There was a toughpetition between nine rankers who were doing everything right from the looks of it. Sienna was among them. She was about to be done with her raw ingredients as well. The test wasn''t time-bound. One couldplete the test anytime within 24 hours. In other words, if they had done everything right, they could have been the ceholders. However, there was a catch. If two participants scored the same for any of the first three spots, then in that case the time at which the participants consumed to process the ingredient would be considered to be a tie-breaker. The one who used less time to process their raw ingredients optimally would win. This was why the participants tried their best to finish their tests as soon as possible while processing their raw ingredients in the right manner. This was also the reason why Sienna had decided to disturb not just Sienna but also a lot of other participants that were doing well in their tests. Their tests would be over too soon for the scion of Slughorn to do anything about them. So she failed them by using underhanded tactics. The reason she had decided to do that was that she considered that most of the people she had messed with knew who she was. She was wearing the crest of Slughorn over the right shoulder of her blouse like a medal of honor. This told people that she couldn''t be messed with because of the family that stood behind her. And it worked for most participants. At least nobody wanted to get into trouble with the Slughorns for a test they could just repeat. Lensa was the only one who didn''t care about Sienna''s background. The participants who were kicked out of theirpetition didn''t receive any concession from Meeli However, they were also told to wait for the official results. We waited for a few more minutes. Just as Sienna was about to process her raw ingredients and pass her test, a mana interference urred. The interference was so strong that not only did it cause her to lose concentration, the raw ingredient she was processing turned into ash in an instant because of the interference''s negative effects. Sienna was livid. Her face turned red. Her bloodshot eyes turned redder. And her mana signature fluctuated wildly attesting to her mental condition. "Who the" Sienna followed the origin of the interference with her mana sense and found it to be originating from MeeliC the caretaker of Minerva''s Utopia. She was so aghast by that realization that she became speechless. It took a while for her to ess her vocal cords again. "What is the meaning of this, madam Meeli? I thought you were supposed to be neutral. Why did you" Boom! Kirrr! Fwoosh! All the participants still taking the tests were agitated by Sienna''s sudden mana fluctuation and her voice. Almost all of their raw ingredients were wasted just before they passed the test. They all looked at Sienna with hate and malice when that happened. Then they were about toin to Meeli about their predicament when Sienna''s voice was heard once again. "See what you did? Did you fail us all by doing that? It''s on you madam Meeli. What could you possibly" Sienna was about to say something when she was lifted off the ground by an unknown force. All the air in her lungs was sucked out of her while she struggled to breathe. Meeli looked cute and child-like. But she was the caretaker of the separate dimension. A separate dimension that was created by a Sage. Anything that was made by a Sage was not something rankers of Sienna''s level could mess with. Just like La, Sienna was also a Homunculus. She could only operate within the boundaries set by her master at the time of her creation. Preventing mana interference from affecting the participant''s performance was not her job. However, keeping things fair for everyone was imperative. Thus, Meeli chose to introduce a mana interference for Sienna at a crucial time. She also allowed the Slughorn girl to affect others'' tests because that was not against the rules her master had set. Therefore, Sienna''s disruption resulted in no one receiving rewards. Everybody failed. Those who failed recently looked pissed. However, those who had gotten out of the test early had smiles on their faces as they were watching the cause of their trouble suffering miserably. Now that all the participants had failed, Meeli didn''t have to hold back anymore. She immediately took it upon herself to handle the troublemaker. Sienna had a terrified look in her eyes as she was facing suffocation. The anger she felt a few moments earlier was nowhere to be found. She clenched her chest with one hand and her neck with the other while trying to inhale air by opening her mouth wide. But there was no sounding from her mouth. The scion of Slughorn suffered silently. Chapter 704 A Sage’s Expectations Chapter 704 A Sages Expectations It was only when Sienna thought that she was going to die did Meeli release her from her suffering. Unlike her usual good-natured and smiling attitude, the caretaker shed a malevolent smile at the now-coughing girl before speaking up. "Consider this your first andst warning, little girl. This is not a ce where you can just mess around without suffering any consequences. I did what I had to do to deal with a brat like you. I didn''t stop you when you were interfering with the rest of the participants, did I? The reason I didn''t stop you was also the reason I interfered with your work. Had you surpassed my interference and would have still managed to seed in the test, I would have considered you as one of the ceholders." Meeli spun her wooden staff swiftly and floated in the air. She looked at all the failed participants with serious expressions before speaking up. "True potioners are always ready for real-life experiences. You won''t always find yourself in the safe environment of your potionbs. The real challenge and skill are when you can concoct potions on the fly-- in the blink of an eye and use them to overwhelm your opponents or change everything around you instantly. They always regarded Master Minerva as a gifted potioner. Someone who could concoct potions from the most mundane of ingredients. She did that while avoiding all the apparatus and the cozy environments of the potionbs." Not everybody knew about Minerva from the bygone era. So most of the participants were shocked when they heard that Minerva could concoct potions on the fly. They couldn''t evenprehend the techniques involved for any potioner to achieve that. "Well she was a Sage ranker. At that level, I''m sure she could" Someone in the audience ignored Sienna''s coughing noises and spoke up. It seemed that they were trying to make sense of Minerva''s achievements. "You are not getting it." Meeli cut off the person''s sentence abruptly and spoke up. She flew even higher and sat in the air with her legs folded, resting her wooden staff on them. She then rested her hands on her knees before speaking up. "Master Minerva started her potioning career like any other ranker. She wasn''t gifted in the field. Not really. With sheer determination, she rose through her ranks and overcame her difficulties. Concoctions on the fly are nothing new. And at the Sage level, anybody could do it. There were a lot of examples of Sages who were not even potioners earlier in their lives managing to pull off such a feat just because they were in the Sage rank." Meeli spoke and seemed to be taking a long breath. She fixed her eyes on the students and thought of something before addressing them. "So taking dirt, grass, and other ranked or unranked ingredients and pairing them with mana is not impossible for Sages. But can you guys do the same thing while being a lower-ranked entity? Do you know any potioners in your generation that could concoct potions while battling with their opponents? Do you know anybody from your generation who can concoct potions that are a rank or two above them? All while only being in the Ace or let''s say Adept rank?" Meeli smirked at the audience after speaking about her master''s aplishments. Her voice wasced with pride when she said that. There was something special about Minerva, even among the Sages of old and recent times. Thus, Meeli did not shy away from letting the participants know who was the person that had created this intricate setup for them. By this time, Sienna had stopped coughing ande to her senses. She knew better not to disturb Meeli in her speech this time. Her background as a scion of one of the biggest houses in the kingdom held no value inside Sage''s separate dimension. With Meeli''s actions, Sienna was made aware of this fact. Meeli pursed her lips and looked at the void before voicing her thoughts. "It is easy tobel someone as a prodigy or a genius in their fields. By doing that, humans ignore the efforts it took for those personalities to reach where they reached. Nothing is free in this world. Everything had a price. Expertisees at a cost of sacrifices and hardships. Sesses at the cost of failing so many times that it might break you. I''ll be blunt: you young and naive rankers need to establish your foundations right now if you ever wish to see the world from its highest peaks. My master wants someone who can be a future Sage to inherit her legacy. So of course she''d want them to be proficient in potion concoction while they are still a lower-ranked entity. Her standards in looking for an inheritor may seem high and unattainable from your point of view. So I suggest you give up on trying to secure her legacy if you feel it''s too much hassle. But I won''t allow a mediocre ranker to get their hands on what belongs to my master. Do you guys understand?" A unique mana pulse was generated from Meeli after she said what she had in her mind. That pulse told everyone that Meeli was not a normal human or halfling. After that mana pulse was washed over the participants, they felt an extreme weight had been ced on their shoulders. Their minds made them feel like they were trapped in a terrible wind storm. In the next moment, that pressure was dissolved. The pressure was only felt for a fraction of a second. But everyone was terrified of what Sage''s remnant could do them in that fraction of time. They refocused their gazes on Meeli who was floating motionlessly above them and heard her speak once again. Before you can pull off what my master did, you need to show your worthwhile you are still in the Ace or Adept rank. Thus, the rules. I would revoke anyone''s entrance in the separate dimension permanently if they question how my master has set up the rules." Meeli said before looking at Sienna who had stood up and was looking at her with scared expressions on her face. She smirked at the scion of Slughorn before concluding. "Being evil may look easy and tempting. But it has its own set of consequences. Don''t try to walk on the path if you are not ready to face the repercussions of walking on it." Chapter ?705 Lensa vs. Sienna Chapter ?705 Lensa vs. Sienna Everyone was disqualified. This was the first batch of participants in Minerva''s Utopia since it was opened to rankers that got out without anyone clearing the test. It was bound to create waves when the news of it spread in the future. The participants in the test were bound to tell the aspirants what the objective of the test was, as well as the stance of Meeli, the caretaker of each separate dimension. The participants would then begin preparing to give tests in which they were expecting some kind of interference. They would also start training for multiyered concoctions and multi-front processing of raw ingredients. This one disqualification of an entire batch was bound to take all the tests of Minerva''s Utopia to new heights. Lensa sighed when she found herself outside the greenhouse. She was disappointed that she didn''t get to finish the test. Her inability to grasp the true objective of the test made her realize how ipetent she was. ''Potions and processing of raw ingredients! Guess I''ll study these fields a bit more beforeing here. I''m sure Grandpa Dan is pretty experienced in both fields.'' Lensa considered studying both fields seriously for the time being. Only then would she visit the separate dimension once again after this trip. She hade here to meet with Eren. But after doing some inquiries, she found out that he had been out on some mission. And that it would be a while for him toe back. But it was not like she was in a hurry anyway. So she decided to check out Minerva''s Utopia. Her uncle Devon had brought her to White Raven city. Dan Carren was staying in New Beginnings. Just like every other renowned house, the House Carren also ran a business in the city of New Beginnings. Dan Carren was overseeing the business now that they were in the Duchy of Nightshade. "It was you whoined to the caretaker, didn''t you?" Lensa was lost in her thoughts when she heard a voice from behind her. She saw Sienna walking towards her with a bunch of rankers in tow. It looked like she hadn''te alone to take the test. "Hm? I just reported your uncalled-for actions. You expect me to let it slide off?" Lensa wasn''t afraid of Sienna even when she was with a lot of rankers. She didn''t like to brag about her house. Even so, she was more than willing to use the card if and when it made sense to do so. Lensa''s bold stance irked Sienna some more. The illusion spell that was cast on her made her forget the painful memories. But it didn''t change her from who she was. Thus, when she forgot about the incident that had happened to her, she became the same person she always was. She always believed that her family had her back. "That''s right. I''m sure you must have known who I am at this point. But in case you don''t know, I''m Sienna Slughorn of the House Slughorn. I would change that tone if I were in your shoes." Sienna spoke with an evil grin on her face. They were the rankers assigned to Sienna under the house of Slughorn. They had already prevented her from causing too much trouble. One of the rankers who was walking behind Sienna was an Adept ranked old man named Regan. He was way too old to be allowed to take tests. His potential as a powerful entity was on the verge of being exhausted. So he was only allowed entry inside Minerva''s Utopia but he couldn''t take tests. The only thing he could do was to explore the separate dimension and hunt for resources himself. However, Regan couldn''t really do that either since he was in charge of taking care of Sienna. So he had waited outside the greenhouse for her to finish her test. Regan saw that Sienna''s rash personality was still acting up and he had a headache. He then looked at Sienna, who appeared to be a seemingly normal elf. Or as normal as an elf could be with no background. ''Maybe this time she''ll just scare the girl without causing anything serious. I should create an exception for this. Allow her to blow some steam off.'' Regan kept his thoughts to himself and maintained the silence. It allowed Sienna to be bolder in her attitude. Lensa wasn''t impressed even when she had an Adept ranked bodyguard in her entourage. "Sienna Slughorn? I think I have heard that name before. Anyway, does being a member of House Slughorn give you a free pass to mess with anybody? Do you think I''d be scared into saying sorry to you for the wrong deeds youmitted yourself just because you have your goons with you? I''ve had it. Now I want some kind of apology from you. Apologize to me and all the other participants who are gathered around us who have been disqualified. I don''t want to create a ruckus here inside Sage Minerva''s space. But that doesn''t mean I would be afraid of you or your house." Regan frowned when he heard his statement. He thought that the young elf girl would retreat after hearing the house Slughorn''s name. But instead, she had retaliated more wildly than he had anticipated. Regan realized that the elf girl''s background wouldn''t be so simple. Regan stepped forward and held Sienna''s hand, preventing her from approaching Lensa than she already had. He then pondered a bit before using his mana signature to apply pressure on Lensa. His purpose was to calm the potential conflict between the two girls and avoid unnecessary trouble. He also telepathically told Sienna to stand down and not say any more words. But in doing so, he had ignored the low-ranked members of House Slughorn who were assigned to her detail. Lensa suddenly found herself in a pinch because the other rankers in Sienna''s entourage treated Regan''s actions as giving them a go. This was to suppress the elf that was troubling Sienna. They surrounded the two girls and Regan in the next moment, waiting for Regan''s orders. Lensa was suddenly very angry because of the way things were progressing. She had thought that she was already being lenient by not trying to cause trouble with Sienna. Sienna had technically disqualified everyone because of the stunt she had pulled off. But it turns out some people were just born to create trouble. ''Have it your way then!'' Chapter 706 Canceling Political Marriage Chapter 706 Canceling Political Marriage ''Have it your way then!'' Lensa thought and cast her ability. In the next moment, a distinct mana pulse was felt in the surroundings as a series of ice lens systems was created over Lensa''s head in the air. The lenses started making sharp creaking noises as they were charged with light element mana all at once. "This is" Regan gulped empty air and looked at the source of the threatening mana pulse that was floating above Lensa''s head. He cursed Sienna for messing with someone like this elf. Someone who had the power to take care of him and all the others he was with while still being an Ace rank. "Wait!" Regan finally decided to interfere directly. He looked at Lensa carefully while keeping tabs on the ticking time bomb she had created before asking her. "Who are you?" Sienna wanted to say something to Lensa and all her otherpanions. But Regan shushed her by putting pressure on her. His job was to keep Sienna safe. And Lensa''s ability was too dangerous to consider her as someone ordinary. Lensa stared at Regan with a frown on her face. She then nced at Sienna, who looked a bit troubled at the time. The elf prodigy then nced around and narrowed her eyes while replying. "Oh? Now, do you want to know about me? After finding out that I am not so easy to deal with? I''m guessing that this miss of yours is used to causing trouble. That''s why so many retainers have been assigned to her. Sienna Slughorn, huh? Hm? Wait a minute!" Lensa suddenly had a surprised look on her face as she looked at Sienna with newfound curiosity. Although she hadn''t watched the clip, she was aware of the conspiracy that surrounded her. It waster established through multiple whitewashes from Hour Slughorn that the clip with Sienna in it was fake. But that didn''t help Sienna from getting forgotten in people''s minds. "You mean the Sienna Slughorn that was rumored to be part of" Regan''s stress lines increased when he realized that Lensa had connected the dots and recognized Sienna for the scandal she was part of. It was his responsibility not to mess with the illusion spell that was cast on her. He had to make sure she wasn''t explicitly reminded of the events that had happened to her. So he coughed before cutting Lensa''s speech. "Um yeah. The keyword is "rumored" to be, young miss. Can we talk about your identity now?" Sienna was very puzzled when she heard the talks between Regan and Lensa. She didn''t know what they were talking about. But by this point, she had regained her cool. She had alsoe to realize that Lensa had a superior ability in her arsenal that made even her guard Regan nervous. So she decided to heed Regan''s advice and stopped trying to spew venom toward Lensa with her mouth. At least for now. Lensa canceled the activation of her ability when she saw that Regan had backed away. She still was not pacified. But she wasn''t a conflict-seeking person either. So she decided to give her name. "I am Lensa Carren from the city of Silvermoon." Lensa said simply. However, her words were loud in Regan''s ears. He looked at Lensa incredulously before looking at the young girl from his own house who needed his assistance in almost everything. ''This this fucking brat is always trying to create trouble for the entire Slughorn house. It''s like someone has assigned her with a sacrilegious mission to dig the graves of herself and those who support her with her own hands.'' Regan cursed Sienna when he heard the word Carren from Lensa''s statement. He then cursed his luck for having to take care of such a pampered child in an adult''s body. Regan felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest. However, he was d that things hadn''t gotten worse yet. ''Lensa Carren Lensa Carren Lensa Carren where have I heard this name?'' Sienna mumbled Lensa''s name to herself before getting puzzled by it. It took her a while to remember a particr conversation she had way back with Ken and his "friend" at the time. Ken''s friend, who she didn''t bother to remember the name of, told her about this name. He had told her that Ken was now engaged to this elf girl, making her drop the idea of having Ken to herself. "You so you are that bitch who slept with Ken and trapped him!" Sienna couldn''t help feeling a sudden burst of anger when she realized Lensa''s identity. Ken was going to be her prized possession. His family''s status would have helped her strengthen her own position in both the Houses, giving her even more power to do whatever she wanted to do. Unlike Lensa who was running away from political marriages, Sienna was all for it. But all her ns to bring these two Houses together were ruined by the elf girl who was in front of her. Lensa looked extremely angry. Regan was stunned by Sienna''s words, which made him tongue-tied more than ever. The rankers surrounding them were just as confused by the developments. It was Sienna who decided to speak up. "Ken still belongs to me, you bitch. You better forget all about him and look for someone else to satisfy your kinks. I''m all that he needs when he finishes his on-field assignment." Lensa was taken aback by Sienna''s words before a smile appeared on her face. This bratty girl had given her the reason she had been looking for a very long time. "Hehehe! Take him. I don''t want him anyway. Hehehe! Just take him." Lensa couldn''t help chuckling while replying to Sienna. With this, she had the perfect excuse to turn down her political marriageC tant ims of this kind from another renowned House in the kingdom. Sienna suddenly felt something was off. She wasn''t expecting Lensa toe on board with her wishes so easily. It was as if Lensa had been running away from Ken all along. Even she was beginning to question iming him for her own ends. Then she heard Sienna''s chuckle and assumed that she was mocking her. She couldn''t help but throw another challenge at her. "You areughing now. But let me assure you that you and your n need to pay the price of your arrogance. House Slughorn would never" "Enough" Regan finally yelled at Sienna with his crazy eyes. Thetter could see that they were turning bloodshot while feeling overwhelmed by his aura. The old man was finally angry at her. s, it was toote. "Oh yeah? Now that it hase to that, I don''t want your apology, Sienna. Not anymore. House Carren will deal with House Slughorn in its own way. Consider Ken as my parting gift for what you and your n are about to face." Lensa spoke calmly. Then she started walking toward the teleportation array without any fear of the rankers who were surrounding her. Regan watched Lensa walk away from them and couldn''t helpughing bitterly. A strained rtionship between the two Houses was inevitable with today''s events. Chapter ?707 Test of Bravery Chapter ?707 Test of Bravery The southern testing grounds. Minerva''s Utopia. There was a limestone circr tform in an open space, which was surrounded by the vegetation exclusive to Minerva''s Utopia. This circr tform was levitating 40 meters above the ground and there were phantom stairs one could use to get on it. The circr tform had a radius of 20 miles, allowing it to host loads of participants in one go. The tform had a distinct mana signature that let the participants know that it was an A-Ranked artifact itself. This tform tested one''s battle potential. However, nobody was dueling over the tform. Every participant that was on the tform could be found seated with their legs folded and eyes closed. The tform sent the participants'' consciousness to an illusory space that would render their opponents for them. They would be paired up randomly in the illusory space, making them fight each other without any bodily harm being done to them in reality. It was only when they became exhausted in the illusory world that they would give up the battle. Until then they would keep on fighting to score more points out of 100 units. The battles would be more difficult as one kept on gaining points in the battle. A yer who was close to scoring 100 points would face more difficult battles. It would also increase the difficulty by making the yer closer to reaching 100 points face multiple opponents as well as renditions of unknown opponents who weren''t present on the tform as participants in reality. These renditions were spectral apparitions without any facial features. They were superior to normal rankers and woulde to fight the participants from time to time, making their job to score 100 points even more difficult. Participants would also have to fight off hordes of mana beasts. It all depended on their performance, expertise, ss type, and other personal factors. However, it wasn''t just the difficulty that increased the closer one was to scoring 100 points. The rewards one would get after facing incremental difficulties were also something to look forward to. The southern city ground offered a variety of rewards to its participants. Of them all, chunks of precious Andrium and Extols were the mostmon rewards. The ceholders of each testing session would receive artifacts of their choice and preference. The southern city ground was made for all the rankers. It was not focused on potioners and potion making. Thus, this testing ground attracted a massive crowd. Most participants woulde here not to win, but to gain Andrium chunks and Extols. The participants would also be awarded ranking techniques and spells if they have done exceptionally well. Some of the participants were also given runic steles they could use to enhance their elemental attainment. Making profits was easy after performing well in the Test of Bravery. Most of the rankers who visited the separate dimension wanted to forever stay on this levitating tform and keep on earning rewards for all four days they were here. s, just like all the other testing grounds, the southern testing ground only allowed participants to be on the tform for up to a day. After which they would be pulled out of their illusory space and sent out. Test of Bravery! The southern testing grounds tested one''s potential to stand against and fight the odds. As such, the test was inclined to get more difficult the closer one got to scoring 100 points. Today was no different. The tform was hosting loads of participants at once. Around 10,000 participants were taking the test at this point in absolute silence. One just had to sit and close their eyes for the tform to act on their consciousness. After which, they would not be in control of their bodies. However, their bodies were secured by the tform itself, raising a thinyer of energy barrier around each of them to prevent anyone from harming the participants. The participants would keep a safe distance from each other. They would be teleported away to a different ce if they forcefully tried to get close to any other participant who was immersed in the illusory space. The illusory space rendered the same tform the participants'' real bodies were currently upying. However, there was no one except for their opponents. The space around the tform was also blurred and hazy, making the rankers realize that they were indeed in an illusory space. A blonde young girl was sitting on the tform with her eyes closed. As with everyone else, her face painted a picture of stress. That''s because she was currently engaged in a battle in the illusory space. "Haaah!" Shalen Croft took care of the participant that was attacking her. She had made extensive use of her poison-rted spells and her crossbow in this round. The arrows she hadunched toward her opponent had no arrowheads. Instead, they were coated with a slimy yellow substance. Shalen was an assassin and she had a poison element. Her poison was strong enough to make her opponents lose their motor functions and cause disharmony in their mana circuits. Lower ranked opponents would instantly get killed because of such poison entering their system. Shalen had scored 64 points till now with her performance. She could keep tabs on her score by sending her mana sense into the tattoo that was etched over the back of her right hand. Shalen hade to realize that the difficulty of her battles was increasing exponentially the closer she got to scoring 100 points. That''s because she had just defeated 2 opponents and 4 apparitions back to back. However, unlike in previous instances, she was not given breathing room. Another apparition appeared in the front right after thest apparition was taken care of. Shalen gritted her teeth and pulled out her duel daggers once again. She charged at her opponent who had no face and was wielding a spear. Another long and tiring duel ensued once again. By the time Shalen was done with her most recent opponent, she was already exhausted and sweating buckets. She had decided that if any more opponents came at this point, she would immediately quit the test. To her surprise and delight, Shalen was offered a sought-after break. Chapter 708 Big Leagues’ Games Chapter 708 Big Leagues Games A spectral screen appeared in front of Shalen with a countdown timer of 15 minutes. She had 15 minutes to recharge herself and get her act together before the next round of opponents appeared in front of her. "Haaash!" Shalen took a long breath and crashed on the spot. Shey on her back and started breathing heavily. Her bosoms heaved as she took long breaths. "This fucking test. Fcck! My arm!" Shalen gripped her left arm''s shoulder with her right hand and attempted to snap her dislocated shoulder. When she did, waves of pain and misery crashed onto her already exhausted psyche. The injuries sustained in the illusory space were real-like. The illusory space followed the logic of the real world. As such, there was no way to ignore the pain felt by the sustained injuries. Shalen had been fighting with her injuries for quite some time now. She had suffered other minor wounds all over her body as well. Thankfully, the illusory space also included whatever she had in her storage space. It allowed her to take out a vial of recovery potion from her storage and drink it. Shalen was no stranger to pain and suffering. She had been working in the Escalon guild for quite some time now. Her superior was the Pdin of Pain herself. She made all of her subordinates go through various tests and procedures. Thus, Shalen''s pain tolerance level was quite high. However, there was something wrong with the test she was currently part of. The illusory space intensified the feelings of pain and suffering multifold than the real world. There was a reason it was called the Test of Bravery. The participants would always hesitate to march forward the longer they stayed inside the test, even when they knew the feelings of pain and suffering were not real. The feelings of pain would increase as they got closer to scoring 100 points. The awareness of reality didn''t exclude the participants from feeling an extreme sense of dread for the next participants and apparitions that they would battle against. No sane person would wee ten or 20 times the feelings of pain. Especially if the injuries were already dreadful enough in real life. Shalen was afraid to take the test because she was afraid of feeling a heightened sense of pain. She also wondered how the Pdin of Pain Reva Rain would handle the test when she was the one who was at the receiving end of such a test. Shalen had been sent here as a normal ranker to perform a recon mission for Reva Rain under the orders of the Escalon guild. The guild had be thoroughly involved in the affairs of the White Raven guild when it was approached by a very influential ranker. This influential ranker owned a condor-type demon beast. He had told them that they needed to finish all the lower-ranked entities of the White Raven guild as soon as possible. It appeared that this ranker belonged to the other faction of House Montmorency that had been excluded from the arrangements the three factions had made concerning Minerva''s Utopia. Therefore, the ranker''s faction wanted an in by breaking the current order of the set-up. The Escalon guild was a normal guild on the surface that was involved in clean-up operations in the Bands. At least that was what the majority of the popce was made to believe. But under the facade of normalcy, the Escalon guild had its fingers dipped in a lot of shady pies. The guild was happy to take on the mission. Especially when it had designs of its own on the White Raven guild. It was like getting paid for something one liked to do. Shalen was sent here to find out more about the separate dimension. She was also tasked with keeping a close eye on the White Raven guild by staying inside the city. The reason Escalon guild was being cautious this time was because the previous team that was sent to mess with the White Raven team members who had ventured into the Monster Canyon was nowhere to be found. An entire team of Escalon guild members disappeared into Monster Canyon. That in itself was not a strange event. Monster Canyon was called the graveyard of rankers for a reason. It would either make or break you. There was hardly any in between. However, the guild found out that its team never even intercepted White Raven team members. It was attacked by a bunch of Orcs without them provoking the monsters in the first ce. All the attacks performed by these Orcs were targeted attacks. The Escalon team members were on the tails of the White Raven team members. Thus, they crossed the same region they did. However, it was only the Escalon team members who got jumped on. Then again, the monsters in Monster Canyon were a weird bunch even by Bands'' standards. The Escalon guild had to move on from a substantial loss but they had to move on. That was especially true now that the money had been taken from that influential ranker. The guild tried to intercept White Raven team members again after that event. However, they suffered the same fate. That''s when the seniors inside the guild decided that they needed to reevaluate the battle prowess of the White Raven guild. They suspected that there were a bunch of experts protecting the White Raven members from the shadows. With House Derringer and a faction of House Montmorency onboard, this was extremely possible. So, Escalon guild ryed the information they had collected so far on White Raven guild and sent it to the other faction of House Montmorency. Then it asked for the renewal of the initial n. To the guild''s surprise, it was given sufficient time by the condor-owning ranker. However, he stated that he would send a bunch of people from his own faction to expedite the process when he sees it fit. He just wanted the Escalon guild to take the fall if and when the clean-up operation gets exposed to the two Houses. Infighting was disastrous for the business. The other faction of House Montmorency understood that fact very well. It didn''t want to take over a dying business. The excluded faction of House Montmorency wanted the White Raven city to prosper even more than it was right now. So that when it takes care of Levine''s faction, it would be handed a money-making machine in the form of Minerva''s Utopia. The Escalon guild was now stuck between a rock and a hard ce. It couldn''t back away from the arrangement. It could not proceed recklessly with its n. All it could do now was figure out how to destroy the members of White RavRaven. That is, causing any ripples that might make the two Houses angry with the Escalon guild itself. The Escalon guild and all its members were now walking on thin ice. Shalen Croft was just another pawn in the big leagues'' games. But she never had such a childhood when she wasn''t used as a pawn. It was the same shit different day for her anyway. "10.... 9... 8... 7..." Meeli''s emotionless voice was heard by Shalen when she was lost in her thoughts while lying down. She had recovered for the most part at this point. The frontal sh wasn''t an assassin''s forte. But that didn''t make her quit the test. At least not yet. Chapter ?709 Layla and Ivor Teaming Up Chapter ?709 La and Ivor Teaming Up "What''s up?" Ivor came out of the separate dimension after four days and contacted the person who was trying to reach him. He had walked through every test ground Minerva''s Utopia had in these four days. Ivor was most interested in the Test of Bravery. He had scored 89 points on that test which was the highest of all the four tests he had taken. Ivor had received plenty of exceptional rewards for his performance in the southern testing grounds. He was also interested in exploring the separate dimension for all the other resources it contained. However, he thought he should contact the person first and get it over with. He''d have to wait a month in the White Raven city for his next opportunity anyway. "WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU? I have been trying to contact you for thest four days." An angry La appeared in front of Ivor. The array disk he was holding was only the size of his palm. La''s image rendition was also tiny-like because of it. La was seen staying at an inn that looked decent. She was seen sitting on her king-sized bed with a lot of books and scrolls open all over the bed near her. It was apparent she was still busy with her research. "Um I was busy exploring Minerva''s Utopia. Why were you trying to contact me? And where are you anyway? I tried to contact you first before entering the separate dimension, you know." Ivor replied with a frown on his face. He wondered how Eren could handle the bratty girl for so long. "I am near the city of Lancelot. In a town not far from it. Come and meet me here." Ivor was taken aback when he heard La was in the city of Lancelot. It was quite a journey from where he was currently. Although the city was still in the Nightshade duchy, it was 25 days'' a colt ride away from the city of New Beginnings. One would have to use a teleportation array to reduce the journey time to a week. Ivor couldn''t use the teleportation array for obvious reasons. That meant he would have to spend 25 days traveling to get to La. "Um I wanted to check out Minerva''s Utopia some more" La''s irritated expressions turned into extreme annoyance when she heard Ivor''s words. She cut him off swiftly. "It''s "Sage" Minerva''s Utopia, Ivor. Haah! Never mind. You can check the ce after we are done with our task." La took a deep breath before continuing. "Look, this is critical. I wouldn''t have contacted you otherwise. Eren has gone off the grid so I can only ask you." Ivor sighed when he heard La. He knew he couldn''t avoid La due to the arrangement he had with Eliza. So he nodded at her before asking. "Alright. I''lle where you are right now. But what am I supposed to do there? Did your cover get blown or something?" Ivor said while walking towards White Raven''s exit. He would have to rent a colt for a long journey and prepare for it by restocking on a few things. White Raven city had plenty of shops to suit his needs. "No. Not really. Not by the Lancelots, at least. But some people seem to be on my trail. I need to get rid of them. But I can''t do that by getting involved myself. Otherwise, it''d backfire on me. That''s where youe in." Ivor narrowed his eyes when he heard La speak. He didn''t mind killing anyone. He was just worried about someone finding out his identity because of the incident he''d caused. La knew what he was thinking so she chuckled before speaking up. "Hehehe. Don''t worry. I''ll give you plenty of Potion of Innocence. I can''t use it myself because I am not like you guys. Otherwise, I would have killed those pests a long time ago." Ivor had never heard of this potion. So La had to exin to him what it was and how it could be used. She also told him how Eren had used it to kill an entire army squad andter on join the same Edinburgh army without any issue. "This this Potion of Innocence how can a potion like this exist? I need it." Ivor said, his face painted with disbelief. He felt like the world had changed drastically after he hade out of Purgatory. This single potion had the power to cause a lot of trouble for the Edinburgh kingdom and a lot of other active forces. And the potion was doing just that. Ivor was trying to keep a low profile because of the bounty on his head. His changed appearance didn''t assure him much because he knew that there were various ways he could be tracked by specialists if he made any wrong move. But having the potion in his possession would give him freedom. If Ivor had any underground contacts like Eren, he wouldn''t even need to depend on La for the potion. He could get it with a bit of effort as Eren was selling it in limited quantities there. Only it wasn''t called the Potion Of Innocence in the ck market. It was called Format History. The most lucrative aspect of selling Format History was that it couldn''t be counterfeited by any other potion manufacturers. Arge chunk of Eren''s earnings from the ck market came from selling Format History at crazy prices. "Hehehe. Of course, you need it. It was created by me, after all. The field of potioneering is boundless. That''s why you don''t need to obsess over Minerva''s Utopia. The ce is designed for potioners, and you are far from being one yourself. If your only objective is to get the resources it has to offer, I can understand. However, you can do that any time when we are done with our affairs here. I can even help you in your next exploration by providing you with the right guidance. But only after you take care of these pests for me." Ivor nodded at La and paired his mana sense with the array disk. He then started preparing for the long journey ahead while keeping the audio channel open for La. "By the way, who are the guys that are trying to get you?" === AN: The name Format History was first mentioned in chapter 570. Chapter 710 Oliver The Loyal Hound Chapter 710 Oliver The Loyal Hound "By the way, who are the guys that are trying to get you?" Ivor asked while stocking up on food rations. He had taken a runic storage unit containing packets ofmb jerky made of a ranked beast. He also stockpiled various potions. He had won a few precious potions inside Minerva''s Utopia as rewards. But he needed to get his hands on regr potions nheless. La was busy writing some stuff down in her book when she heard Ivor''s question. She finished what she was doing and closed the book beforeying down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling a bit to get her thoughts right before answering. "Um... I don''t know their identities exactly. I don''t have time to pay attention to them. They are still far away from getting close to me after all. But I have my own ways to keep tabs on them. They have someone in charge of them. He is named Oliver." Ivor was about to pick another vial of potion from the potion shop. When he heard the name, he stopped and froze. That''s because he had heard the name before. And he was sure he wasn''t mistaking the person. It was the name of one of the retainers Jason Renar had. He was very close to Jason, so he had met up with the guy too. Thest time he met with Oliver was when he was forced to travel with Jason inside Purgatory. Oliver was an Adept who had reached the solid mana core stage of the D-Rank. His real powery in controlling various squads of Duke Arthur Renar. "Arthur Renar! La, you are being tracked by Arthur Renar''s men. Oliver is his subordinate." Ivor said to La, who opened her eyes in surprise. She had first thought that she was being tracked by someone because of the experiments she had conducted in passing. But it turned out she was being followed by the subordinates of a man who had been followed by her and her Master Eliza. She listened to what Ivor knew about Oliver and his team with keen interest. She smiled lightly when he was done exining. "Heh! I was expecting that fool to act up. But not to this extent. It seems he is still looking for someone who can use the Seer array. Otherwise, I was very careful not to leave any traces of myself anywhere controversial. That madman is unaware that the Seer array has its limitations. Especially when it is used on someone like me. He is about to drive his Seer madder one day at this rate." Saying this, La sighed. She knew that Arthur had used the Seer array to track the Osan Woods butcher. It wasn''t too difficult to guess that he had once again relied on it to find her now that she wasn''t avable for contact. La was already expecting something like this. That''s why she had taken many countermeasures against the Seer arrays. She had also kept herself from being directly involved in Eren''s tasks. This was the reason why Arthur was unable to pinpoint her location even after making someone use their expertise in finding her. La could do so many things to throw her pursuers off now that she had gotten additional information from Ivor. She wasn''t scared of Oliver and the entire team he was with. If push came to shove, she would eliminate his entire crew in one go. But she didn''t want to do something so dramatic. Something that would result in high-ranked entities getting involved in her affairs. "Try to meet up with me as soon as I can. We need to n a few things. I guess I need to relocate so that they won''t get suspicious that we have designs on House Lancelot. Let''s be extra careful from now on since we know it would be Arthur''s men we would have to fight against. We need to eliminate them cleverly. Damn it. I wish Eren was here. That guy knew how to handle this stuff better than anybody. Anyway, we will have to deal with this problem ourselves. I''ll contact you soon. Bye for now." La said and quickly got up from her bed. If it was indeed Arthur''s men following her, she couldn''t take it easy anymore. The guy had the means and resources needed to corner her. La first collected all her belongings from the room before breaking open a vial of a unique potion. It wasn''t Potion of Innocence. But it would still do its job in keeping her identity mysterious for the most part. Ivor hurried his shopping too. He then hired a unique colt for himself that was better than the average. He was interested in cornering Oliver too since it was because of him that he had gotten involved in the mess. Ivor Osan was aware that Oliver was neither the root cause nor the only party involved in his misfortune. But he had to vent somehow. And Oliver was the right target for him to do so at this point. ''Oliver! You guys were part of the reason for me beingbeled as the Osan Woods Butcher. I''ll show you I can be much more than that when I see you.'' Ivor thought to himself and urged his colt to speed through the path. Meanwhile, La was nowhere to be found in the inn room she had hired for another week. It was as if she had just disappeared from the entire city. *** "Sir Oliver, the readings from the array disk have changed all of a sudden. We can''t even get the basic direction of the Homunculus we are tracking anymore." Oliver was conducting his search for La when an old schr came to report him. They were currently in the Lancelot mountain range, near an unnamedke. There were corpses of a bunch of mountain bandits lying not too far away from the unnamedke. Oliver''s men were examining these corpses. It looked like someone had experimented on them by using various potions. This was the first definitive clue Oliver had gotten regarding La. He finally felt like he was getting close to his target. But it turned out that it was still as slippery as an eel. He smiled bitterly before saying something in passing. "Lord Arthur is not going to like this." Oliver looked at the old schr and shook his head in disappointment. He then prepared himself to contact the Duke. Only he could set them on the right course. Chapter ?711 A Royal Pays Visit Chapter ?711 A Royal Pays Visit "Lady Levine, Agatha requests that you meet her." A middle-aged-lookingdy came inside Levine''s dedicated potionb and told her. Levine was busy experimenting with her concoction in the test tube. Hearing her servant''s voice, she raised her eyebrows and kept the test tube on its stand before turning behind her. "Agatha would never bother me about puny matters. Did she say what it was about?" Levine said while walking away from her table. Her experiments would go on for hours on end. And this one wasn''t any different. The B-ranker potioner needed a bath. Her private chamber was on the other side of the positionb. "Um she said it''s about some royal matter." Levine pondered a bit before nodding at her servant. She wondered what the royal matter was as she walked towards her bath. *** "Like I told you" A male voice was addressing Agatha desperately. "It was Eren who had asked me toe here. I''m sure he''d tell you I''m speaking the truth right away. Where is he? Just contact him and ask." This young man was sitting on the other side of Agatha''s table. He had dark brown hair and a dark brown beard. He had eyes of the same color as his hair. There was nothing special about this Ace ranker. However, his surname made him royalty. He was a Renar. Agatha had a headache handling this man. He was asking her to amodate him into the White Raven guild on the basis that he was being asked by Eren to do so. "Rodrick Renar, is it? I can''t contact Eren because he is not avable right now. Why don''t youe again in a few days and meet him yourself? Leave your contact details with me. I''ll inform you when hees back." Agatha said while massaging her forehead. The guy was insisting on being part of the White Raven guild for a while at this point. Agatha had other things to worry about. She couldn''t spend all her time arguing with a scion of Renar. Agatha didn''t want to take someone like Rodrick into their fold because she feared the repercussions. There is almost no chance that a royal scion will join any guild like a normal ranker. Those who did join would only do that as a way to gain fame. And they only did that with well-established guilds. Agatha didn''t want to put the White Raven guild in the crosshairs of unknown royal forces that were infighting with each other by taking Rodrick into her guild. She also didn''t know what the guy was talking about when he said he was being invited toe by Eren. As far as Agatha knew Eren, he wouldn''t ever do something like that. Not without solid benefits at least. And as of right now, Rodrick seemed to have nothing to offer them but troubles and more troubles. Agatha had to admit Rodrick hade prepared with a shameless face. He didn''t try to leave even after she had turned down his offer several times. He didn''t even have a shred of royal pride in him. "Leave, you say? Hahahaha. But I have nowhere to go. I left the capital city of Royal Renar to live here where my buddy is starting up a new city. I left all my royal rights when I left the city. For now, I''m just amoner. I can only count on Eren at this point." Rodrick said while chuckling. He then looked at Agatha with a serious face before speaking up in an even more serious voice. "Look, Agatha. I know I''m imposing on you. But I really need a ce like this to survive. I wouldn''t havee here otherwise." Agatha''s worries intensified when she heard Rodrick speak. She had thought that offering the royal a roof over his head would cause political trouble. But it turned out that she had underestimated the scope of trouble that could be caused by this brown beard man. "What do you mean by "leaving royal rights?". That sounds like" Agatha said while narrowing her eyes on a smiling Renar. Thetter coughed a bit before answering honestly. "I mean I am not protected by any royal retainers anymore. All of my royal rights had been taken away from me now that I left the capital city for my own goals. I basically quit being part of the royal contest for the position at the royal court. By default, I am also stepping down from the contest for the royal throne. So I hope you understand why I can''t live outside this city. I don''t have any allies outside this city." Rodrick said while looking at Agatha with his pursed lips. He scratched the back of his head while doing that. Agatha grimaced as she pieced together the remaining pieces of the puzzle. "You mean to say you''d be targeted by other royal scions who are still in the royal contest of power? And now that you don''t have any royal retainers or royal rights to protect yourself" Rodrick nodded at Agatha beforementing. "That''s right. I''m the easiest target for all my royal cousins." "Even more reason for me to say no to your request. We don''t want any trouble with any faction of the royal house, Ace Rodrick." Rodrick smiled bitterly when he heard Agatha''s blunt reply. He had to admit Eren had put the right person on the job of managing his city and his guild. The youngdy didn''t mince her words after learning about his stray-royalty status. Rodrick sighed and ced both his hands on Agatha''s table before speaking up. "Look, I havee here in secret. Nobody knows about me being here. And they''d never guess I hade here after meeting someone like Eren. So it should be safe for a while for all of us. Plus, you are underestimating House Montmorency and House Derringer. No royal cousin of mine would try to offend these two houses. Because it would mean they would be putting such forces under someone else''s banner. I''ll keep a low profile until I''m ready toe out. Till then, we''ll all be safe. And that''s all I need." Rodrick said before shing a cunning smile. He waved his right hand and took out various scrolls and books in front of Agatha on her study table. He coughed and spoke up to make his offer more tempting. "Plus, I have various spells and techniques I can offer you that you can tantly say came from my side. I have known about the White Raven''s team members for a while now. So I only picked up ranking resources that were suitable for all of you. Do we have a deal now?" Chapter 712 Researching on White Raven Ale Chapter 712 Researching on White Raven Ale "Do we have a deal now?" Rodrick said while looking at Agatha eagerly. He hadn''te empty-handed. He had kept tabs on the White Raven Guild since its inception. Rodrick exined to Agatha what he, Altashia, and Eren had discussed that day after his duel with Altashia. Agatha listened to Rodrick''s side while checking up on the spells and techniques he had shown in front of her. "You mean to say you were so moved by Eren''s idea that you decided to implement it without a second thought? Did you not think for a second that he might have said all those things to get the transcendent-grade spell from you?" A third voice suddenly resounded in Agatha''s office. Both Agatha and Rodrick turned around to see a striking B-Ranker walking toward them. Levine had finally shown herself. "Aaah! Lady Levine de Montmorency. It''s a pleasure to finally meet you." Rodrick stood up from his seat and bowed a bit. Agatha thanked Levine with her eyes before bowing as well. She then gestured her hand for Levine to take a seat beside her. Levine nodded at both of them before sitting beside Agatha. She folded her arms over the table after taking the seat and rested her head on the cradle of hands she created for herself before looking at Rodrick curiously. Thetter sat down with Agatha before replying. "Even if Eren had his own motives to give me that advice, his advice itself wasn''t wrong. I am not stupid enough to think that he did that out of the goodwill of his heart. But he did me solid nheless. I know I''m asking a lot here. I think I have also given you guys something valuable in return with the ranking resources I received. I just hope you consider this as well as the discussion I and Eren had before making a judgment." Agatha observed that Rodrick''s persistence softened by a huge margin in Levine''s presence. She also breathed a sigh of relief now that the B-Ranker was involved in this decision-making process. Levine pondered a bit after listening to the whole story. She was already keeping tabs on the two''s conversation before entering the office. Even she was against the idea of keeping Rodrick who had a target on his back. But his talk with Eren hadplicated things. The guy had walked on the path Eren had shown him. He had even dared to regress in rank. He was close to achieving a ranking breakthrough when he met up with Eren. And now his mana core was in the gaseous state of the Ace rank. Levine and Agatha both couldn''t turn down Rodrick after learning about what he had done to be a summoner. The guy could quickly regain his ranking as long as he wasn''t targeted. With his talent and the resources he must have umted, it wasn''t too difficult for the scion of Renar to retrace his steps back to his previous level. Levine talked about a few things with Agatha telepathically before speaking up. "Alright, Rodrick. We''ll keep these ranking techniques and spells you have given to the White Raven guild under your name and offer you a ce to stay. As for bing an official guild member. It''s better if we waited for Eren toe before making that decision. Is this arrangement enough for you?" Rodrick felt really relieved after he heard Levine''s words. Even if she didn''t directly include him as a White Raven guild member, the fact that she had allowed him to stay on the guildnds told him that she would take responsibility for his safety. Rodrick bowed to Levine again from his seat before responding positively. "But of course, Master Levine. Agatha, I also thank you for listening to my selfish request. I''ll try to pay back whatever you have done for me when I get my position in the royal court." Rodrick said before getting up. Agatha ordered one of her subordinates to take Rodrick to a secure location on the guildnds, which was on the Kukenan teau. Agatha and Levine both knew what they were signing up for even when they had decided to keep Rodrick on their guild''s estate. They could be sure that other royal scions woulde looking for Rodrick once they got the wind of his whereabouts. Levine wasn''t particrly worried because she knew how royal affairs worked. Sure, the fights among loads of royal contestants in any generation would get brutal. But yers ying big had to bet on one horse anyway. She was fine with it being Rodrick this time. Agatha just wished that Eren would be here before Rodrick''s whereabouts got known to his royal cousins. She thanked Levine for her assistance before discussing a few more topics with her. Levine agreed to help Agatha set up another potion manufacturing setup when their exchange of ideas was over. The setup was for the potion called Pleasure Paradise, vials of which were getting sold in the markets like hot cross buns. Although bothdies maintained a professional decorum about it, they couldn''t help feeling a bit awkward about discussing the setup rted to the potion. However, the money generated through the sales was no joke. Levine was offered a sufficient royalty cut in exchange for setting up the manufacturing hub. So there was no reason she wouldn''t be on board with it. Simrly, Levine was also experimenting with a peculiar version of Elven ale based on the ideas and data provided by Eren. Thetter had told her that she only needed to give him her analysis and her opinions rted to various methods he hade up with. She also needed to include a possible alternate method if there was any. Eren had offered her recipe for monster ale, which he had received from Sharog long back. He was moving towards making his own blend of Elven ale and naming it White Raven ale. It was just that he was expediting the creation of the recipe by including Levine on the project. Initially, Levine had no interest in ales that stimted elemental attainment. But the data and concoction recipes provided by Eren were pretty convincing. Thus, Levine got to work on the creation of White Raven ale right away after finishing the rest of her affairs outside. It''d be a while before she came out of her potionb. Chapter ?713 Rey Remus Chapter ?713 Rey Remus "Lass, what can you tell me about Eren Idril?" An aged voice addressed Dianna who had been summoned to the House Remus'' estate. She was seen standing in front of the old man who was sitting behind a huge desk. This old man had a pair of green eyes that were shining with unusual luminosity. He had white hair along with his long, fuller white beard. His skin was a bit wrinkled but not to the extent that could be described as old. The green-eyed man''s stature was short. Although he was sitting at the time, it was evident. He had worn a traditional long coat. He had also worn a white shawl over it, giving him schrly vibes. The desk did not have anything over it except a single paper on which the old man was currently writing. He was still busy writing on it in cursive, using a simple yet elegant pen. The old man''s study room was minimal and clutter-free as well. It gave the impression that he was very methodic in each of his actions. Dianna was still in her army outfit. She had been given a week''s rest by the army. But as it turned out, the old man couldn''t wait any longer and summoned her as soon as her mission was done. He had sent a flying artifact to bring her to the Remus estate as quickly as possible. Dianna was ready for questions like these. She had already discussed the topic with Eren. So she knew what she was supposed to say. Dianna nodded at the old man before starting to speak honestly about Eren. She told him everything that was general knowledge about Eren Idril as well as some of the additional information Eren had allowed her to tell. Dianna was very careful with the words she was using. She had her free will intact despite being branded by Eren. And that had allowed her to navigate her dialogues in a way that wouldn''te across as biased. Dianna described how Eren got in touch with her about the deadnd House Remus owned when she was least expecting it. She also highlighted the fact that it was the old man sitting in front of her himself who had approved the deal. When Dianna was done speaking, the old man finished writing and folded the paper before making it disappear into thin air. He then looked at Dianna and sighed before adding up. "It was indeed a mistake on my part as well to let go of thend without doing any proper research. Maybe the signs were already there that Minerva''s Utopia was going to appear on thend. But we were too hasty in selling a barrennd thinking that it was nothing more than its face value." The old man said and stroked his beard before looking at the ceiling. There was a look of regret on his face. It took a while for him to readjust his gaze on Dianna before asking her. "What''s done is done. The question now is how can we get ournd back? Is there any hope for us to get in touch with this craftyd Eren?" Dianna watched the old man look at her with keen expressions. He kept stroking his beard while he was at it as if thinking of many things at once. She smiled bitterly before asking the old man a question of her own. "Uncle Rey, would you let go of suchnd after having bought it from someone else? Why would Eren sell us thend back no matter how much money we offer him in return? Because whatever we offer, it won''t be enough. The guy has his own city which is growing at a tremendous rate. Do you think he would give it up just because we asked him nicely?" Dianna said without any fear. She needed to make sure Rey understood thend that the House Remus had sold to Remus was not up for grabs anymore. The old man Rey frowned after hearing her words. He blew air through his big nostrils before responding. "Youngdy, he needs to understand that not every deal is done based on profits and losses. Some deals are done for mere survival." Rey said and smirked before getting up from his seat. His wooden staff was nearby which he was used to using when walking. He started walking towards the window while cing his weight on the wooden staff that served as his mobility aid. He looked at thevish Remus estate spread in front of him through the window before adding up. "When you meet that boy, tell him that he and all his mates will be targeted by that brat Ottoman de Montmorency if he doesn''t let go of something he is not capable of holding onto. Ottoman has contacted House Remus already. We are in talks. Our two sides will find our way into the management of White Raven city somehow. That''s not a question of if but when." Rey Remus had a rare smile on his face as he spoke further. "Hehehe. You tell all this to that Erend and tell him that House Remus is willing to buy back thend at triple the price it sold it for. This will make sure he is not caught in the storm. Otherwise, we won''t be held responsible for what is about toe. Our reputation is already ruined because of some bastard attacking our customers right after they were done with our most secured auction event. As of now, we are yet to find out who has caused this and how. So we will not let our reputation get sullied anymore. We would stop this talk for once and all of how a youngling was able to fool us into losing a golden goose." Dianna''s eyes shined when she heard Rey''s words. She shook her head in denial before walking toward the exit of the study room. Just when she was about to step outside, the youngdy looked back and added on. "Uncle Rey, I see that you are counting a lot on Demonmir to fight off House Derringer and Master Levine''s faction. But you are not considering Eren while making these decisions. Trust me, messing with Eren will turn out to be the most disastrous decision House Remus could ever make. The consequences of that mistake would be scarier than fighting against the forces of House Derringer, House Montmorency, and Demonmirbined. Of course, this is my personal opinion and I know you would ignore it anyway. But let it be known that I tried warning you." Dianna said and stepped out of Rey''s study room. The old man didn''t look back. He just snorted with his nose and stared at the setting sun with a storm of thoughts running through his mind. Chapter 714 Spirit Beast Spell Chapter 714 Spirit Beast Spell A region near the Edinburgh kingdom borders. Bands. Overcast skies with a chance of precipitation. It was 3 PM and yet there was hardly any sunlight. "What are we supposed to do here?" A soldier asked another who was standing beside him. At the current army-controlled area of Bands, arge number of soldiers were gathered. These soldiers had signed up for this unique army-initiated program meant to bolster the rankers'' strength. The program had been in the works for a while now. However, it had recently been expedited for some reason. "We wait, I guess. Let''s see what the officer has to say about it." The young elf who was asked the question replied casually and shed a subtle smile. His name was ArjunC Eren''s squad member who had signed up for this project of his own vition. He was one of the few rankers who wasn''t stressed by the army''s program. Not because he had the utmost trust in the army. But because he already knew what it was about. People who had their reach and joined the army for its resources knew the inside story about the program and its reason for getting expedited. Arjun was one such individual. There was a possibility that a war with the kingdom of Layos was going to break out. The kingdom was doing everything it could to prepare for that possibility. Of course, it wasn''t made public knowledge yet to avoid panic. This project which had remained stagnant for quite some time had suddenly gotten revived for the same reason. In a way, the war held many possibilities for rankers who were present here. There were at least 300 soldiers present for the current program. And the program was held in multiple locations throughout the kingdom. The Edinburgh kingdom sought first to increase the strength of its army as well as its stationed guards before making this program avable to the local poption. This way, it would be better prepared for the war and all the destruction-causing elements that get hyperactive during the war. The kingdom had its own spywork to predict the flow of events happening all around it. Through thiswork, it was made aware that the kingdom of Layos was trying to open a joint front against Edinburgh. Edinburgh wasn''t worried about other small kingdoms teaming up with the Layos kingdom tounch a campaign against it. But it was worried about the Asikha empire''s stance on the war. Things would be disastrous if it stayed neutral in the war. And they would get moreplicated if the Asikha empire joins the war covertly or overtly from the enemy''s side. The Asikha empire had many treaties with Edinburgh. Therefore, a frontal opposition to Edinburgh was virtually impossible. However, the kingdom knew how the empire''s stray forces liked to y spoilers. The Edinburgh kingdom would be in a pinch if it turns out to be the case. Things were not that serious yet. There were a few skirmishes on the border. But it wasn''t anything new for either the kingdom of Layos or Edinburgh. However, the spywork had informed the higher-ups that it was only the beginning. There was someone namedmander Saisha Goren who seemed to have been given a higher rank in the army and relocated to the Layos'' western borders. The borders it shared with Edinburgh. This man named Saisha Goren was leading a specialized squad that was supposed to contain all the exceptional rankers the kingdom of Layos had in its army. The relocation of such a squad could only be considered a strategic deployment. Edinburgh''s higher-ups also knew that Saisha Goren was also well connected to Isen OsanC the betrayer baron of the kingdom. But Isen Osan had vanished into thin air somehow. Arthur''s spywork, as well as the kingdom''s, had not been able to track him since his sudden disappearance. Thus, the kingdom was paying extra attention to Saisha Goren and his entire squad. It knew about Isen Osan''s battle prowess as well as his scheming behavior. The authorities in Edinburgh did not want to be caught off guard. Therefore, the kingdomunched various countermeasures. It initiated talks with the Asikha empire as well as other small kingdoms. But the kingdom also knew that schemes and diplomacy would only get it so far. Might make right. The concept applied to the rtionships between two seemingly peace-loving countries as well. But how would Edinburgh bolster its strength and prepare its citizens for the war? This program was one of the answers it had found for itself. *** "My soldiers!" An authoritative male voice abruptly rang out in the surrounding area. The spectators looked up at the source of the voice and saw that there was someone in the air. This C-Rank army officer was walking on air as if it were solid ground. His Way of the Wind had reached an exceptional level of attainment. This man''s name was Manas Reach. He was one of the military officials who were chosen to lead this region''s special program by high-ranking military officials. He walked casually on air while looking down at the soldiers who had gathered up below him. The man stopped walking and folded his hands behind his back. He stood in a standard military stance before addressing his audience. "My soldiers, soon we might have to face some difficult challenges. To oppose the enemy, who is ring at us with schemes in his mind, we have to have strength. We need strength to protect what is rightfully ours. And we need strength to deter any other force that might be eyeing us like hyenas." Manas Reach spoke with a serious expression on his face. A smile spread across his face as he spoke his next words. "But worry not. Edinburgh has been through many hardships like these and came out on top. We will make the enemy understand why it hadn''t dared to attack us all this while." Manas said and raised his hands. In the next moment, a giant array lit up on the ground on which the rankers were standing. Upon activation, the array made a scroll appear in front of every ranker in Manas'' audience. The soldiers took hold of the scrolls that suddenly appeared in front of them. But they didn''t open it up. They looked in Manas'' direction, waiting for his order. Manas confronted all the res directed at him with a cunning smile before speaking. "The kingdom of Edinburgh had decided to strengthen all its forces using a very unique spell. A spell that might harm your soul if you are not prepared. A spell that can make you a lunatic if you and your soul are not strong-willed. But if you manage to integrate it into your power, it might prove to be your trump card in battle. Because it would turn out to be almost the same as having a demon beastpanion by your side. Spirit beast spell! Each of you can be considered one of the lucky ones to participate in this program. Those who don''t want to take risks can quit right now. But quitting mid-way after the process starts won''t be allowed. The decision would affect your future for better or worse. Now choose." === AN: Arjun talks about the army''s Spirit beast spell program in chapter 585. Chapter ?715 New Dawn P1 Chapter ?715 New Dawn P1 Monster Canyon. A region near Baikal Picholke. Evening 5 PM. The sun was beginning to set. "Aaaargh!" An Ogre Lord''s shrill was heard in the surrounding area. He was being attacked by a ck-haired man who had serious expressions on his face. "Human... I killed fewer adventurers than Bigua. Why are you attacking me first?" Ogre Lord Hiram kept running away from the human who was on his tail. He was trying to talk to him in an attempt to divert his attention. s, the ck-haired man didn''t listen to any of the monster''s pleas. He just branded his sword in front of him before casting his weapon spell. Shadow Slicer! A ck-as-ink flying sh was released from his slightly curved sword. It traveled swiftly across thend and hit the back of the Ogre Lord Hiram. "Baaaah!" The Ogre Lord cried once again after the attacknded on him. By now, he had multiple ck wounds on his body. These wounds didn''t reek of blood. The skin around his wounds just turned ck, as if there was no life in the tissues surrounding the wound. The ck-haired, ck-eyed young man had special elemental attainment. The element of shadow. And his elemental affinity had allowed him to wield his element in such a way that it would terrify any of his opponents. This ck-haired young man was on a mission to purge some monsters in the region around Baikal Pichol Lake. A short time ago, he became a D-Rank. And yet, he was capable of dispatching someone of Hiram''s level, who was an up-anding Ogre of his tribe, just a few steps away from challenging his chieftain for his position. The power struggle within monsters'' tribes was no joke. It would make each monster fight for their survival no matter who they were. There was only one way to achieve the position of power within all monstermunities. It was through strength and strength alone. The Ogre Lord Hiram had been a well-established member of his tribe. He had even dared to kill adventurers and loot them for resources when the chieftain of his tribe had specifically warned all his members against it. His bold actions had granted him fame and prestige within the monstermunity. However, it also attracted Edinbugh''s kingdom''s attention. As a result, a mission was assigned and ran through multiple guilds before it ended up being taken by the ck-haired man''s guild. The ck-haired man saw that the Ogre Lord was surprisingly agile for someone who had been injured to this extent by him. He had to admit that monster bodies were superior in terms of almost all body stats. The human ranker didn''t show it. But he was a bit out of breath. That''s because his mission had gotten a bit haywire and he had been battling for quite some time. It was only due to the miraculous ranking breakthrough that he hade this far. His team was to attack Hiram''s entire tribe with some Adept rankers dispatched by the kingdom of Edinburgh. They were supposed to meet the kingdom-affiliated rankers not too far away from the monster tribe they were supposed to target. On their way, however, they were attacked by some unknown rankers wearing masks. As a result, their team was separated. They had to separate otherwise the enemy was keen on using an istion array on them to make all of them stay in the same ce. The ck-haired man was the de facto leader of his team. He immediately decided to split his team into multiple groups. He made sure that each of his team members had someone they could rely on. He stayed alone. That''s because he could tell that the enemy was especially focused on taking his head. He didn''t want to put someone in the crosshairs because of him. Besides, his spells worked best when he was alone. The man had taken care of three D-Rank members who were targeting him. He didn''t even bother asking them about their origins or their motives. Their guild master had already told them about these things. He had provided a few simple instructions to all of them. "Kill without asking questions if you find yourself in trouble. The aftermath can be dealt withter on when the dust settles." This tant statement from the guild master prompted all members of the team to take appropriate action. The ck-haired young man had be the incarnation of death and destruction thanks to it. He didn''t care about clearing up the supposed misunderstanding with his enemies. He activated his strategic retreat n as soon as things started heading south. Having just finished killing his masked pursuers, he came across Hiram''s squad, which was out hunting. Hiram was in the tribe''s hunting squads, and the ck-haired young man had stepped into the tribe''s hunting zone unwittingly. This was especially bizarre for the ck-haired young man because he had thought that he was heading in the opposite direction from Hiram''s tribe. Only now did he understand why the Monster Canyon was called the rankers'' graveyard. The ce itself was used to create chaos for its residents. When he came face to face with Hiram''s hunting squad, both he and the squad didn''t know what to do. At first, both sides were locked in a stalemate. It was only broken by the Ogre Lord Hiram himself when he decided tounch an attack on the unknown and uninvited human. Normally, the ck-haired man would have chosen to run away from the situation because he wasn''t ready to take on Hiram. But he didn''t want toplicate his team''s circumstances further by adding Hiram into the equation. Besides, there was no way he could outrun a Monster lord while being in the Ace rank at the time. So he fought Hiram''s team valiantly, using all his trump cards and even forbidden techniques. With them, he had managed to kill all of Hiram''s subordinates who were Monster Leaders and Monster Soldiers. Hiram watched all his subordinates get killed by this exceptional human ranker and decided to kill the ck-haired man slowly and painfully. He torched him and yed with him and made him experience a hell of a pain in a short time. Hiram also insulted the ck-haired man in various ways while he was close to death. All of the pain and insults he endured along with his life-threatening situation allowed him to tap into his dormant potential. The shadow-element ranker stepped into D-Rank just when he was close to death. The state of Epiphany he was in allowed him to upgrade all his spells, making thempatible with his D-Rank. Chapter 716 New Dawn P2 Chapter 716 New Dawn P2 The breakthrough of the shadow element ranker was also noteworthy. It had created a ck swamp around him for 100 meters, destroying everything it touched and came in contact with. The shadow element would just take the life out of every living thing, making it deader than the dead. It would also negatively affect the inorganic matter, making it appear aged or corroded. Special circumstances allowed the young human ranker toplete his rank breakthrough and state of epiphany peacefully. It enabled him to digest all his gains without having to worry about someone like Hiram attacking him. The Ogre Lord also couldn''t approach the human ranker nor could he run away from his current position. A ck swamp surrounded him in all directions, blocking all his exits. The Ogre Lord could feel that his body would just stop functioning after he was bombarded with such a potent shadow-element mana. The ck swamp that was festering with malignant bubbles every now and then was nothing but the manifestation of the shadow element. Hiram could only watch in lowkey fear as the young human ranker passed through his breakthrough. He regretted initiating an attack on this crazy ranker. And he regretted ying with him. He should have killed him when he had the chance. After the young humanpleted his breakthrough, he was in the gaseous state of the D-Rank. He also found out that he had so many ideas in his head about his path and his elemental attainment. Ideas that could one day enable him to gain his signature abilities. When the young man''s breakthrough wasplete, the ck swamp vanished from existence. As if the ce that usually cursed rankers would also bless them if they could pass the test it had put them into. It was for this reason that so many rankers stuck in their rankings dared to enter Monster Canyon despite its dangers. The ce was used to create miracles for a select few rankers. And every ranker who had lost hope wanted themselves to be one of the chosen ones. This time, the Monster Canyon had offered this young man a taste of the miracle. It had pulled him away from the brink of death and enabled him to fight with his enemy. The young man wouldn''t let go of Hiram now that he waspletely recovered from all his injuries and fatigue. His rank had been elevated, his spells had been upgraded, and his elemental attainment had achieved new heights. There was no reason for him to not take care of the Monster Lord who was in front of him. Another round of battle ensued. This time, Hiram was on the losing side. Only now did he understand how terrifying the human ranker''s shadow element was. The element and his upgraded spells had allowed him to dominate the Ogre Lord by himself. So the Ogre Lord finally decided to make a run toward his tribe. He knew he was about to be bombarded with the human ranker''s spells from behind him. But he gritted his teeth and kept on running. This situation had led both the human ranker and the Ogre Lord to their current predicament. The ck-haired young man wanted to kill the Ogre Lord for his peace of mind. Hiram on the other hand wanted nothing to do with this human ranker anymore. The shadow-element ranker was Drin Dawn. It was the White Raven guild that had been given the mission to purge Hiram''s tribe. They had taken many missions rted to Monster Canyon by this point. This was the first time they had run into the problem. The masked rankers who had targeted them were from the Escalon guild. However, this wasn''t their first time going after the White Ravens. They had already tried attacking the team twice already. It was only when they attacked the team a third time that they managed to seed in their endeavors. The Escalon guild was almost fed up with attacking the White Raven team members. That''s because they would be attacked by a bunch of Orc Hunter squads every time they zeroed in on these people. It is as if the monsters were aiding the White Raven team members. Which was something iprehensible and unthinkable. With its third attempt, the Escalon guild opened multiple fronts to attack the White Raven team members at the same time and finally managed to intercept them. But as a result, since their numbers were divided, they weren''t able to overwhelm their targets, allowing them to break free from them. The Orc Hunter squads were indeed ordered to keep the White Raven team members safe by their guild master. The order was issued to themander of a big orc tribe named Baran who had managed the task given to him with flying colors. Baran ughtered the Escalon guild''s team members as soon as he identified them to be targeting the White Raven members. He had the means to keep track of what was happening inside the Monster Canyon. Suffice it to say, the relocation of his huge tribe had been aplished for him without any problems. Eren had already shared his team''s information with Baran before parting with him. He had anticipated that attacks would beunched against his team in the Monster Canyon by other forces. He always knew owning his current guildnd was a blessing as well as a curse. A curse only if he didn''t figure out how to tackle the problems heading his way. He knew he could count on Levine''s factions as well as House Deringer to act as a deterrent. But he couldn''t count on them in regions like Monster Canyon where every mishap could be exined and reasoned with. Eren had begun his ns to acquire Echidna''s Authority as soon as he had imed his guildnd. The fruits of hisbor were now being tested by his team members without their knowledge. Drin had also found it strange that there were no more masked pursuers following him while he was battling with the ogre Lord. But he didn''t pay much attention to it because he had his hands full with his opponent. Drin was tired because he was not used to his elevated rank and his spells. As a result, he ended up taxing his body and expanding his mana reserves more than he should have. But for some reason, despite being out of breath, Drin was excited. He had miraculously risen to the D-Rank. After he became an Adept, it was as if new dawn had broken for him. Chapter ?717 Shadow Spell Combo Chapter ?717 Shadow Spell Combo Shadow mes! Drin was finally able to cast his spell and created a circle of mes to stop Hiram from escaping any further. Since he was not used to his upgrades spell, it took him some time to cast it. Hiram stopped moving any further when he saw that Drin''s shadow element had acquired the properties of me. The shadow element was derived from the great elements. The ether would bebined with all the other great elements in differing quantities, enabling the user of the shadow element to acquire the properties of other elements while using the shadow-element mana. Because of his elemental malleability, he was able to take full advantage of his rare element. Drin also found it difficult to advance into rank because of his element and inherent nature. Due to the uniqueness of elements, he would experience intermittent bottlenecks. There were not many resources avable for him to make use of. There were hardly any "shortcuts" avable for him to choose from in the form of runic stele or other such things. This was why Drin was very surprised when he achieved his breakthrough while advancing so far into his elemental attainment. It was as if his legs had been reced with wheels that just allowed him to run past all his obstacles at breakneck speeds. Hiram had grim expressions on his face as he turned back. He wanted to lead Drin to his tribe. But it seemed like the human ranker was already aware of his n. He had stopped him from running at the cost of spending arge amount of mana. Drin coated his sword in ck mes that affected the fabric of space and took a long breath. He looked at his target before speaking up. "You said Bigua killed more adventurers than you, right? Want to tell me more about him so that we can take care of him after we''re done with you?" Bigua was the Ogre Lord of Hiram''s tribe. He had attacked various human settlements when he was just an Ogre Leader, causing the rankers to chase after him. After many close calls and fought battles, Bigua hade to realize that battling with adventurers who could n things and cooperate in teams was not a wise choice. Hence, Bigua changed his approach when he was an Ogre Lord. He focused on gaining personal strength by bing a strong fighter in the Bands. After bing the chieftain of his tribe, he suggested to his tribe members that they should avoid causing trouble with adventurers. Hiram knew about Bigua''s trouble-causing past because he was made aware of these things by anybody whopared him with the chieftain from the past. They told Hiram how we were the Bigua Lite even with all his achievements, which pissed Hiram off. Bigua became difficult to track for adventurers and the kingdom after his reform. But Hiram''s activities had put Bigua back on their radar. Thus, Bigua had a much higher price on his head than the amount awarded by the mission itself. Drin was eager to collect information about such a monster because his team would have to fight Bigua''s entire team eventually. Of course, Bigua would be handled by kingdom-affiliated rankers who had been specially dispatched to take care of him. However, Drin didn''t want to get caught off guard anymore. He didn''t want to put his team''s safety at risk regardless of their intentions. "You want to know about Bigua because you think I was nning to challenge him for the position of chieftain. And now that I''m going to die, do you think I''d be happy to sign the death sentence for my current chieftain as well? Hahaha." Hiram channeled his earth element mana throughout his body as heughed. His limbs were coated in earth-element mana. Stone and mud armor soon covered him. Hiram had discarded wearing the armor earlier because he didn''t want to be restricted in his movements. At this point, he decided not to continue running. Hiram looked at the earth-element ranker with narrowed eyes before speaking up. "You would never understand our customs. Yes, I want to challenge Bigua and get rid of him. But that is not to say I would be happy if someone else did it for me. I would have challenged Bigua in the future. But that doesn''t mean I''m ready to betray him now that my life is on the line. He is still my chieftain. And as long as he is my chieftain or anyone from my tribe, I''d not betray him." Hiram said and struck both of his earth-element-armor-coated fists against each other. He then charged at Drin intending to carry out a kamikaze attack. Drin, like every other ranker, wasn''t aware of the rules and customs the children of Echidna followed after gaining their rity. Almost every ranker had thought that the monsters were shrewd and selfish enough to act against each other. But all their actions were based on a culture that had its own rules. Drin saw that Hiram was approaching him at high speed. He was creating a lot of noise and mana disturbance. The heavy armor was a function of his inherent nature of absolute defense and dominance. As such, it couldn''t tap into the anti-gravitational aspect of the earth-element that could have offered him enhanced mobility despite his heavy armor. But in turn, his defense was a notch above other monsters of his level. Drin had only managed to hurt him because of his unique element. Any other ranker in his position would have had a much more difficult time achieving half the feats against Hiram as he did. Drin couldn''t help but feel his swordy wouldn''t help him much against Hiram now that he was all covered in armor made of earth elements. So he retracted his weapon and coated all his limbs with shadow element mana before casting his spells. Shadow Steps. Shadow mes. Shadow Chains. The Adept ranker had cast multiple spells at once, turning them into a spellbo. Chapter 718 Shadow Switch Chapter 718 Shadow Switch Drin cast his spellbo and disappeared from his position. In the next moment, Hiram felt a distinct mana signature surrounding him. Loads of ck shadow-element chains sprouted Hiram''s shadow and climbed on his legs. They first bound his legs and stopped him in his tracks. Then they climbed on his body and bound him to a still position. The contact the chains made with Hiram''s armor started showing cracks. The armor developed mud-crack-like scales on its surface as if the entire moisture had been sucked dry because ofing in contact with the shadow element. "Aaaaargh! Release me if you dare, human!" Hiram yelled while getting angry. He had broken these shadow element chains easily when Drin was in the Ace rank without having to cast the armor spell on himself. But after the human ranker''s rank upgrade, the Ogre Lord hade to realize that Drin had gotten way stronger than he had anticipated. Approach. Grab. Punch. Drin appeared out of nowhere in front of the Ogre Lord and grabbed his chained arm. He then pulled the monster toward him before jumping over his head. Whileing down on him, Drin punched the monster''s back with his hands coated in ck shadow mes. Drin did all this in one swift motion, linking all his moves seamlessly. As a result, Hiram was on the ground before he could understand what had happened to him. The shadow chains that had bound him tightened around his body some more. And more shadow chains sprouted from the ground, securing the Ogre Lord in his current position. Drin knew that Hiram was suffering less damage than what he was inflicting on him because of the monster''s armor. So he decided to increase his damage output by delivering multiple attacks at once. Shadow mes! Drin lit the ground beneath Hiram with his shadow mes. He then coated his hands with even more shadow element mana and strengthened the mes. As a result, the mes reduced in size and got darker than usual. Drin sat on Hiram''s back and started punching the back of Hiram''s head and neck The monster was still down and unable to get up. With each of his punches, the Ogre Lord''s earth-element armor was chipping away bit by bit. Although Hiram was recovering it using his earth element mana, his recovery rate was slower than the amount of damage Drin was inflicting on him. Boom! Boom! Boom! Drin''s punches were heavy and cracked the ground beneath Hiram''s face. His armor developed even more cracks on its surface, indicating that he was unable to keep up with Drin. The human ranker was tired himself. He had beads of sweat on his forehead. This would be the first Ogre Lord he would finally be able to kill. Drin was reminded of the field boss of the Titus tournament that was also an Ogre Lord. He had steered away from the monster at the time. And now he was preparing to finish off a monster of the same level. He was quite happy with his progress. He was also reminded of the winner of the Titus tournament as he kept on punching Hiram. For some reason, the guy was absent from all the missions the White Raven guild had conducted in Monster Canyon so far. He was assigned to different tasks by Agatha that weren''t rted to normal missions. Drin thought that it was such a pity he wouldn''t be able to fight off Tuan fairly now that he was in the Adept rank. He also wondered if the guy could keep up with him. Boom! Boom! Boom! Drin''s sweat ran down his cheeks and dripped on Hiram''s back as kept on chipping away at the monster''s armor with his punches. He finally was able to see the back of his head that was not protected by the armor after throwing countless punches. "You could have told me about Bigua and I would have made things easier for you, you know." Drin said while raising his shadow-element fist over his head one more time. This was the finishing blow he was going to inflict on his opponent. Hiramughed even harder in his battered state before managing to utter what he wanted to say. "Haha. it is already toote for you. Let''s die together!" Drin narrowed his eyes when he heard that. In the next moment, he felt a dangerous sensation epassing him. Someone else had suddenly interrupted his duel with Hiram. A shadow was cast over Drin and Hiram both as something approached them from above the sky. Drin looked above him and saw a huge mass of purple water shaped into a fist approach him at breakneck speed. This was a spell cast by someone very proficient in the water element. Plus, he was way stronger than Hiram, possibly someone who was a quasi-Monster Overlord. Drin could not run away from this massive fist made of a huge mass of water, which was going to engulf the nearby area. And the mana density of the giant fist was strong enough to depress the entire region about three feet into the ground. Drin looked at Hiram and understood what he was saying. In the end, his escape n resulted in something he had always hoped to achieve. Summoning someone else from his tribe to help in the rescue. Bigua had shown himself after sensing the signs of battle near his tribe''s region. Unlike Hiram had previously thought, Bigau had note here to save him from the human ranker. Hiram was nning to try overthrowing Bigua''s rule when he was strong enough to do so. So Bigua had no sympathy for the guy. But his loyalty to Bigua hadpelled him to act. Bigua was a crafty monster, to begin with. He chose to kill Drin in such a way that his future troubles would also be silenced. This was killing two birds with one mighty purple fist. Drin smiled when he understood the inner politics of the monster tribe to some extent. He was still on top of Hiram''s back, who was delighted that he would be able to die alongside his opponent. Drin brought his face closer to the Monster''s Lord''s face and whispered his words into his ears. "I am afraid you will have to embark on your final journey without me, Hiram. Bye and well fought." Saying that Drin activated a rare long-range spell that had also been upgraded with his rank up. Shadow Switch. In the next moment, an Ogre Lord''s body was crushed under the huge mass of purple fists. Chapter ?719 Bigua Chapter ?719 Bigua Boom! The ground near the ce where the punch had beennded quaked and created a suppressed sound. The suppressed sound traveled with the quake and spread in every direction. The tremor became more violent and intense. It took a while for the ce to return to its peaceful state. At a distance, a tree''s shadow that had been cast on the ground got stretched and a person popped out of it coated in shadow-element mana from head to toe. This person immediately dispelled the ck-as-ink mana over his body and crashed to the ground because his legs suddenly turned limp. Drin Dawn was out of breath. He had used his spell Shadow Switch to escape from his near-death situation. And that hadnded him at a distance from where he was just a few moments ago. Drin wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his right hand and looked in the direction of the impact. He had information on Bigua that was provided with the mission. He knew that the monster was the one who used such attacks. "Damn. I would have died if I had stayed there any longer." Drin mumbled to himself while looking exhausted. In the next moment, however, he regretted speaking so soon. Because the monster he had run away from caught up with him just as quickly. The monster had maintained a safe distance from Drin for some reason when he showed up. This quasi-Monster Overlord had an intimidating physique. He was 14 feet tall, which made him taller than Hiram. Every muscle in his body had been chiseled to perfection. His bronze-colored skin had a peculiar luster to it that bounced the evening rays off of him. This luster hade from the monster''s exceptional mastery of the water element. It was as if the fundamentals of the water element had been integrated into his existence. Drin had thought that his Shadow Switch spell had improved beyond his imagination because of the distance it allowed him to travel in one shadow jump. He was at a sufficient distance from his previous position. Plus, Drin''s shadow element made him difficult to track. He was counting on these two aspects when he ran away from the monster. But turns out he was naive in thinking he could get away from such an existence after he had attempted to kill him once and failed. Still, Drin didn''t want to give up just yet. He knew he couldn''t fight the monster head-on. His only chance to livey in his ability to use Shadow Switch to his maximum potential. Drin sent his mana circuits into overdrive. He was thinking about using the forbidden technique to enhance the effects of the spell at the cost of facing negative consequences. He could deal with themter on. He just needed to get away from the ce first. But Drin heard Bigua speak when he was about to use the technique. "Boy stop. I am not trying to kill you. At least not anymore." Bigua said in human tongue and looked at Drin intently. This was the first time the monster was seeing someone with the shadow element. At his level, Bigua wanted to learn more about a variety of elements to enhance his elemental understanding of water. And he was especially interested in the shadow element since it could mimic various elements. It could be said that the shadow element didn''t exist on its own. It always needed something to base its characteristics on. Just like a shadow''s existence was dependent on the light as well as the object it belonged to, the shadow element needed the characteristics of another element to manifest. Bigua had been watching Drin and Hiram fight for quite some time. He also came to realize that if the shadow element could mimic the characteristics of other elements, the process could be reversed. He could use the shadow element as a medium to gain the elemental effects of other elements while still using his water element mana and water elemental attainment. After all, Bigua''s rity had allowed him to aplish something special in his tribe. It was based on water''s nature. To be precise, a water surface''s nature reflects when it is calm and collected. Bigua could use someone like Drin to carry out a few experiments for himself. This could allow him to progress to his next evolution and be a real Ogre Overlord. But s, the monster knew taking Drin into his custody was out of the question. They had arrived. Drin stopped casting the forbidden technique when he heard Bigua speak. Simply because he had no reason to lie. He was already aware that Bigua wouldn''t have shown himself openly if he wanted to kill him in the first ce. Bigua stared at Drin for a moment before asking him his next question. "Why did you attack Hiram?" Drin heard Bigua''s question and frowned. He didn''t want to offend the monster of his level but he also didn''t want to admit that whatever he had done was a mistake. Therefore, he cleared his mind before speaking in a cold tone. "That man attacked me first. Besides, we had a mission to kill him anyway." Drin said, looking at Bigua before narrating the events that had taken ce ever since his separation from his team. When he was finished, Bigua asked him the next question. "Hiram is dead. I killed him and you confirmed it. What business do you have with my tribe now?" Drin felt weird that a quasi-Monster Overlord was chatting with him so casually. He also didn''t understand what he was trying to say. So he asked to confirm. "I am sorry. But I don''t understand what you are trying" Drin was about toplete his words when Bigua made a face of displeasure before interrupting him. "Tch! I am not asking you, boy. Keep quiet now. The spectators of this entire show haven''t yet shown up. They know that I''m asking them. Are you too afraid to show your ugly old faces? Answer me!" Chapter 720 Meera Medinah and Kev Larson Chapter 720 Meera Medinah and Kev Larson "Are you too afraid to show your ugly old faces? Answer me!" Bigua said in an angry tone. The monster''s strong aura instantly overwhelmed Drin. Thankfully, he was already sitting on the ground. "Since when did mere Ogre men start getting cocky about their looks? They are nothing but inted meat blocks that walk around just because they have legs. Hehe." A sweet voice suddenly sounded in the distance. The tone of her voice was casual and weing, but her words were anything but. In the next moment, two shadows appeared over the branch of the tree Drin was sitting below. These two shadows were the reason Bigua hadn''t approached Drin carelessly. Drin looked up and observed the two rankers who had suddenly appeared. One of them was a woman in her early 30s. She had shoulder-length dark burgundy hair that was tucked neatly behind her ears. The woman wore a bodice-like half-crop. The purple top paired with purple cargo pantsplimented her looks. She had also worn a pair of arm guards and shoulder guards, giving her a hardcore veteran vibe. This woman had beautiful facial features. She had light wheatish skin and brown hazel eyes. She had a slim waist and ample feminine proportions. But not too much that they''d get in the way of her agile movements. She had a sword sheathed on her back, ready to be drawn. Drin could immediately tell that this woman was loaded. The gear she had worn along with the sword on her back had distinct mana pulses. These mana pulses were intimidating even when they were not in use. The person beside the woman was wearing golden body armor. Everything from the guy''s head to toe was covered in armor. He was about 8 feet tall and the wielder of a broadsword. This man also had a red cape attached to his armor. His face waspletely covered by the helmet he was wearing, which only had a slit for his eyes. Both of these rankers were C-rankers. It seemed that thedy had only recently managed to get into the Expert rank. Whereas, the man with the full body armor was close to breaking into the B-Rank. Their mana signatures attested to their strength. Bigua immediately canceled the pressure Drin felt when the two spread their auras. Drin watched as thedy looked at him and smiled before addressing Bigua once again. "Anyway. We are here now, Bigua. What are you nning to do about it?" Thedy said while smirking at the Monster Lord. However, she pursed her lips and dropped her head when herpanion released his aura to suppress her. His meaning was clearC she should stop provoking Bigua unnecessarily. The armored ranker turned his head toward Bigua before speaking up in a deep voice. "What were you trying to prove by killing an Ogre Lord from your own tribe right in front of us?" Drin narrowed his eyes while looking down when he heard the armored ranker speak. He had figured out the identities of the two rankers at this point. They were the same kingdom-affiliated rankers his team was supposed to meet and coborate with. These rankers who were directly under Edinburgh''s payroll were supposed to be allies. At least in this mission. And yet, they only served as spectators for his battle against Hiram. He wondered how long they had been observing him without doing anything to salvage the situation. The armored ranker turned his head down to look at Drin who was below him and shook his head in denial. It was as if he realized what Drin was thinking about. Bigua snorted his nose before responding to the armored ranker''s question. "You came here to kill Hiram, right? He has been dealt with. I don''t think my tribe poses any serious threat to your activities in this ce anymore. It is a ce you call "Badnds, but visit it as if it were your most sacred space. Talk about hypocrisy." Drin couldn''t believe that a monster was offering a ceasefire by killing a member of his own tribe. It seemed like he had another reason to kill the troublesome Hiram that he hadn''t grasped before. He wanted to ward off rankers from attacking his tribe by taking care of the Ogre Lord with his own hands. The full-body armor ranker pondered a bit before nodding his head at Bigua. He spoke out and made his stance clear. "That''s right. Since Hiram is taken care of, we would no longer pursue the mission to attack the entire tribe." He then looked down in Drin''s direction and said. "Drin, you can tell your team members you meet them. Tell them that the raid has been called off. The White Raven guild will receive half the reward anyway aspensation for their troubles." The armored ranker took a pause and allowed Drin to process the news before adding further. "Let''s say that the fabric of space and time is not stable in Monster Canyon because of the way these monsters appear in Anfang, Drin. It''s not just our perception that gets skewed. Sometimes the reality itself gets twisted in Monster Canyon because of the imbnce in the space-time fabric. It''s thought that''s why miracles ur in Monster Canyon. The will of Anfang can''t act normally in the ce, allowing countless tragedies and a handful of blessings to slip from its hands." The armored ranker wanted to tell Drin that not much time had passed since they started observing Drin. They too wanted to get to the meeting ce. But ended up witnessing a fight with one of the rankers they were supposed to meet at the rendezvous point. Drin''s perception of time was skewed as well, making him process time differently than them. He also provided Drin with a reason for his sudden breakthrough. Thedy ranker who was beside the armored ranker looked at Drin and smiled before adding further. "Congrattions on your breakthrough, Drin. Your element is special. It would be difficult for you to progress further the higher you climb the rankingdder. The resources for a ranker like you are just that rare." The swordswoman narrowed her eyes on Drin and smirked. She folded her hands under her breasts and spoke in an inviting tone. "Why don''t you consider joining Edinburgh''s force? We have all the resources you need to help you progress faster in your ranking journey. Plus, you''d gain some authority while you are inside the Edinburgh kingdom. Your talent is wasted in a low-level guild like White Raven. It has nothing to offer to a ranker like you. Hehe. The guild might even" Chapter ?721 Striking Deals with Monsters Chapter ?721 Striking Deals with Monsters "The guild might even" The woman ranker was about to disappear but was stopped by the armored ranker''s suppressing aura once again. The Edinburgh kingdom was also keeping tabs on White Raven city and the guild itself. The city assured the kingdom of significant revenues as soon as it opened. So it didn''t care who owned the city as long as it got what it wanted from the city. However, from the looks of things, the kingdom was under the impression that Demonmir would eventually take over the management of Minerva''s Utopia. It was only a matter of time. Still, this was not something a kingdom-affiliated ranker was supposed to mention orment on. So the swordswoman cleared her throat and dropped the subject of the White Raven guild before saying what she wanted to say in the first ce. "Anyway. My name is Meera Medinah. And this is Kev Larson, also known by his title Armored Knight. If you ever think of joining Edinburgh''s special forces, give us a call. You have already proven your worth by what we have seen you can do so far. We''d dly amodate a ranker of your talent." Drin was taken aback when he heard Meera extend an invitation to him to join Edinburgh''s special forces. Although the offer was tempting, Drin didn''t want anything to do with the kingdom''s business. As a ranker, he knew that increased authority only meant additional responsibilities, which limit a ranker''s path. Although it was not public knowledge, more and more rankers had started noticing that there was a storm brewing on the borders of Edinburgh and Layos. Both kingdoms were actively seeking to increase their military strength. It could only mean that a massive disturbance was heading for both the kingdoms and their respective popce. When the storm hit, Drin didn''t want to be restricted. He''d participate in the storm on his own terms. "I''ll think about it." Despite not wanting to join the special forces, Drin spoke calmly. He didn''t want to turn the rankers'' invitation down in front of someone like Bigua. So he chose to keep his answer ambiguous, which made the Armored Knight chuckle. He knew at that point that Drin wasn''t nning to join their ranks. Drin got up from his position and looked at the full-body armor man and the beautifuldy ranker who was beside him. When Bigua the tribe chieftain stood in front of them, he wanted to know why these kingdom-affiliated rankers were willing to rescind the raid mission. From the looks of it, these two rankers''bined strength should be enough for them to take care of Bigua. Especially with their kingdom-issued artifacts. In retrospect, Drin decided not to ask these questions of the rankers. He guessed that monsters of Bigua''s level would always have contingency ns that would spell doom for both parties. The rankers simply didn''t want to burn their hands in coteral damage now that their main goal had been achieved. It didn''t matter that Bigua had killed more humans and attacked the many settlements near the borders in the past- it was just that. A past. Drin wasn''t really keen on targeting the entire monster tribes. Especially now that there were no rewards to be gained from doing so. He bowed at the two rankers and also bowed at the quasi Monster Overload Bigua before taking his leave. Meera, Kev, and Bigua waited for Drin to leave the region before resuming their talk. Bigua was the first one to speak. "You can''t fool me, you know. I know you guys don''t care for adventurers that die here, no matter how many of them end up losing their lives. You don''t care about anything other than your profits. So why the pressure tactic?" Meera smirked when she heard Bigua speak. However, she didn''t speak to herself. It was Kev''s ce to bargain with Bigua. Kev didn''t take long to answer. "Alright. I''ll cut straight to the chase. Should the kingdom of Layos send its forces through the Bands from your region, we would like for you to attack them with your entire tribe. Of course, we''ll provide you with the necessary intel and some artifacts as well as array imprints to cause maximum damage to our enemies. But you''d have to use your manpower in a sufficient quantity." If Drin was here, he would have been taken aback by the special forces of Edinburgh striking a deal with a monster and his entire tribe. To ordinary rankers, dealing with monsters on a diplomatic level was unheard of. Drin shook his head in disappointment when he heard Kev''s words. He seemed to have guessed correctly. "I just don''t understand why humans can''t settle their disputes as we do. Arrange mortalbat between the two sides. Whoever wins gets to decide what they want to do. Simple as that." Bigua said and snorted. Then he caressed his chin before adding more. "I''ll need a lot more than the intel and the few artifacts. I need other resources from you. I want you guys" Bigua started discussing what he needed with the two rankers. Both sides talked for a while and objected to some of the proposed arguments before finally findingmon ground. Bigua was not the only monster chieftain of importance the kingdom of Edinburgh was in talks with. Simr talks were taking ce throughout the Bands. The space-time fabric in Bands was abnormal. Meaning it was very easy to create teleportation arrays inside the Bands if the rankers knew where to build them. This was the reason why Eren could create a teleportation array all by himself after Alephee''s guidance. Thus, the kingdom of Layos could create multiple fronts of attacks on Edinburgh by using teleportation arrays inside the Bands. The kingdom approached the monster tribes with this possibility in mind. The kingdom of Layos was no different. It was doing the same thing with the monster tribes it was in talks with. Both kingdoms had put aside their differences with the monsters at this point. Instead, they were focusing on making their side stronger by getting monsters onboard on their side. All while using guild rankers as deterring forces and bargaining chips at the same time. Chapter 722 Muddled Memories Chapter 722 Muddled Memories "Where are the rest of you guys?" Oslo looked at the two men who came to meet him at the designated rendezvous point. His aura told the two men Oslo wasn''t happy with their performance. The two men were severely battered and in terrible shape. It was apparent that something had happened to them. Yet, Oslo didn''t care about their well-being because that was not his job. His duty was to deal a heavy blow to White Raven team members as a warning. Oslo belonged to Demonmir''s faction. He was sent here by Nico Chains, the condor-owning demon beast tamer to oversee the Escalon guild''s activities. The beast tamer didn''tpletely trust the Escalon guild. So he had sent one of his men to handle the situation on-site. Oslo was a man of medium height and build. His age couldn''t be discerned because he was wearing an iron mask. His choice of clothes was oddC te armor over loose-fitting clothes with tacky colors. His iron mask gave him a mysterious vibe. "They they all got killed. We were the only two that survived." One of the men replied to Oslo. He looked terrified when he started remembering the hell that was unleashed on the entire Escalon guild''s team by the Orcs warriors out of the blue. The other man gritted his teeth and clenched his fists before describing the events that had taken ce ever since the team''s pursuit of White Raven members began. When he was done, Oslo seemed even more annoyed. He looked at them with his narrowed eyes that were visible through the metal mask and asked to confirm. "So you''re telling me that your entire team was basically wiped out before you could even properly deal with the White Ravens? And this was not even your first attempt, right?" Oslo seemed more appalled by the members''petence than he was shocked at this point. He looked at them one more time from head to toe before speaking further. "Wow. It wasn''t what I expected from the members of the guild who have the Pdin of Pain in their midst. I guess some unique rankers don''t define the guild they are part of." Oslo said in a disappointed voice. He had also assumed that the White Raven had its card in its sleeves to keep its members safe. However, since it was the third attempt by the Escalon guild, he assumed its members would be able to ovee the obstacles. After all, no sane person or organization would make the same mistake twice. It also meant that an attack on White Ravens was not something Demonmir''s faction couldunch without directly getting themselves involved in some form. Oslo frowned before asking the two rankers to hand over the array disk he had given the Escalon guild beforehand. One of the two men had managed to secure the array disk amid the tragedy that struck them. He retrieved it from his storage before handing it over to Oslo. This was a spying and intelligence-gathering artifact made using ether runes. It would show the current activities of the person whose aura it had received upon activation. The person needed to be in a certain range for the array disk to work. Plus, the ether-element runes would burn themselves as the array disk is getting used. That meant there was only a limited window of time the array would be active before it gets destroyed. However, for the time it was active, the artifact would show the real-time activities of the person whose aura had been recorded on it. The artifact was very expensive even with the limitations ced on it. So it couldn''t be used casually by anyone. Oslo ced the array disk on his right palm and activated it. In the next moment, a spectral screen was disyed over it that disyed the real-time activity of the person whose aura had been recorded into the artifact at the time of the activation. The Escalon guild had messed up once again. It was supposed to record Drin''s presence so that they could keep an eye on him. But the artifact was activated at the wrong time because the White Ravens split up during the chaos. So it ended up recording Bianka Bluedust''s aura. Oso watched as Bianka and her teammates fought the Ogres that seemed to be of a different squad than Hiram''s. But the monsters belonged to Bigam''s tribe nheless. *** Bianka''s spell scattered the azure dust particles around her. She was battling a bunch of Ogre Leaders with the rest of her team. The scattered White Ravens eventually got together. Drin was the only one from the team absent from the scene. However, he managed to contact Katalina a few minutes ago. ording to him, the tribe purge mission was over. They were free to continue with the rest of the challenges they had taken on simultaneously in Monster Canyon. Binaka Bluedust, William Shanks, Kataline Reich, Lily Geist, Wayne Wilder, Ketsu Hasu, Ray Rinehart, and Silver Rehrook. The ex-Titus tournament contestants and current White Raven members were each engaged in their fights with the Ogres. All of them wanted to go to a different ce since killing Ogres of Bigua''s tribe was not part of their missions anymore. The most they could do from dealing with them was sell the monsters'' bodies after killing them. Which was less lucrative than taking on missions with multiyered rewards. However, the Ogres had their own form ofmunication. They hade to know that Hiram had been killed because of the humans that were currently trying to retreat from their territory. The Ogres were fighting for vengeance at this point. The azure dust scattered by Bianka didn''t look harmful at first. As she fought with her dagger, she held themp that she used to scatter her azure dust. Bianka was very skilled in dagger arts as well as her movement spell. She was also a capable leader. She gave optimal directions to her team to ensure that the Ogres would be at a disadvantage fighting against them. When sufficient time had passed, Bianka smiled and created a safe distance from her opponent. For an extended period, she kited him across the entire battlefield. Now it was time to reap the fruits of herbor. "Muddled Memories!" Bianka executed her next spell which was part of thebo. In the next moment, the enemies that were battling White Ravens stopped their battle with the humans and looked at the other Ogres with vicious res. Bianka''s spell was about to start infighting among the Ogres. Chapter ?723 Creating a Homunculus P1 Chapter ?723 Creating a Homunculus P1 The barren mountaintop. Ottoman de Montmorency''s ce of residence. The cloudy sky was blocking the afternoon sun. Yet, its ze could still be felt in the air. A giant condor-type demon beast was seen pping its wings, stabilizing his flight a few meters above the ground. A man jumped from the beast''s back andnded on the ground. The beast screeched at its master before flying away, leaving the man on the barren mountaintop. The man walked towards a lone swordsman practicing his weapon arts all by himself. "Lord Demonmir, I have received a message from the royal court. They are inviting you to attend the meeting. It is going to be conducted in the capital city in a few days." Ottoman stopped his sword movements when he heard the man speak. He didn''t look surprised that the summons had arrived for him. "Haah! The war seems inevitable. That old man Isen is out for blood." Demonmir chuckled and stored his dual axes in his storage. He already knew about the disturbance between the two kingdoms. Therefore, he was expecting this summons. "It''s a shame that I won''t be able to meet my dear cousin before the meeting. I was looking forward to it." Said Demonmir and sighed. He then started walking toward the small house to get ready for the journey to Edinburgh''s capital. However, Demonmir stopped in his tracks as he thought of something. Taking no time to turn around, he asked his subordinate who was bowing his head in his presence. "Nico, did the Escalon guild do what we asked them to do?" Nico pursed his lips at Ottoman''s question. He cleared his throat before responding with a careful voice. "Not really, Lord Demonmir. Oslo tells me that three of their parties had been almost wiped out trying to target the White Raven team members. It''d be a while before they began the attack for the fourth time. Oslo is currently staying with the Escalon guild, overseeing things. He''d inform us with thetest news if and when the job gets done." Demonmir chuckled when he heard Nico''s report. He couldn''t help thinking it was Levine''s setup that wiped out Escalon''s forces. "Hehe. Tell Oslo to build pressure. If messing with them in Monster Canyon is not possible, tell them to cause a bit of a ruckus in the White Raven city. I don''t care if the entire Escalon guild gets eradicated while achieving what we have told them to achieve. I guess I''ll run into Pdin of Pain at the meeting. I''ll be sure to convey my intentions during our meeting. Also, find that brat Eren. Hehe. He is as crafty as I was when I was his age. ording to the official report, he has been dispatched on a military mission. But he is nowhere to be found on the site. I want you to handle him personally when you find him, Nico." Demonmir said and disappeared. Nico nodded to nobody in particr before calling out his demon beast telepathically. He needed to prepare for Demonmir''s departure to Edinburgh''s capital. *** Oni Dungeon. Sacred Pyramid. Two giant doors were parted as a green-eyed, ck-haired man stepped out of avish room. This man looked fresh and full of vigor. It was as if he had a peaceful sleepst night. There was a subtle smile on his face. "My king, the preparations areplete." Ror addressed Eren as soon as he stepped out of his kingly room. It previously belonged to Har Jahar. Eren had upied the room after renovating it a bit. "You work really fast, Ror. Did you ask the emissaries from outside to help you as well?" Eren asked while stretching his arms wide. It''s been three months since he entered the Oni dungeon for the second time. This subspace was where he was preparing something. It had all the resources he needed. Plus, it offered a secure environment for him to conduct the procedure. And that''s why he stayed. Eren was using the subspace''s resources to help himplete one of his tasks. And so far, things were on the right track. When he first found out about the procedure, he was doubtful if he could get all the ingredients anytime soon. Thus, he asked Ror for his assistance. The Ogre Overlord simply put all his subordinates to work to expedite Eren''s task. It took three months. But Eren was d it was finally over. After all, he had first thought that it would take him years toplete the task on his own. "Yes, my king. They don''t know that Har Jahar is no more and you have taken over his ce. Thus, they all think the resources they are offering to us are part of the process for the next Oni festival. They assumed on their own that the orders were from Har Jahar. I didn''t think you''d want me to clear their doubts or let them know that you have been made in charge of this space. So I let them think like that. We also made use of rare ingredients we found here toplete the procedure from our end. It only needs a final step from your end to conclude it for good." He said this while bowing to Eren. Since he knew that his son Kaalmaahen was going outside with Eren, he was especially careful in handling things for him. Eren looked impressed when he realized how perceptive Ror was. He pped his hands in appreciation before speaking up. "That was a wise call. You can simply say that you have usurped Har Jahar using various means if that is enough to shut their mouths for the time being." Eren knew that the emissaries still active outside would find that something was off about the Oni dungeon one day. That''s why he had brought forth Ror as the monsters'' leader so it would be easy for them to ept him. Eren had made sure that everybody living in the subspace was loyal to him. Thus, the rest of the monsters were on board with any of the actions Eren asked them to take. Eren was about to ask Ror some more questions. But he suddenly felt a known presence near him. "Lord Husband, will we finally go outside?" Kirin appeared right beside Eren when he got out of his room. She had a starry look in her eyes as she asked Eren the question. The butcherughed and crossed his arms before responding. "Don''t worry, Kirin. We will go outside together. I''ll show you a broader world that is not this subspace. Hehe. I''m sure you''d like it. But first, let me create a homunculus." Chapter 724 Creating a Homunculus P2 Chapter 724 Creating a Homunculus P2 Kirin had never left the Oni dungeon ever since she was born inside it. As such, she was very excited to see the outside world. Eren needed toplete creating the body of the homunculus for him to take Kirin outside. Kirin wanted to know everything about humans. She had seen them as sacrifices in the Oni dungeon. Now she wanted to interact with them on a personal level. She had also been learning Edinburgh''s officialnguage from Eren for the same reason. Kirin wanted Eren to consummate their marriage when they left the Oni dungeon. She didn''t want to start a new chapter in her life while staying in the same ce. Eren epted her wish right away. Sharog, Lasha, and Luna kept him busy nheless. He also didn''t forget to practice his ranking technique. La had shared the Adept ranked Rootless ranking technique with Eren before he entered the Oni dungeon. She knew he would try to break into the next rank in the subspace. Thus, she gave him the half-blood ranking technique of her own initiative. La knew that a stronger Eren was in the best interest of her master Eliza. So the butcher was spared from finding an alternate option for his ranking technique. La was the one who exined to Eren the procedure to create a homunculus. She had already admitted to him that she was indeed a homunculus when Eren asked her about it after learning it from Alephee. La also wanted to know why he was so keen on the procedure. However, the butcher just told her that he wanted to experiment. Eren also needed to digest all the experiences he had gained in the separate dimension as well as stabilize his ranking status. He used these three months to do all that, solidifying his foundation once more. Eren kept on talking with Kirin while quickly ncing at his current stats. ******* Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organizations- Edinburgh Army (Nightshade duchy) Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy Academic Status- ss 2/C Ranked Status: Not applicable due to on-field assignment Base Stats: HP- 15.2 / 15.2 MP- 13.3 / 13.3 STR- 13.5 AGI- 15.2 INT- 14.2 BTP~ 71 BTP Visibility- Private Ranking Status: D-Rank (Vapor Core State) ****** Ranking Technique- Rootless (Custom Name) *** Eren observed that his body stat values were approaching the same level as each other. As a result, his INT stat had received the biggest boost. He wasn''t sure if that was a positive thing for a closebat expert like him. Nevertheless, he realized that his life was evolving into something more than just a closebat expert. So these stats were the inevitable oue. Eren was just a step away from making his mana core enter the liquid core state of the Adept rank. His bottleneck of the Ace rank and his unique way of advancing his ranking status had allowed him to skip the initial hurdles faced by normal Adept rankers. Eren was happy with his progress. And his happiness could be seen through his behavior. Eren wasn''t aware that there was a war brewing between the kingdom of Edinburgh and the kingdom of Layos. Additionally, he was unaware that his enemies and his allies were slowly congregating in the same ce that was his newfound city. However, the butcher could always sense troubleing from miles away ever since he was given a new lease on life. He didn''t take things for granted or leave them to chance this time. Eren had already secured his team members'' survival in Monster Canyon by shifting Baran''s entire tribe. He had also told Agatha to only ept missions rted to specific regions inside the Monster Canyon. This was so that Baran would be easily able to tackle the problems heading his team''s way while remaining in the shadows. As for the threatsing at him from Demonmir and the likes, he couldn''t do anything about them for the time being. He could only rely on Levine and House Derringer for that. And so far, they hadn''t disappointed him. *** Eren led Kirin to the sacred hall and Ror followed him. He talked with Kirin while he was walking, telling her about stuff that she would find outside. "You know Kirin, there are lots of beautiful ces to see outside the Oni dungeon. From picturesque mountain views to bustling cities, there''s so much you haven''t seen. The variety of food outside is nothing to be scoffed at either. The mortal food is also something you''d need to try. And then the wines. My darling, the monster ales are terrific. But they are all the same. You won''t find..." Eren kept talking with Kirin and teased her every once in a while. He would y with her big and sparkling earrings while he did that. Every time he exined something, he would switch to something entirely different, keeping Kirin eager to listen to his discussions. Eren also found it relieving that he had Kirin to try his flirting skills on. The butcher felt like he was out of the gametely. Sharog and others would find even his mundane talks amusing and something to listen to with utmost care. However, Kirin was like a nk canvas that could be dyed with a range of colors. Eren could try all his puns and one-liners on her and she would find them hrious and intriguing. Ror was impressed that his king had this characteristic in himself as well. He couldn''t have imagined Har Jahar talking about something like this. And this was despite the fact that Eren was crueler and meaner than the Oni King. It was like Ror was looking at apletely different person. It''s been a while since they reached the sacred hall. But the Ogre Overlord didn''t dare to disturb Eren when he was having some conversation with Kirin. Kirin was mesmerized by the novelty of the outside world Eren had told her about. She couldn''t wait to get outside the confined ce and see the world outside with her own eyes. Eren was more than just the husband for Kirin. He was also her guide in the outside world as she envisioned the world through his perspective. The butcher had managed to secure a firm ce in her heart and mind with all his actions so far. During these three months, he talked to her every day, strengthening that rtionship. "Alright, time to focus on the task at hand." Eren finally stopped talking with Kirin and decided to finish the procedure. He looked at the giant array that wasid in front of him and the people around it keenly before asking a question to someone in his mind. ''Alephee, are you ready to receive a body?'' Chapter ?725 Putting a Face to the Voice P1 Chapter ?725 Putting a Face to the Voice P1 A beautiful girl was seen lying naked inside an extremelyplicated runic array. The array eye was like a small pond that contained a mysterious red liquid of unknown origin. The girl''s body was also half submerged in the liquid while lying on her back. She had her eyes closed the whole time the process was taking ce. The runic inscriptions that were part of the array were getting illuminated and faded at a certain rate. As if the entire array was breathing. It was clear that the process was still iplete. "Damn! Even more?" Eren couldn''t help being amazed by the blood the array was demanding from him. In the next moment, he retracted his mana defenseyer willingly and cut his wrist using his Labrys. Eren''s blood started dripping inside the segment of the giant array. He was standing inside one such segment while Ror and Durbag were acting as the regtors of the array inside their own segments. These segments were connected to the circr array using the runic chains that would glow with bright golden red colors whenever the segments were made active. As soon as Eren''s blood dropped inside the segment, it evaporated before turning into formless red energy. It would then get absorbed by the runic chains before ultimately getting absorbed by the body of the beautiful girl lying inside the array with her eyes closed. This girl had ck hair and supple skin. There was a faint sheen over her skin. Plus, she had a cute nose and even cuter lips. All these details came together to make her pretty. The girl''s jet-ck, waist-length hair had a distinct luster. It cascaded her pretty face perfectly, adding even more charm to her looks. This adorable girl looked to be in herte teen years. She had adequate feminine proportions. Eren kept on bleeding through his wrist as he watched the process. His body was Adept ranked. It could handle blood loss for hours on end under a controlled environment just fine. His Adept ranked body was generating his blood over time, replenishing it in a matter of minutes, using his own mana as fuel. Hence, Eren didn''t need to worry about blood loss. However, he was tired after he kept the array working for two days straight while bleeding a huge amount of blood every day. This was when Eren had a monster like Ror to control and maintain the array to lessen the burden on him. And he was also being guided and aided by Durbag who was an expert in arrays. Durbag was fascinated by the array as soon as Eren had presented it to him and asked him to make it. After a lot of failed attempts, he had managed to cast a working array. The array''splexities could be understood when even Durbag who had trapped Har Jahar in his array found it difficult to cast it. A huge amount of resources were spent in making this array. Other monsters were standing nearby as well, who were tasked by Durbag to fix any anomaly in the array that would pop up from time to time. Kirin wasn''t given any task because she didn''t understand anything about arrays. Nor did she have the resources to control one''s own mana while being part of the array''s mechanism. Kirin worried about her husband all the same. Against Durbag''s polite warnings, she could approach Eren every so often and ask him about his well-being. She would also ask him if he needed anything to eat or drink. The butcher didn''t have to do much since Ror and others were here. He had basically relegated all the tasks rted to the functioning of the array to his subordinates. And they were working like clockwork. Eren would therefore drink the monster ale fetched by Kirin. He would rarely smoke while talking with Kirin. She would be surprised by even the most mundane things that existed outside the Oni dungeon. The butcher found it entertaining so he kept on adding more information to her database. Eren would often talk with Kirin using the human tongue to give her practice speaking and understanding Edinburgh''s officialnguage. He was reminded of Reen more than once when she made mistakes. It could be said that Eren was always very patient with his students. Or at least a few of them. He would correct Kirin using the right words and forms, making her understand her mistakes and allowing her to rectify them in real time. Therefore, the two days spent inside the array segment weren''t boring to him. It allowed him to connect with kirin and other monsters who were in the vicinity even more. However, Eren''s patience started wearing thin after another seven or so hours. That''s because the young girl was not showing any signs of awakening even after he had done everything right. By La''s calctions, the young girl should have woken up at this point. Of course, Alephee suggested a few changes in the array diagram that Eren had implemented. Eren could only conclude that the dy was due to the changes made by Alephee. Just when Eren thought that something had gone wrong during the creation of the array, he felt an earthquake-like tremor slowly spreading all across the sacred hall. This was the same sacred hall in which Har Jahar had been killed. The sacred hall''s runic enhancements had made Eren believe that the sacred hall was as stable as the entire subspace. But the tremors had clearly proved him wrong. Oooooommmmm! A formless sound that could only belong to the void spread across the surroundings as a distinct mana pulse was released from the center of the array. The runes inside the arrays glowed brighter than ever before dimming for good. The limestone on which the array was cast started cracking under some tremendous pressure of unknown origin. Eren wasn''t sure if the array had worked or not because of the destruction it had caused. But he soon got his answer when he focused his gaze on the face of the beautiful girl lying inside the array-eye. A pair of ruby red eyes were opened for the first time. Or to be precise, these ruby red eyes were opened for the first time in a long long time. Chapter 726 Putting a Face to the Voice P2 Chapter 726 Putting a Face to the Voice P2 "Eren!" Alephee called out as she got up from her lying position. Eren smirked when thetter kept on looking intently at him with a smile on her face. Alephee stood up and stretched her arms. Her posture was about 5.10 feet. Her attractive figure was a sight for sore eyes. Despite this, the monsters refrained from looking at her for fear of making their king angry. Alephee didn''t mind her newfound body being seen in its most natural form by any of her spectators. But she didn''t want to make things awkward for them either. She just swayed her arms and in the next moment, she was seen wearing a sophisticated dress. She had created the most exquisite fabric from nothing using the soul spell. Alephee was seen wearing a ck dress. It had a bodice-like pattern for her torso, highlighting her bust in just the right way. The dress exposed her delicate shoulders. The ck dress had flounces sewn over it below the waist withyered petticoats, giving the wearer an elegant touch. Alephee also wore a butterfly-like pattern around her neck. Her hands were tucked inside gloves that reached to her elbows. Her voluminous ck hair grew a little more and spread behind the dress like a waterfall, entuating her gothic ck looks. This was Alephee. The only person who knew Eren for the majority of his life. As such, the butcher was d that she had appeared to him in whatever form she was in. Eren wouldn''t have admitted to Alephee but he was still doubting her existence in his head. Was it a real existence or was it some residual consciousness mixed with his own feelings and memories to create a cocktail known as Alephee? Eren knew Alephee had proven so many times that she was as real as the second chance of life he had gotten for himself. Still, since he couldn''t put a face to her voice, there was always this doubt he had in his mind that he couldn''t get rid of. However, all his doubts were put to rest when he saw Alephee standing in front of him in an elegant-looking ck dress. She was looking at him as well. It seemed both of them had too many thoughts swirling inside their minds as neither of them talked for a bit. Alephee was the first to break the ice. "How do I look?" Alephee sounded more human and a bit different to Eren than when she was talking to him in his mind. It was as if arge part of her consciousness and personality were slumbering when she was only able to talk to him in his head. "Just as charming as I had thought." Eren said and smiled before adding, "maybe more." Alephee didn''t have to breathe because of her current homunculus body. But at this point, she felt like taking a deep breath. She then surveyed her surroundings and observed everything that was there to observe. Alephee then looked at her hands and stretched her palms. She then turned them into fists before stretching her palms once again. She then felt the skin of her face using both of her hands and felt her current countenance with her hands. "Don''t worry. The array worked perfectly. You are not ugly." Eren walked toward Alephee and said. Thetter chuckled before walking toward him as well. Soon they were standing only a foot away from each other. Alphee spread her arms wide and hugged Eren and he hugged back. He patted her back before separating from her. "Hehe. It''s good to see you in person, Alephee." Alephee nodded at Eren before responding to Eren. "Heh! Right back at you. I didn''t think this day woulde this soon. Forgive me for underestimating your capabilities." Alephee said and smiled. The butcher chuckled before shrugging his shoulders and responding. "Hehe. no hard feelings. I wasn''t sure things would fall into the right ces for me." Alephee chuckled and was about to say something more. However, Kirin suddenly appeared beside Eren like a ghost before asking him. "Lord Husband, who is this girl? Or what is she?" Kirin was just curious because she hadn''t seen a homunculus before. As a result, she did not feel like any of the creatures she had encountered. Alephee didn''t have heartbeats. She didn''t need to breathe. She also did not have any ranking status. Kirin''s monster senses, however, told her she was not a simple being at all. She just wanted to keep Eren safe. Thus, the butcher smiled and was about to introduce La to Alephee. But turns out, he didn''t have to. "I know all about you. Nice to meet you." Alephee said to Kirin before looking at Eren once again. "Let''s find a more apt ce for ourselves." Eren liked Alephee''s decision. So he called out his demon beast. Argo came flying from some unknown direction soon after. He had residual blood on his eagle beak, which spoke volumes about his activities inside the subspace. Eren disbanded all the monsters inside the sacred hall, enabling them to get back to their usual routine. He then jumped on his demon beast''s back before gesturing to both thedies to do the same. Kirin could walk on the clouds she made for herself. So, she didn''t need a flying demon beast to achieve the same results as a flight. However, she didn''t say no to Eren and hopped right on. Alephee had already climbed over Argo''s back. The trio flew in a distant direction from the sacred pyramid. Ror looked at Argo and the three blurred figures on his back with keen interest. He had so many questions in his mind. It was not like Ror did not know about the procedure to create a homunculus. He was from Echidna previously. He had seen many bizarre events. But there was one thing that bugged him ever since Alephee had opened her eyes. ''Why didn''t Anfang''s Will create a disturbance?'' Chapter ?727 An Artificial Artwork P1 Chapter ?727 An Artificial Artwork P1 Inside the Oni Dungeon. Lake Hatu. Thiske inside the Oni dungeon''s subspace had sparkling green water. The morning rays had prated deep into the depths of theke and came out with glitter. Theke had dense vegetation all around it. There were various flower buds still in their budding phase. The fully bloomed red flowers had golden pollen and golden stems. The flowers and the stems all around them had lights of their own while synthesizing the sunlight. It was the indication that the flowers themselves were harnessers of mana and hence had magical properties. Lake Hatu had many different types of rare raw ingredients growing all around it. Yet,pared to the other regions of the subspace, the region around Lake Hatu was nothing special. As such, theke would rarely see visitors. However,ke Hatu was currently being visited by three people who hade here riding a demon beast. "How do you feel?" Eren asked while looking at Alephee. Thetter was busy admiring her reflection in theke water. Eren and Kirin were standing a few meters away from her near theke''s shore. "Hm. Nostalgic, happy, upset, and all kinds of emotions I haven''t processed yet. But it''s fine. I''m fine, even though my mind is in disarray. I feel that I''m content with the chaos that''s currently happening in my head. Because I know that I''ll manage things somehow. Because I understand the importance of time. Does that make sense?" Eren smiled when he saw Alephee replying to him without looking back. He nodded at her before adding up. "It DOES make sense," Eren said and paused before asking his next question. "So what are your ns?" It looked like Alephee didn''t hear Eren''s question as she was still a bit too upied with observing what she looked like. Eren chuckled and couldn''t help but think Alephee was a bit narcissistic. However, Alephee turned back in the next moment and answered Eren''s question with a smirk on her face. "To train you of course. We can''t let you ck off anymore. Hehe." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Alephee''s response. He narrowed his eyes at the Homunculus that was walking toward him before asking her another question. "Was this your n all along when you told me about this n?" Alephee nodded immediately, confirming his doubts. "That''s right. That''s one of the reasons. We will make sure that your progress will be streamlined from today onwards. My other reason for having a Homunculus body is that I can''t always cast soul spells using my soul space. My soul is still recovering and I need to be mindful about using them." Alephee said and turned her gaze toward Kirin. She looked like she wanted to ask Alephee some questions but was waiting for the right time. Alephee smiled at Kirin before speaking up. "What is it, Kirin? Do you want to ask me something?" Kirin looked at Alephee curiously before voicing her query. "Alephee, why don''t you have any heartbeat? You don''t feel like a normal human even though you look like one. What are you?" Alephee smiled when she saw the curiosity Kirin had towards her. She, Kirin, and Eren started taking a stroll on thekeshore. Alephee replied after a bit. "The artificial humanoids are known as Homunculus. They are made with alchemy, which is abination of potioning and arrays. Since my body is artificially made, you can easily discern my presence as something out of the ordinary." Alephee replied to Kirin with a patient voice. Eren had alsoe to know a bit about homunculus after Alephee and La told him things. However, he was still a novice in such a mystic field. Thus, he also listened attentively to Alephee''s words. "Homunculi don''t have heartbeats because they don''t have a regr heart. The blood and mana in our bodies are regted by an array of mechanisms. The array is located at the heart. So even if it doesn''t beat, that array mechanism can still be called the heart for all the homunculi." Kirin nodded her head in understanding. Eren remembered that La could replicate the functions of a functional heartbeat with her array mechanism. When asked, she told him that she liked to think of herself as alive. The sound and feel of her own beating heart gave her that feeling. Kirin was having different thoughts than Eren. She asked Alephee another question. "You mean to say that you don''t have mana circuits? How would you cast magic then?" Alephee didn''t take long to answer. "Homunculi can have mana circuits. But like their bodies, the mana circuits are also artificial and hence lessplicated. The artificial mana circuits are also regted by an array mechanism." Kirin was beginning to understand how Alephee''s body worked. She asked another question without any inhibition. Alephee looked at Kirin before adding further. "Homunculi don''t age. They don''t have to sleep or eat like regr people either. They can technically live for eternity. This is the reason Sages create homunculi and make them caretakers of their subspaces or their legacy works." Alephee looked at Eren while saying thest part of her sentence. She was letting Eren know why he found La in charge of the Purgatory for the first time. This is the reason why homunculi were almost always the caretakers of Utopias and Purgatories created by the Sages of the past. A homunculus was a faithful subordinate. They would never betray their masters. They were not greedy for Extols in a way other humans were. They only looked at it as a food source for the most part. They practically lived forever. A homunculus would even outlive its creator and still be bound by the same rules and regtions. They would keep on working non-stop without any need to eat or sleep, making them a suitable workforce for Sages. Kirin was amazed by hearing all this. But then another question popped into her mind. "Then how do homunculi sustain themselves?" "Homunculi need Extols or other forms of condensed mana stones to function. Or the alchemist who created them could make them use a different form of energy. They then use the mana that is stored inside the energy source and circte it throughout their bodies using the heart array inside them. This would enable them to cast spells more traditionally." Chapter 728 An Artificial Artwork P2 Chapter 728 An Artificial Artwork P2 Eren observed that La was describing things about Homunculi to Kirin patiently. But she never called herself a homunculus. Alephee was still connected to Eren''s mind. As such, she could sense what he was thinking. She looked at him and smiled before speaking up. "You are right, Eren. I don''t see myself as a homunculus because this is just a temporary vessel for me. I would find myself a real vessel when the timees. With your help, it ispletely possible." Alphee said, making Eren remember why Eliza had zeroed in on him in the first ce. His constitution as a slime half-blood and his connection with Reen. They were the right raw ingredients for creating a real vessel for oneself, which was seen as even more of a taboo than creating homunculi. Alephee knew what Eren was thinking so she rified it in a serious tone. "Don''t worry. What Eliza is doing is not the only way to create a wless vessel. And something like that won''t be enough for me anyway." Alephee chuckled a bit before continuing. "I guess all homunculi have an identity disorder. Being immortal, they want to belong to the world of the living. They do not want to ept the differences in existence they have with humans. Hence, they create a personality for themselves and stick with it." Kirin and Eren didn''t disturb Alephee. They just let her continue speaking as they continued walking along thekeside. "I''m different from other homunculi because my consciousness is not derived from the soul splitting or copying of memories. My thoughts and personality are not a construct based on some alchemist''s origins or experiences. This body has Eren''s origin blood. But my thoughts are not influenced by it." Alephee looked at Eren and formed a smile. She knew Eren had wondered if she was real or not in the past. Before speaking up, she cleared the air for good. "Eren, you need to know this. La is not a normal homunculus either. Her consciousness is real. You know what that means?" Eren narrowed his eyes when Alephee made another revtion about Alephee. He listened to all that Alephee had said so far before concluding. "Do you mean to say La once existed for real?" Alephee nodded at Eren''s question right away before adding further. "That''s right. Someone took her real soul and made a homunculus body for her afterward. Binding a soul to a homunculus body is not an easy fit. The creator must know what they are doing. Otherwise, both the soul and the process of creating a homunculus body would bepromised. In my case, I did all the heavy lifting. The modifications in the process that were suggested by me were for this reason. Otherwise, you would have failed the process many times." Alephee said and thought about La. She was very impressed when she first sensed La. She was practically indistinguishable from human beings. It didn''t take long for Alephee to understand that La was special. She looked at theke water that still glittered with a golden hue as she said it. Her talk with Eren was making him understand what or who he was dealing with even though La looked to be a child trapped in a teen''s body. "A very capable alchemist has created the artificial bodies for the real twins La and Le in the form of homunculi. And I can tell you that it was not Eliza." Eren looked at Alephee when she spoke herst words. Kirin wasn''t aware of what or who the duo was talking about. Alephee answered all her questions because she knew those were the same questions Eren had in mind. Alephee told the duo that a homunculus would heal from any injury quickly after extending their mana reserves. They could even survive after their heads get chopped off and would only show signs of weakness when ites to their heart array. These artificial humanoids cannot be poisoned. Plus, they would have no restrictions orpatibility issues ced on them when ites to using any elemental spells. In any case, the restrictions wouldn''t be as severe as for ordinary living beings. Since homunculi didn''t have traditional mana circuits, there was no ss for them either. They would need a medium to cast their spells with and would only use their artificial mana circuits to tweak the spells'' effects. Still, since it was not cast by a living thing, the spell executed by homunculi had a deviant mana signature. Even a non-sensory ss ranker would discern that the spell was not cast by a normal human if they ever saw a homunculus executing their spells. Alephee exined to Kirin and Eren that a homunculus would not have a ranking status in a traditional sense either. They didn''t have mana cores in them after all. A homunculus'' entire body acted as their mana reserves. The type of mana they use depends upon the heart array. An Adept-ranked heart array would allow the homunculus to use Adept-ranked mana and Adept-ranked spells. A homunculus would not be able to cast spells after they depleted their mana reservespletely. They were also incapable of using the mana in the surrounding environment to replenish themselves. As such, the artificial humanoids depended heavily on Extols and such to replenish themselves. The effect of every spell they would cast could be quantified in terms of Extols. As such, most homunculi were walking money-burning machines. Homunculi were also incapable of giving birth to children. The kingdom of Edinburgh and other forces around it considered homunculi as menaces that needed to be taken care of. When a mad Sage released a batch of homunculi in the past, it made things difficult for these forces. Since they were difficult to kill, a huge force needed to be dispatched before such destructive homunculi were taken care of. As such, every stray homunculus would be tracked and hunted by these forces. La knew about these things from Arthur''s descriptions of the current rules and regtions set by the Anfang alliance. Thus, she had refrained from using any spells directly for the most part whenever she showed herself. Chapter ?729 Perfect Paradox Chapter ?729 Perfect Paradox "So." Eren tried to sum things up. "You are now nearly immortal. You don''t have to eat or sleep. And in exchange, you won''t get to have kids or cast spells normally. Sounds like a good deal to me." Eren said and smirked at Alephee. Alephee had a smile of her own before replying. "I was immortal before I upied this Homunculus body, Eren. This is actually a downgrade for me. To be honest, being turned into a homunculus was not something I wanted. This is only a necessity so that I can guide you better. After all, my existence is tied to you. And I''d have to prepare you if I ever want to get back to the ce I belong." Alephee''s voice was serious and sounded more like resolve. She stopped walking and turned toward Eren. Then she began levitating about five meters in the air from the ground. Alephee flew over the surface of theke while maintaining eye contact with Eren. She stopped advancing after creating some distance between herself and the duo. ''As for the restrictions ced on the homunculi, some of them don''t apply to me. Let me show you something special." Alephee raised her arms in response. She moved her fingers as if ying zither on the formless cords stretched in front of her. "Perfect Paradox!" Alephee cast the soul spell. She wanted to refrain from using soul spells. But this was something she had to do. At that moment, Eren felt that something was wrong with his mana core. He felt like something was trying to pull him out of his body. As if his mana core was also trying to metamorphose into something else. To Eren''s surprise and horror, Eren saw his ethereal mana core getting pulled out of his body. He looked at Alephee with his horrified expression only to receive her next words in response. "Hehe. It''s not what you think, Eren. Try to ess your own mana core." Alephee said while beckoning the new mana core to fly towards her with her raised hand. Meanwhile, Eren found relief in knowing that his mana core was perfectly safe inside him. Alephee guided the newly created mana core toward her. When it reached halfway, Alephee stopped moving it before spreading both her arms wide open. As a result, the ethereal mana core that seemed to have been based on Eren''s expanded dramatically. The mana core now had a diameter of about 50 meters, without casting any form of shadow on the sparklingke water. While spinning around to itself, the mana core drank massive amounts of mana from its surroundings. The surface of the mana core started illuminating, revealing the existence of various runes ced on it. Alephee waved her hands and some more runes were being added to the surface of the mana core. She seemed extremely concentrated on her current task. With her powers, she had created a cube-shaped energy barrier that isted her and the mana core from the rest of her surroundings. Soon, the mana core started shrinking as it took more mana from the surroundings. Alephee waved her hands from time to time, causing the runes on the mana core to light up. When the mana core had a diameter of about 10 meters, Alephee took a long breath. After biting her index finger, she snapped her fingers together. A few drops of her bloodnded on the mana core. And as a result, it started shrinking rapidly. Soon the mana core reduced its dimensions by a lot, turning into a sphere that was about an inch in diameter. Alephee gestured with her hands and the mana core disappeared into her body. Alephee didn''t just stop here. She cast her spells again. The nodes and artificial pathways for mana that had been created in her body lit up so brightly they could be seen through her skin in broad daylight. Alephee gritted her teeth before using some unknown means to re-forge her artificial mana circuits. Her body turned ethereal until only her mana circuits and her mana core was visible. The artificial mana circuits started gettingplicated while the mana core started spinning around itself. Soon, it resembled the mana circuits of an Adept-ranked entity. Yet, there were some distinct differences. Only when she was done did Alephee''s body be visible. She started panting heavily after she was done with the process. It seemed like she was having a hard time breathing. As if she had forgotten the feelings of exhaustion and fatigue. Eren hadn''t felt any mana pulse all this while. But he kept looking at Alephee keenly. He knew that he was witnessing a portion of Alephee''s true powers. His soul sense was telling him that something massive and unnatural was happening at this time. Alephee was trying to ovee one of the restrictions ced on her homunculus body with her powers. Kirin seemed fascinated by everything that was happening in front of her. She didn''t have her soul sense like Eren. So she felt absolutely nothing. However, her monster instincts were telling her that this was not the norm. This was not something a typical homunculus could do even with their seemingly limitless years of experience. Alephee snapped her fingers once again and the cube-shaped energy barrier in front of her vanished. She flew back to thekeshore when she was done. A small earthquake was felt when she touched the ground, creating waves and waves or ripples on theke''s water. The ripples seemed to originate from her feet, which were a bit submerged in the water. Eren felt an overwhelming presence wash over him when Alehee took her next step. In the next moment, however, everything returned to normal. "You you have turned yourself into an Adept ranker. Same as me!" Eren couldn''t help eximing after seeing the changes that had happened to Alephee. She didn''t feel any different from any typical ranker at all. What''s more? Eren felt like Alephee had copied his ranking status entirely without belonging to the same closebat expert ss. Alephee smiled in response before speaking up. "Hehe. Told you not topare me with your typical Sage''s typical minions." Chapter 730 Grimoire Magic Chapter 730 Grimoire Magic "Hehe. Told you not topare me with your typical Sage''s typical minions. Even the Sages themselves are nothing more than a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things." Alephee said as shebed her voluminous ck hair by running her finger through it. She had a normal mana signature at this point, which was almost simr to Eren''s. Since the transformation was internal, her appearance hasn''t changed. Alephee didn''t sound arrogant even when her statement sounded that way. This was something she knew to be true. Eren had alreadye to realize that Sages were not prominent figures in Alephee''s eyes. Her statements just now only highlighted what he already knew. "What did you do?" Eren asked while raising his eyebrows. For some reason, he could feel resonance with Alephee''s mana core. As if he could use her mana core and she could use his even though they were two distinct entities. Alephee chuckled in response before answering. "Something you wouldn''t understand even if I told you. What you need to know is that I can cast the same spells as you from now on. And then some more after using a medium." Alephee said paused. She thought of something and her eyes lit up. "What do you say, Eren? Want to spar with me?" Alephee looked at Eren with a subtle smile, knowing full well what his response was going to be. Eren could only smile back in response before taking out his weapons. Eren was wielding Rigor Mortis Shamshir in his right hand and Andruril in his left hand. He regretted the fact that since he had been promoted to Adept rank, all his Ace rank weapons were not that useful to him anymore. Eren had the transcendent-grade Labrys. But he needed sufficient weaponprehension and mastery in the weapon arts rted to the weapon to use it in a spar against someone like Alephee. Eren could tell looking in Alephee''s eyes that she meant business when she said that she wanted to guide him. As such, she would not be easy on him. Not that he wanted her to do so anyway. Alephee knew what Eren was thinking after he drew his weapons. She raised her right hand and closed her eyes. A pitch-ck book was conjured in front of her that seemed to have unknown origins as it gave off a unique aura. This ck book had ck pages and they didn''t seem to have anything written on them. Yet, Eren could see that Alephee was focused on the book with her ruby-red eyes. Alephee let the book levitate motionlessly in front of her while addressing Eren. "Take out all of your weapons. I''ll cheer you up right away." Eren looked at Alephee suspiciously when she asked him to take out all his weapons. He wasn''t sure what she was nning to do with them. But he did what was asked of him. What he saw next blew his mind. *** An open field near Lake Hatu. Two Adept-ranked entities were seen standing face to face, about 30 meters apart from each other. Some monsters hade to see the fight after Kirin informed the higher-ups about it. "Isn''t this the homunculus the Lord created earlier? She seems a bit different than thest time we saw her." Sharogmented after observing Alephee. She also sensed that Alephee didn''te across as a Homunculus anymore. Sharog had checked up on Eren from time to time during the three days, ensuring his well-being isn''t harmed during the process. She also felt a bit jealous that Alephee was currently hogging all the attention Eren could spare to give to any of them. Lasha and Luna were with Sharog, standing behind her. The trio started talking about Eren and Alephee while fixing their gazes on them. Kirin was nowhere to be seen. But one could always guess that she was hiding in in sight. She wouldn''t miss the fight between her husband and this mysterious entity known as Alephee. There were other monsters like Ror, Kaal, and Durbag standing all around the open field, looking at the duo keenly. To be honest, the monsters wanted to see how their king would fight without holding anything back. The duels Eren had fought using his Varhan identity ced certain restrictions on him, making him unable to bring out his true strength. But he would need to go all out during his spar with Alephee. Sharog, Luna, and Lasha had also sparred with Eren in the past. So they knew how exceptional of a closebat expert Eren was. So they were keen on knowing what the homunculus was up to. Eren was holding the same set of weapons in his hands. But there was something different about them. All of his go-to weapons and gears had been upgraded to Adept rank, making them suitable for his current rank. He didn''t have to buy or hunt for brand-new weapons anymore. It was unclear how many lives Alephee had saved by upgrading his gears to Adept rank. This time, Alephee didn''t cast the soul spell. She used grimoire magic, which was a known school of spells on Anfang. It was just that the way Alephee used the spells rted to grimoire magic made them look like they were on apletely different level. Even among the homunculi, Alephee had be a unique being. That''s because she had the mana core. However, her mana core only allowed her to cast Eren''s spells. For other spells, she needed a medium to cast the spells with. Alephee had chosen grimoire magic for this reason. "This... this is unbelievable. I thought the runes leave a permanent mark on the mana-harnessing metals. As such, it is not easy to upgrade the weapons'' ranks after they have been set. And upgrading their ranks without any smithy in sight? Suffice to say, I''m as surprised as I''m thankful, Alephee." Eren gripped his two swords and spoke. He thanked Alephee briefly before preparing himself to fight with the existence he had only received help from at this point. Eren was eager to try his new weapons out. He wanted to learn what she had to teach him. Most of all, he wanted to see how wide the ridge was between him and her. Alephee could only have ess to Adept-ranked mana and thus could only use Adept-ranked spells. But that didn''t mean Eren would have an easy time battling with someone who didn''t even treat Sages with much regard in her eyes. "Hehe. Ready when you are, Eren." Alephee replied casually to Eren''s remark. It seemed that she was also intrigued by the prospect of sparring with the butcher. Chapter ?731 Lightning Maestro Chapter ?731 Lightning Maestro Blitz Steps Blitz Bolt Solid Spark Casting these spells, Alephee vanished into thin air from her position. She cast these spells with such finesse that nobody would believe that it was her first time using them. Lightning sparked on her body. Up to her elbows and down to her knees, the arms and legs of the homunculus werepletely coated with a purple-lightning element, making them appear to have lost their forms and be shapeless lightning-mana. Eren was not standing still either. He cast his own spells while using time-element spells to boost his reactions. In the next moment, a distinct lightning spark bloomed in the middle of the open field, indicating that a sh had just taken ce there. But the participants were nowhere to be seen by ordinary onlookers. Even Ror was surprised by the movement spells both Eren and Alephee were using at their levels. Eren was surprised by the weapon Alephee was battling him with. It was another of his spells that he was used to casting as a long-range attack. She was wielding two Solid Sparks in both her hands and strengthening them with Blitz Bolt. "What in the world" Eren was surprised by the power of the spell he had been using all this time. He could see that Alephee was more skilled at casting his spells than he was. It kind of irritated Eren that she was flexing her skills while trying to show him how much he wascking in using his spells. There was no verbalmunication necessary. They both knew what the other person was thinking even without the mental connection they shared. Alephee smirked while Eren had a frown on his face. At least one of them was having a good time. Blitz Storm! Alephee cast her AoE just when they shed for the 17th time. She let it loose in such a manner that Eren was unable to flee in time. For the first time since his life had been rebooted, Eren felt the true horrors of shing with the lightning-element ranker. His entire body froze and his muscles atrophied as if they hadn''t been used for a long time. The blood in his system boiled and his skin started king. He had a killer headache and his vision started blurring. His legs were about to give up on him as well. "Something''s wrong Blitz Storm was never this powerful." Eren spoke before sending his mana circuits into hyperdrive. He quickly expelled the foreign mana that was trying to take over his nervous system and pulled back from the middle of the ground. He felt aggravated by the fact that he was made to retreat just a minute after the fight started. Alephee wanted to press on with her advantage. But Eren wouldn''t learn to reflect on his mistakes in real time if she kept attacking him all the time. So she retreated as well, giving him the breather he so desperately needed. "Hehe. I''m pairing Blitz Storm with a stacked Blitz Bolt. Each strand of lightning released by the Bitz Storm is a solo variant of the Blitz Bolt. Of course, thebo is going to be more deadly than simply using the AoE like an amateur." Eren''s eyes were opened wide when he heard Alephee pairing his go-to lightning element attack spell with his AoE attack. The finesses with which she did it made Eren unable to discern that the AoE had been altered. Because visually, nothing had changed in casting the spell. However, only his body knew how destructive his AoE had be after pairing up with Blitz Bolt. Eren looked at the smiling Alephee with a serious expression. He had to say that what was standing in front of him was a monster more monstrous than anything he hade across so far. She had be a lightning maestro in Eren''s eyes. She made casting and pairing thosebos seamless even when bound by the same restrictions as him. Was it that her way of lightning was more profound than him? Eren couldn''t tell. But he guessed that the answer wasn''t as simple as he was thinking it to be. Alephee realized what Eren was thinking and rified. "Way of the element can give you an edge. But that is not the only way to gain an edge, Eren. Absolute control over one''s mana circuits. Even a simple act like controlling the mana circuits most efficiently can give you the edge you need. You''ve seen this before. What I''m showing you right now is only the lightning-element variant of something you witnessed firsthand in your battle against that girl not too long ago." Alephee said and made one of the Solid Sparks disappear from her left hand. She was adopting a one-weapon style. Eren heard Alephee''s words and quickly scanned through his recent memories. He quickly zeroed in on a name. "Altashia!" Alephee chuckled before nodding at Eren. She changed the shape of the Solid Spark and turned it into an actual-looking sword made of pure lightning element mana. She tweaked the spell so much that it started looking like a different spell altogether. Eren had stopped getting surprised by Alephee''s deeds anymore. Plus, the whole point of this spar was so that Eren could learn his ws and improve his current battle style. And that''s what was happening at this point. He listened intently as she spoke up. "Why do you think I gave you such a detailed exnation about Altashia''s ss? Remember her way of casting spells. She is way superior to you in this field. Her control over her mana circuits is so profound that, she''d advance leaps and bounds every time she ranks up. I can bet you anything if you battle with her right now, she''d win. There''s no doubt in my mind about that." Eren furrowed his eyebrows when he heard Alephee speak. Even he knew he had brute-forced his way into victory against Altashia. And he had relied on his sudden breakthrough of elemental fusion to ovee Altashia''s spells. He knew all this retrospectively. But that didn''t mean he should like it when someone reminds him of it. He pursed his lips before thinking of something. The guy knew it was about to sound like an excuse. Regardless, he spoke what was in his mind. Chapter 732 Guts to Pay the Price for Something Worth Having Chapter 732 Guts to Pay the Price for Something Worth Having "Um Altashia needs to have that much control over her mana circuits to make use of her warrior ss. Otherwise, she''d be worse off than a mediocre ranker." While keeping an eye on Alephee, Eren said. He was sure that she would attack him without any hesitation if he let her guard down. Alephee looked at Eren disapprovingly beforementing. "So? That doesn''t change the fact that she had superior control over her mana circuits than you. And who said you need to belong to a warrior ss to train yourself into controlling your mana circuits to perfection? The ss system has made the mana harnessing entities of Anfang too reliant on it. Forget about what is expected or not expected of you because of your ss. Every ranker who wants to wield their powers to their fullest needs to have exceptional control over their mana circuits, no matter which ss they practice. You just saw what I could do with simply having better control over my mana circuits than you. Hehe If you are still not satisfied, let me show you something else." Alephee said and shaped another Solid Spark in her free hand. This Solid Spark looked more like the traditional Solid Spark Eren was used to casting except for the fact that it was thinner and more elongated. Before Eren could ask what Alephee was nning to do with the Solid Spark, he observed something different at the upper tip of the Solid Spark. Upon realizing something, he shut his mouth. Alephee was going for anotherbo attack. Eren braced himself to flee from his current position at a moment''s notice. He was sure that he would be able to cast any Solid Spark thrown his way, thanks to his time-element spells and his newfound Adept-ranked body stats. "Hehe. You won''t be able to dodge this." Alephee said as she firmly grasped the Solid Spark. She then spun around in a quick motion before releasing the long-range attack in Eren''s direction. Swoosh. Bzzt. Boom. Eren had started his movement spell as soon as he saw Alephee spinning. But somehow, his body was still damaged by another AoE. Alephee had paired up the AoE with the long-range attack. She tweaked Blitz Storm and cast it at the tip of the Solid Spark. The Solid Spark served as the source of mana for the AoE. The lightning bolt-shaped long-range attack was detonated just before it touched the empty ground Eren had left behind at his previous position. As a result, Blitz Storm was released, catching Eren in its range. "Aaaaaargh! Fuck!" Eren couldn''t help cursing as his body was subjected to another lightning torment. He hade to realize that Alephee really wasn''t being all out in her attacks. Otherwise, he would be in worse condition. Alephee had still not approached Eren, giving him some time to think and register how she had used the spells he thought he was so familiar with. She could tell that a storm was brewing in his head. Eren felt the same frustration he had experienced due to Ken at the start of his academic year in the past. He felt like he was an idiot for not being able to use spells like this. It was as if a stranger knew a lot about the gadget or artifact you owned and were proud of. "Will will I be able to do the same if I can control my mana circuits better?" Eren gritted his teeth and expelled another batch of foreign mana from his system as he asked the question to Alephee. Thetter chuckled before answering. "Yes. But learning to control mana circuits is not easy. The rudimentary control that you have is less effective. But you need to understand that it is also safe for you to use and have. You won''t ever fry your mana circuits with your own hands in your current condition. No gall, no glory. No thorns, no throne. You will suffer pain and suffering for a very very long time if you decide to work through the training. And the process won''t be sudden. Remember what I told you about Altashia? The training is not suitable for all rankers. What''s more? I''m sorry for being honest here, Eren. But Altashia is a prodigy. And yet, she suffered so much to gain the control she has now. You are not like her. You know what that means?" Alephee replied, looking at Eren intently. She knew her words were harsh. No matter what an ordinary challenger did to keep up, and match up, before eventually oveing someone with inborn talent, thetter would be able to cut the difference easily as long as they put in some more effort. This was the reason a lot of ordinary rankers stopped putting in more effort. To ept that someone with less effort gained an advantage over you was discouraging. Life was not fair for everybody. Eren knew what Alephee was trying to say. He looked at her with a grim expression before replying. "I know what that means. The effort I must put in is even greater than Altashia''s. I''d have to suffer far more than she did. And my suffering mayst even longer than her. This is the price I have to pay to gain absolute control over my mana circuits." Eren received another nod from Alephee after he voiced his thoughts. Alephee knew how painful the process was going to be. But she wanted Eren to follow through with it anyway. This was for his own good. However, she wouldn''t subject him to the process if he was not willing. So she asked to confirm. "What''s your answer?" Eren startedughing when he looked at Alephee''s apprehensive expressions. As if she was going to be very disappointed if he says no. "Haha. There are things I can get scared of. Particrly those that I am not familiar with. But pain I''m not scared of pain." Eren clenched his fists before making his decision to get to know Alephee. "I''ll pay. I''ll pay the price to gain anything and everything worth having." Chapter ?733 Importance of Spell Creation Chapter ?733 Importance of Spell Creation "I''ll pay the price to gain anything and everything worth having." Eren said while looking at AlepheeC his eyes reflected the determination he carried in his heart. The homunculus smiled when she heard his words before nodding her head. "That''s what I wanted to hear, Eren. I''ll personally start your training. But that can wait for now. Hehe. Let me beat you some more so that your determination turns into madness." Alephee said before casting her spells. The mana pulse she gave off was unique as wellC something Eren hadn''t felt before but was recognizable to some degree nheless. Eren could onlyugh bitterly at Alephee''s stance. He prepared himself to put up the toughest fight possible. "Use your Beast Contract spell, Eren." Alephee said, giving Eren a heads up. At this point, the spar had be more of a show-and-tell than an actual spar. Alephee was showing how Eren''s existing spells can be taken to a new level while keeping their core execution principles unharmed. She cast a summoning spell. A summoning spell that uses red lightning. And her choice for the summoned beast was the red lightning bull. This was almost the same spell Eren was used to casting with Ertaur''s soul, thanks to the beast contract spell he had acquired from one of his victims. Eren had decided that he wouldn''t get shocked by anything Alephee showed him at this point. He couldn''t help doing exactly the opposite when Alephee made her summoned beast look as lively as his Ertaur at first nce. The beast used Adept-ranked mana, so it could be considered D-Rank. "Tch. A summoning spell that was on the same level as the beast contract spell! Alephee, I don''t know about you but I call this showing off." Eren snorted when he looked at the red lightning bull. Incidentally, the beast released a gust of air from its nose as well. It mimicked his actions in response, looking at him menacingly. "Well, the beast contract spell leaves a mark on one''s mana core. Since I cloned it, this spell came easily to me. Eratuar''s mark helped me use the summoning spell in this way. You want me to show you what else you can do using your beast contract spell?" Alephee asked but didn''t wait for Eren''s response. She spread her hand and seven more balls of red lightning mana appeared all around the red lightning bull. Soon, those fiery balls of mana started taking the shape of red lightning bulls. Alephee had created a herd of red lightning bulls with her summoning spell. These red lightning bulls each showed a distinct behavior from each other. But they all had one thing inmon. They were looking at Eren as if he was the target of their charge. Alephee wasn''t done with her summoning spell. She smiled at Eren before casting another spell on top of the existing one. Eren saw with his eyes as the red lightning bulls'' limbs started getting coated in purple lightning. He first thought that it was aspect fusion. But then he shook his own head in denial before looking at the limbs of the red lighting bulls carefully. The aspect fusion was only one part of the effect Alephee had shown him. The real beauty of the added effect came from the fact that she had used anotherbination. Blitz Bolt! Alephee had granted her summoned bulls the power of Blitz Bolt. Red Bull Rush in conjunction with Blitz Steps would be a very effective weapon for the bulls to use during their charge attacks. "Unbelievable!" Eren couldn''t evenprehend theplexities that would arise if he decided to do the same. He would need to modify the manifestation of the beast contract spell and change its execution while including the mnemonics of Blitz Bolt. This wasn''t something Eren could do with his current expertise. Eren also appreciated the fact that Alephee had started showing him these things when he broke into the Adept rank. It was neither too soon nor toote. Just the right time for him to start thinking about these things. Alephee had decided to give Eren one more shock. She cast another summoning spell. A blue and a red ball of mana were manifested in the air before changing forms. "Kiyeeee!" Two distinct eagle cries were heard as the red and blue lightning balls assumed the forms of two flying griffins. They looked eerily simr to Argo''s hybrid form. Eren was quickly reminded of how Altashia was able to use summoning spells and conjure two crow-type demon beasts. She was a demon beast tamer of Roo RooC a crow-type demon beast. He had wondered how Altashia was able to cast the summoning spell so easily despite being a warrior ss. He got his answer at this point. It didn''t take Eren long to figure out that the beasts and the beast souls he was in connection with could be used in summoning spells. Alephee was showing him that he could make use of his connections with Ertaur and Argo to make his summoning spells more potent. And with his ss change into a summoner, the spell''s potency would be shot to another level. Alephee chuckled a bit before adding up. "The demon beast you bonded with and the beast contract spell. Both make you able to ess the consciousness of real beasts. That''s because their souls are real. You would be able to cast summoning spells more easily by using the connections you share with your beasts as a medium. You have a summoning ss. But since you don''t have many summoning-type spells, you decided not to use it for the time being. But it''s time for you to start investing your efforts in this direction as well. As you can see, you don''t really need the summoning spells of other beasts. You already have what you need to make full use of your other ss. That is if you know how to make use of your connections with the beasts while using the summoning spells. Ertaur, Argo, and your preferred summoning spell Fire Snake give you all that you need to be a sessful summoner. Your current Adept rank is perfect for you to start putting your efforts into these endeavors. I hope you don''t waste time chasing after spells that are not meant for you anymore. And start perfecting the spells you already have. Or start creating the spells that are apt for you by yourself." Chapter 734 Quality Over Quantity Chapter 734 Quality Over Quantity "Start creating the spells that are apt for you by yourself." Alephee said before taking a long breath. These were the things that she always wanted to say to Eren. Nevertheless, she recognized that telling these things to Eren, a headstrong individual on his rudimentary path, and showing him what she wanted from him were two different things. That was not to say Alephee was not pleased with Eren''s progress so far. She had seen the guy put in more effort than any other ranker of his generation. However, more effort doesn''t necessarily mean more sess. To produce ster results, the efforts needed to be directed in the right direction. One had to say the timing at which Alephee had decided to show these things to Eren couldn''t have been perfect. That''s because Eren had already seen the effects of the spell he created for himself. The Wind-Fire Shards were more potent as a result of the elemental fusion they were built upon. They produce the most devasting effects while consuming minimal mana. They were also easier to cast for Eren. The spell Eren had created all by himself was a suitable match for him for his current rank. Since it was created by him, he knew all the ins and outs of the spell. He could tweak it to suit his needs and situation at the time. The most beneficial thing about the self-created spell was the fact that Eren didn''t need to start looking for the spell''s higher-ranked variant every time he ranked up. The spell would eventually rank up with him. Since Eren hade to know and understand the benefits of having a self-created spell, he was able to grasp the importance of having self-created spells. Or to be precise, the spells that he waspletely familiar with and knew the ins and outs of. Alphee maintained her summoning spells and leashed her summoned beast to stay put while speaking up. "Quality over quantity. Eren, I need you to stop using your spells conventionally. These are just a few examples. You might be able to improve what I''m showing you right now. You mighte up with something entirely different. The possibilities are truly limitless. The most critical thing right now is for you to know that the true potential of your spells is only limited by your imagination and capabilities. Unfortunately for you, this too requires fine control over one''s mana circuits to pull it off perfectly." Alephee said and took a pause. She could see there was some kind of fire burning in Eren''s eyes. He was really mesmerized by the possibilities Alephee had shown him. She felt satisfied that her talk had put him in the right state of mind. Alephee didn''t just want to critique Eren''s ranking journey. She also wanted to highlight his achievements. "You have managed to create your own spell. You have achieved the fusion of elements and aspects. You have the rightponents in your arsenal. Thus, only you are the right person to tread on a path that ispletely yours. Now it''s time to put what you''ve learned so far into action. Spell scrolls and spell books were only the borrowed tools that got you this far. They need to be left behind sooner rather thanter. For you to walk firmly on your path, you need the tools you created yourself. A path with no worthy hurdles will not have a worthy destination at its end." Alephee dispersed all her summoned creatures except a red lightning bull with the inactive Blitz Bolt spell cast on its limbs. She then looked at Ertaur who was standing beside Eren beforementing. "My summoned beast or your Ertaur? Eren, who do you think will win in a frontal sh?" Alephee said while patting her summoned beast''s head with her right hand. When she stroked his head, the beast acted all friendly and tamed. She then looked provocatively at Eren, wanting him to send his beast to do his bidding. Eren looked at Ertaur and pondered a bit. It wasn''t like he hadn''t tried strengthening Ertaur with his own spells. He had cast his defensive spell Blitz Sheild on Ertaur while fighting with Altashia. Thanks to that, his beast had managed to tackle two of her summoned beasts. However, Eren knew that what he had cast in the past could only be called cosmetic changes inparison to the level of expertise Alephee had shown. He had just made his contract beast wear the Blitz Shield without integrating it into his mana body. As a result, Ertaur''s defense increased but not to the level the Blitz Shield was capable of. ''How much of a difference are we talking about though?'' Eren asked himself this question as he zeroed in on Alephee''s summoned beast. He wanted to know the true extent of integrating spells andparing their effects with something he hade up with on a superficial level. "Bud, it''s going to hurt. Brace yourself and give your best shot." Ertaur was told by Eren to prepare for a sh. The bull snorted its nose at Eren''sment. He wasn''t too happy whenever Eren decided to make hime out. That''s because he would get to hear the samements whenever he did show up. It was as if Eren would only summon him when he wanted to torture him by pitting him against a stronger opponent. For once, the bull just wanted to let loose on less powerful opponents than him. He had decided that if and when he is given easy prey to fight with, he would cherish that moment to his fullest. Eren had made Ertaure out as soon as Alephee had suggested him. As a result, he had seen what Alephee could do. The beast was smart even though he couldn''t talk yet. He immediately figured out that Alephee was a better summoner than his master. Ertaur could also discern to some extent that Alephee was trying to teach his master. He wondered if he would get to lead the herd of red lightning bulls andpletely destroy everything in their path. The need to cause carnage and mayhem was one of the natural instincts of the bulls after all. Clearly, Ertaur was more profound than his master in using the summoning spell for pure destruction. Ertaur wouldmunicate his thoughts to Eren eventually if and when thetter bes capable of casting the summoning spells on the same level as Alephee. But for now, Ertaur stepped ahead. Beastly instincts suddenly possessed Ertaur as he turned toward his opponent, which was also the red lightning bull. This could be considered Ertaur''s forteC fighting with other bulls. Chapter 735 True Prowess Of Summoning Spells P1 Ertaur bellowed in pain as his head was pierced straight through by Alephee''s summoned beast. In the next moment, his mana body was dispersed. Ertaur was forced to quit by Alephee''s summoned beast using only one move. The Red Bull Rushbined with Blitz Steps was deadlier than Eren had thought. Itpletely outssed Ertaur''s own variant of the inherent spell. Neither Ertaur nor his master could see Alephee''s summoned beasting. The beast had gotten so fast that for a moment that Eren''s mana sense stopped tracking him. It couldn''t keep up with the beast''s speed for the time being. However, Eren also noticed that the summoned red lightning bull had be unstable after using the BLitz Steps and Red Bull Rush together. His body was starting to fade. Eren raised his eyebrows as he watched the supposed instability. Alephee''s exnation came right after. "This is not unusual. Since Blitz Steps was a part of the summoning spell, it was bound to have a limited casting time when the movement spell was activated. The Adept rank mana is still not sufficient in quality to sustain the integrated spell for much longer after all." Eren nodded in understanding after realizing that the limitations came from the grade of mana and not the integrated spell itself. Just from the knowledge, he could deduce that the integrated spells were not meant to be used by lower-ranked entities. Alephee was making him engage in something that was beyond his rank. Ertaur''s soul was called back inside Eren''s mana core. He wanted to get back out there to fight with the summoned bull some more. But Eren told him he did not have to since the summoned bull had disappeared. There was no point in testing the effects of integrated spells anymore. He realized that integrated spells were the next step in the evolution of spellbos. In addition, integrated spells had far superior effects to spellbos. The integrated spells were so potent that they could not be sustained with Adept-level mana. But using these spells would give Adept rankers a distinct advantage over the others despite their limited time. Eren could also decipher that the time limit can be extended if the integration of spells is seamless. It meant that he needed the right set of spells, and sufficient elemental attainments in their respective elements to stand a chance to cast integrated spells. Then he needed to use the right blend of elemental and aspect fusions to make his integrated spells more powerful. The butcher was sure that with the rightbination of all these things, the time limit would practically cease to exist for him. But there was another problem with using these spells. "Alephee, what about the mana consumption using these spells? You are relying on your abundant mana reserves as a Homunculus to stack these spells. I''ll be running on fumes soon after I cast spells like you." Alephee nodded her head in understanding after hearing Eren''s words. She paused a bit to collect her thoughts before replying. "You are right, Eren. It can be a bit taxing to use the integrated spells. But it is still better than casting two or more spells together. The trade-off is worth it. Plus, the summoning spells using the connection with the beasts allow you to use the mana in the surroundings to cast their mana bodies. Thus, these spells are easy on your mana reserves. This is another benefit of casting the summoning spells this way. Remember how Rodrick faught against Altashia. That guy had the wyvern-type demon beast. So he used his connection with Aqua to cast a variant of the summoning spell, allowing him to summon her consciousness into the summoned mana body. Do you remember what he did to cast her mana body?" Alephee asked Eren with a smile on her face. Thetter took some time to remember his battle with Rodrick Renar. He quickly understood what Alephee was trying to imply. "So choosing the right environment to cast the right summoning spell is critical. Rodrick had used the water surrounding the battle ring to cast Aqua''s wyvern body. It still took some toll on him. But at that time, the royal scion of House Renar was in the Ace rank. So the fact that he could use the summoning spell that way is still impressive. He could really be a skilled summoner with his talent." As the Alephee kept reminding him about Eren''s previous fights, he realized that people with connections were already in the know regarding these things. Altashia and Rodrick were already guided in the right direction by their respective families. He was an Adept ranker in his previous timeline as well. But he never knew about these things in such depth. Then again, he was in the right position or with the right connections to know these things. It was only because he had raised himself to his current level in this timeline that had allowed him to see the demo of what Alephee was talking about. Eren''s fights with Altashia and Rodrick had suddenly turned into a valuable experience for him in retrospect. Additionally, he realized that having connections contributed to a great start, more so than he had initially thought of. Eren would have kept walking on a rudimentary path if it wasn''t for Alephee. He would be better than his previous self even in that situation. But he would never amount to something even greater. The distance would have been made evident if he became a high-ranked entity andpared himself with other exceptional rankers with prominent connections. He smiled bitterly when the realization dawned on him. The kingdom of Edinburgh was slowly bing a small pond for the ever-growing Eren to live in. Minerva''s Utopia was going to be a stable source of ie for him for the time being. But he needed to invest in something beyond Edinburgh''s borders to increase profits. One of the biggest reasons Eren had stayed in Edinburgh all this time despite the risk of being caught as Osan Woods Butcher was because of Minerva''s Utopia. The other reason was the fact that he knew what he needed to do to reach the Adept rank. But at this point, he needed to think about the future. A future that was less familiar to him. Something he could not prepare for preemptively anymore. Chapter 736 True Prowess Of Summoning Spells P2 Inside the Oni dungeon. An isted battlefield inside the sacred pyramid. 15 days have passed since Eren and Alephee first faced off. A few monsters remained on standby to serve their king, also serving as spectators. They watched as their king fought with the Homunculus once again. He had been sparring with her every chance he got in these 15 days with only a few short breaks. His Adept rank body had allowed him to skip sleep for days on end while allowing him to maintain his form. Alephee had never seen Eren this focused before. She had also been training him to take control of his mana circuits during the nights. He would suffer unimaginable amounts of pain while practicing his ranking technique. That period of suffering also served as his rest. He would then get up and start challenging Alephee with newfound vigor. He had never truly slept in these 15 days, pushing himself further than even his own imagination. It was as if he had stepped into Adept rank just to be more brutal on himself than before. And yet, his diligent work failed to produce any semnce of the results he wanted to have. His efforts got him from nowhere to nowhere. It was much easier to stay motivated when there was a reward in sight. But how could a person keep on putting in more effort when there was no gain to be seen? The answer to the question came easily for Eren. He had seen the most terrible version of himself. He was running away from that image he had in his mind about himself. And in doing so, he would receive all the motivation in the world. People fighting addiction in all seriousness would be scared to get anywhere near the source of their addiction. They couldn''t trust themselves anywhere near it. Eren was in a simr situation. Alephee was sure that she wouldn''t have been able to keep up with Eren if she didn''t have a Homunculus vessel. Eren''s schedule forced her to burn away mana stones in abundance. Today was no different. ng! Alephee was using Solid Spark as a weapon to sh against Eren''s weapon attacks. She was also using her summoned beasts to put more pressure on him and his summoned beasts. Alephee''s summoned griffin was battling against Eren''s bunch of fire snakes. These boa snakes were much higher than before. Their raised heads allowed them to look eye to eye with the griffon. Alephee was gradually increasing the difficulty of the battles against Eren. Every time she saw him gettingfortable at the current level, she would raise the difficulty by a notch. Eren had to be on his toes at all times due to the progressive overload. Alephee had already shown him that the summoned beast''s elemental affinity could be madepatible with him. However, he needed to haveplete control over his mana circuits before making changes like these on the fly. Once that feat has been achieved, the summoned beasts would have unusual battle styles not previously associated with their species. Eren had maintained Blitz Shield on his boa fire snakes. They were notpletelypatible with each other. But Eren wanted to gain experience in using different spells in conjunction with each other. So he tested variousbinations he hadn''t thought of before. "Haaah!" Eren released another series of Invi ze and Purple Reaver flying shes toward the approaching Alephee while activating his time-element spells. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed He then used Total Control to amplify the effects of his movement spell before disappearing from his position. Despite his best efforts to control such a novel spellbo, he couldn''tpletely control his body. As a result, the ground beneath his feet cracked and split in the same direction as he had gone off. Alephee could only chuckle when she saw him using time-element spells against her just to increase his speed and response time. She liked that Eren had paired up Total Control with his movement spell. The two spellsplemented each other. And the spellbo produced favorable results. But Eren was still far away from integrating the spells. Plus, Eren was unable to control the recoil of using the spellbo at this point. Instead of approaching him normally, she decided to show him something interesting once again. She first used wind-element mana to summon an eagle. She then activated the three time-element spells that had been integrated with its casting. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Wind de Tornado Eren was wondering why Alephee wasn''t approaching him from behind while he was in this stagnant world. Just then, he felt a strong mana pulse and looked behind him. He saw Alephee smiling at him with her usual carefree expressions. Eren''s near-stagnant world didn''t affect Alephee or her movements. However, her powers were rted to time itself. So Eren wasn''t surprised by that fact. What surprised him came afterward. The summoned eagle, which was asrge as Argo was when he shapeshifted into his eagle form, was also able to move in the near-stagnant world. He quickly approached Eren with his exceptional flight speed before releasing the spell. Eren saw a bunch of wind-de tornadoesing at him from various angles and multiple directions. Since he was already using his time element spells as well as his movement spell, he couldn''t outmaneuver them. Plus, the wind des had formed quickly despite the stagnant world, indicating that Alephee had allowed the summoned beast to use Total Control on them. Eren could only smile bitterly when he saw what Alephee could do. Like in his case, Alephee''s time-element spells went undetected when they were cast. Eren could tell only because he had personally experienced and used the spell''s effects. Wind de Tornado Purple Reaver Invi ze Eren first cast his own stacked Wind de Tornado all around him. His weapons then began sending shes in the air, meant to destroy all the desing at him. Eren continued casting his weapons spells in conjunction with the Wind des. However, suddenly one of his weapons started creaking. Purple Reaver had developed cracks over its de. ''Fuck. Not again.'' Chapter 737 Plans To Manufacture Artifacts Enmasse The spar stopped just when things were about to get heated. Alephee took Eren''s about-to-be-broken de in one hand while with the other she flipped the pages of her grimoire. She closed her eyes before casting her time-element spell. Age Reverse! Eren had only used this spell for processing raw ingredients for brewing potions. The spell didn''t work well with inorganic objects when he was employing it. But Alephee had managed to do just that by using it on one of Eren''s Rigor Mortis Shamshirs. The cracks on Eren''s de began to heal as the time-element spell activated. It wasn''t long before the runes on the de were repaired as well. "Here. As good as new." Alephee smiled, satisfied as she observed the spell''s effects on the de. Eren took the de from her with a frown on his face. "Why do these des keep on breaking?" Eren asked while looking at Shamshir displeasingly. He didn''t like the feeling that his weapons might break mid-fight. It was okay because it was a spar. But what would have happened if he was in mortalbat with somebody? This was not the first time Eren''s artifacts had developed signs of wear. Almost all of them that had been upgraded to Adept rank were riddled with the same problem. They would be in a perilous state if and when Eren started being serious with them. He would prefer getting new artifacts one at a time if the problem persists. Alephee shrugged off her shoulders beforementing. "I upgraded the runes on the artifacts and made them so that they would work well with the current vessel they had been carved on. But I couldn''t change the metal that acted as the conduit itself. We need better metals serving as recements for the existing ones. Just get me a better chunk of metal suitable for your current rank and I''d fix your artifacts for good. Till then, we can count on my spells." Alephee said it was no big deal. Eren frowned some more before starting to ponder. He could always get chunks of premium-grade Andrium suitable for his rank from Minerva''s Utopia. Eren had first thought that Alephee''s spells were exclusive to his weapons. Then when the weapons started showing signs of wear, he realized that the spells were not as reliable as he had thought them to be. However, realizing how Alephee''s spells worked gave Eren another idea: he could make use of this ability of hers to make crazy profits. He already had a constant supply of raw ingredients, thanks to Minerva''s Utopia. Plus, he was nning to get his hands on the Soul Seed Insertion array from House Lancelot. What if he uses Alephee as an artisan for producing high-grade weapons? He could then give those weapons to his subordinates and team members. He could also sell them inside his city at a lucrative price, earning hefty profits. Alephee knew what he was thinking. She liked Eren''s line of thinking but she needed to make her stance clear. "Eren, I don''t mind making a few artifacts. But I don''t want to spend most of my time crafting weapons. I epted this vessel so that I could train you better first and foremost. Everything else is secondary." Eren was busy thinking of a lot of things when he heard Alephee''s words. He chuckled when he understood what she was trying to say and then assured her with his words. "Don''t worry, Alephee. We''lle up with an arrangement. I''m just d you can do this." Eren said before swinging his weapon. He then imbued it with his mana and spun around before releasing a flying sh. Upon confirming that the weapon was ready to use, he smirked before adding up. "Alright. Let''s continue with our battle." Alephee smiled mildly before agreeing to his decision. Money was an indispensable resource for rankers. She could understand his drive to earn more of it so that it wouldn''t ever be a bottleneck. Eren and Alephee continued sparring after that. The sessions continued for a few more days. Alephee showed Eren what kind of integrated spells he could try. She also guided him in the right direction regarding this topic, making him try various things at once. Eren wasn''t a quick learner at first. But thanks to his diligence, he slowly got the hang of it. His training to take control of his mana circuits was also paying off. He could cast spells more easily while reducing their casting time. He also stabilized all his gains during this time. Three days before they left the Oni dungeon. A time just before dawn. Eren was being trained by Alephee in the king''s chamber. He had been practicing his ranking technique throughout the night. He would then practice the same in conjunction with his new form of training arranged by Alephee. This was Eren''s routine after Alephee possessed her homunculus vessel. He had stopped his nightly activities with the Orcinas these days so he could concentrate on the task at hand. Eren was sleeping with almost no clothes on him, on a bunch of pointy metal shards that served as his bed. He was forced to retract his mana defenseyer, making his skine in direct contact with the sharp points of the shards. The bed of metal shards was ced inside an array that was exuding a faint white light. The runes inscribed in the array were made to react with the mana-conducting shards. These pointy metal shards were still unable to injure Eren''s bare skin. But that was about to change. "Are you ready?" Alephee asked Eren while standing outside the array''s core. She was the one handling the array. She had decided to train Eren in this way instead of the usual practice. By doing so, she had increased the difficulty of the training. But it would also deliver superior results to traditional methods. "Yes!" Eren said and gritted his teeth. He then started executing his ranking technique with his eyes closed. The tiny metal shards glowed in a distinct yellow light as Eren activated his technique. In the next moment, they started moving as per the flow of the mana inside the mana pathways. "Stop!" Chapter 738 The Process Of Achieving "Stop!" Alepheemanded and the metal shards turned red. Eren stopped channeling the technique as soon as he heard the voice. p Yet, the flow of the mana couldn''t be stopped immediately. So it kept moving for a bit. And this was the reason behind Eren''s iing suffering. The metal shards were still reacting to the flow of mana inside the mana pathways. They tore his skin and lodged themselves inside it before moving with the flow, making him bleed all over. In a few seconds, Eren''s Adept-ranked body was severely injured. Eren was about to yell in pain. But tonight he held on. There was some part of his mind that was not processing the pain he felt. That part made him proud of himself for not crying. It indicated that he was getting used to the pain. The metal shards did not only tear Eren''s skin. They also injected unfiltered mana into Eren''s system, making his body treat it as a foreign mana invasion. The array took that a step further and made the unfiltered mana enter Eren''s mana circuits. Eren''s mana pathways and the mana points were injured as a result of this brutal process. This was due to Eren''s inability to control the flow of mana effectively. The more hecked, the more severely he would be injured. Eren''s blood started dripping on the ground by running along the length of metal shards which were about 10 inches long. Some of the blood dropsnded on the ground, painting the limestone surface red. Alephee looked at Eren''s condition and sighed. She didn''t seem surprised. This was an expected oue for her. "Your control hasn''t improved a bit, Eren. Take some rest and recover. Then we can" Alephee was about to take Eren off of his bed of suffering when thetter shook his head in denial. His eyes were a bit moist because of the pain he was feeling. But they also glistened with the determination he had in his heart. "No we we will continue. Do it one more time." Eren said and closed his eyes. His watery eyes produced tears when the eyelids were shut suddenly. The tears ran down close to his ears before falling on the ground, mixing with the small puddle of blood created by his injuries. Eren didn''t care about his appearance. He just remained stressed and prevented himself from getting up on his own. There was a part of him that was missing the feeling of sleeping on a plush bed. There was a part of him that was telling him maybe he shouldn''t have to go through this today. There was always tomorrow. A tomorrow in which he would be able to adhere to the schedule just fine. If he could just take a break today, everything would be fine. However, Eren didn''t let these voices win over him. He ignored them all and held on. Now he wanted to kill these voices by subjecting himself to even more pain. That pain will soon act as a suppressant to all his thoughts of quitting. Alephee regretted showing Eren what he could have done with better control over his mana circuits at this point. Maybe she should have shown less or downyed the effects. Because Eren was moving way beyond the course she had set for him. "Eren, I believe I''ve said this to you before. More arduous work doesn''t necessarily trante into better results. Your body should be allowed to heal before continuing the training regimen. I appreciate that you are taking this training seriously. I really do. But I''ll appreciate it even more if you don''t overdo it." Eren was in no mood to talk. But Alephee wasn''t activating the array. Then he opened his eyes and looked at her before speaking. "I I know what I''m doing. I''ll rx when I hit my limit. But this this ain''t it. Not yet." Eren replied and looked at Alephee with unwavering determination. Thetter could only sigh before nodding in agreement. Eren''s bed of suffering was activated once again, forcing him to muster every ounce in his body not to yell in pain. His watery eyes turned red. The uninjured side of his body turned red and started sweating heavily. Alephee looked at Eren''s condition with a grim expression. But she didn''t stop the array. "Speed up!" Alephee began operating on the array with different instructions. In the next moment, Eren sped up the channeling of his mana flow. Despite his efforts, he was unable to match the speed at which the metal shards were moving. They had already pierced and carved the skin, to begin with. Thus, his injuries only worsened. "Hhhhmmmhhh!" Eren puffed up his cheeks and was about to cry out in pain. But he refused to part his lips, suffocating the yell that was about to escape his mouth. As a result, a muffled groan was heard from him. Alephee kept on operating the array until Eren was somehow able to match the mana flow with the tiny metal shards. She then switched her instructions, making Eren suffer through additional rounds of pain. *** Morning after. The butcher had gotten up from his bed of suffering. He was about to get freshened up before meeting up with Ror. He was leaving the Oni dungeon. So he had to make a few preparations. All of Eren''s wounds had healed. But his expressions were haggard. He wished that the psychological wounds he felt could also be healed as quickly as his physical injuries. But not everything in life can be as picturesque as one would wish. Alephee was sitting on Eren''s bed in a meditative state with her eyes closed. She opened her eyes when Eren was ready to move on with his next set of assignments of the day. Despite his haggard expressions, the homunculus could still see a subtle smile on Eren''s face. Despite knowing him for so long, she was surprised. "You haven''t achieved anything yet, Eren. Why are you smiling?" Eren was walking towards the bath chamber where Orcinas were waiting for him. He had changed the schedule of his nightly activities and made them part of his routine to save time. The butcher stopped in his tracks when he heard Alephee''s question. He didn''t look back and resumed his stride before replying. "Haha. This happinesses not from having achieved but from the knowledge that I''m pushing myself to new heights. I now know that as long as I keep on pushing myself and don''t give in to my inner sloth, the results wille. I might not be the most talented and I might not get the best results for the efforts I put in, But I take pride that nobody I know pushes themselves as hard as me." Chapter 739 Sedating Gaze The day before Eren left the Oni dungeon. Evening 6 PM. The sun was preparing to set on the horizon. The gray clouds were trying to mask an all-orange sky. But in doing so, they were just distancing themselves from each other, running thin. ng! ng! ng! Eren and Alephee were about to wrap up their spar. But for some reason, Eren pressed on. It was as if he was sensing a breakthrough into something. Eren had been having these feelings for thest couple of days. But what he was feeling at this point was more intense than before. Alephee could sense what was happening inside Eren''s mind. So she didn''t try to disturb him from his current mindset and aided it by sparring with him well beyond their agreed-upon time limit. Eren and Alephee both were using the lightning and fire element spells they had ess to. This was the first time Eren felt like he was battling a much superior version of himself. Alephee was fighting with Eren while being mindful of her attacks. She didn''t want to overwhelm Eren with her attacks because it felt like he was fighting with her subconsciously. He was letting his instincts take over him. For the first time in a long while, Eren felt like his perception wascking. He felt like he was a bit slow to process things even under the effects of his time-element spells. He could only hear his heartbeats in his peculiar state. The shes of weapons had be inaudible to him. At first, he thought that he must be feeling like this because he was battling against Alephee who knew time-element spells better than anybody. But he soon came to realize that that was not it. This was his subconscious mind trying to level the spell up because it felt like it was under constant duress these days. The time-element spell Sedated Perception wasn''t enough for Eren anymore. He needed something more. Or he needed to slow down his opponent who was keeping up with him no matter how hard he tried to outmaneuver. ng! ng! ng! Both Eren and Alephee exchanged various moves in closebat. The former was sparring with Alephee but his attention seems to have been divided by something else. State of epiphany! Eren finally entered the illusive state while he continued sparring with Alephee. Active participation in the battle was a prerequisite for such a peculiar state. So she kept the pressure on him with her attacks. Alephee was keeping up with Eren by using Sedated Perception as well. But suddenly, she found that the vessel she was using as a medium to cast the spells felt like it had been submerged underwater. Alephee''s movements became rtively slow. She felt like an external interference was keeping her vessel from moving the way she wanted to. This was even though she was a time-element spell user herself. Alephee created a distance from Eren using Blitz Steps and looked at Eren''s face instead of his attacks. The guy still seemed like he had been hypnotized to fight with her. But there was something different about his eyes. Eren''s eyes had suddenly be pure white. There was no iris left in both his eyes anymore. The white viscera had upied the entire canvas of both eyes. "This..." Alephee narrowed her eyes and used her soul sense to know what was happening to Eren. She had first thought that the breakthrough was rted to his mana circuits. But it seemed that his training and constant adversity had produced some unexpected results. Alephee was about to move when Eren narrowed his ghostly eyes on her. In the next moment, the feeling that her body was submerged in the water intensified. As a result, her movements got so slow that she stopped moving. Eren''s movements remained unaffected by this phenomenon, indicating that only Alephee''s body had gotten slower. He approached her without any fear at this point. His sword gets charged with his lightning-element mana. Alephee understood what was happening to Eren as she saw him approach her while in a state of epiphany. She could only smile before dispelling the effects of the time-element spells her body was being subjected to. Eren had fused his two time-element spells into one to acquire a unique ability. He did not need to cast Sedated Perception and Stunning Speed separately anymore. Activating this ability would grant him the effects of both the spells. And this ability could be activated with his eyes. But that was not the whole story. The time-element spells had also evolved after being transformed into abilities. The ability could now force Eren''s opponents to process time differently, subjecting their bodies to a different passage of time. It meant that Eren could buff himself while debuffing his enemies if and when he wanted to. This would allow him to gain an overwhelming advantage over his opponents even if the debuffsts for a short period. This was a truly terrifying ability. When activated at the right time, it had the potential to create loads of ws in Eren''s opponent''s defense. He would be able tond a critical blow on them if the timing of the ability''s activation is done right. Eren had pleasantly surprised Alephee by acquiring this ability. Usually, only innate or inherent spells have a higher chance of turning into an ability. In the end, even a prodigy Adept ranker was not usually qualified to transform one of his spells into abilities, no matter how familiar they were with casting spells. It was true that Alephee''s existence had allowed Eren to acquire the ability faster. However, that did not negate the efforts he had put in. This was his first Ability he had gained by putting in the efforts. Not something that was bestowed by some otherworldly statue or bloodline. As such, it spoke volumes about how hard he had struggled to achieve something like this. This was no luck. Eren had been making conscious efforts to get his time-element spells to turn into an ability for him. He had invested quite a lot of time and energy to synthesize the ability for himself. This was the culmination of all his strategic nning and diligence. Alephee had to admit that Eren was talented in his own right. It was just that his talenty in putting in more grueling work than the rest and nning things. === AN: Chapter 421 mentions how Eren trains himself to use Sedated Perception so that it could eventually be an ability for him. Chapter 740 Groundbreaking Bloodline Powers Eren''s mana reserves were dwindling while he was under the effects of the state of epiphany. He had no real control over using his ability. It was his subconscious mind that was using it whenever it felt like it. It would expend a huge amount of mana when casting the debuff on Alephee, who would be able to get rid of it through her own means. Alephee was happy for Eren while he was in that state. She didn''t disturb him even after he kept on attacking her subconsciously while using the full potential of his ability to cast a debuff on her. She was sure that if it was any other Adept ranker in her shoes, he had been butchered by Eren''s current state. Alephee had decided to let Eren snap out of his state himself. And she was doing everything she could to maintain just the right amount of pressure on him by casting her attack spells. Fire Snake! Alephee attacked Eren by conjuring two three-meter boa snakes. They opened their mouths and cast the spells they had been integrated with. One of the snakes chose to cast a Fireball while the other was nning to use Fire Breath on Eren. Meanwhile, Alephee retreated by summoning a third beast: the giant eagle. She had quickly climbed on the eagle''s back. Alephee was now flying over the battle ring. She directed the boa snakes to attack Eren strategically. As such, the boa snakes kept on moving at crazy speed before finally deciding to release the spells they had been holding all at once. A series of fireballs came from Eren''s 5 O''clock direction while an intense fire breath attack approached him from his 10 O''clock direction. On second thought, Alephee also cast a domain ability using her grimoire and prevented Eren from using his time-element ability. Eren sensed the two attacks approaching at breakneck speed. He also subconsciously realized that he couldn''t use his time-element powers anymore. Alephee thought that this would be enough to snap Eren back to reality. As a result, she was expecting his logical mind to take over since the problem she put him in could not be solved by instinct alone. But Eren''s state of epiphany was more pronounced than Alephee had thought. It was as if he was encashing all the cheques he had earned through his arduous work. Eren stopped moving or using his spells altogether. He closed his eyes and let the two attacks approach him. Boom! Eren''s body waspletely consumed by both attacks, which exploded right in the middle of their paths. Alephee frowned when she watched the events unfold from the back of her summoned eagle. Alephee could still tell that things weren''t as they seemed. She would know if Eren had suffered. But it felt like Eren was not being affected by anything even while standing inside a cloud of mes. It was as if Eren had bepletely immune to the spell''s effects. He didn''t just start being immune to the spells'' effects. It seemed like he was also controlling the mes in some way. Eren had managed to take control of Alephee''s spells as if they were cast by him. And the control has been taken away from Alephee so easily that she didn''t even notice it at first. Alephee didn''t understand what was happening inside the cloud of mes even when she had locked her soul sense on Eren. But then she paid attention to the feedback she was getting from her senses and opened her eyes wide in pleasant surprise. ''This this is one of Elder Ichor''s powers. These are "his" edicts.'' Alephee couldn''t help but feel visibly ted when she realized what was going on. Eren, in the moment of crisis, had managed to copy her mana signature entirely without any semnce of ws. As a result, the spells that were cast by her failed to damage him. In all his previous instances, Eren had failed to copy the mana signatures of the rankers he was shapeshifting intopletely. There was always a difference, no matter how close it was to perfection. But this was the first time he had managed to copy Alephee''s mana signaturespletely, robbing the powers from her spells to affect him. Additionally, it allowed him to control her spells. The butcher raised his hands and dispersed the cloud of mes that was surrounding him. He was seening out unscathed from Alephee''s attacks. He also dispersed the boa snakes that had tried to maintain a safe distance from him, looking at him with confused eyes. Eren snapped out of his trance when he saw Alephee jumping down from her summoned beast right in front of him. The summoned eagle dispersed right after. There was confusion written all over Eren''s face as he looked all around him. "My time-element spells they have been turned into an ability." Eren''s blurred memories were gradually cleared as he became aware of what had just happened. He closed his eyes before opening them again, making the white sclera upy the canvas of his eyes once again. "Sedating Gaze!" Eren cast the debuff of his ability onto Alephee once again to test its effects. Thetter seemed annoyed before making hand gestures as if she was swatting a fly. "Hmph! These effects won''t work on me." Alephee said before looking at Eren approvingly. "Nevertheless, congrattions on gaining a new ability. That''s enough for today. Let''s prepare to leave. We have to check up on Kaalmaahen and Kirin. It''s been days since they have been locked inside their separate arrays. We have to make sure the array works properly if we want to bring them outside without causing a ruckus." Eren nodded and followed Alephee. A doubtful tone in his voice, however, implied that he was still confused about something. "I''m sure they''ll be fine, Alephee. But what had happened in the end? Why could I not get injured by your attacks?" Alephee chuckled before answering. "You copied my mana signature down to a T, which allowed you to take control of my spells after getting immune to them. Your half-blood abilities are more profound than you think, Eren. I''m looking forward to the day when you can fully utilize your bloodline powers." Chapter 741 Leaving Oni Dungeon P1 Two arrayyouts were present in the sacred hall. These arrayyouts had a radius of more than 50 meters each. They were considerablyrger than normal arrays. Plus, the runic inscriptions in them seemed moreplicated than the rest. Even an array expert like Durbag who had in-depth knowledge about the arrays from his rity was amazed to see these two arrays in operation. He just stood at a distance and observed the runic inscriptions in the arrays, trying to get a clue about how they operated. Both of these arrays were upied by one entity each. The first array was upied by Kaal while Kirin was in the second array. They were both sitting inside the respective array eyes, their bodies in sync with the array operations. Kirin seemed to be struggling through something. Her expression looked stressed. The inscriptions around her started glowing brighter all of a sudden. The intrinsic circles inside the array started rotating while releasing a bright white light. The process continued for a while before eventually dying down for Kirin. She opened her eyes all of a sudden and her eyes shined with emerald brilliance. She stood up and her horns started growing. Her stature also increased a bit. The biggest difference was in her mana signature, which was fiercer than before. Kirin''s build and facial features remained almost the same. But one could feel that she was ready to battle. Durbag didn''t understand what Kirin was doing by tapping into her Echi state. This transformation wasn''t supposed to be used casually like this. But before he could ask his queries, Durbag heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He turned around to see that their king and his homunculuspanion hade to check up on the progress. "My king!" Durbag got on his knees seeing Eren. Thetter nodded at him. Then he turned his gaze towards his Oni woman before speaking up. "Can you do it?" Eren asked Kirin while smiling at her. He knew she had just finished her process. Kirin didn''t reply in words. She closed her eyes and focused on the array tattoo that had appeared on the back of her left hand. She chanted the mantra that Alephee had given her. In the next moment, Kirin began reverting to normal. Her stature decreased and her mana signature started changing to normalcy once again. Her horns started shrinking too. But the transformation didn''t stop there. Kirin''s mana signature kept on changing. Her horns started shrinking beyond what she normally boasted of. Durbag watched with utter surprise as Kirin''s horns vanished. Her mana signature also changed drastically. She looked and felt like an elf with beautiful features. Durbag didn''t know what to say anymore. He couldn''t believe that Kirin had turned into an elf. "My king, what is this I see? What is this transformation?" Durbag couldn''t help asking the question. But Eren didn''t pay attention to him. He just disappeared from his position and appeared right next to Kirin before taking her in his embrace. "My darling, you look just as stunning as you did before." Kirin giggled when she heard Erenpliment her. And the words he chose topliment her also indicated that he had no problem with her Oni form. That relieved her and enabled her to truly enjoy hispliment. Kirin hugged back and rubbed her face against Eren''s chest. She was proud of her Oni lineage and liked her horns. But they had made it difficult for her to rub her face against Eren''s chest the way she was doing at this point. She liked the fact that she could get close to Eren without her horns getting in the way. Eren rubbed her partially exposed back with both his hands and kissed her on her lips before praising her some more. Alephee sighed when she saw Eren flirting with hisdy. The guy liked to work hard and pursue his women harder. He hadpletely ignored Kaal''s progress and avoided answering Durbag. All his attention was devoted to Kirin. Alphee felt a bit sorry that Durbag was getting ignored. The Orc chieftain of the Durbag tribe was waiting patiently for Eren''s answer in his kneeling position. It seemed he really wanted to know about the array she had cast for Kaal and Kirin. Being the array-savant that he was, he couldn''t hide the curiosity he felt towards the array that had disyed such unusual effects. "This is an array that taps into the effects of atavism. Let''s say that all the children of Echidna could tap into this transformation that takes ce in apletely different direction than the state of Echi. My array gives the children of Echidna ess to this transformation by expediting the process of Atavism. If and when they be proficient in it, they won''t require the array''s help to shift between their forms." Durbag''s eyes shone when he heard the exnation from his king''s homunculus. An array that works on the blood itself! Even with Durbag''s vast knowledge of arrays, he wasn''t sure he had heard about an array that could work on something like a blood and blood genesis. This was apletely different form of study Durbag found to be feasible.'' Durbag thought for a while before thinking of a different approach. "Madam Alephee, I see that this transformation requires the children of Echidna to tap into their state of Echi first. What if we stopped the array function after the process had only partially done its job?'''' At this point, Eren and Kirin were in their own bubble. It looked like Eren was trying to woo a stunning elf that had already fallen for him. The Oni princess giggled and seemed busy talking with her husband while looking like an elf princess. Alephee looked at Durbag impressively when she understood his intentions. The guy had thought of using the array as a way to enable less-talented children of Echidna to tap into the state of Echi. She exined the workings of the array as well as a way to stop the functions of the array midway. Durbag didn''t understand the concepts of atavism. And when asked, Alephee only replied vaguely. So he understood her intentions and focused on learning the array''s functionspletely. It took Kaal three hours more toplete the process and exit out of the array. He too was able to get rid of all his features as an Ogre, turning into a human male. Kirin and Kaal both were set to leave the Oni dungeon with Eren. Chapter 742 Leaving Oni Dungeon P2 On the day of Eren leaving the Oni dungeon. Morning 10 AM. Ror and Eren were busy talking and finalizing a few details. "Where can I find this setup?" Eren asked Ror while narrowing his eyes and looking at the void. He was sitting on a royal throne in the sacred hall. Ror replied from his kneeled position down by the throne''s pedestal. "My king, an Ogre named Bigua, has it. He has a big tribe backing him up. I can help you..." Ror was about to suggest that hee with Eren to take care of his business for him. But Eren shook his head before cutting him off. "No need, Ror. I''ll inform you when I need you to use the channel created by Alephee. You cane outside by then. A guy like you would attract too much attention even if I used the array to transform your appearance. It''s better that I handled the situation on my own as much as I can. I am sure Alephee has guided you through operating the array. You can make use of the array. Stay ready and on standby in case I summon any of you guys." One of the big reasons Eren was not ready to take Ror outside was the fact that he had advanced too much in his evolutionary path. He was sure that the kingdom of Edinburgh would have various means at their disposal to keep track of people like him. Eren''s assumption was right on the mark. The forces of Anfang would indeed be wary of monsters of Ror''s levels. They wouldn''t necessarily try to hunt them. But they would make sure these monsters stayed in check. Bigua was one such example. Eren had nned to take over Bigua''s tribe after listening to the details provided to him by Ror. It seemed that Eren wanted something the quasi Ogre Overlord had. So recing him as the leader was the easiest way to get hold of it. Kaal was an Ogre Lord who was far from stepping into his next evolutionary stage. As such, Bigua could be considered an opponent he wouldn''t be able to beat. Eren also realized that he needed to use monster rituals to his advantage instead of just battling them to create a mess afterward. However, Eren decided that he would deal with thister. He''ll first do recon on Bigua before thinking of getting rid of him. He knew Kaal would serve as a helpful asset to him when the butcher aplishes making him the chieftain of Bigua''s tribe. What Eren didn''t know at this point was the fact that Bigua had struck a deal with the special forces of Edinburgh. He also didn''t know that the war with the kingdom of Layos was iing. A lot of Eren''s ns were based on the future he knew from his past timeline. However, there was no war with the kingdom of Layos in his past timeline. As such, he hadn''t nned anything regarding the war. Eren and Ror talked at length finalizing a few details. He then talked with two other Monster Overlordsa Gnoll Overlord and Goblin Overlord. He also told them to proceed through the array process, telling them to be on standby. Unlike Ror who was close to bing a Monster King, these two Monster Overlords had just stepped into their current evolutionary stage. Plus, they did not have as many responsibilities as Ror who was currently in charge of the Oni subspace as a whole. Thus, Eren could make use of these two Overlords if he saw the need of using overwhelming and outright force. "Lord Husband, how do I look?" Kirin asked, suddenly appearing beside Eren in a stylish outfit he had given her yesterday. He didn''t want her to walk in revealing clothes outside the Oni Dungeon. She would stop being an Oni princess outside the subspace. Thus, Eren had Alephee conjure a typical outfit for her. The homunculus didn''t like the fact that she was being used as a clothmaker. But she sighed after arguing a bit with Eren. In the end, she agreed and did what was asked of her. This was Kirin''s first time wearing human-like clothes and gear. She was wearing dark brown cargo leather pants and corset-type, sleeveless leather armor over a full-sleeve white top. She had tied her shoulder-length golden hair at the back of her head, revealing her shapely neck a bit. She had long bangs that she had tucked behind either side of her ears. Alephee needed existing artifacts and runes to upgrade the artifacts. As such, the clothes she had provided Kirin were like mortals'' clothes. However, it was not like Kirin was in dire need of ranked armor. She gave off the aura of a C-Ranker. Nobody would try to mess with her casually. She wore clothes like a typical adventurer, except that her looks made her stand out tantly. As such, the butcher just pulled her towards him and made her sit on hisp before replying. "My darling, your skin is so soft, I feel like I''m touching the clouds. Your green eyes are enough to hypnotize me thousand times over. Your voice would add cheer to the most dreary day. Your attire makes you look exceptionally gorgeous." Eren kept on praising Kirin while talking with Ror from time to time. The Ogre Overlord also showed remarkable patience in front of his king, who seemed a bit upied with his wife. Alephee who was standing not too far away from the throne had stress lines on her face when she listened to Eren throwing so many cheesy lines at Kirin. She had thought that the butcher would onlypliment women when he wanted to ensure his chances with them. But Kirin was alreadymitted to him. Thus, she could only conclude that Eren was sincere in his romance with her. ''Is he really the "seed" they are talking about? The inheritor of Eternal Echor they fear so much.'' Alephee smiled to herself when she looked at Eren''s way of handling things while having these thoughts. But when all was said and done, she was content that Eren had turned out this way. An abomination that nobody would seeing for them. Eren, Alephee, Kirin, and Kaalmaahen left the Oni dungeon after a few hours. They were heading straight for the city of White Raven. Chapter 743 Rok Jahar And Bisha A trip back in time. Just before Eren cut off hismunication with the other side of the spatial tunnel. An unknown region on the continent of Echidna. A sacred Telesterion lit up with runes and natural light. This was a sacred hall that was identical to the one Eren saw when he was inside the Oni dungeon. The ce was inside the same pyramid found inside the Oni dungeon as well. And yet, the divine aura that surrounded this pyramid was on a different level altogether. If Eren had tried to mess up here, the divine aura would have suppressed all his actions. "I''ll think about it." The Oni King received a reply from the transgressor before themunication with the continent of Anfang got cut offpletely. The Oni King couldn''t even tempt him to do anything more for him. This transgressor was present on the continent of Anfang. The Oni King didn''t know who or what he was. But he hade to realize that the wretched person was an original denizen of the Anfang. This transgressor had somehow managed to kill Har Jahar and taken the entire Oni dungeon under his control. The Oni King was a bit shocked by this fact. This Oni King was sure that the Oni dungeon restricted the entries of high-ranking entities on the continent of Anfang. However, the transgressor''s actions were so seamless that it looked like there was no bloodshed. He had just appeared one day and took over everything the Oni dungeon had to offer. Complete domination. That''s what the transgressor had achieved. This could only be possible if the transgressor was at least a B-Rank entity or higher. Someone who shouldn''t have been able to enter the Oni dungeon in the first ce. Then how did the transgressor achieve something likeplete control of the subspace with no signs of mass wipeout? "Mutiny!" The Oni King blurted one word in Oni tongue before sighing deeply. He was a priest of the god assigned to manage the Oni dungeon on the continent of Anfang from this endC the continent of Echidna. This Oni King looked different from Har Jahar. He boasted a mini-giant-like stature just like Har Jahar. And he had two distinct horns attached to his forehead too. But other than these Oni features, the priest looked entirely human. He did not have red skin like Har Jahar. The Oni King had worn a ceremonial long red robe. That covered every inch of his body except his hands, feet, and face. The long robe had golden engravings all over it, whichplemented the Oni King''s golden eyes. With a visible frown on his face, the Oni King priest started walking down from the altar. This altar was also identical to the one found in the Oni dungeon on Anfang. He needed to report the recent developments to the temple''s higher authorities. "My King, you look tense. What happened?" Another Oni appeared in the huge hall after they saw the priest stepping down from the altar. It seemed something had gone wrong in the usual process. This newly appeared Oni was a woman who also seemed to have human-like features. She had red eyes and light blue shoulder-length hair. This Oni woman had canines. She was wearing a shoulder bracer on her left shoulder. Her heavy breasts were wrapped in a dark red blouse. Her waist was covered by a long belt that had a shield-like motif. She was wearing a loincloth below her waist, which only covered her feminine region. The rest was not left to the imagination. This blue-haired Oni woman was wearing arm guards and leg guards as well. She had a stature of about 6 feet, which made her look extremely small in front of the 14 feet tall priest. This blue-haired Oni woman had a rotund derriere. Her exposed thighs looked thick and shapely. Her strong appearance wasplemented by her strong aura, indicating that she was no priest. She was a warrior Oni woman. "What happened you ask? I''m not sure about it myself, Bisha. But it seems like Har Jahar is no more. And someone had reced him. Someone from the continent of Anfang." The Oni King Rok Jahar replied casually and stopped his stride after stepping down from the altarpletely. He stood directly in front of the kneeling Oni woman before continuing. "This transgressor has taken hold over the divine me lit there. I am not even sure if he has intentions to cooperate with us. Or is he just trying to use the Oni dungeon to get here? Either way. The usual procedure that we were supposed to follow is no more. You can retreat and resume your previous duties. I''ll just try to contact someone." Rok Jahar seemed stressed at the thought of reporting the incident to his superiors. He was especially stressed about theck of information he had to report. Rok Jahar wasn''t surprised by the fact that a denizen from the continent of Anfang had managed to take control of the Oni dungeon. These things had happened in the past as wellC the denizens of the continent of Anfang foiling the temple''s ns. Rok Jahar was the most surprised by the fact that there had been no predictable exchange between him and the transgressor. Usually, those who had foiled the temple''s ns were in the know of a lot of things. Hence, the way they interacted with entities from the continent of Echidna was different. It was as if the transgressor didn''t want to foil the temple''s ns for the greater good of Anfang. He had done it for his own sake, for his own reasons. Rok Jahar took a long breath and processed a bunch of thoughts in his head. He then released the air through his mouth before continuing to walk further. Bisha, the blue-haired Oni woman nodded her head to the departing figure. She was about to get up from her kneeling position and leave. However, she was stopped by Rok Jahar. "Bisha, what do you think must have happened on the continent of Anfang?" Chapter 744 Eternal Echor Prophecy "Bisha, what do you think must have happened on the continent of Anfang?" Rok Jahar stopped in his tracks and asked without turning back. He was suddenly feeling unease in his heart as he kept on thinking about the transgressor. Bisha didn''t know what she was supposed to say for sure. But she could provide her opinion based on the previous instances that she had studied. "My king, it would just be another fool on the continent of Anfang trying to bite more than he can chew. They must want toe to this side since theyck the resources. Like a poor beggar trying to enter a city meant for elites. Hehe." Bisha said and chuckled. From the things she knew about Anfang, she estimated that the ce spelled certain doom for rtively powerful entities. Additionally, all the other instances indicated that some of the inhabitants of the Anfang intended toe here using the space channel established by the continent of Echidna. Of course, the continent of Echidna had epted such denizens with open arms. But only a few of them had positive endings. Most of these fools ended up bing test subjects for the continent of Echidna. In recent centuries, it had been possible for the establishments of the continent of Anfang to ce strict restrictions on its original inhabitants. They hadn''t allowed anyone to contact the denizens of Echidna through any means. Thus, the denizens of Echidna hadn''t hosted the original denizen of Anfang in a long time. Bisha believed the case today was simr to the case in the past. So she wasn''t too worried about the incident. Yes, it was a huge loss for the temple. But not something it couldn''t get back on track from. Rok Jahar was of a simr opinion a few moments back. But he felt there was something off about it. "Bisha, recite me the Eternal prophecy passed down to all of us, will you?" Bisha was confused at first. Then she was confused some more before responding. "But My King..." "Do as I say." Rok Jahar cut Bisha off before she could voice her queries. Thetter just sighed and shrugged her shoulder after standing up. She scratched her forehead with her right index finger as if trying to remember something. Bisha spoke in a neutral tone about the Eternal prophecy she knew about. It had a lot of variations in many books and parchments she had studied so far. Thus, she spoke the variation she remembered right away. "The sun wilt rise from the west The wynds shalt be reversed Time wilt leap back in time And the divyne shalt be cursed The heritor of the Elder echor Will be born agaynst al odds Cradled by the first light Away from the shadowe of gods Hidden under manie a veil Blessed by the seven syns Unstoppable shalt be his rise Ynevitable agaynst any means He shalteth to im His rightful ynfynity and more His path shalt be paved On the flowers of blood and gore He wilt groweth and prosper Under the umbra of evil Deceit shalt be his shield Vengeance wilt be his anvil Vying for eternal pantheons O gods of existence Kill this seed, thee must Lest it groweth, sans the resistance For at whiche hour this Elder seed enters the worlds of creators it shalt spell doom to all its traitors" After carefully focusing on the words, Bisha finished speaking the Eternal Prophecy. Since it was passed down for thousands of years, thenguage in which it was written was archaic. Thus, it was quite a tongue twister for Bisha to speak as fluidly as she wanted it to. Bisha had also heard rumors that there was a second half to the Eternal prophecy that wasn''t as known as the first half. Most often, however, only the first half of the Eternal prophecy was considered by the priests. Bisha didn''t understand why the priest Rok Jahar wanted her to speak about the Eternal prophecy that was being treated as nothing but an urban legend by this point. She failed to see the corrtion it shared with the incident that had happened just a few moments ago. "Away from the shadow of gods..." Rok Jahar mumbled the words Bisha had just spoken. His frown intensified the more he thought about it. He turned towards Bisha and asked her directly even though it looked like he was asking himself more. "Bisha... don''t you think Anfang can be regarded as something that is away from the shadow of gods?" Bisha opened her eyes wide in utter shock when she understood what Rok Jahar was trying to imply. She looked him in the eyes and saw that he meant business about what he was asking. So she replied seriously as well. "My king, Anfang is not the only world that can be referred to that way. Besides, they say that..." Bisha wanted to say something but she was cut off by Rok Jahar right away. "I know all that, Bisha. I''m justparing things here. The Seed of Elder Echor is seen as a cataclysmic omen by a lot of temples of other gods as well. Not just us. So we can understand how serious this is." Rok spoke in a grim voice. He then sighed before admitting his doubts as well. "Additionally, there have been instances of false rms reported by priests and archpriests who interpreted certain events wrongly. The punishments they received for falsely assuming something weren''t light either. I don''t want to make those mistakes. Otherwise, there would be no point in keeping the study of history as a prerequisite to holding a position in the temple." Rok Jahar scratched his beardless face and said. He then shook his head in denial andughed mirthlessly before speaking up. "Hehe. Maybe I''m worried about nothing. But just as a precaution, I want you to meet up with somebody. Let''s see if I could get you to enter the continent of Anfang so that you''d be able to see for yourself." Bisha nodded to Rok Jahar''s orders and disappeared, leaving the priest alone with his thoughts. Chapter 745 Tumko Darata Appears P1 Bands. Near Edinburgh kingdom''s borders. Evening 7 PM. A region near the entrance to the Oni dungeon. A small squad of Edinburgh''s army was approaching the Oni dungeon carefully. The sun was just about to set and darkness was about to descend on the Bands. This was the time to call it a night and find a ce to hide until the morning. But for some reason, this small squad of soldiers kept marching. "Captain, this is our third time doing the recon instead of entering the dungeon? What''s the point of just checking things out if we won''t use them?" A member of the squadined to his captain in a rather annoyed tone. She was a night elf. "We don''t know what''s waiting for us inside, Bhaa Laah. Captain knows what he is doing. We just have to follow his lead. Stopining." The one who tried to quiet Bhaa Laah the night elf was also a night elf himself. He had kind of simr facial features as Bhaa Laah as well. Bhaa Laah was an elf with a slim build. She had dark purple hair andrge ears, even by elven standards. She had light gray eyes and dark blue skin. Bhaa Laah Badekaan was a closebat expert in her squad. She was the most boisterous in the group, often asking questions to her captain Tumko Darata. Of course, Tumko was a quiet person, so he rarely responded. Bhaa Laah''s random questions and talks were usually ignored by the group. This time wasn''t different either. Answering Bhaa Laah''s questions was the job assigned to her elder brother Jaad Ugar Badekaan. This night elf also shared most of his features with his younger sister. Jaad was a bit taller and his skin was a different shade of blue. Also, his hair and eyes were white, making him a bit different to look at than his real sister if one ignores the facialmonalities. There was also a ranger named Teer Maar. He was a bit taller than Jaad Ugar, he had medium-length ck hair and intense dark brown eyes. He spoke next while keeping his vignce raised. "Your brother is right, Bhaa Laah. Plus, we are in the forbidden zone. Even if we are still serving in Edinburgh''s army, we are not supposed to be seen here. So keep your voice down. Or better yet, don''t speak at all." Teer spoke in a low voice. Bhaa Laah showed expressions of displeasure when she heard two of her team members trying to shut her down. She wasn''t happy that the captain wasn''t responding to any of her questions as well. "There''s fucking nobody here. Why should we sneak here like a bunch of rats trying to save our hide from a big bad cat?" Bha Laah spoke. She was just about to break formation and approach her captain when thetter stopped in his tracks after sensing something. "There''s someone ahead. Teer!" Tumko raised his arm at a stop sign and spoke. He then called out the team''s ranger, prompting him to take action. "On it." Teer disappeared from his position and climbed one of the giant trees the dense forest was made of. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Teer saw a group of four rankers walking casually through the forest as if they were taking a walk here. He briefly looked at all four of those using his long-range ss-specific spell. Teer was about to disperse his spying spell when one of the rankers from the group raised her hands and twisted them in the air. This ranker was a young woman who had worn a striking ck dress. The ck-haired young woman had red eyes that stared right at Teer''s vision before narrowing down on it. A grimoire had appeared in front of her as she tugged at Teer''s intangible consciousness. Teer felt like his long-range spell had been detected. He also felt like he was naked in front of those red eyes as if they could see through everything and anything he had in his mind. Those red eyes suddenly grew muchrger than their original size. They stared at him displeasingly, as if the person to whom the eyes belonged was irritated by the fact that Teer had spied on them. This red-eyed girl tugged at something in Teer''s direction using her twisted hand in the air and the next moment, Teer found it unable to retract his consciousness from his long ranger spell. The ranger was scared shitless when he experienced something like this. He felt like he shouldn''t have tried to spy on these four rankers. For they seem to be exceptionally powerful. "Teer?" p Tumko frowned when Teer didn''t say anything for more than half a minute. He knew about the spying spell he had made Teer cast on the unknown personnel. It was convenient for his team to have him on the squad, thanks to this spell of his. Tumko Darata''s team had managed to avoid a lot of trouble, thanks to Teer''s untraceable spying spell. So they didn''t expect him to fail this time either. Before Tumko could ask Teer any more questions, he saw Teer''s body about to lose bnce from the branch he was standing on. "Hm?" Tumko felt puzzled by the fact that Teer had lost his bnce. Nevertheless, the captain immediately took action. He quickly approached Teer''s ce and spread his arms. Teer''s unconscious body came crashing into Tumko''s open arms. The other members of the team were alerted by the sudden development and approached Teer immediately. "The fuck Teer what happened? Why are you passed out all of a sudden?" Bhaal eximed in shock. She couldn''t believe that the ranger of her team was down even before they confronted these four rankers. Someone had managed to injure Teer remotely without any visible signs of injury on his body. Tumko had serious expressions when he saw Teer''s condition. He had normal vital signs. It didn''t look like he had been passed out. That could only mean one thing. "Someone has managed to interfere with Teer''s spell." Chapter 746 Tumko Darata Appears P2 "Someone has managed to interfere with Teer''s spell." Tumko said in a grim voice. He realized that he had made a grave mistake by telling Teer to spy on the targets he had sensed ahead. "Someone that can trap Teer''s consciousness is not anybody we should interact with. Try to wake Teer up and let''s get out of here before things escte to something unfavorable for us." The one who spoke at this point was a tank named Kavach. He was a tall, dark-skinned man with a well-trimmed beard. He had worn heavy golden armor on himplete with headgear and gauntlets, protecting him from head to toe. Kavach carried arge shield in his left hand while his right hand was holding a sword. Even while being a tank, the guy practiced sword art. He didn''t want to put all his eggs in one basket by pursuing a single mastery. Kavach was the silent type in Tumko''s team. He would rarely speak. So everybody would listen to him whenever he decided to voice his opinions, including the captain. Tumko knew what to do. He first emptied a vial of potion in Teer''s mouth before making him gulp it down. Then he pped the ranger''s pretty face as hard as he could. "Cough! Cough! Cough!" Teer woke up with a severe cough right after he was pped. He spilled the potion he had been forced to consume. It took him a while to stabilize his condition. "What did you see, Teer? Do we need to run from this ce?" Tumko asked in a serious voice. Teer was sitting on the ground and Tumko was supporting him by holding his shoulders and squatting down beside him. Teer looked at his teammates surrounding him before talking with a part stressed and part baffled expression on his face. "I I don''t know. That ck-dressed, grimoire-looking girl is the most dangerous of them all." Teer looked at the teammates with a shaken-to-the-core look before speaking up. He told the team about what he had seen using his spell. "There was this guy who appeared to be engrossed in flirting with the elf girl. Then there''s another man who''s following closely behind them. And walking beside the pair is the girl with the grimoire. I''m betting she was the one who trapped my consciousness. I don''t know how she could sense me. But she did. I think she could also hurt my consciousness if she wanted to. But she let me go." Teer started describing the appearances of the four-personnel team he had just encountered. Tumko''s team got a clear picture of all four of them through Teer''s vivid descriptions. "Looks like they are nobody we are aware of. What are their rankings?" Tumko narrowed his eyes on Teer as he asked. Thetter spoke right after. The guy walking ahead of the team is a D-Rank. I''m not sure what rank the elf girl is in, but I guess that she is either in thete stages of the D-rank or in the early stages of the C-rank. The other man and the grimoire-using girl are also in the Adept rank. They don''t seem to have any other person following them in the shadows. Those four are all the only rankers we would find in this region." Teer spoke and took a long breath. Tumko pondered for a moment beforeing to a decision. "I don''t think we should approach these four people. Their strengths are not that impressive except for the C-Rank elf girl. But we should avoid conflicts when we can." Tumko spoke in a slow voice from behind his well-detailed mask. He got a nod from almost everybody on the team. They all agreed to Tumko''s decision to pull back, all except Bhaa Laah. "Um hello! What about avenging Teer? He was just doing his job of checking on something unexpected. That''s what is expected from a ranger while we are all in the Bands. If their ranger was capable of doing so, they would have done the same as Teer. There was no reason for that girl to mess with him using her weird spells. What if he had received permanent damage to his psyche? Moreover, Teer did this under the captain''s orders. It''s the captain''s responsibility to ensure his team is safe so that they can follow his orders to a T. Will you let the matter slide just because there''s a C-Rank in their midst? What about all the preparations we have done to clear the dungeon/ surely, we can take care of a single C-Rank if pushes to shove?" Bhaa Laah spoke with an agitated voice. It was not like she cared so much for Teer. But the journey to get here was boring. And she wanted to spice things up. There was a warrior-ss ranker in Tumko''s team as well. He looked to be a man in histe 30s. He had shoulder-length blond hair that cascaded on either side of his square-shaped face. He had a light golden beard and light green eyes. This warrior-ss ranker''s name was Tal Waar. He was also wearing sleeveless leather armor to cover his torso. He had shoulder and arm braces. He was wearing pants made of the same beast hide as his sleeveless leather. There was a bear''s hide covering his back as well. Tal Waar would support Tumko''s decisionspletely. He was also the vice-captain of the team and was a very capable fighter. His warrior ss had made him a fearsome man on the battlefield. He looked at Bhaa Laah with a frown on his face beforementing. "Bhaa Laah, stop messing things up just because they provide some form of entertainment for you. The captain is right. We should pull back." Bhaa Laah looked at Tal and stretched her tongue out beforeing up with another reason. "Captain, we are in the forbidden zone of Edinburgh''s army. Although we shouldn''t be seen here in this region, neither should they. Plus, we all belong to the army. We can just use our identities to interrogate them. As Teer was saying, that red-eyed girl must have something exceptional in her possession." Baah Laah saw that the captain had started pondering on her statements. The rest of the team was split. So she decided to use her next argument to finally get them on the same page. "What if they are all cultists or stray adventurers who found their way inside the subspace and got all the resources we were eyeing for? It''ll be a huge joke for us if a group of strangers takes away with them what rightfully belongs to us. We have all the rights and grounds to intercept these four rascals. Let''s see what they got on them." Chapter 747 Playing For The Same Team "What did you do?" Eren asked Alephee while looking at him. He was walking alongside Kirin, keeping his left arm across her shoulders. He had observed that Alephee had used her grimoire on somebody or something an hour back. But he was busy chatting with his Oni woman at the time so he had ignored it. "Tch. Some pest was trying to spy on us. I took care of it. And don''t act like you didn''t notice." p Alephee said with a frown on her face. She was walking on Eren''s right side at this point. Kirin and Kaal both didn''t know what the two were talking about. So they just kept their silence. Eren chuckled when he heard Alephee''s words. He thought that maybe it was better for her when she didn''t have a vessel. Because she could keep herself disengaged from his affairs most of the time when situations like these urred. But now that she had a vessel, she couldn''t help interfering directly. Eren had sensed with his soul sense that someone had used a long-range ranger spell on them. He didn''t react because, just as Bhaa Laah had said, it was natural for a ranger to use their long-range spell if they were in the Bands. If he was alone, he would change his direction. If he was at a party, he would have done nothing in the hopes that the other party was not hostile. What Eren didn''t count on was the fact that Alephee wouldn''t like an intrusion in her private space and she would punish the guy for it. He just shrugged his shoulders beforementing. "Never mind. It''s not like you killed the guy. Things could getplicated if they decide to intercept us. After all, it would make sense for both sides to avoid any signs of battle in the forbidden zone. They are probably cultists. Or some rogue elements within the Edinburgh army... Hm? Wait a damn minute." Eren spoke casually when he suddenly stopped talking. He was reminded of Tumko and he spoke of the rogue elements within the Edinburgh army active in the forbidden zone. He smiled bitterly as he predicted the identities of rankers who were trying to spy on them. In the next moment, Eren and Alephee straightened themselves and stopped walking. They felt with their acute senses that they were surrounded. They also realized that someone had used an istion array in the area to keep the signs of activity from being detected by authorities. Eren and his team were also prevented from escaping by the istion array. Eren would recognize this methodical way of taking action from miles away. He had experienced it for the first time when he was in Lionheart Duchy. Later, he used these tactics on monsters when he waspleting missions. ''Edinburgh''s army!'' Eren said to himself in his head and looked around himself with nonchnt expressions. If possible, he didn''t want to kill the person who had inspired him to live and fight against his circumstances in his previous timeline. If the guy and his team came after it, he could only retaliate. He wouldn''t shy away frommitting another squad purge at the time. Eren also hoped that his guess was wrong this time. That it would be a different party he could kill and be done with. However, he was bound to be disappointed by how urate his prediction was. "Tumko!" Eren saw the ranker at a distance above a branch of a tree and called his name. The guy was wearing a unique type of mask which was different from his usual attire. But the patterns were easily recognizable to Eren. This mask covered his entire face except for his eyes. Tumko was wearing a long overcoat over a zer. The overcoat had a hoodie attached to it that Tumko had drawn over his head. The guy had ck eyes that gave him an intense stare. Tumko was surprised when Eren called his name loud enough that he could hear it. He narrowed his eyes at Eren before asking him a question. "How do you know me? Have we met before?" Eren smirked when he felt Tumko''s presence for the first time in both his timelines. He could onlyugh at the irony that the guy who had inspired him to live his life hade to im it in this timeline. It wasn''t that Eren was faultless in the timeline. He had imed Tumko''s encounter for himself, using it as a way to gain an army of monsters for himself. The fact that Tumko couldn''t have achieved what he had done with the same opportunity was a different matter altogether. "I know you. Or rather, I know of you. You are in Edinburgh''s army, right? Of course, I''d know you. I have heard about you from my colleagues, so to speak." Eren spoke with patience and fearlessness in his eyes. His teammates were instructed not to do anything definitive against Tumko''s team. Not unless Tumko''s team started the conflict from their end. Tumko felt puzzled for a few moments before drawing a possible conclusion. "Are you also a member of the Edinburgh army?" Eren didn''t take long to answer. He nodded his head before speaking up. "That''s right. We y for the same team. Now we would be grateful if you could disperse the istion array." Eren looked at Tumko as he spoke. Thetter was shocked once more when he discovered Eren was a member of Edinburgh''s army as well. Things had gotten moreplicated for him as well. Even he wanted the matter resolved without furtherplication. "You know that this is a forbidden zone not allowed to be entered even by army personnel, right?" Tumko decided to put pressure on Eren who seemed to be way younger than him. He wanted to see how much of a greenhorn he was. Eren chuckled before answering. "Yet, here we all are. Let''s just say that I didn''t see you here and you didn''t see me. How does that sound for an arrangement?" Eren asked, giving Tumko another chance to retreat. He was about to stop caring about Tumko and his team''s well-being anymore now that the istion array was active. He was also sensing a particrly hostile intention directed at him from a different direction. Chapter 748 Loudest Duck Gets Shot First "Since you know my name, can I know yours?" Tumko asked while staring at the rest of the members of Eren''s team. Just as Teer had told him, his senses were warning him against Kirin and Alephee. But for some reason, Tumko felt that Eren was the most dangerous of them all. Because he didn''t sense any hostility or negative emotions from him. He even felt that Eren was trying to do him a favor by offering him a deal. Tumko hadn''t based this on gut feeling alone. His ss as a mentalist was special. As a result, he was very sensitive to psychic waves, which would be released by any living being whether they were rankers, mana beasts, monsters, or demon beasts. This was how he could detect the presence of Eren''s team from miles away. Tumko believed that the ability to deal with opponents without any malice or negative emotions was the most dangerous trait. Treating the act of killing as just another chore. Anyone can deal with their opponents with the emotions of hate, resentment, pride, or a range of other emotions driving them to fight. But someone who could fight with their opponents without any particr emotions attached to them was not normal as far as Tumko was concerned. What amazed Tumko, even more, was the fact that he was also sensing other emotions from Eren. These emotions weren''t particrly rted to the tense atmosphere both sides were involved in at this point. Eren was feeling emotions of irritation, and hunger. And coquetry that was directed towards Kirin. The guy didn''t give two cents about the oue of the tense situation. ''This guy... he has been involved in a lot of bloodshed.'' Tumko concluded as he waited for Eren''s answer. Thetter nodded at him before responding. "Name''s Eren Elijah Idril. Apart from being part of Edinburgh''s army and a student of LA, I also run a guild. These are my guild members." Eren said everything. He was really hungry at this point. He had decided that he would stop traversing through the forbidden zone and settle down for the night. He would then light a campfire before enjoying a hearty meal. Eren had used a teleportation array toe here. But it would use a lot of Extols for each use. And the number of Extols would berger since he had more people with him. So he decided to traverse the region on foot. He didn''t use Argo because he didn''t want to catch attention by flying over the region. Plus, Argo would find it difficult to carry the weight of four people on him. "Eren Idril! I have heard that name." Before Tumko could respond, a different voice spoke up not too far away from the masked man. Bhaa Laah had decided to show herself against her captain''s orders not to. "You are the founder of White Raven city and White Raven guild? Are you not lying? Because I heard that he was an Ace ranker." Bhaa Laah raised her doubt with a voice coated in suspicion and usation. Eren smiled at her before responding. "Heh! It seems my city is doing well in my absence. I don''t have to prove my identity to you, young miss. The question is what are we nning to do about this stalemate? Contrary to how I may sound or act, for the time being, I''m a very busy man. I''m sure you''d understand if I decide to rush our first meeting." Eren said casually while still looking at Tumko. He didn''t pay attention to what the newly appeared night elf had to say about him. Bhaa Laah red her nose when she didn''t get a nce from Eren. She decided to add fuel to the fire and get Tumko on board with her conflict-seeking n. She looked at Eren with grim expressions before speaking up. "Alright, hot shot. You have earned a name for yourself these days. But it won''tst long. The loudest duck gets shot first after all. But let''s not dwell on petty details. What I want to know is what you were doing here. Did youe across something that allowed you to take such a big leap? Raising a city like White Raven with no background is no joke. I bet you found something here that gave you your confidence." Bhaa Laah said and smirked at Eren. She then looked at her captain and saw the changes in his gaze. She knew Tumko was the most serious among them all regarding the exploration of the secret subspace. He wouldn''t let his opportunity get used by somebody else. She looked at Eren once again before adding up. "Hehe. We don''t want much. Just share some of your loot with us and we''ll be on our merry way. Also, you need to tell us what you found inside you-know-where. Sign a binding contract with us promising that you won''t tell anyone about what you found. Do all that and we''ll let you all go. After all, our captain has found "that" ce years before you. All the riches inside that ce belong to us." Bhaa Laah said and folded her hands under her almost-t bosom. She knew she had sealed the deal for a conflict with her statements. Elves had always been true adventurers at heart. Plus, night elves tended to cause conflicts and mayhem wherever they roamed. Of course, not everyone was like that. Her brother waspletely different from her. Bhaa Laah, on the other hand, looked like she had borrowed the drive to cause trouble from her brother, before adding it to what she already had. Eren listened to Bhaa Laah''s words and knew exactly what she was talking about. The mention of ''that'' ce she was referring to was of course the Oni dungeon. He startedughing when he heard the night elf''s naked threat. ,m "Hehehe! Listen here,ss. If what they say about the loudest duck getting shot first is true, you should worry most about your safety. Because you''re not just being loud here. You are dancing in front of the very blue canvas where the crossbow is pointed at." Eren looked at Tumko Darata''s stance on his statement. His eyes were telling that he was still conflicted about starting a fight with Eren. but he was not backing away from his current position either. So Eren made that choice for him. "If it''s violence you want. It''s violence you shall get." WT Chapter 749 Fear Firdous Hmmm! Tumko''s istion array had been enhanced with other features. A distinct mana pulse was spread as the feature activated. The golden runic chains sprouted from the ground and bound Kirin as soon as Eren finished dering his intentions. Her arms and legs had been tightly secured in these chains, making her unable to move. The same thing was about to happen with Alephee as well. But she got away from the chains and just flew in the air. She used the Solid Spark as her weapon to defend herself from multiple chains trying to trap her. Eren came to realize Tumko''s team didn''t want to fight off with Kirin or Alephee. Tumko had kept Jaad Ugar, Teer Maar, Kavach, and Hath Oda ced at the four corners of the istion dome to serve as the operators for the array eyes. Kirin was being tied to her spot by Jaad Ugar and Teer Maar controlling the runic chains through the array eye. Whereas Kavach and Hath Oda attempted to incapacitate Alephee. "Just tell us what you found inside, will you? And this can be avoided." Tumko spoke finally while he observed Eren''s group split up, leaving only Kirin to remain. Kirin frowned at her trapped state but she wasn''t too worried. She could only me herself for letting her guard down and trying to admire her husband. Eren didn''t like to rely on such questions verbally. He retrieved his Rigor Mortis set and approached Tumko from a different angle. Blitz Steps Blitz Bolt Wind-fire Wings Tumko saw Eren trying to approach him at 4 O''clock and felt an immense threat. Meanwhile, Bhaa Laah proceeded to chase after Kaal who was approaching the positions of Jaad Ugar and Kavach. Kaal was trying to free Kirin from her bindings by attacking the operators of the array eyes. Bhaa Laah wanted to fight the guy off. As loud-mouthed and battle-seeking she was, she knew that Eren wasn''t someone she could handle even with her Adept-ranked liquid stage mana core. Bhaa Laah preferred to deal with Kaal, who seemed to be in the initial stage of the D-Rank. She would prefer if her opponents were a bit weaker than her. That way she could mess with them and enjoy the battle to its fullest without worrying much about her well-being. Kaal had been told by Eren to keep his mouth shut. He wasn''t used to speaking in a human tongue yet. So it was better he followed Eren''s steps when he had shapeshifted into an Orc. Kirin was bing proficient in the human tongue, thanks to Eren''s constant talks with her. But she still had some polishing to do. So when she saw that a strange team had tried to ambush them, she followed Eren''s advice and kept her mouth shut. "No matter how strong you are as a fighter, Eren. Fear will humble you." Tumkomented as he observed Eren only a few meters away from him. In the next moment, his ck iris upied the white sclerapletely, turning his eyes pitch ck. Fear Firdos! This was Tumko''s Ability. It allowed him to induce fear into his opponents'' psyche, making them remember the dreadful moments of their life. Just like Eren''s, Tumko''s Ability was activated through his eyes. Tumko had activated this Ability when he had broken through into the Adept rank. He had managed to refine it further after its activation, allowing him to influence and affect multiple opponents. Eren suddenly found out that he was in front of a smiling Eliza. She raised her hand and twisted it in the air, coating it in the Endermes. These Endermes quickly took the shape of butterflies and flew around Eren in swarms. These green butterflies attacked Eren all at once, causing him to melt in an instant. He suffered a great deal of pain in a fraction of a second. Tumko saw that Eren had stopped in his tracks after being influenced by his Ability. He still had a bit of diligence but most of his mind was upied with the illusion that was created through the Ability. Tumko drew two pitch ck daggers and held them in either hand. He cast his movement spell while clutching onto the hilts of his daggers. He wanted to incapacitate Eren, making him unable to fight. Thus, he was aiming for his non-vital organs. However, suddenly Tumko felt like something was amiss. He saw Eren smiling while his eyes were closed. In the next moment, Tumko halted his steps before jumping high in the air. That''s because Eren had sent a bunch of Purple Reaver flying shes his way. ''My Ability failed?'' Tumko couldn''t believe that Eren had snapped out of the Ability''s effect without any apparent side effects. Earlier, when he had used his Ability on his opponents, some of them had indeed been able to snap back to reality with their sheer will. However, they would suffer from mana deviation in their mana circuits, affecting their ability to use spells. But with the way Eren had easily sent two flying attacks his way, it looked like Eren''s mana circuits were not affected by Tumko''s ability. The fear induced by Fear Firdous was not strong enough to make Eren lose control over himself. "It''s my turn now. Sedating Gaze!" Tumko heard Eren speak while fixing his eyes on him. To his surprise, he found out that Eren had his own Ability as well. As if serving as a counter to his Fear Firdous, Eren''s eyes turnedpletely white and allowed him to achieve exceptional agility. Eren''s Sedating Gaze affected Tumko as well. He suddenly found out that his perception of time had been affected and he couldn''t move his body the way he wanted while he was in midair. Tumko still had a mask on. Therefore, nobody was able to see the surprised expressions he made under it. He had thought that he was one of the elites for possessing an Ability in the Adept rank. But he couldn''t have imagined that there was someone in the same rank with a more potent Ability than him. Eren had ovee his fear of Eliza when he managed to unlock his soul sense. There was still a part of him that wanted him to stay vignt against her. However, that vignce wasn''t enough to make Eren feel helpless and scared any longer. Chapter 750 Domination Eren smirked as he fixed his gaze on Tumko who was in midair due to being affected by Sedating Gaze. His body wasn''t reacting the way it should be. Still, it wasn''t like gravity itself had been affected by Eren''s Ability. As such, he was bound toe down soon. Eren cast his movement spell and jumped. He approached Tumko while readying his swords for his next attack. "Cognitive Control!" Tumko had concluded that he could not escape Eren''s iing attack while he was in midair with his perceptionpromised. Plus, Eren was too fast for him to run away from. So he decided to use another of his ss-specific spells. Tumko''s ss as a Mentalist allowed him to decipher the emotions of those around him as well as influence them to some extent. The spells he used worked on the same principles and enabled him to partially control his opponents'' movements. As long as his opponents were within the spell''s range, Tumko would be able to affect them using the spell. As such, Eren''s enhanced speed didn''t provide him a clear advantage against Tumko. Eren was approaching Tumko in midair when he realized that his hands had suddenly lost their grip on his swords. He also felt that his legs weren''t in hisplete control. Both the rankers had managed to incapacitate one another in midair. As a result, they both canceled their Abilities, quickly getting away from each other. *** Bhaa Laah was not having as much fun as she had thought she would. Her ss as a spear saint was weapon centric, allowing her to fully unleash the powers of her Adept-ranked weapon. She had a moonlight ice element, allowing her to freeze her opponents from the inside. Plus, she was also a user of dagger arts at close range, which made her a capable fighter at mid and close range. However, despite all her advantages, Bhaa Laah found it difficult to dominate Kaal the way she had hoped to. The guy was as strong as a bull. Her attacks failed to injure him even slightly. Kaal''s mana defenseyer seemed inhuman to her since she didn''t deal any damage with her most precise and well-timed attacks. Bhaa Laah''s brute strength didn''t work against a real, Ogre-like brute. So Bhaa Laah decided to y mind games. However, no matter how many mocking words she used to throw him off bnce, he wouldn''t talk to her. Kaal couldn''t be affected by Bhaa Laah''s mocking because he didn''t get half the things she was saying. So when he tried to understand her using the limited vocabry he had, the meanings he derived werepletely different from what she had intended them to be. And those meanings kept on making him more confused. For example, when Bhaa Laah said "I''ll fuck you up with my spear" all Kaal understood was "I''ll make love to you using my rod". Therefore, instead of getting intimidated, Kaal started looking at Bhaa Laah with a doubtful look in his eyes, as if her appearance as a woman was deceiving. This wasn''t Kaal''s fault, to be honest. He had tried to learn thenguage using the books, which had toned down the meanings of the usual words. Therefore, the word fuck was interpreted as making love by him. It didn''t help that Bhaa Laah liked using the word fuck. She kept on addressing him using the same word, making Kaal think that the rankers outside the Oni dungeon were pretty weird. Kaal couldn''t bring himself to attack someone like Bhaa Laah with a clear mind either. She only wanted to be intimate with him. He couldn''t bring himself to punish her for her open invitations no matter if Bhaa Laah was sexuallypatible with him or not. ''My king this elf wants to make love to me. How should I say no?'' Eren was staring at his opponent while maintaining a safe distance when he heard Kaal''s message over his voice channel. His expressions twisted and he almost lost focus when he received the message. ''What what do you mean?'' Eren asked Kaal with a voice coated in vignce. Thetter kept on exchanging moves with Bhaa Laah as he exined what was going on. The stress lines on Eren''s forehead increased when he understood what was going on. Kaal had interpreted Bhaa Laah''s words wrongly. Something he had also done when he was trying to learn the Orc tongue. Eren sighed in his head before clearing things for Kaal. "You doofus Ogre, that elfss is not inviting you to have good times. She is just trying to mess with you using cuss words. Deal with her quickly without opening your mouth to speak. Clearly, you are not ready to speak the kingdom''snguage yet." Kaal stopped running away from Bhaa Laah when he heard Eren''s words over the voice channel. He looked at Bhaa Laah with cruel intentions as if it was her fault for not stating things clearly. Kaal finally got serious. Almost like jelly, he solidified the winds around Bhaa Laah to prevent her from escaping. He then charged toward the night elf using his exceptional movement spell that was bolstered by his mastery over the wind element. The next thing Bhaa Laah knew, she had been punched in the face with Kaal''s punch coated in wind-element mana. As a result, the punch carried a powerful vector force that acted on the night elf''s body as a whole. She was thrown a few meters into the air before crashing to the ground. Bhaa Laah was incapacitated in one punch by Kaal''s Ogre strength alone. He had been unable to use his powers to the fullest because of the moonlight-ice element spells she cast on him. However, they weren''t enough to take over his incredible vitality as a monster. Bhaa Laah''s spells on Kaal had failed because the former didn''t know about thetter''s Ogre physique. Thus, Kaal became the first in his group to score a victory and free himself. ? Kaal got back to his job quickly after seeing that Bhaa Laah was not trying to get up from her position even with her open eyes. The elf girl was so busy processing the pain that she had forgotten about her current task. Kaal attacked the defenseless Teer Maar and Jaad Ugar after he found the array eye located at one corner of the istion zone. The two were forced to lose control of the array-eyes, enabling Kirin to break free from her runic bindings. She quickly disappeared from her position and appeared right beside Eren. Meanwhile, Alephee had taken care of her opponents for good. And she didn''t need anyone''s help. About two minutes into the conflict and it was already settled. Eren''s team had managed topletely dominate Tumko''s team despite thetter''s careful setup and calcted moves. Chapter 751 Talks With Tumko Alephee had managed to attack the second array eye all by herself while fighting off with the runic chains. She also didn''t let Kavach and Hath Oda escape unscathed. With her unpredictable lightning, fire, and time element attacks, she had almost killed the two rankers. Both the members of Tumko''s team were in grave danger of dying. They had missing limbs and cauterized injuries as their medals for surviving Alephee''s attacks. And this was when she wasn''t really trying to kill the two rankers. Eren had told them to be easy on Tumko''s team. Eren had a wild thought of killing Tumko right here and robbing him of his Ability with his bloodline powers. However, he knew that Tumko''s Ability was so unique that only he could bring out its true potential. The Mentalist ss was the furthest away from him. Thus, the Ability that focused so much on his ss wasn''t going to be of any use to him. As such, it would be beneficial if he brings Tumko back to his team. He had contacted Agatha and Levine. Through them, he knew that there was a chance of war breaking out shortly between Edinburgh and Layos. He knew all about Tumko. After all, Eren had dug up all that he could find about the guy that was public knowledge. The broken him had found a light of hope in his struggles. Tumko had put in a crazy amount of effort to get to where he was. The guy was as hardworking as the current Eren if not more. In fact, one of the reasons Eren could stick to his bloody routine these days was because he knew that there was one guy out there who could pull off something like this. If Tumko could do it, so could he. Tumko''s awakened Ability wasn''t a fluke just like it wasn''t for Eren. both had made conscious efforts to be one of the most norm-defying Adept-ranked entities. Tumko was strong. His entire team was strong. Eren needed strong allies in these turbulent times. So that he could make the right use of these times of war for himself. There were plenty of opportunities waiting to be imed if and when the war did break out, provided that one was prepared. Eren wasn''t expecting war to break out in this timeline. He could guess that it was the butterfly effect at work. Nevertheless, he didn''t regret any of his decisions. He even preferred there to be war. Eren wasn''t as weak as before. While he was still in the D-Rank stage, he could already tell that he was stronger than thest timeline''s Adept-ranked-him. Only strong and capable people were able to take advantage of the turbulent times. The low-ranked entities would be used as disposables in such times. The most casualties woulde from them. ''A future that is unknown to me. This is fun.'' Eren thought to himself and smiled. He took out his Sativa stick and lit it up. He looked at the vignt Tumko before speaking up. "You were saying something to me?" Tumko didn''t try to rescue any of his team members. He knew that Eren was a deterrent he simply couldn''t ignore. Also, he felt that Eren and his team members had not attempted the kill despite having the capability. Tumko wasn''t an idiot. He could see that Kirin was a capable fighter herself. Just a bit naive. As if she hadn''t faced any real danger all her life despite being a C-Rank-- a sheltered ranker. However, Tumkobeled Alephee to be the most dangerous among them all. He had watched her fight. For some reason, his senses as a veteran ranker were telling him that this ck-haired girl alone was enough to take care of them all. Still, they were all alive. That could only mean one thing. Thest chance. A way out. "I I am sorry that we tried to interrogate you. I just wanted to know if" Eren chuckled before speaking up. "Heh! I''ll be honest, Tumko. I have been to that ce. I found everything I was looking for." Eren said while releasing a dense cloud of smoke before continuing. "As someone who has been into the Oni dungeon, let me tell you that it couldn''t have given you any lucrative results. You would have died there or been taken as a guinea pig to a ce you knew nothing about. Especially during this period." Tumko was trying to discern whether or not Eren was telling the truth or not. He was caught off guard when he heard his next words. "I know about your Mentalist ss. You can somewhat read minds and tell if a person is lying or not, right? The reason you were asking so many questions was that you guys wanted to get a read on us. So pay attention to me using your psychic powers when I say this: you would never be able to loot the riches that the Oni dungeon has to offer. At least not the way you would have wanted to. Some or all of you would likely have died inside as sacrifices. Furthermore, you can''t enter the ce now since it''s been locked. You can check the entrance yourself if you want to confirm." Tumko found out that Eren had said these statements with clear consciousness, sans any mental fluctuations. It could only mean that he was speaking the truth. Or that he was a damn good liar. *** At first, Eren didn''t understand why Tumko would try to ess the entrance to the Oni dungeon this early in this timeline. In the previous timeline, he had taken his leave from the army and had been away for several years beforeing back to this ce. However, Eren quickly zeroed in on a possibility after he heard Agatha''s report right after he got out of the Oni dungeon. War! Tumko couldn''t count on the fact that the region would be forbidden to be entered during times of war. It could be a conflict zone. Therefore, he rushed to explore the Oni dungeon. As a result, he was here doing one final recon before proceeding with his ns. This was how he shed with Eren and his team. *** "I I see." Chapter 752 War As A Blessing "I I see." Tumko spoke in a low voice after verifying that Eren was speaking the truth. He had tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. But even he knew that his efforts were in vain. "Can I" Tumko asked Eren upon which thetter nodded his head before responding. "Sure. Look after your team members after dispersing the istion barrier. Then let''s find a ce to talk." Eren started walking in a certain direction as he spoke-- The smoke of the Sativa Stick creating a trail behind him. His team members followed him without saying a word. Tumko took a long breath as he felt that a huge boulder had been lifted off of his shoulder. ''Only when you are strong can you afford to be benevolent.'' Eren thought to himself and chuckled. He felt like there should be a halo on his head for not resorting to purge Tumko''s team right then and there. The istion barrier''s array core was in Tumko''s control. He did what Eren asked him to do and dispersed the istion barrier before tending to his team members. Eren created a ce for a campfire not too far from where he was previously. He ced tworge tree trunks on either side of the campfire, which would serve as seating arrangements for both teams. He then waited for Tumko to finish patching up his team members while having casual talks with Alephee and Kirin. "You would have devoured him for his Ability if it was the Ace-ranked-you. Is that pragmatism I''m seeing?" Alephee asked as she watched Eren making kebabs for all of them on a campfire. Alephee and Kirin were sitting on the wooden log while Kaal was standing behind them with his hands behind his back. Eren was tending to the fire. Tumko and his team were yet to join them. Eren chuckled before answering. "Pragmatism born through prioritization of self-interests. I was never a mindless bull, to begin with. You know it better than anybody." "Mindless pull?" Kirin asked in Edinburgh''s tongue all of a sudden when she heard Eren''s words. Eren and Alephee both looked at Kirin with nk expressions when she said that, letting her know that she had misinterpreted something. "Mindless BULL, Kirin darling. A bull with two horns." Eren corrected her and manifested his two Oni horns. Kirin chuckled when she saw Eren snorting his nose like a bull with the Oni horns. She also understood her mistake and nodded at him. p Eren retracted his horns and looked at Alephee before saying. "I need a multi-front approach, Alephee. So I need multiple capable teams for that. What we fought just now might be what we are looking for." Kirin liked the tempting aroma of the kebabs Eren was cooking for her. He had all the spices in his storage and all the skills he needed to turn these campfire-friendly meals into an authentic gourmet experience. Alephee cradled her face into both her open palms as she watched Eren work on his kebabs. "What are those ns?" she asked, looking at the dancing mes. Eren narrowed his eyes before answering. "I have Echidna''s Authority in my possession now. I can do a lot more in Monster Canyon than even the most elitist of guilds could ever dream of. All its rare resources are waiting for me to im them. I need a team for this reason." Eren applied some herbs and sauce to his kebabs. He took his time to continue. "Then I need a team to take part in the war directly and indirectly. It would allow me to influence the war the way I want to. I have some ns. I don''t know if they''ll work out or not. But I want to give them a shot anyway." Eren said and took a long breath. He felt that the chilly air around him had received the warmth of the campfire. The aroma of cooked meat was exciting his smell buds. He enjoyed these sensations before continuing. "Finally, I need a team that would serve as the face of the guild. I want it to hog the limelight while my other two teams do their work in silence." Alephee wasn''t surprised that Eren had given a lot of thought to this topic. Since her soul was upying a homunculus vessel, she couldn''t read his thoughts like she was used to. So she needed to know his ns in the usual way. "And which team will you be a part of personally, Lord Husband?" Kirin asked with curious expressions. She couldn''t understand Eren''s nspletely. So she decided to just follow him. Eren picked up something with his soul sense and knew that Tumko and his entire team were approaching him. He smiled while looking in Tumko''s direction before responding to Kirin''s query. "Neither. These teams will do what I ask of them while I work on Sage Eliza''s task. Optimal allotment of tasksC in simple words. I am not arrogant enough to think that I can do everything by myself. This is the reason I established the guild in the first ce. So that it can serve as my proxy at multiple ces. I was under the impression that Edinburgh was running out of things it could offer me now that I have entered Adept rank. After some time, I was nning to go to the Asikha empire to investigate a few things, while my guild and my city prospered here. But this war changes everything. It provides me with the smokescreen I need to deal with my enemies directly. I don''t have to create a lobby in the royal court anymore. They say that there''s a chance that the war might break out sooner orter. Hehe. When the timees, I''ll be the first to alight the mes of war and fan them myself. This war will be a blessing for me. And for that old hag as well. I guess she hasn''t run out of luck just yet." Chapter 753 Getting Tumko Onboard "This war will be a blessing for me. And for that old hag as well. I guess she hasn''t run out of her luck just yet." Eren said in a careful voice. He then shook his head and got up from his position. He offered the skewered shish kebabs to Alephee, La, and Kaal. he had reserved four shish for himself. Alephee didn''t need any food to survive. But she could always taste-test the food. Kirin was the most surprised among them all after tasting the cuisine. It was her first time trying food outside the Oni dungeon. And she was smitten by its taste. Eren took his seat in the middle of Alephee and Kirin with Kaal standing right behind him. He started eating his kebabs as he watched Tumko and the team enter his vision. "What do you want to talk about?" Bhaa Laah asked impatiently while looking angrily at Kaal. However, it wasn''t the Ogre Lord who replied to her arrogant tone. Eren took it upon himself to suppress the problem-seeking night elf himself. In the next moment, Bhaa Laah lost all strength in her legs. She was brought to her knees suddenly. The night elf started screaming under the full moon till her vocal cords started hurting. "Aaaaaah!" Bhaa Laah clutched her head with both her hands as her mind was filled with feelings of unfounded anger. The overwhelming feelings were slowly taking over her, which scared her. It wasn''t long before Eren''s soul sense overwhelmed herpletely, making her lose consciousness. Before Tumko''s team could think negatively and retaliate, Eren spoke up after gulping down the mouthful of kebab''s bite. "I just made her sleep. You see, I don''t want any brat speaking in the middle when the adults are talking." Eren then looked at Jaad Ugar before speaking to him in amanding tone. "Pick up your sister and make her sleep a bit away from us. It shouldn''t take long." Jaad didn''t know what had happened at this point. But for some reason, he feltpelled to follow Eren''s orders. He first checked her vital signs and made sure that she was okay and just unconscious before picking her up. "That was kind of rude of you. She''s just an elf child, you know." Tumko said and sighed. He could decipher that Eren had used his soul sense on Bhaa Laah. As a result, he was even more convinced that Eren wasn''t some pawn of House Derringer or House Montmorency like the rumors were saying him to be. ''This guy''s a real deal.'' Tumko said to himself before making eye contact with his team''s vice-captain Tal Waar. they both exchanged a nce before the former speaking up. "We are willing to pay reparations for our actions. However, we''d like to know if the Oni dungeon can help us get out of Anfang." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Tumko''s words. It meant that he was really just seeking entrance into the Oni dungeon to get out of Anfang. The guy had managed to amaze him once more. Eren smirked as he realized he had another bargaining chip to use with Tumko when he realized his intentions. A man that wants something particr can be controlled by setting particr conditions. Eren first informed Tumko and his team that they did not need to pay him any reparations. He started telling Tumko about the things he had found in the Oni dungeon. Of course, he only described the dungeon and the resources it had. He didn''t tell them anything about what really happened while he was inside. He also told them that he knew a way to open the now-sealed Oni dungeon. However, he''d only tell them about it after they served him under his guild following their voluntary military exit, which was drawing closer. Eren was nning to offer Tumko some of the resources he had with him from the Oni dungeon as well. However, he stopped himself when he realized that getting out of Anfang was more critical to them. Tumko didn''t seem to be in a hurry to get out. But he wanted to make sure that the exit would be ready if and when what he sees as the right timees. Eren and Tumko came up with a formal arrangement. Although Tumko didn''t say it, Eren could see that Tumko wasn''tpletely trusting Eren, even though he could tell that most of the things Eren said were true. Tumko wanted to check out the entrance to the Oni dungeon himself. Plus, he wanted to arrange a few things before he started working under the White Raven guild. Eren had given him the freedom to lead his own team made of the same team members he always knew. And for the most part, he and his team would stay independent. He would just take up a few assignments from Eren andplete them using his own means. Eren didn''t care what the procedure was if he got optimal results without repercussions. This approach made it easy for Tumko to ept Eren''s offer. The butcher didn''t stop Tumko and his team from checking out the Oni dungeon. He was the one who told Ror that the entrance to the Oni dungeon should no longer remain open as expected. They didn''t need sacrifices anymore. The talk between Eren and Tumko dragged on for hours on end. When they finally decided everything, Tumko couldn''t help giving Eren a subtle warning. "Our arrangement is based on the premise that the entrance to the Oni dungeon is closed and that only you can open it, which would in turn facilitate us to leave Anfang eventually. The arrangement will change if either of these conditions gets changed. I hope you understand this in your heart." Eren couldn''t me Tumko for not counting on him. He was sure that even if he wasn''t lying, Tumko could decipher that he wasn''t a model citizen of Edinburgh. As a result, some mistrust was always going to be part of the equation. "Heh! No matter how the conditions change over time, I''ll get what I want anyway." Eren said while observing the smoke from his new Sativa Stick. He smiled at nobody in particr before moving his focus back to Kirin. Chapter 754 “It’s Complicated" Kukenan teau. White Raven city. Agatha''s office. "Where the fuck were you?" Agatha asked with visible anger on her face. Eren had tried to get handsy with the half-blood manager of his. But she pped his hands before making him sit in front of her. Eren chuckled and tapped the gingers on Agatha''s work desk before responding. "Hehe. I was looking for a ce for both of us to unwind. And I finally found a suitable location." Eren came up with a unique blend of bullshittery. "You''ve been working too much, Miss manager. So I thought you could use a ce like this. I came back as soon as I could after finding something interesting. I''ll take you there when we get time. It''ll be fun." Eren said with a genuine smile on his face. If Tumko was here with his mentalist-ss spells, he would find it difficult to say if Eren was lying or not. Agatha wanted to argue some more. But there was a part of her that was delighted after hearing Eren''s reply. Her anger was subdued a bit as a result. She started looking at Eren with less-troubled expressions. Agatha froze in the rapid-fire round she had created for Eren who had decided to pop in front of her like a wild mushroom. There was someone else who used that chance to reveal herself. "Lord Husband, why are you missing her when she''s in front of you?" Kirin appeared all of a sudden and asked Eren about the kingdom. One could say that her speech was almost indistinguishable from what was considered normal. She had turned invisible with her spatial bending powers before Eren entered his city. It wasn''t that Eren wanted her to turn this way. But it was something she would do on her own. Only highly capable C-Rank entities or above would be able to sense her presence when she was hiding in in sight. Therefore, Agatha was shocked to the core seeing a beautiful elf suddenly appearing beside Eren''s seat. She was only calmed after seeing Eren''s nonchnt reactions. Eren frowned when he listened to Kirin''s words. He pulled her and made her sit beside him before exining that there were two meanings of the same word ''miss''. Agatha found it odd that Eren was taking elementarynguage lessons of a fully grown elf. And he seemed pretty experienced at it. As if he had done this before. She found it even odder that this new girl was a Rank-C existence. Then something even more profound and shocking came to her mind as a result of Kirin''s way of addressing Eren. "Lord Lord Husband? What the fuck does that mean? When? Where?" Agatha asked with a cocktail of emotions churning inside her heart. Eren, who was busy discussing a few more details with Kirin, found it tiring that he was having multiple conversations at once. "Kirin darling, if you have any doubts, note them down and ask me at the end of the day. I''ll be sure to clear them all." Kirin nodded at Eren''s suggestion, receiving a head pat from him in response. Thetter then focused his gaze on an angry-looking Agatha. He shrugged his shoulders before responding. "I don''t know when I got married, Miss Manager. That custom came from where thisss is, and I became a part of it both intentionally and identally. It''splicated. I can''t exactly renege out of this thing, you know. Not after killing her father. She''d be with me now." Eren said matter-of-factly to Agatha. Thetter''s anger and shock turned into bewilderment when she heard Eren speak. She looked at Kirin with the same expression before asking her. "Did did he really kill your father?" "Yes," Kirin replied with a nod and neutral tone. "And you are still with him? Married to him by some custom?" Agatha asked to confirm. It was Kirin''s turn to look at her with a puzzlement of her own before replying. "Um yes. We take our customs very seriously." "Unbelievable" Agatha could only sum up her emotions with one word. Kirin didn''t look like she had been forced into following such customs. Her expression changed to suspicion when she turned her gaze back to Eren. "I have never heard such elf customs before." Eren raised his hands in an "I am just as clueless as you are" manner before asking her the main question. "How is our city doing financially these days? I see that it''s bustling with a lot of new shops, new things added into the mix along with an ever-increasing poption. But everything would be a waste if we were not earning a substantial amount of pure profit." Agatha looked at Eren keenly for a while after hearing the question. There were so many questions she had herself that she wanted to ask him. But for now, she needed to put them on hold. She adjusted her hair before replying. "Hmph. We are doing better than initially estimated, Mr. "Lord Husband!" We made about 50 thousand Extols in purple profits yesterday. But since we are investing in our guild members, a fixed amount of that sum will be used for them. Our tri-party deal with House Derringer and House Montmorency is also proceeding well. Our profits are bound to increase in the future. But that is when we are clear of our debts. Still, 50 thousand Extols is not a small sum. Heh! It''s almost the same amount you spent on a date with Altashia. That was one hell of an "investment" you made there, "Lord Husband." Agatha said, her voice still coated in a bit of tantrum. Eren didn''t mind being called Lord Husband by Agatha even though she had called him that way to taunt him. But he was surprised she knew about his dating activities with Altashia. "Hm? How did you" Agatha produced an array disk that contained a spectral certificate before Eren could form his question. It stated that the loan on Eren''s head had been cleared off. "This is the first thing I did when we started earning, clearing your debt. I had been to the city of New Beginnings to do just that. Imagine my surprise when I learned that your "investment" turned out to be made for this preposterous reason. We were already struggling at that time. You barely spent any money on me. And you went out of your way for that damn girl. Where are your work ethics now, Lord Husband?" Chapter 755 “Satisfaction Is The Death Of Improvement” Erenughed when he saw Agatha fuming. He only extracted the meaning he wanted to extract from her wordsC Agatha needed for there to be some sort of bnce in him spending the money on his women. He pped Agatha''s table before disappearing from his seat. There was a distinct smell of ozone Agatha felt around her when the lightning cracked in the front. In the next moment, Agatha found herself lying t on her back on her own work desk. The likes of scrolls and array disks were suddenly thrown off everywhere. Her arms were pinned to her on either side. Her eyes were staring right into Eren''s emerald green eyes. His shoulder-length ck hair reached for her. "You. You broke into D-Rank!" Agatha was shocked when Eren revealed he was an Adept. Thetter just smiled before looking at her with a yful gaze. "But of course. Fifty thousand Extols is nothing. You are in charge of my entire wealth, Miss Manager. I don''t think I need to defend myself anymore." Eren said before kissing Agatha. Thetter was just bbergasted by the whole turn of events. But that didn''t stop her from responding to Eren''s advances. She just felt weird that Kirin was looking at them with keen interest. Eren realized that Agatha was conscious of Kirin''s presence. So he broke the kiss and spoke up. "Kirin darling, you should check up on Kaal. He is gearing up to enter Minerva''s Utopia, which I had told you about earlier. You can join him if you want to." Kirin perked up when she heard she would be able to explore something more. She nodded at him before disappearing from her spot. "Now, where were we?" Eren asked with a smirk on his face. Agatha responded by pulling his face towards him and continuing their lip lock aggressively. *** Evening 4 PM. Arge balcony was attached to Agatha''s private chamber. A young man was upying the balcony at the time, allowing him to observe the entire city view. Eren was watching the ever-changing cityscape in front of him while enjoying his smoke. He marveled at the sight of his own creation. He felt a sense of achievement filling up his near-empty heart. "Impressive, isn''t it?" Agatha came up from behind Eren and offered him a hot cup of brew. She was holding one for herself. Agatha had taken a day off from all her work. Eren had gotten rid of all herints out of her system with their intimate session thatsted for hours on end. Agatha was wearing a loose-fitting gown made of silk. Eren had changed back to his previous clothes. It seemed he was ready to go somewhere. Agatha had looked at Eren''s back for a significant amount of time before approaching him. She remembered the healing scars she had seen all over his body. The flesh wounds had left their residual marks. This was a shocking site for Agatha when she first saw it. The only reply she received from Eren was that he was undergoing special training. And that the scars she was seeing all over his body were temporary and would heal one day. Agatha could only give up after Eren brushed off his injuries like they were nothing. She could also see in his eyes that he wasn''t regretting the training he was subjected to. As a result, she had walked an extra mile to please him. Eren stared at the cityscape as he took the cup from Agatha''s hand. He smiled before he added. "It is indeed impressive, Miss manager. But I want more." ? Agatha narrowed her eyes at Eren before speaking neutrally. "Not satisfied with what we got so far, are we?" Eren chuckled when he understood what Agatha was trying to imply. Yet, he didn''t shy away from replying with his honest answer. "Satisfaction is the death of improvement. And men who don''t improve are left behind. By women. By society. By time itself. I''m notining. Just something I observed. It''s easier to make progress than fighting off the system that''s ingrained into our very existence anyway. I won''t have to hate the system if I know how to take advantage of it." Eren said and took a sip of his brew. The taste of bitter coffee gave him the jolt he needed to get out of his reverie. "I understand that you''d want more from this ce than what it has to offer right now. But you should celebrate your achievements so far all the same. This was your brainchild, Eren. And I helped raise it. As a co-parent, I''m happy with the way it is turning out to be and where it''s heading." Agatha said with a tone of contentment after resting her folded hand over the balcony''s ledge beside Eren. Feeling nostalgic, she soaked up the city''s reflection with him. Eren smiled in response to Agatha''s words. A short period of silence that was followed was the sign of the agreement they received on each other''s thoughts. It seemed like yesterday for Agatha when they arrived at the barren ce. Right after arriving, Eren had proimed that the White Raven city would one day be as noteworthy as the city of New Beginnings. At that point, Agatha thought that Eren was just trying to encourage them all by saying things like these. However, as Agatha looked at the city that was in a constant state of building itself, she realized that Eren meant every word he had said. Agatha also contributed greatly to this city. To honor her contribution, a permanent marker was erected inside the city. Eren had tasked people to create a statue of Agatha in one of the most crowded parts of the city. It was ced in the middle of an artificial pond. The water inside the pond would swirl all around the statue from time to time using a simple array mechanismC paying homage to her bloodline powers. Agatha was pleasantly surprised by Eren''s gesture when she found out about the statue after it was made. By then, Eren had already left for the Oni dungeon. Until this day, the half-blood Ace ranker hadn''t conveyed how grateful she was for his non-verbal gestures of appreciation. So she made sure to thank him for it in her own way today. Chapter 756 Reuniting With Jules And Lady Zee White Raven was still striving towards a higher standard and was far from achieving it. Yet, the speed at which it was approaching the benchmark was unprecedented. It wouldn''t be long before the big leagues start vying for a piece of this city all to themselves. Some of them had already started. Dangers and opportunities were omnipresent around and inside the city. The cocktail of these two things was certainly adding spice to the city''s lifestyle, making it livelier with each passing day. "Have you explored the city yet?" Agatha asked, looking at Eren with a gaze that said "I am head over heels for this bastard but I won''t directly admit that." thetter shook his head in denial before responding. "I came straight to meet you to find out what''s going on. But I guess now''s as good a time as any." Eren said and released another lungful of smoke through his nostrils. He stretched his arms and legs before letting lightning streaks cover him. "See you around, Miss manager. Time to explore." *** Eren wandered the streets of his own city with a curious gaze. The region he was visiting at the time hosted many food courts and restaurants. They contained a range of cuisines meant for rankers and mortals alike. People were busy exploring the city just like Eren. Most of them were rookie adventurers who hade here to explore Minerva''s Utopia. Some stayed behind for the growth the city had to offer. People who couldn''t afford to leave the city built habitations outside its walls. Eren knew such slum-like dwellings were part of any popr city''s reality. So instead of trying to prevent these dwellings, Eren had decided to use them for his own means. Renar was instructed to strategically ce the spies in the slums he could count on and use them. This was so that the city''s dark side wouldn''t remain dark to Renar and Eren by default. People who caused more trouble than the importance of the roles they served would, of course, be dealt with immediately. However, he let the city''s dark side grow as per his invisible rules. He even participated in illegal import and export transactions within his own city, profiting from shady deals. Controlled chaos held unimaginable benefits. Eren had put many things like these in ce that he had integrated covertly and overtly with the city''s very fabric of existence. As such, it was now working like a well-oiled machine. And he was now seeing the fruits of hisbor. Most people had only heard Eren''s name at this point but hadn''t put a face to that name in their minds. The butcher had prevented Agatha and others from creating any statue of him inside the city. It was better if he stayed a mystery for the most part. It was better if rumors about him proliferated to an absurd degree. So much so that people would not believe it was him even if he shouted his identity to everyone present at the city square. Eren wouldn''t mind staying unrecognized as the city''s founder if it could allow him to roam its streets freely. Something he was doing at this point without people approaching him. But that was about to change. "Eren, is that you?" Eren was just above getting inside avish restaurant meant for rankers when he heard a question thrown at him. He raised his eyebrows, surprised at the fact that somebody had managed to identify him. "Hm? Ju" Eren stopped himself from casually talking to this person. He touched his face with his hands to confirm who he was at the time before continuing. "Ace Julia. What a surprise!" Eren was surprised to find Jules waving at him and calling his name. Thest time he had seen her was when he hade out of Purgatory. But all his previous interactions with her were done using his fake identity Ron Damien, which he had discarded a long time ago. As such, he held himself back from addressing her casually. He realized that he was meeting her as a student in LA. He waved her back before quickly ncing at the people that were walking behind her. There was Tara, whom Eren had never seen before. Then there was a mature woman with distinct feminine curves who also seemed to be with Jules. It seemed that they were about to leave the city when they came across Eren. ''That woman!'' Eren''s eyes shone with cold light when he identified who the maturedy following Jules wasC Lady Zee. The butcher had decided to pay a quick visit to the duchy of Lionheart to meet this woman. Unexpectedly, it was her who approached him without knowing his burnt identity. "What a surprise indeed." Julie greeted Eren with a smile and an incredulous look in her eyes as she stopped only a few steps away from him. She looked at him from head to toe one more time beforementing. "I could have never imagined the student who we had escorted from the city of Laurel to the city of Lionhearts would one day grow up to establish White" Julie Ekheart froze when she realized something after getting close to him and sensing his presence subconsciously. No matter whether Eren implied it knowingly or unknowingly to her, she felt a subtle suppression of higher rank. "You you broke through the Adept rank already? H how?" It seemed that the shock she received from Eren being an Adept was greater for her thaning to terms with the fact that he was the founder of the city she and her team were in. Lady Zee joined the duo before Jules could express her surprise with words. "Jules dear, would you mind making introductions?" Lady Zee looked at Eren keenly as she said to Jules. Eren shed a gracious and weing smile to all threedies who hade to meet him before turning back. He spoke while heading towards the restaurant he wanted to enter. "Let''s get to know each other over a leisurely meal, prettydies. My treat." Chapter 757 Once A Cultist, Always A Cultist "Let''s get to know each other over a nice meal. My treat." Lady Zee didn''t like that Eren hadn''t greeted her with etiquettes dictated by the rankers'' code of conduct. She was an ExpertC a rank above him after all. But she decided not to create a scene against a man who owned the entire city for himself. No matter how small he was in front of her in terms of ranking status, he had created a status of his own. In the face of overwhelming individual power, money and status did not matter much. However, they certainly held their values within certain frames of reference. Jules, Lady Zee, and Tara decided to follow Eren''s lead unanimously, unaware of the fact that this was the man they were looking for. Lady Zee had changed her appearance a bit using Tara''s powers. She was a known cultist with a bounty on her head. Thus, she could only depend on such means to pose as a normal adventurer. But the change in appearance wasn''t enough for Eren not to recognize her. However, he showed the same signs on his face when he looked at Lady Zee. He looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, not letting her know that he had recognized her. *** Summer and greenfield vibes had arrived for Eren and his guests. Eren had booked a private dining space at the same restaurant using his reach in the city. Spatial and illusion arrays created andscape that looked like an endless expanse of pasture. There were faded mountain ranges and hills in the distance. Thousands of birds flew from nowhere to nowhere in the clear blue sky that served as an eternal stage for them to perform. They would produce their chirping sounds from time to time, highlighting their illusory presence. The butterflies fly over the flowers and lush berries. The smell of earth and wild vegetation was barely masked by the food that had been waiting for its consumers. The food baskets and vessels containing a range of delectable cuisines as well as the jugs containing various drinks were ced neatly over arge wooden table. This round wooden table, made of old red fire oakwood, was surrounded by a group of chairs. Soon those chairs were upied by the newly arrived inhabitants of this illusory space. "You are a man full of surprises, Adept Eren Idril. I never thought I''d get to meet the man who created this city just when I was about to leave. You truly inspire me. I thank you for inviting us to share a meal with you." Tara said, looking at Eren with stars in her eyes. She was really inspired by Eren''s journey. She felt her adventure-seeking elf heart beat faster every time she looked at the man who was an Ace rank like her not too long ago. Eren smiled mildly but didn''t say anything. He let the threedies take their seats and served them the food with his own hands. He got near each one of them and asked what they would like and the quantity they preferred before cing their tter full of food in front of them. Lady Zee''s slight irritation was soothed by Eren''s gesture. She started seeing him in a positive light aftering into contact with his graceful and elegant personality. Eren only took four briskets on his tter and an entire jug of special ale all to himself. This was the White Raven ale sample that Levine had concocted using Eren''s recipes. It hadn''t been made formercial use yet. The recipe still needed to be perfected and approved by him. But for now, he decided to taste-test it on himself and the threedies. "Hehe. I''m d to meet you,dies, as well." Eren said, looking at all three women in front of him before focusing his eyes on Jules. "How''s LA treating you, Ace Julie?" Jules, who was busy drinking the White Raven ale Eren had just poured for her, paused and looked at him before smiling mirthlessly. She cut a piece from her brisket with the knife and lifted it in front of her mouth using the fork before replying to him. "It''s been a while since I left LA. I''m no longer an assistant professor there, Eren. And I''m all the more dly about my decision after meeting you. It would have been awkward for me to see a student getting ahead of me in ranking status in such a short time." Eren was surprised when he heard Jules had left LA. For him, it didn''t make sense. Although the fear of being persecuted by Arthur of the books was lifted, Jules had no reason to leave the protection she enjoyed. Unless she felt restricted by the rules and regtions LA had ced on her, not allowing her to make full use of her cultist identity. ''Once a cultist, always a cultist!'' Eren thought to himself as he watched Jules enjoying her meal. He could also understand that part of the reason Jules might want to move away from her previous stage in life would be because of him. Specifically, his altered identity. *** Eren had gotten close to Jules to keep tabs on Lin Karr''s investigation. And she had served her purpose well. Later, she was the one who had helped him get into Purgatory using her Illuminati reach. Eren had been retrospecting his decisions all this time ever since he got out of Purgatory. After considering everything that had happened so far, he didn''t regret the fact that he had gotten inside the subspace that was under Eliza''s hidden control. He regretted that it had happened too soon for him. If only he and Reen were allowed time to grow over time, things would have been different. Or at least he hoped they would have been. If nothing else, he was sure to get him and Reen out of harm''s way with proper preparation in ce. Eren thus med himself more for not preparing enough for Purgatory. He didn''t me Jules for things that had happened to him. Chapter 758 “She’s The One!” Eren thus med himself more for not preparing enough for Purgatory. He didn''t me Jules for things that had happened to him. However, there was someone else in this group who was responsible forunching a lethal sneak attack on him while he was in Purgatory. Someone who hade to visit his city under a fake identity. It was only through sheer nning and sacrifice of one of his pawns did Eren manage to break free from the trap and keep himself alive. Otherwise, Eren would have died inside the subspace without anyone being the wiser. Thus, Eren had a score to settle with a certain person sitting in front of him. However, he needed to confirm something first. *** All three Illuminati members enjoyed their meal. Eren had a seamless conversation with all threedies after the initial awkwardness all threedies had observed for themselves. His well-articted words and a friendly smile made the female rankers pay close attention to him no matter what he was talking about at the time. Jules could find it easier tomunicate with Eren because of her previous connections with him. She also felt a certain pull towards himC the kind that she felt when she was in Ron Damien''spany. But her subconscious mind overlooked that fact. As such, Jules talked with Eren a lot, unaware of the fact that she was feeling attracted to him once again. Tara was no exception to this pull either. The young elf was the easiest to influence and reel in his talks for Eren. Lady Zee had introduced herself as Catherine since her name was mentioned in the cultist bounty missions. It was her into whom Eren had to put in a lot of effort. Eren had used a lot of mental icebreakers to get Lady Zee to open up to him. Eren wasn''t as easily trusted by her as Tara was. He had to reply to a lot of her trick questions with reasonable answers for her to start letting her guard down in his presence. Eren eventually got all three womenfortable talking with him. It was as if his linguistic skills and the way he could lie had also been ranked up along with his rank. After that, it wasn''t long before Lady Zee could feel the familiarity she had developed with Eren was enough for her to raise this question to him. "Eren, you are an enigma, aren''t you? ? Who could have thought that the founder of such a glorious city was walking down the streets like a newbie adventurer? Even obscuring his ranking status! You don''t want people to recognize you by your deeds? Should I call that modesty or sneakiness? Hehe!" Eren chuckled at Lady Zee''s question before answering. "Haha. I have done a lot of such deeds without taking credit for them, Expert Catherine. Some of my finest works'' credit has been taken by someone else without me ever nning about it. So this is not my first time staying lowkey. And I can tell you with certainty it won''t be myst either." Eren said and put down his knife and fork. He draped his mouth with the tablecloth that had been kept beside his te and took a long breath. He then drank the White Raven ale in his mug and felt content having such delicious food. The butcher then lit up his smoke and took a long drag. Each of his actions was effortless and adhered to proper table manners. Lady Zee could conclude that Eren was hinting at something huge he had done in the past for which he didn''t get credit. But she couldn''t just narrow down what kind of scandals he might be involved in from Edinburgh''s recent past. In the end, she could only give up before developing a newfound interest in Eren. Eren then discussed the taste of White Raven ale with the threedies and asked for their opinion. He hade up with his own theories about how to further improve the taste and effects of the ale. At this point, the current variant of White Raven ale only stimted the rankers'' mana circuits and provided some marginal health boosts. However, it didn''t positively influence the rankers'' elemental attainment like the real elven ales were known for doing. Eren ignored that aspect of the elven ale for the time being and focused on nailing down the rest of its features. Even as a knock-off, he wanted his ale to get as close to the real as possible right from the get-go. The threedies didn''t have much to add. They couldn''t articte what they wanted from Eren''s brewed ale. But every opinion mattered for a seasoned merchant who was in the business of pleasing people with his products. So Eren noted the suggestions the threedies gave him and thanked them for it. He also said that thedies had paid for the meal themselves by offering to be one of the first to criticize the ale. When everything was said and done, Eren retrieved a strange vial from his storage and ced it on the round wooden table. He took another drag and released the smoke slowly before speaking up. "This is another concoction the White Raven guild is developing. Expert, Catherine, mind taking a closer look?" Lady Zee was puzzled when Eren made that request. But at this point, she had subconsciously begun to take Eren''s request seriously. So she smiled and nodded at him before lifting the vial with her hand. She observed the concoction''s effects with her mana sense after bringing it closer to her eyes. The colorless concoction inside the transparent vial was already changing its color to red when Eren brought it out. But the rate at which it turned red intensified after Lady Zee got hold of it. The thing had turned dark red by the time she was holding it right in front of her eyes. Lady Zee didn''t understand the cause and effect of the potion turning red. So she looked at the vial with puzzled expressions for some time before directing those same expressions to Eren. "I don''t get it. What kind of potion is it?" Eren had a smile on his face as he watched the shade of the concoction turn dark red. Only he knew what was happening and why the concoction''s color was changing. ''Sangria red hue. She''s the one!'' === AN: The unnamed vial of potion has been first mentioned in chapter 496. Chapter 759 Speak Of The Devil ''Sangria red hue. She''s the one!'' Eren narrowed his eyes briefly before releasing his smoke all at once. He couldn''t help smiling when he thought that he hadpleted one of the tasks of the Lazarus project just by having lunch with these cultists. Swoosh! A gale was generated that snatched the vial from Lady Zee''s hands before it disappeared into Eren''s storage once again. He chuckled before proposing his offer to the three cultists who he knew had an ulterior motive foring to the White Raven city in the first ce. "Meh! Forget about that potion. More importantly,dies, would you like to stay in White Raven city and work for my guild?" Eren said and looked at the faces of Illuminati members with intrigue in his eyes. He knew what their answer would be anyway. Lady Zee immediately looked at her subordinates with an exciting gaze. The job they hade here to do for their cultist organization was to see if they could get a piece of the profit through direct or indirect means. Lady Zee, Jules, and Tara had collected a lot of data regarding Minerva''s Utopia because they had been there. But they didn''t find anything substantial on the guild and its allies that managed the treasure trove. But what if they were part of the guild itself? Being part of the guild would allow the three cultist rankers to get more data on it as well as keep a close eye on its activities. Plus, they could enjoy all the guild member perks that could be availed before entering inside the subspace. "Are you sure, Eren? I mean, I''m an expert ranker and have priormitments. I wouldn''t..." Lady Zee was about toplete her sentences when Eren interrupted her with his assuring words. "Hehe. Your pay and tasks will be in line with your rank, Expert Catherine. You don''t have to worry about that. Plus, you''d get additional benefits for exploration into Minerva''s Utopia." Eren then discussed the benefits of bing a member of the White Raven guild with the threedies. The cultist-in-disguise female rankers shared their concerns and queries with him before finalizing their arrangement. Eren had quickly arranged for Lady Zee, Jules, and Tara to live in the White Raven city. He also arranged a ce to stay for them, making sure that the perfect vessel remained in his grasp. The butcher then left the threedies to their devices before continuing his exploration of the city. There were a few more things he needed to do before leaving the city. *** The residential district of White Raven city had begun selling real estate. As a result, a township was established for rankers. Property in this township would be bought by prestigious names and well-known families in the kingdom. One such plot was bought by the House Carren in the White Raven city. It was a casual purchase for the n even though it had cost them thousands of Extols. A three-story white condo was surrounded by a lush gardenscape. Arge area around the house was protected by the istion array, making sure that nobody enters the premises without the owner''s permission. This white condo weed its residents and guests with a spacious hall that had a huge chandelier. Minimalistic furniture graced this spacious hall, adding a touch of elegance to its grandeur. Someone was sitting on avish, plush sofa. They were looking at the person in front of them, listening keenly to the report they had to say. "Lady Lensa, Master Dan is leaving no stone unturned to cause House Slughorn maximum damage he can. We have already targeted their most popr products, creating counterparts for them and selling them in the open as well as in the ck market. Plus, Master Dan has moved ahead and initiated a im of harvest on three of House Slughorn''s exclusive resource-richnds. We are getting support in the royal court for his absurd ims. Hehe. I have never seen this old man this motivated to do anything for decades. Thest time he was this motivated was when he was wooing his wife." A middle-aged elf reported to Lensa with a smile on her face. Thetter smiled bitterly beforementing. "Maybe I shouldn''t have gotten Gramps involved in this matter. He is retaliating way too hard than I had nned it to be." Lensa hadn''t forgotten the insult she was dished out by Sienna a few months back without any rhyme or reason whatsoever. Using her n''s reach, she decided to retaliate. Lensa reported the incident to her uncle Devon and grandfather Dan Carren. Since then both of them had decided to make it their mission to hurt House Slughorn in every way they could. Slughorns retaliated for what they thought was baseless aggression by the elf n. Soon, however, they discovered the reason behind it. It was their own sapling that was producing unwanted fruits. House Slughorn had tried to sort out the mess Sienna had created by trying to initiate talks with House Carren. As a means of reconciling their rtions, they offered a substantial amount of reparations. However, House Carren had taken their scion''s insult very seriously. It had also broken up the formal engagement she had with Ken Riverine based on Sienna''s statements. As a result, House Riverine was equally angry with House Slughorn even though it continued to maintain cordial rtions with the Carrens. All these series of events had happened in thest few weeks, giving House Slughorn no choice but to get aggressive in retaliation. They had dropped the prices of their products by a notch just to maintain their previous market presence, which was showing signs of recovery only recently. "Thank you for the information, aunt Dineria. Is there any news about Eren Idril you received recently? It''s been months since his disappearance. I.... I am a bit..." Dineria lifted her right eyebrow when she saw Lensa getting stressed about something or someone. "Worried? You only met that boy once right, child? I...." Dineria was about to finish what she was saying when she received voicemunication from one of her subordinates. She looked at Lensa with a somewhat surprised expression before blurting out. "Heh! Speak of the devil..." Chapter 760 Meeting Lensa With A New State Of Mind Around 7 PM. House Carren''s estate in White Raven''s residential district. Lensa was amazed to see the guy she wanted to see for so long at this point. She was left alone in the grand hall with him. He was sitting in front of her on a plush sofa, looking at her with a subtle smile on his face. She was amazed by the difference in appearance and presence Eren had with his past self. As an elf who had experienced a peculiar state of epiphany, she was more attuned to her surroundings than the humans. She could sense that Eren''s presence had taken a drastic change, even more so than his physical appearance. The ss chandelier was exuding a faint natural light in the grand hall, providing its upants with optimal illumination. Eren looked at his reflection on one of the reflective surfaces of one of the gems the chandelier had as itsponent. Eren adjusted his hair in that reflection before speaking up. "Um it''s a pleasure to see you again, Lensa. Heard you left a message with Agatha and checked up on my well-being. So I came to meet you in person." Eren said while weaving the fingers of his hands together in front of him. He then arched forward before adding up. "I hope you don''t mind thete hour. I was busy doing Agatha Err Agatha''s pending work that needed to be done from my end." Lensa smiled in response beforementing. "It''s fine, Adept Eren. I''m d to see you too. You you have changed a lot. For better, I would say. Hehe. Look at how fast you''ve changed since we met. It seems like we met so long ago. You have already achieved the rank of Adept. What''s even more astonishing is the fact that you have established a city for yourself. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the founder of the city was the same boy I had met up in the city of Silvermoon." Eren chuckled when he heard Lensa''s subtlepliments. He adjusted his gaze on Lensa too with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes,paring the current her with what he remembered about her. *** Lensa was sporting shoulder-length golden brown hair at this point. Her green eyes had be more mesmerizing than before. Her facial features had gotten even more attractive than before while still retaining the cuteness she had. Eren could feel that Lensa was even more attuned to her elemental attainment than her Ace rank dictated. She didn''t feel any rank suppression from him even though she was a rank lower than him. Lensa had gotten moredylike, leaving her girlhood behind. Her graceful presence was onlyplemented by her mild and friendly nature. Eren remembered his night of passion for Lensa as he kept on staring at her pretty face. The butcher did not feel any regret even after facing the repercussions of binding with Reen. He did not feel any regret about meeting with Eliza and losing his shit in front of her. However, at this point, after meeting Lensa, he felt a bit regretful for treating her as some disposable pawn just to settle a score with Ken. Especially when she remembered him after all this time, even reaching out to Agatha and asking about his well-being. As a way of strengthening her friendship with Eren, Lensa offered her n''s support to the city of White Raven. Agatha couldn''t contact the butcher at the time so she had requested the House Carren to wait till Eren got back. The half-blood manager of Eren made sure to tell him about Lensa''s visit. So he hade here to meet up with Lensa. When Eren used Lensa to get back at Ken, he was a different animal. He was still bitter about everything because he was living in his past timeline. The butcher was also afraid of the future he had envisioned for himself. Knowing about the future had be a source of worry for him since he could feel that time was slipping from his hand. Stuck between a bitter past and a worrisome future, Eren had developed tunnel vision as a way to cope with all that he was feeling. He couldn''t see past the goals he had set for himself. He also wanted to make his bitter past less painful for him by getting back at people who had hurt him. Eren hadn''t be apletely reformed person from what he was back then. The darkness he carried in his heart was still there. But he stopped having the same tunnel vision anymore. Therefore Eren did not hesitate to admit to himself that what he had done with Lensa was uncalled for. It didn''t need to be said out loud for him. He didn''t need to offer any reparations. It was just a feeling he had at this point for himself. *** The talks between Eren and Lensa continued for hours on end. Both the rankers were surprised they had so much to talk about despite having no apparentmon ground. The conversation they had was seamless. The topics they discussed would pop up naturally as if they had nned their talk from the get-go. Lensa felt like she knew more about Eren than she had initially thought. She could feel an unexinable resonance with him. However, she tried to hide that feeling from him, lest he thinks she is imposing on him. Eren told Lensa how he hade to establish the city. In recounting previous events, he downyed a lot of his achievements. However, Lensa could tell the guy was humble. Either that or it wasn''t in his nature to hog all the glory for himself. At least not without gaining anything equally worthy in return. When Lensa was about to address Eren formally once again, thetter made a stop sign with his hand beforementing. "Hey! Drop the formality, Lensa. You can call me Eren." Eren spoke with fake anger on his face before breaking intoughter. After looking at her cute nose for a while, he added more. "It seems you are not that far behind either. You might break into Adept rank at any point." Eren said with a look that said ''I''m impressed.'' She was somewhat expected to advance in her ranking journey with such speed due to her elf lineage and the enlightenment she had received. However, Eren could tell that the elf girl had invested an equal amount of effort to make her natural blessings even more fruitful for her. Chapter 761 Not Being Afraid To Have Regrets Lensa felt truly ttered by Eren''spliments. It was truly what everyone always said about her. Buting from him, the words struck a different chord with the elf. Plus, a part of the reason Lensa found herself in her element talking with Eren was the way he said those things. Eren had plenty of experience handling women of different temperaments at this point. Thus, he would adapt himself to hispany''s liking. A character trait much like his bloodline powers. Eren finally decided to ask what he always had in mind after seeing Lensa. "So what''s up with you and Ken these days? Does hee to meet you often?" Eren asked while leaning back into the sofa. Lensa chuckled before answering his question. "It seems you don''t know. Our engagement broke up." Eren was surprised when he heard Lensa''s engagement had broken up with Ken. But before he could express his surprise, Lensa carried on. I only met him once after your entire team left Silvermoon. My uncle had kept an eye on him throughout the meet so we couldn''t really talk freely with each other. So I guess there''s not much to discuss between us anymore. Things just didn''t work out the way our families wanted them to. I mean, Ken is a nice guy. That much is clear to me. He really cares about people and his friends. But. For some reason, I didn''t want to be with him. Have you ever felt this way, Eren? Like something is missing in your life that can''t be exined? It''s just a feeling that can''t be put into words. It''s this abstract regret in life that you are not sure how to describe. Did you ever have them? And how did you deal with them?" Lensa asked, keeping her eyes fixed on Eren''s expressions. Thetter didn''t respond immediately. He had so many questions to ask the elf in front of her. But first, he decided to answer her question. Eren could feel with his soul sense that Lensa was confused about her current stage in life. He could also sense that she had taken a liking to him. He could read her emotions to some degree as well. The girl was having all sorts of thoughts at once. Most of them wanted her to approach him and ask if he was avable for her. But she was afraid, thinking about what he might think of her. Especially after breaking up her engagement with Ken, who was supposed to be Eren''s friend and teammate. Lensa was also afraid of wearing her heart on her sleeves these days. Thest time she did that, the Ken incident happened to her. After all, it was her who had approached him first. She didn''t want to make the same mistake again. Eren was not sure how to describe his rtionship with Ken. He had thought that he had hated the guy. But at this point in life, when he was as capable as Ken if not more, Eren wasn''t sure if he had the same kind of hate towards him. Just as Lensa had said, Ken was a good guy. But his goodness had ended up hurting him big time. In his past timeline, he couldn''t care less about the guy''s intentions. It was Eren who had received the full brunt of Ken''s way of handing out the textbook definition of justice. Eren also was unsure how to answer Lensa''s unspoken emotional demands from him. He was surprised she could feel this connected to him despite his vile actions toward her. Even she was unsure of what kind of connection she had shared with him. p This time, Eren didn''t want to lead Lensa to a path she didn''t want for herself. So he decided to clear her doubts using his experiences in life as a guiding light. He chuckled and remembered the key moments of his past and present life before answering. "My feeling of being lost was at its peak when I only lived inside my head. My thoughts were like wild mushrooms that kept on growing over the dead bodies of my hopes and desires. Sometimes, in life, you don''t always know what you are looking for. You can''t always customize your life''s experiences exactly the way you want them to be." Eren said and quickly sent his mana sense into his storage. He was looking for his Sativa Stick because he felt the need to smoke. But apparently, he had run out of them. To see if he had any Stick in his pockets, the butcher tapped on them hastily. In the end, he sighed when he couldn''t find it. Lensa couldn''t understand the reason behind it. But she knew that she connected with Eren way more than she could ever with Ken. It was as if he was saying all the right things to her without admitting the fact that it was him who had set things in motion in the wrong direction in the first ce. Meanwhile, the butcher made a mental note to buy another pack of Sativa Stick before expressing his final thoughts on the subject. "You push away a thousand thoughts and ten thousand push back. They grow from each chopped piece the more you sh and hack at them. So here''s my answer to your questionC yes. There are a lot of regrets in my life. More than you can ever imagine. However, I''de to realize something, Lensa. One would always end up having regrets because, to get to something, one must move away from something. To get somewhere, one must leave the ce they were at. So having regrets is normal. It''s natural. The only way to find peace is to stop giving more power to your regrets. Once you have this control over yourself, you won''t be afraid to have regrets. The aim of not having any regrets in life is foolish and a child''s dream. How can anyone ever live with that kind of self-imposed pressure? The aim should be not to be afraid of regret. Your goal should be to achieve something even greater than what you are liable to end up giving up. Because that''s when you truly start to live your life." Chapter 762 Securing Astral Projection Potion "One should not be afraid of having regrets. The aim should be to achieve something even grander than what you couldn''t have. Because that''s when you truly start to live your life." Eren said and smiled at Lensa who was lost in her thoughts. She stared at him but the butcher knew she wasn''t looking at him. The elf prodigy of her generation couldn''t speak for a while after she started processing Eren''s words in her mind. She could also feel that Eren had tried to help her with the remedy for regrets he hade up with. "Not being afraid to have regrets" She mumbled Eren''sst phrase in her mind multiple times before it started making sense to her. A genuine smile bloomed on her gorgeous face before she looked at Eren with determination in her eyes. "Eren, I I like you." Lensa, who had initially hesitated, spoke to Eren with a confident tone. Thetter chuckled when he heard her say that. He expected that conclusion after reading her obvious emotions. Eren also saw that Lensa wanted to use a stronger word than just "like". But she had found a middle ground between ''not being afraid of having regrets'' and ''having regrets that she should be fine with having.'' An act that showed that she was bing more adept at handling her own emotions. As much of a maniptor of emotions Eren was, he didn''t want to lead Lensa to her current conclusion. But it would also be hypocritical of him to discourage her from something that she came up with in her own process. Especially something that was based on his guidance and her inner voice. Eren said with the same tone of confidence that Lensa used. "I like you too, Lensa." Lensa raised her eyebrows before looking at Eren with expressions of "I just hit the jackpot". The butcher chuckled looking at her before adding further. "I like you Lensa. And I''d want us to get close to each other. But for now, answer a few of my questions, would you? I also have a business proposition for the House Carren." Eren said, smiling mildly. He then tapped the space beside him on the sofa he was sitting on, indicating that they should sit close to each other for their next talk. Lensa was left speechless by how fast Eren was at making his moves. And how casually he had handled her proposal. It was as if all her emotionsy bare in front of him like an open book. She felt like she was trying to get close to a monster who knew what he was doing. He was inplete control of himself as well as the surroundings around him. But for some reason, Lensa''s heart wanted this kind of monstrous control from her man. Before she knew it, her body had already risen. She could only give in to her urges and follow them. Eren stood up from his seated position and offered Lensa to ce her hand on his. A simple gesture of elegance. Something she liked. She did what he asked of her and eventually sat beside him. The butcher did not let go of her hand after he shifted his seated position. He caressed it with both his hands as they started talking. Eren first asked Lensa about why the engagement broke up. The news had reached all the big houses that held positions of importance in the kingdom at this point. Ideally, he should have known about this thing from his sources. Plus, his city was indirectly involved in this matter as well. However, Eren had skipped a lot of information Agatha was trying to convey to him today. Every time she tried to speak in between their intimate sessions, he would seal her lips using various means at his disposal. In the end, she gave up giving him reports and decided to focus on the task at hand. Eren was surprised when he heard Sienna also had a hand to y. It was also apparent from Lensa''s emotions that she merely used Sienna''s words as an excuse to back out of the engagement. ''That Slughorn bitch. She''ll never change.'' Eren narrowed his eyes when he thought of Sienna''s face. Her image immediately provoked a strong sense of disgust and wrath in his heart. Punishing her for ruining his life was not something he would ever regret. Eren listened to the series of events that led to Lensa''s confrontation with Sienna as he caressed the hand he was holding. He had thought that he couldn''t hate Sienna any more than he already hated her. But listening to Lensa''s encounter with her proved him wrong. ''So they sealed off her memories, huh? I guess it''s time I got rid of her for good. Just so that I could make her stop casting a shadow on my future in one way or the other.'' Eren maintained his stoic expressions while he thought of killing Sienna. Killing her wasn''t a big deal anymore for him. He wasn''t afraid of House Slughorn anymore either. But he had decided he''d try to avoid creating a mess if he could. Sienna was having butterflies in her stomach as she let her hand be caressed by Eren''s. For some reason, she felt that the touch was very familiar to her. However, the elf prodigy knew how to keep her emotions in check. She looked inside his emerald green eyes keenly and saw her reflections in them while holding a conversation with him. The duo then started discussing how House Carren can aid the White Raven guild while integrating itself with the newly minted city''s affairs. An establishment as prestigious and well-known as Lensa''s would not follow her intentions of helping out a friend or her partner blindly. The House Careen would want tangible benefits for helping the White Raven guild. Eren couldn''t get the n involved in a tri-party deal with the House Montmorency and House Derringer because the arrangement regarding benefits at that level was already set. However, Eren could always involve House Carren in matters that were supposed to be handled by his side. So, he began formal preparations by consulting Lensa. In the end, Eren asked Lensa the question he had been meaning to ask her. "Lensa, I''m looking for the Astral Projection Potion. I believe your grandfather Dan would have it. Can you ask him to give a few batches to me?" Eren asked, looking at Lensa with puppy eyes. The elf beauty giggled when she noticed his change in behavior before responding. "Sure, Eren. I''ll tell him." === AN: Astral Projection Potion is mentioned in chapter 494. Chapter 763 Radiant Destruction Carren estate. A ss greenhouse was erected in the forest created with the help of a wood-element array. It was about 900 meters in length, 300 meters wide, and 100 meters in height. Suffice it to say the greenhouse had its ecosystem. The walls and the roof of the greenhouse were created with semi-transparent ss that had runic inscriptions over it. They would shine from time to time, making their presence known. If one had visited Minerva''s Utopia, they would say that this greenhouse created by the House Carren was the replica of the one found inside the subspace. The family had gone the extra mile in trying to get the details down to a T as much as they could. The time was past midnight. In its domain, the crescent moon spread its moonlight. The runic inscriptions over the semi-transparent roof''s surface were enhancing the potency of moonlight for some of the nts inside as well as a bunch of arrays that made use of it. Moonlight was one of the raw ingredients in some potioning recipes. Nheless, as with any raw ingredient, it must be added with caution. Add too little, and the moonlight will not have any effects. Add too much, and the moonlight will spoil the concoction process. There was someone present in the greenhouse who was trying to bnce between the two extremes. "You are adding too much. Lower the intensity a bit and add two seeds of crimson fire flower nt to counter the excess of moonlight already emitted." Eren said to Lensa as she was trying to concoct a simple wound recovery potion meant for the Ace rank. She was standing inside an array next to a potioning tform. It was a raised tform that was etched with various array setups. These array setups were connected to a single array eye, allowing the person standing inside it to control the potioning tform with utmost ease and absolute control. Lensa was creating concoctions using her own unique style. By using her Ability, she created ice-element lenses overhead to add unique properties to the moonlight. Considering she had just started a few months ago, the elf prodigy was doing better than Eren expected. At least that''s what he thought as he saw her trying to concoct the recovery potion with her unique Ability. Eren was sure that if he was in her shoes, he would have failed the recipe long ago. It was only with sheer persistence and tenacity could he obtain his current skills and expertise in potioning. *** The butcher learned that Lensa was trying to pursue potioneering as her secondary path after talking with her. She wanted to give the test in Minerva''s Utopia another try. With better skills and techniques. Eren had asked Lensa why she wanted to pursue potioning. The elf prodigy confessed to him that she didn''t like the destructive properties of her Ability and potioning seemed like a viable option for her to try out. Eren called Lensa stupid to her face when he heard the reasoning behind it. It lowkey infuriated him that people with better resources and natural gifts would try so hard to ruin their prospects with their own hands. In contrast, he had to work hard to achieve anything for himself. Eren told her that she couldbine her two pursuits in a way that they wouldn''t create a conflict with each other. Her potential as an adventurer would be wasted if she kept thinking like that. Eventually, that ruination will also affect potioning. Eren said these things from personal experience, which created a deep impact in Lensa''s mind. Eren made Lensa demonstrate her Ability. After seeing what her powers could do, he was thoroughly impressed by it. Eren admonished Lensa to look at her Ability as something to be afraid of. He told her if she didn''t like the fact that the Ability''s effects don''t distinguish between friends and foes, she should only use it as an ultimate move. She could also find a way to use it in a way that doesn''t create sts. Abilities would improve as their holder''s rank rose. Eren was fascinated by Lensa''s Ability. Hepared it to the more potent potion bombs. He also wondered if the projected beam could be harnessed and condensed into a vial so that it could be used as potion bombs. With the right setup, Lensa would be able to mass produce some of the most lethal potion bombs. And that too without raw ingredients or concoction time. If she was a normal ranker, Eren would have hired her to be a member of his guild just for the Ability''s potential alone. The butcher told her if she didn''t want to stay active on the battlefield, she could use her Ability this way to make profits instead. In a way, that took away the Ability''s negative impact of destroying her hands and allowed her to stay productive. Radiant Destruction! Eren named Lensa''s Ability for her. The elf prodigy was amazed by the fact that her destructive powers were a money-making factory in Eren''s eyes. She wondered if he had thought about the repercussions the potion bombs made from Radiant Destruction would bring to the kingdom. Lensa also found it weird that she started liking her powers after witnessing Eren''s appreciation for them. It was weird for her because when her Gramps Dan and uncle Devon said the same thing, it was not enough to change her mindset. However, Lensa was still unsure about following Eren''s ns. She didn''t need more money than what she already had anyway. All the ranking resources were avable to her. She didn''t share the same drive to turn her powers into a lucrative business. *** Eren hadn''t forgotten the subject of convincing Lensa into making potion bombs from her powers. He knew that he would be able to convince her eventually. But he decided not to force her at this point after seeing her initial reluctance. Instead, Eren told her to use her Ability this way to concoct specific potions. Subconsciously, he was easing her into creating something out of her powers. === AN: Radiant Destruction was first described in chapter 651. Chapter 764 True Art Is An Explosion Using Radiant Destruction for potion-making was a novel idea for Lensa. She was amazed by how an Ability can be put to use in various fields instead of just being used on one''s opponents for their destructive properties. She started looking at her Ability from a fresh point of view. The potion she was creating was supposed to have healing properties. However, the moonlight refined by her ice-element lenses gave it a special property. An ordinary raw ingredient was transformed into a special one. Eren and Lensa were uncertain what kind of results it would produce. But they were hoping that the final product would be better than the estimated result usually derived from the same recipe. The elf prodigy controlled the ice-element lenses through her Ability and did what Eren asked him to do. Thetter paid close attention to her timing as well as the other aspects of the recipe to make the concoction a sess on the first try. Lensa had to say Eren was a genius when it came to potion-making. He would focus more on countering the imbnced properties of the potion than trying to concoct a bnced potion from start to end. This approach required extra raw materials and utmost concentration once the middle part of the concoction was finished. However, the results would arrive fast and would be a tad bit better than the original recipe entailed, depending upon the way with which the concoction had been bnced mid-process. Not everybody could pull off practicing a potioning method like this. Eren had only adopted this style because he had time-element spells to fix things in case things started going south. He was able to make a lot of trial and error before making this process work for him. Eren had created his own school of potioning by making on-the-fly modifications to the original recipe. What Lensa has regarded as genius was Eren''s countless hours spent experimenting. The sleepless nights he had endured as well as his exceptional work ethic were bearing fruit for him. Lensa dared to make such adjustments to the original recipe only because she trusted Eren who was an Adept. She thought she knew what he was doing when in fact he was just making an educated guess. ,m The process continued for a while. Lensa maintained aser-like beam of silver moonlight that fell onto a shapeless mass of potion floating over the potioning tform. However, just when the process for the potion was about toplete, Lensa lost a bit of control over her ability. Therefore, the moonlight refining process by the ice-element lenses floating in the air was rendered unreliable and destructive. Only a bit of non-neutral moonlight was enough to ruin the concoction process for good. The jelly-like, shapeless concoction floating over the concoction tform got condensed andpressed before a shell was created over its sphere-like outer surface. The silvery green-colored potion turned into a sphere with a diameter of about 5 inches before its hard surface started cracking. When Eren felt the mana pulseing from the solidified concoction, he knew what was going to happen. He disappeared from his position and appeared right inside the array eye behind Lensa. Blitz Sheild Wind-fire Shards Eren manifested a tangible purple-red fabric made of lightning-mana in front of him and Lensa. As a consequence of his training, he was better able to control his mana circuits and spells by default. As a result, Eren could tweak the defensive spell in such a way that it could be manifested with greater freedom. He then solidified the red-purple lightning-element fabric with his elemental fusion spell to reduce the impact of the iing st. Creak. Crack. Boom. The solidified shell cracked some more before generating a strong mana pulse. Thepressed mana inside the shell found a vent to escape, and it took that chance seriously. With a loud bang, it detonated and unleashed its destructive effects. The st that was generated did not have fiery properties to it. Instead, it was an ice st made of ice-element mana. It chilled the surrounding area within 5 meters of it instantly, turning it into snownd. Since the potion-making was an array-controlled concoction process facilitated by the special potioneering tform, it filtered out Lensa''s mana signatures. It meant that she would have received frostbite and serious injury because of the detonation if Eren wasn''t there to react on time. Eren''s natural mana defenseyer was enough to deal with the st''s effects. As such, he only covered Lensa with his defensive spell. Instead, he had paid close attention to the st''s effects using Sedating Gaze. When the detonation settled down and the ice-element mana in the surroundings started subsiding after tens of seconds post the st, Eren figured out it was safe for Lensa. He dispersed his defensive spell while looking around. Lensa felt guilty that her Ability had ruined the concoction process. It was already contradictory that her powers were being used to cast a healing spell. It was even more contradictory that the healing spell had produced such devasting results under the influence of her powers. The two contradictions nullified each other and made Lensa''s Ability shine even more with its destructive properties. Radiant Destruction''s default working principle was simple. Thepressed light element mana would normally turn into fire element mana, causing the usual fire element explosion. It was still more potent than the normal potion bombs were, but it wasn''t out of the norm. However, the st that was generated at this point was different. With its ice-element mana, the haywire concoction produced less destructive effects on the surroundings. It meant that it would focus all its destructive effects on the living beings that would be in its range with its instantly bone-chilling ice-element properties. Lensa''s newly invented potion bomb could be used as a tactical weapon. And like most inventions, this too was found by ident. "You" Lensa heard Eren''s gasping voice closely as her head rested on his chest. She thought she and her Ability would be criticized by him for producing something so out of ce for a healing spell. But she couldn''t help having nk expressions on her face when she heard Eren''s next set of words. "You you are even a better bomber than I am, Lensa. Haha! I guess it''s true what they say. True art is an explosion!" Chapter 765 Branding Lensa P1 "Almost there" Eren said to himself as he watched Lensa restart the potion-making process using her Ability for the seventh time. He was standing behind her, taking control over the array eye and stabilizing the process whenever it looked like it would be haywire. Lensa had also gotten used to using her Ability to concoct potions. Through Eren, she learned that there were many ways she could incorporate Radiant Destruction in other potion recipes as well. There were many ways to achieve the distition of elemental mana. Radiant Destruction could be considered thest stage in the same process. It meant that as long as a few steps were altered or added, she could use Radiant Destruction for a range of potions. In theory, everything made sense to Lensa. It was just that she wasn''t sure what kind of result it would bring to the potions she concocts. However, Eren told her not to stress over the result of any process before she even started it by herself. He told her to concentrate on the task at hand. And that''s what she was doingC concocting another healing potion using his help. Lensa was also a bit conscious around Eren. he was standing right behind her. There were only about three centimeters of distance between their bodies. As such, she could feel his warm breath over her right shoulder. Bzzzt! The shapeless concoction floating over the potioning tform without being contained by any vessel started solidifying once more. Lensa''s minute distraction caused another anomaly in the process. The girl couldn''t be med because she was still in the Ace rank. This time, Eren was ready. He quickly took over the array control, enabling Lensa to only maintain the exposure to the moonlight beam through her Ability. In doing so, he stepped forward and took Lensa in his embrace. He quickly added the neutralizer that was floating around not far from the concoction. He added it in just the right quantity to not spoil the potion or make it turn into another ice-element bomb. The concoction stopped getting solidified after Eren''s timely intervention. The moonlight beam falling over it also started delivering consistency, indicating that Lensa found it easier to control her Ability now that there was a division of work. "Hehe. Don''t worry. I don''t find it disappointing. I wouldn''t have been able to do what you are doing right now had I been in the same rank as you." Eren chuckled and expressed his thoughts as he oversaw the final phase of the concoction process. Thetter opened her eyes wide when she understood Eren had again read her mind. "You... There''s no way that''s a coincidence. Are you a mind reader, Eren?" ,m Eren chuckled before answering the elf with a question of her own. "Haha. I guess you could say that. I can always read the minds of stunning beauties around me." Lensa tucked the strands of her hair behind her ears when she heard Eren''spliments. But then she scrunched her nose and made dissatisfied expressions before mumbling her next set of words. "Stop reading ady''s mind without her consent, you rascal." Lensa said and pressed herself ever-so-slightly against Eren. They could both feel each other''s body warmth at this point. Eren had a light smile on his face as he focused on the task at hand. Meanwhile, he pushed his groin forward and let his little guy make contact with the elf buns in front of him. Eren soon found out that the contact wasn''t right. So he lifted her with one hand and aligned her properly before resting his semi-erect dick in the right ce. The process didn''t require involvement on Lensa''s part at this point. The concoction was almostplete as well. Eren simply wanted to improve its grade by removing most of the impurities. Lensa was too shocked to say anything when she felt something touch her from behind. She knew what it was. But before she could process her surprise, or verbalize her thoughts, Eren wrapped his left hand around her. "You what are you doing?" Lensa mumbled in a trembling voice while remaining still in his embrace. Her urges that she had been holding at bay for a very long time surged all at once at this point. This made her pussy wet just by feeling Eren''s dick getting rubbed behind her over their clothes. It was as if she could feel the warmth of his dick through the sheer set of fabrics that were in between. "What am I doing? I''m just reading your mind, my dear. Doing what it asks me to do." Eren mumbled into Lensa''s ears as well. Thetter realized that Eren''s reading of her mind wasn''t a bluff. Or that she was very easy to read for him. Either way, it was her desires that were being answered by Eren. She stopped thinking for a moment. But that didn''t work. So she started thinking of random events and memories to throw the rascal off and stop him from living inside her head. Eren chuckled when he sensed Lensa''s predicament. He whispered into Lensa''s ear once again. "Hehe. The ability to read your mind should prove useful to you, Lensa. Don''t fight against it. You can use it to your advantage, you know." Eren said and ced Lensa down. He then used both his hands to control the array with his gestures and fine-tune the potion before retrieving an empty set of vials. Bzzt! After the concoction waspleted, a peculiar mana pulse was released. This was the sign that the potion was stabilized. And judging from the mana pulse it had released, it was safe to consume as well. Eren guided the shapeless concoction floating over the potioning tform and let it get poured inside the set of empty vials one at a time. He and Lensa had managed to make more than 40 vials of the unique healing potion. Eren sealed the potion''s effervescence inside 39 vials at once. He then stored them inside his storage space. The butcher let thest corked vialnd in his right hand''s open palm before speaking up. "So this one''s taken care of. What else are we supposed to do now?" Chapter 766 Branding Lensa P2* "So this one''s taken care of. What else are we supposed to do now?" Eren said, cing the vial on Lensa''s palm. However, thetter wasn''t interested in some silly potion anymore. She looked Eren in the eyes before responding. "There''s indeed one more task pending, Eren. and I''m d I don''t have to say it out loud." The elf smiled meaningfully while looking at Eren with her pretty eyes. Eren smiled back and shook his head. He didn''t need to be told twice as he could sense what Lensa was thinking. He embraced her once again. This time, they were both facing each other. The butcher lowered his face and lifted Lensa''s with his hand at the same time before nting a direct kiss. Lensa was a bit hesitant at first. But once their lips met, her hesitation melted away almost in the same manner her ice-element lenses melt away when she cancels her Ability. Eren and Lensa both hugged each other tightly and let their hands roam and explore each other''s bodies as they kept on kissing. The former inserted his tongue into her mouth while the elf tried to fend it off with her own. Eren was once again reminded of how passionate Lensa was once she got into the mood. Just likest time, her body reacted to his touch with enthusiasm. It was as if it had been missing the same touch for so long. "Ummmmm!" Lensa hummed a suppressed hymn as she let her desire almost take over her. But her closed eyes opened wide when she was reminded of something. She pushed Eren away a bit while still staying in his embrace and freed her lips. Her eyes indicated how intoxicated she was with feelings of lust and passion at the time. But there was something else she needed to do. "Eren, just a moment. Let me take care of something." Lensa whispered at Eren before breaking away from his embrace. She straightened up her hair and clothes before speaking to seemingly nobody in particr. "Um Aunt Dineria, as you can see... we are busy making potions! Can you leave us alone? I I''m safe and would like for you to check out what Uncle Devon has been up to." Lensa said while trying to maintain a straight face. Eren had previously felt a presence at a distance keeping an eye on them. He didn''t care that he was being watched. After all, it was expected that House Carren would take measures to secure their prodigy after her incident with Sienna. She was alone at the time when that happened, which waster deemed a mistake. It seemed that Lensa wasn''t toofortable with being watched over by Dineria while she shared her intimate moments with Eren. Dineria didn''t show herself. But her voice was heard loud and clear by the duo. "Hehe. Yeah I know a thing or two about making such potions too, child." Dineria chuckled from a distance before adding further. "I''ll go. Boy, you better not hurt her. Or else" Eren felt an Expert-rank pressure overwhelm him for a brief moment before dispersing into thin air. He could sense that Eren and Lensa had been left alone in the greenhouse when Dineria''s presence disappeared. Eren pulled Lensa onto him before she could say anything. The two resumed their liplock while he grabbed her buttcheeks with his hands. The elf prodigy responded by smooching him fiercely. Fire snake! Eren manifested a pair of small fire snakes that started coiling on either of Lensa''s legs. They started burning her pants with their touch and breaths as they climbed up. After breaking the liplock, Eren began kissing Lensa on the cheeks. He nibbled on her earlobe before licking his way towards the corbone. Lensatched onto his hair from the back with her right hand and guided him on her neck. Meanwhile, she cast her spell to get rid of Eren''s clothes. Eren''s clothes froze in an instant before crumbling down like a thinyer of ice that had been shattered. The elf prodigy took care of all his clothes instantly. Lensa looked at Eren''s naked body with unquenched thirst in her eyes. She ced her free hand on his abs and traced their details with the tip of her fingers before telling them to go south. Eren''s little guy who had worked hard not too long ago had been called on the job for a night shift. And he seemed all the more happy reporting for duty. Lensa''s subconscious mindtched onto the idea that this was not her first time with Eren as soon as she held Eren''s dick with her free hand. But the feelings of familiarity were overwhelmed by feelings of passion and lust, taking over all of Lensa''s senses one breath at a time. Eren had kept Lensa''s innerwear intact after taking care of the rest of her clothes. Instead of just standing inside the array eye, he felt he needed to find a suitable spot. While kissing and biting Lensa''s neck, the butcher spread his mana sense and found what he was looking for. Lensa''s vision changed all of a sudden when Eren embraced her firmly before executing his movement spell. The next thing she knew, she was standing knee-deep in the artificial pool, which was serving as a water-element array for the greenhouse. This pool wasn''t that spacious. It was 50 meters long and 20 meters wide, with a maximum depth of about 8 feet. It meant that the depth of the water would increase if Lensa ventured further into the pool than in her current position. Eren hadn''t stopped groping Lensa''s bottom since he started. But after being in the pool for about a minute or two, he decided he should not leave the elf''s boobies all alone. Lensa was wearing white innerwear. Although she was wearing a flimsy camisole, her nipples were still visible through the fabric. The erect brown buds seemed ripe for some sucking and pinching. Lensa''s neck was no longer kissed by Eren, but he didn''t immediately straighten himself. Instead, he took a whiff of her womanly scent. It seemed like he too had gotten his high from the act. ''Hmm. She really smells nice.'' Chapter 767 Branding Lensa P3* Ice bed. That''s what Lensa had created with her ice-element spell in the middle of the array pool meant to be used for moisture regtion inside the greenhouse. Lensa had frozen a portion of the pool and created an ice b. This looked just like a real bed except for the fact that it was not that plushy. The b of ice, however, floated on the water. As a result, the bed would generate feedback for every kind of movement done on it. Lensa''s act of creating this bed was going to affect the moisture regtion inside the greenhouse. However, neither of the rankers cared. "Aaaah" Eren lifted the camisole and bent to take the brown boobie bud in his mouth. The elf prodigy was lying on her back with Eren on top of her. She watched as Eren sucked on her right nipple with a yfulness reflected in his eyes. Eren grouped Lensa''s other booby with his left hand, fine-tuning its nipple as he nibbled on her right one. At the same time, he reached for Lensa''s pussy with his right hand. She facilitated that ess by tilting toward her right and lifting her left leg a bit. "Aaaaaah. Yessssss!" Lensa moaned in ecstasy when Eren started exciting her pussy from over the flimsy innerwear she was wearing. It had gotten plenty wet at this point, allowing Eren to understand what was happening down there. However, he did not break through thest line of defense the dripping pussy had. "Eren yes... Devour me!" Lensa was quite vocal about her feelings. Even more so than the previous time. The butcher felt a bit weird about the word ''devour''. But he chuckled and resumed what he was doing. Lensa''s moans and her spontaneous reactions continued to spill out of her mouth as Eren started to excite her using a multi-front strategy. The ice bed floating over the water would be submerged a bit before bouncing back in the water every time Lensa writhed her body in ecstasy. Eren took the other nipple in his mouth. He coated his fingers in fire element mana for a bit and took care of her undies, making them vanish into thin air. Lensa had a bit of pubic growth. For some reason, it reminded Eren of aunt Nina when it was their first time. The butcher chuckled in his mind as he explored the elf''s wet cave. The closebat expert put Lensa''s clit through a bit of shock when it was fully out in the open. He generated a minute lightning strand at the tip of his fingers before touching. In a matter of seconds, he followed that sensation with a gentle touch. This shocked her clit and cured it of its difort right away. "Aaaaaaaah!" Lensa moaned and moaned some more when that happened. Despite the rascal''s unsophisticated way of ying with her body, she spread her legs. Or more precisely, her body responded in such a way against her wishes. Eren sent his middle finger inside the wet cave while grabbing Lensa by the pussy. Not letting hisdies know his next move was one of his trump cards in such situations. "Errrrrreeeennnn!" A sweet and sultry smell started permeating the air as Lensa came all over Eren''s right hand. She rubbed her pink button with one hand as she released all her pent-up emotions. Lensa had euphoric and rxed expressions on her face when her pussy stopped squirting. Eren recovered his dripping wet right hand when Lensa released her hand over it. He stopped sucking her boobies and brought the hand close to his nose, smelling it intently. "I really like the way you smell, Leni." Eren said with a smile on his face. Since he had already satisfied his urges with his manager not too long ago, he was inplete control of his actions. Huff! Huff! Huff! After her first orgasm, Lensa was breathing heavily. Her eyes were half closed and rolled back. It took a while for her to respond. And she chose to do it non-verbally. Lensa pulled Eren and invited him into her embrace. She had her legs wrapped around him when he was right on top of her. She held his face with both her hands on either side and nted a passionate kiss. Her legs tightened around him while she did that, indicating the fact that she was just getting started. Thest piece of fabric that was on Lensa was next to be removed. The air rolled to their sides, bringing Eren to the bottom. Lensa stopped kissing Eren when she realized that she was in charge. She looked at him and smirked before tying her free hair in a knot at the top of her head. For some reason, Eren found that sight to be erotic. He folded his arms and rested his head over them while he watched Lensa be put in the driver''s seat. Eren''s chest and abs were traced by the elf girl with both hands. Now that they both were in their birthday suits, she could feel his dick pressing against her buttocks. She leaned into it and raised the friction, making the little guy even more excited than before. Lensa and Eren both were looking in each other''s eyes as they did these subtle acts. It was as if they didn''t need to say anything to each other anymore. Lensa reached behind her back and started stroking Eren''s erect rod with her right hand. She looked into Eren''s eyes while giving him the handjob. She pulled down the foreskin before tracing the edges of the mushroom head. She pressed the head a bit before releasing it right after. She then moved onto feeling the veins on his dick with the tip of her fingers. It was as if she was trying to check something. Or confirm something. She cupped his balls next while grinding her butts against the tip of Eren''s dick. The little guy was just one slip away from entering Lensa''s pleasure hole. Eren had a pleasantly-surprised expression on his face as he enjoyed Lensa''s handjob. Soon. He guided his hands onto Lensa''s boobies and gave them a firm squeeze. Lensa looked into Eren''s eyes and smirked once again as if she knew what he had done in the past. She stroked his dick a bit before cing the tip at her wet entrance. She guided her hips downwards and started taking his shift inside her pussy ever-so-slowly. "That night! It aaaah it was you, wasn''t it?" === AN: Petition to copyright Vein-prints as a valid method for identification in forensics. ;) Chapter 768 Branding Lensa P4* "That night! It... aaaah... it... was you, wasn''t it?" Lensa asked while fixing her eyes on Eren. Thetter was a bit startled when he heard the question. Also, he was ted by thefortable and slippery sensation surrounding his dick. The cocktail of these contrasting emotions made Eren speechless toe up with a valid answer. He had to say the elf girl had timed her question right. So he just admitted it straightaway by nodding his head. Lensa smirked and rested her pelvis right over Eren''s groin, taking his entire rod inside her. She found that the length was just right this time as if Eren had altered the size to fill her pussypletely in just the correct manner. "I... I suspected as much!" The elf prodigy said before giving Eren''s cupped balls a firm squeeze with her hand. Thetter was startled when Lensa suddenlyunched a fatal attack on his family jewels. "Ouuuu.. Lensa darling... fuuuuuck!" Eren finally remembered he had an Adept ranked mana defenseyer that he had lowered down earlier. With it deployed and fortified over his balls, Lensa could no longer dominate him with her act. He also wanted to secure his rod just in case, just in case the maniac decides to turn her attention to his Lil Precious. But thankfully, it didn''te to that. Lensa looked at him with a bit of anger on her face before speaking up in a grim voice. "Hmph! I don''t know what reasoning you had at that time to treat me like some roadside bimbo. But you better not think I''m as naive as I was at that time. And you will tell me everything about that incident after we are done. Do you understand?" Eren was surprised that a soft-spoken Lensa could show this side of her during their intimate moments. He couldn''t say that he disliked it. Smiling softly, he nodded at her. In the next moment, he pulled her onto him and nted another kiss. The butcher then lifted Lensa''s resting hips a bit with both his hands while kissing her. He started driving his dick inside her with slow strokes while inserting his tongue inside her. Lensa had gotten back to her ecstatic mood after confirming Eren''s identity. She only had an inkling when she had a talk with Eren in the city of Silvermoon. But all her doubts were confirmed to be true by the culprit himself. Lensa wanted to beat Eren''s ass down for the stunt he had pulled on her. But for some reason, she couldn''t bring herself to look past his charms. Nevertheless, she had decided that she would get back to Eren using her methods whenever and wherever she could. However, she decided to vent her frustrations on the culprit for the time being. As Lensa rode his erect rod, Eren pressed Lensa''s D-Cups twins with both of his hands. The elf girl closed her eyes and enjoyed the process of being dicked at just the right pace. Tap! tap! Tap! The b of ice on which the ice bed was located sent a series of ripples in the water surface it was floating over. These ripples were in sync with the thrusts Eren was delivering. "Aaaaah! More! Fuck me harder, Eren!" Lensa''s wet cave adjusted to Eren''s dick. She felt there was a need to have more of him inside her when that happened. One could say that the pussies could never be content with the dicking they received. Thankfully, Eren could fix that problem right away. He increases the size and girth of his rod before increasing his thrusting speed. He pulled Lensa onto him and wrapped her hands around her to make herypletely t on her torso as she was getting fucked by him. For some reason, Lensa found out that her ecstasy levels had shot through the roof and reached new heights when Eren started pounding her. That''s because Eren had activated his Sin series Ability not too long ago. "Aaaaa! Aaaaaa! Yessss!" Lensa couldn''t help responding to Eren''s thrusts physically and vocally. She took control of her body and met Eren''s thrusts with reverse thrusts of her own. Her handstched onto Eren''s biceps for support. It was a while before the elf prodigy came for the second time. Eren''s dick got drenched in her pussy juices that trickled down along its length and made his balls wet as well. The wrinkles on his scrotum were nourished with her slimy liquid. The sultry smell intensified when Eren shot his load deep into Lensa''s wet canal not long after. Thetter couldn''t help feeling a much-needed form of satisfaction when that happened. Lensa was alreadyying t on Eren''s torso, resting her head right over his chest. She justid there and caught her breath while still keeping Eren''s semi-erect dick inside her. "Try this!" Eren said and dangled the vial of potion in front of Lensa''s half-closed eyes. It was the same vial in which he had put the recovery potion. "You... you... Using me as a guinea pig, huh?" Lensa said catching her breath. But she snatched the bottle before Eren could say or do anything. He uncorked the vial before emptying the contents into her mouth. In the next moment, her skin all over her body had a thinyer of blue ice over it. This blue iceyer intensified with each passing moment before developing cracks all over it. Crack! Crack! Crack! The thin iceyer was cracked on its own before revealing a refreshing-looking Lensa. Her breaths were normalized and she was brimming with newfound energy in her body. Lensa sat straight on Eren''s groin when she experienced the potion''s effects firsthand. This was one of the fastest-acting potions she had a chance to try in the Ace rank. And the recovery effect of the potion was all-inclusive. The most remarkable thing about this newly invented potion was the fact that it was based on a simple potion recipe. It meant that it could be made using the mostmon and affordable raw ingredients. Eren was surprised as well. He could imagine the number of profits he could make if he managed tomercialize the potion''s manufacture. Now that Lensa was branded, she wouldn''t mind giving the manufacturing right to him instead of her family. However, all those things could wait. For now, both of them wanted to enjoy each other''spany to the fullest under the moonlight and over the ice bed. === AN: VEH officially celebrates its first birth anniversary on this day. Recently, we passed the 900K word count mark as well. So that''s another milestone to consider. When I published the first chapter of my book, even as a newbie writer, I knew what kind of story I was trying to write. But I had not nned it to be this heavy on the details from the get-go. I know that a storyline thisplex has so many things to cover at any given time. Something that should be handled with a quick plot progression. But for better or worse, I like this form of detailed writing style and enjoy painting a clear picture. We haveid this foundation from the beginning so that plotholes won''t throw us off. Something we can take great pride in. At this point, we have so many facets of the story that are progressing on their own in the background, not requiring me to cover them in detail anymore. Plus, we are moving towards our first in-story time-skip. So we can look forward to that. VEH has never dropped out of Win-Win since its firstplete contract month, which would be December of this year. I managed to write even when I had COVID. I kept writing on my smartphone for almost two weeks when myptop broke. If nothing else, we could give VEH a full score on its publishing consistency. The Kobe Bryant videos are to be thanked for this. ;) Raising a metaphorical toast to all the VEH readers who made it this far. Special thanks to all the top contributors of the book. It couldn''t have been possible without your support. We still have more in the store. So keep calm and hang tight. ;) Also, it''s ironic that VEH wouldplete its first anniversary with chapter 768. ;) Chapter 769 White Raven Guild’s Product Line-Up The next day. Around 8 AM. "What What the hell did you guys do?" Dineria had part angry and part shocked expressions as she saw the conditions of some of the rare nts cultivated inside the greenhouse. Some of them had died and most of them were on the verge of dying. "Well aunt Dineria the moisture regtion array" ,m As she looked around, Lensa had a guilty expression on her face. But before she could admit to her fault, Eren decided to do some damage control. "That moisture regtion array malfunctionedst night during our experiments. I think it wasn''t bnced with the right elemental parameters. So it turned haywire when we used it for a direct concoction process." Eren tried to bullshit his way out of the situation. There was no way he was willing to let House Carren make him bleed money for spoiling so many of their precious resources. No matter how rich he got, the butcher never forgot about his survival mentality. Lensa had nk expressions on her face as she heard Eren''s excuse. She didn''t believe that an Expert ranker like Dineria would buy whatever he was selling. But she couldn''t believe her ears when she heard her response. "Hm? Did you use the array directly for the concoction process? I I see." Eren nodded at Dineria as he maintained stoic expressions. He wanted to add some more details. But then he restrained himself from speaking any further. Most lies would get caught because the liars tried to oversell them. Dineria sighed and dropped her shoulders as it looked like she believed in Eren''s words for some reason. In reality, Dineria wasn''t too knowledgeable about array setups. But she couldn''t admit her ipetence in front of the young generation. As a result, she agreed with Eren''s words and ended the discussion. House Carren could afford losses like this once every blue moon anyway. She would just have to duck it under the guise of "a sudden array setup malfunction." Lensa was amazed how Eren was able to lie to an Expert without giving away his bluff. The elf also marveled at her ability not tough right away after hearing his words. She could only guess that the fact that she was branded by Eren''s Sin Series Ability had changed something deep inside her. Eren had told Lensa about the reason behind his move on her. He tweaked some details while keeping the core of the matter the same. That he wanted to get back at Ken for something he did. Of course, Lensa wasn''t too pleased with the details. Eren had kept her personality untouched while branding her after all. She only wanted to know about them to give herself the closure she needed and deserved. Eren had to work a lot with his glib tongue to uplift Lensa''s sour mood post-coitus. He then used the same tongue for various other activities, making Lensa drop the subject for good. His Sin Series Ability helped him a lot during his mission. However, all these activities kept the pair too busy with each other. So they didn''t notice when the nts started dying because of creating an ice bed inside the moisture regtion pool. *** "I still can''t believe we got away with THAT?" Lensa said and giggled. She first had a weird feeling about hoodwinking her own n. But she started finding it hrious the more she thought about it under Eren''s influence. Lensa and Eren were back to the hall donning a fresh set of attires. They were sitting beside each other with Lensa hugging him and cing her head over his chest. The butcher shook his head and shed a subtle smile before speaking up. "I could fool your aunt Dineria. But I know there''s no fooling your Gramps. He''d need something else to let this matter slide." Eren retrieved the potion vial that the pair had made as an experiment. The results they obtained were phenomenal. Following his two major projects, the newly invented potion could be the next big thing Eren could create for his guild''s image with. White Raven ale, Pleasure Paradise, and this unnamed potion. With these three product lineups, Eren''s guild would be able to surpass House Slughorn in just a few months. If heunched all three of them at the same time, he would benefit from the market resonance effect. However, just like Minerva''s Utopia, Eren knew he would need to get someone prominent onboard to dethrone someone else who was equally prominent. He wouldn''t be able to gobble up all the profits. Not without attracting more trouble. Eren had built a firm foundation for his guild. But it still needed some time to prosper. It would be beneficial for him and his guild to be under a big tree''s shadow until they grew big enough to stand on their own. This was where House Carren came into the picture. Just like House Montmorency, Eren shared a personal connection with one of their key members. Hence, he could count on it to serve as the tree that offers him and his guild the shade he needed. Eren was trying to future-proof his guild and its foundation before he moved on with his own affairs. Making stronger ties with big names was part of that process. He needed to establish a separate connection with House Carren. "What are you suggesting?" Lensa asked while looking at the vial and the deep blue potion inside it with keen interest. She was open to producing the potion for Eren''s guild. But she would prefer if her own n also got a bite out of the potential profits. She was sure that her Gramps would not be easily convinced to partner with the White Raven guild regarding the mass manufacturing of the new potion. After all, it was her Ability that determined the potion''s results. Dan was inclined to see that as the House Carren''s right to monopolize the potion''s manufacturing. As far as Eren''s involvement in the conception of the potion was concerned, he could offer the guy a one-time severance package. Something which she knew Eren would never agree with. However, she had decided that she would let Eren handle her Gramps and not worry too much about it. Chapter 770 Lensa’s Breakthrough Eren didn''t look stressed about striking a deal with the Master ranked entity at all. This wasn''t his first rodeo dealing with rankers of that caliber. He chuckled before adding further. "Hehe! This potion will serve as a bargaining chip between me and your Gramps. I guess we have a lot to talk about." Eren said before shrugging his shoulders. He then looked at Lensa and smiled. He reached for her face and nted a kiss on her cheek before whispering something into her ears. "Lensa darling, I need to know about Elven ale''s concoction process." Lensa, who thought this was Eren''s romantic gesture, frowned when she realized the move on her was just a cover to convey his real intention. She hmphed before responding. ? "Hmph! I don''t know anything about it. And humans are not supposed to know this anyway. It is beyond your capabilities." Eren pulled Lensa''s cheeks when he noticed she was a bit angry at him. It looked like he was using her for his own gain. And partially, it was true. However, he hade to ept Lensa as his people at this point. And he felt there was nothing wrong with asking for help from people one considers as one of their own. Thus, he chuckled before responding. "I just want to know about the process so that I can use it as a reference, Lensa. You guys allow the elven ale knockoff to run free in the market right? Consider my attempt as one of those endeavors." Eren said caressing Lensa''s things. He yed with her hair before tucking the long bangs behind her ears and replied. "Look. I''m trying to create a concoction that is as close to elven ale as possible. As such, it should have properties such as stimting one''s elemental attainment or other random effects that elven ales are known for. So I''m fine with my White Raven ale appearingcking inparison to the real thing. But it should be the closest knock-off of the elven ale that is out there legally and illegally. I''m fine with House Carren taking some of the credit for the distition process that I''m developing on my own. I''m even fine with offering your n a fixed single-digit percentage of revenue. But it needs to share the elven ale recipes it has with me. Arrange a meeting between me and old man Dan, Lensa. I''m sure he will be back after learning about the greenhouse incident. At that time, you can tell him what I told you just now along with the potion we have developed together as well as previous dealings we discussed." Eren said and got up from his seat. Lensa wanted to cuddle with him some more. But she decided otherwise after seeing his serious expressions. "Alright, Eren." Lensa stood up from her seat as well. After getting close to him, she kissed him on the lips. "Now that I recall our first meeting andpare that Eren with what you are right now, the difference between the two of you is astonishing. And just by being with me for these past few hours, I have realized the reason behind it. Your dedication also gives me the strength to walk the path I chose for myself. So wherever you are, you need to know that I''ll be right behind you." Eren smiled when he heard Lensa''s caring words. He locked his hands into hers before kissing her passionately. For the time being, both of them dropped what they were thinking and enjoyed being together with one another. ''Hm?'' Eren felt a cluster of mana fluctuations surrounding him and Lensa when he was lost in his thoughts kissing her. It took him a while to realize what it was. ''Deja vu!'' Eren said to himself and smiled. Afterward, he ended his liplock with the elf, addressing her in amanding manner. "Sit. close your eyes. And concentrate." Eren said and made Lensa sit on the ground with her eyes closed. He then got away from her a bit before watching another Adept rank breakthrough taking ce in front of him. Eren wondered if his involvement with the women had anything to do with the breakthrough. Altashia and Lensa were both close to the Expert rank, so he could only drop the subject. Lensa didn''t know what was happening to her at first. Her subconscious mind had only followed Eren''s orders blindly. But she quickly realized her breakthrough had arrived earlier than she had anticipated. she let go of all her stray thoughts and focused on using her ranking technique. Dense Adept-ranked mana was summoned all around Lensa. She felt her mind getting connected to the higher consciousness with her closed eyes. Using her ranking technique, she started processing all her gains while under the influence of the mysterious state. Lensa progressed through her ranking journey even more seamlessly than Altashia. It was only a few moments before the process gotpleted for good. Ice-element mana was released with Lensa as the center and spread outward. It froze the ground and chilled the air around it. The frozen ground was immediately covered in snowy ice before snow-covered flowers bloomed on the ground. When these ordinary-sized ice roses bloomed, they each had a sparkling seed inside them. Sparkling seeds made of light-element mana disy a bright brilliance thates from breathing. Eren was observing this phenomenon from a distance with stoic expressions. He could tell that Lensa''s elemental attainment had progressed leaps and bounds after her breakthrough into the Adept rank. He could only smile bitterly after finding out yet another natural prodigy had almost outssed him just by being herself. Still, he wasn''t too downhearted. He had his own way of progressing. Something the prodigies didn''t have ess to. Eren wondered how much Lensa''s Ability had improved after her breakthrough. But he didn''t rush to her seeing that she was still seated and busy stabilizing her gains. Eren couldn''t postpone his ns in wait. He decided to leave. Chapter 771 Recruiting Arizihana And Marie Lensa''s post-breakthrough elemental attainment was still growing. Eren waved his hand at her even after knowing she might not be paying attention to him. He knew that it would be a while before stabilizing her breakthrough was as spontaneous as it was unexpected. Plus, the Expert ranker must have sensed Lensa''s breakthrough by now. She would be on the way to look after Lensa. Thus, it would be better if Eren got on with the next task in his hand. He wanted to meet up with one of the highest scorers in Minerva''s Utopia. After all, he needed a capable working bee for all his potioning projects. He needed to meet up with Arizihana and Marie. *** Top 50 ranking lists. One of the most exceptional rankers of their generation was taking center stage in White Raven city. These lists were based on Minerva''s Utopia''s four testing grounds. There were four Top 50 lists representing four testing grounds. They would get updated every month by a panel of rankers appointed by the White Raven guild. They would consider many parameters apart from the scores of the testing grounds toe up with the top 50 performers for each testing ground. In White Raven City, the Top 50 performers would receive various benefits. As a result, bing one of the top 50 rankers was something most adventurers aimed at. There was also a Grand Top Ten list that took into ount the scores a ranker received in every testing ground. The results of these separate tests would then bebined beforeing up with the names for the Grand Top Ten. These ranking lists weren''t present in Eren''s previous timeline. This was the butcher''s brainchild to sparkpetition among all the rankers who participated in the exploration of the subspace. Plus, he wanted the scores rankers received in the separate dimension to hold relevance outside it as well. That way, he couldmercialize thepetition. Anyone who aspired to be in any of these ranking lists wouldpete on the testing grounds as if their life depended upon it. They would tend to buy better artifacts and better potions, and opt for high-tier disposable items to survive and thrive inside Minerva''s Utopia. Sessful rankers buying such items from the city would encourage other rankers who want to be on the ranking lists. As a result, thesepetitors would keep on stimting the city''s economy to new heights. The ranking lists were one of the reasons why the city was growing so rapidly. The butcher was using the ingrainedpetitive psyche of adventurers and hunters to make profits. And the best part of this n was, nobody could stop it from not being lucrative. Eren had also made facilities for rankers in the Top 50 topete against each other in the presence of the audience and their supporters. The Top 50 would challenge each other or ept challenges from outsiders. The showdown would take ce in front of the audience, further stimting the economy. The Top 50 were all happier about participating in these events because they would provide them with an extra source of ie. The higher a ranked participant ced in the Top 50, the better the rewards would be for their participation and wins. Top 50 lists and weekly events made some rankers very popr among the citizens of White Raven. Earning fame and money for themselves, the sessful rankers were inclined to stay in the city for as long as they could. *** A well-known inn inside White Raven city. This inn was a preferred choice for a lot of adventurers because it was near to the subspace''s entrance. It was affordable and could host a huge number of people at once with its spatial magic. The inn was equipped with all the necessary amenities. Plus, it would give special discounts to rankers who were within the Top 50 ranking lists. So it was no wonder that Arizihana and Marie were staying here. These two were slowly starting to make a name for themselves. Since there was a cooldown period between two sessive entries into the separate mention, the repeat explorers would keep themselves busy by participating in thesepetitive events. Arizihana and Marie were no different. Arizihana had emerged as a capable fighter after participating in these events a few times. Meanwhile, Marie had participated in potion-making face-offs and won them all. However, Marie was a cultist with a bounty on her head. So she had changed her appearance a bit and was assuming a false identity. She went by the name Mica these days. This afternoon, however, the inn management invited the twodies to a luxurious room. Someone very prominent in White Raven city seemed to be interested in them. "How can we help you, Adept Eren Idril?" Arizihana bowed a bit in front of Eren as she asked. She was standing beside Marie who also copied Ari''s gesture but didn''t say anything. The butcher smiled back and gestured to the twodies to take seats. "It''s nice to meet you once again,dies. I''d like to offer you an opportunity you might be interested in." For some reason, the two rankers felt their consciousness getting pulled into Eren''s emerald green eyes. Thus, they didn''t notice that Eren had hinted at them about meeting beforehand. Eren paused and let the twodies sit in front of him before speaking up. "I''d like to offer you a chance to work with me in the White Raven guild. I could use talents like you for my uing projects." Eren lit up his Sativa Stick from the newly filled stock and smoked. He then operated on the small array imprinted on the table and made two sses of beverages appear in front of the twodies. The twodies were taken aback when Eren invited them to be guild members of his guild. Although the guild had just started making a name for itself, it was rumored to be backed by many big organizations. Plus, it had a stable source of revenue with its city and Minerva''s Utopia. Any seemingly unaffiliated ranker like them would happily join the White Raven guild, which had not epted any official members for a long time. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Arizihana and Marie who were not looked after by their organizations anymore. Plus, the offer was extra tempting because the founder of the White Raven guild itself had decided to extend the invitation personally to them. Chapter 772 Blackmails And Deja Vu Eren had started hiring temporary staff after filling up the key positions in the guild. He didn''t want the guild to have arge number of members. He wanted his guild to run on the same principle House Lancelot ran its guild onC a guild of elites. A few guild members he could count on to get the job done. This was not a tactic most start-up guilds would adopt because it hindered their growth at the start. But Eren didn''t care about the hurdles the guild would have to face in the beginning. He was more focused on strengthening the guild''s foundation by hiring elites or cultivating them from the scratch. p Thus, getting a position in an up-anding guild with a meteoric rise like White Raven was not an offer most rankers would pass on. However, Marie shook her head in disapproval at Arizihana and let her know she wasn''t onboard. Arizihana sighed after seeing Marie''s bodynguage. She looked at Eren while pursing her lips before speaking up. "I I am sorry, Adept Eren. But we already have our ns. So I''m afraid we''d have to pass on your offer." Arizihana spoke with a voice coated in a bit of helplessness. She then lifted the lid off of the ss of beverage that was ced on her side of the table and brought it closer to her mouth. Marie was feeling a bit stressed because of Eren''s gaze on her. For some reason, she thought that she had met this man before. As if this was not the first time he was looking at her. Eren wasn''t surprised when he heard Ari''s refusal. He had run some background information on Arizihana after finding out the two were in his city. He found out that she had given up her position and influence inside the city of Silvermoon. There was no official information avable on an assumed identity called Mica. but seeing her in person, Eren immediately recognized that she was Marie, Ma''s sister. Eren hadn''t met Marie on an official level. But he had seen her when Marie and Arizihana were leading the Beast Bloods into hunting his altered identity Ron Damien. He hade face to face with Arizihana and Marie at that time before fleeing from the scene. Eren hade back to kill two Adept rankers who were fighting with each other because of him at that time. But he didn''t interact with any other ranker after making his kills. He had killed those two Adepts and disappeared into the night like a ghost. However, Eren had heard about Marie from his teacher Levine and her biological sister Ma. After connecting the dots and seeing her in person, Eren was sure the one who was sitting in front of him was in fact Marie-- a cultist from the Beast Bloods who was used to running her own operations. These twodies were unhinged. But one of them had a shady background. Because of that, they couldn''t join the White Raven guild as its members. Or at least that''s what they had thought. "Look, I know you both want to earn a sizable chunk of money from this city before going on a hunt to explore new opportunities. But why not serve me if earning money is all you want? I''ll pay you a decent wage each month. And in exchange, you''d just have to do what I say. Something that won''t be tooplicated. Just so that we are clear, let me tell you that I don''t care what you were doing in the past. As long as you do good work here, you''d get paid and receive all the other perks thate with it." Ari looked at Eren with a stoic expression when Eren spoke. She hade to realize that Eren might know about Marie by the way he had chosen to speak those words. She kept her silence and looked at Marie, telling her to take charge of the conversation. Marie looked at Mica with closed eyes as she spoke. "Adept Eren, sorry to be blunt but we won''t be joining any guild. And that''d be the end of it." Mica, aka Marie, spoke with an unflinching tone. She knew that Beast Bloods would have liked it if she made contact with Eren and chose to be a part of his guild. That way, Beast Bloods would have an agent in this city. Someone with better ess to resources and information. However, she was almost able tobine human potioning recipes with elven elemental attainment synthesis. She didn''t want her organization''s extra attention on her at this point. She was also not interested in working with Beast Bloods anymore now that she had obtained everything she wanted from them. Marie was earning a decent amount of money that she could then use to support her experiments. To make the vtile potions stable and safe to consume, she just needed the missing ingredient. A breakthrough in her experiments would revolutionize the way humans made their potions. Joining the White Raven guild wouldplicate things for her on multiple fronts. Eren wasn''t aware of Marie''s potioning needs. But he didn''t care about any of the stuff the elf or the halfling were trying to say to him anyway. "Hm. It''s my fault. I didn''t make this clear from the beginning. So it seems you have some ambiguity. Either you''d work for me and get paid. Or you''d work for me for free. All you have to do now is to choose what you want to do." Eren said while releasing a dense white cloud of smoke from his mouth and nostrils. His subtle smile had turned into a smirk, making the twodies feel that they were inside some kind of a trap. "What are you talking about?" Marie asked Eren in a grim voice. Thetter chuckled before speaking up. "A traitor to the city of Silvermoon and a known cultist from Beast Bloods. Ladies, you''d want to work for my guild one way or the other. Or else" Chapter 773 Emotional Manipulation "A traitor to the city of Silvermoon and a known cultist from Beast Bloods. Ladies, you''d want to work for my guild one way or the other. Or else" Eren ignored the panic, anger, andbination of other emotions both thedies had on their faces. He looked at the smoldering end of his Sativa Stick with newfound interest before continuing. "Or else, someone somewhere in the city will leak everything about you. I don''t want you to get hunted by the kingdom''s special forces and bounty hunters. That''s why I want to keep both of you safe by turning you into my guild members. After all, I care about your well-being." Eren said with a gentle smile on his face as he smoked his Sativa Stick in front of them. Incidentally, it wasn''t his first time ckmailing them. He had pulled the same stunt on them before entering Purgatory. The guy was like a curse for both thedies at this point. He had made a habit out of ckmailing them. "You how did you know? No. wait. We don''t know what you are talking about." Ari got flustered and panicked hearing Eren''s ckmail. She was suddenly reminded of Ron Damien''s face as she was looking at Eren. her subconscious mind tried to make a connection between the two. But her rational mind wanted her to deny the ims altogether. Marie was in a better state than Ari. being a cultist, she had prepared herself for situations like these. If she couldn''t get rid of the threat or run away from it, the most logical thing for her to do at that time was to negotiate. She quickly got rid of her previous scared-and-afraid mindset before responding. "How can you bully nobodies like us? My bounty amount is nothing for you." With serious expressions on his face, Eren responded promptly. "I can steep to bullying Novice rankers if it suits me. And I am willing to mess with the Sages if it stands to benefit me. Ranks and moral grounds don''t matter to me." Eren got up from his seat after that. Onest drag and he finished Sativa Stick before making it disappear in an instant. He released the smoke through his nostrils and started pacing around before adding further. "As I said, I don''t care about your background as a cultist or what you did in your previous organization. I just ask that you do your best for the work you are assigned. You''d get paid for the amount of work you put in. As simple as that. I am indeed ckmailing you. But it shouldn''t have to be an unfortunate event in your life. Not unless you want it to be. And if you want to treat it as a bluff by saying I won''t have enough pieces of evidence, I''ll be more than happy to prove you wrong. But that will seal your fate forever. So take that road wisely." Eren said while pacing around with his hands behind his back. Arizihana and Marie were looking straight in front of the empty chair Eren was sitting on a few moments ago. But they looked at each other when he stopped speaking. Both of them looked at each other for a long time, as if discussing. Arizihana pursed her lips and looked straight again. She took a long breath before addressing Eren. "What would be my duties, guild master Eren?" Eren smiled when he heard Arizihana. He then walked up to the table and sat on its edge near Marie. "What about you?" He asked Marie. Thetter shook her head before replying. "I I am not sure, Adept Eren. To be honest, bing a member of your guild is not that terrible. But... If I did that, the cultist organization I belong to would be more interested in my affairs. If I start to have a normal life, it will be them who will threaten me the same way you have. What will I do then? Betray your guild to serve them? Or betray them to serve you? No matter what I choose, I''ll eventually end up getting targeted and killed." Marie clenched the armrest of the chair she was currently sitting on as she said it. She then looked up and met Eren''s eyes before adding further. "So you tell me. What should I do? Which is the path that leads to my salvation?" Eren didn''t like that Marie wasn''t as easy to fall for the ckmail as Arizihana was. He could see a few of her sister''s traits within her as well. He replied to her in a grim tone. "So you want me to take responsibility for what happens to you after you enter the White Raven guild? I''m sorry to say this young miss, but that''s not how it works. I haven''t opened a baby''s daycare here. I am running a guild. A guild that will do everything in its power to support you. But it will be upon you to fend off the repercussions of your choices. Plus, I don''t want to set a precedent for giving you extra care." Eren said in a casual voice and folded his hands. He hade to realize that Marie was driven by her own goals. And she wasn''t ready topromise with them for the sake of safety. ckmail wasn''t enough for such people. Eren needed to offer something else that wouldn''t jeopardize his interests. As he continued to stare at the halfling, he added more. "Maybe we can deal with your cultist organization together if and when they contact you. Maybe we can n something special for them if they try to mess with you and my guild. Of course, that is as long as my interests aren''t at stake. If I was in your shoes, I''d choose to deal with the threat at hand and make apromise now than think about a distant threat in the future. I don''t know if you have realized this by now. But I am your biggest threat. And by the time your organization catches up with you, I would have be a bigger threat than them too." Chapter 774 What Goes Around Comes Around "I am your biggest threat right now. And by the time your organization catches up, I would have be a bigger threat than them too." Eren said and chuckled. He then scratched his beardless chin before verbally marching forward. "But if you want even more incentive or reason to join White Raven, then consider this. Your sister Ma would join the guild in the future. I don''t know how things are between you two sisters. But I imagine it wouldn''t hurt you if you and your sister worked under the same roof. Plus, I am Master Levine''s official disciple. And she is working alongside my guild on this verynd. There''s no better way to convey to her that her decision to not take you under her wings because of your halfling lineage was wrong than excelling at the task I give you." When ckmail failed, the butcher turned to emotional maniption. From his discussions with Ma, Eren could tell that she still cared about Marie despite her choice to be rogue and seek solutions outside the box. The half-sisters must have been very close to each other before one of them decided to be a cultist and the other decided to enter LA. Eren was hoping Marie cared about her sister too. She would see Ma joining the same guild as one of the incentives of joining the guild. He mentioned Levine''s name for a different reason. His potioner teacher had told him about Marie. The Master ranker of the Montmorency n had certain standards to maintain. Thus, she ignored all of Marie''s pleas to be a disciple. Marie was struggling with making potions at that time because ordinary methods wouldn''t work for her. Levine''s denial was the final nail in the coffin for Marie. As a result, she abandoned the usual and embraced cultist methods that promise greater results for her efforts. Eren was sure that he would have done the same if he was in Marie''s shoes. There was a certain charm in getting lost in the process of creating concoctions only a few people like him would understand. He could see Marie was one of them. Marie didn''t ask for an exnation from Eren about how he could learn so much about her. But her unflinching gaze was screaming at him for answers. The butcher smiled before exining everything. He told Marie about how he had served under Ma when he was in LA. He told her how he became Levine''s disciple before proceeding to inform her about the current projects he and Levine were working on. Marie''s eyes shone with determination as she listened to Eren''s words. She was having a feeling that the research she was doing on her projects and the experiments Eren and Levine were conducting in the guild''sb couldplement each other. ''Maybe this is the missing ingredient I''m looking for.'' Marie had a sudden thought in her head as she looked at Eren''s handsome face. At the end of their discussions, Eren was able to get both thedies on board. He then made a few arrangements for them before disappearing from the scene. Agatha called him urgently to meet at the guild''s headquarters. *** "How long do I have to wait?" A young man asked in a grim tone. He was in Agatha''s office, standing by therge window which showed the cityscape in all its glory. There was a spacious balcony to the left side of therge window. This man had long gray hair that was neatly styled. He had azure eyes and a sharp jawline. This handsome man had a kind of royal air around him. He acted like he was in charge of his surroundings. She wore a concerned look on her face when she looked at this man. It''s because he had Renar as his surname. "I''m telling you, your highness Rehaal. You don''t need to meet Eren. That''s because he''d say the same thing. That we are not sheltering anyone named Rodrick Renar." Agatha said in a careful tone. Meeting Rodrick who was a pretty easy guy to get along with had skewed her perception of the royals of Edinburgh. It was only after meeting Rehaal did she understand that the stereotypes were there for a reason. Rehaal Renar knocked on White Raven''s door for one reason. He wanted them to stop sheltering Rodrick so that he could eliminate him from the royalpetition for all time. Of course, he didn''t buy Agatha''s argument that Rodrick wasn''t with them. Rehaal demanded that Eren Idril be summoned in front of him to discuss things further. Incidentally, Levine had sealed the entrance to theb at this point. So Agatha couldn''t reach her. Agatha could only contact Eren after realizing that Rehaal wasn''t someone she could handle on her own. She also hoped that things don''t escte any further. Lightning shed, and Eren appeared on the balcony. He had chosen to enter the guild''s headquarters the same way he had exited. "Nice to meet you, Adept Rehaal? How can we help you?" He said casually as he entered the room that reeked of subtle tension. Agatha was relieved when she saw him and fought the urge to run toward him. She was in a royal''s presence after all. Rehaal looked at Eren keenly without saying a word as thetter sat down on the armrest of the chair Agatha was sitting on. He yed with Agatha''s hair as he waited for Rehaal to answer his question. Rehaal didn''t like that Eren had called him by his royal status and instead referred to him as an Adept. It indicated that Eren saw Rehaal on the same level as him because of their equal ranking status. However, he chose to ignore that and decided to pursue his goal. "So you are the man they are talking about these days." Rehaal spoke in a deep voice before walking up to Agatha''s desk. Both his palms rested on the desk as he leaned towards the duo on the other side of the desk. "I only want one thing from you guys. Kick out Rodrick Renar from your guildnds and we shall have no further problems. Or else" Eren was stumped when he heard Rehaal''s words. Not because he was scared of the royal. But because he couldn''t help finding some sort of irony in the situation. ''Haha. What goes aroundes around.'' === AN: Marie''s backstory has been exined in chapter 226. Rehaal Renar''s name was first mentioned in chapter 485. Chapter 775 A Teacher Fails If They Have Not Been Surpassed By Their Students ''Haha. What goes aroundes around.'' A subtle smile appeared on Eren''s face as he found some humor in his situation. He kept on curling Agatha''s white hair with his fingers as he asked Rehaal without looking at him. "Who told you that Rodrick is here?" Rehaal replied promptly to Eren''s question. "Hmph! Don''t try to weasel your way out of this by saying he is not." Eren shook his head before correcting him. "I am not saying Rodrick is or isn''t here. I''m asking who told you about him being here. Surely, a royal like you doesn''t have anything to fear divulging the name of the person who gave you this information." Rehaal looked at Eren with narrowed eyes when he heard Eren. The way in which Eren had asked him that question was forcing him to answer it honestly. "Hmph! I would have told you even if I wasn''t a royal. It was the Escalon guild who told me about Rodrick''s whereabouts." ''I fucking knew it.'' Eren smirked to himself when he heard the name Escalon. Since they couldn''t mess with him or his guild personally, they had decided to involve a royal in the equation. So that he would do their job for them. Eren also knew there was no way he could say Rodrick wasn''t here if Rehaal was being tipped by the Escalon guild. He knew how the guild worked firsthand. They wouldn''t mess with royal affairs unless they werepletely sure of this thing. Eren concluded that the Escalon guild would be performing regr stakeouts on White Raven city as a whole ever since its inception. They would be keeping a close watch on all the prominent figures of the city. This was the guild''s standard protocol after all. Know thy enemy. This was Reva Rain''s philosophy when it came to handling her opponents. She tried to know more about her targets so that she knew what would be more painful for them. She would then use that knowledge against them. One could say that Reva Rain yed a huge part in shaping how Eren had turned out to be. This change was specially apparant after he was given the second chance at life. All his torture techniques as well as the prudence he had developed came from knowing about her and how she operated. Eren could guess that this was totally Reva''s move. Getting your opponents into a brawl with bigger opponents and watching the show from afar. ''Heh! I''ll have to tear a page from her books soon. Beat that bitch in her own game. After all, a teacher fails if they have not been surpassesd by their students.'' Eren let go of all his swirling thoughts before asking Agatha about it. ''Miss manager, did we start using the resources Rodrick had to offer to us?'' Agatha sighed before answering Eren honestly. ''Yes, we have. What was I supposed to do? Our guild members need potent spells and ranking techniques the most. That''s the only way they could have an edge over their enemies that are not really monsters. Rodrick''s curated resources have helped us a lot.'' ''I see.'' Eren replied to Agatha before turning his attention back to Rehaaal. He shrugged his shoulders before responding. "We indeed have Rodrick with us." Agatha looked stunned when Eren admitted that they were sheltering a rights-less royal against a legitimate royal''s wishes. She thoughts that Eren''s lies would prevail here as well. But it seemed like he was keen on selling Rodrick out. Rehaal smirked when he heard Eren admit to Escalon guild''s findings. He would have shown him the proofs that he had received from the guild if the guy was adamant about telling lies. "It''s helpful that you understand how things work. I expect you guys to kick Rodrick out of this city by evening. Honestly, I would have already taken action inside the city if I didn''t care about the two big houses that are backing you." Rehaal said with a casual smile on his face. It was only after hearing what he wanted to hear did he take the seat in front of Agatha. Eren pursed his lips and scratched his chin before bursting into the royal''s bubble. "You got it wrong, Adapt Rehaal. I didn''t admit the fact that Rodrick was staying here to kick him out under your orders. I admitted to it because I want you to know we would provide shelter to him even after knowing it is against your wishes. As backstabbing as I can get at times, I don''t want to ruin my guild''s reputation by beingbeled as one. I know how the rumors spread and the way they affect the morals of people working under the guild''s name. Plus, I don''t like to renege on my end of the deals. It''s not in my nature to make unnecessary promises. But I try to keep the ones I do end up making." Eren said while smiling at Rehaal. It looked like both Agatha and Rehaal were shocked by Eren''s words. Agatha more so than Rehaal. She had thought that Eren wouldn''t think twice before cutting ties with Rodrick when the royal threat was in front of him. Apparently, Eren was changing a bit ever since he had stepped into Adept rank. Or he was bing more of who he really wanted to be. His words were akin to saying ''fuck you'' in Rehaal''s face. "Do you know what you are saying, Adept Eren?" Rehaal said in a serious tone coated in suppressed anger. This was basically his first time receiving a ''no'' from amoner. As a result, he tried to put pressure on Eren and Agatha by manifesting his aura. Rehaal was just a step away from entering the Expert rank. He was superior to Eren when it came to ranking status alone. As a result, Agatha felt suffocated as soon as the royal tried to dominate the duo. Eren protected Agatha right away with his mana sense. But before he could respond to Rehaal''s action in kind, the butcher frowned when he felt a known presence approaching them. "Kiyeeeh!" An eagle cry was heard when Eren was subjected to Rehaal''s pressure. Chapter 776 Birds Of The Same Feather "Kiyeeeh!" An eagle cry was heard when Eren was subjected to Rehaal''s pressure. Although Eren wasn''t threatened or bothered by it, the fact that a third person tried to bully his master irked the demon beast. Following Eren''s return to the White Raven city, Argo was let loose in the city. He was inside the beast space for most of the time when Eren was inside the Oni dungeon. So he preferred stretching his wings now that Eren was outside. Eren had told his people what Argo liked or disliked about his food choices. The demon beast was well fed by the city''s citizens after learning his identity. He treated the city as his territory and would use its skies to keep an eye on things. Argo shrunk his size midflight before entering Agatha''s office through the window. Hended on Eren''s right shoulder in his eagle form. He leaned towards Rehaal with his neck outstretched and an eagle w pointing at him. The demon beast spoke up in a beastly voice and stunned his audience. "Who this little bitch?" Rehaal was too stunned by the demon beast''s way of addressing him to maintain a stable aura. This was the first time in his life that he was called a bitch. "What what what the fuck did he say?" Rehaal looked at Eren with confused and angry expressions. He had even forgotten to register the fact that a D-rank demon beast could speak. Eren chuckled in his head as he heard Argo''s words. He then criticized the bird for using the wrong words. There was no need to call Rehaal ''little''. Outwardly, the butcher shrugged his shoulders before answering. "Don''t take him seriously. He has a limited vocabry and is still learning to speak. He addresses everyone with words like these." What Eren said was partially true. However, Argo''s foul mouth was due to Eren''s deep thoughts that were being read by him. One could say that Eren''s subconscious had a hand to y in Argo''s limited vocabry. The demon beast only picked up on the most used words by his master first and foremost. Only now did Rehaal realize that it was Eren''s demon beast speaking in humannguage. But before he could say anything to Eren anymore, thetter continued. "Look, Rehaal. I don''t want to get involved in royal affairs. Here''s my offer. I''ll let you talk with the guy. If you could sort things out between you, great. And if you can''t, then you''d have toe to a different arrangement." Rehaal opened his mouth to say something to Eren. But he stopped midway when he found the offer to be somewhat reasonable. Plus, he wanted to see Rodrick anyway. Thus, he nodded at Eren, prompting thetter to contact Rodrick right away. The guy that was being hunted by the royal scions showed up in the room after some time with a smile on his face. Eren was the first man he saw. "Haha! Eren, my friend, I''m d I got to see you again. Let''s go out for a few drinks" Rodrick was nning to speak with Eren freely, thinking the guy had called him to catch up with him. Eren hadn''t told him anything about Rehaal. However, soon after entering the room, Rodrick stopped speaking midway and looked at the person who was sitting in front of Eren. Rodrick identified Rehaal right away. ''You bastard, you could have given me a heads-up.'' ,m Rodrick looked angrily at Eren before speaking to him through voicemunication. Thetter just shrugged his shoulders before gesturing him to approach the desk. Rodrick tried to maintain royal decorum when he saw that there was no way out of the situation without facing Rehaal. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he approached the desk, standing beside Eren who was still sitting on the armrest of Agatha''s chair. "Rehaal." Rodrick greeted Rehaal with one word. He didn''t use any honorifics or say anything else, indicating that he had no interest in respecting him or talking with him. Thetter was getting madder by the second because of the treatment he was receiving ever since he had stepped foot in White Raven city. Rehaal narrowed his eyes on Rodrick and demanded in amanding tone. "Hand them over." Rodrick tried to act puzzled before speaking up. "Hand what over?" Rehaal lost his patience when he saw Rodrick''s poor acting skills. After breaking his chair with his mana fluctuations, he yelled at him. "Don''t fucking y with me, Rodrick. The pieces of the artifact the king of Edinburgh had given to all of us. By cheating, you have acquired 20 out of 50 pieces of the artifact. Hand them over. Or be prepared to face the consequences." Rehaal spoke, sounding and looking livid. Rodrick startedughing after he heard Rehaal say what he had to say. "Hahahaha! By cheating my way, you say? Was there any rule about there being no cheating involved when it came to the royalpetition? There was not. It meant that we were free to obtain the pieces however we wanted. Plus, many other guys have used trickery to obtain the pieces for themselves. Why don''t you reach out and ask them and see if they don''tugh in your face the same way I''m doing right now?" Rodrick looked at Rehaal confidently as he said what he had to say. Even though he had lost his royal retainer and royal rights at the time, Rodrick had not lost touch with the fact that showing weakness in the royalpetition was a sin. He would be devoured whole if he ever showed that he could be run over. Rehaal looked at Rodrick angrily. He could see why the guy could get along so well with Eren. They were headstrong in their belief and would be able to go to any lengths to achieve their goals. This was the first time Rehaal had met up with Eren. But he had read everything about him beforeing here. Thus, he could draw parallels between him and Rodrick. ''Birds of the same feather'' Chapter 777 Everything In Life Comes At A Price P1 ''Birds of the same feather'' Rehaal looked at Eren and Rodrick both with a single nce before fixing his gaze on his cousin. "Don''tplicate things for you and your friend here, Rodrick. Those twenty pieces you have stolen will eventually be your downfall now that you are merely in the Ace rank. I''m only helping you by taking the heat away from you. The otherpetitors won''t be as considerate as me. They''ll destroy this city if they have to to get those pieces before killing a whole bunch of people along with you." Rehaal said, his voice getting deeper as he spoke. This time, his aura was even stronger than before. The chair that was cracked disintegrated into pieces when Rehaal''s aura manifested. The ground would have cracked too if it wasn''t fortified with the runes. Both Ace rankers would have been brought to their knees if Eren hadn''t protected them with mana sense. Argo was about to make a fuss. So Eren took him inside his beast space before looking at Rehaal. Rodrick was about to respond to Rehaal as he gritted his teeth. He knew he''d sound pathetic if he started speaking under Rehaal''s influence. Thankfully, Rehaal''s threatening words had managed to drag Eren into the mess. "If you want to threaten my city, say it to my face. Don''t use roundabout ways to do these things." Eren radiated a grim aura as he spoke, his voice grimmer than ever. In the next moment, the surroundings changed for those who listened to his voice. A wave of invisible haze spread over the surroundings. It felt like Agatha''s office had be submerged in deep waters. Rehaal was brought to his knees. The royal was left aghast by the suppression he felt at the moment. He felt like he had been thrown into a pit ofva before someone closed the only way out of it. Rehaal''s heartbeats increased and his ears started hearing white noise. He started seeing haze in front of his blurred vision and he lost his ability to speak properly. Eren had tried to control the effects of his aura on the royald in front of him. But his soul sense slipped into the equation, making things more difficult for Rehaal than Eren nned them to be. The thing about the soul sense was that once it awakens, one could not precisely control it like their mana sense. Extreme emotions and other reasons could cause the soul sense to inadvertently manifest itself. Soul sense was even more potent than elemental attainment in this case. Both would get influenced by their wielder''s emotions and personalities. However, soul sense begins affecting the living beings first and foremost in the surroundings rather than the surroundings themselves. Therefore, it was dangerous for people with slumbering souls to be anywhere near someone who had awakened their soul sense. Eren only realized what had happened to Rehaal when he saw his condition. The guy was looking at him with extreme fear. The butcher could read the royal''s mind and knew that he was trying to flee the ce due to a senseless fear that took hold of him. But his body wasn''t listening to his orders. So he couldn''t get up. ''Heh! I was once like this.'' Eren smirked when he saw Rehaal gasping for breaths. He couldn''t help remembering when he was on the receiving end of the same ordeal. Only, his condition was much more severe because the soul he was affected by belonged to Eliza. Eren controlled his aura and soul sense to offer the royal a much-needed relief. He didn''t want to upset Rehaal''s retainers any further than he already had. Eren was genuinely angry when he heard Rehaal speaking about destroying his city for the royal scions'' royalpetition. Eren''s soul sense manifested as a result, and Rehaal received a mentally scarring punishment. Cough! Cough! Cough! Rehaal started coughing and began taking quick breaths as he felt the suffocating pressure getting lifted. He didn''t know what had happened to him but he knew who caused it. "You.." Rehaal looked at Eren wearily as he managed to blurt out a word. The feelings of wanting to run away from the guy in front of him were still trying to take over him. However, the royal fought against those feelings in order not to ruin his royal status any further. Rehaal eventually stood up with his shaky legs and retrieved a strange potion from his storage. He uncorked the vial before drinking the contents inside it. Only then did the color on his pale face turn. Rodrick and Agatha had been exposed to Eren''s soul sense as well. But thankfully, they weren''t affected by it because Eren''s anger wasn''t directed at them. Nevertheless, they both could vaguely understand that Eren was much more than he let on. That his ranking status alone wasn''t enough of a parameter to gauge his strength. Anyone who did that and tried to mess up with him was bound to be up for some rude awakening. Rehaal was very angry at himself for getting down on his knees in front of amoner. Even worse was the fact that he did it while Rodrick was in the same room. Eren walked towards the now-standing royal with hands behind his back, prompting thetter to take a few steps back. He enjoyed watching a royal be more frightened with each passing moment because of his mere presence. The butcher chuckled before speaking up in a clear voice. "Let me get this thing clear to you and your retainers, Rehaal. I''m not preventing you from participating in your royalpetition. I have no interest in being part of this charade. But you need to find some other way to get Rodrick out of the city. Maybe you can set a trap for him outside the city when that happens." "Oi!" Rodrick suddenly had stress lines on his forehead when he listened to Eren''s words. He wanted to call Eren a conniving son of a bitch. But he knew that the guy would simply ept whatever negative thing that is being said about his mother. Eren ignored Rodrick''s objection and carried on. Chapter 778 Everything In Life Comes At A Price P2 Eren ignored Rodrick''s objection and carried on. "I won''t stop you from getting whatever you want from Rodrick however you see fit as long as you keep your conflicts outside the city. But you can''t depend on me to kick the guy out for you. That would be against the arrangement between my guild and Rodrick. I don''t know what the royalpetition is and I don''t care. Frankly, if it were up to me, I would throw all the royal scions into a giant cage and tell them to do their worst to each other. Whoeveres out on top would be the sessor to the throne. Simple as that." Rodrick and Rehaal both looked at each other with a bit of worry in their eyes when they heard Eren''s way of organizing a royalpetition. The guy just wanted there to be a mass genocide among royal scions to select a sessor. Not that life wasn''t on the line for contestants taking part in the ongoingpetition. But only now did both the royalpetitors realize that things could have been more disastrous if their current king was as ruthless as Eren. Eren stopped walking towards Rehaal when the guy was almost at the door. Anymore, and he would have retreated outside Agatha''s office. Eren looked at Rehaal coldly before speaking up. "As for royal scions destroying my city to achieve their goals." An eerie silence engulfed the room when Eren paused his statement. The air felt heavy to everyone around him. ''My friend don''t say anything that is considered treason.'' Rodrick sent a voicemunication to Eren when he thought the guy was about to say something that they all might regret. However, his fears were unfounded. The butcher was inplete control of his senses and his speech. "I''ll simply say Try me." Eren said and shed a gracious smile at Rehaal. Thetter remained stunned at his position for a while before regaining control of his movements. He refused to look at Eren''s face and only looked at his feet. He then nced at Rodrick for onest time before leaving the premises in a hurry. Soon, Rehaal''s presence and the shadowy presences that were with him were nowhere to be found. They retreated as fast as they came. Rodrick spoke only after observing that there was no external presence. "Hahaha! That served that bastard well. He had his nuts" Rodrick was about to gloat some more at Rehaal''s condition but he suddenly felt pain in his guts as Eren punched him out of the blue. Of course, the butcher had controlled the punch in a way that wouldn''t seriously injure him. Rodrick too was brought to his knees by Eren''s sudden attack. His face reddened and his eyes had a bit of moisture in them as Rodrick processed the pain that came with the punch. "Eren" Agatha cried out when she saw Eren punch Rodrick. She wasn''t sure what he was thinking about. He was trying to mess up with all the royalpetitors at this point. Cough! Cough! Cough! Rodrick started coughing when he felt the effects of Eren''s punch. He was about to throw the food he had just eaten. But somehow he managed to gulp down the content that was trying toe out. "You know why I hit you, right?" Eren said, looking at Rodrick with narrowed eyes. His expressions seemed even grimmer than he had when Rehaal was in the room. *** Rodrick knew what Eren was asking about. He had basically tried to manipte Eren into defending him. And he had only seeded in it because Eren let him get manipted so as not to destroy the guild''s reputation. Rodrick had first manipted Altashia into taking pity on him and fighting with him. Win or lose, he would have profited greatly from the battle eventually. After all, Altashia''s family could have been a huge supporter of him. However, meeting Eren changed his life and his point of view altogether. He ced all his bets on Eren when he figured out what he was up to. Then he began working on his n to get as many pieces of the royal puzzle as he could before retreating into a safe zone. Of course, Rodrick knew he couldn''t afford to mess with Eren''s guild without offering it something worthwhile in return. That''s why he hade prepared before meeting with Agatha. Eren had read Rodrick like an open book in the past as well as in the present. He knew what the guy was doing and still let himself get manipted by him. Rodrick could only guess Eren would one day knock on his door for a payback. Rodrick hadn''t thought of betraying Eren. But the fact remained that he had tried to use Eren for his advantage. In more ways than one, Rodrick was a lot like the current Eren. And Eren didn''t like that part about Rodrick the mostC the part that was identical to him. *** "You know why I hit you, right?" Rodrick heard Eren''s question directed at him in a neutral voice. He stood up and took long breaths to stabilize himself. The royalpetitor smiled mirthlessly at Eren before nodding at him. "Yeah, I know. I''m sorry, Eren. It was for my survival. And for the survival of my close ones as well." Eren looked at Rodrick intently when he heard his response. He smirked before adding further. "Very well. You should also know that everything worthwhile in lifees at a price. When the right timees, I''ll demand that price from you. Make sure that you will be able to afford it in the future." Rodrick and Eren looked at each other without saying a word. Agatha wasn''t sure what the two were discussing or not discussing. But at this point, she didn''t care. She just wanted to get on with her current work. Rodrick chuckled before responding. "Be capable in the future, huh! I got it. Believe it or not, I like to protect my hide at all times." Rodrick said and put his arm across Eren''s shoulders. He led him outside Agatha''s office as his fading voice was heard by a pensive-looking Agatha. "Drinks on me." Chapter 779 Graduation Plans Eren''s private chamber. White Raven guild headquarters. White Raven city. "What was La talking about?" Alephee asked Eren while he was being subjected to his hellish training at midnight. He was sleeping on the bed of thorns with his back getting carved by the elemental shards Alephee had created using the array setup. Eren had paused his training session midway when he received the voice message from La a few moments ago. Alephee was curious about it. "She..." Eren had a red face while he was suffering through pain and misery. He shook his head and continued speaking. It was almost like he didn''t feel pain anymore. Or he stopped processing the pain the usual way. "She tells me Arthur''s forces are getting desperate. They are trying to close in on her and Ivor from various fronts. So far, they have managed to stay ahead of his forces. They n to face all of the forces at once and eliminate them. They are a hindrance to the Lazarus project after all." Eren said with a steady voice before releasing the breath he was holding. He then followed up on Alephee''s instructions to operate on her mana circuits. More wounds were created when he failed to match up the mana flow with the shards'' movements. However, the wounds this time were significantly less than what he had faced the first time. He was improving. "And? That brat won''t report to you her updates unless something major has happened or she wants something from you." Alephee asked while standing outside the array looking at Eren with her hands folded under her bosom. Eren chuckled before answering. "She is nning to set a trap for all of them soon. And needs my assistance in handling some of the heat Arthur''s forces bring." *** Eren said and rolled to his side. He wished the bed of suffering he was using for his training of mana circuits could be used from all directions. His pain would increase but at least he would save time. Three weeks had passed since Eren came to White Raven city. He had handled various matters rted to the guild and Minerva''s Utopia these days, ensuring that everything ran smoothly inside his city. During these three weeks, he would spend his nights training his mana circuits. He would spar with Alephee in the morning to digest his gains and see the effects of his training. Fighting with Alephee was always an eye-opening experience for Eren. he would often learn something so obvious about the way he could improve his battle style. However, he knew it would only be obvious after Alephee showed it to him. Otherwise, he''d have to spend a long timeing to the same conclusions. Eren would often spar with his teammates during these three weeks whenever they were avable. Drin and Bianka had groups to lead. Tumko Darata''s team will serve as another full-fledged party for the White Raven when he and his teammates officially join the guild. Eren was also in touch with various others who were nning toe to White Raven city to meet him. Aunt Nina and Ma were one of them. Dianna Remus also had a grim piece of news to share with him regarding her family''s stance. She was expecting to meet him during one of their army assignments that he would take on soon. Ma confirmed Eren''s hypothesis after he contacted her. She had told him LA was nning to keep the graduation ceremony on hold till the postponed event came to pass. She was asked to hold her position in LA until that happens. Thus, she couldn''t join White Raven right away. Just like Altashia, Eren should have graduated from LA because of breaking into the Adept rank. Nevertheless, the kingdom of Edinburgh decided to go all out in recruiting students into its armed forces. It had changed the rules of all five elite academies and made them halt the graduation of their Adept-ranked students. Last time, the event in question was postponed because of the social turmoil created by the news of Ivor Osan being the Osan Woods Butcher as well as Isen Osan fleeing to the enemy kingdom. Due to the potential war with the enemy kingdom, the stakes for the event were expected to rise in all aspects. The graduation ceremony would take ce in Edinburgh''s capital in a few weeks. Eren was bound to attend that. One of the highlights of the graduation event was that it would be a joint venture by all the top academies in the kingdom. Meaning it would pit students from all five academies together. The event would be broadcast throughout the kingdom. The purpose was to improve the citizen''s faith in the kingdom and its potential elites. It was also to demonstrate to the kingdom of Layos that Edinburgh was cultivating a powerful force. Because it knew the enemy kingdom would keep track of the kingdom-level event like this. Eren could only smile mirthlessly after understanding the reason behind things that were happening around him and to him. Not that he didn''t like the event getting bigger than his previous timeline. The more prestigious the event, the greater the rewards thate with it. Eren had a smile o his face as he thought of graduating from LA once again in this timeline as an Adept. Last time, he was barely a Novice when he cleared the academy somehow. Although he had managed to get through academic life, he entered the world of rankers with scant experience and a ruined name. In this timeline, Eren had a guild and an entire city to himself. Ranking-wise, he left assistant professors in LA behind. His name was spreading throughout the kingdom as the guild master of a rising city and guild. Fame. Money. And power. The butcher had everything in this timeline. Although his face wasn''t that well-known, he wasn''t disheartened. Theparison of his past and present lives made him feel a bit satisfied with his current progress. But there was a part of him that wanted more. Even more. Even the whole of Anfang wouldn''t be enough to quench his thirst for something more. ''Altashia cleared her graduation just at right time, huh! Never mind. I wanted to be part of the event anyway. There''s something in that event I need.'' Eren thought to himself as he carried on with his training. He had a smile on his face when he sorted his thoughts. Alephee was irked when he shed a grin while being subjected to pain. ''And he wonders why people call him a masochist!'' Chapter 780 Lord Of War The next day. Inside Eren''s potionb. Underground facility. White Raven guild''s headquarters. Eren had gotten refreshed afterpleting the nightly mana circuits training and sparring sessions with Alephee that followed afterward. He was now looking at a giant array that had been created by Alephee in an empty hall space. Alephee entered the array eye and began her operations. There were various sections inside the array that were created by the intersection ofplex runic details. Some sections contained metallic ores while the other sections contained various weapon artifacts. The various chunks of various metals found in various sections of the array were obtained inside Minerva''s Utopia. There were some metallic chunks that Eren had personally bought from external sources upon Alephee''s suggestion. Then there were sections for raw ingredients inside the array that belonged to different elements. Eren was sure that if Durbag had been here, the guy would have been blown away by theplexities of the array Alephee had created. The weapons artifacts that could be found inside the array all belonged to the Novice rank. Eren had bought them inrge quantities from his sources for this experiment. All the ingredients, weapon artifacts, and other items that had be part of the array by being inside were levitating at a fixed distance from the ground. The weapons and ingredients would only move under Alephee''s control. She would move them inside the central array eye to process them and create a high-ranked weapon artifact. However, what Alephee did with Eren''s weapons and what she was doing this time using the array was a bit different. It was not the existing Novice weapons that she was converting. Instead, she was making brand-new artifacts while using the existing artifacts as a foundation that could be copied. Alephee would then use the chunks of metals and other items to create an identical-looking weapon to the original artifact. Only that its rank would be higher. Alephee''s Perfect Paradox was at work in this case. The spell was used differently using the array setup. Alephee closed her eyes and concentrated. She didn''t have any stressful expressions on her face. It indicated that operating arrays of this level was not a big deal for her. Her Homunculus body was the only limit to her powers. And yet, she was doing what might seem impossible to most people. Eren was having his breakfast as he watched Alephee potentially making more money for him. This was not his first time seeing the phenomenon. The homunculus had already operated on the array a few times, giving him loads of Ace and Adept-ranked artifacts. Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! It looked like Eren was chewing on blocks of berry-shaped ice as he watched Alephee work. But it was a very rare ingredient. This consumable ingredient was known as Ivory Ice Berry. *** After getting intimate with Lensa once again, for some reason, Eren had received some of her elemental attainment from her. He could vaguely guess that it was his Sin series Ability evolving. But he couldn''t be sure. It could just be because the couple enjoyed each other''spany so much that they ended up creating a rare phenomenon. Simr things had happened in the past. The act of intimacy would sometimes pull people into a state of epiphany. Sometimes, they wouldn''t even be aware that such things had happened to them because their senses get overwhelmed by waves of ecstasy. Thus, Eren would only believe that the portion of elemental attainment of ice he had received from Lensa was from his Ability if and when the same thing happens a second time with a different ranker. However, how he had received elemental attainment didn''t matter to him for the time being. He focused on making the most of it by increasing it even further and solidifying it. He had even bought a couple of ice and water element spells to experiment with them. Thus far, his results have been satisfactory. Especially after considering the fact that the ice element and by extension the water element werepletely unexplored territory to him in both his timelines. Eren spent thousands of Extols on such a rare D-rank ingredient without batting an eye after knowing about its benefits for ice and water element users. He was earning money through his guild so he could spend it on things like this. A bite of an Ivory Ice Berry was akin to discarding hundreds of Extols. Most ice and water element rankers would only use them when nning an isted meditation inside an elemental array. And yet the butcher ate the ingredients for a mundane breakfast as if they were peanuts. The ice-element ingredient would freeze his tongue and then create ayer of ice over his face and neck every time he took a substantial bite. But it would disappear just as quickly when he gulped the berry down. The ice-element ingredient would then provide a soothing cooling effect to one''s mana circuits once it entered the system. It also had the property of healing injuries attached to it. Eren''s brain would sometimes get filled with various ice-element nuances he could apply to his newly learned ice-element spells. His understanding of the water element also improved, helping him catch up with his current rank in terms of his mastery over both these elements. Eren was saving years of grueling work, training, experimentation, and time by eating a raw ingredient like this, in an insane quantity. Agatha had stopped giving him money after seeing his ridiculous expenses. She had t out told him to look for another source of ie if he wanted to be such an insane spender. Eren chuckled when he got a reality check from Agatha. He didn''t want to give a financial blow to his guild that was slowly rising to prominence. So he agreed with her and stopped buying expensive raw ingredients for the time being. He would only buy them a fixed amount, in a fixed time frame. That way, he would be able to make use of his money and not burn a hole through his sleeves. *** Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! With many thoughts swirling inside his head, Eren kept eating the ranked ingredient and watching Alephee work. He would digest all his ice elemental attainment he derived from the berries while seeing the artifacts getting a revamp in front of him. Before he knew it, an hour had passed. Just when Eren snapped out of his semi-conscious state and was done eating, he saw that Alephee had also finished operating on the array. Loads of weapons had been created from their lower-ranked counterparts. Smiling, Eren dusted off his hands to get rid of the frost and ice that had umted over his arms holding the Ivory Ice berries. Eren had a gracious smile on his face as he watched the manufactured goods. He couldn''t wait for the war to break out between Edinburgh and Layos. No matter which sidees out on top, he was sure to turn into a lord of war by driving the war-based economy his way. === AN: They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails." (Lord of War) Chapter 781 New Possibilities In Potioning P1 Eren''s study room. The smell of old books lingered in the air. There was arge window and balcony outside it. Therge window had a spacious alcove that doubled up as a slightlyrge single bed. The windowsill had been converted into an ideal ce to read and write. The ideal cement of luminescent gemstones exuded natural light. It made the space well-lit, giving it a soothing ambiance. This was time to get back to the core of potioning. Eren was reading a book sitting by the window alcove. He was only wearing his ck pants and looked to bepletely focused on his studies. He was lying prone while reading and writing things down in his notebook. He had been doing this for hours on end at this point. Alephee was the only one keeping himpany. She was seen meditating by sitting on the ground with her legs folded. Eren often wondered what use did Alephee''s meditation have for her when she couldn''t practice any ranking technique. But every time he asked, she would just chuckle before shaking her head. The alcove bed had many things spread over it. They included some old parchments, scrolls, array disks containing various records, books, and loose pages apart from the books Eren was currently working on. This was the culmination of what Eren had done so far for his potioning study. Eren was looking through Levins''s books and her research findings as well as her personal recipes. He had also been catching up on all the experiments conducted by her on ales so far. Eren had learned nearly all he needed to know from the potion book he had received from Purgatory. He would often use it for reference now. There was also some potioning material shared with him by La who tried to refine Eren''s potioning standards in her own way. However, Eren would always try to grasp the knowledge brought by La with little enthusiasm. Because she would often skip steps and exnations while describing potion recipes and procedures. Then there was the research he did that pointed to elven heritage. Eren had obtained it through Lensa''s help. Lensa had provided handwritten supplements for the steps and procedures that weren''t part of human recipes to the extent of her knowledge. Finally, he also read through Marie''s research and hypothesis. The halfling had many theories, hypotheses, and ideas with her. She would often conduct research based on her hypothesis to achieve a breakthrough. He studied these things simultaneously to find and record the links he found in them. He would oftenpare the material he was studying with real-life results obtained by him personally. This was to understand what kind of tweaks were needed for him to obtain the same results mentioned in the study material. ''Hm. This Marie was up to something here. I''m d I roped her in.'' He smiled mildly as he read her research and hypothesis. The halfling was very meticulous in conducting the results. She adhered to the same standards of measurements and quality Levine had instilled in him. It was apparent that Marie admired Levine''s work. Her way of conducting research and obtaining data was almost a carbon copy of what Levine was used to doing. Eren could identify this peculiarity right away because Levine had taught him personally. This habit Marie also made it easier for Eren to browse through her research papers with ease. He would quickly get the point she was trying to make by the way she conducted the research, recorded her findings, and presented them. "A lot of her hypotheses revolve around this missing ingredient it seems." Eren mumbled to himself as he read the discussion Marie had with herself in her research paper. She had conducted a lot of experiments regarding the same topic to prove or confirm her hypothesis. And so far, she had Eren sold. A cultist way of potioning based on ancient techniques and practices must have worked in Marie''s favor. As such, her research and procedures often contained information Eren hadn''t encountered before. Eren had to say that Marie''s decision to look for cultist connections and be a Beast Bloods member might not have been wise for her personal life. Her sister Ma has also driven away from her because of that decision. However, she couldn''t have gotten anywhere with her groundbreaking research if she had stayed as a normal ranker. Turning into a cultist and adopting their ways had been a huge sess for a potioner and researcher of Marie''s caliber. Professionally, she had only benefitted. Therefore, Eren could understand why the halfling made her decisions. Eren noted down the most crucial points Marie had made about the so-called missing ingredient and its hypothesized properties. He found more links with the data he had read in other study materials as he read more about it. Eventually, he came to a doubtful conclusion that required immediate verification. He closed all the books and took the study material back into his storage space before getting up from his lying position. ,m ''Time to confirm this hypothesis.'' The butcher stretched his body before disappearing from his position. The lightning struck in the potionb as Eren appeared inside out of thin air. He immediately got to work by standing inside the array eye and operating the space adjacent to it. Many raw ingredients started floating in the air. They were subjected to various elemental treatments at the same time. Some raw ingredients were getting burned by various types and sizes of mes while some were getting drenched in many forms of floating liquid masses. Some ingredients were getting coated in various paste types while the others were trapped inside wind-element cubes. Eren had been able to expedite his potioning process by many levels with Adept mana and mana sense. He was getting more and more proficient at crafting potions. Watching him work was like listening to some sound expert ying a sonata. The butcher''s potioning work had started looking like a work of art. The so of potioning he was ying didn''t have any acoustic brilliance to it. But its visual impact wasn''t something one could easily forget. === AN: The term missing ingredient was first used in chapter 655. Chapter 782 New Possibilities In Potioning P2 Two days went by since Eren started conducting his own experiments to prove Marie''s hypothesis. During these two days, Eren did nothing but focus on his potioning and taking note of his results. He would often get back to reading the study material he had. He would have preferred if Levine was here to discuss a few things with him. But unfortunately, she had left the city for her work. Discussing these things with Marie was inconvenient. Eren could understand what the halfling woulde up with or say to any of his problems by looking at her research papers. Frankly, Eren thought that Marie was taking on more than she could chew for her current rank. She would have had refined results had she been in the Adept rank while drawing her hypothesis. When there was nobody nearby to help him, the butcher decided to do everything by himself. He isted himself in hisb and carried on with his experiments. "This should be it." Eren thought out loud as he looked at the floating cauldron in front of him. The contained solution was surrounded by mes generated by the array, and there were sounds of the solution boiling. It looked like the cauldron was about to implode from the instability generated by the potion. The cauldron would blow and the experiment would be ruined if he didn''t introduce the missing ingredient at this point. Eren looked at his open palms and pondered for a bit. He then retrieved the space-element dagger from his storage before introducing a tiny sh at the tip of his right index finger. A drop of red blood came out of his self-inflicted wound. That was all he needed. He let his Adept-ranked body''s rapid recovery rate take over and close the wound. "What are you doing?" Eren was about to drop the drop of blood into the cauldron when he heard a familiar voice from behind him. He looked back to see Alephee looking at him keenly. "Just testing some theories." Eren said and turned his attention back to his experiment. Alephee would do that sometimesC appearing out of the blue whenever she felt like it. So he wasn''t surprised by her presence. Alephee raised her eyebrows as she looked at the potioning experiment Eren was conducting. She could figure out what he was about to do instantly. ''He is trying to find out more about his blood.'' Alephee looked at Eren''s back and smiled as she had a random thought. However, she didn''t say anything and let him carry on with his experiment. Eren dropped a drop of blood into the cauldron and sealed the lid. He then closed the slightly opened lid once again and paid close attention to what happened. The about-to-be-imploded cauldron was in a constant state of vibration because of the pressure it had generated inside it. But as soon as Eren''s blood entered the cauldron, the vibrations started to diminish. It took a while but the cauldron and the contents inside were eventually stabilizers. The butcher''s blood had done its job as he had hoped it would. Eren stopped working on the array immediately after confirming Marie''s hypothesis. The cauldron crashed on the ground when the array was stopped abruptly. The test potion inside it would have spilled all over if the cauldron didn''t have a tight, rune-sealed lid over it. Eren crashed to the ground as well. He was exhausted after conducting the test for two days straight without taking any breaks. Panting, he chuckled beforementing to himself. "Mine it was my blood that was the missing ingredient!" Eren concluded his remarks when he summarized the test results. Marie had hypothesized the properties of the missing ingredient. The primary purpose of the missing ingredient was to make the elven method of imbuing elemental attainments into concoctions work with human recipes. An ingredient that can serve as a bridge between two schools of concoctions. An ingredient that is neutral to all elements. It can be made reactive to all elements at the same time, depending on the catalysts added to it or other external parameters. The non-elemental conflict nature of Eren''s bloodline had led him to see his blood as the missing ingredient in Marie''s experiments. And the result just now proved his hypothesis to be right. Eren startedughing when he understood what the sess of this experiment entailed. A new brand of potioning was made avable to him. And only to him. It''s only a matter of time before he could make an original blend of White Raven ale a reality. An ale that can be produced en masse using human recipes and having the blessing of elemental attainment. It might also have various special characteristics attached to it depending upon how it was made. This concept is not limited to ale, but could also be adapted to a variety of potion recipes after a few modifications. A new, more potent variant of any potion could be synthesized using Eren''s blood as one of the raw ingredients. If Eren were right, even artifact manufacturing would benefit greatly from applying the experiment''s results differently. An artifact with multi-elementpatibility could be made possible with Eren''s blood added into the equation. Eren raised his hands in front of his eyes while lying t on the ground. He was suffering from mana exhaustion. As a result, his hands were shaking a bit due to fatigue. However, he didn''t care. He looked at his hands with excitement and a bit of greed. The ideas kept popping in Eren''s head like wild mushrooms as he extended his thought process. He only wished he had infinite mana that would have let him carry on with the new batch of experiments. "No. This is big. It would be more challenging for me to do this thing all by myself when I have a shitload of things to do. I can''t concentrate on everything at once. I need a division ofbor. Someone to take over my ce and spearhead this path for me." Eren told himself not to tumble down the rabbit hole of self-experimentation. He needed to learn to count on others if he wanted to progress in all fields at the same time. "Marie thatss is more capable than I had thought her to be. I need to have her in my inner fold." Eren made up his mind as he came to a decision. Just when he got up, Alephee came close to him with a smile on her face. She looked at him intently before speaking up. "I need you to do something before you start your experiments. We can''t allow you to take unnecessary risks, you see." Chapter 783 “Puberty Did You A Solid” House Carren''s estate in the city of White Raven. p A spacious hall with a chandelier hanging from its roof. Dan Carren and Eren were seen sitting opposite each other on their plush sofas. Eren was looking at his reflection in one of the faces of countless gems the chandelier was studded with. He liked the way he looked today. He smiled to himself in the reflection before looking ahead to see a grumpy-looking old elf looking at him as if he hadmitted something horrible. "So you and my Linny you guys are let''s say together?" "Linny?" Eren raised his eyebrows before repeating the word Dan had used. It took him a moment to realize what the old elf was talking about. "Oh, I got it. Lensa! Oh yes. We are together." Eren said and chuckled before adding further. "That''s an endearing way to call her. I''ll borrow that from you, grandfather Dan." Dan''s stressed expression became that of suppressed anger. As he clenched his fists, he said aloud. "Don''t call me grandfather, boy. I''m not your grandfather." Eren looked into Dan''s eyes before speaking. "I am not your boy, old man." Eren''s words left Dan stunned. But before he could react to Eren''s pun, thetter rified it for him. The butcher wasn''t sure the old elf would understand he was just kidding with him. "No need to act so stiff. That was a joke." Eren said and raised both his hands as if giving up. "Of course, you can call me boy, Eren, Linny''s man. And I''d call you with whatever you arefortable with." A feminine chuckle was heard when Eren called Lensa with Lenny. Lensa was obviously keeping tabs on the meeting taking ce between Eren and her grandfather. It was just that she was asked by Dan to not be present in the same space as the guy she had fallen head-over-heels with. *** Dan was called to the city of White Raven by Lensa and Dineria to talk about a possible alliance with Eren and his guild. To be more precise, the guild''s production unit. There was also a moisture bnce array in the greenhouse that needed fixing. Dan wrapped up his work in the city of New Beginnings and rushed to White Raven. He hade to find out that Lensa waspletely swooned by Eren. He hadn''t seen her this passionate about talking about someone. The elf prodigy had told her grandfather everything Eren wanted her to tell about. Besides, she added a few more pointers to make the deal even more tempting for the old elf. Dan understood that Lensa was being partial to this new guy who hade into the picture out of nowhere. He just didn''t understand what had taken ce between the two for Lensa to have gotten so close to this up-anding brat. Dan eventually learned from Dineria that things had progressed much further between his granddaughter and Eren. The elf was d that Lensa was able to snap out of her supposed depression after breaking her engagement with Ken. However, when he started reading about Eren''s personal life, he couldn''t help getting angrier at him. Dan learned Eren was a certified womanizer. No matter how lowkey his affairs had been with thedies, they couldn''t all be hidden away if people wanted to look for them. Dan thought that Ken was a ten times better choice for Lensa than this vile man ever could be. Not that he was seeking to reestablish and regrow his ties with House Riverine. For some reason, the old elf wasn''t toofortable with marrying her to another Big House and using her as a pedestal to grow his House. At least not anymore. So engagement with Ken was water under the bridge for Dan. However, he thought that Lensa could do much better than the man who was sitting in front of him. Dan told Lensa not to be present in the meeting because he would have a hard time standing against her wishes. And her wishes werepletely in line with Eren''s and his guild''s well-being. *** Reclining back to the sofa he was sitting on, Eren folded one leg over the other. He ced both his hands on the folded leg before continuing. "If you don''t like me calling you grandfather, fine. I''ll call you Dan. But can we move forward with our talks here? That criticizing stare that you are giving me isn''t doing anything to help either of us." Eren said and pursed his lips. On normal days, he would take his time getting the old man to his side with his glib tongue. With a little effort and careful cement of words, the butcher knew the old elf could be handled just fine by him. Because of what he had to offer him, he had that confidence. Eren was reminded of the first time he had seen this old man in front of him. He was merely a Novice ranker at the time. The situation was tense because Lensa was not waking up from her self-induceda. Eren was more tense than the rest present at the scene because he was the real culprit behind the incident. Plus, he had Reen on him. The old man was in the solid stage of the B-rank. Just a step away from attaining the Grandmaster rank. The butcher was worried that all his secrets would be found out by this old elf. However, things had changed a lot between Eren and Dan. The old elf had indeed found something peculiar about Eren when he first met him. He was sure that Eren wasn''t like ordinary humans just by the way his presence felt to him. But he couldn''t pinpoint what was odd about Eren. Dan stopped caring about Eren after meeting him for the first time at that time because he had bigger things to worry about. He had sensed that Eren of that time was lowkey wary of him. And the same guy was now sitting in front of him like he controlled the space around him. "Puberty did you a solid, boy!" Dan said and snorted air through his nostrils before adding further. "We can indeed talk about business. But first, tell me something honestly. How many women are you involved with as of right now?" Chapter 784 Spell Synthesis Array "We can indeed talk about business. But first, you need to tell me something honestly. How many women are you involved with as of right now?" Dan asked, looking at Eren keenly. Thetter felt that he was put in a tough spot. Not because he didn''t want to say the number out loud. But because he had honestly lost count. "Um I don''t know. You must have read something about me. You tell me." Eren said and shrugged his shoulders. He continued before Dan could get angrier at him than he already was. "Look, we all know it''s normal for some rankers to have multiple partners. You can''t tell me how to live my life just because you are one of the big houses of the kingdom and itplicates things for you. I have also read the file about you. You were a one-woman man. So I get what kind of point you are trying to make. But that''s more of a self-imposed boundary than a virtue in my opinion. Or an utter blessing from who knows where. Sometimes, a man finds aplete piece of the puzzle for himself. And sometimes, he finds pieces of it as he moves on with his life. The goal is toplete the puzzle. Not count the pieces it is divided into." Eren said and sighed. After pondering for a bit, he continued. "Lensa has chosen to be with me despite my involvement with others. I know you feel that your granddaughter shouldn''t be with me if I look at this whole thing from your point of view. And you are probably right. But I''m only respecting Lensa''s wishes. As long as she sees me as hers, I''ll treat her right. If her happiness is being with me, I''ll not be the selfless idiot who pushes her towards what is "right". I''m selfish enough to im Lensa for myself. And a lot of others who I consider deserving of my affection. I''m selfish enough toplete the puzzle in my life however I see fit." Eren said with a smile on his face. He was only d that the old elf could only know about his misadventures with humans. His bullshittery would not have worked if Dan knew about his "monstrous" lifestyle as well. Dan opened his mouth to say something to Eren. But no words came out. He found himself tongue-tied when Eren didn''t try to deceive him and instead came clean to him. And also in a way that would leave Dan speechless in the philosophical maze. Dan sighed when he saw Eren was looking at him with the same restless eyes as before. It was apparent that he was in a hurry to do things. The old elf shook his head before saying out loud. "Alright. I had many things to say to you about this subject, boy. But I guess they would fall on deaf ears. Even that silly goose won''t listen to me. Why should I even try? Alright. Come out, you two." Dan said, before reclining back. For some reason, he prevented himself from copying the stance Eren was sitting with. Lensa appeared out of the blue and froze on the ground she was standing on. She first greeted her grandfather and waved at him before sitting beside Eren. Dan could tell that smile on Lensa''s face was genuine. There was no point in keeping her out of the discussions anymore. The old elf had realized that Eren would find a way to make Lensa approach him and do things the way he wanted House Carren to do anyway. Controlling the couple together was much more effective. Dineria appeared following Lensa''s entry. She sat beside Dan, looking at the young couple in front of her with a bit of a smirk. She was impressed with the way Eren had carried himself under the high-ranked elf''s status. Dineria was also happy Lensa ended up with Eren instead of Ken. Elfdies could be considered weird that way. "I take it you want to use Lensa''s Ability for yourmercial use? borate on that." Dan finally got down to business. Eren stopped smiling and nodded with a stoic look on his face. He exined everything that he and Lensa hade up with fromst time. Eren also added a few more pointers from the manufacturing point of view that he hadn''t talked with Lensa before. Since Dan was the official representative of House Carren, it was better if he had this talk with the old elf himself. Eren''s idea was to use spell synthesis array setups to manufacture two distinct products. One was the healing potion. Another was Lensa''s ability to be synthesized as an alchemy bomb. The spell synthesis arrays required array masters to copy the spell''s effects into the runic details incorporated into the respective array setups. Normally, anyone would then be able to use the array provided they were of the same ranking status as the spell that had been converted into an array setup. This spell would be cast the same way as the reference spell it is based on. Its effects would be identical to those derived from reference spell casting as well. Things were a bit different in Lensa''s case since she was using her Ability instead of a singr spell or a spellbo. Therefore, a higher-tier version of the spell synthesis array needed to be used tomercialize Lensa''s Ability. Lensa needed to fire spells inside these spell synthesis arrays when deformities arise in manufacturing. In this case, the mechanism incorporated into the arrays would treat the recent Ability deployment as a new reference point for resolving manufacturing errors. Of course, this was an Ability, the manufacturing oue wouldn''t be as good as the original one. Still, it would be satisfactory considering the number of products it churns every day. A hugemitment was needed from both parties to create a setup like this. Their first challenge would be to find capable array masters to pull this off. Plus, they would need to burn thousands of Extols in creating and operating these array setups before they could see the profits. Chapter 785 Lost Cause Using spell synthesis arrays had a lot of limitations. No matter how talented an array master was in their craft, the arrays they created would always fail to synthesize the spell oues as well as their original counterparts. And the output was bound to deteriorate with time. Therefore, the production line would only work smoothly when Lensa was there to fix the errors that would pop out now and then. Mass production of anything is based more on quantity than quality. As long as sufficient quality standards are met, the more products are produced, the greater the profit. Provided there was a corresponding demand for them. Eren exined everything to the old elf patiently while highlighting the nitty-gritty of two separate projects and two separate products using the same foundation that was Lensa''s Ability named Radiant Destruction. He also divided the roles between the two sides equally and offered a 50/50 profit sharing for House Carren. Only now did Dan realize why Eren had been so sessful in his endeavor to establish his own city. The guy knew how to do business and how to pull people towards him with all his entrepreneurship skills. However, Dan discovered one problem with Eren''s ns. "Boy, you have nned far ahead. But you don''t realize that manufacturing alchemic bombs is not something the kingdom of Edinburgh would take a liking to. The healing potions are no problem. But you wouldn''t be able to mass produce the alchemy bombs without the kingdom''s approval. They''d shut us down as soon as they got the whiff of this thing." Dan said after listening to Eren''s speech. Producing an alchemy bomb wasn''t a morale issue for the old elf. He even knew who to contact to make this setup a reality. But it would be a dead investment if the project gets banned before the products hit the market. Eren chuckled when he heard Dan''s issue. He reminded the old man of something. "Dan, this would have been a problem in times of peace. But you are forgetting the fact that there are clouds of something sinister brewing on the horizon. Hehe. Forget about them banning the alchemy bombs. I''m expecting royal manufacturing contracts from Edinburgh." Dan was puzzled at first. But he opened his eyes wide when something clicked in his mind. Dineria didn''t understand what the two men were talking about. So she asked Eren upfront. "Boy, what are you talking about?" Eren looked at Dineria and smiled. He held hands with Lensa confidently before speaking up in a slightly excited tone. "War! There''s a war brewing between Edinburgh and Layos. We will supply our products to the kingdom''s army, mercenaries, and adventurers involved in the war conflict. How the kingdom regtes these products in those groups would not be our concern. There will be no responsibility falling to us at the time of signing these kingdom contracts. So that we can avoid any troubleing our way soon." Dan wanted to say something after hearing Eren''s speech. Thetter knew exactly what the old elf would speak about. So he responded before hearing the question. "Of course, Edinburgh would be difficult to convince at first. But if and when it faces enough pressure from Layos, it will eventually sign contracts with us. This way, we''ll make profits while the kingdom faces war. Deepen our ties with the bureaucrats. Plus, we''d get to im that we are doing this because we care about the safety of Edinburgh and the people inside it. Good credit is always helpful for business. I think a guy like you would be the perfect representative of our alliance to make this deal happen. I''m sure you''d know who to use and who to approach to get the approval and manufacturing contracts. I can already see it on your face. Names are popping in your head." Dan nodded at Eren. He could indeed manage things on bureaucratic levels if the n was to take shape for real. He was just amazed by how far into the future the young man in front of him had thought. On one end, it was visionary. On the other hand, it was lowkey scary. ''He he is not bad.'' Dan looked at the interlocking of hands Eren and Lensa disyed. He then looked at Lensa and sighed. "Lensa, you had said that you didn''t like your Ability because it was destructive. And you were notfortable with that. Do you see what this man is trying to do with your Ability? We are nning to bank on the kingdom''s manufacturing contracts. And make money on people''s sufferings. For this guy, war is a business opportunity. Are you fine with all this?" Dan asked, trying to take the final jab at Lensa to test her resolve. Of course, the old elf didn''t have any problem going ahead with the n. However, he didn''t want his granddaughter''s conscience getting affected in the process. ''This old man wants to kick me out of Lensa''s life. It makes me want to get even closer to her.'' Eren chuckled to himself before putting his left arm across Lensa''s shoulders. He then pulled closer to her and almost embraced her. He scratched on her earlobe with his left hand and looked at her keenly. Lensa had a bit of a blush on her cheeks when Eren tried to show signs of affection right in front of her Gramps. But she suppressed her cocktail of emotions and answered Dan honestly. "Well Eren had already discussed these things with me. He says people are going to die in the war one way or the other. Violence breeds violence. But overwhelming violence keeps things from escting any further by acting as a deterrent. These alchemy bombs will soon be seen as a deterrent. Even if they are not seen as a deterrent, these bombs would help outside a lot and would help save their lives at least." Eren nodded at Lensa''s words before encouraging her to speak some more. "Tell him about the healing potions." Dan had ck lines on his forehead when he watched how Eren influenced her point of view which was so different before meeting with him. He only had one thought in his mind as he listened to Lensa say that Eren was right in saying that they were counterbncing the alchemy bombs by manufacturing healing potions as well. ''She''s a lost cause.'' Chapter 786 Ice Fairy’s Kiss And RDX Ice Fairy''s Kiss and RDX. These were two products ted to be derived from Lensa''s Ability. Ice Fairy''s Kiss was supposed to be a top-of-the-line healing potion that would get sold at a cheaper rate than any premium-grade potion. But it would produce almost identical results to those five-star concoctions. Ice Fairy''s Kiss was one of the most ideal choices for mass production. It could easily manufacture such goods with the approval of the kingdom. Plus, it had an excellent usability-to-affordability ratio. Ice Fairy''s kiss could be used as an all-purpose remedy and worked better than an all-stats recovery potion. As its manufacture would depend only on spell synthesis, it would be much cheaper to make than the mostmonly used, yet rtively expensive concoction. Radiant Detonation X or RDX was a name given to the alchemy bomb that was supposed to be created using Lensa''s Ability. The name was inspired by Lensa''s Ability. The butcher was sure that RDX was going to be even more popr than Ice Fairy''s Kiss because of the potential destructive properties it contained. The uing war would provide an ideal environment for his products. Eren would sell most of these products under his guild''s name. That is if he was selling them officially. He would provide the facilities and handle manufacturing. House Carren will be responsible for handling the potential kingdom contracts made by various factions present within the army. Of course, both sides knew that RDX was not meant to be sold to the general popce. At least not openly. The old elf was thinking of selling RDX on the ck market to make a ludicrous amount of profit over time. He could always me things on cultist organizations counterfeiting the alchemy bomb. Eren wasn''t thinking about the ck market. Because pration into the ck market could be done at any time. The butcher was more interested in selling his goods to the kingdom of Layos. That way, Edinburgh would be forced to give more manufacturing contracts to him in the hopes of out bombing its enemy. Of course, he needed to n these things right. He couldn''t just use the same setup to manufacture the alchemy bombs that are ted to be sold to the enemy kingdom. Otherwise, the mana signatures they would produce would only give away the RDX bomb''s identity. Eren needed to create a different array set up at a different ce. Possibly in the Bands. All his dealings with the kingdom of Layos could be done from there. Eren had the same ns for Alephee''s weapons as well. He was nning to sell the weapons she made to LayosC a kingdom that would buy those at good prices because it would be in dire need of one. Eren had decided to visit Bigua''s tribe soon while discussing the nitty gritty of their manufacturing. He had gotten the tribe''s information as well as its location from Ror. Bigua''s tribe was located near an ideal ce that could be used to intercept the forces of Layos should they decide to prate Edinburgh. After subjugating the tribe, he could use the location to establish a second setup there and sell his goods to Layos. This way, both his manufacturing lines would work independently of each other. He could create teleportation arrays nearby to make it easy for Lensa to move between the two facilities. After all, he wouldn''t care about burning a few hundred Extols when he was making tens of thousands per day. White Raven Ale, Pleasure Paradise, ranked weapons, Ice Fairy''s Kiss, and RDX. Eren was going to shock Edinburgh''s marketpletely with his uing product lineup soon. Except for Lensa''s Ability driven products, he had been preparing tounch the rest of the products for some time. Pleasure Paradise was ready to be sold and produced in sufficient quantities. Weapons produced in bulk by Alephee were ready to be sold. White Raven Ale had everything ready in theory. The butcher only needed to fix a potion recipe and assign someone to take control over the process so they would be able to serve as his proxy. "Alright, boy. You have me sold. Ice Fairy''s Kiss and RDX huh! Hehe. Both products are going to be a hit because of the uing storm. We just need to see how sessful they be." Eren chuckled as nodded at Dan and Dineria. He knew he would be able to findmon ground while striking a deal with House Carren. Plus, a 50-50 profit-sharing margin was neither toorge nor too small for either side. The alliance he had established with House Carren was a bit different from his alliances with the other two Houses. It would allow him to prate almost every market in the kingdom. He was also looking at the prospects of earning cross-kingdom profits. "Alrightnow for the final deal." Eren looked at Lensa and said. He then released her and sat upright himself. This was one of the most significant points in dealing with House Carren. "Gramps, Eren needs a few vials of Astral projection potion from you." Dan looked at Eren angrily when he used Lensa to make such an absurd demand from him. The Astral projection potion was one of the sought-after potions for high-ranking entities. At their level, only drinking potions like these would offer them tangible results. Dan was reluctant to share the potion with Eren for the simple reason that it was crazy rare and thus very expensive. The old man was addicted to using the potion. But Lensa finally convinced him to relent. "Here you go. Three vials of Astral Projection potion." Three transcendent-grade potion vials appeared in front of Eren who stored them as soon as he could. He didn''t want Dan reducing the vial count midway. Another part of the Lazarus project waspleted at this time. Eren smiled at nobody before taking his leave. He needed to find Marie and give her something precious to her. Only after ensuring his guild''s steady function could Eren leave the city in peace. Chapter 787 Rank-Up Program "This" Marie gasped when she saw theb in front of her. Eren had given Marie a separateb to work in. She had all the amenities inside the potionb along with the must-have array setups and raw ingredients stored nicely in separate spatial storages. The potioningb also had a mini library and a study corner Marie could use in case she needed to check on any research material avable. She also had a corner for rest. The butcher had provided her with everything an Ace-ranked potioner could ask for. There was an optimum ambiance, the right amount of venttion, and moisture control present in theb even though it was an underground facility. Plus, there were various safety precautions in ce to ensure minimal damage urs to surroundings and raw ingredients in case of concoction failures. "This is really a dreame true, Ma Cherie. I I am really impressed by the care Adept Eren had extended for us." Only now could Marie understand why Master Levine didn''t take her as an official disciple. She doubted she could create this kind of setup for just herself, much less for people under her. She even doubted she could have people under her. Eren hadn''t cut corners when it came to potioning. Marie could tell that Eren was a genuine potioner and worthy of being taught by Levine. Because only a true potioner could understand the care given to theirbs. "Hmph! Don''t get me wrong Marie. Adept Eren had indeed given us special treatment. But the way thisb looks, it''s more like he wants you to stay in thisb forever." Arizihana derived an alternate meaning behind why Marie was gifted with such a potioningb. The most effective way to keep a prisoner from staying inside the prison willingly was to make their cell as attractive as possible. Marie scrunched her nose when she heard Arizihana''s words. Part of her couldn''t help agreeing with her. But that didn''t prevent her from feeling equally grateful. "Well he could have chosen to not provide me with thisb and still expected me to deliver the results he wanted. I have seen the rankers operate. And I have seen the way cultists do their things. Both wouldn''t have offered me this kind of facility because I''m only a halfling. I just want to research my potions in peace. I am this close to cracking the code and revolutionizing potioning for all potioners. Hehe! If thisb provides me the way to achieve that, I''m ready to sacrifice my freedom for it." Arizihana sighed when she heard Marie''s statements. But then again, the Marie she knew was exactly like that. She chose to stay with the cultists to follow her own path as a potion maker. She had chosen to cut ties with her sister for this path. Arizihana thought that she shouldn''t be surprised when Marie entertained the idea ofpromising her freedom to pursue her path. Swoosh. Bzzt. Boom. "Who told you you''d have topromise your freedom to achieve what you want to achieve?" A deep and curious voice was heard in theb when Marie finished talking. Bothdies looked back to see a bolt of lightning strike at the space not too far away from them. Eren had appeared inside Marie''s dedicatedb. He was looking at both thedies with keen expressions as he walked toward them. "I I didn''t mean to say that, Adept Eren. What I meant was" For some reason, Marie would feel a subtle form of suppression whenever Eren was around. Arizihana would be stressed too when he was around. But the halfling could tell the suppression she felt was different. "It''s fine. I was just asking. How did you like thisb? Do you want anything added to the facility?'' Eren asked while putting his hands in his pants'' sleeves. His long ck hair, his emerald green eyes, and his keen gaze gave him a charm of his own. The light ck beard he had on his face made him look mature while maintaining the vibe of his youthfulness. On one end, Eren would look more mature for his age. On the other hand, he would look like he had barely gotten into adulthood. His aura was different than other rankers too. Marie and Arizihana could not figure out whether they felt fear whenever Eren was around or were they merely intimidated. He had a certain pull that would usually be felt by everyone around him. "Hm? Oh! Oh no, Adept Eren. this is more than enough. In fact, it looks like thisb was made for Adept rankers. An Ace ranker like me won''t be able to make full use of it. If you want, I''m fine with having ab suitable for my rank." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Marie''s words. If he was in her shoes, he would never say anything like this. At most, he would highlight his gratitude more than he genuinely felt. ''Hm. I guess she''s been fighting all alone for so long that she has forgotten the feeling of being treated nicely.'' Eren sighed when he concluded Marie''s condition in his mind. As soon as his soul sense had awakened, he would subconsciously use it to connect with the people around him and know about their true feelings. "I think you are misunderstanding something. This is indeed ab meant for Adept rankers. But there''s no mismanagement on my part. I don''t want youdies to ck off in your ranking journeys. You are no use to me if you stay in the same rank for months toe. Find ways to reach Adept rank. Only then can you be of real use to me. Fortunately or unfortunately depending upon the way you perform and obtain results, you would have to participate in a special rank-up program that willmence shortly." Eren said matter-of-factly. He wished that he had all the Adept ranker potioners and guild members working for him. But individual growth would take time to take ce naturally. Not everybody could use shortcuts like him. And not everybody was as talented as someone like Drin. Hiring Adept rankers was not an easy task either. Especially since the war was brewing. The kingdom of Edinburgh had basically called dibs on any unaffiliated Ace and Adept rankers. It was also trying to rope in Experts and Masters. So Eren came up with his own solution. Chapter 788 Real Deal Eren was seen thinking to himself while standing in front of Arizihana and Marie. ''If I can''t get Adept rankers, I''ll create my own. Potion-induced breakthroughs, forced breakthroughs, mid-battle breakthroughs, and special arrays. I''ll do anything and everything to make these seeds mature early. My ns won''t wait for their natural growth. And I''ll make sure that they don''t have to.'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at the twodies with stoic expressions. Airzihana and Marie looked at each other as they processed what Eren was trying to say to them. Both thedies were quite a bit away from their ranking breakthroughs. Eren smirked when he saw the faces of his two guild members with stressed expressions. "Don''t worry. I will provide you with the right kind of resources to help you achieve your ranking breakthrough in the shortest time possible. I have given you a heads-up today to help you mentally prepare for the process. You are not the only two. Each member of the White Raven guild will be treated the same way. Those who seed in our program will be provided incentives. And those who fall back will be encouraged by being penalized. They will be penalized following the effort they put forth and the results they received. I understand that no two individuals are the same. Therefore, penalties will not discourage you from participating in this rank-up program. Agatha will manage this program in my absence. She is always avable to assist you if you need anything special. Your payments will be adjusted ordingly. The guild will try to provide you with the best-in-ss resources. In exchange, I want you to do only one thing." Eren said and checked his pockets. He took out his Sativa Stick and lit it up before concluding. "Don''t ck off. That''s the only requirement to benefit from this White Raven special rank-up program." Eren said, releasing clouds of smoke from his mouth. He felt a subtle calm wash over him when he did that. Half of Eren''s stress because of being part of mana circuit training was washed away at that time. Eren had once thought of subjecting every guild member to the same form of mana circuit training he was put through. But Alephee told him that it would be a terrible idea for his guild. Nobody would remain in his guild if he did that. Eren had to drop the idea upon Alephee''s suggestion. Arizihana had handled administrative roles when she was in charge of the city of Silvermoon. She realized that there was another reason for Eren to provide such a top-of-the-line facility for Marie. The avid smoker in front of Arizihana was getting his guild members ustomed to certain standards of living. He nned to provide them with rich resources so they would be ustomed to having them. Only then could these guild members feel the true burn of being penalized. The penalty would revoke their ess to the resources they would have gotten used to by that time. If Arizihana''s guess was right, the penalty for falling behind in Eren''s rank-up program would make Marie lose privilege in herb. She would face a simr kind of psychological pressure tailored to her needs and situation. ''This man is maniptive as hell.'' Arizihana thought in her head. But she froze in her ce when Eren suddenly looked at her and smiled as if he had heard what she was thinking about. "You know what kind of conspiracies I like, Arizihana? Those that they call open conspiracies. Call it maniption of psychological dependence. Or wrap it in flowery words like custom training modules. I don''t care about thebels attached to the processes. I only care about the results they deliver." Eren then had an extensive talk with the twodies. Heid out his expectations for them. And also briefly told them about the rank-up program he was nning to start throughout his guildmunity. In the end, he took out a vial of potion from his storage and threw it toward Marie. The halfling caught it easily even though she was surprised by his actions. The butcher exined what the potion was before the potioner could ask him about it. ? "This" Eren took thest puff from his smoke and dispersed it in thin air before speaking up. "This is the information you were looking for. I sort of found it by ident when I was reading through your research." Marie looked at the colorless liquid in the vial with puzzlement before looking back at Eren. It took her a while to understand what Eren was talking about. "This this can''t be!" Marie''s hands started shaking when she realized what she was holding. Her eyes got wide open. His lips started trembling. And her breathing became uneven. She looked at Eren with a mixture of shock and suspicion. She needed to confirm. "This missing ingredient?" Eren chuckled before answering truthfully. "You were not running after a mirage. All your arduous work and all your efforts. The sacrifices you gave to achieve what you want. They were not in vain. The vial of potion you are holding is indeed the fabled missing ingredient you had hypothesized about in your research paper." Eren confirmed Marie''s suspicions, which made her almost lose her grip over the vial. Instead of holding it casually, she cradled it like a tiny baby in both hands. One part of her couldn''t believe this was the thing she was looking for after bing a cultist. It''s been years. It''s been countless experiments. Many sleepless nights. Doing things she didn''t want to do. She looked at Eren with tears in her eyes. No words wereing out of her shaky lips. Eren understood what she was trying to ask him. "Hehe. Don''t look at me like that. Why would I swindle you? You can verify the potion''s properties yourself by putting it through any form of test you had previously devised yourself. All the results you get will then scream at you to believe that the thing in your hand is the real deal." Eren said confidently while pointing his index finger at the vial Marie was holding. In the next moment, he felt he was being embraced. The halfling was so emotional that she forgot everything and hugged Eren directly. Chapter 789 Straightening Up What Eren had given Marie was a concoction derived from his blood. Alephee had prevented Eren from using his blood directly in any potioning experiment. Especially if those experiments were going to be conducted by someone else. She had taught him a potioning method to extract the properties of his blood that gave it its no-elemental conflict nature. The process got rid of any other attributes that made it his blood. Therefore, the concoction resembled water. This colorless liquid would show various properties from time to time. In some cases, it would not reflect any light that fell on it, turning the liquidpletely ck. Sometimes it would defy gravity and not fall into the vessel even if the vial was tilted so that it was poured outside. Sometimes this liquid would stop being colorless and exude brilliance in distinct shades. And sometimes it would change its phaseC turning gaseous from liquid and solid from gaseous before finally reverting to being liquid within a fraction of a second. Alephee told Eren that this was the normal reaction for the extracted liquid. Only after confirming that the liquid did not have any blood-like properties did she give him her green signal to hand it over to Marie. *** Eren was surprised when Marie hugged him with her emotions all over the ce. But that didn''t stop him from patting her back as he spoke up. "You should control your emotions now. You are acting like your search is over when it has just begun. We are just getting started." Eren tried to calm Marie with his words. But thetter had many things swirling inside her head. She couldn''t help remembering the struggles she had to face. She felt grateful that Eren proved her hypothesis right. But there was one part of her that wanted to discredit the derived solution. Because that part of her thought that only she had the right to discover it through the process she had created for herself. She wanted to be the one to im the discovery of the missing ingredient. Eren chuckled and caressed Marie''s back beforementing. "Hehe. Trust me. You wouldn''t have been able toe up with the missing ingredient no matter how much you thought you were near to discovering it. This concoction in your hand is something only I can give you. No matter how many years you spend researching your hypothesis, you wouldn''t be able to produce even a single drop." Marie was shocked when she heard Eren''s words. Her ego as a researcher was telling her he was wrong. But there was something deep inside her that told her that Eren was speaking the truth. The missing ingredient she had been looking for was always elusive. She always thought she was close to distilling it but the experiments would often go haywire at thest moment. But then how did Eren manage to derive the solution after reading her research papers and her hypothesis? It meant that only Eren had the missing piece of the puzzle that validated her hypothesis and her research. Therefore, only he could make this concoction a reality. In the end, Marie epted the fact that Eren was telling the truth. That nobody but him could produce the missing ingredient. He had little to gain from lying about it. Still, she wanted to learn more about this elusive ingredient. "How?" Marie asked Eren in simple words. Eren pursed his lips before responding casually. "um... It''s a long process. Something you shouldn''t worry too much about. After all, we all have our secrets. Potioners have them even more so than the rest." Before Marie could ask Eren any more questions, she felt a strong tug on her shoulders. Arizihana had appeared behind Marie, trying to separate her from hugging Eren. Eren raised his eyebrows before focusing his attention on Arizihana. "Jealous much?" Eren asked, a mischievous smile on his face. He could read what was transpiring inside Arizihana''s head. He was a bit taken aback after realizing the fact that both thedies were in fact "scissors sisters." "What what has that got to do with you, Adept Eren?" Arizihana said with signs of stress on her face. Erenughed before using his hand to pull the elf into his embrace as well. Arizihana was shocked when she found herself resting her head on Eren''s chest beside Marie. She could not believe that a senior ranker and their guild master would initiate such advances on her. "Adept Eren what is the meaning of this?" Arizihana asked, giving up on her attempt to rescue Marie from Eren''s embrace. The halfling was an emotional glob at the time. "The meaning is simple. I want to brand you both." Using his Sin Series Ability in conjunction with his soul sense, Eren said. This was one of the enlightenment he had received while awakening the soul sense. Eren used his soul sense as a foundation to mimic the triggers of his Ability. In the next moment, both Marie and Arizihana felt that something had touched their inner vaginal walls. Mark of the Seven Sins: Mist of Lust Eren was able to activate his Ability without the penial pration that was supposed to be its trigger. Since it was his soul sense that had been manifested in the way it did, the Ability''s runes treated it as him fulfilling the trigger. After all, a person''s soul sense was the most fundamental manifestation of himself. Of course, only the mist of lust was activated this way. The branding process still required the usual action. Both Marie and Arizihana kept looking at each other to figure out what was going on. But before they could process what was happening, thedies started feeling waves of lust and ecstasy taking over them. Eren didn''t shy away from using the Ability on both thedies even after knowing their "preferences". After all, he neededplete control over the experiments Marie was supposed to spearhead. And there was no better way to do it than branding them with his Sin Series Ability. No matter how emotionally responsive he got, the butcher''s self-interests were still paramount to him. Both Marie and Arizihana were lower in ranking status than Eren. They couldn''t offer any resistance to Eren''s Ability that had been refined with his rank-up. "Hehe. Let''s get youdies straightened up." Eren chuckled at his pun as he hugged a halfling and an elf who had started writhing in lust in his embrace. === AN: The first instance of soul sense and Sin Series Abilities fusion took ce in chapter 541. Chapter 790 Warmonger A corner in Marie''s hugeb was dedicated as a resting spot. There was arge bed there that could amodate three people. "I I''ll never forgive you." Arizihana said, looking at Eren with expressions that screamed that she had been wronged. Eren and Marie were sleeping on either side of him. The butcher had both his folded arms used as a cushion to rest his head on. Arizihana''s voice sounded coquettish to Eren while he was smoking his Sativa Stick. The three rankers were sleeping in their birthday suits. Arizihana and Marie had been branded. Marie had just fallen asleep after she was branded because of the emotional turmoil she was facing before Eren even initiated his Ability. Arizihana was the only one who could understand what had happened. She had been overwhelmed by feelings of lust under some external influence. That led her and Marie to sleep with Eren. And in a way that made it seem like their lives depended on them being with him. Marie was snoring a bit as she was sleeping on her stomach. ''I guess she was never fucked so much her brain would just shut off.'' Eren chuckled and mushed the halfling''s exposed buns and pped them gently before responding to Arizihana. "Ha. It doesn''t matter what you say, you are now loyal to me. And that should be enough for me. However..." As he faced Arizihana, Eren spoke. He threw his smoke away and used his free hand to trace the elf''s shapely and curvy waistline. Airzihana wanted to p Eren''s hand away from her naked body. But for some reason, it reacted differently to his touch. It weed his touch and wanted him to continue a while longer. Eren had to admit that Arizihana Agnoth was a very charming snow elf. Her snow-like supple skin would turn pink every time his fingers put gentle pressure on it. The butcher would leave a trace of pink behind every time hetched onto any of her grabbable body parts. Erne leaned over and kissed Arizihana and thetter was powerless to resist. Once she felt her desires reawakening, even the resistance in her head melted away. Eren broke free from the kiss and pulled Arizihana''s cheeks beforementing. "See? You can''t fool me with your misleading words." Arizihana didn''t like that Eren stopped kissing her just when she was getting into the mood. Eren had already addressed some of her questions rted to what had transpired between them. He also answered some of her more serious questions. However, he still needs to answer some questions. One of the good things about Eren''s soul sense and the connection he shared with Arizihana and Marie was that she didn''t have to voice her queries. The butcher knew them as soon as she thought about them. "Hm? I don''t have any problem if you and Marie decide to get cozy with each other. As long as you could amodate me in the y when I''m with you, all fine and dandy." Eren said and caressed Ari''s hair. Thetter nodded at her master before asking him another question. "Oh! Do you feel that you have seen me before? Haha. That''s right. You have indeed interacted with me before we met in this city." Eren said and chuckled before lying t on his back, prompting Arizihana to get on top of him from his right side. Arizihana''s puzzled expressions intensified when the confirmation arrived. Instead of replying verbally, Eren morphed into Ron Damien in front of Arizihana. Arizihana was shocked by what Eren could do. And she was even more shocked by who he had changed into. "You Ron! You were the one who had ckmailed me when I was in the city of Silvermoon." Arizihana''s mana signature fluctuated with agitation when she saw Eren had messed up with her long before she knew who he really was. It looked like the guy had made a habit out of ckmailing and taking advantage of her. "What what are you guys talking about?" Marie woke up from her slumber when she felt Arizihana''s agitated presence and her shocked and loud voice. She looked at the man who she was pinning with her body. The halfling remembered what had taken ce between her, Ari, and Eren. Unlike Arizihana, she quickly made peace with the fact that she had been branded by Eren. However, the person Arizihana was pinning with her body weight was someone else. And she knew that person very well by his face. "You how the fuck!" Erenughed before exining to the twodies a bit about his burned identity, Ron Damien. He only provided them with the information that was relevant to them. "And what happened to those two Adept rankers from Beast Bloods and Illuminati?" Marie asked, still processing the shock she had received from Eren. He waved his hand as if he were squatting a fly before saying casually. "Oh. I killed them." Arizihana and Marie both looked at each other as if they were too stunned to even talk about it. It took a while for Arizihana to voice what she was thinking. "You have started a war between tworge cultist organizations. Are you aware of that?" Marie sighed when she heard the elf''s question. She answered the question for Eren. "Of course, this warmonger is aware of what he has done and lowkey proud of it. We could safely say that this was not the first time him fucking us good." Ari was visibly angered when she realized how Eren''s interventions had affected her and Marie''s lives. He had basically made them both relocate to a different duchy and start things from scratch. Ari couldn''t control herself from biting Eren''s neck in anger. Marie chuckled before following her lead, cing a gentle bite on the other side of Eren''s exposed neck. Eren couldn''t help but smile as he allowed both thedies to try to bite him. He lowered his natural mana defenseyer just enough for their bite to leave a mark. This was the least he could do to offer them some form of reparation. He caressed both thedies'' backs whilementing. "Heh! I''ll start as many wars as I need to get what I want." Eren said before engaging himself in another round of carnal y with Arizihana and Marie. Chapter 791 Soul-Related Potions Levine''s potionb in White Raven''s headquarters. Levine and Eren were seen sitting on either side of her work desk. "So you brought her here, huh?" Levine sighed when she checked the spectral screen that showed White Raven''s uing ns and the assigned personnel. The spectral screen was disying Marie and the tasks assigned under her name. "Hm. Despite being a halfling that can''t use any school of potioning, she is indeed a capable potioner. Because her capability lies not in her talent but in the amount of work she puts into her craft." Eren said while tapping his fingers on the desk. He and Levine were discussing the finer details of their ns to dominate the kingdom''s market with their top-of-the-line products. Levine shook her head before killing the spectral screen. She leaned back in her chair beforementing. "I never doubted hermitment to work. But she wasn''t able to use any of the known schools of potioning. What was I supposed to do? That kind of handicap was bound to make her unsessful the further she climbed the ranks. At least that''s what I had thought at the time." "That is if she had stuck to the conventional schools despite knowing she was going to fail. But things are different now. She is on her way to creating her school of potioning." Eren responded to Levine''s remark about Marie. He didn''t have to defend Marie''s position in the assignments to Levine. But he thought that he should reduce the friction between the twodies to its minimum before he left the city. That way, he wouldn''t have to worry about problems on the production line arising due to personal conflict. "Eternal Solution. It''s kind of a pompous name for a raw ingredient." Levine had read about the missing ingredient''s properties in the report submitted to her. It was the so-called roadblock-lifter for Marie. Something that was supposed to pave the way for groundbreaking potioning products. She had also been supplied with a small batch of the liquid to conduct her experiments on it. Eren had prepared a stock of vials of Eternal Solution and given them to Agatha. In turn, she would distribute the precious raw ingredient to Marie and Levine''s research projects as needed. "Hehe. I didn''te up with it, teacher. The name doesn''t matter anyway. The solution is real, and we are only beginning to see what kind of effects it can have in various potioning processes. We still need to research the product thoroughly beforemercializing the products based on it. I have shared Marie''s research papers with you once. I''ll humbly suggest you read through them once before starting your experiments." Eternal Solution would act as the stabilizer in most potioning experiments. But it was also capable of acting as a catalyst depending upon when it was introduced in the process. In both cases, only a drop or two of the solution was needed. So Eren was confident that the stock he had created and saved in the potion bank wouldst for a very long time. This was true even when two potioners used it for experiments. Eren had created a separate stock of Eternal Solution for the manufacturing line. It would only get used when the manufacturing setup waspleted. "A master potioner using their apprentice''s research papers. Hehe. it seems I have grown old." Levine chuckled and sighed with a different kind of exhaustion. The butcher looked like he had taken offense to her statement. "This could not be further from the truth, teacher Levine. You are one of the prettiest potioners the continent of Anfang has ever seen. I refuse to believe that" Eren would have used his glib tongue for longer. And Levine would have let him. But she could see that the man was in a bit of a hurry. So she waved her hand and decided to cut to the chase. "Alright. Alright. I hate to interrupt you when you are just firing yourpliments at me. But you wouldn''t stay chatting with me this long unless you want something from me apart from the tasks I have been officially assigned. What is it?" Eren''s words ofpliments were stuck in his mouth when he heard Levine''s statement. He pursed his lips and adjusted his posture before asking what he wanted to ask her. "Teacher Levine, I wanted to know if there was any potion that dealt with soul-rted injuries." Eren asked and waited eagerly for Levine''s response. Thetter was caught off guard when she was asked about soul-rted potions. Thus. She took a while to answer. "There''s a potion called Golden Soul Heal that can be used when a ranker''s soul is damaged inside a soul-rted array. Then there''s Azure Soul Cure that can be used when soul-rted artifacts have dealt damage to the ranker''s soul. You can also use" Levine talked briefly about various soul-rted potions she was aware of and recall right off the bat. She also exined their effects and how they could be maximized. Of course, she also told her student that these kinds of potions were too high-ss for the current him. And he shouldn''t experiment on them just yet. Eren chuckled before asking Levine to obtain or concoct a certain potion for him. Money was not the issue. She was allowed to use any resources the White Raven guild had at its disposal to get that potion for him. Levine didn''t understand what Eren was nning to do with high-tier potions like these. The potions that affected the souls weren''t something an Adept ranker should involve themselves with. Even Expert rankers are barely qualified to handle them in controlled environments inside the potionbs. However, she hade to know that Eren was very serious about getting the potion. By this point, she had stopped asking him intrusive questions. It was clear to her that the guy had his secrets. After all, he was the only one who had gotten his hands on the so-called revolutionary missing ingredient. She would be an idiot if she doubted her student''s ability to n things, given the kind of achievements he had made for himself. After Eren received assurance from Levine that she would try her best to obtain the potion he wanted, he breathed a sigh of relief. Chapter 792 Messing With The Vessel Eren asked Levine to get her hands on a few more soul-rted potions that were set on a low priority. If she could get them or concoct them, that''d be great. Otherwise, he''d look for their alternatives himself. Eren''s products were set to hit the market in just a few weeks. So the teacher and students had a lot to talk and discuss about. When they were done finalizing the details, an entire day had passed. Eren politely bid Levine farewell. He also made sure topliment her some more before disappearing from herb. Thetter was left wondering how could a young man like him be so driven about his ns. ''The brat is nning something really big. I can feel it. As if trying to mess with some monster he shouldn''t mess with.'' Levine looked at the void nkly as she had a random thought. She then shook her head and smiled bitterly before summoning the spectral screen again. She was about to read about the research papers her apprentice had derived from years of experiments. ''Maybe I should meet her and apologize.'' Levine couldn''t help but think along those lines as she started reading Marie''s papers. *** "This spell synthesis array ispletely loaded, guild master Eren." As Lady Zee finished storing her ck mes inside, she spoke to Eren. She stepped outside the array with her forehead covered in beads of sweat, indicating she was almost exhausted from the task given to her. The duo was inside Eren''s potionb. Eren had summoned Lady Zee to his potionb to help him with something. He was constructing various forms of spell synthesis arrays. The idea was to use various spell effects as raw ingredients to concoct varying degrees of potions. At least that''s what the butcher had told the Expert ranker. "Thank you for all your diligent work, Expert Catherine. Please allow me to treat you to a delicious dinner as a token of my appreciation." Eren said and smiled. Lady Zee looked at the newly appeared spatial array that had appeared behind him. Lady Zee pursed her lips when she saw the spatial array and Eren''s gesture of goodwill. She had her own things to do. And she didn''t want to get too involved in White Raven''s guild affairs. At least not when there was no information to be gained. But before she could even fully consider her denial, Eren spoke up next. "I also wanted to discuss your involvement in the guild and your uing role as its member. The thing is I won''t always be around the guild. So I was nning to assign some of the key positions to trusted members. I know we haven''t signed exclusive binding contracts yet. So I was hoping our over-the-dinner discussions would persuade you into joining the guild in all its entirety. That will also allow me to assign you to a key role your capability deserves." Eren said and rified his stance. After all, he could read what the Expert ranker was thinking. Lady Zee couldn''t tell that she was being read by Eren even though she was a rank higher than him thanks to the way the soul sense worked. Since she didn''t have the soul sense to defend against Eren, she could be read like an open book by the butcher. Lady Zee waspelled to join Eren over dinner when she heard his reason. She hadn''t signed the exclusive binding contract with the White Raven because she couldn''t. She was an executive of the Illuminati and had already been contract-bound by them. However, she could always listen to what Eren had to say. She could use this information and pass it on to her organization, to see if they could make use of the information. If nothing else, she could certainly indulge in a hearty meal while offering nothing promising to Eren. Lady Zee, who was tired of loading Eren''s spell synthesis array, finally gave a nod to Eren and followed him inside the array eye. The butcher couldn''t help but smile as he activated the array. The spatial fabric around the two rankers was distorted and rippled with some interference when the array was activated. Next, the pair disappeared from their position, leaving nothing but an empty potionb behind. Lady Zee readjusted her eyes to observe the changing scenery around her. She was standing near a man-madeke inside the forest created by Mega Mandrakes. The White Raven city had plenty of mini-forest regions like these that served as the natural source of raw ingredients for the potion. The butcher didn''t like the idea of a greenhouse because it was too dependent on array setups and bncing everything right. He focused on growing the raw ingredients naturally, in their natural habitat. Of course, he subjected them to spells like Age Expedite from time to time to make the raw ingredients grow longer. Eren had to say Renar had done the job assigned to him with flying colors. He left no stone unturned in making the forests of White Raven city resource heaven for Eren and all his potioning needs. The full moonlight was making the smallke''s still water turn silvery. There was a wooden shack not too far away from her on the banks of the man-madeke. The dinner table Eren was indicating was near the wooden shack. Midnight. Moonlight. The silence of the night would get disturbed by the rustling of tree leaves all around the region. The winds carried the energy of the forest. An ideal night for dinner outside. Lady Zee couldn''t help but think that she was on a date with an Adept ranker when she saw the candles ced on the patio table, which illuminated the nearby area aplenty. Not that she didn''t like the idea. Eren was a handsome man. And Lady Zee was known to be promiscuous. ''This this is good.'' Lady Zee thought to herself as she was being led by Eren. Thetter pulled up the chair and allowed the Expert ranker to take her seat elegantly. He then sat right in front of her before passing her what she wanted to eat from a range of cuisines ced on the patio table. Eren and Lady Zee started talking with each other as they had a pleasant meal together. The butcher briefly exined what his guild was up to. And discussed if she wanted to be involved in the guild''s core matters. Lady Zee listened attentively and offered her insights as well as her opinions on a range of topics raised by Eren. He engaged the Expert ranker thoroughly in his discussion, taking her point of view into ount. Lady Zee started talking with Eren with even more passion than before. For some reason, she found that the mist that was only limited to theke''s surface had spread over the region. Under the moonlight, a young female watched the duo have dinner with a stoic expression on her face. She smiled when the mist around them started to thicken and blur her normal vision. ''Don''t mess with the vessel too much, Eren.'' Alephee said to herself before disappearing as silently as she had appeared. Leaving the couple to their own devices. === AN: She Knows ys in the backdrop. ;) Chapter 793 Gilhause Remus Eren''s private chamber. "Is this Eren Idril I''m talking to?" A live spectral replica of a man in his early 40s asked Eren with a serious demeanor. He was a bit shorter than Eren. But his physique was well defined. He had spectacles on and was wearing an officer''s army uniform. Since it was the spectral replica of the man, it could look Eren straight in the eyes. It could mimic walking inside Eren''s room even if he was not physically present. Eren was standing in an army-standard posture while in front of this 40-something man. The army officer was walking around Eren to size him up. "Yes, sir." Eren replied with minimal words. This man was a high-ranking officer in Edinburgh''s army. However, Eren didn''t understand why the man wanted to talk to him. Because he was not the butcher''s superior by any stretch of the imagination. He let the call through because of the man''s position in the army. However, Eren had an inkling of what the call was about after learning the name of the man. As you are probably aware, my name is Gilhause Remus. I''m just contacting you to tell you that I found some discrepancies in the report your captain filled in the records. It says here that you were dispatched to the region near Rupert''ske. But your name doesn''t get mentioned in any of the army personnel''s reports assigned there. There is no record of you ever reporting to the army base there. It''s almost like you were never there." Eren nodded his head before answering. "That''s because I didn''t report to the army base or meet up with any personnel. There was just one spatial distortion array that I needed to operate and handle. My task was to take action and contact the army base there in case the monsters from the Bands decided to breach the borders Edinburgh has set up for itself. But that didn''t happen. I was the only person dispatched there. And I kept to myself. I didn''t report to the army base there because I estimated that it was unnecessary." Eren repeated the lies he hade up with long ago. Gilhause Remus was expecting answers like these from Eren. So he tried to grill Eren some more. But he found nothing that he could use against the young man. Ghuse started getting personal in his line of questioning. So that''s when Eren decided to draw the boundary. "I''m sorry, sir. But I don''t see how my way of running my guild would affect my performance in the army?" ''Hehe. That''s easy to answer. There''s no performance to consider because youpletely ignored the army after establishing your guild.'' Alephee''s amused voice echoed in Eren''s mind. She was now upying the same pendant that La had used as her abode. Eren wasn''t sure how the young witch would react to someone breaching her personal space. But he figured it would be okay for now since La wasn''t going toe back anytime soon. Eren had indeed renounced all his responsibilities in the army after establishing his guild. He used it as a springboard tounch himself to the level he was currently ying. *** In his early days, Eren used his military privileges to create the guild and use it as a shield for protection. He had made arrangements with Arjun and came up with a n to deploy him to an isted region. He then used the deployment as a cover to finish conquering the Oni dungeon. Upon returning to White Raven city, Eren reported to his army base that he hadpleted his mission. He had Arjun cover things for him in the army base. He had a legit record of his deployment there, too. On paper, Eren had carried out his soldier duties with ster perfection. So he knew no officer could touch him or call his bluff. At least not anymore now that he was done with everything. However, that didn''t mean Eren would admit how he had led the army''s administration by its nose. And it''s not his Missing-In-Action status that dealt a huge blow to the army or any of its bases. So he didn''t care about whatever Ghuse had to ask him. *** Thankfully, Gilhause couldn''t hear what Alephee had said to Eren. he looked at Eren with his narrowed eyes before speaking up in a lowkey threatening tone. "Boy, I know that you weren''t there at the site of deployment. Do you think I''m one of those gullible women you woo with your charming words and believe any horseshit thates out of your mouth?" Eren had ck lines on his forehead when he heard Gihause speak. ''Okay. Who the fuck is leaking my private information to these guys?'' He thought to himself. He then smirked before responding. "Prove it if that''s the case. Gullible or not, the ones I want to woo and fu...." A small burst ofughter ensued before Eren could continue. "Hehe! Well, let''s just say that I have my ways of getting what I want." Gilhause removed the specs he was wearing and clenched his fists. He felt helpless dealing with Eren even when he was supposed to have greater control over the guy because of his rank in the army. This is because of his higher ranking status as an Expert ranker. "I cannot prove your insubordination anymore. But what I can do is make your life harder from now on. ording to my understanding, you have requested approval from the army stating that your LA-on-filed assignment has beenpleted. Hehe. I see that you have used House Argas''s influence to create a safe exit strategy for you. And you had prepared for this long ago, even before you had the White Raven guild or the city you own right now. I hope you understand, however, that the army has the right to choose an exit mission based on your current performance. That''s the only way we can give you our approval. Now I know I don''t directly control your unit. But I can pull some strings and make things happen for you that may or may not be in your best interests. Do you see where I am going with this?" Chapter 794 “Do You See Where I Am Going With This?” "Do you see where I am going with this?" Gilhause asked in a cold voice. Eren prevented himself from snorting at the guy''s question. He maintained his standard army stance before responding. "I don''t." Gilhause had to admit that Eren had dodged a lot of bullets by sticking to simple answers and not using any threateningnguage against him. This was true no matter how many times he tried to shake things up. But Ghuse''s job was not to get impressed by Eren. His job was to threaten him. "You have pissed off big names, a young man with the way you are doing things. Demonmir! Do you know who he is?" Eren didn''t take long to answer. "Ottoman de Montmorency." Gilhause stopped walking when he was in front of Eren. he looked him in the eyes and smirked beforementing. "That''s right. House Remus and Ottoman''s faction. Let''s say they have gotten into some sort of arrangement. Both our sides have some influence on Edinburgh''s army. You have met with Dianna Remus from my n. But she is let''s say the ck sheep of our lot. House Remus''s major military might and influence is not something you canprehend based on your interactions with Dianna." Gilhause stepped one step forward and almost whispered into Eren''s ears. "About the arrangement between the two sides. The Ottoman faction in the army supports House Remus in getting back thend you stole from us through lies and deceit. Now we don''t want to make things too difficult for you. Give up your rights to thend that was Minerva''s Utopia. In essence, you''d have to give up the White Raven city. In exchange, we would offer you some othernd and a premium package that you can im as your convenience fee. If you can do this, I''ll make sure your exit from the army is as seamless and safe as possible. Otherwise, I can''t assure you that your exit mission would not im your life. What use are money and fame if you die obtaining them?" Eren realized that there was another butterfly effect at y in this case that worked against him. If there had not been a war-like situation surrounding Edinburgh, he would have graduated just by being the Adept ranker. However, LA had prevented students from getting graduated until the joint event was conducted by all the top academies. That meant Eren could only sever his connections with the army this way. He could only leave the army after concluding his on-field assignment from his end and awaiting the army''s approval on the same. ''Ivor bing Osan Woods butcher hasplicated things for me in the long run. I''m just beginning to see the repercussions now.'' Eren sighed internally in his head when he thought of the whole incident. He dispersed his stray thoughts before responding to the threat thrown his way with a threat of his own. "I assure you, sir, Gilhause. I didn''t establish the city solely for money and fame. They are mere byproducts of what I want to achieve. But I''d be a fool to underestimate their influence. For example, I know I have enough money to sanction hits on only particr n members. As a result of my fame, I can influence certain people who would make it difficult for only one House. Whether I live or die for certain people, my money and my fame won''t die with me. And those things can fuel my vengeance for years toe without me having to be on the continent of Anfang. Of course, I''m merely stating things here. Hypothetical situations, if you want to call them that." Eren said and looked into the army officer''s eyes before throwing his question back to him like a boomerang. "Do you see where I am going with this?" Gilhause was stunned when he heard Eren''s words. Eren''s voice was neutral when he said that. If Gilhause was here in person, the man would have been intimidated just by Eren''s burst of soul sense. Gilhause couldn''te up with a convincing reply to threaten Eren with anymore. So he stuck with the old one he got. "Pride kills more people than spells ever will, boy. I hope your exit will not be too difficult for you. Leaving a will behind is always a wise choice. You never know." Ghuse''s spectral image started fading after he said what he had to say. In the end, he concluded his speech with a possibility. A way for Eren. "The time is not entirely against you. You still have onest opportunity to make things right for you. It''ll knock on your doors shortly. Make sure you remember what I said clearly when dealing with thisst chance you have been given. Think about your guild members. Think about their safety and well-being. I''m sure you wouldn''t want anything to happen to them. What would happen to your city when you up and disappear one day? You need to start thinking about these things. That''s all I have to say. Farewell." Ghuse''s spectral imagepletely disappeared. Themunication array Eren was standing in dimmed before disappearing from the ground, indicating that the call waspleted. ''Last chance? What was that all about?'' Eren felt puzzled hearing Gilhause''s words. But before he could conclude, he received another message on his voicemunication from one of his subordinates. Rey Remus hade to personally meet Eren. He was waiting for him in Agatha''s office. And from the looks of things, the old man was not listening to any of Agatha''s words. He treated everything in White Raven as if it was his property. Only now did Eren understand why Ghuse had tried to call him at this point. He was trying to press him down psychologically. To create an environment for negotiation that Rey could use to strike a deal with Eren. "Trying to suppress me by using military tactics, huh! To terrorize me using ranks and Demonmir. Too bad I don''t negotiate with these petty terrorists." Eren said and shook his head as he started activating the spatial array that will send him straight into Agatha''s office. ''Of course. Who would negotiate with their juniors when ites to terrorism?'' Alephee''s sarcastic voice sounded in Eren''s mind. He chuckled before disappearing from his spot. === AN: Rey Remus was first introduced in chapter 713. Chapter 795 Weapons Drawn Bright day. High noon. The near-stagnant winds were warm thanks to the zing sun. Sunrays tried to find their way through the greenery of the trees on either side of the lonely road. Tap! Tap! Tap! Two colt riders were on their way from White Raven to New Beginnings. It was barely an hour since they had been asked to leave the city of White Raven. One of the riders was an old man with white hair and a long white beard. He was short and had schrly vibes around him due to him wearing a light-colored shawl covering his back and his shoulders. The other rider was a young man who looked to be in his mid-20s. He had golden brown hair and green eyes. He was wearing light runic armor that protected his vital organs. "That brat is infuriating." Old man Rey couldn''t help cursing Eren when he recalled the conversation he had with him just before leaving the White Raven city. He had visited the city to meet with Eren. The old man wanted to make Eren understand that the gold mine he was sitting on was actually andmine for him. He had even made Gilhause contact the brat to pressure him into epting his deal. However, it was Eren who convinced the old man that the White Raven city was even more precious than he had first estimated. Eren basically kicked the guy out in the most polite way possible. And yet, Rey thought that Eren had messed up his head with the way the whole conversation was being led by him. "My Lord, what should we do now?" The Expert ranker that was with Rey asked him curiously. He was only there to apany Rey. Even though his name was Remus, he had no right to speak about family matters. "Hmph! Youngsters these days don''t understand the gravity of the serious situation they are currently in, Janos. This Eren brat won''t listen to anyone. And talking with him will only make me madder and more confused than ever regarding my own capabilities as a negotiator. That brat is a maniptive prick who won''t even budge an inch from his stance. Guys like him would rather throw the whole pie away instead of sharing it with anybody." ''You are describing yourself.'' Janos thought to himself as he looked at old man Rey with a serious face. He had been with the old man for a long time now. He had seen the way Rey worked. Janos could say with confidence that Eren was Rey''s younger and more sophisticated version. Both the guys were equally devious and quick with their tongues. Their moves were highly influenced by the current politics and their economic situations. Ability to y with the set rules legally. Corruption through money. Coercion through nting strategic risks or benefits for a particr party. And finally, create a crack in the united front of your opponents. These were the four pirs on which a sessful negotiation or maniption was based. Janos hadn''t seen Rey ever lose in a negotiation because the old man would make sure his foundation of negotiation was based on those four pirs. He would use all sorts of tricks at his disposal to get what he wanted. Rey was running one of the most lucrative auction houses in the kingdom. Acquisition of goods and selling them at a higher cost was basically what he had been doing all his life. As such, Rey''s negotiation skills were always on point and thoroughly effective. However, despite doing what he had been doing for so long, Rey failed to get Eren to fit in his bag. Janos had to acknowledge that Eren was equally aware of the four pirs of negotiation. To Janos, the talk between Eren and Rey was akin to two old men trying to best each other through decades of experience they had gained by doing shady deals. As such, Janos was thoroughly impressed with Eren even when he was supposed to be his enemy. Janos''s train of thought was stopped when he heard Rey''s words. "We didn''t want to move on with creating problems for this brat in the army. It seems that he has some connections with the House Argas. Altair Argas can''t be reasoned with. It''s better to stay away from such dangerous men. Gilhause was only supposed to threaten Eren into following through with the deal. But it seems that we''d have to prove that our threat was real." Eren had reduced his army restrictions in the binding contract using Altashia and her connections. As such, the army couldn''t retain him even though it wanted to. Gilhause discovered on his own that Eren had some rtions with the House Argas. As such, most decision-makers in House Remus were totally against messing with Eren and with House Argas by proxy. Nobody would willingly want to even slightly offend someone with the kingdom-bonafide title of Crimson Ghost. "But my lord, the Crimson Ghost" "We have Demonmir by our side. Ottoman is no match for Altair in the frontal sh. But I don''t believe Altair would personally intervene for this brat. Things should be alright as long as we use Ottoman''s name to pull some strings into the army." Janos slowly pped at Rey for even screwing his allies just to get what he wanted. It was as if he didn''t care about Ottoman''s retaliation at all. Rey understood what Janos was thinking and chuckled. He caressed his long white beard in amusement beforementing. "Hehe. We haven''t told Ottoman''s faction about the connection we found Eren has with the House Argas. I told Gilhause to hide the news as soon as he found the trail. We would just watch from the sidelines if House Argas decides to do something to House Montmorency for a single brat, which is highly unlikely if you ask me. Still, that conflict could arise only when we take care of Eren anyway. By then, we will all be having different equations. Because." "Because the city of White Raven would have fallen by then, right?" A cold and callous voicepleted what old Rey wanted to say. The two riders stopped their colts and looked back at the same time to find Eren hade to greet them. With his weapons drawn. Chapter 796 Slaughter And Absorb "What are you doing here, brat?" Rey Remus answered, spreading his mana sense all around him. Janos did the same. Still, they both thought that it was highly unlikely that Eren woulde to meet them to take care of them. "To kill you of course." Eren said and smiled. He was holding two Katars named Diceros. Alephee had paid extra attention to reforge all his weapons. Except for his transcendent-grade Labrys, she had revamped all his weapon sets for good. He didn''t have to worry about them getting disintegrated in the middle of a fight anymore. Rey and Janos both nced at each other before looking at Eren. They looked around and confirmed that there was nobody else around except for Eren. the old man startedughing when he realized Eren hade to kill them all on his own. Old man Rey startedughing, making his colt ufortable in the process as it started neighing. "Hahaha! Brat, I didn''t take you for aedian. But you are better than most clowns I''vee to see all my life. Do you even know what you''re talking about?" Jason looked at Eren and again at Rey while thetter was saying all those things. Eren''s gaze caused him to feel uneasy for some reason. It was as if he was being watched by a hungry beast who hasn''t eaten for a long long time. Eren didn''t like to talk much when he was out on a hunt. Lightning cracked and the ground split. In the next moment, a fountain of blood erupted. As soon as Eren''s lightning-infused Katar sent Purple Reaver point nk, one of the colts died. Lightning-element flying shes cut the horse in half vertically. "You are quick on your feet, Rey. I''m surprised, to say the least. That''s phenomenal agility considering your age." Eren said and swung his katars around him. He liked ying with the Diceros set now that it had been upgraded. The other colt freaked and ran away after realizing what had happened to its brethren beside it. If it could talk, it would have told three rankers to leave their kind out of their mess. Rey and Janos appeared a few 20 meters away from their position just when Eren was done cutting the colt in two. The vertically chopped body parts fell to either side, enabling Eren to see the two opponents appearing at a distance. Eren had shielded himself with his mana defenseyer to prevent any blood on his body. After his lightning mana converted the colt''s meat into charcoal, the bleeding stopped. "Brat, are you crazy? This is broad daylight." Eren tilted his head to his side and looked puzzled. "And?" he asked, looking at Janos as if expecting a better exnation from him. Janos coughed before answering. "Sir Eren. I think there''s been some kind of misunderstanding. We had onlye here to talk. And the things we were saying were all hypothetical. You still own White Raven. I suggest you don''t do anything to jeopardize your current position." In response to Janos''s exnation, Eren disappeared from his position andunched another attack. This time on Janos. ''This guy''s crazy as fuck.'' Janos had the random thought before using his space artifact again to get him and Rey out of harm''s way. They appear to be at a safe distance from him once again. "Oh. That exins it." Eren carefully observed Janos and Rey figure out how they had managed to escape him. They had run away from him without any movement spells. He had seen Janos touch the ring in his right hand''s middle finger with his thumb. "You Do you even know what you are doing? You are only giving my House a valid excuse toe for you. We were trying to do things in the shadows. But here you are. You''ve thrown away your most precious chance of survival by attacking us in broad daylight. If you attack us one more time, then don''t me my House for hunting you down out in the open." The schrly old man spoke while looking at Eren angrily. He couldn''t believe that a brat more than a century younger than him hade to kill him all by himself while Janos was with him. Rey Remus was in thest stage of the Adept rank himself. He had run out of potential to break into the next rank. So after he was sure that there was no way to safely get to the next rank, Rey dedicated his life to the House Remus'' auctioning business. Although he was old, Rey Remus was confident in standing against Eren because of his ss. It was just that he was out of practice and Eren had caught him off guard. Rey could also rely on n member Janos. He was an Expert ranker in the vapor core state of the C-Rank. With Janos around, he saw no threating from an Adept-ranked Eren. Eren shrugged his shoulders before answering. "I don''t know what was so wrong about killing you in broad daylight. Do you think you''d feel less pain and frustration at night? A kill is a kill. Nothing more nothing less. Plus, since we have identified each other as enemies, let''s fucking act like it, shall we? Our diplomacy and politics between us ended when you stepped your wrinkly asses out of my city." "Hey" Janos objected to Eren''s statement. Thetter pursed his lips before correcting his mistake. "... when you stepped your wrinkled ass out of my city, Rey." Janos looked at Eren keenly before shaking his head in disappointment. Sighing, he said. "I think I overestimated you a bit, Eren. I thought you could keep your cool the way you handled lord Rey. Turns out I was wrong. You are just another youngster who is high on their sess. Do you even know how powerful House Remus ispared to you?" Eren didn''t try to get close to his enemies this time. He decided to wait for the right time. Smiling, the butcher responded. "I think you are misunderstanding something. My decision to kill you guys isn''t because I''ve given up on diplomacy. Or that I let my emotions take over me. You have a B-Rank summoner, two C-Ranked summoners, and five D-Ranked summoners in your fold, right? I want to enter into open hostility with your House because" Eren smiled graciously before continuing. "Because I want to ughter and absorb them all." Chapter 797 Dealing With Snakes That Are Bound To Bite "Because I want to ughter and absorb them all." Eren took a step forward. His weapons hummed when he imbued them with his lightning-element mana. Old man Rey was half stunned and half angry at Eren''s deration. He wanted to ask him many questions that would have started with ''how dare he?'' But Janos beat him to it. And he zeroed in on a very particr detail. "What what do you mean by absorbing?" Amused, Eren looked at Janos before answering. "Why don''t you find out yourself?" Only now did Jason understand why he felt ufortable when he met Eren here on an empty road that had turned into their battlefield. He had subconsciously processed the look in Eren''s eyes. ''He he is hungry for this kill.'' Eren stepped one step forward before his feet became covered in lightning streaks. Janos saw that Eren was about to make his move again. So he was about to activate his spatial artifact once again. "It''s useless." Janosmented as he appeared safe and sound along with Rey at a safe distance from Eren. He had plenty of charges left in his spatial artifact to do as many as 50 short-range spatial jumps. Of course, the spatial ring had its limits. And it had to be charged before it could be used. Plus, the number of short jumps would be reduced to less than half its usual number, depending upon the ranking status of the additional person. Once fully charged, the jump would ur instantly at the user''smand. No matter how fast Eren was, he couldn''t beat Janos'' speed of thought. Bzzt. Swoosh. Jump. The same thing happened when Eren tried to approach the pair again. So the next time, he was more focused on Janos. Eren had slightly ignored old man Rey in his follow-up attacks. He focused on Janos even though he was a rank higher than him. He could guess that the man was a mid-range fighter. But since he needed concentration to use the spatial artifact he was wearing, he was avoiding confronting Eren head-on. At least for the time being. Janos'' job was to cover up for Rey. After all, Rey''s ss made him a ss cannon for closebat experts. Thus, it was the Expert''s responsibility to provide cover for his Lord. He''d only engage in fights when he has no way out. Old man Rey found it amusing that Eren was struggling so much to evene close to him. He preferred to watch the show instead of taking part in the battle. And he chose tough at Eren''s taunt while he was doing that. "Hahaha! Target my n''s summoners, you say. Little brat, the summoner ss is not as simple to beat as you might think because of the misconceptions regarding its usage. Our House promotes summoners in our midst because of the extensive knowledge we have regarding the summoner ss. We know how to make the best use of it as well as how to cover its disadvantages. I don''t know what kind of weird fantasy or fascination you have regarding our summoners. But remember that things won''t end well for you today. Because I''m a summoner too." The old man folded his hands in triumph and said, uncaring if and when Eren approaches him. He knew that Janos had things covered for him. Janos wasn''t feeling as confident as old man Rey was even though he knew he could handle him even if his spatial ring ran out of charge. He looked at Eren grimly and wondered why the man didn''t look worried at all when all his attacks had been rendered null by him. "You know, Eren. There''s still time. You can have the city to yourself. Just let us enter the previously established tri-party deal. Offer to use the same level of partnership you have offered to House Derringer and Lady Levine''s faction of House Montmorency." Janos finally decided to speak up regarding the topic even though he didn''t have any right to offer this kind of deal to anybody. Targeting a House just because it specializes in summoner ss. Something told Janos that Eren wasn''t bluffing "Janosd, what the fuck are you" Janos ignored what Rey had to say about his impudence and focused on Eren. Thetter shook his head before responding. "There are many reasons why I shouldn''t be attacking you. And I acknowledge them all. I like to think of myself as a rational person. So believe me when I say that I don''t get a kick out of targeting you guys." Eren said and scratched his chin. He pondered a bit before correcting himself. "Okay, maybe a little bit. But that''s not the point. You see, diplomacy or no diplomacy, I don''t like to deal cordially with the snakes who are bound to bite me sooner orter. I''d rather they bite me now before chopping their heads off than wait for the bite first to respond in kind. What I said just now, however, is just an incentive for me to kill you. The main reason I want to kill you both is because of you, Rey. And your summoner ss. I wouldn''t have let you leave the city had I known about your ss sooner." Eren started walking towards the duo. He yed and juggled with his Katars before speaking up once again. "You see, every day I fight this urge to kill a pain-in-the-ass summoner friend I have so close to me. When I see him standing so close to me and taking advantage of me like it''s no big deal, I wonder how much confidence the guy has in me. When we are out drinking, I fantasize about what it would be like if I attacked him and maybe devoured just his hand. But luckily for him and sadly for me, I always control myself. I don''t want any royalplications that would arise." ''On my mark, dear.'' As Eren looked at the Remus n members, he spoke to someone through voicemunication. Using one of his Katars, he pointed at Rey and continued. Chapter 798 Battlefield And Romance Eren pointed at Rey using one of his Katars as he continued. "But you you are not getting away from me. Summoner ss is already rare, giving me a very narrow window for my hunt. So it''s good that your House decided to prioritize raising summoners. You have developed an enmity with me yourself. So that gives me the perfect smokescreen to devour you guys without raising suspicions. Now it''s about time you stop running away from this fight and take me seriously." Eren said and almost disappeared from his position. Janos was about to activate his spatial artifact once again. But just then he felt Eren''s soul sense overwhelm him. Before he could snap out the soul sense attack, Janos saw two eyes in the distance that were devoid of any iris. Sedating Gaze. ''The fu..'' Janos couldn''t think straight when Eren attacked him using thebination of his soul sense and Ability. His movements slowed down considerably, not allowing him to activate the space artifact as fast as he wanted it to. Zinn. Swoosh. Pierce. Everything changed at a moment''s notice, catching both Janos and Rey off guard. Janos found out that his heart had been pierced by a spatial dagger. He looked down at his chest with wide-open eyes. But before he could know what had happened and scream in pain, he received another injury. Zoom. Swoosh. Chop. Janos'' fingers were chopped off when he was suffering from Eren''s debuff. A shadow picked up his middle finger that was still wearing the spatial artifact ring and disappeared from its position near Janos. It hadpleted its job. "Lord Husband. Here." Eren appeared not too far away from a silent and horrified-looking Janos. Kirin tossed the finger aside and appeared near Eren before giving him the ring. Thetter took the ring and held it with his thumb and index finger. He looked at the angry-looking Janos through the ring''s circle. "Bastard. Aaaaagh!" Janos looked at Eren with anger and injustice when the debuff stopped working on him. The guy had chosen to sneak attack him using the elf that had appeared out of nowhere. He realized that Eren was not only way too strong for his rank but also cunning enough to deal with his opponents using any means at his disposal. Janos hated guys like Eren the most. He liked dealing with arrogant pricks because they would make his job so much easier. "Lord Rey, pardon mynguage but snap the fuck out of your daze. I''m dying and we can''t run away anymore. Now would be a great time for you to make your move." Janos diverted his anger to the old man standing close to him. He cursed the man''s foggy brain that made him freeze in the most crucial situation of his life. "Aaaaaaah Lad! Hang on." Only now did Rey decide to act. He took out his wooden staff from his storge and activated the runic details on it. He then summoned the creatures using his ss-specific summoning spells. Giant flowers of yellow and green petals bloomed all around Rey and Janos. They bloomed and revealed a treant present within them. "Krehaaaa!" The summoned bunch of treants screamed in unison when they opened their brilliant eyes. They quickly created a circle around the two rankers from the House Remus, securing them frontal Eren''s frontal attack. These treants were around 8 feet in stature. Their bodies were made of wood, green vines, and a lot of other tree-like stuff. There were distinct differences in the summoned treants based on their rankers. Old man Rey had called forth 40 treants at the same time. Five of them were of the D-Rank while the rest were of E-Rank. The E-Rank treants had somewhat humanoid features. They had a face with two eyes but without the nose and a tiny mouth that didn''t look like it could be used for eating because of how small it was The E-Rank treants had antlers over their heads like that on wild bucks. They had elongated necks and wooden torsos. They didn''t seem to have distinct legs. Instead, they were using their roots like their legs to stay mobilized. Some of these treants had even gotten their legs to prate the earth beneath them. They grew a bitrger than the rest. These treants had two limbs that could be seen as their arms except for the fact that they were too long and flexible. These treants had huge hands and long fingers. They didn''t need any weapons. Their talon-like fingers were enough to take care of most of their opponents. The D-Rank monsters that Rey had summoned could be considered the more refined versions of their E-Rank brethren. They had humanoid bodies and green skin. They had distinct arms and legs made of green vines and wood. The D-Rank treants had cruel-looking faces. They had two yellow eyes and growth on their faces that served as their noses. They had long ears and buck-like antlers as well. However, they also had dry-vine-like hair over their heads. The D-Rank treants had well-defined legs. However, they had talons for feet. They were the ones with greater mobility and agility than their E-Rank counterparts. Old man Rey didn''t stop there. He used a different spell to convert the trees surrounding the road into giant tree monsters Tung. The giant trees suddenly started having odd-looking faces on their trunks. They tried to scream but no voice came out of their monstrous mouths. Eren was watching the real summoner at work and was trying to learn. He was fascinated with how Rey had used his summoning spells. ''He can summon the consciousness of monsters and make them possess apatible vessel. Instead of depending on mana bodies, this old fart used his wood-element mana to grow organic vessels for his summoned monsters. And then allowed them to embody those organic shells. And he can use the surrounding trees as the container of his summoned monster consciousness. This level of summoning I want this.'' Old man Rey suddenly felt a cold shiver run down his spine when he observed Eren looking at him with eager eyes. But before he could voice his anger, he saw the butcher do something unthinkable for him in this situation. "Hmm. Seems like I found something interesting for my wife. Kirin darling, give me your hand." Eren cleaned the ring off of blood by rubbing it against his clothes. He even blew on it to make it shine. The butcher held Kirin''s hand in his and made her wear the C-Rank ring that was a perfect match for her rank and her element. Old Rey and Janos watched with stunned expressions as their opponent put a ring on the elf''s finger. Using the artifact THEY used to own a few moments ago. They had never seen someone using a life-and-death battlefield as their tform to profess their affection for someone. tantly using their opponents'' wealth to do so. One could say that the butcher was romantic at heart. "See? Romance is not dead. But someone else will be." Chapter 799 Sending A Message "You fucking psychopath" Old Rey mumbled to himself as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him. He was bbergasted by Eren''s behavior. However, the pain in Janos'' voice made him focus on their current situation. "Hang on" Old Rey said and made one of the treants approach Janos. The treant screamed at Janos before cing its talon-like set of twigs that were its hand on his chest where he had been pierced by Kirin. ? The treant''s body started drying up as the wound on Janos'' body started healing. In a few moments, a D-Rank-summoned creature had to sacrifice itself to fix the damage on Rey''s assistant. Janos could still feel the pain of having his heart pierced by Kirin''s dagger in his head. He felt like the dagger was still inside of him even when his injuries were all healed. Eren had given his space-element dagger to Kirin, who was perfectly matched with it. It was the same dagger that he had received from team Chalo. He had upgraded it to D-Rank with Alephee''s help. Since Alephee''s homunculus body was D-Ranked, she couldn''t upgrade the space element dagger to Kirin''s rank. However, Kirin''spatibility with the dagger reduced its shorings. "He he has an Ability." Janosmented and spat a wad of saliva mixed with blood. He knew he didn''t have to worry about getting injured in the battle because he was with Rey. *** The old man''s summoning spells could be used as an offense and defense. And they also allowed him to treat himself and hispanions mid-battle. House Remus had been focusing on the summoner ss ever since it started its auctioning business. The summoner ss rankers would allow them to conductpletely secure auction events by deploying summoned creatures around the auction sites. This was how the House started making a name for itself. These summoned creatures were easy to rece and disposable. They could be used to establish an all-aroundmunication grid. Plus, they didn''t have to be paid. Thus, these summoned creatures started getting deployed as part of official security at the n''s auction events. House Remus started collecting spells of the summoner ss belonging to various elements and schools. They experimented with these spells and researched the ss to derive aprehensive set of spells for their prominent summoner n members. The number Eren had dered earlier was only for the House''s most prominent summoner ss n members. A sizable percentage of n members in House Remus were summoners. Dianna was with the old man Rey and Janos when they arrived to meet Eren. and she had stayed behind to talk with him after the duo left to go to the city of New Beginnings. It was Dianna who told Eren about Rey''s ss as well as the fact that her house specialized in raising summoner ss members. Since she was from the side branch of the n, she wouldn''t have been offered the same resources to be a summoner. So she chose to be a ranger instead. Of course, she used her n''s connections to get into Edinburgh''s army. Dianna hade to visit Eren to tell him how much of a danger her n posed to him and his city. However, when Eren learned that Rey Remus was a summoner, he couldn''t help having designs on him. Eren quickly contacted Kirin and vanished from Agatha''s office. He told Kirin to bid her time until he created an optimal opening for her to intervene. *** "Hm. Kirin darling, next time attack the opponent''s other vital organs as well. Piercing the heart or puncturing the anal opening is easy to target and effective in incapacitating opponents. But it will not give them quick deaths. There''s always a chance of them possessing exceptional healing spells, potions, artifacts, or other healers in their vicinity. Puncture the neck through or drive your weapon through the person''s eyes back to the back of their cranium. They are more effective methods of assassination than simply piercing the heart." Eren casually lectured Kirin on assassination methods while Rey and Janos were working on their team y. Eren only wanted to prevent his opponent from running away from him. He had achieved that by taking the space-element ring away from them. The butcher knew targeting a summoner ss from the House Remus wouldn''t be easy. ording to Dianna, the most prominent summoner ss members of her n always had a capable close to a mid-range fighter with them who would protect them at all times. They also had various artifacts to assure the summoner''s safety, preventing them from turning into ss cannons. Thus, Eren focused on taking Janos'' ring away as soon as he found out about it. He used his Ability at a crucial time to achieve this feat. Otherwise, obtaining this artifact from Janos wouldn''t have been easy for Kirin even with her special powers. Targeting the Remus pair at this particr location served Eren well. It allowed him to im usible deniability in case the kingdom tries to or is made to intervene. And yet, this location was close enough to his city to make it obvious to the general poption of the kingdom who had targeted Rey and Janos. Choosing the site would be an open conspiracy. Everyone would be aware that Eren and his allies had initiated an attack on the Remus n members. But nobody would be able to point fingers at Eren openly. The kingdom of Edinburgh was receiving sizable revenue from the city of White Raven. As long as Eren didn''t give it a reason to intervene, the kingdom''s forces were bound to look the other way once the conflict between him and House Remus grew. At best, the kingdom would try to help Eren in some way. At worst, it would remain on the sidelines while House Remus and Eren fought their battles. Ambushes and assassinations were about to ensue. And they won''t be as low-key as those conducted by the Escalon guild. However, Eren had decided to target Hour Remus openly for his own gains. As much as he preferred his guild''s and city''s growth, he didn''t want to sacrifice his personal growth for it. Plus, the butcher had already decided to make an example of House Remus. He would destroy a powerhouse within the kingdom in its entirety. It wasn''t just about protecting what he had fought so hard for in this timeline. It was about sending a message. Chapter 800 Summoner Vs. Summoner "Brat, you don''t know what you have done. You don''t understand the gravity of this thing. We didn''t want to scare the traffic generated by the city we were about to take over from you. But now that it hase to this, I hope you, your city, and your guild members are ready to face the consequences of your impudent actions." While controlling his summoned creatures, Roy asked them to stay alert. By this time, the giant tree monsters known as Tung had uprooted themselves from their rooted position by the side of the roads. They were surrounding the two Remus n members as well. This was the true prowess of a summoner who knew what he was doing. Unlike Rodrick who had the potential to be a ster summoner but no experience to back him, old Rey was the seasoned summoner who had really honed his ss and spells rted to it. Approaching Roy wasn''t easy with all these wood-element creatures surrounding him. They werepletely loyal to him and would do everything in their power to keep the old man out of harm''s way. Furthermore, Roy had Janos who was a mid-range fighter and dedicated to protecting Roy in case Eren tries to get close to him. It was easy for Eren to take care of Roy if and when he gets within striking distance of him. The old man had the lowest body stats even when he was ahead of him in terms of ranking status. However, getting Rey close enough tond a blow on him was the real challenge. He was surrounded by his mini army of creatures. Being protected by an Expert ranker on top of it. Eren shook his head and chuckled. He stepped away from Kirin who was half embracing him and started walking ahead. His looks started changing as he walked. Eren''s hair turned white and his eyes turned blue. Tribal tattoos appeared on his skin. His mana signature changed and his aura changed drastically. Since he received this ss, Eren had been enriching his summoning spell arsenal in the background. He would often practice his ss and spells rted to it whenever he got time. Alephee''s spell integration inspired Eren a lot. Her demonstration of how summoning spells can be used enabled him to see the benefits of having a summoner ss. Eren hadn''t used his summoning ss in realbat since he received it. He would practice the spells rted to it while he was alone or when he was sparring with Alephee. But that was it. Alephee''s guidance in the Oni dungeon had spurred Eren''s growth as a summoner. He had made much progress during his long stay in the Oni dungeon. And now was the time to test the effects of hisbors. p Eren''s otherworldly blue eyes fixed on his opponents as he spoke up. "Old man, you don''t understand the future of your n members, do you? I''m nning to gulp down House Remus as a whole without a burp. I''ll not even leave the bones behind for the vultures to pick on when I''m done with it." Eren said in a casual tone that made it seem sinister somehow. His two Oni horns appeared on his forehead when he finished saying it. Kirin liked her husband''s revised appearance, of course. It was apparent she had started missing her own horns because she was trying to feel their now-phantom shape with her hands. Erenmanded Kirin to guard him while he performed his summoner ss. Although he wasn''t a ss cannon like the old man, he didn''t want to underestimate Janos who was a rank higher than him. An Expert to counter an Expert. Apletely different Eren stood in front of his opponents when he stopped in his tracks. Both Rey and Janos had decided not to be surprised by Eren''s actions. But they failed at their task when the butcher changed his entire existence for them. "Who who the fuck are you? Are you one of those cultist lowlifes?" Rey pointed at Eren and spoke up in a shaky voice. He could tell that the vibes he was getting from Eren were not normal. He could tell this was not a spell-generated visual transformation. Eren''s entire existence had been altered for him to look this way. "I am what I need to be." Eren said and spread his hands apart. He started casting his integrated spells while speaking up. "I hope you serve as a reliable dummy for me, old man. I hope to learn a lot from you before iming your ss-rted gains and attainments for myself. You''d have to forgive me if I make any silly mistakes as a summoner. This would be my first fight as a summoner, you see." Eren said nonchntly before casting his integrated spells. Something he had learned to cast ever since he achieved minor sess in manually controlling his mana circuits. A bunch of three-meter-long fire snakes started appearing all around Eren. The mana bodies started solidifying before developing runic patterns of their own. Intelligence can be seen in the eyes of these snakes. Plus, it looked like they were many times more dangerous than their normal counterparts Eren used to cast when he was just being a closebat expert. However, the snakes'' manifestations didn''t end there. Another wave of mana fluctuations urred and the snakes started growing wings behind their backs. Wind-Fire Wings + Fire Snakes The first spellbo Eren integrated was derived from the spell he had created while inside Altashia''s burning abode. This particr spell integration came easily to him because he was already familiar with Wind-Fire Wings. He had taken a page from Alephee''s book and decided to do something different with the idea. Thus, he came up with his own spell integration. Eren summoned fifty flying snakes in total. Ten belonged to the D-Rank while the rest belonged to the E-Rank. This was his counter to Rey''s summoned creatures. Rey and Janos watched in horror and part stressed expressions as Eren''s summoned creatures took flight in front of them. These snakes stared at the woond creatures on the ground like hunters would look at their prey. Their forked tongues came out of their mouths and rattling sounds could be heard in the surroundings. Only now did Rey realize what Dianna was trying to say to him a few months back when he had started having designs on White Raven city. She had warned him that messing with this psychopath would be an error of catastrophic proportions for the entire n. ''That that wasn''t a warning. That was a premonition.'' === AN: Dianna warns Rey Remus in chapter 713. Alephee demonstrates to Eren how summoning spells and spell integrations can be used in chapters 735 and 736. Lastly, Wind-Fire Wings gets introduced in chapter 590. VEH punches in 800 chapters with this release. Cheers! ;) Chapter 801 Advantages Of Spell Integration P1 "Watch out!" Janos cast his wind-element spell over him and Rey. The two were covered in a semi-transparent dome-shapedyer that was erected just before they were surrounded by a sea of fire. "Kreeeeehaaa!" The woond creatures cried in agony and pain when they were surrounded by the fire the flying snakes breathed on them. The sheer amount of fire mana generated in the attacks left Janos stunned. "What what kind of summoned creatures are these?" Janos and Rey were safe inside the dome-shaped wind-element defensive spell he had deployed. But they were safe only because he was an Expert ranker and the grade of his spell was better. If he only had Adept-rank mana at his disposal, there was no doubt in his mind that the fight would have tilted toward Eren''s victory in about two seconds after it was started. Even Rey could tell that there was something extraordinary about the way Eren was using his summoning spells. This was the kind of finesse he expected from high-ranking entities. His n had a B-Rank summoner. "Even Master Birmond couldn''t do this when he was an Adept ranker." Old Rey mumbled to himself as he watched the sea of fire almost eradicating his summoned creatures. The woond creatures in E-Rank had already been burned to death by fire. Even the green parts of their bodies caught fire when they were subjected to such intense mes. The most frustrating thing for Janos and Rey was the fact that they couldn''t do much against Eren''s summoned creatures because they were airborne. The woond creatures could only hurl their wood-element spells at them. However, Eren''s summoned creatures were as cunning as the real-life mana beasts. When spells or wooden shrapnel were thrown at them, the flying snakes dodged them effectively before countering the woond creatures with fire breaths and fireballs. "How how the fuck can this guy sustain this much mana consumption?" Janos couldn''t help asking. He was no summoner because he hadn''t been provided with the resources to be one, courtesy of being born in the side branch of the house. As a result, he only knew the basics of the ss. "His fire-element attainment is way too high for his rank. In that regard, the maniac has surpassed his rank. But that is not the whole thing. The various spells he is deploying through his summoned creatures don''t have separate mana fluctuations. It''s as if the creatures were summoned with those spells in their arsenals." Rey didn''t care about the summoned creatures that were getting destroyed. He could summon new ones anytime he wanted. He just wanted to see the extent of Eren''s capabilities with his eyes for the time being. "This this is spell integration! What kind of monster is he? Even Master Birmond is only starting to dabble in spell integration and this kid has already achieved it? What the fuck is going on? Aren''t WE supposed to be the experts in summoning sses?" Rey almost pulled his white beard off in surprise when he figured out Eren''s spells were so strong. He also figured out how he could sustain them for so long with minimal mana consumption. Janos was about to say something to an agitated-looking Rey when he felt his mana signature getting wiped off his ring. Next, he felt a distinct presence just outside his deployed shield. In the next moment, his shield was broken by the tip of a Kusarigama. This was Kirin''s weapon. A lethal weapon set named dual Kusarigama. It had two spearheads connected by a runic chain. Janos''s defense had been shattered in a split second by the Oni princess. Using the same ring he was used to wearing. Dual Kusarigama could be used for close and mid-rangebat. It had high maneuverability and terrifying prative power if the ranker knew how to handle it well. Kirin''s dual Kusarigama had been with her since a very young age. She had been training with the weapon all her life. So even with her sheltered childhood and adulthood, she was quite a skilled weapon handler. The runic chain that bound the two spearheads could be extended and retracted. The spearheads themselves could change their lengths and shape to a certain degree, depending upon Kirin''s needs. As a result, in Kirin''s hands, the weapon would get crazy momentum before delivering high pration power with one of its heads. The spearhead that hit Janos'' shield had such incredible momentum andpressed fire-element mana imbued into it that it broke Janos'' shield as soon as it made contact with it. ''This bitch.'' Janos couldn''t help cursing Kirin in his head when he looked at her stone-cold pretty face. If he was meeting her under different circumstances, he would have praised her unblemished beauty and presence. But she had be his nightmare by first piercing his heart and then chopping his finger. A wound that no longer bled but he didn''t have his finger. Kirin wanted to appear inside the wind-element dome Janos had deployed. But she couldn''t control the newly acquired artifact she was gifted by her husband. As a result, she appeared just outside the shield and decided to attack it. Eren had coordinated with Kirin. He had controlled his fire and made it easy for her to attack the pair. "Come." Janos took out his sword and looked at Kirin with non-maskable anger. She had tried to attack Rey as well using her chained weapon. However, her attack failed when Janos intervened. Janos and Kirin exchanged a few moves with each other in a fraction of a second. It was clear to the Oni princess that she couldn''t harm Rey as long as Janos was with him. Janos had immediately cast a wind-element pulse that repelled Eren''s sea of fire and kept old Rey safe from its clutches. The wind-element pulse was strong enough to push Eren''s fire back out and allow the two Remus n members some breather. However, Kirin had proved her mettle by disying that she could be an assassin and a close-range fighter equally well. She could also function as a mid-range fighter using the weapon she had. Kirin''s stay on the battlefield was as detrimental to Rey as Janos''s stay was to Eren. she needed to be led elsewhere if Janos wanted to keep Rey safe. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to sack Kirin and defend Rey at the same time. "Lord Rey" Janos warned Rey and thetter understood. "Go. I''ll handle this brat." Chapter 802 Advantages Of Spell Integration P2 Bzzzz. Woosh. Ssh. A wave of water-element mana suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It doused off the fire Eren''s flying snakes had rained down on thend almost instantly, leaving behind wooden pieces, big and small, charcoaled with various degrees of burn. Rey had cast his water element spell to take care of Eren''s fire. By now, Eren''s summoned creatures had served their purpose and were about to disappear. So this was the right time for Rey tounch his retaliation. He quickly extinguished the fire by creating a giant pool of water. He then cast a dome of water element mana shield around him. The old man fortified it with green vines that could stay immersed in water. First and foremost, the summoners had to ensure their safety. There were only two D-Rank woond creatures left when the fire was set off. They too had half-burnt bodies, indicating that they were on their way to join their brethren before the water''s timely intervention. "Brat, it''s not easy to get rid of my summons." Old Reyughed as he followed his water spell with additional summoning ss spells. A momentter, the earth, which had been irrigated by water and fresh ash from woond creatures, started sprouting more nts. The ground around Rey was covered in green fields once again. This was as if the fire and ash had only made things better in the end by providing the soil with the necessary nourishment. The half-burnt pieces of wood started growing saplings on them which eventually developed into lush nts. "Skreeehaaaa!" Twenty new D-Rank nt monsters emerged from the wreck the sea of fire unleashed on previous woond creatures. The butcher knew that Rey had made use of the destruction caused by fire as a natural phenomenon in his summoning spells. So when he summoned the creatures again, they were more resistant to fire. Unlike the previous creatures, these green nt monsters seemed more resistant to fire. They were also blessed with high regenerative powers. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The nt monsters shot various water spells at the already-fading snakes. Their range of spells was also more extensive and could reach the flying snake just fine. It was apparent that Eren didn''t have the advantage anymore. The battle raged on between the two groups of summoned creatures. Eren''s flying snakes fought well. But they couldn''t keep up with the regenerative powers of green nt monsters who kept attacking them with water element spells. Before long, only three D-ranked flying snakes remained flying in the air. Their mana bodies were about to disintegrate unless Eren provided them with additional mana. ''This old man is just making it all the more tempting for me to devour him.'' Eren thought to himself as he watched Rey take countermeasures against his flying snakes. He smiled before casting another spell on the three fading flying snakes. Fireball! The flying snakes generated three fireballs in their expanded maws andunched a kamikaze attack on Rey''s shield. A brilliant detonation took ce when three D-Ranked fireballs were detonated at the same time along with the bodies of the three summoned creatures. Boom! Arge chunk of the water shield was evaporated in the st, creating a small opening. A Solis Spark was sent inside the opening that struck old Rey right in his chest. "Aaaaagh!" Rey Remus dropped to the ground when Eren''s lightning-element attack struck him. Thanks to the armor he was wearing underneath his clothes, he wasn''t seriously injured. However, the impact was still enough to cause him injury. Rey gritted his teeth and stood up. He had already closed the opening in his dome-shaped shield even when he was processing the pain he was feeling in his chest. He looked at Eren with a bit of fear in his eyes. ''For for a moment, I thought it was game over for me. What is taking thatd so long?'' Rey and Eren both could feel the mana fluctuations of Expert ranked spells bouncing off not too far away from them. It wasn''t clear who was winning. But from the looks of things, the Expert rankers would wrap up battles sooner than Eren and Rey. ''I''m sure Janos would win. I just need to bide my time.'' Rey came to a decision and started working on it. By this time, half of his mana reserves were expended on summoning and maintaining the woond creatures. He decided to draw the fight out. Rey sent his woond creatures to target Eren. but this time, he took flight with his Wind-Fire Wings. The butcher had no problem dodging the water element spells hurled at him from the ground. Making his summoned creatures airborne was a revolutionary change for Eren. it allowed him to keep his summoned creatures out of harm''s way for longer and made their attacks more effective and difficult to dodge. As a result, his enchanted creatures could keep on fighting for longer with minimal mana consumption. Rey and Eren both knew that provided no interference urs, Eren was determined to win the fight no matter if it gets expedited or dragged on. It was only a matter of when. "That defensive spell is not too bad. But since it uses water, I wonder what would happen when I do this" Eren said this and changed his position in the air. He raised his hands and cast the spell that Alephee had taught him. Twenty clusters of red lightning mana suddenly appeared on the battlefield that slowly started taking shape. They metamorphosed into bulls with their mana bodies made from red lightning. They also had purple-colored limbs, indicating that Blitz Steps had been integrated into them. Eren also made Ertaure out to lead the horde of bulls he had summoned. He also granted him the effects of Blitz Steps on his limbs. The contracted beast was ted when he was given a horde to lead. "You better not hold back, Ertaur. I want that shield destroyed by any means." Eren looked at Rey sadly andmanded his contracted beast. The Red Lightning bull released a gush of breath through his nose before nodding his head. He dug the ground beneath him with his front hooves before sending a simplemand to his red soldiers behind him. Blitz Steps + Red Bull Rush Chapter 803 Basic Building Blocks Of A Spell The clusters of red lightning moved at breakneck speeds before crashing onto the nt monsters with all they had. The monsters were subjected to such an impact that it looked like they had been pushed back in unison by a wave of red lightning. Eren was still not able topletely control his mana circuits the way Alephee wanted him to. Thus, he still had some limitations in controlling the summoned creatures using Alephee''s trick. As a result, the red lightning bulls couldn''t be retained for longer after Blitz Steps was integrated into them. They could only be employed forunching kamikaze attacks. However, the red lightning bulls'' limitations didn''t matter much to Eren. Compared to Rey''s woond creatures, they were very light on his mana consumption. Plus, their attacks delivered exceptional destruction powers. The red lightning bulls pushed Old Rey''s woond creatures farther back. The detonation of the red lightning clouds that followedpletely obliterated their bodies. Unlike fire-based attacks, they couldn''t offer much resistance to red lightning''s destructive nature. Old Rey watched the scene unfolding around him with horror. He looked at Eren who was flying in the air at a distance from him with genuine fear. ''Summoned creatures that can use movement spells along with their inherent spells. Flying snakes can breathe fire and drop fireballs. And a murder-seeking maniac who can shift between two sses like it''s no big deal. What What kind of summoning is this? And I have seen a fair share of fucking everything there is to see damn it.'' Old Rey pondered in his head with a look of dismay on his face. He decided to try to salvage the situation. "Young man, I think we were off to a rough start. Why don''t we" ? Eren shook his head in denial when Rey started speaking with forced politeness in his tone. Before old Rey could say something more, he observed that a rtively massive red bull had appeared outside his dual-element shield. Ertaur snorted his nose and bellowed before charging at the shield with his horns pointed straight at it. Unlike the summoned creatures, he hadplete autonomy when he used Blitz Steps. Thus, Eratur decided to test the waters before attacking with all he had. Eren didn''t like that his contract beast circumvented his orders by making the summoned creatures initiate their kamikaze attacks while he stayed behind. ''This mad bull wants to finish the old man all by himself.'' Eren smirked when he understood Ertaur''s intentions. He decided to watch the show while his contract beast took the reins from him. Bzzt. Swoosh. Boom. Ertaur''s attack made old Rey''s water-element shield ripple as red lightning seeped into it. The shield soon started having tongues of red lightning streaks over it. It started destroying the green vines that were submerged in the shield. "Aaaaaaaaaah. Listen to what your elders have to say, you devil." Old Rey yelled at Eren with anger and horror mixed into his tone. The old man didn''t call forth any more of his summoned creatures. He had decided to stake everything on sustaining his defense spell until Janos returned. Eren ignored Rey''s ramblings and focused his gaze on his contract beast who was gearing up for his second charge from a different direction. Eren could tell the beast was trying to locate the right angle to unleash his maximum power. ''What is that mad bull doing? The shield spell is the same from all angles.'' Eren looked at his contract beast confusedly. He thought that Ertaur had be mad trying to think about his charge so deeply instead of simply doing what he had told him to do. Thankfully, he had someone in the pendent he was wearing who could answer this riddle for him. ''Hehe. You are wrong, Eren. Every spell manifestation can be divided into a few basic building blocks. They include mana, elemental attainment, the will of the person in the form of their mana sense or soul sense, and invisible mana flow. These things have toe together for any spell to manifest itself. What Ertaur is doing right now is finding a point of contact in the shield that is most vulnerable to his attacks. There is a flow of mana in the spell that he is trying to keep tabs on. He is doing it with his animal instincts alone. Don''t underestimate the beats. Sometimes they can be smarter than most rankers.'' Alephee exined Ertaur''s actions in brief. Since the bull was doing things on his animal instincts, the butcher couldn''t get a read on him even though he could understand him mentally. ''The basic building blocks of spell manifestation, huh? Interesting. I suppose the mana circuits are also included in the list.'' Eren''s trail of thoughts waspleted by Alephee right away. ''Yes. Because spell manifestation starts when the mana circuits have done their job casting the spell. But typically, mana circuits are often overlooked when spell manifestation is considered. You can tweak each of these basic building blocks individually or in unison to maximize your spells to absurd levels. Provided you know what you''re doing. Otherwise, the spell manifestation will get destabilized and it would end up causing you harm. What you are doing with your training is learning to control the flow of mana. You have already seen what a bit of improvement in that section can do to your spells. It would set you apart from the crowd one day as you keep on refining your control over the flow of mana.'' Eren watched his contracted beast attack old Rey''s shield a bunch of times while chatting with Alephee. He wondered why she did not mention anything about the other building blocks of spell manifestation and ways to improve them. After all, he was addicted to casting spells with better control than before, thanks to the mana circuits control training he was working through. The optimal mana flow allowed him to enhance the effects of the spells while minimizing his mana consumption. As such, the butcher was interested in learning about ways to improve other sections of the spell manifestations as well. Chapter 804 Avoid Having Too Many Irons In The Fire Alephee knew what Eren was thinking mid-battle. She hmphed before continuing. ''You don''t need to know about ways to improve in other sections of the spell manifestation, Eren. Your obsessivepulsive mind would do you more harm than good if you tried to do everything at once. One needs to learn to control their mana flow first before one could think about other sections of spell manifestation. It paves the way for the rest. Also, it is the safest way to tweak your spells. Let''s say other ways carry some risks." Eren raised his eyebrows when Alephee criticized his behavior. He tried to counter her words using various thoughts that had sprung into his head. But ultimately, he closed his mouth and sighed, almost bing loyal to his fault. ''Fine. But what is Ertaur doing right now? He wasn''t the one who cast that shield. So how can he interfere in the mana flow of the defensive spell cast by someone else?'' Eren asked as his contract beast headbutted the water shield with his horns. Old Rey wasughing at the beast at this point. Mocking him for his foolish endeavor. But one could tell that the old man was stressed. Alephee didn''t take long to answer Eren''s question. "Controlling the mana flow and finding faults in others'' mana flow are two different sides of the same coin. One could approach them using different means. What Ertaur is doing right now is using his animal instincts consciously to find a weak point in Rey''s shield spell. The weak point of a spell changes with the duration and intensity of the spell among other things. And it appears and disappears within a fraction of a moment." Eren opened his eyes wide in surprise when he started to realize the significance of mana flow and the capability to see and alter it. Alephee realized what he was thinking and carried on. "That''s right. You can break and crumble any spell with rtive ease once you know how to tackle these weak points. However, you''d have to use your soul sense with utmost precision to keep track of the weak points in a spell. Of course, you''d need to master your soul sense before that happens. There''s another way to take advantage of mana flow without exercising control over it. Mana flow can be predicted for most known spells, and spell execution can be set in such a way that it takes advantage of ideal mana flow. This Rey Remus took advantage of optimal mana flow by casting chain spells. Chain spells create harmony in the mana flow of your spells because of the way the previous spell worked in the surroundings." Eren shook his head when he heard about the intricacies involved in a simple spell manifestation. He wasn''t introduced to any of these aspects of spells when he was in hisst timeline. ''Those fuckers in LA didn''t tell me about anything rted to the subject in all my academic years. Only a few prominent Houses are privy to such nuances of mana-rted topics. I was so dependent on the system that I didn''t think about these things either. What a farce!'' Alephee chuckled in Eren''s head before answering him. ''Although we call them the basic building blocks of any spell manifestation, they are not easy to tinker with. Because spell manifestation is based on them, tweaking the foundation might have unwanted consequences. One day, your bloodline powers will give you a huge edge when ites to tweaking the basic building blocks of spell manifestations. But at this point, you only need to focus on your mana circuits training. You should avoid having too many irons in the fire. Now concentrate on the fight. I think Ertaur has found what he was looking for.'' Ertaur bellowed just when Alephee finished warning Eren. The red bull finally used his red bull rush and Blitz Stepsbo on Rey''s dual-element shield. A wild mana pulse spread when his horns made contact with the shield. "Aaaaargh!" Old Rey cried in pain and agony when the red lightning prated deep into the shield and wreaked havoc on him even before the shield was broken. It was as if the contract beast had managed to find a loophole in the shield and sent his attack through it. ''Basic building blocks but not really meant to be tinkered with by basic rankers, huh! Got it.'' Eren thought to himself and smiled as he watched Rey suffering from Ertaur''s targeted attack. Knowing about these things really helped him see that he didn''t just need to look ahead, but also needed to work on his basics. Alephee had opened his eyes to another truth in his life that he hadn''t thought much about before. Ertaur bellowed and detonated his mana body when he sensed Rey was trying to fix a portion of the shield he had worked so hard to damage. The detonation damaged the shield faster than Rey could fix it. As a result, another gaping hole appeared in the shield. Bzzt. Swoosh. Land. Rey was terrified when he saw the breach in his defense. He quickly closed it with the almost spent mana while managing to stand on his two shaky feet. Only after making sure that his defense was intact again did the old summoner try to find his opponent. "Where where the fuck has he gone off" Rey stopped his speech and froze in his thoughts when he sensed a foreign presence inside the shield he had so desperately tried to fix. He now understood that was a futile attempt. p Because Eren was standing behind him. "Kneel." A cold voice sounded from Rey''s back before his legs gave up. His body started shaking in fear as he was affected by Eren''s soul sense. The next thing he felt was anger. "Let your wrath consume you and destroy you. Let me feed on that destruction and offer you eternal salvation. All our struggles and worries end here." Eren said as he activated his Sin Series Ability. Chapter 805 Capturing A Spy The dual-element shield was dispersed in the air when its caster lost all his focus. "Hahaha. You are nning to kill me, aren''t you? You have turned into a madman, son of a whore." An old man mused while gritting his teeth, staring nkly into the distance. The open path and lush vegetation had unfolded in front of his eyes. But his eyes were staring into the void as if trying to look for an emissary of death that wasing to im his life. His white hair had lost its previous regal look. His white beard started looking unkempt and dirty. His eyes were getting redder by the second as he processed his emotions. "Hahaha. You just fucking wait, you vile fucking snake. You won''t get away with this. Do you hear me? House Remus will make sure that you" Drop! Old Rey was feeling livid all of a sudden. He was feeling uncontroble anger towards everything and anything that came into his sight. But someone dropped something in front of him that temporarily snapped him out of his unreasonable rage. "What is" Rey''s red eyes were wide open in shock when he realized that he was looking at a decapitated head on the ground in front of him. The cut part had been cauterized so much that it had stopped bleeding. As a result, the head lookedpletely fine and almost alive. Old Rey was about to scream once more. But Eren''s soul sense overwhelmed him and affected his consciousness. As a result, he entered a vegetative state while the wrath mana was still inside him. Kirin appeared beside Eren with virtually no signs of battle on her. Of course, she had taken care of Janos. But Kirin was not alone. She was controlling the runic shackles of someone standing behind her. Their mouth was also sealed with a runic imprint, making it impossible for them to speak. "I was wondering what was taking you so long. So it looks like we have an admirer admiring us from a distance." Eren addressed Kirin, taking her in his arms. He caressed her blond hair and tucked the bangs behind her ears while observing the prisoner she had taken in. "Hm. This girl was spying on us when we were busy, lord husband. I trapped her after killing that guy. I was nning to kill her as well. But thought that there was a chance you two knew each other. So I brought her here." Kirin said, looking at Eren adoringly. The Oni princess that had just killed Janos was nowhere to be found within her. She liked being embraced and pampered by Eren. This prisoner of Kirin was an Adept-ranked female ranker who radiated a wild aura around her. Eren and Kirin could feel that there was something different about her as she looked at them with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. This prisoner had ck hair and wild eyes. She had a slim build and curves at the right ces. She was wearing leather-like ck armor and seemed to have been out and about for a very long time because of the way her mana signature felt to Eren. "Hm? Who is she? I don''t remember her. She doesn''t seem associated with any of the forces we know either." Eren looked at the wild-looking girl with a bit of curiosity in his eyes. But at this moment, he decided to focus on his task at hand. "It looks like we''ll need to interrogate her. Kirin darling, use the spatial array I showed you and take her into the city. Lock her up in the guild''s basement and keep an eye on her. I''ll wrap this up soon." Eren said, pecking Kirin on the right cheek. The Oni princess nodded and hugged Eren a bit before disappearing. The shushed prisoner was suddenly seen getting dragged in the air by her shackles. Her eyes and her bodynguage screamed the need to get free from the Oni princess that had caught her effortlessly. Eren rubbed his palms together and pped when Kirin and the prisoner were removed from sight, leaving him alone with a vegetative-looking Rey. "Now where were we?" Eren asked nobody in particr before expediting the process to generate wrath mes. Old Rey''s blue veins on his skin and the mana circuits inside him started getting overflown with wrath mana. Before long, a creature of wrath was created who had assumed the same kneeled position as Rey. This creature of wrath looked so different from Rey because of his pumped-up physical appearance. Eren was about to snap his fingers and destroy old Rey''s wrath body to obtain the wrath me. Suddenly, he thought of something. He was having an inner feeling that since all his Abilities had evolved with his rank up, his bloodline Ability must have followed the same pattern. This was his instinct as a half-blood. So he decided to act on them. Devour! Eren extended his arms and shapeshifted them into a slime-like form. He activated his bloodline Ability on Rey on top of his Sin Series Ability. Instead of absorbing Rey''s life essence and fortifying his body stats, Eren decided to refine the wrath me using his Devour Ability. He started liquidating Rey''s body to nourish the wrath me that was lit inside the active slimy mass. Activation of both Abilities on a single subject produced a distinct and never-felt-before mana pulse. Within a moment, it drained all the mana in the area before congregating around Rey''s body. Eren watched the whole process with keen interest. He could see the oue in his head. Before long, old Rey''s entire body was disintegrated and changed into something else by Eren''s Abilities. There remained a single wrath me floating in front of Eren in the end. It was dark red and felt so much different from the previous wrath mes Eren had synthesized. "This should be interesting." Eren thought to himself and smirked. He could feel that the gains he would receive by absorbing this wrath me would be on a different level than all the previous instances. Chapter 806 Summoning Spells And Wrath Mana Boom! Eren threw out a potion bomb on the battlefield before leaving. It wasn''t really an explosive but an alchemy product made to spread the Potion of Innosense. He then moved to a barren area to absorb thetest wrath me. He didn''t want to wait this time. Eren sat cross-legged in a meditative position inside a cave that he had created with his earth-element spell. He has his hands on basic spells from every great element at this point. And practiced them from time to time. Eren practiced his Rootless ranking technique for a while to stabilize his mana flow inside his mana circuits. The me of wrath floats in front of him, burning silently. Alephee came out of her newly hijacked pendent abode and looked at Eren. she then cast her barrier spell so that the mana fluctuations that arise due to Eren absorbing this special wrath me stay inside. "Do it." Alephee said and smiled at Eren. Thetter smiled back before raising his open palm. As soon as the dark red wrath me was ced in his palm, it started melting in his hand. "Aaaaaaaaaaaargh fk!" Eren felt an unbelievably painful headache when the wrath mepletely disappeared from his body. This was the first time he had ever felt a headache like this after absorbing the wrath me. "Practice your ranking technique while absorbing the wrath me." Eren was barely able to hear Alephee''s advice amid the feeling of headache and burn he was feeling throughout his body. It was as if someone was trying to reshape his body. Eren started seeing the childhood memories that belonged to old Rey. his sense of time was twisted and he started living his victim''s life in quick session. Some scenes were cut short. Others were blurred. But deep down, the butcher could subconsciously remember things even old Rey would have had a hard time recalling. Water-element attainments. Earth-element attainments. Wood element attainments. This was the mostplete set of memories Eren ever had a chance to look through. But the journey he was living through wasn''t just limited to what was happening inside his mind. Eren''s ranking status started changing as his body began absorbing the wrath me while the Rootless technique was active. His mana core started absorbing mana from the surroundings at a rapid pace. It was also absorbing the attainments of wood, water, and earth elements that once belonged to old Rey. Eren''s body started sweating heavily as he was living through a peculiar state. In his mind, he was living an entire life. As a result, his stats increased. The adept-ranked mana core was trying to enter the liquid state. The ss-rted memories and elementalprehensions were the next sets to get absorbed by Eren. but there was something else that he had never absorbed before. Spells and spellprehensions. Execution experiences. Eren was absorbing everything that old Rey had to offer to him. He had stripped the Remus n member of all his achievements. Eren''s mana core started vibrating as it absorbed plenty of Adept-ranked mana along with the elemental attainments. Before long, he had broken into the liquid stage of the D-Rank. The butcher was still undergoing his white-haired transformation. The runic tattoos all over his body started getting darker. They started moving over his skin as if they were alive, creating brand-new patterns that weren''t previously there. "You are doing well, Eren. But don''t be too greedy. Hold onto things that are useful and discard what is unnecessary to you." Alephee''s voice sounded in Eren''s mind when he was living his life as Rey Remus. At first, it sounded foreign to him. But his soul sense aided him in snapping out of the illusions induced by memories. Eren started following Alephee''s advice. He had a new rity in the task he was doing because of his soul sense. The butcher started discarding memories rted to Rey doing things and memories that didn''t matter much to him. He only started focusing on the memories rted to his ss, spells, and elemental attainments. Within a few minutes, Eren was able to handle the self-inflicted crisis. He then focused on stabilizing his situation by practicing his ranking technique some more. Eren opened his eyes to what he thought was a lifetimeter. He could tell that there were a lot of things different about him as a ranker. "How do you feel?" Alephee asked, folding her arms. Eren replied with a smile on his face. "Haha. Awesome. I wish I could kill a bunch of Reys to regain these gains." Eren answered before licking his lips. For some reason, he felt hungry. So he took out the ice-element fruits that he had stocked up on and started eating them. The chill they induced also refreshed his mind. p Eren thought of testing his newly obtainedprehension and spells. He first summoned a giant flower in front of him with yellow and green petals. This was the same kind of spell Rey had used earlier. Eren had started broadening his horizons with each breakthrough, big or small. Thus, he acquired a brand-new spellbo in his head. Woond creatures'' summoning spell + wrath mana. As soon as Eren injected the wrath mana into the woond creature with a normal body, it began to transform. It started transforming into a much broader and more prominent version of itself. And of course, infected by the emotions of wrath. "Kreeeeeeeeh!" The woond creature yelled at its master because there was no enemy around for it tounch its attack and focus its wrath on. A whole new branch of summoning magic was open for Eren when he acquired wood-based summoning spells. And Rey''s experiences andprehension as a summoner had helped him integrate his Sin series ability with summoning magic, enabling him to bring out the summoning spell''s true potential. Eren knew that he could only inject wrath mana into the bodies of the summoned woond creatures because they had organic bodies. For now, the wrath mana injection wouldn''t work on his other summoning spells. However, the butcher was all smiles after learning that old Rey had given him everything he could. The old man had enabled Eren to be one of the top-ss summoners of his generation Chapter 807 Incredulous Progress "I feel so fine." "No I was feeling fine before. Now I feel great." Eren corrected himself energetically with his stillCclosed eyes. Opening his eyes the next moment, he took a long breath and decided to check up on his progress. *** Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organizations- Edinburgh Army (Nightshade duchy) Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy Academic Status- Graduation On Hold Ranking Technique- Rootless (Custom Name) Base Stats: HP- 26 / 26 MP- 25 / 25 STR- 27 AGI- 26 INT- 27 BTP~ 131 BTP Visibility- Private Ranking Status: D-Rank (Liquid Core State) Abilities (custom): Sin of Wrath (Domain of Wrath), Sin of Lust (Mist of Lust), Sedating Gaze, Expedited Regeneration (Bloodline), Memory Extraction (Bloodline) Devour (Bloodline), Shapeshift (Bloodline) Self-created spells: Wind-Fire Shards Lightning-element spells: Blitz Steps, Blitz Heal, Blitz Storm, Blitz Shield, Blitz Bolt, Solid Spark (Aspect variations. Red-Destruction Purple- Speed), Lightning Seed, Lightning Tree Fire-element spells: Fireball, Firebreath, Hatching of the me (variations), Fire Wings, Rain of Fire, Crimson Storm, Igni Chains, Igni Steps Time-element spells: Sedated Perception, Stunning Speed, Total Control, Age Expedite, Age Reverse, Motion Maniption Space-element spells (notpletely synchronized): Blink, Dynamic Distance, Perfect Projection Wind-element spells: Wind Wings, Wind-de Tornado, Wind Steps, Wind Wall, Wind Shards Water-element spells (notpletely synchronized): Aqua Hammer, Aqua Heal, Aqua des, Aqua Wall, Aqua Steps, Aqua Storm, Aqua Dome Earth-element spells: Earth Wall, Earth Steps, Earth Maniption, Earth Spikes Misceneous spells: Beast Contract Spell, Demon Beast Transformation Spell, Wind-fire Wings, Wind-Fire Shards Summoning Spells (multi-element) (notpletely synchronized): Fire snakes, Wind-Fire Flying Snakes, Red Lightning Bull, Griffin (calibrating updated entries) *** Eren had started practicing a whole bunch of brand-new spells these days. He had elemental affinities for all the significant elements that had increased over time as he kept on practicing the Rootless ranking technique. Plus, he had received elemental attainments from a variety of "sources." As a result, the butcher faced almost no hurdles in grasping new spells that belonged to varying elements. Of course, he wasn''tpletely confident in using them during battles. However, the amount of time and work he had put in was bound to ensure his mastery over old and brand-new spells alike. ''Hm. There are several spells that might require my attention. But my space-element spells are way behind and need thorough practice. Damn it. If only I could have a space-element "snack" to myself. I''d be able to expedite the process much faster.'' Eren chuckled and shook his head. He smiled mirthlessly before realizing that he had called his potential victims "snacks." This was Reen''s way of addressing people she wanted to devour or had devoured. The space-element rankers were rare. And they were highly valued by the kingdom for their expertise. Most space-element rankers were array masters and were earning hefty amounts for their professions under the kingdom''s protection. As such, Eren couldn''t target them even when he knew of a few of them. It was interesting to note that Eren had started practicing movement spells belonging to various elements. That''s because movement spells were easy to learn and cast. And they served as a basis for Eren to get familiar with the element. Even though Eren had been practicing these new movement spells with equal amounts of effort, he could tell that there were various subtle and in-your-face differences among them. Some provided them with enhanced control while others focused on agility. Eren''s lightning element movement spell Bitz Steps was still faster than all the other movement spells he was practicing. Thus, it made sense that he continued using it for the time being. However, he could use the other movement spells for variation in his battle style. The butcher''s water element spells were almost aplete set by themselves. They covered everything from defense, offense, movement, and AoE to healing. He just needed to be a bit hands-on with them for him to use them in real battle. The summoning spell set Eren had was soon going to get enriched with spells the butcher had received from old Rey. As such, the set was also going to cover everything from defense to healing. Of course, Eren had also added new entries to his sets of fire and lightning element spells. And he had mastered them as well. Eren didn''t focus on casting his newly acquired spells because he wanted to fight Rey as a summoner. Fighting a long battle with an established summoner made him realize how he could improve in his ss. Eren looked at his progress on the spectral screen and thought about how far he hade from his previous life. His eyes shone with determination as he dispersed the spectral screen and started towards the void. "Still feeling regret over your past timeline?" Alephee realized that Eren was taking a trip down memoryne and asked him casually. Thetter stayed in his meditative position and replied to her in a serious voice. "No. Not anymore. In retrospect, I''m d my past timeline was so messed up. Without that life topare to, I won''t be able to appreciate the life I have now. The progress I have made feels so rewarding because it creates a stark contrast to my rock-bottom self. I know you always tell me that my standards as a ranker have been set lower because I keep remembering my past. Comparing my progress to that level would make me feel less motivated to progress any further because I''d feel I have already done enough. Archived enough. I can now tell you it''s not like that. This juxtaposition of both lives in my head is what motivates me. It won''t make mecent. On the contrary, it drives me forward. However, don''t worry about me living in the past forever. Thisparison won''t always cast its shadow on my conscience. It would fade eventually when I reached the Adept rank. I couldn''t get into the Expert rank in my first life after all." Alephee acted as a reliable listener for Eren to deal with the emotions he was feeling. She looked at him and pursed her lips before diverting his attention to a pertinent topic. "Your incredulous progresses at a cost, you know. House Remus is preparing to retaliate harder than before after this." Chapter 808 Using Memory Extraction On The Prisoner "Your incredulous progresses at a cost, you know. House Remus will retaliate hard after this." Eren nodded at Alephee when he heard her. Then he just shrugged his shoulders before responding from his seated position. "It wasn''t like they weren''t gunning for me and my city before. Nothing really changed for me." Eren said and got up from his position. He reverted to his normal self and ripped off his shirt which had been ruined because of his breakthrough. His slim but muscr torso was soon covered with different clothing. Alephee watched him change while speaking up. "Yes. The retaliation was bound to happen. But you killed the two members of House Remus knowing they were associated with that guy Demonmir. If things we have gathered about him are true, then he''d see that as an insult to his name. You should expect an entire Edinburgh army to stand against you when your exit mission is assigned to you. His influence in the army is not something you can take lightly of." Eren started walking out of the cave he had created when he heard Alephee who was walking beside him. He smirked beforementing. "Hahaha. An entire army, you say? You are just exaggerating to keep me grounded. But it doesn''t matter anyway if that had been true." Eren said and looked at Alephee knowingly. "Why do you say that?" Alephee asked with raised eyebrows. "Because if they have an army, I have you. Because if they have an army, I have one of my own. Andstly, if they have an army, I can always count on myself." Erenughed and walked ahead, leaving Alephee frozen in her steps. "Besides" Alephee listened to Eren''s voice as he continued walking. "Who gives a hairy rat''s ass to Demonmir? When the timees, I''ll rip him a new one too." Eren said and lightning struck. He disappeared from his position. Alephee shook her head and smiled before following him right afterward. *** Next day. White Raven guild''s underground facility. "Who are you?" Eren asked the female ranker that had been caught by Kirin. She was made to sit inside an imprisoning array, which had restricted all her movements. Her mana circuits were constantly agitated by external influence, making her unable to cast her spells. "Sir, this is a misunderstanding. My name is Ayena" She was interrupted before she could finish her lies. "Let me warn you before you lie to me. I don''t like to brag, but I am very proficient at torture methods. Trust me. You don''t want to find out what I''ll do to you if you give me a reason to." Eren sat down on a chair and adjusted himself. He spread his legs and leaned forward with one of his arms resting on his knees. He inhaled arge dose of his Sativa Stick before slowly releasing it to create smoke rings to entertain himself. The female ranker had a terrified expression on her face. But Eren could tell she wasn''t really afraid of him or about the idea of what might happen to her. It could only mean that she was driven by a cause greater than her own well-being. And the butcher wanted to find out what it was. "Okay. You got me. You are Eren Idril, right? My name is Chayim" As the female ranker started to lie again, Eren spread his soul sense. He overwhelmed her consciousness easily and subjected her to a sense of extreme dread. The female ranker felt like she was in a quagmire that was actively trying to bury her inside it. She felt like she had been turned into a creature of wrath and running aimlessly onnd made of half-solidva. Her skin started to develop blisters due to extreme heat and her lungs were filled with sulfur gas. Her eyes started burning as ifva was pouring out of the tear ducts. Her consciousness was then pulled into a world of indescribable bliss and pleasure. She was so overwhelmed by the feelings of lust that she started getting scared of it. As if she subconsciously knew that these heightened feelings might break her as a sane person. Her consciousnesssted in the world of lust for what felt like an eternity to her. And somehow it also felt like her time was cut short inside. She has been pulled into a world full of creatures of wrath once again. Eren''s soul sense carried the mark of Seven Sins on it. As a result, his soul senses would often subject people to such hallucinations whenever he attacked them with them. Eren walked up to the female ranker and ced his free hand on her head while she was subjected to his soul sense. He used his rare bloodline Ability that Reen had used on Jules once. Memory Extraction! Eren''s hand turned into a slime-like mass that covered the female ranker''s head entirely, leaving only two openings for her nostrils so that she could breathe. He then closed his eyes and tried to read her most recent memories. Zinn! Eren''s slimy hand was pushed away as some form of magic barrier appeared covering the female ranker''s brain. The slime mass that had covered her head was repelled with overwhelming force. The butcher''s hand took a while to regenerate from the dispersed slime mass. "Hm? What just happened?" Eren asked, looking at the female ranker with curious expressions. She had indeed extracted some surface-level fresh memories. But when he tried to dig deep, some form of mechanism acted against his Ability. ''Thisss resisted my Ability when she was affected by my soul sense? This doesn''t add up.'' Eren thought to himself. Alephee appeared beside him when he was about to try his Ability on the female ranker once again. "Don''t. A Grandmaster-ranked entity has ced countermeasures against anyone who tries to read her memories. This time she would die by getting brain dead if you tried your luck one more time." ? Alephee spoke and put her hand on the female ranker''s head. Eren was instructed to retract his soul sense after she closed her eyes. The female ranker took her time to stabilize her condition and open her eyes once again. "You" The female ranker looked at Eren with mixed emotions as she tried to recall what had happened since she was imprisoned. Eren felt the female ranker''s heart was still beating rtively faster. He also smelled some vaginal discharge from the female ranker, indicating that the Sin of Lust had affected her. "What... what the fuck have you done to me?" === AN: Memory Extraction Ability was first mentioned in chapter 109. Chapter 809 Meeting Fiona Fenris P1 "What have you done to me?" The female ranker asked Eren a question in a weak voice. Her body was shaking uncontrobly. She was drenched in sweat. And her heartbeats were erratic. Her previous cunning was no more. She didn''t pretend to be scared of Eren anymore. She didn''t have to. That''s because she was genuinely scared of him at this point. "I told you not to give me a reason to torture you. Will you tell me everything now? Or do you want another special psych treatment. Fiona?" Eren didn''t tell the female ranker that he couldn''t read her memories any further than he already had. Instead, he just made her focus on the part that he could. "How. Do you know my name?" Fiona was spooked by the way Eren knew her name. Her eyes darted across the giant hall and found a female ranker standing not too far from Eren. "Help help me, miss. I know nothing" Alephee shook her head when she heard Fiona trying to garner some sympathy from her. Seeing Fiona''s damsel-in-distress performance, Alephee spoke in a clear voice while narrowing her eyes. "Lies won''t get you anywhere, Fiona. As you can see, we have our means to extract memories from our brains. It''s just that you might not survive the procedure and we don''t want our prisoner to die on us. Especially when we haven''t received sufficient information from you. I suggest you speak of your own volition. That way, you''d at least be in some semnce of control over what information you want to provide to us." Alephee said and raised her hand towards Fiona. She used the control she had over the array to free the half-blood ranker from the array''s restrictions ced on her. But before Fiona could celebrate being free to cast her spells, her mana core waspletely sealed by Alephee. She became a mortal-like entity even without being subjected to an isting array. It could be said that she was in a more difficult situation against two Adept-ranked entities than her previous restricted self. "Let''s start this one more time, shall we? Where have youe from and why were you spying on us?" Alephee asked in a cold voice devoid of any emotion. Her presence felt even cold and callous to Fiona and made her realize that the young woman standing beside Eren was as terrifying as him if not more. Fiona took a long breath to reset herself. She then looked at Eren before asking him. "You what are you?" Fiona''s question caught Eren off guard. He looked at her with a puzzled expression before responding. "I am what I need to be, Fiona. Why do you ask?" Fiona looked at Eren''s expressions intently before finally speaking up. "Are you a half-blood?" Eren and Alephee both looked at each other when Fiona asked that question. Alephee quickly closed in on Fiona before creating a scalpel-like mana spike on her right hand''s index and ring finger. She cut Fiona''s cheek ever so slightly with the scalpel and drew a drop of blood. "I don''t know how she managed to mask her bloodline energy. However, it looks like someone from Team Half-Blood has done a great job. Under normal circumstances, nobody would be able to tell who she is. She is indeed a half-blood, Eren." Alephee said after cing the mana-coated drop of blood levitating over her left hand''s palm. She then dispersed the scalpel and snapped her fingers, closing the light sh wound on Fiona''s face. Eren was a bit taken aback by Alephee''s revtion. But through JJ Edgar''s journal, he was already aware that half-blood societies existed in the shadows. So he quickly got over his initial surprise and confronted Fiona about it. "Are you from one of the Half-Blood societies?" Fiona was a bit angry when Eren neglected her question and asked his own. "Information-sharing is a two-way street, mister." Eren smirked before responding. "It can be. But this is not information-sharing between two parties who have negotiated with each other. What we have here is interrogation. The sooner you realize it, the better it would be for you." Fiona looked at Eren and pursed her lips. But she didn''t budge from her stance. She looked at both of her interrogators with determination before speaking up. "Go ahead and kill me if that''s all you have to say. I''ll only cooperate with half-bloods. And nobody else." Eren looked at Fiona and sighed. He then raised his hand to try to extract some more memories from her. If she dies in the process, so be it. He wouldn''t want to let slip the opportunity to learn more about the half-bloods if he could help it. However, Alephee pped his hand away and prevented him from taking action. "Not so fast, Eren." Alephee said and started to discuss things with Eren through voicemunication. They talked for a while before concluding. Eren looked at Fiona and smiled before turning both hands into slime-like masses in front of her. He turned them back into his hands before speaking up. "This should establish my identity as a half-blood. Now speak up." Fiona looked at Eren doubtfully even after she saw what Eren could do with his hands. Even when her mana core was sealed, her mana sense was still active. The thing Eren did with his hands was not a spell, since there were no mana fluctuations rted to one. "That indeed looks like a bloodline Ability. But what kind of bloodline is THAT? I never saw or read anything like what you have." Eren could tell that Fiona was looking at him like he was some kind of extraterrestrial entity. So he shrugged his shoulders and answered. "I thought us half-bloods were united for amon cause. Are you not discriminating against me by looking at me like some kind of abomination? What''s the difference between you and those cruel normie rankers if you treat me like I''m an outsider?" Eren made use of the observations Edgar had made in his journal and used them against the half-blood he had just met. And surprisingly, it worked. "That. Um. You are right. You are a half-blood first and foremost no matter what kind of bloodline you have." === AN: Fiona Fenris was first mentioned in chapter 647. Chapter 810 Meeting Fiona Fenris P2 "That. Um. You are right. You are a half-blood first and foremost no matter what kind of bloodline you have." Fiona said proudly. Eren shed a smile when he heard her words. "Excellent. Now if you could just" "I I''ll tell you everything once we establish the fact that you are not working for the kingdom against your fellow half-bloods." Eren started massaging his forehead with his right hand when he heard another demand from Fiona. Talking with her was bing a headache for him. "It looks like you are paranoid about everything. And driven by the cause of rebellion against the current system in Anfang. I won''t me you if you have those views. In addition, I apud your willingness to show camaraderie with other half-bloods. But let''s get one thing straight. I don''t work for anyone. Moreover, I am not settling permanently in any camp. That doesn''t mean I''m against all the half-bloods. But it also doesn''t mean that I am with you forever. You can look at me as a man who had his campC his ideasC his own beliefs. I can be of some help to you guys if you can be of some help to me as well. How does that sound for establishing the fact that we are not enemies?" Eren said and waited for Fiona to answer. She nced at him and Alephee before looking down at her feet to ponder something. She wanted to argue with Eren concerning his alienated opinions of other half-bloods. But she also understood that the half-bloods that had stayed outside the Half-blood Bastian would have different views than those who were born inside it. Eren read the conflict Fiona was having in her head and pressed on. "Look, I understand the doubts you have in your head. But if I wanted to harm you solely for being a half-blood, I would have done that as soon as Alephee confirmed your identity as one. I am not allied with the forces of Anfang that are anti-half-blood if that''s what you are asking. I don''t think I''ll ever ally myself with them in the future either. It was you who had stumbled upon me and not the other way around. So there''s no pre-arranged trap from my side. And I gain nothing from deceiving you. These are the facts that I''m sure you can already see with your own eyes. Now the only question is, what will you do about them? Will you gain a potential ally for your cause or will you die a meaningless death? Something I''m sure you''d abhor." Eren''s voice was calm. His soul sense was also subconsciously mixed into his voice, which mixed his emotions with it. Fiona finally decided toe clean with Eren after processing every aspect of her capture and things she had read about Eren before. She had made detailed inquiries before visiting the city of White Raven. "First um let me take a bath and cough change my clothes. I can''t talk and exin anything to you in my current situation." Fiona could have refreshed herself by channeling her mana throughout her body. But she knew that Alephee wouldn''t unseal her mana core until a formal agreement between the two sides has been reached. Thus, she asked for a traditional way to get fresh. Eren nced at Fiona''s crotch when she put her demand forward, causing her to stare at him angrily. He looked up and pursed his lips before looking at Alephee. "We''ll be back." Alephee said before activating a spatial array. She and Fiona disappeared from their position, leaving Eren to his devices. *** Fiona had gotten fresh and changed into casual wear. She was then led by Alephee into a minimal yet sophisticated dining room. "Come. Take a seat." Eren gestured to Alephee to take a seat in front of him at the dining table. Alephee appeared next to him before taking a seat beside him. There was also someone else who was sitting in front of Eren. Her back was turned so that she couldn''t see the person''s face. Fiona wanted to say no to any food that was offered to her by Eren. She felt that he could spike her food. Eren chuckled after reading her thoughts. ? "I won''t lie, Fiona. I am not above spiking someone''s food or drink. But I only do something like that when I know that my opponents are stronger than me. You are not stronger than me. And you are not my opponent yet. So you have nothing to fear. At least not when ites to having food with us." Eren said and narrowed his eyes. His tone changed when he spoke further. "I can always harm you directly after you have finished dining with us." Fiona Fenris looked at Eren before nodding at him. In some way, his threat at this point made her more inclined to ept the situation. Fiona didn''t look at the person sitting in front of Eren because she kept on looking him in the eyes. She sat beside the white-gray-haired girl and ced her hands on the table. Eren operated the array that was carved on the dining table and started serving the dinner. There was a variety of cuisines that were on disy. Some of them started looking sumptuous to Fiona as she weed them one after the other on her tter. Fiona waited for Eren to start having dinner. A final test. Butcher sighed as he took his first bite of the food, assuring the half-blood that it was safe to consume. "What do you want to ask?" Fiona asked while taking a bite out of hermb meat. Eren was eating venison from a ranked mana beast. He cut a cube out of his nicely carved venison b and dipped it in the sweet and sour sauce. The butcher handled his cutlery like he was used to cutting chunks of meat for various reasons. "First, it seems like you were tracking someone and came here. Who were you looking for?" Eren asked while enjoying the melting venison in his mouth. Fiona took a sip from her wine ss before replying. "Someone named Agatha Adolphus. I was tracking her that led me towards the city of White Raven." The noises of spoons and chewing stopped when Fiona told them who she was looking for. A pin-drop silence could be heard in the surroundings all of a sudden. Eren pointed at the person sitting beside Fiona beforementing. "You mean her?" Chapter 811 Business Cooperation With The Last-Blood Bastion P1 "Agatha!" Fiona cried out in rm, her eyes nearly popping out of her sockets. She almost dropped the knife she was holding. Because of her nearly-lost grip, she juggled the knife like a clown before she managed to grasp it with both hands. "Hm? Hello. Have we met each other?" Agatha was equally surprised by the way Fiona reacted. Eren and Alephee weren''t exactly forting with her about their new guest that had appeared suddenly. So she didn''t know Fiona''s background. "You you are looking a bit different than the spectral image we had of you." Fiona processed her shock after taking a long breath. She kept the knife down to avoid any more fumbles and straightened herself in her seat. She rubbed her eyes with both her hands before caressing her face with open palms. She then adjusted her hair before generating a spectral image of Agatha''s younger self over the palm of her right hand. "Oh, this was when well. It was when I was very young. Hehe. You can''t expect me to stay like a teen forever, can you?" Agatha still didn''t understand why Fiona was looking for her. She also didn''t know why this erratic female ranker was carrying an old spectral image of her. Agatha didn''t sense any ill intent from Fiona, so she answered her casually. "You still don''t know who your parents were, do you?" Fiona looked at Agatha intently and came to a realization. She had rescued half-bloods like Fiona, who didn''t know anything about being half-bloods. She could sense such a type after meeting them so many times. Eren looked at Alephee and smiled mirthlessly. He had avoided telling Agatha about her lineage because he thought that it would distract her from focusing on the guild''s matters. After all, she had an entire city''s affairs to look after. Eren couldn''t afford to have Agatha''s attention divided at such crucial times. Eren had concluded that providing information about Agatha''s background would make her start walking on the path of vengeance once again. Thus, he had not told her anything he had learned from Alephee. But most of all, Eren did that to ensure his city''s start wouldn''t be hampered. Now that the guild was running smoothly and the city was working almost autonomously, the butcher thought that now was the time for Agatha to get over her mental burden. Thus, he let Fiona fill in the gaps for her. Fiona started exining why she was looking for Agatha. She exined to her that her family was targeted because of her lineage as half-bloods. Agatha stopped eating when she started hearing Fiona''s exnations. The more Fiona talked, the more Agatha was reminded of how her family was killed. Eren could tell that she had been brought back to her past because of Fiona''s words. "I I don''t get it. Why are they targeting us? What''s a half-blood?" Agatha''s voice was shaky. Her eyes had turned watery because of her violent memories. Eren was curious about actual half-bloods'' take on their identity too. So he and Alephee kept quiet and let Fiona do the talking. "A half-blood is someone with beastly genes integrated into their genome. The establishments in Anfang have been targeting half-bloods for a very long time. Most of the half-bloods die even without knowing about their lineage. I don''t want to state things explicitly because we are not inside the Last-Blood Bastion. I will just say that half-bloods are Anfang''s dark past. And the establishments in power are doing everything they can to keep it dark and hidden from the masses. I won''t ask Adept Eren considering his views and his position. But I will ask you, Agatha. Come with me to the Last-Blood Bastion. That''s a safe ce for all of us half-bloods out there. Living here out in the open is not safe for us. At least not until we bring about a revolution. All half-bloods live in Last-Blood Bastion. We have special resources for our needs. You will never have to worry" "Hang on a minute!" Eren stopped drinking from his wine ss and ced it on the table. He looked at Fiona and narrowed his eyes before speaking up. "Agatha is not going anywhere, Fiona. Maybe you don''t know her position in the city. But her existence is essential to its functioning. She is extremely safe in the city of White Raven. And I''ll see to it that she continues to prosper herself and this city along with it." Fiona looked at Agatha''s face when Eren finished stating his opinion. She couldn''t see that Agatha was dissatisfied with anything Eren said. So she clenched her fists beforementing. "Adept Eren, is this not selfish? Why should Agatha jeopardize her safety because of your goals? Why should she stay here when she cane with me and receive the right guidance and resources that are tailored to her? You can ce her responsibilities on anyone of your subordinates." Fiona didn''t want toe across as a rude guest at the dining table. But she refused topromise on her mission to secure Agatha and bring her into their fold. Eren smirked in contempt when he heard Agatha''s question. He drank from his wine cup and enjoyed the soothing taste of Merlot in his mouth. He only spoke after feeling rejuvenated by its effects on his body and stimting his mana circuits. "Have I ever denied that I''m not selfish? However, let''s not pretend that you''re not taking her wherever you want to take her just to care for her. Where were you when her family was killed? Or when she had to join the cultists for survival? Or when she was almost turned into a ve by the city of Silvermoon? Or when she was ready to sacrifice herself on the path of vengeance? Everybody''s selfish, Fiona. You are naive, delusional, or arrogant if you think that you or your people are different from me just because you run a pro-half-blood organization." Chapter 812 Business Cooperation With The Last-Blood Bastion P2 Everybody''s selfish, Fiona. You are naive, delusional, or arrogant if you think that you or your people are different from me just because you run a pro-half-blood organization." Eren said to Fiona in a cold voice. She opened her mouth in response to Eren''s words. But nothing came from it. She was tongue-tied by Eren''s tant admissions and criticisms. Eren stirred his Merlot in his ss and aired the wine a bit. When the concoction released another wave of aroma, he brought it to his lips before gulping down the remaining content. Eren closed his eyes as he felt the Adept-ranked wine''s influence on him. It''s been ages since he had tasted alcohol. However, his advancement to Adept rank convinced him to indulge himself in this activity. ''That sure hit the spot.'' Eren pped the table with both his hands as he enjoyed the feeling of being slightly hazy before opening his eyes. His emerald eyes shone brightly as he fixed them on Fiona before speaking up. "The point I want to make here is really simple, Fiona. I looked after Agatha when there was nobody to do it for her. I may have done it for my personal gain. And I may have employed her to further my own goals. But that doesn''t change the fact that I provided her with the roof she desperately needed at that time. Agatha belongs to me. All of her. If anybody sees that as me being a selfish prick, so be it." Fiona met Eren''s gaze for a while before breaking eye contact with him. She looked at Agatha and asked. "Won''t you try to convince him into letting you go? There''s so much you could know and see if you could just" Agatha shook her head and smiled before looking at Eren. "What Eren says is true, Fiona. Hehe. This is his way of saying he needs me. And it''s nice to feel needed. I don''t know much about the half-blood Haven you are talking about. And I don''t understand what''s going on between you guys and the forces of Anfang. But as he said, I''m safe here. Most of all, I have poured my efforts into raising this city from the ground up. I''ll not abandon it just because someonees to me with better prospects. I''ll find my prospects and make them better for myself." Fiona sighed when she heard Agatha''s response. She pondered a bit before speaking to Eren. "Adept Eren, you are one of the rare half-bloods that have some semnce of influence over the kingdom. Thus, I don''t want to antagonize you. It would be stupid of me to create a conflict with such a prominent half-blood just because our views differ on certain things. My persistence in ensuring Miss Agatha''s safety may have sounded like I wanted to separate you guys for my own benefit. I''m really sorry for that. Rest assured, I''ll not bring up that subject again. I''m also sorry for spying on your fight earlier while I was trying to approach this city discreetly. We don''t care who you kill as long as it''s not half-bloods. However, would you be open to discussing cooperation with the half-bloods by meeting one of my seniors? As you said, we can be each other''s allies in these times. Especially when there are signs of war on the horizon for the kingdom of Edinburgh." Eren was impressed with the way Fiona changed her gears. She seemed to have experience dealing with a wide variety of people. Eren continued to eat his venison once again. And the rest followed his cue. "What kind of cooperation are you talking about? I''ll not get myself involved in your fights if that''s what you are looking for. But I''m open to possible business deals. What can you give me? And what do you expect from me?" Fiona wasn''t ready to meet someone like Eren, to be honest. He wasn''t someone who she could bully with her half-blood background. And her attempt to rescue Agatha and lead her to Last-Blood Bastion had failed. So thest thing she could do was to ensure she and her organization didn''te across as someone Eren needed to fight with. Thus, she came up with the business proposition on the spot. "Information rted to Anfang''s history and half-blood-specific resources. My side can offer you these two things. I can see from your line of questioning that you are more interested in the information aspect. So you''d have to forgive me if I''m using it as leverage to get a few additional benefits from you." Eren looked at Alephee when Fiona finished speaking. She had indicated that she hade to realize that they couldn''t extract her memories beyond a certain point. The butcher and Alephee both chuckled looking at each other before the former speaking up. Eren nodded at Fiona, prompting her to continue. "As for what my organization can expect from you. I''ll be honest Adept Eren, I don''t know much about you or your guild. I was just trying to find Agatha using my own means. I discovered that she was in White Raven city. Thus, I only performed basic information gathering before heading here. Cooperating with your guild was not on my agenda. So you''d have to guide me in this case. What should I tell my seniors when I meet them?" Eren scratched his chin. He looked at Agatha and asked her a few questions through voicemunication. After getting a few pertinent updates from Miss Manager, Eren made up his mind before asking another question to Fiona. "Your organization, how big is it, Fiona?" Fiona straightened herself and took pride in saying her words. "We run the cultist organization known as the Ancients, Adept Eren. The Beast Bloods that Agatha had worked for have been controlled for the most part by the Ancients as well. We couldn''t expect there to be a real half-blood among a bunch of therianthropesC or half-blood wannabes as I''d like to call them. And the Beast-Bloods weren''t exactly forting with the Ancients regarding who they hire either. So Agatha couldn''t be on our radar even when she was technically working for us. However, The Last-Blood Bastion still possesses significant trade influence and resources. We also have contacts in other parts of Anfang. Plus, we can reach distant ces quickly. That too, without having to cross the borders observed between the establishments." Eren smiled when he realized the potential gains he could get from pairing up with the half-bloods. ''Heh! More contacts in other parts of Anfang! Secure ess. And more markets to sell my products! Now we are talking.'' Chapter 813 Mass Trading Of Weapons Eren was very tempted by the prospect of establishing business ties with the Last-Blood Bastion. He pondered a bit before speaking up. "We mass produce various things including potion bombs and healing potions. Also, we will beunching apletely revised line of products shortly. There''s one more thing that should particrly interest Last-Blood Bastion." Eren smiled and met Fiona''s gaze. Her interest was piqued as well. "What is it?" "Weapons!" Eren said and got up from his seat. He summoned a bunch of ranked artifacts and kept them levitating over the dining table. He gestured to Fiona to try them on. Since Fiona had just broken into Adept rank, the butcher had summoned all Adept ranked arsenal for her. The half-blood was very impressed by the quality of the weapons. Fiona got up from her seat and tried operating on the weapons Eren presented to her. Her eyes widened in shock when she realized they were all five-star weapons. Eren started describing the weapons'' specialties before Fiona could ask them. He also started listing out the prices. "Hehe! You sure jest, Adept Eren. I''d rather believe you are allowing Miss Agatha to go with me than believe in the prices you have just mentioned." Fiona chuckled when she heard Eren''s prices. She had never heard of a weapon-producing body that charged almost half what five-star weapons usually cost anywhere else in Anfang. The pricing structure for five-star weapons was vague anyway. However, they would often cost more than what their performance entailed. That''s because there was a high cost to pay for manufacturing these weapons. Often there would be a waste of raw materials and operational time. The weapons smithy always discarded more weapons than it forged. Even the House Lancelot, which was famous for crafting premium-grade weapons, was no different. Thus, they always charged a high price for their weapons. The prices would be absurd with the increase in rank and grade of the weapons detonated by the stars. Plus, the higher the rank rose, the rarer the weapon manufacturing for that rank would be. For example, House Lancelot produced thousands of Ace-ranked weapons ranging from three stars to five stars every year. But it would only produce Adept-level weapons in the hundreds. The Expert-ranked weapons would be in double digits. And Master-tier weapons would be in single digits. Agatha had excused herself from the dining room. She used the teleportation array to reach her workspace. Fiona started examining the weapons one by one and observed that they were all premium-grade weapons that could allow a ranker to realize their true potential. She couldn''t help bing more eager to learn about the actual prices of the product. "Adept Eren, why don''t you tell me the real prices of these babies?" Eren looked at Alephee and thetter just shrugged her shoulders. Instead of sticking to the price he had quoted, the butcher decided to y along with Fiona''s assumption and added a 25 percent increase in the initial prices. Eren would be stupid to say no to higher profits just because he had made Alephee produce the weapons at dirt-cheap prices. He was indeed looking to get more support from the Last-Blood Bastiaon to facilitate selling his products all over Anfang. But that doesn''t mean he won''t charge them extra for it. "Are you sure about these prices, Adept Eren? They are still... I mean. It''s your call. I wouldn''t say no to the help we are getting from you." Fiona hesitated to mention that the prices were still far from their usual markup. She wanted the deal to be more lucrative for the Last-Blood Bastion. Honesty is damned to hell. Eren nodded at Fiona seriously before responding. "I worry about my half-blood brethren. If these weapons can ensure that they stay safe and fight for themselves against the tyranny of Anfang''s establishments, then a small loss in the business is no big deal for me. Although I can''t engage in the conflict between Last-Blood Bastion and the Anfangs'' forces, the weapons provided to me will always be with you. They will be my representatives to show my support for the cause." Alephee prevented herself fromughing at Eren''s way of handling things. Of course, she knew that Fiona was in no position to establish business ties with the White Raven guild''s manufacturing unit. However, Alephee knew that first impressions were critical. The way Fiona saw Eren''s deal was extremely valuable. Because that''s what she was going to report to her seniors. As expected, Fiona was touched by Eren''s mitment" to Last-blood Bastion. She had previously criticized him in her mind for only pitching for the business rtionship. But only now did she understand how crucial even this aspect of the deal was to her side. "Take these weapons with you when you meet with your seniors. Consider them as samples offered to you guys for free. And tell your seniors to meet me or Agatha here in the city of White Raven to discuss further cooperation. I believe you would not only use these products for yourself but also assist my guild in selling them in various corners of the world. We can discuss your cut if you can assure us of a reliable supply and distribution chain." Fiona was again taken aback by Eren''s words. She looked at Eren with suspicion before asking. "What is the number of weapons you currently have in your possession, Adept Eren?" Eren smirked before giving her a rough estimate. He did not have any Novice-tier weapons or anything that was below five stars. Alephee didn''t do shoddy work. But he had an abundance of Ace-ranked weapons at this point. And his Adept-ranked weapons were equally massive in size even if the number was half of what he had in the Ace rank. After producing the weapons continuously for thest few days, Alephee had fulfilled her promise to Eren. Even if she doesn''t produce any more weapons from now on, the storage was enough for Eren to make crazy amounts of profits. Chapter 814 Peace Means Having A Bigger Stick Than Your Opponent Fiona prevented herself from fumbling with the sword she was gripping with both her hands when she heard the number of weapons he wanted to pump into the market. She looked at him and said in a grim voice. "Adept Eren, have you thought about the consequences of injecting so many five-star weapons into the market?" Eren walked towards Fiona and looked her in the eyes. For some reason, Fiona was reminded of the unreal ecstasy she was subjected to under the influence of Eren''s soul sense when he got so close to her. "Chaos! Especially now, when Edinburgh and Layos are eager to wage war against each other. Peace means having a bigger stick than your opponent. So individuals who are not directly involved in any conflict would also start buying weapons for themselves. This war will serve me well. My guild and I will prosper from this unrest. So yes, Fiona. I fully understand the consequences of my actions. The question is: are you aware of yours? And are you aware of the consequences that you''d unleash upon yourself by not taking the action? Inaction has its own price to pay. Does your site want to profit from my guild or does it want to stay on the sidelines and get washed over by the waves of the war? Remember to ask these questions to your seniors when you meet them." Fiona could only nod when she was exposed to Eren''s stare and his up-and-close presence. His words echoed in her mind. And their meaning became apparent to her. "Al.. alright!" Fiona nodded slowly and uttered a verbal affirmation. Eren smiled before raising his hand to caress her cheeks. Fiona froze in her stance when she thought Eren''s hand was about to touch her face. There was some part of her that started craving that touch. However, Eren stopped himself from proceeding any further and used the same hand to summon a teleportation circle. "Let''s go, miss Fiona. I''ll apany you as you leave. I wouldn''t want to give any excuse for noncooperation to my potential allies by being a terrible host. Hehe." Fiona was snapped out of her reverie when Eren finished. She had to admit that the butcher''s emerald green eyes were too mesmerizing for her to look elsewhere when they looked into hers. *** Evening 5 PM. The sky was beginning to turn mellow as the orange hues started spreading over the canvas. However, the winds still reeked with blood and gore that had been spilled in the morning. A high-ranking entity''s body parts would always make their presence known. Soon, Alephee Eren and Fiona found themselves outside the city of White Raven. At the same ce, Kirin had caught Fiona. The ce was reeking of residual mana signatures that belonged to the C-Rank. However, they were so indistinguishable that even historians would have a hard time making heads or tails of them. However, Fiona wasn''t surprised by this. By this point, the Potion of Innocence was very famous among forces operating in the shadows. Especially among half-blood rankers who always wanted to cover their tracks. But there was something else that had taken her by surprise. The half-blood saw that a 20 feet earth-element pir had been raised right in the middle of the battle that took ce between Kirin and Janos. It wasn''t there when she was spying on them. There was a head ced on the peak of the spike. The pir was also embedded with various body parts along its length. The entire epidermis, fingers, toes, hands, liver, lungs, and kidneys. Everything was in ce for a clear disy over the pir''s surface. The small andrge intestines had been used as connecting lines between these body parts. The juxtaposition of these body parts gave a macabre look to the pir. There was a protective array ced at the bottom of the pir to create a barrier around it. It was there to prevent mana beasts from having a feast on this open buffet. The pir gave off strong residual C-Rank mana fluctuations. The elemental attainments Janos had that had been integrated into his very flesh and bones were now creating periodic micro mana storms around the pir. The pir invoked a strong sense of fear and resentment in the hearts of its viewers. And since it was not too far away from the city of White Raven, it was bound to serve as andmark. In the future, the region around the pir would develop into a small, bustling town known as Grim Pir Town. Rankers seeking entry to White Raven would be weed in this town. The macabre pir would serve as the town''s tourist attraction. The town would be popr in the future among the lower ranks as a result of some rankers gaining higher elemental attainment after viewing it for a long time. Fiona had already asked who the two people Eren was trying to get rid of were. And he had answered truthfully because it was bound to be an open conspiracy anyway. The half-blood had a chill run down her spine when she saw the pir and understood the reason for its existence. She couldn''t keep looking at the pir. She averted her eyes by turning her head to the side. "This... this is a warning!" Fiona mumbled to herself as she realized whose body parts had adorned the pir. It was the same person Kirin fought against- Janos. "Indeed, miss Fiona. I''m sure the concerned party would understand what I am trying to convey with this... let''s call it... a unique kaleidoscope of body parts. After all, art is not what you see but what you make others see." Fiona saw Eren smiling at his own work. She had a feeling the maniac walking beside her really thought that the thing he had done was an artistic expression. She also understood the reason why she was brought here to see this kaleidoscope. This was Eren''s way of subtly showing her what he does with his enemies who try to take advantage of him. Chapter 815 Blood Punisher Force "By the way, miss Fiona, how were you able to track Agatha to the city of White Raven?" Eren couldn''t help asking Fiona as she waited for the city staff to fetch a colt for her. The evening sky had finally turned dark after the sun had disappeared into the horizon. "Oh! Using this array disk. This artifact is specially created for half-bloods like us. It uses one''s bloodline energy to track the person. It could also be used to track the child of parents who were half-bloods. I had found the residual mana signatures of Agatha''s parents from her previous home in the Southern duchy." Fiona produced a saucer-like artifact with various runes on it. It featured a clock-like levitating hand that was still pointing in the direction of Eren''s city. Eren realized how the half-blood was able to track and rescue other half-bloods. As Eren held the disk in his hands, he coated it in mana before responding. "That''s a pretty handy device, miss Fiona. Would you mind giving one for my personal use?" Eren asked while observing the intricacies of the array disk. Fiona nodded at him before producing a second artifact for him. She exined how it worked to him before adding. "I hope you can make better use of the array disk, Adept Eren. With it, you can rescue more half-bloods who are unaware of their origins. I''d urge you to provide them with temporary shelter until I can lead them to a secure location. If that is not possible, you can at least contact me and I''ll see what I can do from my end. You already have my contact imprint. And please make sure that the disk doesn''t fall into a stranger''s hands. Although it could only be used by half-bloods by default, I have a reason to believe that the kingdom''s special forces may have gotten their hands on one such disk and used it to track half-bloods." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Fiona''s warning. He looked at Alephee who was by his right side and handed the artifact to her for examination. Thetter closed her eyes and wrapped the array disk in her soul sense and pondered a bit before speaking up. "Hmm. These disks work on the properties of bloodline energy. Reverse engineering the array disk so that it could be used by normal rankers is indeed possible. But it''s not something that can be done casually by everyone. After all, the bloodline energy cany dormant and be hidden. But it cannot be duplicated easily. I don''t think the kingdom of Edinburgh would resort to such lengths. Especially when there are simpler ways. They must be using some other means to track half-bloods." Alephee gave her verdict after examining the artifact. She then handed the disk back to Eren who proceeded to secure it in his storage. Fiona didn''t like the fact that her opinion was discarded because she seemed much younger than her. Plus, Alephee came across as an Adept ranker. Thus, being an Adept ranker herself, Fiona didn''t think that her expertise mattered much. "Yeah? Like what?" Fiona asked Alephee with disbelief in her tone. Thetter smirked before responding. "Being a half-blood is to exist in duality. And duality never produces consistent results. That''s why bloodline energy is not something that can be easily identified. Plus, it gets even more difficult to track the half-bloods if their mutagen is dormant within them. This was the same reason why you had your doubts about referring to Eren as a half-blood. Your array disk had mixed readings when you used it on Eren right?" Fiona was tongue-tied when Alephee exined the situation just as it had happened to her. That statement alone was convincing enough for her to see Alephee as some artifact or bloodline energy expert. Only now did Eren realize why Fiona wasn''t sure when she had asked him if he was a half-blood or not. He was also sure that Alephee wasn''t telling Fiona the whole truth. And that his special bloodline had more to do with the misinterpretation of readings by the array disk. ''Eren, tell the city staff not toe here. There''s a minor nuisance. We are getting surrounded.'' Eren was busy processing Alephee''s exnation in his head when he received her instructions. His senses suddenly sharpened, and he looked around him while spreading his soul sense. He could indeed sense something was up when he used his soul sense. But the readings he received were too vague for him to know exactly what it was. However, judging by Alephee''s reaction, Eren knew that she had deemed the situation as within her control. He could also understand what she was thinking. She wanted him to get rid of the iing problem for good, lest it follows him to the city of White Raven. Eren quickly followed Alephee''s instructions without spooking Fiona. The half-blood was still curious about the knowledge Alephee possessed and her deductions. Thus, she couldn''t help asking her next question to the homunculus. "You said there are other options, Miss Alephee. Can you tell me what they are? Maybe I can take countermeasures against them in advance when I''m on another assignment to rescue half-bloods." Alephee didn''t act anything different even when she could sense what was happening. She smiled strangely as she looked around before answering. "Well. There are several ways. But the easiest way would be to track down the owner of these array disks. Tracking those with these array disks would give someone the same results as having the artifacts in their possession for the most part. They just have to make sure that the person they are tracking isn''t aware of this. That way, they wouldn''t have to deal with anything rted to bloodline energy and still be able to get their hands on the half-bloods that the possessor of the array diskes in contact with. Do you understand what I am saying, Fiona?" Alephee looked at Fiona as shepleted her exnation. But thetter had an inkling that it wasn''t addressed solely to her. She was initially confused by what Alephee was trying to say. But soon the grim realization dawned on her. "You mean they are tracking me?" Fiona said in a shaky voice. She refused to believe Alephee''s wild conjectures at first. But the more she thought, the more it made sense to her. "Half of my missions. The Blood-Punisher Force was able to find the half-bloods only after I spotted them and waited for the right time to approach them. That means they were using me to get to them." Fiona had a look of horror and utter sorrow on her face as she mumbled to herself. The tears in her eyes welled up and they threatened to spill as she looked at Eren and Alephee for something that could alleviate her guilt. She felt as if she were being crushed under a mountain of guilt. ''*Sigh. She''s no use to us, Eren. The quagmire of guilt she has found herself in won''t let her deal with our iing guests. I''m moving her somewhere safe.'' Alephee said to Eren before opening her grimoire. She flipped its pages with her gaze and focused on a particr array. In the next moment, the same array imprint appeared over the ground Fiona was standing on. "What." Fiona was in mental turmoil when she found herself standing inside an array all of a sudden. Before she could ask her audience what it was about, she was teleported away from her current location. *** Alephee had sent Fiona to a distant location that was around three days of colt ride away from the city of White Raven. She had left Fiona with a few parting words and told her to seek guidance from her seniors rted to the fact that she had been being tracked. Fiona was seen near the border of a small town. Naive as she might be sometimes, the half-blood wasn''t dense in her head. She hade to realize that she had attracted trouble for Eren and possibly Agatha as well by meeting them. She was sure that it was the same Blood Punisher Force that had ambushed and killed several uninitiated half-bloods in Edinburgh. And they had now surrounded Eren and Alphee. She also wanted to fight with the Blood Punisher Force. But the orders given to her by the Last Blood Bastian regarding them were clear. They had already specifically asked her to avoid contact or conflict with them. Still, Fiona would have fought alongside Eren and Alephee when she knew that she was being cornered along with them. But she also knew that she wasn''t mentally stable. So she could only thank Eren and Alephee for letting her get away from the predicament. Fiona clenched her fists before using her movement spell to reach the town. She aimed to reach the Last Blood Bastion as soon as possible by hiring a colt. After all, she had to report about the potentially lucrative business partnership with the White Raven guild. She also wanted to resolve the issue of her being tracked by the Blood Punisher Force. She couldn''t let the same mistake happen to her again. *** An Adept-rank istion barrier was created in the zone spanning a radius of about 300 meters, trapping Eren and Alephee within it. The barrier was erected just as Fiona was teleported away by Alephee, which ensured her safety. ''Heh! This should be fun. I was missing live dummies and old Rey didn''t really serve that purpose.'' Eren thought to himself and made a few cracking sounds by rotating his neck and wrists. Contrary to how his new guests were expecting him to act, the butcher was very excited about his fight. AN: The Blood Punisher Force was first mentioned in chapter 648. The fact that Fiona was being tracked is also vaguely hinted at in the same chapter. Traveling interstate. 12-hour drive and I''d have to take the wheel soon. Had to write this chapter from the shotgun seat. So there will only be one release today. Will make up for it soon. ;) Chapter 816 Krista And Lambert "Hehe. We didn''t think we''d be able to catch a big fish in our this time." A charming elf who seemed to be in her early 20s appeared in front of Eren when the istion barrier waspletely erected. She addressed him in a flirtatious tone, sizing him up with her provocative gaze. This elf had off-blonde hair that cascaded down her pretty face and covered her entire back. She had cherry-red lips and icy blue eyes. She was wearing two circle-shaped earrings that made her elf ears stand out even more than usual. This elf was dressed in a body-hugging suit that covered her from toe to neck, leaving only her face seemingly unprotected. She was also wearing leg and arm guards over the suit that gave off distinct mana fluctuations. It was apparent that she was wearing military gear. This young elf was also holding a broadaxe that seemed too heavy for her stature and body weight. It looked like the broadaxe had a tremendous weight. That''s because when the elf casually swung it, the gust that it generated was not a scoffing matter. And yet, she could handle it as if it didn''t weigh anything to her. Altashia could carry an oversized weapon with absolute ease thanks to her weapon mastery and her ss. But this elf looked like she had something else working for her that enabled her to carry this heavy broadaxe with absolute ease. "Why do you think you caught a fish in your?" Eren asked casually while looking at the elf. He could tell that the elf was not alone. There were two more shadows with her. They had used military-issue artifacts to mask their presence. However, they couldn''t keep themselves hidden from Eren now that they had gotten so close to him. "Mister Eren Idril, no use pretending to y the innocence card anymore. We saw you talking with that half-blood rat not too long ago. Although we couldn''t decipher what you were saying, the bodynguage you showed was enough to let us know that you were aware of who she really was." Eren looked at Alephee when the elf told him that she couldn''t decipher what he had talked about with Fiona. Thetter smiled before nodding her head. It was clear that the homunculus had deployed an interference array without anyone noticing to prevent the info leak. The elf didn''t know what Eren and Alephee were thinking about. She swung her weapon around her before continuing. "She also gave you that weird tracker they all use to find the uninitiated half-bloods. And she''ll only give you that when she knows that you are half-blood yourself. Usually, we refrain from getting too close to the target when she''s around. Sometimes we let them go just to keep her under the illusion. Hehe. But you hehe. The guild master of the White Raven guild being a half-blood is a big deal for the kingdom. There is no way we can let you go. We are ready to sacrifice the pawn we had been using to take care of an influential figure like you." The icy-blue-eyed elf spoke in a tone coated in unmasked excitement. One could tell that she was expecting a handsome reward from the kingdoms for taking care of someone like Eren under the rules set by the Blood Punisher Force. Eren summoned his transcendent Labrys this time. He adjusted his grip on the weapon''s handle and swung it around him a few times to get familiar with it. The weapon mastery he had absorbed thus far coupled with the practice he had been doing all this time kicked in at this moment. He manifested the innate elemental attainments of various elements as he carried the weapon around with effortless ease. The blonde elf was a bit stunned by Eren''s elemental manifestations. She could see waves of Invi ze getting spread around him. A series of mini-typhoons of wind elements were spreading outward. The lightning streaks danced over his body. There were other elemental manifestations around him as well. ''This guy'' The elf was a bit stressed by the mere elemental manifestations Eren had disyed in front of her. She wondered how a guy not too young her age was able to attain elemental attainments in so many elements at once. She wondered if the default data the kingdom had on him was forged and if he was an old monster who had regressed in his rank. "You don''t understand. I didn''t ask that question to deny your allegations. I asked you why you were sure that the thing you caught in your was a fish and not something else." Eren shed a genuine smile at the elf after he finished speaking. It took a while for the elf to understand what the butcher was trying to imply. "Hehe. This is not the first time I have seen half-bloods speaking to me with such bravado. However, none of them survived to smile all the way to the end. You won''t be any different, mister Eren Elijah Idril. I will.." With her verbal talk, the elf was trying to intimidate Eren a little more. She didn''t feel scared even when Eren acted casual or that he had multiple elemental attainments. She had dealt with her share of half-bloods at this point. And they would always have had something up their sleeves. Some even managed to awaken their innate spells while battling with her for their life. But she had ovee them all, thanks to her unique element and the military issue artifact she was blessed with. "Eren, I''ll leave you alone with them. It would be an excellent practice for you." Alephee said to Eren, interrupting the elf''s conversation. Before the member of the Blood Punisher Force could call out to the nuisance that was standing beside her target, she disappeared into thin air. This time, the elf was genuinely shocked. Because Alephee had disappeared on her after the istion barrier was erected. And the barrier was still intact. Alephee appeared to have left the barrier without leaving a trace behind. Chapter 817 Ether Sub-Elements ? "Mister Eren, I don''t think you''d be able to hide that half-blood rat and that aplice of yours for much longer. Where have they both run off to?" Alephee entered Eren''s pendant as he stared at it. He then looked at the elf before speaking up. "Trust me, love, you don''t want to deal with her. I am your best bet when ites to having a rtively easy death. She... let''s just say that she is not as innocent as she looks." ''Hey...!'' Eren heard Alephee''s objection in his head and he chuckled. At this very moment, another shadow appeared beside her and spoke up. "Yeah? I bet nobody would be as twisted as you though. I saw the pir you have created not too far from this ce. What kind of messed up mind would it take to create something like that? I can now see that haunting pir in my head every time I close my eyes." The shadow that had appeared beside the young elf spoke to Eren in suppressed anger. The butcher could tell that the guy was genuinely affected by the artwork he had created. The newly appeared member of the Blood Punisher Force was a male who seemed to have the same stature as Eren. He was wearing a metal gear over his head thatpletely hid his facial features. The guy was holding a staff that was as tall as him. It didn''t have any de attached to either end. This ranker was also protected by premium-grade armor and other gear from head to toe. "Hmm. That piece of art is an acquired taste. Not everybody would be able to understand the profundity of it after all." Eren shrugged his shoulders before replying. Both the Blood Punisher Force members looked at each other to confirm if the other had observed the profoundness Eren was talking about. "I got nothing." The elf admitted she was not proficient atprehending things rted to elemental attunement through such disys. She even had a hard time enhancing her attainment using the runic Steele her Force had provided for her. If an observer was observing the conversation between the two sides, they wouldn''t be able to guess that they were vying to kill each otherpletely. It looked like a friendly debate between participants from two different schools of thought. Even after meeting as enemies, the rankers had to treat each other with respect when they entered Adept rank and beyond. Especially those sharing the same ranking status. In addition to the ranker''s code of conduct, this was the respect given to the positions and organizations the rankers belonged to. In most cases, the Adept rankers were representatives of their organizations. In other words, even the intimidation and trash-talking the opposing sides would engage in would not be too humiliating. "Can I ask you a question if you don''t mind? Eren asked casually and dropped thebrys on the ground. He was still holding the weapon by its hilt. Both the rankers looked at each other before the elf proceeded to respond. "Sure, Adept Eren. If that is yourst wish before death." Eren didn''t get offended by the elf''s subtle provocation. He knew what the two rankers were thinking. They relied too much on the fact that they had trapped him inside the istion barrier. Plus, they had their military equipment to rely on. Eren knew that being blessed with so many advantages like these, the rankers hired by the kingdom were bound to becent. Thus, he knew his question would be answered by them. "Alright. What are the elemental affinities you guys have? I am kind of getting mixed signals and was curious." The staff-wielder ranker was the one who replied to Eren''s question. He didn''t mind telling something so obvious to a walking-dead man. "We have elemental affinities that are rted to what''s known as the Ether-sub element. Every Blood Punisher Force member has a unique elemental affinity that makes them different from the rest of the rankers. Ether-sub element is an umbre term for anything that is not generally defined as something that doesn''t seem to directly or indirectly rte to the other great elements. Of course, ether-sub elements are all hybrid elements. But unlike the usual hybrid elements, the Ether-sub elements are heavily influenced by Ether. The ones with the Ether-sub elements as their affinities don''t have a fixed ss. They don''t have a fixed set of spells. The kingdom takes care of developing the ranking resources for us. And in exchange..." "You be the kingdom''spdogs." Erenpleted the staff-wielding ranker''s exnation for him. Thetter wasn''t too happy when the butcher called him the kingdom''spdog. However, he sighed and gripped the staff he was holding before deciding to finish the task at hand as soon as possible. "Krista, I need to tell you something before we start. Be aware of this man. He is not as easy as he looks. I recognized the face on the pir. It belongs to Janos Remus, the retainer of schr Rey Remus. If Janos has been killed, then there''s a higher chance that Rey Remus is as well. It represents a direct challenge to the entire n of Remus, which will soon be known throughout the kingdom. A man who can pose such a naked threat to such an established House in the kingdom can''t be just a simple closebat expert. So we''ll have to attack with all we got. Do you understand?" Janos and Krista both challenged their mana throughout their bodies. Krista, Eren figured out, was exactly like him- an Adept ranker with a mana core in the liquid core stage. The staff-wielding Adept, on the other hand, had a rank of the solid stage. "Hehe. Adept Lambert. Don''t worry. I''ll not y with him like the rest of my prey. After all, we''d have to produce an intact body for someone of his social status. We can''t damage him too much after killing him." Eren chuckled when he heard Lambert''s warnings to Krista that sounded like praise to him. He ignored Krista''s reply and decided to respond to their threats with actions. Aqua Steps Aqua des Chapter 818 A Hand For A Hand Swoosh. Zoom. ng. Eren''sbrys shed with Krista''s broadaxe with a loud noise. Eren gripped his weapon and used it as an axis to turn around and meet Lambert''s staff with his bare hand covered in water element mana. As he applied his lightning mana through the water whips sprouting from his hand, Lambert had to distance himself from Eren. Krista smirked when her weapon was locked with Eren''s. She could tell that Eren was trying to use the two rankers as live dummies to test his new spells. His movement spell wasn''t optimized. His weapon handling was exceptional. But it didn''t gel well with his fighting style. And most importantly, his spell execution was subpar at its finest. As if he had only recently learned to cast them. The butcher was underestimating the members of the Blood Punished Force. Krista decided to teach him a lesson for that. Her icy-blue eyes shone brightly as she cast her ss-specific spell and altered the weight of her broadaxe. Her posture changed as the practiced weapon handling kicked in. Her hand movements became erratic as she freed her weapon from a deadlock, swung it around herself, generated motion with her mana-based martial arts, and attacked Eren''s hand that was holding the weapon. *** Krista''s Ether-sub element allowed her to manipte the weight of any object around her or herself. She could make the heaviest of weapons featherlight and make the lightest object weigh a ton using her spells. Krista''s expertisey in how she handled the weight maniption while handling her weapons. She would keep her weapon light when she was swinging it to attack. And she would only change the weapon''s weight when it made contact with her opponent or their weapons for a fraction of a second. She would change the weight of her weapon as soon as she made contact with the enemy, allowing her to retrieve it as easily as she could. This battle style allowed her to dominate any opponent when it came to closebat attacks. The butcher had made a huge mistake by getting close to her. *** Eren suddenly felt that Krista''s weapon had drastically changed the weight behind it. Before he knew it, he had his hand cut by the sudden swing of her weapon attack. The blood started gushing forth from Eren''s amputated arm as soon as his hand was cut from the wrist. It sprayed directly onto Krista''s clothes and her charming face. She didn''t bother to repel it away from her and let it fall over her. A reward fornding the attack sessfully. Krista''s face and her body-hugging gray suit were painted red. Even her arm guard and her leg guard were covered in Eren''s blood in an instant. It took another fraction of a second for Eren to stop the bleeding by enhancing his mana defenseyer. "Aaaaaargh! Fuuuuuck!" This was the first time Eren had such a wide chink in his armor. His defense was never this easy to breach. However, Krista''s unique weight maniption element along with his own thirst for experimenting with the newly learned spells hadnded him in this trouble. The butcher was on the receiving end of the injuries he had often inflicted on his opponents. This was the first time he had lost his hand. That too when only a few seconds had passed since the start of the battle. At this moment, he knew he had fucked up. However, he quickly snapped out of his victim mentality. This was his own doing. The butcher had already made up his mind to experience injuries when he had decided to experiment with his spells. Eren''s eyes turned red and he gritted his teeth to deal with the pain he was subjected to. He deployed his water-element movement spell and tried to create a safe distance between himself and Krista. He understood her powers as soon as she demonstrated them in front of him. However, retreating from the trap was not as easy as Eren had initially thought. A strong attraction drew him towards Krista. Eren''s movement spell couldn''t get him to safety before the attraction force started acting on him. It pulled him towards the wickedly smiling Krista so fast that he was back at his previous ce within a fraction of a second. The distance he had created from Krista was turned to zero by external intervention. The butcher could tell the attraction force acting on him was not Krista''s doing. Krista already had one unique element she was blessed with. This was Lambert pulling strings to make Erene back to his previous ce. Just like all the members of the Blood Punisher Force, he too had an affinity for a unique element that could only be categorized by the Ether-sub element term. Lambert was able to create, alter, and use the power of maism. He could create the force of attraction or repulsion among several objects or people he came into contact with. The staff he carried could amplify the power of spells he was used to casting, making his spells difficult to counter. Sedating Gaze! Eren''s eyes turnedpletely white as he used his Ability to slow down Krista. The butcher took Rigor Mortis out of his storage and charged it with his lightning mana as he approached the elf. She had expressions of disbelief and shock on her face as she watched her broadaxe-holding hand get cut by the butcher''s weapon. Repel! Eren was about to take a follow-up on his offensive when the maic force acted on his body once again. This time, in the opposite direction. He was dragged away from Krista, saving the elf from more of his vengeful attacks. The elf''s facial expression changed in slow motion and her eyes started to turn moist. Too bad, she couldn''t cry in pain because Sedating Gaze still acted on her. The butcher had cut the elf''s hand in the same manner as his, by the wrist. He couldn''t retrieve her weapon because its weight had been altered. But he managed to take Krista''s amputated hand with him. "A hand for a hand." Eren smiled graciously and spoke up after he stood at a safe distance away from both the rankers. Chapter 819 Bloodline Ability: Regeneration "Aaaaaaaaargh! Bastard. Fucking bastard. I''ll kill you. I''ll kill you." Krista charged at Eren in anger. She immediately dropped the decorum of being an Adept away and started taking things personally. Of course, Eren''s gracious smile wasn''t helping. It was almost like a taunt. When Krista was under the effects of the Sedating Gaze, Eren could haveunched a lethal blow on her in herpromised position. But he chose to inflict the same kind of injury on her as she had inflicted on him. It was clear that he had only attacked her hand to get even with her. In other words, the butcher was still in the mood to y with the two rankers even after losing his hand. Most of the members of the Blood Punisher Force considered themselves special because they were part of Edinburgh''s special forces and because they had an Ether-sub element. Krista was one of them. Nobody had dared to underestimate Krista. Especially after they saw what she could do with her weapons. Her ego was irked when she saw Eren subtly mocking her with his weing smile and revenge-driven mentality. More so because she had a revenge-driven mentality herself. The anger overtook Krista as she made her body featherlight and used her movement spell. She was about to be a blur when something interrupted her movement. "Don''t!" Lambert used his spell to halt Krista''s reckless charge. She was pulled to her previous position when the force of attraction acted on her. Lambert appeared behind her and put his hand on her shoulder before speaking up. "Snap out of your rage already. That guy is not simple. There''s no record of him possessing an Ability. Such a dangerous Ability at that." Lambert looked at Eren wearily as he pressed onto Krista''s shoulder to prevent her from escaping his grip. Eren''s water-element spells were intangible and unpredictable. Additionally, they gained a lethal edge from having lightning-mana mixed in them. Lambert''s powers weren''t that useful in dealing with them. His power of attraction and repel didn''t work that effectively on them. At most he could deviate from Eren''s water whips a bit before getting away from their range. Lambert understood that even while Eren was experimenting with his spells, he was not someone who could be at a disadvantage in a closebat fight. Lambert didn''t take long to realize that he wouldn''t be able to handle Eren when he got close to him. Lambert would be minced meat if Eren suddenly decided to shift to his regr gears. Only Krista stood a chance at beating him in closebat with her unique element and her weapon mastery. Hence, Lambert made an effort to keep her calm. ''Hm. He is a positive influence on her. Tch! I would have had more fun if the elf had charged at me with everything she had.'' Eren looked at the two rankers amusingly. He then looked at his chopped hand which had fallen to the ground not too far away from Krista''s current position. He then nced at his amputated arm and frowned. "Damn it. This is bound to hurt." Eren mumbled to himself and concentrated. He called forth his bloodline powers and made cruel expressions as the flesh around the amputation injury started bubbling and liquidating. Krista and Lambert watched in utter shock and horror as Eren sprouted a new hand that was as good as his chopped hand. They then both looked at each other to see if the other had seen the same thing they had just seen. "That''s not a healing spell, is it? How can he" Krista asked Lambert in a tone of disbelief. She then looked at her own amputated arm and felt another bout of anger bubbling inside her psyche. Lambert was getting spooked by the moment because of the feat Eren had performed in front of them. He was able to tell that no spell had been used in the regeneration of the amputated part. This was something the butcher could do naturally as if it was a normal function of his body. This meant that no matter how many injuries Eren sustained in a battle, as long as they weren''t fatal, he could recover from them eventually. Even the most potent of healing spells had limits. And they woulde with their own set of limitations. But Eren''s regeneration broke the established norm for rankers. "No that wasn''t a spell." Lambert spoke in a serious tone. He tightened his grip around his staff before speaking up. "Bloodline powers. He is a half-blood, remember?" Only now did Krista realize that she was fighting with a half-blood. Unlike other half-bloods who had predictable powers and spells, Eren did not have any highlighting parts about his half-blood status. *** Eren''s bloodline powers weren''t eye-catching for the most part. Plus, theyy dormant. They didn''t cause him to show the physical characteristics of being a conscious half-blood. That meant no fangs, overgrown hair, nails turning into ws, etc. Not until he wanted to. Team ho''s ambush on Eren had resulted in him facing an amputation injury as well. But at that time, he had healed himself by fusing his amputated body parts. However, after breaking into Adept rank and progressing forward in his Rootless half-blood ranking technique, he could regrow his body parts to a certain extent. This was one of the reasons the butcher was bold enough to try to deal with the two members of the Blood Punisher Force while trying out his new spells. Of course, Eren''s bloodline powers didn''t make him invincible. It still had its limitations. He still felt the pain of amputation and other injuries just as usual. Following the regrowth of his lost body part, he would feel incredibly hungry to digest something or someone. The hunger would correspond to the amount of flesh and bone he had to regrow. The more damage he had sustained and the more he had to regrow his body parts, the more intense the hunger would be. Eren would experience extreme agony in regrowing the lost part of his limb. That was because his central nervous system sent phantom pain signals on top of the pain he was already experiencing. As such, Eren didn''t like to go through with the regrowing of his limbs using his bloodline powers. As opposed to the healing spells that calm the injured person before operating on them, his bloodline powers would make him feel the painful process intensely. Chapter 820 Har Jahars Hammer Krista drank a potion from her vial while being vignt about Eren''s presence. Lambert was on his toes as well. The elf channeled her healing spell as the healing potion kicked in. In the next moment, Krista''s chopped hand started regrowing from her amputated injury as well. Unlike Eren''s painful but quick regrowth, the elf''s healing process was slower and without any pain. There was one more significant difference between Krista and Eren. She had lost a part of her mana circuits that were present inside her chopped hand. She could recover her hand using the premium-grade healing and recovery potion provided to her. But she couldn''t make the new hand have the sameplexities of the mana circuits she had in her original body part. Krista was going to have a bottleneck in her rank until her regrown hand became as capable as her original one. It meant that her troubles in progressing further in the rank had increased many folds. She would have trouble casting spells as well. Her weapon handling as well as her spell performance was going to getpromised even with the regrown hand. Eren, on the other hand, didn''t have this problem. The hand that he had regrown using his bloodline powers was as capable as his original one. ''Hmm. The third guy isn''t attacking. He is counting on these two buffoons to make an opening for him. I need to do something extreme to force his hand.'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at his regrown hand. He had already retrieved hisbrys and his chopped hand using the Water Whips. He had a wild thought of using his own chopped hand as a raw ingredient in a few concoctions. So he stored both of them inside his storage. The next weapon Eren took out of his storage was a hammer''s handle without its head. It seemed like he was adamant about using various weapons to test his limits. ''I told you you should stick to the spells and battle styles you have already mastered, Eren. Are you not satisfied with the effects they produce?'' Sedated Perception! Eren was about to make his move when he heard Alephee''s voice in his head. She sounded a bit annoyed. He immediately activated his time-element spell to slow down the passage of time for himself to reply. ''It''s not that, Alephee. I understand your emphasis on me sticking to the spells and styles I already mastered. There''s a huge room for improvement in them. So refining them with each battle would serve me well. I''m also somewhat satisfied with the progress I''ve made so far. However, my potential as a special half-blood would get wasted if I didn''t try these things and incorporate them into my ranking path. I don''t have to master them all. But I need to work on them from Adet rank and put some effort into them if I really want to make use of my elemental neutrality.'' Alephee also understood this problem at the beginning. But she believed that Eren shouldn''t bite more than he could chew. She was not trying to limit Eren''s ranking path. But more often than not, having more options made things worse instead of making them better. And it wasn''t like Eren would be a more powerful ranker than anybody in his generation just because he had multiple elemental attainments and weaponprehensions. It would certainly give him an edge over the others if he ys his cards right. However, the oue of any conflict would almost always be decided by who had better mastery of their elements. Alephee had instructed Eren to walk on a steady path that was devoid of many diversions. That''s because she knew that his powers would eventually allow him to tap into his true potential all the same as he kept on progressing in his rank. However, it seemed like Eren didn''t want to wait that long. He preferred putting in grunt work to make everything he had digested on his own than waiting for his bloodline powers to hand them to him in a metaphorical gift wrap. He realized what Alephee was thinking. So he exined his stance some more. ''Look. I am not trying to get anything out of my efforts in the present. I know there are a lot of loopholes in my using the current tactics. But how will I make the best use of the digested elemental attainments and weaponprehension if I only make themy dormant in me? It''s like buying an expensive outfit only for it to gather dust in your closet.'' Eren said while clenching his hammer handle with both of his hands. The weapon''s runic inscriptions started to light up as Eren imbued it with his water-element mana. This hammer was created by Alephee using simr runic inscriptions that were present on his previously owned artifact. The same artifact that he had destroyed in trying to kill Har Jahar. As such, he had named it Har Jahar''s Hammer. A water-element hammer''s head was starting to form at the other end of the handle as Eren poured in mana. There was a hammer face on one side of the weapon and a w on the other side. The weapon''s head grew as it was injected with more mana. ''Hehe. Always ying the long game. You never cease to surprise me, Eren. '' Alephee finally got around to Eren''s way of doing things when she understood the reasoning behind his actions. Scanning the three Blood Punisher Force members with her soul sense once again, she provided him with additional information. ''Make sure you don''t kill them, Eren. At least not now. They have a runic mark on them that would get activated when they die. The senior members of the Blood Punisher Force would probably be aware of their deaths along with some details rted to you if you kill them straightforwardly.'' Eren raised his eyebrows when he listened to Alephee. He became pensive for a bit beforeing up with a solution. ''Alright. Incapacitation first. Then kidnapping. Easy peasy. Thanks for the heads-up, Alephee. I''ll treat you to loads of Extols when I''m done with these pests. Hehe.'' Chapter 821 Effect Mirroring Blur. That''s what Krista saw as Eren activated his time-element spell separately and disappeared from his position all of a sudden. He needed to conserve his mana after all. And Sedating Gaze would only work most effectively when it was used for the first time. It would give diminishing returns and start taking a toll on his mana reserves the more he used on his opponents. Especially if there were more than one of them to deal with. Repel! Lambert could feel Erening because he had already tagged him with his spell and the tag was still working. He immediately broke Eren''s movement spell with a spell of his own and made him appear not too far away from him. Attraction! Eren''s body was pulled towards Krista from a different direction. The two rankers had already separated at this point. They were nning tounch a two-pronged attack on Eren from two different directions. Krista was ready with her weapon and her spell as she watched Eren''s body close in on her at breakneck speeds. The butcher appeared to have no control over his movement. His body almost floated over the ground as he was pushed toward Krista by Lambert''s spell. Krista was about to swing her weapon when she saw Eren smiling at her. Instead of fighting against the momentum, he coated his legs in water-element mana and sped up his advance. Swoosh. Zoom. Duck. With that, Krista swung her weapon in a threatening way. But her timing was a bit off because of Eren''s movement spell that added to Lambert''s attraction force. Sedating Gaze Eren ducked under Krista''s swing to get to her other side. This time, he turned around and cast his Sedating Gaze on Lambert first to stop him from attacking the elf again. Sedating Gaze Eren''s all-white eyes turned a bit red when he cast his Sedating Gaze on Krista as well. As a result, Lambert was unable to pull the butcher away from the elf and the elf herself was made to slow down in her actions. ''Hmm. So full of vitality. Should I kill her and take her achievements to myself?'' Eren licked his lips and had an instant gratification thought. He actually started salivating and felt like taking a bite out of the elf''s flesh. Seeing the elf''s ripe body, he felt like it was calling him to devour it. ''Damn it. This hunger.'' Eren finally managed to prevent himself from killing Krista right then and there. He knew that the third ranker would have tried to interrupt him in case heunched a deadly attack on the elf. Nevertheless, he was almost sure that he would have handled that interruption too while ensuring the elf died by his hand. This was not the first time Eren had dealt with uncontroble hunger. He had lost his fingers and half of his right toe fighting with Alephee during their serious spars. As a result, he would often get hunger pangs whenever he had to undergo organ regeneration. Eren realized how intense Reen''s hunger would be after feeling the effects of it on himself. He was amazed that the girl could keep it under control under his orders. A task he might have failed if he was in her shoes. Krista felt helpless and enraged as her body was subjected to the slow passage of time. She could feel that the restrictions ced on her were much lighter than in the first instance. But she was in greater danger than before because of Lambert''s inaction. She could see that he was facing the same challenges as her. Krista suddenly felt that her life was in serious peril when Eren thought of devouring her whole. His emotions were manifested through his soul sense, making her aware of how vulnerable she was fighting against him. ''This this is no half-blood. The way he acts the way he moves and the way he behaves... His absurd powers and his sinister presence. There''s hardly a human inside this fiend.'' A chill ran down Krista''s spine as she was affected by Eren''s soul sense that spoke volumes about his designs on her. She saw Lambert was unable to help him and contacted the third member of her team urgently. ''Sneak attacks can kiss my ass. Rupen! Fucking save me.'' Krista tried to contact the third member of her team who had been hiding all this time. Even she had realized that this was Eren''s move to flush out the third member. Otherwise, he would have attacked her by this point. However, what other choice did she have? Krista had forgotten the fact that since she was experiencing a slow passage of time, her voicemunication with Rupen and Lambert had been affected. Thankfully, she didn''t have to rely on her message. Because Rupen had already decided to show himself after seeing what Eren was up to. Eren had erged his hammer''s head. The hammer''s head began to swell to a diameter of three meters as he lifted the weapon above his head. The water-element runes were revolving around the hammer''s head, indicating that the volume of the water was much more than what its size entailed. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Eren mmed his giant hammer down onto Krista, hoping the third member would intercept it. And he did. But not in the way Eren was imagining him to be. "Hold the fuck up." Another shadow appeared about 10 meters away from Krista and Eren and yelled in a deep manly voice. He raised his hand towards Eren and the elf and cast his spell just as the giant face of the hammer was about to make contact with Krista''s head. Effect Mirroring. Something weird happened when Eren tried to attack the broadaxe-wielding elf. Instead of her getting smashed under the hammer''s giant head, it was his body that was subjected to tremendous force from his front. Swoosh. Eren''s body was suddenly thrown in the air as if it was him that had gotten hit by a giant swinging hammer. His nose and most of his ribs got broken as he flew in the air at breakneck speeds. When he was hit by an impact that came out of nowhere, his flesh turned to pulp. Chapter 822 Undying Cockroach Boom! Eren''s body crashed on the ground after the vector force acting on his body couldn''t maintain his flight. A deep depression in the ground was created as Eren''s mana defense reacted in response to his fall. The manayer disappeared after the impact because Eren could not control it around himself. As a result, his body waspletely exposed to the elements. All while the mirroring effect of Rupen was still active on his body. Drag. He was dragged far from his first impact because of the residual force, creating clouds of dust in its wake. He was dragged almost 100 meters away from where he had first crashed onto the ground. Krista, Lambert, and the new guy stood even farther away from him. Nobody tried to do a follow-up attack on Eren. That''s because they were paralyzed by the effects of his soul sense that he had spread forth right after he was hit by Rupen''s spell. "That''s that''s a soul sense. This monster is something else indeed." Rupen prevented his right hand from shaking by holding it with his left hand. It was clear to him that the butcher had used his soul sense on them, slowing down their thoughts by making them experience his emotions. He was enraged to the point that he wanted to devour them whole. Eren quickly got up on his feet after the momentum acting on his body was killed off. He had a mangled face and he was reeking of blood from various flesh wounds. He looked at his hands by raising them in front of him and found that they were missing arge portion of flesh on them. His finger and ulna bones were partially visible as well. Eren spat a mouthful of blood mixed in his saliva and grime. This was the first time he had messed up this badly. "So much cough cough cough" A bunch of coughing noises. Right hand resting on the chest. His left hand turned into a fist. Eyes staring at the starry sky above. Lips tightly shut. Bloodline Ability: Expedited Regeneration A never-felt-before mana pulse. The flesh around the wounds became restless before stretching itself like it was made of liquid. Eren''s deformed face started rearranging itself. The cheekbones that had been made visible suddenly hid under the newly generated mass of red and white meat. The meat was soon covered with a youthful epidermis. The open wounds on the rest of Eren''s body healed along with the facial makeover. The butcher stood tall and proud in his position, looking prim and proper in no time. Of course, his clothes made him appear like he had been run over by a horde of mana beasts. But overall, he was fine. The butcher made a few bone-cracking noises as he rotated his wrists and neck. He jumped up to get a better sense of the health of his legs. He finally raised his arms above his head and stretched, indicating that he had almost recovered from his precarious condition. While he was recovering from the pain that came along with the Expedited Regeneration, the butcher''s teeth were gritted. He only rxed when the process was done. "So much for "easy peasy", huh! Note to self: even while experimenting, I should be careful about who I am conducting them on. A regr sample is needed to derive all-inclusive results." Eren lightly pped his forehead beforebing his hair by running his finger through it. He then wiped the drool that tried to escape from the corner of his lips. One could see that he was salivatingC an indication that he was feeling famished. However, unlike before, he was inplete control of his senses and desires. Eren realized that he had chosen the wrong opponents to experiment with. Mainly because they were not the traditional rankers he was used to dealing with. Experimenting with spells on these guys was akin to finding joy in self-inflicted injuries. A self-sabotaging mentality that the butcher was not too fond of. These rankers needed to be dealt with with absolute force. There was no room for games. ''Hmm. I wonder how much elemental attainment I''ll gain if I just devour these guys'' limbs.'' Since he couldn''t kill them and needed to do something, Eren came up with apromise. He then geared up for his go-to spells, putting his experiments to rest. *** Krista and Lambert watched with stressed expressions as their enemy started jumping and stretching in his position. Having recovered from the attack he hadnded on himself, he started doing this right away. They watched in horror as they saw Eren recovering from his serious injuries like it was no big deal. They felt like they were inside a nightmare that just didn''t seem to end. "What kind of monstrosity is he an undying cockroach?" Lambert said under his breath as he appeared right in the middle of Krista and Rupen. He refused to believe that these were mere half-blood powers anymore. Rupen on the other hand was ready to counter the butcher as soon as he made his move. He wasn''t as visibly agitated as Krista. He was not as afraid as Lambert was. Mostly because he forced himself to think that this was just another half-blood subjugation case. Just like the rest of the Blood Punisher Force members, Rupen also had an affinity for the Ether subelement. He could reflect the spell''s effects or impact his opponent''s path in a limited way. He could amplify the mirrored effects using another spell he had in his arsenal. Rupen''s peculiar affinity and his spells allowed him to put his opponents on the receiving end of the attacks they had initiated. He could also save some portion of the effects he had mirrored with the help of his special spatial space to which only he had ess. The saved portion of the effect could be used against his opponents anytime he wanted. Rupen was also the de facto leader of the three-person team. He had told Krista and Lambert that he would only appear when Erenunches a life-threatening attack at them, mirroring it at thest moment and killing him then and there. Chapter 823 Breaking Free From Lambert’s Control Fortunately for Eren and unfortunately for the three-person team, Eren had chosen to attack Krista with blunt force. The blunt force effect was something Rupen was not able topletely mirror as it is. He had to use another spell in conjunction with his default mirror spell to enhance its effects. Eren had not exerted his full force to crush Krista in his previous attack. And he was d he didn''t. He would have been in a much more dire condition if he had. Even with his limited interaction, the butcher could decipher the limits of Rupen''s spells. His soul sense had helped him know the intentions behind Rupen''s attacks as well as read some of his thoughts. With that, he realized that Rupen was waiting for an opportunity that never came to him. Rupen had a lot of limitations when he could use his spells. Especially because the guy had chosen to remain in the shadows for so long. The butcher concluded that elemental spells couldn''t be used when Rupen was in the picture. The guy would just mirror its effects onto him while altering the mana signature behind it. It would be like Eren fighting against another Eren. *** The butcher took a close look at Rupen now that he had shown himself. He was wearing a long red coat under his solid silver metal armor. The hood-like headgear that he wore blended well with his armor, covering his head. Rupen had dark red eyes and half of his face was covered in a mask. He had a slightly taller stature than Eren and a lean build. But one could tell that his covertly defined muscle definitions would allow him to tackle most regr rankers with ease in closebat battles. Rupen was carrying a long spear in his right hand and arge shield in his left. It was clear that he paid close attention to his defense apart from cultivating offensive spells. One could tell that Rupen was a more capable ranker among his group. The confident air around him made him stand out more. ''It seems that the mistake I made wasn''t really a mistake after all. I never gave that bastard a chance to show himself. I didn''t give him the opening he was looking for to strike me with my own attacks. It would have been troublesome if I had allowed this guy to direct any serious elemental attacks at me. Or if I had attacked that elf with my regr weapons.'' Eren looked at Rupen seriously before narrowing his eyes at him. He knew what he was supposed to do at the time. Demon Beast Transformation. Eren used his demon beast transformation spell to boost his stats. Argo wanted toe out of his beastly space and y with the three rankers. But Eren prevented him from appearing because he wanted to incapacitate the three rankersC not kill them. Eren believed Argo''s bird brain was too immature to understand the difference. Since Eren couldn''t use most of his go-to elemental spells, he decided to boost his body stats instead. He just needed to make sure that his physical attacks didn''t get mirrored back to him. Eren''s pupils turned vertical and beast-like under the spell''s effect. His hands changed into ws and his body became full of vitality. He developed lion-like canines that slightly peaked through his upper lips. Thanks to his mana circuit training, Eren''s demon beast transformation this time was even more prominent. He could receive a higher body stats boost from Argo while controlling the physical features he wanted to manifest. A feat Altashia had done in front of him in the past. Blitz Steps Eren disappeared from his position and approached the three rankers. At this point, all three rankers were on their toes, fully alert to their surroundings. Lambert was the first to sense Eren''s presence because his spell''s effect was still present in him. Repel Eren was forced to stop his movement spell by Lambert''s interruption. He appeared 30 meters from where they stood with Rigor Mortis in his right hand and Anduril in his left hand. Once the momentum was killed, he was pushed back from his position. But this time, the pull wasn''t strong enough to stop his charge. Earth Spike Igni Chains Eren cast his earth-element spell and created a bunch of spikes all around the battlefield. He then cast Igni Chains to make fire-element chains appear out of thin air. The fire-element spellstched themselves around the Earth Spikes. Eren used the earth spikes and the fire chains as anchors to defeat the repelling force acting on his body. He tugged at the two Igni Chains in his hand and pulled himself towards his enemies once again. Eren could now better understand how Lambert''s spell worked. It could only attract or repel things or people in a limited spatial zone. It meant that once the repel spell had been activated on Eren, the spatial zone in which he could be pushed away from his position was the three-dimensional area around himself. Eren needed the Earth Spikes and Igni Chains to serve as his anchor and kill the force acting on his body. It would give him time to maneuver his way out of the three-dimensional spatial zone in which the repel spell was active. Wind-Fire Wings Eren escaped in the air, freeing himself from the restrictions of the repel spell. He smiled wickedly when his hypothesis came to be true. He also knew that Lambert couldn''t quickly cast his repel spell after he had already used it. The most he could do was cast an attraction spell on him to alter his momentum. Attract. As expected, Lambert''s spell did what he had expected. He had already prepared his spell. He tugged at the chains and used his wings to change the spatial zone he was in effortlessly. He was able to escape Lambert''s spell without difficulty as a result. Breaking Lambert''s control over him was very critical for Eren. Because the other two rankers had based their moves on his battle style. The three rankers'' powersplemented each other, turning them into a highly effective killing machine for the half-bloods. However, there was one half-blood they hadn''t met until today. "Let''s see how many spells you can mirror, shall we?" Eren spoke yfully as he flew close to the ground. His vertical eyes shone brightly in emerald green as he focused on his prey. Chapter 824 Taking Hostages P1 Wind-Fire Shards! He used the shards made from the elemental fusion of fire and wind. A cloud of elemental shards was created on either side as he flew toward the three rankers. After controlling his shards, he moved his position so that he could attack the three rankers from different angles, preventing Lambert from changing his trajectory. The elemental shards had gotten more potent since they were created. They surrounded the three rankers from the Blood Punisher Force like a swarm of bees before attacking them all at once. Effect Mirroring Rupen ordered his two members to remain close to him before casting his spell. The shards were too many and attacked in various directions, so his abilities to tackle them by mirroring them were limited. Swoosh. Eren and Rupen''s team were bathed in the explosive elemental shards at the same time. No matter how the butcher had tried to dodge the shards he had created himself, they just appeared in front of him out of thin air before attacking him. Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of mini explosions sounded in the surroundings as various Wid-Fire Shards were set off at the same time. The inside of the entire isted barrier lit up and drove away the night''s darkness. From a distance, one could see that the semi-transparent barrier had suddenly developed a bright source of light inside it. Eren was the first to get out of the explosive cloud that had surrounded him in midair. And he had a smile on his face while doing that. That''s because he knew that he had figured out Rupen''s limitations in mirroring the effects of any spell. Only a few elemental shards directed at Eren managed to hurt him. That''s because only a small number of them had a different mana signature than his own. Rupen couldn''t effectively alter the mana signatures found in the spells that were created with elemental fusion. In fact, the only way he had managed to seed in modifying the mana signatures of the few that he could alter was because the elemental shards were small packets of explosive mana. What was more significant was the fact that Rupen couldn''t amplify the effects of Eren''s spells while mirroring them on him. The elemental shards Eren had to deal with only packed half of their usual punch, not enough to slow him down at all. "Fk!" ? "Bastard, fight me face to face if you dare." "Shiiiiit!" Rupen and his team on the other hand were not doing so well. The elemental shards were not that powerful individually. But when Eren used them as barrage attacks for his opponents, they stung like bees and created blisters on their skin. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Rupen and his team decided to change their strategy after finding out that Eren had sessfully countered Rupen''s spell. There was no use hiding behind him anymore. Eren had chosen the spell for Rupen to mirror wisely. He knew that even if he failed, the amount of damage he received would be manageable. And if he seeds, he would manage to keep the three rankers away from tag-teaming against him. After all, staying together meant allowing Eren to concentrate his attacks while not getting the advantage of erecting an effective united defense. Krista started destroying the Earth Spikes Eren had created in the surroundings with her broadaxe. She wanted to vent the frustration that was building inside her heart for not getting back at Eren. Eren started hovering over the elf. He dodged Lambert''s spell. Rupen also tried to aim at Eren using the spells he had previously stored inside his special spatial storage. But the butcher was able to outmaneuver them all using his exceptional flight mastery. Something that he had developed himself and not through digestion of understandings that belonged to other rankers. "Krista, my love, look what I have in my hand. A helpful tool for my various grooming needs, I must say." Krista looked hatefully at Eren and saw that he was brandishing her chopped hand. He then proceeded to poke and clean his nostril with one of her fingers before using the same hand to scratch his posterior. Rupen and Lambert both were shocked by Eren''s nonsensical behavior. They couldn''t have imagined that someone so violent would resort to mocking their enemies in this way. But then they looked at Krista and knew he was targeting the elf mentally. Eren was about to scratch his balls with the chopped-off elf''s hand. But by then, he had heard the angry voice he was waiting to hear. "I AM GONNA KILL THIS SON OF A BITC" The Earth Spikes that were near Krista, Rupen, and Lambert exploded as Eren''s ck hair turned white out of the blue. A bunch of Adept-ranked woond creatures appeared on the battlefield and attacked the rankers nearby them. Krista was the most vulnerable of the three at this moment. She couldn''t even sense that there was a woond creature appearing behind her from the Earth Spike she didn''t destroy. This woond creature was taller than Krista by a whole inch. It was a female treant that had thick tree-like branches for limbs and sharp wood-like fingers for ws. She also had razor-sharp teeth in her mouth and eyes that glowed with yellow light. "Aaaaargh!" The elf cried in pain and agony when the woond creature bit her right shoulder using her sharp teeth. She embraced the elf from behind using her flexible limbs,tching herself. Krista started to have her life essence sucked out of her at a rapid rate. Her skin started drying up at an rming rate and she developed wrinkles on her pretty face in no time. She tried to get the woond creature off her back. But by this point, the female treant had started restricting the elf''s movements. She did that by draping her ever-growing vines around the elf. Krista''s anger made her blind to Eren''s insidious move. She was brought onto her knees within a few moments before closing her eyes in the embrace of the female treant. Soon, Krista''s body became invisible because of the wood-element noosespletely tightening around her from head to toe. The butcher had taken care of the elf without harming her. Chapter 825 Taking Hostages P2 Eren could control his summoner ss better after he had digested Rey''s experiences. The way with which he had digested them allowed him to use them as if he had been using them for a long time like his own spells. He was able to switch between his summoner ss and his closebat ss without much hassle. This was due to the training he received from Alephee regarding the control of his mana circuits. He was sure that the more he got through with his training with Alephee, the more he would be able to tap into both sses with equal ease. While Krista was suffering through her ordeal, Lambert and Rupen were getting attacked by a bunch of woond creatures that had appeared all around them. Unlike Krista who was destroying the Earth Spikes in her path, the male rankers of the Blood Punisher Force were trying to find their way around them. As a result, both of them were surrounded by them as Eren summoned them through the Earth Spikes. Lambert repelled one of the woond creaturesing his way. He controlled his spell and pulled him towards the other woond creatureing his way. However, he had to fight with the third creature that had gotten too close to him. "Fuck these monsters!" Lambert was finally overwhelmed with frustration when the woond creatures started tag-teaming him. He tried to attack them using his staff and his weapon mastery. But the woond creatures simply regenerated themselves before attacking the rank with newfound vigor. Lamber raised his right arm to cast his repel spell on all three of the woond creatures at the same time. But just then, he received a threatening sensation. Bzzt. Swoosh. Chop. Eren attacked Lambert while he had his hands full with his summoned creatures. He chopped Lambert''s right arm from his shoulder before retreating into the air once again. It was only after Eren disyed the arm that Lambert was able to know what had happened to him. Another round of loud screaming and cursing followed. The butcher just ignored them and carried on with his attacks. He had concentrated on the rtively weaker rankers first before taking care of Rupen. ,m Lambert was able to put up a fight for some time. However, the missing arm eventually exposed more loopholes in his defense. Soon, the butcher chopped off his other hand too before subjecting him to the same fate as Krista. Thest thought Lambert had before being forced to sleep was about Eren. He wondered and felt afraid of the versatility Eren had shown him fighting with them. It was like he had many alter egos of himself. He had taken care of Krista using a metaphorical low-blow attack. He had effortlessly countered his spells after seeing them only for a short time. And the man could summon monsters of this level while being a deadly closebat expert. Lambert didn''t understand what kind of bloodline would grant Eren powers like the ones he had disyed so far. But he knew that if he were allowed to grow any further than what he is right now, Eren alone would be able to wipe out the Blood Punisher Force all by himself. Boom. Rupen released another stored fire-element spell he had kept in his special spatial mirror storage. He had spell effects of various elements stored inside his special storage. And thankfully, the fire-element spells were the most plentiful among them. However, Eren''s woond creatures were persistent and downright immortal. They would regrow their bodies and attack him even if only a tiny amount of their bodies were left after his attacks. The most threatening thing about the woond creatures was the fact that they were not summoned using the mana body. Their organic bodies were pumped with wood-element mana, making them as tough as normal rankers. Rupen couldn''t mirror most of their attacks with the same intensity because of their physical nature. As a result, he was forced to use the stored spell effects. The fire-element effects gave him better results. But he knew that as long as the summoner remained unscathed, the summoned creatures would just keep oning at him. Rupen tried attacking Eren throughout his struggle for survival. But Eren refused to engage him in closebat anymore. He was therefore unable to use the trump cards he had stored in his storage reserved for Eren. The white-haired flying summoner knew what Rupen was thinking thanks to his soul sense. The guy wanted him toe down and attack him personally so he could use his special artifacts on him. The butcher just smirked and watched Rupen get exhausted by his summoned creatures. He drank another vial of mana recovery potion to keep up with the excessive consumption. Rupen looked in Lambert''s direction in shock when thetter was put to sleep by another female treant. He could sense that both of his team members were still alive and taken hostage. And that made him even more fearful of the butcher. Rupen had a cold shiver run down his spine when he started imagining the horrors Eren could inflict on them. He had seen the Grim Pir Eren had erected for the House Remus too. He knew nothing positive woulde out of getting kidnapped by such a vile evil ranker like Eren. Rupen decided tomit suicide as ast resort. Sadly for him, Eren read these thoughts as soon as Rupen thought of them. Erennded on the ground at a distance from Rupen. Thetter was still battling with a bunch of his summoned creatures while keeping an eye on him. Sin of Wrath Eren used his Sin Series Ability without summoning the domain. He injected the existing woond creatures with wrath mana and made them more aggressive, making their attacks even more potent. Lambert didn''t even get the chance tomit suicide. The wrath-powered woond creatures overwhelmed him so quickly that he had his eyes closed before he could figure out the changes behind them. The wrath-powered female treant tried to suck more life essence out of Rupen''s body than she was told to. The guy would have perished if Eren hadn''t forcefully dispersed her. When Eren realized that the battle was over, he put his weapons away. He had sessfully managed to take three rankers from the Blood Punisher Force hostage. "Hmm. Now... what should I do with them?" Chapter 826 Blink Devour! A shapeless and colorless slimy mass spread over a small mountain of flesh made of 12 limbs. One set of limbs belonged to a beautiful elf while the other two belonged to two male members of a certain special force of Edinburgh. Someone was standing beside the mountain of flesh. He had his arms stretched over the limbs that had turned into a mass of slime, which was digesting the limbs and boosting his body stat values. The butcher had already injected the limbs with wrath mana. Additionally, his bloodline ability digested the wrath mes effectively. "Hungry for days. Starving for centuries. Famished for an eternity." Eren mumbled to himself and smiled as he started to digest the limbs of his victims using his Devour. This was something Reen used to say to him when she was extremely hungry. The butcher wasn''t interested in mutting his enemies if it didn''t serve any purpose. But he had to do something about his hunger after all. Due to the constant regeneration of wounds he had to undergo during the fight, his hunger intensified. And from the looks of it, the chopped-off limbs were doing a fine job of helping him feel satiated. Eren had cut off all the limbs of the three rankers after they had fallen prey to the woond creatures. Only their torsos and heads remained intact. In addition to cauterizing their wounds, he stabilized their conditions and ensured that they remained in their slumber. Three female treants sucked the life essence of three rankers. They extracted just enough to keep them in slumber while ensuring that they don''t die from it. The female treants were soon filled with vitality and couldn''t contain the life essence in their bodies anymore. They started diffusing the excessive life essence they had extracted into the soil through their root-like feet. Thebined life essence of the three rankers couldn''t be scoffed at. Soon, the battlefield started turning into a lush green forest as various trees and greenery started growing at a rapid rate. Eren didn''t have to use Potion of Innocence on the battlefield anymore. The woond magic had altered the residual mana signatures in the surrounding area for good. "Tch. You created so much mess." Alephee appeared beside Eren andmented after looking around. Butcher shrugged his shoulders before recalling the slime mass that had digested all limbs. "Hmmm! I need some time." Eren started digesting the memories and experiences of the three rankers he had just fought with once the shapeless mass of slimepletely turned into his two arms. He closed his eyes and sat down before practicing the Rootless ranking technique. Alephee looked at the three female treants and concentrated. She used her soul sense to take over their feeble minds and forced them to extend their limbs and wrap themselves around Eren. In the next moment, Eren felt like all the fatigue he had developed during the battle had been washed away. The effects he received were ten times better than even the most pristine all-stats recovery potions he had in his storage. Eren realized that he was being fed thebined essence of the three rankers. He smiled as he kept his eyes closed and started digesting his gains. *** It took a while before Eren opened his eyes. His body was brimming with vitality and his hunger had beenpletely satiated. He had also finished digesting the three rankers'' experiences. He received a minor boost to all his body stat values. But he couldn''t make any major advancements in his ranking. He had just made a huge leap, thanks to digesting Rey Remus whole. As such, he knew any major improvement wasn''t possible. Thus, Eren focused on digesting the three rankers'' experiences thoroughly. And it paid him well. Because it had increased his affinity with the most mysterious element out of all the great elementsC ether. Krista, Lambert, and Rupen had ether-sub element affinities. Thus, their elemental attainments in the ether element were significant. The butcher was able to make some of those attainments his own after digesting their limbs. Blink. Eren disappeared from his position and appeared a few meters away. However, he had not used his movement spell to aplish this feat. He turned around and looked at Alephee before asking her. "Hehehe. I finally did it. What do you think?" Alephee chuckled before casting the same spell Eren had cast. A space-element support spell that one could use to teleport themselves to a different location. "This was your first sessful Blink. Even though you could have done better, I appreciate your efforts. Or rather, the efforts THEY had put into their ranking journey to ultimately benefit you." Alephee looked at the three limbless rankers and chuckled. Eren was practicing Blink spells for a while. Hecked a sufficient affinity for the space element that was rted to Ether. As such, all the Blinks he had performed would mostly result in failures and him facing bacsh from using the spell incorrectly. The few times he managed to teleport, he was way out of his intended position. Even then he faced a huge bacsh for using the spell incorrectly. He, therefore, did not even attempt to use the spell as an experiment against the three rankers. Erenughed at Alphee''sment. Then he did the Blink one more time and realized something. "Damn. This spell eats mana like Reen eats mana beasts for breakfast." Eren observed that the spell had taken a huge toll on his mana reserves after two consecutive castings. It also made him realize that it couldn''t be used casually. Not like a movement spell. "The space-element spells are more dependent on elemental attainments than any other type of spell. You have just met the minimum requirement to cast the spells after digesting someone else''sprehension. Otherwise, it would have taken you some years to pull off what you did. I''ll call that an absolute win." Alepheemented casually to Eren. The pair then proceeded to make their way back into the city with their three hostages in tow. wt === AN: "Hungry for days. Starving for" Reen says this in chapter 29. ;) Chapter 827 Overwhelming Market Presence The city of New Beginnings. Early morning. Commoner district. Rankers market. Every corner of every street in this city is always bustling with activities. There are calls from merchants trying to bring customers to their local shops or joints using various schemes and discounts. Adventurers can be seen haggling with merchants who seem unwilling to lower their prices below what they already stipted. Eren was looking at these activities from the fourth floor of an open-air restaurant. His table was by the gallery that offered a seamless view of the city''s market. Eren hadpany at his table. Levine was sitting in front of him. Eren had ordered a sumptuous breakfast for himself. The B-Ranked potioner on the other hand was fine with sipping her tea. Eren had worn casual clothes. White shirt and blue zer. Cream-colored pants that boded well with his easy-on-the-eyes visual scheme. He had left two of his shirt''s buttons undone, adding a bit of nonchnce to his formal appearance. His ck hair had grown a bit, hiding his foreheadpletely. His emerald-green eyes seemed to shine brightly from time to time as he looked at the city''s hustle and bustle from his position. Levine was wearing a beautiful floral dress. Her hair was well-groomed and her face was full of life. The dress she wore entuated her curves just enough to create intrigue while maintaining her elegance. A few months ago, a teacher and disciple pair did something simr like this. Recon on the live market. They were excited to see the results of their efforts pay off. "What do you think will happen?" Levine asked with a bit of yfulness in her voice. She fixed her eyes on a particr shopkeeper who was soon going to attract all the attention to himself. He was currently prepping his array disk setup on a temporary tform that had been erected at the side of the street. "Dominance. Complete dominance." Eren had a subtle smile of his own when he said that. His voice wasced with unquestionable confidence. Something that he didn''t really havest time when his product had first entered the market. Eren and Levine had been to this ce before. Before Levine knew what Eren was really up to with Minerva''s Utopia, he had called her here to witness his first line of products getting sold in the market. Levine knew that Eren had received a rtivelyrge sess for his potions a few days after they made their appearance. At that time, he referred to his sess as a mere beginning. Only now did she truly understand that he meant what he said back then. Eren ate a spoonful of the Cassoulet he had ordered and drank the White Raven ale he had concocted for himself. Looking back at the street from his seated position, he smiled and continued. "White Raven will eat everyone''s market share from today onwards. Not just in the Nightshade duchy. But all the duchies of Edinburgh. And soon, the entire Anfang. All we need to do now is just sit back and watch the show as it unfolds." Just as Eren finished speaking, a known shopkeeper from themoner district took to the stage. He was a seller of potions and artifacts. Alto was his name and he looked to be in his 60s. He was an Ace ranker. But everyone knew him as one of the most sessful businessmen in the city of New Beginnings. Alto had multiple shops under his portfolio. He would generate arge revenue every day and pay the city a hefty amount of tax for his earnings annually. Alto would sellmon products for rankers with various needs and preferences. He catered tomoners and niche rankers alike, having something in store for every ss and every job. Alto was well-known in the district for the quality of his products. As such, he garnered loyal customers throughout the years. Alto had a neutral alignment policy when it came to selling potions and other stuff from various houses and manufacturing hubs. He would not promote or speak ill of any particr potion he was selling, allowing the customers to make their own interpretations and judgments. The non-alignment policy had paid off very well for Alto. He would earn profits from selling every kind of potion obtained from various manufacturing chains. Eren had tried to hire the guy for his products when he had first entered the market. And the merchant quickly rejected it. The butcher then resorted to using rumors about himself and his guild as a weapon to hype his products and achieve exceptional results. However, that was back then. Alto was about to kiss his non-alignment policy goodbye from this day forward. That''s because he was utterly convinced by Eren''s brand-new line of products. *** "Dear adventurers and heroes of the kingdom, please listen to this old man before you buy any potion any further." Alto''s mana-imbued deep voice resounded in the market and it came to a standstill. All the buyers and even the shopkeepers started looking at Alto who had stood alone on the levitating tform. Of course, he had some of his staff help him with the setup. They were standing just below the tform. Alto adjusted his shirt''s cor and ced his right hand over his chest before speaking up. "Most of you know me as your uncle Alto. And there''s a high possibility that every one of you has bought something from me or any one of my shops at least once. Today, I havee to present to you a new line of products by a certain guild that is going to blow you away. And if you use some of these products on your enemies, they''ll be blown away as well. Hahaha!" Altoughed at his own joke. He looked visibly happy while trying to sell these products, which shocked everyone. The audience knew that Alto had a non-alignment policy. So the fact that he had resorted to promoting a particr guild''s products made them curious about what they were about to see. Three distinct-looking vials started levitating in front of Alto out of the blue. Alto smirked before addressing his audience once again. "These are the products that will soon take all the markets in Edinburgh by storm. And you''d only be able to get your hands on them in my shops. Brace your hearts as I say their names. Pleasure Paradise, Ice Fairy''s Kiss, and RDX. Haha. I''m sure that soon these names will imprint their presence in your memories forever." === AN: Alto was first introduced in chapter 603. If you can, give it a quick read to drawparison. ;) Chapter 828 Marketing Campaign Boom! A potion-bomb-induced detonation resounded in themoner''s district. And the entire audience fell silent. A detonation had urred over Alto''s head on the 3D spectral rendering. He had projected the results of someone using the RDX on a bunch of monsters in a random region inside Bands. Alto''s presentation of the RDX''s impact was impable. He had used special array disk recordings to record the impact of the potion bomb. Due to the integration of the sound-element runes in the array disk he used, even the booming acoustics heard by his audience had a surround-sound effect. The sound was not the only reason the audience became silent. The adventurers and hunters saw the effects of the potion bomb with their own eyes and were too stunned to speak about it. RDX was a total banger. It took care of all the monsters in one go, not sparing a single one. The test was designed for Novice rankers. As such, the potion bomb used to belong to the F-Rank and the monsters from the test sample belonged to the Monster Solider tier. It meant that the examination was as fair as it could be. The effects of the potion bomb would increase with rank. Alto enjoyed the stunning looks his viewers had on their faces. He chuckled beforementing further. "My friends, RDX delivers a ss-defying explosive performance. It is up to four times more powerful than the potion bombs of simr price tags you''d find using cough various means. Plus, it is safer to use because the vtilepound inside it won''t react unless you channel your mana into it." People started talking to each other in murmurs when they processed the visuals and the information regarding RDX provided by Alto. A random shout hit the merchant''s ears. "How can you sell such a product openly, uncle Alto?" There was another ranker in the audience who seemed to have figured something out. He asked the same question differently. "Is Edinburgh changing its policies in the light of the recent tussle with the kingdom of Layos, uncle Alto?" Eren already received a green light to sell these products under strict control in limited quantities. The clearance for RDX was the hardest to get. But Dan Karren handled this task very well. The B-Rank elf used his bureaucratic connections as well as the current war-like situation to his advantage and allowed Eren to make things official for all three of his revolutionary products. Eren, Levine, and Alto were expecting questions like these to arise in their presentations. They had standardized their responses in advance. Alt rubbed his hands together before speaking up in a confident tone. "Buyers don''t have to worry about a thing. Unlike the explosives you used to let''s say inadvertently find randomly, you can get this potion bomb legally from any of my shops. A legal way to acquire such a potent alchemy product is nothing short of a miracle. Of course, the kingdom of Edinburgh has still imposed a few restrictions on its use. But we''d act as mediators and sort those legal matters for you as long as you are ready to ensure the products can only be used in the Bands. We only have limited quantities we can sell each month. Thus, only the first few in line can get their hands on these potion bombs." Alto skipped the fact that Edinburgh received a huge cut from these sales. The merchant had been asked by Eren not to paint the kingdom in a bad light even if the truth would be obvious to most buyers. The butcher liked to y by the unwritten rules of the game when it suited him. More whispers ensued. However, Alto didn''t let that fester for longer. "Look. I heard that the diplomatic channels between the two kingdoms are still open. So I don''t like toment on the so-called war-like situation. But I''ll say this. With or without the war, buying a bunch of RDX is going to serve you well in the long run. You will find a way out during your missions in the Monster Canyon. The monster ambushes in the Bands won''t have to turn into a party wipeout just because you were overwhelmed by a horde. In the unlikely event that war does happen, prices of everything will shoot through the roof. The cost you''d have to bear for products like these will break even more records. So hoarding these potion bombs is also not a terrible idea. Especially if you are about to actively participate in the war." The audience witnessed the scenes of RDX sts at various sites while Alto spoke. He knew that he had most of the audience convinced by his speech after seeing their faces. Levine looked at Eren and smiled before pointing a finger at him yfully. "This speech reeks of your blend of fear-mongering, Eren. That merchant is just your proxy." Eren smiled subtly but didn''t say anything at first. He didn''t have to. RDX and Ice Fairy''s Kiss were going to be his cash cows shortly. But he didn''t want to wait for the war to break out between the two kingdoms. Instead, he chose to create a psychological need for these products. Eren took out his Sativa Stick and watched the crowd below him. The number of viewers had increased as Alto kept on answering the audience''s questions regarding RDX. He released the smoke through his nostrils and narrowed his eyes at the adventurers before speaking up. "Fear is temporary. A person learns to get over it sooner orter if they really put their heart into doing exactly that. But regret There''s no cure for regret for most of them. The regret of missing out on something so revolutionary will eventually be a deciding factor for people to buy my products. My marketing campaigns will make sure of that. After all, no matter what kind of product you make, it would not sell well if the marketing done for it was lousy. The so-called famous houses, who are used to doing things using mundane means, had taken things for granted all this time. They had taken their customers for granted. The White Raven guild will not repeat that error. One of the things I''m doing differently from them is the fact that I didn''t wait for the opportunities toe my way. I just got up and made them." Chapter 829 Money Has No Moral Opinions "My friends, RDX is not the only performer we have in store for you." Eren and Levine watched in silence as Alto continued his presentation. "We could only show you the recordings for RDX''s real-life use for obvious reasons. But for Ice Fairy''s Kiss, we have prepared a live demo for you. It would speak volumes about the effectiveness of our products." Alto said excitedly while addressing his audience. He gestured at two of his staff to board the levitating tform. The two male rankers in the Novice rank suddenly appeared on the tform. They both stood opposite each other. One of them drew a sword in his hand and the other clenched his fists and nodded at him. Swoosh. A sword sh flew at the first ranker and hit him across his torso. A line of blood immediately appeared over the ranker''s white clothes. Although the fling attack seemed casual, the ranker who had to face it had lowered his mana defenseyer. As a result, he immediately sustained a critical injury. A few newbie rankers in the crowd gasped at the cruelty unfolding in front of their eyes. They averted their eyes and cursed Alto and his team for such a naked disy of blood and gore. However, the veteran rankers didn''t flinch. They watched as the ranker who had been seriously injured summoned a vial of Ice Fairy''s Kiss. Several mana senses were locked onto the ranker''s injury as it froze as soon as he drank the healing potion. A thinyer of ice was created over the injury before dispersing into thin air. When it did, the serious injury the ranker had sustained to his torso was no more. "Unimaginable recovery speed! Thorough healing properties! And no side effects! These are the three main USPs of Ice Fairy''s Kiss." Alto spoke loudly as the two Novice rankers bowed in front of the audience before climbing down from the stage. The merchant turned his neck and nced at all the rankers before continuing. "Unlike RDX, Ice Fairy''s Kiss doesn''t need any clearance for purchase. We can also sell these potions in a muchrger quantity. And they are only slightly more costly than the most trusted but inferior healing potions you are used to using these days. My friends, believe me when I say that Ice Fairy''s Kiss is a must-have healing potion you''d need on you at all times if you value your life. What use are missions and their rewards if you can''t ensure your safety whilepleting them? And the higher price is worth it if you see results that are up to ten times better than the potions you have in your arsenal right now. Even the little details matter a lot when ites to life-and-death situations. You don''t need me to tell you that no amount of Extols you''d save is worth risking your life over." Alto started talking about the White Raven''s revolutionary healing potion in depth. Eren had taken exclusive manufacturing and marketing rights for RDX. But Ice Fairy''s Kiss was supposed to be seen as a joint venture between his guild and the House Karren. As such, the answers Alto was giving were prepared by House Carren''s representative. "Why are you not selling the healing potion at the same price as the regr ones? Especially because your manufacturing cost for them is not even half of theirs?" Levine asked Eren curiously. He had set RDX at an attractive price. But for a healing potion that he could sell en masse and earn a huge profit, he had chosen to set premium prices for them. No matter how worthwhile the extols-to-healing ratio was in a potion, some rankers just didn''t have that many Extols on them. Plus, things like healing potions would be used a lot more than any other kind of potions during any job. As such, every manufacturing hub tried to keep its healing potions'' prices rtively low. So that their buyers would buy the potions in bulk, earning them substantial profits in return. Levine was kept away from the decision-making process for the products'' prices by Eren. Even though her involvement in the manufacturing unit was over after the arrays were built, she chose to criticize him by sounding disappointed with his move. Eren kept smoking his Sativa Stick and smiled before answering. "Hehe. That''s because I''ve chosen to be exclusive with my products, teacher Levine. You''ll find out what I''m talking about soon." Levine scrunched her nose in response to Eren''s mysterious and dry answer. But she followed his gaze nheless and watched as Alto started speaking to his audience. "As for the Pleasure Paradise! Cough." Alto cleared his throat and wiped his forehead with his hand for no reason before speaking up. "I can''t show you the live demo or recordings of the potion''s effects for reasons you know. But the potion''s been getting sold in limited quantities even before its officialunch. It shows promising results even for people with some kind of "difficulties" in let''s say getting things "up" and running. There is a potion for both sexes, catering to their specific needs. The experiences people have shared so far are already positive. This officialunch of the product will make those results known to a wider audience. Before leaving the stage, we will distribute a bunch of sample vials for Pleasure Paradise to people who haven''t tried it yet. I''m sure those who get to experience these effects wille back for more in no time." Alto said before facing another line of questioning from both male and female rankers. He answered the questions professionally and objectively while maintaining a straight face. Pleasure Paradise was Eren''s exclusive creation. He had partnered with Levine''s faction to manufacture it. But upon her order, the house''s name was kept from being mentioned in any marketing campaigns. The butcher did not mind that his guild became famous for an aphrodisiac that was usually frowned upon by members of the rankers'' society. That''s because such products tend to sell like hot cross buns on the market. ''Money has no moral opinions. The poor can''t afford morality and the rich are blind to its existence. Me? I''m just a survivor who acknowledges its presence but refuses its hold over me.'' Eren released a lungful of smoke through his mouth as he watched Alto do the job he had hired him to do. Chapter 830 In The Business Of Selling Magic Cough! Kirin started coughing a bit in a low voice when she was exposed to Eren''s passive smoke. Levine looked at Eren as if he had done something terrible. "Why are you keeping this girl hidden all the time? Kirin, is it? Please join us at the table, dear." Eren pursed his lips and looked behind him. He extinguished his smoke and put it back in his storage. The scrooge in him wasn''t willing to throw the half-finished smoke away. Smiling mildly, he spoke. "Kirin darling, you cane out." A gorgeous elf appeared on the chair beside Eren and bowed in front of Levine. She smiled at Kirin and poured her a cup of tea that she had brewed for herself. The twodies started talking with each other while Eren focused on Alto''s speech. "My friends, these three potions are not the only things that are gettingunched today. Hehe. I humbly request attention from my ale connoisseurs for this special product." Alto spoke in a jolly tone. He suddenly found himself trapped inside a circle of hovering, runic bottles of ale. Spreading his hands, he spoke further. "Imagine an ale that has a vor so sharp and crisp that it contributes to elevating your mood for the better. The smell of robust minerals, the bnced acidity of ranked fruits, the fullness of the concoction, andstly a finishing taste. Something that leaves a delectable and spicy finish on the tongue. These sought-after attributese together to make this alee into existence. White Raven ale is just like the mascot ites branded with. The mythical bird in legends is the only representative the revolutionary concoction could ask for." The ale bottles around Alto started spinning around themselves. An aroma of fresh and zesty ale filled the air. Audience members stopped murmuring and inhaled the alcoholic fragrance to understand theplexities within it. Alto chuckled before continuing further. "However, the taste is not the only thing this ale packs. And why should it? The White Raven guild has sessfully managed to achieve a huge leap in ale concoction, thanks to its leading team of potioners. Say goodbye to bottlenecks in the way of the elements. This ale is designed to help you ovee your obstacles and reach new heights in your elemental attainments. The White Raven guild officially ims that this brew is as good as any elven ale. And you know what''s the coolest thing? It will be avable to you at half the price of a regr elven concoction. Plus, we don''t have to deal with the side effects that the elven alese with. This ale is going to be a game-changer leisure activity for all of us. And it is officially avable today. The guild ns to open ale houses in various parts of the kingdom in the future. For now, the shops under my name will sell a limited quantity of these bottles each month." When the rankers heard that the ale that stimted one''s elemental attainments could be purchased so cheaply, they were shocked. After hearing the price, they refused to believe that it could perform as well as it was advertised. Levine looked him in the eye when Alto brought forth White Raven ale. She had yed a significant role in the concoction of the ale. However, her early assessments had suggested that the ale would just be another counterfeit. There were a lot of counterfeits of Elven ales avable on the market. But they were all just thata counterfeits. That''s why people weren''t as thrilled about the ale as they were about the three concoctions Alto had presented to them beforehand. But she had tasted the sample Eren had provided her after he miraculously perfected the blend one day. And she knew the ale he hade up with was the real deal. She didn''t know whichponent Eren had used to make this ale a reality. But she was impressed with her student nheless. "You took Marie''s help, didn''t you?" Levine asked finally. The question was akin to her admitting that another one of her students was better than her. Particrly the one she rejected further tutoring for. Eren smiled at Levine before answering. "You can say that. Her research helped me a lot in expediting the process. But I would have found a way around eventually anyway. I can always count on myself to achieve my goals." Eren tapped his fingers over the dining table as he said it. Levine took another dramatic sigh and seemingly said to herself. "I hope we don''t ruin an entire generation of rankers with our products. Not because these concoctions would be seen as a questionable lifestyle choice. But because the uing generation of rankers wille to depend on them. So much so that half of them won''t try to find their way in life without your products." Eren chuckled when he found apliment hidden in Levine''s worry. She told him that the products would eventually be a part of life for most rankers because of the price-to-effects ratio they offered. He smiled and said casually. "Sex and alcohol can be seen as pervasive facts of life. But they are also extraordinary in their own right. They are as real as they are addictive. Destructive and pleasurable, with or without overindulgence. Adted and anathematized, they can rece mana and create the magic of their own. Magic that stays inside the head. Forever. Evesting magic. I am in the business of selling magic. If they get addicted, they can only me the magic''s hold on them. Not the magician himself." Kirin looked at Eren thoughtfully when Eren spoke of his philosophical bullshittery to shirk away the potential responsibilitiesing his way. Eren noticed her gaze on him and nodded and smiled, letting her know that they would consummate their marriage soon. ''Heh! Who knows the hold alcohol has on its most loyal patrons better than me? I''m hoping my ale will help some rankers progress in their ranking journeys. At least for the word-of-mouth publicity, I''d receive. I don''t care if they be dependent on it for thatter on. From being addicted to alcohol to selling it myself, I have indeede a long way. My only regret is that it took this long to get here.'' Eren sighed in his mind as he watched Alto take charge of his audience once again. Chapter 831 Exclusive Selling Chains Levine chuckled when she heard Eren''s way of looking at his business. She was aware that the guy had dipped his fingers in many pies. She was also lowkey aware of his weapon-selling business. Something he hadn''t made public yet. ''I am tutoring a dangerous man. And for some reason, I am enjoying it. Something must be wrong with me too.'' Levine watched the chemistry Eren and Kirin shared in their eye contact with each other and thought to herself. She decided to pull Eren''s leg a bit. "How''s Marie handling the manufacturing units, Eren?" Eren raised his eyebrows when Levine suddenly brought up Marie''s topic. He had thought that his teacher didn''t like to talk much about her. But he answered her anyway. "Oh, she''s doing well. She is in charge of the guild''s signature concoctions. She has done a miracle in increasing the qualities produced each day by optimizing the potioning process." Levine disyed an amazed expression on her face before speaking up. "You have found quite a working bee for yourself. I wonder where she gets this much energy from. I also heard that you changed her let''s say orientation?" Eren started coughing and clearing his throat for no reason. He drank some more White Raven ale from his ss because he had suddenly started feeling parched. "Alright. Who is leaking all my secrets to you guys?" Eren looked at his surroundings as if trying to find someone to me. This was one too many times that his profane lifestyle was discovered by outsiders. Levine chuckled as she watched Eren''s expression. She pointed a finger at Kirin before speaking up. "Hehe. Ladies talk, Eren. Thatss you have who stays with you like your shadow isn''t like you. She is honest and pure-hearted. She doesn''t like to speak much. But when she does, she sometimes spills the beans about you. And that is enough for us to connect the dots." Eren looked at Kirin and read on her face that she didn''t know what she had done wrong. She looked at things from her monster culture''s perspective. As with most rankers, she was simple-minded. "Kirin darling, from now on, whenever someone asks you where I was or where I was, just say that you don''t know. Whether they ask you personally or through voicemunication, your answer should be "I don''t know." Especially when Agatha or Master Levine ask you." Kirin nodded at Eren seriously. She also asked him if she had done something wrong. He scratched under his ears before shaking his head in denial. Levine keptughing intermittently as she watched the couple''s reaction. *** Alto could read what was going on in people''s minds. They thought White Raven ale was just another counterfeit of elven ale. So he cleared his throat before speaking up. "Haha. I know you have doubts. I can see clearly in your faces. My friends, we are nning to distribute a few sample bottles of the White Raven ale. Hehe. We are convinced of its vor, quality, and ability to stimte your elemental attainments. You as the consumer will soon discover where my confidencees from. I hope you can give these products a try and share your experiences regarding them with your colleagues." Alto started distributing a few samples of White Raven ale and Pleasure Paradise to his select audience. While his staff was handling the distribution, he spoke further. "I have one more announcement to make. In light of having been allowed tounch and sell such promising products, my shop chain has decided to enter an exclusive selling contract with the White Raven guild. It means we will only sell White Raven potions from now on." Alto dropped another metaphorical bomb on the audience that made the audience throw a long line of questions at him. Heughed before speaking up to clear the viewers'' doubts in one go. "Haha. This is good news for you, my friends. In exchange for entering into an exclusive selling contract with the White Raven guild, shops can sell their top concoctions at a discount of up to ten percentpared to theirpetitors. The guild has perfected its concoctions ever since it entered the market. Even their most basic potions are in high demand these days. And you know they have something for everybody. So you lose nothing and gain lots of discounts. I would call this a win-win situation for both our sides." The audience was quiet for a while before bursting into collective joy. They didn''t care about the White Raven guild''s motive behind this move. They were just happy that they''d get to have their go-to potions at cheaper rates from select shops. The B-Rank potioner looked at Eren with a stunned expression. Only now did Levine realize what Eren was talking about when he said that he had decided to be "exclusive" with his products. "Eren, you understand what you are doing, right? You are influencing the shopkeepers to sell only your products using the customers'' demand as your leverage. You are basically dering war against all the famous potion manufacturing houses by this move." Eren had his eyes on the excited crowd and Alto who was addressing the rankers. He startedughing when he heard Levine''s question. "Hehe. You and I both know that only a certain House is most likely to be the most affected by my decision. All my products can be seen as a lineup that I created that stands toe-to-toe with that house''s top-selling concoctions. Now it doesn''t matter what effect my products have on other houses'' equations in the market. I won''t be able to do business if I keep thinking about my opponents'' well-being after today." Eren said and ran his fingers through his hair. Kirin had started catching up on what her husband was trying to do after reading about various things and Eren''s descriptions. But she failed to pinpoint which House he was talking about. "Eren, which House are you targeting?" Eren and Levine looked at each other when they heard Kirin''s question. Thetter was about to speak. But turns out he didn''t have to. "House Slughorn. He is talking about my House, young one." Eren heard an aged voice behind him. Chapter 832 Sebastian Slughorn "House Slughorn. He is talking about my House, young one." An old man in his 80s could be seen walking toward Eren''s table. He had a head full of white hair and a long white beard. His back was hunched and an inwardly arched posture that made him look much shorter than he was. This man had a wrinkled face. He also had green eyes but they were darker green than Eren''s. He was wearing a long coat and a belt with a spatial bag attached to it. He had worn a cape over his long coat as if he was protecting himself from being exposed to the cold weather like a mortal. Although this old man seemed to have cleaned up his act, there were signs of unkemptness on him that subtly made their presence known. It was apparent that the man had a lot of other priorities than his looks. Eren looked at the old man and saw that he was in thete stages of the B-Rank. The man seemed old but his aura was anything but feeble. Levine was a bit surprised to see the old man here. It looked like she knew him well. "Oh! Long time no see, Myriad Potioner. Please join us at the table." Levine managed to smile and greet the old man even though she carried a stressed expression on her face. She hade to realize that Eren had an unstated hatred for the House Slughorn. That put her in a difficult position as she tried to greet the old man normally. Cough! Cough! Cough! The old man started coughing when he stopped looking at Eren and nced at Levine. It was as if turning his neck was also a bothersome task for him. The old man smiled and nodded at Levine before taking her up on her offer. He didn''t mind that Eren or Kirin didn''t greet him even though his ranking status hinted at it for them. The rankers'' code of conduct didn''t mean anything to the man in his old age. The old man took a deep breath and looked at Levine. "Long time indeed, little Levine. No need to call me by my title, you know. I stopped fighting for the kingdom''s sake a long time ago. It doesn''t mean anything to me now." Cough! Cough! Cough! A bottle of potion was pulled from the old man''s storage. He drank its contents quickly and channeled his mana to digest it right away. "You didn''t take my Sienna under your wing, little Levine. That''s the onlyint I have with you." Sebastian''s voice sounded clearer and deeper after he drank his potion. There was no undertone of his age in that voice. Levine quickly took a nce at Eren before replying to the old gentleman. "It''s not like I didn''t say no to her. To be my disciple, she could have taken my test and aced it. But she never showed up." Sebastian sighed and nodded at Levine before responding. "I know all that, little Levine. But you know that I''m unable to teach her anything because of my condition. You were the only one apart from me I could count on to guide her. If you could have just lowered your requirements a bit..." Levine frowned when she listened to his words. It looked like the man wanted her to take Sienna under her care regardless of herckluster talent in potioning. Something she had never done or would ever do. The reason she had ignored Marie was that her standards were too high to meet easily. She cut off Sebastian''s speech and spoke in a cold tone that was devoid of any respect this time. "Please let me stop you right there, uncle Sebastian. You and I both know Sienna wasn''t up for the task. She wasn''t interested in potioning at all. She''d rather cheat her way through her academic year than make genuine efforts to learn the basics. I don''t know how you still expect me to make her my disciple under such circumstances. I''d rather take a talented ranker who is thoroughly invested in the field than choose someone else because of the personal connections I share with them." Eren drank his White Ravel ale from the pitcher as he watched the banter between Levine and Sebastian. He didn''t care anymore that one of the House Slughorn''s acting heads hade to meet him while the presentation regarding his guild''s top-tier products was taking ce. The butcher already knew that the sh with House Slughorn was inevitable because of his move to be exclusive with his products. So he had already prepared to meet someone from House Slughorn like this. He just let the two Master rankers talk while he held hands with Kirin and whispered sweet nothings in her ear. "A talented ranker who is thoroughly invested in the field, you say. And you think this young man satisfied all your requirements? If you ask me, he looks more invested in chasing skirts than potioning." Sebastian asked Levine while staring at the public disy of affection Eren was showing toward Kirin. He looked at the couple holding hands over the table and frowned. "Eren Idril, is it? I am not asking you to show me some respect, young man. But the least you could do is take your date somewhere else when I''m talking. That is if you can''t control your hands." Eren chuckled and finally looked Sebastian in the eyes beforementing. "You are asking me to show respect without asking me to show respect, Master Sebastian. And please don''t forget that it was you who decided to join us. I don''t have to do anything that is being dictated by you." Eren said and caressed Kirin''s hand even more as he drank from his pitcher with the other. He would have spoken to the old man more leniently if he and Kirin were alone with him. A B-Rank entity wasn''t someone he wanted to easily offend. Not unless he had his own strategies to deal with him. But this time, Levine was with them. So he didn''t have to worry about the old man suddenly turning hostile. === AN: Sebastian Slughorn was first introduced in chapter 641. Chapter 833 Monopoly Eren''s soul sense leaked a bit when he spoke to the old man and made his stance known. The words and the tone used to speak them were enough to tell Sebastian that Eren was not afraid to make a move on House Slughorn. Sebastian narrowed his eyes at Eren and felt something weird about him. It was as if his instincts were telling him that he was more dangerous to his House than he hade to realize just now. However, he ignored those feelings and spoke up. "Haha. Being young always makes one naive and delusional. Lad, I have seen a dime a dozen like you that get into the spotlight fast and disappear faster. Sometimes no traces of them could be found on the face of Anfang." Eren chuckled at the old man''sment. He finally let go of Kirin''s hand and used it to adjust his hair before speaking up. "Disappearing from the spotlight? Hehe. Master Sebastian, if you want to threaten me, do it right. Don''t do it while hiding behind a euphemism. Do you want to see how it''s done?" Eren made a naked threat to the B-Ranked Master potioner with his words. And he did it while sounding casual. As if he had all the things he needed to fight with him and his entire n. Levine saw that Eren wasn''t backing down from a confrontation with Sebastian. She already knew that he had already messed up with House Remus with his recent actions. She didn''t want him to get involved in any more conflicts. At least not on a personal level. "Uncle Sebastian, Eren is my disciple. I hope you can forgive him for his naivements. He is still learning, you see. The seniors have to show a bigger heart in forgiving their juniors." Levine''s voice sounded sweet and gentle, which changed the tense atmosphere around the table. Sebastian shook his head in denial before speaking up. "I didn''te here to fight with you, little Levine. If my old age has taught me anything, it''s that a needless fight is always bad for business. No matter if our opponent is an ant or an elephant. It just changes the scale of the repercussions." Sebastian looked at Eren after saying that. And all he received in response were thetter''s deadpan expressions. Sighing, the old man continued. "I didn''te here to talk about Sienna either. It''s just as you said. She was a bright child once. Someone who I could see leading the n into even more prosperity in the future. But I have lost all hope in her now. It''s like she suddenly became a different person when she entered her teen years. She can''t even handle the tasks I have given her in the city of New beginnings. And she had managed to mess up with House Carren. The same House thisd has managed to enter into partnership with." Sebastian looked at Levine and pointed at Eren. The old man drank some more potion from his vial and cleared his throat before continuing further. "I am not here to talk about the past. But the fact remains that this young man is at the helm of everything that is going wrong for me in my old age. As if he had a personal score to settle with House Slughorn. He gets the opportunity I had wished Sienna would get and bes your disciple. It''s the separate dimension managed by his guild in which Sienna creates trouble with the House Carren." ''And here I thought I was the master of bullshitery. Not that he is wrong about me settling personal scores with his House.'' Eren had a random thought as he listened to the old man speak. But he didn''t disturb or try to present a counter argument. Sebastian was reading too much into Ere''s ns to mess up with his house. He didn''t know that the House Slughorn wanted Levine to take Sienna under her tutge. It wasn''t like he had given Levine''s test to get her supposed position. He had be Levine''s student for his own sake. The butcher certainly hadn''t set Sienna up against House Carren even though she had done it while she was technically inside the White Raven city. This was something she managed to do on her own. Eren wasn''t even in his city when the incident had taken ce. Seeing Sienna''s ability to attract trouble for her House like a giant mess ma, Eren apuded in his head. He drank his ale as he listened to the old man speak. "Andstly, the policies he hase up with in selling his potions make me wonder if he has any previous enmity with my House. Coming up with potions that purposelypete with my House''s line was not enough. Now he is trying to split the market and create chaos in the entire kingdom. Forget about my House. No other potion-manufacturing organization will support his decision. They will join hands to defeat theirmon enemy beforepeting with each other once again. Frankly, I''m surprised that House Derringer and your faction still want to associate themselves with a trouble-seeking young man like him. I don''t think thatd Demonmir has to do anything. The fellow is on a self-sabotaging mission by himself." Levine looked at Sebastian and sighed. The old man thought that she had agreed with him. But what she said next made him change his mind. "Things are not the way they look, uncle Sebastian. Eren only lets me know the things I''m supposed to know. So I wasn''t sure what he was doing at first. But the announcement in the presentation made a few things clearer to me." Levine then turned her gaze toward Eren before asking him. "Eren, do you have anything to say about uncle Sebastian''s grim predictions?" Sebastian didn''t understand what Levine was talking about. So he too looked at Eren with an inquisitive nce. The butcher smiled subtly before confirming Levine''s doubts. "My guild has entered into binding contracts with some potion-manufacturing organizations. The same top organizations you are banking on. They let me monopolize the market without their retaliation. It''s just as you said, Master Sebastian. I also believe that a needless fight is always bad for business. But I also fight the necessary battles with greater zeal than anyone I know." Chapter 834 An A-Rank’s Apperance Sebastian had a grim look on his face. He had to admit that he had underestimated Eren. He was looking at him from the same prism he was looking at his granddaughter. But turns out they were a ss apart. Levine''s talk also made a few things clear for him. That Eren was no pawn. He was one of the masterminds behind the White Raven guild''s sess, if not the only one. Eren watched Sebastian''s facial expressions change as he spoke about how thoroughly he had nned House Slughorn''s downfall. He really liked the look on the old man''s face. He would have recorded it on the array disk if he had one in his storage space. Eren finished drinking his ale and gave a small burp before continuing nonchntly. "Master Sebastian, these marketing campaigns are happening all over the kingdom. And some are taking ce in other parts of Anfang today. Mywork is still in its growing phase, you see. These programs will all run concurrently. And I can''t deal with the spike in demand that will be brought by these presentations alone. What will I do when the first batch of customers start talking about my products and bring even more customers in? Thus, I have signed a contract with some of the most recognized potion-manufacturing houses. They will only handle my regr potions so that my guild can concentrate on our signature products. Of course, these manufacturing hubs will receive their ownmissions from the profits. But I''m fine with a bit of loss in revenue to create a monopoly in the market. It also helps me save on taxes imposed by the kingdom in a legal way." Bam! Sebastian mmed his hand on the table and almost broke it. But he controlled his strength midway and only cracked the surface of the table a bit. It doesn''t take much to say that the old potioner was angry. "How... how could those idiots not see the aftereffects of manufacturing your products on contracts? Have they be crazy?" Sebastian''s sage-like voice lost its calm. He sounded shocked and angry at the same time. Eren''s calm smile and his serene mana signature told him that he probably wasn''t lying about the developments he had made with the top manufacturing hubs. Sebastian was still managing his house''s potion production affairs. And he was sure that no offer came from the White Raven guild regarding the contract manufacture of potions. Sebastian was made to reconfirm that this was a personal attack on House Slughorn. And nothing else. There was no ambiguity in Eren''s motives regarding his n. This guy wanted to destroy everything his House had built over generations of doing business and earning fame for itself. Eren could clearly understand what the old man was thinking about, thanks to his soul sense. He hade to realize that the man was close to awakening his soul sense himself. As such, he couldn''t intimidate him like the way he was used to when dealing with lower-ranked entities. Nevertheless, the moves he had made over this extended period had shaken the old man to the core. The butcher chuckled before answering his questions. "Who told you they were not aware? They also know what the repercussions will be for manufacturing my products. But they don''t have a choice, do they? I can always abandon them and look for another hub. I can always increase my capacity in a short time by making tie-ups with loaded sponsors. Why would they throw away a bit of profit if they are going to suffer a loss anyway? At least that''s what they all thought before signing a contract with me. So they became my henchmen for me, throwing a bit of profit their way." Levine was having a hard time trying to control Eren. She had sent him a lot of voice messages. But the guy ignored them all. She could only sigh and watch as Sebastian''s face got redder and his aura became grimmer by the second. "Bastards! What the fuck are these short-sighted hyenas doing? They slowly destroy their own businesses by doing this and end up being mere henchmen. Don''t they fucking know that?" Eren expressed a great deal of shock. It looked like he was offended in his so-called business partners'' stead. The twodies could tell he was faking it. But the butcher ignored their gazes and carried on. "Master Sebastian, a man of your caliber shouldn''t throw insults so casually. Why do you me my friends? Just because they would rather stay in profit than open a giant front against me? They chose money over dignity and pride. Money is power,fort, and freedom. It corrupts and purifies, depending upon how you use it. It is both the source of all evil and the blessing from above. They did what was most beneficial for them. You can''t me anyone for trying to survive in this cruel world we all live in." Sebastian''s B-Rank aura leaked out as his anger reached through the roof. It spread through the surroundings and created a suffocating atmosphere. The crowd below the restaurant stopped speaking and looked in Eren''s direction as some of them started feeling weak on their knees. "Old fart, Sebastian! This is the city of New Beginnings in case you forgot. I''ll beat your wrinkly ass before parceling it to your estate in a nicely packaged gift box if you throw your tantrums here one more time. Hmph!" Turns out Levine didn''t have to keep the old man in check. One of the city protectors spoke in a slightly angry tone. The voice seemed to have no origin. As if the city itself had been personified and spoke for itself. The voice seems to have belonged to a young woman. But something told Eren that the youthfulness in the voice was just a charade. Thedy ranker belonged to the same generation as the old man. Eren could see that Sebastian''s expression suddenly turned even sourer. He paid heed to the warning given to him by the voice right away and contracted his aura. It was clear that the old man and even Levine knew who the voice belonged to. An A-Ranked entity. Chapter 835 Birmond Remus "You know what, teacher Levine? I have suddenly developed an urge to give madam city protector a token of my appreciation. After all, she deserves recognition for her exemry work. Please see to it that we send an appropriate gift her way." Eren bowed to Levine and spoke humbly. It was as if the venom he was spewing with his words was apletely different Eren altogether. Levine was speechless for a while before nodding at him. She also felt impressed by her student''s diplomatic quotient. Sebastian clenched his fist and bit his lips while looking at Eren hatefully. However, he couldn''t do anything more than that. As the anger building inside him was unable to be vented, he began coughing hysterically. Sebastian was angry at Eren and angrier at the source of that voice. Not because he was reprimanded. But because he was reprimanded out in the open. Sebastian wasn''t worried about the crowd gathered in the market. But there were a lot of prominent rankers in the city. Those who knew his name and had met him personally were among them. As such, Sebastian''s hate for Eren grew even more than it already was. However, the butcher wasn''t worried about what the old man could do anymore. He hade to realize that the old man was a lion without his teeth and ws. Alto was instructed by Eren to carry on with his tasks by voicemunication. The merchant breathed a sigh of relief before telling everyone that there was nothing to worry about. The crowd started talking normally after that. It was apparent that instances like these were not totally out of the norm in the city of New Beginnings. Eren became fearless when he inadvertently got the backing of an A-Rankdy in suppressing the old man. He looked at Sebastian with a bright smile before concluding his business with him. "Master Sebastian, the opposition you are banking on is not as strong as you think it is. It has already been divided. You can say that the market has already been monopolized by me. Trust me. I wouldn''t havee out in the open if I didn''t have these things working for me in the background. unting my achievements out in the open is not my style. We do what we have to do, however. The business will not prosper by itself, right? The marketing campaigns are just a way to make things official at this point. This is not an overnight sess. This is something I invested a lot of time and effort into. You were not wrong about me being a skirt-chaser. But that''s not the only thing I do." Eren said calmly, without sounding arrogant. Sebastian also took a long breath and rebooted his thoughts with it. He looked at Eren intently before asking him a question. "I only want to ask you onest thing. What did my House ever do to you?" Eren tapped his fingers over the table when he heard the question. He reclined in his chair and shrugged his shoulders before answering vaguely. "Ask this question to your beloved Sienna. Maybe she can answer that for you." Sebastian wanted to ask Eren what he meant by that. But he dropped the idea all of a sudden. His dissatisfaction with Sienna turned into hatred, and he began to me her for everything. Sebastian got up from his seat and looked at Levine and Eren for onest time before disappearing into thin air. Only then did Levine breathe a sigh of relief. "You Why are you so set on destroying House Slughorn? And don''t give me that bullshit about Sienna being the reason behind all this. You hardly interacted with the girl when you were in LA." Eren startedughing when he saw Levine looking at him with irritation written on her face. He resorted to doing what he was most effective atC speaking bullshittery wrapped in euphemisms. Levine, Kirin, and Eren soon started talking normallyC asionallyughing. Alto continued talking about White Raven Guild''s products, and the crowd below them grew even wider. *** Remus Estate. A well-lit grand hall. Three rune-strengthened walls. And the fourth wall was reced by an open balcony that became the source of light inside the hall. From the looks of things, this grand hall was way above the clouds. This was a flying artifact that was levitating over a mountain''s peak. There was no door to ess the grand hall. A small teleportation array had been ced at one corner of the grand hall. An array made of blood-red ink was inscribed over the ground. This was the blood of the ice wyvern that had been used to construct the array. There was a handsome man in histe 30s sitting inside an array. He was in a meditative state while practicing his summoner-specific ranking technique. This man had dark brown hair and a square-shaped face. He had a full beard that was neatly trimmed. His ck eyes were closed and moving inside the eyelids. As if he was seeing things with his closed eyes. The man wore expensive clothes. There was a medallion serving as his pendant. He had his sword and staff beside him. They were getting imbued with his mana at the same time as he was practicing his ranking technique. "Hush!" The man took a long breath after finishing his practice. The breath he released created a chilled atmosphere around him all of a sudden. The iceyers started forming over the ground near him and the moisture in the wind started to condense as well. "You cane in now." The man said to one of his subordinates. The teleportation array lit up and a man in his 20s came forward. He bowed to the bearded man before producing an array disk in his hand. "Lord Birmond, these are the details we received regarding the disappearance of Adept Rey and Expert Janos." The man sent the array disk Birmond''s way using his wind-element spell. He then bowed once more at Birmond before making his exit. "Hmm. This brat is afraid of what''s inside the disk. Or he is afraid of my reaction to what''s inside the disk. I wonder what happened to those two." Birmond mumbled to himself as he watched his subordinate disappear. He then imbued his mana and started essing the data that had been stored inside. === AN: Birmond Remus was first mentioned in chapter 801. Chapter 836 Naya A mana storm erupted. This froze the moisture in the wind and affected the spatial fabric. A wave of frost washed over the mountain''s peak, where Birmond''s flying artifact was hovering. It created ice and snow out of thin air and covered the peak with it. Theyer of ice and snow started spreading downwards. It traveled for a mile in an instant, freezing everything in its wake. When the ice element wreaked havoc on the surroundings, thend became a realm of ice. The birds cried, and the lower-ranked mana beasts located nearby were scared. They were scared by the sudden changes in their surroundings. Something that might im their life. A ck panther appeared at the peak all of a sudden to salvage the situation. This beast stood about 7 feet tall and was about 10 feet long. She had ck fur that shined with a peculiar blue texture. She had green eyes and vertical pupils. The tail of the beast was long and agile like a snake. She looked at the surroundings and knew he needed to do something fast, lest the House Remus'' facilities on the mountain get destroyed by Birmond''s elemental manifestation. The ck panther started shapeshifting. In the next moment, a gorgeous young girl in her early 20s was standing at the same peak as the ck panther. She possessed the same green eyes as the panther. She had shoulder-length dark hair that had a slight blue texture. This girl''s skin was as soft and supple as snow. Her pink lips and her cute nose added extra charm to her overall cute facial features. She had a slim body and apt curves. She stood about 5.10 ft tall and was wearing a long ck dress. The girl raised her hands and narrowed her eyes. She had apatible mana signature with Birmond, allowing her to interfere in the manifestation of the ice elemental attainment the B-Rank ranker was inadvertently disying. The wave of snow and ice stopped after the girl intervened using her powers. Most of the ice and snow that had formed over the mountain''s peak vanished into thin air. The remainingyer of snow was not severe enough to pose a threat to the surrounding area. This young girl looked around and nodded to herself. She looked over her head and saw a small ind levitating over the mountain''s peak from a height of about 50 meters. This small ind was thend of snow. It had a huge ice pce in the middle and that was the only distinguishing feature it had. It looked like the levitating ind had been created for Birmond in case his elemental manifestation wreaks havoc on the ground. The girl was d that House Remus took this precaution and shifted Birmond''s residence permanently here. Otherwise, a lot of lower-ranked n members and other rankers would have died in this outburst of ice cmity. Birmond had colluded his path by taking shortcuts mentioned in the cultist ways. Something that couldn''t be undone anymore. The ancient ranking technique helped him make significant progress in his ranking journey, achieving significant gains. However, one of the downsides of that incredible achievement was that his elemental manifestation was more difficult to control for him than entities of his status. The girl took a long breath before disappearing from her position. She appeared right beside her master before speaking to him. "Control your anger, master. You are also hurting yourself." The young girl said with a worried look on her face as she looked at Birmond with concern in her eyes. Thetter had his fists clenched and his stature erect. There was a levitating array disk in front of him that was projecting something that could only be called hideous. Birmond and the young girl were looking at Eren''s masterpiece. The Grim Pir he had erected disyed the head and other body parts of Janos. Birmond was used to seeing death and destruction. He was no stranger to the sight of blood and gore. He had caused mass genocides himself for various purposes. However, for the first time in his life, Birmond thought that he was a greenhorn when it came to unleashing violence. A greenhornpared to the person who built this pir. "Naya, are you seeing this?" Birmond asked grimly. There was a hint of doubt in his voice. The demon girl looked at the pir attentively before speaking up. "Somebody killed Janos and possibly Rey in a most brutal way. And they have erected the pir as an open challenge to us." Birmond wiped the blood that was trying to spill from the corner of his mouth and gulped something down. He took a long breath and touched his medallion to calm himself down. His rapidly racing heartbeats and his agitated mana circuits slowly started to calm down. "I had told Rey to not think too much about White Raven city. A missed opportunity will only hurt us more if we keep on thinking about it. I told him not to pursue the matter anymore. I fucking told him to stay put... and now this." Birmond said to himself as he read the rest of the details attached to the report. He then snapped his fingers and froze the array disk. The artifact was first encapsted in a block of ice before dispersing into thin air. Naya raised her eyebrows as she was made aware of the details of Janos and Rey''s dual kill. She and her master shared a mental connection after all. "There was a summoner involved? Has this newly formed guild hired a summoner in its midst that we are not aware of?" Naya asked nobody in particr. She then walked toward a particr corner in the hall. She activated a small array and made a small tea table appear. She poured a special medicine for Birmond from a stone kettle into a runic stone ss. An ice spike extending from her index finger was used to stir the light blue liquid. "Drink this," Naya said before handing over the ss to her master. Thetter gulped the contents down before crushing the utensil in his grip. Birmond didn''t express his rage through his facial expressions. But his eyes were spewing venom at someone responsible for the creation of the Grim Pir. Chapter 837 Necromancer Goro ? Birmond felt the effects of the solution kick in. He immediately started feeling the calmness he was seeking at the moment. He licked his lips before speaking up. "Another summoner to rub it in our faces? Bastards! I fucking don''t care who they have hired. I had told Rey not to approach that smokescreen guild. He didn''t listen and was killed for it. Fine. That''s something I can understand. But they didn''t have to ruin my House''s reputation like this for killing Rey, did they? Janos was just following orders. He didn''t need to be killed either. It seems more like a personal vendetta. I''ll fucking kill this sick bastard who did this. No matter who backs him up." Naya ced her hand on Birmond''s chest and tried to calm him down using her icy touch. Thetter felt a familiar chill and continued. "I don''t care about that wretched city, Naya. We are not getting it back from the likes of Levine and House Derringer. I already knew that. But that pawn needs to be disposed of. He has overyed his importance in this equation." Birmond sounded calm and collected even though the words he spoke were anything but. Naya agreed with him too. This was the first time she had seen this facet of human nature through the Grim Pir. Birmond was about to summon his subordinate once again to make a few preparations when he felt something in his storage. He retrieved another array that was used for long-distancemunication. Birmond imbued the array disk with his mana and let it project the scenes from the other side of themunication line. "Am I catching you at a bad time,d?" Birmond heard Sebastian Slughorn''s aged voice. He was in his private space in the city of New Beginnings. "You can say that, uncle Sebastian. But it''s fine." Birmond caressed his beard with his hand and scratched it a bit before speaking up in a serene tone. "On second thought, I shouldn''t have gotten so riled up over a death or two. Especially over a cockroach that has recently learned to fly." Sebastian shed a smile when he understood what must have happened. "So you learned about the incident. Currently, only a few people are aware of it. But soon it will be known throughout Edinburgh. There are already a lot of people visiting the scene and treating it as a sightseeing activity on their way to the city of White Raven. I mean no offense but that pir is a tight p to you and your entire n,d." In his mind, Sebastian thanked the stars for catching Birmond just in time. "Did the White Raven guild do something to you too, uncle Sebastian?" Birmond wasn''t stupid. He immediately figured out that the old man was trying to gaslight him. But that was fine as well. Because he had already been gaslighted by the butcher himself with the disy of the Grim Pir. Sebastianughed and coughed at the same time. He readjusted himself and cleared his throat before speaking up. "Haha. Lad, you''re as sharp as I was in my youth. It''s too bad you had to practice that problematic technique." Sebastian shook his head and took a dramatic pause before verbally marching forward. "Anyway, you are right about your guess. Birmond, we had amon enemy. And I''m sure you''d agree that he needs to be squashed as soon as we can." The old man Sebastian then proceeded to tell Birmond about his interaction with Eren. He didn''t hide anything from the man because most of the details were going to bemon knowledge for House Remus anyway. "So this is the story from my end. I also recently learned that the fiend has created trouble for you guys as well. So I thought I should give you a call. I started digging more about the guild and Eren and found out that we are not the only enemies they have. The Escalon guild, Nico Chains from Demonmir''s faction, and Rehaal Renar are also interested in my n to kill Eren. If your House decided to get in..." "Yes. We are in." Sebastian didn''t have to say much. Birmond was ready to join hands with anyone and everyone in theirmon goal of killing Eren. Through Sebastian, Birmond found out that Eren was still in the city of New Beginnings. Of course, they all knew that creating a mess in the city was out of the question. Regardless, Sebastian''s united front nned to strike the butcher after he left the city. The city''s protectors won''t interfere in matters that are outside the city. Sebastian''s n was simple. Use the resources each of them possesses to strike Eren. Birmond was supposed to send a few people that would meet up with the people being sent from all the factions. They would create a giant ambush outside the city and wait for their prey to fall into their widely cast trap. Sebastian had tried contacting one of the top manufacturing hubs within the kingdom and found out that what Eren had told him was true. Therefore, he had given up on retaliating against Eren by using the potion markets as a tform. He knew he couldn''t win even if his House was stronger than the current White Raven guild. Thus, Sebastian started to hatch the n to erase the root of all the problems from existence. He knew that the kingdom was also going to benefit from Eren''s massive trade. Plus, Eren had the backing of two huge forces. So Sebastian decided to involve other forces in his n. That way, they would all get shared responsibility. After all, just like the Grim Pir, Eren''s potential killing was also going to be an open secret. He didn''t want House Slughorn to take all the credit for such a scandalous killing. Birmond also understood why Sebastian wanted his House involved as well. But he didn''t mind. He was all for shared responsibility as well. They both talked for a bit before finalizing a n. Birmond cut off the spectral screen call with Sebastian and summoned his subordinate. The same one who had submitted the array disk containing Grim Pir''s information. "Hehe. Goro, you did a good job assessing the situation and staying away from me. I would have killed you identally otherwise." Birmond chuckled when he saw his subordinate and disciple. His face suddenly turned grimmer and his voice serious as he addressed Goro. "It''s time you ventured out after staying cooped up here, Goro. Show me how far you have progressed in your path as a necromancer. Teleport to New Beginnings using the teleportation arrays. If you are lucky, you''d also fight a summoner. However, make sure you get rid of the nuisance before doing anything else." Chapter 838 A Couples Retreat A natural alliance of enemies. Escalon guild, Rehaal Renar, Demonmir''s faction, House Slughorn, and House Remus had teamed up to get rid of Eren. The group had congregated for themon cause of removing him from White Raven''s equation for their own reasons. These forces sent their skilled rankers to the city of New Beginnings. The city of White Raven was Eren''s stronghold. So disposing of the man here was their ideal choice. Unaware of this recently formed alliance, Eren was having fun with Kirin. He had bid adieu to Levine a few hours ago. The potioner left the couple to their devices. She proceeded to sort her own affairs rted to the joint venture between her faction and the White Raven guild. Eren took Kirin on a sightseeing tour of the city. A couple''s retreat. The city of New Beginnings was a gigantic ce to explore. So much so that it would take weeks for the couple to truly say that they have seen the city and all that it has to offer. Eren and Kirin suppressed their ranking statuses and chose to act like mortals to avoid too much attention. Of course, they were sensed by high-ranking entities in the city all the same. Most of them, however, also wanted to keep a low profile as a couple. So there was a silent agreement between these rankers to let others be. Kirin got to see some more of the way the outside world in Anfang behaved and did things. She would always drawparisons between what she used in the Oni dungeon and her memories rted to the continent of Echidna. The half-elf had tried and tasted many cuisines during the exploration. She tasted many brews and shopped for a bunch of items and essories. Kirin explored a theme park with her husband that was run with the help of many arrays and array disks working in tandem. She embarked on a scary-themed boat ride for couples and pretended to get shocked by the spectral ghosts. But her acting sucked and everybody could tell that she was not scared at all. The elf enjoyed the ride with Eren nheless. The city''s nightlife was equally active and exciting. Unlike the city of White Raven, almost all the shops and various establishments ran day and night in the city of New Beginnings. As such, the couple didn''t need to stop their exploration. The night passed in a blink of an eye, and the couple left one part of the city to enter another. This was a region filled with a myriad of clothing stores. It was one of the most crowded areas of the city. It would be mostly popted by the mortal poption of the city. But rarely would there be Novice and Ace-ranked adventurers and city guardsing here. To change their outfits, the couple entered a clothing shop for mortals. Eren was now wearing an oversized white tunic to give him a rxed look. It had green-colored palm tree prints that boded well with the pendant he was wearing. Kirin was wearing a stylish dress in a shade of pink. It had a plunging neckline with a floral printed tiered skirt. The cuffed balloon sleeves added to the dress''s elegance. The half-monster girl had let her hair down for the first time in a long while. It had grown in waist length. The golden locks and her green earrings created a nice visual symphony with her pink dress. Kirin had matched the light pink dress with strappy white heels and golden bracelets in both her hands. She really liked the ever-changing styles of mortals that kept practicality aside and just experimented with what looked nice. Kirin stood out from the crowd more than anyone because of her already cute appearance. Her stylish outfit, however, allowed her presence to be magnified even more. "How do I look?" Kirin asked her husband casuallyC a light smile on her face. She really enjoyed thest few hours of city exploration with Eren. The butcher smiled in reply. He held her arms in his and proceeded to walk out of the shop before replying to her in a yful tone. "Hmm. It''s no use." Eren took a dramatic sigh and shook his head in disappointment. Kirin started to recognize Eren''s mischievous behaviors by now. She decided to y along. "What do you mean? Don''t I look pretty?" Eren looked at her from head to toe and shook his head once again. He looked at the sky before saying his words like he was talking to someone up there. "Pretty is not the word I''d use, Kirin darling. It doesn''t quite express your beauty. But no matter what I say, it wouldn''t do justice to describing your charms anyway." Kirin chuckled heartily when she heard Eren''s words. Her cuteughter garnered her some more attention as the couple walked through the city''s bustling crowd. "That won''t do. Please give your best shot, Lord Husband." ,m Kirin said, clinging tightly to Eren as they walked. Thetter was being eyed by a lot of men after seeing such stunning beauty together with a seemingly ordinary man. But they never tried to look him in the eye for some reason. It was as if they had subconsciously understood that dealing with the guy in any way was a terrible idea. Unknown to him, Eren''s soul sense would also influence people around him. Particrly mortals who were extremely vulnerable to it. Eren scratched below his ears and pursed his lips before replying in a disappointing tone. "It''s regrettable that I never took the effort to enhance my vocabry when I was young. My linguistic skills are mediocre at best. One can''t me me though. I had different priorities back then. I was trying to get into aunt Nina''s pan cough cough I mean I was trying to get into aunt Nina''s head and learn the art of potioning from her. That project took all the time I had, never allowing me time to focus on anything else. So bear in mind that my praise can becking. But as you said, I can always try." Eren said and looked ahead. His destination was in his eyesight. A quaint restaurant in the district that was popr among mortals and rankers alike. The venue was supposed to have a pleasant ambiance with separate areas for the couples. Eren cleared his throat and shook his head beforeing up with a few lines for Kirin. Chapter 839 Sea Shanties Eren cleared his throat and shook his head beforeing up with a few lines for Kirin. "You are a white lily, my love In the sea of hellfireC dreadful You are a faint glowC amber Of the evening skyC red You are a sunken pearlC jade In murky watersC gray You are an old coinC silver Among the dirt coppersC umber You are a lost dreamC found A ga wineC vintage You are the only voiceC sane Among the endless screamsC savage You are a beacon of lightC bright In a stormy seaC wild You are a heartbeatC kind In my evil heartC vile You are a needed respiteC pleasant In my lonely lifeC upsetting You are a gentle smileC content Among endless earningsC yellings You are a light quillC flimsy Over a brown parchmentC old You are dipped in inkC blue Writing sea shantiesC untold." The butcher said and sighed. It looked like he was still unable to capture the charms Kirin was exuding in his words. He acted like an utter failureC with his downhearted voice and his sunken gaze. It took a while for Kirin to process what Eren had said. She understood his words well. However, she processed the meanings behind his words slowlyC enjoying the process in her head. Eren had basically told Kirin that he saw her as a sought-after respite and safe zone in any unwanted situation. Since she had be his shadow, he felt safer and always surrounded by feelings of affection. The piece he created for her was just a token of appreciation he hade up with. Eren told Kirin that he was unable toe up with better words to praise Kirin. Then he went ahead and whipped up the most artistic lines he could think of. It was safe to say that the girl was impressed beyond measure. Kirin tightened her grip around Eren''s arms and nted a peck on his cheek as they were walking. The butcher smiled when he received confirmation that Kirin really liked his piece. ? "That was a beautiful piece, Lord Husband. I couldn''t have asked for anything better. If there are better words, I don''t want to hear them after listening to what you came up with." Kirin spoke in a gentle voice full of affection. Eren had to say that this was the most expressive Kirin had shown since they met up. She was opening up to him at least. It seemed that Kirin was not done with her replies. She paused toe up with something simr to Eren''s piece. But in the end, she couldn''t do it. She tucked her hair behind her ears before speaking honestly. "Eren, I am not as verbal as you. Ick the talent of a poet. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I learned thenguage just recently. But I''ll say this. Your strength lies in your determination. Your character shines brightest in the diligent work you do every day. And your sky-high goals inspire not only you but those around you as well, including me." Eren was surprised that he was receiving counter-praise in return. This was the first time in a long while that someone had said positive things about him. As such the experience was almost foreign to him. As much as he wanted to say he didn''t need to be hailed for something he did purely for his reasons, he didn''t dislike praises when they came from Kirin. This was akin to and that had learned to survive without the rains suddenly getting doused in a downpour. Kirin liked that Eren''s smile had changed shades because of her words. She looked at him intently before speaking further. "Agatha often fears that your deeds will be portrayed as evil should theye to light. And maybe they are, because of the rankers'' society we are currently living in. But she doesn''t know the broader truth of the world. She doesn''t know what it takes to conquer an entire army of monsters. She doesn''t know what it means to be supported by Anfang''s world will in a way. It would be impossible even for the most powerful child of Echidna in the Oni dungeon to stand against my father the way you did and hope to survive the ordeal. But the unimaginable happened and I was freed from that prison. Only after getting out of that space did I realize how suffocating it was. Only aftering with you did I realize what I was missing in life." Eren smiled when he heard Kirin''s take on the past. It looked like she really saw a savior in him. Sometimes tyranny didn''t have to be physical or verbal. It is also possible for silence and non-interaction toe off as tyrannical. And in Kirin''s eyes, her father was just that. Eren led her inside the restaurant for couples and booked a cozy table for them upstairs. He ordered a bunch of dishes for both of them and waited for the appetizers. While waiting, he decided to dig deep into Kirin''s psyche. "Kirin darling, you say that you are living a better life with me than you were inside the Oni dungeon. But you are forgetting the fact that it is also very dangerous being with me. I take precautions. I n. And I keep tabs on my enemies. But I havee to understand that when shit wants to hit the fan, it will. And nobody would be able to stop it. After all, those who are trying to rise and take flight are bound to get pulled down by gravity harder. Wouldn''t it have been better for you if you were to separate from me and concentrate on your evolution now that you are free to do whatever you want? I would not mind if you stayed in White Raven city or Bands to work on yourself rather than always being with me. As terrible as your father was, he didn''t stop you from working on yourself. You had safety and steady progress in the Oni dungeon. Not something I can provide to you in this vtile situation. After all, I can''t provide you with something I don''t possess myself." Chapter 840 Carving Out A Piece Of Freedom "After all, I can''t provide you with something I don''t possess myself." Eren weed the appetizers to his table as he talked with Kirin. Crostini, deviled eggs, ham and cheese rolls, bacon-wrapped jpeno peppers, beetroot and cheese sd, andstly, a spinach dip with bread. The restaurant staff hade to realize that Eren and Kirin were ranked entities just by the quantity of the appetizers they had ordered. This was not their first time seeing something like this. A lot of rankers liked to mingle with mortals this way. So they didn''t say anything and served the couple well. Kirin chuckled when she saw the amount of food Eren had got for himself. She only took a small portion of the appetizers for herself and took the first bite of her Crostini before replying to Eren''s question. "Safety? Was I really safe there? You wouldn''t have been able to prate the Oni dungeon if there was such a thing as absolute safety." Eren smirked when Kirin put her point of view forward. What she was saying was his ideology as well. It was just that he hade to adopt it after living a life of misery and hell. Kirin on the other hand lived a rtively better life. At least he liked to think that she did. And still, she came to the same conclusion. Eren could only conclude some intersection truths would be obvious to people leading different lives. Kirin took a few more bites before continuing. "The idea of absolute safety is just a figment of imagination people willingly create for themselves. So that they can stop themselves from pursuing what they truly want. Because that pursuit will require them to give it all they have. That pursuit will require sacrifices. Something they are not willing to do. What if it breaks them? What if it cripples their future? People are often stuck in various what-ifs of their lives. An ever-fleeting sense of safety in exchange for suffocating restrictions and unquestionable obedience is not worth it. I have seen that most rankers make these choices because they have the option to choose. They take their freedom of choice for granted. They take their freedom for granted. They happily sign contracts with various establishments and get bound by the rules set forth by them. As if their freedom meant nothing to them. As if it was just anothermodity they had in abundance. Most of them don''t even try to break the bindings they have. They getfortable in their cages. Their shackles be the life-saving rope they can hang onto to keep them from falling into the pit of uncertainty." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Kirin''s words. He was surprised by how much their thinking matched each other. It was as if he was listening to himself. But there were a few points he didn''t agree on. "Not understanding the true value of freedom, huh? If you ask me, Kirin, it''s not the rankers'' fault that they are raised this way. They are the product of a society that is governed by its rules. Restricting individual freedom is minimizing overall chaos. Which establishment would want to invite anarchy in its wake? So it''s not their fault either. Almost every ranker, whether they join any organization, choose to stay mercenary, or be a cultist to experience a greater illusion of freedom, is subjected to shackles of their own making. Even if they are given choices, they don''t really mean anything. Because they would be bound by a set of rules designed for that particr group. Regardless of what they choose, the imposition of rules cannot be skipped. By the time they are aware of this truth, they are already chest-deep in the quagmire. The freedom of choice is just an illusion, Kirin. You have keen eyes. I''ll give you that. But you can''t judge the rankers based on what you see on the surface." Eren said as he drank the refreshment he had been served. He wanted Kirin to understand that things weren''t as ck and white when it came to rankers'' society as she was making them out to be. Even with her keen perception, she was bound to remain oblivious to some truths that couldn''t be seen unless one had lived a life like him. Kirin pondered for a bit before nodding a bit. But she couldn''t help putting what was on her mind. "I can agree that freedom of choice can be an illusion here, Eren. But I didn''t even have that illusion to count on when I was in the Oni dungeon. My entire society was based on absolute obedience. All I want to say is that rankers who haven''t seen anything other than the world of Anfang don''t understand what you strive for. But I do. Freedom to be free. Freedom to pursue what you want on your own terms. Only after seeing you interact with this world like oil to water did I realize the true importance of striving for something seemingly unachievable. You have managed to carve out a piece of freedom for yourself in the pursuit of your goals. People are not after you, Eren. Not really. They are after that piece of freedom you have for yourself. And they don''t want that piece for themselves either. They just want to destroy it so that nobody can im that for themselves." This was the first time since his second chance in life that Eren felt beaten in an argument. Kirin was very articte in expressing her inner feelings. And in doing so, she had tried to put him on a higher pedestal than the rest of the rankers. The butcher smiled mirthlessly and looked at Kirin. He ced his hands over the table and reclined on his chair. The butcher looked at the half-elf with a yful look on his face before speaking up. "All I can say is that I''m d that we are together, Kirin darling. I now understand why you gals like being praised. This shit can be addicting. Haha." The butcher then narrowed his eyes and looked at the chandelier that was hanging from the ceiling before continuing. "As for people wanting to destroy the piece of freedom I have for myself. They must be ready to forfeit all they hold dear including their lives if they hope to target it." Chapter 841 A Different Blend Of Evil Lake Moonlight Death. A forest inside the city of New Beginnings. The sun had just sunk below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of blue. The smell of wild forest and bird sounds created a serene atmosphere inside the region. It was as if an oasis had been summoned in the long stretch of marooned desert. This was a rarely visitedke inside the city because of its innate blue radiance getting reflected from theke''s surface at night. The blue light would intensify as the night progressed. The chill in the air would be felt everywhere. This blue radiance was known to induce a bone-freezing chill without the umtion of ice. The dense vegetation in the surroundings was adapted to this natural phenomenon. Plus, the cold was only fatal for mortals. Ace-ranked entities and higher would only feel slight difort. The chill was beginning to set in as the sunset approached. For the couple who were wandering near theke''s bed, it was a pleasant atmosphere. Eren and Kirin explored the city some more after their sumptuous meal. They talked about various topics at length throughout their exploration. "Eren, why are you so determined to destroy House Slughorn? The answers you gave to Master Levine were quite ambiguous. I would like to know your motives if you are ready to share them with me." Kirin asked Eren while walking beside him. He had put his right arm across her shoulders as they walked along theke''s beda enjoying each other''spany. Every time they spoke, their breaths would turn into smoke before dispersing into thin air. The night was supposed to be pitch dark inside theke. Yet the blue radiance of Lake Moonlight Death had made the idea of darkness alien to its viewers. The couple couldn''t see or feel anyone in their vicinity. Eren pursed his lips before replying honestly. "Hmm. I''ll be honest, Kirin. One of the reasons for me starting my potion manufacturing line was indeed to destroy House Slughorn. It started as some personal grudge that is not relevant anymore because I already settled my score. But now I only want to destroy the n and all that it holds dear so that I can finally move on. In my enemy''splete annihtion lies my ability to let go of my past. The destruction I cause is also my way of expressing my thirst for freedom." Kirin listened intently to Eren''s words. And it made sense to her. She already knew that her husband was no poster child of benevolence. But she had found it odd nheless to see him rigid in his stance when it came to House Slughorn. However, Eren''s answer assured Kirin that he was not blindsided in his approach to dealing with his enemies. This was who he was as a person. A ruthless ranker who didn''t have any self-imposed boundaries. A hard-working potioner and inventor. A businessman with no moral restrictions. A vengeful demon who didn''t entertain half-assery. A poet at heart who could write a book on romance, courtesy of the range of experiences he had gained. An attentive student who knew how to make use of their teacher. A sessful guild master who seems to have been doing everything by the book. A chronic nner who was also not afraid to take risks. Andstly, a giant iceberg floating in the deep waters kept a lot more hidden than it cared to show. Eren had started developing myriad forms even before he created the Blood Seeds. He had his own blend of evil that was so much different from the rudimentary definition. Even Agatha and Levine hade to realize that Eren''s vengeance was never purely lethargic. He would integrate his benefits with his vengeful actions, allowing him to benefit from his enemies. He could never be a selfless friend either. His favors often came with conditions. Eren''s destruction of House Slughorn was perfectly synchronized with the White Raven guild''s prosperity. The butcher''s machinations couldn''t be solelybeled as virtuous or evil. His moves had various facets attached to them. Kirin then asked Eren about various things. A lot were personal and some were about his ns for the future. Thetter was as honest as he could be. He put forward his ideas and goals in a way that made sense, enabling Kirin to understand more about her husband. Eren talked about his immediate ns in detail. "Kirin, I want something from the Bands for myself. The thing that Ror told me about. It will ensure the steady progress of my guild in my absence. The sessfulpletion of that mission will also serve as a way for us to initiate contact with the kingdom of Layos. Something I''m looking forward to. However, I have many tasks lined up in front of me. And I don''t have time to deal with them all at once. Thus, I will work on them through division ofbor." Kirin nodded at Eren''s proposal immediately. She wanted to stay with him. Nevertheless, if her contribution could help the butcher in his work, she was ready to do so. She was a capable fighter herself and was not blinded by her emotions. "You don''t need to hesitate. What can I do to help?" Eren weed Kirin''s enthusiasm with a smile on his face. He spoke immediately. "I will have to ask you to take care of that task of acquiring that thing from me from Bands. Prepare for a few days. Then lead Kaal and a few trusted rankers under our control inside the Bands. Finding your way in the Bands can be tricky. From the guild''s officially submitted reports, it seems that Drin has already made contact with Bigua in his previous mission. So take him with you. Locate Bigua''s tribe and have Kaal take over it as its leader. Kill the chieftain and suppress the rebellion in any way you see fit." Eren said casually as if he was talking about buying groceries. He had assigned a very significant task to Kirin. And she was very happy for him putting his trust in her. For a person who is control-crazy like him, this was a huge aplishment. "Do you have any more ns, Lord Husband? ns for this evening, I mean." Kirin asked coyly, stopping in her tracks. Eren stopped with her before turning to face her. His emerald green eyes shone with excitement as he replied to her question with a question of his own. "I do. Are you curious?" Chapter 842 A Walk In The Clouds* An ethereal realm of white smoke. A full moon that was somehow colored in shades of blue. The night''s domain was just getting stronger as the clock was drawing close to midnight. A tform made of clouds floating above the surface of Lake Moonlight Death. The white smoke also served as the staircase. It connected theke bed to the tform in the air. The smoke was the manifestation of Kirin''s powers. It also had spatial properties, allowing Eren to stand on the cloud as if it was a tangible thing. The surface of the smoke mingled with the innate moonlight radiance of theke and created patches of bright blue shades. These blue spots would sometimes get diffused from one spot only to have their presence registered at another. This cloud tform was floating over 200 meters from the surface of theke. It provided a picturesque view of theke as well as the forest region surrounding it. The winds carried the scent of nocturnal freshness. A calm and serene freshness that was enough to rx anyone into a good night''s sleep. However, for the couple, this night was bound to be a pleasantly restless one. Eren found out that Kirin had disappeared from beside him when he tried to kiss her. And she was nowhere to be found even with his mana sense. He didn''t use his soul sense becauseC that was not what this game was about. The half-elf summoned this realm of clouds and hid within it. The butcher could only smile mirthlessly at her yfulness. Lightning arced through the clouds as Eren started looking for Kirin. He appeared at various ces over the cloud tform at the same time, making it feel as if the white clouds were turning into thunderclouds. The blue radiance would reveal itself wherever Eren stepped his foot over the clouds. Thus, his steps were traceable for a few moments before they were covered by the regeneration of the white smoke. "Come out,e out wherever you are." Eren said yfully as he searched for his wife. He would try to follow the faint footsteps Kirin would leave behind. The blue radiance of her footsteps however would only stay visible for a few moments before it disappeared into thin air. Eren eventually came to realize that the traces of blue light Kirin left behind were misleading. She would control the white smoke and cloud formation and reshape them into traces of footsteps. She would allow the blue radiance to show itself, making Eren feel as if she had walked on the clouds not long ago. "Well yed." Eren said to nobody in particr andughed. He stopped and closed his eyes. Taking a long breath, he suddenly turned around and tried to embrace something that wasn''t there. "You you cheated." Kirin appeared in Eren''s embrace out of thin air. She looked at him and said this in aining tone. Her expression told the butcher that she wasn''t expecting to get caught this early. "No. I just guessed based on your personality." Eren smirked before caressing Kirin''s back with his hands. His embrace provided herfort. It gave her the warmth she didn''t know she needed. Eren lifted Kirin''s face with her chin and looked her in the eyes. The lightning mana around him surged as his excitement grew. Eren''s lightning and other elemental manifestations dispersed the white smoke that was rising over the couple''s bodies. The butcher kissed Kirin on her lips and embraced her tighter. The half-elf did the same and wrapped her arms around him. "Hmmm!" Kirin weed Eren''s tongue in her mouth. She sucked on it as her body felt it was turning into the same smoke she was manifesting around her. Eren felt like he had either lost his footing or the space around him had changed its orientation. He was standing a moment ago. But now he was sleeping on his back over something that felt as plush as the word plush could describe. Kirin had pinned Eren down with her body weight. She had created a bed out of clouds and smoke and bent the space for them to get into their current position. The smoke around the bed caught fire as a pair of fire snakes manifested. They climbed over the bed in no time beforeing to their master''s rescue. Kirin was drowning Eren in her kisses and affection when she noticed the two snakes climb over her body. They started destroying the pink dress she was wearing with their breaths. Kirin had to break her lip lock when the snakes'' forked tongues started licking her inner thighs. She was too stunned and turned on by that sought-after intrusion to continue kissing Eren. "Haah! I feel like I''m being molested by my wife." Eren began dramatically gasping for breath. He had his hands pinned to his side by Kirin just a second ago. And he let them stay that way even after she released them from her grips. "Hmph! I have seen your training with Alephee. You can endure a lot more than this." "Kirin said unabashedly, kissing Eren on the cheek. She bit the tip of his nose and nibbled on his earlobes. Next, she bit his lower lips and licked his chin. She felt a slight tingle on her tongue when she did. That was because Eren''s lightning attainment inadvertently made itself known whenever she did that. Eren had a nk face when he heard Kirin''s reply. He felt like maybe he shouldn''t have let Kirin see the bloody training that he often conducted on himself under Alephee''s guidance. He didn''t know his diligent work would get used against him one day. The pill of regret would always be too bitter to swallow easily. Kirin''s pink dress was destroyed by the two snakes slowly and surely. They left her in her undergarments that she had recently bought. A white brassiere with pink petals embroidered over it. Her now-wet undies followed the same pattern. Kirin finally released Eren''s hands from her grip as she focused on his neck. He was getting kisses and hickeys on his neckline from her. The half-elf had her legs folded on either side. She was sitting just above his groin, feeling the bulge Eren had developed in the middle of her buns. Eren knew why Kirin had released his arms and decided to put them to good use. Chapter 843 Taking Charge* "Hmmm!" A peculiar symphony yed by the restless fingers. The suppressed moans were the keynotes in that ecstatic symphony. The air around the couple started having hints of sultriness as both the participants kept on getting bolder with their actions. As Kirin felt Eren''s touch on her body, dense clouds of white smoke converged over her body. She kissed and licked his exposed chest while feeling his hands massaging her mushy buns. Eren kneaded Kirin''s ass with both his hands. It was as soft as the word soft could connote. His finger sunk into the flesh as he pressed the buns to his heart''s content. Kirin''s hair hindered Eren''s vision when she got up and started kissing his forehead. While doing so, she raised her pelvis allowing Eren''s hands to ess her intimidating parts more thoroughly. Eren''s fingers were sent on an expedition as he felt Kirin''s tongue in his mouth. The sounds of smooches were the only thing the couple could hear between them. However, they were soon reced by Kirin''s moans when Eren touched her dripping pussy. She felt the fire Eren had invoked at the tip of his fingers, which burned one of thest pieces of the article she had on her. Eren''s finger soon touched her vertical lips without any obstruction between them. Eren''s middle fingers got to work. He parted herbia and felt the inner folds. Gently massaging the clitoris, he inserted one of his index fingers inside her wet cave. "You you are moving too fast. Take... take things a bit slow." Kirin prevented herself from getting up from her position when she first felt Eren''s finger intruding on her vaginal opening. She wanted him to y with her now-puffed clitoris first. "Hmm. I would, dear. But my current position is restricting my actions." Eren traced Kirin''s inner lips with his fingers. Her pussy juices had started flowing at this point, coating his fingers in a slimy substance. Something the butcher found to be ironic. "All you have to do isssssssss take take charge." Kirin whispers in Eren''s ears. She allowed Eren''s fingers to roam wherever they wanted to and made herself open to his advances. Eren smirked. All the hasty actions he had been taking till now seemed deliberate. This was what he wanted to hear from her. Four puddles of water were manifested around the couple in four cardinal directions. Four nts grew rapidly from the water and extended their vines. The couple rolled over and Eren got on top. Before she knew it, Kirin''s limbs were stretched apart by the vines extending from the wood-element spells. "You are mine." Eren licked his lips devilishly before tugging at her brassiere. He yanked the underwear off of her and freed her ample breasts from their restrictions. From his point of view, this was also a form of self-expression. He could now be called as a liberator of them heavies. A breaker of brassiere chains. Kirin chuckled when she saw Eren looking at her boobs hungrily. She opened her arms and weed him. The micro hair follicles on her pink are were excited as they felt a strange thing touch them and lick them. Eren pressed and kneaded Kirin''s right breast with his left hand. He sucked on her left nipple which had been swollen because of all the stimtion it had received. He licked and nibbled on the bud yfully before sucking it intermittently. He stimted her pink button downtown with his right hand. He rubbed his fingers over her inner folds and felt her pussy leaking some more juices. The half-elf would close her legs abruptly before spreading them wide apart in response to his intrusive and wildly stimting touch. Although she was restricted in her movements by the vines that wrapped around her wrists and ankles, she was able to express her ecstasy with her movements to some degree. She would have driven mad otherwise. And yet, Kirin didn''t want to free herself from the bounds she was subjected to. She let her husband have his freedom over her body, giving him full authority to do what he wanted. Kirin was feeling a sense of pleasure and ecstasy she had never felt before. Every nook and cranny of her body was now hungry for his touch and weed it with enthusiasm. Her pleasure senses were overloaded when the butcherunched a multi-front offensive on her. "Aaaah. Yessss." Eren received the acknowledgement he had been looking forward to for his diligent work. These acknowledgments started piling up when he increased the intensity of his offense. Eren took the other nipple in his mouth and sucked on it. He sent a fire snake to suck and nibble on the other nipple, which had gotten wet because of his saliva. Eren felt the insides of Kirin''s wet pussy with his two fingers as the pink walls wrapped around them. He increased his fingering speed slowly and consistently while stimting her clitoris, keeping her on a constant high. Kirin closed her eyes tight as she processed the wave of pleasure that reached new heights. She turned her head to her left with closed eyes and spread her legs. She lifted her pelvis using the folded legs and weed Eren''s two fingers as they ran in and out of her dripping cunt. "Oooooo!" It was as if a dam had been broken. Kirin''s pussy ejacted an ample amount of love juices over Eren''s fingers as they contracted before rxing in the next moment. Kirin lowered her pelvis back on the bed when the first wave of her orgasm subsided. Eren knew Kirin''s private pink garden would need some time to recover from her first orgasm. Thus, he got his fingers out of her wet hole and rubbed herbia before kissing her on her lips. The butcher then led beside her, indicating it was time for her to take charge once again. "That that was really good, Er haah Eren." Kirin managed to blurt out a few words while catching her breath. However, her voice was coated in joy and excitement, indicating that the y was just beginning. Chapter 844 “Could You Get Any Meaner?”* A plush bed that was made of clouds and smoke. A couple was having a staredown while lying on it. Eren and Kirin both looked each other in the eyes. The two had turned to their sides, their heads resting on their folded arms. Verbalmunication was not necessary. They talked with their gazes. Theymunicated by touching each other''s bodies with their free hands. Kirin had gotten rid of Eren''s clothes with a touch of her hands. After staring at the little guy for a while, she looked at him with eager eyes. It was apparent that she was ready for the next stage. Eren decided to make his move after allowing Kirin to get over her first orgasm. The lightning struck and the couple changed their positions. He got on top of her before continuing his advances. He kissed Kirin and extended his tongue much more than usual. He grabbed her tits and firmly kneaded them while rubbing his manhood over herdy mound. "Ummmm. Yesss." Kirin mumbled in delight when Eren let go of her lips and focused on her neckline. He felt that she had a vor of her own and smelled like sandalwood. "Why are you so pretty, Kirin darling?" Eren whispered in Kirin''s ears, giving herpliments while devouring her. As he touched her body with his exploratory hands, he began whispering his sweet nothing in her ears. Kirin couldn''t respond to Eren''spliments in any way because of the waves of pleasure overwhelming her. As she began wrapping her arms around her husband or locking him into ce with her legs, her body became restless. "Eren Eren" The half-elf started taking the name of her husband with her eyes closed. She felt his touch and let her body respond to it in its own way. She stopped caring about ormanding her actions and enjoyed the process with no distracting thoughts. Eren moved downwards. He nibbled on her erect nipples once again before marching down south. He licked her belly and kissed her tummy before stopping at a volcano-like region on her bodilyndscape. Eren adjusted himself and tried to spread Kirin''s legs. The bold half-elf suddenly opened her eyes. She looked down and hesitated for a bit before making up her mind. "Lo Lord husband, you need to remember the fact that I am ''uninitiated''. Don''t don''t do anything too fancy for tonight. Okay?" Kirin temporarily snapped out of her zone and turned to her partner. She made it clear that she wanted to keep things simple in this session. The butcher chuckled and nodded at her. He then spread her legs and sat down on her. "Aaaah!" Kirin''s hesitation was sted away into smithereens when she felt Eren''s tongue on her clit. She arched her back and let her head fall back. With both her hands, she grabbed the back of the butcher''s head and tried to separate it from its task. She thought that she would be overwhelmed by the feelings of lust. So much so that she worried about her well-being after tonight. It was made clear to Kirin that receiving a nod from Eren was not enough. She felt like she should have signed a binding contract with her wretched husband. That''s because he was doing exactly the opposite of giving her the vani experience that she had demanded from him. The butcher had extended his tongue and licked the pink button with precision and speed. He would very lightly nibble on it before making a sucking motion, exciting it to new heights. He also used his fingers in the y. With his flexible fingers, he stimted herbia and inner folds. He inserted two fingers inside her wet cave while guiding his little finger up her rear entrance. "You aaaah stop that get it out from there!" Kirin pleaded with her husband in a voice coated in ecstasy and a bit of distress. She didn''t want her anal opening breached. However, he chuckled before responding yfully. "Kekeke. I don''t think I will." The butcher began his tongue storm right away. Kirin''s pussy started churning love juices with newfound vigor, exciting her to new heights. Kirin rolled her eyes back as she crashed on the bed. The blue radiance was emitted from the surface of the bed when the clouds parted, allowing her body to sink deeper into the clouds than usual. Eren enjoyed giving Kirin ap-up. He drove his fingers in and out of her two openings, increasing their speeds gradually. The half-elf forgot Edinburgh''snguage and started mumbling in the Oni tongue. Her eyes shined bright and two horns threatened to appear on her forehead. Eren paid close attention to Kirin''s mumblings and understood some of them. She was basically cursing and praising him at the same time. She also wanted him to give her more than she could handle in the next moment. The butcher chuckled in his head while continuing his task at hand. His tongue stretched more than usual and he inserted it right inside her cave hole. He tickled her clit with his other fingers while they were coated in the microcurrent of lightning mana. "Aaaaaaaah!" Kirin clutched her head using both her hands and closed her legs on Eren when the waves of pleasure hit a melting point. Her entire body shuddered as she came hard, with even more intensity than before. An intense vaginal aroma entered Eren''s nostrils as he enjoyed his face getting drenched in the love juices. He retracted his tongue as soon as she stopped shuddering. Eren lifted his head and looked at Kirin yfully. He scrunched his nose when he didn''t get the appreciation he deserved. "Hey! Don''t sleep on me. Look at this badge of honor for a job well done." Eren pointed at his face that was shining under the moonlight. He pped Kirin''s thighs before pinching her skin a bit. "Ouch." Kirin was snapped out of her delirious state when Eren pinched her inner thighs. She rubbed the affected spot immediately before looking at the butcher with an unhappy expression. "I haah I had told you to go slow, lord husband. Could... could you get any meaner than this?" Chapter 845 Defloration* "I haah I had told you to go slow, lord husband. Could... could you get any meaner than this?" Kirin spoke in a dissatisfied tone. But there was also a hint of satisfaction and excitement hidden in it. Eren waved his hands before speaking up. "Slow and fast are rtive terms, my dear. And I know better than to listen to some of the suggestions that I know aren''t the right ones. And yes, I can always be meaner than before. Kekeke." Kirin pouted at Eren''s response before disappearing from her position. The next thing Eren knew, he had his spatial awareness changed once again. He was lying on his back on the bed. Kirin had gotten on top of him. Kirin kissed Eren fiercely this time. Her body wanted more from him. She traced his exposed chest and his deceptively muscr arms with her touch. She put her entire body weight on him, finding pleasure in putting pressure on him this way. The half-elf bit Eren''s lips. For some reason, two horns made of cloud and fire-element mana had jutted out from her forehead. Her body was trying to express its real racial identity through her elemental manifestation. Eren smiled when he looked at the horns. He kept his appearance the same but allowed his two red Oni horns to grow from his forehead as well. Kirin stopped kissing Eren when she felt something change about him. She lifted her face and looked at his two horns. The appearance of two horns put a smile on her face and she felt even more connected to him than before. "You you really know when to y a character, don''t you?" Kirin whispered in Eren''s ear as she resumed her advances. Thetter could detect her elevated mood in her voice and her actions. After exploring her exposed back, he grabbed her derriere. He explored her butt crack and traced the rim of her rear entrance with his finger. By putting his hand between them, he essed herdy part from the front. Kirin spread her legs a bit further and allowed him to prate both of her entrances. "I I want it." Kirin looked Eren in the eye and said as clearly as she could. The butcher smirked before adjusting himself. He grabbed her waist from either side before guiding her pelvis downwards. Kirin felt Eren''s rod poking right at her wet hole. Her body shivered and her pussy walls contracted before expanding a bit. Her juices started dripping on Eren''s dick even before it pierced the opening. "It seems you are as ready as you could be." Eren said in a deep voice and narrowed his eyes. He then allowed Kirin to lower her ass slowly. In the next moment, he smirked and lifted his pelvis. He sent his dick straight inside her wet hole, piercing it in one swift move. For some reason, he liked doing this to the uninitiated. "Aaaaaah." Kirin crashed on Eren''s chest as she felt herself getting deflowered. Her eyes were watering a bit as she processed the maiden pain of her life. Eren caressed the back of Kirin''s head and did not move for a while. He lifted her face with both his hands and wiped the tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes. The butcher cupped her face and kissed Kirin''s forehead. After a moment of silence, he smiled at her. Kirin wanted to criticize his actions. But then decided otherwise. She was also relieved that it was over so quickly. Eren didn''t wait for Kirin to speak. He felt her pussy''s response around his dick and knew that the time was right. The pink petal box had been slowly adjusting to his dick''s length and girth. When the butcher started moving, blood began dripping from the vaginal walls. It ran along the dick''s length and coated his balls before falling over the bed made of white clouds, painting it red. Eren slowly started driving his dick in and out. Kirin gripped his shoulders and dug her nails into his skin as she felt his rod defiling her. Even when he deployed his mana defenseyer, it didn''t help. His blood also dripped out from his fresh wound and painted the clouds red. Blood for blood. Eren smirked when he saw Kirin''s condition. She had closed her eyes tight, not aware of what she was doing. Eren ignored his recent light injuries and focused on fucking his wife well. He started increasing his pace while tickling her clit with his fingers. Tap! Tap! Tap! Kirin started feeling small quakes as Eren''s strokes mmed against her ass. It jiggled and vibrated. The butcher also started pping her buns from time to time as he excited her in various ways. "Aaaaaah! Yesss" The half-elf started recovering from her state and opened her eyes. Eren''sprehensive actions brought waves of pleasure back into her consciousness. "Yessss yesss oooh yesss!" Kirin straightened her back and started riding Eren''s dick vigorously. She also started responding to Eren''s strokes with her responsive actions. Her ass jiggled and the sound of flesh meeting flesh intensified. Eren grabbed Kirin''s titties as they started bouncing in front of his eyes with even more vigor. Her nipples were pinched as he pinched her boobies firmly while pounding her downtown. Slowly but surely, he started increasing his dick''s girth and length. However, Kirin only found his actions weing as she returned his strokes by ramming her ass over his dick. Eren smirked and decided to tweak the position. The lightning struck and Kirin found herself facing the other way. The butcher started pping and squashing the jiggling ass as soon as it came into his view. Kirin experienced a higher state of pleasure just when she thought it couldn''t get higher. She ran her fingers through her hair with one hand and pressed her boobs with the other as she felt Eren''s rod redefining her pussy''s inner sanctum. "Aaaaaah!" Kirin and Eren reached their orgasms at the same time after a while. The butcher emptied his balls deep inside her wet hole and felt his mind clear up. He also felt that Kirin''s spatial attainments had been copied by him in the process. Eren''s hypothesis was right on the mark. His Sin Series Ability had advanced. Chapter 846 Taken Over Cloud Nine* "Aaaah!" Kirin moaned when she felt Erens dick inside her once more. She had gotten on her fours and he was hitting her from behind. The sessions had alreadysted for more than four hours, allowing Kirin to getfortable with the ys. Eren pped her buns with both his hands as he rammed his rod inside her. He received another moan in response, which made him repeat the process over and over. He started teasing her puckered rear entrance with his fingers. Dipping the finger in her pussy juices, he sent it inside the anal opening and listened to Kirin''s moans change in volume and intensity. Eren pulled Kirin and made her stick her back to his chest. Thetter was made to stand on her knees while getting railed by her husband from behind. She spread her legs some more to amodate the dick that changed size and shape more than a chameleon changes its colors. Kirin weed Eren''s kisses and bites on her neck. She became even more ecstatic when she felt his hands cupping her boobs from behind and pressing them firmly. Soon, she felt fire snakes covering her body and biting and licking her in different ces. Her clit, inner folds of her pussy, and inner thighs weren''t spared either. Eren decided to spice things up some more after he was sure that the right environment had been created. He pulled his dick out and started rubbing it against Kirin''s butt crack. Thetter was taken aback by his move at first and stopped moaning. "What what''s the matter?" Kirin asked in the Oni tongue. Thetter smiled gently before cing the tip of his cock right at her backdoor entrance. Kirin was about to open her mouth to register her hesitation. But her lips were sealed when Eren kissed them. He kept on pressing her tits with one hand while his other hand started ying with the light pubes she had. He then rubbed his fingers inside the inner folds of her pussy, making it drip some more pussy juices. Eren slowly started pushing his dick inside Kirin. He made her sleep on her tummy and slept t on her before driving his dick inside her. "Oooooh!" Kirin felt a mixture of feelings at this point. But the feelings of pleasure were the most dominant among them. The butcher also made use of his Ability to generate Mist of Lust. He did not intend to brand her. He just wanted her to experience her elevated levels of lust and pleasure. As a result, Kirin felt like she had been taken over cloud nine, which was as literal as it was metaphorical. She propped her ass and weed Eren''s thrusts actively. She assumed afortable position that allowed her to also kiss him. Eren also felt like his dick had been wrapped tightly by flesh walls made ofva. Kirin''s ass cushioned his thrusts and made it even more pleasant for him. Tap! Tap! Tap! Eren continued his pounding for a considerable time before releasing his load deep into Kirin''s anal passage. Kirin was made toe at the same time, thanks to his hands and fire snakes staying hard at their work. Eren crashed on the bed beside her. Kirin was too out of her normal senses to say anything to him. She just looked at him and smiled, cing her hand over his chest. She soon drew near to him and ced her head over his chest. She listened to his elevated heartbeats before speaking up. "Lord Husband, I think I''ll never be able to get enough of this." Eren smiled sardonically and caressed the back of Kirin''s head. He yed with her golden hair and tickled her ears before responding. "The feeling is mutual, my dear. Just just give me some time." It was not an easy task keeping up with someone of Expert Ranker''s caliber. Eren felt like he should use potions to speed up his recovery. But then he decided against it, treating exhaustion as a part of the process and not a negative oue. Plus, he didn''t like to get addicted to the potions he created for mass addiction. The mortals who sell sugar would not consume it in their diets. The couple continued their sessions for hours on end after that. Eventually, they stopped when the first light of the day was about to break on the horizon. *** The couple got changed into new sets of clothes. They were about to leave the city of New Beginnings. Kirin had decided to follow Eren''s n of conquering Bigua''s tribe. Eren was en route to visit the army base he was assigned to after leaving the city. He nned to sign up for the exit mission and be done with it. All so that he could move on to doing his work, without the potential army responsibilities holding him down. He was especially not interested in being part of the army now that the war was drawing close. He had already contacted Arjun, Lyon, and Dianna beforeing to the city. They had decided to meet him at the army base as well. "Hm? What is that?" Eren was about to descend from the cloud tform in one swift jump. But he noticed there was a blue-scaled fish in theke that gave off a distinct presence. It looked like a salmon except for the fact that it had a horn over its head and was muchrger. This fish was about a meter long and had a very petite frame. It appeared very attractive when it stood still. And it looked graceful when it swam around in the water. It looked like it was waiting for the first ray of the daybreak to hit theke water before submerging into theke bed once again. The fish seemed to have a mana body yet it felt like it had the mana signatures of a real organism. It was the first time Eren had seen anything like this. So he looked at Kirin. She felt like she was trying to remember something about this kind of organism from her memories rted to the continent of Echidna. But for now, she was clueless. "It''s what they call nature''s blessing, Eren. A conscious fragment of water elemental attainment." Chapter 847 A Conscious Fragment Of Elemental Attainment "It''s what they call nature''s blessing, Eren. A conscious fragment of water elemental attainment." Alephee appeared beside Eren and spoke. She looked at the swimming fish with keen eyes. It was obvious she wanted to catch it. This fish had fins that shined with various colors. The blue eyes it had were like diamonds with a brilliance of their own. Eren was shocked by the fish''s presence because it felt extremely strong and weak to him at the same time. "Aaaah!" Kirin was taken aback when Alephee appeared on Eren''s other side. She was more surprised by the realization that Alephee was a witness to her intimate moments with Eren. Eren and Alephee both looked at each other andughed when they realized what Kirin was thinking about through their soul senses. The homunculus cleared her throat before speaking up in a yful tone. "Don''t worry, Kirin. I don''t try to peek or disturb him when he is busy with his let''s say personal matters. I know where to draw the line even while being inside his personal space." Alephee then looked at Eren before telling him. "I''ll tell you about thister on. First, we need to catch the fragment, lest it gets away. Kirin is notpatible with it. But it would help you a lot." Alephee said before jumping down from the cloud tform. Shended safely over water without creating ripples. She raised her hand in the fish''s direction before casting her time-element spell. The water around the fish stopped moving. Alephee raised her hand and separated a rectangr mass of still water from theke that contained the fish inside. It looked like the job was done. But she knew this was not enough to catch the fragment. "Eren!" Alephee yelled at Eren as she felt there was an anomaly getting created in her spell. She watched with a stressed expression as the mass of water she had separated from theke started disintegrating. The rectangr mass of still water started developing ice-like cracks. When the water from the rectangr mass was separated and rejoined theke, it turned into a shapeless form of ice. "Coming." Eren saw the phenomenon with his own eyes and decided to respond. Two Wind-Fire Wings sprouted from his back as he jumped down the cloud tform. Kirin dispelled the tform and created a miniature white nimbus beneath her feet. She followed Eren using the dense mass of flying clouds she created for herself. The fish managed to break free from Alephee''s spell. It didn''t cast any spell. But the water beneath Alephee''s feet suddenly changed shape. A bunch of Aqua Chains sprouted from theke surface and shackled the homunculus in no time. Alephee suddenly turned weak when the Water Chains wrapped around her body. The Chains didn''t try to hurt her. But they managed to incapacitate her without the fish seemingly taking any effort. The fish seemed to be non-violent. But that didn''t mean it would be easily captured. Now it was just Eren and Alephee chasing after it as it swam in the waters with such ease. "Don''t hold back. You can''t hurt it. Try to capture it using your spells. Or use your water attainments to lure it towards you." Alephee yelled as she watched Eren and Kirin charging after her. It was clear that she was unable to get out of her restrictions anytime soon. Kirin charged ahead. She altered the space around the fish. She tried to create a spatial wall around the fish. But she too couldn''t keep the fish contained for too long. It would either use its unique powers to disintegrate the spell or go around the walls so fast that Kirin wouldn''t be able to keep up. Igni Chains Wind-Fire Shards Eren took over Kirin and bombarded the fish with his attacks. This fire-element spell created chains made of fire-element mana, enabling him to bind his opponents and subject them to DoT while being restricted. The Igni Chains sprouted from thin air. He held one Igni Chain in each hand and extended them toward the escaping blue fish. However, he soon found out that his fire-element attacks were not effective at all even though the fish was supposed to have a water element attainment and magic. The Igni Chains disappeared as soon as they touched the fish. They lost all the heat they had and dispersed the fire-element mana they had in them. ''What the'' Eren was surprised by the fish''s nimbleness and its unique powers. The fact that it could incapacitate Alephee spoke volumes about how extraordinary it was. Eren and Kirin tried their best to capture the fish using various means. Alephee freed herself after some time and attempted to do the same. Despite their efforts, none of them were able to stop the fragment in any way. Dawn broke over theke, and the first light of the day began to illuminate the water. The blue fish''s horn started growing when that happened as if being recharged by the sun''s rays. "Eren, the fragment is going to disappear soon. And we won''t be able to catch it after today." Alephee warned Eren about the possibility of this unique existence escaping from their clutches. He narrowed his eyes before deciding to fight water with water. Aqua Wall Aqua Whips Aqua des Eren cast his water-element spells to see how the blue fish dealt with his spells. He first created a giant water wall made of theke''s water. He then used the Aqua Whips which was a vine-like rope made of water-element mana. It was thick and as thick as a boa snake. Lastly, he used Aqua des that were about 5 meters in length and sharp. They had a crescent-moon shape and reflected the light of the daybreak on their surfaces. Since Alephee had said that he didn''t need to hold back dealing with the fish, that''s exactly what he did. Eren had digested a lot of water-element attainments from various rankers. He also developed an affinity for the element ice, courtesy of mating with Lensa. As a result, the spells that contained his water-element mana and his attainments had various facets attached to them. The blue-horned fish was finally tempted to have something for itself and stopped in its tracks. Chapter 848 Spirit Beast Birthed By World’s Will The blue-scaled fish was attracted to the manifestation of Eren''s water-element spells. It started swimming toward them without any fear for its well-being. The fish aligned its horn to face the des of water approaching it at a critical speed. In the next moment, however, the des crumbled and an abstract concept was separated from them. The blue-scaled fish''s horn shone in bright blue as it opened its mouth and absorbed the concept. The same thing happened with Eren''s Aqua Whips. They lost their shape and turned into normal water when they approached the fish. The water returned to theke while Eren''s elemental essence was absorbed by the fish. Eren and Kirin both looked at each other when the phenomenon took ce in front of their eyes. Since the fish had the power to shake the very building block of the spell, they weren''t sure what they could do to catch it. "Use your water-element spells, Eren." Alephee appeared beside Eren andmanded. Thetter pursed his lips before nodding. He started casting random water-element spells that he had learned recently. The blue-scaled fish started absorbing the concepts hidden in Eren''s spells. Kirin had also tried casting some water-element spells she knew. However, her elemental attainment in the water was not as profound and divergent as Eren''s. As a result, the blue-scaled fish ignored the spells cast by Kirin. Under Alephee''s guidance, Eren managed to reach the fish while it was busy consuming the concepts in his spells. The butcher was finally able to catch the fish in both his hands after a few minutes of waiting. Eren lifted the fish in both his hands and it started levitating in the air. It had stopped its attempt to escape from him. It did not try to dive back into the depths of theke either. It just stayed floating in the air, its eyes looking at Eren with curiosity. "You had already touched it and your mana signature had seeped into it. It won''t run anymore." Alephee stood in front of Eren and spoke while looking at the blue-scaled fish with keen eyes. Kirin also appeared beside Eren and asked the homunculus. "What kind of creature is this, Alephee?" Alephee looked at the couple and smiled. She pointed at theke bed and gestured to them to leave the ce. She was looking for a safe ce. Eren didn''t have to carry the fish with him. It followed behind him as if it was swimming in the air. He also found out that the air around the fish rippled like water when it was following him. It meant that the creature was changing the normal behavior of wind with its unique powers. The trio soon found a safe space beneath the base of a small cliff. They were at the edge of the forest surrounding Lake Moonlight Death. A safe ce to carry out the discussion. Alephee ensured that there was no higher-ranked entity in the vicinity before speaking up. "As I said, this is the conscious fragment of elemental attainment. The fraction of the element that was naturally infused with life by the world''s will. Either consciously or subconsciously, it is created by the world''s will. This is a rare find, Eren. Not something you can find even after spending all the wealth you have umted. Frankly, I''m surprised the continent of Anfang could nurture creatures like this." Eren and Kirin were both taken aback a bit by the preciousness of the creature. They knew that the blue-scaled fish was a rare find. They just didn''t think that it would be so expensive if Eren''s current wealth was not enough to im it. "Damn. What are we supposed to do with it?" Eren asked casually. He wasn''t interested in pretty things, no matter how valuable the fish was. In fact, he was interested in the powers it had over water-element spells. He wondered if he could absorb them using his Abilities. Alephee didn''t take long to answer. "This blue-scaled fish represents the way of the water. Especially the chilling Aspect of the element. I guess the reason the region surrounding Lake Moonlight Death was so inexplicably cold and surrounded by blue luminance was because of this fragment." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Alephee speak. He soon came to realize that his first night with Kirin had produced some unexpected results. "That is indeed interesting. So this little fellow was causing so much trouble for the mortals and Novice rankers and iming some of their lives." Alephee nodded at him. She also wanted to correct his point of view about the fragment a bit. "This fragment would never intentionally harm any living being. You saw its disposition. The Aspect of water it represents was manifested in the surrounding region and created the atmosphere around Lake Moonlight Death. Eren, you guessed it right. When you sync with the fragment, your elemental attainment in that element increases quickly. You will instantly gain an Aspect in the water element when you do that. You would also strengthen your Way of the Water. So long as you are on the continent of Anfang, your water-element attainment will rise at an rming rate. A passive gain that doesn''t need any effort from your end. Absorbing the creature and making it a part of you won''t increase your ranking status. But your water-element attainment would catch up with your wind, fire, and lightning attainments. Or perhaps even exceed them." Eren wore a bright smile on his face as he discussed the benefits of absorbing the conscious fragment of the elemental attainment. He was even more eager to be done with the whole process now. But there were a few more questions in his head regarding the creature. "How was this creature made, Alephee? What are the origins behind this being? Because I never heard something like this." Alephee looked at Eren and smirked before responding. "Remember the Spirit Beast program Arjun was telling you about? Those are the fake spirit beasts created from splitting one''s soul and consciousness. This This right here is the real deal. A bonafide spirit beast that is created by the world''s will itself." Chapter 849 Demons Beast Origins And Demon Continent "This this right here is the real deal. A bonafide spirit beast that is created by the world''s will itself." Folding her arms under her chest, Alephee spoke. Various thoughts popped into Eren''s head when he heard her exnation. All of them started cluttering his brain. He couldn''t help asking her the most pertinent thing he could think of at the time. "A naturally urring spirit beast? I thought that the concept of Spirit Beast was an alchemic invention. Something that was invented to serve as a recement for the demon beasts. Do you mean there are spirit beast users on the continent of Anfang as well? Frankly, what are the differences between a normal mana beast, a demon beast, and a spirit beast?" Kirin''s eyes narrowed when she heard the term Spirit beast from Alephee. She recalled some memories from her inherited memories of the continent of Echidna. Kirin recalled that the Spirit beast existed on the continent of Echidna. And they were rtively in abundancepared to the continent of Anfang. The continent of Echidna did not have any demon beasts at all. The demon beasts were exclusive to Anfang and did not exist in her world. Alephee pondered a bit over Eren''s questions. She could also understand what Kirin was thinking. She looked around and decided to clear the air. A stressed expression was on the homunculus''s face as she created her unique time-element barrier. The time inside the domain almost slowed down to a halt. Even Eren and Alephee could only keep their consciousness working for them inside the barrier. They lost their ability to move even an inch of their bodies. It was clear that Alephee was having a hard time maintaining the spell. However, she ignored the stress she was feeling and spoke up. "This vessel allows me some liberty to use my powers. But I won''t be able to use this anytime soon. So listen carefully. The distinction between the beasts is simple. It just looksplicated because nobody on Anfang knows much about these things. The mana beasts were once mortal beasts that learned to harness the mana over time. We''ll refer to them as normally evolved beasts that had their origins rooted in the existence of the world. They have gic ancestry and are produced normally. The naturally urring spirit beasts are just some vague elemental concepts getting paired with a fraction of the world''s consciousness and upying mana bodies as vessels. They are being birthed by the world''s will and hence can be called nature''s progeny. They don''t have any gic roots. They also do not have organic bodies. One can''t really kill the spirit beasts. They can''t die unless the world that births them dies first." Eren and Kirin could not reply verbally or through actions. But Alephee understood they were telling her to continue her exnation, so taking a deep breath, she did just that. "Now for the demon beasts. Eren, I know you wanted to know about their origins the most and used this opportunity to ask me just that." Alephee managed to crack a smile with creases on her head before continuing. "Never mind. I guess this is a good time to do it. Demon beasts are what you might call creatures of otherworldly origin. The establishments of Anfang are wary of them because of such origins." Eren realized that he could now blink his eyelids. The effects of Alephee''s barrier were fading. The butcher realized that this was a rare opportunity to learn more about some of the darkest secrets of Anfang. So he blinked his eyes vigorously, knowing full well Alephee would know what he was about to ask. Alephee nodded at Eren and continued. "How do theye into existence, you might ask? You must be aware that mana beasts are most vulnerable mentally when they are being born or are evolving. Foreign consciousnesses use this vulnerability as an opportunity to send the fragment of their souls into the world of Anfang. The demon beasts are called demon beasts because they are possessed by demons. Or to be precise, the denizens of another world that is referred to as the demon continent. Of course, it is different from the continent of Echidna." A metaphorical bomb detonated inside Eren''s head. He thought that the world of Echidna contained the mystery he needed to n his future. He could never have imagined that there was another world that was also interested in getting inside the world of Anfang. Alphee knew that Eren was drawingparisons between the continent of Echidna and the continent of demons. So she made things a bit clearer for him on those lines. "The continent of Echidna has its way of sending its soldiers inside Anfang that has been isted from the rest of the world. It uses a loophole in the continent-epassing istion array to send the children of Echidna inside Anfang, which are called monsters by the denizens of Anfang. The demon continent does things a bit differently. It doesn''t send corporal bodies of their denizens. Instead, some powerful demons utilize their own means to send their soul fragments to the continent of Anfang. The demons act as veteran fishermen to ensure their presence in Anfang. They send bait into the river called Anfang and hope for the best. If the demons'' soul fragments manage to upy a mana beasts'' bodies while they are evolving or being birthed, demon beasts are born as a result. That''s why the demon beasts start exuding psychic waves every time they evolve after the demon possession has sessfully urred. That''s the demons'' way of overriding the beast''s feeble consciousness. This is also the reason the demon beasts could control the mana beasts around them. That power belongs to the demons. What Kirin remembers about the inherited memories from the continent of Echidna is correct. The demon beasts are unique to the world of Anfang. That''s because the demons don''t have to send fragments of their consciousness into other worlds." Demons and demon beasts! The more he listened to Alephee''s exnations, the more questions kept popping into Eren''s head. Alephee was pressed for time, so she tried to wrap things up quickly and spoke more. Chapter 850 [Bonus Chapter] Demons’ Way Of Exploring Otherworlds Alephee was pressed for time, so she tried to wrap things up quickly. As the demons attempt to acquire a corporeal vessel, they know they are prone to their soul fragments being assimted by the denizens of Anfang. But they also know that some risks are needed to reap substantial rewards. That''s howplicated things are when ites to the soul and there''s no way around it. The demons either don''t care or they are too optimistic. They are betting too much on the fact that the denizens of Anfang are not well-versed in these things." Eren nodded slightly at Alephee. He didn''t know anything about the demons or the demon continent. He was also shocked that they were trying to invade the continent of Anfang like monsters. One had to say as far as invasions were concerned, the monsters were way ahead of the demons. The monsters were limited to Bands, yes. At least they were using their real bodies inside Anfang. The demons were forced to send the fragments of their souls inside Anfang. They hope to find a mana beast that is at its weakest so that they can take over its consciousness. It meant that the soul fragments that get sent inside Anfang could not be targeted for a specific time and ce. Or it was just that the demons couldn''t pinpoint the location on Anfang where the soul fragments would appear. Alternatively, they couldn''t coordinate with their kind present here toe up with an ideal spawning location. Either way, taking over a mana beast''s body was only the start of their otherworldly adventure. They needed to survive in this world and be strong enough to make an impact here. Something they wouldn''t be able to do if they got exposed to the denizens of Anfang. And since the demons had obtained the vessels of the mana beasts, they were subjected to the same fate as them. Being hunted by the rankers of Anfang. At the time of evolution, they were particrly prone to losing a sense of being. The soul fragment was akin to a chipped part of arge ckboard. When the ranker seeds in establishing a connection with the demon beast and taming it with the blood ritual, everything written on the chipped ckboard will be erased. If everything turned out their way, the demons had strategic advantages over the monsters even when they didn''t have their original bodies in Anfang. That''s because they would have most of their memories intact. They knew who they were. And they didn''t need "rity" to ess the inherited memories. However, everything would change for the demons if the ranker managed to establish the connection with the beast using the blood ritual. The soul fragments they had sent inside the beasts would act as the conduit for the rankers to tame the beast and imprint it with their soul marks. As a result, the demon beasts would be extremely loyal to their tamers. The demons would lose the sense of themselves when this happens, subjecting the soul fragments to eternal servitude. Eren didn''t know much about the soul, soul mark, or soul fragment. But he was sure that losing a piece of one''s soul would not be a positive thing for the one who has lost it. There would be some repercussions to pay if things turned south for the demon beasts, which was usually the case. The establishments of Anfang were very strict with the demon beasts. Altashia had exined to Eren a few things about the demon beasts and the blood ritual. She had hinted to him at that time that there was something within the demon beast that was not native to the world of Anfang. Altashia was also the one who had told Eren that the establishments on Anfang didn''t fear the demon beasts because of their crowd-control abilities. They feared them because of their otherworldly roots. They didn''t want the demon beasts to get strong without the native ranker overriding the soul fragment''s consciousness using the blood ritual. The blood ritualpletely neutralized the threat demon beasts and the soul fragments within them possessed. And by that extension, it also neutralized the threat of demons having their way with Anfang. Altashia had exined to Eren that the blood ritual validated the existence of demon beasts, making them part of Anfang finally. But she didn''t exin to him that what actually got validated was not demon beasts'' bodies but the soul fragments within them. Even with the little hints given to him by Altashia, Eren had managed to draw a logical conclusion. This was because the demon beasts were the product of mana beasts getting possessed by something foreign to the world. He just couldn''t confirm his hypothesis at the time. But Alephee confirmed his theory with her recent exnation. ''So there were parts of Reen and Argo that belonged to the demon continent before my consciousness changed their existences forever. Hmm. This soul-rted stuff is very interesting. Sending one''s soul fragment to another world, huh? What would I gain if I managed to do something like this? I need to research it a bit when I get a chance. Maybe I''ll be able to pull off something like these demons one day.'' Eren had a random thought. Meanwhile, he processed the information Alephee provided him and filled in the nks Altashia had left behind. Alephee was very amused by Eren''s thought process. She chuckled a bit before bursting a bubble for him. ''Hehe. Have you already thought about exploring different worlds the demons'' way? Sorry to say, Eren. But it is way too early for you. You can''t create a soul fragment of yourself before bing a Sage or beyond. In my opinion, demons'' ways of exploring the Anfang are in fact rtively safe and convenient. I can see why you liked it the first time you heard about it. However, there is also a big risk of losing control over the soul fragment. Sometimes, the soul fragments develop egos of their own. They might or might not cooperate with their owners in those cases. And the risk of losing control through blood ritual is also very big.'' === AN: Altashia exins things about the demon beasts to Eren in chapter 439. VEH crosses the milestone of 1M words with this chapter. Cheers! ;) Chapter 851 Anfang Alliance Eren knew Alephee was exining the limitations of using the demons'' method of exploring worlds for his well-being. But he had a different thought running through his mind. ''Most of the problems these so-called demons have are because they choose a beast vessel for their soul fragments. What if they choose a human or human-like being for their soul fragments?'' Alephee shook her head before replying. ''Things are not as easy as you are making them out to be. Demons'' soul fragments can upy beast vessels since theyck awareness and their souls are easy to suppress. However, the slumbering human child''s soul develops consciousness as soon as it is born. Or maybe even before that. What a mortal human infantcks in physical capacity, nature makes up for it by giving them a strong soul that cannot be easily controlled. Especially when an otherworldly existence is trying to take over them. Demon possession getsplicated even for mortal humans. Plus, the grand-scale istion array makes things even harder for demons and denizens of other worlds. So you can forget about demons possessing humans and other humanoid races. Of course, this is the general scenario. Although rare, demon possessions had taken ce in other worlds.'' Eren nodded at Alephee and let her return to the main point she was trying to make. ''Of course, the demons have underestimated the strict control the establishments of Anfang have on their popce. I reckon almost all of their soul fragments end up in servitude. All they do is give the rankers a strong beast they could rely on and have a close connection with. The establishments of Anfang treat demon possession with an even more heavy-handed approach than the monsters in the Bands. That''s because if a demon manages to get stronger in their upied vessels, it would be much more difficult to deal with them.'' Eren had most of his questions answered about the demon beasts at this point. He knew that he wouldn''t be able to experiment with demon possession anytime soon. However, he has decided to dabble in the subject when he is capable of doing so. ''Monsters and demons. These are the two types of intruders that I know of at this point. I wonder if there are others. Possibly the race of the giants? Those trophies of giants'' skeletons the old hag has in her pce must belong to another world that is not the demon continent or Echidna. Why are all the otherworldly creatures trying to enter the continent of Anfang though? They call it thend of the faithless, don''t they? A world that doesn''tmunicate with any other. Why are they trying to enter this world that is supposedly backward in terms of resources for them?'' *** Eren started thinking about various things at once. The talk about the otherworldly intruders brought him back to Eliza''s pce where he had seen the giant skeletons. The ghost-from-the-past Sage had imed that she had ughtered the giants herself in Anfang''s long past. Andter on, got betrayed. Eren was no history schr. But through his experiences spanning over two timelines, he had be well-versed at nning deep-seated schemes. He could put himself in others'' shoes and see where the evidence gathered so far points. Eren startedpiling the data he had obtained from JJ Edgar''s journals, Eliza''s talk, Altashia''s exnation, and Alephee''s information. They swirled around in Eren''s brain and helped him make sense of the blurred picture. Eren also had a brief talk over the spectral screen with Fiona''s senior Sirius Fenris. Fiona had reached the Last Blood Bastion sessfully and immediately contacted her senior and n head Sirius about Eren''s proposed deal. Eren and Sirius had a serious conversation before the former started his marketing campaigns. The talk was regarding arms manufacturing and distribution. When the deal''s base was set and Sirius agreed to meet him personally, Eren decided to ask him something about the topic. He asked Sirius Fenris about Eliza. Being part of the half-blood n and serving as one of the n elders, Eren guessed that the guy was aware of a lot of things. Sirius didn''t say much regarding the history of Anfang. But the more he talked, the more Eren started connecting the dots. The butcher came up with another hypothesis when he did this. ording to Eren''s hypothesis based on Sirius'' initial talks, Eliza was too powerful for the forces of Anfang to handle on their own in the past. But she still had some use when the intruders were trying to invade Anfang openly. Then something happened and the threat of intruders was no more. Or to be precise, it was not as severe as it was before. ''Anfang''s alliance that Ma talked about. All the top establishments in the world, the Amazons, and even some cultist organizations are involved in the dark. The alliance predates the kingdom''s inception. As per Edgar''s journal and talks with Sirius, even the half-blood ns of the past would have been part of this alliance. During the wars against the intruders, their presence was overwhelming. But for some reason, that was not enough. Despite their contributions to the alliance, half-blood ns were treated as outsiders. The major yers in the Anfang alliance must have neutralized the threat of intruders in some way. They must have done something drastic. The continental-epassing giant array would be a part of that arrangement. Once they confirmed that the threat of the intruders was no more, they got rid of the majority of the half-blood ns to suppress them. Eliza was supposed to be part of that culling too. But she managed to escape. The half-blood ns now live in the shadows of Anfang. The establishments do everything in their power to remove the vestiges of the half-bloods. And Eliza is trying to get back at the Alliance for the betrayal she had to face in the past. Hehe. Everything will eventually boil to a tipping point when that old hag manages to get her ranking status back along with a new vessel.'' === AN: The term Anfang Alliance was first vaguely mentioned by Eliza in chapter 341. It waster officially mentioned by Ma in chapter 374. Chapter 852 God Sparks Eren concluded his hypothesis and looked at Alephee with a smile on his face. Thetter was again impressed by how the butcher was able to connect the majority of the dots even after providing fragmented information. ''He was very naive in his past life. Very trusting and benevolent, I would say. But this version of Elder Seed.'' Alphee shook her head and smiled. Of course, she wasn''t only talking about Eren''s disposition in the past timeline. The homunculus then narrowed her eyes before speaking up. ''What are the intruders looking for on the continent of Anfang, you ask? Why would intruders invade a foreignnd in the first ce? Because they believe that there are better opportunities for their growth in thend they are trying to intrude on. There''s no exception in this case either. All of them are looking for something precious. Something that they have possibly run out of in their respective worlds.'' Eren felt like Alephee had strengthened the barrier using her powers. She also started using mana from his mana core through Perfect Paradox to maintain the barrier. They are looking for God Sparks, Eren. Something that the World''s Will births for the chosen ones of its natives.'' Alephee''s answers made Eren more curious about the past. He had decided that he would try to get more answers regarding them from Sirius when they meet up personally. Eren had these thoughts in his head as he continued to listen to Alephee''s exnation. "Why would monsters send their denizens here, and why would the demon continent''s denizens be interested in demon possession if God Sparks were easily essible? They''ll keep on knocking on the closed door because they know what is hidden on the other side of the door. Anyway. It is too early for you to dabble in the game meant for Sages and above. You have already made full use of this opportunity. Now let us turn our attention to the Spirit Beasts. Spirit Beasts are more relevant to us than God Sparks. I suggest we concentrate on the current tasks at hand.'' Saying that Alephee released her time-element spell. She started looking like she was out of breath all of a sudden. Her face became pale and she was about to lose her footing. Nevertheless, she was able to stay on her feet and look around. Alephee told Eren and Kirin that they needed to move away from their current position once again. She also raised her hands and cast another spell to erase the signs of their presence from the surroundings. The homunculus was worried about the Spirit Beast getting targeted by a high-ranking entity. She believed that the signs of a Spirit beast being bred in the surroundings were already there. It just decided to show itself when Eren and Kirin were around by chance. So the rankers who were aware of the signs must be keeping an eye on the ce. This is in case the spirit beast manifests and shows up out in the open. Eren agreed to Alephee''s suggestion and quickly decided to follow through. He had Kirin summon arge flying cloud for all three of them. Soon, the trio disappeared from their spot along with the spirit beast Eren had captured for himself. Alephee''s suggestion turned out to be right. That''s because a shadow appeared out of thin air over Lake Moonlight Death''s surface a few minutes after the trio disappeared. This seemed to be a man whose face had been covered by a hood. He had a tall and lean build. This man was wearing dark clothes and had a strong presence around him. His aura was intense and suffocating. His brown eyes glowed in the reflection over the surface of theke he was standing on. His presence was agitating the water, creating small whirlpools on its surface. This was just the man''s water-element attainment manifesting around him because of the surprise he was feeling. "Hmm? These signs the spirit beast was taken away?" The hooded man mumbled to himself in a voice coated in surprise. It looked like he had been waiting for the spirit beast to show itself for a very long time. But someone else managed to locate and im the beast before him. That too without leaving behind any traces. Theke''s water started shaking when the hooded man''s emotions of shock and surprise started turning into anger. The whirlpools were raised over theke''s surface and the masses of water used in them began boiling. A distinct mana pulse was released from the man before theke''s peaceful atmosphere changed into something dangerous. The air in the region also started having water-like properties and created a watery suffocation effect. Unbeknownst to Eren, the man had cultivated the spirit beast for over three centuries. He had created a favorable environment for it using the means avable to him. And just when he thought that he would reap the benefits of his diligent work, the butcher had gone ahead and imed his price for himself. It was safe to say that the man was angry. The man shook his head when he realized that he couldn''t do anything to get the spirit beast back. It was most likely contaminated by supposedly a higher-ranked entity using its mana signature. So pursuing the matter wasn''t worth it. ''Who''s this damned lucky bastard who screwed around and got his hands on my spirit beast by chance? I swear I''ll wring him dry of his luck if and when I find him.'' The man could still sense the obvious signs of the activity even when he couldn''t recognize the identities of the people involved. It was as if the water element itself was trying to tell himst night''s story. The man knew there was no use crying over spilled milk. He sighed before disappearing into thin air like a mist. From this day forward, there would be no chill-inducing anomalies in the Lake Moonlight Death. The phenomenon ceased to exist when the spirit beast was taken away from its environment. Chapter 853 The Way Of Water Eren closed his eyes. Outskirts of the Moonlight Death Forest. The morning sun was shining brightly in the sky. But the winter winds carried chilliness with them. The autumn leaves were falling off trees, covering the ground with reddish brown fall. Kirin and Alephee were watching Eren from a distance as he was practicing his Rootless ranking technique. A technique that did not belong to any particr element, battle style, ss, or any particr aspect of being a ranker. And in doing so, it belonged to every school, ss, and style. Eren was sitting on a stone tform in a meditative pose. The trees and foliage around him were getting rustled by the chilly winds. But even more chilling was the chilliness the spirit beast around him was radiating. The blue-scaled fish was swimming in the air around him. Sometimes in circles. Other times, in weird patterns. The fish was free to swim away from him. And nobody stopped him from getting close to him. Eren''s lightning, fire, water, and other elemental attainments were manifesting around him. But they couldn''t hurt the spirit beast or stop it from moving. The spirit beast would asionally turn waves of fire into drops of firey water. Lightning streaks would be converted into a mass of liquid electricity before the beast swam in it. The spirit beast ispletely attuned to its surroundings. It swam peacefully around Eren as they both deepened their bonds between them. Under Alephee''s guidance, Eren was able to form a connection with the spirit beast. He could have devoured the spirit beast whole using his Abilities. As the conscious fragment of the way of water, he could have gained everything the spirit beast held, but the homunculus advised against it. She told him that keeping the spirit beast with him had more benefits for Eren. That''s because the spirit beast was constantly learning from its surroundings. Each moment would deepen its understanding of the element it was born from. The connection Eren shared with the spirit beast was faint and almost superficial. The spirit beasts did not possess physical bodies, so there was no blood ritual involved. They were also not summoned creatures brought into existence by the summoner. So one couldn''t really control them the way they wanted to. Because of the insights they offered, spirit beasts stayed with their alleged captors who attracted them with their elemental attainments. And they would share the insights they gained with their captors through a subtle mental connection. Eren could feel that the blue-scaled fish had basic primary responses and a semnce of feelings that are born out of the need to deepen its understanding of the way of water. Apart from these, the beast was like a nk te. Existence in its purest form, unadorned by anything or anyone. Only tainted a bit because of the mana signature Eren had imbued inside it. The spirit beast saw that Eren''s water-element manifestation had be prominent in his technique''s cycle and its eyes sparkled. It swam toward Eren and immersed itself in the shapeless mass of water that was forming around him. Eren felt like he was immersed in a huge mass of water that had no limitations. It had no dimensions, no entry, and no way to exit. A boundless form of water that contained a myriad of mysteries. Eren felt like he was surrounded by the chill of tiny fish that swam around him in rhythmic patterns. It felt like they were moving ording to the whims of water without making rational decisions. As a result, numerous fish moved at the same time in such synchronicity that they didn''t bump into each other despite being fast and extremely agile. These tiny fish taught Eren the flexibility of the water element. How malleable it was and how inclusive it could be. It was through the school of fish that he learned that water is plural in nature, even though it appears to be one and united. It could also diversify itself because of changes introduced by external factors. Eren felt like some giant sea creatures hade to meet him. He wanted to be intimidated by their size. And he thought he would after feeling so defenseless in the water. But for some reason, he kept his eyes closed and found the experience to be peaceful. Eren felt that the giant sea creatures around him had not threatened him. They hade to teach him about the weight and heaviness of the water. It represented how terrifying water could get if its volume exceeded a certain limit. Water can be very destructive, even though it is known as the source of life. Eren felt like he was experiencing many things at once. The presence around him changed and the water around him rippled with many concepts. Some he knew by definition but didn''t fully understand. Some he was made to realize afresh. In one moment, Eren felt like his blood was boiling. In the next moment, his blood was going to freeze in the chilliness that the water brought about. Even though the water''s temperature was bone-freezing, the water itself did not turn into ice. It was as if the element could let go of the restrictions ced on it by the world using its own means. Eren felt like this was how he wanted to be. Being part of the system but not restricted by its limitations. The immersive kaleidoscope of life was based on the way water kept on changing around Eren, making him more profound in the element. His water-element attainment was catching up with his other main attainments at unbelievable rates. Eren gained two Aspects of water at the same time as his understanding of water reached a tipping point. One was the chill it brought forth. The other was its boiling point. The butcher felt like even with these two Aspects, he could sum up everything the element of water represented in all worlds just fine. Some elements just contained universal truths that were bound to remain unchanged no matter which world tried to capture them in their hold. Chapter 854 A Nice Autumn Evening For Ambush And Assassination Profundity in simplicity. Life lessons in obvious truths. Eren felt like he had gained such a deep understanding of the water element so instantly. He felt that he could fuse it with any other element he had sufficient control over. He knew in his heart at this moment that he could try elemental fusion with lightning, fire, and even his wind element. When he opened his eyes, the elemental manifestations around him stopped. The blue-scaled fish was nowhere to be seen. But a runic tattoo had appeared on the back of his right hand. It had the shape of a blue-scaled fish and minute runic engravings that represented elemental attainment. Eren''s vision was a bit blurry at first. He rubbed his eyes and felt that his eyes had turned watery for some reason. He wiped them and shook his head before looking around him. It was still daytime. But Eren felt like things were not adding up. He looked at his pendant and tried to contact Alephee. "You there?" Eren asked in an inquisitive tone. In the next moment, a young girl in a sophisticated Gothic outfit appeared beside him. She was busy writing something in her grimoire. "You were out for nine days. I told Kirin to proceed ahead without you." Alephee answered Eren''s question without him having to ask. Thetter nodded at her and stretched his limbs. Kirin had decided to do Eren''s bidding. She was preparing to gather a small party under her lead and conquer Bigua''s tribe. The butcher wasn''t worried about Kirin''s sess. However, he hoped that the thing Bigua had in his tribe would remain safe in the aftermath of the battle. He manifested a shapeless blob of water over his stretched right palm and decided to apply his Chill Aspect to it. In the next moment, the blob shrunk in size and started looking a deeper shade of blue. It did not turn into ice but it had be heavy and its viscosity had been altered. The blob also became less agitated and almost came to a standstill. The water felt like it had lost all its vitality. Eren stretched his other palm and applied the Boil Aspect of water to the manifested blob. Following that, it started expanding. It started disying weird shapes and forms and became more agitated with time. As if it was trying to throw something out. Erenbined the two blobs of water that were representing two different Aspects by bringing his palms closer. The two blobs merged seamlessly as soon as they came in contact. Despite their differences, they did not repel each other. A peaceful mass of water was now suspended over Eren''s palms. This was the normal form of water, which carried within it the Aspect fusion. ''Hmm. Every element is mysterious if one thinks about them. Each element can act like water. And water can act like every other element. It depends upon the person who is wielding the element.'' Eren thought to himself before dispersing the mass of water he had conjured. He then looked around before speaking to Alephee. "We should go as well." The lightning struck and Eren disappeared. Alephee vanished into thin air along with him. *** A forest region outside the city of New Beginnings. The evening sky was soon about to be studded with countless stars and a crescent moon, which had shown itself. The autumn air had dropped in temperature even further. The evening fog was starting to spread around the forest, slowly taking the entire region under its domain. A nice autumn evening for ambush and assassination. "It''s been days since he dropped off the grid. When will he arrive? And how do we know he hasn''t slipped past us?" An irritated manly voice of unknown origin resounded in seemingly inhabited surroundings. Another feminine voice answered him with equal irritation. "You keep asking the same thing over and over again. What part of "be patient" did you not understand thest time? My sources tell me he has finallye out of the Moonlight Forest Death. We don''t know what he was doing inside for so many days. But it doesn''t matter. He''ll leave the city soon. And he''lle this way judging by the direction he is heading. Anyway, it''s not our job to intercept him first. Our job is to provide backup. Of course, we''ll get to see the fun from here without being discovered. So just be quiet." The feminine voice decided to divulge the information that her spies had informed her of. But it seemed that the man was done ying hide-and-seek with someone who hadn''t even arrived to y the game with him for nine days straight. The man decided to show himself over arge tree''s thick and long branch. He was none other than Goro Jaan RemusC the man dispatched by House Remus to take care of Eren. Goro Jaan Remus had a mix of ck and brown hair with white highlights in between. He hadrge ck eyes and a pronounced nose. His lips were a bit wider than usual. So whenever he smiled, his expression looked creepy. Goro was a very tall man. He was 8 ft tall and had a lean but muscr build. He wore nothing covering his torso, exposing his abs and chest. He had strong and veiny arms. Plus, he wore two ck arm guards. He also wore a shoulder guard on his right shoulder, which was strapped around his chest. He wore a red hood over his head but did not make any attempts to hide his face. Goro had a sheathed sword strapped to his waist. A ck chain was wrapped along the length of the weapon sheathed in a red scabbard. Goro gave off deathly vibes around him. The autumn leaves in his vicinity turned to ash and dispersed because of the death energy he was giving off. The tree''s branch on which he was standing was starting to lose the life it had in it. It was slowly crumblingC its wooden scales chipping away. "Tch. I can''t just stay still for nine days, can I? I hope the guy doesn''t disappoint me. He has killed two members of the Remus family. I have high hopes from this jackass since he made such a show of confidence. Hehehe." Goroughed as he talked about the deaths of his two n members. He seemed excited to meet the butcher. Chapter 855 Blessed By The Heavens Or Delusional? A seemingly deserted region outside the city of New Beginnings. Another isted zone, obscured from view using a sophisticated istion array. Not too far away from where Goro was hiding. A group of rankers belonging to House Slughorn was stationed here. Two rankers in the group held the mostmanding power between them. One was Sienna and the other was Regan. Regan Slughorn was stunned that he had been assigned missions like these. He was Sienna Slughorn''s handler and had served as such since she was very young. He didn''t think that Sebastian Slughorn would assign him to an ambush mission. The old man was trying to make huge changes in the n after he had met with Eren and Levine. He was trying to keep the sinking ship afloat for longer. At least during his lifetime, he did not want the n''s legacy to disappear. It wasn''t that Regan couldn''t do ambush missions. But taking him away from his usual duties meant that Sienna had lost her position in the n. This made things even more difficult for her than they already were. The most upsetting thing was the fact that Sienna had been sent along with him. Sebastian wanted her to watch the real-life battles live from a safe distance. But Regan knew that there was no safe zone on the battlefield. Sienna was just being punished for her rash behavior by her great-grandfather. Or maybe he had simply given up on her. "Old man, what are you thinking about?" Sienna asked, looking bored out of her wits after being in the same ce for almost a week. She was reading a romance novel in one hand and eating half-eaten fruit in the other. The girl was trying to live aid-back life on what could be a battlefield. "Sienna, I don''t think you understand the grimness of the situation you are currently in. In dispatching you here, your grandfather has thrown you under a chariot on a collision course with a wall. ? This is more than just a punishment for your actions if you ask me. This looks like he doesn''t care anymore about you." Regan said with a worrisome tone. His interests were tied to Sienna''s progress. Of course, he would be worried about the things the girl did or the consequences she brought about. Sienna closed her book and startedughing. She adjusted her hair and straightened her back sitting on a tree''s branch. She swung her legs in the air even more while speaking up. "Rx, old man Regan. Gramps Sebastian wille around eventually. This is not even that big of a mission. You guys are making such a big deal out of killing someone of my generation. Even if he carries a secret force in the shadows, I don''t think you''d have many problems killing him anyway." Sienna said uncaringly and got up from her seated position. She ran her fingers through her hair and adjusted her pretty hairdo before continuing. "No matter what I do, things will always work out for me. I''m blessed by the heavens, you see. Hehehe." Sienna''s eyes shone brightly as she spoke. Her mana signature fluctuated and she started feeling like a different person. It was as if she was being possessed by something. Regan and the rest of the Slughorn members hade to ept that this was the side-effect of using an illusion spell on Sienna. Ever since her memories were sealed, she has given in to her irrational thoughts even more. She would start acting like she owned everything around her and demanded obedience from everybody that was with her. Regan knew Sienna from her childhood. She was always a bratty girl who had been pampered a lot, thanks to being part of the main branch of the n. But she was never this delusional. Sienna was a scheming girl who knew how to think for herself. She was not hard-working. With the right use of her influence, she was able to cover up her ws in the past. However, everything changed when she visited the city of Nami and was sold as an experience pack. She became a different person after that. She still tried to think out of the box and bend the rules her way. But she didn''t have her exceptional wits with her anymore. That incident altered Sienna''s personality gradually. The treatment she received for that incident treated the symptoms but not the root cause. It looked like the illusion spell was also giving her the impression that she was a special child. Someone needed to give Sienna a reality check. Thus, Regan decided to be the deliverer of just that. "Things will work out for you no matter what you do, huh? I mean... Haah!" Regan massaged his temples and exhaled loudly before speaking up. "Okay. Riddle me this. What is the basis for your confidence, Sienna? You had told us that you''d be apprenticed to Levine after joining LA. You had told us that you were nning to marry Ken Riverine and obtain an earl''s backing for the n. You assured us that you would focus on potioning. You promised that you''d stop creating trouble for anyone you meet. And despite everything, you told us that you''d take charge and handle the n''s business affairs. Have any of the things you promised to doe to fruition? Now you have been relegated to conducting ambush missions. Something that ispletely beyond your level of expertise. Your position in the family also has an impact on me. And things are looking really grim for me if I have to conduct ambush missions at this age." Regan finally said what he had been thinking. He had been wanting to say this to Sienna for a very long time. But he couldn''t do it because of her status. Now that Sebastian had lost all importance for Sienna, Regan dared to speak about it. Sienna scrunched her nose when she heard Regan''s rant. She wanted to defend her stance using the right words. But somehow, she couldn''t find them. She stomped her feet before speaking up. === AN: Regan Slughorn was mentioned in chapter 705. Chapter 856 Shalen And Oslo "Look here, old man. Don''t forget that you are still my subordinate. No matter how low my position has gotten inside the n, I''m still well above you. Did you forget that?" Sienna spoke in an angry tone and looked at Regan hatefully. Her aura was turning darker while she was processing a range of emotions in her head. "Look. Things are not as bad as you think they are." ''They are terrible,'' Regan said in his head. But let the girl continue her speech. "You don''t understand the deeper meaning behind the actions of these old foggies like I do. Yes, I may have acted out of impulse on some asions. And it is indeed true that Gramps is angry at me. However, I am the only ranker from the main branch to have a semnce of talent in potioning in my generation. As such, my position is not as easily receable. You know what Gramps had sent me here to watch a real-life battle?" Regan didn''t have to answer the question. He knew it would be answered by Sienna herself. "He wants me here because of your targeta Eren Ilijah Idril. Gramps Sebastian wants me to see Eren''s struggle to survive the onught of such a huge joint force up and close. The guy is from LA. He was in the same ss as I was back then. That''s why Gramps wants me to draw aparison in my head. A guy with no background achieves so much in such a short time. And now many organizations havee together to kill him and share equal responsibility. And then he wants me to think about where I stand in front of him. Pfft! Such outdated views. He doesn''t understand that he shouldn''tpare me to the likes of him. A cockroach that learns to fly is still a cockroach." Regan was reminded that Eren was Sienna''s batchmate in LA by her. He had tucked that fact in the back of his mind while he was on the mission. In the new history of the kingdom, it didn''t make sense that someone of such a young age and without a background could aplish something of such magnitude. He couldn''t help asking Sienna about their target. "Sienna, do you remember what Eren was like? Did you two meet at the academy? Did he always have ns to visit the Nightshade dutchy?" Sienna was a bit surprised by Regan''s question. The guy wanted to know about his potential victim before killing him. She chuckled at first. But then she pondered a bit before replying. "I remember this boy named Eren. He was very inconspicuous when we were in the academy. You want to know if he showed his potential in LA, don''t you? The answer would be a strict no. I remember he tried to push Ken toward that damned elf for some reason. He was friends with Ken and would talk about the two as if they were already married. I bet he was the reason why things couldn''t work out between me and Ken." Sienna started cursing Eren in her mind after that. Mostly because she was looking for someone to me for why things didn''t work out her way. And she finally found her excuse. Sienna then became excited to watch Eren''s downfall with her own eyes. The idea of an exceptional achiever from her generation being destroyed by her n somehow pleased her. She started gloating at him even before they came face to face. Subconsciously, she felt that she had an irreconcble hatred for him. As if her subconscious had ess to memories and insights she was disconnected from. Sienna suppressed in her subconscious the fear she felt toward Eren. Just like her unexinable hatred, she couldn''t pinpoint the reason behind her unfounded fear of him. Nevertheless, Sienna was happy that Eren would get destroyed by the joint forces in front of her eyes. She also wished for Ken and all the other promising students in her academic batch to meet the same fate. Regan could only sigh after listening to Sienna and watching her facial expressions. It was clear that the girl had be a mental case. The things she said made sense on some level. But that didn''t change the fact that Sebastian was looking for her recement. Sienna was Sebastian''s project-in-the-making for a very long time. She had been provided with the highest quality resources and care from the moment she stepped on the path to bing a ranker. She demonstrated a promise to lead her n with her wits. But if she didn''t even have those with her, there were no other redeeming qualities Sebastian could count on. The rankers from House Slughorn that were standing behind the two kept quiet as Sienna and her handler had their talk. They would onlye into action when Eren shows up. *** Another zone serves as an ambush point outside the city of New Beginnings. Escalon guild forces and Demonmir''s faction forces were working in tandem. At this point, all the groups that were part of Eren''s ambush n hade to know that Eren hade out of the Moonlight Death Forest and left the city. This was the most crucial moment for the ambush, as it was about to start. "Expert Oslo, what if he decides to use his demon beast?" Shalen asked Oslo in a curious tone. She was ying with a runic dagger in her hand. Shalen had scored well in Minerva''s Utopia. She had participated in the test of Bravery and became the first rank holder in the test because of her exceptional fortitude and performance. The blonde-haired assassin had received a lot of rare and precious rewards from Utopia as a result. She broke through the Adept rank quickly using those resources on her, raising her value in the Escalon guild even more. === AN: Shalen Craft was first introduced in chapter 658. She participated in the Test of Bravery inside Minerva''s Utopia in chapter 707. Oslo was introduced in chapter 722. Chapter 857 Meera Medinah And Rehaal Renar Shalen found it ironic that she was assigned to kill the same person who was indirectly responsible for her prosperity. However, a job is a job. Especially when ites to a field like hers. The most Shalen could do was try to give Eren a swift death as a show of gratitude. Oslo was from Demonmir''s faction. He had been dispatched to get rid of Drin''s party in the Bands a few months back. But the members of the Escalon guild under hismand messed things up. They failed to choose the right battlefield and allowed the White Raven''s team to separate from each other and save themselves. Oslo was called out to action by Demonmir''s faction, and he agreed to it immediately. Since it was about ambushing the head of the entire party that had slipped past him, he had to clear his name by killing Eren. "You mean he''d use Argo to get past us? They say the brat''s demon beast is a foul-mouthed menace. Don''t worry though. He can''t use his demon beast to slip past us without anyone intercepting him in midair. Senior Nico hade personally to assure us of that. He can take flight using his demon beast to prevent the brat from getting away from us." Halen felt reassured after hearing Oslo''s words. He was wearing his signature mask and armor. Shalen had worn casual wear in the form of a floral top and sleek pants. Her hair was perfectly styled, and she had worn minimal but sophisticated essories that matched her vibe. Her appearance didn''t suit the job she was about to do. She looked like she was on her way to meet someone in the city. Shalen nodded her head and kept quiet. She was a professional assassin. She didn''t need small talk to entertain herself while staking out targets. However, she was a bit stressed nheless because she had been given the responsibility to intercept Eren. "Don''t worry, Shalen. Make your move first. We''ll follow you right afterward. You can fall back when the actual battle starts." The joint force had suspected that Eren was carrying a security detail on him with the way things had happened. They suspected that the summoner ss ranker was part of that security detail as well. To ensure the sess of the ambush, the joint force had brought many rankers as a fail-safe measure. The various factions of the joint forces were given specific tasks they needed to perform in case Eren''s security detail emerged. What they didn''t count on was the fact that the summoner ss ranker they were considered to be with Eren was none other than Eren himself. *** Meera Medinah felt bored after waiting for her target''s arrival for more than a week. She wasn''t particrly interested in this mission since it wasn''t rted to monsters. She liked killing monsters because they posed a greater challenge with their rtively higher body stats than humans. Meera was also part of Edinburgh''s special forces. It was she who met with Bigua and Drin in the Bands under the lead of Kev Larson. Meera was dispatched here under the orders of Kev Larson. Rehaal Renar had used his royal reach and pulled some strings. He made the kingdom''s special forces help her with his private affairs. Meera wore a bodice-like top and armor as usual. The special forces member was wearing a pair of arm guards and shoulder guards, giving her a hardcore veteran vibe. Meera was beautiful. Her olive skin and brown hazel eyes made her look even more attractive under the moonlight. Thedy had a slim waist and ample feminine proportions. She had a sword sheathed on her back, ready to be drawn at a moment''s notice. Someone appeared behind Meera as she was watching the moonlit forest in front of her with keen eyes. It spoke very humbly. "I know you are not particrly interested in doing this task, Miss Meera. And I thank you for showing up on the field anyway. It means a lot to me. I''ll certainly do all I can to ensure that your efforts are better rewarded in the future when I get chosen as the sessor to the throne." Rehaal Renar said while trying to sound grateful. He had actively be a part of the joint forces that had been established by Sebastien Slughorn to take care of Eren. Rehaal was very angry at Eren for mistreating him in front of Rodrick. It could be said that the fear Eren had nted in the royal''s mind was manifesting in the form of pride and anger. Eren suggested to Rehaal that he take a different approach to get his hands on Rodrick. Anything except targeting him while he was inside the city of White Raven. But the royal interpreted that suggestion very differently. Rehaal decided to deal with Eren for all time so he could get to Rodrick. This way, his personal vendetta against the butcher would be fulfilled. Plus, Rehaal will be kicked out of the city soon when Demonimir''s faction takes over. Thus, Rehaal immediately got to work after he received word from Sebastian Slughorn. Almost all of his personal wealth was empty and he used his connections to hire members of the kingdom''s special forces. He wanted to employ Meera''s in-charge, Kev Larson, as well. But he couldn''t afford to do so due to his finances. Kev held a kingdom-bonafide title. His involvement wasn''t something an Adept-ranked Rehaal could afford. Of course, asking for the special forces'' involvement came with a use that their real identities wouldn''t get exposed after the mission. The citizens of the kingdom didn''t need to know that the kingdom''s forces could be used for personal affairs given the right price. Meera scrunched her nose before replying to Rehaal. "You don''t need to hype me into working for you, brat. As I have received my resources from you, I shall do my part well. I''ll give it straight. There''s this guy named Drin who I want to bring into my fold. He is in the White Raven guild. Killing Eren here might result in the disbandment of the guild. Youck the political power or wealth to move special forces ording to your whims. But you are lucky that our interests align." === AN: Meera Medinah was introduced in chapter 720. Chapter 858 Target In Sight Edinburgh''s special forces preferred hiring rankers with special elemental affinities. Krista, Rupen, and Lambert were hired into the Blood Punisher force for the same reason. They were then groomed by the kingdom''s elite rankers and given top-tier resources to develop their skills. Such rankers were the team''s asset. They held the potential to make difficult tasks reach their conclusion with sufficient ease. Drin''s shadow element was well suited for shady jobs that would usually be handled by the special forces. Even Kev was interested in bringing Drin under the kingdom''s thumb for the same reason. Meera wasn''t interested in the job at first. It was Kev who told her she should take Rehaal''s offer to free Drin from his current responsibilities. Upon thinking about it, it made sense to her as well. Rehaal was humbled by Meera''s words right away. He learned that Meera had epted the mission for her own interests first and foremost. The fact that the mission assigned by him aligned with her interests was only a mere coincidence. He was again made to understand that his royal status didn''t assure him that he would be able to order the members of the special forces around. He could only spend all of his resources on them and hope for the best. Meera chuckled after Rehaal fell silent. With her response, she tried to reassure him further. "Hehe. Does it matter for what reason Eren gets killed? You are granted your wish. And that should be something you can look forward to. Now keep quiet and let me focus. The job''s about to start." Meera said and narrowed her eyes. She had received the signal from the joint forces that Shaen was making her move. Eren Elijah Idril appeared on the site. *** A colt-driven caravan was making its way through the forest surrounding the city of New Beginnings. There were two Ace-ranked handlers in charge of the caravan, which traversed a known route. Eren was lying t on his back on a plush bed. Through the use of spatial magic, it would transform into a seating arrangement. In Edinburgh, this was one of the most convenient ways to travel between cities. The caravan had all the necessary amenities. It had been enhanced with spatial magic to make the interior muchrger than the caravan''s dimensions. Its anti-gravity array at the bottom made sure that the interior didn''t experience jerks or bumps no matter how fast the caravan was being pulled. The interior of the caravan resembled a luxurious suite. It was only when one looked through the curtained windows that one realized that they were traveling. "Haaah! This thing is sofortable." Eren said to himself as he stretched his limbs on the bed. He rolled around and sank his face into the plush pillow before speaking further. "I could get used to these expensiveforts. Traveling like this is so much better for my aching back. It''s just that it costs a lot. I wonder if I could loot someone on my way to recover my money." Eren spoke as if it was the past-old-man-him. He heard an eagle growl when he finished speaking. Argo was in his eagle form inside the caravan. He was made to sit on a wooden tform and given chunks of ranked beast''s meat to munch on. TherHar Jahar''s chopped hand was another object the beast was trying to devour. "Yes, I could have used you. But your appetite grows every time I try to use you as a mode of transportation. You are not fuel-efficient, you fat bird." Eren made fun of Argo a bit. He was just kidding and liked riding the demon beast. But he wouldn''t be able to partake in his nightly training with Alephee while on the beast''s back. The caravan provided him with the space needed for him to do so. "Argo no fat Argo is strong. Argo will get bitches when he grows up." Argo pped his wings and said it aloud in his bird-like voice. He then morphed his head into a mini lion and roared a bit to highlight his determination. The demon beast then started devouring Har Jahar''s hands with even greater zeal than before. ''Your influence is corrupting him.'' Eren heard Alephee''s voice in his head. She was inside the pendant abode, trying to add more spells to her grimoire using her homunculus blood as ink. Eren pursed his lips. He didn''t think that wanting to have many panions" was a negative influence anyway. ''Maybe I should teach this fat bird how to sugar-coat things from now on. Beauties instead of a derogatory word. Small changes to make his goals seem noble to outsiders.'' Eren knew that Argo''s foul mouth wasn''t something he could get rid of anymore. But he could at least try to make him seem sophisticated in certain settings. Eren was about to say something to Argo when he suddenly felt that his caravan had stopped moving. He received a knock on his door from the driver''s seat the next moment. "Come in." Eren said while sitting upright on his bed. He was only wearing his pants and nothing covered his torso. The butcher saw that one of the Ace rankers who was in charge of the caravan he had hired entered his room. "My Lord, there''s an Adept-rankeddy outside who is requesting to see you. Um she is asking for a lift to the city of Ainari where we are going. What should I tell her?" The teen bowed his head in front of Eren and asked him. The butcher raised his eyebrows before using his mana sense to check up on the new visitor who hade to ask for help from him. Eren recognized the young woman right away when he sensed her mana signature. This was a mana signature he couldn''t forget. ''Heh! The vultures have finallye.'' Eren smiled cheerfully before responding casually. "Haha. I am all for helping travelers in need. I''ll ensure that she reaches the destination she needs to reach personally. Let her in." === AN: The City of Ainari was first introduced in chapter 506. It is a rtively close city to Edinburgh''s army base where Eren has been appointed. Chapter 859 Inviting Shalen Onboard "Thank you for letting me in, Adept Eren." Shalon spoke with a vibrant smile on her face. She looked at Eren coyly and epted his invitation to sit on the plush couch the caravan had as part of itsvish interior. "My name is Shalen Craft. I was heading towards the city of Ainari but my carriage was destroyed by a wild D-Rank mana beast. Just when I thought I would have to go back to the city of New Beginnings, I saw your caravan approaching and thought of asking for help. I hope I am not being too much of a bother." Shalen stuck with her rehearsed lie that was mixed with a bit of truth. On paper, she was not associated with the Escalon guild. So she could give her real name. Plus, she wanted Eren to know her real name so he could associate it with the top-ranked holder in the Test of Bravery conducted inside Minerva''s Utopia. With association and familiarity, one was known to let their guard down after all. Shalen was confident about her deception skills. Her facial expressions were impable and the fluctuations in her mana signature were almost non-existent. One could say that her mentor Pdin of Pain Reva Rain had taught her well. What she didn''t realize was the fact that Eren knew Shalen personally from his past timeline. And he also knew about her mentor. He could never forget the coldness of an assassin hiding behind her pretty face. Eren smiled mildly before offering a ss of ranked wine to Shalen. He took the seat next to hers and reclined on his couch before responding. "You are no bother at all, Miss Shalen. I was longing forpany during this boring travel anyway. Your presence is only wee here." Eren said while looking Shalen in the eyes. His emerald green eyes shone with a subtle hint as he verbally marched forward. "If I''m not mistaken, it appears you hold the first rank in the Test of Bravery. You have attracted so many rankers to my city because of your performance. So consider this as a gesture of thank you from the owner of that city. Haha. Also, no need for formalities. I''d like it if you called me Eren." Shalen mimicked the expression of relief perfectly. She tucked her blonde locks behind her ears and touched the wine ss to her lips. After almost touching the wine with her lips, she ced the ss on the small table in front of her before that happened and continued. "I''m d to hear that, Ad... Errr... Eren. To be honest, I didn''t think about increasing the city''s traffic with my performance, Eren. I was only thinking about gaining the highest possible rewards from Minerva''s Utopia at the time. And that''s what I got. The mild attention I garnered, as a result, was only a byproduct of those efforts." Shalen started looking around the caravan as she responded to Eren. She was looking for any of the hidden experts Eren was traveling with. The caravan was supposed to be enhanced by spatial magic. So the assassin assumed that Eren was traveling luxuriously because of that. Eren didn''t know what Shalen was looking for. He didn''t know that the joint force had assumed that he was traveling in a group led by a summoner. But he could tell her inspective gaze was trying to probe everything and anything she couldy her eyes on. However, it didn''t take long for Eren to figure out what the joint force was up to. After all, he could faintly sense her thoughts and intentions with his soul sense. ''Hm? They think I''m traveling in a group?'' *** Eren chuckled in his head when he understood the reason behind that mistake. Only a selection of the crime scenes he had been part of hade to light. It included Rey Remus'' murder scene where the Grim Pir was erected. And after a thorough investigation by House Remus, they concluded that Eren was also involved in targeting its clients at the auction events. Gilhause Remus, who was part of Edinburgh''s army, had also linked Sid''s disappearance with Eren. Unfortunately, he could do nothing more against Eren by opening a case that had already been closed with vague clues. But these results did give impartial data about Eren for the joint forces to think about. ording to the joint force''s obviously wed conclusion, whenever Eren killed, he killed using his minions. His involvement in the actual killings was the bare minimum. The organizations involved in the drafting of the joint force came to such a wed conclusion because they found out that the spells that were used at the crime scene belonged to various elements. Eren had also switched between two sses for killing Rey Remus. Eren would use the Potion of Innocence to cover his tracks at each of his crime scenes. As a result, historians employed by several forces could not figure out that it was Eren who had killed his victims. Yet they could tell from his crime scenes that various rankers of different origins were involved. Plus, after Eren got out of the Oni dungeon, Kirin was with him most of the time. She served as his shadow and protection. The onlookers failed to recognize or know who she was but they could tell that Eren was being watched over by someone of Expert rank caliber. *** Eren found it hrious that his enemies would overestimate his supposedly hidden force and underestimate him at the same time. He was d that he let Shalen inside the caravan. He could use these details against his enemies. Eren and Shalen kept on talking while the former had those thoughts running in his head. Even though they had not-so-noble intentions for each other, both of them maintained calm. Shalen yed her part well. She had almost confirmed that there was no security detail traveling with Eren. She decided to make a move. To see if she could finish the guy with her own hands. Chapter 860 No-Mess Kill The assassin slowly started flirting with Eren. She started adding obvious innuendoes. Sheughed cheerfully at Eren''s witty remarks. The butcher knew that his puns could be funny. But not as good as the response he was getting to them from Shalen. She flirted with him so seamlessly that even he would have believed that it was natural if he did not know any better. Shalen started adjusting her dress and hair quite frequently as she talked more with Eren. Her cleavage was made apparent by her as she touched her exposed neck with her hands from time to time. "Eren, I heard that you lead a let''s say very colorful lifestyle. What say we make this travel a pleasurable experience for both of us?" Shalen concluded the time was ripe for her to invade Eren''s personal space. She needed extreme proximity to him to attempt an up-close and personal assassination. Shalen and the rest of the members of the joint forces had done their homework regarding Eren. They tried to know everything and anything remotely rted to him before carrying out the mission. As such, Shalen concluded that a guy like Eren wouldn''t say no to her invitation. Shalen was looking forward to the moment that she would be able to pull off the kill all by herself. The act was akin to killing a legendary tier mana beast by oneself. The joint force would not have to move at all if she seeded. She alone would take credit for killing Eren and taking all his belongings. As the owner of such a prosperous city, the guy had ess to a lot of precious resources. She could ess his personal storage after his death and im everything for herself. ''I''m sorry it hase to this, Eren. You seem like a fun guy to hang out with. Sadly, your death is imminent today. The most I can do is give you a swift death. So that others won''t be able to torture you. Consider this as a thank you from me for being my beneficiary in the past, present, and future.'' Shalen said to herself as she looked at Eren with yfulness in her eyes. She pressed her legs against each other before spreading them. She was disying how eager she was to be with him. As another gesture of invitation, she licked her lips and bit them lightly. Eren smiled wickedly when he witnessed Shalen''s gestures. Unknown to her, he also had the same cruel intentions toward her. His murderous vibe was masked effortlessly by his ready-to-go bodynguage. "Run bitch, run!" Shalen''s inviting gestures froze in their ces when she heard a guttural voice that was directed at her. She looked in the direction of that voice and found it to being from an eagle who was busy eating chunks of meat. Shalen was aware of Eren''s demon beast. But she assumed that the beast wouldn''t react to anything until it was toote. She stared at the beast and tried to open her mouth to say something to him. But no words came out. "What you looking at? Master''s gon take you to the chop-chop shop, bitch." Argo started drooling from his beak as heid his eyes on Shalen. He wasn''t as skilled at hiding his emotions as his master. "Aaah! Forgive me, Shalen. This damn bird doesn''t understand what he is talking about half the time." Eren apologized to Shalen and recalled Argo back into his beast space. He was very angry at the beast for ratting him out. The wretched thing was eager to have the taste of live flesh. The assassin was temporarily thrown off bnce by Argo''s intervention. She cursed the beast in her head for calling her a bitch. However, she needed to get back into her role to reap the most rewards from the job. As such, she could only smile and let things slide off before responding. "I guess the rumors were true. He indeed has a foul mouth. Never mind that, Eren. Now we have this ce to ourselves." Shalen walked towards the plush king-sized bed as she said. Shey on her left side and looked at Eren. She gestured for Eren toe close to her with her free hand before speaking up. "Come, Eren. I''d have to pay my benefactor somehow." Shalen''s voice became seductive as she called out to Eren. Thetter''s eyes had a hint of lust in them as he epted her invitation. Lightning struck and Eren got on the bed beside Shalen. He ced his hand over her right cheek and started caressing it. "I ept your payment, Shalen Craft." Eren said before getting on top of the assassin. He started bringing his lips closer to hers while maintaining eye contact with her. ''Sweet dreams, Eren Elijah Idril.'' Shalen said to herself as she wrapped her arms around Eren. She started caressing Eren''s back with one hand. A runic dagger had appeared in her other hand. But somehow her body froze just when the tip of the dagger was about to touch the butcher''s back. Shalen saw Eren''s emerald eyes turn white. She was too stunned to say or do anything because she was subjected to his Ability. Sedating Gaze! Eren turned his arm unnaturally like a whip and took hold of Shalen''s dagger. He smiled before driving the dagger deep into her heart with almost no resistance from her. The butcher twisted the dagger inside before destroying the organpletely. He sealed the wound using his mana and prevented blood from escaping. He then pulled out the dagger before sitting upright on Shalen''s crotch. A no-mess kill just like Shalen wanted. Except for the fact that it was her that got killed. Shalen could do nothing to prevent herself from getting killed. She could say nothing. The only thing she could do was stare at Eren in shock and disbelief. She couldn''t believe that the butcher had managed to see through her act. The butcher sighed before responding to her thoughts in a sad tone. "Haah! Your act was wless, Shali. It''s just that I had the unfair advantage of seeing the trap from miles away because it was initiated by you." Chapter 861 Eradicating Sienna’s Group "Haah! Your act was wless, Shali. It''s just that I had the unfair advantage of seeing the trap from miles away because it was initiated by you." Shalen was still subjected to Eren''s Ability when he pierced and destroyed her heart. As a result, she couldn''t even contact the joint force and inform them of her dire situation. The assassin was most shocked by Eren''s way of addressing her. Reva Rain sometimes refers to her as Shali. She didn''t think even most members of the Escalon guild would know about the fact. Eren read her emotions and smiled mildly. He wiped her dagger on her floral dress and tainted the floral pattern over it with her blood beforementing. "Don''t worry. Soon, I''ll send all those who are involved with you your way. So that you have somepany. And when the timees, I''ll even send your mentor to apany you. So that you can carry on with your training in the afterlife. Is that enough? Lights out then!" Eren let his injected mana turn into ice shards and pierce Shalen''s internal organs. At the same time, he healed Shalen''s wound using a healing potion and closed it for good. Shalen died with her eyes wide open. With no signs of injury on her body. No mangling of organs. No chopping off limbs. Just a simple and rtively peaceful death. She died with such serenity that her mana circuits were still active and alive. Her body was passively trying to heal the damaged organs even though there was no soul left in the body anymore. "Kiyeeh!" Argo reappeared on Eren''s bed and let out a joyful eagle cry. He pped his wings and was about to yank Shalen''s eyes out when he was stopped by Eren. "Don''t. We have some use for her. Alephee, are you free?" Eren called out to Alephee. And thetter appeared in the room a moment afterward. The butcher knew what she was working on. So he decided to test the brand-new spell she had added to her grimoire. *** Under the guise of an istion array, various groups of the joint force silently followed the caravan. By this point, they had been following Eren for well over an hour. "Why is she taking this long? Is she doing her job or enjoying herself?" Siennamented as she watched the spectral disy that showed the caravan traversing the forest at a rapid pace. She felt irritated that she had to do this kind of menial work to please Sebastian Slughorn. Furthermore, there was no update from Shalen after she had been invited inside the caravan by Eren. It was almost like she had forgotten about the mission after getting in. Regan was about to say something to Sienna when he saw that the caravan wasing to a halt on the spectral screen floating in front of him. He coordinated with the rest of the members of the joint force and confirmed that Shalen hadn''t contacted any of them regarding the update. "Hm? She got out?" Regan raised his eyebrows when he saw Shalen and Erening out of the caravan. He saw that Shalen got hugged by Eren the next moment. He then nted a peck on her cheek and said a few things to her before boarding the caravan once again. "What the fuck is going on? Why is sheing out? The n was to injure him in the caravan and then attack him along with the entire caravan?" Sienna registered herint about Shalen''s abrupt n change. Regan had a frown on his face as well. However, he decided to figure things out before passing judgment. And since he was nearer to Shalen than the other groups, he decided to approach and get things straight from the horse''s mouth. The caravan sped away. Regan waited for a few more moments before breaking the istion barrier and approaching Shalen. "Miss Shalen, what happened? We were waiting for you to give us a sign.." As he walked towards Shalen, Reganined to her. Shalen turned towards him and looked at him with deadpan expressions and lifeless eyes. Regan''s first thought was that Shalen had heard something very grim from Eren that made her reconsider attacking him. Maybe she had learned about the security detail he was carrying and wanted to call off the attack on Eren. However, in the next moment, he felt two distinct mana pulses getting spread at the same time. Two spells were executed in tandem at that time. One belonged to Shalen and the other had a mysterious origin. Regan processed this information subconsciously in his head. But his tactical brain was slow to catch up. And he was about to pay the price for letting his guard down around Shalen just because she was supposed to be his ally. Swoosh. Zoom. Pierce. Regan found his vision obstructed because Shalen suddenly appeared in front of him. Then he noticed a sharp pain in his chest. He didn''t understand what had transpired. So he looked below him where his heart was and found out that it had been pierced by Shalen''s dagger. Another distinct mana pulse spread as Shalen''s dead body cast another assassination-rted spell. Her hand blurred and the weapon she was holding turned into smoke. "You" Regan couldn''t even register the shock and horror he felt at the time. Shalen''s agile attack severed his head from his body before he could do so. Regan was killed by Shalen''s corpse just like that. This was the second prominent casualty the joint force had among its members. Shalen didn''t stop there. She had already disappeared from her position before Regan''s chopped head fell to the ground. "Aaaaaargh!" "Why" "Heeeeeeeek" As Shalen chopped the members of House Slughorn, cries erupted around Sienna. The assassin killed everyone she came into contact with using her assassination skills and spells. She didn''t care about the attacks she received in the process. "What what the fuck is happening?" Sienna mumbled to herself grimly as the rankers around her started dropping on the floor like flies. She turned around and saw a fountain of blood everywhere. Chapter 862 Corpse Dance The n was to flush out Eren and his security detail from the caravan. Instead, what came out was a nightmare nobody was expecting. At least not Sienna who hadn''t seen anyone fight this seriously on the battlefield before. "Aaaaaaaaah!" Sienna cried in horror when she saw the rankers under her control getting butchered by Shalen. But her cries were halted midway and she turned silent. In the next moment, her vision darkened and she lost consciousness. The butcher had appeared at the crime scene. He raised his arm and grabbed Sienna''s shoulder before she could drop to the ground. "Who let this bitch on the battlefield? Are they trying to get rid of her?" Eren said as he manifested Rigor Mortis in his free hand. He also felt that it was downright insulting for him to battle someone like Sienna who was nothing but a mass of everything that was wrong with rankers'' society. One could say that he was lowkey trying to get better rankers for his own ambush. Eren charged lightning-element Shamshir with his mana before swinging it in front of him. Some more blood work ensued as the sword cut through flesh and bones without any resistance. Like a hot knife cutting through butter. The butcher chopped off Sienna''s limbs casually. He overwhelmed her panicked and horrified consciousness with his soul sense and forced her to lose consciousness once again. The lightning mana also cauterized the wounds right away. "Why not set her free from the world of the living?" Alephee appeared beside Eren and asked. Thetter pointed at the tattoo below her neck on her back. Alephee raised her eyebrows before nodding her head. By the time a limbless Sienna was taken hostage by Eren, Shalen had killed the rest of the rankers from House Slughorn. She had done this with extreme precision and minimal mess. Eren smirked when Shalen''s corpse stood in front of him and Alephee. It was as if the dead assassin was waiting for her nextmand. She was injured a bit by the Slughorn rankers'' retaliation. But overall she was fine. Eren threw another healing potion toward Shalen and let the vial burst before it could hit her. The healing potion was administered to the corpse in spray form, allowing the dead body to recover from the wounds it had received. "You have made a perfect killing machine with your new spell, Alephee." Eren looked at Shalen''s corpse standing in front of him like a mindless android andmented. The homunculus wasn''t too happy with the results she had gotten on her first try though. "Hmm. Corpse Dance is still not as effective as I wanted it to be for my vessel''s current rank. You can tell something''s wrong with her by looking at her face. I tried rewinding time to see her expressions when she smiled or felt stressed. But such minute actions were taxing on my consciousness to perform while operating on her body. So I had to let go of controlling her facial expressions." Alepheemented before controlling her human doll using her grimoire. In the next moment, Shalen channeled her mana and got rid of the blood on her weapon and her body. Corpse Dance was Alephee''s time-element spell that allowed her to take control of the corpse that had just died. It allowed her to rewind and rey the actions the person had performed in their life at least once. The corpse was able to perform any action it had previously performed at least once while it was alive. This spell''s action rewind had its limitations, however. And the limitations would increase over time after the corpse''s death. But nobody cared about a corpse''s well-being anyway. Shalen had performed a lot of assassinations in her life. Thus, Alephee was able to use her corpse for their work. She wasn''tpletely satisfied with the results she had obtained. But for now, she gave herself a passing grade. Alphee''s spell only worked so well because of Eren''s way of killing Shalen. Most of her body was preserved, and the homunculus was able to perform pre-spell work on it. The butcher let Sienna fall to the ground when he realized that the Slughorn group was done for. He then gestured at Alephee without saying a word. The homunculus understood her assignment right away. She bent down and ced her hand over the tattoo Sienna had on her back. She then woke the potioner up and forcefully controlled her consciousness to activate the tattoo. In the next moment, the istion array around the surrounding region was manifested once again. The ethereal dome masked the view, mana signatures, mana fluctuations, and even the smell of blood in the surrounding area. The outsider couldn''t see, smell, or feel anything from outside the istion array. Nothing but an unobstructed view of the surroundings greeted potential onlookers. The butcher had used the joint force''s tools against them. He covered up the crime scene with little effort. All so that he could make more of them with greater ease. *** "Something is wrong. I can''t contact Shalen, Sienna, or Regan." Oslo told the members of his team. The Escalon guild members were also following his lead in Shalen''s absence. The Escalon guild members looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders. They just kept following Oslo who was now approaching Regan''s group from a different direction. The moving caravan could always be followed afterward. So he wasn''t too worried about Eren getting away from their trap. Just when Oslo thought of reorganizing the entire joint force in one ce and deciding the next course of action, he saw Shalen standing in the middle of nowhere. She was all by herself. Oslo decided to quickly approach the assassin to find out what was going on at the time. "Shalen, can you tell me what''s wrong? Why aren''t you answering your voicemunication? Regan and Sienna have also dropped off the grid. We don''t even know where they are anymore." Oslo asked in a concerned voice. He wore serious expressions and a vignt gaze as he asked the question. However, all he received in response was a life-threatening attack aimed at him. That too by some from the same team as him. Chapter 863 Making An Owl Out Of Oslo "You fucking wh" Oslo tried to get away from Shalen as soon as he felt a threating from her. Unlike Regan who was old and Sienna who was inexperienced, the masked man was a veteran ranker. His response time to the threats was on another level. However, Shalen''s assassination skills weren''t just for the show. She quickly morphed a crossbow into existence and loaded it with a bunch of elemental arrows. Raise. Aim. Shoot. The assassin fired a volley of arrows with no arrowheads. Using his movement spell and partially deployed defense shield, the masked man dodged them. However, he was still shot by elemental arrows that duplicated themselves in the air. The arrows without arrowheads were thin and had significant piercing potential. Shalen had targeted Oslo''s vulnerable points with her mid-range attacks. As a result, most of the arrows targeted his face, heart, groin, and other things. The arrows aimed at Oslo''s face were deflected by the metallic mask he was wearing. But some arrows managed to get around it. "Aaaaargh!" Oslo screamed in pain when one of Shalen''s elemental arrows hit his ear. It had prated past the mana defenseyer and attacked the inside of the ear canal. Oslo''s ear started bleeding right away and his hearing was affected. The assassin also targeted members of the Escalon guild with her arrows. She also sent shrapnel attacks using her weapon arts, keeping the members from approaching her and Oslo. Shalen managed to kill some of the Ace-ranked members right away. There were only two newly entered Adept rank holders apart from her and Oslo in this group. They all managed to stay alive from her unrelenting attacks. Shalen fought and attacked like she didn''t want to live past today. Escalon members got in the way while following Oslo. Slowly but surely, she began to kill and injure many rankers of the Escalon guild and Demonimir''s faction. She also received various serious wounds in return. But the assassin fought like the undead, using her opponent''s attacks as self-sabotagingunching pads for her counters. Shalen''s nose was chopped off. Her entire right cheek was shaved off, exposing her white denture for all to see. She also lost her left breast in one of the attacks and her right leg was pierced with arrows and bullet-like shrapnel. Yet, Shalen was not done with her onught. Her image blurred as she appeared right behind the escaping Oslo. She got into striking distance and attacked Oslo without any fear for her safety. "I''ll fucking kill you." Oslo was angered by Shalen''s persistent attacks without any exnation. Using his pair of short swords, he tackled the dagger pointed at his neck. She swung around and tried to sever Oslo''s liver with her next jab. However, Oslo managed to parry that attack too. Swoosh. Zoom. Chop. The masked man chopped Shalen''s finger by changing his attack pattern all of a sudden. Shalen''s grip on the dagger was lost because there were no fingers for her to grip the dagger''s hilt with. However, instead of showing any sign of pain and misery, the assassin used the same hand to defend Oslo''s next attack. Her hand was then severed from her wrist. However, Oslo received another shock when he found out that his kidney was pierced from behind him. Shalen managed to use the dropped dagger by holding it between the first and second toes of her right leg. She held the dagger by its de. Due to her inability to control her mana defenseyer, she was injured by her dagger. The wound made her right leg sputter blood. However, when she swung her feet and managed to hit Oslo, the dagger pierced his defenseyer and damaged his kidney. "Aaaaaaargh!" Oslo was horrified behind his mask. The pain overwhelmed him. He hadn''t even managed to deploy any of his spells in peace. Nobody in his team had managed to do so. And yet, they were all either injured or killed. Shalen''s image blurred once again. She appeared behind Oslo once again. Thetter used his spell to bind her remaining limbs using elemental chains. But Shalen managed to hurt him by gripping the lodged dagger in her mouth. She used her legs and a movement spell to jump high after gripping the dagger in her mouth. In doing so, she tore through Oslo''s back with her vertical wound. Boom! Boom! Boom! Shalen finally pushed away from Oslo when an adept ranker from his team managed to cast his spell in peace. He created wind-element fists using his spell and sent Shalen flying away from Oslo. The barrage of fists was so intense that they created a boom effect every time they hit their target. "Lord Oslo, are you alright?" Two Adepts appeared beside Oslo. They wore grim expressions on their faces as they processed the mayhem Shalen had caused for them. Her sudden attacks had taken everyone by surprise, resulting in heavy casualties. Shalennded a few meters away from the trio, looking at them with the same deadpan expression. Even the heavy blood loss she was experiencing at the time wasn''t enough to slow her down. Her attacks had be less effective because of her injuries. But she made up for them with her kamikaze attitude. "Worry about my well-beingter. Give me that healing potion, quick." He demanded that his team members hand him Ice Fairy''s Kiss, which they had bought only a few days before. One of the rankers who was standing beside him nodded his head and took out a White Raven healing potion. Shalen had kept quiet for some reason after she stopped her campaign against Oslo. She stood at a weird angle and tightened her jaw grip on the dagger. It was as if she was waiting for something. Oslo didn''t want to find out what Shalen was waiting for. He decided to act and was about to gulp the healing potion down when his vision changed 180 degrees all of a sudden. Oslo''s head was turned at an unnatural angle by someone who had appeared behind him like a ghost. Chapter 864 “In The End, We Only Regret The Chances We Didn’t Take” Oslo''s head was turned at an unnatural angle by someone who had appeared behind him like a ghost. Oslo saw that the young man had shoulder-length voluminous ck hair. His green eyes stared at him pensively. As if he was thinking about what he would have for dinner tonight. "You" Oslo eximed. Due to his twisted vocal cords, his voice sounded odd and unusual. His eyes had be red because of the blood flow trying to burst his head. "Yes. Me." Eren replied nonchntly before turning Oslo''s head in a clockwise direction again,pleting a 360-degree round motion. The skin of Oslo''s neck tore because it was strained to such a degree. His neck got smaller because of the twist and started looking like he had been choked by a harness. Oslo closed his eyes forever when he got to see Shalen once again. He could only process the fact that he had been killed by his target. Eren took hold of the Ice Fairy''s Kiss from Oslo''s hand before pushing his dead body to the ground. He shook the contents of the vial gently and observed its shade beforementing to himself. ''Oh! They managed to get my premium-grade products for their use. Heh! They wanted to battle me using my products, it seems. Bite the hand that feeds you, won''t you?'' Eren chuckled at the thought of facing the repercussions of his potions''mercialization. He watched as Oslo''s body fell t on his face. "Aaaaaaah! Lord Oslo!" Aqua des! Eren used a water-element Adept-ranked sword tounch a series of flying shes at the remaining two rankers. One of them managed to get away in time. But the other ranker had to deal with Eren''s powerful water-element attacks tearing through the air at breakneck speeds. Theynded on his torso all at once and injured him severely. The injured Adept ranker didn''t even stand a chance to put up a defensive front against Eren''s attacks. It was like the chasm between his Adept rank and Eren''s Adept rank was so big that no defensive measure could put up a front. His life was cut short by a series of surprise attacks coupled with Eren''s profound elemental attainment. Thest remaining Adept ranker watched as Oslo''s entire team was destroyed in less than a minute. He was too stunned to speak and felt fear. He just wanted to get away from the carnage that unfolded all around him. He wished he could start his day over without this quest. ''Maybe I should have asked her out.'' That''s what thest ranker thought before Shalen closed in on him andunched her attack from behind. One had to say he died rtively peacefully as he didn''t put up resistance and his head was chopped clean off by Shalen''s dagger. "In the end, we only regret the chances we didn''t take." Eren sighed as he watched the ranker''s body drop to the ground. He scrunched his nose before looking at Shalen. "She''s damaged goods, isn''t she?" Alephee appeared beside Eren and nodded at his judgment. "She can still be helpful if you use that thing on her. Meanwhile, I''ll get the recement doll ready for the Corpse Dance." Alephee pointed at the vial of Ice Fairy''s Kiss Eren was holding before approaching Oslo''s corpse. She stood over the masked man''s body and started chanting something inaudibly from her grimoire. It appeared she was trying to use Oslo''s body in the same way she used Shalen''s. It looked like she was about to have some difficulties maintaining Corpse Dance for two Adept rankers. However, things were still manageable since Shalen wouldn''t hold out for long. Oslo''s body was not ideal for Corpse Dance since it looked like Eren had damaged it too severely. And Alephee could understand why. Eren didn''t underestimate Oslo even when he was inplete control of the situation. A prominent ranker in Demonmir''s faction certainly had some tricks up his sleeves. He died easily because he was caught off guard. Thus, Alephee didn''t criticize Eren''s way of prioritizing safety over getting a better human doll. Eren threw the vial of Ice Fairy''s Kiss at Shalen, who caught it in her partially exposed denture. She lifted her neck and let the contents of the vial enter her body. Alephee was done with her ritual of making a human doll. Then she made Oslo use his array tattoo to erect an istion barrier over a second crime scene. *** ''Goro, how far away are you from Oslo''s team?'' Goro heard a voice through his voicemunication channel. He knew it belonged to Nico ChainsC the condor-type demon beast owner from Demonmir''s faction. Nico was waiting at a distance from Goro and the other teams at the time. If and when Eren used his demon beast to fly through the journey, Nico was supposed to intercept him using his mount. As such he wasn''t involved in the groups that were assigned to attack Eren. ''Hmm? Not that far, Sir Nico. We are all following the caravan at a set distance from each other. What happened? Did Eren make his move?'' Goro asked Nico while traversing through the forest using his movement spell, maintaining a safe distance from the caravan''s current location. ''I am not sure about Eren making his move. But I have lost contact with Oslo''s team. The istion array tattoo we are using for this job is not that reliable. Especially when ites to maintaining voicemunication. Plus, Oslo is not well versed in maintaining arrays.'' Goro understood what Nico was getting at and replied to him right away. ''I''ll check on Oslo right away, Sir Nico. Even if Eren has attacked, I refuse to believe that we couldn''t even hear a peep from any of the groups that have dropped off the grid. So a malfunction of the istion array would be the most likely scenario. However, it is better to be safe than sorry. I''ll keep you posted. Prepare toe here if and when I call you.'' Goro said as he marched towards Oslo''s group. Unaware of the fact that Eren had managed to pull off the exact thing he deemed impossible in his eyes. Chapter 865 Discarding A Human Doll With RDX Goro thought it odd that Oslo was standing outside the istion barrier. As if he was waiting for him. "Oslo, why are you stopping here instead of approaching the caravan?" As Goro watched his surroundings, he asked Oslo. He felt and sensed something odd about the situation. He just couldn''t put a finger on what. Meanwhile, the female ranker that was part of Goro''s team led the rest of the rankers behind Goro. She approached a pensive-looking Shalen with a gloating expression on her face. "It seems you bit off more than you could chew with Adept Eren and changed your ns. Were you too scared of attacking him all by yourself?" This female was also a member of the Escalon guild. Her name was Tia Tarheel. She was the one who kept Goropany during those nine days and suggested he stay put. Tia looked to be in her early 20s. Turquoise hair, off-red eyes, and slightly chubby cheeks. Tia was an elf and as such had beautiful feminine features. Tia wore a skimpy dress that didn''t have a hint of defensiveness. Her defensey on the fact that she was a ranger and liked to keep a distance from her foes. Unlike Shalen, she was the official member of the guild. She was in charge of rankers from her guild as well as that of House Remus that hade with Goro Jaan Remus. Shalen was staring down at her feet when Tia approached her. The former looked up and looked into the elf''s eyes before casting her spell. Warning signals sounded off in Goro''s head as he felt Shalen making her move. Being a necromancer, he could now tell that Shalen was nothing but a corpse with active mana circuits at this point. Someone else was making her body do things under their orders. "Tia no. Keep the fuck away from her." Goro tried to warn Tia. However, after Oslo made his move, he became preupied with his fight. The masked man drew his two short swords and sent wind-element attacks his way before blocking his retreat with the wind des approaching from behind Goro. Tia didn''t understand what was going on at first. Goro''s scream actually threw her off her pace instead of making her aware of her situation. Shalen managed to close in on her quickly before attacking her with her daggers. "This bitch!" Tia Taheel immediately ordered the rankers that were with her to attack Shalen without worrying about the consequences. The girl was an eyesore for her anyway because she wanted to have Reva Rain as her mentor by taking Shalen''s ce. Of course, Tia was yet to be made aware of the fact that Shalen was already dead. Shalen managed to hurt Tia even after thetter defended herself with her spear and water-element defense spells. Only now did Tia understand why Reva preferred mentoring Shalen over her. The assassin was very proficient in her ss. However, Tia wasn''t to be underestimated either. Especially when she had the number advantage. Boom. Boom. Boom. Shalen was hit with various types of elemental spells and flying weapon attacks all at once. The assassin tried to defend herself with her movement spell. But she wasn''t as agile as she was before the fight began. Tia watched in shock as Shalen kept on following her even after being bombarded with so many attacks. She lost some of her flesh, her waist was nearly chopped off, and her heart had been pierced. But Shalen didn''t even utter a word as she kept onunching flying shes at the escaping Tia Tarheel. "What is wrong with this fucking" Just when Tia felt befuddled by Shalen''s behavior, she heard Goro''s voiceing from a distance. "She''s dead. Oslo is also dead. Somebody''s controlling the corpses. Stay on guard and watch for any sneak moves." Tia was stunned when she heard Goro''s exnation. She could have never guessed that Eren''s team would also have someone with necromancy-like spells. Tia''s movement spell was impable. She managed to keep Shalen away from herself. Meanwhile, she coordinated with her team andunched a systematic attack on Shalen who seemed to be running on fumes. *** Eren was looking at the fight unfolding in front of him using an array disk that showed the scene on a spectral screen, providing an eagle-eye view of the battlefield. It was the same array disk Eren had taken from Oslo. He could lip-read Goro and Tia''s speech and understood that they were both made aware of his trick of hunting the joint force. "So they know that both Oslo and Shalen are dead. They are not trying to test the waters or get close to them. I guess every act has an expiration date." Eren wasn''t too bothered by the fact that his jig was up. He sessfully eliminated two groups of rankers using the same trick. It just so happened that Goro managed to see through things because of his necromancer ss. "Hmm. Time to discard a doll." Alephee who stood beside Eren gave him a suggestion. Thetter nodded and gave her a go. The homunculus closed her eyes and operated on the corpse named Shalen using her Corpse Dance. In the next moment, Shalen started her suicide attack. *** Tia watched with a smirk as Shalen''s body was getting destroyed by the moment. She kept on following her and trying to confront any ranker that came her way. She had injured and killed a few rankers. But they were all Novice-ranked members who Tia didn''t value as much anyway. Tia decided to use herself as bait to pin Shalen and finish her for good. Shalen''s actions told her that the human doll was programmed to prioritize her as the target of her attacks. So Tia decided to use that against Shalen and the one who was controlling her. Tia wanted to get rid of Shalen anyway. And the fact that she had been killed by the enemy and used as a human doll gave her a valid excuse to do so. She was sure that Reva Rain wouldn''t be angry with her for offering eternal peace to Shalen''s body. "Let''s get close and finish her off." Tia and her team encircled Shalen and approached her. Unfortunately for them, Alephee activated the RDX hidden inside Shalen''s body at the same time. Chapter 866 Ever-Prosperous Domain Of Death Boom! A brilliant detonation took ce. In the ensuing darkness, the explosion lit up the atmosphere and diverted it away from the battlefield. Shalen detonated the RDX hidden inside her body. Tia Taheel and her group of rankers were caught in the st because of the suddenness of the attack. They thought that they were finishing off Shalen when it was the other way around. "Aaaargh!" Tia managed to escape the st somehow. In the moment of life and death, she used the ranker beside her as a meat shield. She let the Adept-ranked ranker from her guild die to escape the sudden death sentence she was subjected to. *** Even Goro was stunned as he felt the st behind him. He was buying his time fighting because he didn''t want to fight all out against a human doll. After all, he didn''t want to fall prey to the follow-up attacks of the masterminds behind this thing. However, he looked at Oslo''s body with vignce when Shalen detonated herself. He estimated that Eren and his team could use the same trick to get to him as well. It was already toote to save Tia and the others. Goro knew that his retreat from Oslo could be used against him. So he focused on Oslo and decided to use his main spells. Oslo had been using various artifacts against Goro to gain an edge. He could tell that Oslo''s battle prowess had beenpromised. But his corpse made up for it using various alchemy items that enhanced his speed, agility, attacking powers, and spell potency. It was also to be noted that Goro was very skilled at handling his chained sword even though he was a full-fledged summoner. The guy wasn''t a ss cannon like most summoners get tagged with. He could handle himself mana-e-mano against anyone of his rank without using his summoning spells. Goro wanted to y it safe. But the st of RDX changed things for him. He crouched and touched the ground with both his palms before casting his summoning spell. Army of the dead! Goro cast his summoning spell before fleeing from the approaching Oslo. As Goro''s spell took effect, a distinct death-like mana pulse spread throughout the area. A death miasma was summoned into existence. The sounds of the ground cracking at various ces and bone breaking could be heard. Oslo was soon surrounded by the newly formed skeletons of humanoids and mana beasts. Skreeeee! The undead attacked Oslo as soon as they were summoned. Some even started attacking him while the white bones that served as their mortal shells were still manifesting. The bones creaked and the sounds of twig snappings could be heard as one form of undead fought with another form of undead chasing him in a group. Goro stopped running when he had established a sufficient distance from Oslo. He raised his hands to operate on his summoned creatures. Some of them started attacking the human doll with fire-element spells. Some skeletonsunched wind-element attacks at him. Goro was merely the medium for the creatures'' spells. His necromancer ss allowed him to summon the dead rankers'' mortal forms. Some of the skeletons he had summoned belonged to the rankers he had chosen for himself and saved their mana signatures in his collection. And some skeletons belonged to rankers and mana beasts who had died in the vicinity. The bones and dead flesh over the skeletons were formed into existence using Goro''s necromancer mana. Depending on when the summoned creature died, the quality of its summoned form will vary. The more recent the death, the better the resurrected creature''s quality will be. Most of the summoned creatures were recently deceased members of Goro''s team. The detonation of the RDX had got them good. But it looked like their job wasn''t over. Goro did not have any remorse for using his members as his summoned creatures. He felt that they should feel honored because he was punishing the reason for their death using their summoned forms. Of course, Goro could not summon the forms of Shalen and Oslo even when they had technically died. He figured that was because of something their handler had done to them. Goro was excited. Fighting a summoner was already rare. He felt even more confident about the possibility of fighting a necromancer. The guy assumed that the things Alephee had done to Shalen and Oslo''s bodies were a form of necromancy. Even if she was not a summoner and belonged to a different ss of necromancy, Goro was looking forward to her arrival on the battlefield. Necromancy wasn''t a very popr subject on the continent of Anfang. It was considered a cultist path by most establishments and as such there were severe restrictions on its use. Of course, the normal rules didn''t apply to a prominent organization like that of House Remus. Still, it was very difficult for Goro to acquire knowledge regarding necromancy and train himself in it. If it wasn''t for his mentor, he would have given up on pursuing the path. Goro kept on progressing his knowledge as a necromancer by mixing himself with cultist organizations and studying old paths of magic in the shadows. He mostly kept to himself and rarely left his n''s estate. House Remus would only use him when they wanted tounch purging missions against a group of people it found ufortable to deal with using normal methods. Goro acted as the n''s cleaner. In return, he was provided with security and resources by his n. After attaining the Adept rank, he truly started to see the limitless potential of his ss. It looked like he could cast any elemental spell if he managed to summon the right undead. The most remarkable thing about his ss was the fact that no matter which side was subjected to casualties, he could use it to increase his battle potential. Recent deaths on the battlefield gave him a huge boost. The more carnage on the battlefield, the more prosperous Goro''s domain of death would be. Chapter 867 “Being A Little Cocky Is A Form Of Self-Confidence” Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Oslo tried to defend himself against the undead that had encircled him. But there was only so much a human doll could do when it was faced with so many attacks simultaneously. Despite his defensive measures, he was attacked multiple times. These attacks managed to harm Oslo''s body in such a way that by the time Oslo managed to get out of the trap, his body was bleeding and mangled in various ces. Goro watched as his opponent got beaten by his summons in the distance. The necromancer figured out that the operators behind the human doll would show themselves soon. *** Tia let the Adept-ranked ranker from her guild die to escape the sudden death sentence she was subjected to. However, she wasn''t totally unscathed from the sudden attackunched on her and her entire group by Shalen blowing herself up. As a result, the ranger elf was angry at Eren and his supposed security detail. She was angry at herself as well for letting her guard down. A ranger like her shouldn''t have tried to handle things on a personal level in the first ce, no matter how the situation influenced her to do so. Tia created a distance from ground zero of the explosion. The mes had stopped expanding. However, there was still a strong cloud of mes in the area, ensuring that those who had died in the explosion would be crematedpletely. There were a few people other than Tia who had managed to get out of the RDX trap Eren and Alephee had ced for them. In addition to being severely injured, they also suffered various burns all over their bodies. RDX detonation didn''t just affect rankers. The elemental fusion involved in the detonation also affected the surroundings, making it difficult for rankers to cast any spell rted to fire or light for some time. Only rankers with sufficient elemental attainment could cast such spells normally without getting impacted by the turmoil caused by the surrounding mana. Tia and her team members looked at each other and decided to group together. They knew that their problems didn''t vanish because Shalen Craft was sted away. The main yers behind the detonation were about to show up. Things were bound to get even more difficult for them because of their injuries. So Tia and her team members started to go towards Goro who was also almost done with his opponent. Goro didn''t make any rash decisions. But Tia and her team created a slight loophole in their defense by collectively deciding to join Goro. The butcher would never pass up an opportunity like that. All of a sudden, warning bells rang in Tia''s head as she sensed someone had appeared behind her out of thin air. She executed her movement spell right away while using the defensive artifact on her. The space-element ring she was wearing tried to alter the space around her to save her from imminent attacks. Eren appeared behind Tia in the blink of an eye. He attacked her using Rigor Mortis. But since space was twisted around her, his attacknded on the back of her right thigh instead of her neck. A huge chunk of meat was severed from Tia''s right leg when Eren attacked her from behind. A huge scream filled with pain resounded in the distance as Tia vanished from her spot and appeared at a distance from Eren. The space around Eren was twisted and Alephee appeared beside him. The Perfect Paradox had allowed her to copy all of Eren''s spells after all. "Eren Idril!" Tia spoke Eren''s name in a voice coated in hatefulness and agony when her eyesnded on him. She acted like it was his fault for not retaliating against their ambush. "That''s me. Flesh and soul." Eren said this as he was removing blood stains from his sword with the help of his lightning mana. After the blood evaporated, the sword was good as new and could be used right away for more chopping and killing. Eren smiled subtly at Tia before speaking up. "I would have said, "nice to meet you". But I don''t think you would reciprocate my feelings, even if they are superficial on both sides. And I refuse to invest in something that gives me zero return. So I''ll just greet you by waving my hand like this." Eren waved his free hand at Tia with a sophisticated smile on his face. There was a look on the butcher''s face as if he was greeting an acquaintance after a long time. Tia felt extreme pain because of the injuries inflicted on her body. The burn wounds from the RDX detonation hadn''t healedpletely. After the sword sh Eren inflicted on her, she suffered even more. It cauterized the wound partially while ensuring that it bled at a consistent pace. It made her suffer from a foreign mana invasion. And the surprise attack made her more apprehensive about Eren''s sudden presence. "Don''t don''t get cocky Eren Idril. You and your forces will soon meet a just end. I have already informed the other groups. It''s only a matter of time before they all arrive here and" Tia attempted to motivate herself by giving Eren unfounded threats. Too bad thetter wasn''t in the mood to entertain her on that front. Blink! Swoosh. Zoom. Chop. Eren chopped Tia vertically while she was trying to intimidate him. She was still looking at Eren''s previous position when Eren''s vertical chopnded on her. Tia was still using a defensive artifact on her. Thus, Eren''s random attack turned into a vertical chop before it managed to break free from spatial restrictions and split her into two. The two chopped pierces of Tia''s body were uneven in nature because the attack was jagged in the middle. "It''s fine to get a little cocky, Miss. It''s a form of self-confidence. You just have to earn the right to get cocky about it." Eren said a few words to Tia''s body nonchntly. The elf''s body spilled guts, kidneys, and other internal organs onto the ground as well as blood. Her good-looking body was no longer good-looking. Eren turned around to find that Alephee had moved on to taking care of the rest of the injured rankers. He looked at the scene with impartial vision beforementing. "Heh! Done already? This is why I love bombing people. A huge mess, but with instant results. I should try carpet bombing next time." The terrorist decided to terrorize his potential victims even more in the future by stepping up his bombing game. Chapter 868 Making A Habit Out Of Using Human Dolls As Suicide Bombers Eren was very impressed with the effects of RDX. He had faced fewer troubles dealing with Goro''s team because of the detonation. All it needed was for him to finish the job. And that''s what he did after appearing at the scene. What Eren detonated was not amercially avable product but something he had hidden from market exposure. It packed twice the destructive power at the cost of making manufacturing more difficult. Alephee took care of thest ranker in the vicinity before appearing beside Eren. She pointed toward where Goro was fighting Oslo andmented. "Hmm. Everyone''s done for here except one. That Adept managed to run off." Eren raised his eyebrows at Alephee''sment and got confused. That''s because he saw nobody in the vicinity. He then used his soul sense to realize that a ranker in his early 40s was employing a unique artifact to make himself invisible to the naked eyes and mana sense. He used the artifact on himself as soon as the RDX detonation took ce and stayed away from the conflict. Eren had to say that most of the rankers from the ambush teams hade equipped with a lot of unique and useful resources. Having a strong backer behind them really served them well. Initially, the invisible man nned to sneak attack Eren with his artifact. But he changed his mind as soon as he saw what Eren had done to Tia. He immediately ran at full speed towards Goro, trying to seek shelter in the necromancer''s presence. "Sir Goro wiped out. Our entire team is wiped out." The invisible man made himself visible after seeing Goro in his vision. Since Goro was keeping tabs on the whole scene, he didn''t need the man''s report anyway. But the man didn''t get a cue from Goro''s deadpan expressions. It could be said that the man was really intimidated by Eren''s presence. Oslo was badly beaten after fighting Goro''s summons. The human doll was about to be destroyed when it spotted an invisible maning toward Goro after abandoning his invisibility. In the next moment, Oslo disappeared from his ce only to appear behind the man with an invisibility-granting artifact. The human doll used whatever remained of its arms and legs to lock onto the panicked man. It then used the same strategy as Shalen and blew itself up. *** Once Eren discovered what Alephee''s spell could do, he thought of using human dolls as a way to target opponents. This way, attacks would be precise and rarely fail. And since the human dolls didn''t have normal consciousness and only worked on tactical logic, they were loyal to his bombing cause. The terrorist had found a convenient way to deliver his patented brand of detonation right at his enemy''s doorsteps. An eye-catching cloud of mes was birthed into existence once again as Oslo activated the RDX stored inside his body. It packed the same amount of punch as Shalen''s detonation, sending waves of heat and brilliance into the surroundings. All this happened while Goro watched from a distance. He didn''t try to save the man. Goro did not try to run away or approach Eren and Alephee carelessly either. He had seen what Eren''s Blink could do. Goro stood quietly in his ce as his eyes reflected the cloud of mes that was driving out the darkness. Since Oslo''s body was destroyed in the detonation, the istion barrier was lifted and he saw the carnage Eren had unleashed earlier on Oslo''s team. Goro''s expression turned grim when he saw Oslo''s team or what remained of it. He realized that Eren was screwing up the entire ambush team one by one. And that, too, in such a thorough manner that the remaining forces didn''t even hear a word of it. ''This... This is the work of a cold-blooded killer. And he has been getting his hands bloody personally. Our intel was wrong. There''s no security detail on him. He doesn''t need one.'' Goro narrowed his eyes as he thought to himself. He immediately discarded the assumption that Eren was being protected by his security detail. One look at his crime scene and keeping tabs on Tia''s situation earlier was enough for him to know how Eren must have done the job. ''Sir Nico. Change of ns. I don''t think Eren ns to run away from the ambush. Get here at my location. Everybody''s dead except Rehaal''s team. Your man Oslo also died just now.'' Goro immediately contacted Nico Chains and asked him toe to his location. The necromancer liked fighting stronger people. But he liked to have a cushion to fall back on in case things start to take turn for the worse. Goro immediately understood the threat Eren posed to him. He kept Nico in the loop of the events so that the condor-owning beast tamer would be on his way here. Meanwhile, Nico could try to bring Eren down all by himself. In case Eren bes too much for him to handle alone, he could rely on Nico by sticking to prolonging the fight. Eren appeared at a distance from Goro by the time thetter was done exining things to Nico. The necromancer also expected Nico to contact Rehaal''s team which was still chasing after the caravan. This is why Goro was not too worried about Eren''s appearance even after realizing his potential as a ranker. Eren and Goro entered a staring contest as soon as their eyes met. The butcher could tell that Goro had stopped moving randomly to counter his Blink. He was surrounded by loads of summoned creatures just waiting to get erupted from the ground. As such, Eren didn''t try to use the same trick on the necromancer as he was doing in his earlier fights. Goro looked at Eren and Alehee intently beforementing. "A lightning and fire element Adept who uses Blink like a proficient space-element ranker. And there are no records of him using Blink in any of his previous fights. That means he learned the spell recently. A closebat expert who became a dreadful assassin overnight just with the use of a single spell. Then he uses a necromancer and blows things up like he is getting paid for it. What kind of ranker can pull off something like this?" === AN: Eren starts using Blink in chapter 826. Also, a throwback tidbit. Eren was first referred to as a terrorist in chapter 124. ;) Chapter 869 Eren Vs Goro P1 "What kind of ranker can pull off something like this?" Goro asked as he cast his domain spell once again. Immediately, the summoned undead that he had used earlier was dispersed. And new ones emerged from the ground to rece them. One could see that the newly emerged undead were significantly better than the ones Goro had summoned earlier. It was clear that he was not nning to hold anything back against Eren. The summoned undead also included Tia and the rest of the rankers that had died with her at Alephee''s hands. The undeads were especially angry at the opponents in front of them. As if the hate they carried in their hearts while they were alive was passed onto them. ''One more summoner! And a necromancer at that. Just what I ordered. I see House Remus is providing expedited delivery services.'' Eren licked his lips as he thought to himself. He was excited to im Goro''s achievements for himself. And his excitement was getting reflected in the aura that was manifesting around him. Eren smirked before answering Goro''s question. "I am responding to your aggression in the way I see fit. You can''t me me if my way turns out to be like this. I never im tomit to a particr role. Consider all of this as my free-hand drawing. A way for me to express my freedom." Eren looked around himself as he said. In his eyes were images of two explosions, mangled bodies, chopped-off limbs, spilled-out internal body parts, and Goro''s undead creatures that had the same form as the rankers who had died because of him. Goro had goosebumps on his skin when he felt Eren''s presence. He felt like the brutality Eren had caused at the scene was just a trailer for what he had done in the past or what he would do in the future. Goro smiled when he felt the stress of fighting a stronger opponent. With Nico and Rehaal on their way to back him up, he had nothing to fear. He could truly enjoy his fight against someone of Eren''s caliber without worrying about the feasibility of the mission. "Oh? Do you have a backup? Eren raised his eyebrows as he read what Goro had on his mind. Thetter was shocked to the core by the fact that Eren read him like an open book. As he considered the possibility, his eyes widened. "You... soul sense!" Goro quickly took out a potion and drank the contents. He found it unbelievable that an Adept ranker had an awakened soul sense. But that didn''t stop him from taking preventive measures against it. Only now did Goro realize why he was being intimidated by Eren. It could also exin the ease with which he had killed the ambush team members simply by overwhelming their consciousness for a brief period. "You are more than you let on." Goro took a long breath and spoke. The potion strengthened his slumbering soul. It would not be affected by anyone''s soul sense for hours on end. He smiled wickedly at Eren beforementing. "That''s right, Eren Idril. We have an Expert ranker on Rehaal''s team. And a C-Rank demon beast tamer from Demonmir''s faction is alsoing this way. Plus, you have me. I don''t want to brag but I am a C-ranker. I can take you and that necromancer on at the same time using my summons." Goro narrowed his eyes at Eren and Alephee. He kept summoning more undead creatures in the meantime, making it seemingly harder for Eren to stand any chance against him. Alephee had displeasure written on her face. Eren looked at her and chuckled before responding to Goro. "First of all, she is not a necromancer. She says Anfang''s ss-based ranking status doesn''t apply to her. Second, your reinforcements don''t matter." Eren then looked at Alephee before saying. "Alephee, intercept that bastard Rehaal for me. I had told him to find another way to get to Rodrick. The numbnuts took that face down ass-backwards. Don''t kill them though. I have some ns regarding them." Alephee looked at Eren before nodding. She disappeared from her position and started approaching Rehaal''s team which was approaching from the northwest. Meanwhile, Argo appeared in front of Eren in his regr hybrid form. The demon beast was summoned for a reason. "You burn some fat and hold off that bird and his tamer froming here. I''ll cut your allowance if you can''t finish them before me. And reward you with some premium Har Jahar meat if you do." Eren said casually to Argo. Thetter pped his wings and released a domineering eagle cry before responding. "Bitches gon get stitches! Argo out." The hybrid demon beast started approaching Nico Chains who wasing from the northeast. It was sufficient to say that the half-animal half-bird liked red meat in his diet. With Argo''s departure, the butcher ensured that he would have an uninterrupted time with Goro. Goro''s face was stressed as he saw how Eren tried to keep his reinforcements out of the game. He wasn''t sure about Alephee''s and Argo''s powers. But the fact that Eren could kill most of the ambush so easily made him believe that they would at least be able to hold Rehaal''s team and Nico Chains out. "I don''t understand where you got the confidence to offend so many people all at once. Even if you survive this ordeal, more opponents will follow. They will be better than us. Now that it hase to this, those in the big leagues will get to you sooner orter. Why not give up and surrender to your fate? Less troubling that way." Eren chuckled when he heard Goro''s way of testing his resolve. He looked at him amusingly before responding. "Why would I create a city from nothing if I wanted to avoid trouble? Meh! Never mind. I would have talked more. But it''s a waste of time for both of us. So let''s just get this over with." Chapter 870 Eren Vs Goro P2 ? Eren decided that no further talk was necessary. He began transforming in front of Goro. Thetter started looking at him with wide eyes as Eren''s presence started changing along with his appearance. His hair turned white and his eyes turned icy blue. Eren started giving offpletely different vibes than before. It was as if he had switched from his closebat expert ss in a fraction of a second. "You you are THAT summoner? How the fuck" Goro was tongue-tied after witnessing Eren''s transformation. He couldn''t wrap his head around the idea that a ranker could change his ss mid-battle. Eren looked at Goro with amusement. He then raised his free hand and brought his summons to life. First to get summoned were Wind-Fire flying snakes. These creatures were born into existence after Eren had mastered his elemental fusion. The mana bodies of the boa snakes were formed first before they were given wings made of wind and fire. They took flight as soon as they were summoned, showing their fiery fangs at Goro and his undead summons. The second type of summons was a herd of red bulls. These bulls were empowered with spell integrations, which granted them powers over various lightning-element spells mastered by Eren. The third type of Eren''s summons caused Goro to tremble. He watched with a grim expression as the woond creatures were summoned by Eren. These woond creatures were the same type as what Rey Remus used to control using his summoning spells. Furthermore, Eren''s woond summons felt like they were the same ones summoned by Rey. It was almost like Eren had the same form of elemental attainment and mastery over his summoning spells as Rey. "How can you summon these woond creatures? What the fuck did you do Rey?" Eren smirked at Rey. "You talk when I can just show you?" Eren''s summoned creatures had gathered all around him. Some stayed with him while othersunched a joint campaign against Goro''s creations. The flying snakes started breathing fire down on the undead as they flew over them. Lightning-d bulls attacked the undead head-on. The woond creatures started using their wood-element spells on their enemies before destroying them. Goro started taking hold of his summons only after he pped himself and got over the shock he was feeling at the time. Most of his summons were confused by Goro''s shocked state of mind. As a result, they couldn''t properly defend themselves. The undead would have been killed instantly if Goro was of an Adept rank. Eren''s summoning spells and his skills as a summoner couldn''t be taken lightly anymore. Goro gulped empty air as he took control of his undead. He hade to realize that Eren had managed to bridge the ranking status gap between them using his elemental fusion, aspect fusion, and diversity in summoning spells. Both summoners continued to summon more summons as the existing ones were destroyed. They both entered a stalemate when their summoned creatures couldn''t register a definitive victory over each other. Both summoners needed to personally get involved in the fight. Goro took out his chained sword and started imbuing it with his unique death-element mana. His sword started looking like it had been corroded by the test of time all of a sudden. He pulled out his two des, Rigor Mortis and Anduril. He imbued them with lightning and fire-element mana before casting his movement spell. ng! The two summoners shed with each other in the middle of the battlefield. The summoned creatures parted ways and left the two summoners alone. Both rankers hade to a silent agreement that they would fight each other mano-e-mano. Eren parried Goro''s attacks with some difficulty. Thetter''s body stats were way higher than his because of his Expert rank. As a result, Eren couldn''t make use of his closebat skills to their fullest extent. Goro''s natural defense barely weakened every time the butcher''s attacknded right. As Goro''s body was able to quickly recover from the light injuries he suffered due to Eren''s attacks, the foreign mana invasion he experienced was not difficult to deal with. Eren''s situation was bingpletely the opposite of this. The attacks thatnded on his body were able to hurt Eren more deeply. And Goro''s C-Rank mana became difficult for Eren to tackle. Eren''s elemental fusion-based attacks were still able to hurt the summoner though. Plus, his undead creatures were losing ground against fire-element birds and woond creatures over time. It appeared that he was just getting started. *** ng! ng! ng! The more Goro fought with Eren, the more he realized that Eren was better than him in every other field other than ranking status. Eren''s weapon handling was so precise and lethal that nobody would mistake him for a summoner. And his summoned creatures had gotten so powerful over time that nobody would take him for a closebat expert. Eren''s very existence was an enigma to the rankers of Anfang. Goro watched as his own body started getting injured by an Adept ranker''s attacks. And even after getting injured in the process himself, Eren kept on increasing the intensity of his offense by a notch with each passing moment. The woond creatures started dominating the battlefield when Eren injected them with wrath mana. They tore through the undead and destroyed their bodies to the extent that they would not dare to be turned into undead any longer. Scree! The undead kept screaming. But the woond creatures'' sharp noises overshadowed their screams and destroyed the army of the undead to arge extent. Goro felt like he had been taught wrong about the limitations the rankers had on themselves. He watched with low-key panic setting inside his head as Eren''s woond creatures soon took care of all of his summoned creatures. All this while, Goro couldn''t sense any reinforcements heading his way. It meant Eren''s side had effectively managed to take care of Rehaal''s team and Nico Chains. ''This guy was waiting for someone like me. He''s influencing House Remus into sending more summoners his way. So that he can im their powers for his.'' Chapter 871 Using Potions & Multi-Class Spells To Level The Field ''He he is baiting House Remus to send more summoners his way. So that he can im their powers for himself.'' Goro came to a grim realization as he found himself surrounded by Eren''s summoned creatures. They looked at him with anger in their eyes. As if they were angry at him for daring to stand against their summoner. Just crossing swords was enough for Goro to figure out what Eren was trying to do to the entire House of Remus. The more he fought with him, the more he was sure of his conjecture. That''s because he had sparred with Rey Remus in the past. And the woond creatures that Eren had summoned were very familiar to him. At first, he thought that Eren was one of the guys who can''t handle the sess they receive overnight. Suddenly he realized how wrong he and his entire House had been. Screeeee! Thest undead creature died when it was overwhelmed by Eren''s summons. Goro figured it was time for him to get serious. Eren was struck once again by Goro''s flying shes, making him fall back into the distance. In response, he began retreating in another direction while destroying Eren''s summons. Goro''s death-element attacks would burn Eren''s life force away. The wound did not bleed. Instead, the skin around it would turn dead before rotting. The invasion of foreign mana would cause Eren to feel sick and fatigued. Eren drank the top-notch potions he had in his storage to counter Goro''s death element. His background as a potioner was getting used so thoroughly in this fight. The range of potions he had started using on himself and his weapons was in leagues of their own. They allowed him to hold his ground against an Expert ranker. Eren saw that Goro was trying to move away from him. He figured out that the necromancer was trying to summon a stronger undead that would be different from the mob he had resurrected. "Heh! Do you think I''ll just watch as you step up your game?" Eren defended himself against Goro''s flying shes using his all-around sword arts. He stopped retreating and started casting spells. In the next moment, a pair of Wind-Fire Wings sprouted from his back. These wings then folded forward to embrace Eren. Wind-Fire Wings protected the butcher from Goro''s death-element attacks. When he was sure that he wouldn''t be disturbed, Eren cast his space-element spell. Goro had just managed to take a breather from Eren''s attacks. He was about to summon the undead he had in his collection when he sensed something really dangerous appearing above him. Goro looked up to see Eren had appeared in the air. Thetter sent a series of lightning and fire element flying shes at him. And since he was flying above, Goro couldn''t attack Eren immediately with one of his mob summons. "Aaaaargh!" Goro cried in pain when his back was injured by Eren''s shes. His peculiar summoning ritual was interrupted by Eren''s attacks. The butcher kept on attacking him from various angles by changing his position in the air. Goro''s main problem with Eren came from the fact that Eren was not just a summoner or a closebat expert. He was both. And he put all his expertise into his attacks, giving him zero chance toe up with anything that would work on Eren. A summoner was usually apanied by a second ranker for this very reason. Summoning creatures takes concentration. That''s why a higher INT body stat value was a necessity for a summoner. Stronger summons take even longer. Most summoners would be able to summon their creatures while they were engaged in hand-to-hand conflict with their enemies. Of course, Eren was an exception to this rule. He could switch between two battle styles effortlessly. Thus, Goro was prevented from retaliating against Eren with all his might. Goro needed reinforcements more than ever at this point. At least if one of them takes the heat off of him, he could focus on his special summons. Too bad nobody came. The injuries on Goro''s body continued to umte. His mob summons couldn''t put up a strong front against Eren''s creatures. The woond creatures that were affected by the wrath mana had gotten more aggressive with time. They had startedunching kamikaze attacks on the undead and Goro as well, injuring him further. Goro''s eyes shined with hope when he finally noticed something or someoneing towards the battlefield. Upon realizing who it was, his demeanor changed for the worse. Alephee had arrived at the scene. She dropped the bodies she was holding in both hands as she appeared at a distance from the battlefield. One was Rehaal while the other was Meera Medinah. Just as Eren had instructed, she had spared the royal as well as the royal''s hired help. Of course, she had killed the rest of the rankers that were with them. Eren didn''t get distracted by Alephee''s arrival. He kept attacking Goro while shouting at Alephee. "I thought you''d take some time to wrap up. Never mind. See if Argo needs help. That bird will do crazy things for a chunk of red meat." Argo chuckled at Eren''sment before nodding at him. She checked the vitals of her recent victims and made sure that they wouldn''t wake up. Another set of Wind-Fire Wings sprouted from her back as she took flight. pping her wings, she approached Argo, who was fighting Nico Chains and his demon beast. ''That woman is a different kind of monster." Goro thought about Alephee as he looked at the states Rehaal and Meera Medinah were in. He wasn''t too shocked by Rehaal being captured. However, Meera Medinah was part of Edinburgh''s secret force. The fact that an Expert-ranked entity like her got beaten by an Adept-level ranker like Alephee spoke volumes about thetter''s battle potential. Plus, Alephee looked like she had taken a walk in the park instead of finishing Rehaal''s entire team by herself. It meant that if she had joined hands with Eren, Goro would have been a done deal for the duo. ''I have no chance of winning this thing. I I must escape.'' Chapter 872 Tactical RDX ''I have no chance of winning this thing. I I must escape.'' Goro made up his mind to run away from the battlefield. He knew that his reputation would be sullied if he ran away from an Adept ranker while being an Expert himself. However, a sullied reputation was a preferred choice for him over a mysterious death. Goro took out an unknown scroll from his storage and started to imbue it with his magic. This was one of the trump cards he had hidden in case of such emergencies. Eren''s space-element attainments had shot up to incredible levels after digesting the body parts of Krista, Lambert, and Rupen. He immediately understood that the spatial fabric around Goro was being altered after the use of the scroll. "You are not going anywhere." Sedating Gaze! Blink! Invi ze! Eren set his mana circuits into hyperdrive before using his Ability. Goro was subjected to a slow passage of time all of a sudden and his activation of the space-element scroll was halted. The butcher appeared right in front of the necromancer before destroying the scroll in his hand. Invi ze remained on Anduril rather than being released through the de. As a result, he gave his sh an extra edge and managed to chop Goro''s hand off, severing it from his wrist. Goro was simply too stunned to do anything. When Eren''s Ability wore off, he had already managed to take the cut hand away from him before he could do anything in retaliation. "Aaaaaaargh!" Goro cried in pain as his eyes turned red all of a sudden. The necromancer''s cry reverberated in the undead he had summoned all around him. They too became agitated and angry at their opponents. They started attacking their opponents at the cost of destroying themselves in the process. Goro tried many times to get away from Eren after that. But the butcher managed to hold him off using his summons and his diverse attacks. Since the cat was out of the bag, he started using Sedating Gaze more and more frequently. Eren and Goro both got tired eventually because of their continuous duel. The battle slowly turned into a test of endurance. The butcher had many wounds on his body that had been inflicted on him because of Goro''s versatile use of the chained sword. His skin had started to look pale and devoid of life. His wounds had started to rot and there was a formation of pus in them. Eren had begun to look like an undead while fighting Goro. Thetter had started to retaliate harder against the butcher after his exit strategy was taken away from him. Plus, he hade to realize that nobody wasing to save him. Thus, the necromancer fought for his life with his survival instincts taking over him. As a result, Eren faced even harsher retaliation from his opponent than before. The only reason he was not overwhelmed by Goro''s undead was that he stayed in the air most of the time. His woond served as a punching bag for Goro''s stronger summons so that the undead could be attacked by Eren''s other summons. Eren also kept on using potion bombs with a limited detonation range on Goro. He called these potion bombs T-RDX or tactical RDX. They allowed him tounch an aerial attack on Goro while he was in the vicinity. The dropped payloads would destroy his woond creatures along with hurting Goro as well. But that was something he couldn''t avoid. "Aaaaargh!" The most terrible thing about the T-RDX was the fact that they contained shrapnel. This shrapnel was obtained from scrapped Adept-ranked artifacts that couldn''t survive Alephee''s upgrading process. Eren used these scrapped weapons as raw materials for his tactical bombs. They had a smaller st radius and caused minimal damage to the surroundings. Despite this, the shrapnels built into them made sure that these T-bombs could be used to injure their targets well. Goro was bloody and bruised all over. His skin was now studded with shrapnels that had managed to breach his defenses and hurt him. The imperfect runes over these shrapnels started creating anomalies in the necromancer''s mana circuits. The feeling was different from the foreign mana invasion. It was close to mana deviation that one had to face when they messed up casting a spell. These anomalies made it difficult for Goro to maintain his active spells. Plus, Eren didn''t give him any breathing room for him to get rid of any of his immediate problems. "You fucking bastard fight me fairly if you dare." Goro spat in anger and contempt while looking hatefully at Eren. He hated Eren for using T-RDX on him the most. Thetter chuckled before responding. "That''s riching from you, my man. Where was your fairness when you decided to attack me in groups?" Goro was tongue-tied for a moment when Eren asked him. He tried to open his mouth to reply. However, Eren beat him to it. "It''s fine though. No need to exin. I havee to ept that most of my enemies turn hypocrites when their time is near. You are not the first and you won''t be thest. As for daring to attack you fairly. I think it''s pretty obvious that I don''t dare to fight with you fairly. You must have studied my profile beforeing here. I''m surprised you expect something like that from me." Eren dropped another T-RDX on Goro while flying over him as soon as he finished speaking. Thetter had figured out the wretched terrorist would pull off something like this on him. He used a newly resurrected nk of the undead as a shield to protect him from shrapnel. ? The flesh and bones of the mob summons, however, were no longer strong enough to stop shrapnel. As a result, the necromancer''s injured body was again riddled with more of the scrapped junk. This series of shrapnels finally broke the camel''s back. Goro''s summons and his active spells were severely impaired by the anomalies injected into his mana circuits. As a result, the spells were disbursed all at once while Goro suffered from mana deviation. The butcher smirked when his diligent work finally allowed him a window of opportunity. He saw his chance and took it. Chapter 873 Finishing Off Goro Jaan Remus Blink! Swoosh. Zoom. Pierce. The butcher appeared in front of the necromancer when he couldn''t use his undead anymore. He lodged his dagger inside Goro''s heart while looking him in the eyes. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to see me, Goro. Now get consumed by the anger born out of the unfairness of this world. Find peace in mindless rage." Eren''s voice was like a luby for Goro before he lost his grip on reality. His vision turned red before he closed his eyes. The butcher''s icy blue eyes shone with brilliance as he activated his Abilities. ''Let me see how it feels to be a necromancer. The sin of Wrath! Devour!'' *** Nico was a bald man who looked to be in his mid-40s. He wore thick leather armor and a prominent belt that also served as his defensive artifact. He also had a shield and an axe stuck to his back, indicating that the demon beast owner was quite skilled at closebat. His demon beast was a dark brown condor. The beast had a thick hide, sharp vision, exceptional aerial maneuverability, and a metal-like beak. He was blessed with various wind spells, which allowed him to dominate the skies against his opponents. Nico hade here toplete the task given to him by Demonmir himself. It was to kill Eren so that the tripartite alliance between the White Raven Guild, House Derringer, and Levine''s faction bes unstable. Sebastian Slughorn had contacted Nico at the right time. He immediately agreed to Sebastian''s proposal of serving as the reserve force. His main job was to prevent Eren from using his demon beast in case he decides to run away. Only when the situation warrants would he work with the existing team to get rid of Eren. However, things didn''t work out as nned. Nico and the other members of the ambush team hade to realize that they had underestimated Eren thoroughly even when they had tried not to. Nico was quickly briefed about the ambush team''s current situation by Goro before thetter started his battle with Eren. Since then, he has been ted to assist him. In the meantime, he learned that the enemy had also hatched a multi-front strategy to counter them. And at this point, Nico Chains was angry. He was angry at a foulmouthed griffin who kept attacking him and his condor verbally as well as physically. His verbal mockery was as piercing as his attacks. His condor beast Shal had to fight with all his strength to defend himself against the griffin''s attacks. This was a battle between a rare-tier C-Rank beast and an epic-tier D-Rank beast. Shal only had a ranking advantage working for him. Otherwise, he would have been owned by Argo a long time ago. The aerial battle between the two demon beasts was slowing down Nico''s advance. He had been trying to get to Goro, knowing well that he might get overwhelmed by Eren''s forces. The mission''s sess was at stake and their chance to finish off Eren would diminish with each passing moment. But this wretched Griffin would not let him go. The most terrifying thing about Argo was the fact that he would try to bite or w away some of Shal''s flesh and devour it. The hybrid demon beast grew stronger every time he did that. All of the condor''s aerial attacks worked on the Griffin just fine. It was just that they weren''t strong enough to hold him down. As a result of his wings getting injured, Argo lost altitude several times. But he always came out on top soon after devouring Shal''s flesh. It was like Argo never knew how to pay attention to his injuries. He would use his wind-element spells to support and enhance his flight before attacking Shal with newfound vigor. At first, Nico thought of prioritizing Goro''s safety over battling Argo. He thought of conserving his energy so that he could deal with Eren and his forces. However, Argo''s attacks kept getting more lethal by the minute. To the point that Nico finally decided to treat D-Rank Argo as his real opponent. ''This beast is a nuisance just like his owner.'' Nico thought to himself before standing up on his demon beast. He took out a bow from his storage and imbued it with his mana. The runes on the artifact lit up as Nico Chains aimed. In the next moment, a bunch of wind-element arrows were fired at the approaching Argo. The beast released an eagle cry as he sensed the dangering off of them. An attack from an Expert was no joke. As brave as Argo was, he was not stupid enough to face the arrows head-on. Another pair of wind wings sprouted on Argo''s back. His hybrid form shrunk before the demon beast took a sharp turn to the left just before the arrows could hit him. He sensed another series of arrowsing toward him at the same time. Thus, he opened his bird-like mouth and activated his Devour Ability. A vortex-like runic formation appeared in front of Argo. The vortex expanded rapidly and took the iing arrows inside the vortex''s eye. Argo activated the ability to not consume Nico''s attacks but to render them unstable. The demon beast instinctively understood that his Ability had the potential to disrupt the basic building blocks of spells, making them unstable. If he used his Ability at the right time in the right way, he could use it to destroy his enemies'' spells. One could say that Argo was so much ahead of Eren when it came to making use of his Ability. ? Argo''s animal instincts were right on point. The wind-element arrows did get disrupted by his Ability. But since the attacks were of the C-Rank, he couldn''tpletely destroy Nico''s spells. The arrows lost their potency, but they managed to break free from the vortex''s runic boundaries. In the next moment, the arrows lodged themselves inside Argo''s beast-like torso. Argo screamed in pain and looked at Nico and Shal with narrowed eyes before speaking in a human tongue. "Bald bitch! Somebody''s balls gon pays for this." Chapter 874 End Of The Line For Nico Chains And Shal Alephee was flying using her Wind-Fire Wings. Her wings were smaller than Eren''s and had more runic details on them. The wind-fire shards served as feathers that left a zing trail in the sky as she traversed at breakneck speeds. Alephee''s speed and agility using Wind-Fire Wings were also many levels higher than Eren''s. It was as if she had taken his spells and made them work better for herself. The homunculus soon reached the location she wanted to and saw a bizarre sight in front of her. She stopped midair and remained motionless as she tried to make sense of things. Nico was furiously staring at Argo. Eren''s demon beast had many wounds on his body. He was in hisplete eagle form, maintaining eye contact with Nico as he hovered in front of him at a distance. Some of Argo''s feathers had been destroyed exposing the flesh underneath. His mana fluctuations were unsteady and it was clear that he had many internal injuries. Even his left eye looked like it had been pierced by Nico''s arrow. The blood bled from Argo''s left eye even after he kept it closed. However, Argo looked happy. He looked at Nico with a human-like expression on his face as he tightened his grip around something he was holding with one of his ws. ''Hm? Those are'' Alephee had suspicions in her mind as she looked at the organ Argo was gripping with his eagle w. She then looked at Nico''s beast carefully and confirmed her suspicions. Argo had injured Shal''s cloaca in their aerial fight, giving the condor a huge trauma. Argo ripped out the demon beast''s cavity and spilled its intestines to yank his balls from his body. Shal had already screamed his heart out against Argo''s misadventure. But Argo looked like he was not done mocking the pair just yet. Argo flew a bit higher and brought his w forward. He then crushed the organ he was holding in his vice before releasing an ear-piercing eagle cry. Shal screamed in anger and decided to attack Argo right then and there. Blood dripped from his hanging intestines when he started to move. Nico couldn''t believe that a demon beast could be so vicious and vengeful. He had literally tore off the demon beast''s balls that were hiding deep in his anatomy. Argo relied on his epic-tier physique and unparalleled control of his flying skills to pull off this feat. Shal was ready to exact revenge on Argo. However, he was stopped by Nico who knew Argo was nning a plot against him and his demon beast by baiting them. He decided that Shal was not fit to deal with Argo. Nico was about to attack Argo with one of his precise attacks. But he suddenly saw Alephee looking at the scene from a distance and was shocked by it. He couldn''t believe that someone like her could sneak up on the scene so effortlessly. "Who the" Nico looked at Alephee warily. He then remembered Goro''s brief report mentioning something about a girl in a ck dress that was with Eren. His vignce was raised when he made that association in his head. He decided to change the question he wanted to pose to Alephee. "The fact that you are here did you manage to kill Goro as well?" Alephee''s chain of thoughts was broken when Nico asked her a question. She looked at him and pondered before answering him. "Hmm. You can say that. You are the only remaining pair from the ambush team." Alephee said casually like it didn''t mean anything to her. She then looked at Argo before speaking up. "Argo, your job is done here. Get to Eren while I deal with them. Don''t worry. Your portion of Har Jahar meat won''t be deducted." Alephee thought that Eren was being too harsh on Argo for wanting him to take care of two C-Rank entities at the same time. That too in a limited period. And the crazy bird was willing to do it. Of course, the butcher was only trying to bring out Argo''s potential by giving him difficult tasks. But the homunculus judged that Eren was being as harsh on the beast as he was on himself. Thus, she relieved him of his duty and decided to handle Nico and Shal all by herself. When Alephee''s suggestion reached Argo, his one functioning eye shone in delight. He released another eagle cry before approaching Alephee. The homunculus threw a vial of Ice Fairy''s Kiss at the demon beast, which fixed his pierced eye and mended some of his injuries. Nico had used this opportunity to attack both Alephee and Argo. But the homunculus raised her hand and cast her time-element spell. Total Control! This was also one of Eren''s spells. He would use it as a support-type spell to expedite or dy the effects of his spells. However, Alephee used the spell differently, casting it on her opponents'' spells to dy their casting. Alephee did this so effortlessly that Nico thought it was his mistake that his spells were not giving him the intended effect. His arrows manifest slowly. His wind-element shes also materialized at a slow rate as if they were cast inside a near-stagnant world. By the time the effects of Total Control wore off, Nico lost control of the spells and made them disperse. Argo was also absent from the scene, leaving the ranker from Demonmir''s faction alone with Alephee. Nico gulped empty air when he thought of how Alephee was able to affect his spells simply by casting support-type spells. A cold drop of sweat ran down his neck as he looked at the stoic-looking girl in front of her. The fact that Alephee could interfere with others'' spells gave her a huge advantage. The bald man didn''t know the limitations of something he had just learned about. He didn''t know how to fight her even though she seemed to be a rank lower than him. Alephee smiled when she looked at Nico and observed his thoughts. She pped her radiant wings behind her before speaking up. "You should be d that it is me and not Eren. At least I don''t make a mess out of my opponents." Saying that the homunculus turned the pages of her grimoire using a wave of her hands before casting her spells. It was safe to say that Nico Chains and his demon beast weren''t going to survive the ordeal. Chapter 875 Life & Death: As Vague As Evening Fog As Real As Morning Dew Eren started living Goro''s life in a trance. He was digesting all his memories, experiences, elemental attainments, ss-specific nuances, weaponprehensions, and spells. He was removing Goro''s influence from all that was his, turning them into his own experiences. The death element. This was the element Eren had no prior knowledge of. He had never fought a necromancer in his previous life. Death element wielders in other sses were also very rare. Thus, the introduction of this element was apletely fresh start for the butcher. Eren continued to live Goro''s life in his mind while slowly building up his foundation in the element. Once that was done, he started absorbing ss-specific nuances and spells. He discarded his day-to-day mundane memories and other experiences he had no use for, retaining only the most useful ones he could make use of. When he opened his eyes, the butcher felt like he had lived an entire life as a necromancer. His blurred vision started getting clearer as he started looking around himself. It had been quite some time since he had killed Goro it seemed. Because he could already feel the morning sun''s presence in the sky. "How long have I been out?" Eren asked Alephee who had been waiting for him to wake up from his trance at a distance. She was sitting on a branch of a tall redwood tree. Argo was with her, looking like an ordinary eagle. The demon beast had closed his eyes, indicating that he was taking a nap. "Not too long, I would say. It seems you managed to refine Goro''s experiences to perfection. You only took 11 hours this time, which is understandable since you didn''t know anything about Goro''s element." Alephee approved of Eren taking his time to do things right. The butcher smiled before stretching his palms in front of him. He concentrated and channeled his death mana. In the next moment, an azure blue smoke spread over his palm before coating his hands. Eren disappeared from his position and appeared near a tree. He touched its trunk with his death-element-coated hands to see how it affected the surroundings. The tree began to die as soon as it was exposed to a faint amount of death element. It first withered and lost all its leaves before its trunk began to shrink. The tree diedpletely in a few moments before the wood started withering as well. ''The death element can be viewed as an Ether-subss element. However, unlike Krista''s or Rupen''s elements, the death element allows more freedom in terms of its applicability.'' Eren started mumbling to himself as he watched the effects of his death element with his own eyes. Goro''sprehension of the element and his ss was not enough for Eren. He needed to make them his own and draw his own conclusions to further his progress in the field. Thus, he started from the beginning. ''Death and life are two sides of the same coin. The same can be said for the death element and the life element as well. These concepts are as vague as evening fog and yet as real as morning dew. The five great elements and the hybrid elements that are born from them are all part of nature. The aspect and elemental fusions between these elements, therefore, are also part of nature. Thus, they are subject to thews and restrictions of the world.'' Eren looked at the azure blue smoke covering his palms and thought to himself. He then closed his eyes and concentrated. He spread his mana sense to sense the death element around him. He was shocked to see that it was so prevalent in the surroundings. ''Every beginning has an end. And every end paves the way for a new beginning. The one that is born has to die someday. One that is dead wille back to life someday in some other form. Just like every other element, the death element is also part of nature. It is part of every living being and the dead. It is present in everything that is alive, dead, and everything in between.'' Eren decided to summon his own undead using Goro''s spells. He spread his hands and spread the azure blue smoke that wasing from his hand into his vicinity. In the next moment, Eren managed to locate the residual mana signatures of people that had diedst night. He turned these residual signatures into ethereal shells before injecting them with his death-element mana. A distinct mana pulse spread as Eren managed to summon his first batch of the undead. Eren was very fascinated by his first batch of the undead. They looked exactly like the undead Goro used to summon. A few of them were Adepts. And the mob undead was mostly E-Rank and below. The butcher had also inadvertently summoned some rankless beings that were no different from powerless zombies. Eren''s undead looked more responsive than Goro''s though. It was as if the butcher had already made a bit of progress on his path as a necromancer. The butcher was expecting quick progress like this from his Expert rank victim. Otherwise, the extra efforts he had put into ying a C-Ranker would have gone to waste. The undead summoned by Eren growled at anything and everything alive, including their summoner. They waited for his order, ready to die once again so that they could enjoy the peace of eternal slumber and solitude once again. The butcher started walking through his summons. He observed them using his normal senses, mana sense, and soul sense. He started understanding more concepts about his new element and ss while doing it. ''Those who are perfectly alive will have the life and death elements in their bodies in bnce. Those who have diedpletely will have their own equilibrium. The unusual happens when someone breaks the bnce using external forces, such as introducing life or death elements into the equation. The cycle of life and death is affected at that point. If the scale tips in favor of the life element, a person lives fast and dies soon. When the scale gets tipped toward the death element, they will die fast ande back to life in another form. The undead!'' Chapter 876 Reanimation Array And Contracted Undead "Heh! I really didn''t give this guy any chance to take these out." Eren chuckled to himself as he looked at Goro''s chopped hand. He knew exactly what Goro had in his storage through his memories. Eren had separated Goro''s hand from his body before absorbing him so that he could ess the dead necromancer''s belongings. It took Eren some time to wipe out an Expert ranker''s mana signature from his ID stone. But he managed to do so eventually. Swoosh! Eren took out the corpses of three rankers from Goro''s storage. They were dead a long time ago but looked like they had just died, with no visible injury on their bodies. There was a C-Rank undead in the group, while the other two looked to be in thest stages of D-Rank. Contracted Undead! This was Goro''s ss-specific spell that he could use with the bodies of the dead rankers he had already pre-processed. The contracted undead would have better ess to their memories and spells. They wouldck souls. But they would be able to move like they were alive due to their retained memories. The Army of the Dead was Goro''s mob summoning spell. It would allow him to summon random undead rted to a ce or item depending on how he used the spell. The summoned undead would belong to C-Rank or lower depending upon the shells created from the residual mana signatures as well as the amount of death-element mana Goro cared to inject into them. Goro''s undead summoned by the Army of the Dead spell was akin to mindless corpses that knew how to move and pay attention to Goro''s basic instructions. The undead''s limited ess to spells from when they were alive didn''t give them the edge they needed. However, Contract Undead addressed this problem and allowed Goro to collect the corpses of capable rankers. Under the influence of the reanimation array, the preprocessed corpses of these entities could be reanimated. The process ensured that the reanimated corpses of these rankers would serve as his loyal subordinates and not betray him after developing the pseudo-consciousness they were reanimated with. The only downside of using the contract undead was the fact that it could not be used on the spot for random rankers at the scene. It needed a preprocessed body of the ranker along with the death-element contract array on it. The spell induces pseudo-consciousness with this reanimation array, which also serves as a master-servant contract between the reanimator and the reanimated. This pseudo-consciousness was created based on the dead ranker''s remaining intact memories. The reanimation array in conjunction with the death element powered the pseudo-consciousness of the undead as well as their spells. The preprocess ensured the reanimation didn''t rebel against the necromancer. Eren felt like he had dodged a bullet by not allowing Goro to depend on an iing backup. He just needed a few minutes of alone time to reanimate the corpses in his storage. The butcher would have had to face a lot of trouble if the necromancer had managed to breathe fake life into his human dolls. The butcher also realized why Goro mistook Alephee''s identity. While looking at Goro''s contracted undead bodies, he spoke up. "I can now understand why Goro thought you were a necromancer. He had kinda the same spell as your Corpse Dance, achieving the same effect differently." The homunculus was swinging her legs in the air while writing something in her grimoire. Upon hearing Eren''s words, she stopped her work and disappeared from her ce. She appeared beside the butcher beforementing. "Hmm. We would have had to fight in unison had Goro managed to summon these corpses for himself and activate the fake consciousnesses residing within them. I''ll go ahead and add that he had a soul-rted injury. Possibly due to conducting a necromancing experiment? Only you know better. That''s why he was hesitating to use these corpses from the start. Goro needed Nico Chains or Rehaal''s support to activate these human dolls in peace. Unfortunately for him, that backup never arrived." Eren nodded at Alephee''s prediction right away. Goro was indeed conducting a lot of experiments rted to the death element as well as necromancy. That''s why he had the soul-strengthening potion with him, which he had used on himself after knowing Eren had an awakened soul sense. Goro had progressed a lot in his ranking journey and needed experiments like these to enhance his elemental attainments. Without elemental attainment, his ranking status would have been basically stagnant. Still, Eren hade to realize that the knowledge Goro contained regarding the death element wasn''tplete. It was missing something very significant. Goro felt like he wasn''t making full use of his ss and his affinity for the death element. The knowledge he had ess to was never enough. And he had no set guidelines. Still, he recognized that there was a piece of the puzzle he was missing. When Goro reached the rank of C, he realized this. Yet, the necromancer couldn''t really put a finger on it. Eren didn''t want to have the same bottleneck as Goro after acquiring his knowledge. Therefore, he asked Alephee right away. "Alephee, how would you describe the death element?" Alephee was looking at the dead bodies of Goro''s contracted undead. She destroyed them right away using her time-element spells, breaking the contract and letting them rot to nothingness. She pondered a bit before answering Eren''s question. "Um... It is difficult to describe Death within the framework of Anfang, Eren. Mostly because the rankers here are not used to imbuing their will or intent into their attacks and mana. There is an unrepressed intent in death-element mana. An intent to corrode, rot, decay, and be inertia. Unlike other regr elements, it can''t be controlled with sufficient finesse by rankers. This is because they don''t know how to deal with the intent infused in the mana of the death element. Every elemental mana contains some form of intent for that matter. Fire-element mana, for example, has the basic intent of incinerating anything ites into contact with. Take out the ranker''s control of the fire-element mana and it would still behave as per its basic intent. The same is true for other elements as well. It''s just that it is more obvious for the life and death element mana. That''s because any World''s Will makes sure that the intent of life and death element mana remains unsuppressed for steady functioning of its lifeforms. The wielders of the death element need to add their own will or intent to their spells to make them pack a serious punch. Otherwise, they''ll be limited by the peculiarities of their own element." Chapter 877 Intent-Driven Magic & Its Relation With Sin Series Abilities "Adding will and intent to spells, huh?" Eren was a bit confused by Alephee''s words. It was the first time he had heard of mana with intent. Thus, he asked Alephee to borate further. Alephee used the same spell she had used before and pulled Eren into a domain in which time had almostpletely stopped. For some reason, she seemed to be in control of the domain she had cast this time. This was a precaution she had taken against Anfang''s continent-spanning array. She knew that this was the right time for Eren to know about these things. Thus, she decided to exin to him with examples. "The rankers of Anfang know that there are grades of mana. They defined these grades as F to S ranks. The mana grades were harnessed by rankers of that grade. Thus, the ranking statuses of Novice to Sage ranks were defined. However, ranks are not the only scale on which mana can be distinguished. There exists a different type of mana thates with intent at its core. The life and death elements can be considered non-elemental mana with one''s will and intent as the main focus. The intent is integrated into such a type of mana by the World''s Will itself." Eren started to understand what Alephee was saying when she started describing things inyman''s terms. He was immediately reminded of his Sin Series Abilities. Alephee smiled and confirmed his doubts. "That''s right. Your Sin Series Abilities. You know they use otherworldly mana, right? Why can''t you use those Abilities using this world''s mana? Have you ever had this question? The Sin Series Abilities are bizarre and grant you extraordinary powers the likes of which the regr ranker of Anfang has never seen. That''s because they are fueled by a different type of mana. A tier higher than regr mana. The mana that you summon and use for your Sin Series Abilities contains intent of their own. The emotions of wrath and lust are intentions. Thus, those who are affected by mana get affected by anger or lust." Eren was allowed to move inside the time-element domain by Alephee. He scratched his light stubble with his right hand before nodding. He took out a Sativa Stick from his storage and lit it up. Processing various thoughts in his mind, he asked his next question. "Let''s put aside the topic of the life and death element mana for a while. What is the difference between a will and an intent? And if one''s intent can get imbued into a spell, can it also get integrated into the mana itself?" Asking this, he took a long drag from his Sativa Stick. The smoke he released soon afterward stayed around his nose and didn''t disappear because of the time-element domain. He had to step back from his previous position to clear his vision of the smoke while waiting for the homunculus'' answer. Alephee kept track of the continent-spanning array''s reaction to the talk they had. "Intent is simply an unwavering will, devoid of doubts. For example, a ranker might want to get a certain resource for themselves. That would be their will. When they decide that nothing can stop them from having that resource, we call it intent. A will is merely an expression of what you desire. The intent is the amount of effort you are ready to put into achieving that goal. A person''s intent gets stronger or weaker depending on how they cultivate it within themselves. A stronger intent is born when you develop self-confidence in yourself. When you defend, your intent has to be ''I won''t let them harm me.'' That''s a stronger intent than the mere ''I am angry at them for hurting me'' or the will that says ''I don''t want to get hurt.'' When you attack, your self-confidence needs to scream ''I will kill them''. When you are protecting someone, your intent has to be ''I won''t let them die.'' At the pinnacle of having unwavering intent, you don''t need things like a mana core, mana circuits, mana sense, artifacts, potions, or even a mortal vessel to cast intent-based magic. When you learn to cultivate unwavering intent within you, magic happens just the way you want it without ever needing to control it. That''s what lies beyond acquiring an Ability. An Ability is when a spell stops being a spell. An unwavering intent is when the magic really starts looking like magicC logic-defying and beyond belief." Eren was fascinated by the fact that he still had so many things to learn about the foundation of being a ranker even after technically living two lifetimes. He felt that he would need to live another life to cultivate a stronger intent. "I never heard of this way of casting magic. Can I cast it - intent-based magic? How beneficial would it be for me if I invested my time in this field as well?" Eren asked while taking a drag out of his Sativa Stick. He felt the effects of the smoke filling his lungs and calming him. Thus, he managed to keep an open mind about the newly discovered field. He was indeed shocked by this new perspective on casting magic. However, he didn''t let it overwhelm him. "This concept is not as novel as you think it is, Eren. It''s more like you haven''t fully realized how familiar you are with it ever since you started your ranking journey as a Novice. A ranker''s will is involved in their spell when they cast their normal spells. It''s just that most rankers do it subconsciously. Or the spell''s mnemonics take care of that part for them by integrating their mana sense into them. Your mana sense is also a representative of your will or your intent after all. Casting a spell with intent-based magic urs when a ranker consciously integrates their will into the spell. The difference between an intentional and an unintentional action can be tremendous. They say that there would be at least 100 ways to achieve something you want if there were not 10000. A person who is willing to rise above normalcy will eventually seed in their endeavors. A stronger intent can bring out the same benefits as you can get with the precise mana control that you are currently training for. Do you understand what I''m saying?" Chapter 878 Hex Magic Eren started thinking about Alephee''s question and came up with something that was based on what he had learned so far about intent-based magic. "It means a spell cast regrly will pale inparison when it is cast with stronger intent. It will allow rankers to get more out of any spell than their rudimentary capabilities." Alephee nodded at Eren''s exnation before adding up. "That''s right. If the rankers know how to integrate their spells with their intent and the intent is strong enough, a Novice ranker would be able to defeat an Adept ranker or higher. Things might not be as easy as I''m making them out to be. It is not easy to cultivate a strong intent in the first ce. But I guess you get the gist of what I''m saying." Eren nodded at Alephee after some time. He felt that she shouldn''t have told him about this. That''s because his desire to learn intent-based magic was getting to him. However, he already had his hands full gaining absolute control over his mana circuits. As such, he didn''t have time to chase another mythical unicorn. Alephee chuckled when she sensed what Eren was thinking about. She shook her head in denial before adding up. "Don''t get so downhearted, Eren. Mana sense is not the only representation of one''s intent. There''s a better way to cast intent-based magic. You must learn to integrate your soul sense into spells. The mana sense and soul sense both serve as carriers for the ranker''s intent. Ites down to which one is a better carrier. Strong intent would not be useful by itself if you didn''t have a reliable carrier avable for it. If you choose to consciously integrate your mana sense into your spells, you will need the aid of special artifacts. You canpare a mana sense to a surface of almost stagnant water that partially reflects your intention. On the other hand, a soul sense is like a clear mirror that reflects your intent as it is. Since you have already awakened your soul sense, things will be really easy for you." Eren''s eyes lit up when he heard he could use his soul sense for something other than frightening and intimidating his opponents. But Alephee''s next words dampened his excitement. "Don''t be too greedy. I rmend that you focus on your current training. Your mana control is only beginning to show some real progress. Could you have imagined taking down an Expert ranker so easily without such precise mana control to back you up? The Blink spell that you use alone would have created a lot of problems for you had you used it like regr people. It was thanks to that precise control that you were able to kill these opponents so effortlessly. So it would be foolish for you to halt the process now." Eren wanted to argue that Goro''s soul injury as well as the fact that he had two sses were also contributing factors to his victory against a C-ranker. The necromancer wasn''t prepared for someone who could do summoning and closebat battles both. It did not allow Goro to show off his strengths against Eren. Eren, on the other hand, managed to bring all of his talents to the table with thebat style he had adopted against Goro. However, he had to admit that his excellent mana control allowed him to cast spells quickly and effortlessly while keeping his mana consumption in check. His usage of the Blink Spell alone had been refined to perfection for him by his mana control. That''s why he didn''t disturb Alephee and let her speak without interruption. "It is not the right time for you to start training in this field. You''d need a strong soul sense for you to see tangible benefits in using intent-based magic. I''d say break into the B-Rank first before you start investing your time and efforts in intent-based magic. What you can do instead to get started in the field is imbue your weapon attacks with your intent. Weapon-based attacks are easier to integrate one''s intent into. This will provide an additional edge to your weapon-based attacks while not derailing you from your current progress toward havingplete mana control." Eren raised his eyebrows once again when he listened to Alephee''s suggestion. He took out his Rigour Mortis and traced over the runic inscriptions it had with his fingers before asking another question. "Hmm. That''s a reasonable way to start. But what did you mean by unique artifacts earlier? Will I need those unique artifacts for me to integrate my intent into them?" Alephee answered his query right away. "There''s indeed a separate category of artifacts that are based on intent-based magic. Such weapons are called Hex artifacts in some worlds. The ones who use them are called Hexers. And the magic that gets cast using such artifacts is known as Hex magic. Of course, Hex magic and Hexers don''t exist in Anfang. That''s because nobody takes an effort to learn how to integrate their intent into their spells here." Eren found it strange that such a vast field of magic was left unexplored by the rankers of Anfang. He didn''t think that even the cultists practiced intent-based magic. Or at least not the ones he hade across. ''I think there''s something wrong with intent-based magic!'' Eren quickly deduced a possibility for why the rankers of Anfang could be so disinterested in the field of intent-based magic. Alephee confirmed his suspicions right away. "There are indeed some adverse effects of using Hex magic, Eren. But you don''t need to worry about them for now. Especially when you limit intent-based magic to weapon-based attacks. So these things shouldn''t stop you from getting acquainted with intent-driven magic. You don''t need any Hex artifacts either. Your soul sense alone is enough for you to dabble with this type of magic through your regr weapons. Imbue your soul sense with absolute certainty and strong intent. And coat your weapons with it before casting a weapon-based spell. This simple practice is enough for you to get started. Later on, you can train your soul sense to develop stronger intent. By the time you break into B-Rank, you''ll be proficient at using intent-based magic through your weapons." Chapter 879 First Contract Undead P1 Alephee was basically setting a timeline for Eren to achieve certain things. This way, he won''t go astray in his quest for unprecedented power. She borated on the topic further. "You had asked me about soul spells and I had told you it was too early for you to learn them. But I guess now''s the time for you to at least know these details. Soul spells can be seen as the evolution of Hex spells. Cultivating an intent into soul space and then using it to power your spells will make them turn into soul spells. They will not use your mana, only your intent. The stronger the intent, the more powerful your spells will turn out to be. Since you have an awakened soul sense, you don''t need to worry about casting normal Hex spells. The advantages of having a soul sense will gradually be apparent the further you climb up the rankingdder. So my suggestion would be to start small and start early." Eren decided to test Alephee''s theory immediately. He started following her intentions as his grip around the Rigor Mortis'' hilt tightened. ''I am no longer the ghost of my past. I am finally starting to mean something to myself. Let my sword cut down anything and anyone who tries to take this meaning away from me.'' A thought rippled in Eren''s mind as he coated Rigor Mortis with his soul sense. The de started humming when that happened. Eren felt like he had be one with the weapon itself for the time being. The runes on the sword lit up brighter than ever as their potential was called forth. The butcher swung the sword in front of him abruptly and sent a flying sh forward, observing its effects closely. Following that, the sword shes sliced through the air. This sword sh was denser with mana than ever, as evidenced by the darker shade of red-lightning mana it packed. It seemed sharper and more threatening. Also, it hummed with a faint intent to cut down anything it encountered. Had there been a ranker in its path, they would have felt the intent first. It would have resonated with their consciousness before the attack hit them. Any lower-ranked entity than Eren would have been stunned by Eren''s intent first before they could do anything about the iing sh. Even Eren was impressed with the improvement his simple sh received just by adding his intent to the mix. Thanks to his soul sense, he didn''t have to spend time getting things right. Plus, he could only improve on his first try. Eren raised his eyebrows when he saw the result of his own attack getting enhanced to this extent. He finished his smoke quickly and decided to conduct another experiment. The sword in his hand disappeared and was reced with a katar. Lightning struck and the butcher appeared on a stone tform located not too far away. This time, Eren imbued his weapon with the intent to pierce it and simply dropped it on the ground. One had to note that he neither activated the runes on the weapons nor tried to increase their lethality with his mana. This was pure intent imbued into Katar. The tip of the katar made contact with the stone tform and slid in without apparent obstruction. In the next moment, a crack ran over the stone tform, splitting it in two. The butcher could feel that even the stone tform was affected by his intent. It was vibrating lightly as if trying to shake off the fraction of consciousness it was subjected to ande to a state of inertia as before. "This intent-driven magic is really something. Hex magic, you say? Is there a developed structure for Hex magic in other worlds? I don''t want to pioneer into the field and waste my time researching if I can help it." Alephee appeared beside Eren''s updated position and replied promptly. "Yes. But there is nothing really profound you can learn about Hex magic or soul magic from others. Such magic begins with your intent and what you feel in your heart. This type of magic is very personal. It does not have anything to do with what others have experienced. That''s why you won''t be able to devour someone''s intent even with your Abilities. You can learn about Hex gear that is better equipped to handle the intent you imbue into your weapons, though. There are also things called soul artifacts that are way better than Hex gear. You can check them out and draw inspiration from them. Exploring other worlds is one way to have a stronger intent as well. Exploration creates desires that allow you to harness stronger intent. So it''s worth a shot." Eren nodded at Alephee''s suggestion and started nning his long game. He had already learned about demon possession. ording to Alephee, these wretched beings liked to take over the original denizens'' bodies from other worlds and explore them for God Sparks. The butcher was nning something simr for himself bybining these two streams of knowledge. Storing his weapon in storage, Eren stretched his arms and ran his fingers through his hair. Suddenly, he realized that his white-haired transformation was still active. The butcher could understand why Alephee was prioritizing mana control for him. Due to his newfound control over his mana pathways and mana points, he could cast closebat spells with rtive ease even while being turned into a summoner. By the time he achieves absolute control, his summoning spells and closebat spells will be cast with the same intensity by him in any transformation. Plus, he could see himself taking more sses in the future. Thus, mana control was more necessary for Eren today than intent-driven magic. His multi-ss specialty will see tremendous growth if he keeps on training his mana points and mana pathways. === AN: The term soul spell was first mentioned in chapter 637. The term soul space was first mentioned in chapter 662. Chapter 880 First Contract Undead P2 "So Sin Series Abilities work on intent-driven magic. Wrath mana and lust mana are just mana with pure intent. I wonder if I can also create something like that with my soul sense. If integrating intentions into spells and Abilities is possible, what would it take to integrate the intent into the very core of the mana itself?" Eren posed another question to Alephee, which she answered right away. "Only after reaching a certain milestone in their ranking journey can rankers birth mana with their own intent seeped into them. It is not something one can do just by having an awakened soul sense. The spells or Abilities that are powered by such personalized mana would be so much different than the rudimentary concepts of using magic. But doing something like this is like rebelling against the world you are currently living in. Plus, when mana contains pure intent, it can''t be used by anyone. The Sin Series mana that you summon for your Abilities requires a form of a binding contract for the same reason. It''s like you are using someone''s personal property without their consent." Eren ced his right hand on his heart and felt his heartbeat all of a sudden. He was reminded of the runic chains his heart was bound with when he first started using the Sin Series Abilities. He didn''t understand the procedure at that time. So it could be said that another of his long-pending questions was answered by Alephee. The homunculus carried on with her speech as the butcher was seemingly lost in his thoughts. "Creating mana with individual intent is not something you can do with your current powers at this point. However, the things I said just now will help you get the full potential out of your necromancer powers. Goro didn''t know anything about intent-driven magic or its nuances. Hecked a huge piece of the puzzle because he was a typical ranker from Anfang. Hence he couldn''t make full use of his affinity and spells. But you are different from Goro even in this aspect. The death mana is pure intent. If you wish to harness it to the best of your abilities, you need to control it using another intent." After Alephee finished talking about other worlds, she released the time-element barrier she had kept for so long. Eren was d that a lot of his queries were answered by her, bringing him more rity on how to make use of his newly acquired necromancer powers. "Heh! This death mana is infused with pure intent, right? What will happen if I pair it with simr non-elemental mana?" Eren knew by instinct that wrath mana wouldn''t get injected into mob summons because they did not havepletely organic vessels. However, he wanted to try out his wrath mana on contracted undead that had their bodies intact. Lightning struck and Eren approached where Meera Medinah and Rehaal were kept. He wanted to create a contracted undead out of a member of Edinburgh''s special forces. *** Meera Medinah opened her eyes after what seemed like a long time. She was lying on what seemed to be a small stone tform that looked like a single bed. All her military-issue gear was taken from her. She didn''t even have clothes on her. This single bed had necromancy-rted runic inscriptions that would illuminate from time to time. Meera''s hands were tied above her head as she was made to sleep on this tform. Her legs were also tied using runic bindings cast by Alephee. This was the preprocess required to create a contract undead. Since Eren couldn''t make use of Goro''s human dolls, he decided to make his own using the "resources" he had lying around. Meera had blurred vision and groggy memories of recent events. She barely remembered that she had fought with a young girl in a ck dress. This young girl absolutely rolled over anything Meera threw her way. Even though she appeared to be in the D-Rank, she easily defeated Expert-ranked Meera. Meera was just beginning to process her recent memories of that horrible battle as she opened her eyes. "Where where am I? And why the fuck" Meera''s line of questioning was halted when she felt something sharp pierce her heart. She looked down at her chest and saw that someone had pierced her heart using a space-element dagger without creating an open wound. "Aaaaaaaaaah!" Meera was jolted back into reality when she felt the dagger getting twisted while lodged inside her heart. She screamed and tried to get up. However, the runic bindings on her limbs lit up and prevented her from making any suddenmotion. Meera''s blurred vision was cleared soon enough as teardrops started rolling down the edges of her eyes. She found that she had been stabbed by a young man with white hair and blue eyes. "Who who wait. Eren Idril!" Meera identified Eren by his facial features. She had a lot of nk spaces in her head. But at this point, she realized that Eren had defeated the entire ambush team. And she was forced to participate in a macabre ceremony. Eren didn''t feel like replying to Meera''s questions. The whats, whys, and whos would soon be irrelevant to her. Meanwhile, he injected his wrath mana into her body before continuing with the undead ceremony. One had to say that Meera managed to keep a straight head despite the grim situation she had found herself in. She was robbed of ess to casting spells. And her exceptional body stats were basically useless because of the runic bindings. Therefore, Meera tried to tempt Eren into releasing her. She then started to threaten him. But all that fell on deaf ears as the butcher continued with the ceremony. It took Eren a while toplete the process because Meera was a rank above him. Alephee''s assistance also helped him in the process. The butcher took a long breath before pulling out the space-element dagger when he sessfully created a reanimation array on Meera''s body. It made its presence known on Meera''s chest in a red tattoo, before disappearing. "Wakey wakey, sleepy head!" Eren pped his hands in joy and made his first undead contract arise from her slumber. Chapter 881 Creating Royal Conspiracy P1 Rehaal Renar was dreaming. He was dreaming about the time when he gets all the pieces of the puzzle together andpletes the royal quest. He was dreaming about the time when he gets dered as the heir apparent to the throne. With the right royal power, even the Sages will do his bidding at the right price. There will be an unprecedented level of fame and respect that he will receive from everyone in the kingdom of Edinburgh. Andstly, the right to have arge harem of all the top-notch beauties. Even bing the heir apparent to the throne was enough for Rehaal to experience finer things in life. Rehaal liked the ce his dreand was taking him. He was just easing into his dream when he was woken up from his slumber. It took him a while to distinguish between dream and reality when he opened his eyes. The guy was disappointed that it was just a dream and angry at the person who had woken him up so rudely. He had been pped in the face and woken up. By the very person who was supposed to look after him. "What the fuck are you up to, Meera? Is this a way to treat" Rehaal rubbed his right cheek with his hand as he said it. However, he stopped his speech after he saw that two people were standing behind Meera. Rehaal opened his eyes wide when he saw that one of them was Eren IdrilC the target of the ambush team. "Expert Meera! Kill him right this instant. Kill him and let the city of White Raven fall. This bastard has messed up with me far too many times." Rehaal pointed at Eren and urged Meera to take action. For some reason, he kept thinking that Meera was simply not aware of the target''s location. However, Meera just stood still and looked at him angrily. As if anger was the only emotion she could show at the time. "Fascinating, isn''t it?" Rehaal heard Eren speak. The royal scion was about to open his mouth to speak. But he soon found out that Eren''s words weren''t directed at him. The girl in a ck Gothic dress responded to Eren. "Indeed. You have managed to retain a wisp of her soul that ispletely in your control just by adding wrath mana to the mix before the ceremony. I told you that you needed to rece the intentions hidden in death mana with something else. To prevent the dead body from reverting to its dead state. I was only trying to create a clear picture for you. But frankly, I wasn''t expecting something like this. She is hanging between life and death now. She won''t be able to break into the next rank anymore being a human doll. But she is as good as a real Expert ranker." Alephee felt impressed by the results Eren had obtained after the ceremony. Thetter chuckled before adding up. "Goro was trying to create a living undead like her through his soul-rted experiments and got his soul injured because of it. He hade up with a few changes to the ceremony by himself. I just took inspiration from the results he had obtained and used wrath mana toplete the puzzle he couldn''t." Alephee nodded at Eren. She then looked at Eren mischievously before adding a sarcastic tone. "I''m d you didn''t inject lust mana into her body before the ceremony. Otherwise, things could have been much different. Let''s just say all her battle potential would have been ruined." Eren startedughing like a hyena when he heard Alephee''sment. "Kekeke. Don''t put ideas in my head." He then stared at a confused Rehaal before adding up. "*Sigh. Too bad she can''t talk coherently. Otherwise, I would have created a living undead out of this doofus as well. He would have served me well as my royal sponsor." Eren sighed and looked at Rehaal like it was a lost opportunity to tap into the royal reserve. He couldn''t get anything out of Rodrick at this point. The guy was so broke these days, Eren resisted the urge to kick him out of his city every time he thought about it. Rehaal could have been a boon for him to get more royal resources for himself and his guild. He could onlyment the fact that his necromancy still had some limitations. "What what the fuck are you guys talking about? And Expert Meera, why the fuck are you looking at me like that? Kill the rats standing behind you. That''s what we came here to" Rehaal froze in his speech once again when he realized that Eren was fine after the ambush was over. They had arge ambush team when they started. However, there was nobody to be seen around him except Meera Medinah. Rehaal immediately spread his mana sense and tried to find answers to some of his questions. When he did, those questions led him to answers he wasn''t willing to ept. "You you killed them all?" Rehaal had a shake in his voice when he asked Eren. The butcher pursed his lips before correcting. "No! I am not a bloodthirsty killer that kills in rage, man. The bitch err Sienna Slughorn is alive. The one that is standing beside you is also kinda sorta alive-ish. Then there''s you. So that''s two and a half rankers!" Rehaal tried to get away from the scene when he heard Eren''s answer. However, Meera''s aura kept him from making any sudden moves. She drew her sword from the scabbard behind her back and pointed its tip at Rehaal, freezing him in his action. ''Bitch what is wrong with you? Let me run the fuck away in peace.'' Rehaal had this thought in his mind. He just didn''t have the guts to voice them in front of an angry Meera. "What are you nning to do with him? You told me to spare him. Surely, you have a n." Chapter 882 Creating Royal Conspiracy P2 "What are you nning to do with him? You told me to spare him. Surely, you have a n." Alephee asked Eren in an inquisitive tone. He scratched his chin before saying matter-of-factly. "This shit between me and these guys should stay between us. It''ll only trouble me and my city more if I let it spill over. So I''m nning to paint a picture of a royal conspiracy. We already have the right colors. We just need someone to bring them here." Eren said casually as he thought of Krista, Rupen, and Lambert. He then used an artifact to contact Agatha then and there. After a bit of flirtatious talk and some work-rted stuff, he asked her if there was someone avable at the guild who could bring the handicapped and rune-bound members of Edinburgh''s secret force here. Agatha asked Will Evaan to do the job. Although he was from Levine''s camp, he had gotten used to handling things for the White Raven guild. The guy agreed immediately. Eren''s n was simple. Paint the whole thing as a fight between two royal scions using the kingdom''s secret forces as their goons. Naturally, the groups that created the ambush teams wouldn''t believe the royal conspiracies at first, even if they had allowed Rehaal to take part. But they wouldn''te out in the open to call Eren''s royal conspiracy out. Eren wasn''t sure about the n when he started crafting it after meeting with Shalen Craft. But now that he had Meera as his live undead, it was easier to pull off. If he yed his cards right, even the organizations involved in the ambush would start assuming that Eren got away because of the fight between two royal scions. The loopholes in the conspiracy would be filled by the conspiracy itself. He had seen that happen with the Osan Woods'' Butcher case. He believed that the more loopholes, the more mysterious the royal conspiracy would be. Alephee understood Eren''s ns as soon as he asked Will to bring them to Krista andpany. They were simply kept alive without any working limbs attached to their bodies. The crime scene Eren had created at his ambush site would serve as their final resting ce. Eren would let Meera kill the three secret force members using her weapon. Their runic marks will register her as the killer. The butcher would just muddy the waters more by killing Rehaal in the most brutal way possible. It was already made clear by Rehaal that royal scions would use the kingdom''s secret forces for their own gains. Eren would portray Krista and thepany as hired help, just like Meera was for Rehaal. Eren was nning to include Sienna in the royal conspiracy as well, creating a mess for House Slughorn. He would then kill her at a different ce to finally be done with her. "Eren Idril, listen to me. If you spare me, I''ll never bother you again. I''ll also grant you" Rehaal was slowly catching up with what Eren had in his mind. Eren was aiming to use Rehaal as a tool to create a royal conspiracy around him. He knew that it would work better than he cared to admit. Because that''s how cutthroat the contest among royal scions was. "Meera, do it." Eren didn''t pay much attention to Rehaal after he was done preparing for the conspiracy. He let his first living undead finish his job for him. Swoosh. Zoom. Chop. Rehaal''s head was severed from his torso by Meera''s sword. Coincidentally, Rehaal also had a curse mark on his body that would kill his attacker right away as long as he was C-Rank or below. The curse mark would also record the assant''s mana signature, letting the royal house know who killed him. Meera''s mana signature was recorded in the curse mark on Rehaal''s chest, which was only visible in the form of a runic tattoo. It spread forth a unique mana pulse and destroyed Meera''s heart right away using a mysterious spell. Eren and Alephee both looked at each other and chuckled when they felt Meera''s heart being destroyed. As Meera was now a living undead, she didn''t even flinch when her heart was destroyed. Upon Eren''s orders, she drank Ice Fairy''s Kiss and restored it right away. Now that the curse mark was removed, Rehaal''s body was safe to approach. Eren got near it and essed his ID stone right away. As a royal scion, Rehaal was bound to have his personal stash of riches on him. Eren wasn''t disappointed by his assumption as it turned out to be true. "Sweet. This should cover my rent for the caravan as well as the efforts I had to put in toe out of it and finish this job." Eren took all the Extols Rehaal had on him in his storage along with his other resources. He destroyed the ones Alephee told him not to take. Just when he was about to be done with discarding the random things Rehaal had on himself, he found a few pieces of a chipped sword that looked special. "Hm? What are these?" Eren mumbled to himself as he levitated the pieces of the chipped sword around him. It took him a while to figure out what they were. "Are these the pieces of the royal puzzle? The ones Rodrick was looking for?" Alephee pondered a bit and scanned them with her soul sense before confirming Eren''s suspicions. "Yes. You don''t have any use for them though. The sword is a transcendent weapon, no doubt. But you will need all of the pieces to make it whole. And I don''t think you should be looking for royal scions to hunt just for the sake of this sword." Eren shook his head in denial before making Alephee understand what he was thinking about. "I don''t intend to use the weapon myself. But I also won''t leave these pieces here. I''d rather give them to Rodrick and make him owe me some more. Hehe. That bastard would know we had a hand to y in Rehaal''s death. But I don''t think he would resist the urge to have these pieces for himself." === AN: Krista, Rupen, and Lambert get taken as hostages in chapter 825. Will Evaan was first mentioned in chapter 657. The pieces of the royal puzzle were first mentioned in chapter 776. Chapter 883 Clean-Up Crew Will Evaan appeared at the scene of the battle using a space-element array. He was apanied by Renar, Viper, and Seref. Seref was a D-Rank nt monster Will, Renar, and Viper had trained. Under their guidance and with the right resources, Seref had transformed himself into a functional member of the rankers'' society. Eren had already left the ce with Alephee, Argo, and Sienna. He had given Will''s team all the instructions they needed to create a royal conspiracy. He had left the living undead Meera on the battlefield. Krista''s team was supposed to be killed by her hand. Meera had worn a mask to cover her face. Alephee had cast her own magic on her that wouldn''t make here across as a living undead. Will was instructed to deliver Krista, Lambert, and Ruper to her and she would take care of them using instructions imprinted on her consciousness by Eren. Will saw Meera and nodded at her. The living undead nodded back. Will then proceeded to observe the battlefield and see what Eren had left for them to clean. Will was a mini giant with a 12-foot stature. He could see things from an elevated point of view from Renar. He looked at Eren''s battlefield with a serious look on his face beforementing. "Your boss has left no stone unturned in making our job difficult. We ended up bing his clean-up crew." Renar could also see the signs of death and destruction still present in the surroundings. He nodded to Will''s words and responded. "True. He should have at least given us a heads-up a month before. We have so much work back at home and now this. I''ll demand extra pay from him for all of us." Seref nodded affirmatively before uncorking a vial of Potion of Innocence. He drank the vial and let it get processed by his system beforementing. "Seref needs some more water and sunlight exposure. Seref doesn''t want to stay in the underground facility anymore." Seref could synthesize potions in his system and mirror their effects in his wood-element creation spells. As such, he was an ideal choice for Eren to clear his residual signature from the crime scene more thoroughly and precisely. Seref could alsomunicate with Eren''s woond creatures in a limited capacity. Upon Eren''s instructions, they would listen to Seref and help the team keep the three hostages alive and handicapped. Viper''s eyes twinkled when he heard about extra pay from Renar. He also made his demands clear. "I I need some bonus and paid vacation to spend some time with my girl." Will looked at Renar and thepany and shook his head. He sighed before getting to work. They were indeed Eren''s clean-up crew, who summoned her to muddy the waters for him and create a royal conspiracy. Behind the group were the limbless Krista, Rupen, and Lambert. They still had a woond creature stuck to their bodies, which was siphoning their life essence at a steady pace. Will and his team got to work while Meera approached the three rankers. Will saw the number of bodies Eren had left behind for them and had stress lines on his forehead. Whoever the butcher killed was in particrly terrible condition. And when he found Nico Chains'' dead body along with his dead demon beast, he knew how critical his task was. ''Master Levine had picked up a dangerous student for herself. They say that Demonmir was like a death storm for his enemies in his early years. This guy is no different from him. I wonder what would happen if they met face to face after this mess gets known to Demonmir.'' Will sighed once again before disintegrating the bodies with his spell. Eren reminded him of Demonmir. Except, Demonmir had the protection and resources of his n backing him. Eren, on the other hand, was a self-made man. And after observing the carnage he had unleashed on the battlefield, one could argue that he was even more of a demon than Demonmir himself. Keeping Will and the team on the scene crafting a royal conspiracy, Eren ensured that neither the White Raven guild nor his city would get into trouble. It didn''t assure him of his safety one bit. But that was something he couldn''t help with anyway. *** Sienna Slughorn opened her eyes and her vision slowly returned to her. "Re... Regan. Where" Sienna remembered that she was in the midst of a battle with the ambush target before she was forcefully put into slumber. She tried to channel her mana through her body to get rid of the drowsiness and fatigue she was feeling. A binding rune, however, had cut off her ess to her mana core. A woond creature held Sienna in her embrace, siphoning her life essence and making her too weak to do anything but remain awake. "You! Eren Idril!" Sienna opened her eyes wide in shock when she started to look around. That''s because she found a ck-haired green-eyed man staring at her with a nk face. "Eren, release me this instant. You do know which House I belong to, right? You are already in trouble with all the wrong people. Don''t dare to" Sienna was about to continue what she was about to say when Eren looked away from her. Only now did Sienna realize that a young girl was standing beside Eren in a ck Gothic dress. "It''s funny really. I no longer hate her even after seeing her in front of me. At least not as much as I thought I did. I''ll kill her just to put an end to the matter. But that''s just it." Eren opened up to Alephee. He realized that the satisfaction that he was going to have in killing Sienna was not because he was about to kill her. However, the chapter that he had opened in my past life wasing to an end. Alephee looked at Eren and observed his expressions. She felt his steady heartbeat and his serene mind. There was a certain calmness that was getting reflected in his eyes. The homunculus smiled beforementing casually. "Go ahead, Eren. We often close one chapter in our lives to start another. Get rid of the calluses you have on your heart." Chapter 884 Something More Profound Than Luck "Hahahaha!" Sienna startedughing when she heard Eren talk with Alephee. After staring at them viciously, she threatened them. "You are thinking of finishing me off just because I was part of the ambush team? So what if we tried to kill you? So what if I was part of the ambush team? Eren, get this thing in your fucking head that some people are meant to suppress others and some are meant to be suppressed. That''s just the way the world works. You may not like the world we live in because you are destined to be subjugated. But that doesn''t exempt you from following the rules of the world. You don''t need me to tell you the price you''d have to pay for disobedience. Especially when so many forces are standing against you as a united front." Eren listened to all of Sienna''s threats peacefully. He listened to them like he had all the time in the world. One could tell that he was savoring this moment. He sighed before getting close to Sienna. He walked around her with his palms facing his back before speaking to her. "You know, Sienna. I always thought that it was my fault for getting infatuated with you in my let''s say past life. I thought it was because of me that I was head over heels for you at that time. If I had just avoided youpletely and stuck to myne, things would have been much different for me in my past life. I am not saying that I would have been a very sessful person. But I am sure that things would have turned out fine for me. More often than not, victims themselves indulge in the act of victim-ming. They just can''t avoid getting sucked down the rabbit hole of ''what ifs'' and ''could haves.'' I was no different back then." Sienna was caught off guard when she heard Eren was infatuated with her. She didn''t know that their rare meeting in LA would cause Eren to have feelings for her. Of course, she didn''t know that Eren was talking about his past timeline. She just assumed herself to be special and decided to use Eren''s ''supposed'' feelings to her advantage. "Eren you you should have told me this sooner. The thing is I also.." Eren shook his head in denial and mmed her shut by controlling the woond creature embracing her from behind. The summoned creature used her green vines as a gag to shut Sienna''s mouth. "You don''t need to say anything, Sienna. Your job is to listen. This is not for you. It''s for me." Eren took out another Sativa Stick from his storage and lit it up. He kept on walking in circles with Sienna at the center. Releasing the first drag through his nostrils, he continued. "Heh! If I had learned nothing from my past, seeing you in front of me would have still invoked a sense of anger in me. If I was as much of a failure as I had been in my past life, those memories would have kept on scarring my consciousness day by day. And this meeting would have been aplete revenge story. It would have been sad for me to finish you off if I was the same old Eren. Because no matter what, those memories would stay with me for as long as I was alive. But that''s not the case anymore. I managed to change the perspective of looking at those memories. I wouldn''t want them to be forgotten in my mind anymore. Things from the past put a smile on my face now. Because I have achieved a semnce of sess by using them as my driving force." ''This guy has lost it. If only someone from the ambush team was left alive and came to rescue me'' Sienna thought to herself and tried to break free from the woond creature''s embrace. She also tried to cast her spell using various means but those attempts were unsessful as well. She had tried contacting Regan and her team using a voicemunication channel. However, the dead response informed her that they had already been killed by Eren. Eren ignored Sienna''s futile attempts to escape and continued. "Fate is a fickle mistress, Sienna. She was never with me in my past timeline. And I don''t think she extends any favors to me in this life either. But I havee to cherish something much more profound than fate. And I learned to trust it over any form of luck or destiny. I trust the process now. The waiting one has to undergo to reap the rewards of their efforts is worth it to me. I embrace the uncertainty of getting those rewards. Andstly, I enjoy the act of bing. Because when nothing is uncertain for me, that''s when anything bes possible for me. Who gives a flying fuck that I had a poor start? That I was a broken man who had a lot of baggage behind my back. That I had reached rock bottom. So much so that the only way for me to proceed forward was to climb out of the abyss from the other side." Eren released another cloud of white smoke that was filling his lungs and found himself rxing. For some reason, he felt like this was the most satisfying Sativa Stick he had had in months. Eren took out Diceros Left and Right from his storage when he was done smoking. He started handling his weapon set using both his hands. The weapons danced around the butcher like they had a mind of their own. As Sienna stood motionless not too far away, the punching daggers cut through the air and caused ripples of mana that felt threatening to her. While he continued to walk around Sienna, Eren enjoyed handling his weapons. If his previous mentor Ma was here, she would have been shocked by how far Eren hade in mastering the katars. Sienna was starting to get terrified by how Eren was behaving. She hade to realize that the guy didn''t fear her n. Despite so many powerful forces against him, he did not care if he was theirmon enemy. As if he was waiting for them to attack him with all they got. Chapter 885 Trust The Process Sienna never had to fear for her life before this day. Her life was never in actual danger even when she was out hunting monsters for fun. Or when she was handling the n''s business. Even the mock battles she had to go through all her life never really harmed her. So when she felt the threatening sensations from Eren''s weapon, she felt goosebumps on her skin. ''I I could die here!'' Sienna realized this as she watched Eren lose himself in his trance handling his weapons. The flying shes he was sending around him were not lethal at first because he wasn''t using his mana. But his elemental attainments were slowly starting to manifest. Soon those shes would cause her a great deal of pain and eventually lead to her death if theynd on her. Eren started speaking up againC more for himself than for any of his listeners. "Sometimes when things don''t work out our way, there might be something better in store for us. It is very difficult to believe in this possibility, and I understand that better than anyone else. Especially when it looks like the entire world is conspiring against us. Our only job is to trust the process and make conscious efforts to achieve what we want. There needs to be a sense of desperation in our efforts. And that very dash of desperation will work its magic one day. Sometimes, redirection is just the thing we want in life without us knowing about it. The unintended and unforeseen lead us away from obstacles we cannot see-- towards blessings we could not count on. Sometimes, we are gifted with lofty goals andrger-than-life dreams from the mistakes wemit. Sometimes, we just need to have the right kind of hunger to achieve the unfathomable. And this hunger can only be cultivated when we are deprived of the things we want." Eren''s voice started reverberating in the surroundings like it hade from different sources all at once. His various elemental attainments were causing this phenomenon. If there was a normal ranker present at the scene, they would have been shocked by the number of elemental attainments Eren was cultivating for himself. They would have branded the butcher as a madman before understanding the fact that it was simply impossible for anybody to progress this further in these many elementalprehensions using normal methods. Alephee could tell that Eren was in a battle trance as he let his feelings drive his actions. His monologue to himself was a way for him to know more about himself. "After living a life across the spectrum of sess and failure, I have witnessed the facets it has to offer to all living beings. I have seen talented people get their bursts of fame before running themselves into the ground. And I have seen less talented but consistent people eventually seed. When we see and experience things like these, they start teaching us lessons we kind of already know. The trick is to hold a lofty goal and work passionately towards achieving it. The price is not the goal but the process itself. We just need to find the right path to walk on and the rest of the stuff will figure itself out." Eren''s elemental attainments were getting more profound as he kept on speaking to himself out loud. His presence started dominating one moment, then waned the next. Alephee kept her silence as she watched the frightened-looking Sienna. Thetter''s eyes were bloody and her face was red because of the efforts she was putting in to escape the bindings she was subjected to. She had managed to send her mana circuits into hyperdrive but the runic bindings prevented her from casting spells and made her receive bacshes instead. Unbeknownst to Eren, Sienna''s mana signatures were also fluctuating. As if she was turning into someone else. Alephee narrowed her eyes at Sienna before thinking to herself. ''There''s a high chance for "her" to appear at the time of Sienna''s death.'' Alephee started taking preventive measures when she had that thought. She didn''t want topromise Eren''s safety by counting on Anfang''s restrictions. Eren wasn''t aware of what was happening around him. He changed his weapons and started developing his own mana-based martial arts for Rigor Mortis and Anduril. The swords started operating themselves around Eren as it started looking like he had be a de storm. The spatial fabric around the butcher fluctuated as the weapons began affecting the fabric of reality with his elemental attainments. If Will Evaan, Nico Chains, Oslo, or anyone who knew Ottoman de Montmorency personally was present at the scene at this time, they would have called Eren Demonmir Lite. Though, the butcher himself wouldn''t have considered it an honor. He just kept quiet for a while as he practiced his weapons before speaking up once again. "There will be roadblocks in everything we do that are worthy of our time and efforts. However, most people do not attempt to destroy or circumvent them. They use them as an excuse for never starting their journey. Agreed, sess is not something that the process can promise us. But we just need to work in silence and keep moving forward. We need to believe in ourselves to the point of delusion. Because nobody would do that for us without expecting anything in return. The universe might be impartial to all of us. It might not favor us from the beginning. But it is willing to create an exception for people who are delusional enough to think that they can escape the matrix they have be intentionally or unintentionally part of. We can only escape the system when we be what we need to be." Eren stopped his actions all of a sudden and stood still. He had been handling his weapons with closed eyes all this time. After opening them, he took a deep breath before storing his weapons. His eyes shone and the wind rustled his hair when he looked at Sienna. The space around Eren bent and he appeared right in front of Sienna in a single step. He looked into her eyes calmly before cing his right hand on her chest. Her heart was touched literally as he drove his fingers through her chest without any apparent resistance. "I thank you for teaching me some very valuable life lessons. The bad blood between us ends with your death. At least I hope it does. Rest in peace, Sienna Slughorn." Eren said calmly before crushing Sienna''s heart. === AN: Eren wishes you a happy Men''s Day. Work in silence to seed. No need to talk about your struggles to anyone until you make it. Embrace the masculine and trust the process. Cheers! ;) Chapter 886 The Shell Breaks Sienna felt like her vision had been shattered into many pieces when Eren crushed her heart. She was too stunned to continue resisting. And she was too afraid to show signs of trepidation on her face. A series of images started appearing in her head as she started living her life in reverse. Deception. Maniption. And dominance through family background. Sienna used these traits as her go-to tools to achieve her goals. And her position in the family allowed her to do that without facing any repercussions. However, just as Sebastian had said to Eren in passing, she wasn''t like this from the beginning. Sienna started remembering her happy days. The days of her early childhood made her stand out from the rest of the Slughorn scions. Her talent started bing apparent as she began training to be a ranker. She held a lot of promise with the way she made non-ranked potions, making House Slughorn believe that she was going to be an exceptional potioner. This was what allowed her to be seen as one of the most valuable scions in her n. However, Sienna herself started noticing that she was changing in her mid-teen years. Something she couldn''t avoid. As if her individuality as Sienna Slughorn was just an outer shell for something much more devious. And that part started affecting her as a whole. Was she changing or was she reverting to who she really was? Sienna couldn''t tell. She started thinking of an easy way out and became more cunning. She started learning what were considered to be the most detrimental traits a ranker could have. And her talent and her cunning made it easy for her to learn and master them too. All of Sienna''s life memories shed in front of her eyes in a sh. And the outer shell that was Sienna Slughorn broke when she met Eren''s eyes. Sienna had felt her heart getting crushed a moment before. But she started feeling something much more painful and profound from within her soul. As if her very soul was reshaping itself. Zoom! Eren felt a strange force act on his body as he was sent flying in the air. This force was so vast and profound that he couldn''t measure it. In fact, he wasn''t even sure if it was a force or merely a concept that had ''push and chop'' written all over it. The hand that he had used to crush Sienna''s heart had been cut by something unexinable. A streak of blood marked Eren''s path because of his sudden amputation. Things could have been much more serious for Eren if a thin barrier hadn''t protected him. It prevented serious injuries fromnding on his body. Eren wasn''t sure how he had received the thinyer of protective barrier. But he got his answer soon enough when he looked at Alephee. ''Damn it. I was a bitte.'' Alephee thought to herself as she raised her hand towards the now-flying Eren and changed his trajectory. The butcher was made tond beside her. He looked at Sienna strangely before looking at her chest. His chopped hand was still lodged in her chest. Sienna was now surrounded by white smoke that started to affect the fabric of the space around her. Her eyes became devoid of iris as she looked upwards with her mouth open. The woond creature holding her down disintegrated all of a sudden. Eren felt like the world was changing its colors as a strange kind of mana pulse started originating from Sienna. Sienna''s body was lifted off the ground by an unknown force orck thereof. It was as if gravity itself stopped acting on her by creating an exception. Even after Sienna closed her eyes, the illumination they radiated was visible due to the light escaping through the slits. Sienna was then surrounded by white fog that felt like some sort of personalized mana. Being the user of the Sin Series Abilities himself, Eren identified that mana right away. It had otherworldly origins. Or to be precise, it was mana that belonged to someone that was hiding deep within Sienna. A domain of unknown origin was created around the three people which separated Eren''s surroundings from the inside of the domain. In the domain, strange mana prevailed over Anfang''s natural mana. Everything started looking monochrome ck and white to Eren as he looked around. The world had not been robbed of its colors. It was just that the mana originating from Sienna was so strong that it affected his perception. It took him a while to process the pain. He gritted his teeth and used his bloodline Ability to regenerate his chopped hand. He also coughed and spat a clot of blood that had formed in his lungs. Even with the thin barrier protecting him, his lungs had copsed due to the force of the push. "What what is going on?" Eren looked at Alephee questioningly. He could tell that she already knew what was about to happen. The homunculus kept her gaze focused on Sienna as shemented. "Don''t worry. Everything will be over soon. "She" holds no power over here." Eren wasn''t satisfied with Alephee''s cryptic reply. But he kept her mouth shut when he saw how serious she had gotten looking at Sienna. He could tell that she was on edge. Eren found Alephee''s reaction rming because she was used to treating Sages as houseflies. The fact that she was serious in this situation told him that the "she" Alephee was talking about was someone more powerful than tens of Sagesbined. "Hehehehehe!" A fading and half-slumbering consciousness possessed Sienna''s dying body and startedughing maniacally. It made Sienna open her eyes and look at Eren and Alephee with a piercing gaze. Sienna''s eyes had turnedpletely white. There were runic tattoos around her eyes. Her hair locks started turning into snakes. And her skin became pale. Sienna still looked like Sienna for the most part. But the same could not be said about her presence. "Nice to meet you, the inheritor of Elder Echor." Chapter 887 Disrespecting A Goddess P1 "It''s a strange way of calling me. But that''s okay, I guess. What''s up?" A few cracking noises were heard from Eren''s wrist as he rotated his newly regenerated hand. Whileing to terms with what was happening around him, he greeted the new Sienna casually. Rather than asking questions now, he decided to deal with what was in front of him. Eren''s uncaring response caught Sienna tongue-tied. Suddenly, she turned to Alephee andmented. It''s you! I should have expected you to be with him. When did you realize it was me?" The perception-altering domain that the half-slumbering consciousness had created around the region suddenly began shaking. The ground was beginning to crack and runes of unknown origin started appearing on the ground. From all directions, they broke down the domain''s barrier and let the colors in. Anfang''s World Will was reacting to the new Sienna''s presence. It was apparent that the domain was about to break in a matter of a few seconds. Alephee smiled as she looked around. She then focused her gaze on Sienna once again beforementing. "I just guessed. He has met a lot of troubled women in his life. So I wasn''t sure at first. But the way this shell reacted to Eren''s undisguised presence made me remember you. Same facial expressions you see. Something deep within that shell was let''s say scared. And here you are!" The new Sienna stopped smiling when she heard her speak. She then looked at Eren and gritted her teeth before pointing a finger at him. "I am not scared of this ant. What will he do? What can he do? I would have killed him right here if it wasn''t for you." Alephee chuckled before responding promptly. "The fact that someone of your caliber wants to kill him when he has just started his journey tells me you are even more scared of him than I had thought." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard the conversation between the twodies. He cleared his throat before speaking up. "If you two girls like to y cryptic around me, that''s fine. But finish your thing fast because I got ces to be." Alephee and Sienna both looked at Eren with nk looks on their faces. The homunculus cracked first and startedughing while the new Sienna was angrier than before. "You! I know it''s not "him" that''s in front of me. Still, I had thought that the inheritor of Elder Echor would be a lot like him. But you are just just just not him at all." Eren pursed his lips. "Um sorry to disappoint!?" he replied because he wasn''t sure what to reply to Sienna without more information. He then looked at Alephee before speaking up. "Can we get anything out of her? Is this conversation really relevant? Or is it something you will pretend like it never happened until the so-called right time?" The new Sienna was taken aback by the way Eren was dealing with her presence. She could only exert a small number of her powers in her current situation. Plus, Anfang''s World Will was suppressing her. She was soon ted to be kicked out. However, she knew that her presence alone should have been a deterrent for someone of Eren''s caliber. She tried to overwhelm him using her soul sense. But for some reason, Eren''s soul was not something she could intimidate even with her powers. Eren had an awakened soul sense that helped him stay unbothered in Sienna''s presence. He was curious about a lot of things. But he didn''t let his curiosity or other emotions dictate his behavior. The newly raised domain was breaking apart. The monochrome world inside the domain was shrinking as the colors of the world started seeping into it. The runes on the ground had started creating trenches and the ground itself was shaking like a mini earthquake. The mana in the surroundings had be so agitated that no spell could be cast. At least not by a normal ranker. A more profound and omnipotent consciousness was going to arrive at the scene soon. While the half-slumbering consciousness within Sienna was shocked by Eren''s behavior, Alephee had gotten used to it. She sighed before admitting to him. "Well we can''t get anything out of her with her current powers. And yes, it''s better if you ignore her for now. But we can expect to see her again." Alephee told Eren that she would tell him about the half-slumbering consciousness within Sienna when the time was ripe. And that''s what the butcher wanted to hear. "You carry the name of Eren Idril, right? Listen to me, Eren. If you want to live, surrender your aaaaaaargh!" Sienna started to threaten Eren but thetter didn''t wait for her to finish. He spread his soul sense and took control of the severed hand Sienna still had lodged in her chest. He raised his hand and made a yanking motion. His chopped hand copied his action and yanked off the crushed heart. It then threw it on her face before gripping herrynx. The butcher''s fingers seeped deep into her skin and took hold of her voice box. He yanked another organ from her body before cing it in her raised hand. When Sienna''s body was damaged to this extent, her role as a vessel waspromised even further. "Hmm. I didn''t think it would be this easy. I was expecting some form of basic defense from her. Did she think that I''d just get intimidated by her presence to not attack her?" Eren asked aloud to nobody in particr before calling his chopped hand towards him. He touched it with his raised hand. And the chopped hand turned into a slimy substance before dissolving into his hand. When integration wasplete, his fingers were soaked in red blood. Sienna''s blood. He could start seeing colors around him because Sienna''s domain was effectively shrunk to only around her body. Eren then wiped Sienna''s blood over his clothes before asking the same question to Alephee in a different way. "Do all people outside of Anfang act like these? Careless and delusional? I would have done a better job scaring my opponent if I was in her shoes with her powers." Chapter 888 Disrespecting A Goddess P2 The domain was broken even before Anfang''s World Will had a chance to arrive. Sienna''s body stopped levitating when Eren finished speaking. It was unclear if the half-slumbering consciousness became powerless after Eren''s attack or if she was so enraged by his act that she lost control over herself. Sienna had a shocked look on her face when she died for good this time. And one could see that there remained a hint of fear in her eyes. She was terrified of someone who had killed her without caring about her origins or her rtionship with him. ''This "version" of him! He''ll be an unstoppable threat to all of us if we let him grow. I''ll have to do something about it. I I''ll have to wake up soon from my slumber to'' The half-slumbering consciousness had this thought as she left the reaches of Anfang''s World Will after her shell died. She seemed desperate to wake up from her supposed slumber after witnessing how steadily Eren was growing. Everything returned to normal when the domain was broken. Sienna''s dead-than-dead bodyy on the ground with her heart andrynx yanked off from the inside. Only now did Eren allow himself to have the shakes. He raised his hands in front of him and saw them shaking like he was feeling the chills. The blood in his body had been agitated and his mana circuits were affected as well. His skin turned red and his eyes turned bloodshot. The butcher had increased heartbeats. He had started hearing white noise and seeing things in a blur. He had prevented himself from having these symptoms in his half-slumbering consciousness''s presence. So they all showed up on him at once when he let loose. When he was talking like a big shot in front of half-asleep consciousness, he was just pretending. He hade to realize that whatever was inside Sienna was many times more powerful and terrifying than Eliza. The situation was more serious than when Eren had his mental breakdown in front of Eliza. It was just that he was in a better position to tackle the fear that was creeping into him. He kept it at bay using his absolute control, unwavering intent, and unsuppressed soul sense. He only allowed himself to feel fear when the situation was over. Alephee looked at Eren and chuckled. She was shaken by "her" presence as well. Still, she was in better condition than Eren. "Hehe. Eren, you just disrespected a bonafide goddess. And I couldn''t have been prouder." The look Alephee gave was usually associated with giving someone a thumbs up. She then sighed before continuing. "Just know that you couldn''t have avoided her messing up with you. She had set the cycle of cause and effect that way. The shakes are your body''s natural response. There''s some part of you that''s scared. But let me ask you. Are you "scared" scared?" While trying to control the shakes, Eren looked at Alephee with a "the what now?" expression. Instead of replying to her right away, he sat crossed-legged straight away before closing his eyes. He took a long breath before channeling the Rootless ranking technique. The butcher''s blood flow returned to normal and his mana circuits were pacified as he continued practicing his technique. It took him a while to get rid of the shakespletely. Eren rubbed his palms over each other before cing them over his face. He could still smell Sienna''s blood on his right hand. But he ignored it and used his hands as face warmers for a few moments. After getting up, he stretched his hands and rotated his torso from his waist from right to left and then from left to right. He spoke up only after he made sure that things were in hisplete control once again. "Goddess, huh? There''s no point denying the fact that I felt fear. But it can''t overwhelm me to the point of no return any more. I can now function normally while feeling fear." Eren said as he ced his right hand over his chest and felt his heartbeats. They were a bit rapid but returned to normal after some time. He smiled at himself before continuing. "I don''t know what her deal is or where I fit into her affairs. But if it''s not in my hands to deal with her, I frankly don''t care. I already have too many things to do to care about her in advance. I think we both were scared of each other. It''s just as you made her realize. That goddess fears me. Or the potential I carry and the possibility of a threat I might pose to her in the future." Eren said as he looked up. The small encounter with the so-called goddess had skewed the passage of time for him. He felt that only a few minutes had passed since he had killed Sienna for all time when it was in fact hours. The sun was about to set. And it was time for him to move. Eren walked towards Sienna''s dead body and looked at her face keenly before speaking up. "I could tell that she was scared of me by looking her in the eyes. And she could do the same by looking into mine. But we were scared for different reasons. I was scared that I would be prevented from bing what I intended to be. And she was scared of what I could be. I could sense her intentions just as she could sense mine. She wants to nip the bud from its roots. Or she wants to make it so that I don''t grow at all. Too bad for her, I am in thend of Anfang. I won''t let myself finish where I began. I won''t let myself end where I started. I know what is within me, even if I can''t see it yet. Fear? Who cares about fear or the courage it takes to face it? I have something more significant than courage. I have persistence. I will be what I need to be under any circumstances." Eren stated his feelings before snapping his fingers. A spark of firended on Sienna''s dead body when he did that. It caught fire right away and started burning at an elerated rate. That too without generating any smell or smoke. The butcher stood motionless at his ce as his emerald green eyes reflected the dancing orange mes Sienna''s body was burning in. Chapter 889 Reuniting With Arjun And Lyon Edinburgh''s Army Base. Inside arge hall was made for gathering army personnel and discussing mission details. There were various spectral maps and details projected on various big and small screens. This hall was booked by Gilhause Remus to discuss his uing mission details with his team. However, unlike standard army protocol, he had only summoned one soldier to the scene. Someone who he wasn''t expecting toe at all. "You. How did you get here?" Gilhause Remus asked Eren. He looked at Eren as if he was seeing a ghost. That''s because he knew about the line-up the ambush team had against Eren. The fact that Eren was here could only mean that he managed to dodge or get away from the team, which was highly unlikely because of Nico Chains. Or "What do you mean, Expert Gilhause? I came as soon as I found out that my exit mission had been assigned to me." Eren replied to Gilhause naturally. He started grilling him with a new line of questioning that subtly focused on the ambush team. Yet, he couldn''t get anything out of Eren, which made him consider a grim possibility. Eren was standing in a standard military posture while Gilhause Remus was walking around him to size him up. The man was 6 inches shorter than Eren. He was bulkier than Eren, who looked lean. "You took care of all your "problems" beforeing here, didn''t you? Do you understand what you have done?" Gilhause asked in a grim voice. Eren kept his neutral stance before responding with a subtle smile on his face. "Problems? There were no problems. I see myself as an early bird that got all the worms." Gilhause was about to say something to Eren with suppressed rage in his voice. However, he saw that other team members listed for the mission had entered the hall. So he controlled himself before speaking in a very hushed tone. "I don''t know what or how you did this. But you won''t get away with this." Eren could hear the footsteps of other army personnel behind him. Gilhause was about to greet them. The smile on his face disappeared as he asked Gilhause another question. "Expert Gilhause, are you a summoner too?" Gihause had walked behind Eren at this point. So he couldn''t see the smile Eren had stered on his face. He raised his eyebrows before replying. "So you are afraid of summoners? Toote to regret it, boy. House Remus is famous for its summoners. I am a golem summoner. And none of the golems wille to help you when we are out on a mission. In fact, hehe" Gilhause tried to threaten Eren some more with his voice before meeting up with the army personnel reporting for duty. He wasn''t Eren''s superior by default. So he had to pull up this facade and generate a joint team operation. He had a few trusted subordinates. And the rest of the army personnel were picked from various teams under the garb of a joint mission. This was how he could assign Eren his exit mission. ''A golem summoner, huh? I am not sure if I would be able to make effective use of them. Still, a bit of variation wouldn''t hurt. Plus, earth-elemental attainments would be the cherry on top. I''ll have to thank House Remus once again for providing me with let''s say the right nutrition.'' While Gilhause was nning sabotage for Eren''s exit mission, thetter was excited about the prospect of assimting Gilhause''s gains for himself. It was safe to say that the butcher had stopped seeing summoners from House Remus as rankers or people. He only saw them as his superfood. *** Near Edinburgh''s kingdom''s northern borders. Bands. Ayer of snow had started to umte in the surroundings. The chilly winds and theck of sunlight had made the atmosphere even harsher. A team of army personnel was traversing the winter terrain. It consisted of around 50 rankers. The colts used by these rankers were different from the usual mana beasts. These colts had thick fur, as well as a fire-element affinity to keep them and their riders warm in this bone-chilling weather. The joint task force had only one mission. Get rid of the cultist base that was reported to be working for the Kingdom of Layos. The kingdoms had started sponsoring cultist activities within and around their enemy kingdoms. Edinburgh and Layos tried to sabotage each other by increasing cultist activities. And they both had to deal with the consequences. Edinburgh''s army was busier than ever with missions like these. It was no wonder that the organization was doing everything it could to retain soldiers. Things would have been much more difficult for Eren if he had joined the army normally and not through LA. Three colt riders were closely following the joint force. However, anybody could tell that they treated themselves differently than the rest of the force. One of them was Eren. The other two were hisrades in the army that were unfortunate enough to be assigned to this project with him. Lyon Muff Dyke and Arjun. ''These assholes have something nasty nned for us. I can feel it.'' Lyon made his opinion known to Eren and Arjun as they followed the team. The dwarf was especially unhappy with the way their team leader Gilhause had treated them. He could clearly see a bias against the three of them in his behavior. ''Something''s definitely not adding up. Why did Expert Gilhause assign us such an easy task when it could bepleted by a bunch of Ace rankers? Additionally, he kept our dispatched positions separate from the rest of the rankers. We won''t be contributing anything to the mission because this ce is so far from ground zero. Does he know how fishy his deployment has to be for me to question his intentions?'' Arjun said and sighed. The guy always liked to y by the rules while he served in the army. He almost never questioned his superior''s decisions. But this time, even he couldn''t help himself. He then looked at Eren before asking him. ''Eren, did you like fuck his daughter or something?'' === AN: Gilhause Remus was mentioned in chapter 793. Chapter 890 Delva Gorge ''Eren, did you like fuck his daughter or something?'' Arjun''s question caught Eren by surprise. Thetter coughed a bit before using voicemunication to reply. ''Well I think it''s safe for me to tell you guys now. I have slept with Dianna but I don''t think Gilhaus cares about that. He has a different grudge against me.'' Eren said and chuckled. Dianna also belonged to the same team Eren, Lyon, and Arjun was part of. However, she wasn''t picked for the mission for obvious reasons. As distant as she was from the main n, Dianna was still a Remus n member. As such, Gilhause didn''t want her to be part of this mission at all. Eren then narrowed his eyes at the team that was ahead of him before speaking to his team members. ''Lyon. Arjun. Listen to me very carefully. I don''t want you to follow me to our location. There''s no doubt in my mind that it is a trap. I have my ns regarding how to break through it. But I won''t be able to do it with you guys around. So when'' Eren started crafting his n and prevented Lyon and Arjun from following him. He made it look like he didn''t want both of them involved in the mess he had found himself in. However, Eren didn''t want Lyon and Arjun at the site with him for a very simple reason. He''d have to kill them if they came with him. Arjun and Lyon wanted to argue against Eren''s idea that he was supposed to carry everything on his shoulder. Eren, therefore, portrayed their presence as a hindrance to him. The elf and the dwarf could only keep their mouths shut after that. They had seen Eren fight with Altashia and knew his battle potential. Thus, it became easier for them to ept that im. Arjun wanted to show the effectiveness of the Spirit Beast spell he acquired bypleting the army program. Therefore, Eren promised him that he would fight him using his demon beast after the dust had settled around this mission. Two members of Eren''s original unit understood how serious the matter was when Eren started exining things a bit. The fate of a prosperous city was at stake. No wonder Eren was being targeted by Gilhause and his n. Eren told Arjun and Lyon to abandon the mission as soon as it started. And he would handle the rest. Arjun could tell that Eren wasn''t putting up a brave act in front of them. The guy seemed to have a talent for handling the unfortunate that came his way. Furthermore, Arjun also realized that Eren wanted him and Lyon to stay out of the mess for his benefit. Each ranker had secrets to keepC some more than others. On the other hand, Gilhause had tried to find out more about the ambush team''s status after confirming Eren''s well-being. He soon found out that the entire ambush team had lost all contact with any of the involved organizations. House Slughorn had dispatched people from its end and other groups were about to follow their lead. Gilhause drew his grim conclusions based on the unconfirmed status of the ambush team. He was shocked beyond belief that rankers like Meera Medinah, Nico Chains, and Goro could be killed in the ambush they had set for theirmon enemy. Thus, Gilhause had to make sure that Eren died on the exit mission. Otherwise, he won''t be able to officially touch him if he manages toplete the mission and gets out of Edinburgh''s army. The Expert ranker selected a mission that he thought was just right for getting rid of Eren for good. *** Delva Gorge. This was the region in the Bands that had awork of deep and shallow gorges. Thiswork of narrow valleys was created between hills and mountains because of river streams running through them in the summertime. The source river of these streams had changed directions and remained frozen in the winter, making thiswork of gorges an ideal ce for a cultist hideout. The area in Delva Gorge where the mission was supposed to be held featured deep gorges with steep rocky walls. Furthermore, mana at the ce was chaotic, forcing rankers to pass through the gorges and not climb over the walls. It was difficult for even flying-type mana beasts to fly over the gorge due to its strange terrain properties. Thework of gorges could change overnight depending upon the natural runic symbols inscribed on the ground. Since these runic symbols were a natural phenomenon, nobody could control them or predict their change. There were only a few nodes present within the region which were unchangeable. These nodes were now being used by the cultists to establish their hideouts. Thework of gorges was like a tangle of spiderwebs. And the cultists knew which node to step on to avoid getting trapped in the. Eren, Arjun, and Lyon were supposed to guard a distant node within thework of gorges. It was way further than the cultists'' supposed hideout. And it didn''t look like the node would be used by the cultists to get in and out of their hideout. This rubbed Arjun and Lyon the wrong way. Upon Eren''s instructions, Lyon and Arjun left Eren alone and chose to abandon their mission. Eren would contact them once he was done with the things he wanted to do at this ce. With a nk look on his face, the butcher surveyed his surroundings. The steep rocky walls were about 100 meters left and right of him. The gorge spread north and south of him with sparse vegetation and patches of water. The terrain was rough and rocky. And the winter winds were howling inside the gorge, making strange noises as they passed through. By the time Eren reached his intended position, it was already nighttime. The half-moon was shining in the starry sky, exuding its nightly brilliance. Ignoring army protocols, he lit up a bonfire in front of him. The butcher sat near the bonfire and roasted his meat over it as he thought of various things at once. He was enjoying the peace the almost lifeless valley was offering him. All of a sudden, Alephee appeared out of thin air and sat beside him. She looked at Eren''s face which was painted in an orange shade because of the dancing mes of the bonfire. She smiled looking at the fire before speaking up. "Enjoying the calm before the storm, huh? Someone dies every time you are in this state of mind." Chapter 891 Meera Vs Cultists P1 "Hahaha. These bastards from the Edinburgh army will never be able to catch us." One of the cultists who was running away from the hideout couldn''t help but gloat at his recent attackers. He was running with seven other Adept-ranked cultists. They were all heading to a particr node within the gorgework which they knew wasn''t rigged or affected by the dynamic change of the terrain. "Stop bbering your mouth and keep running. We don''t know what lies ahead of us." The man who was speaking loudly in the escape was silenced by another cultist. She preferred running away from the hideout in silence. There was something about the incident that bugged her. First, their hideout had received a valid tip from a stranger that the base would be attacked by the Edinburgh army in a few days. Two Expert-ranked entities were running the hideout. They took this information with a grain of salt at first. However, they couldn''t just ignore the threat to their lives. The kingdom of Layos was their benefactor. It supplied them with the right resources, artifacts, and alchemy items to conduct their activities. It also shared various information about the kingdom of Edinburgh which they could use against it. The Expert-ranked entities running the guild assumed that the stranger belonged to the kingdom of Layos. Only their benefactor would give them such kind of information. Why would anybody try to save them from the reaches of Edinburgh''s army otherwise? Thus, they grilled the stranger some more and paid him a bunch of Extols to give them more information on his grim prediction. The stranger didn''t know the day when they would be attacked. It could be any day of the week. They were given information about the nodes that would be rigged by the army beforehand, however. So that they could avoid these nodes when they escape. Everything was business as usual in the hideout after the stranger was gone. But the two Expert ranked entities made these nodesmon knowledge to all the rankers working for them. So that they could use this information to escape in case the hideout was raided by the army. The stranger''s tip was right on the mark. They were attacked on this day when they were in the process of shifting their hideout to somewhere else within the Delva Gorge. The Edinburgh army had left no stone unturned inunching this raid. Following the initial confrontation and failed attempts to escape the location, all the cultists involved in the incident realized the stranger''s information was much more valuable than they had originally thought. The escaping cultists started using the stranger''s tip to escape and find their way within the gorgework. They avoided a lot of traps and units of rankers stationed at the nodes which were marked as dead-end nodes by the stranger in his information. Escape was easy from the northeast direction of the hideout. It held minimal dead ends and there was almost no army unit assigned to a particr node. ording to the stranger''s information, there would only be a team of three Adept-ranked soldiers present at the scene. It had been a while since the raid started. Those three rankers would have been a done deal by now. At least that''s what every team of cultists who came Eren''s way thought before running towards him. These eight Adept-ranked cultists soon found themselves running towards a small source of light that looked like someone had lit a bonfire. Lighting a fire source like this in this situation is like giving them a re signal to gather there. "No. Wait. Something''s wrong here." Thedy cultist who had spoken earlier became the group''s de facto leader. She stopped the other members of her party from advancing any further because a strong stench of blood had hit her nose. A bit of skirmish at the node was expected. Those who had been ahead of her must have fought with the three rankers in the army. So she wasn''t worried about the possibility of dead bodies at the node''s mouth. However, there was something about the ce that made her instincts scream "you better get the fuck away from this ce." and she wanted to find out why before proceeding any further. Thedy cultist spread her mana sense and found out that two Adept-ranked entities were sitting cross-legged near the bonfire, having casual chats with each other. The guy was eating something whereas the Gothic-looking girl was talking to him about something she was interested in. Others behind thedy ranker didn''t understand why they were stopping there. They also used their mana sense to find out about the scene unfolding ahead of them. Rather than pondering the oddity of the event, they preferred to bulldoze over their insignificant-looking obstacles and flee as quickly as possible. "Tista, why are we stopping here? There''s no telling when the main force of Edinburgh''s army will catch up with us. We should just" Tista had stress lines on her forehead from listening to the loudmouth''s voice. She was about to reprimand him once again. The man suddenly stopped rambling all of a sudden without her intervention. Tista looked back to see the loudmouth''s chopped head dropping to the ground. It took her a moment to realize that the enemy had already made their move. Meanwhile, two other cultists had fatal sword shes on their torsos, splitting their bodies vertically. Mayhem and madness ensued on the battlefield when three out of eight cultists died as effortlessly as someone cutting up leafy vegetables. Screams of pain and shouts of intimidation were heard as the remaining cultists prepared themselves to fight their enemy. Tista controlled her emotions and kept her mouth shut. She used her movement spell to create distance from her previous position. Then she took out her set of daggers and assumed a defensive stance. The other rankers did the same as they encircled their sword-user enemy. The cultists lost all colors on their faces when they realized that they were about to fight an Expert-ranked entity. Meera Medinah had been employed to take care of the cultists while her summoner enjoyed his dinner by the bonfire in peace. Chapter 892 Meera Vs Cultists P2 "This should be enough. We will now divide the raid team into two." Gilhause announced as he looked at the destruction of the cultist hideout caused by him and his team. The two Expert-level cultists had already managed to run away. Ghause wasn''t focused on killing or capturing them anyway. He also had a newly promoted Expert rank army officer with him. However, equal numbers didn''t mean anything when it came to C-rank and above. Gilhause knew that battling with two Expert-ranked cultists was detrimental to his mission, which only required him to destroy the hideout. And the cultists knew that battling with two Expert-ranked army officers from Edinburgh was detrimental to their escape. This was a mutual act of disengagement. Thus, the C-rankers on both sides decided to y safe. They didn''t aggravate each other and allowed the other side to carry on with what they were doing. Things were easy to do once the Expert-ranked cultists left the hideout to their devices. The Adept-ranked cultists and below tried to put up a strong front against Ghuse''s raid team using various means avable to them. But Gilhause''s tried and tested battle strategies along with military-grade equipment assigned to the rankers ensured that the raid team stayed casualty-free in its endeavor. Furthermore, Gilhause''s golem summons yed a huge role in serving as a nk for his raid team. Each of his summonses was like a near-indestructible tank. The rankers used summonses in their strategies effectively to achieve victory over their opponents. When the situation came under Gilhause''s control, he decided to split the team into two. The first team was assigned the task of finishing off the rest of the cultists and looting the hideout for its resources. The second team was supposed to chase the escaped cultists. The first team would be led by the Expert-ranked officer that was with Gilhause. The Remus n member would lead the second team. The purpose of this split was to check in on Eren and his team. The split would ensure that the mission would bepleted wlessly and ording to n. It would also allow Gilhause to cover up his n to sabotage Eren. Gilhause was the one who had tipped the two Expert rankers about the raid in advance. He had assigned Eren, Arjun, and Lyon the post intentionally so they could get targeted by the cultists on their way to escape. This was a surefire way to get rid of Eren for good. The cultists didn''t need to cover his death either. This way, even if Eren had the backing of House Argas for his exit mission, it wouldn''t be able to prosecute anyone for his death. Additionally, Gilhause had chosen his trusted aid for the second team which was supposed to chase the escaping cultists. The rankers in Gilhause''s faction knew that their real job was not to target the cultists but to ensure that Eren dies for good. Gilhause and his team assumed that Eren would have died long ago from the constant barrage of cultists attacking him. This was regardless of how many Trump cards he could have used. Thus, this part of the mission was supposed to be like the cherry on top. *** Tista had her body chopped into various pieces before she died. She was missing her glutes and breasts because of Meera''s wild attacks. She had her hamstrings pulled out of both her legs because of the way Meera used her sword. Tista was not the only victim of the living undead. Meera kept on killing cultist after cultist without showing any signs of fatigue. Since she was a living undead, the mana she used from her mana core would get replenished in no time, allowing her to keep on casting spell after spell. Meera had almost negligent heartbeats. She did not know of any muscle fatigue. She wasn''t afraid of getting injured. Not that she could be injured by the Adept-ranked cultists using normal methods. Most of them became terrified of her as soon as she started fighting them. By this point, the node Eren was supposed to man along with his two team members was riddled with the cultists'' dead bodies. The stench of blood and gore had gotten so strong that the nightcrawler mana beasts hade out of the woodwork. They were growling at each other trying to im the pieces of meat Meera had carved out for them like a buffet. Tista and a lot like her did not even get to know about the summoner behind Meera who had sanctioned their hits. They died while trying their best to either get away from the living undead or engage in futile attempts to take down Meera. Eren watched Meera''s battle frenzy from a distance. She fought like she was angry at all the cultists for daring to fight against her or her summoner. The rage mana coursing through her veins and mana circuits influenced her actions and made her even more brutal than she already was. The butcher had to acknowledge the fact that Meera''s previous status as a special forces member wasn''t for show. He could clearly see that she was a force to be reckoned with even without any living undead advantages she was now blessed with. He didn''t try to participate in the battle because he didn''t feel the need to. He was already used to most of his newly learned spells. He didn''t need to use the cultists as dummies anymore. Meera finished herst cultist and put her sword in the scabbard behind her back. She then waited quietly for her next opponent. Eren thought that it would be a while before the next batch of cultists appeared to battle Meera. He was about to say something to Alephee beside him. He stopped his actions when he noticed several figures approaching at a rapid pace. Gilhause''s team had arrived at the scene. It stopped right before Meera, maintaining a safe distance. When Gilhause found numerous dead bodies of escaped cultists, he had goosebumps on his skin. They had all died horrible deaths. "What what the fuck happened here?" Chapter 893 Abandoned Soldiers The winds howled as they created a storm around Meera. These winds were summoned by her using her spells. She raised her left hand and started creating wind-element shurikens out of them. A cyclone of water appeared out of thin air the next moment. These water molecules with dense wind-element mana gave the manifested weapons a sharp and shining edge. This was Meera''s elemental fusion. She used her attacks to battle multiple opponents at once. Within a fraction of a second, the Expert-ranked living dead created another set of weapons with her elemental fusion as the base. She had chopped off her opponents using these weapons. The weapon storm would create a perimeter around her, protecting her from any sneak attack and attacking her opponents at the same time. The surroundings of the battlefield started getting affected by Meera''s spell. The moisture in the air began congregating around the living undead when she invoked her elemental fusion. The de storm started appearing in random ces even without Meera''s conscious efforts. It was as if nature itself wanted to copy her spells, making it a natural phenomenon. The power of an Expert-ranked battle-oriented ranker couldn''t be taken lightly. It affected arge area and altered the natural rules of that area. Meera''s elemental fusion and the control she had over it were enough to justify her status as an ex-member of Edinburgh''s special force. She was a cut above the rest when it came to battling. This was the reason why most cultists had their bodies torn into pieces. de storms would appear randomly,unching point-nk attacks on the rankers. It was as if nature itself wanted to kill them. Meera maintained a de storm around her and nced at her opponents with a look of suppressed rage on her face. Gilhause and his team on the other hand watched Meera''s work with goosebumps on their skin. They hadn''t fought someone like her before. And from the looks of things, they wanted to keep it that way. s, not everything in life can be ignored just because one wants. ''Go.'' Eren gave Meera a simple order to charge ahead and the living undead ran toward her opponents like the wind. She charged her sword with her water and wind element mana before releasing a series of flying shes. These flying shes gained even more power as more wind and water elemental weapons were added to the storm. "Aaaaaargh!" "Sir Gilhause, savaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" "Bitch, do you think. Aaaaah!" Meera attacked her opponents'' nks head-on using her spells and weapons. She started killing and injuring army personnel without any fear for her safety. Some people were able to put up a front until they could scream. Some died without making any noise. And some managed to get away by using the rankers ahead of them as their meat shield. Gilhause was one of the escapees. Even if he was an Expert ranker, his body stats didn''t allow him to get anywhere near Meera and put up a defense. He knew that it would be game over for him if he came into her striking range. Gilhause had a perimeter of six guards of his own. Being a summoner, he was very particr about the rankers he had selected as his aids. All six rankers were in the solid stages of the D-Rank. As a group, they knew how to cast some strange spells in cooperation. These group-cast spells allowed them to generate spell output that rivaled Expert rank. Only a few units within the army received group training. They sacrificed their individuality to acquire skills like these. As a result, they were nothing much when they fought individually. However, everything changed when rankers like these attacked or defended in groups. Gilhause watched as the soldiers around him that were not part of his security detail died one after the other from Meera''s attacks. They screamed and cursed. They tried to attack, defend, and even run away. There was a variety of military-grade equipment on them. And they tried to tackle the problem in groups. No matter what they did, Meera would ovee every obstacle they threw her way. She would tear through her opponents and their spells before iming their lives. Meera didn''t let anybody approach Eren or Alephee who was behind her. The de storm she created on the battlefield was so intricate that it created a defense line for Eren. The rankers weren''t interested in approaching Eren either. They were too busy dying to care about anyone or anything else. In the surrounding area, the number of dead bodies began to increase rapidly. Meera also received serious wounds on her body as a result of several rankers makingbined efforts to harm her using various resources and forbidden spells and scrolls. However, nothing could slow her down. The more she fought, the fiercer she became as the wrath mana started influencing her and her spells. Living undead began using wrath mana in strange ways in her attacks. Her attacks carried wrath mana, which could wreak havoc on the rankers'' bodies through foreign mana invasion. They would create blisters and mana deviations, further decreasing the rankers'' chances ofnding serious hits on the living undead. Eren watched the carnage being unleashed on Gilhause''s team with intrigued expressions. He wasn''t thinking about anything at this point. For the first time in a long while, he had decided to enjoy his role as a spectator. Gilhause knew he couldn''t save the soldiers from Meera''s attacks withoutpromising his chances of winning over her and Eren who was standing behind her. He had a special talent for gauging the strengths of his enemies. And something told him that Meera was the least of his worries. Gilhause, along with his security detail, created a distance and chose to y the role of spectator. He ignored the pleas of his soldiers and watched them die at Meera''s hands. ''Who the fuck is she? This kind of battle prowess and that recovery rate. It''s almost like she is one of Goro''s '' Chapter 894 Recycling The Dead Soldiers And Cultists Gilhause''s face became bloodless as he considered the possibility. ''Is she... Meera Medinah that Goro''s report talked about?'' Gilhause didn''t personally know Despite her talent, she was not known to even people in army circles because of her special forces background. But Goro had shared his reports with the n after the ambush team had a get-together to set up an agenda. Goro had conveyed the ambush team''s ns along with basic details about the rankers involved in the ambush. It took a while for Gilhause to link Meera to the reports he had received from Goro. This was because he wasn''t expecting someone like her to side with Eren and fight for him. This was still a manageable shock for Gilhause. However, he derived another grim possibility from Meera''s way of fighting her opponents. Another clue was her slightly peculiar mana signature. Gilhause looked at Eren with a mixture of madness and anger. It was as if he had started to imagine what must have happened to Goro. Gilhause had seen Goro fight. Meera''s presence reminded him of Goro''s human doll spell. And the more he saw her, the more suspicious he became. By this time, Meera had finished off thest remaining army personnel from the lot that Gilhause had chosen to abandon. He considered them dead weights at this point. Since their enemy had an Expert rank member, the quantity would only slow Gilhause down. However, Goro''s death wasn''t something Gilhause could brush off. Just as Meera retreated to her owner, Eren heard Gilhause calling his name with a voice imbued with mana and anger. "EREN IDRIL!" Gilhause approached Eren with his security detail and pointed a finger at him. "What... what the fuck did you do Goro? She is Meera Medinah, isn''t she? Why the fuck is she working for you? And why does it look like you have converted her into a human doll using Goro''s spell?" Eren was smoking another Sativa Stick to digest his heavy dinner at this point. He released a cloud of smoke from his nostrils and smirked. He looked at Meera''s gravely injured body and marveled before speaking up. "Fascinating creature, isn''t she? I never knew she had this much use when I first started to preprocess her. I guess it''s true what they say. Sometimes, something you do on a whim bes artwork on its own." Eren''s cryptic answer didn''t bode well for Gilhause at all. He clenched his fists and spoke in a threatening tone. "You didn''t answer any of my questions. Do not think that the Expert-rankeddy will be able to handle all of us alone. We''ll make you regret ever messing with us soon enough." Alephee kept quiet the whole time. She didn''t interfere with Eren''s business because it looked like she didn''t have to. She watched as Eren used his summoning spell to answer Gilhause''s question. "It''s because I''m not getting paid to answer you. I can understand the curiosity one would have about their opponent in a situation like this. However, I am not obliged to do anything with that understanding. So you can go ahead and shove those questions up your ass. Meera, be a good girl and finish those guys for me. I''ll give you a few henchmen." Eren ordered Meera before looking at the dead bodies of cultists lying everywhere around him. His hair turned white and his eyes turned blue. He raised his hand and spoke in a deep voice as if he was talking to the dead bodies themselves. "Find your eternal peace by dying for me once more. Arise!" Eren used Goro''s summoning spell on the dead bodies of victims from both sides. The bloody bodies started moving when Eren''s spell gave them temporary life. The intact bodies became possessed by the residual souls of their owners. The souls that didn''t have intact bodies were given mana bodies made of pure death-element mana, which retained their previous appearances to some degree. Beads of sweat started running behind Gilhause''s ears as he witnessed Eren using Goro''s spell to summon the undead around him. The dead bodies from both sidesa the cultists and the army personnel that had died ever since the raid had starteda stood on their deformed feet and cried in unison. "Screeeee!" Eren injected the dead bodies of rankers and cultists with wrath mana at the snap of his fingers. He watched as the undead became more powerful and aggressive around him. Eren had basically recycled the dead rankers and cultists at this point. Goro''s security detail wanted to keep a neutral face. However, even the six veteran rankers had a chill run down their spine when they saw their previous colleagues start to surround them with vicious hunger in their eyes. The hunger to kill them and gouge out their organs. The undead wanted to feast on their bodies until they could eat no more. Using their inhuman strides and twisted limbs, most of the undead began running toward Gilhause''s team. Some of the undead walked and some crawled. They screeched loudly and made chattering noises with their jaws and teeth. They halted at a safe distance, waiting for theirmander Meera to make her move. Eren''s act of summoning the undead was also a form of answer for Gilhause. He couldn''t help mumbling to himself in his head. ''Son of a whore... he... He really uses Goro''s spells.'' Gilhause hade to realize that he wouldn''t get any answers from Eren no matter how many times he tried to ask him. At this point, he could only conclude. And they were telling him that he was dealing with an abomination. Ghuse started seeing Eren for who he was. He was someone who could escape such a solid line of rankers set up against him in the ambush team. Someone who could tame a ranker like Meera. And perhaps someone who could take Goro''s achievements and spells for himself and use them better than the original ranker himself. No further talk was necessary. Gilhause looked around and found himself surrounded by the undead who were closing in on him. He punched his right fist against his left palm before casting his earth-element summoning spell. Goliath! Chapter 895 Goliath, Earth Arachnids, & Behemoth Goliath! Gilhause cast the mob-summoning spell. The ground split and out came the earth-element golems that looked like they were trained soldiers with armor on. These golems were up to 14 feet tall, making them taller than any normal ranker. They had four limbs that seemed to be inherently protected by armor-like outer shells made of shining crystalline stones. They had long feet and nimble arms. They carried various weapons in their hands. Some had equipped themselves with maces while others carried long earth-element runic shields. These golems had two eyes that shined with white brilliance. They had square noses and wide jaws. Due to their simr features, they were practically indistinguishable if one ignored the weapons they carried. There were other golems summoned by the Goliath spell that was not as eye-catching as they could be. They had lesser details and looked like ordinary golems. However, every golem carried a weapon. It let everybody know that even the normal golems summoned by Gilhause could put up a decent fight. Earth Arachnids This was the spell for giant earth-element Scorpios. They couldn''t be summoned like the mob spell because Gilhause could only summon three at a time. However, they made up for theirck of numbers with their damage potential. These earth-element Scorpios were up to 20 feet long and had very detailed mana bodies that resembled any typical Scorpio mana beast. They had six legs and two giant pedipalps. They also had a sting attached to their tail that looked as flexible as it was lethal. Unlike normal scorpions, these summoned creatures had three mouths. They had sharp teeth and big tunnel-like mouths, which made them hideous to look at. These earth-element runes reinforced their bodies and made them resistant to normal attacks. Gilhause was not done with his earth-element summons. One could say that he had more variety of spells in his arsenal than an earth-element summoner. And he intended to use all his powers against Eren. Behemoth! A small earthquake was felt in the surroundings as the earth started birthing a veryrge mana body on the battlefield. This creature was about 25 meters tall and 20 meters long. He had beads of sweat on his forehead as he cast this spell. The mana pulse released by this summoned creature was very intimidating. It told the rankers how fearsome this creature was going to be. Behemoth had a lizard-like face with a bird-like beak. It had horns on its supposed nose. The horns also peeked through its forehead and other parts of its face. This creature was on his fours. It had thin hind legs and long front legs that looked like arms. The creature had thick scales on its body as well as various earth-element growths. It had sawtooth-like spikes on its back. It had sharp-looking ws that seemed to be made of metal. ''Hmm. Things would have been troublesome if this old man could manage to summon two of those.'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at Gilhause''s summoned creatures. He had to admit that he was slightly intimidated by the summoner''s spells. No wonder he got into a prominent position in the army. With spells like these, Ghuse only needed army personnel to protect himself from any iing attacks. The rest of the battle would be taken care of by his summons. The butcher could see that Gilhause was a better summoner than Goro because he had his path figured out. He didn''t need to invest much time in researching spells and their effects because summoning spells rted to earth elements were already in rtive abundance. Goliath was supposed to take care of the enemy mobs. Scorpios were tasked with attacking key yers within enemy lines. Lastly, Behemoth was supposed to destroy the enemy nks with overwhelming might. The Goliaths struck their weapons to the ground or on their chests in unison to create rhythmic thuds. The Scorpios made chattering sounds with their sharp teeth as they ground them against each other. And the behemoth just stood still like a mountain. His eyes glowed green and he stretched his ws as if waiting for orders. Even without making any noise, the behemoth''s presence couldn''t be overshadowed by anything or anyone. This towering creature looked like it would create quakes every time he walked on his fours. The earth element golems had a basic weakness and that was the golem core. Once it had been damaged, the summoned creature would disperse on its own and its body would revert to being a lump of earth. However, one would have to wonder how they would find the golem core inside the Behemoth. Even if they locate it, the next question would be how to destroy it without getting squashed by the creature in the process. Eren used his soul sense on the earth element summoned creatures and found out that Gilhause wouldn''t be able to maintain the Behemoth spell for much longer. He''d either have to cancel the remaining summons to focus on Behemoth or let Behemoth''s consciousness get dispersed and crash its body in a few minutes. Gilhause started breathing heavily when he cast Behemoth. Summoning such a beast was only possible because of his C-rank elemental attainments and the in-depth research his n had collected for him regarding earth-element summoning. The whole reason Eren allowed Gilhause to finish casting his spells was that he wanted to see for himself how the man did what he did best. He was bound to digest his experiences once he had Gilhause in his grip. However, some things are better seen in real life for a broader perspective. Eren''s eyes shone with greed when he thought of digesting Gilhause for all his elemental attainments and gains. He couldn''t have asked for a better summoner at this point. Gilhause''s attainments would truly enrich Eren''s summoner path as a whole. "Wooo!" The butcher whistled inadvertently as he exhaled a deep breath looking at Gilhause''s summoned creatures. He wondered how he would ever convey his thanks to House Remus for its all-in investment in him. === AN: Speaking of conveying thanks, happy thanksgiving day. :) Chapter 896 Pragmatic Gilhause Eren was standing on a small mountain cliff as he watched Gilhause''s summoned creatures from an elevated perspective. He was sure that he would have considered running away from Gilhause if he only had his closebat ss or his summoner ss to rely on. The summoner couldn''t be defeated with conventional strategies. Especially when Eren was a rank lower than Gilhause. Eren''s gaze was inspective as he gazed at the army of Goliaths, the school of Scorpios, and the mini-mountain-like being that was Behemoth. It was as if he was watching a preview of what his uing summoning spells would look like. However, Gilhause took Eren''s silence as him being afraid of his creatures. The earth element summoner had an evil smile stered on his face. He and his security detail appeared on the Behemoth''s back and looked at Eren from the same altitude as him. "Hehehe! My summoned creatures are difficult to kill and can be easily reced by using the earth as a foundation. They allow me to consume less mana while allowing me to choose from a variety of battle styles. They have allowed me to perform many party wipeouts. After I mastered my spells, I never really lost any battle against opponents of my level." Gilhause thought that he was trying to intimidate Eren. However, what it truly did was strengthen Eren''s resolve to digest Gilhause''s gains. Unaware of Eren''s thoughts, Gilhause continued his speech. "I have a proposal for you, Eren Idril. Get captured by me for the time being. We will renegotiate our terms regarding ownership of White Raven City. We''ll use our resources to save you from other organizations that you messed with." Gilhause''s offer surprised him. The guy was using his summoning spells to intimidate him. However, what the butcher was surprised about was the fact that Gilhause offered him a renewed offer even after messing with his n so much. "You are not interested in avenging your n members'' deaths?" Gilhause had a frown on his face after hearing Eren''s question. He prevented himself fromshing out at Eren a couple of times before taking a long breath and restarting his thought process anew. "The fact that you might have killed Remus n members is indeed regrettable. However, we cannot bring the dead back to life." Gilhause looked at Eren''s undead summons and had another brief pause in his speech. He sighed before adding further. "We cannot bring them back like normal living breathing beings. I am not saying we will forgive you for your transgressions against us. It will require a lot ofmitment andpensation on your part. However, killing you creates a lot of unwanted effects for us. An intact city is better than a partially ruined one. Especially when we have to share it with other stakeholders. What we are doing with you is gaining exclusive ownership. We would essentially rece you in the city''s tri-party arrangement. This way, the city will remain prosperous and we will avoid sharing our gains with unwanted yers." Eren made an "I am impressed" face at Gilhause''s offer. He realized that Gilhause would make a capable member of a business-oriented n like his. This level of pragmatism is really rare these days. The butcher chuckled before speaking up in response. "I really appreciate the offer, Gilhaus. You have risen above and beyond to deliver your sales pitch. And I can also sense that your offer is genuine. If someone else had been in my position, I think they would have epted your offer. I am not saying that my city is unseble. Except for a small number of things, everything else can be bought and sold. One just needs to figure out the right price and they''ll be golden. Nevertheless, I don''t see your n paying the things and prices I want in return for my city. In fact, I don''t think any organization that wants the city for itself will be able to pay the price I''m asking. You just have to believe me on this when I say it." The butcher then smiled mischievously before adding further. "Besides, I''m getting paid in dividends for my enmity with you. Why would I ever stop that from happening?" Gilhause sighed deeply as if he was expecting something like this from Eren. At this point, he could only fight. No further talk was necessary. The mana in the surroundings swirled as the two summoners made their move. Gillhause moved his Goliaths and scorpios. He sent them to fight his undead. The undead army was also made to move with all its vigor by the butcher. The wrath mana infused within the undead made them fiercer and more active. They approached Ghuse''s army while releasing sharp screeches. "Screeeee!" "Groaaaar!" "Kitchkitchkitch!" In a few moments, the winner of the first skirmish was decided. The undead tried to attack the golems with all they had. However, they couldn''t overwhelm the golems using their spells and attacks. The golems were just too sturdy to be affected by the undeads'' attacks. "Hahaha! Summon more of them, Eren. I will allow it. Let me show you how fearsome my golems can be. Let''s have an exciting duel before I end up killing you." Gilhause looked like he was enjoying bullying another summoner. The first encounter with Eren''s undead assured him that he could defeat him easily. The butcher was yet to involve Meera in his attacks against the summoned creatures. However, Gilhause knew that she wouldn''t be able to make much difference. At least until Eren''s summoned creatures stay weak like this. The butcher scratched his chin before nodding at Gilhause. He too was interested in having a summoner show off against him to learn more about how he utilized the earth-element summoning spells. He wouldn''t miss the live demo for anything. "Hmm. Let''s have a duel. This time, no undead. Um... don''t act surprised when you see my next summons though." Eren said before raising his arm. He made all his undead perform kamikaze attacks on the golems. A distinct set of creatures were about to appear in their stead. The woond creatures that Rey Remus used to summon. Chapter 897 Woodland Creatures’ Supremacy Over Earth Golems The woond creatures sprouted from the ground like wild mushrooms. Some were asrge as Gilhause''s Scorpio summons. Others were slightly shorter than Goliaths. However, all woond creatures looked more nimble than the earth element golems. They were more lively, indicating that Eren''s intelligence stat was capable of supporting the consciousnesses of so many creatures. The woond creatures also started wielding wood-element maces, spears, and other weapons. Some woond creatures were seen wielding wooden shields that looked as weak as a nk of old and brittle wood. However, the wood-element runes enhanced their durability. The woond creatures screamed and stared at Gilhause''s summons with unmasked rage. As if each of them had a personal grudge against Gilhause''s earth-element golems. These intentions made them human-like and more active than any other regr summons. Eren was seen using Rey Remus'' spells better than him. Eren had mastered wood-element summoning like he had spent his entire life doing it. Even the undead summoning Eren had performed was a cut above Goro''s summoning. This was like an inspired product getting more popr than the original one. As if Eren had stripped Rey and Goro of all they had and made something better out of their illegally obtained resources. The woond creatures stood in front of Gilhause''s mini army in standard order. It made it look like two organizations were settling their disputes by having their juniors fight each other. "What the fuck is going on?" Gilhause mumbled to himself as he watched Eren''s summoned creatures take shape in front of him. Woond creatures were Rey Remus''s specialty. At first, he thought that Eren using undead summons was a one-off thing. As if this was some sort of weird coincidence. Or Eren must have done something to im Goro''s powers. As bizarre as it was, it still somehow made sense to him if it was only limited to Goro. Eren, using the woond creatures, presented Gilhause with a pattern. That the butcher was a serial killer. He was especially targeting summoners from House Remus and luring them into traps in which they believed they were in charge. "He he wanted me here!" Gilhause had a metaphorical bomb detonated inside his head as he thought of this possibility. It looked like he wasn''t the most excited about the mission. Thetter was also looking forward to it. The exit from the army was one thing but the butcher was also anticipating Gilhause ying dirty with him. So that he could use Gilhause the same way he had used Rey and Goro. "How the no why no that''s not it either. YES! How the bigger question is the how part." Gilhause started talking to himself. He looked distraught, shocked, angry, and afraid at the same time. He looked at Eren next before asking him in a grim voice. "How the fuck can you do something like that? What kind of cultist ritual do you have ess to and why didn''t I hear anything about this?" Gilhause''s question didn''te as a surprise to Eren. Instead of answering, he chose to let his summoned creatures reflect his intentions. "Kraaaaa!" The rage-driven woond creatures charged at their enemies with enraged momentum. They attacked the golems nearest to them. They started engulfing the golems in their vines to hinder their movements and agility which were already low, to begin with. With heavy blows and powerful weapon swings, the golems tried to destroy the woond creatures. However, they were too rigid and sluggish for the active and nimble woond creatures. Instead, they would divert or dodge the golems'' attacks and keep on using their bodies as fertile soil for their nts and thick green vines. This was the case with the Goliaths fighting normal woond creatures. The butcher also summoned woond creatures with integrated spells. He had used the wood-element spells used by Rey Remus himself to empower his summons. This special group of woond creatures came equipped with movement spells, defensive body armor spells, and a variety of mid-range attack-type spells. These sturdy and spell-enhanced woond creatures started targeting the Earth Arachnides. They made up for their rank difference by attacking in quantity. The integrated spells were an added advantage. Gilhause watched as Eren''s woond creatures absolutely dominated his earth-element golems despite the rank difference. The wood element spells were like the bane of Gilhause''s summoning creatures. Something he wasn''t aware of before because it wasn''t Eren who was using these summons. The battlefield looked like it would soon be taken over by quickly growing vegetation. The wood-element mana in the surroundings was so dense that the nearby trees also started showing signs of growth and evolution. It looked like Gilhause''s summons had gotten stuck in a green quagmire. The quagmire was using the essence of earth-element creatures against them. This collective essence was being used to fuel the joint AOE spell. The more the golems fought with the woond creatures, the more thetter''s advantage started to be apparent. Even though the woond creatures did not attempt to destroy the golems, their cores were destroyed. The woond creatures would just siphon the essence the golem cores had, drying them up. The wrath mana provided the woond creatures with the intention they were missing when they were summoned by Rey. With uncontroble anger, they sought out the essence from the golem cores and used that to cage them. This was simr to a sapling using the nutrients in the ground to grow and depriving the soil of its essence. The golem cores would be destroyed on their own after being subjected to this treatment. For the first time in a long while, Gilhause felt fear. Fear of meeting the same fate as the other two Remus n members who had stood before Eren a while back. Gilhause thought that they must have gotten cocky with Eren too, treating him as a minor nuisance instead of treating him like a real threat to their entire House. And both of them met a simr fate. ''No I can''t let that happen to me. I''ll kill him with all my might.'' Chapter 898 Cheats To Win ''No I can''t let that happen to me. I''ll fight with all my might.'' Gilhause thought to himself as he looked at Eren with determination. The time for testing each other out was over. He geared up his Behemoth for Eren''s summons. It would kill his summons as well. However, that did not matter to him much if he was able to target Eren after destroying his summons. Gilhause''s security detail observed the fight between two rankers as mute spectators. They were also shocked by the woond creatures Eren had summoned. The butcher could feel what he was thinking. So he made a few things clear to Gilhause while smiling subtly. "Hehe. Those two Remus n members who fought before you had the same determination as well. What you have thought of isn''t really revolutionary." Eren looked down and found out that his woond creatures had almost destroyed all the earth''s golems except for a damaged-looking Scorpio. The Behemoth was kept away from the battle, so it wasn''t included in the count. The butcher pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders before adding further. "s! I''m afraid I won''t be able to entertain you by allowing you to show me all your "might." This won''t turn into a long and arduous battle for both of us. I can prove that even that massive tank you have under your feet isn''t helpful to you if I attack you personally. I can prove that I am not just a summoner or a closebat expert. That I am all of those things and more. But what will it do? Fighting with two summoners in death duels is enough for me at this point to know the ins and outs of the ss. And I have seen how you use your spells as well. So there''s nothing to see. Nothing to experiment with." Eren took a long breath and looked at Gilhause with a tinge of disinterest. He just paced around a bit before adding more. "I don''t have to prove my might all over again to myself or my opponent. Why should I take the toil of killing you personally at the cost of injuring myself when I know the result? So this time, I''ll just cheat my way instead. I''ll use the simplest way to dispose of you and im your achievements for myself." Eren said and smiled before turning towards Alephee. He bowed and pointed to Gilhause as if ushering Alephee into a room. "Please do the honors." Alephee chuckled when she saw Eren''s gesture. It was as though he was using her as one of hisckeys to get rid of a minor nuisance. However, he did it elegantly. So she had to give him some brownie points. "Alright. I''ll just start training you more thoroughly from tonight onwards as mypensation." Eren shook his head and smiled mirthlessly. He didn''t mind getting grilled if the process was worth it. But he thought that he had hit a ceiling when it came to handling pain. It turns out he''ll have to up the scales soon. Gilhause wasn''t sure what Eren was thinking or talking about. But at this point, he didn''t care. Hemanded the Behemoth to charge. The mini-mountain-like creature stepped forward and started running. Each of his steps caused a small tremor in the surroundings. And his momentum was strong enough to agitate the winds around him. The woond creatures along with what remained of earth golems were destroyed when the Behemoth used his arms to smash them into the ground. The giant earth-element creature also destroyed the quickly growing vegetation on the battlefield. It also used a peculiar spell to imbue the very ground with its mana, making it difficult for the summoned creatures to use the ground as their foundation. Boom! Boom! Boom! The Behemoth got rid of all the small fries within a few seconds before focusing his gaze on Eren who was standing at a distance. He charged towards Eren with its master and his security detail on its back. Gilhause gave a heads-up to the rankers assigned to protect him. And he started casting a defensive spell around him, as he watched himself getting close to Eren. However, he saw the Gothic girl standing beside Eren disappear into thin air. The next thing Gilhause knew, this Gothic girl was standing in front of him, inside the perimeter created by his security detail. She did it so wlessly that Gilhause''s security detail was yet to catch up. Alephee raised her hand and cast her spell. And et vo. The security detail around him all mysteriously died. Their bodies crashed to the ground as if they had lost all control over them. It was as if they had died in their sleep while standing up. Gilhause wasn''t spared from this phenomenon either. He had his heart removed from his chest without there being a single wound on his torso. After Alephee held his heart in her petite-looking hands, the Expert-ranked n member''s tank spell came to a halt. There were no signs of blood leaking from the heart as if it were still doing what it was supposed to do. The spatial fabric around it was lucid and rippling like the water surface. The butcher appeared beside Alephee and raised his handC his empty palm demanding something. Under Gilhause''s horrified gaze, Eren took hold of his heart and crushed it without a moment''s dy. Drop. Squeeze. Squirt. Blood spewed from the major arteries and only then did Gilhause feel pain in his heart. The spatial ripples around the heart were stabilized when that happened. Gilhause was brought to his knees and the Behemoth started losing form. It crashed to the ground before turning into the mini-mountain it was. The butcher, Alephee, and the dying Gilhause were now seen on the peak of another small hill surrounded by recently destroyed vegetation. "Thanks for saving me the trouble, Alephee." Eren said to the homunculus before transforming his hands into slimy blobs. He narrowed his eyes at Gilhause''s ashen face before speaking up. "Thank you for living a good life and collecting experiences. Rest well knowing your mantle will be carried on by me. And say hi to those two for me, would you? Fret not. I''ll send some more Remus n members your way if and when I get the chance. Bye!" === AN: Please note that I''ll be taking a short break from writing VEH. Regr releases will resume at the start of the new month. ;) Chapter 899 Entering D-Rank Solid Stage After Eren stripped Gilhause of all he had, he reached the solid stage of the Adept rank. Eren imed the Expert summoner''s spells, experiences, weaponprehension, and elemental attainments for himself. He also processed some of Gilhause''s key memories. Gilhause''s storage was also imed by the butcher. The Expert-ranked entity''s life essence along with his diversified experiences was enough for Eren to progress further in his ranking journey. He stopped progressing when he was only a step away from breaking into the C-Rank himself. The butcher smiled and opened his eyes when he was done reading through Gilhause''s experiences. He raised his hand and summoned a golem for himself, trying out one of Gilhause''s go-to spellsC Goliath. "I was alwayscking in earth-element attainments. I''m d that this guy took care of the issue for you. He was a worthy supplement." As Eren reflected on his progress, he felt joyous. There was a stark difference between what he was in hisst timeline and what he was at the time as an Adept ranker. "Hehe. Having Goro and Gilhause back-to-back must have hit the spot. I wonder what kind of summoner House Remus will send next." Alephee said to Eren while looking at the surroundings in front of her. The battle between two summoners had changed the entirendscape of the battlefield. Gilhause''s tank summoning Behemoth was the main reason behind such a drastic change. "Hehe. No need to wonder anymore. I know who it is, thanks to the memories I have obtained from Goro, Gilhause, and Rey. His name is Birmond Remus. The guy''s a B-rank. But he has an injury from practicing his ranking technique. It would be a while before he came out of seclusion. I wouldn''t hold my breath for his appearance." Eren licked his lips and narrowed his eyes before speaking further. "But make me wait long enough and I''ll visit him instead." Eren chuckled before letting his demon beaste out of his beast space. As Argo spread his wings, he approached the dead bodies of the guards Gilhause had appointed to protect him from harm. Alephee had taken care of them as well and they needed to be disposed of. A job Argo was willing to take. The demon beast, however, like its master, had an ever-increasing appetite. "Yo boss man. Argo wants Expert-ranked meat as well. Argo demands equal pay." Eren had dark lines on his forehead when he listened to Argo''s demands. The beast knew his master had just digested Gilhause whole. And he wanted to do the same. Since Eren had been able to attain the solid stage of the Adept rank, Argo would be getting close to breaking into C-Rank because of the synchronous reaction of the master and the beast. He just needed the right nutrients to do so. Eren pressed his temples and looked at Argo with a grim face. He pointed at the dead bodies of the Adept ranked rankers beforementing. "Look these are what we have right now. You can get more when we have more. Besides" Eren was about to continue speaking to Argo when he noticed a new presence approaching. The expert-ranking Edinburgh army officer who apanied Gilhause had followed in his footsteps. He hade alone, telling everyone else at the cultist base to stay put. "He must have felt the C-Rank spells setting off. So he decided to support Gilhause in case he needed any help in dealing with the cultists." Alepheemented looking in a particr direction the Expert-ranked army officer wasing from. Eren nodded at her assumption before adding up. "That''s good as well. I had to tie loose ends one way or the other. I guess the fat bird will have the food he wants after all." Argo drooled when he heard that Eren was about to offer him an Expert-ranked soldier. He pped his wings and let out an eagle cry to express his joy. Eren didn''t bother taking care of the guy personally. He had Meera Madinah intercept him. Argo fought with the Expert-ranked entity as well, earning his ration. He was very particr about hunting for himself from the moment he was born. The demon beast was injured and bloodied in the process. With Meera protecting him and his aerial skills on point, no attack turned fatal for him. Eren looked at his status window while Argo was busy devouring the Expert ranker whole. *** Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organizations- Edinburgh Army (Nightshade duchy, Applying for Exit Mission), Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy Academic Status - Graduation On Hold Ranking Technique - Rootless (Custom Name) Base Stats: HP- 42 / 42 MP- 42 / 42 STR- 44 AGI- 42 INT- 42 BTP~ 212 BTP Visibility - Private Ranking Status: D-Rank (Solid Core State) Abilities (custom): Sin of Wrath (Domain of Wrath), Sin of Lust (Mist of Lust), Sedating Gaze, Expedited Regeneration (Bloodline), Devour (Bloodline), Shapeshift (Bloodline) Self-created spells: Wind-Fire Shards Lightning-element spells: Blitz Steps, Blitz Heal, Blitz Storm, Blitz Shield, Blitz Bolt, Solid Spark, Lightning Seed, Lightning Tree Fire-element spells: Fireball, Firebreath, Hatching of the me (variations), Fire Wings, Rain of Fire, Crimson Storm, Igni Chains, Igni Steps Time-element spells: Sedated Perception, Stunning Speed, Total Control, Age Expedite, Age Reverse, Motion Maniption Space-element spells: Blink, Dynamic Distance, Perfect Projection Wind-element spells: Wind Wings, Wind-de Tornado, Wind Steps, Wind Wall, Wind Shards Water-element spells: Aqua Hammer, Aqua Heal, Aqua des, Aqua Wall, Aqua Steps, Aqua Storm, Aqua Whips Wood-element spells: Green Prison, Vicious Vines, Healing Vines, Wood Life Control Earth-element spells: Earth Wall, Earth Steps, Earth Maniption, Earth Spikes Death-element spells: Death Wave, Death Rot, Shadow of Death Misceneous spells: Beast Contract Spell, Demon Beast Transformation Spell, Wind-fire Wings, Wind-Fire Shards Summoning Spells: Fire snakes (variations), Purple Lightning Snakes, Red Lightning Bull (Contract beast Summoning), Griffin, Woond Summon, Woond Wondend, Army of the Dead, Contract Undead, Living Undead, Goliath, Earth Arachnids, Behemoth (calibrating new entries) *** One had to say that Eren had the mostprehensive set of spells and Abilities in his arsenal at this point. It was more than anyone in his rank in thend of Anfang. This kind of variation alone was a testament to how difficult it was for him to progress further in his rank. And yet, he still managed to keep his ranking progress at a rtively rapid pace. Chapter 900 Thriving Evil Eren then started cleaning the battlefield. The dead bodies of all the rankers, including the officer with the expert rank, were devoured by Argo. He progressed further in his ranking status as a result, only stopping at the doorway of the next rank. No other army personnel came to the site while Eren was crafting the details of the scene for himself. In doing so, the army personnel stationed at the cultist base had saved their own lives without them knowing the danger they were in. When a doctored battlefield was created as per Eren''s wishes, he called out Arjun and Lyon. He also asked for their help in setting up a narrative. They had to get their stories straight after all. Arjun and Lyon were tongue-tied when they heard from Eren that two Expert ranked army officers along with a bunch of Adept rankers had been "martyred in the line of duty." Only at this point did they realize how much of an iceberg Eren was. *** The three rankers sat around the same bonfire Eren had lit up previously. They were talking about various things at once. Eren lectured the two rankers for a while and instructed them what and how much to say in their reports. While releasing a cloud of smoke from his nostrils, he suggested the idea to his two friends. "This settles my affairs with Edinburgh''s army for good. And I am noting back. You guys should leave the army as well. Leave the army and be done with it. I am not saying you would be in danger as you battle the forces of Layos in the uing war. But there''s a high chance someone from our own kingdom will use the war as an excuse to get to you." Lyon raised his eyebrows at Eren''s absurd theory. He was drinking his limited stock of dwarf ale. The dwarf had shared his bottle with the two rankers. Eren had drunk more ale in one gulp than the two of thembined. As a result, Lyon refused to pass the bottle over to Eren again. "You and your conspiracy theories. Why would they target us? Our work on this mission has been wless. At least that''s what the reports would say." Eren shook his head in denial and sighed before speaking up. "It''s not about you. It''s about me. They would like to obtain more information from you regarding me using any possible way. Arjun has connections. So they won''t be able to do these things within the army''s legal framework. But all bets would be off when the war starts. Contrary to what you might think about me, I''m one of the most influential figures in Edinburgh right now. Hehe. You are drinking ale with a low-key celebrity." Arjun nodded at Eren''s statement,pletely agreeing with his predictions. He clenched his fists before speaking up. "It won''t be easy for me to leave the army, Eren. I had signed up for the spirit beast program and received a spirit beast in return. Even with my connections, they won''t let me go this easily right before the start of the war." Eren stared at Lyon''s bottle for a moment. He created mental pressure with his soul sense to make Lyon pass him the ale. The dwarf looked at the butcher scornfully and mumbled a few cuss words under his breath before passing up the bottle. Eren drank from the bottle and finished the whole contents in one go. He then continued to smoke his Sativa Stick before providing both his mates with a solution. "Hmm. I''ll call Altashia up and tell her to arrange an exit strategy for you. Something that won''t kill you outright. You would want House Argas'' shadow protecting you at this point. So be prepared." Eren knew that altering the crime scene, doctoring the evidence, and setting up a wless narrative weren''t enough anymore. It would protect him and his mates from legal trouble. But the organizations that were targeting him had gotten a hint of what he could do. They would see right through any kind of bullshittery he had cooked up for the masses. Lyon sighed in a mncholic tone when he saw Eren finishing up his limited stock of dwarf ale. ''Celebrity, my ass. This bastard has his own liquor brand that is making headlines. He probably has tens if not hundreds of White Raven Ales in his storage now. Yet, he indulges in gulping down the free stuff whenever he can. He hasn''t changed at all when ites to thriftiness.'' Lyon got up from his wooden log serving as his seat and dusted his butt off. He then started pacing around the bonfire before talking about his next set of worries. "But where will we go after leaving the army? It''s not like our enemies will stoping for us when we do that. In fact, they''ll just get bolder since we don''t have an institution to back us up." Arjun and Eren chuckled at each other when they saw the dwarf pacing around with his hands behind his back. They both agreed with each other on the fact that Lyon would speak sense while he was half drunk. Eren finished his smoke before voicing what Arjun had in his mind all along. "Both of you are wee to join my guild. I won''t guarantee your safety 100% but it is close to that number. Now that I''m technically out of Edinburgh''s army, there''s no force holding me or my guild down. It''ll only prosper in the future. Especially during these turbulent times. My journey is only beginning. Hehe. Why not make use of me while I make use of you?" Eren''s words made sense to Lyon and he agreed to do what Eren asked him to do. Arjun was already on board with the n and was just waiting for Eren''s invitation. The three talked some more before leaving the region. *** As Eren had nned, the killings of two Expert-ranked officers as well as Gilhause''s security detail were pinned on the cultists. The three rankers stationed at the distant post had their stories in sync. Andstly, the influence of House Argas made the army authorities close the case on the mission. The butcher''s connections to key figures within the kingdom also yed a significant role in assuring his progress was not hindered by the forces that were trying to target him. They could only watch him while gritting their teeth, waiting for the so-called right opportunity tounch another strike at him. Eren sessfully left the army. And his mates were on their way to follow in his footsteps. The White Raven city and his guild had created a well-functioning mechanism for Eren to receive everything he needed. His manufacturing line along with his connections to the Last Blood Bastion made his products famous outside the kingdom as well. They were now slowly making their presence known throughout thend of Anfang. It was safe to say that Eren and those who were with him were bound to thrive in the uing times. The butcher''s progress was slow but deliberate. He did not run after an instant growth. He wasn''tpletely perfect in his ns. But he was sincere in his efforts. And efforts like these were soon starting to pay him his due dividends. === AN: Volume 04: Thriving Evil is concluded here. VEH punches in 900 chapters with this release. Cheers! ;) Chapter 901 Rank-Up Program’s Qualifiers White Raven Guild. Kukenan teau. White Raven city. A grand and opulent hall. The walls and the ceiling were studded with nice-looking gems that formed various array mechanisms. The well-lit ambiance and pleasant atmosphere. An empty tform was levitating quietly at one end, waiting for someone to take the stage. Mortals served sumptuous cuisine and drinks. Yet, there was a certain decorum that couldn''t be hampered. One could say that the hall''s ambiance became the embodiment of minimalism. And yet, it couldn''t help exuding a certain rich vibe that wasn''t associated with any start-up guild. "Woohoo. This guild is loaded." Bhaa Laah the night elfmented as she looked around herself and saw the riches with which the hall had been decorated. Tumko Darata and his entire team had been summoned to the White Raven Guild''s induction hall. Drin Dawn and Bianka Bluedust were also present with their respective teams in the hall. Eren had called all his key guild members to make a few announcements. Tumko scanned the area with his keen eyes beforementing. "I am more curious about how the guy was able to hire so many talented rankers. It''s like he cherry-picked the people and paired them in groups that would make sense." Tumko''s statement prompted a chuckle from his vice-captain Tal Waar. He shook his head and smiled beforementing. "You are praising yourself by saying that. We were also invited to be here by him." Tal Waar looked at Tumko intently before asking his question. "Why did you ept his invitation? Do you think he''ll lead us out of this prison named Anfang?" Tumko chuckled as well when he heard another interpretation of his words from Tal Waar''s mouth. He then sighed before answering his question. "Well no matter what we do, it''s still a gamble. So why not put our bets on someone like Eren, who knows what he is doing from the looks of things? It would be stupid of us to find an escape route in a dungeon that has beenpletely conquered by him." The team''s tank Kavach also agreed with Tumko''s statements. He added further. "Tumko''s right. It is better to wait than to find an escape route under adverse conditions. I just wish Eren would appear, give his two cents, and let us get started on our missions. I just hate waiting." *** "How did thest mission turn out, Drin?" Bianka asked Drin while their teams were catching up with each other. Biaka held a champagne ss in her right hand. With her left hand, she would often readjust the locks of hair and tuck them behind her ears. Bianka knew that Drin''s team had been sent on an imperative mission by Eren. She wondered what the mission was about since it looked to be a guild-rted mission. Drin was reminded of the mission he was part of when he heard Bianka''s question. Kirin was leading the mission which involved subjugating a monster tribe. He chuckled before answering. "Hehe. Myst mission didn''t feel like a mission at all, Bianka. Basically, I served as a pathfinder for my then-team leader Kirin. She only needed help keeping the crowd away from her while she dealt with the tribe leader. Then there was this guy named Kaalmaahen. He fights like a monster himself. Anyway, my team''s job was to secure a perimeter. The rest was handled by Expert Kirin and Kaalmaahen. We were released from our tasks when Kaalmaahen defeated a quasi-Monster Overlord named Bigua. I don''t know what happened after that as Kirin and Kaal took things from there." Bianka''s curiosity was piqued when she heard the details about the mission from Drin. She predicted that Eren had received something significant from the site by making Kirin take over after the tribe was defeated. That meant he knew exactly what the tribe had in store for him. Drin looked at Bianka''s curious face and smiled before speaking up. "Look, I don''t know what it is that Eren found at the site. But I guess we will find out soon enough. If my guess is right" Drin looked around himself and pondered a bit. He scratched his chin before making his predictions. "This meeting should be about what they found on the site. Do you remember the rank-up program the guild mentioned to us earlier?" Bianka connected the dots in her head and nodded at Drin. The rank-up program was supposed to help all rankers progress further in their respective ranking journeys. The White Raven guild had asked for active participation from all its members. The guild had assigned the participants of the program valuable resources. In return, they had to stick to the routine suggested by the program andplete a certain set of tasks. The program was pretty simple at first. But it started getting increasingly difficult for even the most talented rankers no matter which rank they belonged to. Only the key members of the White Raven guild managed to stay in the program while the others were kicked out. Drin concluded that the meeting was rted to the rank-up program and what Kirin found at hisst mission site because only the members that were still in the program had been summoned to the ce, leaving out the receable workforce of the White Raven guild. Second, the way Kirin talked made him see that the rank-up program was only meant to be a warm-up for what was toe for them. Even the rankers that had stayed inside the program for this long wereining that the assigned tasks and routines were getting more difficult by the day. And that they were being pushed to their limits for no feasible gains. Some rankers did improve their ranking status because of the valuable resources provided by the guild. But they felt like the gains they had received weren''t equal to the efforts they had put in. Of course, nobodyined about the program to the butcher himself. By this point, almost everyone knew what he had done. A few guild members were excited about the program as well. Tuan Aag, Renar, Viper, Katalina, and others were among those who made the most of it. === AN: Rank-up program was first mentioned in chapter 787. Chapter 902 Argos Hustle Rankers like Van Wilder, Ketsu Hasu, and Silvera were neutral about the rank-up program. In addition to doing what was asked of them, they kept taking missions side by side to avoid hindering their growth in any way. They didn''t think of leaving the program just because it was getting difficult to continue. But they preferred if things stayed at the same level of difficulty while they enjoyed the resources the guild provided them. Drin felt like he should be investing more time and effort into the program after all. Thest mission made him realize something. "I think that the rank-up program we have been through is only a qualifying round. The real-rank-up program will begin today." Bianka heard Drin''s predictions and had stress lines on her forehead. The routine and the tasks assigned to the program were challenging enough, to begin with. If it was supposed to be a warm-up, what would the real program look like? *** Argo was in his miniature eagle form. The demon beast was very familiar with all the key White Raven members. He would approach them one after another and talk to them to see if they could provide him with some treats. The bird brain was always hunting and hustling, looking for anything that he could eat or make use of. He would ask for some helpful ranking resources from the rankers he met, offering them advice, tips, or some puns in exchange. The guild members had gotten used to his asional visits as well. They would talk to him as if he was just another person. They offered him the resources he asked for since the advice he would give would always be multifaceted. They might not solve the problempletely. Sometimes, though, his words point them in the right direction. Argo was also present in the hall. Hended on Tuan''s shoulders before greeting him casually. "Yo, T. What''s up, dawg?" Tuan was busy talking with someone on a spectral call in the corner, away from any group of rankers. There was a young woman on the other end of the call. She seemed to be frustrated with him from the looks of things. She canceled the spectral call when Argo came into the picture. It was clear that Tuan had taken Eren''s advice about getting back into the game. However, it seemed like he was still struggling when it came to having a stable romantic rtionship. Tuna sighed when the call was disconnected. He looked at Argo dejectedly before responding. "It''s good that you are a demon beast, Argo. You don''t have to deal with these headaches. You don''t know the pains and sufferings a chivalrous guy like me has to go through just to get his heart soothed. *Sigh." Argo made a few guttural sounds, which sounded like he was dissatisfied with something. At least that''s what Tuan felt. The demon beast scratched below his neck with his eagle feet before speaking up. "Haah! You still suck in the game of getting puss Grrrrr" Argo was about to speak in his usual cussnguage when he remembered that his master had told him to tone down a few words that mighte across as offensive. Especially when there were female rankers that were around him. So he turned the volume down on his voice before speaking up. "You''re still the same nutcase you used to be, you fool. You learned nothing from your wife betraying you, did you? Listen up, T. Chivalry is dead and bitches killed it. I be learning a lot from my master''s game. Let me impart you with some of that top-ss wisdom if you are okay with giving me three of those D-Rank Crimson Fire Lotuses you have. How ''bout that?" Tuan knew Argo wouldn''t offer his "services" for free. He had taken after Eren after all. However, what he was asking in exchange was simply too much. He also wondered how Argo came to know about the fact that he owned exactly three D-Rank Crimson Fire Lotuses. The beast was pretty crafty for his age. "*Cough. I I''m ready to offer you one of those Lotuses." Argo made a few more guttural sounds as if cursing someone under his breath. He cleaned his beak with his other eagle feet and responded. "For someone so desperate for a change of perspective, you sure drive a hard bargain, T. Aight. Show me the merc first before we go any further." Tuan pursed his lips before nodding. He took out the fire-element ranking resource from his storage and showed it to the demon beast. His eyes sparkled as he looked at the resource. As soon as he saw it, he quickly stored it in his storage space before closing the deal. Argo educated Tuan about Eren''s way of handling women in his life because that''s what the demon beast knew most about. Tuan looked at the bird suspiciously because of the steps he suggested he take with his woman. He wondered if Argo was trying to mess with him. Argo''s suggestions were the opposite of what Tuan was used to practicing. But Argo convinced him nheless. One could say that the demon beast had his way with words, no matter how rough hisnguage might sound to his listeners. "You mean I should just leave if she starts arguing with me? Won''t that aggravate the problemter?" Tuan asked Argo in a voiceced with doubts. However, Argo was done with the fire-element ranker at this point. He had already provided him with advice worth one Crimson Fire Lotus. So the demon beast started wrapping things up. "Bitches be crazy, T. You would want to avoid them when they are on their crazy. A lot of guys get wrecked and have their shit flying because they be storm chasers. A normal response when you see a storm on the horizon is to run the hell away from it and think about the consequencester. Of course, it''s better to be surrounded by multiple storms. That way, you will be able to handle any storm. Hehe. And speaking of storms and stormborns, my master''s here. I''ll see you around, T. Good luck." Argo disappeared from Tuan''s shoulders, leaving him with his question answered. However, the fire-element ranker''s attention was quickly shifted to the levitating stage in front of him. The guild master of the White Raven guild hade to address his key guild members. === AN: A slice-of-life chapter before we start the new volume Domineering Evil for real. ;) Chapter 903 There’s A “But” Involved Eren appeared on stage. He had worn a simple white tunic, paired with rugged brown pants. Voluminous locks of ck hair cascaded down his youthful and subtly handsome face. His emerald green eyes shined from time to time. His presence would attract attention and his aura would intimidate. The elemental attainments he had gained would fluctuate around him asionally. And his soul sense would affect the people around him. They were all testaments to the powers he had harnessed over the years. No matter how much he tried to keep things under wraps, people were bound to get a hint about him and his aplishments. Especially those who knew him well enough. It was difficult for mortals to get close to Eren anymore because of his presence. Most would faint and others would have their mental healthpromised. Some would have their heartbeats increased to unprecedented levels. Mortal men would feel enraged at the world and females would lose their sense of self in lust. Thus, only the lower-ranked entities served him. It wasmon for Adept-ranked entities to have this effect on mortals to some extent. A ranker''s control over their powers would typically increase once again when they entered C-Rank or higher. The butcher too was suffering from ack of control over his powers. This was because he was harnessing multiple paths and Abilities. And this was when he was working through special training conducted by Alephee to achieve better control over his mana circuits. One could imagine the kind of havoc he would cause to his surroundings in the presence of lower-ranked entities if he did not have the kind of control he was having at the moment. The hall was buzzing with mumblings and chatter a few moments ago. But it grew silent the moment Eren appeared on stage. Even higher-ranked entities like Levine and others from her faction stopped conversing with each other when they saw Eren had gotten on stage. ''Solid stage! He progressed once again.'' Levine thought to herself as she watched Eren with keen expressions. She had asked others from her faction to be present here because of the things Eren had told her. To better fight Demonmir''s faction, her faction had to grow in power. The butcher didn''t think that he could take Demonmir and his entire faction all by himself. At least not anytime soon. He and his guild needed some time to grow. So the next logical option for him was to make Levine''s faction capable enough for them to do his bidding. Demonmir was still too busy with his affairs to focus on Eren and his guild. But Eren didn''t want to wait for things to turn wrong one day and catch him unprepared. Thus, he wanted to invest in Levine''s faction as well. He had the means to pull this off at this point when Kirin and Kaal subjugated Bigua''s n. Eren first looked at Tuan and nodded. He knew that his demon beast was teaching the poor guy all sorts of questionable things. Thus, he decided that he should give a disimer to Tuan in private after his speech. That whatever suggestions Argo gave him should be implemented at one''s own risk. And that he would take no responsibility for the oue. Eren looked at his crowd next and observed that everyone was looking at him. He liked the pin-drop silence in the room at the moment. This was the respect he had earned after working his ass off. He would never get addicted to the fleeting sense of social status. However, he would not run away from it either when it was presented to him. Especially if he could make use of it to gain more for himself. The butcher took a deep breath and smiled before speaking up. "To all the White Raven guild members and our privileged guestsC good evening. I''ll be honest with you. I am not very skilled at formal greetings. Ick the kind of sophistication one needs to address a crowd. And yet, I would like to draw your attention to what I have to say all the same. That''s because the things I''m about to say do not only concern me and my guild''s future. It affects the future of this city and everyone in it. It affects the kingdom''s politicalndscape, potential war, and the covert and overt power y around us. Andstly, it affects you. Your future as a ranker to be specific." Eren said as he checked the sleeves of his pants. He unabashedly took out his Sativa Stick and lit it up. He enjoyed the first drag of his smoke and released it through his mouth before continuing. "I am sure some of you might have guessed that this gathering is rted to the rank-up program we have been running for some of White Raven''s finest talents. I am here to tell you that they are right on the mark." Eren looked at Drin and Bianka and smiled. He took a brief pause and allowed the hushed chatter that had sprouted in the hall to subside a bit before speaking further. "We are moving ahead with phase two of the rank-up program and those who have made it this far are invited to participate in it. And rest assured. We will also offer this program to a select group of our guests in exchange for some benefits." Eren looked at Levine and her group of rankers and nodded before speaking about the pros and cons of the program. "The benefits of phase two of the rank-up program are tremendous, to say the least. It has the potential to increase one''s elemental attainment in their respective element by leaps and bounds. And it can also allow one to progress further in their ranking journey without creating any anomalies in their path. I am not talking about the eventual growth you receive with the right use of ranking resources in conjunction with your respective ranking techniques. I''m talking about tangible gains that are made apparent as soon as youplete the program sessfully." Eren''s statement metaphorically raised the hall''s temperature. Everybody was taken aback by the announcement he made. People started questioning each other and looking at Eren with doubt. ''There has to be a catch.'' Everybody thought the same thing when they heard an offer too good to be true. Eren read the mood of the entire hall and chuckled before confirming their pessimistic view of the program. "Yep! There''s a "but" involved." Chapter 904 Gambling & Elemental Array "That''s right. There''s a "but" involved." Enjoying his smoke on stage like nobody''s business, Eren continued. "The White Raven guild has gotten hold of an ancient array that immerses a ranker in the pure elemental manifestations of their respective elements. The environment the array creates for the ranker helps them increase their elemental attainment to a significant level in a short time. Of course, there are a lot of limitations imposed on the ranker. And these limitations change as per the ranker''s capacity to handle the elemental pool they are immersed in. So there''s no use in me listing them out. You will find your limitations soon enough if and when you decide to participate. The array also allows them to increase their ranking status if they can manage to practice their ranking techniques while being immersed in the elemental pool. As long as you are confident in your ability to handle pressure, there are no technical restrictions on your growth. But" Eren''s words before the word ''but'' sounded like a dream-like symphony in the rankers'' ears. s, they were forced to snap back to reality when Eren started speaking about the risks involved in the updated program. "But there''s a possibility that the elemental pool might damage your mana core and kill you. Or worse, turn you into a mortal. There''s also a chance that you might lose your sense of self in the elemental pool if you don''t understand your limits and decide to stay inside the pool. The elemental pool generated by the array can only be used once. Try to use it for the second time and it''ll make your mana core implode and waste you in a second. Furthermore, there''s a chance that the elemental pool is notpatible with you. In this case, you will experience the side effects of your ipatibility even if you do all the other things right. And you only have one chance to bet on yourself and your growth. You have to bet on your future with your own life and current potential as currency. To put it simply, it''s a gamble." Eren''s voice started turning grim as he spoke about the ill consequences of using the elemental pool. He didn''t try to hide the cons because he needed people with strong convictions to enter the pool. People started murmuring when they heard about the consequences. Half of the rankers started hesitating about joining the program because the side effects were simply too much. Even rankers who had performed well in the first phase of the rank-up program found it difficult to be okay with phase two''s negative effects. *** Eren had heard from Ror that there was an Ogre tribe controlled by Bigua that had this elemental array on his tribe''s grounds. Bigua had gained rity of his own when he evolved to a certain degree from being a mere Ogre Soldier. He used this rity to create this phenomenon for himself and his tribe. Bigua wanted to avoid Kev Larson and Meera Madinah from visiting his tribe''s grounds for the same reason. He had an ambitious n to evolve into a true Monster Overlord and also help some of his trusted tribe members using the elemental pool. If his n had seeded, Bigua''s tribe would have be a severe threat to rankers and other tribes in the Bands. If the special forces knew what he was doing in his backyard, they would never have made deals with him. Kev and Meera would have attacked him without considering the effects of their actions on the battle with the soldiers of Layos. One had to say that Bigua was a crafty and talented Ogre. At the time of Drin''s mission, he killed a member of his own tribeC Hiram with his own hands to prevent the situation from escting. He killed the Ogre Lord and ended the matter then and there. Then he made a deal with the special forces of Edinburgh to obtain more resources for his project. At first, Bigua''s elemental pool was only capable of increasing one''s elemental attainments in the water element. Only those who walked the path of the water element were able to use the elemental pool for themselves. However, everything changed when Bigua saw Drin mimic the effects of other elements with his shadow element. Bigua belonged to the Oni dungeon and was still in touch with the monsters inside it. He consulted with Durbag who was supposed to be a genius when it came to the study of arrays. Durbag was the same orc who had constructed the pyramid-epassing array to free the entire monster poption from Har Jahar''s tyrannic control by killing him. The array was then used by Eren to kill the Oni King using his own hands. Even as an expert in arrays, Durbag was very impressed with what Bigua was doing. The ogre''s knowledge of the subject was limited but he knew what he could do with it. The two monsters discussed and used various shadow-element resources to make this arraypatible with almost anyone. This was also the reason why Bigua wanted to kidnap Drin Dawn and conduct a few experiments on him and his shadow element. It was to alleviate the consequences of using the elemental pool. s, Drin was protected by Meera Madinah and Kev Larson at that point, preventing the Ogre from resolving the matter for the better. A significant portion of the resources had been used in the construction of this elemental array. Bigua had even traded with the Oni dungeon and other tribes within the Bands to make his project a sess story. However, his efforts were thrown down the drain for him when Kirinunched an attack on his tribe. Bigua was just about to use the elemental pool when that happened. He was challenged by Kaal and defeated in mortalbat in front of his entire tribe. Kaal was half-dead in his fight against Bigua but he managed to defeat the quasi-Monster Overlord by a hair''s breadth. Bigua had huge backing in the tribe who strongly opposed Kaal''s hostile takeover despite the monster traditions in ce. This rebellion was easily squashed by Kirin, using it as a reason to justify her interference in the tribe despite being a non-Ogre. Kirin had managed to keep her word by obtaining the elemental pool for her husband. She rushed right toward the butcher after the mission concluded, enabling him to begin phase two of the n. === AN: The clues about Bigua''s ns can be found in chapter 719. Chapter 905 Life, In General, Is Uncertain ''*sigh. Can''t say I didn''t see thising.'' Eren sighed as if he was dreading the work thaty ahead. He could feel the difort most rankers had after hearing about the side effects of using the elemental pool. As a guild master of the White Raven guild, he needed to take on the responsibility of motivating its members as well. "There''s no need to overthink this and get diagnosed with chicken feet. I called it a gamble because there''s some uncertainty attached to the updated program. But let''s just get this straight. Life, in general, is uncertain." Eren gazed at everyone. His Sativa Stick was over. So he put his hands behind his back and started pacing back and forth on the tform before speaking further. "If one has the right mindset and persistence, they''ll be able to survive any program or procedure thrown their way. I know that fear is an obstacle for some rankers. They are afraid of failing. They fear that they might die or waste their mana cores and be mortals again. Some rankers must be concerned about not being able to advance even after surviving the program." The butcher could feel that his audience was getting defensive about the topic. Most of the rankers who were hesitating to participate in the updated program were thinking along the lines of "easy for you to say." That''s why he needed to make something clear. "Now I''m not saying fear is a terrible thing per se. It serves as ourpass and has the potential to point us in the right direction. Fear stops us from doing stupid things so we can focus on doing things that are right for us. A bit of fear needs to be present in every beating heart to keep it grounded in reality. A fearless person is a walking hazard for themselves and those around them. Suppose a boy in my childhood said he didn''t fear Rank-1 mana beasts. And if he wanted me to apany him into the wild so that he could prove his fearlessness to me and the entire world by proxy, I would have apanied that jackass only to use him as bait and leave him there. I wouldn''t want guys like these around me at all. It''s better that nature takes its course and the rule of the jungle gets rid of that problem for me." Eren''s speech was slow and precise. His words started resonating within the consciousness of his listeners. They also started chuckling while listening to Eren''s story, thinking that it was a light joke. Only the butcher knew how serious he was when he gave that example. Eren let the sounds of chuckles andughter die down a bit before speaking in a grim tone. "That being said, we also have to acknowledge the fact that fear is not real. Not really. Fears and limits we impose on ourselves are often just illusions we set for ourselves so that we don''t get hurt. No disrespect to my teacher or our high-ranking guests here, but there''s nobody better qualified to talk about oveing one''s fear than me. If fear could be quantified, I''d be honest in saying that I have felt the most amount of fear than everyone elsebined in this hall." Eren stopped in his tracks and remembered the times when he had the jitters. They were no longer with him. He no longer had nightmares. But he would never be able to forget that feeling again. His mental state also started affecting the audience in front of him. The butcher smiled mildly and continued. "But even when I was fearful and my limbs were shaking, I never stopped doing what I wanted to do. Even while my body was feeling the jitters of the unknown, I never stopped moving forward. Fear physically and mentally affected me. So much so that I had to look for ways to control my jitters. And yet, I''ll go ahead and say that fear is merely a figment of one''s imagination. I have denied its hold on me by doing that. With or without fear, with or without support, with or without aplicesC I''ll achieve exactly what I wanted to achieve. The means will change but not my destination." Levine looked at her students very attentively. She always knew that his ability to grab people''s attention was as good as his skill at flying under their radar. It all depended on what he wanted from his audience. He would change ording to the need of the hour. And all of his transformations would always feel natural. She had started liking this quality of his a lot. The butcher was on a different tangent when Levine was developing feelings for him. Thus, he ignored the gaze with which she was looking at him and spoke further. "Words like optimism or pessimism will have zero value when you do the job you are supposed to do. I know a lot of the stuff I said is just something you already know. An obvious truth that nobody cares about until it starts to matter." The butcher turned to his audience and narrowed his eyes. His aura fluctuated and started feeling dreadful as he spoke his next words very carefully. "This is it for my motivation speech. As superfluous as it might sound, this is all I got. Of course, I realize that words alone cannot persuade all of you into doing what I want. If you still cannot abolish fear from your heart, let me give you a bigger fear in exchange. This applies to all White Raven guild members who are present here. I''ll kick you out of my guild if you decide to back down from the program now. Fear is contagious and it spreads like wildfire. I want a team of elites in my guild and not a bunch of weaklings. You know what would happen if I kicked you out of the guild at this point, right?" Chapter 906 Winning Has A Price Eren''s words struck like thunder in his audience''s minds. The pin-drop silence seemed to get more intense in the hall. There was a lot of mana fluctuation as the rankers were overwhelmed by their emotions. When Eren talked about kicking out the members, they looked at each other with weary eyes. The White Raven guild had created plenty of enemies by now. And the only reason the guild members could still roam and take up quests was because of the protection provided by Levine''s faction and House Derringer from the shadows. If any of them got kicked out of the guild in this situation, nobody doubted in their minds that they would be targeted by these forces first and foremost. Eliminating any of the members was practically signing their death warrants. Eren spread forth his domineering mana sense and forcefully calmed the agitated members down before speaking up. "The other day, I got to know that the royal family of Edinburgh has something simr to this program of ours, sans the consequences. Of course, it has its limitations and they cannot overdo it. However, it still makes one wonder how blessed these people are to be able to do something like this. However, it can only be used by the royals and their closest family members. So we can forget about ever having the opportunity to get to be part of their lot." Eren was reminded of Rehaal Renar. It was through his memories that he was made aware that the royal family had ess to an elemental pool of their own. It was most likely retrieved from ancient documents that were not made public. Rehaal and most of his cousins had made use of this elemental array to advance in their respective ranks. Of course, Rodrick was strategically kept out of this arrangement after his temporary disengagement from the royal family. This was the reason why Rodrick was hesitant in regressing in his rank to change his ss. He had to give up his participation rights to use the elemental array when he essentially reset his ranking progress. Rehaal and a lot of Rodrick''s other cousins that were part of the royalpetition got ahead of him using the elemental array. The gap between them only widened when that happened, forcing Rodrick to seek shelter in White Raven city. Rodrick was also present in the hall. He pursed his lips when Eren let closely guarded information about the royal family out. But at this point, he didn''t care two hoots about his messed up family either. He had already said "fuck you" to them once. And he wasn''t about to suck it up to them. Rodrick would rather be part of Eren''s rank-up program and suffer any potential side effectsing his way. He was willing to y the gamble Eren was proposing. Eren looked at Rodrick and smiled wickedly before speaking further. "It''s funny if you think about it. In life, some people get to y by different rules than others. They can do whatever they want regardless of the consequences of their actions. But one has to earn the right to do so. Now there are two ways of getting this privilege: you can receive it as an inheritance or you can earn it through your dedicated work. I think it is safe to say that the ship of us earning that right through inheritance has already sailed past the horizon. So we are only left with one choice by default. And that choice requires your blood and sweat." Eren snapped his fingers and a teleportation array appeared on the tform he was standing on. It led to the isted space in which he had relocated the elemental array taken from Bigua''s tribe. The tform Eren stood on was the updated program''s venue entrance. The butcher took a long breath and continued. "Look, winning has a price. And leadership has a price. I will pull my guild members along when they don''t want to be pulled. I will challenge them when they don''t want to be challenged. I have earned that right because I have suffered more and will continue to suffer more." Eren''s words made sense to his audience even when they didn''t want to admit it. At this point, almost everybody was ready to participate in the program. It wasn''t because they were motivated to grow. However, Eren''s words inspired them to have a survival mentality. The butcher knew he had changed the crowd''s mood for the better. He decided to give them one final push to pass through the teleportation array. "Equivalent exchange! There was a reason you were okay with joining this guild despite its shallow roots and the dangers it was surrounded by. You saw that my guild provided best-in-ss resources and invested a lot of its revenue in-house for its members. You believed that it was all for your benefit? The White Raven guild has a sessful potion manufacturing line and Minerva''s Utopia as its key assets. But all will be useless if we don''t have the necessary force to back us up shortly. Especially now when the war is drawing so close. Therefore, we came up with this ranking program. It may not be the right solution to all our current or uing problems. But it''s a start." Eren''s words subtly predicted a doom''s day prediction for all the White Raven members. But that''s just him preparing his guild for the uing storm. He won''t always be around. So he needed people who could manage things on their own. The runes inside the teleportation array lit up, prompting the rankers to prepare themselves for sudden enrollment into the updated rank-up program. The butcher controlled the tform and made itnd on the ground and spoke up. "I will never ask you to do anything I wouldn''t do. I also know that there were better ways of breaking this program up to you instead of creating peer pressure. You maybel me as a tyrant even afterpleting the program. But let me make it clear that I am okay with beingbeled as a tyrant if it gives me what I want in the fastest way possible. Now those who want to build their future with the White Raven guildC step up. And those who want to leave the guild and risk what''s waiting for them outsideC step back." Eren made an announcement and observed the crowd. As expected, everyone was onboard with the n. The butcher smiled brightly before starting the teleportation array for all the White Raven guild members. Chapter 907 Capitalizing On Grim Pillar Town "You are not going?" Levine asked Eren while tucking her locks behind her ears. All the White Raven members had been teleported to the isted site of the elemental pool. Only Eren and Levine were present at the scene. She and the high-ranking entities from her faction hade to talk with Eren''s guild personally upon his invitation. And they were equally interested in participating in the updated program. It was just that Eren had calibrated the array for rankers up to the rank of Adept. So they would have to wait until the White Ravens are done. Eren smiled at Levine and greeted thepany she was with. The two were left alone once Eren started talking to Levine personally. "Waiting for the right time makes more sense in my case, teacher Levine. I have justpleted the solid stage of the Adept rank. I won''t receive any significant gains if I use the program at this point. Even if I manage to break into the Expert rank using the elemental array, my progress would halt there. And since my foundations are not that strong, I''d have to face a bottleneck for some time right after entering the next rank. So I''ll wait until I achieve Expert rank on my own. Only then can I maximize my gains through this one-time-use method." Alephee had provided this suggestion to Eren right after he had gained ess to the elemental array. The butcher wanted to use the pool immediately. But Alephee''s suggestion made sense to him and he decided to wait. It wouldn''t be long before he became an Expert ranker anyway. Levine looked Eren in the eyes before sharing her doubts with him. "Hmm. It looks like you''re trying to wrap things up. It can only mean you are about to disappear from the city once again." Eren chuckled before nodding at her. He bowed a bit and led her toward the exit before speaking up. "Hehe. No rest for the wicked, teacher Levine. You must be aware that my graduation test event will be held in Edinburgh''s capital in about a month. Then there''s a project waiting for me once I finish my graduation. So I want to be done with a bunch of tasks before the ceremony." Erenid out his schedule for Levine. White Raven City considered her one of its key figures. So she needed to know some of his ns beforehand. Levine had a stress line on her forehead when she heard about visiting the capital. "Yeah. I am being invited by LA to attend the test event in the capacity of an ex-professor. Let''s visit the capital together, shall we? Call me up once you are done with your tasks and we''ll head there together." Eren didn''t mind traveling to the capital with Levine. But he felt like there was another reason for Levine to suggest they travel together other than seekingpany. "Are you worried that Demonmir might strike at me again with a newly formed team?" Eren was already aware that DemonmirC Ottoman de Montmorency and Pdin of PainC Reva Rain were at the capitol. As one of Edinburgh''s most well-known figures and title holders, they were invited by the Royal Ren to attend the graduation event as well. Levine nodded at Eren''s question. She hadn''t asked him about it yet but she was made aware that Eren''s exit mission in the army had been sabotaged. She didn''t know many details about it since on paper, the mission waspleted and over with. It resulted in two army officers'' casualties. And still, someone like Eren had miraculously survived. What she didn''t know was the fact that Eren was jumped on even before his exit mission. The details about that ambush were still not known to almost anybody. Still, it was clear that the forces opposing Eren''s rise were determined to keep on targeting him again and again until they seeded. She could still manage things and protect Eren from obvious and forting traps while he was in the core of the Nightshade duchy. But her safety would start to thin out when he traveled to the capital. Eren knew what Levine was thinking. He chuckled before clearing a few things up for her. "I don''t mind traveling with you, teacher Levine. But rest assured, I will not be attacked anymore. Until I reach the capital, at least. Not because my enemies suddenly stopped targeting me. However, Demonmir would want to meet me now that I''ve survived this long. Heh! I haven''t met the guy yet. But something tells me he would want to meet me at the capitol at the time of the test event." Eren shrugged his shoulders as he said this. It was as if he did not feel any pressure when meeting Demonmir. Eren had learned a lot from the memories he had of Oslo before Alephee converted him into a human doll. He was especially interested in memories rted to Demonmir. From Oslo''s memories, he got to know a bit about Demonmir and a few of his personality traits. Eren then tried memory extraction on Nico Chain''s corpse which Alephee had killed along with his demon beast. His Ability didn''t work that well on the corpses but he was still able to gather some more information about Ottoman. Levine raised her eyebrows at Eren when he talked about Demonmir. She didn''t know about the pre-exit ambush he had to go through. But something told her that it was exactly like Demonmir to look his enemy in the eyes. Especially when his enemy was a ranker like Eren. Levine sighed looking at Eren. She didn''t want to say this out loud but Eren was exactly like the young Demonmir in her eyes. Talented and hardworking. Cunning and bold. Vicious and heartless when ites to spilling their enemies'' blood. Someone who wants to stand above others. Someone who would go to any length to achieve their goals. Someone passionate about the path they had chosen and would walk steadfastly on it,e hell or high water. Eren and Demonmir could both be defined in the same way. Chapter 908 Need For More Master Rankers Eren and Demonmir could both be defined in the same way. However, Eren had Demonmir beat when it came to achieving the kind of sess he had achieved while still being this young and in the Adept rank. Levine knew that Demonmir was leagues behind Eren when he was in the Adept rank. And this was when he was supported by her family''s resources. Levine came to realize something when she started drawingparisons between Eren and Demonmir in her head. She started by counting the simrities between the two. And ended up seeing what made the two different as well. The more she thought, the more she was sure of her prediction. ''Eren will surpass that bastard in the future.'' The Master ranker smiled when she thought about Eren''s monstrous potential. She smiled mirthlessly before adding on. "You know Eren, Morty Derringer told me that Demonmir had approached him. The bastard wanted to cut a deal with him and cut me and my faction off along with you. And House Derringer would probably have considered the offer as well. But then your killing of Rey and Janos Remus got known. Do you know what they call your kill site? The Grim Pir Town. A small town had been erected on the site overnight. House Derringer has rejected Demonmir''s offer ever since then. It considers you to be a greater threat than Demonmir. I don''t know about your enemies. But you sure have spooked your allies a bit." Levine said with a light smile on her face. The butcher raised his eyebrows before speaking up. "Grim Pir Town? Who''s behind this? Those sons of bitches better give me a cut of their profits if they want to use my artwork as theirndmark." Upon realizing Eren had retained his greedy nature to capitalize on everything and anything that moved, Levine, burst intoughter. Eren''s grim face, like he meant what he said, made herugh even more. She knew everything was alright with Eren when he showed her that he was still the old him. That sess had not gotten into his head and he was still as prudent as he had always been. "Alright. Enough with your jokes. Demonmir might not target you anymore. But he is not the only enemy you have. You have also pissed off uncle Sebastian and who knows how many others. So we''ll be traveling together and that will be the end of it." Eren was forced to agree to Levine''s ns. The butcher was about to say something to her when he heard another woman speak to him. ''Isn''t sheughing too easily at whatever you say? It wasn''t that funny. And it wasn''t even a joke, was it?'' Eren heard Alephee''s voice in his head and ignored it. Of course, he wasn''t joking when it came to collecting revenue from Grim Pir Town. As long as it brought more traffic to his city, he was more than willing to erect more pirs like thest one. He was ready to adorn those pirs with the "souvenirs" of his remaining enemies. The butcher made ns to let Agatha handle this part for him. Eren and Levine made their way to her suite. There were a few details they wanted to finalize before they moved on to the next set of tasks. It was rted to the use of the elemental pool for high-ranked entities. The use of such an array for rankers above the Adept rank became increasinglyplicated. The array needed a constant stream of special resources belonging to the respective elements to keep it functioning. And this burning of expensive resources wasn''t something one could pull off in an individual capacity. Eren and Levine both needed to sit together and figure out how many high-ranking entities would enter the elemental array. They also needed to discuss the resources that would be used in the process. The student-and-teacher pair sat in front of each other at Levine''s desk before charting out a n. The butcher was d that he had his guild''s funds backing him up. Otherwise, forget about sponsoring his guild members. He wouldn''t have been able to make the program work for himself. "There''s one more problem I have regarding entering the elemental array myself. From the data you have provided me regarding the array, I and Zethos won''t be able to enter the pool by ourselves. We''ll need two more B-rankers who are willing to take this risk and share the burden with us. At least one, if we want to keep it close. Otherwise, we both would be throwing our futures as rankers away." Zethos was another B-ranker from Levine''s faction that Eren had met not too long ago for the first time. She had invited him to the White Raven city when she was made aware of the array by Eren. Zethos was very loyal to Levine. So she thought of rewarding his loyalty like this. However, theck of B-rankers made it difficult for her to participate in the rank-up program. Levine was very confident about clearing the program. She had no doubts in her mind that she could progress in her ranking journey by leaps and bounds without any hurdles. This is if and when the elemental pool is made avable to her. However, she wasn''t willing to take unnecessary risks by entering the pool with just one ranker. ? Eren was about to say something to her when themunication artifact inside his storage started sending him alerts. The message looked urgent from the looks of things. Eren excused himself from Levine''s study room and stepped out. He only turned on the voice feed of the artifact to listen to the other side. He heard someone speak to him in a desperate monster tongue when he did that. ''My king! You finally picked up!'' Eren narrowed his eyes when he recognized the voice. ''Ror? Why are you out of breath? What happened?'' ''My king, do you know someone named Nina and Amory?'' Eren''s expression turned grim when he heard Aunt Nina''s name. He thought she was in trouble so he didn''t waste any time affirming Ror''s spection. He urged the quasi-Monster King to give him more details about what exactly was going on. Chapter 909 Convoy Recovery ''Tell me what is going on.'' Eren asked Ror to be precise in his report. Thattter obliged. ''My king, this human healer, and the old man who''s with her attacked me while I was on my way to meet Baran as you told me to. I want to avoid confrontation with them since I heard your name from their mouths. So all I can do right now is run away from them. But they Aaaargh... these humans are not leaving me alone. This old man is especially persistent. As if he wanted to die at my hands. What should I do, my king?'' Eren didn''t know what to say to Ror after he heard about his situation. But he was d that Aunt Nina was safe. It had been a few months since Nina left the city of Curar with Amory and a female Adept ranker from her guild. She first visited the city of New Beginnings and dropped the Adept ranker off there. This was because Nina and Amory were about to visit a zone meant for Master rankers in Monster Canyon and an Adept would only get in the way. Nina was supposed to visit Eren in his city after ensuring that Amory wasn''t taking any unnecessary risks in his forced breakthrough. But for some reason, he lost contact with Nina after entering Monster Canyon. Eren could only me the peculiarities of Monster Canyon for this. He wasn''t really worried about her safety. She was a full-fledged B-Rank healer who was very aware of which zones in Monster Canyon she was supposed to check out. Plus, Amory was with her who was supposed to be someone only a few steps from achieving the Grandmaster rank. Still, there was always room for "what ifs", especially when it came to exploring Monster Canyon. The butcher knew this better than anyone he knew. After all, the ce had imed his life once. That''s why Eren wanted Nina to contact him as soon as she could. Which she didn''t do. So all he could do was wait for her update. ''Haah! She should have called me.'' Eren sighed. Only now did he understand the misery of keeping someone in the dark about their whereabouts after being on the receiving end. He decided to call Agatha up from time to time whenever he pulled stunts like this. At least as much as he could. Eren listened to Ror''s pleas and sighed. He pondered for a bit before giving Ror a few basic instructions. He also gave him pointers on how to get rid of the human rankers following him. The quasi-Monster King never really ran away from any fights until this day. Plus, he didn''t know much about humans'' way of tailing monsters in thend of Anfang since he had seldom ventured outside the Oni dungeon. Ror listened to Eren''s points keenly and understood them well before cutting the call off. Thetter knew that the Ogre Overlord was more than capable of staying away from his pursuers if the right instructions were provided to him. Eren didn''t know much about Amory or Aunt Nina''s current strengths. But he was confident that Ror wouldn''t be at a disadvantage fighting two B-Rank healers at the same time. The only reason he ran away from the fight was that he was afraid of injuring someone his king knew personally. Eren chuckled when he thought about the situation. To sort the mess out, it seemed he would have to intervene himself in such a high-level battle. He immediately thought of killing two birds with one stone. The butcher looked at the door of Levine''s study room before walking up to it. He knocked on the door twice before entering. "Teacher Levine, I think I have found two B-Ranked entities you need for entering the elemental array. I''ll just go ahead and get them." Eren already had ns for letting aunt Nina enter the elemental pool when he learned about its existence from Ror. This was another reason he was waiting for Nina to contact him. It was just a matter of convenience that Amory was added to the list. Of course, he would ask Healers'' Nirvana forpensation for allowing Amory to use the elemental pool. Levine looked at Eren carefully before speaking to him in a careful tone. "I hope you know who to count on, Eren. I don''t think we should pick any random ranker for a program this sensitive. We don''t know how the royals will look at us running the program" Levine was about to warn Eren against contacting some random Master ranker just for the sake of filling in the numbers. She could have done the same if the number requirement was all she cared about. However, Eren cut her off before speaking up. "It''ll be fine. One of the rankers I''m talking about is my aunt Nina. I trust herpletely. As for the royals objecting to our program, we''ll cross that bridge when wee to it. We won''t run the program long enough anyway. It costs a lot to operate an array like this, and I''m not running a charity. The rankers we have chosen will probably be all there is to it. So there''s nothing to worry about." Eren straightforwardly sorted the matter. Of course, Levine asked him about Nina and her whereabouts. The butcher gave her a brief description of Nina''s current progress before getting up to leave. He walked towards Levine''s window instead of taking the usual exit route. Argo was summoned in his eagle form outside the window. The demon beast pped his wings and generated a mini typhoon around him before giving out an eagle cry. "Kiyeeeeh! Let''s wreck some shit." Argo could form perfectly sound statements ever since he had digested an Expert ranker for himself. He still struggled to keep the cuss words out of his mouth for a long time. But his vocabry had grown a lot as opposed to using a certain word to describe everyone and everything. "We are not out hunting, you fat bird. It''s just a simple convoy recovery. Let''s go." As Eren climbed up the window''s ledge, he sighed and said to Argo. Lightning struck and he appeared on Argo''s back who had already started flying toward the horizon. === AN: The first appearance of Amory Stowage was in chapter 652. Chapter 910 Almighty Push ''He he cares about her. That''s rare. Very rare'' This was the first time Levine had heard Eren say he trusted someonepletely. She could also sense the rare form of affection Eren had for Nina when he talked about her. ''Hmm. I wonder how close he is to this "aunt Nina" he talks so affectionately about.'' Levine had a random thought as she watched Eren get away from her vision. She snapped out of her reverie soon enough and concentrated on her next set of tasks. Eren inadvertently sensed a bit of jealousy from Levine for a fraction of a second as he flew further away from her ce. But he ignored it and focused on getting to Nina on time. *** Amory Stowage seemed desperate to achieve a forced breakthrough. He had been chasing a Monster King for days on end. But the Ogre in question decided to run away instead of epting his duel. Nina had been trying to help him by keeping track of the monster using spells exclusive to her. However, she eventually lost track of the monster and both of them were forced to halt in their tracks. Ror, on the other hand, doubled back on his steps after he realized that his presence wouldn''t get detected by his pursuers. He waited for his king to arrive at the scene. Meanwhile, he was given the task of safeguarding the very pursuers who wanted to use him as a guinea pig for the old man''s breakthrough. Ror could only sigh at the irony of protecting someone who wanted to kill him. He was then reminded of Eren making his son Kaalmahen a chieftain of a huge Ogre tribe and decided not toin anymore. Ne could say that the quasi-Ogre King had undisputed affection for his son and his king by proxy. After all, he was oath-bound to follow everything Erenmanded him to do. Unaware of their prey''s situation, Nina wasn''t happy when Ror got away from their pursuit. This monster was just what Amory needed to achieve a breakthrough. Losing him now meant Amory losing his chance to achieve a breakthrough anytime soon. "It''s strange. It feels like the Ogre suddenly grew brains and started messing up my tracking spells." Nina felt extra frustrated for some reason. It seemed like there were more mental stresses at y than just helping Amory break into the Grandmaster rank. She looked at the seniormost guild member on her team before saying something with a bit of hesitation. "Uncle Amory, I think we should go back and check up on the guild master. It''s toote to" Nina stopped what she was about to say midway for some reason. She clenched her fists and looked at Amory with a pitying look in her eyes. The old healer chuckled when he understood what she was trying to say to him. "It''s toote for me to achieve a breakthrough, right? So you want me to give up and leave this ce? Lass, I know why you are saying this. However, will it help the situation if I return and meet the guild master while still being the same old Master ranker? That girl needs me to break into the Grandmaster rank. Only then can she ask the kingdom of Edinburgh to make moves on those damn cultists." Amory looked frustrated and angry. It seemed his breakthrough was not a personal matter anymore. He had another, morepelling reason to break into the Grandmaster rank. Nina didn''t know what to say to Amory that would make him turn back. Both of them needed to go back to the city of Curar as soon as they could. They had already lost so much time in the Bands because of the unnatural space-time continuum of the ce. She couldn''t contact Eren because of it. Nina could understand why Amory wanted to achieve a breakthrough. She had also tried to help him as much as she could. But she hade to realize that Amory had gotten even weaker than at the time he had entered Monster Canyon. At this rate, he would just be throwing his life away for nothing instead of having a shot at a forced breakthrough. Nina was about to say something to Amory when she sensed someone approaching them from a distance. Her surprise turned into joy and her joy turned into worries before a lot of other emotions were added to the mix. That''s because she recognized the presence of the ranker heading their way. "Hmm? Who''s this brat approaching us in such a bold manner" Amory was about to cast a detainment spell on the approaching ranker when he heard Nina''s voice. "Wait, Uncle Amory. I know him." Lightning struck and Eren appeared in front of Nina with a light smile on his face. Thetter ran into him as soon as he did, being embraced by him right away. Amory raised his eyebrows when he saw Eren and Nina reunite with each other. He had never seen the B-Ranked Master healer get so close to any other ranker. The two of them didn''t even talk for a while. They seemed lost in each other''s embrace. "What are you doing here? And how did you find me?" "I came looking for you." "You you shouldn''t be here. This is a zone meant for B-Ranked entities." "And you were supposed to call me." "I. I can exin." "You should. But there''s no need to do that right now. What''s today''s color?" "Color? What color?" "The color of your pan" "Aaah! Little rascal" Amory saw the couple engage in a peculiar way of conversing with each other. He then saw Nina pushing the young man away from her with great force like he had done something indecent to her. Eren was pushed by Nina so hard that he flew toward a bunch of trees and ran through their trunks before destroying them. It took a few moments before he managed to stop himself from acting like a wrecking ball. The butcher sprouted Wind-Fire Wings behind his back and killed his momentum before taking to the air. "Hahaha. You are as impulsive as always, Aunt Nina." Chapter 911 Down-To-Earth Character Vs Bragger "Hahaha. You are as feisty as always, Aunt Nina." Eren chuckled as he steadied himself in the air. Nina and Amory had to look up to stare at the butcher. Nina smiled before responding. "Hehe. And you are as horny as always, little rat." Eren raised his eyebrows and scrunched his nose in dissatisfaction as he asked. "Heh! Why is that a bad thing?" Nina looked at him yfully as she replied. "When did I say it was a bad thing?" "Hmm. But your actions don''t match your intentions, Miss Contradiction Incarnate." Nina was taken aback by Eren''s way of referring to her. Thetter had forgotten that he used to call her by that name only in his head. The healer then got a bit serious before answering him in a serious voice with a bit of hesitation. "Well we are kinda under duress. My guild" Nina looked at Amory after she said. Thetter made his intentions known that he was okay with Nina sharing information about the guild with Eren. This is because everybody in the kingdom wille to know about it eventually. But the old man told Nina that she should brief him after they got out of Monster Canyon. "I''ll tell youter, Erni." Nina said and looked around herself. The butcher had asked Ror to get out of the zone after reaching the ce. He wouldn''t enter the zone meant for B-Rankers on his own. He had taken help from Baran and his team of orcs before approaching Nina all on his own. Thus, Eren told Baran and Ror to meet each other to discuss the next set of ns arranged for them. Nina did not know that Monster Canyon and the Bands as a whole were rtively safer ces for the butcher than inside Edinburgh. Inside the Bands, Eren was creating a dominion for himself that was strengthening itself with each passing day. Unaware of the mysterious pies Eren had dipped his fingers in, Nina grew worried about Eren''s safety. She looked at him keenly before speaking in a grim tone. "I wasn''t expecting to be greeted like this by you. Especially here in the Bands when we were supposed to hunt for a Monster Overlord. Let''s get out of here, Erni. You really shouldn''t be here. I wouldn''t be able to protect you properly if we were attacked by a monster horde or" Nina was about to say something to Eren. But all of a sudden, his eyes opened wide in shock as she sensed his ranking status. "Wait When did you enter the solid stage of the Adept rank?" Eren knew that Nina would be surprised once again because of his status. So he cackled like a baby hyena before responding. "Kekeke. Did you notice it just now? A few days back." Eren said andnded in front of Nina once again with his Wind-Fire Wings still dispersing into thin air behind him. He shrugged his shoulders and walked a bit toward Nina before speaking in a carefree voice. "It''s no big deal. Expert rank is just around the corner. And with a bit of effort from my side, I''ll catch up with you soon." Eren said as if he had never bothered to increase his ranking status through traditional methods. Which was kind of true. He had indeed put in more effort than anyone else in his generation. But they were not concentrating on doing particr things. Instead, he had diversified his areas of expertise. Eren seldom practiced his ranking techniques after his breakthrough into the Adept rank. Most of his ranking progress was dependent on the peculiarity of his ranking technique as well as the "supplements" he had found along the way. Devouring those "supplements" regrly provided him with spectacr gains. To someone who was not aware of the butcher''s regr schedule, it looked like he had invested all his efforts into progressing further in his rank. Still, there was no doubt in anyone''s mind that the butcher had achieved something amazing. Nina was impressed with Eren''s progress as well. But she decided to be critical of him instead of praising him just for fun''s sake. "Ha. There he is! Bragging about his progress as usual. You y such a down-to-earth character in front of others. Why do you feel the need to be boastful in front of me?" Nina''s question had Eren stumped in his speech. She thought he was bragging when he was speaking the truth. He pursed his lips and stopped when he was only an inch away from Nina. He ced both his hands on her cheeks and cupped her face before speaking up. "That. That''s a very good question, Aunt Nina. Hmm. I don''t know how to answer that." The warmth of Eren''s palms could be felt on her face. He scratched the tip of her nose and yed with her earlobes. Thetter also wrapped her arms around his neck and spoke yfully. "Hehe. Not that I''mining. I like you more when you are this confident." Eren and Nina argued back and forth as if they were the only two people in the vicinity. They were about to kiss each other when they heard a cough so severe that it felt like someone was about to die. The old man Amory was annoyed by their apparent failure to recognize that he was also present at the scene. He coughed like a mortal on his deathbed before addressing Nina. "Lass, who is this distinguished young man?" Eren and Nina both looked at Amory as if they had both registered his presence for the first time. The old man could understand thising from Eren. But he wasn''t expecting Nina to act the same way when she had helped him so much. It was as if she had stopped being a member of Healers'' Nirvana when she was with Eren. Nina bit her tongue when she realized her mistake. She got away from Eren''s embrace and cleared her throat for no apparent reason before introducing Eren to Amory. "This is Eren Idril I used to talk about, Uncle Amory. Umm let''s get out of the Bands, shall we? That Ogre has run away and the ce will only get more dangerous if we try to follow him any further." "But" Amory tried to say something to Nina. But thetter cut him off right away. "Think about Eren, uncle Amory. He is not meant to be in this zone at all." Chapter 912 Attack On Healers’ Nirvana An eagle-type demon beast could be seen carrying three rankers on its back. It flew at a higher altitude and cut through the air with such speed that the winds around it made howling noises. This group of three rankers and one demon beast had gotten outside the Bands and were now approaching the city of New Beginnings. They would then use the teleportation arrays inside the city to get to the city of White Raven. Argo increased his speed. Amory was going to get dropped off Argo''s back as a result. "Kiyeeeh! Hang tight, Geezer Pipes. Or we gon hear some brittle bones pop like a mother" Argo said to Amory while thetter was busy filling his smoke pipe with his stuff. Eren and Nina had sat together over Argo''s neck while Amory sat near his tail. "How rude! Young man, does your demon beast have no manners?" Amory asked Eren, agitated by Argo''s way of speaking to him. The demon beast painted visuals in Amory''s head of someone collecting his remains from the ground with a giant spat. He lit his pipe right away and released fume after fume through his nostrils to register his anger. The butcher was busy flirting with Nina. The healer sat in front in the same way she would ride a colt. Eren sat right behind her. Nina''s back touched his torso. He had wrapped his arms around her waist as if protecting her from falling off. Of course, being B-Rankers neither Amory nor Nina needed anyone''s help. Even with such a high altitude, falling off Argo was a minor inconvenience. Still, Eren acted like the knight he was and offered Nina his services. The healer could feel Eren''s hands venturing to some of the sensitive parts of the body. As if they were asking for some form ofpensation for acting like harnesses for her. She would pinch the back of his hands from time to time whenever he did that to prevent him from showing public disys of affection. Eren chuckled before responding to Amory. "Haha. That''s him trying to speak to you politely, Master Amory. He is just a kid who has a bit of a mouth on him." Nina chuckled when Eren defended his demon beast. She could tell where Argo got this trait from. Basically, the demon beast took Eren''s way of cursing or criticizing someone in his head and ran with it. He was just outspoken about it. Eren let an agitated Amory cool down before asking the question he wanted to ask both the Master rankers. "Why were you trying to fight Ro Errr I mean why were you trying to fight a Monster Overlord anyway? And both of you were inside Monster Canyon for quite some time. What were you trying to find for so long?" Nina wanted to answer Eren''s question herself. But she let Amory speak so that he could feel a bit lighter in his head after talking about it. The old man smoked his pipe some more and sighed before answering. "I was trying to break into the Grandmaster rank, Eren boy. Monster Canyon is or was myst hope of ever achieving something like this before..." "Before you die?" Eren said in a neutral voice. Yet, for some reason, Amory could not find any disrespect for his seemingly futile efforts in Eren''s voice. The old healer felt as if Eren had also gone through simr experiences before. "Yes. Before I die." Amory subconsciously feltfortable speaking to Eren as if he was talking to an old pal from his era. He added further. "They were myst-ditch efforts. Guess I will never know what it feels like to be a Grandmaster ranker anymore. This is sad news for me and also for the guild I have been a part of for almost all my life. Just when my guild and that child Jiana needed me the most" Amory kept on talking about his problems to Eren. But then he carried on monologuing, not caring if anybody was listening or not. Eren listened to Amory''s story keenly and was reminded of hisst-ditch efforts inside Monster Canyon. He could rte to the old man because he had been in his shoes in his past timeline. It was just that he was nobody at the time. The stakes for his breakthrough were also much lower. Through Amory''s statements, Eren learned that Nina and Amory had been trapped in an isted dimension in Monster Canyon while exploring a ruined site. It took them only a few days to get out of the isted dimension sessfully. But by the time they did, months had passed in the real world. Since the isted dimension observed the elerated passage of time within it, both rankers were unable to contact anyone while they were inside. ''What is up with this Monster Canyon? Why is it so bizarre?'' Eren thought to himself as he listened to two Master-Ranked entities'' experiences. He was sure that he would have had a much harder time dealing with the dimension without Alephee''s help if things were this difficult for two B-Rankers. The butcher knew that Monster Canyon always had space-time anomalies. But he noticed that the instances of these anomalies appearing had increased in the current timeline whenpared to thest time. He wondered if he had any hand to y in this phenomenon. Alephee only activated the dialing back of time while he was inside Monster Canyon. He thought that maybe Alephee''s powers permanently altered the ce, giving rise to such instances. Nina prioritized Amory''s task when they learned that the outside world had observed a different passage of time and that a few bad things had happened to their guild. She didn''t contact Eren because he couldn''t help her at their level. At least she thought of it as such. Unlike a certain individual among them, the Master rankers couldn''t turn back time for themselves. So all they could do was prioritize Amory''s advancement to Grandmaster rank. That was the only thing that could help both Amory and his guild at the same time. "Your guild was attacked? By whom?" Chapter 913 The Biggest Anomaly Of Them All P1 "Your guild was attacked? By whom?" Eren asked while caressing Nina''s thighs. Thetter didn''t know what to say about his behavior. She pped his hands away before speaking up. "Yes. We discovered this after we got out of the isted dimension. The guild master of Healers'' NirvanaC Jiana Jihang sent a one-way message to uncle Amory describing the event. It''s only been a few weeks since the attack. The guild has only 20% of its workforce left. Most died. A few managed to flee, never to be seen again. The most shocking piece of news is that the attackers managed to critically injure guild master Jianna''s demon beast Bilo. Since she was connected to Bilo, guild master Jianna also received a soul-rted injury, making her unable to retaliate anymore for the time being." Eren stopped doing his shenanigans with Nina when he heard that Healers'' Nirvana was attacked. He was quite perplexed. In thest timeline, Healers'' Nirvana only kept on prospering for as long as he could remember. He wasn''t sure what happened to Amory in that timeline, but Jianna Jihang had managed to make more of a name for herself when she became a Grandmaster ranker. She already had a kingdom-certified title attached to her name. ''*sigh! At this point, I have lost all my advantages from knowing past events. This timeline had gotten more muddled than I thought it would be despite my efforts to preserve it as much as I could.'' Eren sighed and shook his head before asking the rankers. "A guild like Healers'' Nirvana has its say in the kingdom''s affairs. The royal court wouldn''t want to see a healer-specific guild being destroyed on the brink of war. Why didn''t Edinburgh''s forces intervene? Was it another prominent guild or" "Cultists!" Amory spoke up while releasing some more smoke through his nostrils. He hit his smoking pipe on his palm a couple of times to get rid of the burnt material, then refilled it with fresh herbs before adding more. "The kingdom''s forces wanted to intervene. Jianna was assured that a couple of army units had been deployed to assist the guild. But the attack was too sudden and took ce on a muchrger scale than one could imagine. It was as if these cultists had no intention of calling it quits when they were ahead." Eren narrowed his eyes as he listened to Amory''s words. As much as the masses liked to believe, he knew that the cultists weren''t ragtag bands of lunatics. If one was willing to dig deep, one would always find the motives behind the cultists'' actions. Eren could only think of one reason why the cultists would want to attack a non-aggressive guild like Healers'' Nirvana. A foreign hand. The butcher''s suspicions were confirmed by Nina''s next words. "Everything was over even before the kingdom''s forces could y their part in the incident. The royal court tells us that the kingdom of Layos has a hand to y in the attack. It doesn''t want Edinburgh to have so many healers taking active roles in the uing war. So it influenced the cultists to attack the entire guild and all of its members. The cultists also destroyed the guild''s properties and thend it used to own. It got rid of all the healing-specific resources we were cultivating. It bombed our warehouses and destroyed our stocks of healing potions and more." Eren shook his head as he listened to Nina''s exnation. Hey t on his back and took out his Sativa Stick. He used Argo''s feathers as something to scratch the back of his neck before lighting his smoke. He looked at the dim evening sky with a nk expression before voicing his thoughts. "It doesn''t matter if the cultists were influenced by the kingdom of Layos. What I''m more concerned about are yers from the enemy kingdom who organized the whole thing. They targeted and destroyed your guild''s warehouses and other properties. Cultists would have tried to loot everything if they were acting on their own. The cultists were tamed and made to operate like one force. This is not something that can be done remotely. My guess There was amander present at the scene who was not a cultist. They choreographed the event and did not let the cultists have their way." Eren smoked his Sativa Stick leisurely as he made his predictions known to the two rankers. Nina started missing Eren''s touch on her body when hey t behind her. She readjusted her derriere and made it touch his crotch ever so subtly. However, Eren was on a different tangent at this point. He looked at Amory like one of his smoking buddies before starting to converse with him. "This is worse than it looks, Master Amory. Layos has managed to get their prominent rankers into Edinburgh. Something like this should have made a beep on their radar. What the fuck has Edinburgh''s intelligencework been up to all this time? Why weren''t you informed about this? How couldn''t it see this big eventing from miles away?" Eren knew exactly how Edinburgh''s army operated. It remained alert to internal threats more than external pressure. A movement this big should have been noticed by the kingdom''s intelligence agencies long ago. A cultist attack of this magnitude cannot be handled by the city administration at all. Special forces should have intervened or the Army should have deployed its troops to handle the situation. There were other covert and overt preventive measures that should have been put in ce. Yet, a prominent guild like Healers'' Nirvana was attacked and almost destroyed by the cultists. Arge group of the kingdom''s healers getting killed before the start of the war was akin to Layos dealing double the damage to Edinburgh using one move. The attack on Healers'' Nirvana was a p in the face for Edinburgh''s forces. The guilds'' trust in the kingdom''s forces was bound to be negatively affected by this single incident alone. Amory knew what Eren was talking about. All of his assumptions were right on the mark. At first, he thought that Eren was just another young blood. But he changed his mind as he listened to Eren''s predictions. Amory continued to smoke his pipe as he replied to Eren. Chapter 914 The Biggest Anomaly Of Them All P2 Old man Amory kept smoking his pipe as he replied to Eren. "The kingdom knew the possibility of an attack like this,d. But it wasn''t able to pinpoint the target on time. Still, it tried to prevent the attack from happening byunching a preemptive strike." Eren narrowed his eyes as he listened to Amory. "Are you telling me this attack happened after their preventive measures failed? When did they be so useless?" Eren asked this question to nobody in particr as he released white clouds of his own through his mouth which were swept away by the winds. Amory''s nostrils red when he smelled the stuff Eren was smoking. Even with his B-Rank constitution that was almost impervious to Adept-ranked resources, he could tell that the herbs the butcher was smoking were very potent. ''Thisd has the smoking habits of an old man. I don''t know how he functions normally with smoking herbs like those.'' Amory noticed that Eren was especially critical of Edinburgh''s army and special forces. The old man sighed before answering. "Yes we can say that. I made some personal inquiries after we got out of the Bands. My contacts say that this cultist group was recently attacked by Edinburgh''s army. It had conducted a search and destroy operation in the Delva Gorge to wipe out the cultist base. Now the army believes that the cultists were somehow tipped off." A metaphorical bomb was detonated inside Eren''s head when Amory spoke about Delva Gorge. This was the same site he had been dispatched to for his exit mission. Where he ended up killing Gilhause and all his retainers. He also killed an Expert-ranked army officer there because the guy had tried to follow Gilhause''s trail. ''Don''t tell me Gilhause fucked up the entire operation to mess with me. And I just added fuel to the fire by finishing what he started.'' Eren had a nk look on his face as he thought of an almost confirmed possibility. Since the awakening of his soul sense, his mana sense didn''t fluctuate easily under sudden mental stress. As a result, he still appeared to be listening intently to Amory''s exnation without any changes to his expression or presence. However, there was someone else who couldn''t understand the importance of keeping his mouth shut. "Delva Gorge? Wait a damn minute" ''Shut the fuck up, you fat bird. Eyes on the skies.'' Argo was shut down by Eren as soon as he opened his mouth. The demon beastined to Eren about how he was not given enough red meat to be treated like this. Yet, he shook his eagle head and released an angry eagle cry before doing what Eren asked him to do. Thankfully, Amory and Nina were too immersed in their own chain of thoughts to care about Argo''s intervention. The former took a brief pause before exining further. "The main force of the cultist organization escaped before the operation even began. What was even more surprising was the fact that the left-behind cultist force managed to kill two Expert-ranked personnel from the Edinburgh army. The C-rank cultists that were left behind managed to escape the operation as well. The army couldn''t do anything further because of Delva Gorge''s peculiarity. The two army personnel that were killed in action were also supposed to be handling the aftermath of the mission and conducting follow-ups. But since they were no longer there, the army couldn''t assign other officers to the case on time. The army''s job was to raid the cultist base and destroy the umted resources. The special forces'' job was to intercept the higher-ranked cultists and destroy them. The army deployment was supposed to shake the ho''s nest and let the big bad boyse out. But apart from the two Expert-ranked cultists, no other high-ranked cultists could be found at the scene. And even they knew how to escape the trapsid by the army in the Gorge. Thus, the army and special forces both believed that the cultists had been tipped off. In the end, the cultists just expedited their ns after Edinburgh''s preemptive strike failed. The cultists that managed to escape from Delva Gorge reached the city of Curar and initiated their n right away, catching all of us by surprise. I''ll go ahead and say that the preemptive strike was beneficial for the cultists. This is because they managed to deal such a severe blow to our guild right after its failure. So yeah, we can say that the enemy rankers have managed to infiltrate the kingdom. And Layos has a hand to y in it since the cultist organization was known to be funded by it in recent times. Edinburgh''s failed strike cost my guild dearly. And the effects of a healer-centric guild getting wrecked will be visible in the uing war." ''*Sigh. I also had a hand to y in the mess, I guess.'' Eren sighed as he confirmed his predictions. He was sure that it was Gilhause who had tipped off the cultists to set a trap for him. He thought of the mission as an opportunity to get rid of the butcher and prioritized his n''s interests over the kingdom''s well-being. The whole mission was rigged. So it was natural that it would give a negative oue. Still, everything could have been prevented to some extent if Eren had only killed Gilhause. But the butcher''s killings of multiple prominent army personnel aggravated the negative impact. Only now did he understand why Healers'' Nirvana was attacked by the cultists in this timeline. The war with the kingdom of Layos was the major reason for which he was directly responsible. The second reason was the cultists'' escape from the trap Edinburgh''s forces had set for them, for which he was indirectly responsible. He was wondering about the anomalies in the two timelines a few minutes agoC not realizing he was the biggest anomaly of them all. ''Heh! It''s not like I could have done things much differently. Those bastards hardly gave me any choice.'' It didn''t take Eren long to shrug off the consequences of his actions, iming they weren''t his to bear. He was just d that Aunt Nina was not caught in the Domino Effect he was responsible for directly or indirectly. ''Erni, today''s color is fuschia.'' Eren was lost in his thoughts when he heard Nina''s voice in his head. He looked at his aunt and raised his eyebrows before asking. "Hmm? What color?" A low-key angry hmph was heard. In the next moment, the butcher was ejected from his fully reclined seat and approached the ground at critical velocity. ''Fuschia, huh!? I I don''t know what that color looks like.'' Eren thought to himself as he smoked while falling. === AN: Delva Gorge was first mentioned in chapter 890. Chapter 915 Friendly Takeover? P1 Eren''s study. Kukenan teau. The city of White Raven. A spectral array link had been established inside the study, allowing a B-Ranked elf to be present inside Eren''s room in a spectral form. The butcher was sitting further back near his study table. He let the two sides talk peacefully before getting down to business. Argoy on the ground near his feet in his lion form. He opened his beastly maw to chew on red meat which was still sending out threatening vibes. Even though he could not eat it using regr means, he would often use his Ability from time to time. In doing so, he could obtain the potent essence contained within it. One would have to wonder who would let their D-Ranked demon beast eat the flesh of a Monster King. Nina, Amory, and one other member of Healers'' Nirvana were interacting with the spectral rendition of their weak-looking guild master. The rankers from both sides had exchanged their situations, enabling them to understand what had transpired at the time of the attack on the guild. "I see. It couldn''t be helped if you were trapped inside the ruins. I''m d that you are all okay." Jiana Jiang said with a weak smile on her face. It was clear that she was struggling with her problems. But she didn''t want to burden Nina or Amory with them. Amory could understand Jiana''s pain the most because he had been a long-standing member of the Healers'' Nirvana even before the current guild master herself. The guild was established by Jiana''s parents and handed to her when she achieved Master''s rank. Her parents had left Anfang to pursue their breakthrough into Sage rank, handing all their responsibilities about the guild to her. Jiana was in the prime of her life when she was given the responsibility of handling such a prominent guild. It was low in terms of guild members. But it made up for that by hiring only select rankers who were a cut above the rest in their generation. Amory was like a caretaker of the guild who had close rtions with Jiana''s parents from his young days. Since he had stayed within the guild all these years, he had witnessed the guild''s affairs up close. Jiana was the guild master of the guild. But even she would ask for Amory''s advice from time to time regarding administrative matters of the guild. Thus, Amory could understand how hurt Jiana was. The guild''s strength was the elite rankers, which were already few. And even that number had been cut down to almost nothing. Jiana was a very caring ranker. She was too attached to the guild members she could count on. As such, she was even involved in their personal lives as well. Thus, when the attack on the guild took ce, she tried to prioritize protecting all the guild members'' lives. And in doing so, she couldn''t save any of them. Her emotionally-driven decisions at the time of the attack also made it possible for the cultists to cause such destruction to the guild''s resources. In the end, Jiana''s demon beast Bilo was critically injured while trying to protect her. Jiana also received a soul-rted injury in the process. As a result, she looked like she was having a series of nightmares. With only 20% of the guild''s total members alive, Healers'' Nirvana could not continue their business as usual. They had to give up all the pending missions, not having the strength toplete them. The loss of ranking resources was tremendous. A lot of the guild''s wealth was invested in the resource-richnds it owned. The destruction of suchnds flushed all the investment down the drain. The kingdom tried to help. But it was like dousing a burning house with a ss of water. Almost all the survivors of the tragedy were injured and needed constant care, which also needed money. And the members that had survived and were physically fine had applied for their contract termination. That''s because of the fear of the cultistsing back to finish what they had started. Jiana was broke. Due to various reasons, her workforce was no longer able to function. She couldn''t even me the guild members who were trying to leave her. It was natural that everybody would try to leave the sinking ship. It was safe to say that the guild known as Healers'' Nirvana was about to be extinct. Jiana''s parents'' legacy was about to end at this point. Despite her status as a high-ranking entity, Jiana looked physically and mentally weak as a result of suffering through all this. "Kiddo, don''t give up. It''d sound riching from me but breaking into Grandmaster rank won''t be too difficult for you. I''ll even go ahead and say that you have the potential to be a Sage. Even if Healers'' Nirvana is even if it is no more. You still have a future. You can start the guild anew when you be a Grandmaster ranker." Amory said to Jiana in a voice coated with emotions. He tried to cheer the girl up because he had seen her grow up into a fine woman. Amory had no family of his own. So he treated Jiana as his daughter and most members of Healers'' Nirvana as part of his extended family. He had already decided that he wouldn''t leave Healers'' Nirvana until itsst breath. Ironically, both his days and the guild''s days seemed toe to an end at the same time. The kingdom of Edinburgh would provide special privileges to rankers who had managed to break into the Grandmaster rank. It was a way for the kingdom to incorporate these A-ranked monstrous individuals into its fold. This was also one of the reasons why Amory was trying so desperately to break into the Grandmaster rank. The dying guild would have been given a new lease on life if he had managed to pull it off. s, Amory''s dream was about to remain a dream. And Jiana''s chance to resurrect her guild was deemed a lost cause without it. Or so they thought. === AN: Jiana Jiang was first introduced in chapter 650. Chapter 916 Friendly Takeover? P2 Healers'' Nirvana lost a huge chance to retaliate when its two prominent rankers got trapped inside the ruins in another dimension. Amory was already a well-established ranker in his generation. And Nina had proved her mettle by mastering the Nirvana array. The absence of such powerhouses in the guild at the time of the attack made things more difficult. The act of forcefully exiting the isted dimension had made Amory expend his already dwindling life force. It was no longer possible for him to sustain a serious duel for a long time. Something that was required for a forced breakthrough. Nina had tried to help Amory. But both of them hade to realize that their attempts were futile after exiting the Bands with Eren. After all, it was counterproductive to help someone when the task was meant to bepleted without anyone''s help under tremendous duress as a requirement. "Hehe. No need to worry about me, Uncle Amory. I''ll be fine." Jiana shed an assuring smile to Amory that looked genuine. She then turned to Nina before speaking up. ? "Master Nina, I''ll approve your contract termination immediately if you wish to. There''s no need for you to suffer with us. You are steadily rising in rank. We wouldn''t want to hamper your growth because of the guild''s setback." Nina was d that she got to work in such a caring environment. She smiled at her current guild master before responding to her. "About that Guild Master Jiana, there''s someone else present here who wants to talk to you about the future of Healers'' Nirvana. Eren?" Nina called out to the butcher who was watching their conversation from the sidelines. He stepped forward when Nina called for him and bowed to Jiana. Nina made brief introductions before Eren took the reins from her. "I am sorry for all you are suffering through, Master Jiana. I understand that it is a difficult time for you and your guild. Due to the emotional turmoil you might be experiencing, I didn''t want to bring up the subject so early. However, I have a limited amount of time to devote to guild matters. And there''s sort of an emergency in my guild. So I hope you''ll forgive me for what I''m about to say. That''s because I know it maye across as a rude thing to say even if it is spoken with only positive intentions. That is, if and when you permit me to speak on the issue." Jiana had a visible frown on her face when she listened to an Adept-ranked junior as Eren spoke. She looked at Nina and Amory for an exnation. Thetter did not know what Eren was about to say and the former pleaded with her to listen to Eren. Jiana sighed before nodding to Eren. Thetter had chosen his words aptly, giving Jiana a sense of control over Eren''s opinions. It was the kind of control she was psychologically seeking to have in her life these days. Eren pursed his lips and nodded to Jiana before speaking in a careful tone. "Why don''t you consider dissolving your guild into mine, Master Jiana? I''ll take your guild members and your remaining resources under my umbre. Of course, I''ll look after the guild''s current expenses for maintaining the guildnds." Jiana was stunned when Eren tried to take over her guild using the most benignnguage possible. His words were soothing but his intentions were anything but. At least that''s what Jiana felt immediately upon hearing his proposal. She was not the only one thinking that. "You insolent brat. Are you trying to sully a Master ranker''s pride?" Amory''s aura exploded in the room, creating a suffocating atmosphere for a few novice-ranked servants present in the room. They copsed on the floor with their eyes turning red, as if they were subjected to the most brutal form of torture possible. This happened silently as if the Novice-ranked servants had lost their voice in the process as well. The butcher was not affected by Amory''s aura. Hisck of response to Amory''s presence shocked the three B-rankers the most. "Pride isn''t enough to fill an empty stomach, Master Amory. And listen to what I have to say first before passing judgment." Eren said in a serious tone. He chose his words carefully. But one could feel that he wasn''t scared of someone like Amory even with such a big ranking difference between them. The old man had one foot in his grave and the butcher had a home-ground advantage. It could be seen as a humiliation for the B-Ranker if someone like Eren tried to have designs on their possessions. Still, there was something about Eren that made Jiana not take offense. His bodynguage was non-aggressive yet confident. This was not the behavior of a hot-blooded ranker but of a veteran businessman who knew how to run an organization. Jiana then looked at Nina who stood right behind Eren to show her support. Jiana finally sighed before giving Eren a green signal. She also gestured to Amory to cool down before that. "No promises but I will listen to what you have to say." "That''s all I asked for from the beginning, Madam Goldy Wings. Thank you." The butcher nodded and bowed once again to Jiana. He had referred to her kingdom-bonafide title to highlight the fact that he recognized her as a powerhouse. The butcher first made all the Novice-ranked servants leave his study before speaking further. "I intend this merger to be a friendly takeover rather than being seen as a hostile one. Of course, I neither have the capacity nor the intention tounch a hostile takeover of a wrecked guild in the first ce. To do so would be like a mortal disturbing a beehive, knowing that it will not have enough honey for them. A sessful gambler and a sessful businessman have one thing inmon. They prefer to bet on a fit horse. Please don''t mind me when I say that your guild can''t be referred to as a fit horse anymore. It''s a dying horse that needs to get out of the race if it wants to survive." While looking into Jiana''s eyes, Eren spoke calmly. ''Damn, those eyes. She''s a pretty elf. I''ll give her that.'' Eren thought to himself as he maintained a stare-down. At the same time, for some reason, Jiana felt that the butcher was an apex predator in more ways than one. Chapter 917 Investment Done Right ''This brat enrages me to no end. I don''t know what thatss Nina sees in him.'' Amory red his nose as he listened to Eren''s words. However, he did not speak nor did he attempt to create any tension. He had full confidence that Jiana was about to say no to the butcher''s absurd offer. Eren didn''t care what Amory was thinking in the first ce. He cleared his throat once again before addressing a pensive-looking Jiana. "You must be aware that investing in guilds like these is considered a risky investment. There''s no assurance of obtaining a guaranteed return on investment in such cases. There''s also a chance the attacked cultist organization might target my guild as a whole in the future if I sessfully absorb your guild into mine. Plus, there''s a thing about paying Master-ranked entities like you, which is not a sum that can be simply shrugged off by an upstart guild like me. My guild has just started earning what it was due from its inception. So we can say that I''m taking a really big leap when ites to absorbing your guild." Jiana was not pleased with Eren''s words. At first, he made it sound like he was ready to gulp down her guild without even letting out a burp. Then he started listing all the negative points of doing so as if she was forcing him to do the same. Eren could feel Jiana''s displeasure from miles away. And he didn''t need his soul sense for that. The elf woman had a pretty expressive face. He didn''t let her register her dissatisfaction and proceeded to speak further. "Of course, I''m not saying that to get a better deal for my guild. I''m just saying how much trust I am ready to invest in you. And I think you and your guild would be worth this investment." Eren genuinely believed what he was saying to Jiana. He knew the healer would be able to break into Grandmaster rank without any difficulty. By this point, he hade to realize that the butterfly effect of his interventions also had its limitations. In the absence of external factors directly affecting the oue, things will proceed more or less in line with thest timeline when ites to one''s personal growth. Investing in a potential Grandmaster ranker alone made the friendly takeover worth it. Everything else was a bonus. At first, Eren had only thought of making Nina and Amory enter the elemental pool and ask forpensation from Healers'' Nirvana. However, he changed his approach when he learned about the guild''s current condition. Forget about paying for two Master rankers'' elemental pool sessions, the guild couldn''t even afford to keep them anymore. Plus, the butcher did not believe in deferred payments. He was especially skeptical about an irreversibly damaged guild like Healers'' Nirvana paying him money in the future. So he decided to buy the guild instead when it was at its lowest point like a smart investor. He was sure that other prominent guilds would send their offers to Jiana soon once they learned the news and generated a damage report for themselves. He didn''t need to do the same. He was not investing in guild assets but in the guild master herself. Jiana was no idiot to not understand the intricacies of Eren''s offer. She also came to realize that the butcher was indeed taking a huge risk by giving her this offer. This too, without confirming anything and taking everything at face value. "Why are you doing this? What would you get?" She finally asked after pondering for a few minutes. The butcher smiled as if he had almost reeled in a huge fish. He responded casually. "My aunt Nina and you. You two are enough reasons for me to invest in your guild." Amory had an ugly expression when he heard Eren''s statement. His nose red-- his hands turned into fists. His aura fluctuated once more, reflecting the anger he felt towards the butcher. "*Cough. I kinda mean you three. I am sorry Master Amory. I forgot about you since you might you know" Amory had grim lines on his face as he listened to Eren. "Insolent brat, you think I''d drop dead at any moment. Is that it?" "To be honest, yes." Eren replied to Amory fearlessly. Which made the old man even angrier than before. Even he knew that Eren had said nothing wrong. But that didn''t mean that Amory would have to take Eren''s underestimation of him lightly. Nina, on the other hand, was all smiles about the way he had prioritized her well-being. She would have been hesitant if Eren had simply offered to join his guild. That''s because he didn''t have the necessary resources to support her healer-specific needs. Plus, she didn''t want to leave the bond ofradeship she had developed with Healers'' Nirvana behind. However, everything would turn out to be better if Eren managed to assimte Healers'' Nirvana into his guild. He could officially use its assetsC which included unique potion forms, arrays, limited-ess spells, guildnds, and various other ranking resources. Nina wouldn''t have to deviate from her path or her guild members if and when the deal came through. She would also be able to stay as close to Eren as possible when it happened. A friendly takeover by Eren would be a win-win situation for her. She wasn''t sure if Eren could afford to initiate such a takeover at first. But one look at his newly erected city was enough to tell her that he had progressed far beyond what she couldprehend. Nina was reminded that there was a time when she had to pay for Eren''s academic studies. And the same guy had grown up to buy a prominent guild on a whim. One could tell how proud she was of his progress by looking at her face and bodynguage. ''It it feels like yesterday when he didn''t even have the money to buy his undies. Hehe.'' Nina thought to herself and smiled as she looked at Eren''s back. In her eyes, thetter had grown big in more ways than one. Chapter 918 Jiana Taking Her Shot Eren''s honest answer had Amory stumped. The butcher used this opportunity to carry on with his talks once again. "I don''t need a deeper reason than this to extend this offer to you. Yet there is one more reason for me to purchase your guild at this point. As I said at the beginning, there is an emergency in my guild. We need high-ranked entities like you guys in my guild. We have this rank-up program that we have initiated for a select few guild members..." Eren offered a brief introduction to the rank-up program to Nina, Jiana, and Amory. He also mentioned its pros and cons without holding anything back. He also mentioned Levine and Zethos who had already been enrolled in the rank-up program. This was so that they knew they weren''t the only B-rankers who were lining up for it. "You mean... there''s still a way for me to break into the Grandmaster rank?" His anger toward Eren and his nefarious ns against his guild seemed to vanish when he listened to Eren''s offer. The thing he was searching for in Monster Canyon hade looking for him when he gave up hope. It was safe to say that the butcher had Amory smitten with his offer even if the old man didn''t care to show it on his face. Amory didn''t say anything to Jiana. He didn''t want to influence her decision in any way since the guild was her parents'' legacy. Still, he couldn''t help looking at Jiana with hope in his eyes. "Yes, Master Amory. Since you are only a step away from reaching the Grandmaster rank, the only way for you to advance in the elemental pool would be to achieve a ranking breakthrough. This is provided you can survive the program. There''s a high risk of you dying in the process as well. But at this point, I''m sure you won''t care about something like that." Eren looked at Amory and confirmed the possibility for him. Both Nina and Jiana looked at Amory''s hope-filled eyes and could see the desire to achieve a breakthrough getting reflected in his eyes. Nina was all for the takeover. And at this point, the butcher had subtly nudged Amory intoing on board with his n. Still, Jiana looked unconvinced. Eren knew what she was about to say, so he addressed her next issue on his own. "Of course, you and your guild members would be treated as a separate division within the White Raven guild, Master Jiana. Within the guild''s framework, I will give you full autonomy to lead that division. Yours would not be a solo case. I have also offered a simr proposal to a guild member and he is leading his team while still being part of my guild. I intend to make more divisions in the guild when my existing guild members grow further." The butcher was talking about Tumko''s team in this situation. He knew the potential of Jiana, so he granted her the autonomy he so desperately needed. He didn''t have any problem extending the same offer to Jiana as well. Offering such autonomy to Jiana made more sense on both sides since she was a B-ranker herself. Eren had a bunch of B-rankers stationed inside his city at this point. A majority of them belonged to Levine''s faction and the rest were rankers dispatched by House Derringer. Levine had also assured him that there was at least one A-ranked entity looking over the city at any given time to assure the city''s safety. Yet, amid all those fortifications, the butcher did not have a powerhouse in his guild. Someone who truly belonged to his guild and his guild alone. He wanted to change that equation by getting Nina, Jiana, and Amory onboard at once. And the sooner any one of them manages to reach A-rank, the better the prospects will be for him and his guild. Jiana was intrigued by the rank-up program as well. She knew that a simr array was run by Edinburgh''s royal family. But since it was under royal control, it would only be offered to those who had sworn absolute fealty to it. And even that was a rare case. Jiana wanted to try her luck. So she narrowed her eyes before proposing a counteroffer. "Eren, you say all the right things. But you forget that you are only an Adept ranker. And no matter how much freedom you would offer me, the fact that a lower-ranked entity like you serves as my guild master still doesn''t sit right with me. Why not make me the guild master of your guild? I can assure you that I''ll take your wishes and opinions into ount if you ry your position to me?" Jiana shed a generous smile looking at Eren. But one could tell that the smile had a hint of wickedness mixed into it. Even Nina was surprised by how a seemingly selfless ranker like Jiana was able to put her interests forward when it came to negotiating with Eren. She could only me him for being a terrible influence on everyone. Amory, on the other hand, was lowkey proud of the little girl. This was the first time he had seen this form of her. Someone who wasn''t willing to settle for less just because her situation wasn''t in her favor. The butcher startedughing when he heard Jiana''s counteroffer. He licked his lips and his emerald green eyes shined with a shade of dominance before he spoke further. "Hahaha. That''s what it takes to be a guild master, Master Jianna. Unfortunately for you, I''ll have to treat it as you trying your luck. Something that doesn''t have much conviction behind it." Eren''s jet-ck hair threatened to turn white. The tribal tattoos on his skin shed faintly before disappearing. "You know" Eren started walking towards Jiana''s spectral form as he kept speaking. His presence in the room started getting sharper with each step. The Death element and the Sin of Wrath were manifested in his aura. The ever-restless tongues of lightning around him turned purple to red. A bunch of Wind-Fire shards appeared around him like fireflies. Both Nina and Amory felt as if Eren''s victims had been resurrected around them. And they were whispering something into their ears. Cryptic whispers that did not hold any meaning. But the intentions behind those whispers could be felt deep in one''s consciousness. ''Do not mess with him if you value your safety.'' Chapter 919 [Bonus ] Jiana’s Fatal Flaw Eren ran his fingers through his hair and tilted his neck to his left as he kept walking. He stopped only when he was only an inch away from Jiana. He smiled graciously before speaking to the Goldy Wings in the most weing manner. "You know I can only hope you are joking for everyone''s sake. Someone else bing a guild master of White Raven? I''ll burn this whole setup down to cinders if anyone evenes close to snatching it away from my hands. Only I can enjoy the fruits of mybor. If I can''t have them, I''ll make sure nobody can im them for themselves either." Eren''s aura had manifested around him for the first time in the room. Even Nina was shocked by his sinister presence, a testament to how much death, destruction, and resentment he had caused till now. Amory was even more taken back. He only had one thought running through his head as he looked at the butcher with apprehension. ''This man How many people has he buried toy the foundation of his city?'' Jiana had simr thoughts running through her head. She couldn''t feel Eren''s dominating presence because she wasn''t physically present in the room. But there was something about the butcher''s presence that affected one''s very consciousness. Her soul was already susceptible to such exposures due to her injury. As such, there was a part of her that was overwhelmed. Still, she felt that her rank had granted her some form of leeway. She took a deep breath before voicing her opinions. "I understand how you must feel. But I feel the same way about the thought of assimting my guild into yours, Eren. How about this? Give me administrative rights for the entire guild instead of a single division. As a Master ranker entity that has so much to offer to your guild, there''s nothing wrong with me having these rights." Eren shook his head in denial and cut her off. "One''s ranking status doesn''t mean jack shit when ites to handling guild-rted affairs. It requires a calm and collected mind as well as the ability to keep emotions out of the decision-making process. That position is already filled by Ace-ranked Agatha. And no offense to you Master Jiana but she''s doing a better job than you ever would." Jiana was ticked off when Eren imed that as an Ace ranker nobody was doing a better job than her. She wanted to demand an exnation from the butcher for such a statement. But he beat her to it. "You know what I''m talking about. It''s your fatal w. It''s just that your defense mechanism is preventing you from listening to your inner voice. I quickly read through the incident report of the attack on your guild beforeing here, Master Jiana. And I see a lot of ring errors youmitted in the heat of the moment. Due to this, your guild and guild members had to pay a heavy price. You prioritized your guild members'' lives when you could have finished off your opponents. You prioritized citizens'' safety over the guildnds, resulting in both beingpromised in the cultists'' indiscriminate attacks." Eren stopped giving Jianna the kind of respect her rank demanded of him. He knew he couldn''te across as weak when dealing with her. As weak as she looked in her current predicament, she was still a Master ranker. The butcher also knew that hiring Master rankers into his fold when he had almost no prior background wouldn''t be an easy process. One of the reasons he had avoided approaching the known Master rankers despite having sufficient funds to do so was because he expected some difficulty controlling their actions. For all his achievements, Eren was still a weaker party when it came to individual strength. Yet, handling guild affairs was not rted to one''s individual strength at all. Thus, the butcher ignored the concerns of Aunt Nina talking to him in his mind and marched on. "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say anything wrong? Maybe your guild would have still been in a precarious situation even if you had taken those ruthless decisions. But it would have protected a lot more of your guild assets and guild members. And it would certainly have sent the right message to the attacking cultists. They wouldn''t have dared to attack your guild again if you had just remained steadfast in your role as guild master. You made tons of emotionally driven mistakes when your guild needed you to be a cold and callous guild master. And you still expect me to give you administrative rights over my guild? Hahaha. What a joke. There are easier ways for me to destroy what I have built so far, Master Jiana. I would opt for those if there everes a time when I have to give you my guild''s admin rights." Nina and Amory both looked at each other and had nk expressions on their faces as they listened to Eren. Only now did they realize why Eren kept asking them questions rted to the incident. The butcher had also employed some of his channels to get an incident report from the city of Curar. To get a true picture of the incident, he paid extra and had his channels locate and interview eyewitnesses as well. Eren was provided with an almostplete picture when all these pieces of information were provided to him. Jiana felt like she was standing naked in front of the butcher when he started listing her faults. She felt exposed and her mental condition was shaken even further. "I I only wanted to help my people" Jiana clenched her fists and looked down as she admitted to her fault. Her body was slightly shaking and her eyes were dted as if she was reliving memories of the incident. One could see the corners of her eyes getting red and moistened. Eren looked at the shaking Jiana and sighed. He didn''t want to bring this subject up because he knew it would have negative effects on his friendly takeover. However, Goldy Wings forced his hand. He retracted his presence and gave Jiana some space. He knew she needed some time to sort her feelings out. Chapter 920 “I’m Being Kind To You By Not Being Kind To You” "Master Amory, can you hand me your spare pipe?" As Eren inquired of Amory, he subtly infused his voice with his soul sense. Thetter said some curse words under his breath before giving Eren what he wanted. The old man then cursed himself for being so easily swayed by his supposed enemy. The butcher filled Amory''s spare pipe with his herbs with the snap of his fingers before lighting the apparatus with his fire-element mana. He inhaled a big dose in one go and turned the herbs into ck ash instantly before speaking in a deeper voice. "Sometimes those with virtuous intentions do us more harm than so-called "evil" people ever could. If you try to give someone an ax to make their woodcutting easy and end up splitting their toe in two by ident, can you expect that person to reward you for your so-called help? Your intentions don''t matter if the oue is shitty for everyone involved, including you. Having flowers of virtue blooming in your heart is not enough. Thinking of everyone''s well-being is not enough. Thend of Anfang is not as kind as you might have been made to believe, Master Jiana. Kindness is a luxury here. Not everyone can afford it. You need effective mechanisms to make anything positive happen for the organization you are leading. Mechanisms that prevent you from looking at people individually without hampering their individuality. It''s not something everyone can pull off." Eren said before releasing a dense cloud of white smoke through his mouth in one go. He then gave Amory his pipe back and looked at Jiana carefully. She looked like she had an epiphany when he said those things to her. She stopped shaking and tears ran down her cheeks. However, there was no sign of helplessness on her face. Eren walked up to Nina and ced his arm across her shoulders. Leaning on Aunt Nina as he stood, the butcher continued. "You are not fit to lead a guild in any capacity, Madam Goldy Wings. The legacy your parents passed on to you did nothing to make you grow as a leader because it was handed down to you on a silver tter. You did not earn the right to lead your guild. To be honest, Master Amory was a much better choice than you. Anyway, I am not criticizing your parents'' choice or your actions that led to this day. I am only stating the circumstances that caused the events to turn out like this." Eren was suddenly reminded of an almost forgotten memory. He was not sure if he could ever call it fond. But he started finding something positive in it while looking at Jiana''s condition. "I remember what my father said to me when I was small. He had said, "I''m being kind to you by not being kind to you." I didn''t get the meaning behind that sentence until now. I thought he was just being a hardass about everything when it came to me. Just your average father who is too busy to look after his kid, right? But looking at you, I realize what my old man was trying to say to me. Kindness at the wrong time, at the wrong ce, towards the wrong people would only release more pain into the world. If not through those around you, then through the very person who showed kindness in the first ce. I have always known this fact ever since I started walking on this path for real. But it took me this long to re-realize who had instilled it in me. Guess I''m still growingC still learning." Nina was taken aback by what Eren had said out loud about his father. This was the first time he had talked about him in a long time. Being an ex-member of his party, she could imagine Elijah saying something like that to his kid. ''Like father, like son.'' It also took this very moment for Nina to realize that Eren had turned out to be much like his father even without his influence guiding him on his path. Elijah Idril was a ruthless man when it came to dealing with his enemies. Yet his kindness would often reflect in the harsh decisions he would willingly take. It was just that Eren was a much more extreme version of his father. He had doubled down on his father''s ruthlessness and there was practically no kindness to show for it. For a brief moment, Nina felt like Elijah hade to visit her as she felt Eren''s presence around her. He had treated her like his little sister. He had done everything to make sure she survived "that" tragedy. And he started turning even more recluse after the incident. In the end, he left Eren in her care beforemencing his solo journey. Nina was snapped back to reality from her memories when Eren spoke his next words. "I am sorry for being so blunt with my words, Madam Goldy Wings. But I am not sorry for what I have said to you. You already knew what I said. You just needed me to show you the mirror. I am not saying that one can only prove their mettle by being a sessful leader in some phase of their life. We are not cut from the same cloth, after all." Jiana looked up and met Eren''s eyes when he said that. She looked like she was trying to say something to him but was still struggling toe up with words. The butcher smiled before continuing. "It''spletely fine if some of us are not leader material. It''s okay to be a solo hustler. Frankly speaking, I am not a particrly effective leader either. But I am aware of myself and I can hire capable leaders to do my job for me. This is why I said one''s ranking status has nothing to do with leadership qualities. You can be a Sage and still live a lonely life because you failed to bring everyone on board with your ns. Or you can be a Novice ranker and have the capacity to run an organization that has both covert and overt faces to it. Know thyself, Master Jiana. Tell me, do you believe yourself to be a capable leader or administrator? Or do we talk business for real?" Chapter 921 Consequences Of Legalizing RDX "Know thyself, Master Jiana. Tell me, do you believe yourself to be a capable leader or administrator? Or do we talk business for real?" Eren''s question made Jiana look deep into her psyche. As harsh as Eren''s words were, they were unapologetically honest. And something like this was bound to strike a chord in her mind. Jiana shook her head frantically as if to get rid of all the negative emotions. She then looked at Eren and Nina standing together and narrowed her eyes at both of them beforementing. "You know, Eren. There''s one more thing I haven''t told you or Master Nina. I didn''t want to sour Master Nina''s mood or create unnecessary friction between her and the rest of the guild members because of her connections with you. This is perhaps the biggest reason why I am hesitating to assimte my guild into yours. Even when I know you would probably offer me the most generous offer out of all the uing ones." Eren''s interest was piqued when he heard Jiana''s careful statement. His silence was the green signal for Jiana to continue forward. "Do you know what the cultists used to destroy my guild''snds? The explosives they used to wreak havoc in the city of Curar and my guild are the same kind youunched some time ago." "RDX!" Eren eximed in surprise. He cursed his channels for only doing what they were asked to do. They should have dug deeper than what he had told them to do and informed him about the product profile of the explosive used in the attack. That way, he would have been better prepared to handle Jiana. Eren and Jiana had a mini stare-down at this point. ''Well, well, well. If it isn''t the consequences of my actions?'' A butcher thought to himself as he swallowed an empty breath. Still, he maintained a stoic face, inviting Jiana to exin further. "These cultists had stocked a lot of RDX in Delva Gorge before the armyunched a preemptive strike on them. This was why the army was only supposed to look after the seized properties and items from the cultists. These cultists were researching RDX in their hideout. The Kingdom''s research team told me their research didn''t yield them any results because they found out that the products couldn''t be counterfeited." Eren couldn''t help but smile when he heard that. He then quickly covered his smile by pressing his lips against each other. RDX couldn''t be counterfeited by the cultists because it was based on Lensa''s Ability. The synthesizing process for RDX was also veryplex, making it impossible for anyone to evene remotely close to counterfeiting his products. ? ''Heh! The elusive monopoly of the market! No wonder my profits have skyrocketed these days.'' Jiana wasn''t aware that Eren was thinking about his profits at the time when he had such a grim face to show to his audience. She looked at him intently before continuing. "However, the cultists didn''t lose much in their research either. They were tipped off by some unknown source and managed to take lots of RDX with them before the strike even took ce. Their counterfeiting project had failed. But they had gained something else from that research. They created a highly unstable fire-element array to enhance the explosive effects of RDX. There were many defensive arrays and security precautions in ce in the city of Curar. My guildnds were even more heavily fortified. But thebination of your RDX and the fire-element array developed by the cultists was enough to st away all those precautions." Nina was worried that the deal wouldn''te through because Eren''s products had such a big hand to y in the attack. She looked at Eren with a concerned face. However, she wasn''t aware of how thick-skinned he had gotten. "I am sorry to hear that, Master Jiana. But what does that have to do with my guild? I fail to see why you would hesitate to let me take over your guild just because the cultists had used RDX in their attacks." Jiana looked at Eren scornfully when she heard Eren''s tant refusal to take responsibility. Amory was also not aware of this. He too looked at Eren as if the butcher had personally attacked his guild. Thetter raised his free hand and gestured for everyone to keep calm so that he could exin what he wanted to say. "I mean with or without my products, the cultists would have attacked your guild, all the same, Master Jiana." He then looked at Amory before asking him. "You have lived a long life by now, Master Amory. Did the cultists'' attacks not take ce in the past before my product, my guild, or even I came to be? Did the cultists not achieve simr sess in the past over a lot of other organizations they attacked? My products were not avable at the time. Then how did they manage to do that?" Amory tried toe up with an answer. In a short time, however, he couldn''t think of any. The butcher smirked at him before adding further. "The intentions to cause mayhem are cultivated by the cultists themselves. My products can only make their job a bit easier. You can''t hold that against me. I neither invented potion bombs nor introduced them to rankers'' markets. Weren''t they around even before my guild came into existence? If anything, my products are rtively safer to sell since they can''t be counterfeited. There are a lot of ways to achieve the same results the cultists achieved during their attack even without the use of RDX. Would you have hated the established yers on the market if it wasn''t RDX but something else? I am not telling you to see me as a saint here. But you can''t use me of something others did with my products. No business would run on theng of Anfang if it was like this." Amory opened his mouth to speak but no words came from his mouth when he listened to Eren''s logic. Jiana was in a simr condition. All the things the butcher had said were right. Potion bombs in general were not his invention. He had just revolutionized the market with his explosives that had a wider st radius and were rtively affordable. ''Eren, you might want to dial down the mention of potion bombs...'' Nina looked at Jiana wearily as she suggested Eren. The butcher, on the other hand, had a different opinion. ''Sometimes honesty is the best policy, Aunt Nina. Just trust me on this. I''ll handle this.'' Chapter 922 [Bonus ] Power Of Money Eren asked Nina to postpone her line of questioning forter. "Look, RDX is not at fault. A knife gets used in the kitchen and street fights the same wayC to cut something up. The holder of such weapons is responsible for their actions, not the weapons themselves. Same way, I serve as a distributor of my products. I can''t be held responsible for what the buyers do with them afterward." Eren said before walking up to his desk. Argo was also paying close attention to what his master was saying and could follow his chain of thoughts. He released a low growl at the audience behind Eren''s back before speaking in a beastly voice. "Master be spitting facts, yo. Don''t hate the yer, hate the game." Eren was d that Argo yed it safe by voicing his opinions with objectionable words when there were Master rankers present in the room. The demon beast was bold but not stupid. He respected the boundaries of the other side if it was stronger than him and not directly threatening him. Nina, Amory, and Jiana looked at the lion-type demon beast, which was chewing on a Monster King''s meat in peace, with various emotions in their eyes. They had so many questions to ask Eren about how he was able to tame such a unique and fierce demon beast. Or how did he get his hands on the Monster King''s meat? Or how could he afford to give the meat as a treat to his beast rather than treat it as a precious ingredient for his potions? Eren chuckled looking at Argo and sat down in his seat before speaking up. "My purpose in bringing my products to market is to help rankers get out of the tough situations they face every day. It is also supposed to help them in the uing war should they decide to participate in it. I won''t im the sess my buyers achieve in their lives because of my products. So I should be spared from being seen as someone responsible for their actions as well. Don''t you agree?" Eren posed a question to a pensive-looking Jiana, hoping she would buy whatever he was selling at this point. Because he had done his best to pack it nicely. He had to admit that taking over Jiana''s guild was getting more difficult than he had initially thought. He couldn''t just make theplications arising from RDX''s involvement in the attack disappear. Jiana was a tough nut to crack. Still, the butcher had redeeming qualities. Due to his determination to give his all to everything he nned to do, he didn''t stop his progress with Jiana midway. He looked at the kingdom-bonafide ranker with a tinge of confidence in his eyes as he carried on. "Besides, I have been through all the legal troubles before selling my products. I have only sold RDX to a select few people whose identities had been approved by the kingdom itself. So I''m guessing that the cultists got my products through illegal means. Am I right?" Jiana looked at Eren with mixed emotions in her eyes before dropping her shoulders. She sighed before nodding at him. The reports had made it clear that the RDX used in the attack had been stolen from a kingdom-sanctioned guild''s warehouse. This was also one of the reasons why the kingdom of Edinburgh wanted to just get over with the matter instead of pursuing it like it was supposed to do. First, it had bigger fish to fry in such a tense atmosphere. Second, the more it tried to dig, the more it would appear that its decision to legalize Eren''s products would be questioned. After such a horrendous incident, Edinburgh would have revoked Eren''s RDX selling rights if it had happened at any other time. It might not have approved open selling in the first ce. However, these were not normal times. The kingdom needed Eren''s products. The product can also support rankers participating in the war. As such, the kingdom was in silent agreement with Eren even after the attack on the city of Curar and Healers'' Nirvana. The butcher was also counting on this scenario when he decided to sell RDX. But he had never thought that his actions would bite him in the arse from another angle. Jiana sighed as if giving up on the argument. She said her next words in a weak voice. "Yes those RDX potion bombs were stolen goods. I won''t me your guild anymore. Still, I need some time to think about my guild''s future. I can''t just" Eren scrunched his nose when he heard Jiana''s words. She stopped objecting to his proposal. But she was yet to say yes to him. This wasn''t the kind of oue he was hoping for after he did so much convincing. ''Damn it. I don''t think I''ve taken this much effort to convince a woman in a long time. My luck with elves is really not that great.'' Eren said to himself and sighed in his head before cutting her off. "If it still makes you restless in your heart, how about I offer you something that would wash away most of your bitterness?" Eren''s words stopped Jiana in her tracks. She looked at Eren with a curious gaze, prompting him to borate. "Don''t you want to get revenge on the cultists who attacked you?" Jiana chuckled and looked at Eren as if he was some naive kid. She sneered at him before answering his question. "Of course, I do, Eren. But it''s not just those damn cultists. The kingdom of Layos who sponsored them is also equally responsible for the destruction of my guild. You think you and your guild are strong enough to take my revenge on both of them?" Eren raised his eyebrows before answering. "No but who said I had to be strong to target a mere cultist organization and an enemy kingdom?" Eren shed a wicked smile at Jiana before posing her another question. "Do you want to see what I can do with the kind of money I have?" Chapter 923 Targeting Midnight Moon "Hehehe. I was just thinking about you, Mr. Eren Idril. How can I..." Fiona Fenris seemed to be en route somewhere when she received Eren''smunication request. She was on her colt, traversing the wilds. So a small area around her was projected inside Eren''s study in real time when the connection was established. At first, Fiona was very excited to greet Eren. But then she saw that he hadpany and stopped what she was saying. She looked at Jiana, Amory, Nina, and Argo in the back beforementing. "Who are these people?" Eren was leaning onto his deska half-seated. He had folded his hands and was looking at Fiona with amusing expressions. The half-blood was very cheerful whenever he spoke with her in private. But today she had her guard up for obvious reasons. "Forget about ''em, hon. I got something for youa a business proposition. Patch me with Sirius this instant." *** Jiana didn''t like that Eren had just made her look like a part of his crowd of underlings. She could already feel that dealing with this man would not be easy if she chose to dissolve her guild into his. She had added the name of the kingdom of Layos as her target on a whim. She just wanted to shake Eren a bit with her talk. That was not to say that she didn''t think of avenging her guild''s destruction in the kingdom of Layos at all. But she had always thought that it would be a long-term project and not something that could be achieved with the snap of her fingers. Jiana''s fatal w was that she was emotionally driven by people she cared about. However, she wasn''t weak as a ranker. There was a reason she was given the kingdom-certified title of Goldy Wings despite just being a healer. As such, Jiana had considered taking part in the uing war. Taking revenge on an entire kingdom was not something she could do just because she was a Master ranker. As emotional as she was, she wasn''t delusional. But when Edinburgh''s forces banded together, she would be able to gain strength from them and achieve her goals all the same. In regards to the cultist organization Midnight Moon that carried out the attack, Jiana had decided to ask for help from anyone who bought her guild. That is if she continues with the process. Jiana''s ns weren''t perfect. And for the most part, she had just crafted them to make sense of the negative feelings she was experiencing. Her subconscious mind believed that having vague ideas of vengeance was all she needed to cope with the stress she felt. Jiana wanted to apply a long-term strategy to avenge all her fallen guild members that had died in the attack. Her personal growth would be affected if she followed through with the n. But that was a trade-off she was willing to make at this point. She could not believe that someone who was indirectly responsible for her guild''s destruction would offer her sought-after revenge like it was no big deal. She didn''t know what to make of Eren''s diabolical nature. *** The connection with Fiona was reestablished after a brief pause. This time, someone else was also looped into themunication array. A spectral form of Sirius Fenris was standing in front of Eren with his hands behind his back. He seemed to be wearing a wolf mask to hide his identity. Fiona was standing beside him. She had decided to pause her journey and listen to what Eren had to say first. Sirius was wary of Jiana even though he didn''t show it. Fiona had many things to worry about so she didn''t pay close attention to Edinburgh''s internal politics. But it was Sirius'' job to do so. He could never fail to identify someone who had a kingdom-bonafide title attached to them. ''As far as I can remember, this ss is the only healer among Edinburgh''s title holders. Still, not much is known about her since she likes to keep her cards close to her. Anyway, why was I summoned in her presence?'' Sirius looked at Eren with an enquiring gaze. He liked dealing with the butcher because the guy was just as straightforward as him. But he was also aware that Eren was not as simple as he was made to believe either. Eren looked Sirius in the eyes as he spoke. "I want to target Midnight Moon. Also, I want to bomb some significant ces in the kingdom of Layos. You know, something that will make a big ssh. How much will it take?" Eren spoke casually while scratching Argo''s mane. The audience present in the room was shocked again by his words. Jiana was most shocked by Eren''s words. She looked at Fiona and Sirius with an astonished expression. She wondered who they were since Eren wanted something from them. Nina and Amory looked at Eren, Sirius, and Fiona intermittently, wondering where this conversation was heading. The half-blood girl was the first to speak up. "You must be joking, Eren. Targeting Midnight Moon? Terrorizing the citizens of Layos? You think they''ll just let us do what we want because of you..." "100,000 Extols!" Eren cut off Fiona''s words with an offer while maintaining eye contact with Sirius. Thetter also didn''t say anything. Fiona took charge of the conversation once again. "Hehehe. I think too much money has gotten into your head, Eren. Some matters are beyond..." "200,000 Extols." "Are you even listening to me? It can''t be done. How can you expect us to..." "500,000 Extols." "You! Don''t think money is everything there is..." "1 Million Extols." "Madness... Sir Eren, please. You need to understand the risks..." "10 Million Extols." Fiona was lost for words when Eren kept increasing the reward amount. She gulped in anticipation at the thought of receiving 10 million Extols. The half-blood woman clenched her fists and mustered the strength to register her unwillingness to get on with what Eren was asking of them. "This is not about..." Fiona was just about to say something when Sirius interrupted her in his deep voice. "Fiona dear, this is not the way to speak to our esteemed patron. Stay out of the talks and let me handle things from here." Chapter 924 Someone Who Has Been Bitten By A Snake Will Always Be Afraid Of Ropes "Fiona dear, this is not the way to speak to our highly-esteemed patron. Stay out of the talks and let me handle things from here." Sirius ced a gag order on Fiona. His beastly blue eyes shone with intrigue as he looked at Eren. Thetter smirked at Sirius when he decided to y ball. "10 million it is then. We''ll set a framework for the job soon enough. Of course, there will be a bonus involved if you do more than what is asked of you. A fair deal, right?" Sirius chuckled before nodding at Eren. "We''ll be in touch," he said before disappearing along with Fiona Fenris. Sirius was a man of few words. Eren could tell that the man was considering getting involved himself in the mission. 10 million was just the entry priceC something to establish a deal. The reward amount would most likely have to be doubled in the end. The half-blood bastion had awork of cultists working in the dark. People knew this group of cultists as the Ancients. The Ancients also had a lot of shell cultist organizations under its banner like the Beast Bloods, for example. These shell organizations would y a vital role in the task and the Ancients would control them from behind the scenes. Sirius would get the Ancients and its shell cultist organizations radically motivated in the kingdom of Layos for the kind of money Eren was throwing at him. Fiona and Sirius had not nned anything beforeing here because they weren''t aware that Eren would ask something so terror-inducing of them. As such, her resistance was purely based on her experience as an on-field member of the Last-Blood Bastian. Sirius also kept his mouth shut and didn''t reply to any of Fiona''s words addressed to him through privatemunication. Without any guidance, she could only do what she thought was right by opposing Eren''s proposal. In doing so, she had unwittingly yed her part in the negotiation just the way Sirius had wanted her to. She was made to step aside only when Sirius found the reward amount Eren provided was worth the risk. Messing with the Midnight Moon was no big deal. But Sirius didn''t want to show any favoritism to any particr kingdom. Both were his enemies in his eyes. But he could also understand the practicality of establishing firm ties with Eren. 10 million Extols was no big deal for Eren at this point. He would be able to get his money back in a month or two. However, it didn''t mean that he would just throw his money up for the possibility of hiring a Grandmaster ranker. He would make sure that he was getting what he paid for. *** "Eren, who were those people?" Nina asked Eren wearily. Thetter chuckled before answering. "Just a bunch of people I''m working with, Aunt Nina. They are a bit rough around the edges but I''m sure they''ll get the job done." The butcher then looked at Jiana before speaking up. "This is the least I can do if any of my products unintentionally became the reason for your loss, Madam Goldy Wings. You can expect some heartwarming news regarding my arrangement soon. Meanwhile, you can take your time and decide the future of your guild. You can consider the targeting of Midnight Moon as my gift to you should you decide not to dissolve your guild into mine." Eren was betting on Jiana''s character when he said that. Thetter remained speechless at the butcher''s actions for quite some time before deciding to speak. "You you shouldn''t have done a deal with the cultists. They are nothing but snakes that often bite the hands that feed them. I could have managed to do something about the Midnight Moon myself, given" Jiana assumed that Sirius and Fiona were part of a cultist organization, which was half true. She wasn''t surprised by the fact that Eren was in cahoots with the cultists. She knew that kingdoms also liked to use cultists when it suited them. So she couldn''t judge him on this. Eren didn''t correct Jiana''s assumption. However, he found those words a bit funny nheless. "Hahahaha." Eren startedughing when he heard Jiana speak. He tapped his fingers on the desk yfully before responding to her. "Your revenge n is to use the system and the uing war to attack your enemies, right?" No offense, but that strategy sucks hairy rats'' balls." Eren then pursed his lips as if he didn''t like the choice of words he had used to express his opinions. He sighed and looked at Argo. Only now did he realize where the demon beast got his signature trait from. "Please forgive me for whatever I have said after stating "no offense", Master Jiana. Because I havee to realize that''s when I have said the most offensive shit ever." Eren sighed and shrugged his shoulders before continuing. "Look the kingdom of Layos will always be a step ahead of you if you use the system to fight it. It targeted your guild specifically because it knew the kind of impact your healer-specific guild would create in the uing war. And it would do that again if you continued acting as naive as you always have been. It is imperative to treat venom with antivenom. No other medicine would provide better results. Same way, cultists should be handled by another bunch of cultists. After all, if you try to y by the rules when the other side has thrown the rulebook in the dustbin, then whatever happens to you afterward willpletely be your fault. I don''t know about you. But the White Raven guild has a reputation to maintain. It dealt with all its enemies with a heavy-handed approach. And it won''t change its ways whether you decide to join us or not. I guess this is it. I''ll host Master Amory in the White Raven city until youe to a decision. I''ll start looking for other master rankers just in case. Just let me know, alright? Take care, Master Jiana." As Eren waved goodbye to Jiana with a graceful smile, he cut off the spectralmunication. Seeing the elf''s baffled expression, he smirked at the end. ''Hehehe. Someone who has been bitten by a snake will always be afraid of ropes. She''lle around. I can bet Argo''s left nut on that.'' Chapter 925 Corvo Bianco Vineyards Corvo Bianco vineyards. Resanstour Valley. The southernmost region of the city of White Raven. An uneventful-looking evening. The night skies were somber and starless. The winds carried a distinct winter chill with them, creating a serene atmosphere in the valley. The Rasanstour valley was artificially created by White Raven city''s administration by using earth-element rankers asborers. They had transformed the barren region into a lush green valley that is now considered one of the most renowned vineyards in Edinburgh. White Raven ale was Eren''s signature liquor brand but it was not the only one. The city had started producing a lot of wines and other brewed concoctions ever since the formalunch of Eren''s premium products. Wine-making was just the investment he wanted to add to his portfolio to diversify it. He started cultivating Resanstour Valley after he started seeing profits in his business. The valley was now decorated with lush-green resources ranging from F to B ranks. In the Resanstour valley, three wineries were established. The grapes would be taken to these wineries by a bunch of trained nt monsters for wine concoctions. There were a lot of nt monsters in the Resanstour valley. Eren had also sent his woond creatures to better control his estate. He had to thank Rey Remus for providing him with such a convenient way of taking care of hisnd. Corvo Bianco vineyardsC or better known as White Raven vineyards- was where Eren had erected a small house. This suburban-style house was in the middle of the vineyards, serving as the butcher''s weekend home whenever he found time to celebrate his off-work hours. He would often practice potion-making here as well. SerafC the nt monster that had been trained by Will Evaan served as the caretaker of Corvo Bianco vineyards. He would also maintain the small house that often remained unupied because its owner was never inside his city. However, the house will not stay empty tonight. "This this looks like our house in the city of Osan." Nina mumbled to herself as she stood in front of the small house Eren had created inside the Corvo Bianco vineyards. It was almost a replica of the house they shared in Osan before Eren left for LA. The butcher smiled lightly beforementing. "Hehehe. Surprised? We left the duchy of Lionhearts for our reasons. But we don''t have to leave this piece there anymore. With this house, it has followed us here." While he stood behind Aunt Nina, Eren smiled and said aloud. Thetter had no words to express how nostalgic she felt at the time. Not about the house per se but the passage of time it represented in her life. A rxing break from the ruthlessness of rankers. She wasn''t busy with her guild responsibilities when she used to live in this house. She had no missions toplete, and no party members to meet. The butcher knew Nina had decided to leave this house behind only because of him. She was happy to stay in this house with him. She even had trouble achieving her ranking breakthrough during her peaceful stay in Osan, but she did notin because of the respite she received in exchange. Thus, Eren decided to recreate the feeling of that time for herself. "You mean?" Nina couldn''t help but smile joyously as she predicted the butcher''s intentions. Thetter chuckled before confirming. "Yep. You can live here from now on, Aunt Nina. Your very own peaceful haven. You can use this entire vineyard as your front yard and backyard." Eren made Nina in charge of all the arrays ced in the region after saying that, which was kinda like giving her the keys to the house. After spreading out her mana sense, the Master ranker immediately controlled all the arrays ording to her preference. Eren had givenrge fertilend to Aunt Nina so that she could cultivate her herbs like she was supposed to. It was just that the quality, scale, and rank of her herbs and resources would be on apletely different level than before. This is thanks to the nt monsters under Nina''s control. This was the most sought-after gift Nina needed without her ever knowing about it until she got it. She turned around and hugged Eren right after he said that. But then she lifted her face off his chest and looked at him suspiciously. "You haven''t brought anyone here, have you?" Eren chuckled when he heard Nina''s question. He knew what she wanted to ask so he assured her right away. "Except me, you''d be the first person to have seen this house since its creation. Ie here and practice potion-making. I''ll show you. Want to go inside?" Nina smiled when she heard that the ce was made exclusive by Eren from the very beginning. She wouldn''t have liked it as much as she did now, knowing that Eren had not brought any of his "mes" here. Eren rubbed Nina''s back with his hands. His ever-restless fingers couldn''t help but graze her mushy buns as he did that. Nina also had yfulness reflected in her eyes for a brief moment before she smiled mischievously. She didn''t say anything or prevent Eren from doing anything. She just nodded at his question and prompted him to lead. The butcher held Nina''s hand in his and walked towards the front door. His presence was sensed by the protection arrayid under the house''s foundation. As a result, the door opened on its own, weing the couple inside "The small potionb we used to make potions almost every day. For those grumpy old men at the Healers'' Association. And those stairs leading upstairs. The kitchen and the dining table. And that sofa" Nina started mumbling as she started roaming inside her newly-built house. The butcher had made sure that he got the details of the house down to a T, so the insides of the house also looked just like what he used to live in. Eren sat on the sofa while Nina took a small detour from the house. The house wasrger and better. And yet, it had just the right kind of nostalgia mixed into it. === AN: Corvo Bianco means White Raven in Italian. Those who know about the ce will now know where the term White Raven was inspired from. "Nina" was one of the original owners of the ce in "that" lore as well. ;) Chapter 926 The Unspoken Burden Of Success After wrapping things up with Jiana, Eren took Nina out and spent a few hours exploring some of the most interesting ces in his city. Thetter was excited to see the fruits of Eren''sbor the most as well. Nina didn''t get to see the entire White Raven city. But when she heard about the vineyard from Eren, she decided to prioritize sightseeing in the valley instead. After all, Nina could call the city her new home at this point. She could explore it anytime she wanted. So there was no need to see everything at once. Nina felt that she was back in the city of Osan when she was inside the small suburban house. She also had an apothecary attached to the house, making her remember the previous profession she used to do in the city of Osan. Just being an off-field healer with no life-and-death responsibilities. Laughter and moreughter could be heard inside the house. A lot of other noises were also added to the mix that would tell the listeners the upants were busy with their work. Eren and Nina were reminiscing about their past and reliving old memories. They had started potion-making in their old-looking newly-built house just like they used to in the past. The apothecary is in the front-left, an array-operated potion storage bank at the back, and the potionb in the middle. The couple was currently in the potionbC making basic potions just for the sake of it. Nina was a healer first and a potioneer second. So, her expertise in the field was rtively limited for a Master ranker. Yet, she couldn''t believe her eyes when she saw Eren folding his sleeves and doing potion-making like some sort of gifted potion-maker. "When when did you get time to refine your potioneering to this degree?" The healer asked in a voice coated in shock and disbelief. What she was seeing in front of her eyes was an artist creating artwork. She stopped her potion-making right away and started looking in Eren''s direction. Her curiosity wouldn''t allow her to close her eyes for a second. Whenever Nina thought that she couldn''t get surprised by Eren anymore, he would go ahead and prove her wrong. Due to the butcher''s involvement in guild and city matters as well as his consistent advancement in the ranking, she assumed that his potioneering would have beencking. But turns out she was wrong. Nina saw Eren refining the raw ingredients and processing another set of them inside an alkali liquid at the same time. She saw him control his elemental me and introduce minute changes in its nature to enhance the quality of the concoction by a notch. She saw him do all that and then some more without using any array mechanism, controlling a lot of potion-making processes in a parallel way. That too without introducing any kind of error in any of them. "Hahaha. I just focus on working on the basics that you taught me. The rest will work itself out. You have always been great at teaching, you know. You taught me well." Erenplimented Nina once again and chuckled as he maintained fine control over his potioneering. One had to note that he was still holding back quite a bit. Nina would start to question her life choices if she were to see what the butcher was capable of. His ability to introduce various elemental attainments in the concoction process alone was mind-boggling if one knew about it. He didn''t want to give her an inferiorityplex by showing her that. The benefits of Alephee''s regime were bing apparent at this point. Thanks to the extensive mana-circuits control training he had been through almost every night, the butcher became even more precise with his potioneering than ever before. His potion-making skills were improved even further as a result. Nina pursed her lips and smiled. She looked down and shook her head in denial as if saying she had given up the hope of getting real answers about Eren''s dramatic personal growth from him. Eren was helpless as well. Putting in the effort, making the best use of avable resources, and bits of luck were one thing. The butcher''s gains in various fields couldn''t be exined by any stretch of conventional reasoning. Eren didn''t want to tell Nina that he devoured people to achieve his all-inclusive growth. Not because he didn''t like what he was doing or he didn''t trust her. He would walk steadfastly on his path. However, Eren hade to realize that not every truth needed to be said out in the open. Some truths are personal. Something that no one could wrap their heads around because they hadn''t lived the truth bearer''s life. Eren was sure that Nina would never hate him even after knowing what he had to do to achieve the sess he had achieved. The people he had to kill and devourC the rankers he had to scheme againstC the deals he had to make with potentially dangerous yers. And the bull''s eye that was now painted on his back because of his sess. Nina would only find fault in herself that she was there to help Eren when he was struggling through so much on his own. She would me herself for not being with him when he must have needed her the most. Eren wasn''t expecting Nina''s help at any stage of his life. At least not in his current timeline. That''s because he hade to realize that she was not meant to handle his truth. The unspoken burden of sess was for the butcher to bear alone. Nina also came to realize that Eren liked to keep his struggles to himself. Not because he didn''t trust her. But because there was nothing she could have done about it. She can no longer assist him in his life, despite her rank. ''Well... I can help him let off some steam. Hehe.'' Nina thought to herself before looking at Eren yfully. Chapter 927 Trip Down Memory Lane Nina and Eren kept talking about a range of topics as they arranged Nina''s new home for her. The healer had started unloading a lot of her stuff from her storage. The more they talked, the more both of them realized they had so much to talk about. The subjects of their talk changed from time to time and they had many things to add to their answers. One had to say Nina did not know how to pack light. She had so much stuff stored in the house that Eren thought maybe he should build a chateau for her insteadter down the line. Eren rolled up his sleeves and got to work. And so did Nina. It was imperative to her to have a personal touch to her space so she started arranging things normally without any magical help. Dinnertime arrived before the couple even realized it. Thankfully, they didn''t have to prepare the food themselves. A majordomo assigned to the estate arranged everything for them at the right time. A polished wooden table was adorned with plenty of sumptuous dishes. Nina and Eren were sitting in front of each other while a nt monster was standing behind Nina. "Seraf likes to know how food tastes?" The nt monster Seraf asked Eren and Nina as he kept serving more food to Eren and Nina at their dinner table. This was the same nt monster Will Evaan, Renar, and Viper had trained. He was then employed as one of Eren''s clean-up crew members. The nt monster had been given a new assignment since thenC to be in charge of all the nt monsters working in the Corvo Bianco vineyard. He was also the majordomo appointed to the small house. His expanded responsibility would include serving Nina and all her guests. Eren looked at Seraf and was impressed by how quickly he was learning the humannguage. He nodded at him before responding. "The food tastes delicious, Seraf." Eren said while taking a bite out of his kebab. There were other cuisines for the couple to choose from but they both preferred kebabs. It had been a while since Nina had a tasty meal like this. Thest time she had them was when Eren took her on a camping date. At that time, he had made the kebabs himself. Eren had naturally passed his recipes on to Seraf who had done an excellent job of getting things right. The monster had a vegetarian diet most of the time. But that didn''t stop him from bing a pro chef in meat-based cuisines. Nina smiled to herself when she realized that this was another way Eren was making her take a trip down memoryne. It told her that he had taken his time to n for her arrival in the city ever since she told him that she''d be visiting him soon. She felt that these small gestures mattered a lot. Especially when Eren was supposed to be handling the big stuff for his guild and his city. Eren had paid close attention to Seraf''s potential ever since he learned that the monster could clean his crime scene like a pro. He had invested a lot of his wood-element resources in him so that he could keep on growing. He also told Will Evaan and Renar to teach him more about the rankers'' society. The butcher himself had taught him many things whenever he got time to do so. Eren thought of teaching the nt monsters some more so hemented. "You know it would be so much better if you could stop referring to yourself in the third person." Eren then thought that Seraf shouldn''t deviate from his path as a nt monster so he added on. "And it''s terrific that you are learning a humannguage. But you should never forget your roots. Get it?" Seraf looked at Eren with a puzzled expression. He then looked at his feet which still had root-like organs serving as his feet and toes. "Seraf doesn''t understand. Who is the third person? Will he also eat with you? And why would I forget about my roots? They are a part of me." Eren had a nk expression on his face when he heard the line of questioning Seraf had asked him. It was clear that Seraf had taken the word "root" quite literally. He sighed and responded. ''Haaah! I say the most ambiguous things to monsters whenever they are around me and create confusion for both sides. This... this is a pattern.'' Eren shook his head before responding to Seraf for real. "Um never mind that. Why don''t you bring us some wine from the well?" Ninaughed the whole time when she heard Eren''s pun about Seraph''s roots. However, she was intrigued by his mention of wine and well in the same sentence. She looked at him with an enquiring gaze as a result. Eren met Nina''s eyes and exined it to her with a smile on his face. "There was a wine you used to like, right? Be Erna Soliflore. You stopped drinking it because it was only meant for C-rank entities and didn''t have the potency you needed." "Oh yes," Nina said and sighed. She liked the vor of the wine that she used to drink in Osan. She could get the same wine in the Nightshade Duchy as well after cing a custom order. However, once she attained B-Rank, the wine''s effects stopped working for her. So she could only change her brand reluctantly. Eren smirked at Nina before giving her the good news. "Hehe. I managed to concoct the "inspired" version of that wine using B-Rank resources. The well you saw in the backyard of this house contains this wine." Seraf returned with wine crockery and a jug full of red wine before Nina could express her surprise. He served the two rankers their drinks and ced the jug in the middle so they could refill them on their own. Then Eren gestured to Seraf to leave the vineyards along with the other nt monsters. He needed some alone time with Nina. In fact, Argo and Alephee roamed the city on their own, giving him the privacy they thought he deserved. === AN: Be Erna Soliflore first gets mentioned in chapter 37. ;) Chapter 928 Inhibition Lifter Nina stirred the wine by swirling the contents of the ss. She brought it closer to her nose and inhaled the intoxicating fragrance with affection. She could immediately tell that the inspired product packed more punch than the original. She brought the ss to her lips and gulped a small sip with her eyes closed. Her taste buds felt exhration to no end when she did that and her mana responded to the ranked resources added to the concoction. The healer let the taste and fragrance do a number on her senses before gulping the wine down her throat. Her mana circuits were stimted when she did that. The blood cirction in her body was enhanced and she had a bit of a red tinge on her cheeks. Nina felt light-headed for a brief period when the effects of Eren''s wine kicked in. She could tell that the taste and fragrance of the wine were almost identical to the original product. However, the effects of the wine were taken up a notch in Eren''s edition. She looked at Eren mischievously before adding further. "You know Erni, you don''t have to get me drunk for what we are about to do." Eren chuckled before responding to Nina''s provocative words. "Yeah but wine is your inhibition lifter. It certainly helps me help you get in the zone." Nina looked at Eren with a curious expression. Thetter smirked and exined his game n. "It won''t be like thest time, Aunt Nina. Times have changed. I''ll call the shots once we get into it." Nina understood the fire she saw in Eren''s eyes. He wanted to oust her in bed. She chuckled when she remembered how she had practically turned him into a dry twig during their previous sessions. "Hehehe. Little rascal, don''t bite more than you can chew. This is not apetition, silly head." Eren narrowed his eyes at Aunt Nina before speaking up. "Your smile tells me you don''t believe in your own words. Not apetition? Then why are you thinking of all the instances where I had to call for a timeout?" Nina bit her tongue when Eren read her like an open book. She then made expressions of someone who had been apprehended on the right grounds but pretended to be wrongly convicted before speaking up. "Listen to me Erni you can''t use your soul sense on me. I don''t like it one bit when you use that against me." Nina said before gulping arge dose of her wine in one go. Herplexion brightened and she poured some more wine for herself right away. Eren knew that Nina would contradict her stance once again. Just earlier, she had told him that she was d that he had awakened his soul sense. That way, he could know her intentions and act ordingly. Nina was part surprised and part fascinated when she heard about Eren''s soul sense awakening. One had to note that people who knew him closely like Levie, Agatha, and Rodrick knew about his soul sense. Nina was added to that list. Nina also experienced signs of soul sense awakening after she achieved the Master''s rank. So she was surprised when Eren had managed to break the lucid barrier and awaken his soul sense before her. As fast as she could tell, she hadn''t heard about someone of Eren''s caliber unlocking their soul sense. This alone was a testament to the butcher''s monstrous progress on his ranking journey. The couple finished their dinner and drinks soon enough. Nina was feeling a bit tipsy due to the wine''s effects. But it was more like she was allowing herself to feel this way. They got up and decided to do what they had done before this time as well - to pay tribute to their time together in the past. They watched an immersive y on the array diskte into the night. They then started dancing in each other''s embrace to a slow and melodious tune. Their talks turned into whispers. And those whispers turned provocative. They started getting handsy with each other while they danced. Nina felt Eren''s hands on her tushy and she couldn''t help feeling excited about what was toe. A simple cream-colored tunic and dark brown pants to go with. This was Eren''s attire. The color scheme and the loose fit of the clothes gave him a casual vibe thatplemented his presence at the time. Nina was also not in her ranker-like outfit. She was wearing a knee-length split dress. The sleeveless design and impable fitting entuated her bodacious figure. Her left leg was exposed more than her right leg because of the split style, making her look even more ravishing than normal. Eren and Nina started to intrude on each other''s boundaries as they fondled each other''s clothes, threatening each other to rip them apart. "Ummm Your touch always invokes fire in me, Erni." Eren couldn''t reply to Nina''s words because he soon found out that his lips had been sealed in Nina''s lip lock right afterward. He was reminded that she was always more passionate about smooching him than anything else. Eren made her remember what he enjoyed doing with her most soon enough. He squeezed her ass some more while embracing her in his arms, bringing her closer. As soon as the forey started, Nina felt like she was about to be sent to cloud nine. She felt a strong thirst in her soul that could only be satiated by mating with Eren. Her eyes were intoxicated. She started rubbing her body parts on Eren as she kissed him. She weed his fondling of her ass and more and responded to it by inserting her tongue into his mouth. Mark of the Seven Sins: The Mist of Lust Eren activated his Ability right away while Nina was busy kissing him. He had activated the Ability to elevate her experience a step further. It was safe to say that Eren was not about to hold anything back against one of his fiercest partners in bed. Chapter 929 Ninas Boudoir P1* Nina''s boudoir was an elegant and yet opulent space. This bedroom was magically enhanced so that it packed more space than its normal dimensions entailed. It hadrge skylight windows that would let the moonlight in if Nina wished. There were tworge circr windows on one side of the room which gave andscape view of the vineyards. The floor was made of a white marble-like material that was smooth to the touch. It could be as reflective or opaque as Nina wanted it to be. It was also very durable considering a Master-ranked entity was going to live in the room. The room was empty except for a king-size bed. Nina was expected to decorate her boudoir her way. So Eren didn''t add anything to the room from the get-go. Moonlight seeped into the room. Although they looked closely, the windows let in the fresh, cool night air. A vista of the vineyards and the backdrop of a valley could be observed from a wooden deck that was outside the windows. This room was empty for a long time after it was made. But tonight, it was going to wee its first upants. An array circle appeared in this room all of a sudden, which drove away the influence of deathly stillness. That was because it had teleported two rankers inside the room. "Ummmm." A seductive feminine moan and an air of sultry entered the room. Eren and Nina were unfazed by the teleportation array''s effects on them. They were busy smooching each otherC feeling each other with their ever-restless hands. Eren started kissing Nina''s neck while she drove her fingers through his hair. She guided him on her neck as she felt his back with her other hand. Bzzt. Swoosh. Thud. Nina''s perspective changed all of a sudden. She found herself lying on her plush bed with Eren on top of her. If she could open her eyes and see, she would see the star-studded night sky and the bright sickle of the moon. However, she was busy feeling Eren''s touch on her body with her eyes closed. "Little devil you. Aaaah you have done something to me, have haven''t you?" Nina moaned and writhed under Eren''s body as she felt all of the weight on him. "Oooooh. This level of thirst it''s not normal." Nina voiced her doubt as she realized her body was reacting to Eren''s touch way more desperately. As if her entire existence was dependent on it. She felt that she could snap out of this effect if she tried. But she didn''t. Instead, she asked Eren, demanding an exnation The butcher stopped kissing Nina. He also stopped fondling her boobs and raised his head. He looked into Nina''s half-closed eyes and smiled before asking her a question of his own. "Should I take that as aint?" Nina didn''t stop feeling his back with her hands even when Eren did. She also locked her legs around his waist and locked him in his position. She barely managed to open her eyes before responding. "No but you should you should have given me a heads up." Nina licked her lips with her long tongue and stuck it outside as she looked at Eren seductively. She rolled over and pinned Eren on the bed before adding more. "You you have only made matters more difficult for yourself, you know that?" Eren heard Nina whisper in his ear as if the universe was telling him untold prophecies. Her seductive raspy voice and her deep breaths made him excited to see his doom. "Now you can''t leave anywhere unless I tell you to." Saying that Nina brought her face closer to Eren before kissing him once again. This time she bit his lips and was more aggressive in her approach. She started rubbing herdy mound on his now-erect bulge. "Kekeke. Wouldn''t have it any other way. I admit that winning seems difficult. But let''s exhaust each other and make this a tie." Eren said and rolled to his side. He was again on top. He didn''t waste any more time. A zing fire consumed both their bodies in an instant. And it was made to disappear into thin air as well. However, it had done its job for which it was summoned in the first ceC getting rid of Nina''s dress. Nina was made to disy her assets in her undergarments. Her body looked like the epitome of mature feminine perfection. Her light brown skin, her huge tits, and her thick thighs were a lethalbination. Her long hair and lusty eyes added extra oomph to her appeal. She was wearing a delicate-looking Fuschia-colored brassiere that had thincy straps. There was an embellishment attached to the center gore of the bra, but it was not visible because it was hidden under the valley of the tits. The cup seams and side seams of the bra sport an additionalyer of embroidery coating. The underband of the bra entuated Nina''s massive jugs'' size by elegantly highlighting them. Eren looked down to see Nina was wearing undies of the same color, style, and pattern as well. ''Hmm? This is Fuschia? Isn''t this just pink?'' Eren scratched the back of his head as if the color wasn''t as mysterious as he wanted it to be. Of course, he didn''t voice his opinions because he didn''t want to make matters worse by provoking Nina once more. ''Heh! This fuschia ain''t so shabby either. And anyway, what use is the color of this thin piece of article is going to disappear soon.'' The butcher came up with an answer to his dilemma before resuming his work on Aunt Nina. He started grabbing onto her boobs as he licked and bit her earlobes. Thetter weed him into her arms and decided to get rid of his clothes too. She ced her hands on his back and cast a simple water-element spell. A thinyer of water appeared over Eren''s body and it started to dissolve his clothes like a teaspoon-worth of sugar disappearing into a ss full of water. Chapter 930 Ninas Boudoir P2* Hmmm. Woosh. Disappear. The thinyer of water disappeared along with Eren''s clothes. Nina made Erene into his birthday suit within a fraction of a second before rolling on the bed once again. It seemed like the couple waspeting to stay on top of each other for longer. Eren''s enhanced body stats had done wonders for his already lean and muscr physique. He would look shredded if he stressed his muscles. Despite his rxed state, his body looked full of testosterone-driven vitality. Eren''s emerald green eyes had a life of their own. They would shine every time he felt a few elevated emotions of any kind. They exuded a certain pull on their spectators that was difficult to escape from. His jet-ck hair and his well-defined face made him charming. Combine that with all his other physical qualities, and the butcher could be said to redefine the standard male beauty standards. A nine incher dick awaited for Nina''s eyes tond on when she looked down. With its shape and color, the exposed mushroom head stood out. Nina found out that Eren''s girth had also increased more than before. His little member was bound to stretch her pussy walls some more with its newfound impressiveness. "My my. You have grown into a man, Erni. Mine. All mine... for the nights toe. Hehe." Nina dered as she traced the muscle definitions on Eren''s torso. She felt the highs and lows of his abs and chest definitions with the tip of her fingers. The butcher smirked at her before propping his head on his folded arms. "Nights! Plural, huh? Good thing I already made some arrangements so that we can have all the time we need for ourselves." Eren narrowed his eyes at Nina''s seductive body frame as he said it. He freed his one hand and gestured with his index finger as he added. "Come at me." Eren enhanced his Ability''s influence even more as he watched Nina''s eyes getting smitten by his look. He chuckled as he watched her eyes reflect the longing she had for him. The butcher could tell that the Sin of Lust worked so potently on Nina despite their ranking difference because she already had those feelings for him. Their unavoidable separation only suppressed their carnal needs. But now that they were together, the Sin series Ability only resurfaced what was already buried deep within her psyche. Nina first tied her long hair behind her head in a knot so that it wouldn''t get in the way of her next "job". She thenunched her campaign on the well-definedndscape that was Eren''s body. She kissed him before reaching for his neck. Nina traced his chest with the tip of her tongue. By cing her hands on his chest, she felt his steady heartbeat and decided to raise them. Nina licked her way toward Eren''s erect member. She maintained eye contact with him as she yed with his dick with her hands. She stroked it for a bit before kissing its head. "How strong is your head game, Nina?" With a deep voice and yful gaze, Eren asked. He seemed proud of his manhood standing upright in salute. Nina looked at him with even more intimidation before responding. "As strong as you want it to be, hon." Nina said before taking his entire dick into her mouth in one go. She fondled his balls with one hand and used her other hand to excite her now-drenched pussy. She yed with the tip of Eren''s erect member with her tongue inside her mouth. This was as she started giving him one of the most impressive blowjobs the butcher had ever received in both his timelines. "Hmmm!" Eren grunted as he felt Nina''s tongue and her mouth working their magic around his dick. He licked his lips and felt thirsty as well. Lightning struck and Nina''s position was changed a bit as per his preference. "Uuuuuuuuugh!" Nina''s moan was muffled by the dick in her mouth. But the ecstasy she felt at this moment was reflected in the moan that escaped her mouth. That was because she felt Eren''s fingers tracing her most sensitive region. Eren had a sudden change of heart. Two massive buns blocked his view of the skylight windows. He licked his lips with his abnormally stretched tongue and felt the need to maintain this position for a long time. He first inhaled the feminine aroma Nina had there and felt intoxicated by it. Out of all the pussies Eren had a chance to smell, Nina''s was the most tempting of them all. He felt Nina''s drenched vertical lips with his fingers over her wet panties. He rubbed over the fuchsia-colored article before pulling it to the side. A sought-after view unfolded before Eren''s eyes. Two pussy lips, a dripping hole, and a clean-shaven look awaited him. Eren gripped Nina''s head with both his hands from either side and drove his dick deep into her mouth. And at the same time, he made the tip of his tongue reach her puffy clitoris. A wave of carnal pleasure washed over Nina as she felt her pussy gettingpped by Eren''s abnormal tongue. She stretched her legs and sat on his face properly while driving his dick in and out of her mouth at a rapid pace. The healer started moving her hips to rub her pussy over Eren''s nose which was already sunk into her pussy. She started using his nose as a mound to rub the carnal itch she felt between her legs. Eren had to acknowledge the fact that Nina''s blowjob skills had unlocked a new level as she added her water-type elemental attainments to the mix. As a result, he felt like he would burst into her mouth soon. ''Damn it. I''m about toe and this demoness doesn''t look like she''s anywhere close. Gotta up my game.'' Eren thought to himself as he drove his tongue deep into her wet hole. As a bonus, Eren started squeezing Nina''s buns with his left hand. His right hand on the other hand was given a new assignment. "Ugggggh!" Another muffled but loud moan escaped Nina''s mouth as she felt her anal sphincter being stretched by Eren''s finger. Chapter 931 One-Track Mind* "Aaaaaah!" Nina felt like her entire body was on fire. She felt Eren''s tongue inside her pussy and his finger up her anal cavity. The intruders slipped in and out of her tight caves with seamless synchronicity, allowing her to experience maximum pleasure. Eren could only sigh in his head as he realized Nina had stopped sucking him as soon as he increased the level of his tongue storm. She was way too preupied with her emotions to please him. He couldn''t me anyone but himself for being so proficient at his job. ''Hash! I''m suffering from my sess.'' Eren said to himself in a mncholy manner as he continued to do his current job. He sucked on the pink button that was Nina''s clit. He ran the tip of his tongue through her pussy lips. He did that while driving the two fingers of his other hand in and out of her rear entry. Nina kept moaning while calling out Eren''s name. She started fine-tuning her nipples as she sat upright on his face, giving him full ess to her cave by stretching her legs apart even further. She had her eyes closed and her tongue would show out from time to time as she breathed heavily. She started moving her hips up and down, treating Eren''s intruders with the same form of affection as his dick would get soon enough. Eren was spared from having to forcefully empty his balls into Nina''s mouth since she stopped sucking him. As a result, he was more confident about making Ninae first. In a marathon, checkpoint wins don''t matter. But every small victory matters to him at this point. The sin of Lust was acting on Nina as well. It was enhancing the effects of the lust she had suppressed for so long. The mist of lust became the vent for her suppressed emotions toe out. Ande out they did. Nina''s moans grew even more seductive and tant as she started rocking her hips vigorously. Her tits kept bouncing because of her movement, making subtle flesh noises whenever her hips went down. "Yesssss Yesssss. Erni lick your aunt''s pussy well. That''s it that''s.. Eeeeeeeet!" Eren''s face was sprayed with Nina''s love juices as she came all over his face. This was proof of a job well done in his first round. So he weed it with open arms and Nina''s open legs. Love juices seemed to stimte Eren''s devouring ability for some reason. As the liquid had a B-ranker''s life force mixed into it, it was not something he would discard anymore. Nina was too lost in her ecstasy to notice that her love juices had just seeped into the butcher''s slime-like skin before returning to normalcy. Eren received an instant shot of rejuvenation when his half-blood Ability started extracting a strong life force from Nina''s love nectar. Nina crashed beside Eren when she was given a breather to recover from her elevated feelings of ecstasy. She was breathing heavily as if she had run up an uphill mountain road. Eren got up and channeled his mana through his body to revitalize himself. He stood on his knees and looked at the live art he had created himself. A panting Nina with her jugs spoke volumes about the exhaustion she was suffering. Nina looked at the wickedly smiling Eren and knew what he was thinking. She cursed herself for allowing Eren to continue using his Sine Series Ability. It was even more potent than she had thought. "Scored one point against all odds. But who''s keeping track, right? After all, this is not a game. Kekeke." Eren said to Nina and chuckled like a hyena. He seemed proud of his pussy-eating skills that he had honed after many such sessions. Nina hmphed at Eren before channeling her Master-rank mana throughout her body. She snapped her fingers and an incredible water element attainment manifested around her in the form of dense white fog. Before Eren could register the changes around Nina, the fog disappeared and she was seen fresh and proper. It was as if it was not her that was suffering from post-coital fatigue, but someone else entirely. "You are not the only one with Abilities, little devil. I have the Ability to turn all your aplishments to zero." Nina said confidently as she smiled at him with a tinge of provocation. Only now did Eren realize that aunt Nina had a quick recovery Ability too. And it was one of the most sought-after Abilities a healer could have in their arsenal. Eren''s eyes shone with a peculiar light as he looked at Nina with an unmasked thirst. Instead of feeling intimidated by Nina''s powers, he seemed interested in them. He licked his lips and chose to reply to Nina''s provocation with his actions instead. Nina opened her arms wide while lying t on her back. And she received her partner in her arms the next moment. He kissed and smooched her before going for her still-erect nipples. He started sucking on one brown bud while pinching the other with his one hand. His other hand slipped between their bodies and reached for her dripping pussy. He stimted her clit while coating his fingers in streaks of lightning mana. A bunch of fire snakes was summoned into existence before they were assigned their respective tasks by their summoner. They began licking Nina all over her body using their hot forked tongues. Some snakes started nibbling on her earlobes. Some others bit near her armpits and neck. Her asshole was licked and the wet cunt began to drip, turning even wetter due to the snakes'' activities. The fire snakes were tasked with the job of nibbling on Nina''s sensitive zones. The lightning snakes on the other hand had a job giving her small and deliberate jolts from time to time to stimte her senses further. Nina felt like she was being attacked from her direction when Eren started acting like a pro summoner. She was forced to lose herself in her passion once again. ''He. Aaaaah this one-track devil wants to prove a point.'' Nina had a brief realization in her head before experiencing another trip to a blissful paradise. Chapter 932 Backlash* Eren felt himself being surrounded by a sparkling mass of water that blocked his vision. When his vision returned to normal, he found out that he was still on top of Nina. However, he was no longer sucking on her flesh melons. Nina arranged Eren''s position near her face with his legs spread in either direction. She took hold of his dick and stroked it a bit before taking the entire length into her mouth in one go. ''Damn. She''s hungry.'' Eren smirked as he watched Nina give him another round of blowjobs. This time, she looked adamant about milking him. He had won two too many rounds to not hurt her pride as a woman. Eren held Nina''s head with both his hands from either side as he stood on his knees and started ramming his dick inside her mouth. To prepare Nina''s oral cave, the thrusts were slow at first. Nina stroked Eren''s thighs with her free hand and caressed his balls while moving her head to amodate Eren''s thrusts. With each passing second, the rate of Eren''s drilling motion was increasing. And so Nina had to bring out her A-game to keep up with his actions. She spread her legs and let Eren''s fire and lightning snakes stimte her wet cave and anal openings. This time, she didn''t allow herself to indulge in the waves of ecstasy all by herself. And by doing so, she prevented herself froming anytime soon. Eren felt like something massive was about to erupt from his little member as he was being sucked deep by Nina. He could hear her making ''gawk gawk'' noises with her choked mouth. Eren was sure that he wouldn''t have found those noises arousing if it was any other time. Yet it was this time and moment that made him listen to them in this way. "Fk!" Eren grunted as he released all his load inside Nina''s mouth. He kept on nutting for quite some time until he felt there was no droping out anytime soon. He couldn''t see his cum as Nina had expertly gulped it all down without wasting a drop. However, he was sure that it would have been one of the thickest productions he had ever released in a while. He felt like his stretched urethra cavity spoke volumes about how viscous his manly essence was. Eren realized the drawback of using the Sin Series Ability on a ranker higher than him at this time. He felt an abnormal amount of exhaustion wash all over him once he stopped releasing his milk. He could swear that he wasn''t this tired even after spending an entire night with 24 Orchinas. This time, it was Eren''s turn to crash beside his partner. He wasn''t huffing and puffing like Nina. However, his muscles felt like they had atrophied after spending months in a vegetative state. He was in a more dire situation than Nina was earlier in the day. Nina was smiling at first when she saw Eren crashing beside her. She felt proud of her skills which made him lose his focus and drive. She also patted herself on her back for noting with him. This was because she had stopped herself from falling prey to his Sin series Ability. Nina felt like she had consumed the most potion at this point. For some reason, her mana circuits were stimted and she felt like she had progressed a bit in her ranking journey. Furthermore, her water element attainments were also enhanced a bit. It was as if she hade out of seclusion after practicing her ranking technique for weeks on end. Nina didn''t understand the carnal phenomenon that had happened to her at this point. She subconsciously put the topic on the back burner as she had better things to do with her time. What she did not know was the fact that her act had made Eren face the repercussions of failing to use his Sin Series Ability on her. And in doing so, she had benefited herself. Moreover, since she was a Master ranker, Eren couldn''t easily brush off the bacsh he felt. Nina was about to brag in front of Eren. However, when she turned around, she saw that Eren''s face had turned pale. He looked like he was suddenly suffering from anemia as his supple, full-of-vitality skin started looking colorless, dry, and callous. As if it was the skin of some undead. "What what the fuck happened to you?" Nina was shocked when she saw Eren''s condition. She could immediately tell that his state was beyond normal. Then she wrapped his body in her mana sense and checked his vital signs. "It''s it''s like you were fasting for a month or two. Is is this rted to the strange Ability you had used on me? Some kind of bacsh?" As ecstatic as Nina was at the time, she wasn''t an idiot. She had justpartmentalized her priorities after finding out the effects of Eren''s Ability to act on her. She had thought of asking him about his powers when their sessions were over. After all, she wasn''t too keen on knowing how he got this lecherous Ability in the first ce. Nina didn''t wait for Eren to answer her. She snapped her fingers once more and used her Ability on him. In the next moment, the butcher felt like some external force had intruded into his body without altering his immune response. A new dose of vitality was injected into Eren as Nina''s Ability fixed him from within. He felt like he too had just gotten into bed with Nina without initiating any action. Eren looked at a worried Nina andughed. He assumed a rxed position after he was fixed. He folded his arms and propped his head on them before speaking up. "Don''t worry, aunt Nina. It''s not anything serious." Eren smiled mirthlessly and scratched his forehead before adding up. "Just don''t oppose my Ability when it acts on you. Let it make you as horny as you could be. Kekeke." Chapter 933 Lust-Induced Epiphany* "Just don''t oppose my Ability when it acts on you. Let it make you as horny as you could be." Eren''s smile and his bodynguage assured Nina. She wasn''t sure how the Sin series'' Abilities worked. However, she decided to y ball with Eren all the same. "Hehehe. Alright. Be careful what you wish for, Erni. There''s a high chance you''ll turn into a mummy all the same as you did just now when we are done." Eren raised his eyebrows before spreading his arms. His bed was filled with countless vials of super-expensive recovery potions and tonics when he did that. The butcher quickly nced at the vials around him before responding to Nina''s words. "I can always depend on them. But it won''te to that if things turn out ording to my n." The vials disappeared from the scene in the next moment and the bed was put to use once again. Nina climbed on Eren and ced both her hands on his chest. She started rubbing his now-resting dick between her ass cheeks as she maintained eye contact with him. ''I hope I know what I''m doing. Otherwise, I''d turn into a dry twig.'' Eren chuckled to himself with a stressed expression before activating his Ability once again. He knew that his Abilities were evolving along with his rank up. And he could subconsciously feel what they allowed him to do whenever they evolved. However, the information provided by that subconscious was more like a feeling and it was difficult to exin in words. Therefore, he needed to do some practicals before being assured of their capabilities. Lightning struck and Nina found herself lying on her stomach. She could only allow Eren to be aggressive now that he was in the mood to push beyond his limits. She felt Eren''s semi-erect dick rubbing between her buns and her pussy started dripping with love juices in response. Ereny on top of Nina while she turned her head to look behind her. Her neck was turned even further as Eren kissed her in that position. She tightened her glutes instead of spreading them to make Eren''s little guy get trapped inside her valley. p! p! p! "Aaaaah!" As soon as Eren released her from his lip lock, Nina felt her ass cheeks getting pped by him. Eren''s hands began pping her cheeks with each stroke, and she couldn''t help but moan in pleasure-mixed pain. The butcher pulled Nina''s hair back when she threw her neck behind and increased the intensity and iterations of his ps. He did that with his hands coated in the mana of various elements, giving her enhanced sensory stimtion. p! p! p! Nina''s consciousness started drifting to a farawaynd from reality as she let Eren''s Ability work on her. What he was doing was not regr magic known by themon denizens of Anfang. It was an intent-based magic that had feelings of lust mixed into it. As a result, once the Sin Series Ability started working on Nina on her own initiative, it managed to make her forget about the supposed control she had over it. "Aaaaaaah! More Eren. I want your cock in me now now you you hear me give it to meeeeeee!" Nina started lifting her pelvis upwards to meet Eren''s dry strokes. She reached between them and began stroking his dick. And she allowed Eren to grab one of her flesh melons. Her pussy started producing a new batch of nectar that kept oozing out of her wet hole. Nina turned doggy-style and spread her pussy lips with her own hands. She still had her head ced on the bed, enabling Eren to prate deep inside her. The butcher was forced to stand on his knees when she became desperate to have his rod. "Kekeke. Your cooperation will be rewarded." Eren smirked when he found Nina to be mentally where he wanted her to be. He adjusted his dick and ced the mushroom head right at her vaginal entrance. He gripped her hips from either side and pushed his dick inside in one go. The vaginal fluid she produced in abundance made it a bit easier for Nina to amodate Eren when he was half inside her. However, she couldn''t help but open her eyes in surprise when his dick dived balls-deep. "Aaaaaah!" Nina cursed Eren for his dick move. The next moment, however, she was also led into a blissful haven as a result. She felt like the effect of Eren''s Ability on her had increased tenfold after his wood waspletely inside her. Nina''s moans sounded like the acoustics of a ssical symphony to Eren''s ears. He enjoyed raw-dogging her from behind, without any restrictions. He adjusted his dick size and put more stress on her vaginal walls. He increased that stress even further by making Nina close the gap between her legspletely. Her pear-shaped ass started getting pped by Eren''s thighs and his hands as she brought her legs closer. For the first time since its binding, Eren started feeling the effects of his own Ability. He felt the effects of the Mist of Lust taking over his senses. However, unlike Nina who wasn''t in control of the effects she was experiencing, the butcher knew exactly where his subconscious was being taken. Eren and Nina''s consciousnesses were pulled into an epiphany-like state that was created by Eren''s Sin series Ability. Unlike the normal state of epiphany that connected a ranker to higher consciousness, this Ability-induced state of epiphany allowed Nina and Eren''s consciousnesses to interact with each other in a manner they had never done before. Eren could feel the level of ecstasy Nina was feeling at the time as he pounded her without any self-imposed limits. She could do the same by making herself understand his needs. She tightened her pussy walls and stood up on her knees as well. She gripped Eren''s hands and ced them over her breasts so he could squeeze them while entering her from behind. Bang! Bang! Bang! Nina and Eren''s elemental attainments manifested around them as they were lost in their epiphanies. Nina''s ranking status started improving as she started gaining Eren''s water-elementprehension of herself. In the same way, the butcher also gained experience and elemental attainments What was also in the process of being imed was Nina''s Ability. Chapter 934 Copying An Ability* "Harder faster!" Nina demanded Eren up his game. She only had to think of this thought once. In response, she observed that Eren had obligedC in ways she never thought he would. He adjusted his dick size once more and let his elemental attainments work in sync with him. The Sin of Lust also worked in tandem and responded to its caster''s intentions. Clouds of various elemental mana were summoned from thin air and surrounded the couple. Lightning crackled and orange-yellow mes burned the atmosphere that was hosting them. The masses of water started taking various abstract shapes as they co-existed with mes and other elements. Eren also bit Nina''s neck as he kept on exciting her clit with his free hand. His other hand was squeezing her bouncing tits so hard that his hands were now imprinted on her flesh. Her brown nipples had turned darker due to all the blood umting on them. Her pussy was producing love juices to no end, creating wet noises every time her man drove his rod deep inside her. Eren kept on pounding Nina with all he had under the influence of the Sin Series Ability they both had. They both were talking to each other through the mental connection they shared at the time, responding to each other''s wishes in the most efficient manner possible. They didn''t know what was happening around them. They didn''t care if the entire house was broken apart because of their wild session. They just enjoyed each other''s touch and proximity to the fullest. Lust-induced epiphanies caused them to feel as if their souls were entangled with each other. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" After hours of such prolonged sessions, Nina''s body shuddered before she had the most intense orgasm ever. Her knees grew weak as she fell face-first onto the bed. She felt like she had lost control of her body. Most of her muscles had no power left in them to obey her orders. She could hear the sound of her heartbeat apart from the white noise in the background. And everything around her had turned blurry, telling her that her eyesight had also been temporarily affected. Nina also felt like she would be able to drink an entireke until it turned dry. This is if anybody was kind enough to take her to the source of water. She felt like she had been walking in the desert for miles on end and running after the mirage of an oasis. However, she found the illusion to be broken once she was able to grasp it in her hands. The butcher had released all his load deep inside her. The amount of content in her cunt was so overwhelming that it began pouring out as if a dam had broken. The elemental manifestations around the couple stopped when Eren crashed on the bed beside her. The butcher was in almost the same condition however, he was certainly better than his previous time. He had a victorious smile on his face as he kept taking deep breaths. "You ooooof you fucked my brains out, Erni. Co Color me satisfied." Nina managed to voice her thoughts to Eren after some time. The couple could not tell how long they had been fucking. But the healer could tell that they had broken all their previous records by a huge margin. Nina struggled to get her hand up before snapping her fingers. In the next moment, a dense mass of B-rank water-element mana took her inside it before it started moving abstractly. Unlikest time, it took a while before the mana was dispersed into thin air. When Eren saw Nina again with his tired eyes, he saw her full of life and ready to go for the next round. She looked at him intimidatingly beforementing. "Hehehe. Maybe you should use some of the supplementary potions you have. I can wait." Saying this, Nina got up from her bed. She started walking towards the exit at a slow pace, giving Eren the view of her naked stride to tease him a bit. She could feel his eyes on her round buns as she walked and swayed her hips a bit more than usual to visually stimte him even further. Nina was about to head to the kitchen and prepare tasty recovery food. The dry rations and potions weren''t what she needed. Her body and soul demanded something traditional and nutritious. "Wait" Nina was just about to get out of her bedroom when she heard a weak voice behind her. She smiled and turned back to see an exhausted Eren sitting upright on her bed. His body was tired but Nina could tell that his hunger for her had only increased. Eren licked his dry lips and narrowed his eyes on Nina. Her tease had worked more than she had thought. Eren wanted her to walk seductively in the same fashion once again. But he knew he wouldn''t be able to do anything if he didn''t take care of his exhaustion first. "Promise not to freak out?" Eren looked at Nina with a wolfish grin as he asked her the question. Thetter just raised her eyebrows in response as she didn''t know what he was talking about. "Hmm? What do you mean by the little devil?" As she continued to speak, an assumption entered her mind. "Oh? Do you want to experiment? Hehe. It''s fine if you want to try something different. I promise I won''t freak out. Doing those things or not is an entirely different matter though." Eren shook his head in disbelief, trying to exin to her that her assumption was incorrect. But since she had promised him anyway, he decided to move ahead. The butcher raised his hand in front of him and looked at Nina. His exhausted-looking face was suddenly painted with shades of excitement as he snapped his fingers just like Nina was used to doing. Zmmmm! The manifestation of the water element mana appeared around Eren before making him disappear into it. After it was dispersed, he too was able to recover from all his fatigue in one go. Chapter 935 Instant Reset Nina''s boudoir once again fell silent after the couple''s another magically charged session. Only the sounds of deep breaths and suppressed chortles could be heard. As dawn broke, the two rankers realized they had spent the night together. Nina turned to her right while lying on her back and looked at a tired-looking Eren. Thetter was staring at her breasts which were restless because of her quick and deep breaths. There was still unmasked hunger in his eyes. "I I thought you were very "active" in my absence. What''s with this increased libido as if you are not getting enough of it?" Nina asked with a voice mixed with exhaustion before snapping her fingers once again. Snap! Nina made use of her Ability once again to recover from another round of Lust-induced epiphany. Eren had gotten better at controlling this peculiar state of epiphany after his first attempt. Thus, she wasn''t as tired as the first time. However, that didn''t mean that her problems ended there. Snap! Eren used the same Ability to recover himself as well. The healer was so amazed by his capabilities that she was lost for words. She could only look at Eren with a mixed set of emotions reflecting in her eyes. There was one more thing that she hadn''t realized before. Her ranking status was making steady progress because of the new elementalprehensions she gained from Eren. The butcher himself had gained varying elemental attainments in water from his victims and Lensa. Thus, gaining his elemental attainments served Nina well in deepening her understanding of the element. Eren stopped looking at Aunt Nina''s naked body by averting his gaze. The Sin Series Ability was taking hold of him because of his overindulgence in using it. And he knew that too much of anything was unwise. Even one''s gains need to be obtained in moderation. Otherwise, they would cause more harm than good. Eren shook his head as if trying to get rid of a stubborn thought stuck in his head. He sat upright on the bed and entered meditation mode to get rid of the effects of his Ability on him. The Rootless technique made it easy for Eren to control his vital signs. It took Eren only a few minutes before he returned to normal. The side effect of using his Ability was eliminated, and he could think normally without getting influenced by the voices in his head. After hitting a reset on himself, Eren opened his eyes and found Nina looking at him with curious expressions-- as if asking the same question using her eyes as a medium. She had gotten fresh in the meantime and was in her nightgown. Eren smiled before answering her. "It''s the side effect of using my Ability way past its normal limit, aunt Nina. I know when to stop so there''s no problem." Eren then looked outside Nina''s room through her sealed windows. He thought of taking fresh air into his lungs before doing anything else. Lightning struck and Eren appeared at Nina''s deck outside the room. He weed the first rays of the sun on his naked body and felt rejuvenated. He was forced to overindulge in the sin of Lust a bit but overall his n was a sess. He had sessfully obtained Nina''s Ability for himself without using his devouring. Now he had other ways to get the rankers'' quirks for himself instead of killing them. ''Hmm. This method is very different from my devouring Ability. It has obvious restrictions. But what itcks in inclusivity, it makes up for it by giving me a nonviolent way of obtaining Abilities. I guess I should visit Lensa one of these days to see if it works on her as well.'' With various thoughts swirling inside his head, Eren lit up his Sativa Smoke and started smoking as he looked at the lush green valley in front of him. The butcher had gained a new avenue of obtaining Abilities. And he wasn''t nning on wasting the opportunity. Nina appeared beside Eren in her white nightgown that revealed her ample cleavage. The satin-like cloth hugged her body nicely and entuated her curves. The loose-fitting form gave her a rxed vibe. Nina had been given a brief exnation about his Ability by Eren. He had left many nk spots in the exnation. However, the healer knew that it was intentional and didn''t prod him further. Only now did she realize why Eren was asking her about the Abilities and otherworldly mana on their previous date beforeing to the Nightshade Duchy. He wanted an in-depth exnation about them from her because he wanted to understand his own powers better. Nina looked at Eren and closed the distance between them. She slipped into his embrace, rested her head on his chest, and listened to his steady beat beforementing. "Erni, be careful in using these Abilities on others. The whole of Anfang will deem you as a rebel and heretic if they get exposed." Nina voiced her concerns in a low voice. She was happy for Eren that he could gain her Ability. After all, this Ability had allowed her to turn the table on her opponents so many times. It was like a trump card that would work in every situation against any enemy he would face in the future. As such, he named it Instant Reset. Of course, the use of Nina''s Ability had its limits. But her Ability would serve as a very effective offense in the form of a counter, an effective defense in the form of self-healing, and a convenient way out for Eren in case he was caught in a pinch. Very few Abilities in the world could do that for their casters. The Ability could also help him heal his allies. Thus, its usefulness would get enhanced when he started using his summons. Nina was more surprised by Eren''s Ability to copy Abilities from other people than by the whens and hows of the whole thing. She had never heard of anyone possessing Abilities like him even outside of Edinburgh. Chapter 936 Taking Over Healers Nirvana Eren could onlyugh in his head after listening to Nina''s warnings. He had been nothing but prudent in handling these matters. That''s because he had no choice. The situation was grimmer than Nina thought it to be because of his artificial half-blood status. He wouldn''t even be weed by the cultists if the exact details about him were known to them. Nina also felt that the side effects the butcher received from using such an otherworldly Ability were too shallow to qualify as side effects. It was as if these Abilities were made for him in the first ce and not granted to him through some ritual. Eren released a lungful of smoke through his mouth while looking at the morning sky. He caressed Nina''s back to assure her that there was nothing to worry about. To relieve Nina of her concerns, Eren started kneading Nina''s buns once again while they stood on the deck. This time, there was no lust-induced epiphany involved. There was no point in proving anything anymore. Both rankers were inplete control of themselves and no elemental manifestations appeared around them. After a few minutes of stimtion, Eren entered Nina by making her ce her left leg on the deck''s ledge. A slow and intimate fuck took ce as the couple weed a new day. Eren and Nina continued their sessions throughout the week while taking intermittent breaks. The former stopped using the Sin Series Ability on thetter after she stopped progressing further in her ranking journey. Meanwhile, he also learned to use his Ability better by recalibrating its effects on a B-rank entity. He had started to quantify the feelings he had earlier before applying the Ability this way. Nina''s gains were significant because they were obtained in such a short time without her doing anything strenuous or ground-breaking. She thought that spending time with Eren was the easiest form of progress she could have asked for. Eren managed to break even with Nina after obtaining her Ability. One could say that he had "cleaned his pipe" for good after the week was over. He also understood the Ability''s limitations after using it extensively for over a week. This was a crucial time for Eren to make the imed Ability his own. The region surrounding Nina''s house in the Corvo Bianco vineyards remained inessible to rankers and monsters alike during this week. Visitors looking for Eren and Nina were told to wait outside the valley and sent away by Majordomo Seraf. Nina and Eren would have enjoyed each other''spany more in istion. There was, however, a person who appeared in the Resanstour valley one day, whom Seraf couldn''t send away with any tactics. Knock! Knock! Knock! When Eren and Nina were having brunch together while talking about random things, their front door was knocked on. Nina stoppedughing and frowned, looking at the door. She didn''t like that Seraf had failed to give her the sought-after privacy she wanted with Eren. Eren sighed, knowing the affairs of the rest of the world had caught up to him once again. Still, he couldn''tin because he got an entire week to himself without any training or life-and-death events. He operated the array and opened the rune-enforcedrge doors, allowing the person waiting outside toe in. Levine de Montmorency hade to meet Eren. "You are a tough man to find these days, my student. I would have been sure of your abduction if I hadn''t found you here." Levine greeted Nina with a light smile before sitting beside him. She had decided to join the couple at their table without an invitation. She picked up the table knife the butcher had just put down before fixing herself a te on the table. The B-rank potioneer began having brunch with Eren and Nina as if she were someone they had been waiting for. Nina didn''t like that Levine made fun of Eren''s precarious position by talking about the possibility of abduction lightly. The smile the potioneer gave to her also seemed fake to her for some reason. However, she knew that Levine had helped Eren a lot in constructing his city. So she kept quiet and let Eren handle the matter himself. "Haha. Good morning, teacher Levine. I was just" Eren was only wearing his pants when he received Levine, which was the most amount of clothes he had worn in a while. Thetter observed the topless individual briefly before interrupting him. "It''s afternoon, silly. When was thest time you got out of this house? It reeks of" Levine looked at Nina and forced another smile before continuing. "Anyway. Master Jiana Jihang contacted us. She is ready to take you up on your offer. She couldn''t reach you or Nina so she got hold of me. She asked me to tell you that you need to finalize the guild takeover as soon as you can. That''s because she wants to participate in the rank-up program meant for high-ranking entities as well." After taking a bite of themb chops on her te, Levine said. Eren was surprised by how quickly Jiana had agreed to assimte her guild into his. He quickly thought of a possibility that would influence her to take this decision. "Did did anything happen to Midnight Moon?" Levine didn''t know about the connection the two separate incidents shared because she wasn''t present when the discussion between Eren and Jiana took ce. However, that didn''t stop her from confirming Eren''s conjecture. "Um yes. Midnight Moon was attacked in both Edinburgh and Layos at the same time. Moreover, a distant branch of the royal family in Layos was assassinated the next day after the attack. A day after the royal assassination, various prominent cities in Layos were targeted and bombed by unknown cultists. The kingdom of Layos had issued several warnings to Edinburgh because it imed that Edinburgh had a hand to y in the turmoil within its borders. All of this happened this week while you were in... let''s say... seclusion with Master Nina." Eren couldn''t help but smirk as he listened to the brief report provided by Levine. He could only think of one topic at this point. ''I guess I need to pay Sirius some serious money as a bonus for a job well done.'' Eren thought to himself and chuckled. He knew that the investment he was making in Jiana Jihang was going to be worth it if she was this decisive about her direction. Chapter 937 Tyrant Eren failed to copy Lensa''s Ability for himself even after four consecutive days of "research." He could only conclude that his Sin series-based Ability was not as convenient as he wanted it to be. He needed to build his foundation in the light element before even thinking about copying her Ability for himself. He managed to obtain and refine Lensa''s elemental attainments. But it turned out that they were not enough for him. They had left some nk spots that he needed to fill in himself. Eren was a bit annoyed but he got over it quickly. He was only trying his luck. And it was not like the Sin series Ability did not work at all. He would need to strengthen his foundation before trying his hand again. Eren was keen to have Lensa''s Ability for himself because of the potential it carried in his eyes. He believed that he could use that Ability more creatively. While Eren was trying his luck with Lensa, Nina settled into Corvo Bianco vineyards. The valley had be an ideal space to grow ranking resources. So she got to work immediately setting up arrays and elemental pools for the varying herbs and nts growing in the valley. Nina was soon joined by Jiana Jihang and the rest of the healers in Healers'' Nirvana. The members of Healers'' Nirvana were very adept at cultivating and processing resources rted to healing. Eren, therefore, settled them in the valley itself. Jiana Jihang was offered almost the same type of living arrangements as Nina on the other side of the Corvo Bianco vineyards. The kingdom-bonafide B-ranker healer was a bit hesitant about dissolving her guild into White Raven when she entered the city. But seeing the valley made all her worries vanish into thin air. She knew she could regrow the ranking resources her guild was previously famous for in this ce. Eren knew that the guildnds of Healers'' Nirvana would take a while to recover from the elemental contamination RDX had caused. The contamination wasn''t harmful to the environment or the human poption. But mana-sensitive resources couldn''t be cultivated on thosends anymore. To rid thend of contamination, either a lot of time had to pass or external intervention had to be conducted. Eren didn''t have time for any of them. He, therefore, sold most of the guildnds previously owned by Healers'' Nirvana as soon as possible by having Agatha conduct an auction in Curar. Jiana Jihang was totally against Eren''s decision to sell thends. Her emotional attachments to her previous guildnds were too strong to see the practicality of Eren''s move. But fortunately or unfortunately for Jiana, her opinions couldn''t influence Eren''s decisions. The man did whatever suited him best. Jiana started calling Eren a tyrant after he conducted an auction for the unusable properties and other ranking resources of Healers'' Nirvana she had safeguarded from the cultists. But she and a bunch of her previous guild members were showered with rare-ranking resources suitable for them after they joined the White Raven guild. So Jiana had somewhat bittersweet feelings about him. Still, Jiana didn''t regret her decision to assimte her guild into White Raven. Seeing him work made her realize something. She was not as proficient at leading a guild as she had thought herself to be. A leader needed to be callous about making certain decisions for the betterment of the guild as a whole-- even if it turned out that some guild members would get harmed because of them. Interacting with Agatha reconfirmed that thought for her. At first, Jiana thought that Eren was only exaggerating when he said that Agatha was able to do a better job than her as an administrator. When she saw the half-blood work like she always did, she realized it was theplete opposite of what she thought. Eren was still not giving Agatha as much credit as she deserved. She practically ran the whole show for him. Jiana and all the other B-ranked entities of the White Raven guild started preparing themselves for the rank-up program under Eren''s orders. They needed to make the best possible progress in their ranking journeys and elemental attainments before the war erupts. All so that they could participate in the war with an added advantage. Eren didn''t want the core members of his guild involved in the war. Especially if they were B-ranked entities. But he also knew that stopping Jiana from participating in the war would make her rebel against him. Eren had caused the Midnight Moon to suffer a tremendous loss and shaken the general popce of Layos using a borrowed knife. But that could only make Jiana join him and not make her give up the idea of making them taste her brand of personal vengeance. The rank-up program for the lower-ranked members of the White Raven guild was about to end. From the looks of things, there were going to be zero casualties in the first program. After all, Eren had only selected those who could handle the program in the first ce. The program for higher-ranked entities was scheduled to start shortly after that. Nina, Amory, Jiana, Levine, Zethos, and a few more rankers from Levine''s faction were going to participate. If Amory made it out of the program alive, he would be a Grandmaster right away. It meant that Eren''s guild would have a formidable powerhouse in its midst. Agatha managed to attain the rank of Adept during this time. Her exceptional ranking progress was especially amazing because she did not spend much time looking after her personal growth. There were many reasons for Agatha''s growth. Abination of the high-quality resources she received, her enhanced ranking technique, her diligent work despite being busy with city-rted affairs, and a bit of fine-tuning from Eren''s lust-induced epiphany. They all had a hand to y. But the biggest reason for her growth would have to be the fact that she had be self-motivated. The more she was put under pressure, the more her talent as a ranker and an administrator blossomed. Chapter 938 Unrest In Layos Most prominent cities inside the kingdom of Layos were on high alert. The citizens of Layos had be more restless than usual because of the recent attacks that took ce in their prominent cities. They knew that war was just around the corner when the attacks took ce. The damage caused by those attacks wasn''t significant if one looked at the whole thing rationally. But an act of terror never really focused on the scale of the damage in the first ce. It was focused on the impact it would have on the kingdom''s normal popce. Vong town inside the kingdom of Layos was also on high alert. The army had been dispatched and a curfew had been initiated. This town was only three days'' horseback ride from the scene of the crime. The crime scene in question was a destroyed pce in which the royal family assassination had taken ce. Vong town was a low-key ce mostly meant for mortals. Tonight, however, it was hosting a bunch of rankers in one of its remote inns. The perpetrators of the crime didn''t run far from where they had struck. It was as if they didn''t care about the forces searching for them. The so-called criminals had the confidence that they could escape anyone and any situation. "... and that would be the end of the report from my end." Fiona finished giving her report to Sirius. She sounded serious despite the sess of the mission she was involved in. That''s because there were casualties involved. Sirius was looking outside his rented room, listening intently. He was the one who had personally handled the royal assassination of Layos royalty. And he had done his job all alone, without anyone''s help. The reports Sirius was receiving from Fiona were rted to the attack on Midnight Moon. He looked at the full moon and sighed before replying to Fiona. "So 30 rankers from our side died in the attack on Midnight Moon. *Sigh. What a loss! If it weren''t for these deaths, this would have been the most sessful mission the half-blood forces had participated in in recent times. Especially because we got paid for it." Fiona nodded at Sirius''ment. The 30 rankers that had died were mostly Ace rank for the most part except for a few early-stage Adept rankers. Still, the loss of each life was a matter of deep concern to her. That''s because the people who had died were all half-bloods. Sirius then turned around and looked at Fiona and his expression eased a bit. He scratched his beard before adding more. "Some deaths will be inevitable in the following days, kiddo. You and I can''t guarantee our safety as well. So there''s no need to feel guilty about the fact that you survived and our fallen brethren died." Fiona remained silent. She wasn''t even naive enough to think that the task Eren had given them after paying premium money would be all roses and sunshine. She already knew that casualties were a strong possibility. However, that didn''t stop her from criticizing the mission. And in doing so, she subtly criticized Sirius as well. Sirius could tell what Fiona was thinking so he rified his stance. "Lass, you need to stop thinking that I took this mission simply because Eren paid us. While that kind of money is indeed a huge motivator, it''s not the only reason why I epted the mission. Thend of Anfang is too peaceful for us toe out into the open. The powers that be have a strong hold over their dominionsC preventing us from ever making a stronghold outside of the Last Blood Bastian. There''s only one reason why we can''t even dream of retaliating against these organizations. You know what that reason is?" Sirius asked Fiona in a voice one would use to ask "what is two plus two?" to a kid. Fiona was used to this tone since her childhood so she didn''t find anything odd about it. "Anfang alliance." Sirius smirked when Fiona answered him as if she knew the answer but didn''t want to speak. Before continuing, he climbed the window ledge and sat with his legs hanging from the other side of the room. "That''s right. The Anfang alliance is our biggest enemy. The kingdoms on their own don''t stand a chance against us. But they are untouchable as long as the alliance stands tall as the biggest hurdle for us." Sirius felt that the time was ripe for his departure. He knew that he was being tracked by the forces of Layos. He wasn''t scared of them. But he felt that now wouldn''t be the time to escte the conflict. That''s why he was heading to the Last Blood Bastian. He turned around and looked at Fiona before wrapping things up from his end. "The kingdoms of Edinburgh and Layos are members of the same alliance. A war between the two members would shake the foundation of the alliance if only by a small margin. But what would happen if this war became the ember that started the wildfire? What if the war starts spreading to other parts of the continent as well? Something like that would weaken the alliance. It will cause members to have doubts about each other. They''ll start suspecting each other of possible backstabbing and sabotage. When the Anfang alliance weakens due to internal conflict, only then can we dare to challenge it. This is a slow but only possible way for us to start living the life we want." "But Lord Sirius, we have" Sirius cut Fiona off before she could even finish what she wanted to say. "You expect too much from our elders. Hehe. You don''t know what kind of opposition they''ll face should they decide to show themselves out in the open. Our Sages are not like Lady Eliza we used to hear legends about. They can''t change the oue of the battle by themselves when there''s an army of Sages waiting for them on the other side." === AN: "Messi is the best. The second best is Messi injured." -Jorge Valdano :D Chapter 939 The Art Of Understanding Who To Stay In Business With "You know what?" The bright moon reflected in Sirius'' eyes as he sighed beforementing further. "I even doubt the validity of the legends themselves even if I were to believe that someone like Lady Eliza existed in that era. I mean Why couldn''t she just beat the opponents from the Anfang alliance if she was that powerful? The most urate versions of history do not simply record events as they happen. Most of them exist because they act as a guiding star to inspireter generations, regardless of how far-fetched they may seem from reality." Sirius shook his head as if he was disappointed by the iplete recount of history. There were so many questions he wanted to ask the rankers that existed in that era. s, those questions would remain a mystery for him forever. At least that''s what he thought. The half-blood n head from House Fenris felt he was being too harsh on Fiona for having bright hopes for the future. He knew that even the best-case scenarios for the Last Blood Bastian would involve many sacrifices. However, he shouldn''t kill a young girl''s dream of a better future for herself. "You are doing alright, kiddo. Don''t sweat it too much. What I said earlier was only meant as a warning for your young ones. We don''t want you to take unnecessary risks just because this war allows us some freedom. We have to ensure that no half-blood bescent in their tasks. Use this room to rest before heading to your next assignment. As long as I leave this town in about 20 minutes, you are safe to stay. I''ll contact you after I" "Wait, Lord Sirius. There''s another matter that I almost forgot to tell you." Fiona produced a runic array disk and threw it at Sirius. Thetter cursed the former for her carelessness in his head before catching the array disk in his hand. "What is this?" He asked before analyzing the array disk. Fiona replied promptly. "There''s this Expert named Saisha Goren who has managed to contact the cultist organization we had used to target the city of Zehra. He doesn''t know who was behind the ones who attacked us. But those guys passed this message on to the Ancients who in turn passed it on to me." Sirius arched his eyebrows when he heard the name Saisha GoreKnown as an Expert ranker in Layos'' army, he was currently posted on the border shared by the kingdom of Layos and the Asikha empire. A messageing from that man was akin to the kingdom''s army trying to contact his organization for shady deals. "What does it say?" Sirius asked while treating the array disk he was holding with even more caution than before. He didn''t want to fall prey to any booby traps that may or may not get sprung on him. Fiona didn''t understand why Sirius was put on edge by a mere Expert ranker''s message. She had seen the recording of the message so she replied right away. "Saisha Goren wants to know who ordered the attack on these many cities in Layos. He doesn''t have a problem if we need to keep the client unanimous but he wants us to cause the same level of unrest in Edinburgh as well. This man is willing to pay double the amount Eren paid to target him and many of the cities present inside the kingdom of Edinburgh. Even a sessful attempt to create unrest in Edinburgh or aid the forces that have been injected into the enemy kingdom will be rewarded handsomely. He has embedded a way for us to contact him and establish an anonymous link. The exchange of resources would also take ce securely. How should we reply to him?" Fiona didn''t have a problem creating unrest in Edinburgh. She was a bit hesitant about going against Eren. But she also believed that she wasn''t rebelling against him. For someone like him, it doesn''t matter where they target Edinburgh as long as it is not rted to him or his business. Edinburgh and Layos were all part of the problem in Fiona''s eyes. If she could participate in the attacks on the cities inside Layos, she could do the same inside Edinburgh as well, provided the right amount of "motivation" was presented to the Last Blood Bastian. After all, the half-bloods were loyal to their cause. And their causepelled them to look for financial resources. All so that they could fund their movement. Sirius, on the other hand, saw things differently. He crushed the array disk in his hands the moment after Fiona stopped speaking. Thetter was shocked by Sirius'' behavior. "Lord Sirius, we could have at least listened to what the man had to say. That much money would have helped us" Sirius cut her off right away. "This is all a sham, kiddo. They do not suspect Edinburgh''s forces or its royalty at all. Otherwise, their spywork would have seen iting. They wanted to find out who had ordered the hit on their cities. Someone who is not part of Edinburgh''s royalty or its forces. They want to get to Eren through us." Fiona was taken aback by Sirius'' conjecture. But then she clenched her fists beforementing in a cautious voice. "You know, Lord Sirius. They could give us their money so we could humble Eren Idril. If we just use our cards right" Sirius startedughing when Fiona started talking about backstabbing Eren for higher gains. He also felt a bit upset that the outside world had begun to corrupt a simple-minded girl like her. "Hahaha. You are learning a lot these days. That''s good, Fiona dear. But doing business the right way is not the only criterion for staying in profit. You also need to understand who to stay in business with if you don''t want to burn your hands doing it. Using pressure tactics on Eren to get some kind of leverage? Or betraying him for real just to target Edinburgh and get some money doing it? Neither of them is a wise choice. Guys like Eren They don''t respond well to pressure tactics. I don''t know what gave you the courage to even think of doing something like this. But we better not offend him. That man he scares me." === AN: Saisha Goren was first introduced in chapter 644. Chapter 940 Dark Daniera Forest Fiona was left alone in the inn room after Sirius disappeared from the scene. Forget about betrayal or pressure tactics. The man refused to do anything that could even remotely upset Eren. He destroyed the array disk right away to prevent other ns from Last-Blood Bastian from ever embarking on that road. One could say that Sirius was spooked by Eren for some reason after he met him in private. Their meeting had only taken ce once just outside the city of White Raven after Fiona organized it for them. The meeting was brief and only intended to serve as a formality to establish deeper ties between the White Raven guild and Last-Blood Bastian. Since the meeting took ce between only Eren and Sirius, she wasn''t aware of what had happened between the two. Only now did she realize that Eren had managed to intimidate even someone as bloodthirsty as Sirius using means not known to her. The half-blood couldn''t believe that a Grandmaster ranker like Sirius Fenris would say that he was scared of a mere Adept ranker. It was the equivalent of an elephant admitting that he was scared of an ant. Being from the same n, Fiona knew about the ability to harness animal instincts. Something that was possessed by all the half-bloods. She also felt that Eren was a dangerous man when she was in the same room with him and was being interrogated by him. But her mind was at ease when he hosted her and treated her nicely. ''Hmph! He is just another man with a giant ball of ego inted by his wealth. What''s there to be scared of?'' Fiona said to herself as shey on the bed and looked at the room''s ceiling. She closed her eyes and slowly started touching herself while thinking about a certain green-eyed man. *** Dark Daniera county. Kingdom of Edinburgh. Around 2 AM. The starry night kept pitch-ck darkness at bay. Yet, the dark patches were not as visible as they would typically be because of the clouded moon. The westernmost part of Dark Daniera was a dense andrge forest region 9 days'' horseback ride away from the city of Lancelot. It would take someone months on end to reach the city of White Raven if the same type of transportation was used. Even those who use flying artifacts or beasts would have to travel long distances. Thankfully, there were spatial teleportation channels one could use to cut down this distance by a lot, reducing it to a mere three days of travel. There was a group of three people meeting inside the Dark Daiera forest. They were waiting for some pursuers to follow them inside. All so that they could wipe them out in one go. One of the three people was a man who looked to be in his early 20s. He had emerald green eyes and a low-key presence. But there was something about this man that made his audience look at him from time to time. As if their eyes were trying to find something that their subconscious could feel. The second person in the group was also a man who seemed to be in the same age group as the first man. It was just that he had bags under his eyes and sharp expressions. His sunken eyes made him look cruel. This second man''s presence was a bit unstable. As if he was used to being jittery because of the need to constantly look over his shoulders. As if he was the most wanted criminal in the kingdom, which he was. That''s because all the people in the kingdom of Edinburgh now knew him by his wanted poster namea" Osan Woods'' Butcher. The third person on the team was a young girl who looked to be in her early teens. She looked like a regr girl but her aura was anything but. That''s because she was a homunculus. "Hmph! What took you this long?" Lained to Eren in her bratty-girl voice. The trio was sitting around arge cauldron. The contents of the cauldron didn''t smell. But it was dark green with a thick viscosity, making it odd to look at. The concoction inside the cauldron was bubbling without there being any source of heat present. The runes present on the surface of the cauldron would light up from time to time, indicating that the concoction was being processed. Eren looked at Alephee and Ivor who looked like they were some kind of gypsies. He doubted either of them had taken a real shower in the week. They could fix their appearances with magic but they could not wash away the fatigue of always being on the move from their faces. Eren shrugged his shoulders before replying. "I have a guild to run, in case you forgot. I can''t just be at your beck and call all the time. I needed to get a few things in order before leaving my guild and my city in the right hands." La''s displeased expression indicated that she was about to say something to Eren. But Eren beat her to it. "That being said, I know the deal between me and Sage Eliza and I''m here to honor it. Tell me when they will arrive. Eren rubbed his hands together before cing them in front of him. The cauldron was radiating heat like a campfire. It also emanated a faint green luminescence, which painted his face in the same hue. La twitched her nose at the butcher''s diverting skills. Still, she closed her eyes and tried to gauge something using an unknown method before answering. "Those bastards only have one job. Follow the breadcrumbs I have left for them. If they don''t fail to perform a simple job like this, I believe we will be hosting our dear guests when dawn breaks." "So roughly four hours..." Ivor mumbled to himself after listening to La. He narrowed his eyes at Eren before saying something the butcher or La did not seeing. "Eren, do you dare to duel me once again?" Chapter 941 Eren Vs Ivor 2.0 P1 "Are you sure you want to do this?" Eren asked casually while lighting his Sativa Stick. He and Ivor were standing a safe distance from each other. La was standing in the middle, trying to prevent them from dueling at such a crucial time. La had lured Oliver and his forces to the Dark Daniera forest after she made sure everything was in order. She could not allow herself to be chased anymore if she wanted to progress further in the Lazarus Project. La wanted to get rid of Arthur''s hounds for good. She and Ivor had to sh with his force multiple times at this point. And every time they had to run away after taking a bunch of guys out. Thus, she sent a message to Eren and decided to retaliate. She was given no other choice by Arthur and hisckeys after all. But right when things had started to align for her, the two boys decided to duel with each other. There were so many things that could go wrong if they carried on with their activities. Especially when one of them gets injured. Ivor ignored La''s warnings as well. He looked straight at Eren beforementing. "Yes. I want to see how much you''ve progressed. I wouldn''t be content otherwise." Ivor clenched his fists as he felt Eren''s presence up close. He felt like a calm ocean to him. However, the undercurrents under that ocean''s surface were telling him he was more than he let on. Ivor thought that Eren would be shocked by his advancement into the liquid stage of Adept rank. Something he had achieved after fighting Oliver''s forces for so long. However, the tables were turned and it was him that was bewildered by Eren''s progress instead. Ivor felt like all his aplishments had be mundane events for the man in front of him. He wasn''t angry or jealous of Eren for progressing ahead of him. But he was hungryC hungry for the same things Eren had achieved. Ivor also knew that he might not win a fight against Eren despite all the Trump cards he had. Still, he wanted to know where he stood as a ranker in front of the anomaly in front of him. One had to say that Ivor was very ambitious. Despite his image as an angry young man, he was a very calctive ranker. He didn''t run away from the fact that Eren had proven himself better than him. He acknowledged the truth right away and wanted to ovee Eren and his achievements. Eren could feel what was going on inside Ivor''s head. He chuckled a bit beforementing. "Sometimes not knowing things is not always a bad thing, my man. The unknown can be scary. But what if knowing about the unknown discourages you from taking action?" Eren asked Ivor another question while enjoying his smoke. To onlookers who did not know about Eren, he woulde across as someone arrogant with that statement. But Ivor knew better. Ivor knew Eren wanted to test his resolve. He shook his head before speaking up. "I am not one of those who can get demotivated after seeing the hardships that lie ahead, Eren. I want you to attack me with everything you got." Ivor clenched his fists and made a few crackling noises. A set of two daggers appeared in his hands as he started channeling his mana through them. Several bolts of lightning started manifesting around him as he prepared himself to duel with Eren. "It''s not the same Ivor Osan you met in LA, Eren. And yet, the core that makes me Ivor Osan is still the same. I have changed a lot. And yet, I''m still the same brash and arrogant Ivor I have always been. The only difference right now is that I am aware of my sin. And this very awareness makes me embrace the duality of my change and unchanged." Lightning vines started blooming around Ivor as they started to grow on his limbs. He was no longer d in lightning but instead wore it on him like his clothes. Ivor looked at both Eren and La before stating his resolve as clearly as he could. "I understand I''m asking for a favor from you by making you do this, Eren. I know the time and ce are not right for us to do this. I may be killed in the duel if you go full-throttle on me. I already know all that. AND YET, I WANT TO DO THIS. If I have to pay the price for my arrogance, so be it. If I get skewered by Lady Eliza for this, so be it. I am a man who lives in the moment. And right now, I want to live this moment to the fullest. When I asked if you would fight me, it was not because I was certain that I would win or because I thought I was better than you. I don''t think along those lines when ites to you anymore. I asked that because this duel might jeopardize Lady Eliza''s ns. A duel such as this could be viewed as defying a Sage. So after presenting every aspect of this duel to you, I ask you once again. Do you dare to duel with me?" Eren listened to what Ivor had to say to him. He chuckled before his elemental manifestations appeared around him. Eren''s aura suddenly took a drastic turn as he decided to take Ivor up on his offer to fight using his full strength. This was Ivor''s sincere wish and the butcher decided to honor it. ? Ivor felt like the man in front of him had suddenly turned into someone he hadn''t seen or met. There appeared a palpable bloodlust in the air as Eren''s soul sense spread forth. The atmosphere started feeling charged and heavy as Eren decided to hold nothing back against Ivor. Eren''s eyes shone and his presence grew more dreadful. One would have to wonder if Eren had been reced by someonepletely different by theplete shift in his aura. They would also wonder how he was able to hide something like this under a carefully crafted veil. Ivor felt goosebumps on his skin as Eren''s soul sense washed over him. It took sheer willpower from his end to stick to the challenge he had issued to Eren. Gulping, he thought to himself. ''This. This is the real deal... Osan Woods'' Butcher!'' Chapter 942 Eren Vs Ivor 2.0 P2 Ivor felt like he was duping people by carrying the title of Osan Woods'' Butcher. He could have never believed that the Eren he knew from his academy days would turn out to be such a fearsome personality. Only now did he realize why the mummified Sage could count on Eren so much. If anyone could do the almost impossible tasks that she had listed, it would have to be him. Ivor was not alone in feeling surprised by Eren''s altered presence. La too felt a threatening vibeing from him. And she had the powers of a quasi-B-rank entity to boot. She felt threatened not only by his presence but also by his growth potential. She felt like it was only yesterday that he had broken into the Adept rank. During the time he was separated from her, the butcher had been able to rise to the pinnacle of D-Rank. This kind of progress was beyond what could bebeled as monstrous. Eren''s mastery of various elements started creating miniature mana storms in the surroundings. The winds started howling and the night''s darkness seemed to have darkened a bit more. The ground quaked with subtle vibrations with Eren as the epicenter of the waves. If one was faint of heart, they would be overwhelmed by Eren''s presence alone. If they let their soul get affected by his soul sense, they would have nightmares for weeks toe if not months. His soul sense would also make people hallucinate into believing that they were being attacked by thousands of katars, shamshirs, and hammers. Some would feel that they were getting burned in the sea of mes while others would hallucinate that they were getting lethal shock treatment. Ivor was affected by Eren''s soul sense differently. He felt like he had been summoned to thend of flesh and gore. Thend and trees of this world were onlyposed of flesh. The giant trees had giant flesh flowers with various organs in the human body serving as their pistils. Ivor felt like it had been a while since he was summoned to thend of flesh and gore. He also felt like he was assigned a task inside it. To pluck any flowers that were about to bloom. Whenever Ivor shed at the trees, flowers, and the very ground he was standing on, he felt like he was injuring a living person. That''s because the wounds he inflicted on those surroundings would bleed like a normal human body. Thankfully, Ivor was still in control of his senses. His soul was intact and left alone. Thus, he knew that whatever he saw and felt in that brief moment was merely his imagination. Ivor snapped back into reality from his hallucination by channeling his mana and sending his mana circuits into a hyperdrive. He charged his daggers with a peculiar form of lightning as he looked at Eren wearily. Eren enjoyed the expressions of his onlookers as he expressed his individuality out in the open. He rarely let his presence run amok. Most of those who saw this side of him never lived long enough to tell the tale of how they fought with him. Eren did not let his bloodlust or intentions show in most of his intense fights. Because those weaker than him would never try to fight him for the most part if he did. And those who were stronger than him would start taking him seriously from the moment they were engaged in battle with him. After all, the butcher liked to take his opponents by surprise, no matter how strong he got. He preached efficient hunting. But now that Eren expressed his bloodlust through his soul sense, he felt he had taken off the mask he had been wearing for so long. This was a low-key liberating experience for him as well. Eren decided to match Ivor''s style and took out his katars. He spun Diceros Left and Right around him effortlessly with his light touches and hand gestures as if ying a levitating musical instrument. His seamless actions indicated his mastery of the dagger arts. A bunch of mini shes and piercing mana pointers started manifesting around Eren as he operated his weapons. Just by standing in his vicinity, lower-ranked entities would have their limbs hacked off. ? Dhum! Eren''s malevolent presence suddenly vanished into thin air as he stopped using his dagger arts. An eerie silence suddenly dominated the surroundings. Ivor started hearing white noise for some reason. His normal senses as well as his mana sense were affected by Eren''s individuality. He felt like whatever he saw and felt just now in front of him was like a horrible dream that never happened. La and Ivor thought that the butcher was more dangerous at this point than when his vile evil presence could not be felt by them. The scariest thing about him was his ability to make him seem insignificantpared to what he was. All this took ce in just a few seconds. And yet, Eren''s onlookers felt like hours had passed under the effects of his soul sense. Eren looked at Ivor''s elemental manifestations with a tinge of greed in his eyes. ''He has a peculiar lightning attainment on him. Should I... devour him?'' Eren chuckled to himself before discarding that thought. At least for now. Ivor was most affected by his predatory gaze. He felt like Eren was looking for reasons to dispose of him. He could only hope that the challenge he had initiated did not serve that purpose. Ivor was spooked even further by it. Still, Ivor''s pride wouldn''t let him take back his words. La felt that Eren wasn''t ying around. He would attack Ivor at his peaka" not even allowing her to intervene if and when things turned ugly. Standing between the two men was no longer enough. She decided to intervene more forcefully. "Wait... Eren... Ivor. Listen to me for fuck''s sake. This is no time to..." Blink. Zoom. Swoosh. sh. Dhoom. Ivor suddenly found himself flying away from his previous position. The lightning manifestations around him dimmed as he felt something on his chest. When he looked down, his torso was inflicted with dagger shes and deep wounds. The blood was just beginning toe out and make itself known through his shed clothes. Chapter 943 “Those Who Inflict Pain Must Have The Courage To Bear It As Well.” Eren had appeared in Ivor''s previous position like an apparition. He had used his space-element spell to send himself to Ivor''s position. If Ivor wanted him to go all out, he would do exactly that and show him the wide chasm that existed between them. He attacked Ivor so fast that he couldn''t even follow Eren''s dagger arts with his eyes. The one-sided attack didn''t even allow Ivor to think about a counter. "Eren no." La looked at Ivor''s condition with a horrified expression. She was not concerned about Ivor''s condition per se. But she was afraid that one of the yers she required to get rid of Oliver''s forces would be too damaged to operate in the uing mission. She raised her hand and was about to cast a spell when Ivor and Eren both shouted at her in unison. "Stay the fuck back!" Eren went even further and affected her spell-casting with his soul sense. The homunculus suddenly felt like she was being submerged in a deep pool of water. Ivor didn''t stay quiet either. A dense amount of lightning vines sprouted from the ground around La. These vines felt like they had a consciousness of their own. And their only target was La. Ivor wasn''t sure about hurting La. But he knew he could halt her if he gave it his all. La felt like she was the only sane person among the three. She felt that the two men were too inted by their egos to see their priorities. She expected such a reaction from Eren. However, she couldn''t believe that the one who was hurt because of Eren''s attack would also try to prevent her from helping him. Ivor gritted his teeth before casting his set of spells. A new batch of lightning vines appeared around his body. These new vines started to mend the deep and serious wounds he had received due to Eren''s attacks and stabilized him in his forced flight. Ivornded 30 meters from his position. He had stopped bleeding but his wounds were still mending. Eren smiled at him and he realized the attack was just a warning. He still had the chance to back out if he wanted to. Ivor tore down the tunic he was wearing and stripped off to take a close look at his wounds. The sh wounds that were on his chest had almost made his ribcage visible. The puncture wounds were threateningly close to his heart. ''He he cut through my defensiveyer like it was cheesecake.'' Ivor pressed his wounds with his fingers and felt the pain coursing through his veins. It took him another second to get rid of the butcher''s foreign mana invasion. This one exchange, if it could be called that, was enough to hint at Eren''s growth. The Osan junior was starting to realize what Eren had meant by his previous statement. He was afraid to take action against Eren after seeing what he could doC butchering him like it was no big deal. It''s like butchering amb to get its meat. Eren didn''t say anything or try to approach him again. He let the Osan juniore to terms with the difference they had between them. When La realized that the exchange between the two men was over as soon as it started, she looked happy. She adjusted her dress and tucked the locks of hair behind her ears before she spoke in a cheerful tone. "Alright, this is enough. Chop chop chop. Do not spoil this stage too much, you two. It''s not your cue to act your part yet. Now, why don''t we three" Ivor cut her off right away before she could continue. "La, I suggest you do not get involved in this duel if you value this mission. Otherwise, I will not do anything you ask of me." La was tongue-tied after hearing that. Ivor then looked at Eren and smiled wickedly before speaking up. "You have also stayed the same and changed a lot at the same time, Eren. The previous Eren I knew would have gotten the job done by now. Hehe." Ivor then looked at Eren seriously before asking him what he wanted to ask for a while. "How How did you progress so much?" Eren felt that Ivor was trying to tell him how he could replicate his sess. But his ego prevented him from asking for any more favors from him. So he asked the question in a roundabout way. Eren remembered the chat he had with Ivor when he was inside Purgatory. He could see that Ivor had learned his lesson well from that incident and made huge changes to how he dealt with his problems. The butcher pursed his lips and thought for a moment before summarizing his thoughts. "Those who inflict pain must have the courage to bear it as well. Those who wish to seed must ept the hardships thate with it. As simple as that. First, one must realize one''s ws. epting them and trying to make them work in your favor is the next step. But they are not enough if you want to keep on progressing as an individual." Eren knew Ivor had great talent as a ranker. His advancement to the liquid stage of the Adept rank attested to that. And he was starting to have the mindset necessary to seed tremendously as a ranker as well. However, the butcher knew talent alone wasn''t enough to be a Sage and advance beyond that stage. "Having great talent, a sharp mind, the right tools, the right connections, an impressive background, and loads of money doesn''t mean anything if you don''t know how to use them to your advantage. But if you know what to do with what you have, the game starts to change bit by bit. Don''t try to mimic my way. Don''t try to findpetition in me. Competing with one''s past self and enhancing the contrast each day is a much better way to go about it. And it''s not like I''m telling you something I am not doing myself. I have found all the motivation I need from my past and the future I want for myself. Working on ourselves is all we need. It''s a slow process. Most would give up on their road to sess. But stick with the suffering your path demands and the reward you seek shall be given to you." === AN: ''Those who inflict pain must have the courage to bear it as well.'' Eren says this to himself in his first duel against Ivor in chapter 201. Chapter 944 Mark Of The Seven Sins: The Armor Of Pride Ivor listened to what Eren had to say with extreme focus. He looked down and started pondering every piece of advice he received from Eren. "Those who inflict pain must have the courage to bear it as well." Ivor mumbled Eren''s statement a few more times before clenching his grip on his daggers. He felt as if Eren''s words were the missing pieces he needed to fully utilize his Ability. The Ability he had gained from Purgatory. Just one move from Eren made Ivor realize something else too. He didn''t want to hold anything back against Eren anymore. He didn''t have the luxury of doing so. Ivor closed his eyes and stabilized his breathing briefly. His eyes shone with newfound vigor when he opened them. "I haven''t said this to anyone in a long while but thanks for responding to my wishes, Eren. I realized that I was asking for too much when I requested you to go all out on me while trying to save my Aces. I''ll face you with all my strength as well." Ivor said before stomping his right foot forward. It appeared to be a harmless action. But an otherworldly mana pulse was generated when he did that. "Mark of the Seven Sins: The Armour of Pride!" Ivor mumbled to himself before being enveloped in golden mana. This cloud of golden mana started molding into magnificent gold armor that fit its wearer perfectly. *** When Ivor appeared in front of the seven-headed snake statue, he was chosen by the sin of pride. This was his farewell gift to Eliza after surviving the first floor of Purgatory. Eliza saw Ivor as a defective pawn. Something she could use if Eren decided not to y by her rules. She could use Ivor in such a way that everything Eren worked for would turn futile if she chose to. Ivor served first and foremost as a deterrent against Eren. Plus, he could aid La in doing her tasksC acting as the third yer in the Lazarus Project. As such, strengthening Ivor also served Eliza''s purpose. That''s why he was also offered to receive a mark from the seven-headed snake statue Eliza realized that Ivor had his own ws. He was brash and too proud. Eren was far more cunning than he was. The guy was a straight shooter for the most part with his inted ego. Still, enhancing his powers allowed Eliza to make him stick to the cause. Ivor was easy to handle as long as he saw that the person handling him had the resources he needed. The man also had a one-track mind that always made him seek personal growth over making connections based on camaraderie. The Osan junior acted the same way in LA as well. He linked himself with Jason because he thought he could be used by the royal bastard in exchange for better growth prospects. Ivor knew his acquaintance with Jason was never based on friendship. But he had expected Jason to not betray him because he had not given him any reason to do so. Unfortunately for Ivor, things didn''t turn out as well as he had hoped. Jason lured him into Purgatory only to be served as a sacrifice. To please Eliza, Jason''s father Arthur had caught Ivor to be the scapegoat for his son. And yet, Ivor couldn''t say that everything that happened to him after entering purgatory was a disaster per se. It eventually paid off for him when he earned himself the Sin series mark. Ivor''s Ability was very straightforward. He would manifest an armor made of pride mana that would protect him from head to toe. It was as strong as the pride he felt deep in his heart. The Ability was bound to him and could be activated by stomping his right foot forward. There were no limitations to the armor''s protection itself. It could even allow him to tank the spells of a higher-ranked entity, provided his emotions of pride were intense enough. If his pride was put in the right ce and channeled the right way, the armor would render all physical and magical attacks null and void. Ivor''s Ability made him near invincible among those who were in the same rank as him. However, there was a catch. Ivor would feel the pain of the attacks that wouldnd on his pride armor even if he didn''t take the damage thates with it. The pain and suffering he would feel would be greater than those he would receive if he just received those attacks on his bare body. Ivor had quite a high tolerance for pain to begin with. The man was practicallyughing like a maniac when he first fought with Eren and kept on receiving grievous wounds from him. Yet, Ivor would hesitate in using the pride armor because it amplified the pain to such an extent that he felt overwhelmed. He was hesitant to pay the price for using a seemingly invincible Ability. If and when he uses his pride armor in the right way, Ivor would be okay physically. But mentally, he would suffer more than usual to the extent that even a tough guy like him would be afraid to feel the pain. One could say that Ivor had to pay the price for cultivating his pride. The more proud he became, the more his ability would be enhanced. And he would be forced to face even greater amounts of pain and suffering because of it. Being proud was a positive attribute for Ivor. But he needed to back that pride with the right convictions. Otherwise, his pride would do him more harm than good. *** Golden armor manifested around Ivor when he activated his Sin Series Ability. It covered his limbs and torso like metallic armor that was also malleable and flexible like leather armor. Ivor gave off the aura of someone proud and dominant. As pride mana spread throughout the vicinity, an otherworldly presence was felt. "Hmm? She allowed him to receive the mark too, huh? This this will be interesting.'' Eren had never fought someone who could use the Sin series Abilities like him. The butcher licked his lips and smiled wolfishly as he finally started developing an interest in this fight. Chapter 945 Pride, Pleasure, And Pain P1 ''Damn. He still looks like some rich kid with that gaudy armor.'' Ivor seemed like he was just being Ivor when Eren looked at him- someone with old family money. It looked like he was wearing expensive armor for himself that Isen must have bought for him. It was extremely shiny to look at. The butcher also recognized the origins of the pride mana Ivor was using to manifest this gaudy armor. This was the same intent-based magic he had been exposed to. The armor did not only protect Ivor from threats. It also enhanced his body stats and response time depending on his feelings. It made him muscr and sharp while increasing his stature a bit. Ivor was as fit as a fiddle even before wearing armor. He looked buffier withoutpromising his agility with pride armor. Various elemental and non-elemental runes and symbols would reflect on the golden armor''s surface from time to time. It also had the added effect of intimidating the wearer''s opponents if they were weak of heart. Part of the pride mana coated his daggers and strengthened them. The ranks of his daggers remained the same. But they received a lethal upgrade with pride mana covering a portion of their des. Eren knew that the Sin Series Abilities would manifest differently even among the bearers of the same Sin mark. He predicted that the Sin Series Ability he would receive corresponding to the Sin of Pride would be different from Ivor''s. Ivor''s Ability was based on his fighting style and his nature. It didn''t grant him crowd control or mind control powers. He was able to simultaneously improve his offense and defense with his Ability. La scrunched her nose when she looked at Ivor. She knew that he had received this Ability from his stay in Purgatory. The guy, however, had never used it on Oliver''s forces, saying he wasn''t prepared to sustain the side effects of using it. However, Ivor decided to don the armor just to fight Eren. This was enough to tell La that Ivor was losing his value as a pawn. She sighed and gave up on stopping the two from dueling. Now that she couldn''t stop the two, La summoned her flying broom named Hexen Bee and sat on it before flying away from the potential battlefield. She stopped at a safe distance in the air and decided to watch the battle and entertain herself. "I know you have received two Sin series Abilities as well, Eren. I don''t know how you got two of them. But let''s keep that aside. Why don''t you show me what you have?" The pride armor changed the tone of Ivor''s voice as he spoke. His voice sounded deep and full of pride. His facial expression changed as wellC turning his frown into a confident countenance. Eren chuckled as he understood the intentions behind Ivor''s suggestion. His prideful attitude told him to beat Eren when he was at his peak. He believed that Eren had to rely on his Sin series abilities to reach his supposed peak. "I have indeed received two Sin series Abilities, Ivor. But I can''t show one of them here because there''s no female ranker present here." Eren said and looked at La in the distance. Thetter felt offended by hisment. "You wretched man, what do you mean by that? What do you think I am?" The butcher didn''t want to argue with La who still looked like she needed her parents to take her ces. Thus, he presented a rification. "I mean there''s no non-homunculus female ranker present here. And the Sin of Lust can''t be used during battles. At least not the ones you aspire to have with me." Ivor was too stunned to speak after Eren''s words. He raised his hands to speak but no words came from his mouth. Eventually, he dropped his shoulders and gave up, hinting at Eren to continue. "As for the sin of Wrath" Eren paused and looked at La once again. She had firsthand experience of how his Ability worked. Thus, she chimed in. "Ivor, we don''t want Eren using his Sin of Wrath here. It''s a domain spell for the most part. We''ll need to sanctify this whole ce with the Potion of Innocence if he uses it." Eren shrugged his shoulders looking at Ivor when La spoke of his Ability. He didn''t mind fighting with Ivor. But not at the cost of driving Oliver''s forces away, which would happen if they got a whiff of his wrath mana. Ivor wanted to say something to Eren after hearing that. However, Eren beat him to it. "Meh. Don''t sweat it. It will note to that. Keep your armor on. I''ming." Eren said before using Blink. This time, Ivor was well equipped to receive him. Purple, red, and green lightning streaks bloomed as the two rankers shed once again. ng! ng! ng! No further talk was necessary. The fake and real butchers fought each other using their dagger arts and sparks flew around them. Eren didn''t show any mercy on Ivor after he saw his vitals were covered in pride armor. Heunched his attacks as if he was fighting real opponents. Every action that Eren performed was precise and designed to deal maximum damage to Ivor. He seamlessly connected his parries and counters to serve as the most effective defense for himself and the most lethal offense for his opponent. And yet, he couldn''tnd a critical hit on Ivor due to his armor that blocked his physical as well as mana-based attacks. Eren used his fire-element attacks next to see if they had any effect on armor. He quickly found out that his mes were ineffective against armor. ''He has be a closebat tank with armor on. I''ll need to try some differentbos.'' Eren thought to himself as he created a distance from Ivor. They weren''t using their spells against each other for now. The fight would only be more serious with time. Chapter 946 Pride, Pleasure, And Pain P2 It''s been half an hour since Eren and Ivor started their duel. Eren had a superior understanding of his dagger arts to support his precise, lethal, and well-calibrated moves. While Ivor had his armor to count on. Ivor''s armor seemed to be more durable as he held on to his position. Even so, Osan Junior was not having a walk in the park. He had a grim face as he fought with Eren. Osan Jr. had pressed his lips against each other to prevent himself from yelling in pain. He knew from the intensity of pain he experienced through his armor. If Eren''s attack hadnded on his bare body without the armor protecting him, he would have been turned into an upright meat rotisserie long ago. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Ivor channeled his pain into attacking Eren when he found the right opportunity to do so. His pride was put on the line as heunched his counterattack on Eren. He charged his daggers with lightning and pride mana. Plus, his enhanced body stats helped him to break the defensive line Eren had set for himself. The butcher''s katars were parried at the right time before the partially golden dagger barged in and attacked his torso. Ivor became very quick with his daggers all of a sudden when he found the right opportunity to attack Eren. Zoom. Swoosh. sh. Eren found out that one of the golden daggers had lodged itself in his right shoulder. The other one had managed to pierce the area right under his left rib cage. There were also various sh wounds inflicted across the front of his torso in quick session. Eren didn''t flinch at the pain as he kept on exchanging moves with Ivor despite thetter''s huge sess. He let his wounds get worse by attacking Ivor without even trying to create a safe distance from him. It was as if the butcher was not worried about his wounds at all. ''Those who inflict pain must have the courage to bear it as well.'' Ivor thought to himself as he watched how Eren fought against him. He started repeating that line in his head again and again as a way to deal with his share of pain. This was exactly like thest time when he fought with Eren in the ranking wars. It was just that the stakes were higher and he had been blessed with pride armor to stand his ground against Eren. Ivor started enjoying his pain as he fought with Eren. As his pride armor kept getting sturdier, the sense of pain was amplified even further. And these senses were not confined to the pain receptors in his body. Due to the Sin Series Ability''s peculiarity, he could feel the pain on a deeper level, as if his soul was suffering along with his body. And this soul-rted pain was many times more painful than any of his bodily pains. Ivor felt like he was immersed in a pool of agony the water of which was made of tangible extracts of human suffering. And yet, that did not deter Ivor from having a smile on his face. That smile only grew wider as he received blow after blow from Eren''s consistent and precise attacks. "Hahaha. This I cannot help but enjoy dueling with you, Eren. I don''t care what happens to you or me or this mission. I just want to live in this moment." La was amazed that Ivor, who always looked like he had lost everything in a gamble, couldugh like that. She was even more amazed by Eren''s performance in the duel. The guy had upped his game in every possible way. ''He is getting more and more dangerous by the day. I need to fill my master in on this. This strange bloodline is stronger than we initially thought. If it could even be called that.'' La thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes at Eren. She also cursed the two men for dueling with each other so seriously. Nobody would be able to tell that they were on the same side against Oliver''s forces if they saw the two fight at this point. Ivor decided to use the spell first as he thought he couldn''t take the amplified pain anymore. A pool of lightning water appeared out of thin air and the lightning vines inside it started to climb over Eren''s body as they fought. Some of the vines started hindering his movement. These vines also had a stunning effect attached to them that prevented Eren from reacting to the vines like he was used to. Since Ivor had been defeated in the dagger arts by Eren, his pride was hurt. As a result, his body stats had been lowered and his armor also lost some of its defensive properties. Still, Ivor knew there was no better way to get one up on Eren. After all, his pride was not above his interests. He readily prepared himself topromise his armor''s defensive properties to create a window of opportunity. Ivor delivered a tornado kick to Eren''s injured shoulder and sent him flying for the first time. He did not allow Eren to cast his spells. As a result, his pride was hurt when he saw Eren flying away from him. His armor crumbled a bit before Erennded a few meters away from him. The butcher looked like he had a bloodbath. The various injuries on his body started oozing loads of blood all of a sudden as he took a long breath and rxed his muscles. La shook her head in disappointment when she saw Eren getting seriously injured. She wanted to criticize him for his brash behavior. But she stopped herself from saying anything when she saw him raise his hand in front of him. Snap! A mass of sparkling water appeared around Eren from thin air before surrounding him whole. When the mana-infused water was dispersed, the butcher was seen standing casually with his exposed torso. All the blood was washed away and all the wounds he had received were healed. "This When did you get this Ability?" Chapter 947 Elemental Fusion Between Lightning And Water "This When did you get this Ability?" La had her mouth open in surprise when she saw an unharmed Eren standing on the battlefield. He was riddled with puncture and sh wounds a moment ago and now he looked like he was flexing his bare body. Ivor was also shocked by Eren''s Ability that healed him in the blink of an eye. He wondered how many Trump cards the butcher had and if he could everpete with him on the same level. Eren looked at the hand with which he had snapped his fingers. He smiled to himself before thinking about a certain someone. ''I owe you one, Aunt Nina.'' Eren had to say the Ability he had acquired from aunt Nina was simply awesome. It did not only heal him but also made him feel rejuvenated. One could say that it was aplete package. The only downside of using the Ability was its moderately high mana consumption. This is in addition to the fact that it would get less effective if he kept on using it in quick session. The butcher wanted to try out this Ability with Oliver''s guards. After all, he had only used this Ability to cure himself of post-coitus fatigue when he was with Nina. That wasn''t really what could be called a litmus test for Instant Reset. But since the opportunity presented itself in the form of Ivor, he went ahead and performed the field test. And he was very happy with the results. "Are you" Ivor was about to say something to Eren but thetter gestured for him to take a break. He stretched his arms and legs and did a few jumps in his position to feel the change in his body. He then started stretching while thinking about a way to break past Ivor''s golden armor. Eren looked at the cracks in Ivor''s golden armor, which developed right after thetter kicked him and sent him away. They were in the process of repairing themselves, giving Eren a general idea of how his Sin Series Ability worked. ''If I understand intent-based magic well, then making Ivor less proud of himself should make my job easier. I don''t know how much control he has over his emotions or if the armor has any special powers. But whatever happened just now pretty much solidifies my conjecture. But do I want to take the easy way? This guy is just like Renita in this aspect. He''ll keeping for me until he manages to beat me. That is if I don''t beat him when he is at his peak, something he wanted to do to me.'' Eren made cracking sounds while rotating his neck clockwise and counterclockwise as he thought. Instead of hurting Osan Junior''s pride, he focused on defeating his Ability entirely. That way, Ivor would have no reason to challenge him again anytime soon. ''Hmm. First of all, I''ll also need elevated body stats.'' Eren also had a way to temporarily increase his body stats. Hemunicated with Argo in his demon beast space and activated the transcendent spell he would rarely use. Demon Beast Transformation. Eren''s body also started changing when he activated his beastly transformation spell. His eyes turned beastly and his fingers turned into Argo''s vice-like ws. His limbs became buff as they sported more prominent muscle definitions. The butcher also hadrge eagle wings sprouting from his back that gave him flying capabilities. The beast-like wings were a bit more difficult to control than the spell-generated Wind-Fire Wings. But the beast wings were more durable and practical to use for an extended period in battle. ''Next, I need to change my weapon. Daggers are not very useful when fighting an armored rich boy.'' In Eren''s hands, the Diceros Left and Right vanished. Harjahar''s Hammer was summoned in their stead, indicating the butcher''s intentions to cause blunt-force trauma to his opponent. Eren smiled wickedly at Ivor beforementing. "Let''s see how proud you feel when I''m done with you. Heads up." Eren disappeared from his position and appeared right above Ivor before striking his hammer right over Ivor''s head. The hammerhead suddenly grewrger, and now boasted a surface diameter of 6 meters. The force it generated was enough to make meat patties out of a lower-ranked entity with a single swing. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Ivor had just raised his arms subconsciously when he felt like a mountain had copsed on him. The ground beneath his feet cracked and depressed. And he was almost brought to his knees with a single attack. The Osan Junior gritted his teeth when he felt like his backbone was crying for some kind of divine intervention. The armor had reduced the physical damage output of Eren''s attack by almost half. And still, Ivor felt like this would have been enough to make him give up if it wasn''t for his determination. "Aaaaaaaa!" Ivor pushed against Eren''s erged hammer with all he had and made the depression on the ground worse in the process. However, he was able to alleviate the force he felt in his body for a brief time. And this brief time was enough for him to use his movement spell. Ivor appeared a few meters away from his previous position only to be met with the next hammer swing Eren hadunched on him using the Blink spell. The fake OWB was forced to use the next Trump card he had. Beast Contract Spell! Lightning Wave! Ivor had changed his contracted beast after getting out of Purgatory. He specifically hunted it down after learning about the beast''s peculiarities. The surrounding area was flooded with lightning water. A partially visible, green lightning-d eel appeared out of thin air that protected Ivor from Eren''s blow. The summoner of the contract beast was now protected inside the beast''s belly. Eren felt the effects of the enhanced shock he was subjected to by Ivor''s contract beast. He couldn''t control his mana properly and his muscles felt like they were not willing to listen to his orders anymore if he didn''t do something about the shock. Ivor used Eren''s condition to get away from him once again. The butcher also flew to a higher altitude to save himself from the green lightning vines. They were now abundant inside the 5 feet deep mass of water spread across the battlefield. === AN: Eren uses the beast transformation spell in chapter 584. Ivor is seen using the Lightning Wave and the Beast Contract spell in chapter 639. Chapter 948 Lightning Seed And Lightning Tree "A fusion spell derived from lightning and water This This is something alright." Erenmented as he made an "I''m impressed" face looking at Ivor''s self-created spell. He knew that Ivor had created this spell on his own inside Purgatory because the guy just told him proudly about his achievements a moment ago. "Hahaha. Impressive, isn''t it?" Ivorughed as he traveled through the contracted beast''s belly as if it was a freeway. The contracted beast was almost 20 meters long, allowing Ivor to cover the entire battlefield while being protected inside its belly. La spoke first before Eren had a chance to reply. "Don''t tempt him into devouring you. Just get this fight over with already." Eren smiled mirthlessly when La read his state of mind like an open book. Ivor was making it difficult for Eren not to think of killing him and devouring his spells for himself. Eren had to say that the fusion between lightning and water looked harmonious and powerful. Ivor''s elemental attainment had allowed him to alter the aspect of his lightning first. Afterward, he could pursue water element attainment individually until he could perform elemental fusion. This was one of the biggest advantages of creating one''s spells. The growth potential of such spells was unimaginable by normal standards. Plus, it allowed the caster to explore more avenues in terms of the spell''s effects and uses. Ivor wasn''t aware of what La was talking about. But he decided to follow her suggestion all the same. Lightning vines sprouted from the green water and tried to catch Eren off guard. Thetter flew even higher and in the opposite direction while locking his gaze on Ivor. He felt that the guy was waiting for him toe close to him. Ivor had basically stopped being an expert in closebat at this point. The spells he had unlocked for himself allowed him to take different roles, allowing him to get rid of his mid and long-range weaknesses. For a short period of time, Eren could dive into elemental water without experiencing any damage over time. His body enhanced by the beastly transformation could handle such exposure. But the real problem was the guy''s contract beast which was also staring at him. This green eel was also in the D-Rank, thanks to the peculiarity of the beast contract spell. It seemed to have lightning scales on its body which made it difficult for Eren to prate them. Eren guessed it would also have its inmate spells. After water, and the contract beast, Eren had to deal with Ivor''s golden armor too. Only after passing through such hurdles could he hope to hurt Osan Junior in the end. Eren would have relied on Blink if it wasn''t for the lightning water. With Ivor summoning such a dense form of mana in the surroundings, Eren could not use Blink effectively since its uracy had beenpromised. After all, he was not an assassin. ''This this is more difficult than I thought.'' Eren had stress lines on his forehead as he kept on dodging the lightning vines that woulde for him from time to time. He was extending the battle by trying to think of a breakthrough. Eren thought of using his summoning spells at first. His earth element summons would allow him to trample Ivor. The woond creatures also had an inborn resistance to lightning, which they could use against Ivor. But Eren thought of something different and changed his mind. He decided to try a different way of attacking. Something that would let him target Ivor precisely from a distance and chip into his defenses. Eren took out a runic crossbow after cing Harjahar''s hammer back in his storage. He flew even higher while closing his eyes to concentrate. Eren got out of the forest zone, getting a bird''s eye view of the battlefield. He was safe here with Ivor glued to the ground. But he could also not attack using any of his spells. Or so Ivor thought. Streaks of red lightning clouds were summoned around Eren as he activated the runes on the crossbow. He had hunted for wrath mes while he was inside the Oni dungeon. Sharog, Lasha, and Luna had helped him hunt various monsters ranging from Monster Leaders to Monster Lords. He had experience using crossbows from that expedition. After getting out of the Oni dungeon, Eren obtained ranger-like spells he could use to cultivate his newly digested experiences. He would fine-tune their castings during his practice sessions. The only problem with using these experiences was the fact that he had to face the synchronicity issue if Eren was not in his monster form. He had practiced a lot to resolve the issue and had seen tremendous progress over the months. Still, this would be his first time using a crossbow in a real fight. La was metaphorically smacked in the face once again when she saw Eren holding a crossbow. She flew higher and matched his altitude on her Hexen Bee, wanting to see what he could do while handling apletely different weapon. Eren''s eagle eyes granted him enhanced vision even from a long distance. He narrowed those eyes to Ivor before aiming. Ivor was helpless when he saw Eren out of his spell''s range. He could only tackle whatever Eren was throwing his way. Thankfully, he could see iting for him in advance. The first batch of projectiles Eren was about to shoot at Ivor were miniature Blitz Bolts. He had used them with the crossbow instead of using them for his free throws. The crossbow was one of Alephee''s creations using the Andrium Eren had extracted from Minerva''s Utopia. This artifact allowed him to increase the spell''s mana density, which in turn made the spell more lethal. It also made casting spells easier while allowing Eren to hit the target more precisely. Plus, the Blitz Boltunch was streamlined in such a way that it increased their speed by a huge margin. If Eren''s opponents couldn''t see the Blitz Bolts thrown by him before, it was made more difficult now. The bolts were made from red lightning which gave them an added edge. However, the Blitz Bolts were not the only projectiles Eren had shot at Ivor. Two seemingly new spells were set to make their on-field debut soon. Lightning Seed! Lightning Tree! Charge. Swoosh. Boom. === AN: Eren hunts for wrath mes in chapter 683. Lightning Seed and Lightning Tree were first mentioned in chapter 714. Chapter 949 Shattering Pride The green lightning water was disced by an explosion. The condensed green lightning was dispersed by streaks of red lightning that knew only one thingC destroying everything in their vicinity. Blitz Bolts were fired in quick session, turning this attack into chain destruction. The Blitz Bolts finally managed to reach the contract beast who was trying to weasel his way out of the projectiles'' path. Ivor had shrunk the contract beast''s size to not make him an easy target for Eren''s attacks. But there was only so much he could do when he was inside the beast''s belly. Zimm! The beast couldn''t make any noise but one could tell that it was suffering by the amount of water it dispersed after being hit with the barrage of red lightning bolts. The projectiles were aimed at its fins. No matter how much the beast or Ivor tried to hide that part from Eren, thetter''s projectiles would always find their way to hitting the beast''s fins, tail, or eyes. Eren kept firing Blitz Bolts after Blitz Bolts into the green lightning pond Ivor had created for himself. The attack stopped after about two minutes. Eren got a bit exhausted after maintaining such a mana-consuming attack for so long. ''This should be enough.'' Eren thought to himself before raising his hand. He decided to execute his chain spell next. Lightning Seed and Lightning Tree were chain spells thatplement each other. As their name suggests, it would allow their caster to summon a seed made of pure lightning mana. This seed would then germinate upon the caster''s orders and turn into a sapling before assuming the form of a lightning tree in quick session. The lightning tree would diffuse a dense amount of lightning in the surroundings through its active vines, leaves, roots, and the streaks of lightning surrounding it. The most impressive thing about this spell was that it was low in mana consumption. The Lightning Seed germinates using the caster''s mana as a base. As a result, the Lightning Tree would consume mana from the surroundings while allowing the caster to have control over them. Lightning Seed and Lightning Treebine two or more schools of spells to make their effects feasible. It grants them crowd control powers depending on how their caster uses them in their battles. The multi-school origins of the spells also made them moreplex. As a result, these spells were a bit difficult to cast. Another drawback of using the spells was the fact that the Lightning Seeds needed to be nted in advance or had to be shot at the enemy manually. This was why Eren had shot Blitz Bolts into the green lightning pond at first. The red lightning rods became carriers for lightning seeds which were then scheduled to turn into lightning trees. Ivor felt a dangerous sensation all around him inside his pond when the lightning seeds started germinating. When the shells of these red seeds cracked, red saplings emerged and grew at an astonishing rate. The contract beast started to suffer when lightning trees grew all around it all of a sudden and started to asphyxiate it using their vines. Green vines covered its body in lightning water in an attempt to defend it. But the sheer amount of red lightning vines made it nearly impossible for Ivor to keep his contract beast safe from them anymore. The green eel was damaged by the destructive cluster of red lightning elements. It tried to heal itself and attack the red lightning trees using its innate spells as well. But it was to no avail. The germinated crimson trees had created a mini forest in the green pond, dispersing a huge amount of condensed green mana with each passing second. Eren smiled as he saw the effects of using the crossbow and his ranger-specific spells. He felt that he couldn''t use the spells to their full potential yet. Hepensated for that by increasing the quantity. Still, he was satisfied with the way things had turned out. Using a crossbow and long-range spells did not suit his style. But he would not say no to using them if the situation demanded it. The butcher was flexible with his approach if he could get the desired results. ''Time to end this charade.'' Eren thought to himself as he narrowed his eyes at the grim-looking Ivor. With a mere thought, he detonated the lightning trees and used their leaves as lightning shards. The destructive nature of red lightning mana allowed him to amplify the damage caused by lightning shards. This led to a series of explosions on the battlefield with Ivor and his contract beast in the middle of them. When the dust settled on the battlefield, green lightning water and green lightning vines were nowhere to be found. On the battlefield, red lightning tongues continued to manifest periodically. Ivor was standing in the middle of the battlefield with his golden armor still on. However, it had been severely damaged, even more than before. The contract beast had been pulled into his tattoo because it had been injured by Eren''s chain attack. Only the beast''s husk remained, and it looked like a snake had shed its skin. Blink. Eren appeared in front of Ivor and threw a cross punch at his exposed left shoulder which wasn''t covered by golden armor. The butcher had coated his fists with wrath mana to increase damage output. Even if he couldn''t use his Ability to its fullest, Eren decided to give Ivor a hint of wrath mana. Ivor tried to defend himself from Eren''s attacks. But Eren''s speed and elevated body stats made it difficult for Osan Jr. to handle him. Especially when his pride armor wasn''t working to its fullest anymore. Ivor was surprised to see that his pride mana was not very effective against Eren''s wrath mana. There was something about the butcher that made him extremelypatible with wielding the Sin series'' intent-based magic. Had he used Wrath Mana from the beginning, the duel would have been over a lot quicker. "I I admit defeat." Ivor finally gave up after suffering enough from Eren''s bare hands. His pride armor was shatteredpletely and dispersed into thin air when he announced his defeat. Chapter 950 Waiting In Ambush ''I hope you won''t kill and devour him anytime soon. At least until the Lazarus Project ends.'' La said to Eren in private through voicemunication in a worried tone. One of the reasons she was ufortable letting Ivor parade his powers in front of Eren was because she assumed Eren would aim for the kill straight away. She had spent enough time with him to predict his behavior. Or so she thought. The three-person team was waiting in ambush for Oliver''s forces. Eren had healed Ivor using Instant Reset. The Ability allowed him to heal his allies as well with the efficiency of a healer. At this point, Ivor and La had both stopped being surprised by the butcher''s ss-defying talents. The trio cleaned the battlefield hastily using one of La''s potions. They couldn''t fix the damage done to the surroundings because of the duel between Eren and Ivor. But the butcher did the next best thing by covering the battlefield with his wood-element spell Woond Wondend. Eren had turned invisible after drinking the potion given by La. Even his presence couldn''t be felt using normal means. The potion was so effective that he wouldn''t have been able to feel La and Ivor''s positions either if it wasn''t for the voicemunication channels active among them. This was the same potion that La created in her cauldron a few hours ago. It had almost no shell life but it did a fantastic job turning normal rankers into assassin-like entities. He chuckled when La''s suggestion sounded a little bit like a threat. He looked around to see if there was a sign of Oliver''s forces approaching Ground Zero. Upon assessing that he still had some time, he casually stated his position. ''It''s true that I have an interest in acquiring Ivor''s aplishments for myself. However, I think the same way about every ranker I meet who has some talent. My desire to devour a ranker and the actual deed are two separate things. Believe it or not, I don''t generally act on my impulses. I wouldn''t be working on the Lazarus Project if I was like that. As for Ivor''s attainments I think his attainments have too much of his individuality seeped into them. Even if I got them, I wouldn''t be able to develop them to their intended peak because I am not Ivor. I guess that''s true for every target I have devoured so far. But Ivor''s case stands out the most among them.'' Eren sighed before continuing. ''It''s better to have a goose that keeps onying golden eggs than to kill it and taste its meat once. I still have other uses for Ivor. So I don''t think you''ll have to worry about me devouring him. That is until he gives me any reason to.'' La felt a tinge of cold in Eren''s voice as she listened to him. She knew what he was talking about. She wanted to say something else to change the topic, but the butcher did it for her. It''s not like I can''t achieve my goals on my own. Talent or no talent, I know I have what it takes to take my lightning attainments to even greater heights than him.'' Eren said confidently. He felt this confidence because it was the element of lightning he was talking about. From his two lives, the butcher was most familiar with this element. Even now, he was on the right track regarding honing his lightning element as much as his current rank allowed him. Lightning seemed tog behind the tremendous progress he had made in his other elements. He would be lying if he said that he wasn''t envious of Ivor''s lightning attainments or didn''t think of looting them. But he also knew that he would get something much better eventually. Something he could truly call his own and not stolen goods. ''Somehow I don''t doubt that.'' La murmured after hearing Eren''s words. She knew Eren was the most hardworking ranker she had a chance to meet in this era. Eren was just about to say something to La when he received another voicemunication. This time from Ivor. ''Eren, what are you nning to do about the Lazarus Project? Are you nning to let that old hag out?'' Ivor didn''t fail to notice the extraordinary nature of Eren''s wrath mana at the end. He felt like his pride mana was ineffective against someone with a Sin series Ability because it was Eren who was his opponent. Ivor also felt that Eren had hidden more than he wanted to show him. From his academy days, he had observed Eren. Whenever he was sure of victory, he often used his opponents as live dummies. Ivor felt like he had yed that part for Eren when he recalled the duel. Ivor had also kept his pride aside in asking for help from Eren after he saw the difference between them in the duel. It was like he managed to separate the feelings of pride and shame apart because the chasm of power between them was so wide apart. He had stoppedpeting with Eren in his head after Eren defeated him so thoroughly. Instead, he was looking for something deep within himself. Something he could work on to achieve even more than he already did. Ivor was also having doubts about serving Eliza after seeing Eren''s progress. The Sage and the butcher were not necessarily against each other. But they also didn''t seem to be on the same page. Ivor knew about the Lazarus Project and Eren''s involvement in it. As far as he could tell, Eren had not epted the project''s responsibilities willingly. Ivor and La were both unsure if Eren would show up here to kill Arthur''s guards until thest minute. Killing Oliver and his people was akin to issuing a challenge to a duke and Edinburgh''s entire royalty by proxy. And unlike them, he had a lot to lose if the mission failed. The more he learned about Eren, the more Ivor thought that maybe he shouldn''t ce his bets on Eliza in the Lazarus Project. Thus, he tried to interact with Eren more to get a glimpse of what he was thinking about. Chapter 951 Olivers Forces P1 ''What will I do with the Lazarus Project?'' Eren repeated Ivor''s question as if he was asking himself. ''Hmmm that''s a very thoughtful question, Ivor. My short answer would be that I''ll do what is necessary for my well-being. This project was mostly created by La and Sage Eliza. So I have very little say in this project. But I can assure you that Sage Eliza''s ns won''t derail me from what I want to do in thend of Anfang. I know it is a simple way of putting things. But I say that with absolute honesty. As for the long answer, you''ll have to gain my trust. Now I''ll ask YOU what can you do to make me trust you?'' Eren asked Ivor while narrowing his eyes in a particr direction. He could feel with his soul sense that there were a bunch of rankers heading in that direction. After pondering for a bit, he said to Ivor. ''No need to answer me right away. You can take your time. Come see me when you make up your mind. You must be aware of that by now but I''ll just say it as it is. There''s no safety in following me because I can''t guarantee that on my own. So think wisely before you decide.'' Eren said before changing the tone of his voice to that of caution. He addressed both Ivor and La to give them a heads-up. ''Buckle up. Target has arrived.'' *** A ranger was traversing a dense forest at the crack of dawn. Two rankers followed thisdy ranger from either side. The team of these three rankers served as the vanguard for the remaining 27 rankers. A man in ck followed the vanguard closely. In addition to wearing ck attire, even his face was covered with ck cloth, save his eyes. He was of average build. But he had striking blue eyes. One could tell that this man was the leader of the 30-member party. This ck-clothed man was often called by titles like Arthur''s Hound by those who knew him well. And the reason for that was obvious. He was a loyal follower of the Duke of Edinburgh. The man would follow the orders given to him by Arthur to a T, ensuring the smooth running of Arthur''s projects. The task he was given this time was to capture La. It looked like a simple grab-and-present job at first. But the ck-clothed man soon found out that he had underestimated his target all along. It had been many months since he had started this task. But apart from many casualties from his side, the hound had nothing to show for his master. And Arthur''s patience was running thin. La had managed to slip Arthur''s hound many times by now. She would always sense him and his forcesing for her through some unknown means. She would just vanish from the ce before he could arrive to get her, driving the ck-clothed man to a point of utter frustration no matter how calm he wanted to be. The ck-clothed man then approached Cybil and Garvin on his own. The couple was experts in arrays, and their current field of expertise included seer arrays. Instead of asking how to track La again, the ck-clothed man instead asked them to find out how she managed to escape him even before he could arrive at the ce. One could say that in terms of chasing their target, the hound was smarter than his master. He quickly came to know that La was using a unique set of potions to know about his whereabouts from miles away. Despite La''s countermeasures with potions, the hound managed to intercept her a few more times. However, she was able to use Hexen Bee to get away from them. The hound didn''t give up. He started integrating anti-flight measures. But by the time he did that, the ck-clothed man found out that even that wasn''t enough. That''s because La now had another person joining her. This person was as fierce as fierce could get. He managed to kill many rankers from his side with La''s help before escaping the hound''s pursuit. Each time he got nearer to La and this newly acquired member of hers, killings would ur and the rankers on his side would be culled. This put the hound on edge. He also started doubting many things about the new member of Team La ever since he saw him using his weapons. He felt like he had seen the man''s work somewhere but couldn''t remember where. The hound was therefore more prepared this time. His goal was to determine whether the new member conflicted with his actual appearance. Various countermeasures were also taken against La to ensure that the mission Arthur had given him would bepleted. This ck-clothed Arthur''s Hound was none other than Oliver. He had served as Jason''s bodyguard for some time when the former was in LA. On the expedition to Purgatory, he was tasked with dealing with the Illuminati. Oliver was then sent to the kingdom of Layos to kill Isen. Unfortunately, he could only track him and keep an eye on him for a few days before he was called back by Arthur. Oliver had done many difficult missions given to him by Arthur at this point. He hade close to dying many times on a variety of covert and overt missions. But he would admit that pursuing La was the most difficult mission he had undertaken in his career. Oliver knew how to remain patient under all circumstances. But he couldn''t help saying something to the ranger who was sprinting ahead of him after getting deep into the Dark Daniera forest. "How long further, Joanna?" Oliver asked after he sensed something odd about the ce. He and his unit of 30 rankers were following Joanna, their ranger. ''I want to see how you manage to run this time, bitch.'' Oliver narrowed his eyes ahead of him. Up until now, he had cared about La''s well-being because Arthur had told him to capture her alive. But he was about to set that order aside this time to ensure the sess of the mission. Chapter 952 Olivers Forces P2 Joanna stopped in her tracks when she heard Oliver''s question. Her bodyguards stopped beside her and increased their alertness to the surroundings. Ivor had targeted Oliver''s ranger thest time they were chasing the duo. So this time, Oliver had assigned the team''s ranger two dedicated bodyguards. A few stress lines were visible on her forehead as she looked around with her beautiful eyes. She started casting a few tracking spells to get the feel of thend. Joanna was a very attractive female ranker who looked to be in her early 20s. She had white hair that fell to her waist and clear skin. Her tall stature and gorgeous figure made her even more attractive. Apart from her long-range spells, she also had a bunch of tracking spells in her collection, allowing her to tap into her full potential as a ranger. Joanna wasn''t sure how to answer Oliver''s question after getting feedback from her ranger-specific spell. It was clear from that feedback that something had happened over there not too long ago. It was either a duel between two ferocious rankers or two ferocious mana beasts. But for some reason, there were no trackable residual mana signatures she could use to continue her investigation further. She could only draw one conclusion at this point. ''Someone has used that cursed Format History. We better not use Gian to get the answers." As Joanna looked at Gian, the party''s historian, she concluded. Format History was what the rankers used to refer to Potion of Innocence. By now, everybody knew the repercussions of casting historian-rted spells wherever this potion had been used. Joanna prevented Oliver from letting Gian take over the investigation. Oliver looked around himself with a grim look on his face before nodding at Joanna. He trusted his ranger''s judgment. But the question remained. How are they supposed to follow La and the unknown man who was with her? A man in his early 60s appeared beside Oliver when it looked like the party had gotten into a stalemate. He looked at Oliver before speaking in a doubtful tone. "Sir Oliver, how about we split the team into four and follow the trails of that homunculus separately using the four cardinal directions? Grid searches can be performed using this part of the Dark Daniera search as the base." Oliver looked at the impatient man as if he had said something unbelievable beforementing. "Split the teams into four? You thought you were some kind of genius bying up with this solution, didn''t you, Castro?" Castro was tongue-tied when a mild speaker like Oliver criticized him. He wouldn''t admit it to Oliver but he thought that he was the only one who coulde up with such an obvious solution to their current predicament. Oliver controlled his frustration and took a long breath. His tone softened before he spoke to Castro further. "Do you know what happened to the rankers who were part of my unit before you came along? La just used array traps and potion bombs when we started the grid search. She killed more than half the number of my previous two parties with that. Her partner also yed a huge role in that. That homunculus has too many tricks up her sleeves. They killed and managed to run away from us despite the number of disadvantages they had to face. And you want to make their job easier by splitting this party as well?" Casto just shook his head in denial when Oliver asked him the questions patiently. Only now did he understand why a guy like Oliver was struggling to apprehend a homunculus and her partner in crime. "But sir Oliver, we can''t stay here for longer as well. With how crafty that homunculus is, this ce might turn into a trap if we wait long enough here." A blonde woman in her mid-30s named Tamara spoke next. She was the party''s archer and a very capable ranker in the liquid stage of the Adept rank. Tamara was at Oliver''s party chasing La from the very beginning. She knew what thetter was talking about regarding La. So she brought up another possibility. "Hmm. You are right, Tamara." Oliver agreed with Tamara''s suggestion right away. He decided to use his Trump card at this point. He turned around and said something to seemingly nobody. "Master Biru, I know that you are not supposed to get involved in the hunt directly. But could you help us get a lead on the investigation?" Nobody replied for a while. But then the space-time fabric rippled and an old man who looked to be in his 120s appeared at the scene out of nowhere. He looked old and frail and was only wearing a simple white long coat. And he supported his stance using a wooden support stick. One could say that the white-clothed man had one foot in his grave. He looked like he would not survive a fight if and when he got involved in one. However, his ranking status as a Master ranker was undeniable. Biru was involved in Oliver''sst two investigations under Arthur''s orders. The Duke was running out of patience so he asked Biru to aid Oliver should there be a need. This was the reason Biru hadn''t directly involved himself in Oliver''s previous instances of confrontation with La. But that was about to change. Not because Oliver had asked for his participation. But because Arthur had ordered him to do so. Biru was an array expert. This time, he hade prepared to handle La who had tricked him a couple of times. He took out his array disk from his storage and was about to say something to the entire party. However, he sensed a strong ripple of mana all around him that shut him up. All of a sudden, arge, prism-shaped, semi-transparent barrier appeared in the surroundings that took everyone in Oliver''s team inside it. It was as if someone was waiting for Biru to show up at the scene before activating the trap. Chapter 953 [Bonus ] An All-You-Can-Kill Buffet "Hehehehe. This old fart finally decided to get out of hisfort zone. I''ll not spare him this time." Supposedlying from all directions, La''s voice could be heard in the surrounding area. She sounded joyful as if she had caught a pretty-looking butterfly in a jar. "Boys you can now join this all-you-can-kill buffet. The one who kills the most will get a kiss on his preferred cheek from me. Exciting, isn''t it?" *** Warning bells sounded in every ranker''s head who was part of Oliver''s force. This was the first time La hadunched such arge-scale istion array. They were all sure that knowing the homunculus'' weird tricks, it wouldn''t be easy to escape. La had nted this array only for one reason - Biru. It served less as an istion array and more as a prison to trap the B-Rank entity that was the old man. When sprung, the array will use all the B-Rankers as batteries to power the barrier walls. The array was supposed to be a defensive array that the Master rankers would use on their own initiative. But La made some changes to the array design while introducing some potions as the array eyes to get the desired effect. As a result of this array, Biru felt like his already frail body was now subjected to fatigue of unknown origins. He could move inside the array just fine. But he couldn''t use any form of magic anymore. The array disk of unknown effect that Biru had taken out of his storage became useless after La sprung the istion barrier. If Oliver''s forces decide to attack the barrier, they''ll only make Biru''s condition worse. La had also told Eren and Ivor to leave Biru all alone and not attack him. La wanted Biru to stay alive for as long as he could before Oliver''s forces figured out the trick. The istion barrier would have affected a select few entities like Oliver too if Eren and Ivor hadn''t spoiled the base of the array due to their duel. Now they needed to kill more to justify their actions. Thankfully, La had a stun effect on the istion barrier using her supplementary potions. This stun effect would not work on Biru but he was not the target of the effect in the first ce. *** ''Ugh. Who would want to be kissed by this little brat? Ivor you can go ahead and im that "reward" all for yourself.'' The joint voicemunication left Ivor speechless and La grumpy as Eren spoke. He decided to focus on the quality instead of the quantity of his kill. But first, he needed to follow one of the core ts of his attack. This had been ingrained into his mind in the past timeline by the Pdin of Pain. ''Always attack the healer first.'' Eren repeated the line in his head before spearheading the kill campaign. Demon Beast Transformation Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Wrath Stunning Speed Total Control Blink Eren appeared behind the group''s healer and grabbed her by the throat. He had decided to amplify the stun effect''s advantage further using his time element spells. Twist and pull. He twisted her neck 360 degrees before lifting her head like some kind of chalice for toast. The carotid artery and muscle groups hanging from the neck were gripped. He used them like asso to throw the head in one direction after a single spin. Interestingly, the pulled head was heading toward a ranker while Eren was heading the opposite way. Of course, the head wasced with a potion. But it was a silent poison concoction this time instead of a simple bomb. Something most rankers would not run away from just after a single nce. Lightning struck in a near-stagnant world and a confused-looking ranker found himself staring into Eren''s eyes up close. The butcher''s hands had turned beastly. They ripped out the newly promoted Adept ranker''s arms from their shoulder joints in a single pull. Eren then used the ranker''s body being put into shock to his advantage. He inserted his right hand into the man''s rectus abdominis with his beastly ws. The ranker''s heart was grabbed before it was destroyed using Blitz Bolt. Since the istion array had been sessfully erected, Eren decided to start with his fiercest powers. He stacked Demon Beast Transformation with Sin of Wrath to elevate his body stats by a huge margin. As a result, he became faster, stronger, and more brutal than was previously expected of him. He could pull off stunts like these at this point because he had trained his mana circuits to a degree of expertise. Otherwise, stacking body stat increments would have remained a fantasy. Her torso was missing a head. Her body, on the other hand, was turned into a wraith creature. Her stature increased and a horrified-looking head appeared in her original head''s ce. Her muscles ruptured and increased in size and quantity before ripping her skin apart. The new skin was recing the old skin which made her look red and hideous. The evolution of Eren''s Ability increased hand in hand with the increase in his ranking status. The domain of wrath now allowed him to summon fiercer and more powerful wrath creatures than before. They were also under greater control than before, allowing Eren to concentrate on his fights instead of worrying about regting the wrath mana inside them. Ivor had also started attacking Eren while La was regting the prism barrier in hiding. She didn''t like dirtying her own hands when dressing if she could avoid it. She judged that Eren''s presence in the battle was more than enough to fill her absence. Everything happened so fast that only Biru was able to keep track of what was happening. He sensed a powerful barrier ovepping the prism barrier, turning this ce into a prison for all of the rankers involved. Biru looked around and found that Oliver and his forces were too stunned to speak or do anything. And when he looked in the healer''s direction and saw the state she was in, his face became devoid of blood. Biru immediately understood that La had invited a different ranker to take care of Oliver''s force for him. An ambassador of violence they had never encountered before. === AN: Merry Christmas to all VEH readers. Wishing you many blessings, much happiness, and a stress-free holiday season. Chapter 954 Exposed Identities Eren had killed three rankers in total by the time the stun effect on Oliver''s forces was over. Eren''s wrath creature managed to injure two rankers in the next two seconds before the rankers were able to respond to the attacksunched at them. The two rankers that were injured by the wrath creature were also affected by the wrath mana. It was just that neither they nor their fellow rankers were aware of what was happening to them. This is why they suddenly started hating the situation they were in. Between the butcher and the fake butcher, Oliver immediately understood who was more dangerous. He intercepted Eren after he managed to get out of the stun effect. By doing so, he prevented the butcher from killing any more rankers from his side. Ivor had also killed three rankers so far. Unlike Eren who was very handsy with his approach, Osan Junior preferred to use his spells and his daggers. Plus, by the time Oliver kept Eren busy, Ivor was able to catch up with Eren. Oliver was very shocked that La had another partner in crime joining her team. He had no time to observe the man closely. However, the way Eren killed the members of his team told Oliver that he was a bigger threat than La''s previous partner. Oliver kept all his random thoughts at bay and decided to prioritize his team''s safety. He kept his eyes on Eren while shouting. "FORM A FUCKING CIRCLE!" Oliver ordered his rankers to assume a defensive position. The remaining rankers didn''t need to be told twice. They immediately assumed their intended position, keeping Oliver and Biru in the middle of the circle. Death was part of life in the rankers'' world. So nobody let their fellow rankers'' deaths get to them. Some of them did not let it affect their morale or actions. However, many rankers failed at this basic task after observing the dead bodies of the deceased. Ivor and Eren were almost alike in the way they killed their enemies. Their opponents'' dead bodies would usually be unrecognizable after they were done. One would only see the mark of a veteran killer on the bodies of the two rankers'' victims. Eren felt his wrath domain getting stronger as he felt the growing hate in the hearts of the rankers with each passing moment. He, the wrath creatures under his control, and Ivor were standing at a set distance from each other, forming a circle of their own to surround Oliver''s team. Both sides observed silence for a while. Oliver''s 30-member party had been reduced to 24 just a few seconds into the confrontation. Eren''s side had managed to cause so much violence in such a short time that it felt unreal to most rankers. "Master Biru" "I can''t help you,d. I can''t use my mana for some reason." Oliver tried to seek help from Biru but was silenced soon afterward. He cursed the old man for being so useless in his head before looking at the two wrath creatures. These two wrath creatures were part of his team just a few moments ago. And Eren''s domain Ability had changed them into something entirely different. Someone who would not hesitate to kill the rankers who broke bread with them. Only now did Ivor understand why Eren didn''t want to show his Sin of Wrath to him. The effects of this Ability would have been too prominent for a day or two even if a Potion of Innocence had been used at the scene. Oliver would have never gotten anywhere near this part of the forest if he had sensed the residual wrath mana. Osan Jr. also understood that the Ability Eren had unlocked was stronger than his for the simple reason that it affected multiple people. It turned him into an efficient killer whether he was up against a single ranker or a group. "What What kinds of powers are these? Are you a cultist?" A ranker on Oliver''s side asked Eren the question with her voice coated in disbelief and weariness. She was named Gigi, and she was in thete stages of her Adept rank. She looked to be in her early 40s and had an oliveplexion. She was wearing body-hugging chainmail armor, which highlighted her curves beautifully. Gigi was going to get attacked by Eren when Oliver intercepted him. At first, she thought that she was ready for Eren when she saw him approaching her. But after seeing him fight for a bit longer, she was d that Oliver hade between them. A second or two with Eren would have injured Gigi, if not killed her. Oliver had a simr question in his head when he saw the wrath creatures beside him staring at his group with their rage-filled eyes. The Ability the butcher disyed so far made it abundantly clear to Oliver and his forces that its source was not thend of Anfang. Oliver decided to carefully observe his enemies before taking any action. Ivor had assumed an altered appearance using the artifact given to him by Eliza. Eren on the other hand changed his appearance using his bloodline Ability. Oliver refused to stare at the wrath creatures for more than a second. He was about to open his mouth to speak to Eren and Ivor when he felt he finally remembered where he had seen the two men fight. The man had his mouth open in shock. But he shook his head in denial and mumbled a few words of disagreement to himself. Oliver was present in the audience when Eren''s team fought Jason''s team. He had seen both of them use their spells and felt their presence up close. He couldn''t make a connection when he fought with Ivor in their previous confrontation. But doubts had been nted in his mind since then. That''s why he was carrying the monocle artifact with him. This would let him see the actual appearances of the rankers that had modified their looks with the help of external factors. He intended to use it on Ivor at first. Oliver immediately took out a monocle from his storage and looked at Ivor and Eren. The man''s face was painted in shades of utter shock as his conjecture was confirmed. "Osan Woods'' Butcher and Eren Idril! What What the fuck are you two doing here?" Chapter 955 Battle Formations "Osan Woods'' Butcher and Eren Idril! What What the fuck are you two doing here?" Oliver finally deciphered the identities of his attackers, thanks to his preparations and his prior one-sided interactions with them. And he couldn''t have been more surprised to find out that Osan Woods Butcher was working with La. Of course, Oliver couldn''t find anything wrong with Eren even after using the monocle. because his bodily transformation wasn''t dependent on external factors. However, Ivor''s real appearance was identified by the monocle. Plus, the addition of the butcher''s live demo in front of him at this point and in his academic days allowed Oliver to connect the dots and decipher Eren''s identity as well. Eren and Ivor looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders as if giving up. They both reverted to their original appearances in the next moment, giving Oliver another visible shock. The rankers in Oliver''s forces also started mumbling to each other when they saw Eren and Ivor''s real appearances for the first time. "Hold up where have I seen this guy" "Hmm? Yeah. now that you mention it" "I I remember seeing bounty posters throughout Edinburgh this this is that infamous Osan Woods'' Butcher Ivor Osan!" "No way." "Yes way" Ivor had a green vein pop on his forehead when the rankers started identifying him as the Osan Woods'' Butcher. He pointed at Eren before almost yelling at them. "That guy... that green-eyed bastard is the real Osan Woods'' Butcher. Not me. NOT ME DO YOU GET IT?" Oliver and his team members were stunned by his promation. They all turned towards Eren in unison and then started chatting among them in chatters right away. "I didn''t know the fabled butcher is also a liar" "Isn''t that the White Raven city''s founder or something" "Yes. As the captain said, his name should be Eren Idril. I knew he must have himself involved in a lot of shady deals. But to form a connection with such a radical person and fight with him is a bit" "What the fuck is going on? Weren''t we supposed to chase a homunculus that used to host Purgatory? How did we find ourselves in front of Osan Woods Butcher and Eren Idril fighting for the same homunculus? Can somebody fill me in on details I missed?" Ivor clenched his fists when he heard the rankers'' whispers clearly in his ears. He didn''t know how to prove to them that he was framed by his circumstances to carry the mantle of Osan Woods'' Butcher. In the end, he just dropped his shoulders and gave up. The rankers were so shocked that they forgot to use their voicemunication channels and said things openly. At this point, there was no need to hide the surprise or conundrum they felt in their hearts anyway. Oliver didn''t speak after he voiced his conjectures. He just observed the two rankers silently as he processed the details in his mind. ''This is too big to pretend it never happened. I must tell Sir Arthur immediately. He must havee out of his secluded ranking practice by now. He''ll want to hear about Ivor Osan the mostC the most wanted man on his list.'' Oliver also looked at Eren with malicious intent. He didn''t know about the connection Eren shared with La and Ivor. But he could guess that he would nevere to Arthur''s side. And anyone who was not on Arthur''s side was their enemy. Eren chuckled when he read the things going on in Oliver''s mind. The guy was picturing his city''s ruin after the news was out that he had coborated with the so-called "Osan Woods'' butcher." Eren stepped forward a bit and observed Oliver''s forces getting tensed. He observed every single one of them with a single nce and found them to be most prepared for his attacks. Eren immediately realized that Oliver had practiced a battle formation with his members. A battle formation was a lot like a non-elemental array except it used rankers as its nodes and array eyes. A strong battle formation would allow a group of rankers to challenge and ovee their opponents stronger than them. They increased the group''s attacking and defensive capabilities as a whole, preventing them from being killed by their opponents randomly. The presence of battle formation meant that Eren and Ivor could not casually attack Oliver''s rankers individually. They would have to face severe consequences if they tried to attack any of the rankers carelessly. Ivor had alsoe to realize the presence of battle formation from the slight mana ripples he felting from Oliver''s group. That and the way Eren had stopped attacking made this thing obvious to Oliver. Even though he had dropped out of LA, Ivor was very studious and knew about the academic curriculum. Battle formations were one of the most important subjects in the final year of the academy. After all, academies were created so that they could give trained rankers to kingdom-run organizations. ''What should we do now? I heard you bomb people in cases like these. Now might be a good time to'' Ivor asked Eren while fixing his eyes on the group. He must have been filled in the details by a certain young witch who was nowhere to be found at the scene. So the butcher wasn''t surprised when Ivor knew a few things about how he fought. Eren quickly thought of many possibilities at once after looking at Oliver''s team. He then shook his head visibly before responding. ''Nah. Potion bombs can''t be used everywhere. They need to have an element of surprise to them. Otherwise, a st would backfire on us. Especially against a battle formation. We weren''t in the academy to study this shit. I don''t think you, I or even that brat will be able to crack the formation.'' Eren sighed and finally regretted the fact that he had opted out of a lot of courses in the academy to prioritize his personal growth. Ivor regretted the fact that he never even got toplete his studies in the academy. This thing called higher education had the habit of showing its importance unexpectedly in one''s life on rare asions. Chapter 956 [Bonus ] Soul Sense Induced Illusions And Sedating Gaze The stalemate continued for a few more moments. Oliver''s team was waiting for Eren or Ivor to attack them. It looked like they wanted to be attacked by the duo so they could retaliate right after. Ivor and Eren both guessed that Oliver''s team had adopted an attack response battle formation. Something that would allow them to use their opponents'' strengths against them. The more Ivor and Eren waited, the more precise the battle formation would be. Thus, Ivor spoke in a grim voice. ''We can''t just wait here, Eren. That old man or Oliver will figure out what is going on sooner orter with La''s array. This hound must be eager to see his master so that he could tell him I was here. Your identity has also been revealed. I fear Oliver will engage in a friendly fire to escape the prism barrier just so he can contact Arthur. You don''t want us to wait until that happens, right?'' Ivor had the brains to analyze the situation rationally. Eren agreed with his prediction right away beforementing. ''You are right. We can''t wait for long. But let''s not attack carelessly either. Oliver''s revtion has rattled these rankers a lot, preventing them from feeling anger and other dominant emotions. I need to break their formation a bit.'' Eren scratched his chin as he looked at the two rakers who were injured by his wrath creatures. Their transformation was dyed because they had stopped feeling anger towards him or anyone. Eren needed these two rankers to break Oliver''s formation from within. He looked at Ivor and smiled wickedly before concluding. ''You wanted to see my Ability, right? I''ll provoke them. Let''s see what happens afterward.'' Under his wrath domain, Erenmented on the rankers'' changed psyches. He narrowed his eyes and pondered a bit beforeing clean to his audience. "Ivor is right, you know. He is not what you think he is. Poor guy was just in the wrong ce at the wrong time." Eren summoned Rigor Mortis and Anduril in his right and left hand respectively before finishing what he had to say. "I am the Osan Woods'' Butcher. Arthur and all his minions are just too stupid to see the truth. Imagine all the grown-up rankers getting duped by a then-nobody teen like me. Hahaha. It''s like a kid swindling a bunch of grown-ups with his shoddy lies. Don''t believe me, right? Let me prove it to you." Eren spread his soul sense as he spoke. After that, a bone-chilling bloodlust swept over everyone''s minds. All of Oliver''s soldiers felt as if they had been summoned to a different reality. A different world. This world had blood-red skies and blood-red soil. The barren expanse ofnd with heaps of bones littered on the ground. The white and yellow carcasses of monsters and humans. The skulls of various beings and beasts. A red moon suddenly appeared in the sky before red lightning cackled through red clouds. Except for Biru, all the rankers including Oliver fell prey to this psychedelic-like phenomenon. They heard Eren''s words while finding themselves inside the illusion. As a result, they heard his voice like some kind of prophecy revealed to them by the world itself. Eren had found another way of using his soul sense. He could overwhelm the slumbering souls of his opponents by sending them bits and pieces of his memories through his soul sense. Those memories would be interpreted in different ways by all the rankers depending upon their souls and their abilities to keep tabs on what was going on for real. Biru was a Master ranker. His soul was strong enough to resist the effects of being exposed to Eren''s soul sense. His sense of being was also too strong to get stuck in a soul-sense-induced illusion. Others were not so lucky. All of the rankers were then summoned to a peculiar ce inside that world. They were summoned to a forest that looked like regions found in the Lionheart Duchy. The sky and the soil were still as blood-red as ever. That was because they were part of the illusion. But the other renditions of the illusion felt real to these rankers. They felt like they were reliving a real memory from a third person''s perspective. A memory from Eren''s past when he was still living in Osan. The rankers saw how Eren had gotten in touch with Dom Walker. How he had used him to tame a strange demon beast. Then saw him killing Isaac''s party using that strange form, grotesquely. Various macabre scenes unfolded before the rankers'' eyes. They soon found out that they couldn''t even close their eyes as they had no bodies in the illusion. They could also not run away or willfully take their consciousness out of the illusion. They couldn''t look away from what the butcher was showing them. They lived through various of Eren''s memories like these in fast forward. They felt as if they were present in the vicinity of Eren''s audience when he did what he did bestC killing and more killing. Eren''s eyes turned white as he activated Sedating Gazes to change the perception of time for rankers who were trapped inside the illusion. Now every second in real time would feel like a week or two for them. After experiencing an extreme form of violence in such a way that altered their perception of time, they felt shattered. Their slumbering souls were affected by Eren''s soul sense so much that they started having soul-rted injuries. Eren too felt a heavy burden on his soul after using his soul sense like that. ''Stop the madness this instant, Eren. Your soul is not strong enough to influence so many rankers like this.'' Alephee''s intervention finally made Eren stop what he was doing. He felt a huge headache and soul-rted fatigue. But when he looked at his audience, they seemed to be in much more trouble than him. "Aaaaaaaa!" "The butcher. He is the butcher" "Demon." "Abomination" "Why Why did we ept this mission? Our captain didn''t even know who we were chasing." "How can Captain Oliver be so careless" "It''s all my fault. I I shouldn''t be here. I I hate myself for being here." The feeling of fear opened the gates for a lot of other emotions the rankers were preventing themselves from feeling. The butcher then just needed to crank up the feelings of anger and wrath inside these rankers. And crank he did. Chapter 957 Countermeasures Against Battle Formation "Soul powers! He has soul powers! He really is the butcher of Osan Woods. We were chasing the wrong man all along." Drops of sweat trickled down Oliver''s face as he looked at Eren''s torso with a look of disbelief and fear. He would stop his gaze at the butcher''s neck and refuse to meet eyes with him because his consciousness wasn''t allowing him to do so. Oliver knew more about Arthur''s ns than the rest of the rankersbined. The more Oliver looked at Eren and Ivor the more he realized that it was just what Eren had said. And that they all had really been fooled. By Eren, Ivor, La, and who knows who else. Oliver could guess that Arthur might severely hurt himself from excessive anger and frustration if he came to know the truth as he did. After all, he had lost almost all his resources in first making the artificial demon beast and then hunting down the Osan Woods'' Butcher. He was then told to cough up even more money just to get the benefits he was promised from the beginning. Oliver wasn''t sure at first. But Eren''s revtion made him realize something else. The otherworldly powers he was using were the very powers Arthur was talking about and wanted to have for himself. Having these powers did not only serve as Aces in one''s possessions but also spurred individual growth, allowing rankers to traverse their ranking journeys with rtive ease. Eren''s possession of these powers confirmed one thing for Oliver. Eren yed a key role in matters rting to Purgatory. La had offered Arthur many rare resources aspensation for Arthur''s involvement in the artificial demon beast creation project. But she was holding back on giving him ess to these powers. Arthur could only grit his teeth and use what resources he was given as charity. He was making staggering progress on his ranking journey. But he felt that it wasn''t enough until he got hold of the Sin Series Abilities. Only now did Oliver realize why Arthur thought the way he did. He was desperate to have what Eren had and it was driving him crazy. How could Garvin and Cybil miss by such a huge margin after using the Seer array? What was La doing outside with the very man who was supposed to have the artificial demon beast she had ordered Arthur to bring? What happened to that beast? What was La trying to aplish outside of her home? Was there someone else behind La who was the mastermind behind the whole thing? Oliver had too many questions in his head as he processed the information in real-time while under the effects of the Sedating Gaze. And doing something like that after being exposed to Eren''s soul sense was messing up his head. Oliver hade prepared to take on anyone La throws his way during this mission. But he wasn''t expecting such a revtion. And he wasn''t expecting someone to exert their soul powers on him and his team members. Unlike Goro, Oliver didn''t have any soul-strengthening potions in his storage he could use. Nobody on their team did. Eren was also breathing deeply when he was done using the soul-induced illusions on his spectators. Ivor wasn''t subjected to these illusions but he was shocked by the effect the butcher had had on the rankers. This much intimidation was enough for Eren to get the results he wanted. They started shapeshifting after being injured by the Wrath creatures. By changing into Wrath creatures, they attacked their own mates. "Graaaaaaaaa!" "Skraaaaaaa!" Mayhem ensued afterward. Something that Oliver and Biru couldn''t control with their authority alone. Eren didn''t even allow the current battle formation to do its job as it was broken from within. Ivor summoned his golden armor right off the bat when he saw the opportunity. He approached a group of rankers who were separated from therge group due to the wrath creatures'' attacks. Ivor had learned quite a lot from his battle with Eren a few hours before. His pain tolerance had also increased, giving him more leeway to use his pride armor. Plus, he didn''t want to fall behind Eren who had decided to target the prominent yers in Oliver''s team. Ivor created a pseudo barrier made of green lightning water and isted himself and the 12 rankers he was fighting with. He had nned to lower the barrier only after he had killed the 12 rankers he was assigned to. The remaining rankers decided to target Eren. But thetter had his own army ready to serve him wholeheartedly at a moment''s notice. Woond Summon Goliath Army of the Dead Contract Undead Oliver and his forces were given another jolt of surprise when Eren''s hair turned white and he started summoning various creatures. The woond creatures cried for battle and the undead screeched. The Goliaths stomped their feet and hammered their chests to express their intentions. Eren''s force was more than three times bigger than the remaining rankers on Oliver''s team. The earth summons were more dominant in numbers than the rest. Whatever Eren''s summonscked in quality, they made up for it in quantity. Eren had summoned his contract Undead Meera Medinah to target Oliver. He knew that the guy had a lot of defensive artifacts on him. It wouldn''t be easy to get rid of Oliver. Otherwise, La would have been done with him a long time ago. However, Meera was a former special force member working for the kingdom. She had what it took topete with him. She could at least hold him off until Eren was done with his share of kills. Eren and Ivor had segregated the rankers from Oliver''s team so that they couldn''t assume the earlier battle formation. Without the battle formation, each ranker would be dealt with individually one at a time until none were left. La also helped the duo by introducing various debuffs to rankers while they were under the prism barrier. This allowed Eren and Ivor to get breathing room for themselves while they were dealing with multiple opponents at once. Chapter 958 Surpassing Expectations The battlefield was expanded and divided into many smaller parts. Ivor looked busy handling his share of rankers in the pseudo-lightning domain. Eren''s summons kept the remaining rankers busy until Ivor was done with his ongoing assignments. Meanwhile, Meera forced Oliver to take their fight to a different zone under Eren''s orders. He coordinated with La and lowered the prism barrier just at the right time before springing it back up, making Meera leave the isted zone along with Oliver. The butcher didn''t want the duel between two Expert rankers to disturb his summons and prevent them from doing their job. Plus, he didn''t want Oliver to assemble his team under his orders again. When all this was done, Eren was left to choose the opponent he wanted to target. He nced across the region and narrowed his eyes to a single man who was destroying his summons before they had a chance to fully recuperate. Blitz Bolt Eren appeared right beside a quasi-C-Rank rogue just when his summons was destroyed. The ranker''s name was Rondo. He looked to be the second-strongest ranker on Oliver''s team who could fight after Oliver. ng! A pair of swords shed against a pair of JambiyaC or curved daggers. There was a mana ripple in the surroundings that made everyone on Oliver''s team give Eren and Rondo space. Rondo looked to be in his fifties. He had a muscr build and a stature as tall as Eren. The guy was too heavy to be called a rogue. Rogues were supposed to be lean and nimble on their feet. However, Rondo broke away from that rudimentary concept in his way. Rondo had shoulder-length purple hair and sharp purple eyes. His nose was that of an eagle''s beak, as curved as his daggers. The wind element attainments would create mini wind des around him that were also curved and spinning about themselves. Rondo and Eren shed with each other a few more times before the former managed to create distance between them. He had various injuries on his body before he forced Eren to back down. The butcher was notpletely unscathed by Rondo''s jabs either. Rondo fought exactly like Eren if he was using katars or daggers. That kinda threw the butcher off and allowed Rondo to injure him in their duel. Eren had to admit that Rondo had top-notch skills as well. His elemental attainment and his weaponprehension were leagues above the average ranker. It was as if he had been tutored by exceptional teachers from the very beginning. Eren''s injuries didn''t stay on his body for long. With the enhanced recuperation granted to him by his bloodline and his healing ability, he was able to get over the injuries in no time. "That illusion that was a pretty neat trick you did there, Osan Woods'' Butcher. I believe it''s the right time for me to reveal my real self. It''s an honor to meet you, Eren." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Rondo speak. Thetter also gave him a bow as a form of respect. One had to know that even while bowing, Rondo did not take his eyes off Eren. Against Eren, he was the most vignt he had ever been since he gained the rank of Adept. Rondo chuckled when he saw Eren''s emotionless face. He decided to state his stance clearly. "I was having a hard time advancing in my dagger arts. No amount of training or plunges into Monster Canyon could solve the bottlenecks I faced. That was until I started studying the way you kill. All the known, unknown, and rumored records of your kills inspired me. They allowed me to get over the bottlenecks andbine my elemental attainments with my dagger arts. It allowed me to reach new heights as a ranker. I also progressed further in my ranking status when I progressed in my elemental attainments. So we could say that I stand at the doorstep of the C-Rank because of you. This is why It''s an honor to meet you." Eren was a bit taken aback when he found out that Rondo was a fan of his renegade identity. Usually, the fans of such figures were more twisted than the figures they were inspired by. Rondo took Eren''s silence on the matter as a cue. He shed a grin before adding further. "The illusion you showed us didn''t make him fear you. Perhaps I am the only one on my team who can see the potential you have to reach seemingly unattainable goals. Why would I fear when I want to walk on the same path you have been treading all along? On the contrary, I''m even more impressed than before." Rondo charged his daggers with his wind-element mana and prepared himself to face Eren once again. He narrowed his eyes at him while speaking in a toneced with fascination. "I saw how Oliver chased after you for so long. I was part of the hunt when you were in the city of Osan too. I ventured into the Osan Woods after the official investigation was over. I could decipher some clues you left behind as well. Thus, when I was getting inspired by work, I also started creating your backstory in my head. Something that makes sense to me. I thought that a killer like you must be a lonely cultist who wanders from ce to ce to avoid getting caught on the kingdom''s radar. Someone who hides his identity by staying away from the reaches of civilization." Eren narrowed his eyes at Rondo as he listened to him. He could tell the guy was up to something. But he kept quiet and let Rondo make his move. "I don''t think there''s anything wrong with hiding your identity when an entire kingdom is after you. Those who parade themselves out in the open after achieving no sess won''t understand the beauty of hiding one''s ws. But you you have surpassed my expectations. Osan Woods'' Butcher is a well-functioning member of the rankers'' society. He is sessful in all aspects of his life. He has an entire city to his name. And his guild is the dark horse organization within the kingdom. Hahaha. What a twist! Sounds like a grim fairy tale, if you ask me. Who could have believed that reality would be more twisted than the fantasy story most of us had built around your name?" Chapter 959 [Bonus ] Layos’ Royal Scion "Who could have believed that reality would be more twisted than the fantasy story most of us had built around your name?" Rondo took a long breath. He nced at his mates fighting around him before looking in the direction Oliver had disappeared in. He startedughing as he spoke. "I must confess I have secrets of my own, Eren. I am not the Rondo that these guys know. I am... Well. I''ll just show you who I am. Hahahaha." Rondo dered maniacally before pulling the skin off his face. It took him a bit of effort to pull off the mask because it looked like it had been glued to his original skin. However, it only took him a second or two to get rid of the mask. In the next moment, a strange ripple of mana spread through the surroundings as Rondo took out the mask he was wearing. The mask turned into a face-shaped wooden artifact with runes and formations carved into it. It was clear that the artifact was what allowed Rondo to change his identity. One had to say that Rondo''s way of masking his identity was more secure than the one Eliza had provided him with. It couldn''t even be detected by the inspection artifact Oliver had used before the start of the battle. Then again, Eliza did not really care that much about letting Ivor hide his identity. She didn''t invest much effort in Ivor because he was even more of a disposable pawn to her than Eren. Rondo turned into apletely different person than he was before he pulled out the skin-like face mask he had. He turned into a handsome elf. Rondo now had bluish-gray eyes and shoulder-length jet-ck hair. He had an attractive square-shaped face and a copper-brown skin tone. His jewelry consisted of long earrings, which looked precious. The elf smiled wickedly as he looked at Eren. He then stared at the members of his own team with evil intentions when they forced themselves to look at him. Fortunately or unfortunately, these rankers had stopped getting surprised because of so many revtions given to them one after another. The spectators neither had the time nor the means to join Eren and Rondo''s battle. They were too upied with their respective battles to ask the HOWs and the WHYs. Eren, on the other hand, did not know what to say about what he was seeing right now. He had to admit that he had attracted a weirdo''s attention with his altered identity. ''Hehe. Your fans are bound to be a lot like you, Eren.'' Eren scrunched his nose when he heard Alephee''sment. She was busy writing new runes in her grimoire inside the pendant abode. He didn''t need her presence in his fights either. Only if she could keep hermentary to herself, the butcher would really appreciate it. The butcher had a secret fanbase from known and unknown cultists as well as rankers''munities. The people saw him as some kind of rebel, rebelling against the kingdom''s restrictions. In some of the stories, he was painted as a good guy who turned bad due to unforeseen circumstances. Many origin stories around him portray him on the receiving end of some kind of injustice. A person who was constantly suppressed by the kingdom''s policies until he couldn''t cope. There was the other faction of the fanbase who treated him as a malevolent character that only knew how to kill. ording to them, he had no real talent other than dismembering organs. In their eyes, he was a lonely monster who could take on the kingdom''s forces all by himself. Someone who fought solo and won solo. Contrary to what all those people thought about him, Eren was nothing like those assumptions. At least not entirely. Eren couldn''t call himself suppressed anymore after he had obtained a piece of freedom for himself. The establishment of the guild and the foundation of his city liberated him in more ways than one. He wasn''tpletely free of the kingdom''s restrictions. But nobody could treat him as nobody anymore. Eren killed only when there was a need for him to do so. He would y his opponents without hesitation. But that didn''t mean he would be looking for trouble when there was nobody for him to mess with. Eren wasn''t a saint by a long shot. But he was also not some knucklehead wandering evil some people believed him to be. He could guess that Rondo or whatever his real name was, had also assumed a lot of things about him. The butcher just let that stuff be as it is. He didn''t need to exin his stance to a stranger. *** Eren was curious to know about the elf''s identity though. He made a guess based on his precious earrings. If the butcher had to guess, he would bet on the fact that the elf he was seeing in front of him was part of Layos'' royal family. That''s because those precious earrings would only be worn by members of the royal family of Layos. That''s right. Layos, unlike Edinburgh, was ruled by elf royalty. It had a majority of elves as residentspared to humans. ''So what Sirius said to me was true. The forces of Layos have infiltrated Edinburgh. But it is not just the rankers who have infiltrated. The Layos'' royal scions are also hereC possibly trying their luck in some kind of royalpetition.'' Eren guessed as he took a keen look at Rondo. He was only recently informed by Sirius and Fiona about the infiltration. The butcher didn''t care about the cold war between the two kingdoms at this point. He had decided to let his guild participate in the war as well. But that would only happen when the war officially begins. He also acknowledged Rondo''s boldness in getting employed under Arthur who was Edinburgh''s legit duke. If he had topare, he would rate Layos'' royal scions higher than the scions of Edinburgh. Chapter 960 Offer From The Enemy Kingdom The royal family of Edinburgh pitted the royal scions against each other. While Layos let its royal scions light fire in the enemy kingdom. Of course, the risks of all royal scions getting killed in the enemy kingdom were very high. But at least they wouldn''t try to murder each other. The elf followed Eren''s gaze at his earrings and realized what he was thinking about. Heughed out loud beforementing. "Hahaha. That''s right. I am from the kingdom of Layos and my real name is Shandil Oloris. I am the 18th seat in the line of session to the Layos throne. A royalty." There was a sense of pride attached to Shandil''s voice when he spoke about his real origins. He felt liberated to reveal his identity as if he was finally allowed to breathe again after so long. Shandil had used his Rondo identity to infiltrate the kingdom of Layos as soon as he found out about the undercurrent developing between the two kingdoms. At that time, the Osan Woods'' Butcher was a hot topic among Edinburgh''s masses. Shandil did his research and used his connections to find out that the matter was connected to Arthur. To get to the bottom of this, he decided to work for the Duke. It had been a long time since the butcher''s first kill site had been revealed to the masses. It didn''t allow anyone to decipher his identity but Shandil made a point to visit the Osan woods nheless. The elves of Layos investigated in their own way. Shandil also couldn''t find out the butcher''s identity per se. However, he learned a bit about what kind of person he was using his first kill site. The Anfang alliance had made it difficult for anyone to learn about intent-based magic. But that only mostly applied to humans. The elves were always focused on feelings and emotions. The Elven wines, in their purest forms, were the creation of intent-based magic after all. Its strange effects were linked to intent-based magic as they amplified a select set of emotions in consumers. The elves were the old practitioners of intent-based magic even before the lost era. Thus, it wasn''t too difficult for Shandil to employ his means and learn what kind of person the butcher was. Shandil found out that the butcher did not hold his kingdom in high regard. He used anyone and anything for his profit without remorse. That his help could be bought with the right rewards. These small and seemingly insignificant tidbits were enough for Shandil to seek out the Osan Woods'' Butcher. He wanted to bring the butcher to the kingdom of Layos. All so that he could serve as the poster boy for inciting a select stratum of people within Edinburgh to rebel against their state. Shandil also benefited on an individual level by following the butcher''s lead. Investing in him and his kills had inspired him for real and enabled him to progress in his dagger arts and elemental attainments as well. Of course, Shandil had his political interests added to the equation. Contributing to Layos'' welfare in any way or form would allow him to progress further on his royal sessiondder. And bringing Eren to the kingdom of Layos would be seen as a major victory for him. He wanted to present Eren as the representative of the suppressed people in Edinburgh. The butcher''s fame or notoriety was well-known within his kingdom. If he joined hands with Layos, Edinburgh politics at all levels would receive a huge shock. Shandil was shocked to find out that the butcher was not the lone wolf his investigation had him believe. At least not on paper. He couldn''t be the representative of oppressed people because he freaking owned a flourishing city to boot. He had risen above the ordinary rankers. However, that didn''t deter Shandil from wanting to take Eren under his wings. In fact, his desire to get the butcher onboard increased when he found out about his real identity. Opinion building has no limits. And stories could be spun in any direction depending on the target and the desired results. Shandil could portray Eren as someone who was fed up with Edinburgh because of its internal politics in not letting him run his city. He could say that Edinburgh didn''t want him to seed and so conspired against him. Eren then manages to escape Edinburgh''s conspiracy to find a new and better city in the kingdom of Layos. A kingdom that weed him and appreciated his talents. He could be the representative of rankers who had broader ambitions. Edinburgh was doing the same thing. It would portray the rebels in Layos as freedom fighters and wee them into its territories. Layos was just returning the favor. Shandil looked at Eren with an amused look before speaking to him amicably. "I have wanted to meet you for a very long time. You''d have to forgive me for not approaching you sooner. I didn''t know how to contact you, you see. The reason I revealed my identity to you was that I wanted to give you the opportunity of a lifetime. Your identity as the Osan Woods'' Butcher would always put you in Edinburgh''s crosshairs. Even if the kingdom and the masses forget about you over time, I can assure you Arthur would never let it slide. He would keep hunting until you were dead. Don''t believe me? Ask Isen Osan." Eren knew bits and pieces about what was happening inside Layos, thanks to the information provided to him by Sirius. He knew that Arthur had sent his special squad inside Layos to target Isen. It was only due to the precautions taken by Saisha Goren that Isen managed to stay safe. Otherwise, he would have died a long time ago. Shandil chuckled when he saw Eren still maintaining his stoic look. He wasn''t scared or intimidated by Eren. At least not anymore once Shandil became aware of Eren''s identity as the Butcher of Osan Woods. He thought that he could control Eren with that kind of information. "Want to know about the opportunity the kingdom of Layos has for you? You will get a new city inside Layos'' borders, which will be entirely under your control. Layos will provide you with funds for establishing a city and a new guild. Andplete protection will be provided by Layos'' special forces to assure yourplete safety. How about it?" Chapter 961 Counteroffer Eren smiled innocently when he heard Shandil''s offer. The offer was very generous, he had to admit. Not because Layos wanted to invest so much in him. But because he could benefit from Layos in other ways. Layos could offer Eren knowledge of the past if he made that one of the conditions for switching sides. He knew that Layos would not shy away from epting him into its inner fold when the war was this close to the borders. That being said, Eren had no ns of doing something like that. Minerva''s Utopia was a golden goose he would not let go under any conditions. Layos would have to offer him a bigger and better goose for him to make the switch. However, if he switched, Eren knew that his image would be used to fuel Layos'' campaigns in Edinburgh. He would be revealed as the butcher to the masses. Eren was still not okay with that. Not because he was scared of infamy. But because he was vignt about high-ranking entities under Arthur''s control. The Duke was going to take things personally even if everyone epted his identity and let things go. However, Eren still wanted to know everything Shandil had to say to him. There was no harm in listening to the entire offer you are about to reject. Thus, he scratched his jaw as he spoke. "It''s all good to hear Rondo or Shandil or whatever. But why dy the "or else" part of your statement? Spit it out already." Shandil didn''t like Eren''s crude way of addressing him. Even if he was from the enemy kingdom, he was still royalty. He expected basic decorum from the normal citizens of Edinburgh if and when his identity was revealed. The butcher''s reality check made Shandil see that Edinburgh was as rowdy as rowdy could get. It matched aggression with twice the aggression. Even so, he brushed that aside and answered casually. "You can join us. Or else... We will let the fact that you are Osan Woods'' Butcher out to the masses even before you have a chance to escape the kingdom''s clutches. I''m sure they will get the proof they need if they dig in the right direction. Knowing where to dig will solve all their problems. Plus, we will make sure that the city of White Raven gets destroyed in cultist attacks. I have heard that you recently assimted Healers'' Nirvana into your guild. The same guild Layos has decided to wreck. We had ns to shock the White Raven city for that deed anyway. We will just make a big ssh if you don''t cooperate with us.'' Eren made a ''that came outta nowhere'' expression on his face. He didn''t know that Layos''s royal scions were personally causing chaos in Edinburgh with the cultists'' help. It meant that the attack on Healers'' Nirvana was also organized by another royal elf from Layos. ''Hmm? Jiana is an elf. I wouldn''t want to generalize but does she share any links with Layos? Something that would make the royal scions target her personally?'' Eren had another random thought as he let his mind wander. He thought so because the royal scions were keen on running Healers'' Nirvana to the ground even after they had sessfully wrecked it. This kind of grudge cannot be politically motivated. It has to have a personal touch. Eren shrugged his shoulders and let the matter go for now. He decided to ask Jiana directly when he met with her. Eren was also d that he had listened to Shandil''s side. Knowing about the iing attack on his city would allow him to better prepare in terms of preventive measures. The butcher licked his lips and looked at Shandil with his predatory gaze before speaking in a very innocent voice. "That''s a very interesting offer, Shandil. But I have a counteroffer. Want to know what that is?" There was a part of Shandil that found Eren''s gaze disturbing. And that part was lowkey telling Shandil to get the fuck away from him. Getting inspired by the butcher and wanting him to work for him was one thing. But putting conditions on him and expecting him to obey the rules of his game was another. Still, Shandil had his elven pride. He had ovee the illusion Eren had trapped him inside. He had even managed to injure Eren using the element of surprise. And he was very confident in his battle powers and elemental attainments. Worst case scenario, he had the means to get away from the scene. Thus, Shandil didn''t lose hisposure when he replied. "And what would that be? If your demands are not illogical, I''m sure Layos will try to amodate you as much as it can." Eren maintained his innocent smile before replying in a cold voice. "How about I turn you into one of my minions? Someone who hangs between the domains of life and death and bends to my everymand? That way, my secrets will stay safe. It''ll benefit a bit from Layos. And I''ll also be able to take care of a lot of things with you around. Not a terrible deal for me, right?" Shandil took a step back when he listened to Eren''s words and felt his overwhelming presence once again. The part of him that was telling him to get away from Eren was now screaming in his head to take action. It entered his head and activated all the levers associated with fear. s, it was toote for him. When Shandil took a step back, he realized something had pierced his heart. He looked down to see a space-element dagger''s tip poking through his chest where his heart was. Without damaging his skin. Shandil was aghast when he realized that he had been basically killed in action. Eren was still in front of him so he looked back to see who it was that killed him. He saw that a beautiful elf had appeared behind him from thin air without his knowledge and pierced his heart. "Who.... uuuugh.... Who are you?" Shandil spat a mouthful of blood on his clothes before asking the half-elf about her identity. The answer, however, came from the butcher. "Oh right! Where are my manners? Meet my lovely wife, Kirin. Surprised, right? Hehe. As you can see, the fabled Osan Woods'' Butcher is not as much of a lone wolf as you have me pictured, Shandil or whatever. I''m a family man too, damn it." Chapter 962 [Bonus ] Another Living Undead ''I... I misjudged him.'' Shandil regretted the fact that he attempted to see Eren through his lens. He believed that he could take on Eren for quite some time before calling it quits. He knew he couldn''t win against him. He was not so weak as to not be able to escape him either. This was considering Eren and Shandil fought seriously and Eren did not have any trump cards he hadn''t used in the battle yet. But Shandil did not think that the butcher was okay with someone else doing his job for him. He had employed Kirin just at the right time to get rid of Shandil when he was at his most vulnerable. Shandil was just a quasi-C-Rank entity while Kirin had the powers of a Monster Overlord, which made her as powerful as an Expert ranker. The foreign mana invasion initiated by her quickly took over his mana circuits and wreaked havoc inside him. Despite his best efforts, Shandil couldn''tunch even a modest retaliation. Eren appeared in front of Shandil and gripped his neck. He brought him closer and made him look him in the eye before speaking up. "You should have seen thising after studying me so much, you know. Why would I keep the fact that I''m the Osan Woods'' Butcher hidden all this time and then allow you to ruin everything I worked for just because you told me to? It doesn''t even make sense. Royal scions of Layos are better than the future backbone of this kingdom. But that is only when ites to the right approach, nning, and battle capabilities. When ites to acting like brain-dead idiots who think that everyone should obey them just because they said so, you are all the same. Most of you don''t understand that royalty doesn''t mean omnipotence." The light in Shandil''s eyes was fading. But he looked at Eren with a gaze coated in injustice. The butcherughed as he read Shandil''s mind in real-time. "I should listen to you just because you have leverage over me? What if I decide to destroy you along with that leverage? Have you ever thought about that? Too much royal power has blinded you into believing the world and everyone in it will bend to your will. And maybe that''s true for the most part. But that shit doesn''t work for me. Rest assured though. You have a very high potential as a living undead. I''ll make sure to do a better job than what I did with Meera." Shandil closed his eyes as he listened to Eren''s words. It sounded like a luby to him which was veryforting and thought-provoking. Sandhill''s thoughts drifted into an unknown ce when Eren finished speaking with him. Eren injected his wrath mana into Shandil''spromised system as he was slowly losing consciousness. He was still alive despite his heart being pierced. But Eren had managed to make him drift to sleep and prolong his death by reducing his heartbeats. Then Eren snapped his fingers and healed his heart just enough so Shandil wouldn''t die. Eren wanted to create a living undead, just as he had told the guy. Progress in his ranking journey as well as his soul strengthening had allowed him to create another living undead like Meera. And he had the confidence to do an even better job thanst time. Eren couldn''t make the guy progress in his ranking journey when he turned him into a living undead. So he was nning to forcefully increase his rank at the cost of his life. He had the necessary potions to do so. When the procedure ispleted and the ritual is over, Shandil will turn into a living undead of Expert rank status. "Lord Husband, should I cull the rest of the rankers as well?" Kirin looked around while holding the now-sleeping Shandil by his shoulder. She let him drop to the floor when Eren finished injecting him with his wrath mana. He controlled the wrath mana in such a way that it wouldn''t turn Shandil into a wrath creature. It would just temper his flesh so that Eren could obtain better results from the living undead ritual. Eren followed Kirin''s gaze and turned around. His summons had stood their ground for the most part. Some rankers, however, had been able to ovee them. It was just that they couldn''t run away from their meaningless fights because of the active prism barrier. Eren nodded his head and then looked at Shandil''s fallen body before speaking up. "Yeah. Go ahead, dear. I''ll have to look after my merc." Eren watched as Kirin disappeared from her position almost instantly. She then appeared right behind a certain ranker before using her fire chains to neutralize him. She started using her elemental attainments to tackle multiple opponents at once. Ivor was done with half of the rankers he was supposed to finish as well. His pride armor kept him safe while dealing with multiple Adept rankers with the same level of toughness as him if not more. Adept-ranked entities and beyond were difficult to kill even by rankers of the same rank as them. One needed to have an overwhelming advantage in terms of higher rank or better weapons to initiate a kill. To kill their opponents, one had to possess powerful powers like the Sin Series Abilities. This was why Eren didn''t fight Shandil directly even though he knew he could win. It wasn''t about winning or losing the fight. It was about whether Shandil survived the fight or not. The butcher couldn''t finish Shandil quickly even if he tried his best. The elf was too talented to be done in a few minutes. Shandil had a high chance of escaping even the prism barrier they had put up given enough time. After all, Shandil had royal status and would have been given a lot of precautionary items to carry with him. When Eren checked Shandil''s storage space, he found out that his decision was right on the mark. Handil had at least three surefire ways to escape the prism barrier. ''Thanks for being so generous, Mr. Royal Elf. I''ll make good use of your stuff.'' The butcher shamelessly imed Shandil''s possessions for himself along with the mask artifact he had. After all, his potential undead didn''t need to have worldly possessions weighing him down. Eren was willing carry Shandil''s burden by himself. The butcher was very amodating in that regard. Chapter 963 Infighting Rip. Swoosh. Zoom. Meera sent Oliver flying with her fierce wind-element attacks. Thetter had many wounds on his body that attested to how valiantly he had fought against the living undead. Oliver was sent in the same direction as the prism barrier. Under La''s control, Oliver was let inside the barrier instead of getting wall-stered over it. Meera followed him quickly before the barrier became seamless once again. Boom. Oliver''s body crashed into the ground like a meteor at a low angle. For a few seconds, the vector force acting on his body refused to decrease, creating a deep trench on the ground as he was dragged forcefully over it. When he finally stopped, Oliver was found in worse condition than he was a moment beforeC covered in dust and grime. Meera appeared beside Eren in very poor condition. Her right shoulder had been dislocated and her guts could be seen through the injury she had on her tummy. Oliver''s attacks had damaged her. He needed to treat her right away so he took out Ice Fairy''s Kiss and handed it to her. Thetter gulped the contents of the vial down without anyints or appreciation. "Aaaaaaargh!" Cough! Cough! Cough! Oliver cried in pain and coughed up blood as he tried to get up. Meera''s uncaring attacks really did a number on him. She engaged with him in a way that put her own safety at risk. But since she was a living undead anyway, all the repercussions of this kind of battle were Oliver''s to bear. His ck clothes looked drenched in blood and his eyes seemed wild. If his face was visible to everyone, they would see he had hideous expressions contrary to his usual stoic look. "You cough cough cough" Oliver finally managed to stabilize his condition and stand up on his feet after forcefully getting rid of the foreign mana invasion. His internal organs were a mess and he had a killer headache. But that didn''t stop him from speaking his next words. "Heh. You got me there, La. Ivor Osan and the butcher. Two people who I had been meaning to find for so long found me instead. You managed to swindle Sir Arthur and use his resources for yourself. You shook hands with those two people and gave them the powers that were promised to us. Then you managed to stay on the run for so long and hurt us brick by brick. Cough Cough... Cough. It''s an impressive achievement on your part. I''ll give you that." Oliver scanned the area around him and saw Eren busy with some kind of ritual near an unknown elf. An elf whom Oliver had never seen before. This elf had recently broken into Expert rank through unknown means and died shortly after. The butcher started his pre-spell ritual right after that. Oliver could not understand what was going on with Eren. But he soon found out that he couldn''t approach Eren carelessly because the cause of his misery was standing beside himC Meera Medinah. She had been fixed anew because Eren had spent an expensive healing potion on her like it was no big deal. Oliver looked around some more and found out that someone had killed more than half of his team members in the most efficient way possible. Someone who couldn''t be seen or felt with normal senses alone. Oliver also found out that Ivor was busy fighting with five team members of his team at once. The pseudo-lightning domain had disappeared and Ivor looked exhausted. He had managed to kill 7 out of 12 well-equipped and well-prepared Adept rankers. This kind of achievement spoke volumes about how much effort he had put in. Ivor cursed Eren for treating this fight as a joke. The guy had barely contributed and instead used Kirin as his proxy. Ivor could see Eren experimenting with a dead elf dude. He didn''t know what Eren was doing but he could bet anything that it wasn''t anything he wanted his usual people to know about. Eren had also dispersed his domain of wrath after Kirin got active on the field. Kirin and Meera assumed all responsibility for his safety as he got busy creating his second living undead. With the battlefield in this condition, Oliver didn''t know if his words were heard by La or not. Because she couldn''t be found. He didn''t know to whom to direct the rage he was feeling inside his heart. He needed a vent to let his anger out. Thankfully for him, the butcher''s domain of wrath wasn''t active. Otherwise, he would have turned into one of the fiercest wrath creatures. Oliver had tried to keep tabs on what was happening inside the prism barrier for the most part even when he was fighting with Meera outside it. He knew that Eren had used the wrath creatures as pawns to attack the rankers alongside his summons. Oliver realized something strange on the battlefield after he got inside the prism barrier once again. Everybody alive was busy fighting something or someone. But there was one person on the battlefield who wasn''t attacked by anyone. Oliver looked at Biru and thetter tried to avert his eyes. He immediately understood that the old man had also figured out the trick La had used on him. Oliver''s eyes turned red in anger as he looked at Biru. It was as if he was angry at Biru for trying to keep himself alive even after knowing that it was his well-being that was preventing anyone from escaping the nightmare. Oliver disappeared from his ce and appeared right behind Biru. Before thetter could react to what was happening, Oliver pped his back with a peculiar-looking array disk in his hands. The Master ranker couldn''t retaliate because he couldn''t use his spells anyway. So it was easy for Oliver to target the old man who was anyway destined to die in the mess. Oliver didn''t want himself or the remaining five members of his team to die with the old man. If La could use Biru to power her prism barrier, Oliver could also use the defenseless old man''s life as aunch pad for his battle formation. Chapter 964 Might Of The Battle Formations Everything happened too fast for La or Ivor to do anything about it. It was a well-coordinated move by Oliver. And he crafted it in a few moments after finding out how the prism barrier worked. The captain ordered the five rankers to use their joint attacks as a fake to free themselves from Ivor''s control. The remaining members of Oliver''s team quickly approached Oliver and formed a battle formation in unison. The old man Biruy in the middle of their circle with his dying breaths. There was an array disk attached to his back that was exuding a faint light and spreading strong mana pulses. The array disk spread its floating runes across Biru''s fragile body andpletely covered him. The runes spread further and climbed onto Oliver and the remaining five members of his team. Zimmm! The battle formation waspleted faster this time because Oliver sacrificed a defenseless Master ranker''s life for it. As a result, it was executed faster and was rtively stronger and more stable. Plus, the battle formation waspleted using six rankers instead of using too many rankers which would have onlyplicated it further. "Hmmm?" Eren finallypleted his living undead ritual when he felt a strong mana pulse in the surroundings. He looked back to see that Oliver and his teammates had sessfully formed a battle formation. "Kirin darling, don''t." Kirin was about to attack Oliver and his group of rankers when Eren''s words stopped her. She appeared beside Eren and looked at him curiously before asking. ''Lord husband, what are they doing?'' With the cat out of the bag, La appeared beside Eren too. She was a bit unsatisfied with the fact that Eren and Ivor couldn''t get rid of all of Oliver''s rankers on their own. Ivor appeared beside La in his battered form. He couldn''t keep his pride armor on himself anymore due to sensory overload. After dispersing it, he decided to catch his breath. The guy just sat cross-legged on the ground and started channeling his mana throughout his body to get rid of fatigue and prepare himself for another round. Argo was also called forth since Eren had let go of the demon beast transformation. The beast had a bit of saliva dripping from his mouth when he inhaled the smell of blood prevailing in the surrounding area. But he also realized the situation was a bit tense so he didn''t open up with his usual antics. Eren looked at Oliver''s group closely before looking at Biru''s dead body. He immediately understood how Oliver had managed to activate a powerful battle formation with just five Adept rankers around. Still, Eren wasn''t intimidated by Oliver''s stance. He looked at his opponents casually before answering Kirin''s question. ''This is called a battle formation, Kirin darling. I don''t think you used these in the Oni dungeon. So I''ll give you a brief introduction.'' Since an unofficial stalemate was being observed, Eren decided to exin to Kirin everything he knew about the battle formation. He was sure that the continent of Echidna would have something simr to battle formations as well. He just wasn''t sure if the children of Echidna used battle formations in the same way rankers of Anfang did here. Alephee had also said to Eren once that many peculiarities developed by rankers in Anfang were unique. For example, the Historian ss never existed outside of Anfang. It was exclusive to this continent. The battle formations weren''t exclusive to Anfang. But they were certainly refined to perfection by the rankers here. Kirin nodded her head when Eren finished his brief introduction. Thetter paused for a bit before continuing. ''In a crude sense, battle formations could be called spells that get cast by a group. But that is a very simple way of putting it. They can exceed a spell''s definition depending on who or how many rankers were involved in the battle formations, as well as where that spell is used. There are many types of battle formationsC attack types, defense types, orbos of both. There are also battle formations meant for item or convoy extraction. Some are used to target single or multiple targets at once. Some battle formations are only meant to be used against beasts while others are employed to gain terrain advantages. Battle formations apply a very simple rule and take it to the extremeCbining individual strength and converting it into group strength. The reason battle formations are used by a bunch of Adept rankers to fight other Adept rankers and beyond is because of the oue they generate. The addition of individual strength to battle formations would never be linear. Sessful activation of battle formations will always result inpound effects. Thepound output will depend on the rankers involved as well as the synchronization among them. The higher a man''s ranking status and the more in-depth his elemental achievements are, the more fearsome he would seem to others. Battle formations were created to counter individuals like these. These formations are meant to suppress overwhelming individual strength. This is why there is almost no ranker in thend of Anfang that can truly act as a lone wolf. High-ranked entities who have the necessary strengths to tackle battle formations will never fail to record their names in the annals of history. But to get there, one needs to survive by being part of the group first.'' Eren''s emerald green eyes shone when he said that. Battle formations were one of the reasons he never thought of handling everything by himself. He knew that if he acted hungry for power and kept on challenging the system, it was bound to get him one day. This was true no matter how strong he might be on an individual level. A ranker''s individuality would be more apparent as they moved up the rankingdder. And some individualities were just too domineering to be handled by rtively ordinary rankers. Battle formations were, in a general sense,w enforcers of the system that the people at the highest echelon would use to suppress the top-tier monsters of the world. Even a particrly talented Sage could be targeted by Sage-level battle formations no matter how strong their individualities werepared to other Sages. Chapter 965 [Bonus ] Ranker’s Individuality Vs Unified Strength There''s strength in unity. This unified strength couldn''t be ovee by a solo ranker unless thetter''s individuality exceeded that of a group. Furthermore, the individuality of a ranker took into ount everything from a ranker''s elemental affinities, the number of spells he could use, the Abilities he had ess to, their ranking technique, elemental attainments, weaponprehensions, to the kind of gear he used for offense or defense. So when a ranker''s individuality was referred to, it referred to his entire existence. Eren hade to realize this truth in hisst timeline. Unlike Eliza who had focused on individual strength from the beginning despite being part of a prominent n, the butcher knew the importance of acting as a team. After all, the people at the top would always look for lone wolves who stood out so that they could suppress them. So acting in the group provided Eren with the cover he needed to stay lowkey. Eren believed that individual strength could always be harnessed in silence while acting as a part of the group. He would never challenge an entire system on his own. At least not until he was forced or ready to do so of his own ord. *** Eren also exined to Kirin that battle formations didn''t really need an array disk. It only acted as a mediator among multiple rankers belonging to different elemental affinities and attainments. Moreover, some high-ranking entities had better chemistry with each other or were simply talented enough to cast battle formations without using array disks. Battle formations cast by such rankers were on another level. Eren also observed a peculiar thing while exining things to Kirin. It was that Oliver wasn''t using an array disk when he was about to activate the battle formation for the very first time. This was when all of his team members were alive. The array disk allowed Oliver to use Biru''s body as support for the formation as well as act as a mediator between the six rankers. It told Eren that the battle formation he had created was a makeshift one. Something he hadn''t practiced enough with his team. The silent standoffsted for about a minute or two until Oliver decided to break the silence. "You lot Do you think you will get away with this? You will have to pay a steep price for targeting me and my team." Oliver smiled wickedly at Eren and the rest before activating the battle formation. All of a sudden, the winds started blowing and the mana in the surroundings started to churn. Since Oliver was themander of the battle formation, the effective mana grade of the formation was C-Rank. The surrounding mana started to condense right over the airspace Oliver''s group was standing under. Before long, a dense amount of wind-element mana started to take the shape of a sword de. This was about a 50-meter-long de that was giving threatening vibes all around it. The hilt of the de was next to form. Earth-element mana transformed into a solid form in the next moment before turning into a prominent-looking hilt. Therge sword and the hilt were then inscribed with elemental runes by some unknown force. These elemental runes gave the giant sword an added edge. The de was coated in scorching mes and lightning as a result of these elemental runes. When the sword waspletely formed, it was surrounded by various elemental attainments. It created small mana storms in the surroundings and threatened to affect the fabric of space. At this point, arge sword could be seen hanging over Oliver and his team''s heads. When Oliver swung the sword under hismand, it cut through the air and sent out mini storms all around it. The gales generated by the sword were enough to send a lower-ranked mana beast 100s of feet away in the air. And this was when the sword wasn''t even aimed at the subject. After the Expert rank and beyond, spells and powers of the same grade started to affect the environment directly. If the battleground was near any prominent city, the city administrators would have sent their forces to check out what was going on. La, Ivor, and even Kirin had grim expressions on their faces when they witnessed the power of the battle formation. If any of them tried to fight that sword monstrosity all alone, they knew they would be forced to pack their bags and leave OR be ready to face severe consequences. Ivor knew he would have been in for a long session of suffering and pain if he had to tackle the sword. He didn''t even know how to fight such a giant weapon in the first ce. And he doubted his pride armor would be able to protect him for a very long time if he kept on shing with the de. La clenched her fists when she saw Oliver showing the might of his battle formation. She could tell that the formation had not yet been fully activated. It meant that the formation was capable of harnessing even more power but the rankers involved in the formation weren''t capable enough to unleash it. Or that the formation needed more rankers. This was the first time Kirin saw a battle formation for real. She could say that the strength of the formation was impressive. She could sense that the manifested sword had some ws that had been introduced due to errors in synchronization among the members of Oliver''s team. Nevertheless, the weapon appeared threatening enough to intimidate the half-elf. Oliver looked at Eren and his side with a tinge of false pity in his eyes before speaking up. One of the rankers that were part of the battle formation also took pleasure in seeing his opponents'' faces. Heughed as he spoke. "Tch. Tch. Tch. It was sad that we had to kill Master Biru for activating this battle formation. But his death as well as the deaths of all our team members will be avenged with this sword. Hahaha. By the time we are done with these fuckers, they won''t even have intact bodies that they can call their own." Chapter 966 Perspective "Hahaha. By the time we are done with these fuckers, they won''t even have intact bodies that they can call their own." The male ranker wanted to vent a bit after getting the upper hand. So he did just that. The female ranker beside the ranker who just spoke voiced her intentions next. "Captain, I would like to chop that Ivor guy into two just for targeting my face too many times. I would like to see his soul leaving his body right in front of my eyes." The female ranker had a huge sh wound on her pretty cheeks that was clearly caused by Ivor''s daggers. She also had other simr injuries to her neck and arms. But the sh wound on her face stood out because she couldn''t get rid of Ivor''s pride mana. As a result, her wound was getting more severe and painful, turning her cheeks red now and then. Ivor scoffed at thedy ranker and spat in contempt when her words reached his ears. The guy had just started her face because she was most concerned about that part of her body when they were dueling. Osan Jr. noticed that very quickly and targeted her face to throw her off her game. It was evident by the wounds thedy ranker had on other parts of her body despite being in the D-Rank solid stage that Ivor had been sessful in what he had nned to do. Ivor regretted the fact that he couldn''t finish thisdy ranker on time. A feat he would have achieved easily if he wasn''t interrupted by thedy ranker''s other friends fighting beside her. Another ranker looked at Eren andughed like a maniac beforementing. "Hahahaha. Just imagine how much Sir Arthur will reward us when we tell him the news and show him the chopped heads of Eren and Ivor. The mystery will finally be put to rest. Just imagining the amount he will give me makes me feel rich already." Oliver looked at the man who had just spoken with a look of pity. That''s because he knew Arthur''s financial situation well. Arthur would surely reward the rankers for bringing the dead bodies of Ivor and Eren and catching La alive. But it was not going to be anything too incredible. The artificial demon beast projects had depleted a major part of Arthur''s wealth. A huge part of his remaining sum was spent chasing La and doing things rted to his breakthrough into Grandmaster rank. The guy was broke by Duke''s standards these days. Oliver guessed that Eren would have more than Arthur at this point. Still, Oliver didn''t try to burst the guy''s bubble. The reward wille after the task ispleted. Consequently, Oliver looked at Eren and used his actions to warn him. Oliver raised his hands and concentrated. He controlled the array disk he was using to maintain the battle formation beforemencing his attack. La and Ivor felt a threatening vibeing from the sword just before it was about to make a move. The blood inside their veins churned and their faces turned ashen. They looked at each other and then at Eren''s back before deciding to bolt from their stance. Arthur used his lightning movement spell to get away from Eren whereas La used Hexen Bee to fly away. Only Eren, Kirin, and Argo remained glued to their spot with the dead body of a royal elf behind them. Eren watched as the 50-meter-long sword came for him tearing through the skies. The wind pressure it generated was enough to depress the ground and crush the people under it. Argo had appeared in his lion form. He put one of his front paws on the dead elf to make him stick to the ground and not get flown away in the air. He then roared at the iing sword without even moving an inch from his ce. Kirin was intimidated by the sword''s pressure too. She felt that this was the most threatening situation she hade across in her entire life. Never did she have to worry about her safety to this extent as she did now. But then the half-elf looked at her husband and gained some mental strength from him. Looking at him, she wondered if what they were doing was bravery or stupidity. In the next moment, however, she corrected her own thought process. ''In the end, bravery and stupidity are just perspectives. Those who can weather their storms are brave. Those who cannot arebeled as stupid.'' And then there are those who just don''t give a damn about anyone''s perspective...'' Kirin smiled as she looked at Eren. Eren hadn''t stopped her from running away from the ce but she decided to stick close to him nheless. She stood by him and let the sword approach her. Eren looked up and smiled crookedly as he felt a natural disaster-like attack approach him. He felt like he was receiving divine punishment for all the so-called wrong deeds hemitted so far. Argo''s fearless lion roar was drowned out by deafening white noise when the sword finally swooshed down. Zoom. Swoosh. Cut. Therge elemental sword cut through the ground like a hot knife would cut through a b of butter. It struck twice in quick session before resuming its resting position above Oliver''s head once again. It was as if the earth itself had been split in anticipation of the sword''s attack. Hence, the attacks generated rtively less damage than was expected of them. Still, the mana pulse the sword gave off when the attack wasunched was quite something. One could say that the way Ivor and La reacted to the potential attack was a natural course of action for most rankers in their shoes. A dust storm had been generated by the sword''s attack. The surroundings were clearlypromised and the mana in the surroundings got too agitated for anyone to use their mana sense normally. The ground Eren stood on became a ckout zone for his allies-inbat as well as his foes. Chapter 967 Going On A Tangent Ki! Ki! Ki! A different kind of mana was also let loose in the surroundings as a result of the giant sword attack. It created a peculiar sound as it manifested, like that of a hundred birds chirping together. It was a non-elemental mana that had been influenced by swordprehension. This sword aura would split things randomly whenever it was amassed at a particr ce in a certain density. Its only job was to cut everything in its path. The sword aura stayed dominant in the area and damaged it some more before it was summoned to a single ce. The sword aura started gathering near Oliver''s team the next moment. It created a barrier around the rankers and protected them from any potential harm. The more the sword was used, the more the sword would be created and the more the barrier would get strengthened. This was the beauty of the battle formation that Oliver had employed. The barrier prevented Eren and his mates from randomly attacking any of the rankers involved in the formation. Of course, the barrier could not be strengthened infinitely as it depended upon the amount of sword aura the members could keep under their control through the formation''s help. Still, it wasn''t something that could be ovee easily by Eren''s side. It was unknown what had happened to Eren and those who stood beside him. But every stormes to an end and every heart of silence is pierced by the sounds of life eventually. In due time, the agitated mana in the surroundings was pacified and the dust settled. La and Ivor realized what had really transpired at the ce. They saw that Eren, Argo, and Kirin were still standing in the same position they did before the attack. But the ground on which they stood had changed drastically. Two deep trenches had been formed on the ground at either side of Eren. These trenches intersected just a few meters away from where Eren stood and expanded in two directions, making it look like Eren was standing inside a V-shape plot with steep edges. The ground beyond the steep edges had been depressed to such an extent that two mini valleys shrouded in darkness had been formed. Just a series of attacks from the elemental sword had changed thendscape by a huge margin. Kirin had goosebumps on her skin being so close to such attacks. She was not scared by the intensity of the attacks themselves but the way she chose to remain unresponsive in the face of such an attack. After all, it was easier to react in situations like these than to watch it happen around you like some distant bystander. The five members of Oliver''s team had smiles stered on their faces when they saw Oliver attack Eren''s side with the elemental sword. Since it was Oliver who was controlling the formation, they didn''t really know what he was going to do with his attacks. They thought that the Hound had attacked Eren intending to harm him for real. Oliver too couldn''t help having a light smile on his face as he watched the might of a battle formation unfolding in front of him. Just like Eren had guessed, this was a makeshift formation he was using with the help of the array disk. But that didn''t mean that the formation itself was lesser in grade than the one he was supposed to use from the get-go. Oliver was very satisfied with the oue of his attacks for the most part. But then he saw Eren standing his ground, uncaring of the oue he had generated. The Hound''s face darkened when he realized his scare tactics don''t work on the butcher. Argo jumped over Eren''s head and walked up to the edge of what looked like a cliff. He roared at Oliver and his forces before speaking up in a deep voice that almost sounded human. "Bitch, you think we are some cowards who''d wet their undies and run away from this pansy ass move? Imma drive that sword up yours if you don''t attack us for real." The challenge Oliver posed at Argo made him highly reactive. The fragment of demonic soul inside him was irked by Oliver''s move. For a moment, nobody talked. Argo''s listeners didn''t even get most of his threats. It was only Eren who had something toment on. "But you don''t even wear any undies, you fat cat. And we can all see your "sword" hanging freely." Another round of deafening silence ensued. Argo made an ugly lion face before speaking in an irritated voice. "Damn it, boss... don''t be raining on my parade, yo. Help a brother out here." Argo then looked between his legs and smirked before saying proudly. "And I''m not ashamed of my impressive manhood. Naah. I oughta be charging people for taking a peek at my family jewels." Argo shook his mane like a lion king and stared at Oliver''s force fiercely as he said that. Eren chuckled at Argo''s statement before saying in contempt. "Heh! Dream on. In what universe would people pay for seeing other people naked? Especially if the naked one is you, you buffoon." Argo stomped his two front legs on the ground before voicing his resolve. "Wanna bet? One day, bitches would sell their left kidneys to see me and I''mma sell my nudes to the highest bidder. If not in this world, then some other world where I can pull off something like that. Just gotta keep using the demonic possessions till I find a ce to mize my blessings. Knowtamsayin! Easy peasy lemon squeezy, baby. In fact, I know just the right world..." Argo stopped what he was saying midway and looked confused as if he was trying to remember some lost memory stored inside the demonic soul fragment. He then shook his head as if restarting his thought process anew. "Anyways... There ain''t no job too difficult for me. Ain''t no task too tall for me. Ain''t no chick too hot for me. I am a legit demon prince, god damn it. I can do whatever the fuck I want." Argo blew out some steam through his nose after dering his convictions. The demon beast had managed to look pissed and proud at the same time. "Mizing your talent through some kinda auction, huh? Well... I''m all for it. But what if the highest bidder of youra" "nudes"? Or whatever that is, turns out to be a man?" Eren asked a counter question in a casual tone, seemingly forgetting all about Oliver''s team. Argo looked at Eren scornfully. The angry-looking demon beast was about to say something to Eren with passion when they all heard an even angrier voiceing from the enemy camp. "SILENCE!" Oliver finally couldn''t take Eren and Argo going on a different tangent anymore. Chapter 968 Demon Prince Argo "SILENCE!" Oliver finally couldn''t take Eren and Argo veering off on a different tangent anymore. He snapped. The formation was activated once again. The sword ripped through space and approached Eren''s side. Roar! Argo roared at the iing sword and charged at it with his beastly leap. Midway through the air, he shapeshifted into his hybrid form and surrounded himself with red and purple lightning. ''This demon beast is going to die not because of the sword but because of his baseless pride. Just like his master.'' Oliver smirked as he watched Argo''s impudence. He was sure that he would be able to kill a D-ranked demon beast with his C-Rank elemental sword without much effort. However, he didn''t know at the time that some demons were just too demonic. Argo activated his Devour Ability as he approached the sword and literally bit into it. The beast started devouring the elemental sword itself, which was supposed to be a rank above him. As a result, his normal figure started to get erged unnaturally and his muscles began to get strained. Oliver felt a threatening vibeing from the formation itself as if it would copse. He stopped his elemental sword from approaching Eren and instead shed it horizontally to get rid of the damned demon beast. Suddenly, the winds started howling as Argo called them forth to do his bidding. The fire-element mana also surged around the demon beast. The elemental fusion of two elements took ce and enveloped Argo in it. Even the array disk started to shake because of the reverse flow of mana Argo had introduced into the formation. Argo sank his ws and his teeth into the elemental sword and activated his Devour Ability through his limbs as well. The demonic side of Argo was taking hold over him in times of pinch. He released an eagle cry at Oliver before dering his intentions. "Bitch, who gave you the right to silence this Demon Prince? I''mma eat your carcass and chew on your bones like pretzels." Kiyeeeeeh! Argo released another ear-piercing eagle cry. The demon beast was clearly using intent-based magic coupled with his demonic aura that also affected people''s psyches. And thisbination came to him naturally as he expressed his individuality. One could say that his dormant memories were making him turn into the demon prince he dered himself to be as. Creak! Creak! Creak! Argo''s bones were creaking and his eyes were turning redder by the moment. It was evident that Argo was suffering from having to refine a level of mana higher than his current constitution. But he channeled that suffering into sustaining himself. Using his Ability, he kept destroying his body and building it again to keep himself in the game. Nobody on Oliver''s team hade across a demon beast with such ferocity. For some reason, Oliver believed Argo''s threat to be real and not empty words. The beast had gotten even scarier than his master, overshadowing everyonepletely. Argo''s aura threatened to seep into the elemental sword itself. This was the first time Argo had released his demonic aura on his opponents to this extent. His presence became too domineering for Oliver and any of his team members to ignore. Apparently, the demon beast didn''t like people who initiated challenges at him and then didn''t follow them up. It was as if Argo was turning into a different grade of the beast. This was no epic-level presence they felt. Argo seemed to be on his way to breaking into the legendary category with what looked like a potential ranking breakthrough. "What... What kind of demon beast is this?" The ranker who had vented earlier looked at Eren usingly. He pointed at Argo as he spoke. The beast had climbed onto the elemental sword firmly towards its hilt and was not letting go. They had tried to shake him off using the elemental attainments that coated the sword as well. As a result, Argo''s skin ruptured in various ces. But the beast would just intensify his Devour Ability to recover from the injuries he faced. Eren shrugged his shoulders before replying. "The kind that lets nothing get in the way of what he wants. I think I have stopped being his master. So you better note to me for whatever he does." Eren refused to take responsibility for Argo''s behavior. Thetter''s shenanigans were sometimes beyond Eren''s control. So it was better to let Argo be Argo. He looked at his demon beast and pursed his lips before deciding to act. ''I should probably pitch in. Preferably before he hurts himself and asks for more red meat and C-rank people as a reward.'' Eren decided to make a move. His hair turnedpletely white and elongated. The tribal tattoos on his body became apparent as he changed himself into a summoner before casting an earth-element spell. This was an earth-element tank spell he had gained from Gilhause Remus. Eren didn''t think that he would need to use this spell anytime soon. But he was wrong. The butcher was about to cast a spell on the V-shaped cut section of the ground. It would allow him to reduce his casting time. *** Swoosh! Following Oliver''s relentless efforts, Argo was thrown from the sword. Oliver had almost dispersed the elemental sword while trying to get the demon beast off it. He destabilized a part of the sword that Argo was using as his foothold before swinging the weapon harshly. To prevent the beast from snacking on the sword, the Hound abruptly halted the weapon in midair after elerating it with huge velocity. Oliver had drops of sweat running down his cheeks. The battle formation put a tremendous strain on the operator''s consciousness. Plus, Argo''s unexpected way of destabilizing the formation made things more difficult for Arthur''s Hound. He only managed to get the demon beast off the elemental sword because it was him that was controlling the formation. He didn''t doubt for a second that the beast would have either managed to eat half of the sword or broken the array disk due to instability if it was anyone else in the team assigned as the operator. Kiyeeeeh! Argo released another deafening cry after he got up from the crater he had just created with his body. He shook himself up and stood with some difficulty. He shapeshifted into his eagle form which would allow him to fly with greater precision and control. The beast was about to attack the sword, intending to devour the whole weapon brick by brick. Nevertheless, Eren''s next wordspelled him to stay at his ce. "Yo! Let your brother handle it from here." Eren said to Argo in a mana-infused voice without looking at him. He rolled up his sleeves and lit up his Sativa Stick. The beast was thrown further back, but he heard Eren''s message loud and clear. Behemoth was about to be summoned to the field. Chapter 969 Variables Eren gulped down a vial of an expensive mana recovery potion as he looked at Oliver''s team with his deep blue eyes. His otherworldly nature couldn''t be masked when he was in this form. Eren used the potion because he needed to refill his mana reserves. His tank spell took a huge toll on his mana reserves after all. The ground quaked and the V-section of the ground that was cut by the elemental sword was lifted. A threatening amount of mana pulse was released as Eren finished casting his brand-new spell with exceptional skill as if he had been casting it for a very long time. Behemoth! Oliver sensed a threatening presence under Eren''s feet. He didn''t know how a closebat expert could cast a spell like this. But this was not the time to ask anyone. He wanted to attack Eren right then and there before he finished casting the spell. Suddenly, he was subjected to the butcher''s unleashed soul sense. Oliver was sucked into the illusion of a gory world once again. This time he was a bit prepared and partially convinced himself that the illusion he was seeing was not real. But his soul was affected by Eren''s soul sense nheless. As a result, the elemental sword halted in midair and couldn''t finish attacking Eren and Kirin. Eren used his soul sense plus Sedating Gaze to disrupt the enemy''s n of stopping him from using Behemoth. Doing this, he gained enough time to finish the spell. An earth-element creature was summoned into existence by Eren''s spell. It had a lizard-like face with a bird-like beak. The creature also had exoskeleton fangs near his half-open mouth. The creature had a rtively short horn for its nose. A series of horns also peeked through its forehead and other parts of its face. The beast had spikes on its back that extended over its tail. His entire body was made of earth. Light green, beast-like callous skin covered its entire body. The beastly skin made the Behemoth look even more intimidating. Since Eren had summoned a D-Rank Behemoth, it was rtively smaller in size and less intimidating than what Gilhause had summoned for himself. Still, the beast''s size was just right to tackle therge elemental sword with. And since its body was made from earth-element, it served as the perfect counter to a sword''s attacks. The beast stood on four giant, pir-like legs. He had green eyes that shined brightly from time to time. And he also developed white spots all over his body. Eren was now seen standing on the beast''s head. Kirin stood just behind him. The butcher enjoyed seeing an elevated view of the surroundings from the beast''s head. He felt as if he had a walking mini mountain under his feet that was ready to bend to his will. ''He he wasn''t dueling with me seriously.'' Ivor gulped as he looked at Eren from a distance. He was already too stunned to do anything after seeing Argo''s fierceness. He thought that that was probably going to be the shock of the day for him. But Eren''s new spell turned him wrong. He also wondered why Eren felt like he had been turned into apletely different person. He wasn''t used to seeing him with white hair and blue eyes. Ivor couldn''t fathom the butcher shifting between sses on a whim. "Don''t think too much or get greedy for power. He is unique. You are better off staying as a closebat expert for now." La popped Ivor''s bubble of having multiple sses. Thetter also didn''t know when he wanted to be more like Eren. He was astonished by Argo first and then by Eren once again. La looked at Argo intently before saying a few things under her breath. She knew that Eliza would try to help Eren on his path so he could y an active role in the Lazarus project. But she was also sure that her Master wouldn''t offer Eren too many benefits as well. The demon beast egg given to Eren by Eliza was supposed to be an epic-tier beast. But Argo''s mana signatures made her think otherwise. La felt that Argo''s signature wasn''t the usual one of an epic-tier beast. They rivaled the power of dragons and beyond. And this was when the demon beast hadn''t even learned to shapeshift into humanoid form and harness his individuality. ''Too many too many variables.'' Argo''s incredibleness didn''t really threaten the Lazarus project. But the homunculus thought that she should be careful nheless. Argo alone was the biggest anomaly Eren had under his banner.'' La thought to herself. She then looked at Eren himself before having another thought. ''We always knew he was going to get stronger with time, thanks to his bloodline. But this... is iprehensible. How was he not apprehended by the forces of Anfang with his staggering progress? I need to consult with Master ElizaC see what she has to say.'' Oliver could see Eren looking at him casually while enjoying his smoke. The butcher was waiting for Oliver to attack him this time with his elemental sword. The Hound looked at Eren grimly and added. "I won''t ask when and how you obtained these myriad powers. Because I know you won''t tell me. I won''t ask you about your past as Osan Woods'' Butcher because it doesn''t matter anymore. However, I do want to ask you something very pertinent. And I''d appreciate it if you could answer me. What is your role in matters rted to Purgatory?" ording to Oliver, Eren or the Osan Woods'' Butcher should not have sided with La. Because he had no reason to. And there was no sign of him using the artificial demon beast as well. As much as Oliver was intimidated by Argo, he knew that he was not the artificial demon beast that they had created inside theb. Arthur knew bits and pieces about what kind of powers Reen would have. And although Argo''s Devour Ability paid homage to the artificial demon beast''s powers, he was nothing like Reen. Chapter 970 Meat Patties Eren smirked when he heard Oliver''s question. Eren then turned around and looked at Kirin. The half-elf understood what he wanted from her. So she nodded at him before vanishing into thin air. The butcher looked at Oliver once again before responding. "Why should I tell my targets anything when I know they won''t be able to do anything with the information I will provide them? Your only option is to die here. And if you are hesitating to attack me, that''s fine. I''lle for you instead." Earth Steps! Earth Maniption! Earth Spikes! Wrath mana! Eren made the Behemoth use the integrated spells he was summoned with. The Behemoth used the earth-element movement spell without causing an earthquake as feedback, thanks to the Earth Maniption spell. The Earth Maniption spell was used to reshape the behemoth''s gigantic body, making it magically lighter than it was. As a result, Eren''s Behemoth wasn''t as towering as Gilhause''s. But it was nimble and very responsive. Nobody would expect a tank summon like Behemoth to move with such agility as what Eren''s Behemoth was capable of. Earth Spikes were created all around Behemoth''s body to strengthen him and provide an edge to his attacks. This was Eren''s personal touch that Gilhause couldn''t pull off on his own despite being an earth-element summoner for a longer time than him. In the end, Eren also injected wrath mana into the Behemoth, making him stronger and more fearsome. One had to say that Eren had taken Gilhause''s legacy way further than the dead guy could imagine. Oliver cursed Eren for not even extending basic decency to him. He then yelled at his team members to warn them about the potential danger approaching all of them. "Don''t you dare rx! We can only defeat him if we fight together. HERE HE COMES!" Boom! As the Behemoth attacked, the elemental sword was swung. It managed to lodge itself inside the Behemoth''s left shoulder, apparently trying to chop its head. However, the spikes dispersed the force behind the attack, so it was unable to do its job. Oliver was very responsive when using the elemental sword. The only problem was that the earth-element summons didn''t have the usual weaknesses of other summonses. Arge amount of soil and rocks was released from Behemoth''s wounds as debris because of the sword''s wound. The Behemoth roared loudly just before it attacked Oliver''s team''s safety barrier. Boom! Boom! Boom! Behemoth used its front limbs to attack Oliver''s team. It was as if the beast had learned to box with its front limbs and it was only targeting a small area under its feet. Earth Spikes all over the summon''s limbs made its attack more potent. Swoosh. Swing. Cut. Behemoth continued to be attacked by the elemental sword with all its might. But apart from giving the summon a few sh wounds on its giant body, it couldn''t do much. Meanwhile, the sword aura barrier Oliver''s team had created for its safety was weakening under Behemoth''s constant attacks. The elemental sword tried to target Eren as well. But the guy was simply too fast to be attacked by a giant sword. He would just disappear from his position using either Blink or his lightning movement spell before appearing at his ce once again. This was the reason Eren wasn''t scared of the elemental sword. He knew his response time was too quick for the giant sword to attack him. He couldn''t do anything to the sword himself. In addition, he couldn''t pull off the stunt Argo had done. But arge yet slow as fuck sword wasn''t enough to intimidate him. "Hahahaha. Bitch I''m lightning." Erenughed as his afterimage was pierced by the elemental sword. He had dodged yet another personal attack on himself while maintaining a constant barrage of attacks on Oliver''s team through Behemoth. The butcher liked the face Oliver made every time Argo called him a bitch. So he did the same and engaged him in mental warfare as well. Boom! Boom! Boom! The events kept happening in a loop for a few minutes. Behemoth had a lot of chunks of its body parts missing due to the elemental sword. The Behemoth would regenerate part of his missing body parts by using the earth beneath him and attack Oliver''s safety barrier with new vigor. When the elemental sword failed to take care of him, Eren was bombarded with a bunch of long-range spells cast by the rankers on Oliver''s team. Eren would simply dodge them or use various spells he had in his arsenal to counter them while shifting his position all over the Behemoth''s body. Eren knew exactly where to travel all over therge moving mountain that was Behemoth. His ever-changing position made it difficult for Oliver''s team to even intercept him. The C-Rank barrier was finally weakened. Not just because of Behemoth''s constant attacks. Oliver could no longer maintain the battle formation because of mental exhaustion. When Oliver finally couldn''t take it anymore, Behemoth broke both the safety barrier and the battle formation simultaneously. Boom! Behemoth''sst punch allowed him to finish the task he was assigned to. The summon had lost arge portion of his front limbs because it was colliding against a barrier made of a C-ranked sword aura. The more the elemental sword was used on Eren and Behemoth, the more sword aura was generated around Oliver''s team, strengthening the barrier. But Oliver''s mental burden of maintaining the sword aura as a defense barrier was increasing as well. Thus, when Behemoth kept on attacking Oliver''s team relentlessly, it managed to break both the barrier and the battle formation in one go. "Heh! Offense is the best defense. Behemoth... give me meat patties." Eren''s sinister voice was heard by Oliver''s team from above. He was looking at them while standing over Behemoth''s right shoulder. The summon released another ear-piercing cry before following the summoner''smands. Boom. Boom. Boom. Oliver''s team was exposed to the Behemoth''s direct attacks for the first time under its feet. The situation was akin to an elephant trying to squash a bunch of ants. No matter how further they all wanted to run away, some of them were about to get crushed under the beast''s giant feet. Chapter 971 Unique Dining Experience Boom! The rankers on Oliver''s team were already mentally and physically exhausted from running the battle formation extensively. So when Behemoth attacked them, nobody was able to respond to the extent of their abilities. Three rankers died right away under Behemoth''s feet. The fourth was fatally injured because debris fell on him. Only Oliver and one other guy managed to get away safely from the behemoth''s attacks. Oliver couldn''t assure his safety for long, however, because a certain demon beast was waiting in line when the safety barrier cracked. He swooped down from the sky and picked up Oliver as if he was catching a fish fromke water. "Where you going, bitch? I told you I''mma dine on your carcass." Kiyeeeh! Shrouded in red lightning, Argo appeared at the scene and grabbed Oliver by his shoulder with his ws. The beast had managed to mimic Eren''s movement spell to some extent. He also used his natural gifts and wind-element attainment to enhance his speed. As a result, Oliver couldn''t defend himself when the demon beast attacked him. The guy was already suffering from physical and mental fatigue. So he couldn''tunch a counter when Argo took hold of him. "Aaaaargh!" Argo exerted some pressure on Oliver''s shoulder with his grip and the ws sank into his flesh. Argo dropped Oliver over Behemoth''s crown before cing his ws on his chest. "Nooooo please Eren sir demon prince save... aaaaargh!" Kiyeeeeeeh! Argo only released his beastly cry in response to Oliver''s pleas. He shrank his size and picked Oliver''s eyes with his beak, putting the guy through more misery. The demon beast started devouring the C-ranker bite by bite, relishing every piece of flesh he got. Streams of blood started dripping off Behemoth''s face as Argo enjoyed his C-rank delicacy over its head. The bodies of C-rank entities and beyond were special. Even a drop of blood from these entities was highly potent and had innate magical properties depending upon the entity''s elemental affinity and other factors. It was also not easy to kill a C-rank entity. The organs in their bodies defiedmon sense known to mortals. Their hearts could beat for weeks on end even after they were taken out. Their lungs could continue to function long after the hosts'' deaths. Even their bone marrow continued to produce an insane amount of blood to keep the hosts alive. Thus, as Argo was killing Oliver, thetter''s body continued fighting the eventual oue it was subjected to. To recover from his injuries, his body produced more blood and life essence. In the meantime, the demon beast devoured everything Oliver had to offer. Oliver kept recovering bit by bit from his serious injuries. And Argo kept eating the regrown organs. A pond of blood had been created because of such a gruesome scene. The smell of blood traveled far and wide, and the mana pulses of such violence would give normal ranker goosebumps. Oliver kept screaming to his heart''s content. The Behemoth had stopped walking after it had done its job. But Oliver''s screams made it feel as if the earth-element summon itself was voicing the injustice done to him. Kirin appeared in front of Eren and dropped the dead body of the ranker who had managed to run away with Oliver. Thetter was enjoying thest few drags of his Sativa Stick in silence as he let Argo finish his "exclusive dining experience." Ivor kept a very close eye on Eren. He watched that Eren was smoking the whole time when he waspeting against Oliver and his entire team. Ivor understood that his fight with Eren was nothing more than a stretching exercise for Eren. "Haah! And the bastard says he is not addicted. Could have fooled me." La appeared beside Ivor and took a keen look at Eren. She then shifted her gaze back to Ivor before speaking up. "But that tells you something, doesn''t it? It means Eren did not have to go all out against Oliver''s forces. The same forces that had made us run away from them multiple times. He didn''t even need our help. Not really. He could have dealt with the entire team by himself if he wanted to." Ivor scoffed when he heard La''sment. She thought that she was pitting Ivor against Eren by saying that. But all it did was confirm the conclusion he had drawn for himself. ''This guy he will be even scarier than that old hag if he keeps growing at the same pace. I I need to think about my future carefully by picking the side that is likely to win at the end of the Lazarus Project.'' Eren and Ivor looked at each other at the same time by coincidence when Ivor finished thinking to himself. Eren gestured to Ivory to follow him before appearing above Behemoth''s crown which was now a blood-soakedke bed. "Aaaaaaargh demon kill me first before you devour me I I can''t take it anymore." Oliver pleaded with Argo to finish the job first. He then looked around to find that Eren, Ivor, La, and Kirin had appeared nearby, just outside the pool of blood his C-rank body had created. Argo was in a trance. He felt like his ranking breakthrough was approaching as he kept on devouring Oliver. He just kept on attacking the Hound without showing him any mercy. Oliver''s entire body was a mess at this point. Nobody could tell where it began and where it ended. Although one eye was missing from the eye socket, only his face remained recognizable. Oliver looked at Eren and other people with hatred beforementing. "Eren Idril, Arthur Aaaaargh Sir Arthur will not spare you. You will be . Aaaaaargh!" The Hound then looked at Jason beforementing. "You. Ivor Osan Jason Renar wille for you." Ivor spat in contempt before speaking up. "Yeah? He better do it. Otherwise, I''ll have to start looking for him." Eren didn''t need to reply to Oliver''s empty threats. He just looked at Argo and scrunched his nose in annoyance. The butcher used a mental connection to snap Argo out of his trance. "You fat bird look at the mess you have created. This is how you eat? At least finish the guy first. We are not savages, damn it." As he stood at the ce, Argo pped his wings and looked around him. The demon soul fragment in him went dormant once again, making him seem lost at first. "Uhh! What the" Argo remembered everything he had done and shook his head aggressively. He quickly used his eagle w to crush Oliver''s beating heart which was exposed in the open and killed the guy before speaking up. "Damn. My bad boss. But I think I I''m having a breakthrough." Chapter 972 Argos Breakthrough A boy could be seen sitting cross-legged in the middle of the blood pool with his eyes closed. He looked to be 15ish years oldC quite young and full of youth. He had a thick head of white hair that stood out against his copper-brown skin. When he opened his red eyes, they shone with unmasked ambition. This young boy had a strange tattoo on his right cheek that made him look like a delinquent. He had an eagle-like curved nose and a sculpted jawline. He wore an expression of anger on his face. But that was because he couldn''t control his facial muscles properly yet. Argo had assumed his humanoid form after his breakthrough into the C-rank. In achieving a ranking breakthrough, he had left Eren behind. The C-rank had followed in the footsteps of Reen by being able to assume humanoid form. When Argo stood up, he measured around 5.9 feet tall. Despite what Eren was used to calling him, the beast''s humanoid form had a slim build with light muscle definitions. One could say that he looked as if he was in a caloric deficit with his athletic physique. Argo stepped out of the blood pool in one swift jump and was greeted with ayer of red lightning that blocked visibility. As if red lightning curtains had been drawn around him. "Stop flexing and wear these clothes." Eren threw a bunch of regr clothes at Argo covered in lightning streaks. Argo caught the streaks with his bare hands before partially dousing the lightning tongues. Argo opened his mouth to speak but the butcher''s stare made him shut up and follow hismands. In no time, Argo was seen wearing a pair of ck and white clothes that were clearly many sizes above me. The beast didn''t like that he was given a bunch of used clothes. "Yo boss, I''ll need some money to go shopping. Don''t expect me to wear hand-me-downs forever." Argo ran his fingers through his white hair and adjusted his ck jacket as he demanded money from Eren like it was his birthright. As proud as he was, Argo treated Eren like a family. So there was no shame in asking for something from him. The butcher nodded his head begrudgingly. He knew Argo would start duping people if he didn''t get what he wanted from him. His hustle knew no bounds. Argo and Eren treated the former''s humanoid transformation as a normal event. But others watching Argo had a different opinion. "You.. you were a legendary-tier demon beast? How?" La looked at Argo with a shocked expression as she asked him a question. She could confirm that Argo had stepped into the legendary-tier category with his breakthrough into the C-rank. Argo focused his eagle-like gaze on La and shrugged his shoulders beforementing. "I don''t even know what that means. I guess I''m just that awesome." Argo said confidently while attempting to walk using his humanoid legs. Since he wasn''t used to his humanoid form, he just fell t on his face, discrediting his previous confident attitude. Kirin chuckled when she looked at Argo before disappearing into thin air. The butcher looked at Argo as if he was annoyed. "Learn to walk first before dering yourself awesome." "I... I am born to fly, not walk" Argo retorted from his face-t-on-the-ground position. The butcher sighed before deciding to cancel his tank spell. He made the Behemoth walk to the same pit it hade out of before altering thendscape once again. *** Half-moon night. Chilled atmosphere. There was light snow deposition on the leaves of the forest trees. A bright source of light was the only source of warmth in this cold atmosphere. A group of rankers could be seen sitting around a campfire. This was the western end of the Dark Daniera forestC around three days'' worth of colt ride away from Eren''sst battlefield. The forest would end if the group traveled west for a day or two. There was a living undead elf sitting among the group as well. One would have to check this elf very carefully to determine that he was a living undead. Because, unlike normal undead, he didn''t have a lifeless face. Plus, he could speak. "So you''re telling me that the attack on Healers'' Nirvana was nned by another royal scion from Layos? Who would that be and how can I find them?" Eren asked Shandil while having his beer-braised brisket. Kirin was sitting to his right while Argo was sitting to his left. The demon beast couldn''t use the beast space anymore because Eren was still a D-rank entity. Eren also preferred that Argo get used to his humanoid form. So the young demon would be asked to walk or sprint from time to timeC a task he was failing miserably. So it was no wonder that Argo was not happy with his current circumstances despite being served quality red meat. Ivor and La were sitting on the other side of the campfire. The former was ying with his daggers while thetter was jotting something down in her journal. It was as if she was recording interesting events that happened in her life recently. Shandil was standing behind Eren with his eyes fixed on the mes released by the campfire from time to time. The living undead rolled his eyes unnaturally trying to remember some of the memories he had when he was alive. Eren''s spell and some of his modifications had brought him back to a false-life state. But it had affected Shandil''s memories. So it was a while before he could answer Eren''s question. "Yes, sire. The royal scion''s name is Shna. She is a C-rank royal elf currently ced 13th in the line of session. As for where you can find her I don''t remember." The necromancer Eren scrunched his nose in dissatisfaction when he heard Shandil''s reply. Thetter sensed his sire''s ire and came up with a fitting reply to pacify him. "Sire, I don''t remember where you can find Shna. But I can always contact her and make here to us." === AN: Hope you liked the on-roids release rate this week. I''ll get back to writing INFIO and work on another project in January. So it will be a while before we have something like this nned for VEH. ;) Out with the old. In with the new. May we be hustling the whole year through. Wishing you a very happy new year. ;) Chapter 973 Ivor’s Choice P1 Eren always knew that there were liable to be repercussions for assimting Healers'' Nirvana into his guild. He wasn''t kidding when he painted a grim picture for Jiana saying there were consequences to taking over her guild. He hadn''t said that just to get a favorable deal for himself. The butcher knew how cultist organizations worked. After all, he was in business with some of them. So he wasn''t surprised when he heard that the remaining members of the Midnight Moon along with some others were nning to attack White Raven city itself. It was their way of sending a message. Eren felt that dealing with cultists was a lot more problematic than dealing with well-established forces or entities. Because he didn''t know how to target them. The cultists didn''t have fixed assets under their names. So he couldn''t hold them ountable for anything. This was the reason why Eren dealt with cultists by hiring other cultists. Still, the fact that he had taken over Healers'' Nirvana could not be hidden. So he was expecting Midnight Moon and its allies to bear their fangs at him anyway. Eren smirked to himself when he got the heads-up from Shandil. He was d that he had prepared Shandil to be a living undead with a false lifehood infused into him. The butcher could use the royal elf as a beacon to get all the royal scions acting behind the cultist organizations before killing them in an ambush. He made a straightforward n in a few seconds before addressing Shandil. "Shandil, you will call Shna and all the other royal scions from Layos that you can find. Bring them together so we can kill them all in one go." Eren decided to kill all the royal scions of Layos he could get his hands on. It was so that the ones who survived Eren''s ambush n wouldn''t have sufficient force or influence to target him or his city. Ivor stopped ying with his daggers and looked at Eren as if he was expecting him to say something like that. Only he could talk about killing a bunch of royal scions from the enemy kingdom like he was chopping veggies. He doubted even Edinburgh royalty would take such bold steps even after getting their hands on the royal elves within their borders. Ivor smirked before using a runic whetstone to sharpen his daggers. He once belonged to a family that was supposed to care about the citizens of Edinburgh. But he didn''t have these responsibilities anymore. Eren''s n to keep his guild out of trouble was going to intensify the enmity between the two kingdoms. But that didn''t stop Eren from prioritizing his interests. Next, he nced at Kirin before adding more. "Kirin darling, take Shandil with you and figure out a n to target all the cultists in one go. Kaalmaahen is busy handling his tribe. And I don''t think Agatha would be able to spare you any rankers from the guild to carry out this mission. So you''d have to look for someone else. Get in touch with Baran and form a strike team with him. Money won''t be an issue. Use whatever means you have to sneak the monsters within the kingdom''s territories and target all the cultists who have decided to target us. I''ll also ask Sirius to hunt down some of the high-ranking entities that can''t be handled by you. Stay low-key but let the killings make a ssh. Let them know White Raven City knows how to protect itself in a way they couldn''t have imagined." Eren asked Kirin to strike at his iing enemies first before they strike him. She had already proved her mettle by leading the charge against an entire Ogre tribe along with its leader. So he knew she could handle this task just as effortlessly. Orc Lord Baran was Eren''s Orc general that was in charge of his monster army stationed in the Bands. Eren decided to sneak some of the monsters inside Edinburgh to use them against the cultists. Kirin nodded at Eren''s decision. She liked the fact that he could count on her for things like this. Just as she had done thest time, she decided to do ster work on this job as well. Eren then looked at La before asking her. "What will you do now that you have been freed from Oliver''s constant pursuits? Enter the city of Lancelot?" La stopped writing in her journal and paused before looking up. She looked at the mes of the campfire dancing over the half-burnt logs as she spoke. "Yes. I havepleted my part of the preparations. I didn''t want that wretched Oliver to follow me there. So I avoided going to the city for a long time. But the time hase. Oliver is dead. Master Eliza''s preparations are almost finished as well. And Arthur is busy with his secluded ranking practice. Even if hees out of his seclusion, he will be busy stabilizing his breakthrough into the Grandmaster rank. We have nothing to stop us from starting the Lazarus project. I''m just waiting for you. When will you join me?" Eren finished his dinner and looked at the star-studded night sky. He smiled when he heard La''s question. Instead of answering her right away, he instead asked a question to Ivor. "Thinking of Jason?" Oliver''s mention of Jason with his dying breath had irked Ivor. Jason was the guy who Ivor had counted on in his academy days. And the same guy had betrayed him and lured him into Purgatory. "If only he wasn''t Arthur''s son" Ivor would have liked to get even with Jason for betraying him. But he knew that thinking about targeting Jason and doing it were two different things. Jason was Arthur''s bastard son. The guy was also very talented. Jason had gotten into Royal Renar when Arthur''s artificial demon beast project didn''t yield him the result he wanted. He was supposed to take Ivor with him. Due to a twist of fate, the two ended up on a different spectrum of life. Jason got to enjoy all the top-notch ranking resources after he exited Purgatory. Ivor on the other hand was branded as the Osan Woods'' Butcher. He was forced to live the life of a cultistC living nomadically and off the grid most of the time. "There''s a way, Ivor. Hehe. How about you graduate with me just for the heck of it?" Chapter 974 Ivors Choice P2 Ivor was too stunned to speak. Graduating from LA and getting on thedder of sess was one of his dreams. His grandfather Isen Osan had also instilled that wish in him. Eren couldn''t offer him that path anymore. And with the increase in his rank, it was only going to get more difficult for him as a vagabond. After all, after the C-rank, getting ranking resources while staying outside the system was going to be extremely difficult. Still, the butcher was offering him something to tick off his to-do list. He knew that the ship had sailed for him toe into the mainstream. The rankers'' society as a whole wouldn''t ept him. So whatever Eren was offering him wasn''t meant to be official. Not that he cared at this point. He was about to ask Eren about something when thetter threw something at him all of a sudden. "This would be your key toing to the capital with me and getting inside the event." Ivor looked carefully at what he was holding in his hands. It was the same artifact Shandil had used to alter his identity. The butcher had turned the royal elf into one of his living undead and taken possession of his belongings. So the mask belonged to him from that moment on. Eren had alreadymunicated with Shandil and asked him how to use the mask. A special ritual must be performed for the mask to work, which involves the sacrifice of the ranker from which the identity originated. Eren couldn''t believe that elves were involved in such practices when he first learned about them. It meant that Rondo was a real person before Shandil killed him and robbed him of his identity. When the ritual was finished, nobody could tell the difference between the real and fake Rondo. Eren got up and started pacing around the campfire with his hands behind his back. He took a short break before speaking further. "I''ll tell you how to use the mask, Ivor. But that is only if you are interested ining with me." La snatched the mask from Ivor''s grip as thetter seemed lost in his thoughts once again. She noticed the runes engraved over it and was amazed at the craftsmanship of the elves. "This this is intent-based magic! Elves really are ahead of humans in using this branch of magic." La made herments and observed the mask for a bit before returning it to Ivor. Thetter casually ced the mask over his face and looked at Eren. Chuckling, he asked. "Fuck Arthur?" Eren nodded his head before replying, "Fuck Arthur indeed." Eren knew that Arthur was one of his biggest enemies apart from Demonmir. The only advantage he had over Arthur was the fact that thetter wasn''t aware of Eren''s role in messing up his ns. As much as Eren liked to y hide and seek with Arthur forever, he knew the Duke would not let things go. Arthur was like a ticking time bomb in Eren''s hands that would go off with one wrong move. Thus, Eren decided to target Jason instead. Jason was Arthur''s weak point. At least the butcher hoped he was. Arthur was focused on capturing La these days, which was detrimental to both Eren and La. So his attention could be shifted to Osan Woods'' Butcher again if he manages to mess with Jason. Eren had a simple n. But he believed that simple ns had a higher rate of sess because of how straightforward they were. Jason was well protected by his team of guards daily, even when he was attending Royal Renar. Nobody would be able to touch him. Plus, the guy wasn''t cannon fodder either. Jason felt privileged to be a royal. But he never let pride get in the way of his learning. After all, he was often called a bastard son by his step-siblings and their mothers. So the guy had a kind of fire inside his heart that couldn''t be faked. Just like Arthur had once remarked about his bastard son, he was quite skilled as a ranker. His achievements would only umte with time as he looked after the fire inside his heart. Arthur had also prevented anyone from helping Jason too much. At first, he sent his bastard son to LA while sending his legitimate children to Royal Renar to prevent a family feud. But when he saw that Jason was ready to take on anyone, he brought him to Royal Renar topete with his step-siblings. Eren was aware of these tidbits about Arthur and Jason because he liked keeping tabs on his enemies. He always ran away from Jason when they were in LA because he was not strong enough to even say no to him. And that decision saved him from attracting Arthur''s attention. Times change. At this point, Eren wanted to confront Jason instead of the other way around. He wanted to use him as a chess piece to influence Arthur in a certain way. Ivor understood what Eren wanted to do to Arthur when he heard Eren''s proposal. As he removed his mask, he asked the butcher in a downcast voice. "When will you stop shooting from my shoulder? I hate being used as a pawn." Eren stopped pacing around when he heard Ivor''s words. He looked at the guy intently before gesturing to him to hand him something. "Haah! Just give me the mask then. I can always look for some other ways to fuck with Arthur." Ivor was lost for words when he witnessed Eren''s uncaring attitude. He just knew in his heart that the butcher was perfectly capable of reorganizing his ns with or without him. Ivor pursed his lips before cing the mask in his storage. He clenched his fists before replying. "No. I will do it. Let me see how much that backstabber has progressed after ditching me in Purgatory." As much as Jason didn''t like being used as a pawn, he didn''t want to let go of the chance to sh with Jason personally. Plus, he always wanted to graduate. Ivor knew that his life was going to be put at risk even with the mask working for him. But he believed that some risks needed to be taken in life just to get peace of mind. Chapter 975 Planning For The Graduation Event Eren sighed dramatically when he received Ivor''s agreement. He shook his head and approached Ivor. The butcher ced both his hands on Ivor''s shoulders and patted them before speaking up in a wise schrly voice. "You know young man the road to revenge will only take you downhill. Try to be as forgiving as I am. You will be much happier that way." Kirin chuckled but controlled herughter elegantly. To support her husband, she stood up and left the scene. Cough! Cough! Cough! Argo on the other hand was not as subtle as Kirin. He started coughing as if he was going to die from it. He got up and ced his right hand over his chest to calm himself down before speaking up. "This cough cough cough Boss I think my allergies are acting up. Must be some side effects of eating that guy Oliver. I cough cough cough... I''mma just walk it off." Argo disappeared from his seat as well, leaving Eren alone with La and Ivor. La stuck her tongue at Eren too, telling him that she couldn''t be fooled by his fake wise-ass speech. Ivor was no fool to notice the tell-tale signs of Eren''s bullshittery. He swatted the butcher''s hands off his shoulders before reconfirming his involvement in the graduation event. Eren sighed dramatically as if he truly wanted to prevent Ivor from taking the path of revenge. He could only agree to Ivor''s demands as if it was Ivor''s idea to go with him all along. La had to admit that Eren was a master maniptor. He defused a tense atmosphere and convinced Ivor to join his ns willingly. She could say that even her master did not have this art in her skillset. Eliza was a monster of a ranker and a half-blood with one-in-million talent. But when it came to manipting people ording to one''s will, Eren had her beat. She could only use threats as a driving force for her maniption to work. However, fear and other negative emotions were not very effective maniption tactics in the long run. The real maniption was when the subject got excited to do what you wanted them to do all along. Ivor was Eren''s contingency n in case he had to run wild at the graduation event. He could pin things on the mysterious Osan Woods'' Butcher who managed to sneak into the event. Ivor also knew how Eren thought at this point. He knew that Eren never did things out of pure goodwill towards him. Osan Jr. hade to realize that the devil he knew was better than the devil he didn''t. Upon receiving Ivor''s affirmation, Eren looked at La and pped his hands before speaking up. "That settles it for all of us, La. I and Ivor will go to attend the graduation event that will be held in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, you move forward and settle in the city of Lancelot. See what can be done to advance our ns. However, don''t make any major moves until we arrive in the city of Lancelots. The graduation event shouldn''t take more than a month or two. So keep that in mind before making your decision. La pondered for a bit and carefully considered Eren''s instructions before nodding. There was now a movement to release her Master from the shackles of her inevitable fate. And she couldn''t help feeling excited about it. Eren felt La''s excitement and sighed. He only hoped that he didn''t have to raze an entire city to the ground just to get his hands on a couple of resources he had technically no use for. *** Messing up with an old monster like House Lancelot was not a small thing. In more ways than one, the repercussions of doing something like that and getting exposed were going to be more severe than offending House Slughorn. Eren guessed that House Lancelot had at least one Sage stationed in its city. And the Lancelot guild itself had various high-ranking entities working under its name. This was the so-called big leagues. And he had to deal with them while being nowhere near them. House Lancelot was bigger than his organization in terms of the average ranking status of the roster of rankers, political power, economical background, and all the other standards of measurement one could think of. Eren had worked really hard during these years to get to where he was. All so that he could execute Eliza''s ns the way he wanted and get Reen back. If he had only been interested in his personal growth, he would have done the majority of things the same way. However, he would have adopted a different approach to change the oue. His desire to get Reen back made him take a lot of detours. Eren grew at an unprecedented rate on both personal and organizational levels. His city was one of the rising wonders of the kingdom. The city''s prosperity made a big ssh in the minds of the masses. And Eren''s growth potential made everyone he came into contact with nervous. But his growth was still nothing inparison to organizations like House Lancelot which were sitting on piles and piles of old money and resources. Taking things from them was akin to waking up a wild beast. As if that was not enough, Eren must also worry about Demonmir and House Slughorn. Then there were organizations like Midnight Moon which were trying to encroach on everything he had built so far. *** All these reasons made La really wonder why Eren cared so much about being graduated. Since he wasn''t interested in working for the kingdom or getting employed by other organizations, he should have let go of obtaining a degree. The guy had an entire city to himself. He didn''t need anyone''s support to survive in the kingdom anymore. He could get his hands on any ranking resource for his rank without signing contracts. So there was only one way Eren would get motivated to participate in the graduation event. "You want something out of that graduation event. Don''t you?" Chapter 976 Layla Meets Alephee "You want something out of that graduation event. Don''t you?" La quickly concluded. She was sure that only the prospect of obtaining significant profits would make Eren entertain the idea of being part of the rat race. Eren smiled mirthlessly when he heard La''s remark. He wasn''t sure how much advantage he had at this point in knowing what had happened in thest timeline. But he wanted to give it a shot nheless. In thest timeline, only the rankers from LA were involved in the graduation event. But after getting all the other academies onboard with the event, the stakes of the event had reached their peak. ''I don''t care about the rankers participating in the event. But I can only hope that the setup of the event remains the same. I''ll have one more trump card I can use if I get my hands on that reward from the event.'' Eren was willing to butcher all the participants that came his way to get his hands on the reward, irrespective of the covert and overt consequences. With or without Ivor getting on board with his ns, the things he wanted to achieve from the event were going to be the same. Eren, La, and Ivor talked extensively about a few things to solidify their ns. La was supposed to head to the city of Lancelot after her exit from the Dark Daniera forest. Because the location was near the Dark Daniera forest, she didn''t need to travel far. Ivor was supposed to head to Edinburgh''s capital using routes avable for rogue rankers and cultists. Eren had decided to visit the city of White Raven to finalize a few things. He wouldn''t return to the city for some time after he set out this time. So he needed to prepare a few things in advance. He also had to pick up Levine and Nina as they both were nning toe with him to the capital. La decided to call it a night after the talk was over. Although the homunculus didn''t really sleep, she liked to mentally think that she was resting. This way, she could subconsciously feel that she was no different from her previous self. La looked at Eren''s pendant and decided to visit her ce after a long time. She couldn''t keep tabs on the ce for some reason when she was separated from Eren. But now that Eren was in the vicinity, she could use her control rights to get into her pendant abode. La yawned lightly and said good night to Eren and Ivor while they were talking about something. Both were sitting in front of each other on their respective wooden logs around the partially doused campfire. She then disappeared from her ce only to reappear in Eren''sp. At first, nobody understood what had happened. A moment before Eren and Ivor were discussing the graduation event when suddenly La appeared on Eren''sp like she was interested in hearing stories and lubies from him. It took a while for La to understand what had happened. Her stunned face depicted the shock she felt in her heart. Someone had kicked her out of her pendent abode. "What what is the meaning of this?" La looked at Eren and asked him in an using tone. She thought a lot about it and found it unbelievable that Eren had interfered with an artifact that could only be altered by a Sage. Eren was confused as well after hearing Alephee''s question. He threw her words back at her. "What is the meaning of THIS?" Eren picked up La and made her stand. When she tried to get into the pendent abode, she ended up in the same position as before. The homunculus was kicked out of the pendent abode and forced to sit on Eren''sp once again. La looked at Eren as if he was cheating on her. After pointing at him usingly, she said in a threatening tone. "Who is in there? And how can she kick me out of my own house?" Eren looked confused at first. But then Alephee spoke inside his head and made him understand what had happened. Chuckling, he wrapped his arms around La this time before speaking up. "Well I kept a few of my Orcinas in there to" "Stop. Don''t lie to me, Eren. Even if someone has managed to override my authority, only a homunculus can get inside the pendant abode. The artifact is made that way. Tell me, who is the person that is currently in my home for real?" Eren pursed his lips when he heard La''s words. Frankly, he wanted to keep Alephee''s existence a secret from La. But he also understood the need to speak the truth in these sensitive times. Especially after he was busted for lying. The three were supposed to work together to achieve a singr goal. So they needed to be as honest with each other as they could to lower the trust deficit. "Alepheee out." Eren suggested Alepheee out and thetter obliged. It was only a moment before the two homunculi were seen staring at each other in silence. Alephee was wearing a loose-fitting white top and brown pants. And her presence was as serene as the calm water of an unexploredke. Still, La couldn''t be fooled by Alephee''s deceptive looks. She immediately considered Alephee a serious threat. Sinking into Eren''s embrace, Lamented. "You are not normal." La sensed an unexinable sense of dangering from Alephee. She didn''t want to admit it. But Alephee''s presence overshadowed Eliza briefly in La''s mind before returning to normal. Alephee was supposed to have powers simr to an Adept-ranked entity, which made her technically weaker than La. However, La was not as childish as she looked. She understood that the young woman in front of him was more than she looked. Alephee looked at La with a keen gaze and smiled mysteriously before responding cryptically. "Well define normal." Chapter 977 Rank-Up Program’s Success Agatha''s private chamber. The city of White Raven. Three days before Eren was due to leave his city for Edinburgh''s capital, Edin. Eren and Agatha were sitting upright on thetter''s bed, barely clothed. Miss Manager was essing her spectral screen and giving Eren an update on everything that was happening inside his city. "Hehe. Among other things Argo spent around 300 thousand Extols on buying random things. Thankfully, he spent it here so it will circte back to us sooner orter." Eren had stress lines on his forehead when he heard the report from Agatha. He wanted to argue that the cirction of money wasn''t the problem but decided to let it go. It had been a few days since he got into his city and started to manage a lot of its pending affairs. He had let Argo free and the fat bird managed to run wild with whatever liberties were given to him. Nina was busy with her own work. So Eren tended to Agatha''s "needs" day and night during these days. He also used his lust-induced epiphany on her. And this time, it was she who benefitted the most. Agatha managed to make astonishing progress in her ranking status, thanks to the lust-induced epiphany, allowing her to reach the peak of the liquid stage Adept rank. It was to be noted that she had broken into the Adept rank not too long ago. Eren also weed Dianna into the city. After ghosting House Remus, she settled in his city. She benefited greatly from his Sin of Lust, as a result. Eren''s attainments of various elements and their Aspects were umted at a steady pace. So one could say that he didn''t have anything toin about. Arjun and Lyon were next to join the White Raven guild. They had done exactly what Eren had told them to do, preventing the army from stopping their exit. Eren looked after the arrangements for the newly joined members of his guild. Throughout the city, he attended several public events. The batch of rankers that entered the rank-up program came out during this time as well. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, nobody died. Some of them damaged their mana cores and mana circuits a bit but the damages were recoverable so there were no real losses. Bianka, Drin, and Tumko Darata along with their team members had managed to make exceptional progress in their elemental attainments as well as their ranking statuses, thanks to the elemental pool. It would have taken them years to reach the level they were currently at after surviving the rank-up program. The Adept rankers had the most to gain from the elemental pool. Their gains were significantpared to the risk factor they had by being part of the rank-up program. Eren congratted everyone that was part of the rank-up program. He set up the use of special resources and healers for rankers who got injured in the process as well. He also embarked on a few missions with the fit rankers to witness their program-induced growth firsthand. The rankers who benefited from the rank-up program thought that they were doing quite well until they saw what Eren could do without having been through the same program. Every single one of them was blown away by Eren''s progress while they were doing missions together. They realized why the man was their guild master at the time. The next to join the rank-up program were Nina, Levine, Jiana, Amory, and all the other high-ranking entities associated with him. Eren would leave for Edin once Nina and Levine came out of the program. Kirin separated from Eren after she entered the city of White Raven. She approached Baran who was stationed inside the Bands. The half-elf has been given the task to target the cultists and the royal elves behind them, which were intended to target Eren''s assets. Eren kept in touch with Kirin and gave her a few pointers on what she could do. He also arranged his Half-Blood Bastion connection to aid the half-elf. As a result of all of Eren''s measures and countermeasures, the city of White Raven was able to stay safe amid all the potential crises thrown its way. Due to him handling so many things, the butcher didn''t have time to chaperone Argo due to his extremely busy schedule. And the demon beast seemed to have taken huge advantage of that. Eren sighed before speaking up. "Spending money is fine as long as he can work hard to justify his lifestyle. Assign more lucrative missions to him." Agatha pursed her lips and essed the next spectral screen rted to the White Raven guild. She chuckled when she found out what Ago was up to. "Argo is way ahead of you. He has already taken missions worth as much money as he spent. He''ll be pairing up with high-ranking entities on his next missions." Eren smirked when he learned Argo was busy doing his own thing. "That brat is smart. He doesn''t risk himself by taking dangerous solo missions. And he knows that pairing with high-ranking entities on even riskier and yet rtively safer missions will give him greater rewards. He is constantly putting himself on edge to improve on an individual level as well. I guess we didn''t need to worry about him after all." Agatha nodded at Eren''s statement as she reviewed all the active missions currently avable for White Raven guild members. She could see that Eren''s work ethic had a hand in Argo''s upbringing. But where Eren focused on cutting down on his expenses, the demon beast focused on simply earning more. Agatha had a smile on her face as she felt Eren''s hands climbing over the exposed parts of her body again. She was just about to close the spectral screen when an alert message popped up. She read through the message quickly and swatted Eren''s hand away before telling him in an excited voice. "No stop it, Eren. We need to get ready. Something huge has happened." Eren didn''t want to let Miss Manager go just yet. He could only me that on the side effects of using the Sin of Lust. But Agatha made him read the emergency alert and that finally snapped him out of his overindulgence. Chapter 978 Grandmaster Amory A secure facility on the Kukenan teau. The city of White Raven. "Erni, when will he be out?" Nina asked Eren in an excited voice as she stood beside his right side. A gorgeous elf stood to Eren''s left. The elf also had an eager expression on her face. This beautiful elf was also ranked as a Master. She had reached the city of White Raven a few days ago and was staying at Carvo Bianco vineyards since then. She immediately rushed herself to the facility when she heard about Amory''s breakthrough. Agatha was busy standing on the other side of the hall where the array controls were being handled by rankers from Levine''s faction. Levine herself was with Agatha, discussing a few things with her. The butcher was standing inside a giant hall that only had a spatial array serving as its base. This array served as the ess point to the elemental pool of the rank-up program. He stared at the illuminated runes in the array before replying. "Shouldn''t be too long considering the feedback from the elemental pool we have recorded. I don''t know how he is doing right now per se but he has managed to break into the Grandmaster rank and is alive. The old man still has some spirit left in him after all. Can''t say I''m not surprised." Eren made an "I''m impressed" face when he said that. He reported what he knew from the information Agatha received on her spectral screen this morning. He then nced at the elf standing beside him briefly before looking back at Nina with a "what''s her deal?" expression. It was his first time seeing her in person and she didn''t make an eye contact with him. So he felt a bit weird by her way of ghosting him. Nina gestured to Eren to keep quiet and not disturb the elf. The two Master rankers knew each other quite well. Nina could understand why the elf was excited about another ranker''s progress. That''s because the ranker who had broken into the Grandmaster rank was like a father figure to her. The elf had just joined Eren unceremoniously without even introducing herself. Despite wanting to engage Jiana in conversation, the butcher let go after Nina gestured. He then ced his arms across Nina''s shoulders and rested his head on her right shoulder as he waited for the Grandmaster ranker toe out. Eren waited patiently for the man''s arrival because this man was going to be the first official Grandmaster ranker of his guild. He made him proceed through the rank-up program on his own in altered settings, to increase his chances of survival. And it seemed to work well. Runes employed in the array suddenly lit up brightly and affected the surrounding fabric space. When the runes dimmed down, an exhausted-looking ranker was seen standing inside the center of the array. This ranker still had his clothes on. It seemed that he had worn them hastily before being teleported inside the facility. He knew there would likely be people waiting for his arrival. And he wanted to look dignified in front of them. His newly acquired rank didn''t allow him to have the luxury of being shabby. But the man couldn''t keep himselfposed after suffering through the spatial alteration around him. As a result of his recent breakthrough, his body was exhausted and his mana reserves were depleted. So it didn''te as a surprise when he started to stumble on the first step he took. "Uncle Amory!" The elf rushed to the Grandmaster ranker''s aid as soon as she snapped out of her reverie. Thetterughed and weed the elf into his embrace like a father would to meet his faraway daughter after a long time. "Hahaha. You are here as well? As you can see,ss. I am all fine and still kicking. I made it." Amory patted Jiana''s head before he started coughing. He said he was fine. But everyone in the audience could tell he needed a few days off to recover himself and stabilize his breakthrough. Amory looked quite different from his past self. He still had shoulder-length white hair and a long white beard. But there were no prominent wrinkles on his skin anymore. He looked like his younger self. Amory''s posture had improved. His eyes sparkled with intelligence and one could see his atrophied muscles trying to highlight their presence through his clothes. His aura as a Grandmaster ranker couldn''t be faked either. Amory had managed to get himself into the very exclusive club of rankers with his recent breakthrough. And this came at a crucial time when there were signs of war. He could be considered one of the powerhouses in Edinburgh employed by the White Raven guild. Jiana Jihang was stunned to hear Amory break into the fabled A-Rank. Eren had informed her that he was nning to give Amory special treatment by running a specialized ranking program for him. That way, the elemental pool could be attuned to Amory''s needs. But Jiana was quite skeptical about Eren from the get-go. She had called him a tyrant many times to his face when they were talking through the spectral call because of the way he treated her guild''snds post-takeover. She assumed that Eren just wanted to cut costs by making Amory not part of the main rank-up program that she along with the rest of the high-ranking entities was supposed to take part in. Amory was then greeted by Nina, Agatha, and Levine who congratted him on his achievements. Agatha had arranged a special mansion for the A-ranker on the Kukenan teau, taking his elemental affinity and attainments into ount. She had customized his newly built house with specific arrays so that he could focus on his ranking progress even while he was stationed in the city. In celebration of Amory''s breakthrough, Agatha nned to host a special event within the White Raven city. It was a way to show the rest of the world that they had a powerhouse in their midst. Amory was allughs and smiles as he eptedpliments from thedies around him. His body was telling him to rest but his mind was ever-so-hungry for the good wishes he received from his audience. Amory was about to call it quits when he finished greeting everyone around him. But then he realized that there was still one person who was standing in a corner in silence, waiting for him toe to him. Amory appeared right in front of Eren like a ghost before asking in a deep voice. "Boy, why couldn''t you greet me like the rest of them? Does this old man not deserve praise in your eyes?" Chapter 979 Existential Paradox "Boy, why couldn''t you greet me like the rest of them? Does this old man not deserve praise in your eyes?" Amory let loose his aura around Eren in a threatening way. The old man had seen how Eren was unaffected by his presencest time when he was in Master rank. So he wanted to try the old pressure tactic with new vigor, testing where Eren''s limitsy. As the Way of Fire made its presence known around Eren, he felt as though he was immersed in a pool of extremely viscousva. His skin and throat started to dry up as he felt the most intense form of dry heat. It was as if he had been turned into a mortal and left to die in a secluded desert. Amory had fire element attainments. His violet mes had healing properties. He had be a top-notch healer because of his rare affinity and its versatile uses unlocked by him. Amory gained new insight into his ranking path after being epted into the Grandmaster rank. He realized that once one understands the way broadly, one can start seeing it in all things. It meant that exceptional proficiency in one field can be used to attain proficiency in other fields as well. As a result, Amory started seeing other uses for his healing mes when he broke into the A-Rank. ''Every aspect of the universe reflects an existential paradox. A duality of nature. That which can heal can also be used to kill. That which can kill can also be used to heal.'' Amory repeated the lines in his head which were said to him by his old friend and Jiana''s father Jin long ago. Jin had also passed the same message on to Jiana. A knife can be used as a weapon to kill someone. And it could also be used like a scalpel to treat someone on the operation table. The intentions with which the weapon was deployed changed the oue it generated. Amory didn''t really get what Jin was trying to say to him until today when he broke into the Grandmaster rank. A healer, he believed, didn''t have much liberty to be on the offensive. It wasn''t until now that he realized healers could be some of the most dangerous rankers by applying their powers in different ways. Amory also felt inferior to Jiana to some degree because the girl had understood her father''s words more deeply than he did despite having less experience than him. Her skill sets and achievements were reflections of just that. This was why she had been bestowed a kingdom-bonafide title after all. He knew it was only a matter of time before Jiana catches up to him and then surpasses him. *** Nirvana mes! Amory''s attainments in the fire element created nirvana mes. Of course, he had made sure not to hurt anybody because of his elemental manifestation and had kept his mes mostly harmless. Otherwise, the facility would have turned into a burning prison for rankers. Amory neither wanted to harm Eren nor make him look ipetent in front of others. The old man wasn''t interested in a power struggle at all. However, something about Eren''s presence always made him feel subservient to him. The A-ranked old man wanted to fight off feelings of subservience by pitting himself against an Adept-ranked Eren, no matter how illogical thatparison sounded in anyone''s head. He wanted Eren to back down from his stance just once to derive mental satisfaction from it. It was to reassure himself that his ranking status gave him the privilege to do so. Anyone could see that Eren was struggling to stand face-to-face with Amory. The difference in their ranks was just too big. Yet, the butcher held his ground and smiled mockingly before responding in a voice coated in the provocation. "Why would a boss go out of his way to greet his employee... just because he did something he was supposed to do?" Due to being exposed to Amory''s aura, Eren had to say his words with some difficulty. But he had an unmistakable smirk when he said that, preventing Amory from taking joy in his misery. Eren knew that Jiana and Amory had ns to lead his guild from the inside after joining. The members of Healers'' Nirvana wanted to have some form of autonomy while staying inside the White Raven guild. And Eren was willing to give them just that to some degree. However, he wanted them to understand that he had given them this autonomy out of convenience and his own choice. He wanted Amory and Jiana to understand that he wasn''t willing to fulfill every wish they had because he was under some kind of pressure to retain them. The butcher also felt that it was appropriate to state things at this point right after Amory''s breakthrough instead of waiting for the dust to settle down. He didn''t want Jiana to officially join his guild with the "I own this guild because of Uncle Amory" mindset either. So he had to make a scene and confront Amory then and there. He didn''t mind being seen as the so-called tyrant if it served his purpose. Eren''s emerald green eyes shone and his soul sense was released to counter Amory''s aura. He stepped forward and looked Amory in the eyes. Amory could say with confidence that the negative effects of his exposed aura were being felt by Eren. That''s because the others in the audience that hade to greet him had stressed expressions on their faces. And that was when they weren''t the target. And yet, Eren stood in front of him as if he had dealt with something much worse. As if what he had in his arsenal was or would be something much more potent. Amory couldn''t help having goosebumps on his skin as he felt Eren''s soul sense affecting him. He felt that the butcher''s eyes would trap him in an illusory world if he stared at them for long enough. Of course, he could resist the pull. But that didn''t make him feelfortable around Eren. Eren was freed from suffering through Amory''s aura when he used his soul sense as his protection. He broke his neck and stretched his arms above his head while maintaining eye contact with the newly turned Grandmaster ranker. The butcher''s voice changed and turned a bit sinister as he spoke his next words. Chapter 980 Subjugating A Grandmaster Ranker The butcher''s voice changed and turned a bit sinister as he spoke his next words. "It''s really great that you broke into the Grandmaster rank. You have my best regards, old man. May you prosper even more. May you see the wider world that''s out there. I''ll go ahead and say that here. I will celebrate your breakthrough with you and my city will also join in. I will make sure that everyone in the city of White Raven knows your name. What''s more? You will be paid handsomely ording to your rank from now on. And your needs will be prioritized when ites to procuring ranking resources for the entire guild. In short, you will get all the benefits and respect your rank deserves. And then some more." Amory felt like he shouldn''t have provoked Eren in the first ce. He felt like the butcher was counting on such a scene to take ce after Amory broke into the Grandmaster rank and became high on sess. Eren''s way of handling Amory''s breakthrough was arrogant. But the offers Eren extended to him made Amory confused about his intentions. The butcher smirked before finishing what he had to say. "I will always respect a Grandmaster in every way I can if they can respect me back. I will not send them to do petty chores at my whims. Neither will I tell them to do something unsuitable for their rank. But" Eren took a brief pause before continuing. "But I want you to get something straightC you are my employee and I am your boss and not the other way around. Not AgathaC Not NinaC and not your little girl Jiana I Eren Elijah Idril is your new boss. The guild''s prestige be damned. I would rather have disobedient high-ranking entities never join my guild at all than for me to feel the need to retain them at any cost just because it was going to bring more security and prosperity. Do you get what I''m saying? You can pack your bags and leave if you feel that your previous leader is still your current leader. You can find a new nest for yourself if you let this thing called rankers'' code of conduct stop you from obeying my orders just because I''m lower ranked than you. I''m sure there are other docile guilds out there who''d dance to your tunes and pay you a fortune because of your rank. I''ll still respect you and wish you all the best if that is your choice. But stay here and you''d have to follow my word." Everyone was shocked when they heard Eren was willing to let go of a Grandmaster ranker in his guild. The butcher didn''t bat an eye when he heard a few gasps around him. He spoke with the same conviction as before. He looked intermittently at him and Jiana when he did that. "Don''t think I won''t dare to kick you or any of the ex Healers'' Nirvana members out of my guild just because you have broken into Grandmaster rank, old man. Need I remind you of the efforts I made and the resources I invested in your breakthrough? You think I''ll let you boss me around because you now have something I paid for?" Eren narrowed his eyes at Amory, who then lowered his gaze for some reason. The butcher then smirked before ncing at Jiana standing behind him in the distance. It was as if he was speaking to both of them when he said what he said to Amory. Nina was a bit stressed when she heard Eren speak. She felt that there was a better time and ce to discuss these things. And that he should have taken Jiana and Amory into private before he made his stance. Almost all the rankers were prideful creaturesC some more than others. She didn''t want Amory to feel offended by what Eren said based on logic. Nina acted as the bridge between the ex-members of Healers'' Nirvana and the White Raven guild. She, therefore, wanted to intervene between Eren and Amory so that the matter could be settled peacefully. But she stopped in her tracks when she felt someone cing a hand on her shoulders. She turned around to see Agatha standing behind her. ''I know what you are thinking, Master Nina. But when ites to doing business, I haven''t seen anyone as astute as Eren. If he feels that there''s a need to address the issue this way, he won''t listen to anyone even if we intervene. Let us all be patient and trust in him.'' Nina was stunned by how mature Agatha sounded even when the half-blood was younger than her. Taking on mentally taxing duties as the manager of the guild and the city had fortified her mindset on another level. Agatha also understood the need to rein in Amory and Jiana at this point. As a manager of the guild, she liked rankers who obeyed her orders, which were Eren''s orders by proxy. She didn''t want to deal with such high-ranking entities on her own when the butcher wasn''t around. Just like every time, Eren''s moves had various facets attached to them. Agatha realized that Eren was handling the matter this way to make sure that the guild and the city as a whole would function smoothly even after his absence. Amory''s shoulders dropped and he retracted his aura. It was indeed true that Eren had paid for his breakthrough. Amory was reminded that he was struggling to survive against the sands of time before the breakthrough took ce. The old man sighed. He turned around and looked at Jiana briefly beforementing in a grim voice. "I I understand." Eren remained silent for a while and let the atmosphere be as heavy as a mountain. He then shed an innocent smile and changed everyone''s mood. As he retracted his soul sense, the tense atmosphere dissipated. He pped the old man''s freshly developed biceps before speaking up. "Then that settles it, old man. Rest assured There''ll be a huge celebration event to honor your breakthrough. Take some rest while we arrange a few things for your event." Eren''s attitude abruptly changed. He once again proved to Nina, Agatha, and the rest that his colors changed more frequently than a chameleon. The butcher started treating Amory like one of his pals and not a senior ranker he should respect. And instead of being offended by it, the old man felt relieved. The very event could be seen as the existential paradox as well. It was safe to say that Amory had subconsciously stopped seeing Jiana as his de facto leader. Instead, the old man epted Eren to fulfill that role entirely. Chapter 981 Pufferfish ''Damn it. I hate acting like a pufferfish in front of these high-ranking jackasses. I need to break into the C-rank soon.'' Eren thought to himself as he controlled the side effects of being exposed to a Grandmaster ranker''s aura. He was out of the controlled facility and was heading to Agatha''s office where he was supposed to wee Jiana. Amory''s breakthrough forced Eren to change his ns a bit. He was supposed to head to Edin after three days. But since he needed to be present at the event celebrating Amory''s breakthrough, the departure had been postponed by four more days. Edin was at the center of Edinburgh''s geography. It didn''t have any teleportation arrays inside the city or anywhere near it for security reasons. Even with the use of the interconnected teleportation arrays which had the potential to send him as close to Edin as possible, the butcher was going to cut it close, arriving just in time. But Eren didn''t have a choice. No matter how he may have tried to undery Amory''s aplishments for his gains, he knew perfectly well that it was extremely tough to be a Grandmaster ranker. And since it was extremely tough, it was extremely significant for his guild. Especially when he was going to leave the city in Amory''s care for an extended period. Thus, he had to attend the event at all costs. Amory had shifted to his newly constructed mansion, resting and stabilizing his breakthrough. High-ranking breakthroughs weren''t as straightforward as lower-ranked entities believed them to be. One needed to stabilize their extremely potent mana cores inside their bodies which were akin to highly reactive cosmic stars. Amory was unable to stabilize his breakthrough within a few days. He couldn''t fight right away. But he was fine for public appearances after some rest. It had been a few days since Jiana was staying at the Carvo Bianco vineyards. She didn''t venture outside the vineyards after her relocation. Therefore, it could be said that she was entering the city of White Raven for the first time since her arrival. Jiana hadn''t really talked about her role in the White Raven guild to anyone after arriving. And it was her first time getting into the heart of the city itself. Agatha and others were busy organizing an event. So the responsibility of properly weaving her role into the guild''s fabric fell on Eren''s shoulders. Eren snapped his fingers and used Instant Reset to eliminate all the negative effects caused to him by Amory. This was not the first time he had acted tough for his benefit. And he had a feeling that it wouldn''t be thest. Eren''s peculiar body constitution and his exceptional mana control had made it easy for him to fake that he was not affected by any moves performed by high-ranked entities like Amory. But that didn''t mean he didn''t suffer from the tough-guy act at all. What was he supposed to do anyway? He couldn''t show his weakness at this point. Not even to his most trusted people. Especially during these times. He had to bear the burden of acting tough all alone. No matter how fast he climbed the ranks, there was always someone above him. He had to fight a never-ending battle with the world until he reached the top. *** Eren got inside Agatha''s office which was arge stone hall with a chandelier hanging from its ceiling. The walls and the ceiling were studded with various gems and runic details that gave the space an opulent vibe despite its ssic and no-fuss base. Eren heard the sound of his own steps as he entered Agatha''s hall. He saw a very pretty elf sitting in front of Agatha''s deskC waiting patiently for someone to induct her. Lightning struck and Eren appeared on the other side of the table. He shed a light smile at Jiana before greeting her. "You''d have to forgive me for making you wait, Miss Gold Wings. You know how it is being an ex-guild master yourself. I got busy with some unforeseen work." Eren said in a friendly voice before offering a handshake to Jiana. His bodynguage was confident and he seemed nothing like the tyrant Jiana had used him of. It was as if the person who had subjugated a Grandmaster ranker with his words alone had been a different entity all along. Jiana managed to sh a smile that seemed forced. She recalled Eren''s way of getting Amory on track with him as she shook hands with him. She felt like she had lost her biggest advantage by not having Amory under her absolute control. Still, it was not like Jiana hated Eren for pulling that move. She knew she couldn''t do something like that if she were in his shoes. But she also wasn''t stupid to not understand the Whys behind it. Jiana wasn''t sure how Eren was as a person. But that move alone told her that he was a better leader than her. She looked into his eyes and became lost in them. It felt to her that his eyes could create a world of their own around her. "Umm It''s nice to finally meet you, Miss Jiana. Your beauty is as mesmerizing as your aplishments." Jiana was finally snapped out of her reverie as she heard Eren''s next words. She found out that she had be lost in her thoughts and held Eren''s hand for a few seconds longer than what was normally expected of her. So Eren had to say something to not make the interaction weirder than it had gotten. Jiana cursed herself for losing herposure in the presence of a mere D-ranked man. He was younger and was supposed to be less experienced in life than her. And yet, it was she who felt the pressure of being in the vicinity of him. Jiana became fascinated by Eren''s eyes and flustered by her inability to keep herposure in front of him when she heard himpliment her. She could only reply with an "Oh yeah" as she quickly pulled her hand away. ''Well what do you know? Maybe acting like a pufferfishes with its own benefits after all.'' Chapter 982 Argos Gig ''Well... what do you know? Maybe acting like a pufferfishes with its own benefits after all.'' Eren looked at Jiana carefully and had a random thought. He smiled at her before he started discussing various topics regarding his guild and the city he had founded. Jiana also started to open up after she found out how easy it was to talk to the so-called tyrant. Her forced smile became genuine as she kept interacting with him. The two talked to each other for hours on end until... "Boss... am I interrupting your game?" A certain demon managed to m the brakes on Eren''s progress with Jiana. He barged into the hall straight through the windows and didn''t give Eren any chance to say no to him. Argo was in his humanoid form and wasn''t really looking at Eren. His red eyes were fixed on what looked like a rough book. He seemed to be busy writing something inside the book, using one of his own feathers as a quill. He had his eagle wings sprouting from his back. And his legs were beastly. His demon horns peeked through his white hair briefly before retracting. Argo also magically dispersed his wings as he walked toward Eren''s desk. The untamed winds roared through the now-wide-open windows along with Argo. They threatened to blow a bunch of unpinned papers on Agatha''s desk into the air. Eren activated a certain small array over the desk and stabilized the stationery. He looked at Argo with a frown on his face before asking in a voice coated in mild annoyance. "What do you want? If you want more money... then I''m going to have to..." Argo closed his book with a loud thud and looked at Eren as if he had said something absurd. "Money ain''t no problem for me, boss. What Ick are the performers for my show." Eren stared at Argo with confusion. Jiana also turned back and looked at the demon beast who had just barged into the hall without caring about a Master ranker like her being in the room. Jiana focused on the strange tattoo on Argo''s right cheek and understood who he was immediately. "A demon..." Another mana pulse was generated in the room as a second demon beast appeared inside Agatha''s hall out of her own initiative. She was Jiana''s demon beastpanion, Bilo. Bilo had purplish-pink hair. She was wearing a perfect-fit one-piece that was green and looked to be made of some kind of leaf. She also had butterfly-like, thin, and semi-transparent wings sprouting from her back. Bilo also had a demon mark on her tummy that the audience in the room couldn''t see. It glowed as she looked at Argo with utter fascination. She assumed a kneeling position as Argo walked past her. "My prince!" Bilo said in a respectable tonea" her neck tilted downwards in obedience. It had to be noted that Argo received this much respect from a B-ranked demon beast while still being a newly minted C-rank entity. ? Argo stopped in his tracks and looked at Bilo with interest. He thought of something and couldn''t help himself grinning from ear to eara" his smile looked demonic. The demon prince narrowed his eyes at Bilo and changed his direction. He walked towards her and stood when he was standing next to her while she continued to kneel. "Get up." Bilo stood upright as soon as she heard Argo''smanding voice. She looked straight in front of her and didn''t dare to maintain eye contact with him. "Babygirl... Do you know how to sing and dance?" Bilo was stunned when she heard Argo''s question. It could be said that she was ready to fight but not ready to perform on stage. Or at least she wasn''t prepared for it from the get-go. She gulped down a mouthful of air before replying to him in a shaky voice. "I... I can try, my prince." Argo''s eyes shone with brilliance and his expression showed how happy he was. He pped his hands before cing them over Bilo''s shoulders. "Excellent. I''mma make you a star babygirl. Though... hmmm... you need some touch-ups." Bilo didn''t quite get what Argo was saying. But she sensed that he was notpletely happy with the way she looked. Her face didn''t show it. But she felt a bit downcast nheless. Argo was a very perceptive demon. He took her hand in his and patted it before assuring her in a soothing voice. "Hey... hey... hey... Nobody said anything about recing you. We gon make this work. Come with me." Bilo couldn''t help getting excited after receiving Argo''s invitation. It looked like being with someone like him was going to be a big deal for her somehow. She was about to agree to Argo''s offer right away. But then she remembered where she was and her current condition. Bilo looked at Jiana with pursed lips before speaking up. "Master... I... I need to..." Jiana understood what her demon beastpanion was thinking. She also knew that demons were used to following a strict hierarchya" even stricter than humans. So she replied right away. "Have fun, dear." Jiana smiled at Bilo before waving goodbye. Argo looked at Eren and smirked beforementing. "Got what I came here for, boss. Gotta bounce." The two demons vanished from the hall as soon as Bilo was ready to go with Argo. Following their departure, the windows were closed once more. Eren understood what Argo was nning to do at this moment by using the mental connection he had with him. The young demon was nning to run a musical concert at Amory''s celebration event. Argo had sensed Amory''s breakthrough before it was made official. He knew that a Grandmaster ranker''s breakthrough would be celebrated by an entire city soon. Thus, the young demon started buying various sound-element-rted artifacts and alchemy products. He also hired a few craftsmen and ordered them to make a bunch of items for him. They were going to be used for his gig. He spent 300 thousand Extols on his equipment for the concert. And since Agatha or Eren couldn''t make heads or tails of why he bought them, they called it a random purchase. Chapter 983 Wise Tortoise P1 Argo had set up a huge stage for his performance in the city of White Raven. He had also coordinated with the city''s administration and got it to sell his concert tickets. He made deals with a few array operators broadcasters and sponsors, allowing him to show his concert live to almost all parts of the city. The event also had arge base of audience that was not in the city of White Raven. These viewers would be able to watch the event and Argo''s concert from other parts of the kingdom across all four duchies. Various types ofmunication arrays had been created for this purpose. It was designed to generate another stream of revenue for the city of White Raven. Argo''s hunt for the necessary hardware to set up his gig was over. And he was now hunting for talented performers like him throughout the city. A bunch of artistic rankers who could master the various elements of the concert needed to make it as entertaining as possible. The young demon had decided to make Amory''s Grandmaster breakthrough celebration a memorable event for everyone in the city. He was also bound to make more money than he invested because of the sheer number of pre-booked tickets sold at this point. Unbeknownst to Eren and the rest, this gig was going to turn out to be Argo''s road to fame throughout thend of Anfang. *** Eren exined to Jiana what Argo and Bilo were up to. She looked at Eren closely as she noted an observation in her mind. Eren didn''t feel surprised by the way Argo and Bilo conducted themselves in front of him. He didn''t even try to ask anyone about the mystery around them. It made Jiana realize something. ''He.. he knows about the continent-spanning array.'' Jiana sighed because she too knew about the restrictions she had. She was given ess to some of the privileged information regarding demons. She wanted to know more about them. But the more she learned about them, the more restrictions were ced on her. As a result, she could not discuss this topic with anyone, just like Eren. ''Prince huh? So there''s another demon prince that''s appeared in thend of Anfang. What are the odds?'' Jiana then looked at Eren and wondered how much he knew about Anfang''s past. She wanted to get to know him better. So she pondered for a bit before speaking. "Guild Master Eren, you are heading to Edin in a few days, aren''t you? I have also been summoned by the kingdom there. So I was wondering if I could" Eren smiled and didn''t let her finish. "By all means. I always have room for more on my itinerary. Especially if that "more" turns out to be a beautifuldy like you." Jiana Jihang caressed her right earlobe a bit and shed a smile. As unoriginal as it got, she liked gettingpliments. The elf started looking forward to spending time with her new guild master. She wanted to find out about the other shades of Eren that she hadn''t seen yet. *** The city of White Raven. Chilly winter nights. 8 PM. A certain vibe of excitement had washed over the entire city. The ce was more crowded than ever. It was also more amodating than ever at this point. Arge tform was suspended about 5 feet above the ground. It was a concert stage set up by Argo for his performance. There was a sea of people spread in every direction around it as far as the eyes could see. The runic lights had been amplified by the use of arrays creatively, making various illustrations in the sky. The peddlers sold all kinds of food through the use of aerial summons and other modes. All the consumers had to do was shout their order and the food would be drop-shipped to them, no matter where they stood in the crowd. Some rankers used artifacts while others used their respective spells to go airborne. However, nobody approached the tform or did anything stupid. After all, they were here to take part in a Grandmaster ranker''s celebration event. And none of them wanted to mess with the rank of that status. There were a lot of people onboard the levitating stage. Their erged spectral renditions could be seen in the sky above the tform. Amory Stowage was among them. His normal adventurer gear still covered him, making him appear humble. He was holding a wooden staff in his right hand that measured up to his shoulders in length. The top of the staff was slightly forked and there were runic patterns all over it. It was an A-rank artifact that was sent by the kingdom of Edinburgh as a congrattory gift to him. It had been a while since Amory started talking about his life''s journey. As a result of the tform''s function, his voice would be amplified many times over in all directions. Everyone present at the celebration could hear what he had to say. The old man didn''t consider himself a talented speaker. He didn''t have any n regarding what he had to say either even though it was his day. He just showed up and proceeded to tell everyone the kind of lessons he had learned from his struggle. "... So all I''m saying is thisC if all our struggles could be personified, no two would be alike. And that''s a positive thing. Otherwise, how boring would our lives be, right? Hahaha!" Nobodyughed at Amory''s dry humor. The audience thought that they were respecting an A-ranker by notughing with him. But the treatment actually bothered Amory a bit. He sighed before continuing forward. "What I meant by that is don''t follow in my footsteps. Find your own path. My struggle can only inspire you, not guide your journey. Some of our ns, coercions, and safeguards be pointless when life happens. When I was most hopeful, I was lost in every way. And when I gave up hope, a miracle happened. It made me realize that life is how should I say it" "A bitchC Life''s a bitch Gramps wise tortoise." "Shut the fuck up, you delinquent demon. Let the old ma Cough I mean let Grandmaster Amory speak." Someone on the stage behind Amory tried to finish his statement the right way but used the wrong word. And then there was the other voice reprimanding the previous one. Amory frowned but didn''t say anything to anyone. His audience also showed remarkable restraint in notughing at the word choices of those voices. Grandmaster Amory sighed at the youth''s brash behavior before continuing forward. == AN: It was mentioned in chapter 649 that Amory Stowage is an anagram. De-anagramming gives us Master Oogway. ;) Chapter 984 Wise Tortoise P2 Grandmaster Amory sighed at the youth''s brash behavior before continuing forward. "Anyway. What was I saying? Yes! You can always create a n for yourself. And if it works out for you, well done! But be prepared to act spontaneously if it fails. After you have your n A and n B, n C should always revolve around having no n at all. And you need to find a way for n C to work for you. You may think that what I say doesn''t apply to you because you still have plenty of time for yourself. But you need to understand that time is fleeting. There may be second chances in life. But they are not for everyone. You''ll blink one day and find out that you are too old to do anything you wanted to do for your whole life. Most of us, most of the time, get only one shot at doing something. So remember my words next time you feel like passing up an opportunity just because you feel like there''s soon to be another." *** ''This old man is distributing gold with his words but most of them won''t get it.'' Eren sighed as he looked at the crowd below. He understood Amory''s speech more deeply than the rest. That''s because he knew exactly what he was talking about. After all, he was one of the rare few who got a second chance in life. Amory didn''t feel like he was wasting his breath speaking to the younger generation. Unlike the butcher, the teacher in Amory expected the best from his students. And that mindset allowed Amory to make a deep impression on his audience. "A ranker''s life is longer than a mortal''s. But our suffering is also greater than theirs. So can we call ourselves superior beings to mortals? When life is long, our struggles get stretched out. Our experiences get stretched out. Compared to us, mortals live short lives and manage to feel every emotion and experience we feel and go through. And in the end, we all have to call it quits. So isn''t it better to live a mortal life? I''d say the answer depends on how you carve out a path for yourself from the valleys of misery as a ranker. Mind you, bing a Grandmaster or even a Sage is not the only measurement of sess in a ranker''s life. There are other scales as well that are too broad to put into words. I''ll wrap up with thisC don''t feel entitled to anything you struggle for. Because once you make it to the point of making it, you will start appreciating the struggle that almost broke you. You need that appreciation to make sense of your life." A long silence ensued when Amory finished speaking. The array on which he was standing dimmed down when he didn''t speak for a certain period. It was a while before someone somewhere in the audience pped. That p was followed by another bunch of ps before it turned into apuse. The old man smiled before raising his hand and releasing a powerful violet me from his palm. The violet me turned white before taking the shape of a white raven. A mythical bird looked down upon the sea of people and crowed at them harshly before dispersing into thin air. Almost everyone in the audience got goosebumps after an A-ranked entity manifested his powers for them. They pped even louder to express their joy. Several rankers began calling Amory their teacher and decided to seek his recognition in the future. The Grandmaster''s speech was over. And now it was the guild master''s turn to say a few words. Eren started walking towards the array Amory was standing in earlier. And thetter started walking towards the back of the tform. The two met in the middle. "You did well, old man." Eren said to Amory privately before walking past him. The old man chuckled and nodded without turning back. Amory believed that what Eren said to him just now was genuine praise and not just a formality. And for some reason, Amory thought that a few words of appreciation from Eren were much more significant than all the apuse he received from everyonebined. Eren stopped inside the array and stood motionlessly for a while with his hands behind his back. His stance made him look like a typical army veteran except for the normal clothes he was wearing. Everyone in the audience was looking forward to Argo''s concert at this point. And Eren was just an Adept ranker despite being the guild master of the White Raven guild. So, some fringe elements in the audience started demanding the start of the concert already. It could be said that Argo was partly to me for the audience''s reaction. The demon had done a fantastic job advertising his content. The impact of the advertising was so massive that the celebration became less about Amory''s breakthrough and more about Argo''s concert. "Mister Guild Master, step aside. This isn''t your time to garner attention for yourself." "Damn right. Don''t ride on Grandmaster Amory''s clout, Eren Idril. Nobody wants to hear your sales pitch for your guild." "So what if you are a guild master? Come down this instant and let the concert I paid for start already. Or else" ? Eren didn''t mind that he was being told to go back ore down the stage. He smiled and rxed his stance. Driving fingers through his hair, he massaged his neck a bit. A Sativa Stick was conjured from thin air before it was lit. Taking a long drag of his smoke, the butcher spoke calmly and sinisterly. "If anyone dares to make any further noise while I speak, I''ll just ban them permanently from ever stepping foot in the city of White Raven. And I won''t take responsibility for what happens to them once I kick them out of my city. I hear Grim Pir Town is a fun ce. Wonder what it takes to be its permanent resident?" As he said that, the butcher let his aura spread throughout the surroundings. And suddenly, the audience started experiencing silence even more deafening than before when Amory was speaking. Chapter 985 Lights On. Drum Rolls. Brumm. The audience couldn''t believe Eren would use Grim Pir Town as a threatening tool. At this point, the pirs in Grim Pir town kept on growing as more and more pirs would get erected overnight by some unknown entity. All these pirs were dedicated to rankers who were perceived to be Eren''s enemies directly or indirectly. Nobody wanted to meet such an end where their remains would serve as an art collection for someone else. Nobody wanted to be an inspiration for their future generation by iming a pir in the Grim Pir town for themselves. Even Expert-ranked entities in the audience didn''t dare make any noise because they knew someone like them had once messed with a certain wrong guy. They didn''t want to follow in his footsteps. Eren shed a graceful smile as he observed the pin-drop silence. He took a fresh nightly breeze into his lungs before speaking up. "It is not what you think. I am not here to advertise my city. Frankly, I don''t need to grow my city any further anymore. In contrast to unstable exponential growth, the stability of the growth achieved so far is more important. I don''t want to hire anyone else in my guild either. At least for now. I never wanted a massive number of members added to my guild''s roster anyway. So there''s that. Furthermore, I don''t want to inspire any of you either. That job is for people like Grandmaster Amory. Frankly, I don''t want there to be more rankers like me." Eren''s voice was calm but domineering. As it came from a position of confidence, nobody dared to ask him any questions regarding whatever he had said. Eren took a brief pause before speaking further. "Let me rify why I''m standing in front of you. I want to use this tform to convey a message to some people who think that I or my city are easy targets." Eren''s presence almost disappeared all of a sudden which made it eerier for people close to the tform. His emerald green eyes shone with exceptional brilliance as he spoke directly to his enemies who were watching this concert from a distance. "Whatever you might have in store for me, know that what I have for you is much worse." Eren was not only talking to House Slughorn, House Remus, Demonmir''s faction, or the Escalon guild. He was also referring to cultists and the royal scion of Layos who wanted to target him for assimting Healers'' Nirvana into his fold. He knew almost all of them would be watching live coverage of the event from their base. So he used the event as a way to announce a threat. Normally, Eren wouldn''t have let his enemies in on what he was doing. He would prefer to strike them when they were unaware of his actions. But that only worked with rankers with some kind of background who knew how to operate in groups and whose moves could be predicted. Eren knew that his strategy needed to be changed when it came to handling cultists and the masterminds behind them. He needed to act as a dominant and unstoppable force in front of them. All so that when he does act on his warnings, it serves as a deterrent. Eren didn''t know how much sess Kirin was about to achieve in eliminating the cultists and the royal scions from Layos. But he was sure that she would deliver on his promise soon enough. Eren looked at the people surrounding him one more time before concluding his statement. This time, he sounded more like a cordial host. "I think that''s about it. Thank you for giving me the chance to speak. I''m sure you are eager to listen to the stars of the show. So I''ll take my leave without further ado. Please enjoy the rest of the evening." Eren bowed in front of his audience. Lightning streaks surrounded him and took him into their embrace. When they dispersed, he disappeared, leaving behind a sea of silent spectators. Then a surge of excitement passed through the crowds as they started screaming random things out loud. They were waiting for the performers of the evening to take the stage. *** Lights on. Drum rolls. Brumm. The sound of a strange musical instrument was heard by the audience as they watched a demon suddenly appear onstage. It was a fretted instrument with six strings and some sound-element runes that amplified its output. The runes were in sync with the sound-element arrays spread across the field, sending sound waves in all directions. The female crowd in the audience got goosebumps just by listening to the sound of that device once. The rest got utterly intrigued by the sound as well. They did not think that they had heard the sound of this instrument anywhere in the kingdom of Edinburgh. The demon, in hisplete human form, was seen wearing the instrument on him with a strap that stretched across his torso from the waist to the left shoulder. He called it the guitar. He did not seem to have any stage fright or first-time jitters. It was as if making his audience mad for him and his songs wasn''t new to him. This white-haired demon had a wild air about him. He was wearing a very vibrant-colored,pel-cored cardigan atop a ck sleeveless tee. He had matching slim-fitting dark leather pants and ck shoes thatplemented his overall appearance. DUN. DUN. DUN. Argo smiled brightly as he looked at the crowd in front of him. He inhaled the air before producing a mysterious riff from his guitar that made the audience turn wild just listening to it once. From the moment they heard it, every listener knew that the riff was going to stay in their heads forever from this moment onwards. Argo handled like a maestro. There was a sense that he''d done this countless times through one of his demonic possessions. It was as if he had lived one of his previous lives as a well-known artist in some distant world away from thend of Anfang. Chapter 986 Carry On My Wayward Son Argo felt like there was a part of him that missed being on stage. He desired to be one with the audience. He wanted them to be crazy over his performance. So much so that they would not hesitate to offer him their hearts on a silver tter. He wanted people to get riled up in his name. He was surrounded by so many people who shouted his name. But all he could hear at this point was the sound of his own heartbeat. He could also hear the breaths he was taking in his lungs. Argo stopped ying the guitar and closed his eyes. He then ced his hand on his heart. The young demon wanted to feel his heartbeat more clearly. Argo often liked to express his freedom-seeking individuality in various forms. And tonight, music was his way to do just that. The demon prince''s soul fragment inside him took over when he opened his eyes. Hahahaha! I''mma y some of my originals and then borrow some from my homies. There ain''t nobody DMCAing my ass here.'' Argo cackled to himself as a gust of wind surrounded him. His red eyes sparkled and he took to the air with eagle wings on his back. "Woooooooah! How are the fine people of thisnd doing out here? "First of all... Give it up for our teach- Wise Tortoise- Almost-a-Sage-with-age- Grandmaster Amory Stowage! We wouldn''t be here if it wasn''t for him." ? Argoughed and threw a question at his audience and received more yells and screams in response. The demon stared at the people with sharp eyes and continued. "And now... rejoice! This prince hase to greet you." Argo said as if he had done a favor for his audience. And everyone in the audience believed it to be the case. A strange demonic atmosphere was now prevalent in the air, making rankers express their emotions to their fullest. Wah Wah Chika Wah Wah Argo "borrowed" another riff from somewhere and yed it a bit before announcing the artists with him. "Let me introduce you to my drummer for the evening. I know you know him from somewhere. But after tonight, he won''t need another introduction. Very talented but a bit shy with thedies- My man- the T-dawg, Tuan Aag!" A man with Fire Wings suddenly appeared in the sky. He flew towards the flying Argo and punched him in the gut in a yful manner. Tuan Aag wasn''t as confident as Argo when summoned on stage. So he bowed awkwardly to the audience and hoped he would not mess up the gig. "Damn! A punch outta nowhere, huh! Who hurt you, bro?" Argo missed another punch thrown at him by Tuan in midair before answering his own question. "I know. I know. There''s this cheating bitch who''s dead. And there''s another who dumped you. I say GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE! It all happens for a reason, my man. Fret not. After tonight, I''mma make you drown in pu.... Uhhhh... Never mind. Hahahaha!" Argoughed and took joy in Tuan''s awkwardness on stage. He flew across the stage before introducing the next set of artists. A day before the concert, Argo had contacted a bunch of members of the White Raven guild. He trained them for various main roles and support roles needed for his concert. The demon introduced the members with an on-stage presence and gave credit to the off-stage artists by calling out their names. Bianka Bluedust, Rodrick Renar, Will Evaan, Tara Far, Bhaa Laah, and a few others had been selected as on-stage music artists. Bilo, Katalina, and a few others had been hired as dance artists, which would only make appearances for a select few songs. Rankers like Tumko Darata, Drin Dawn, Ray Rinehart, Van Wilder, and a few others also supported the concert in their own way by being off-stage artists and managers. One had to appreciate Argo''s people skills for getting so many rankers on board with his n. "Aight! Now that the introduction is over..." Argo took a long pause before speaking hurriedlya" "I''mma go home!" He even flew backstage to scare the audience with his fake exit. Various mana pulses surged all at once when Argo tried to mess with his audience a bit. The demon beastughed beforeing clean. "Hahaha! I was just messing with y''all. Let''s start this shit already." Bumbadum chicka Chicka bum bada! A magical atmosphere began to take shape as everybody assumed their roles for the concert. After it started, it drove listeners'' minds insane by the minute. They soon became addicted to the music they heard. It was as if a special kind of demonic spell had been cast on them. *** Eren''s room. Kukenan teau. Midnight. It seemed that the full moon night was filled with strange energy and vibrancy. Argo''s concert was still carrying on. The sound waves of his concert would travel a significant distance and make everyone who listened to them dance or sing to the beats. Eren wasn''t paying attention to Argo''s concert though. The mana control training was keeping him busy. The butcher wasying topless on the elemental shards that tore through his back. Alephee was operating the array and observing his progress at the same time. She had obviously upped the difficulty level of the mana control training once again, preventing Eren from ever finding it to be easy or painless. Eren had sealed his lips with runes to prevent himself from screaming in pain. He was sweating all over and his eyes had turned red. Since he couldn''t scream, his eyes had be a bit moist to express the suffering he was experiencing. It also made him take long breaths that made his chest rise and fall in quick session. Alephee had tuned into the live concert through themunication array. A corner table in Eren''s room projected a spectral representation of what was happening on stage in miniature form. The spectral imagery had a sound of its own that blended with ambient noise from a long distance and created a reverberating effect. "Eren, do you want to stop here?" Alephee asked as she looked at Eren''s condition. She had told him to take a day off because of the concert. But the guy wouldn''t listen. So she was stuck with him instead of attending the concert live. The butcher also felt like maybe he should listen to Alephee and stop the process midway. But then he heard someone call out to him in his head. "Yo boss!" Eren and Alephee both looked in the corner table''s direction to see Argo''s spectral form looking at them. He was still holding strong with his concert from the looks of things, keeping his audience captivated. Argo''s spectral form looked at Eren as if he could see him before speaking further. "Wherever you are, this one''s for you. Listen up." Eren and Alephee both looked at each other beforeing to a tacit understanding to take a break. The butcher looked at Argo intently. The young demon closed his eyes and modted his voice in real-time to suit the texture required to sing the kind of song he was above to sing. Argo''s voice sounded different when he sang the lyrics of the song dedicated to Eren. "Carry on my wayward son..." Eren clenched his hands while lying on the elemental shards as he listened to Argo''s song. He then stared at the ceiling of his room that had be his most-seen view of the month. As Argo sang, Eren continued to look lifelessly at the ceiling. He remained quiet for a while when the song was finished. Argo moved on to singing and ying more songs for his audience. But Eren didn''t pay attention to any of those anymore. Argo kept dedicating various songs to various people he hade to know. He knew that most of them would be watching the concert somewhere. So he took the liberty to sing, perform, and dedicate songs to them that weren''t technically his own. By this time, Eren''s condition had gotten somewhat normal due to non-moving elemental shards. But then he looked at Alephee, as if answering the question she had asked him. Alephee looked at Eren solemnly before sighing to herself. She then cranked up the difficulty level of the training even more than before, hearing Eren''s muffled screams and inaudible determination in the backdrop. Wt === AN: Argo takes the liberty to dedicate Styx - Renegade to Ivor, The Rasmus - In The Shadows to Drin Dawn, Godsmack - Voodoo to Eliza, Lifehouse - You and Me to Nina, Nickelback - She Keeps Me Up to Agatha, Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes to Alephee, and Derek and the Dominos - La to La. A few more dedications for Eren would be Nathaniel Rataliff - S.O.B., Godsmack- I stand Alone, andstly, K / DA - Viin. You can dedicate songs to various VEH characters in thements as well. ;) Chapter 987 Onboard Freya The Leith river. Central Edinburgh. The water of Leith was an ever-flowing riverwork that ran from north to south of Edinburgh. The main river along with itswork of tributaries separated the kingdom of Edinburgh''snds into various parts to create the four duchies and the central region. The central region of Edinburgh was under the direct control of the current king. This region was very rich in all forms of ranking resources thanks to the Water of Leith. The main river looked as vast as a sea if one stood at its banks from either side. Various ships were selling in either direction of the river''s flow. They all maintained a safe distance from each other, traveling at a constant speed using various elemental arrays. Some ships would disappear from the main river by taking one of the many tributaries to the river Leith while some would get added up for the same reason. Traveling over the Water of Leith was one of the primary ways to travel in central Edinburgh after all. There were no business opportunities in central Edinburgh. Nopetitive rankers'' markets. This region of the kingdom had hit a saturation limit in terms of the opportunities it would offer to the outsiders. All the great businesses and opportunities in central Edinburgh belonged to the extended royal family. The central region of Edinburgh was safe from all kinds of threats as well. So there were rtively few adventurers or hunters'' guilds. So there was nothing much to do for an ordinary ranker who had just started his journey as a ranker. In short, there was no room to grow and get big for anybody whose name was not Renar. This is why almost everyone from the four duchies would only enter the central region for one main reasonC to visit Edin, the capital of Edinburgh. Edin could be reached by river Leith from almost any major region in central Edinburgh using the Water of Leith. A certain ship was making its way to Edin from the north of Edinburgh. The ship''s name was Freya. It looked like an old sailing construction that was too big to call a boat but too small to call a proper ship. The ship was painted navy blue with white sails aboard it that had wind-element runes over them. The deck was around 15 meters wide and 50 meters long. It had a white raven figurehead at the forepeak. Freya was Eren''s most recent purchase. It had two floors below the deck. These floors hosted various dedicated spaces for various leisure activities for passengers. No matter the state of the water, Freya''s deck and the floors underneath it would not shake. This was thanks to the various stabilizing arrays it had etched on the base. The entire ship was run on autopilot. One just needed to feed it the coordinates and it would sail there on its own using various elemental arrays as sensors and operators. This was Eren''s first day on the Water of Leith. It had only been a few hours since he had entered central Edinburgh using the teleportation arrays avable to him. He had already traveled hundreds of miles inside the boat. But it was not enough to cover the huge distance that separated him and Edin. Central Edinburgh did not have teleportation arrays, which made travel time-consuming for rankers. As a result of the long journey, they got to explore more of the ces. Eren had just received a message from his old party a few hours ago. Jake, Steve, Renita, Ramy, and the rest had already reached the capital. They were waiting for him to show up. Eren had no choice but to make them wait for him. Even with non-stop travel on autopilot at a rtively high speed, Freya still needed 5 more days to reach Edin. The graduation event was supposed to start on the sixth day. Being a participant in the graduation event, Eren was really cutting it close. Thankfully, Freya was veryfortable traveling. It had to be for the kind of money Eren had paid for it. Plus, Eren had apany that kept him busy. *** The evening sky had set in. The yellow-orange sky painted the river''s water the same color. The winds that swept over the water carried a distinct freshness in them. Eren was standing on the quarterdeck, leaning on the deck''s ledge. He had his head propped in the palm of his folded hand. The butcher was looking at the ever-changing scenery around him as the ship kept moving forward. For some reason, he found the scene enchanting to look at. Eren did note to central Edinburgh in his past timeline. He wasn''t qualified at that time. This region offered even less breathing room for nobodies like him from the past timeline. Thus, he was trying to take it all in while observing the juxtaposition of his two lives in his head. Eren remained motionless for the time being. It was as if water was trying to talk to him through some unknown means. The water-element spirit beast mark he had on him was making its presence known. He felt like he would solve most of the world''s mysteries just by maintaining his current position for days on end. "What are you doing?" Eren heard a question from behind him speak in a voice that wasced with shock and suspicion. He ignored the voice''s texture. And he didn''t have to turn back to find out who it was. The butcher smiled before answering honestly. "Just admiring the view, teacher Levine." Eren replied calmly. He felt like he should have traveled alone. For some reason, he felt that there was a certain magic in the air that only he could perceive. As if the world only wanted to talk to him and nobody else. Levine was standing behind him on the quarterdeck. Nina and Jiana were also present on the ship. On the main deck of the ship, the two healers were engaged in a discussion rted to their fields. "Hmm? Just admiring the view? I could have sworn you were practicing some kind of strange ranking technique. I I''m not sure But Look! Look at what you have done to the river''s flow." Chapter 988 Breakthrough Into Expert Rank "Look at what you have done to the river''s flow." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Levine. He looked down from his position and was surprised by what he saw. He had split the water into two and made the river bed visible which was at least 100 meters deep. Levine was shocked because she didn''t think there was any usual form of magic involved in the phenomenon. It was as if what she was seeing was the natural state of the water at the time. Even Nina and Jiana who were standing not too far away from them did not know about the existence of the phenomenon. Levine wouldn''t have been able to sense it either if she hadn''t seen it with her eyes. The Master potioner knew that it could not be done by a mere Adept ranker. After Eren came so close to the body of water, his Way of Water became stronger thanks to the spirit beast. Levine was also right. He had started practicing the Rootless technique subconsciously while he was lost in his thoughts. He felt like he had reached a critical point in his ranking journey at this point. "I I''m about to enter the Expert rank." Eren mumbled to himself before climbing over the ledge. "I''ll be back." The butcher yelled out his message to the threedies on board his ship before jumping off the ship''s deck. He swam like a fish in the water and plunged deep, closing the rift that had opened in the water behind him. The surface water became calm once again as if what had happened a moment ago was only a mirage. Nina and Jiana appeared beside Levine all of a sudden and looked down. They then looked at Levine questionably, intending to get some form of rification from her. "Well there was this" Levine was about to exin to the two Master-rankeddies what had transpired. But she stopped speaking when she felt the changes in the surroundings. Lightning clouds had started to gather in the sky out of nowhere. Before thunder rumbled, the benign white clouds turned gray. The winds started howling in the region, setting the stage for iing thunder and rain. Rumble! It was as if a recorded scene on the array disk was being yed in fast-forward. It only took a few moments for the thunderclouds to start rumbling from the moment Eren entered the river. This change in the atmosphere was only concentrated around the ship. After some distance, the threedies observed that both the river and the skies were calm. They understood that they were now inside a special zone. "He is entering the Expert rank." Nina smiled and made a prediction. She could also feel that there was something unusual about Eren''s breakthrough that galvanized the entire surroundings to such an extent. If people didn''t know about Eren, they would have assumed that a higher-ranked entity was making progress in its ranking. Nina started to remember what Eren had said to her when they were in the city of Osan. That he would catch up with her one day before surpassing her in no time. She only took joy from the fact that Eren was delivering on his words. And she felt like she needed to up her game as well. Soon, lightning strikes started hitting the water surface where Eren had dived straight down. Various elemental manifestations started appearing in the surroundings as well, causing miniature mana storms that affected the very spatial fabric. p. Crash. Boom. Densely charged lightning bolts started hitting the river and evaporating huge amounts of water in an instant. As a result, the air turned damp and the clouds turned darker. A low-pressure atmospheric belt was created in the surroundings. A peculiar kind of wind storm was summoned into existence in the region as a result of this phenomenon. And it kept getting more massive with time. Despite the agitated surroundings, Freya remained steady in her position. It had stopped moving after it sensed its captain was not onboard. She waited patiently for his arrival. Eren felt like he was being embraced by the world itself as he sank deep into the river water. He felt like his body and soul were being nourished at the same time because of the assistance offered to him by his spirit beast. The spirit beast appeared in its regr form and swam around Eren as they both headed straight for the riverbed. It was only a matter of a few moments before they reached it. Eren sat at the bottom of the river and assumed a meditative pose for his ranking practice. He closed his eyes and started practicing his ranking technique consciously. ''Nothing is more flexible and adaptable than water. And yet, nothing can resist it.'' Eren started refining water-element mana into his body and started harnessing it inside his mana core which was on the verge of destruction. He beganprehending the other elements as well while under the influence of his epiphany. ''Lightning is nothing like the roaring thunder it is apanied by. It is silent when it strikes and destroys. Fire also takes part in the creation and destruction of the matter ites into contact with. It destroys everything in its wake. But it also transforms that which it can''t destroy. The wind, the earth, and the void. And every other derived element we see around us. They all tell a story to their attentive listeners. Every element is involved in the creation and destruction of matter. They write their ownws onto the nk tes called matter and give them meaning. Then they rob those meanings from them, turning them into nk tes again.'' Eren''s Adept-ranked mana core imploded as he keptprehending the ways of the elements. Various natural elemental runes started appearing around Eren before disappearing into his body. His hair turned from ck to white. Tribal tattoos appeared on his skin and even Sin Series mana started manifesting around him. A newly formed C-rank mana core started spinning inside Eren''s body shortly after the destruction of the old one. There was no bottleneck or difficulty for the butcher to be an Expert ranker. Additionally, he stabilized his breakthrough right away, giving him the confidence to give his best at the graduation event. ''Well this is going to be... interesting.'' Eren opened his eyes and shed a subtle smile. There was no doubt that his smile was going to be a doomsday sign for his opponents. Chapter 989 Expert Fisherman & His Unexpected Haul In the river water, a tornado formed. ? The tornado connected the surface of the water with gray cumulonimbus clouds in the sky. It spun around itself at high speeds, producing wild gales around it. Then all of a sudden, the tornado was unnaturally disconnected from the gray clouds. A certain individual was ejected from its mouth towards the deck of Freya. Badum. Eren appeared on the main deck of the ship through the tornado, which he dispersed with a wave of his hand. The butcher ran his finger through his hair and looked around him with a smile on his face. Eren hadn''t changed much physically after his breakthrough into the Expert rank. And his presence got even more conspicuous. Still, the mystery around Eren was what made him appear more intimidating and intriguing at the same time. He had the potential to fly under people''s radar if he wanted to and force them to back off with his mere presence at the same time. It was now up to the perception of his opponents. Every breakthrough was done with a particr mindset that affected a ranker in various ways. When he broke through the Oni dungeon''s Adept rank, Eren required absolute power for himself. As a result, his presence became sharp and domineering. Eren''s breakthrough this time highlighted his calm mindset. It allowed him to regain the control he had lost when he was at the Ace rank. With his breakthrough to the Expert rank, Eren had made substantial progress in his Way of the Elements. With progress came control. His mana control training also paid off, allowing him to achieve a certain tranquility with his elements. When he was an Adept-ranked entity, he couldn''t keep his presencepletely sheathed. As a result, no mortal coulde near him. The recent promotion in rank allowed him to change that. The C-rank offered him finer control over his powers. ''This I was never a C-rank in the previous timeline.'' Eren clenched his fists and felt a new energy surge through his body. He felt like he had been born anew with his recent breakthrough. It''s as though he shed an impurity from hisst timeline that had been following him around. He had officially risen above his previous self with this breakthrough. Eren rotated his neck and stretched his limbs. There was no elemental surge as he rediscovered his identity as an Expert ranker. Unless one used their mana sense on him, he appeared to be a harmless mortal. Most of Eren''s clothes had been torn to shreds by his breakthrough. He was only able to keep his pants intact. When he appeared on the ship''s deck, his ripped body was on full disy for his viewers. He wasn''t buffier than before. But the threedies instinctively felt that he had leveled up. Eren''s pants stuck to his skin. His wet hair stuck to his scalp and face. There were streams of droplets making their way down all over his body. The twodies couldn''t help staring at Eren when he suddenly appeared on deck in a raunchy manner. Nina didn''t pay attention to Eren''s physical appearance. She was d that he was sessful in his ranking advancement. "Eren!" She appeared near him before taking him into her embrace. Eren smiled before returning the gesture, his hands caressing her back. Cough! Levine feigned a cough before speaking up in a dignified manner. "Eren congrattions on your breakthrough. You really are one lucky guy." Eren separated from Nina and smiled at Levine a bit to receive herpliment. But he felt like he had to add something. "Thanks, teacher. Yes this breakthrough came really out of nowhere. But lucky? I had to spend a thousand restless nights to get lucky once. If that''s what luck is, I don''t want to find out what being unlucky means on that scale." Eren''s emerald green eyes met Levine''s and shone with confidence. He knew that Levine didn''t mean to undervalue his diligent work. By saying that he was lucky, she wanted to say that he didn''t get stuck in the Adept rank for a long time. That he didn''t face any long-term bottlenecks like most Adept rankers. However, Eren felt like he shouldn''t disrespect his own diligent work by allowing someone to call it luck. He rified Levine for his own sakeC for his own mindset. ''He he doesn''t fear me anymore.'' Levine thought to herself as she looked Eren in the eyes. She could still feel that he valued her as his ally. But there was no longer any need for her. Eren had never feared Levine in the past as well. Still, he was always careful with his words and his actions in her presence. However, bing an Expert ranker liberated him from the shackles of decorum. Eren''s change of attitude towards Levine made her subconsciously seek even more approval from him than before. Unbeknownst to her, her subconscious mind started feeling the urge to grab his attention even more. She started feeling irritated by his obvious indifference to her subtle advances. The butcher shed a knowing smile in his head when he subtly observed Levine''s expressions. They were proof that his act of ying aloof in the face of Levine''s advances was working for him. He just needed to crank her thirst to the maximum before he approached her. Levine was an entirely different equation to solve for Eren. She wouldn''t be wooed by him simply because he gave herpliments and said all the right things. She wouldn''t be impressed by money alone. And she didn''t care about his ranking status before his breakthrough. Eren needed to act indifferent until he wasn''t ready to handle Levine. However, his recent breakthrough gave him the confidence to... bait the fish. He just needed to cast his wisely and wait for the right opportunity. But the fisherman wasn''t aware that another fish was swimming near his as well, wanting to get trapped. Unbeknownst to him, he was about to have a better haul than expected. Jiana Jihang also congratted Eren for breaking into the Expert rank. She couldn''t help but stare briefly at his torso when she did that. *** It was a big deal in rankers'' society to finally reach this milestone after all. The C-rank was a dividing line between low- and high-ranked entities. A ranker could not be considered a low-ranked entity after it reached Expert rank. This was the first breakthrough in a person''s ranking journey that consolidated all of their advancements to this extent. This very consolidation of various aplishments a ranker had achieved during their journeys was what allowed the Expert rankers and beyond to exert their powers more freely than before. Most of the Expert rankers who had naturally achieved their breakthroughs could tweak their existing spells and elevate them to their current standards with only minimal effort. Although it would take rtively significant time, they could also alter their ranking techniques to suit their current needs as well. Exceptional rankers started bing free from the organizations'' hold over them from the moment they stepped into the Expert rank. The organizations needed to offer high-ranking entities exponentially more rewards to keep them under their banner. In short, a ranker''s individuality would start to show when they entered C-rank. This was why Expert rank breakthroughs and beyond were celebrated so much. Chapter 990 "Those Are Rookie Numbers!" Eren didn''t forget to say thanks to Jiana and Levine for not spying on his breakthrough. Getting to expert rank and beyond was a very personal thing. Most rankers would only consciously attempt to achieve their breakthroughs in seclusion. This was because of the world phenomenon they created around themselves. A ranker''s entire path would be manifested at the time of a breakthrough into Expert rank and beyond. Someone could learn a lot about a ranker, their strengths and weaknesses by observing their breakthroughs closely. The threedies would have been shocked beyond belief if they had seen the myriad of elements and their Aspects he was cultivating. They couldn''t have kept track of the number of runes he had absorbed into him. And they would have doubted their sanity if they had realized that Eren also had two distinct sses he was progressing in at the same time. This was why Eren submerged into the river when he felt like his body itself had decided to initiate a breakthrough on its own. As much as he trusted thedies onboard, there were some things about him that he would rather keep private. Alephee also congratted Eren before getting busy with her own work inside her pendant abode. Now that the butcher was in Expert rank, she had decided to increase the rank of her homunculus vessel as well. She had all the resources she needed with her. *** Four dayster. Nighttime. The ever-flowing sounds of water and distant noises of water-element beasts could be heard in the background. The atmosphere was cold and peaceful. Eren had spent thest three days in seclusion, perfecting and practicing his C-rank Rootless technique inside his private room without any pause. His epiphany had helped him elevate his technique. However, Eren owed most of the credit to the many paths he taught himself. It seemed that the Rootless technique only blossomed when Eren was trying to gain everything at the same time. It allowed him to know more intricacies about himself when he started to find subtleties hidden in every element and path. He heard a familiar voice in his head as he opened his eyes. ''Hey hey hey Congrattions boss! Where''s the party at?'' Eren smiled when he heard Argo congratting him. He had left the young demon in the city of White Raven to do a few things for him. Argo didn''t want to stay behind but he obliged Eren''s wishes nheless. He carried on with his party fever nonstop until he found some time to congratte Eren on his sess. ''Haah! You finally got the time to talk to me?'' Argo cackled when he heard Eren''s question. Instead of answering Eren''s question, he dered his achievement to him. ''Kekekeke! Boss I smashed!'' Eren was changing into his normal clothes while talking with Argo about his mental connection with him. He chuckled when he heard about Argo''s feat. While buttoning his shirt, Eren responded. ''With the kind of stardom you created for yourself in that event, I would have been surprised if you didn''t. I''m sure you didn''t stop at a single digit.'' Eren summoned an array circle near him to produce a special drink, which appeared in a silver chalice. He sipped the liquid slowly as he waited for Argo to speak more about his endeavors. ''Single digit? Pfft! Those are rookie numbers, boss. I banged some 130 chicks in thest few days. No cap.'' Argo heard Eren coughing severely as if he was drinking soup made of cactus thorns for a drink. But the young demon ignored it and sighed dramatically before continuing. ''Man... it was exhausting! KnowwhatImsayin? This frail vessel can''t keep up with my let''s say... expertise. Anyway, it''s easy to lose count after a while. You get tunnel vision when you are done with your first 50s. You know how it is, right? So I do apologize for contacting you thiste.'' Eren couldn''t believe that Argo would lose his V-card in such a grandiose way. And the young demon treated it like it was no big deal. As if he had done this numerous times. Plus, he also sounded a bit downhearted while listing his aplishments. It was as if he was upset about the fact that he was losing his edge in his current form. Eren gulped down his drink in one go to pacify himself. He ced the chalice inside the small array circle and let it disappear beforementing in a grim voice. ''You know what? It''s fine. I don''t want to discuss that topic any further. Just remember to do what I told you to do when you are done with the whole thing. I''m busy with some work right now. Will talk to youter.'' Eren abruptly hung on Argo before getting up. He didn''t feel like he had any right to criticize Argo''s promiscuous ways no matter how ludicrous they sounded by his current standards. It was his mistake to treat Argo like a normal young man. He could also tell that Argo was not only out partying. He had progressed much further in his ranking journey following the concert. Technically, Argo was ahead of Eren even after thetter''s breakthrough. And it wasn''t just about his ranking. Even Argo''s soul seemed to have been strengthened after he got popr. The young demon had his own way of progressing. The butcher could only surmise that demons, in general, were more focused on evoking emotions in people and using the same emotions to control them. This was why demon beasts would release psychic waves at the time of their breakthroughs. Eren also believed that the demons harnessed those emotions for themselves as well, furthering their own cause in various ways. Their expertise in intent-based magic was a testament to that. Argo''s way of doing things was a bit shy. It was as if he had ulterior motives for getting famous. Not every demon inside a demon beast was capable of the feats Argo had achieved for himself. ''Hmm he is a special existence even among the demons.'' Eren hade to realize the fact that Argo would sometimes refer to himself as "this prince." So it didn''t take long for him to draw his own conclusions based on these subtle hints. ''I''ll reach the capital soon.'' Eren thought to himself as he climbed back up Freya''s deck. He had just freshened up and was wearing a normal outfit. The ship was close to reaching the capital. So he decided to talk to the threedies about a few things before the ship was docked. Chapter 991 Reunion With Ken & Roody P1 Freya had a fire pit in the middle of its main deck. It served as a source of warmth, light, andfort for the travelers aboard the ship. The dancing orange-yellow mes were the only change of scenery in the surroundings that were shrouded in silence and darkness. Four rankers were sitting around the fire pit. Three Master-rankeddies and an Expert ranker young man who had just had his rank promotion. Nina was wearing a white tank top under a dark denim coat. She wore dark blue pants and pearl earrings. Her ne had a thumb-size cobalt blue gem as its ornament, which blended well with her overall ensemble. She had let her hair loose and wore a simple perfume. Nina''s curvy figure made her look wless even without her trying. The warm light exuded by the mes made her look more alluring than before. Nina was sitting to Eren''s right, having dinner with him. It looked like these four days were just the kind of rest the threedies needed to unwind. They also bonded well together during this time. Dressed snugly in a mint green kaftan, Jiana Jihang sat to Eren''s left not too far away from him. The elf was slightly less endowed when it came to having heavy breasts, but she made up for it with her charming and sophisticated looks. Jiana wore ruby green earrings and green-beaded bracelets on each hand. She wore a rtively heavy citrus perfume with heart notes of basil and bergamot. As a result, Eren''s olfactory nerves would be given a zesty treat whenever the nightly winds strengthened their presence. Levine wore an off-shoulder light pink crop top and wide-leg pants of the same color. She didn''t wear any jewelry or ornaments to go with her ensemble. But thanks to the top''s deep cleavage cut, nobody would think she needed anything else to grab the onlooker''s attention. Eren felt like he was underdressed for the evening. Like he had missed the memo or something. Not that he would change into better clothes at this point. However, he enjoyed the view of his surroundings immensely. "This is strange how did you manage to stabilize your breakthrough so fast and with such finesse, guild master?" Jiana Jihang asked while eating a barbecued fish dinner. The threedies hade together and used their powers to reel in a bunch of E-rank fish from the river water. They cooked the haul together and talked about various topics even before Eren arrived on deck. It wasn''t the mostvish impromptu dinner they had. Nheless, it tasted delicious for some reason. The three Master-ranked entities aboard the ship thought that Eren wouldn''t be able to join them tonight as well. But the butcher had his way of keeping them second-guessing about him. He smiled as he continued to eat the grilled fish with his bare hands as he responded. "Hm? Frankly I don''t know. I guess it''s just one of those moments in a ranker''s life that he has no control over. Could I predict that my breakthrough would be so early and effortless before it happened? Probably not. But am I d it was handled so early and effortlessly? Absolutely yes." Eren said while licking his fingers. He would often steal nces at Jiana andpletely ignore Levine. He would touch and say something to Nina frequently as well, leaving Levine devoid of his attention for the most part. Levine had also raised many topics with Eren at this point. But he would respond to them briefly before moving on to talking with Nina and Jiana. Jiana was too focused on Eren to notice anything. But the healer was paying close attention to what was happening. Nina observed that Levine interrupted Eren''s talk frequently. She showed all the telltale signs of a woman wanting to get her mate''s attention. Nina then looked at Eren who seemed busy talking to Jiana about the same topic, seemingly unaware that he was being eyeballed by his potioning teacher. She didn''t believe for a second that Eren had not realized Levine''s condition. She smirked and looked at him. ''Erni, Levine wants to get close to you. Is this some kind of reverse psychology you are pulling on poor Levine?'' Nina had witnessed Eren''s psychological tactics. It could be said that she had fallen for those tactics as well. However, she also knew that these tactics only worked when the one for which they were being used wanted them to work. The tactics became the excuse they needed to close the gap. Nina was at peace with her bond with Eren. She was also d that Eren had broken the mental barriers she had in her head. Her bond with him had helped her in more ways than one. Plus, she was never desperate to keep Eren to herself. On the contrary, she epted Eren for who he was and tacitly supported him in every way. Nina''s yful voice was heard in Eren''s mind. Thetter smiled for a fraction of a second and kept on talking to Jiana. He used the voice channel to respond to Nina as well. ''Hehe. No tactics, aunt Nina. Not really. But let''s tease her a bit anyway.'' Eren then focused his attention on Nina. He had various stories in his head to keep the threedies entertained. He knew that one could anger a woman and might get away with it. But keeping them entertained was a no-no. The butcher mixed reality with the fabric of imagination to craft a wonderful story for the three Master rankers. When the tale took a romantic turn, Eren got closer to Nina and started getting cozy with her. Nina also responded well by ying along. She didn''t mind adding spice to her bond with Eren. Jiana and Levine looked at each other with nk expressions when Eren and Nina started kissing each other in front of them. It wasn''t helping that they were onboard Freya and there was nowhere else to go. Eren was about to activate his Sin series Ability to tease Levine some more. But just then, the high-intensity sound of a runic conch horn was heard that shook Freya to its very core. A giant ship was getting close to Eren and the rest. Chapter 992 Reunion With Ken & Roody P2 "Eren is that you? Hahahahaha Long time no see, brother!" A handsome mannded on Freya''s deck uninvited. He was tall, muscr, and had a strong presence. He had made remarkable strides on his ranking path, thanks to his family background as well as his own relentless efforts. This uninvited man had ck hair and a chiseled face. In contrast to the butcher, his presence as an Expert ranker in the liquid stage was very vibrant and overwhelming. Under his alchemy clothes, he wore chainmail armor with intricate runic patterns that were the ranking items themselves. It looked like the man was ready for war in the middle of nowhere. Plus, he smiled from ear to ear and approached Eren without any restraintsC seemingly ignoring thedies he was with. It was obvious he enjoyed seeing Eren- so much so that hepletely ignored the three Master rankers. ''This pain-in-the-ass, do-gooder, cockblocking dunce motherfucker of a protagonist will never leave me be. Damn it.'' Eren sighed in his head as he managed to ster a smile on his face and waved his hand. This man was thest thing he wanted to see at this point. Eren had never used so many foul words in one go at anyone since leaving LA. But somehow, this man had managed to make him look like the old Eren he was at the time of his early academic days. "Hehe. How have you been, Ken? I''m sure Uggggh!" Eren was about to greet Ken Riverine by offering him a handshake. But thetter swatted it away and gave him a bear hug. Eren was made to sniff the man''s chest hair that was peeking out of his shirt''s unbuttoned area as a result. "Hahaha! Man, look at you! What a growth spurt! You were so tiny back then. But look at you now- you''ve turned into a fine man." Ken patted Eren''s back as he said. Thetter also returned the gesture weakly before channeling his mana throughout his body. Lightning struck and Eren managed to get away from Ken''s overly affectionate hug. "Not everybody can be wless from the moment they start their journey, Ken. Some of us have to work hard to make an impression in this world." Ken smiled and shook his head as if he was expecting to hear something like this from Eren. He was about to say something to Eren when he finally felt the presence Eren was surrounded by. "Hmm? Oh!" Ken pursed his lips as he looked at Nina, Levine, and Jiana. The guy was a strict follower of the rankers'' code of conduct so he bowed at them before introducing himself. "Um forgive me for my intrusion Hmm? Expert? No! Master Levine?" Ken hadn''t taken potioning sses at the academy. But he knew Levine. It was just that he took some time to remember her. Levine had also heard about an exceptional talent from Eren''s batch when she was in LA. The fact that Ken had the name Riverine only contributed to highlighting him in people''s consciousness even further. The Earl''s House yed a special role in Edinburgh''s politics. Although it was still an Earl House that was beneath the Dukedom, it still had special rights. After all, it was the House the current queen of Edinburgh belonged to. Levine was d that someone had appeared out of nowhere to divert her mind. She was beginning to feel uneasy looking at Eren and Nina''s romance. She and Eren introduced Ken to Nina and Jiana. Nina was shocked to see Eren had such a close male friendship in LA. Although she could feel Eren''s reluctance to mix with Ken, the fact that he hadn''tpletely pulled away from him meant Eren had somehow made peace with Ken. Knowing him, that was a huge thing. Ken was also using the Water of Leith to travel to Edin. But unlike Eren, he had entered the main river from the easternmost part of the kingdom using tributaries from that side. That was because he was given an on-field assignment in the Lehan duchy. He was traveling on a ship twice the size of Freya. After looking at it closely, the butcher snorted his nose. He didn''t forget to mention to Ken that he bought the ship with his own money. He felt the need to state this fact for reasons only he knew. There was also someone else who joined Eren onboard Freya. He introduced himself before greeting Eren in a friendly manner. He was also from LA and Eren''s senior. This man was traveling along with Ken on his ship. His name was Roody- a scion of Edinburgh''s Viscount House. Eren couldn''t believe that Roody was traveling with Ken at first. The two were at each other''s throats when they were in LA because of the conflict he had initiated between them. Apparently, Roody''s sister was smitten by Ken Riverine when they were stationed at the same army base for their on-field assignments. House Orton approached House Riverine about a political marriage. Lensa had just broken the political marriage between House Carren and House Riverine for valid reasons at that time, and House Riverine had just received a blow from House Carren. House Orton''s proposal was epted right away. As a result, Ken was now engaged to Roody''s sister. So Roody had to begrudgingly ept Ken as well against his better judgment. Roody interacted with Eren respectfully. Unlike Ken, he knew about Eren''s aplishments in depth because he had kept tabs on him. Plus, Eren had left asting impression on Roody when their teams fought in the ranking wars. So it became easy for Roody to interact with Eren. Roody graduated from LAst year because he was one year older than Eren and Ken. But since his sister was going to participate in the graduation event, Roody decided to apany Ken as well. He was also in the Lehan duchy so getting aboard Ken''s ship was a choice born out of convenience. Eren had to say that Ken''s protagonist halo was too strong. He had managed to turn the enemy into his ally just by acting like himself. Chapter 993 Discarding Hate Born Out Of Prejudice The threedies retired to their rooms below Freya''s deck when Eren hadpany. Before she descended below deck, Nina assured Eren that she would assist him in his "endeavors"ter. He needed to catch up with his academy mates at this point. Eren uncorked a rare collection of White Raven ale he had in his collection and served it to Ken and Roody. As much as he wanted Ken to just leave him alone, the butcher didn''t want toe across as a poor host to such influential people. Eren, Roody, and Ken started talking about life after they left the academy. Uponpletion of his on-field assignment, Roody was appointed as one of the Royal Guards within a dukedom in Lehan. He simply carried on with his on-field assignment duties, making full use of his academic background. Due to this Roody also had an honorary post in Edinburgh''s army as an officer. There was a chance that he would get transferred to the royal court if and when he broke into Master rank. Apparently, he also had a younger brother named Roody Jr who was from LA and in Ken''s team serving as the captain. So Roody had many reasons to be present at the event. Ken Riverine''s life was not as straightforward as Roody''s. His on-field assignment was at the border of Edinburgh. The Duchy of Lehan also had major parts of its eastern borders attached to the Bands. Thus, operating at the borders was chaotic, even more so than at the Nightshade duchy. But the monsters weren''t the only opponents Ken had to face. Lehan''s borders were also shared with the kingdom of Layos to a small extent. As a result, Ken hade face to face with Layos'' forces many times. Ken had many close calls during his on-field assignments. War teaches a lot to even its most dense students. Ken had learned to kill on the battlefield. And since he had chosen Fist Saint as his ss, the kills were always up close and personal. Ken took his time to deal with the reality of the world. He had his fair share of mental struggles. Through those struggles, he hade to realize that things were not all ck or white as he thought them to be. It could be said that the on-field assignment''s job was to teach exactly that to the academy brats stationed there. Ken realized that what Eren had said to him at the time of their mission together was right all along. A ranker''s path was wrought with death and destruction. One could limit its extent but not prevent it from being present in their life. As a result, Ken started respecting Eren in his head a lot. He came to realize that Eren was way ahead of him when it came to having the mental fortitude of a sessful ranker. Ken was involved in a lot of search-and-destroy operations against Layos'' forces. He also participated in a few rescue operations and then some espionage missions. Doing these kinds of missions non-stop had turned him into an experienced man. Most of all, Ken didn''t use his family background to help him in the pinch when he was in serious need. He stuck to his principles and found his way through the mountain of problems he faced. This was what made him particrly popr with the core of the army responsible for the duchy of Lehan. Ken had entered the Expert rank a few months back. His breakthrough generated a very eye-catching phenomenon that shattered a bunch of mountains in the region. It was a testament to the difficult path he walked along as well as his grit and determination. Of course, Ken kept goodness in his heart despite the challenges he faced. He would still prioritize his teammates'' safety over his own well-being most of the time. He was willing to walk the extra mile for his friends. He still refrained from killing anyone unless he absolutely had to. But after living through so many life-altering experiences and close calls, Ken had stopped being naive enough to think that others would return the favor to him. He had his own share of betrayals as proof of the cruelty of the world. It was Roody who told Eren about Ken''s operations and his heroic acts in the army. Ken scratched the back of his head and justughed it off, feeling awkward about being celebrated as a hero by his army core. Eren reviewed his hate for Ken as he listened to the hardships he had to go through. Eren found out that Ken was probably as miserable inside as his past self was behind hisughter and smiles. Eren could see many regrets hidden behind the facade Ken had created for himself. Ken was still trying toe to terms with them. Ken''s suffering made it easier for Eren to ept him. His prejudice against Ken started dying. Misery lovespany after all. Eren also came to realize that Ken was genuinely a good guy. Something he refused to believe when he was in LA. His second chance at life had given him a lot of advantages but it also restricted his mind in a certain way at that time. One of these restrictions was the assumption that everybody he met was a wolf hiding in sheep''s clothing. Which was true for the most part. Eren refused to ept that there were guys like Ken who were kind without there being reasons to be that way. That refusal made him unable to ept Ken for who he was. The fact that Ken was indirectly responsible for Eren''s downfall in his previous timeline was just an excuse his subconscious mind was telling him to stick to. Of course, if Ken had not learned from his experiences and remained as dense as he was, Eren would not have lost all hope in him. The previous Ken was a liability. This Ken was tolerable to be around. Ken in Eren''s previous timeline was being used by the so-called goddess inside a mortal shell that was Sienna Slughorn. Alephee had said to Eren that the goddess had the power to interfere with the cause-and-effect system of Anfang to a certain extent to make a bunch of possibilitiese to pass. If Alephee''s words were to be believed, Ken was just one of the tools the goddess had used to hurt him. The "tool" itself had no ulterior motives against him. Chapter 994 Misery Loves Company As he talked with Roody and Ken, Eren realized that his anger at Ken was misced. Maybe one of the reasons he hated Ken was because of thetter''s ability to nurture goodness in his heart even aftering to terms with the cruelty of the world. Ken maintained his fairness-and-justice-seeking path despite knowing the potential repercussions. No matter how he tried or pretended to, the butcher wasn''t capable of nurturing goodness in his heart anymore. For better or worse, he had aligned himself with the cruel side of the world. So in the past, to make sense of his inability to nurture goodness, he branded Ken as his opposition. Eren could say that he was still in his growing phase as well. Because it took him this long to realize how naive he had been in his academic days. This is despite being the only student there at the time with the mindset of an old man. He also understood that getting old and having past experiences didn''t turn a person into an all-knowing sage. It just made them better at taking certain life decisions in the future. And that was it. But to see what was hidden beneath the surface-level view, one would require more than mere experience. They needed the insight gained from those experiences. Eren''s interactions with Ken and Roody were giving him the insights he needed to see the things around him he wasn''t noticing because of his own prejudice. When the two finished speaking about themselves, they asked Eren what he had been up to. Both of them had heard about Eren''s sess while they were busy with their own lives. But they wanted to hear straight from the horse''s mouth. Eren told them what was public knowledge about him and his city. He told them about his guild briefly before moving on to mention his on-field assignment in the army at the Nightshade duchy. Roody gulped down a few chugs from his pitcher and pondered a bit. He chuckled to himself beforementing. "Ken Eren your batch is really something if you think about it. It produced Osan Woods'' Butcher. Then Sienna Slughorn died in a royal conspiracy. Other rankers in your batch made names for themselves as well. Lastly, you two. Ken made a name for himself in the army. So much so that even the kingdom of Layos is wary of him at this point. Eren proceeds to establish a fucking city on barrennd and turns it into one of the rising ces in the kingdom. It was as if everyone in your batch was meant to shake the kingdom in their own ways." ''It''s because that beldam messed up cause and effect with you as its center.'' Eren heard Alephee''s voice in his head. Then he and Ken looked at each other. The former pursed his lips before speaking. "I''m sorry for Sienna''s death, Ken. I know you guys had separated long before she died. But I believe you knew her well enough to feel sorry for her." Eren offered a made-up courtesy to Ken. Thetter scratched his beard and gulped from his pitcher before responding in an emotionless tone. "Stop saying things you don''t mean, Eren. As for Sienna... How should I put it without speaking ill of the dead?" Ken looked at the star-studded sky and seemed lost in his thoughts before speaking up. "Now that I look back she was a problematic girl, to begin with. I learned from trusted sources that she was nning to control me using some shady means. She had ns to use me and my family by proxy after the graduation event. I''ll be honest I never wished for her death even after finding out the truth. But am I d that she isn''t my problem anymore? Absolutely, yes." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Ken''s thoughts on Sienna. He had to admit that he had obviously underestimated the Fist Saint''s growth. After emptying the pitcher, Ken essed the pitcher''s rune to draw more liquor stored inside his pitcher. He drank from his refilled ss and narrowed his eyes at Eren before asking him another question. "Sienna is one thing. But you you snatched my fiance from me, didn''t you? Lensa is with you, right?" Eren looked Ken in the eyes before admitting the truth. "Yes." Ken didn''t lose his gaze on Eren. He paused before asking him another question. "It was you who got cozy with her and med it on me, didn''t you?" Eren nodded once again. Ken was gullible but he wouldn''t stay gullible all the time. He had met Lensa a few times during the period they were engaged. And he could guess what kind of girl she was based on his interaction with her. It didn''t take long for him to guess who the real culprit behind the incident was after Eren and Lensa were said to have gotten together. The butcher saw a wind-element fist directed at his guts as he used Sedated Perception subconsciously. But instead of dodging, he let that punch hit him because he knew who had cast it. Swoosh. Zoom. Punch. The three rankers were sitting around the fire pit. Eren was shot straight into the water off Freya''s deck as Ken''s fist hit him. It took a while for Roody to catch up. He didn''t know what the two Expert rankers were talking about. Or why one of them had chosen to unleash violence. "What the" Roody was about to get up and search for Eren. But he felt another wind-element handnd on his shoulder to keep him in his ce. He looked at Ken to see the guy shaking his head in dismissal. "He is fine." Blink. Eren suddenly appeared at his previous seat. He was dry and looked fine. It was as if Ken''s attack on Eren hadn''t taken ce at all. Eren caressed his tummy with his hand and drank from his pitcher. He sighed andmented casually. "Fair enough. I probably deserve that." Eren could understand Ken a bit at this point. The guy wasn''t angry that he had taken his fiance from him. That Lensa chose Eren over him. He was angry at Eren for using his identity to get close to Lensa. "I won''t ask why you did it. But I''d appreciate it if you treated Lensa well." Eren looked at Ken intently before speaking up. "I will." The butcher finished his drink before speaking in a serious tone. "I''ll give you free advice aspensation, Ken. Take it or leave it, it''s your call. But I''ll say it just for the sake of it. Watch your back at the graduation event. Not everyone is worthy of your kindness. And not everyone will return the favor done to them. I acknowledge the hard work of people like you but I could never count on them to get things done. Because you guys can be psychologically damaged in so many ways. I''ll be honest. People like the current me will fuck with you and then leave you to die on your own if you don''t change your heart." The pitcher in Eren''s hand disappeared and he got up. The butcher walked up to the deck''s ledge and listened to the sounds of the ever-flowing Leith before speaking further. "I can see that you are trying to change. That you are slowly trying to adjust to the world''s reality. But I have to say that you are doing something horribly wrong. Before you can change your ways of managing the situation, you need to alter your nature as a ranker. If your heart suffers from the decisions you make, then the favorable oue that you get from those decisions will not solve anything. It will only push you further into darkness. Emotional fools suffer more than rational dickheads. I was probably more gullible than you in the past. As a result, I was more broken than you. So I understand this better than you. I am not saying this to win the "who had it worse?" award. But that''s the truth of the world I havee to realize. Look what this world has turned me into. I should serve as living proof of what lies at the end of your road. That is if you survive long enough to be like me." Ken seemed lost in his thoughts as he listened to Eren''s words. In the end, he sighed and decided to not think about it for the time being. Then he looked up and beckoned Roody to follow him. They too got up from their positions. They stood on either side of Eren and looked at the surroundings for a while. The three kept talking to each other after that until dawnbreak. They also found out that a lot of ships were traveling close to them. Edin, the capital city of Edinburgh, would soon receive them. Chapter 995 The Capital City Edin The capital city- Edin. This city could be considered the heart of the kingdom. It was asvish as the wordvish could allow it to be. It was as grand as the word grand could allow it to be. Edin had harnessed the power of the River Leith to its advantage. It created various artificial tributaries of the river. The city''s giant structures integrated the river''s flow into their construction. The city of Edin was only slightly smaller than the city of New Beginnings. But what itcked in sheer carpet area, it made up for with skyscraping constructions and levitating inds. The river water would travel upwards in streams at various ces. These tributaries and upward streams were capable of letting ships enter their waters and travel from ce to ce. It was as if the Water of Leith was the thread that had woven the city''s fabric together. It was a beautiful sight to behold from anyone outside Edinburgh Central. However, the Water of Leith was not the only mode ofmunication avable in the city. Edinburgh did not have teleportation portals like other major cities in Edinburgh. But it had its own vibe as the capital of the kingdom. The city could be explored using aerial means as well. Various flying ships were hosted by aerial ports located at fixed distances from each other. These runic ships and other legalized flying artifacts would allow people to travel from ce A to ce B in the shortest possible time. The city also had underground constructions meant for the bottom feeders of the city. The Water of Leith would run underground as well, creating subterranean canal travel. Then there was a web of roads spread all over the city. The city of Edin was one of the rare cities in the kingdom that was allowed to feature two, three, four, and six-wheeler vehicles. Each type of vehicle had its ownne. The runic vehicles would be powered using Extols and other forms of mana. This was the mode of travel for low-ranked entities in the city who liked to show off using their luxurious vehicles. The city had lotive trains that would use the Water of Leith instead of the typical rail tracks. The trains were an affordable means of travel for most ordinary rankers inside Edin. If they could be called ordinary that is. Just like the city of new beginnings, Edin was also divided into various districts. Each district was under the administration of a district governor. Even the lowest-qualified district governor had the ranking status of the solid stage Master rank. The city''s atmosphere would always be pleasant and sunny in daylight. The city''s nights were vibrant and full of activities. It was as if the city never knew how to stop. The city was home to around 40 million rankers and mortals. The city amodated anyone and everyone who had the guts to embrace its busy and fast-paced lifestyle. The city''s poption was as multi-ethnic as it could be. Each district had a culture of its own. The food choices were even more diverse. From a myriad of apparel and ranking resources, the city had something for everyoneC mortals and rankers alike. The city even had a dedicated monster region where sentient monsters registered by the city administration would be allowed to leave. The city also had various habitats for mana beasts which could be employed in various ways by the city administration and the denizens of the city. The city of Edin even had a dedicated region meant for demon beastsC those with humanoid and beastly features alike. In short, the city of Edin was a culture shock for people visiting it for the first time. Even the most ordinary citizens of the city would be considered somewhat sessful by people outside of Central Edinburgh. The city''s surface and its skies were taken over by the rich whereas the rtively poor people were restricted to the city''s underground. The city waspletely surrounded and blessed by the Water of Leith. Because of this, it had many constructions all around it to amodate ships of different sizes. There were small piers made for boats and other small water-based vehicles. The aptly designed quay bays were meant for small to medium ships. Then there were docks built for giant ships. Although the ships could travel inside the city, outside ships were not allowed to do so. Only royal vessels could enter the city without any hindrance. The city administration kept a very close eye on Edin''s security. Even the city''s underground zones weren''t something the administration''s investigative rounds couldn''t prate. As a result, there was a very low crime rate inside the city, most of which was restricted to the bottom feeders living underground. However, one had to look really carefully to find a few shades of poverty present inside the city. The opulence of the city, however, was on full disy. The city was home to various organizations present all over the kingdom. The Royal Renar Academy was located in the heart of Edin. The academy had its own district named Edinnica. It had its own set of rules that were not present in other parts of the city. The district governor of the academy Edinnica also served as the dean of the academy. He was a Sage ranker. He had served in that position for thest six centuries and still looked to be in his early 50s. His name was Hansen Lehan. Edinnica was where the graduation event was going to be held for students from all five kingdom-approved academies together. No ordinary ranker or mortal was allowed to enter the region on a whim. It was only reserved for a select few people apart from the Royal Ren students and their associates. Since Edinnica was at the heart of the city, it was almost equidistant from any outer region of the city. One could use their own choice of transport to get to Edinnica after reaching the city by ship. Edin''s quay bays and piers were busier than usual because of the graduation event that was going to be held at Royal Renar. The city was weing a new generation of young and talented rankers from the four corners of the kingdom. Chapter 996 Demonmirs History Morning 8 AM. The Capital City Edin. The kingdom of Edinburgh. Freya had just finished getting docked at a quay bay, which was rtively close to Edinnica. A bunch of rankers got off the ship and stepped foot on Edin for the first time. Eren and the three Master-rankeddies had arrived in Edin. Eren could see loads of people rushing off to do something or go somewhere. It was as if the whole city was one giant, well-oiled machine and the crowds of people were levers inside it. They moved about inplete sync with each other like clockwork. Some rankers used their movement spells without disturbing anyone. Some used artifacts to move the items they had. Others traveled directly to the city entrances in flying bubble vehicles. The City of Edin had countless entrances and exits. But to enter the city, one needed to have proper documents. They also had to pass through certain identity-confirming matrixes, assuring the administration they were who they imed to be. Edin had an unstoppable tenacity to it. Even with all its security protocols installed, the ce itself had a liberating vibe. Mortals, rankers, monsters, demon beasts, and mana beasts. Even halflings were an integral part of the city. At least they were not as discriminated against as in the duchies outside of central Edinburgh. There was a reason for the city''s all-inclusive attitude and it wasn''t all rainbows and sunshine. Edin made use of everymunity to get what it wanted from them. It employed every stratum of people, demanding their skills in exchange for the illusion of freedom. Still, Eren didn''t find anything wrong with extracting someone''s worth and offering thempensation in return. He felt that those who were made to feel they were needed by society were particrly better off than those who weren''t. This was how the world worked anyway. With various thoughts like these running inside his head, Eren watched the city''s hustle and bustle with a stoic gaze. He stood above the head of a White Raven figurehead and thought of his next set of ns all over again. Due to Ken''s ship''s special ess to the city, Roody and he separated from Eren as soon as they arrived. Thetter regretted that they couldn''t do this sooner. He didn''t know when he would get the chance to speak with Levine. So he cursed Ken some more before jumping off the ship''s ledge. Step. When Freya docked, Eren stepped lightly onto the dock. The threedies followed him immediately. The butcher took a deep breath and took the air of a brand-new city into his lungs beforementing sarcastically. "Look at these people moving about. They are not even paying attention to the three Master-ranked beauties that havee to visit the city. I have to say this is my first time experiencing something like this." Eren was being honest. If it was any other city outside Central Edinburgh the arrival of three Master-ranked entities would have created waves in the hearts and minds of the citizens. And it would have sent the city administration running to receive them if they hade together. However, everyone treated Nina, Levine, and Jiana normally. The lower-ranked entities would bow to them without stopping their work. The Expert and Master-ranked entities would nod at them or sh a light smile before proceeding about their ways. It was as if they had no time for anyone at all. Jiana chuckled at Eren''sment as she observed his expressions of curiosity and wonder. She looked at him like she was looking at a country bumpkin before responding. "Of course, guild master. Edin has thousands of Master rankers and about a few hundred Grandmaster rankers inside its territory at any given time. They are the best of the best in their regions financially and otherwise. Moste here if and when the kingdom summons them. Somee here when they hit a bottleneck in their journeys. The city also keeps on organizing a lot of ranking events on any given day. So some are here as participants just like you." In Edin, Jiana could always use her title holder identity to expedite the entry process for herself. She would also be treated very differently from the rest once her identity was established. But she decided that she should stick with the group she hade with. Eren nodded his head as he listened to Jiana''s words. It seemed that she had also visited the city before like Levine. So he let her lead the way after bowing gracefully. Levine looked around suspiciously as if someone was watching her. She knew that Demonmir was here and his forces could be all over the ce. So she remained vignt about her surroundings while adding up. "Eren, we didn''t have a chance to talk about a lot of topics when we were traveling. First, it was due to your breakthrough. Then it was due to those friends of yours. Now that we are here, I want you to pay attention to something. I''m sure you must have been told to be wary of Ottoman by other rankers countless times, including me. But I''ll have to reiterate that at the cost of sounding like a broken recordC don''t provoke that bastard. You don''t know what he is capable of." Eren raised his eyebrows as he listened to Levine''s warning. He was walking in the middle of Nina and Levine whereas Jiana was leading the way from the front. It looked like an Expert ranker was being protected by three Master ranked entities to the onlookers. Eren''s group was walking towards a giant gate that was the nearest entrance to Edin from where they were. Countless other rankers were walking with them. Eren was about to say something. But then Jiana turned around beforementing. "Master Levine is right, guild master. Nobody knows what Demonmir is capable of. There is something special about his existence in thend of Anfang after all. I''ll go ahead and say that there''s a part of him that''s a lot like your demon beast Argo." Jiana was sure that she wasn''t mistaken in her conjecture because she had seen Argo up close. She then looked ahead and narrowed her eyes before using the groupmunication channel to speak. Chapter 997 [Bonus ] Demonic Ranker Jiana looked ahead and narrowed her eyes before using the groupmunication channel to speak. ''I don''t think the forces of Anfang have grasped Argo''s status as a prince yet. But if and when they do, Argo will either be made to swear allegiance to the kingdom or made to disappear from thend of Anfang. They say the same thing happened to Demonmir as well. The reason he has been given free rein to some extent is that he is still under the kingdom''s thumb.'' Eren''s curiosity was piqued when he heard that Argo and Demonmir had something inmon. No matter how he tried to make sense of the information, it still confused him quite a bit. There was obviously a context to that link he was missing. It seemed there was something else about the warnings he wasn''t seeing. Curious, he turned to Levine and asked. ''What do you guys mean, teacher Levine?'' Levine took a deep breath before responding in a grim tone. ''You know why he is given the title of Demonmir? Not everybody is privy to this information. Only someone like Jiana who is a title holder would have some information. Demonmir''s history is a closely guarded secret, despite the title he was given. It''s like his title is an inside joke. But I''m from the same n as that man. So of course, I know.'' Levine and Jiana looked at each other for a bit. As if to determine whether the information should be shared with Eren and Nina or not. The two then decided that Eren should know Demonmir''s history because there was a chance that he would meet him. Levine''s voice turned grimmer as she spoke. ''Eren, I''m sure you must have heard about the origins of demon beasts and demonic possessions. But have you heard about demonic possessions done on rankers?'' The butcher was taken aback by what Levine was implying. However, thetter continued before allowing him a chance to speak. ''Ottoman is one of the rare rankers in Anfang who had to go through demonic possession. It is the same demonic possession that is usually restricted to mana beasts during their breakthroughs. The fact that he survived and managed to retain control of his body makes him even rarer to the point of being precious. The man managed to keep his mind intact through demonic possession. He defeated the demon soul fragment and took its powers for himself. And this was when he was a mere Ace ranker.'' Eren''s expression turned grim as he listened to Levine''s words. He wanted to say that he might not win against Demonmir but he wasn''t scared of him. But that only applied when Demonmir was a normal ranker. Or as normal as he could be without some wild powers helping him. But Levine''stest information put Eren on alert. With such an impressive Trump card, it would be foolish to underestimate him. A Trump card he didn''t know or understand the scope of. ''Hmm? An awakened demonic ranker? I didn''t know there would even be demonic rankers in thend of Anfang. Someone must have performed a demon-summoning ritual here.'' Eren heard Alephee''s surprised voice in his head. It seemed that she couldn''t believe that there was someone in thend of Anfang who could keep their sanity and control intact after demonic possession. Mana beasts getting possessed by demon beasts was a different thing. It was because the mana beasts did not have strong and fully sentient souls at the beginning. As a result, it became easier for the demons to possess them at the time of their breakthrough. However, demonic possession done on a ranker was a different ball game altogether. No ordinary demon would be willing to take such risks. In addition, the average ranker would never remain the same following demonic possession. Therefore, Demonirmir was treated as a special presence in Edinburgh for this reason. Due to his status as an awakened demonic ranker, he had gained elite status. Eren wanted to ask Alephee a lot of questions about the term demonic rankers and what it stood for. He decided to keep quiet and listen first. Levine let Eren digest what she had said so far. After a brief pause, she spoke. ''While Ottoman was under demonic possession, the forces of Anfang dispatched to the scene were about to kill him. Ottoman had almost gone insane and was about to die at that point. With sheer willpower alone, he managed to tame the demon inside him. The kingdom-sanctioned assassins who hade to kill him became witnesses to his achievement. Thus, he was given the title of Demonmir then and there.'' Nina and Eren both looked at each other with grim faces when they heard about Demonmir''s past. The two of them had never been involved in the kingdom''s affairs in this manner. It was the first time they''d stepped foot in Edin after all. So they were uninitiated about a lot of things only a certain stratum of people like Jiana and Levine knew. Jiana was the next to speak. ''Ottoman de Montmorency is not your typical big bad guy. He possesses a very powerful demon soul fragment. This is why we urge you to be wary of him and the demonic side inside him as well. Because we are not sure which side is more sinister and blood-thirsty.'' From her end, Jiana finished speaking and brought the matter to a close. She then focused on finding her way through the sea of crowds. Levine de Montmorency looked agitated for some reason when she thought about Demonmir. It was as if there was a distant memory she was trying to prevent from resurfacing in her head. Eren had stress lines on his forehead as well. Not because he thought that he had underestimated Demonmir. But because he was made aware of these things toote. The butcher wanted to p Levine''s bum for not telling him this crucial information sooner. === AN: The word Mir means prince in Persian and Arabic. So Ottoman''s title can be read as Demon Prince. ;) Chapter 998 Demonkind ''So Demonmir''s demon soul fragment is on the same level as Argo''s is?'' Eren asked Alephee out of curiosity. Thetter hadn''te into contact with Demonmir so she couldn''t tell. However, she had something else to tell the butcher. ''Eren, I am not saying you should be irrationally fearless. But don''t worry too much about demonic rankers like this Demonmir guy. At least not because of their demonization. From the looks of things, Demonmir''s standing in the kingdom''s eyes is not something you can ignore. His faction of the Montmorency n and his reach within the royal court can hurt you more than the demon inside him ever will.'' Alephee had apletely different opinion than Levine and Jiana on the same matter. She was more concerned about Demonmir''s political might than his individual power. She also understood the question Eren wanted to ask her. So she added further. ''You want to know more about demonic rankers? To put it simply, they are rankers seeking blessings from the demon realm. They will offer their bodies as shells to the demons in exchange for demonic powers. They can be considered uninitiated demonic rankers if they perform demonic rituals to attract demons and have yet to be sessful. Some rankers manage to attract a demon soul fragment into their bodies through ritual. They manage to keep it slumbering for the most part so that they can use their powers passively without any risk. They can be called initiated demonic rankers. Lastly, rankers who managed to not only attract demon soul fragments inside their bodies but also tame such fragments to do their bidding for them are called fully awakened demonic rankers.'' Eren kept walking towards the giant gate with the threedies surrounding him in silence. Jiana had told him that the demon soul fragment inside Ottoman was as strong as Argo. Eren didn''t understand what it meant by any demon soul fragment being as strong as Argo. However, the news still put him on edge. Especially after witnessing the feats Argo could perform when he was battling Oliver and his forces. Alephee allowed Eren to take a mental breather before speaking up. ''Of course, what I have told you about demonic rankers is a simple way of putting it and there''s obviously more to it. But that should be enough for you for now. The degree of demonization and the power of the demon soul fragments dictate the boost a ranker would experience in terms of their raw power. A strong demon produces a strong demon soul fragment. With a strong demon soul fragment, demonic rankers can unlock more demonic potential. However, with increased benefitse additional risks. Strong demons are not easy to control. If someone loses the mental fight they had with the demon soul fragment at the time of demonic possession, they may have to say goodbye to their ego forever. After all, the first goal of demonic possession for demons is to have mortal shells. Stronger demons would just take over the possessed entities in one go. Or they''ll wait and bide their time until an opportunity arises. They''ll take over the ranker when they are at their weakest, finally granting them the mortal vessels they needed all along. The two Demon Princes sending their soul fragments into the same world at almost the same time is no coincidence. It is obviously due to the unnatural interference of the cause-and-effect fabric of the world. That harlot and I are both to me for this, I guess. Still, something doesn''t quite add up. I find itpletely unbelievable that someone from thend of Anfang managed to tame a demon soul fragment of a Demon Prince. There''s obviously something more to the story.'' Eren processed Alephee''s words slowly in his head. A chronic nner like him didn''t want to face Demonmir until he knew enough about the topic. However, he couldn''t just go back to White Raven the way he came. Eren needed to get through the whole ordeal to get the things he wanted from the graduation event. It was the whole reason he hade here. He wasn''t sure how much he should ask without triggering the continental array''s response. But he decided to push its limits for his own sake. ''Alephee, how are demons categorized? And what is a Demon Prince?'' Alephee took her time to reply. Her words were carefully chosen so as not to cause a scene in Edin. ''There are countless demons who infiltrate various worlds of all sorts looking for God Sparks. But not every demon is the same. Just like the royalty of Edinburgh, demons have a hierarchy to them. Lesser demons, greater demons, archdemons, etc. are as countless as the stars in the cosmos. But there are only seven Demon Princes at any given time in any world. Previously, all demons were chaotic beings that didn''t believe in order. But then a certain someone came along and established an irond rule of hierarchy for them. Things changed for the demon kind after that. Now a demon would have to rise through the ranks and defeat any of the existing Demon Princes to take over their domains. These Demon Princes are like de facto leaders of all the demons that are below them.'' Alephee''s answers only created more questions in Eren''s head. He sighed in his head before responding. ''My dear Alephee While I understand that the Demon Princes are rare, it does nothing to solve the mystery around them in my head. I don''t know anything about demons. And I understand that I won''t be able to for a long while. Please answer this in a way I can understand. For example, how many Sages would it take to defeat a Demon Prince? This is the kind of scale I can understand at my current level.'' Alephee chuckled when Eren wanted to give him a simple answer to aplex question. She pondered for a bit before responding. ''I''m not sure how many Sages it would take to defeat a Demon Prince But'' Alephee took another long pause as if choosing her words carefully after doing some sandboxing in her head. ''But A Demon Prince can take on 100s of Sages attacking him as one entity and still win.'' Eren stopped in his tracks when he heard the answer he received from Alephee. The Sage scale of measurement he had created for himself quickly became insufficient in his head to measure an actual Demon Prince''s might. Chapter 999 Might Of A Demon Prince "Eren?" Nina and Levine soon found out that Eren had stopped moving with them. They looked back to see Eren had stopped in his tracks. He looked like he had just found something shocking. Saying that Eren was shocked was an understatement though. Sages were the pinnacle of existence for him for the longest amount of time. He knew that there were more powerful beings than Sages outside of Anfang. But he had never stopped to think about the extent of their powers. The butcher tried his hardest. But he still couldn''t wrap his head around the amount of umtion one needed to face 100 Sages at once without breaking a sweat. As a result, his brain was short-circuited which made him stop in his tracks. Alephee on the other hand thought that she had undermined the existence of Demon Princes byparing them with Sages. She was sure that all seven Demon Princes would take offense if and when they learned of her doing. However, the homunculus did not have the heart to tell Eren about it. The butcher looked like he would summon a table from his storage just to flip it up. All so that he could derive some form of mental relief from that act. Alephee felt like she had to say something to make Eren react. His current thought process was too chaotic for her to read. ''Of course, what I said is only valid if we consider the actual Demon Princes and not their soul fragments. Demons or demonic rankers will be able to exert only a fraction of their original power with soul fragments. It is also limited by the state and umtion of the vessel the fragments of the soul upy at the time. The Awakened demonic rankers certainly be more powerful than their counterparts after they tame the demons inside them and make them stay that way. However, they still have limitations. No matter which world, certain rules can be bent but not broken. And therein lies the beauty of the game.'' Eren felt like he was hearing his name being called out in the distance. But he was too preupied with his current thought process to respond to any of those calls. He clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes before saying something very diabolical to Alephee. ''Power to contend with 100s of Sages... I want it. I want it, damn it. Alephee, what is the demon-summoning ritual? How can I attract a Demon Prince''s soul fragment and then tame it?'' Eren''s stunned expression subtly turned hungry. A certain hunger for power could be seen in his eyes. His sheathed presence kept things under wraps. But nobody knew better than his victims that the butcher was at his most dangerous when his mana signatures were as calm as a serene sea. It felt like the continent-spanning array was bound to react if Alephee answered Eren''s question directly. But the butcher didn''t care. His thirst for power had skyrocketed after hearing about power to rival 100s of Sages. He had even forgotten the fact that he was a mere Expert ranker and it was way too early for him to think along those lines. Alephee couldn''t me Eren. She was only to me for telling him information that she thought he wasn''t supposed to know. It was better to keep certain things under wraps until the right time came to unwrap them. She also found it satisfying that Eren wasn''t really overwhelmed by the existence of Demon Princes. Instead, the news fueled his desire to reach their level. All while not underestimating the Sages in any way because he was still in touch with his own reality. Alephee chuckled before answering honestly. She also knew that her answer wasn''t enough to trigger a response from the continent-spanning array because she was not telling him the process to perform the demon-summoning ritual. ''Hehe. You don''t need any demon soul fragments in you, Eren. Why be a Prince if you can aim for something even higher?'' She paused before asking him another cryptic question. ''Have you not realized... what Argo calls you these days?'' *** "EREN!" Eren was finally snapped out of his thoughts when Nina shook him by his shoulders and yelled his name. She looked worried and tense, thinking that he was dreading his meeting with Demonmir. ''It''s fine, Eren. Demonmir... that bastard will not be able to do anything here in the capital. And we''ll make sure to exit safely out of the city once your graduation eventes to an end. I''ll be with you.'' Levine and Jiana both looked at each other before speaking in unison. ''We will all be with you.'' Eren looked at them confusingly before finally understanding that his inaction was being taken as him getting scared. Heughed in his head but decided to use the opportunity to pursue advances with Levine nheless. ''Yes... yes... I''ll need all three of you to be with me when the event ends. Thanks... thank you for being with me throughout my struggle,dies.'' Eren replied in a voice coated in dread before taking all threedies into his embrace. They had all stood close to him so it became easier for him to do so. The people walking by were a bit puzzled by the group''s bonding activity. But it wasn''t enough to make them stop and stare at them for more than a second or two. ? Jiana had flushed cheeks when she was embraced by Eren along with the other two Master rankers. She then inhaled the smell of the butcher, and for some reason, her mind was lost in lustful thoughts. She felt like tearing the man''s clothes apart before nting a kiss on him. Things got worse for Levine. She felt like a fire had been ignited deep within her that could only be extinguished in a certain way. She willingly sank her head into his chest and started inhaling Eren''s scent intently as if her life was dependent on it. Nina was the normal one among them. And yet, even she felt like her urges were getting rekindled just by being embraced by Eren. Nobody realized that Eren''s forked tongue stretched way longer than usual as he licked his lips, smiling wickedly. Chapter 1000 The Cure For Pain Is More Pain P1 "Identity checks out - Eren Elijah Idril. Student of Lionhearts'' Adventurers'' AcademyC an army veteran. Here for the graduation event. Expert Eren, wee to the capital city Edin. Please be mindful of the rules and enjoy your stay." An emotionless voice sounded from nowhere as Eren passed through a certain identity-confirming array. He saw that the threedies were waiting for him at the other end of the pathway. Eren''s view consisted of a pair of giant doors. There were no visible city walls surrounding the capital city Edin. But that was because the city had even stronger measures of security put in ce. A distortion in the spatial fabric served as Edin''s first line of defense. It blurred the view of the city for outsiders, forcing them to only look at the giant doors serving as the city''s entrance points. Eren''s group needed to pass through the giant door to enter the city officially. The butcher was walking up to Nina and the rest when he saw a flying vehicle approaching them. This flying vehicle looked like a giant fish with live fins in all four cardinal directions. It had metallic bat wings and a ss deck serving as its face. It stopped right in front of the three Master-ranked entities as if wanting to get them aboard. By the time Eren walked up to Nina and the rest, an adept-ranked elf had climbed out of the flying vehicle. He approached the group and bowed at all of them before speaking in a voice coated in courtesy. "Good morning and wee to the capital, Madam Goldy Wings and her friends. My name is Duja Katak. I''m here to serve as your city guide and helper." Eren and the rest looked at Jiana who nodded at Duja Katak before speaking up. "We wish to travel to Edinnica. Take us there." "Certainly!" Duja Katak responded promptly before gesturing to them to board the flying vehicle. The vehicle''s size made it convenient for the group to board. Duja came prepared to look after Jiana''s needs. Jiana looked at the group and shed a smile. "Let''s go." Nina, Levine, and Jiana boarded the vehicle. Eren was about to follow their lead as well. But then he stopped. He felt like he was being watched by a certain someone and the gaze felt familiar. The butcher stepped back and looked ahead. There was a certain ranker looking at him from a distance at the city''s entrance door. ''There she is'' Eren mumbled to himself and kept looking in the ranker''s direction for a bit. He then pursed his lips before saying something to Nina and the others. "You guys go ahead. I need to catch up with someone. Maybe explore the city a bit." Jiana and Levine both looked at Nina usingly as if it was her fault he was behaving so erratically. Nina had stress lines on her forehead before she spoke. "Eren it is YOUR graduation event we are attending. And we are already runningte. This is no time to" Lightning struck and Eren disappeared from his ce. Nina sighed before shrugging her shoulders. Her bodynguage screamed, "I tried." The vehicle took off immediately, heading straight to the Edinnica district. ''Hmm? He noticed me?'' Reva Rain couldn''t help feeling amazed by Eren as she saw him approaching her. The way Eren reacted to her distant gaze amazed her. Furthermore, she could see that he was approaching her as if he knew her personally. A tussle between the Escalon guild and the White Raven guild had already been established and well-known. But she didn''t feel like it warranted such a personal response from Eren who hadn''t even met her as far as she could tell. ''Her smug face it takes me back.'' The butcher thought to himself as he walked toward the Pdin of Pain. A distant memory from his past timeline resurfaced in his head as he released smoke through his nostrils. It was as if the smoke reshaped itself to y a certain scene in front of him. Soon, the smoke blurred his vision and pulled him into the past timeline. *** An underground facility for the Escalon guild. The smell of blood, violence, and misery ran wild in the air. This air was then mixed with a certain rotten smell to make it even more pungent. There was only just enough red light in the room to see 10 meters into the distance. A bunch of dead bodies could be seen lying on the ground with cuts and wounds all over them. It was clear that they had not died because they were already injured. They died because they couldn''t handle the pain they were subjected to. "Aaaaaaargh!" An old man cried in agony as he finally couldn''t take the abuse he was subjected to. This old man had white hair and a receding hairline. His emerald green eyes had lost all shine in them. And his skin was wrinkled. This old man was an Adept ranker who had been fighting for survival almost his entire life. It was a wonder that he had managed to break into the Adept rank given the conditions he had been subjected to all his life. His ranking status was of no use in the underground facility. Under the effects of a suppression array, his body had be as mortal as it could be. As a result, he could feel intense pain with no chance of relief from mana recovery. This green-eyed old man had been tied to an X-shaped structure with his limbs stretched and pinned to it. He had a bunch of stakes running through various parts of his body. Inhale. Smoke. Release. Reva Rain got close and released a mouthful of smoke over the green-eyed man''s face. Thetter started coughing because his mortal-like body had lost the ability to sustain the side effects of smoke released from a ranked pencil cigarette. "Tch tch tch. You failed this mission as well, Old Idril. Just what I expected from you. Another pathetic performance. Another excellent reason to punish you." The Pdin of PainC Reva Rain said in a condescending tone. === AN: VEH punches in 1000 chapters. Cheers! Chapter 1001 [Bonus ] The Cure For Pain Is More Pain P2 "Tch tch tch. You failed this mission as well, Old Idril. Just what I expected from you. Another pathetic performance. Another excellent reason to punish you." The Pdin of PainC Reva Rain said in a condescending tone. She smoked from her pencil cigarette as she continued. "At least take responsibility for your failure and stop screaming. A high-ranking entity like mine has toe down in this filth to teach you a lesson in humility. You should be d that I''m giving you special treatment. And you are not even grateful for all that I do for you. What a shame what a shame" The green-eyed old man had lost all the anger in his eyes. It was because that emotion was lost along with the huge amount of blood his wounds had gushed out due to the torture. His Adept-ranked body was only allowed to assure its survival. Otherwise, he would have died long ago. Reva also had to admit that this old man had a special talent for bearing the torture he was subjected to. All of her reasons for torturing him were nothing but bullshit. The Pdin of Pain wanted to see this old man break in front of herpletely. So she would find ways to do just thatC giving him tough missions knowing he would fail and then ming the failure on him. This was so she could torture him on her whims. Shalen Craft was Eren''s handler. She was standing not too far away from the two. This was a scene she had seen countless times. Even an assassin like her felt a bit of pity for the old man. But it wasn''t enough to make her stop the Pdin of Pain from what she was doing. Eren coughed some more and spat sideways, prompting Reva to retract her neck. The tortured man looked lifelessly at Reva before replying in a lifeless manner. ''How How was that my fault? The info was all wrong. The healer in that party was nothing like the profile you had given us of him. He could use silent sound-element spells to heal himself and his allies. No matter how we tried no matter how boldly we attacked, those fuckers kept on getting up until we understood the reason behind that. By the cough cough cough'' Eren started coughing again because Reva had released another cloud of smoke on his face. His eyes, which were already bloody, had managed to turn redder than before due to his severe coughing. He was only able to continue after a while. ''By the by the time we realized it, it was already toote. The mission was doomed to fail from the very beginning with the wrong'' p. p. p. p. p. Eren''s face turned from left to right and then from right to left under the constant barrage of ps Reva had unleashed on him. His cheekbones and his jaw were about to crack before Reva stopped pping him. Eren''s face turned bloody and his cheeks bled from many ces at once. The skin tore from extreme blunt force trauma instead of getting cut. "Tch. Tch. Tch. Excuses and more excuses. Is this how an Escalon guild member conducts himself? Didn''t Shalen teach you any manners? And what''s this bullshit about wrong information? You should be able to aplish any mission sessfully with the wrong information or with no information at all. You could target the healer first. You could yank out their vocal cords to prevent them from casting spells. You could have be a fucking killing machine and butchered your opponents up before they even had a chance to retaliate. Whose mistake is that? When will you take responsibility for yourck of skills and nning?" The green-eyed man remained silent when he heard Reva Rain''s exnation of why he was responsible for the mission''s failure. He became silent because he found it to be logical. A chuckle was heard in the underground facility for the first time since its creation. Soon, that chuckle turned intoughter. ''She finally broke him.'' Shalen Craft sighed as she watched the green-eyed manughing like a maniac. Some shred of life returned to his emerald-green eyes as he spoke in a grim tone. "Heh! You are right. You are absolutely right, Pdin of Pain. That was my mistake. That was all my mistake. You''d have to forgive me. Here''s what I have learned from my mistakes. Please correct me if I''m wrong. First- Always take out the healer first. Second- Yank out the healers'' vocal cords to prevent them from casting silent spells. Third- To butcher my enemies, I must be a fucking killing machine. Noted all duly noted. By the way... Madam Pdin of Pain There was this question I had that I wanted to ask. Would you mind answering?" Reva Rain was a bit taken aback by the old man''s demeanor and the peculiar shine in his eyes. She felt like she was messing with someone who she shouldn''t mess with at all. But she discarded all of her instincts after considering the situation he was in. "Speak." Eren smirked at Reva Rain before responding. "You are a healer too, right? What happens when your enemy adopts the same strategy for you as well? With your dying breath, will you curse your enemy at that time? Or will you be awed by their efficient killing mechanism?" Reva Rain was tongue-tied when she heard Eren''s grim voice that sounded like a prophecy to her ears. For some reason, goosebumps formed on her skin as she looked into his emerald-green eyes. "No answer, huh? I guess there''s only one way to find out. Hehehehe!" The Pdin of Pain stepped back as she felt Eren''s presence that was turning sinister by the second. It was Shalen who found out that the X-shaped torture device had malfunctioned for some reason and allowed Eren to use mana for himself. She operated the device and controlled the old man''s presence. Reva Rain cursed herself for getting scared by an old helpless man. She made an unsightly expression before operating on the runes on the X-shaped structure Eren was pinned on. The stakes lodged inside his body started rotating and spilling blood. However, this time, the old man didn''t scream. "Hehehe uuuugh! The cure for pain is more pain." The green-eyed man thought out loud as he faced the mindless torture he was undergoing. Chapter 1002 There Is No Such Thing As A Painless Lesson A staring contest. That was what was taking ce between Reva and Eren. Reva spoke with an irritated expression on her face when she finally couldn''t take it anymore. "I didn''t know the White Raven guild master liked to stare at random strangers without even extending formal introductions." Reva said before releasing her aura. She was an Expert ranker just like Eren. However, she was on the cusp of breaking into the next rank. Plus, she was an aplished ranker with plenty of umtion. As a result, the mana signatures of Pdin of Pain established her as a particrly cruel ranker. Eren smiled as he was subjected to Reva''s aura. He released a lungful of smoke in Reva''s direction before responding. "You already know my name and I know yours. Why bother? More importantly, did you find out what happened to Shalen Craft? Brilliant girl, if you ask me. It''s a shame she was somehow pulled into a royal conspiracy and died. Sadly, we can''t bring her back. But we can at least find out how she was killed, right?" Eren remained unfazed by Reva''s intrusive act. He knew that even a cruel ranker like her cared for Shalen who she had practically raised from the ground to the top. Just like the Pdin of Pain, the butcher liked to strike at his enemies where it hurts the most. One could say that he had learned it from her. Reva was a smart woman. She looked at Eren''s yful nature and immediately understood that he was trying to incite her just to see her react. It was as if this was not their first time talking to each other. Reva smirked. Immediately her aura changed and it started to incite a certain emotion in Eren. She wanted to show that only she could y with others'' emotions and not the other way around. Although she cared a bit about Shalen Craft, the fact that she died had no visible impact on her. A subtle mana pulse was released. And it was the tell-tale sign of an Ability getting used. Eren first realized that he was sick. That he was mortal again and suffering from various diseases all at once. Then he felt hungry - as if he had been starving for weeks on end. After that came the feeling of unexined aggression. And finally, he felt that he had achieved everything he came to achieve and it was okay for him to die. Eren felt different shades of all those emotions in a fraction of a moment while he was being exposed to Reva''s aura. If there was any other ranker other than him standing in front of her, they would have been brought to their knees by her peculiar Ability. Eren knew about the Pdin of Pain''s Ability the most. He had been subjected to its effects many times just for her entertainment. But unlikest time, he wasn''t affected by any of the feelings she was trying to induce him. And in doing so, he denied her the pleasure of breaking in front of her. ''Hmm? She is a demonic ranker, Eren. Her demon soul fragment, however, is put to sleep and restricted. She is an initiated demonic ranker.'' Eren heard Alephee''s words in his head and raised his eyebrows in shock. Even after knowing Reva Rain from the past timeline, he didn''t know anything rted to demons or demonic rankers. So it took him some time to process it. Reva''s expression changed when she saw that Eren was not affected by her aura that carried the effects of her Ability. His response to it made her eerily ufortable. She felt that what was deep inside her was trying to warn herC either kneel or get the fuck away from this man. Everything starts looking yellowish when one has jaundice. Eren felt it odd that as soon as he learned the existence of demonic rankers, there was someone from those groups standing in front of him. Especially someone like Reva who he knew from his past timeline. However, he quickly concluded that there was a reason for that. First was the fact that demonic rankers were rtively stronger than their peers. As a result, they became more sessful in their ranking journeys and other aspects of life than the rest. So it was natural that some of them gathered inside the capital city of Edin where people with influence and power were concentrated. The reason he was not aware of Reva''s status as a demonic ranker in the previous timeline was that he was not qualified to know. He could only me his past self for being ipetent and uneducated. Reva dispersed her aura when she found out that it did not affect Eren. She could have tried suppressing Eren even more. She could have said something clever to intimidate him in return. But she chose not to do that. It was as if every fiber in her body wanted her not to engage in conflict with him. For the first time in her life after a long while, the Pdin of Pain felt like prey standing in front of an Apex predator. ''This man Something about him just creeps me out.'' The revtion bothered and intimidated her at the same time. There was only one person who induced those same feelings in herC Demonmir. Once Reva retracted her presence, Eren narrowed her eyes on her. He stepped forward and got within a breath''s distance of her. "Do Do we know each other? No... how do you know me on a personal level?" Reva couldn''t help asking Eren this question out of frustration. She could sense Eren''s behavior and tell it wasn''t his first time getting affected by her aura. She tried her hardest to remember if she had ever met someone who even remotely looked like Eren. But so far she had drawn a nk. Eren shed a subtle smile at her before responding. His voice was calm, his eyes the reflection of calm water. "I havee to realize that there''s no such thing as a painless lesson in life. The lessons that truly hold some value will be taught to us at the cost of losing something in return. We can walk away from the pain. Or we can work through those lessons to find out that we have been reforged by the very pain that tried to break us. You don''t know it, Reva Rain. But it was you who helped me make peace with the feelings of pain. You helped me see past those feelings and reach for what lies on the other side of them. So as a gesture of conveying thanks I''m offering you a deal." === AN: Drin, thanks for the castle. Bit busy with setting up INFIO and other projects. But we will have VEH''s mass release possibly by the start of the next month. Cheers! ;) Chapter 1003 Pain Is Inevitable "So as a gesture of conveying thanks, I''m offering you a deal." Eren spoke in a calm, authoritative voice. Reva was about to open her mouth to say something. But she stopped midway because she felt like she had lost her voice. Her unspoken words were not heard for some reason. The butcher''s voice turned cold. He almost whispered his words into Reva''s ears directly. "Tell your Escalon guild to back off. It will not assure you of your personal safety. But it will at least allow your guild to survive. It might also reduce your suffering. Either way I''lle for you. And when that day arrives, you will realize that pain is inevitable for everyone, even for someone who is called the Pdin of Pain." Eren said before releasing his aura for a fraction of a second. And everything in Reva''s vision turned red. She felt like she was suddenly thrown deep into a pool of blood and carnage. The illusion was so strong that Reva could almost taste the metallic vor of blood. A chill ran down Reva''s spine when she felt his presence affect her. Her instincts screamed at her to leave Edin this instant. Even her mana defenseyer waspromised because of the state she was in mentally. Then the butcher''s presence disappeared and she felt no warning signsing from him all of a sudden. As if what she had experienced was just an illusion. As if he was as harmless as the word harmless could mean. And that feeling scared her even more. "Hehehe. Have a great day, Miss Pdin of Death. Hope we meet soon under different circumstances. I''m really looking forward to it." Eren said before walking past Reva Rain, leaving her stunned at her position. She could hear his chuckles from behind her that almost sounded like a demonicugh. Or it was even more sinister than even the demons were capable of. Lightning struck and Eren vanished, bringing some relief to Reva''s agitated state. With a stressed expression on her face, she turned back and looked around. She felt like she couldn''t count on her mana sense for some reason. Reva clenched her fists and felt angry at herself for getting intimidated by a mere toddler who hadn''t evenpleted his graduation. She had to admit that Eren was a better ranker than her because of the speed of his progress. Despite their talent and hard work, one''s safety couldn''t be guaranteed in thend of Anfang after all. Reva stomped her feet and made a deration to herself. ''Hmph! Tell Escalon guild to back off? Why would I do that? Why would I engage in a personal conflict with him just because he killed Shali? I. No... I have to personally get involved to teach this man a lesson. Yes!'' Reva didn''t like that Eren was trying to manipte her into acting his way. She decided to retaliate in her own way. And in doing so, she was still subjected to how the butcher wanted her to act anyway. ''I have many ways to deal with this pompous young duck. I''ll just have to make my moves smartly. Let this stupid graduation event get over. He''ll soon discover why I am called the Pdin of Pain.'' Reva Rain thought to herself before disappearing from her position as well. Even if Eren seemed way too strong for his ranking status to her, he was still her junior and had just broken into the Expert rank. She believed that she could still deal with him given the right settings. *** Eren knew that he was short on time. But he couldn''t help looking at the grandeur of the city once he stepped through the giant doors. He quickly hired a flying vehicle and a vibrant cityscape view unfolded in front of him. The vehicle Eren hired was different from that of Duja Katak. Eren''s vehicle had threerge ss spheres serving as passenger spaces. Each sphere was spacious enough to amodate at least three rankersfortably. The spheres were connected using golden metal tes and rods etched with elemental runes. The top edge of the vehicle also had red drapes reaching for the ground for added visual appeal. The vehicle had two rotor des and a tail rotor, which could be controlled using one''s mana sense through the array ced in the driver seat. The vehicle provided Eren with an unobstructed view of the city as he drove around the city. He already knew where to go using the vehicle''s spectral disy. It was just that he was taking his sweet time getting there. Runic structures and towers. Aptly ced elemental pools. And the Water of Leith connected all these factors in threads like one big web. It was as if the whole city was one giant array. Such arrangements created a unique atmosphere in the city, increasing the quality and density of mana across all its grades for various uses. Living in Edin was akin to being affected by a certain buff effect that increased one''s chances to progress forward in their ranking journeys just by living inside its borders. Of course, this buff had limitations. But that didn''t stop the rich and influential from gaining a foothold in Edin. ''Damn. My city could learn a thing or two from this ce. The city of White Raven is at least 200 years behind Edin in achieving the same level of depth.'' Eren sighed in his head as he looked around the city''s structures and the crowd below. He didn''t feel any shame in downvoting his city when it was pitted against Edin in his head. He also felt that it wasn''t his fault that his city hadn''t achieved the same level of greatness as Edin. After all, the city of White Raven was no more than an infant when it waspared to Edinburgh''s capital city. ''Hmm? What are those two doing here?'' Eren managed to identify two rankers among the crowd when he was flying over a floating ind in the sky. He knew them from his academy days and decided to meet them. Ma and Almera were seen bargaining at the rankers'' market. Wtt === AN: Thanks Venom30 for your consistent gift streak. ;) Also, thanks StupidOne01, GojoVir, Kerry_Roberts, j_chand, Fateweaver, Waakaranai, RowRow, and Carlos for your gifts. Cheers! Chapter 1004 Reuniting With Marla And Almera "Are you taking me for a fool? You listen to me, you conniving vixen. This lightning-element Red Constrictor Grass is not worth 60K Extols no matter how you look at it. This is way too expensive even by capital''s standards. The only reason I''m even interested in talking to you is that I couldn''t find this bloody thing anywhere. But being rare doesn''t warrant such a steep price hike. Hmph!" Ma was furious and her anger could be seen on her red nose and red cheeks. Or it might be because she was just a teensy-weensy intoxicated. She turned around to look at a certain ranker and made a "get a load of this harlot" face beforementing. "Did you hear that price, Almera? Unbelievable! Imagine the kind of booze I could buy with that much money." Ma almost managed to push the seller away with her mana fluctuations alone. Almera stood behind her, feeling ufortable with her captain''s behavior. Ma was seen wearing a cream-colored shirt under her brown sleeveless leather armor. She was wearing ck pants that matched perfectly. Her bodacious figure couldn''t be hidden under her clothes. Ma had changed her hairstyle from thest time. She had long hair that reached her waistline. Her light blue eyes wereplemented by the prominent earrings she was wearing. Her cherry-red lips made her gorgeous face even more attractive. Ma had stepped into the Expert rank a few days after Eren was done contacting her for an invitation to join the White Raven guild. She couldn''t take him on that offer because of the graduation event. After the event, she would be relieved of her responsibilities as a professor in LA. Almera was seen in her usual adventurer''s clothes as well. She too looked beautiful and full of youth. The ranking breakthroughs bothdies had achieved in their respective ranks had allowed them to refine their looks. However, Ma was still Ma. She still liked drinking and creating a fuss. She would often be quite a handful for Almera, who was stuck in the Adept rank for months on end at this point. The ranger was about to pull Ma away from being on the sellerdy''s face. But it turned out she didn''t have to. Because they both sensed something flying towards them and looked up. A flying vehicle attracted the attention of leaders who were buying and selling things on the market. It stopped at a corner and a ck-haired young man stepped out of it. Ma and Almera both looked at each other when they saw the young man''s face. Ma even used her mana sense to verify the mana signatures. It had been a while since theyst saw each other after all. "It really is him." Ma mumbled as Eren walked towards her. She got rid of her booze-induced temper and sobered up after such a pleasant surprise was given to her. Ma blinked once and saw Eren standing in front of her. She saw him sh a mild smile at her before speaking up. "Long time no see, Expert Ma. Congrattions on your breakthrough." Ma smiled back before returning thepliment. "Hehehe. Thank you. Long time indeed. It''s a pleasure to see you here. I was looking forward to this graduation event because of you. And congrattions on your breakthrough into the Expert rank as well, Ex Naaah Eren. I''ll just call you Eren from now on." "Haha. Fine with me. I''ll call you Ma as well." Erenughed before looking at Almera. He nodded at her before speaking up. "How are you doing, Almera? Does Ma''s drunken antics still give you headaches? Almera chuckled before agreeing with him. "You bet, Eren. She has started drinking even more these days, creating a ruckus wherever she is." Ma scrunched her nose and made an "I am not happy with what you said about me" face looking at Almera. Folding her hands under her heavy bosom, she let out a discontented sigh. "Sheesh stop exaggerating you two. I don''t drink that much." Eren looked at Ma as if an old man was looking at a wasted youth. He sighed dramatically and spoke. "The first step in Alcoholics Anonymous is epting the fact that you are an addict. We can''t get anywhere with you not epting a simple truth, Mdy." ''Hehehe. How you of all people can preach about how to recover from addiction with a straight face is beyond me.'' While looking around him, Eren ignored Alephee''s voice in his head and continued. "Let''s change the venue, shall we? Almera, and Ma, you two must be heading to the graduation event as well, right? Hop on my ride. We''ll talk on the way." Eren pointed behind him. Ma and Almera nodded enthusiastically. But then she thought of something and looked back. After staring at the cute-yet-cunning Adept rankdy seller for a second or two, she made her a final offer. "20K Extols. That''s my final offer for that shitty old herb you have. How about that?" The middle-ageddy was looking at Ma''s meeting with Eren with quite an interest. By looking at the vehicle Eren rented for himself, the businesswoman in her saw that Eren was loaded. She ignored Ma right away before speaking straight to Eren. "Expert Eren is it? Don''t you want to impress yourdies by buying the ranking resources they need? I am selling everything in my lot for a measly 400K Extols. I''m suredy Ma and thatss Almera would be very happy with you if you did. Ady''s heart is always up for the im if she finds a man who can give her what she needs after all." Ma and Almera both looked at each other and were too stunned to speak right away. They felt awkward that they were being called Eren''s women. Almera had first thought that Ma was stepping out of line when she called thedy seller a vixen. But she had to say that Ma''s assessment of this very vixen was spot on. Chapter 1005 Vixen And The Wolf Ma and Almera both wanted to object to the vixen''s convenient assumption. They both knew that Eren could afford the stuff they needed without breaking a sweat. But that didn''t mean that they would allow the vixen to have her way. Then they noticed Eren standing right next to thedy seller''s array projection, which acted like a spectral disy of her inventory. He looked through the stuff and concluded that it was worth about 240K Extols. And that included the two C-rank resources she had in her storage. "Hmm. What do we have here? Let''s see... Red Constrictor Grass, Evergreen Moss, Frost Lotus, Gold Clover, Ice Thorn, Tndra''s Rose, Tiger Lily, and Whispervine. That''s a neat collection you''ve got in this shabby market, prettydy. I believe 200K Extols is the right price." Eren ced his buying offer. There were a few resources in the vixen''s inventory he could use. So he thought of buying them for himself. The vixen cursed Eren in her head for being so thrifty and spot-on with his assessment. But she yed her part well by maintaining a constant smile on her face as she replied. "Expert Eren, I think you misunderstood. I was talking about selling my entire inven..." "I know. Stop wasting my time. It''s 150K Extols now." The vixen felt like her eyes were getting gouged out when she heard Eren''s tant disy of disrespect towards her. She had thought that she would be able to fleece this fat sheep for all its soft wool. But it turned out she had attracted a wolf''s attention who just happened to be rich. The vixen regretted the fact that she did not stick to haggling with Ma who was quite manageable for her despite her foul mouth. The sellerdy clenched her fist before replying to Eren''s absurd demand in a voice that made her look like the victim. "Expert Eren, you cannot use your ranking status to bully a broke businesswoman like me who is only trying to make ends meet. 350... Extols... that''s as low as... I''m willing to go..." The vixen felt like her consciousness was drifting away mid-sentence when she looked into Eren''s emerald-green eyes. They shined when he activated his Ability. Mark of the Seven Sins: The Mist of Lust Eren had better control of his Sin Series Abilities than ever before after breaking into the Expert rank. He felt that he was better suited to using these Abilities than Ivor or possibly any other ranker of Anfang. The higher he rose in position, the less foreign they became. Now, the Sin Series Abilities were being integrated into thend of Anfang. They have evolved as he has progressed, allowing him to use them without any repercussions from an inspection standpoint. Eren''s exceptional finesse in mana control also had a hand to y. Eren could target his Ability on an individual without anyone else getting affected by it. He could also pair it up with his soul sense to get enhanced effects. The butcher resorted to using both his Ability and his soul sense on the vixen. Thetter''s psyche started getting influenced by Eren''s right away as a result. Eren got close to the vixen who had weird expressions on her face at this point. He lifted her face with his hand and brought his lips close to hers. His whispers were like the temptations of the devil. "Give me everything you have and I''ll kiss you." Eren embraced the vixen and made her an offer. The Scrooge in him felt that what he was offering the vixen was a fair deal for both of them. Especially since she had tried to take advantage of him first. "Al... alright." The vixen replied in a shaky voice. Herdy part had started oozing a crazy amount of love juice just by being near Eren. Her eyes had been diluted and her body was shaking in anticipation. The feelings of lust had taken over her and gave a time-out to her rational mind, which was screaming at her with rage. "Good girl. Here''s your promised reward." Eren said and smiled widely before closing the deal. He nted his lips on hers and inserted his tongue into her mouth right away. The butcher didn''t care about the onlookers including Ma and Almera who looked at him going at it with dumbfounded expressions. Eren first used his Sin of Wrath on Reva Rain to manipte her into acting personally. And with his Sin of Lust, he resorted to partaking in a legal robbery. With his Sin Series Abilities strengthened beyond imagination, the butcher was like a walking menace to everybody around him. And this was when he only had ess to two Abilities in the Sin Series. One could only imagine the storms he would cause if and when he got ess to the remaining five. The vixen almost melted away in Eren''s embrace. Her legs got weak. So she had to ce responsibility for her body weight on Eren''s embrace. Despite the weakness she felt below her waist, her torso and arms were very active. She pressed her decently sized-breasts against Eren''s chest and explored his back with her arms. She started kissing him frantically as if her life was dependent on it. Against the vixen''s wishes, Eren broke his liplock with her. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He then looked at the vixen and let out a loud sigh beforementing. "You drive a hard bargain, Miss. I had to overpay for your resources. Sigh. It''s okay, I guess. Take advantage of a gullible guy like me, why don''t you?" The vixen appeared agitated when she heard Eren''s words. She looked like she actually believed everything the butcher had said to her. She looked around frantically as if to think of something before answering him. "No... my Lord... I... I''ll offer you more... much much more. Just... Just... I need to be with you. Kiss... kiss me again." Ma and Almera were poised to lose their tempers when they heard Eren''s overly hurt voice. It was as if it was him that had suffered in this unreasonable transaction. At first, they thought that they were saving Eren from the vixen''s grasp by denying her the transaction. In the end, it turned out that the vixen was nothing more than a gulliblemb for the butcher, eager to get under his axe of her own ord. Chapter 1006 Edinnica Arena P1 "My lord Will Will I see you again?" The vixen asked Eren in a voice mixed with excitement and nervousness. The butcher was busy checking the items the former had taken out of her inventory. He chuckled and answered without turning back. "Hmmm? Well I am not sure. But you can go to White Raven city in the Nightshade duchy and wait for me there. Maybe shift your business there, Miss." Eren said while he was storing the items. He had to say that he had gotten a good deal on his way to Edinnica. He knew that the vixen wouldn''t stay under his Ability''s effect forever. Her altered mind and tweaked emotions woulde back to normal after some time. ? Once the effects of his Ability disappear, it would be up to the vixen to follow up on the decisions she took when she was under the influence. Also, her muddled memories would prevent her from seeing through Eren''s previous interactions. Eren bid adieu to the vixen with a smile on his face before getting inside his flying vehicle parked in the corner. *** There was a flying vehicle zipping past aerial constructions in Edin''s skies at incredible speeds. ''I underestimated the city''s aerial traffic. Damn it.'' Eren cursed under his breath as he sped through the city''s structures. Ma and Levine were behind him inside the vehicle, processing what had happened thus far. Eren chuckled as he drove past the floating ind. He removed the ranking resources Ma and Almera needed from his storage beforementing. "Take these, Ma and Almera. Don''t worry. You don''t have to pay me for these." Ma pursed her lips before opening them to say something. But in the end, she sighed and dropped her shoulders as if giving up. Having received the resources from Eren, she stored them in her storage beforementing. "You have never ceased to surprise me, Eren." Eren smiled as he heard Ma''s voice while driving. He had increased the flying vehicle''s speed once again, testing the speed limits of the city. "I did that for you guys. Trust me you don''t want to owe me." ''Ask Altashia. She knows this better than anyone.'' Eren heard Alephee''sment and chuckled a bit. She had contacted him a few days back. Since she had graduated, she was unable to attend the graduation event as a participant. However, she was going to be in the audience with her Grandpa Altair Argas. Eren didn''t forget to invite Ma and Almera to his guild as he drove. Ma learned that he had hired her step-sister Marie and given her a prominent role as a lead potion researcher. Ma and Almera were already on board with Eren''s ns. But they started looking forward to their future with him when he listed the benefits they would receive. Using the elemental runes, Eren metaphorically pushed the pedal of his flying vehicle. This was when he realized that aerial traffic in Edin''s skies was halting his advances to the Royal Ren district. Soon, everything around Eren and the rest became a blur when the vehicle started traveling at speeds more than the speed of sound. *** Edinnica. This district was a collective term for the giant masses ofnd floating 4000 meters above the ground. From a bird''s eye view, it looked like an entire city was flourishing in the embrace of the white clouds. The entire city was now basking in the Old castles that served as lecture rooms and libraries for the students of Royal Ren. Each building in the district had a rich history of its own. Each building was strategically built to serve multiple purposes. Edinnica Arena. This was the arena Royal Ren students used to conduct their ranking wars. Today, however, it was time to get used to hosting rankers from other academies as well. The Edinnica Arena looked like a valley surrounded by an artificial mountain range. The mountain range had four peaks in four directions. These peaks were equidistant from each other. They had a certain symmetry to them that made them look like the four legs of an upside-down desk from a distance. However, there was something else about the Edinnica Arena that wasn''t there before. A levitating metallic mass hovered above the arena''s skies. It was a golden sphere about 2000 meters in radius. This golden metal sphere was ced right in the center of the four peaks. Half of its portion was surrounded by these four mountain-like pirs. The sphere floated motionlessly about 800 meters from the arena ground. It reflected the morning sunlight off its lustrous surface and spread a golden hue everywhere. As a result, the rankers and the nearby area were bathed in golden sunlight. The metal sphere looked like it would crush everything and everyone if it stopped rebelling against gravity. A huge mass of metal hovering above their heads would make mortals afraid to be present in the arena. However, rankers in the audience and the rankers summoned here as participants in the events treated it as no big deal. Or it was just that they refused to show how intimidated they were by such a huge time bomb hanging over their heads. A huge crowd had gathered for the event. The participants had been allowed to enter the arena in groups. The rankers in the audience kept a safe distance from these participants. The arena was secured by an invisible barrier that separated the participants from the rankers in the audience. There were several powerful presences everywhere. A lower-ranked entity using their mana sense here would probably be confused because of the sheer amount of feedback they received. Not that anyone would dare use their mana sense so intrusively and carelessly here. They all seemed to be talking to each other in their groups. There was gossip, greetings, yelling, and screaming happening all at once. People everywhere were excited. The arena couldn''t have been livelier than it was at this point. Then all of a sudden, the sound of a huge bell was heard out of nowhere, and everyone stopped talking. They all looked upwards to see a bunch of rankers descending from the skies. Chapter 1007 Edinnica Arena P2 "Hahaha! Isn''t this an exciting day today?" A deep voice asked a question to its audience. It carried with it a certain authority that couldn''t be challenged by any participants in the event. "Audience members as well as participants from all five academies. Wee! I''m Rufus Rodriguez, and I would like to share a few things with you before we proceed with the event." Rufus Rodriguez greeted his audience with a smile on his face and excitement in his voice. This Grandmaster Ranker looked to be in his early 30s. He was wearing typical adventurer clothing as if he was ready to fight anyone. The smile on his face was contagious and subtly forced everyone who looked at him to smile with him. This A-rank entity had served as vice-principal of Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy. But he was relieved of those duties when he made substantial progress on his ranking journey. Rufus Rodriguez was the same ranker who conducted Eren''s induction ceremony at the time of joining the academy. Somehow, he looked younger and more powerful than his past self. There were other rankers besides Rufus as well. Within the five academies of the kingdom, they held their respective positions. However, they allowed Rufus to take the initiative and talk to the audience. After all, Rufus was the only one who was self-motivated to act as the announcer for the event. Rufus and the panel of rankers behind him stepped onto a levitating tform in the middle of the arena quietly. Rufus stepped forward and spread his hands before speaking in an energetic voice imbued with mana. "Wee to this unique event. This is a kind of congregation of young rankers that has never happened in the history of Edinburgh until now. As many of you might have guessed... There''s a reason for such an event to take ce in such turbulent times for the kingdom of Edinburgh. You have to understand that hard times force us to take tough measures. And tough measures give us stronger rankers. We need these tough rankers in our midst. We need to identify them and invest in them. So that when the timees, these rankers will be able to do their absolute best in protecting the borders of Edinburgh." Rufus'' speech started on an inspiring note. It highlighted the iing war subtly while making his audience understand the reason the graduation event was organized. *** One of the goals of the graduation event was to find strong generals and dependable workers for the kingdom in the uing war with Layos. To select the most qualified candidates, the kingdom summoned everyone qualified from the five academies in this ce. Moreover, it wanted to hire promising rankers by offering them various rewards and perks. The event was nothing but a grand-scale enlistment event. Edinburgh also wanted to show its citizens that its borders were going to be safe from Layos'' forces. This is why it organized such a big event the live feed of which could be seen from major cities of the kingdom. For example, rankers in White Raven City could also see what was happening at the Edinnica arena. Several locations within White Raven City were broadcasting a live 3D spectral rendition of the event. Rankers eagerly watching the feed knew that the founder of the White Raven city hade to Edin to take part in the graduation event. A majority of viewers would be seeing what this founder was capable of for the first time. They were basically set to judge the butcher based on his onscreen performance at the event. Agatha and other members of the White Raven guild were also keeping tabs on the event whenever they got free time to do so. They were yet to find Eren in the audience though. *** Rufus liked the serious attention his audience gave him. It showed that they had understood the multifaceted reasons for the kingdom to organize this event on such a grand scale. He put his hands behind his back and started pacing around the tform before continuing. "We have already cut down on rankers that don''t deserve to be here. This graduation event is only for elite members of their generation to attend. What I mean to say is that the participants of this event have already been through multiple stages of funneling before they were allowed to step foot in this ce. Furthermore, participants from all five academies willpete against each other, allowing equal opportunities for all the young rankers to secure maximum rewards for themselves. Ranking resources, fame, and political power are all up for grabs. But only those who have what it takes to stand above the rest can im those rewards for themselves." The fervent gazes of the participants were fixed on Rufus as he looked around. He smiled cunningly before adding further. "I''ll have to be honest with you guys as well as my colleagues from other academies. I''m rooting for rankers from LA to get the maximum benefits from this event. After all, I served as a vice-principal there for many years. So, those rankers who came from the Lionheart duchy... Hehe. I wish you all the best. While I may sound biased, I hope you do well and justify my bias in the end. Hahaha. It is what it is!" Rufus was always known to be a straight shooter. He was never known for downying certain aspects of his speech. So everyone except the participants from the Lionhearts duchy started seeing him with a bit of displeasure reflecting in their eyes. But nobody in the audience dared to object to Rufus'' way of doing things. They liked to keep their heads attached to their necks after all. There was a certain group of LA rankers standing inside the crowd of participants. These rankers paid close attention to Rufus'' speech. They had already heard him speak several times when they were in LA. They knew that Rufus would keep talking about a bunch of topics for an extended period. But he would cover every aspect of the event so that the participants who were paying attention to him wouldn''t have to go in there with a nk te. Thus, rankers from LA were paying special attention to his words. They were also d that a Grandmaster ranker hade out openly to support them. That''s because the participants from the four academies were getting intimidated by the students of Royal Ren. wff === AN: Rufus Rodriguez was introduced in chapter 60. Chapter 1008 Team White Raven P1 Rufus kept talking about the event''s importance in the kingdom''s eyes. The Grandmaster ranker also told the young rankers how they could apply for benefits after they have officially graduated. However, a certain group wasn''t fully into Rufus'' speech. It was busy trying to find itsst member that hadn''t shown up at the venue yet. ''Where''s Eren? Does he know this shit has already started?'' Jake looked around as hemented in a voice that said ''I don''t believe this guy''. The White Raven party from LA had been waiting for his arrival for a few days at this point. But he wouldn''t show himself even now. The entire team wondered what was keeping him away from the event for so long. Jake looked a lot different from his previous self. He had transformed himself into apletely different person by shedding all the fat. One look at him and anybody could tell he was a capable tank. Jake had entered the solid stage of the Adept rank not too long ago. His transformation and his ranking progress were astonishing to most rankers who knew him from the beginning. Jake had also progressed further in his elemental attainments, allowing him to have no bottlenecks at the time of his ranking breakthrough. One could say that his on-field assignment had changed himpletely. He was not only better potioner at this point but had also learned what it meant to be a tank. ''He should be here at any moment. I just hope he makes it in time.'' Renita Diabreomented while looking ahead. She had a smile on her face that expressed the feelings in her heart. She was excited to see Eren after so long. And rightly so. She stood in her ce as a proud Adept ranker who was only a step away from entering the next rank. The ranger was looking forward to showing Eren what she had achieved in her on-field assignment that had turned out to be the most sensible decision in her academic life. Renita was wearing an all-ck ensemble thatplemented her free-flowing jet-ck hair. Her golden iris would shine faintly when she inhaled. She maintained a nimble physique despite her attractive feminine features. Renita''s presence as a ranger and long-range expert was also made apparent by her aura. It looked like she had branched out from merely using mana guns. She was equally capable of employing other long-range weapons in her battle style. The dual berserkers Ron and Dino were standing beside Renita They had also be part of the group. Both of these dual berserkers had recently entered the solid stage of the Adept rank. Years of grinding had made both rankers look older despite the progress they had made in their ranks. Their physiques were more in line with the mature thought process they hade to cultivate over the years. Ron was still the brains between the duo while Dino was the brawns, giving him a taller andrger constitution. The smarter berserker among the two spoke, with half of his attention focused on what Rufus was saying. ''Don''t worry about Eren, you guys. If he says he''ll be here he''ll be here. More importantly Ana, did you seed in your quadruple casting practice? It could give us the edge we need in thepetition.'' Ron didn''t want to show it on his face but everyone who had gathered in the arena as participants looked intimidating to him. Especially the young rankers from Royal Ren. Ron had thought that being a solid stage Adept was going to be a big thing at the event. And it was a big deal considering there were not many of them. Nevertheless, the presence of Expert rankers couldn''t be ignored either. Oriana Amaris AKA Ana had stress lines on her forehead when she listened to Ron''s question. She had just broken into the Adept rank and was technically the weakest member of the White Raven team. She was still proud of her progress because others had a great start right from the beginning. Ana had also taken an on-field assignment under Eren''s guidance. Her job as a healer at the southern duchy''s borders had made her a better healer than she was. She had also learned various ways of casting healing spells, not getting confined to a particr school of spells. Ana pursed her lips before responding. ''I I should be able to execute quadruple casting sessfully three times in six attempts. It''s still a little difficult for me. But I can make up for it using my healing talismans.'' Ana had gotten taller and prettier over the years. Her feminine curves were more defined than before, increasing her charm even further. As a capable healer herself, her presence felt full of life and vitality. ''Talismans? Branching out to different schools, huh? Well done, Ana. Looks like we are going to have to depend on you a lot in thispetition. Battling with these rich kids is not going to be easy.'' Stevemented as he looked around. Like Ron, he was also most concerned about the Royal Ren students. Not only did they have more Expert rankers in their midst than any other four academies but they also likely possess loads of Trump cards. He just hoped thatpetition would make it difficult for them to use their umted advantages. Steve Austin was White Raven''s berserker. He still had his handsome features from the past. But there was a certain hint of maturity added to them. Steve had gotten taller and looked more ripped than before. He had cut his hair short and maintained a light beard. He was standing right in the middle of the White Raven group, acting as the team''s official captain. Steve was the sole Expert ranker on his team. Everyone on his team was inspired by his progress. He had proved his mettle while doing his on-field assignment. Therefore, both he and his demon beast were rewarded for their aplishments. For a berserker, Steve looked rtively less intimidating. But his battlefield presence as a strong and domineering ranker couldn''t be underestimated. Chapter 1009 Team White Raven P2 Steve stuck to his role as captain of the team. He made her feelfortable with her achievements while subtly encouraging her to do more. He had pushed himself harder than before in his on-field assignments and had plenty of close calls, which made him dig deep into his potential as a berserker. Those experiences had molded him into a fine Expert ranked entity that was in touch with his basics. Boar Berserker''s demon beast greatly helped him in his mission. As a result, Steve shared and invested half of the resources he earned in his demon beast''s progress. Due to this the boar-type demon beast also entered C-rank not too long after Steve''s breakthrough. ''Battling with them is not going to be easy? Who said that? You don''t need to get chicken feet looking at these bastawds, Steve.'' Ramy Richardsmented on Steve''s words. A clenched fist was raised in front of him before he added more. ''Only these fists will decide who awe bettah wankers among us.'' Nobody talked for a while after Ramy spoke. The White Raven members were d that Ramy had not spoken out loud about what he had said to them. Otherwise, the entire group would have been made fun of by other participants. Steve had a grim expression on his face when he turned around and looked at Ramy. He looked at Ramy''s fist that he had raised in front of him and narrowed his eyes at them beforementing. ''Sometimes I feel you choose your actions and words purposely, knowing full well how they will get interpreted by others.'' Steve immediately assumed his previous position and resumed listening to Rufus'' speech. The expression on Ramy''s face when Steve looked at him was, "I don''t know what you''re talking about." The sound-element knight chuckled in his head and a hint of a smile could be seen on his face after Steve and others took their eyes off him. It looked like he enjoyed the group''s response to his speech impediment issue. Something that he could have avoided when talking over voicemunication but chose not to. Ramy Richards was used to carrying his speech impediment like a badge of honor. He was never ashamed of it. But after breaking into the Adept rank, Ramy''s mana circuits were reforged and his speech impediment had technically vanished. But by that time, he had made peace with his condition and considered it a part of him. So he carried on with his defective speech without letting anyone know his impediment had been cured. Ramy Richards still looked almost the same for the most part. But his stature and his muscture had increased by arge margin. He was as tall as Steve and looked almost as beefy as him. He was wearing knight armor and carried a sword attached to his waist. Ramy was only a step away from achieving the Expert rank. It technically made him the second strongest member of the current team White Raven after Steve. The sound-element knight could feel that his breakthrough into Expert rank was near. He just needed the right kind of inspiration or enough stimtion to achieve that. ''My point is... you guys don''t need to get so wowked up. Ewen will be hewe soon. We''ll just have to follow his instwuctions. And not only will we get gwaduated with flying colors but also weap plenty of added benefits for ouwselves.'' Ramy was looking forward to Eren''s arrival. He did not doubt in his head that Eren would be a lot stronger than all of the current team White Raven membersbined. He just wanted to see how much. Ramy also wanted to challenge Eren to a duel. But that wouldeter when the event is over. Ramy wasn''t delusional enough to think that his whims would be entertained at such a crucial time by Eren. There was someone in the group who didn''t quite agree with Ramy''s assumption about Eren. She voiced her opinion right away. ''Yeah? Forget about Ramy... But I think you guys are giving Eren too much credit. I mean he would be stronger than us, no doubt. And I''m not trying to underestimate him in any way. But look at thepetition all around us. Didn''t you hear? The rankers from the remaining four academies as well as students of Royal Ren have been put through multiple funneling processes to attend this graduation event. You know what that means?'' Reba White AKA Becky posed a rhetorical question to her group. With a short pause, she answered it herself. ''It means everybody who stands here has already proved their mettle. Just like we had to back when we were in LA. We will not be dueling with random opponents at this event. We are up against elites in a crowd of elites. Who can say with confidence that their team will fare better against the top teams from Royal Ren? The point I''m trying to make is don''t depend too much on a single individual. Especially when ites to working as part of a team. Eren is not a miracle drug that can cure all your problems as soon as he shows up. Plus, he is not much of a team yer either. Chances are he will leave us to our devices while he looks after his own interests. That''s all he has done, in case you forgot.'' Reba said with a serious tone in her voice. Nobodypletely agreed with what she said. But they had to admit that there was some shred of truth in them. It was just that the words she had used to speak the truth made it seem as if she was jealous of Eren''s progress. Becky had alsopleted her on-field assignment under a kingdom-certified mage acting as her tutor and employer. She was in thest stage of the Adept rank but still quite far away from achieving her breakthrough into the Expert rank. Under the mage''s tutge, the cold-fire mage had managed to unearth and find for herself the true potential of her unique affinity. The only reason she was experiencing a bottleneck in her ranking journey was because of her unique affinity. Becky believed that she could have been an Expert ranker at this point just like Steve. The mage wouldn''t have shied away from challenging Steve for the team''s captainship had she managed to achieve that. Chapter 1010 Prior Investment & Time To Pay Up ''Becky you just salty because Ewen chose Wenita ovew you. Hehehe!'' Ramy couldn''t help butugh at Becky''s response. He was a staunch supporter of the butcher from the moment he fought with him. And he wasn''t willing to let Becky badmouth Eren just because she had mixed half-truths in her statements. Renita and others chuckled when they heard Ramy speak. The sound-element ranker had a knack for diffusing a tense atmosphere in the team. But Becky wasn''t happy with Ramy''s uncalledment. Becky looked at Ramy in anger because she felt that whatever he had said couldn''t be further from the truth. She wasn''t interested in getting along with Eren romantically at all. Becky could recall every reaction she had to Eren. And she found somethingmon in all of themC the guy gave her a tingling sensation at the back of her neck every time she was near him. She felt scared. And it wasn''t like she was mute about her feelings. She had made that known to everyone. Arge part of why she didn''t like Eren leading the team she was in was because she couldn''t count on him to prioritize the team over his own gains. She felt like a reptile was staring at her every time Eren nced at her. A vile evil creature that put on a mask of emotions to get what he wanted from everyone. Becky could feel that Eren wasn''t an emotionless maniac that roamed the world killing everyone and everything that heid his eyes on. But he was an ambassador for violence and carnage nheless. With or without emotions, he would only do what he had intended to do all along. It was just that he had a different pte of emotions than normal rankers. She found that to be the most dangerous aspect of rankers'' conduct. Becky felt that she would rather work with the cultists than form a tag team with Eren on her own. Because at least with the cultists, she knew that they might backstab her and hence could see the attacking. Eren, however, was aplete mystery to her. ''Listen to me you little shit, I don''t have any interest in worshiping that creature like you. I''m just saying that you guys need to think about yourself instead of relying on Eren. It''s not bad advice no matter how you look at it.'' Steve had stress lines on his forehead when he heard Becky and Ramy were about to fight again. This was not the first time they had verbally and physically challenged each other inbat. And he could tell that they would continue to act that way as long as they were on the same team. ''Cut it out, guys! Grandmaster Rufus is finally ready to talk about the event. At least wait until'' Steve was about to silence both Ramy and Becky. But all of a sudden, he noticed interference in the voicemunication channel. Someone had used their ID-stone rune to connect with the group. Blink. ''Hmm. Becky is right, you know. You guys shouldn''t count on me.'' A familiar voice spoke in the groupmunication channel. Becky was frozen in her tracks when she heard that voice in her head. The voice took a brief pause before continuing in a tone that demanded unquestionable loyalty. ''Rather, I''m counting on you to get what I want. After all, it was I who made an investment in you when I first talked about this event. It was I who prepared you for this event years before it was even announced. All your progress is because of me. It''s time for you to pay up now.'' Steve and the rest were bewildered for a moment when they heard the voice. They turned around in unison to see Eren had appeared behind them out of nowhere with his signature crooked smile. "EREN!" The rankers around team White Raven were taken aback when Renita and others yelled one name in unison. A ruckus was created when so many mana pulses were generated by the group at the same time, which highlighted the anticipation and excitement they felt. They were all seeing Eren for the first time after he was away on his on-field assignment in the Nightshade Duchy after all. Renita was the first to approach Eren as soon as she realized he was not a mirage. The butcher smiled and opened his arms to receive her. The other members of Team White Raven gathered around the duo, Becky included. Rufus and the panel of rankers behind him had their attention drawn to Eren''s group when Eren appeared. Rufus could see that the young rankers belonged to LA for whom he had a soft spot in his heart. But that didn''t mean he would allow them to disturb his schedule. Rufus was about to reprimand Eren''s group when he felt something approaching the arena at a critical velocity. It was a flying vehicle that had gotten out of control due to overspeeding. *** "Oh! It seems we have approached. Miss Ma, I think you should take the wheel from here. I''ll just" Blink. Eren disappeared from his position as soon as he sensed the Edinnica Arena was within Blink''s range. He knew that he waste for the event. Due to his misuse of the elemental runes, his flying vehicle was also about to be totaled. So he slowed down the vehicle as much as he could and then decided to leave the car in Ma''s care. But he had obviously overestimated Ma''s driving capabilities. It took a while for Ma to react. But when she realized that the butcher had practically abandoned her, she couldn''t help getting livid at him. Ma tried to control the flying vehicle by taking control of the flying vehicle. But she couldn''t handle the vehicle''s worn-out control array. It also didn''t help that she was still a bit tipsy from her drinking voyage just some hours ago. All of these factors contributed to Ma approaching the Edinnica Arena without slowing down. A mana-induced scream could be hearding from a smoke-releasing flying vehicle, which approached the golden sphere as if it had decided to go through it. "AAAAAAAH! I''m going to kill that man when I see him next time." === AN: Eren first talks about the graduation event to the entire White Raven Crew in chapter 93. He starts hiring only a select group of rankers for the event in chapter 81 (and even before that). And he forces everyone into getting an apprenticeship in chapter 94. Lastly, he tells the team members to get on-field assignments for themselves in chapter 213, which would allow them to be self-sufficient in their progress. All so that he could enter this graduation event with the best team possible. There are other mentions of the graduation event spread across multiple chapters even after chapter 213. The significance of the event will be exined further, ;) Chapter 1011 Respect Is One Of The Greatest Expressions Of Fear Rufus was stunned when he saw the condition of the flying vehicle as it was approaching the Arena. It had caught fire and released a dense amount of smoke that covered its entire appearance. The mana pulse it was releasing made it abundantly clear that it was going to blow up. "Who the f" Rufus and the panel of Grandmaster rankers were about to make their move when an overwhelming presence shrouded their psyche. They stopped in their tracks and looked at each other before dropping to their knees in unison. "Let me handle it." A simplemand. A serene voice that was neither too dominant nor too servile. Everyone in the immediate vicinity froze in their positions. They stopped what they were doing and looked up. A single man appeared in the sky and intercepted the flying vehicle''s projected trajectory. He raised his hand and it seemed like everything hade to a standstill. ''A Sage!'' The people in the surrounding area shared a collective thought and felt the need to venerate this man. *** Hansen Lehan. This man looked to be in his early 20sC exuding nothing but a youthful vibe. He had jet-ck hair and sharp but attractive facial features. His snow-like skin had a pinkish hue as if he was a newborn. This man looked at ease in his surroundings. He had a frail-looking body and ack of manly features on his face as if he was only a juvenile. But nobody in their right mind would mistake a Sage for a young brat. Hansen Lehan wore a traditional Hanfu ensemble. An azure ck long overcoat over his all-white clothes. He had his waist-length hair tied in a knot before letting it loose over his back. He carried a long spear behind his back that made him look like a warrior. Hansen Lehan had a carefree air around him as if he knew there was nobody here to challenge his authority. Even Edinburgh royalty would speak to him with utter respect and try to fulfill his every demand. When Hansen raised his hand in front of him, the vehicle''s speed was cut off on its own. The moving object seemingly defied all the ssicalws of physics and came to a halt abruptly. For a while, nobody talked. A deafening silence engulfed the surrounding area, causing everyone to hear their heartbeats. When Eren looked around, the participants as well as the rankers in the crowd started kneeling. They were all paying their respects to Hansen Lehan - someone with Sage rank that was considered the pinnacle of existence in thend of Anfang. ''Respect is one of the greatest expressions of fear.'' Eren thought to himself and smiled as he looked at everyone around him. He sighed before joining them by taking a knee. The butcher didn''t want to stand out any further than he already had. At least not in front of a Sage. As much as Eren had heard about the Demon Princess from Alephee, those entities were not part of his current reality. His current reality demanded that he respect a Sage. "It''s fine. It''s safe for you toe out." Hansen Lehan said casually before snapping his fingers. All of a sudden, the fire was put out and smoke stopped being produced. The haywire elemental runes over the flying vessel dissolved on their own. A tform made of the altered space fabric itself was created which Ma and Almera could use to step out of the vehicle. It took a while for Ma and Almera to understand what had happened. Even with Hansen''s gentle voice, the two felt like they had done something horribly wrong. They both came out of the flying vehicle at the same time and took a bow. "I... I apologize for this ident, Sage Hansen. I didn''t mean to it was" Hansen ignored what Ma and Almera were trying to say to him. He snapped his fingers, and the flying vehicle vanished into thin air. In the next moment, Ma and Alemra found themselves standing in the audience zone of the arena. Their positions were changed in the blink of an eye. Eren saw someone standing next to him while he was kneeling. He looked up to see Hansen had appeared in front of him. "Brat it was you, wasn''t it?" Eren knew what Hansen was talking about. So he nodded quickly before presenting his apology. "I apologize, Sage Hansen." Hansen narrowed his eyes at Eren and inspected him from head to toe. Eren''s response to his presence was not how Hansen expected it to be. He could tell that the butcher respected his rank but he wasn''t afraid of him. Hansen didn''t fail to notice Eren''s Blink right before the flying vehicle''s arrival. The butcher might have caught Rufus and other rankers on the panel off guard. But a Sage couldn''t be fooled by neat tricks alone. ''Strange! So very strange this boy. With the way, he executed that blink... I would have thought he was a space element ranker. But he is not.'' Hansen didn''t make use of his mana sense to inspect Eren. The Sage felt that he shouldn''t affect a participant''s psyche and their performance by proxy by subjecting them to his mana sense. Hansen couldn''t help but develop a bit of curiosity about Eren for a few moments. But then he discarded it because it was not his first time seeing a talented ranker rise from the masses. He had seen many exceptional talents with a varied range of expertise rise to fame before dying in the darkness of mediocrityter down the line. Only a few of them achieved the Grandmaster rank. And even the Grandmaster rank became the final cut-off for these so-called geniuses. Still, Hansen felt like the boy in front of him had some redeeming qualities about him. It reminded him of his youth. So he smiled lightly before speaking to Eren. "Good. Footprints in the sands of time can''t be left while sitting down or using someone''s back for a piggyback ride. I hope you remember this, young man." Hansen said before he disappeared from view. He appeared on the tform in the next moment and reced Rufus right away. "I''ll take it from here." The Sage dered. === AN: Hansen Lehan was first mentioned in chapter 995. Chapter 1012 Vengeful Demon Ma and Almera settled on a spot in the audience zone. There were no standard seating arrangements in the Edinnica Arena. The rankers in the audience zone either came up with their own setup or just sat on the ground. The array mechanisms in the arena will allow viewers to view the event seamlessly from any part of the audience zone. To avoid drawing more attention to themselves than they already had, Ma and Almera settled a bit away from the participants'' zone. Hansen Lehan was seen busy talking with the rankers'' panel that hade out with Rufus. Rufus and the rest had been made to stand up. But they still kept their heads down in Sage''s presence. They would answer whatever questions Hansen asked them. And nothing they said could be heard by any of the participants and rankers in the audience. Thanks to the light-element array, Ma could see Eren clearly if she tried to focus her gaze on him. Every individual in the audience could choose their own views and viewing angles to focus on in fact. ''This vengeful demon. He got me back for that Frostfoam prank.'' Ma cursed Eren under her breath when she realized why Eren had set her up. The Expert ranker had spiked the elven ale she had given him before he left LA for his on-field assignment in the past. She could only conclude that Eren wanted to set his record straight with her for trying something like that on him. Eren definitely wanted to get back to Ma for her silly trick with him. But in his defense, he could have never imagined that she would let the flying vehicle get out of control to that extent. He had considered it a harmless prank, just like what Ma had thought at that time. "Hmm? What is this?" Ma mumbled to herself as a spectral disy popped up in front of her. It was a notification she had received from the city administration regarding the recent vehicle incident. "THIS FUCKI!" Almera was spooked when she heard Ma curse so loudly. She quickly pressed her palm against her mouth to make her shut up. She also looked at Ma annoyingly as if saying "what is wrong with you?" with her gaze alone. Ma tapped Almera''s hand but thetter wouldn''t release her. So she made her spectral screen visible to her and pointed at it to make Almera see the reason for her curses. Even Almera was shocked by what she read in the notification. It basically said that the city administration was charging 320k Extols aspensation for totaling a flying vehicle. This was the amount after Sage Hansen Lehan spoke in their favor. Almera couldn''t helpughing mirthlessly at the whole aftermath. She looked at Ma with a bit of pity in her eyes and reminded her to not lose her cool before releasing her mouth. "Fucking sweet baby balls! It''s not even my fault, damn it. Did you see the amount they are charging me for? It''s like they know exactly how much money I have in my storage. Because that number is basically all of it." Ma looked at Eren and cursed him some more. The rented flying vehicle would only record thest driver''s mana signature before any unfortunate incident. So Eren made Ma a scapegoat for the aftermath of his stunt. The one who could pay the penalty for his rash driving was the one who had secured himself from the penalty. "Um Hehe. Look on the bright side, big sis Ma. At least you didn''t have to pay 350k Extols to that vixen. You got them for free. So 320k Extols could still be seen as a saving grace for us.'' Almera tried to pacify Ma using logic. But thetter felt even angrier. "This is uneptable! That bastard I can''t believe he would not be able to take a joke. And he did that to someone who he had apprenticed under, for fuck''s sake. That''s it! I''ll wring him dry for all his worth when I join his guild." Ma snorted her nose in anger before taking out a bottle of Frostform from her storage. She spoke first before Almera could stop her from indulging in her vice. "No! I need this. I need this to calm myself down, Almera." Ma held onto her ale firmly before uncorking it. She and Almera were supposed to join the security detail of the arena because of being associated with LA. But they decided to do thatter after the event officially began. *** ? Eren saw Hansen Lehan discussing things with Rufus and others on the tform. He could feel Ma''s piercing gaze on him. But he decided to ignore her and started taking notice of the White Raven Crew members'' progress instead. ''Hm? Eren, there''s something different about Steve.'' Alephee also scanned Eren''s teammates and informed him of her observations. The butcher didn''t have to ask any further as the homunculus spoke further after a brief pause herself. ''Hmm. It seems he has stopped bing a traditional ranker.'' Eren was particrly interested in Steve''s development as well. Steve was indeed taken on by the butcher owing to his immense growth potential. Steve, however, exceeded his expectations by bing an Expert ranker in such a short amount of time. His growth was certainly eye-catching even by Royal Renar standards. Of course, ranking status wasn''t aplete representation of one''s potential as a ranker or the possibility to keep on moving forward on their journey. Certain talented rankers progressed slowly in their ranks and could stillpete against those higher in ranking status than them. And they faced almost no bottlenecks even after bing Master rankers. Altashia was one such example. She was slower than her Royal Ren peers when it came to ranking progress. But nobody from Royal Ren would call her weak or ipetent. And this was when she was used to battling influential rankers like Rodrick Renar. Altashia had beaten many royal scions like Rodrick into submission despite her lower-ranking status than them. Thus, many participants from Royal Ren were d that the stone-cold beauty wouldn''t be able to attend the event as a participant. Nobody wanted to see a dreadful history repeat itself. Still, Steve''s progress was more than Eren could bargain for. He had to assume that there was an external factor attached to it. ''Steve I need to ask you something. Answer me honestly if you can'' Eren decided to ask Steve directly about the path he was treading on. === AN: Ma pranks Eren with spiked Frostfoam in chapter 389. ;) Chapter 1013 Body-Strengthening Art ''.... So that''s how it is, man. I''ll be honest with you, Eren. I am very happy with my body-strengthening art despite the restrictions it has ced on me. So what if I had to stop practicing conventional ranking techniques? So what if I have fewer options as a Berserker when ites to versatility? In the end, what I do with whatever I have is more significant for me than the range of options I might have. I lost my advantages as a regr ranker. But I gained my edge as a berserker.'' Steve answered Eren''s question right away. He saw no reason to hide anything from the butcher. Eren had carefully listened to Steve''s journey till here and he had to say that the berserker was gutsy for walking on his path. He pondered a bit before asking him another personal question. ''Who taught you this body-strengthening art?'' Steve answered right away, confirming Eren and Alephee''s doubts. ''Hehe. It was my demon beast, Wilber. He told me to take this path.'' Wilber was a boar-type demon beast that Steve had tamed by ident. The demon beast couldn''t assume a humanoid form like Argo despite bing a C-rank entity. But he was still able tomunicate with his master. Steve wasn''t appreciative of Ana for nothing. Like her, he had also started walking on a divergent path from that of a traditional ranker. He knew the difficulties and the mental burden of walking alone on a path one had to pave for themselves. So he could rte to Ana''s struggles. ''The whispers of a demon are difficult to ignore. No wonder Steve followed the path blindly. Anyway... I cannot say for sure since Wilber is upying Steve''s Beast Space and the soul fragment is slumbering. But the story holds up for the most part. There is a connection between this body-strengthening art and the demonic realm. Plus, I can say that it is not the work of a lesser or higher demon to regte body-strengthening art of this caliber. I''m guessing Wilber''s demon soul fragment belongs to an archdemon.'' Alephee quickly came up with a conjecture of her own after Steve shared his experiences with Eren regarding the body-strengthening art he was practicing. *** Steve''s body-strengthening art had basically reced the ranking technique normal rankers were supposed to follow. This art allowed him to break into the C-rank at an elerated rate withoutpromising his potential as a berserker. Since Steve started practicing his body-strengthening art, he did not have to worry about elemental attainments like the rest of the rankers. He also did not have to reserve a set amount of time every day for his ranking practice anymore. His body-centric technique could be practiced even while he was doing chores or simply taking a walk. The more active he was, the better results he would get from his body-strengthening art. And the most remarkable thing about body-strengthening art was the fact that Steve never felt exhausted. He could go months on end without sleep and still function well withoutpromising any of his faculties. Steve''s body stats were through the roof for his rank. He hardly got tired even after engaging in gruesomebat with his opponents. Plus, his body''s recovery rate was unparalleled. He had beaten Ramy Richards countless times while never having to use his full strength. This was the reason Steve had dominated the ranking wars of LA and received his title as a Boar Berserker. Just like a boar, he would never get tired even after fighting multiple opponents back-to-back. The legend of the Boar Berserker only grew as Steve kept on advancing in his ranking journey at an unbelievable rate. By the time he was in thest stage of the Adept rank, he could fight Becky, Ramy Richards, Ana, and Bel at the same time. And he had never tasted defeat fighting alone against them. Steve''s progress made it impossible for ambitious Becky to have her way within the team and grab the leader''s spot. Steve had his own fanbase back at the academy before he even left for his on-field assignment. He would always generate hype within the borders of LA. Furthermore, he continued to refine his berserker physique using demonic art after taking the on-field assignment. Body-strengthening art also had its drawbacks. For example, Steve couldn''t cast his earth-element spells with the same level of proficiency that was expected of his rank. He discovered that his mana circuits were bing ipatible with the kind of heavy mid-range spells he was used to casting in the past. Another drawback was the fact that he needed to consume expensive resources to practice his body-strengthening art. As a result, he had to always look for a constant source of nourishment for his body. Steve''s body had be a resource-burning machine ever since he had shifted to his new path. This was the reason he had taken the most amount of loans from Eren throughout his ranking journey till this point among all the White Raven members. It was only now that the butcher realized what his team''s berserker was doing with all those Extols he lent him with promissory notes. Steve had been allowed to borrow money from Eren at zero interest after all. And the berserker made full use of it throughout these years. The body-strengthening art streamlined Steve''s path as a berserker by cutting down on all that was unnecessary. It limited his options as a ranker and made him a purely physical force that couldn''t be stopped by any normal means. Eren could never imagine getting rid of his multi-elemental and multi-sspatibility just to strengthen his body beyond the normal standards set in thend of Anfang. But he had to admit that it made sense for a ranker like Steve. The guy was practically made for walking on this path. Unbeknownst to both Eren and Steve, thetter''s body-strengthening art would ascend him to new heights within the kingdom. One day, his academic moniker of Boar Berserker would be his kingdom-bonafide title. == AN: Chapters 251 and 252 titled "The Legend of the Boar Berserker" highlight Steve''s growth potential. Eren offers Steve financial assistance with zero interest in chapter 253. Chapter 195 showcases Steve''s exceptional battle sense. Also, chapters 653 and 654 highlight Steve''s growing legend. There are other chapters as well in which Steve''stent talent has been foreshadowed. Had a minor riding ident a few days ago that has made typing a bit difficult for me. I think I should be able to write normally within a week or two. Will try my best to maintain my regr release schedule as much as I can. But expect a bit of dy or irregrity in chapter releases for this brief period just in case. Chapter 1014 Demonic Takeover Eren didn''t fail to notice a particr thing Alephee exined in passing. ''Demon Baron, huh? How much on the Sage-power scale are we talking about?'' Eren asked Alephee as he stared at Steve''s back. Alephee chuckled a bit before trying toe up with an answer. ''Let''s see... an archdemon is typically more powerful than an ordinary Sage. But not by much. The battle between them can turn either way depending upon the number of Trump cards and other external factors they have in their favor.'' Eren''s eyes glowed when he heard about Archdemons being as strong as a Sage. He felt that Archdemon was the kind of existence he needed to see face-to-face before he even thought of existence on the level of Demon Princess. The butcher wasn''t sure if he could pull it off. But he couldn''t help licking his lips in anticipation as he thought of devouring an archdemon''s soul fragment. The thought of digesting a Demon Baron''s gains and all the demonic knowledge it possessed almost made his mouth watery. Steve felt a shiver down his spine and turned around to see Eren smiling at him. The berserker cursed himself for getting jittery for no reason before resuming to look at the stage upied by a Sage. ''Are you thinking of devouring Steve? I would advise against it.'' Alepheemented casually. The butcher nodded before replying. ''Yeah. I can instinctively sense it using my bloodline powers. Because of his body-strengthening art, the guy has basically stopped being useful for gaining elemental attainment. I''ll be able to boost my body stats to some degree, but that''s it. There are no tangible benefits to losing a pawn I have invested so much in just for that. What I''m interested in is devouring the guy''s demon beast. By demon beast, I mean the fragment of a demon soul that resides within Wilber. How would that go?'' Eren could feel Alephee metaphorically shaking her head in denial. ''Refining a demon soul fragment? You cannot use your bloodline powers directly for something like that. But there are certainly other ways. However, there are various factors involved in refining a soul fragment. You''d need an awakened soul sense, which you already have. The most critical thing is that you''d need a soul sense strong enough to overpower the demon soul fragment.'' Eren was excited after hearing Alephee''s exnation. But Alephee reined him in right away. ''Don''t get too excited, Eren. Soul-sense only allows you to stand at the starting line. Demons are the masters of intent-based magic because their expertise lies in soul-rted stuff. They scour various worlds using their soul fragments based on that expertise. You are not their match yet when ites to matters rted to souls. Forget about an archdemon or the demons that are beyond that rank. Even a Greater Demon''s fragment is not something you can overpower with your current level even though you have your awakened soul sense. Let''s just say that they are born with an awakened soul sense. How will you overpower their souls using your infantile soul sense?'' Eren scrunched his nose in annoyance when he heard Alephee''s response. Thetter sighed and softened her voice before continuing. ''Hmm. There''s good news. It seems the kingdom has tweaked the continent-epassing array in this region for the time being to make that giant golden sphere work. It means we have some freedom to discuss this thing.'' Eren looked up above him and saw the giant sphere floating motionlessly in the air when Alephee mentioned it. He didn''t know what Alephee was talking about. But he was too focused on his previous question to care about anything else. So he let Alephee expound further on the same topic. ''You have a soul sense that might take over a lesser demon''s soul fragment. That is if we are only talking about the soul fragment. But the efforts aren''t worth the risk. As for your earlier question, you need to understand that I''m oversimplifying things here. And that the things I''ll mention can''t be considered standards. But let''spare the ranking statuses of Anfang and the demon realm just for argument''s sake. Lesser demons in the demon realm can bepared with Master rankers while the greater demons can be pitted against Grandmaster rankers. And just as I said before, the archdemons and Sages can be put on the same pedestal. And forget about the Demon Princess for now. They are existences far above the archdemons. Hence, I advise against refining the soul fragment of an archdemon. That being said, you definitely need to pay attention to Wilber and Steve if you consider Steve to be an extremely valuable pawn.'' Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Alephee''s warning. He activated Sedated Perception for himself before engaging. ''What do you mean?'' In the pendent abode, the homunculus was busy engraving a special array inside her grimoire. She replied while continuing her work. ''It doesn''t matter what kind of demon they are, they don''t act out of pure goodness. Wilber is making a contingency n to take over Steve''s body by giving him body-strengthening art.'' A visible shock spread across Eren''s face. ''What? How? Didn''t the demon soul fragments get tamed by the rankers using the blood ritual? How could they n against their masters if that is the case?'' Alephee exined patiently. ''The demon soul fragments can''t backstab their masters after the blood ritual. But they don''t have to. The body-strengthening art Wilber had given to Steve is genuine. The demon hasn''t rigged it at all. But he is the one regting it. In Steve''s case, the art is making his bodypatible with the demon realm. In short, the body is bing more and morepatible with sessful demonic possession. Wilber will not harm Steve in any way. But everything changes when Steve dies due to external factors and Wilber is left alive. Wilber will be able to take over Steve''s body using the link established by the blood ritual.'' Eren had a stoic expression as he listened to what Alephee was saying. He started worrying about his own safety as well. After all, he had tamed two demon beasts. He wasn''t sure about Reen but Argo''s soul fragment belonged to a Demon Prince. What Alephee said next made him even more concerned. Chapter 1015 Faustian Contract After a short pause, Alephee continued where she had left off. ''Of course, a ranker doesn''t necessarily have to die for bad luck to strike. And almost anything can happen when demons and their intent-based magic are involved. There are other extreme ways a demon can take control of a person''s body under the right conditions. This is when a strong enough demon soul fully awakens the demonic individuality they had in the demon realm. This can be considered as the next stage of demonic possession in which the demon soul fragment starts refining the ranker''s soul instead of the other way around. We can call it a demonic takeover.'' Eren gulped audibly as he listened to the risks of demonic possession and demonic takeover. He always knew there had to be a catch for every power one gained using shortcuts. He just didn''t know how serious the repercussions were. ''That means the majority of demon beast tamers don''t have to worry about demonic possession. But what about the demonic takeover? Can''t a ranker take countermeasures against something like that? Because it seems like something that can''t be avoided.'' Alephee chuckled amusingly before replying quickly. ''The person doesn''t even know the demons are taking over them until their consciousness just fades away into nothingnessC slumbering forever. How will they respond to something like that? Even if we take rare cases in which the ranker bes aware that their soul is being encroached on by demons, it wouldn''t necessarily help them. How can their slumbering soul fight those demons? The demonic takeover is the most dangerous for rankers because it is an irreversible process. It allows the demon soul fragment to obtain nature, memories, and all the other aspects of being the entity whose soul it has refined.'' Eren processed the information slowly in his head. He came up with his own conjecture on the matter. ''That means'' Alephee confirmed his conjecture quickly. ''That''s right. This situation makes the entity neither aplete demon nor aplete ranker. In a way, a demon soul fragment bes apletely different entity with a demonic takeover. One who knows the demonic ways yet retains the characteristics of the ranker whose soul it has refined. When the demonic soul fragment assimtes with the person, the demonic takeover isplete. There''s no way to separate the two anymore when that happens. If I''m not mistaken, Demonmir''s case is like that. Because there''s no way he could overpower a demon soul fragment of a Demon Prince and refine it for himself. Of course, there had to be some favorable conditions for the Demon Prince''s soul fragment to pull this off. But it''s a strong possibility. At this point, Eren wanted to meet with Demonmir as soon as he could to find out the truth. He had concluded that he was safe from any potential demonic possession or demonic takeover. Once his safety was no longer in doubt, he began to think about how he could use the demons'' ways to his advantage in the long run. ''So can we say that the blood ritual contract is not foolproof?'' Alephee had predicted correctly, and the continent-spanning array did not generate negative feedback. So she and Eren both wanted to make use of this opportunity to discuss a few things. ''There is no such thing as foolproof anything. Demonic loyaltyes with a condition. And demons are masters at finding loopholes in Faustian Contracts. The blood ritual the rankers perform at the time of a demon beast''s breakthrough is also a form of the Faustian Contract. The Faustian contract has something good and something bad for both parties. In case of demonic possession or takeover, the blood ritual that had kept the demon beast tamed and loyal bes the downfall of a ranker. This is a hidden risk of using body-strengthening or flesh-altering arts from the demon realm. Demons use this art to create better shells for their possessions in every world. A majority of demonic rankers in other worlds use these demonic arts without ever understanding the consequences. By using demonic methods, they achieve quick sess. And in the end, one wrong move and they get possessed by demons. Being a demonic ranker isn''t all rainbows and sunshine as they think it to be.'' Alephee finished drawing the runic details of her newly designed array and felt satisfied with her work. With a smile on her face, she closed her grimoire and spoke further. ''Ideally, a demon soul fragment and the demon beasts themselves would die with their masters. The body-strengthening art, however, allows the demons to still be present inside the world they have infiltrated even after their master''s death. That''s why I said Wilber prepared a contingency n. He wouldn''t harm Steve himself. He doesn''t have to. However, let''s just say that he wouldn''t be too upset if Steve died due to other factors. Of course, this case is only applicable if you give in to the demonic whispers and follow everything they say to you. The body-strengthening art, the flesh-altering art, or any of the demonic power-ups that the demons offer anyoneC one can be damn sure that the demons get something in return. That''s thew of equivalent exchange observed by any Faustian Contract.'' Alephee deemed that this much information was enough for Eren to understand a few things. She came back to her original point after allowing him a chance to process everything she said. ''So the moral of the story is Steve''s body is still developing as a demonic vessel and it isn''t time yet for that possibility to take ce. But I thought of letting you know just in case you decide to use him for your long-term goals. No matter the demon''s rank, their nature is always inclined to stay demonic.'' Eren nodded to himself as he understood both Steve''s and Demonmir''s possible conditions. Demonmir had be twice as dangerous in his eyes than previously after finding out that there was a chance a Demon Prince''s awakened consciousness was residing within his body. He and Alephee also concluded that the Demon Prince had managed to keep Anfang''s forces in the dark after his demonic takeover waspleted. === AN: Faustian contract (general definition) is a pact whereby a person trades something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, such as personal values or the soul, for some worldly or material benefit, such as knowledge, power, or riches. Chapter 1016 If You Can’t Defeat Them… Join Them! ''My Sin Series Abilities are they also something I received using the Faustian Contract?'' Eren started connecting the dots as soon as he received relevant information from Alephee. Thetter confirmed his assumption right away. ''Yes. The Sin Series Abilities are given to you using the runic chains that bound your heart. And since these Abilities are rted to the demon realm, they are otherworldly in nature when you use them here on thend of Anfang. But the contract you have established for your Sin Series Abilities is not a normal Faustian Contract. There''s no demon involved at the other end of the deal. Your Sin Series Abilities are granted to you by the Seven nes of Sin. So you don''t need to worry about a demon enticing you into doing something beneficial for them.'' Eren breathed a sigh of relief and Alephee chuckled. She wanted to tell him something about the Seven nes of Sin but then decided against it. This time, it was less about the restrictions ced by the continent-spanning array but more about maintaining the health of Eren''s psyche. ''Do you think they know that Steve is practicing demonic art?'' Eren asked Alephee while looking at Hansen, Rufus, and other rankers on the panel. Maybe the rankers of Anfang couldn''t see through Demonmir because of the Demon Prince whose soul fragment was now residing within Ottoman. But the butcher refused to believe that they would not see through Steve. His incredible progress was already eye-catching. And one could tell there was something different about him from the get-go. ''They probably do. These are the most outstanding rankers from their respective academies who have participated in this graduation event. It also means that they want to see the top-tier ss of rankers who would have the biggest impact on the kingdom''s battle might. At least that''s what I''d do if I were in their position.'' Eren nodded at himself before canceling Sedated Perception. He then contacted Steve. ''Steve, pay attention to what I''m saying. This graduation event is a showcase of your talent. The kingdom''s big leagues are eager to watch you perform.'' Steve raised his eyebrows and was shocked by Eren''s sudden cryptic talk. He felt that he was nothing special among all these talented rankers around him. So there was no need to pay attention to him specifically. But he knew that Eren would not kid with him for no reason. So he let the butcher finish what he was saying. ''The graduation event is also like an enlistment program for the kingdom. The demonic art you practice might be seen as a threat if you don''t join them at the end of the event. Trust me you don''t want to meet Anfang''s secret forces after this event. They will not be something you can handle on your own. And they''ll just keep oning until you either bend to their will or disappear mysteriously. What I meant to say is If you can''t defeat them join them.'' Steve froze in his tracks when he heard Eren''s grim predictions. The Berserkers were usually stereotyped as having fewer brain cells. But the guy strayed away from that stereotype. He had his own instincts as a berserker that he had developed along the way. Steve might not be able to see the undercurrents of thend of Anfang like Eren. But he was able to sense their existence all the same. The higher he rose, the more apparent the existence of these undercurrents became to him. ''What about joining the White Raven guild? This was our n all along all of us joining you.'' Steve just trusted Eren wholeheartedly instead of asking the Whats and the Whys. Even he could tell that the body-strengthening art he was practicing had otherworldly origins. Eren''s words helped him to understand the ramifications of using such a technique. So there was no point in asking juvenile questions. ''Work for them, but stay in touch with me. Do you understand?'' Steve chuckled when he heard Eren''s ns. The butcher''s n was simple. Joining the kingdom would allow Steve to take the target off his back. In exchange for his services, the kingdom will be his sponsor so he can practice his body-strengthening art more efficiently. A symbiotic rtionship to some extent. Despite all of the restrictions ced on him, Steve would still be able to flourish under the kingdom''s guidance. Until he was strong enough to pursue some other options, this was the right choice for him at the time. Meanwhile, Eren and Steve both could use and support each other in the background. This way, Steve would not bepletely reliant on the resources provided by the kingdom. ''Alright. So they want to see my worth before offering me a deal I can''t refuse, huh? I got to perform at my peak then. Hahaha! Stevemented andughed it off while clenching his fists. Nobody liked feeling restricted in their choices. He did not want to take part in the uing war as a ranker strongly affiliated with the kingdom because they were bound to attract more heat. He knew that it was a thankless job that didn''t pay very well. He realized his enlistment was inevitable as a result of Eren''s prediction. He might as well ept the road that was made avable to him and walk steadfastly on it. Steve''s limbs weren''t the only ones getting stronger through demonic art. His heart was also getting tempered by the fires from the demon realmC making him headstrong in his decisions. ? Eren would rather have Steve work for him in a limited capacity than hire him only to get him killed mysteriously one day. All his investments in Steve woulde to naught if and when that happened. So he changed his ns then and there to make them future-safe. As for Wilber taking over Steve''s body, Eren decided it wasn''t relevant for the current Steve to know about these things. The guy was making huge progress in his demonic art. Telling him these things might affect his psyche and impact the growth spurt he is experiencing. Eren then moved on to inspecting the growth of his other team members. He talked with Ramy and others while all of them waited for Hansen to kick-start the event. Eren had to say that his team members had responded well to his guidance and investment. Even Becky had performed well past his expectations despite her non-cooperative behavior. Getting selected for the graduation event itself was a big deal. As a result of the efforts Eren made since the first academic year, they were all qualified to attend. Eren could say with confidence that this was the best he could do as his team''s mentor. He just hoped that it was enough to get the things he wanted out of this graduation event. Four Sage legacies were on the line after all. Chapter 1017 Sage Legacies Berserker - Sage Ivar Ironside with the title Lionheart. Assassin - Sage Yuffie Loxley, who bears the title Lufthansa. Archer - Sage Nira with the title Nightshade. Andstly, Sage of the arrays - Lin Lehan with the title Sansara Sage. These four Sages were the grand dukes of Edinburgh. Their names and titles became synonyms with the names of the regions they used to rule which eventually became the four grand duchies of the kingdom. In Eren''s past timeline, the students of LA were allowed topete in an event in which they could im the berserker Sage Ivar Ironside''s legacy for themselves. This was an event meant only for LA''s top-tier students. So of course, he wasn''t allowed to see it unfold from the audience zone much less attend it as a participant. Eren wasn''t sure if other academies in the kingdom had simr events on their academy grounds or not. Because the five academies had nevere together like this to conduct a joint event. Eren was told the details of the event after it was over. He hade to know that it was a team-based event in which an entire team could benefit from Sage''s legacy. Of course, the event was in Eren''sst timeline. And he had no way of knowing if his knowledge of the past would be relevant at this point. Things had changed too dramatically after Eren''s intervention in various ways in this timeline. The difficulty of the event had been raised to unprecedented levels because of the involvement of other academies and their talented rankers. However, increased riskse with greater rewards. The potential war had spooked Edinburgh into organizing this event. And it would feature the four Sage legacies as potential rewards for participants. Had Eren known this was going to happen, he would have made the White Ravens grind some more. After all, even a single Sage legacy was precious beyond imaginationC let alone four of them at the same time. *** Hansen had been busy with his potion-induced epiphanies for thest few weeks. So he couldn''t coordinate with the organizers of the event on time regarding its fine details. Yet, the Sage quickly coordinated with the rest of the rankers on the panel before addressing the entire group. "So that settles it. Rufus, you will be the one entering the Sansara Array as its moderator. Make sure you do everything you can to make this event a sess. After all, our "friends" from the kingdom of Layos are watching. We don''t want to make them feel disappointed with our show." Hansenmanded Rufus and thetter bowed to show his affirmation. With everything settled on the moderators'' end, Hansen turned around and looked at the participants. "First of all sorry to keep you waiting, younglings." The participants were shocked by Sage''s humble attitude. Thetter chuckled and exined as if he could read their faces. "When you get to my age, you start understanding the value of time. There are only a few things that are worth spending one''s time on. And you certainly don''t want to spend it waiting for an old-timer like me. Hehe." Hansen chuckled before adding further. "This graduation event is special. Rufus has exined the background of the event. So I''ll just go ahead and confirm the suspicions you all have. Four Sage legacies can be imed by participating in this graduation event. They belong to Sage Lionheart, Sage Lufthansa, Sage Nightshade, andstly, Sansara Sage Lin LehanC who is also my ancestor." The participants'' gazes turned fervent when they heard Sage Hansen Lehan confirm the open secret they''de to know. All of them had worked really hard in their on-field assignments and ranking wars to get qualified for this event. All so that they could have a chance to im Sage''s legacy for themselves. An event in which four Sage legacies could be imed was unheard of. They all understood that the kingdom of Edinburgh wanted to leave no stone unturned in raising heroes. Such heroes were a potent fighting force. But their true valuey in how they could act as mascots for the rankers fighting alongside them. It was as if the kingdom of Edinburgh wanted to rebirth its founding heroes by allowing their legacies to be imed by the younger generation. The winners of the four legacies would serve as excellent morale boosters for the general popce. Members of various guilds, as well as mercenaries, might be inspired to participate in the war if and when these heroes are employed by the kingdom. The kingdom could use all the help it could get from the majority of the rankers within its borders. After all, the kingdom of Layos had elves as their enemies. Hansen Lehan smiled as he saw the excited faces of the participants. He pointed upwards and looked up before speaking in a serious, mana-imbued voice. "The massive golden sphere you see floating over your heads is a Sansara arrayC a creation of Sasara Sage. It is a special kind of separate dimension. This special dimension will ce limitations on you and make it difficult for you to fight using your full potential. But since restrictions will be ced on everyone, it can still be considered fair game. The Sansara Array contains the legacies of Edinburgh''s grand Dukes. It will serve as your battleground and road to sess. It might also leave a mental scar on your consciousness if you are not mentally prepared for it." The participants started looking at each other''s faces when they heard a grim premonition from the Sage. Everybody had heard rumors about the four legacies but nobody knew the hurdles involved in iming them. For the first time, Hansen''s innocent smile stopped looking innocent. It turned into a wicked grin before the Sage spoke further. "Your mental fortitude will be tasted more than any of your other qualities inside the Sansara array. After all, inside this separate dimension, you will be able to experience.... death!" Chapter 1018 Bare Minimum Gang A metaphorical bomb exploded in everyone''s heads as they listened to Hansen''s speech. Hansen didn''t let them take a breather as he continued. "Experience death. And you might get reborn to experience the feeling of death again. How many times will you have to die agonizing deaths before you decide to call it quits to keep your sanity in check? You will be able to find the answer to that question for yourself if you decide to stay as a participant in this graduation event. Exciting, isn''t it?" Hansen looked around and observed an eerie silence. He sighed before continuing. "I have been the Dean of the Royal Ren for a very long time. And I have also been its student. I have seen many generations of rankers prosper and wilt away in the winds of time. There were a few instances in the academy''s history where we made use of the Sansara array to test talented rankers. Unfortunately, I have seen how the Sansara array broke some of the most talented rankers of their generation just because they came face to face with their mortality. Death or the premonition of it changes you. It''s up to you to decide if it''s good or bad.'' Hansen''s listeners started looking around at each other to gain some form of psychological assurance that they were not the only ones getting nervous about the event. Hansen could understand what they were thinking, so he decided to give them some guidance. "I can tell you that the experience of death will shake you from within. You will either start to get scared of everything around you or be motivated to do something with whatever time you got here in this world. I cannot predict how you will react. Because the experience and its impact will differ greatly from person to person. In a way, it is even more profound than the state of epiphany itself. I remember long ago there was one student named Jath Edgar who was one of the top students of Royal Ren. He became unstable aftering out of the Sansara array. Eventually, he became a cultist before suddenly disappearing from our radar." Eren felt something click in his head when he heard the name "Jath Edgar". He felt like he should be able to remember this name. Then Hansen mentioned Jath turning into a cultist and he realized who the Sage was talking about. ''JJ Edgar! The guy who wrote that diary!'' Jath Edgar, aka JJ Edgar, was the same person who wrote about his experiences in his journal. This diary waster found by Eren out of sheer luck in the cultist hideout. It was through the diary that Eren learned about the existence of half-bloods. The butcher found it incredibly unbelievable that he was once a talented student of Royal Ren. Eren didn''t understand what Sage was talking about. Because whatever JJ Edgar wrote in his diary didn''t make him sound like the work of a madman. In fact, he was right about most of his assumptions about half-bloods. Hansen was too busy reminiscing about his past to care about what Eren or any of the students were thinking. He took his time to snap out of his chain of thoughts before "Anyway you will either drown in the pit of misery or rise from the ashes of your past self after understanding the concept of life and death up close. These are the two extremes some of you will walk towards. This event is not for everybody. We need rankers strong of the body and strong of the mind to enter the Sansara array. That''s because we don''t want Jath Edgar happening all over again if we can avoid it. That''s why we are offering you a choice. Those who think that whatever I have said was not what you signed up for, you can opt out of the graduation event this instant." It seemed that the students of Royal Ren were already aware of the Sansara array. None of them were surprised by Hansen''s speech. None of them wanted to quit. Or more like only those rankers who were okay with the Sansara array had been selected for this event. The rankers belonging to the remaining four academies weren''t like their Royal Ren counterparts. Some of them started discussing various things about the event with their teams. Some even thought of quitting. But they were afraid of letting their efforts to graduate turn to waste. So Hansen gave the quitters the assurance they needed to hear. "Rest assured that your quitting will not be held against you. You will also graduate from your respective academy. Just that you won''t be offered the same benefits as those who go through with the event andplete their graduation. There won''t be any difference between you and the Novice or Ace-ranked students who graduate by meeting the bare minimum requirements. The kind that stays at the bottom even after clearing the academy. The only advantage you will have over these members of the Bare Minimum Gang will be your ranks. And that''s still something if you think about it." Some of the quitters had ashen faces. They decided to change their decisions right away. They hadn''t toiled so much just to get grouped with the lowly Novice or Ace-ranked entities. Everyone knew what happened to such novices or Aces when they got out of the academy. They would end up bing the average lot of rankers who had lost all their hopes of bing high-ranking entities in their lives. The turning average was the best-case scenario for such pass-outs. Most of them wouldn''t be able toe to terms with their reality after staying in thepetitive academic environment. There were a lot of cases of Novice or Ace ranked pass-outs from the four academies turning bandits, cultists, or simply rogue rankers. Some of them got addicted to vices and lived miserable lives all their lives. It was their way of showing rebellion against the system that rejected them. Chapter 1019 It Takes Courage To Admit One’s Limitations ? ''Is that like a personal attack or something?'' Eren snorted his nose as he watched Hansen talk about the members of the Bare Minimum Gang. As much as he felt ufortable about hearing it, he had to say that Hansen''s point of view about rankers was quite on the mark. However, the butcher could rte to this group of rankers more closely than someone like Hansen. After all, he was one of these rankers himself in his past timeline. Hansen focused mainly on the oue of passing the academy by meeting the bare minimum requirements instead of addressing the underlying causes. And in doing that, Hansen sounded like an elite to Eren who considered himself to be nothing special among the group of special individuals all around him. There was some part of Eren that felt like he should defend the bare minimum gang members. It wanted to list out the problems and injustices they faced both inside and outside the academy. It ended up that they became monkeys in the middle who neither received welfare nor a chance to rise above their circumstances. A middle ss of monkeys that could only watch as the game got passed from one end to another. What''s more? Such rankers were even more miserable than the dropouts from the four academies. Because at least the drop-outs could make peace with their lowly existences in the rankers'' society. However, Eren''s revised timeline made him see the error of his ways. He felt that the things his past self would have cited to defend the bare minimum gang in this situation were simply excuses for him. No matter how valid the excuse may seem, in the end, it was bound to sound and work like an excuse. Hansen knew what potential quitters were thinking. And he couldn''t me them. He was surprised to see that more students from the four academies were not thinking about quitting. But he did not want to degrade the level ofpetition by encouraging the weak-minded to participate. So he decided to scare them even further. ''When I say that you might experience death, I do not mean that you will have to kill each other for real to obtain the Sage legacies. There''s a difference between the experience of death and real death after all. The kingdom of Edinburgh doesn''t want its young rankers dying at each other''s hands even if there are four Sage legacies at the stake. At least not at this time. We will try to make sure youe back alive, irrespective of the physical and mental condition you will be in at the end of the event. However, nobody''s safety is guaranteed in the Sansara array. There are cases of rankers dying with perfectly healthy bodies and unharmed souls after they experienced the Sansara array. They start believing in their death so much that they refuse toe back to life. One could say that the Sansara Sage''s drive to seek perfection in his work is both a boon and a curse for the young rankers." Hansen said and sighed. He put his hands behind his back and started pacing along theteral length of the tform before speaking up. "It takes courage to admit one''s limitations. And quitting before the start line is a much better choice than trying things half-assedly. Decide to stay in the event... and you won''t be able to quit until it''s over. Now it''s your turn to choose. Which way will it be?" Hansen posed a question to the crowd and allowed the participants some time to think. After about a minute or two, he spoke again in a moremanding tone. "Those who wish to quit take a step back from their positions. And those who want to participate in the event step forward." The majority of the rankers stepped up without a moment''s dy. Some hesitated but decided to step forward nheless. It was only a handful of rankers who felt that the "experience of death" was more than they had expected. Everyone in the White Raven crew stepped forward right away as well. Everyone except Ana. She was hesitant to participate in the event. She felt like she wasn''t ready to face a life-altering event like this. Ana''s on-field assignment was further away from conflicts and battles than the rest of the rankers. As a healer, she had progressed a lot. However, her mind wasn''t quite ready to ept the brutality that would unfold as the event progressed. Becky wanted everyone to ept Ana''s wish to stay out of the event. The mage was about to say something in support of Ana but Steve didn''t let her speak. ''Ana you know what giving up feels like. Do you want to find out what happens if you don''t?'' Eren on the other hand felt irritated by his team''s healer. With no inhibitions, he spoke in a grim voice. ''Lass I don''t care about giving up or not giving up. I don''t care about your sanity post event either. Some of us are already broken inside and we''d like to see more of you guys join us. For your own sake as well as mine, you better step forward. Do you have any idea how much effort and resources I have put into your growth? How are you going to repay me for that? I''ll turn you into a hooker if you don''t step forward before I count to three.'' Ana froze in her steps when she listened to the butcher''s warnings. The butcher didn''t even look at her before continuing. ''One!'' Ana hurriedly took a step forward when she heard Eren''s tant countdown. The other members of her groupughed it off. But for some reason, she believed the butcher''s threats. She looked at him angrily before speaking up. Eren Even though I have talismans to heal even the C-rank entities I''ll not heal you at all during this whole event.'' Ana thought of scaring Eren a bit. Thetter was only amused by her way of rebelling against him. The butcher chuckled before retorting. ''I don''t need a healer for myself anyway. Suit yourself.'' The butcher''s im made Ana speechless and other White Raven crew members looked at him in surprise. The healer narrowed her eyes on the butcher and decided to test his bold ims. Chapter 1020 Soul Sense Battle P1 Hansen raised his hand and waved it as if swatting a fly. In the next moment, the participants who had decided to quit the event disappeared from their positions. The Sage shed a subtle grin beforementing. "Excellent. Those who remain are the true yers in the event. It''s time for me to announce the rules of thispetition" Hansen was about to continue his speech. But then he stopped and turned to his right towards the audience zone. It seemed that someone influential had appeared there. "Oh? How rare is it for you to make public appearances, young Altair?" Hansen was willing to halt his speech for the neer in the audience booth. This was enough of a reason to convey to onlookers that the man in question was a big shot in his own right. He effortlessly breached the barrier of safety that all of the participants were under. And all of them suddenly felt like they had been subjected to an unknown heat wave. It was as if they had been turned mortal and left to fend for themselves in the middle of the desert under the heat of the scorching sun. How far would one have to progress in their elemental attainments for the world to start amodating their presence by altering the existingws? How much of a difference the Grandmaster rankers could have within their ranks just because they decided to pursue their own path? Embers of crimson fire could be seen appearing near the Sage before a man stepped out of them. He was seen bowing to Hansen before straightening his posture. This man was wearing a hooded cloak that hid some of his facial features. But the audience could see that he was a very handsome man nheless. He had a sharp jawline and a gaze that could prate a thick block of steel. The man was wearing fusion armor that was made from part metal and part leather. He was taller than Hansen and managed to look even more intimidating than a Sage for some reason despite being a Grandmaster ranker. Crimson GhostC Altair Argas. Altair Argas made a wave within the crowd by appearing in the audience zone. And he made the audience quiet by expressing his elemental attainments. Still, people soon recovered from their shock and started calling Altair by his title. The man was nothing short of a celebrity. "Hehe. I''m just following your steps, Sage Hansen. Your public appearances are even rarer than mine, after all." Altair spoke in a dignified yet respectable voice. Even the sound waves he produced through his vocal cords felt like they had heat signatures of their own. Rufus and other rankers on the panel also showed their respect for Altair when he appeared onstage. After all, the man was closer to the fabled Sage rank than them. "Please forgive me for interrupting your speech like this. I wanted to meet up with a certain brat before you sent him inside the Sansara array." Hansen raised his eyebrows when he heard Altair speak. It seemed that the bona fide title holder of the kingdom wanted to meet with a certain participant present in the Edinnica Arena. The news would have blown up quickly and attracted a lot of attention in the city of Edin had it spread beforehand. Not that it wouldn''t spread after the meeting. Hansen shrugged his shoulders and let the man do what he wanted. For Hansen to be so amodating, it appeared Altair had acquired the respect of a Sage ranker. Altair turned around and took off his hood for the first time in a long while. He looked to be a man in his early 40s. His golden hair cascaded down his face. The Crimson Ghost started looking around. And the participants felt like they were being scanned under heat radiation that could give them sunburns. "Found you." Altair mumbled to himself before disappearing from the stage. In the next moment, he was seen appearing in front of a young ranker. ''This this is bad.'' Eren thought to himself as he found himself in front of the Crimson Ghost. He thought that the meeting with Demonmir was going to be an intense one in the city of Edin. He totally forgot about Altair Argas who was supposed to be Altashia''s great-grandfather. "Eren Idril?" Altair asked and the butcher nodded. By this point, he was used to acting like a pufferfish in front of the big rankers. A skill he was consistently improving. And yet. He found out that it was still trying to catch up with his needs due to incremental overload. "Since when are you two together?" "Hm? Who are you talking about?" "You and Altashia." "It''s been a while. Where is she?" "She is catching up. You you are not let''s say exclusive with her, are you?" "No." "Can I know the reason behind it?" "Sure. It''s simple really. It''s because all mydies deserve me and I deserve them all." "Do you know how ridiculous you sound by saying things like these?" "Ridiculous they may be. But did I stutter when I imed them to be mine? I ept the good and the bad that they bring to me. I could have never reached here if I cared about petty things like that." "Do you think you can just continue to act so profanely and I''ll allow it?" "Not this again. Give me a break here. Another old man with his big old ego." Eren and Altair argued back and forth until they both reached a stalemate. They looked into each other''s eyes and found them to be menacing. Throughout this verbal argument, their auras shed against each other and made everyone around them take a few steps back. If Altair was a crimson heat wave that just kept spreading everywhere and scorching everything, Eren was a cluster of lightning that stayed concentrated in its ce and created a domain of red and purple lightning storms. Chapter 1021 Soul Sense Battle P2 When Eren and Altair''s auras shed, it created an extremely tense atmosphere that put everyone on edge. This was because what was also shing at this point were the soul senses of these two rankers. The mana in the area swelled as if the eye of the storm had been summoned. It was as if the sun had dimmed a bit and the winds had shifted. ? People started having trouble breathing. They also started hearing white noises in their heads as if someone was speaking something to them in an aliennguage. This was the first time the name Eren Idril made a deep impression in people''s psyches for standing up to Crimson Ghost as if it was no big deal. And this was because his name was already known as the founder of his city. "Heh! Good good Boy you really are something. Let me test you some more." Altair''s crimson eyes shone when he felt Eren''s soul sense affect him up close. He put the rankers'' code of conduct on the sidelines and decided to find out what the butcher was made of. Of course, he stopped caring about the people surrounding him. Eren felt like his body was being roasted to perfection just by standing close to the Crimson Ghost. And this was when Altair was trying to pull punches. In addition to his soul sense, the Grandmaster used some expressions of his elemental attainments. Eren''s heartbeat became erratic, and blood rushed to his head. As a result of being exposed to Altair''s soul sense, his mana core was also agitated. "Sir Altair" Rufus was about to intervene in Eren and Altair''s spat. But he suddenly found out that the space around him had been locked and he couldn''t move. Rufus looked at Hansen in disbelief only to receive a simplemand from him. ''It''s just one ranker he is messing with. It''s fine. Let little Altair deal with this issue.'' Eren''s condition started getting worse. And it seemed no help wasing in. Eren''s green eyes shone with determination even when his mana circuits were trying to rebel against him. He started thinking about countless escape ns and soon figured out there were none. Eren felt like his bones were about to pop from the dry heat that he could feel. The ky skin on his body had turned red all over with green and blue veins showing prominently. ''To hell with this form of bullying. Altair fuck you!'' When he was backed into a corner, Eren decided to y offensively for real. He poured his emotions into his soul sense and everything in his spectators'' vision changed. Bzzzt! Lightning crackled everywhere and fire erupted from random spots. Lightning and wind shards started to form in the surrounding area before they were randomly fused. The Wind-Fire shards started attacking anything and everything in the surroundings. Under Hansen''s control of space, nobody could get hurt physically. But Sage''s powers weren''t enough to relieve the spectators mentally. Most of them felt like they were in the wrong ce at the wrong time. Some of them started cursing Eren for daring to fight against a Grandmaster. It seemed like someone had reced the morning sun with the red moon that could do nothing but spread its sangria illuminance around. The spectators who weren''t unconscious yet started smelling blood. They started having a metallic taste in their mouths as if they had bit their tongue. They felt like all their organs would either get crushed or punctured inside their bodies. Some of the weak-minded Adept rankers were already brought to their knees when Eren and Altair''s soul senses shed with each other. They lost consciousness when Altair intensified the effects of his presence. The rankers started seeing nightmares and daylight hallucinations when the butcher''s soul sense started contending with Altair''s presence. The Crimson Ghost wasn''t expecting a development like this. Saying that he was shocked would be an understatement. "Oh! We have a diamond in the rough here!" Hansenmented with an expression that said "I''m impressed" looking at Eren. He had seen many prodigies in his long lifetime. And he could say that Eren had just made it into the top 100 on Hansen''s list of them. Hansen immediately retreated to his policy of not caring about Eren. He decided that he would intervene if and when Altair decides to take things too far. "This" Becky and the rest were shocked as they looked at Eren from a distance. Now they realized that rank had be a misleading factor in judging one''s growth after entering high ranks. For example, technically, Eren and Steve belong to the same rank. However, the simrity between Eren and Steve ends there. Steve was having a hard time trying to keep his senses in check at this point. He could never imagine himself taking the full brunt of Altair''s soul sense. Ramy and the rest also had tense expressions on their faces. Only now did they realize how much Eren had progressed over the years. Ramy couldn''t help getting excited seeing Eren standing up against a Grandmaster ranker. He was so enthused that he started cheering for him, forgetting to add the speech impediment camouge. "Hahahaha! GO FORTH. EREN!" As if responding to Ramy''s call, the butcher stepped forward, holding Diceros Left and Right in both hands. He had summoned them not to attack but to take some kind of mental respite from them. Eren''s weaponprehension started manifesting through his soul sense. Altair smiled when he started feeling pressured by Eren for the first time. The Crimson Ghost felt an itching sensation under his neck. As if a mosquito had bitten him. So he subconsciously scratched his skin. He was about to say something to Eren. But when he looked at the palm of his hand, he could see traces of some red liquid on them. Altair could only draw one conclusion after seeing the tiny spot of blood on his palm. Eren''s weaponprehension had prated his defense. Chapter 1022 One Could Kill A Man But Not Sully His Pride ''Impressive.'' Altair thought to himself as he watched a bloody smudge on his palm. There were only a few people in Edinnica who could hurt him. No matter how minor the injury was, the butcher was added to that list. The weak-minded rankers started fainting. The ones away from the epicenter of this soul-sense battle found it difficult to stand on their two feet. They cursed Hansen for acting so passively in this whole matter. It was as if he didn''t care about the well-being of the participants at all. Eren was also finding it difficult to continue. Mentally, he wasn''t that affected by Altair''s soul sense. He could even argue that his soul sense was much more potent than Altair''s. However, Eren''s physical condition wasn''t the same as his mental one. His Expert-ranked body couldn''t handle the pressure exerted by a Grandmaster ranker. Altair smiled as he parted his lips to say something to Eren. However, both of them sensed an unknown interference in their duel within a fraction of a second. Swoosh. Zoom. p. Eren felt like his head had been hit by a flying vehicle as an unknown attack struck him from behind. He and Altair stopped using their soul senses because of the interference. Eren''s body was thrown into the air, only tond several feet away from his position. An insidious attack. Someone had pped the back of the butcher''s head when he was concentrating on Altair. As a result, he almost lost consciousness and couldn''t control the trajectory of his fall. "Heh! The young generation sure is reckless. This boy didn''t respect Crimson Ghost at all. So I had to teach him a lesson." A muscr white-haired man was seen standing where Eren was previously. He was standing in front of Altair and was taller than him. This white-haired man''s presence was not as dominant as Altair''s because he was a Master ranker. However, nobody would try to underestimate him because of that. This man had a kind of demonic air about him. As a result of his ripped physique, he looked intimidating. At this point, he appeared ready for battle with his light armor. This man was full of vitality and brutality. His presence felt wrath-inducing. It was as if this man was an activeva mountain with two legs. The man imed that he had attacked Eren for being disrespectful towards Altair. However, Crimson Ghost couldn''t find any shred of respect in the man''s eyes for him. It only highlighted one thing to AltairC this man was a hypocrite who had used his shoulders tounch an attack on Eren. Demonmir had arrived at the scene. The raised hand with which he had attacked Eren had purple and red lightning tongues surrounding it. It was Eren''s mana defense that reacted on time and negated the majority of the impact. Otherwise, things would have been much more difficult for him. Demonmir smirked as he looked at the fallen Eren who had his face t on the ground. To remove the butcher''s residual mana, he clenched his raised hand before putting it down. ''This demon'' Altair looked at Demonmir with discontent in his eyes. He didn''t like being used by someone like Ottoman Montmorency to further his own goals. Plus, he didn''t like that someone who was chosen by Altashia to be her partner was bullied by anyone other than him. It just didn''t sit right with him. *** Eren had a killer headache. And he could only see bright spots in front of him, which made him feel like he was looking at the star-studded sky. He could hear nothing. Or he heard so much that he started listening to the silence of the void. His sense of taste told him he was drinking wine when it was actually his own blood. It was a huge mess inside his head. And he needed some time and healing to sort it out. The butcher didn''t even understand what had happened at first. The attack on his head had muddled his mind. At this point, he would even have difficulty calcting what was two plus two. His mana defenseyer was not the only thing that acted quickly. His soul sense was active at the time so he could sense Demonmiring. He had tried to dodge the attack initiated by the unknown assant but his body couldn''t keep up. Unfortunately, he already had his hands full dealing with Altair. So he couldn''t mitigate the attack''s repercussions on himself. Thankfully, Hansen intervened at thest moment, saving Eren''s life as well as his chance to participate in the event. Eren had already retracted his soul sense. The manifestations of his lightning, fire, and wind attainments stopped existing all of a sudden. It was as if somebody had rebooted his brain. When the butcher opened his eyes, all he saw was dirt and the ground. His body was already suffering from the bullying Altair had inflicted on him. It was only aggravated by the unknown attack. Eren''s hazy vision soon started to return to normal and he started to understand the situation he was in. He clenched his fist and tried to get up. But his limbs couldn''t handle the load and he soon kissed the earth he was trying to get away from. Cough! Cough! Cough! Eren started coughing up a mouthful of blood. He also started bleeding from the back of his head where the attack had been inflicted. The blunt force trauma was so severe that it just tore through his skin and made him bleed. "Who.. aaaargh. Who the. I''ll fucking k" Eren felt himself being consumed by the fires of wrath in his mind. His eyes turned red and his tribal tattoos were about to show themselves. First, it was Altair. Then this insidious attack added fuel to the fire that was already burning in his heart. A p from behind was infuriating. Even Eliza had not treated him with this much disrespect. The Sage could have killed him at any damn time. He would have felt less angry about his situation at that time than he felt at this point. One could kill a man but not sully his pride as a ranker. Sedated Perception ''Eren listen to me. Don''t say anything stupid. Don''t do anything stupid. Demonmir would use that as a chance to hurt you more. Even kill you. I''m not sure how many times this Sage will be willing to intervene.'' When the butcher realized that it was Demonmir who had attacked him, he felt uncontroble wrath building inside his heart. He felt like giving in to his anger and battling Demonmir then and there. Alephee halted Eren from cursing his unknown assant out loud. She also stopped Eren from tapping into the Domain of Wrath. ''Don''t! You better not use your wrath mana here. Otherwise, I''d have a hard time getting you out of here. And I''m afraid we''ll have to leave thend of Anfang prematurely.'' Alephee''s voice sounded far away to Eren in his mind. However, he was able to hear and understand her all the same. He somehow controlled the anger building inside his heart and leashed it before it could manifest in an unforeseen way. Instant Reset! Eren snapped his fingers with some difficulty and activated his healing-type Ability. He was sane enough not to use it with his bloodline regeneration powers. The mind and the hazy vision cleared. Eren got control of his body and was able to get up slowly. The butcher had isted everything in his vision. He couldn''t see a bunch of participants that had fallen unconscious on the ground around him. He couldn''t see Levine, Nina, and Jiana trying to circumvent the safety protocol just like Demonmir did. He couldn''t even see his own team members who were calling out to him. Eren narrowed his eyes to only one person. This was the person who had attacked him. A Master ranker who wasn''t like any other Master ranker he hade to meet in both his timelines. This was a man who wouldn''t mind using whatever means were necessary to get what he wanted. *** ''So this is Demonmir.'' Eren mumbled as he looked at the white-haired Master ranker. Meanwhile, he cracked his stiff neck and rubbed the back of his head which was getting healed. Eren had heard from Levine that he was as insidious as the word insidious could portray him to be. This was his first time learning this anecdote about him the difficult way. ''That attack It was well nned.'' Eren controlled the anger inside his mind and stared at Demonmir fearlessly. ''That attack didn''t have the usual fuckery about the rankers'' code of conduct attached to it. He used my conflict with Altair as a reason to bitch-p me from behind. And he was ready to kill me ''by ident'' in front of so many people if Sage had not intervened.'' The butcher had to say that Demonmir was an opportunist someone just like him to some extent. Chapter 1023 The Usurper And The Usurped P1 ''Try not to get angry or hateful towards Demonmir. You will only empower him if you do that.'' Alephee''s voice sounded in Eren''s head. Thetter narrowed his eyes at Demonir and told the homunculus to exin what she was saying. ''The demons can draw power from the emotions directed at them. I can now confirm that Demonmir can draw power from people''s anger and wrath directed at him. The demons never shy away from infiltrating foreign worlds because of this. No matter if the world is conducive to mana or not, they can always invoke emotions from the world''s denizens and use them to strengthen themselves. And on that note, you better tell Levine not to direct her hate toward him either. She is only helping him be more powerful.'' Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Alephee''s deduction of the Demonmir. He didn''t stay surprised for long though. After all, he knew his demon beast Argo had set up a concert in the city to make him an overnight sensation within the kingdom. He rose rapidly in rank when his poprity rose. Eren also knew that not all demons could make use of such power-ups. Demonmir could use others'' feelings about him as a way to improve his ranking status and put him in the same league as Argo. Eren narrowed his eyes at Demonmir and asked Alephee another question. It was rted to something they had discussed based on their conjecture in the past. ''So that confirms it, doesn''t it? That he really has a Demon Prince''s soul fragment.'' Alephee replied right away. ''Yes. Indeed, he has a fragment of a Demon Prince''s soul. And let''s just say he is strong. The demonic side of him is sleeping. However, it is not demonic possession as the denizens of the Anfang think it is. It is a demonic takeover. The difference between the two is not something that can be ignored. It was what made them believe that Ottoman managed to wrestle control from a Demon Prince. The difference lies in whether someone sleeps of their own choice. Or if they had been forced to sleep. The Demon Prince is letting the corrupted Ottoman take the driver''s seat out of convenience. And he is no more than a puppet for the Prince. Even the Sages of thisnd are not well-versed in demon magic. So they only know stuff that is either very apparent or avable to them through archaic records. I guess this is how the Demon Prince managed to find a body for himself. He fooled all of them into believing he was still the same Ottoman everybody knew.'' Eren immediately took a long breath and dispersed the anger he felt towards Demonmir. Strengthening one''s enemy was foolishness, no matter how valid his reason for getting angry in the first ce was. Alephee canceled Sedated Perception as soon as she found out Eren had gotten back on track. She felt relieved that he could control his emotions like this. *** Demonmir smiled wickedly as he saw Eren trying to struggle to get up. He wanted to kill Eren then and there. But he knew that Hansen would not allow him to do what he wanted in this event. However, his smile froze when he saw Eren recovering from the injury using his Ability. He got up right away like it was no big deal and stared at him with his emerald-green eyes. Something deep within Demonmir''s consciousness was stirred when he met Eren''s gaze. He felt like he had done a huge taboo by attacking Eren personally. A mistake that can''t be rectified. ''He the Usurper of my domain.'' An ancient voice sounded in Demonmir''s consciousness. The voice was like an endless abyss speaking in an inhuman voice. It contained a certain authority over him that couldn''t be questioned. Demonmir didn''t understand what the half-slumbering soul fragment was talking about when it called Eren the usurper of his domain. That''s because the soul fragment wasn''tpletely cooperative with him. This new Demonmir was merely a henchman for the Demon Prince and he had already epted his role as such. Demonmir was only allowed to know the information he was supposed to receive from the soul fragment. It had allowed him to make staggering progress in thend of Anfang while keeping things on a need-to-know basis. However, the corrupt ottoman could tell that the Demon Prince''s soul fragment inside him had recognized Eren as his arch-nemesis. It wanted to kill him right away for usurping his domain. The Demon Prince''s voice still sounded like he wasn''tpletely awake. However, Demonmir wouldn''t dismiss his words bybeling them sleep-talking. For the first time since this new Ottoman existed, he felt afraid. That''s because the soul fragment inside him also felt a bit agitated. And the reason for that agitation was staring right at him. Tap. Tap. Tap. Eren started walking towards Demonmir and Demonmir''s expression changed. He felt an innate fear for some reason. A fear that was integrated into the fabric of his existence was trying to take over him. Demonmir looked at the hand that he had used to attack Eren. He felt that there was something wrong with it. For some reason, he felt like he had been dipped in a bowl of acid. Still, Demonmir wasn''t someone who would get intimidated by someone like Eren. He had killed countless enemies that stood in front of him. And he didn''t think Eren would be any different. Ottoman channeled his mana through his body and got rid of the doubts enshrouding his mind. The demon soul fragment was also telling him to confront Eren and get rid of him as soon as he could. And that''s what he will do in due time. Eren ignored the eyes that were staring at him with all kinds of emotions and stood in front of Demomir. The staring conteststed a while before Demonmir spoke with disdain. "That small speech you gave at your demon beast''s concertC "Whatever you might have in store for me, know that what I have for you is much worse." Was that perhaps directed at me specifically?" Chapter 1024 The Usurper And The Usurped P2 Eren smiled before answering honestly. "That message was mostly intended for cultists. I guess you could say it was for everyone who decided to stand against me. As for you specifically..." Eren caressed the area of the wound inflicted by the Demonmir. The wound had been healed. But for some reason, the butcher still felt like it had blood on it. "I''m all bite and no bark. You wille to know my message to you eventually." Eren didn''t know what Kirin was up to or how she was nning to do exactly what he had exined to the cultists. But he knew that news of her deeds would soon spread throughout the kingdom. "It was you who killed Nico Chains and the rest, weren''t you? It has to be..." Demonmir asked in a threatening tone. The butcher answered right away with a smug look on his face. "And it was you who sent the Escalon guild after me and my guild members. It was under yourmand that a certain ambush happened. You tried to influence House Derringer to withdraw from the tripartite deal. Apparently, I''m still a long way behind when ites tounching offensives. Don''t worry though. I am a quick learner. I''ll soon bnce the equation before tilting the scale in my favor." Demonmir could see unwavering confidence in Eren''s eyes. It was not a question of IF but WHEN. Suddenly, there was a nagging sensation in Ottoman''s head to kill the man in front of him. It was as if the Demon Prince''s soul fragment was dead set on killing Eren even at the cost of wasting a pawn like Ottoman. ''He... he is trying to steal my domain. My domain! This Prince''s domain. Unforgivable! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!'' The voice in Demonmir''s face kept getting louder and louder with time. He didn''t know that the Demon Prince would have a personal grudge against Eren for whatever reason. And no matter how illogical it was, the current Demonmir couldn''t disobey thatmand. "AAARGH!" Demonmir cried as he felt his head would explode due to the Demon Prince''s voice in his head. A transcendent-grade ax appeared in his hand all of a sudden before he swung it in Eren''s direction. Eren felt a threatening sensationing from Demonmir. He could immediately tell that there was something wrong with the man as his eyes started diluting and his pupils started changing their color from blue to red. Eren became wary of Demonmir''s direct attack. But he wasn''t scared of it even if it wasunched by a Master-ranked entity. That''s because the attack was only meant to look scary and did not have any direction or edge behind it. ''This demon thinks too highly of himself. I need to punish him for his tant disrespect to me.'' Hansen thought to himself as he watched Demonmir preparing tounch an attack on Eren. But it turned out that he didn''t have to intervene. Someone else already did that job for him. ng! ng! ng! Altair appeared between Eren and Demonmir and showed everybody that he had stopped ying spectator. He effortlessly parried all of Demonmir''s attacks and made him stop his attacks with his soul sense. Altair''s soul sense and the interference generated by it was all Ottoman needed to calm the Demon Prince''s voice inside him. The soul fragment decided to put itself to sleep when it realized that Altair was a serious threat to the current vessel. This was the same time that Altair got tired of dueling with Demonmir beforeunching an offense. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Altair effectively redirected all of Demonir''s attacks beforeunching an uppercut at him. The ranker was thrown about 20 feet in the air and hit the solid-looking defensive barrier. Demonmir soon crashed to the ground in the same manner as Eren did because of his attack. "Wild animals are either locked in a cage or shot to death. Don''t think you can do whatever you want just because you are a kingdom-approved demonic ranker." Altair spoke in a grim tone while looking at Demonmir. He then turned around to receive Eren''s strange gaze. "I thought you hated me?" Eren nced doubtfully at Altair before speaking his mind. Thetter also replied promptly. "Who told you that?" "Should I consider how you behaved with me as your way of showing care?" "I was merely testing you. It helps when there''s a conflict to act as a base for such tests." "So you have no problem with me having multiple partners?" "I have had nine wives. Who am I to judge you?" Eren and Altair''s banter stopped midway when thetter dropped a metaphorical bomb on him. The butcher was stunned by Altair''s revtion about himself. Altair pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders beforementing. "Eren, you have shown your potential very well. Ipletely approve of you and Altashia being together. It seems she has chosen well." The butcher made an "I am still doubtful of you" expression at Altair before dropping his guard. He came to realize that had he not shown the kind of potential he had disyed, the Crimson Ghost would not have intervened. Not that he needed Crimson Ghost''s help at that time. Not really. That''s because Eren could feel a peculiar feeling from Demonmir when thetterunched an attack at him. This was the same feeling he had when he was surrounded by creatures of wrath in the Domain of Wrath. ''I... I felt like I could control this asshole to some extent had I used my Domain of Wrath here. What''s going on?'' Eren asked Alephee in a confused manner. Thetter chuckled before answering. ''Do you remember that I told you that your Domain of Wrath is a ne-bound Ability? The Demon Prince who is considered the ruler of that ne also has the same Ability. The same Demon Prince whose soul fragment currently resides within Demonmir. I am guessing this demon has been losing his authority over the ne ever since the Domain of Wrath has been offered to you. He is calling you the usurper for the same reason.'' Chapter 1025 Sansara World And Karma Points Hansen started to exin the rules of thepetition after distractions were removed from the scene. The Sansara world inside the Sansara array was as massive as one could imagine it to be. It had abandoned cities and resting spots that could be called safe zones. Dueling inside the safe zone was forbidden. Various regions inside the Sansara array bore resemnce to real-life ces. The weather conditions depended upon where the participants or teams had been spawned. The participants were shocked to learn that they would all start from zero inside the Sansara world. Meaning they would all have restrictions ced on their powers that would make them no different than an F-ranker. From mana reserves to body stats, the rankers would face limitations on everything that elevated them from being mortals. It meant that everybody summoned inside the Sansara world would be standing at the same start line. Being an Adept or an Expert didn''t matter at the beginning of the event. To level up, rankers needed to earn Karma points. And leveling up would allow them to lift the restrictions ced on them step by step. These level-ups would enable them to get rid of the world''s restrictionspletely. This is where the Expert rankers who were the cream of the crop had a massive advantage over the others. They could level up more than the Adept rankers and finally show their true potential in the end. Karma points can be earned through team-based and individual battles. They can be used to level up and get special perks in the Sasara world. The rankers were not allowed to use their weapons and otherbat-oriented artifacts inside the Sansara world. They would remain locked inside their storage spaces and be inessible to use. Only the weapons, artifacts, and perks obtained through the spending of Karma points can be essed inside the Sansara world. This was another way of equalizing the huge disparity between rankers of different backgrounds. There were no monsters or beasts to fight in the Sansara world. There were only opponents and their teams. So Karma points can only be earned by ying other participants. At the beginning, high-ranking entities had to give up all their advantages. But they would be the ones dominating the event in the end. That is if they survived long enough in the game. Just as Hansen had warned the participants at the start, the rankers entering the Sansara world could experience death after someone killed them for Karma points. The Sansar world could temporarily separate souls from their bodies. Thus, the rankers would experience a true out-of-body experience inside the event when they died inside the event. When they were about to die, their bodies would be teleported to the nearest safe locations called Life and Death altars. And their souls would be subjected to a different test. Passing or failing this special test would determine whether they would be able to stay inside the Sansara world or not. Of course, failing the test would mean that the rankers would get kicked out of the Sansara world and the event itself by proxy. If the ''dead-in-the-event'' participants managed to pass the special test inside the Life and Death altar, their bodies would be healed by the altar and their souls would be ced back inside. These rankers would be allowed to resume their participation in the event after epting some penalty for their overall progress. Passing the special test at the Life and Death altars was not easy. This test was what gave most rankers trauma in the past. So not dying was the most sensible option a ranker could follow in the Sansara world. The Karma points would reset to zero after death. Even if a ranker passes the test and joins the contest again, they might not get the weapons and artifacts they had earned through the spending of Karma points earlier in the event. A limit was not set on the supposed resurrection of rankers. As long as the rankers were mentally capable of passing the special test again and again, they would be allowed to be inside the event. Of course, they would also have to face the repercussions ofpound penalties along with them. The kingdom of Edinburgh didn''t want to endanger its young fighting force at the cusp of a war with the kingdom of Layos. So it did everything it could to ensure the safety of the participants withoutpromising the practicality of the test. This is why moderators were also sent inside the Sansara world. Their job was to ensure the proper operation of the array systems within the separate dimension. It was their responsibility to keep the maximum number of participants alive throughout the event by regrizing the teleportation of the mortally injured rankers and looking after the souls that had been separated from their natal bodies. There was a reason these moderators were needed. There was a brief dy between the activation of the safety mechanisms that ensured the young rankers did not die even after sustaining life-threatening injuries. If the assants did not follow discretion and make use of this small window, the mortally injured rankers'' souls would permanently separate themselves from their bodies. It meant that the participants would die for real. The participants were told to allow safety mechanisms to kick in. However, not everyone would listen to the request. Or it may be that not every ranker would be able to control their aggression in the heat of battle. Thus, moderators like Rufus were sent inside to supervise the situation. Deaths were bound to happen at events like these no matter how many safety mechanisms were put in ce. There was no assurance that the post-death experience the rankers felt during the event was going to be a temporary phenomenon or their new reality. Unfortunately for some rankers, the Sansara world would be their final resting ce, no matter what kind of background they had. It would only be their dead bodies that would enter the real world from the separate dimension. Chapter 1026 Balancing Individual Growth And Team Survival Death was inevitable in the Sansara world. It had been integrated into the very nature of the test. So the moderators were only asked to minimize the number of deaths and not stop them from happening entirely. Apart from that, the moderators were prohibited from keeping tabs on the participants or helping them in any way. This was not all. The kingdom had organized this event to recruit most of these young rankers. They preferred team yers. So it was only natural that they introduced a team-based aspect to the Sansara world as well. The captain of each team would be made to carry the team g. To stay in the game, the rankers needed to protect the g from being taken by other teams. In the case where the captain loses the g in any way and does not retrieve it within a certain timeframe, everyone gets disqualified from remaining in the Sansara world. So the effective way to get rid of an entire team was to target the captain and take the team g from them. And the most effective way for the rankers to ensure participation was to move in teams and protect their captains. The rankers were allowed to ce security details on their captains in any way they saw fit using any perks they obtained through the spending of Karma points. Of course, they were also allowed to keep their captains hidden inside the giant Sansara world so that they do not get targeted at all. If the team decided that their captain would stay with them, then the captain of the team would be able to fight with them. However, this would be at the cost of being exposed to increased danger. And if the captains were made to sit on the fence, the teams would be able to move more freely and attack enemy teams with fewerplications. However, if the captain of such teams was located in the Sansara world, the fact that they were left alone would make it near impossible for all the rankers to remain disqualified. As the event progresses, teams will have to collect a certain number of gs to remain inside. Failing to meet the minimum g requirement would mean the disqualification of the entire team. So the teams could not y defensive all the time. Hiding or protecting the captain were not the only options the participants had. There were various other strategies the rankers could employ. Like dividing the entire team into two groups focusing on offense or defense. Or focusing on earning Karma points as a whole to ess the team-based perks the Sansara world had to offer. No strategy is without its drawbacks. And no strategy is perfect. It all depended on teamwork as a whole and the individual strengths of each ranker to make any strategy work for them. And each team needed to perform right from the start to maintain momentum. The rankers would start from scratch on the first day of the event. They did not have any weapons or other perks from the Sansara world to benefit from. The restrictions ced on them would not allow them to move freely. There were many risks and opportunities for rankers of all backgrounds and statuses when the event began. It offered equal opportunities for rankers across all the academies. Of course, most of the Royal Ren students were not happy with the whole setup of the event. They had the most number of Expert ranking entities than other academies. But even those Expert rankers were hugely dependent on their artifacts. Their battle styles were heavily dependent on their gear. So they could only curse the event''s organizers for ying "unfair". If it was any other time, the kingdom would not have organized this kind of event. Yet it knew that if it didn''t implement meritocracy at this time, it would make the uing war all the more difficult for itself. The event willst for a month. The separate dimension of the Sasara world did not have any time difference from that of the real world. But the same could not be said for the near-dead participants whose souls were subjected to go through a special test. These souls would experience time differently depending upon the difficulty of the test. Of course, the test difficulty would increase with an increasing number of days into the event or the number of times the same ranker was subjected to the test. Surviving the first week was the minimum requirement for graduating with distinction. It means that rankers whoe out of the event alive will receive promising rewards irrespective of their position in the event as a whole. Those who survive the event for longer than a week will receive a growing number of benefits from the kingdom. So all the rankers needed to stay in the Sansara world for as long as they could. Towards the end of the event, the entrances to the Sage legacies would appear inside the Sansara world. The gs the teams had collected so far would then serve as array-keys for the teams to ess these entrances. Only one person per team would be allowed to ess these Sage legacies. The rest of the rankers in the team were needed to protect the gs that served as the array-keys. If the enemy team managed to get hold of even one g from the array, the ranker who had stepped inside to im the legacy would get kicked outside. The rules of the event wereplicated and simple to understand at the same time. The participants needed to concentrate on their individual growth by leveling up consistently each day. However, they also needed to work in teams to ensure their survival. As long as they could strike a bnce between the two aspects of being a ranker, they could get the most out of the event. This was provided their souls and psyches did not get affected by the special test. Plus, it was clear that the Sage legacy would only be achieved by the most talented teams. At that time, the individual strength of the ranker who had survived numerous hardships would y a role. Only the most capable ranker from the qualified teams would be allowed to receive blessings from the four Grand Dukes of the kingdom. Chapter 1027 Relation Between Two Abandoned Cities Day 1: A nameless abandoned city inside the Sansara World. The sky was bright and sunny. White clouds drifted aimlessly behind the backdrop of an endless blue expanse. The ruined city consisted of worn-out buildings and empty roads. At the center of the city was a giant water wheel construction. But there was no river to be found. It was likely that the floating river in question that powered the waterwheel had died or was no longer in a separate dimension anymore. This ruined city seemed to be as extensive as the city of Edin, if not more. It had amphitheaters, public bathhouses, pces, and regr residential areas. They were all connected by spacious roads and alleyways, which now looked like giant snakes and small pythons from a bird''s-eye view. Even when the city''s view was nothing but ruins and destion, it spoke volumes about its former glory. The giant runic nodes and elemental towers had stopped working a long time ago. But they still had strong residual mana signatures, as if they could be activated at any time. The view was oddly simr to that of the city of Edin. This abandoned city was less developed than the current Edin even when it was in its prime. But it carried the same vibe as the current capital city. A ck-haired man was standing atop a seven-floor building overlooking the city''s current state. He had appeared at the site out of the blue not too long ago. This young man was drawing aparison in his head as his emerald green eyes scanned the area for friends and foes. He felt like he was experiencing a Deja Vu. ''Hmm. Another ruined city. The same as the one in the Titus tournament. I wonder if they have a connection.'' Eren said before lighting up his Sativa smoke. He couldn''t smoke earlier in the day due to being in the presence of a Sage. So the not-an-addict addict embraced his vice as soon as he found some alone time to do so. Eren was referring to the ruined city he had found while he was at the Titus tournament. That city also felt like it was a lost page in history that had been forcefully ripped out. The sheer size of the Sansara World was much more substantial than the ruined city at the time of the Titus tournament. And there were many differences between the two cities observed by the butcher. Still, he couldn''t help but draw aparison between the two. Thankfully, Alephee was there to answer some of his questions. ''Yes. You can say that. The city you found in the Titus tournament and this abandoned city belong to the same era. These ruined cities had distinct traces of other worlds. I can sense that this city established a connection with the demon realm a long time ago when it was prospering. So I''m guessing ces like these were locked inside separate dimensions. And new cities and ces were created in their stead. The city you found at the Titus tournament had a huge library. You had stolen a bunch of books from there which were filled with knowledge from other worlds that you couldn''t use. This abandoned city that you are seeing in front of you is most likely the ruins of previously constructed Edin. Apparently, they couldn''t get rid of signs rted to the otherworld. So just like the city you found in the Titus tournament, it was locked inside a separate dimension.'' Eren''s eyebrows rose as he realized the rtionship between the abandoned cities. It made sense to him that the kingdom would separate such cities from normal rankers'' reach. He also understood why Alephee was telling him about these things at this point. Eren was just starting when he entered the Titus tournament under the disguise of Tuan Aag. He didn''t have the individual power or the political pool he had at that time. He was restricted in a variety of ways. Gaining information like this wouldn''t have helped him in any way. However, Eren''s consistent breakthroughs in his ranking journey allowed Alephee to also remove some of the restrictions she faced. She concluded that he was ready to start receiving such information step by step. Eren had stolen a bunch of old books from the library during the Titus tournament. The library was destroyed after his exit and he managed to get those books out of the tournament. However, he was disappointed that Alephee did not know how to help him trante these foreignnguage books. It was either that or he wasn''t fit to know the knowledge contained in them at that point in her eyes. Eren also tried to trante the books in his free time. But he found only limited sess in understanding the topics written in these books. The kingdom had done an excellent job covering all the knowledge rted to otherworlds, after all. So Eren gave up tranting those books. Those stolen books were still with him. But he didn''t want to draw too much attention to himself by searching for ways to decode the contents hidden within them openly. So he had left that knowledge on the sidelines. ''That certainly exins the simrities. But what do you mean by the city having a demonic connection...'' Eren was about to chat with Alephee some more when he felt a tingling sensation on the back of his right hand. He raised his hand and looked at the circle-shaped tattoo that had been imprinted on him ever since he entered the Sansara World. This circle-shaped tattoo had six segments within it. It could be used to ess the Sansara interface that was made avable to all the participants currently inside the Sansara world. Eren sensed that someone from his team was nearby through the use of a tattoo. Lightning struck and he disappeared from his ce. There were many tasks and he was already short on time. The butcher needed to make a few things clear to his teammates before he embarked on his tasks. === AN: The abandoned city in the Titus tournament was described in chapter 517. Chapter 1028 Erens Plan "Steve needs to separate himself from the rest of the team." Once the entire White Raven crew was gathered inside the abandoned city, Eren dered. They could all sense a few presences appearing here and there from time to time. However, everything within the city''s borders was a safe zone. So they didn''t need to worry much. As a result of the restrictions imposed by the Sansara World, Eren and his teammates'' ranking power was greatly limited. Still, nobody couldin since everyone was in the same boat. Eren ignored the questioning gazes of his teammates and continued in a grim tone. "Renita will apany Steve. These two are the only ones who will explore the Sansara World defensively. They will stay hidden for the most part and make maximum use of the safe zones every chance they get. This duo will follow the main team while maintaining a safe distance. The distance would be long enough for them to retreat if they sense the main team is getting surrounded by a lot of enemies. And at the same time, the distance would be close enough for the main team to defend Renita and Steve if they get attacked by enemy teams." Eren looked at Steve and Renita and pursed his lips before addressing them. "Stay nimble on your feet, you two. Especially you, Steve. Don''t try to engage with a group containing more than 4 rankers no matter how easy they might seem to you. Renita, use your ranger-specific spells to your advantage. Your job is to defend our captain. Prioritize his safety over the rest of us. Use the main team as a decoy if you have to. But keep Steve safe from any form of ambush." Eren''s tone conveyed the seriousness of his words. Steve and Renita looked at each other and nodded. They werepletely supportive of Eren''s strategy. However, not everybody was in favor of splitting the team. Becky raised her eyebrows before asking. "And what about us?" Eren scratched his jaw before answering the question promptly. "The rest will y full-on offense. Attack anything that moves." Becky sighed as if she half-expected this move from Eren. She wasn''t the only one who was ufortable being part of the offense team. Ana looked at the butcher warily before asking in a timid voice. "Eren, what if we find any royal scions or students from our own academy? Can we establish a co-op party with" Eren shook his head and cut off Ana''s statement immediately. Fuck the rankers'' backgrounds and their academies. Fuck their backers and screw the general consensus about their safety. Your attacks must be executed with the intent to kill. It doesn''t matter if the safety mechanisms of the Sansara world kick in or not. It doesn''t matter if they die for real or not. It doesn''t matter if your rewards get affected because of your reckless battle style or not. What matters is that you don''t die here for as long as you could. That''s because I''m not expecting most of you to pass the special test." Becky snorted her nose when she heard Eren''s way of showing confidence in his team. "Says the one who isn''t even willing to work with the main team. And I don''t know about you but I consider myself perfectly able to clear the special test." The butcher ignored Becky''s passive-aggressive behavior and carried on. "Even if you can clear the test, the fact remains that the team will have to battle without your absence until you join. What can you do if the team faces a wipeout during your absence even if you pass the test? That''s why attack and kill anything that can breathe. Everyone else that isn''t on your team is your enemy. Simple as that." Becky shook her head before voicing her second argument. "What you say makes sense to most of us. But have you considered what would happen to Steve and Renita after the initial phase of thepetition is over? They wouldn''t be able to progress much if they always stayed on defense. That''s how thispetition was designed anyway." Becky felt confident in her analysis when she spoke. That''s because Renita and Steve were also worried about the same issue as well even after agreeing to Eren''s arrangement. The mage looked at everyone in her team before proceeding further. "If you separate them from the team, they won''t be able to im as many Karma points as the rest of us. If they remain safe from conflict and ensure their safety each day, they will be able to progress at a slower rate than the rest of the aggressive participants. When the aggressors gain an overwhelming advantage over these two, your strategy will eventually get them killed. Our captain''s safety could not be ensured even if we invested all of our resources and power at that time. I suggest" The butcher wasn''t interested in arguing with Becky. He looked at Renita and Steve before asking them a simple question. "Thisss thinks I wouldn''t take into ount something as basic as that. Forget about her. As hard as it might be for some of you to believe, I am not a fucking idiot. I wouldn''t keep my team''s captain or ranger weak for too long. It is bothersome to exin every move I''ll be making at this event. So I''ll just skip some points entirely. Of course, I''m not saying that my strategy is perfect. And that it doesn''t have any holes in it. Despite this, it is the most effective method considering the strengths and weaknesses of our team and its members. It all boils down to how much trust you are willing to put in me. Does anyone here want to hear Becky''s alternative strategy? Or do you guys want to follow my n?" Eren looked at his team members thoughtfully as he asked. Becky also did the same, wanting at least one of the members to agree with her stance. Unfortunately for her, nobody came forward. Chapter 1029 Aiming To Get All Four Legacies Untamed wilderness and unnatural silence. High noon. Daylight waspromised due to gray clouds and dense vegetation in the area. A certain ck-haired young man was seen traversing this region with his legs d in purple lightning. ''You have no idea how to keep Steve and Renita on track with the rest of you, do you?'' Alephee asked Eren when he found himself separated from his team. He had told his team members that he would hunt for perks that would be beneficial for his team. However, he needed to do one thing first before anything elseC get rid of Jason. Ivor had sneaked into the event sessfully, thanks to the elven mask Eren had obtained from Shandil. Eren did not understand how an elven artifact could outperform many of the security measures imposed by the kingdom of Edinburgh. He could onlye up with one possibility for Ivor''s sessful infiltrationC someone influential from the kingdom had defected to the kingdom of Layos. The butcher had expected some kind of foul y from the forces of Layos anyway. He was just d that he could make use of the loopholes they had created for him. Jason was also inside Sansara World. He had officially joined Royal Ren and was serving as his team''s captain. Ivor and Eren wouldn''t have a better chance than this to get rid of Jason. Especially at the beginning of thepetition where everyone''s powers were restricted. Eren sighed before replying to Alephee''s question. ''That bitch is right. Steve and Renita will not be able to level up with the rest of them and fall behind before eventually getting taken out. That is if I don''t do something about it soon to counter this huge disadvantage.'' Eren admitted the w in his strategy right away. He had also thought about this w when he made his strategy. And he had no surefire way to bnce it out yet. However, that didn''t stop him from enforcing the strategy on his team members anyway. ''I don''t know how simr this event is to the event in my previous timeline. So I have my doubts. Still, it is the same Sansara World that had been used in the previous timeline and it is the same Karma points system. So I''m hoping there should be a perk in the Sasara World that would allow someone to share their Karma points. At least that''s what I heard when I listened to the news at that time. Once I figure out how to get that perk, I''ll use it on myself and link Steve and Renita to it. The downside is that I''ll have to carry two of them while leveling up myself. That''s a lot of work. Even my growth will be impacted if I do this.'' Eren didn''t share this n with anyone else on his team because he didn''t want to demoralize them. Carrying oneself while leveling up in the Sansara World was not going to be easy. So carrying two of them seemed like a far-fetched n. At least by normal standards. Furthermore, he was basing a lot of things on his knowledge of the past timeline. He couldn''t exin how he coulde up with such a strategy or how he could execute it practically. So he avoided exining it, saying "it is bothersome to exin." ''Meh! I meant it when I said no n is wless. I''ll improvise my strategy as I move along. It is still much better than spending timeing up with the right n and the right time. I''ll work on my n and make it perfect. There''s no time to wallow in self-doubt or idleness.'' Eren narrowed his eyes as he sped ahead using his movement technique. His goal was to locate a ranker who had sneaked into the graduation event under his n. *** The butcher knew that the negative impact on Steve and Renita''s progress was not the only issue his strategy had. Things were much moreplicated than that. The main team might find it difficult to explore Sansara World safely because Renita wouldn''t be there leading them. She had her hands full prioritizing Steve''s well-being for better or worse. It meant that the main team would have a higher chance of getting ambushed by opponents. A full-on offensive meant there would be no talk of non-aggression or cooperation. Meaning Eren''s team would always engage in conflict every time it came across an enemy. The White Raven crew''s battle potential would be seriously tested if they carried out this n. Furthermore, Steve was an integral part of the offense for the White Raven crew. Without him, the team''s attacking potential was also liable to be severely affected. Eren had already made it clear that he wouldn''t stay with the main team. Becky was opposed to Eren''s absence the most in his strategy due to their attacking potential getting halved. The main team was supposed tounch a full-on offensive despite there being no berserker, ranger, or closebat expert assisting them. The very thought of this setup made Becky clench her fists and throw daggers at Eren with her eyes. However, Becky''s technically sound logic was not enough to sway Eren or anyone else from this n. Eren as well as his team members counted on Eren to make things work. Eren had to let go of loads of self-doubts and indecisions the difficult way to develop this level of confidence in himself. That process chipped away a part of him that he would never get back. The butcher hade up with this n for his own benefit. He needed the freedom to do what he wanted in the Sansara World. And despite the negative connotations, the n he hade up with gave him the confidence to roam freely in the separate dimension. Of course, he had to work twice or thrice as hard to level up even if his strategy does work. He needed to justify his seemingly reckless action with his work. ''How many Legacies are you aiming to obtain?'' Alephee asked when she felt Eren''s determination. Laughing openly, he dered. "Kekeke. All of them, of course." Chapter 1030 Cedrick Renar A group of royal scions from Royal Ren had gathered at an empty facility inside a safe zone. They also had theirckeys with them. A young man, who seemed to look like Rodrick Renar, was acting as the leader of the group. His name was Cedrick Renar and he was one of the top contenders in the royal race. Cedrick paced around while others in the group surrounded him. After some time, he spoke in a frustrated tone. "This bastard... Eren Idril. I had heard he was sheltering that bastard cousin of ours. And now he has also taken away my chance of getting close to Crimson Ghost. This is at a time when I have thergest number of pieces of the royal puzzle among all of us. It is infuriating how I have allowed one man to interfere with my ns for this long." Cedrick Renar''s tone contained a suppressed rage that was directed toward Eren. *** The royal scion had already started hating Eren even before he met him because he was sheltering Rodrick. Cedrick wouldn''t make the same mistake as Rehaal by targeting Rodrick as long as he was in the city of White Raven. Being a royal, he knew more about royal conspiracies than the average person. They certainly exist. However, they are often used to cover something really straightforward. For Cedrick, it was clear that Eren had a hand to y in eliminating Rehaal. Of course, he also considered the possibility that Eren was backed by someone from the royal court from the shadows. Rodrick also was now in possession of a substantial amount of pieces of the royal puzzle after Rehaal''s death. Even Rehaal''s pieces had somehow been collected by Rodrick using some unknown means. Rodrick was bing the dark horse in the race to win the royal session. Thus, the real contenders in the royal race started seeing Rodrick as an obstacle in their path that they couldn''t eliminate. All of this could be linked to Eren''s protection of Rodrick. As if this was not enough, Eren had also wooed Altashia. Thetter was a peerless ranker and an exceptional beauty. But she had something even more valuable for someone like CedrickC her connection to the Crimson Ghost. Altashia was always approached by royal scions for this reason when she was in the Royal Ren. For these contenders, she was an attractive chess piece as a means of getting closer to the Crimson Ghost. All the royal scions'' wishes to get close to such a valuable girl went up in smoke when Altair approved Eren. They saw how "endearingly" Altair treated Eren and couldn''t help but be jealous of him. Of course, the butcher wouldn''t use the term endearing when it came to his interaction with Altair. But that perspective did not matter to royal scions who had nothing but thoughts of royal session filling their empty heads. They also saw how Altashia came to greet Eren just before he stepped into the entrance of the Sansara World. It confirmed one thing for all the wanna-be potential suitors of AltashiaC she was smitten with Eren and there was nothing they could do to change that. There was one more thing that all the royal scions refused to admit. They had all felt Eren''s presence when he stood up against Altair. They all felt threatened by his soul sense overpowering their consciousness. That feeling subconsciously manifested itself as a form of newfound hate. *** Cedrick suddenly turned towards a certain ranker within his group and asked. "Morty, you must have met Eren, right? Your house Derringer is co-owning the city of White Raven. What can you tell me about him that the usual reports can''t?" Morty Derringer suddenly found himself being stared at by all the gathered rankers when Cedrick threw a metaphorical spotlight at him. He felt a bit awkward suddenly getting all the attention to himself in such a tense environment. He gulped empty air before speaking in a careful tone. "I I don''t know much about him, your highness Cedrick. Basically... I introduced him to my n and he took it from there. Still, I''ll tell you what my house says about him. Eren Idril he he is a very dangerous man." Cedrick stopped pacing around when he heard Morty''s words. He narrowed his eyes at Morty before speaking in amanding tone. "Exin." Morty pondered for a bit and collected his thoughts. He took a long breath before speaking again. "House Derringer was once approached by Demonmir not too long ago when the city of White Raven was still in its early stages. He had offered us a tremendous amount of leeway in conducting our business in the city if and when he reced Master Levine''s faction. Demonmir''s only condition was to cut ties with Eren. My House approached Grandmaster Lin Karr after that to make him use his Seer array. We only wanted to find out if betraying Eren would work in our favor or not. Grandmaster Lin Karr couldn''t find anything rted to Eren for some reason. But guess what he suggested to House Derringer?" Morty finished speaking and pursed his lips. He could remember his first meeting with Eren like it was yesterday. The butcher had made a deep impression on Morty. If possible, he wouldn''t want to stand in opposition to Eren, no matter the rewards of doing so. Cedrick didn''t want to push Morty''s buttons for no reason. He nodded at him before speaking in a determined tone. "Even if Eren has the backing of rankers working in the shadows, he hase here all alone. And his powers are restricted by the Sansara World''sws. Inside this world, he is as defenseless as he can be. I''m not sure about getting close to Altashia. I believe that ship has sailed. However, eliminating Eren would poke holes in the tripartite alliance between House Derringer, House Montmorency, and that bastard''s guild. This will ultimately get us closer to freely targeting Rodrick again. I suggest we kill Eren here to get our hands on the pieces of the royal puzzle Rodrick has in his possession. It would only take a few months to achieve this goal. My royal brothers and sisters, we will distribute those pieces equally among ourselves when we eliminate Rodrick from the race forever. Let''s find Eren and butcher him up. We can''t let one man stop us from getting what we want after all." === AN: Morty Derringer was first introduced in chapter 462. Chapter 1031 Talent Doesn’t Matter Against Inexhaustible Perseverance Cedrick began searching for Eren. Most of the rankers in the group were with him. Morty, on the other hand, chose to stay behind. He just told them that his House had signed a nonaggression contract with Eren, preventing him from ever taking action against Eren. Morty was relieved to know that Cedrick and the rest bought his partial truth and left him alone. He was about to leave the abandoned facility when he saw that someone else had also stayed behind. This was a normal-looking young man with average features that didn''t make him stand out from the crowd. He always had an air of servitude around him throughout his academic years. However, this young man seemed mysterious to Morty at this point for some reason. "Rob? Are you not joining His Highness Cedrick and the rest?" Morty was puzzled to see Robert at the scene. Robert came to Royal Ren from a Baron house. He always stayed close to the royal scions any chance he could get. He was their yes-man and wouldn''t shy away from doing menial jobs for them. Robert especially liked to stay close to Cedrick because of thetter''s supposed royal charisma and leadership. Robert''s bootlicking had gotten to the point where Cedrick was annoyed by it. So all the royal scions felt relieved when they saw Robert was not following them in their mission to get rid of Eren. "Hm? I I have decided to do something else instead." Robert replied simply. Morty was a bit weirded out by the way Robert spoke. There was no fake politeness to be found in his wordsC something that had be a part of his identity ever since he got into Royal Ren. Robert was about to use his movement spell to leave when he heard Morty''s next question. "Rob What do you think of His Highness Cedrick? Do you think he will eventually seed in the royal race?" Robert seemed irritated by Morty''s question. "Listen, man Robert died and I killed him. This is the new me. Call me Bert. Bert Chu." For a moment, Morty did not know what to say. He thought that Robert was taking some kind of self-hypnosis approach to reinventing himself from scratch. "As for what I think of Cedrick, it doesn''t matter anymore. There''s no point in having opinions about someone who is going to be dead soon." Robert said and used his lightning-element movement spell to almost disappear from his position, leaving Morty stunned by his answer. Morty''s face was filled with shock when he heard Robert or Bert speak so ominously about Cedrick. He quickly followed Robert and easily overtook him. "Wait Rob" Morty saw Robert''s irritated face and changed his way of addressing him. "Bert Bert just hold on for a moment. Where are you off to? Can Ie with you?" Morty didn''t want to explore the Sansara World by himself. Especially on day one when all the teams would be searching for lone rankers like him. They were the easiest to target after all. Morty knew Bert wasn''t that effective when it came to confrontation. And there was something serious going on with how Bert behaved with him. However, Morty attributed it to the man trying to improve himself in his own way. Bert and Morty could help each other since they were separated from their teams. It was still better to travel alone for both of them. Bert looked at Morty carefully and pondered for a bit. He took his time to agree to Morty''s proposal. Of course, he wasn''t expecting Morty to keep firing question after question at him. *** "Bert, why did you say what you said earlier? Do you think Eren can defend himself against so many talented rankers from Royal Ren?" Bert and Morty got out of the safe zone and chose a random direction. They were hoping to find a small team of rankers they could handle by themselves. The Sansara World did not have any other means of earning Karma points after all. Bert looked ahead of himself and sensed that there was a team not too far away, heading towards them. It was about time for them to earn some Karma points. He lowered his voice before speaking up. "Defend? That guy didn''t enter this world to y defense. And so what if they are talented? Talent doesn''t matter against inexhaustible perseverance. Believe me. I had to find it the hard way. It''s smart that you y safe. I don''t know what will happen to you at the end of this event. But be d that you did at least one thing right." Bert said and took out his daggers, which weirded out Morty even more. As far as he remembered, Bert always wielded his spear in the ranking wars. "What do you mean?" Morty asked while taking out his sword. For some reason, Morty''s subconscious mind started treating Bert as the leader. He started following right behind him as they approached their first target. Bert chuckled mirthlessly before saying matter-of-factly. "Those guys are not about to fight Eren. Not really. They are basically going to offer themselves as sacrifices for his entertainment. Now stop asking questions and focus. I don''t want to fall behind him." As he d himself in green lightning, Bert elerated himself at a faster rate. Morty was shocked to see that the docile and servant-like Bert had changed so much just by supposedly following his self-hypnosis therapy. Morty and Bert soon shed with a small team of rankers. Surprisingly, Morty didn''t have to do much. Bert was more than capable of making quick work of his enemies. He took care of Morty''s lot as well when he was done with his. ''The power of self-hypnosis is really something. He must have sought an illusion expert''s professional help. I wonder if I could achieve simr results if I did that as well.'' Morty thought to himself as he watched Bert leading him to his next set of opponents. He could feel Bert enjoying his time in the Sansara World behind his serious expressions. As if graduating from this event with distinction was his long-lost dream. Torn between astonishment and amazement, Morty failed to ask Bert an imperative questionC how did he know Eren so well? === AN: Refer to chapter 700 in case the name Bert Chu doesn''t ring any bells. ;) Chapter 1032 Playing Hero Day 3: An area in the Sansara World far away from any of the safe zones. This area was a barren desert with view-blocking sand dunes. The star-studded, moonless night was as gloomy as it could be. The midnight winds carried with them a bone-freezing chill that was unique to this region. There was a smell of blood in the air. A group of injured people was seen running away from their pursuers. Their injuries were serious but not mortal, preventing them from activating Sansara World''s defense mechanism. The rankers within the group had ashen faces as they used their movement spells to their fullest to run away from unknown forces. It seemed that they had lost some of their members forever. Members of the same group couldn''t hurt one another. Self-injury was also prohibited within the Sansara World, preventing anyone from running away from the fights. The rule acted as a death sentence for some rankers who had died both in the event as well as in real life. Whoever was targeting this fleeing group, they were trying to kill them in such a way that the Sansara World''s defense mechanism wouldn''t be enough to save them. Hence, a sense of desperation was written on everyone''s faces as they ran. "Fuck!" Roody Jr, who was the younger brother of Roody and looked just like him, couldn''t help but exim in fury as he felt his enemies closing in on him from every direction. He looked around him with fury in his eyes as if he was ready to give it his all in his next attack. Ken had a grim expression on his face as well. He looked at everyone who was running with him and clenched his fists. He got close to Roody Jr before speaking in a serious tone. "Brother, use the Team Jump Perk one more time." Sansara World offered various perks for rankers who could avail of them through a special spectral screen by spending Karma points. The Team Jump perk was one such perk on the list. It allowed the team''s captain to teleport his entire team of rankers far away from their existing positions. Roody Jr looked at Ken with frustration written all over his face. "What the fuck are you saying, Ken? They''ll follow us right away using their Team Jump perk. And this is thest teleportation perk we have. We need to get close to the nearest safe zone so that we can" Ken shook his head before cutting Roody Jr off mid-sentence. "That isn''t possible, brother. We''ll get ambushed before that happens. Time is running out." Ken narrowed his eyes before speaking with conviction. "Besides they won''t be following any of you when you use Team Jump this time." Roody Jr didn''t understand what Ken was saying at first. But it didn''t take long for him to understand what Ken was trying to tell him. "You mean" Ken nodded at Roody Jr and smiled before confirming thetter''s assumption. "Yep I''m asking you to leave me behind. These infiltrators from Layos are after me. So obviously, they''ll stop following you if they see that I haven''t gone with you." The presence of Ken at the border shared by both kingdoms had be an eyesore for the forces of Layos. They had ns to kill him before he became a serious threat to them. It didn''t look like these forces had infiltrated the Sansara World to take care of Ken specifically. However, now that they were here, they decided to dispose of him in this world where he was most vulnerable. Everyone on Roody''s team was listening to the duo''s conversation. They looked at each other after hearing Ken''s determination. Some of them hesitated but there were a few rankers who were very impressed with Ken. They voiced their dissatisfaction right away. "Ken you fucking moron, this is no time for your heroic acts. We''ll face these bastards together and that''ll be the end of it." "That''s right. Fist Saint my ass. Your ss is nothing but a show-off, you muscle-headed buffoon. Let these fuckers from Layose I''ll fucking show you that assassins are more equipped to kill in a frontal confrontation than you." "Ken" Kenughed cheerfully before speaking up. "Hahahaha. Thank you for trying to support me, brothers. I know this is no time to y the hero. And I never considered myself to be one. At least not anymore. A hero is someone who can save the day no matter how many stand against him. A hero is a miracle worker. And no matter how crazy my aplishments might seem to you, they are certainly not miracles. I I now realize that an ideal hero is nothing but a fantasy." Ken clenched his fists and made a pair of gauntlets appear covering his hands. He shed his fists against each other before speaking in a confident tone. "But It''s not like I consider myself to be weak. We have already lost two members of our team forever. Their lives have been forfeited just because they belong to my team. I don''t want any more deaths weighing me down on my conscience. This is why I''m saying Use Team Jump to get away from this ambush. Let me handle these pursuers on my own." *** Roody Jr knew Ken would say something like this ever since the pursuers started attacking his team. It''s been more than 14 hours since the first attack on their team took ce. Roody Jr and his team had been battered by their relentless pursuit after that. They were only allowed a small window of respite before the pursuit resumed. What was more? The enemy had used a special perk from the Sansara World on them which prevented them from entering any of the safe zones on the way. They could see the timer of the special perk acting on them through their spectral screen. It would take another hour for the perk''s effects to wear out. It felt like the forces of Layos had not only infiltrated the Sansara World but they had also rigged the Sansara interface in some way. This allowed them to use special perks in a limited capacity. They couldn''t break the rules of this world but they had a few methods to bend them to their advantage to a certain extent. Chapter 1033 Ken Vs Meeshah Roody Jr was about to say something to Ken. However, thetter cut him off before he could open his mouth to speak. "Don''t worry. I won''t hold back this time. I''ll be aiming to kill. I won''t be ying a hero either. After you guys leave, I''ll engage with them for a while before making my escape. It''ll be a bit difficult for me to make a run for it, but not impossible. Now go. We don''t have much time." Ken dered before suddenly stopping in his tracks. There was a confident smile on his face when he did that. He turned around and started elerating in the opposite direction of the team, not giving Roody Jr or any other member of his team much time to think. "Fuck! This self-righteous asshole will be the death of me." Roody Jr cursed Ken under his breath. He feared that his brother and sister would kill him if anything happened to Ken. However, he couldn''t just follow him blindly because he had his duties as captain of the entire team. Roody Jr knew that even if the kingdom of Edinburgh came to know about the kingdom of Layos'' infiltration into the event, it wouldn''t cancel it. In fact, it would encourage the rankers of Edinburgh to kill the infiltrators using their own hands as a show of the kingdom''s might. It would make this event a sess story for its popce at the cost of participants'' lives. There was no way to get help. And staying at the scene might mean all of them getting killed. Furthermore, Roody Jr knew about Ken''s capabilities. He was capable of handling enemies for a while, if not outright defeating them. And if he kept hispassion aside, the Fist Saint was perfectly capable of manhandling his pursuers before escaping their ambush. "Ken you motherfucking prick, you better not die before I find you again. Otherwise, I''ll kill you." Roody Jr yelled while looking ahead of himself. He activated the Team Jump perk before any of his teammates could stop him. *** "Captain there''s an update. A huge one. Ken''s had separated. Our target is approaching us. The rest of his teammates used Team Jump. What... what should we do?" A ranger elf who was leading the team of elves from the kingdom of Layos asked his captain. He was looking ahead but his eyes had turnedpletely white, indicating that he was using a ranger-specific spell to keep tabs on his targets. The captain of this team was a very striking and bodacious young elf. She had white hair and light blue eyes. Her pointy ears and her rosy lips added to her eye-catching beauty. Her name was Meeshah and she was the 12th in the line of Layos'' royal session. Meeshah was seen wearing golden armor that entuated her prominent bust. She had paired her defensive wear with heavy shoulder and arm bracers. Holding slim and long curved swords in both her hands, she looked as intimidating as she was gorgeous. Meeshah smiled wickedly when she heard the report from her ranger. "Hehe. That fool thinks he can handle us all by himself. He is denser than the reports we had read about him." Despite the arrogance in her voice, Meeshah had studied her enemy well. She knew that Ken was indeed powerful. He did a remarkable job refining the Fist Art to perfection. She had experienced it firsthand at the borders of two kingdoms. However, all of the rankers who entered Sansara World as participants were restricted. Even the most talented rankers would find it difficult to express their individuality to their fullest under such restrictions. By equalizing all the rankers at the start, the event had taken the edge off of rankers with strong individualities. They were simply not as threatening as they should have been against average rankers. At least not in the early days of the event. The forces of Layos had infiltrated the event under the disguise of other rankers from various academies using the same kind of artifact Shandil had on him. These rankers of Layos were also not free from the restrictions the Sansara World had ced on them. Taking all these factors into consideration, Meeshah decided to finish her deal with Ken right then and there. Killing an earl''s son from the enemy kingdom was going to be the biggest achievement she would have under her name. That achievement alone was enough to make her one of the top contenders for the royal session. Still, Meeshah chose to y it safe by ordering a few of the rankers on her team to approach Ken from a different direction. Meeshah wanted to create a diversion just in case Ken became too hot for her entire team in a frontal sh. The ranger moved to the back of his team when he sensed that Ken was at an unavoidable distance from them. All the rankers ran in formation as Meeshah came forward to lead their frontal assault. ''He There''s something different about him.'' Meeshah thought to herself as she looked at the approaching Ken from a distance. She knew then and there that this version of Ken was going to be even more dangerous than what he had shown at the border. "Alright hotshot. Let''s see what you got." Meeshah licked her lips before tightening her grip on her sword. She gestured for all the other team members to distance themselves from her. She was determined to handle Ken all by herself. "Hahahahaha! Meeshah, is it? Our fight was interrupted thest time. Nobody is stopping either of us here. Come." Kenughed maniacally as he radiated his dominating aura. He bumped his fists against each other and created vibrations in the air. The ground beneath his feet started breaking as if he had manipted his weight with each step. Meeshah and Ken shed. A weaponless fighter facing up against a double-wielding swordswoman was supposed to give an undisputed advantage to thetter. However, somethingpletely contrary tomon sense urred. The Fist Saint proved his dominance against a swordswoman barely two seconds into the conflict. Chapter 1034 A Hero Flipping His Switch The Fist Saint proved his dominance against a swordswoman barely two seconds into the conflict. "AAAAAAAH!" Meeshah only exchanged a few moves with Ken before she was forcefully sent into the air tens of meters away from her position. A perfect connect with Ken''s punch broke Meeshah''s rib bones and made her split blood. It dislocated her shoulder and damaged her internal organs severely. Meeshah quickly got up on her feet only to receive another round of beating from Ken. She was forced to stand and became a punching bag against Ken''s consistent and precise attacks. "Aaaaaaah! Don''t just stare, you idiots. Attack him." Meeshah tried to create a distance from Ken and ordered her team to finally stop being spectators. Her ego was not as important as her life. And she knew that Ken''s barrage was about to take her life if she didn''t get a breather from it. Ken was attacked with Meeshah''s team members all at once when thetter gave them the orders. Meeshah sessfully managed to get away from Ken as a result of keeping her pride aside. Boom! Boom! Boom! Ken''s fists created vibrations in the air as they connected with their intended targets. The ground beneath his feet got depressed because of his excessive movements and drawing support from his feet while delivering heavyweight punches. However, the Fist Saint stayed exceptionally nimble on his feet and managed to dodge most of the lethal attacks aimed at his vital organs. And this time, Ken was targeting his enemies'' vital organs too. Thus, everytime his punch connected, it evoked a painful shrill from his opponents. Meeshah watched with disbelief as Ken expressed his individuality battling against so many opponents at once. She had never seen this version of him even while he had killed many of the rankers from the kingdom of Layos in front of her. ''This bastard. He he has flipped a switch.'' Kenughed as he got bruised and battered by his enemies'' attacksnding on his body. He wouldn''t have suffered by their hands to this extent if he wasn''t restricted by the Sansara World. Or if he just had his usual gear with him. Unfortunately, whatever gear and weapons the rankers used were given to them by spending Karma points. And most of these weapons and artifacts were average at best. So he couldn''t remain unscathed battling against seven rankers at the same time. Meeshah tried to support her team by trying to attack Ken from his supposed blind spot. She also coordinated with her entire team to poke holes in his defensive stance. However, she soon found out that Ken Riverine wasn''t someone who she could handle despite the number advantage she had. "Aaaaaaaah!" "Captain, help aaaaargh!" "Ugggggggh!" Three rankers battling with Eren were sent flying away from Ken in three different directions. They had various fist-shaped depressions all over their bodies which made them look weird to look at. Their flesh was still intact but their organs were beyond any normal means of recovery. All three of them triggered Sansara World''s defensive mechanism as they sustained mortal injuries on their bodies. The Sansara wheel tattoos on their bodies started shining. They were about to be teleported away from the conflict zone soon. Ken wasn''t going to let his enemies off the hook just like that. He ignored the cover attack and approached the nearest opponent from those three. He appeared behind the first opponent and punched through the guy''s heart before he could be teleported away. He killed the second ranker by squashing her head. Unfortunately for Ken and fortunately for the third ranker, Sansara World''s defense mechanism kicked in and he was teleported away sessfully. Still, Ken didn''t get disheartened and carried on with his attacks. What Ken''s enemies didn''t know was the fact that he was drawing power from his life force while battling with his enemies. This Ability allowed him to pump up his attacking or defensive capabilities at the cost of a severe burn-out. Ken knew that he wouldn''t be able to maintain his form for long. And that he was about to run out of the life force. Thus, he decided to kill one more ranker to create a deterrence before escaping from the scene. All of this happened within a fraction of seconds. And Meeshah''s team had no viable means to stop Ken from doing what he wanted. Meeshah herself was visibly shaken by the ferocity Ken had shown. Only now did she realize why the higher-ups from the kingdom of Layos wanted Ken dead. Wars in thend of Anfang didn''t start or stop on a whim. They would drag on for years on end. An entity like Ken bing stronger in the wartime wasn''t something the kingdom of Layos wanted to see. Thus, it had added killing Ken as one its agendas after the sessful infiltration of the rankers into the Sansara World. "Aaaaaaargh!" Ken sessfully killed the third weakest ranker in Meeshah''s team and decided to make a run for it. He used his movement spell and disappeared from his position. Meeshah''s team followed right after him for some time before seemingly giving up on chasing him. Ken kept on running even though he sensed his opponents not pursuing him anymore. He thought that Meeshah had given up on settling her affairs with him. He couldn''t help breathing a sigh of relief when that happened. He was bloody, wounded, and sweating all over. His heartbeats were erratic and he had to take quick breaths because of the exertion. "Help! These elves from Layos are trying to kill me." Ken suddenly heard a voice from the north-east direction. He looked and saw a frail-looking girl getting chased by a bunch of elves. She had expressions of fear and panic written on her face and was heading straight to him. Ken''s subconscious mind was torn between helping the girl and securing his own safety first. That indecision was enough for the girl to approach him, supposedly seeking shelter from him. Ken knew at that time that another fight was inevitable. So he let the girl go past him and bumped his gauntlets-wearing fists against each other. And everything started going downhill for Ken after that. Chapter 1035 Spoiler Title (Title at the end of the chapter.) Ken was about to sh with the new bunch of elves. But just then, he felt a presence behind him. It was the same frail presence that was trying to seek shelter in his shadows a moment before. Because of the unusual situation the Fist Saint was in, the frail-looking girl managed to sneak behind him. And before Ken could understand the Whats and Whys of it, he felt his heart getting pierced by the girl''s dagger from behind. "Aaaaaaaargh!" Ken cried in pain when the girl''s dagger came out of the other side of his chest. One had to say that the timing at which the frail-looking girl had chosen to attack Ken was just perfect. His back was the most defenseless at that time and the girl struck him where it hurt the mostC where it dealt the most damage. Swoosh! Ken turned around and swung his fists. However, the girl was nowhere to be found. She just upped and disappeared without a trace after attacking Ken. As far as she was concerned, her job in the confrontation was done. It was now the rankers who were following her who attacked Ken in her ce. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! A bunch of multi-element spells was executed to attack Ken at the same time. The Fist Saint tried to defend himself using the defensive spells he had in his arsenal. However, he was already at his limit at this point. "Aaaaaaaaargh! Cowards! I''ll kill you." Ken understood what had happened to him when he saw Meesha approaching him from a distance with a smile on her face. It seemed that she had anticipated his escape from her ambush and arranged this trap for him beforehand. Ken''s Sansara tattoo started shining when it was confirmed that he had suffered a mortal injury. However, he was attacked with many spells and weapons at once before the defense mechanism could kick in. One of the attacks even managed to cut the hand the tattoo was on, interfering with the defense mechanism further. Ken''s body crashed to the ground when Meeshah came within striking distance of him. As a result of his defense mechanism''s partial activation, his body was shining. However, it couldn''t send him to the safe area anymore. The infiltrators had introduced a dy in the defense mechanism to ramp up the killings inside Sansara World. However, it worked both ways and the infiltrators were also subjected to the same dy. That''s how Ken was able to kill two rankers from Meeshah''s team after all. Ken''s heartbeat started dimming. Darkness started surrounding his vision. ''Emotional fools suffer more than rational dickheads. Hehe. He was right. He was always right. About everything. But brother I tried. And for that, I have no regrets.'' Ken had a fleeting thought as he closed his eyes. Even after facing a stab in the back, he managed to put a smile on his face with his dying breaths. It seemed that he had done everything he could to live life his way. And he attempted to change as well. Ken couldn''t get far with his heart on his sleeves. The same heart was pierced by the cruelty of the world he lived in. However, he tried his darnedest to grow and survive while trying his best to stay true to his convictions. Nobody could stop the Fist Saint from taking pleasure in the number of efforts he had put in to better himself. Even Meeshah stopped herself from taking pleasure in his misery when she saw that smile on his face. Swoosh. Zoom. Chop. Meeshah chopped Ken''s head clean off just to be sure. He had already given them quite a scare with his ferocious avatar earlier. She was sure that even afterbining the two teams from the beginning, she would have suffered more overall casualties if it wasn''t for her strategy. "Hehehehe! How did I do, Her Highness Meeshah?" The frail-looking girl appeared beside Meeshah and asked. Her looks wereplemented by two elf ears, which she had hidden earlier before approaching Ken. Unlike Meeshah, she took joy in looking at her target''s headless body. It was as if she was looking at a piece of art she had created herself. Meeshah took a long breath before replying. "You did good, Maylin. Your assassination skills are really something. This mammoth would have given us a lot more trouble if it wasn''t for you." Meeshah smiled lightly as she looked at Maylin. She was relieved that she had managed to hunt and kill someone like Ken in just three days. Meeshah wasn''t sure how the other royal elves were doing. But she could bet anything that nobody from her royal family could have finished Ken off this cleanly. The two rankers her group had lost were totally worth it. Meeshah was about to say something when the ranger from before reported another finding. "Captain, there''s another target not too far away from us. He is heading southwest, away from us. What should we do?" Meeshah looked at Ken''s body and took it into her storage space. It could serve as proof of her aplishments after all. She then pped her hands and stood up straight before asking the ranger. "What is it this time? I''d like to target the Duke''s son Jason next if we can intercept him." It seemed that all of Meeshah''s kills were politically motivated. She had targeted Ken not because she had some unfinished business with him from their time on the two opposing sides of the border. She had targeted him because he was from an Earl''s House. Killing him would have a broader impact on Edinburgh''s masses. "Yeah negative. It''s not Jason. It''s that White Raven guy. What''s his name again?" The ranger nkly stared in one direction with hispletely white eyes as he tried to remember the target''s name. The royal scions from the kingdom of Layos who had infiltrated the Sansara World were given a hit list by their higher-ups. Ken wasn''t their only target. There were a lot of other influential rankers within this generation that needed to be dealt with swiftly. Doing that would mean eliminating future trouble as well as spreading deeper negative emotions in the hearts of Edinburgh''s citizens. "White Raven? Hm? Oh yes! Eren Elijah Idril. Captain let''s target him next using the same game n. Hehe." As an assassin, Mayli remembered everyone on the target list well. She could also recall their backgrounds, their strengths and weaknesses, and known records of their past fights. Of course, she was excited to take down someone like Eren Idril who had an entire city to his name. Killing him was like conquering his entire city in her head. Meeshah pondered for a bit before agreeing with Mayli''s ns. And everything started heading downhill for Meeshah and her lot after that. === Chapter 1035 Title: A Hero''s Death Chapter 1036 Oddly Pessimistic And A Tinsy Bit Satirical ''Damn. It is taking too long. I''m still 4000 Karma points away from leveling up and entering E-Rank.'' Eren thought to himself as he checked his progress on the Sansara interface. Even after taking care of so many participants all by himself, he found it difficult to progress too quickly inside the Sansara World. He then checked out his team''s progress through the Sansara interface. There would be a purge of rankers after a certain time. And teams that did not have the required number of gs would get kicked out of the Sansara World. It was an automated process in the Sansara World and nobody could do anything about it. Thankfully, his team was making good progress so far. It had collected 20 gs at this point. Meaning it had engaged with many teams and won. The butcher was relieved to learn these statistics. 20 gs ensured that his team would survive the next purge. It allowed him enough leeway to find Jason and get rid of him. At least that''s what he was hoping to do. Eren was still not able to get the Karma-point sharing perk yet. As a result, Steve and Renita were falling behind. Things were still manageable. But he needed to speed things up if he wanted to ensure his captain''s safety. From Eren''s main team, Becky umted the most unused Karma points and level-ups. Ramy was right behind her. The rest of his group was also doing well. Eren had also noticed something weird ever since he started dealing with his opponents from day one. There was an unusual amount of dy in the Sansara World''s defense mechanism kicking in. It was enough for experienced rankers to attempt real-life killings. Alephee had already confirmed that the dy was for everyone and not limited to the participants specifically. Meaning the infiltrators had also put their own lives on the line to mess up the kingdom of Edinburgh. If nothing else, the butcher gave them a thumbs-up for operating under such parameters. Of course, Eren didn''t go out of his way to kill the normal participants. He let them get teleported to safe locations after he was done scoring his Karma points. He knew most of them wouldn''t be able to pass the special test. Even if they did, they wouldn''t bother him. In addition, they would eventually be purged by the g requirement. The butcher was already somewhat aware of the infiltration n that the kingdom of Layos had crafted, thanks to the living undead he had created out of Shandil. It was just that it hadn''t been finalized and delivered to Shandil when the butcher killed him. And Shandil wasn''t exactly a concise speaker. Eren had also met up with a team of elves who belonged to the kingdom of Layos. These elves were operating under false identities with the help of mask artifacts. Alephee could identify these rankers because of the masks they wore. It seemed that these infiltrators had some kind of hit list and they were targeting all the influential rankers in the kingdom of Edinburgh. Thus, he was not surprised when they started targeting him as well as soon as they saw him. The butcher made quick work of these infiltrators. He used Alephee''s help to prolong the dy in the defense mechanism even more and killed them all for good. There was no need to show mercy to someone who was gunning for him. Eren also found out that as the rankers'' levels grew, they were able to give him more Karma points when he took care of them. It was done to bnce out the increasing Karma point requirement with each level up. The difficulty in battling with someone was directly rted to the number of Karma points the winner could gain out of the conflict. The more difficult it is, the higher the rewards. This is the reason Eren found targeting infiltrators to be more lucrative. They targeted stronger individuals who had better teams assisting them. As a result, these infiltrators had to struggle a lot. This resulted in Eren gaining rtively higher Karma points when he killed them. ''If only I could find some more elves to farm for Karma points.'' Eren licked his lips and thought to himself as he headed towards a certain location. And suddenly Alephee told him something. ''Eren, I sense more mask wearers heading your way. They''ll reach you in about three minutes if you don''t move from your current spot.'' Alephee''s heads-up raised Eren''s eyebrows. He stopped in his tracks and started checking out his Sansara interface all of a sudden. ''What are you doing?'' Alephee asked, puzzled by Eren''s actions. She was inscribing more runes in her grimoire inside the pendant abode. ''Checking to see if I somehow activated some kind of Wish Granting perk by ident. In all my two lives, I have never been so lucky. Should I have asked for something else? Like another transcendent-grade artifact OR. Another unique power-up? Because I might not get the opportunity again." Alephee chuckled when she heard Eren''s oddly pessimistic and a tinsy bit satirical view of life. She resumed her work as Eren prepared himself to farm more Karma points. *** "I''m sorry to keep you waiting, Mister Eren Idril. And I also need to thank you for waiting for us. Name''s Meeshah." Meeshah greeted Eren with a radiant smile and ear-pleasing words. Thetter smiled as well and opened his arms wide before speaking up. "Eren Elijah Idril. The pleasure is all mine, Mademoiselle." Two Shamshirs appeared in the butcher''s hands as he bowed elegantly. He gripped them firmly and swung them casually, relieving his stiff muscles and prepping them for a series of repeated actions. At this point, Eren was surrounded by Meeshah''s team, supposedly blocking all his exit routes. They all had their weapons drawn and were waiting for Meeshah''s orders. Meeshah thought that Ken was an exception. However, she could still try her luck with Eren and fight solo with him. She wanted to see how he fared against the low-key hype he had created for himself. Eren looked around him and saw his opponents as nothing but living breathing Karma points. He was about to attack the healer of the team when Alephee said something shocking to him. ''Eren they... they killed Ken Riverine. His dead body is in Meeshah''s storage.'' Chapter 1037 Puddles Of Blood Shimmering Under The Starlight ''The protagonist''s luck had an expiry date, after all.'' Eren sighed as he heard about Ken''s fate. He was just beginning to ept that Ken wasn''t such a bad guy to be around. Out of all the shitty people he had met in his two lives, Ken was one of the few who he could say with confidence that wouldn''t backstab anybody. "Death is death. People die." Eren said as he twisted his neck, his face emotionless, and his eyes void of sorrow. He looked left and right and rotated his wrists as well. Ken''s death did not change Eren''s perspective on life. If anything, it only helped him strengthen his previous belief that strength was supreme in any society, in any era, or any world. And that showingpassion was a luxury not everybody could afford. Eren''s voice turned solemn as he spoke his next words. "Death changes nothing for the one who is dead. And the change will eventually not matter for those who have been left behind in the grand scheme of things. This is the reality for most people." A few bone-popping sounds were heard by Meeshah and her teammates as Eren continued to speak to nobody in particr. "Rest in eternity, Ken Riverine. Rest assured that I''ll send your killers to meet you soon. Have fun with them." Bzzt. Swoosh. Zoom. ? "Aaaaargh!" The healer of the group cried in pain as his neck was suddenly shed. People watched with a mix of shock and horror as they saw Eren appearing behind the healer like a ghost and yanking off the healer''s vocal cords. The first healer of the team had died within a fraction of a second before Meeshah had a chance to initiate a one-on-one with Eren. And there was nothing they could do to prevent it. It was at this moment that Meeshah realized that Eren was too fast for her or any of her teammates to sessfully intercept. She immediately used a Sansara Perk to boost her team''s agility and other stats and intercepted Eren before he could kill the second healer in her group. "Aaaaaaaaaaaa!" ng. ng. ng. Streams of lightning surrounded Eren as he shed with Meeshah. The dual-wielders exchanged a bunch of moves in quick session and managed to inflict a few sh wounds on each other. However, it was clear who had the upper hand after looking at the severity of the injuries they both faced. Meeshah had sustained severe injuries to her vital spots while Eren had ignorable wounds on his limbs. It could be said that the wounds Eren had on his body were apromise Eren was willing to make to injure Meeshah to such an extent. ng. ng. ng. The butcher was made to fight another pair of rankers in the next moment, allowing Meeshah to take a breather. The elf beauty was more hurt mentally than she was physically. She had thought that fighting with Ken was an exception. However, someone like Eren shouldn''t have been too difficult for her to handle. Turns out she thought wrong. Eren was even more of a handful than Ken ever could be. At least in the Sansara world where everybody''s powers were restricted. Meeshah watched with extreme vignce and regret as her teammates kept on attacking Eren and receiving blowback from him. Eren started killing without any remorse or vengeance in his head. He started injuring and killing Meeshah''s teammates in the most horrific manner possible. The dislocation of organs, flesh, bones, and everything in between from his enemies'' bodies came as easily as breathing for Eren. The forces of Layos thought that they had be numb to the sight of blood and gore. And for the most part, they did. Nheless, Eren''s method of killing them made them realize that mental fortitude could always be challenged by the tough situations they faced. The butcher also got injured by his opponents. However, the injuries were not enough to stop him. He kept on moving about and killing the rankers before they had a chance to be saved by Sansara World''s defense mechanism. Meeshah tried to keep Eren from using various means and perks. She stacked many of them and came close topeting with him. However, the butcher wasn''t idling around in the Sansara World either. He had his own set of Sansara Perks, which he used at the right time and in the right way to tackle Meeshah''s entire lot. There was one more advantage Eren had that nobody else did among the participants. His mana circuit training had allowed him to alleviate the Sansara World''s restrictions to some extent. Meaning he could adapt his mana circuits and his constitution as per the restrictions ced on his body. This would allow him to maximize the potential of the rank he was in. Eren''s current level should theoretically allow him to exert the powers associated with someone in the liquid stage of the F-Rank. In contrast, his mana circuit training allowed him to loosen those restrictions. He was basically fighting as a higher-level participant with powers that belonged to someone who was a quasi-Ace-Rank. When the butcher stacked his unique traits with the unique perks he had bought from the Sansara interface, thebination was something Meeshah''s team couldn''t handle for long. They started dying like flies under his barrage of attacks one after another. Unlike Ken, Eren did not hesitate in making his moves. All of his attacks were on point and nearly impossible to guard against. And this was despite the fact that he was engaged with several opponents simultaneously at any given moment. Several organs danced in the air before decorating the ground like fallen autumn leaves. The puddles of blood and other bodily fluids started shimmering peculiarly under the starlight. The scene was getting gory by the moment. And at the same time, the region was getting more haunting with a thick stench of fresh blood that one could almost taste in the air. Chapter 1038 A Cult Classic Scene "Aaaaargh! Fcck!" "You monsterrrrr!" "Helllp. Somebody fucking kill this vile Aaaargh!" Several screams could be heard when Eren''s attacksnded on many rankers at the same time. Meeshah was one of the victims. She had lost 5 members of her team forever within a few minutes of the butcher''s attack. She knew the team was bound to face aplete wipeout if she stayed in the same ce. She needed to use the strategy that worked for Ken differently for Eren. "Run. We need to run." Meeshah mumbled to herself. It took her a while to realize that nobody among the survivors had heard hermand because she only mumbled her words. She clenched herst sword in both hands before screaming out loud. "Fucking run away from this maniac." *** "Hey! Hey! Hey!" Meeshah had goosebumps on her skin as she heard Eren calling out from behind her. She and the survivors of her team were running away and the butcher was on their trail. He was just a shout''s distance from them. He was able to do that despite being affected by the movement debuff Meeshah had applied. The butcher''s voice reeked of casual friendliness as he spoke his next words. "That''s not fair, you guys. I waited for you. Remember? And you are not returning the favor. What''s wrong with you? What did I do to receive such harsh treatment?" Eren''s visage was bloody as he chased after Meeshah''s team. However, most of the blood stter came from his victims. He had already healed himself enough using the Instant Reset Ability. He would have caught up with the nearest elf at this point if it wasn''t for the debuff acting on him. Eren''s voice was crystal clear despite the fact that all of them were using their movement spells. "Whatever happened to your resolve to tick my name off your hit list? Take me down and shame the kingdom of Edinburgh. Conquer my city by taking me down. And your achievements shall inspire the citizens of Layos for generations." For some reason, the butcher''s provocation started sounding tempting to Meeshah''s teammates. Eren''s voice suddenly turned grim and demonical as he spoke his next words. "You know. I might start hurting you even more if you make me chase you this much. I hate it when people make me create multiple kill sites." A cold chill ran down Meeshah''s spine as she heard Eren''s simple but effective threat mixed with his soul sense. She knew that if it could affect her, it could affect the rest of the rankers escaping with her as well. "Don''t listen to him. Just ru" "Aaaaaargh!" ? Another painful cry was heard before Meeshah could finish her sentence. It seemed that someone had fallen prey to the butcher''s devilish whisper. Meeshah didn''t stop. She and the remaining survivors didn''t even turn around to look at which of theirrades had fallen. They just kept running. Some of them were d that the butcher had kept his word and ended the fallenrade''s misery in a jiffy. After a couple of minutes, another life was lost during a chase. The butcher started huffing and puffing. He spat in annoyance after chopping the head of the ranker he just caught up to. ''Makes me remember Ma''s daily routine. I I hated cardio. Haash!'' Eren continued his chase begrudgingly. The effects of the debuff were beginning to wear down. But he had overexerted himself to kill so many rankers from Meeshah''s team. The long chase had made his job even more difficult. He regretted the fact that he had made them run away from him. Maybe he should have given them false hope by letting them slip past his defenses once or twice. That way, he wouldn''te across as someone undefeatable to them. The butcher could have made his job a bit easier with his summons. But even his normal summoning spells started having peculiar mana signatures on them. And he didn''t want to expose the fact that he had a summoner ss. The Wind-Fire Wings didn''t let him take a sustainable flight either because he was technically a Novice ranker at this point. The low ranks didn''t allow such fancy moves. Thus, he was forced to chase after his potential victims on foot. "Helpppp! These bastards from Layos are trying to kill me." The butcher was getting close to one of Meeshah''s members from behind when he heard a scream from the northeast direction. He saw a frail-looking girl approaching him with expressions of fear and panic written all over her face. The girl looked childish as if she had stopped growing physically after turning 16. It added to her pitiful looks and made her look even more helpless against a rowdy bunch of bloodthirsty elves following right after her. Even one of the most stonehearted men would find it difficult to ignore a girl''s pleas for help in such situations. It was as if this mysterious girl and the bunch of elves chasing her had appeared out of thin air. The girl looked like she was hurt and would get caught by her pursuers any second. Eren stopped following Meeshah''s team and headed straight toward the frail-looking girl. He made his Shamshirs disappear from his hands. A pair of daggers appeared to take their ce. Hispletely ck daggers were almost invisible in his hands due to their matte finish. The girl''s face was painted with expressions of hope as she saw her potential rescuering to save her. It was as if she found thest vestiges of strength within her to speed up and get close to Eren. As if all her prayers were answered the moment sheid eyes on Eren. A damsel in distress. A bunch of goons pursued her with ill intentions. And all of a sudden, her prince charming came to save her. A cult ssic scene. If La was here, she would have recorded the moment on an array disk for her entertainment. She practically lived her near-immortal life in anticipation of watching scenes like these unfold in front of her. However Bzzt. Swoosh. Chop. Chapter 1039 [Bonus ] In A Position To Exploit Restrictions Placed On Others Bzzt. Swoosh. Chop. Mayli found her liver being pierced by one of the butcher''s daggers as he appeared to her left. Eren spun around and lodged his remaining dagger in the girl''s heart before twisting it. He sent his fire and lightning mana inside her to fry her mana circuits as well. The elves chasing after her stopped in their tracks and looked at each other nkly as they saw Mayli''s condition. Even Meeshah who was pretending to run away from the scene stopped in her tracks and looked at the scene with a horrified expression. Mayli was unable to cast a spell or get away from the butcher. She spit blood when she tried to open her mouth. She looked at her killer with injustice written in her eyes and spoke with difficulty. "How... How did you know?" The butcher looked at her with puzzled expressions of his own before speaking up. "Hm? Know what?" Mayli wanted to find out if she had a w in her acting or not. But it turns out the butcher killed her because it was convenient to do so. Or she was just too suspicious to be running at him. However, it could be assumed that he did not see Mayli as an ally to Meeshah''s team. Mayli couldn''t help nodding at her killer before closing her eyes forever. She took sce in the fact that at least she hadn''t failed as an assassin. That her acting was as impable as it could get. She managed to smile with her blood-soaked lips before the butcher chopped her head clean off. In more ways than one, Mayli was put in the same boat as her most recent victim in herst moments. Poetic justice by La''s standards. However, the homunculus would have frowned at Eren after realizing the cult ssic scene had been ruined in Eren''s hands. Two of her favorite fantasy scenarios getting spoiled by his allegedly ruthless actions would not have sat well with her. "Here. Catch this." Eren threw Mayli''s chopped head at her supposed pursuers before getting away from them. The group was too shocked to react rationally. One of them raised his hands to catch the butcher''s throw unwittingly. It was a well-ced throw. And it was an equally straightforward catch. Swoosh. Catch. Boom. *** It seemed that the Sasara World took the participants'' wishes into ount to some extent when offering them Perks to spend their Karma points on. The butcher was offered a pair of daggers and Shamshirs through the Sansara interface because of his expertise with them. Simrly, there was a Perk that allowed him to turn inanimate objects into explosives. He had to spend 3000 Karma Points to get this Perk. The bomb lover in him happily spent that much money on a supposedly useless Perk instead of investing the same Karma points into leveling up. ? The butcher cursed the Sansara World for making him addicted to such a convenient way of fighting. He had practically adopted his battle style as per this world''s rules. He felt that it would be very difficult for him to adjust to real life if he spent a month inside Sansara World. He felt like home. The restrictions that weigh others down did not exist for him for the most part. Eren did not have any fancy moves. He did not have his Expert-ranked powers with him. However, his multi-elemental and multi-weapon skills started paying him dividends inside this special world. He was in a position to exploit the world''s restrictions ced on others because of the gruesome training he underwent under Alephee. Plus, he had a basic knowledge of the Perks from Sansara World. That''s why he had alreadye prepared with many strategies to use inside the Sansara World. As a result, the butcher became even more of a killing machine inside the Sansara World than he was outside it. This was the reason he managed to take care of Meeshah''s entire group with such ease. The butcher made use of his advantages and started getting more Perks for him instead of just focusing on leveling up. He knew that spending Karma points on Perks would serve him well in the long run. After all, Perks were like Abilities inside the Sansara World. They would be better at using them if they had them in the game earlier. The Abilities would also grow along with their users, allowing them to maximize their offensive, defensive, or other capabilities. *** Eren had almost wiped out Meeshah''s entire team that was previously divided between her and Mayli. His st, using Mayli''s head, was only able to injure the rankers. The butcher cursed the Sansara World as well as the Sansara Sage once morea" this time for a different reason. He cursed them for making him spend 3000 Karma points only to offer a sorry excuse for an explosive that wasn''t even worth a fart in his eyes. The terrorist felt that even his earlier potion bomb iterations that he did for practice would have shown better results than the sorry excuse for Bomb Perk he had spent so many Karma Points on. To make his expenses count, he had to personally kill the injured rankers post-st. "Let''s... let''s ask Hagduin for help. My pendant tells me he should be nearby." There was only one ranker remaining with Meeshah when Eren was done with his recent victim. While the butcher was killing the thirdst member of their team, they started running. All of them had tried to get away from the butcher in separate directions. But it turns out, the butcher had used a simple Perk on them that physically prevented them from moving a certain distance away from him. Meeshah didn''t want to ask another royal scion for help because doing so would hurt her credibility. However, she decided to listen to herst teammate''s advice after considering the kind of situation they both were in. The butcher quickly caught up with hisst two potential victims using the Speed Perk. He had bought a bunch of perishable Perks for himself after his recent Karma Points farming. Eren had managed to hear their conversation. He sent his mana circuits into hyperdrive and got in front of them. The butcher chuckled and burst their metaphorical bubble by throwing something at thema" this time withoutcing it with his peculiar Perk. It was the head of an elf named Hagduin. "Is this the one you are looking for?" Chapter 1040 Unlimited Knife Works Hagduin was a tall sun elf with a ponytail. Hagduin''s body was missing. But the chopped head was easy to identify because of the ponytail. Meeshah had color drained from her face as she looked at Hagduin''s head lying on the ground a few steps away from her. "How... How did you kill him?" Meeshah asked Eren while thinking of ways to get away from the scene. She also found it unbelievable that Hagduin was killed. Because he was more skilled than her. He also had a better crew than her to assist him. *** Eren had shed with Hagduin''s team on day 2. The elf with the ponytail had used Spatial Domain Lock on him that locked his entire team with the butcher. Eren was more than happy to get locked in one ce with his potential victims. He used the Condition Continuum Perk and prevented Hagduin from canceling the Perk that he had activated himself. The fight with Hagduin and his entire allied teamsted for a few hours. In the end, Hagduin''s own Perk bit him in the ass as all of the rankers that were with him got killed inside the Spatial Domain Lock. The butcher had raked in loads of Karma points on day 2 as a result of wiping out the entire elf group. It had allowed him to buy many Perks, both permanent ones as well as those with one-time use. He had used some of them to tackle Meeshah''s team. The Sansara World''s automated system had a synthetic consciousness of its own. It took out Hagduin''s Perk and allowed Eren to use it as a limited-time Perk. Meaning he could use the Spatial Domain Lock Perk three times. *** Hagduin''s Perk was very useful for Eren when it came to ying an entire group. And its limited use made it even more precious. Thus, he didn''t want to use it on Meeshah''s team at first. However, he did not know how many Karma points Meeshah had. And he could see on her face that she was getting desperate. So when it was only the butcher and Meeshah left at the scene and the earlier Perk restrictions were lifted, the butcher used Spatial Domain Lock on Meeshah just to y it safe. This Perk also prevented Eren''s opponents from using any of the teleportation Perks. This was something Meeshah hadpletely forgotten to do because of the stress she was forced to be in. Eren''s Perk kept draining his Karma points while it was active. But the butcher''s rate of earning Karma points exceeded the drain rate by a huge margin. So it was still an affordable Perk for him to use. Eren didn''t want to spend more Karma points on Meeshah''s team than he had to. Each point was critical, and he needed to make use of his Perks wisely. Thus, he decided to finish his job instead of answering Meesha''s question. His image was blurred from Meeshah''s perspective. He appeared in front of the teammate she was with beforeunching a closebat Perk on her. Its name was Unlimited Knife Works and it was supposed to be used in conjunction with dagger-like weapons. Unlimited Knife Works allowed its users to elerate their weapons to an absurd amount within dimensional confinement. The vector force acting on the weapon would be regted by the Perk and its direction would be decided by the user''s slight movements. Therefore, the shes and stabs made with the Perk would be so fast that they would defy rankers'' physical limitations. One could also see it as a Stunning Speed spell specifically made for the weapon arts. Of course, one needed to be quite skilled with the dagger arts, to begin with, to use the Perk effectively. The Perk was akin to a superfast flying vehicle. For one to use the vehicle, one must know how to drive it in the first ce. The butcher had selected this Perk right after killing Hagduin''s team. And he was yet to try it on anybody. Now that there were only two potential targets, he had room to experiment. "Aaaaaaar...!" The scream was cut short because of how quickly the victim''s body almost disintegrated. Unlike his Bombing Perk, the butcher was very happy with the results of this Perk. The Perk came with its own set of disadvantages for the current Eren. First was the fact that he made a few mistakes but they couldn''t be exploited by his enemy. Second, he came close to dropping his weapon as a result of a strong vector force acting on it. Despite this, he was able to maintain his grip on the weapons before executing his dagger arts with them. Eren also felt a bit of strain on his wrists when he activated Unlimited Knife Works. The strain came from subconsciously trying to control the speed of the self-elerating knives manually. This needed some getting used to before he could make use of the Perk to its full potential. Lastly, the Perk had a negative impact on the weapons he had gotten from the Sansara World. He knew that they would get dulled if he kept on using the Perk for his every attack. The weapons would have been worn down at this point if he had used them to attack Meeshah''s team from the beginning. Weapons were rtively costly to buy in terms of Karma points. Hence, the butcher decided to limit the use of Unlimited Knife Works if and when he was in a pinch. Meeshah felt numb to the cries of herst teammate getting killed by Eren. Perk and the butcher''s Dagger Arts worked well together. The ranker''s body was chopped into minced meat within a second after the butcher used thebination. "You... everything about you... The information iscking. You are many times more dangerous than those phony reports paint you to be. You should have been first on our hit list." Meeshah didn''t try to run away from Eren this time after seeing her teammates'' posthumous condition. The butcher juggled his daggers around him and wiped away the blood marks. He smiled mildly before responding. "Hmm... I''ll take that as apliment." Meeshah gulped empty air before deciding to voice the only request she knew the butcher would be willing to fulfill. "Grant me an easy death. I don''t want to suffer." Eren wasn''t surprised by Meeshah''s request. He nodded before agreeing to it. "Alright. Sleep well... Mademoiselle." In the next moment, Meeshah''s vision started to dim. She didn''t know what hit her and she was d about it. Chapter 1041 Digesting The Heros Gains "There it is!" Eren was finally able to locate the Karma Points Sharing Perk. It was made avable to him after he put his Karma Points into leveling up. The multiple level-ups in one go allowed him to be an Ace ranker once again. One could say that the Karma points earned after finishing off Meeshah''s entire team had been put to good use. Eren quickly bought and activated the Perk through the Sansara interface. He then linked it up with Steve and Renita. He divided his existing Karma points into three equal portions. He retained his portion while allocating the other two portions to the captain and ranger of the team. Eren had already told Steve and Renita to prioritize their levels over getting Perks for the first week. Unlike him, they were ying defensively. Plus, they had the support of the main team. So they didn''t need many Perks. Eren then walked up to Meeshah''s corpse. He bent down and took her tattooed hand in his hand. He felt the tattoo of the Sansara Wheel with his fingers before asking Alephee. "Alephee, can you override the ess rights of this elf''s storage?" The Sansara World had sealed off rankers'' storage. Instead, it offered its own storage system for the participants to use for their rations, weapons, and other stuff. The butcher knew that the seal on the personal storage was strong to prevent anyone from taking unfair advantage of their backgrounds. But he was hoping the Sansara storage could be essed using Alephee''s help. Alephee didn''te out of her Pendant abode. She sent her soul sense outside and scanned the Sansara Wheel Tattoo before replying. "I can. But only for the next few minutes. The storage would copse after the dead body''s temperature starts dropping down." Eren nodded before making his wish known. "Take everything out." In the next moment, the Sansara Wheel tattoo started getting blurred as Alephee used her soul sense to override it for a fraction of a second. She took everything out of Meeshah''s storage and asked Eren to throw the body away. Eren quickly threw Meeshah''s body in the air and raised a non-elemental mana shield around him. In the next moment, a suppressed implosion was heard. St. Meeshah''s body imploded like a mini-bomb had been detonated inside a watermelon. The pieces of her flesh and bones were spread everywhere. In the end, Meeshah''s body suffered the same fate as that of her teammate. But since it was done after her death, one could say that the butcher had kept his promise to offer an easy death. Eren canceled the shield around him before looking at Meeshah''s stuff. She had two swords and some other stuff that she had bought using her Karma points. The butcher stored everything within his Sansara storage before selling it to the interface for Karma points. However, this was not what the butcher was after in the first ce. Eren walked up to the dead body that Meeshah had stored inside her Sansara Storage. It was the headless corpse of Ken along with his chopped head beside it. "He was a perfect hero and therefore, an imperfect ranker." Eren sighed before narrowing his eyes on the corpse. He stretched his hands over the corpse and turned them into a slimy mass. "Since I took revenge for you, it is only fair that I receive a payment from you." Eren mumbled to himself before spreading the slime mass all over Ken''s corpse including his chopped head. He activated his bloodline Ability and started digesting Fist Saint''s gains. Not much time had passed since Ken''s death. So Eren thought that he still had a chance to get Ken''s Fist Arts for himself. However, the haul he was receiving was greater than expected as he offered the hero a unique form of burial service. Even after being under Sansara World''s restrictions, Eren''s ranking status was still intact. He could feel that he was progressing ahead in his ranking journey as he started digesting Ken''s experience as well as his elemental attainments. Eren received the knowledge of Ken''s Fist Arts and his custom modifications to it for the most part. He was also able to strengthen his earth-element attainments to some degree. The progress in his ranking status wasn''t much. But in the C-Rank, even a bit of progress was a huge thing for the current Eren. it was as if Ken agreed with the butcher''s barter and readily offered his gains for his growth. *** The next day. Near a smallke. Eren opened his eyes when thekewater started reflecting the fake sun rays over his face. He had finished digesting Ken''s experiences by this point. Eren found out that Ken also had a peculiar Ability. An Ability to use his life force as a means to boost his offense and defense capabilities. It was a very simple and straightforward Ability a Fist Saint could have asked for. The butcher was able to make the Ability his after relieving his life as Ken through his memories. Eren got up on his feet and started practicing throwing pouches. He had never digested gains rted to Fits Arts before. So he knew it would take a while for him to sync with Ken''s mastery over the Fist Arts. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Eren kept on getting better at using Ken''s spells and techniques with each passing second as he started practicing near theke. The surface water started getting agitated with various ripples as a result of his power-packed pouches. "In the battle of existence, tact is the clever footwork and talent is the punch. The poor fool had both of them. He just didn''t understand their importance." Eren started talking to himself as he synched his footwork with his Fist art. "No he understood it just fine. He just ignored what he had for the most part." Eren''s mind again crafted an analogy rted to his most recent driving experience. Ken''s gift and his hesitancy to use it was akin to an owner with an expensive flying vehicle that they parked at their estateC rarely using it. The butcher felt like even wrecking the flying vehicle in a grandiose manner was a much better choice than simply possessing it only to do nothing noteworthy with it. Eren''s fists started getting imbued in lightning streaks. His legs started getting coated in orange mes. His punches started straying away from Ken''s signature moves bit by bit. The butcher was adjusting Ken''s Fist Arts for his own use. "In due time, I''ll show him how his gift should have been used." Chapter 1042 Eren Meets Cedrick ''Someone is using a Perk on you, Eren.'' Alephee reported Eren after she sensed some interference acting on him from the Sansara World. She couldn''t identify which Perk was being used. However, she was certain that it had been activated. Eren stopped his gyro vehicle when he heard Alephee''s heads-up. He felt puzzled and scratched his jaw and checked out his Sansara interface. He did not have a debuff on him. So it could only mean that someone outside his team was trying to contact him using an unknown Perk he didn''t have. Or it could be that someone was trying to locate his current position using some unknown Perk. The gyro vehicle he was using was bought using Karma points. It was a one-person vehicle that had a very distinctive look. It hadpact dimensions while allowing him to ride itfortably. Behind the vehicle were two pixie-like wings that could be controlled to move in any direction. Eren was wearing eye-protector gear to sustain the wind pressure he had to face because of riding such a vehicle. He also wore a simple leather jacket because it came paired with eye gear. He had to admit that it was a liberating experience riding this single-person vehicle, even more than the expensive flying vehicle he had wrecked not too long ago. Not only did it make traversing this vast world easier, but it also allowed him to enjoy the ride. The vehicle was dangerous to ride for normal rankers because it attracted a lot of attention with its peculiar mana signature and operating sound. And since it offered no additional protection, the rider could be easily targeted by long-range attacks. Or the participants could simply set a booby trap in the area using their Perks that would get triggered as soon as the vehicle passed over it. However, Eren didn''t care about attracting attention. In fact, he wanted to do exactly that. He wanted the participants to attack him so he could keep on earning more Karma points for three people including him. Therefore, the vehicle was an ideal fit for him. Eren was still southbound. He knew the rough locations of a few ces in the Sansara World. And maps of nearby ces could be unlocked in the Sansara interface using Karma points. The butcher was checking them out using a rough grid search. He had no way of contacting Ivor because the guy had changed his identity and he wasn''t aware of it. Plus, normalmunication methods didn''t work inside the Sansara World. The participants needed to be within the same team or have the necessary Perk to contact one another. Even after having the necessary Perk, one must possess a certain Sansaramunication key to establish a connection. He had to search for Ivor and Jason manually. The butcher was sure that he would be able to find Ivor and Jason eventually as more Perks became avable with the overall level-ups of the participants. However, finding Jason and eliminating him at the start of the game took priority. Eren didn''t want to let the Duke''s son get too strong inside the Sansara World. He and Ivor only had maybe one shot at killing him. If Jason managed to gather some weird Perk, their n to eliminate him would have to be scrapped. This was not the oue Eren wanted under any circumstances. He had evenpromised his own progress to prioritize finding Jason and Ivor as a result. Eren stabilized his gyro vehicle and killed its movement. He had stopped his vehicle in an open area that had no hiding spots for miles on end. It offered him an unobstructed view of the destendscape. The pixie-like translucent wings behind the vehicle stopped pping when he did that. The vehicle had many elemental runes on it, most of which belonged to the fire and wind elements. Eren took out his Sativa Stick and lit it up by bringing it neatly to the fire-element rune under the vehicle''s seating arrangement. He took a long drag and looked around him as he waited for the "guests" to arrive. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Eren''s wait was over as soon as he could finish his Sativa Stick. Guests started arriving in droves. These participants used gyro pads. They skated on these floating devices. Eren raised his eyebrows when he saw the number of participants who had arrived at the scene to greet him. Alehee confirmed that they were not wearing elven masks. Meaning all of them were rankers from Edinburgh and genuine students from any of the five academies. ''Alephee, when did I fuck with them? Do you remember any of them?'' The participants looked at Eren as if he was their sole target, an impression that puzzled Eren. The infiltrators from Layos at least had a reason to attack him because of how influential he was. However, as far as he could tell, he had not messed up with any of the rankers from Edinburgh. At least not enough to warrant such arge-scale targeted attack. ''Not really. Nheless, I can tell most of them are from Royal Ren given their real ranking statuses which are hampered by Sansara World''s restrictions.'' Eren released a dense amount of smoke through his nostrils as he tried to find anything that he did that was rted to Royal Ren. ''Altashia? No Wait I killed Rehaal Renar who was from Royal Ren.'' Eren smiled as he zeroed in on a possibility. "Someone from Edinburgh''s royal scions is after me." Eren had said this in a low voice. But there was someone within the group surrounding him that heard it loud and clear. "That''s correct." A man who looked like Rodrick Renar came forward on his gyro pad. He stopped at a safe distance away from Eren and introduced himself with a smile on his face. "We finally met, Eren Elijah Idril. My name is Ceddick Renar. I have a proposition for" Eren shook his head and sighed as if he had already yed this game before. He cut Cedrick off by speaking in a carefree manner. "I am not releasing Rodrick Renar. Do what you want." Chapter 1043 “You Should See The Other Guys” ''Fuck I hate this ce.'' Becky thought to herself as she was being treated by Ana for her severe injuries. The White Raven crew had just fought the Nightshade Academy squad. All her opponents were experts at casting long-range spells while maintaining a safe distance. Ramy Richards was the only one who could handle his opponents effectively. Because there were no berserkers or closebat experts closing in on the opponents, the White Raven crew struggled a lot to defeat these participants. As a result of Ana and Jake''s strong support, the White Raven''s main team was able to hold its ground. Otherwise, things would have turned in another direction. "So long mate hope we see each othew once again outside of thispetition." Ramy Richards was the one who delivered the decisive blow to the enemy captain. He let the Sansara World''s defense mechanism kick in, which prevented the enemy captain from dying in real life. Ramy Richards had made a deep impression on his opponents'' minds after he fought with them. The sound-element knight was bing very adept at using the Sansara World''s Perks with his attacks. It was not something everyone could do easily after all. "Haha. There it is. Another g!" In the event that the defense mechanism gets activated on fallen opponents, everything in the enemy captain''s storage will be left behind. Ramy Richards stored everything from the enemy captain''s storage in his storage before picking up the team g. Steve appeared behind Ramy all of a sudden and raised his hand. Ramy Richardsughed before handing him the g. "You awe falling behind, Stevey. I might whoop youw ass in a fwiendly fiwe by the end of this week if you don''t level up." Steve snorted at Ramy''s open challenge. Having overexerted himself in his fight, he was barely standing on his two feet. And he still had the tenacity to provoke the real captain of his team. The berserker was about to say something to the knight. However, he shut his mouth when he sensed something. He quickly essed his Sansara interface and saw the amount of Karma points he had received from Eren. Steve was shocked by speechlessness. He looked around to find Renita who had appeared beside Ana. Steve could tell that Renita was also shocked by the amount of Karma points she had received. "Is hemitting massacres all by himself?" Steve mumbled to himself and got serious all of a sudden. He felt that a huge responsibility was weighing down on him every time he received Karma points from Eren. The amount made it clear to the berserker that Eren had put all his efforts into supporting his team even though he was away from it. It also made him realize that Eren was serious when he said that he wanted to im every Sage legacy the event had to offer. He could not earn this many Karma points with half-assery. And this was no ordinary crowd inside Sansara World. So the fact that Eren was delivering on his word despite the obstacles ced against him elevated his image in Steve''s mind. Anyone can make bold statements. But it takes courage and dedication to take steps in the right direction to make those bold statements be a reality. Steve clenched his fists before deciding to use the Karma points that were sent to him. He spent all of his Karma points leveling up in one go. Renita also did the same. Ramy stoppedughing at Steve when he saw that thetter was quickly raising his levels. Before long, Steve reached Ramy''s level before surpassing him by a single level. "What were you saying, punk?" Steve raised his eyebrows after he was done with his level-ups. Ramyughed awkwardly before pping the berserker''s back. "I I was just messing with you, Stevey. Why? Haha. Why so serious? Anyway I betta get myself healed. These injuwies awe serious, you know." Saying that Ramy started walking towards Ana. However, he had to stop in his tracks when he felt a rock-like hand press down on his shoulders. "I''m sure a few more injuries wouldn''t make Ana''s job too difficult. You wanted to spar with me for a long time. Today''s your lucky day, my boy. What say we exchange a few moves?" Ramy regretted acting like a loudmouth in front of Steve. He knew that thetter wouldn''t take no for an answer. Becky was also shocked by Steve and Renita''s multiple level-ups. She felt like she had been pped in the face by Eren. That''s because the butcher had made a supposedly disastrous strategy work for him. This was the same strategy she had raised strong objections to. "Steve! Ramy! This is not the time for sparring. Let''s go. Bel, start tracking our next set of targets. We need to target one more team by the end of the day. The more gs we collect at the beginning, the better it will be for all of us." Due to Steve''s disengagement from the actual battle, Becky was leading the team by proxy. She felt that she also needed to prove herself by ensuring the team''s survival to the veryst day." Becky dished out hermands like a pro. She had dreamed of having this much authority over the entire team for so long. She was getting drunk on the feeling it brought her. *** "Don''t you dare! Don''t dare take a step. You know who I am, right? Renar! My name''s Cedrick Re Aaaaaaargh!" Cedrick''s throat was pierced before he could finish his sentence. The next thing his body was subjected to was the butcher''s Unlimited Knife Works. The dagger he was using broke into multiple pieces before he could make mincemeat out of Cedrick''s upstanding dead body. Cedrick''s mangled corpse fell to the ground lifeless when Eren''s perk came to an unnatural halt. The butcher''s hands were only left with the hilts of the daggers. He threw them away when he figured out there was no point using Karma points to fix them. It was time to buy a new set of daggers. ''They really did a number on you.'' Alephee spoke to Eren in a voice coated with concern after thest member of Cedrick''s team had been dealt with. Thetter was bleeding from multiple severe injuries. He had many daggers, arrows, and other weapons lodged in his body from various angles. ''Kekeke. You should see the other guys.'' The butcher started walking away from the kill site he had just created. Behind him were the butchered corpses of his fallen enemies. It looked like someone had openly sacrificed people in some demonic ritual. The butcher only had one thought running through his mind at this point. That he needed a warm shower and some delicious food to eat. All the "Karma Points farming" he had to do made him hungry. Chapter 1044 Jason Vs Bert Chu Day 6. A green valley surrounded by a distant mountain range. Around 5 PM. A small patch ofnd in this region had been destabilized by the rankers'' fight. There were many residual mana signatures in the surroundings. The spread of new mana signatures just kept on going. Meaning the fight between two groups of rankers was still ongoing. "Aaaaargh!" Veronica cried in pain when she sustained a fatal sword wound below her ribs. She looked more emotionally hurt than physically hurt. A tinge of sadness could be seen in her eyes. Veronica was the same ranker who was with Ivor and Jason, forming a team with them. She had traveled from the city of Osan to the city of Lionhearts with the group. After Ivor was branded the Butcher of Osan Woods, she stuck with Jason and began attending Royal Ren from her second academic year on. Veronica was devastated because the one who had attacked her was none other than JasonC the person whom she hade to trust the most in recent years. "I am sorry, Veronica. I didn''t have a choice." Jason spoke solemnly as he shed his sword to clear the blood from Veronica''s body. He then looked at Bert who had been a pain in the ass to deal with up until this point. Veronica and Bert both fell to their knees at the same time. It looked like Bert had also sustained simr injuries to his torso despite the golden armor he was wearing. *** Jason had used a special Ability of his to hurt Bert even after he was seen wearing the Armor of Pride. With his Ability, he could link two of his opponents together so that they could share each other''s injuries. Whatever damage he inflicted on one opponent, it would get mirrored onto the body of his second opponent. This was Jason''s Ability as a demonic ranker. Arthur was always fond of lost paths that led further into the ranking journey. And he didn''t shy away from using his capable son as a test subject for such paths. After all, the test subject needed to be capable and closely rted to him to derive tangible and usable deductions from the experiments. Arthur gave up on making himself or his son turn into a half-blood after the Osan Woods'' Butcher fiasco. He started studying Demonmir''s case in the kingdom''s protected archives and found a way to perform a demon-summoning ritual for his son Jason. Jason also willingly took part in the ritual. He considered it a necessity to survive against the threat of his step-siblings and their mother who was the Duke''s official wife. He could see his father''s selfishness just fine. Most of the time he chose to ignore it to rise above his circumstances. Jason could always deal with Arthur if he bes capable enough to exact his revenge on him in the future. This was why he was even more desperate for power than his father. He had suffered enough at the hands of his own close family. His real mother was no longer alive. So he took sce in the pursuit of power. The demon-summoning ritual was sessful. And Jason received a demon soul fragment from a very capable demon. As a result, he possessed such a demonic ability. Jason knew that there would be negative repercussions if anyone found out that he was a demonic ranker. So he seldom used his Ability after receiving it. However, things were a bit different at this point. And he was forced to use his Ability to take care of Bert. Jason was on a hunt with his small group of the team when he fell into a booby trap set by Bert and Morty. It seemed like the two had spent a lot of Karma points to get a powerful Perk. The booby trap worked well for Bert and Morty. They managed to severely injure Jason''s team as a whole. Jason and Veronica somehow managed to escape. However, the rest of their teammates were killed by Ivor and Morty. It was clear to Jason and Veronica both that Bert wanted to actually kill Jason without triggering Sansara World''s defense mechanism. Rather than killing Veronica for good, Bert specifically targeted Jason. Jason retaliated hard against Bert''s team. Additionally, he attacked with the intention of killing. The battle mage would have killed Morty for good if Bert hadn''t disturbed him. As a result of that interference, Morty was taken away by the world''s defense mechanism. Meaning, Morty had to leave the battle zone, leaving Bert all alone with Jason and Veronica. But at least Morty prevented himself from getting killed. After the cannon fodder was taken away, Bert, Veronica, and Jason were the only three rankers left in the surroundings. No matter how hard Jason tried, he just couldn''t eliminate Bert after thetter donned his golden armor. He recognized it to be an otherworldly Ability. So he used his own Ability to counter Bert''s unfair advantage and finally managed to hurt him by bypassing the armor protection altogether. There was only one problem with Ivor''s n. Bert did note with many rankers to attack him. And Morty had been basically kicked out of the event. Thus, Jason was not able to use his Ability on him. Jason''s life was in danger because of Bert''s life-threatening attacks. And all of their attacks failed to injure Bert in any way. At this point, it could be assumed that Bert had taken all the preventive measures possible to make Jason fight with him and stay in the region. Jason started getting desperate until he finally decided to link up Veronica with Bert using his Ability. His Ability had a demonic nature. After showing it, he had to kill Veronica anyway. So he bid his time and used her as much as he could before finally finding the right time to employ the girl as a way to hurt Bert. Veronica looked at Jason with injustice written on her face. Thetter sighed beforementing. "Don''t look at me like that, my dear. You know who we battled just now, right? That appearance isn''t enough to fool me." Chapter 1045 [Bonus ] Jason Vs The Real Deal Jason looked at Veronica and Ivor with an emotionless face before speaking up. "Bert Chu, my ass. Those moves and that stare. I can clearly feel that it is Ivor. The guy is set on killing me for his personal grudge. I guess he didn''t take it very well when I abandoned him inside Purgatory." Jason clenched his fists and forcefully dispelled Ivor''s mana trying to invade his body through the injuries. After all, he had been wounded by Ivor''s attacks. Ivor would have managed to mortally harm him with his next move if he hadn''t used his Ability in such a crafty manner. The Duke''s son hade to realize that harming Ivor while he was wearing the Armor of Pride was nearly impossible. Plus, he was also a bit intimidated by Ivor''s identity as the butcher. So he walked closer to the fallen Veronica and spoke up. "I don''t want to test my luck any more than I have to against the fabled Osan Woods'' butcher. Plus, my father would offer me more benefits if he finds out that I took care of him inside the Sansara World. I don''t know how he managed to get inside the event or who gave him the courage to do so. But that can be found out after he is dead." Veronica wanted to register the injustice she felt. But it was cut short even before it began by Jason''s next words. "I know it is unfair to you. I really do. But you''d have to forgive me for being cautious. I''m only doing this for my own survival. I hope you can understand." Ivor startedughing when he heard Jason speak to Veronica. He had to say that the Duke''s son wasn''t as gullible as he had thought. Ivor looked at Veronica and felt some pity for her. The girl was unjustly tangled in their mess just by being with Jason. And she was going to die because of her mistake in trusting Jason. The Duke''s son had not only betrayed Ivor but also managed to backstab Veronica in the end, no matter how valid his reasons for doing so might be. Ivor removed his Elven mask. There was no point in using the mask or trying to hide his identity at this point. He dispelled his Sin Series Ability before speaking in a grim voice. "Veronica had nothing to do with this conflict, Jason. Spare her. If you want to kill me, that''s fine. Come and get it. But let the girl go." Veronica and Jason both were shocked by Ivor''s move. The Duke''s son made an "I''m impressed" face beforementing. "I''m sorry, guys. I don''t want to let the fact out that I''m a demonic ranker. At least not yet. My step-siblings would try to use that against me. But I didn''t take Osan Woods'' Butcher to be such a kind-hearted soul. It''s a bit shocking if you ask me." Saying this, Jason stabbed Veronica once again with the tip of his sworda" this time near right above her belly button. The girl screamed some more and tried to get away from her attacker. But too bad, Jason had already used a Perk on her. Ivor spat a mouthful of blood as he felt his internal organs being damaged by Jason''s attack on Veronica. He didn''t know Jason was such a sadistic person. He could only conclude that turning into a demonic ranker had changed his psyche a bit. Ivor was about to don his Armor of Pride and battle Jason till hisst breath. He wanted to die an honorable death while fighting. But suddenly he felt something. He looked around him as if to confirm something. The fake Bert Chu startedughing when he found something out. He shed a wicked smile with his bloody teeth beforementing. "You are shocked, huh? Well... don''t be. Because I''m not the Osan Woods'' Butcher." Jason was about to stab Veronica with his sword. But he stood still when he heard something strange from Ivor. The guy had removed his mask in front of Jason. He didn''t think Ivor would lie at this point. "What do you mean? Who is...." Blink. Swoosh. Stab. "I am." A casual voice was heard from Jason''s behind. The Duke''s son was startled by that presence. But by the time he could respond, he found out that his throat had been slit by someone. The newly appeared figure spun around Jason and stabbed his vital spots in one go. The reverse spin also took ce and Jason felt his body being stabbed once again. The attacks were too fast for Jason to follow with his pain receptors. He was yet to see the face of the person who had metaphorically pped a "you are already dead" sticky note over his forehead. The attacks took ce one after another. And nobody could see who was attacking the Duke''s son. Jason was so psyched by these attacks that he lost control of his mental faculties and the debuff acting on Veronica vanished. By the time the attacks stopped, the Sansara World''s defense mechanism against Veronica had kicked in. With her eyes clenched, the girl was safely teleported away from the scene. As a result, Jason''s Ability on Ivor stopped working. "You.... Ere..." The butcher drove his dagger through Jason''s right cheek and poked it out of his left cheek before he could utter his name. He kept the pierced dagger in ce to make Jason stop speaking. He had attacked all of Jason''s vital spots. But they weren''t enough to kill him. That was because he wasn''t supposed to kill Jason in the first ce. "Sigh*. You couldn''t even take out this easy kill. I''m disappointed in you, Ivor." Jason''s face and Eren''s back were visible to Ivor. He heard Eren''s insults at him, which infuriated him. He coughed something and spat it out before replying with a voice coated in suppressed anger. "You... you were supposed to be here yesterday. Without you, I had to improvise. I had to do everything by myself. I spent most of my Karma points on this job. And you still have the gall toin." Eren scratched the back of his head and shrugged his shoulders before responding. "Yeah. About that. I got held up due to some work." Chapter 1046 Self-Deprecating Sense Of Humor "Yeah. About that. I got held up by some work." Eren said as he looked Jason in the eyes. Thetter was staring daggers at him. So the butcher chuckled before throwing his words back at him. "Don''t look at me like that. I know it is unfair to you. I really do. But you''d have to forgive me for being cautious. I''m only doing this for my own survival. I hope you can understand." Lightning struck and Eren got behind Jason. His kick caused Jason to fly straight toward Ivor. The Duke''s son ended up lying with his face t on the ground in front of a kneeling Ivor. "Here. Finish him." Eren knew that Arthur would try to investigate his son''s death when the word got out. Therefore, Jason needed to be killed at Ivor''s hands. Ivor took out his dagger from storage and looked at the stunned-looking Jason who was suffering from Eren''s mana invasion as well as the debuff ced on him through fatal injuries. "You know Eren, truth has a weird way of revealing itself. Someday... they are bound to know." Ivor sighed as he understood his role in Jason''s killing. He drove his dagger into Jason''s brain by puncturing the epiglottis and severing the carotid artery. By doing so, he guaranteed him a quick death. Jason''s demon soul fragment was forced to slumber from the get-go. So it couldn''t react to his perilous condition at all. It was released from Jason''s body after his death before disappearing from thend of Anfang. Eren had thought of digesting Jason for his demon soul fragment. But he decided to put his selfishness aside. After all, the goal behind killing Jason was to distract Arthur from the existence of Osan Woods'' Butcher. Therefore, he needed to leave Jason''s body intact. The dead bodies of the participants, if they hadn''t been destroyed, would eventually disappear and be sent to a special morgue. They would be well preserved there and could be imed by the participants'' families or friends after the event''spletion. Eren took a sigh of relief when Ivor killed Jason for good. He knew what Ivor was talking about. After taking a deep breath, he replied. "You don''t understand it yet, Ivor. People, in general, are moreplex than you think. They don''t necessarily go out of their way to find something that''s against their beliefs based on previous versions of the truth. Some surface-level truths be so ufortable to hear after some time that the supposed truth-seekers just stop digging. They want to create a bubble offort around themselves after establishing a certain mindset for themselves. These people ignore the truth thates to lightter on. They end up living with the surface-level truth they found for themselves because the truth that''s hiding deep beneath it doesn''t match their current agenda anymore. The rigidity of a mindseta" to put it simply. This rigidity of a mindset is no joke. People that are suffering from it would go out there and start defending the truth they had found long ago. This is when they know it''s not the whole truth anymore. And then they start targeting people who have an open mindset about any form of truth. This may or may not be in line with the truth they havee to possess. Therefore, no matter what happens from now on, you will always bebeled as the Osan Woods'' Butcher by the masses. Even if Ie out and dere myself the real butcher, they''ll onlybel me as a lunatic before moving on. The moral of the story is... that tag will forever stay with you. There''s nothing any of us can do to change it. So we might as well strengthen the lies even further." Eren looked up and stared nkly at the evening sky for a bit. Before adding more, he looked at the orange clouds passing over the region. "Who I''m concerned about are the people in the shadows and those in power. They would fight to protect the lie I had crafted just to save their faces. But their wrath will know no bounds if they evere to know about what I have done." Eren smirked as he thought of how he had yed with the establishment so far. He felt that there were no cultist or rogue rankers alive in recent years that were as sessful as him in alluding to the authorities. "Then again... I shouldn''t worry too much either. ying safe is crucial but gaining strength is even more so." Ivor sighed after hearing Eren''s point of view. He ended up agreeing with him. The closebat expert decided to close the kill site. He had received a lot of Karma points after killing Jason. Jason had leveled up exceptionally well. So ying him was bound to bring Ivor good fortune. Ivor immediately brought a few healing Perks with his recent earnings and fixed himself up before getting up. He stretched his arms a bit before asking Eren. "Did you meet Cedrick?" Eren nodded casually before responding. "I did. Let''s just say that they won''t be able to participate in any more events after this one." Ivor sighed when he heard Eren speak. Ivor''s team was with Cedrick''s group. Since Eren had killed them all, he was bound to get kicked out of thepetition in the next purge. Eren knew what he was thinking about. He chuckled before continuing. "You are technically graduated with distinction even if you get kicked out at this point. Isn''t that what you wanted all along? More importantly, what''s with that weird name?" Eren had bought a simple Perk that would allow him to read the names of the participants above their heads when he was within a few feet of them. He could see the name Bert Chu floating above Ivor''s head in spectral form, which Ivor entered into the Sansara interface. Eren then narrowed his eyes at the spectral name as if he was trying to connect the dots. "Wait a damn minute... Bert Chu? Bert.... Chu... The butcher!" Eren startedughing when he decoded Ivor''s name. "Keke. I never knew you had such a self-deprecating, dark sense of humor." Chapter 1047 Ekulu Rainforest "Kekeke. I never knew you had such a self-deprecating, dark sense of humor." Eren was convinced that Ivor had made peace with his forced identity as the Osan Woods'' Butcher by seeing himself as the deformed version of "the butcher". It was a form of self-deprecation that bordered on self-awareness. Ivor snorted at Eren''s remark before looking at Jason''s corpse. "The participants are dying in a battle between two kingdoms. The infiltrators and the ones running this shitshow are both full of themselves. You are the only one benefiting from all the chaos happening all around you. And I guess you are the reason for the chaos in the first ce. My question is how much of it was nned? And what will you do after you get out of this ce?" Eren understood what Ivor was trying to ask him in a roundabout way. The guy wanted to know about his ns for Eliza after he left Sansara World. Ivor was supposed to head to the city of Lancelot after he got kicked out of the event. He needed to know if the butcher was willing to take him aboard his ns. It was clear to Eren that Ivor didn''t want to choose sides between Eren and Eliza for the most part. But he didn''t want to suffer at the hands of both sides by sitting on the fence either. So he was looking for a way out. He was looking to get assured by either side that his interests and survivability wouldn''t be harmed. Eren and Ivor started talking. The butcher decided to use Ivor actively instead of just treating him as a convenient pawn. Of course, he couldn''t trust him fully. However, he knew that he needed to take a leap of faith with Ivor in some matters for his own benefit. Ivor''s body started shining after a few hours. The purge of participants was taking ce at this point. He was getting kicked out of Sansara World because his team failed to possess the necessary number of gs. The guy wore a mask to conceal his identity beforementing. "I will try to help you as much as I can, Eren. Provided I get something out of it as well. But I can only do so much against a Sage. I hope you''ll consider my limits in the Lazarus project." Ivor had changed into Bert. Heughed mirthlessly and sighed before adding further. "My name is going toe into the limelight once again when this thing blows up. I don''t know if I should take joy in it or plunge myself into depression once again." ? Eren chuckled and waved goodbye to Ivor as he said. "Neither. It might sound riching from me considering I''m the reason for your infamy. But treat it as part of your journeyC nothing less, nothing more. Anyway You better get the fuck away from the capital city before they know about the elven masks. I''ll see you in the city of Lancelot." Ivor nodded before disappearing from Eren''s sight all of a sudden. Eren agreed with Ivor''s mindset. It was better if Ivor helped him willingly, rather than being forced to work. Eren would also be able to keep his ns flexible. That way, he wouldn''t have to depend on Ivor too much. Eren felt that he had made the right use of Ivor at the event. The guy had achieved his goal of confronting Jason and ticking the graduation event off his to-do list. They both knew staying in the Sasara World any longer would be detrimental for him as well as Eren. Ivor couldn''t wait for thepetition to end. Rather than choosing a reputable position, he would prefer tangible benefits frompleting his graduation. Ivor knew that his identity as Robert or Bert Chu was as good as burned. The kingdom of Edinburgh would implement countermeasures against elven masks soon when the news regarding what took ce inside the Sansara World started spreading. Ivor would opt for mary benefits from the event''s organizers, which was considered the least preferred choice for the participants. He would leave the city of Edin safely, avoiding arrest. Shortly, the name Bert Chu would get as much traction as Osan Woods'' Butcher. That''s because the masses would treat Ivor''s event name as a tight p on the kingdom''s face. They would assume that Ivor had entered the event to make fun of the kingdom. Ivor would see the bounty on his head rise to unprecedented levels. His participation in the graduation event was one reason behind this. The other was the fact that he had killed Jason. *** Day 14: Ekulu rain forest. Morning 4.30 AM. It was raining in this region of Sansara World. The downpour hadn''t stopped for thest few days. The rainwater had created various puddles and streams of water on the ground. The trees in the Ekulu forest were unusually dry and lifeless despite the abundance of water and nutrients from the ck soil. The sunlight was unable to prate the region due to gray clouds that didn''t look like they were heading anywhere anytime soon. These settings created a gloomy atmosphere in the region. There was a stench of blood permeating the air as well. However, the smell of blood eventually gets mixed with petrichor, providing the surroundings with a unique note. Due to the showdown between the two teams, a patch of deforestednd has formed in this region. One team consisted of the elf infiltrators while the other was rankers from LA. The showdown hadsted for more than a half hour at this point. It would have taken another half an hour before the winners of the conflicts were decided. The conflict came to an abrupt end when a young man with emerald green eyes intervened. "Oh! Mr. Rouge and Mr. Quake-element tank! Long time no see, guys. Time really flies, doesn''t it?" === AN: Mr. Rouge was mentioned in chapter 169 while the quake-element tank was mentioned in chapter 171. Chapter 1048 Timely Intervention "Oh! Mr. Rouge and Mr. Quake-element tank! Long time no see, guys. Time really flies, doesn''t it?" Eren ignored the evil stares of the elves and greeted his fellow batchmates with a smile on his face. He looked at them with a peculiar look before continuing. "Anyway would you mind giving me these kills? Rest assured that I''ll give them just punishment for their transgressions against your teams." The rogue and the tank had fought with Eren in the past. They both looked at each other to see what each other was thinking. The tank pondered for a bit before speaking up. "Eren. I''m d to see you, man. My name is Jaman in case you don''t remember. As for these kills, are you sure you don''t want to join us? I''m all for sharing Karma points if it''s with you after" The rainy atmosphere made Tank''s voice sound a bit muffled. Eren shook his head in denial, his wet hair sticking to his face. He wiped his face with his hand and interrupted his batchmate''s speech. "I wouldn''t be traveling solo if I was a team yer, Jaman. I would like all of you to leave the area for good and nevere back no matter what happens here." Eren looked at the masked elves and shed a grin before adding up. "They are not who you think they are. And I don''t want to stress you out by divulging their identities just yet. You''ll find out about them eventually. But till that time you just gotta trust me." Eren didn''t think he should spread the truth about the Elven masks just yet. Things would be a bit difficult for him to hunt them down if the moderators present inside the Sansara World came to know about them. They might not eliminate them by hand. But they would start keeping an eye on the infiltrators all the same. Therefore, Eren decided to keep the identities of the infiltrators mysterious. He took out his Sativa Stick, coated it with his fire-element mana, and lit it up amid the rain. Taking a long drag of smoke, he continued. "I''m not asking for any handouts or anything in return, am I? In fact, one might say I''m doing you a favor. All your opponents'' struggles are fake. These participants would have killed you all for real had I waited a few more minutes. Not that I''m questioning your skills. The fact that these "participants" havee for you is evidence enough that they consider you to be a future threat. However, in life, not all those who have talent be sessful. Not all those who are physicallyrge and strong survive. Survivales to those who are adaptive to life''s changes. Simple as that. So, what will it be?" Eren asked while releasing a lungful of smoke into the air. The downpour changed the smoke''s path a bit. But it wasrgely unaffected. The Tank and Rogue came to a unanimous decision to take Eren up on his offer. Most of them had alreadye to realize that their participants were acting a bit weirdly while fighting with them. It was as if they were creating an arrayyout with their moves using some unknown mechanism. They were waiting for the arrayyout toplete so that they could get rid of all their opponents in one go. That''s right. The infiltrators were working on activating a battle formation while the Rogue and Tank''s squads were unaware of it. Eren intervened at the right time before the battle formation waspleted, preventing the infiltrators from clearing many names off their hit list. Eren had already seen the might of a battle formation when he had shed with Oliver''s team. Argo had to awaken his demon soul fragment at that moment to break the battle formation. The butcher didn''t want to overexert himself by allowing his targets to get stronger through the activation of battle formations. His motto was always simpleC get rid of enemies when they were at their weakest. The Rogue and the Tank had only studied the theories of battle formations in LA. However, that handicap didn''t stop them from confirming Eren''s analysis. Eren''s batchmates agreed to Eren''s request. They even thanked him for his intervention before deciding to leave the battlefield. *** The Rogue and Tank hade to understand how capable Eren was after their fights with him. The on-field assignments allowed them to evaluate their battle styles as a whole. It also enabled them to understand that the struggles Eren had disyed in the ranking wars were the same kind of struggles they had to go through in real-life battles. Eren was several steps ahead of themon students in LA right from his first year. Plus, he had a way of getting things he wanted from everybody by persuasion or force. Eren had also established a city of his own, elevating him from the status of amoner. If someone like him requests something so simple, it would be in their best interest to grant their wish. The Rogue had grown back his chopped nose by this point. Still, he felt like the wound was still fresh when he looked at the conniving son of a bitch that was Eren. It was Eren who cut his nose to provoke him after all. The Rogue agreed with the Tank''s decision as well. Rather, he felt that they needed to maintain a safe distance from Eren. The guy looked more dangerous to him than the whole team of elven infiltratorsbined. *** All the participants from LA retreated. In the end, Eren became the sole opponent for all of the elven infiltrators. The infiltrators didn''t want the Rogue and Tank''sbined team to leave. But they couldn''t just follow them or make sudden moves because of the half-done battle formation. If they tried to move in the wrong direction, the formation would hurt them instead. === AN: Battle formation was exined in chapter 964. Chapter 1049 Ultimate Hidden Reward Knowledge-based action, when performed the right way at the right time, has the power to change the flow of any event. Eren had started studying battle formations ever since he encountered one in real life. He was afraid to admit that Oliver''s battle formation had intimidated him. The butcher had started seeing anyck of knowledge as an obstacle that needed to be ovee. He was like nk paper when he first saw the battle formation''s real-time deployment. Combating with a battle formation was like fighting a wild bull with brute strength. Even if he could win the fight, he wouldn''te out of the sh unharmed. Therefore, Eren decided to dig deeper into this field that he had practically no knowledge of. Being a student of a kingdom-certified academy as well as being influential with money, he had ess to various studies done on battle formations and the study of arrays. He started grasping the knowledge hidden in them one step at a time. However, he couldn''t be an expert in battle formation overnight. In particr, he was weak in the field of arrays. This was the reason he wanted to im Sansara Sage''s legacy the most among all the others. In other words, it was a shortcut to save years ofborious work. Lin Lehan was a one-of-a-kind array expert of his time. Eren would be able to progress far more in the field of arrays if he acquired Sansara Sage''s legacy. And since the field was connected to various other branches of magic, it would allow the butcher to get rid of many of his weaknesses. He will also be able to use the Sage legacy for the uing Lazarus project. They were the must-have cards the butcher wanted to have in his hand before doing anything against the sleeping monster that was House Lancelot. This time, Eren was helped by Alephee in determining the battle formation''s weakness and that the infiltrators were in the process of deployment. He appeared right at the formation''s operating point. He then interfered with itswork by injecting his soul sense into it under Alephee''s guidance. The homunculus was also helping Eren gain knowledge of battle formations and arrays in general. She knew these subjects were his most highlighted weak points. So she was exining a bunch of things to him as she guided him into disrupting the infiltrators'' surefire move. Eren knew that the war was drawing closer. The way he was targeting the elven scions from Layos was only serving to expedite its arrival. Therefore, he didn''t want to harm Edinburgh''s forces if he could avoid it. Most of the surviving participants inside the Sansara World intend to choose positions of power within the kingdom''s fold after the event''spletion. Killing them or letting them get killed here would mean weakening Edinburgh in the long run. Eren cared about the kingdom''s well-being because most of his assets were based inside it. That''s why he let the original participants survive the sh with him. Rogue and Tank benefit greatly from Eren''s pragmatism. They managed to stay safe despite encountering a powerful group of elven infiltrators. *** The deployment of battle formations became the infiltrators'' shackles. It forced them to watch Eren''s batchmates leave the area with their clenched fists. They came to realize that the green-eyed man in front of them was aware of their battle formation because of the moment he chose to intervene in their matter. The infiltrators couldn''tplete the battle formation anymore because they needed many rankers acting as ry points for the ethereal arrayyout to work. Without many of the opponents serving their roles within the formation, the battle formation would actually fry the operators instead of the ry points. With some chants and hand signs, the infiltrators halted the battle formation. Eren also allowed them to do just that. The task was akin to diffusing a time bomb. The butcher did not want to disturb them while they dispersed the formation because he could be hurt. "Hahaha. This small mosquito thinks he can take care of all of us." A buff man who looked to be in his early 20s came forward and decided to challenge Eren. Thetter had nothing to fear because the possibility of the enemy deploying a battle formation was eliminated. He just stretched his limbs and used the Spatial Domain Lock Perk before making a move. Bzzt. Swoosh. Chop. Eren moved like a ghost and started his killing spree. After all, he preferred to respond to his enemies'' intimidation through action. The butcher switched between various weapons, elemental spells, perks, and overall battle styles to handle multiple enemies of all kinds. The enemies this time were too many to count. Thus, having secured the location through various perks and Alephee''s powers, he also began to use his summoning ss. The summoned creatures made Eren''s job easy. They allowed him to focus on a particr group and deal with them one by one. The butcher also wanted to use his monster forms in his fights after securing the ce. After all, he could keep multiple Blood Seeds in his body and activate them at any point since his promotion to Expert rank. However, Alephee told Eren not to use his Blood Seeds in the Sansara World. The moderators could sense the peculiar mana signatures generated by the usage of such magic, thanks to the array of mechanisms they were in control of. Puddles of blood started forming on the ground with each passing second as Eren started operating on the infiltrators. The organs danced in the air as Elven screams became the default music for such a gory scene. *** The butcher had outdone himself in terms of raking up Karma points with his recent battle. He was left with loads of Karma points even after dividing them into three equal portions and sending two of them to his teammates. "Found it. I found their n. Damn... this could be called the ultimate hidden reward of the Sansara World." Chapter 1050 [Bonus ] Another Sin Series Mark? "Damn this could be called the ultimate hidden reward of the Sansara World." Eren mumbled to himself as he flipped through the memories of the leader of all the elven scions who had infiltrated the event. This was why he was targeting these infiltrators in the first ce. The Elven royal scions and theirckeys were not the only ones infiltrating this event. The senior rankers of the kingdom of Layos had also entered the Sansara World so that they could extract something from it. Through the memories of his recent kill, Eren realized that the Sansara World was hiding a special ce inside it. The kingdom of Layos had been trying to get to this ce and steal something valuable ever since it got into conflict with the kingdom of Layos. This ce offered ess to the lost path of magic. This path of magic was something Eren was very familiar with at this point. The butcher licked his lips and smiled wickedly as he thought of using the infiltrators'' n for his own gains. He couldn''t help feeling excited at the mere thought of getting his hands on this reward. Eren thought perhaps he should kill these elven bastards as gently as possible from now on to thank them. After all he had a chance to get another Sin Series mark because of them. *** Eren learned why the kingdom of Layos had hired Midnight Moon as a distraction. And why it had sneaked in so many prominent rankers within the kingdom of Edinburgh in the first ce. The Delva Gorge incident. Attack on Healers'' Nirvana. Also, in Eren''s past timeline, cultists attacked Silvermoon and killed Arizihana Agnoth. Everything revolves around this special ce hidden within the Sansara World. *** The Delva Gorge incident saw the cultists from Midnight Moon escape the kingdom of Edinburgh''s clutches. These cultists were guided by the royal scions of Layos. They had been using the Midnight Moon as their arms and legs to facilitate the infiltration of prominent rankers from Layos. The rankers who escaped from Delva Gorge attacked Healers'' Nirvana. This was because the guild was led by Jiana Jihang. Jiana Jihang was the daughter of the two prominent rankers who had settled into the kingdom of Edinburgh after their exit from the kingdom of Layos. Jiana''s father was part of the royal family of Layos. So he had a lot of followers when he traveled to the kingdom of Edinburgh. Jaina''s father moved to Edinburgh because the city was prepared to shield him from the royal feud between his cousins at the time. The kingdom kept its promise and allowed Jiana''s parents to prosper. In addition, they yed a huge role in Edinburgh''s affairs. Jiana''s parents helped the kingdom of Edinburgh in exchange for sheltering them andpleting all the tasks they had been assigned. They then left everything to Jiana before trying to break into the Sage ranks. Jiana was hated by the royal family of Layos because she was the daughter of Layos'' supposed traitors. The hate was passed down to the current generation''s royal scions. Most of them didn''t even know why they were told to target Jiana''s guild in the first ce. They just followed up on their orders and attacked Healers'' Nirvana with all their might. Layos'' royal family did not only target Jiana out of hate. Jiana''s parents were very respected among the elfmunity in the kingdom of Edinburgh. ording to the kingdom of Layos, Jiana''s parents were shown how to get to the special ce hidden within the Sansara World through an entrance in Silvermoon. The royalty of Layos wanted Jiana''s help in finding the hidden entrance. Even if she didn''t know about such an entrance, she could always look for clues in the stuff her parents left behind for her. Almost everyone in the upper echelon of both kingdoms knew how Jiana was as a ranker. She was a tough nut to crack. But she had her weaknesses when it came to her guild members. So her guild could be targeted to force her into doing what they wanted from her. Sadly for the kingdom of Layos, Jiana just dissolved her guild and assimted into the White Raven guild. And Eren just fucked everybody who showed even remotely ill intentions towards his city and his guild. Jiana didn''t have a weakness the Layos royalty could exploit anymore. Layos'' rankers and royal scions who had infiltrated the kingdom of Edinburgh attended the graduation instead. They thanked their stars for arranging such an event for them to enter the Sansara World. The infiltrators gave up on targeting Jiana and focused on killing the real participants in the event. All so that they could take their ce using the elven masks and enter in their stead. The alternate n was a huge sess. Even cultist organizations like the Beast Bloods had a vague knowledge of the hidden entrance, which opened inside the city of Silvermoon. It just didn''t know for sure where it led or what the ce had to offer. But Beast Bloods was certain that the ce had something to do with unlocking a lost path of magic that had been banned from Anfang for a very long time. Because of that, it gave a spiked potion recipe to the city protector at the time, Arizihana Agnoth. It then attacked the city of Silvermoon in Eren''s past timeline. The Beast Bloods were determined to find the entrance to this special ce in the city of Silvermoon. That''s why it had set up a secret base there. The same secret base that Eren had purged and got JJ Edgar''s diary from. Even JJ Edgar was looking for a way to get to the special ce as well. That''s why he used the Beast Bloods'' hideout to perform surveince. The Beast Bloods didn''t know what had happened to Edgar. However, they were unable to locate him after some time. And he never came back to retrieve his belongings. Therefore, they remodeled his office inside the cultist base and scrapped most of his stuff, including his journal. A lot of time would pass before Eren came to possess his journal at the cultist base near the city of Silvermoon in his current timeline. === AN: Chapter 655 foreshadows the city of Silvermoon being attacked by cultists to find the entrance to the special ce. Chapter 1051 Payir And Lako Eren ended up affecting the current timeline in more ways than one with his groundbreaking moves. By curing Arizihana of the side effects of using the spiked potion, he first prevented her death. Eventually, he ended up hiring her. Arizihana had served as a very popr city protector for the city despite her rtively low-ranking status. Her absence and the absence of her iconic image prompted the city of Silvermoon to bolster its defenses. The butcher also destroyed the Beast Bloods'' hideout and weakened its influence in the region close to the city of Silvermoon. He then ended up creating a tussle between the Beast Bloods and the Illuminati after his exit from Purgatory. That affected the Beast Bloods'' ability to have designs on the city of Silvermoon. The Illuminati started studying Beast Bloods after it got into conflict. Through this study, the Illuminati also came to suspect that the city of Silvermoon was hiding the entrance to the special ce that offered ess to the lost path of magic. The cultists, no matter which organization they belonged to, were crazy about the lost path of magic. The Illuminati was no different. It also started targeting the city of Silvermoon. The strange thing was that a cultist organization followed in the Illuminati''s footsteps even without knowing what the city contained. It was like a series of chain events that kept unfolding one after another. The constant attacks on the city frustrated the city administration. The city hired prominent rankers as its city guards, which put an end to the streak of attacks. Both sides stopped escting things any further because they both knew it wasn''t in anyone''s long-term interest to continue the conflict. One could say that Jiana had saved her guild members as well as her sanity by dissolving her guild into Eren''s. He did not allow the infiltrators from Layos to hurt the ex-Healers'' Nirvana members. Heunched preemptive strikes at Midnight Moon and caused bombing incidents in the kingdom of Layos. The terrorist did the only thing he knew bestC cause terror in the hearts of his opponents. And by doing so, he obliterated the pressure that was intended to press Jiana down. ? The noblest intentions can sometimes lead to the most dreadful of oues. However, the opposite was true as well. Dreadful acts can sometimes prevent further esction of violence. *** Day 16: The graduation event was halfway over. More than 5000 teams from all five academies had entered the Sansara World at the beginning of the event. Less than 1500 teams were still active in the separate dimension at this point. Thepetition would only be more difficult towards the end of the event. A region in the Sansara World covered in ice and snow. The sparse green vegetation as well as rocky terrain of the region were nketed in a thickyer of ice. The scene looked frozen and timeless. There were no participants supposed to be present in this region. Because this region was not easily essible for them in the first ce. The region was not shown in the maps avable for participants through the Sansara interface. So participants couldn''t use normal ways of navigating the region. In short, the participants refrained from setting foot in this region. And no sane ranker would try to explore an unmappednd in the Sansara World either. And yet, an elf was seen leaving footprints in the snow behind as he walked towards an unknown destination. This elf had shoulder-length light brown hair and light gray eyes. His ears were not prominently elf-like. But nobody would confuse him for a human considering his aura. This elf added to the stereotypes about elves in general. Meaning he had all the pretty features that were usually associated with his race. The young man also had an air of royalty around him, which set him apart from the normal elf popce. Contrary to his gentle features, the young elf''s expressions were anything but gentle and weing. He looked angry at someone or something. He looked everywhere around him from time to time as if searching for some sort ofndmark to know where he was exactly. "Your Highness Payir? What are you doing here? And why are you exploring the Sansara World without your mask?" Another elf appeared behind the gray-eyed young elf. This elf looked older and sharper. He had white hair and long ears. The man looked to be in his mid-40s and had a nimble physique. He was wearing light metallic armor and carried a long spear in his right hand. The spear had a long and curved de attached to it. "Oh! Uncle Lako. I''m so d I found you. This shitty ce was beginning to turn me mad with its view." Payir walked up to Lako with hurried steps, a look of relief on his face. He sighed before answering his question. "There''s indeed a reason for me to be in this ce. And that is I am lost. Also, my mask was damaged in a recent fight. So I can''t wear it. Fret not. Nobody among the participants recognized me. So it''s fine I guess." Payir pursed his lips and replied, leaving Lako speechless for a moment. It took a while for Lako toment on Payir''s condition. "Your Highness Payir... you are a top contender for Layos'' throne. You shouldn''t be this careless. You have been sent here to gain experience. So you should focus on doing just that by clearing the targets off the hit list. And you should have stayed further away from this ce. I hope you remember what we discussed about our n before infiltrating the kingdom of Edinburgh. This is the exact ce we talked about in our n." Payir looked around himself one more time as ifing to terms with a newfound realization provided by Lako. He scratched his head and smiled awkwardly before answering. "My bad uncle Lako. I didn''t want toe here. But I guess I subconsciously started looking for this ce after I was separated from my team with debuffs acting on all of us." Payir gave Lako a brief overview of how he was separated from his team. Thetter had no reason to doubt the former. He sighed as he felt that the royal scions from Layos were still a bit immature when it came to handling such tough situations. "Anyway now that I''m here I might as well see you guys live in action. ording to you uncle Lako, my first responsibility is to gain various types of experience. And there''s no better way for me to do that than to see you kill Rufus Rodriguez with my own eyes." Chapter 1052 Ambushing Rufus Thend of snow and ice. A ranker was seen waiting for somebody under arge juniper tree covered in heavy snowfall. He seemed a bit stressed, as if afraid of what was bound to happen next. This ranker looked old and way past his heyday. He was wearing a simple white tunic paired with white pants, which made him almost invisible against an all-white background all around him. Most LA participants would have recognized this old man if they met him inside Sansara World. This ranker''s name was Nichs Scott. He had served as the receptionist for the Novice''s Treasury in LA. He was the same old man who had sold Eren his various Novice spells in the first year. Nichs didn''t have to wait long. Soon, a ranker appeared beside him and looked around before asking. "Nichs, this is the ce where you sensed elven magic, right?" Rufus asked while feeling uneasy in his heart for some reason. Being a Grandmaster ranker, his attainments in various fields were nothing to scoff at. It was as if his subconscious mind could talk to the world around him and tell him about what was happening around him in a non-verbal fashion. All he needed to do was listen and interpret. And at this point, his senses were telling him to get away from this ce. They sensed trouble heading his way. However, he was selected as the head of the moderators inside Sansara World by Hansen Lehan. He couldn''t just shirk his responsibilities and wait for thepetition to end. Although one could argue that he had done just that until this point since nobody prompted him about anything except Nichs. Nichs reported to Rufus that there was some unusual activity being conducted in the unmapped region of the Sansara World. Upon arrival, the receptionist reported to Rufus that he had picked up traces of intent-based magic that was especially linked with the elves. Rufus immediately made the connection with the kingdom of Layos in his head after he heard about elven magic. Any activity rted to an enemy kingdom was a serious issue. Therefore, Rufus was forced to take action ande to the site as soon as he could. Grandmaster Rufus knew Master Nichs because they had both worked for the same organization for so many years. Therefore, Rufus came to take action on Nichs'' report as soon as he could. "Yes, Grandmaster Rufus. Follow me." Nichs started leading Rufus into the deeper part of the unmapped region. It was a while before the former stopped in his tracks and showed thetter something by pointing toward it. A stone pir stood in the middle of nowhere in thend of ice and snow. It had various faces of various beasts and monsters carved all over it along with some profound runes. Runes engraved on the stone surface would asionally shine, indicating the stone pir was engaged in its mysterious operation. Rufus started walking towards the pir while Nichs stayed behind. The Master ranker let the Grandmaster entity take the lead from this point onwards. "Hm? You are right, Nichs. It is indeed elven magic. But I don''t understand what it is supposed to do. And what is it doing" Nichs shed a cunning smile when Rufus approached a certain distance from the pir. He stomped his right foot and activated the array that had been kept hidden masterfully up till now. Rufus immediately understood there was something wrong. Being the head of the moderators, he shouldn''t have felt suppressed by the Sansara World''sws. However, the ground cracked beneath Rufus and his ranking status was suddenly suppressed by the Sansara World''sws. Rufus turned around with a mix of puzzle and surprise written on his face. What awaited him was the sight of a calm-looking Nichs smiling cunningly at him. "You. Nichs, you motherfucking traitor" Swoosh. Lako appeared beside Nichs before Rufus could charge at Nichs and engage in battle with him. Rufus stopped himself from charging carelessly after Lako''s appearance. The Grandmaster ranker started observing his surroundings and found out that the restrictions were not just meant to affect him. Nichs and Lako were also restricted by the Sansaraws, turning all of them into Novice rankers. Rufus immediately came to the conclusion that the runic stone pir acted like an amplifier for the Sansara World''s restrictions. The amplification of restrictions overrode his authority as the moderator and turned everyone in the room into Novice rankers, irrespective of their ranking statuses and affiliations. As a result, anyone who enters within a certain range of the pir will be demoted to the same level as the participants on their first day at the event. Rufus assumed that he too would need to start earning Karma points and level up to lift the restrictions ced on him if he stayed near the pir. This was a form of debuff array made using the restrictions of the Sansara World. It was the work of a genius array master who used elven magic as the power source for the array. Rufus was no genius at array creation and its operations. But he was sure that escaping the debuff array''s range would solve the problem for him. Things were still not as grim for Rufus. Or so he thought. Rufus found out that the Sansara interface was not essible to anyone in the debuff array''s range. To add to that, he also started getting surrounded by a bunch of elf rankers from the kingdom of Layos who had infiltrated the event. "The fuck when did so many of them get in here?" Rufus was shocked beyond belief when he saw that an unbelievable amount of enemy elves had infiltrated the event. It only pointed to one possibility. Nichs was not the only traitor in the kingdom of Edinburgh. There have to be many like him. A huge number of Layos'' deep assets who held significant positions in Edinburgh had to have been activated all at once. There was a certain ranker who was watching the scene of Rufus'' ambush while maintaining a safe distance from ground zero. Lako had called him PayirC a royal scion from Layos who had been tasked with killing future troubles. Little did Lako or his associates know that Payir was long dead. His killer had assumed his identity and inherited some of his crucial memories. And he didn''t even need an elven mask to pull off such a feat. For this fake Payir, everyone participating in the ambush was prey irrespective of their roles. === AN: Nichs Scott was first mentioned in chapter 74. His name was mentioned for the first time in chapter 98. Chapter 1053 Spatial Tunnel "Traitor?" Nichs became fearless when Rufus started getting surrounded by the elves. He stepped forward and ced his hands on his face. He felt the contours of his face with his fingers before removing the Elven mask effortlessly. Nichs'' look didn''t change much except for his ears. However, the same could not be said about his mana signatures and his aura. He had changed into his original elf form. "I was never with you guys, to begin with. Calling me a traitor doesn''t even make sense. Hahaha." Nichs felt liberated when he removed the mask after such a long time. He felt like a huge boulder had been taken off his shoulders. He was also d for the fact that he didn''t have to go to LA and watch the young rankers'' struggles on repeat. Everyone inside the debuff array''s range was affected and turned into Novice rankers including Rufus and the enemies he was surrounded by. However, the rankers involved in the ambush were all high-ranking entities. As a result, they could exert more pressure and power from their spells using their spells even if they were restricted to the Novice rank. A fight ensued between Rufus and Lako''s forces when Rufus tried to run away from the fight. When he was forced to ept that he couldn''t escape, the sole ranker from Edinburgh fought valiantly. Rufus'' spells and his attacks were precise and powerful. Nobody would be able to tell that he was restricted to fighting like a Novice ranker with the kind of fight he fought. Yet, Rufus'' enemies were many. In addition, they could do what he could. Lako was Rufus'' biggest enemy and his downfall. That was because Lako was also a Grandmaster. Lako''s intent-based magic blurred the limits ced on him and allowed him to fight at a much higher level. As a result, Rufus was fatally injured. Rufus Rodriguez was brought to his knees as a wolfpack of enemy rankers surrounded him. He clenched his fists and looked at them hatefully before screaming to his heart''s content. "YOU FUCKING PIGS FIGHT ME LIKE A" Swoosh. Zoom. Pierce. Lako''s spear pierced Rufus''s throat before he couldplete what he was saying. The elf pulled his weapon out of its lodged ce right away, forcing Rufus to fall t on his face. Lako then shed empty air with his spear to get the blood out of the de beforementing. "Hmph. Don''t me us. me that rat Isen Osan for your misfortune. He was the one who told us about what you are hiding in here after all." Lako''s spear disappeared from his hands once he confirmed that Rufus could not fight him. He gestured at arade of his and told him to start operating on Rufus before his death. The elf who had stepped forward was the genius array master who had created this sub-array specific to the Sansara World which hadnded Rufus in trouble. He bent down and observed Rufus'' near-death condition before taking out an array disk. The array master had made the array disk using Sansara World''s items. He ced it on the ground near Rufus''s head before activating it. All of a sudden, a spectral bubble encased Rufus and the array master from the rest of the rankers. Rufus'' near-death condition was stabilized even though he could not regain consciousness. The array master ced his right hand over Rufus'' head and closed his eyes. It took a while before the array master found what he was looking for. The Sasara tattoo on the back of Rufus''s right hand started shining. In the next moment, something happened outside the debuff zone''s range. A peculiar mana pulse was released as a spatial tunnel opened up. The array master opened his eyes with a smile on his face. He lifted his hand off Rufus'' head and turned around beforementing excitedly. "Haha. Sir Lako, I managed to gain ess to hmm?" The array master stopped his sentence midway because he saw Lako''s shocked face while looking at the spatial tunnel. At first, the array master was unaware of what had happened. But then he looked at Lako carefully and realized that the warrior elf had his heart pierced by a dagger with a matte finish. "What the" The array master quickly got up on his feet when he realized that something was wrong. He looked around to see that streaks of purple and red lightning were surrounding half of his fellow elves. It was as if someone had just finished casting their lightning spells on the elves involved in the ambush. "Aaaaaargh!" "Bastard. Who is it?" "Fuck reinforcement for Rufus?" "No. It can''t be. His Highness Payir?" "Aaaaaaargh! Kill this brat I don''t care if he''s royalty or not." Multiple screams were heard as the surviving elves understood what had happened. Just when they were feeling psyched about opening ess to the Sansara World''s special ce, someone had used that moment as an opportunity to kill and fatally injure the elves involved in the ambush. Even Lako was not spared from almost having the same misfortune he had dished out to Rufus. This was an ambush within an ambush. A kill was so precisely timed and precise that not even a Grandmaster could save himself from it. Lako understood one thing with his dying breath at this point. This was not the work of a royal brat no matter how talented he was. This kind of killing had to be handled by someone much more experienced. Lako knew he was almost dead. He looked in the array master''s direction and narrowed his eyes. Taking a gulp, he sent the blood that was trying to escape his mouth back to where it came from before answering. "Who are you?" The array master was too stunned to speak. But he found out that Lako was not looking at him when he posed that question. Lako was looking behind the array master as if a person was standing there. "Who am I indeed? That''s a profound question, isn''t it? Well I am what I need to be." The array master heard a casual voice very close to his ears. He realized toote that someone was standing behind him. Chapter 1054 First Grandmaster Kill? Bzzt. Swoosh. Squelp! The array master''s brain was stabbed by someone driving his matte finish dagger through his right eye socket. The attack was followed by another move that pierced his heart. A dual strike was done on the guy to ensure that his body did not execute a spell that was already set to be cast. Lightning tongues sparked behind the still-standing-upright-but-deader-than-dead array master. Payir''s image was morphed into existence. He pulled both his daggers from the array master''s body. The butcher juggled his sharp des around him and smiled. The next moment, the bodies of the rankers he had just killed, including that of the array master, fell to the ground. Lako couldn''t even express his rage at the fake Payir''s answer. That''s because he took hisst breath after hearing those words. "Damn. My first Grandmaster kill. How should I celebrate this feat?" Eren was seriously considering treating himself to some fine food and drinks once his job to kill his enemies was over. He even ignored a "this doesn''t count"ment from Alephee. The butcher then disappeared from his ce and killed another ranker that he had already fatally injured. His killing mechanics were so efficient this time that his victims rarely got a chance to scream before taking theirst breaths. Only Nics remained to be dealt with by Lako''s group at this point. He stood in his position with a mix of shock and terror on his face. While his responses werepromised, his subconscious mind was busily analyzing the mana signatures of the fake Payir. Nichs felt that he was familiar with the mana signature of the fake Payir. This mana signature had left a deep impression on him because of how peculiar it was in nature. He felt that it was ordinary and mysterious at the same time. "You the brat from the Lionheart Adventurers'' Academy you hade to visit me in the Novice''s Treasury." Nichs remembered staring at Eren''s fading back when thetter got the scroll for Beast Contract spells from him. He would have remembered Eren''s name as well if he wasn''t so distraught after realizing it was a mere legit participant who had unleashed so much death on the elven team. Eren has morphed into existence a few steps away from Nichs. He had abandoned Payir''s appearance and adopted his usual looks. He raised his eyebrows and made an "I''m impressed" face at Nichs beforementing. "I can see why the academy hired you. Being able to recall minute details of random things is also a rare talent. Sadly, it has no practical value for the most part, despite its uses in the academic environment. You should have remained as an inactive sleeper cell your whole life, old man. The easy life has already made you lose your edge." Bzzt. Swoosh. Zoom. Nichs died before he realized he had been attacked. The daggers in the butcher''s hands disappeared as he stretched his arms above his head to loosen his tense muscles. The butcher took a long breath and calmed the mana circuits that he had sent into hyperdrive. Killing so many opponents while being restricted by thews of separate dimensions was exhausting. It helped that his opponents were even more restricted than him. But that didn''t take away the hard work he had to do. Everyone that was part of the ambush as well as the target of the ambush was dead at this point. Eren looked at Rufus and shook his head before destroying the stone pir. He destroyed it to ess the Sansara interface. "Damn it. I killed so many of them and gained so few Karma points." The butcher kicked a random elf''s dead body to express his frustration. Since the Sansara World''s restrictions were manipted by the debuff array, the Karma points that one would get by killing them were also affected. As a result, the meager amount of Karma points he received even after killing high-ranking entities wasn''t worth it for his current level-ups. The butcher sighed and shook his head. In the next moment, he pped his hands and changed gears. He decided to concentrate on the job at hand. "Is it safe to enter?" Eren stood in his position and observed the spatial tunnel from a distance. He didn''t want to dive into something only to find booby traps waiting for him. Alephee took her time to answer his questions. "Hehe. Yes." Alephee''s response relieved Eren of his worries. He started walking towards the tunnel, away from his recent kill site. But then he froze in his steps and turned around to look at the dead array master''s dead body. "This guy''s knowledge of arrays seems useful. Especially his use of using a grand-scale array as a base to create a sub-array." The butcher decided to absorb the array master''s memories. Since he was studying arrays, he could understand the intricacies of array-based magic on a deeper level. The more he understood the more fascinated he was by how broad the field was. He could also use the field of arrays as a supplement to his potioneering skillS. And the most valuable part about arrays was the fact that they could be used to ovee opponents stronger than one''s self while avoiding side effects. Furthermore, the butcher was also interested in interfering with the continent-wide array to some extent. He did not have a reason to do something so groundbreaking as yet. Even so, he felt he should prepare himself just in case. It didn''t take long for Eren to go through the array master''s memories and experiences. He had hit a saturation point after absorbing so many of his victims. So neither his rank nor his elemental attainment saw much of a spike. But he could always use the knowledge of different fields he gained from performing these "environmentally-friendly" tasks. Eren killed the elves, but left Rufus'' body intact. After all, he wanted the kingdom to find out who had killed Rufus. He wasn''t sure what the impact would be inside the separate dimensions for letting the elven infiltrators kill the chief moderator of the Sansara World. But frankly, he didn''t care. *** "Time to gain another Mark." Eren thought to himself before stepping into the tunnel. It wasn''t obvious from his solemn face. But his slightly raised heartbeat was a testament to his excitement. He had practically robbed this opportunity from the infiltrators'' hands. However, in his heart, he felt that he was more deserving of the Sin Series Marks than anyone else. Chapter 1055 Demonic Altar Eren''s vision was blocked by a dense amount of fog when he used the spatial tunnel to get to its other side. The butcher couldn''t even use his mana sense to navigate because the fog was interfering with his senses. So he used his soul sense and felt his surroundings. He felt the void he was surrounded by. And the bone-chilling atmosphere that had no origins. There was a faint glow everywhere around him. But it would be difficult to locate the light source. Eren knew what he was supposed to do. He just kept on walking in a random direction after Alephee told him that the space was magically enchanted to get him where he was supposed to go. The fog soon started to thin down and Eren''s vision started getting clearer. When he took another step, the butcher looked like he had stepped out of a thinyer of the bubble surrounding him. He immediately felt as if he was not in Sansara World anymore. He felt like he had stepped into some ancient site that had not been visited by anyone for a long time. Rocky terrain and a pitch-ck sky suddenly opened up in front of his vision. Sulfuric air filled his lungs and the smell of wood burning entered his nostrils. The butcher could see a faint source of light in front of him. So he kept walking in that direction, hoping to find something of value in this barrennd. Murmurs and hushed speeches. Eren started hearing faint noises of some creatures talking. But he couldn''t understand theirnguage at first. He felt that he had heard these murmurs in the past. ''That time when I first activated my Domain of Wrath'' Eren associated the murmurs with the faint whispers he had heard at the time of binding the first Sin Series Ability to himself. He knew that he wouldn''t be able to understand them in a normal way. So he ignored the whispers and kept walking. Thews of space and time seemed very blurry to Eren in this ce. He felt like only a minute had passed since he had entered this special zone within the Sansara World. But at the same time, he felt like he had traveled miles and miles of distance with each step. ''Hmm I see something.'' Soon, Eren''s vision was filled with colors. That''s because he started seeing various sources of fire. Several fireball-like spheres floated in the air and acted as me stars in the night sky. It looked like there was some kind of array pattern to their alignment. The sound of whispers increased. Eren felt like people were standing behind him talking about something that was rted to him. Eren looked around himself and started to steer away from his main path. He decided to check out what kind of ce he had been summoned to. Lightning struck and Eren started moving in the 3 O''clock direction from his position. He found out that he was facing some difficulties using his movement spell. But since there was nothing he could do to prevent those difficulties, he ignored them altogether and focused on his approach. The closebat expert soon found himself at the edge of a cliff. Apparently, he was climbing a mountain without realizing it. ''I I can''t see anything from up here.'' Eren thought to himself as he looked down standing at the absolute edge of the cliff. What he saw was pitch-ck darkness. He also found out that he couldn''t use his spells normally in this ce either. So he retracted from his position and continued his journey. Step. Step. Step. The sound of Eren''s footsteps started echoing in the surroundings even though no walls were reflecting the soundwaves to their source. He soon used his movement spell to approach a special zone within this mysterious ce. A demonic altar. This altar was floating motionlessly in the air away from the mountain Eren had climbed. Arge stone bridge connected this altar to the mountain''s cliff at its highest altitude. Eren walked up to the stone bridge and observed his surroundings. He could see that there was some form of giant statue waiting for him if he used the stone bridge and got to the other side of it. The butcher took a long breath before stepping onto the stone bridge. He could immediately feel that the altar he was heading to was some kind of mysterious ce that gathered an ethereal form of energy. The altar took this energy from the Sansara World and gathered it near its sphere of influence. It felt like this energy was alive and breathing. As if it was anticipating the new visitor''s actions. Step. Step. Step. Soon, the stone pir Eren was walking on started shining with a faint orange and red light as the runic symbols over it began exuding luminescence. The floating mes began to light up as the butcher approached the end of the stone bridge. A spacious tform was waiting to greet Eren as he reached the end of the stone bridge. This tform was circr and had a runic array inscribed on it. The shape of the array was akin to the symbol of a Pentastar inside a circle. Inside the circle were some more runic symbols and lines that didn''t make sense to Eren, attesting to their otherworldly origin. Eren started approaching the statue that was waiting for him on the other side of the array from where he had entered. As he stepped into the Pentastar array, he began to understand the whispers subconsciously. The statue Eren was seeing was at least 50 meters tall. It had a humanoid form for the most part. Thisrge statue had two prominent horns on its head and a mean-looking face. It had kept its mouth open and the tip of its tongue was sticking out of its mouth. It was as if this winged statue was ready to devour anything in its sight. Chapter 1056 Beelzebub This demon statue had glowing red eyes. The statue also had giant wings sprouting from its back as if it could fly at any moment. As if it had imed the entire sky as its domain. There were a bunch of smaller demon statues that sort of looked like him. He was surrounded by them as if he were their head. Therge demon statue was extremely intimidating. It radiated a strong sense of fear, hunger, and reverence. But for some reason, Eren felt an extreme familiarity with the presence it was radiating. He also started understanding what the whispers were trying to say to him subconsciously. They were telling him the name of the entity the statue represented. Being a Demon Prince, this entity had proved his mettle against so many of the demons and rose above them. He had traveled to different worlds and made a name for himself. He had many names and several titles. All of them spoke volumes about his domain and his achievements. Eren closed his eyes and started listening to the demonic whispers he had been hearing for so long. He started understanding what they were saying to him bit by bit. Prince of Decay. Prince of the Weather. King of Gluttony. Lord of the Flies. Lord of the Flyers. The Rotting One. Eren started hearing the titles of the winged demonic statues one by one. He also started hearing the names the Demon Prince had earned through his countless demon soul fragments. His subconscious mind also processed that there was a familiar name on that list. The statue''s red eyes kept growing as Eren was busy understanding demonguage. A threatening pulse of demonic energy was released from the statue at the epicenter. The runes of the Pentastar array lit up and the demon whispers started getting louder. Eren finally understood what he needed to do to gain the Sin Series Mark from this statue. He had to say the name of the Demon Prince while standing in front of the demonic altar to summon a fragment of its consciousness here. Each snake-head of the Seven-headed Snake statue found in Purgatory represented the Seven nes of Sins. When the butcher received the Sin of Wrath and Sin of Lust markings from the Seven-headed Snake statue, the wills of the Seven nes of Sins judged him. However, Eren instinctively came to know that this was not the case this time. This time, it was the current ruler of one of the Seven nes of Sin. It would be up to him to determine whether or not he deserves the Mark rted to his domain. Eren started smiling when he understood who this particr demon statue belonged to. He opened his eyes and looked at the statue''s red eyes before speaking its true demonic name. "Beelzebub!" Crack. Crack. Crack. The stone surface of the demonic statue started cracking when Eren spoke the Demon Prince''s name. The runic symbols inside the Pentastar array lit up and a strong demonic surge of energy was released in the surroundings. Suddenly, it affected the very fabric of space and caused the mountain Eren had climbed earlier to shake violently. Rumble. Beelzebub''s statue came alive. He pped his demonic wings and released a low grunt. The stone statue no longer had the same rigidity to it. It rotated its head around and started looking for the subject who had summoned him. At this point, the stone statue was a temporary vessel for the Lord of the Flyers. "Raaaawr! XXXXXXXX! XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX" Beelzebub started speaking in a demonguage when he first looked at Eren. It seemed that he was angry at something or someone. And he also looked a bit disoriented as if he had just woken up from a long sleep and rudely awakened. However, Beelzebub stopped what he was saying abruptly when he saw the subject smiling at him. He narrowed his eyes at Eren and felt his presence very carefully. He also understood the need to speak the world''snguage he was summoned to. "You...." Beelzebub managed to express a mix of shock and disbelief even with his literal stone face. He narrowed his eyes at Eren and confirmed his identity as well as his bloodline before expressing his joy. "MY LIEGE... YOU ARE ALIVE!" Beelzebub''s voice was like a ckboard scratched with a fork. It was loud, menacing, and demonic to the core. However, for some reason, it didn''t hurt Eren at all. Eren raised his eyebrows when Beelzebub called him weirdly. He thought he was speaking to someone he already knew. So he asked for confirmation. "Hmm? Are you not Argo?" The Pentastar array lit up once again when Eren spoke the name of his demon beast. It sent the consciousness of Beelzebub back to where it came from and summoned the consciousness of the butcher''s demon beast almost immediately. "Wha... wha... Where the fuck am I?" Hm? Who the fuck... has the galls to disturb this prince when he is eating?" This time, the voice sounded familiar to Eren. It was the voice of a disgruntled Argo. "Stop eating all the time. My city''s rations will dry up before you even burp. You''ll remain the fat bird forever at this rate." Argo looked down after following the source of the voice only to find Eren staring at him. He was first confused by seeing Eren. After all, he was in the city of White Raven. And Eren was supposed to be in the capital city. But then he noticed how small Eren looked. He then started observing his body as well as his surroundings. "Hol up. Is this what I think it is?" Argo scratched his forehead with one of his demonic hands and looked at Eren once again. He used his other hand to reach for Eren before lifting him in his grip. Eren soon found himself standing over the statue''s open palm as it got nearer to its face. Only when Argo felt Eren up close did hee to terms with what had happened. Argo looked at Eren questioningly before asking in a voice coated in suspicion and trepidation. "Yo boss! You''re not out here to im my domain, are you?" Chapter 1057 Mark Of The Seven Sins: Domain Of Gluttony "You''re not out here to im my domain, are you?" Eren didn''t have to answer Argo''s question. Thetter started exining something to him with passion even before receiving a response from him. "You gotta listen to me, boss. I have done you no harm, have I? This Prince is always loyal to the throne I''mma spill the beans, boss... Those bastards... they be snitching behind your back thinkin'' they are the shits but I did no such thing like that Uh hun! No sir This Prince always working hard putting in the work. Earning his keep. This Prince is always looking for your best interests I even interfered with the cause-and-effect fabric of reality, hoping to meet you. We are a team, boss. Knowwhatimsayin! Those snitches will" For some reason, Argo was agitated after his consciousness was abruptly summoned to this ce. Eren raised his hand to stop him from speaking up. "Slow down, you fat bird. Nobody''s after your domain or whatever. I just want the Sin Series Mark from you. You can grant me that in your current form, right?" Argo opened his mouth to speak. But he closed it right away after processing what Eren wanted from him. Laughing, he gave him affirmation. "Hahaha. I knew we were solid like that. Aight. Aight. I gotchu. One hot and crisp Mark of the Seven Sinsing right up. As a matter of fact I''mma make it so that we both get to share the Domain of Gluttony." ArgoC or Beelzebub in his current formC put Eren down in the center of the Pentastar array. He then closed his eyes before starting to chant something in his demonic tongue. Eren subconsciously morphed into his white-haired form. He closed his eyes and let the array''s active runes climb onto him like live serpents. Eren''s existing tribal tattoos became visible and active under the influence of the Pentastar array. The newly climbed runes started mixing with Eren''s existing runic tattoos. Eren was tied to another Sin Series ne. He possessed an ability as a result of that bond. And he knew how to use his newly acquired Ability as soon as he received it. Argo didn''t have to do much. He just became a medium to connect Eren with the ne of Gluttony. The ne of Gluttony readily epted Eren. In fact, Eren felt like he could take over the ne''s Authority from Beelzebub if he wished for it. Only now did the butcher realize why Argo or Beelzebub was nervous around him. He was fearing that his position as the ruler of the ne might get taken away from him if Eren just wished for it through the connection. The butcher didn''t understand what ruling one of the Seven Sins of nes meant or what its consequences would be. But he didn''t want to find out. At least not yet. He didn''t want to rile up other Demon Princes because he didn''t know if they would be as cooperative with him as Beelzebub. It was better to keep Beelzebub as the ruler of Gluttony and grow silently than to attract attention by removing him from his position. Eren could also guess that other Demon Princes might attack Beelzebub right away if they find out he had lost control of his ne. The butcher would be their next target. Eren didn''t want to lose his valuable follower from the rest of the Demon Princes because of his greed for power. He might be the only friendly Demon Prince among them for all he knew. The greed for power almost overwhelmed Eren at the time of signing the Faustian Contract. However, he didn''t let that greed blind him. The Sins were supposed to be conquered anyway. The man''s actions were not supposed to be driven by them, living him astray. Eren didn''t challenge Beelzebub''s Authority at the time of the demonic ritual. He let the Lord of Flyers stay as the ruler of his ne and shared some of his authority over the ne. It didn''t take long before the Faustian contract was established. Argo was all smiles when the ritual waspleted. He wanted to chat some more with Eren about various topics. Unfortunately, he could not remain attached to his stone vessel after the demonic ceremony was over. His consciousness was sent back to where it came from, making the statue assume its previous form. The activity inside the Pentastar array died down when Eren opened his eyes. The butcher couldn''t help but smile after realizing that he had received another Sin Series Ability. That too with the help of his demon beast. He had to admit that the Sin Series Abilities were his most powerful Trump cards. The more he had them in his arsenal the better it was for him. Even adding one of these Abilities felt like he had progressed by leaps and bounds as a ranker. Mark of the Seven Sins- Domain of Gluttony. Much like his Sin of Wrath, this was also a domain attack. Eren felt that Beelzebub was not talking strictly about domain-type attacks when he asked the butcher if he was after his domain. It seemed that gaining ess to these domain-type attacks was an indication of arger picture. Eren remembered what Alephee had said to him earlier before he entered Sansara World. The Faustian Contracts for the Sin Series Marks Purgatory had given him were signed between him and the Sin nes. Meaning there was no demon involved in acting as the mediator. Eren had practically challenged the Demon Prince of Wrath when he established the Faustian Contract with the ne of Wrath directly. Apparently, the ne did not respect its current ruler as much when Eren established its link with it. Thus, the demon soul fragment that had overtaken Demonmir called Eren the usurper of his domain and felt threatened by him. However, Eren was not able to connect with the ne of Gluttony directly this time. In truth, Beelzebub only served as an intermediary, allowing him to obtain the Sin Series Mark associated with it. The lord of the Flyers was still the ruler of the ne. However, the Faustian Contract ensured that Eren could use some of the ne-bound powers the Demon Prince was privy to. What''s more? The butcher would be able to unlock more of such ne-bound powers and Abilities as he progressed further in his ranking journey. Chapter 1058 Smoldering Embers Of History "Alright. What''s the catch this time?" Eren couldn''t help but ask Alephee if there were any negative connotations to receiving Mark with Beelzebub''s help. After all, he didn''t want to deal with the Demonic Takeover no matter how much he trusted Argo. "Hehe. Don''t worry. There''s no catch. Your bloodline gives you the authority to supersede any Demon Prince''s rights. You wouldn''t have been able to tame Argo with the blood ritual if it wasn''t like that. After all, you already have Reen, remember? This is why I told you that you shouldn''t worry too much about the Faustian Contracts. They can''t do anything to you. The problem woulde from the Demon Princes who might not like your presence and consider it to be a threat to their positions. I have been slumbering for a long time and my powers are still severely limited in my current condition. So I am not sure who among the Demon Princes is loyal to the throne aside from Beelzebub. Therefore, it''s wise that you y it safe. The moral of the story is... we can''t trust any demon except those who are with us. I would not have advised you toe to the demonic altar in the first ce if it was not attuned to Beelzebub. It is much better to form a Faustian Contract with the wills of the nes directly if you want to get the remaining Sin Series Marks. You won''t have to worry about anyone''s loyalty and Demonic Takeover in that case." Alephee assured Eren that he had nothing to worry about when it came to Beelzebub. The Demon Prince had done exactly what he had told Eren he''d do. He had acted as his true follower, giving Eren the confidence he needed to use the Ability without worrying about any hidden dangers. Eren nodded his head to nobody in particr and pondered to himself. He then looked around at himself and decided to try something. "Beelzebub." Eren tried to summon the original consciousness of Beelzebub once again after he was done. He had realized his mistake of saying Argo''s name while standing inside the Pentastar array. He could talk to Argo anytime. But talking to the original consciousness of Beelzebub himself would have broadened his horizons so much. Plus, he had a feeling that the Demon Prince was as loyal to him as his demon soul fragment for some reason. Meaning he would be willing to tell him answers to many of his questions honestly. Beelzebub, or Argo''s soul fragment, did not respond this time. It seemed like the ce or the statue had some kind of cooldown period before it could be essed again. True demonic words were not meant to be spoken so casually. The act implied that one was associated with the demon realm in some form. The mere mention of the powerful demons'' true names was akin to increasing their influence in their respective worlds and making them stronger by proxy. One of the reasons the establishments of the Anfang were so adamant about not letting their masses know the history of the world was due to the consequences of speaking such names out loud. One had to say that the Anfang alliance was very sessful when it came to controlling demonic activities on the continent. Due to therge cover-up of history and a gag order through the continent-epassing array, almost nobody knew about the demonic rituals or names of existences like Beelzebub. As a result, there was almost no demonic ranker present in thend of Anfang. Alephee made Eren understand these things. She also told him that there was no point in staying at the demonic altar anymore as it would only get activated after a long cooldown. After all, it was not an easy task to summon the consciousness of someone like Beelzebub. Especially in thend of Anfang. The homunculus also told him that the reason for the kingdom of Edinburgh to organize such an event inside the Sansara World was so that it could maintain the functioning of this demonic altar. The killings inside the Sansara World served as the power source for the altar to function. This was the reason why the kingdom allowed participants to get so close to its closely guarded secret. Some of them would be used as altar offerings. *** Eren got back to thend of ice and snow after receiving his Sin Series Mark. During his recent endeavor, he realized at least 20 hours had passed. Meaning he needed to start hunting for Karma points aggressively once again to make up for the lost time. The butcher was also excited to test out his newly acquired domain-type Ability. He knew that Rufus, who was supposed to be the chief moderator inside the Sansara World, had already died. Meaning there would be no repercussions for him using the Ability inside the Sansara World as long as he was a bit careful. Many birds could be killed with one stone if he could just find the damn birds. However, there were a few things he needed to get cleared up with Alephee. It was time he knew about his rtionship with the Demon Realm. He especially wanted to learn about the bloodline that he had received from Reen. "Alephee, who does Beelzebub see in me? Is it rted to my bloodline?" Eren needed to clear a few things with Alephee before he could start hunting other participants for Karma Points. He felt that the benefits and consequences of having this bloodline were more profound than he had initially thought. Alephee knew something like that wasing her way. So she was prepared. "Eren, they say that people who do not know about history are like trees without roots. So I understand your need to know about these things. Especially now, when you are starting toe in contact with the embers of history that are still smoldering. I''ll tell you as much as I think is apt for you to hear. So listen carefully." Chapter 1059 Elder Ichor Eren could hear the solemnity in Alephee''s voice as she spoke to him. He paid keen attention to her words as she continued. ''Demons they have a history. They were a lot more chaotic and bloodthirsty than they are now. No matter how strong they were, nobody could handle the demonkind. The usual tricks wouldn''t work on them. The unruly demons brought with them extreme violence, cruelty, and malice to whichever world they infiltrated. If you think the demons of today cause mayhem, you should have seen them when they didn''t have a hierarchy governing their actions.'' Eren raised his eyebrows. He narrowed his eyes beforementing. "So there''s a reason the continent of Anfang doesn''t want demonkind to deepen its roots here." Alephee responded right away. ''That''s right. I''m sure there are other reasons for the continent of Anfang to have a closed-door policy. But this would definitely be one of the reasons. The demons of the past delighted in war. They always had intent-based magic supporting their cause. As such, they always liked to invoke emotions in the denizens of the world they visited. The suffering of others brought these unruly demons equal joy. They desired nothing short of the destruction of all things because that''s when their intent-based magic worked best. These demons valued nothing save brutal strength, which was the only means to truly control them. Even then they would quickly find ways to betray those that tried to control them unless they retained their strength. In the distant past, these demons did not have definite leaders like the Demon Princess that rules over them now. Only the most feared, violent, and murderous of Demons were capable of sustainingsting power within the chaotic hordes. Even then, these leaders were not as respected as the Demon Princes of today.'' Alephee told Eren that nothing had changed much in the demons'' way of operating since the beginning of time. It was just that they started respecting the authority of their superiors more. She borated on the matter in detail. "Demons were like parasites who would try to infiltrate any world they could find before spreading mayhem and madness. However, nobody had a surefire way of dealing with them. This was because as hated as they were by most civilizations, they were also part of Creation. And things that are originally part of the Creation would be supported by the Creation itself." Eren didn''t know that the existence of demons was such a serious matter for various worlds. He could now understand why the Anfang alliance was doing everything in its power to ce a gag order on all talks rted to them. After all, even the mere mention of powerful demons was enough to attract their attention. The butcher wondered if Alephee was describing the demons'' past or what they were like today. He also wondered who brought order to such chaotic beings. Alephee provided him with the answer right away. "Demons were natural enemies of every living person living in any world. And there was no way to stop their advent. But everything changed when one man decided to change the way demons operated. He swam against the current and made the impossible possible with his sheer efforts and capabilities aloneC without asking for anyone''s help. This man entered the demon realm all by himself and brought order to it. This was an unbelievable feat even for the so-called gods." Eren could feel the hate Alephee had for the gods when she spoke about them. But he chose to remain silent, prompting her to continue. "With the kind of powers he possessed, this man was like the first true heir of Creation. He created the Seven nes of Sins by discarding most of his emotions and appointed Demon Princes as the rulers of those nes. This was how the demons learned to wield their intent-based magic to its fullest." Eren wondered what kind of ranking status one would have to achieve to create the nes of Sins by discarding emotions. He even wondered if such power could be measured by the rudimentary ranking standards known to him. The butcher wasn''t even sure what the concepts of the demon realm, Seven nes of Sins, and Demon Princes truly entailed. But he decided to concentrate on what Alephee was putting forward next. "This man imed the entire demon realm to himself by creating the Seven nes of Sins. The Demon Princes were basically appointed as caretakers of their property. Being the creator of the Seven nes of Sins, he had the power to override any of the Demon Princes'' authority. He could take away their status as the rulers of their respective nes and appoint anyone he saw fit in their ce. He became the undisputed emperor of the demon realm and had Demon Kings serving under him. The demons had a way to rise above their origins because of the order introduced by this man. They no longer tried to engage in suicide tactics with mortals and instead startedpeting with each other for power. The appearance of demons continued to ur in various worlds. But things became manageable for the denizens of their respective worlds." Alephee''s voice had a tinge of nostalgia mixed in it. She took a brief pause before continuing. "Such was the caliber of the man who ruled over demonkind with an iron fist. Of course, he doesn''t exist anymore. So the throne that he used to upy is empty and waiting to be imed. ? Hehe. Can you guess the bloodline of that man before he was erased from existence?" Alephee sounded thrilled and elevated when she posed the rhetorical question to Eren in the end. Thetter stopped in his tracks when he heard the question. He raised his hands in front of him and looked at the traces of green veins visible on his forearms. ''Elder Ichor. This is the bloodline that runs through your veins. This was the same bloodline the Emperor of the demon realm had in his day. As such, you are his inheritor. Your bloodline gives you the right to contend for his throne. Now the question isC do you have what it takes to im it?'' Chapter 1060 The Unoccupied Throne ''Your bloodline gives you the right to contend for his throne. Now the question isC do you have what it takes to im it?'' Eren remained silent for a moment as he processed what Alephee had said to him so far. He started understanding why Argo was on his toes at the time of granting him the Sin Series Mark. He also understood why the Demonmir tried to kill him in front of everyone at the risk of his own safety. The butcher took a while to respond. And when he did, he smiled. ''Haah! I am not after anybody''s throne. I wasn''t trying to be a half-blood with such a special bloodline anyway. I am grateful for the benefits it provides. But with or without those benefits assisting me, I''ll do what I intended to do all along. When the timees, I''ll have my own throne.'' Alephee was pleased with Eren''s answer. The butcher didn''t feel special because he had inherited such a special bloodline. As far as he was concerned, it was all an ident. This thought process enabled him to stay true to the path he was treading on. Plus, receiving such a bloodline wasn''t all sunshine and rainbows. It put Eren in the crosshairs of the Demon Princess who had decided topete for the unupied throne. Eren''s mind started connecting the dots as soon as such vital information was provided to him. He scratched his recently grown stubble as he asked another question to Alephee. ''What about the Mark of the Seven Sins? Was this unique source of power created by the same man?'' Alephee didn''t take long to answer. ''That''s right. You may not know this. Eliza interrupted the process of taking its course when you fainted after receiving the Mark of the Seven Sins for the first time. This was because the seven-headed snake statue that represented the Wills of the Seven nes of Sin treated you as their rightful owner. You didn''t need to prove your worth to them like the rest of the subjects. You would have received all the Sin Series Marks then and there, had Eliza not intervened.'' ''Damn that old hag!'' Eren didn''t care about being the inheritor of Elder Ichor. Nheless, he would have weed the benefits it had to offer him. Eren was about to curse Elize some more but Alephee provided him with an exnation. ''In Eliza''s defense, she thought that receiving multiple Sin Series Marks at the same time might break your soul. Which would make sense if you didn''t have the Elder Ichor''s bloodline. No matter how strong and talented Eliza is, she couldn''t have possibly known about this bloodline or the effects it would have on the Seven-headed snake statue. So she stopped the process midway. That mummified Sage didn''t want to lose you while trying to fatten you at that time after all.'' Alephee chuckled before adding further. ''I was keeping tabs on Demonmir with my soul sense. His subconscious kept shouting at you as the usurper of his domain. That means the Demon Prince who has overtaken him doesn''t know that you have the Elder Ichor bloodline. I''m sure he would have done something extreme at that time if he knew about your status. The Demon Prince of Wrath would have resorted to using Ottoman in a suicide attack if he knew about your status as the inheritor of the Elder Ichor. You are no usurper. The Domains of Sin belong to the Elder Ichor bloodline, and thus, to you. In fact, it''s him who could be called a usurper.'' Eren was almost out of thend of ice and snow. No one could use their Sansara interface properly here because it was off the map. However, Rufus had been killed here. The butcher didn''t want to be here when other moderators came looking for Rufus. Alephee kept exining Eren''s status as thetter traversed thend. ''This is also the reason why you had so much diversity when using the Domain of Wrath right from the moment you activated it for the first time. Think about it. You can boost your body stats using Wrath Mana. You can turn your opponents into creatures of wrath and control them. And you can turn them into wrath mes after killing them, giving you their experiences and achievements. How can a single Sin Series Ability grant you so many diverse ways of using it? As capable as your soul is of carrying the Sin Series Marks, it wouldn''t have been possible for you unless you had this bloodline.'' Eren was a bit overwhelmed when he received this piece of information from Alephee. Only now did he understand why the Sin Series Abilities gave him such powers. The drawbacks he faced from using those Abilities were minimal while their effects were anything but normal. Even the most recently acquired Ability Domain of Gluttony was as multifaceted as the Sin of Wrath because it was a domain-type Ability as well. This was also the reason why Eren''s body was capable of using wrath and lust mana for himself. Alephee paused for a while before adding further. "Beelzebub''s warnings made it very clear. I guess some of the Demon Princesses are now plotting to take the unupied throne for themselves. The empty throne must have encouraged them. It is kind of understandable if you consider the demons'' core nature. I''m surprised they waited this long. The Demon Prince of Wrath must be one of those ambitious demons. I wonder how many Demon Princes are with him on this. Things would be really difficult if they found out about you and your bloodline.'' Alephee''s voice turned grim when she spoke about Eren''s potential enemies. She knew more than anybody on thend of Anfang that the Demon Princes wouldy waste to the entire continent of Anfang if they came to know about Eren''s existence. Eren was definitely not ready for facing enemies of Demon Princes'' levels. He needed time to grow. Chapter 1061 Staying Impartial To Enemies’ Backgrounds Day 20: Lavalrock Grove. Midnight time. The Lavalrock trees would channel fire mana through the heart-shaped leaves they had sprouted from their branches as they breathed. As a result, they would emit eye-blinding bright yellow light during the nighttime. For a moment, the region would be banished to the pit of nighttime darkness. In the next moment though, the Lavalrock trees would start exuding their yellow glow and lighting up the entire region. ? A team of rankers was traversing through this region which was full of Lavalrock trees. The natural phenomenon generated by the entire region''s trees irritated a few of them. Just when they thought that they had gotten used to the darkness, the trees would illuminate their path only to send them back to the pit of darkness once again. "Becky, couldn''t we take a different route to reach Eren''s location? These damn trees hurt my eyes." Using his movement spell, Jake followed Becky along with the rest of his team. Bel was to his right and Ana was to his left. Ron and Dino were following right behind him while Becky was leading the entire group. Becky got irritated by Jake''sints. "I''m not the ranger of the group, Jake. I can hardly navigate my way using my spells. Bear with it for a while. We''ll be out of this damn region soon." The main group of the White Raven Crew was separated from Steve and Renita. The separation was done to avoid getting surrounded by multiple teams. The White Raven crew escaped the ambush and sessfully took care of its opponents. They decided to remain apart, however, due to a variety of other circumstances. The two groups stayed separated for a couple of days. And they would have remained separated for a few more days. However, the announcement they all received through their Sansara interface changed everything. The White Raven crew wasn''t the only one who changed its ns. The rest of the participants also had to revise their strategies because of this announcement. The legacy of a Sage will appear in the Lama Ruins in the uing hours. With the required number of gs in their possession, qualified teams could gain ess to Nira Nightshade''s legacy. However, they would have to get inside the Lama Ruins to do that. The teams still in the game let go of their safe zones and ambush points to reach the Lama Ruins from various directions. At this point, reaching the Lama Ruins was more critical for them than anything else. The two groups of White Raven crew also decided to meet near the Lama Ruins once they received the notification. Eren had also contacted them after receiving the notification. He had told them that he was on the other side of the Lavalrock Grove, waiting for both groups to join him. The Lama Ruins were only a couple of hours'' travel from where Eren was. So it made sense for both groups to use Eren''s location as a rendezvous point beforemencing the journey towards the target location together. Becky had taken the shortest route to Eren''s location through Lavalrock Grove. That''s because that''s how she read the map on the Sansara interface. The Mage decided to draw a straight line connecting two locations using her travel path. Only now did she realize she could have done things better. After all, taking the shortest distance possible wasn''t the only thing that was expected of a pathfinder. It was also imperative to consider the environment and the potential disadvantages it might have for the rankers involved in the party. "Something''s up ahead." Bel was using his historian-specific spells to support his team. He couldn''t fill the void of a ranger on his own. However, with his historian-specific spells along with Becky''s support magic, they had made it here. Bel picked up a few mixed mana signatures ahead which told him that a bloody battle had taken ce at the location they were approaching. Becky and the rest got tense. They drew their weapons and readied their spells, expecting another sh with the enemy team. When they got out of the Lavalrock Groove, their vision expanded to a lush prairie that was bathed in starlight. However, all of them stopped in their tracks when they sensed something. They recognized the presence of a single live ranker standing amid the butchered corpses of his recent victims littered around him. It looked like a particrly brutal battle had taken ce between the two sides. One side contained the entire team of dead rankers whereas the other side only had one addict who refused to call himself one. Lavalrock trees in the region served as breathing lights. Because of them, the single survivor ranker as well as the bodies he had butchered would be seen clearly for a brief moment before disappearing into the night''s darkness. The entire scene had a macabre touch to it as a result. Enough for Becky to have goosebumps on her skin. "Took you long enough." Eren said while releasing a lungful of smoke into the air. He sounded casual... as if he was taking a night walk under the stars. He was looking in the direction of the Lama Ruins while his back was facing his iing teammates. The butcher had a lot of blood sttered on his clothes. However, the man himself didn''t have any serious injuries. And the minor injuries he did have were in the process of healing. After getting out of the demonic altar, Eren had leveled up quite a lot despite sharing his Karma points with Steve and Renita. As a result, he gained ess to his Adept rank powers. The butcher made up for the lost time by using them to the fullest. He used various Perks to get as close to Lama Ruins as possible. The team of rankers he had killed for real at this point was members of Midnight Moon. Turns out, the infiltrators weren''t strictly rted to the kingdom of Layos alone. The enemy kingdom had used outside help to get the job done. Eren had the peculiar quality of staying impartial to his enemies. He was impartial in doling out his attacks on them, no matter their gender, ranking status or any other distinguishing factors. After all, regardless of what was between their ears and legs, they all gave Karma points. And since they were all infiltrators in the first ce, he didn''t have to worry about facing repercussions for killing them for real. Chapter 1062 Attack First Ask Questions Later Eren discarded the remnants of his smoke before turning around. Becky and her group stopped a few meters away from Eren. She was about to speak to him. However, the mage closed her open mouth when she felt a peculiar mana pulse beside her. "Haha. We are here, atst. Thanks for sharing your location with us, Eren." Steve and Renita appeared at the scene out of nowhere using the Sansara Perk. It worked in conjunction with the coordinates Eren shared with them, allowing them to teleport directly to the scene. Eren appeared right beside Renita before taking her hand in his own. It seemed that Steve and Renita had just finished dealing with their share of opponents as well. The ranger was slightly injured in the conflict. Eren snapped his fingers and healed Renita right away without waiting for Ana to take action. The healer of the group looked at Eren begrudgingly for subtly undermining her role in the team. Renita smiled as she enjoyed Eren showing his public disy of affection in his own way. The closebat expert caressed the locks of her hair and tucked them behind her ears before addressing the entire group. "d to see all of you made it to this point." Eren smiled lightly and weed his teammates before continuing. "Let''s rest before we enter the Lama Ruins. The further we travel from here the more teams we are likely to encounter who also have the same destination as us. We don''t need to worry about the qualified teams as they would prioritize getting to the Lama Ruins over battling anyone. But the teams that don''t have enough gs will try to fight all out against those who do. Let other qualified teams fight these desperadoes while we wait. Steve will teleport us to the entrance of the Lama Ruins right away when we are ready." There was no hiding ce on the prairie, which seemed to extend in all directions. However, thanks to the Basic Group Stealth Perk Renita had received, the team could take a breather inside a translucent dome. This made them invisible to the naked eye as well as the mana sense. *** The smell of freshly grilled pork chops started lingering inside the Stealth Dome as the team decided to have its fill. The group sat in a circle around Eren, Steve, and Renita as they were busy prepping food for everybody. "The dy in the defense mechanism is one thing. But did you guys encounter the masked elves who had infiltrated the event?" Jake looked at Eren, Steve, and Renita before asking his question. Steve nodded his head as he flipped the piece of meat over the elemental fire before speaking up. "Yeah. I get that the kingdom of Edinburgh would indulge in a power y and keep the event running even after knowing about the infiltration of these elves. But it has gotten too far. It looks like they have already killed many rankers from five academies to make those elven masks. And they are even killing more rankers at the event. The kingdom is only liable to hurt itself if it lets this drag on for any longer." Becky agreed with Steve''s statement. The mage was a vegan so she kept her distance from the group before responding. "The moderators should have intervened by now. Rufus, the chief moderator, at least should have taken action against these infiltrators, even if he didn''tpletely stop the event. I don''t know why it is taking this long." Becky wasn''t the only one. All the other participants from LA were expecting some form of leeway from the chief moderator Rufus because he was from their academy. Eren was lowkey whistling when he was adding spice to the grilled meat. He had to say that Argo''s songs were very catchy. He couldn''t help singing some of them under his breath as he busied himself with work. The butcher chuckled before answering Becky''s question. "That''s because he''s dead." Eren stopped hearing the munching sounds of his teammates. He turned around to see that every teammate was looking at him with nk looks on their faces. He coughed before creating a metaphorical patchwork. "I mean he must be dead if he is not doing anything. Or he is busy with something much more critical for all we know. My point is we can''t expect any intervention from the moderators. At least not for usmoners when the royal scions of the kingdoms are being targeted. Things are much more serious than you think. Even the cultist organization Midnight Moon is involved in the infiltration. The fake participants I killed earlier belonged to that organization." Eren remembered that he had sanctioned a hit on the Midnight Moon through Serius Fenris. He smiled mirthlessly before continuing. "Midnight Moon and I let''s say that my guild and those guys have our differences. So they tried to target me." Ramy Richards stopped chewing on the grilled pork and drank a mouthful of White Raven ale. While pping his thighs, he enthusiastically interrupted Eren. "Hahaha. No wondew they died so how weebly." Ron was lost in his thoughts until this point. It seemed that there was something he was unable toe to terms with. He looked at Eren before raising his doubts. "I understand Edinbugh''s politically motivated ambition to continue this event. But I don''t think it would allow the cultists to intervene. Something doesn''t add up. It looks like" Eren nodded at Ron before confirming his doubts. "That''s right. This is what I have been meaning to tell you guys. The event is rigged from the inside. Some of the rankers from Edinburgh''s side have switched to the other side. Or did they already belong to the kingdom of Layos in the first ce? We don''t know." Eren saw his teammates'' grim faces. He took a deep breath before reassuring them. "Don''t worry. Not all hope is lost. The moderators get bound by the same rules as participants if they enter most ces essible to participants. There are only a few extra perks to support them. Sage legacies have started appearing. We are in the endgame. So next time when you see a moderator stopping you for something don''t lower your guard. If they fail to maintain a safe distance from you..." Renitapleted Eren''s statement in a grim voice. "Attack first. Ask questionster." Chapter 1063 Back To Experimenting Day 21: An area near the entrance to the Lama Ruins. "Aaaaaaargh!" A moderator was injured before he could even use his Perks. The next thing he knew, his left arm was torn off from the shoulder joint by sheer physical force. The moderator''s heart was punctured when he received a severe blow to his chest that sank his ribcage. One solid punch was all it took for the moderator to die from an attack. Steve attacked the moderator as soon as he came too close to him. The Boar Berserker followed Eren''s n to a T. He immediately tapped into his body-strengthening art and changed his physique. He became taller, stronger, and sharper. The boar berserker also grew a thick reddish brown hide and some sort of callous exoskeleton over his shoulders and other vital organs. Steve''s eyes were red. His canine teeth had grown out of his mouth. They were curved, crazy-looking, and almost looked like antlers. His limbs were as ripped and muscr as they could be. And his aura was that of a beast rather than a human. The captain of the White Raven Crew fended off a major threat on his own. He looked around to see that others on his team were almost more or less done with their jobs. Steve and Renita joined the team shortly after Sage Legacy started appearing. Eren was also with them. There was no point dividing the team into multiple groups when there were only a few days remaining. Eren felt that his efforts in raising a team to ensure his survival was worth it. Through Ivor''s actions, Jason was killed and another Sin Series Mark was obtained. He only needed to ensure that he got his hands on multiple Sage legacies. The team had fought as a whole for the first time at this stage since the event started. The White Raven crew was practically unstoppable after the remaining members joined. Eren didn''t have to guide Steve as captain of the team anymore. The Berserker knew how to use each of the members of his team. He would tag-team with the Dual Berserkers when required, destroying the enemy frontline as soon as the two teams shed. He would pair well with Becky to assist her in her mid-range moves. He would work with Jake to bolster the team''s defensive capabilities. All of this while ensuring that the team''s healer Ana doesn''te under harm''s way in any situation. Steve also tried to keep up with Eren. And for the most part, he managed to do just fine. However, Steve felt a subtle mental burden every time Eren operated on his victims beside him. Eren''s blood lust would sometimes slip through his aura and unintentionally affect the Boar Berserker''s psyche. Therefore, Steve decided to let Eren move on his own. The butcher worked most efficiently most times while he was not being paired up with anyone anyway. *** Eren had gone back to his experiments. This was apparent when his teammates saw him use his Fists Arts unexpectedly. That too, using the earth-element technique that he hadn''t shown them before. There were many things that Eren had changed about him. But his nature as a ranker and his love for adding multiple facets to his battle style was not something novel for them. They had seen Eren do that multiple times when he was participating in ranking wars. Eren was bing more adept at throwing punches with each passing opponent. He had even managed to use his earth-element movement technique in sync with the Fist Arts he had borrowed from Ken. The butcher made several changes to Ken''s techniques. He started fine-tuning them to give them the lethal edge they were missing. He made a lot of mistakes at the beginning and got injured in the process. However, he never had to seek Ana''s help in healing him. The Ability he had received from Nina made him self-sufficient and bold enough to incorporate new techniques into his battle style. Applying soul sense to ipatible weapons was difficult. However, one''s arms were excluded from that limitation. Eren started imbuing his fists with soul sense as well. As a result, his attacks affected his enemies physically and mentally as well. There was a huge difference between applying soul sense to intimidate opponents and incorporating it into one''s physical and elemental attacks. The butcher was still learning to use his soul sense in his elemental spells with Alephee''s guidance. However, he didn''t need to seek any guidance to incorporate soul sense into his physical attacks. Ken''s Fist Arts opened up a new way of fighting for the butcher. And he was bing more adept at using it. He was also training his soul sense with it. He was learning to use the soul sense at the right time at the right intensity so that it doesn''t mentally drain him in the long run. One had to say that Eren was leaps and bounds further from his fellow participants when it came to employing his soul sense in his battle style. Hansen could count the participants who could use their soul sense on his fingers. And even they were far away from employing it in their battle styles. Eren enjoyed the process of experimenting to his heart''s content. He neither got disheartened when he made mistakes nor overexcited when hended his punches right. He even dragged fights with his opponents, giving them a false sense of hope only to kill them with his go-to moves when things got out of control. Battling like this allowed him to see the errors in his ways and work on them. It also prevented his opponents from bailing out early. The butcher had learned his lessons well from his previous encounters. He didn''t want to perform cardio chasing after his opponents while trying out various things. The butcher started getting exceptional results right from the beginning using Ken''s techniques. As a result, his enemies weren''t being butchered to death. Instead, they were being bludgeoned to death. Chapter 1064 Entering Lama Ruins It wasn''t easy to keep reinventing one''s self. It was difficult for the individual as well as for those around him. Steve couldn''t employ Eren in normal battle tactics anymore because of his experiments. And nobody had the right or the guts to tell Eren otherwise. Therefore, Eren''s team members started keeping a safe distance from him. They didn''t want to get involved in his experiments and suffer the consequences. After all, they didn''t have the convenience to heal themselves using their Ability. Ana would have been overworked to death if everybody kept acting like Eren mid-battle. That too, when the stakes were this high. The rest of the White Raven crew members neither had the guts nor the privilege to try something as crazy as what Eren was doing. Eren''s killing efficiency had dropped way down from its usual level at the beginning. However, he quickly recovered all of it for the most part in rtively no time at all. Eren''s gauntlet-covered fists started getting coated in his enemy''s blood. He was even more brutal than Steve with his attacks, exploring various nuances of his opponent''s anatomy. The butcher always targeted his opponents'' weak spots. He didn''t care about his opponents'' personal boundaries or gender. It was to the point that most members of Eren''s team started feeling sorry for his opponents after hearing their heart-wrenching screams. *** Steve''s demon beast Wilber also felt pressured by Eren''s presence. The participants were only allowed to keep their demon beasts inside the Beast Space. They couldn''t summon demon beasts to fight their battles for them. Nevertheless, tamers were allowed to use Demon Beast Transformations and Demon Spells. Steve''s Demon Beast Transformation allowed him to adopt Wilber''s physical characteristics while boosting his body stats. Plus, the body-strengthening art he had gotten from Wilber paired nicely with the Demon Beast Transformation. It allowed Steve to explore the limits of the beastly transformation defined by normal rankers. The berserker''s offensive and defensive capabilities were elevated at the same time. Plus, the body-strengthening art gave him elemental resistance to various spells. Steve became an unstoppable hurricane after stacking many of his advantages together. He dealt with his enemies with almost the same level of brutality as Eren. To test Steve''s limits, Eren told him to take care of the moderator all by himself. And the berserker managed to excel at his task with ster distinction. Steve had be a purist in terms of his battle style. He didn''t make much use of his Perks or spells. The guy wasfortable dealing with his opponents head-on. Most opponents weren''t even able tond serious injuries on him. *** Upon Eren''s orders, the White Raven crew didn''t wait for the enemy to turn hostile. It attacked the moderator as well as a few participants who were with him when the meeting took ce. Not even Becky posed a question about Eren''s decision this time. The teams needed to ensure their own safety before even thinking about forming alliances. The team''s path to the Lama Ruins was bloody and full of violence. It only allowed the defense mechanism to kick in for a few teams who it judged were genuine participants. The butcher insisted on killing all the rest of the enemies. The team''s Karma point umtion kept on increasing by leaps and bounds. All the members made use of various individual and group-based Perks avable for their use. Most were used to counter the opponents'' Perks while the others provided them with the edge they needed to dominate. Renita stayed with Ana when Steve and Jake weren''t around to defend her. She also supported Bel in his ranged attacks. The historian had also improved greatly. With a bit of help from the ranger, he was able to tackle and hold off multiple opponents at the same time without losing ground. Ron and Dino managed to keep up with the rest of the team. They performed their roles as support for Steve''s berserk charges well. They were told to concentrate on the offense and allow Steve to take a breather. With seamless team y and excellent individual performances, the White Raven crew managed to get inside the Lama Ruins safely. What they didn''t know was the fact that many teams had been eliminated during this time when they were trying to get inside the Lama Ruins. *** Metal towers and metal buildings. The Lama Ruins featured various metal constructions. From overhead hydro pipelines to runic cable cars, everything was made out of various mana-imbued metals. Even the ground beneath was made of metal sheets. Some of these metal constructions had gotten old and rusty. They had ayer of red and brown rust on them. The rest of the metal surfaces would shine dimly or brightly from time to time depending upon exposure to sunlight. There were various blind spots present inside the Lama Ruins. It seemed that the teams were encouraged to attack one another while they were busy getting their hands on Sage''s legacy. A team of rankers chose to stay low-key in a particr corner of the city. They started activating various security measures in their surroundings as a form of precaution against potential enemies. Steve and the rest started arranging the gs in an array diagram shared with them through the Sansara interface. These gs, which the White Raven crew had collected from its enemy teams, served as the keys to opening the entrance and keeping it open. Eren had already told his teammates that he''d be the one to attempt to inherit Nira Nightshade''s legacy. The gains he receives from the Sage legacy will be shared with his teammates. The ones he could share, that is. The gs were arranged systematically and the array was partially activated. At this point, various teams inside the Lama Ruins were waiting for the notification to arrive. The wait was eventually over. All the arrays created by the participants inside the Lama Ruins lit up at the same time as the notification arrived. A spatial tunnel was opened at the center of these arrayyouts. Chapter 1065 Nira Nightshade P1 Eren found himself inside what looked like a castle. After entering the space tunnel, he reached this location. He couldn''t see the castle''s exterior because he had been summoned right inside its giant hall. And he had found it impossible to get outside. This is even though the hall seemed to have multiple entrances and exits as well as ss windows that let the starlight in. The giant windows were at least 50 meters tall. Their premium-looking curtains were the same size. The curtains weren''t drawnpletely. As a result, the hall had a soft ambiance that added to its elegant vibe. The interior of the castle was a fine bnce between sophistication andvishness. The oddly shaped pir had golden detailing. There were white stone statues of many stallions with their front limbs raised in the air. It looked as if these stone statues would stomp the ground and charge out of the hall at any time they wanted to. There was a long blue carpet spread in the middle of the hall that stretched across the entire length of the hall. Its one end led to the inessible entrance while its other end led to the front of the hall which had stairs. The stairs would separate from each other after a certain height to lead in two separate directions. They would circle back and intersect with one another at galleries located at a certain altitude from each other. The hall''s ceiling was high enough for Eren to take a stable flight with his Wind-Fire Wings. The air inside the hall was stale as if nobody had visited or lived in this castle for a long time. The entire castle was enchanted to withstand the presence and pressure of high-ranking entities. It is unlikely that participants would cause damage to this ce in any way even if their restrictions were lifted. Step. Step. Step. Eren started walking around the hall to see if he could find something of interest. He wasn''t sure of the exact time but he could feel that it had been an hour since he had entered the hall. It was not the butcher''s style to spend his time idly. Eren started exploring the hall''s nooks and crannies. He could feel that this was Sage''s abode that he had been summoned to. After all, he had seen how Eliza lived despite centuries of istion from the real world. The ce didn''t have the same haunting touch as Eliza''s. However, the feelings he received just by being inside both castles were the same. "That''s right. It''s my home. Or more correctly, it used to be... when I lived here." Eren''s suspicions were confirmed by someone. Thetter turned around and looked at the front of the hall. A figure had appeared at the intersection of stairs that served as the gallery. Nira Nightshade. The castle was owned by the seductive night elf. She had light blue skin and light blonde hair. Naturally, her eyes glowed with crimson radiance, as if she had been born for nighttime hunting. Nira Nightshade was seen carrying a quiver on her back with a bunch of arrows in it. There was a bow in her left hand which would disappear from her hand and materialize in its previous position in the next moment. Nira Nightshade had long ears that poked out of her raised cape over her head. She had a sharp oval face, a rtively small nose, and bluish ivory lips. This Sage was as seductive as she was mysterious. Her prominent bust, slim waistline, and shapely posterior gave her an hourss figure. Despite her alluring looks, Nira managed to maintain a certain elegance about her. An elegance that was mixed with a lethal edge only a Sage could manage to project. Nobody would dare to notice her physical features when she was staring at them right in their eyes. Nira stood casually on the ledge, looking down at Eren. If one looked really carefully at her, they would be able to see things through her. Her appearance was like an apparition from a live array-basedmunication call, only more intimidating and real. Ever since he met Eliza, Eren would start drawingparisons between her and his opponents or some of the prominent figures he would meet. This was the kind of power scale his subconscious had created for itself to perceive the threat level of his enemies or potential enemies. Eren''s subconscious judged that Nira Nightshade was not as much of a threat to him as Eliza was. Still, he didn''t think this was afortable conclusion for him. Nira was still a Sage- an entity that had risen further than him as a ranker, far beyond him in the past and current timeline. She could hurt him at any time she wanted to. This was true even if what he was facing was nothing but a vestige of her soul. He still kneeled where he stood and bowed his head to offer his respects to the Sage. "It''s an honor to be graced with your presence, Sage Nira Nightshade. My name is Eren Elijah Idril. I was wondering where the rest of the participants were..." Eren asked about the participants who were supposed to be present with him. After all, the other teams had their representativesa" someone who had been sent inside to win rewards for the entire group. However, for some reason, Eren couldn''t find any of them here with him. He would rather face multiple opponents at the same time than get surprised by the sudden appearance of unknown participants. Nira chuckled and waved her hand as if swatting a fly beforementing. "Most of them were kicked out by me as soon as they entered the tunnel. The remaining ones are going through... let''s say preliminary assessment. You are the only one among them who doesn''t need to go through such an assessment. I wanted to see you personally as soon as you entered through the spatial tunnel. So I kept you here." Chapter 1066 Nira Nightshade P2 Eren was a bit taken aback when he realized Nira had started taking an extra interest in him. He was more aware of his abilities than anyone. There was no doubt that he hade far and there were not many in his generation who could match his current progress. Still, he didn''t think that someone like Nira Nightshade would take notice of him. After all, he wasn''t just a ranger or an archer, to begin with. It technically made him less qualified to receive Sage''s legacy than someone with a ranger ss or archery skills. At least that''s what Eren hoped Nira would read from his surface-level thoughts. It was clear that Nira''s apparition could read Eren''s surface-level thoughts well. Nira was just a vestige of the soul of her former self. However, her authority as a Sage couldn''t be questioned. At least not in her own castle. She also had ess to her soul sense which allowed her to judge the participants on a deeper level. She looked at Eren emotionlessly beforementing on his thoughts. "Not having a ranger ss doesn''t make you less qualified to receive my legacy, Eren." Eren breathed a sigh of relief deep in his psyche. After all, he knew that he would be able to incorporate any path and any specialty into his ranking journey. Nira disappeared from her ce and appeared right in front of me. "You don''t need to hide things from me. I can sense that you are trying to incorporate multiple specialties into your path. As a result, your mana signature reekspletely different from any other ranker." t in front of the kneeling Eren. She asked him to get up before observing him closely. She narrowed her eyes at him before speaking up. Just like Eren''s soul sense had a unique property to trap his opponents into grim illusions, Nira''s soul sense also had a special quality attached to it. She was able to smell and almost taste the live and residual mana signatures of rankers. As a ranger, Nira depended on her sense of smell to find her way about and track her opponents. She got so professional at using that skill set that when she awakened her soul sense, this was the peculiar power she unlocked with it. Nira could feel that Eren was different from the rest of the rankers the moment all the participants entered through the spatial tunnels from various locations inside the Lama Ruins. Eren''s uniqueness led her to take a closer look at him. Nira started walking around Eren as he stood motionless. The butcher was feeling tense at the apparition of a Sage taking an interest in him. She had summoned only him out of all the participants. Nira''s spective gaze and soul sense told Eren that Nira didn''t care about the qualifications of the participants who would eventually end up getting her legacy. She must have created the preliminary rounds on the spur of the moment to get some alone time to observe a unique specimen like Eren Idril. Nira''s eyes shone as if she had figured something out. She shed a knowing smile beforementing. "No it''s not just your mana signature. This bloodline energy I''m smelling you are half-blood." Eren narrowed his eyes when he heard Nira speak. Nira seemed to have special attributes rted to her soul sense that helped her discover his true identity. He didn''t want to turn hostile against a Sage even if she was nothing but an apparition. However, it looked like things were bound to go that way. Eren''s aura started to change. There was no respect in his demeanor anymore. He was ready to locate the array that kept the vestige of Nira''s soul and destroy it for good. He had Alephee on standby to locate the array for him as well. From being fearful of the Sages andpletely helpless in their presence to being fearful of Sages and still being able to face them head-on, One had to say that Eren hade a long way. He had already started to n multiple strategies topletely destroy the vestige of Nira''s soul along with the entire castle. Nira started chuckling when she sensed Eren''s bloodlust. She decided to clear a few things before Eren started taking some drastic measures against her. "Rx, Eren. I don''t n to hurt you in any way. Your half-blood status doesn''t bother me. I had faced many half-bloods in my past when I was in thend of Anfang. I faced some of them as "rivals" and others as let''s say "lovers" by the rudimentary definitions of those worlds, that is." Eren didn''t let his guard down even after hearing Nira''s non-threatening response. However, he stopped himself from taking extreme measures against her. Nira could feel that the assurance she had offered to Eren wasn''t enough. So she added further. "Listen here, boy. I am my former self''s apparition forever locked inside this castle. I have no reason to lie to you. I gain nothing from abiding by thend of Anfang''s rules anymore. What''s more? My real self is not in thend of Anfang. So I am no longer bound by this world''s restrictions either." Eren had to say that he was surprised by what Nira was telling him. The way she said those things made it seem like she was still alive somewhere outside thend of Anfang. He had often wondered how the Sages of Anfang kept themselves busy after reaching the pinnacle of power in this world. It looked like some of them would leave this behind to seek greater heights. It seemed like Nira was in a mood to share things with Eren. She wasn''t bound by Anfang''s rules either. Plus, her castle was a safe ce to talk about these things. The ghost of the Sage-ranked ranger stood in front of Eren after circling him. She looked him in the eyes before continuing with a yful tone. Chapter 1067 Half-Bloods’ Origins Eren maintained an expressionless face as he listened to Nira Nightshade''s words. "Hehe. I was never so shallow-minded as to look at half-bloods as if they were the scum of the world. So what if they arebeled as demonkin or demon spawns? This entire kingdom was established because of demonic rankers like us in the first ce." Eren found it difficult to maintain his stoic look when he heard Nira''s statement. He had so many questions to ask. But he figured he should let Nira continue talking on her own initiative. And that''s what she intended to do all along. Nira shrugged her shoulders before speaking up. "You must know about the demon beasts'' origins by now. The demons upy the mana beasts'' bodies and turn them into vessels. They can take humanoid forms after ranking up their beastly shells. Have you ever wondered how the first line of half-bloods was created? It was created when demon-like creatures mated with normal humanoids. Mana beasts sleeping with the "children of Creation" are already frowned upon by the "gods". And if the act is done while a demon is using the beast''s body as a shell, then it bes taboo. After all, half-bloods gain demonic roots from birth when they are sired by demons'' soul fragments. It is rooted in their bloodlines, making them demonkin. And there''s nothing the "gods" can do to change that. Half-bloods descend from demons. As such, we can say that they are born demons. And in some ways, they are more dangerous than demons born out of chaos." Eren could have never guessed that one of the long-standing questions he had in both his timelines would get answered like this in this ce. His mind was upied by metaphorical white noise while he stopped thinking. "This. This is big." Eren mumbled to himself finally. Eren had learned a lot about demons and demonic possessions recently. However, the information Nira gave him was like something hiding in in sight. Nira wasn''t surprised that Eren didn''t know about these things despite being a half-blood himself. She knew that most uninitiated half-bloods in thend of the Anfang who hadn''t been targeted by the establishments were unaware of their identities and what it meant to be a half-blood. Edinburgh had the Blood Punisher Force search and destroy the half-bloods found within the kingdom''s territory. Other establishments in the Anfang alliance also had their own special units to get rid of the demonkin known as half-bloods. The Anfang alliance kept tabs on the half-bloods across the entire continent of Anfang. It prevented the half-bloods from ever prospering in the world. It hunted everyone and killed them all without any distinction to prevent a so-called demonic rise. One could say that the half-bloods belonged to the demon realm from the moment they were born. They had many advantages over normal rankers. They were as powerful as the demonic rankers of their generation without the side effects that the demonic rankers were used to facing. The half-bloods didn''t have to worry about demon soul fragments taking hold of them. Plus, they had mortal bodies that were supported by the worlds they were in, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of both worlds. Eren had too many questions to ask Nira Nightshade. However, after analyzing Sage''s previous words, he decided to prioritize a specific one. "Sage Nira, what do you mean by the kingdom of Edinburgh getting established by demonic rankers? Do you mean" Nira shed a cunning smile at Eren before confirming his doubts. "Do you think four Sages would serve the first king of EdinburghC Emil Edinburgh von Renar because they found joy in servitude? Emil was just the puppet we decided to use as a face. I, Ivar, Yuffie, and Lin. We were all demonic rankers who had decided to create a kingdom for ourselves so that it would serve as our foundation. All four of us wanted to break our shackles and seek new horizons in newnds. We couldn''t do what we wanted as long as the Anfang alliance was still active. And we couldn''t do things covertly either as long as we were not in power. So we had to hide our demonic powers and chose Emil to lead a rebellion against a then-giant kingdom known as Silvermoon." Eren was quickly reminded of the city of Silvermoon as soon as Nira spoke. Thetter nodded at him before proceeding. "That''s right. The city of Silvermoon that exists today in Edinburgh does have a connection with the previous kingdom. After all, Edinburgh and Layos were once part of the same kingdom before it was partitioned." Nira looked upwards and stared at the ceiling as she recalled the past. Eren didn''t need to ask her anything at this point. She smiled lightly before speaking in a casual tone. "Emil von Renar yed his part as the leader of the rebellion well. He invoked a sentiment in humans'' minds that they were being oppressed by their elven rulers. This half-truth became the fire that we needed to carve out our own piece ofnd from the kingdom of Silvermoon and form our puppet government." Nira started walking towards the stairs, hinting at Eren to follow her. She shrugged her shoulders before speaking further. "Even as an elf myself, I''ll go ahead and say that humans were indeed less privileged to some degree than their elven counterparts. However, Emil yed smart. He exaggerated the oppression and downyed the good that the then-rulers of the Silvermoon kingdom attempted to do. Many people like to see themselves as victims of their circumstances. It''s like they need some kind of reason to justify their failures. It bes easier to manipte them once the concept of oppression has been cemented in their minds. The rebellion picked up the pace for over a century. Things got so out of hand that even most of the elves felt like they didn''t want to do anything with the human rebels." Eren had heard bits and pieces about the history between the kingdom of Layos and the kingdom of Edinburgh. Nevertheless, he didn''t know they both hailed from the same ce of origin. Eren had his head down while following Nira. He narrowed his eyes andmented. "So the rebellion that King Emil von Renar led was sessful." Chapter 1068 Edinburghs Formation Nira nodded her head adding further. "Things like rebellion are just like a wildfire, Eren. It takes courage to chop down an entire forest to stop the fire - getting rid of critical resources to prevent further damage. The party tricks to quell the fire are only meant to dy the inevitable and make matters even moreplicated in the long run. Anyway, the kingdom of Silvermoon understood the truth very well. It just couldn''t implement countermeasures the right way. After all, the rebellion was backed by rankers like us. As a result, the Silvermoon kingdom suffered through a rough patch when the rebellion was bing increasingly violent. One side wanted humans to stop demanding more than they could chew. The other side wanted to have an uprising against their oppressors. And both sides were joined by prominent figures of their time. Things kept getting heated even after the Anfang Alliance''s intervention. Then one fine day, the kingdom of Silvermoon was split into two smaller kingdomsC the kingdom of Layos and the kingdom of Edinburgh. Even after they failed to squash the rebellion, the elves were still a powerful force. They managed to keep the most fertilends of that time. The kingdom of Layos was established by uniting thosends under one jurisdiction. Thanks to us four Sages as well as others who shared our vision, Emil also managed to keep arge part of thend for himself. Compared to thends of current Layos, Edinburgh didn''t have many resources to cultivate right after its partition. Edinburgh at that time was much like the barrennd you had bought from House Remus. Or more correctly, thatnd was the original state of the Edinburgh kingdom until we intervened and started using the Water of Leith more extensively than before." Eren was stopped in his tracks when he heard Nira talk about his city. It seemed that the Sage was in touch with the current happenings outside. The kingdom of Edinburgh must have kept her in the loop, he thought. Or the Sage had her own means to get information about the outside worldC just like Eliza. Eren immediately followed Nira as she continued. "The rulers of the previous kingdom became the royalty of the Layos. And the face of the rebel army became the first king of the newly established kingdom of Edinburgh. This is how Edinburgh started having royalty from thin air. Just like every other royal family anywhere on thend of Anfang. Hehe. I pity these so-called royal scions who think they are entitled to barge into my ce and demand some form of reward. And for what? Just because they have Renar as their surname? They don''t know that the first king of Edinburgh was nothing but a puppet in our hands." Eren sighed as he thought about what Nira must have done to the royal participants who thought they deserved something from this ce-- just because Nira Nightshade was seen as the follower of the first king Emil Edinburgh von Renar. If his guess was correct, there would be fewer royal participants remaining in the event after the first legacy''s trial is over. Nira supposedly didn''t care that she had gotten rid of a few nuisances. She climbed the stairs and stopped at the first gallery. A throne-like chair was summoned out of nowhere before the night elf sat on it. Nira reclined in her chair and tucked her off-golden hair behind her ears. She looked at Eren pensively and took a long breath before continuing. "The Layos'' royalty thought that it had banished all the forces of rebellion into the barrennds. Which was true for the most part. Edinburgh at that time was rtively small, restricted to thend that is now the Duchy of Lionheart. It was us Sages who settled the disputes with the Anfang alliance and other kingdoms. It was us who cultivated thends by re-harnessing the Water of Leith. It was us Sages who prated deep into the Bands and imed the parts for ourselves. We liberated huge plots ofnd from monsters'' control and stretched Edinburgh''s borders to its current standards. That''s why three out of four duchies are always in constant conflict with monsters more than anywhere else on thend of Anfang. The monsters feel that it''s theirnd that we stole from them. The region I wrestled away from the monsters is now called the Nightshade Duchy. Lin and Yuffie pursued their own ways and freed some morends, which became Edinburgh''s remaining duchies and were named after them. We had decided that Ivar would deal with the elven forces that belonged to the newly established Layos. So he stayed on the original piece ofnd that was freed from the kingdom of Silvermoon. As a result, it was named after his titleC the Lionheart duchy." Eren had stayed at the bottom of the stairs. He smiled at Nira beforementing. "We were told it was the first king Emil Edinburgh von Renar that gave you those pieces ofnd to govern. He turned you into four archdukes. It was said that he gifted you those duchies to honor the contribution you had made towards him." Nira shrugged her shoulders before answering with a simple word. "A ssic case of whitewashing. It was us who told Emil to run with that story. After all, it''s fine for history books to have a few bloody pages. But you need some sort of emotional angle to invoke a sense of belonging in the hearts of themon popce. A rebel hero and his loyal followers. That kind of story always sells well. Emil wasn''t much of a fighter. But he was a very capable leader. He was smart enough to know his limits and never disrespected our wishes in any way. For public consumption, we agreed to be seen as the benefactor under his control. And I have to say it worked out well for all of us in the long run." Eren smiled mirthlessly at the cunning with which the four Sages had carved a piece ofnd for themselves in the past. It could be said that they had taken the same route as him. However, the scales on which they operated were muchrger. Chapter 1069 The Art Of Manipulation ''Haah! I wonder how Rodrick would feel after I tell him about Emil''s real condition back then.'' The butcher wondered how the royal scions would feel if they heard about the real history of how Edinburgh was formed. He wanted to see their faces after finding out their ancestor was nothing but a convenient pawn in the hands of these Sages. Eren even had a serious urge to tell Rodrick about these things and see him dete like a balloon. Because he was sure that most royal scions wouldn''t have acted this cocky if they just knew how things really yed out in history. Nira felt like the scenes of the past were appearing one by one like a moving montage of pictures in front of her eyes. She sighed and added further. "Our sess was a huge aplishment for Emil on paper. The most infuriating thing for the elven royalty was that it lost its capital city in Silvermoon''s partition. Emil knew that I still had close rtionships with a few of my people from the elfmunity. I guess he didn''t want to upset me by taking it too far. So he didn''t harm the previous capital city that much. Instead, he made a few changes to it and renamed it the city of Silvermoon. The city of Silvermoon saw the least amount of violence even after the kingdom of Silvermoon was split into two. Overnight, the city protector and people in the administration changed. This was how Emil managed to conquer his enemies'' capital without shedding much blood." ? Eren remembered the city of Silvermoon perfectly, thanks to both his timelines. He could tell that the city had a lot of history hidden deep within its core. The Elven ns were always known to be entric. However, the butcher could tell that the elves living inside the city of Silvermoon were not that attached to the kingdom of Edinburgh. He could also understand why someone like JJ Edgar was attracted to the city of Silvermoon so much. Only now did he know the reason why. Still, there was something that was bothering Eren. "Sage Nira, if the city of Silvermoon received the least amount of harm from the rebellion, howe it is notC let''s sayC as important-looking as it should have been supposed to be? I mean the city of Silvermoon is definitely one of the top-tier cities in the Duchy of Lionheart. But it pales inparison to Edin. And I don''t think the previous rulers of the unpartitioned kingdom would have handed the city of Silvermoon in its current condition to Emil." Nira could tell that Eren was just like her and the other Sages by the kind of questions he was asking her. Just like them, he understood the value of owning a cash cow and staying under the establishment''s radar. She smiled subtly before answering his question. "Emil had patience if nothing else. The man was willing to wait by the riverbank and watch the bodies of his enemies float by, no matter how long it took. Cajoling the elves with pleasant words and promises. Managing perception in the elvenmunity by paying prominent elven ns. Threatening the elven rebels who wanted to push forward the old royalty''s agenda. Andstly, using treachery and diplomacy to divide the enemy elves into multiple groups before getting rid of them. Emil used every move in his books. The sporadic cases of rebellion within the city were neatly put down by Emil. He then offered the elves special rights. He offered them prestigious ces in his royal court and turned them into his allies." Eren could tell that Nira acknowledged Emil''s talent for politics. The man had managed to establish a kingdom for himself. The fact that he had Sages like Nira backing him up didn''t take away from his aplishments. He even incorporated ego-centric Sages into his n and used their names for his benefit. Nira took a brief pause before continuing. "The elven families that hadn''t left the city due to various reasons were encouraged to stay at the ce by Emil. The city of Silvermoon served as a beacon of hope for all the elven citizens of the kingdom of Edinburgh. These citizens were indecisive about whether they should stay where they were or move to the kingdom of Layos. However, they all foundfort in the existence of the city of Silvermoon. Of course, Emil knew that he couldn''t use the city of Silvermoon as his capital city anymore after letting the elvenmunity stay there. So he chose to build his capital city over the ruins of the past era and named it Edin. Parts of the ruins can be seen inside Sansara World. Emi started reducing the city of Silvermoon''s importance. He did things moderately and spanned them over a long time, allowing people to get used to the new change. Since thest century, the city of Silvermoon has been just another peaceful city inside the Duchy of Lionhearts. Itpletely lost its extravagance and turned into a ce where the elves could gather and enjoy quality family time. And the most important thing to note is that the elves are happy with the change." Eren had to say that Emil was even more of a master maniptor than him just by hearing his feats through Sage''s mouth. The butcher liked to believe that he could have achieved the same thing as Emil if he was put in his shoes. However, he would have ended up creating unrest in the future after he abdicated the throne. Emil was better than Eren at the art of maniption because his results were longsting. Because the fruits of hisbors were still being tasted by his current extended family. The butcher wasn''t sure if he could have done things better than Emil. He didn''t try to rise above the Sages that supported him. In fact, he amodated them as much as he could and made use of their names to strengthen his hold over the kingdom. "Some people just have a knack for politics, Eren. I''m sure you can understand. Your smell tells me you are not that different from the first king of this kingdom. Hehe. How about it, boy? Want to raise another rebellion and split the kingdom of Edinburgh into even more pieces?" Eren had only one thought deep in his mind when he heard Nira''s question. ''Stop sniffing me.'' Chapter 1070 Silvermoons Demonic Connection "Hehe. How about it, boy? Want to raise another rebellion and split the kingdom of Edinburgh into even more pieces?" Nira asked yfully as she rested her head on the palm of her hand in a forward head posture. She looked at Eren intently as if trying to read the mystery that was surrounding him. The butcher smiled before responding. "This pond is already starting to get smaller for me. What will I do even if I conquer it? I''d rather enter a muchrger pool like the one you guys are currently swimming in." Nira became speechless after Eren''s response before breaking into a peal ofughter. She knew Eren''s background. The guy had established a prominent city in the Nightshade Duchy. It was like his mini kingdom. Nira had yed the same game. As a result, she knew how astute one needed to be to achieve something that Eren had achieved. Furthermore, he had done that in a very short timeC while he was not even a high-ranked entity. With no background and no financial blessing from anyone. Therefore, Nira didn''t think that Eren was bragging in front of her when he said what he said. She chuckled before adding further. "So where was I? Yeah Emil''s move was politically motivated. There''s no doubt about that. However, it prevented further esction of conflict within the kingdom. The kingdom of Layos was also pacified when the city of Silvermoon stayed intact despite the mes of rebellion surrounding it. That move cemented Emil''s self-proimed belief that the rebellion had taken ce not to hurt the elvenmunity but to nurture so-called oppressed humankind. The two kingdoms eventually managed to form diplomatic ties. The elven royalty would visit the city of Silvermoon in a hush-hush manner every so often to relive their past. Some would even stay, promoting the city''s growth with their contribution. That brat Jian was one such elven royalty who decided to stay inside the city of Silvermoon. He couldn''t handle the royal games so he decided to change sides. Jian stayed in the city of Silvermoon for a long time before deciding to move to the city of Curar. There, he would go on to establish Healers'' Nirvana. Hehe. I find it funny that the brat who was most passionate in his generation about bing Layos'' King was the first one to call it quits. He stepped out of that quagmire and never looked back. Jian and his wife both managed to break into the Sage ranks just recently though. So I guess nobody can question their achievements anymore. Incidentally, the kingdom of Layos doesn''t know about the couple''s breakthrough. So some of Jian''s enemies dared to attack his guild to smoke it out." ? Eren wasn''t shocked to learn from Nira about Jiana''s connection with Layos'' royalty. However, he was shocked to learn that her parents had managed to break into the Sage rank. Only now did Eren realize why the Layos'' royalty was at odds with Jiana and her guild. The Jihang couple must have been seen as an eyesore by the Jian royal contestants of his time. After all, he managed to thrive in the enemy kingdom and proved Emil''s point right. Nira''s eyes shone with a crimson hue as she continued. We four Sages wanted to create a safe haven for ourselves by creating this kingdom. It would support us until we either manage to break through our current ranks or find a way to leave this world. After all, it would be foolish to mess with the Anfang Alliance. It has an army of Sages loyal to its cause. We wouldn''t have stood a chance. So we let Emil be the face of us. He aligned his kingdom with the Anfang Alliance and the kingdom of Layos followed in his footsteps. As a result, both kingdoms started taking a hardline stand against cultists, rogues, and demonic rankers. The deep states of both kingdoms recognize that their origin kingdom, Silvermoon, had demonic connections. In fact, Silvermoon thrived on that connection until Emil''s rebellion. Both kingdoms kept these things dark to prevent the Anfang Alliance from taking action against them. But both kingdoms aimed to amplify the demonic connection in the shadows to gain an edge over the other. Sansara World was created by collecting spatial fragments of ruins from the past, an era that predates us. Lin created this special spatial dimension to hide the demonic connection it has." Eren knew what Nira was talking about just fine. Alephee had also told him in the beginning that the Golden Globe hanging motionlessly in the Edinnica Arena was giving her demonic vibes. His immediate thoughts, however, revealed a sense of curiosity before he asked. "What kind of demonic connection?" Nira Nightshade shed a cunning smile before answering. "This ce hides within itself a one-of-a-kind demonic altar. A demonic altar dedicated to a very powerful demon I might add. The kingdom of Edinburgh reported to the kingdom of Layos that it had destroyed the altar when both kingdoms still shared active diplomatic ties. However, Edinburgh''s traitor Isen Osan informed the kingdom of Layos that the altar had been kept intact. Can you guess what Layos did after finding the news from Isen?" Eren met Nira''s eyes and answered without a moment''s dy. "Send in the infiltrators into the Sansara World to confirm Isen''s intel. And gain ess to the altar, if possible." Eren realized why the kingdom of Edinburgh didn''t take extreme measures against the infiltrators at the beginning. This was a secret shared by both kingdoms and they both wanted to keep it that way. After all, neither side wanted to provoke the Anfang Alliance. However, he knew that all bets were about to be off once Edinburgh''s side found out that the infiltrators had managed to kill Rufus. He had added oil to the fire by using the demonic altar for himself as well. It was only a matter of time before both sides turned openly hostile. Chapter 1071 War Is One Of The Eternal Truths Of Life ''Hehe. It is you. You are the viin behind the scenes.'' Alephee said something mischievous to Eren without alerting Nira Nightshade. Incidentally, she wasn''t in her pendant abode. She was exploring the Sage''s Abode while thetter was busy talking with Eren. *** Eren couldn''t deny Alephee''s "usations". The Osan Woods'' Butcher fiasco served as the spark to light the fire that already existed between the two kingdoms. He then injected massive amounts of weapons and potion bombs into the open market - supplying both sides with weapons to fill up the White Raven Guild''s coffers. The butcher appointed Kaalmahen to act as his proxy to form a supply-and-distribution chain inside the Bands. He supplied the kingdom of Layos directly. He also used Serius Fenris'' connections to supply other establishments as wellC arming anyone he could find to their teeth. Eren was involved in the Delva Gorge incident as well. It had allowed the spies and cultists of Midnight Moon to infiltrate the kingdom of Edinburgh. For the kingdom of Edinburgh, Eren created royal conspiracies that were suspected to have foreign hands. And he literally sponsored a series of bombing incidents in the kingdom of Layos, spreading terrorism that had obvious links with the kingdom of Edinburgh. The fact that he had killed many royal scions from both sides was a separate matter altogether. The actions he had taken inside the Sansara World were going to be the final nail in the coffin. With the history of violence already existing between the two kingdoms, the butcher was surprised that the two kingdoms were not at each other''s throats. Eren''s direct and indirect involvement in many such incidents became the reason for the worsening of ties between the two kingdoms. Not that the butcher cared. In fact, he couldn''t wait for the war to start. He had invested so much of his resources to benefit from the wartime economy. Nira Nightshade only knew about Eren''s achievements that were already public. Had she known what the butcher had done to cause the war-like situation between the two kingdoms, she would have seen Eren in a different light. *** ''Hey! Mind yournguage, Miss Timeless. I don''t consider myself to be a hero or a viin. I''m just doing what''s right for me. As simple as that. So cut me some ck here.'' Eren replied to Alephee''sment as he was seen pondering Nira Nightshade''s revtions. He sounded dramatically hurt to Alephee as if she had used him of something he didn''t do. The homunculus chuckled before responding. ''Hehe. The fact that you don''t see anything wrong with what you have done makes you even more of a viin. At least that''s how the definition of a viin works anyway. They think everything that they do is fine and justified.'' Alephee said before taking a short pause. She changed her tone this time before speaking up. ''Not that I''mining. No idle concept that gets written in books is without its ws when ites to reality. And war is one of the eternal truths of life. As long as there are living beings, there will be wars somewhere.'' Eren smiled in his head when he heard Alephee''s way of making it up to him for her earlier "usations." His voice sounded serious to Alephee when he asked his next question. ''Did you find what you were looking for?'' Alephee seemed busy with something. She replied after a brief pause. ''No. I''ll need some more time.'' ''Alright.'' Eren said and cut off his mental connection with Alephee before looking up. He met Nira Nightshade''s inquisitive eyes before asking her another question. "Sage Nira, can you tell me why the continent-epassing array exists? And who put something like that up and running in the first ce?" Eren decided to push his luck. He finally asked what he had been meaning to ask someone like Nira all along. The Sage seemed to be outside the range of the continent-spanning array. Or at least she could use some loopholes in it under some special circumstances. Eren could tell that Nira was trying to get him to her side for some reason. She obviously had something nned for him. The butcher decided to use that to his advantage. Nira was unsure at first. But she thought of something and activated the istion array inside the hall. Eren felt like his mental connection with Alephee had been affected ever since the runic details on the pirs and the ground lit up. However, he felt d that the istion array was raised. It could only mean one thing. That Nira had decided to answer him. "The presence of demons is not healthy for any world, Eren. Especially Demon Princes who are considered the rulers of all the demons. Demonic powers have a certain pull. Those who have experienced that pull will always be tempted to use them at any cost." Nira was speaking from experience, of course. Her eyes shined when she spoke of demonic powers. It looked like she was proud of the path she had chosen for herself. The Sage narrowed her eyes on Eren before adding further. "I''m sure you understand what I''m talking about. I can smell at least one Sin Series Mark on you." ''This damn sniffer dog'' Eren cursed Nira in his head before jumbling up his thoughts. He sighed before nodding at her. Thetter chuckled and continued. "Thend of Anfang is closed to all outsiders. It doesn''t suffer from demonic rituals anymore. Most people don''t even know that demons exist. Only high-ranking entities like you get to know about their existence eventually. Even then, they cannot use the limited knowledge they have to cause chaos. Even the altar for the Prince of Gluttony that the Sansara World hosts are subject to various restrictions. It only uses the participants'' blood to stay functional." The fact Alephee had shared with Eren was reiterated by Nira Nightshade. However, the butcher looked like he was hearing everything for the first time. He had years of experience to pull this off in front of Sage''s vestige of a soul. Nira didn''t mind that Eren''s curiosity was reaching its peak about everything she was saying to him. She expected reactions like these to be invoked in him from the beginning. The Sage archer got up from her throne-like seating arrangement and spoke further. Chapter 1072 Cultists Origins Nira Nightshade had decided to share a few things with Eren for reasons known only to her. "Thend of Anfang is restricted in many ways. However, with restrictionses security. These restrictions protect the establishments'' interests and make it easy for them to govern even the most powerful rankers of their respective generations. The existence of demons is a closed-door discussion restricted to only high-ranking entities, thus preventing the spread of the demonic pull. You need to know that even knowing the demons'' true names empowers them. The Anfang Alliance would never allow demons to be powerful under its watch. So it introduced various chokeholds over the ry of information through several means. Even the Sages of Anfang are not exempt from these chokeholds. Only someone like me can openly talk about this subject without suffering anysting consequences." Nira Nightshade didn''t forget to highlight the fact that what she was providing Eren was precious knowledge he couldn''t acquire from his connections. It also seemed that Nira was struggling a bit to keep the istion zone active. Eren thanked Nira nonverbally by bowing to her. He asked her his next question after thinking about something. "What about the worlds that don''t have such control over their masses?" Nira replied promptly as if expecting something like that from Eren. "You''ll find that worlds that have absolute freedom will have to pay the price for it as well. These worlds contain the most powerful demons in any form, and they all have their cults. Cults like these influence themon popce through various temptations, before sacrificing their souls to their respective demons. Of course, there exist some forces that oppose demonic practices. However, they end up forming their own versions of cults, exploiting people in their own ways. The battles between these two opposing sides end up hurting themon popce. Most members of such societies are forced to choose between the two sides because bystanders suffer even more." Nira''s voice turned serious as she started speaking about the core of the story. "The restrictions you, as the denizen of the Anfang, live under were not always there. The world of Anfang was free just like these worlds back then. Therefore, it was also gued by such demonic practices long ago. The demonic practitioners and the forces opposing them both had their own cults. And the establishments suffered at the hands of rankers from both sides." Eren was listening keenly. He suddenly had a eureka moment when he connected the past with the present. "That''s where the term "cultist"es from!" Nira Nightshade nodded at Eren before continuing. "That''s right. In the past, the term "cultists" was used to refer to all the rankers who belonged to either side. The lost paths of magic that are sought by the cultists of today are all rted to demonic or divine magic practiced by these cults of the past. The cultists of today can only be regarded as a nuisancepared to the real cultists back then. They are a dry husk of their former selves thanks to the restrictions ced by the establishments of today. Nevertheless, the fact that cultists are trying to use lost paths of magic is a concern for establishments. Every once in a while, a select group of these cultists manages to achieve a breakthrough in their search, causing a widespread disturbance. This is the reason the Anfang Alliance doesn''t tolerate the existence of cultists. Especially those who achieve some form of sess by walking on the lost paths of magic. It doesn''t want to revert to its previous state of absolute chaos by allowing the lost paths to proliferate after all." Nira Nightshade took a brief pause to gather her thoughts. She summoned her bow subconsciously while she was thinking about something. She yed with the weapon''s bowstring and turned her back on Eren before speaking further. "The rulers of that time were unable to control these cultists. They too were forced to choose a side. And they chose the side of the gods that looked least harmful. They started offering their prayers to the gods." Nira Nightshade suddenly turned around before continuing with an even grimmer tone. "These gods had unbelievable powers. However, just like the demons, they too were bound by certain rules of the cosmos from interfering directly. Therefore, they would empower their followers in exchange for their absolute devotion. If demons could send their soul fragments into various worlds, the gods could send their blessings to counter them. These blessings could be used by the denizens of their respective worlds to fight demonic practitioners. There was one god who became particrly active in thend of Anfang ever since various establishments began praying for him officially. He started gaining poprity when he started blessing various top rankers at that time and they obtained exceptional results. He was a god named Vulcan." Eren raised his eyebrows at the mention of the name Vulcan. He scratched the back of his head before speaking. "I think I have heard that name before." He said, still sounding doubtful. It took him another second to figure out where he had heard the god''s name. The butcher had heard it from one of his victims when he was robbing the rankers who had participated in House Remus'' auction. Nira Nightshade nodded at Eren before speaking up. "I''m sure you have. History finds its way to cast a shadow over the present in any era. Anyway, the god Vulcan came up with the idea of a continent-epassing array to stop the proliferation of demonic influence. His followers preached his message and influenced the establishments in every way to follow the path their god had shown for all the denizens of the Anfang. Eren, you have to know that the gods that exist for real are nothing like their supposed definitions might imply. They are not benevolent beings who care about their followers. And they don''t do anything for free. The God Vulcan''s followers started demanding sacrifices. At first, sacrifices were limited to mana beasts. Then uwful rankers serving prison sentences became the next target for such sacrifices. The God Vulcan had various temples on thend of Anfang at that time. And these temples started pushing for more from their respective establishments. It wasn''t long before normal people started getting sacrificed. === AN: The name "Vulcan" was first mentioned in chapter 577. Chapter 1073 Spirit Beasts And God Sparks The castle hall fell silent for a while. Nira Nightshade took her time to choose her words carefully before speaking up. "The establishments of Anfang still decided to heed God Vulcan''s suggestions for the greater good. They thought that their misery would end once the continent-epassing array was formed. However, they eventually found out that things were not as simple as God Vulcan had them believe. It turned out that he was using sacrificial energy to create God Sparks." Nira sighed and shook her head before continuing. "The world of Anfang is not what you''d call a top-tier world. The chances of it developing a God Spark naturally are close to zero. Therefore, God Vulcan used the sacrificial energy as a catalyst to create the possibilities for God Sparks to exist. Various Spirit Beasts were born into thend of Anfang as a result of God Vulcan''s way of ying god. These Spirit Beasts were the manifestations of the World Will and the various elementalws it has. The God Vulcan''s followers were joyful about the results. They started chanting his name even louder, calling his deeds "the miracles of a god." The Sage Archer shed a cunning smile as she spoke her next words with a tinge of fervor. "You know why they were joyful? That''s because Spirit Beasts can turn into God Sparks." An eerie atmosphere started to spread. Nira Nightshade looked at Eren intently. And thetter knew at that time why the Sage was cooperating with him so much. She expected a hefty reward for her information. ? She had sniffed out the existence of something special Eren had in his possession. Eren''s voice turned grim as he said his next words with a tinge of suppressed anger injected into them. "My Spirit Beast! You want my Spirit Beast in return for the information. You want to cultivate a God Spark for yourself." Eren deduced Nira Nightshade''s intentions and asked her to confirm them openly. His voice was cold and callous and his aura started having a bit of bloodlust. Nira Nightshade was stunned by Eren''s boldness. But she smiled and ignored Eren''s feeble protest. It didn''t bother her that a mere C-ranker was angry at her for demanding something precious. She knew Eren wouldn''t understand what he had in his possession. Not really. Hence, she expected him to turn angry at her "request." Nira Nightshade assumed that she needed to make Eren understand that what he had wasn''t useful for him now. She smiled brightly at Eren before speaking further. "That''s right. The Spirit Beasts are incredibly difficult to find in any world, Eren. Only one of the thousands of worlds would have them. Can you imagine such a disparity? Even if you know that a particr world has them, finding the Spirit Beast is extremely difficult. Making them show themselves in your presence is even more so. Can you imagine the difficulty level of finding a Spirit Beast now? Multiply that level by 100 and it still wouldn''t give you the exact picture of how difficult it is." Nira''s crimson eyes shone with a tinge of greed as she continued. "I''m telling you all this to make you understand the true danger you are in by carrying something like a Spirit Beast with you. The rarity of a Spirit Beast makes it extremely sought-after by all the strong individuals in and outside of Anfang. You are basically painting a target on your back by possessing a conscious fragment of the World''s Will. Especially with your current ranking status. The Spirit Beasts can''t die as long as the worlds that birthed them continue to exist. However, they can''t be captured or imed so easily. One needs extreme luck and talent to get their hands on a Spirit Beast. Show of force doesn''t work on a Spirit Beast. It''ll just vanish into thin air if the owner dies. And it can''t be taken away from the owner if he doesn''t hand it over willingly. However, rankers like me just need to press the right buttons to get you to yield to our wishes. Don''t you want your city to prosper so that it can support your growth? Don''t you want more information about the past to make sense of the present?" Nira Nightshade''s threats were subtle and on point. She didn''t try to antagonize Eren directly. But her words implied that she wanted Eren''s Spirit Beast under any condition. That she was willing to go to any length to get it. Eren wanted to say something to Nira Nightshade at that time. Her overwhelming soul sense shut him up before she addressed the issue he was about to raise. "Yes, my soul sense powers are special. I admit that Spirit Beasts can''t be detected easily by everyone. Even Sages would find it nearly impossible to detect something like that on you. However, one thing you should never do is underestimate Sages. They all have their own ways of getting the truth out of you. If normal ways don''t work, they''ll just do something extreme. Which makes them even more dangerous." Nira Nightshade walked close to Eren and grabbed his jaw with her ghostly hands. The Sage''s apparition was almost as tall as Eren, allowing them to look into each other''s eyes. Nira Nightshade got extremely close to him before whispering her next set of words. "I am doing you a favor, Eren. You don''t even have any use for the Spirit Beast at your current rank, do you? However, you''ll have to face the danger of being targeted by people like me once the information gets out. What will you do at that time? I''ll give you all the information you need. Plus, I''ll give you my entire legacy. I''ll even put in a good word for you. It is enough for you to live like royalty within the borders of Anfang for as long as you want to stay here. All in exchange for the Spirit Beast you have. You have to agree to hand it over willingly before we proceed any further. Tell me, Eren Elijah Idril. Do you agree with my offer?" Chapter 1074 Birth Of The Anfang Alliance "Tell me, Eren Elijah Idril. Do you agree with my offer?" Sedating Gaze! Eren replied to Nira Nightshade''s offer by casting his Ability on her. His eyes turnedpletely white before various runic markings started appearing in them. With Eren''s rank-up, his ocr Ability also received a huge boost. It could now affect the souls of his opponents on a deeper level. Nira Nightshade felt like she was back in her past where she had to struggle for everything in thend of Anfang. One by one, she recalled scenes from her past where she had struggled. However, the faces of the people surrounding her had been morphed to look like flesh flowers. Nira saw the flesh flowers that were people''s heads burst into a million pieces just as they got close to her, spreading blood and organs on her body. She soon found herself living her old memories while being covered in the blood of people she knew. Nira knew that she had been subjected to Eren''s Ability. In the illusory world, it altered her perception of time and made her suffer more. The Sage was aware that what she was seeing was nothing but an illusion. However, she had to admit that Eren had unlocked a very dangerous Ability at such a young age. She was sure that no ordinary ranker of Eren''s generation would stop themselves from falling prey to his Ability''s illusions. The butcher didn''t even need to kill such people. They might die on their own while being trapped inside the illusory world. One''s Abilities would tell a lot about a person and their disposition. Nira immediately concluded that Eren was nothing like the Emil she knew from the past. The young man in front of her was not only proficient at politics but also in the business of causing death and destruction in his wake. His unyielding heart as a ranker was beating with thoughts of surpassing any restrictions ced on him. Eren knew that his Ability wasn''t enough to incapacitate Sage''s vestige of soul. However, it was enough to put pressure on her. This was especially true since she was maintaining an istion array. Nira started hearing Eren''s voice as if the sky of her illusory world was talking to her. "Sage Nira, do you take me for a fool? If God Sparks are as significant as you tell me to be, then whatever you have offered isn''t enough." Nira narrowed her eyes before using her soul sense to break through Eren''s ocr Ability. The illusory world crumbled around her like a broken mirror. She found herself back in the hall, staring at the same eyes that had sent her on a long trip. Nira averted her eyes away from Eren and took a few steps back. For some reason, she didn''t feel like looking into Eren''s eyes once again just to prove her mettle as a Sage ranker was not to be underestimated. Her subconscious mind decided that some stare-downs weren''t meant to be repeated. "I underestimated you." Nira said matter-of-factly before shing a smile. "Speak. What else do you want?" Eren''s ocr Ability was broken forcefully by Sage''s soul sense. As a result, he felt some drawbacks to his consciousness. He ignored the feelings of vertigo and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, they had returned to their normal state. "Assistance. You''ll need to help me if I hand over my Spirit Beast to you. As I told you, I n to leave thend of Anfang. I could really use some guidance and help regarding other worlds. At least the worlds that are easier to travel to from here." Eren took a long breath after saying what he wanted. He looked at Nia Nightshade with a serene mindset before speaking further. "We have a deal as long as you can promise me that." Nira raised her eyebrows at Eren''s demand. She felt like what Eren had said made sense. She could also sense that he was speaking the truth. Nira Nightshade took her time before taking Eren up on his offer. "Alright. We have a deal." Eren could enter into a binding contract with a Sage ranker thanks to his recent breakthrough into the Expert rank. However, Nira was just present in thend of Anfang as a vestige of her original soul. The Sage Ranger couldn''t keep someone like Eren bound to the vestige of her soul because of his awakened soul sense. This was why she wanted to establish a cooperative rtionship with Eren by providing him with the information he was looking for. She felt d that her move had worked. "So where were we?" Nira Nightshade said before taking her seat in the throne-like chair. She assumed a rxing position on the chair before resuming her talk on the previous topic from where she had left off. "Yes God Vulcan. He used the sacrificial energy he had collected on thend of Anfang to promote and expedite the Spirit Beasts'' growth. His goal was to cultivate as many God Sparks among them as possible. However things didn''t go ording to God Vulcan''s ns either." Nira Nightshade looked at Eren who was staring nkly at her. She could tell that he was not happy with the deal that was forced on him. She chuckled before deciding to wrap up her end of the deal. "Denizens of otherworlds learned about God Vulcan''s ns to harvest a batch of God Sparks. And all hell broke loose on thend of Anfang after that. The people of thisnd were subjected to even greater suffering than before because of the God Vulcan. That''s because the ones who attacked them didn''t care about the rankers'' affiliations. The attackers were otherworlders. They were stronger than anyone the world of Anfang had ever seen. They were brutal and vicious. These intruders did everything they could to plunder Anfang''s resources. They also started looking for fragments of the world''s consciousness while they were busy plundering. As a result of this dreadful threat, the original residents of the Anfang had to forget their differences. They all forgot about their affiliations and came together to form a united front. This united front was named the Anfang Alliance. Chapter 1075 Land Of The Faithless- Forsaken By The Gods Eren was stunned after hearing about the origins of the Anfang Alliance. He had assumed that the Anfang Alliance was formed to restrict half-bloods throughout Anfang. But it seemed that things were much moreplicated than that. Nira Nightshade allowed Eren to process what she had said up to this point. She only spoke when he looked at her, intending to learn more. "The Anfang Alliance was formed to prevent otherworlders from harming thend of Anfang. Its sole objective was to eliminate any foreign threat too big to be tackled by any single establishment from thend of Anfang. The Anfang Alliance consisted of almost all the Anfang organizations active at that time. The cultists of that time also joined hands by participating in the Anfang Alliance. Various opposing forces were forced to work together under one umbre. The alliance became the single dominant organization among the denizens of Anfang as a result. The establishments cooperated wholeheartedly with the Anfang Alliance. They all did all they could to strengthen the alliance financially and otherwise. After all, they needed to get rid of themon enemy first before they settled their disputes with each other. Such was the threat of the intruders that roamed thesends. The foundation of the Anfang Alliance was set so perfectly that it still stands today despite its checkered past." Eren started remembering Eliza''s words as he listened to Nira Nightshade''s speech. It seemed that the Witch of the Endermes hated the Anfang Alliance to her core. He pondered a bit before asking her the next question in a careful manner. "The cultists that joined the Anfang Alliance did it consist of half-bloods as well?" Nira Nightshade looked at Eren carefully when he asked her the question. She narrowed her eyes at him as she spoke. "So you are not that uninitiated after all. I wonder what kind of half-blood you are. Your bloodline energy feels different." Nira watched Eren''s expressions as she spoke. Thetter''s face was devoid of any expressions, indicating that he did not know about his own origins. Things like these weremon among half-blood children raised outside their supposed safe haven. So she dropped the matter before speaking further. "That''s right. The half-blood ns that were present in thend of Anfang joined the Anfang Alliance as well. In fact, they were the most prominent fighting force in the alliance. At first, their presence was not weed by the other establishments. However, the half-bloods proved with their might that the alliance would not be able to achieve what it was supposed to do if it excluded them." Eren nodded at Nira before asking her another question. "Was the conflict between the half-bloods and establishments amon thing at that time?" Nira shook her head in denial before answering his question in an in-depth manner. "Not really. Even before the invasion, the half-blood ns were notpletely opposed to the establishments. They just weren''t used to bending to the establishments'' will. The half-blood ns just wanted autonomy so they could live their lives without the establishments'' influence over them. They only shed with the establishments when provoked and did not try to escte the matter any further than they needed to. Various half-blood ns had their own estates that were isted. As a result, the half-bloods remained a mystery for themon popce and the establishments of Anfang even after living with them for so long. All of this was before Vulcan''s major fuck-up. However, the half-bloods decided toe out of the shroud of mystery after recognizing the threat of the intruders. The rankers learned the true might of the half-bloods when they did that. It was sufficient to say that themon popce of Anfang was assured and afraid of the half-bloods'' presence at the same time. It was assured that half-bloods could hold their own against foreign invaders. And it was afraid because of their overwhelming battle potential." Eren started understanding what might have happened in the past after the otherworlders'' intrusion began taking ce. His talks with Sirius Fenris also started making sense in his head. Eliza''s hatred for the Anfang Alliance also seemed to make sense. Still, the butcher wanted to learn more about the past before he could draw a final conclusion in his head. He remained silent and let Nira Nightshade speak further. "The God Vulcan lost interest in thend of Anfang when it failed to produce the quality and quantity of the fragments of World Will''s consciousness he needed. Plus, the turmoil caused by the invaders made it difficult to spread the faith and influence of the gods. Then there were adverse effects of using sacrificial energy to give birth to Spirit Beasts. This world suffered and that suffering resulted in natural cmities. Hehe. You know what the God Vulcan did when he faced such a nuisance in Anfang?" Nira chuckled mirthlessly before speaking further. "That damn god just abandoned his followers on thend of Anfang after causing such terrible turmoil. As his followers prayed, he remained silent. The other gods also lost interest in thend of Anfang at the same time. It seemed that Anfang was not the first world that the gods had ruined with their experiments. The blessings that they had provided to their followers stopped working, rendering them less powerful than even the most ordinary rankers of their generation. However, the demonic forces that were supposed to oppose the followers of the gods were busy battling foreign invaders. As a result, the absence of the gods'' blessings did not make matters particrly worse. Themon popce also lost interest in worshipping gods when it felt abandoned. Establishments that had epted particr faiths also stopped worshipping gods. When they were forsaken by the gods, the entities of Anfang chose to stand on their own two feet. They chose to deal with the mess they were in their own way, not expecting any divine help in their endeavors anymore. Looking back, we can say that it was the wisest decision the denizens of Anfang had made together." Eren shed a grin at Nira Nightshade as he understood something. "So this is the story behind why the continent of Anfang is called thend of the faithless." Chapter 1076 The Invaders Of Anfang "So this is the story behind why the continent of Anfang is called thend of the faithless." Nira nodded before adding further. "That''s right. The Anfang Alliance started hating the divine faiths of that time because of theirpleteck of interest. This was despite the fact that divine faiths were responsible for Anfang''s precarious condition in the first ce. The Anfang Alliance had decided that it would get rid of all the divine faiths once it settled matters with the foreign invaders. And eventually, it did. Later down the line, a major culling took ce and various faiths disappeared from this world. Anfang became known as thend of the faithless because of the alliance''s hardline stand against the gods." The more Eren learned about Anfang''s history, the more intrigued he got. He felt like picking Nira''s brain for all the information it contained regarding the world''s lost history. "What about the invaders? What were they? How powerful were they? Did the denizens of this world take care of them easily after the alliance was formed?" Eren was reminded of the skeletons of the giants he had seen at Eliza''s ce. They had given him goosebumps at that time just by standing near them. Eliza had also confirmed that some of them were entities beyond S-Rank. So he wanted to know how the alliance handled such existences at that time. Nira Nightshade felt a bit irritated by Eren''s questions. At this point, she just wanted to get Eren''s Spirit Beast for herself and kick him out of her abode. However, she thought of the prize that she was about to receive for wasting her time on a mere C-ranker. The Sage archer decided to put up with Eren''s request after giving it a thought. "Those invaders they were too powerful to be taken care of that easily. At least one type among them. The invaders did not have a single origin. You need to first understand the worlds the invaders belong to before you make any assumptions about them. As I said, the world of Anfang was not as isted as it is now. It had teleportation channels open to other worlds that were nearer to it." Nira ignored Eren''s surprised face and carried on. "It''s not like the denizens of otherworlds hadn''t appeared on thend of Anfang before the God Vulcan''s intervention. We call them invaders because they forced their way here and plundered for resources while searching for God Sparks. The very first bunch of invaders that appeared on thend of Anfang intending to rob the potential God Sparks were called the children of Echidna. They came here from their own continent known as the continent of Echidna. These invaders aremonly referred to today as monsters. You know... goblins, Kobolds, and the like. These children of Echidna were individually on the same level as the denizens of Anfang. However, they were huge in numbers and they knew how to battle in groups. The children of Echidna were a huge headache for the denizens of Anfang. Still, things were manageable until the invaders were confined to the children of Echidna." Eren was reminded of his time spent inside the Oni dungeon when Nira started speaking about the continent of Echidna. He knew a lot about them because of his time spent with monsters. "Who were the other bunch of invaders?" Eren asked impatiently, wanting to know about the giants. Their skeletons served as trophies for the old hag. He reckoned they were a strong force among all the invaders. Nira scrunched her nose in annoyance before answering Eren''s questions step by step. "The second group of invaders belonged to the world known as Labh Salem or simply Salem. The denizens of this world were demons and witches. This world also had various half-blood ns prospering within it. In fact, most of the prominent half-blood ns that were present in thend of Anfang came from this world before settling here. There were various covens of witches also active on thend of Anfang which had their origins based in Labh Salem. In short, this world was built on the foundation of demonic practices. And it tried to spread its influence on other worlds besides it by sending its denizens outside. Due to the crisis caused by the God Vulcan, rtions between the original inhabitants of the Anfang and these settlers deteriorated. That''s why the settlers from Salem who hade to Anfang before Vulcan''s fuck-up had to prove their allegiance to the world of Anfang by joining the Anfang Alliance." ''Wait a minute Labh Salem Coven of witches Witch of the Enderme was Eliza''s n originally from Labh Salem?'' Eren felt like a lot of puzzles were falling into ce as Nira Nightshade was providing him with crucial information. Still, this wasn''t the world where the giants would havee from. Eren''s eyes pestered Nira for more information. "Tch. You are persistent." Nira looked at Eren and sighed before speaking further. "The third world was Tel QuasserC better known as thend of the fey. The elves, dwarfs, mini giants, and other sentient races we see on thend of Anfang have their roots in this world. Out of all the invaders that Anfang faced, the denizens of Tel Quasser caused the least amount of harm. They didn''t indulge in plundering. And they walked away as soon as they found out that the fragments of the World Will''s consciousness were not up to the mark. They even helped the Anfang Alliance in the shadows so that we could fight their battle and cause major damage to amon enemy. This is the reason why the Anfang Alliance amodated the presence of settlers from Tel Quasser post-war. The elves, dwarfs, and the rest stayed here and made Anfang their home. They joined the Anfang Alliance and fought along with the original denizens of this world. The denizens of Tel Quasser found it easy to support the original denizens of Anfang in their cause. This was because they hated a particr batch of invaders the most. Which brings us to the fourth world. These invaders appeared on the continent of Anfang for the first time and caused major incidents. They hadn''t visited Anfang prior to Vulcan''s intervention. Each member from this group of invaders killed thousands of rankers in a single move. Referred to as the walking cmities, their very first appearance became a major reason for the Anfang Alliance''s formation. These invaders came from AnsiaC the world of giants. The world of titans." === AN: Cue for the Guren no Yumiya track getting yed in the backdrop. ;) Chapter 1077 The Most Feared Titan Slayer P1 "Titans" Eren murmured the word under his breath as he thought of the giant skeletons he had seen in the past back at Eliza''s pce. He felt like he had been summoned back into the same ce as a weak Ace rankerC surrounded by titan skeletons looking at him with their hollowed eyes. Nira Nightshade was intrigued by Eren''s reaction, thinking he was struggling toprehend the titans'' existence. So she exined further. "Imagine a mana-wielding entity that''s 100s of meters tall. They looked like humans for the most part but had gigantic bodies. Can you imagine the scope of their physical attacks? Can you imagine their elemental spells and the damage they can cause? Titans'' attacks changed the shape of thend permanently. They affected the regions of Anfang in such a way that some of the geographical phenomena we see today originated from that period." Eren remembered the residual mana signaturesing off the titans'' skeletons. They had invoked a sense of dread in him when he was a mere Ace ranker. It had been a long time since their deaths. Eren realized that the dread he felt at the time was not only because of his low rank. His subconscious mind had recognized the danger they posed when they were alive. This realization gave him goosebumps. He stopped dwelling on the memories of Eliza''s pce and focused on Nira Nightshade''s exnation. "When I say titans were walking cmities, I mean it in a literal sense. They were unstoppable forces of nature that did not give a damn about the ants trying to cope with them. The Anfang Alliance would deploy armies of rankers and cultists to take care of one titan. And thetter simply killed them like swatting a fly. The period when the titans walked on thend of Anfang was truly the darkest time of this world''s known existence. Almost nobody could deal with these titans on their own." Eren realized why Eliza kept the giants'' skeletons as her kill trophies to keep herpany. They reminded her of her prime when she was injured and alone inside Purgatory and gave her the strength to carry on in her desire to seek revenge. Eren couldn''t directly ask about Eliza to Nira Nightshade without raising suspicions about his uninitiated half-blood status. So he asked about the Witch of Enderme in a roundabout way. "Sage Nira, were Sages of that time also incapable of taking care of Giants? Was there no one who could cope with these natural cmities by themselves?" Nira shook her head in denial and sighed before answering Eren''s question. "You think titans at that time didn''t have Sage-level entities in their midst? This was an all-out war among the denizens of different worlds, Eren. There were practically no stops. The Master and Grandmaster fought enemies of their level. The Sages had to fight someone of their stature as well. The rest of the rankers could only be considered cannon fodder who battled with their equivalents. During that era, everyone was forced to participate in the war in some way. Injuring one of these Titan invaders would be a huge moment of victory for the Anfang Alliance. If the rankers'' army managed to kill one of these titans, they would be celebrated as heroes in the Anfang Alliance. Most of these heroes never saw the celebrations that were held for their victories over the Titans. That''s because most heroes would die in confrontations with such cmities." Nira looked at the hall''s ceiling and thought of something before continuing. "As for someone who could contend with titans from the Anfang Alliance There were indeed some entities who could pull off such a task. Only a handful of them. But since most of them either belonged to half-blood ns or had cultist origins, their names are shrouded in mystery even among the rankers who know about the world''s true past. It seems like deliberate attempts have been made to hide these heroes'' names. Just so that select strata of people wouldn''t get credit for their huge contributionC especially the half-bloods. This was also a form of whitewashing history, Eren. One that was done on a muchrger scale than what we did with the kingdom of Edinburgh. People who are the cream of the crop in Anfang, however, can''t remain oblivious to these names. The contribution of these few rankers is greater than what the Anfang Alliance achieved as a whole." Nira Nightshade paused for a moment and realized Eren was looking for more answers from her with the way he was looking at her. She felt like an old woman telling fantasy stories to a kid. Thinking of the Spirit Beast he had in his possession, she decided to indulge Eren in his request some more. "The entities who could kill Sage-level Titans on their own could be counted on one''s fingers. They were called Titan yers. Titan yers were highly respected in the Anfang Alliance in wartime. The alliance would use them as a deterrent against Titans and another bunch of powerful invaders. The Titan yers would be deployed at critical times when the alliance''s armies were failing to keep their front. They were so strong and charismatic that their mere presence on the battlefield was enough to cheer up the failing armies. If Titans were walking cmities, then Titan yers who could kill them were also walking cmities in their own regard. As such, the Anfang Alliance also started fearing the Titan yers along with the titans they were battling." Eren nodded at Nira Nightshade before asking her his next question. "Any particr name thates to your mind when talking about these Titan yers?" The Sage archer didn''t even take a second to answer. "Witch of EndermeC Eliza Samael. The most feared, respected, and revered Titan yer of her time. She has the most solo Titan kills. Not just that. Her actual contribution to the war against the invaders is muchrger than that." Chapter 1078 The Most Feared Titan Slayer P2 Even Nira Nightshade straightened herself in her seat before taking Eliza''s name. This was the respect that would be shown from one Sage to another. "Sage Eliza''s name is too big to be erased from Anfang''s lost history forever. No matter how much the Anfang Alliance tries to doctor history, it can''t get rid of that name. Sage Eliza was an exception among exceptions. They said that even the Titans had acknowledged her powers. Even they found no shame in attacking Eiiza in groups when she was on the battlefield. I don''t know how true this is. But it was said that she had started killing Sage-level Titans while she was half-step Sage rank. And when she eventually became a Sage, even a group of Titans was not enough to overpower her. Some records even mention that the Witch of the Enderme once fought with seven Titans at the same time. And one of them was said to be a pseudo-Saint rank existence." Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard the term Saint rank. He had heard it for the first time. The butcher figured it was a rank beyond the Sage rank. It seemed that Nira Nightshade liked talking about the past that was rted to Eliza. That''s because Eren didn''t have to pester her to talk about past events anymore. The Sage archer might have seen the Witch of the Enderme as the source of her inspiration. There was a certain shine in her eyes and a tinge of excitement in her voice as she spoke her next words. "It was an ambush. A Sage-level battle formation." Eren was shocked yet again. He failed toprehend the magnitude of the output a Sage-level battle formation would generate. Nira wasn''t interested in giving Eren a rough description of such things. She seemed to be enjoying her own narration as she depicted the events of the past. "The Titans were willing to resort to any lengths to kill her despite respecting her as their enemy. The fact that they had acknowledged Eliza as someone worthy of killing by ganging up on her was the greatest testament to her strength. I guess the titans'' disposition to trick and kill their enemies, when they knew brute force wouldn''t work, was one of the reasons that made them the most dreadful invaders among all the others. The ambush had been perfectly nned. Eliza''s retreat from the battlefield meant an entire army that was deployed beyond her would face the titans'' wrath. So Eliza''s retreat was also sealed. And this was when Sage Eliza had just entered the Sage rank. You might have heard that a ranker''s individuality starts to matter more and more as they climb further up their rankingdder. Meaning a high-ranking entity with potent individuality might be equal to several rankers in terms of raw battle potential. But the potency of individuality a Sage ranker needs to have to battle with seven Sage rankers ispletely insane. Mind boggling even. This is why some rankers refuse to believe this piece of history about Sage Eliza." ''Oh, you better believe it. She has kept those kills as a part of her home decor. That is enough proof for me.'' Eren thought deep in his mind as he listened to Nira Nightshade. The Sage archer also seemed to trust her gut feeling that said that Eliza was the real deal. She subconsciously started pitting herself against Eliza and drew aparison. "I was once curious like you, Eren. So I can rte to your curiosity. Believe me when I say that I have done everything in my power to read about the enshrouded history of Anfang. I did everything I could to confirm whatever was said in it. I have visited ces that were mentioned in history. I have used every form of magic at my disposal to confirm various things. And I have broadened my vision ever since I left Anfang. Therefore, I can say with confidence that the history regarding Sage Eliza contains many errors. But what they do is undermine her real strength and not exaggerate it. I find no shame in admitting that I did not have the same level of individuality as Sage Eliza when I became a Sage. As such, I would have run away and left the alliance''s forces to fend for themselves if I was in her shoes. You know what the records say happened next?" ''I do.'' Eren was reminded of the six giant skeletons yet again. He also remembered the skull of the pseudo-Saint-level titan. *** Eren could clearly remember his first meeting with Eliza because it had left a deep scar on his psyche. That scar was healed but he couldn''t forget about its existence anymore, no matter how strong he got. Eren remembered the six Titan skeletons that had their skulls looking down. He remembered the way Eliza had used the pseudo-Saint-level titan''s skull as the elevation floor for her throne. The witch of Enderme still liked to mock her enemies after their deaths by arranging their skeletal remains in a submissive manner. Eren was learning to understand what he had seen in the past. Her vengeful persona was on full disy for Eren to see. That''s where she found her tenacity to live despite all the odds ced against her. The butcher believed that there was Eliza''s fangirl hiding somewhere in Nira Nightshade. This was even though Nira Nightshade''s current rank exceeded that of Eliza''s. He knew that Nira would be smitten by Eliza''s trophies if she saw them for real. *** Eren had multiple thoughts running through his head. But that didn''t prevent him from paying close attention to what Nira Nightshade was saying. "They say that Eliza managed to kill six ambushers despite their strength in numbers. She almost died while killing the seventh titan. It was said that these ambushers had used a lot of dirty tricks to get to Sage Eliza. So she vowed to shame them even after their deaths when she killed the seventh member. At that time, an entire army of rankers was protected by a single half-blood. The battlefield on which this particr battle was fought was so badly damaged that the fabric of space-time had been affected. It remained that way even after the continent-spanning istion array was activated. That ce is now known as Monster Canyon." Chapter 1079 How Project Clean Slate Came To Be P1 Piece by piece, everything started making sense for Eren the more he listened to Nira''s retelling of Anfang''s true history. Monster Canyon was a mysterious ce even by the Bands'' standards. It contained many sights that could only be described as anomalies. Even monsters staying inside Monster Canyon were wary of their habitat. The monster tribes established a few unique rules to aid them in navigating the ce. Monster Canyon was a burial ground for a lot of rankers. And the few that survived rose to fame and became sessful. The city of New Beginnings thrived on Monster Canyon''s allure in rankers'' hearts. Eren wondered how Eliza would feel looking at the way the kingdom of Edinburgh had capitalized on her battlefield. He kept those thoughts like these to himself as he listened to Nira''s speech. "You must be aware of a few things as a half-blood that set you apart from regr rankers. They are generally stronger than their regr counterparts. This boost in strength is determined by the bloodline they have. I find your bloodline''s genesis unimpressive, even if it is a bit mysterious. However, your ranking status appears to have improved thanks to refining your bloodline. Sage Eliza was a dragon half-blood. House Samael was a power to be reckoned with because of that bloodline. It was said that the Witch of Enderme had refined her bloodline to its genesis, allowing her to shapeshift into a dragon." ''Hmm. I need to show some surprises here.'' Eren thought to himself before giving Nira Nightshade the look she was expecting from him. Thetter looked at the butcher intently for a fraction of a second before adding further. "The House Samael on the continent of Anfang originally hailed from Labh Salem. It was a well-established n in both worlds. Thanks to Sage Eliza''s persuasion, her n provided the Anfang Alliance with a lot of unique perksC from powerful battle formations to advanced potioning recipes. The advancement in potioning that we see in thend of Anfang is because of this. Even now, a lot of the potent potion recipes that potioners use today have their roots in Labh Salem. They say that the witches of Labh Salem had honed their craft to perfection, allowing them to do unimaginable things with their potions alone. The alliance imported some of that expertise and knowledge here with the help of House Samael. It used that knowledge and expertise to strengthen the allied forces." Eren could now understand why La was so skilled at potioning. All of her potions were potent and had exceptional effects. The Format History potion she had made for him had helped him keep his pursuers in the dark so many times. As a part-time potioner himself, Eren could understand the importance of the knowledge House Samael must have imparted to the alliance. The potions allowed rankers to increase their offense and defense on an individual level. Those potion-based effects y a crucial role in life-and-death situations like being part of arge-scale war. ''Hmm. I need to visit Labh Salem if I want to step up my potioning.'' Eren thought to himself. He felt that his potioning skills weremendable for his rank. But they were alwayscking whenpared to his progress in other fields. The butcher felt like he had hit a bottleneck in terms of the knowledge he could get ess to on thend of Anfang about cutting-edge potioning. A world like Labh Salem might provide him with a way to improve his concoction skills. Of course, this was not something he could do right away. The chronic nner in him was merely making a few ns for the future. Nira Nightshade continued to describe the events, unaware of where Eren''s deep thoughts were leading him. "Participation of the half-bloods in the alliance was very crucial. The presence of Titan yers on the battlefield also yed a vital role in boosting the morale of the rankers. However, the Titans were not something the Titan yers or half-blood ns could stop on their own. They attacked various cities, killed millions of people, and plundered everything they could find to be useful for them. In the war against the invaders, the participants soon found that they were not adequately equipped to deal with the titans. The Titan yers also had their limits. And the half-blood ns were already doing their part to minimize the damage. Still, things were pretty dire in the alliance''s camp. The alliance recognized that the reason half-bloods were so effective against Titans was because of their shape-shifting. Some could transform partially. And some could transform into their true beastly form, giving them enhanced body stats. The power of shapeshifting also allowed most half-bloods to change their size dramatically. They tried to match the titans'' size as much as they could, which allowed them tond serious attacks on the giants. The power of shapeshifting is fundamentally different from forming a mana body with a spell. It couldn''t be destroyed as easily as the spell-induced gigantification performed by normal rankers. Plus, the half-bloods were more in control of their beastly bodies than regr rankers with their spell-induced body alterations. The half-bloods could do more while consuming less mana. Shapeshifting also allowed them to bolster their defense and chances of survival against the titans. The alliance figured out that they needed to strengthen every ranker with a power simr to shapeshifting if they really wanted to gain momentum against the titans. Relying on the half-bloods and Titan yers was liable to make matters worse in the long run." Eren was genuinely intrigued this time as he heard the Sage archer''s words. He could already guess that a war of such a level couldn''t be won by a small bunch of Titan yers or even half-blood ns alone. The alliance as a whole needed to up its game if it wanted to defend its home world from invaders. "What did the alliance do then?" Nira took a deep breath before answering. Chapter 1080 How Project Clean Slate Came To Be P2 "Only giants could put up a fight with the giants. The alliance started asking the right questions of itself after it realized that the power of shapeshifting was the key to scoring a defined win against the Titans. And House Samael, who was the leader of the half-blood forces at the time, came up with the right set of answers. House Samael dered that it would create an all-inclusive primer matter, which will help both regr rankers as well as half-bloods in their shapeshifting." Eren clenched his fists as he heard Nira speak. He knew what the Sage archer was talking about. However, he kept calm and let her finish what she was saying. "This primer matter was supposed to be made from an ever-evolving mutagen that can attune to pre-existing mutagens or regr gic codes before strengthening them. It would allow the half-bloods to shapeshift while strengthening their bodies and bloodlines. Regr rankers could use the same primer matter as a base tounch their body-altering spells from. In this case, it would allow their mana bodies to level up by providing them with a materialistic foundation. It would be difficult for the titans to dispel the mana bodies with their spells and attacks once the regr rankers began using the primer matter as their base for transformation. House Samael invested almost all the resources it had in this research. It had the expertise and knowledge from its original home Labh Salem to start this research. The witches were well versed in bloodline-rted projects after all. The Anfang Alliance also supported the research by providing it with the ranking resources it needed. Shapeshifting was only one aspect of the primer matter. It was supposed to revolutionize the field of magic with its introduction. It could be used in various ways in various fields to achieve groundbreaking results." Eren looked down and narrowed his eyes as he confirmed his doubt. ''Yep. This is how Eliza came up with the Clean te project. She modified House Samael''s n for the Anfang Alliance and used it to create Reen by Arthur''s hands.'' Primer matter possessed a lot of Reen''s inherent qualities. One could say that the artificial demon beast''s bloodline and her synthesized body were both two sides of the same coin. Eren also started remembering what Eliza had said to him when she talked about Reen. The Witch of the Enderme had told him that the research she had used to create Reen was supposed to help humans, demi-humans, and half-bloods in fighting the cmity of that time. The primer matter was supposed to be used by the alliance inbat against the Titans. Eliza modified that research to create another vessel for herself. A no-conflict vessel that can host her soul and allow her to resurrect without any defects. Eliza had also told Eren that her n had never dered that it was sessful in obtaining tangible results from the research. Meaning her n had started suspecting Anfang Alliance''s intentions after it got its hands on the derived results. Nira Nightshade''s next words proved something Eren already knew from his talk with Eliza. "The battle with the invaders never stopped while research was going on. The alliance kept losing ground to the giants. It was also forced to deal with an ever-increasing number of casualties each day. Years passed by and no tangible results were in sight. The alliance kept getting impatient while House Samael carried on with its research. In these desperate times, somebody else came up with a different solution that wasn''t expected by the alliance." Eren had no idea what Nira was talking about this time. So he paid extra attention to her words. "A goddess approached the Anfang Alliance in secret via a follower. She only wanted to meet the people who were the original denizens of Anfang." ''Hmm? A goddess... don''t tell me...'' Eren was reminded of the moment when he had killed Sienna Slughorn. Sienna''s body had be a temporary host to some goddess before the butcher was finally able to kill her for good. He wondered if it was the same goddess both times. Nira didn''t know that she was helping Eren connect so many loose ends in one go with her information. She just wanted to be done with her end of the deal in exchange for the Spirit Beast. "Through the blessed follower, this goddess told the upper echelons of the alliance that she could finish what God Vulcan had started and secure the continent of Anfang from invaders for good. Meaning she could activate the continent-spanning istion array that God Vulcan had promised the denizens of Anfang. However, there was one condition." Nira took a brief pause and looked at Eren with pity. As if he was a victim of generational torture. She sighed before continuing. "The goddess wanted the Anfang Alliance to betray the half-blood ns. She wanted to use all the half-bloods as a sacrifice to create the continent-epassing istion array. The Anfang Alliance remained in quiet desperation even after receiving the goddess'' offer. Because it had lost its trust in gods and their believers. Still, the alliance was in a desperate situation. It didn''t agree with the goddess'' ns right away but it didn''t take the half-blood ns into confidence either. As the alliance fought the titans, it inadvertently changed its dynamics with the half-bloods step by step. Because the goddess gave plenty of assurances to make the alliance see the feasibility of the n. I guess House Samael had also started doubting the alliance''s intentions because of its changed behavior. They say that it never released its research to the alliance even after achieving positive results. The goddess''s n created a rift between half-blood ns and the Anfang Alliance. And the goddess''s follower widened that divide further by reaching the upper echelons of the alliance time and again. The alliance finally took the goddess up on her offer when it realized that the titans'' attacks were only going to be more dreadful with time. It started employing the goddess'' strategy step by step while the half-blood ns fought for the world''s survival. The alliance initiated an all-out battle against the Titans in the end. It then deployed most half-blood forces to one location. The Titan yers that belonged to the half-blood ns were also part of the same deployment, which included Sage Eliza. Do you want to know what took ce at the site of the deployment?" Eren had a solemn face when he heard Nira''s question. Thetter didn''t wait for his reply and provided the answer herself. "Mass annihtion of the half-blood ns from thend of Anfang. The half-bloods were tricked into bing sacrifices to get the continent-spanning array up and running." wtt === AN: Clean te project was mentioned in chapters 340 and 341. Chapter 1081 Machinations Of A Slumbering Goddess P1 The Sage''s hall fell silent once again. Eren sighed as he understood why the half-blood ns of today hated the Anfang Alliance and all the establishments of today. He couldn''t me them because their hatred was justified. It was one thing to hate the half-bloods for their demonic origins. But the Anfang Alliance made use of the half-bloods before killing them for its own safety. It was no wonder that the half-blood ns from the Last Blood Bastion would involve themselves in cultist activities to create unrest in various kingdoms. The half-bloods from the Last Blood Bastion knew about their past. They knew how the alliance had yed them and used them to further its own cause. So trying to overthrow the establishments and the alliance by proxy was their way of settling scores. "What what happened next?" Eren asked while looking visibly shaken by the information Nira Nightshade provided him. It didn''t take much effort from the butcher''s part to y this character in front of a Sage because he could put him in their shoes just fine. Nira reclined on her throne once again before adding further. "Well you know the continent-spanning istion array exists, right? It has managed to keep invaders away for so long now. So we can trust history''s narration that says that the sacrifice worked. Meaning the goddesses'' n worked. The trap not only killed the half-bloods but also the titans present at the scene. Even the titans weren''t expecting something like this from the Anfang Alliance. I mean who would hurt their most capable fighting force and then burn all their bridges with it? As such, the denizens of Ansia also lost a lot of their capable members that day. It was a huge blow to the titan invaders with the kind of attack the Anfang alliance had managed tounch." "What happened to Sage Eliza?" Eren asked immediately. Nira Nightshade replied. "Eliza had supported the alliance with all her heart until this point. It was she who ignored the rift that was being created between the half-blood ns and the alliance. And it was she who convinced the half-blood ns to participate in the all-out war against the titans with all their might despite their newfound differences with the alliance. But all of Eliza''s efforts came back to haunt her as she watched the half-bloods dying inside a trapped array furnace. This was an array trap setup under a goddess''smand so there was nothing most of the half-bloods could do about it. They say that only Eliza managed to get away from the trap the goddess and the alliance had set up in conjunction. She forced her way out of that trap with brute strength alone at the cost of using a forbidden technique. Sage Eliza''s wrath knew no bounds at the time. She killed many powerhouses from the alliance''s side at the cost of injuring herself even more. Many in the alliance had be scared of her after witnessing the feats she was capable of. In fact, what I''m telling you about Eliza was documented by one such eyewitness from the Anfang Alliance herself. The Witch of Enderme would have killed more rankers from Anfang''s side as well. However, she decided to retreat after her condition kept getting worse. Nobody could stop that dragon half-blood if she wanted to retreat. Nobody dared to. The eyewitness to the whole event also wrote that before disappearing from the site, Eliza imed that she would settle her score with the alliance in the future. That she would do everything in her power to get back to them for what they had done to her and the half-blood ns. Nobody knows what happened to her after that. Some say Eliza died after escaping. Others say she lost her Sage rank and died as a non-ranker after using the forbidden technique. Either way, she died." ''Um I have got news for you.'' Eren thought to himself. He had always been wary of Eliza ever since he met her. She was the first Sage he had evere into contact with. Even then, he could subconsciously tell she wasn''t merely a Sage. She was endowed with natural talent, a powerful bloodline, innate elementalprehension, and exceptional weapon-handling skills. Plus, an unmatched drive to be the most outstanding in her generation. Even while she was hanging between life and death, her presence was overwhelming. Eren understood why Eliza was bitter when he heard her story. She considered herself responsible for leading the half-blood ns to their doom by agreeing to the alliance''s deployment. And that bitterness had given her the will to survive all these years. ''She wants to purge the Anfang alliance after resurrecting. And by helping her return, I will have to make myself her aplice. Or at least that''s how I will be seen if things blow out of proportion.'' Eren had a grim look on his face as his deep thoughts led him to various conclusions and deductions. His surface-level thoughts, on the other hand, were like calmke water that hardly had any ripples in it. He looked at Nira curiously before asking another question. "Sage Nira, did you find out why that goddess was so against the half-bloods? I mean she could have just asked for the sacrifice of other rankers along with the half-bloods. Why did she only focus on half-bloods?'' Nira pursed her lips and nodded before answering. "The messenger could read some of the slumbering goddesses'' intentions whilemunicating in a non-verbal manner. It was an eyewitness to the event who contacted the goddess'' messenger to find out exactly what you were asking for. ? The messenger had said that the goddess was provoked when House Samael started working on the Primer Matter research. She didn''t like the possibility of someone creating such a groundbreaking matter for some reason. The messenger said that the goddess was also wary of half-blood ns for some reason regarding a certain prophecy. Of course, the messenger didn''t have the privilege or any reason to ask her goddess about the prophecy. The goddess wanted the Anfang alliance to get rid of all of the half-bloodspletely. So she put forward various conditions in the istion array itself, which would influence the alliance to suppress and kill the remaining half-bloods even after the istion array had been erected." Chapter 1082 Machinations Of A Slumbering Goddess P2 ''Hmm? A prophecy?'' This was the first time Eren had heard about a prophecy that could spook a goddess into taking extreme measures. He looked at Nira Nightshade with a puzzled expression, nudging her to exin further. "As a result of these conditions in the istion array, half-bloods are oppressed in thend of Anfang, Eren. The goddess couldn''t kill the half-bloods on thend of Anfangpletely due to the cause-and-effect fabric of the world deeming it to be nearly impossible. So she chose the next logical thinga" suppressing them to near extinction. The very first condition in the istion array was that it would start to deteriorate if the descendants of the sacrificed subjects crossed a certain number in the poption. It would suppress and harm entities who talked about half-bloods and topics rted to them. The istion array also prevented demons from entering the world easily. It almostpletely restricted rankers from taking the demonic path and turning themselves into demonic rankers. The istion array couldn''tpletely prevent the demons from possessing the bodies of mana beasts. But it prevented the genesis of a new line of half-bloods. Meaning no matter how much the demons'' soul fragments tried, they couldn''t sire a new line of half-bloods on thend of Anfang anymore." Eren''s stunned expression was evident when he heard what the goddess had set up in the istion array. She seemed paranoid about half-bloods or someone born from them. *** ''Well... At least Argo can carry on with his activities without having to worry about anything.'' Eren thought in his head. He felt that the istion array had done Argo a huge favor by preventing him from siring children. The Prince Of Gluttony alone would have made a substantial contribution to the half-bloods'' existing numbers if it wasn''t for such restrictions. Only now did Eren understand why the establishments were okay with the existence of the tamed demon beasts as well as why they were not worried about the future line of half-bloods getting sired by them. The goddess had stopped the new line of half-bloods. With such conditions on the istion array, she intended to cull existing half-bloods as well using the alliance as her tool. Due to the alliance''s backstabbing of half-blood ns, they wouldn''t let the istion array deteriorate. The alliance''s long-term efforts would be ruined. So it did exactly what the goddess had expected it to do. It employed strict measures to control the ry of information rted to these topics. The alliance also influenced the establishments working under it to hunt and kill the remaining half-bloods in their respective territories after the istion array was set up. Half-bloods were forced to seek shelter in the Last Blood Bastian, disappearingpletely from open society. They started living in the shadows. As a result of the istion array, the invaders were prevented from entering Anfang. It cursed the children of Echidna that tried to force their way into this world and made the infiltrators go insane. That''s the reason they needed to awaken the "rity" hidden in their bloodlines to function as normal beings. Things didn''t change much for those who originally belonged to thend of the fey and had decided to stay here. They had supported the alliance and remained part of the establishment. Thend of the fey stopped sending infiltrators to Anfangpletely after the istion array was raised. They concluded that their efforts were not worth the potential gains they would receive from them. Labh Salem decided that it would remain neutral as an organization. It would not try to keep tabs on what was going on in thend of Anfang. But it would allow its denizens to do what they wanted to do. The titans had humongous physicalities and they were adept at casting basic magic spells as well. But they weren''t an advanced civilization like others. Plus, they had never thought of settling down in Angang peacefully. Furthermore, the istion array was specifically made to stop the titans'' infiltration. Thus, they ceased to exist on thend of Anfang. Never to be seen again. Establishments began following the guidelines of the Anfang alliance. The former stayed in the background and allowed establishments to take the lead. The establishments openly hunted demonic rankers and cultists alike at that time. The alliance wanted nothing to do with the gods or demons after the activation of the istion array. All of them from both sides were culled. The establishments used a variety of methods to hunt half-bloods. The Historian ss was invented so that the establishment could track and kill such targets. This is why it is unique to thend of Anfang. This ss doesn''t exist anywhere else. After the talk of half-bloods died down, these forces continued to operate in the shadows. This was how the establishments started maintaining special units like Edinburgh''s Blood Punisher Force. *** ''Eren, I can bet you anything that the goddess this elf is talking about is the same harlot you encountered in Sienna Slughorn''s shell. She is the only one who is capable of doing something like this. You are the inheritor of the same man she is afraid of. A resurrection that she wanted to prevent at all costs.'' Eren heard Alephee''s voice when he was about to say something to Nira. Another of his doubts was confirmed at this point. But the butcher wasn''t interested in prophecy at this point. He was not concerned about goddesses. They were a problem for him to solve in the distant future. What he was concerned about at this moment was Alephee''s current location. ''Forget about that goddess, Miss Timeless. There''s no need to worry about her here. I''ll tap her ass when the time is ripe. One step at a time. The bigger question is... are you ready?'' Eren asked while being closely watched by Nira Nightshade. Thetter chuckled at hisment about the goddess before replying affirmatively. ''Yeah. I found it. Just tell me when.'' Chapter 1083 Trying To Get More Out Of The Deal ''That''s good.'' Eren said to Alephee and pondered for a bit. He looked at the Sage archer before deciding to extract more value out of her. ''Just wait. Let me see if I can get something more out of this bitch.'' Eren said to Alephee. In the next moment, he felt that the atmosphere around him had suddenly gotten tense and suffocating. He looked at Nira Nightshade to see that she was looking at him angrily. "Did you did you just call me a bitch in your head?" Eren gulped empty air and raised both his hands in a defensive position before speaking up in a careful tone. "Wait what? There must have been some misunderstanding. I was thinking... the whole situation seems like a bitch to me. I mean for half-bloods like me. We are not epted by the kingdom of Edinburgh even though it was demonic rankers like you who established it in the first ce. We are targeted by the Blood Punisher Force. The istion array prevents us from leaving this world easily. It''s like we are forced to take a beating. If we cry about it or make our presence known, we get beaten up some more. And all of this when we are the reason this world is experiencing a time of peace. It was our lives that were sacrificed for this world to get here. Ain''t that a bitch?" *** The butcher hated the fact that Sages could read people like an open book with their soul sense. It looked like their souls would pass through some form of cleansing along with their bodies at the time of breaking into the Sage rank. Their souls would be strengthened and their soul sense would be more potent. This amplification of soul sense at the time of breakthrough into the Sage rank was dependent upon how early it had gotten awakened in a ranker''s journey. The earlier the soul sense got awakened, the more profound its impact would be at the time of the Sage breakthrough. As a result, Alephee found it tremendously significant for Eren to awaken his soul so early on in his ranking journey. As a result, he had more time to refine his soul sense before it would undergo a metamorphosis at the time of the Sage rank breakthrough. Eren didn''t want to remain helpless against a Sage ranker''s soul sense use. He felt naked in front of Eliza when she deciphered almost all his thoughts as if reading a written note. He felt like he would not be able to do anything against her if things didn''t change. Eliza''s soul sense was overwhelming, just as her other qualities were. Eren didn''t want to get too stunned to act in front of the mummy again. So he had started taking steps to train his soul sense as well. And that training had paid him off when it came to having a conversation with Nira Nightshade. Only rankers with soul sense can hope to shield their thoughts from those with soul sense. They needed fine control over their soul sense to do that. Nira thought that she was reading Eren''s mind with her soul sense. However, Eren let her read only what he wanted her to read. He could partition his thoughts into multiple segments to keep surface-level thoughts separate from his deep thoughts. Even normal rankers could keep their surface-level thoughts separate from their deep emotions and mechanization if they really tried or made conscious efforts. However, a Sage like Nira would be able to gauge the true emotions of such rankers under normal circumstances. That''s where rankers with soul sense would have an edge over those who don''t. Soul sense awakening was not about sensing the world around oneself on a deeper level. It was also about bing more aware of it. Elites would be separated from normal rankers with their soul sense as it gave them the ability toyer their thoughts on multiple levels depending upon their proficiency. The soul sense also enhanced the intellectual acuity of rankers, allowing them to keep up with their multiyered thought process. The added effects of the soul sense weren''t technically a profound boost to a ranker''s powers. Soul sense, however, can be used to cast dual, triple, and quadruple casting spells and beyond with increased precision. The profound awareness that soul sense brought to rankers could be utilized to bolster their offense and defense at the same time if it was used right. Eren had been training his soul sense by making use of these added effects over and over again. He could fight an entire group of opponents with enhanced efficiency than before. And he sustained rtively less damage while doing it. Of course, he would be mentally exhausted while using his soul sense like this. But he felt his efforts would be worth it if they could give him the ability to stand against Eliza in the future. At the very least, he didn''t want to be too stunned to act the way he once did. Eren had been using his soul sense in a subtle way against Nira Nightshade. The efforts he had put in to train his soul sense were one reason behind his sess with Nira so far. The other was the fact that it was only a vestige of soul left by the archer elf on thend of Anfang. Eren hade a long way from the first time he had awakened his soul sense. However, he had rare slip-of-thought moments as well. Thankfully, he could always rely on his art of bullshittery when in pinch. *** Nira Nightshade looked at Eren suspiciously for a few moments before retracting her soul sense. She eased her expression before nodding at him. The butcher didn''t feel any shame in ying the victim card of a generational trauma he hadn''t felt this entire time. Thankfully, whatever he was trying to sell was bought by the Sage simply because she didn''t think that he was capable of swindling her. Chapter 1084 House Samaels Origins Eren took a breath of relief before deciding to dig up some more information about Eliza from her. "Sage Nira, can you tell me more about Sage Eliza? Anything that you might have found on your search. I would like to know more about such an existence that is an inspiration to all the half-bloods before the deal between us is concluded." Nira felt like she had already amodated Eren so much by giving him all the information he needed to understand the lost history of Anfang. She didn''t want to force her way onto a C-ranker and sully her pride as a Sage after all. But the guy in front of her just kept pushing his luck. Nira took a deep breath and controlled her irritation, supposedly preventing herself from ruining her chances of getting the Spirit Beast. She pondered for a bit before giving the butcher what he wanted most of all. "I cannot tell you more about Sage Eliza because that''s all I have on her. But I can tell you more about her n." Nira Nightshade said, a bit exasperated before speaking further. "The House Samael was always ahead of itspetitors in research rted to bloodlines and potioning. It was the most influential n when the half-blood ns were well-established in thend of Anfang. That''s because it was already a well-established n in the world of Labh Salem. The House Samael and other half-blood ns only carried on with their traditions from Labh Salem after settling here. They were just branching out into different worlds, you could say. But there''s a significant reason why Eliza''s n was so prominent and acted as the head of the half-blood ns in both worlds. The reason lies in the n''s true genesis." Nira Nightshade kept her right hand over her chest and spoke some demonic chants. In the next moment, a secondyer of istion barrier was erected before a pulse of otherworldly mana was spread around her and Eren. The butcher was familiar with this mana. That''s because it was rted to the Sin Series Abilities. "The one who established the n of Samael in the world of Labh Salem is none other than the Demon Prince of Wrath. He possessed a great red dragon and took humanoid form before mating with several witches. The witches in Labh Salem were practicing demonic rituals and he responded to their summons. And as a gift for the witches'' devotion, he sired many children through them. This was how the Samael n was founded. In fact, the name Samael highlights the n''s origins better than anything. After all, one of "his" most popr names throughout many worlds is Samael." Nira Nightshade''s voice started to echo as she spoke her next words in a hurried speech. "The Demon Prince of Wrath has many names just like the other six Princess. However, he is considered the strongest of them all. It is also said that he has the ambition to be the leader of the other six." Nira Nightshade''s spectral rendition started getting blurred when she started talking about the Demon Prince of Wrath. It felt like she was trying to avoid the side effects that woulde from speaking about him in thend of Anfang. She resisted the urge to give in to her wrath and lose her sense of being. But she was possessed by an unknown fragment of consciousness nheless. Nira Nightshade rose from her throne-like chair and started levitating a few meters away from the ground. Her spectral image started fluctuating and her limbs were turned in odd ways. Her eyes shone with red brilliance as she looked at Eren strangely before saying Samael''s various titles in demonguage. "Demon Prince of Wrath Satan. Samael. The Serpent. The Dragon. Prince of Darkness. Prince of Lies. Venom of Gods. The Prosecutor. The Arbiter. Tempter." Eren understood most of what Nira was trying to say to him about the Prince''s titles just fine. This was even though she had switched to a demonguage halfway through. The eventsted for a short period. The Sage archer got hold of herself after chanting some demonic chants a few times. The istion barrier she had built was dispelled by Nira Nightshade as she removed her hand from her heart. She looked a bit exhausted after maintaining the first barrier for so long. She was brought back to the floor with a distressed expression. Nevertheless, she decided to raise both barriers at once and finish everything in one go. "Ugh I hate it when this happens." While experiencing a killer headache, Nira Nightshade talked to herself. The butcher was sure that had she been in the C-rank like him and had her body present here, she would have sweated buckets just by doing what she had done. Nira shook her head and her eyes returned to normalcy. It seemed the effects of the demonic chants she had said earlier had kicked in and her vestige of soul was prevented from getting consumed by the wrath mana. Nira knew that Eren had a Sin-Series mark on himself as well. There were a few mystic ruins on thend of Anfang he could have gotten it from, she thought. So she wasn''t surprised by seeing Eren''s stoic expressions that bordered on nonchnce. She stabilized herself some more before speaking about Eliza''s n. "So where was I? Yeah It shoulde as no surprise why House Samael is one of the main forces in Labh Salem even now. And why Eliza''s n held so much importance even here in thend of Anfang in the past. I don''t want to undermine Sage Eliza''s own efforts and diligent work. But I guess it is only natural that someone from her n would achieve so much sess. I know that one of Satan''s soul fragments is also roaming thend of Anfang these days. His name is Ottoman de Montmorency. They also call him Demonmir." Nira Nightshade ignored Eren''s shocked expression and continued. Chapter 1085 [Bonus ] Reason Behind Levine’s Hatred For Demonmir Nira Nightshade ignored Eren''s shocked expression and continued. "They say that House Montmorency was doing some sort of demonic ritual as an experiment and summoned the soul fragment of Satan by ident. He possessed the body of the original Ottoman de Montmorency. After his demonic possession, Ottoman is said to have killed a lot of members of his own n before finally obtaining control of the soul fragment. Frankly, I doubt how much control this Ottoman guy has over his current body. But since the Anfang Alliance has decided to keep him around, I don''t want to raise any doubts. Anyways I heard that the possessed Ottoman killed the head of the n right after the ritual waspleted. So his daughter Levine de Montmorency hates Ottoman for it. This effectively divided the n into two factions. And since there was a demonic ritual involved, none of them could talk openly about it to any outsider. Ottoman was merely an Ace ranker at the time of the demonic ritual. And he was still able to kill a Master-ranked entity that was Levine''s father with intent-based magic under the influence of his wrath. The point I''m trying to make here is that you should stop seeing House Samael and Sage Eliza from your limited perspective. If someone like Ottoman can pull off such feats just because of his connection with Satan, House Samael and its most venerated scion Sage Eliza could be considered to be capable of a lot more." Nira Nightshade looked nkly in front of her and pondered something before concluding the matter. "I think the goddess''s unusual interest in Anfang is also shared by the Demon Prince of Wrath. As the eyewitness to the lost history points out, everything seems to be connected to some prophecy. The only question is what is it that they both are looking for?" ''Or who'' Eren thought to himself and smiled wickedly. At this point, he felt that he had gotten everything he could from the Sage. *** Only now did Eren realize why Levine didn''t tell him the whole story about Demonmir. And why she hated the man''s guts. He and Alephee could also guess that both the slumbering goddess and Demon Prince of Wrath were still active on thend of Anfang because of the prophecy about him. Or more like they had cast their wide and this was one of the worlds they had zeroed in on. However, both the slumbering goddess and Satan had different intentions. The slumbering goddess wanted to prevent Eren from inheriting the Elder Ichor bloodline. She wanted to prevent his existence altogether. Satan, on the other hand, wanted to confront him after he had inherited the Elder Ichor. If Alephee''s guess was right, the Prince of Wrath wanted to rob Eren''s bloodline''s authority so that he could take the Emperor''s throne for himself. So while the goddess was doing everything in her power to prevent Eren from inheriting the bloodline, Satan was busy crafting his own ns. He had the title of the Wicked One, after all. Alephee also made Eren understand that titles like Beelzebub and Satan were not linked with demons on an individual level. Whoever demon was in charge of one of the Seven nes of Seven Sins would receive such titles. As such, they were transferable. Eren smiled mirthlessly in his head after understanding both the divine and demonic sides were his enemies for the most part. They may want him dead for different reasons. But they both wanted him dead nheless. *** Eren was also shocked by House Samael''s origins. But it made him realize various things about the n as well as Eliza. It also exins how Eliza got possession of the seven-headed serpent statue. It was probably brought into this world from Labh Salem before the istion array was activated. Eren guessed that Eliza was a user of intent-based magic. She had to be. And a very skilled user at that. With her n''s profound demonic origins and expertise backing her, she would have mastered the use of intent-based magic very early on in her life. He could not understand how Eliza could harbor so much wrath inside her mind. The wrath hidden in her bloodline had given her such an undying will to survive and take revenge. He could understand how she could perform unbelievable feats like killing a quasi-Saint rank titan right after breaking into the Sage rank. Users of intent-based magic were able to perform feats that exceeded their rank''s potential after all. Plus, he could also conclude that Eliza had at least a single Mark of the Seven Sins powering her attacks. After all, her bloodline made her highlypatible with it. He was also aware that she could bepatible with even more Marks if his luck was any worse than he imagined it to be. Know thy enemy. The butcher always wanted to learn more about Eliza before he took on the Lazarus project. He could never underestimate her. However, he felt that his cautious nature would end up being useless if he didn''t have any information about her. There is no point in being cautious about potential fuck-ups if one doesn''t have the n to avoid them or get over them. And to n, one needs the right amount of information. The butcher immediately thought of honing his Domain of Wrath to perfection in theing years as the Lazarus project stayed active. He had learned a bit about the Sin Series Abilities and his bloodline powers. The Elder Ichor bloodline gave Eren certain authority over the Sin Series AbilitiesC the likes of which nobody but Demon Princes could exert. In fact, his authority could even supersede the Demon Princes'' under the right conditions. That is if he wanted to. Eren didn''t want to antagonize Satan at this point. But he could always make his Ability more potent than before by understanding it better. By using it more often. On various test subjects. Furthermore, the butcher was more confident about using the Domain of Wrath than any of his other Abilities against Eliza. That''s because he felt more in control of his surroundings when he was inside the Wrath domain. If he yed his card right, the butcher would have an edge over Eliza with his Domain of Wrath. He also saw the need to get all the Sin Series Marks from the Seven-headed serpent statue. wto *** Eren thought of many things in his head after receiving information from Nira Nightshade. He was d he had pestered her about it to this point. And now it was time he ended his charade with her. ''We got all we need. Do it.'' Alephee received Eren''s message. In the next moment, she executed what she was supposed to do. Chapter 1086 Power To Suffer The Consequences Of Saying No "I havepleted my end of the deal, Eren. Now bring out the Spirit Beast." Nira Nightshade''s eyes shone with unmasked greed as she thought of cultivating a potential God Spark. Plus, this was a God Spark from her native world. It would allow her to make the most of it. Nira Nightshade didn''t understand how Eren got hold of a Spirit Beast. However, she neither wanted to know nor cared about its origins. This was the most appropriate use of the vestige of her soul she had kept in thend of Anfang, she thought. Eren smiled innocently at Nira Nightshade before speaking. "First of all, I need to thank you, Sage Nira Nightshade. I don''t know how many years it would have taken for me to learn about the lost history if it wasn''t for you. I also need to thank you for providing me with valuable information about that mummy. Frankly, this was more significant to me than learning about lost history." Eren''s smile turned grim after he said this. He narrowed his eyes at an expectant-looking Nira Nightshade before speaking further. "Unfortunately, I have stopped negotiating with Sages. I now have the power to suffer the consequences of my "no." As Eren spoke to Nira, she looked puzzled. She wasn''t sure what he was talking about at first. But in the next moment, the entire hall started shaking as if someone was destabilizing the castle''s foundation. "You" The Sage archer couldn''t believe what was happening. She felt like she was witnessing a dream for the first time in a long while as she watched her entire hall shake with intermittent quakes. She understood that someone was trying to break the array that was located at the base of the castle. The array that hosted and protected the vestige of her soul. Someone had not only infiltrated her castle and found the array but also had the power to mess with it. Nira looked at Eren with a horrified expression before voicing her suspicions. "You did you sneak in a Sage ranker with you inside the castle somehow?" Nira Nightshade believed that the array that housed her vestige of the soul could only be found and interfered with by another Sage ranker like her. Therefore, she treated the intruder as a Sage ranker. She immediately activated her soul sense in conjunction with the castle''s mechanisms to find out who was messing up the array. A spectral image of a girl in an elegant dress was rendered on the hall''s ceiling. With the help of her grimoire spells, this ck-haired Gothic-looking girl eagerly operated the array. A ck-haired girl seemed to possess powers close to a C-rank, to Nira Nightshade''s disbelief. Various runic lines danced around this girl as she raised her hands and started modifying them on the fly. Her grimoire was levitating in front of her-its pages turning rapidly under hermands. The runes written on the pages of the grimoire came to life before taking various elemental forms. These runes would then merge with the already existing runes of the array, unlocking it slowly from within. Nira Nightshade couldn''t believe a homunculus, with her synthetic body restricted to C-rank, could do something like that. However, she decided to get over the shock immediately. She felt it was a sign of disrespect that two Expert-ranked entities had dared to act against her. This was utter disrespect for Sage''s honor, she thought. "Insolent brat do you think you will get away with reneging on the deal? Think again." Nira spread her soul sense wide in a domineering manner and tried to put pressure on Eren. She also controlled the castle''s mechanisms to prevent the homunculus from messing with the array. Eren felt like he was being attacked with a rain of arrows all of a sudden. And these arrows were piercing every organ in his body. He felt like even his bones were being targeted by these arrows and overloading his pain receptors. This was the manifestation of Nira Nightshade''s soul sense. Even a vestige of the soul of a Sage could produce such powerful mental pressure on Eren. He felt like his body would really start bleeding if he stayed exposed to such intense soul pressure emitted by the Sage archer. The butcher used his own soul sense to fight off Night Nightshade''s pressure. Thanks to it, he wasn''t as helpless as before. "You Do you think you are the only one who was holding back? Hahaha." The butcher managed tough even in the difficult position he was in. His body was turning red and he felt like he was burning inside an oven. He had beads of sweat on his forehead and his eyes had turned red. He couldn''t move his limbs freely and he felt like somebody was putting huge pressure on his shoulder to make him bend his knees. However, this exposure wasn''t enough to get him down. It almost looked like he was enjoying the misery he was subjected to, as if he were taking some kind of mental pleasure from confronting a Sage. The butcher''s body also reacted to his will. It started amodating itself to his misery, making it easier for him to remain standing on his two feet. Even his soul sense was improving after shing with Nira Nightshade. It was using the pressure emitted by Nira as a whetstone to sharpen itself. Eren looked at Nira fearlessly before speaking in a grim tone. "I have taken enough shit from you Sage bitches. There''s no fucking way I''ll agree to whatever any of you say this time. Not anymore. Kekeke. If you think I''ll turn over my Spirit Beast to you after you make me understand its worth, you''re deluding yourself. So what if you are a Sage? If you believe rankers'' etiquettes are still implemented the same way they used to be back in your days, you are stuck in the past. Or maybe it is just me who has stopped giving a fuck about it. Either way, I''d rather get rid of you here than regret losing something so preciouster on." Chapter 1087 Eren Vs Nira Nightshade P1 "I''d rather get rid of you here than regret losing something so preciouster on." Eren raised his one hand with difficulty and made a e here" gesture with his index finger after pointing it at Nira. His green eyes shone with determination as he challenged the Sage. "Come If I can''t even face Sage''s husk at this point, I might as well pack my bag and call it quits." Nira Nightshade was pissed, to say the least. She didn''t even take a second tounch her attacks on Eren after she heard his words. *** "Aaaaargh!" Eren cried in pain as he was struck by real arrows this time. Or as real as they could be. They were manifested by Nira Nightshade''s soul sense, after all. Arge spectral arrow that looked like a javelin pierced his stomach. The arrow''s tip had also pierced the wall behind him, pinning him onto a wall at one end of the hall. Soon, the arrows that had pierced Eren''s front from every angle disappeared into thin air before another batch of arrows pierced him. This time, the impact of the arrows was so strong that the wall behind him was broken into spiderwebs before it caved in. Eren was wounded not only physically by these arrows. They also tried to affect his soul. The butcher would have been sent into a vegetative state if he didn''t have a strong awakened soul to fight off Nira''s direct soul intrusion. Bzzt. Swoosh. Jump. A shadow coated in lightning jumped away from the caved wall, leaving more rubble behind it. A bloodied and unrecognizable figure of a human male stood a few meters away from an angry-looking Nira. This bloodied figure had numerous wounds on his body. His lower rib bones were exposed due to severe injuries. Arge chunk of muscle was missing from his right shoulder, exposing his vicle and scap. It seemed like this bloodied figure had concentrated on strengthening the defenses of his vital organs. And in doing so, he had to let his other body parts suffer in the one-sided assault of his enemy. The man also had a mangled face. Still, he managed to show his bloody teeth to the Sage archer, indicating that he wasughing at her. His green eyes shone with brilliance as he eyed his attacker. Snap. Instant Reset. Eren let his Ability and his bloodline powers work in conjunction. And within a few seconds, he was back to normal, with most of his injuries healed. Even his most severe injuries weren''t able to prolong their stay in the face of such an elerated healing process. "Kekekeke. That''s all you got? I thought Sages were some untouchable beings. Come on, attack me for real already." Eren said while mocking Nira Nightshade. Normally, he wouldn''t say something boastful like this. But he recognized the effects they would have on one''s opponents. Especially if the opponent was strong and one wanted to not let them gain any mental satisfaction from winning. The words also acted like some form of self-hypnosis. The butcher was willing to use any physical and psychological tactic in his battle against a Sage. *** The first thing Nira Nightshade did after finding out that someone was trying to destroy the array where the vestige of her soul was stored was to get rid of the person. She disappeared from the hall and appeared right where Alephee was. However, Nira soon found out that she had greatly underestimated the grimoire-using homunculus. Alephee had rewritten the rights of the defense mechanism used to protect the array long before she even started interfering with the main array. Therefore, Alephee was able to use the Sage-level defense mechanism against the husk of the soul the array was supposed to protect in the first ce. Meaning the Sage ranker couldn''t touch Alephee until thetter was done with whatever she was doing. Nira immediately understood that Alephee was not someone she could take lightly. She even doubted that thend of Anfang could produce someone like her in the first ce. However, this was not the time to admire the enemy''s work. So Nira got back to where Eren was, trying to force him to stop doing what he wanted Alephee to do. The fight between Eren and Nira''s vestige of soul had been going on for a few minutes by this point. Eren tried attacking Nira with various elemental spells. He also tried attacking with his weapons. However, Nira Nightshade did not have a physical body, to begin with. Even if she did, Eren''s C-rank spells would not have done any real damage to her anyway. Thankfully, Eren''s ranking status wasn''t suppressed inside Nira Nightshade''s castle as it was a special zone inside the Sansara World. But that didn''t really help the butcher either. All it did was make him a longsting punching bag. Eren was basically forced to receive a one-sided beating from Nira Nightshade. She would have killed him at this point. However, the butcher had Instant Reset to rely on. He kept healing himself from even the most fatal of injuries, denying Nira the satisfaction of killing him in the goriest way possible. This was Eren''s 7th time healing himself from near-death injuries. Alephee was working as fast as she could to destroy the array and the vestige of the soul it was housing. So all he had to do was survive against a Sage who was thoroughly pissed at him for ying her like a fiddle. *** "You. How the fuck can you heal like this? You have preposterous Abilities. But your constitution... And then there''s that homunculus. Who who the fuck are you?" Nira Nightshade couldn''t believe what she was looking at. She had to say that the C-rank specimen in front of her was like an undying cockroach. She couldn''t use her go-to elemental spells because she didn''t have a physical body. But her soul sense attacks alone were enough to take care of an Expert ranker like Eren. At least that''s what she thought. However, Eren''s existence had shaken her. Chapter 1088 Eren Vs Nira Nightshade P2 ''Unbelievable. Do these powers really belong to a mere C-ranker?" Nira Nightshade started doubting if there was a fundamental difference between the Expert rankers that she knew of versus the Expert rankers of the current generation. Eren had broken the conventional mold with his survivability alone. Eren healed himselfpletely except for his torn clothes. He ran his fingers through his hair before rotating his neck. He stretched his limbs, made some bone-cracking sounds, and jumped on the spot a few times to check his well-being. ''I feel. Hungry.'' Eren pped his now-healed tummy a few times as it was making rumbling noises. His bloodline powers were at their peak, shooting his metabolism to insane levels because of constant cellr destruction and construction. He felt like he could kill for some meat. The butcher felt liberated. Not because he enjoyed the fact that he was being beaten up. But because he had faced his fear of standing up to a Sage ranker. He felt like he had ovee a huge mental block at this point. The fact that he was facing the vestige of a Sage did nothing to stop him from feeling a sense of aplishment. "Who am I?" Eren looked at Nira Nightshade and smiled. This wasn''t the first time he had been asked the question. And he had a feeling it wouldn''t be thest. "Hehe. I am whatever I need to be." Eren clenched his hands and turned them into fists before raising them in front of him. "You know this is the first time I''ve seen soul sense getting used like this. So these are what they call soul spells, huh? You don''t have a mortal shell and no mana core. And yet, you can use magic without using mana. Witnessing things like these makes me realize I still have a lot to learn and a lot to see. A lot toprehend. I''ll have to thank you once again for broadening my horizons, Sage Nira." Eren said and bowed a bit in front of the night elf. When he straightened himself up, he had a genuine smile on his face. "I am getting a few ideas from watching you use your soul sense. Let me try some of them on you." Blink. As Eren said, he disappeared from the scene. Sage Nira seemed unfazed by the butcher''s moves. He could not hurt her using his traditional spells. And he did not have the power to harm her using his soul sense. At least that''s what she thought. Eren appeared right in front of Sage''s apparition and let his punch fly. Thetter thought that his physical attacks were just going to go through her non-materialistic image and hit empty air. However, she soon realized that the butcher had imbued his fists with his soul sense. Eren had decided to use soul sense in conjunction with the Fist Arts he had learned from Ken. *** It was difficult for Eren to use his weapons while imbuing them with his soul sense. The major reason for this was that they were not spiritual weapons. His soul sense would seep through the weapons''position, not allowing him to enhance his physical attacks in any way. The other reason was that he had not seen anyone use soul-based spells other than Alephee. So he was missing a reference point. Of course, Eren''s inexperience in using his newly awakened soul sense also had its hand to y in his fumbles. He had to say that Alephee was right in saying that it was too early for him to employ his soul sense in his attacks and defense. However, taking a beating from Nira Nightshade and getting exposed to her soul sense taught him many things at once. He could analyze her attacks with his soul sense, receiving feedback for every move she made against him. The chronic nner in him took all those observations and deductions into ount before finding a way to proceed. His limbsC his fistsC were different from any elemental spells or weapons. They were a physical extension of his existence. As such, they were a far better carrier of his sense of self than anything else for the current him. All he had to do was find a way to coat his fists with the ethereal form of energy his soul sense was made of. Then he could use his Fist Arts he had borrowed from Ken to hurt the Sage''s apparition. *** Swoosh. Zoom. Connect. Eren''s fist connected with Nira''s apparition for the first time instead of moving through it. He stopped after hitting Nira''s stomach. That''s because the attacker and his target both were caught off guard by this phenomenon. They both couldn''t believe that the most rudimentary form of soul sense use had worked against Sage''s apparition. Life is simple unless one finds a way to make itplicated. The same was true for the soul sense as well. *** Spiritual attacks. These were the types of attacks one could use with their soul sense. The act of imbuing one''s limbs or weapons with soul sense could be considered a spiritual attack. Soul spells and mental attacks performed with soul sense also fall into this category. Eren remembered Har Jahar appreciating him for his soul sense when he had used it against a monster during the monster festival. At that time, he had only overwhelmed his opponent''s consciousness by spreading his soul sense around. However, to the Monster King, it was a big deal. He had said that Eren could be made god''s emissary with just this qualification alone. Eren didn''t understand at that time what spiritual attacks were and how they worked at that time. But an altercation with the Sage had taught him many things at once. Spiritual attacks rely on a different form of energy than mana. They employed spiritual energy that was found in one''s soul space. To use spiritual attacks, one needed to establish a connection with soul space. === AN: Soul space was first mentioned in chapter 662. The term Spiritual Attack was first used in chapter 689. Chapter 1089 [Bonus ] “No Brownie Points For Acting Tough” Eren had been using his soul sense amateurishly. What he had been doing before this point was to use spiritual energy in its most basic formC to analyze the world around him in a deeper way. Or to overwhelm his opponents. As such, he hardly made use of his spiritual energy at all. This was the first time Eren actively sought connection with his soul space. As a result, he finally found a way to employ his spiritual energy in his attacks. Eren''s fists were coated in spiritual energy when he attacked Nira Nightshade. And the attack finally managed to hit the apparition that was the Sage archer. In the current state of his spiritual energy mastery, Eren could not use the spiritual energy in his elemental spells. But Ken''s Fist Arts gave him a way to attack the Sager archer. After getting over the initial shock, Eren started attacking Nira Nightshade with all he had. He didn''t care about his spiritual energy expenditure at all. He just wanted to embrace the feeling of using spiritual energy so that he could make a habit of using it. *** Snap. Eren used his ability again. But he could not heal all of his injuries this time. Instant Reset had hit its limit. What''s more? He felt extremely exhausted mentally. As if he hadn''t slept for months on end. The over-expenditure of spiritual energy had its drawbacks after all. He was struggling to keep his eyes open and not sleep where he stood. Nira Nightshade''s apparition had gotten blurred so much that her image became translucent. Eren''s spiritual attacks paired with Ken''s Fist Arts had worked. Plus, Alephee was done with her job too, hurting Nira even more. "How... how did you lie so fluently to me?" Nira Nightshade asked with a weak voice that wasn''t devoid of her pride as a Sage ranker. She had epted the fact that she had been defeated at this point. The butcher smiled lightly before answering her. "Hehe. It''s simple. There''s a part of me that believed my own lies until I didn''t have to." Blink. When Eren punched Nira Nightshade''s apparition this time, it shattered like a mirror before exploding into a million pieces. Only then did he allow himself to fall to the ground t on his stomach. The butcher had a smile on his face as he embraced a well-deserved nap inside Sage''s castle. *** "Eren" Eren heard somebody call his name from a distance. He felt like his consciousness was drifting into an endless void without a sense of direction. The voice that was calling out to him was like a harness that was trying to pull him back. His eyes opened slowly, only to reveal the blurry figure of a young woman wearing a ck dress. She looked at him with a concerned look on her face. "I told you you were not ready to use spiritual attacks. You would have been dead meat if it wasn''t for this safe ce." Alphee''s admonishing voice was heard by Eren. However, her reality check failed to wake him up. He was still drunk in his slumber. "I broke the array but we don''t have much time. You need to wake up if you want to im Nira''s legacy for yourself." These words from Alephee finally did the trick. The urgency forced Eren to awaken from his slumber. He had swindled a Sage to get information from her. He had destroyed her vestige of the soul to prevent any leak of information about his Spirit Beast. There was no way he would let the rewards of his efforts go to waste after suffering so much. Eren sat straight and looked around. He was still in a bit of a daze and everything looked blurred to him. He still felt extremely exhausted and he had a killer headache. It took a while before his vision started returning to normal. "Let''s let''s go and. woah. !" Eren was about to get up from his position using Alephee''s hand that was offered to him as support. However, he was shocked by seeing Alephee''s current condition, which was horrible, to say the least. "Fuck what happened to you?" Eren channeled his C-rank mana throughout his body and found the strength in him to get up. He immediately got closer to Alephee before taking her in his embrace. Alephee''s flesh was melting. She was trying to keep the flesh frompletely liquefying using her time-element spell. It restored major parts of her body, enabling her to walk and function as normally as she could. However, it was obvious that she was in even more of a pinch than Eren. "It''s it''s nothing. Just some consequences of operating on the Sage-rank array." Alephee tried to sound as normal as she could. But Eren could tell she was struggling as well. And the struggle was not just physical. She had also used a lot of her spiritual energy to interfere with Nira''s array mechanism. He wouldn''t have been able to eliminate Nira''s apparition if it wasn''t for Alephee''s contribution. Eren smiled mirthlessly before speaking to her. "No brownie points for acting tough. How much time will it take for you to recover?" Alephee chuckled while being supported by Eren''s embrace. She rested her head on his chest and replied. "Not sure. Maybe a few weeks. Anyhow, I don''t see aplete recovery before the event ends. So I suggest you don''t mess with the other three Sages." Eren chuckled before caressing the back of her head. "No promises. But I''ll try. Rest now. I''ll handle everything here." Alephee nodded before disappearing into the pendant''s abode. She had used a lot of the trump cards she had been collecting to break the Sage array. The homunculus had gone above and beyond in executing Eren''s n. She needed to recuperate after doing what was considered impossible even by Nira Nightshade. After Alephee disappeared from the scene, Eren shook his head vigorously to get rid of any mental and physical fatigue he was feeling. He regretted the fact that he couldn''t use his expensive potions to fix himself instantly due to Sansara World''s restrictions. Despite this, he soon found great motivation, which made him forget about his mental and physical fatigue. He had to say that Alephee had done her job well. She had summoned every precious item Nira Nightshade had stored inside the castle into the hall. A Sage ranker''s legacy was waiting for him to im it. Chapter 1090 Nira Nightshade’s Legacy A mini mountain of Extols. A variety of spell scrolls and runic st created by Nira Nightshade. Precious ores and mana-conductive metal nuggets could be used to craft specialized artifacts. Archer and ranger-specific gear. Various herbs, ranked items, and other ranking resources could be used in a variety of applications. And finally, a disk levitating motionlessly in the middle of all these things. This was what Alephee had managed to take out of the castle''s defenses before she hit her limit. Eren saw these items as the Sage archer''s legacy, which he had wrestled away from her grasp forcefully. *** Eren had to say that Nira Nightshade was rtively easy to handle despite being a demonic ranker. Or it was just that his expectations of Sages were skewed because he met with Eliza. ? The night elf had given him valuable information. And he was also able to im the rewards she was supposed to give him after their deal waspleted. Nira was easy to handle. And what she had said to Eren also made sense to him to some extent. After all, it was true that he was far away from cultivating a Spirit Beast into a God Spark. And the risk of getting spotted by other Sages like her was also there. This was a huge risk with no immediate reward. Eren wouldn''t have given her the Spirit Beast under any conditions. Nira Nightshade hade to realize that eventually. She couldn''t kill him no matter how much she tried. And it was bing apparent to her mid-battle that the vestige of soul she had left in thend of Anfang was at risk of getting destroyed by Eren. Therefore, Nira tried to strike a different set of deals with him towards the end. Ones that didn''t involve the exchange of the Spirit Beast. Eren could understand the other side of the coin as well. Technically, it would have been better for him to get Nira Nightshade''s legacy in exchange for the Spirit Beast which he had no immediate use for. He wouldn''t have to put his and Alephee''s lives on the line had he gone with her deal. What''s more? Eren knew that even though he had prevented the information leak, Nira would at least be able to tell who destroyed the vestige of her soul on thend of Anfang no matter where she was at the time. Eren wasn''t sure if the real Nira Nightshade could be called a Sage with her current rank. From the looks of things, she had progressed beyond the Sage rank. Meaning the butcher had created a powerful enemy out of the elf archer with this move. He was at risk of encountering her after he left thend of Anfang behind him. However, it was not always about avoiding trouble or prioritizing usable resources. Some conflicts were necessary to get into, just to get peace of mind at the end of them. This duel with Nira was helpful to Eren in many ways. First, he overcame a mental block that Sages were not to be messed with. Secondly, he kept Nira Nightshade from finding out that he had a Spirit Beast. The fact that he was able to learn how to use spiritual attack was an unexpected gain he hadn''t nned from the beginning. *** The butcher had many thoughts swirling inside his mind as he looked at Nira''s Legacy all around him. He was a bit overwhelmed by what he was seeing at this point. He was least impressed by the mountain of Extols. He could always get his hands on money, thanks to his city. However, the ranking resources that Nira got were priceless. They were not something he would necessarily be able to buy no matter how much money he had. The butcher started walking through his loot and checked a few items. He had a light smile on his face as he brushed his hands over them, just to get a feel. "Keke. All of this and I get a powerful enemy in the future as a punishment." Eren chuckled before shrugging his shoulders. "Meh! Still worth it. It''s not like I don''t have powerful enemies to begin with. One more added to the list isn''t going to make a difference." Eren stopped in his tracks and took out his Sativa Stick. His entire body was hurting. And he felt mentally exhausted. He could really use the effects of smoke to get some respite. The butcher could use the temporary Perks he had bought using Karma points to alleviate his condition. But he had to leave Sage''s castle to activate them. "I need to make use of this before I go out." Eren walked towards the levitating array disk. He observed it for a few moments and confirmed that it was what he was looking for most in Sage''s Legacy. Eren released puffs of smoke while looking at the array disk. Only after finishing the Sativa Stick did he raise his hands to grab onto it. "Time to add another ss." Eren said to himself before shing a smile. The array disk in his hand was an expandable array a ranker could use to reforge their mana circuits. Theyout of the reforged mana circuits would be based on Nira Nightshade''s actual mana circuits. This was what it truly meant by Sages passing down their legacies. Participants were required to im the rewards for their entire team before offering the array disks to theirpatible members. Meaning Eren was supposed to share the rewards he had obtained from Nira with his team. Ideally, he should have offered the array disk to Renita who was the ranger in their group. She was seen as the most suitable candidate because of her ss. The array disk would have reforged Renita''s mana circuits if she had had the chance to use it. It would have fine-tuned her as a ranger and archer. The array disk was not supposed to be used by members with ipatible sses as doing so would only fry their mana circuits. Eren was the only exception to this rule. Chapter 1091 + Ranger Class Eren was ready to offer his team most of the other resources he had obtained from Nira''s legacy. The ones he had no use for. He was also willing to give Renita Nira Nightshade''s transcendent-grade bow. After all, with Alephee around, he didn''t have any problem upgrading his weapons at all. However, he was intending to use the array disk himself. His bloodline and constitution allowed him to gain multiple sses. He would be foolish not to add them to his repertoire. *** Eren was seen standing inside an array. The array was expanded around him as soon as he sent his mana sense into it and imbued it with his mana. In the next moment, a peculiar mana pulse was released in the surroundings before the array started operating by itself. Eren had already used his white-haired transformation. His tribal tattoos exuded a faint light. It was as if they were responding to the changes happening around him. ''*Sigh. It''s going to hurt like a bitch again.'' Eren thought to himself before pressing his lips against each other. He then sat cross-legged in the center of the array which was considered the array eye. He closed his eyes and clenched his hands in anticipation of what wasing for him. Thest time Eren received a summoner ss, it had given him mind-numbing pain. After all, even with his unique constitution, he was transitioning to being a summoner from being a closebat expert. So he had to face the repercussions of introducing major changes to his mana circuits. Eren had been through a severe form of mana control training under Alephee''s guidance. As a result, his tolerance threshold was much higher than a regr ranker''s. Still, he was unable to ignore the feelings of sufferingpletely. ''Fcck!'' Eren cursed in his head as his mana circuits started getting reforged inside the array. The array started destroying his mana points and mana pathways, forcing him to experience extreme forms of pain. Eren started sweating all over his body. The skin over his exposed torso and limbs started to rupture, and he turned into a bloody mess all over again. The only reason he didn''t scream like a madman was that he had sealed his lips using a simple rune. Eren''s constitution started adapting to the ongoing changes in real time. His body started healing his injuries and forming new pathways and mana points, which were moreplex than before. They were also more malleable than before. ? A pool of blood was created around the butcher. He still had his eyes closed. His expressions were distressed, indicating that he was suffering from some form of torture. However, one could also see a tinge of excitement hidden in his expression. The excitement of getting a new ss. Eren lost track of time in the process. When he finally opened his eyes, he felt like he was in apletely different body. "Hmm? There are indeed visible changes." Lightning struck and Eren stood up. However, he felt like he was faster than before. The fluency of his movement spells had increased. "Let''s see." Eren started analyzing himself as he stretched his limbs. He started disappearing from one ce only to appear in the other corner of the hall. "I am naturally leaner and taller in this form. My agility has increased. And I can see more clearly than before. My mana sense is also sensitive to long-range activities. My mana circuits feel different as well." Eren started using Ken''s Fist Arts to gauge his strength and found out that it had deteriorated. He also felt that he would have trouble executing his closebat moves with his changed physique and altered mana circuits. The summoner ss Eren was using before this hadn''t introduced many visible changes to his looks. But that was because the summoner ss didn''t focus on a ranker''s physicality at all. It focused on enabling the ranker to summon better creatures who would fight the summoner''s battle. However, the ranger ss was different. Changing into the ranger ss meant that Eren had to focus on executing his long-range attacks all by himself. He didn''t have the ferocity of a closebat expert at his disposal. So he needed to maintain a safe distance from his opponents. On the other hand, Eren would be able to target multiple targets simultaneously using long-range attacks in conjunction with the ranger ss. He would be able to take care of his enemies without having to face a frontal sh. That is if he used his cards correctly. "Hm. I have various battle styles at my disposal right now. But none of them would allow me to make full use of this new ss. I need aprehensive set of spells, weapons, and moves to get the best out of this ss." Afterward, Eren spent a few minutes moving around in the hall. He felt like the more powerful he became, the more fields of study were opening up to him. Eren had devoured the experiences of a few rangers by this point. So the transition to the Ranger ss wouldn''t be too difficult for him anyway. He just needed to fine-tune those experiences to make them fit his needs. The butcher was d for his bloodline at this point. The fact that he could amodate multiple sses was not the only reason. But he was also d the fact that he did not have any conflicts with any element he chose. As a result, no matter which ss he unlocked for himself, he would be able to use a variety of spells to bring more variation to his battle styles. Eren felt excited about the work that he was supposed to put into honing the new ss. He clenched his fists before speaking to himself. "I am the least prepared to use the ranger ss to its fullest potential today. So it will be tough to get used to it. Still, I have a feeling all my efforts will be worth it. Keke. One down. Three more sses to im." Chapter 1092 Lufthansa "Haash. Finally absolved of all involvement." Eren said after he was done cleaning his most recent crime scene. He knew the kingdom of Edinburgh would try to find the culprit who had eradicated the vestige of Sage Nira''s soul. Thankfully, he had the infiltrators of Layos to me things on. The first thing he did was get rid of his presence as much as he could. Then he decorated the crime scene with fake evidence, scattering the mangled body pieces of elf infiltrators all around inside the hall. Of course, Eren didn''t have to erase his presence from the scenepletely-- just make it much less apparent than it was. After all, he was one of the participants in the Sansara array who had entered the Sage''s Castle to im Nira''s legacy. So it was fine for his presence to be registered here like the rest of the participants who had appeared here with him before Nira sent them on a wild goose chase. Eren took a long breath after he was done processing the scene. Sighing, he looked around to admire another of his handiwork. The butcher just wished that the next world he visited wouldn''t make him suffer from petty troubles like these. The butcher turned into his original form before changing into a new set of clothes. He faced some difficulties while doing ss shifts. But they weren''t enough to phase him anymore. He knew that it would only get easier to change into Ranger ss with time as his unique constitution would eventually get used to it. "Time to leave this ce for good." He nced around him for thest time before walking towards a spatial tunnel that had been kept open for his exit. *** Day 23: Sage Youffie Loxley''s Den. A giant underground space with cave-like entrances and exits. There was just enough light for the contestants to see their own hands. Even their mana senses werepromised. This was abyrinth-like ce that was difficult to navigate using one''s senses or logic. The air inside the den was putrid and sulfurous in nature. Standing motionless, one could feel a subtle sense of danger emanating everywhere around them. There were a few artificial sources of light present in the surroundings. But for some reason, they only added a touch of mystique to the ce instead of illuminating it for better visibility. The participants who wanted to im Sage Luftahansa''s Legacy had been summoned to this mysterious den. This was thest week of the graduation ceremony. And at this point, a significant number of teams had dropped out of the event. The rankers were not happy with how Sage Nira''s Legacy test turned out to be. Some of the most prominent teams had sent their capable members to attend Sage Nira''s test. However, the night elf forced them to fight each other before eventually kicking everybody out. It seemed that there was some sort of problem with the whole test. That''s because the castle remained unresponsive to even the moderators'' request to enter it after they requested permission from Sage Nira. The participants didn''t have much time to dwell on Sage Nira''s test results after Sage Luftahansa''s test site became visible on their maps. The teams prioritized getting rewards from the new test site instead of crying over spilled milk. The moderators who were truly working for the kingdom of Edinburgh also had their hands full identifying and neutralizing the infiltrators while the event was active. So they decided that they would check out Sage Nira''s castleter on and focus on their current predicament. The White Raven Crew also decided to focus on Sage Lufthansa''s Legacy. However, its crew members were the only lucky ones who had received significant rewards from Sage Nira''s test. Usually, the teams would change the participants they wanted to send to the test site depending on the kind of test they thought was going to be at the targeted location. For Sage Lufthansa''s test, teams sent their assassins and closebat experts. That''s because they thought that only such rankers could perform better on the test given by Sage Lufthansa who was an assassin. Eren decided to enter the second test site as well. But that was not because he was a closebat expert. The butcher had already made it clear to his team that only he would enter the test sites created by the founder Dukes of Edinburgh, who wanted to pass down their legacies. "What are we supposed to do here?" "Should we take those paths and see where they lead us?" "That''s an excellent idea. Why don''t you go ahead and check one of the caves out for all of us?" "Haah! I''m not doing this alone. If I do it, we all do it. And we do it together. That''s the deal. I''m not going to serve as an example of what not to do in Sage Lufthansa''s test." "Why talk big if you don''t have the balls to follow up on your own ideas?" "What did you say? Listen here you mo..." Eren listened to some of the boisterous participants verbally assault each other with carefree expressions. He neither needed nor wanted to intervene among them. Plus, the butcher liked watching other rankers fight each other. Especially if a group of participants was targeting a select few. It was a fun activity for him-- like watching a roadshow. Thest time he had this much fun watching an entertaining show was when he saw Ken getting beaten up by Lensa''s nsmen for something he did. ''Haah! Those were the good times.'' Eren thought like an old man as he watched the young participants almost brawl with each other just for the silly remarks they had said against each other. He also wished Ken was alive so he could cause trouble for the guy once again. "Looks like you guys are excited to experience death." A deep male voice of unknown origin suddenly reverberated in the den. The person speaking seemed to be present at multiple locations at the same time. That''s because the voice seemed to being from multiple directions. An assassin''s presence could not be felt. There was no bloodlust, no mana signature, and no threat in the person''s voice. Still, the participants subconsciously felt that they were in a life-threatening situation just by hearing this voice. Chapter 1093 Find Or Die Sage Lufthansa''s words stopped the verbal brawl between participants. "The test is simple. You have to find me. The one who finds the real me first wins my legacy. Easy isn''t it?" Participants stared at each other when they heard how Sage Lufthansa wanted to conduct a test. They all couldn''t help having light smiles on their faces when they realized how simple it was. "So we Sage Lufthansa we are supposed to take random paths for ourselves and find you, right? But" One of the participants gathered the courage to speak. "Pardon me if I didn''t understand this clearly. But would it be fair to all of us if we did that? These caves What if some of them happen to be dead ends? Should we be punished for having bad luck by selecting the wrong choice?" ''Logical question. But he shouldn''t have asked this here.'' Eren thought in his head as he heard a participant standing not too far away from him raise his question. He appreciated the guy''s efforts. But he would never put himself in his crosshairs just to satiate his curiosity. *** From Eren''s experiences so far, Sages were entric creatures. Not necessarily because they wanted to or made conscious efforts in that direction. But their individualities would not only power their spells but also their actions. These individualities would make them highly vindictive or extremely honest. The Sages wouldn''t be able to change who they were even if they wanted to after these individualities had be a part of their ranking path. The high-ranking entities would find out that their individualities had beenpromised if they started behaving opposite to them. Thisck of synchronicity between individuality and act might also pose a bottleneck since these individualities were corrted with their ranking paths. Of course, there are always exceptions. And individuality was just a vague concept that became tangible only for high-ranking entities. And as such, there were a myriad of individualities as well as ways to cultivate them. A Sage''s individuality would mold their behavior in an in-depth manner, making them see things in a different light than normal people. This was also the reason the S-rankers were called Sages. Their views about the world started to differ from their old mindsets. Eren would never willingly serve as a litmus test to gauge Sage''s individuality. Especially someone like Sage Lufthansa who was an assassin. Thankfully, there were some rankers present around him who happily took on that role. *** Surprisingly, Yuffie Loxley didn''t get angry at a participant who expressed doubts about his test to the point of calling it unfair. He chuckled before responding. "Who said caves had dead ends? They all lead somewhere, don''t they? It''s up to you to figure out where you want to go. In theory, you can find me no matter which path you choose for yourself. Of course, there are easier paths that you can use to find me without suffering much. Then there are difficult paths that will be headaches for you. However, easy paths wouldn''t necessarily mean that you woulde across me. And difficult paths don''t raise your chances of finding me. The paths you choose can only make your journey easier or more challenging. But they all have the same destination. It all depends on how far you are willing to go to find me and im my legacy. So you can say that the test is fair by making it potentially unfair for all of you. Are we on the same page in this matter? Or do any of you want to question the fairness of the test I created for you one more time?" Eren narrowed his eyes when he heard Sage''s exnation. It looked like two or more participants could take the same path. However, their difficulties would increase ording to the number of participants entering one of the caves. So everyone came to a tacit understanding that each participant would select a single cave entrance to enter and see where it leads. No two people could trust each other after all. It was better to try their luck alone. They were relieved by the fact that they did not have to fight each other. Youffie didn''t take much time exining the rules of the game. The rankers were immediately forced to act as a result of his voice disappearing. The one who had raised a question for the first time chose a cave entrance for himself and entered. A bunch of other participants started entering the cave entrances one by one. The butcher chose to wait after selecting his cave entrance. He decided to pay attention to the results of other participants as well. "Aaaaaargh!" "Wh" "Somebody is trying to sneak." "Aaaaaaaah! Hel" Eren had a stoic expression as he heard the screams of participants who had entered the cave entrances that looked like the face of a beehive. He had a feeling that someone like a Sage assassin wouldn''t give the rankers a full picture of the test. At least not right away. Eren also realized that the participants who had asked about the fairness of the test were the first to scream before his presencepletely vanished from the scene. It seemed that Sage Yuffie had subtly silenced his critique by cranking up the unfairness for him specifically. Just like an assassin should--without making a fuss about it. A chuckle was heard before Sage Lufthansa spoke again. "And oh yes did I tell you that you''d have to face assassination while you are trying to find me? My shadows are personally executing this assassination. So you''d be dealing with nerfed versions of me. Of course, you''d be sent to the Life and Death Altar after you die here. And if you can clear that, you''d have to start looking for me all over again. By selecting a different cave entrance. I can tell you that each one of you is going to die at least once in this test. This test is not really about finding me. It''s about your mental fortitude. How many of you have the guts toe back and keep on dying until you can find me? Hehe I guess we''ll soon find that out." Chapter 1094 Life And Death Altar ''Mental fortitude, my ass. Who the fuck is this guy kidding? He just wants to have fun one-shotting the participants. Damn it. That night elf was much better to deal with than this two-faced bastard.'' Eren scoffed in his head when he heard how Sage Loxley wanted to conduct his test. If Alephee wasn''t focusing on recuperating herself, she would havemented that Eren just didn''t like interacting with people like him. The butcher wasn''t as handicapped as most of hispetitors because he had his soul sense. He could feel Sage''s presence all around him. It was just that it was difficult to find the real deal in them. Eren could feel that Sage Loxley just loved his job as an assassin too much. Furthermore, since he spent so much time inside, the soul that remained was bored. The graduation event served as an excellent opportunity for him to entertain himself. That too, doing what he always liked doingC assassination. The participants knew that the test Sage Loxley was conducting was going to be unfair to them. No matter how nerfed he told them the assassination attempts carried out by him were going to be, the participants couldn''t possibly defend themselves for long against a Sage. That too on his own turfC a ce suitable for assassinations. Yet, nobody tried to object anymore. They observed what had happened to the participants who had questioned Sage''s method. They didn''t want to make the same mistake and make their task twice as difficult as it already was. Sage Loxley didn''t have an awakened soul sense like Sage Nira Nightshade. However, his soul had been strengthened by the Sage rank breakthrough. The Sage''s soul could interact with the world around him on a subconscious level. As a result, Eren couldn''t use his soul sense on the assassin to pinpoint his location anyway. The participants that were waiting outside the hive of cave entrances looked at each other before making up their minds. All of them were veteran rankers at this point. They knew what to do. Eren watched as the participants around him started entering the caves they had chosen for themselves. He sighed before walking towards one of the entrances. Eren found himself inside arge underground space after moving cautiously inside the cave for a couple of miles. He found that there was an underground river flowing at a distance from where he stood. The sound of flowing water could be heard in the distance. Plus, the ground was riddled with various small and big puddles. Eren found it troubling that no attack had been initiated by Sage Loxley even though it had been quite a while since he had entered the cave entrance. He remained vignt all the time. His senses were working overtime. But they too had their limits. A game of patience was necessary for the assassination. The timing of the attack was as critical as its lethality. And the most appropriate time to attempt an assassination was when the potential victims exhausted themselves anticipating an attack. Perhaps this was the reason Sage Loxley dered that he was nning to assassinate the participants through his shadows. It wasn''t to give the participants an advantage. It was to make them mentally fatigued from the moment they entered the test grounds. It was either that or Sage Loxley was simply sadistic, bullying the younger generation and making them give up on obtaining his legacy. After all, the difference between him and the participants was just too big despite any nerfing conditions he had ced on himself. The guy''s weapon mastery alone would allow him to kill almost all the participants effortlessly. Eren reckoned that the Sage couldunch his attacks on the participants anytime he wanted and still be able tond a lethal hit on them. There was no need for him to worry about timing. He just liked seeing the participants get frustrated. Eren knew the psychological nuances behind the assassinations just fine. However, it didn''t make him immune to their effects. Plus, the chronic nner in him actually made things worse by trying to anticipate every subtle clue that wasn''t really a clue. And just when Eren tried to relieve his stress by downshifting his mental gear, it happened. He had his heart pierced by an anceC a long dagger manifested into existence by water-element mana. The butcher didn''t know what had hit him. He experienced the same level of surprise most of his victims had experienced before their dying breaths. Fortunately, there were no participants around him. So there was plenty of time for the defense mechanism to kick in, allowing him to "die" rtively peacefully. *** When Eren opened his eyes, he knew that he was being judged by the Life And Death Altar. That''s because a familiar scene unfolded in front of him, which had once be the source of his sleepless nights. For the first time in a long while, Eren found himself back in his nightmare world. The kind of recurring nightmare he was used to seeing when he had just gotten out of Purgatory. The wraiths surrounded him. They made teeth-grinding and bone-cracking noises while walking toward him slowly but surely. They had various weapons in their hands and were as strong as himC all of them. The dragonkin beasts were his second line of opponents. They eyed him as if he was a delicacy they had all been waiting for. They spewed green mes from their mouths from time to time, attesting to the fact that they had harnessed the power of Endermes. Standing amid all these entities was a young woman in battle armor. Her green eyes sparkled with a peculiar brilliance as she looked Eren in the eyes. She was beautiful yet dangerous. She looked peaceful and yet had chaos running through her veins. She had a light smile on her faceC a smile that could bewitch anybody that saw it. This woman had her arms folded under her bosom. Her aloof and domineering presence alone was enough to frighten her opponents. As if calm before the storm, she stood proudly. Eren had goosebumps on his skin when he looked at this woman. However, that didn''t stop him from having a slight smile on his face. He felt that his fear couldn''t shackle him any longer even when he found himself in his nightmare. "Long time no see, Eliza." Chapter 1095 Nightmare Domain Eren knew that Eliza wouldn''t be able to reply to him. Just like the nightmares he used to see in the past, the Eliza he saw was not real. She was just a figment of his imagination generated by the Life Death Altar using his own memories. Within the special ce created by the Life and Death Altar, Eren did not have a physical body. Only his consciousness had been pulled into the nightmare world. His real body was recuperating inside an isted healing array, tending to his fatal injury. Eren could see a grand domain being created around him and his opponents. This was the Nightmare Domain. Eren was provided with information about the Life and Death Altar the moment he opened his eyes here. He needed to survive inside the Nightmare world for seven days straight to qualify for revival. The butcher didn''t have a physical body inside the nightmare world. So technically, he couldn''t die no matter what his opponents did to him. But he could feel pain and other shades of emotion just like in the real world. It also meant that he would have to face a constant barrage of attacks from his opponents and bear the suffering thates with it. This was an open battlefield with no space to hide for defense orunch gori attacks from. Eren had to face his opponents head-onC all of themC all at once. A perfect way to make any normal participant see the much-needed respite in quitting. The area outside the domain was foggy and difficult to see through. It seemed that the Life And Death Altar didn''t bother rendering the rest of Eren''s nightmares. Eren could opt out of being judged by the Life and Death Altar anytime he wanted. He just needed to step out of the Nightmare Domain and his miseries would end. However, it also meant that he had forfeited his im to be in the Sansara World. Eren''s body would be regenerated even after stepping out of the Nightmare Domain. However, he would be sent outside the Sansara World, making him give up on Sage Loxley''s test by default. He also wouldn''t be able to participate in the tests that would be conducted by the remaining two Grand Dukes of the kingdom. "Seven days, huh? Yeah. I can do that." Eren said to himself and smiled despite feeling nervous about the whole thing. He wasn''t scared of his nightmare anymore. At least not enough to stop him from moving. However, there was a nagging in his brain that told him to run away from this fight. His instincts told him that his efforts would be futile. And he couldn''t shut those instincts up in his head. *** There were no Sansara Perks inside the Life and Death Altar. However, participants could use their own imaginations to craft support items for themselves. Of course, this allowance had its limits. Eren closed his eyes and pictured two Shamshirs in his head. He held the swords he knew well enough at this point- the Rigour Mortis Set. He swung them around him and charged them with his imaginary mana to get a feel. He found that thews inside the Nightmare Domain were mostly the same as in the real world. It meant that he could use his attacks and spells inside the Nightmare Domain. He could choose to fight as a Novice, Ace, Adept, or Expert and his opponents would match his rank. Even though he couldn''t die inside the Nightmare Domain, he could feel the same level of exhaustion as in real life. He could also run out of mana, preventing him from casting spells. In such a case, he would be a live and harmless target for imaginary opponents. The Life and Death Altar would send his body back to Sage Loxley''s test after Erenpleted seven days inside the Nightmare Domain. And he would find that only a few seconds had passed outside. It meant that as long as the participants cleared the Life and Death Altar conditions, there was practically no time loss. There was a catch to using the Nightmare Domain as a safe zone. The time required for one to spend inside the Life and Death Altar would only increase if and when their consciousness was brought there for the second time. Participants would only see an exponential increase in the required time to be spent inside the Nightmare Domain if they kept on dying in the Sansara World. The default period of seven days was already too long for most participants. They couldn''t live in their nightmares for more than a few hours. As a result, most of them who forced themselves to stay inside the Nightmare Domain eventually became insane when they got out of it. This was the warning Hansen had given to all the participants at the beginning. The Sansara World''s true dreadfulnessy in how difficult it was for the participants to clear the Life and Death Altar and make aeback. Those who were judged by the Life and Death Altar and seeded in clearing its conditions would have no problem gaining the exceptional rewards and glory the Sansara World had to offer. And those who didn''t know about their limits and forced themselves to get the desired rewards would eventually be driven mad. Nobody really knew their own limits until they were put in difficult situations like these. And the most talented rankers participating in the event were curious by nature. So being sent to the Life and Death Altar was going to leave some sort of mental trauma for all of them. *** "No this is not just a fight for Sage''s legacy." Eren mumbled to himself, walking towards Eliza. All his opponents were closing in on him. Eliza stood at her ce as if knowing full well that she was the butcher''s first target of attack. "This this is an opportunity." Eren clenched his grip around his charged Shamshir set. Red and violet lightning sparks and orange mes started manifesting all over his body. The Wind-Fire Wings were spread behind his back. "This is an opportunity for me to see where my efforts arecking. An opportunity to see if the Trump cards I have gathered are enough or not. I should make use of this Life and Death Altar to its fullest to sandbox all my ns against her." Chapter 1096 Eren Vs Illusory Eliza Blink. Blitz. Swoosh. sh. Two lightning-charged swords shed against a sleek and simple dius coated in Endermes and sparks flew. The dius was handled in such a way that it perfectly countered the pair of Shamshirs. And the swordswoman showed that she was effortless in her weapon handling by makingplex moves look simple. Eren was seen covered in various wounds. Some of them were bite wounds. But they looked red and horrible to look at but no blood came from them. It was as if the wounds were disyed to make him understand how beaten up he was. It had been more than five days since Eren''s consciousness was summoned to the Nightmare Domain. He had technically died tens of times and had countless near-death experiences during this period. And yet, his illusory body showed him that it still had room to amodate more pain. The dragonkin beasts mauled him and attacked him with their ws and tails. They showed their fangs at him before breathing Endermes on him. They stopped all over him when he was at his weakest and fighting with other opponents. The wraiths ganged up on him and bit him. Their hordes made him experience the pain of his flesh getting eaten in front of his very eyes. They used their weapons on him all at once. It was even possible for some of them to have their spells equipped. The wraiths also used their bones tounch counter attacks that he couldn''t seeing. However, none of them managed to make the situation miserable for Eren. All except Eliza. "Aaaaaargh!" Eren was forced to retreat once again by Eliza. Thetter handled all of his sword attacks, parried them effectively, andunched a counter at him in a series of moves that looked seamless. They made her look like she was ying with a kid who knew nothing about the battle arts. It was as if the Life and Death Altar had breathed real life into Eren''s imagination through the analysis of his memories. It had a lot of permutations andbinations recorded inside the array. Thesebinations suit the illusory Eliza''s profile, allowing her to fight like the real Eliza through the use of artificial intelligence. Eren could read Eliza''s movements just fine. She wasn''t doing anything unique if he really thought about it. After all, every form of sword art was nothing but a series of shes and swings at its core. However, the way Eliza moved and handled her dius made Eren question his qualifications to battle with her. Because he couldn''t block them no matter how easily he could see theming. The Witch of Enderme would just introduce a slight variation in her move midway that would change the whole equation of their exchange. Eliza seamlessly switched between offense and defense. Sometimes, her offensive moves doubled as an invisible wall that Eren couldn''t prate. At first, Eliza hadn''t cast any elemental spells on him yet. That was because her rendition was based on Eren''s memories of her. The butcher hadn''t seen Eliza cast any offensive elemental spells. The appearance of Endermes he had seen was just her Way of the Elements interacting with the world around her. Eren was not happy that Eliza standing in front of him was nerfed like that. He wanted to have a serious sh with her inside the Nightmare Domain. The conditions inside this illusory world made it ideal for him to try out a lot of hisbinations on her. The masochist in him did the only thing he knew besta" add to his miseries by manually making the nerfed Eliza stronger. He started imagining spells she could cast, and the Nightmare Domain eventually picked up on his imagination. By this point, Eren had started to understand the Nightmare Domain bit by bit. It wouldn''t offer him a respite from constantly battling against his nightmarish opponents by default. But there were ways he could make the most of the time he had to spend in his imaginary world. For example, he could let go of his sword and imagine obtaining support items like recovery potions. He could use them before summoning his sword once more, which would allow him to battle continuously inside the Nightmare Domain. It seemed Life And Death Altar had no problem fulfilling requests like asional recovery potions. That is if the subjects it was judging wanted to add to their miseries. Eren wasn''t provided with additional buffs other than the sporadic use of potions. It kept him standing on his two feet and allowed him to fight for five days straight without any respite. Eren killed countless dragonkin and wraiths. The more he killed the more their numbers would grow back. It was an endless cycle of death, destruction, and suffering. He had be numb to the wraiths'' cries and the beastly growls. The feeling of hearing his own heartbeat had be a norm for the butcher at this point. His senses had been put on autopilot for the most part, turning him into an emotionless puppet who knew nothing more than to kill or get killed. However, Eliza''s attacks made the butcher understand his own mortality, preventing him from turning into a mindless killing machine. The pain was the reality check he needed to make sense of the battles. It grounded him and allowed him to see his limits. Eliza started casting Eren''s fire-element spells empowered by Endermes whenever he tried to maintain a safe distance from her. The butcher didn''t regret his choice of empowering the Witch of Endermes with his own fire-element attacks. But he had to say that the results were more dreadful than he had anticipated just because of Sage''s peculiar Ability. "Aaaaaaaargh!" Eren cried in pain when he was bathed in a wave of Endermes. It started burning his skin and affected his cognition due to sensory overload. He forced himself to get close to her so that he suffered less from exposing himself to Endermes. Chapter 1097 Necessity To Neutralize Enderflames Endermes. Eren felt like the green mes had a mind of their own. They were so powerful in intent that they were practically able to incinerate any object they encountered. The green mes carried Eliza''s wrath. They easily overpowered Eren''s fire-element spells by incinerating the orange mes themselves. And this was when Eren was keeping things restricted to Adept rank where he was mostfortable using his spells. As a result, Eliza''s attacks were also restricted to the same rank as his. The butcher had just broken into the Expert rank. If he chose to face his opponents while using his original rank, Eliza would have a significant advantage. She would have a much more capable tform to express her individuality through the Endermes. This was why Eren decided to make use of the option the Life and Death Altar provided him and kept the battle limited to the Adept rank. He wanted there to be tough opponents for him. But empowering them too much would prevent him from learning from them. This peculiar fire-element Ability from the dragon half-blood was so strong that the green mes would sometimes get pixted, affecting the rendering of Nightmare Domain as a whole. It indicated that the Life And Death Altar was having a hard time rendering the Endermes based on Eren''s memories as their foundation. Eren had realized by this point that his biggest hurdle in confronting Eliza was the Endermes. He suspected one of the major reasons the Witch of Enermes could punch above her weight and still manage to win was because she had unlocked an exclusive Ability for herself. Even normal water-element spells didn''t work against Endermes. The water bodies of the water-element spells would have most of their mass evaporated as soon as they came into contact with the green mes. Eren tried various spellbinations. He made full use of his multi-elementpatibility. And after doing everything, he came to a singr conclusion. Eliza''s intent-based magic was just too strong. *** "Fuuuuck!" As a response to the Endermes, Eren cut off his own flesh and skin to get rid of them quickly. He then healed the wounds to stop bleeding. The peculiar thing about the Endermes was the fact that they would refuse to extinguish themselves under normal circumstances. Thus, the butcher had to suffer self-inflicted injuries from time to time to prevent the Endermes from hampering his moves. Blitz Steps. Swoosh. ng. Another round of closebat exchanges began. He had already invoked his summoner ss, preventing the wraiths and dragonkin from approaching him carelessly. The butcher''s summons put up a strong fight against the wraiths. Especially the undead. Dragonkin beasts were easily kept at bay with his earth-element summons. But eventually, the wraiths and the beasts would slip past Eren''s summons and manage to hurt him at the most unfortunate of times. He could do nothing to avoid that as the wraiths were supposedly endless in numbers inside the Nightmare Domain. Eren was also trying out his ranger ss in the battle against the nightmare creatures surrounding him. Plus, he was refining his closebat skills slowly by duking it out against the Witch of Endermes. Eren soon found out that his ranger ss was basically useless inside the Nightmare Domain. First, he did not have ss-supporting spells. Second, the Nightmare Domain was spatially restricted. So he couldn''t create sufficient distance from his opponents anyway. Plus, every time he tried to create distance, Eliza''s green mes would surround him from all angles through the use of her fire-element spells. So he stuck to using his summoner ss for the wraiths and his closebat ss for Eliza. *** Eren''s seventh day inside the Life and Death Altar. Time flew by and Eren kept on fighting. He couldn''t say that he enjoyed his time spent in the Nightmare Domain. However, he took sce in the fact that the whole experience had taught him a lot. Eren had left no stone unturned in his battle against the monstrous prodigy that is Eliza. This was even though what he imagined her to be might not bepletely in sync with reality. He was sure that the real Witch of Endermes would be even more of a monster than what he was currently fighting. Still, fighting with Eliza and experiencing the Endermes made Eren understand a lot of his shorings. He came to realize that the Trump cards he thought he had against Eliza would be of little use to him if he didn''t refine them. He also came to realize that he needed something to counter the Endermes if he wanted to qualify to fight Eliza. Something that would at least lessen the Endermes'' insane incineration rate, if not outright neutralize them. Normal spells of any kind or any element wouldn''t work on the Endermes. He hadn''t used his Sin Series Abilities on Eliza. That''s because he didn''t feelfortable showing that he had the Sin Series mark inside the Nightmare Domain even though the Life And Death Altar was supposed to be automated by a self-sustaining array mechanism. However, Eren could feel that his Sin Series Ablities weren''t a viable counter to Endermes in any way. The wrath, gluttony, and lust mana weren''t meant to neutralize the green mes. Eren made full use of the opportunity provided to him by the Life and Death Altar, which other participants considered punishment. In their defense, most of them had nothing to gain from living in their nightmares. Eren was the only one who had found some use for his nightmares. As much as he denied their existence, one could say that his masochist tendencies had enabled him to find light in the dark. When Erenpleted seven days inside the Nightmare Domain, all of his opponents vanished into thin air. Eliza''s image also blurred before disappearing from his visionpletely. Eren felt a cooling sensation all over his illusory body in the next moment. It was as if his hurt soul was receiving some kind of nourishment. When Eren blinked his eyes, he was back inside Sage Loxley''s den once again. Only a few seconds had passed in the real world from the moment he had "died" inside the den. Chapter 1098 Time Is The Most Reliable Teacher… Patience Is The Most Valuable Lesson Eren was seen standing against the hive of cave entrances. The butcher felt that there was a thinyer of barrier that prevented him from taking the old path he had taken. Meaning he couldn''t use his experiences from the previous path to find Sage''s location. "Hmm. Back to square one, huh?" Eren mumbled to himself as he chose a different route than before. Unlike his first attempt, Eren decided to make conscious efforts in finding the Sage instead of programming himself to defend himself against Sage''s assassination. Eren knew setting up a priority like this was bound to make him more prone to being assassinated by Sage''s shadows. However, he wasn''t afraid to visit the Nightmare Domain anymore. There was some part of him that was even looking forward to it. The same cycle repeated itself. Eren was killed by Sage Loxley''s ance once again. When he got inside the Nightmare Domain, it was shown that he needed to spend a little over two weeks inside it to qualify for his re-entry into the Sansara World. "Time is the most reliable teacher. Patience is the most valuable lesson." Eren said to himself and sighed as he looked around, finding himself in a familiar setting. In the next moment, lightning struck and he disappeared from his position. A few wraiths cried in the distance as a storm of lightning and fire appeared in their midst. *** This was Eren''s sixth revival inside Sansara World. This was the furthest anyone had gone in iming Sage''s legacy. Nobody dared to face the Nightmare Domain as many times as the butcher did. Most of the rankers already had mental scars on their psyches that wouldn''t heal anytime soon after being judged by the Life and Death Altar. A majority of them failed to survive the default period. And those who did lost interest in Sage''s test for some reason. The fear of death was instinctual. It could be suppressed but notpletely eliminated. Nobody wanted to feel the moment of theirst breath time and again just so that they could stand a chance to inherit Sage''s legacy. Eren would have won by default at this point. Some participants, however, decided to sit on the fence outside the hive of caves after being revived. So fortunately or unfortunately, Eren kept on getting assassinated. Eren walked into a different cave entrance this time. The passage led him to a spacious underground space that was illuminated by radiant stctites hanging from the ceiling. Exuding light green radiance, they breathed new life into the visual setting that had be too monotonous for the butcher to notice the difference. *** Eren had learned a lot about Sage Lufthansa at this point. Especially the way he attacked. He used puddles on the ground as teleportation channels tounch his assassination attacks. Lufthansa did not have an awakened soul sense. As a result, the vestige of his soul couldn''t use spiritual spells. But it turns out that he doesn''t have to. He used puppets tounch sneak attacks on all the participants all at once. Those were the shadows he was talking about. These puppets were an alchemic invention and could be operated using an array mechanism etched onto them. They were the same size and shape as the original Sage Loxley. The puppets didn''t have facial features. They would mimic most of their users'' movements and carry out their ns based on their intentions. After recording several movement patterns, they were able to move on their own. Users could also manually operate them by sending their consciousness into them. These puppets would emerge and leap diagonally from puddles of water, attacking their opponents in one swift motion. They were just copying Sage Loxley''s movements and acting on his wishes. When Sage Loxley used to carry out such attacks with his original body back in the past, he would jump out of the water bodies and kill his enemies in the same manner. And his jumps would make him look as if a crane was taking flight. Teleportation through elemental bodies like puddles of water using space-element attainments as a foundation. Then using the Ability to jump diagonally out of the elemental bodies and assassinate the opponents. Yuffie Loxley was given the title of Lufthansa because of his unique Ability, which meant a crane taking flight. Whenever such a diagonal jump was taken which resembled a crane''s flight, it only meant downfall for Loxley''s enemies. This was Sage Loxley''s unique Ability which he could share with his puppets as well. Almost nobody was able to save themselves when Sage Loxley decided to kill them using his powers. This was the reason Eren was wary of the puddles of water. At first, he thought that the puddles were created because of the distant underground river. But he soon came to realize that the sound of flowing water in the distance was fake. However, the butcher eventually noticed that it was repetitive. The Sage was basically making the participants understand his Ability by introducing the repetition of the following river''s sound. It was his way of "giving a handicap to the younger generation". However, there was one problem with Sage''s generosity. He didn''t take into ount the participants'' condition at the time of being assassinated by him. Their psyches were so overwhelmed by fear and pressure that they didn''t pay attention to the underground river''s sound, which kept on flowing sonorously in the distance. Eren was wary of puddles of water. However, he didn''tpletely avoid them. He knew the puppets were too fast to be intercepted before they attacked him. Their jumps were too sudden and their attacks were too precise to be parried effectively. Thus, Eren wasn''t counting on intercepting the puppets before they made a move on him. Instead, he was trying to catch them after they had attacked him. He needed to use his own body as bait to catch the puppets in action. Eren looked at the luminescent stctites as he walked further to get to the other end of the underground passage. Just when he was supposedly rxing a bit by exhaling a breath, the attack urred. Chapter 1099 Finding Lufthansa Swoosh. Zoom. Parry. A pair of matte-finish daggers appeared in Eren''s hands all of a sudden. A defensive stance was taken in response to the puppet''s attack. Eren didn''t manage to parry the attackpletely. But he was able to deflect it in such a way that his heart was spared from being stabbed by a hair''s breadth. Eren winced in pain. He almost cried in agony when the puppet twisted his ance inside his chest. However, this wasn''t the time to indulge in pain-relieving activities. The daggers in Eren''s hands disappeared as he grabbed onto the puppet''s wrists. He couldn''t overpower the puppet no matter how much he tried. However, he didn''t have to. His job was to find the location of the real Sage. And that''s what he intended to do all along by acting as bait. Eren sent his soul sense inside the puppet''s alchemic body and located the array on which it was operating. He forcefully breached the array''s basic defense system and followed the trace of consciousness it contained. The vestige of Loxley''s soul hiding inside the den felt as if two emerald green eyes were looking at him from behind. The Sage made an expression of irritation when the fun was over. "Found I found you." The butcher said and smiled wickedly. A trail of blood escaped from the corner of his lips when he did that. The puppet made exceptionally fast moves and took care of Eren in the next moment. One could say that Sage Loxley liked ying the game of tag. But he didn''t like being caught. He killed the butcher for the seventh time, even after he had fulfilled his condition and cleared his test. *** Eren appeared at ground zero once again after clearing the Nightmare Domain for the seventh time. He had lost count of how many months his consciousness had been sent inside the Nightmare Domain in total. He even stopped seeing the conditional period after his fourth attempt. That was because he started dreading the period after his fourth attempt. So it was better that he just kept fighting inside the Nightmare Domain and lost track of time. The butcher was sure that he had been fighting with the illusory Eliza and wraiths for more than two years on his seventh attempt. His body hadn''t aged in the real world. But his mind felt like he had been given this test for eternity. Eren''s jaded emotions also affected his bodily functions. He suddenly developed dark patches under his eyes. His presence felt as if he hadn''t slept for a very long time despite his body being in the prime condition of its life. Nightmare Domain was more brutal than Eren''s time in Purgatory in more ways than one. However, it didn''t feel like that for the butcher because he had stepped into it with a different mindset. Nightmare Domain also had its advantages. Eren felt like he had conducted all the tests andbinations he could against the illusory Eliza. He improved a lot of his battle styles and also practiced various sses intermittently. Eren''s soul also had been strengthened to an absurd degree by such a long period spent inside the Nightmare Domain. His bloodlust had be even more potent than it already was. And it was apparent for everyone to see and feel despite the butcher''s attempts to mask his presence. Eren looked at the hive of cave entrances with disinterest after appearing at ground zero of the test. He clenched his fists and started walking in the opposite direction. There were only a few participants present at this timeC all waiting for something to take ce. They just wanted to find sce in knowing that nobody could clear Sage Loxley''s Legacy until the test''s end. When Eren started walking in the opposite direction, he grabbed attention. The participants looked at each other with puzzled expressions before looking at Eren with pity. They all came to the same conclusion: the butcher had lost his mind after spending his time inside the Nightmare Domain. All the participants that were present at this time were extraordinary rankers in their own regard. All of them had survived the Nightmare Domain at least once. However, neither of them wanted to visit that ce again. That''s why it was easier for them to assume that Eren had lost his mind. They would have stopped paying attention to him and focused on looking intently at the hive of the cave entrances. Suddenly, the butcher did something that shocked them. He walked towards a seemingly insignificant corner and stopped in his steps. He charged his fists with lightning and fire element mana beforending a punch on the stone wall. In the next moment, the wall crumbled away and revealed a cave entrance. This cave looked just like the other cave entrances that were behind Eren''s back. However, it just felt different to everybody. As if a powerful entity was waiting at the other end of the cave passage. "I I remember him." "Isn''t it Eren Idril? The guy who" "He did he find Sage Loxley?" "No fucking way. I refuse to believe that" "Shut the fuck up, Darven. Nobody asked you." "I I''ll just follow him and see if he has really found Sage Loxley or is he just bluffing." "Hahaha. Don''t y smart, Harja. Let''s all follow him and see who finds Sage Loxley in the end. The test is about finding him, after all. Not the way we used to track him down." "Let''s let''s fucking follow him then." Eren heard noisesing from behind him after he broke the wall. He wasn''t in the mood to y around with these participants. He turned around and looked at them with a deadpan expression before speaking up in a voice coated in menacing dread. "I am tired. And I feel like it''s been ages since I had an actual conversation with normal people. So let me give you a simple and clear-cut disimer. Be prepared to visit the Nightmare Domain once again if any of you tries to take a single step inside this cave. I might just go ahead and kill all of you for real if you try to attack me in a group. Capeesh? Meanwhile, I''ll go inside." Chapter 1100 [Bonus ] + Assassin Class The participants were too stunned to speak when they heard Eren''s warning. Everyone wanted to enter the newly appeared cave entrance with Eren. However, nobody dared to take his warning lightly. After all, those who had remained till this point were here because they could sense danger and prioritize their safety first. Furthermore, Eren''s presence was incredibly chilling. Some of them subconsciously took a step back when their eyes met his emerald-green eyes. "Hehe. This kid has what it takes to inherit my legacy. You cane in, Eren Idril. Everybody else, out." The participants disappeared all of a sudden with a varied range of emotions painted on their faces. They all understood one thing at that timeC Eren Elijah Idril had cleared the test conducted by Sage Loxley. Eren nodded to the voice''smands before getting inside the cave entrance. A sophisticated three-story house soon greeted him after following the singr path. Eren entered the courtyard of the house and waited for Sage Loxley to show up. Thetter didn''t make him wait long enough. Sage Loxley was a man of medium stature and build. He had an inconspicuous appearance and presence except for the beaked mask he was wearing that hid most of his facial features. The Sage had cerulean-colored eyes. He was wearing a hooded cape over tailored leather armor. He had a dagger''s sheath attached to his waist strap. The Sage carried the actual weapon in his hands. He would y with the knife in his hands as if ready tounch an assassination at any time. Eren bowed to Sage Loxley as soon as he appeared. He didn''t have to wait too long for thetter to speak. "Hmm. You did good, Eren boy." Surprisingly, Lufthansa was quite easy to talk to once he stopped being an assassin and came out into the open. He nodded at Eren before speaking up. "Your presence tells me a lot about you, Eren boy. You are perfectly fit to be an assassin." ''That''s the n.'' Eren thought to himself before saying something entirely different. "I''ll take that as apliment, Sage Loxley." Just as Alephee had told him to, Eren didn''t want to mess with the remaining Sages. So he was very humble in his manners. There was a puppet that contained Lufthansa''s vestige of soul. It allowed him to operate on the rest of the puppets with ease. The Sage didn''t waste much time. He nced briefly at Eren before speaking up. "Hmm. It appears that you are using Unlimited Knife Works, which I created. How was your experience so far using it?" Eren was shocked when he heard that the Perk he was using inside the Sansara World was actually an Ability from a Sage. He knew what he was supposed to do. He took out his matte finish daggers and executed Unlimited Knife Works in front of the creator of the Ability. Unlimited Knife Works wasn''t just a stand-alone Ability. Sage Lufthansa created special dagger art to work with it. Using the dagger art he knew, Eren executed the Perk. It seemed that Lufthansa was quite impressed by the way Eren handled his weapons. As a result, he became increasingly interested in passing down his legacy to Eren after he saw how capable thetter was. The Sage took out his own dagger and charged it with his water-element mana before speaking up. "Unlimited Knife Works was created for one-handed weapon holders at first. So it heavily relies on an aggressive stance right from the start." The Sage decided to impart his knowledge along with his legacy to the butcher. He performed a variety of moves to demonstrate how to use Unlimited Knife Works correctly. And Eren decided to absorb everything the Sage Assassin was imparting to him. Eren and Sage Loxley talked for quite sometime before thetter offered him various items in the end. The very first item Eren received was a runic Steele. This Steele was created based on his elemental attainment, weaponprehension, and other forms of knowledge as a foundation. It depicted how one could use Unlimited Knife Works in a variety of conditions, using various styles of weaponsC not just daggers. The Sage demonstrated that the Ability did not only elerate weapons at short distances. Additionally, it could be used to teleport weapons within short to medium distances, increasing the ability''s sphere of influence. The butcher greatly appreciated the Sage''s Runic Steele transfer. That''s because it would allow him to unlock a simr Ability in the future if he referred to it frequently and practiced. Eren also received a disk from the Sage which was supposed to fine-tune an assassin''s mana circuits. Just likest time, he had decided to use the array disk on himself, unlocking the assassin ss for himself. Eren received a beaked mask artifact from the Sage. It allowed him to mask his presence both physically and otherwise. One could use it to carry out zero-error assassinations. That is if one ys their cards right. The butcher also received a single dagger from Sage Loxley. It was a simple ance with multi-element runes etched on it. Meaning it could support the lightning, water, and wind element mana. The dagger feltfortable to hold in Eren''s hands. Both the beaked mask and the dagger were transcendent-grade artifacts. Moreover, they didn''t have to be stored in storage space. A dagger tattoo was created on the back of the butcher''s right hand before disappearing. The butcher could summon the dagger anytime he wanted using the tattoo. A beaked mask tattoo was created under Eren''s right earlobe before fading. The tattoo would reveal itself briefly when Eren decided to make use of the artifact to mask his presence. *** Day 26: Near the location of the next Sage legacy''s test grounds. Eren made use of the array disk after spending some time alone in the Sansara World. He unlocked the assassin ss for himself before entering the spatial tunnel that led to another Sage legacy test. === AN: VEH punches in 1100 chapters with this release. ;) Also, let''s wish Drin a very happy birthday. (if my memory serves me right) :D Chapter 1101 Ivar Ironside A man was seen lording over a battle ring. He was sitting on a chair ced at the highest altitude from the battle ring at the audience''s bay. There was no audience watching the fights taking ce inside the battle ring. The man sitting on the throne was the sole viewer and judge of thepetition. This man had a kind of wild air around him. He had a side-swept haircut with peculiar tattoos covering his sideburns. He had a thick mane-like beard that reached his belly button. He had woven his beard hair into thick locks, giving him a pro-testosterone look. Even while he was sitting, one could tell that he was at least 8 feet tall and massive overall. He had muscr arms and huge biceps. His legs were the muscr marvel of human anatomy. The man was carrying a huge broadaxe on his back. A simple round shield and a rtively small axe were also attached to either side by his waist. A sword was also seen strapped to his right side. To put it simply, he treated the weapons as if they were jewelry and adorned them as much as he could. The man was only wearing a set of shoulder guards that did nothing to hide his muscr torso. He was also wearing arm bracers made of thick beast hide. He had wrapped a thick beast hide around his waist. He wore tattered brown pants with a dragon scale pattern. This man was none other than Ivar Ironside - the Lionheart. He was still serving as the grand duke of the Edinburgh kingdom even after his real body had left the world of Anfang. This version of Ivar was the remnant of his soul that was granted a mana body with the help of an array to judge the participants. Ivar Ironside was one of the exceptional rankers of his time on thend of Anfang because of his berserking potential. Heter took a closebat expert ss and proved his mettle once again. What the general popce didn''t know was the fact that Ivar had again shifted to being a berserker after recovering from a serious injury. He had also dabbled a bit in potioning, creating his own brand of berserking concoctions that were all the rage in his time. This man was the reason why the Lionheart duchy specialized in producing top berserkers and closebat experts. His interest in the field of potioning influenced LA to cater to potioners'' needs as well. Ivar had proved his mettle and was currently judging the young participants who hade to im his legacy. The man kept things straightforward by pitting the participants against each other. He just told them to fight each other without worrying about wins or losses. The participants didn''t know what to do at first when they heard Ivar''s unclear instructions after they were all summoned inside the giant battle ring. But then someoneunched a sudden attack on the ranker standing beside him and all hell broke loose inside the ring. The man who hadunched an attack on his fellow participants without a moment''s dy hade to understand Sage''s intentions just fine. Ivar wanted to see people either beating other people up or receiving a beating themselves. Various battles started taking ce in the battle ring at the same time. The participants started fighting each other without a set pattern. They just chose their opponents and battled with them until one of them was neutralized. The winner would then move on to fight the next opponent. Ivar didn''t even say that he would pass on his legacy to thest man standing inside the battle ring. With an emotionless face, he judged the winners and losers as if there wasn''t any difference between them. Ivar was particrly interested in the ranker who had started the chaos inside the battle ring as soon as he received the instructions. The man''s emerald-green eyes would strike fear into the hearts of his opponents. When this man attacked, he aimed to kill. When he yed defense, he seemed untouchable. He could seamlessly shift between various battle styles. He could act as a closebat expert when he needed to. His mid-range attacks made hime across as a berserker when he wanted to. He beat every ranker that stood against him. As a result, the participants started grouping against him. Even then, they could not register aplete win against him. "That''s that''s a good move." Ivar Ironside mumbled to himself as he watched the performance Eren was showcasing for him. The butcher had understood that the object of the test was not to score wins after wins against his opponents. It was to show one''s aggression as a ranker, no matter which ss one belonged to. Therefore, Eren started attacking his opponents ferociously. He didn''t care if they died or survived after he was done with them. He tried to grab Sage''s attention by doing what he knew best- butchering people up. So it shoulde as no surprise that Ivar was very impressed by Eren''s performance on the test. He watched Eren''s performance silently and came to understand that the guy had walked in the same shoes as him. ''He is a berserker or was a berserker in the past. And he is an equallypetent closebat expert in the present.'' Ivar could decipher Eren''s apparent moves easily. The vestige of his soul was also updated with the current happenings in the kingdom. Therefore, he knew Eren was also known to be a potioner. The guy had a legit potioner''s license to boot and was running a sessful potion industry. ''He he is just like me.'' Ivar Ironside''s eyes shone as he made a decision. The butcher didn''t even have to finish the group he was fighting. The Sage Berserker pped his hand once and everyone inside the battle ring disappeared. All except Eren. Butcher was not surprised that he had resolved the matter for Ivar Ironside''s test so quickly. He smiled and bowed at the Sage, expecting his guidance in return. Chapter 1102 + Berserker Class "Boy, have you been using me as an example for your ranking journey?" Ivar asked, looking at Eren curiously. Thetter didn''t take much time to understand what the Sage Berserker was talking about. Ivar assumed that Eren practiced the paths of berserker and closebat expert at the same time. Although there was no doubt in his mind that Eren was a closebat expert, the moves he had shown in the battle ring portrayed him as an excellent berserker. Eren didn''t correct Ivas by saying that he was a berserker in his past timeline. He decided to use the Sage berserker''s assumption about him as the foundation to further his own agenda. "That''s... that''s right, Sage Ivar." The butcher sounded nervous. He looked at Ivar as if he was meeting his idola" his eyes exuding a peculiar shine. He gulped and cleared his throat before speaking further. "I... I was inspired by your journey from a very young age. That''s why I decided to join the Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy. It was based on your experiences as a ranker, after all. Even if my main path is a closebat expert, I started practicing the berserker moves from my Novice rank. I also started dabbling in potioning just like you did when you were injured and had to make some difficult choices. You... you never wavered from your path despite the difficulties you faced along the way. That''s why I decided to achieve the same form of sess by copying you. You have always been like a father figure..." Alephee started coughing severely while she was resting when she heard Eren''s bullshittery. She wondered how someone could lie so perfectly with a straight face. She would have had a red face saying something like this in Eren''s shoes and her lie would have been easily caught. However, Eren was an old sinner. He didn''t mind praising the Sage if it helped him get more from him. And Alephee suggested not to provoke any Sage anyway. The butcher considered his act to be in line with the homunculus'' suggestion. Ivar looked at Eren with a stoic face. But he couldn''t help but sh a smile when he processed Eren''s words in his mind. He wanted to say that the past was moreplicated than the stories about him might have led today''s generation to believe. He wasn''t Edinburgh''s savior but one of its shadow rulers. On second thought, however, the berserker decided not to speak of such a thing. Ivar coughed and straightened his posture. He straightened his posture and chuckled before speaking further. "Haha. Indeed. The nuances of the Berserker and closebat sses can indeed be practiced together. Back then, I had to regress in my ranking journey to take up the closebat ss. Plus, the kingdom''s foundation wasn''t as solid as it is now. We were in a constant state of war when I was in Anfang. Things were tough. Really tough. Being a closebat expert was a turning point for me. I had to struggle..." Ivar started depicting his struggles like they were a montage of inspiring images. The butcher cursed the berserker in his head for wasting his time. He just wanted to get everything the Sage had to offer him and leave the ce. However, the butcher yed the character as someone who waspletely inspired by Ivar''s life story impably. At the end of Ivar''s speech, Eren had supposedly be star-struck. "Hahaha. Boy, I see that you want to follow in my footsteps. Your weaponprehension is also good enough. Here. Take this." Ivar offered Eren his transcendent-grade broadaxe. He threw it at Eren from where he was along with an array disk that could allow a berserker to fine-tune their mana circuits. Eren also caught a scroll thrown by Ivar that contained a powerful Axe art. Eren was delighted by Ivar''s gifts. But he wanted more from the guy. Especially after praising the guy so much. Eren started looking at Sage Ivar''s other weapons intently without saying anything. His subtle message was clear. He wanted to inherit Ivar''s other axe as well as the broadsword he had attached to his belt. Ivar was in a dilemma seeing Eren with star-studded eyes looking at him like he was some form of god. In the end, the big guy with a rtively soft heart caved in and offered Eren his transcendent-grade axe and sword as well. Eren stored everything Ivar gave him in his storage. But he wasn''t satisfied. ''More. I want more.'' Eren thought to himself before looking at the berserker''s shield. Beforementing, he looked at Ivar with hope in his eyes. "Lord... Lord Ivar. Would you mind giving me your shield artifact as well? It will not only safeguard me but will also provide me with mental support for future battles. It would be like my idol himself is trying to protect me through that shield." By this point, Ivar Ironside hade to realize that Eren was probably praising him to get more benefits out of him. After all, there was a limit to the big guy''s gullibility. But he decided to give Eren what he wanted anyway. Ivar felt like it had been a long time since someone had praised him. The guy just wanted to overlook the butcher''s selfish nature and focus on the positive things he had said about him. One could say that the vestige of Ivar''s soul craved recognition. *** Eren acquired the Berserker ss at the end of the 27th day inside Sansara World. The Berserker ss was special to Eren. After all, it was a ss he was forced to choose in his previous timeline. Even after various obstacles, he achieved an Adept rank in the Berserker ss at that time. All by his own willpower and efforts. Even while the ss was forced on him, Eren had shaped himself into a rtively good berserker. The bitter times had taught him many nuances of being a berserker. That''s why he could use that knowledge as a guiding light for Steve and the dual berserkers. Chapter 1103 Targeting White Raven Crew Eren had been using his berserking knowledge and skills passively in the current timeline. He first trained Steve. Then he took the dual berserkers under his wings to serve as his henchmen. He had told Rodrick to start things from scratch after finding out how the guy operated as a berserker. His suggestion had helped Rodrick Renar a lot. The royal scion listened to Eren''s words and changed his ss midway at the cost of stepping back in his ranking journey. The reason Eren was a capable berserker despite the odds ced against him in thest timeline was that the berserker ss amplified the ranker''s powers based on their aggression. The butcher had an insurmountable amount of pent-up aggression in hisst timeline, serving as fuel to shape him into a worthy berserker. However, Eren''s past wasn''t as motivational to him when he was living it as it was at this point when he was retrospecting it. He had exhausted his potential as a ranker when he broke into the Adept rank at that time. He couldn''t make much use of the ss due to ack of resources. This timeline was different though. Eren could get ess to all the ranking resources he could possibly need to support his newly acquired ss. It was time for him to put his past experiences to effective useC and not in a passive way. *** Day 28: Two days from the graduation event''s conclusion. Things were getting tense. It had be a showdown between all five academies'' exceptional rankers of their generation. Only 18 teams remained in the Sansara World, including the White Raven crew. The moderators inside the Sansara World had also taken care of the majority of the infiltrators. The moderators from Edinburgh''s side were now trying to locate the ones among them who had defected to the enemy kingdom, finding and neutralizing them through a grid search. The moderators also knew that it was highly probable the participants'' teams might have infiltrators among them. However, they would stay as sleeper cells for the most part until they had a reason and chance to act. Thus, the moderators prioritized critical matters first. *** There was a rush to get to thest Sage legacy testing ground. The White Raven crew was trying to get there as well. However, the team was in dire circumstances. There was a certain anxiety on most of the team members'' faces as they ran through the woods using their respective movement spells. The reason for this anxiety was that the crew was being attacked by 12 of the 17 remaining teams. The reason for the attack was simple. The White Raven crew had achieved too much sess in the event as a whole. It wasn''t clear who had obtained Sage Nira''s legacy. Or if it was acquired at all. But it was confirmed that Eren''s team had managed to im two Sage legacies to itself. Having a Sage legacy was already a big deal. But iming two legacies back-to-back made the White Raven crew stand out like a sore thumb. Plus, some of the rankers had decided to band together against Eren. He had prevented them from iming Sage Loxley''s Legacy and gave them death threats after all. All of the participants who had survived to this point were strong rankers in their own right. They had their own egos to tend to. They considered themselves to be equally worthy of the Sage Legacies as Eren and his team members. Why did they not get their hands on the Sage Legacies if they were so capable? All of them came to a singr conclusionC they weren''t as lucky as Eren. The White Raven crew would have fought with a team or two without having to worry about losing its assets. The trio of Eren, Steve, and Ramy alone would have soloed such teams individually without breaking a sweat. Each of the three was able to face an entire team by himself ande out on top for the most part. In addition, Eren had given the team members items from the Sage Legacies, which had strengthened them greatly. Renita was given Nira Nightshade''s transcendent-grade bow while Steve owned Ivar Ironside''s transcendent-grade broadsword. Other team members had also received groundbreaking items and artifacts. Therefore, each member of the White Raven crew was a lot stronger than before. The team''s strength had also increased as a whole because of the individual growth of every ranker involved. However, being attacked by 12 teams simultaneously was not something the White Raven crew could take lightly. Especially at this pointC where everyone had leveled up and was at their full potential. Plus, the Perks from Sansara World made things difficult to predict for anybody. It was especially disadvantageous for a team that was being targeted by so many rankers with different fighting styles and loads of Perks backing them. Eren knew that the forces of Layos had interfered with the live feed of the event. Still, he didn''t want to take the risk of using his Sin Series Abilities on the participants. They had be too potent to be used carelessly inside Sansara World. Plus, the butcher was more aware of his powers than ever before. His bloodline was even more special than he gave it credit for. He didn''t want to do anything that would make him get targeted by Demonmir, Edinburgh, or possibly... Anfang Alliance. Eren wasn''t as afraid of Demonmir as he was before. But he decided to be cautious about the Demon Prince who had possessed him. Even with the Sin Series abilities, Eren didn''t think he could beat half of the 12 enemy teams made of outstanding rankers. Especially when Sansara Perks yed a major role in acting as spoilers. So he was the first one to suggest fleeing the scene when they started getting attacked and acted on it as soon as he said it. Under the guise of targeting the gs, the other teams sought to loot the Sage Legacies from the White Raven crew. The attacking teams had agreed to a temporary truce among themselves until they got rid of Eren''s team and obtained some of its loot. Chapter 1104 Victims Of Political Powerplays Fighting Among Themselves All legitimate participants and infiltrators could be considered victims of political power ys. At this point, everyone was aware that the enemy kingdom''s forces had infiltrated the event. And that they were targeting prominent rankers of the younger generation. Most of them had even fought with such infiltrators and survived. They cursed the kingdom of Edinburgh for ying with their lives just to keep its nose high in front of the kingdom of Layos. However, each of them could be considered a veteran ranker. They knew that things like these were part and parcel of rankers'' lives. As such, they decided to prioritize their own benefits first before they thought of what was best for the entire kingdom. A tit for tat. For the teams that were still active in the event, there were multiple benefits to targeting the White Raven crew. First of all, it had enough gs at this point to make it up to thest day without any worries. That is if the gs in its possession were not taken by any other team. So it made perfect sense for the teams to attack Eren''s team even under normal circumstances. The 12 teams could have fought among themselves to remain in the event until thest day. However, why fight among themselves when they had a mammoth to take down in the form of the White Raven crew? The White Raven''s possession of the two Sage legacies added a cherry on top, making it more tempting to be attacked by other teams. Such temptations were difficult to resist. Eren and his teammates had gotten injured while they were making a run for thest test site. They had been intercepted by a bunch of teams at this point who attacked with intentions to harm them for real. The White Raven crew had collected a lot of team-based Perks due to their ster performance throughout the event. To ensure its survival and safety, it used these Perks one after another. Eren didn''t get frustrated by the participants who were targeting him and his team. He knew that he would have done the same thing if he had been in their shoes. However, the butcher knew a thing or two about carrying grudges. He had decided to "pay them for their hospitality" before the event ended. That too with interest. Until then, he had decided to pick his battles wisely. Eren had digested Ken''s memories. He knew that a simr situation had happened to the protagonist. At that time, Ken had chosen to make himself the target of his enemies to keep his team safe from harm. Eren knew that the division of his team into many groups was the right thing in this situation as well. However, he didn''t want to make the same mistake Ken did by underestimating his enemies. He also didn''t think that he should carry the weight of his entire team on his shoulders. The butcher decided to trust his teammates instead of trying to safeguard them as if they were babies. He decided that everyone would fight their own battle instead of someone buying time for the rest of them. *** The 28th night inside Sansara World brought with it a peculiar chilliness. There was a certain bloodlust in the air that had unknown origins. There were no birds or beasts inside Sansara World, so the forest regions feltpletely strange and unnatural. The region the White Raven crew was traversing through at this point was no different from this rule. An eerie silence was maintained despite the rankers'' extreme movements. Eren and his teammates used their movement spells in such a way that they created no sound. It was to avoid further interception by their enemies. They had already used a lot of Perks to mask their presence. Some of Eren''s teammates had even turned invisible. However, they all knew things like this were notpletely effective. Erten and the rest couldn''t stay in one ce for long either. Their enemies were getting close. And it was obvious that their chances of meeting other teams targeting them were only meant to increase as they approached their destination. There was only so much they could benefit from the roundabout way to reach the ce. They ran silently through the woods while keeping a fixed distance from each other. All of them had stoic expressions on their faces. Even Ramy Richards wasn''t his usual self. He kept quiet and didn''t try to joke around. Eren kept his eyes on the spectral map he was essing through the Sansara interface. He used a special map-based Perk to scan the area near him and found out that enemy teams were waiting for them up ahead. He guessed that they would soon be surrounded by enemy teams. A significant number of rankers would be used to create a perimeter that would trap them. The rest of the rankers would approach them once the perimeter had been secured. The tongues of lightning dancing around Eren were dispersed and he stopped in his tracks. He stood still on top of the highest branch of a tree and looked seriously at the aurora lights spreading across the night sky. The butcher used a voicemunication channel to address his team. ''Stop. There''s an enemy nk ahead.'' The White Raven team members stopped executing their movement spells when they heard Eren''s words. Some of them removed their Perks and made themselves visible. ''What should we do then?'' Steve asked while looking around. He was the least tired of the group. He had also made aplete recovery from his serious injury in a rtively short time. The said injury was inflicted on him during thest enemy interception. Steve had taken care of the female ranker who had targeted him before running away from the scene. Eren pondered for a moment and thought of various possibilities at once. He thought of all the possible scenarios and came to a very obvious conclusion. The butcher sighed before answering Steve''s question. Chapter 1105 Gondel The Geek The butcher sighed before answering Steve''s question. ''We can''t run in a single group anymore. It would make all of us an easier target for their AoEs and team-based Perks. And we can''t stay here for long either. That leaves us with only one optionC scatter and run.'' He looked at his teammates and pursed his lips before adding further. ''The more individual trails we create with our escape, the better off we all will be. So those who can afford to run away by themselves, do so. And those who think their survival depends upon a co-op, find your partner quickly. We don''t have much time.'' The White Raven team understood the severity of the situation quite well. They looked at each other, trying toe up with an exit strategy. Becky looked at her teammates and clenched her fists before suggesting something radical to Eren. ''Eren the alliance of these many teams is not something most of us would be able to handle. I I suggest we give up some of the items we obtained from the three Sage Legacies and'' ''Fuck no.'' Eren shut Becky up right away. He looked at her in such a way that she had a cold shiver running down her spine. The butcher looked at his other teammates to see if anybody else agreed with Becky''s self-sabotaging suggestion to get out of the mess. ''It is impossible for you toprehend how much I have invested in obtaining these Sage Legacies. It has taken everything from me to get my hands on them. And you want me to give some of them up just because they carry some heat? Death is part and parcel of a ranker''s life. If you like giving up so easily, you shouldn''t be here in the first ce.'' Eren had run out of patience with Becky. But he also understood that now was not the time to take his anger on her. He told his other teammates to get started with the n he hade up with. Eren''s teammates had alsoe to realize that Becky was letting her survival instincts get the better of her. They knew they had been nurtured by Eren to serve as his support at the graduation event all this time. Nobody tried to escte the matter any further. There were much more serious matters that needed their attention at the time. Bel and Ana didn''t want to separate from the group. They excelled at team y and needed their teammates'' support for them to bring out their true potential. As a result, they wanted to barge out of the iing siege together. The dual berserkers Ron and Dino had also chosen to fight together. Their coordination with each other was brilliant. So it also made sense for them to break the perimeter together. Eren, Jake, Renita, Steve, Ramy, and Becky had decided to break the siege individually. Meaning eight trails were supposed to be created by Eren''s team after breaching the siege. That is if all of them seed in breaking it and escaping the enemy teams surrounding them. Eren''s teammates had decided to disperse in multiple directions to escape the perimeter-in-making. Since the perimeter breach would happen at the same time in multiple directions, the enemy teams wouldn''t be able to back each other up. Eren''s teammates would be in a pinch trying to escape multiple opponents. But it was still better than facing thebined force of multiple teams banding together. Plus, they would have an element of surprise on their side when they did this, raising their chances of getting away from their enemies. Eren took out the transcendent-grade dagger he had received from Sage Loxley and felt its contours with his fingers. de reflected the image of his own emerald-green gaze. ''Make no mistake. With or without the infiltrators involved, these bastards would approach us with the intention to kill. So my suggestion to you is simple. Prioritize your safety by focusing on fleeing. But when you do get a chance to kill your enemy, make sure you kill them for good. All those who have survived inside the Sasara World are capable of surviving the Life and Death Altar, including us. So they will not make the mistake of letting the defense mechanism kick in only for you to resurrect in a few minutes and target them. We also need to make sure we don''tmit that mistake ourselves.'' Eren''s teammates understood what he was talking about. And why he was telling them to kill the participants for real. All those who had survived the Sansara World till this point had the capability of returning to the Life and Death Altar at least once or twice. So it didn''t matter what the background of the participants was-whether they were legit participants or infiltrators. These opponents would keeping back for Eren and his team if they let them go. Incidentally, the other participants had a simr mindset. They didn''t want to add to their trouble by allowing the defense mechanism to kick in for their opponents. They didn''t want to hamper their chances of obtaining thest Sage Legacy in any form by allowing their opponents to live, offering them another chance to raise opposition. The victims of the political power ys were now dead set on killing each other if it could allow them to get better rewards out of the Sansara World. Therefore, the butcher advised his team to have the same intentions as their opponents. *** Gondel and his teammates were excited to catch Eren''s teammates in their wide-spread. Gondel was an outstanding Expert ranker from Sansara Academy, which was located in the eastern duchy of the Edinburgh kingdomC the Lehan duchy. He was often referred to as Gondel the Geek by his friends and foes alike. Gondel was an average-looking man with a rather stout build. He was practicing the Array Master ss. There were many advantages an array master could get inside the Sansara World. These advantages were what allowed Gondel and his team to enter the Sansara World despite various groups of infiltrators targeting him. Chapter 1106 Modded Perks Gondel the geek was an excellent captain and team yer. He had made effective use of the Perks that were given to him by Sansara World, ensuring survivability for himself and his entire team. Gondel didn''t have his usual array scrolls or array disks to count on inside the Sansara World. But he could use the Perks to create various spectral array inscriptions on the fly. Gondel the geek could use them as array disks for potion traps,ndmines, diversions, or spectral weaponunchers. Or he could make full-fledged arrays to serve as domain attacks. Gondel''s knowledge of arrays and inscriptions was in-depth and cutting-edge. He could use array domains to buff his teammates and debuff his opponents at the same time. When his expertise was paired up with the Perks from Sansara World, it allowed him to maximize his potential as an array master. There was a reason why other rankers saw the students from Sansara Academy as nothing more than a bunch of geeks. Most of them spent their academic years studying the concepts of arrays and runic inscriptions. As a result, they didn''t have that battle-oriented presence. However, being geeks didn''t mean these rankers should be seen as toothless tigers. The Sansara World was created by Sage-ranked array master Lin Lehan anyway. The Sansara Sage had obviously incorporated a lot of the Perks used by the rankers who had the same ss as him. This was the reason Gondel and his team could survive inside the Sansara World till this point. Gondel and his team thanked their lucky stars for having studied the books written by Sansara Sage. Being a bunch of geeks, they didn''t perform as well as the participants from other Academies when it came to no-nonsense frontal confrontations. Nevertheless, they understood how to use array-based Perks better than anyone else. It was only natural that they would thrive inside the Sansara World. *** Gondel the geek felt like he had struck a goldmine inside the Sansara World. He found out that he could use the array-based Perks as tools to tweak and unlock other Perks offered by the Sansara World. The array master could modify the existing Perks of the Sansara World and make them more potent to suit a specific need or function. Of course, the modifications themselves wouldn''t be too logic-defying if only one person or even a team used them. However, Gondel had found a way to stack the effects of the modifications to get enhanced output. Usually, it would be impossible for any team to cast a debuff zone over such a wide zone inside the Sansara World. But with the other 11 teams'' help, Gondel and his team managed to stack the effects of the modded Perks 11 times in a row. They all needed to activate the mod Perks at the same time which were already in sync through the Sansara interface. The teams would stay immune to the debuff effects inside the special zone they would create with their mod Perks. And it would be easier for all of them to not only take care of Eren''s team but also extract all their items from them. Gondel the geek was angry at Eren for giving him death threats inside Sage Loxley''s testing grounds. That''s why he hade up with a strategy to trap him and his entire team using the modded Perks. Gondel and his team had already disabled some of the Perks Eren''s team had at its disposal using the interface-intrusive Perks, which prevented them from breaking the siege effortlessly. Meaning Eren and his team could see all the Perks they had on their Sansara interface. They just couldn''t use them for some reason. Eren didn''t even know about Gondel''s existence until this point. He had issued an all-inclusive death threat to all the rankers who were present at the scene before he met with Sage Loxley. He hadn''t zeroed in on a particr individual. However, he also knew that most rankers had a habit of trying toe up with reasons for their selfish actions. The reasons didn''t have to make sense to everyone around them. As long as the end result was meant to give them some form of benefit, the rankers were content with whatever reasons justified their actions. Eren had learned a lot of subtle things about rankers from his sh with Team ho. It allowed him to understand the consequences of his actions retrospectively. He didn''t know about Gondel and his n. But he knew something like this was going to happen if and when he started collecting Sage Legacies one after another. That''s why he spent a lot of Karma points to buy map-based Perks. He couldn''t mod the Perks given to him as Gondel could. But he could make up for it by spending more Karma points to use Premium Perks. The map-based Perks gave Eren a strategic advantage other teams didn''t care to have. They thought that the trade-off wasn''t worth it if one considered the Karma point expenditure. Eren used his map-based Perks in the right way during the uing siege. It allowed him to n potential routes for each of his teammates. They could use the derived routes to attack the siege at its weakest spot. *** "Hehehe." A hyena-likeughter was heard in the silent night. A group of rankers was seen traversing the same forest Eren was in. "I can''t wait to see the look on that pompous dickhead Eren''s face when he realizes his entire team has been caught inside a. A that I created to teach the bastard a lesson of his lifetime." Gondel felt exhration as he led his team to their destined spot. His team was going to serve as part of the perimeter detail at first. It would then move on to confronting Eren after the modded Perks got activated. Swoosh. Zoom. Pichuk. Gondel felt like he had heard some kind of noise behind him. However, he sensed nothing out-of-the-ordinary with his mana sense. Plus, the guy was too busy thinking about targeting Eren to care about a random bump in the night. Chapter 1107 Top Tier Assassination P1 "You know Gondel" A pensive feminine voice sounded from behind Gondel the geek. "Eren is an oddball from what I have learned about him. I think we should focus more on acquiring Sasara Sage''s legacy than targeting someone like him. It would be a real shame for all of us if Sage Lehan''s legacy got imed by someone other than the students of Sansara Academy." A female ranker on Gondel''s team decided to voice her opinion atst. She wasn''t happy that her team wasn''t prioritizing getting to the test grounds for thest Sage Legacy. Gondel''s team needed a bunch of gs without which it wouldn''t be able to contend for the Sansara Sage''s Legacy. However, targeting Eren''s team was not the most effective way to get those minimum number of gs. The female ranker thought that it was easier to target existing teams than to band together with them to attack Eren''s team. However, Gondel was adamant about targeting Eren. He smirked after hearing the female ranker''s advice before exining his point of view. "I''m not an idiot, Oshawa. It makes sense to prioritize getting to thest test grounds and targeting other less risky teams. However, you don''t know something that those present at Sage Loxley''s Legacy understood. Eren Elijah Idril is not just an oddball. I have felt his presence up close. He He operates on a different wavelength. The man is on a mission to im all the Sage Legacies for himself. It is unclear what kind of test the Sansara Sage has prepared for us. If we allow that sneaky rat to enter the testing grounds, he''s likely to im thest Sage Legacy as well. Trust me, I want to im Sansara Sage''s Legacy more than any of you. I have spent countless hours researching-- preparing myself for a big break like this, damn it. That''s why it would serve us well to eliminate Eren now. Even though my personal grudge has influenced my actions, I''m not blinded by it. We might not be able to face that bastard inside the testing grounds. But an alliance of 11 teams with all hands on deck is enough to get rid of his entire team. Once and for all. Hehehe." Gondel the geek said confidently. With the number advantage plus the modded Sansara Perks, he was certain of his n. However, Gondel felt weird that Oshawa, the female ranker who had given him the suggestion earlier, stopped speaking to him all of a sudden. Curious, he stopped in his tracks and turned around only to see Oshawa''srynx being punctured by an invisible object. "What the" It took a while for Gondel the geek to understand what he was seeing. He saw Oshawa''srynx not only punctured but also yanked out of its ce before being handed to her in a series of actions that looked seamless. Oshawa couldn''t do anything against such a sudden attack. She looked at Gondel with a horrified expression and an open mouth, which ejected streams of blood. The streams of blood rolled down her clothes before making the ground wet. The ground started sizzling because an Expert ranker''s fresh blood and part of her butchered flesh started reacting with the earth, producing a bubbling sound and releasing petrichor in the air. A phenomenon not too umon when ites to rankers with special elemental affinities and aspects. Oshawa didn''t even get to show how unique she was. She was forced to embrace death all too sudden. Oshawa''s hands were subconsciously raised in front of her in a defensive stance. Sadly for the female ranker, they couldn''t defend her. Instead, they were being used as a hanger for her abruptly pulledrynx and windpipe. Only now did Gondel realize that two more rankers from his team had been ughtered without him knowing. Their bodies had be almost unrecognizable from their previous states. It was as if a butcher who was sent on an assassination assignment had gone too far by relying on his previous craft-- instead of killing the targets with the grace of a hitman. The two rankers'' bodies were found just a few meters away from each other. And the closest dead body was around 100 meters away from where Gondel was standing, which wasn''t much of a distance for an Expert ranker like him. The kill site subconsciously made it clear to Gondel that the assant had attacked the first two rankers who were trailing behind the team in quick session. He killed them to break the team''s defensive formation and gain ess to the female ranker on the team. The assant didn''t wait long for attacking Oshawa after he killed the two rankers. Meaning even after overpowering the two rankers and killing them, he did not have his cover blown. That too while they were all using their movement spells. The other rankers from Gondel''s team were also catching up with these silent atrocities inflicted on them. The ones who had been tagged by the assant couldn''t even make a sound to express how shocked they were. It was clear that they would have been the next to die if the assant''s cover hadn''t been blown. This assant had obviously used abo of Perks to keep his kills as silent as they could be. But Gondel refused to believe that someone would be able to pull off such a feat with Perks alone. This was a top-tier assassination. A predatory menace, who had ess to cutting-edge assassination gear, had entered the fray. For a moment, Gondel thought that Sage Loxley hade to kill his team. The geek was too stunned to speak or do anything. His subconscious mind was trying to make sense of what he was seeing. As a result, he started searching through his memories to see if he had offended Sage Loxley in any way. Gondel was forced to believe that there was no way someone from the participants would be able to perform such a wless kill. Otherwise, he would have heard about him by now. His kill streaks, styles, and patterns would have been well documented. Rankers like these were too few and too precious for any establishment. That is, if establishments could employ such rankers in the first ce. Otherwise, such rankers would be hunted down under various reasons for the most part because they were threats to the rankers'' societal fabric. In the age of unavoidable exposure, who could manage to remain under a veil of mystery with skills like these making them stand out so much? === Pop quiz: What was Oshawa''s ss? ;) Chapter 1108 Top Tier Assassination P2 The eyewitnesses to the gory scene felt like time had been slowed down for them. It looked like someone had kept their invisible hand pressed against Oshawa''s mouth. Her open mouth, which was spewing blood, looked like it had been pressed against a ss surface. The assassin had also held her body by her waist, using her as a shield to protect themselves from Gondel''s potential attacks. At this point, Gondel''s entire team hade to realize it was toote to save the three rankers. The first two had already died. And Oshawa''s heart stopped a second ago. The assant didn''t even allow Sansara World''s defense mechanism to get triggered. The rankers were killed before the defensive mechanism had a chance to activate. Meaning he didn''t need to exploit the dy in the defense mechanism for these kills. The only reason the invisible assant had maintained his hold on the surprised-looking and deader-than-dead Oshawa was that he was waiting for other rankers to have a chink in their defense. The assassin was analyzing the rankers surrounding him with the eyes of an apex predator. Neither the predator nor his eyes could be seen at first. But the rankers instinctively noticed the predator''s gaze on their flesh. They had goosebumps on their skin as a result. p! Gondel pped himself to snap out of the shock he was feeling. He had already lost three of his teammates out of the blue. He didn''t want to lose any more of them. "Dis fucking disperse!" Gondel''s hatred for Oshawa''s killer was evident in his words. Shades of panic and anguish could also be seen on his face. Using each Perk after another, he isted the assant and the dead Oshawa. Gondel''s Perks worked their magic. A blurred image of a person was seen standing behind Oshawa, holding her still by her waist and neck. It took another second for the blur to get unblurred, revealing the image of Oshawa''s assassin to her still-breathing teammates. The assassin was wearing a beaked mask. He waspletely invisible because of this mask, which was a transcendent-grade artifact that could be used for a limited time every day for carrying out silent assassinations. He was also holding a transcendent-grade ance with which he punctured Oshawa''s throat with surgical precision. It was imbued with the fusion of lightning and fire manas. And yet, it didn''t give off any mana signature, as if it was a rankless dagger meant to be used by mortals. The man had ck hair and a lean body. For a brief moment, Gondel felt like this man had blue eyes. But when he blinked, they had turned emerald green. His presence also felt otherworldly for a fraction of a second before it returned to normalcy. He was wearing a hooded long ck jacket along with dark pants. His ck shoes had runic engravings which would exude faint, light blue breathing light. His body was surrounded by tiny streaks of lightning and a thinyer of fire mana. Gondel could guess where the transcendent-grade artifact hade from judging by the look of the mask. The beaked nose mask and ance were associated with only one man as far as Gondel knew, which was the Grand Duke of Edinburgh. And Gondel knew that there was now someone who had inherited his legacy. "EREN MOTHERFUCKIN IDRIL!" Gondel screamed at the assassin with a voice coated in anger and injustice. With his mere thought, Sage Loxley''s mask was removed from his face and converted into a small tattoo before disappearingpletely. The dagger in his hand also disappeared into thin air. Eren smiled slightly at Gondel. His presence and bodynguage were as calm as still water despite the violence he had unleashed on three rankers not too long ago. "Hi, there Stranger. One-sided introductions are no good. What''s your name, might I ask?" Eren didn''t mind Gondel''s rude way of addressing him. He asked Gondel the geek casually while making Loxley''s ance appear in his hand once again. He yed with it for a fraction of a second using Unlimited Knife Works before making it disappear once again. The butcher was experimenting with his assassin ss. He had used his bloodline powers to keep his looks the same despite the use of the assassin ss. As a result, he felt ufortable using it in the presence of his usual body. So fidgeting with the ance was his way of coping with the difort. ''Damn it. Damn it. God fucking damn it. This... Why did it happen to us? Eren... No... It''s those artifacts... The Sage Legacies are indeed amazing. It allows a closebat expert to move like an assassin.'' Godel attributed Eren''s assassination skills to his acquisition of Sage Loxley''s Legacy. He had alsoe to understand that what Oshawa was saying to him just before her death was right all along. He clenched his hands into fists and took a few deep breaths as if to quell his anger and other emotions. He shook his head and rxed before answering Eren''s question. "Name''s Gondel. Listen here, Eren. Your team has already won two of the four Sage Legacies the graduation event had to offer. I don''t want to create a conflict with you. But you know how significant Sage Lehan''s Legacy is to us Sansara Academy''s students. As long as you give me an assurance that you won''t raise a im for thest Sage Legacy andpensate me for killing my teammates, we won''t." Gondel was trying to distract Eren with his fake peace talks while one of his teammates initiated an attack on him. The geek thought that he was doing a convincing job pulling off acting as a peacemaker. Unfortunately for him and his teammates, it couldn''t be further from the truth. Swoosh. Zoom. ng. Eren intercepted the attacker''s attack effortlessly. He used his ance to defend himself from the assassin''s karambitsC a pair of curved short knives meant for silent killings. Thepressed curvature of the des allows the user to generate concentrated sh waves in a restricted area, making them suitable for closebat confrontations. The assassin made these karambits with his wind element mana. These spectral weapons were further strengthened by the modded Perks. However, even with such advantages, the assassin from Gondel''s team was not able to even slightly injure the butcher. A showdown ensued between the two assassins then and there as they exchanged dozens of moves with each other in a matter of seconds. Chapter 1109 Quitting While Ahead The Sansara Academy had its own ways of nurturing rankers of different backgrounds. It allowed its students to pursue other sses while empowering them with the study of arrays. The concept of arrays itself did not have any restrictions so to speak. So it was possible to use it any way one wanted it to be as long as the array was well designed for the purpose. This ranker from Sansara Academy was not a typical assassin. He was less dependent on his gear and his assassination skills and more on the array imprints he had all over his body. He could even store the neurological signals of various muscles inside his array imprints. This allowed him to automatically perform various types of actions suited to a range of scenarios. The stored neurological signals were based on the movements of exceptional assassins. It was a geek''s way of imitating assassination skills without having to work for them. As opposed to learning skills from various sses and professions manually, the rankers at Sansara Academy studied arrays instead. The result of all this was a ranker who could move and perform like a veteran assassin within set parameters. Lightning struck and Eren moved. He and the assassin from Gondel''s team fought at their full strength while Gondel''s team tried tounch a sneak attack on Eren. Gondel and the team didn''t try to approach Eren carelessly while he and the deviant assassin were fighting. They knew that doing so might jeopardize their own teammates'' lives. Thendscape started changing as the Expert-ranked entities fought. Greenery was destroyed and the ground was covered with craters of various shapes, sizes, and depths. Various mana fluctuations started spreading in the surroundings, creating a variety of elemental manifestations in the process. Eren and Gondel''s side came to understand one thing after fighting with each other for a few minutes. Both sides underestimated each other. Eren and the deviant assassin used multiple Sansara Perks to empower their offense and defense while they fought. The butcher didn''t have a problem handling his opponent. But he had to remain wary of the attacks initiated by Gondel''s teammates, which were distracting. The butcher had to say that he had underestimated the geeks. He had thought that they would be easy to deal with since how easily he could kill the three rankers. But it turns out they had Trump cards of their own they could use against him after being made aware of his presence. The ss of assassin wasn''t really meant for frontalbat anyway. So the butcher decided to pull back. Blitz Sheild Blitz Storm. Beast Contract Spell. Blink. Eren coated himself in a lightning cloak. Bitz Storm served as a diversion and a second line of defense for Eren. He summoned Ertaur and made him attack the assassin before finding a breather to use Blink. Ertaur bellowed as soon as he arrived at the scene before using Red Bull Rush on the assassin. Thetter was caught off guard by Eren''s sudden diversion and retreat. He couldn''t avoid Ertaur''s charge at him. The next thing he knew he was thrown 100s of meters away from his positionC with streaks of red lightning trying to invade his mana defense. Eren was still besieged by Gondel''s team at this point even if he had managed to create distance between himself and the assassin. Still, nobody else approached him carelessly. A couple of them were busy securing the assassin from Eren''s potential follow-up attacks, while others were wary of Ertaur. Eren was no longer interested in continuing his endeavor, contrary to what they thought. He wanted to quit while he was ahead. "It was a pleasure meeting you guys. But I''m short on time. I think I''ll take my leave from here. Unless you want to know me better and want me to stay. What will it be?" Eren said and smiled at Gondel while maintaining a safe distance. His message to the geek was simpleC he didn''t want to engage with Gondel''s team. But he would go all out if forced. "You fucking creep you think you can just kill three of our teammates and we will let you go" One of the rankers from Gondel''s team was pissed at Eren for even thinking of retreating at this point when the conflict had registered casualties from their side. But Eren didn''t have to say anything to the angry ranker. He was forced to stop talking by his captain-Gondel the geek before Eren could say something. "Let let him go." Gondel spoke with some difficulty. He had clenched his hands so hard that his nails had dug deep into his skinC his fists dripping blood on the ground. It was clear that the geek didn''t want Eren to escape scot-free either. And yet, he had decided to make apromise for greater interest. ''But Captain Gondel. ''Shut the fuck up. We will talk about all of thister. Let him go first. Don''t fucking attack him.'' Gondel spoke over voicemunication with conviction and shushed his teammates'' objections to his decision. The butcher, on the other hand, smiled at Gondel before calling Ertaur back. He dispersed the Beast Contract Spell and waved at the geek before putting on the beaked mask. In the next moment, Eren vanished from the scene. Not only was thebination of the beaked mask and Blink extremely effective in the assassination, but it also enabled one to get rid of one''s pursuers effectively. Gondel''s team couldn''t follow Eren''s trail at all after he made his exit. Gondel used a few Perks and made sure that Eren was not in the vicinity before breathing a sigh of relief. The assassin who had been thrown away from the battlefield returned to Gondel in a less-than-ideal condition. The red lightning bull''s sudden attack had really done a number on the assassin. Plus, the defense wasn''t his strong suit because of his agility-focused ss. Still, even he did not like that Gondel had given up fighting Eren this early. "Gondel, I think we should follow him. Let''s forget about the siege. I am sure I can follow him if I try. That Beast summon surprised me. But I won''t let that happen to me next time." Gondel shook his head in denial and sighed before revealing his thoughts. Chapter 1110 The Bane Of Scorching Flames Gondel shook his head in denial and sighed before revealing his thoughts. "You all are thinking in the wrong direction. It seems obvious to me that the we thought we could use to target Eren''s team is not useful anymore. At least not as useful as we wanted it to be. I am sure others from that cunt''s team had also made a run from multiple directions to divide the 12 teams that were pursuing them. So I have scrapped the n of cornering Eren''s team entirely. I''ll let others carry on with this n to see what they can achieve with it. But that''s a different matter altogether. The thought of revenge has blindsided you guysC all of you. We don''t have the luxury to pursue Eren. That''s because we don''t have a healer on our team. Oshawa is no more." Gondel looked at Oshawa''s corpse in the distance. Since the battlefield had changed, it had been left at its original location. The geek then looked at his teammates with grim expressions before continuing. "Do you understand? Oshawa''s death means we won''t be able to heal anyone on time if they get critically injured. You guys saw how that bastard fought. Do you want to tell me that none of you would need healing aid if he started fighting us seriously? Jaaka and Rey are dead as well. A lot of our battle formations and tactics have gone out the window because of these three deaths. We can''t take any more risks if we want to im Sage Lehan''s Legacy. Any other serious injury or even death would mean that we wouldn''t be able to defend the gs we have collected so far." Gondel spoke calmly and collectively. He remained focused despite three teammates'' deaths as if he had forcefully switched to his pragmatic side. His teammates looked at each other before metaphorically dropping their shoulders. They didn''t object to his decision anymore. One had to say that Eren''s way of targeting the healer had paid off this time. That''s because Oshawa''s special healing spells acted as the foundation for Team Gondel''s battle tactics. Their battle formations also made use of her spells. Without her, it could be said that Team Gondel had basically lost one of its limbs. Gondel and his team eventually disappeared from the battlefield. They did not continue the siege they had nned with the rest of the teams. Instead, they chose to target other teams that were not part of the siege n. Under Gondel''smand, his teammates were prioritizing Sage Lehan''s Legacy instead of getting a share from previous Sage Legacies. They also didn''t inform the other teams what had happened to them, wanting them to continue with the n. The battlefield became devoid of any presence. The corpses of two rankers, who were killed by Eren, were also made to disappear by the Sansara World. Unknown to anyone, the killer of the scene had returned to his kill site. Not to admire his work and indulge in vainglory but to do something radical using the hands of his enemies. What Gondel had assumed as Eren''s retreat was only meant to make them give up on him. The butcher dispersed the beaked mask and observed his surroundings for a while. The artifact could only be used for a limited time per day and he wanted to save the remaining time for his next job. ''Have you thought this through?'' Alephee''s voice was heard by Eren in his mind. He nodded before replying to her. ''I have. It depends on her, to be honest. Let''s see how she performs.'' Eren confirmed that nobody from Gondel''s team was following him. He then turned in the opposite direction from Gondel, entering the siege perimeter other teams were busy creating. *** Blue Fire Domain. As siege initiators fought their sole target, a hemisphere of blue fire was created. One side contained only one female mage that had created the Blue Fire Domain. The other side contained a team of rankers focused on killing her at all costs. The female mage''s domain spell was very potent. The blue fire she manifested all around her would absorb the heat from things instead of scorching them. The blue mes would freeze their targets after bringing down their regr temperatures to zero as they burned. A me that would freeze one to death instead of burning its targets. With the help of her element''s unique inherent nature, the female mage managed to kill two of her opponents. The dead bodies were shattered after they were turned into ice sculptures. The pieces of their flesh were still covered in an icy membrane, preventing them from leaking blood. It was as if the female mage subconsciously wanted to avoid seeing blood and gore on the battlefield even when she killed for a living. However, at the end of the day, this trapped female in a siege was a mage. Most mages were referred to as ss cannons because of their inability to handle closebat duels. And unfortunately for the female mage, she wasn''t an exception to the stereotype. There were still six rankers present inside the blue fire domain. They protected themselves from being affected by the blue mes using their respective defensive spells. These rankers were caught off guard by the female mage''s sudden appearance. She had used her long-range spells coupled with a few unique Perks she collected to eliminate the two rankers from the team. She then tried to flee from the scene, hoping she had caused them enough threats for them not to follow her. She had obviously underestimated the rankers that were still remaining in the Sansara World. They were obviously intimidated by the appearance of such a capable mage. But that wasn''t enough for them to give her a hit-and-run pass. "Bitch You are not getting out of this alive." Angry and frustrated, one of the six rankers spoke to the female ranker. She was a knightC standing closest to the female mage with ayer of orange mes protecting her from the effects of the blue mes. The blue mes would siphon the heat out of the knight-ss female ranker''s orange mes, turning them somber in nature. But the orange mes kept the knight from being affected by the blue mes. It seemed that the blue mes were the bane of the scorching mes and vice versa. === AN: Blue Fire Domain was first mentioned in chapter 249. Chapter 1111 Eyes Of A Passerby Unbeknownst to both sides, the fight that was getting fought inside the Blue Fire Domain had a spectator. This spectator kept a safe distance from the battlefield and used one of the observation-rted Perks to keep tabs on the rankers involved in the fight. This particr Sansara Perk allowed him to have a bird-eye view of the nearby area. The only limitation to using this Perk was the fact that the user couldn''t move from the spot while the Perk was active. Keeping an ideal position in one ce for longer while spying on two teams might not turn out well for most solo rankers. However, this man had no such trouble. That''s because he was wearing a beaked mask artifact that hid his presence from everyone''s senses, protecting him from potential altercations. ''She did a good job killing those rankers right off the bat. It was such a shame she stopped her insanity after that.'' Eren said to himself and sighed while watching Becky fight. Becky couldn''t break the siege without the iing enemy group not knowing of her presence. So she got rid of the two rankers right away using the element of surprise to her advantage. The two kills allowed Becky to reduce the enemy group''s team strength and prevented it from overwhelming her as soon as the battle started. As ss-cannonish as her ss made her out to be, Becky wasn''t a weak ranker per se. She understood that one needed to fight if one wanted to survive in and outside the Sansara World. It was just that she couldn''t convert her understanding into much-needed aggression. Seeing Becky starting to struggle alone against the six rankers, Eren watched in a neutral stance as she started to exert more strength. Till this point, Becky had relied on her team to provide her with protection while she executed AoEs. She didn''t have to deal with the iing enemies herself for the most part. As a result, Becky began losing ground once the enemy rankers started getting close to her. Her Blue Fire Domain allowed her to dominate her opponents when she started. But eventually, the enemy rankers made their way toward her slowly and steadily. Becky used various mid- and long-range Blue Fire spells to attack her opponents. And her enemies were getting injured bit by bit. But the damage she dealt them wasn''t enough to keep them down. A familiar voice sounded in Eren''s head as he kept himself busy watching the fight. ''Not everybody can enjoy the mortalbats that are thrown their way like you, Eren. Not everybody can deal with a life-and-death situation like some leisure activity. They fail to use them as a whetstone to sharpen themselves. Reba''s survival instincts kicked in after she killed those two rankers. Instead of continuing her frontal assault, she began ying defense. The kamikaze frontal approach would have served her much better than hoping for the enemy team to leave her alone. Just two kills alone wouldn''t deter anyone but the possibility of two more would. The key is to be seen as an uncontroble maniac or a cunning monsterC either through your performance or through your aggression. You could do that. This was why Gondel let you go even after you killed three of his teammates. The geek just didn''t think fighting with you would be worth it because of the coteral damage he might incur in the process. The same thing would have happened in Reba''s case had she proved with her aggression that the fight wouldn''t be worth it for the enemy rankers. Some battles are half-won with one''s conviction alone. Sadly for Becky, she didn''t nurture anything like that within her all her life. Hence, she fails to mold her survival instinct into the aggression she needs at the time.'' Alepheemented in Eren''s mind. She was another silent spectator to the battle. The homunculus had nothing to do while she was inside her pendant abodeC recovering from her poor state by immersing herself into a blood pool of unknown origin. The speech she gave to Eren was while she was neck-deep in the blood pool with her eyes closed. Alephee decided to use Eren''s senses to learn about the ongoing situation inside the Sansara World. She knew what Eren was going to do at this point. As a result, she couldn''t help feeling intrigued. At this point, Reba White was doing everything she could to keep her enemies away from her. She was using forbidden techniques and burning her life essence to harm her opponents. As a result, two more rankers were critically injured. However, the enemy team still had its healer safe and sound. It was only a matter of time before they made aeback. It wasn''t that Becky didn''t understand the need to eliminate the healer. But the problem was the fact that the healers of any team were usually well-protected. This was why Eren had to target two rankers first before he could get rid of Oshawa. Becky failed to perform at the same level as Eren. Plus, herck of experience dealing with opponents in closebat made her an easy target for a group of capable rankers. Becky couldn''t maintain her Blue Fire Domain after she started running low on mana. She had various injuries on her body and her eyes had be crazy and bloodshot. She had finally found the aggression hiding deep within her. But at this point, it was toote. Eren''s fight with Gondel''s team and Becky''s fight with the current team were the same in the fact that one side was hugely outnumbered by the other. And yet, there was so much contrast between the two battles because of the way the supposedly weaker side decided to deal with its opponents. With or without the Sage artifacts backing him, the butcher would have achieved the same results. It was clear that Becky expected things like this to happen to her from the moment Eren talked about the siege breach. This was the reason she had asked Eren to give up his im to the items obtained from Sage Legacies despite knowing it was an absurd idea. Eren watched with a stoic expression as Reba took herst stand against her opponents. He showed no interest in ying spoiler in the battle. He didn''t enjoy seeing Becky''s condition no matter how much she opposed him while being on the same team. He also didn''t feel any pity for her. The butcher watched with the eyes of a passerbyC as if he had nothing to do with Becky''s fight. One could say that he was okay with the battle going either way. Chapter 1112 Spoiler Title (Title at the end of the chapter.) Eren was using Becky''s opponents as litmus paper to test her resolve. If she passes the test and breaks the siege, he would help her get rid of her pursuers. After all, he had invested a lot in the mage. She was more useful to him alive than dead. Becky might be able to transform herself after suffering through such a life-altering ordeal. She might be able to fix her attitude, allowing her to be a capable member of Eren''s team. The butcher wouldn''t have to deal with her as a nuisance when that happened. But if she fails and gets killed in the test, he could make use of her in a different way. Either way, he could gain something from this fight. At this point, Becky hade to understand that nobody wasing to save her. And the aggression she had found within her had no use anymore. Scared andcking hope, the mage started to flee the battlefield. Eren shook his head as he watched Becky turn her back on her enemies. This was a sign of her metaphorical inner demons getting the better of her. This was what the enemy wanted Becky to do all along. They all pursued her and attacked her at the same time, making her efforts at fleeing as useless as they could get. Becky''s back was attacked with various spells at first. The first barrage of moves was followed by a series of attacks dealt with a bunch of weapon shes. The mage screamed in agony when that happened. Her banshee-like screams eventually dimmed when she lost her bnce and fell face-t on the ground. She had officially run out of everything within her to fight her opponents. Becky took herst breath while lying on the ground. It looked like she was embracing the earth as she weed the arrival of eternal slumber. It could be said that a ranker like her finally found the peace she was looking for. "Hahaha. We did it. We fucking did it. We killed this bi" Blink. Swoosh. Chop. The female ranker who wasughing at Becky''s sorry state suddenly found out that she had her vision changed. Her vision turned upside down and she started seeing her own body in the third person. She also noticed that her still-standing body was missing a head. In the next moment, she saw a blurred image appear behind her body. There was still some fading consciousness in the female ranker''s chopped head. She saw the blurred image taking the shape of a man with a beaked mask on his face. The micro runes on the beaked mask dimmed as a disy of the artifact getting deactivated. They eventually disappeared, allowing the female ranker to get a clear picture of who had killed her. The female ranker looked around in dismay and saw that the healer on her team had also lost her head. With her consciousness gradually deteriorating, she could neither scream nor curse her killer. She only took sce in the fact that she would be apanied by her teammates on her journey to the afterlife. Eren became visible after he killed the healer and the female ranker. He could only voice his dissatisfaction at how quickly Sage Loxley''s artifact had run out of juice even after his efforts to conserve its operability. One could charge the artifact with their mana. But it would take a considerable time for Eren to do so. There were other ways to charge the artifact or expedite the charging process as well. But he could use none of them for the moment. However, it was not like Eren needed the artifact to be done with his newfound opponents. It didn''t take long for Eren to get rid of the remaining rankers. They were already battered in the battle with Becky. They couldn''t handle someone like Eren in their situation. *** Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Eren used Unlimited Knife Works to get rid of the blood on his weapons before storing them away. He then stood in his position and closed his eyes before taking a huge breath. Lightning struck and Eren appeared beside Becky''s corpse. He bent his knees and kept his hand over her cheek, caressing it a bit. Eren had to be honest with himself in admitting that he didn''t like a lot of things about Becky. He was most bothered by the fact that she could see through him for who he really was under the veil of normalcy. However, the butcher had never really hated the mage for it. He decided to convey his thoughts to Becky, assuming her soul was listening to them. "I I wouldn''t say it was fun arguing with you but I would miss it nheless. Your criticisms could never hurt me, Becky. Sticks and stones and all that shit, you know. It was only your way of looking at certain problems that bothered me as a leader of your team. A leader you didn''t like having because you wanted to be one yourself. Your death put an abrupt end to our arguments. I" Eren stopped himself from saying any more. He pondered for a bit before finally concluding his thoughts. "That''s it, I guess. I won''t say anything else to make you ufortable. Arguments are boring when only one side is allowed to talk, after all. Farewell Becky. Find your peace in eternity." Eren gave his eulogy to Becky in a voice seemingly devoid of any emotion. He took a long breath and captured her face in his memory forever before activating his bloodline Ability. The mage''s body was soon covered in a slime-like mass before it started getting dissolved in it. It only took a few minutes for the process to be over. Becky was also provided with a unique burial service by Eren. But unlike the previous case with Ken, he felt Becky''s death more closely. The butcher didn''t think he was responsible for Becky''s death in any way. His choice to not take action certainly made her prone to enemies'' attacks that led to her death. But he believed that what ultimately killed her were her own inadequacies. The butcher got up and remained motionless. He closed his eyes and started digesting Becky''s gains. He started seeing himself through her eyes with the help of her memories. He was made to relive his early academy days, enabling him to see Becky''s perspective on his seemingly random and radical actions. It managed to put a mirthless smile on his face as a result. It seemed that Becky was also okay with Eren''s devouring of her. Because just like Ken, Eren found it easier to digest her gains. When Eren opened his eyes after a while, it was an indication that he had finished making Becky''s experiences his. In his recent devouring, he digested Becky''s elemental aspect and attainment, making them his own. Eren raised his right hand and concentrated. Soon, his hand was covered in a cold blue fire that didn''t radiate any form of heat. Instead, it started sucking up the heat in the surroundings making Eren feel a bit of chill coating his hand. ''This cold fire This is something. These blue mes have the potential to counter the Endermes. I just hope I can make proper use of them when the timees.'' The butcher thought to himself and sighed before covering himself with tongues of lightning. A buzzing sound was heard before the butcher disappeared from the scene. (Chapter 1112 Title: Farewell Becky) === AN: RIP Rebbeca White. A brief eulogy. Contains trivia. Can be skipped if one wants to. Becky and Ken were fun characters to write because their in-story behaviors would always elicit reactions from readersC favorable or bad. Technically, Becky''s death was nned even before her character was introduced. Chapter 66 mentions cold fire, which was supposed to act as a counter to Endermes down the line. Becky''s character was introducedter on to act as the wielder of the blue mes. Of course, her personality wasn''tpletely fleshed out at that time. Becky, as we know her, started getting drafted muchter. She was conscious of her teammates and everything happening around her. She had her own moral and characterpass. Andstly, she had her ambitions and never took a backstep in expressing them. She was never as naive as Ken in the past. But she was never as okay with cruelty as most rankers. In a way, she could be seen as the most normal human among a bunch of rankers who had shaky humanity left in them. No matter how she was as a ranker, Becky would go down in VEH''s history as a member of the White Raven crew. And for that, she will be missed. :) Chapter 1113 Perspective Management Day 29: A mountainous region close to the fourth and final testing ground for Sage Legacy. The sky was painted in shades of orange and yellow even though there was no sun to be seen, indicating that it was evening time. The winds created howling sounds as they carved their way through green valleys. Even then, the world feltpletely silent because of the absence of wildlife in the region. A group of rankers was gathered on the cliff of a 3000 meters tall mountain. A nearby mountain served as its perfectpanion. The adjacent mountain had a ramp-like long cliff as well. The two cliffs were only a few meters apart, making them look like part of a broken bridge. The group needed to reach the cliff on the other side to get to the final Sage Legacy. It was the fastest way for them to get there. Of course, the rankers had toe here after taking so many detours. Due to the siege, they separated from each other and went in different directions. The group of rankers used this ce as a rendezvous point to gather and discuss a few things. They needed to talk before they moved on to im thest Sage Legacy. The talk reeked of unspoken heaviness. It was because one of their teammates had died in the process of breaking the siege. The gathered rankers had gloomy expressions on their faces. The group''s healer had bloodshot eyes and her cheeks were still wet even after wiping the tears. Everyone needed some kind of closure. "How how did she die?" Steve asked Eren while lost in his own thoughts. Just like Renita and Jake, he refused to believe that Becky had died at first. It took a while for Eren to convince them that she was one of the casualties in the Sansara World. Eren told his teammates that he intercepted Becky''s fight after he had dealt with his share of enemies. He had run away from his enemies after killing three rankers and found Becky''s battlefield on the way, which was a half-truth. The butcher told them that he had already taken care of her killers and had also provided her withst rites. This was so that Steve and the rest wouldn''t get distracted by feelings of revenge at the time of iming thest Sage Legacy. The butcher knew how the human mind worked. Nobody alive and logically sound could bepletely devoid of emotions. He wasn''t an exception to this rule either. However, not everybody channels their anger and hatred in the right way. It is not possible for everybody to turn negative emotions into a driving force for sess. Instead, their emotions would blind them and make them unable to do what was in front of them. The butcher guessed that Steve, Jake, and Renita would eventuallye around to make peace with his deed even if they knew what he had done. However, he reckoned that the rest of the members wouldn''t be able to digest his actions. They would subconsciously start putting themselves in Becky''s shoes and feel terrified by the butcher''s coldness. Most rankers liked the idea of camaraderie even if it came across as impractical in certain situations. The butcher was not there to change people''s mindsets about that idea. It was better to provide these rankers with limited information for their own good. It was better to make them wear metaphorical blinkers, which would allow them to focus on the current tasks at hand. Eren''s actions post-Becky''s death could be seen as the necessary evil that held his team together. He didn''t mind using tactics based on untold facts and half-truths if they helped him retain them. Just like Edinburgh''s founding Sages in the shadows, Eren was a master in the art of perspective management. It was not to say that he liked manipting his teammates. But it was a task he would do nheless if it could bring him desirable results. After all, a Sage Legacy was at stake. It was crucial that everyone was on board and motivated for the same goal. After killing them, Eren hade to know that there were three elven infiltrators in the group who had fought with Becky. She could be said to be the victim of the political power y that was taking ce between the two kingdoms. However, it didn''t matter which side killed Becky. The fact that she was killed was unchanged. So that''s what Eren focused on while addressing his team. "Well Looking at the scene I can say that Becky killed two rankers from a team of 8 and critically injured another two. But the remaining four managed to overpower her before I intercepted the fight. Of course, I killed the remaining four rankers. I take no credit for killing them. They were easy to deal with because of their situation. Still, I am d that I was there and finished what my team''s mage had left iplete." Another short period of silence was observed by the team. It was Renita who broke the silence by asking her question. "Eren, couldn''t you have approached the fight sooner?" The butcher smiled mirthlessly at Renita. He didn''t want to lie to his teammates no matter how expertly he could pull something like that off. However, he also knew that his teammates weren''t capable of understanding his point of view. There was a difference between his reality of life and theirs. So he chose to take the middle way. "What do you think?" Eren walked up to the edge of the cliff and stopped just before his next step dropped him down the mountain. He held his hands behind his back before speaking in a clear and steady voice. "I know what some of you may be thinking. That I saw Becky as an eyesore. That I might have let her die because I didn''t approve of her constant objections to my decisions. I am here to tell you that couldn''t be further from the truth." Chapter 1114 Trying To Find Closure As thought-provoking as they were, Eren''s words were elusive. Yet he said them with conviction because they were his version of the truth. It allowed the rankers to draw their own conclusions from his words. If Becky was here, she would have pointed out to Eren that he wasn''t really answering Renita''s question but confusing all of them with profundities instead. But fortunately or unfortunately, Becky could no longer indulge in banter with Eren about various things. Eren took a long breath before concluding the matter. "When she was alive, I dared to say this. I certainly won''t hesitate to say it again after her death, no matter how callus it makes me look. The truth is that Becky was too scared about the future. She ultimately got paralyzed at the sight of overwhelming adversity, which ended up taking her life. Don''t get me wrong. There''s nothing wrong with feeling fear. I have said it before and I will say it again. The amount of fear I have felt is greater than all your sharesbined. But when fear starts dictating your every action, then maybe it is time you rethink your life as a ranker in this world. It is okay to feel overwhelmed by your adversities. But if you can''t bounce back from the feelings of despair, then your survival holds no meaning." Eren looked down at the valley beneath his feet and stared at it for a while before continuing. "Becky''s death teaches us that we can''t take things for granted. And that nobody is totally infallible. Don''t let fear stop you from challenging yourself. Feel alive in your attempts to better yourself. When you seed, you will learn many things about yourself. And when you fail, you will realize your shorings. But that is only true if you have what it takes to face your fears. Knowledge of the past and nning for the future is indeed essential. But we can''t live our lives in them because they don''t really exist. If you only remember mistakes from the past, they be regrets that you can never get rid of. And if you only worry about what will happen in the future, they be the worries that weigh you down. Instead, you should focus on the present. Put everything you have in the ''here and now.''" Eren expressed what he truly felt about Becky''s death. He had been following his own advice too. He would have been paralyzed after learning about the existence of Demon Princes and the gods that were after him if he had the same mindset as Becky. That kind of information would have turned him into a cooped-up chicken. After all, the Demon Princes and the gods were not entities he could deal with in his current situation. But they were also not relevant to his current reality. That''s why he chose to live in the present, telling Alephee to do the same. The White Raven crew knew what Eren was talking about. They remembered how Becky was okay with letting the items from Sage Legacies go because they were getting targeted for them. They started remembering other instances in the past that highlighted Becky''s nature as an overly cautious ranker. Eren turned around to face his teammates and spoke calmly. "I know my words may sound like the words of a cold-blooded leader who is okay with his mage''s death. And maybe I am just that. But that doesn''t make anything I have said less true. Becky''s parting is a lesson for all of us. And don''t think that I am not putting myself through the same standards as the rest of you. If anything, I allow even fewer concessions to myself. I may not be proud of all the things I have done. But I feel no shame in saying that I have zero talent and all my achievements are the result of my diligent work alone. And I could only do that because I dared to. You are different from me. Your talent will shine one day because it exists. But that is only if you learn from Becky''s mistakes." Steve and the rest looked at each other when Eren stopped speaking. They had to admit that Eren''s words had a certain weight attached to them. That''s because they had seen him walk the talk he was giving them. Eren used a consumable Sansara Perk to summon a bottle of wine. The chalices were also summoned using expendable Karma points. The butcher poured wine into everyone''s sses and made sure they were filled to the brim before continuing. "Reba White was an enigma. She was nothing like the elemental aspect she had unlocked for herself. She was warm and caring. And yet her words were like sharp needles when it came to criticizing someone." Eren took a brief pause and chuckled before continuing. "Hehe. Who am I kidding? Let me correct thatC when it came to criticizing me. Still, she obeyed my orders when they mattered. And did everything she could to support her team." Eren managed to get a chuckle from his audience when he said that. The butcher pursed his lips and raised his ss before concluding his toast. "What has happened cannot be changed. Becky is resting in eternity. And although her death has already been avenged, we can still make it up for her by winning thest Sage Legacy for ourselves." Steve smirked when he heard Eren''s toast. "Selfish you are truly selfish, you bastard." Eren shrugged his shoulders before admitting straight away. "Heh! I don''t mind the tag to be honest. It''s true. I intend to use Becky''s death as a motivator to win the fourth Sage Legacy. The goal of doing that is to find some kind of closure for all of us. Is it really wrong to immortalize her name in Edinburgh''s history by making her team get all four Sage Legacies to themselves? I think not. Death doesn''t have to make sense for the living. Nevertheless, we attempt to exin it bying up with a variety of exnations. These exnations keep emotionally deficient guys like me striving for more in life. I hope you find it within you to ignore that deficiency of mine. That''s about it. Those were my two eddies. To Becky" Eren gulped down the contents of his ss down his throat right after he finished speaking. It prompted all of his teammates to do the same. Another round of toasts was initiated. The rest of the members told a few anecdotes about Becky one after another before concluding the impromptu ceremony. They used their movement spells and leaped to the other cliff, supposedly leaving the matter of Becky''s death behind them. After all, time was ticking away and the show had to go on. Chapter 1115 [Bonus ] Maya Day 30: Sage Lehan''s test ground. This was a barren expanse with no object or objective in sight. It made Eren remember his guild''s property before it was turned into White Raven City. The participants had been summoned here after they had passed through the spatial tunnel. They kept a safe distance from each other while trying to find out more about the location. Representatives of the 11 teams that had initiated a siege against the White Raven crew were also there. Gondel was one of 11 representatives. These 11 representatives looked at Eren as if they would attack him at any time. The butcher didn''t react to their silent aggression. It wasn''t the right time for him to do so. "Wee, participants." A calm and clear female voice was heard by the participants all of a sudden, which made the participants stop in their tracks. They looked at each other before trying to find the source of that voice using their senses. All of them turned in a particr direction in the distance when they felt an unknown presence appear. This young woman looked to be in her early 20s. She had a graceful figure and a rtively tall stature. She had ck hair, clear skin, and attractive facial features. She wore an elegant ck dress with golden embroidery on it. She was holding a staff in her left hand that seemed quite mysterious. This young woman looked at the participants with an expressionless face. As if their existence didn''t make a difference to her mood. There was certainly a peculiar intelligence reflected in the woman''s eyes. However, the butcher felt that she was not as lively as a real woman. It was as if someone was talking to the spectral image of a dead woman who was made to move. However, the difference was so minute that almost nobody could spot it. While keeping their distance, the participants abandoned their positions and gathered around the young woman. They were all amazed by the fact that it was a young woman who hade to greet them. "Hm? Sage Lehan is a woman? I thought" "Cut it out, you bastard. Don''t make us suffer by saying something absurd about a Sage." "But" "Don''t assume anything. Let''s hear what My Lady has to say first." The participants whispered among each other while making their own assumptions at first. But then it was mutually decided that they would let the staff-holding woman speak. The young woman smiled lightly before speaking up. "I am not Sage Lin Lehan. My name is Maya. I am one of Sage Lehan''s creations. I have been given the responsibility to conduct Sage Lehan''s Legacy." The participants looked at Maya with puzzled expressions. They certainly had a lot of questions to ask her. "Lady Maya, are you a homunculus?" Eren was the first person to ask Maya a direct question. He felt like Maya''s presence was a lot like a homunculus, but not quite. Having dealt with two homunculi closely, the butcher could spot the difference between the two kinds right away. Maya looked at Eren peculiarly and looked him in the eyes. She took her time answering his question. "No. Not really. A homunculus creation requires an existing soul. The body and consciousness I possess are both created by Sage Lehan-pletely artificial. So I can''t be called a homunculus. The Sage calls me his daughter. One that he birthed into existence using all his expertise as an array master." Eren was taken aback when he confirmed his guess. The others were also shocked to find out that Maya''s consciousness was artificial. The injection of artificial intelligence into arrays wasn''t a novel concept. The capital city of Edin''s security protocols were run by arrays with artificial intelligence installed in them. However, one could always tell the difference between artificial intelligence and real consciousness. It was the first time the rankers encountered an artificial body containing artificial intelligence speaking to them without giving away its unnatural origins. "Where is the vestige of Sage Lehan''s soul? Will he not bless us with his presence?" Gondel didn''t want to create a fuss in front of Maya. But he also didn''t want to stay behind Eren in asking questions. He felt that this test was his turfC his tform to showcase his skills. He wouldn''t let a closebat brute overshadow him in Sage Lehan''s test. Maya looked a bit irritated when she heard Gondel''s question. As if she didn''t like the idea of participants not being satisfied with her presence alone. She looked at the geek with a tinge of annoyance before answering his question. "Why would Sage Lehan harm his soul to leave his Legacy behind on the continent of Anfang? He is not like the rest of the three Sages. He created me as his representative to do his bidding in this world. Let me tell you that my father is doing much better outside the world of Anfang than the other three Sages. Do you know why he was given the title of Sansara Sage? He is trying to create his own real mini-world with the Sasara World array as a foundation. His projects keep him very busy. So he obviously doesn''t have time for you. I, his daughter, am perfectly capable of handling trivial matters like these. But you may wish to quit the test if you are not happy with Sage Lehan''s absence." The participants were too stunned to speak. They had expected the fourth Sage Legacy test to be handled by the vestige of Sansara Sage''s soul. After all, they had seen that happening with the previous three Sages. However, it looked like Sansara Sage wasn''t as interested in thend of Anfang as the other three Sages. Or it may be that he just wasn''t interested in passing down his Legacy to the younger generation. Either way, Sansara Sage was a different kind of Sage than thend of Anfang had ever produced. It looked like he was trying to research the genesis of Creation by creating someone like Maya. Chapter 1116 Sansara Sage’s Ballbusting Test P1 Maya''s subtle way of asking him to leave the test scared Gondel. The geek quickly tried to correct his position. "I I am perfectly fine with Sage Lehan''s absence, Lady MayaC we all are. A Sage like him shouldn''t waste his time on anybody like us. I get it. Please please let us know what we are supposed to do to im his Legacy." Eren couldn''t helpughing when he saw the geek bowing in front of Maya like one of her well-behaved servants. He had to say that the guy was pretty quick-witted despite his momentarily spontaneous actions and words. "Alright." Maya said to Gondel, relieving him of a crisis of his own making. She then looked around and observed other participants before starting to exin how Sage Lehan''s Legacy could be imed. "The participants are required to find an array key inside a city. The one who finds it and hands it over to me wins the Sage Legacy." Maya brought her empty hand forward and opened her palm to project the image of a small golden sphere. The surface of the sphere had various runic patterns over it that would exude multi-faceted lights intermittently. This golden sphere looked a lot like the miniature version of the giant golden ball that was hanging over the Edinnica Arena. Maya''s description of a city confused Eren and the participants. They looked at each other before looking around themselves with puzzled expressions. One of them couldn''t help raising a question straight to Maya. "Lady Maya, which city are you talking about? Where is it?" Maya smiled before answering simply. "Here." Saying that Maya raised her staff a bit before mming its butt on the ground. In the next moment, the participants were intimidated by the surge of mana happening around them. They felt like they were caught inside a huge mana storm they couldn''t control or get out of. The earth rumbled and the participants felt like they were standing above water, riding waves. It was as if someone had cast a Sage-level earth-element spell that resulted in the creation of Earth Spikes all around the participants. The Earth Spikes started taking shape under another wave of mana. They molded themselves into various architectures, creating another wave of earthquakes in the process. Maya''s action resulted in the creation of a city in the blink of an eye. The participants found themselves standing in the center of an abandoned city. They were stunned by the city''s sheer size. A city as massive as Edin was created in the barrennd in a matter of seconds. ''Damn. Mana and magic truly don''t have any limits. They are only limited by their users.'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at the tall buildings and solid constructions. He felt that he should have hired Maya to create the city of White Raven for him. He might have saved a lot onbor charges. "You have 24 hours to find the key. If nobody finds the array key within that time frame, then nobody will win my father''s Legacy. The city has array traps and maze structures full of dead ends. Constructions that appear solid may be as fragile as feathers. Likewise, you''ll want to be aware of the residents of the city. They will attack you as soon as they see you. Plus, most of these city residents will match your ranking status and elemental attainments. So it would be better for you to make sure you don''t get attacked by their horde. This is a preliminary warning. Considering Sansara World''s current changes, you might even die inside the city at the hands of city residents. You can choose to quit now if you are not up to the task." The participants started to sense some faint mana signatures around them as Maya spoke. They guessed that they were city residents Maya was talking about. The faint mana signatures disappeared immediately, indicating that the city residents knew how to hide inside the city. Meaning it wouldn''t be easy to dodge all of thempletely while looking for the array key inside the city. Eren also realized something else. Unlike the other three Sages, Sage Lehan''s test had a time limit. Meaning Sansara Sage didn''t care if none of the participants managed to im his Legacy within the required time. It highlighted his callousness as a researcher and demonic ranker. Sage Nira Nightshade might have had different intentions before she met Eren. However, once she met him, she yed with everyone to get his Spirit Beast. So her test couldn''t really be counted. However, Sage Lufthansa and Sage Ivar both seemed genuinely interested in passing down their Legacies to participants. The participants died attempting in previous tests as well. However, most deaths were temporary because the tests allowed the defense mechanism of Sansara World to kick in. As a result, not many participants died for real while being judged by previous Sages. There was another thing that worried all the participants. A majority of city residents could match the participants'' current ranking status and elemental attainments, so they couldn''t treat them as an easy mob. It was already going to be difficult to navigate through the city because of the array traps and mazes. The faulty constructions couldn''t be sensed using one''s mana sense either. The possibility of having to face multiple powerful opponents in a restricted urban setting shot the test''s difficulty to crazy levels. Additionally, it seemed that the city residents might continue attacking the opponents even after they were critically injured, not allowing them to be revived by the Life and Death altar. The number of participants had already dwindled to 17 at this point when the graduation event was about to get over. These 17 rankers were the cream of the crop of the current generation. However, none of them was arrogant enough to underestimate the difficulty level of their current test. The participants started to understand the test''s horrifying nuances step by step. They couldn''t help but feel that the Sansara Sage was excessively cruel to them. Chapter 1117 Sansara Sage’s Ballbusting Test P2 Maya didn''t care about how the participants were assessing the difficulty of the test she had given them. She took a brief pause before speaking further. "Do whatever you want to get your hands on the array key. I won''t stop you. But make sure that you don''t step outside the city. Otherwise, your im for Sage Legacy will automatically be forfeited. You will no longer be able to enter the city and search for the array key if that happens. Additionally, you can always use stepping outside the city''s boundaries as your exit strategy. You can use that exit strategy in case you are surrounded by a horde of city residents or think that the array traps are getting too difficult for you to continue. Various spatial channels and non-offensive array traps are avable within the city that allows you to get outside the city borders. Use them in a pinch and save your life. Don''t expect me to intervene and do that for you." All participants were relieved by this news. They wanted to give it their all in iming Sansara Sage''s Legacy. But they didn''t want to die in the process. Some of them had decided that they would memorize such exit points for themselves in case things get too difficult for them to continue. They had alle to realize that their mana senses were going to bepromised when they were made to explore the city. So remembering the city''s streets andndmarks were going to y a crucial role in their exploration and survival. However, it seemed that Maya was not done exining the testpletely. She continued in a clear and emotionless voice after taking a brief pause. "Also, note that I will only ept the array key from you at the 23rd hour. If you find the key within the first 22 hours, you will need to protect it until I ept it from you. There are various spectral screens avable at various points inside the city. These spectral screens would allow you to see the location of the participant if and when they find the array key. Meaning everyone would know about the key''s possession when one finds it. That''s why I said you need to defend the key when you find it. To prevent idle behavior, the array key''s location will change a few minutes after its discovery. This teleported key will appear at a random location anywhere inside the city and remain undetected for a while before it can be found again. So I advise you to get your hands on the array key as soon as you find it. You can''t go looking for the key at thest minute to avoid trouble heading your way. That''s because the key might not be where you found it. I will wait for you here in this city square. You will need to hand me the array key personally if and when you find it. I will dere you as the winner if you satisfy all the conditions I have mentioned." Another metaphorical explosion was detonated inside the participants'' minds. The male participants felt as though their gonads were shrinking in their sacks. The female members also felt as if their private parts were drying up. ''Why don''t you kill us all quickly and be done with the whole test? It would be easier for both sides that way.'' Eren couldn''t help cursing the test''s setup as he understood thest condition of the test. He looked at the other participants to see their ashen faces, indicating that they had understood what was going to happen even if someone found the array key. Being lucky during the test seemed like a crime. The participants, who managed to find the key, will find themselves in a thicker pickle than before. And leaving the key where they found it was not an option. They had to get their hands on the key to not let their efforts go to waste. Maya knew what the participants were thinking about. Her ck eyes turned a shade darker and her face had a tinge of excitement as she spoke. "As I said, Sansara Sage is not like his three colleagues. My father served as their leader in thend of Anfang for a reason. So I advise you to not treat his Legacy as being on the same level as the rest of the Sage Legacies you havee to know about." As Maya lifted the staff, she spoke. It was clear that she was proud of her father and everything he had aplished. She moved the staff gracefully around her before speaking further. "Your Sansara interface will keep you updated with the time limit. What''s more? You won''t be able to use the mapping feature as well. I think I have exined enough. You can figure out the rest of the stuff yourself as you explore this test site. It''s about time we started the test. Your time starts. Now!" Maya said and created a magnificent city fountain with a wave of her staff behind her. She sat elegantly on the circr ledge and looked at all the participants onest time before closing her eyes. The staff in her hand disappeared and she assumed a meditative state as if trying to practice an art that was unique to her. Maya''s subtle gaze made it clear to the participants that she didn''t want to be bothered by them anymore unless they had found the array key. The participants didn''t have time to ask her anyway because they could see an update on their Sansara interface. There was a 24-hour timer introduced in the interface, and it was updated every second, highlighting the urgency of the issue. The participants looked at each other before heading in separate directions. The city square they were in was supposedly in the heart of the city. And it was connected to various big and small streets. These paths allowed the participants to pursue their own guesswork. After all, they all wanted to avoid each other as much as they could before any of them got their hands on the array key. Mayhem was going to ensue inside the ghost city shortly. And fuel will be added to the fire when the array key is found. Chapter 1118 Shadow Creatures As City Residents Bzzt. Swoosh. Kick. Eren was busy fighting it out with city residents. *** The city residents were nothing but human dolls made from the shadow element. And since they were made from such an element, they could mimic the properties of other elements depending upon the participants they were fighting. It was clear to Eren that the Sansara Sage was a shadow-element user. He had created various shadow-element arrays and subarrays that supported the functions of these shadow-element human dolls inside the testing ground. The human dolls had human-like bodies and features. But they were genderless, clothless, and faceless entities. It looked like a shadow had turned solid after looking at these human dolls. At its foundation, the shadow element mimics other elements. The Sansara Sage used that property of the element as a foundation to create these human dolls. And the results he obtained from doing something like this were outstanding. Eren figured out that the participants had already been scanned by various inspection arrays. The Sansara Sage''s arrays converted the information about the participants into their concept avatars. The human dolls were then given these avatars, serving as the appropriate counter to the participants. What Eren was fighting were his own two avatars that had been attacking him persistently. The other human dolls did their best to support the two damage dealers, attacking the butcher whenever they could at the right time. The butcher had to say that it was a pain in the ass to fight his avatar. Fighting two of them at the same time increased his difficulty. The human dolls were almost as good as him if not better. Plus, they had a number and variation advantage. They could match him in speed and agility. What''s more? They moved just like him, leaving very few holes in their offense and defense that could be used against them. Shadow beasts were also among the city''s residents. These beasts moved like their real-life counterparts. Plus, their shadow-element mana bodies granted them enhanced resilience. Most of these beasts were nimble on their feet and quick to attack the participants as soon as they saw them. Additionally, the shadow creatures knew how to attack the participants using team y. The human dolls and beasts woulde together andunch various battle tactics on the participants as if they had been training this their whole lives. Each attack by the shadow creatures was specifically designed for the person they were fighting. As a result, these attacks were highly effective against participants despite their exceptional battle prowess. Eren was no exception to one-sided bullying either. He soon figured out that fighting these shadow-element city residents was a waste of time. Even if he could kill them after an intense fight, there would always be more from where they came. So it was better to fight these shadow creatures only when it was absolutely necessary. The most effective strategy was to explore the city without using any strategy. That''s because the shadow creatures could recognize the patterns of the grid search operations carried out by the participants. They would lie in wait for the participants toe to them before attacking them with all they had. pd ?ͨ1,㨰 The ambush of shadow creatures was no small matter. No one coulde out unscathed after experiencing such an ambush. They had to learn about shadow creatures the hard way as they explored the city for the array key. The only saving grace for Eren and most other participants was the fact that he could use soul sense. There were only three more participants who could use their soul sense inside the event, which set them apart from the rest. The soul sense didn''t help Eren or the other three rankers locate the presence of city residents. The Sansara Sage must have predicted that his test would be attempted by the exceptional rankers of their generation. He could guess that because of the way he had set up the Sansara World. Therefore, he used techniques to make city residents immune to soul sense detection. However, it wasn''t like the soul sense wasn''t useful at all. The butcher''s soul sense had saved him from falling prey to several array traps. It also helped him identify faux constructions and hidden spatial channels. These strategically ced traps could be used against shadow creatures to gain an advantage. And that''s what the butcher used to get rid of the shadow creatures attacking him. *** Bzzt. Swoosh. Kick. Eren kicked the human doll, who was attacking him from the front, right on his chest. He grabbed his inky-ck hand and pulled him to his side before he could fly away from him. The butcher directed the trajectory of the shadow creature''s flight to the second shadowing at him from behind. Eren blocked the attack by the first human doll using his Blitz Shield-coated arm and dodged the elemental arrows shot by the second human doll using Sedated Perception. He then charged his leg with some more lightning mana before kicking the first shadow creature in his face once again. Time seemed to have slowed down for the butcher as well as the shadow creatures. All of these actions were performed in such a manner that they looked like one seamless move. In the next moment, the first shadow creature flew towards the second one. The in-flight shadow creature''s back served as another line of defense for Eren as the elemental arrows the second human doll had shotnded straight on its back. The second human doll was dragged away from the butcher because of its in-speed collision with the first human doll. The two shadow creatures passed through a faux construction behind them as if it didn''t exist before disappearing into thin air. Eren forced the two shadow creatures out of the city by forcing them to enter a spatial channel hidden inside the faux construction. The creatures'' shadow element bodies dissolved into nothingness as soon as they appeared outside the boundaries of the city. === AN: Shadow-element''s properties have been exined in chapter 719. Chapter 1119 Gondels Hacks Around two hours had passed since Sansara Sage''s test began. And things weren''t looking rosy for Eren. ''Damn it. I hate running. This is such a fucking waste of time.'' Eren thought to himself as he ran away from another horde of shadow creatures trying to box him in. He had a nasty expression on his face as he did that. He had been preserving his mana as much as he could since the test began. This was the reason he had kept his elemental spells to their minimum and focused on closebat attacks to take care of the city residents. However, he felt like he wasn''t progressing at all in his search for the array key. He was unable to conduct his search efficiently due to the array traps. The spatially altered mazeyout made him double down on his previous path. And the shadow creatures were getting more aggressive by the hour. Sage Yuffie''s test invoked almost the same kind of frustration in the participants. However, the risk of dying for real in this test made everyone even warier of the obstacles. ''I can''t do this all day. I need to see what other fuckbiscuits are doing.'' Eren realized that Sansara Sage''s test couldn''t be aced with brute strength alone. That''s why he decided to check out what his fellow participants were doing at this point. The butcher got rid of all his pursuers using Blink and Blitz Steps and found an isted building he could use. He entered the building and quickly found what he was looking for. It was a spectral disy that was asked to be paired with the participants'' Sansara interface. Participants were required to pay for the services they could avail of through the spectral screens using umted Karma points. The butcher chose a random participant and asked the spectral screen to show what he was doing in real-time in a bird''s eye view. The spectral screen blurred for a fraction of a second and deducted a significant chunk of Karma points from Eren''s Sansara interface. This was before the ranker''s whereabouts and activities were projected. Eren had used the spying services offered by the test just when the ranker was about to get killed by a horde of shadow creatures. He died a gruesome death and his body was smashed into a pool of blood and flesh by human dolls and shadow beasts working together. "Ouch. That must have hurt like a bitch." Eren scrunched his nose and made a peculiar expression on his face before deciding to spend his Karma points some more. "That was indeed terrible. Anyway, let''s move on." Eren saw another ranker trying to get rid of her pursuers. She was also conversing with her mana and dealing with the shadow creature only when she needed to. She had also kept her elemental spells to a minimum. However, instead of focusing on closebat attacks, she preferred using AoE-like Sansara Perks to get rid of multiple shadow creatures at once. Of course, she had to spend her umted Karma points on that. "Not an ill-conceived strategy at the beginning. But how long will the Karma pointsst? I still have to be inside this shitty test for another 20+ hours." Eren shook his head and decided to scrap the strategy the female participant was implementing. The butcher used the spectral screen to zoom in on her cleavage as she ran desperately for her life. An under-the-breath "nice" was blurted out before he decided to change his target. Eren found out that there was one more ranker who was using her soul sense to her advantage. Additionally, she used array traps, faux constructions, and spatial channels against shadow creatures just like him. pd-?ͨ.㨮 "Not useful. Next channel." Eren decided to change his target. He spent another chunk of Karma points spying on Gondel the geek. And what he saw next blew his mind. Gondel the geek was able to ess and modify the nearby arrays that had been used to construct the city. He was also able to alter the shadow creatures'' behaviors through the arrays in the region, which had been used to manifest them. Eren saw that a group of shadow creatures was fighting with another group of its own kind because Gondel had messed up their operating logic. His obstacles fought with each other while Gondel the geek carried on with his search for the array key like a sneaky little roon. Gondel could tap into the spectral array fabric of the buildings and make them disappear into thin air. He could also make them change their shape and use them as obstacles to prevent hostile city residents from approaching him. Gondel the geek was using various tricks up his sleeves to carry on with his search. He was the only one who could afford to perform a systematic search. He had also received a bunch of clues regarding the whereabouts of the array key. And slowly but surely, he was moving in the array key''s supposed direction. In short, Gondel the geek was hacking his way through the test. And it was a legal form of hacking considering Maya hadn''t taken any action against him. Eren spent almost all his Karma points observing Gondel''s moves. He concluded that he couldn''t use Gondel''s strategy even if he could tap into the array fabric in the same way. He did not have sufficient knowledge of such a vast field after all. The butcher had to change his position mid-spying, rushing outside the building before using Blink. That''s because another horde of shadow creatures was starting to surround the isted building he was in. ''This test it was rigged for guys like Gondel from the beginning. It wasn''t about brute force. It wasn''t about individual strength or battle tactics. Sansara Sage was looking for a capable array creator like himself to pass down his legacy to. It was either that or no inheritor at all. No middle ground. I I need to change my strategy. Instead of working against the wave, I need to fucking ride it.'' Chapter 1120 Maya’s Aspirations Eren quickly realized the need to change his tactics. He always knew array creators would have some sort of advantage inside Sansara Sage''s testing ground. But he didn''t think that the advantage would be so overwhelming. Eren drew another conclusion from Gondel''s performance. That geek would be the one to find the array keyC the way things were proceeding. The geek was going to win the Sage Legacy if he was as smart with the participants as he was with the dangers of the city. However, the butcher couldn''t help shing a smile when he thought of Gondel. He licked his lips and narrowed his eyes before thinking to himself. ''Heh! That''s my silly little working bee. There was some benefit to letting him live after all.'' *** The evenings in Sansara World were often pleasant yet lonely. Theycked a certain vibe to them as if the creator of this artificial world did not know how to breathe life into it. The golden sky and the low-blowing winds created a serene atmosphere. The entirety of Sansara World as well as Sage Lehan''s testing ground was exposed to this atmosphere in various shades. Maya was practicing a mysterious art while meditating. A thinyer of otherworldly energy was created around her as a result. This seemed to be her usual way of spending time inside Sansara World. However, she noticed that there was a presence nearby. A participant. She stopped practicing her art and opened her eyes slowly to look at the man who was watching her from a distance. "What are you doing here? And why are you staring at me?" Maya asked, puzzled by the man''s nonchnt behavior while the test was still in progress. She didn''t think the participants who hade this far would be able to stop themselves from taking Sansara Sage''s test even if it was a tough nut to crack. The young man didn''t look away from Maya when she stared back at him. His emerald-green eyes shone with mild brilliance as he spoke with a light smile on his face. "Oh, it''s nothing, Lady Maya. I thought I should spend some time with you. See what you are up to. But I didn''t want to disturb you since you were doing something significant. So I just waited." Maya raised her eyebrows when she heard Eren''s answer. The young man in front of her didn''t look like he had given up on the test. However, it seemed that he had not invested enough effort in finding the array key either. There was only one thing she thought he wanted from her. "Unfortunately, I can''t help you with the test in any way or form. My father has told me to take the test with diligence." Eren smiled mirthlessly when he heard Maya''s cold response. He carefully took steps toward her and gave her an elegant bow before sitting beside her on the fountain stone before speaking further. "It''s fine, Lady Maya. I have my own ns concerning winning this Legacy. So I won''t bother you about that. I wanted to ask you about you. Can''t we have a simple conversation between us? Is that also prohibited by the test?" Eren spoke calmly and confidently. There was a certain tone in his voice that made him more approachable. He just hoped his ways with words worked for artificial humans as well. Maya was curious about Eren''s words. She looked at him intently and eventually smiled a bit before responding. "We can certainly have a chat. It''s not against the rules. Tell me what do you want to know?" Eren looked like a huge boulder had been lifted off his shoulder when he heard Maya''s response. He sat cross-legged over the fountain stone and turned around towards Maya. He had his hands in front of him. His fingers tapped the fountain stone as he asked her. "Lady Maya, please don''t mind me when I say that I am intrigued by your whole existence. Being a student and researcher in the field of potioneering myself, I have a natural curiosity about topics like the genesis of life. So you can imagine my surprise when I heard that you were apletely artificial human being. You are perhaps one of Sage Lehan''s greatest achievements while he was in thend of Anfang. There''s so much I want to ask you. Would you be okay answering my queries if it''s not too bothersome for you?" ''Hehe. Is this your n? Take advantage of a lonely woman?'' Alephee''s yful voice was heard in Eren''s mind. Thetter just ignored it and looked at Maya with his expectant gaze. Alephee knew how Eren''s psychological ys worked. He was trying to create a soft corner for himself in Maya''s mind by calling himself a researcher. The girl was obviously very proud of her father and his field of expertise. Maya was a very beautiful woman. And yet, Eren didn''t talk about her appearance as an icebreaker. Instead, he appealed to her side of being cherished by her father. He also portrayed her as one of Sage Lehan''s achievementsC making her feel proud of herself as well as her creator. The butcher relied on Sage Lehan''s artificial intelligence to be as close to the real deal as possible. So he guessed that his moves that worked on normal women would, for the most part, work on Maya as well. Maya''s facial expressions softened when she heard that Eren was also intrigued by the field of life''s genesis just like her father. She nodded at him in understanding before speaking up. "Hmm. It all depends on the questions you ask. But ask away. I''ll see what I can do." Eren''s face lit up. He cleared his throat before asking her the question he intended for her. "Lady Maya, what are your dreams? Artificial or not, you have been given life by Sansara Sage. And all living things aspire for something in their lives. What do you aspire to have or be?" Chapter 1121 “What Is A Woman?” Eren couldn''t read Maya''s thoughts even with his soul sense. That''s because she didn''t have a soul, to begin with. Maya''s artificial intelligence came from Sage Lehan''s array algorithma" something that was nted deep inside her. As a result, Eren''s soul sense wasn''t able to decipher her thoughts. ording to his soul sense, Maya hovered between life and death. But she was unlike the undead he was used to summoning. Undead were once living beings that had either been forced to or wanted to be part of life. As such, they had vestiges of their souls embedded in them no matter how insignificant. Maya on the other hand seemed like an already dead entity that had managed to knock on life''s door. She didn''t have any vestige of a soul attached to her even if her body was lifelike. It was as if her body was kept alive by a different source than the source of life. Maya was like an illusion that was so lifelike that she felt real. Yet, she appeared as a picture puzzle with only one piece missing. Such nuances set her apart from Homunculus who had genuine souls. Eren couldn''t read Maya''s intentions. But he could read her face. He could analyze her behavior retrospectively toe up with the right set of words to say to her. The schemer in him just had a knack foring up with apt conversation starters. Maya also seemed interested in the discussion she seemed to be having with a stranger who was looking at her with his mesmerizing emerald green eyes. She tilted her neck and adjusted her posture and thought to herself out loud. "What are my dreams, you ask?" Maya looked at the vast golden expanse that was the sky above her. She stared at it for a bit before continuing with somber expressions and a voice full of emotions. "I want to cultivate a soul, Eren. I want to be a real living being. I want to be a woman who is bound by the rules of life and death." Eren followed Maya''s gaze and looked at the sky as well. He narrowed his eyes before asking her his second question. "Is that Sage Lehan''s wish as well?" Eren simply wanted to ask Maya if what she thought to be her dreams and goals were something that was given to him by her creator. He considered it to be a possibility because of how artificial intelligence algorithms work. The butcher didn''t know much about creating someone like Maya from scratch. But he knew a lot about creating homunculus. He could connect some dots ande up with his own theories about the subject. Eren''s question didn''t make Maya feel weird. In fact, it only strengthened his position as a researcher in Maya''s eyes. She took a deep breath before confirming Eren''s doubts. "That''s right. My dreams were my father''s wishes when he created me. He gave me a purpose and showed me the way. I want to make his wishe true. I also want to meet up again when that happens. You know, show him my aplishments and make him proud. That''s the least I can do as his daughter." Eren smiled lightly. He was able to understand how Maya''s thought processes worked as an artificial existence. Cultivating a soul was her creator''s wish and she was roped deep into her existence by him. However, the thought processes that were rted to achieving that goal were all hers. Maya could choose to work on various ideas as long as they were in line with her creator''s wishes. She was free to select a path as long as her destination didn''t change. The butcher had said that Sansara Sage was a top-notch researcher. He had basically made a questione alive by breathing consciousness into it. He then demanded that the question find its own answer. If Eren wasn''t wrong about Sansara Sage, the loyalty Maya showed towards Sansara Sage had also been imnted into her. The Sage might have created various existences like her to find the true genesis of life. And he was hoping at least one of them would find him and give him the perfect answer he was looking for. Eren thought of many things at once before deciding to try his luck with Maya. He hade to understand that he wouldn''t be able to influence her with materialistic possession. He had to use Sansara Sage''s algorithm to convince Maya. The butcher quickly came up with a way to achieve his goal. He turned his neck to Maya before asking her the question in a serious voice. "Lady Maya, what is a woman?" Maya raised her eyebrows when she heard Eren''s question. She looked at him questioninglya" looking him in the eyes. The butcher didn''t turn away. He caressed his chin and scratched it a bit before expounding. "I mean... What is a living breathing woman to you? How do you define her existence? And what makes you different from her aside from the fact that you can''t give birth?" Maya was caught off guard by Eren''s question. She didn''t have a go-to answer to questions like these. "I... I think..." Eren cut her off right when she was struggling toe up with an answer. "Yes... "I think--". That''s your problem, Lady Maya. I am assuming your thoughts are based on Sage Lehan''s nted memories. You haven''t interacted with real women enough for you to draw your own conclusions from them. You haven''t really seen life prosper outside this artificial world. No offense to Sansara Sagea" but the world he has createdcks life. Sansara World is like a bouquet of paper flowers. The flowers look real and can''t really die. But they fail to exude the liveliness that real flowers are born of. You can''t stay here if you want to pursue your dreams, Lady Maya. You need to step into the real world and see how life unfolds." Chapter 1122 [Bonus ] Cultivating A Soul "Step into the real world..." Maya mumbled to herself as she stared at the sky. It was as if a fire had been lit up inside her mind. Her eyes started exuding a peculiar light. When the iron was hot, the butcher decided to hammer it again to cast it. "Lady Maya, you ought to understand what your existence as a woman entails. You need to feel their joys and sorrows. You need to understand what excites you as a womana" no matter how shallow or profound it is. Only after doing something like this will you be able to understand what it means to have a real existence. And only after developing an understanding of this matter will you be able to cultivate a soul for yourself." Eren looked at Maya intently before asking her something radical. "Let me help you, Lady Maya. I''ll turn you into a real woman." Maya seemed to be lost in her thoughts while hearing Eren speak. She took a while to develop a suspicious expression on her face. She looked at Eren angrily and straightened herselfa" only for him to cough before making his stance clear. "*Cough. I mean... I''ll help you cultivate a soul for yourself. I don''t know what it means to cultivate a soul for oneself. But I am damn sure about the fact that nobody can do it while sitting isted in a fake world. The Sansara World has be your prison. It prevents you from growing up. Only life outside this bubble offort can make you understand what it means to be alive." Eren got up from his seat and stood in front of Mayaa" blocking her view. He looked her straight in the eyes before continuing. "The risks, the heartbreaks, the sesses, and the failures. The feelings of pleasure and pain. Fulfilling experiences and heart-wrenching upsets. All of these are integral parts of life. As you sit here, how can you experience such facets of life? How can you live without doing something worthwhile to live for? It''s like you have been told to makeplex cuisine that has multiple ingredients. And you sit here with only meat, salt, and peppera" trying to find a way to make things work with the limited ingredients you have." Maya kept a low level of awareness of Eren''s words. But deep down, she had alreadye to understand what he was trying to say. Her facial expressions signaled to Eren that his talk was working. So he decided to give her a final push in the right direction. "Look... I have as much respect for Sansara Sage as you do. And I acknowledge your existence as well. So forgive me for saying thisa" but he didn''t create this world for you. He didn''t create you only for you to stay locked up inside it. He might not have said this explicitly. So I''m guessing he wanted you toe to this conclusion on your own. You were meant to step out you have always been. You were meant to explore this world and the many possibilities that are within your reach. You can shape the experiences that you gain from such explorations into a soul- your soul. Don''t you want to meet your father? He may not always wait for you, you know." Eren gave Maya a sense of urgency toe to a quick conclusion. His words always had a profound effect on most people, as if they were whispers from the devil. But they started having an edge like none other as he grew up as a ranker. Maya couldn''t stay immune to Eren''s influence either. She looked him in the eyes before softly stating what he wanted to hear from her. "I... I need to get out of Sansara World." ''Bull''s eye.'' Eren thought to himself and shed a bright smile. But his smile quickly faded when he heard Maya''s next words. "I need to step into the real world, indeed. But what makes you think that I need your help?" *** Maya could guess that Eren probably had his own interests linked to her exit. She didn''t need to know about them to authenticate their existence. One had to say that Sansara Sage had given her enough gray matter to think for herself. Maya had ess to the known information avable in Edinburgh''s records about all the participants. She quickly updated herself with Eren''s information as she listened to his words. Maya had to say that Eren''s on-paper portfolio was impressive. A young and low-key Expert ranker who was the owner of a rapidly emerging city. He was a certified potioner and businessman. The potion manufacturing division of his guild had been given various contracts by the kingdom itself to manufacture various explosive potions for the uing war. He had an impressive academic record and his army service was spotless. There hadn''t been much interaction between Maya and people outside the Sasara World. Just like Eren had assumed, she was born inside the Sansara World right after Sansara Sage created it. After Sansara Sage left the continent of Anfang, Maya kept in touch with various correspondences from the kingdom. She was not involved in Edinburgh''s matters directly. But she was exposed to a lot of things and developed her own understanding of the world outside. Eren could only offer Maya mary gains, she thought. He had his connections. But they weren''t deep or old enough to help her for the most part. Or so she thought. *** Eren was a bit taken aback by Maya''s words. But he quickly recovered from his initial shock before making her understand something she hadn''t thought of. "Hehe. You don''t need my help, do you? Things are not as simple as you are made to believe, Lady Maya. Youck certain experiences in your life that have sheltered you from such obvious problems. You might think that I am not useful in your endeavors. And maybe you are notpletely wrong. But have you considered what might happen when you try to get outside the Sansara World?" Chapter 1123 Ideal Starter Pack For A Runaway "What do you mean?" Maya asked Eren with a sense of puzzlement. Thetter chuckled before answering her. "Think about it. You are the creation of Sansara Sage. He even called you his child. Do you believe that you can just walk out of this world and there will be no ripples in the kingdom? Do you think the kingdom of Edinburgh will let you roam around everywhere with that kind of significance attached to your name? Sansara World and all that it contains are not the only Legacy Sansara Sage has left behind in thend of Anfang. You, as his daughter, are also part of his legacy." Eren''s words struck like a p of thunder in Maya''s mind. And it wasn''t like the butcher was making things up to further his agenda. He indeed had his own stakes involved. But at this point, he could predict how the kingdom of Edinburgh would react to Maya''s possible disappearance. Sansara Sage was a cut above the other Grad Dukes. He made many contributions to setting up the kingdom''s societal, hierarchical, and political fabric that exists to this date. The kingdom viewed all its creations as its possessions. The butcher looked at Maya with a tinge of pity and sighed deeply before continuing. "The kingdom doesn''t care about your cultivation of the soul, Lady Maya. Your disappearance is something it won''t tolerate under any circumstances. It would worry about attracting Sansara Sage''s wrath should anything happen to you. It would be afraid of you falling into its enemies'' hands even more. Therefore, the kingdom of Edinburgh will do everything in its power to keep you locked inside Sansara World. If youe clean to them regarding your exploration, they''ll first give you the excuse that the situation outside is tense because of the approaching war. Which is a valid excusea" I am not going to lie. But it will happen over and over again. When you push more buttons after a while, the kingdom will employ Grandmasters and Sages to ground you. The truth is, there will never be an ideal time for you to roam outside Sansara World. As far as the kingdom is concerned, you can only serve as Sansara World''s caretaker. Even if you manage to escape from the kingdom''s clutches on your own, it wouldn''t be long before its forces managed to track you down. What can you do against an entire kingdom''s resources invested in locating you and getting you back in here? Don''t get me wronga" the kingdom of Edinburgh will never try to mistreat you. Your existence is too special for it to try anything too extreme on you. It would offer you all the ranking resources you needa" provided you stay inside Sansara World. But is that what you want? You must have realized by now that those resources are not helpful to you in cultivating your soul. You should take risks and find your own way instead of following a safe path that leads you nowhere. Spread your wings and take a leap of faith." Maya''s face became devoid of any expression when Eresn finished speaking. She had to say that whatever he was speaking about made sense. After all, she had interacted with correspondents from Edinburgh in the past. She could remember that these contacts were always wary of Maya leaving Sansara World. This was when she hadn''t said anything remotely rted to her exit from Sansara World. Maya looked at Eren with eyes that said she was looking for answers from him. The butcher smiled before nodding at her. "There is indeed a way to skip all the trouble. I wouldn''t have suggested this if there weren''t Layos'' infiltrators involved in the equation. After all, I like to save my own hide before I make a mess. But now that the infiltrators are in, anything we do will be pinned to them. Hehe. They could be our scapegoats and your ticket out of prison at the same time. If we proceed with my n, you can safely exit Sansara World. There wouldn''t be anyone chasing you down because they''d doubt the forces of Layos. Of course, we will have to take some countermeasures. But those can be discussed after you agree to my n. Rest assured, you''ll get all the help you need from me after you step outside. To put it simply, I''m offering an ideal starter pack for a runaway like you." The butcher did what he did best - strike a deal with anyone he could control in some way to avoid trouble in the present and the future. The opportunist in him was a firm believer in the quote "a problem well stated is a problem half solved." He first identified the problems he had regarding his month-long stay inside the Sansara World as well as the deeds he had performed during this time. He thenid out Maya''s problems for her. In the end, the butcher made Maya understand how they could help one another in their current situations. Eren and Maya started devising a n for her exit. He told her straight away that he wanted her help in understanding and altering certain parts of the soul-rted arrays. Apart from that, Eren wanted Maya''s help in keeping his hands clean of the mess he was about to make at the end of the ongoing test. Of course, he assured Maya that she should only help him if and when he wins Sansara Sage''s test. And that he would not ask her to help until she dered him the winner herself. This will allow her to conduct the test just as Sansara Sage wishes her to conduct it. Eren came clean by admitting that he indeed had his own motives for getting Maya out of the Sansara World. He also told her that she would be wellpensated for her efforts. Basically, it was going to be a mutually beneficial partnership that they both could make use of. Chapter 1124 Protagonist Halo? Eren''s persuasion was very effective. Maya was made to realize that she needed someone from the outside to help guide her. She had almost all the knowledge about the continent of Anfang itself. Her creator made sure to equip her with various kinds of information before leaving her to her devices. However, it had been a long while since Lin Lehan had left. And there was a difference between what one knows from firsthand experience and what is learned through other mediums. At first, Maya thought that she didn''t need Eren''s help. But the more she talked with the butcher and the more he told her about the consequences of her exit, the more she realized how naive she was. As a result, Maya subconsciously started relying on Eren''s input in her escape from Edinburgh''s clutches. Maya was very perceptive. She had all the intelligence she needed to understand what Eren was saying to her. And she had to say that she couldn''te up with the kind of n the butcher had made on the fly. The chronic nner in him just had a talent for using others to his advantage. The fact that Eren''s own interests were linked to Maya''s escape assured her of hismitment. Being the daughter of Sansara Sage himself who was known as a one-of-a-kind genius in array creation, Maya was quite an expert when it came to the field of arrays. As a result, she didn''t feel it was too bothersome to help Eren with his problems. It wasn''t like Maya waspletely swooned over by the butcher''s words either. Certainly, she had some concerns about Eren''s n. She was especially ufortable doing something so radical with Sansara World. However, she understood the potential repercussions Eren warned about if she did not follow his steps. So she decided to cooperate with the butcher under the condition that he would provide her with much-needed shelter until the heat around her disappearance died down. Maya hade to realize that Eren was probably the only ranker who could dare plot against the kingdom of Edinburgh while staying inside it. Technically, his assistance in Maya''s escape would be treated as treason if it ever came to light. Still, it didn''t feel like Eren was afraid of the kingdom''s potential retaliation. It was as if he had been adding to Edinburgh''s turmoil for a long time. And treason was just something he was used to doing on an uneventful Tuesday. Eren and Maya talked for hours on end finalizing the nuances of the escape n. The butcher also allowed Maya to think in silence. By the time Maya decided to say something, a new dawn had arrived inside Sansara World. "You How long have you been nning this?" Maya looked intently at him as she asked him. She was trying to figure out Eren''s intentions - looking for anything that could help her learn more about him. There was a part of her that was intimidated by Eren''s n. She had to convince herself that she needed to prioritize her own soul cultivation to stick to the n. Eren pursed his lips and scratched the back of his head before answering her. "Honestly? Not for that long. I mean I always nned to do something about covering my tracks. But it wasn''t anywhere near what I nned to do now until I met you. I only dared to pitch this n after making sure that you could benefit from it in some way. Otherwise, there was no point ining here to talk to you when I was supposed to participate in the test. All living beings are selfish creatures at their core. I don''t think you would have agreed to my n if there was nothing in it for you as well." Eren responded casually. There was a certain unshakable confidence in his voice. He found out that Maya was still a bit tense about what she had agreed to do to Sansara World and saw the need to lighten up the mood. Chuckling, he added further. "Hehe. Don''t worry. I have experience rescuing damsels in distress. You will be fine. Besides, the look of worry doesn''t look great on your cute face. A beautiful mademoiselle like you is better off smiling or maintaining an icy vibe like you used to." *** Eren was making aparison between Kirin and Maya in his head when he talked about rescuing damsels in distress. He made such aparison because both girls had some unresolved issues with their fathers. Kirin was not sympathetic toward her father. But she honored the monster''s traditions and followed his everymand to a T. Maya, on the other hand, was an artificial human whose nted loyaltiespelled her to see her creator as someone to whom she needed to show her achievements. But in the end, they both needed to step outside theirfort zone so that they could grow. Although Kirin and Maya shared a simr sheltered environment, they had distinct personalities. Kirin liked to keep to herself. Whereas, Maya was willing to go to any length to cultivate a soul. Maya could change her behavior as per the person she was talking to and the circumstances in which she found herself. She had a very malleable natureC as if her artificial intelligence was trying to amodate and learn from every form of conversation. Maya''s personality came from her innate drive to make her father proud. And all her decisions were also influenced by her dreamsC allowing Eren to easily predict and dictate her intentions. ''My my! Rescuing damsels in distress, are we? Could have fooled me. Do you perhaps think that some of the protagonist''s halo has rubbed off on you now that you have devoured Ken?'' Eren scrunched his nose in annoyance but ignored Alephee''s unwarranted teasing. He guessed that the homunculus was probably frustrated by her current situation. And she was taking that out on him by makingments like these. Of course, Eren had to admit that Alephee was not technically wrong as well. What he was describing as "rescue" might not be the right word for his actions. He was basically zeroing in on such "damsels" in the first ce so that he could make use of them in some way. In a way, he was preying on their vulnerable positions. The fact that they could benefit from his intervention was only a byproduct. Chapter 1125 [Bonus ] Betting On The Dark Horse Maya''s hand was subconsciously raised on its own before she tucked the locks of her hair behind her ear. She was taken aback by Eren''s ninja way ofplimenting her. There was some part of Maya that was pleased with Eren''spliment. She could only me Sansara Sage''s perfection in artificial intelligence for her self-appeasement. However, she quickly decided to retaliate against her feelings by criticizing Eren while looking him in the eyes. "Hehe. Are you trying to flirt with me? You are a hundred years too young to do something like that, Eren." Eren''s trick worked. Maya''s tension was diffused by hisment. The butcher chuckled before replying. "Heh! As I promised, I would provide you with a variety of life experiences. This is part of mymitment to you. Besides, age is just a number." ''Yeah and prison is just a room,'' said Alphee in Eren''s head right away. Eren had it with Alephee at this point. ''Alright. You certainly seem to have a bone to pick with me. You know what? Deep dive into that damn blood pool of yours and don''te out until you arepletely healed. And stop talking to Argo. That guy''s a terrible influence on everyone.'' Saying this, Eren severed his mental connection with Alephee while thetter cackled in the background. He then looked at Maya with hopeful expectations only for him to receive a heads-up from her. "Alright. Jokes aside. Your n is worth a shot, Eren. But it all depends on the assumption that you win my father''s Legacy. There''s no cooperation between us if you can''t win. And speaking of winningC herees the guy who almost won the Legacy for himself." Eren turned around to see that a spatial channel had appeared not too far away from him. A slightly exhausted man stepped out of the spatial channel. *** Someone had finally found the array key. This guy was looking over his shoulders. His wary eyes were trying to locate threats that he was yet to feel. This participant needed to personally hand over the array key in his hand to Maya. Only then could he finally im Sage Lehan''s Legacy for himself. This was none other than Gondel the geekC the metaphorical dark horse of the test Eren had bet on. Gondel had worked hard to find the array key. He had made use of every bit of knowledge he had regarding the field of arrays to ovee countless obstacles. Gondel was sure that nobody among the participants would be able to achieve what he did. Despite this, he felt that his efforts would be in vain. He could only curse at the way the whole test was structured. Gondel''s frustration wasn''t baseless. His position appeared on the Sansara interface of other participants free of charge as soon as heid his hands on the array key. The previously inactive mapping function suddenly became active, directing the rest of the participants toward Gondel. Even the shadow creatures, who were easy to deal with for Gondel before finding the key, had suddenly gotten too aggressive with him. They attacked him in groups and his previous tricks weren''t as useful as they were before. At first, Gondel felt that he waspleting the test in easy mode. But he soon found out that there was a nightmare mode that he would be forced to y in after he was this close to winning the whole thing. Gondel prioritized escaping over engaging with anyone. He knew that engaging with shadow creatures was useless. And fighting approaching opponents wouldnd him in even bigger trouble. Thus, Gondel started using spatial channels to his advantage by summoning the array fabrics near them before interfering with their parameters. Gondel wasn''t that skilled at altering spatial runes. So he couldn''tpletely control the spatial channels'' destinations. The most he could do was make sure he didn''t get teleported outside of the city. So he started using random spatial channels to keep his enemies on the toe. Gondel''s live location was tracked by the Sansara interface. As a result, the participants knew exactly where he was at any given point. He constantly appeared and disappeared across the map, forcing the participants to change their routes to get to him. Gondel also ran into a participant after using a spatial channel with a random destination. He had to run for his life and use various Trump cards he had to get rid of his pursuer. In the end, he finally found a spatial channel he could use to teleport straight to the city squareC the destination he wanted to travel to. Gondel knew that time was of the essence. Other participants could use various Perks at their disposal to get to him if they found out that his location was unchanging for more than a few moments. Hence, he hurriedly approached the fountain in the city square, with a bit of excitement on his face. Gondel was jubnt when he found out that Maya was still where he hadst seen her. However, he was forced to stop in his tracks after finding out that there was another participant apanying her. *** "I can only hope you stick to our n, Lady Maya." Eren said to Maya while looking at Gondel from a distance. The butcher had a weing smile on his face as he looked at the geek. His back was facing Maya. Maya chuckled beforementing. "Don''t worry. I have your back." Eren gave a nod to Maya without turning around. He started walking towards Gondel the geek while staring at the array key in his hand. "Gondel Hahahaha I finally found you." A participant appeared at the scene out of the blue. The butcher wasn''t surprised that someone had teleported directly into Gondel''s vicinity using a Perk. He continued his stride toward Gondel without worrying about the iing participants. "Where where the fuck is he?" "Damn this is the ce from which we began the test. Don''t tell me Gondel won." "Hahaha. Wrong. That geek is right there. Look! He is holding the array disk as well. We arrived at the perfect time." Two more participants appeared at the scene at the same time. In another second or two, four more participants appeared out of the blue. By the time Eren stopped in his tracks, all the participants hade to "greet" Gondel. Eren opened his arms and spread them in a weing manner as soon as he found out that all the participants were present at the scene. He looked at the participants intently and smiled before activating his Ability. "Mark of the Seven Sins: The Domain of Gluttony." The butcher activated his Ability right away without further ado. Chapter 1126 Prior To An All-Out Showdown Gondel was surrounded by the rest of the participants in no time. The geek gulped as he found himself on the receiving end of so many aggressive stares. He knew that things would be extremely dire for him if all the participants decided to attack him at the same time. Gondel and other participants were getting ready for a showdown. Some participants had decided to attack Gondel. Some others had decided to attack the ones who would be taking on GondelC catching them by surprise. There was unmasked greed evident in all the participants'' eyes and expressions as they prepared for an all-out fight. Things wereing to a tipping point. But all the participants stopped in their tracks at the same time when they felt otherworldly energy surrounding them. They all turned towards the source of the energy that was standing not too far from the city square fountain. ''This this is intent mana someone''s using intent-based magic forbidden magic.'' One of the participants thought to himself as he felt the effects of the domain he found himself in. He was from Royal Ren and had an influential family background. The participant quickly understood the source of Eren''s Ability as soon as he was subjected to it. The participants kept dealing with Gondel on the back burner and focused on Eren. They knew that Gondel had the array disk but he was still far away from iming victory. As long as they made sure that Gondel didn''t hand over the array key to Maya, the winner of the test would remain undecided. Maya didn''t look like she would intervene in the participants'' fight. She had already stated the test''s rules. It was clear that Sansara Sage was executing a scenario like this toward the end of his test. Sansara Saage would have preferred his legacy to be inherited by an array creator like Gondel. In addition, he had to be equally capable as well. There was no point in giving his Legacy to a weak array creator. The array creator needed to prove himself that he was worthy of standing up to other rankers despite the challenges he faced in a frontal sh. Only then could they elevate themselves from beingbeled geeks. As he was faced with the biggest challenge of his life, Gondel also realized Sansara Sage''s intentions. But instead of rising to the challenge, he took mental satisfaction in cursing everyone around him. Eren took the spotlight from Gondel after he activated his domain-type Ability. He didn''t know much about intent-based magic. So he wasn''t that spooked by Eren''s Ability. The geek just took a breath of relief after finding out that he was not in immediate danger. Unlike Gondel, Eren wasn''t nervous about being stared at by all the participants. He gave them a bright smile before speaking up. "Wee and well fought, my fellow participants. My name is Eren Elijah Idril. Most of you know me by my name at least. But today I will show you I''m more than what they say about me. I also wanted to try this Ability of mine inside a safe environment. So I''ll thank you all in advance for serving as my test subjects. For some reason, I''m a bit peckish at the moment. So you''ll have to forgive me for keeping our introductions to a minimum." Eren addressed all the participants casually as if he was giving a speech. He then focused his gaze on Gondel and gave him a warning. "Gondel, right? You better stay where the fuck you are. Let me get rid of all the participants first. Rest assured, it shouldn''t take long." Eren''s voice started sounding deep and mysterious mid-speech. His ck hair turned white and tribal tattoos appeared on his skin. His eyes turned blue and there was a shift in his mana signature all of a sudden. Eren''s provocation was deliberate. He wanted the rankers to attack him with all their might. After all, the Domain of Gluttony worked best when other participants attacked him with their elemental spells. Eren''s Domain of Gluttony could be activated by biting his tongue slightly. He knew that it wouldn''t take long for him to activate his Ability on a whim as well. But he needed to increase his proficiency in using it. Just like the Domain of Wrath, Eren''s new Sin-Series Ability was multi-faceted. Meaning it could be used in a variety of ways. The gluttony mana was summoned into existence inside the domain. Due to its peculiar nature, it could not be used by other rankers. The butcher wanted to test the Domain of Gluttony as soon as he could. He had the same level of excitement about using it as a new owner of a flying vehicle inside Edin. But he couldn''t test it openly on other participants because of Sansara World''s introspection system. To use it, he received much-needed assurance from Maya that she would cover for him. The participants were too stunned to speak after seeing the change in Eren''s presence. They all came to realize that he was no normal ranker. Most of his eyewitnesses started assuming him to be a cultist that had infiltrated the event. Eren''s warning made Gondel freeze in his position. He knew what the butcher could do. Eren had killed his three teammates without breaking a sweat after all. Thus, the geek decided that he would not intervene between Eren and the other participants'' fight unless he had to. The participants came to a silent agreement among themselves that they would not target Gondel. He was to be approached by thest ranker standing at the end of their brawl. Gondel, on the other hand, preferred if all the participants got critically injured or died fighting each other. Or at least get so busy grabbing each other''s throats that they forget about him. That way, he could secure his win without having to be part of the mess. The geek clenched his fists and used his movement spell to move back from the potential battlefield. He knew that he would only be attacked if he tried to approach Maya. Thus, he didn''t want to attract that much heat by doing something so foolish. Gondel the geek decided to wait for the right moment. Chapter 1127 Hero’s Heart + Life Drain ''Is this a Sin Series Ability? Why does it feel different? As if it was so much more than that? Perhaps an Authority?'' Maya thought to herself as she observed Eren''s domain with an artificial mana sense avable to her. Being the creation of a demonic ranker, Maya obviously knew about the existence of the Sin Series Abilities. Before the continent-spanning array''s existence, the Sin Series Abilities were being used on thend of Anfang. As a result, Maya knew quite a lot about them through old records. Thus, Maya conjectured that Eren had received an extraordinary power from the demonic altar the likes of which she hadn''t read in previous records. After all, domain-type demonic attacks were unheard of. She also wondered how someone could be so blessed by the demon realm. And what kind of acts must they have done to get such high recognition? ''I had an inkling he wasn''t like the rest. But maybe I managed to underestimate him still.'' Maya had another thought as she looked at Eren''s back. She had been given a heads-up by Eren regarding his usage of the Sin-Series Ability so she wasn''t caught off guard. She had kept a safe distance from him, allowing him to handle the matter as he saw fit. The silent stalemate among the participants didn''tst long. "Hahaha. This cultist punk thinks he can get rid of all of us with his weird parlor tricks. I alone am enough to shatter his pride." One of the participants came forward from his position and looked at Eren provocatively. He belonged to one of the teams that tried to Target the White Raven crew. It wasn''t that this participant underestimated Eren. It was just that he was incredibly confident in his skills and aplishments as a ranker. Eren was used to being called a cultist whenever he showed his white-haired transformation to anybody. So he wasn''t bothered by it. Lighting struck and he disappeared from his position. Multiple spells and abilities wereunched at once. Blitz Steps Sedating Gaze Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Total Control Life Drain Bzzt. Swoosh. Pichuk. The participant, who hade forward and boasted about how easy it was for him to dispose of Eren, suddenly found himself staring into the butcher''spletely white eyes. A chill ran down his spine as a result. Due to the effect of the Sedating Gaze, the participant could not move. The butcher had also cast his time element spells separately to expedite his movement as well as the effects of his spells and Abilities. The butcher willed his right hand to turn into a semi-shriveled form. The nails on his fingers grew before turning ck. There were various runic symbols etched over his fingers as his hands developed wrinkles all over them. It was as if the butcher''s hands had aged quite a bit due to theck of Life Force in them. Life Drain. He had activated this Ability of his after a long time. It was an Ability Eren had gained from his time in Purgatory. After Eren broke into theter stages of the Adept rank, he never had much use for this Ability because he could dominate his opponents in other convenient ways. Furthermore, extracting Life Force from his opponents was not useful to him as he grew up as a ranker. After all, he could only use it to heal himself and recover his vigor and depleted stats. The temporary boost he received from extracting Life Force from his opponents wasn''t useful for him after turning into a Liquid-stage Adept. However, under the influence of the Domain of Gluttony, Life Drain had leveled up. Plus, it could be paired up nicely with another Ability the butcher had taken from Ken. Eren wanted to make the participants attack him as a whole. And the easiest way to do that was to make an example of the participant who dared to raise his voice against him. The participant felt that his stomach had been punctured by something very sharp at various points. He couldn''t move or do other forms of actions against Eren''s surprise attack because of being subjected to his ocr Ability. In the next moment, the participant had his Life Force siphoned out of him. His body aged rapidly before his skin started looking like that of Eren''s hands. Under the effects of the Gluttony Domain, Life Drain had turned into a deadly Ability. The ranker who had been at the receiving end of the butcher''s attack died on the spot. His body turned into a still-standing mummified statue before it crumbled down. ** The butcher had used Ken''s Ability to boost his body stats. His heart rate would skyrocket whenever he used this Ability. As such, he called it Hero''s Heart. Hero''s Heart was a very peculiar Ability. That''s because it used a rare form of fuel. The Life Force was a very important physical attribute. Under normal circumstances, it would recover after taking sufficient rest. But if a ranker used it to fuel their Ability, it would decrease dramatically. After it drops down beyond a certain level, the depletion would start to harm a ranker''s body. Ken would use his Ability sparingly because it would tap into his Life Force reserves. His Ability was easy to use and had a wide range of uses. But the Fist Saint knew that if he abused it too much, it would backfire on him mid-fight. Unlike Ken, however, Eren didn''t have to worry about overusing Hero''s Heart. That''s because he found out that he could pair it with Life Drain. Hero''s Heart made use of the additional Life Force Eren had extracted from his enemies using the Life Drain. The two Abilitiesplemented each other nicely, enabling Eren to use them without suffering any form of consequences. The butcher felt energized after using Life Drain and Hero''s Heart at the same time. It was as if he was indulging in a sumptuous meal and immediately converting it into pure energy and vitality. Eren remembered his fight with the old hag from whom he had robbed Life Drain. It made him wonder whether the old hag was a demonic practitioner while she was alive. That''s because Life Drain felt like it was an Ability granted to demonic rankers devoted to the Prince of Gluttony. There was no other way for the butcher to exin how Life Drain was so potent under the effects of the domain of Gluttony. Unknown to him, Maya hade to a simr conclusion as well. ''It''s unbelievable... As far as I can remember, there was a mention of a witch in Lab Salem who was capable of doing it in the past. How did he get this Ability for himself?'' === AN: Life Drain was first mentioned in chapter 318. Chapter 1128 Mouths Of Gluttony "What in the" The participants looked at Eren''s recent victim''s remains with shocked and terrified faces. In the blink of an eye, the butcher had managed topletely neutralize his opponent using the most bizarre power possible. The power to devour Life Force and vitality to the point that the mortal shell that housed it would cease to exist. The witnesses to this scene couldn''t help having goosebumps on their skin when they looked at Eren''s bemused expressions. "Let''s see who''s next?" Eren looked around as he asked a casual question. The participants also decided to retaliate against the butcher. "This fucking cultist." "Let''s let''s kill him." "Fuck we can worry about the testter. We need to first get rid of this monstrosity." The participants decided to create a united front against theirmon enemy. They looked at each other and came to amon understanding quickly. All of them were veteran rankers. They didn''t need to think much to initiate team y. Eren looked at his opponents and smiled. A pair of matte ck daggers were summoned in both his hands before he raised them in front of him in a defensive stance to counter the iing attack. Blitz. ng. Shook. Eren sessfully managed to block the iing sword attacks one of the participantsunched at him. However, his flying sword shes were too potent and forceful for him to kill them while staying in his position. They managed to send him in the air away from where he stood originally while shing with them. Eren had to say that the sword master''s mastery of his craft was truly impressive. Although the butcher was able to block his attacks, the swordsman didn''t seem to want to escte the situation. His only job was to send Eren to a particr location where he would be dealt maximum damage. Wind-element projectiles. Fire element shes. Water element weapons. Earth element summons. Spatial barriers that restrict movement. Attacks powered by various elemental and Aspect fusions. Restrictive spells. Debuffing spells. Elemental and non-elemental attacks --unched with the help of Perks. Before Eren knew it, he was bombarded with various offensive moves at once in mid-air. Participants hadunched a sync offensive on him that was nearly impossible to dodge. The participants watched with glee on their faces as their attacks sealed Eren''s exit. Their timing and cooperation were as wless as could be. Plus, some of them had enhanced the various aspects of their attacks with the help of the Perks. Boom. Boom. Boom. Eren was bombarded with a barrage of offensive spells at once. He was forced to disappear amid their sheer intensity and quantity. A mana cloud was formed around Eren as a result which kept on expanding. It didn''t take long for the mana cloud to descend on the ground following Eren''s supposed trajectory. "Heh! Was that guy a one-hit wonder? He didn''t even retaliate." One of the participants voiced his thoughts with a suspicious look on his face. He had to wait for the wild mana fluctuations in the surroundings to cool down a bit before he found anything about the target. "Don''t let your guard down. Prepare for..." There was a female ranker who wanted to warn her allies about theirmon enemy. She felt that he couldn''t be taken down with a single barrage of spells alone. However, she stopped her speech midway because she started seeing something through the mana cloud. They were mouths. Human and inhuman-looking mouths. As the mana cloud shrouded Eren''s supposed image, spectral mouths of various shapes and sizes surrounded it. Some of them showed that they had teeth inside them. Some looked like they were the mouths of beasts and monsters. Their spectral lips also had long tongues sticking out. These tongues would move and lick the lips from which they came out. It also looked like the mouths were mocking their viewers. These mouths could change their size depending upon the attack they were inflicting. They could be as imposing as an elephant and as small as a hummingbird''s beak. It looked like they could appear anywhere inside the Domain of Gluttony, making them as omnipotent as the air in the surroundings. It was gluttony mana that made these mouths. Because their mouths were made from gluttony mana, they reeked of their intent. It felt like these bodiless mouths had been starving for centuries on end. And no matter how much they ate, their hunger would not be satiated anytime soon. Their appearance shocked Eren''s opponents-making them more terrified of his Ability. The participants didn''t understand the effects and uses of the Gluttony mouths. But they became wary of Eren''s retaliation all the same. Some of them had also started feeling hungry after being exposed to the Gluttony mana. Intent-based mana was trying to enter their bodies, making them feel an unsatiated hunger rising from within them. It didn''t take long for the participants'' elemental attacks topletely disappear. Their elemental manifestations ceased to exist after the mana that was used to power them was devoured by their mouths. It seemed these mouths could even nullify the non-elemental attacks to some extent after devouring the very vector force behind them. However, the physical shocks the non-elemental attacks produced were enough to distort them to some degree. "No way our attacks were neutralized just like that?" Another participant saw their elemental and non-elemental attacks being devoured by these mouths. These Gluttony mouths were the ones creating half of the mana clouds in the surrounding area by literally eating the spells and exhaling the residual mana. Maya also observed Eren''s bizarre Ability. She had no idea that he could devour the spells of his opponents inside the Domain of Gluttony. The spectral mouths devoured elemental spells rtively easily. The Gluttony mouths were increasing the quality and quantity of gluttony mana inside the domain as they devoured the participants'' attacks. But Maya had a feeling that was not the only thing they could do. Chapter 1129 Life Drain For Assassinations ''No something is wrong.'' Maya acted as an aloof spectator to everything that was happening inside the Domain of Gluttony. She starteding up with her own theories as she watched Gluttony''s mouth digest the participants'' spells. ''Mana can bend thew of equivalent exchange, but Eren can''t break it outright. If he has devoured all of those elemental spells then the devoured mana has to be utilized in some form.'' Maya''s eyes shone with brilliance as she looked at Eren''s image shrouded in the mana cloud. She was looking forward to what the butcher could do with his demonic Ability. Some of the participants started feeling an unbelievable amount of hunger all of a sudden when the quality and quantity of gluttony mana inside the domain began increasing. Their mental faculties started getting affected because of their sudden urge to devour somethingC anything. "I fuck what is happening to me? This... This hunger." "Damn. You... are you feeling that too? It''s like my hunger is taking over me Aaaaargh!" "Kill him let''s kill him before it gets any worse." A bunch of participants closed in on Eren. Theyunched some more attacks at him while approaching, forcing him to step out of the mana cloud and react in some form. They needed his reaction to continue with their assault. In the wake of the newlyunched attacks, the previous gluttony mouths vanished, and new ones appeared out of thin air to receive the new attacks. The wide-open mouths devoured everything that was thrown in their direction before producing a subtle munching sound. This didn''t look like a showdown among Expert-ranked entities anymore. That''s because there was no significant damage to the battlefield and its surroundings. The elemental attacks failed to produce their intended effects. The non-elemental attacks barely managed to cause any disturbance on the battlefield. It was as if a bunch of Novice rankers were engaging in mortalbat with each other. Unlike the Domain of Wrath which unleashed death and carnage on the battlefield, the Domain of Gluttony looked actually quite peaceful. The only question wasC how long would the peacest? There was another group of rankers who were not part of the attackers. These rankers were waiting for Eren to show himself. His exit was sealed by these rankers securing a perimeter. s, they did not yet understand that Eren did not n to run away from them in the first ce. Blink. Swoosh. Pichook. One of the rankers who was securing a perimeter felt as if somebody had grabbed his neck and made him shut up. The next thing he felt was his neck getting stabbed by something. This ranker''s mental faculties were alreadypromised by the sense of extreme hunger he was feeling at the time. So when he received such an attack from his unknown attacker, he couldn''t react the way he should have. The ranker''s body started shriveling up like a mummy all of a sudden. He couldn''t even make a sound because it was his neck that had been pierced. Other members of the perimeter detail realized one of theirpanions had been attacked. They couldn''t help him because they couldn''t even see his attacker. The shriveled-up ranker''s neck gushed out a few drops of blood as if someone had taken the pierced object out of the neck. Four distinct finger-sized puncture wounds could be seen from which blood was leaking. After being subjected to the effect of the Domain of Glutony, the ranker''s blood condensed and turned thick. The Life Force integrated into the ranker''s blood had been extracted, messing up the blood''s viscosity with demonic magic. Therefore, the puncture wounds did not leak as much blood as they should have. As if it were dead blood, the leaking blood looked dark red and ck. Another ranker had mysteriously died while the main force of the participants was busy dealing with Eren''s shadow shrouded in the mana fog. Two deaths shortly after the Domain of Gluttony was raised. "Be aware. He has Sage Loxley''s beaked mask. He can turn himself into an assassin when he needs to." pd-?ͨ|㨮 Gondel spoke out loud with his voice imbued with mana to let other participants be aware of Eren''s capabilities. After all, it wasn''t in his favor if the butcher managed to kill any more participants this easily. The participants, who were about tounch a closebat assault on the shrouded Eren, stopped in their tracks when they heard Gondel''s shout. They all turned towards the second victim only to see his mummified body hit the ground lifelessly. The participants screamed in anger when they saw another ranker dying at Eren''s hands. All of them used various Perks and spells at their disposal to force Eren to show himself. Eren''s invisible body first started looking blurry before it was forced to show itself. A frustrated look appeared on the butcher''s face as he dispersed his mask artifact once he became visible. He looked at Gondel the geek before speaking out in a low-key threatening tone. "I had told you not to interfere in this matter, you fat fuck. Guess some people are just ready to suffer the consequences of their runny mouths." Eren was irritated that he didn''t get to use his Assassin ss anymore. He really liked thebination of the assassin ss with Life Drain and Hero''s Heart. The butcher didn''t even need additional weapons anymore because of Life Drain. His Life Drain-enhanced fingers served as capable assassination tools for him. Using Domain of Gluttony, Eren''s fingers devoured the very defenseyer of his targets - allowing him to prate their fragile bodies. It made his job as an assassin a lot easier. He could make full use of his beaked mask this way. The butcher felt as if he was dipping his fingers into a soft and warm chunk of cheese. So when he attacked his recent victim on the neck with his bare hands, his fingers managed to pierce hisrynx straightaway. That''s why the puncture wounds were very clean. === Warning: The next chapter might be disturbing to read for some readers. Skip it if needed. Chapter 1130 [Bonus ] Creatures Of Gluttony Eren''s diligent work in trying to amodate various ways of fighting was paying off. His inquisitive nature and his will to take risks using his opponents as test materials had allowed him to broaden his horizons so many times at this point. This was the reason why he could use the ss of an assassin so wlessly. Eren also realized that Life Drain was only this potent because he was using it inside the Domain of Gluttony. He could use the gluttony mana that was all around him to break conventional logic and kill his opponents this way. However, he would be unable to repeat this feat easily if the domain wasn''t present. It would also be possible for him to do the same without having to deploy the domain if he had enough mastery in regrly harnessing gluttony mana. However, he needed to fine-tune his mastery of the Sin of Gluttony for that to happen. The butcher wanted to experiment with Sin Series Abilities and sses down the line. He had a feeling he could find optimal ways to use Sin Series mana with the various sses he had and will have in the future. The variousbinations might allow him to get more out of the sses he was currently using. The Sin Series mana was very potent. The seven types of intentions that were integrated into it made it feel alive. He had a lot to gain if he found a way to utilize intent-based mana in casting his regr spells, giving them an unprecedented edge. Eren''s ranking status, elemental attainments, bloodline powers, Sin Series Abilities, andstly his soul sense needed toe together for him to realize his true potential. It would allow him to cast his own blend of intent-based magic. Of course, this wasn''t something the butcher could do on the fly. The most he could do with his current test subjects was to explore the effects of the Domain of Gluttony and field-test the sses he had unlocked at this point. *** Two of the participants died inside the domain without being butchered by Eren''s attacks. As such, one could consider them lucky because they didn''t suffer in their deaths, rtively speaking. The no-mess method of killing wasn''t objectionable to Eren, no matter how his opponents turned out to be usually. Plus, there was almost nothing he could learn from the rankers of his generation. Therefore, there was no point in dragging the fight. Gondel gulped empty air when he heard Eren''s warning. The geek didn''t regret warning the participants. But he hoped that they would be able to get rid of the well-functional maniac who had been like a curse to him and his team ever since they met. Eren quickly got over the fact that he couldn''t assassinate his targets anymore. He quickly became excited about his next move. That''s because he had decided to use another ss now that he was about to tackle multiple enemies. The mana fog also cleared up in the meantime, revealing the shrouded Eren''s true appearance. The rankers were shocked to find out that what they had been targeting was not their target from the beginning. They were targeting the creature of gluttony. The creature of gluttony was unlike the creature of wrath. It had a humanoid body that looked like it was malnourished. The face was nk as if it was awaiting facial features. The creature of gluttony had an average height and didn''t look threatening at all. No threat could be perceived from its limbs, which appeared weak. However, the creature of gluttony was a lot weirder to look at than the creature of wrath. That''s because it had various mouths all over its body. These wide-open, maw-like mouths also had teeth and tongues, which made the creature of gluttony very repulsive to look at. The creature of gluttony was formed using gluttony mana and the remains of the participants Eren had killed inside the Domain of Gluttony. As such, it had dark red and ck blood running through its veins. And the creature''s veins could easily be seen through the deathly pale skin he had. Normal rankers found gluttony repulsive to look at. But that wasn''t the case with participants who had been heavily affected by gluttony. As soon as they saw the creature of gluttony, their hunger skyrocketed. These participants couldn''t control themselves from approaching the creature of gluttony. They looked at the creature with their tongues sticking outC salivating at its sight. It was as if the creature of gluttony was an irresistible gourmet dish for them. The participants approaching the creature of gluttony screamed in joy as they approached it. They ran towards the creature with their hands raised to grasp it. They forgot about their roles in targeting Eren. They even forgot about the test. At this point, satiating their hunger was more important than anything else. The rest of the participants observed that their feelings of hunger were also taking hold over them ever since they looked at the creature of gluttony. The gluttony mana had not yet affected them severely. As such, they were still in control of their faculties, albeit barely. These rankers looked at each other and decided to change their strategy. They didn''t care about the participants who were a lost cause at this point. Instead, they huddled together to save themselves from Eren''s random attacks. Then, they decided to see what the mad-by-gluttony rankers were up to. It didn''t matter to the rankers surrounding the creature of gluttony whether or not they knew each other. They all started biting the creature''s body from various angles as if their life depended on it. The creature of gluttony also seemed to wee the rankers. The creature of gluttony allowed the participants to eat its deathly pale flesh and drink its dark red blood. The various mouths all over the creature''s body also started eating the participants'' flesh in return. Eren also watched with a look of curiosity as the gluttony-struck participants started eating the creature of gluttony and getting devoured by it at the same time. He observed that the more they ate the creature, the bigger it became, both vertically andterally. It was a bloody mess. Chapter 1131 Pearls Of Gluttony Participants close to the creature of gluttony were overtaken by the desire to eat. They were so lost in their act of eating that they forgot about their well-being. They didn''t care that the creature of gluttony was eating them. Their mouths were painted in ck blood and chunks of meat were stuck in their now-grown teeth. They also started developing various cavities on their bodies which were eventually turned into mouths. The participants were bing creatures of gluttony themselves by eating one another. One could say that they had taken "you are what you eat" to an extreme. Over time, both participants and the gluttonous creature''s flesh would regenerate. However, it seemed like the creature of gluttony would be able to eat them before they could eat him. The participants opened their mouths inhumanly, and their tongues stretched longer than their arms. They started lookingpletely different from their previous selves. They would no longer be called Children of Creation. These newborn creatures of gluttony had lost their consciousness for the most part. Their tongues were salivating in anticipation of their next meal. There was a smell of dead blood, thick saliva, and raw flesh filling the air. It was a very unpleasant smell for those unaffected by the gluttony mana. The participants lost their sense of being after turning into creatures of gluttony. They started eating each other when eating the creature of gluttony wasn''t enough to satiate their ever-increasing hunger. The newly turned creatures of gluttony even started eating themselvesa" taking a bite out of their own flesh. They started biting their own bones, producing munching sounds. The fresh wounds then get licked by the tongues of other creatures of gluttony. "Bleeeeeegh!" One of the female participants watching this bizarre scene from afar vomited all that she had in her stomach after seeing the creature of gluttony at work. A sense of disgust developed in her heart after watching what they were doing with each other and themselves. Another female ranker started vomiting after she saw the first female ranker doing it. It was unclear if the second female ranker was disgusted by the creatures of gluttony or the first participant. Despite this, the butcher regarded her as a sympathetic vomiter. The male participants weren''t much better either. They made awkward faces and gulped down the contents that were threatening toe out of their sealed lips. The positive thing for participants watching the scene from afar was that they were able to get rid of a sense of unsatisfied hunger pervading their bodies and souls. The disgust they felt towards the creatures of gluttony enabled them to fight off the gluttony mana consciously or subconsciously. After developing disgust for Gluttony, the participants got their sense of belonging back. As a result, they knew that they could continue their fight with clear consciousness. It wasn''t like Eren didn''t think of finishing these rankers while they were being affected by the gluttony mana. However, he chose to observe the creatures of gluttony. After all, this was his first time seeing them operate. He had to understand the effects of his Ability keenly before he could think of optimal ways of using it next time. "You devil... what the fuck have you done to them?" The sympathetic vomiter screamed at Eren in a voice coated in usation. The butcher spoke in silence to the female ranker. He didn''t try to approach the people standing in the distance. Instead, he chose to approach the creatures of gluttony. *** The primal creature of gluttony had developed demonic facial features at this point. He had two squinty-looking eyes and two horns jutting out of his forehead. It had arge mouth, piranha-like saw teeth, and ck lips. His wide mouth and distinct dental structure made it look like it was always smiling. The primal creature of gluttony had gotten 9 feet tall. There were fourrgemouths on its stomach alone. The creature had an obese body structure. All four of his limbs were full of fat, making it seem like the creature would have trouble even walking. The creature had fatty fingers that had ck, w-like nails attached to them. It was as if the ck nails and sawtooth were provided for the creature to tear through its food easily. The primal creature of gluttony looked like it could control the newly transformed creatures. It made a few guttural sounds and forced the other creatures to hold down as he saw Eren approaching him. The beta creatures of gluttony, who were originally participants, stopped devouring each other reluctantly. They looked like they were about to die from excessive flesh and blood loss anyway. The regenerative properties of their bodies couldn''t keep up with their "expenditure" after all. The primal creature of gluttony as well as its beta creatures bowed their heads as they saw Eren appear in front of them. The butcher looked at them beforemanding the primal creature of gluttony. "Eat them quickly and wrap them up." Eren''s voice was firm and left no room for argument. The primal creature didn''t even take a moment to think. It stretched its hands and grabbed the nearest beta creature before starting to munch on it. The various tongues sticking out all over its bodies acted like stretchable whips to grab the other participants. It wasn''t long before the primal creature of gluttony finished eating the remaining creatures. It then bowed to Eren before its body started dissolving like condensed wax if brought near a source of warmth. In the next moment, the primal creature of gluttony was dissolved into nothingness. There appeared to be six pearls levitating in front of the butcher There were five small pearls surrounding a rtivelyrge pearl. The five smaller pearls represented the five participants who had been turned into creatures of Gluttony. The bigger pearl represented the primal creature of gluttony who devoured them in the end. Eren brought his hand forward and made a simple gesture. The six pearlsnded safely on his open palm in the next moment. "Pearls of gluttony..." Eren mumbled to himself as he felt the pearls up close. Chapter 1132 An Unavoidable Struggle Pearls of gluttony. It looked as if these pearls were precious finds with their creamy, extra-smooth texture. They didn''t contain any of the vile vibes that were associated with creatures of gluttony. These pearls felt as pure as morning dew. They exuded a faint light that made one aware of the mystic runic patterns inscribed over them. Eren smiled in wonder at the pearls. He saved all of the pearls inside his Sansara Storage except one. He showed the pearl in his hand to the other participants before speaking up. "See this is what I have done to them. I have turned them into fine pieces of art. This thing looks beautiful, doesn''t it?" The participants, who saw Eren showing them the pearl of gluttony with a casual smile, felt extremely aggravated by what they were made to see. A fear of being turned into the same pearl was creeping on them. The surviving participants felt like they needed to do whatever they could to kill the vile creature who had used such a nefariously demonic Ability. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to find peace even if they were taken out of Sansara World. "You you will pay for this." One of the participants said before clenching the runic spear that he had received it from Sansara World. The participants who were left alive were of a simr opinion. As a result, they decided to give it their all to kill the man whose strange abilities could give even cultists a run for their money. ''Let''s fucking use weapon attacks over elemental spells. Focus on frontal assaults over mid- and long-range offensives. Don''t allow this man to use any more of his vile powers on us.'' pd ?ͨ|,㨰 One of the participants became the de facto leader of the surviving participants by leading the charge. Also, the other participants saw that the elemental attacks would simply be absorbed by the spectral mouths within the gluttony domain. Thus, they preferred dealing with Eren the difficult way. ''Tch. I hate dealing with smartasses. For once, I want to fight some dumb fucks.'' Eren clicked his tongue when he realized the participants were preventing themselves from using their elemental spells to approach him. The butcher sighed before using his movement spell to meet their charge head-on. The participants started attacking Eren in batches to avoid coteral damage. The closebat specialists were separated from the mid-range rankers. The rangers were made to keep their distance from someone like Eren. This was the ideal way the participants could fight with Eren while ensuring their safety. IdealC at least by their current situation. Blitz. Swoosh. ng. Eren blocked the swordsman''s attack with one of his daggers and ducked backwards to divert the sword. To avoid being attacked by the swordsman from the back, he ducked backward and diverted the flying sword sh aimed at him. This caused the attack to hit the female participant. The participants inadvertently started engaging in friendly fire with Eren blocking, dodging, and diverting their attacks just at the right time. In the most efficient manner possible. The old sinner knew that offense was the most effective defense. To attack the participants, he began using his own elemental spells. Close Combat ss. Blitz Shield. Wind de Tornado. Just when the spear-wielding ranker was about to target Eren''s shoulder using his weapon, he found out that the butcher had used his defensive spell. He also summoned his wind-element offensive spell around him to give him an omnidirectional offensive. Ranger ss. Wind-Fire Shards. Eren used Wind-Fire Shards in conjunction with the Wind de Tornado. As a result, the gales generated by the Wind de Tornado became carriers for the Wind-Fire Shards which attacked the butcher''s opponents all around him. Sedating Gaze. "Aaaaaargh!" Eren managed tond a blow using his Ocr Ability. He then used Blink to get away from the bacsh just in the nick of time. He was yet to receive any injury despite the number of attackers he was tackling simultaneously. Perfect Projection. This was a spatial spell Eren had seldom used despite practicing it for quite some time. He never had the opportunity to use this spell. But since he was facing so many talented opponents at once, this spell''s effects became sought-after. Perfect Projection was a support-type spell that could be used both for offense and defense. It allowed Eren to manipte the spatial fabric around him. With the spell''s help, Eren could spatially shift the projectiles aimed at him and make them miss their intended target. Additionally, he could use spatial maniption to make the flying weapon attacks and projectiles aimed at him hit apletely different target. Of course, the spell required the utmost concentration and effort on Eren''s part. So he needed to keep his other elemental spells in check before he could use Perfect Projection. What''s more? The butcher used Perfect Projection with another spatial spell of hisC Dynamic Distance, which allowed him to constrict or stretch the spatial fabric around him. The flying weapon shes and projectiles aimed at him would look like they had been forcefully elongated before being redirected to the participants themselves. One had to say that Eren''s devouring of ether-sub-ss rankers from Blood Punisher Force had helped him a lot in using these space-element spells. After all, to use the spells this way, he needed a certain level of proficiency in the space element. Aqua Whips. The butcher could not be stopped with his two daggers and various spells. He started changing thendscape of the battle by using his elemental spells just at the right time. He employed optimal amounts of mana to attack and defend. The battlefield started to drink more blood as Eren kept on fighting. This was the blood of his enemies that he fertilized the soil with. The ground also started getting riddled with several craters as he faced multiple opponents at the same time. When he attacked, his enemies were injured. When he defended himself, they couldn''t touch him. And yet the killing machine himself felt that he was not using all of his potential. Eren''s enemies wouldn''t believe it. But he was struggling with switching between sses and selecting various spells to suit them. A struggle he knew he had to go through because there was no way around it. Thus, Eren decided that he would make use of the gluttony pearls as soon as he found some breather. Chapter 1133 Logic-Defying Spell Amplification & Spell Stacking Both sides struggled. However, Eren''s enemies had it worse. It was very tough to fight elemental spells with mere weapon attacks alone. Most of the participants hadn''t even invested enough Karma points in their defensive gear. As a result, the participants were finding it difficult topletely overwhelm Eren with their attacks despite their sheer numbers. The participants who remained inside the event till this point were a patient bunch. They knew how to wear a bull down by making him run all around the pit. To expose Eren''s chinks in his armor, a high-intensity sh was maintained by all the participants who faced Eren in multiple batches. A cacophony of screams and curses was constantly being heard on the battlefield. However, all the butcher could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat. A few attacks managed to breach Eren''s defense numerous times. However, they were not enough to stop him. He started butchering the participants'' body parts whenever he found a chance to do so. Eren used his Life Drain on the participants and drained their vitality. He then used the extracted vitality to elevate his body stats with the help of Hero''s Heart. And in the end, just when the participants thought that they had injured Eren with their elemental attacks enough to push further with their attacks, they heard a snap. Instant Reset. Blink. The butcher appeared in the sky with his Wind Fire Wings stretched behind his back. His shirt was ripped off and his bare torso was exposed. His pants were also torn from various ces. However, his body was fine and full of vitality. There were no injuries to be found on his tattooed skin. The participants had various wounds on their bodies. They looked up and stared at the butcher warilyC not wanting to approach him head-on. Berserker ss. The tribal tattoos etched all over Eren''s body started exuding a faint light as the butcher changed his ss once more midair. The participants were too shocked by Eren''s performance at this point toment on anything that he showed them he could do. His eyes narrowed as he removed a gluttony pearl from his storage. He raised his hand and held the pearl between his index finger and thumb. Looking at it with his one eye closed, the butcherughed wickedly beforementing. ''Alright. It is clear to me that I need to work on my sses even though I am capable of using them in an okayish manner. But... It feels like I''m still struggling to find a bnce between them. There needs to be a certain rhythm that is missing.'' Eren thought to himself as he started retrospecting the battle he just had with the participants. In the next moment, he decided to put his thoughts aside and focus on the current task at hand. "Let''s see what this bad boy can do." Saying this, Eren crushed the gluttony pearl between his fingers. He then decided to cast one of the simplest fire-element spells he knew. Fireball. What happened afterward forced the participants to question if they were inside the Nightmare Domain.please visit A mini-sun-like fireball appeared in the sky. It packed bright orange mes and had a radius of 30 meters. The size of the fireball was already impressive. But what was even more impressive was the density of the fire-element mana it was cast on. The fireball lit the whole space up as soon as it appeared, painting the participants'' faces in a bright orange shade. This was not all. Mana fluctuations from the fireball made it appear as if it was cast by an Expert-ranked entity. As if the caster was threateningly close to breaking into the next rank. The fireball was made from Eren''s elemental attainment. However, it was strengthened by the Way of Fire incorporated into the crushed pearl, which in turn was extracted from the creature of gluttony it was made from. What''s more? The butcher was able to stack multiple fireballs spells one after the other using the pearl of gluttony as their foundation. The pearl contained enough mana in it to save Eren''s other elemental spells as well. Total Control. Eren expedited the creation of the fireballs in the sky with his time-element spell. Wind-Fire Shards. He coated the fireballs with Wind Fire shards to give each of them a shrapnel-like effect. Hatchlings of the me. Boa snakes with fire wings were summoned into existence. These snakes sat on the newly cast levitating fireballs. Their bodies started coiling around the fireballs as if they were made of fiery stone. Igni Chains. Lastly, Igni Chains were summoned to connect each of the fireballs with a bunch of others summoned adjacent to it. As a result, awork of Igni Chains was created. The Igni Chains multiplied by themselves before connecting with other fireballs in their vicinity as well as with each other. Groundbreaking spell amplification and logic-defying spell stackingC these were the powers granted to Eren using the gluttony pearls as catalysts. With intent-driven magic, rankers were always known to defy norms. Those who could use intent-driven magic were able to cast spells way above their pay grade without having to use forbidden techniques. As a result of the Domain of Gluttony acting as the medium, Eren could change the school of his spells. Instead of relying on the mana from his mana core, he could use the mana stored inside the gluttony pearl to cast his spells. Meaning therge-scale AoE he was casting at this point was not using his own mana. The effects of the gluttony pearl would allow Eren to cast amplified spells for a limited time after they were crushed. He didn''t need to do anything drastically different either. The gluttony mana that was stored inside the gluttony pearl would attach itself to Eren''s elemental spells on its own and allow him to cast the Sin Series variant of intent-driven magic. Eren already knew about the pearl''s effects. But that didn''t help him control his surprise when he looked at what he had cast. He couldn''t help whistling to himself to register how impressed he was by the effects of the Sin of Gluttony. Chapter 1134 True Potential Of Spell Integration The gluttony pearls had their limits as well. The pearls were selective when it came to spell amplification and spell stacking. Meaning they could only help Eren amplify or stack the elemental spells of a certain element. This element was dependent upon the ranker''s elemental nature, aspect, and attainment from the gluttony pearl was made from. The spell amplification or spell stacking wouldn''t be very effective for elemental spells gluttony pearls do not directly support. This was the reason Eren had prioritized casting fire-element spells at this point. That''s because the participant from which the crushed gluttony pearl was made was a fire-element ranker. Spells that were not rted to fire elements received a little boost from spell amplification and spell stacking. However, this little bottleneck in the use of gluttony pearls couldn''t stop Eren''s enemies from feeling shit-scared by what he had cast. What''s more? Eren had used all his elemental attainment in the fire to initiate spell integration. As a result, the stacked spells got linked with each other seamlessly, enabling the butcher to increase their damage potential. It was as if a carpet of mes and fireballs was being made in the air. One could say that Eren''s wish to perform carpet bombing was getting fulfilled at this time. The gluttony mana was very alive and active. It started devouring the surrounding mana before converting into packets of mana Eren''s integrated spell could use. The process didn''t require Eren''s supervision at all. As a result, the butcher was able to cast such a spell without losing his mind in the process. The integrated spell started having threatening mana fluctuations as the butcher poured more gluttony mana into it. The participants couldn''t help forming goosebumps on their skin as they witnessed the scene. All of them hade to understand that Eren was stepping beyond his rank with the kind of spell he was casting. "What what kind of a ranker No what kind of a cultist can can do something like this?" "Am I inside the Nightmare Domain? Are are we all being judged by the Life and Death Altar?" "Un-fucking-believable" "Maybe Just maybe This Eren must be a Master ranker or something who was disguised as" "Can can we fight something like this?" "Damn it. I shouldn''t have gotten my team involved in targeting the White Raven crew. This guy''s a monster. What if others in his team are cultists as well? What if they are as powerful as him and attack us the moment we step out of the testing grounds?" "This This is treason against the kingdom. A cultist can''t do that with us. We we need to call the moderators." "Fucking numbnuts how are we supposed to call moderators when the entire event has been rigged? We will all be dead by the time this guy gets apprehended by the authorities. If he gets apprehended at all. And that''s a big IF. He managed to stay under their radar until now. I''m guessing he has a system in ceC no witnesses, no crime." "There''s still time. We can talk, maybe? I I Hahahaha. Who am I kidding? This maniac is set on killing us all." "Run. Run Let''s run away from this ce. To hell with this test and to hell with this event." "Run? I would have been the first to run away from here if that option was readily avable. But have you forgotten that we are trapped inside a domain? And look at the spell''s potential impact zone. There''s no way for us to run even inside the domain." "Let''s fucking break this damn domain then. I am sure we can break it if we all work together." "That''s not the point, Darven. This abomination of a spell will copse on us before we manage to break the domain. We should have focused on running away from the very beginning. This damn cultist kept us busy by giving us a false sense of hope. He yed us." "What do we do then? Hah! What do we fucking do?" ***please visit As Eren was busy casting the integrated spell, the participants were busying up with a strategy to counter him. However, it all seemed to be in vain. They realized that Eren''s amplified power was too much for them to handle using conventional methods. They couldn''t run away from Eren''s unavoidable attack eitherC a choice they wanted to have at the cost of having to forfeit the test. Most of the surviving participants were intimidated by what they were seeing over their heads. Others tried to keep their logic and reasoning intact in a tough situation. But they were running out of ideas fast as well. "SILENCE!" Harja MelC the guy who acted as the surviving participants'' de facto leadermanded everyone to shut up. He was a prominent student from Royal Ren. Harja Mel needed some silence to think of a n. He was also looking up and Eren''s spell integration was getting reflected in his eyes. Harja Mel had a stoic look on his face as he realized the pinch he was in. Harja Mel was the swordsman Eren had shed with at the start of the showdown. Harja was the one who had faced Eren head-on and survived. The fact that he had used other participants to his advantage was irrelevant at this point. Harja couldn''t believe that Eren could pull off such a move on all the participants. He was sure that Eren was a closebat specialist. But the butcher changed the game by using a different ss to cast the spell integration. "We can''t run away from this spell on time. We need to act together." Harja calmed the participants down and told them to wait for his order. Meanwhile, Eren had finished casting his spell integrationpletely. The butcher looked at the spell integration he had cast and was marveled at it. He made an "I''m impressed" face beforementing. "Damn. Sometimes I can surprise myself. This thing looks beautiful." Eren patted his own back metaphorically by saying that. He then pped his Wind Fire Wings and increased his altitudeC stopping just before the domain''s barrier. The butcher looked down and smiled at his opponents. "Let''s see you survive THIS." Even the butcher didn''t know what kind of output his integrated spell would generate. He didn''t wait long andmanded his integrated spell to descend on the participants. The Wind Fire Shards crackled and the boa snakes hissed at the participants. Their wide-open mouths seemed eager to target the participants. The Igni Chains had a mind of their own. They also seemed eager totch on to live targets. The fireballs started revolving on their axis as the integrated spell descended, producing a peculiar sound. "HERE IT COMES!" "BRACE YOURSELVES!" "AAAAAAAAAH!" Screams and more screams erupted on the battlefield as Eren attacked all the participants with his integrated spell. The screams didn''tst long though. They were soon suppressed by an even bigger sound. A seemingly slow-moving sound of destruction that was gradually picking up pace. === AN: Spell integration was exined in chapters 801 and 802. Chapter 1135 Destruction Births Life Rumble! The Domain of Gluttony was broken by the mana storm unfolding within it. Even Eren was thrown away by the shockwaves generated by the series of explosions. The butcher''s aerial maneuverability skills were put to the test in an incident of his own creation. The ground shook and it felt like someone had summoned a miniature form of the sun to the battlefield. The oxygen in the air was burning so fast that one would have trouble breathing even if one were to remain unaffected by the explosion. The shockwaves were followed by the rumbling sound of destruction that could overwhelm one''s auditory senses. A cloud of dust reached for the sky as the crater at ground zero got progressivelyrger. Fire element mana was so stirred at ground zero that it created various me apparitions. From simple mes to what looked like me spirits in the shapes of beasts and humanoids, they were summoned to the scene. These me spirits would quickly dissolve their existence. Their positions would get taken over by other spirit beasts and the cycle would repeat itself. These me spirits seemed to have wills despite their short lifespans. They seemed to be influenced by gluttony mana which made them eat their own kind before getting dissolved into nothingness. As the explosion continued, these me spirits continued to appear around the cloud of me and dust. It looked as if they were dancingC ying around with each other at the campfire while listening to tribal beats. ''Hmmm? This is interesting. What kind of magic is this? Can I make my spells alive? I wonder if there is any ss such as a Spirit Summoner? What else can I do with Sin Series mana? And what if I add wrath mana to the equation as well? Should Should I conduct more sts like these? Maybe if I'' Eren scratched his jawline while feeling the heat wavesing from the st all over his body. He seemed lost in his thoughts. ''No There''s more to this incident than that. I''m not thinking big enough. Can I capitalize this? What happens if I manage to copy Lensa''s Ability, inject Sin Series mana into it, and use it to create explosions? Can I stabilize the existence of these spirits by bringing life to them as my summoned creatures? The possibilities are endless. I... I just need some time.'' One had to say that there was one hell of a mad scientist hidden inside Eren. Any normal ranker would find his deep thoughts after the explosion profound and frightening at the same time. If it was possible, they would tag him with variousbels before locking him behind bars for his destructive thought process. However, Eren wasn''t only thinking about destruction. He looked at the miniature me spirits dancing around the explosion with unmasked curiosity. He felt as if he should make his own brand of magic down the line after carrying out enough experiments like these. He also started thinking of various ways he could apply the Sin Series mana. Eren didn''t try to get near the explosion because the st had not yet settled down. He flew even higher and prevented himself from getting sted by shockwaves once again. Eren knew that for the most part, he would be immune to the mes he had created. But whenever there was a mana storm involved, the norms were tossed out the window.please visit The butcher didn''t want to get burned by the mes of his own creation. Apart from sustaining apletely unavoidable injury, he felt that his reputation would be ruined in Alephee''s eyes if it ever happened to him. She''d get juicy material to mock him about. ''Well color me impressed. More of them managed to stay alive than I had initially thought. Might as well use them.'' Eren couldn''t use his mana sense to keep tabs on his opponents inside the mana storm. He couldn''t use his soul sense properly because interference from intent-driven magic became an obstacle. However, his soul sense could pick up on the vital signs of the opponents. And it told him that there were three survivors inside the explosion. The rest of the participants died in the explosion. They didn''t even have a chance to put up a fight. The three participants had survived Eren''s integrated spell powered by gluttony mana. It meant that, including Gondel, four participants remained inside the test grounds. Gondel''s survival wasn''t by chance. It helped that Gondel was standing close to the barrier from the beginning. The geek''s body had mmed into the barrier due to the initial shockwaves from the explosion. The butcher had allowed Gondel to pass through the barrier himself right after his body was seen pped over the semi-transparent barrier. He then maintained the barrier long enough for him to get away from ground zero before it copsed, saving the geek''s life. Eren had his own reasons to save Gondel''s life of course. And they were not rted to the array key. Because the array key would have survived Eren''s st just fine. Eren''s reason for saving Gondel was driven by a much deeper motive. After all, he couldn''t let his "food" get overcooked inside the oven. The cloud of dust and the stirred mana wouldn''t have calmed down anytime soon. However, Maya raised her staff and activated the runes over them to take control of the situation. In intervening, she chose to clear the battlefield without interfering with the battles between participants. Swoosh. It was as if mes were sucked out with invisible straws. The me spirits also disappeared as a result. The cloud of dust was also cleared by Maya''s intervention, leaving a clear view of the devastated battlefield behind. Maya looked at Eren warily while doing the clean-up after him. She had to say that she had shaken hands with a very dangerous man. Maya had seen her father Lin Lehan operate when he was on thend of Anfang. For some reason, Eren''s eyes expressed simr intentions to Lin''s. Sasara Sage had done simr explosions for research before. Maya was reminded of Lin Lehan''s words as she looked at Eren. ''Destruction births life. It''s one of the fundamental rules of Creation.'' === AN: Forgot to add this note in the previous chapter. Darven and Harja Mel were first mentioned in chapter 1099. They were the ones trying to im Sage Lufthansa''s Legacy in Eren''s ce. Chapter 1136 Creating New Pawns ''Destruction births life. It''s one of the fundamental rules of Creation.'' Maya remembered her father''s teaching as she looked at Eren with vignce and expectations. She had an inkling that iny her chance to cultivate a soul. Maya felt that Lin Lehan and Eren were cut from the same cloth when it came to being fascinated by the way the mana worked. They both were innovators at heart. And their drive to discover something new made them dangerous to everyone around them. Maya could see on Eren''s face that he was keen on doing explosions like these just to understand the effects of intent-driven mana. Her father had a simr mindset. Eren wasn''t aware that he was being watched so intently by Maya. The butcher just waited for her to clear the battleground. It felt as if a meteor had struck the heart of the city. A huge crater was formed at ground zero. The surroundings around it were devoid of any form of structure. The buildings and the constructions that were around the city square were no more. The abandoned city looked as if it didn''t have a heart anymore. Eren saw the figures of three participants standing in the middle of the crater. He pped his wings and flew towards them at breakneck speed, like an eagle eager to catch its prey. Swoosh. Erennded a bit away from the three surviving rankers. There was a translucent spatial cube protecting the three rankers, he observed. It was a very special Sansara Perk. The sympathetic vomiter, as Eren had called her earlier, was the deployer of the defensive-type Sansara Perk. Sadly, she could only protect Darven and Harja with her barrier. And from the looks of things, they weren''t enough to assure her safety. *** The final battle between Eren and the surviving participants didn''tst long. Seeing that the Domain of Gluttony was no more, the participants started to cast their elemental spells against Eren. The butcher could not deploy any Sin Series domain in such a short time because of the strain on his soul. However, he had found another use for the Mark of Gluttony. Just like Argo, Eren learned that he could destabilize his opponents'' elemental spells by devouring the foundational concepts involved in their basic building blocks. The butcher used spectral mouths to devour and destabilize these spells. Destabilizing spells did not require the deployment of the Gluttony Domain. He could harness the gluttony mana within him to cast the spectral mouths for devouring. Eren couldn''t use devoured mana and concepts in his own attacks in the absence of the Gluttony Domain. However, it wasn''t really a drawback for him. He had plenty of mana reserves avable to handle wounded rankers. Gondel wanted to capitalize on the fact that the survivors were busy with each other. He was way too scared to act at first. But he tried to sneak in and approach Maya while the fight between Eren and his opponents was at a critical stage. The participants dueling with Eren didn''t care about the Sansara Sage''s Legacy anymore. Unfortunately for Gondel, Eren was paying attention to Gondel''s movements all the time. He used Ertaur against the geek, preventing him frompleting the test. Red Lightning Bull did an excellent job. He had be a C-rank entity after ranking up with Eren. And with Eren''s lightning attainments granted to him, the bull managed to keep Gondel busy.please visit As a result, the sympathetic vomiter, Darven, and Harja Mel were forced to ept their defeat. They were on their knees, desperately looking down. Fear of survival took over them. Eren also managed to neutralize Gondel the geek after that. He just took the array key from his hand before killing him. The butcher devoured the array creator right away in front of the three surviving rankers, making them more afraid of him. Eren wanted to devour Gondel ever since he saw the guy''s mastery of array maniption. That''s why he allowed him to survive to this point. He wanted to im the geek''s knowledge and experience for himself, which could help him in his future endeavors. *** "What is your name?" In a cold voice, Eren inquired about the sympathetic vomiter. He didn''t have any weapons in his hand as he stood in front of the three defeated participants. However, the three rankers did not doubt in their minds that Eren''s bare hands were enough to finish them off in their current situation. The sympathetic vomiter looked at Eren with a deadpan expression. She thought that the butcher had a weird fetish for knowing a bit about his victims before he finished them off. Still, it wasn''t like she was averse to the idea of humanizing herself in potential killers'' eyes. She took a deep breath before replying with equal coldness in her voice. "Nysa. My name is Nysa Nael." Eren nodded at Nysa before asking her another question. "Nysa, I''ll only ask this once. Do you want to live?" A bit of light returned to Nysa''s eyes when she heard Eren''s questions. She didn''t want to get her hopes up. But she really wanted to live and advance as a ranker. Compared to Royal Ren''s standard, Nysa Nael wasn''t among the most impressive rankers. However, she had a sound head on her shoulders. She had her own dreams and aspirations. A ranker like her wouldn''t want to end her journey so abruptly under any circumstances. Nysa looked into Eren''s emerald green eyes intently before nodding her head in approval. "Good." He then looked at Darven and Harja Mel before asking them the same question. These two male rankers didn''t have suicidal tendencies either. So they also replied affirmatively. The butcher smiled brightly and pped his hands. "That settles it then. You will serve as my cover and take the heat off me. But you will have to do what I say. You will be injected with foreign mana in the next moment. Don''t fight it. ept its intrusion with all your heart and soul. Let it affect youa" change you." Eren didn''t allow his war prisoners to ask him any more questions. He changed into his summoner ss before starting the process of creating new pawns for the end game. Chapter 1137 A Dichotomy Of Life Two rankers were knocking on death''s door. While the other felt the euphoria of her life. A red-haired swordsman and a golden-haired spear user were slowly drifting away from the realm of the living. These two rankers were Harja Mel and Darven respectively. Darven and Harja Mel''s bodies were injected with death mana that tried to slow their heartbeats down. They looked at Eren terrifyingly only to receive a cruel gaze from him. "Endure it. This process will have you knocking on death''s door. But you would not diepletely..." Eren pursed his lips before adding another use to his estimation. "... I think." It could be said that Darevn and Harja Mel weren''t too happy listening to Eren''s "I think." They came to realize that the butcher was just ying with their lives by experimenting with them. However, they couldn''t really do anything against Eren anyway. So they did what he asked them to doC endure. This time, Eren injected gluttony mana along with wrath mana to create live undead. His experiment with Rondo had given him remarkable results. He wanted to continue creating more lethal, loyal, and usable living dead by improvising on them step by step. Darven and Harja Mel lost their bnce andy t on the ground after death mana invaded their bodies and started affecting their souls. Their breathing became slower and their hearts slowed down. They both closed their eyes, causing their consciousness to dive deep into the depths of darkness. For NysaC Eren injected her with lust mana through the bubble of Mist of Lust surrounding her. The butcher''s Abilities were evolving with his rank up. He could now enve the female rankers with the Sin of Lust without having to sleep with themC provided they allowed branding to take ce on their souls. It should be noted that not everybody could level up their Abilities this quickly. Unlocking an Ability was already challenging enough. So rankers would have to spend years on end just seeing a bit of progress in their Abilities. Eren was an exception to this rule because of his radical bloodlinepatibility with Sin Series Abilities. Instead of developing the Abilities like other rankers, the butcher''s bloodline made him inherit various facets of the Abilities fully developed by someone else. As if they had always belonged to him in the first ce. Even in the lost era when Sin Series Abilities were a norm, someone who could bear more than two Sin Series Marks was almost unheard of. Furthermore, those who used the Marks or the Blessings had to deal with repercussions before or after their use as well. Eren was different from other Marks or Blessings users of the past in this case as well. Unlike them, he did not suffer the same consequences. Whatever drawbacks Eren faced from using Sin Series Marks were minuscule. As long as he keeps ranking up, their effects will diminish as well. *** A girl in light armor was writhing in ecstasy. She had light blue eyes and light blue hair. She had snowy skin and cute facial features.please visit This girl was wearing light armor to not hinder her movements. She had a good bust size and a slim figure. This girl was none other than Nysa Nael. Her ecstatic face revealed she was afflicted with lust mana. It was also evident from the actions she was taking. Nysa didn''t care that she had an audience. She started touching her sensitive zones to relieve herself. She didn''t know or understand what was happening to her. Shey t on her back and let the lust mana take over her as instructed by Eren. Nysa didn''t have to think about much after that. One could say that she was going with the flow. "Aaaaaaah!" While Darven and Harja Mel were getting close to death, Nysa started moaning and writhing in pleasure. She looked at Eren with the expression of a thirsty vixen and started tracing the curves of her body with her own hands. Nysa called Eren to "aid" her with her hand gestures. She called his name with a voice coated in lust. And she was taken on cloud nine again and again until the butcher was able to brand her in this way. As Darven and Harja Mel approached death repeatedly, they were turning into living undead. While Nysa felt like dying when she reached the climax repeatedly. One had to say that it was a weird disy of two extremes happening at the same time. A dichotomy of life. *** Eren knew that he would be scrutinized way more than he could afford to if he was known to win all four Sage Legacies for himself. It wasn''t something he wished for at any cost. It was important to him that he was able to focus on the Lazarus project in peace. He didn''t want the kingdom''s prying eyes on him all the time. Sage Nira''s Legacy couldn''t really count. Eren could just im that there was some sort of disturbance created by the infiltrators. This would allow him to find the Sage''s Legacy while the vestige of Sage Nira''s soul was being targeted by the forces of Layos. However, Eren was the known winner of Sage Loxley and Sage Ivar''s Legacies. He was already in the limelight. He didn''t want to add to that by winning Sage Lehan''s Legacy as well in people''s eyes. What''s more? After getting history lessons from Sage Nira and conversing with Maya, Eren hade to understand that Sage Lehan''s Legacy was special in the kingdom''s eyes. It treated everything the Sansara Sage created as its own property. So winning his Legacy was bound to make the kingdom more interested in him. If the butcher''s guess was right, then the Sages were the ones who had left their Legacies behind on their own initiative. They asked the kingdom of Edinburgh to find valid challengers for their tests so that they could find their inheritors. The kingdom had just fulfilled the wishes of its four Grand Dukes and had no real say in things rted to Sage Legacies. In fact, it had been dying the release of four Sage Legacies for a long time. It had maintained an active correspondence with Maya because it wanted to see if it could gain ess to Sage Lehan''s Legacy. When it looked like Sage Lehan''s Legacy couldn''t be obtained through normal means, the kingdom of Edinburgh decided to finallyply with its Grand Dukes'' wishes. It organized this event to serve as a motivator for its audience during the turbulent time. Otherwise, the kingdom of Edinburgh would have imed all of Sansara Sage''s Legacy to itself, leaving nothing behind for future generations. Meaning nobody knew what the Sage Legacies were going to be apart from the fact that they were precious. This was why Eren was so confident about his n. Chapter 1138 Creating Fiends Nysa Nael was branded with the Sin of Lust. Eren wouldn''t have minded branding Nysa in the "traditional" way. He was sure that Maya wouldn''t mind his debauchery. At most, she would ask him to do this privately after he settled his matters. However, Eren had seen Nysa throw up. Thus, the butcher thought that maybe he should reserve the act of traditional branding forter on. Nysa was the first to rise from the three rankers Eren had decided to spare. She was branded while keeping her personality and her memories intact. As a result, she remembered everything she did and said while under the lust mana''s influence. "You" Nysa looked at Eren scornfully when she got up. She quickly disappeared from her ce after using spatial magic. Before vanishing, she also decided to destroy the nearby ground she had slept on. Eren smiled wickedly as he saw Nysa disappear from his eyes. Only now did hee to know that the girl was a space-element rankerC a rare kind. Of course, she hadn''t really left the testing grounds. She had just manipted the space around her to make herself disappear. "Hehe. She wille around. But why are they not waking up? Did I break them by introducing so many changes to the living undead''s creation?" Eren scrunched his nose in dissatisfaction when he saw that Darven and Harja Mel were yet to awaken as living undeadC something they should have done by this point. He looked at them as if it was their fault for not making his experiments a sess. The butcher was about to regret the fact that he had brought gluttony mana into the mix to create another form of living undead. Maybe adding more than one type of Sin Series mana was a no-go. Or maybe the way that they had been added was wrong, he thought. But just then, two distinct array circles around the two rankers'' lifeless bodies lit up. The process of turning rankers into living undead was restarted. "Grrrrrrrr!" "Aaaaaaaargh!" Darven and Harja Mel started making a bunch of noises from their mouths. Some noises were human-like, others were not. A few guttural sounds also escaped from their wide-open mouths. It was as if they were speaking a demonguage without even knowing what it meant. Various otherworldly runes began to climb over the two rakers'' bodies. They also started to grow tiny horns on their foreheads. Their skin started to turn dark brown and the color of their eyes turned bright yellow. Darven and Harja Mel''s ranking statuses also started shifting. It seemed as if their mana cores were bing ipatible with their changed identities. The mana cores started spinning around their axis in a haywire manner inside their bodies. And the two rankers'' mana circuits were overloaded with their own mana. This was a painful process for both rankers. It was surprising because they were supposed to be living undead who shouldn''t process pain in the same way as normal beings. It indicated that pain had crossed the threshold beyond the physical. Their souls hurt, and their souls were changing. Just when it looked like Darven and Harja wouldn''t survive the process, the death mana that Eren had poured into them acted as a stabilizer of sorts. It started flowing through their visible veins and changed the runic patterns all over their bodies with its flow. Darven and Harja will return to their normal appearance in due time. Their mana cores and their mana signatures also stabilized. However, Eren hade to understand something about his recently created living undead specimen. He knew that they could shapeshift into their previous forms if they wanted to.please visit Eren looked at Darven and Harja Mel with the fascination of a researcher in his eyes. He had a feeling he had created apletely distinct existence on thend of Anfang by turning Darven and Harja Mel into what they are at this point. Uponpleting the process within themselves, Darven and Harja Mel both opened their eyespletely. They both stood up and bowed in front of their new master, waiting for his order. "My liege." Darven and Harja Mel said in unison. It indicated that their sentience was intact for the most part. Eren also had a reason to believe that their core memories and their experiences as rankers were also with them. This allowed them to use their skills to the fullest extent possible. "Shapeshift." Erenmanded the two entities to shapeshift and the two obliged without asking any questions. They both turned into their newly acquired forms and started looking inhuman. As if a different type of monster the likes of which had not been recorded in the history of Anfang. Eren started feeling the wrath and gluttony mana coursing through Harja Mel and Darven''s mana circuits as they stood still. He couldn''t help but wonder how he managed to create something like that. Sometimes researchers are just as clueless about their creations as anyone. This would happen when the researchers conducted experiments on their whims, not expecting anything of worth. They were only interested in the process and not the aftermath when they started. However, they would be surprised if and when they gained desirable oues from their wild experiments. Eren was in the same boat. The butcher knew that the creatures of wrath would explode into nothingness after a while because the wrath mana was ipatible with rankers'' bodies and mana cores. Due to gluttony mana exposure, they would also be unable to function normally as rankers. However, the death mana that he had poured into the two rankers'' bodies as a necromancer took away the destabilizing factor. Eren hade to understand that Darven and Harja Mel wouldn''t be able to progress on their ranking journeys anymore. However, their shape-shifted forms would allow them to level up differently. This attribute sets them apart from the rest of the living undead. However, Eren wondered if Harja and Darven would be able toe back to their human forms if they tried leveling up through their shape-shifted forms. There was a chance that their forms would be destabilized if they attempted, forcing their bodies to implode. Eren told them toe back to their human forms. He then asked Alephee as he circled the two beings. ''Miss Timeless, what are they?'' Alephee''s voice was heard in Eren''s mind for some time. ''Umm... Let''s say that you have managed to create your own brand of fiends by experimenting with Sin Series mana.'' Alephee remarked after observing Darven and Harja Mel using Eren''s senses. Chapter 1139 Connecting Dots ''Intentions are like special forms of magic.'' Eren thought to himself as he observed Darven and Harja Mel. They still had their personalities for the most part. However, they had be extremely loyal to their new master ever since they became a special existence. Eren started understanding the nuances of Sin Series mana and the various Abilities it is associated with. It was clear to him that the creator of the Sin Series Mark had created profound magic with the simplest intentions of all times. Sloth, greed, lust, gluttony, and other simr intentions are usually normal human emotions taken to extremes. One could say that it was their overindulgence that made them sinful. And yet, such simple concepts could be used to derive logic-defying Abilities the likes of which most rankers in Anfang couldn''t even begin toprehend. ''Intentions are the food for the soul. If the body needs food to stay alive, then the soul needs intentions to stay in the world of the living. Magic done without any intention isckluster. It has boundaries It has set limitations. However, intentions can''t be defined with limits. And as a result, intent-driven magic also has no limits. Not really. There''s more to mana there''s more to magic There''s more to everything I am yet to see.'' The butcher got excited after understanding the possibilities of the Sin Series mana. Since his bloodline made himpatible with the Sin Series Abilities, he had decided to make full use of the advantage. Eren also started retracing the inherent Abilities he had received from Reen. It was her from whom he had got the bloodline. His fiend creation experiment allowed him to look at Reen''s creation from a different angle. ''The very first bloodline Abilities I unlocked my devouring of bodies, memories, others'' Abilities, and more. They are all rted to the Sin of Gluttony. If my guess is correct, Arthur was struggling with stabilizing the artificial demon beast''s existence as well. So he must have used Beelzebub''s altar in some form to create Reen. Reen was blessed by the Sin of Gluttony at her birth. That''s how Reen was able to acquire such Abilities right from the beginning.'' Darven and Harja Mel looked at each other as they observed Eren''s pensive face. They kept quiet and allowed him to carry on with his thoughts. The butcher activated his Life Drain Ability and looked at his shriveled hands. He started connecting more dots in his head as he looked at them. ''The old hag that I killed in Purgatory to get the Life DrainC I think she was also marked with the Sin of Gluttony, receiving Life Drain in return. Judging by her mana signature when she fought me, she might have been originally a resident of Labh Salem where demon worshipping is practiced openly. She was probably a witch.'' Eren came to a conclusion on his own that Maya knew as a fact. This was all thanks to Nira Nightshade of course. Without her information, Eren wouldn''t have been able to fill in the nks. The butcher narrowed his eyes as he let his thoughts wander. ''That witch must have died in the all-out war against the Titans. And her body somehow ended up getting resurrected because of Eliza''s experiments with the living undead and the whole concept of resurrection in general. The inheritor of Elder Ichor created Sin Series Marks. He appointed seven Demon Princes and made them the keepers of his properties. The Demon Princes control the nes of Sins the demonic Abilities are based on. And these demonic Abilities are finding their way back to me because I''m the inheritor of the Elder Ichor. It''s like the pieces of the puzzle are falling from the sky into their right position on the puzzle board.'' Eren thought to himself. He retracted the Life Drain and turned his hands to their normal appearance. Alephee provided the reasoning behind the possible coincidence. ''It''s quite possible, Eren. Beelzebub must have tweaked the cause-and-effect fabric quite a lot to meet you. So the coincidences rted to the Sin of Gluttony that you see must be the result of his actions.'' Eren nodded his head at Alephee''s exnation. This topic was about to be discussed in more detail. However, he stopped himself when he noticed that someone was standing behind him. "How do you feel?" Eren smiled lightly and asked Nysa who had decided to show herself. She had changed into some fresh clothes before facing her new master. She looked at him intently before saying what she had intended to say all along. "I feel fine. I I wanted to thank you for letting me live, Eren. Especially the way you let me live. I didn''t want to be turned into your experiment subjects. Not like them." Nysa said while looking at Darven and Harja Mel. She hade to realize that Eren had let her off the hook easily. And that Darven and Harja MelC her ex-aplices against ErenC had to leave their humanity behind to survive. She felt that she would have regretted quite a bit if her humanity had been taken away from her. Nysa also bowed in front of Eren as she said that. She knew that Eren was unlike the prodigies she was used to dealing with back in Royal Renar. The man in front of her was someone extraordinary who had ess to logic-defying powers. He had also struck some kind of deal with Maya before showing his cards to them. Nysa could read Eren''s intentions to some extent due to the bond they shared between them. She could tell that the things he had aplished were no big deal for him. That he was used to performing feats like these. He was a domineering evil one could never seeing. Nysa wanted to join Edinburgh''s forces at first to progress in her ranking journey steadily. But seeing Eren perform outstanding feats, she realized that she could get more from siding with Eren wholeheartedly. One had to say that Nysa was a half-ss-full kind of girl. She had a strong passion for survival and knew how to look at her circumstances in a positive light. Nysa knew that men like Eren were either about to wreck themselves up in search of greatness. Or they will find what they are looking for because of their relentless pursuits. Nysa bet on the second possibility because of how Eren carried himself. The butcher chuckled before responding to Nysa''s words. Chapter 1140 Exiting Sansara World "Keke. You don''t need to thank me, Nysa." Eren''s emerald green eyes exuded a faint light as he eyed the beauty in front of her. "There''s a reason I didn''t experiment with you. You will be known as the winner of the Sansara Sage''s Legacy in the outside world. I want you to be as spotless as possible in serving in that role. You were not as efficient as Gondel in cracking array-rted puzzles. But you still did better than most rankers. Plus, your ss as an array master will make you a more believable winner of the Legacy." Eren could understand Nysa''s intentions fine. The girl was probably embarrassed about the kind of experience Eren had put her through. Being a virgin, she had never allowed herself to be so vulnerable in front of another person. However, Nysa quickly overcame the embarrassment. She didn''t regret her decision in wanting to stay alive at the cost of getting branded by Eren. She just hoped that her ranking journey wouldn''t get hampered by that decision. Nysa liked to stay affiliated with the kingdom of Edinburgh because of the opportunities it provided for high-ranking entities. However, she wouldn''t mind getting into Eren''s camp if he could offer her the same thing. Eren could understand what was happening inside Nysa''s mind. He could onlyugh in his head because of how lightly she had taken the branding process. Eren''s brand would influence her to stay loyal to him irrespective of what transpired between them. She hadn''t realized it yet. One could say that Eren''s Lust branding was so fine-tuned this time that neither the subjects nor the ones observing them would be able to tell if they were controlled unless they really dug deep. The brand on Nysa''s soul will ensure that Eren''s will get carried out with or without the benefits Eren might offer to her. However, some things didn''t need to be said. The butcher pped his hands and continued. "Let''s not waste any more time iming Sansara Sage Legacy. I will pick what I like before letting you keep what I don''t." Nysa was about to say something. But the butcher didn''t let her speak. Lightning struck and Nysa found herself standing close to her master. His one hand was ced across her shoulder while his other hand was holding onto the array key. Eren inhaled Nysa''s bodily smell and her hair. It was as if she had just taken a bath somewhere using a Sansara Perk. As he led Nysa towards Maya standing in the distance, he brought his lips close to her ears before whispering. "Don''t worry. We will get to know each other better when we step out of Sansara World. We have to do something about your "inexperience", after all." Nysa Nael looked at Eren with a slightly reddish face as she walked alongside him. Thepetition at Royal Ren was fierce. So she didn''t have much of a personal life. However, she was looking forward to her alone time with Eren. She started seeing it as part of her graduation reward. *** "Here''s the array key you asked for, Lady Maya." Eren handed the array key to Maya with a bright smile on his face. The butcher had cleaned himself up after the battle, changing into new clothes. He looked innocent and his presence exuded effortless elegance. It was as if the person who created the vile creatures of gluttony wasn''t him but someone else. Maya, Darven, and Harja Mel were standing behind Eren. Maya looked at them intently before fixing her eyes on Eren. She sighed before speaking up. "You have surpassed my expectations, Eren. I don''t know how my father would feel about his Legacy not really getting imed by an array master. But you have done so within the rules he has set. So it is only fair that I dere you to be the winner of the test at least inside the Sansara World." Maya said and finally put a smile on her face. She imbued her mana into the array key and a cracking sound from within it was heard. She then handed the array key back to Eren. "Here. You will find Sansara Sage''s Legacy inside the very thing you were asked to hand over." Eren was a bit taken aback as he received the array key back from Maya. Upon her instructions, he drew a drop of blood from his right index finger''s tip using the Wind Shard as a scalpel. He then let the blood drop onto the array key, binding the artifact to himself. Eren couldn''t help smiling as soon as he understood what the array key was. It was a transcendent-grade spatial artifact. And it contained a world of its own within it. This was the reason why the array key looked like a miniature version of the sphere of the Sansara World levitating over the Edinnica Arena. The spatial dimension the artifact in Eren''s hand contained was a huge contrast to its actual size. The world inside the array key was smaller in dimensions. The butcher, however, felt the world to be very different from Sansara World as soon as he sent his soul sense inside. He looked at Maya only to hear her say her next set of words. "This is my father''s second attempt at creating an artificial worlda" Sansara World V2.0. It doesn''t have the Sansara interface and it is not as big as this spatial dimension is. This artifact, however, has exceeded the Sansara World V1.0 in its ability to incorporate the Way of the Elements. As I said, don''t count my father''s Legacy to be on the same level as the rest of his colleagues. You will find out what you are..." The butcher disappeared from his ce before Maya could continue her speech. He left the array key floating in its ce. Maya was a bit annoyed by Eren''s impatience. However, she sighed and didn''t say anything. She could understand how excited Eren must have been to have received a Legacy of this caliber. Eren took his time exploring Sansara World 2.0. He was all smiles when he came out, indicating that he had found a lot of things for use inside the special dimension that the Sansara Sage had left behind for his sessor. "Here. Take these things. This is enough for you to call yourself the sessor to Sansara Sage''s Legacy." Aftering out of Sansara World V2.0, Eren took out lots of stuff from his Sansara Storage and dumped them in front of Nysa. Nysa saw loads of array scrolls and spell scrolls, a huge pile of Extols, and various Expert and Master ranked artifacts. Nysa also found an array disk inside the lot that could refine her mana circuits as an array master. However, she found that it had already been used once. Nysa wondered what kind of things Eren had found inside the Sansara World 2.0 that he was ready to give away treasures like these even as a cover. However, she neither asked norined about the things she had been given. She was ready to be in the limelight for Eren if the act could reward her like this. Eren and other survivors would soon get kicked out of Sansara World. It was only a matter of time. While Nysa was checking out her newfound fortune, the butcher decided to take a moment to rx. Under Maya''s control, the fountain was kept safe and intact despite what happened on the battlefield. Lightning struck and Eren appeared seated on the fountain ledge. Eren decided to check his status screen on a whim. He had devoured some participants inside Sansara World. As a result, he could feel that his ranking status and his body stats had increased a bit. This was a good time to check on the progress he had made. *** Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Organizations- Edinburgh Army (Former), Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy (Participating in Graduation Event) Academic Status- TBA Ranking Technique- Rootless (Custom Name) Base Stats: HP- 61 / 61 (?) MP- 61 / 61 (?) STR- 61 (?) AGI- 61 (?) INT- 61 (?) BTP~ 305 (?) BTP Visibility- Private Ranking Status: C-Rank (Vapour Core State) Abilities (custom): Sin of Gluttony (Domain of Gluttony), Sin of Wrath (Domain of Wrath), Sin of Lust (Mist of Lust), Sedating Gaze, Life Drain, Hero''s Heart, Instant Reset, Expedited Regeneration (Bloodline), Memory Extraction, Devour (Bloodline), Shapeshift (Bloodline) Self-created spells: Wind-Fire Shards Lightning-element spells: Blitz Steps, Blitz Heal, Blitz Storm, Blitz Shield, Blitz Bolt, Solid Spark, Lightning Seed, Lightning Tree Fire-element spells: Fireball, Firebreath, Hatching of the me (variations), Fire Wings, Rain of Fire, Crimson Storm, Igni Chains, Igni Steps Time-element spells: Sedated Perception, Stunning Speed, Total Control, Age Expedite, Age Reverse, Motion Maniption Space-element spells: Blink, Dynamic Distance, Perfect Projection Wind-element spells: Wind Wings, Wind-de Tornado, Wind Steps, Wind Wall, Wind Shards Water-element spells: Aqua Hammer, Aqua Heal, Aqua des, Aqua Wall, Aqua Steps, Aqua Storm, Aqua Whips Wood-element spells: Green Prison, Vicious Vines, Healing Vines, Wood Life Control Earth-element spells: Earth Wall, Earth Steps, Earth Maniption, Earth Spikes Death-element spells: Death Wave, Death Rot, Shadow of Death Misceneous spells: Beast Contract Spell, Demon Beast Transformation Spell, Wind-fire Wings, Wind-Fire Shards Summoning Spells: Fire snakes (variations), Purple Lightning Snakes, Red Lightning Bull (Contract beast summoning), Griffin, Woond Summon, Woond Wondend, Army of the Dead, Contract Undead, Living Undead, Goliath, Earth Arachnids, Behemoth (calibrating new entries) *** Eren knew that the ID-Stone had a problem quantifying his body stats properly because they would change as per the ss he was in. His base stats, however, were uniform due to the effects of his Rootless ranking technique. The butcher closed the spectral window and turned to his right to see Maya sitting beside him. "Do we stick to our n?" Maya asked hesitantly. It could be seen that she was struggling to do what Eren expected her to do if she wanted to get out of her cage. The butcher chuckled before responding. "What are you scared of? We already have a better Sansara World for ourselves. Don''t you want to cultivate a soul? Sometimes risks like these make us living beingse alive. You wouldn''t get it now. But you would... eventually. Your journey toe alive has to start with destruction as well. After all... destruction births life." Eren''s body started shining when he finished speaking. Nysa, Darven, and Harja Mel''s bodies also started getting enveloped in a peculiar spatial magic. Those inside the testing grounds, along with their teammates waiting outside, would be kicked out of Sasara World. While his figure faded, Eren gazed at Maya before leaving her with his parting words. "Destroy this damn cage and set yourself free. I will be waiting for you outside." Saying this, the butcher disappeared. And Maya was left with nobody but herself inside the Sansara World yet again. As loneliness started to close in on her again, she decided that it was time to take action. "Destruction births life." Maya mumbled to herself and stayed motionless for a while. In the end, she sighed before summoning a massive array around her. She was about to activate the array eye and destroy one of her father''s legacies with her own hands. Eren and Maya did not know that chaos was waiting for them outside Sansara World. === AN: Can be skipped. VEH Volume 05: Domineering Evil concludes with this chapter. This volume tries to answer all the questions we had at the beginning of the novel. Volume 06: Advent of War is intended to be rtively short but action-packed. We will start with the ambitious Lazarus Project in the seventh volume. It was taxing writing Domineering Evil. I had to pause other projects'' releases because of it. Yet, it was also quite fun because a lot of Eren''s investments came to fruition. His start was shaky. His first few steps were average at best. However, his persistence has allowed him to reach where he has reached. Eren still has a lot to work on. But I think it is safe to say that his progress has put smiles on our faces nheless. Thanking all the readers who have stayed with Eren. Special thanks to the top contributors. Recently, I learned that one of the VEH readers named their newborn pet Argo. I think that''s one of the nicest des any author could receive about their work. I also chuckled thinking the pup might grow up to be quite a handful. ;) Share your expectations about the uing volume or retrospection on Domineering Evil in thement section if you want to. Also, please note that the next chapter release might get a bit dyed. That''s about it. See you in the next volume. Cheers! :) Chapter 1141 Sara Stark Going back in time. The first week of the graduation event. Eren was still far away from entering the E-Rank inside the Sansara World. The Edinnica Arena was hosting many big and small spectral screens. The audience had a variety of options because of them. Of course, the screens were showing the battle scenes taking ce between the participants. The first week of the event started great. Every participant could be seen doing their best to survive in the Sansara World. Whether they fought in their teams or battled solo, earning Karma points became paramount for any conflict for all the parties involved in the conflicts. The mortals were also mixed within the audience. A special zone was created for them so that they could watch the event without getting affected by random mana fluctuations. The mortals were allowed entry inside the Edinnica Arena only after the participants were sent into the Sansara World. Otherwise, most of them would have to forfeit their lives just by being present near a highly charged environment. The mortals were both excited and terrified by the violence they saw unfolding inside the Sansara World. They already knew that rankers were a different breed. However, scenes like these made them understand how true their assumptions really were. The establishments cared deeply for their mortal popce because they knew they would receive a consistent supply of rankers from them. They knew events like these inspire some mortals to take rankers'' path, ensuring that a new batch of rankers always gets created in every generation. Every generation of rankers was like cogs needed to keep the establishments'' machinery working. This was the reason why they spent so much of their resources on keeping the academies running. Life-and-death events like these were woven into rankers'' societal fabric. They enabled the establishments to recruit and manage the best rankers of their generation. The rankers didn''t see the mortals as their equals after breaking into the Novice rank. And it was a natural feeling most rankers would experience. These feelings would grow the more they progressed ahead in their ranking journeys. However, the rankers wouldn''t go out of their way to harm the mortals. Rankers and mortals were like oil and water. They wouldn''t mix. However, they remained neutral to each other''s existence for the most part. Anfang Alliance made the establishments ensure that the rankers stayed away from the mortals'' matters. That''s because a single high-ranking entity would cause great harm to the mortal poption if they were allowed to. *** One of the audience booths- dedicated to the mortal popce. Edinnica Arena. Mortals were provided special entry and arrangements inside the capital city for the event. As a result, a huge crowd of mortals gathered inside the stadium. There were special array systems in ce for the mortal popce. One could usepact array dials that were part of the array systems to control the spectral screens avable for them. A blind girl was listening to thementary of the event intently. She was fascinated by hearing what was taking ce inside the Sansara World. However, she zeroed in on a particr detail after hearing a name. ''Eren Idril I have heard this name before. isn''t this person Katalina''s guild master?'' The blind girl mumbled to herself. Her name was Sara Stark. Sara''s shoulder-length peach-colored hair cascaded her cute and beautiful face as she stared nkly in front of her. A mini spectral screen was right in front of her. However, it was obvious that she wasn''t looking at the screen. Sara Stark had grayish-blue eyes that didn''t make her seem like she was blind. She had clear skin that had a pinkish hue. With her gorgeous face and apt feminine curves, Sara Stark was quite a beauty. Sadly, Sara Stark had be blind at the age of 12 when she tried testing herpatibility with a certain technique. This technique was supposed to make her step into the Novice rank. However, the technique backfired and she ended up losing her sight. In thend of Anfang where magic and magic-rted potions were a norm even among mortals. It was just that mortals had their own way of employing mana. Therefore, defects like blindness were almost unheard of. So whenever such mortals made their appearances, they would be treated differently than the others. Blindness was not the only turmoil Sara had. asionally, she had to suffer tremendous amounts of pain in her eyes and head at night. This was another side effect of practicing a defective ranking technique. The episodes of pain would be intermittent. Sometimes Sara would experience three weeks of no-pain nights. And sometimes she would have to face that pain every week. These episodes of pain made her blindness worse. Usually, people like Sara couldn''t be treated with means of magic avable to mortals and low-level rankers. Also, these people were unable to be rankers due to the existing defects in the mana circuits. All mana-rted treatments came with some kind of risk factor for mortals no matter how carefully they were administered. People with such disabilities were unable to magically get rid of their problems for the most part because of this. Thus, there was a perception among mortals. That those mortals with such defects were hated by the mana. As such, they silently condemned the existence of people with such defects. Nobody mistreated Sara Stark because of her blindness. There was no reason to. They just maintained a safe distance from her. So that her bad luck doesn''t rub off on them. After all, they didn''t want to anger the World Will by interacting with someone it had seemingly cursed. Sara and her parents visited a lot of Novice and Ace healers so that they could cure her of her blindness or relieve her of the episodes of pain. However, for some reason, they were unable to help her. The family didn''t have sufficient funds or guts to seek a higher-ranked entity''s help in their minuscule matter. In the end, even Sara started believing that she was indeed cursed by the World Will of Anfang. However, Sara didn''t let her situation get the better of her. She eventually made peace with her pain and suffering. If Eren was present at the audience booth, he would have recognized Sara Stark right away. After all, this was the girl he had cared for in his past timeline. === AN: Sara Stark is mentioned vaguely in chapters 523 and 524. Theposition Medicine for the Heart is written for her character. Chapter 1142 Reva Rain’s Demonic Activities ''Yes He is the same man. Katalina told me about this person so many times when west talked. City of White Raven''s founder Eren Elijah Idril.'' Sara Stark, like some mortals, was not used to following what happened in the rankers'' world. That''s why she was unable to recall that the name Eren Idril was associated with the city of White Raven right away. However, Sara eventually remembered Eren''s name. Sara couldn''t help feeling surprised by realizing that Eren was just as young as her. And still, he had managed to establish a city for himself. He was a sessful ranker while she had remained a helpless mortal. ''Just amazing. He is even more amazing than what Kat told me about him.'' Sara still considered Katalina as her friend despite the difference in the realities between them. After all, Katalina had ceased to be mortal. She had turned into a sessful ranker at this point. At least in Sara''s and her parents'' eyes, she had achieved an exceptional form of sess. Katalina Reich was an abandoned orphan living in the same city in which Sara and her family used to live. She spent her childhood doing random chores for anyone that offered her something to eat. Sara''s family was rtively rich for mortals. It adopted Katalina as their daughter so that she could serve as the caretaker for the blind Sara. Initially, Katalina treated Sara as her master and considered herself her ve. And Sara''s family was okay with that distinction too. Katalina, however, was considered her sister by Sara Stark as much as a friend. Sara eventually learned that Katalina had a talent for harnessing mana. The blind girl took it upon herself to help Katalina be a ranker by investing money and other resources in her. With Sara''s help, Katalina Reich managed to break into the Novice rank. And her journey as a ranker began from there. Katalina had a very humble beginning. She had seen the unttering face of a society that was usually shown to those who didn''t have anything in their wallets. Or someone who was not privileged enough to have a wallet in the first ce. This was the reason why Katalina was always hungry to make more money even after she became a ranker. Katalina joined the Titus tournament to secure money for herself. The girl never forgot her benefactor though. She wanted to help Sara get rid of her blindness and intermittent pain. Maybe walk on the path of a ranker too. With enough money, Katalina could hire a high-ranking healer or alchemist who knew how to treat Sara''s condition. Katalina eventually came to meet Sara and her adopted family after winning the Titus tournament. She thanked the family by providing them with loads of Eddies. She also took Sara to see a high-ranking healer who could heal her. Unfortunately, the healer was not able to get rid of Sara''s condition for some reason despite the various methods he tried on her. He asked Sara to provide him with the ranking technique she had practiced when she was a child. However, Sara and Katalina were both shocked to find out that the scroll used in the ranking technique had disappeared from the household. To avoid being a bother to Katalina who had be a ranker, Sara told her friend that she had gotten used to staying blind. She also said that episodes of pain were not the issue anymore. Sara appreciated Katalina''s efforts to help her. However, Katalina could only pause her goals to help Sara after finding out that the problem wasn''t financial. There was no immediate fix to Sara''s problem. Katalina returned back to Eren and joined the White Raven Guild. The orphaned girl maintained contact with Sara though, making the blind see the world of rankers through her descriptions. *** The Pdin of PainC Reva Rain was a demonic ranker. She was used to harnessing the emotions of pain experienced by other living beings. This was why she liked torturing her targets. She also tortured Eren after realizing that the guy had a high pain tolerance. The demonic part inside her considered Eren to be a challenge it wanted to ovee. However, feelings of pain and suffering were not limited to the rankers'' world alone. Reva Rain could also harness the feelings of pain and suffering she induced on mortals. This was the reason she distributed so many defective ranking techniques among mortals. Mortals practicing Reva''s defective techniques would have various types of illness or physical symptoms. Some would bepletely blind while others would turn mute or deaf. However, they all had one thing inmon. All of them experienced intermittent episodes of pain. Due to her fear of being apprehended by establishments or even the Anfang Alliance, Reva Rain did these things very secretly. She did not want any of the defective ranking techniques'' origins to get traced back to her. Therefore, she used her minions in the Escalon guild to do such dirty jobs. Reva Rain also needed to perform a demonic ritual to taste the fruits of her supposedbor. She needed the body parts of the living beings, affected by the emotions of pain she had made them feel, toplete the demonic ritual. The demonic ritual to harness the emotions of pain was how Reva Rain had progressed so rapidly in her ranking status. And since she only targeted mortals for the most part, her demonic activities weren''t discovered by anyone. Of course, Sara was suffering from the same defective ranking technique that Reva Rain had distributed. And since the technique''s origins were demonic, no healer, potion seller, or alchemist could cure her or help her relieve the pain. In Eren''s past timeline, he was sent to kill Sara Stark by Reva Rain so that she could harness the emotions of pain. The Pdin of Pain had a lot of errand runners like Eren under her belt to do this job. The butcher in his past timeline was jaded because of his circumstances. He did not know why Reva Rain would need to torture or kill mortals. However, he did not care to ask. He knew that he would only receive more torture done to him in the form of an answer to his question. Eren and Sara''s meeting in the past timeline was not romantic under any circumstances. The guy hade to kill her so that his boss at that time could use her organs for her demonic activities. However, something prevented Eren from killing Sara. That''s because the blind girl offered him some food at their first meeting. A kind gesture that shouldn''t be seen as a huge favor. And yet, it was enough for the butcher to not listen to the orders that Reva Rain had dished out to him. Chapter 1143 The Story Of A Benign Butcher There was a reason why Eren was so proficient at torturing people. Reva Rain''s demonic ritual required her to torture mortals before killing them. The sudden spikes in the emotion of pain and suffering made her ritual more effective for her, allowing her to progress by leaps and bounds in her elemental attainments. Reva Rain was also able to strengthen her Ability by torturing mortals. So it was imperative for her that she inflicted more pain, asking her henchmen to do the same. Torturing mortals was a delicate job. Mortals'' bodies weren''t strong enough to sustain the same level of torture as rankers. They could die easily, making the demonic ritual useless or less effective. The Pdin of Pain was taking huge risks by distributing defective ranking techniques among mortals. That''s why she didn''t like it when mortals died without allowing her to extract their worth from them. Under Reva Rain''s tutge, Eren had to learn many ways of torturing mortals without killing them right away. He often had to employ non-magical ways to agitate the victims'' pain receptors. He also had to be creative with mortals'' anatomy to make them suffer more without them losing their minds. This was imperative because mindless people wouldn''t be able to register the same amount of pain as sane ones do. Renar, Fiona, and others had experienced Eren''s torture methods firsthand. It could be said that they had a permanent scar on their psyches because of that. The Pdin of Pain made effective use of Eren by assigning tasks like these. She would force him to suffer through torture sessions for the silliest of mistakes. Sometimes she would torture him for made-up reasons as well. She would always tell him that she was torturing him so he could torture his targets more effectively. So that he could do his job better. Eventually, Eren learned to dissect mortals'' bodies while keeping them alive for a short amount of time. His victims would be made to stand up as he dissects them. Their bodies would be suspended inside a spatial array that kept them levitating, preventing them from moving their muscles for precise cuts. He would then often pull organs from their bodies before cing them in his raised hands. In his past timeline, the butcher used to kill in this way because it made his job as a torture specialist easier. It was done so that he could torture more without the organs spilling on the floor. After all, the spatial array in which the victims'' bodies were suspended also had a cleaning mechanism integrated into it. The array would burn anything that fell out of victims'' bodies, releasing a smoke of cooked meat. To prevent this odor from entering his nostrils, Eren would carve out victims'' organs and ce them over their raised hands and shoulders. It could be said that what he did as nothing but a job in the past timeline became his habit in the current timeline. Eren''s mastery of butchering mortals and rankers grew because of Reva''s shady assignments. The hacking of body parts had be his daily routine, turning him callous about everything that was rted to blood and gore. The butcher had to say that being part of the Escalon guild was the most brutal and bloody chapter of his life in his past timeline. It made him live a life of quiet desperation. During his tenure in the Escalon guild, Eren''s hands remained bloody from innocent mortal blood. And since he was diligent in his efforts despite his hate towards Reva Rain, he mastered the art of torture and ughter. Eren was Reva Rain''s top-performing henchman. Reva''s victims, who suffered through the butcher''s torture, would feel the most amount of pain. As a result, Reva was able to extract pure forms of feelings from them for her demonic ritual. Eren was one of the most crucial pawns Reva had in the past timeline. And all he received as a reward was torture and more torture. Eren''s psyche was deeply impacted after butchering rankers and mortals alike. Killing opponents and rankers is one thing. But killing them in such a way that they would suffer more before dying was another. Experiences like these changed Eren as a person. They made him even more insensitive toward people''s lives in general. This was why Eren preferred neat and efficient kills on this timeline. As much as possible, he tried to break away from his habits. A silent way of proving to himself that he was a different person. The butcher provided easy deaths for opponents who asked for the same from him through their words or actions. Meeshah was just one of the victims on the list. *** Even Reva Rain had to acknowledge Eren''s skills at butchering and torturing people. She would often call him Benign Butcher, which sounded like a mockery because it highlighted his helplessness in front of her. Of course, Eren could see that Reva Rain was not a normal ranker by any stretch of the imagination because of her activities like these. However, he assumed her to be a cultist in secret. And employing cultists in the shadows was a norm for shady guilds like the Escalon Guild. Eren was not aware of the Anfang Alliance or Reva''s identity as a demonic ranker. Therefore, he could never use that information as leverage against her. Eren also learned to sustain pain and suffering as much as he was capable of inflicting them. His pain tolerance kept reaching new heights, thanks to Reva Rain''s consistent ''training sessions.'' "Those who inflict pain must have the courage to bear it as well." The Pdin of Pain was the original speaker of that sentence. Reva Rain would often whisper those words into Eren''s ears while "educating" him. As a result, that sentence just stayed with the butcher, getting yed in his mind like a broken record. The Pdin of Pain was used to cover her tracks wlessly. As a result, Anfang Alliance or establishments were unaware of her activities. After watching her clear the kill site in a precise manner, the butcher also learned to do the same. === AN: A throwback to chapters 129, 808, and 943. Chapter 1144 A Stark Contrast Reva Rain deeply affected Eren''s personality as a ranker. She was his mentor in the art of inflicting pain and misery on others. She also showed him with her actions that staying low was paramount when it came to conducting operations like these. Reva taught him many things and made him realize even more. The lessons she imparted to him were bone-deepC something he wouldn''t be able to forget even in the current timeline. Experiences can be ssified as good or bad. However, the knowledge gained from those experiences will always hold some value. It depends upon the individual how they apply the knowledge gained. Eren couldn''t use what Reva Rain taught him to its fullest potential in thest timeline. However, the skills he had developed back then had be his assets in the current timeline. The mocking tag of the Benign Butcher could not be used to describe Eren''s actions in the current timeline anymore. And due to his deeds in the current timeline, it was changed into something entirely differentC the Osan Woods'' Butcher. It was as if Eren had shed skin to be the same type of monster he was in his past. However, the way he applied the knowledge and experiences he gained from the previous timeline was a ss apart. This was the reason Eren strongly objected to Nina joining the Escalon guild. The guild had two facesC one for public consumption and the other for performing shady activities like these. Nina might not have been made to do the same things as him if she had joined. However, the butcher didn''t want her to venture anywhere near the darkness the guild was used to nurturing in its backyard. The kind of darkness that once surrounded him. Escalon guild and its most sessful guild member Reva Rain had more or less walked on the same path they had in Eren''s previous timeline. As a result, Sara Stark was blind in this timeline as well. However, the Pdin of Pain was yet to harvest the emotions of pain she had influenced Sara to nurture. *** With the baggage of his bitter experiences weighing on his mind, Eren saw the world around him in lifeless shades. His vices had be his only truepanion in his past timeline. The butcher had entered the city meant for mortals by disguising himself as a mortal as well. After all, Reva Rain was very particr about covering her tracks. The butcher had forgotten what the words kindness andpassion meant when he was working for the Escalon guild. That''s why he wasn''t mentally ready to meet someone like Sara Stark. And by sparing Sara, he became what Reva mocked him to beC a benign butcher. *** Eren saw something very lively within Sara, which shocked and fascinated him at the same time. She was the other side of the feminine he thought had ceased to exist in thend of AnfangC gentle and nurturing. A stark contrast to Sienna. Despite the constant episodes of pain, the girl was optimistic about life. She was cheerful despite the blindness that prevented her from seeing the world around her. Sara''s heart was full of something Eren didn''t haveC hope. When Eren saw the world in lifeless shades, Sara managed to fill in the colors that she could not see with her own eyes. There was a part of Eren that wanted to finish Reva Rain''s assignment because Sara''s existence bothered him. However, there was also a part of him that wanted to gain something from the blind girlC the same hope she seemed to have in abundance. It could be said that the butcher was trying to make sense of his existence. Or that he was just selfish to have what Sara had. Either way, Eren''s meeting with Sara was a turning point for him. Eren decided to spend some time with Sara to see how she was able to stay so positive. He stayed in her city and met with her several times. By the time a month had passed, the two had gotten to know each other in more detail. Eren started liking spending time with Sara because it represented a life away from all the bloodshed and carnage he was forced to unleash by his employer. His subconscious mind started associating her with calm and peace he had never experienced in the past timeline. Sara was easy to talk to. It was as if she had her own form of magic that made her effortless around people. She would speak less and listen more when she needed to. And she would lead the conversation in the right direction when she had to. The blind girl didn''t have to fill the silence with empty words and pleasantries. She would just get up and ask Eren to change the venue of their meetings on a whim. "Walks are free therapy," she believed. Sara would be able to smile for the most mundane of reasons. Or it was just that she didn''t need a reason to smile. The girl was happy because she could breathe. A rare form of optimism that isn''t found in everybody. Eren had a feeling that the blind girl could see through him just fine. Because she never asked him questions he would find difficult to answer. It seemed to Eren that Sara was okay with Eren being suspicious. She took joy in the fact that she hadpany. Eren teased Sara for being so trusting of random strangers. However, he couldn''t help but be influenced by her positivity. The two would talk for hours on end before scheduling their next meeting. Eren found it strange that he would be able to maintain a healthy, back-and-forth conversation with a mortal despite the different lives they lived. It was as if themon grounds to talk about would appear on their own when he was in Sara''spanyC a phenomenon he had never experienced. The talks led to Sara Stark teaching Eren how to dance. She also taught him how to cook, making a fine chef out of him. She would often marvel at how he was so agile when it came to handling knives. Chapter 1145 Death– A Much-Needed Respite A respite. That''s how Erenbeled the time he got to spend with Sara. The butcher was able to keep Sara''s status a secret from Reva Rain. Thetter had a steady supply of mortals she could use in her demonic rituals. So she didn''t see the need to micromanage her henchmen. Eren would take time to meet Sara whenever he found a window from his daily activities. This carried on for a few years. The two eventually became intimate with each other. A steady progression of their bond. Of course, the contract he was forced to sign with Sienna made things a bit difficult for him and Sara. However, the blind girl got over it eventually, trusting Eren''s words instead of getting intimidated by the restrictions ced on him. It was the first time in a long while that Eren felt that he should do something about someone else. Thus, he ran through the same process Katalina had to go through in the current timeline. And just like Katalina, he eventually found out that there was no cure for Sara''s condition. In both timelines, Sara took the news of the healers'' inability to cure her positively. She asked Eren to stop struggling, telling him she was fine with whatever cards she had been dealt with. Eren found it difficult to let go of Sara''s problems for his own reasons. He knew at the time that it was Reva Rain''s defective technique that was the reason behind Sara''s condition. Eren couldn''t tell anything about what he knew to Sara or anyone else for that matter. And he never even bothered to request a cure from the Pdin of Pain. With a copy of the defective technique as a reference, he spent his time finding a cure for Sara in silence. A task that did not yield any fruit. Still, things between Eren and Sara were going well. And the couple stayed happy taking simple joys out of life. Until one day. One of Reva''s henchmen found Sara. In no time, he recognized that Sara was suffering from a defective ranking technique. Unlike the benign butcher, the man did what he was asked to do, killing Sara after torturing her. Eren was sure that Reva had somehow gotten to know about his little escapadesC his life away from the bloody job of organ harvesting. The Pdin of Pain sent the guy to finish what Eren couldn''t. Eren''s lifeless shades came back to him instantly when he heard about what had happened to Sara. He was too shocked to act or respond for a few days. Those days were a blur for the butcher. However, he could remember the day when he snapped out of his self-induced misery on his own. Eren''s wrath knew no bounds. The butcher found the guy before killing him in the most horrific way possible. He also suffered the consequences of hurting his own guild member, damaging his mana core in the process. The damaged mana core meant that Eren wouldn''t be able to be a high-ranking entity in his life. In spite of his diligent efforts, it capped his potential, obscuring his already gloomy future. However, the butcher didn''t care about his future at the time of killing Sara''s killer. He knew that his future was already too dark without Sara''s presence in it. He did not have anything to look forward to anymore. Of course, Eren also knew that Reva Rain was Sara''s real killer. She just didn''t see the need to paint her own hands in Sara''s blood, treating her like the ordinary mortal she was. No matter how hurt he was, Eren was a realist. He knew he wouldn''t be able to do anything against Reva Rain no matter what he did. He also didn''t confront Reva about it, denying her the pleasure of gloating in his face. In Escalon Guild''s eyes, Eren held even less value than he already had because of his damaged mana core. It didn''t care about the butcher or the guy he had killed due to some personal dispute. Ultimately, Escalon guild allowed Eren to end his contract with it, giving him the freedom he didn''t need. By this time, Reva was also done with a mentally and physically exhausted Eren. She didn''t bother retaining him when he applied for contract termination. In a way, Sara helped Eren free himself from Reva Rain''s control. The fact that he couldn''t or didn''t want to do anything with his freedom was a different matter altogether. No other establishment would hire Eren when he was at his lowest. So he was forced to be a mercenary for hire. And since nobody wanted to form a team with him, he was forced to do solo missions. In the past timeline, Eren epted solo missions one after another and drowned in his vices until one of the missions imed his life. This was the reason why he didn''t see death as something bad in his past life. He was able to see it as a much-needed respite from the life he had to live. Sara''s untimely death was a tragic chapter in Eren''s past life. Of course, he wanted to do something about it in the current timelineC rewrite it anew. However, he was unable to locate the blind girl. *** Katalina had be a ranker in the past timeline as well. And since the past timeline did not have the White Raven guild, she had to join a very strict establishment to secure ranking resources for herself. Katalina became very busy with the assignments she had been given by the establishment. She stayed away from Sara during the time thetter was dating Eren. As a result, Eren was not able to recognize Katalina''s connection with Sara when the two met in the Titus tournament. That and the fact that he ignored Katalina''s talks for the most part. Eren tried to find Sara in the current timeline as well. However, he found out that she and her family were not at the same ce they were in the past timeline. There were various obvious and less obvious reasons for Sara''s family to have been shifted to a different location on the current timeline. They could all be linked to the butterfly effect Eren had generated by introducing various changes to the current timeline. Chapter 1146 Cognitively Dissonant The Osan Woods'' Butcher fiasco had caused unrest throughout the kingdom of Edinburgh. Many cultist organizations used the butcher as a metaphorical scapegoat to conduct their activities, putting the consequences in his name. Sara''s family also suffered from the unrest that was created in the butcher''s name. It moved to apletely different location without telling anyone. Sara only kept contact with Katalina from her pre-shift life. And since thetter had her own life as a ranker, Sara stayed low-key in her new ce with her parents. Sara learned that there was a Rank-0 artifact avable inside the capital city of Edin. It could pair up with a range of array disks and use them as inputs to render a visual image directly inside Sara''s head. The artifact had multiple functions. All of them were attuned to helping blind mortals "see" the world around them. Sara wouldn''t have been able to buy the Rank-0 because it could only be bought using Extols as currency. And as a mortal, Sara and her family were used to dealing with Eddies. In Edin, the conversion from Eddies to Extols was horrendous. However, Sara had received a huge sum of Extols from Katalina. Of course, to Katalina, it didn''t seem like that much of a big deal. But to Sara and her family, the sum was enough to ovee her handicap. Sara discovered that there was a graduation event taking ce in Edin''s capital city. So she decided to check it out with a couple of cousins she had. *** "Why are you only following Eren Idril''s battles, Sara?" One of Sara''s cousins asked while staring at her spectral screen. She snatched the array dial from her hands and switched to a different battle POV. "Hmm this is much better. Look, this is His Highness Cedrick Renar." Sara''s cousin then took out the second array dial and paired it up with the first dial. Shen then ced both of them back in Sara''s hands. The function of the Rank-0 artifact that Sara had recently bought was activated. It converted the spectral screen''s feed into special kinds of visual signals and sent them directly into Sara''s frontal cortex. It allowed her to "see" the battle between Cedrick Renar and his opponents. Sara felt like she was imagining a battle taking ce between Cedrick and his opponents. Her mortal brain couldn''t visually render all the information it was provided with. As a result, the imagery would be blurry and less detail-oriented from time to time. It was apletely different experience from the ability to actually see events with one''s eyes. However, Sara didn''tin. She was happy with the fact that she could visually observe the world around her with the help of her most recent and most expensive purchase. Only Katalina knew how much Sara had thanked her for it. Sara had decided that she would travel to the city of White Raven to meet with Katalina Reich to surprise her. It was just that she needed to make a bunch of travel arrangements for a safe and secure journey. After all, the sheer distance between her current location and the city of White Raven wasn''t a small thing for her. Sara was not happy with her cousin''s behavior. She scrunched her nose before changing the feed on the spectral screen, switching it back to Eren''s battle with other participants. Sara activated another function on the array disk and looked at her cousin before responding with a hint of irritation in her voice. "Tch. You always do this, Sasan. Don''t make me watch something I have no interest in. And don''t make decisions for yourself because you are bereft of critical thinking." Sasan Stark felt wronged by Sara''s behavior. However, he couldn''t say anything back to Sara because he did not understand what "bereft of critical thinking" actually entailed. Or it was just that he did not know how to make aeback after beingbeled that way. Sara had a peculiar personality trait. She had a knack for verbally berating people without hurting them. Eren had experienced this better than anybody in the past timeline. She would often call him "cognitively dissonant" whenever he said something or did something she did not particrly approve of. The butcher never got to know that Sara was actually calling him stupid all that time whenever she metaphorically pped the "cognitively dissonant"bel on his forehead. One could say that the blind girl had her own way of having fun. Sara took a special interest in Eren''s battle for some reason. A reason she couldn''t exin herself to. She watched the butcher''s moves keenly despite the brutality it generated everywhere around him. She didn''t feel scared or repulsed by witnessing something like that. Instead, she felt that there was some form of harmony in his moves. It was as if she was seeing someone do their daily chore with such effortless grace that the chore stopped looking like a chore. Being blind for so long, Sara interpreted people''s actions with a different perspective than other mortals and rankers. Through her focus on obvious details, she was able to observe something most others could not. Sara could immediately tell that Eren was a special person because of the way he moved and performed inside the Sansara World. She also felt that she was bing biased toward Eren because of the links he shared with Katalna. ''Should should I ask Expert Eren if he could give me a lift to the city of White Raven?'' Sara thought to herself as she watched Eren chop off the limbs of another ranker. He allowed the safety mechanism of the Sansara World to activate on his body, allowing him to escape the death penalty he could have dished out anytime he wanted. Sara decided she would try to meet Eren if possible and see what kind of ranker he was in person. She thought of asking him for a favor only if he was amodating enough. In the next moment, however, Sara got even more irritated. That''s because Eren''s battle feed was disconnected from all the spectral screens midway. And the viewers who were consuming his feed could not understand the reason behind it. Chapter 1147 Roth Riverine Meets Arthur Renar Start of the second week of the graduation event. A facility inside the Edinnica Arena - away from the audience. 4.30 PM. The hall was grand and spacious. Cheerings and screams could be hearding from outside the spectrally protected windows. It indicated that the graduation event still received plenty of responses from its viewers despite the frequent disturbances in the live feed. Two men were sitting on opposite sides of arge study table. One was a middle-aged man who had just broken into the Grandmaster rank. The other was an old man who seemed to be in his 70s. The middle-aged man was none other than Edinburgh''s legitimate DukeC Arthur Renar. This was the guy who was tricked by Eliza into making an artificial demon beast for herself. He wasn''t able to gain the power of being a half-blood. However, he had managed to break into the A-Rank, courtesy of the resources and support provided to him by La for his contribution. The old man sitting in front of him was an Earl from House RiverineC Roth Riverine. It seemed like both of them were arguing. "Arthur you bastard. Let me talk to Sage Hansen. You have no right to stop me." Roth Riverine spoke angrily. Of course, his anger was directed at Arthur. Thetter narrowed his eyes at the old man before speaking up in a threatening tone. "Old Roth, has old age finally crippled your thinking? Do you know who you are talking to?" Arthur released his Grandmaster aura all at once and created a suffocating atmosphere inside the grand hall. The hall''s security measures were activated, which prevented Arthur''s aura from leaking outside or damaging the interior of the hall. Roth started coughing frantically when he was exposed to Arthur''s aura. Duke''s breakthrough had not yet been stabilized. So he could not express his A-Ranked powers the way he wanted them to. However, whatever he could muster with his current status was enough to intimidate an old man like Roth Riverine who was only a quasi Master ranker. Arthur looked at Roth with irritation on his face when thetter started coughing. He retracted his aura and summoned a ss full of green liquid before offering it to the old man. "Alright. Alright. Don''t die on me yet, Uncle Rothy. Here, drink this." Old Roth almost snatched the ss from Arthur while looking at him angrily. The quasi Master ranker was obviously not scared of Arthur despite thetter''s pressure tactics. The old man saw Arthur in his birthday suit when he was a child. Of course, he wasn''t scared of the Duke despite thetter getting so much ahead of him in terms of ranking status. Old Roth drank all the contents of the ss in one gulp and stabilized his condition. He channeled his mana through his body to revitalize himself before speaking to Arthur in a grim tone. "Listen to me, you spoiled brat. My grandson Ken can''t be seen in Sansara World''s video feed. Thest feed of him showed that he was being chased by a group of participants. There''s been no news about him since then. Has he been kicked out of the event or is he still participating? I just want to know what has happened to him. Let me talk to Sage." Arthur interrupted Roth''s speech midway through before he could finish it. "That''s not possible, old man. Sage Hansen is busy with his own affairs." Crack. The earthen ss in which the medicinal green liquid was poured broke in Roth''s grip. He was obviously angry at Arthur for interrupting him once again. "Listen to me, you ignorant brat. There''s definitely something brewing inside the Sansara event. Otherwise, why would so many participants try to target Ken''s team? Especially the way they were doing it. They gain nothing from House Riverine''s anger directed at them for pulling off such a stunt. It''s almost as if they don''t care about what would happen to them even if they manage to pass their graduation with flying colors. I think I think" Arthur smirked at Roth before confirming his doubts. "That''s right, Uncle Rothy. The kingdom of Layos is up to no good. Don''t worry though. We have things under control. Our moderators will take care of the" Zoom. m. Break. Old Roth mmed his hands on the study table and almost broke it. Fortunately, security measures inside the hall kicked in, preventing Roth''s force from getting transferred to the wooden table. Old Roth got up from his seat and pointed at Arthur before speaking with clear agitation and anger on his face. "I don''t care about the politics between the two sides, damn it. My only goal is to ensure the safety of my grandson. He is as dense as anyone gets. So much so that anybody can use him for their benefit. And he''ll happily getfortable seeing a smile on their faces. I I am worried about his well-being." One had to say that Ken had a caring family. It recognized Ken as the potential n leader of the House of Riverine despite his many personality ws. This was all due to the kind of diligence and determination he had shown to his n members through his aplishments. No branch of the Riverine family opposed Ken''s session. It''s safe to say that the hero was used to winning people''s hearts right from his base. Arthur sighed after seeing Roth be emotionally unstable in front of him. If there was any other quasi Master-ranked entity in front of him, Arthur would have booked them for treason against royalty for their behavior. However, he could not do that with Roth. The old man may have changed his diapers when he was a child. "Please calm down, Uncle Roth. I have sent my son inside the Sansara World as well. Do you see me worried about him despite the enemy''s sorry attempt at defaming us?" Arthur disappeared from his seat and appeared beside old Roth. He personally pulled up another chair and made the old man take a seat. He then resumed sitting in his own chair before speaking up with a tone of confidence. "Rx. Everything is under control." Unbeknownst to Duke Arthur, everything was not under his control. Chapter 1148 Tough Love "Fuck your control, Arthur." Old Roth spoke while holding onto the Riverine emblem hanging from his neck as a ne ornament. He ran his fingers through his ripe white hair and looked at Arthur seriously beforementing. "I don''t know how you can stay calm after sending your own son into a rigged event like this. But things don''t stay under control just because you think they are under your control. Sometimes, life sends wild cardsC the kind that you can''t defend against. I suggest we both talk to Sage Lehan about it. Let us tap into any additional footage from Sansara World if we can. There''s no harm in doing that, right?" Arthur had creases on his face talking to Roth. Technically, the Duke shouldn''t have any problem listening to the Earl''s request. However, there was a catch. Arthur Renar had turned his son Jason into a demonic ranker. He knew that Jason wouldn''t hesitate to use his powers against anyone if he saw the need to. The Duke already had people from his side working in the background to prevent the leak of information about Jason''s demonic powers to the outside world. By getting Sage Lehan involved in the matter, Arthur did not want to ruin his existing setup. Sage Lehan had slipped into short seclusion until the end of the event. In his ce, Arthur tookmand of managing the event in the background. Arthur reclined in his chair and looked up, trying to look pensive in front of the old man. He spoke after supposedly taking a lot of things into consideration. "Uncle Roth the thing is Sage Lehan has slipped into seclusion. We really shouldn''t disturb someone like him unless there''s a catastrophe unleashed on the city of Edin. So let''s forget about Sage Lehan. In regards to watching footage that has not been made public from Sansara World. Sure. I can have people doing just that. I''ll tell my men to be on the lookout for Ken as well. Is that enough? Or do you want me to do something else for you as well?" Arthur''s reply was simple and logical. He spoke the truth but in a way that wouldn''t divulge anything about what he was up to. Nevertheless, Roth just knew the man in front of him too well to not see his machinations. Old Roth met Arthur''s eyes before speaking up in a grim tone. "Brat, you always think you are in control of the situation until ites back to bite you in the ass. Don''t think I don''t know what you were up to in the Osan Woods. Isen has also defected to the kingdom of Layos because of you." Arthur''s eyes shone when he heard Roth''s words. His gaze suddenly had a certain sharpness to it. However, Roth Riverine didn''t care about the Grandmaster''s changed temperament. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I am worried about Ken. So you should do the same about Jason as well. I will not say anything about your legitimate heirs. But Jason is a diamond in the rough. He has potential just like Ken. Don''t get me wrong. I am not against us making political decisions. And I know you like to y hide-and-seek games like these the most. But I hope we can keep our family members out of it. Our policies and our politics have nothing to do with them. We shouldn''t use our own family members as test subjects. Don''t you agree?" Old Roth got up from his seat and bowed in front of Arthur to show respect. He then started walking towards the exit with a stoic expression on his face. Arthur was not ready for the old man to get so sentimental that he would bow in front of him. This was the first time that Earl Roth Riverine had shown him respect. But for some reason, Arthur could not take joy at the moment. "Old Roth" Arthur got up from his seat and tried to stop Roth in his tracks. However, the quasi Master ranker shook his head before speaking up. "It''s fine, boy. I am fine. Do what you think is right. I just hope that you don''t regret the decisions you have made so far. Rankers'' lives are long and arduous. However, we get to see our families grow for much longer. And just like mortals, we try to live through our future generations. Jason is the finest son you could have asked for. Stop using him as a chess piece and allow him to step out of your shadow. Otherwise" Old Roth stopped midway through his speech and sighed. In the next moment, a subtle mana pulse was generated before Roth disappeared from his position, leaving Arthur to his devices. Arthur remained silent for a while. He had to say that Roth''s words had stirred his mind a bit. And when the old man called Jason to be his chess piece, the Duke felt extremely guilty. Arthur started pacing around in the grand hall as he thought of many things at once. As he listened to the distant cheers and sounds of crackers from the Edinnica Arena, he concluded. ''The old man is probably overthinking things. I am sure the moderators will be able to do their job just fine. After all, they have been told to secure the lives of the participants like Ken and Jason at all costs. What''s more? Rufus is there as the chief moderator. He alone is enough to get rid of any nuisance the participants are not able to handle.'' Arthur nodded to himself as he counted on various countermeasures put in ce at the start of the event. His face then suddenly showed a bit of cruelty in his eyes as he continued to speak in his head. ''Besides I don''t know much about Ken. But nobody can touch my son. My name alone is enough protection for him. Even the kingdom of Layos will think twice before targeting him. Plus, he is capable. He can also count on the demonic powers to be his trump card. I will not shelter Jason like the rest of my useless kids. Adversities like these will turn him into a better ranker. So it''s a form of tough love. I I am only doing this for Jason.'' Chapter 1149 Jaime And Polyjuice Potion Arthur liked to stay in control. He had sufficient royal rights and ranking status to ensure this control. And the way he had taken countermeasures against Jason''s nned or idental revtion of demonic origins was alsomendable. However, Arthur underestimated Layos'' infiltration into the event. It wasn''t just participants. Almost half of the moderators sided with the kingdom of Layos. It included sleeper cells, people who were influenced or bought, andstly, people who were not what they imed to be-- deep assets. Arthur''s assumptions about the event were based on the premise that the kingdom of Edinburgh was infallible when it came to high-ranking entities. And it was true for the most part. However, the quantity was not everythingC especially when it came to the game of double-crossing someone. There was someone from the kingdom of Layos who had defected to the kingdom of Layos'' side. Or it was just that they wanted to harm the kingdom just so that they could get away from the restrictions ced on them. *** An isted facility that was located at the top of a tower. Sansara World''s broadcasting was controlled here. This facility was huge and dome-shaped. Clear blue skies could be seen through the translucent domain. The honeyb pattern of the dome was nothing but various POVs of Sansara World getting shown in spectral form. The operators working inside this highly secure facility could control the content of the feed generated inside Sansara World. These operators were supposed to work for as long as the graduation event was running. Of course, Arthur was supposed to have been controlling this facility from within by employing his men to do the job. He had used his rights as a Duke to appoint his own men inside the broadcasting control tower just before the start of the event. This was supposed to allow Duke to control the information flow of the events happening in Sansara World however he wanted. However, Arthurcked his loyal hound. Oliver was used to keeping a close eye on Arthur''s men until he was alive and active. But ever since the loyal hound died in Eren''s hands, there was nobody to keep Arthur''s private forces in check. Furthermore, Arthur was busy with his own ranking practice before and after breaking into the Grandmaster rank. As a result, he was not aware that he had been raising snakes in his backyard. Some of Arthur''s men were alsopromised. Rondo''s deception was not an isted incident. Arthur had another sleeper cell serving under him. Someone who had not shown his true colors until he saw the need to. "Aaaaaaargh!" Another scream. Another kill. A thick stench of death. The broadcasting control room started reeking of blood and gore. The rankers operating on various arrays started getting attacked by unknown assants who had infiltrated the control tower through some unknown means. The odd thing about this ambush was that no security measures inside the control tower were triggered. Basically, it was an insider job. Someone from Arthur''s men had allowed the infiltrators to get inside the highly secure tower. "Jaime! You fucking backstabbing son of a bitch." Linda cursed the golden-haired man in front of him. Her face expressed a mix of shock and anger. She could not digest Jaime''s betrayal well. As a result, she too was caught off guard when Jaime showed his true nature to her. If Eren was here, he would have recognized Lins right away despite her bloody face, missing arm, and overall sorry state. After all, it was her that guided him when it came to the element of time. Linda had served under Jaime for quite some time. She had served as Jaime''s team member even before thetter decided to join the Lionhearts Academy for Adventurers as a professor. Linda served as an assistant professor in LA when Eren was in his first year. As her ranking status improved, she was promoted. She had been slow to climb thedder of authority in LA. However, her progress had been steady and without major bottlenecks. Jaime was Arthur''s first man sent into Osan Woods to investigate the OWB case. Inside Osan Woods, he led his team to find anything and everything about the butcher. Of course, he had used Isaac Osan''s death as an excuse to investigate the site. Therefore, officially, it was an academic investigation conducted by professors to learn more about their students'' deaths. Jaime was the one who had ordered Linda, Ronald, and Verna to do a grid search inside Osan Woods to find out more about the butcher. In a way, Eren had found out about the deeper conspiracy behind Reen''s creation thanks to Arthur''s team. That''s because he luckily managed to eavesdrop on their conversation. The same JaimeC who had been serving Arthur for so long and so diligentlyC had decided to kill his men who were loyal to him. To Linda, it felt like stuff from nightmares. Ronald, Verna, and a bunch of other rankers who were truly working for Arthur were all dead. Jaime and his men had killed them in a surprise attack. Linda only survived the surprise attack because the side effect of uncalled-for time dilution took ce just before the surprise attack, allowing her to take countermeasures against it. Jaime looked at Linda with a hint of pity in his eyes. It was as if he was truly sorry for what had happened between them. Jaime looked as dashing as he was in Eren''s first academic year. His golden hair, blue eyes, and chiseled face gave him a distinct personality. Out of habit, he took out a bottle of potion and was about to drink it. However, he stopped midway and raised the potion bottle in front of his face. He thought for a bit and pursed his lips before crushing the bottle in his hand and evaporating the contents within it with his red mes. "*Sigh. I guess I don''t need to use this anymore." === AN: Jaime and his party have been introduced in chapter 45. Chapter 46 highlights Jaime''s habit of drinking the Polyjuice potion. He has been depicted drinking this potion every time he has made an appearance in the subsequent chapters as well. Also, sorry for thete release. An unexpected but much-needed trip has kept me busy. ;) Tomorrow will be spent riding through a rough mountain pass. So, I''ll try to post the next couple of chapters in a few hours, or just before the ride. But expect a dy just in case. Chapter 1150 Linda’s Knight In Shining Armor? Jaime''s looks started changing right after he crushed the bottle of Polyjuice potion. His golden hair turned light brown and his eyes turned ck. His ears were elongated, indicating his original lineage. His facial structure and the color of his skin changed as well. When the revert to his original appearance wasplete, Jaime''s mana signature waspletely changed. Instead of having a schrly vibe around him, this man exuded the presence of a warrior. The elven masks were not the only tools of infiltration the kingdom of Layos had employed. The elves had used their superior skills of the potioneering arts to concoct Polyjuice potions for their deep assets inside the enemy kingdom. With Polyjuice potions, rankers could assume the identity of others. To make the potion, they needed victims'' bodies whose identities would be used by the users. Layos'' Polyjuice potions existed even before the eleven masks were created. It was just that the potions required consistent consumption from their users. They also gave some side effects to the users, preventing Layos from using the potion on a muchrger scale. To avoid the side effects of the Polyjuice potions, eleven masks were invented. Masks provided users with a reliable way to change their identities for an extended period without experiencing any major side effects. As a result, Layos created the eleven masks en masse and used them on a muchrger scale than the Polyjuice potions. By the time the eleven masks arrived, the deep asset known as Jaime had already gotten used to using Polyjuice potion. Plus, switching to the eleven mask midway meant some changes in his mana signature, which he didn''t want to make apparent to anyone belonging to LA. *** "I''m afraid Jaime Lancaster is a made-up name, Linda. I''m surprised nobody found it weird when they first heard my name here in this kingdom. My real name is Adam. Now that it hase to this, you should at least know my name before you know." The man who Linda knew as Jaime spoke in a calm and caring tone. He was standing only a few meters away from Linda, holding a weird-shaped weapon in his right hand. Adam Loyroost AKA Jaime took a careful step towards a seemingly surprised Linda as he spoke up in a tone coated in sadness. "I wish things had stayed the same, dear. In all honesty, I would prefer to remain an inactive deep asset. But you know how it is when ites to wars. The parties directly involved in the war don''t want toe to the table to talk. And those whoe on their behalf end up worsening the situation for everyone." By this time, Adam''s men were almost done dealing with Arthur''s men who were supposed to control the outflow of information in the Duke''s favor. Adam looked at Ronald and Verna''s bodies and took another deep sigh. It was as if he was not responsible for their deaths at all. Linda was too shocked to speak for a while after seeing Adam''s transformation. She couldn''t believe that the man she had worked under for so long was actually a deep asset from the enemy kingdom. After the initial shock, Linda''s heart was filled with anger at the man in front of her. She was angry at Adam for killing Ronal and Verna. She was angry at him for not even giving them a chance to fight him. What was even more infuriating was the fact that he still spoke with the same calm and caring tone as he used to speak when he was Jaime. "You fucking maniac why did you" Linda was about to share her feelings with Adam. However, it looked like the elf just wanted to be done with his assignment. He disappeared from his position and appeared right behind the injured Linda. The time-element ranker was already on her knees due to her severe injuries, making her an easy target for Adam''s attacks. Swoosh. Zoom. ng. A metallic sound was heard as Adam''s weapon shed with an obstacle. Someone else had intervened between Adama and Linda, protecting the time-element ranker with the shield-type artifact. Adam quickly used his movement spell to create a distance before looking at the newly arrived ranker at the scene. Another LA professor had decided to save LindaC his ex-colleagueC Lin Karr. To Eren, Lin Karr was nothing but an award-winning cockblocker. His cockblocking performance had given the butcher bluebells many times. But that didn''t mean that the man didn''t have other talents. Lin Karr was the same man who had led Nina into the Osan Woods'' along with the rest of his party. It was he who had found Eren''s second crime scene inside the Osan Woods. Adam raised his eyebrows as he looked at a rxed-looking Lin Karr. He knew that Arthur had close ties with Lin''s parents who had be experts in Seer arrays. Duke Arthur Renar had made use of Lin Karr from time to time even though thetter was not directly or indirectly serving the Duke. Lin Karr also used his connections with Arthur to save himself from Isen Osan''s wrath. One could say that the rtionship between Arthur and Lin''s family was based on mutual benefits. "It is strange finding you here, Lin. But now that you are, STAY HERE FOREVER." Adam wasn''t scared by Lin Karr''s sudden arrival. He knew that the guy was not as impressive as his parents. Plus, he needed to wrap up the disturbance in the broadcasting tower fast if he wanted to do his job peacefully. After all, Lako was counting on Adam to take care of chief moderator Rufus Rodriguez. Therefore, thetter did not have any time to spare to talk with Lin. Lin was about to say something heroic to Linda after supposedly saving her from a fatal attack. He wanted to say something menacing to Adam as well, which would make him sound cool in Linda''s eyes. After all, Lin really wasn''t supposed to be in the broadcast tower. He had only sneaked in here to flirt with Linda. The guy had developed feelings for the time-element ranker after spending such a long time with her in LA. One could even call it an office romance. s, Lin wasn''t given the limelight to be viewed as a knight in shining armor by Linda. The elf attacked Lin as soon as he made an appearance. He cursed Adam in his head before engaging in mortalbat with him. ''Damn it. This alcoholic broad will be the death of me.'' Lin cursed Linda as well for making him embroiled in a conspiracy that was above his pay grade. === AN: Adam Loyroost is an anagram for stor Moody. ;) Chapter 1151 Lin’s Escape St! Adam spat saliva mixed with blood. He pressed his chest and felt another bout of pain affecting his shoulder and nearby region. It was clear that he had some nasty internal injuries. The elf stared motionless at the spatial channel that had almost closed. A bunch of residual ripples in space indicated that a teleportation array had been used recently. Adam stared at the receding spatial ripples until they disappeared. Adam''s body was soaked in water. There was water everywhere around him as well. Moisture-induced gales also urred nearby. It was all due to his opponents'' attacks. After feeling sure Linda and Lin were no longer there, Adam sighed and looked down at his body. They were visible marks of depression on his body due to high-intensity punches. Adam activated his healing spell and tried to heal from the blunt force trauma. He also channeled his fire-element mana to evaporate the water. However doing activities like these put some pressure on his damaged mana circuits, causing him some more pain and coughing bouts. "Sir Adam..." One of Adam''s followers tried to help him get up. However, Adam looked at him and shook his head beforementing. "That bastard Lin really did a number on me. Never mind. I cough I am fine." Adam got up from his position, which took some effort. He had to admit he underestimated Lin Karr. The guy wasn''t the most impressive fighter in the world but he knew how to run away from his problems. Or it was just that Lin Karr''s parentsC Garvin and Cybil Karr were too protective of their son despite their seeming neglect. They gave him precious life-saving array disks to use in a pinch. Just when Adam thought he had Lin, thetter shocked him with an offensive array disk. The device released the recorded punches from a Fist Saint. An elemental mana derived from the fusion of water and wind elements was infused into the spectral punches. No matter how talented Adam was in mid-rangebat, he couldn''t fight an elemental fusion with his mere fire-element spells. The spectral punches hit Adam immediately as they were unleashed from the array disks. It was as if Lin and Linda were surrounded by a perfect storm of spectral punches that swung in from every direction. The storm of punches prevented Adam from approaching Lin and Linda who were busy using another space-element array disk. They managed to get away from Adam before he stopped them from leaving the broadcast tower. When Adam was sure he couldn''t stop Lin and Linda from leaving, he decided to halt their appearance outside the tower instead. He quickly removed a space-element mirror from his storage and activated it. The artifact''s effects wouldn''t be apparent. However, it was supposed to create a spatial lock around the region. The spatial lock would ensure that no more spatial channels are created in nearby space. This would prevent Lin and Linda from exiting the temporary subspace they used to escape him. Of course, the space-element artifact has its limits. And its effects fade after some days. However, Adam was sure that the artifact had bought him enough time. He couldn''t kill the two LA rankers. However, they also couldn''t mess with Layos'' ns. Adam breathed relief when he confirmed that Lin and Linda were trapped inside subspace. He pressed his forehead with his hands and tried to relieve the headache he felt before ordering his men. "Alright. We don''t know for how long Arthur buys the bullshit I''ll be selling to him. But for now, take control of broadcasting." As Adam stood up straight, he looked confident and domineering. He massaged the back of his neck while rotating his neck from left to right and vice versa. The healing spell finally provided him with the level of pain relief he wanted. Adam pursed his lips before continuing. "Find us an ideal ce to ambush Rufus. Look for something you can''t see. Like some forbidden zones inside Sansara World that can''t be seen or mapped but can be essed anyway." "Affirmative." Adam''s men spoke in unison to respond to hismand. It was clear that Adam and his men were part of Layos'' army-trained forces, but they weren''t part of Layos'' official army anymore. However, they all followed the same dogmaC destroy the rebel kingdom of Edinburgh and take Layos back to where it belongs. Adam''s healing spell helped him regain his confidence. He stretched his limbs and jumped a few times in his ce before dishing out another order to his men. "Also, find me um Nichs. I want to contact him using the Sansara interface. Sir Lako told me he would bring Rufus to the ambush site. So I want to confirm a few things with him." Nichs was another deep asset from Layos who infiltrated LA before Adam. Technically, Nichs was Adam''s senior. However, Adam''s status and rank in the army were greater than Nichs''s. As a result, Adam could use Nichs as a resource. He could also use Nichs for information-gathering purposes. The wheels of time kept turning. Adammunicated with Nichs and Lako fine. They also ambushed Rufus. However, Adam found out that things hadn''t turned out ording to their n. The entrance to Beelzebub''s Altar inside Sansara World couldn''t be confirmed by Adam and his men despite controlling the entire broadcast tower. That''s because the ambush happened in the forbidden zone. What''s more? Adam had also lost contact with Nichs, Lako, and even His Highness Payir. He could only draw one conclusion from the metaphorical static he heard from the other side. ''How How can this happen? They are deadC all of them? Did Rufus kill them all on his own?'' Adam thought to himself with visible shock on his face as he looked at the spectral screen in front of him. He suspected that Rufus must have used some kind of unknown Perk in the capacity of the chief moderator to ovee the ambush. Adam didn''t know that it was Eren who had ughtered key infiltrators from LayosC using their ambush as adder to enter the demonic altar. Chapter 1152 Creating More Grim Pillars "Yo. How be it going, bossdy?" Argo greeted Kirin with his usual enthusiasm. They met outside Grim Pir Town. The demon was wearing what he called to be a biker jacket. It was dark brown with spikes on the shoulder strips. He wore ck leather pants and white shoes. He still looked like a delinquent teen who rebelled against society without a reason. Kirin, on the other hand, had changed into a usual set of adventurer clothes. She learned to blend into her surroundings, bing ustomed to Anfang''s etiquette and mannerisms. The half-elf chuckled after hearing Argo''s greetings before responding. "Hehe. Just call me Kirin. And my mission turned out well, Argo. How about you?" Argo smirked at Kirin and ran his fingers through his spikey hair before answering. "Did you have to ask, sis? It was Gi. Do you have the raw materials to create more Grim Pirs?" Kirin nodded affirmatively and took out multiple rankers'' corpses. "Here you go. I think Drin and Bianka have some "raw materials" in their storage. You can use them if you run out of this lot." Argo rubbed his palms against each other beforeughing out loud. "Khikhiki. Imma need all the raw ingredients I can get to create my art. It''s time to show the boss he is not the only artist in town. KnowWhatImSaying?" Argo led everyone into Grim Pir Town. One could be sure that the townspeople of Grim Pir Town would wake up to more Grim Pirs created in the town square. These Grim Pirs would be as vivid as the ones created by the butcher on a whim. Plus, they would be imbued with Gluttony intentions, causing onlookers to shop more, spend more, and eat more. *** Kirin and Argo both had their own rankers team. The two were tasked with two separate missions after all. Their assignments were to be concluded at Grim Pir Town. Argo''s team consisted of a ragtag bunch of rankers and mercenaries-for-hire. They also all wore biker jackets like him, inspired by Argo''s Demon Prince charisma. It could be said that Argo''s team was the most stylish group of rankers the world of Anfang had ever seen. Kirin''s team consisted of rankers and monsters. Drin and Bianka were the only White Raven rankers. The rest of the entities were monsters in disguise. These monsters were lent to Kirin by Orc Lord Baran under Eren''s orders. These monsters sneaked into Edinburgh through special channels avable to Kaalmaahen. They were the same channels Kaalmaahen used to smuggle arms and ammunition. One could say that an ecosystem for smuggling had been created to make this feat possible. Kirin also had a living undead named Shandil on her team. His role in Kirin''s mission was pivotal. After all, it was he who first informed Eren about the Layos royal scions'' ns to attack White Raven. Kirin had used Shaandil to gather all the royal scions of Layos in one cea" the ones who were keen on attacking Eren''s city. All so they could mess with Jiana Jihang. Of course, Kirin killed all the royal scions from Layos who had such intentions. The fight between Kirin''s team and the royal scions ended quickly. The half-elf used her resources well. Influenced by Eren, she came up with a solid n and kept refining it until she was sure there would be no misses. Furthermore, Orc Lord Baran provided Kirin with his most powerful monsters. Despite the royals'' supposed Trump cards, Kirin swept through its enemies, overwhelming them. The butcher was clear about the philosophy of eliminating snakes in the backyard before they bit. Unlike Arthur, the butcher could target them because he acknowledged their existence in the first ce. He never thought there would be no fallout from his moves just because they were done the right way. Eren had also given Argo a task. It was to manage White Raven''s underbelly from the shadows. Instead of eliminating the city''s underworld, the butcher liked to let it remain in his city. This was so that it became easy for him to track down the known culprits. He just asked Argo to be their leader from the shadows so he could manage them. All so he could catch the infiltrators from the Midnight Moon. Eren knew his speech at Grandmaster Amory''s ceremony would elicit a violent response. He counted on it. That''s why he provoked his enemies in the first ce. And just like he had assumed, the Midnight Moon had sent their top members to answer Eren''s provocation. Midnight Moon members were angry at Eren for using Half-Blood Bastian to target them. They were the ones who caused a ruckus inside the city of Curar and destroyed the Healers'' Nirvana. They also nned to use the same trick on Eren- destroy White Raven and malign his guild''s reputation. The Midnight Moon members would have seeded in their n for the most part. After all, terrorist activities were not tooplicated for a cultist organization such as Midnight Moon. However, they didn''t know that the city founder was, in more ways than one, a terrorist. He could figure out how Midnight Moon members would behave inside the city of White Raven. He then asked Argo to keep a close eye on the city''s underworld while he was absent. The Demon Prince did his job well. It was as if managing the city''s underworld was part of his job portfolio. He did the same thing as Kirin and struck the members of Midnight Moon as soon as he had all the leads in one ce. Unlike Kirin, Argo did not kill them. Just like his master, he was about to use these spared members from Midnight Moon to create more Grim Pirs inside Grim Pir Town. Kirin also had the corpses of Layos'' royal scions with her. She wasn''t averse to providing them to Argo so he could create more Grim Pirs out of them. *** Argo and Kirin created Grim Pirs out of the corpses of Midnight Moon members and Layos'' royal scions. They knew the butcher would approve of their "artwork" as well. Kirin and Argo, however, underestimated the effects of their artwork on the graduation event. After all, they had killed Layos'' royal scions and created Grim Pirs out of their body parts. This was a p in Layos'' face. The enemy kingdom had already decided to metaphorically torch Edinburgh''s graduation event. However, the creation of the Grim Pirs would result in a wildfire. Sages from both sides would get involved after Kirin delivered on her promise. === AN: Eren assigns Kirin to eliminate Layos'' royal scions in chapter 973. Chapter 1153 Order Of The Fly Day 14 of the graduation event. The city of White Raven. The city administration hosted many big and medium-sized screens across the city that projected the graduation event''s broadcast. The screens focused on the city''s founder, Eren Elijah Idril. Eren''s every battle would be yed repeatedly from multiple angles on these screens, making the audience cheer for all his wins over the opponents. The city also hosted various smallpetitions across its districts, allowing rankers to showcase their talents along with Eren''s onscreen battles. The city administration created an event out of the graduation event. As such, the atmosphere was charged with excitement andpetitiveness. Agatha capitalized on the opportunity. Event-specific merchandise began to be sold in city markets. The half-blood manager had used Eren''s growing fame in the city to fill the guild''s coffers. And she knew Eren would appreciate her move. Argo controlled the city''s underworld. He had many underlings inside the city who looked after the White Raven Guild''s shady dealings with cultists and rogue rankers. The Demon Prince created a stable organization to handle the city''s underworld. Argo named this organization The Order of the Fly. The Order of the Fly was very effective in stopping the Midnight Moon from having its way into the city of White Raven. It also helped the city grow its roots by injectingundering money into its economy. Due to this, White Raven remained safe despite disputes with cultist organizations such as Midnight Moon. The ex-members of Healers'' Nirvana who joined the White Raven Guild felt d about their guild master''s decision after feeling protected for so long. The ex-members didn''t want to speak ill of Jiana Jihang because she was still a respectable figure in their eyes. However, even the peace they experienced at this point couldn''t have been brought by Jiana. They needed someone like Eren to give them peace of mind. Grandmaster Amory was no different. He was also relieved that Jiana had dissolved Healers'' Nirvana into the White Raven guild. The reason behind his relief could be seen on therge spectral screen in front of him. The Ekulu rainforest scenes were being shown on the spectral screen. This was when Eren met up with quake-element Tank Jaman and his partner who Eren called Mr. Rogue. Amory sat on a plush sofa inside a spacious lounge made for special members of the White Raven Guild. Rankers from the White Raven Guild like Ray Rinehart, Ketsu, and Silvera were also present in the lounge. Also, rankers from Levine''s faction and House Derringer were invited to the same venue. Amory had stabilized his breakthrough thanks to the White Raven Guild resources. After that, hepleted a very critical mission for Edinburgh in the Bands. This was his leisure time. And he spent it watching the graduation event''s "live" feed. "Hahaha." The wise tortoise Amoryughed as he watched Eren convince Jaman and the rogue-ss ranker to back out of their fight against their opponents. Low-ranked entities might not understand the nuances behind the scene. But a veteran ranker like Amory knew that Eren was not only doing this as a sophisticated way of kill-stealing. Amory saw a deeper meaning hidden inside Eren''s seemingly random and selfish actions. "This boy never ceases to impress me. He made two groups back out of the conflict with his mere presence alone. Either those two guys really know who Eren is or the brat has swindled them for lots of Karma points." Amory knew at this point that Eren wouldn''t have interfered with the conflict if he didn''t have a way toe out on top at the end of it. He was also right in guessing that Jaman and the rogue-ss ranker knew Eren personally. The Grandmaster ranker could also faintly guess that Eren''s opponents were about to use a battle formation on him. However, the butcher didn''t give them the chance to do so. He started hacking through his opponents without a care in the world. The other rankers in the lounge also chimed in and expressed their perspectives on the fight about to unfold. They cheered for Eren and felt pity for his opponents as they watched him fight. "Hehe. It''s a bit of both, Uncle Amory. Eren wouldn''t let the opportunity to earn profits slip by just because someone he knows is in front of him." Agatha appeared in the lounge and sat next to Amory. She looked at the giant screen in front of her, watching what Eren did next. Of course, she had finished most of her daily activities for the day, earning the right to unwind by watching Eren''s performance. By this point, even viewers understood that something was urring behind the scenes inside Sansara World. That''s because-- very now and then-- certain live feeds would get frozen before being reced by a different POV without the user''s consent. The broadcasting tower started getting tons of queries from various authorities. However, they didn''t receive a clear response from the contact. The chaos and excitement around the graduation event kept growing each day. Both the kingdom of Edinburgh and the kingdom of Layos used the event as a tform to put their younger generation against each other. Some mortals, who were not used to interacting with rankers before witnessing the event, found it strange that the event was still taking ce despite the obvious intervention of the kingdom of Layos. It was as if the participants, organizers, infiltrators, and rankers serving as viewers of the event were all okay with this phenomenon. Instead of running away from such conflicts, all the rankers involved in the conflict used them as whetstones to sharpen their skills against each other. The mortals, who silently protested Edinburgh''s uncaring attitude, realized that rankers had different morals from the mortals. The city of White Raven wasn''t doing something unique. Other prominent cities inside Edinburgh were also trying to profit from the graduation event in some way or another. There were many vested interests involved in the event from across the four Duchies of the kingdom. It could be said that Edinburgh couldn''t cancel the event at this point even if it wanted to. Chapter 1154 War Erupts The consequences of stopping the broadcast would have been grim. The show must go onC the kingdom of Edinburgh kept this philosophy alive while it was trying to suppress the negative impact of the infiltrators on the graduation event. Thepromised faction of the moderators as well as the infiltrators did not stop the live feedpletely. At first, they showed the battles between genuinepetitors. However, Adam took over the broadcasting tower and started filtering out almost all the battles that had infiltrators'' involvement in any form. As a result, live feed only covered battles that were genuine and did not have a foreign hand. Of course, Adam was only supposed to do this until he ensured that the broadcasting wouldn''t bepletely stopped by the kingdom of Edinburgh. He was supposed to focus on the infiltrators'' victory over the participantster on after the initial die had been cast. Eren knew that most of his fights with the participants were not broadcasted because of the infiltrators'' arrangement. He only made a rare few appearances on the live feed when he was fighting with genuine participants. The butcher had performed optimally in the footage and allowed the genuine participants to get saved by the defense mechanism. He only killed the infiltrators whose identities were clearlypromised, which prevented Adam from showing such fights on screen. After all, Adam wasn''t stupid to make the enemy side seem stronger. He preferred showing the battles in which the infiltrators managed to defeat and kill other rankers. As a result, Eren made a little name for himself while steering clear of any form of trouble. He also started getting recognized by the big leagues of the kingdom. Some authorities had decided that they would try to pull Eren to the kingdom''s side by offering him various benefits. The White Raven city started showing Eren''s battles in a loop when it did not receive sufficient footage of his new fights. Still, the city of White Raven remained as energetic as it could be. People in the Edninica Arena''s audience like Altair, Altashia, Ma, Almera, Nina, Levine, and Jiana were looking forward to seeing more of Eren. But they started realizing that Eren''s on-screen time had gotten more edited out than the rest of the participants. It was as if he was actively seeking conflict with the infiltrators so that the kingdom of Layos itself would be forced to keep his deeds offline. The kingdom of Edinburgh was unable to decipher the infiltrators from participants at first because it wasn''t aware of the eleven masks. Plus, the infiltrators did their best to maintain their forged identities despite the obvious doubts one might have to see them perform on screen. This was so that they would be able to exit from the capital city if and when they got kicked out of Sansara World. Ivor Osan was one such infiltrator. He followed Eren''s suggestion to a T, not pushing his luck to get more benefits out of his daring act. He said no to the emergency aid provided to every ranker who had gotten outside the Sansara World. Ivor exited from the city of Edin using his altered identity. He then headed straight to the city of Lancelot to join La. The dead bodies of the participants, if they hadn''t been destroyed, would eventually disappear and be sent to a special morgue. They would be well preserved there and could be imed by the participants'' families or friends after the event''spletion. However, the iming of dead bodies was only applicable to bodies that had been retrieved by Sansara World''s defense mechanisms. The rankers whose bodies werepletely destroyed by their opponents or some external factors were added to the list of exceptions. Of course, rankers like Ken, Becky, and Gondel were also added to the list of exceptions. After all, they had been given a unique burial survive by the butcher. Roth Riverine hade to realize that something bad must have happened with Ken. However, since Ken''s body did note out of the Sansara World, he tried to remain hopefulC an endeavor he himself knew was only going to fail in the end. Jason''s fight with Ivor was only half broadcast by Adam because he came to know that the Duke''s son had died in the conflict. The elf from Layos knew that hearing about his son''s death might influence Arthur to take extreme measures against themC something that he wanted to avoid for as long as he could. Therefore, Adam edited out thest moments of Jason''sst-ever battle. And when Arthur enquired, he assumed his identity as Jaime and told the duke that Jason was using his demonic powers. As a result, he had to edit Jason from the live feed. Adam had decided to keep giving Arthur the same excuse for as long as it keeps working on him. The Duke was busy with other matters rted to the event. So he didn''t find anything weird with Adam''s words. After all, "Jaime" Had been serving Arthur for as long as he could remember. Also, the Duke of Edinburgh knew that Jason also wanted to test his demonic powers against stronger opponents. And the graduation event was supposed to give him just what he had been asking for. Due to all this, the event kept on proceeding for the major part of the month without seeing anyrge activity outside the Sansara World. It was as if rankers from both the kingdom''s sides hade to a tacit understanding to let their younger generation settle the matter their own way. The main yers behind the scenes were going to get involved after thepletion of the event. Rather that''s how it was supposed to be. However, the news of newly erected Grim Pirs inside the Grim Pir town started making rounds in the kingdom of Edinburgh. And when the image of the new Grim Pirs was shared, it forced the infiltrators from Layos toe out of their woodwork. *** Last day of the graduation event. Eren and the rest of the final participants were teleported out of the Sansara World atst. They came to realize that they had found themselves in the middle of the potential battleground meant for Sages. The war between the two kingdoms had finally erupted out in the open. Chapter 1155 Gregory Grant Edinnica Arena. A new day had just begun. And with it came the beginning of another conflict for Edin''s citizens. However, the scale of this conflict was unlike usual. That''s because Layos forces hade out in the open for the first time. Sansara World had just ejected thest batch of participants out. The newly out participants found out that they had been protected inside an opaque domain. This was done to ensure that Layos forces don''t target participants directly. Sage-grade mana was gathering in the surroundings. The air was charged and suffocating for lower-ranked entities. Mortals had already been evacuated from the Edinnica Arena to safety. There remained only rankers in the audienceC those who were bold enough to stay. Motionlessness was a tacit understanding. The ability to blink their eyes was a luxury at this pointC not something everyone could afford. The silence was so loud in the surroundings that one could hear their own heartbeats. The participants took their time to adjust to their changed reality. However, they understood that this was not the time to do anything too eye-catching or say something stupid. That''s because the participants could feel several strong presences around them. And the high-ranking entities did nothing to suppress their presence this time. Therefore, the participants felt surrounded by deadlyndmines. Hansen Lehan served as the participants'' protector. He stood in front of the participants with his hands behind his back. He looked ahead with a grim expressionC his presence made it clear that he was ready for a battle anytime. The participants realized that the shield protected them from Hansen''s presence. Otherwise, most of them would have been forced to kneel or lost consciousness. Eren was taken aback by this sudden development. He knew that he had not only relit the old conflict between the two kingdoms but also expedited it to some extent because of his moves. As for the direct war between the two kingdoms, he guessed it would take a few months to over a year for it to happen. The butcher guessed wrong. Of course, he did not know what his wife and Argo had done. It could be argued that they went overboard by creating Grim Pirs out of Layos'' royalty. *** The kingdom of Layos sent its royal scions to Edinburgh to gain experience. It was meant to make them capable leaders and pirs for Layos. It was a trial for all the royal elvesC their rite of passage. As such, it was fine if the royal elves died trying to prove themselves better rankers than theirpetition. In the eyes of royal scions who lived and prospered, dead royals were not worthy of being called royals. This was the dark side of being royalty. A cutthroatpetition that made the participants in the Royalpetition forget about themon blood they shared. Only royal session matters in their lives and all their aspirations revolve around that dream. It was as simple as that. The kingdom of Layos knew Edinburgh might not extend diplomatic asylum to its royal scions because of its sour ties. After all, it was Layos that acted as the aggressor after Isen provided crucial information. Technically, whatever the kingdom of Edinburgh did in response to the aggression could be more or less justified. However, certain unwrittenws of war should have been observed by both kingdoms. A special rankers'' code of conduct by which all entities on thend of Anfang were bound. As such, the kingdom of Layos could have never imagined that someone would not only desecrate the bodies of its royal lineage. In addition, someone would put them up for a show for everyone. No kingdom or organization would do something like this. Even cultists had certain boundaries. Only someone like Eren, who didn''t respect the rankers'' code of conduct, would go to such extremes. So it was obvious that the Layos forces who had infiltrated the capital city of Edin were pissed after learning what had transpired in Grim Pir Town. They were angry that so many of their royal scions were killed by a single trap. As a result of their post-death situations, they felt even angrier. *** There was a group of rankers standing a safe distance away from Hansen. Ideally, there should be no safe distance when one''s opponent is a Sage. This was true even for Grandmaster rankers. However, the other side also had a Sage leading the group. As such, Layos forces showed no visible fear despite standing in the heart of the enemy territory. The Sage ranker leading the Layos rankers looked like an old man in his 60s. His name was Gregory Grant. Gregory had a nicely tied ponytail of lustrous white hair. He also had a long white beard that made him look older. He had long ears and short stature, measuring about 5.3 ft in height. In short, the Sage ranker looked short and old in front of Hansen Lehan who looked like he was in the prime of his life. However, Hansen was wary of the enemy Sage. ''There''s no way they thought the capital city of Edin would be swayed into submission by just this lot. They havee here to die. I just hope I don''t get caught in the crossfire. This pretty boy Hansen better protect the participants damn it.'' Eren nced at the Layos Sage as well as the rankers standing behind him. He couldn''t help but think that the kingdom of Layos had sent these rankers on a suicide mission. After all, one Sage was not enough to change Edinburgh''s capital city. The butcher was sure Hansen was only the face of Edinburgh''s might. No matter what happens, Edinburgh won''t let its capital city suffer. The butcher wasn''t intimidated by a Sage-level showdown. He even felt excited to see something like this happen in front of his eyes. He just hoped the two Sages would fight each other without harming him. The butcher would have paid a premium to watch the Sages fight each other from hisfortable seat. Chapter 1156 Rite Of Passage Alephee could tell what was taking ce inside Eren''s head at the moment. She pondered for a bit before speaking up. ''No, Eren. I don''t think they are suicide squads. I feel that the other side is waiting for reinforcements. This group tried to attack Sansara World to gain entrance by force. But judging by the barrier erected around you and the second invisible barrier activated to cover the entire arena, the group failed in its task. Even this group knows one Sage is not enough to intimidate Hansen with his home-ground advantage. The fact that it has decided to face Hansen despite knowing this suggests that it has another Trump card to count on. Hansen knows this. The entities standing in support of Hansen also know this. That''s why they haven''t taken drastic measures against this bunch. The thing that puzzles me is the fact that a Sage infiltrated the capital city, Edin. This is huge. It just highlights something that I had always thought ofa" someone higher up thedder from the kingdom of Edinburgh has sided with the enemy side.'' Eren raised his eyebrows at Alephee''s conjecture. Frankly, his mana sense gave him mixed signals because of so many high-ranking entities in proximity. There were at least 50 Grandmaster rankers gathered at the Edinnica Arena, including rankers from both sides. The number of Master-ranked entities was evenrger. Hansen and the white-haired old man looked like the only two Sages representing the two sides. However, even the dumbest person present at the scene could tell it was not true. "Heh! So we are officially at war from this moment on. Never mind. Now that we are past the diplomatic bullshit, I''m actually looking forward to the uing times." Hansen spoke with confidence. He chuckled and added further. "Hehe. We might not have started this thing. But we are capable of ending it on our terms. What do you think, Gregory Grant?" Hansen asked his fellow Sage from the opposition. He shed a light smile when he observed that no reinforcements wereing to save the enemy group. He decided to ask the question to the participants without turning back to them. "First of all, I want to congratte all the participants who survived the graduation event. This includes those who survived till thest day as well as those who were kicked out after an injury. If infiltrating Edinburgh and causing unrest was the enemy rankers'' rite of passage, surviving this rigged event was yours. And since you have passed the test, it is only fitting that you get rewarded for it." Gregory Grant and the rest knew that Hansen had said these things to incite them to act in some form. Therefore they decided to remain silent. Hansen''s voice was coated in hope and pride as he said his next words. "On His Kingship Emael Edinburgh Von Renar''s behalf, I will assure you that all survivor graduates will be employed by the kingdom at high designations depending upon your performance at the event. The universalw of equal exchange will be observed. As a result of facing so many dangers, you will also receive greater rewards. That is if you choose to. Otherwise, you will bepensated with special rights or resources." The participants who had graduated but got kicked out earlier from Sansara World were present at the scene. They started looking at each other when they heard Hansen''s announcement. Some of the participants couldn''t help shing a suppressed smile. They didn''t want to celebrate their aplishments in such a tense atmosphere. However, they all felt jubnt nheless. Hansen could guess what the participants were thinking. He gave them some time to process the information before adding further. "Instead of focusing on royalty alone, the kingdom of Edinburgh has decided to provide a tform for all talented rankers across its four Duchies. It has always opted for this approach since its inception. Whether you are royalty or not, being a talented and hardworking ranker will be the only criterion you will need to prosper in this kingdom. You may face increased risks because of our policies. But it is only because of policies like these that you can ovee your limitations. This is the reason why Edinburgh was separated from its origins in the first ce. We didn''t want to limit the rankers'' talents just because of their poor backgrounds. Of course, we have our share of privileged people. But we also offer privileges to those who deserve them. This is unthinkable for my friends standing in front of me. Hehe." Eren had to say that what Hansen said was true for the most part. Of course, Edinburgh also had its share of entitled royalty and people with special backgrounds. These people thought they were above restrictions ced on other rankers. However, entitled people always exist no matter what society, so they did not really count. The kingdom of Edinburgh tried to prioritize meritocracy. It was integrated into its foundation. It might have failed to implement this principle everywhere uniformly. However, it was omnipresent everywhere. And its existence couldn''t be denied. Kingdom-approved events such as the Titus tournament emphasized Edinburgh''s core values. It would allowmon rankers to gain fame and riches for themselves. So that they make the kingdom prosper in return. Eren was also reminded of Rufus'' speech after processing Hansen''s words. He understood that the first king Emil Von Renar was a genius when setting the foundation for his kingdom and his legacy. Eren wondered if Emil was also alive somewhere like his so-called retainers. He thought he could learn from a clever politician like Emil. Hansen seemed to be waiting for orders from above. He didn''t like waiting in silence. So he broke it by asking his next question to the participants. "I also wanted to ask you something, my young finalists. You may not know this. But there was a ckout for a few days and we didn''t know what was happening inside Sansara World at that time. Could you tell me who won Sansara Sage''s Legacy?" Chapter 1157 [Bonus ] Arthurs Rage "Could you tell me who won Sansara Sage''s Legacy?" Hansen took a special interest in the participant who imed Lin Lehan''s Legacy. Eren didn''t look at Nysa directly. She was allowed to im the achievement. "It''s me, Sage Hansen." Nysa said, stepping forward. Hansen shed a mild smile before adding further. "Excellent. Hehe. We will have a long talk together, kid. I just want to see what you got from my ancestor. That''s all. Hope you don''t mind." Eren smirked while keeping his head down. ''Now this is what I call unadulterated bullshittery. It''s a trap, Nysa. He will likely influence you to give him everything from Sansara Sage''s test. Whatever he offers in exchange wouldn''t be worth the exchange." The butcher knew something like this would happen. This was the reason why he told Nysa to "inherit" Sage Lehan''s Legacy. ''So should I say no?'' Eren chuckled before answering. ''No. Fall into his trap willingly and be ready to lose everything. Just express your desire to keep some items to make things believable. And ept whatever you can from the old rascal. If you lose Sage Lehan''s Legacy, make sure you get something out of it. A prominent designation perhaps? It will help you make the most out of the current war. And it will also prevent us from painting a target on our backs.'' Eren had given substantial stuff from Sage Lehan''s Legacy to Nysa to make it more believable. Of course, he would have liked to keep the entirety of Lehan''s legacy to himself. But if giving arge portion of it away means he can avoid prying eyes, he was all for it. The butcher owned Sansara World 2.0 anyway, which could be considered the mainponent of Lehan''s Legacy. Furthermore, he secured a cooperative rtionship with Maya. Thus, he didn''t regret Hansen taking a part of Lin Lehan''s legacy away. He just hoped that the Sage wouldn''t identify the Sin Series Mark ced on her soul. Nysa was smart enough to understand what Eren wanted her to do. She nodded at him in her head before speaking out loud. "It''ll be my honor, Sage Hansen." Hansen was d to hear Nysa''s affirmation. It seemed that he was greedy for anything rted to Sage Lehan. He didn''t care if he had to swindle an Expert-ranked junior to get it. The Sage was about to talk to Nysa. However, the words stuck in her mouth as he felt someone''s agitation. "Aaaaaargh! Jason!" Arthur, who was standing not too far away from the participants inside the protective domain, finally located his son''s dead body. He shook the participants with his roar and his Grandmaster-ranked aura went berserk. The dead bodies stored in the morgue appeared outside in a special spatial array. The dead bodies were levitated a meter from the ground. It seemed that the artificial intelligence integrated into the array had prepped the bodies. As a result, the dead rankers looked like they were sleeping. Arthur appeared near Jason''s dead body with a sorrowful expression on his face. He was visibly shaken by his son''s death. He remembered what Roth Riverine said to him some days back. "This this how did this happen? Who killed my boy?" Arthur mumbled to himself as he caressed Jason''s face with both his hands. All this time, he told himself that he was preparing Jason to be his sessor. So Jason''s death shook him from within. Arthur was always strict with Jason. The Grandmaster ranker had burdened Jason with his dreams and aspirations since he was a young kid. It was as if Jason suffered from the fact that he was more talented than his step-siblings who were Arthur''s legitimate children. Arthur justified his tough love act by saying whatever he did was for Jason''s benefit. He never offered Jason the care he should have expected from his father. These facts haunted Arthur after seeing Jason''s lifeless face. "Who KILLED MY SON? ANSWER ME!" Arthur looked at the participants gathered at the Edinnica Arena and asked them menacingly. He quickly zeroed in on Veronica who was standing not too far away from him at the moment. It had been a while since Veronica was kicked out of Sansara World''s safety mechanism. However, she was badly injured when she was admitted to the intensive care unit. One could say that Jason held nothing back in injuring Veronica so that he could hurt Ivor as well with his demonic Ability. The butcher''s timely intervention saved her. Sansara World''s first aid mechanism stabilized her condition somewhat. But the girl had lost consciousness and was about to die if no immediate medical care was provided. The healers appointed to the intensive care unit had to focus their skills on Veronica to save her. They got rid of the foreign mana invasion inside her body first before tending to her damaged mana core. They allowed her to gain consciousness naturally. Veronica woke up from hera a few days ago. Afterward, she was summoned inside the arena, like other participants who had graduated but couldn''t remain in Sansara World till itsst date. Veronica was taken aback by a Grandmaster ranker mentally suffocating her with his presence and stare. She had still not recovered from Jason''s attempt to kill her. As a result, she could not discuss her experience inside Sansara World with anyone. And nobody bothered to ask her either as there were so many things going wrong for everyone involved in the graduation event. So she stutters to answer Arthur''s question. "Grandmast no Duke Arthur why why are you I it it was Ivor Ivor Osan Ivor Osan killed this demonic" ''Veronica''s incoherent speech confused almost everyone present at the scene. However, the butcher knew she had messed up by calling Jason a demonic ranker. That too, in front of Arthur who was very protective of his son. Especially after his death. ''Idiot. One hell of an idiot. She''s dead.'' Eren said to himself and sighed in his head as he understood what might happen to Veronica. In the next moment, Arthur pped Veronica and sttered her brain all over the ground. "I''ll not spare my son''s killers even if I have to spoil my hands and destroy my name to do so." Arthur said in a grim tone. It was as if he had spoken those words as a self-confirmation speech. However, everyone present at the scene could hear his words. The Duke had obviously killed Veronica to silence her because she knew Jason had be a demonic ranker. Even while he processed the pain of his son''s death as a father, Arthur knew the potential repercussions if something like this were known to the masses. He then turned around to look at the enemies from Layos. He was obviously looking for someone to me for his son''s death. His defense mechanism worked in full force. As the Grandmaster clenched his fists, he threatened Gregory Grant and the rest of the group. "So it was you. That pest Ivor Osan You supported Osan Woods'' Butcher from the shadows. You sneaked him inside this event to target my boy. I''ll make you pay for this, you cowards." Chapter 1158 Putting Up A Show Veronica died on the spot. She was not even given a chance. Arthur''s overwhelming might and presence coupled with her own unstable mental condition caused her a quick and easy death. The participants had ashen faces as they watched a Grandmaster ranker kill one of their own like swatting a fly. They wondered if they were supposed to be wary of Layos or rankers on the same side as them. The Duke had decided to kill one person as soon as he could- Jaime. It had been made very clear to him that Jaime was working for Layos'' kingdom from the beginning. However, the guy was not present at the Arena. He locked himself in the broadcast tower. Therefore, Arthur needed to wait a bit before settling his score with Jaime. "Arthur. I''ll not say anything about this incident since your son died. But you better behave yourself now. We have guests at our house." Hansen spoke calmly while looking at Gregory Grant. And for a fraction of a second Arthur was exposed to Hansen''s aura that almost made his heart skip a beat. Arthur took a step back from his position when he realized how domineering Hansen Lehan could get. The Duke knew that his political power was of no use against a Sage like Hansen. So he could only adjust his gears ording to Sage''s instructions. "Ye Yes, Sage Hansen. I''ll be careful." Arthur was forced to calm down. And he was d about Sage Lehan''s intervention as well. He gestured to his men and they stored Jason''s dead body in a special, palm-sized spatial artifact. The Duke had decided to give properst rites to his talented son. He had plenty of people to me, he thought. His grief can also wait. Dealing with Gregory Grant and his people was more critical at this point. Hansen was satisfied with the Duke''s response to his words. He then turned to his right and looked at another grieving rankerC Roth Riverine. Earl from House Riverine attempted to locate Ken among all the survivors. He also checked all the dead bodies that had left Sansara World. Since Ken wasn''t present anywhere in any form, Roth could only conclude that Ken had died in such a way that not even his body remained. This realization made Roth so sorrowful that he didn''t even know what Arthur had done earlier. And the old earl was too mature to gloat at what Arthur had to face. Unlike Arthur who was riddled with guilt for Jason''s death, Roth was immersed in pure sadness over Ken''s death. He neither saw the need nor had the strength to express his sadness through anger and violence. Roth felt like his limbs had be powerless, making him vulnerable to enemy attacks. Hansen understood that Roth was in danger of being targeted by enemies when things became serious. So the Sage ranker decided to do something about the gloomy atmosphere his side was suffering from. "Roth, Arthur, and every other ranker who has lost someone they know in this event, you have my condolences. Death and suffering are part of being a ranker. Still, we need to express grief for losing someone or something significant to us. This expression is for the departed as well as for the living. You can me the kingdom''s policy for these deaths. And I, on behalf of Edinburgh, am ready to ept that me. I am responsible for many deaths. A few more wouldn''t matter. I know it might sound heartless to some, but the living associated with the dead can ask forpensation from the kingdom. We will do all we can to make it up to you." Hansen''s voice was emotionless and firm. And yet, it calmed participants and rankers. "That being said, I ask you to control your emotions. Be it grief or excitement of clearing the graduation, you can feel what you want to feel after we take care of the uninvited guests. If you really want to experience anything, feel the wrath. You must feel angry towards Layos'' forces for forcing us to take these extreme measures. They are your real enemies. The ones you need to focus on at all times." Hansen changed his audience''s mood with his simple yet effective speech. Participants and other rankers viewed Layos'' forces with animosity. Even the participants who had survived for weeks inside the Sansara World felt hatred towards the kingdom of Layos. That''s because it was because of the infiltrators that they had to suffer so much. "If we can just." Hansen was about to motivate his audience. But he stopped speaking when he received news from someone through voicemunication. The Sage''s eyes lit up when he heard positive news from his underlings. "Never mind. I just received some good news, everyone. We will now cull the pests that have tried to mess with us." The opaque domain that protected the participants from potential enemy attacks started shing newly introduced runes on itsyer. These runes did nothing to strengthen the domain. Instead, they had special effects on the participantsC or rather, the infiltrators serving as participants. "Aaaaaaaargh" "Aaaaaaah Heeeeeelp! It burns. My face burns." "Get it get it off me." The infiltrators, who relied on their elven masks all this time, cried in pain and agony. They scratched their faces with their nails to get the artifacts off their faces. But the masks couldn''t be removed for some reason. Infiltrators'' faces were burned with newly introduced runes. The protected domain ensured genuine participants'' safety. But it acted as a cage for the infiltrators who looked forward to leaving Eden with their identities intact. It seemed that the kingdom of Edinburgh had finallye up with countermeasures against the elven artifacts. These artifacts threatened the kingdom''s internal and external security. As such, the kingdom wasn''t satisfied withckluster ways. It not only wanted to identify the infiltrators but also make them suffer for their impudence to take the kingdom for granted. Chapter 1159 Traitor Identified Sage Hansen was a cruel man behind his facade of calm andposed behavior. He asked his underlings to activate countermeasures against the elven masks mboyantly in front of Gregory Grant and his forces. Of course, he did this to make a statement. It was to tell Layos forces that they couldn''t count on elven masks anymore. As these countermeasures will soon reach all parts of Edinburgh. The Sage also implied that Edinburgh could not be taken lightly. If the elves were adept at intent-based magic, Edinburgh could thrive on its knowledge. This knowledge was something that the Sages of Edinburgh gained through relentless pursuit. Cries and screams. Some infiltrators cried in pain in their positions. Some got on their knees and tried to pull the skin off their facesC injuring themselves in the process. Their faces turned bloody but the masks wouldn''te off. The faces of the participants who were trying to hold themselves off started to blister. Even without self-harm, these participants also screamed. Some infiltrators ran away from their positions to deal with the suffering they were suddenly subjected to. However, they couldn''t run far away because of the safety barrier that prevented them from seeking Gregory Grant''s protection. "Hahaha. There you go. These cries for help are music to my ears." Hansen''s face turned menacing as he stared at Gregory Grant. Thetter also changed his demeanor after seeing the young rankers from his side suffering under the domain''s effects. Hansen didn''t care about Gregory''s anger. He spread his arms and addressed the participants excitedly. "My young heroes! You can now identify the enemies who caused you harm. They are the backstabbers you should fear. They are the source of all your troubles. Kill them. Butcher them in the most horrific way possible in front of our guests. After all, we need to entertain them somehow." With their burning masks on, the infiltrators looked around in panic. Since Hansen ordered the participants to do the deed, other rankers didn''t act. However, even the participants were too stiff to act. The Sage was unhappy with the participants'' cold shoulder. With his dissatisfied face, he continued to speak. "Alright. Kill them and you shall get rewards. The more you kill, the better the rewards will be. How about that?" Blitz. Swoosh. Kill. Purple Reaver. Invi ze. A participant''s head was rolled onto the floor the next moment while the other had her torso split in half. Two distinct flying weapon shes. Two distinct kills. The smell of burning flesh and blood was released into the air, creating a bloodthirsty atmosphere inside the domain. The butcher acted first after Hansen discussed rewards. The two infiltrators he killed with surprise attacks were only the beginning. He moved on to kill more infiltrators without admiring histest kills. Mayhem ensued inside the domain. Participants were finally forced to move. They couldn''t let a single man take all the credit and rewards for himself. The infiltrators already had their hands full taking the masks off them. So when the participants attacked, they could hardly defend themselves. The participants found it easy to deal with the infiltrators with such a handicap in their favor. Various mana pulses were released inside the protective domain. It looked like the domain was created to contain the chaos happening inside instead of protecting the participants from external harm. Screams and more screams followed. The participants acted as the main offensive force while the other Edinburgh rankers intervened when the infiltrators tried to turn the tide. It was a one-sided massacre. The space around Hansen rippled and he appeared outside the domain. He shed a jubnt smile at Gregory beforementing. "I hope you like the show I arranged for you, Greg. It''s such fun acting as a kind host for you despite our differences." Crack. Crack. Crack. The ground on which Gregory was standing cracked and a menacing mana pulse was released from him. He looked at the chaos surrounding Hansen beforementing. "That''s it. I don''t care about your ns, you bastard. It''s now or never. Act now or there will be no further cooperation between us." Hansen made a puzzled expression in response to Greg''s words. However, he was frozen in his steps when he felt something behind him. The array-generated protective dome dimmed suddenly before dispersing into thin air. It was as if someone disabled the array before making it unfunctional entirely. This was not an array break but a manual turn-off. The participants and infiltrators stopped in their tracks when they felt no protective domain caging them. The infiltrators'' masks also stopped burning because of this, giving them the relief they needed while dealing with the participants. The infiltrators could no longer hide their identities. However, they could at least put up a decent fight against their opponents. "What the" Hansen found it difficult to digest what he processed with his eyes. In the next moment, he released his aura and created a suppressing atmosphere around him. Turning back, he screamed at the elder rankers who were ordered to remain on standby. "WHO IS IT? WHO IS THIS DAMN TRAITOR IN OUR MIDST?" A man stepped forward to answer Hansen''s question. He looked proud and fearless. His smile would generate wrath and anger in the hearts of people who were ruined by him. His pro-testosterone chiseled body was coated in lightning and wind elemental fusion before disappearing from his position. He appeared right in the middle of the arena before speaking up. "Hahaha. This Prince isn''t scared of some Sage. Do you think you can keep me as your dog by cing a leash around my neck forever? Fuck you. And fuck this entire kingdom. I''ll do whatever the fuck I want." The rankers from Edinburgh''s side were shocked beyondprehension when they saw the ranker who betrayed them and the entire kingdom. This was the guy they thought could never betray them because of the restrictions ced on him. "Demonmir you backstabbing son of a." Chapter 1160 Harnessing The Emotions Of Anger ''This Demonmir he is more than what he lets on.'' Alepheemented in Eren''s head as he observed the stalemate observed by all rankers present. He didn''t disturb Alephee''s thought process and allowed her to continue. ''He might be looking for a way to remove the kingdom''s restrictions ced on him. Maybe he has already done that. But that''s not the only reason behind his betrayal. This guy he harnesses anger and wrath directed at him. There''s a part of him that is the Demon Prince of Wrath after all. What would happen when Edinburgh''s authorities start hating him? What would happen when the entire Edinburgh popce got angry at him for his betrayal of the kingdom that raised him? Sages from both sides are busy figuring out whose side Demonmir is on. But they cannotprehend the existence of the Demon Prince behind Ottoman''s deeds. They are yet to realize that he doesn''t care about any side. Ottoman will grow unprecedentedly after the news of his betrayal bes viral.'' Eren looked at Demonmir with wary eyes as Alephee made him understand the bigger reason behind his betrayal. The butcher would not admit this to Sage Lehan and the rest. However, he had to say that he would have done the same thing as Demonmir if he was in the same situation. Eren also understood why Levinepared him to Demonmir so often. Just like him, Demonmir would go to any lengths for power. ''Damn it. This wild mushroom needs to be handled sooner than I nned. Otherwise, he will cause me more problems in the future.'' Eren thought to himself and tightened the grip on Rigor Mortis and Anduril in both hands. He took a step back and decided to distance himself from himself and Demonmir. He also told his teammates to keep a safe distance from him just in case. The White Raven crew members didn''t understand why Eren asked them to stay away. But they followed his orders nheless. After all, the butcher couldn''t count on Hansen or others to protect him when Demonmir turned hostile to the kingdom that raised him. Thankfully, Nina, Levine, and Jiana Jihang were present at the scene. They were away from the arena. So the butcher decided to slowly approach them without eye-catching moves. If what Levine said about the man was true, Demonmir would try to find a way to eliminate him. That''s because Eren would have done the same if he was in Demonmir''s shoes. Ottoman had already targeted him sneakily at the start of the graduation event. The wound he gave to the butcher at the back of his head still caused difort for thetter. In short, there was no bottom line for Demonmir who could already stoop to such levels beforeing out as a traitor. *** Hansen was very angry. He was angry at himself for not seeing the traitor in Demonmir sooner. Someone like a Demon Prince should have been too difficult to control even when his vessel''s rank was so low. Despite this, Ottoman was very cooperative with Edinburgh. All this time they thought Demonmir had controlled the demon soul fragment within him perfectly well. A Sage like him should have seen thising, Hansen thought. But regret was a bitter pill to swallow for anyone, including a Sage. Only now did Hansen and others from Edinburgh understand why Layos seeded in its infiltration. Acting as a vessel for a Demon Prince, Ottoman had various rights and privileges inside the kingdom despite certain restrictions. These restrictions were ced on him to ensure his loyalty. But apparently, this was too much to ask for Samael''s demon soul fragment. They had not found out how he got rid of such restrictions. But at this point, that was irrelevant. It was Demonmir who enabled the infiltrators to enter the graduation event. It was him that made so many Edinburgh rankers defect to Layos. He gave courage to the sleeper cells hiding within the kingdom as well as reassuring them that he would not side with the kingdom of Edinburgh in the uing war. Demonmir had a certain pull over the rankers. His charismatic presence alone was enough to persuade most rankers to do what he wanted them to do. Armed with knowledge from the demon realm, Ottoman was the biggest spoiler of the graduation event the kingdom of Edinburgh never sawing. Hansen decided to deal with the traitor immediately. He knew a Demon Prince was not something he could handle. However, Ottoman was just his vessel. And the difference in ranking status between Hansen and Demonmir was overwhelming. That''s what Hansen was counting on to face Demonmir. "Demonmir I''ll fucking kill you. You will regret biting the hand that fed you, you fucking snake." Hansen gritted his teeth and said in frustration. He was about to approach Demonmir. Just then, Gregory let his presence run amok in the surroundings. He let Hansen know that thetter needed to get through to him if he wanted to harm Demonmir. "Hahaha. Greg, I would advise you not to trust this backstabbing man. Demonmir will fuck you too if he gets a chance. But I guess you wouldn''t believe me even if I told you. Soe. Let us fight and settle our differences violently. It''s been a long time since Ist fought with you anyway. Let me see how you have improved." Saying that Hansen disappeared from his position. The infiltrator also found out that Gregory had vanished into thin air to meet Hansen''s charge. Zoom. ng. Boom. The entire Edinnica arena was affected when the two Sages shed using their drawn-out swords. The S-Rank mana summoned to the surroundings made it difficult for everyone to cast and maintain their spells. It overwhelmed a few rankers and made them unable to breathe. The ground shook and the Skyview started being affected by spatial distortions caused by the two Sages simply testing each other. And this was when both Sages were conscious of not harming their younger generations. Chapter 1161 Immediate Repercussions Of The War Nobody but other Sages could intervene in a fight meant for Sages. The participants and the infiltrators both pulled back and allowed the two Sages to duke it out against each other. This was not a fight they could participate in. Instead, they chose to fight opponents of their own caliber. Hansen and Gregory disappeared from their ces and appeared to be fighting in the sky. They both reached a high altitude before letting their spells take effect around them. It was an understanding shared by both Sages for the younger generation. The rankers awaiting them on the sidelines got involved in the fight when the infiltrators who stood with Gregory entered the fray. Of course,pared to Edinburgh''s rankers, they were very few. So it was only a matter of time before the infiltrators were handled. However, both sides didn''t know a third force would involve itself in this two-way conflict. And it was about to make the conflict even more multi-faceted and dangerous for them all. *** Two Sages fought in the clouds and made the skies restless. The rumbling noises from their fights would have made mortals restless if they were present at the scene. A state of emergency was dered in Edin, the capital city. Various protective domains emerged to protect critical facilities. The special forces observed in the shadows decided to show themselves. All infiltrators couldn''t get into Edin because they didn''t have enough elven masks. As such, the infiltrators decided to cause a ruckus in various parts of the kingdom at the same time with Midnight Moon''s help. Prominent cities reported terrorist activities to the Edinburgh kingdom centralmand at the same time. The kingdom had dispatched various teams to multiple locations to strengthen local forces. As a result, it did not have an overwhelming number of rankers in its capital city. The situation at the border was even direr. The Layos'' army had started to engage in direct conflict with Edinburgh soldiers at various checkpoints. It seemed that Layos had decided to go all in now at war with Edinburgh. It dropped the pretense and struck the enemy kingdom when it was supposedly at its most vulnerable. Some cultist groups could also be seen on Layos'' kingdom payroll. They started teaming up with the infiltrators and added to Edinburgh''s difficulty in dealing with all the problems at once. Some cultist organizations and infiltrators also attacked Grim Pir Town. However, an army of monsters intercepted them. The potential attackers did not even see the entrance gates of Grim Pir Town. However, it seemed that these infiltrators and cultists would enter the Grim Pir town in the future. That''s because their bodies would be turned into "artworks". *** Inside and outside the arena, there was chaos. It was as if what happened inside Sansara World was only a demo for the participants. The real shitshow unfolded in front of their eyes after they left the separate dimension. Demonmir was the only person who stood motionless in the center of the arena. He had his eyes closed and a smile on his face. It was clear that he liked chaos. He enjoyed the anger and wrath directed at him by various entities. Demonmir''s mana core rotated at high speeds. He practiced a demonic technique to increase his ranking status staggeringly- right in the middle of the war. The Demon Prince inside him regretted the frailty of the vessel he was forced to upy. Ottoman''s body wouldn''t be able to handle a Demon Prince''s techniquepletely if he decided to use it to its full potential. "This this chaos is good. This anger is good. Wars are the most effective source of nutrients for any demon. Hehehe. I would have waited for some more time to do this thing if I had been given administrative rights to Minerva''s Utopia. But since I can''t have that, I might as well create a mess. Hehe." Demonmir thought. He believed that a demon''s potential could be gauged by how many wars they caused in their wake, just by existing in any world. He patted himself on the back metaphorically for promoting this war between the two kingdoms in his own way. He then looked at the Sansara World levitating in the sky above him. He frowned when he sensed Beelzebub''s altar hiding within it. ''Hmph! That wretched existence dares oppose me. Who gave him the courage to do so? I shall get back to him in due time. But first, I need to get rid of that rat. I don''t know how he obtained the rights to challenge my domain. But it''s time to revoke his rights from him.'' Demonmir narrowed his eyes as he looked at the sky and decided to do something in his head. Nobody fought with him. Some rankers didn''t dare to fight Demonmir while others were too busy to deal with him. As a result, he found some time for himself to take care of a certain problem. "Now where is he?" Ottoman started looking around. He also let his mana sense run wild. And he finally found what he wanted. "Hehe. Found you." Ottoman had a wild grin on his face as he looked at Eren who was trying to meet up with Nina''s group while fighting with infiltrators. The former summoned two broadaxes in his hands and charged them with his Master ranker mana before using his movement spell. In the next moment, several participants and infiltrators screamed in pain as an unstoppable force swept through the crowd. He attacked everything and everyone in his way without worrying about rankers'' individual inclinations. The Master-ranked entities intervened. But they only managed to keep their young generation safe from Demonmir''s indiscriminate attacks. They couldn''t stop the man from approaching his target. "Eren hang on weing for you." Nina and the rest understood the emergency Eren was in. They also battled infiltrators that popped like wild cabbages in front of them. The butcher, on the other hand, understood in a split second that his sh with Demonmir was imminent. So instead of running away, he decided to face the demon directly. Chapter 1162 Battle Trance Blitz. ng. Swoosh. Eren''s body flew in the air like an uncontroble kite before crashing down like a meteor. His frontal sh with Demonmir led to this. The elemental fusion of wind and lightning harmed him even more, rupturing his skin and burning fresh wounds at the same time. The butchernded about 300 feet from his initial position. The participants and infiltrators who were battling each other at Eren''s updated position decided to split and run away at the same time. The butcher''s appearance made them understand that sometimes it is better to run away from the battlefield. Of course, they didn''t run away because Eren scared them. They were scared of the person who injured him. Lightning struck and Demonmir appeared. By this time, the butcher had also gotten up from his position. Eren''s face and body were covered in various wounds. Being in the same vicinity as Demonmir when he attacked was harmful to his opponents and allies even if his attacks didn''tnd on them. Plus, one had to note that Eren was an Expert ranker whereas Demonmir was a Master ranker. This entire fight was against the rankers'' code of conduct. However, Eren didn''tin or run away because he knew there was no use. Demonmir''sckeys appeared. They secured a perimeter, allowing him to finish his deal with Eren. Incidentally, there was nobody from House Montmorency present with Demonmir. Theckeys were newly recruited. Snap. Instant Reset kicked in and allowed Eren to heal from major injuries in the blink of an eye. He wiped his face and rubbed his eyes to get rid of the residual blood blocking his vision. Even after injuring Eren to this degree, Demonmir was impressed with Eren''s handling of his attacks. If there was any other ranker in Eren''s ce with the same ranking status as him, he would have died facing Demonmir as soon as they shed. Eren narrowed his eyes and looked at Demonmir. He adjusted his stance and felt the weight of his weapons. They were slightly damaged from a single sh. The butcher realized that Rigor Mortis and Anduril wouldn''tst long if he kept shing with Demonmir for another minute or two. An ax for an ax. Eren''s des disappeared from his hands. In their ce, a hugebrys appeared, a double headed axe. This was a transcendent-grade weapon Eren received when he yed Tuan in the Titus tournament. This was the same ax he used to kill Har Jahar. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Thebrys danced around the butcher as he effortlessly handled it. Its runic de cut through the air and dispersed Eren''s wind and fire elemental fusion shards. He modified the broad axe a little with Alephee''s help. It could now support Eren''s multi-elementpatibility at the cost of lowering its performance a bit. "Hmm. This is good. I''ll fight with this." Eren was happy with his choice of weapon despite the difficult situation he found himself in. He also had sufficient ax mastery for his rank even though he had seldom used it. The butcher decided to polish his ax skills since he was fighting Demonmir who was known as an exceptional ax wielder. "Hahaha. You are bold. I''ll give you that." Demonmirughed looking at Eren. He had to say that he could not see even a hint of fear in Eren''s eyes. "No wonder you could establish the city of White Raven for yourself. One needs this level of bravery and calm to do what you did in Anfang." The butcher didn''t pay attention to Demonmir''s words. He was too busy talking with his teammates, Nina, and the rest through voicemunication. He told them not to worry about him before closing themunication channel for good. After all, the butcher didn''t want distractions in his fight against Demonmir. "I''m sorry. What were you saying?" Eren said while looking Demonmir in the eyes. A Ster Sativa was conjured out of thin air in Eren''s hands the next moment. He lit it up and drank half of the Sativa in one go, filling his lungs to the brim. The butcher shook his head as he released smoke through his nostrils. The kicked-in Sativa effect was so potent this time that Eren''s mana circuits were stimted. As a result, he started producing various elemental manifestations around him. The butcher''s eyes turned red and watery and his nostrils red up. He almost lost grip on his broadaxe before lifting it with both hands. He experienced an exceptional amount of calm at this point, which was dangerous for the kind of situation he was in. But the butcher figured that fighting Demonmir in his current condition would be dangerous anyway. So he might as well take the risk and try to benefit from this fight by entering a special state known to rankersC Battle Trance. Battle trance was simr to the State of Epiphany. It could even be called another side of the same coin. However, Battle Trance could only be achieved when one battled for their life. Battle Trance allowed the rankers to bring out all of their potential in their fight. In certain situations, the rankers exceeded their limits and achieve breakthroughs of various forms due to the state of Battle Trance. Demonmir could understand what Eren was trying to do. He had read Eren''s background report after all. The guy was addicted to his vices but not stupid. Heughed before speaking up. "Hahaha. How bold of you to use me as a grindstone for your growth. Unfortunately, you wouldn''t survive long enough to enter the Battle Trance. Let me prove it to you." Blitz. Swoosh. ng. A sh between axes. The ground was cracked. The sparks flew. Two ax wielders shed and shook the ground they were standing on. The elemental fusion between lightning and wind hurt Eren''s skin again by rupturing it. However, the butcher kept Instant Reset active, preventing himself from getting hindered by the same type of damage. The elemental fusion between wind and fire manifested itself in the form of elemental shards. They shouldn''t have hurt Demonmir''s Master-ranked body. But, a third element was added to the elemental fusion and increased the lethality of Eren''s attacks. Chapter 1163 Compound Elemental Fusion ''This bastard really did it. He entered the Battle Trance like it was no big deal. How confident one has to be in their addictions to achieve something like this?'' When Demonmir looked into Eren''s eyes as they fought, he observed that the butcher looked at him absentmindedly. Ottoman was overwhelmed when he realized Eren was all bite and no bark. Elemental fusion always gave rankers the ability to defy logic in a conventional sense. The first time Eren unlocked elemental fusion between wind and fire, he defeated Altashia. However, not everyone could perform the elemental fusion. One needs to master their elements to dabble in something like this. Demonmir''s elemental fusion was very potent and could be used in all his offensive attacks. The versatility of his elemental fusion and spells allowed him to make full use of his elemental fusion. He incorporated it into his close and mid-range attacks topletely dominate his opponents. Even Nico Chains found it difficult to stand in Demonmir''s vicinity when thetter trained to deepen his weaponprehension. However, Eren''splex elemental fusion allowed him to breach Demonmir''s defense and hurt him. The butcher''s elemental attainment in the lightning, wind, and fire was quite significant. He just needed a catalyst tobine all of his experience, creating apound elemental fusion. Lightning properties were added to wind-firee shards. Their speed and damage output increased to an unprecedented level as a result. Some of Eren''s shards created mini explosions as they hit their targets. Some buzzed before prating deep into their targets. Some shards diffused Eren''s mana into the target''s epidermis, causing cellr damage with foreign mana invasion. Eren''s triple-element fusion wasn''t stable yet. He had just used Battle Trance as a medium to integrate all his experiences and elemental attainments. Plus, the fusion of the three elements wasplex. It was vtile and chaotic by nature. One needed fine control over the fusion process to produce the desired effects. Eren needed to step out of his Battle Trance and understand the new form of elemental fusion he had unlocked. This was so he could control the shards'' properties. Still, the fact that Eren integrated three elements into his attacks was not a small matter. And since thepound fusion was soplex to perform, it had also be very difficult to defend against. Demonmir''s natural mana defense was cardboard paper for Eren''s elemental shards. Each time he shed with Ottoman, the sparks released from his broadaxe turned into elemental shards before attacking his opponent. For the first time in a long while, Demonmir got hurt in a battle. That too against someone below him. He started treating Eren as a serious threat because of that. Demonmir generated a lightning and wind typhoon around him as he fought Eren. Thetter''s body was also surrounded bypound elemental fusion shards. It was as if two storms shed against each other. Streaks of blood poured out as chunks of flesh were chopped from both sides. Even the participants and infiltrators in the vicinity stopped their fight to look at the two storms battling against each other. Demonmir was intimidated. But he was also happy. He was happy that there was someone who could give him a run for his money in this world, entertaining him. He was also d that he was able to fight Eren when he was still an Expert ranker. That way, he could take care of him before Eren became a threat. Of course, Demonmir never considered losing a battle against Eren despite the increasing number of injuries that umted. He still had many tricks up his sleeves that he hadn''t used. Eren lost track of time in his battle trance. He responded to Demonmir''s attacks subconsciously while ensuring his safety with Instant Reset. This was the disadvantage of Battle Trance. One could not control their actionspletely. Close to 10 minutes passed since the two fought. However, Eren felt like not a minute had passed by. And this was even though he subconsciously used his time-element spells to aid him in his battle against Demonmir. ''This guy''s elemental fusion. Hehe. I I want it. Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of'' Eren subconsciously thought to himself and his emerald green eyes shone with greed. He licked his lips while engaged in mortalbat with Demonmir. A wolfish grin appeared on his face as he decided to devour Demonmir by putting all out against him then and there. One could say that Demonmir always brought out the "worst" in people. Thankfully, Alephee was there to speak some sense into him just like thest time. ''Eren. Snap out of it. Don''t use your powers here. Especially against him.'' Blitz. Swoosh. Boom. Eren was thrown in the air again by Demonmir''s barrage of attacksnding on him all at once. Since Alephee interrupted his Battle Trance, Eren was unable to counter Demonmir''s attacks properly. As a result, he faced severe repercussions. "Aaaaaaargh! Fuck." Eren''s left arm had almost been severed by Demonmir''sst attack. His right hand''s radius and ulna bones were exposed. Arge chunk of flesh on his right shoulder was also missing. The severe pain finally snapped Eren back into reality. Since he kept his Instant Reset active, the flesh around his exposed wounds was agitated before regrowing. Eren''s healing Ability gave up on him after healing his severe wounds for the most part. Meaning he could not use Instant Reset effectively in his fight against Demonmir anymore. The butcher would not have been able to keep the Instant Reset active for long anyway. All of his attacks, defense, and rapid healing had taken a huge toll on his mana storage. He knew he would run on fumes if his fight with Demonmir continued for a minute or two more. Another short stalemate was observed between the two storms. Eren got up on his feet and stretched his arms. He readjusted his grip on his broadaxe before releasing cracking sounds by rotating his neck. For some reason, Demonmir didn''t follow up on his attacks. He looked at Eren warily before a thought entered his head. ''That hungry gaze Why did I suddenly feel threatened?'' Chapter 1164 Demonmirs Domain Of Wrath Sedated Perception. Stunning Speed. ''Thanks, Alephee. I guess I needed that. For some reason, I have this urge to get rid of this man. And the more I get in contact with him, the more I want to act on that urge.'' Eren confessed to Alephee while looking at Demonmir silently. He understood Demonmir''s influence on him couldn''t be ignored. For example, Eren wouldn''t normally gamble to enter a Battle Trance when the stakes were this high. But when he saw that his opponent was Demonmir, he felt strongly that he should annihte him at any cost. The fact that his gamble paid off and entering Battle Trance was a huge sess for him was a different matter altogether. Alephee expected Eren to behave this way. She exined. ''That''s natural. I bet Demonmir has those same impulses as well. That''s why he targeted you the first chance he got despite the prioritiesid for him by the kingdom of Layos. I can feel from here that Gregory fellow is not happy with Demonmir-- the way he is currently handling things here, focusing on a mere Expert ranker.'' Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Alephee''s words. ''Exin,'' he said. Thetter gave him what he wanted. ''It''s the ne of Wrath, Eren. It influences both of you. It doesn''t want two Masters. Particrly if Elder Ichor''s inheritor is the other contender for ownership. And since you don''t have a cordial bond with Samael unlike Beelzebub, it doesn''t recognize joint ownership. Intent-based magic is strong. But it alsoes with its own drawbacks. These nes I''m talking about have a consciousness of their own after all. Sin Series magic takes minute feelings into ount, and creates effects on its users, whether they like them or not. Demonmir is a vessel. The ne of Wrath wants you to get rid of Demonmir and the Demon Prince of Wrath behind him.'' Eren was exasperated in his head. ''What? Those are ridiculous expectations, to be honest. Tell this ne of Wrath or whatever to take a hike. I am down with dealing with Demonmir. But I am not entering into a direct conflict with the Demon Prince of Wrath just because it wants me to. At least not anytime soon. I may have inherited that man''s bloodline but I''m not him. I wouldn''t turn into a suicidal maniac like himC if he was one that is.'' Alphee chuckled in response to Eren''s words. One could say that Eren had two father figures, whether he saw them as such or not. One was his real father, Elijah Idril. The other was the progenitor of the Sin Series Marks. Eren was simr to these father figures in some aspects. And yet, he was very different from them when dealing with his enemies. Alephee agreed with Eren''s perspective. She thought for a bit before adding further. ''In any case, try to control your emotions. Do not make it a life-and-death battle. Do not think along those lines either. After all, your emotions and intentions y a vital role in intent-based magic. Controlling your emotions would allow you to think more clearly and decrease the effects of the ne of Wrath. Eren was taken aback by Alephee''s suggestion. "Erase my thoughts about killing Demonmir when he is trying to kill me? How would I deal with Demonmir then? I don''t think he''ll let me run away from here just because fighting with him here is inconvenient for me. How about I use'' Alephee cut Eren before he could finish what he had said. ''I hate to break it to you, but you can''t kill Demonmir now even with the Sin Series Abilities or bloodline powers used. The most you can do is defeat him at the risk of bing vulnerable to others'' attacks. Do you think he doesn''t have Trump cards of his own? Tricks, when used at the right time in the right way, be Trump cards. But all of your tricks will remain tricks in this situation. Because you won''t find the right time here. Plus, the more you fight him, the more tricks you''ll have to reveal to him. Anonymity is your biggest shield against Samael, Eren. We don''t want him to know about you and your status as the Elder Ichor inheritor. You treat a Demon Prince as a serious threat. The same level of vignce must also be applied to his vessel. The most effective way to get rid of Demonmir is to make him enter a special setting.'' Alephee said and canceled her time-element spells, returning Eren''s time perception to normal. She closed her argument by adding more. ''What''s more? Look around you. A war has broken out. Even if you survive against Demonmir by battling all out against him, will you be able to ensure your safety post-battle? Demonmir is not the only threat you have right now. I know the ne of Wrath would try to give you tunnel vision if you both are in each other''s range by subconsciously influencing you. But try to look past it and think like you normally would.'' Eren tried to understand what Alephee told him. But he found her exnation conflicting. On the one hand, she told him to control his emotions. And on the other hand, she told him to use intent-based magic to its fullest against Demonmir, which worked on stronger emotions. Alephee understood Eren''s confusion. Frankly, she didn''t want Eren to dabble in intent-based magic this early except for his use of Sin Series Abilities. That''s because she knew the subject required him to umte more experience as ranker. Still, she knew Eren had started using spiritual force in his attacks. So she couldn''t avoid the topic either. Alephee also knew time was of the essence. So she decided to build upon her previous statements. ''Eren, do you remember what I told you about the difference between emotions, will, and intent? Emotions represent your ever-changing desires. As such, they are unstable and fleeting. A ''will'' is just a strong emotion thatsts longer. It can take shape when emotions are coated in spiritual force. But the intent is like a solid bedrock. It can be defined as the manifestation of everything you stand for. It is also the embodiment of spiritual force.'' === AN: Sin Series Abilities'' pairing with the soul sense is hinted at in chapter 541. Intent-driven magic and its rtion to Sin Series Abilities is exined in chapter 877. Chapter 1165 Berserking With Wrath Mana Every challenge was seen as an opportunity by the butcher. It was an opportunity to learn something new. Eren was trying to learn something about him in the middle of a fight. The thought transfer between Eren and Alephee was near instantaneous. However, it still took time for the butcher to realize what she was talking about. Alephee decided to squash his remaining doubts as well. ''Intent-driven magic can be influenced by one''s emotions and will. But the right way to use intent-driven magic is to cultivate a stronger intent. A spell intent. An Ability intent. A domain intent. A weapon intent. Intent-driven magic can augment various aspects of your power. Your soul sense ys a vital role in this augmentation. However, one needs to align their intent with their reality. That''s because your subconscious knows what is feasible for you at the moment. So an intent will never get cultivated if it doesn''t match your current reality and the efforts you have invested in it. Right now you shouldn''t think about killing or dominating Demonmir. Your intent should be not to get defeated by him. Your intent should be to safely exit this ce without revealing your identity. Cultivating intent is a higher form of magicC one without rules or restrictions. But that''s what makes it moreplex, unpredictable, and difficult to use. Even though I have tried to exin this branch of magic to you, most of its aspects are unexinable in many ways. That''s because intent-based magic is very personal. When the intent is strong enough, reality bends and magic happens. When the intent is strong enough, the world and the people around you are affected. When you want something with an unshakable intent, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it.'' Eren finally lost any doubts after listening to Alephee''s exnations. He smirked before cultivating an intent for himself in his heart. An intent of not getting defeated by Demonmir. An intent of keeping his identity as the inheritor of the Elder Ichor in the wrap. Alephee knew that making Eren aware of these things was half the battle won. Thetter looked around him and concluded that Alephee was right. *** Demonmir, on the other hand, was shaken to the core by Eren''s performance against him. Not only had he achievedpound elemental fusion but also came out unscathed from battling toe to toe against him. ''This fucking lowlife I will show him what I got.'' Demonmir looked at Eren with cruel eyes and stepped forward. He decided to finally use his prime demonic powers against his opponent who was making him restless for some reason. "Stop looking for a way out. There''s no escaping me." Demonmir said with conviction. He decided to cure the restlessness in the heart by eliminating Eren right awayC by showing him his absolute might as the vessel for the Demon Prince of Wrath. Eren was about to try breaking the siege. Just then, he saw Demonmir approaching him. Before he could know what was going on, he felt a familiar feeling hit him. Demonmirughed before speaking out in a toneced with confidence and dominance. "Get drowned by the waves of wrath hiding deep in your heart, you fucking nuisance. Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Wrath!" *** Unbeknownst to Eren and Demonmir, Eren''s intent started affecting his surroundings as soon as it was created. Even Demonmir was subconsciously influenced to do certain actions that benefit Eren. Demonmir cast his demonic Ability. An Abiity that Eren was quite familiar with. The butcher was too stunned to speak or do anything. In the next moment, a familiar domain was cast with him and Demonmir at the center of it. The domain also prevented Nina and others from approaching Eren. The trio broke the siege using teamwork and neutralized the infiltrators who blocked them. However, they soon found out that there was something else blocking their way as well. Unlike Eren, Demonmir didn''t have to hide his demonic Abilities. He was known as a demonic ranker by the kingdom of Edinburgh and Layos anyway Ottoman de Montmorency felt like he had things under control now that his domain had been erected. Instead of attacking Eren directly, he used his demonic powers against him. Demonmir raised his hands before choosing Eren as his target. In the next moment, Eren felt a very potent wrath mana invading his body. Instead of getting angry, the butcher felt a new surge of energy coursing through his veins. His stature, muscle density, and overall potential increased. His mana storage was replenished before. Eren got stronger, faster, and sharper than before because of the wrath mana entering his body. He looked at Demonmir puzzled before asking Alephee. ''Has he lost it? Why is he buffing his enemy?'' Alephee chuckled before answering him immediately. ''That silly goose wanted to turn you into a creature of wrath but empowered you instead.'' Eren realized what Demonmir was up to and cracked up as well. He couldn''t defeat or kill Demonmir in this fight. However, he decided to use the opportunity presented to him. It was as if Demonmir had allowed Eren to use wrath mana right in the open without facing any repercussions. He could me whatever he was about to do on Demonmir''s domain activation. "Aaaaaargh!" Eren allowed the wrath mana to influence him with his willingness. He let it partially transform himself. His muscle density increased even further as a result. His limbs became as thick and shapely as Demonmir''s. And his mana signature also changed a bit. The butcher also changed into his berserker ss to better use the wrath mana he had been given the opportunity to use. As a result, his transformation was especially eye-catching. Tribal tattoos appeared on Eren''s arms, legs, and chest. His hair changed from ck to white. His emerald green eyes turned icy blue. It looked like he was a berserker with a shredded body. One had to note that this was a wrath mana summoned by a Master ranker. As such, it was in a league of its own. So the boost in body stats Eren received from Demonmir''s wrath mana was higher than what he could have done on his own. ''Hm? There''s something wrong. This is no creature of wrath. What What kind of creature is this?'' Questions buzzed in Demonmir''s mind like a school of bees. Chapter 1166 [Bonus ] Cultivating An Intent Something was amiss, Demonmir thought. He realized that he did not have any control over Eren despite thetter''s partial transformation into the creature of wrath. It was as if his Ability was useless against Eren. But before the demon could explore the thought, the butcher attacked. Blitz. Swoosh. Boom. "Gmmmmm!" Ottoman grunted when he felt intense stomach pain. He looked down to find a punch hadnded on his sr plexus. At the point of contact, Eren''s hand was covered with red lightning. His entire body was coated in wrath mana. Ottoman was shocked by how Eren could remain free of his control but also harness wrath mana. That too-- in such a way that he rivaled Demonmir in body stats. Demonmir gritted his teeth and spun around. The air around him was charged with lightning mana. With his renewed momentum, he attacked Eren using his dual axes. He also harnessed wrath mana for himself, empowering his physical and elemental attacks with intent-based magic. Another short duel round took ce. Eren used Ken''s skills to use his berserker ss to his fullest. He also coated his punches in his soul sense, which paired well with the wrath mana. He always knew Sin Series Abilities could be augmented using his soul sense. Intentions with emotions would allow for enhanced spiritual attacks with one''s soul sense added to the mix. However, only knowing the theory behind it was not enough. Eren had to figure out what worked best for him using his own experiments. He understood the basics of spiritual attacks thanks to Sage Nira. And thanks to Ivar Ironside, he had ess to the Berserker ss. Eren had received all the necessary chips to use his multi-elementpatibility at the graduation event. He was starting to experiment with his newly acquired powers to see which one worked best for him in certain situations. Eren''s berserk-powered spiritual attacks changed thendscape of his battlefield. He was a pain in the ass for Demonmir. His punches, whennded at the right time, cracked and fractured Demonmir''s bones. As a result, Demonmir eventually had to defend himself. ''Fuck! There''s definitely something wrong with this low-life. I can''t let him continue.'' Demonmir cursed in his head as he tackled Eren''s attacks. The butcher had started to wield his katars at this pointC Diceros Left and Right. Instead of shing like usual, the butcher used his punching daggers to punch. He also used his des to defend against Demonmir''s ax attacks. Demonmir canceled Wrath Domain when he found out that he could notpletely transform Eren into the creature of wrath. He also tried to create distance from Eren using his movement spell to take a breather and rethink his steps in dealing with his absurd opponent. However, Eren was still not done with Demonmir. He retained the residual wrath mana inside him and used it for another explosive spell. Contract Beast Spell: Partial Beast Transformation Red Bull Rush Eren used Ertaur uniquely with his Berserker ss. A spectral shape of Ertaur was created around him before he used the beast''s inherent spell. Having been hit by a powerful punch powered by the Red Bull Rush, Demonmir was thrown like a ragdoll with a jetpack in the air. The force behind Eren''s attack was so strong that Demonmir chopped his own tongue by biting hard at it. A bloody aerial trail marked his trajectory as he sprayed blood from the injured mouth. "Aaaaaaaaaaaa!" For the first time, Demonmir''s henchmen saw him crying in pain and agony. This was the man who could look most Grandmaster rankers in the eye and deal with them as if they were equal to him. His individual prowess and political reach were deadly. Coupled with his status as a special ranker, he was an unstoppable force even though he was just a Master ranker. As such, Ottoman''s henchmen and the rest of the audience doubted their eyes and ears when they heard Demonmir scream. They saw him open his mouth and let his emotions get the better of him, his chopped tongue on full disy. Sadly for Demonmir or his admirer, his opponent wasn''t kind enough to allow him a chance to vent his frustration. The butcher quickly closed in on Demonmir from a different angle. Eren made his Katars disappear. He held two elemental manifestations in their ce. Red Solid Sparks. The butcher also used residual wrath mana to manifest Solid Sparks. He then refined the spell manifestation using weapon intent. An intent to chop off Demonmir''s limbs without using a weapon. The Solid Sparks spell manifestations, which ideally should have detonated upon use, became a pair of sharp-edged weapons with weapon intent alone. In response to the intent, Solid Sparks developed unique runic patterns over them. Bzzt. Swoosh. Chop. "Aaaaaaa!" Demonmir''s open mouth released a mortifying scream when he lost his right arm in Eren''s attack. It was as if Eren''s intent clouded Demonmir''s mind,promising his responses across all fronts. Bzzzzzzzzt! A highly charged lightning storm was released with Demonmir at its epicenter. It ruptured Eren''s skin again and caused him even greater injuries than before. He was forced to distance himself from Ottoman as a result. Demonmir stopped screaming suddenly and looked at Eren with hatred. In an instant, he disappeared from his ce and appeared at the battlefield''s perimeter. "My lord" One of Demonir''s henchmen suddenly stared into his eyes. Before she could greet him properly, Demonmir ced his hand over her head and activated his demonic powers. Thedy ranker''s body turned into a creature of wrath before bursting. In her ce, a pure me of wrath remained. He regenerated his lost limb and chopped his tongue after devouring the me of wrath. "That''s it. No more mercy death for you, you lowlife. I will kill you. But before that, I''ll fucking kill everyone you know." Demonmir''s eyes shone as he turned to Eren and looked at him. In the next moment, however, he approached the trio of rankers who had tried to rescue Eren from him. His target was Nina, of course. Chapter 1167 “Two Can Play That Game” Demonmir approached Nina intending to kill her. Ottoman studied Eren''s background report carefully. He always liked to find his enemies'' weak spots after all. All so that he could use them and manipte the rankers however he wanted. After studying him a bit, Demonmir knew Eren was an oddball. And that he didn''t show an in-depth emotional investment in anything. Demonmir concluded that his vulnerability was Nina. After all, why would Eren buy Healers'' Nirvana and attract Midnight Moon''s attention for himself? Especially when the butcher''s profile made it very clear to Demonmir that he liked to avoid unnecessary troubles. Demonmir''s spies also told him about Carvo Bianco Eren made for Nina. That ce was cared for by the butcher himself. These seemingly insignificant details didn''t matter much when looked at separately. But in the end, they created a distinct picture for Demonmir. He concluded that Eren''s actions could be manipted by using Nina as a chess piece. One had to say that Demonmir was a very devious ranker. He first tried to destroy the city of White Raven by approaching House Derringer. He then tried to get rid of Eren and his guild by outsourcing the hit to the Escalon guild. He proposed a united front against Eren''s city. After studying everything rted to and knowing about Eren, Demonmir thought he could read Eren like an open book. Unfortunately for him, he was wrong. Just as Demonmir studied Eren, thetter also analyzed him-- tracking his activities through hiswork of spies. He knew Demonmir had met with the Pdin of Pain during his stay in the capital city. The butcher also liked to study his prominent enemies like Demonmir. Of course, Eren wasn''t aware that Demonmir would betray Edinburgh. But he knew Demonmir had started various mysterious projects across the kingdom. Some of those projects were rted to his betrayal of the kingdom, which Eren only understood at this point. And all those ns had one thing inmonC they were managed by or rted to Reva Rain. Eren knew after studying Demonmir that Reva Rain was a critical chess piece in his ns. He just didn''t know how significant her role was in the war. There was only one way to find out. Eren watched Demonmir battling threedies at the same time with stoic expressions. The siege on him was retracted after Demonmir shifted his attention. Levine fought Demonmir furiously when he targeted Nina. She had an unresolved grudge against Demonmir. She had prepared various potions as countermeasures against him, just for days like these. She started using them without holding back, causing Demonmir trouble. Jiana Jihang was a known title holder in the kingdom. She was yet to fully recover from her sh with Midnight Moon. That''s why she struggled on the battlefield. However, Goldy Wings supported Levine in her war against Demonmir just fine. Nina also realized why Demonmir suddenly targeted them. As a result, she empowered Levine and put herself on the back foot. She activated the Nirvana array as her final Trump card to keep herself, Levine, and Jiana Jihang safe from Demonmir''s attacks. Eren had never considered Nina a weakling despite what Demonmir assumed about her. Nina was just as cunning as caring and knew everything that was happening around her. Being a healer, she could never win against Demonmir. However, he also knew Demonmir couldn''t hurt her easily either just because he wanted to. What''s more? Eren knew people watched his moves even though they did not help or oppose him. If he helped Nina at this point, his enemies would target Nina all the time. He wanted to avoid scenarios like these. It was much better if Eren''s enemies considered him a callous ranker who only cared about his own gains. That way, he could shield Nina from future troubles. Still, Eren didn''t want to leave Nina''s safety to chance. He decided to take some countermeasures that Demonmir wouldn''t expect. ''Alephee, pay close attention to Demonmir''s fight with Aunt Nina. If she gets in a tough spot, use your powers to get her out of harm''s way. Don''t worry about me and leave the ce with her altogether.'' Eren asked for Alephee''s intervention and thetter agreed. The homunculus had, for the most part, recovered from the negative consequences of operating on the Sage array. This expedited recovery was thanks to the blood pool she used inside the pendant abode. Alephee had reservations about appearing on this grand battlefield even after her functional recovery. That''s because she sensed that the three Sages from Edinburgh watched everything unfold from the shadows. She also sensed ripples in the spatial fabric. Another force was about to enter the fray. Thus, she didn''t want to show herself and attract Sages'' attention to her. Alephee epted Eren''s wish anyway. Nina was a positive influence on Eren and she didn''t want anything to happen to that influence. Eren''s guess about being watched from the shadows was right all along. Anfang forces would have considered using Nina as leverage to hire Eren into their fold. They were especially keen on recruiting him after watching his battle potential against Demonmir. So when they saw Eren glued to his position after Demonmir''s cunning maneuver, they decided to hit breaks on that thought. Could Eren really be controlled using petty tricks? They all asked this question themselves as they observed the butcher from afar. *** Eren decided not to approach Nina and the rest and make matters more difficult for them all. Instead of falling for Demonmir''s trap, he looked around and found what he wanted. He decided to fight venom with venom. "Two can y that game, bitch. Let''s see who caves first." Eren said before closing in on Reva Rain. She was a few miles away from her current position, busy pretending to fight an Expert ranker from the kingdom of Layos. The butcher intervened in their make-believe battle without a formal invitation. Blink. Swoosh. Pitchook. === AN: The meetings between Demonmir and Reva Rain were foreshadowed in chapter 723. Chapter 1168 Reverse Rain ''Fuck! For how long will we have to pretend to fight each other, Reva? Myrades are dying as we continue this vain fight.'' The closebat expert from Layos asked Reva Rain through voicemunication. His tone was mixed with a hint of usation, prompting the Pdin of Pain to initiate a stalemate and respond. ''Do you want me to get identified as a traitor without assuring my security first? I''m a bona fide title holder. What do you think will happen if they find out that I have defected to your side? Anfang''s forces will target me immediately. I''m not protected by a Sage like Demonmir, you know.'' The Pdin of Pain also betrayed Edinburgh under Demonmir. She knew more about Demonmir''s ns than Layos'' forces. Reva knew this was not the right time toe out as a traitor. There would be an apt timing for her to reveal her betrayal and officially join Layos'' forces- after the third force intervened. The Expert-ranked elf stared at Reva with disapproval. But in the end, he clenched his fists and decided to y ball with her for a few more minutes. After that, he decided to scream about Reva Raina''s betrayal all by himself. The short stalemate between Reva Rain and the elf Expert ranker was over. It was decided that both of them would y their parts. Just when he was about to sh with Reva, he noticed something wrong with his heart. The Expert ranker looked down to see a dagger through his chest. And the dagger tip was visible at the front. Someone used the Expert''s ranker''s sh with Reva tounch a critical strike at him. And the strike was so precise that his entire body froze into inaction. All he could do was scream. "Aaaaaargh!" The elf Expert ranker couldn''t believe he would be assassinated with this precision. He thought his rank was high enough not to get killed by sneak attacks. Apparently, he thought wrong. The invisible assassin behind the elven closebat expert twisted the dagger that pierced his heart and pulled it out from the man. His fire-element mana cauterized the wound right after the weapon''s exit, preventing blood escape. The elf ranker dropped dead without a ruckus. He didn''t even get to say his final words to his killer. That''s because the killer was yet to show himself. Reva had a cold shiver run down her spine when she witnessed the elf ranker''s death. The slumbering demon fragment in her saved her by making her aware of the assassin''s presence. Reva guessed she was the first target. And that the elf ranker who died was only apromise the assassin settled for. "Who the fuck is it? SHOW YOURSELF!" The Pdin of Pain had already activated her defenses against the assassin. She was on edge and highly alert, making it difficult for the assassin to do what he did to her pretend opponent. A man wearing a beak mask appeared in front of Reva Rain. His presence had be as fleeting as the passing windC his emerald green eyes looked at Reva with various emotions reflecting in them. "You Eren Idril! What are you doing here? And why are you targeting me? I''m from Edinburgh, you bastard." For some reason, Reva remembered those eyes. She met with Eren before the graduation event. The Pdin of Pain decided to get rid of Eren after the graduation event''spletion. Eren''s ss was changed from an assassin to a closebat expert before he revealed himself. He willed his beak mask and dagger to disappear. The butcher looked at Reva Rain and responded coldly. "Do you take Sages, who are currently watching you and the rest of the rankers, for a fool? If Demonmir has defected, then youC his harlotC can''t remain behind." In his hands, Eren summoned Diceros Left and Right. He knew that Layos forces were still unsure of Rev Rain''s status. That''s why he incited Reva with his words. All so that he wouldn''t get seen as a traitor by Edinburgh forces and get attacked for it. The butcher didn''t let Reva Rain speak. He closed in on her using Blink and used his ocr Ability on her. Sedating Gaze. Bzzt. Swoosh. Pitchook. The Pdin of Pain finally recognized Eren as a real threat to her life. She was made to understand the hard way that she couldn''t just swat him away like a bothersome fly. Reva activated her Ability at the same time as Eren''s Ocr Ability. As a result, she was forced to remain motionless. Reva''s consciousness was sucked into the illusory world of blood and gore. A world in which giant flowers made of flesh and organs blossomed before wilting away. A world of banshee screams, bloody earth, and red skies. A world in which she was the sole observer of the gory phenomenon happening around her. At the same time, Eren experienced an unfathomable amount of pain, sickness, hunger, and aggression. That''s because he was getting drenched in the rain caused by Reva''s Rain''s Ability. The illusory raindrops of the spectral rain weren''t falling to the ground from above. Rather, they came from the ground and reached for the stars. Reva Rain could affect her opponents'' consciousness and soul using her Ability along with their pain receptors. Her multifaceted Ability would render almost all of her opponents useless when exposed to this illusory rain. The Ability could be called multifaceted because of the types of suffering that it can cause in the minds of Reva''s targets. First was the Rain of PestilenceC those affected by this form of rain felt sick to the core. Sickness manifestations would also appear on their bodies. The second form was the Rain of FamineC the subjects would suffer from the same physiology as if they starved like mortals. The third form was the Rain of DestructionC the subjects would feel that every muscle fiber and bone had imploded. The feelings would be reality if the subjects gave in to those feelings. The fourth form of rain was the Rain of DeathC the subjects would receive sought-after relief from their sufferings if they epted these raindrops to act on them. However, doing so would eventually kill them. This was Reverse RainC the Pdin of Pain''s Ability. === AN: Thanks Daoist_Culture for the super gift. ;) Chapter 1169 Eyes? Lungs? Pancreas? Demonic Abilities were weird by Anfang''s standards. Most of them were so vtile that they defied the norms. Some Sin Series Abilities could even upset the bnce of power in favor of their users. This was usually the case because the demonic Abilities took users'' emotions, wills, and intents into ount. Since the emotions were unpredictable, the same unpredictability would manifest in the respective demonic Abilities as well. Reva Rain''s Ability allowed her to cast a wide debuff AoE on her opponents drenched in Reverse Rain. It also allowed her to heal from severe injuries. The rate of the healing was dependent upon the emotions of pain and suffering the opponents felt while being affected by the AoE Ability. Reva could also heal her allies using Reverse Rain. It was she would have to cause equal amounts of suffering, if it could be quantified, that is, to make up for healing multiple rankers from her team. The Reverse Rain was a rare and potent Ability. Reva had be a title holder in Edinburgh because of her signature power. She was named Pdin of Pain because of the ill effects her Ability had on her opponents. Reva would first target her opponents with the Rain of Pestilence followed by other forms of rain. In the end, she would let them get drenched in the Rain of Death, allowing them to find a cure for their suffering in death. Most of Reva''s opponents died with expressions of pain and suffering painted on their faces. Almost nobody could manage to keep their consciousness separated from the amount of suffering they were feeling at the time after all. Reva Rain activated her Ability to its full potential when she saw Eren''s conviction. It was as if he knew about her Ability all along. As if he knew what he was signing up for by confronting the Pdin of Pain head-on. Eren''s main receptors were overloaded when he was affected by Reverse Rain. It was just like getting drenched in illusory rainwater except there was no water involved in the equation. Instead of water, it was as if ethereal emotions had been liquidated and turned into droplets of rain. These illusory droplets would then affect those who came into contact with them. Eren had already experienced Reva Rain''s Ability multiple times on his past timeline. He had also suffered from her hand so that she could practice various facets of her Ability on live test subjects. So he had alreadye prepared to get drenched in the Reverse Rain. He managed not to give in to psychological and physical symptoms caused by her Ability. The butcher charged his daggers withpound elemental fusion before attacking the Pdin of Pain. Eren cut Reva''s abdomen vertically before inserting his hand into the newly opened cavity. He grabbed onto something before yanking it out of Reva''s body. By this time, he had reached the threshold of handling pain. Eren couldn''t afford to get drenched by the Reverse Rain for longer. So he used his movement spell to step out of her demonic Ability zone. Reva Rain''s consciousness stepped out of the illusory world Eren''s Ability had pulled her into. The pain she was subjected to was enough for her to do that. When she did, she screamed. "Aaaaaaaargh!" The Pdin of Pain couldn''t even use her Ability to heal herself. That''s because the Reverse Rain didn''t invoke the required emotions and sufferings in Eren. All she could do was try to close the wound with her hands in vain, turning them bloody and making the situation deteriorate. "Heh! Organ harvesting is no fun when it''s done to you, right?" Eren smiled gracefully at Reva before showing her what was in his left hand. It was a meaty organ that was dark red. Since it was a fresh organ from an Expert ranker, it radiated exceptional amounts of vitality and life force. Reva Rain lost arge chunk of her liver in the butcher''s first attack. The Pdin of Pain had never felt so much pain in her entire life as she did at this point. However, there was another emotion trying to take over the psyche which was almost equally strongC surprise. "How aaaaargh how do you know about organ harvesting?" Reva looked at Eren with a fearful expression on her face. It was as if she stood naked in front of the butcher. It was as if all her secrets wereid bare before him. Eren entered the Expert rank recently. And he overpowered a demonic ranker like her who was close to breaking into the Master rank. It spoke volumes about the butcher''s ranker potential. Reva Rain''s liver disappeared from Eren''s hands. In its ce appeared the katar that the butcher had used to hurt Reva. The butcher''s emerald green eyes shone with determination as he asked his rhetorical question to his opponent. "Ready for round 2? Which organ should I harvest this time? Eyes? Lungs? Pancreas? So many snacks so little time. *Sigh. The tragedy of being good at one''s craft, I guess." The butcher sighed as he looked at Reva''s body as if it was a living and breathing organ dispensing machine. Reva felt threatened by his gaze. Still, she mustered courage and clenched her fists before replying to him. "You you will not be spared, Eren Idril. Do you hear me? I and aaargh I and Demonmir will ruin you. Back off back the fuck off. NOW!" Eren chuckled at Reva''s empty threats. He looked at her intently before saying the same thing she was used to saying in a mocking tone. "Tch. Tch. Tch. Don''t you know, Pdin of Pain? Those who inflict pain must have the courage to bear it as well. Are you telling me you don''t practice what you preach? We can''t sully your image like that? Otherwise, people will call you a hypocrite. Let me protect your image. Let me stifle the mes of infamy trying to get to you. Ready or not here Ie." Chapter 1170 Magic Happens When One Does Things With Conviction "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" This time it was the entire left arm. Reva Rain felt the pain she inflicted on her victims. And it could be said that she was not looking forward to experiencing that herself. Reva Rain''s Ability also worked on Eren this time. His body looked like it was suffering from famine. His cheekbones showed and his arms and legs turned into twigs. His skin had turned yellow as if he was suffering from a severe illness. Plus, his expression would tell onlookers that his body was riddled with various problems. The butcher had to shake off Reverse Rain''s effects on him. Reva Rain used that time to escape him. It could be said that she traded her arm to run away from the butcher. ''That was so satisfying listening to her screams. I want to hear more. I need to fucking torture her more. Wish I could get room to spend some "quality" time with her by myself.'' Eren looked at the escaping Reva Rain and sighed in nostalgia. As he circted mana through his mana circuits, he cured himself of Reva''s debuff. In the next moment, purple lightning streaks surrounded him before he disappeared from his ce. "DEMONMIR!... HELP ME DAMN IT!" Reva found out Eren was after her. Unfortunately for her, nobody came forward to support her or stop Eren while they ran through the arena. It was as if everybody had agreed that they shouldn''t interfere in the big league games. *** Demonmir cursed Reva Rain for being so helpless against Eren. He wasn''t doing too well against the three female rankers either. He thought he could kill Nina without breaking a sweat. However, the Master ranker healer was as shrewd as Eren, if not more. Demonmir''s biggest headache was Levine de Montmorency. She fought with him to avenge her father. Now that he had defected to the enemy kingdom, she had all the legal grounds to punish him for killing his father and so many other members of her n. Magic happens when one does things with conviction. Levine''s preparations finally came to fruition on this day. And despite various injuries, she smiled fighting Demonmir. She even had that crazed look in her eyes as she used coteral moves to hurt him. It could be said that she was so angry at Demonmir that her anger made her smile. Of course, Levine couldn''t be so daring if Nina wasn''t supported her. The Master ranker healer used her Nirvana array, using Demonmir''s vitality to heal Jiana Jihang and Levine de Montmorency every chance she got. As a result, Demonmir kept weakening the more he fought with the trio of rankers. Demonmir realized that things were not as simple as they looked in the background reports. No amount of information about female rankers could prepare him for their wless teamwork. This was something he discovered only after fighting with the trio. One could say that desperation was needed to find rhythm in what they did. Of course, Demonmir had a lot of Trump cards he could use against the trio. However, using them here would mean he couldn''t utilize them when the third force entered the battlefield. Demonmir was not attacked on the battlefield because Gregory watched over him. Despite being only verbal, the protection of a Sage held some meaning. That''s why nobody wanted to apprehend Demonmir without neutralizing Gregory Grant first. However, things would getplicated for Demonmir if the third force didn''t show up on time and Gregory got beaten by Hansen. The two Sages were still fighting in the aerial space high above the Edinnica arena. Their battle affected the high-altitude atmosphere, creating various elemental mana storms. Only other Sages would dare to navigate aerial space through these mana storms. In short, Demonmir would be targeted by Edinburgh forces as soon as Gregory is defeated or the Sage calls it quits on him. That''s why Demonmir was not willing to use his Trump Cards in vain. Demonmir cursed Eren in his head when he found out Eren had used his trick to get to him. And the most awful part about the trick was the fact that he couldn''t just let Reva Rain die even if he knew it was a trick. Lightning-charged winds surrounded Demonmir like a typhoon before he disappeared from his position. He abandoned targeting Nina and others because his critical pawn was about to get diced by the butcher for all the organs she was worth. Blitz. sh. ng. Eren was thrown into the air when Demonmir attacked him brutally. Ottoman hade in between Reva and Eren just when he was about to harvest another body part. Of course, Eren saved Reva Rain''s organs in his storage. So that he could devour them and gain attainments from them. After all, waste not, want not. A hive of lightning, wind, and fire shards were created behind the airborne Eren before converting into wings. He had leveled up the wind-fire wings, thanks to thepound elemental fusion he had unlocked for himself. Swoosh. Eren altered his trajectory by pping elemental wings. He used built-up momentum to glide through the winds before changing his direction. The butcher stabilized his flight and remained airborne, looking down at Demonmir with a smile on his face. A smile that was full of ridicule. "Hmm? Whatever happened to teaching me a lesson? You are here. I''m here. Let''s see how many lessons you have in store for me. I hope it''s not a lesson about talking big. I''ll let you master that art form." Demonmir looked up and stared at Eren with hatred in his eyes. This was the first time the Prince of Wrath in him subconsciously felt he was not the rightful owner of the wrath domain. That''s because he felt like he was not in control of the anger blooming in his heart. Demonmir then turned around and looked at Reva Rain with a displeased expression. As if she was the reason behind everything that was going wrong with his n to deal with Eren. Chapter 1171 Livid Levine "That guy I I was just trying to" Reva Rain struggled to exin. Demonmir pressed his index finger against his lips, telling her to shut up. "I just hope you don''t be a liability for me, Reva. I really don''t want that for both of our sakes. We have so much to do." Cupping her face with both his hands, Demonmir caressed Reva Rain''s cheeks. Reva feltfort through Demonmir''s caring gesture. However, she knew something was wrong when Demonmir''s hands stopped feeling gentle. He narrowed his eyes at her before making an insidious move. p! The sound of a crisp p was heard on the battlefield. And for some reason, it had a reverberating effect that quieted down the surroundings. Reva''s Rain''s cheek was pped so hard by Demonmir that her facial epidermis came off and the flesh beneath it was mangled. Reva looked at Demonmir bitterly. She was already severely injured by Eren. At this point, she felt something that wasn''t the pain of her recent injury. Instead, it was her pride that was hurt. "This is to help you remember your mistakes, my dear. So you won''t do them again." Demonmir said in a caring tone, which angered Reva Rain even more. One could say that Demonmir was just being Demonmir, cultivating anger in those around him. Or it could be that he felt so out of control against Eren that he tried to establish control by bullying his underlings. Either way, Demonmir felt better after hitting Pdin of Pain. He conjured a wrath me out of thin air before sending it her way. The wrath me was absorbed by Reva''s body without her doing anything. In the next moment, she lost her left arm, and arge part of her liver was regenerated. The wounds on her body healed mostly. Apart from feeling like shit, Reva Rain had been fixed by Demonmir. Reva Rain clenched her fists looking at Demonmir. But since he healed her during a pinch, she didn''t have much to say to him. She could only curse the guy in her head, harboring anger towards him naturally just like he wanted. After fixing Reva, Demonmir looked at Eren. The butcher had descended from his flight at this point. He was surrounded by three Master-rankeddies who had joined him a second before. Eren was d he tortured Reva Rain sufficiently for Demonmir to stop focusing on the trio. After all, the more he fought with them the more he would be tempted to go all out against them. Of course, the butcher did not attack Reva Rain just to one-up Demonmir. He really wanted to kill her and be done with her forever. But Demonmir''s intervention almost assured her safety. *** Nina, Jiana, and Levine finally got close to Eren. Thetter was also d about their arrival. That''s because he fought Demonmir and Pdin of Pain one after the other and that took a toll on his mana expenditure. He needed their support to engage with Demonmir and Reva. Nina and Jiana were fine for the most part. However, Eren saw that Levine stared at Demonmir with undeniable wrath. The butcher pursed his lips before advising her potion teacher. "Don''t get yed by Demonmir, Master Levine. Act calmly when you are up against him. Otherwise, your emotions would empower him even more." Levine looked at Eren and shook her head before responding. "This hatred I have in my heart It is not about what that demon did in the past, Eren." She clenched her fists before speaking her next words with difficulty. "Zethos sent me a message earlier, Eren. It described what Demonmir has done beforeing here. That vile creature killed House Montmorency members who had supported him. He massacred half of House Montmorency members in a blood ritual to remove kingdom restrictions ced on him. He killed almost every member of his own faction, Eren. House Montmorency has lost so many talented rankers to this demon''s hands. I I will fucking kill this." Lightning struck and Eren grabbed Levine''s hands before she could lose control and approach Demonmir with rage in her mind. Only now did he understand why Levine looked so livid every time she stared at Ottoman de Montmorency. Eren realized Demonmir was moving on. He was done ying faction leader in his n. He had lost interest in governing House Montmorency''s affairs because he saw war as a big opportunity to participate in. Instead of letting Levine control her faction in his absence, he destroyed it with his own hands. By using a blood ritual on them, he also removed the kingdom''s restrictions that weighed him down. Ottoman killed two birds with one stone using this strategy. Eren pursed his lips and pondered before replying. "Don''t. This would be a rich statementing from me. But don''t let grudges cloud your judgment. At their core, all Seven Sins can enve their most steadfast practitioners. They entrap and harm the souls. One should distance themselves from them if they don''t know how to escape their grips. Rankers who get angry easily or have a personal grudge against Demonmir should never approach him carelessly. Hiding within him is a Demon Prince of Wrath. He might tamper with your soul using your emotions of excessive anger as a medium." Eren knew how Sin Series Abilities worked. There was a strong possibility that all of Demonmir''s underlings had been turned into his minions because of his tampering with their souls. He must have used their anger as fuel to do the same. Otherwise, why would he have so many underlings despite knowing how he treats them? Earlier, the butcher had seen him turn one of the female rankers serving under him into a wrath me for his consumption. The butcher also observed that the rest of his underlings watched him do that with a straight face. It was as if they treated Demonmir''s treatment of them as totally eptable. The butcher knew the potential reason behind this kind of devotion Demonmir''s underlings showed towards him. That''s because he was used to doing something simr, albeit with the Sin of Lust. Chapter 1172 [Bonus ] No Cunning Works Against Overwhelming Power Levine forced herself to calm down. She would rather die than be controlled by Demonmir in any way. By the time Eren finished consoling Levine, Demonmir finished providing "first aid" to Reva Rain. The usurper and the usurped looked at each other stoically. Demonmir decided to kill Eren before he grew any bigger and became a problem for him. He stepped forward, intending to use one of his Trump cards to finish off all four opponents at the same time. Ottoman, however, was frozen in his ce the next moment when he saw a Grandmaster ranker appear beside Eren like an apparition of fire. This hooded Grandmaster ranker held the chopped head of a Grandmaster elf in his hands. There was still a look of extreme fright on the chopped head''s face. It seemed that this Grandmaster had just finished killing the infiltrator as fresh blood dripped from the muscle cords hanging down the chopped head. The droplets of blood created various abstract wind element manifestations because it was the blood of a Grandmaster-ranked entity. The hooded Grandmaster tossed the chopped head aside after appearing beside Eren, treating it as trash. Despite the supposedly gruesome fight against a Grandmaster ranker, he looked casual and unhurt. It was as if he had just walked into nature. His aura, however, was not casual. For some reason, everyone in the vicinity felt like the ambient temperature had risen to an absurd degree. The hooded Grandmaster ranker''s mere presence forced Demonmir to rethink his moves. Crimson Ghost appeared at the scene. He decided to kill Demonmir with his own hands. Altair Argas nodded to Eren and the rest, indicating that he would face off Ottoman. The butcher bowed to the Grandmaster ranker before stepping back. He was more than d to outsource his problems to someone capable of "manhandling" Demonmir. No trickery, no cunning works against overwhelming power. Unfortunately for Demonmir, Altair had just that. Furthermore, Altair didn''t even care about Gregory''s retaliation or any other ill consequences of apprehending Demonmir. It seemed that he could handle his own against a Sage. "Where''s Al?" Eren asked Altair while standing behind him. Thetter took a deep breath before answering. "I sent her away. She is a capable ranker. But someone might use her to get to me. I have many enemies among our uninvited guests after all. Hmm how should I say this? Not everyone is capable of acting heartless like you, boy." Eren was tongue-tied when he heard Altair''s words. Before he coulde up with a valid response, the Crimson Ghost spoke further, "Don''t worry. I''m not criticizing your move. I can totally see why you did that. I am just admitting that I wouldn''t be able to do what you did if I were in your shoes. That''s because some ideas are easy to think of and understand but difficult to execute. Anyway, Tashi asked me to look after you before leaving. This brings me here." Eren smiled mirthlessly at Altair''s words. He didn''t respond. Sometimes silence is the right answer in certain situations. Only now did Eren feel that taking Altashia on an expensive date was worth every penny. The crazy expenditure, which he had tantly called an investment in Agatha''s face, ended up being just that. Altair walked towards Demonmir. A burning sword appeared in his hand. He looked at Demonmir with eyes devoid of any expressions and spoke up. "Demonmir Heh! I always knew you were the kind of dog who wouldn''t stay loyal to the hand that threw you bones. In fact,paring you to a dog might be disrespectful towards dogs." The air around Altair turned crimson-- a crimson haze. A scorching atmosphere was created without a visibly substantial fire source. Crimson Ghost''s voice turned deep as he continued. "I had told those old foggies to kill you as soon as your demonic possession was confirmed. One shouldn''t try to control something they don''t fully understand. But they didn''t listen to me. And now here you areC turning my grim predictions about you right. The mes of war are easy to light but difficult to extinguish. What''s done is done, I guess. We cannot rewrite the past for it''s already been written. But we can write about the future with our actions in the present." Demonmir looked at Altair Argas carefully. He knew that the man in front of him could seriously hurt him if not outright kill him. He clenched his fists before addressing the Crimson Ghost. "Grandmaster Altair... Greetings! Um Someone of your ranking status is trying to get rid of a Master-ranked nobody like me? People will not be able to look at you in the same way if." "Haha!" Crimson Ghostughed at Demonmir, not allowing him to finish his sentence. "Do you expect me to follow the rankers'' code of conduct while you are out here shitting all over it? Infamy? Prestige? Reputation? I didn''t care about reputation when I started as a ranker. I certainly wouldn''t care now. People can call me the guild master of the Firebrand, Crimson Ghost, The Child of Fire, or any other titles they like. They can curse me all they want as well. But I don''t care about those titles. My name is Altair Altair Argas. I consider my name to be the only property I''ll ever truly need." Saying this, Altair spread his soul sense and changed the battlefield atmosphere. Nina, Levine, and Jiana found it difficult to breathe because they felt the air they were inhaling had turned into a crimson haze. It created a burning sensation in their windpipes and lungs. This was when they were not even the target of Altair''s soul sense attack. The trio looked at each other before retreating from the battlefield. The butcher chose to remain behind. He protected himself with his own soul sense. With Altair taking care of Demonmir, he had nothing to fear. The butcher thought he might as well use this opportunity to harvest more organs from his living and breathing "organ dispensing machine." Chapter 1173 Organ Dispensing Machine Blitz. Swoosh. Pull. Blink. "Aaaaaargh!" A feminine scream. A strong smell of blood was prevalent. Eren versus Reva Rain. Second round. Eren sealed off all his senses by coating himself in his soul sense whenever he attacked the Pdin of Pain. It was assured that he would get minimally affected by her AbilityC Reverse Rain. His soul sense was also focused on protecting him from being debuffed by the illusory rain. As a result, he went blindfolded whenever he attacked Reva. Meaning he didn''t know what he would get from the "organ dispensing machine." ''Hm? Let''s see what I get this time.'' Eren looked at his hand and found a kidney. He scrunched his nose beforementing. ''I wanted pancreas this time. But never mind. I shall try again.'' The freshly yanked kidney disappeared into thin air, stored in an isted space. The butcher looked at Reva Rain with keen interest while preparing to use the "organ dispensing machine" again. *** Eren collected many organs from Reva Rain while she was still alive and kicking. The butcher wanted to focus on the fight unfolding between Demonmir and Altair. After all, he hadn''t seen a Grandmaster-ranked entity fight for real. But he knew that taking care of the Pdin of Pain was equally critical. Killing her was like cutting Demonmir''s right arm. Plus, the butcher already had old grudges to settle with Reva. The healer found it both a curse and a blessing that she was endowed with such potent healing power. It allowed her to survive the horrible procedure performed by Eren in real time. But it also cursed her to sustain more and more injuries without dying. Her life force was dwindling because of Eren''s constant attacks on her. The most frustrating part about his attacks was the fact that she couldn''t defend herself against them because of his ocr Ability, which worked especially well against her. All she could do was use her Ability on him at the same time he operated on her. She hoped he would go away as soon as possible without attacking her after being exposed to such intense emotions of pain. Reva Rain had gotten smarter. She didn''t go too far from Demonmir. And she didn''t stay alone this time when she faced Eren. She would force the butcher to fight with her while the other rankers were around. Their inclinations or other distinguishing characteristics didn''t matter to her. She just used Reverse Rain tantly while surrounded by rankers lower than her, allowing her to expedite healing through their suffering. Meaning Reva used her Ability to cast a debuff on rankers. The other rankers weren''t as ustomed to pain and suffering as Eren was. They suffered a lot under Reva''s AoE, cursing both Eren and Reva for making them a part of their sh without even asking them. Reva benefited from the pain this group of rankers faced. She used those feelings to heal herself from Eren''s attacks. The butcher attacked her again, introducing her to a world of suffering. Eren made full use of the Sedating Gaze and his soul sense. He chose not to process the visual signals captured by hispletely white eyes because of the Ocr Ability''s activation. The butcher sealed off most of his senses, including the sense of touch. So he wasn''t inplete control when he attacked Reva. Eren risked himself by entering Reva''s influence sphere like this. He waspletely vulnerable to her or third-party attack because of hispromised senses. So in a way, he gambled on his life with Reva''s body parts as a prize. Apart from the heart, head, left leg, and pancreas, the butcher was very close to creating aplete set of Reva''s body. The butcher really meant it when he called Reva a body dispensing machine. What''s more? The butcher had ess to premium-grade potions. He used them against Reva Rain to recover himself and his mana storage. These potions allowed him to always give his all in his fight against Reva. The butcher had another reason to shut off his senses. It was done so that he wouldn''t be seen as some maniac while operating on Reva. Since he was forced to fight blindly with Reva because of her Ablity, he didn''t have to justify his acts. With her logic-defying healing powers, Reva restored more than half of her body. The more she suffered, the more intense the Reverse Rain was. It caused other rankers and even Eren to suffer from heightened pain. The heightened pain allowed her to heal from even the most severe injuries within moments. So the cycle of pain and hatred kept repeating itself. There was some part of Reva that enjoyed the constant feeling of painC the forcefully slumbering demon soul fragment within her. This fragment thanked the butcher for stimting Reva''s pain receptors in such a manner. Reva had lost count of the number of times Eren attacked her. She had slipped into autopilot survival mode to tackle the most dangerous situation in her life. As a result, she neither created nor smiled while her body parts were dissected one after another. The Pdin of Pain looked at Eren with a subtle hatred that wasn''t too apparent on her face. Even her psyche was affected by the seemingly never-ending cycle of pain she endured. Of course, Eren wanted to hit Reva''s vital spots when he hit her. However, the healer protected them using her special defensive spell, preventing the butcher from killing her. Reva''s healing powers, however, approached their limits. Her dwindling life force and newly reced organspromised her battle potential. The Pdin of Pain had already used her Trump card against Eren. But thetter acted as if he knew most of them beforehand. It was as if he knew how she fought and had alreadye up with countermeasures in his head. The butcher was persistent in his attacks and never allowed her to take a breather. So when she was finally brought down to her knees, neither of them was surprised by her condition. The butcher even marveled at the fact that she had the will to survive for this long. Chapter 1174 “There’s A Certain Charm In Bottling Up Emotions.” "How how the fuck do you know so much about me?" Reva asked while looking at Eren with unmasked fury. She had exhaustion signs on her face. Her mana storage was almost depleted. Her limbs were not working the way she wanted them to. And various wounds on her body almost stopped healing. "I was never a sharing-is-caring kinda guy, Pdin of Pain. I like to suffer in silence when I have to. And I like to watch my enemies die in suspense. I prefer to celebrate my achievements silently. And the shroud of anonymity gives mefort. There''s a certain charm in bottling up emotions. It can empower you. The overly expressive ones wouldn''t get it. This is how I am. And let''s just say that I''m not ready to make an exception. Even though it was you who provided the fire for me to forge myself anew to such standards." Eren looked at Reva Rain and memories of the past timeline shed before his eyes for a moment. They made him take a deep breath and strengthened his convictions on all fronts. "You know I thought I had many words to say. But now when I look at you in your current state, I realize that they are pointless. So.. all I can say is die. That''s the only relief I''m willing to offer you. I suggest you take the deal because I know you wouldn''t like the alternative." Blink. Eren appeared right in front of the Pdin of Pain with Rigour Mortis in his hands. He was exhausted and injured. Reva Rain was a tough opponent even though he knew a lot about her. Plus, Reva''s Ability was difficult to ovee. He had to muster every ounce of mental strength to enter Reva''s AoE time and again. Reva Rain became angry at Eren''s answer, which prevented her from getting up. She stood on her knees, looking in Demonmir''s direction. She expected some kind of intervention-- from Demonmir-- from anyone who could keep Eren away from her. Bzzzt. The lightning element des were injected with red and purple lightning. They created a distinct sound like a honeybee''s buzzing. The charged air smelled of ozone. Reva stopped looking in Demonmir''s direction when Eren stood right in front of her. Her eyes reflected the red lightning streaks his des were coated in. "I wish the previous Sara could see you in yourst moments. But we can''t have everything. All I can do is find her. And ensure that you never cast your shadow on her. Farewell, Reva. Let''s just say you won''t be missed." Bzzt. Swoosh. Chop. *** "Hahahaha!" Demonmirughed like a maniac. He had various wounds as well as first- and second-degree burns. His face had been burned so severely that it looked deformed. His pro-testosterone physique seems to have lost its splendor. If one stood beside Demonmir at this point, the smell of roasted flesh would enter their nostrils. This was even though Demonmir used wrath mes intermittently to heal injuries and burns. It should be noted that Altair fought Demonmir inside the Domain of Wrath. Demonmir was supposed to be inplete control of his domain power. There was an overwhelming amount of crimson haze present inside the domain. It could be turned into incinerating mes at Altair''s will. Or it could just burn stuff up without any mes. Altair''s attacks couldn''t be blocked by Demonmir. They would effortlessly bypass any defensive barrier Demonmir put in between him and Altair. By covering himself in the crimson haze from head to toe, Altair could breach any barrier his opponents put up to avoid him. The crimson haze would distort his appearance and alter his presence into something dreadful and unavoidable. So when he appeared in front of his enemies coated in the crimson haze, they couldn''t help but remember his titleC Crimson Ghost. Altair''s fire-element attainments were unparalleled. Even a seemingly simple attack from him would turn his opponents'' bodies into charcoal without creating a sea of mes in the process. The Crimson Ghost didn''t need mes to do what mes do. Not really. Not anymore. Crimson Haze was Altair''s domain-- his Ability. And inside his domain, his attacks were seemingly omnipotent and unavoidable. Nobody dared to get too close to the battlefield of two ovepping domains. This was a showdown of domains where one domain was powered by A-Rank mana while the other tried to hold its own using intent-driven magic. Demonmir had used many Trump cards to stay alive fighting Altair. However, it appeared they were only dying the inevitable that was soon toe. So Demonmir chuckled. Heughed at his own helplessness. Of course, his maniacalugh was tinged with anger. "Finally lost it, huh? Still, I need to give credit where credit is due. I''m surprised you survived this long. Maybe if you were in the same rank as me, you could have given me some tough times. However, life is fair when it is unfair to everyone. We all have to ept this eternal truth somehow." Altair looked fine and unbothered as he spoke. He had a few ax wounds on his body, indicating that Demonmir had breached his defenses despite being a rank lower than him. However, these shallow wounds were covered in a crimson haze. It expelled foreign mana and healed Altair''s wounds at a visible rate. Demonmir stood motionless in his domain. He could sense Altair approaching him from his 3 O''clock position. He didn''t turn to face Altair. Instead, he looked ahead and narrowed his eyes before speaking grimly. "Heh. Give credit when credit is due, indeed. I admit that you are stronger than me, Crimson Ghost. You''d be an unstoppable force in Anfang if you became a demonic ranker yourself." Demonmir blinked and stared into Altair''s eyes. The two stood in front of each other with only an arm''s length separating them. Demonmir smiled even as he looked at his proverbial death. A chortle was heard as he spoke up. "You yed well. You all yed well. But But I''m better." Altair was confused about what Demonmir hinted at. But he sensed a powerful tideing that could change the entire battlendscape. Altair felt a certain urgency grip him. He charged his des and was about to chop Demonmir''s head clean off. But the demonughed at his opponent''s hurried expression beforementing. "Hahaha. Toote. They have arrived." Chapter 1175 Third Side Of The Coin Bzzt. Swoosh. Chop. Rigor Mortis managed to get past Reva Rain''s defenses. It cut through the neck halfway and paralyzed Reva Rain. However, Reva''s body disappeared just before the cut waspleted. "What in the world?" Eren looked nkly in front of him. Confused, he tried to find Reva who should have had her head severed at this point. There was no mana ripple. No spell activation. He didn''t understand what had happened. He looked at his sword and saw droplets of blood still running down the length of his de. This assured him that he had indeed hurt the Pdin of Pain. ''What happened? Where did the bitch go?'' Eren asked Alephee. Thetter observed Eren''s surroundings in silence before making a guess. ''I think she carried a space-element rune on her, which couldn''t be detected until activated. It seemed like she or someone had already made contingency ns to pull her out of the battlefield in a pinch. They were just waiting for the right moment. My bet is on Demonmir. But Reva Rain or Demonmir aren''t your problems anymore. We have a more serious problem heading our way. Get away from Eddinica Arena''s epicenter as far as you can. A third side of the coin is about to join the action.'' Eren didn''t understand what Alephee was talking about. But he followed up on her suggestion immediately. He felt a distinct mana pulse of a higher-grade spatial magic invocation behind him as he tried to distance himself from the epicenter. Edinnica Arena''s aerial space was distorted. And out came arge group of rankers from that distortion. Before the spatial distortion, someone or something destroyed the semi-transparent barrier safeguarding the entire capital city, Edin. This forceful breach in security allowed the third force to create an unauthorized spatial channel inside the city- in the heart of the Edinnica district. The group of rankers who stepped out of spatial distortion wasrge. The newly appeared rankers were almost twice the number of surviving infiltrators currently active on the battlefield. However, their strength didn''te just from their numbers. Rankers from the third force stood out simply by their presence. What''s more? Their mana signatures made it clear that they were not normal rankers. They had a certain bloodline energy added to their presence, making them stand out from the rest. Leading this group was a Sage. This Sage looked in his early 30s by mortals'' standards. He was handsome and charismatic, to say the least. He had voluminous grayish-white hair. He had grayish-blue eyes and distinct eyebrows. This man had sharp facial featuresa" from a chiseled jawline to an eagle-beak-like nose. He had a tall frame- 6.7ft tall. He didn''t look bulky despite packing plenty of muscles. His attitude was rxed yet confident. He observed the battlefield with nonchnt expressionsa" as if the death and destruction caused inside the Edinnica Arena were not up to his expectations. This man''s presence alone overwhelmed low-ranking entities. Even Expert rankers and above would find it difficult to look at him for more than a second or two without feeling some form of trepidation. No matter how close or far away they were from him. With his hands behind his back in a soldier-like posture, this man observed the silence around him with stoic expression. This was the silence he caused because of his sudden appearance. And it seemed like he was the only one who could enjoy it. Demonmir appeared near this man. He sessfully kept himself safe from the Crimson Ghost''s hands. This was an achievement added to his name. After appearing near the man, Demonmir did something unthinkable even for hisckeys who thought they knew their boss. He got down on his one knee and bowed in front of the young Sage, giving him the respect he deserved. The fact that a prideful creature like Demonmir had decided to humble himself in front of this young-looking Sage spoke volumes about thetter''s strength. The rumble in the sky stopped when a third Sage arrived at the scene. In the next moment, three Sages were seen standing inside the Edinnica Arena. Three fronts were created when three Sages entered the arena. Hansen Lehan led the first majority. The second side contained the remaining infiltrators whose numbers had dwindled quite some since the battle started. It was led by Gregory Granta" the elf Sage who headed all infiltrators active within Edinburgh''s borders. Of course, the third side was led by this newly appeared Sage. All three sides stood apart, creating a triangle-like pattern with their position. Each side could watch and be wary of the other two sides. There was no indication as to whether all three sides were enemies, or if any two would form an alliance against the remaining force. Hansen and Gregory both looked fine for the most part. However, their breathing wasbored and their faces were red. They controlled their presence somewhat. But one could tell that they were still trying to calm themselves down by their fluctuating mana signatures. One could say that there was no clear winner between Hansen and Gregory. Their individualities were different but their battle potential as Sages was the same, not allowing them to register an undisputed win over the other. The introduction of the third force really changed the battlefieldndscape and everything took ce in mere moments. And it was as if everybody knew what they were supposed to do and acted on their part. It was as if the entire battlefield was a tform created to showcase some form of performance. Rankers were the stage actors in this live show, divided into three teams. In just a matter of seconds, they were choreographed into three different teams. Hansen looked at the young-looking Sage with surprise. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it quickly as if choosing his words carefully. He stared at the third Sage quite a bit before finally uttering a name. "Edgar... JJ Edgar.... Is... Is that you, Jath?" Chapter 1176 Jarlath Joshua Edgar JJ Edgar AKA Jath Joshua Edgar. Hansen spoke the third Sage''s name softly. But the deathly silence over the battlefield allowed every ranker to hear those words clearly. Of course, not everyone among Edinburgh and Layos forces knew the name. Hansen briefly mentioned JJ in his speech at the start of the graduation event. But almost nobody paid attention to it. Nobody except Eren. Eren sat further back in the group representing Edinburgh''s rankers. He was taken aback when he saw JJ Edgar in person. The butcher couldn''t believe that he would get to see the face of the person whose diary had be a gateway for him to learn some hidden truths about the world. ''I guess he found what he was looking for.'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at the force standing behind JJ Edgar. The butcher identified the origins of this new force immediately. These rankers were half-bloods. JJ Edgar made it clear in his diary that he sought lost paths of magic, which had been extinct in thend of Anfang. This was the reason he joined the Beast BloodsC so he could contact the real organization behind it. JJ Edgar had spent the early days of his life searching for ways to be a half-blood and to possess a bloodline. To do this, he started studying the lost history hidden from the masses of the Anfang. Eren did not know what JJ did after disappearing from the City of Silvermoon suddenly. But it looked like he seeded in contacting the Last-Blood Bastion. What''s more? JJ Edgar''s bloodline energy made it very clear to Eren that he had received a very strong bloodline. The fact that he had managed to be a Sage while being a half-blood attested to the amount of effort he must have put in. Eren knew that a ranker could turn into a half-blood after some special conditions were met. He wasn''t clear about his own transformation or the necessary conditions behind it. But the fact that he was turned into a half-blood made him realize that the same feat could be repeated by other rankers - especially someone who knew what they were doing. Seek and ye shall find. Edgar sought truth. He was a researcher at heart. So it was only natural that his desire to be a half-blood became his reality. The forces of Edinburgh and Layos were both shocked by this new turn of events. Hansen and Gregory looked at each other in utter disbelief, trying to figure out if the other party was the one who sought an alliance with the half-bloods. The silence grew louder as Hansen and Gregory realized where the third force hade from. Half Blood Bastian participated in the conflict openly- at least a major faction inside it. ''Sirius that bastard he didn''t tell me the Last-Blood Bastion wanted to directly involve itself. I would have pitched great weapon-selling deals to this faction had I known.'' Eren knew better than most rankers present at the scene that Last-Blood Bastion was not a homogenous entity. It consisted of various factions represented by various half-blood ns. However, none of the factions would do something that the remaining factions werepletely against. Half-bloods were bonded by their need to survive together. After all, Anfang''s establishments targeted them indiscriminately. The special forces didn''t care which bloodlines the half-bloods possessed. The order issued to these special forces was very clear when dealing with half-bloodsC kill at sight. It was nearly impossible for one faction from the Last-Blood Bastion to make such a major move without other factions'' approval. The butcher guessed that House Fenris was aware of this move by such a prominent faction. ''Don''t forget, Eren. You were inside Sansara World for a month. Sirius might have tried to contact you but could not because you participated in the graduation event.'' When Eren heard Alephee''s words, he began to understand. He couldn''t change the past. But the butcher decided to contact Sirius anyway after this mess and get some clearance from him. The butcher was also shocked by the fact that JJ Edgar belonged to the same organization he was secretly doing business with. Of course, he could never really me Sirius or Fiona for itC his only two contacts belonging to Half Blood Bastian. Eren wasn''t really looking for Edgar in the first ce. And even if he did, Sirius and Fiona had their right to keep Edgar''s existence secret. After all, Edgar was a SageC one of the most critical assets for the Last-Blood Bastion. Not everyone from the young generation would know anything about him. Watching JJ Edgar live made Eren curious. If possible, he wanted to visit the Last-Blood Bastion and meet with all the faction leaders himself. The shrewd businessman in him wanted to sell a capitalist-driven "weapon culture" to these Sages and their minions. *** "Hm? Haha. Long time no see, Hansen. It''s a pleasure to see you after so long. Yes, it''s me, Jath. I take it you are doing fine... Like always, right?" Edgar looked at Hansen and answered his mumblings with a smile on his face. Hansen, on the other hand, became tongue-tied by Edgar''s confirmation. He thought Edgar died long ago after turning into a cultist and wasting his potential as a ranker. But it turns out that Edgar also broke into a Sage rank. And just by looking at Edgar, Hansen knew he was more than he looked. Hansen remembered what he had said about Edgar and felt a bitter taste in his mouth for some reason. After all, he used Edgar as an inappropriate example in front of the participants. And this supposed ill example hade out of the shadows to raise the bar of war single-handedly for them all. Hansen and Edgar looked like two batchmates who had run into each other after a long time since theyst met. This was not wrong because Edgar was once a Royal Ren student. Edgar''s smile disappeared when he looked at the golden sphere of Sansara World levitating into the arena skies. He looked at Hansen and Gregory with grim expressions before making his intentions known to them. "I''m taking the Sansara World with me. Try to stop me and prepare to face the consequences." === AN: Hansen talks about JJ Edgar in chapter 1018. Chapter 1177 Mediator ''Demonmir, what the fuck are you up to?'' Gregory asked Demonmir through voicemunication. Of course, he sounded furious. He remembered Hansen''s advice about Ottoman given to him before they fought each other. Hansen had told him that if Demonmir could outy them, he would outy anybody. Gregory started to believe Hansen''s logic. But he believed it toote. At this point, Demonmir had already made this a three-way fight. Demonmir did not keep Layos in the loop while partnering with JJ. It could be said that he used Layos'' forces as a tool to make it easy for JJ to be here. Demonmir had a reason to join hands with the Last-Blood Bastion. He wanted to be a half-blood himself. So he could better use his demonic powers. The advent of war made it easy for Demonmir to work on his n. And he made effective use of both kingdoms to receive a favor from JJ. Layos still needed Demonmir. So he didn''t want a total confrontation with them. ''Consider this the backup I was talking about, Sage Gregory. We both knew that we wouldn''t be able to do much against the kingdom of Edinburgh right on their home turf. You asked me to turn Anfang rankers into traitors. And I did that. But there was only so much I could do. Our numbers were not enough. So I had toe up with a contingency n.'' Gregory-- and the kingdom of Layos by that extension-- had invested a lot in Demonmir. They provided many resources for his blood ritual. It had been decided that Gregory would get the support he needed from Edinburgh''s defected rankers when he showed up at the scenea" the high-ranking entities particrly. This was why Gregory Grant adopted a wait-and-watch approach at the start of their confrontation. But it soon became clear to him that all Demonmir had done was convince small fries into siding with Layos for the most part. Gregory was indeed waiting for the backup Demonmir promised him. But he didn''t expect the backup to be a half-blood force. And he certainly didn''t expect it to demand the very thing their side wanted to rob the kingdom of Edinburgh off of. Demonmir understood what Gregory meant. He provided a solution. ''You don''t want the Sansara World but the demonic altar within it, right? Frankly, the demon that the altar belongs to is shit and a waste of time. If the continent-spanning array wasn''t there, I would have given you a better alternative myself. Anyway, since you only want the altar, you can acquire it through the back channel after the Last-Blood Bastion captures the Sansara World. I''ll contact Reva when I''m ready to hand over the altar to you. You can get this thing without being used of having it.'' The kingdom of Layos targeted the Sansara World because it wanted Beelzebub''s demonic altar for itself. The continent-epassing array made it near impossible to build a demonic or divine altar on Anfang. Only those altars established before the array''s creation could work, albeit in a limited capacity. This was the reason Arthur wanted the seven-headed serpent statue taken from Purgatory. Since the statue existed before the creation of the world-epassing array, it could still be used to get Sin Series Marks. Gregory''s frown didn''t go away even after hearing Demonmir''s cooperation promise. Thetter pondered a bit before continuing. ''I know you are worried about being associated with the half-bloods because of the Anfang Alliance. And I can understand that, Sage Greg. This is the reason I separated myself from youa" at least in the eyes of the audience. But I and the rest of the half-bloods can still act as your allies in a different way. That is if you do what I ask. You don''t need to support the Last Blood Bastion. You just have to avoid opposing it if and when we attack Edinburgh. The Anfang Alliance wouldn''t be able to prosecute your side if you did that.'' Demonmir watched as Gregory''s expressions softened. The demonic whispers worked. Ottoman knew time was of the essence. He couldn''t finalize the subtle details of the cooperation between the two forces on the spot. So he provided an alternative. ''Reva Rain will serve as my point of contact from now on. Take her to your camp. We will ensure that both sides get what they want out of this ruckus. Furthermore, you are at war with Edinburgh. And it has just begun. I am sure we can further cooperation between the two sides without making things too obvious.'' Reva Rain was a critical pawn for Demonmir to serve as his point of contact for Layos. He knew he would be cklisted by the Anfang Alliance as soon as he learned about the current developments. The Alliance didn''t care if both kingdoms'' rankers became traitors to the other side. But it would hunt them down if they joined the Last-Blood Bastion. Demonmir could avoid a lot of trouble by using the Pdin of Pain as his contact. He also groomed her for the same job recently. This was the reason he intervened in her fight when the butcher was about to kill her. Gregory didn''t like Demonmir ying him. He had done many things behind Layos'' back and expected it to back his actions, if only from the shadows. Gregory would have killed Demonmir in anger if he wasn''t so close to JJ Edgar. However, Gregory also understood that cooperating with Last-Blood Bastion had various benefits. What''s more? The war had just started. Layos could use some shady allies to make some shady moves. Gregory looked at Edgar and observed the man a bit before responding. ''Fuck! Alright... You have a deal, Demonmir. But you have to know this before proceeding any further. This is thest chance you will get from me. I''ll personally hunt you if you try to swindle Layos again.'' Demonmir smiled but didn''t say anything. A shady agreement had been reached between the two forces, with Demonmir acting as the mediator. Chapter 1178 An Emotionally Invested Sage Demonmir became a renegade. He chose to do it because he saw profit in bing one. Ottoman was done being thepdog for any establishment part of the Anfang Alliance. It seemed that he preferred to take his chances with half-bloodsbeled as all-season targets by the Anfang Alliance than limit his potential as a demonic ranker. Demonmir knew he could progress faster if he became half-blood. Plus, the Demon Prince consciousness inside him didn''t like serving establishments as well. With the Last-Blood Bastion, he would have much more freedom. Demonmir''s involvement with the half-bloodsplicated Eren''s life. He wasn''t sure whether to stay in business with them or pull out. He didn''t want to nurture his own enemy after all. In the end, Eren decided to talk with Sirius and see what he had to say. He was sure that not every faction within the Last-Blood Bastion would wee Demonmir. Maybe he could use the dissatisfied factions to his advantage and plot against Demonmir- ripping a page off Demonmir''s own book. And not everything was grim and bad news. Demonmir''s actions had some potential positive effects on the butcher as well. Although he wouldn''t admit to Levine''s face, Eren was d Demonmir killed House Montmorency members in his faction. That''s because Eren was sure that even without Demonmir''s absence, they were equally ominous for him. One can''t teach an old dog new tricks. The members of Demonmir''s faction would have shaken hands with Eren''s other enemies to plot against him and his city. After all, a solid enmity between the White Raven guild and Demonmir''s faction had already been established. And the butcher wasn''t as charismatic as Ken Riverinea" turning former enemies into allies just by being around. And even if Eren could make some allies out of the faction Demonmir had abandoned, were the efforts really worth it? He''d have to look over his shoulders if he shook hands with his former enemies. So the butcher smiled when he heard Demonmir''s former faction was gone. He was also d Demonmir wouldn''t y an active role in Edinburgh''s politics. That way, he could work on the Lazarus Project without worrying about Demonmir''s political sabotage. Eren also wondered if there was more to the Sansara World than just being a legacy left behind by the Sansara Sage. That''s because it looked like Edgar was more interested in the Sansara World than what was in it. Edgar had decided to show himself out in the open along with the rest of the half-bloods even though he would be targeted by the Anfang Alliance in the future. So it could be assumed that he was very particr about his needs. *** Various rankers had various thoughts running through their minds after Edgar made his intentions known. So it took Hansen a while to respond. "Heh! You sure know how to kid around, JJ." Hansen chuckled before continuing, his voice bing grimmer with every word. "You know... This isn''t some grocery shop where you can pick what you want, put it in your basket, and leave. Do you think we''ll hand over Sansara Sage''s Legacy to you and wave goodbye with smiles on our faces? And for what? Just because you asked nicely?" Hansen''s presence turned heavy. "I see that you are the same delusional you always were. You really think that the world of Anfang is your oyster and fulfills every wish you have, don''t you? On what basis? Just because you seeded in bing an abomination? That you turned into a Sage?" JJ Edgar declined to respond to Hansen''s provocation immediately. He kept looking at Hansen with an expressionless face and holding hands behind his back. Hansen spoke by weighting each word. "Hansen, I don''t have anything to exin to you or the people behind you about the path I''m walking on. It''s a pleasure if you understand me. But it''s fine if you don''t. I don''t think you guys understand how remarkable Sansara Sage was. He was way ahead of his time. His legacy would remain useless in your hands. That''s because you are jaded and unchangeable, including the establishments and the Anfang Alliance as a whole. Kingdom of Edinburgh? Kingdom of Layos? Asikha Empire? No matter whichbel you use to describe yourself, you are the same. It''s like someone uses the same mold to make you." Edgar looked at Gregory with a disappointed expression before speaking up. "I don''t want to create trouble for either kingdom if I could avoid it. But that is provided I get what I need. And I want Sansara World for myself. And I believe I have the right to im Sansara World as well. That''s because it was Sansara World that changed me. It was Sansara World that made me realize some hidden truths about this world." Edgar briefly looked at Nysa Nael who was dered the winner of the Sansara Sage''s Legacy this year. He chuckled in reminiscence before speaking up. "Did you forget, Hansen? Who received the most Karma points at our graduation event? Do you really believe that Sansara World only offered me artifacts and potions and nothing else? I was the only one who was able to inherit Sansara Sage''s legacy, albeit barely. You thought that Sansara Sage''s daughter didn''t offer me much for my performance apart from the potions and artifacts I had dered. But the Sansara World offered me something else-- knowledge. Or at least a hint of it." Edgar had a peculiar shine in his eyes as he looked at Sansara World. It was as if the giant golden globe was the only thing he wanted at this point. "You guys thought I had changed and be an idiot after getting out of Sansara World. I knew what was being discussed behind my back. But I kept my mouth shut because you were notpletely wrong either. The trip to Sansara World changed me. In fact, it opened my eyes to therger truths of the world. This was why I became a cultist at that time. I had to destroy my old beliefs to make way for the revised ones, even if they were seen as radical at that time by you guys. "Destruction births life," as Sasara Sage likes to say. My point is... the Sansara World belongs to me. That''s because I can be considered the true inheritor of the Sansara Sage''s Legacy. So it is only right that I im my inheritance." Saying this, Edgar released his aura and the world turned suppressive for the rest of the rankers. Hansen and Gregory had to use their own powers to protect their younger generation from Edgar''s beastly and menacing presence. The butcher had only a single thought running through his mind at this time as he nced at Edgar with pity. ''An emotionally invested Sage, huh? Something tells me he won''t like what I''m about to do.'' Chapter 1179 Demonmir’s Excommunication And Gregory’s Demand Hansen was intimidated by JJ''s presence. Individuality ys a significant role in Sage''s rank. And Hansen could tell that JJ''s individuality was more potent than Gregory''s. Yet, Hansen couldn''t back away from a direct confrontation with the Sage. He needed to find an alternative. A way that would not ruin his image in front of Edinburgh''s younger generation. Hansen clenched his fists and looked at Gregory with a gaze that hurled usations. "Greg, are you willing to watch from the sidelines as this abomination interferes with our matters? The Anfang Alliance will hold Layos ountable if you don''t support me in getting rid of these wretched demons." Gregory was shaken from the inside out after hearing the term Anfang Alliance from Hansen''s mouth. Still, he had already considered the consequences of his under-the-table deal with Demonmir and decided to stick with it for the greater good. "Haah! Don''t bring me into this, Hansen. I will not side with those demons but I''ll also not side with you or the kingdom of Edinburgh. I am neither an ally to the Last-Blood Bastion nor an emissary of peace for both our kingdoms." Gregory spoke his bullshittery with confidence. He briefly looked at Demonmir before continuing. "As for partnering up with Demonmir who has turned rogue for the Anfang Alliance. I have to admit that he betrayed us. I, on behalf of Layos, break all ties with Demonmir. My kingdom will issue a search-and-kill mission targeting Demonmir to all kingdom-sanctioned guilds currently active within our borders. Layos still stands with Anfang Alliance and will support its cause. But that''s a separate matter." Gregory made Demonmir emunicado on the spot, if only on paper. Of course, it was a way for Layos to shirk all responsibility for Demonmir''s actions. Demonmir chuckled when he heard Gregory''s speech. He had to say that the old man knew how to use his brain once an idea took root in his head. Of course, Demonmir expected such repercussions for his actions in the first ce. So he wasn''t intimidated. Gregory watched with glee as Hansen''s face showed the rage he felt in his heart. The elf Sage narrowed his eyes to the young rankers behind Hansen briefly before speaking up. "Hansen, you can''t expect me to help you retain the Sansara World for you when it was something my side wanted in the first ce. If Layos can''t have it, let it be destroyed." JJ looked at Gregory with a threatening expression when the former talked about Sansara World''s destruction casually. However, he considered it a figure of speech and let it pass. Gregory didn''t know JJ''s anger was directed at him. He spoke with a certain yfulness in his voice. However, there''s a way to decrease your troubles. How about I pull out of the battlefield and let you two settle your conflict?" Hansen''s expression changed shades. He looked confused before a hint of temptation to ept Gregory''s offer was reflected in his eyes. Gregory''s exit was the next best thing Hansen could have asked for at this point. He wanted to avoid a two-sided attack. Gregory wanted to avoid more casualties. And Demonmir had already assured him that Layos would get Beelzebub''s altar. He nned to let Last-Blood Bastion do the heavy lifting while he waited for the rewards of their efforts from the sidelines. "What do you have in mind?" Hansen asked Gregory worriedly. JJ''s interest was also piqued. He knew such politics between the two kingdoms was a norm even though they were at war against each other. Gregory scanned the crowd standing behind Hansen and found his target. With a peal ofughter coated with cruel intentions, he spoke up. "Hehe. My demand is simple and one which I think the kingdom of Edinburgh can fulfill easily." The butcher had an uneasy feeling when he heard Gregory''s words. That''s because just a moment ago he experienced his mana sense wash over him, trying to silence him. Gregory''s voice turned grim as he spoke his next words. "Hand us Eren Elijah Idril. This little shit has killed Layos'' royal scions and made grotesque pirs from their body parts. Who does he think he is? We will teach him humility. Something he could never forget even after his death." Eren was too stunned to speak at this point. He wasn''t sure what Gregory was talking about. He looked at Nina for help, who was standing close to him. The Master-ranked healer exined over the voicemunication channel. ''Eren, it seems that Kirin and Argo did what you told them to do. They used Shandil to lure out the rest of Layos'' royal scions in one ce before killing them all in one go. But I think they went overboard after that. Let''s say that your Grim Pir Town has new pirs. And these recent additions are even more... "artistic" than before.'' Saying this, Nina shared some pictures with Eren through the spectral interface. Argo sent these pictures to every key figure in the White Raven Guild, showcasing his talent in the niche field as well. Only now did Eren realize what Gregory was talking about. It seemed that his n worked too well. Argo and Kirin had managed to handle every potential terrorist who had or would have intended to harm his city. It was just that the cure was more dreadful than the curse. Eren had disappeared inside Sansara World, preventing him from guiding Kirin or Argo in their actions. If it was up to him, he would kill Layos'' royal scions given the situation. However, he would have treated their bodies differently post-mortem. That being said, Eren didn''t regret Argo and Kirin''s actions. After all, he would be targeted by the Midnight Moon and the royal scion of Layos behind them anyway because he had assimted Healers'' Nirvana into his guild. So it was better to create terror in terrorists'' minds, giving them a taste of their medicine. If staying under the veil didn''t work, he was ready toe out as the "monster" he was. ''Your wife and Argo really caused amotion, didn''t they?'' Alephee''s voice was heard in Eren''s mind. Thetter shed a cunning smile looking at the pissed-off Gregory before replying. ''Keke. I guess I''ll have to give them their due rewards for a job well done.'' Chapter 1180 Bestowment Of Title And Fief Gregory became livid watching Eren. Eren smiled because he knew the more Gregory insisted on getting rid of him, the safer he would be inside Edinburgh. That''s how things work when two kingdoms fight. Hansen''s words proved him right. "Haha. Serve your royal rats right." Hansen raised his hands and conjured a giant spectral screen in the air. It showed Grim Pir Town with its "eye-catching" pirs. The sight of grim pirs was thought-provoking, to say the least. Some rankers were repulsed by the gruesome disy of body parts. Some were fascinated. The rankers from Edinburgh''s side looked at the infiltrators with cruel smiles after looking at Grim Pir Town''s footage. They considered Eren''s supposed victory over Layos'' royal scions their victory. They also developed a subtle reverence for Eren in their minds. Gregory regretted bringing the topic up. Hansen blew the whole matter up instead of listening to him. At the same time, Layos rankers felt an insurmountable shame in their hearts. They felt like someone punched them in the face for breathing too loudly. And then pped them for their reddened cheeks. Then pped them again for looking angry. Even JJ stared at Eren with a peculiar gaze after looking at what his subordinates had done to Layos'' royal scions. He could have never imagined that he would meet an Expert ranker like Eren who could keep his cool even after being threatened by a Sage. JJ was also aware that House Fenris cooperated with the White Raven Guild on some level. Although he wasn''t that involved in the Last-Blood Bastion''s affairs, he was privy to some well-protected knowledge as a Sage from the same organization. So he pondered a bit before passing on a message to his subordinates. ''My young lions, listen up. We need to avoid harming thisd Eren in battle. Attack him only to put on a show. Do you understand what I mean?'' JJmanded the half-bloods standing behind him. The young half-bloods didn''t know Eren''s cooperation with House Fenris. As such, they didn''t understand JJ''s intentions. Still, nobody challenged hismand. Of course, JJ didn''t prevent the half-bloods from confronting Eren outright. He didn''t want to reveal Eren''s cooperation with the Last Blood Bastion to the audience. The atmosphere became even more tense and explosive than before after the visuals of Grim Pir Town. Hansen''s voice was loud and proud as he spoke further. "The kingdom of Edinburgh nned to ask Eren Idril to demolish the grim pirs. But now, we won''t do that. Hahaha." Edinburgh had noticed Eren''s Grim Pir Town. It didn''t want to involve itself in the conflict between Eren, House Slughorn, Demonmir''s faction, House Remus, and other covert and overt forces against Eren. However, the existence of grim pirs was ipatible with the rankers'' code of conduct. House Slughorn and House Remus were especially angry at Eren for creating Grim Pir Town. They had sufficient clout inside the royal court to influence its decisions. The royal court was about to warn Eren, prompting him to demolish the grim pirs and offer proper burials to the victims involved. Or he should give the victims'' remains to the respective forces who might im them. But Hansen''s announcement indicated that the equation had been changed. Edinburgh wanted to use Grim Pir Town to mock the kingdom of Layos. The butcher weed this move with open arms. Hansen looked at Gregory with a hint of mockery as he spoke. "I, Hansen Lehan, will announce to all listeners. Eren Elijah Idril and his entire team proved their mettle at the graduation event. Eren Idril dealt specifically with the traitors and infiltrators of the kingdom personally. Edinburgh will always encourage our young heroes. It will do everything to support their growth. Our young blood Eren Elijah Idril will be awarded a kingdom bonafide title in a few days. His guild grounds, including White Raven and Grim Pir Town, will be given to him as his fief. He won''t have to pay taxes to Edinburgh for the ie he generates on his fief once the title is officially bestowed upon him." The butcher raised his eyebrows in surprise when Hansen dered. He wasn''t expecting the kingdom to be so generous for something his wife and Argo had done. The other rankers who stood beside him also looked at him with envy and reverence. They finally had to admit that Eren was an exceptional ranker even among a bunch of exceptions. Eren shed a graceful smile and bowed to Hansen even though the Sage had his back turned against him. More than the title and recognition, the butcher liked the tax exemption he was offered. He could finally start investing his revenue in a better way, which would allow him to grow his city and the guild at the same time. He thanked Gregory for bringing such a topic to Hansen''s attention. Hansen spoke with newfound vigor when he made his next announcement. "Other young rankers who were part of the graduation event will also be awarded for their aplishments inside Sansara World and outside it. Especially when dealing with infiltrators. We will alsounch a clean-up operation in the kingdom to get rid of the traitorspletely. Edinburgh will also ask the Anfang Alliance to intervene. But that''s a separate matter. For now, we have to deal with this mess. We need to get rid of our uninvited guests who have been bothering us for some time now." Riding on the waves of support and cheer, Hansen decided to taste his might against JJC his former batchmate who had been turned into a half-blood. A sword with a threatening edge was conjured in his hand as he stepped forward. JJ sighed at Hansen''s aggressive posture. He knew things would progress this way. He stepped forward as well, rotating his fists clockwise and anti-clockwise. The ripples of the bloodline energy started to spread as his body prepared itself for the process of bloodline transformation. A lion''s roar was heard next, injuring everyone''s eardrums and affecting their souls. === AN: A small token of appreciation for our privileged readers. Suggest a suitable title for Eren in this chapter''sment section. We have a few days to finalize the title. So take your time. ;) The most eye-catching and relevant title will get picked from the suggestions. Also, note that only suggestions ced in this chapter''sment section will be considered. Chapter 1181 House Lowin And White Flames JJ Edgar was a lion half-blood. He obtained the White me Lion bloodline. After obtaining the bloodline and bing a Sage, he became a prominent figure in House Lowin. This was a prominent faction inside the Last Blood Bastion. Edgar chose to overwhelm his opponent right off the bat. He tapped into his bloodline transformation from the start, indicating that he hadn''t taken Hansen or the forces behind him lightly. Edgar was around 20 ft tall in his beastly form. He had a thick and voluminous mane and grayish-blue eyes. It seemed that he didn''t need weapons. His beastly jaw could tear apart anything Hansen throws his way. His razor-sharp ws had a peculiar shine to them. Roar! The thundering sound of a giant white lion''s roar was heard on the battlefield and everyone lost cool. Even the most veteran rankers had goosebumps when they heard this roar. They felt like their souls were stirring while listening to the roar. Hansen gulped empty air when he saw Edgar. He knew half-bloods were powerful forces. However, this was Hansen''s first time seeing a Sage-ranked bloodline transformation unfold in front of him. And he had to say that the old record description didn''t do justice to its actual prowess. Edgar stopped feeling like a humanpletely. But he also didn''t look like a mana beast. The rankers in the area who weren''t aware of the half-bloods'' existence realized that the third force was not as simple as it looked. That the half-bloods were apletely different breed than them. JJ didn''t waste time after the transformation. With another roar, he issued a few telepathicmands to his pride before disappearing from his ce. "Aaaaaargh!" "Help. Aaaaaah!" "This this is the end" The battlefield was divided into two despite the many fortifications beneath it. The ground shook and the air turned hot. Most of the rankers felt like they were about to die just by the sheer pressure and suffocation they were feeling. Some fainted on the spot. Others were brought to their knees. The white me manifestations started appearing out of thin air. Sage Edgar''s individuality affected the surroundings despite him limiting his focus to just being Hansen. The white mes incinerated everything they came into contact with instantly. They were fleeting and couldn''t stay burning for long. However, they were extremely hot, giving even Sage-ranked entities third-degree burns if they were ill-equipped and not careful. What''s more? The white mes also burn spiritual force. As a result, they could affect the target''s soul. If the target''s spiritual force waspletely burned off, they would die without their body suffering any form of mortal harm. Even the fleeting appearance of these Sage-ranked mes killed more than a few dozen unlucky participants instantly. The death toll ceased after the Kingdom of Edinburgh took countermeasures. The kingdom''s defensive elemental and spatial measures kicked in and prevented the Sage-ranked mes from affecting the young rankers. "Aaaaaaaaaargh!" Nobody knew when the two SagesC Hansen and Edgar- reached the skies. The rankers of Edinburgh, infiltrators of Layos, and half-bloods of the Last Blood Bastion soon heard a mortifying scream. They realized Hansen had been injured immediately. Meaning Edgar dominated Hansen in a matter of moments. The sky was split as white mes erupted above the Edinnica Arena. Some mes reached the golden sphere of Sansara World. The sea of white mes soon surrounded and consumed the golden sphere in its domain. Swoosh. Drop. Boom. Hansen''s body crashed to the ground from a high altitude after Edgar used his huge beastly paws on him. It looked like a giant lion dealing with a meager fly. Hansen tried to control the trajectory using various spells avable to him, but they didn''t help him. Plus, their activation killed more people below him. Boom. It felt like someone had detonated a Sage-ranked RDX inside the battlefield. Hansen''s crash was like a meteor falling from the sky. It killed the rankers in the vicinity and injured others who couldn''t get away on time. Pure, palpable mayhem. Still, Hansen wasn''t dead. The Sages were more resilient to battle-rted deaths than any other rankers in Anfang. Hansen appeared as if he had never left his previous position. However, he was in dire condition. If Hansen''s fight with Gregory was a warm-up, his face-off with Edgar was the real deal. The difference in power between JJ Edgar and Hansen or Gregory was simply too much. Edgar''s prominent half-blood lineage made him a powerhouse among the Sages currently active in Anfang. His bloodline was special. However, his individuality as a ranker was even more potent. Hansen''s right shoulder and a significant part of his right chest were destroyed. His beating heart and guts were exposed for everyone to see. It was a miracle by mortals'' standards that he was alive. His defenses tried to fight off the white mes surrounding him. As the white mes burned his spiritual force, he also became spiritually exhausted. Hansen''s Sage-ranked body was damaged beyond reason. There wasn''t as much blood loss as there should be. That''s because Hansen tried to control blood loss. Hansen''s body tried to regenerate its flesh and bones. But every time it did that, the white mes would engulf that particr body part and burn off the new flesh that was trying to mend the wound. JJ Edgar''s foreign mana invasion ran rampant through Hansen''s veins. It made him more injured by the second while burning his spiritual force. Hansen''s domineering Sage-ranked presence was not as potent as before because of these injuries. His clothes were torn. His hair was messy. His presence felt flickering like a lone me lit in the middle of the storm. One could say that Edgar was still holding back a bit. That''s because he knew putting all out against Hansen might put him at a disadvantage against Edinburgh''s Sages who still had not shown themselves. They were waiting for Edgar to make a mistake or bex in his defense. All so they couldunch a fatal strike at him. Still, the Sages'' wait-and-wait approach made things difficult for Hansen. He did everything he could to make it look like he had been defeated by JJ''s single move. However, one could say that he failed at his job. Because he looked pretty damaged and needed immediate medical care. Chapter 1182 Sansara Worlds Detonation Hansen stared at JJ with cruel intent. The Sage from Edinburgh''s side didn''t like being reminded that the Sage rank didn''t make him invincible. Thetter had alsonded in front of him a moment ago in his human form. JJ was clean and unharmed as if he had never left his ce. This was the shortest Sage showdown the young rankers had seen in their lives. Nobody doubted Edgar could kill Hansen easily if they continued. Gregory smiled as he observed the battlefield with glee on his face. This was the kind of background he expected when showing himself. He had decided to employ a group of rankers against Eren to care for him while he fought with Anfang''s other forces. Eren had be an eyesore for Layos forces anyway. Many high-ranking entities considered attacking Eren. The few royal scions among the infiltrators were looking for revenge against the butcher. JJ''s attack on Hansen brought about a tipping point on the battlefield. Gregory was about to ride the wave and move against Edinburgh''s high-ranking entities. Hansen had visible stress on his face when he felt Gregory was about to add oil to the fire. He looked around before yelling his heart out. "YOU KNOW WHAT? NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO SHOW YOURSELF, YOU BASTARDS!" Edgar and Gregory both looked at each other when Hansen screamed. They felt relief and tension after realizing Hansen was forced to call out the reserve forces. Edgar and Gregory felt relief because they wouldn''t have to worry about hidden attacks when Hansen''s colleagues showed themselves. And since the reserve forces consisted of Sages, Edgar, and Gregory both knew they had to up their game and use their Trump cards. After all, no Sage would dare underestimate another Sage. Three more Sage-ranked mana signatures appeared on the battlefield. Gregory and Edgar were halted from acting when three Sages were seen standing behind Hansen. These Sages were from Edinburgh''s side who finally revealed themselves. They were the same ones who kept tabs on the battlefield from the shadows. The first Sage was Marcus Moretti. He looked like a young ranker in histe 20s by mortals'' standards. He had shoulder-length dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. With an attractive face and tall stature, he looked like he was bathed in the moonlight even though it was broad daylight. The second Sage was Urs Moretti. She had long ivory ck hair, ck eyes, a small nose, and cherry-red lips. She had smooth and supple skin that harnessed sunlight. Contrary to Marcus who looked cold and callous, Urs looked warm and weing. Even their mana signatures were vastly different. One could say that they walked on opposing ranking paths with respect to each other. Marus and Urs were husband and wife. They looked like two sides of the same coin who hade together despite their differences. The third Sage was also a woman. Her name was Osha Daman. Osha had silky off-golden hair and rosy skin. She had mesmerizing blue eyes and luscious lips. Her figure was graceful and seductive. Unlike Marcus and Urs who wore armor, Osha wore a simple blue dress, which entuated her feminine features aptly. The three Sages stood motionless behind the injured Hansen. They were obviously unhappy with Hansen for getting overwhelmed by Edgar so easily. Still, they knew this wasn''t the time or ce to criticize him. Marcus stepped forward and ced his hands on Hansen''s back. In the next moment, the white mes, which were still burning Hansen''s flesh, were doused in the moonlight. Hansen felt a cooling sensation grip his body and soul, providing relief. It seemed that Marcus'' moonlight element countered Edgar''s white mes. "Hansen, focus on that bastard Gregory. I know it would be too much for you to kill him. So take Osha with you. She could help you make him retreat. Osha has barely stabilized her Sage rank breakthrough. So we can''t expect more from her." Marcus looked at Edgar intently before speaking up. "This Edgar is also a traitor to Edinburgh. Let me and my wife handle him." Marcus'' voice was deep andmanding as he told Hansen what to do. And the proud Hansen didn''t raise any objections to Marus''mands. Hansen also realized that Marcus had decided to fight alongside his wife against Edgar. Meaning the Sage ranker assumed he couldn''t take care of Edgar on his own. Or that it wouldn''t be ideal too. Marcus didn''t want toplicate things now that he was forced to appear on the battlefield. Edinburgh itself didn''t want another force entering the fray now that it had revealed its remaining Sages currently avable in the capital city. By this time, the young generation of rankers, half-bloods, and infiltrators was busy in three-way conflicts. Edinburgh rankers faced a two-pronged attack from half-bloods and elf infiltrators. *** Edgar''s force was a pride of lion half-bloods. Their bloodlines were diluted and still approaching atavism. As a result, they could notpletely transform and reach blood genesis. Despite this, their bloodline transformation made them half human and half beast. Some had their faces turned into lions while others had beastly limbs and torsos. The half-bloods fought with rankers and even infiltrators. With their elevated body stats and intent-based magic consciously or subconsciously helping them, these half-bloods couldn''t be stopped or countered by normal means. Edinburgh rankers still had a numerical advantage. The various buffing arrays also helped them mitigate enemy casualties. However, Edinburgh''s young rankers would be at a disadvantage in the future if the trend didn''t change. The young generation from all three sides dreaded the fact that so many Sages would fight against each other. The battle between the two Sages traumatized some people. If six Sages fought with each other at this point, there was a chance half of the young rankers would get eliminated just by facing the shockwaves of the Sage-ranked attacks. Still, none of them tried to talk to the Sages from their side. There was a chance their rationality would backfire on them. The butcher battled with a young and beautiful half-blood from House Lowin. Just as Edgar ordered her, she tested Eren''s battle skills instead of taking things seriously. Eren wasn''t paying much attention to the young half-blood anyway. He focused on the Sage showdown. He saw that Marucs and Urs met Edgar in the air while Hansen and Osha focused on Gregory. When all the Sages flew off to the skies to start another round of battle, Eren decided this was the right time to initiate his n. He kicked the beautiful half-blood into her guts and set her flying away from him. He then contacted someone through the Sansara World 2.0 mechanism. In the next moment, hey t on the ground with various elemental spells engaged to protect him from any potential harm. He also passed a simple message to his team via voicemunication before Maya did what he asked her to do. ''Duck. Don''t ask for anything. Lay t on the ground. NOW!'' By this time, the Sansara World had started sending threatening mana pulses. The witnesses to these threatening mana pulses opened their eyes wide in shock and dread when they realized what was about to happen. Even the Sages turned pale after realizing what had happened. They all looked at each other with various emotions painted on their faces and came to a silent agreement without dy. The Sages surrounded the Sansara World in seconds. They raised their hands and used their powers to hold off the waves of destruction put in motion by the Sage artifact''s implosion. Boom! Witnesses heard a suppressed noise when the Sansara World was detonated. The threatening mana pulses released from the detonation made most rankers cough in blood. Soon all of the young rankers who were fighting on the ground stopped their fights in unison andy t on the ground. Chapter 1183 The Blame Game The Sansara World''s detonation lit up the sky. It was as if a bright cosmic star had been summoned over the Edinnica Arena. It spread shades of orange and yellow. Soon, the light became so intense that witnesses couldn''t process its color spectrum, turning itpletely white. The white noise generated by the detonation made the survivors attuned to their own heartbeats. Their subconscious deemed it imperative to keep track of their heartbeats that attested to their survival. The detonation also changed the terrain. The audience booth waspletely destroyed. The arena sank deeper into the ground before huge craters formed over it. Most of the survivors of this event couldn''t be considered eyewitnesses. That''s because they had their eyes and ears closed. They had toy t on the ground and hope for the best. As a result of knowing they couldn''t do anything, they all closed their eyes to find somefort in the unknown that unfolded in front of their closed eyes. Some rankers, who were right below the Sansara World, had broken backs and copsed ribcages because of the sheer pressure the detonation generated. The arena''s safety mechanism mitigated the destruction as much as it could. But there was only so much the safety mechanism could do when Sansara Sage''s artifact was detonated in this way. Still, one could say that the survivors had it easy. All six Sages worked together to contain the detonation impact. It was because of them that the young rankers survived. Of course, the butcher counted on the Sages'' intervention the most. He knew the risks associated with detonating an entire Sansara World were huge. That''s why he told Maya to wait for his green signal. Eren approved the Sansara World''s destruction when he estimated it was safe to execute the detonation. He made good use of the Sages in his n without them knowing anything. The dust storm reigned supreme after the detonation impact subsided. There were elemental manifestations surrounding the entire arena. The arena itself looked like a ruined prehistoric construction. It lost its grandeur after Sansara World''s detonation. The entire city of Edin was shaken by an explosion that was suppressed. Various active arrays in the city became haywire because of strong mana fluctuations spreading from ground zero, causing panic and terror. Citizens considered the Sansara World detonation a terrorist attack. They gathered on the streets and looked towards the Edinnica Arena. Yet, nobody visited the ce. It was as if they were all subconsciously aware of one thing - curiosity killed the cat. Cough! Cough! Cough! Eren started coughing when he thought the nightmare was over. He tried to get up and soon realized that it was a huge mistake. He had no external harm because of the preventative measures he took before the explosion. But his mana circuit had gone haywire because of being so close to Sansara World''s detonation. As a result, his internal organs were damaged and his mana cirction was severely affected. He spat something, a mixture of blood, saliva, mucus, and dust when he tried to get up. Cough! Cough! Cough! A collective cough was heard. Most of the survivors had the same symptoms as Eren. They looked at each other with vignceC uncertain of what action they were supposed to take. In the end, they all looked up - almost at the same time - as if the nightmare was over. And all they saw was a sea of mes contained in an unknown translucent membrane. The membrane shrank by the second. And each time it did, it generated strong mana fluctuations. Nobody talked. Nobody tried to attack each other. The survivors looked at the grim and dangerous phenomenon happening over their heads silently. The six Sages worked diligently and delicately to contain the detonation impacts. But there was nothing they could do for the young generation who suffered the explosion''s side effects. The Sages themselves had it rough handling the situation. They could have never guessed in their wildest dreams that the Sansara Sage''s legacy would get destroyed like this. All of them came to the same conclusionC the artifact had been tampered with. And they all started guessing who caused the Sage artifact''s destruction. The detonation impact subsided after a while. The Sages retired to their respective sides, looking at each other with daggers in their eyes. If only looks could kill *** "Pathetic." Edgar was the first to speak up in anger and frustration. He had the young half-blood survivors standing behind him. "That was really pathetic, Hansen. Downright insane even. You decided to detonate Sansara Sage''s Legacy when you found out you had no way to ensure its safety. This is the reason I said that you wouldn''t be able to understand what the Sansara Sage has left behind for you all. His legacy could have liberated us from our shackles. It could have opened doors to new possibilitiesC like this world had not seen since thest great battle. But you" Edgar pointed his fingers at Hansen and Gregory before speaking in a grim tone. "But no You.. all of you like to stay in the ditch you were born in, preventing anyone else from doing something different. You fear change. And that fear has made you blind." JJ Edgar clenched his fists and tried to control his bloodline energy. He spat to relieve his stress and show his contempt. It was as if he found his counterparts disgusting to look at. Hansen looked at JJ as if he had gone mad. He snorted and was about to say something. But a hand was ced over his right shoulder, prompting him to shut up. Marcus Moretti was also unhappy with the Sansara Sage''s artifact getting destroyed. He wasn''t angry at Edgar or what he said. He looked at Gregory threateningly before speaking threateningly. "It was you, Gregory, wasn''t it? Infiltrating our kingdom wasn''t enough. Killing our young generation wasn''t enough. You had to go this far to make a statement. We are already at war so there''s no need for me to say this. But I''ll say it anyway. The kingdom of Layos will pay for this." Chapter 1184 JJs Timely Exit "What the fuck are you talking about?" Gregory was used of something his side had never thought of doing. Sure, it wanted to cause mayhem in Edinburgh. But it had never thought of destroying Sansara World for it. The kingdom of Layos wanted to im ownership of Beelzebub''s altar, which was hidden inside the Sansara World. Therefore, Gregory could not even think of harming the Sansara Sage''s legacy much less blowing it into oblivion. Edinburgh''s Osha Daman stepped forward. She tucked her golden hair behind her ears and chuckled in contempt before responding to Gregory''s outburst. "What are we talking about? Do you remember these words, Greg?" Osha made virtual quotation marks with her fingers before saying the same words Gregory said not too long ago. "If Layos can''t have it, let it be destroyedC for all I care." Gregory had a nk look on his face when Osha finished speaking. He did not know what to say. He wanted to say that he had just said those words in passing. But at this point, he knew other Sages wouldn''t believe him. Therefore his defense mechanism kicked in and he used someone else. He decided to me Edgar and muddy the waters. "Bullshit. That doesn''t MEAN anything. Those were just words. Words alone cannot destroy something as solid as Sansara Sage''s legacy. You know what can?" Gregory pointed his finger at Edgar before speaking up. "Those white mes! Edgar''s white mes surrounded Sansara World before its explosion. They must have created some form of an anomaly inside the artifact, which eventually destroyed it and everything inside it. It was you, Edgar. You are the architect behind Sansara World''s destruction. You shouldn''t point fingers at others for something you have messed up. Now that would be truly pathetic." Edgar got so angry at Gregory''sment that his face turned red in rage. And the reason for his anger was that he assumed there was truth in his words. But instead of reflecting on his supposed mistakes, he med everything on Gregory and Hansen''s side. This was Edgar''s defensive mechanism, saving him from guilt. It also prevented him from analyzing what went wrong in retrospect. Basically, all Sages were in the same boat when dealing with the aftermath of Sansara World''s destruction. They med others. Edgar was about to attack Gregory to vent his frustration. The lion-type half-blood Sager was looking forward to owning Sansara World. He had yet to show his Trump cards and all the preparations he had done to ensure the artifact''s sessful acquisition. But it was destroyed before he could use them. Saying that Edgar was angry at his Sage counterparts was an understatement. The white mes surrounding him flickered as if they were lit inside a storm to show the emotional turmoil he was suffering through. However, Edgar froze when he received a message from someone. He looked at Hansen''s side warily before pulling back. Edgar looked at Demonmir in anger. But thetter could tell that the Sage half-blood wasn''t pissed off at him. He nodded at Edgar in confirmation and sighed before passing a message to Gregory. ''Sage Gregory, I''m afraid to say that Sansara World''s destruction has changed everything. There can be no covert or overt cooperation between the Last Blood Bastion and Layos'' kingdom. At least not anytime soon. You''d have to fight the forces of Edinburgh all on your own. I will contact you through Reva when the situation changes.'' Since there was no Sansara World or Beelzebub''s altar, Gregory was fine with Last Blood Bastion''s non-cooperation as well. The kingdom of Layos had already nned to rope in the Asikha empire in the campaign against Edinburgh. So Gregory was not worried about losing a potential ally in the Last Blood Bastion. Of course, Demonmir wasn''t too fond of the recent development. He had ns to serve as a middleman between the two sides and make lots of profits in the process. He saved Reva from Eren''s attacks for the same reason. The destruction of Sansara World made Demonmir change his ns begrudgingly. He felt like someone pissed on the campfire he had lit after hours of effort put into it. "It''s pointless to stay here if Sansara Sage''s legacy is gone. We will retreat." Edgar said to his subordinates and enemies alike before manually activating the space-element rune present on the half-bloods'' bodies. In the next moment, Edgar and his subordinates disappeared from the battlefield without leaving a trace. Demonmir and a few of his colleagues disappeared from the scene along with Edgar''s group. This was the same rune that saved Reva from Eren''s final attack. Its activation couldn''t be stopped or countered. At least not by the existing means avable at Edinburgh''s disposal. Marcus Moretti observed the battlefield around him before speaking up in a low voice. "Hmm. This Edgar is something. It seems there was some truth behind Edgar''s ims of having received Sansara Sage''s legacy after all. The space-element rune he has used is only the refined version of what happens to the participants'' bodies when they are inside the Sansara World, after facing serious injury. Edgar has refined the Sansara Sage''s concept and made it applicable outside of the Sansara World. The guy is a true fanatic. We let go of a huge asset." Marcus sighed at Edinburgh losing an opportunity to retain a talented ranker like Edgar into its fold. Maybe they could have done something in the past to solve Edgar''s problems. But it was toote at this point. Only now did Hansen and the rest understand how Edgar got in and out of the city of Edin so easily. It seemed Edgar had used Sansara Sage''s knowledge to bypass security protocols. Sansara Sage created these security protocols in the past. So it was only natural that someone like Edgar, who diligently studied all things rted to Sansara Sage, could override them. Gregory intended to follow Edgar''s example. After all, without Demonmir''s promised backup to help him, Gregory was a sitting duck in Edinburgh. The only problem with Gregory''s n was that his exit couldn''t be as sophisticated as Edgar''s. And that was about to be a source of his troubles. Chapter 1185 King’s Hand- Garos Renar "Um see you on the battlefield." Gregory said to Hansen''s side before looking at the elf infiltrators standing behind him. "Let''s move, my young soldiers. Our mission ends here." Gregory and his subordinates were about to leave the arena. And they hoped nobody would stop themC an unrealistic dream they dared to entertain in their heads just for the sake of it. Hansen''s side was about to move against them. It was about to show them how costly Gregory''s infiltration would be to the kingdom of Layos and all the infiltrators involved. Suddenly, however, an overwhelming presence prevented both sides from moving. Infiltrators and rankers looked in a particr direction as a Sage flew towards the arena from a distance. It was as if a meteor was propelled by an alchemy rocket. The Sage''s flight trajectory could be clearly seen because of the white trail he left behind him in the sky. Edgar was clearly tipped into retreat. He was warned of a danger that could kill him and Gregory at the same time. That''s why Edgar hurried off and left. Gregory understood this toote. And even if he knew about this person''s arrival beforehand, he was sure he had no way to escape from him. Hansen, Marcus & Urs Moretti, and Osha Daman bowed slightly when this mannded in front of them with his back facing them. They put their pride aside so they could greet this man. King''s Hand - Garos Renar arrived at the scene. *** Garos had a thick,bed beard that reached his neckline. He had silky, walnut-colored, shoulder-length hair that cascaded down his face. He had a straight nose and clear, supple skin. He had white eyes that made him look like he had no iris present in them. Garos wore a white long coat over a white tunic that reached to his knees. He wore a simple ck belt over it, giving him an elegant and calming appearance. Garos had an underwhelming presence for a Sage. So much so that he could be mistaken for a Master or Expert ranker. Even the young rankers and infiltrators were puzzled by this man''s arrival. They did not understand why other Sages from both sides gave this seemingly insignificant man such respect. Garos was inplete control of himself and his powers as a Sage. His presence resonated with the world''sws. But it could only be felt by other Sages. Garos'' ranking status put him at the top of Anfang''s summit along with very few other rankers. It could be said that he was part of a very elite club to which normal Sages had no ess to. Garos had a solid S-rank mana core that reached saturation point. Meaning he could be seen knocking on his next rank''s doors. He had exceptional water-element attainments. They made his presence fluid and non-threatening. But only Sages like Hansen knew how powerful he could be once he manifested his powers. Garos could be considered the current king''s uncle. He was given the title of King''s Hand to make it easier for other rankers to address him. The title was especially convenient for those young Grandmaster and Sage rankers who had never met Garos before. Garos was also part of the Anfang Alliance. He was a name-only member because of his active involvement in Edinburgh''s affairs. The Alliance was ready to offer him a dedicated membership if he strayed away from his duties as the King of Edinburgh''s advisor. And Garos was about to take the Alliance on its offer. However, the advent of war with Layosplicated things. Even as a temporary member of the Anfang Alliance, Garos had certain rights and restrictions ced upon him. He could not help Edinburgh by getting involved in a direct conflict for the most part. This was another reason he was given the King''s Hand title. It was to make him appear as if he was only helping the current king by advising him in certain situations. Garos usually stayed true to the Alliance''s restrictions ced on him. Even if he wanted to influence certain kingdom policies, he would do so while staying behind the scenes. That''s why very few rankers from recent generations knew about him. It was as if they had all heard of Lord Garos. But they hadn''t met the man himself. Garos was told to refrain from facing Layos''s forces directly. But all bets were off if and when the half-bloods from the Last Blood Bastion were involved. The Anfang Alliance allowed Garos to use his full force against the half-bloods and their allies if and when they decided to show themselves out in the open. This was the reason Garos'' presence rmed Edgar. As strong as Edgar was, he didn''t want to cross paths with Garos, who had the Anfang Alliance behind him. Edgar had prepared trump cards to "borrow" from the Sansara World. But he did not have a Trump card in his arsenal to handle Garos. JJ Edgar knew no amount of preparation would help him fight Garos. Even if he could run away from Garos using his space-element runes, he was sure that Garos would ensure that the young half-bloods forfeit their lives. Gregory would have bolted sooner than Edgar if someone tipped him off about Garos'' arrival on the battlefield. Even as an enemy of Edinburgh, Gregory knew and heard about Garos. He knew that Garos was on apletely different level than him even though they were both on the same rank by traditional ranking standards. To be honest, Gregory wasn''t expecting Garos to intervene because of the restrictions ced on him by the Anfang Alliance. But he forgot that he was aiding and abetting the half-bloods. It could be said that Gregory''s convenient forgetfulness hade to haunt him. *** "Lord Garos, we were just about to" Marcus was about to talk to Garos. But thetter shook his head before cutting him off. "No need to fill me in, Marcus. I already know what''s there to know." Chapter 1186 Sage Hostage? "No need to fill me in, Marcus. I already know what''s there to know." He looked at the empty patch ofnd where Edgar''s forces stood and narrowed his eyes beforementing. "I guess that''s why they dared to show themselves. They have a reliable exit strategy ready. Thisplicates things." Garos sighed before looking at Gregory. He smiled gracefully before addressing the enemy elf. "Greg, you are not thinking of leaving early, are you? Now that you have blessed us with your uninvited presence, why not stay here forever?" Gregory felt a chill down his spine when he met Garos'' white eyes. Looking into them made him feel like he was drowning in ake as deep as the sky above. As much as he tried to sound confident, Gregory''s voice trembled as he answered. "Sa Sage Garos. You have no business dealing with matters rted to the two kingdoms. The rules of the Anfang Alliance clearly state that" Swoosh! A spectral tidal wave manifested in the battlefield. It didn''t hurt or drown anybody. Its only target was Gregory. This tidal wave swept Gregory Grant in a blink. He felt like he was thrown into deep waters in the middle of his speech. The space around him manifested water properties, converting even the air into fluid-like properties. The air became so thick and tangible that it could be said to have liquid viscosity. Gregory stopped his speech midway through because he felt water had entered his mouth and nostrils. In the next moment, his body reacted to his silent suffering. He started coughing like a mortal on a deathbed. It should be noted that Gregory was a water-element ranker himself. He had never feared drowning before meeting Garos. It was as if meeting Garos had rendered Gregory''s elemental abilities null and void. Or that he didn''t have easy ess to them anymore. Garos maintained a light smile on his face before speaking upC his voice was somber and devoid ofpassion. "I shouldn''t have intervened? Rules of the Anfang Alliance? Haha. That was a good one. Are there any more jokes you want to make for us?" Garos stopped pping his hands and looked at Gregory seriously before continuing. "Never try to teach your father how to fornicate, Greg boy. I know the Anfang Alliance rules better than anyone here. I had already made a name for myself before you were born. And I had retired from the public stage and entered into seclusion when you still drank milk straight from your mother''s tit. Do you think bing a Sage ranker gives you the right to reply to me? Tch tch tch." Garos'' voice sounded like he had no malice towards Gregory. But that put Greg more on the edge. Because to Garos, killing Gregory or letting him live was not a matter of concern for Garos. As if he could get rid of Gregory anytime he wished. Gregory tried to run away from the battlefield. He had already decided to get rid of all the elf infiltrators behind him. But Garos'' individual actions had simply overwhelmed Gregory''s consciousness. The elf Sage could not ignore it. Garos'' presence faded into nothingness. His deep and raspy voice, however, was tinged with authority. An authority that came from the night he was capable of unleashing. Gregory looked at Garos with fear and vignce. There was a part of him that wanted an easier death than drowning. Garos liked Gregory''s changed attitude. His voice somehow turned gentle and soothing as he spoke. "There''s a vast difference between us, my young "Sage". Despite knowing it deeply, you refuse to ept it. Just because your survival instinct prevents you from surrendering yourself to me." One could hear mockery in Garros'' voice when he referred to Gregory as a Sage. The young rankers found it difficult to ept Gregory could be called a "young Sage" when he looked like an old manC especially older than the one who called him young. Garos chuckled when he realized what the younger generation of rankers and infiltrators thought. He took a deep breath before speaking up. A person''s fear either makes them lose their mind or gives them rity on their lives in ways they hadn''t seen before. So I can understand why you said or behaved as you did. But" Garos dissolved into space before appearing in front of Gregory. To meet his eyes, Gregory lifted him in the air. Gregory could feel Garos'' breath on his face when he spoke. "But don''t try to use the game rules against me when you are the first to break them. It makes you a hypocrite. And I hate dealing with those the most." Gregory tried to wrestle himself away from Garos'' grip by throwing his legs around. He tried to loosen Garos'' grip as well. But Gregory soon understood that all his efforts were futile. Gregory felt like all of his Sage-ranked powers and water attainments could not help him. He turned into a helpless mortal after being caught by Garos. Since he couldn''t run away from Garos, he decided to talk to him instead. "Sa Sage Garos. I. cough I think there''s a misunderstanding. I didn''t break any Anfang Alliance rules. My side wasn''t even aware of those abominations'' arrival. And we certainly didn''t work together. Your intervention cough... your intervention is unnecessary. That''s that''s all I''m trying to say." Garos looked at Gregory like he didn''t believe him. But the former knew that thetter''s words had some truth in them. Still, he had another question to ask Gregory. He tightened his grip on Gregory''s neck before asking him in a low and threatening voice. "I''ll tell you if my intervention is unnecessary or not. I''ll also tell you if your breaths are unnecessary or not. Not the other way around. But let''s discuss that after I turn you into a hostage. I have another question to ask... Greg. It''s something that can''t wait. So answer me honestly. Preferably yes or no. Did you. Did you steal the spirit beast I cultivated for three centuries?" === AN: Garos Renar was first introduced in chapter 852. ;) Chapter 1187 War-Time Diplomacy Eren gulped nervously. If he had the liberty to sweat in trepidation, he would have. If he had a way to disappear from the scene without anyone knowing, he would have done that in this instant as well. Eren knew what Garos was talking about. He was the thief the Sage was looking for. Of course, the butcher wasn''t aware that he wasmitting a "crime" at the time ofmitting it. He had just taken what he thought belonged to nobody. The more he learned about spirit beasts from Nira Nightshade, the more he realized how fortuitous his encounter really was. He also doubted that Alephee knew an ideal environment had been created for the spirit beast''s formation and growth. And that it could only be done by a Sage like Garos. Alephee chose not to talk about a potential spirit beast owner at that time. This is because she thought Eren''s cautious nature would have prevented him from messing with Sages. Eren could only smile mirthlessly at Alephee''s cunning. He might not have stopped himself from getting the spirit beast. But it would have remained on his mind like a constant brain nag. Of course, no ranker from Eren''s generation knew what the two Sages were talking about. They knew about the spirit beast spell program Edinburgh''s armyunched sometime back. It was still developing. The spirit beast spell program was only meant to help rankers of their caliber. This program was specially made for Edinburgh army rankers who were about to join the war against Layos. These rankers didn''t know that the spirit beast spell was actually an artificial way of creating something mother nature created naturally. *** "Wh what the fu" Gregory gulped empty air and decided not to use abusive words in his response. This was when Garos stared him in the eye while holding his neck and lifting him from the ground. "I mean what What are you talking about, Sage Garos? I didn''t do anything like that..." Garos snorted and cut him off. "Don''t bullshit me, Greg. You have infiltrated Edinburgh for some time now. And you are a Sage with water-element attainments. I guess Layos'' higher-ups also have problems with me. Only you guys could do something like this. Nobody in Edinburgh has the guts to mess with me as you did. Not even the current king is immune to this rule." Eren pursed his lips and maintained an expressionless look while speaking in his head. ''Well actually in my defense I didn''t know.'' Garos tightened his grip on Gregory''s neck even more before continuing. "Looking back, I can say that you appeared in Edinburgh around the same time my spirit beast was stolen. It has to be you. I refuse to call it a coincidence, damn it." Gregory looked at Garos with eyes that screamed "injustice" at him. He wanted to say that Garos was trying to change the puzzle itself to match the puzzle piece he had. But Garos'' tightening hold over his neck prevented him from breathing normally. So voicing his innocence was the least of his worries. Garos realized he had unfairly treated Gregory by looking at his reddened face. After all, he demanded Gregory to speak while making it nearly impossible for him to do so. Garos turned his head to his side before speaking to the Sages of Edinburgh standing behind him. "I''ll bring Gregory with me. After settling your affairs here, send a notice to Layos. Tell them we have Gregory Grant as a hostage." Marcus came forward and responded solemnly, "Yes, Lord Garos." After examining Gregory, Garos scrunched his nose. "Tell them it will be a war prisoner exchange. I don''t think this old fart has much value as a hostage. But we could still get Layos to release a few of our talented Grandmaster rankers from its clutches. Those we sent to make a preemptive strike would still be alive. Let''s bring our men back to us." Only someone like Garos could say that Gregory had no significant value as a hostage. Of course, Garos'' definition of such values was skewed from what was generally understood. Garos had already considered a prisoner exchange at the start of the war. That''s because Layos was not the only kingdom to try to create unrest in the enemy kingdom by infiltrating its rankers. The kingdom of Edinburgh also did the same, albeit on a much smaller scale and magnitude. The young generation of rankers was d that Edinburgh''s higher authorities cared about their well-being even after getting caught by enemies. Gregory''smand encouraged these young rankers. It encouraged them to take an active part in the uing war for their king and kingdom. Of course, Eren knew what Garos had done. This was more of a political and psychological move than amand. There was a reason why he gave such orders out loud. It was important to him to have a certain influence over the young rankers generation. And from the looks of it, Garos'' trick worked. Marus had been assigned to handle wartime diplomacy for the most part. And the war prisoner exchange program fell into that category. But there was another process needed before wartime diplomacy could be initiatedC primary contact. Marcus, therefore, looked at Hansen, prompting him to respond to Garos. Hansen coordinated Edinburgh''s army. He stepped forward before voicing his agreement. "Certainly, Lord Garos. I will contact Manas Reach and ask him to convey the message to Layos forces." Garos nodded at Sages standing behind him before looking in a particr direction in the distance. "Larson? Are you here?" A towering man in full knight armor appeared in front of Garos and kneeled. His name was Kev Larson, one of the Blood Punisher Force''s on-field leaders. He was Meera Madinah''s superior when she was alive and working for the Blood Punisher Force. "Yes, Lord Garos." Kev Larson was ready to receive his orders for the entire Blood Punisher Force. === AN: Manas Reach was introduced in chapter 714. Kev Larson was introduced in chapter 720. Chapter 1188 Accidental Scapegoat "Yes, Lord Garos." Kev Larson was ready to receive his orders for the entire Blood Punisher Force. Garos wasn''t surprised by the Blood Punisher Force''sck of presence on the battlefield despite being present. This was one of the protocols of the Blood Punisher ForceC to prevent public exposure as much as possible. The Sage looked at Kev Larson kneeling in front of him and gave a separatemand to him. "Sansara Sage''s creations may seem logic-defying but they also have their limitations. Space element runes will also have limitations. Find them. Understood?" King''s Hand decided to counteract the Last Blood Bastion. He realized how devastating Edgar''s space element runes could be if not countered. These runes were based on Sansara Sage''s concepts. So it would be very difficult to stop their executions. After all, Edinburgh did not have a prominent array master after Sansara Sage left. So it would have to seek external help. Things would get worse in the war for Edinburgh if the Last Blood Bastion shared their revolutionary invention with Layos. Strategic army deployment and other aspects of war would mean nothing if enemies had a surefire way of escaping from a tough spot. The half-bloods and elven forces of Layos could kill Edinburgh rankers inrge numbers while preserving their own numbers. Before his arrest, Gregory also decided to prioritize the acquisition of these runes. But by the time he did, the Last Blood Bastion had retreated. Gregory still had Reva Rain. He could use her to contact Demonmir and the Last Blood Bastion, asking them for the space element runes in exchange for resources and cooperation against Edinburgh. Gregory had decided to abandon the infiltrators if he had, to ensure this under-the-table cooperation with the Last Blood Bastion. Unfortunately for him, Garos apprehended him before he could run. Garos wanted to grill Gregory for information on infiltrators and sleeper cell rankers still active in Edinburgh. He also needed to contact the Anfang Alliance because the problems rted to the Last Blood Bastion were not limited to Edinburgh. Garos gave a few moremands to his Sage subordinates which the battlefield audience was not privy to know about. The King''s Hand disappeared after a while, taking his hostage with him. The elf infiltrators lost all forms of protection when Sage Gregory was "kidnapped". At this point, their fates were sealed and they knew they couldn''t escape the battlefield alive. Eren, on the other hand, didn''t care about the elven infiltrators or escaped half-bloods. He breathed relief for a different reason. ''Hot damn. That was a close one.'' Eren wiped the sweat off his forehead that wasn''t really there. ''I guess I need to thank Sage Gregory for his heroic act of taking the heat in my stead. Thanks a ton, Sage Gregory. You were the most impressive Sage infiltrator I ever saw. May you rest in peace.'' Eren said to himself sincerely. He felt relieved after offering Gregory a short & sweet eulogy. But just then, he heard Alephee''s chuckle in his head. The homunculus had almost recovered at this point. The blood pool she had manifested in the middle of her pendent abode had disappeared. She sat next to a study table and seemed busy rewriting the worn-out pages of the grimoire. Alephee used these pages to counter Nira Nightshade''s array. She needed to fix the grimoire pages to stock up on lost Trump cards. She wrote more runes in her grimoire as she spoke. ''Hehehe. I don''t think Gregory will die, Eren. His safety is ensured as long as Layos ys ball with Edinburgh''s demands. I think Layos would agree with wartime diplomacy too. Grandmaster rankers released in exchange for a Sage are still worth it.'' Eren pondered a bit and found Alephee''s words logical. He scratched his chin beforeing up with a different set of words dedicated to his idental scapegoat. ''You are right. Then... how ''bout this? May Sage Gregory find his "happy ce" while suffering torture. I guess that''s the best I can do for him.'' Eren shirked his responsibilities from Gregory''s situation after giving him his "best wishes." Alephee couldn''t help but chuckle a bit more. It could be said that Eren no longer qualified as "always unlucky". His luck had a tendency to shine at the darkest of hours. *** Alephee also found it intriguing that Garos promoted the creation of a spirit beast in just three centuries. She guessed that Garos had used tons of resources and knowledge about the past era at his disposal to achieve what he did. Thend of Anfang had be fertile ground for spirit beast creation and cultivation. That''s because it was practically isted from the rest of the cosmos, thanks to the continent-epassing array. The array barrier acted as an incubator for the Way of the Elements, preventing them from dispersing into the infinite void. This was the reason why otherworld denizens still tried to sneak into Anfang even after the creation of the continent-epassing array. This world was an ideal environment for spirit beasts and God Sparks. After another thousand years or so, spirit beasts would have naturally appeared in thend of Anfang. Garos only sped up the process with his external influence. Fertile soil alone wouldn''t help the farmer. One needs to nt a seed to grow a sapling. Garos made an effort to use the opportunity given to him. He chose the city of New Beginnings to undertake the project of cultivating spirit beasts. Garos chose a bustling city instead of an isted region. This is because he knew that activities by huge masses of rankers were needed to support the creation and growth of the spirit beast. The collective consciousness of the world yed a huge part in the process. After all, only the living possessed the spiritual force. The worlds that were constantly growing in the number of denizens were capable of birthing spirit beasts. The dying worlds could not do so. It could be said that Anfang was finally on the rebound after God Vulcan''s great destruction. And its hurt consciousness was recovering rtively quickly. Chapter 1189 The Curtain Falls Shortly after Garos'' exit. "Aaaaaargh. You cowa" Thest of the infiltrators was killed by one of the graduation event''s participants. With this kill, the curtain had fallen on the very first chapter of war. Of course, this was only the beginning. The war had officially started. The forces of Layos and Edinburgh were about to sh time and again. There would be fewer sneak attacks and more frontal conflicts. Of course, the death toll of rankers was about to rise from both sides as the war progressed. However, the war was a strange period for those not on the front lines. It wasn''t like a faulty tap that never stopped running. Rather, there were short episodes of bloody conflicts and grim peace. The mass anxiety between such episodes defined the state of war as a whole. The Eddinca Arena finally experienced peace. A form of peace that it hadn''t felt after the graduation ceremony began. The participants in the graduation ceremony stared at each other with nk faces. With no enemies in sight, they did not know what to do. Most of the participants who had spent much time fighting inside the Sansara World looked especially lost. They had been fighting an uphill battle for survival for such a long time that peace felt unnatural. Just as what Hansen had told them in the beginning, the time spent in Sansara World had changed some part of them. Collective quiet was observed. Even the Sages who observed the fights from a distance did nothing. They did not give encouraging speeches to the younger generation. They did not criticize the participants either. They just stood still and let the participants find their own form of gravityC something to keep them grounded in their current reality. And then... someone pped. The sound of this p served as an expression to celebrate their survival in such a turbulent time. That they had witnessed such mayhem and destruction with their own eyes and lived to tell the tale for future generations. The maddening silence was shattered into many pieces by this p. The silence was shattered like broken ss after it shed with the hurled stone. The pieces of such silence were dissolved into nothingness and the world came alive. The sound of a single p was picked up by the rest of the survivors, turning into apuse. This was the apuse of the survivors, by the survivors, for the survivors. The rankers hugged each other. The survivors met and talked with the rest of their respective teams. Some moistened their eyes for their lostrades. Some were d for their survival and that of their alive-and-kicking teammates. Enemies and allies'' dead bodies disappeared into thin air. The dead Edinburgh rankers who had not defected to Layos would be provided with properst rites in theing days. And as for those who exposed themselves as traitors, it was safe to assume their families would be prosecuted. The disappearance of blood, gore, and dead bodies made it easy for survivors to meet and greet each other on a rtively lighter note. The rankers were not immune to loss, pain, fear, and other forms of suffering. But they were rankers in the end. And most of them epted that death was an integral part of their lives. Soon, the battlefield became as cheerful as the markets of The City of New Beginnings. The sounds ofughter and moreughter could be hearding from every direction. The kingdom-wide broadcast was turned on again. And the citizens of the entire kingdom could see the current state of affairs on the battlefield. The unaware viewers across the kingdom were shocked by the Edinnica Arena''s ruined condition. They did not know what happened to the ce. So mass confusion and curiosity were created in the hearts of viewers. The kingdom of Edinburgh decided toe clean with its current state of affairs instead of hiding it from the masses. If it didn''t, Layos could use it as an antitrust campaign against the kingdom. The spectral screens spread across the kingdom suddenly saw a huge spike in viewership. Even some of the rankers currently busy with their on-field missions decided to stop their current activities and tune into thetest news. After all, they needed to know what happened inside their capital city. Their future was dependent on this news. Various reporters and reports started providing more information about what had happened. Mortals and rankers criticized the kingdom''s policies. Its security protocols were questioned. However, the survivors of the disaster served as the symbol of victory over the infiltrators in the end. Along with the news of the current happenings inside the capital city, it was also announced that amencement ceremony will be held in the Edinnica Arena in a few days. Sage Gregory''s hostage status was also shared with Edinburgh. It acted as a motivating factor for the popce. Of course, there was no coverage about the mysterious third force that came out of nowhere and disappeared into thin air. Even the participants were told not to talk to reporters about the third force based on the kingdom''s internal security matters. It could be said that the kingdom wanted to have this kind of effect on its popce from the beginning of the graduation event. It wanted to create heroes out of these rankers. All so that war would not be as tense for the general popce as it could be without such heroes added to the equation. Themencement ceremony will pay homage to the rankers who lost their lives and celebrate their achievements. And it will reward the survivors. Graduate rankers will receive a medallion. Of course, medallions will have different ranks. The qualified rankers will also receive other rewards from the kingdom for their heroic performance inside and outside Sansara World. The criticism and panic of Edinburgh''s general popce died down when it saw that a new generation of rankers had risen to fame because of this destruction. It saw hope in these survivors. Chapter 1190 The Curtain Rises In a way, Layos helped Edinburgh. Layos'' infiltration only amplified Edinburgh''s intended effect on its masses. The involvement of a foreign force in the kingdom''s affairs served as a metaphorical glue that made the popce stick together. The threat of a foreign force mitigated the differences and allowed them to see themselves as part of one unified kingdom. The Sages and Grandmasters disappeared from the scene. Altair Argas talked briefly with Eren before leaving. He invited Eren to his estate in the capital city. Eren agreed to the invitation. He decided to visit House Argas in a few days to catch up with Altashia. Eren was seen talking with Altair onscreen just before he disappeared into a me cloud. The butcher used Blink to get away from the projection field when he found out it was focused on him. By this point, Eren had already gained considerable fame in Edinburgh. But the viewers couldn''t help but see him in apletely different light when they found out he was close to Crimson Ghost. Agatha and the rest were happy to see Eren on-screen even if it was for a short time. They already knew about his well-being because Nina kept them informed. Still, they liked seeing living proof onscreen. Eren would get goosebumps on his skin every time the projection array scanned him and showed his image on the spectral screens avable all over the kingdom. The goosebumps weren''t the projection array''s fault. It was just Eren''s soul sense letting him know he was being watched. The butcher didn''t like being seen on screen. He avoided such scanning whenever he could by wandering around the now-ruined Edinica Arena, disguised as meeting with his friends. White Raven''s founder did not receive much footage. So the city administration had to y his recorded fights and trivial on-screen appearances repeatedly. Eren wasn''t averse to fame if it helped him. But he knew he had already climbed the socialdder to sufficient levels. He had enough economic and resource wealth for his rank. Any more fame would not help him in any way. At least not in the way he wants it to. The city of White Raven had ns to celebrate Eren''s graduation in its own way. And it would make more profits doing it even if it was wartime. Argo would organize another concert in Eren''s name in White Raven. He created a dedicated fanbase among his first concert''s audience. His fame was about to soar with his second concert. *** "There you are." Eren smiled and hugged Nina when he found her. He hugged Levine and Jiana too. His hug with Jiana could be seen as an awkward encounter for Jiana. Despite this, the butcher''s unfettered bodynguage made it natural for both of them. "You finally did it, Eren. I''m proud of you." Nina ruffled Eren''s hair and congratted Eren on his graduation even though it hadn''t been made official. Thetter chuckled before responding. "Your potion-making lessons helped. I think they are the foundation behind a semnce of sess I have achieved so far." Nina felt touched by Eren''s words. Thetter then looked at Levine before adding further. Master Levine''s teachings paved the way further. I wouldn''t have established the city of White Raven without you." Before meeting with Eren, Levine wasn''t happy with the war oue because Demonmir survived. But Eren''s words made her smile with all her heart. Eren then looked at Jianna who seemed guilty of something. He knew what she was thinking about. He chuckled and continued. "Keke. Don''t beat yourself up, Master Jiana. The Grim Pirs you saw have nothing to do with you personally. Not anymore." Jianna was startled by how Eren read her like a book. At the time of dissolving her guild, she underestimated the potential three-way conflict between the White Raven guild, Midnight Moon, and the royal scions of Layos. Goldy Wings remembered Eren''s words at that time. Only now did she understand that everything he had predicted about the conflict was true. Eren narrowed his eyes at Jiana and spoke in a casual toneced with his brand of evil. "I am not shing with the Midnight Moon for you. I am doing it for myself. After all, you are now my property. Everything you have belongs to me." Jianna was lost for words when she met Eren''s eyes. She again felt that he was an apex predator who was willing to go to any lengths to get what he wanted. But this time, instead of getting intimidated by his presence, she gravitated toward it. And this was a conscious decision. Eren and his talks with the three Master-rankeddies were interrupted after a few minutes. The next to receive Eren''s greetings and hugs were his White Raven crew teammates. Just as Eren said, Steve was approached by some mysterious rankers right after Garos left. They offered him the opportunity to join the kingdom''s special forces. Thanks to his talks with Eren, Steve knew what to do. So he epted their offer right away, preventing the rankers from seeing Steve as a problem because of his demonic ranking technique. Therefore, Steve became an exception. The rest of the White Raven crew was about to join Eren''s guild. They decided to move into White Raven to secure their entrance. Ramy Richards was the most excited of them all. He demanded a separate unit to lead inside the guild. Eren pondered a bit before agreeing to his demands. Eren already knew Ramy''s individuality would make him a powerful ranker the more he advanced on his ranking journey. This was the right time for Eren to nurture his talent and bloom. Of course, Becky''s death weighed on everyone''s consciousness as they discussed things with each otherCughed at each otherC and made ns for the future. So they collectively decided not to talk about the topic. This wasn''t the right time or ce. The butcher also met with Roody, Roody Jr, the quake element ranker, and a few other prominent rankers of his batch from LA. All of them were about to graduate together. They knew they could use each other''s connections to their advantage. The participants finally disappeared from the Edinnica Arena one after the other. Their disappearance from the arena indicated they had moved on. A defining chapter in the participants'' lives ended with the graduation event. And it made the curtain rise on the next chapter of their lives. Chapter 1191 Traumatized A few days after the Edinnica battle concluded. Somewhere in the kingdom of Layos. A secret underground facility hosted a grisly scene. The dimly lit hall reeked of blood and death, with fresh corpses of mortals and rankers scattered about. Some bodies suffered unspeakable torture, while others appeared to have had an easier death. Demonic runes slithered over some corpses, suspending them mid-air, and blood droplets fell from their wounds like leaky taps. The atmosphere was heavy with misery and suffering. "Aaaaaaargh!" An Ace-ranked young man cried out in agony. His ranking powers were sealed by a special array. His body was suspended in mid-air in a cross position, with numerous cuts and bruises on his bare torso. This time, Reva''s main focus of torture wasn''t mortals. The rankers she chose for her ritual practiced a different ranking technique circted by her to a select group of people. It was different from the one used by mortals like Sara. This ranking technique allowed mortals to enter Novice rank but capped their potential at E-rank. The use of victims who practiced this type of ranking technique was rtively less effective in demonic rituals. As a result, Reva had not proliferated this technique as much as her go-to one among mortals. The man''s body fought against the foreign mana invasion, but it was helpless against the Expert-ranked mana, which caused his wounds to fester and bleed uncontrobly. Reva Rain, the infamous Pdin of Pain, had always been a master at her craft. She knew how to inflict pain and make her victims suffer, but for some reason, her skills faltered. Her hand, once steady and precise, now shook uncontrobly as she tried to hold the scalpel. Her mana control was affected by her psychological condition, and as a result, she couldn''t torture the Ace-ranked victim the way she wanted to. The room was dimly lit, with only the flickering of a few candles illuminating the blood-soaked walls. Reva Rain stood in front of hertest victim, a young Ace-ranked warrior, who was bound by spatial runes produced by the array beneath him. Reva had looked forward to this session, but now she felt frustrated and angry. Reva Rain always believed torturing Ace Rankers was herfort zone. They were tougher and more resilient than mortal victims, but not strong enough to withstand her torture for long. But now? Reva felt her youth, her prime was robbed by someone. She struggled to perform even in herfort zone. She couldn''t believe that the effectiveness of her demonic rituals had dropped to this extent. Reva''s scalpel danced across the man''s body, leaving deep cuts and bruises in its wake. She chanted incantations under her breath, channeling her mana into each cut, making them fester and bleed even more. The man''s screams echoed through the underground facility, but Reva was in her element. She was a master of pain, and nothing could stop her. Or so she thought. Minutes passed, and the man''s body was covered in cuts, bruises, and festering wounds. His screams turned into hoarse gasps for air, but Reva wasn''t done yet. She wanted to push him further, to make him suffer even more. She produced a whipced with demonic runes and began tosh the man''s already battered body. With eachsh, she chanted another incantation, channeling her mana into the whip to make it even more painful. The man''s body convulsed with eachsh, but Reva didn''t stop. She was lost in sadistic pleasure, pushing herself further than before. The pain was intoxicating, and she couldn''t get enough. However, she soon realized something was wrong. Her torture methods did not align with her demonic ritual in the right manner. Her incantation timing was off. The way she inflicted pain on the man didn''t reach its peak at the right time. The Ace-ranked victim cried and writhed in pain, but it wasn''t enough. Reva Rain needed more. She needed to feel the rush of power with each sessful ritual. She took a deep breath and tried to steady her hand, but it was of no use. Her jitters took over, and she couldn''t focus. Reva was used as an organ dispensing machine. The scenes of that battle kept shing before her eyes, giving her nightmares. "Will you keep quiet? Stop squealing and moving around, you swine," she hissed at the Ace-ranked victim. She med him in her head for everything going wrong with her demonic ritual. Reva Rain pped him hard with her free hand, hoping to shock him into submission. But it was useless. The Ace-ranked victim continued to squirm and scream like a headless chicken, and Reva Rain''s frustration grew. She gripped her scalpel tightly, her eyes fixed on her victim''s flesh. The demonic runes over the scalpel were activated steadily this time, sans erratic mana fluctuations. Reva Rain smiled wickedly when she felt like she was back in the game. She took a long breath before carving the Ace ranker''s flesh. But for some reason, the Ace ranker''s body didn''t react to her torture. Even the restriction array was dimmed for some reason, indicating that most of its functions were deactivated. Reva Rain didn''t understand what had happened. She looked up in irritation only to see the Ace ranker''s head had burst like a watermelon damaged by a single hammer swing. "What the hell?" she eximed. Reva Rain felt something wet on her free hand and looked down. It was covered in her victim''s fresh blood and gray matter. The Pdin of Pain got angry at the dead ranker for dying of a minor p. She looked at his dead body as if he had some exining to do. "Fuck! Useless pigs!" she cursed. Reva Rain kicked the Ace ranker''s corpse away and sent it flying toward the pile of corpses umted in the corner. She threw the scalpel away in anger and ran her bloody fingers through her hair. It seemed that this was not the first time her demonic ritual failed. Ever since her fight with Eren, she lost her ability to perform her demonic ritual effectively. This was because Reva Rain got shbacks of Eren dissecting her organs every time she tortured her victims. These shbacks would shake her from within and make her lose control of herself. It was safe to say that the Pdin of Pain was traumatized after her confrontation with Eren. She could not perform demonic rituals as efficiently as before. But she knew she had to ovee her fear and regain her former power. She wanted to be the Pdin of Pain again. === A newly minted term to describe Reva''s current situation- Torturetile Dysfunction. ;) Chapter 1192 Bitter Battle Souvenir "I... I can''t let this continue. That green-eyed bastard He got me good." In the dimly lit underground hall, Reva Rain cursed the shbacks in her head and the reason for their existence. Eren had be her biggest psychological barrier preventing her from functioning normally C her version of normal, of course. She had managed to escape Edinburgh''s clutches, thanks to Demonmir''s prior arrangements. It was given that Layos would wee her. Reva clenched her fists and remembered Eren''s face. She felt like the butcher''s emerald green eyes stared at her from some angle C creating a tingling sensation at the back of her neck. "I need to get rid of that man," she muttered under her breath. This was the first time in her life that the Pdin of Pain struggled to inflict pain. She had been given the taste of her own medicine and she couldn''t say she liked it. Pdin of Pain? What a joke! She felt like she was not deserving of her title because of her current condition. The most terrible thing about her current situation was her nightmares. In these recurring nightmares, Reva''s organs would be yanked out of her body by the butcher while he operated on her the same way she operated on her victims. She felt that the butcher could do her job gracefully. As if his actions were an art form. The only problem for Reva in witnessing this art form was that she had to be at the receiving end of Eren''s torture. She felt she would have been inspired by these nightmares had she been summoned inside them as a third-person witness to these torture scenes. Eren''s soul sense and Sedating Gaze left asting mark on Reva because of being affected by them so many times during their sh. Her nightmares always brought her inside the flesh and blood world. Red skies, fleshy flowers, and bloody ground defined this world. It was the same world she had witnessed after suffering from Eren''s Ability so many times. One could say that from getting traumatized to traumatizing others, Eren had made stupendous progress in such a short time. His added badge of honor was the fact that he traumatized Reva Rain Cpletely derailing the demonic ranker of her caliber from her demonic path. What''s more? Eren scarred her mentally and physically. She carried a distinct scar on her neck. It wouldn''t heal no matter what she did. This was the same flesh wound Eren had given her just before she disappeared from the scene. Eren''s attack almost imed her life. Reva wanted to forget her helplessness against him at that time by getting rid of the neck scar. But it wouldn''t fade away despite her use of expensive potions and other means avable at her disposal. Reva was a healer herself. So eventually she realized what was causing her problems. The sh between her and Eren was short but intense. Eren had fought with her with such conviction that his Way of the Elements and intentions seeped into her flesh and bones. Eren''s elemental attainments were soplex that she couldn''t cast them out of herselfpletely. They affected her very soul and the scar on her neck was the physical manifestation of their presence inside her body. Reva managed to remove the scar in a few trials. But after some time, it would tear her flesh ande back on its own, hurting her with even more intensity than before. A scar that had the power to haunt. It was as persistent as the one who had inflicted it. Reva stopped trying to heal the scar after many tries. She epted it as a bitter battle souvenir. She had no other choice. Reva wondered if there was an easy way to fix her trauma. She hated looking at her shaky hands as she raised them in front of her with her palms open. She hated looking at the scar on her neck that kept haunting her. And she was afraid to close her eyes for more than a second or two. "Maybe... it''ll get better... with time. I need patience." Reva let out a long, weary sigh, feeling the weight of the world bearing down on her. Perhaps, with time, things would get better. But for now, all she could do was muster up the patience to weather the storm. She raised her hands, and the arrays within the hall sprang to life, instantly disintegrating the tortured bodies of mortals and rankers. The stench of death and suffering still lingered, but at least there was no visible evidence of the horrors that had urred there. "Some wounds require outside help to heal," Reva murmured to herself, her eyes scanning the clean, empty space before her. She needed to talk to someone, to find a way to move on from the trauma that Eren had inflicted upon her. But who could she turn to? Demonmir was out of the question. He was too busy with his own affairs, and he had never shown any real concern for her well-being. No, Reva needed to find someone else, someone who understood what it meant to be a traitor. As she made her way out of the underground facility, her mind raced, considering her options. She felt a surge of anger as she thought of the ns she and Demonmir had made, all of them destroyed in an instant by Sansara World''s detonation. She had made a terrible mistake by betraying Edinburgh and leaving behind all the resources and connections she had built up there. But there was no going back now. Reva had to make the best of her situation, even if it meant seeking help from another traitor. And she knew just the person to turn to. "Isen Osan," she muttered under her breath, her eyes flickering with determination. "I need to find him. Perhaps he can help me." With a new sense of purpose, Reva set off to find Isen Osan, ready to forge an alliance with another like-minded traitor. Chapter 1193 Arthur Vs Isen On Frontlines Eren''s killing of Jason was worth the effort. Arthur Renar''s attention was diverted as the Duke of Edinburghunched a fierce campaign against Layos and the Last Blood Bastion. The reason behind the Duke''s rage was simple: he found out that Ivor Osan, known as Osan Woods'' Butcher, had killed Jason, the son of Arthur Renar. And Layos was held responsible for nurturing Ivor. Arthur connected the dots and concluded that Layos had strong backing for the notorious Butcher. It was known that Layos had tried to establish connections with him but failed to pinpoint Ivor''s location. However, an information leak in Layos confirmed that Jason was on the list of participants the royal scions were supposed to kill for their rite of passage. This revtion solidified Arthur''s theory that Osan Woods'' Butcher worked closely with Layos. But Layos denied all of Arthur''s ims. It did not want to be associated with the notorious killer. At least not openly. Arthur did not stop ming Layos. He also found out through the Seer array that a half-blood helped Ivor kill Jason. So he was determined tounch a campaign against them as well. Arthur worked closely with Garvin and Cybill Karr to investigate the whole plot behind his son''s murder. They discovered enough to help the Duke take concrete actions. He first cleaned his house of all the potential spies he had had for years. The Duke then restructured his private army, hired fresh blood, and gave it a missionC search and destroy sleeper cells and half-bloods. However, Arthur''s quest for vengeance was cut short when the Sansara World was blown to smithereens. There was nothing Garvin or Cybill could do when the crime scene had been destroyed. Yet, the information they gathered was enough to set the Duke''s ns in motion. With his re-structured private army, the Duke was determined to hunt down and eliminate any threats to his kingdom. Edinburgh was already at war with Layos. So the royal court allowed Arthur to do whatever he wanted with his army and resources. It also allowed him to tap into the royal reserves, enabling him to strike Edinburgh''s enemies with an iron fist. Arthur, the Duke of Edinburgh, was always a man of action. And now, with his son''s murder driving him to the brink of vengeance, he was more determined than ever to see justice served. To that end, he deployed a special unit of his army on the borders, ready to sh with Layos'' forces at every opportunity. With Arthur''s vast resources at their disposal, this unit was a deadly force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. But Layos and the Last Blood Bastion were not taking Arthur''s hardline stance lying down. They resented being associated with Ivor Osan, also known as Osan Woods'' Butcher. They imed that Arthur''s usations were driven by his thirst for revenge. To counter Arthur''s tactics, Layos put Isen Osan on the frontlines, backed by Saisha Goren''s army battalion. As the two kingdoms'' armies mobilized on the borders, shes erupted at various locations, setting the entire border aze with the mes of war. Yet, amidst battle chaos, the Anfang Alliance sought to regte both sides'' actions. While they couldn''t prevent the war, they assigned a code of conduct for the warring factions to follow. Vitions of the code would be prosecuted by the Alliance itself, raising the stakes for both kingdoms and making war crimes a very real concern. *** Meanwhile, aboard the Freya, a nimble ship built to glide over the turbulent waters of the River Lithe, its owner used it for fishing. Despite the strong river current, the ship remained motionless, offering a clear view of Edin''s city line in the distance. Eren sat on the deck''s railing, holding a fishing rod in his right hand. A bucket filled with small fish sat behind himC a bunch of Blood Fire sardines he had caught so far. To his left, a bait box floated above the railing. The Butcher relished the peace that the act of fishing provided him, taking leisurely puffs of his Sativa Stick with his left hand. While he wouldn''t mind catching some fish, the act of fishing mattered most to him. However, Eren had to pair his leisure activity with a more pressing objective. On the boat with him was a charming girl with light blue hair and a pretty face. She reported Arthur Renar''s movements to him. Nysa Nael spoke in a serious tone, twisting her long blue hair with her finger. She gazed at Eren with a mysterious gleam in her eyes. "So yeah that''s how Arthur''s deployment will go." Everything went as Eren had predicted. After the Edinnica battle, Hansen approached Nysa and offered her a chance to work as one of Arthur''s royal guards. This was in exchange for all the resources she received as the supposed inheritor of Sansara Sage''s legacy. Nysa made it easy for herself, Hansen, and Arthur Renar. Regardless of how self-absorbed Duke Arthur was, working for him was a significant opportunity for a Ranker like Nysa. She knew she had to participate in the war in some capacity, and working for Arthur came with its own advantages. Post her confirmation, Nysa was introduced to Arthur''s Royal Guard immediately. So she knew more about Arthur''s actions than the public. As Eren continued his leisurely fishing, he listened intently to everything Nysa had to say about Arthur. He encouraged her to continue with his intermittent nods. Nysa didn''t like that Eren wasn''t looking at her. She scrunched her nose in dissatisfaction before speaking further. "I can choose between the force working within Edinburgh''s borders or the force stationed on the frontlines. I will have to decide when ourmencement ceremony ends. Either way, I''ll be part of Arthur''s special unit. Thanks to my graduation from Royal Renar, I skipped several steps to climb the hierarchicaldder with the Royal Guards." "Now you tell me, what should I do?" === AN: Shandil conveyed Layos'' intentions of hiring Osan Woods'' Butcher to Eren in chapter 960. Jason''s inclusion on the hit list, issued to Layos'' royal scions, was confirmed by Meeshah and her team in chapter 1035. Chapter 1194 Pre Graduation Gift "Now you tell me, what should I do?" Nysa''s question jolted Eren out of his thoughts, stopping his fishing expedition. He vanished his fishing rod with a wave of his hand and took a long drag of his Sativa Stick before reducing it to ashes. Staring at the endless stretch of the river before him, Eren mused to himself, "Arthur and Isen have been at each other''s throats for ages. They require only a slight provocation to trigger their bitter enmity. So it''s no surprise they''re at it again." He squinted his eyes. A new revtion dawned on him. "But...I never saw thising. The butcher''s ties to the Layos Kingdom will ruin his poprity in Edinburgh. What was once deemed freedom fighting will now be viewed as foreign machinations." A humorless smile twisted Eren''s lips as he sighed. "It seems rumors can gain traction regardless of their factual uracy. And I''m sure people will believe anything that appeals to their logic." Nysa furrowed her brows in confusion, unable to understand Eren''s words. "I don''t understand...Why do you care if the Butcher''s reputation is affected by recent events?" Eren''s expression turned distant, his lips pursed in contemtion. He gazed up at the expansive blue sky above them before responding. "Hehe. You''re right. It''s not my concern. It''s not my concern at all." Eren let go of his unofficial title''s fate with a dismissive wave of his hand. He scratched under his ear, then tugged at his earlobe quickly before speaking further. "As for your question, Nysa, I suggest you join the frontline. Believe it or not, you''ll be safer there than within the kingdom hunting the half-bloods." Nysa was perplexed by Eren''s advice. "Why do you say that?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Eren answered immediately. "Arthur is driven by emotions. He should have focused only on Layos, even if he wanted revenge for Jason''s death. Going the extra mile to hunt half-bloods will waste a lot of his manpower. What''s more? Some things are better left undisturbed. Blood Punisher Force operates independently and won''t tolerate Arthur''s interference." Eren leaned against the deck''s railing, enjoying the fresh breeze on his face. He tapped his fingers on the wood before continuing, his mind wandering to Reva''s sudden disappearance just before he could finish her. "Secret forces are difficult to control. And istion from society changes people. Those in secret forces may even plot against regr rankers if forced to work with them." He paused for a moment before adding. "And half-blood forces have be even more dangerous with their space-element runes. They''re like cheats that escape almost any dangerous situation. I am betting half-bloods will y spoilers in the war. They will make the most of these turbulent times. Plus, they won''t be as afraid to leave their woodwork anymore. Thanks to those runes, they will not be afraid to use kamikaze attacks with those runes as their safety." Eren easily deduced how Reva Rain escaped him from the battlefield after the Last Blood Bastion disappeared. He nced down at his right hand, where Sansara World 2.0 tattoo briefly appeared before vanishing. He realized he needed to ask Maya how JJ had utilized Sansara Sage''s knowledge. Eren wanted a cheat code like that for himself, as he knew Sansara Sage''s knowledge would be a game-changer. Eren also understood that Sansara World had more applications than he initially thought, and Edgar discovered a groundbreaking way to use it. Eren had many projects waiting for him, but he couldn''t work on them while in the capital. He had to wait until themencement ceremony was over and leave the city. Maya managed to escape Sansara World just before its detonation. She appeared inside Sansara World 2.0, which Eren won after obtaining Sansara Sage''s legacy. Eren was relieved that he had made a deal with Maya and destroyed Sansara World. He knew the Duke would have been on his tail otherwise. *** "Eren!" Nysa''s voice interrupted his thoughts. Her expression was tinged with annoyance. Eren''s attention shifted to Nysa, who was dressed in a striking blue sundress thatplemented her light blue hair. The dress featured a wide neckline and exposed her shoulders, with abstract patterns near the wrists of the sleeves. The dress hugged her curves perfectly and added elegance to her appearance. Her ck stockings reached her ankles,pleting the look. Eren couldn''t help but notice how her hair danced in the wind, adding to her beauty. "Why are you ignoring me like that?" Nysa repeated her question, her eyes still fixed on Eren. "Keke. I''m sorry. I was off on a tangent after listening to your report. My bad. Anyway, What were you saying?" Nysa sighed when she witnessed Eren''s uncaring attitude. She took a long breath before repeating something she had just said. She told him that she would keep him informed about Arthur''s movements and that she expected to be sent to the front lines after themencement ceremony. Nysa inquired if she could leave after providing Arthur''s information as requested. Eren responded with a smile and a chuckle. "Of course. But why are you hurrying to leave? We still have an entire day ahead of us. Let''s make good use of our time shall we?" Eren vanished with a bolt of lightning and reappeared in front of Nysa. He drew close to her face and whispered in her ear. "You know, I can''t send you to the front lines without you getting something very significant from me. Something you really need. Call it a pre-graduation gift." Nysa was taken aback by Eren''s sudden approach but weed his proximity. She breathed in his scent and savored it as she asked dazedly. "And... what would that be?" Eren wrapped his arms around Nysa''s waist before she could finish her question. With a smirk on his face, he whispered in her ear again. "Dicking. You need some good dicking, Nysa darling. Something that will blow your mind and make you forget everything about everything. Tell me... are you interested in such an experience?" Chapter 1195 The Underwater Ship* Freya disappeared from the onlookers'' sight. Eren''s ship, sailing through the River Lithe, sank deeper into the water until it reached the river''s bed. Despite the ship''s descent, a giant air bubble surrounded it, keeping water out. This bubble allowed an unobstructed view of the underwater world. Eren''s water-element attainments allowed him to control the nature of the water around him. His thoughts molded it ording to his needs. He did not need any spells to create the air bubble but relied on his attunement to water to prevent it from entering the ship. This was an exciting opportunity to explore the underwater region, a world less explored by the citizens of Edin. However, the only two passengers onboard Freya didn''t seem to be very interested in the unique tour they were having. The sky was bright and cast a warm glow over the underwater world, illuminating it spectacrly. The light rays entering the water created an abstract disy of art, twisting and turning as they danced around the ship. The schools of Blood Fire Sardines that swam around the ship added to the mesmerizing disy. These Sardines had a unique ability, which gave them their name. Their bodies were coated in red-colored, liquid-like mes, which they could cast with their inherent spell. As they explored the deep river, their fiery appearance contrasted with the cool blue hues of the water. As Freya sank, the Red Fire Sardines surrounding it grew curious about their new guests. They circled the air bubble, but their instincts prevented them from entering the ship''s sphere of influence. However, some of the sardines in Eren''s bucket sensed they were getting closer to the water and began using some kind of magic to grow wings on their backs. They flew towards the river water, trying to escape Eren''s fish bucket. These wings were peculiar, manifested using the fire element, but with a fluid-like quality that gave them weight and mass. A sign that some Blood Fire sardines had leveled up and had unlocked elemental fusion was evident. The elemental fusion of fire and water, no less. Achieving a fusion between opposite elements such as fire and water was an almost impossible feat for a normal, sane ranker. It required extensive training and mastery of both elements and even then, sess was far from guaranteed. However, the Blood Fire Sardines that Eren had caught achieved this fusion seemingly effortlessly, leaving the rankers in awe of their abilities. As some of the fish that Eren had caught managed to escape, they swam away and disappeared into the crowd of their own kind, as if they had nned their escape right from the moment they were caught. The rankers who should have watched this episode of Escape to Survival were too preupied with exploring each other''s bodies and indulging in their desires. Their bodies were entwined with each other, sharing body warmth. Nysa hummed with pleasure as Eren kissed her passionately, his hands exploring her body and making her increasingly aroused. She forgot about her ranking status and magic, losing herself in the moment and enjoying her man''spany. Eren allowed some water to enter the bubbles. He created a giant water bed using Freya''s deck carpet as its foundation. Eren pushed Nysa onto the water bed beforeying on top of her, groping her delicate parts and making her moan. Nysa tried to process her transformed reality, her rational mind struggling to make sense of her intimate encounter with Eren. It was something she never imagined happening before the graduation event. Eren chuckled at Nysa''s confusion and said, "Identities are malleable Nysa darling. And in their malleability lies their uniqueness. No two souls are the same." Nysa''s body trembled at Eren''s touch. She could feel his desire for her as he explored her body, leaving her wanting more. Their conversation was interrupted by the intense sensations overtaking her. Eren knew he needed to convey his thoughts to her in a way that was easily understood. With a mental connection, Eren conveyed his thoughts to Nysa. He exined that while souls are unique and constantly changing, there can never be absolute certainty in predicting others'' actions. One can only try to understand people. However, what they were doing now was getting to know each other, and they were off to an excellent start. As they explored each other''s bodies, the Red Fire sardines swam around them, their mes casting a warm glow on the water bed. The fusion of fire and water in these fish was a testament to nature''s power and magic. Eren''s touch became more intimate as he pressed Nysa''s breasts and kneaded them into shapes he liked. She moaned softly as he trailed kisses down her neck, his hands roaming over her body. Eren increased his exploration pace and intensity. He reached near Nysa''s groin and inhaled the sultry scent it exuded. He licked Nysa''s pussy over her clothes. With his fingers and lips pressed against the mounds, he massaged her vaginal entrance intimately. "Aaaaaaah. Yessssss!" Nysa was struggling to handle the sensations she felt at the moment. She moaned intermittently as Eren touched her intimately. Eren''s head was between Nysa''s thighsa" his face staring at her wet cave. He pulled her drenched panties to the side and explored the wet cave delicately with his fingers. Eren''s tentacle-like fingers came into y and Nysa lost all control of herself. She grabbed Eren''s head and rubbed his face on her pussy. The butcher discovered that Nysa was a squirter as she released all her love juices onto him. This was at the same time the tip of his tongue licked her pussy crack. ''Wow. She should have been a water-element ranker with such thick and substantial produce.'' Eren chuckled. He didn''t have to wipe his face. He channeled lightning streaks through his body and got clean. Eren and Nysa both knew this was not over. Nysa also channeled her mana through her body and rejuvenated herself with new vitality and vigor. She looked at Eren provocatively, inviting him to ravish her some more. Chapter 1196 Sculpture* Nysa and Eren learn about each other quickly. At this moment, Eren and Nysa were free to let go of their inhibitions and explore each other fully. They got to know each other in a way that stretched beyond surface-level conversations and into their desires. The fusion of fire and water in the Red Fire Sardines reminded them that anything was possible. This was if they were willing to let go and trust in the universe''s magic. The couple''s preconceived notions of each other faded away as they let their impulses guide their actions. Eren''s words reverberated in Nysa''s mind, making her realize he was right. Their identities were malleable, and they could be whoever they wanted at this moment. Eren got on top of Nysa again. He kissed and licked Nysa''s exposed neck, savoring her skin. He pinned her hands on the water bed with his own, his fingers wrapped around her petite wrists. She writhed in ecstasy, lost in the sensations overtaking her. The spatial fabric around the ship shifted as Nysa''s mental state affected air bubbles and let water in. Some spatial manifestations damaged the ship as well. ''Um Maybe blowing her mind is not the best idea. This thirsty virgin will wreck my ship if she loses control.'' The old Scrooge in Eren decided to control his actions as he raised his head and looked around. He didn''t want to spend a lot of money on Freya''s repairs. After all, Edin shipbuilders charged a premium. However, it was toote for Nysa. mes of lust surrounded her. And it looked like it was her destiny to keep burning in them until the mes retreated on their own. "Aaaaaaaaaa! Eren. I''ming." Nysa came for the second time. Eren''s stretchable fingers and extremely agile tongue could only be called godly by her. She did not know how Eren stretched and extended his fingers and his tongue in such a manner. But she didn''t care. During her multiple orgasms, Nysa was only interested in bathing Eren''s face. Eren allowed Nysa to breathe. Hey beside her and looked at her smiling. The underwater world provided the couple with a different kind of calm. It had a recuperating effect of its own. Underwater currents were the only constant on the river bed. Therefore, Nysa''s moans and breathing were more clearly audible. "Keke. That''s enough rest, Nysa darling. Time for the next round." Eren announced before getting on top of Nysa. Just as Eren said, Eren made her forget about all her problems. She would have a hard time remembering her full name and background if somebody asked about them at this point. Nysa closed her eyes and moaned as Eren kissed her neck, his lips trailing down to her corbone. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin, and the touch of his hands on her body sent shivers down her spine. Nysa kissed Eren''s free hand. Burning to get more of him, she sucked his fingers and licked his palm. He tasted like the smoke released by the Sativa Stick and desire, and she couldn''t get enough of him. "You devil what What have you done to me? I aaaah... I will not let you leave until you do something about my hunger for you." Eren chuckled in his head when he heard Nysa''s unwillingness to part with him. It looked like she wouldn''t let Freya out of the water until she was satisfied. This was when he hadn''t even activated the Mist of Lust. One could say that she was losing herself in the Sin of Lust''s passive effect. The butcher would have to say goodbye to Freya if he used the Mark of the Seven Sins: Sin of Lust actively on her. He was sure that Nysa''s wild and uncontroble space-element attainments would give his ship a sea burial it didn''t deserve. "I''ll not go anywhere, darling. I promise. I''ll cure you. Trust me." Eren whispered in Nysa''s ears as he reached between them and rubbed his palm on herdy mound. Her dark blue satin panties were soaked in love juices. Her sundress was spoiled by it. It had a clear wet patch on its frills. *** Hindrance. Clothes hindered Eren''s expedition. Therefore, orange mes were ignited out of thin air and enveloped the couple in their embrace. When these mes vanished, they took away most of the clothing worn by both rankers. "Cure me? Yes. You have to cure me. You aaaah you were the one to infect me in the first ce." Nysa threw her hesitation away and let it take flight with the escaping Red Fire sardines. She spread her legs and weed Eren''s touch before wrapping her legs around his waist. She locked her arms around his neck and allowed him to do whatever he wanted with his body. Eren was in his birthday suit. Nysa''s innerwear was left on her, still covering her intimate parts. Her stockings also survived the fire started by the butcher. It was clear that they were deliberately left at their ce. Nysa''s tempting body gave Eren more area to work on. He decided to take things slow until Nysa controlled her desires. He paused briefly and marveled at her aptly sculpted body. Nysa looked at Eren with unquenched thirst. Her breasts heaved up and down because of her deep breaths. The now-erect nipples made their presence known through hercy blue brassiere. They beckoned Eren to fine-tune them with his fingers and suck on them as if his life depended on it. "You''re like a living sculpture," Eren murmured, his voice filled with awe. "Every inch of you is so perfectly crafted, so breathtakingly beautiful." Erenpleted his woman as he explored her almost-naked body with newfound vigor. To enjoy her time with Eren, Nysa didn''t think she needed to be told she was beautiful. But his words managed to delight her anyway. Eren''s praise and admiring gaze encouraged her, allowing her to find true satisfaction in the sea of lust. Nysa weed Eren''s gaze on her body, teasing him by kneading her own boobs into her hands. Her eyes sparkled with peculiar light as she spoke in a sultry tone. "And you''re the one who makes me feel like a masterpiece." Chapter 1197 [Bonus ] "Things I Do For Love!"* Eren smiled as he watched Nysa''s actions with intrigue. He could see that Nysa was gettingfortable around him and with his touch. He trailed his fingers down Nysa''s arm, sending electric shocks through her body. She grabbed his free hand and ced it over herdy mound on her own. It was as if she was trying to crush his finger between her two legs. Using his finger, he explored her wet canal. And this was when her soaked panties were still on her. The scent of Nysa''s love juices permeated the air around her as she squirted on his hand. It wasn''t too different from Red Fire Sardines'' fresh and natural odor. The butcher had to say that all of Nysa''s pent-up desires attacked her all at once when they were given a chance to vent. It was as if a tightly packed suitcase spilled all the articles once someone tried to open it. Nysa demanded more control of the situation. She pulled Eren over her before rolling to her side. This time, it was her pinning him down. The butcher smiled and allowed Nysa to handle the situation. The space-element ranker looked into Eren''s eyes- lust clear in her eyes. She passionately sealed her man''s lips as she rubbed her body on top of him. She ced both his hands on her buns while rubbing her pussy against his erect rod. As they kissed, their bodies rubbed against each other, their desire building with each passing moment. The lightning tongues were generated from Eren''s fingers. They created a tingling sensation and destroyed Nysa''s soaked panties into nothingness. The next to get destroyed was Nysa''s brassiere. "Aaaaaaah! Why Why are you holding back? Eren fuck my brains out. Fuck me till I can''t move, I say." Nysa whispered in Eren''s ears as she nibbled on his ears. Her attainment of space elements twisted and elongated the ship''s deck railing as if rubber. The part of the deck that was elongated due to external influence could never return to its original positions after the manifestation of spatial attainments disappeared suddenly in the next moment. This resulted in it being destroyed into several tiny pieces. Wooden shrapnel plunged into the water waiting outside the ship''s sphere. The butcher gulped at Nysa''s wild aura. He sighed when he realized that he wouldn''t be able to keep Freya safe from Nysa''s unintentional attacks. He didn''t want to confront her and spoil the mood for both of them either. ''Just endure this for a while, Freya. I''ll try to minimize the damage.'' Eren talked to his expensive ship as if she could listen to him. If Freya could be personified, she would have braced herself for the horrors that were about to be inflicted on her despite her owner''s best efforts to protect her. In the next moment, lightning struck and Nysa found herself pressed below her man''s muscr body. Nysa used her hands to trace his chest and arms. She touched his erect member and started working on it. Her inexperience screamed through her awkward actions. But whatever shecked in experience, she made up for it with her sheer excitement alone. The couple indulged in forey for another time. There was a connection between theirpletely naked bodies and the entwined manifestations of their elemental attainments. Nysa let her space-element attainments express themselves unchecked around her. Eren expressed his elemental manifestations willingly to prevent Nysa''s attainments from damaging Freya too severely. These two expressions mixed with each other in the same way their casters did. Eren spread his soul sense and anticipated spatial distortions caused by the girl. He would then use his elemental manifestations to counter potential destruction. The butcher had to split his thought process into two to achieve what he was doing. One could say that he refined his elemental attainments while spending time with Nysa. Or rather he was forced to do so. ''Haash! The things I do for love!'' Eren sighed as he gazed at Nysa''s body. After ensuring Freya wouldn''t be destroyed by their session, the butcher activated his Ability. Mark of the Seven Sins: The Mist of Lust. Eren started rubbing his dick against Nysa''s wet cave, which drove her mad. Her nails dug deeper into his back. "I want it, Eren. I" Nysa''s eyes looked even more cloudy than before when Eren activated his Ability. The lust mana was summoned into the surroundings and entered Eren and hispanion. "Aaaaah. Don''t don''t tease" Eren didn''t need to be told twice. He lifted her leg and spread her legs wider. With his free hand, he caressed her cheeks and spoke seriously. "Look into my eyes as I rid you of your maidenhood, woman." Eren''s voice sounded like amand in Nysa''s mind. She looked into Eren''s emerald green eyes and found a world that worked on lust and desires. Her heart beat rapidly as she felt Eren''s scalding dick slowly enter her. "Aaaaaah!" Freya''s mast pir was destroyed when Nysa lost her virginity to Eren. Her uncontroble spatial attainments would have split the entire ship into two if it wasn''t for Eren''s elemental manifestations taking preventative measures against them. The butcher felt his bond with Nysa deepen when he prated her. He already branded Nysa when they were in Sansara World. But he found out that the bond they shared could only be solidified this way. And that branding was truly effective when done this way. Eren kissed Nysa passionately to prevent her from screaming more. He slowly drove his dick in and out of her bleeding wet cave while ensuring that the pain she felt was minimal. As he started drilling Nysa, Eren''s skills with space elements were deepened further. Nysa gifted Eren this gift for being branded by him, allowing him to advance in terms of space-element attainment by leaps and bounds. What''s more? Eren also started deepening his attainments in the Way of Fire and Water because of the dance of Red Fire Sardines taking ce around him. His spread soul sense and controlled elemental manifestations allowed him to make the right use of his time with Nysa. What started as a way to minimize Freya''s damage benefitted Eren in the end. He started understanding the elemental fusion of fire and water while iming Nysa''s gains for herself. At the same time, Eren also offered her some of his gains, enabling her to deepen her knowledge of the space element. A mutually beneficial interaction was thus established. Tap! Tap! Tap! Eren increased his speed when he realized that Nysa''s pussy walls were ustomed to his dick''s length. He was close to climaxing himself. So it didn''t take long for him to fuck Nysa with wild abandon. "Ah... Yes!" Nysa closed her eyes tight and cummed hard again. Eren''s dick and balls were bathed in her love nectar. The butcher grunted before cing his first load deep into her cunt as well. "More I want more." Chapter 1198 Doing A Good Job Despite Lacking Job Experience* "More I want more." Nysa looked at Eren with lustful eyes and demanded. Eren chuckled at Nysa''s earnest request. He caressed her pretty face and nodded at her before lying beside her. He beckoned her to get on top of him again. And the blue-haired girl took him on his offer as if her life depended on it. Lightning struck and Nysa sat on Eren''s face. She instinctively spread her legs. Nysa bent forward and took Eren''s shaft in her mouth, returning the favor done to her. A small tuft of light blue pubic hair suddenly became apparent. It sealed a sultry aroma and nurtured an acquired vor. Eren spread her vaginal lips and stormed his tongue across the vaginal crack. Lightning streaks danced on his tongue, giving Nysa the jolt she didn''t expect. Nysa, on the other hand, started sucking on his rod slowly but consistently. She also fondled his balls with her agile fingers. Nysa would remove Eren''s rod from her mouth before licking it clean with her tongue. She would then stroke it with her fingers again before swallowing it whole. One could say that Nysa did a pretty effective "job" despitecking job experience. It wasn''t long before she managed to get Eren to burst into her mouth, making it his second product of the day. Of course, she kept track. This time, Nysa bent the fabric of space around the couple as she found the much-needed control missing from the manifestations of her elemental attainment. When she felt her orgasm iing, she sat straight on Eren and bent backward. She ran her fingers through her hair and expressed her happiness to her heart''s content. "YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS! OH YEEEEEEES" Eren''s face was drenched with Nysa''s nectar again. Thanks to his slime-half-blood peculiarities, he was a miracle worker in oral sex. He had only slowed down because he was busy employing his soul sense to regte elemental manifestations around him. Nysa finally controlled herself after cumming up multiple times. Shey beside the butcher and hugged him. She looked at him adoringly before speaking up. "That that was awesome, Eren. I I''m ready when you are." Eren looked at Nysa like a freak. He had already retracted his Ability after using it once on her. Meaning whatever Nysa felt at the time came from within her, without external influence. Eren couldn''t believe that an inexperienced girl like her would have so much libido built up in her. He had a feeling that Nysa would make him take long breaks from work every time they met up from this point. ''This is the consequence of promiscuous living. One-woman men would never understand how challenging and taxing it is. They''ll never understand our pain.'' Eren sighed in his head once again. He was sure that single andmitted men would curse him forever for saying absurd things like this. They were ready to switch ces with him to experience his misery. That''s why he decided never to share his pain with such men. ''All I can do is work hard.'' Eren said to himself before lightning streaks surrounded him. In the next moment, Nysa found herself lying on her fours. Before she could understand what was happening, she realized her pussy walls were stretched from behind by Eren''s newly erect dick. "Aaaaaah! Bastard let me at aaaaah!" Tap! Tap! Tap! Since Nysa had controlled her elemental manifestations, Eren decided not to hold back anymore. He grabbed her waist from either side and gave it to her from behind, his stroke momentum increasing by the second. "Aaaah! Slow down." Nysa didn''t know her words would flip a switch in Eren''s head. Her pussy was still sensitive from herst orgasm. It wasn''t expecting a dog-style fucking right off the bat. As a result, Nysa had to endure the butcher''s selfish act until it pulled her into a trance. "Yesssss! Give give it to me. Harder faster!" Nysa started meeting Eren''s thrusts by pushing her ass backward. She bent down in a morefortable position and ced her head on the water bed. This gave Eren unobstructed ess to her pussy and ass. Eren pressed and pped Nysa''s ass cheeks as he fucked her good. Additionally, he stimted her puffy clit with his fingers. He smirked when he looked below, finding Nysa''s anal opening beckoning provocatively. Eren stimted Nysa''s anal opening with his fingers. Nysa, who was lost in her desires, wasn''t in the right frame of mind to object to Eren for his actions. Nysa was lost in bliss getting railed from behind by her man. She made no attempts to shush her voice. Instead, she used her voice to convey what she was feeling. "Yesssss" "Oh. aaaaaah deeper." "More. Harder Yesssss!" The butcher increased his dick''s length and girth enough to tense Nysa''s vaginal walls. However, he didn''t stop there. He changed the shape of his index finger and made it more slender and elongated. "Aaaaah!" Eren quickly dipped his finger into Nysa''s vaginal canal and used it as a lube before driving it inside Nysa''s forbidden hole. Nysa''s screams made his unannounced action apparent. She cursed at Eren with an ecstatic sound. However, she didn''t try to run away from the novel experience Eren provided her with. Instead, she embraced them by adapting herself to them. Eren appreciated Nysa''s adaptability. He summoned his me hatchlings and used them to bite on her nipples and thighs. Some me hatchlings licked her clit while others bit and licked her at various ces. Eren found the rhythm he wanted. By exciting Nysa on multiple fronts at the same time, he drove her into euphoric madness. She spoke his name as if it was an evocation of a spell with repetitive verses. ''This this is great.'' Eren said to himself, and he let himself be consumed by Lust mana willingly as well. He found himself in a special trance as he fucked Nysa with all the skills he had acquired in his two timelines. As Eren was immersed in his desires, his soul senseprehended the elemental fusion demonstrated by the Red Fire Sardines all around him. Unbeknownst to the butcher, his spirit beast also showed itself and started freely swimming in the river water around the ship. Chapter 1199 Another Compound Elemental Fusion Unlocked Eren''s spirit beast was a blue-scaled fish. It was a distinctive blue-scaled fish that resembled a salmon, except for its horned head andrge size. Measuring approximately a meter in length, the fish possessed a dainty physique and exuded an alluring aura when motionless. Its movements in the water were graceful and captivating to observe. The fish appeared to possess a body made of mana, yet its mana signatures resembled those of a living organism. One could only define it as a conscious fragment of the world''s will. The spirit beast would seek the Red Fire generated by the Red Fire Sardines before devouring it as if it was the most delicious fish food. Of course, the spirit beast didn''t hurt the Red Fire Sardines while devouring their mes. It seemed that the Red Fire Sardines could also understand that the spirit beast meant them no harm. And that he was part of something that bore no ill will toward them. As a result, the Red Fire Sardines started swimming around the horned spirit beast, offering him plenty of red fire to digest. And as the spirit beast shared a connection with Eren, the secrets behind the Red Fire''s creation were also being processed by Eren. By the time he ejacted deep inside Nysa, he had strengthened his fire-element abilities in a new way. The butcher also unlocked the elemental fusion of fire and water because of this unique experience. *** Fire and water were two opposing forces of nature. Unlocking an elemental fusion between them should have been impossible for a mere Expert ranker like him. Yet, Eren managed to do that, thanks to the conscious fragment of the world''s will. Eren was inspired by Red Fire Sardines'' inherent abilities. But what he unlocked was not a simple elemental fusion. Rather, it was apound elemental fusion. The butcher couldn''t achieve the elemental fusion of fire and water normally found in the Red Fire Sardines. He couldn''t follow their examples to a T. His elemental attainments as an Expert ranker were stillcking to fuse the two opposing elements together. Therefore, Eren introduced a third element into the equation that could act as a mediator between the two opposing elements and keep them together. Of course, this element was the space element. Eren''s space element attainments had just seen a huge boost, thanks to his mating with Nysa under Mist of Lust. Plus, his experience of unlockingpound elemental fusion was still fresh. This was something he had unlocked while dueling with Demonmir at the Edinnica Arena. As a result of all of these factors, Eren was able to unlock anotherpound elemental fusion for himself. One could say that Eren received another blessing from the river Lithe just by being near it. Eren''s spirit beast disappeared silently. It left no traces of its existence in the River Lithe. *** Freya was ruined. It almost looked like an underwater ghost ship with its torn furls, broken mast, and destroyed deck. The only two passengers aboard, however, were too busy to care about the ship''s well-being. Eren was seen lying on a water bed. Nysa rested her head on his chest, listening to his calm heartbeat. The butcher smiled, his eyes closed in deep thought. He had quietly absorbed his gains. When he thought he was ready, Eren raised his right hand and channeled his mana. A red me danced over his forefinger. This me had a higher potential than normal mes while carrying liquid properties. It was as if a droplet of water had been injected with condensed fire before being hammered to act like a me. Eren''s red me had an additional property. It could integrate itself with spatialyers, intermittently disappearing from the naked eye. Eren could tell that the newpound elemental fusion he had unlocked could y a significant role in countering the Endermes. His blue fire could absorb the heat, giving him a way of defending himself against the Endermes. Red mes, however, could be a viable offense due to theirbination of elements. Since they also included the Way of Water in their creation, these mes would be difficult to counter with water-based spells and attainments alone. Eren could use the two mes intermittently for his offense and defense. Or he could find a way to incorporate them together in his battle style. This would make him one of the greatest fire element specialists thend of Anfang had ever seen. Breakthrough into the Expert rank. Various Abilities and elemental attainments are obtained in the Sansara World. The Sage Legacies. Andstly, these fusion Red mes. The butcher had made a lot of progress since he left White Raven toe to the capital city. He needed to consolidate these gains at this point. Nysa felt the red aqua me''s distinct mana pulse and opened her eyes to learn about its origins. She was shocked to see Eren had unlocked apound elemental fusion for himself during their underwater time. Nysa could feel that Eren''s red mes were inspired by the Red Fire Sardines swimming around the ship. But they were not the same. She could also feel some familiarity with the me because of the way it incorporated the space-element attainments. "Those... those are my spatial attainments. How did you do that?" Eren smiled when he heard Nysa''s question. He chuckled before replying cryptically. "How indeed. Kekeke. I guess I''ll have to thank you properly for this." Eren dered before getting on top of Nysa again. Thetter weed him by spreading her arms, wrapping her legs around his waist again. The couple spent quite some time together, lost in each other''spany. Freya returned to the surface two days after her supposed disappearance, poor and battered. Eren and Nysa both received a notification message on their spectral screens when they decided to show themselves in Edin again. It was rted to theirmencement ceremony. The ceremony was to be held in a week and it was only natural that they''d be invited. Chapter 1200 [Bonus ] With Rights Come Responsibilities The capital city, Edin. Eren''s temporary residence, located in a rtively quiet sector of the city. Because he was one of the finalists for the graduation event, Eren was offered a ce to stay in the Edinnica district by Edinburgh. But since he had Nina, Levine, and Jiana with him, he rented this quiet vi instead. Nysa bid adieu to Eren after reentering Edin to meet Duke Arthur''s administrative panel to settle her contract with them. She would meet him again during themencement ceremony before she was deployed to the borders. Of course, it meant she had to enter the Lionheart duchy. Levine and Jiana had decided to settle their own affairs in the city. Jiana was a bona fide title holder. She had certain rights in the kingdom. And with those rightse responsibilities. Furthermore, Jiana was once a guild master of a healer-centric guild. She herself was an excellent healer as well. As such, her consultation would y a vital role in Edinburgh''s army deployment. Jiana would not only represent herself as a consultant in these meetings held by various authorities and departments within Edinburgh. Of course, she also represented the White Raven Guild. Jiana had been given a separate unit to run by Eren within the guild''s parameters. Whatever contracts and missions her unit takes will therefore be considered the contracts and missions offered to the White Raven Guild. Levine was busier than ever, thanks to Demonmir''s actions. His faction had lost its power. The demon had killed all the prominent members of his n who supported him. So the few survivors could only look at Levine as their next leader. Levine receivedplete rights to govern her weakened n. But at this point, she would have preferred apetitor who could take some of the responsibilities off her tter. House Montmorency was a prominent potion-making n. And it had rightful ims to some of its unique support-type potion recipes. These potions would y a significant role in the war. As a result, Levine was also asked to attend these war-rted meetings along with Jiana, representing House Montmorency as a whole. Levine lost manpower in Demonmir''s hands. And there was no quick way to fill the lost ces. So she could only rely on Eren''s guild and its manpower resources to ept kingdom contracts for her house. Meaning House Montmorency would ept kingdom contracts. And in return, House Montmorency would take White Raven Guild''s help in fulfilling those contracts and pay ordingly. Eren had asked the scissor sisters-- halfling Marie and snow elf Arizihana-- to take up these responsibilities in his stead. Marie was more than capable of handling anything and everything potion-manufacturing rted. Anything she couldn''t do herself, she knew how to get it done. Arizihana was the force needed to support Marie''s actions. Nina was rtively free these days. She was supposed to attend the war room meeting with Jiana because she was part of Jiana''s unit as well. But the elf healer gave Nina a free pass to skip these meetings and explore the capital city. This was Nina''s first time visiting Edin after all. Plus, Jiana knew Eren was close to Nina. So she kept Nina''s schedule free from such meetings. Nina had about a week or two before leaving the capital city with Eren to return to White Raven City. So the Master-ranked healer decided to explore the city on her own. Eren would join her whenever he got free time to do so. With the threedies out of the picture, Eren was left alone in the vi. He would have gone with Nina to keep herpany. But unfortunately, he too had virtual meetings to attend. One of the faction leaders of Last Blood Bastion, Sirius Fenris was about to call Eren regarding the recent developments. So the butcher couldn''t miss his call. One could say that two terrorists were about to talk over a spectral call. The only difference between them was Sirius'' terroristbel existed because of his known origins. In contrast, Eren was about to be celebrated by the kingdom of Edinburgh because of his known heroic acts but unknown vile deeds. *** Eren didn''t want to get involved in kingdom politics at any level. Therefore, he gave Jiana full rights to ept kingdom contracts and missions for her unit. She was asked to consult with Agatha regarding resource allocation, overall expenditure, and profits division. This was the reason Eren wasn''t looking forward to receiving a kingdom bonafide title for himself. After receiving such titles, title holders were expected to participate in the kingdom''s business in some capacity. Even rankers like Demonmir and Pdin of Pain were asked to be part of the pre-war meetings held in the capital city over thest few months. Eren knew that involving oneself in the affairs of the kingdom on any level was like walking into a quick-sand crater. This was because it was easy to get in but difficult to get out of. There were various factions and vested interests involved. It was difficult to make friends and easy to make enemies. Rather than political friends, Eren preferred paid allies he could count on. And he disliked making enemies. He would rather have his enemies not know they have enmity with him if he could avoid it. Arthur Renar was one such example. So the best way to ensure these two things was to stay away from kingdom matters. For these reasons, Eren would have declined Edinburgh''s title bestowment straightaway if he didn''t have his guild to rely on. If he was alone, his responsibilities would be his. But with his guild in the picture, he could assign his responsibilities to his guild. In short, Eren could enjoy all the perks thate with his title while his responsibilities as a title holder would be fulfilled by his guild. What''s more? Edinburgh will pay his guild for it. A win-win situation. Therefore, Eren had no reason to refuse the title bestowment. === AN: VEH has 1200 chapters and more than 1,370,000 words with this release. The in-story time skip I announced is approaching soon. From this chapter onwards, we will try to ce the character/ce/event art in the chapters''ment sections. Thank you and stay tuned. ;) Chapter 1201 Rules Of Intent-Driven Magic Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The flying weapon attacks of a certain green-eyed ranker created a storm around him. Eren was refining his weaponprehension skills in the dedicated space of his rented vi. He erected a barrier and practiced handling various weapons, one after the other. Although he preferred practicing his ranking technique, the butcher had to deal with the fact that his Rootless technique did not cover anything rted to his current rank. Practicing a lower-ranked technique would be a waste of time for him now. Fortunately, Eren could rely on his slime bloodline powers to progress in his ranking status. This was as long as he had the necessary "nutrients" after a set interval. And quite frankly, absorbing those "nutrients" was the fastest way for him to progress in any aspect of his life. Thus, he was not desperate to find a suitable technique for himself and stuck to the Rootless technique even if it was practically useless for him. Of course, Eren had ns to create a custom Rootless technique for himself based on his previous experiments and experiences. He wanted to create a ranking technique he could practice anywhere, anytime. The same as Steve''s Body Strengthening Art. But he knew it would require a lot of time, so he put that thought on the back burner for now. Eren was practicing weaponprehension because he had spent thest few hours studying a runic stele given to him by Sage Lufthansa. He really liked using Unlimited Knife Works while he was inside the Sansara Sage. The runic stele did not contain weaponprehension for knives and daggers alone. Rather, one could call it the mostprehensive book on Anfang that covered almost every weapon type, making it Unlimited Weapon Works. The runic stele offered by Sage Lufthansa would unlock an ability for Eren, provided he practiced the weaponprehensions dictated by the runic stele. Though the ability he unlocks might differ from Sage Lufthansa''s ability, as long as Eren follows the runic stele''s directions, he could make the most of the variousprehensions he had robbed from multiple enemies. Eren remembered how Demonmir overpowered him using his Dual Axe Art. He was not narrow-minded and recognized his enemies'' exceptional skills, such as Demonmir''s axe mastery. Eren saw Demonmir fight Crimson Ghost, Altair Argas. The fact that Ottoman could survive against a Grandmaster ranker like Altar spoke a lot about his caliber as a demonic ranker. Eren''s current weapon of choice was a double-bitted broadaxea" a transcendent-gradebrys. It had two des on either side. The runes on the weapons exuded a faint light from time to time as the butcher operated on his weapon. ''Intent!'' A word sprang into Eren''s mind as he kept swooshing his axe around him like a juggler who wanted to get paid handsomely for his performance. Even though he had sealed most of his ranking powers, the weapon itself was so heavy and magically enhanced that it cut through the air with sharp sounds. The flying wind shes he generated around himself carried heavy wind pressure and threatening piercing power. All this while, Eren encouraged his thoughts to go astray on their own. ''Developing an intent is key. I need my own Intents. An Intent for each weapon type in the future. Something that will help me maximize my moves'' lethality.'' If the ghosts of Eren''s previous enemies were here, they would have been mad at Eren for wanting to level up his deadly weapon-handling skills even further. They would have been more scared of him at this point watching him handle a variety of weapons than if they were alive. Andstly, they wouldment his future victims, thinking they had it easy in their prime. Eren''s Labrys disappeared from his hand. In its ce appeared a pair of swords - Rigor Mortis set. This set was a gift from his army days. The swords released waves of Purple Reaver all around him as soon as they appeared in his hands. They generated such potent andpressed lightning sh attacks that the walls of the isted space and the erected barrier struggled to prevent any damage to the surroundings. ''A person''s emotions y a significant role in developing an Intent. A man whocks emotional depth cannot wield any form of Intent to its fullest potential. The fire and foremost requirement for intent-driven magic is that one must feel. One has to feel a wide variety of emotions and then learn to harness them in such a way that they seep into their magic.'' The next weapon to appear was Anduril. It was a pair of swords he received from the Titus tournament. Alephee went above and beyond to up their rank and quality to match Eren''s current needs. A sea of Invi ze was summoned when Eren operated with these swords. The flying weapon shes burned everything they touched. The attacks couldn''t be seen with the naked eye and generated mes when they hit the target. As such, only orange and yellow mes could be seen flourishing around the butcher. ''Even demon magic requires emotions. The demonic rankers need to cultivate their emotions in such a way that they be the rules of their emotions and not the other way around. Mastering control over their emotions, keeping them on a tight leash when you don''t want them to wander off. It''s also about letting them run free when you want them to. The rules of Intent-driven magic are easy to exin and understand. However, they are difficult to implement. Can one truly control their emotions?'' Eren asked himself this as he continued his practice. The water-element-infused red mes also appeared in the surroundings when Eren incorporated them into his attacks. These red mes immediately devoured all the other mes and dominated them. It was clear that they had a much higher damage potential than normal mes. They were also difficult to douse withmon water element spells. Eren was the sole witness to the isted destruction caused by him. He watched his attacks manifest around him with the eyes of a passerby, his thoughts wandering off somewhere. ''My Sin Series Abilities are not an exception to these rules either. The more emotions I harness, the better my Abilities'' effects are if I added my Intent to them. And the worse control I have over my emotions, the more I will suffer in using them.'' Chapter 1202 Acquiring Unlimited Weapon Works And Weapon Intent Anduril disappeared from Eren''s hands after a while. His Dagger Arts weaponprehension kicked in when he held Diceros'' set in his hands. In the next moment, a series of piercing and sharp flying weapons attacks wreaked havoc inside the istion barrier. Some flying weapon attacks were concentrated at an illusory point of mass, giving them exceptional piercing potential. The other types of attacks released by the Diceros set were so brutal and deadly-- they could butcher a bunch of Adept rankers'' bodies in seconds, turning them into minced meat. Eren let his mind wander off to wherever it wanted to be. He operated on autopilot while handling his weapons. After such a long time handling them, he developed core muscle memories. There were some crucial reflexes that were unique to him. As such, he could think of various topics while practicing weaponprehension. Eren let go of the Anduril swords all at once, and they disappeared into thin air before they could hit the ground. A solid runic rod appeared in Eren''s hands which he gripped with both hands. The water-element runes etched over the rod came to life as Eren channeled his mana into them. In the next moment, a hammer head made of water-element mana appeared out of thin air. Eren was unable to adapt to a specific Weapon Arts for his hammers. He could only handle it effectively because he had digested some of his victims'' gains and experiences. All he did at this point was make those experiences more his own. Basically, he was busy creating his own Hammer Arts. The water-element hammer head and handle grew to absurd levels after a while. The butcher used his victims'' experience and weaponprehension to operate the hammer. Eren decided to go with the flow when it came to weapon handling. The size of his hammer got excessively big at one point, sending threatening mana pulses. In the next instant, the size reduced drastically, allowing him to move his hammer suddenly while moving it around. This was the weapon art Eren had absorbed from KristaC an ether-sub element elf member of Blood Punisher Force who he had fought with some time ago. Eren couldn''t extract aplete Weapon Art from Krista. So he filled the gap with his own understanding. Eren applied his newly acquiredpound elemental fusion to the hammer after a while. Alephee had modified the weapons to allow him to do so. As a result, the weapon started harnessing fire-infused water and looked like it had been dipped in a pool ofva. It started having fire and water element mana properties. The attacksunched underpound elemental fusion were heavier andpressed with more mana. One could tell they could not be countered using simple anti-fire spells. Plus, they were difficult to dodge because of their spatial maniption. Eren carried on with his inner monologue as his hammer sted everything around him. ''Intent! Demonmir had used an Intent against Altair to bridge the gap between their powers. That''s how he survived. His weapons hummed with distinct intentions. I could feel their Intent with my soul sense. Demonmir didn''t use the same Intent on me. I don''t think he held back because I was an Expert ranker. That''s not his style. It never will be.'' Eren was retrospecting his fight with Ottoman in his head. He liked to learn all the things he could make use of whether they were from his allies or enemies. The butcher had a feeling that even if he was a Master before the time of shing with Demonmir, the chances of him actually killing Demonmir were low. He could have defeated the guy just fine. But killing him was a different matter altogether. Eren also considered Demonmir''s fight with Altair while retrospecting the Edinnica battle scene. The rankers present were in awe of Altair''s ferocity as he killed Grandmaster rankers like nothing. The crowd had cheered for Altair again because he had manhandled the most hated traitor in Edinburgh''s historyC Demonmir. But what the butcher focused on was not the Grandmaster ranker but the man he fought at the time. ''Demonmir''s sh with Altair. Not just weapons and overall offense. Demonmir could use his demonic Intent to bolster his defense as well. He used Intent when fighting against Altair because he needed it the most at the time. Without his demonic Intent supporting him, he would have been burned to death by Altair''s attacks. It means that Intent can''t be used always. Demonmir had certain limitations or apprehensions about using Intent. It confirms a few things for me. Or rather, they are my assumptions based on my experiences. But I think they are true for the most part.'''' Eren stopped suddenly and closed his eyes to digest the practice he had been doing for hours on end. Since he had sealed his ranking status, his body sweated a lot. He breathed hard and his heartbeat was still high. The butcher came up with a conjecture rted to harnessing Intent. ''First, Intent can recede. Emotions can''t always be at their peak all the time. Thus, the Intent that is derived from them follows the same logic. Intent can exhaust after being used for a certain amount of time. And there''s no fixed countermeasure to prevent it from happening. Second, Intent can only be fully utilized when one feels an urgent need to A life-and-death situation is an ideal scenario to use Intent. Third, post exhaustion, Intent can only replenish after one takes a time off. And no amount of potion or other means could reduce the required time. Overall, intent-driven magic is very potent and radical. Its groundbreaking powerups and unpredictability stem from the very emotions users harness in their magic.'' Eren stood still with his eyes closed as he processed various thoughts. His emerald green eyes shone when he opened them and looked straight. With a smile on his face, he took out Diceros Left and Right once again. Eren applied his dagger Art to operate his katars. But his moves started having agility boosts as he kept on moving them around him. Slowly but surely, the agility of his weapon handling increased to an absurd level. Eventually, the istion barrier was destroyed because it couldn''t counter Eren''s attacks anymore. Unlimited Weapon Works! Eren made Sage Lufthansa''s Ability his own. What''s more? His Intent also revealed itself. Chapter 1203 Obscuring The Prophetic Visions Alephee walked inside the practice hall when the istion barrier was destroyed. She wore a simple and sophisticated ck dress. The homunculus walked slowly but bridged the difference between her and Eren in the blink of an eye. It was as if the fabric of space and time helped her close the distance. Alephee looked at Eren and smiled bitterly. Hey t on his back, his eyes staring into the void. He had managed to empty all his mana storage in these few hours, attesting to the intensity of his training. Eren looked worn out but his presence had a certain edge that wasn''t there before. Of course, like always, it wasn''t obvious unless someone really knew Eren well. Alephee could tell that Eren had achieved another breakthrough. She knew that his Intent could only refine if and when he understood the concepts behind it on his own. She was d Eren understood such a simple truth and did not pester her for favors. Eren looked in Alephee''s direction, asking her purpose for being here. As far as he knew, she was busy exploring the capital city as well. Of course, she did so in her own way. She explored the city by making a three-dimensional spectral model of it. It allowed for real-time activity tracking of all significant people. "You need to fix yourself, Eren. Sirius is waiting for you." A tiny potion bottle was thrown by Alephee toward Eren and thetter caught it effortlessly. The butcher uncorked the bottle and drank the shiny concoction held within it in a matter of seconds. In the next instant, his depleted stamina and mana were recovered to a sufficient degree. "It''s about damn time." Eren said before channeling his mana throughout his body. In the next moment, he disappeared from his position, using Blink in such a way that it would put most space-element rankers to shame. Alephee stared at the ground where Eren previously was. At his previous ce were a few residual lightning sparks and red-orange mes. The homunculus smiled looking at the lightning sparks before thinking to herself. ''He he is growing rapidly. Even more, than I expected him to be. I have to hide his existence from those damn "prophets." Otherwise, there''s a chance they''ll find out about this little world.'' Alephee summoned her grimoire and looked at it intently. By adding more pages to her grimoire, she had been doing her absolute best to add anotheryer of protection for Eren ever since he broke into the Expert rank. Alephee knew that the more Eren grew, the more prophecies about him were going to resurface in worlds controlled by certain gods. She couldn''t stop those prophecies froming to light. But she could make them as obscure as they could be so that the gods wouldn''t be able to locate Eren''s existence. Eren''s existence needed to be protected from all seers, diviners, Oracle givers, and soothsayers at all times. This was going to be an upheaval climb for her in her own way. If Alephee had some of her previous powers, doing these things wouldn''t have been too big a deal for her. But at her current level, she had to spend quite a lot of time and effort to achieve the same results. Alephee narrowed her eyes before concluding. ''The Perfect Paradox isn''t enough anymore. It prevents me from progressing ahead of him. I need to grow stronger than him so I can protect him.'' Alephee felt a sense of urgency for some reason. Because of the reaction she received from the time-element runes written in her grimoire, she could sense that something or someone was trying to learn about the Elder Ichor''s inheritor. She kept Eren under a veil of secrecy all this time. But she knew she needed to step up her game the more Eren grew individually. Still, Alephee knew it was better to let him grow at his pace than worry about potential threats. It would be counterproductive to halt his progress just so that he could stay hidden. ''Hehe. "He" couldn''t have asked for a better inheritor The version of him in due time, he''ll even devour those gods without letting out a burp.'' Alphee chuckled before disappearing from her ce as well, emptying the practice hallpletely. *** Alephee appeared sitting beside Eren as he reclined on a plush sofa. She crossed her legs and looked ahead, staring at Sirius'' live spectral rendition standing in front of them. "Hm? Eren, who might this youngdy be?" Sirius asked while looking at Alephee with vignce. He didn''t know that there would be a third person involved in their talks. Eren rotated his wrists clockwise and anticlockwise while responding. "Someone I can trust and count on. Don''t worry about her. Tell me Grandmaster Sirius, what''s happening in the Last Blood Bastion? And are we still in business?" Alephee had a stoic expression as she looked at Sirius. But hearing Eren''s words made her mouth break into a smile for a fraction of a second. Sirius looked at Eren and Alephe intermittently for a while before answering. In the end, he sighed and let the matter go before answering. "Well the Last Blood Bastion wants to add fuel to the fire lit by the war between the two prominent members of the Anfang Alliance. As such, we desperately need your weapons and potions." Sirius admitted honestly. He knew Eren''s weapons and potions were a ss apart for the price and quantity they were offered at. Plus, the Last Blood Bastion liked cing bulk orders, which was amitment not every organization could fulfill. Sirius then looked at Eren worriedly before voicing his concern carefully. "Theseing years will be hectic for many of us. It will be like a slow-brewing storm that does more damage over time than any natural cmity. To be honest, I, on behalf of the entire Last Blood Bastion, would very much appreciate it if we remained in the business. Of course, we would do everything topensate you for your efforts. Rather, I was more worried about YOU breaking business ties with us because" Chapter 1204 Basic Business Fundamentals "Rather, I was more worried about YOU breaking business ties with us because" Eren chuckled when Sirius trailed off. He shook his head and addressed the elephant in the room immediately. "Because you weed Demonmir into your fold?" Sirius nodded before shrugging his shoulders to show his helplessness in the matter. He knew Eren had been at odds with Demonmir for some time. His organization had taken Eren''s enemy under its wings and still wanted to do business with him. Anyone that knew how at odds Eren and Demonmir was would have assumed that Eren would break his business ties with the Last Blood Bastion as soon as Demonmir''s entry into the Last Blood Bastion was confirmed. This was a slippery slope. Because anyone in Eren''s position would interpret staying in business with the Last Blood Bastion as empowering his enemy in some form. And to some extent, that was true. The butcher scratched under his right ear before tugging at the earlobe as he spoke. He was here to put all those assumptions to rest. "Rest assured, Grandmaster Sirius. I won''t let my personal problems get in the way of my business. These are some of the basic business fundamentals." Eren''s words eased Sirius'' tense expression immediately. However, Eren''s next words put him in a metaphorical hot seat again. "That being said, I would like to know why I wasn''t informed of Demonmir''s entrance into the Last Blood Bastion." Sirius was about to answer Eren''s query immediately. However, he held his words in his mouth when he saw Eren raising his index finger, wanting to expound on what he was saying. "I get it. I''m sure taking Demonmir was House Lowin''s spontaneous decision. And that House Lowin might not have informed you beforehand. But" Eren narrowed his eyes to Sirius as he spoke seriously. "But the least you could have done was to make sure I was aware of these things as soon as I got outside of Sansara World. I think I deserve such exclusive treatment because of the help I provide to the Last Blood Bastion." Sirius was about to say something to Eren again. But he received another slight head shake from Alephee, telling him that Eren was yet to finish. "And I would appreciate it if you could tell me about Demonmir''s current status. What he doesC where he goesC where he is currently. That kind of stuff you know. Let''s just say we would all benefit from information sharing. They say that a business that only earns money is a poor business. And I agree with that statement. I think we both have earned ourselves a friendly connectionC I and House Fenris. I see a reliable ally in you. So I hope any information about Demonmir can be bought. Tell me your price." Sirius cursed Eren in his head for putting psychological pressure on him. He was d he wasn''t directly meeting Eren. Otherwise, answering his queries would have been harder. Eren didn''t use threatening words. He didn''t talk big. There was no tone of vengeance and dissatisfaction in his voice. On the contrary, his words were friendly andforting. They demanded business-rted obligations rather than favors. Eren was cold, callous, and uncaring when it came to manufacturing certain questionable goods that had the potential to cause unrest within society. He was friendly and approachable toward his potential clients and tried to be as flexible as he could be when amodating their needs. One could say that the butcher was a naturally gifted businessman. And dealing with a hard-core businessman was harder than dealing with a muscle-headed fool. Sirius stopped pacing around in Eren''s living space and stood still. He pondered a bit before speaking up. "Eren, you already know that the Last Blood Bastion has various faction leaders. And that members of one n normally don''t interfere in matters rted to the other n. So believe me when I say that my House wasn''t informed about Demonmir beforehand. Still, we could tell that House Lowin was nning something big. That''s because it wanted to step foot in the capital city at the time of the graduation event''spletion organized by the kingdom." It seemed that House Lowin didn''t get along well with the rest of the Last Blood Bastion factions. Eren noted this assumption as he let Sirius speak further. "We tried to contact you regarding a potential conflict. Fiona was also about to enter the capital city of Edin to establish contact with you in some way. But we could have never guessed that House Lowin wanted to steal Sansara World with its move. A move like that had to be approved by the higher authorities within the Last Blood Bastion. So the elders of my n decided not to establish contact with you." Eren understood the reason and asked immediately to confirm. "Because of my connections with Edinburgh?" Sirius nodded at Eren before continuing. "That''s right. It would have been much easier for us to keep you in the loop if you weren''t so closely working with the Kingdom of Edinburgh. Then again, we also understand your reasons for doing such a thing. We wouldn''t be in business had you remained an unknown ranker or be a cultist or a rogue ranker. So all we could do was act neutral to both sides. To be honest, House Lowin is known for taking stray yers. Sage Edgar is one such example. He was a rising star in Edinburgh before taking House Lowin''s offer and bing a half-blood. House Lowin sees Edgar''s seconding in Demonmir. It wants to repeat its sess using the same form. That being said, House Fenris indeed made sure your cooperation stayed a secret from anyone except the top brass. And Sage Edgar confirmed that House Lowin wouldn''t harm you during their mission to steal Sansara World. House Lowin was also supposed to contact you after its sessful theft of Sansara World. But everything the Last Blood Bastion had nned came undone when some freak blew the Sansara World up. We don''t know who that bastard is. But They managed to fuck everyone in the ass with his move." Chapter 1205 Embracing The Challenges ''Damn. How many people curse me these days?'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at Sirius'' spectral rendition. The people of Edinburgh, the infiltrators of Layos, and Edgar''s force didn''t know they had him to me for Sansara World''s destruction. But that wouldn''t stop them from cursing the imaginary him every chance they got. He felt the Last Blood Bastion had bet quite a lot on Edgar getting the Sansara World. The organization had decided to show itself out in the open for the first time in a while. It revealed its space-element rune as a Trump card. Andstly, it shook hands with Demonmir to make the most of the conflict between the two kingdoms. At this point, all three sides pointed fingers at each other behind Sansara World''s destruction. The butcher guessed that the Last Blood Bastion had taken a huge loss with the way they responded to Sansara World''s destruction. Eren felt that the Sansara World was treated as thest ray of hope by the half-bloods for some reason. And the fact that it was blown into smithereens right when they were about to get it was a huge confidence breaker for them. ''I don''t know what the fuck is so profound about Sansara World. But I better keep my involvement secret. All of them would go mad with rage if they found out I was the instigator behind detonating their prize.'' Eren sighed as he listened to Sirius'' report. He wanted to ask Sirius about the destroyed Sansara World''s importance to half-bloods. All so he could understand what Sansara World 2.0 was all about. However, Eren controlled himself from asking anything rted to the Sansara World to Sirius. Thetter knew him too well at this point. He would retrace Eren''s actions at the Edinnica battle if he got a hint that Eren was behind the Sage artifact''s destruction. Eren needed to find someone from House Lowin to understand what Edgar was after. Sirius told him House Lowin was supposed to initiate contact with him after Sansara World''s sessful theft. Eren''s mind churned as he thought of a possibility. ''House Lowin will contact me in a few days regarding scaling up business transactions if I am correct. It seems it will be one of the most active factions in Blood Bastion in theing years. So it wants to secure exclusive deals for itself. Instead of asking Sirius, I''ll ask House Lowin for some information. It''ll be safer for me this way.'' While Eren was busy with his ns, Sirius pondered a bit and sorted many thoughts in his mind before speaking up. "Anyway. Sansara World is gone. So there''s no point in discussing it anymore. As for sharing information rted to Demonmir it will be very tricky, Eren." Sirius paced around the spacious living room again with his hands behind his back. Eventually, he stopped himself and looked in Eren''s direction before continuing with a serious tone. "House Lowin has assured Demonmir of his safety. The guy is pretty knowledgeable when ites to the lost paths of magicC especially demon magic. Therefore, he will be treated as an asset by the entire Last Blood Bastion." Eren chuckled lightly when he heard Sirius. He shook his head in denial. "Of course he is knowledgeable. He has Samael''s demon soul fragment within him. But it is not supposed tofort you but to make you worry about his alternative motives." Contrary to what Eren assumed, Sirius agreed with his view immediately. "Of course, Eren. We all know that. And that''s the irony. You know how it is. House Lowin is confident of handling Demonmir. It believes it can do a better job than the Kingdom of Edinburgh. So it ignores all warnings. My faction''s loyalties lie with you. We believe that Demonmir is bad news for everyone. And that sooner orter he will try to take advantage of the half-bloods as well. Therefore, I''ll try to keep you updated regarding DemonmirC anything I can find about him. But frankly, I don''t want you to expect much. At least not anytime soon. Because Demonmir has gonepletely out of reach." Eren nodded at Sirius after getting a somewhat positive response from him. He decided to eliminate the "wild mushroom" as soon as possible. And he knew he couldn''t do that unless he had inside help from within the Last Blood Bastion. After settling matters rted to Demonmir, Eren, and Sirius began discussing their business deals. Sirius exined that many smaller factions within thest Blood Bastion count on House Fenris to provide White Raven Guild''s products. And therger factions like House Lowin also initiated contact with Eren or his guild regarding their own custom needs in due time. Plus, the Last Blood Bastion was also keen on tapping into the collective fund to do business with the White Raven Guild. The butcher was more than wee to get more customers and increase business for his guild. He offered Sirius bulk-order-rted discounts as well, ensuring the Last Blood Bastion a steady supply for years toe. Hours passed while the two sides talked and negotiated. Alephee was merely a witness to their discussions on the surface level. Eren would consult with her privately to protect his own interests. The butcher also involved Agatha in the discussion after the primary negotiations were finalized. She was summoned to Eren''s temporary abode like Sirius. The half-blood manager took over things from there, allowing Eren and Alephee to sit on the sidelines. When everything was settled, Agatha bid Eren goodbye before disconnecting the call. Sirius breathed relief after the consistent cooperation between the Last Blood Bastion and the White Raven Guild was finalized. "This was a productive day, Eren. I thank you for your understanding and cooperation with the Last Blood Bastion despite our differences in certain matters. I am also d that you were ready to meet with me while still in the capital city. I appreciate your guts for doing something like that. Haha." Eren smiled lightly and got up from his seat. His emerald green eyes glowed as he responded to Sirius in a calm and collected voice. "To be honest, I have no choice but to be bold. Be it business or life, I know that I will never reach my true potential if I limit my experiences to afort zone born out of routine. I have to outgrow the things that prevent me from growing. So I embrace the challenges that push me to be a better version of myself." Sirius nodded in agreement, impressed by Eren''s philosophy. With that, they ended their conversation on a positive note. Chapter 1206 Mending of the Heart Chapter 1206 Mending of the Heart As Eren concluded his virtual meeting with Sirius, he was ready to retreat to the solitude of the practice hall once more. But Alephee halted his departure with news of an unexpected visitor. "Eren, you might want to take some time off for your next visitor," she informed him. A smile spread over her face as she recognized the visitor from Eren''s memories. Alephee left Eren''s private chamber. Thetter raised his eyebrows and turned around. Lightning struck and the butcher followed Alephee outside. *** The upkeep of Eren''s rented vi and the surrounding property was entrusted to a group of servants, both mortal and low-ranked entities, who worked together to ensure that guests who paid a premium fee could experience the most opulent lifestyle that the capital city had to offer, without being of royal blood. A red-haired young woman dressed in finery appeared at the vi and requested an audience with Eren. The administration, unsure of how to handle a mortal visitor, made her wait in the garden under avish wooden canopy. It also informed Eren of her presence. Knowing that Eren typically didn''t interact with mortals and being concerned about the girl''s safety given her mortal status, the administration was hesitant to allow her to enter. Furthermore, the young woman was blind, with only a Rank-0 artifact to guide her. Her limited eyesight made it seem unlikely that she had any connection to the vi''s temporary owner. Despite their reservations, the red-haired girl was adamant in her request to see Eren, and the administration sought his approval before allowing her entry. As she waited under the canopy, the girl''s nk expression belied her determination. Although her eyesight was limited, she could still somewhat make out the vibrant beauty of the garden surrounding her - the towering evergreen trees, the lush shrubs, the giant red flowers, and the sparkling magical properties. Stone paths wove throughout the garden, leading visitors on a winding journey to nowhere in particr. The blind girl could not clearly see the magic that had been seeped into nature that was already magical, to begin with. She could only make out the shadowy details of her surroundings, thanks to the artifact. Her blindness prevented her from enjoying life''s colors in their truest sense. However, she didn''t seem bothered by herck of eyesight. There was a round table set under the canopy. And the young woman was asked to sit at the table. The wooden canopy overhead had small openings carved into floral and leafy patterns, allowing filtered sunlight to seep in. At 3 PM, the sun''s rays were bright but not scorching hot like they would be at noon. The sunlight and shadows seemed to be ying a game of peek-a-boo, and a gentle breeze caused the leaves to rustle, shifting the bnce in favor of the shadows. Despite being blind, the red-haired girl''s hair took on a peachy glow when illuminated by the sun''s rays. Her gray-blue eyes remained expressionless as they reflected the vibrant intery of light and shadow around her. Several servants stood near the canopy, appearing to protect the blind girl from harm. However, she did not mind the attention. "You may leave now." Suddenly, a girl in a Gothic ck dress appeared on the stone path leading to the canopy. Her authoritative voice and mysterious aura made the servants bow in respect as shemanded them to disperse. They did not question her orders as they were unsure of who she was. Approaching the canopy, Alephee purposely made noise to alert the blind girl to her presence. As soon as the girl turned towards her, Alephee noticed a change in her facial expression. The girl appeared stressed but hidden it with a smile. Just as she was about to get up from her chair, Alephee reassured her to stay seated. "No need to get up. Please remain seated," Alephee said in a weing voice. The blind girl was unsure of how to show respect to a ranker without standing up from her chair. However, she couldn''t refute Alephee''s orders. She cleared her throat and spoke gratefully. "Hello. I''m really sorry toe here unannounced and thank you for agreeing to meet with me. My name''s" Before the girl could finish introducing herself, Alephee chuckled and interrupted her. "Hehe. No need to introduce yourself either. We already know who you are. You''re Sara Stark." A visible shock spread over Sara''s face as she heard her name from Alephee''s mouth. But thetter didn''t pay any heed to her surprise and continued. "You can call me Alephee. We''ve been looking for you, and I''m d you found us first." Alephee''s weing and friendly words surprised Sara Stark, as she expected rankers to be more pompous when interacting with mortals. Sara was also puzzled by how Alephee knew her name and why they were looking for her. She had hoped to meet Expert Eren, who she heard lived there. Alephee looked at Sara curiously before smiling and turning to someone outside the canopy. "Why are you still standing outside and looking lost as if you butchered someone''s puppy by ident? Step inside, will you? She won''t bite." With a spatial distortion, Eren emerged from within, a few meters from the canopy. He looked lost for a moment but smiled genuinely. For the first time in a while, his smile didn''t signify the death of his enemies. "Keke. I wouldn''t be too sure of her not biting," Eren said, his voiceced with excitement and a variety of other emotions. He clenched his fists before stepping forward, wanting to rewrite his lost and broken history anew. This desire only grew stronger with each step. "With every stitch and every thread, A mending heart is slowly fed. Patching up the hurt and pain, Until the heart is whole again. The needle moves with gentle care, Each stitch, a symbol of repair. And though the heart may still feel sore, It will be stronger than ever before. So I let the mending start. With every beat and every part. For in the mending of the heart, I find a strength that sets me apart." Eren mused aloud as he walked up to the table. Taking his seat, he sat in front of Sara. With a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes, he greeted her as if meeting her for the first time. "Hi. Name''s Eren Elijah Idril. How can I help you?" Chapter 1207 Friendliest Form of Bullying Chapter 1207 Friendliest Form of Bullying "Hi. Name''s Eren Elijah Idril. How can I help you?" Eren asked as he stared at Sara with a genuine smile stered over his face that couldn''t be faked or wiped away. He was about to take the red-haired girl''s hand in his. His expressions were filled with greed and passion as he was about to touch her hand with the tip of his fingers. But p! But Alephee pped Eren''s hand away before looking judgemental. To her, Eren looked like he was about to steal a daily wage worker''s hard-earned money. ''Don''t freak her out at your first meeting, Eren. Remember, she doesn''t know you yet.'' Eren clicked his tongue and looked at Alephee annoyingly. But he also knew she was right. Retracting his hands from the table, he sighed. He ced them over hisp as he sat, clenching into his fists. It was apparent he didn''t trust his own hands to not pull off the same stunt when nobody else was paying attention to him. Sara didn''t notice the banter between Eren and Alephee for these few moments. She seemed lost in her thoughts. "Mending of the heart" Sara mumbled to herself as she reyed Eren''s poem in her head. She couldn''t help but be intrigued by them and their meaning. She forgot to answer Eren''s question. And she also forgot why she was here in the first ce. The red-haired girl looked at Eren fascinated before asking him. "That that was a very impressive piece, Expert Eren. Mind telling me how you came up with it?" Eren''s eyes lit up when he heard Sara''s question. He cleared his throat before answering her in a voiceced with all the humbleness he could muster, which wasn''t much, to begin with. "Keke. I am d you liked it, Sara. It''s nothing much really. It''s just something I made in passing. I have an entire collection of such pieces if you are interested. Some of my creations are more profound than others. One would really have to listen with their heart and soul to get the meaning behind them. I am not a singer. But perhaps I can read them to you when it''s just the two of us? I don''t know. Just saying." A solitary thought of being with Sara filled Eren''s eyes and voice. He stared at her with adoration in his eyes and voice. He didn''t pay attention to Alephee''s discouraging stare and carried on before sighing dramatically. "*Sigh. I am an artist, Sara, a true artist who is not meant to be caged by this world''s restrictions. Sadly, people don''t care about art and poetry these days. They are so focused on themselves that they forget the beauty of life happening all around them. But you you are different. And I''m d I met you. I found my audience in you. Let''s get outaaaaaa_ouch! What the fu" Alephee pinched Eren''s arm when he didn''t pay attention to her hints. They both sealed their ranking status to avoid hurting Sara in any way. As a result, Alephee''s pinch turned Eren''s skin red. Angry, the former looked at the homunculus and demanded an exnation. "He is indeed an outstanding artist, Sara. His artworks at Grim Pir Town are making headlines in Edinburgh these days." Alephee wanted to control Eren''s actions so he wouldn''t freak Sara out with his overenthusiasm. But thetter took that remark personally. "Hey! It''s on them. Not me. And you know what? Art can be anything. I don''t need to justify my artistic expressions just because they are an eyesore for some people who don''t understand art." Eren said while rubbing the area where Alephee pinched him earlier. Alephee''s displeasure could be seen on her nose. She narrowed her eyes at Eren before speaking privately again. ''I told you to keep your hands off her for the time being and you took it as a free pass to trap her in your web of words. Wow. Have you no shame or patience?'' Eren scrunched his nose and smirked at Alephee before responding. ''Patience? Shame? I ate them long back. They weren''t as tasty as people im to be. Ugh.'' Alephee sighed when she realized Eren could not turn off his "game" in Sara''s presence. It was as if his entire being wasing up with words and cing them in his mouth, making him say those things with unparalleled conviction. He was like a kid in a candy shop with a pocketful of Eddies to back his picks. Sara was bewildered by the behavior of two entities apanying her at the time. She could tell that the two had a lot of chemistry togetherC like siblings who always fight and support each other all the time. Still, Eren''s words worked their magic because they were spoken with unshakable intent. They made Sara smile as she responded. "Expert Eren." "Drop the "Expert" part. You can call me Eren." "But" "I wouldn''t listen to your requests until you called me by my first name." "That that would be a little" "I''ll press charges of treason against you if you don''t call me Eren." "What? I That''s that''s ckmail. And it doesn''t even make sense." "Call me Eren then. Simple as that." "Er Eren." "Keke. That''s more like it. We are off to an excellent start." "Hehehe." Sara couldn''t help butugh at Eren''s way of getting what he wanted from her. This was one of the friendliest forms of bullying she had evere across. She looked in Eren''s direction with a light smile before speaking up. "You you are so different from what I imagined you to be, Ex I mean, Eren. To be honest, I would love to listen to your poetry sometime." Sara took Eren up on his offer in the end. Despite everything said about the butcher these days, he gave her positive vibes. And she trusted her instincts. The blind girl tucked her red hair behind her ears and took a deep breath before voicing her request. "That being said, Eren" Chapter 1208 Down Bad Chapter 1208 Down Bad "Eren" Eren felt like his own name was a melody in itself when Sara pronounced it. To his ears, Sara''s voice sounded like an oriole singing in the spring forest. ''Boss, you are down bad.'' The butcher ignored Argo''s random chatter in his head. He raised his folded hands above the table and cupped his face with his palms as he listened to Sara''s request. "Eren, there''s so much I want to ask you. I would like some of my queries answered if you don''t mind. But first, I would like to start off with this question. I want to go to White Raven to meet my friend Katalina Reich. She''s almost like a sister to me. Would you mind if I apanied you when you leave the capital?" For mortals like her, traveling from one prominent city to another was unsafe. Especially when there was so much distance to cover between the two locations. Sara wanted to have some protection in Eren''spany. And the butcher was more than happy to provide it. Eren didn''t even care that he had promised La and Ivor that he would be in the city of Lancelot as soon as he wrapped up everything in the capital city. Or rather, thatmitment was erased from his head as he replied to Sara in a voice mixed with a little joy and a little flirt. "Mind? Why would I mind? In fact, I''ll kidnap you if you don''t willinglye with me." Eren received another arm pinch from Alephee when he finished his statement. At this point, Eren was prepared to get pinched. So he chose not to react to Alephee''s pain-inducing tactics. "Hehehe. Why are you like this?" Sara couldn''t help butugh out loud. By this point, she had understood that the Expert ranker sitting in front of her was flirting with her. She just didn''t know why. "Do you do this with every girl you meet, Eren? Or am I just that special?" Eren smiled when he heard Sara''s question and the way she asked it. He smiled back at her. Sara was starting to open up to Eren. And Eren was d she was. *** At this point, Eren had been with many women. In both of his timelines, he was as promiscuous as he wanted to be. So it was only natural that he would develop some notions of his own when dealing with a fairer gender. No matter how right or wrong they were when interacting with women individually. The butcher was convinced that a majority of women had no social skills. At least not in traditional sense. They would react passively to anything said to them. They just couldn''t add anything substantial to the conversation on their own. Most guys would have to carry the weight of such conversations for both of them when talking to such women. And there was only one fate awaiting those who carried such weight for a long timeC total exhaustion. Of course, Eren didn''t hold women responsible for such behavior. He just treated it as one of the unchangeable facts of life and carried on. Sara was different. Sara was a rare gem among shiny stones. She was a precious golden goblet sitting atop a mountain of treasure. Sara was witty and wise at the same time. She was very intuitive and smart. She had an excellent grasp of hernguage. She would get all the sarcasm directed at her. Not only that, she would reply to such sarcasticments with her brand of sarcasm as well. Her taunts were funny and piercing. Sometimes, even more than those directed at her. Sara could tten someone up with her words alone. But it was only applicable to those who got the meaning behind her words in the first ce. Speaking to Sara was like a fresh breeze for those she opened up to. When she really knew someone, she didn''t hesitate to talk about anything to them. No subject was off the agenda. No joke was off-limits. Sara could do all this while still retaining her exceptional feminine charm. She wasfortable in her skin and situationC which got reflected in everything she did or said. Only this kind of positivity could inject some life into Eren when he met Sara in his first timeline. When Sara opened up to Eren in the past timeline, Eren felt Sara was a strange creature, rarer than legendary-tier beasts and monsters. The butcher was never impatient. The chronic nner in him believed in working diligently towards his goals. He had followed this code of conduct since his new timeline began. But Sara''s face made Eren forget about patience. This was the reason Eren acted so enthusiastically around Sara. There was a part of him that wanted to find the chemistry between him and Sara as soon as he could. It was the same kind of chemistry he experienced in thest timeline. *** "Do you talk like this to every girl you meet? Or am I just that special?" Sara''s question wasn''t enough to faze Eren when he was in his game. He tilted his head before answering her yfully. "Hmm. I''m not just a smooth talker with girls. My best lines are reserved for those who truly catch my attention. So I can say you''re special, Sara. And I couldn''t resist making you smile." The butcher then pointed his index finger at Sara usingly before continuing. "So I can only me you. Are you always this charming, or is it just because you''re talking to me?" A tit for tat. Sara felt a strong urge to ask Eren if he was praising her or tooting his own horn. But instead of doing that, she chuckled before narrowing her nk-looking eyes to Eren fearlessly. "Well, I suppose it could be a bit of both." For some reason, Alephee felt like an unwanted guest the couple didn''t need in their house anymore. And this was when she served as the sole witness to most of Eren''s "escapades." But all this while, she never felt like a third wheel in Eren''s rtionship as she did at this point. Chapter 1209 Alephees Solution Chapter 1209 Alephee''s Solution Eren''s conversation with Sara was effortless. Eren first answered various questions Sara had which mostly revolved around how Eren and Alephee knew about her beforehand. Eren didn''t have to struggle toe up with a reason. He just used Katalina as a reason they knew Sara. Eren told Sara that Katalina always talked about her, making Sara happy and eager for her meeting Kat. The butcher then mixed facts with fiction to create an intriguing blend of conversation. This entertained Sara, made her content by getting all the answers she needed, and kept her intrigued at the same time. Eren also assured her of a safe passage to the White Raven city. She woulde with him when they left the capital. At first, Sara was skeptical about Eren''s intentions. She just didn''t understand why an Expert ranker like Eren would be interested in a mortal like her. No matter how close he was to Katalina. But slowly and surely, her skepticism was washed away by Eren''s words. She could feel that no matter how bizarre her encounter with Eren was, the Expert ranker himself was not there to harm her in any way. Alephee talked with Sara periodically as she immersed herself in Eren''s web of words. At this point, she stopped controlling Eren''s actions. She believed Eren knew what he was doing. Or rather, he knew Sara well enough to handle anything rted to her and her well-being. An hour or two into the conversation, Eren looked at Alephee seriously before asking her. "That being said, let''s address the root cause behind Sara''s blindness. Alephee, how can we fix Sara? We want her to gain her eyesight and walk on the rankers'' path." Sara should have been surprised by Eren''s words. But for some reason, she feltfortable letting Eren find a solution to her problems. She wanted to walk on the rankers'' path as well. This was the reason why she bought that cursed Rank-0 Ranking technique. Sara had given up hope of finding a solution to her problems. And she asked Katalina and her parents to do the same too. But that was because she knew they couldn''t do anything about her problems with the resources and pull they had. Eren, however, was different. Sara believed that Eren could find some solution to her problem. Forget about walking on the rankers'' path. She would be satisfied if she could get her eyesight back. She didn''t want to spend the remainder of her life looking at the world around her in shadowy detail. Alephee nodded at Eren before asking Sara to hold hands. The butcher watched with envy as the homunculus locked hands with Sara to feel the condition of her damaged mana circuits more closely. Alephee closed her eyes and checked Sara''s condition thoroughly. Sara also studied the demonic technique and runes that were still active on her body and soul as a result of it. As a result, Alephee took a while to open her eyes and speak grimly. "I''m sorry, Sara. The faulty technique you were tricked into practicing to break into the Novice rank has altered your existence. Yourck of eyesight is no longer rted to your organs. In fact, your eyes are fine. That''s the reason you don''te across as a blind person to the rest of the people." Sara was disheartened by Alephee''s words whereas Eren maintained a straight face. He wanted Alephee to finish what she was saying before he came up with other solutions. Alephee took a deep breath before continuing. "Your soul itself cannot see with your mortal eyes due to the faulty technique. Meaning you would not be able to see no matter what we do with the vessel." Alphee looked at Eren and pursed her lips. She reclined in her chair before speaking to the couple. "Soul-rted injuries and defects are not easy to heal, even among those of our caliber. We might make matters worse than they already are. So it''s wise not to interfere with them unless we are absolutely sure of the means. In short, there''s no easy way to fix Sara''s eyesight. At least not in a traditional sense. And not anytime soon." Sara''s face didn''t show it. But both Eren and Alephee could feel she was disheartened. Eren took Sara''s other hand in his and caressed it. He pondered a bit before addressing the blind girl. "Don''t worry, Sara. I know Miss Timeless well. I''m sure we can work something out." Alephee looked at Eren''s hand-holding Sara and chuckled. ''He never misses a chance,'' she thought and sighed. The homunculus shrugged off her shoulders before responding. "We can indeed do something about Sara''s condition. We can''t fix her eyesight but maybe we don''t have to. How about giving her a sense of mana instead?" Sara''s face perked up and her eyes sparkled as she asked Alephee to confirm whether what she had heard was true or not. "You mean is there a way for me to break into the Novice rank?" For mortals, breaking into the Novice rank was a big aplishment. One could say that Eren had it rtively easy because Aunt Nina backed him on his ranking journey at the beginning. But mortals like Sara were simply not privileged to have something like that. So it was understandable why Sara became so excited at the thought of breaking into the mere F-rankC the lowest strata of rankers. Eren and Alephee couldn''t really put themselves in her shoes to understand her excitement. But they did everything to amodate Sara''s feelings. "Yes. You can break into the Novice rank immediately if we implement a few changes to the ranking technique. We would also need to alter the demonic runes ced on your body so that they be your aid rather than a hindrance. These runes have prepared your body for mana conductivity. They just didn''t let you activate your mana circuits, preventing you from forming a mana core of your own. A few tweaks here and there and et vo. You will start your ranking journey from today itself." Chapter 1210 Loopholes in Demonic Runes Chapter 1210 Loopholes in Demonic Runes ''Demonic runes?'' Sara didn''t understand what Alephee meant when she mentioned demonic runes. She didn''t know that the defective ranking technique she received was given to mortals like her on purpose. Sara didn''t know Reva''s contribution to her current situation. But she decided to listen first and ask questionster. In Alephee''s defense, she was already simplifying Reva Rain''s defective ranking technique Sara was forced to endure. Alephee adjusted her ck-as-ink hair and straightened her posture before speaking informatively. "Sara would break into the Novice rank without bottlenecks when we implement these changes and enable her to practice the faulty ranking technique. Only this time, the technique wouldn''t be defective to practice for Sara. Basically, we are correcting the previously introduced faults in Sara''s ranking technique and making them work in her favor. That way, she wouldn''t receive any bacsh associated with changing the ranking technique, especially in her case." This time, Alephee''s exnation was specifically directed at Eren. The butcher was slowly bing familiar with the basics of demonology. So he could understand Alephee''s exnation. Demon magic was not entirely different from normal magic. It followed the same equivalent exchange principles. Wherever there is a mountain, there''s a pit somewhere the same height. Wherever there''s an effect, there''s a rtive cause behind its inception. This was the principle of equivalent exchange. Even the Faustian contract required demons to fulfill the conditions of the original owners of the vessels they were about to possess The Faustian contract couldn''te into effect without demons agreeing to vessel owners'' conditions, however mundane or grandiose they might be. Demonic possessions were only one division of demon magic. Demon magic was vast like an endless sea. And yet, demon magic wasn''t immune to Creation''s rules. It was just that demon magic was skewed towards benefitting demons more. Of course, nothing waspletely absolute when it came to demon magic because it was a branch of intent-driven magic. And nothing was truly impossible in intent-driven magic. So obviously, demon magic had some exceptions. But they were avable only to those who knew demon magic inside out and manipted the finer details involved in it. Eren understood that Alephee''s solution to Sara''s problem was too effective. Meaning the solution had to have some disadvantages for someone. If the disadvantage didn''t fall on Sara, it would fall on someone else involved in Sara''s condition. Eren smirked at Alephee before asking if his conjecture was true or not. "It seems there''s a catch and Sara isn''t the target. Aelphee, what will happen to Reva Rain if we make these changes?" Alephee looked at Eren with an evil smirk before answering his doubts. "Hehe. I think you will find this hrious. Reva''s technique will be reversed if we implement these changes on Sara. Simply put, Sara and Reva''s roles in the demonic ritual will be switched. Sara will be the sole beneficiary of all the pain the Pdin of Pain processed or will process. She will draw power from Reva''s suffering. Sara will also benefit from Reva''s suffering. The Pdin of Pain willbor. And Sara will be able to test its fruits." Eren and Alephee bothughed, leaving Sara with more questions than answers. The blind girl could only wait until Eren and Alephee had their fun. Of course, Sara had realized that there was more to her ranking technique than meets the eye. Plus, Eren and Alephee weren''t exactly friendly and caring rankers. To Sara, both of them came across as two evil geniuses who had hatched the most ingenious n to teach their opponents a lesson of their lifetime. It was as if they removed "benevolence" from their dictionary. Sara knew the brutality of the rankers'' world after hearing about it. But this was her first time encountering it. For some reason, the butcher felt one of the most potent serotonin highs of his life. He pped the table with his open palms and almost broke it in half before responding to Alephee''s words. "You mean to tell me that the more Reva suffers from pain and negative emotions, the more powerful Sara will get? And that Sara will feed on Reva''s life essence and mana essence as long as the Pdin of Pain feels miserable in some way?" Alephee controlled herughter and assumed adylike position. Still, she couldn''t wipe the smile off her face as she spoke. "Correct. Sara will improve her ranking status dramatically within a few weeks or months after feeding on Reva Rain''s essence. Of course, Reva would eventually get weakened by Sara''s progress aswwThe rate and scale of the improvement will depend upon Reva''s current condition among other factors. I''m sure the harlot must have performed her demonic ritual on someone. This is a good time to mess with her as she spends her time in Layos." *** Reva left many loopholes in her demonic ritual. Since the Pdin of Pain was focused on quantity and not the quality of suffering, she was bound to introduce these loopholes into her defective ranking technique. In Reva''s defense, she didn''t see the need to close loopholes in her demonic runes. These runes were etched onto Sara''s flesh and soul via a demonic ritual. And the defective ranking technique Reva had spread among mortals and acted as an open channel through which the ritual worked its demon magic on them. Fixing demonic rune loopholes would have forced Reva to change her targets. That''s because the old targets wouldn''t remainpatible with the demonic ritual anymore, which she wasn''t willing to do. However, the Pdin of Pain could have never thought that the loopholes in her demonic runes would one day be used against her. She didn''t think anyone in Anfang was knowledgeable enough about demon magic to pull off something like that. What was even more interesting was the fact that Eren and Alephee underestimated how traumatized Reva was at this point. They were not aware that the Pdin of Pain was basically a husk from her former shelf because of her battle with Eren. === AN: Throwback to chapters 1091 and 1092. ;) Chapter 1211 Rankers’ 101 Chapter 1211 Rankers 101 Eren and Alephee stared at each other as they discussed things in private. They came to a quick solution to Sara''s problem which had prevented her from stepping into the world of rankers so far. Alephee asked Eren to provide her with his blood. The Elder Ichor, even in its diluted state, had a strong influence on every demonic power rted to the Seven nes of Seven Sins. Alephee''s job would be easier if she used Eren''s blood to alter the demonic runes. Alephee only needed a drop of blood from Eren, which was more than enough for the procedure she was about to perform on Sara. The blind girl patiently let them discuss things in private. Sara wanted answers to some of her questions. So after making sure Eren and Alephee had enough time to ponder the subject, she asked about everything rted to her current condition. She also asked about its links to the demonic ranking technique she was tricked into practicing. Eren looked at Sara and formted an ideal answer. He first told her about Reva Rains and how Reva used mortals as mini nutritional snacks to support her elerated ranking growth. He told her about the ranking technique she had spread among mortals so that they could be these so-called nutritional snacks for her in the first ce. Of course, he didn''t disclose to her anything rted to Anfang''s deepest secrets that might make things difficult for her. Sara felt an uncontroble amount of anger building in her gut after learning Reva was responsible for her condition. And she was horrified to know that she was not her only victim and there were many others like her. "This Reva Rain? How? A bonafide title holder of the kingdom was doing something this heinous behind the kingdom''s backs and it didn''t know? I it''s difficult to believe this!" Sara clenched her fists as she tried to control the anger and frustration building up inside her mind. As he stared at her, Eren sighed but did not say anything right away. He allowed Sara to process her feelings before speaking up. "Well the kingdom didn''t know because it didn''t care. That and the fact that Reva Rain was very smart and shrewd. She was very careful in selecting victims, someone without connections to the rankers'' world in any form." Eren omitted the fact that Reva had to be so careful because of the Anfang Alliance. Otherwise, her actual kill count would have been much higher. Sara found her bearings as Eren''s calm and informative words fell to her ears. His words saved her from feeling as if the entire world conspired against her. Eren''s words made her understand that she was just one of Reva''s unfortunate victims. Reva had already been dered a traitor to Edinburgh. She also sessfully fled to Layos. Plus, Reva covered her tracks well. So there was no way to punish her legally for what she had done to Edinburgh''s mortals. Sara dropped her shoulders and reclined in her chair before speaking up in a dejected tone. "Edinburgh''s passive stance against Reva Rain seems so absurd. Especially when they gave her the title of Pdin of Pain. That means they knew what kind of ranker she was from the beginning. Her profile as a ranker was very clear in their eyes. Couldn''t they just keep an eye on her to see what she was doing behind the scenes?" Eren shook his head before replying to Sara. "This might sound harsh to you Sara, but you or other mortals are not really an asset in Edinburgh''s eyes. The kingdom authorities chose to ignore what Reva was used to doing behind the scenes because mortals were her primary targets. Everything is gray when there''s politics involved. Edinburgh is willing to look the other way as long as it doesn''t get in the way of the grand scheme of things. That''s how famous organizations and individuals thrive and prosper. And the kingdom thrives on them. I''ll have to admit that I have also benefited from Edinburgh''s policies to my advantage. The creation of the city of White Raven is the finest example of how the kingdom operates. So I don''t think I have any right to say that the existence of Reva Rain is Edinburgh''s fault. I can''t hold Edinburgh responsible for her actions. Remember this - there''s only one absolute in any world - death. And there are only endless possibilities when ites to living. And the world doesn''t owe you favors. You are lucky if the world is kind to you. If not, you''d have to create your own luck. These concepts be even more prominent in the world of rankers. I suggest you get used to these concepts if you want to survive and thrive as a ranker." Eren gave Sara a Rankers'' 101. He didn''t have a chance to exin these things to her in the previous timeline. He didn''t need to. Because she was not qualified to be a ranker at that time. However, Eren realized that Sara needed to be groomed the right way now that she was ted to be a ranker. Her aptitude as a ranker would flourish greatly under his guidance. Sara nodded at Eren. Her face, however, still carried a hint of a frown. "This is so frustrating. Even if I can profit from my tragedy now, the fact that I had to suffer this much in the first ce really leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I I wish there was some way to get back at... this this" Eren chuckled beforepleting Sara''s sentence. "This bitch? Yeah. Listen, Sara. You don''t have to follow the rankers'' code in this situation. You can call Sara a bitch or anything. In fact, I would encourage you to do so if it makes you feel better." Sara found strength in Eren''s assurance. The thirst for vengeance was evident in her eyes as she spoke. "I wish there was a way to get back at this bitch for what she has done to me and many others. I wish someone would put her through the same misery she inflicted on others." Alephee had a nk look on her face as she pointed at Eren before responding. "You might want to tick that off your to-do list if there was one. Because Eren has already done that." Chapter 1212 Pursuit of Power Doesn’t Need a Reason Chapter 1212 Pursuit of Power Doesnt Need a Reason Eren knew Sara was a fierce woman deep down. She had the mental aptitude to be a ranker. It was just that due to her mortal status, she saw herself as among the most vulnerable bunch of people in a world where magic was normal. That''s why she kept things to herself. Acting mighty without the necessary might was foolishness in her eyes. In Eren''s past timeline, Sara had to suffer from Reva''s demonic runes acting on her body periodically. Her status as a blind person also made her feel inferior even among mortals. This was the reason she became proficient in linguistic skills. Having a good vocabry was a coping mechanism for her. Helpless people had their own ways of expressing their emotions and fierceness after all. Eren and Alephee both could tell that Sara was restless after discovering the cause behind her blindness. It had taken her quite a lot of time and effort to make peace with her disability and the fact that she wouldn''t be able to be a ranker. And in doing that, she finally found peace. But learning that someone else was responsible for her situation took that peace away from her. Since her mind found the real culprit, it wanted her to do something about it. ''Well It is clear to me now. I know why he adores her so much. Sara is as passionate about revenge as Eren. It motivates her in the same way as him.'' Alephee sighed at Sara''s bitter expression. She chimed in to make Sara feel better. "Sara, we can''t promise you anything yet because of this ongoing war between Edinburgh and Layos. And we are also not sure if you''ll feel better after this. Plus, I don''t know if you can really handle it. But In due time, we can arrange for you to kill Reva with your own hands. That way, you can enact your revenge." Eren raised her eyebrows when Alephee made this im. He wondered how they could locate and confront Reva Rain hiding deep within Layos. Alephee knew how radical her statement was. So she took a deep breath before proceeding. "To tell you the truth, I would want you to kill Reva with your own hands. That way, you might even profit from taking revenge because of the peculiarity of the demonic runes acting on both of your bodies. You killing Reva Rain with your own hands after a thorough torture session will allow you to im all of Reva Rain''s achievements and ranking status for yourself too. You will be able to gain all her knowledge as a ranker. From a mortal to an Expert ranker. It will be the quickest way for you to progress in a short timeC a groundbreaking way evenC the likes of which thend of Anfang hasn''t seen in a very long time. But that all depends on how far you are willing to go for revenge. You are not even a ranker yet. So I cannot even begin to." "I I''ll do it." Sara cut Alephee off with her confirmation, catching him off guard. Processing some of Eren''s memories didn''t mean Alephee could understand Sara the same way Eren understood her. Eren was not surprised by Sara''s decision. He tapped his fingers on the table and chuckled before speaking up. "Kekeke. Told you She bites. It was just that shecked the necessary teeth, so her bite was harmless." Eren knew firsthand that anger and revenge were great motivators if one channeled them in the right way. In fact, it was Sara who taught him these things in the past timeline in the first ce. So it was only natural that she would practice what she had preached to him. Eren vaguely remembered various stories Sara used to tell him in the past timeline to motivate him. He let go of those stories after she left his life. But the morale of some stories got stuck in his head. The pursuit of power doesn''t need a reason. It was Sara who instilled this thought in him. And it took Eren from his current timeline to nurture it and make it grow into something really big, turning it into an ambition. Sara had the right mindset for bing a ranker. But she also knew that having the right mindset was not everything. She also needed guidance and support. Sara decided to use others'' experiences as a reference point. Fidgeting with the Rank-0 visual aid in her hands, Sara looked nervously at Eren before asking him. "Eren, you are an Expert ranker. I believe you have lots of experience. You must have taken lives before, right? How how does it feel?" This time, Eren was caught off guard by Sara''s question. He looked at Alephee. It was as if he asked for help. The homunculus made matters worse by pping the table andughing. "Hehe. Sara, I can understand why you want to ask this question to Eren. But I''ll be honest. Eren might not be an ideal reference point. This guy has withdrawal symptoms if he doesn''t draw blood after a certain period. You''d need another ranker to guide you on your soon-to-be elerated ranking journey." Eren looked at Alephee with clear displeasure. He decided to take Sara under his wing and teach her personally. But Alephee''s words stopped those ns. Alephee knew what Eren was thinking. So she cleared his doubts for him. ''I am not against channeling revenge and anger in the right direction, Eren. They can be of great assistance to her. At least at the beginning. But you can''t guide her. Sara shouldn''t be like you. Only you can handle the pressure of being you. After all, we don''t want to destroy her individuality. For now, let''s focus on giving Sara the basics she desperately craves.'' Alephee said before getting up from her seat. She walked outside the canopy and into the lush garden, prompting Sara and Eren to follow behind her. === AN: Throwback to chapter 178. ;) Chapter 1213 Authority ? Authority Over Time: The Frozen Flow. Alephee wielded her powers and the time flow around her was almost stopped. A domain was created, taking her, Eren, and Sara inside. This was her domain. Eren felt like he was submerged in some thick and illusory liquid that prevented him from moving freely. Even his heartbeat stopped. His thoughts were also affected by being inside the Frozen Flow. This was an exclusive time-element barrier or domain that nobody could enter or leave willingly without Alephee''s permission. The concept of time in the domain was slowed down as Alephee wanted it to be. Even Eren and Sara could only keep their minds working for them inside the barrier, if only barely. They lost their ability to move even an inch of their bodies. Eren had experienced this power before. Alephee used this power for the first time after Eren tamed his spirit beast. At that time, Alephee struggled to keep this power active for a long time because her vessel wasn''t strong enough But it seemed that she was having a much easier time than before. Thanks to the improved status of her vessel''s status, she could use her Authority more freely without hurting a mortal like Sara. Since Alephee could wield this power more naturally than before, Eren could tell that it was different from spellcasting or Ability activation. He used his soul sense to liberate his thoughts from Alephee''s powers before thinking to himself. ''Hmm. There''s something different about this. There''s no mana ripple from Ability activation. It seems this is a power that exceeds an Ability. I wonder what the requirements are to unlock such capabilities.'' Eren somehow managed to move his eyes and stare at Alephee, wondering how many things she had not told him yet. He then looked at Sara who couldn''t even blink her eyes while inside the Time domain. Neither Eren nor Sara wanted to talk and disturb Alephee''s process anyway. The homunculus closed her eyes. Her grimoire was wide open and floating right in front of her. Alephee ced her hand on her grimoire and traced the runic circle written over one of its pages carefully. This was an array Alephee was about to use on Sara to alter the demonic runes. After making sure everything was in order, Alephee opened her eyes and looked in front of her at where Sara was. She snapped her fingers and a runic circle appeared around Sara. This circle had the same runic symbols as the ones found in the grimoire. Sara found herself standing in the center of the circle that suddenly appeared. She wasn''t scared of what was happening around her. For some reason, she trusted Eren and Alephee. But that didn''t mean the red-haired girl wouldn''t get tense either. Sara closed her eyes as Alephee activated the array circle around her. The homunculus took out the vial she had taken from Eren, containing his blood, and poured it onto the open page of her grimoire. Elder Ichor fell on the grimoire''s page and instead of drenching it with red stains, it disappeared. In the next moment, the array circle around Sara exuded a red hue, indicating that Elder Ichor had been integrated into the array. A strange sensation surrounded Sara. The demonic runes hiding deep within herself surfaced over her soft and rosy skin, turning it ky and red. Sara would have screamed at the potential pain involved in the process. But since time had slowed down for her, her ability to process pain had also been affected. This enabled her to skip the suffering part attached to the demonic rune alteration. Alephee ced her right palm over the open bookpletely and altered the demonic runes in real time. The demonic runes slithered over Sara''s skin like agitated snakes as a result of these changes. Eren watched the process with keen vignce as Alephee rewrote the runes over Sara''s skin. The demonic runes couldn''t resist the changes when the bloodline energy of Elder Ichor got involved. *** The process took almost an hour toplete. At the end of her work, Alephee dispersed the time-element barrier. She sweated bullets. But the smile on her face indicated the procedure was sessful. Time flow returned to normal for Eren and Sara. Nothing really changed for the butcher. But Sara felt like she was suffering through another turmoil. "Sara, use the ranking technique this instant." Alephee ordered Sara to practice the fault ranking technique she had received and thetter obliged immediately. She sat in her position and assumed a meditative position. She controlled her breathing and followed the ranking technique instructions step by step. A Novice-ranked mana cloud was summoned around Sara a few moments after she started practicing the technique. In the next moment, her body absorbed that mana cloud before starting mana core formation. Within seconds, Sara broke into the F-Rank to be a ranker. She didn''t face obstructions or bottlenecks. It was as if she had the finest mana circuits for her breakthrough into the Novice rank. As the mana core formed inside her body, her stressed expressions eased. They were soon reced by expressions of joy as Sara spread her mana sense around for the first time. She felt the world around her for the first time in a long while. "I This is just great. This is better than seeing with eyes." Sara mumbled to herself as she opened her eyes. She looked all around her with unmasked curiosity as she used her mana sense recklessly. Alephee protected herself from Sara''s mana sense right away. But there was someone ready to let his body be "scanned" by Sara''s mana sense. He didn''t take any countermeasures and allowed himself to be seen "naked" while still wearing clothes. "Aaaaaaaah!" Sara screamed in part horror and part shock as she inadvertently used her mana sense on Eren in a way it shouldn''t have been used. This form of scanning was usually frowned upon by rankers. But since this was Sara''s first time using her mana sense, she couldn''t control it until it was toote. === AN: Alephee uses Authority Over Time: The Frozen Flow for the first time in chapter 849. The term "Authority" was first mentioned by Maya in chapter 1127. Chapter 1214 Ridiculous Ranking Progress ? "I I''m sorry." Sara redacted her mana sense and looked at Eren with a guilty expression. However, she found out that thetter was looking at her with a smirk on his face. It took her some time to realize that Eren had deliberately let her scan him this way. "You You are quite an exhibitionist." Sara said, looking at Eren with a frown on her face. But one could see a smile mixed in with her frown if they looked closely. "This is kinda unfair, don''t you think? Since you have "seen" me, let me "see" you as well. Each nook and cranny of you. Only then can we be even, right?" Eren was about to use his mana sense intrusively on Sara. But just then, he noticed the subtle mana ripples around the newly turned Novice ranker and realized that the process was far from finished. Sara was about to get up on her feet. But she noticed something weird happening inside and around her too. She felt tense as a result. Sara suddenly found her mana core spinning around its axis, trying to absorb more mana from the surroundings. After reaching the Novice rank, it quickly advanced to the next phase. And still, there was no sign of the process stopping. Sara also started processing Reva''s elemental attainments while her mana core entered the next phase. She also started processing the elemental attainments and weaponprehension of Reva''s past ranker victims. This was right after the Novice ranked mana core stabilized into its vapor state. One could tell that something unusual was happening with Sara just by this simple fact alone. Sara was too overwhelmed to speak. Both her mind and body were frozen into inaction as she made rapid progress in her ranking status. Sara''s mana circuits suddenly became overloaded with mana flow. Her mana veins began to swell and her mana points got restless. Sara''s spiritual force also increased when the demonic runes started feeding on Reva Rain''s spiritual force. As a result, her soul strengthened along with her body. It allowed Sara to cope with the sudden need to digest foreign experiences, if only barely. "Sit down this instant and practice your technique to regrize the increased mana flow. Otherwise, your mana circuits would be harmed." Alephee''s voice reached Sara''s ears. And she followed it subconsciously. Her mind was divided between processing various ranker experiences and keeping the technique active. Alephee appeared behind Sara and ced her hand on her back. Another small array circle appeared over Sara''s back as Alephee helped her regte her mana flow. The homunculus did that by controlling Sara''s demonic runes. The demonic runes caused Sara''s current predicament in the first ce. So controlling them was crucial. The gap between Sara and Reva was simply too much. Still, Alphee believed that she had altered the demonic runes ordingly after considering this matter. As per Alephee''s original n, Sara could progress rapidly and be an Ace ranker. But this progress was supposed to happen over a few weeks. The homunculus believed there was nothing wrong with her recalibration of demonic runes. She quickly realized another possibility. Reva''s demonic ritual was based on pain and other negative emotions. As such, the runes themselves could amplify their effects if and when they received higher forms of negative emotions. It could only mean one thing. RevaC who was the main target of the demonic ritualC was going through a rough patch. The Pdin of Pain was mentally traumatized. That too to such an extent that it caused Sara to make mind-boggling progress even with Alephee''s countermeasures. "What what did you do to her?" Alephee looked at Eren and asked usingly. Thetter was shocked by her question. He looked at Sara and felt puzzled. "What? I didn''t do anything, Miss Timeless." Alphee shook her head before rephrasing her question anew. "Not Sara. What did you do to Reva Rain? This form of response from the demonic ritual tells me that she is not right in the head. It''s as if someone has tied her to an operating table and is torturing her as we speak. It reeks of your brand of torture." Alephee had a concerned look. But she wasn''t worried about Reva Rain''s condition. Not really. However, Reva''s situation directly affected Sara''s rank, which worried her. Sara was a mere mortal a few minutes ago. So things were happening too fast for her to register what she felt at the time. It was as if the world around her had gone quiet and she was living through multiple surreal dreams at the same time. Sara entered a state of epiphany as she started processing foreign experiences and making them her own. The demonic runes acting on her body enabled her to make the most out of the first epiphany she received. Still, Sara would have been in trouble without Alephee''s assistance. Eren could only look nkly at Alephee in response to her question. He felt used without a reason. "I... I don''t know what you are talking about. We can learn more about Revater. But let''s focus on helping Sara first." Alephee sighed before nodding, "Already on it." Alephee started altering the demonic runes even more so they wouldn''t be berserk again. She decided topromise on the syncing process to assure Sara''s safety. Sara only stopped progressing in her ranking journey when she was at thest stage of the Novice rank, on the cusp of breaking into the E-Rank. Alephee had to seal demonic runes'' effects on her body. Alephee paused the entire process because Sara did not have apatible ranking technique to regte E-Rank mana inflow. Sara''s mind was also exhausted from processing so much information in one go. Based on her current rank, she increased her spiritual force ceiling. But it had all been exhausted. As a result, the red-haired girl dozed off when Alephee relieved her of her predicament. She looked exhausted and cute at the same time. Chapter 1215 Adding To Revas Misery ? As Eren approached Sara and Alephee, he couldn''t help but think to himself, "She reminds me of a well-fed bunny, trying to digest what it ate in its sleep." Despite his seemingly unimpressed expression, Eren found himself drawn to Sara''s charm even more now that she was a ranker. Alephee sighed with relief as Sara''s condition stabilized. She held onto the sleeping beauty''s shoulder to prevent falling forward. Eren eventually stopped in front of the two women. His face was a mix ofplexity and dissatisfaction. In a low-key voice, hemented about Sara which reflected his inner conflict. "Well it''s better that she stopped progressing. Otherwise, it would have been ME who got traumatized. Like... What the hell was I doing with my life all this time?" The butcher sighed as he remembered the struggles he had to endure to achieve what Sara had achieved so quickly. There was a part of him that wanted to flip a table and p Sara''s mushy buns once for progressing so much in a single day. This was his way of expressing envy. Alphee had yet to tell Eren that Sara''s rapid progression was not over. In a way, Sara was running a marathon, and this was just a resting point to recharge herself. The homunculus nned to resume Sara''s rapid progress after finding a suitable ranking technique for her. The current demonic technique did its job. And with Sara on the brink of breaking into the Ace rank, it was about to be useless. Alephee had to say that Sara was overqualified to be a ranker. She believed that any other ordinary human girl would have faced manyplications by going through such rapid ranking progress. Alephee didn''t reply to Eren''s enviousments. She got up and snapped her fingers again, picking the sleeping Sara up with an intangible force. "We should let her sleep for a while. I''ll be back." Alepheemented before walking towards the vi. The sleeping Sara floated in the air and followed Alephee as if a balloon was pulled by a string. The butcher thought Alephee was also tired. The homunculus was about to take a much-needed rest as well. ''I need someone to sign me up for some instant power-up program. I''m ready to go blind for as long as it takes.'' Eren scrunched his nose and thought to himself as he looked at the twodies'' departing figures. He then narrowed his eyes at them before calling out someone in his mind. ''Sylphie. Come here.'' A gorgeous elf appeared behind Eren out of thin air after some time. She had moss-green hair and sparkling blue eyes. She had average height and prominent feminine curves. The elf assassin wore a white dress with a blue floral pattern and exposed shoulders. She didn''t look like an assassin at all. Which gave her even more edge as an assassin. Sylphie was the same elf assassin Eren used to honeytrap Sidro. Sylphie had yed her part well by luring Sidro into the Bands, which enabled Eren to kill the guy easily. The butcher acquired Sidro''s red lightning as well as Ertaur who was Sidro''s contracted beast initially. One could say that the hefty amount he paid to Sylphie for her job was worth it. What was also interesting was the fact that Sylphie had used some kind of Polyjuice potion to assume Altashia''s features. All so that she could set a honey trap for Sidro. The butcher intervened when Sidro was about to get cozy with undercover Sylphie, killing him when he was desperate to findpany. It seemed a few of Layos'' infiltrating elves had ess to Polyjuice potions from the beginning. After the news of Jaime''s betrayal by Arthur was known to the entire kingdom of Edinburgh, the butcher learned that Sylphie was one of Layos'' sleeper cells. She worked in Edinburgh as an assassin-for-hire to pass the time. As soon as Edinburgh''s authorities learned about the mattress rted to Polyjuice potions, Sylphie''s runic bindings were loosened. As such she told the butcher everything when asked. All of that was irrelevant at this point for Eren anyway. Sylphie was already branded by him and as a result loyal to him. She managed his perimeter detail around the vi these days. "My Lord, you asked for me?" Sylphie looked at Eren expectantly. Thetter turned around and embraced her in his arms. He nted his lips on hers and smooched her passionately for a few moments before breaking away from her. "Sylphie dear, you still have some contacts in the kingdom of Layos, right?" Sylphie was dazed for a few moments. But she quickly got a hold of herself before replying to Eren. "Yes, my Lord. Though, it wouldn''t be easy to contact my allies or ask them for favors now that the war between the two kingdoms has begun. My affiliation with Layos is non-existent at this point." Eren nodded in understanding before pulling a spatial pendant from thin air. It was pretty and studded with small but precious gems. This pendant looked like jewelry but it was more than that. It had loads of high-quality Extols stored inside its isted space. The butcher drew Sylphie closer to him and made her wear the pendant. The elf assassin was happy to receive such a pretty essory from Eren. She knew the artifact had been given to her for another use. But that didn''t stop her from thinking this was a pleasant gesture of affection from Eren. Eren caressed Sylphie''s face and felt her warmth up close. He ced his hands on her buttcheeks and squished them before speaking up. "Use the Extols in this pendant however you see fit, Sylphie dear. Contact me when you run out of money and I''ll send you more through this pendant''s spatial storage." Sylphie rubbed her face on Eren''s chest as she felt his hands exploring her body. She inhaled his scent and tried to memorize it so she could recall it anytime. Eren''s embrace magically affected Sylphie. However, the assassin in her didn''t let her libido get in the way of listening to Eren''smands clearly. "Sylphie, I want to sanction a hit on Reva inside the kingdom of Layos." === AN: Sylphie first appeared in chapter 500. Her Polyjuice potion usage has also been described in the same chapter. Chapter 1216 Commencement Ceremony ? "Sylphie, I want to sanction a hit on Reva inside the kingdom of Layos..." Eren whispered in Sylphie''s ears. It was as if he was whispering sweet nothing in her ears. Nobody would believe that he was discussing assassination missions with the elf in his arms while squishing her perky ass. "Keep in mind that some channels are unavable to us. Rather, we should avoid using them at all costs. Otherwise, they would create moreplications for us. First of all, we can''t use any official guild inside Layos to do this job. Use the money you have been given to hire independent cultists, rogue rankers, and mercenaries. Ask your contacts in Layos to help you with this task. Arm these rankers with our weapons and potions to increase their threat level. I''m sure the kingdom of Layos would protect the Pdin of Pain for her traitorous value. Or just to mock Edinburgh. But every kingdom has a bunch of desperate people. They wouldn''t say no to any task as long as the pay was worth it." Eren inhaled Sylphie''s scent as he kissed her neck. The elf wrapped her arms around the butcher''s waist as well, letting him touch the most intimate parts of her body freely. "If Reva''s negative emotions can help Sara grow, I want to add to her misery even more. I want the Pdin of Pain hunted like a rabid dog on the streets. Hehe. She''ll be in a great state of mind when that happens." Eren knew he couldn''t use the half-bloods to get rid of Reva Rain anymore since she was listed as Demonmir''s ally. He couldn''t use his contacts inside Edinburgh since the Pdin of Pain was currently on Layos. Plus, any unofficial action in Edinburgh would be frowned upon by the kingdom''s authorities. They had to answer the Anfang Alliance regarding anything rted to war crimes after all. Eren wasn''t stupid enough to enter Layos and risk his safety to torture Reva either. He was against the idea of visiting the battlefield early on. The butcher left Edinburgh''s army for this very reason. He didn''t want to be controlled on the battlefield. Eren Elijah Idril was one of Edinburgh''s youngest talented figures. As such, Layos would be highly alert to rankers like him. Even if his bloodline-powered shapeshifting magic was superior to that of the elves, he refused to y with the fire by entering the enemy kingdom. Eren had decided to join the war eventually. But it would be on his own terms when he knew he could control certain things. But all this didn''t mean that Eren was totally helpless. He was rich. And the rich were seldom helpless even in war. Money was a great enabler in most situations. The butcher could hire external help to do his bidding. He had nned to use dark guilds and rankers in the shadows to make Reva more miserable than she already was. Of course, he would have preferred an organized band of cultists. But they were controlled by the half-bloods from the shadows. As such, he was left with organizing his own "suicide squad". Eren also knew that Reva would be safe from assassinations sanctioned by him. Her Ability, Reverse Rain was her greatest protectiveyer. No assassin could catch her off guard with Reverse Rain''sprehensive effects. Plus, she had a tenacity to survive because of her healer ss. After all, she had survived when they fought. However, Eren didn''t care that he was paying the misfits so that they could fail in their tasks. That''s because he knew that even failed assassination attempts would harm Reva''s psyche. The Pdin of Pain would force herself to stay alert all the time. And in doing so, she would lose her sanity and embrace paranoia. No matter how envious he was of Sara''s current growth rate, Eren was ready to do everything to help her get the most out of her current situation. And no matter how horny he felt, he didn''t forget to assign tasks to Sylphie while indulging in his desires. It could be said that the new inheritor of Elder Ichor embraced the Seven Sins to his heart''s content. But he didn''t allow them to dictate his goals or negatively influence his actions for the most part. After groping Sylphie out in the open with no eyewitness, Eren decided to have a passionate session with the elf in his arms. To get his horniness out of the system before istion in the practice hall for a week. "Hmm. You have stiff shoulders, Sylphie dear. Let''s relieve you of your stress before you go out on your mission." Eren whispered in Sylphie''s ears before lifting her in a princess-carry style. Lightning struck next, resulting in Eren and Sylphie disappearing from the scene. The employer in Eren valued employee satisfaction, after all. *** More than a week had passed since the battle at Edinnica Arena, and now themencement ceremony day had arrived. Surprisingly, there were no signs of destruction to be seen. It was as if the whole thing was nothing more than a vivid dream. As the audience and participants gathered at Edinnica Arena, a palpable silence fell over the area. The audience booth was filled with rankers associated with participants, including Nina, Levine, and others. The participants stood at attention, uniformly dressed in white shirts, zers, and pants. This was intentional, as it emphasized their unity and identity as part of Edinburgh''s singr force. All eyes were fixed on arge tform levitating in front of the participants. On the tform stood Hansen Lehan, Osha Daman, Marcus Moretti, and Urs Moretti, along with a certain Sage who had made time to attend despite their busy schedule. Garos Renar, the King''s Hand, stood among the participants, his piercing gaze surveying the crowd. He waited for the ceremony to begin. Suddenly, a distant bell rang out, signaling the start of the ceremony. All eyes turned to Garos as he finally broke the silence and spoke. Chapter 1217 King Emil Edinburgh Von Renar The 8th ? "The young heroes of Edinburgh" Garos'' clear voice was calm yet domineering as he spoke. "Their friends and close ones, as well as those watching this celebration from afarC I wee you all." Garos smiled at this point. His voice softened as he spoke. "My name is Garos Renar. Or you can call me by the position I hold currently - King''s Hand. Today is special for me. In fact, it is special for our entire kingdom. That''s because we are here to celebrate Edinburgh''s young generation''s achievements. And we have invited a special guest to grace us with their presence - just to tell you how important you all are in our eyes. Dear mortals and brave rankers, I present to you the Defender of Peace and Freedom, His Majesty Emil Edinburgh von Renar the 8th." A spatial distortion appeared right beside Garos Renar and a Grandmaster-ranked man emerged from the distortion. He looked to be in his early 30s and was still in his prime. Emil the 8th was tall and muscr. He was surrounded by the halo of royalty as well as his high-ranking powers. Even though he was the only Grandmaster among a bunch of Sages, his presence couldn''t be overshadowed by them in any way. The current Edinburgh king entered the Grandmaster rank 10 years ago. His ranking status had not changed much since then, which was natural for any Grandmaster ranker. However, those who knew Emil the 8th back then knew he had made tremendous progress in his Way of the Elements and weaponprehension. His presence was like a de that could unleash havoc if unsheathed. Emil the 8th had well-maintained stubble that gave him a rugged masculine vibe. He wore royal armor and royal clothes. But they were worn as if Emil had donned them in a hurry. His deliberately unkempt appearance made him stand apart from royal stereotypes. Garos greeted his nephew with a nod before stepping back. The king also nodded at his uncle before stepping forward. Emil looked at the crowd below him with an eagle''s gaze before speaking seriously. "My beloved subjects, it is very rare for me to make a public appearance because of the responsibilities you have given me. So I cherish every moment I get whenever I open a dialogue with you. It was a pleasure to see you all today. Thank you for your time." Emil the 8th bowed a bit in front of his audience and spoke humbly. His presence wasforting and it didn''t feel like he was faking it. More flies are caught with honey than with vinegar. One would have to say that Edinburgh''s current king was a master of public appearances. That''s because most of the rankers and mortals in the audience treated his bow as one of the greatest achievements in their lives. "Long live the king" "For King and Kingdom..." "We will die for Edinburgh, my king" "Layos will pay for" Emil''s audience cheered for him. The mortals and rankers in the audience screamed with passion after seeing their king bow in front of them. They praised Emil, his policies, and Edinburgh. Some of them cursed Layos and its forces for fighting Edinburgh. It was unclear whether those who screamed pro-Emil slogans were paid actors or not. Emil smiled as he stood straight and looked at therge crowd in front of him. He let the screams and slogans reach a peak before raising his right hand. Emil twisted his raised hand and clenched it into a fist, releasing a burst of wind that washed over the entire crowd. This wind gust spread in every direction. The wind element mana integrated into this wind gust was potent but didn''t harm anybody. Even mortals were not injured after contact. However, this disy of power calmed the crowd. Emil''s audience was subtly forced to be quiet, allowing people to listen to their own heartbeats. Emil let the silence drag on before speaking up grimly. "First of all, my condolences to those who have lost someone in their lives because of Layos'' heinous actions in any way. In due time, we will let our vengeance speak for itself. But first, let''s observe a minute of silence for these fallen heroes." Emil decided to first pay homage to the dead before starting themencement ceremony and everybody obliged. After a minute of silence, the king addressed his subjects eloquently. He glorified the dead and condemned the enemy kingdom''s despicable actions. Emil also summoned Arthur Renar on stage and allowed him to speak about Jason, his lost son. Arthur wasn''t as articte as Emil and med his son''s death on various factors and circumstances. In the end, he invited the audience to Jason''s public funeral which was about to happen tomorrow. Emil also allowed the Sages on stage to speak a few words on various topics rted to Edinburgh''s past history with Layos, current challenges, ongoing projects, and ambitions for the future. Emil then praised the Houses that were with him and criticized the Houses that were against his policies. The participants realized toote that theirmencement ceremony had be a political event. They realized that no matter how humble and polite the king appeared to be, at the end of the day, he was a king. And his actions always had multifaceted reasons. And these reasons had multifaceted impacts on Emil''s subjects, including them. The hours passed like a flowing river as Emil and his allies took the stage and made their speeches. Participants had impatience building in their guts. But they didn''t let that show on their faces. Eren, on the other hand, didn''t look impatient. He remained steadfast in his ce, unmoving and unresponsive to things happening around him. He knew the king''s predicament better than anybody. After all, Eren had also exploited an event to further his own agenda back in the city of White Raven. There were a few things that had to be done by people who held positions of power. There was simply no way around them. Hijacking events and making them about oneself could be considered an art form. And from one artist to another, the butcher had noints for Edinburgh''s current ruler. Chapter 1218 Crown Prince Rodrick Renar & The Legend Of The Boar Berserker ? "My dear subjects, I also have an announcement to make. It is regarding the royal contest we arranged for all the royal scions." It seemed that Emil the 8th had another reason for appearing publicly. In his deration, the king''s voice echoed everywhere. "We have a clear winner in the royal contest. I am pleased to introduce the rightful heir to my throne and your love - Rodrick Renar. From this moment onwards, he shall be known as the crown prince of Edinburgh. Rodrick will take over my throne when he bes a Grandmaster." Another wave of excitement hit the crowd as Edinburgh''s newly appointed crown prince was decided. Rodrick appeared beside the current king next. He kneeled in front of his father and received crowd blessings. While kneeling, Rodrick looked at Eren and winked. The audience treated the crown prince''s gesture as he greeted his potential subjects friendly. But the butcher smiled and shook his head, choosing to remain one with the crowd instead of standing out. Rodrick gave a short speech. He knew many of the participants personally from his academy days. Just like Altashia, he graduated from Royal Ren a few weeks before the graduation event was announced. As such he didn''t get to participate in the event. Rodrick was d he didn''t get to participate. Several royal scions died inside Sansara World. And because these royal scions died, many opportunities opened up for him. In the middle of his speech, Rodrick looked at Eren. He was about to highlight the help he received from White Raven City. But he was discouraged from doing so by Eren''s gentle no. The city of White Raven had already attracted attention. If Layos found out that Eren''s city was significant in the newly dered crown prince''s eyes, things would get much more problematic. Rodrick''s speech was short and meaningful. He didn''t promise anything to the audience. And instead focused on stating what he would do to be a better king in the future. Rodrick got off stage after his short speech and walked to where Hansen and the rest were. The crown prince did not have to live inside the city of White Raven anymore. He practically had no royal scions as his enemies anymore. As soon as he was dered crown prince, all his former enemies wanted to form kinship ties with him. ''You don''t look happy that I became a crown prince, Eren.'' Amidst all the chaos and cheers, Rodrick''s voice was heard in Eren''s mind like a drop of water agitating the surface of a calmke. The butcher chuckled before Rodrick used voicemunication. ''Oh, I''m happy alright, delighted even. But I''m afraid it is not what you want me to be delighted about. I am delighted and relieved that I don''t have to raise a freeloader in my city anymore.'' Rodrick chuckled but didn''t say anything. He decided to catch up with Eren after the ceremony before focusing on Emil''s ongoing speech. "... Therefore, we must reward our young heroes handsomely if we want to prosper as a kingdom of peace and freedom." King Emil looked at the participants and praised their efforts and sacrifices. He then called out the top performers among the participants, granting them various rewards. Some participants received huge amounts of precious resources. Some were given high-caliber weapons, armor, and other artifacts. Some received rare techniques and spells, which were closely guarded secrets for the kingdom. Some participants received prominent positions within the kingdom. Royal forces, central administration, city-specific administrative panels, etc. There were various choices for participants to choose from. They could also change their employment a few days after a choice was made. Edinburgh''s army was the biggest employer of these participants. It offered lucrative deals to everyone. It didn''t distinguish between superior or inferior rankers among them and instead opted for mass hiring. All graduated participants also received a medallion each. This medallion was a premium-grade defensive artifact andmunication device. From copper to tinum, medallions were divided into grades. The type of medallion each participant received represented the number of efforts they put in. These exceptional participants would also receive a lot of Extols as secondary rewards. Butpared to their primary rewards, the Extols had little value. After everything was said and done, King Emil focused on a select group of participants. These rankers performed above and beyond what was expected of them in the graduation event or at the Edinnica Arena battle. Due to this, these rankers would receive much more than just ranking resources. They would receive a bona fide title along with their usual rewards. Emil started calling out names and invited these participants on stage. For most of these rankers, being called out by Emil was already a reward. As such, they appeared on stage with hearts full of joy and faces full of non-wipeable smiles. The sixth participant to receive a title was from the White Raven crew. Emil called out Steve after introducing him to his audience as one of the most promising berserkers of his generation. "I hereby bestow the title of Boar Berserker on this young prodigy Steve Austin. May his name shine bright in the futureC as bright as the most dreadful and respectable berserker in Edinburgh''s historyC Ivar Ironside, The Lionheart." The ground beneath Steve''s feet cracked and he disappeared from his position. In the next moment, he appeared on stage and kneeled in front of Emil. Emil handed Steve a special medallion while the former was kneeling. The king lifted the Boar Berseker with a smile on his face. The title holders received special medallions, which were a grade higher than tinum medallions. Steve knew what to do with his medallion. He stood up, turned around, and faced the crowd. Steve received apuse and cheers from the crowd. He made brief eye contact with Eren and smiled before looking down and focusing on the medallion he held in his hand. Steve let his mana and elemental attainments flow through the medallion. As a result, it exuded peculiar colors and buzzing sounds. In the next moment, a suffocating atmosphere was created for the participants and audience. A spectral image of a gigantic boar was projected into the sky from the medallion. A domineering beastly growl was released from the boar before its spectral body dispersed in the air. "Boar Berserker!" "Boar Berserker!" "Boar Berserker!" The crowd chanted Steve''s title with wild furor as the red boar disappeared from the sky above. Chapter 1219 Philosopher Of Bullshittery ? ''So Yeah. I am in trouble.'' Eren gulped at the red boar''s dispersed figure. He got tense because he understood what the medallion was supposed to do for titleholders. It manifested Steve''s individuality out in the open, magnifying its effects and expressing it in a grandiose way. The butcher didn''t want to express his individuality at all. He knew doing so would lead to unwanted consequences for him. There were simply too many secrets about him. After all, he was the inheritor of Elder Ichor and carried three Sin Series Marks. Even his soul sense was ss apart. Eren also integrated a wide range of elemental attainments and multiple weaponprehension into his ranking path. And he had obtained sufficient mastery in each of them, which was impossible to exin by normal standards considering his age. Eren had tamed two demon beasts, and one of them was an artificial demon beast, Reen. Argo himself was a soul fragment of a Demon PrinceC Beelzebub. Then there were his experiences in two timelines- two lives. His highly controversial alter ego as the Osan Woods Butcher. His groundbreaking bloodline powers. Andstly, his unflinching will to get what he wanted irrespective of the price he had to pay. Eren managed to keep everything about him a secret all this time. All of these things made him an extraordinary individual. They shaped his individuality in some way, giving it a lethal edge. Most of Eren''s secrets, even separately, should have been logic-defying. And as such, they would have been the target of heavy scrutiny not only by Edinburgh but also by the Anfang Alliance. But the fact that they were all rted to one ranker made Eren an enigma. Such enigmas usually had horrible endings in thend of Anfang. And death wasn''t the worst thing they could get. Eren thought of denying the title bestowment if it came at the cost of expressing his individuality out in the open without countermeasures. He would attract Emil''s ire if he did that. But expressing his individuality would mean doom for him. ''Miss Timeless, can you fix this?'' Eren turned towards Alephee before making a final decision. He decided to deny the medallion and honor if she said no. Thankfully, the homunculus had a way around it. ''Hmm. Let''s see.'' Another ranker from Royal Ren was awarded a title at this point. Alephee paid close attention to the guy and the medallion he held in his hand. She observed as his individuality was manifested in the surroundings before concluding. ''We can''t do anything when ites to your individuality, Eren. It has already been shaped the way it is. And interference from anyone can not change it. But We can tweak the medallion. If I''m sessful in cracking the rune encryption on the artifact, I''ll be able to limit the expression of your individuality. Doing so mightpromise your medal''s functionality over time. But I don''t think you would mind that.'' ''Do it,'' Eren replied affirmatively after Alephee finished exining. He didn''t get much time to chat with Alephee regarding this matter because he was next in line to receive a title. "The next title recipient is Eren Elijah Idril." Emil''s clear voice reached Eren''s ears. He looked up to see the king of Edinburgh staring right at him with a smile on his face. The butcher took a deep breath before putting on his brightest smile. When the rankers around him blinked their eyes, Eren disappeared. Eren kneeled in front of Emil as thetter praised him. "A talented person who broke into the rank of an Expert at such a young age, Eren is another dazzling diamond of Edinburgh we cultivated at the Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy. His lightning and fire attainments are in the leagues of their own. He is also pursuing the Way of Elements in other fields to enrich his path as a ranker." Emil stood upright and looked at the crowd with his kingly gaze, letting his words sink into his listeners'' minds. He locked his hands behind his back and stood at attention before speaking up. "Eren has also established the city of White Raven on his own. He made the best use of the kingdom''s help and turned his city into a lucrative model for himself and the entire kingdom by default." Eren narrowed his eyes as he looked down. ''The kingdom didn''t do shit,'' he thought deep into his mind but didn''t let that show on his face. It was never a wise idea to correct a king in such a trivial matter. "His progress in LA was consistent and something to look up to for most of his batchmates. He served in Edinburgh''s army with a spotless record and confessed his love for thend like a true patriot. What''s more? He is a certified potion maker. Edinburgh is using his recipes and products for the uing war efforts. We are d that such a reliable young man is supporting his kingdom." ''Of course. As long as you keep giving me manufacturing contracts, I''ll keep supporting you guys. I am indeed a true patriot.'' Eren thought to himself as he heard Emil''s words. The king''s words were a nice mix of facts, fantasy, and euphemism. Just the kind of blend Eren was used to concocting. Alephee chuckled in Eren''s mind before saying sarcastically. ''Hehe. I shall bestow you with the title Philosopher of Bullshittery foring up with responses like these.'' Alephee beat Emil in awarding Eren a title. Meanwhile, Emil continued his speech. "Eren delivered a ster performance inside Sansara World. And he punished the state''s enemies at the battle of Edinnica Arena. The Grim Pir Town he has erected is a tight p to Layos and its forces for conducting despicable acts inside Edinburgh. His guild works closely with our war strategists and other prominent rankers. The White Raven Guild is a huge supporter of Edinburgh''s campaign against injustice." Emil looked at Jiana Jihang in the audience as he said. Chapter 1220 Spoiler Title ? ''This young man has dipped his fingers in many pies. No wonder House Remus and House Slughorn want to get rid of him.'' Osha thought to herself as she heard Eren''s achievements from Emil''s mouth. She was acquainted with Birmond Remus who also wanted to chat with Eren regarding their conflict. He was stationed at the border at the time with his demon beast. The other Sages present on the tform also looked at Eren with newfound curiosity. They wondered how one could find time and drive to pursue such a wide scale of interests. Emil seemed mentally fatigued after speaking for so long. But as a king, he knew how to perform his duties even when he didn''t want to. "Eren''s list of achievements is long. And frankly, we should have offered him many more benefits sooner. I can only apologize for neglecting the boy''s efforts until now." Emil looked at Eren and pursed his lips before adding further. "Betterte than never, I guess. It pleases me to say that Edinburgh has finally recognized Eren''s dedication to work and service to his country. First of all, Eren''s entire guildnds shall be given to him as his fief. The city of White Raven and Grim Pir Town would haveplete autonomy to run themselves however they want. The kingdom will never interfere in Eren''s fief unless for security reasons. Eren wouldn''t have to pay taxes on the ie he generates from his fief. He could also ask for the kingdom''s assistance in case he needed any financial or administrative help. What''s more? Eren will be able to ask for Edinburgh''s intervention on his guildnds if he finds himself threatened by any internal or external force. Edinburgh will do everything in its power to protect Eren''s fief." Eren sighed with relief when he heard Emil''s words. He was prepared to face House Slughorn, House Remus, and the Escalon Guild on his own turf. But he preferred no covert or overt attacks on his property. The destruction caused by any attack, of any scale, was bad for business. Reputation and security mattered a lot when it came to running a sessful money-making organization. One bad move and everything woulde crashing down. With the king''s words acting as deterrence, most of Eren''s problems rted to his city''s security would be solved. And with Grim Pir Town serving as a way to mock Layos, Edinburgh would not allow harm to these two locations. The butcher needed this kind of assurance from Emil before starting with the Lazarus Project. He didn''t want anything to happen to his golden goose while he chased dangerous clouds. "Here, take this." Emil handed Eren his medallion and asked him to channel his mana. Thetter got up and held the medallion in his hands, tracing the runic engraving with his fingers. The medallion was made of metal but it was exceptionally heavy for its size. No mortal would be able to lift it even using a group of three people together. It was palm-sized and round in shape, boasting abstract metallic engravings on both its faces. Eren closed his palm on the medallion and turned around to face the crowd. He closed his eyes and listened to the crowd''s cheers. It wasn''t long before ambient noise started feeling distant and fading. Eren concentrated to a point where he could only listen to his breathing. He could hear his lungs expanding and closing with his breaths. He could hear the sound of blood pumping through his veins. And he could hear the sound of his heartbeat closely as well. The butcher needed to concentrate this much to use his soul sense with fine control. He hid Alephee''s intervention from the Sages by masking it with his soul sense. Alephee herself was cautious about her task. She started modifying the runic engravings over the medallion in real time without alerting the Sages around Eren. Steve already had an unofficial title from his LA days. And he tamed a boar-type demon beast. It could be said that Steve''s individuality was well-established. Emil came up with a title for Steve naturally. Unlike Steve, people didn''t know much about Eren. That''s why Emil wanted to see Eren''s individuality get drawn out by the medallion before he bestowed Eren with a title. "Young man are you alright?" Emil asked Eren in a low voice. His eyes looked at Eren puzzled. The king didn''t understand what Eren was doing by holding the medallion so close to his heart without channeling his individuality into it. ''It''s done.'' Alephee''s voice was heard in Eren''s mind before he answered King Emil. A subtle yet cunning smile escaped from Eren''s lips as he opened his eyes and looked at the crowd awaiting his move. Instead of answering Emil''s question verbally, the butcher started channeling his mana and elemental attainments through the medallion. The medallion in his hand started buzzing and became instantly hot. So much so that it would have burned the flesh of any lower-ranked entities instantly. Eren allowed his individuality to emerge as he opened his palm. The deafening cheers abruptly halted, and the previously chaotic atmosphere turned eerily still. The audience members gazed at one another with questioning expressions, doubting their own sanity and the reality before them. The bright lights of Edinnica dimmed to a barely discernible glow, and the sun''s scorching heat vanished from the sky. The unsettling stillness of this new world was devoid of both day and night, hinting at an impending event that could shake the very foundation of reality. Suddenly, a dense mass of mana streaked through the sky like a fall. It emitted a bright purple light like a miniature sun. However, it brought with it a sense of doom rather than life-giving energy. Theet caused spectral orange mes to engulf the sky, yet the essence of twilight remained, lending a foreboding air to the surroundings. Emil''s murmured words echoed through the silence, solidifying Eren''s title. "Grimdawn" === Chapter 1220 Title: The Dawn of Grim Possibilities: Grimdawn AN: Many of us wanted Grim added to Eren''s title. All suggestions made sense so it was difficult to choose just one. After considering everyone''s choices, I settled on Grimdawn. Kindly note that it''s not suggested by anyone but the culmination of all suggestions. ;) Chapter 1221 An Offer That Can Be Refused ? ''What the fuck is this? You told me you handled it.'' Eren said to Alephee with a gloomy expression on his face. He looked at the sky that still served as a canvas for his soul-stirring individuality and hoped it wouldn''t get weirder than this. Alephee knew Eren thought she had done a shoddy job on the medallion resting in his palm. She sighed and rified. ''I DID. This is the best I could do given our time and environmental constraints. It could have been disastrous, Eren. Much worse.'' Eren pursed his lips and let the matter be. He then paid close attention to his audience who were busy looking at the dispersing scene in the sky. Nobody called out his title or name. Nobody cheered for him. It was as if everyone had signed an illusory agreement to maintain silence. Unlike other title holders, Eren''s individuality did not generate an externally suppressing atmosphere. Instead, it created a knot in their hearts and minds. People in the audience felt that they didn''t need any external stimulus to get intimidated by Eren''s individuality. Rather, most of them subconsciously epted being afraid of him as a natural state of mind. Even the Sages and the current Edinburgh king were stumped. They witnessed events like these dozens of times in their lifetimes. But they had not seen an Expert ranker affect the world around him as Eren did. It was as if Anfang''s consciousness reacted to Eren''s individuality. ''Why did it feel more like an omen than the manifestation of individuality?'' Emil thought this as he looked at Eren''s dispersed individuality. But then he remembered that he was Edinburgh''s king and shouldn''t be intimidated by an expert-ranked youngster''s individuality. He had an event to run and the show must go on. "Grimdawn! Emil reiterated the title he subconsciously bestowed on Eren. He cleared his throat beforeing up with words to justify the title. "Henceforth, Eren is bestowed with the title of Grimdawn. And for the right reason. We hope that Eren will grow so much that he can cast a shadow of fear in Edinburgh''s enemies'' hearts. May he be the dawn of grim news for the rotten rankers of Layos." Emil waited for his audience to react to his speech. And thankfully, he heard a p. Then another. By the 5th second, the entire audience pped for Eren, apuding him for the title and fief. Nina and Levine supported Eren vocally with their screams. Jiana Jihang, on the other hand, just smiled and pped her hands. But one could tell by looking deep into her eyes that she was in awe of her guild master''s potential. Eren''s army teammates were also in the audience. Altashia, Arjun, Lyon, Dianna, and the rest banded together to support Eren''s achievements. With Eren''s groundbreaking individuality, his friends and enemies realized that he was one of the rare rankers among the participants who had the potential to be a Sage. So the apuse Eren received was more for his potential rather than his individuality or his title. One had to say that Emil was very creative with his words. He understood what kind of person Eren was by witnessing his individuality. Still, Emil used just the right set of words for Eren''s individuality to influence the audience. With his creative speech, Emil defused a tense situation. The other Sages supported him by pping along with the audience. Emil looked at Eren''s back and thought of something. He then looked at his son Rodrick who knew the butcher well. The king asked Rodrick a few questions and received positive feedback from him. Aftering to a decision, Emil contacted Eren using voicemunication. ''Young man, your individuality is... something. You have the potential to break into the Sage rank if you keep progressing at this rate,'' Emil said, his eyes scanning Eren''s face. Eren''s ears perked up at Emil''s voice. The king''s words caught his attention, and he stood straight, looking at the man with an intense gaze. Emil''s words had surprised him, and he was interested to hear what he had to say next. ''I know you have an entire city to yourself, so I won''t force you to join right away. In fact, I''ll not force you at all,'' Emil continued. ''But let me know if you want to work for the royal court or as one of my men under my direct control.'' Working directly for the Edinburgh king. It would have been a tempting offer for any young ranker. Ivor Osan would have epted it in a heartbeat if he was in Eren''s shoes. But Emil could clearly read in Eren''s eyes that he was not impressed. The butcher was about to say something. But Emil cut him off immediately. ''Alright! Let me say a few things to make things clear for a young ranker like you,'' Emil said as if reading Eren''s thoughts. ''There is a lot Edinburgh can still offer you that you might not be able to get just because you have money. I don''t want to sound king-like when I say this, but there are certain ranking resources in thend of Anfang that you can only get by being close to authorities like me. We have a monopoly on them.'' Eren listened intently to Emil''s words. He knew that Anfang was full of opportunities for an Expert ranker like him. And he also knew that he was missing out on rare opportunities meant for elite rankers by not associating himself with a prominent establishment. But it didn''t change anything for him. ''My king'' Eren began, about to politely decline the offer. But Emil interrupted him, sensing Eren''s hesitation. ''Progressing in Expert rank is hard, Eren. But Master rank is where things get really difficult for rankers. You won''t progress without prominent backers. That''s why there are not many Grandmaster rankers in this world not associated with prominent establishments. Entering the Sage rank without a prominent force supporting you is even rarer to the point of impossible. But then again, even with the required support, the Sage rank might elude you.'' Emil sighed recalling his personal struggles. He then shook his head before speaking up to Eren again. pnd---no?1,o ''The opportunity I offer you will definitely be worth your time. It will be there on the table for as long as you need it to be. You know how to find me if you ever want to ept it down the line. Just promise me you will think about it, alright?'' Chapter 1222 Graduated At Last ? ''Just promise me you will think about it, alright?'' Unbeknownst to the rest of the rankers and title holders, the current Edinburgh king was actively seeking to hire Eren as part of his personal entourage. This was an offer Emil had not extended to any Expert ranker before. It would have been a huge honor and opportunity for the other participants. Most of them would have epted Emil''s offer immediately. The solo recipient of such honor himself had a different viewpoint on this topic. Emil was more interested in roping Eren into his camp than making him work passively for Edinburgh. That''s why he offered Eren a less-strings-attached deal. Emil also knew that Eren wouldn''t ept his offer right away because he wasn''t in a hurry to do so. So he extended the offer''s validity indefinitely. This was because Emil believed that Eren would soon realize what he was talking about as he progressed further in his ranking journey. The butcher chuckled in his head as he understood Emil''s game n. He had to say that the king knew how to make wise moves irrespective of the situation he faced or the people he was dealing with at any given time. ''Thank you for the offer, my king. I will reach out to your audience if and when that timees. Please allow me to forge my own path until then.'' A polite and politically correct way of saying no. After witnessing the choice of Eren''s words and demeanor, Emil concluded that Eren would have a sessful career in politics if he ever decided to step into it. Eren had no ns to get into the murky waters of kingdom politics and the kingdom''s affairs. He also did not want to get close to the Anfang Alliance just by being near Emil. He knew all the bets would be off if and when they discovered his half-blood status. Grimdawn just wanted the White Raven Guild to get paid for its contribution to the war between the two kingdoms. Eren was averse to receiving favors in any form because it always demanded a favor in return. No handout came with zero strings attached in Anfang. In fact, he had used this unwritten principle many times to make it work for him rather than work against him. Rodrick Renar is only one example. Plus, Eren had no ns to stay in Anfang after breaking into the Master rank. So he did not need to worry about a potential backer. Of course, Emil did not think Eren would have such ambitious ns in the first ce. He shed a cunning smile when he heard Eren''s words. He expected Eren to say no to him anyway. So he wasn''t surprised. "Alright, Grimdawn. I wish you all the best. Please continue to serve your country as you always have." Eren nodded at Emil and bowed in front of him again. By this point, people had recovered from their initial shock. They started calling Eren Lord Grimdawn. The butcher smiled and bowed in front of his audience before resuming his position. Eren resumed his previous position and watched as two more participants received their titles and expressed their individualities. Emil praised them for their achievements. The rest of themencement ceremony proceeded as scheduled. By the time evening arrived, Emil and his entourage had aplished almost everything they needed to do. "Lastly, I have an announcement to make." Emil''s voice was coated with excitement. pnd---no?1,o "Edinburgh will arrange a Graduation Ball for all graduated rankers and their close ones in three days from now on. This is a tradition observed by all five academies and this year wouldn''t be an exception either. We have tough times ahead. But let''s not forget how to live. It is essential for us to know what we are fighting for", said Edinburgh''s king with a joyful tone. "I would like all of Edinburgh to bless these young heroes with their well wishes. They will need them soon. With this thought imnted in your mind, I''ll leave." Emil waved his hands and bid adieu to his audience. A gust of fresh wind distorted Emil''s figure into nothingness. The crown prince Rodrick Renar and other Sages followed their king and disappeared one after another. Themencement ceremony ended on a pleasant note. This was despite Edinburgh''s war situation. The graduate rankers decided to take full advantage of the "breather" given to them before assuming their designated responsibilities. Therefore, the Grad Ball was something all participants looked forward to. The audience and the participants merged into one huge crowd when they didn''t have to behave in front of their king. With open arms and hearts, they greeted each other. Some rankers and their close friends immediately huddled in various groups. Some participants wandered and hopped from one group to another. Eren too had many greeters. His White Raven Crew from LA, Nina, Altashia, and the rest. He met them all with a smile and had brief chats with them. Grimdawn also congratted Steve and the other rankers from his batch. When he realized he had talked to everyone he needed to talk to, he quietly left. Nameless empty streets. Midnight silence. Bright moonlight lit up a ranker''s path. He had no real destination tonight. Not really. This ranker''s steps did not make sounds. His hooded face was as mysterious as his ranking status. While his newly acquired title was celebrated by others, he foundfort in anonymity. Eren found himself wandering aimlessly in the capital city. Scenes from his past life ran through his mind as if someone hit y on a long-paused shback video. Eren couldn''t help but juxtapose his past deeds with his current achievements. He participated in the graduation event to get Sage Legacies. At that time, he did not care if he graduated or not. However, Eren was d he had endured this experience. It offered him the closure he never thought he needed. With a chuckle, he mumbled to himself. "Grimdawn, huh? Not bad. Not bad, indeed. Kekeke!" Erenughed, his emerald green eyes exuding peculiar light. He looked at the sky above him and for the first time, it didn''t feel empty and meaningless to him. For this special asion, Grimdawn was about to indulge in his old vice. "Tonight I shall drink." === AN: Our boy graduated after 1200+ chapters. Some might argue that it is not that relevant for him considering his current situation. But I think it was significant because of his past. Also, sorry for the release dy. Someone has been cutting onions here for a long time. ;) Chapter 1223 An Impromptu Meet ? The next morning. Around 8 AM. A shabby house in a not-so-rich district. The capital city, Edin. The thatched roof missed several shingles, and the walls were discolored. The shutters hung crookedly, and the front door creaked loudly on rusty hinges. The windows were so dirty that it was difficult to see inside, and the porch was littered with broken furniture and old pots. Inside, the house was a testament to neglect and decay. The floors creaked and groaned underfoot, and the musty scent of dampness filled the air. The furniture was old and worn, with threadbare cushions and frayed rugs. The firece was ckened by years of use, and the chimney was blocked with soot. The furniture was old and worn, with stuffing spilling out of the cushions, and the floor rug was threadbare and frayed. Despite its dpidated state, the house was now home to two strangers it had never seen before. But it was used to weing strangers of all kinds anyway since the house''s original owner abandoned it. So it didn''tin. Shabby houses were often weing hosts to their uninvited guests. One of the strangers was an Expert ranker with ck hair and emerald-green eyes. This man slumped over a rickety breakfast table, his face resting on his arms. He passed out from overindulging in liquor, umon for his ranking status. One would have to wonder what quantity and quality of liquor he drank to achieve this feat. The chair he sat on was equally neglected. Its wood was warped and its joints were loose. Yet, it held together with stubborn determination, as if it assumed man''s life depended on it. The green-eyed man''s eyes flickered open from time to time, revealing a strange light that hinted at an otherworldly power. It was as if he were lost in a daydream, with his eyes threatening to turn icy blue. Despite the destion around him, the man seemed at ease. This was as if the decrepit house and its shoddy furnishings posed no ill will to him. The chair creaked in protest, but it held on as if trying to match the man''s unshakeable confidence. The second upant of this weing house was a girl in her early 20s. She couldn''t be as careless as the man sleeping at the table. She paced around the room, apparently waiting for the green-eyed man to wake up. Her needless hurried stride showed she was running out of patience. This white-haired girl had a striking figure. Her locks cascaded down her face like a milky waterfall, framing her features in a soft glow. Her light blue eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint, and her rosy white skin seemed to glow under the warm sun. Her peach-colored lips were full and pouty, and a small, cute nosepleted her wless features. As she moved, the fabric of her white dress flowed and swirled around her, highlighting her feminine curves in all the right ces. The dress had a deep neckline that showcased her ample cleavage, drawing attention. The white-haired woman donned a tiara-like piece of golden jewelry that rested delicately atop her head. Its intricate chains were interwoven within her hair locks, giving her a regal appearance. Toplement her tiara, she wore a gleaming golden ne that gracefully traced the contours of her pretty neckline. This added a touch of elegance to her overall look. It was clear that this girl was used to being the center of attention in her crowd. And that she was used to enjoying every moment of it. But at this moment, the green-eyed asional drunkard was her onlypany. And it didn''t look like he was interested in anything about her at this point. The young woman ceased her pacing and stared at the man slumped over the table. "Tch. When will this shrewd bastard wake up?" she muttered, irritated by his drunken stupor. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight of his drool pooling on the table and clenched her fists in frustration. Despite her urgency to rouse him, the young woman froze in her tracks as the man''s contracted beast materialized before her. The beast, a red lightning bull, emitted a cloud of white mist from its nostrils and regarded her with a watchful eye. Its spectral form flickered in and out of visibility, ready to pounce at the slightest provocation. With a look of caution in its expressive gaze, the beast silently warned the girl that she should not dare disturb the slumbering man. It was clear that the beast would not hesitate to take action if she acted recklessly and put the man in danger. The girl was an Expert ranker, possessing impressive skills of her own. As a half-blood, she had grown ustomed to disregarding the contracted beast spell used against her kind in the past. The girl knew she had serious responsibilities to fulfill on behalf of her n. She approached the drunken man intending to strike a business deal with him and be done with her work, regardless of her personal distaste for his state of inebriation. Time was of the essence, and she couldn''t afford to waste any. However, as she stepped forward, the red lightning bull''s eyes changed, its pupils turned milky white color. The girl stared into its eyes, frozen in ce. A horrifying world of illusions materialized before the girl''s eyes. Flesh flowers sprouted all around her, made from the fibers of various living organisms. The ground beneath her turned blood red as a shower of blood drenched thendscape, filling the air with an iron scent. She heard horrifying screams and maniacalughter from a distance. The sky, once a monochromatic red hue, was now reced by a loominget that hurtled towards her at a breakneck pace. It left a trail of mes in its wake. The girl knew it was all an illusion, but fear gripped her heart nheless. She was helpless against the illusory doom about to consume her, and she let out a blood-curdling scream. When she finally blinked her eyes open, she was back in the shabby room. It felt like she had woken up from a nightmare, yet a part of her mind was still trapped in the terrifying illusion. Her heart was racing, and she was drenched in sweat. She realized she had unconsciously moved backward, pressing herself against the wall. It was only then that she truly understood the gravity of the man''s reputation. With a shaky voice, she called out to him as she saw his eyes flutter open. "Lo Lord Grimdawn!" Chapter 1224 Ariella Lowin Ѧd---n?a| om ? "Hm? Who who''s asking?" Eren awoke from his slumber and responded to the white-haired girl with a question of his own. He sat up in his chair and looked around, disoriented. "And where am I? This... doesn''t look like the right ce to be.... woah!" It was unclear if the chair was unable to take Eren''s physical load anymore or if it was hurt by his words. But it finally gave up and crumbled into various pieces. And the sole user of the wooden chair, "Lord Grimdawn", fell t on his butt along with it. "Damn! I knew this would happen. From now on, I should stick to Ster Sativa whenever I''m not in a familiar setting." Eren cursed under his breath before getting up. And only then did he pay attention to the scared-looking beauty with him in this shabby house, in the same room. "Hm? Who are you, Miss? And are you alright?" Eren asked while looking at the girl curiously. She had her back to a wall. Any more pressure from her and the wall would crumble. Just like his chair did. It seemed the Expert ranker girl also knew this. That''s why she had stopped herself from demolishing the house. The young woman remained silent but stepped forward to prevent the wall from copsing. She straightened her dress and fixed her hair, yet her eyes revealed that she was still intimidated by the man before her. "Why are you afraid?" Eren inquired, closely observing the girl. He had not deliberately cast Sedating Gaze on her to make her submissive, so he could not fathom the reason behind her apparent fragility. Eren focused his C-Rank mana and dispersed the drowsiness that had previously enveloped him. He summoned arge mass of water and disappeared into it, emerging momentster in fresh clothes. It was a trick he had learned from Agatha, akin to taking a quick bath. "The thing is..." the girl hesitated to speak, but Eren''s keen perception led him to cast an istion barrier around them. He sensed that the girl''s background was not ordinary, and the conversation they were about to have needed to be kept between them. Eren pointed her towards the same table he had slumped over and slept on. He wanted to find out how they both ended up together in this forsaken house. He had hazy memories of thest night and needed someone to fill in the nks for him. The girl finally got her bearings back after taking a long, deep breath. She walked towards the table and sat on the chair opposite Eren''s previous location. The girl frowned when she looked at the drooling stain Eren had left on the table. With a flick of her fingers, she conjured white mes over the table and removed the saliva stain. "House Lowin!" Eren understood the girl''s background as soon as she cast the white mes. The ne around her caught his attention. It was probably an artifact that kept her bloodline energy from being detected. Thankfully, there was another chair Eren could use. He pulled it up, ced it across from the girl on the other side of the table, and took his seat. He looked at the girl in the eye and prompted her to say something. "Lord Grimdawn or should I call you Expert Eren? Do I need to reintroduce myself again?" Eren raised his eyebrows. "Again?" he asked with surprise. It was clear he didn''t remember meeting this charming girlst night. The girl sighed as if she expected something like this from Eren. She ced both her hands on the table and reclined in the chair before speaking up. "Hello, Lord Grimdawn. It''s nice to meet you all over again. I''m Arie Lowin. As you might have guessed, I''m from House Lowin. And I represent my n and the Last Blood Bastion as I speak to you." It was clear that being a half-blood, the girl did not like Eren''s title given to him by the kingdom of Edinburgh. But she knew she shouldn''t pay attention to these minor inconveniences and look at the big picture. Eren was the only half-blood in post-cmity Anfang that had not only stayed out in the open but also gained recognition from the establishments. She could understand the sheer difficulty of achieving something like this. So she respected Eren''s title anyway. Especially after getting hit by his powers while the man himself was unconscious. "Hi. Name''s Eren. It''s nice to meet you, Arie Lowin. You can call me by my name. Tell me the reason for your visit. And if you could exin to me how we got here, that''d be great." Eren said with a light smile on his face. He let his entrepreneurial side in him take over. He remembered Sirius telling him that House Lowin would soon contact him regarding their custom orders. So he could guess what Arie was about to discuss with him regarding her business proposal. With a look of annoyance on her face, Arie asked Eren if he remembered her. She was offended by Eren''s apparent forgetting of herpletely. Eren shook his head, clueless about Arie''s identity. Sighing, Arie exined the events of the previous night. It turned out that they crossed paths on Edin''s abandoned streets. Arie had nned to meet Eren outside his vi anyway because she knew his ce would be under surveince by the kingdom''s forces. So she tried to turn this impromptu meeting into a business meeting. However, Eren was too preupied with getting drunk and forced Arie to tag along with him. Arie could not discuss business with Eren as he was too busy drinking and flirting with her. When it came time to pay the bill, Eren passed out, leaving Arie to foot the bill. This left her with a huge hole in her savings. As people inside and outside the tavern recognized Eren as Lord Grimdawn, Arie realized they had a problem. With Eren heavily intoxicated and unconscious, Arie had to quickly usher him out of the tavern to avoid drawing unwanted attention. Despite his state, Eren''s hands had a mind of their own, groping Arie as they left. Arie had to exercise immense patience as they evaded the enthusiastic pursuers and sought refuge in an abandoned house where they could be safe from other rankers. After Arie recounted the events of the previous night, Eren offered a hollow apology, scratching his ear with a sheepish smile that Arie saw right through. It was clear to her that he wasn''t truly sorry for the trouble he caused her. Chapter 1225 Plans To Manufacture Hex Gear Sets ? "And it''s not like we met only yesterday." Arie said grumpily. She subconsciously caressed her stomach as she spoke. "We fought in the Edinnica Arena battle, Eren. Sage Edgar told me to pretend to fight you. So that''s what I did. But you... you took things too far." Arie gave Eren another light shock. He looked at her face for a moment, but nothing came to his mind. To be frank, Eren was too preupied with hatching up schemes to care about anyone he fought with. After all, blowing up Sansara World and allowing Maya to escape with him was his priority at the time. He went into autopilot while he was battling with Arie. So he didn''t remember her much. But then he remembered kicking someone in the gut and looked down to see Arie caressing her tummy. "Oh! You are that girl that I kicked errr hmm... let''s just say I remember you now." It could be said that Eren and Arie did not have the most impressive of starts. Their first and second meetings were disastrous for the poor half-blood. She would have left the venue earlier without the business deal if it wasn''t so significant. ''This man infuriates me without reason. But I have to admit that he is not at fault. It''s just circumstances.'' Arie sighed and looked at Eren''s business-friendly smile. She forced herself to smile before offering. "Eren, House Lowin would like to ce a custom wearable artifact manufacturing order. It''s synthetic skin armor specially made for half-bloods like us." Eren straightened himself up and stopped flirting with Arie. When it came to business, he didn''t like to fuck around. He scratched his chin before speaking honestly, something he rarely did with clients. "It would be an honor to serve in House Lowin, Arie. But I must confess that I don''t have any prior experience or expertise rted to manufacturing half-blood-specific gear and artifacts." Arie nodded in understanding before clearing up the matter. "That''s not an issue, Eren. We know that half-blood-rted knowledge is not known to those outside the Last Blood Bastion. Therefore, we will provide you with the required alchemy techniques, array setups, and other nuances involved in manufacturing. It''s just that it is difficult for us to manufacture these things in mass because we can''t procure the necessary ingredients in bulk. That''s where your guildes in. We figured it would be wise to outsource the manufacturing entirely rather than investing time and efforts in establishing a set process." ''Damn! That''s what I needed. Maybe I can use their information as a reference point to make some stuff for my bloodline.'' A tinge of greed was evident in Eren''s eyes as he looked at Arie. Thetter coughed before speaking further. "Of course, you''d have to sign a binding contract with us not to use our information for reverse engineering. We trust you. But we still need to y it safe when ites to the unwanted spread of information. House Lowin might get targeted or its gears be less effective after information about them spreads to unwanted people. We want to be especially cautious about the Anfang Alliance. So I hope you understand our extreme measures." ''No, I don''t. I''ll just find a way around to get what I want.'' Eren thought to himself. But outwardly, he nodded at Arie before agreeing with her. "Ipletely understand, Arie. Clients'' well-being and satisfaction are our top priority. Plus, I have to respect House Lowin''s wishes because of Sage Edgar. His heroic actions at the Edinnica Arena battle inspire all half-bloods." ''Hehehe. Eren, Edgar ran away from Garos. How someone could say something like that with a straight face is beyond myprehension. Alephee spoke into Eren''s mind. She was not with Eren at the time. He had told her to give him some alone time yesterday. So she remained at his vi. However, she kept tabs on him and his conversation with Arie anyway. ''Haah! People have blind spots for those they admire, Alephee. I know what I''m doing.'' Eren replied to Alephee''sment in his head as he observed Arie. Thetter was indeed d he looked up to Sage Edgar. She decided to proceed to a formal agreement. The two discussed manufacturing scope at length along with other details. The more Arie exined the manufacturing process and functions of the required gear, the more curious Eren got about it. eglesn?el ''Hmm. It sounds like Hex gear specifically meant for half-bloods.'' Eren drew a primary conclusion as he listened to Arie''s exnations. Of course, she only knew the basics behind the half-blood-specific gear and artifacts. He needed to hold the actual documents and process scrolls to validate his assumption. Eren already nned to create Hex gear sets, which he could pair with multiple sses. Hex gear dedicated to each ss. This would allow him to enhance each ss''s usability and bolster his offensive and defensive capabilities. It would also allow him to transition into various sses easily. Grimdawn immediately understood that gaining this type of information from House Lowin was crucial for him. He could also use House Lowin as a foundation to form deeper ties with other Houses in the Last Blood Bastion. If he could get other Houses to sign the same type of deal with him, he would benefit financially and enrich his database rted to Hex gears. ''Hmm. I''ll have to offer her apetitive price to set an example for other Houses who might be looking at this deal from the sidelines. A smallpromise now would help me in the long run.'' Eren thought to himself beforeing up with a rough cost for each consignment. Even though she tried to hide her surprise and glee, Eren could tell that Arie was tempted to ept the offer right away. The promise of a drop of honey to bee in exchange for lifetime servitude. One could say that Eren knew how to run a sessful business. Hours passed by quickly by the time the duo finished their talk. Arie and Eren finally came to a formal agreement. She needed to contact Agatha for further esction. Arie was very happy to stick with Eren until he made sense to her. She got up and was about to bid him farewell. But the butcher''s next words made her freeze. "Arie, I wanted to discuss something with you. It''s regarding Demonmir. Won''t you sit back and listen to what I have to say?" === AN: Arie Lowin was introduced in chapter 1082. Hex magic and Hex gear are described in chapter 878. Also, I forgot to add footnotes in the previous chapters, which might have confused some readers. But Eren and Alephee had made a n to leave thend of Anfang in chapter 629 after his sessful breakthrough into the B-Rank. Of course, leaving doesn''t mean he will nevere back. ;) Chapter 1226 Arranging A Meeting With Demonmir? ? ''I hoped it wouldn''te to this. Turns out I was too naive.'' Arie sighed before returning to her seat. She took a deep breath before rifying things for Eren. "Grimdawn, I know it sounds like I don''t wish to cooperate with you. But that''s not how I want you to feel. I want you to understand our perspectiveC our struggle against oppression." Eren was about to talk to Arie. But thetter raised her hand and pressed on. "Please let me finish. Let me tell you something about our side. The Last Blood Bastion is already stretched thin trying to fight the Anfang Alliance with whatever limited resources we have. So we can''t pick a side. We will need to prioritize our benefits before we can even choose between the various allies we have. So it''s nothing personal. Also, you need to know that we will not be moving against you just because Demonmir wants us to. We have decided to y neutral to the conflict between you two." Eren chuckled at Arie''s words. He knew there was nothing more convincing than someone lying to themselves. There can never be a true neutral sentient being in any world. Living and mentally functional people always have a bias toward certain things or people. They may not think it exists. They may not realize they have a bias. But it always existed deep within anyone''s mind. ''The Last Blood Bastion ys safe. It wants to see who brings more profits between me and Demonmir. After it ensures that it has used us bothpletely, it''ll pick someone less threatening to its existence. This is regardless of whether the choice has given them more profits or not. Do they really think I won''t be able to get what they are trying to do? Or do they just consider me naive and hopelessly romantic about certain concepts of life like honesty and integrity?'' Eren thought to himself as he listened to Arie''s words. "Therefore I hope you didn''t drag House Lowin between you and Demonmir. Whatever your differences are, I''d appreciate it if you settled them individually without getting us involved. Or here''s another suggestion. And I know it may seem difficult. But why don''t you shake hands and bury the hatchet between you two?" Eren couldn''t help but crack a smile which eventually turned intoughter. He saw Arie angry at him forughing at her words. But that didn''t stop him fromughing more before blurting out what he had wanted to say all this time. "It is impossible. There can never be a true truce between hunter and prey." Arie disagreed with Eren''s hardline stance against Demonmir. She hadn''t worked with Demonmir for long. But as far as she could tell, Ottoman was highly pragmatic and driven. Arie mmed her hands on the table and almost broke it before saying her words with conviction. "Why not?" Why can''t there be a truce between you two? Demonmir is emunicated by the whole Anfang Alliance now. Alliance forces actively hunt him. Thest thing he wants is to keep fighting with you for a city he can no longer control or use in any form. You can''t do anything about him either. I don''t want to put you on a lower pedestal than him. But let''s face it. He is Demonmir. He has a Demon Prince''s soul fragment within him. What can you do against someone like him if he really decides to kill you? I admit that he may have plotted a lot against you in the past. But today''s reality is different. So why not move on for personal growth? After all we can''t change things that happened in the past, can we?" Eren pursed his lips and tapped his fingers over the table. "Well actually," he was about to say something but Arie silenced him once again. "My point is there is nothing to be gained for both of you if you keep fighting between yourself. If you want, House Lowin can pay as the mediator..." "Enough!" With a grim look on his face, Eren''s eyes threatened to turn white. Arie''s mind froze when she looked Eren in the eyes. In the next moment, she closed her eyes and turned her head towards her left, as if trying to render Sedating Gaze useless. However, unlike what she expected, the butcher did not use his ocr Ability on her. Neither did he let his soul sense overwhelm her or threaten her. He smiled as he said what needed to be said. eaglesnov?1,o "My dear Arie, I suggest you don''t jump to conclusions by reading the reports about me and Demonmir. There are certain things you will never find in the reports." Eren spoke calmly and non-threateningly. This was a privilege he extended to her because she approached him for a business proposal. Eren took out a bottle of booze from his storage. Two silver chalices appeared beside the bottle next. He made two drinks on the table and ced one in front of Arie. "Here. Drink this." Arie opened her eyes and confirmed that it was safe to open her eyes. She looked at the drink warily before inhaling its aroma. She pointed at the bottle before speaking usingly. "This brand I paid for this elven alest night." Erenughed and shrugged his shoulders before saying nonchntly. "All the more reason to drink up." Having a shot of the same booze the next morning was Eren''s solution to beat a hangover. He had a habit of saving a peg or two for himself in the morning before gettingpletely shitfaced. Grimdawn chuckled as he watched Arie drink from her chalice with extreme caution while looking at his nose to avoid eye contact. It was like watching a cat drink her share of milk while looking at her owner. Eren watched Arie finish her drink. He then finished his drink in one gulp before speaking to her. "You wanted me and Demonmir to sort out our differences without getting you involved, right? That''s what I wanted to say to you. All I want you to do is arrange a simple meeting between me and Demonmir. Your House and the entire Last Blood Bastion can walk away from any potential conflict after that. Does this sound like a reasonable deal to you?" Chapter 1227 Romance Blooms On The Foundation Of A Booming Buisness ? Arie left using her space-element rune, leaving no trace behind. She promised to meet Eren and Agatha often in the city of White Raven. She had to if she wanted to ensure the deal got properly executed. Eren was still sitting at the rickety table. He had various thoughts running through his mind at the time. He needed to calm them before leaving the ce. Arie had agreed to pull some strings and see what she could do about arranging a meeting between Eren and Ottoman. There were no promises. But Arie had to put in genuine efforts because she had struck a deal with Eren. One needs to take care of their business partners after all. Especially if the business partner was someone like Eren. However, Eren knew that the Last Blood Bastion would get in the way of his war with Demonmir if Demonmir proved valuable to all half-bloods. And the guy had all the right advantages to lure the half-bloods. His knowledge and expertise in the lost paths of magic alone made it worth it for the Last Blood Bastion to invest in him. This was the reason Arie focused on striking a truce between Eren and Demonmir. This was even though she herself did not agree with half of the wordsing out of her mouth. She knew both of them were significant figures in the Last Blood Bastion. They were irreceable entities in their eyes. The loss of either one would be a huge loss for the Last Blood Bastion. Of course, Arie, or the Last Blood Bastion was wary of Demonmir more than they feared Eren. Ottoman killed his faction from House Montmorency to be with them. So things were not really easy to decide for the Last Blood Bastion elders. They were constantly trying to bnce the situation, a task without an expiry date. Therefore, Arie refused tomit to a window period to arrange the meeting between Eren and Demonmir. It could happen in the next couple of months or years from now on. This depends upon Demonmir''s situation, his avability, the state of the war, and even the Anfang Alliance''s actions against them. Eren agreed to Arie''s proposal anyway. He had no other way to track and locate Demonmir. And he wasn''t free to dedicate all his energy to finishing Demonmir. So this passive move worked for him. Eren also told Arie that he wanted to visit the Last Blood Bastion and meet with other Houses. He was interested in doing business with him. Arie agreed to his proposal immediately. She only told him to wait a few weeks to arrange things from her end. Eren could have always used Sirius'' connections to get inside the Last Blood Bastion. But even Sirius agreed that House Lowin had a rtively higher standing in their circle. Getting invited by House Lowin would make Eren more approachable to half-blood ns. Eren and Arie achieved a lot in their first professional meeting. They had a few disagreements, but they found a middle ground. Eren had to say that Arie was a better representative of her House than Fiona. Their roles were almost identical for their respective ns. But Arie had certain authority within her family, while Fiona relied on Sirius to make key decisions. Eren would have preferred branding Arie then and there. She was a crucial chess piece he could use to infiltrate the Last Blood Bastion. But he knew he couldn''t use his Mist of Lust on her right off the bat. That''s because his powers did not work that well against real half-bloods. The half-bloods weren''t immune to Sin Series Abilities'' effects. But being rted to demons by their blood, they had higher resistance to these powers. Mist of Lust would inflict a bacsh on Eren if Arie''s soul resisted during the branding process. All of his business deals and future ns would be ruined if that happened. Plus, the Last Blood Bastion would grow wary of him and his powers if Arie conveyed what had unfolded between them. The risks outweigh the rewards in this situation. This left Eren with only one option. Wooing Arie in the traditional way. Eren took his time. Heplimented Arie sweetly and subtly and asked a few personal questions that weren''t too intrusive. He mixed them in between business talks and let them flow naturally. The lioness was hesitant to respond to Eren''s queries at first. So she did not fully open herself to Eren. But she responded positively to hispliments. So it could be called a positive start. Not everything needs to be instant anyway. Eren needed to set his future meeting with Arie in the right settings under the right conditions. So that romance blooms on the foundation of a booming business. Eren indulged himself in retrospections and future ns when left alone in the shabby house. Scratching his chin, he thought. ''It doesn''t look like it''ll happen anytime soon. But I need to prepare for Demonmir in advance. Killing him would not be easy even if I set traps for him. It''ll be especially troublesome if Samaelpletely takes over. Plus, how can I kill him without the Last Blood Bastion interfering between us? The realistic answer is no. The bastard knows how to use people. Plus, he has many Trump cards to ensure his survival.'' eaglesnov?1,o The more Eren thought about meeting Demonmir, the harder it seemed for him to kill the guy. But that didn''t discourage Grimdawn from nning against him or the Last Blood Bastion. ''If I couldn''t use this meeting to kill Demonmir, I would use it to create an opportunity. An opportunity to surprise him whenever I want to. The element of surprise would be my biggest ally when getting rid of that fucking snake. I''ll have to use Alephee''s instructions to create a kill roomC one specially crafted for a Demon Prince''s vessel. I also need safety protocols and exit strategies. Fuck! This isplicated. Even if I manage to kill Demonmir and neutralize the Demon Prince''s soul fragment within him, I''ll have to keep things clean in the Last Blood Bastion. I''ll also need a fallout n in case things go south. It''s a perfect storm in the making no matter what I do.'' Chapter 1228 Grimdawn- In The Midst Of Brewing Storm ? ''It''s a perfect storm in the making no matter what I do.'' Eren tapped his fingers on the table as he thought of many things at once. His absent-minded eyes looked like they were peering into all the possible future events unfolding because of his actions. ''Demonmir. Demon Princes. The half-bloods. Last Blood Bastion. Anfang Alliance. The kingdom of Layos. Ongoing war. Lazarus Project. Reen. Sansara World. Sansara runes. Maya. The world-epassing barrier. The five neighboring worlds. My spirit beast. Hex gear sets. Master Rank. Many variables. And the poor lonely me. Kekeke. This this should be fun.'' The butcher''s eyes shone brightly when he formted a radical n in his head. It brought a smile to his face and finally inspired him to get up from his seat. It also inspired him to do more than just get up. ''As storm clouds gather in my sight, Fallout lurks in each new site. Each path I take shakes my poise. Leaves me to face the deafening noise. I seek an escape from my fate. Each choice seems to seal my state. Yet in the midst of this brewing storm, A chance to transform, to be reborn. With countless variables at y, A wless n seems out of sway. For I know that in the end, ns may break or bend. Despite the chaos, I''ll find my way. Break free from this vicious fray. And if mes of fallout ensue, I''ll rebirth from the ashes, rise anew. So let the winds of change rage on. Let chips fall where they may belong. The bringer of endless fright I''ll be. Grimdawn, forever etched in memory.'' Grimdawn mused to himself as he stood straight and looked outside the broken window with his hands behind his back. Even after thinking about the potential fallout, his heartbeats were steady and consistent. It was as if his entire being was ready to face chaos- and thrive in it. For Eren, letting his thoughts run astray worked in his favor. It allowed him to understand what he could do to achieve his goals without sacrificing his self-interests for the most part. Eren stopped contemting when he heard noises outside the house. "I think I think Lord Grimdawn is here somewhere. This is the only ce in the vicinity we haven''t searched for." The first voice sounded full of doubt. "But we''ve been trying to reach him for hours now. What chances do we have of finding him now?" The second voice prompted everyone to almost give up on their mission. However, the third voice shared information that breathed new life into the minds and mission of these young searchers. "My friend stationed at Lord Grimdawn''s vi says he is not back there yet. He may be still roaming the streets of Edin." The first voice pondered for a bit before making a decision. "Alright. He is an Expert ranker after all. He may have used his means to escape us. But... But we will try anyway. We''ll split up and check each house separately. Let''s see who meets him first. Hahaha." Eren heard these boisterous voices from somewhere not too far. These young voices were filled with enthusiasm. They chased Arie as she fled the elven tavern carryingst night''s intoxicated Eren. Apparently, they searched for him all night and were unwilling to give up on their chase. It seemed that Eren had be too popr after the graduation event. Especially after witnessing his peculiar individuality. It struck fear in their hearts when they first experienced it. And that fear transformed into admiration. The overwhelming individual might be well respected in Anfang after all. Most of Grimdawn''s fans were young Novice rankers. They had all the time and energy to pursue him and ask for his guidance. They weren''t even content with meeting him or shaking hands. In the next moment, someone stepped into the shabby house he was upying. A door leading to Eren was about to creak open. Grimdawn had his back turned against the door. Heughed lightly before saying out loud, "Sorry boys, I got work to do. Maybe another time." Blink. When the door waspletely open, Grimdawn was nowhere to be found. An empty silver chalice was left behind for the young ranker by Eren on the rickety table as a souvenir. The young ranker was disappointed to miss Grimdawn by a hair''s breadth. Then his mind convinced himself that the back of the ranker he saw and the voice he heard was an illusion. It was his defense mechanism designed to save him from feelings of regret. When he saw the souvenir on the table, he was amazed. His eyes sparkled and he quickly grabbed onto the chalice like his life depended on it. This silver chalice would be something the Novice ranker would cherish throughout his life. It was sure to be passed down to his future generations as a family heirloom. *** A well-lit potion-makingb. Eren''s vi. Theb had the right set of arrays and alchemy products in ce. It had a dedicated potion bank and istion chambers for various ingredients. The trapped, sulfuric air of the potionb was cleaned in real-time by the wind-element arrays, making it inert and odorless. Eren and Levine were seen standing at their respective tables. They werepleting a very precious concoction. Levine guided Eren while paying attention to her own brewing process. "Eren, you can add the remaining ingredients now." Levine didn''t have to instruct Eren much. Thetter knew how much elemental mana he needed to imbue in the concoction process to stabilize the content inside the cauldron ced in front of him. The toe of a Greenwater frog, the wool of a lightning bat, the tongue of a ck me wolf, and a purple silk blind-worm. Eren added various ranked items to the concoction after processing them parallelly. His Expert-ranked elemental mana was added and elevated the potion''s potency. eglesn?el Gurgle! The bubbles formed in the concoction as the cauldron harnessed the heat of the orange mes under it. A series of mana pulses was also generated which subside with each passing second. The butcher stabilized the concoction by adjusting the rune array etched over the cauldron. When he knew the concoction was ready, he used a runic pipette to draw a small quantity of the concoction from the cauldron. He poured it into the beaker ced beside the cauldron on the table. The beaker''s runic inscriptions reacted to the concoction and changed its color from green to colorless. An indication that the concoction was perfectly stabilized and ready to consume. "With this, I have nothing else to teach you, Eren. So I will not be your potion teacher anymore." Eren heard Levine''s slightly exhausted sound from behind him as he observed the contents inside the beaker. Smiling, he turned around. Chapter 1229 Dropping The Formalities ? Levine and Eren faced each other after their experiments. Levine wore a dark blue dress that hugged her curves without being too tight. The peasant-style blouse, high-neck embroidered bodice, bishop sleeves, and elegant skirt created an elegant silhouette that was Levine''s favorite style. The dress had a cor-like extension that covered Levine''s exposed shoulder des, fur-like details at the end of the sleeves, and golden embroidery below the waist and at the bottom. She essorized with a stunning pendant and a sleek fedora hat, which added to her visual appeal. Levine''s waist-length, off-white hair was voluminous and full of life, bouncing with every step she took. Her cherry-red lips and supple skin gave off a youthful appearance, which was fitting for her recent promotion to Master-ranked potioneer. Overall, Levine exuded a vibrant and vivacious presence. Levine slowly removed her gloves, which she was used to wearing during potion-making tasks, and looked at Eren with a peculiar expression now that their student-teacher bond had ended. "Thank you for being patient with me, Levine," Eren said, dropping the formalities as a sign that he no longer saw her as his teacher. Levine appreciated the gesture and enjoyed being addressed directly by her former student. One had to say that Eren was very seamless with his words and bodynguage. Levine''s name came naturally to his lips without hesitancy. This proved to Levine that he had already prepared himself to wee the change in their rtionship dynamics. Eren was dressed in his typical adventurer''s attire, but without the usual lightweight leather armor he wears typically. Instead, he chose a runic bracelet that created a space-element barrier when needed. Although the bracelet was costly and had limited uses, Eren had enough savings to afford such essential items. He didn''t like taking chances with his safety and security. Eren''s ck hair had a distinct dark purple sheen, and his ck and green outfitplemented his emerald-green eyes. Levine returned Eren''s smile and handed him her personal recipe scrolls. These were the remaining scrolls from her collection not yet given to Eren. Levine handed Eren a set of scrolls. "These recipes may be of use to you," she said. "I created them to counter Demonmir. I even used them at the Battle of Edinnica Arena. So you can say they are field-tested." Her face turned bitter as she recalled herst encounter with Demonmir, the wretched demon who escaped her grasp. "I''ll be honest, Eren," she continued, sighing. "These potions may hinder that man, but they don''t work that well against him. At least not the way I wanted them to. Or maybe I didn''t use them right? I don''t know. Either way, they can help you in a pinch. I''m sure someone like you would make better use of them than I ever could." Eren nodded and stored the scrolls in his personal storage. He knew he needed to spend time researching Levine''s recipes to ensure their effectiveness. He snapped his fingers, and theb apparatus disappeared, reced by a recreational space with a mini bar in the corner. Eren led Levine to a seat at the counter and, with a lightning crack, appeared on the other side. Without waiting for Levine''s response, he offered her a drink of her brand. Levine''s eyebrows arched inquisitively as she observed Eren''s empty ss. "You''re not drinking?" she asked, her voice curious. "I''m good," Eren responded with a faint smile, shaking his head. He then gestured to the cheese assortment on the tter. "But I highly rmend trying one of these with wine." Levine nodded in agreement and reached for a slice of cheese, savoring its creamy vor as she sipped her wine. Eren watched her intently, analyzing her expression for any hint of difort or unease. Eren watched her carefully, concern etched on his features. "What''s bothering you?" he asked softly. "And is there anything I can help with?" Levine hesitated for a moment before confiding in Eren. "It''s Demonmir," she admitted, her voice heavy with frustration. "I thought I had him cornered at the battle of the Edinnica Arena, but he escaped effortlessly. Now I don''t know how to find him, much less defeat him. How do I answer my n''s expectations weighing on my shoulders? And how do I ensure the act of vengeance won''te back to harm my n?" Eren nodded in understanding. He knew Levine was very personal about finishing Demonmir. She had be the de facto leader of her n in Demonmir''s absence. But her position would only be cemented when Demonmir''s death news spreads. Levine was a potioner first and foremost and excellent in her field. So nobody expected her to fight the demon frontally. But the remaining members of her n wanted her to do something about the demon somehow. Without Demonmir''s death, her House would not only lose face, but internal turmoil would also resurface. "*Sigh. I''m already on it, Levine. Just don''t expect quick results." eglesn?el Eren assured Levine. Eren wanted to get rid of Demonmir as well. After all, he had interacted with the man on various asions. If the Demon Prince inside Demonmir really started connecting the dots, it wouldn''t take long for him to conclude that Eren was the inheritor of Elder Ichor. The Demon Prince Samael would receive the memories and experiences of Demonmir if and when he died inside Anfang. This was the oue Eren wanted to avoid at any cost. He needed to personally kill Demonmir in the right settings to ensure his identity as Elder Ichor''s inheritor stays secret. However, Eren didn''t need to tell all this to Levine. He was happy to let her assume that part of the reason he was after Demonmir was because of her. He was content in being seen as the rescuer of damsels in distress. Levine smiled faintly at Eren''s words. She nodded at him before drinking another sip. She watched in amazement as Eren used his elemental fusion shards to dissect a fish and serve her cubes of juicy pink meat. The elemental shards also processed fish meat as soon as they came in contact with the flesh. The aroma released by the cubes was enticing, and Levine couldn''t resist taking a bite. As she chewed, she felt a sense of contentment wash over her. The wine and food were delicious, and Eren''spany wasforting. She knew they had a long road ahead of her to defeat Demonmir. But for now, Levine was grateful for this moment of respite. Chapter 1230 Manipulated And Vulnerable ? The hours passed in a blur. Eren and Levine talked about various subjects as the former refilled thetter''s ss. Between the city of White Raven''s future ns and the Montmorency n''s resource management, they had a lot to talk about. As always, the butcher charmed Levine with his words. He supported Levine''s stance and her decisions when he found them right. He suggested alternatives whenever he thought she was about to do something wrong with managing her n''s resources. The two also talked about Eren''s graduation. Levine asked whom he was attending the ball. The butcher said that he would like to go with all thedies he is currently involved with in any capacity, including her. Of course, he meant those in the capital city at the time. Nina, Renita, Altashia, Ma, Almera, Nysa, and Jiana. Levine was also added to the list of partners Eren decided to bring to his Grad Ball. If Eren was just a typical graduate, Grad Ball management would have declined his long list of plus ones. It would have shouted "fucking pick one" before shutting the metaphorical door in his face. However, since it was "Grimdawn", Grad Ball management decided not to make a fuss. People also wondered if he was really as threatening as his title suggested because his actions pointed in another direction. Of course, Grad Ball news was leaked constantly inside the capital city. Eren''s young fans learned that he was bringing an entourage of beauties to his Grad Ball. They couldn''t help but take pride in him. They supported him and his actions with even increased zeal than before, treating him as a god among men. Greedy! That''s what Levine called him when she heard Eren''s Grad Ball ns. Thetter just shrugged his shoulders as if he didn''t mind thebel and all that it implied. For some reason, Levine didn''t object to Eren''s greed. She felt d to be included and looked forward to attending the function with him. Levine''s cheeks slowly turned red as she drank. The wine ss in her hands disappeared when she thought she had had enough drinks. She looked at Eren provocatively before asking him. "So what will you give me as a reward for teaching you everything I know?" eaglesnov?1,o Eren met Levine''s eyes and stared back at them. "What do you want?" he asked in a curious voice. The Master-ranker smiled wickedly before answering honestly. "You. I need you, Eren." Eren smiled when he heard Levine''s words. "That''s an excellent reward to have," he said, pping the mini bar''s counter. When Levine blinked, she found herself sitting over the counter with her lips only an inch away from Eren''s. Eren stood by the counter whereas Levine sat over it. The two felt each other''s warm breaths as they stared each other in the eyes. Levine was taken aback by Eren''s quick response to his advances. She could see a hint of yfulness in his eyes. She also observed his lips threatening to twist into a wicked smile. Levine started retrospecting her interactions with Eren since she developed romantic feelings for him. Such close proximity to Eren allowed her to see past events from a different perspective. "You you have instigated me all this time. Slowly nudging me towards this very moment." Levine rubbed her nose on Eren''s as she spoke with a raspy and passionate voice. She felt Eren''s hands around her waist on either side. In exchange, she also wrapped her arms around his neck. Eren chuckled when he heard Levine had somehow realized he had manipted her all this time. He was very patient with her. And this was the fruit of his efforts that could not be denied. "This is a crucial journey for us, Levine. So I wanted to make sure you were led in the right direction. It was such a challenging job for me. Won''t youfort me for a job well done?" Eren asked in a deep and yful voice while tracing Levine''s waist curve with his hands. At this point, Levine understood Eren''s nature well. She brushed her lips against his and almost kissed him before speaking up. "Do you know that you are taking advantage of a vulnerable woman who seeks a solution to her problems in your embrace?" Eren also started his tease. He pulled Levine closer and made her part her legs. Her dress was lifted above her thighs as a result. He licked her lips with his tongue tip before responding. "Taking advantage of vulnerable women is my specialty, Levine. Many emotionally vulnerable women are roaming around everywhere. And many men pass on the opportunity to get close to them because they are stupid or scared. Or because they want the world to identify them as gentlemen. I am fine with whateverbels the world or you gals throw at me. Come. Show me your vulnerability. So I can fix it. Or at least stop it from getting worse." Eren rubbed his cheeks against Levine''s before whispering in her right ear. "I am going to exploit you, Levine. Now the real question is, what will you do about it?" Levine felt a bubble of excitement in her guts after hearing Eren''s response. Her heart was pounding inside her chest. She pulled him even closer before finally giving in to her desires. "I I''ll let you." Levine cupped Eren''s face with her hands and looked him in the eyes briefly before kissing him passionately. Thetter responded immediately by turning it into a smooch. Levine felt like a block of ice in a hot frying pan. Her pleasure senses were overloaded to the max and she forgot all her worries. Every fiber in her body let go of inhibition. Her hands explored Eren''s back as she kissed him and her legs wrapped around his thighs. Levine also felt Eren''s bulge pressing against herdy part. One could say that the minibar height was perfectly in sync with the duo''s current activity. ''This... was long overdue. I''ll make him pay for teasing me so much.'' Chapter 1231 “I Have Many Ways To Surprise You.”* ? Levine realized she had waited too long for this moment. She wanted to make Eren suffer for his teasing. However, she failed to control the situation. Eren''s presence was so intoxicating that all of Levine''s ns to get even with him seemed far-fetched and unlikely to be reality. As Levine kissed him deeply, it was as if the potioneer in her urged her to find a remedy to forget all her troubles. And the man in front of her was exactly what she needed at the time. Lost in Eren''s arms, Levine thought about relishing her lone time with Eren. She had goosebumps on her skin as she felt Eren''s hand on her exposed pale thighs. He left red marks on her thighs because his fingers were digging into her flesh. All of this while he kissed and licked her neck and cheeks. The greenish-blue veins on her thighs pumped more blood as Eren''s hand kneaded her flesh everywhere. Levine''s breathing became heavy as Eren''s lips trailed down her corbone. She arched her back, moaning softly. Eren''s hands moved up to her waist, pulling her closer to him as he explored her body with his lips. Levine''s hands reached into Eren''s hair, pulling him even closer as she kissed him with an intensity she had never felt before. "Aaaah! Yes!" Eren''s hands moved up to her chest, gently kneading her breasts through the fabric. Levine gasped as pleasure shot through her body. She wanted more, needed more. Eren''s right hand moved upwards from her thigh as his left-handtches onto her right tit. His fingers felt the heat radiating from her dripping cunt. He lifted Levine''s dress and exposed her dark blue panties. His fingers traced the puffiness of her vaginal lips while smooching her. "Hmmmm!" Levine''s leg gave out when she felt Eren''s fingers caress her hot, wet, and slimy cunt. Her vaginal walls expanded and contracted in anticipation of further action. Her love juices messed up her wet panties. Levine''s now-erect nipples were fine-tuned by Eren''s left hand. He pressed her bountiful bosom with reckless abandon. As a result, she started having red marks on her skin that almost looked like light bruises. Eren was getting rough with Levine''s smooth and supple body. And Levine enjoyed every moment. She moaned and hissed in his ears and urged him to continue. She encouraged his actions with her suppressed "hmmm" and "aaaaah". Levine grabbed Eren''s glutes andtched onto them. She pushed his pelvis towards her and felt his scalding hot rod pressing against her pussy. With a flick of her fingers, she coated Eren''s body in her mana. In the next moment, Eren was naked from the waist down. Levine''s hands reached between her and Eren and grabbed onto his hot rod. She felt his veiny dick with her fingers before touching the mushroom head. "Eren aaaaah You are packing quite something!" Levine''s low voice was feeble and full of ecstasy. Eren stopped kissing and licking her exposed bosom beforementing. "Kekeke. You...hmm... you have no idea, Levine darling. I have many ways to surprise you." Saying this, Eren pulled Levine''s dress down and made her remove her arms from its sleeves. As a result, her pretty dress congregated around her waist like some weird belt. Underneath the dress, Levine wore a dark blue brassiere that worked well with her dress. It was made of soft satin fabric that made her boobs tempting to look at. Eren''s right hand maintained its southbound duty as it infiltrated Levine''s wet panties from the top. His left hand effortlessly untied the breasts caged by her blue brassiere, destroying the fabric with his fire-element mana. Levine stroked Eren''s 8-incher along its entire length while weing his mouth to her naked right tie. She bit her own lips and moaned out loud as she felt his lips sucking and nibbling on her erect nipples. Eren''s right hand explored Levine''s wet cave. She had a light amount of pubic growth down there that helped seal in the musky aroma of her vaginal fluids. "Aaaaaaah!" Levine cried in pleasure when she felt Eren''s finger stimting her puffy clit in just the right way. Eren was neither too rough nor too gentle as he yed with Levine''s pink button. She tried to open and close her legs frantically to deal with the heightened sense of ecstasy she felt at this point. Eren''s fingers, assigned to southern pubicfield duty, worked in tandem. They spread Levine''s delicate vaginal lips and explored the crack along its length. While her clit was touched and yed with by his thumb, two of his fingers seamlessly found their way inside her flesh cave. Levine''s body jerked as if it had been subjected to an earthquake from within when she felt Eren''s fingers inside her. They seem to stretch and expand as soon as they find their way inside, touching her cervix and G-spot in one swift move. Slowly and surely, they entered and exited her wet cave. Eren bit on Levine''s right nipple as he thrust his fingers inside her. He could feel Levine''s climax was near with the way her pussy walls contracted andtched onto his fingers. Lightning mana was used inside Levin''s wet cave to stimte her into an even higher realm. It tickled her insides and gave her G-Spot a surprising yet highly euphoric shock. "Aaaaaaah! You basssssssssssssss!" Levine arched backward before lying t on her back. Her pussy walls clenched onto Eren''s fingers. Then she came and released everything that was building up inside her wet cave. Levine''s body shook. She folded her legs on the counter and lifted her pelvis up as she came. The mini-bar counter was drenched in Levine''s pussy juices at this point. Her still-on panties could only hold onto so much. Levine''s rolled-back eyes spoke volumes about her zoned-out mind. Her lifted pelvis remained in the air for some time until her pleasure waves subsided. Then, her butt cheeks made a fleshy sound as she allowed them to kiss the ground abruptly. Chapter 1232 “How Do I Look?” P1* "Haaaah!" Levine gasped for air as she felt her elevated heartbeat return to normal. It took her some time to get back to her senses. She lifted her head and looked at Eren who was still there. He smiled and helped her. She took a deep breath before grabbing onto his hand. She used it to lift herself before sitting upright. Levine could feel the wetness she had caused on the counter. She could smell her own love juices. And she could see her ex-student looking at her with expectations. Levine felt like she was born anew. She channeled her Master rank mana throughout her body before scooting toward Eren while still seated at the counter. Levine looked into Eren''s eyes with curiosity while grabbing his dick. She stroked it a few times as she lifted her leg and pulled her soaked panties to the side from the leg opening. This revealed her gorgeous hairy pussy. cing his dick right at its entrance, Levine looked Eren in the eyes. She leaned forward and pulled Eren''s face closer to her. She nibbled on his earlobe before speaking up. "I... I need it Put it in right now!" Levine''s voice was soft and gentle. But the intentions infused into that voice made it seem domineering. Eren had no choice but to obey hermands. Levine was pulled to the counter''s edge by Eren''s hands resting on her butt cheeks. The man didn''t bother to get rid of the remaining clothes that had been worn by both of them. He rammed his dick inside her as she stretched her panties and made some space for his dick to get in. The shaft grew in length and girth as it got inside, stretching Levine''s pussy walls to their limits suddenly. "Aaaaaaah!" Levine didn''t verballyin much about Eren''s insidious move. Instead, she dug her nails deep into his back to show how unprepared she was. Eren chuckled before whispering into her ears, "Surprise!" The injuries on his body healed with a snap of his fingers. Levine felt like her soul woulde out of her open mouth. She clenched her fists and found the strength to counteract. First of all, she held Eren''s hips from either side and prevented him from jamming his rod inside her. Then she adjusted herself on the counter and got rid of her panties before stretching her legs apart. "Um... Keep them for future use, Levine. They look good on you. Keke." Levine was about to throw her soaked and spoiled dark blue panties away when she heard Eren''spliment. The pussy juices they absorbed made them darker still. But it seemed that Eren liked them. A smile spread across Eren''s face as Levine looked at him meaningfully. With a flick of a second, she made all her clothes disappear into her storage. "How do I look?" A fully naked Levine asked while Eren''s dick was still half inside her. One could see that she was very confident in her looks. And rightly so. Eren''s eyes and mana sense scanned her from top to toe before responding. Eren slowly guided his dick inside Levine''s wet hole and thetter stared at him while he did that. She steadied herself by cing her arms backward on either side of the counter and using them as support. She spread her legs a bit more and leaned back to allow easier pration. Eren used slow and steady strokes while tracing Levine''s lips. His fingers were coated in Levine''s own love juice. And yet, she licked them and moaned as she waited for her partner topliment her. "Levine my darling your lips are so soft and full, they feel fantastic against mine," Eren said while slowly thrusting his dick inside her before pulling back gently. The cycle of to and fro continued as he spoke further. "I like your lips, a delicious mix of sweetness and warmth. Levine enjoyed this slow and intimate fuck session as she listened to Erenpliment her body. She looked at him eagerly and prompted him to speak further. Eren grabbed Levine''s neck gently before slowly increasing his grip. He used his other hand to explore her back before continuing from where he left off. "Your skin is so soft and supple, it feels like silk against my fingertips. I love the way it feels when I touch you, so smooth and youthful. It was made for me to caress and adore." Eren drove his finger through Levine''s hair as he continued to offer hispliments. "Your hair is so silky and luscious, it''s like a silkworm''s work. I love the way it feels when I run my fingers through it, so silky and smooth. Your hair is so gorgeous, it makes you stand apart from the rest." Levine was in blissful heaven again. Her pussy was once again dripping love juices aplenty. And her nipples were erect again. Her lust was visible in her eyes. But at this point, Levine controlled her emotions and ecstasy. She enjoyed the steps leading to her second orgasm consciously. She cooperated with him by lifting her hips slightly above the counter and meeting Eren''s stroke halfway. With her initiative, Levine increased the pace as she listened to Eren''s words keenly. "Hmmmm... Oh, Levine! Your eyes are so pretty and captivating like they have magical power. I like their sparkle when you smile. It''s so infectious. Your eyes are so beautiful, they make me feel like I''m looking into your soul." The butcher didn''t care whether Levine couldprehend hisplexpliments the way he wanted her to or not. He had a feeling she was only hearing the gist of what he was saying because of the sexual high she was experiencing at the time. But he did what he was supposed to and gave her praises the way she wanted him to anyway. He also enjoyed fucking Levine by taking his sweet time. "Your nose is so cute, Levine darling. I love the way it looks when you scrunch it up every time Ie up to you regarding a difficult business problem. It''s so adorable." "Aaaaaaah! Yes! Keep going... keep going!" Even though Eren spoke normal words, they acted as dirty talk for Levine while they fucked. The butcher didn''t need to struggle much as he did what he was doing. Eren''s hands grabbed Levine by her waist before the words came out of his mouth as naturally as if he were breathing. Chapter 1233 “How Do I Look?” P2* ? Eren''s hands grabbed Levine by her waist before the words drenched in poetry came out of his mouth naturally. "Your waist is so slim and elegant, Levine; it''s like a perfectly shaped hourss. I love the way it feels when I hold you, so delicate. Your curves are so irresistible, they make me want you even more." Eren grabbed onto Levine''s tits with both his hands as he slowly increased his to-and-fro motion. He went balls deep into her before pulling half of his dick''s length out. As a result, Levine''s beautiful and bountiful boobs bounced up and down. Seeing them bounce and pressing them added an extra thrill for Eren as he fucked her. "Your tits Levine darling They could be called nature''s perfection. I could spend hours ying with them and I still wouldn''t get bored, getting lost in the pleasure they bring me. They are so full and soft, it''s like fondling clouds. I adore how they feel when I touch them. It''s like they are not made of blood and flesh but of my hopes and desires." "Aaaaaah! Oh, Eren... press them. They aaaah they are yours to y with, baby. Everything that is me is yours to im." Levine said while cing her hand over Eren''s as he pressed her tits. She applied pressure to his hand and allowed him to be rough with her. "Oh fuck! That''s good!" Eren had to say this was one of the most enjoyable slow fucks he experienced in both his timelines. He savored every moment as he increased his speed. Of course, he wasn''t done praising Levine yet. As Levine lifted her pelvis with her hands, Eren was able to grab her mushy buns by slipping his hands from below. He squeezed them firmly while continuing. "Levine, my darling. Your ass Hmmm Your ass is in a league of its own. It is so shapely and sexy, it''s like it was fuck it''s like it was sculpted by a divine artisan. I love the way your mushy buns jiggle and change shape when you walk so enticingly ahead of me. It''s so mesmerizing." Eren''s hands continued to explore Levine''s body as he fucked her. Next, he rested them on her squishy thighs. "Your thighs are so meaty and pillowy, I could rest my head on them and sleep for hours on end. You fuck you are getting tight!" Eren''s pleasure sensors made him go off track for a second. But he shook his head and continued. "You you could also use your thighs to crush my head between them." Eren managed to chuckle a bit before continuing. "Your long legs are mood-makers in their own way. They make me lose my mind wanting to fuck you whenever I see you walking in front of me with your back towards me." Eren increased his pace suddenly when he felt his balls were about to be emptied deep inside Levine. He closed the distance and embraced Levine before speaking further. "Vinny my darling your body is so inviting, I can''t Oh... Fuck... I can''t help but want to hold you close. Curves in all the right ces make you look beautiful and bodacious." "Aaaaaah! Eren hold on to it. Hold on to it, baby! I''m aaaah1 I''m close too." Levine urged Eren to keep doing what he had been doing for 40 minutes. She wanted him to continue what he was doing. But her bodynguage told Eren to crank things up to the next level. Eren manipted his dick''s size again as he approached his first climax. But this time Levine''s body was flexible and amodating. His emerald-green eyes shone with brilliance as he prevented lust mana from affecting his consciousness. He wanted a genuine and unadulterated experience with Levine. Plus, he wanted to control his Sin Series Marks, not the other way around. Eren inhaled Levine''s body odor as his face approached her neck. The smell of sex was mixed in the air. And Eren could inhale and taste the smell of wine she had drunk in abundance. This made her body even more intoxicating for the butcher. "Your smell Hmmm... it''s like a spell that I can''t resist. It is so seductive to inhale, it makes me want to get closer to you every time. You don''t know how I controlled my urges in the past when I was with you, learning lessons from you. Talking business with you. You know how difficult it was for me... aaah... to concentrate on my task? Who will console me for the difficulties I went through because of you? Hmm? Who?" p! The butcher pped Levine''s butt cheeks with both his hands before squeezing them hard. Thetter threw her head backward and almost came on the spot. But she controlled her body by channeling her mana. She wanted toe at the same time as her partner. So she also decided to dabble in verbal expressions to vent out the overflowing feelings building inside her. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I''ll console you, Eren! I Fuck! Yes! I''ll use my body my everything to console you. And in return, yes! Faster baby. And in return, you do the same for me. After all, I... had been controlling my urges too. And you teased me a lot. Oooooooof!" Eren was pleased with Levine''s response. He could tell she was holding onto the awareness she had for her spoken words to make sense. He caressed her face with both his hands and nted a peck. At this time, something interesting happened. Eren turned his feelings of lust into lust mana instead of the other way around. He felt like he didn''t need to use the channel granted to him by Sin Series Mark to summon Sin Series mana from the Seven nes of Sins anymore. At least not for this activity and session in particr. And since Eren had subconsciously converted all his lustful energy into lust mana, he felt clear again. This was a strange situation for the butcher. He could feel that his body was still involved in the act. But his consciousness had been partially cleansed from the sexual high. Chapter 1234 [Bonus ] Converting Lustful Energy Into Lust Mana* ? The feelings of lust were converted into lust mana. This lust mana coursed through Eren''s body without affecting his mind again. It was as if he was inplete control of this lust mana because it was his own and not something he had summoned from the Sin ne with the help of his Sin Series Mark. Eren didn''t know how the lust mana he had created would differ from the usual lust mana he was used to employing. But he figured that the applications of this type of lust mana would be the same as regr mana. If he had to guess, it would be the output of the applications that would differ depending upon which brand of mana he was using at the time. However, Eren kept those thoughts aside and focused on his current task by looking into Levine''s moist eyes. He also retained the lust mana he had created and didn''t let it disperse through his system. After all, this was not the time to experiment with apletely different field of magic that had been opened up for him. Eren got his rity back while his physical body enjoyed the carnal act he was involved in. He still felt like he was savoring his time with Levine. But it didn''t make his mind as cloudy as before. It was as if he was inplete control of the steps leading up to his orgasm. And unlike Levine, he didn''t have to struggle as much. It came naturally to him without any conscious effort on his part. Tap! Tap! Tap! The sounds of flesh meeting flesh kept getting faster and louder with each passing moment. This whole time, Eren didn''t stop pounding Levine. And since Eren got rity back, Eren was more in control. Eren''s next words were clear and devoid of sexual highs. "Your body is not everything I adore about you, Levine darling. Your good intentions towards me, your potioneering guidance, your willingness to form a partnership with me for the city of White Raven when I had little to show for it. I remember them all. I am grateful for all those things and so much more." Levine opened her eyes to Eren''s words. Even her sexual high waned as she started thinking about the past. She remembered how Eren had helped her find the herb she needed to heal a fatal injury, given to her by Demonmir. She remembered how Eren became her student in LA. Her mind wandered back to the chat they had before he embarked on his first on-field assignment in the duchy of Nightshade. Levine also remembered the first time Eren convinced her to meet with House Derringer. She remembered his barren guildnd before it was converted into something as grand as the current White Raven city. Levine had to say that both Eren and she struggled for their dreams. And both of them had somewhat achieved their goals. Eren was a sessful bona fide ranker in the kingdom, an exceptional potioner, and a cunning businessman with an entire city to his name. Levine had also recovered from her injury, broke into Master rank, got her faction up and running from scratch, and kept advancing in the field of potioneering. In the end, she even became the leader of House Montmorency, something she had always wanted. Just as Eren credited part of his sess to Levine, she also had to admit that he had a huge hand to y in her sess story. Therefore, her eyes sparkled and turned moist when she heard those words from Eren. Unfortunately for her, she couldn''t convert the feelings of lust into lust mana. As a result, her lustful feelings and mushy feelings got mixed and created a deadly cocktail that made her cry as she came. "Aaaaaaaaaah!" Eren also smiled when he saw and felt Levine''s condition. He almost pulled his dick out before ramming deep into her wet cave. With a low grunt, he released all his load deep inside Levine and embraced her wholeheartedly. Levine also let go of her self-imposed restrictions and came hard while Eren''s dick was still inside her. She fell t on the back this time. Her breaths were short and uneven. When Eren removed his dick from inside her and was about to create some distance, Levine used her Master rank powers on him. In the next moment, Eren found himself on the same counter as Levine, lying beside her. She turned to her side and hugged him tightly. She rested her head on his chest beforementing with a simple, "Thank you." Eren was out of breath too. Without enough heightened emotions that could help him reach his climax, his body just kept getting more sexually high than ever before. As a result, he felt more tired than he thought he would after releasing his first nut. Only now did Eren understand that creating intent-based mana had its own disadvantages as well. He concluded that the ebb and flow of intentions helped living beings make sense of their situation at any time. If feelings were always at their peak, the person would tire. Consequently, if they recede suddenly, they would also affect the person in some way. Snap! Eren snapped his fingers and surrounded both his and Levine''s bodies in water-element mana. When the water mass was dispersed, Eren and Levine were clean and rejuvenated again. "I hope you are not done with this yet." Eren teased Levine as he sat straight on the counter. Thetter also followed him and chuckled. She shed a wolfish smile at him before responding. "I was about to ask you the same, sweetheart. You are locked in this space with me until the Grad Ball event starts. I''m just getting started." As Levine channeled her Master ranker mana throughout her body, she spoke. Eren''s Ability worked well for him. But it did not produce prominent results for someone like Levine who was a rank higher than him. Eren smiled bitterly before jumping off the mini-bar counter. He turned around and looked at Levine with hunger. He reversed some of the lust mana he had created back to its original state. As a result, he suddenly became horney and ready for more. With a quick movement, Eren lifted Levine and carried her to therge bed that was part of the recreational room he had created for himself. He gentlyid Levine down on the plush bed, his body hovering over hers. Levine''s mind became a blur of pleasure and desire after this. Chapter 1235 Shroomcid Trip ? It could be said that Eren had underestimated Levine. She administered a radical potion to both of them after their sixth consecutive session. This potion was enough to mess with his senses. The Master-ranked potioner told him it was derived from some ranked ingredients that were hard to get in the local herbs market. The potion''s effects were very potent even for someone like Eren. He started seeing the world in weird colors and the objects around him seemed to have lost their shapes. He started hearing smells, tasting sounds, and seeing things that were not really there. Eren''s soul sense was also not spared by the potion. His mental connections with Reen, Alephee, Argo, and those who he had branded were all affected by the potion''s effects as well. Argo called it a Shroomcid trip, which ording to him, was something you get after consuming questionable acid and funky mushrooms together. Of course, Eren didn''t pay any attention to anything Argo was saying to him at the time. He was too busy focusing on breathing consistently to care about anything else. Eren cut off his mental connections with everyone to focus on the task at hand. Being the creator herself, Levine knew how to handle the potion''s effects. But the butcher struggled for a few minutes to make peace with his altered perception. It took a while for Grimdawn to get hold of himself while he was high on the so-called Shroomcid trip. He had to say that this was not his brand of mental high. He liked getting happy drunk or feeling at peace with Ster Sativa''s effects. Eren would never try something like consuming these forms of potions on his own. However, his potionb was a safe ce. And Levine was there to apany him. So he decided to embrace the new experience with her anyway. Eren thought of using Levine''s concoction as a debuff potion after making a few changes to its recipe. He was sure that he would be able to kill his enemies faster without making his hands dirty. Those affected by a debuff like this would most likely end up killing each other in panic, after all. The couple ended up spending almost two days together, locked inside the same room. They had practically created their own world inside the potionb. And with Levine''s potion, they both felt as if they had spent months together. When Eren got outside of the potionb, he found that there were less than 12 hours for his Grad Ball. Levine told him that she would take a rest and join him at the venue itself. Unfortunately, Grimdawn couldn''t follow Levine''s steps. He had to wrap a few things up now that it was almost time for him to leave the capital city. *** Alephee''s chamber. Eren''s vi. Morning 10 AM. "You can still walk? Color me impressed." Alephee chuckled as an exhausted-looking Eren appeared in front of her. He had gotten fresh and drunk a lot of supplementary potions to get rid of the potion''s side effects. And he took care of most of them. But exhaustion at this level couldn''t be fixed with potions and food alone. He needed a good amount of time and rest to recover from his potion-induced trip. "Yeah. Barely. I would never underestimate witches from now on." *** Eren had branded Levine in the end just to get ess to her restricted memories. He found out more information about Demonmir from her that way. Levine was also okay with sharing information with him this way. There were limiters ced on Levine when it came to providing Eren with information rted to Demonmir. This was because it was marked as ssified by Edinburgh''s authorities. And she was bound by contract to adhere to the kingdom''s policies regarding Demonmir. However, Eren''s Ability became a loophole for him to extract the information from her without getting rid of the kingdom''s restrictions. Through Levine''s memories, Eren found out that House Montmorency was in fact a n of witches and warlocks. Her n belonged to the world of Labh Salem originally. House Montmorency was one of the early settlers on thend of Anfang before the grand tragedy struck this world. This was the reason why House Montmorency was considered one of the early pioneers of the potion industry in Edinburgh as well as other parts of Anfang. Its potion-manufacturing-rted expertise was the result of its ssified knowledge from Labh Salem. House Montmorency had performed demonic rituals and secretly it was in cahoots with the kingdom''s dark forces. Ottoman''s possession and his turning into Demonmir was the result of that said demonic ritual as well. From Levine''s memories, Eren also found out other minute details about Demonmir which he might be able to use against him the next time meets him. He just had to make sure he gets his hands on Demonmir before he makes any outrageous ranking progress. *** "How''s Sara doing?" Eren asked as he took a bit of a ranked fruit that looked like an apple except for the fact that it was azure in color. Alephee pointed behind her and responded. "See for yourself. I''m sure you''d be surprised." Alephee Chember was connected to the vi''s garden. She prompted him to follow her as they made their way towards Sara who was sitting in a meditative pose in the garden under a tree. Eren didn''t use his mana sense or soul sense to not disturb Sara in any way while she was practicing her ranking technique. He slowly walked up to her with Alephee in tow. The butcher was surprised to find out that Sara''s ranking status had shot up tremendously from thest time he had seen her. He wondered what kind of life Reva Rain was living these days to have such a drastic effect on Sara. "Unbelievable! Solid stage state of the Adept rank!" Eren mumbled to himself as he looked at Sara''s charming and peaceful face. There was a part of him that wanted to disturb her and break her ranking practice under the pretense that this much quick progress was not good for her. But he controlled his inner demon from taking over, if only barely. He turned towards Alephee before asking her in a grim voice. "When will her ridiculous power-upe to an end?" Chapter 1236 The Most Amateur Adept In Anfangs Known History ? "When will her ridiculous power-upe to an end?" Eren asked as he observed Sara practicing her ranking technique from a distance. Through reverse demonic ritual, he could sense that she had robbed Reva Rain of her elemental attainments. Sara had entered epiphany multiple times during these days and digested Reva''s gains for herself. Of course, she had a lot of metaphorical nk spaces to fill so to speak. But the synergetic effect of the reverse demonic ritual allowed her not to be shackled by her inexperience as a ranker. Alephee pondered for a moment before answering Eren''s question. "It would only take her a few months or a year to break into the Expert rank, the same as Reva Rain. After that, her progress would start to stagnate. She''d have to progress traditionally after this stagnation hit her." Eren nodded silently. He posed another question in a concerned voice while scratching his stubble. "I hope Sara does not be dependent on this type of progress after stagnation. Plus, all her progress is based on Reva''s experiences and attainments. We want to help Sara be a legitimate ranker and not create a second Reva Rain." Alephee didn''t discard Eren''s concerns. But she wasn''t that worried about Sara. Alephee responded by tucking her ck hair behind her ears. "That is indeed something we need to watch, Eren. But I wouldn''t be too worried. A lot of Sara''s progress is based on Reva Rain''s experiences and attainments. But she had addedprehensions of her own that she received from the state of epiphany. Sara''s soul is very attuned to Anfang''s world consciousness. She could be regarded as the child of the world whose existence is inplete harmony with the nature she is part of. As such, elemental attainmentse naturally to her. Consider Reva Rain''s attainments as basic building blocks. Sara used them to create her own structure. The differences between her and Reva would surface when she progresses normally as a ranker. There is a lot of influence and amodation in Sara''s ranking path right now. And so far, she hasn''t disappointed me by keeping her ranking path as inclusive and grand as it could be." Eren expressed bitterness when he learned Sara was "gifted" as well. Of course, the bitterness in his heart wasn''t directed at Sara but Anfang''s world will. Alephee found Eren''s tant disy of envyical. She sighed before adding further. "Of course, your stash of Reva''s organs was put to effective use as well. They were essential to the reverse demonic ritual. I used those organs periodically to steal Reva''s achievements from her. I''m sure the Pdin of Pain has regressed on her ranking path. I just wonder how her current situation is." It seemed that Sara''s way to speed up her ranking journey was different from how Eren did things. Sara deprived Reva of her elemental attainments and ranking progress using the demonic ritual and her organs as facilitators. Plus, unlike Eren, Sara could only use Reva''s attainments and experiences because of the connection she shared with the Pdin of Pain. Despite Alephee''s concerned voice, her face had a gentle smile. In a way, Alephee was a cruel existence, just as Eren was. But it seemed that Eren influenced her not to show her fangs when there was no need to. Eren could have never thought that the organs he harvested from Reva''s live body would be used this way on Sara. He had nned to "digest" them on his own. But Alephee''s use was much more creative and useful. Eren and Alephee watched in silence as Sara concluded her ranking practice. When the blind girl got up on her feet, she spread her mana sense and found out she had visitors. Zoom! Blitz. Swoosh. Grab. Sara intended to use her movement spell to get close to Eren and Alephee. But she made ill use of her mana circuits while executing the spell, passing them like an uncontroble vehicle missing its breaks. She could be regarded as the most amateur Adept in the known history of Anfang. Thankfully, Eren was prepared for events like these. He effortlessly grabbed her and embraced her in his arms, using his chest as a cushion for the blind girl toy her head on. "Aaaaah! I''m sorry" Sara was about to apologize for colliding with Eren because of her misuse of the spell. But she immediately figured out that Eren used her mistake to embrace her. She had a bit of red on her cheeks as she pushed the guy away with both her hands. "Thanks, Eren." Sara smiled at Eren before thanking him for his "kind" gesture. Thetterughed before responding. "Keke. It''s fine, Sara. I can be your guide whenever I find the time to do so. But that''s not why I''m here today. I actually came here to ask you for something." Sara raised her eyebrows. "And what would that be?" she asked curiously. Eren smiled before answering, "My graduation ball. You know you areing, right? When should I pick you up?" Sara was taken aback by Eren''s request toe with him to the event. It didn''t leave her much room for denying him. Not that she wanted to deny it. But she would have preferred it if he asked her nicely. ''This guy has already considered me his property. And I smelled another woman on him when he hugged me.'' Sara thought to herself and looked at Eren with a frown on her face. But there was a part of her that liked Eren for who he was anyway. Plus, she was grateful to Eren and Alephee for all they did for her. "Will youe to,dy Alephee?" Sara asked turning her head towards the homunculus who was stuck not too far apart from Eren. Alephee smiled bitterly before answering. "Hehe. Yes. I and many others." Sara looked at Eren with confusion on her face. Alephee exined Eren''s n to take an entourage ofdies to his Grad Ball. Eren waited for Alephee to finish her talk. He then stared back at Sara waiting for her to answer his question. Sighing, she finally relented. "I... I will be ready by 8 PM." Chapter 1237 Floating White Palace ? The Graduation Ball night had finally arrived in Edin. And the atmosphere was electric. The chilly night saw light snowfall, while the full moon spread its cool and calming light over the capital. Edin citizens felt excitement and vibrancy as they prepared for the event of the year. The Grad Ball was held in a floating white pce in the skies above the Edinnica Arena, and it was truly a sight to behold. The pce was grand and opulent, made of white marble and white tiles that gave it a one-of-a-kind look. Various kinds of runes were etched over these tiles as if it was a form of a delicate tapestry. Water-element fountains were scattered throughout the pce, creating a lively atmosphere. The fountains were paired with light-element arrays to make the waterworks stand out even more. At the center of the pce was a giant dome-like structure made of wind-element magic that let the moonlight in. Surrounding the dome were four towers that gave the pce an even grander appearance. The pce was kept aloft and moving by anti-gravity runic arrays beneath it, which made it seem like it floated effortlessly through the sky. The graduate rankers and their plus-ones were teleported directly to the entrance of the white pce with the help of teleportation arrays and fixed spatial portals ced at various corners of the city. Some rich graduate rankers preferred to use their own flying vehicles to get to the floating white pce. This added to the magical atmosphere. The graduate rankers and their plus-ones dressed to impress, wearing formal outfits from suits and tuxedos to long coats and formal shirts. Each one looked dashing and sophisticated, their outfits entuating their professionalism and sess. The female rankers were no less impressive, with their dresses and essories exuding elegance and grace. They wore a range of jewelry and footwear thatplemented their outfits perfectly, making them look like true stars at the event. The pce was three times the size of the Edinnica Arena. As the night progressed, it traveled slowly to various districts of the capital city of Edin. Edin citizens looked on in awe as the pce passed by, wondering at the splendor of the Grad Ball event. Inside the pce, the atmosphere was just as electric as outside. The water-element fountains sprayed misty water into the air, while light-element arrays bathed the pce in warmth. The graduate rankers and their plus-ones mingled with each other, dancing andughing as they celebrated their achievements. As the guests mingled and celebrated their achievements, they were treated to a feast fit for royalty. The food choices were diverse, with delicacies from all over the world. The dishes were ted in such a way that they looked like works of art, tantalizing the guests with their unique vors and aromas. The drinks flowed freely, with an array of wines and spirits to choose from, each adding to the already enchanting atmosphere. From elven ales of various mild and strong effects to Darwen whiskeys and rums, the event catered to almost every ranker''s tastes and drinking preferences. The talk of the town was Eren and his entourage of beautifuldies. The news of his plus-ones spread like wildfire because of Altashia. Her beauty, talent, and family background made her a household name in Edin. So it was no wonder when citizens started talking about Eren- the man who dared to date Altashia while being adored by otherdies. All while remaining friendly with the Crimson GhostC Altair Argas. Eren''s "multi-partner policy" ignited excitement among male graduate rankers. They took it as apetition or challenge. They sought out various female rankers in the capital city to secure their own group of plus-ones for the Grad Ball. Most male graduate rankers were good-looking and high-spirited. They were highly aplished entities with a bright future ahead of them. They came from affluent families or received prominent designations in the kingdom. It was easy for them to get multiple partners for the event, as their aplishments spoke for themselves. The event''s management staff found it difficult to say no to these graduate rankers. Eren''s case had already set a precedent, and management did not want to be seen as biased. They wanted everyone to have a memorable time at the Grad Ball, and denying these requests would have been unfair. The number of guests for the Grad Ball event shot up crazy amounts because of this phenomenon. At this point, almost half of the male graduate rankers hade with their own entourage of beauties surrounding them. These male rankers greeted each other with open arms and fist-bumped each other for their "great haul" for the night. There was a certain unwritten code of conduct observed by these promiscuous male rankers who considered each other brothers-in-arms. They treated each others'' plus-ones as prohibited zones. After all, there was plenty of prey avable for those who knew how to hunt. So there was no point fighting each other. Of course, most female graduates treated these promiscuous male rankers as men with inted egos. They med Eren Elijah Idril for starting this trend. Almost no female ranker could get a single fellow male graduate as their plus-ones because of this highly contagious virus Eren had injected into their minds. Male graduate rankers did not prefer female graduate rankers as plus ones for one simple reason. They insisted on being the only plus one the male rankers would have for the night. As a result, most male rankers sought out other youngdies who might not be as sessful as their female graduate counterparts. However, they were equally beautiful and willing to be "a part of the group." The spearhead of this highly controversial trend did not know he had caused such a nuisance to arge group of female graduate rankers. He didn''t want to start a trend either. He only wanted to have multiple plus-ones at the Grad Ball because it made sense to him. The Grad Ball atmosphere was very tense and lively because of such undercurrents. Things got more interesting as the night progressed. There were only a few minutes left for the Grad Ball event to officially begin. And just when the tower clock was about to sound a bell at 9 PM, there appeared a man high in the sky with wings of wind and fire. Blitz. Swoosh. Zoom. The man in the sky disappeared mysteriously as he had appeared. And the night sky became clear again. However, the rankers present at the venue observed that a singr entity was added among them. Eren appeared at the Grad Ball smoothly, without grandeur or controversy. The man himself was a walking controversy and contrast that kept growing around him. He did not need to add anything to it. Chapter 1238 Army Buddies ? Eren appeared at the Grad Ball smoothly. Eren would have chosen a flying vehicle as well. But regr flying vehicles could only fit so many rankers inside them. And he didn''t think it would be appropriate to usemercial flying vehicles to get his plus-ones to the venue. Therefore, Eren and thedies who were with him decided to arrive by other means. They were going to meet at the event anyway. So it was no big deal. Eren stood tall and confident, his posture emanating a sense of purpose as he made his way through the Grad Ball''s grand entrance. His formal attire was immacte and tailored to perfection, highlighting his impressive build and rugged good looks. He wore a dark navy blue suit, made from the finest wool and silk materials. The suit hugged his broad shoulders and tapered down to a slim fit around his waist. The suit jacket was lined with a contrasting ck satin fabric, which added an elegant touch to his attire. Thepels were wide and peaked, creating a bold and sophisticated look. Underneath the jacket, Eren wore a crisp white dress shirt with a ssic spread cor that emphasized his strong jawline. The shirt was tucked into his pants, which were navy blue and had a sleek, t-front design. The pants were tailored to fit perfectly around his hips and thighs, then tapered down to a narrow leg opening. This allowed his polished ck dress shoes to be on full disy. Toplete his outfit, Eren wore a sleek ck silk tie that added a contemporary touch to his ssic look. The tie was neatly knotted and secured with a silver tie clip that gleamed in the bright lighting of the surroundings. He essorized with a silver watch on his left wrist and a simple yet elegant ck leather belt that matched his shoes. Overall, Eren''s formal attire was an elegant blend of ssic and modern styles, showcasing his impable taste and attention to detail. Most of all, it spoke volumes about his deep pockets. "Eren, I''m here." Eren heard a familiar voice from his 3 O clock just when he was about to enter the pce. He turned his head and saw a gorgeous girl heading straight toward him with a contagious smile on her face. Altashia walked towards Eren like a symbol of beauty and grace. Her pretty attire entuated her every curve and brought out her feminine charm. She wore a stunning strapless gown in a shade of deep crimson thatplemented herplexion perfectly. The fabric was made of soft and delicate silk that flowed like water, cascading down to her ankles in a pool of luxurious folds. The dress hugged her curves in all the right ces, entuating her hourss figure. The bodice was fitted and embellished with intricate silver beads that sparkled in the bright moonlight. The gown red out from the waist into a sweeping A-line skirt, giving Altashia a stunning appearance. As she walked, her elegant stridemanded attention, and all eyes were drawn to her. Her charming smile and infectious energy radiated out to those around her, drawing them in like moths to a me. Her bouncy off-blonde hair was swept up in a stylish chignon, entuating her delicate facial features and making her natural beauty shine even brighter. Altashia essorized her attire with glittering silver earrings thatplemented the beads on her dress and a matching silver bracelet on her wrist. She had bold red lips and a subtle smokey eye effect that brought out the deep blue color of her eyes. Altashia was still in thest stage of the Adept rank. But she was only a few steps away from breaking into the Expert rank. She was always known for herte breakthroughs because of her talent. However, Eren could tell that Altashia had progressed tremendously in her elemental attainments and weaponprehension. It could be said that Altair Argas had invested a lot of his time, efforts, and resources into making Altashia an outstanding ranker among her generation. Eren smiled as he looked at the approaching Altashia with a "Damn, you are good" shine in his eyes. He opened his arms and beckoned her to greet him with a hug. And thetter was happy to oblige. The graduate rankers and their plus-ones watched as the couple hugged each other as if they had not seen each other for a long time. Altashia nted a light peck on Eren''s cheek as she separated from him, giving him a souvenir of their meeting. "I see that the Ball has already started for you, Eren." Just when he was about to strike up a conversation with Altashia, he heard a familiar sounding from behind him. He and Altashia both turned around to see their ex-colleague approaching them. Dianna Remus made an entrance at the Grad Ball in a stunning bodycon dress that hugged her curves in all the right ces. The dress was a deep shade of red thatplemented her shoulder-length silky red hair. The neckline was plunging, showing just enough skin to be alluring but still elegant. The back was open, with a delicate criss-cross design that added to the overall sophistication of the dress. Her red stilettos were the aptplement to her dress, with a pointed toe that elongated her already long legs. The heels were high enough to add height but not ufortable. Her stride was confident and graceful, making her the envy of many in the room. Around her neck, she wore a ruby ne that glimmered in the light. The deep red stones matched her dress color and added a touch of mor to her outfit. As Dianna moved through the crowd, it was evident that all eyes were on her. Her beauty was undeniable, and her confidence only added to her allure. The red dress was the ideal choice for her, and she wore it with grace and poise. People watched with envy as Eren spread his arms to invite another stunner into his embrace right in front of the first gorgeous woman. Dianna was weed warmly by Eren when they met. Dianna also kissed his cheek as they separated. The scion of Remus n also greeted Altashia with a light hug. The three of them were former colleagues from their army days. So they had a lot to talk and reminisce about. When they saw what kind ofpany Eren had, some male graduate rankers gave Eren a simple nod. This was a nod of appreciation and brotherhood among men. Eren nodded back at his batchmates. And that was all they needed to conclude their conversation for the time being. It could be said that these male graduate rankers spoke a thousand words with their mere nods alone. Grimdawn then prepared his arms to wee many other plus ones who arrived at the scene one after another. If his arms could talk, they would have demanded extra pay for overtime. Chapter 1239 The Host Of The Evening– Osha Daman ? The clock struck at 9 PM and the Grad Ball began. The event was held inside a giant hall with a semi-transparent dome roof. A stage was erected in one corner of the hall, hosting a band of musicians in the back. A melodious tune yed as the backdrop for the event. It could be heard mysteriously in every corner of the hall without being too loud. It soothed the listeners'' minds and gave them a positive feeling about the evening at the same time. There was arge crowd of the audience seated in front of the stage. Graduate rankers had dedicated round tables for themselves. Their plus-ones sat with them. The drinks and food were served to these rankers right on their tables. All they needed to do was use the space-element arrays etched onto the tables'' faces to get what they wanted and it would appear on their table without a moment''s dy. The atmosphere was full of energy and tense at the same time. It felt tense to some rankers because a Sage hosted the event. "Good evening, Edinburgh''s bright stars and their shining lights. I, your host for the evening, Osha Daman, wee you all." Sage Osha Daman weed the guests of the floating white pce with a voice coated in excitement. She stood in front of a lectern with runic engravings on the surface. Osha came before her audience in a stunning one-shoulder dress that highlighted her natural beauty. One could say that it was very easy for her to demand attention from the crowd in front of her. Osha''s ash blonde hair was styled into loose waves that cascaded down her shoulders. Her cobalt blue eyes sparkled in the venue''s bright lights. Her peach-colored lips were small and cute, and her smooth and supple skin glowed with radiance. She wore a heavy golden ne holding a palm-sized blue sapphire within it, drawing attention to her ample bust and slim waist. Her shapely posterior was entuated by her sleek dress silhouette, and her ankle-strap footwearpleted the look. The sandalwood perfume she wore added a subtle yet alluring touch to her presence. Her eyes twinkled with yfulness and mischief. Osha exuded confidence and poise, with a domineering yet approachable presence thatmanded attention. "Tonight, let''s leave the formalities behind. Your royal status, your designations, your family backgroundC nothing matters tonight. Do you hear me?" Osha posed a yfully reprimanding rhetorical question to her audience. "Fret not. I am not spared by my rules either. You can simply call me Osha tonight." The tense rankers were shocked to find out that Osha wanted to deny the respect she had earned because of her ranking status. Osha chuckled when she saw some faces looking at her with puzzled and shocked expressions. She chuckled before adding further. "There''s nothing to shock about. I truly believe some of the rankers present here have the potential to im Sagehood. So you can consider this leeway as betting on your future." Osha''s words were followed by a round of apuse that grew steadily with each passing second before waning. Since a Sage left her Sagehood behind, nobody in the audience would dare cling to their titles and privileged status. Osha was a patient host. She only started speaking when the hall got quiet again. "To be honest, this event was supposed to be hosted by Rufus Rodriguez. The guy would have bored you to death with his long speeches if he was still alive and kicking. Hehe." Oshaughed lightly, reminiscing about Rufus who was fondly remembered by all the rankers associated with the kingdom of Edinburgh closely. His speeches were long but he also had a knack for keeping his audience hooked. Osha was a Grandmaster ranker like Rufus not too long ago. It was only recently that she broke into the Sage rank. So she didn''t consider herself a better ranker or host than Rufus. As far as Osha could understand, she was being an okayish hostC someone who didn''t have character traits in her speeches. That made her speeches wless but also boring. Still, being a Sage, she knew she had to get all sorts of experiences to progress further. So she did everything she could to make this Ball a sess while hosting. Osha sighed lightly before speaking in a depressive tone. "Rufus died heroically fighting infiltrators. For that, he will forever be missed by the rankers of Edinburgh. In fact, all those who died at the enemy''s hands in Sansara World will be missed. Let''s toast." Osha raised a toast and ced it in front of her on the lectern. Her audience also did the same and paid Rufus respect. The man who watched Rufus die was also in the audience. He knew well that there was nothing heroic about Rufus'' death. Rufus died like a dog surrounded and killed by bigger dogs. He indeed fought heroically. However, his death was a dog''s death. This man knew that the kingdom of Edinburgh had to save face afterpleting the final investigation rted to all deaths inside Sansara World. Since Rufus was closely associated with Edinburgh''s inner circle, his reputation was linked to Edinburgh''s honor. So it was only natural that Edinburgh would try to portray Rufus'' death in a good light. Then again, the sole witness to Rufus'' death in the audience had also used the moment of his death as a stepping stone to get what he wanted from Sansara World. So he couldn''t really criticize Edinburgh for their action. Of course, the man who watched Rufus die did not correct Osha''s words. He just raised a toast in his name and drank with the rest of the crowd. Osha let the silence build up for some time before speaking up. "My point in bringing this topic up is very simple. I want you to understand that our lives are very fleeting as rankers. So moments like these are crucial to our lives. "The next day, let life take us where it wants us. But tonight, we will be our own masters. We will take control and seize a pocketful of happiness for the long days ahead. Let''s enjoy this evening to our heart''s content, shall we?" Chapter 1240 The Legend Of The Boar Berserker– The Musical And The Ballad Of Grimdawn ? Osha knew she did a good job from observing the intensity of apuse. She smiled brightly before speaking to her audience in a friendly tone again. "Tonight is your night, my young stars. So I need something from you all- your active participation. I want you to be vocal and expressive. It is so that you can each contribute to making this event memorable for us all. We will start this event on a high note. Please wee tonight''s first group of performers on stage." Another round of apuse ensued. It could be said that Osha was progressively getting better at being a good host. She didn''t waste time wrapping up her first verbal salvo. The Grad Ball event had a long list of various small and big programs before the actual Ball took ce. The actual Ball would start at midnight after these programs were over. The first group of performers came on stage and started their performance with a bang. They used vibrant music and eye-catching magic to enhance their dance performance''s entertainment quotient. This group of rankers used the art of dance to showcase their skills and elemental attainments. The group received plenty of des and various ranking resources as gifts from its audience when it concluded its performance. The first group of rankers was only the beginning. The rest of the program was a fascinating mix of dance performances, solo and group singing, and on-stage ys. There was also an on-stage y on Sansara World from the perspective of rankers from Edinburgh''s side. It portrayed Edinburgh rankers as justice-seeking heroes while their enemies were painted as vile evil Layos rankers. *** Then there was a Musical about Steve. It incorporated song, dance, theatrical sight scenes, and dialogues to tell Steve''s story exaggeratedly. The title of this Musical was The Legend of a Boar Berserker. When the Musical ended, each performer involved in the performance stood their ground before delivering an inspiring song in a synchronized manner. "From a time long ago, a legend was told Of a Boar Berserker, fearless and bold With a brave heart and a noble soul He inspired his people to fight and endure In battle, he was a dynamic force to behold Fighting fiercely, he never grew old Killing enemies with his strength and might Conquering fear, he never lost sight His heroic deeds echo through thend The people looked up to him and took a stand Against any foe, they fought with his zeal With the Boar Berserker''s strength, they knew they could heal His legend lives on, even today An inspiring tale that will never sway Of a hero who fought for what was right And never gave up without a fight So let us remember this Boar Berserker''s name And honor his memory with our own fiery me For in his bravery and dynamic might We find the strength to conquer any fright." The storytellers were very creative. They fast-forwarded the timeline around Steve and painted it in their own way to make Steve a star personality. Steve didn''t think he could blush so hard. He felt like digging a hole below his round table and dropping below the floating white pce. When the Musical was re-performed on request, Steve''s cheeks were red with embarrassment. The audience looked at Steve with all kinds of emotions in their eyes. Rankers even suggested Steve join the musical and go on stage. They cheered him on andughed at him for acting so shy and embarrassed. To make matters worse, Eren offered these young performers plenty of ranking resources when their Musical ended for the second time. He also invited them to the city of White Raven. He told them he would provide plenty of exposure for them so that the Legend of the Boar Berserker bes a hit with the masses. Of course, the Novice ranked performers were d to take Eren up on his offer. They started making ambitious ns in their heads to make their Musical even more immersive and engaging. *** There was a bad about the battle at the Edinnica Arena as well. It was told from the perspective of Hansen LehanC a veteran Sage who fought to protect Edinburgh''s young blood. In the end, Hansen Lehan was injured but sessfully defended what he stood for. Another on-stage y described the battle of Edinnica Arena from a different perspective. Surprisingly, it was shown from the perspective of an Expert ranker known as Grimdawn. A young Novice ranker yed as Eren Elijah Idril in this y. He bore an uncanny resemnce to the real Eren in his looks. As a warrior for the kingdom, he punished the evil rankers of Layos. This on-stage Eren also gave an inspiring speech to his audience. He basically said that he would fight for his country and punish anyone who offends its honor and integrity. In the end, this y also ended with a solo song. "In battles fought for a noble aim, Foes fall to the hero''s lionhearted me. Enemies in, justice served with might, The Pdin of Pain defeated in the fight. Tittled Grimdawn, unparalleled might, Inspires people with a fearless sight. A hero with a heart, both strong and bold. Through danger and fear, he remains in control. His enemies tremble, for they know his name. White Raven City thrives, thanks to his reign. Promiscuous and powerful, he rules with grace, And his foes face the dawn of a grim fate. For the hero fights for what is just. Defends his people with unwavering trust. A legend in his time, an inspiration to all. The hero''s name echoes with an immortal call." The audience looked at Eren while the theatrical performance was going on. The graduate rankers were about to pass on various creativements to Eren as well. But they soon found out that Eren wasn''t as flustered as Steve. The butcher looked like he was truly enjoying the y about him. "This guy... This y... brilliant! They described me so well." Eren couldn''t help butment out loud in a dramatic voice when the y ended. He also pped and gave the performers a standing ovation. Grimdawn also offered the performers ample sums of Extols and plenty of ranking resources for their ranks. But unlike Steve''s case, he did not offer them any exposure. The graduate rankers snorted at Eren when he tooted his own horn. But they still offered the performers apuse and additional gits. Chapter 1241 White Raven’s Mass Media Venture ? Eren praised the y for portraying him in a positive light. Thedies sitting at Eren''s round table giggled as Eren made the performerse to him. He talked with them cordially and even offered them perfunctory guidance on their ranking journeys. In the end, he invited them to the city of White Raven. A new group of performers came on stage. They presented their performance, which told the story of other prominent rankers present at the Edinnica Arena battle. Everyone at Eren''s table watched other groups perform while talking to themselves. They offered apuse and gifts whenever needed. Eren tried to attract as many performers with his gifts. He also sent them invitations to visit his city. What''s more? Eren also promised to look after some artists'' livelihoods as long as they visited his city and took permanent residence there. Alephee found this very odd. She couldn''t help asking him in a low voice. "You are very spendy tonight. This is not like you. What will you do with these poor artists?" Alephee asked Eren in a voice coated in curiosity and doubt. Thedies sitting at Eren''s table also agreed with Alephee. They divided their attention between listening to performances and talking between Eren and Alephee while acting nonchntly. Alephee sat to Eren''s immediate right. Her strapless ballgown dress was ck as ink, with a voluminous skirt that flowed out from a cinched waist. The fabric was soft and silky, hugging her curves in all the right ces. The dress was simple yet elegant, with no embellishments except for a thin silver belt that entuated her waist. Alephee''s hair was waist-length and jet ck, with a distinct sheen that caught the light with every move. Her smooth and supple skin radiated youthfulness, giving her an air of timeless elegance. She was tall and had adequate feminine proportions, giving her a regal andmanding presence. Alepheepleted her look with cone-heel footwear, adding a touch of mour to her outfit. As she walked, her dress swirled around her in a graceful arc, highlighting her poise and grace. Overall, Alephee was a picture of confidence and sophistication, exuding an aura of timeless beauty, which left asting impression on all those who saw her. Eren looked offended by Alephee''s words. He cleared his throat before speaking up in his defense. "What do you mean, Alephee? I have always appreciated art. Ultimately, it is the food of the soul. I need to encourage these brats to pursue careers in this field. If every ranker dedicates themselves to rankers'' lives, who would look after our mental well-being?" Alephee snorted at Eren''s response before adding on. "First of all, who are you calling brats? You are not much older than them physically. And secondly, who are you kidding? Spit it out." Alephee kept things authentic to make her presence feel natural. She severed her mental connection with Eren for the moment. In other words, it was to make her look like a fully distinct individual entity rather than a homunculus. Since a Sage was present at the venue, Alephee didn''t want to take any chances. However, doing so made her unable to keep track of Eren''s thoughts. This was the first time in a long while she could not tell what he was thinking. It irritated her for no reason. She also understood how treacherous it is for anyone to talk to Eren without the mental connection to help them make sense of his intentions. Eren scrunched his nose and looked at Alephee stoically. Seeing that she kept staring at him. He sighed and decided to budge. He looked around before speaking in a low voice. "Well my reason for inviting these artists to the city of White Raven is not as evil as you might think. This is business. Bards, musicians, solo and group singers, dancers, and other performers. These people earn a lot during the war. It''s because people need some form of entertainment to keep them distracted from the realities of war. And these artists serve that purpose well." Eren scratched behind his right ear and tugged at his earlobe before speaking up in a matter-of-fact voice. "I''ll just provide a bigger tform and arger audience for these artists and capitalize on their talent. This war willst for a long time. So this is the right time for me to invest in these artists. I can assure you these artists wouldn''t get any better opportunity than this to showcase their talent. And having money in their pockets would also help some of them stay on track with their ranking journeys. Of course, I''ll offer them a reasonable cut for their services. At least enough to keep them doing what they love. It''s a win-win for all of us." This was Edinburgh''s capital city. So the talent drafted for the Post Grad Ball had to be the most outstanding in the kingdom. Inviting artists like these to the city of White Raven would bring more crowds to his city. Eren had already started to n the live ys and concerts in his city with the potential artists he would draw from the invitations. Depending upon the artists'' groups and their art forms, he had ns to establish daily, weekly, and bi-monthly programs that could be aired across Edinburgh for a fair pay-per-view price. This was the reason Eren wanted Steve''s legend to grow in Edinburgh. He recognized that Legend of the Boar Berserker. The musical had a high TRP value. Eren had already zeroed in on someone who could handle this job like a pro. This woman in question could help him manage histest media venture. It was the same Vixen who tried to trick him when he first entered the capital city. Her name was Viviana Falmas. Eren could tell someone like Viviana could handle anything rted to media and broadcasting just fine. He knew from his personal sources that Viviana had taken Eren up on his offer and was traveling to the city of White Raven. He just needed to convince her to be his media head. === AN: Viviana Falmas AKA the Vixen was mentioned in chapter 1005. Also, note that the uing chapters with "Poetry Challenge" in their titles have slice-of-life vors in them. They can be skipped if one wishes to. In order to get back to our main storyline as soon as possible, they have been released in one go. Chapter 1242 Poetry Challenge P01: Osha Daman– Summit Of My Pride ? Alephee nodded at Eren when she heard Eren''s motives straight from the horse''s mouth. Alephee knew that Eren had once sold Sienna Slughorn''s scandalous video on the ck market to earn a lot of money at that time. He even used the act of revenge as a way to make profits. So it was only natural that he would not let opportunities like these slip away. After all, there were plenty of opportunities to be had in times of war. One just needed to know where to look. Art was a form of hope in war. And Grimdawn was very interested in selling it as a necessity for the massesC their daily dose of optimism in troubled times. Only Nina could hear Eren''s answer because she sat right next to him to his left. She couldn''t help but wonder how Eren was so close to Alephee. As far as she could tell, this was not a chemistry that could be formed overnight. Of course, all of thedies at Eren''s round table introduced themselves to each other. Most of them knew each other. So the introductions were over quickly. However, Alephee was an exception. Everything about Alephee was mysterious to the girls. And it didn''t seem like Eren or Alephee were keen on solving that mystery for them. However, none of thedies pressed Eren or Alephee for answers. They just trusted Eren''s words that described Alephee as her business partner. "Alright! Now that thest program for the night is over, it is time to proceed to the next segment of the evening. Hehe. You know what that is?" Osha''s audience was intrigued to know what she had in store for them. The Sage ranker let silence reign for a short time for a much-needed build-up before announcing the next segment. "It''s a poetry challenge and drinking gamebined." It seemed that watching others perform was not enough. The graduate rankers also needed to showcase their creativity as much as they could. Osha exined the game rules to her audience. The game could be yed between any two rankers in the audience. Or it could be yed between two teams. Anyone could challenge the other side of their choice. The challenger needed topose a poem on any topic for their opposition. The person or group who received this challenge needed toe up with poetry of their own as an answer to the challenger''s piece. It would be the audience''s response to each side that decided who won. Osha would take the audience''s results into ount before dering the final verdict. The lost person or group would have to drink a potent liquor corresponding to their ranks. The challenger and the challenged sides can have multiple back-and-forth sessions or conclude the challenge with just one interaction. They could also skip the drinking part if they wanted to and stick with rewards for themselves. It all depends on both sides'' willingness. Furthermore, the rankers were encouraged to take the lectern from Osha and speak on stage while posing a poetry challenge to their opposition. And the opposition could choose to remain seated at their tables as they responded. Or they could get on stage if they wanted to. Of course, if thepositions were short and contained only two or three lines, the challengers could issue their challenge while remaining seated by their tables. The game was yed as a fun and interesting activity. As such, there were no rewards for the winning side by default. But the challengers and their opposition were free to decide their own rewards. Osha also announced that some of the finest creations would be turned into songs by the musicians present on the stage. These songs would be sung and performed live on stage by some of Edinburgh''s talented artists. These songs would be yed at the Ball. Osha let the apuse and cheers die down before speaking further. "Alright. Settle down. We have a whole night ahead of us. You will get all the opportunities to showcase your talent, guys. No need to create a ruckus." Osha pped the lectern desk lightly to calm the audience. When that didn''t work, she spread her Sage-ranked aura for a fraction of a second and that finally calmed the young bloods down. Osha smiled brightly at her audience before speaking further. "I''ll participate in the poetry challenge too. I''ll throw an open challenge to anyone in the audience. I''ll present my creation. You need to respond appropriately to win." Osha challenged her audience and smirked. It was clear that she was confident in her piece. A response was received from someone in the audience after hearing her challenge. "And what will be the price for winning against you, Sage I mean what will you offer us, Osha?" Osha expected a question like this anyway. She was a Sage ranker after all. She could see the greed in some rankers'' eyes to get something significant from herC all because she could afford to do so. This was a trickle-down effect at its finest. The high-ranked entities were expected to reward their juniors at events like these. The graduate rankers offered rewards for the Novice performers for the same reason. And the same graduate rankers expected Osha to treat them as her juniors. Thetter didn''t find anything odd in it and considered it as part of the rankers'' code of conduct. She chuckled before responding. "Hehe. You need toe up with a better piece than my creation first before expecting rewards from me. Don''t count your roosters before they hatch, you know. Of course, I would try to fulfill any wish you have as long as it''s reasonable. That is if you win. Don''t worry. I''ll try my best to be fair when ites to my open challenge. I swear to stand by my words with my honor as a Sage on the line. Is that enough assurance for you?" Osha''s question was answered by cheers and ps from the audience. The Sage ranker smiled and cleared her throat. When she raised her hand, the audience quieted down as they waited for her to speak. Osha took a deep breath before presenting her open poetry challenge to her audience in a soft and serene voice. "My humble start was but a spark. A dream that burned within my heart. Countless battles were waged in strife, Long years of toil, sleepless nights. Through hard work, I climbed the rungs. Toward the top, with each step won. Until I stood at the apex of Anfang, Gaining Sagehood at the brink of death. Now I stand proud, a victor''s crown, With all my foes beaten down. I wonder, is there anyone who can match my stride? Or am I alone, at the summit of my pride?" Chapter 1243 Poetry Challenge P02: Grimdawn– Pantheon Of Infinity ? When Osha finished presenting her poetry challenge, silence followed. Then somebody pped and Osha received her apuse. With expectations in mind, the Sage ranker turned around and looked at her audience. But it looked like no one was eager to challenge her. Osha sighed in her head, thinking it was natural. Her audience would have some inhibitions about interacting with her because of her rank after all. The moment she decided to move on, an arm was raised from one corner of the grand hall. The raised arm caught everyone''s attention. Some of the rankers in the audience frowned and focused on the courageous owner of the raised arm. One had to note that the raised hand held a Ster Sativa Stick between its fingers. ''Hm. The curse of long and lonely lives turns Sages into talented poets, it seems. At least some of them.'' Eren thought to himself as he processed Osha''s words in his head. He answered Osha''s challenge for a simple reasonC the potential rewards. "Hm? Let''s see who has received my challenge" Osha''s interest was piqued as she found someone in the audience who could take on her challenge. Although she had left her formalities behind for the night, she didn''t think anyone from the youngbloods would try topete with her. "Oh, it''s Grimdawn!" Osha immediately recognized Eren when the hall''s lights focused on Eren''s table. The butcher took another puff of his Sativa Srick and made it disappear. He didn''t want toe across as rude after gaining Sage''s attention, after all. Eren exhaled a cloud of smoke through his nostrils and mouth before speaking up. "Osha, can I reserve the right to im my reward from you forter use if I win?" Eren''s emerald green eyes sparkled as he looked at Osha curiously. Thetter was impressed by the way he had taken her name. She found no hesitation in his voice or bodynguage. Osha could tell that he respected her rank but was not suppressed into inaction by it. She pondered a bit and nodded before responding. "Yes, you can im your rewardter on, Grimdawn." The crowd watched in anticipation as Eren closed his eyes and thought for a bit. When he opened his eyes, he seemed ready to answer Osha''s challenge. Eren''s voice was filled with confidence and determination as he spoke his next words. "I was broken by my past. The pain and trauma, it didst, But I refused to be a victim of fate. So I reinvented myself in order to create. My struggles are endless, it seems. But so are my ambitions, my dreams. I will not be held down by defeat. My pride is boundless, my spirit replete. The pantheon of infinity beckons me. A realm of boundless possibility. I''ll scale its heights, reach its apex, My destiny is not to be perplexed. Your summit is only a stepping stone for me. My ascent is a foregone case. I''ll push beyond known limits. My deeds etched in the annals of greatness. For I am not defined by my broken past. But by my unwavering spirit, steadfast. My ambitions and pride are my guides. My journey to eminence, my personal tides. So let the pantheon of infinity call, I''m ready to rise and stand tall. For I am reborn, with a new lease on life. And I''m ready to take on any strife." A short silence was observed in the audience before the crowd cheered for Eren. The rankers were happy that someone among them could answer Sage''s challenge brilliantly. Osha was stunned by Eren''s answer to her challenge. She realized Grimdawn was a very ambitious man. Not just his bodynguage, but even his words hinted at the fact that he didn''t consider the Sage rank his true limit. ''My pride is boundless Your summit is only a stepping stone for me these lines Did this guy just mock me for having low ambitions?'' Osha looked at Eren curiously as she processed his words in her mind. She had to say that Grimdawn hade with a befitting reply to her challenge. His words contrasted some of her lines. And they flowed perfectly, making his piece a standalone creation as well. Thedies who sat around Eren''s table were also impressed by his words. They started creating their own challenges in their heads while apuding him. Osha smiled bitterly when she saw the response Eren received from the audience for his creation. It was clear to her who won the round between them. "Well what do you know, huh? I was defeated. It pleases me to announce that Grimdawn won the round." Osha smiled at Grimdawn before asking in a yful voice. "That being said, I would like us to continue. Let''s have two more rounds to see who wins. What do you say, Grimdawn? Dare you to go for two more rounds with me?" The graduate rankers turned to Eren and hinted at him not to ept Osha''s offer by shaking their heads in denial. They knew all Sages were petty like that. They would not let youngbloods like them win over them so easily no matter which field it was. Osha would most likely raise the stakes if she was given two more rounds topete with Eren. The butcher could only smile at the response he got from the fellow batchmates around him. He ignored their signals and epted Osha''s challenge by nodding at her. Turns out, Eren wasn''t faking it. He won two more rounds with Osha easily, prompting her to ept the defeat. She sighed before announcing it to the audience. "Yeah I lost. I must say I didn''t think Grimdawn could beat me so easily. He is as skilled with his words as with his weapons." Osha raised her hands in defeat and looked at Eren before asking him. "Since you have won all three rounds, it is only fair to offer you three distinct rewards. Say it, Grimdawn. What do you want?" Chapter 1244 Poetry Challenge P03: Nina– Finding A Hero ? Eren tapped his fingers on the round table as he pondered. He had already decided what he wanted from her. But he didn''t think he would be offered three rewards. So it took him some time to answer Osha''s question. Eren decided to reserve his first reward forter use. He requested Osha''s visit to the city of White Raven as his second reward. He told her he would contact her when she was needed in his city. Thetter was only supposed toe to his city and stay for a few days before leaving. For his third reward, Eren asked Osha to dance with him for a few minutes when the Ball started. He didn''t put much thought into his third reward and just asked for a dance randomly. Osha agreed to all his demands easily. She smiled and raised a toast to him. She chugged the contents of her ss in one gulp. She drank two more times to signal her defeat before speaking further. "I must say I underestimated you, Grimdawn. We all did. Congrattions and well yed." Osha spoke honestly before looking across her audience. Her cheeks turned red when the booze kicked in. Her smile and words became more captivating as she spoke. "Alright. This is just the beginning. I expect you guys to take things up a notch with your participation." There were loads of rankers who participated in the poetry challenge. Osha yed the perfect host and allowed them to pose their challenges and respond individually. Some rankers participated in groups against other groups of rankers. Some couples yed against each other. The poetry challenge and drinking game went hand in hand. A few rankers approached the stage to challenge their opposition. And their rivals were also summoned to the stage beside them to have multiple rounds. The drinking game would take ce on the stage itself in such cases. The game also introduced Truth or Dare deeds as a form of punishment and reward. Eren''s group also received challenges from various groups including Steve and Ramy. Ramy''s challenge was the funniest of them all because of his speech impediment. One could say that the guy knew how to crack his audience with his brand of humor. Eren''s team lost to Ramy''s team. The butcher couldn''t formte an appropriate response to Ramy''s challenge before his time was up. It was difficult to do so when the whole crowdughed and cheered Ramy on. Ramy''s team won by default. The minutes passed in a blur. And the grand hall of the floating white pce was filled withughter and excitement that reached new levels. Eren was surprised when someone from his team raised a hand. The person who raised her hand sat next to him. Apparently, she was aiming for a solo challenge and the one she challenged was none other than Eren himself. Nina got up from her seat and walked towards the stage. She decided it would be better to challenge Eren when she was away from him not to get distracted. Nina, with her stunning light brown skin, graced the Grad Ball with her elegant presence. She exuded mature, sophisticated charm with her curves. Her charming facial features made many heads turn. Nina''s attractive visual appeal was entuated by her slim yet buxom figure, with a shapely posterior and a slim waist to match. Her dark gray hair, bordering on being off-ck, flowed down to her shoulder des,plementing her violet eyes and ample bosom. Nina''s attire for the night was a sleek slip dress that clung to her body, entuating her every curve. The dress was a dark shade of green that perfectlyplemented her eyes and earrings. Nina''s earrings had sparkling green gems embedded in them. They shimmered in the light, drawing attention to her face andpleting her morous look. For her footwear, Nina opted for a pair of ck slingbacks that added to the elegance of her outfit. Her overall appearance was captivating, leaving everyone in awe of her stunning beauty and impable sense of style. Osha weed Nina on stage with a smile. She offered Nina to take charge of the lectern. Nina looked at Eren and smiled before getting into her zone. She spoke her words slowly with a clear voice and even clearer intentions, adding weight to them. "A heart full of destion, a heart full of pain, I cannot love, no matter how hard I feign. Trust shattered and broken, too many times to count, Nobody is worthy of my love, this I cannot surmount. The world seems so dark, with no light in sight. No hero for me, to make things right. I wander alone, with a heavy heart, Looking for fresh start, a new part. But the scars of the past run so deep, And I find it hard to dream and sleep. The fear of getting hurt again grips me tight, And I can''t seem to find the strength to fight. Yet still, a glimmer of hope remains, A chance to heal, to break the chains. To love again, to trust again, And find a hero to adore. For though the pain is great, and the journey is long, I know in my heart that I am strong. And one day, I will find someone true, Someone worthy of my love, and that someone is you." Nina received plenty of cheers and apuse for herposition. But the noise died down when Eren spoke grumpily. "Hold on for a second! What do you meanC "you will find someone true?" You already found me." The audienceughed at Eren''sments and the cheers returned for Nina. Osha raised her hand to quiet down the audience a bit before responding to Eren in Nina''s stead. "That''s Nina''s artistic liberty, Grimdawn. You need to respond appropriately to her if you want to win. Your randomments don''t count." Osha''s words forced Grimdawn to take action. He got up from his seat and used Blink. In the next moment, he appeared beside Nina. Instead of standing at the other lectern meant for the opposition, he decided to upy Nina''s. Chapter 1245 Poetry Challenge P04: Grimdawn– I’ll Be Your Hero ? Eren boldly wrapped his arm around Nina''s waist as he stood beside her. He ced his hand on the lectern and activated the sound-element runes before speaking confidently. "I''ll win this. And then I''ll make you do naughty things for me." Eren spoke as he ran his fingers through his hair. He exuded dominance through his actions and words. Nina and the rest of the audience were speechless by Eren''s shamelessness. She pushed him in jest and pretended to step away from him. But her futile attempts were in vain as Eren pulled her even closer to himself. "Hehe. Bold. Grimdawn, you are very unique, I must say." Osha chuckled andplimented Eren on his actions. He showed affection for Nina physically while also radiating confidence to win against her. She just hoped his words would be as endearing as his actions for Nina''s sake. Eren also received encouragement from his male audience. He raised his hand and asked them to quiet down. He came up with a brand-newposition. When he did, he smiled and looked at Nina, "I bet you will love this," he said before separating from her. Grimdawn adjusted his coat and stood straight by the lectern before presenting his response. "Every corner of your heart, soaked with emotion, A heart that wavers, slowing its devotion. Dark clouds in the sky represent pain. As you release a sigh battered and drained. Your trust has been shattered, leaving you to wonder why. You wilt like a flower, a deste cry. The beauty within has lost its touch. Your heart now beats to be crushed. The pain inside ys you like a fiddle. As the heartache gives you its riddle: Pain or cold, which one to choose? You ept the coldness and refuse the bruise. You think no one deserves your love, As so many have tricked you, wearing a white glove. But I am here, eager to show you the way. That not everyone will leave and walk away. Let me prove my worth, give me a chance. I''ll ignite the lost fire and make our hearts dance. I''ll be a viin to prove myself so. But in the end, I''ll be your hero." Nina''s eyes sparkled as she listened to Eren''sposition. She spontaneously ran into his arms on stage when he was finished. Eren''s words were the ideal answer to Nina''sposition. It also highlighted that he knew how she felt and what her struggles were. The male members raised their voices and offered Eren tremendous support. The phrase "naughty things" influenced them to act this way. So it was no wonder that Eren received a more favorable response from the audience than Nina. As the audience cheered for him, Grimdawn raised Nina''s head before kissing her lips. Osha pped with the audience for some time and let the couple get lost in each other''s embrace before speaking excitedly. "Alright. Grimdawn won this challenge as well. He is on fire today. I am looking forward to jigging with him now. Maybe he will surprise me there as well. Hehe." Osha said after taking over the lectern from Eren. She then looked at the band of musicians for a clue. When she received a confirmation, she addressed the crowd once again. "Eren won. But Nina didn''t lose either. I''m pleased to announce that bothpositions have been selected for the Ball." Osha announced that Eren and Nina''s pieces would be converted into songs to be sung and performed live on stage at the Ball. But it seemed like both of them did not pay attention to the announcement as they were busy talking in private. Eren had decided that he would receive his reward from Nina in private. They both were about to leave the stage after their roles had been finished on stage. But just then they saw Sara approaching the stage. Nina knew Sara was also interested in challenging Eren. So she kissed him on his cheeks before returning to her seat, leaving Eren behind on stage. ''Sara, huh! I might lose to her.'' Eren knew Sara was gifted at poetry and art. In fact, the reason he was so good at creating on-the-flypositions was partly because of her. But that didn''t stop him from receiving Sara''s challenge. Osha raised her hand and demanded silence from the crowd when she saw another challenger approaching the stage. And she received silence in return. Sara''s footsteps echoed in the grand hall as she walked. Sara was dressed in gorgeous semi-formal attire that entuated her natural beauty. Instead of wearing formals, she opted for semi-formals that set her apart from the rest. Sara''s sun dress was a soft and subtle shade of peach,plementing her shoulder-length peach-red hair that framed her face perfectly. Her hair was neatly styled and had a subtle wave that added to the effortless beauty of her look. As she walked, her supple skin with a natural pink hue glowed under the grand hall''s bright lights. Her natural red lips were curved into a radiant smile that lit up her gorgeous face. Her grayish-blue eyes sparkled with confidence and beauty, leaving everyone in awe. Sara''s attire waspleted by a pair of elegant almond-toe pumps, which added sophistication to her ensemble. She carried herself with grace and poise, walking with a confident stride that was both captivating and alluring. Sara''s apt feminine proportions were entuated by her dress, which had a subtle ir that hugged her curves in all the right ces. Her dress had a subtle flower pattern that added a touch of elegance to her attire. As Sara moved across the grand hall, a gentle breeze carried the alluring scent of her perfume with vani and amber notes, adding to her charm and beauty. Her presence was captivating and left asting impression on all those who witnessed her grace and elegance. It wasn''t long before Sara stood before the lectern. She first thanked Osha with a light nod before staring at Eren with her blind eyes. The audience quieted down on its own when she presented herposition. Chapter 1246 Poetry Challenge P05: Sara- Haunted By Pain, Grimdawn- Medicine For My Heart ? "Good evening, everyone. I''m Sara Stark. I would like to challenge Grimdawn." Sara said while looking in Eren''s direction, greeting him with a light smile. Unlike Nina, Eren allowed her to have her own space. He stood away from her as she took charge of the lectern. "Kekeke. By all means, go ahead." Eren chuckled and epted Sara''s challenge. Sara''s face brightened when he epted her challenge. She stood straight and cleared her throat as her audience gazed at her. Her voice was like a gentle breeze tempered by the moonlight as she presented herposition. "Once lost, I wandered aimlessly With shattered dreams that could not be Haunted by pain that lingered deep I hid my sorrows, didn''t want to weep My smile was forced, and my heart was numb But then you came, my life undone With open arms, you weed me And gave me hope, a chance to be Your presence soothed my troubled soul And made me feel once again whole Though blind, your colors bright and bold Brought new meaning, a story to be told I''ll follow you on this path unknown With you by my side, I''m not alone Together we''ll walk through trials and strife Towards a future full of boundless life For you have given me a gift so rare A chance to hope, a reason to care And though my eyes may still be blind Your light has filled my heart and mind So as we journey toward the unknown I''ll hold your hand, and call you my own For you have brought me from despair And given me a life beyondpare." Eren knew Sara was grateful to Eren for freeing her from her miserable condition. She was free from the Pdin of Pain''s shadow atst. She also walked on a ranker''s path, thanks to Eren''s intervention. Furthermore, she received the biggest head start on her journey anyone at her level could ask for. Through herposition, Sara also expressed her willingness to stay close to Eren and work with him in the city of White Raven as an official member of his guild. She didn''t even think about applying to other organizations and taking her chances. Sara had all the tolerance she needed to cope with the bouts of pain and misery Reva Rain had brought on her. But that didn''t mean she wouldn''t wee this change with open arms. A huge round of apuse followed. The audience praised Sara when she presented herposition. But Sara didn''t pay attention to them. She looked in Eren''s direction and gauged his response with her mana sense. Eren smiled at Sara''s eager expression. He walked up to her slowly- his footsteps could be heard clearly by her despite the loud ambient noises. It was as if both of them could only look at and hear one another and nothing else. When Eren stopped walking, he was only a few inches away. He leaned down and hugged Sara lightly. And after a moment''s hesitation, she hugged back. She rested her face on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. She also received a pat from him. "Thank you, Sara. It''s a pleasure to have you with me." Eren whispered in Sara''s ears before giving her a light peck on her cheek. Sara followed his lead and kissed him on both cheeks in response. Grimdawn chuckled before separating from her. Eren and Sara still maintained boundaries despite flirting with each other. The butcher wasn''t in a rush to breach those boundaries because he knew doing so would only push Sara away from him. It could be said that they hade closer in such a short period. Considering how Sara was as a person, Eren knew this was huge progress. Sara also offered some space to Eren as he took charge of the lectern. He didn''t know how to respond to Sara''sposition while considering the nuances of their budding rtionship. He could reply to Osha easily because hisposition had nothing to do with his personal dynamics with her. And replying to Nina''s challenge was as easy as breathing for him because of the chemistry they shared with each other. Sara was able to achieve a fine bnce between both her personal and professional rtionship with Eren. Herposition sounded simple. But its subtleties could only be understood by a few who knew Eren and Sara personally. ''Hm this is going to be tough.'' Eren thought to himself as creases appeared on his forehead for the very first time since the poetry challenger had started. The time was running out so he decided to cheat just a bit. Sedated Perception! Eren enhanced his perception with his go-to time-element spell. Osha detected that Eren had used a spell for himself. But there was no rule prohibiting him from using spells toe up withpositions. So she smirked at him and shook her head before allowing him to do what he was doing. Eren canceled his spell when he came up with a decent reply in his mind. He took a deep breath before presenting his freshlyposed creation in the finest voice possible. "Your unseeing eyes speak a thousand words, In them, a world of stories can be heard. Though sightless, your spirit soars, And in yourpany, my heart restores. I''ll always cherish your presence near, For in your quiet, I find sce clear, And as we walk together hand in hand, I know our bond will forever stand. Your charms are a work of art, A masterpiece that warms my heart, And as I bask in your gentle grace, I am filled with a peaceful embrace. You are the medicine that I need, A healing balm that my heart feeds, With you by my side, I amplete, And in your shadow, I find my retreat. You are the medicine for my heart, Healing my wounds, tearing my doubts apart, With you by my side, I amplete, A bond so pure, a bond so sweet." Chapter 1247 Poetry Challenge P06: Levine- Concoction Of Magic, Grimdawn- Brewing Potions ? "Looks like we have a tie between you two." Osha pped at Grimdawn''sposition before speaking up. Since Sara and Eren received almost the same audience responses, she couldn''t decide on a clear winner between them. Sara and Eren both looked at each other beforeughing together. Sara was impressed by Eren''s creative skills. Thetter was satisfied that he coulde up with something that answered Sara''sposition perfectly. Osha suggested Eren and Sarapete against each other for three more rounds to establish a clear winner between them. And both obliged. Eren tried topete with Sara to the extent of his abilities. But Sara''s consecutivepositions kept improving by a huge margin. Her linguistic and crowd-pulling skills showed their true colors in thest round. In the end, Sara won. Eren smiled mirthlessly as he epted his defeat. He concluded that not every battle was meant to be won. One needed to fight some battles because they needed to be fought. Sara reserved a reward forter use. Both of them had a little drinking game on stage. They needed to walk in a straight line on stage after consuming a potent concoction meant for their respective ranks. Sara had a huge advantage because she won the poetry challenge. And yet, she lost liquor handling. She couldn''t be med for her loss though. Sara retired to her seat when the drinking game was finished. Eren remained on stage because he felt he was needed after looking at the next challenger approaching the stage. Levine de Montmorency, the potioneer with witch-like charms, approached the stage dressed in a stunning off-white ensemble thatplemented her pale white skin. Her waist-length hair was neatly styled, giving her a sophisticated look. Her cherry-red lips stood out and added a touch of sensuality to her overall appearance. With a bountiful bosom and a peach-shaped posterior, Levine''s vibrant and vivacious presence turned heads as she walked past. Her ck eyes were captivating, and her seductive stride showed off her confident personality. Adding a touch of yfulness to her attire was her deep pink fedora hat, which perfectly matched her light pink wrap dress. The dress hugged her curves in all the right ces, emphasizing her feminine figure. Toplete her look, she wore T-strap footwear that lent elegance to her already charming appearance. As Levine walked through the crowd at the Grad Ball, her enchanting aura left those around her in awe. Her bewitching looks, coupled with her alluring ensemble and essories, made her a vision to behold. Levine''s presence enchanted onlookers. But that was only until they heard herst name when Osha Daman announced it. "Please wee on stage our next challenger, Levine de Montmorency." *** Osha introduced Levine to her audience. And people started talking about a certain traitor to Edinburgh who was from her House. For some reason, the grand hall became less chaotic. Levine sighed when she heard whispers about Demonmir from the audience. She knew that she and her entire n would be judged by Edinburgh rankers just because they were once associated with the biggest traitor in Edinburgh. Still, she didn''t mind the stares and whispers from a select few rankers. She approached the stage confidently while looking at Eren. Osha knew the implications of getting Levine on stage. But she handled the situation wlessly by providing additional information about Levine and House Montmorency. While introducing Levine, she highlighted House Montmorency''s contribution to Edinburgh and its masses long before Demonmir came to be. Osha also highlighted how House Montmorency worked closely with Edinburgh''s forces in the ongoing war. The Sage also briefly touched upon Levine''s importance to such a prestigious n. Levine came on stage when Osha finished giving a brief introduction about her. She thanked the Sage with a nod and greeted Eren with an endearing hug before taking charge of the lectern. Levine presented her challenge to Eren calmly andposedly. "You''re my concoction of magic, the one I seek, A strong, sleek web that caught me with a tweak, Clearing my vision of blurs and smears, Making me feel alive, washing away my fears. You''re the spark in my darkness, the light in my eyes, A cool breeze on my face, under scorching skies, The taste of honey on my tongue, the scent of fresh dew, A dreames true, the one that''s always new. You''re the rhythm in my heartbeat, the melody in my soul, A symphony of emotions, making me whole, A wless potion, a spell I can''t break, A treasure, a blessing, that I will forever take. So keep teasing me, my love, Your endearing words act like a stove, For you have the right to set aze my heart, And never will we be torn apart." Levine received lots of apuse at the end. Thanks to her heart-touchingposition, she overshadowed her n''s links with Demonmir in the audience''s minds. She also received a gentle kiss from Eren on her lips to show her that she had exceeded his expectations. Eren took charge of the lectern and replied to Levine''sposition confidently. "You are my guiding light through life''s twists, A wise mentor, a friend who assists, You supported me when I had nothing to show, And showed me the path that led me to grow. Being a witch is living consciously and bold, Not afraid to love, not afraid to be cold You take me to and of fantasy and dreams, A world so magical, nothing is what it seems. Brewing potions of mystery, a secret to unveil, With you by my side, there''s no need to bail, For you are my witch, and I am your muse, Together we''ll create magic, with nothing to lose." Levine chuckled when Eren talked about his Shroomcid trip in hisposition. And she hugged him for everything else. Needless to say, Eren scored another victory for himself. And other male rankers were getting impatient because Eren was taking all the attention. Even thedies who hade with them looked at Eren as if he was some kind of mysterious wizard thend of Anfang had never seen before. Chapter 1249 Memories In Motion P1 ? Lights. Symphony. Action. The bright lights of the grand hall and the musical symphony by the on-stage band immersed its upants in a magical world. The various small and monumental fountains in the pce danced in sync with the music and added to the vibrant atmosphere. The rankers couldn''t help but be amazed by the spectacle in front of them. Eren''s first partner for the night was Ma. Ma wore a ck bouffant dress with violet rose details that entuated her curves in all the right ces. Her light olive skin tone looked beige under bright lights,plementing her violet hair that cascaded down her back in soft waves. The floral perfume with lightvender notes she wore added to her allure. She wore violet gem earrings and a wrist chain with a violet rose ornament that matched her dress perfectly. Her kitten heels footwear allowed her to glide across the dance floor easily, adding to her graceful demeanor. Ma''s bodacious figure was nearly impossible to ignore, with a prominent bust and an attractive face entuated by her radiant smile. Her light brown eyes sparkled with delight as she moved along with Eren in a slow dance, turning heads with her stunning appearance. Eren and Ma swayed together to the slow and romantic bad the band yed. The couple''s vision was filled with the grand hall and the way it was adorned with twinkling lights. The fountain''s ever-flowing sound added to the dreamy atmosphere. Eren pulled Ma closer, feeling her warmth against his. "You look absolutely stunning tonight," he whispered in her ear, his lips brushing against her skin. Ma smiled, blushing at his words. "Thank you, Eren. You look pretty dashing yourself." Eren chuckled, "I guess we both cleaned up well for the asion." As they danced, Ma rested her head on Eren''s chest, enjoying the steady beat of his heart. "I can''t believe I''ll dance with one of my apprentices one day," she said, looking up at Eren. "Feels like just yesterday I taught you the basics of closebat." Eren grinned, "Yeah. Frankly, I enjoyed those days learning under you. I had to struggle a lot to get rid of my shorings pointed out by you. And now we''re here, celebrating my hard work and achievements together." Ma smiled, "I''m d you surpassed my expectations, Eren. But don''t underestimate me. I''ll catch up with you soon." Eren tilted his head, looking down at her, "Kekeke. I''m counting on it. The White Raven Guild''s members need to be at least this ambitious. There''s no point hiring them otherwise." Maughed. "I''m d I made the cut," she teased. Eren twirled her around, pulling her back into his embrace. "You''ll always make the cut, Ma." Eren shed a wicked smile as Ma and thetter looked at him knowingly. As they continued to dance, the music changed to a faster tempo, and the other graduates joined them on the dance floor. Eren and Maughed as they tried to keep up with the others'' dance moves. However, they were content enjoying each other''spany and celebrating their achievements. The on-stage band yed theposition Eren had created during the poetry challenge, and the atmosphere became even more charged. Eren''s dancing partner changed midway as if it was a nned event. Almera joined Eren for the dance looking stunning. She was dressed in a sleek and elegant ck halter dress that clung to her figure in all the right ces. Her hair was styled into a sleek and sophisticated updo, revealing her sharp and attractive facial features. Almera''s simple white diamond ne added just the right amount of sparkle to her ensemble. Despite her tall stature, Almera had a slim figure with curves in all the right ces. Her cone-soled shoes made her taller, giving her confidence and poise. As she moved gracefully across the dance floor, all eyes were on her. Almera had a natural elegance and sophistication that was undeniable. Her sharp features and stunning ck dress exuded an air of mystery and allure that was hard to resist. Eren and Almera danced to the beat, matching their moves with the other dancing pairs around them. The synchronized actions and movements made Almera feel like she was a part of something bigger, something magical. As they moved in unison, Eren and Almera exchanged nces and smiles, enjoying each other''spany. "You''re an excellent dancer, Eren," Almera said as she looked at Eren with admiration. "I could say the same about you," Eren replied, feeling a rush of excitement. They danced for a few more moments, and Almera couldn''t help but feel the sexual tension between them. It was as if Grimdawn''s Sin of Lust had a mind of its own as it tried to influence every female ranker around him. It was as if his current intentions were enough to fuel his Sin Series Abilities to cast their effects passively. Eren could feel Almera''s body close to his, and smell her perfume mixed with her natural scent. "You smell amazing," he whispered into her ear, making her blush even more. Almera could have never believed that the guy she had once tried to chase in the Beast Sanctuary, AKA Besanc, would one day ask her hand for a ball dance. She looked at Eren with a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Are you trying to make a move on me, Mr. Grimdawn? You already have many partners to pick from. You don''t really need me," she said, teasing him. Eren chuckled and pulled her closer. "Keke. None of them are Almera. You are different from the rest," he replied, feeling emboldened by the charged atmosphere. They continued to dance, and Eren and Almera felt like the world around them had faded away. All that mattered was the music, the dance, and the proximity. As the night progressed, they danced and talked, enjoying each other''spany in the magical world of the floating white pce. The music track for the Ball changed suddenly after some time. And with it changed thepany Eren had for the Ball. Chapter 1250 Memories In Motion P2 ? "How are you, my blue-haired demoness?" Eren whispered in Nysa''s ears as they danced. Nysa Nael''s attire was beautiful to behold. Her azure blue hair was styled in soft curls, cascading down to her waist, and framing her face beautifully. Her radiant blue eyes sparkled like stars, and her light rosy skin gave her a youthful glow. She had medium stature, and her slim figure had apt feminine curves in all the right ces. Her attire was an azure blue blouson dress that flowed down to her ankles, entuating her elegant and graceful movements. The dress had a subtle sheen to it, and the pleated skirt added a touch of whimsy to her overall look. She looked both youthful and mature, like someone who had just left her maidenhood behind. Completing her attire, Nysa wore simple yet elegant silver slingback sandals that perfectly matched her dress. Surprisingly, they didn''t make it difficult for her to follow Eren as they danced together. "I I need more. I need more of you, Eren." Nysa answered Eren with a voice coated in excitement and lust. She got handsy on Eren''s body as they danced together, using the situation to her advantage. One could say that Eren was a bad influence on his women. They tried to take as much advantage of him as he did of them. "Kekeke. Yes, dear. You''ll get what you want. But let''s dance for nowC enjoy these moments to their fullest." Eren twirled Nysa around before pulling her into her embrace. Thetter separated from him quickly before spinning around herself on her toes like a ballerina. The background music track was changed one more time. It was indicative of the fact that Eren''s dancing partner had been changed again. *** Sylphie Saneheart was a stunning sight to behold as she danced with Eren to a melodious tune that gradually turned upbeat. Her moss-green hair was tied back in a neat bun, allowing her cute elf ears to be visible. Her sparkling blue eyes shone with excitement, and her light green drop-waist dress perfectlyplemented her delicate features. Around her neck, she wore an eye-catching ne in the shape of a maple leaf, and her golden earrings had red rubies embedded in them, adding a touch of elegance to her outfit. Her hair was adorned with tiara-like jewelry, making her look even more regal. As she moved, a zesty perfume with lemon and patchouli notes trailed behind her, leaving a pleasant aroma in the air. Her slender and delicate-looking arms were on disy, and her ample feminine proportions were perfectly entuated by her dress. Her small but luscious lips curved into a smile as she danced with Eren. Sylphie''s delicate hand was in Eren''s, and he held it gently, guiding her as they twirled and dipped. "You look stunning tonight, Sylphie," Eren said, looking into her sparkling blue eyes. Thepliments sounded redundant to him. But he knew their importance. "That dress suits you perfectly," he added. "Thank you, my Lord," Sylphie said with a soft smile, her moss-green hair swaying with the movement of the dance. "You look very handsome as well. Your suit fits you perfectly." Eren grinned, "Thanks, Sylphie. I''m d you think so." As they danced, Eren couldn''t help but be drawn to Sylphie''s ethereal beauty. Her slender arms felt delicate in his, and her ample feminine proportions fit perfectly against his body. He felt himself losing track of time as they moved together, lost in the moment. Eren had to acknowledge Sylphie''s great dance skills. She was better than him but tried to match his tempo and slightly unsynchronized moves. "I''m d we''re dancing together, Lord Grimdawn," Sylphie said, breaking thefortable silence that had settled between them. "I''ve been looking forward to it all night." Sylphie had be crazy for Eren since he branded her. And the fact that he treated her well and provided her with all the right ranking resources solidified her affection for him. So it was only natural that she would have a certain spark in her eyes as she danced with Eren. The gorgeous elf conveniently ignored Eren''s failure to keep up with her moves. Instead, she focused on his charms as her man. "Me too," Eren said, twirling her around before pulling her back close. "You make a great dance partner, Sylphie. I feel like I could dance with you all night. Kekeke. I guess I can learn a lot from you that way." Eren admitted hisck of skills to match up with Slyphie right away without shame or remorse. He wasfortable in his skin and that showed in his confident bodynguage. Sylphieughed, a musical sound that made Eren''s heart skip a beat. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, my Lord. But I''m afraid I can''t show such selfishness and have you for myself for the entire night. So we will have to wrap up soon." Eren grinned, pulling her closer. "Alright. We will have our intimate dancing sessions elsewhere." The bright lights, the ss musical symphony, and the charged atmosphere were all forgotten as Eren and Sylphie moved together inplete harmony. And before they both knew it, the background music track had changed once again. *** This time, Eren''s partner was someone very special. Alephee stood in front of Eren with confidence and sophistication. Eren and Alephee danced in wless harmony. It was as if they both had simr dance skills. They talked business as they danced together. They smiled at each other and could guess what the other was thinking. It could be seen that they had a very deep bonding with each other as they moved and danced to one of Eren''spositions. Eren and Alephee moved to the rhythm of the music, their feet gracefully stepping into time with the beat. They discussed their ns as they danced, turning the Ball into a business event. The music changed and Alephee seamlessly faded away from Eren with a smile on her face, giving way for Eren''s next partner to join him. Chapter 1251 Rhythm, Romance, & Radiance ? Eren and Jiana swayed to the music''s rhythm. It was as if they had danced together before. Their growing familiarity with each other showed in the way they moved together as one. As Jiana''sposition picked up pace, so did their dancing. They twirled around each other, their steps quickening to match the song''s tempo. "Guild master, you you are not bad at this." Jiana expressed how impressed she was with Eren''s moves. Thetter chuckled but didn''t say anything. Instead, he picked up his tempo and effortlessly guided Jiana into following him. Jiana wore an alluring scent. A subtle yet mesmerizing perfume. It was an exquisite blend of jasmine, bergamot, and sandalwood, which left a hint of sweetness in the air wherever she went. As she spun and twirled with Eren, the fragrance wafted around them, causing those nearby to pause and take notice. Eren couldn''t help but admire Jiana''s beauty and intoxicating scent as they danced together. He had always admired her confidence and grace, but tonight she seemed even more radiant. Eren smiled at Jiana and said, "Jiana, you look absolutely stunning tonight. And that perfume of yours is quite enchanting." Jianaughed softly and said, "Thank you, Guild Master. I''m d you like it. It''s a special blend I created myself, using flowers from flower nts my parents left behind for me. It''s my little secret." Eren chuckled, "I should have known it was something special. You always surprise me." *** Eren was truly surprised by how well Jiana had adjusted to her newly acquired role as a White Raven Guild member. She participated in many covert and overt meetings with Edinburgh''s authorities to secure various contracts for the White Raven Guild. It seemed that she grew personally and professionally since she was relieved of serving as guild master of her own guild. It was as if she had started flying since the shackles of responsibilities stopped halting her flight. Jiana almost did the same job in the White Raven Guild as she was used to doing in the Healers'' Nirvana. It was her previous guild inherited from her parents. Technically, it was no longer due to Eren''s guild overtaking it. So Jiana was used to working administratively. However, she didn''t have to worry about crucial guild decisions anymore. Jiana knew what her new guild wanted from the contracts from the get-go because of Eren and Agatha''s clear demands. As a result, she entered into those meetings with the right mindset. It allowed her to reserve loads of contracts for the White Raven Guild while ensuring they were highly lucrative in the long run. This, in turn, cemented Jiana''s position in the White Raven Guild and allowed her to secure more personal ranking resources for herself. Eren offered Miss Goldy Wings the raise she deserved. And that prompted Jiana to strive for more. *** Eren and Jiana started dancing on the ground like everyone else. However, as the song tempo increased, Jiana had a mischievous glint in her eyes. Suddenly, golden wings sprouted from her back, stunning the audience as they witnessed her Ability. The golden wings looked delicate and flimsy but radiated potent energy due to the Master-ranked mana used in casting them. "Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Goldy Wings!" Osha reintroduced Jiana with an excited voice from the stage when Jiana took flight. As a host of the event, Osha always weed rankers to take the event to the next stage. She got back to directing the band of musicians with her hands and allowed Jiana to do what she wanted. "What''s keeping you down there, Guild Master? Can''t you join me here? Let''s see how capable your flight is, shall we?" Jiana looked at Eren challengingly and invited him to join her in the air toplete their dance. Eren smirked and Wind-Fire Wings appeared behind his back. "Keke. Alright. Here Ie," Eren replied as he flew towards Jiana. As they met in the air, the band resumed ying the music tracks with even greater zeal than before. This time, Eren''sposition submitted for Jiana''s poetry challenge started ying. Some graduate rankers stopped their participation in the Grad Ball and watched in awe as Eren and Jiana took to the air. Eren and Jiana danced above the crowd, with their respective wings spread wide. It was as if two birds romanced each other as they flew. "Wow, they look amazing!" One female graduate ranker eximed, looking at Eren and Jiana with mesmerized expressions. "I''ve never seen anything like it," another added, her eyes wide with wonder. Eren and Jiana flew close to each other, matching each other''s movements as they danced. Their elemental attainments manifested in the air without hurting or intimidating anybody. Lightning arcs surged in the air. The light-element mana glowed like a school of fireflies. The fusion of elemental particles served as the cherry on top of this visual feast. Jiana''s golden wings shone like the sun, radiating powerful energy that was awe-inspiring and terrifying. There was an air of dominance and freedom emanating from Eren''s wings. It was as if two kites flew with all their might while fireworks painted the night sky with various colors. "That title really suits you, you know," Eren said, admiring her wings. "Hehe. Thank you, Guild Master. I like your title as well," Jiana replied, smiling. As they danced in the air, they exchanged yful banter and jokes, much to the delight of the graduate rankers below. It was a magical moment that none of them would ever forget. Despite their elemental attainments shing against each other, Eren and Jiana were perfectly in sync. They moved as one, their bodies almost touching as they spun and swirled through the air. As the song ended, Jiana and Erennded back on the ground, their wings disappearing in a sh of light. The crowd apuded, amazed by the beauty and grace of their dance. Eren and Jiana looked and grinned at each other, both knowing that they had just shared a moment that would be remembered for years toe. Chapter 1252 Co-Op Agreement With Firebrand ? Eren took Altashia''s hand and led her to the dance floor. He looked into her eyes and smiled. "I''ll make many people jealous tonight because of you," he said. Altashia blushed and smiled back at him. "Thank you, Eren. You look quite dashing yourself," she replied. Music yed, and Eren and Altashia danced together. They moved gracefully across the floor, synchronized with the music. As they danced, Eren and Altashia talked about their time in the army and their ns for the future. They reminisced about the army missions they had taken together and the challenges they faced along the way. "Feels like everything is moving too fast, Eren," Altashia said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "And it seems that the higher we progress in our ranking journeys the less time we have for ourselves." Eren nodded in agreement. "You can say it''s part of the trade, my dear," Eren said in a consoling voice. "And who knows what the future holds? Maybe this is the best thing that has happened to us. Maybe we''ll appreciate our arduous work someday. After all, distance makes the heart grow fonder." Altashia smiled. "I hope so," she said. "You''ve been such a positive influence on me. I hope the White Raven Guild and Firebrand can work together in the future." *** Firebrand was a very popr and well-established guild active in all Edinburgh duchies except the Lionheart duchy. Altair was Firebrand''s, Guild Master. Eren was not surprised that Altashia would join Altair''s guild. This was something she decided before he came into the picture. Eren didn''t force Altashia to join the White Raven Guild either. Doing so might have irked Altair. And there were no benefits to be had by keeping Altashia tied down to his guild. He knew Altashia''s ranking path would prosper in Altair''s shadow. Plus, he also expected Altashia to open doors for him to establish a co-op between the two guilds. War was not something a guild could participate in on its own no matter what kind of contract it had or how big it was. The butcher knew that friendly connections between guilds would y a huge role in the uing years. One needed assurance that someone had their back in case things turned south at the border. Reinforcements from friendly guilds would limit casualties. Signing co-op agreements with big guilds like Firebrand was exactly the kind of thing Eren wanted after securing hefty contracts from Edinburgh. The Crimson Ghost''s guild nurtured top-ss fire-element rankers. The guild was a force to be reckoned with in terms of potential damage to its enemies. Firebrand had a weakness if it could be called one. It did not have prominent healers within its squads because of its focus on all-out offense. Not that Firebrand did not want to hire capable healers. But any skilled healer worth their salt wouldn''t choose Firebrand as their first choice for employment. Eren had something Firebrand was missing. He had taken a lot of healers under his umbre after taking over Healers'' Nirvana. He could offer Firebrand healer-specific support in exchange for their offense-specific assistance on the field. Eren grinned after listening to Altashia''s words. "Kekeke. Likewise, Tashi. I hope you can help me sign a co-op agreement with Firebrand. Let this war be a source of growth for us and our guilds." Altashiaughed. "Sounds like a n, Eren," she said, as they danced together. *** Eren and Dianna started off dancing to an upbeat song, their movements spelled gracefulness and elegance. They had both been busy since leaving their army days behind. Even their meetings in the White Raven City were always brief because Eren always had something or the other to tend to. This was the first time in a long while they had a chance to rx and enjoy themselves like this. The couple made the best use of their time together and enjoyed each other''spany to its fullest. "So, Eren, have you thought about what I said?" Dianna asked, breaking thefortable silence between them. Eren furrowed his brows and looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?" Dianna leaned in closer and spoke softly. "About meeting with Birmond Remus. I think it could benefit both you and House Remus if you could bury the hatchet." It seemed that House Remus wanted to rethink its situation with Eren now that the war had officially begun. It knew it couldn''t keep engaging in internal strife with Eren''s city if it wanted to participate in the war. Birmond knew Dianna was close to Eren. So he requested her to be the negotiator between the two sides. Dianna also knew that if House Remus kept fighting with Eren to protect its honor, it had no bright future for itself. As a member of her n, Dianna didn''t want such a bleak future for her n members. She warned Richard Remus for the same reason. But the old man didn''t listen to her and aggravated the conflict between the two organizations. Thankfully, Birmond Remus was not as dense as Richard. He was sane enough to recognize that the current war had the potential to change every equation. Birmond especially took Kind Emil''s words into ount during Eren''s title bestowment. With the king''s direct protection safeguarding Eren and his properties, he knew it would be foolish to engage in conflict with Eren or his guild. So he decided to initiate a truce between his n and the city of White Raven. Dianna wanted to prevent her n''s total destruction. So she agreed to help Birmond by bringing Eren to the discussion table. Eren was in a dilemma about what steps he should take regarding House Remus. On the one hand, he wanted them to keep sending their summoners to attack him. This was so that he could keep devouring them and strengthening his ss. On the other hand, he knew shing with House Remus during the war was not a wise move. Eren shook his head. "I don''t know, Dianna. The Remus family has never been a friend to me or my guild. Why should I patch things up now?" === AN: Firebrand was first mentioned in chapter 1172. Birmond Remus was mentioned in chapter 835. Chapter 1253 House Slughorns Treason? ? "Why should I patch things up with House Remus now?" Eren asked while gently leading Dianna. Step-touch, Grapevine, Jazz-square, pivot turn, and Chasse were performed seamlessly by the couple one move after the other as they discussed. No movement was wasted. No move was unpolished. Dianna knew Eren would not do everything she asked because they were together. He needed assurance of tangible profits first before he could even think about patching things up with House Remus. Of course, Dianna also knew that Eren wouldn''t step out of his way to seek revenge at the cost of self-harm either. She just needed him to offer leverage in the deal. "Eren, you should consider talking with House Remus because it can help you deal with House Slughorn. Because it can offer you precious resources at the right prices before they are released on the open market." House Remus was famous for procuring rare resources and selling them through various means. It also organized auctions to sell them at crazy prices. Dianna told Eren that House Remus was willing to offer Eren early ess to these precious resources. Earlier, he had robbed the auction participants to get the herb required for the Lazarus Project. This was the same auction house Dianna''s n organized and secured. Eren did not understand what Dianna meant by "help you deal with House Slughorn." But that was not relevant right now. Eren''s eyes shone with brilliance when he realized he could get early ess to House Remus'' procurement. He did not have to risk himself anymore. He had the money to buy the things he wanted. But money wasn''t everything when it came to rare resource procurement. So a deal with House Remus could help him in the long run. Dianna could tell Eren''s interest was piqued when she mentioned potential benefits. She smiled before speaking further. "War forces enemies to be friends and friends to be enemies," Dianna said while matching Eren''s pace. She spun around herself gracefully and found his warmth again before continuing. "And I know you can use House Remus to your advantage. With your title bestowment and king''s protection, no sane force would attack you openly. Even doing things in the shadows is a huge risk. So many forces who stood against you would want to negotiate with you. House Remus just wants to stay ahead of the game." Eren started understanding Dianna''s statement. He narrowed his eyes before raising a doubt. ''You mentioned House Slughorn. Friends be enemies and enemies be friends, you say. Do you mean to say that House Slughorn wants to go against the king''s wishes? And that it wants to continue to remain enemies with my guild?'' Eren used voicemunication to confirm his doubts. He knew saying things like that out in the open would be taken as ming House Slughorn for treason. He needed substantial evidence to back his im before stirring the ho''s nest like that. This was the reason why Dianna was vague when she said she could help Eren deal with House Slughorn. Apparently, House Remus was ready to choose Eren over House Slughorn because thetter was doing something very diabolical. House Remus considered House Slughorn''s deteriorating condition as well as Eren''s current situation and decided it was time to leave the sinking ship. Dianna nodded before speaking further. "Birmond is one of the key decision-makers in House Remus. I just want you to talk to him, Eren. He will answer all of your questions if you agree to meet with him," Dianna exined. Eren smiled wickedly when he realized that House Slughorn still wanted to oppose him. In a way, it was ready tomit treason to destroy him and everything he had built so far. This was good news for Eren as well. As he could legally destroy House Slughorn without a negative impact on his city or guild. In war, it was very easy to prosecute and destroy someone as long as they could bebeled as traitors. Eren could also understand House Slughorn''s frustration with him. After all, he had established himself as a top yer in the potion manufacturing market with Edinburgh with his guild''s wide range of products. Eren had well-established distribution chains andprehensive products for every rank, ss, and need. The potions he offered were top-notch for their price range. In short, it was impossible topete with White Raven potions on Edinburgh''s market. Eren had established a monopoly at this point, kicking House Slughorn off its throne. So it came as no surprise to him when he was informed of House Slughorn''s decision. Eren was about to open his mouth to speak. But Dianna shushed him by pressing her index finger against his lips. She smiled and danced with him as she continued. "If Birmond and you cane to an agreement, it could open up a lot of opportunities for you and your guild. As a result, my n could also save its reputation. Plus, it''s always better to have allies than enemies, especially in these times." ''But I want your n''s summoners too. How could I devour them if I shook hands with them? And will it really get over the fact that I have "monuments" of their dead members in Grim Pir Town?'' Eren thought to himself and sighed. He also felt House Remus was only interested in maintaining peace with him until the war ended. It would try to mess with him again if and when the war was over. Of course, Dianna didn''t understand suchplexities because she had a blind spot for her n and him. In short, there were several disadvantages to signing a co-op agreement with House Remus. However, Grimdawn listened to Dianna''s request anyway. Eren couldn''t help but think about how he could use House Remus in the uing war. He knew he couldn''t trust thempletely, but he also knew he could use all the help he could get. And it was especially important to keep House Remus'' prominent summoners in check. He could do that easier if he was seen as an ally rather than an enemy. There was no harm in talking at least. He knew he needed topromise now that he had taken several contracts from Edinburgh. The sooner he primed his guild for war, the better. Eren considered his words carefully before agreeing to Diana''s request. "Fine. I''ll meet Birmond. But I''m not promising anything." Dianna smiled and squeezed his hand. "That''s all I ask, Eren." They continued dancing to the song, lost in their discussions. As the song ended, Eren looked down at Dianna and smiled. "Thanks for the dance, Dianna. And for the peace proposal. I hope everything turns out the way you thought it would be. For your n''s sake. Keke." Dianna smiled back at him. "It''s my pleasure, Eren. And don''t worry, I have a feeling it will go well." Chapter 1254 Wonderful Distraction Comes To An End ''Hm. Dancing with a Sage, huh? There''s a first time for everything in life.'' Eren thought to himself as he stared into Osha''s eyes. Thetter honored her agreement after delegating the work to her subordinates present at the event. The Grad Ball music never stopped. But rankers would take breaks on the sidelines to change their partners or just observe what others were doing. None of the rankers were physically tired. But some of them were lone creatures and thought this was enough interaction for the month with other rankers. The fuel inside them to keep their social interactions running had run dry. Eren also waited on the sidelines and Osha stood in front of him. She waited for him to prepare himself with a knowing smile stered over her face. Usually, Eren would have taken his leave after midnight to concentrate on his pending work. However, he didn''t leave the venue early. He wanted to create connections with his batchmates. The chance to dance with Osha Daman was one such potential connection Eren liked to have in his books. After all, she was a Sage ranker. And no amount of money or ranking resources he had at the time could help him establish a connection with someone like Osha. Some rankers also stopped their participation and waited on the sidelines to watch an Expert ranker dance with a Sage ranker. They saw Osha aspletely out of Eren''s league. She was out of their league as well. But tough at Eren for his presumed nervousness, they conveniently ignored that fact. However, what they didn''t know was that Eren wasn''t flustered by Osha''s presence. Rather, standing so close to her brought back some dreadful memories. The butcher was reminded of the first Sage he had seen up close in both his timelines. Compared to the mummified monstrosity, Osha looked like a delicate flower to Eren. So he had no inhibitions when he stopped reminiscing about the past and took her hand in his. Eren felt his heart racing as he took Osha Daman''s hand and danced with her. His heart raced not because he was afraid of Osha. But he was excited about his own progress. He had never been this close to a Sage ranker before. At least not in the way he was at the point. Osha allowed Eren to lead her into the dance floor pool. She matched his tempo as they danced together. Osha''s captivating blue eyes sparkled under the bright moonlight. Eren felt overwhelmed and excited at the same time. The couple started with a simple step-touch, then moved on to a grapevine, followed by a jazz square, a pivot turn, and a Chasse. Osha had never been a dancer, but she was surprisingly good at following Eren''s lead. As they danced, Osha looked at Eren with a small smile. "Young man, rx. It''s just a dance. Don''t stress yourself into thinking there''s more to it than this." Erenughed at Osha''s words. He didn''t want to convey what he felt at the time. So he let Osha think he was tense around her. It was a positive assumption she could have made about him. Eren strengthened her assumptions with his next words. "Easy for you to say, Osha. I can''t help but be charmed by you." After he said that, Eren picked up his pace. There was no hesitation or awkwardness in his bodynguage anymore as he danced wlessly with Osha. Osha remembered Eren''s reply to herposition as she felt his confidence up close. His words were very domineering at the time, and she thought Eren AKA Grimdawn was a lowkey arrogant Expert ranker. But it turned out that he could also act humble and confident when he needed to. "Hehehe," Oshaughed softly. Her voice sounded like a symphony in Eren''s ears. "You have ambitions to surpass me, don''t you? Then I''m sure this war will provide you with plenty of opportunities to grow." Eren simply nodded and replied. "I do, Osha. In fact, I''m counting on it." The two continued to dance, their movements bing more fluid and natural. Eren felt his worries and stress melt away as he enjoyed the moment with Osha. Eren flirted with Osha using safe words. And she flirted back because she was impressed by Eren''s manner around her. She felt there was something special about the man who was currently leading her. Eren didn''t try funny business with a Sage. He also made conscious efforts not to let his Sin Series Ability have even a passive effect on her. This was to ensure his own safety. Finally, the song came to an end, and Osha bowed gracefully to Eren. "Thank you for the dance, young man. You''re quite a surprise." Eren grinned back at her, feeling satisfaction in his heart. "Thank you, Osha. I had an excellent time as well. And hope to see you in the city of White Raven in the future as well." Eren left a positive impression on Osha by the time they separated. She couldn''t help feeling intrigued by the man. She felt as if there was a lot more to Grimdawn than he let on. The Sage ranker looked forward to the time she could meet Eren again. *** As the Grad Ball event ended, the flying white pce gradually descended to the ground where it had originally taken off from. The bright lights that had illuminated the grand hall throughout the night gradually dimmed, and the music that had filled the air came to a gentle stop. The remaining rankers, dressed in theirst night''s disheveled attire, said their final goodbyes to each other before heading off in different directions. Some had left with their partners to spend the rest of the night elsewhere, while others returned to their homes. Eren, who had danced the night away in his plus-ones, took a moment to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. The event was a sess, and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. However, his mind was already shifting toward the ongoing war and what he could do to prepare his guild for it. As he looked around in the emptying grand hall, he realized he had a lot of work to do. He needed to continue training his guild members, gather intelligence about his enemies, secure alliances with other organizations, and prepare for the battles that were sure toe. With a deep breath, Eren turned to leave the grand hall, his mind already filled with ns and strategies. The Grad Ball had been a wonderful distraction, but now it was time to return to work. Chapter 1255 An Audience With The Crown Prince P1 ? Three days after the Grad Ball. The royal district. The City of Edin. This district could be described as a township of various small and monumental pces. Some pces belonged to active members of the royal court. Others belonged to royals from the main branch of the royal n. There were also a few houses that were grand and luxurious in their own way. They belonged to the various officials active throughout the kingdom. But these houses looked pale and unimportant whenpared to the royal residences. There was a peculiar royal pce at one corner of the royal district. It looked very grand and weing at the same time because of its opulent use of embedded elemental stones and multi-functional arrays. And yet, one could subconsciously tell that it was not a residence and one could barge in without an invitation. After all, this was the residence that housed Edinburgh''s crown prince, Rodrick Renar. Therefore, it was protected from every angle by multiple squads of rankers solely tasked with neutralizing any threat in Renar''s direction. Rodrick''s royal pce was a grand and imposing structure constructed with marble and elemental stones. It was designed to be a fitting residence for the crown prince. From the moment visitors approached the pce, they were greeted with its grandeur. The pce stood tall and proud,manding the attention of all those who saw it. Everything about the pce''s architecture has been carefully selected to create a stunning andsting impression. The exterior of the pce was adorned with intricate carvings and decorative features that reflected the pce''s beauty and grandeur. The interior was equally stunning, with beautifully crafted marble floors and wallsplemented by ornate andvish furnishings. One of the most impressive features of the Royal Pce was the grand hall that served Crown Prince Rodrick Renar to discuss matters with his subordinates. The audience hall was expansive, with high ceilings, and adorned with exquisite chandeliers that sparkled and shone like stars. The walls had been lined with tapestries and paintings that depicted Edinburgh''s history, and the furniture had been crafted from the finest materials to provide bothfort and elegance. As visitors entered the grand hall, they were greeted by a sense of awe and reverence. The hall was designed to be both weing and imposing, with a sense of authority thatmands respect. The atmosphere was one of sophistication and luxury, with the finest details carefully considered to create an unforgettable experience for those who entered. The crown prince''s pce had a visitor today. This visitor was treated with respect and led in immediately. After all, the visitor had a bona fide title and was treated as a close friend by the crown prince himself. Eren was seated on a chair in the middle of the hall. There was another royal-looking chair ced in front of him. It was ced on a tform slightly elevated from the ground. There was nobody in the waiting audience hall with Eren. But thetter had already yed this game before. So he just asked with an annoyed face, knowing someone would answer soon. "I''m sorry for my impatience, but how long will he take? If it''s too much trouble, I''ll reschedule the meeting for some other time." Eren''s voice was a perfect mix of annoyance and seriousness. After all, he had many things to do before leaving the capital city. He couldn''t spend hours waiting for Rodrick even if he understood what Rodrick''s position as the crown prince entailed. "We are sorry for the trouble caused, Sir Grimdawn." An unknown male voice answered Eren. "His Highness will" "He is here," said another female voice, interrupting the first voice. Eren turned around to see Rodrick walking into the audience hall alone. "There''s no need to stay here. Let me and Grimdawn talk in peace. Ensure that we are not troubled by another entity." Rodrickmanded his retainers to give him privacy. Since Eren was here, he knew the talk would be focused on sensitive topics. At this point, Rodrick knew Eren well enough. Eren wouldn''t bother him unless he really needed something from him. Something he couldn''t buy with money. "As you wish, Prince Rodrick," the female voice spoke before seemingly disappearing from her position. Eren suddenly felt like a bunch of people had stopped looking at him from an unknown angle. Rodrick pulled out his royal chair and ced it in front of Eren, an arm''s distance away. It was a sign that he was meeting Eren as his friend and not as a crown prince. "Haha. You bastard, you finally found some time to meet me. I tried to contact you for three days. What the fuck were you doing?" Rodrick patted Eren''s back enthusiastically. Eren chuckled before responding. "Keke. You will know what I have been through these three days once you get your royal harem." Eren breathed deeply as he remembered the three days of debauchery he had indulged in with Levine, Sylphie, Dianna, Altashia, and Nysa. Nina was busy with her own affairs regarding some ranking resources she was trying to procure from the capital city. And Eren was yet to make a move on Ma, Almera, and Jiana. Rodrickughed hearing Eren''s answer. He was sure that he could never be as promiscuous as Eren even if he had a royal harem. But not every assumption needs to be corrected. Sometimes, it is okay to be misunderstood. Eren and Rodrick talked about random things casually. They discussed the uing projects the city of White Raven was about to undertake. Rodrick had a special connection to Eren''s city. It served as his shelter when he was targeted from all sides. So it was only natural that the new crown prince would have some soft spot for his friend''s ce. Eren''s face turned serious after the initial conversation was over. His voice turned stoic as he spoke his next words. "Rodrick, I need something from you. And I hope you won''t say no to me." Chapter 1256 An Audience With The Crown Prince P2 ? "Rodrick, I need something from you. And I hope you won''t say no to me." Rodrickughed. He knew Eren''s demand wasing. So he wasn''t surprised. He had already decided to do everything to help Eren. After all, he helped Rodrick when no one else would. "Tell me. I''m all ears." Eren nodded before stating his demands. "I want every kind of dirt the royal spies have on the House Lancelot. I want every ssified detail you can gather about the city of Lancelot. Andstly, I would like individual profiles of some of the key members of House Lancelot." Rodrick was shocked and puzzled by Eren''s demand. He looked at Eren confusingly before asking him in a voiceced with doubt. "When did House Lancelot mess with you or your guild? Aren''t House Slughorn and House Re" Eren shook his head and cut the crown prince off mid-sentence. "I can''t tell you. I am only going to tell you what I want and not why I want it." Rodrick reclined in his chair and rested his arms on the armchair. Another doubt surfaced in his mind. "It''s not House Lancelot that messed with you. No, it''s you. You want to mess with House Lancelot." Rodrick''s face turned serious as he tried to understand the implications of Eren''s actions in his head. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Eren before speaking grimly. "Eren, you know I''ll support you. But do you really know the consequences of your actions? Why must you go after House Lancelot? I don''t see any connection it has with you. Must you poke the bear when it sleeps peacefully and does no harm to you? I mean... ugh!" Eren shrugged his shoulders before answering Rodrick''s question. "This is not something I want. But something I must do. Let''s not beat around the bush. Can you do it? A simple yes or no will suffice." Rodrick had stress lines on his forehead as he heard Eren''s ultimatum. He had to say that this was the least convenient time Eren could ask him for a favor like this. House Lancelot was always one of Edinburgh''s powerhouses since its inception. Its importance in the kingdom''s eyes had increased multi-fold against the backdrop of the war. Furthermore, House Lancelot did not interfere in kingdom politics in any way. Meaning the kingdom of Edinburgh also had less legal and moral grounds to interfere in its internal affairs. Still, Edinburgh wouldn''t shy away from gathering dirt on House Lancelot just because it was cooperative with the kingdom. On the contrary, Edinburgh''s secret forces needed to keep House Lancelot in check because it was so influential. Eren guessed it right. He didn''t ask Rodrick if the royal spies had intel on House Lancelot or not. He just asked Rodrick to hand it over. Rodrick wanted to know the reason behind Eren''s sudden interest in House Lancelot. But he knew Eren wouldn''t tell him anything just because he asked nicely. Sighing, he replied defeatedly. "Yes." Eren smiled when he heard Rodrick''s confirmation. He was about to say something, but then he saw Rodrick raising his index finger in the air, prompting Eren to let him finish. "I''ll give everything I can gather about House Lancelot to you, Eren. But you need to make sure that Edinburgh''s interests are not harmed by your moves. And need I remind you that you might get your hands burned if you y with fire too much?" Eren smiled lightly. "I''ll try," he said, which didn''t sound like much of amitment to Rodrick. ''This guy''s either going to ruin everything he has built so far or...'' Rodrick contemted. ''Or maybe'', Rodrick said to himself, a hint of worry appearing in his eyes as he considered each option. "Give me a few days to pull some strings. You''ll get what you want like you received the Beast Transformation spell in the past." Eren nodded. "Take your time, Your Highness. But do it right. And do it thoroughly," he said. The butcher thought for a while before divulging the information he received from House Remus. Rodrick was the right guy for this type of information sharing. "Rodrick, you might want to check on House Slughorn. I know you might think I''m inciting you against Slughorns because I have enmity for them. And partly, that might be true. But let''s just say that the Slughorns are about to make moves that are not in Edinburgh''s best interests. Of course, you can choose to take preemptive action against House Slughorn or wait for it tomit treason. But if you do take preemptive action, keep me in the loop. I''ll help you with the clean-up to the best of my abilities. That too without charging Edinburgh a dime." Rodrick snorted hearing Eren''s words. "It scares me when you say you want to do something for free. Makes me wonder if there''s something I''m not seeing in the whole picture." Rodrick joked. But he treated Eren''s information as a solid lead. If the Slughorns were really about tomit treason, it was time to get rid of them once and for all. After all, this period was less about diplomatic solutions and more about settling things with violence. Plus, as the crown prince of Edinburgh, Rodrick had an opportunity to increase his poprity in the inner circles if and when he apprehended traitors of this caliber. The kingdom was also not worried about creating a void in the potion market because of Slughorn''s untimely exit from the market. The White Raven potions along with a few other brands were perfectly capable of fulfilling rankers'' daily and wartime needs. ''It''s time to get rid of the fucking snake before it bites.'' Eren thought to himself as he made ns to strip House Slughorn of everything it had to offer before destroying itpletely. Some old chapters in life need to be closed to make room for new ones, after all. Eren and Rodrick chatted for a few hours after that. They had drinks and caught up on various subjects just like in the past. In the end, they both bid adieu to each other when concluding their discussion. Chapter 1257 Argo’s Restaurant Chain ? A week before Eren''s scheduled departure from the capital city. Midnight. Eren''s vi. Eren sat in his chamber, surrounded by various scrolls and documents. He had worked non-stop for five days straight toplete the formalities rted to the kingdom''s contracts. He also startedying the groundwork for his guild so that it functions like a well-oiled machine in his absence. His emerald-green eyes scanned each page carefully as he made notes and added his inputs to the alerts and notifications that kept flooding in. He was the leader of the White Raven Guild, and there was never a dull moment regarding guild-rted affairs. As he worked, his spectral screen buzzed with iing messages. Eren paused to respond to Agatha, one of his most trusted people. With simple prompts on the spectral screen, they discussed thetest updates on the kingdom''s internal and external security missions. Eren also chatted with Argo whose palm-sized spectral rendition was sitting on the edge of Eren''s desk swinging his feet. He worked silently while Argo exined his next project to him. "So this is the reason I needed to talk to you, boss. What do you think about this?" Eren stopped writing on the scroll when Argo finished. He put the pen in the ink dipper and scratched his jawline as he thought about Argo''s n. "So basically, you want to start a restaurant chain in Edinburgh and the Asikha empire. And you want 700,000 Extols from me as an initial investment. Is that right?" Argo nodded before speaking further. "Damn right, boss. I''mma be honestwitchu. I might need 200 or 300k more depending upon the market situation. But that''s basically it." Eren frowned as he looked at the miniature Argo with confusion. "But weren''t you interested in running live concerts and bing popr in Anfang? What''s with this restaurant chain business suddenly?" he asked with a puzzled voice. Argo got up from his seat and stretched his limbs. He turned into his Griffin form and flew in front of Eren''s eyes as he spoke. "Boss, my poprity is a tool. What is the use of fame if it cannot be used effectively? Whatever world I enter, I always start a food business. It''s a way for me to harness the emotions of gluttony. What kind of Prince of Gluttony would I be if I didn''t?" The miniature Argo in his Griffin form stabilized his flight in front of Eren''s eyes and spoke up. His voice became serious as he continued to speak. "After experiencing many lives, I have found out that fame and poprity can contribute hugely to getting what I want. My poprity and fame act like mas that benefit me in my business. The more business I have, the more effectively I can harness the emotions of gluttony. Not that I don''t enjoy the attention. And I can indeed devour my audience''s heightened emotions directed at me. But that''s not my end goal. I think I have enough poprity in Edinburgh to start my restaurant chain. I don''t know much about the Asikha empire. But I don''t want to limit myself within the borders of Edinburgh either. I would therefore take a calcted risk on the Asikha empire. This prince knows how to get what he wants from his fans. It would be a shame if I only became popr in this world and did not gain anything in return. Hehe. You''d be surprised how popr artists from different worlds start food businesses while riding on the waves of poprity." Argo reminded Eren that his existence was beyond hisprehension. It seemed that harnessing gluttony emotions was always Argo''s primary objective. And the fame he garnered from his audience was merely an enabler to harness the emotions of Gluttony with greater efficiency. "Are you sure you want to start a food business in this war? Rankers'' priorities have changed. You might not recover the investment if you receive an underwhelming response." Argoughed when he heard Eren''s concerns. "Haha. Boss, don''t worry about a thing. This prince will soon turn everyone into loyal customers once they visit our restaurants." Eren narrowed his eyes at Argo as he pondered a bit. His eyes widened when he realized something. "The effects of Gluttony mana!" Some sort of understanding dawned on Eren as he understood why Argo was so confident in starting the restaurant chain in the middle of the war. He nodded at Argo and spoke further. "Alright. I''ll talk to Agatha. She''ll provide you with capital to invest in your business. But I want to harness the gluttony mana as well. Let it fuel my ranking progress. Find a way for me to do this. Also, you need to do things in moderation. We don''t want to turn people into maniacs due to gluttony mana. Because that would raise suspicions." With Prince of Gluttony starting a restaurant chain, Eren had no more worries about its sess in the backdrop of war. Still, he warned Argo to be careful. "Haha. Don''t worry, boss. I got this. This ain''t my first rodeo." The miniature Argo hovered on top of Eren''s scroll and morphed into a lion. He walked on the runes etched on the scroll as he continued. "In fact, I understand that the war might still affect my food business in some way. But I can''t waste years waiting for it to end. My Gluttony knows no bounds. I like to challenge other Princes by barging into their domains. I have already upset Prince of Pride and Prince of Wrath by trying to harness the emotions rted to their domains. To be honest, starting a restaurant chain was not the only ambition I had. I would have I would have started brothels at the borders of the two kingdoms too if Prince of Lust, Asmodeus wasn''t still loyal to Elder Ichor. After all, starting a brothel chain would have received the biggest response at the war. The participants of war from both sides would have been given "happy endings" by our brothel houses. Hehe. But I don''t wanna upset Asmodeus by barging into the Lust domain. We already have far too few friends. So let''s stick with the restaurant chain for now." Chapter 1258 Duty Calls ? Eren resumed writing on the scroll as soon as he gave Argo''s business definite approval. He let Argo go on a tangent while trying to finish guild-rted matters. Argo chatted with Eren for some time before disconnecting the connection. The demon''s palm-sized, talkative version disappeared into thin air, allowing Eren to work in peace. Suddenly, the door to Eren''s chamber opened, and Nina strode in, wearing a look of displeasure. "You told me you were done with your work!" she eximed, her tone usatory. Eren froze in his actions like he had been caught stealing something. He smiled wryly before responding. "I was, Aunt Nina. But then you were away for five minutes, and the work came back." He gestured to the piles of scrolls and documents surrounding him. "These guys were just keeping mepany while I waited for you." Nina rolled her eyes, but a hint of a smile yed at the corners of her lips. "You never cease to surprise me, Erni." She walked towards him, the soft rustle of her dress filling the room. "But can''t you take a break from work... tonight?" Eren''s ears perked up. His eyes shone brightly as he understood Nina''s undertone. He frantically turned around to see Nina wearing a satin nightdress, an inviting smile on her face. ''Keke. It seems I''m getting my reward tonight.'' Eren mumbled to himself and decided to call it a day. Eren leaned back in his chair, stretching his muscr torso as he did so. "For you, my love, I can make time for anything." He stood up, his eyes still staring at the pending work that called for him. ''Um I''m sorry guys. Duty calls.'' The butcher convinced himself. The scrolls on his table disappeared and Eren quickly bid adieu to Agatha using simple text. He closed the spectral screen in front of him and decided he''d finish his work only when his balls were empty once again. Lightning struck and Eren disappeared from his seated position, almost breaking the chair he sat on a moment before into two. In the next moment, he appeared on his bed, staring at Nina as she stared back at him. Erenyfortably on his plush, king-sized bed, half-sleeping with his back propped against a pillow. He wore only pants, exposing his chiseled physique. He broke eye contact with Nina with a smile and looked around. He gazed out the window at the waning moon. He smiled as he appreciated the silent night and the deserted view of the lush garden. The chill breeze and distant thunder rumbling in the crowds foretold that rain was imminent. As Ereny there, lost in thought, Nina got closer to him wearing a knee-length white night dress. Her light brown skin had a distinct sheen, and she smelled of fresh roses, having just bathed. Eren couldn''t help but admire her beauty as she approached the bed. "You look as amazing as ever, Nina" Eren said, his voice heavy with desire. "Hehe. Compliments won''t get you far, Erni," Nina teased, a yful smirk on her lips. Eren won the poetry challenge against Nina and reserved his reward, informing her he would ask for it in private. He had asked her for some spice before their intimate session, and tonight was the night he would receive the sought-after "spice." With a snap of her fingers, Nina created an isted barrier using the room''s magical arrays, ensuring their privacy. With another snap, she dimmed the lights, and finally, she yed barely audible, slow music without vocals using the sound-element runes embedded in the room''s array setup. Eren folded his arms under his chest and watched as Nina stood in front of his bed. She allowed the music to have its desired effect on the atmosphere. Nina started dancing slowly to the beats - all on her own. And Eren couldn''t help but admire her graceful movements as she swayed her hips and ran her hands over her body. Her movements were fluid and sensual, and Eren got lost in the moment. "Damn. I should have asked for this sooner," Eren said, his voice low and husky. Nina smiled, continuing her sensuous dance by swaying her hips, and moving closer to the bed. She leaned in, her breath hot against his ear. "Do you like what you see, Erni?" she whispered. Eren groaned, his body responding to her proximity. "I love it," he said, his eyes dark with desire. Nina continued to dance, moving closer until she stood close to the bed. She slowly slid the straps of her nightdress down her shoulders, revealing hercy bra. Eren''s eyes widened, and he licked his lips, his heart pounding in his chest. Nina leaned down, her lips hovering over his, and whispered, "Do you want more, Erni?" Eren nodded, unable to find his voice, as Nina teased him with her sensual dance. The sound of rain tapping against the windowpane added to the ambiance, and the music continued to y, providing a seductive background. Nina''s sensual dance affected her as well. It triggered her libido and prompted her to dance even more provocatively. She was beginning to enjoy her moves. She started finding joy in teasing Eren with her actions and her words. Eren couldn''t help but feel a surge of excitement coursing through his veins as Nina took the strip tease to the next level. Her lithe form moved sensuously to the slow and sultry music, and Eren''s needy eyes were transfixed on her every move. The petrichor in the air only added to the allure of the sultry situation. Eren''s body tensed as he watched Nina slowly raise the hem of her dress. His little guy was woken up from his slumber. Nina pressed her breasts against each other by cupping them from the sides. As a result, her cleavage deepened and her strip-tease dance became even more erotic. An air of confidence surrounded her as she traced her own curves with her restless hands. Intermittently between her moves, she beckoned Eren with her hands to pull her towards him. Eren''s gaze was immediately drawn to Nina''s ample bosom, the shapely curves of her breasts entuated by the deep cleavage of her bra. Nina''s slim waist and protruding posterior were a sight to behold, and Eren could feel himself growing more aroused by the second. Chapter 1259 Cultivating Lust Mana* ? Nina''s movements grew more deliberate as she reached the foot of the bed. Eren''s breath caught in his throat as she slowly peeled off her dress, revealing the delicate white panties with ivory-colored floral prints that hugged her curves so tantalizingly. There was a small wet patch just over Nina''s vaginal crack, indicating Nina was equally aroused. The floral prints looked like artistic tapestries woven on top of a luxurious satin as its canvas. Eren could feel his heart pounding in his chest as Nina climbed onto the bed and straddled him, the sexual atmosphere thickening around them. Eren''s hands roamed Nina''s body as she danced, his fingers trailing over her smooth skin and lingering on the curves of her hips. Her hips swayed and gyrated, adopting a seductive rhythm. She could feel Eren''s thick rod pressing against her butt cheeks. But that didn''t stop her from performing sensual moves. Somehow, she managed to make her seated rhythmic movements seem like a dance form. The sound of music grew even more sensual. It felt personal and intrusive. Nina''s eyes were closed, her head tilted back as she surrendered to the music. Eren couldn''t help but feel a surge of desire coursing through him as he watched her move. "You are amazing," Eren said softly, his fingers tracing the curve of Nina''s butt cheeks. "I always knew." Nina opened her eyes and smiled at him, her eyes sparkling in the dim moonlight. "You have earned it," she said, her voice husky with desire. "And it''s not like you''re the only one having fun here, my dear. I am enjoying every moment of it as well." Eren couldn''t take it anymore. He threw the back cushion andy t on the bed. He pulled Nina over him and got into a morefortable position. A sh of lightning energy surrounded the couple. It tickled Nina''s skin and destroyed thest piece of cloth Eren had on him. Eren''s veiny rod was liberated from its restrictions. It grew even more and touched Nina''s butt crack with even more fervor than before. Mark of the Seven Sins: Sin of Lust Grimdawn started cultivating lust mana with his feelings of lust slowly reaching their peak. This time, he kept the lust mana mostly to himself and channeled it throughout his body, allowing him to control his arousal. Nina was also lightly exposed to Lust Mana. However, as Eren was cultivating Lust Mana mostly for himself, she did not experience the enhanced sexual high induced by external sources. Not that she needed Lust Mana. She was already on fire and desperate to mate with her man. Eren''s arms tightlytched around Nina''s back before pulling her into his embrace. Nina''s sensual dance was stopped by Eren''s sudden move. And that was the biggestpliment she could receive from him. She knew she had lit a fire in him, which made her smile slyly. When two bodies met in this way, the strip tease turned into a deep kiss, their lips melting together. Nina felt like her body would melt like an ice scoop ced in the hot sun. Eren, on the other hand, felt finally saved from dehydration. Eren''s hands explored her curvaceous body with hunger and desperation. Nina let out a soft moan, her body pressing against Eren''s as his hands slid down to her hips, pulling her closer to him. "Tonight, you are mine. You are all mine." Nina whispered into Eren''s ears. To mark her territory, she pushed Eren back onto the bed, straddling him and pinning him down even harder. She dropped all her body weight on him and kissed him passionately by bending forward. Eren''s hands moved up her body, feeling her smooth skin under his fingertips as he kissed her neck and jawline. Nina''s hands fondled Eren''s thick rod, feeling its rock-hard erection. She took Eren''s dick and ced it between her butt cheeks. She slowly ground her pelvis as she took control of his erection, causing him to moan and grip her hips tightly. When Eren tried to free his dick from her hand, she pped his hand away, prompting him to ept that she was in charge of their session. Helpless, Eren''s hands changed their target. They roamed up and down Nina''s deliciously mature body, feeling the curves and dips of her figure as she moved against him. Nina smooched Eren''s neck, kissing his chest and stomach as she reached for his manhood. For the first time in a while, Eren had a brain fog. He understood what it meant for a man to think with his third leg. He felt like he was getting crazy and bing wiser at the same time. This was a strange realm to be in. It was as if Nina knew how to turn Eren into aplete idiot with her moves. She knew all his desires and how they could be used in their intimate moments. ''This woman She''s scary. This loss of control frightens me. But fuck! It excites me. It excites me to no end, damn it.'' Eren managed to have one coherent thought in his head before losing himself in brain fog again. He knew that if he wasn''t cultivating Lust Mana, he would have nutted by this point. However, not releasing his seed made him even more horny and desperate. Eren groaned as Nina''s other hand wrapped around his little brother, stroking him slowly and steadily. His fingers dug into her juicy ass and squeezed it as she ground it against him, her body moving inplete harmony with the background music. Eren felt his climax building, and with one final thrust, he reached his peak, spilling himself all over Nina''s hand. "Hmmmm!" Eren grunted and released all his load before lying t on the bed, motionless. The brain was dispersed and rity returned. He opened his eyes to see a smiling Nina looking at him with yfulness reflecting in her eyes. Eren''s breath was rtively normal. But it felt like they had a certain weight attached to them. He didn''t feel like speaking. But he watched with absolute surprise and delight as Nina brought the hand coated in his cum close to her mouth. Looking Eren in the eyes, Nina stuck her tongue out and licked his cum seductively. It was a thick load that ran down her hand. But the tip of her tongue traced every escapee along with their visible paths. She gulped everything without wasting a drop. "Waste not, want not," Nina said in a yful voice while staring at Eren provocatively. Her sharp gaze looked at Eren as if a hunter looked at her prey. Chapter 1260 Giving Up On Lust Mana Cultivation* ? Eren felt like he was back to being a sexually inexperienced teen. He couldn''t believe he was brought to the climax by a mere handjob. It could have been his first time receiving a handjob of such magnitude. Or he might have underestimated the act of handjob altogether, believing nobody could do it better than him. He was proven wrong. He thanked his stars and Nina for bursting his bubble. For the first time in a while, Eren felt like he needed to give some kind of exnation for his "poor performance." He cleared his throat but couldn''t get rid of the slight stuttering as he spoke. "Y-you see, Aunt Nina. T-this work has kept me it" Eren stopped speaking when Nina''s eyes told him it was okay. He gulped as he looked at Nina''s smiling face. Eren''s cum stained Nina''s lips. But somehow, it made her look even more alluring. "Hehe. No need to exin, Erni. I''ll take this as apliment. But you better not be done with this round. The night is young and we are just getting started." Since Eren''s mind was clouded, his body responded naturally, turning his erect rodid. But Nina''s provocative words breathed a new life into it. The veins on his dick popped up again as the erection appeared as if it was getting paid to show itself. Nina sat firmly on Eren''s groin, her folded legs on either side. She felt his dick''s mighty erection return with vengeance and poked her anal door with renewed vigor. Chuckling, she spoke seductively. "You are not speaking much tonight, Erni. But it looks like your dick is doing all the talking for you. Hehe." Eren felt he shouldn''t cultivate Lust Mana at this point. At least not with Nina. He shouldn''t. He felt he wasn''t ready to cultivate this Sin Series Mana with Nina as his partner. The more Eren wanted to strip his feelings of lust from within him and convert them into Lust Mana, the brighter he was burning with desire. It was as if Nina''s moves and words were all the supplements he needed to conjure near-endless lust. ''To hell with Lust cultivation. I would turn into a mindless dry fish by morning if this keeps on.'' Eren canceled his Sin Series Ability immediately. He stopped channeling Lust Mana into his body and let it affect Nina instead, slowly but surely. Eren''s own desire was quickly reaching its peak, and he couldn''t resist it any longer. With a swift movement, he flipped Nina over so that he was now on top, and their bodies were pressed tightly together. His hands roamed down her body, trailing over her stomach before slipping beneath the waistband of her delicate white panties with ivory-colored floral prints. His fingers felt the slimy wetness. His nostrils were filled with a peculiar aroma. The smell of a mature wet cave felt intoxicating to every fiber of his being. "Aaaah!" Nina gasped as Eren''s fingers found their way to her moist core, teasing and arousing her until she was squirming beneath him. Eren continued to kiss and nip at her neck, his own body throbbing with need. Eren traced Nina''s moist and needy vaginal crack with his explorative fingers. He coated his fingers in lightning mana to tickle her pleasure senses even more. Nina closed her legs tightly and clenched his fingers with her vaginal walls. This was in response to Eren''s lightning mana affecting her intimate and extremely sensitive area. She opened her legs and spread them wide to make sense of the pleasure she felt. Her vaginal fluids made the white sheets wetter by the moment as they dripped down her vaginal crack. Her dark and dense public region did everything it could to retain the moisture and aroma. "W-why am I getting so aroused? Erni... Y-you have definitely done something to me. You are a wretched man" Erenughed as he took control. He knew Nina would handle herself better even after being exposed to Lust Mana eventually. So he needed to enjoy the intermittent control he was about to have throughout the night. Eren pulled his hand out of her now-soaked wet undies. He smelled his fingers and dipped them into Nina''s open mouth. She licked them desperately as her hands explored his back. Nina''s mouth made a peculiar sound as Eren pulled his fingers out. He then kissed Nina before giving his hands another target totch onto. He fondled Nina''s breasts as they kissed, marveling at their size and shape. He broke the kiss and went down on Nina while kissing her neck and shoulder des. Eren sucked on her nipples, nibbling gently, eliciting moans and gasps of pleasure from Nina. As he squeezed the fleshy mounds to his heart''s content, he couldn''t help but admire their beauty. "These shy globes they are huge and marvelous. Just the shape I want them to be," Eren said while fondling Nina''s right breast with his hand and nibbling on her left nipple. He fine-tuned the brown nipples, savoring their taste and texture. Nina moaned and gasped for air before continuing, "They are aaaaah! They are yours to y with. Fondle them. y with them. Love them. They crave your attention, Erni." Eren smiled and continued tovish attention on Nina''s breasts, his hands, and mouth working in perfect harmony. He couldn''t get enough of her, couldn''t get enough of the way she responded to his touch. After a few minutes, Eren moved up and looked at Nina, his emerald-green eyes full of desire. He kissed her deeply, his tongue exploring her mouth as he pressed his body against hers. Nina moaned and wrapped her arms around Eren, pulling him closer as he kissed her. Eren''s hands roamed all over her body, exploring every inch of her. Finally, Eren readjusted himself on top of Nina, rubbing his erect member on top of her moist wet cave. The white sheets were getting drenched in their love juices as the rain sound intensified outside the window. The earthen smell was mixed with a sultry sexual aroma, filling the room with an erotic ambiance. No talk was necessary. Eyes and intrusive touch were used by the couple tomunicate. They could feel what the other was thinking without verbalizing their demands. Eren and Nina locked their lips into a passionate kiss as he entered Nina, a simple missionary position that lit a fire and facilitated the most primal sexual pleasure. Nina moaned as she received Eren''s profound thrusts. Her eyes seemed cloudy as she experienced sexual bliss. "Yessssss!" Nina cried in pleasure as she finally voiced how she felt at the time. Eren continued to thrust into her, his body moving in wless rhythm with hers, as they both reached the peak of pleasure at the same time. Chapter 1261 Two Bodies In Heat* ? "Aaaaaah!" Nina would have let every house help in the vi know she had climaxed if it wasn''t for the istion barrier she had cast earlier. Eren kissed Nina on her forehead andy beside her when he finished releasing his semen deep inside her. Instant Reset! The pair snapped their fingers together as they looked into each other''s eyes with a yful glint in them. They were both surrounded by a mass of water before it was dispersed, revitalizing both of them for their next round. They were both ready for more. The slow, barely audible music in the background added to the erotic atmosphere. The sound of rain intensified outside the window, and the dim lights cast a soft glow on Nina''s alluring body. Eren''s lustful eyes roamed over Nina''s curves, taking in her every inch. He couldn''t resist her scent and leaned in to take a deep breath. The second session would be even more intimate than the first. Eren''s bulging veiny rod was ready for round two. Nina''s dripping wet cave weed him eagerly as she got on her fours, offering her voluptuous backside to Eren. He entered her from behind, moans escaping their lips as he thrust deep. Eren''s rod moved in and out of Nina''s sloppy cunt. His steady hip movements propelled the thick shaft in and out of her at a consistent pace. "That''s it. Yes Erni!" Nina moaned with deep pleasure as Eren''s wet walls wrapped around his penis. It was an enjoyable and pleasurable sensation for both, as he propelled himself in and out of her, enjoying the intense pounding. Low moans escaped from Nina''s mouth as Eren''s dick hit all the right spots. Her eyes became cloudy, and her face had strange expressions as another climax built inside her. Eren''s thrusts got faster and harder, and Nina''s moans got louder and more frequent. They both enjoyed the profound pleasure and intimacy of the moment. The white sheets got drenched in love juices as they lost themselves in each other. "Let''s Aaah... Let''s change our positions a bit, Erni." Nina felt vulnerable while Eren fucked her from behind. Eren chuckled before obliging Nina''s request. Lightning struck, and Ninay t on her back with her arms and legs spread apart. Eren was between her legs on his knees, looking at her predatorily. Hatchlings of the mes. He knew Nina liked his fire-element summons in their ys. He had included them in their intimate sessions before and they worked wonders. So he summoned them here as well, using them to carry out his conquest on Nina from multiple fronts. Nina felt the heat of the me serpents all over her body, setting her aze with desire. Her fingers gripped Eren''s head which had found itself between her legs. His breathing could be felt in her wet dripping cunt. The healer threw her head back, sumbing to Eren''s expert tongue. "Oh, Erni," she moaned, "you''ll make me mad tonight." Eren parted her pubes with his fingers, giving his tongue unrestricted ess to her inner folds. He teased her with his skilled touch until she writhed in pleasure. Eren was not the only one giving Nina an oral. The serpents'' tongues licked her wet cunt as well, making her moan in ecstasy. The me hatchlings were unhindered by Eren''s head still between Nina''s legs. Their spectral bodies allowed them to lick Nina down there with almost unobstructed ess. All of a sudden, Eren brought his dick closer to Nina''s mouth, prompting her to suck on it. He tapped her pussy with his other hand, driving her wild with pleasure. Unfortunately, the Master-ranked healer had her eyes closed to deal with the unparalleled bliss she experienced while getting her pussy eaten by Eren and his spells. "Aaaaah the control you have over your spells baffles me, Erni," Nina panted between moans. But Eren wasn''t impressed by Nina''spliments. He scrunched his nose in annoyance as Nina ignored his dick that craved her attention. "Open your eyes and mouth, Aunt Nina," he urged her. "You got a job to do." The me serpents continued their erotic mission while Eren''s touch excited Nina even more. Nina struggled to open her eyes and the sight of Eren''s bulging rod right in her face weed her. "Aaaaah! Yesss! Come here!" Nina knew what to do and wasted no time. She first adjusted herself to bed and used a nearby pillow to elevate her head. She held Eren by his waist using both her hands and brought his cock even closer to her mouth. First, Nina licked his dick along its entire length while feeling the me serpents'' active work down there. Next, she wrapped her lips around the tip of Eren''s girthy cock before taking it into her mouth entirely. As Eren pushed Nina''s head from behind and thrust his cock deep into her mouth, she widened her legs to allow the me serpents to pleasure her. He drove his dick in and out of her mouth. Gluck! Gluck! Gluck! Eren could feel the tip of his dick hit Nina''s uvC the delicate hanging ball in the back of her throat. And yet somehow, it didn''t trigger the gag reflex in the Master-ranked healer as she sucked on his rod expertly. Eren knew how Nina liked to be treated in bed. He could be rough with her as long as he knew what he was doing. He worked within self-imposed limits while delighting Nina and himself, allowing them to reach thend of bliss. Nina felt both literal and metaphorical fire in her pussy, thanks to the ever-restless me serpents. Eren''s summoner ss allowed him to impart his consciousness to them with greater efficacy. As a result, they became Eren''s will-bearer, allowing him to excite Nina like never before. "Sheesh! Let me take charge now." Before Eren knew it, the couple had changed their position again. The Master-ranked healer climbed on top of now-sleeping-on-his-back Eren''s groin and held his cock in her hand from behind, guiding it into her slippery cave. As she weed Eren''s hot rod inside her slippery vagina, Nina''s eyes shone with delight and pleasure. An erotic sound of deep satiation escaped her mouth. Without warning, Eren grabbed her by the hips and thrust his cock deep inside her in one swift move. As well, Eren prated her rear channel with his finger, which made her feel the double pration she wasn''t expecting. Furthermore, Eren''s me serpents climbed onto Nina''s naked body and bit and licked her at sensitive ces- including her erect nipples and swelling clit. Chapter 1262 Pushing Boundaries* ? "Aaaah. Rascal!" Nina gasped in surprise as Erenunched his multi-front campaign on her delicate and curvaceous body. His dick dug deep inside her. And a few of his me serpents suddenly changed their elemental Aspects. They exposed her body to a particr kind of fireC a blue fire that absorbs heat. The couple was surrounded by blue and orange mes as they copted due to me serpents having multiple elemental Aspects. Nina felt like her body was melting and freezing at the same time as Eren pounded her. Nina threw her weight over Eren''s torso and hugged him tightly as she felt him moving inside her. It seemed like she had understood that instead of cursing her man for his aggression, her time would be better spent enjoying the ride. The sound of flesh pping against flesh echoed in the room as Eren shoved his dick into Nina. He squeezed her buns with both hands, driving his cock deep inside her before pulling almost all the way out. His balls were slick with Nina''s pussy juices. The musky scent of their bodies mixed with the pleasing aroma of the array-produced environment, creating a unique, erotic aroma. "Stay with me!" Nina demanded as she rode Eren''s dick, pounding her ass over his groin. Eren grabbed her tits, using his legs to push his cock up to meet her descent. "I''ming," Nina''s body tensed. She shuddered as she felt herself climaxing. Her pussy juices drenched Eren''s groin and thighs before creating a wet patch on the bed. "Hmmmm!" A moment after Nina''s climax, Eren released his load deep inside Nina''s slippery hole with a low grunt. Nina felt like someone had poured a lot of hotva inside her. She felt content and her pussy walls stopped clenching onto Eren''s semiid dick. Nina''s body copsed over Eren''s torso, her breath uneven. The blue and orange mes around the couple were dispersed as the me serpents disappeared from the scene. Instant Reset! Nina rejuvenated herself with her cheat-like healing Ability. Even if Eren''s mes had disappeared, the fire of desire in her heart was still burningC even brighter than before. "Hehe. We are just getting started." After tying her hair into a bow, Nina''s light chuckle echoed in the room. As Nina kissed and nibbled on Eren''s neck, her slimy pussy released hisid cock. She moved down to suck on his nipples while grinding her ass at him. Eren realized Nina was in heat and counterattacked. He summoned his fire snakes and used them to excite her groin while fondling her breasts. Nina moaned for more as the Orange and Blue snakes stimted her. Eren''s dick grew hard again, prompting their new session. Eren''s fire-element snakes evaporated any remaining bodily fluid from the couple''s body as well as from the bedsheets, enabling them to engage with each other as if they were mating for the first time. Despite this, Nina''s pussy produced more love juices as the snakes'' tongues went to town, making her feel excited and thirsty at the same time. Lightning struck, and the couple''s position changed again. Eren looked at Nina as she slept on her side, her legs pressed against each other as she folded them. She had her ass stuck out as shey there, allowing Eren easy ess to her wet cunt and protruding mushy buns. Eren got on his knees and applied pressure on Nina''s legs from above with his hands. He also inserted his finger into her soaking wet pussy. He used her pussy juices as a lubricant on his fingers as they were inserted into Nina''s rear entry next. The sounds of pleasurable and seductive moans escaped from Nina''s mouth, her eyes closed, her expression telling Eren she was beginning to enjoy their ongoing session. Nina''s anal opening loosened up as Eren drove his two fingers in and out of it, the rear canal had been well lubricated by Nina''s pussy juices. "Do it, Eren. Fuck me... aaah fuck me in the ass," Nina begged. "Your wish is mymand," Eren replied yfully. Eren slowly inserted the tip of his dick inside Nina''s anal opening. He also applied pressure to Nina''s legs pinned to one side by his free hand. Eren allowed Nina''s rectum muscles to adjust to his dick''s size and shape before driving it in and out of her rear hole. Nina was tense at first, silently weing Eren''s dick into her rear canal. It was tight and warm for Eren, and he enjoyed the feeling. Nina started gettingfortable with Eren''s dick as her anal opening adapted to Eren''s intruder. She responded to Eren''s thrusts by responding with back thrusts. Her peculiar position allowed her to feel Eren entering from behind her even more closely than before. Nina''s pleasure-induced moans soon filled the room as Eren continued to have an anal session with her. Eren spanked Nina''s mushy buttocks as he shoved his dick deep into her ass. The sound of skin pping against skin echoed throughout the room. Nina moaned with pleasure as Eren''s hands came down harder and harder on her ass. The room was filled with the smell of sex and the sound of two bodies in heat. Eren and Nina changed their position once again, with Nina on her back and Eren on top of her. Eren grabbed Nina''s legs and lifted them, positioning them on his shoulders. He continued to thrust into her rear hole, deeper and harder with every stroke. Nina''s moans got louder and more frequent as Eren continued to hit all the right spots. She was lost in a sea of pleasure, her body tingling with every touch. Eren''s thrusts became faster and more forceful, and she knew she was close to her climax. Suddenly, she felt Eren''s fingers on her clit, rubbing and massaging it gently. Nina''s body shook with pleasure as her orgasm ripped through her body, leaving her breathless and gasping for air. Eren continued to thrust inside her, bringing her to another orgasm, and then another. Nina was in ecstasy, her bodypletely surrendering to Eren''s touch. As they both reached their climax, they copsed onto the bed,pletely spent. For a few minutes, theyy there, panting and catching their breath. Then Eren rolled over and looked at Nina, his eyes filled with affection and adoration. "You are simply just too beautiful, Aunt Nina," Eren whispered before kissing Nina on the lips. Nina could only reply "Hmmm" as Eren sealed her lips and prevented her from talking. Chapter 1263 Carl Riverine ? The capital cityC Edin. Morning 7 AM. It was early morning and the bright sun shone over the bustling city port of River Lithe. The air was filled with the scent of freshwater and the sound of rover birds could be heard overhead. The port was as busy as ever, with shipsing and going in a constant stream. The people were hard at work, with workers loading and unloading cargo onto the ships. The Rankers and mortals worked together, contributing to the growth of the city simply by doing the work they were supposed to do. Eren appeared at the port with his entourage, ready to depart from the capital city of Edin. His destination was the city of White Raven, with a few stops here and there throughout his journey. Grimdawn was dressed in casual clothes, wearing a white tunic under sleeveless leather armor. The upper buttons of his tunic were undone, revealing a hint of his muscr chest. He wore loose-fitted dark brown pants and brown-colored, round-toe, high-top boots. His shoulder-length ck hair flowed in the breeze that carried the freshwater smell and coolness of River Lithe. "It''s been a little over a month since I''ve been here in the capital city. But it feels like it''s been years," Eren mumbled to himself as he observed the hustle and bustle of people at the port. "The time spent in the Sansara World skewed my perception of time. Not that I''mining. The trip to the capital city was totally worth it," Erenmented as he looked around. His ship, Freya, was docked at one corner of the port, waiting for him and his entourage to board it. Eren started walking towards his ship, with Nina, Levine, Jiana, Sylphie, Sara, and a few of his low-ranked subordinates following right behind him. Eren was also expecting most of his White Raven Crew members to join him along the way from a different port city. He also had to pick Ma and Almera. Taking them aboard was about to make the ship more crowded than it already was. But it was fine as long as Eren could get a skilled runemaster. He could then ask them to expand the spatial capacity of the ship with the help of the space-element runes. Nina and the rest were dressed in normal adventurers'' outfits, looking ready for any type of mission. They stopped talking to each other and halted in their steps when they realized Eren had suddenly stopped his stride. ''Aah Fuck! I forgot to repair the ship.'' Eren clicked his tongue as he stood in ce and saw the condition of the ship closely. It looked banged up and about to sink. His intimate session with Nysa Nael was wild and Freya had paid the price for it. Eren''s days in the capital city were mostly filled with work and more work. So he forgot to delegate the task of ship repair to one of his subordinates. The butcher cursed Nysa for losing control. And he cursed her even more for not reminding him to repair the ship. He decided that he would spank her perky buns the next time they met as a form of punishment. ''*Sigh. The runes over the ship can''t be repaired right away. I''ll need a specialized rune master for it. I''ll get the basic job done somewhere to keep Freya running. I''ll figure out what to do once I find the location of a trustworthy rune master along the way.'' Eren came up with a makeshift n. He doubted any runemaster in the capital city would fix his ship right away. All of them were in great demand and they already had their work piled up. He could always use the money to "expedite" the process. But doing so might offend other traders. Everyone in the capital city was someone very important. Eren didn''t want to offend someone and leave the capital on a sour note. Nina and the rest looked at Freya and had weird expressions painted on their faces. However, they didn''t say anything and kept walking behind Eren while talking with each other on various topics. Just when Eren and his entourage were about to board their ship, Freya, they heard a distinct voice behind them. "Eren Elijah Idril?" The voice asked a question to confirm Eren''s identity. Eren turned around to meet the stranger who hade to seek him. The stranger was a man in histe thirties, dressed in a ck leather coat with a ck fedora hat. He had a rugged appearance with a few scars on his face. The man had a stern look on his face, and his hands were hidden in his coat pockets. Eren observed the man carefully and replied, "That''s me. Do I know you?" The man took off his hat and replied, "No, but I know you, Grimdawn. My name is Karl Reverine. I''ve been sent by Roth Riverine to request your audience. Earl Roth is waiting behind me. It shouldn''t take much of your time." Eren raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Earl Roth? Hm? Wait," he realized something at that moment. "Ken''s House! What do you guys want with me?" Sedated Perception ''Alephee?'' Eren''s eyes darted all around him as he tried to find some clues. It was as if he was expecting himself to be surrounded by the Earl''s private force. His mana fluctuations were as serene as a calmke. But his facial expressions would tell anyone that he was expecting trouble heading his way. Alephee was back to her pendant abode. ''Rx, Eren.'' She said, ''I don''t think it''s any serious.'' Alephee got back to her grimoire writing after she assured Eren. Alephee''s words finally put Eren''s agitated mind to rest. He canceled his time-element spell and eased his facial expressions. But one could feel that he had not let his guard down. Karl did not understand why Eren suddenly turned defensive. But he smiled at Eren before answering, "There''s no trouble, Grimdawn. Earl Roth just wants to talk. As for the specifics it''d be better if you ask him." Karl raised his hand and used his thumb to point toward a certain old man standing not too far from Eren and the rest. The Earl was surrounded by a bunch of powerful rankers. They were clearly his security detail standing strategically around him to protect him. ''It seems war-rted protocols have kicked in. Edinburgh is trying to keep its key figures safe from foreign attacks and assassinations.'' Eren immediately understood why Earl Roth was standing so far away from the crowd. He looked behind him. "Nina, Levine, Jiana, Sylphie, Sara, stay here and prepare for the journey. I''ll be back soon." Nina raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is everything okay, Eren?" Eren shook his head and replied, "I don''t know, but I''ll find out soon enough. Just keep everything ready for the journey to White Raven." He then looked at Carl and returned a smile before answering. "Please lead the way, Master Carl." Eren said before stepping towards Carl''s position. Carl nodded at Eren before turning around, leading Grimdawn towards Earl Roth. Chapter 1264 House Riverine’s Assurance ? Roth greeted Eren with a smile and said, "Grimdawn, it''s good to see you again." Eren and Roth met during Ken''s funeral organized by House Riverine in the capital city not too long ago. Eren had gone there because the Orton brothers and White Raven crew members insisted on attending. Eren bowed and greeted Roth before speaking cordially, "Likewise, Earl Roth. What brings you here today?" Roth then mentioned Ken who talked about Eren often. He mentioned how they had joined their apprenticeships together, and Ken had learned a lot from Eren. He also called Eren the most visionary man he had ever met from any generation. Eren smiled lightly and responded politely. "To be honest, that says more about Ken''s nature than mine, Earl Roth. Ken focused on people''s good qualities and neglected the rest. While I won''t deny my achievements by calling myself lucky, that would be a huge disservice to the amount of dedication and work I put in. I won''t call myself a visionary just because a few of my steps have been taken in the right direction." He then thanked Roth for sharing Ken''s personal memories with him and said, "Let''s just say that I''ll remember him fondly as well, now more than ever." Roth was pleased with Eren''s reply andughed remembering Ken before speaking further. "Haha. Yes! Thatd was more fit to be a monk than a Fist Saint. Anyway, the reason I came to meet you is simple, Eren. Ken observed you admiring his ship. He asked me if he could give you the ship. This was something he asked me a day before entering Sansara World since it was a vessel registered under House Riverine." Roth then exined that he had permitted Ken to give the Riverine vessel to Eren personally at the time of his departure from the capital city. However, Ken could not do it for obvious reasons, so Roth came in his stead. Eren looked surprised. He couldn''t believe that Ken had noticed Eren''s jealousy and decided to end it. Eren smiled wryly before speaking up. "Ken didn''t have to do that. You don''t have to do it, Earl Roth. That admiration was only a result of jealousy." Eren turned around and looked at Freya standing in the distance. "I I am fine with what I have right now." Roth followed Eren''s gaze and looked at Eren''s ruined ship. Freya''s current condition failed to add weight to Eren''s statement in the Earl''s eyes. He chuckled and spoke further. "Haha. You are a humble young man, Eren. I don''t dislike that. But that wouldn''t prevent me from honoring myd''s wish." Roth gestured to Eren to look at 3 O''clock from Freya''s current location. A giant ship approached Freya. It looked regal and full of all the amenities rankers needed for long travels. This was the same ship Eren had seen boarded by Eren and Roody as they approached the capital city for the first time. For some reason, it looked even more luxurious than before. It seemed that Roth Riverine wasn''t going to take no as an answer from Eren. His sharp gazended on Eren and he spoke in a caring manner. "Haha. A bit of envy among friends is nothing to be ashamed of. Use this ship however you want, Grimdawn, Sell it, wreck it, burn it, or keep it as a souvenir for all I care. But you''ll have this ship as a gift from House Riverine and that''s the end of it." Roth''s gaze softened on Eren as he thought of Ken. "Thank you for being a positive influence on one of House Riverine''s most distinguished scions, Eren. Ken was indeed too pious to survive in the rankers'' world. Some might call him stupid and unworthy behind my back. But your words have given me closure. You are right. He saw the world differently than most of us. And that''s what I''ll remember most about him. Ken is no more. But I would like to fulfill his wish. Please ept House Riverine''s gift and friendship. It would mean a lot to us." Eren stared at the giant ship beside the ruined-looking Freya as Roth finished his words. He pondered a bit and smiled before looking at Roth again. "Alright. The ship is a gift from House Riverine as part of my title bestowment. You are an Earl, after all, Master Roth. I can''t prevent you from fulfilling your obligations." Roth was very impressed with the way Eren epted his gift. He knew what Eren was thinking and spoke further to cement that thought process. "Hehe, you are right, Grimdawn. By the way, have you met Carl? I''ll have to send my private army to the borders soon to contribute to Edinburgh''s war efforts. Carl will be one of my army leaders." Eren looked at Carl when Roth spoke about him. Carl adjusted his fedora hat and nodded at Eren but remained silent, allowing Roth to finish speaking. "Carl has served in Edinburgh''s army for a very long time, Grimdawn. Many men under hismand are also closely associated with the army''s fabric. So let''s just say that House Riverine has connections. I heard you were about to participate in the war as well through your guild. Ken never used his n''s connections. But I hope his friend seeks us out if and when he is in a pinch. We would do everything to support your war efforts." "Thank you, Earl Roth. The White Raven Guild is grateful for your assistance. I''ll keep in touch with Master Carl periodically." Saying this, Eren raised his hand for a handshake, his aura confident and unwavering. Roth shook hands with Eren right away before congratting him on his title. Roth also asked one of his rune masters under him to fix Freya while he and Eren talked some more. When Eren concluded his business with Roth, two good-looking ships were waiting for him and his group toe aboard. Chapter 1265 The City Of Erbaia ? The city of Erbaia. This city was situated on the banks of the Lithe River. It was a bustling port city that had grown over the years to be a hub of magical activity and trade. It was a medium-sized city, home to a mix of races including humans, elves, dwarves, and even a few half-creatures. Erbaia was located eight days'' distance from the capital city, Edin, essible only by ship through the river Lithe. The journey to Erbaia was picturesque, with the river meandering through lush forests and rolling hills. As the ship neared the city, the first thing noticed was the massive city walls that surrounded it. Upon entering the city, one was immediately struck by the vibrant and colorful atmosphere that was fueled by the use of magic in everyday life. Every street and alley is lined with buildings adorned with intricate magical arrays that could be used in a variety of ways. There were levitating wood-element arrays that hosted lush greenery, water-element arrays that housedrge masses of water for each district within the city, and multi-elemental greenhouses that produced food and other magical ranking resources. Despite magic and high-ranking upants, Erbaia weed mortals and low-rankers alike. It was a city that embodied cooperation and harmony. Even though it was a medium-sized city, Erbaia was still in Edinburgh''s central region. In contrast to other city-states found in the four duchies, the city was naturally developed. Erbaia was also home to a thriving potion and herb market, with vendors hawking their wares in every corner of the city. The potions and herbs sold here are renowned for their potency and effectiveness. The city was well-guarded, with Ace and Adept-ranked guards patrolling the streets and keeping the peace. The city protector, a Master-ranked mage, oversaw the city''s protection and was aided by a team of skilled guards led by an Expert-ranked captain. The Master ranked mage''s name was Sorin Windrider. He had purple hair and looked to be in his early twenties. The Expert-ranked captain''s name was Rhea Bloodweaver. She was a ranger-ss Expert. *** Inside the city of Erbaia. Sorin''s residence, located in the city hall''s underground space. Eyes closed and in a meditative position, Sorin was busy doing his ranking practice. A Master-ranked cloud was summoned around him. Sorin''s elementalprehensions were slowly affecting the cloud and his isted surroundings. This produced a rapidly spinning gust of wind that took the shape of a Darkwind wyvern. Sorin stopped his ranking practice suddenly and frowned. He summoned his spectral screen and checked out the emergency notification that had popped up at the front of the screenC the source of his frown. "Hm? A ship carrying a huge batch of Slughorn potions is about to get attacked. Who''s this crazy bastard?" Sorin was surprised when he read the details of emergency notifications sent to him by his Intel unit. ording to the report, the Slughorn ship left Erbaia. It was heading to the Lionheart duchyC the southernmost part of Edinburgh. Still, the ship had not left the city of Erbaia''s jurisdiction, prompting Sorin to act. *** Attacks onrge merchant ships carrying ranking resources were rare but not unheard of. Edinburgh''s central region was quite secure. So a few groups of fluvial raiders and bandit groups active in the central region were very careful with the type of targets they selected for their raids. Sorin could have never imagined that the fluvial raiders would one day raid House Slughorn''s shipment. After all, House Slughorn was very active in Erbaia. It owned multiplerge and small vessels, a huge real-estate property, a bunch of potionbs and factories, a specialized education institute for potioners from all over Edinburgh, and arge group of rankers assigned as guards and mercenaries for the n. One could say that House Slughorn had two significant locations that represented its fortune and pride. The first ce was House Slughorn''s ancestral estate in the Lionheart duchy, representing House Slughorn''s pride. The second ce was the city of ErbaiaC the ce responsible for House Slughorn''s fortune. As such, House Slughorn paid extra attention to city development. If Erbabia wasn''t so close to Edinburgh''s capital, Sorin wouldn''t have been Erbaia''s city protector. There would have been a ranker with Slughorn as his surname in his ce. In fact, House Slughorn would have practically bought this city to itself if it wasn''t located in Edinburgh''s central region. Not that Erbaia didn''t have Slughorn members as its city protectors in the past. In fact, many Slughorns were serving as part of the city''s backbone in city administration and other fields. Sorin was affiliated with Edinburgh. He was sent here to Erbaia as its protector a week ago. The kingdom of Edinburgh had subtly forced a Master-ranked Slughorn n member to relinquish his position as Erbaia''s city protector, enabling Sorin to take over Slughorn''s city protector''s position. *** Sorin instantly felt refreshed by channeling his Master-ranked mana throughout his body. He was about to use a teleportation array to reach the port in the blink of an eye. But he frowned again when he received another emergency notification. ''Crown Prince Rodrick Renar seeks an audience with me? I don''t get it. There was no prior announcement for me to prepare for this meeting. What is going on here? What kind of freaky coincidence is this? Unless" Sorin didn''t know what to do at the timeC ensure the Slughorn vessel''s safety or y host to the crown prince. But just then, the control arrays at his residence were overridden, banning his ess to the teleportation portal right in the heart of the city port. Sorin had ess to only one teleportation portal that led him to his office in city hall. It seemed that Crown Prince Rodrick had already entered his office and was waiting patiently for his arrival. "Hehe. I guess I got my answer." Sorin sighed and decided to greet the crown prince first and foremost. Only crown prince Rodrick could answer some of his questions. If his guess was right, House Slughorn''s influence in Erbaia was about to take a huge hit. Chapter 1266 Big Fish Caught In A Small Net? ? Sorin''s office in the Erbaia city administration building was a sight to behold. The room was vast, and its walls were adorned with giant bookshelves filled with ancient tomes and scrolls. Multiple semi-transparent spectral screens levitated into the air, showing different corners of the city of Erbaia. These screens allowed Sorin to monitor the city at a nce. The office also had various elemental and non-elemental arrays that Sorin could use to control various facilities avable to the citizens of Erbaia. As Sorin used the space-element array to teleport to his office, he found Crown Prince Rodrick Renar waiting for him at his desk. Rodrick looked smart and confident, and Sorin could see that he was growing in his role as the crown prince of Edinburgh. Although there was nobody else in the office, Sorin knew Rodrick''s guards were close. Rodrick turned around when Sorin appear in the office out of the blue. He smiled and tried to get up from his seat, showing his polite and respectful demeanor. "Master Sorin, thanks for giving me your valuable time," he said in a respectful tone. Sorin stopped Rodrick from getting up, gesturing for him to remain seated. "It''s my pleasure, your highness," Sorin said, as he quickly took his usual seat across from Rodrick''s desk. "Tell me what I can do for you?" Rodrick took a deep breath and leaned forward in his chair. "I''vee to discuss the kingdom''s security with you, Master Sorin," he said, his voice confident and clear. "As you know, there have been some troubling reports of bandits active on the waters of River Lithe. So I want to focus on getting rid of these internal turmoils before focusing on the war with Layos." ''Edinburgh is up to something. A move on House Slughorn?'' Sorin could tell Rodrick was about to engage him in bureaucratic bullshittery after listening to his words. He could tell Rodrick was here to stop him from helping House Slughorn''s vessel that was about toe under the bandits'' attack. At this point, Sorin doubted if the group that was about tounch an attack on Slughorn''s vessel was made of fluvial bandits. Still, he wanted to y safe by acting as Erbaia''s city protector. "Your Highness, I would like to engage with you on this topic with all my heart and attention. But unfortunately, there''s an emergency happening in my jurisdiction right now. One of House Slughorn''s main vessels is under threat from fluvial raiders. I need to form a squad and offer them my help as dictated by my obligation as Erbaia''s city protector. Can we..." Sorin replied before being cut off by Rodrick''s denial. "I''m sorry, Master Sorin. But this cannot wait. As for House Slughorn''s vessel under threat, I''m sure it has its own security protocols in ce. I don''t think it needs your assistance. Your valuable time is better utilized in these discussions with me," Rodrick said humbly with a smile on his face. The crown prince paused for a moment, thinking before addressing Sorin once again, "Master Sorin, have you sent any prior reinforcement towards House Slughorn''s vessel in question?" Sorin nodded and answered, "Yes, your highness. Expert ranker Rhea Bloodweaver is approaching the site with her squad as we speak." Rodrick sighed when he heard Sorin''s confirmation. He reclined in his chair and tapped his finger on the study table before speaking up, "Call her back. Tell her not to engage in any conflict with either party." Sorin pressed his lips against each other before suggesting a third option, "Your Highness, we can use Rhea as our eyes to keep an eye on the conflict by asking her to send us the live footage of the conflict..." Rodrick''s eyes narrowed on Sorin as he spoke in a grim voice. "Master Sorin if you want to get into my good books, do as I tell you to do. If I wanted live footage of the site, do you think I would have required your help?" Rodrick let silence reign over their conversation for a moment or two before speaking again. This time, his voice was back to normal. "I mean, I appreciate the gesture, Master Sorin. I really do. But we don''t want to put an Expert ranker''s life at risk by asking her to be a witness to the scene." Sorin looked at Rodrick with a face that said he had loads of questions swirling in his mind at that point. Rodrick ran his fingers through his hair before speaking neutrally. "Let''s just say that there''s a ''raider'' involved in this conflict who might not like the fact that he is spied on. He''ll kill anyone and everyone and me his kills on the circumstances. We don''t want Expert Rhea to die in an ident, do we?" Sorin nodded. By this point, he had realized that House Slughorn was about to fall from its grace because Edinburgh itself was conspiring against it. It had barely been a week since Sorin took charge as Arbaia''s city protector. Still, he could tell that House Slughorn was up to something with the way it carried out its business inside the city. Sorin was about to wait a few days beforeunching an internal investigation into the same case. But his investigation seemed unnecessary. Edinburgh was about tounch a preemptive strike. Sorin was about to contact Rhea Bloodweaver using themunication array, asking her to return to the port and remain on standby. Suddenly, he received another message and his face turned grim. It was another message from his intelligence unit. Sorin looked at Crown Prince Rodrick seriously. "Your Highness, how confident are you in those "raiders" to take care of the job?" he asked curiously. "What do you mean?" Rodrick asked, with a look of puzzlement on his face. Sorin summoned another spectral screen over the table before showing Rodick the message he had just received from his Intel unit. "Myriad PotionerC Sebastian Slughorn is aboard the ship." Rodrick''s eyes widened in surprise when he read the message. He couldn''t believe that someone like Sebastian Slughorn would be caught first in the that he and a certain raider cast for the entire n. ''That man is either extremely lucky or extremely unlucky. There''s no in-between.'' Rodrick smiled wryly. Sebastian Slughorn was like a shark about to get caught in a meant for the School of Salomons. He wasn''t sure the would hold up. === AN: Sebastian Slughorn was mentioned in chapter 832. Chapter 1267 Brewmasters Bounty ? A broad expanse of the River Lithe. The crystal-like water reflected a clear blue sky above. One of House Slughorn''s main ships Brewmaster''s Bounty sailed at a hurried pace on the waters of the River Lithe. One could say that it was eager toplete its journey without a hitch. Sebastian Slughorn stood on the deck of the vessel, his eyes fixed on the horizon as the Brewmaster''s Bounty sailed down the River Lithe. His hunched-back and inwardly arched posture made him look much shorter than he actually was, but there was no mistaking the Master-ranked power that radiated from him. Sebastian was a man who lived a long life, with a head full of white hair and a long white beard that flowed down to his chest. His wrinkled face was etched with the lines of age, and his green eyes gleamed with cunning intelligence. He wore a long coat that reached down to his ankles, and a belt with a spatial bag attached to it hung loosely around his waist. A cape was draped over his shoulders, and there were signs of unkemptness on Sebastian that subtly made their presence known. Sebastian''s stoic face didn''t reflect the turmoil he felt inside his mind. It was carrying something really sinister dubbed as its regr cargo, something that could potentially turn the tides of the war in Layos'' favor dramatically. The vessel transported arge shipment of potions. The ship''s loading bay had been converted into a potion bank to store these crucial batches of potions. Each potion was customized to work for a specific person. Sebastian was the Myriad Potioner, a title bestowed upon him by Edinburgh. This was because he had a very peculiar AbilityC an Ability that allowed him to concoct specialized potions for his friends and foes. Centuries of long and arduous potioneering sessions had allowed Sebastian to unlock his signature Ability. He could create buff and debuff potions for his allies and enemies that would only affect them. The Ability sounded simple but was very potent against his enemies. It also acted as a life-saving boon for his allies. What''s more? Sebastian could also use his Ability to mimic the effects of a peculiar potion on himself without consuming it for real. Of course, it required him to get familiar with the potion''s concoction process and its effects. But once he was able to mimic the effects of the potion through his Ability, he could instantly buff himself while neglecting the potion''s side effects for the most part. Sebastian was a decorated hero of the past era. He used his Ability on various asions when he was active in the Bands. In his prime, Sebastian was considered Sage-rank potential. s, the reality was harsher than daydreams. In the end, he couldn''t even break into the Grandmaster rank. Sebastian had been at the peak of the Master rank for a very long time. He served as one of the main leaders of House Slughorn ever since he broke into the Master rank. He contributed hugely to growing his n. But times changed. A youngster from nowhere undid everything he worked for all his life. So Sebastian decided to take drastic measures to ensure his n doesn''t regress in these difficult times. Sebastian carried buff and debuff potions made by him personally. These potions could potentially target Edinburgh''s rankers, most of whom were deployed at the two kingdoms'' borders. If Layos got their hands on these potions, they could target each deployed Edinburgh ranker individually. Since the potions only affect the person they were made for, they were highly effective for hit-and-run-like operations of Blitzkrieg-type missions. The Myriad Potioner''s concoctions were highly effective. Since Sebastian concocted them after analyzing the targets'' mana signatures, they enabled anyone to neutralize the affected rankers in a much easier manner. Sebastian''s debuff potions were not easy to make. He had to add his life force to their process in order to stabilize them. As a result, they were hard to concoct and even harder to counter against. Sebastian had met with various prominent rankers from Edinburgh. Once the customized potions get into Layos''s army, Layos could use them to target a specific ranker. As for why Sebastian and his n decided to take such a drastic decision? The reason was the White Raven potions. The White Raven potions dominated Edinburgh''s markets these days. House Slughorn was only a husk of its former glory because of the kind ofpetition it faced these days. The n''s reputation had been harmed long before it was financially damaged. Sebastian felt isted and had no allies left in Edinburgh. The old man saw a huge opportunity in times of war when he and his n were in such a pinch. This was a rare chance for him and his n to start anew. If everything turned out ording to Sebastian''s ns, House Slughorn could bounce back from its current situation, reaching new heights. The war was a perfect time for a potion-making n like House Slughorn to make such a switch. House Slughorn betrayed the kingdom of Edinburgh for better opportunities in the kingdom of Layos. Sebastian had been tasked with delivering the potions to their contacts in Layos, and he was determined to see the job through. Sebastian knew what he was doing was risky, but the potential benefits were toopelling to ignore. If House Slughorn could establish a foothold in the kingdom of Layos, they could rebuild their reputation and rise to prominence again. And he would be remembered as the man who made it all possible. The Myriad Potioner thought of multiple possibilities and opportunities as he looked at the vast expanse of the River Lithe in front of him. He also remembered Sienna''s fiasco and sighed, deciding to finally move on by leaving Edinburgh behind him. Sorry to disturb Grandpa Sebastian. But in case you haven''t been paying attentionC House Riverine''s ship is closing in on us at 4 O''clock. What should we do?" Chapter 1268 Rhea Bloodweaver ? Sebastian was snapped back into reality when he heard the voice. He turned around to see a young Slughorn standing an arm''s length away from him. This was a young man in his early 20s. He had light brown hair and light gray eyes. He wore simple adventurer clothes and had a spatial bag attached to his waist belt just like Sebastian. Ss Slughorn was a prominent Slughorn scion. He apanied Sebastian Slughorn on this journey to learn from him. One could say that Ss was House Slughorn''s next big project after Project Sienna failed to live up to its promise. Ss broke into the Expert rank at a young age. But since his skills in potioneering werecking, he could not garner as much attention as Sienna did when she was in her prime. Sienna was a history. And many of House Slughorn''s scions contested prominent positions within the n. Ss was considered the cream of the crop among them. Sebastian looked behind Ss to see what he was talking about. ''Hm? House Riverine? I don''t think Roth Riverine has business with us. What could it be about?'' Sebastian thought as he watched the giant ship with House Rivernine''s insignia on its sails gain on them. He narrowed his eyes at the ship before passing his decision to Ss. "Let theme. I want to see what Roth''s side wants to discuss. Hehe. Let''s hope it also intends to switch sides in the uing war." Sebastian hadn''t seen Roth Riverine in years. And he was not present during the battle between Edinburgh, Layos, and half-bloods urred. However, he had kept himself updated regarding thetest news inside Edinburgh. Sebastian knew Ken Riverine had died inside the Sansara World. He hoped Roth would me Edinburgh for Ken''s death. All so that he could convince him to join the kingdom of Layos as well. What Sebastian didn''t know was that House Riverine was not aboard the ship approaching Brewmaster''s Bounty. And the rankers aboard House Riverine''s ship did not have good intentions toward Sebastian Slughorn. *** A bunch ofrge and small ships sailed together while maintaining a safe distance from Bremaster''s Bounty. It looked like these ships were securing a perimeter with the way they sailed. Brewmaster''s Bounty would soon be ced inside this perimeter if the trend continued. Freya was among the ships tasked with securing a perimeter around Bremaster''s Bounty. Eren was onboard the ship, standing on the back deck to see the trail left behind by Freya on the waters of River Lithe. Sylphie remained silent behind Eren. She and the others aboard Freya prepared for any potential battle. That is if the main strike team fails to eliminate the targetspletely and some escaped targetse their way. Slyphie was about to inform Eren that another ship was approaching Freya rapidly from behind. But she chose to remain quiet when Eren looked at the approaching ship with curious eyes. This small and nimble ship hade from port Erbaia''s direction and was sailing straight towards Brewmaster''s Bounty. Eren could guess that it was likely the rapid response team sent to assist House Slughorn in its potential conflict against the "raiders." Aqua Wall Aqua des Eren raised his hands and cast his spells without care. And all of a sudden the waters of River Lithe around Freya started churning. Soon the masses of water separated from the river and took definite shapes. The rapid response ship was about to pass Freya when it was faced with giant water wallsced with threatening Aqua des. The des were coated in red and purple lightning arcs that increased their damage potential. "Ugh! Who is this arrogant prick?" Someone from the rapid response ship yelled in Eren''s direction. It stopped advancing towards Brewmaster''s Bounty and approached Freya. "Who are you? And why are you stopping me from approaching Bremaster''s Bounty?" a young girl asked Eren in a voiceced with clear displeasure, annoyance, and anger. She was Rhea Bloodweaver, Sorin''s subordinate. Rhea had off-gray colored hair and blue eyes. She possessed graceful curves that were entuated by her body-hugging light armor. She carried a long sword behind her back and looked ready for any conflict against the raiders. Rhea didn''t have a good impression of Eren as soon as she saw him looking at her nonchntly. He looked like a typical hooligan to her who was high in his status as an Expert ranker. It was as if it was not him who cast those threatening spells directed at her ship. "Don''t tell me are you one of the raiders?" Rhea askedC more to herself than Eren. Eren chuckled when he heard Rhea''s words. He pondered a bit before answering her. "Raiders are those who want to raid something, Miss. I don''t think anyone wants to raid Bremaster''s Bounty. At least I am not interested in anything rted to House Slughorn. I''d rather see all its cargo offered to River Lithe as a tribute." Eren could see Rhea was in no mood to chat with him. It was clear that she was preparing for a battle with raiders. She lost thest time she fought with them. She not only lost to the raiders but also had to run away from them. Rhea looked at the potential conflict surrounding Bremaster''s Bounty as a way to get back to the damn raiders. And she intended to make full use of the opportunity now that she had broken into the Expert rank recently. "I don''t want to waste my time quarreling or fighting with you. We both are Expert rankers and should give each other the respect we deserve. Why don''t you" Eren shook his head and interrupted Rhea before she could finish her sentence. "You still don''t get it, do you? Miss." "Rhea Bloodweaver. Captain of Port Erbaia''s rapid response team. Master Sorin Windrider''s subordinate." Rhea gave a standard introduction to anyone she met in the waters of River Lithe. Eren nodded at her before continuing. "Nice to meet you, Expert Rhea. You should wait here. I am sure Master Sorin will soon tell you not to approach Bremaster''s Bounty." Rhea was perplexed by Eren''s words. Her team members, who stood behind her, also looked at each other. Rhea took a while to reach a grim conclusion. "Do you mean Master Sorin has sanctioned this hit on Bremaster''s Bounty?" Rhea asked with her eyes wide open and a voiceced with surprise. Eren chuckled and raised his hand. He pointed his finger at the sky before responding. "Keke. No. Someone much higher up the food chain." Chapter 1269 Eren Vs Rhea P1 ? A deafening silence settled between Eren and Rhea, each aware of the weight of their words. Rhea couldn''t shake the feeling that Eren''s words held a truth she had been unaware of until nowa truth that cut deeper than she could have anticipated. She had always believed in the integrity of Edinburgh''s higher-ups, but this revtion shattered her naivety. With a furrowed brow, Rhea locked eyes with Eren, searching for any sign of deception. But there was something in the depths of his gaze that made her pause. His emerald green eyes were scary and hypnotizing. She sensed a glimmer of truth, a flicker of sincerity that resonated with her instincts. "Even if what you say is the truth," Rhea said after mulling over the matter for a while, her voice tinged with a mix of determination and concern. "I still haven''t received any recall order from Master Sorin. So, as the captain of the rapid response team, I have to investigate and ensure Brewmaster''s Bounty''s safety." Eren''s lips curled into a sinister smile, a blend of amusement and anticipation dancing in his eyes. He stretched his hands, causing a chilling bone-cracking sound to echo through the silence. His gaze turned predatory, fueled by a thirst for battle that had long gone unquenched. "Expert Rhea," Eren''s voice carried a warning, his toneced with an undertone of danger. "I strongly advise you against proceeding further. There are forces at y that transcend beyond your understanding, and getting involved could lead to dire consequences." Rhea stood her ground, her determination unwavering. She knew the risks ahead, but she couldn''t let fear guide her choices. She had sworn an oath to protect the loyal citizens of Edinburgh under her jurisdiction. She would fulfill that duty, even if it meant facing the unknown. This was a matter of her individuality. "I appreciate your concern, Eren," Rhea replied, her voice firm. "But I cannot turn a blind eye when there''s a potential threat to a reputed House''s merchant ship. It would be terrible publicity for the city of Erbaia if we let anything happen to Bremaster''s Bounty under our watch. And I fear I might be held responsible. I will proceed with caution, but I won''t abandon my responsibilities." Eren''s predatory gaze intensified, a glint of admiration shining through. He respected Rhea''s resolve, even as he prepared himself for the sh that loomed ahead. In his heart, he yearned for the thrill of battle, a chance to test his skills again. To Eren, Sansara World battles felt like a distant past. His work had kept him busy since he got out of Sansara World, making him slog his ass through work and more work. So it was only natural that he thirsted for some action - with blood and gore involved. It could be said that Alephee described Eren''s condition aptly in the past. He really felt like this was his withdrawal symptoms telling him to abandon talking with Rhea and go straight for a kill. His fingers shivered and stretched unnaturally at the prospect of yanking someone''s vocal cords out. He controlled his hunger by clenching his hands and his fists released bolts of electricity and orange mes. "Very well, Expert Rhea," Eren conceded, his voice a low murmur. "If you insist on this path, I will be your opponent. Brace yourself, for I don''t know what I''ll do next." As the tension thickened between them, the air crackled with anticipation. The stage was set for a sh of wills and Brewmaster''s Bounty hung in the bnce. With their resolve firmly in ce, Rhea and Eren took their first steps toward the impending battle. *** Eren''s main force, a formidable assembly, had taken position aboard the colossal ship gifted to him by Roth Riverine, a symbol of their alliance. Utilizing this grand vessel as a decoy, Eren cunningly approached Brewmaster''s Bounty, avoiding any hint of suspicion. But he was not alone in this sh against House Slughorn. House Remus had been unwillingly drawn into the conflict, coerced into active participation by the butcher, who promised reconciliation between the White Raven Guild and House Remus in exchange. Nina, Jiana, and Levine volunteered to be part of the first strike team to tackle Brewmaster''s Bounty. Therefore, as he surveyed the forces aboard Freya, he realized the absence of true powerhouses. Sylphie stood by his side, supported only by a handful of skilled subordinates ranked as Aces and Adepts. Yet, Eren remained undeterred, confident that his own abilities would suffice to face Rhea. ''I''m a powerhouse as well,'' he mused to himself. "Remain uninvolved. I shall handle them all," Erenmanded his subordinates, instructing them to stay clear of the impending conflict as he stepped forward. In the next moment, he stood on the ship''s deck railing, a surge of crimson and violet lightning enveloping his form. The unleashed power danced around him, apanied by a menacing aura that grew ever more threatening. Furthermore, Eren unleashed his soul sense, intensifying the gravity of his presence. Bzzzzt! Rhea and those with her felt like they had just heard a noise-less sound that made them deaf. It was as if their world had turned upside down while they were forced to remain in their positions. The noise-less sound also affected their perception of time. Some of them even started hallucinating as their consciousness was summoned inside a bloody world where flesh flowers bloomed. A wave of dread washed over Rhea''s teammates who stood behind her. Eren''s soul sense surged forth, overwhelming their minds and causing them to copse to their knees. Their bodies felt unresponsive, as if their souls had been suppressed into inaction, and their spiritual force rapidly dwindled. Amidst the chaos, Rhea stood resolute, her senses intact in the face of Eren''s formidable soul sense. It remained unclear whether she possessed the strength of will to resist or if Eren, of his own volition, chose to spare her. Regardless, it mattered little to Rhea. Her attention turned to her fallenrades. A mixture of concern and determination etched upon her face. Chapter 1270 Eren Vs Rhea P2 ? There was someone in Rhea''s team who recognized Eren as soon as he was hit with thetter''s soul sense. He had followed the developments in Edin closely and was up to date with Eren''s identity. Among all the rising heroes of Edinburgh who came into the limelight after the battle of Edinnica Arena, Eren left a deep impression on people. After all, Grimdawn was praised by King Emil himself and bestowed with a memorable title. This man wanted to let Rhea know she was about to sh with a bona fide titleholder. But Eren''s soul sense made him incapable of voicing his thoughts. No voice came from his mouth even when he opened his mouth to speak. "You all stay behind as well," Rheamanded firmly, her gaze fixed on Eren. "Let the leaders of our teams negotiate and findmon ground." Her words carried an air of wisdom and experience, understanding the futility of continuing the team-based battle under such overwhelming odds. Rhea''s decision was a testament to her unwavering leadership, as she prioritized her teammates'' safety and well-being above all else. She recognized the incapability of herrades to face Eren and his subordinates, their spirits and bodies weakened by the crushing weight of his soul sense. Eren''s gaze met Rhea''s, a flicker of respect shimmering within his predatory eyes. He admired her resilience and strategic thinking. But that didn''t stop him from seeing her as a punching bag to vent his boredom. Eren''smanding gesture beckoned Rhea to follow him, a silent understanding passing between the two Expert rankers. They shared a mutual desire to protect their respective ships and subordinates, unwilling to subject them to unnecessary risk during their impending sh. With unwavering determination, Eren gracefully stepped upon the water''s surface, invoking his movement spell. Unlike his usual choice of Blitz Steps, he opted for Aqua Steps, a more suitable choice given the watery surroundings. This spell granted him precise control over his movements withoutpromising his agility. Rhea mirrored Eren''s actions, keeping a close distance behind him, their ships receding into the distance as they ventured further away. Once Eren judged the distance sufficiently, he turned around, his eyes fixed on Rhea. Before continuing, he issued a final warning, his toneced with caution and a hint of surprise. "Expert Rhea, I hope you understand that in my current state, I am simply not inclined to take our confrontation lightly. Are you still determined to proceed? I must admit, I''m surprised Master Sorin hasn''t called for your return to Port Erbaia." Rhea responded not with words, but with a resolute action. She unsheathed the sword that hung behind her back, gripping it firmly with both hands. While aware of Eren''s formidable strength, she possessed an unyielding spirit that craved battles capable of stirring her blood. She refused to back down, at least not until she was left with no other choice. However, she possessed the survival instincts necessary to retreat if the odds became overwhelmingly against her. It was this bnce of a ferocious beast fighting until itsst breath, and the swift retreat of a cornered prey that defined her peculiar individuality. "Suit yourself," Eren replied, a wicked smile ying upon his lips. With his soul sense, he effortlessly gleaned Rhea''s inner thoughts and intentions. He recognized the dichotomy within her nature and relished the opportunity to teach her a valuable lessonthat one cannot always flee from battle when faced with an opponent capable of delivering instant death. Eren''s surroundings erupted into a whirlpool of Aqua Storm as he seamlessly melded his water-element spell with Blitz Storm. In an instant, his body ascended, lifted thirty meters above the river''s surface by a tempestuous storm of lightning-charged water. Rhea''s apprehension grew as she gazed upward, witnessing Eren''s awe-inspiring spell-casting. As a water-element Expert ranker herself, she could discern Eren''s profound mastery of the water element. However, her confidence remained unshaken. "Hmph! The Way of the Elements is not everything," Rhea thought to herself, her resolve solidifying. "I may not match his water element attainments, but my weaponprehension is not to be taken lightly. Plus, I have Trump Cards of my own. Let''s see who wins." With determination etched upon their faces and the sh of elemental powers imminent, Eren and Rhea prepared themselves for a battle that would test their skills, resolve, and the limits of their individualities. With unwavering resolve, Rhea channeled her expertise, casting her spells with practiced precision. Her first incantation invoked her trusted contract beast. In an instant, the air crackled with energy, and as the haze cleared, Rhea found herself atop the head of a colossal water-element snake. This magnificent creature was her loyalpanion, a Red-Lipped Sea Kraita venomous giant snake that dwelled in the depths of the River Lithe. The Red-Lipped Sea Krait possessed a unique inherent spell: its very presence had the power to transform the surrounding water into a crimson hue, resembling the color of blood. From this scarlet pool emerged a multitude of sinuous tentacles, endowed with a deadly purpose. These appendages hungered for their enemies, seeking to ensnare and constrict their prey within their venomous grasp. The Bloodweaver n members had a heritage of using Red Lipped Sea Krait as theirpanions. It was because of this tradition that they were called Bloodweaver in the first ce. Rhea followed her n''s tradition. The water-element rankermanded her formidable contract beast to elevate itself above the water''s surface, matching Eren''s lofty altitude. Beneath her, a pool of crimson water rippled with anticipation, its tentacles coiling and writhing with an ominous glimmer. It was as if each tendril yearned to stretch out towards Eren, craving the opportunity to ensnare and subdue him. The scene was now set for a sh of elemental powers and the indomitable will of two Expert rankers. Rhea, astride her powerful contract beast, exuded amanding presence as she surveyed the battlefield with steely determination. With her venomouspanion and its blood-red tendrils poised for action, she awaited Eren''s next move, prepared to unleash her own torrential assault upon him. Chapter 1271 Dominance Over Rhea ? Blitz. Swoosh. Zmmm. Eren''s eyes locked onto Rhea''s sword, and in a swift motion, a pair of katars materialized in his hands. Named Diceros Left and Right, these deadly weapons seemed toe alive as Eren effortlessly wielded them. The katars sliced through the air with audible swishes, manifesting Eren''s profound mastery of his weapons and elemental attainments. Unyielding in his pursuit of amusement, Eren called upon yet another spell to augment his arsenal. Aqua Whips erupted from his outstretched palms, countering the Red-Lipped Krait''s menacing tentacles. The spell-stacking of Aqua Whips bestowed upon Eren a myriad of tactics to impede Rhea''s multi-pronged assault. Within moments, Erenmanded a swirling whirlpool of over a dozen Aqua Whips, crackling with red and purple lightning. These ethereal tendrils coiled and spun around him, creating a daunting spectacle that sent shivers down Rhea''s spine. Expanding his strategy, Eren incorporated Aqua Whips into his katars, transforming them into lethal extensions resembling scorpion stingers. These weapons seamlessly merged with the whirling maelstrom, exuding malevolent gleams. They fused Eren''s offensive and defensive spells into a singr, fearsome entity. Rhea''s wariness intensified as she observed Eren''s katars in action. They spun around him with blinding speed and piercing potential. The punching daggers appeared eager to puncture their adversaries, tearing through flesh and organs with ruthless efficiency. ''This guy... he''s unlike anyone I''ve faced before. I may have underestimated him, but I''ve dealt with dual weapon wielders in the past.'' Rhea''s thoughts raced as she tightened her grip on the hilt of her nimble yet elongated sword. Infusing it with the venomous power of the Red-Lipped Krait, the de shimmered with a blood-like glint. Each sh would not only inflict immediate wounds but also afflict the opponent with the insidious effects of the snake''s venom. ''She believes her weaponprehension is unrivaled. Keke. It''s time to shatter her illusions.'' Eren chuckled inwardly, his soul sense delving into Rhea''s inner musings. With a calcted move, he retrieved two sword sets from his storage spaceAnduril and Rigor Mortis. Summoning four additional Aqua Whips, Eren skillfully wielded his array of des. But Eren''s arsenal didn''t end there. He produced a set of axes given to him by Alephee, nameless yet formidable. To Rhea, these weapons appeared as priceless artifacts, fit for the most esteemed rankers. Gripping the axes tightly, Eren twirled them in a seamless and fluid motion, the weapons seemingly dancing at his fingertips. And as if inplete synchrony, the Aqua Whips wielding his swords followed suit, mirroring Eren''s every move. Thebined symphony of weapons shing through the air created a tempestuous de storm that reverberated in all directions. This was an awe-inspiring disy of Eren''s unrivaled mastery of his vast armory. Rhea''s confidence in her own weaponprehension faltered as she witnessed Eren''s seamless mastery of his extensive arsenal. It shattered her illusions and left her reeling. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined encountering someone who effortlessly wielded multiple weapons with such finesse. The metaphorical p of reality stung, reminding her of the foolishness of believing she could best Eren solely with her venomous swordsmanship. Moreover, Rhea recognized that Eren''s disy was not mere haphazard shing. There was a calcted rhythm to his movements, a harmony between his weapons and his elemental powers. His des, infused with lightning, fire, and water, each carried their distinct Elemental Aspects. They appeared to dance through the air around him. Their strikes were wild and fierce, yet guided by Eren''s Weapon Arts principles. ''This... How could this despicable bastard possess such a profound understanding of weapons? Was he born with a natural affinity for their mastery? A prodigy, perhaps? He he should be famous. Damn it! I should have paid attention to what''s happening outside Erbaia,'' Rhea thought. Her astonishment mingled with a tinge of frustration and regret. Without further words, the battlefield was set aze with determination. Eren denied Rhea retreat or surrender. He controlled the powerful whirlpool that surrounded him, propelling himself forward with strong and unstoppable momentum. He paid no mind to the looming threat of her contracted beast or the impending danger she herself posed. sh! sh! sh! The air resonated with the resounding echoes of Eren''s swift and precise strikes. The Red-Lipped Krait cried out in agonized despair as it attempted to ensnare Eren with its summoned tentacles. However, before the serpentine appendages could even pierce through the audacious Aqua Storm that enveloped Eren, they were met with a swift demise. These appendages were sliced into fragments by Eren''s lethal weapons, reduced to scattered remnants that fell harmlessly to the ground. Eventually, they returned to being part of the water once they were submerged in the River Lithe, bing part of the origin where they came from. Rhea, who believed herself prepared to face Eren, soon found her assumptions crumbling like ashes in the wind. The stark reality of her miscalction haunted her briefly. In the next moment, she was faced with Eren''s assault. Rhea valiantly parried the relentless onught of attacks unleashed by Eren''s whirlpool-propelled weapons. With deft maneuvers and calcted timing, she intercepted most of the spinning des that threatened to tear her apart. Yet, despite her best efforts, there was a limit to her endurance against the sheer ferocity of Eren''s assault. The protective appendages of her contracted beast proved inadequate, and her weapon mastery fell short in the face of Eren''s overwhelming multi-weapon de storm. sh. Hack. Boom. A piercing cry of agony tore from Rhea''s lips as her left arm was brutally severed from its joint. The once-imposing sleeveless armor beneath her garments offered a futile resistance, torn asunder and reduced to tatters. Her vulnerable torso became the next target, relentlessly bombarded by Eren''s onught that seemed to assail her from all directions. In a horrific disy of devastating precision, Eren''s Rigor Mortis de stripped away the flesh from Rhea''s right shoulder, exposing her vicle bone. Simultaneously, his Anduril sword inflicted searing damage, bypassing her feeble defense and slicing through her Tibia bone. The agonizing de nearly severed her foot from her leg, leaving her lower limb hanging precariously by a thread. Chapter 1272 Triton ? Rhea''s own sword was sent hurtling through the air, violently repelled by the lightning-fast Diceros Right Katar. Meanwhile, Diceros Left''s relentless assault shattered her remaining defenses, lodging itself deep within her left Scap, just beneath her left underarm. The battle was over almost as quickly as it began. The chasm between Eren and Rhea was insurmountable, their skills imbnced beyond measure. Rhea had not even had the opportunity to showcase the true extent of her prowess, her contracted beast rendered ineffective by Eren''s Sedating Gaze alone, before being pulled beneath the water''s surface by an enigmatic force. With a sense of measured admiration, Eren observed the aftermath, a fleeting expression of impressed acknowledgment gracing his features. Rhea''s body was sent hurtling in the opposite direction of her disarmed sword, propelled by the forcefulsh of one of Eren''s Aqua Whips. Though he could end her life in an instant, he chose to spare her. He was mindful of the nuisances that might arise if Rodrick brandished it as unnecessary bloodshed. "Four seconds... Impressive indeed. That''s three seconds more than what I expected from her." Eren murmured to himself, his toneced with a mixture of satisfaction and intrigue. Eren wasn''t saying this to soothe his ego. In the game of life and death, someone like Rheasting for 4 seconds against someone like Eren was indeed an impressive feat. He expected a swift defeat, but Rhea''s resilience exceeded his expectations. It was a disy worthy of recognition, even amidst the throes of overwhelming defeat. Eren''s time spent in the Sansara World was also partly to me for Rhea''s current condition. There, he fought with the top-notch rankers of his generation. He even fought with Demonmir and saw the Sages in action. One could say that Eren''s battle standards were almost unattainable for normal rankers of his generation. As a result, Eren''s sense of normal battle had changed. Rhea had skills in her work. She could be considered an extraordinary talent in Erbaia. However, she paled inparison to the average standard set by the Sansara World participants. So Eren''s way of fighting with Rhea was definitely overkill. Eren was unphased by Rhea''s pain-induced screams. He felt like he was already lenient toward her. He was careful in his attacks, not targeting her vital organs. He also made sure her ship and crew were safe from his attacks. This was the most he could do to give Rodrick clear-cut results in his quest to neutralize House Slughorn. The butcher approached his battle with Rhea nonchntly, using it as an opportunity to experiment with his water-based attacks. He withheld most of his go-to spells and techniques, choosing instead to test his aquatic abilities. The oue left him pleased with his performance. Meanwhile, Rhea''s contracted beast found itself forcefully pulled beneath the water''s surface, trapped by an unseen force. The Red-Lipped Krait squirmed and hissed, its movements restrained by the watery shackles. Desperate to escape, it attempted to sever its connection to its mana body and return to Rhea. However, even that proved futile as the unknown force imprisoned its very essence within the aquatic prison. That force, unknown to Rhea, was none other than Eren''s spirit beast, recently named Triton. Over time, Triton grew in size and shape, its horn taking on a more exotic appearance. Within the water, it possessed the ability to change its form at will. It remained hidden beneath the battleground where Eren and Rhea shed, biding its time for the appropriate moment to ensnare the contracted beast. Triton had a voracious appetite for devouring and assimting various water-rted elemental attainments. Through its link with Eren''s blood, it acquired some of his characteristics and powers, allowing it to incorporate them into its own repertoire. Curiosity welled within Triton,pelling it to reveal itself and absorb the elemental attainments possessed by Rhea and her contracted beast. However, being a spirit beast, its intent was not to harm Rhea or the Red-Lipped Krait, but rather toprehend and assimte their abilities for its own growth. Under Eren''s influence, Triton emerged from the depths,manded to pull the Red-Lipped Krait beneath the surface, where it could fulfill its purpose. Triton aplished this task effortlessly, despite its seemingly diminutive fish-like form, effortlessly overpowering the beast that was 20 feet long before consuming it bit by bit. Unexpectedly, something extraordinary urred, catching Eren off guard. Triton not only absorbed the Red-Lipped Krait''s water-elementprehension but also managed to sever the beast''s contract with Rhea. The connection between Rhea and her contracted beast was abruptly severed, causing her to cry out in agony once more. Fortunately, Triton executed the separation so skillfully that Rhea''s mana core remained unharmed, though she experienced heightened physical and mental anguishpared to what she had endured thus far. Eren''s eyes closed as he sensed the presence of a newly contracted beast rune enveloping his mana core. This rune took on a linear form, encircling his core like a spectral ring surrounding astral bodies in the vast cosmos. ''Anotherpanion for Ertaur,'' Eren mused, a smile creeping onto his face as he unintentionally imed Rhea''s contracted beast as his own. The beast''s souly dormant, exhausted from the relentless onught it endured at the hands of Triton. Despite the ordeal, the Red-Lipped Krait remainedrgely unscathed. Under Triton''s influence, it hade to terms with its current predicament, survival instincts outweighing any loyalty it once held to Rhea. In the ensuing moment, Eren dispersed his spells, causing the weapons that had surrounded him to vanish into thin air. The de storm that filled the air dissipated in the blink of an eye. Only the lingering traces of Eren''s overwhelming mana signatures lingered in the surroundings, a testament to the fierce battle that had just transpired between him and Rhea. Gracefully, Erennded on the water''s surface, his feet finding stability upon the liquid ne. Employing Aqua Steps, he moved with deliberate poise, steadily approaching Rhea, who struggled to keep herself afloat given her battered state. A pool of crimson-tinted water formed around her, a grim testament to her open wounds. Suppressing her screams, she exerted every ounce of willpower to contain her pain. Her forehead glistened with beads of sweat and traces of blood, her gaze wary as Eren drew nearer, a smile etched upon his face. Chapter 1273 Sebastians Dire Predicament P1 ? On a clear and sunny day, an air of anticipation hung in the atmosphere, hinting at an impending storm that would soon shatter the tranquility surrounding House Slughorn. As the elegant ship of House Riverine, the Tidebreaker, gradually neared the majestic Brewmaster''s Bounty, the stark difference in size between the two vessels became apparent. The upants of Brewmaster''s Bounty craned their necks, gazing upward to catch a glimpse of those aboard the approaching ship. Standing proudly on the deck of his own ship, the Myriad Potioner, Sebastian Slughorn, observed the shadowy figures lining the railing of Tidebreaker. A flicker of doubt danced in his mind, sensing that something was amiss. However, before he could voice his concerns or take any action, a startling sight unfolded before his eyesan individual from Tidebreaker''s deckunched themselves skyward, utilizing the sun''s position to create a blinding blind spot. Curiosity mixed with apprehension welled up within Sebastian as he beheld the luminous spectacle of golden wings shimmering under the morning sun''s rays. Despite his advanced age, his sharp mind swiftly recognized the flyer as Jiana Jihang, her recent association with Eren''s White Raven Guild not escaping his attention. In the blink of an eye, a group of shadowy figures leapt from Tidebreaker, employing spells and magical abilities to swiftly traverse the distance between the ships. In mere seconds, chaos erupted, and various spells and abilities erupted into existence all around Brewmaster''s Bounty. Caught off guard, the upants of the ship, including Ss Slughorn and the crew, had yet to activate their Mana Senses, theircency leaving them defenseless. Within moments, the Myriad Potioner came to a grim realization that he and everyone aboard his ship were in grave danger. Reacting swiftly, he spun around, ready to shout a warning to his subordinates, but his words were abruptly cut short. A searing pain pierced his heart, causing him to gasp and look down, where a dagger had found its mark. The tip of the de glistened with his life''s blood, it''s cruel intrusion a testament to the sessful assassination strike executed against him. The cries of pain echoed across the deck of Brewmaster''s Bounty as Sebastian Slughorn grappled with the agony that surged through his body. His hand instinctively reached back, attempting to push away the assant responsible for his suffering. He tapped into his Master rank mana, attempting to unleash a flurry of spells in a desperate bid to defend himself. Yet, to his dismay, the effects of a potent sedating potion coursing through the de became evident. His mana circuits responded sluggishly, hindering his spellcasting abilities. Sebastian''s attempt to retaliate proved futile as the assassin swiftly retreated, leaving the wickedly sharp dagger lodged within his chest. Undeterred by the near-fatal strike, Sebastian twisted his index and ring fingers together, activating his formidable AbilityMyriad Potioneering. The wound that threatened his life began to mend before his eyes, aided by the regenerative properties granted by his mastery. With a deft movement spell, he shifted his position, prepared to evade any potential follow-up attacks. Ss, his junior and loyalpanion, materialized at his side. Tattered fabric revealed the state-of-the-art armor that shielded him from numerous lethal blows. House Slughorn had spared no expense in safeguarding one of their most promising scions. The question now loomed: How long would the artifact endure the relentless assault? Not all members of House Slughorn proved as fortunate as Ss or as proficient as Sebastian. Chaos erupted upon the deck of Brewmaster''s Bounty as the remaining subordinates were beset by shadows, emerging from House Riverine''s vessel. Survival became their sole focus, their options dwindling with each passing moment as the overwhelming opposition closed in. Defensive runes adorning Brewmaster''s Bounty flickered to life as the rankers unleashed their offensive spells, turning the ship into a bastion of resistance. However, from all directions, smaller vessels materialized as if conjured from thin air,unching coordinated assaults upon the beleaguered ship. Sebastian, undeterred by the ongoing fray, surveyed the scene, recognizing the ambush for what it wasa meticulously nned strike with a secure perimeter. His attention fixated on his would-be assassin, whose precision and lethality had nearly imed his life. The gravity of the situation intensified as he identified the unexpected assant responsible for this betrayal. "Naya...," Sebastian''s voice trembled with a mix of disbelief and outrage. The realization that one of his supposed allies had turned against him delivered a shattering blow to his already wounded spirit. The deck fell into an eerie silence as all eyes turned towards the enigmatic figure who had struck Sebastian Slughorn with such precision. Naya, a young woman in her early twenties, exuded an undeniable allure. Her emerald eyes shimmered with an air of mystery, perfectlyplementing her shoulder-length dark hair, tinged with a subtle hue of blue. Smooth, wless skin reminiscent of freshly fallen snow adorned her delicate features, enhanced by the captivating charm of her rosy lips and cute button nose. Her slender frame boasted graceful curves, standing at an imposing height of 5 feet and 10 inches. And now, with stoic expressions, she fixated her gaze upon Sebastian. d in a meticulously chosen ensemble suited for an assassin of her caliber, Naya emanated a lethal aura. Her attire, a seamless blend of sleekness and practicality, consisted of form-fitting ck garments interwoven with silver threads that glinted in the sunlight. Adorned with lightweight armor tes, her outfit allowed for unhindered agility while offering ample protection in the heat of battle. Strapped to her lithe figure were an assortment of concealed des, each honed to perfection and poised to strike with deadly precision. But Naya was more than just an ordinary assassin. She was none other than Birmond''s demon beastpaniona formidable entity intertwined with her very being. With her allegiance revealed through this ambush, Sebastian could draw only one conclusion: House Remus, led by Birmond Remus, had orchestrated this treacherous assault, plunging a metaphorical dagger into the back of House Slughorn. Sebastian''s gaze pierced through Naya, a mixture of anger and determination burning within his eyes. The gravity of the situation demanded his attention be directed towards the mastermind orchestrating this betrayal. "Birmond... you treacherous bastard... Reveal yourself!" His voice resonated with a potent blend of fury and defiance, his words carrying an unspoken challenge to the mastermind behind this act of betrayal. === AN: Naya was first introduced in chapter 836. Chapter 1274 Sebastians Dire Predicament P2 ? Swish. Zoom. Boom. The atmosphere aboard Brewmaster''s Bounty was suffused with the acrid scent of blood, as the fierce battle raged on without respite. The forces of House Slughorn found themselves outnumbered and cornered by their adversaries. Nina, Levine, and Jianaeach of them standing with unwavering vignce, ensuring that Sebastian and Ss could not slip away from their grasp. The once grand deck of the ship now bore witness to a gruesome spectacle, strewn with the lifeless bodies of House Slughorn members and Sebastian''s loyal subordinates. Among the chaos, only twelve survivors remained, their hearts heavy with grief and despair. One of Sebastian''s remaining subordinates approached him, bearing grim tidings. Despite their desperate attempt to seek aid from Port Erbaia, their pleas fell upon deaf ears. The absence of a response painted a bleak picture, revealing the true extent of their dire circumstances. It became clear to everyone present that the secret of House Slughorn''s potential betrayal of the Kingdom of Edinburgh had been exposed, and the kingdom hadunched a merciless preemptive strike in retaliation. Sebastian''s gaze turned to the horizon, seeking sce in the hope of reinforcements led by Sorin Windrider from the city of Erbaia. However, upon learning of theck of response, the Myriad Potioner''s countenance sank even further, mirroring the weight of his thoughts. With the kingdom of Edinburgh closing in on House Slughorn and their ndestine activitiesid bare, Sebastian understood the inevitable esction of their dire predicament. He surmised that House Remus must have divulged their ns, plunging them into this nightmarish ordeal. Recalling his conversation with Birmond regarding a potential alliance, Sebastian''s heart grew heavy with regret. Birmond had feigned understanding and had vowed to assist House Slughorn in their pursuit of a new allegiance. Little did Sebastian know that Birmond was merely ying a part. The truth hade to lightthe bargaining chip House Slughorn had offered to the Kingdom of Layos was a concoction of debilitating potions specifically tailored for the Edinburgh-affiliated rankers. Shockingly, this included members of House Remus. Birmond, fueled by fury and a desire to protect his n, swiftly intervened, contacting the White Raven Guild through Dianna Remus. He refused to leave the safety of his n members in the hands of an old man''s desperate machinations. Even Sebastian''s assurance that the potions would not be used against Birmond''s kin stationed at the kingdom''s borders failed to convince him. Birmond could not gamble on such an assurance, for House Slughorn would find sanctuary within the confines of the Kingdom of Layos once the potions were unleashed by the Layosian army. Within the span of another minute, the joint forces of House Remus and the White Raven Guild decimated House Slughorn''s dwindling numbers. As the battle reached its climax, both factions came to a stalemate, their attention riveted to the gruesome aftermaththe mounting pile of corpses, lingering elemental manifestations, smoldering fires, and residual spells dividing them. Amidst the chaos, a figure materialized by Naya''s side, marking the turning point of the conflict. Birmond Remus, a man in histe thirties with a square-shaped face, stood before them. His dark brown hair, neatly trimmed beard, and closed ck eyes hinted at wisdom and experience, as if he could perceive the world through his very eyelids. d in an ensemble befitting his role as a leader and warrior, he donned a sturdy leather armor adorned with an intricately crafted cape cascading down his back. A medallion, gleaming as a pendant, hung around his neck, while a gleaming sword was tightly gripped in his right hand. Birmond''s gaze met Sebastian''s, and a heavy sigh escaped his lips before he responded to the usations hurled at him. "You should never have betrayed the kingdom, old man. Especially when the interests of my n are intricately tied to the survival and prosperity of Edinburgh. Your short-sightedness and narrow-mindedness have clouded your judgment, as you blindly sought a new foundation for your n," Birmond uttered, his voice tinged with disappointment and a touch of regret. Birmond Remus, despite his youth, had reached the pinnacle of his abilities as a Master-ranked individual, standing on equal footing with Sebastian Slughorn. Initially, Birmond had no intentions of participating in the battle that unfolded aboard Brewmaster''s Bounty. However, the unexpected presence of Sebastian took everyone by surprise, including Birmond himself. If House Remus and the White Raven Guild had known Sebastian would be on board, they would have prepared additional trump cards, for Sebastian, a formidable ranker in his prime, defied the stereotype of a mere potioner, typically considered nerdy and harmless. His exploits in the treacherous Bands, coupled with his ruthless utilization of his Ability, had earned him the revered title of Myriad Potioner from the Kingdom of Edinburgh. Though the old man''s days were numbered, his impending demise did little to diminish the danger he posed. Birmond''s sharp eyes immediately identified Sebastian''s presence, prompting a swift adjustment to his ns. He instructed Jiana to act as a decoy, diverting Sebastian''s attention, while focusing Naya''s deadly abilities solely on assassinating the Myriad Potioner. Birmond understood the difficulty of dispatching Sebastian in one attempt, given his ability to replicate the effects of any potion. Nheless, he aimed to inflict a debilitating blow through Naya''s skillful hands. Though not a trained assassin, Naya possessed the qualities of a panther-type demonremarkable agility and a fierce nature. Birmond orchestrated the strategy, with Jiana captivating Sebastian''s focus, creating a fleeting window of opportunity for Naya tounch a lethal strike at the Myriad Potioner. As Sebastian braced himself to respond to Birmond''s incendiary words that ignited an unquenchable fury within him, it became evident that House Remus and the White Raven Guild had exhausted their patience for further discourse. In a decisive moment, Nina materialized behind Birmond, recognizing her role as a healer and choosing to remain in reserve, ready to provide aid if her side required it. Jiana and Levine closed in on Sebastian from opposing sides, tightening the around him. Standing beside Birmond, Naya raised her hand, prepared to execute her assigned task. Then, in an instant, Sebastian felt as though his heart had descended into a frigid abyss. Agonizing cold enveloped him as the mended wound inflicted by the dagger seemed to rupture anew. Like icy stakes driven through his heart, piercing his flesh from within, the excruciating pain paralyzed him momentarily. Chapter 1275 Myriad Potioning P1 ? "Grandpa Sebastian!" Ss''s rmed cry pierced the air as his eyes widened in fear at the sight of the icy stakes materializing on either side of Sebastian''s chest, dangerously close to his heart. Realizing that Naya was the culprit behind Sebastian''s dire predicament, Ss cast a hateful re in her direction. "Don''t do anything stupid!" Sebastian said to Ss, his voicemanding and domineering. Sebastian, despite the excruciating pain coursing through his body, maintained a surprisingly calm demeanor. With a firm grip on Ss''s hand, he prevented the young man fromunching an impulsive attack on their opponents. Utilizing his unique Ability, Sebastian deployed the effects of the Second Heart potion. This allowed him to use one of his lungs as a makeshift second heart. This strategic move mitigated the impact of Naya''s lethal follow-up attack, granting him a temporary respite from the brink of death. Gazing at his adversaries with predatory intensity, Sebastian''s voice took on a grim and threatening tone as he addressed the unfolding situation. "Now that the cat''s out of the bag, there''s no point in holding back or ying it safe," he dered. "It appears that Edinburgh is determined to annihte my n simply because we were up to no good." His gaze fixed on Birmond, Sebastian''s tone turned defeated as he continued, "Birmond, I now realize that orchestrating a mutiny was a grave mistake. Mind you, the betrayal hasn''t even urred yet. We could have still averted this sh between us if you had approached me intending to negotiate." Birmond maintained a serious expression as Sebastian expressed his regrets, choosing not to respond directly. Instead, he silentlymunicated with Jiana, Levine, and Naya, coordinating their next moves and counter-maneuvers against Sebastian. Aware of their calcted movements, Sebastian understood the Master-ranked opponents'' fear of his retaliation, even in his dying moments. They showed no concern for the lives of those loyal to him, regarding them as expendable coteral. Feeling the chilling touch of the icy stakes in his hand, Sebastian refrained from attempting to remove or melt them by any means. Instead, he allowed the stakes to remain in ce, channeling his focus on controlling Naya''s mana. He attempted to subdue the intrusion into his body and nullify its effects using another potion activated through his Ability. Drawing in a long breath, fully aware that multiple attacks were imminent from various directions within seconds, Sebastian spoke once more, his voice filled with resignation. "There were bridges between us that should never have been burned. But it seems Edinburgh is in a hurry to tie up loose ends, conveniently forgetting all my past contributions," he stated bitterly. His gaze shifted to Levine, and a faint smile yed upon his lips. There was a personal connection between them, creating a hesitancy to engage in directbat. Recalling their encounter in the city of New Beginnings, Sebastian reminisced about the threats he had once issued to Eren. He acknowledged Eren''s actions over words, a trait he admired. It seemed that Eren, motivated by more than mere marketpetition, sought to obliterate House Slughorn entirely. Sebastian also knew Eren''s close friendship with Crown Prince Rodrick Renar. Swiftly deducing that Eren had influenced Rodrick''s current stance, Sebastian concluded that Edinburgh had willingly be the executioner, driven by the brat''s machinations. He couldn''t help but feel surprised that the kingdom hadn''t offered his House a chance at redemption, as if waiting for his betrayal to unfold. Meeting Levine and Jiana''s eyes, Sebastian sighed, resigning himself to the harsh reality that had unfolded before him. "It seems I underestimated that Idril brat," he admitted, his voiceced with a mix of disbelief and defeat. "I could have never imagined that he would wield such influence over the kingdom''s affairs in such a short time. I am also astonished that Edinburgh willingly became his puppet, as if they anticipated my potential betrayal and were merely waiting for me to carry it out." Pausing briefly, Sebastian''s tone grew heavier as he concluded, "But I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. I understand. I, too, resorted to the same. Yet our crime is not mutiny itself, is it? No, not truly. Our crime lies in our desire to survive." Sebastian''s lips curled into a contemptuous sneer as he locked eyes with his adversaries. Without hesitation, he raised his hands, his movements fluid and calcted, ready to unleash a series of decisive actions. In a split second, he channeled his immense power, erecting a formidable Master-ranked barrier. The ethereal, semi-transparent shield enveloped him and his allies, preventing his opponents from closing in. It materialized with impable timing, just as Levine and Jiana were about tounch their fierce attacks. Drawing upon his profound mastery of ether-element mana and harnessing the boundless potential of his Ability, Myriad Potioneering, Sebastian wove intricate patterns in the air. Like mirages materializing into reality, four distinct and ethereal vials materialized around him, each representing a countermeasure against Jiana, Levine, Birmond, and Naya. With a touch, the ephemeral vessels solidified, transforming from figments of imagination into tangible concoctions. Time-element potion effects hastened the process,pressing what seemed like hours into a mere second. Taking swift action, Sebastian produced four exquisitely crafted alchemy dolls, their hearts hollow and yearning for the life-giving elixirs he had just fashioned. With precision, he delicately inserted the vials into the doll''s hearts. As the vials settled within, a surge of vitality coursed through the dolls, animating them as if they were vessels imbued with life itself. Levine, Jiana, Birmond, and Naya weren''t idling around. They unleashed their own spells at Sebastian whichnded on the barrier almost at the same time. Within another fleeting second, the barrier shattered into countless shards, dissolving into the ether. Its purpose fulfilled, Sebastian no longer relied on its protection. His meticulous preparations had achieved the desired oue, setting the stage for the imminent confrontation. As Sebastian''s vials fused with the hearts of the genderless, featureless alchemy dolls, a surge of Master-ranked mana coursed through their slender frames. They awakened, their purpose now clear, as if the elixirs within had ignited a dormant power within their beings. With synchronicity that bordered on abnormal, the four alchemy dolls sprang into action simultaneously. Their movements were fluid, almost ethereal, as they closed the distance between them and their respective adversariesLevina, Jiana, Birmond, and Naya. Despite theirck of visible weaponry or imposing spells, an unspoken sense of impending danger hung in the air, permeating the battlefield. Levina, Jiana, Birmond, and Naya instinctively knew they were facing a precarious situation. It was as if a silent, invisible time bomb hurtled toward them with every step the dolls took. Each stride of the enigmatic figures amplified the tension, creating an atmosphere of imminent cmity. Chapter 1276 Myriad Potioning P2 ? The alchemy dolls, enigmatic conduits of Sebastian''s vial deployment, possessed a unique synthesis of synthetic humanoid bodies etched with intricate runes and endowed with advanced artificial intelligence. Every move they made was an embodiment of Sebastian''s precise intentions, responding to his will with uncanny uracy. In the realm of offensive-centric sses, the Potionist ss often struggled to match the formidable prowess of their counterparts. Their reliance on potions presented a significant drawback their opponents could easily evade the concoctions hurled at them, rendering the potionists vulnerable and easily dispatched. Levine, locked inbat with Sebastian, knew this challenge all too well, for she too bore the mantle of a potionist. Through her personal experience, she hade to understand the limitations of her ss. To ovee these obstacles, she had honed her skill in teleportation arrays, enabling her to deploy potions within a small to medium range. The influence of potions'' effects was inherently limited, necessitating precise deployment and rapid-acting concoctions to effectively impact adversaries. Without these crucial elements, a potionist''s arsenal would be rendered futile. Though Eren wasn''t a potionist, he preferred using traps for his potion deployment. However, it needed pre-nning and wasn''t something one could do on the fly. Sebastian, however, had ingeniously surmounted this hurdle by crafting the alchemy dolls. Resembling homing projectiles, these extraordinary creations persisted in tracking their targets with unwavering determination. Protected by their one-time-use Master-ranked artifacts, the dolls proved remarkably resilient, difficult to destroy despite their limited usage time. Thus, Sebastian had summoned four formidable Master-ranked entities to bolster his forces at the most critical juncture. With unwaveringmand, he directed his alchemy dolls to engage their designated adversaries while he himself prepared for a strategic withdrawal, poised to seize the opportune moment to make his exit from the battlefield. Birmond''s frustration grew as he cursed the old man, fully intent on engaging the iing alchemy doll. Brandishing his sword and coating it with Master-ranked mana, he unleashed his formidable aura, determined to swiftly dispatch his alchemical adversary. Yet, to his astonishment, Birmond soon realized that his perception of space had been distorted. Strange visions assailed Birmond''s senses as if he had suddenly acquired three additional sets of eyes, each sending conflicting visual signals to his overwhelmed mind. Even his finely honed mana sense proved futile in remedying the disorienting effect. The proximity of the alchemy doll had subjected him to a debuff that altered his spatial perception, throwing him off bnce. Meanwhile, Jiana sprouted resplendent Golden Wings from her back, taking to the air in a desperate attempt to evade the iing alchemy doll. She was on the verge of eluding the potion''s intended debuff, poised to escape unscathed. However, in a shocking turn of events, the alchemy doll severed its own arm and flung it toward Jiana with the velocity of a tightlypressed mana bullet. The severed limb detonated upon nearing Jiana, wreaking havoc upon her ethereal flight. The excruciating agony etched onto her face, Jiana''s Golden Wings ignited in searing mes, akin to a tragic fate befalling one who dared venture too close to the sun. Unable to endure the torment, she plummeted into the churning depths of the River Lithe, her cry of anguish echoing through the air. Meanwhile, Levine, confident in her ability to deploy her potions amidst Sebastian''s group once the barrier dissipated, had gravely underestimated the Myriad Potioner''s ingenuity. Sebastian, seizing the opportunity, froze the effects of Levine''s deployed potions, employing his Ability to mimic the temporal maniption of a time-element potion. With a flick of his finger, he conjured a vial of ether element potion into existence, swiftly transforming its contents into a gaseous form. The gaseous potion served as a perfect neutralizer, countering the explosive and debuff-inducing properties of Levine''s potion. Furthermore, Sebastian''s alchemy doll doggedly pursued Levine, impeding her ability to follow up on her attack by imposing a debuff rooted in spatial maniption. This spatial maniption was tailored to counter Levine''s deployment of potions through the use of maple-leaf-sized teleportation arrays. Levine''s vision was impaired and her mana sense was disrupted by Sebastian''s additional debuff. She found herself increasingly outmaneuvered. Naya, a formidable demon beast, presented a unique challenge for Sebastian, who sought to counter her demonic magic. Undeterred, his alchemy doll afflicting Naya with a physical debuff that hindered her agile movements, while simultaneously disturbing the surrounding mana, impeding her spellcasting. In essence, the Myriad Potioner, utilizing his keen analysis of his opponents'' mana signatures through his extraordinary Ability, had crafted bespoke debuff potions tailored to neutralize their strengths. Sebastian''s Ability may not have possessed shy or ostentatious qualities, yet its deadly efficiency remained unparalleled for those who dared oppose him. These events underscored precisely why House Remus fervently opposed House Slughorn changing its allegiance. Birmond, well aware of Sebastian''s unparalleled power, understood that allowing him to forge an alliance with the kingdom of Layos would spell doom for the forces of Edinburgh. Within a matter of seconds, as if time itself had shifted to amodate the actions of Master rankers, the Adept-levelbatants and lower-ranked entities stood as mere witnesses, unable to contribute meaningfully to the unfolding sh. Old man Sebastian, his sneer transforming into raucousughter, relished the sight of his Master-ranked adversaries sumbing to his debilitating debuffs, futilely struggling against the relentless regeneration of his alchemy dolls. In that moment, he was transported back to the days when he first honed his Ability, employing it against monstrous creatures and formidable rankers with simrly devastating results. The Myriad Potioner had indeed perfected the art of crafting ranker-specific potions, imbuing them with a range of effects limited only by his whims and needs. He had truly earned his prestigious title, embodying the essence of a true Myriad Potioner. The unique path he tread and the nature of his individuality prohibited Sebastian from creating general-purpose potions. This restriction exined his decision not to take Sienna as his apprentice, instead wanting to entrust Levine with the role of Sienna''s mentor. Sebastian''s individuality rendered him unable to guide any aspiring potioner, burdened as he was by the weight of his own capabilities. Furthermore, he was old and on the verge of kicking the bucket. He did not have the time, patience, or health to deal with the ball of arrogance and attitude that was Sienna. Amidst the unfolding scene, Sebastian''sughter erupted into coughs, a visible testament to the toll exacted by employing his Ability to such an extent. All said and done, he was but a husk of his past self, and his old body couldn''t handle the burden his Ability inflicted on it. Sustaining the alchemy dolls and maintaining the debuffs proved arduous, yet he knew he had no grounds forint. Turning on his heel, a blend of exhaustion and tion etched upon his face, Sebastian issued his orders to his subordinatesC all except Ss. "Hehe. Attack these wretched bastards. Show them the indomitable spirit of House Slughorn. Pay no heed to their lofty rankings. They shall be vulnerable to your onught at this juncture." Chapter 1277 Sebastians Diversion ? "Aaaaaaaaaaaa!" The air trembled with a collective battle cry as Sebastian''s subordinates unleashed their primal scream, charging forward with unwavering determination. A group of audacious Adept rankers fearlessly approached the enemy Master rankers, their trust in Sebastian''s words and his unparalleled Ability as a Myriad Potioner guiding their resolve. As Levine and Birmond finally managed to vanquish the relentless alchemy dolls, the debuff unleashed by Sebastian''s Ability had taken full effect, entangling them in its inescapable grip. This debuff, borne of the Myriad Potioner''s potent mastery, proved resistant to any simple dispelling. Surrounded by a swarm of Adept-level rankers, their lives offered up willingly in pursuit of victory, Birmond and Levine realized that their adversaries had been deeply influenced by Sebastian''s mimicry of soul-based potions. The unnaturally fervent gazes of their assants betrayed an absence of fear. It was as if they faced the rankers two ranks above them without a shred of trepidation. Though both Levine and Birmond understood that these Adept-level rankerscked the means to inflict fatal harm, they gradually discerned Sebastian''s true intentions. The Myriad Potioner saw his subordinates as little more than decoys, sacrificial pawns meant to divert attention while he and Ss made their escape to safety. "Fuuuuck! That old man''s cunning hasn''t lost its edge. He is fucking trying to run away," Birmond seethed, fully cognizant of the dire situation that had unfolded. Despite the debuff wreaking havoc on his vision, he maintained a keen vigil over Sebastian''s every move. The old man''s desperate attempt to abscond with Ss while his loyal subordinates fought for their lives wasid bare before Birmond''s watchful eyes. Birmond, a wounded Master ranker burdened with a defective ranking technique, bore the constant repercussions of his unorthodox ascent into the Master rank. Each attempt to harness his ranking technique brought forth a harsh bacsh, a reminder of the cultist path he had tread behind closed doors. Furthermore, Birmond had to say that the Myriad Potioner had selected a very potent debuff for him. Birmond was a summoner. But the spatial perception alteration debuffpromised his mental acuity and prevented him from using his summons to fight his fights for him. As a summoner, Birmond wasn''t very skilled in frontal confrontation. Despite this limitation, Birmond''s undeniable mastery as a Master rankerpelled him to cast aside his concerns and unleash his power with unbridled determination. After all, time was of the essence and a very problematic enemy was escaping his grasp. He couldn''t let that happen. "Aaaaaaargh!" With a surge of willpower, Birmond ignited his mana circuits, delving deep into his mana core with unreserved fervor. Concern for his mana expenditure took a backseat as he unleashed a torrent of power, allowing it to flow uninhibited throughout his being. Under Birmond''smand, the elemental forces of ice solidified in response. His formidable B-Rank powers coalesced, freezing the Adept-ranked entities that dared assail him with a swift and frigid wave of ice mana. Since his spatial perception waspromised, he chose to unleash his power in every direction while trying his best not to hit Levine with it. The icy mantle draped over Brewmaster''s Bounty instantly rendered it motionless, its movements suspended in crystalline frost. The reach of the ice-element mana extended further, encasing the surrounding water in a frosty embrace. In an instant, the battleground transformed into an icy realm, a testament to Birmond''s potent spell that exacted a toll on his strained mana circuits. Yet, this sacrifice proved worthwhile as the majority of their adversaries were thwarted, and their interference quelled. "Naya... cough cough cough" Birmond coughed up a stter of blood, the repercussions of his strained ranking technique surfacing once more. Paying it little mind, he swiftly wiped away the crimson smear with the back of his hand and pressed on. "You... you must fucking hunt down Sebastian and Ss. Levine, please help her. The opportunity to eliminate the Myriad Potioner will not present itself again now that he''s aware that we are onto him. We must finish him right here. Otherwise, that old man will give us hell in the future." His voice,ced with gravity and resolve,pelled Levine and Naya to exchange a nce, an unspoken understanding passing between them. Without a word, they vanished from the ship''s deck, setting off on the trail of Sebastian. Securing Brewmaster''s Bounty held paramount importance. It stood as undeniable proof of House Slughorn''s treachery, evidence that could vindicate Rodrick''s preemptive strike should he choose to unveil the truth. Furthermore, the vessel housed a collection of potent potions capable of targeting prominent rankers within Edinburgh. The Myriad Potioner''s debuff potions were much deadlier than Birmond and the rest hade to witness in the ambush. It was just that they had caught Sebastian off guard, not allowing him to use his Ability on them to its maximum potential. Birmond understood the necessity of eliminating such vtile assets to prevent futureplications. After all, Birmond didn''t trust the kingdom of Edinburgh entirely. It might store these potions to be used against its own allies should they try to step out of the line. House Remus wouldn''t stay an exception to the kingdom''s policy. As he surveyed his surroundings, Birmond had another cause of worry weighing on his mind. ''Hm? ThisThis is strange. Jiana should have been recovered by now.'' Birmond''s mind whirled with confusion. How could Jiana, a skilled healer, sumb to Sebastian''s debuff in a single strike? It seemed inexplicable, especially since Sebastian himself was absent from the scene, relinquishing control over the lingering effects of his Ability. As he pondered the puzzling turn of events, Birmond impatiently awaited the return of Nina and Jiana. Despite his doubts about Jiana''s sudden incapacity, he recognized that the nature of Sebastian''s debuffs varied depending on the individual targeted. He couldn''t pass judgment on Jiana''spetence until he had more information. Shifting his focus, Birmond directed his attention toward the three surviving Adept-ranked members of House Slughorn. Desperate to escape Brewmaster''s Bounty, they realized the futility of evading Birmond within the icy realm he had created. Their only recourse was to engage the injured Birmond inbat, hoping to achieve the seemingly impossible. Though weakened by Sebastian''s debuff, Birmond braced himself for the impending sh. He imbued his sword with his ice-element mana and sent a few flying shes toward his iing enemies. A wave of icy winds swept through the frosty region as Birmond yed the remaining enemies one by one. He nearly copsed on the ground when he was done, wounded by his own bacsh wreaking havoc inside his body rather than the attacks of his enemies. === AN: Birmond''s bacsh was mentioned in chapter 836. Chapter 1278 Betrayal Vs Prudence ? "Who who the hell are you?" Rhea Bloodweaver, her body battered and broken, gazed wearily at Eren as he approached. The wounds inflicted upon her were severe, her Expert rank mana barely managing to staunch the blood flow and stabilize her condition. She felt the weight of her own vulnerability, realizing that she had little strength left to resist. Eren''s assault had been relentless, nearly severing her limb, puncturing her repeatedly, and leaving her with a myriad of deepcerations. She hade to a stark realization during their brief four-second sh - if Eren had desired, he could have easily ended her life. The magnitude of his power was evident, and it sent a chilling realization coursing through her veins. Her armory shattered, her clothes torn and soaked in a mixture of blood and the water from the River Lithe. Rhea''s once-meticulous hair now hung in disarray, drenched by the river''s cascading currents. Her body, drenched in a morbid fusion of blood and water,y beneath her, a testament to the fierce battle she had endured. To make matters worse, Rhea discovered that her connection with her contract beast had been severed. She believed that Eren''s assault had destroyed the creature''s soul, knowing full well of his formidable soul sense. In her estimation, someone of his caliber could effortlessly obliterate a contract beast''s soul by leveraging the power of their own soul sense. Grief washed over Rhea as she mourned the loss of her loyalpanion. However, this was not the time for her to sumb to distress or abandon her rationality. Eren stood before her as an adversary, and she couldn''t expect him to show mercy to her contract beast simply because she desired it. In their world, two Expert-ranked entities fought on equal ground, devoid of pity or leniency. Eren, his appearance pristine and untouched by battle, approached with an air of leisure and elegance. Shoulder-length ck hair caressed by warm southbound winds, his every step seemed to create ripples upon the water''s surface. His emerald green eyes fixated yfully on Rhea, while a subtle smile adorned his face as if he viewed their sh as nothing more than a form of entertainment. "Hmm. She believes I''ve in her contract beast. Keke. Perfect. No need for me to concoct any random bullshittery," Eren thought to himself, attuned to Rhea''s mncholy and sense of loss through his soul sense. He leisurely stretched his arms, eliciting satisfying cracks from his bones, and rotated his neck. In the blink of an eye, he materialized a few arm''s lengths away from Rhea, maintaining a cautious distance, aware of her edginess. With an inviting smile and a weing tone, he addressed her question. "Forgive me, Miss Rhea, for not introducing myself properly amidst our intense battle. I am Eren. Eren Elijah Idril. It is truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he dered, his wordsced with sincerity. "I mustmend you on your remarkable fight. You have far surpassed my expectations." As Eren spoke, a glimmer of acknowledgment gleamed in his eyes. He saw in Rhea''s eyes her battle-hardened spirit, even in her current battered state. Despite his seemingly amiable demeanor, he maintained a cautious distance, fully aware that any misstep from her could prove fatal. Not for him. For her. A flicker of recognition crossed Rhea''s mind upon hearing Eren''s name as if she had encountered it in passing before. However, before she could delve into that thought, her focus shifted to Eren''s next action, captivating her attention entirely. In a seamless disy of maniption, Eren materialized a vial of White Raven healing potion in his right hand. Shaking it before Rhea''s eyes, he emphasized its harmlessness before tossing it in her direction. Catching it effortlessly, Rhea regarded Eren with suspicion, her gaze locked with his. Eren''s smirk deepened as he met Rhea''s eyes, his demeanor nonchnt. Pointing a finger at the vial, he spoke, his voiceced with a casual tone. "If I had intended to kill you, there were simpler methods at my disposal. The vial in your hand is a top-tier healing potion. Drink it if you wish to expedite your recovery withoutplications." Curiosity mingled with caution, Rhea uncorked the vial and cautiously sniffed its contents. Assured of its authenticity, she raised it to her lips, maintaining unwavering eye contact with Eren. The potent liquid surged down her throat, and almost instantaneously, her wounds began to close at an elerated pace. The potion''s additional effects alleviated her exhaustion, revitalizing her weary body. Within moments, Rhea''s grievous injuries transformed into mere superficial wounds. The invasive foreign mana that had disrupted her own mana circuits dissipated, allowing her to regain perfect control over her bodily functions. Renewed vitality coursed through her veins, reigniting her spirit. Just then, three members of Rhea''s squad materialized beside her, expressing concern for her well-being. Two stood as staunch guards at her side, while an Adept-ranked individual positioned themselves ahead of Rhea, blocking her view and confronting Eren directly. Amusement and annoyance danced in Eren''s eyes as he regarded Rhea''s backup. While he didn''t mind engaging in a "friendly" spar with Rhea, he couldn''t help but feel a subtle offense at the audacity of three Adept rankers mustering the courage to face him. "Trust me, Rhea, you do not want to test your battle formation against me. If you annoy me too greatly, I''ll be forced to hunt down and eliminate every member of your team before your very eyes," Eren warned calmly, directing his words to Rhea while paying little heed to the three Adept rankers who had decided to intervene. Though he possessed the means to prevent their interference, he was preupied with other matters, his attention split between the ongoing battle aboard Brewmaster''s Bounty and his interaction with Rhea and herpanions. His spectral screen disyed a myriad of live visuals from Nina, Jiana, and Levine''s distinct perspectives, offering invaluable feedback andmentary on the sh unfolding between their side and Sebastian''s forces. Eren carefully monitored the situation, awaiting the opportune moment to issue his nextmand. Jiana''s obedience was crucial to his n. When he deemed the time ripe, he instructed her through their groupmunication voice channel. "Jiana, allow yourself to be struck by Sebastian''s debuff. Submerge yourself in the River Lithe, then utilize your means. Be prepared to seize all the debuff potions aboard Brewmaster''s Bounty. And when the timees, destroy that damn vessel. Aunt Nina, support Jiana." Jiana hesitated, reluctant to assume the role of a thief. However, her reservations didn''t hinder her swiftpliance with Eren''s orders. Just as he had anticipated, she submerged herself in the chilling waters of the River Lithe, willingly subjecting herself to the debilitating effects of Sebastian''s debuff, patiently awaiting Nina''s assistance. As Jiana prepared herself to act in ordance with Eren''smand, a concerned voice echoed through the groupmunication channel. ''Eren, are you nning to betray House Remus or the Kingdom of Edinburgh?'' Nina''s words carried a tinge of worry as she joined Jiana in the river''s depths. Eren chuckled softly, hisughter unheard by those around him, before offering a response. ''Trust, loyalty, and betrayal. These words are often thrown around lightly, their true meanings diluted. Especially in times of war. Their definitions aren''t as rigid as people want them to be.'' Observing Rhea''s admonishment of her team members, cautioning them against engaging in battle with Expert rankers, Eren maintained his steadfast position, his hands resting behind his back. Standing with military-like poise, he continued his conversation with Nina and the others. ''Don''t worry. What you perceive as betrayal, I regard as prudence. I have no intention of betraying anyone, at least not until I am given a reason to do so. But there is no harm in taking precautions, is there? I would be aplete fool to allow those debuff potions to fall into Edinburgh''s clutches or be destroyed by Birmond. Why destroy them when they can act as Trump cards for me? And keep me updated with Sebastian''s location. I''ll apprehend the old fart personally if he decides to pull a fast one on naive BirmondC which I think he will.'' Eren''s eyes gleamed with a chilling intent, his voice turning frigid as his words reverberated in the minds of Nina and Jiana through their shared voicemunication channel. ''Today, the Myriad Potioner will be announced dead to the world. I''ll fucking make sure of it.'' Chapter 1279 Ambush Done Right P1 ? "Sir Grimdawn!" Eren''s attention resumed on Rhea again as she called out to him. By this point, each member of Rhea''s team had rushed to their captain''s side, witnessing the brutal injuries she had suffered at the hands of Eren. The sight had ignited a fierce determination within themthey couldn''t remain mere spectators aboard the ship any longer. Meanwhile, Eren''s subordinates remained stationed aboard the Freya, their unwavering loyalty a testament to their confidence in his safety. They awaited his orders, knowing full well that he would emerge unscathed from this encounter. Vignt eyes locked on Eren, Rhea''s gaze held a mixture of wariness and admiration. As she dreamt of receiving a title from the kingdom herself, a glimmer of ambition shone in her eyes. She recognized the gravity and prestige associated with these titlesEdinburgh didn''t bestow them upon just anyone. Eren''s extraordinary prowess in battle had set a standard that Rhea couldn''t help but aspire to. Until today, she had believed she was making significant strides on her own path to prominence. But her confrontation with Eren had shattered her illusions, unveiling the vast chasm that separated them even when they both were in the C-Rank. It had be clear that if she desired the coveted title, she would need to transform herself into someone truly formidable. "Just call me Grimdawn," Eren replied with a nod, acknowledging Rhea''s gaze on him. He didn''t harbor any concerns regarding the attention his title brought; instead, he hoped it wouldn''t hinder his actions and objectives. Aware that her team should return to the safety of the ship, Rhea motioned for them to retreat. Once they were out of earshot, she cleared her throat, assuming a formal and precise manner that reflected her past service in Edinburgh''s army. Meeting Eren''s eyes, she nodded respectfully before speaking, her wordsced with a newfound politeness. "Affirmative, Grimdawn. Master Sorin has informed me of House Slughorn''s treachery against Edinburgh. I''d like to apologize for my rash decision earlier. If I had known what I know now, I would have..." A wicked smile curled upon Eren''s lips as Rhea''s sentence hung in the air. "Keke. there''s no need to apologize. And it''s not like your actions have spoiled our ns. There''s still time, Expert Rhea," he interjected, his voice infused with a tantalizing blend of nonchnce and conspiracy. "You can aid us in eradicating these traitors. And in doing so, you might earn the recognition you desire from the kingdom of Edinburgh." Eren''s words struck a chord within Rhea, the promise of recognition igniting a newfound interest and determination. She was now ready to coborate with Eren, united in their quest to bring House Slughorn. *** The River Lithe stretched out before them, its tranquil waters shimmering under the moonlight. Two figures, both rankers, swiftly traversed the river''s surface using their nimble movement spells. They aimed to reach the outskirts of Erbaia, a region that held the promise of an escape from the encroaching siege. As they ran, their steps leaving fleeting imprints on the water, Ss couldn''t contain his mounting anxiety any longer. His voice trembled with a mix of fear and frustration as he turned to Sebastian, seeking guidance amidst the impending threat. "Fuck! Grandpa Sebastian, where will we go from here? Whole of Edinburgh will soon chase us down. All of us. What what the fuck should we" The gravity of Edinburgh''s pursuit loomed over him, threatening to consume House Slughorn entirely. While Ss, an Expert-ranker, harbored little apprehension when it came to ordinary confrontations, the prospect of an entire kingdom opposing them instilled a primal fear within hima survival instinct that couldn''t be easily dismissed. Sebastian, however, paid no heed to Ss'' distressed pleas as they ran side by side. The old man, visibly exhausted and out of breath, refused to let weariness hinder his resolve. With a sharp retort, he cut off Ss''s words, his voiceced with fury and urgency. "Shut your insolent mouth and keep running, you naive brat" The Myriad Potioner barked, his gaze fixed ahead, unyielding. "I have a n, but there''s no time to exin. Run, Ss. Run as if honoring the sacrifice of those who perished aboard our ship depends on it." Sebastian''s words resonated with a sense of vulnerability rarely seen in the seasoned potioner. He understood the impending doom that loomed over House Slughorn more intimately than anyone else. The situation wasn''t as ck and white as Ss perceived it. The fact that Edinburgh had asked House Remus and Eren to carry out their bidding indicated ack of concrete evidence against House Slughorn. The potions concealed within Brewmaster''s Bounty held the potential to expose their betrayal, yet Edinburgh hesitated to make it public. With the ongoing war against Layos, the revtion of House Slughorn''s treachery would tarnish Edinburgh''s reputation and sow seeds of doubt among the rankers fighting for the kingdom. The very foundation of their trust in one another would crumble, hindering their ability to unite against theirmon enemy. Furthermore, the news might inspire other independent factions to follow House Slughorn''s example, seeking personal gains and destabilizing the delicate bnce within the kingdom. Edinburgh''s internal security needed to be maintained when its forces were concentrated over its borders. It couldn''t afford any form of inner turmoil at this point. House Slughorn needed to be dealt with silently, allowing Edinburgh''s war campaign against Layos to proceed without repercussions. Instead of deploying their own forces, the kingdom had orchestrated a scenario in which the White Raven Guild and House Remus could act against House Slughorn. This usible deniability shielded the kingdom''s existing alliances, ensuring minimal disruption among the other Houses. Rodrick, poised to take credit for House Slughorn''s downfall within Anfang''s inner circle, understood the importance of maintaining tranquility within Edinburgh''s borders. A ndestine eradication was the preferred path to preserve the kingdom''s reputation and unity. Therefore, Sebastian believed that the kingdom of Edinburgh wouldn''t try to attack House Slughorn openly. Instead, it would ask other forces and mercenaries to do its job in a covert manner. Chapter 1280 Ambush Done Right P2 ? Covert operations demanded a strategic approach and time to execute properly. Sebastian knew that direct confrontation against Edinburgh would only spell disaster. But if the kingdom wanted things to note to surface for the general popce, he believed there was still a slim window of opportunity to alter their fate. In the worst-case scenario, Sebastian contemted gathering all the umted resources of House Slughorn and fleeing to the kingdom of Layos, taking only a select few n members with him. He intended to contact the senior members of his house to expedite their n, ensuring a swift escape. Ss, however, found no sce in Sebastian''s exnation and was on the brink of voicing his discontent. Yet, before any words could escape his lips, he abruptly shut his mouth and cast a dreadful gaze over his shoulder. Two shadows loomed on the horizon, closing in on them with rming speed. Ss swiftly recognized their pursuersLevine and Naya, both B-ranked entities tasked with chasing down the escaping Slughorns. Just as Ss was about to warn Sebastian, the Myriad Potioner beat him to it, already aware of their presence. "Damn it! They''ve split their forces. Focus on running and don''t look back," Sebastian ordered, fully aware that engaging Levine and Naya directly would only invite further reinforcements. Dealing with Levine posed no significant challenge for Sebastian, given his expertise in potionery. However, Naya presented a formidable obstacle. As a demon beast with ess to her beastly transformation and potent demon magic, she boasted superior physical prowess and stood on the cusp of entering the next rank, much like her master Birmond. The only reason she hadn''t pursued the Slughorns alone was her caution against the Myriad Potioner''s kamikaze attacks. "Sir Myriad Potioner, over here!" Just as Sebastian and Ss were about to alter their course, a distant voice reached their ears from the 2 o''clock position. They turned toward the source and discovered a certain Expert ranker apanied by her team of loyal rankers, rapidly closing in on them. Rhea Bloodweaver, her mana-infused voice resonating with conviction, dered her intentions. "Sir Myriad Potioner, my name''s Rhea bloodweaver. I''m here to help you get away from the raiders. Let me help you." Though Sebastian recognized Rhea, she emphasized her identity. It seemed Rhea was unaware of the unfolding situation. Sebastian saw an opportunity to exploit her naivety to their advantage. "Yes! Rid us of these raiders,ss. They''re right on our tails," Sebastian responded, subtly manipting Rhea''s perception of the events. Ss followed Sebastian''s lead as they approached Rhea''s team, relying on their battle formation to impede their pursuers. It would buy them the precious time they needed to sessfully evade capture. Rhea remained silent, her focus fixed on reaching Sebastian. Her group passed by the Slughorns, providing them with a shield of cover to facilitate their escape. Sebastian inwardly expressed gratitude for Rhea''s timely intervention. A cunning smile formed on his lips, but suddenly, an inexplicable fear gripped his heartan intuitive warning derived from his ranker instincts. He sensed something amiss, an impending threat creeping closer. Turning around, Sebastian witnessed a tense standoff between Rhea''s team and their pursuers, both parties maintaining a safe distance. However, they were not facing each other but were instead fixated on him, as if anticipating an intriguing spectacle. "Ss, WAIT! Something''s not" In an instant, the world blurred into motion. With a lightning-fast blitz, a specialized water-element array trap activated, enclosing Sebastian and Ss within its confines. The trap created a formidable water domain, obstructing Sebastian''s view of the outside world and preventing Rhea and the others from monitoring their situation. The water-element domain had effectively isted the two Slughorns, leaving them in suspense as to what would unfold within its mystic confines. Just as Sebastian braced himself for the impending threat, he discovered that the array trap was not a mere containment device, but rather a catalyst for a series of debuff and poison concoctions. Ss and Sebastian found themselves quickly enveloped in a dense mana miasma, furtherpromising their vision and rendering their mana senses useless. This malevolent haze was a result ofbining an excessive number of potions, yielding aplexposition with unpredictable effects and side effects. The water-element barrier sessfully contained the mana miasma within its confines, preventing it from escaping. However, as it swirled closer to the two Slughorns, its density and quantity increased, transforming the domain into a toxic gas chamber. This entire setup was devised to neutralize a Master-ranked ranker like the Myriad Potioner. The intricate mana signature of the miasma eluded Sebastian''s decoding ability, leaving him unable to formte a solution. Ss, an Expert ranker, proved incapable of enduring the effects of the trap for long and sumbed on the spot. The debuffs and poisons took their toll on Sebastian as well, impairing his response time. Oblivious to Ss'' demise, he had yet to realize that hisrade stood lifeless beside him, preserved in an eerie, upright stance. Had it not been for the trap, Ss''s body would have sunk into the River Lithe by now. Amidst the chaotic haze, a single thought raced through Sebastian''s mind as he recognized the distinct style of potion deployment. There was only one person in the entire realm of Anfang known for utilizing such potent array traps against their enemies. "Potion deployment through array traps... that son of a whore Eren Idril... he''s behind this." Regret coursed through Sebastian as he btedly realized that Rhea had served as nothing more than a decoy, luring him and Ss into this treacherous array trap. Eren had cunningly exploited Sebastian''s desperation, anticipating his fall into a trap so potent that it had gone unnoticed until it was toote. "Sticks and stones, old man. And I don''t mind being called that anyway. Keke." A calm, youthful voice echoed from behind Sebastian, its mesmerizing tone unmistakable. Even before he turned around, Sebastian knew the identity of its owner. "Tit for tat. You attempted to ambush me in the past, and in retaliation, I constructed the Grim Pir Town. Time sure flies. I feel like it was just yesterday when I killed Sienna and her goons." The voice dripped with a devilish charm, taunting Sebastian with memories of their past encounters in the city of New Beginnings. Eren''s voice sounded like he was relishing on a fond memory. "But, to be honest, your previous ambush attempt was poorly executed. Now, this... this is how you truly ambush someone, wouldn''t you agree?" Whispers of a devil yed upon Sebastian''s ears, evoking frustration and trepidation within him. For some inexplicable reason, he hesitated to turn around and face his adversary, a reluctance born from an instinctive dread. === AN: Eren deploys potions through array traps for the first time in chapter 501 and 502. Chapter 1281 House Slughorns Destruction P1 ? The Myriad Potioner knew his fate was sealed when he found himself in Eren''s trap. Sebastian''s mind wandered back to the time when he, along with House Slughorn, House Remus, Demonmir''s faction, and the Escalong Guild, had schemed to ambush Eren. Their n had involved arge number of rankers and aimed to ensnare Eren in a meticulously crafted trap. Inparison, Eren''s own trap was deceptively simple, relying on his target''s desperation. It was a stark reminder to Sebastian of Eren''s prowess in setting traps, highlighting the shoddy work they had done in their own attempt. Eren wasted no time in executing his next move. With a swift motion, he activated the array trap, simultaneously binding Sebastian''s movements with restrictive runes. The runes slithered across Sebastian''s body like serpents, constricting his muscles and rendering him immobile. Only when the debuff potions took effect, causing Sebastian to lose consciousness, did the restrictive runes dissipate. Unconscious and at peace, Sebastian floated atop the River Lithe, cradled by its gentle waves. The array trap continued to iste him from the water, keeping his body afloat. Alephee emerged from her pendent abode within a pendant, observing Sebastian with a hint of amusement. She chuckled before speaking, her voiceced with amusement. "He appears so peaceful, doesn''t he? It seems he needed someone to lull him to sleep like this." On the other side of Sebastian''s motionless form, Eren stood, his gaze fixed upon Sebastian''s face. He narrowed his eyes, his tone turning grim as he spoke. "This old fart would have posed a considerable challenge if not for this setup. But now that we have captured him, I intend to strip him of everything he has achieved throughout his long life, starting with his Ability." Eren''s emerald green eyes gleamed with a cold intensity as he regarded Sebastian. The butcher studied Sebastian ever since he met the old man in the city of New Beginning and was threatened by him. It was true that Eren wasn''t expecting Sebastian to be present at the scene. But he had bee preparing to face Sebastian for a very long time. After all, the butcher was deeply impressed by the Myriad Potioner''s Ability and coveted it for himself. Additionally, Sebastian''s vast experiences as a potioner held immense value. Eren sought to absorb those experiences, making them his own through devouring and diligent practice. With knowledge and experiences gained from Sebastian, he believed he could finally pass Minerva''s test and im herplete inheritance. Eren and Alephee engaged in a brief discussion about their next course of action when a ripple in the water-element barrier caught their attention, carried by distinct sound waves. Eren discerned the sourcea distant explosion. "Hmm, it appears Jiana has done her part," Alephee remarked, urately predicting the origin of the explosion. Eren nodded, receiving confirmation from Jiana at that moment. Instead of simply raiding the potions, she had taken the entire potion bank in haste and detonated the Brewmaster''s Bounty. Nina yed her role as Birmond''s savior, rescuing him from the grim fate of being caught in the explosion. Birmond, already suffering from a bacsh, was delirious and unaware of the events unfolding around him. In his confusion, he mistook the explosion as the ship''s self-destruction protocol, triggered by Sebastian. Everything had unfolded ording to Eren''s meticulously devised n, formted in a rtively short time. However, the game was not yet wonit required a well-executed finale. Therefore, Eren decided to expedite the next stage of his n. "Take him with you. Let''s rendezvous at our ce," Eren instructed, his voice carrying an air of urgency. Alephee nodded in understanding, raising her hand and snapping her fingers. In an instant, Sebastian''s body was ensconced within an ethereal crystal. The crystal began to shrink, transforming into a palm-sized artifact. Alephee fashioned it into a bracelet, adorning her right hand, and gazed at Eren, a mischievous smile gracing her lips as she reminded him. "Alright, but don''t keep me waiting for too long." Returning Alephee''s smile, Eren nodded in agreement. In the blink of an eye, Alephee vanished from her position, even as the water-element barrier remained intact. Eren knew that the current circumstances would hinder his ability to fully utilize Sebastian''s gains. The detonation of the Brewmaster''s Bounty signaled the end of their mission, and Birmond and the others would soon arrive to investigate. Thus, Eren desired a secluded location where he could digest Sebastian''s aplishments undisturbed. He needed time to absorb Sebastian''s experiences and elemental attainments. All so that he could raise his chances of getting the Myriad Potioner''s Ability in one swift try. With that in mind, he instructed Alephee to carry Sebastian and rendezvous with him in the city of White Raven. Only there could he attempt to im the full extent of the Myriad Potioner''s experiences. *** The barrier dissipated, revealing Eren''s solitary figure holding a severed headthe head of Ss. Ss''s body was nowhere to be found, leaving a sense of eerie mystery in the air. "Grimdawn!" Rhea''s voice pierced through the bloody atmosphere as she swiftly closed the distance between them, the rest of the team following closely behind. Eren turned to face her, a subtle smile ying on his lips, exuding confidence. "It seems we''ve aplished our goal," he stated with assurance. Rhea, her curiosity piqued, surveyed their surroundings with her mana sense, her gaze shifting from Eren to the empty space. Confusionced her voice as she voiced her doubts. "Where is the Myriad Potioner? Did you...?" Eren nodded solemnly, letting out a sigh before responding. "Indeed. Keeping the Myriad Potioner as a hostage would have been too dangerous. I had to ensure his elimination." Raising Ss''s severed head before Rhea and her team, he continued, "This is the only memento I managed to salvage from the aftermath." Rhea''s eyes widened with a mixture of fascination and disbelief as she gazed upon Ss''s severed head. Blood continued to drip from the lifeless head, staining the river water crimson with its relentless drops. As Rhea reflected on the events that had transpired, she couldn''t help but be astounded by the brief yet intense confrontation between two title holders. It was a sh that defied expectations, with an Expert ranker effortlessly taking down a Master ranker without any apparent assistance. The enigmatic figure at the center of it all, Eren Idril, remained shrouded in mystery for a lot of rankers involved in this mission. Chapter 1282 House Slughorns Destruction P2 ? Levine engaged in a brief conversation with Eren, their words exchanged in low tones. Naya stood at a slight distance, her senses heightened, keeping watch for any signs of approaching enemies. Despite the echoes of the Brewmaster''s Bounty explosion still reverberating in their ears, their focus remained resolute, unwavering in theirmitment topleting their mission with meticulous thoroughness. Naya, however, couldn''t shake a hint of apprehension in Eren''s presence. He had effortlessly managed to intimidate her even before his encounter with Sebastian. Her demonic nature, normally fierce and unrestrained, seemed subdued, as if cowed by his mere existence. Thankfully, Naya''s wait was not prolonged, as a fleet of ships emerged on the horizon, led by Tidebreaker, the gship of House Riverine. Birmond stood on the deck of Tidebreaker, his gaze fixed upon Eren with a serious countenance. Spotting Birmond''s presence, Naya observed that Nina had sessfully provided him with first aid. Despite the visible strain etched on his face, an indication of internal injuries, his mana signatures disyed stability, suggesting that the worst effects of the bacsh had subsided. Jiana soared towards Eren as Tidebreaker drew nearer, her initial reluctance as a thief transformed into a sense of satisfaction. She found herself unexpectedly pleased, basking in Eren''s approving nod, a silent acknowledgement of her aplished task. Birmond, in a state of shock, discovered that Eren had indeed managed to eliminate Sebastian single-handedly. A surge of relief washed over him, affirming his decision to acquiesce to Eren''s conditions in their attempt to bury past animosities. Birmond spected that if Eren could devise such meticulous ns for Sebastian, there was a high likelihood that he had something equally intricate in store for House Remus. Once their affairs were settled, Eren and the group returned to the city of Erbaia. The butcher engaged in a private and extensive discussion with Rodrick within the confines of Sorin''s office. The eradication of House Slughorn had unofficially be a personal project for the crown prince. Having ignited the mes, Rodrick was resolute in ensuring that the wildfire he had started consumed the toxic lush forest that was House Slughorn, leaving nothing but ashes in its wake. Eren extended a helping hand, offering his assistance in the uing purge. However, Rodrick, recognizing the gravity of House Slughorn''s betrayal, made the decision to deploy specialized forces for this crucial task. With the confirmation of House Slughorn''s treachery,manding these forces became a far easier task for him. The initial strike wouldmence from House Slughorn''s grand estate situated in the duchy of Lionheart. Within a matter of days, all of their potion banks, shops, and resource warehouses scattered throughout the kingdom would be reduced to ruin. To prevent any remnants of House Slughorn''s operations from reemerging, their remaining supplies and distributionwork would be absorbed by other active potion-making organizations within Edinburgh. Among these, the White Raven Guild would take a prominent role. In return for their involvement in House Slughorn''s annihtion, House Remus and Eren would be given some special resources and privileges by Edinburgh. Aware of Eren''s exceptional nning capabilities, Rodrick entrusted him with strategizing the subsequent steps. After their discussion concluded, it became evident that the countdown to House Slughorn''s demise hadmenced. The storm of destruction loomed over Sebastian''s n, poised to engulf them entirely. In the presence of Rodrick, Eren turned to Sorin, making a straightforward request to refrain from auctioning off House Slughorn''s estate. Instead, he proposed a direct purchase at a standard rate, offering upfront payment. Sorin found himself at a loss, uncertain of how to respond to Eren''s audacious exploitation of the situation. However, ncing in Rodrick''s direction and finding no objection, he ultimately acquiesced. The city of Erbaia, destined to be a flourishing hub for the White Raven Guild, held great promise for Eren''s potion-making enterprise amidst the backdrop of war. Its strategic location would undoubtedly enhance the prosperity of his business, further solidifying his influence within the realm. Rodrick couldn''t hide his disappointment over the loss of Brewmaster''s Bounty and its valuable cargo due to the supposed self-destruction protocol triggered after Sebastian''s demise. However, he couldn''t bring himself toin, knowing that they had sessfully eliminated the threat of Myriad Potioner once and for all. Eren couldn''t help but feel a tinge of regret that he couldn''t rid himself of Demonmir in a simr preemptive strike. Yet, he acknowledged theplexity of dealing with Demonmir, understanding that it wouldn''t be as straightforward as eliminating Sebastian. In addition to their ns, Eren approached Sorin with a request to relieve Rhea of her duties as the captain of her squad, thereby freeing her from the responsibilities of being the city protector. Instead, she would join Edinburgh''s direct force stationed in the Nightshade duchy, allowing her to contribute directly to their efforts. With their roles in the mission fulfilled, Birmond and Naya bid farewell to Eren''s group and went their separate ways. Birmond breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Myriad Potioner''s debuff potions were destroyed, thus eliminating any lingering threat. Eren remained in the city of Erbaia for two days, meticulously tending to his affairs. Rodrick stood by his side throughout, ensuring that they were on the right track in their mission to dismantle House Slughorn. Only after their objectives were aligned did they part ways, bidding each other farewell. As Eren''s two ships, Freya and Tidebreaker, sailed away from the port of Erbaia, news of House Slughorn''s downfall rippled through the entire kingdom. Spection and conjecture filled the air as people began crafting various theories to exin the ruin of such a prominent House, especially amidst the ongoing war with Layos. Gradually, the names of Grimdawn and House Remus found their way into the conversations of Edinburgh''s citizens. Half-truths and veiled mysteries surrounding the conflict between House Slughorn and Eren''s faction started to circte, painting a captivating narrative. Grimdawn''s name, once again, basked in a fleeting moment of limelight due to House Slughorn''s destruction. Some praised his actions, while others cursed him for seemingly jeopardizing Edinburgh''s interests in his pursuit of personal vengeance. Amidst it all, Eren chuckled, amused by the news reports that revolved around him and House Slughorn. He cared little for beingbeled as shortsighted or intoxicated by power as the official title holder of the kingdom. He understood the limitations of people''s perspectives and saw no need to go out of his way to correct their misconceptions. A sense of contentment washed over Eren as he definitively closed the chapter on House Slughorn. Contrary to philosophies that imed revenge only fueled further turmoil, he hade to realize that the satisfaction derived from revenge was unparalleled when one had the resolve to see it through to its conclusion. Chapter 1283 Amazonians P1 ? The southeastern region of Dark Daniera Forest. The southeastern expanse of Dark Daniera Forest was bathed in the gentle embrace of evening, with the full moon casting its ethereal glow through wisps of white clouds. Above, a starry tapestry adorned the sky, while the serene moonlight illuminated the mystique of this enigmatic woond. Light and shadows yed a whimsical game of hide-and-seek, their intery dancing upon the forest floor, as cold winds carried a fresh, invigorating breeze. Within the depths of the forest, a symphony of natural wonders unfolded. Towering trees, their colossal trunks adorned with vibrant mosses and cascading vines, reached towards the heavens, as if yearning to touch the celestial realms. Enchanting nts, bathed in hues of iridescent blues and purples, emitted a soft, pulsating glow, their leaves shimmering with arcane energy. Amidst this magical tapestry, the air came alive with the harmonious melodies of mystic birds, their melodious songs weaving through the ancient branches. Strange and enchanting noises echoed through the forest, captivating the senses and hinting at the secrets held within. Yet, it was not only the flora and fauna that captivated the imagination within Dark Daniera Forest. It was whispered that powerful mana beasts roamed its depths, their imposing forms concealed within the thick foliage. These majestic creatures possessed an aura of strength and wisdom, their slumbering presence adding an air of reverence to the forest''s atmosphere. In one of the easily essible parts of Dark Daniera Forest, a battleground had once erupted, as Eren and Ivor shed against Oliver''s forces. The echoes of their intense battle had reverberated through the trees, transforming the forest into a somber burial ground for the fallen rankers, including Oliver, the loyal Hound of Duke Arthur. However, it was important to note that Eren and Ivor had merely brushed the outskirts of this expansive woond. Dark Daniera Forest sprawled across vast stretches of Edinburgh, reaching far beyond the northwestern region where the fateful confrontation had taken ce. In fact, certain sections of the forest remained essible only by ship, as the tributaries of the meandering River Lithe granted passage into its southern realms. Near one such tributary, two vesselsC Freya and TidebreakerCy anchored, their presence a silent testament to the profound mysteries that awaited within the forest''s depths. Within their hallowed confines, seasoned rankers, their anticipation palpable, patiently awaited the return of their leader. It was he who now ventured into the forest on foot, guided by two beautifulpanions who seemed to possess an innate understanding of the woond''s enigmatic paths. The trio treaded carefully, their movement spells barely disturbing the sacred silence that enveloped the forest. Three determined rankers embarked on a purposeful journey, navigating thebyrinthine trails to arrive at a specific destination within Dark Daniera Forest. It was a region that, by its very nature, seldom extended invitations to outsiders, yet asionally revealed itself to select individuals, granting them ess to the forest''s deepest, most guarded secrets. This particr region within the forest was home to an extraordinary society known as the Amazonians, a matriarchal order of rankers. Here, the female rankers held a revered status, basking in privileges and influence that surpassed those of their male counterparts. It was a sanctuary of empowerment, where the ancient traditions of sisterhood intertwined with the awe-inspiring wonders of the forest itself. The Amazonians, a group of reserved rankers, held customs distinct from those found in the world of Anfang. Their uniqueness stemmed from their origins in a different world altogether. Initially, visitors to the world of Anfang, the Amazonians found thisnd worthy of their habitation and decided to make it their home. Notably, they yed a vital role in the cmity war of the lost era, aligning themselves with the Anfang Alliance in their valiant battle against the Titans. As a consequence of their significant contributions during the war, the Amazonians retained a substantial influence within the Anfang Alliance. In recognition of their service, the Amazonians were granted special autonomy over various territories within Anfang that fell under their rule. This autonomy was absolute, transcending the reach of any kingdom, empire, or establishment. Venturing into the domains governed by the Amazonians without a formal invitation was an act that no outsider dared tomit. These fierce and skilled rankers knew how to defend their territories, and the Anfang Alliance had granted them the authority to take any necessary measures to safeguard their autonomous zones. Although the Amazonians were inherently matriarchal, it was not a matter of treating their male rankers unjustly. Rather, their unique practices harnessed a special form of mana that favored women. This mana, often referred to as nature mana, life mana, or life energy, held the essence of vitality and liveliness, in contrast to the death mana''s embrace of stillness and demise. The utilization of this extraordinary mana could be ssified as intent-based magic, an art more suited to the female rankers due to their natural affinity for birthing and nurturing life. Harnessing life mana allowed the women rankers of this society to progress in their ranks at an elerated pace, resulting in prominent positions within the Amazonianmunity. Despite their distinct customs, the Amazonians adhered to the fundamental principle of Anfang: might makes right. "Ma, how much longer until we reach the first settlement?" Eren inquired, closely following Ma''s lead. Almera trailed closely behind him as the trio leaped from branch to branch, venturing deeper into the heart of Dark Daniera Forest. Eren had rendezvoused with Ma and Almera earlier in the evening. They had explicitly instructed him to keep his teammates aboard the ship, as the invitation to visit the Amazonian settlements had been extended solely to Eren himself. Ever since their meeting, Eren had ced his trust in Ma and Almera''s guidance, while hispanions patiently awaited his return aboard the ship. Although Eren couldn''t help but feel a tinge of annoyance at the absence of teleportation portals within the dense and perilous forest, a convenience that would have greatly facilitated their journey, he chose to remain silent. After all, this encounter with the Amazonians was a business endeavor, and it wouldn''t serve him well to voice his minor grievances. === AN: The Dark Daniera Forest was first introduced in chapter 940. The Amazonians were introduced in chapter 77. Chapter 1284 Amazonians P2 ? Under the enchanting glow of the full moon, the southeastern part of Dark Daniera Forest warmly weed three rankers from the outside world. Ma and Almera, returning to their homnd, were apanied by Eren, who had been graciously invited to explore the depths of the autonomous zone of the Amazonians. With Ma leading the way, Eren and Almera followed closely behind. The trio approached the entrance of the sacred Amazonian territory, their steps measured and cautious. The air was mixed with a sense of anticipation as they prepared to enter this secluded realm. Ma, with her light olive skin and flowing violet hair that danced in the moonlit breeze, exuded an aura of both strength and grace. Her piercing light brown eyes reflected the luminous moon, revealing a stoic expression that belied her underlying happiness at returning to her roots. d in a ck light armor jacket over a pristine white shirt, Ma''s attire epitomized her seamless fusion of elegance and practicality. Her ck pants, adorned with agility runes that emitted a silvery glow as she utilized her movement spell, entuated her ethereal presence. Completing her ensemble were the ck footwear artifacts etched with weight-maniption runes, enabling Ma to traverse the forest with unrivaled stealth and grace. Eren, in his tall and lean figure, emanated a friendly aura that masked his true potential. His emerald green eyes shimmered with a mysterious light, their brilliance amplified by the radiant moon above. Dressed in casual adventurer attire, Eren donned a lightweight leather armor,plemented by a cream-colored tunic. Gauntlets and arm bracers adorned his arms, offering additional protection. His dark brown pants, intricately inscribed with defensive runes, provided enhanced safeguarding, while his swordsRigor Mortis, crackling with lightning elements, and Anduril, aze with fiery energyrestedfortably at his waist. Eren''s footwear artifact, inscribed with space-element runes, was primed for his space-element spellcasting, particrly the Blink spell. Despite his ability to summon his weapons from storage, Eren chose to keep them within reach as he ventured alone into the Amazonian territory, finding sce in their familiar presence. The Amazonians were a friendly bunch for those they invited in their territories. However, staying cautious was Eren''s second nature. Almera, radiating stunning allure, embodied the essence of a seasoned ranger. Her form-fitting full body suit entuated her figure, allowing for unrestricted agility and mobility. Towering in stature, her steady mana signatures spoke volumes about her unwaveringmitment to her ranking journey. As the trio embarked deeper into the Amazonian territory, their presence resonated with the spirits of the forest. The moonlit path ahead whispered secrets of ancient power and untamed beauty, igniting a sense of excitement and reverence within their hearts. *** Lost in her thoughts, Ma paid no heed to Eren''s earlier question, her mind wandering amidst the ethereal moonlit forest. It seemed that Almera was in the same state of mind. It was as if finding themselves back in these enchanting woods was an emotionally moving experience for the Amazonians who had lived outside it for a very long time. Eren, captivated by the enchanting sight of Ma''s graceful figure ahead of him, admired the view of her alluring silhouette, a mild annoyance coloring his voice as he spoke. "Knock knock. Ma, my darling, stop daydreaming and answer my question, will you? How much longer until we reach our destination?" Startled, Ma was abruptly pulled back to reality by the firmness in Eren''s tone. Realizing her momentarypse, she cleared her throat andposed herself, ready to address his query. "My apologies, Guild Master. I was simply reminiscing about my childhood in these woods," Ma replied, her voice tinged with a touch of nostalgia. "Being immersed in the forest has always been a true blessing for us Amazonians." With a wistful sigh escaping her lips, Ma''s voice carried a touch of mncholy as she continued her tale. "Eren, you see, both my half-sister Marie and I were groomed from a tender age to serve as the vital bridge between the Amazonians and the outside world. Our lives took a different pathpared to the rankers of either factionthe Amazonians and the original inhabitants of Anfang." Ma''s gaze turned distant, her thoughts drifting to Marie. "Marie, ever the spirited soul since her early days. I wonder if she holds the same fondness for these woods as I do. Nevertheless, I believe she, too, would find sce in returning here from time to time, rejuvenating her spirit. It''s as if the very essence of nature permeates our beings the moment we step foot into these sacred zones." Ma''s words resonated with a deep connection to thend, her voice carrying the weight of her personal experiences. She cherished the nurturing energy that coursed through these woods, recharging her body and soul with this visit. Eren had informed Ma that her sister, Marie, awaited her arrival in the city of White Raven, filling her heart with anticipation. Yet, the lush surroundings of the forest evoked cherished memories, evoking a mix of emotions within her. Her voice carried a delicate undertone of nostalgia as she shared fragments of her past, as if observing those moments from a distant vantage point. "Eren, I was groomed to fulfill the role of an Amazonian ambassador within the territories of Edinburgh. The kingdom requested my services as a lecturer at the prestigious Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy, and I willingly obliged." Ma''s words conveyed a sense of reflection and wisdom. "As ambassadors, we were tasked with extensive learning and rigorous training. Though my childhood was undoubtedly demanding, in retrospect, I don''t think I have any grounds forint. Those days were filled with the pure joy and awe-inspiring beauty of nature, treasures that I failed to fully appreciate at the time." Her voice grew somber, carrying the weight of her experiences beyond the forest''s embrace. "The world outside these woods can be overwhelming and fraught with stress. It may offer countless opportunities, but eaches at a cost, a price that not all can afford." Ma''s words hung in the air, carrying the weight of her perspective. She knew that their destination, the first settlement, awaited them within the hour if they maintained their current pace. But before they arrived, she feltpelled to shed light on certain aspects of Amazonian life to deepen Eren''s understanding. "Anyway! To answer your questionC we will reach the first settlement within an hour. But before we do that, there are a few things I must share with you about us Amazonians," she concluded, her voice resolute, ready to impart lesser-known knowledge of her extraordinary society. Chapter 1285 The Great Mother P1 ? Eren, as the bona fide title holder of Edinburgh, enjoyed a range of privileges and advantages. This bestowed title signified Edinburgh''s acknowledgment of Eren''s actions, and it held weight in the eyes of the Anfang Alliance. With this recognition came ess to ssified information previously out of Eren''s reach. Ma, having served as an ambassador for the Amazonians, believed it was appropriate to share certain insights with him since he was invited by the Matriarchs. Eren''s medallion prevented him from triggering the continent-epassing array''s suppressing effects, safeguarding him from any repercussions rted to the privileged information he would be exposed to. As the highest-ranked medallion, it granted him the freedom to discuss and be knowledgeable about almost any subject of Anfang''s past and present. However, certain limitations and restrictions still applied, ensuring that information was shared only among rankers with simr levels of ess. Nevertheless, Ma had no doubts about sharing the pertinent details with Eren. Beginning with the basics, Ma delved into the manner of address used among the Amazonians. While the Amazonians were well-versed in the customs and practices of Edinburgh, Ma believed it would be beneficial for Eren to familiarize himself with the Amazonian terminology. This knowledge could contribute to his ability to make a positive impression on the Amazonians, understanding their unique system of recognition. Highlighting the parallels between the two worlds, Ma exined how rankers in Anfang were referred to as Novices at the F-Rank, and Aces once they advanced to the E-Rank. In the Amazonian society, however, these terms differed. Progressing from F-Rank to S-Rank, the Amazonians used the following designations: Initiates, Champions, Mystics, Valiants, Matrons, Matriarchs, and ultimately, Valkyries, who was held in simr regard as the revered Sages of Anfang. "Wait a minute? Priestesses? Do you mean" Eren asked with a doubtful tone, purposely letting his question trail off withoutpletely forming it. Ma didn''t take long to confirm Eren''s doubts, "That''s right. We Amazonians have a goddess we worship ardently. We call her the Great Mother." Eren''s eyes opened wide with surprise when he found out that the Amazonians are backed by a goddess. But before he could voice any of his questions, Ma continued with a solemn voice that wasced with piousness and faith. "The Great Mother allows us to harness the Life Mana that belongs to her. And since the females are more suitable to harness this mana, they can progress faster than their male counterparts. Every Amazonian is required to have faith in the Great Mother irrespective of their gender. They need to offer their prayers to her. The females are needed to be more diligent in their prayers. You could say that the Great Mother''s blessings are the reason behind why ours is a matriarchal society." This was a matter of intent-based magic, the maniption of followers'' emotions for the gods'' own purposes. Eren found the parallel intriguing, drawing him deeper into his own deductions. Silently, Eren followed Ma through the forest, captivated by her exnation. The significance of the female Amazonian rankers as Priestesses, able to harness the Life Mana bestowed by the Great Mother, resonated with Eren. He contemted the simrities with the orc Kba, who had received a divine blessing in the form of a runic tattoo. The memory stirred a sense of caution, reminding him of the consequences of meddling with such divine powers. ''The intent-based magic is at work here. Just like demons, these gods are harnessing their followers'' emotions. The customs set by the gods and demons and their way of harnessing emotions may vary depending upon their allegiance and individualities. However, the fact that all of these gods and Demon Princes need to harness their followers'' emotions to further themselves in their path is the same. Interesting! Very interesting indeed!'' Ma''s revtion about the Mother''s Embrace, the blessing given by the Great Mother, furthered Eren''s understanding. The concept of blessings, whether divine or demonic, was not unfamiliar to him. He had experienced the power and consequences of such blessings firsthand, as evidenced by his Mark of the Seven Sins. "Wait a minute. Eren, do you know about the cmity war and the origins behind the continent-epassing barrier, right?" Ma asked to confirm, just in case she needed to exin these things to him. "Hm? Oh yeah." Eren replied promptly. He thanked Nira Nightshade for providing him with valuable information. Without her, he wouldn''t have been able to connect the dots in his information. Ma''s inquiries about Eren''s knowledge of the cmity war and the origins of the continent-epassing ensured her that she could skip the basics. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into ce for Eren, weaving a tapestry of interconnectedness. As such, he didn''t want Ma to talk about the cmity war eitherC something that he had already learned from Nira Nightshade. As they continued their journey, Ma maintained her steady movement spell, her voice unwavering as she revealed the importance of keeping the Amazonian zones autonomous. The sacredness of the forest zones, blessed by the Great Mother''s intent-based magic, demanded the protection of their faith and the prevention of uninvited intrusions. Eren absorbed the weight of responsibility that the Amazonians carried, entrusted as keepers of the only remaining legal faith in thend of Anfang. Since the Amazonians sided with the Anfang Alliance in the cmity war, they were amodated in the same manner as the denizens from thend of fey. Of course, Anfang Alliance was not okay with the Great Mother''s faith proliferating on thisnd. So it asked them to keep our faith restricted to their autonomous zones. The continent-epassing array did not allow the Amazonians to fully leverage their faith either. The goddess could not interfere in the world of Anfang directly. She could also not harvest the faith energy as efficiently as she wanted to. As a result, the blessings from the Great Mother the Amazonians received were rare and limited in number. Amidst the tranquil forest, Eren''s mind expanded, connecting the dots of knowledge and understanding. He was poised to unravel the intricacies of gods, blessings, and the intery of faith in the tapestry of Anfang''s history. Chapter 1286 The Great Mother P2 ? Eren''sck of surprise at the exception granted to the Amazonians by the Anfang Alliance was rooted in his intuition. If his deductions held true, the alliance must have sought the aid of the Great Mother during the cmity war, a means to rectify the chaos wrought by God Vulcan. Confirming his suspicions with Alephee, Eren understood that the Great Mother and the slumbering goddess within Sienna''s shell were distinct entities. Thus, the Great Mother bore no responsibility for instigating the creation of the continent-epassing barrier. Rather than opposing the Anfang Alliance''s decision to eradicate or iste all faiths from their societal fabric, the Great Mother requested a special dispensation for her followers. She sought their peaceful coexistence within Anfang, away from the original denizens of thend. In response, autonomous zones nestled within the expansive forests of Anfang were designated exclusively for the Amazonians. These zones became off-limits to interference from the established powers of Anfang. In return, the Amazonians were tasked with training ambassadors who would bridge the cultural divide between the two societies. Ma, among the many Amazonian ambassadors, had been chosen to forge connections with the diverse establishments of Anfang. Their crucial role was to maintain open lines ofmunication, ensuring that the demonic rankers would never gain a foothold in Anfang. Ma fell silent after conveying this information, allowing Eren to carefully process her words. Meanwhile, she focused on expertly navigating through the verdant woods, entrusting Almera to continue enlightening Eren. "The Great Mother embodies the essence of femininity, strength, and the intrinsic power of nature," Almera''s voice danced with a touch of reverence as she followed closely behind Eren using her movement spell. "As Amazonians, we perceive ourselves as vessels of her earthly might. We pay homage to her as the divine source of our extraordinary abilities and prowess." Eren absorbed the weight of these revtions, his mind a whirlwind of connections and insights. The intricate web of alliances, gods, and their influences began to take shape, painting a vivid picture of Anfang''splex tapestry. Stepping deeper into the embrace of the forest, Eren resolved to uncover the truths hidden within the whispers of gods and the threads that wove the fate of this world. *** With a nod ofprehension, Eren acknowledged Almera''s words. It was evident that both his guides emphasized the Great Mother''s significance to the Amazonians, likely to prevent any unintentional offense when he found himself amidst their ranks in the first settlement of the Dark Daniera Forest. Unsure if she had effectively conveyed the importance of the Great Mother, Almera cleared her throat and pressed on, determined to ensure Eren grasped the gravity of the goddess''s role. "Guild Master, we hold the Great Mother in deep reverence as the guardian and nurturer of ournds," Almera''s voice carried a sense of solemnity. "We offer our prayers and perform rituals, seeking her blessings to fortify our endeavors and channel her energy through our unique form of intent-based magic. By aligning ourselves with the Great Mother, we strengthen our bond with nature, embracing the belief in a harmonious bnce between the living and the natural world. So keep these things in mind when you interact with the Matriarchs." Concluding her exnation, Almera relinquished the conversation back to Ma, who turned around to gauge Eren''s reaction. To her relief, she received an encouraging smile in return. It seemed that Eren held no qualms about others'' faiths as long as they did not impede his own path. Returning the smile, Ma continued, "And it''s not just in Anfang. Across many realms, the Great Mother is venerated as the epitome of femininity, strength, and the life-giving force that permeates Amazonian society. Even if you haven''t been exposed to faith or the worship of gods, I kindly request that you keep an open mind and respect our customs while you are within the Amazonian zones." Eren nodded, affirming his understanding, and assured both women that he would approach his encounter with the Amazonians with mindfulness and respect. However, beneath the surface, he sought to unravel the societal fabric of Anfang before the cmity war. ''It seems that the Great Mother held a significant position as the leader of a prominent divine cult in thend of Anfang before the cmity war,'' Eren pondered inwardly. Observing Ma take a sharp left turn, he followed closely behind. After hours of tireless trekking through the depths of the Dark Daniera Forest, it appeared that their journey was drawing closer to the first Amazonian settlement. Eren''s curiosity brimmed as he inquired, his voiceced with genuine interest, "Just how vast was the influence of the Amazonians before the cmity war?" Without missing a beat, Ma promptly responded, her words carrying the weight of their history, "Our faith stood as one of the most prominent in thend of Anfang before the catastrophic events triggered by God Vulcan''s grievous error. The Amazonians boasted numerous sacred sites dedicated to the worship of the Great Mother, scattered across the vast expanse of Anfang." Eren''s understanding deepened, recognizing the patterns woven by gods and demons alike their penchant for traversing multiple worlds to disseminate their faith and harvest the potent energy of belief and emotions. Yet, his attention was instantly seized by Almera''s next words. "Unfortunately, due to the restrictions imposed upon us, we cannot freely propagate our faith within the realm of Anfang," Almeramented, her voice tinged with a hint of resignation. She then drew a resolute breath, uplifting her spirits, before continuing in a confident tone, "Nevertheless, the power of the Great Mother resonates within nature itself. As long as these sacred forests endure within the realm of Anfang, the devout Amazonians shall flourish." Eren absorbed their words, contemting the implications. The Amazonians had once wielded considerable influence throughout Anfang, their faith deeply rooted in thend even if it was foreign at first. However, circumstances had drastically changed, and their ability to openly practice their beliefs had been curtailed. "I see," Eren murmured, his mind swirling with thoughts. He marveled at the delicate bnce between gods and mortals, the intery of power and limitations. Their journey continued, and Eren followed Ma''s lead as they found themselves getting close to the first Amazonian settlement in their sight. Chapter 1287 Valerias Settlement ? The southeastern region of the Dark Daniera Forest was about to bathe in the sun''s grace. The dawn break had just arrived on the horizon. Eren, Ma, and Almera stood in awe as they finally arrived at the first Amazonian settlement within the enchanting Dark Daniera Forest. The bustling city-like ce spread before them, vibrant with life and teeming with the nature''s energy of the Amazonians. Ma and Almera took care of the formalities after approaching the settlement. The trio was warmly weed by the Amazonian guards stationed at the city walls after their identities were confirmed. The settlement was encircled by a tall and formidable security wall, an impressive feat of earth-element magic. Crafted from solid rock, it stood as a testament to the strength and ingenuity of its creators. Four giant gates, positioned at the cardinal directions, served as the entrances to this thrivingmunity. Spanning a radius of 10 miles, the settlement was home to approximately 4000 Amazonians, each contributing to the collective tapestry of their society. As Eren''s gaze swept across thendscape, he noticed a harmonious blend ofrge and small constructions, seamlessly intertwined with the natural elements of wood and earth magic. Lush trees and vibrant vegetation were not merely part of the backdrop but intricately woven into the very architecture and societal fabric of the settlement. Magical marvels greeted their eyes at every turn. Various elemental pools and meticulously crafted magic arrays dotted the settlement, enabling its denizens to ess the diverse facilities avable. Among these wonders stood a library nestled within the colossal trunk of a giant tree, its circumference spanning an impressive 300 meters. The library towered above, boasting multiple floors, with the only way to ascend to higher levels being a traditional climb up the tree''s sturdy branches. The settlement exuded a captivating fusion of nature, urban buildings, and magical craftsmanship. Simple yet well-maintained roads traversed the settlement, leading to neat and clean surroundings. Magicalmp posts were strategically ced throughout the settlement, illuminating the pathways and dispelling the perpetual darkness that lingered even in broad daylight. Towering trees, their majestic presence enveloping the settlement, cast deep shadows, making it a ce where sunlight struggled to prate. Yet, this shadowy ambiance only enhanced the mysterious and enchanting atmosphere that pervaded the Amazonian settlement. As Eren, Ma, and Almera ventured deeper into the settlement, they were greeted by the lively buzz of activity. The Amazonians went about their daily routines. The air was filled withughter, whispers of conversations, and the gentle rustling of leaves, creating a symphony of life. In this remarkable blend of nature''s embrace, urban structures, and the artistry of magic, the Amazonian settlement stood as a testament to their profound connection with the Great Mother and their ability to harmoniously coexist with their surroundings. Eren could not help but marvel at the beauty and ingenuity that unfolded before his eyes, a testament to the unique culture and resilience of the Amazonian people. Eren found himself in awe as he explored the first Amazonian settlement alongside Ma and Almera. The bustling atmosphere was filled with the sights and sounds of the Amazonian people going about their daily lives, their unique customs and attire captivating Eren''s attention. As they strolled through the settlement, Eren''s gaze was drawn towards the center where a magnificent sight awaited him. Towering over the bustling streets stood a colossal female statue, an embodiment of power and grace. Its presencemanded attention, standing at an impressive height of 300 meters. Crafted from pristine white marble, the statue showcased the remarkable skill of its creators. Ma, noticing Eren''s gaze fixed on the majestic sculpture, smiled and confirmed his thoughts. "That, Eren, is the statue of the Great Mother," she said softly. The statue depicted a woman in her prime, her voluminous hair cascading down below her waist. She possessed a well-endowed figure, adorned in a simple leather blouse and a flowing miniskirt. Her gentle hands caressed her belly, which exhibited a slight pregnancy bump, evoking a sense of motherly affection. The statue''s countenance exuded care and gentleness, mirroring the qualities associated with the Great Mother herself. Its wless features and mesmerizing face radiated beauty and divinity, capturing the devotion and reverence of the Amazonian people. The divine aura surrounding the statue was palpable, a testament to the abundant faith energy it had amassed from the settlement''s members. Aware of Eren''s intrigue, Ma and Almera guided him closer to the statue as they continued their exploration on foot. Eren couldn''t help but be captivated by the Amazonians around him. The attire of the residents varied, with some d in various forms of leather and lightweight armor, while others opted for wrap-around fabrics and animal skins. The male rankers fearlessly disyed their exposed torsos, wearing only a fabric barely covering their groin. Meanwhile, some female rankers wore skin-hugging leather blouses and pants or animal-skin skirts. Eren noticed that for some female rankers, it was considered normal to have their breasts exposed, a disy of their well-epted partial nudist culture within the Amazonian society. Eren couldn''t help but feel intrigued by this open eptance and the confidence exuded by the Amazonian women. As they passed by, he found himself stealing nces, admiring their natural beauty and the assets they proudly showcased. With smiles on their faces, the Amazonian women reciprocated his gaze, theirfort with their bodies evident. Eren returned their smiles warmly, appreciating the sense of freedom and self-eptance prevalent in this unique society. He also controlled his urges so that he doesn''t have to walk around with a boner in his pants. Amidst the vibrant activity of the settlement, Eren observed Amazonian rankers preparing for various tasks. Some were venturing outside the settlement, their purpose clear: to hunt or gather essential resources from the abundant Dark Daniera Forest. Aware of the dangers that lurked within, the Amazonians organized themselves intobatant and nobatant teams. The nonbatant teams focused solely on resource gathering, while thebatant teams ensured their safety, protecting them from potential threats. Some rankers were busy creating weapons, artifacts, and other ranking resources openly. Some others were practicing their ranking techniques in groups inside a specially built array circle. ''Hmm. They don''t have good weapons.'' The weapon seller in Eren thought to himself as he explored the settlement with Ma and Almera as his guide. A knowing smile hung on his lips as started seeing profits wherever he looked. Chapter 1288 Hampered Indvidualities ? Everywhere he looked, Eren witnessed the Amazonians diligently engaged in their respective tasks, each person contributing to themunity''s well-being. Unlike guild-based organizations, the settlement''s administration took on the responsibility of assigning missions and tasks to its members, ensuring an efficient distribution ofbor and resources. ''Damn. No wonder Ma is so well-endowed. She is blessed by her roots.'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at curvaceous female Amazonians all around him. He wouldn''t have minded staying in the Amazonian settlements for a week or two if he wasn''t so pressed for time. As they continued their journey, Eren couldn''t help but acknowledge the never-seen-before vividness of the Amazonian society. The fusion of nature, culture, and practicality was evident in every aspect of the settlement. The vibrant surroundings, the harmony between the people and their environment, and the strong sense of unity among the Amazonians left an indelible impression on one''s mind. It was a captivating world that he was privileged to explore, filled with wonders and a unique way of life he was eager to understand and embrace. As Eren ventured deeper into the first Amazonian settlement alongside Almera and Ma, he couldn''t help but feel a palpable energy enveloping the air. It was a distinct mana, one that resonated with a foreign origin, seeping into every corner of the settlement. Eren recognized it as Nature Mana, a potent force harnessed by the Amazonians in their practice of intent-based magic. The environment, saturated with this nurturing Nature Mana, seemed to foster and support the growth of the Amazonians in their ranking journeys. Eren observed that the Amazonians progressed at an astonishing ratepared to regr rankers, evidenced by the abundance of Adept and Expert ranked level individuals within the settlement. This was a phenomenon rarely seen in thend of Anfang, where high-ranking entities tended to keep their distance from the normal popce, except for a few select locations like the capital city Edin. The Amazonian rankers clearly had some edge over the regr rankers of Anfang when it came to nurturing the high-ranking entities. The realization struck Eren that the Amazonians enjoyed a higher concentration of powerful beings among their ranks. It was apparent that their proximity to the Great Mother and the abundant Nature Mana facilitated their expedited journey toward high ranks. However, as Eren delved deeper into his observations, he noticed something peculiar. Despite their varying elemental affinities and Aspects, the Individualities of the Amazonian rankers seemed remarkably simr for the most part, almost as if their ranking paths converged towards a shared destination. Puzzled by this discovery, Eren relied on his soul sense to track the mana signatures of the Amazonian rankers around him. It was then that Alephee, staying inside her Pendent Abode, reached out to him, exining his confusion. In his mind, Alephee rified the situation. ''Of course, their mana signatures would be simr, Eren,'' Alephee''s voice echoed in Eren''s thoughts. ''The Amazonians worship the Great Mother, and in return, she guides them in the path of intent-based magic, shaping their ranking journeys irrespective of whether they have received her blessing or not. This allows the Amazonians to progress rapidly, but ites at a cost. Their Individualities bepromised.'' Eren''s surprise was evident as he absorbed Alephee''s words. ''So, you mean these Amazonian rankers will never fully blossom in terms of their Individualities?'' he questioned, seeking further understanding. Alephee''s response was swift and unwavering. ''Indeed. You shouldn''t be surprised by this, Eren. This is the trade-off of being a follower of gods or demons. While investing faith in these beings grants numerous perks, it also hinders the development of one''s individuality. Once immersed in these matters, the damage to their individualities bes irreparable.'' Eren contemted the consequences of such devotion, realizing the weight carried by the Amazonians in their pursuit of power. It was aplex bnce between reaping the benefits of divine blessings and sacrificing the full potential of their unique selves. The Amazonians had chosen their path, aware of the sacrifices involved, as their faith in the Great Mother propelled them forward on their ranking journeys. At first, as Eren walked alongside Ma and Almera, he couldn''t shake off the initial interest that had sparked within himthe desire to receive the Great Mother''s blessing and acquire a corresponding runic tattoo. His mind swirled with ns as he contemted approaching the Matriarchs he was scheduled to meet, offering them enticing deals in exchange for arranging the granting of the Great Mother''s blessings. After all, divine magic, like demon magic, held an allure for him. The prospect of an instant power boost was too tempting to resist. There was another aspect of Eren''s curiosity that drove himthe desire topare his Sin Series Marks with the divine mark known as Mother''s Embrace. He yearned to witness firsthand how the powers of Mother''s Embrace would fare against his own Sin Series abilities. However, Eren soon abandoned the idea when Alephee revealed that embracing the divine marks would inevitably hinder his Individuality. The allure of the divine Abilities, much like their demonic counterparts, came at a price. They kept the rankers under the influence of the divine beings they worshiped, affecting their individualities in the process. Eren possessed the unique Elder Ichor bloodline, rendering him nearly immune to the side effects of his demonic abilities. He assumed the same immunity would not apply to a divine power like Mother''s Embrace. Additionally, the butcher couldn''t dismiss the possibility of ipatibility between the demonic and divine abilities when they are wielded by the same person. These considerations led Eren to ultimately abandon the idea of receiving Mother''s Embrace. By this point, Ma and Almera had reunited with numerous friends and acquaintances as they made their way towards the towering statue of the Great Mother. Eren followed quietly behind, offering smiles and greetings when necessary, effortlessly engaging with Ma and Almera''s friends. Grimdawn couldn''t resist the charm of the alluring Amazonian women, and with his natural confidence and unbridled spirit, he effortlessly flirted with them. His words and radiant smile drew them in, and Eren basked in the attention, receiving yful nces and waves from the female Amazonians he interacted with. Chapter 1289 Callista Blackthorn ? "Hm? If it isn''t Ma and Almera from the Ungrds!" Just as Eren, Ma, and Almera were about to cross the small bridge spanning a crystal-clear stream, a voice called out from behind them, interrupting their journey. Their curiosity piqued, and the trio turned around simultaneously, their gazes falling upon the unexpected speaker. Amidst the bustling Amazonian settlement, a remarkable female Amazonian ranker emerged, instantly capturing the attention of Eren and hispanions. She exuded an aura of power and confidence, her presence demanding recognition and respect. Her appearance was a striking blend of strength and grace, leaving an indelible impression on those who beheld her. Tall and statuesque, she possessed flowing locks of whitish-gray hair that cascaded down to her waist. Her countenance was a perfect juxtaposition of beauty and determination, with a touch of sternness that hinted at her formidable nature. Her eyes, a mesmerizing shade of sparkling gray, held both wisdom and an underlying intensity. Dressed in an ensemble that harmonized her warrior spirit and feminine grace, she epitomized the essence of an Amazonian warrior. Her attire showcased meticulous craftsmanship,bining practicality with ornate detailing that reflected the rich Amazonian culture and their reverence for the Great Mother. The armor she wore, skillfully crafted from enchanted leather, entuated her lithe form while providing both protection and mobility. Adorned with ancient symbols, the armor seemed to resonate with the Amazonian heritage, honoring their profound connection to nature. Its dark hues seamlessly blended with the shadows of the forest, allowing her to move undetected when necessary. Her torso was encased in a sturdy breastte adorned with intricate carvings of entwining vines and majestic creatures, symbolizing the Amazonians'' profound bond with the natural world. The pauldrons gracefully draped over her shoulders, their delicate leaf-like edges serving as a subtle reminder of her allegiance to the forest. Enchanting gauntlets, a blend of metal and enchanted wood shielded her arms. Etched with ancient glyphs, they bore the marks of countless battles, testifying to her expertise inbat. Her hands were sheathed in fingerless gloves, affording her both dexterity and a firm grip on her weapons. A flowing skirt, crafted fromyers of silk and lightweight leather, cascaded down from her waist in earthy tones reminiscent of the forest''s vibrant foliage. With each step, the skirt swayed and danced, lending an ethereal grace to her movements. Her ensemble waspleted by sturdy boots, meticulously fashioned from supple leather. Offering a perfect bnce of protection and agility, they featured intricatecing and engraved patterns that mirrored the exquisite designs found throughout her armor. To emphasize her status as a Valiant Priestess, she adorned herself with ornamental essories. A medallion, bearing the sacred sigil of the Great Mother, rested against her chest, its delicate chain embracing her with divine protection. Gleaming bracelets graced her wrists, adorned with shimmering gemstones that caught the light with every gesture. Nestled within her hair, she wore a crown-like circlet embellished with feathers and glistening gemstones, signifying her spiritual connection with the Great Mother. With each step she took, the female Amazonian rankermanded attention, embodying the resilience, beauty, and unwavering faith of her people. Her attire, a testament to her dedication and skill, conveyed an unmistakable message of strength, reminding all who beheld her of the indomitable spirit that defined the Amazonian tribe. ''Ungrds? What does that mean?'' Curiosity tinged Eren''s voice as he turned to Almera, his doubt evident, and inquired about the unfamiliar term. The gray-haired woman, with a warm smile adorning her face, drew nearer, prompting Eren to seek rification. Almera, ever ready to provide answers, responded promptly, enlightening him on the meaning of Ungrds. "It signifies thends untouched by the benevolent blessings of the Great Mother," Almera exined, her words carrying a hint of solemnity. "The Amazonians call regions outside their autonomous zones Ungrds. Those hailing from such areas are known as Ungrders, or sometimes referred to simply as impious." Eren absorbed Almera''s exnation,prehension dawning upon him. He couldn''t help but draw a parallel between the concept of Ungrds and the notion of outsiders in the eyes of those whopletely belong to Anfang. Just as the Bands harbored monstrous beings alien to those from Anfang, the Amazonians viewed outsiders through a simr lens. With a wry internal smile, Eren reflected on the fact that, at least, they hadn''tbeled them as uncultured monsters outright. As the Amazonian beauty drew closer, Eren mulled over the intricate dynamics between different territories and their respective perceptions. It was a reminder of theplexities thaty beneath the surface, revealing the nuances of cultural distinctions and their impact on interactions. The gray-haired woman stood before the trio, her presencemanding attention. Ma and Almera exchanged knowing nces, recognizing the intentions of the figure before them. They both concluded that this gray-haired woman wanted to duel with Eren. But this was something Eren couldn''t avoid entirely. With a simple nod, the twodies acknowledged her, acknowledging their familiarity. The gray-haired woman''s gaze shifted to Eren, curiosity flickering in her eyes, eager to learn more about the neer. Taking the initiative, Ma turned towards Eren, preparing to introduce him to the woman. However, before she could speak, Eren gently ced his hands on Ma''s shoulders and stepped forward, assuming the role of introducer. He met Callista''s gaze with a warm smile, making a connection before uttering his own introduction. "Nice to meet you, Valiant Callista," Eren spoke with confidence, his voice carrying a hint of elegance. "I''m Eren Elijah Idril. I''m here at the invitation of Matriarch Valeria." Eren''s self-assured manner impressed Callista, causing a subtle shift in her perception of him. She appreciated the fact that Eren addressed her as a Valiant rather than a mere Expert ranker, despite his origins in the Ungrds. It signaled his willingness to immerse himself in the Amazonian culture. Nodding in acknowledgment, Callista responded in a weing tone. "You are wee here, Eren Idril," Callista''s voice exuded warmth, apanied by a yful undertone. "Word of your kingdom''s bona fide title has already reached our ears since its bestowal upon you." Her runic tattoos glowed faintly as her aura expanded, creating a palpable pressure in the air. Callista''s eyes glimmered with a hint of a challenge as she continued, her voice tinged with a battle-seeking edge. "However," she paused, her gaze piercing into Eren''s, "here, we do not recognize your title as the Grimdawn. These seemingly imposing titles are just something merely bestowed upon Ungrders by their own kind. Hehe. I hear you have deep pockets. Have you truly earned that title, or did you simply purchase it for yourself?" Chapter 1290 Great Mothers Sacred Ground ? "Have you truly earned that title, or did you simply purchase it for yourself?" Callista''s voice resonated with a yful yet intimidating tone, revealing her awareness of the Ungrders who would exploit their wealth to attain their desires. The weight of her words insinuated that she suspected Eren of utilizing simr tactics, considering his reputation for affluence within the kingdom of Edinburgh. Ma and Almera, ever loyal to their Guild Master, were prepared to step in and defend Eren against Callista''s insinuations. However, Eren swiftly raised his hand, signaling for them to remain silent. He was determined to handle this encounter on his own terms. Eren''s chuckle echoed through the charged air, a response to Callista''s unspoken challenge. He keenly sensed her hunger for a duel, her desire to test his mettle. Casting a quick nce at hispanions, Eren found sce in the knowledge that Ma and Almera stood unaffected by Callista''s formidable aura. It became evident to him that Callista possessed an exceptional level of control over her powers, surpassing the average Expert ranker at the pinnacle of the initial stage. With narrowed eyes, Eren focused his gaze on Callista, a palpable determination emanating from him. Engaging his soul sense, he unleashed his own power, countering the effects of Callista''s formidable aura. His unwavering resolve refused to yield to the pressure, even as he detected a faint hint of divine might intertwined within her aura. The stage was set, and an unspoken challenge hung in the air, an exchange of silent but potent shes between Eren and Callista, their respective powers manifesting in a realm beyond mere words. Callista''s mind raced with astonishment as she experienced Eren''s soul sense for the first time. The sheer force of his presence sent shivers down her spine, causing her blood to surge with newfound trepidation. It was as if her very consciousness was being drawn into an ethereal realm, a world beyond herprehension. The intensity of his aura overwhelmed her, making her feel as though she stood in the epicenter of a brewing tempest, surrounded by a multitude of unseen threats. The sensation was akin to being trapped within a maelstrom of a thousand daggers, their sharp points converging upon her from all directions. It felt as though she had been cast into the depths of a strange, otherworldly fire, its blue mes sapping her body heat and leaving her trembling in its ethereal grasp. Callista couldn''t help but gulp, her eyes fixed upon Eren''s unwavering gaze. She was clearly overwhelmed by the sheer power he exuded, a power that disregarded her divine protection as he continued to expose her to his vast Individuality. Eren, with his relentless soul sense, uncovered the truth behind Callista''s divine blessing C it not only shielded her physical form but also safeguarded her very soul. Despite the onught of his soul sense, her consciousness remainedrgely unaffected. The realization left Eren and Callista on the precipice of drawing their weapons, ready to engage in a battle that seemed imminent. However, before the sh could ensue, amanding voice infused with authoritative mana resonated from the other side of the bridge where the towering statue of the Great Mother stood. The voice belonged to none other than Valeria Vanlor, the matriarch of this settlement. Valeria Valnor''s authority was not limited to her settlement alone, which was named after her. She was someone with considerable influence across therge part of Darn Daniera Forest spanning multiple Amazonian settlements. Her words carried a serene yet domineering tone, addressing Callista and Eren in turn, urging them to cease their initial confrontation. "Calli, enough of your war games with our esteemed guest right from the start," Valeria''s voicemanded, gently reprimanding Callista''s impulsive behavior. Then, her attention turned to Eren. "Lad Eren, please disregard this yful kitten''s actions for now. Come forth. We await your presence. Once our discussion is concluded, you can indulge in your desired battle with Calli." Valeria''s intervention was a relief to Callista, who secretly thanked the matriarch for halting what could have been a disastrous oue. She couldn''t deny that Eren''s overpowering soul sense had caught her off guard, even with the divine protection she possessed. The sheer weight and strain on her soul were almost unbearable, and she feared losing control over her bodily functions due to the immense pressure. Valeria''s intervention prevented any further embarrassment, allowing Callista topose herself. Callista''s excitement, however, remained unabated. She eagerly anticipated the prospect of a battle against someone of Eren''s caliber, now that she had a glimpse of his true potential as a ranker. "Alright, Eren!" she eximed with fervor, her voice brimming with anticipation. "Let us engage in a duel that will sate our hearts'' desires once your business with the Matriarchs is concluded. But for now, follow me." With a confident gesture, Callista beckoned Eren and the rest to join her, leading the way across the bridge. Ma and Almera exchanged wry smiles, well aware of the spark of duel that had ignited between Eren and Callista. Eren, carefree as ever, shrugged his shoulders before leisurely following Callista''s lead, unaffected by the weighty tension that had momentarily engulfed them. Callista led Eren and hispanions to a vast open space, epassed by a series of pirs adorned with intricate Amazonian runes. The spacey at the very base of the Great Mother''s towering statue, a testament to the reverence and devotion of the settlement''s inhabitants. Stretching across half a mile in radius, the open space emanated a sense of sanctity and divine energy, heightened by the imposing shadow cast by the Great Mother''s magnificent form. The pirs stood uniformly, their height reaching a precise 10 feet, forming a perfect circle that encircled the open space. Each pir seemed meticulously ced, exuding an aura of purpose and symbolism. Their intricate designs, etched with the ancient Amazonian runes, held an air of mystique, hinting at the profound significance they held within themunity. Beneath the onlookers'' watchful gaze, the ground beneath their feet boasted a stunning arrangement of seamless white tiles. The tiles, meticulously ced side by side, created a mesmerizing pattern that extended across the entire expanse of the open space. Their pristine surface gleamed in the soft illumination that bathed the area, an ethereal glow brought forth by the dense divine energy permeating the sacred ground. ''This is sacred ground!'' Eren''s keen senses discerned the profound significance of this space. Memories of his past experiences in simr locations flooded his mind. His recollections veered toward a somber incident when he found himself responsible for the brutal killing of a high-ranking priest in aparable setting. Someone named Har Jahar. Chapter 1291 Valeria Vanlor ? Eren''s keen senses discerned the profound significance of this space. It was an arena of sacredness, a ce hallowed by the Great Mother herself and carefully crafted by the devoted inhabitants of the settlement. This realization stirred memories within Eren''s mind, reminding him of his previous encounters with sacred grounds protected by divine blessings. He recalled a past incident in the Oni dungeon, where he had been deemed a sphemer for ying the Oni King and spilling his blood upon the sacred ground of the monstrous beings. That day, his hands had been stained with the blood of devout followers of a particr divine entity. As he stepped upon this new sacred ground, Eren couldn''t help but silently hope that history would not repeat itself. Aware of the consequences that bloodshed could bring, he recognized the importance of maintaining a peaceful encounter, particrly in a space of such divine significance. After all, he didn''t want to drive away a potential client. With a deep breath, Eren steadied himself, his focus shifting to the uing discussion that awaited him in this hallowed space. He understood that within these sacred confines, business would be conducted, alliances formed, and the fate of their interaction determined. The weight of self-imposed responsibility settled upon him, urging him to proceed with caution and respect, mindful of the sanctity that surrounded them all. As Eren followed closely behind Callista, his mind was filled with a single thought: ''As long as I don''t end up killing anyone here, this meeting will be a sess.'' One could say that the butcher was very confident in his oratory skills as long as things didn''t escte to violence. With his gaze fixed ahead, his attention was immediately drawn to a figure standing at the base of the Great Mother''s statue. Instantly, he recognized her as Valeria Vanlor, the head of this Amazonian settlement. Valeria appeared to be in her mid-40s by mortal standards, possessing a timeless beauty that defied her age. Her skin, smooth and supple, held a light peach hue that bore the gentle kiss of the sun. Despite having exceeded a century in age long ago, herplexion still retained the youthful glow of a child. Eren''s eyes traveled further, taking in the small and cute nose that adorned her face and the luscious light red lips that spoke of both elegance and allure. But it was her voluminous ginger hair, cascading down her pretty face like a fiery waterfall, that truly captivated him. Her mesmerizing brown eyes, full of depth and wisdom, held an aura of authority that emanated from within. Adorning her neck was a golden ne that gracefully covered her neckline, hinting at her status and influence. A ck animal skin, crafted from the hide of an A-Ranked mana beast, draped over her back like a regal cape. Her choice of attire included a revealing brown top that entuated her prominent breast size, paired with a solo shoulder guard adorning her left side. Her slim waist and shapely posterior showcased her feminine allure. Completing her ensemble were brown leather arm bracers, offering a touch of practicality and protection. Her lower body donned brown-colored cargo pants, allowing for ease of movement, and dark green leg guards that hinted at readiness for action. In her grip, she held a runic halberd, its long handle almost matching her own stature, a weapon befitting her formidable presence. As Eren''s gaze locked with Valeria''s, he couldn''t help but be struck by her stunningness. ''Beautiful,'' he involuntarily whispered in his mind. Comparing her to Callista, whom he already found impressive, he couldn''t deny that Valeria surpassed her in all aspects of beauty. The Matriarch Priestess Valeria Vanlor possessed a mature charm that demanded attention. Valeria''s countenance exuded a gentle expression, and her bodynguage conveyed warmth and approachability. It was easy to see that she wasfortable in her own skin and carried an air of friendliness. Yet, beneath this pleasant exterior, the undeniable mana signatures she emitted revealed her status as a Grandmaster, a force to be reckoned with. Eren couldn''t help but acknowledge the unique charms of the Matriarch Priestess before him. Valeria Vanlor, with her undeniable grace and mature vibes, possessed an irresistible maism that couldn''t be ignored. Of course, the fact that she had a Grandmaster ranked caliber also had something to do with it. Power, in nearly any form, was attractive to almost everyone. This attraction transcended geological region, race, culture, and any other type of differentiator known to living beings. Eren''s observant eyes scanned the scene, taking in the presence of not only Valeria Vanlor but several other Matriarch Priestesses gathered in the vicinity. The realization dawned upon him that Valeria had gone above and beyond, summoning the Matriarchs from at least three other settlements scattered throughout the expansive Dark Daniera Forest who were keen on meeting Eren. Their purpose was clearto facilitate business connections between Eren''s Guild and all the Amazonian settlements in one fell swoop. A hint of disappointment flickered within Eren as heprehended the extent of this strategic arrangement. Although he understood the practicality of consolidating business opportunities, a part of him yearned to explore the diversity and splendor of other Amazonian settlements. The thought of encountering the unique beauties dwelling within those uncharted territories piqued his curiosity. However, a subsequent realization tempered his initial disappointmentthese settlementscked the convenience of teleportation arrays. Therefore, reaching them would require arduous journeys on foot. The realization offered sce, as it meant that Eren''s current arrangement had spared him from treading unfamiliar paths and enduring long and tiring travels. Another revtion struck Eren with astonishmentthe close proximity of numerous Grandmaster rankers among the Amazonians. The sheer concentration of high-ranking individuals within the Amazonian society was remarkable. It became evident why the Anfang Alliance disyed remarkable leniency when it came to dealings with the followers of the Great Mother. The abundance of influential and powerful entities ensured that the Amazonians held a position of strength andmanded a certain level of respect in the Alliance. With these insights and a renewed sense of appreciation for his current circumstances, Eren prepared himself for the discussions and negotiations thaty ahead. The presence of multiple Matriarchs and the influential status they held within the Amazonian society only served to emphasize the importance and potential benefits of forging alliances with these formidable women. asionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1292 Seraphina, Evelina, And Isadora ? As Eren approached the four Grandmaster-ranked entities, an air of peculiar interest surrounded them. Callista led the way, walking with purpose in front of Eren, while Ma and Almera positioned themselves on either side, forming a protective escort around him. Taking on the role of guides, Ma and Almera began providing Eren with insights into the identities of the three Matriarchs apanying Valeria. Eager to acquaint Eren with their fellow leaders, they exined each Matriarch''s name and nature. To Valeria''s right stood Seraphina Riversong, a Matriarch Priestess who looked to be in herte 20s. Her silky smooth brte hair cascaded down her face, reaching the length of her breasts. Her deep ck eyes and well-defined lips added a touch of allure to her moderate brown skin tone. The glimmering gold ne adorned with an attractive pendant, featuring a light blue gem,plemented her appearance. Dressed in light armor with shoulder guards and arm bracers, Seraphina exuded both grace and strength. Her knee-length skirtpleted her attire, entuating her youthful presence among the gathered Matriarchs. Positioned to Valeria''s left was Evelina Green, an enchanting beauty with shoulder-length wavy green hair that bounced with every step. Her fuller red lips and rosy skin tone emanated vibrant energy, while her blue eyes sparkled with intelligence and intrigue. The delicate pendant earrings she wore, pulsating with mana, marked them as treasured Amazonian artifacts. d in a green top and dark green pants, Evelina''s attire highlighted her feminine curves, including a prominent bust left unshielded by armor. Her round posterior and shapely legs exuded both allure and strength. By mortal standards, Evelina appeared to be in her early 30s, and her lively presence resonated with the abundant forces of nature. Standing next to Evelina was Isadora Frostborne, a woman exuding an air of stoicism and a chilling aura. Her waist-length silver hair effortlessly bounced off the surrounding light, entuating her slim figure and tall stature. With a graceful presence, Isadora possessed an ample bust and smooth, supple white skin, which beautifully contrasted against her peach-colored lips and gray eyes. Her attractive face radiated an alluring elegance. Draped in a flowing, graceful blue dress and adorned with arm bracers, Isadoramanded attention. Eren couldn''t help but wonder how much more captivating Isadora would appear if a smile graced her features. Isadora''s hourss figure emphasized both her beauty and her inherent danger. The four Matriarch Priestesses stood in a line, facing Eren as he positioned himself before them, standing his ground with confidence. Ma, Almera, and Callista paused a few meters away, bowing respectfully to the Matriarchs before stepping aside. They remained on the sidelines, observing silently, as Eren took center stage, prepared to conduct his business with these revered Grandmaster entities. The weight of the moment hung in the air, and the collective attention of the onlookers intensified, eagerly awaiting the oue of their interaction. As Eren stood before the four Matriarchs, his voice carried with it a genuine sense of respect and admiration. With a smile gracing his face, he addressed them one by one, his wordsced with sincerity. He gracefully bowed, his right hand forming a V-sign with his index and middle fingers pressed against his chest, a customary greeting in Amazonian tradition. "It''s nice to finally meet you," Eren said, his voice filled with warmth. "May the blessings of the Great Mother always be upon us." Eren straightened himself up, standing tall andposed. It was evident that he had done his homework on the Amazonian culture, meticulously remembering everything that was taught to him by Almera and Ma, even on such short notice. The genuine and polite manner in which Eren greeted the Matriarchs instantly improved their perception of him, except for Isadora, who disyed a softened gaze instead of a smilequite an aplishment in the eyes of the Amazonians. "I like this boy," Evelina Green remarked, turning to Valeria. "No wonder Ma spoke so highly of him." Seraphina, wearing an inviting smile, chimed in, "Indeed, he has a charm about him." The atmosphere became more rxed and amicable, as the Matriarchs appreciated Eren''s respectful demeanor. Valeria took a step forward, acknowledging Eren''s greeting with a nod. Her voice carried a hint of care that she usually reserved for her trusted juniors. "Blessings of the Great Mother be upon us, Eren. I know you are a very busy man, so thank you foring here on such short notice." Eren replied with sincerity, his words reflecting his fascination with the Amazonian way of life. "The pleasure is all mine, Matriarch Valeria. I am truly captivated by the Amazonian lifestyle, so well attuned with naturesimple and profound at the same time. I only wish I had ample time to explore the settlement and interact with the people for a week or two. I''m certain I would have enjoyed my time here." Seraphina and Evelina chuckled, appreciating Eren''s genuine interest. Evelina yfully extended an invitation, saying, "You are wee to visit my settlement anytime in the future, Eren. I can assure you a warm wee." Not wanting to be left out, Seraphina joined in, extending her own invitation. "And I''ll invite you to my settlement too, Eren. Though we may not be as numerous, we have a lively group of people, and I''m sure you''ll get along just fine." Amidst the camaraderie, Isadora''s serious tone cut through, offering her own invitation solemnly and confidently. "Eren, if you wish to meet capable Amazonians of your generation, visit my settlement in the future. My teams always emerge victorious in the annual war games." Seraphina couldn''t resist responding with a sigh, highlighting the value of more than just winning. "Winning war games isn''t everything, Isa. I wish you could understand that." Evelina chimed in yfully, lightly touching Isadora''s shoulder. "Haha, there''s no changing Isadora. Eren, trust me, you don''t want to be in her camp during our war games. She''ll work you to death." Isadora registered her protest with a light "hmph!" but chose not to engage further. As the conversation continued, the auras of the three Grandmaster-ranked Matriarchs involuntarily leaked, creating a suppressive air around them. Valeria, dealing with the differing moods and dynamics among the Matriarchs, bore the stress on her forehead. Acting as the senior among them, she raised her hand to halt the idle banter. "Enough of your idle talks,dies," Valeria asserted with authority. "We have serious business to discuss with our guest, Eren. It''s time to fulfill our roles as heads of our respective settlements." With Valeria''s authoritative voicemanding attention, the atmosphere finally quieted, allowing the focus to shift back to the important matters at hand. Chapter 1293 A Lion Talking About Deer Welfare ? The air grew heavy as Valeria presented her demand to Eren, her voice carrying a serious tone. "We need your potions, Eren," she stated firmly. "Specifically, we require the top-tier quality potions that the White Raven Guild is known for producing." Eren couldn''t help but feel a sense of surprise at the Matriarch''s request. He had anticipated the Amazonians would approach him for weapons through illicit channels, but potion selling was his legitimate business. The Amazonians had easy ess to his potions, as they were readily avable in various regions of Edinburgh. Regardless of which autonomous zone the Amazonians belonged to, they could have easily obtained his potions without directly contacting him. Valeria, perceptive to Eren''s thoughts through his facial expressions, took a deep breath before continuing. "However, we also require you to create a few potions exclusively for the Amazonians. These potions cannot be obtained through open channels, and we prefer to keep them discreet, away from the knowledge of the Kingdom of Edinburgh." It was at this moment that Eren realized the true reason behind the Matriarch''s invitation to visit the Amazonian autonomous zone. It was a means to prevent the Kingdom of Edinburgh from obtaining intelligence about the Amazonians'' activities. The gravity of the situation dawned upon Eren, and his expression turned grim. It seemed that the Amazonians were preparing to participate in the war in some manner without involving the Anfang Alliance. Though Eren didn''t mind conducting business with the Amazonians, he knew he had to disy some reluctance to negotiate the best deal possible. Eren caressed his jawline with his right hand, his gaze shifting among all the Matriarchs before he spoke in a helpless tone. "That''s certainly an intriguing business proposition, esteemed Matriarchs. However, I must be honest with you. My guild''s potion department is not well-equipped to handle custom concoctions. Therefore, you''ll have to excuse me..." Anticipating Eren''s resistance, Valeria interjected, providing answers to address his concerns. She cut him off, expanding on her previous statement. "Don''t worry, Eren. Once we reach a formal agreement and establish some rules, we will provide you with the respective recipes. We''ll also send a few of our skilled potioners to your city to guide you in the manufacturing process. Your task will be to produce our potions in bulk ording to our specifications." Valeria''s words provided some reassurance to Eren, as she understood his need for expertise in crafting unfamiliar potions. By facilitating the manufacturing process in the initial phases, she ensured that Eren wouldn''t bear the sole responsibility for potential manufacturing mistakes. Eren opened his mouth to respond but hesitated, seemingly contemting the matter at hand. Evelina, wearing a yful expression, spoke up with a touch of dramatic weariness. "I hope you can ept our request, Eren. We had initially considered contacting House Slughorn for our needs, but as it turns out, they have beenpletely uprooted from Edinburgh. So, we had no choice but to seek you out. You see, you created quite a mess by destroying House Slughorn, and it''s only fair that you take responsibility for your actions, don''t you think?" The weight of Evelina''s words hung in the air, awaiting Eren''s response as the gravity of the situation settled upon him. Eren''s mind raced as he contemted the true motives behind the Amazonians'' contact with him. He realized that the destruction of House Slughorn wasn''t the sole reason for their approach. They were aware of his connections to Rodrick, and they were betting on the fact that those connections would enable them to receive their bulk order of potions without the intervention of the Kingdom of Edinburgh. Evelina''s smiling expressions confirmed Eren''s suspicions. A chuckle escaped Eren''s lips before he responded to Valeria. "Matriarch Valeria, I am certainly willing to engage in business with you as long as it benefits me. However, if I were to go along with your proposal, I would be putting my guild in the crosshairs of Edinburgh. What if you suddenly develop an interest in supporting the war campaign of the kingdom of Layos? Why should I risk that at this crucial juncture when my guild is in the process of establishing itself anew? And believe it or not, I do care about the safety and well-being of the citizens of Edinburgh. It would be a disservice to them if I were to strengthen you, only to have you potentially harm them by siding with Layos." Before anyone could respond, Eren heard Alephee''sughter echoing in his head. ''Hehe. Eren, you speaking about the safety and security of Edinburgh''s citizens is akin to a lion talking about the welfare of deer.'' It seemed that the homunculus was still keeping tabs through her connection with Eren despite getting separated from him. Eren brushed off Alephee''s unsolicitedment and fixed his gaze upon the Matriarchs, his eyes devoid of fear. Indirectly, he conveyed to them that he needed to bepensated adequately for the risks involved. It was also clear to the Matriarchs that Eren would take responsibility for producing the potions, but he would not be held ountable for what happened to them once they were made and sold. This was in case the Anfang Alliance decided to investigate the matter. Valeria found no w in Eren''s logic. She nodded in understanding before providing him with another assurance. "Rest assured, we have no intention of involving ourselves with the kingdom of Layos or its war. Also, you can produce our consignments anonymously, and we do not mind if the White Raven Guild denies any involvement in producing the potions for us." Valeria proceeded to provide Eren with basic information about the types and quantities of potions she required. She also expressed her interest in Eren''s signature potion batch, RDX. Eren was taken aback by the sheer quantity Valeria was asking him to produce, but a subtle smile formed on his face. He appreciated Valeria''s direct and straightforward approach. However, her words piqued his curiosity, and he furrowed his brows as he asked. "That''s rather peculiar. If the Amazonians do not intend to participate in the war between the two kingdoms, why is your order so substantial that you cannot keep the potions as a mere backup? May I inquire as to where these potions will be used and who your opponent is?" Eren looked at the Matriarchs cuiously, eager to hear their answers. Chapter 1294 Delicate Balance Of Power ? Valeria pondered Eren''s question for a moment before deciding to provide him with an answer. "I understand that you might not be aware of this, Eren, but there are border skirmishes taking ce between the Asikha Empire and three neighboring kingdoms adjacent to its borders. These kingdoms are smaller andck the means to defend themselves against the aggression of the Asikha Empire. They do not possess the strength of Edinburgh or Layos, nor do they have top-tier academies that can produce a steady supply of young fighters. Moreover, you are well aware of the military might possessed by the Asikha Empire. The Asipha empire wants to exploit these border disputes as an opportunity to attack and take control of these smaller kingdoms." Eren was taken aback by the news he received from Valeria. His intelligence team had been preupied with Edinburgh''s internal affairs, and this new development caught him off guard. "So the war between the two kingdoms is just the beginning. The mes of war are already spreading outward," Eren mumbled to himself as he processed Valeria''s words. The situation was moreplex than he had initially assumed. "Certainly," Seraphina interjected, affirming Eren''s statement. "The three smaller kingdoms we mentioned have numerous autonomous zones under Amazonian control. We have no interest in participating in the war between the Ungrders, but we know that the Asikha Empire will use special wartime rules to encroach upon those autonomous zones that belong to us Amazonians." Evelina chimed in, picking up where Seraphina had left off. "These rulese into effect when the victor of the war seeds in annexing a certain region from its previous ruler''s control. These rules have been agreed upon by the Anfang Alliance as well, which means that we would be unable to hold the Asikha Empire responsible for annexing major parts of these kingdoms, potentially including our autonomous zones. These regions are rich in ranking resources, so it''s no surprise that the Asikha Empire wants to stir up trouble with its neighbors in order to im thesends for itself. So the best way to avoid the annexation is to help the three kingdoms retain theirnds. Of course, the Amazonians will only help these three kingdoms from shadows." Valeria nodded at Evelina and spoke further, "Simply put, we will refrain from showing open support to these three kingdoms. And as long as we do that, the Alliance wouldn''t be able to take any actions against us. It''s their rules. We''ll just find our own loopholes out of them." The gravity of the situation hung heavy in the air as Eren processed the information. The brewing conflicts and the Asikha Empire''s expansionist ambitions presented a newyer ofplexity to the already tumultuousndscape. Eren realized that his decisions would not only impact his guild but also the delicate bnce of power in thend of Anfang. He knew he needed to weigh his options carefully beforemitting to any course of action. As Eren processed the new information provided by Matriarch Valeria, there was a lingering feeling of something amiss. He had begun to grasp the guidelines imposed by the Anfang Alliance, understanding that initiating a war was no easy task for any prominent establishment under the alliance''s watchful control. This was especially true for established powers like Edinburgh, Layos, and the Asikha Empire. They required a strong reason or a history of disputes to justify their involvement in wars with other parties. However, from what Eren knew, there had been no documented history of border disputes between the Asikha Empire and its three neighboring kingdoms. "I feel like I''m missing something here," Eren voiced his thoughts, addressing Matriarch Valeria. "What caused the Asikha Empire to engage in a border dispute with all three neighboring kingdoms simultaneously?" He was eager to learn the background and trigger of this dispute that had set the wheels of war in motion. Valeria chuckled lightly before responding, her voiceced with a hint of amusement. "It was the instigation from half-bloods that sparked the conflict. They acted as guards in these three kingdoms andunched an attack on the rankers of the Asikha Empire. The skirmish resulted in the deaths of approximately 200 rankers, including 17 Adept rankers, 8 Expert rankers, and 2 Master rankers." Eren''s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this revtion. It became evident that Sirius had not been exaggerating when he had warned Eren about the war between Edinburgh and Layos being just the beginning. The half-bloods had a vested interest in fueling the mes of war, hoping to ignite a massive wildfire that would engulf the entire Anfang. Focusing his attention on the four Matriarchs, Eren posed another query that had been nagging at him. "The instigation from the half-bloods couldn''t remain hidden for the most part. What did the Asikha Empire do next?" Seraphina, with a graceful gesture, tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and offered her response. "Asikha Empire swiftlyunched an investigation into the attack. We belive it became clear to the empire that the half-bloods were responsible. Still, it seized the death of its rankers as a pretext to invade the three neighboring kingdoms. The motive behind this was rather straightforward: the empire had long coveted the resource-richnds found within these three kingdoms that are under our control. Asikha Empire is opportunistic when ites to such matters. Currently, their army is amassing at the borders they share with their neighbors." Eren nodded in understanding as Seraphina finished speaking. The pieces were gradually falling into ce, and he was beginning to grasp the delicate bnce of power that had prevailed in thend of Anfang for a considerable time. It became apparent to him that something or someone, likely him with his covert and overt actions, had disrupted the equilibrium, leading to the current chain of events. A brief moment of silence enveloped the sacred space as the weight of the situation settled upon them. Isadore, sighing softly, shrugged her shoulders before speaking up. "A full-fledged war has not erupted among these forces yet, and it may still take some time for the situation to deescte further. There''s a chance that the Anfang Alliance might intervene to protect the three kingdoms from potential ruin. However, as Amazonians, we prefer to be prepared for the war in our own way." Chapter 1295 Forming Strong Business Ties With The Amazonians ? The gravity of the impending conflict hung in the air, and Eren realized that the decisions he made would y a crucial role in shaping the future of Anfang. The delicate bnce of power teetered, and it was up to him and his allies to navigate these treacherous waters with caution and foresight. In the heart of Anfang, the Amazonians stood united, bound by a profound sense of camaraderie and shared purpose. It didn''t matter which autonomous zones or settlements they hailed from; theirmitment to aiding one another remained unwavering. This strong sense of unity extended to the Amazonian settlements in Edinburgh, who were already preparing to lend a helping hand to their fellow Amazonians residing in the three kingdoms entangled in the border disputes with the Asikha Empire. It was a testament to their collective spirit, a testament to their unwavering support for each other. Eren, observing this disy of solidarity, began toprehend the intricate dynamics at y. He realized that the half-bloods, while serving as catalysts, had merely brought to light the underlying friction that already existed within these organizations. The Amazonians were not about to stand idly by while their kin faced the encroachment of the Asikha Empire. They were ready to step up and defend their territories, even if it meant rubbing the Anfang Alliance in the wrong way. Assured that the Amazonians would refrain from involving themselves in the war between Edinburgh and Layos, Eren swiftly agreed to lend his assistance. The discussions shifted focus towards the practical aspects of the trade, as Eren delved into understanding the specific needs and requirements of the four Matriarchs. With each detail firmly imprinted in his mind, he took mental notes, recognizing the challenges thaty ahead. One of the challenges that surfaced during the negotiations was the Amazonians'' limited liquid wealth, as they predominantly operated on a barter system within their settlements. While they possessed their own currency, the means to convert it into Extols, the primary currency of Anfang among rankers, werecking. Eren, ever resourceful, proposed a solution: a partial payment in ranking resources. Special resource appraisal teams would be established on both sides, facilitating a fair trade that catered to the needs of both parties involved. Engrossed in their discussions, Eren and the four Matriarchs meticulously explored every minute detail of the trade, leaving no stone unturned. Even the typically aloof and detached Isadora actively participated, recognizing the significance of her settlement''s involvement in this venture. Hours stretched into the night as they forged ahead, dissectingplexities and strategizing the path forward. Eventually, after thorough deliberation, Eren and the four Matriarchs reached a formal agreement, sealing theirmitment to this partnership. As a gesture of trust, Valeria shared a selection of exclusive potion-making recipes with Eren. These recipes were deeply rooted in the utilization of nature energy, harnessing the raw power of the natural world. Alongside the recipes, intricate array designs were provided, enabling Eren to summon and channel nature energy effectively, a valuable asset in the Amazonian potion manufacturing process. With the trade agreement in ce and the transfer of knowledge and resources imminent, a new chapter unfolded for both the White Raven Guild and the Amazonians of Anfang. The shared vision of unity and mutual benefit bound them together, paving the way for a unique alliance that would perhaps shape the destiny of Anfang and its embattled kingdoms. Eren stood in awe, his surprise evident as he realized the true extent of the Amazonians'' expertise in potion making. Previously, he had regarded them as primitive tribes, devout followers of their goddess, the Great Mother. Yet, it turned out that the Amazonians were not only on par with, but perhaps even surpassing, the potioners from outside their settlements. This revtion left Eren astonished and eager to delve deeper into their knowledge. Curiosity piqued, Eren couldn''t help but inquire about the origins of the Amazonians'' vast repertoire of potent potion recipes. The response he received from the four Matriarchs only deepened his amazement. They revealed that the early Amazonian settlers in thend of Anfang originated from a world called Labh Salem. In this world, two formidable forces, witches and Amazonians, constantly shed, vying for control over the world''s resources. Both forces operated under matriarchal structures and engaged in a fiercepetition to master the art of potion making. The witches of Labh Salem were renowned for their expertise in concoctions, prompting the Amazonians to strive to match and surpass their rivals. Through this ongoing rivalry, the Amazonians of Anfang had inherited a wealth of prominent potion recipes from their ancestors. Reflecting on his decision to heed Ma''s suggestion and visit the Amazonian settlements, Eren felt a surge of relief. While the trip had initially been motivated by business prospects, it had unexpectedly expanded his knowledge of other worlds. He marveled at the realization that pre-cmity Anfang had been a melting pot of diverse groups from different realms. The sheer diversity and vibrancy of that era fascinated him, leaving him to ponder what the world of Anfang would have been like had it not faced the upheaval caused by God Vulcan and the Titan attack, driven by the pursuit of God Sparks. On the other hand, impressed by Eren''s words, demeanor, and business acumen, the four Matriarchs found themselves easily swayed by his proposition. His amicable and professional attitude had effortlessly forged strong business contracts between the White Raven Guild and the Amazonian settlements. These contracts ensured a steady supply of potions to the Amazonians, with consignments delivered on a monthly or quarterly basis, contingent upon timely payment. This mutually beneficial arrangement was designed tost for years, regardless of the oue of the impending war between the Asikha Empire and the three kingdoms. Adaptability was key, with the quantity and quality of the potion batches adjusted as per the changing needs of the time. The Amazonians, recognizing the value of the White Raven Guild''s offerings, ced substantial bulk orders for RDX potions, alongside top-tier healing and debuff potions. Eren, satisfied with the terms of the deal, knew he would be handsomelypensated for his covert and overt dealings with the Amazonians. The reduced risk factor for both parties and the establishment of logistical processes for consistent potion batches brought a sense of security to the arrangement. Chapter 1296 Pushing For An Arms Deal ? Eren''s satisfaction was further enhanced by the understanding that a portion of his payment would consist of rare high-ranking resources. Over time, he had gathered a considerable number of high-ranking entities under the White Raven Guild''s umbre. The acquisition of such resources was no easy feat, even with substantial funds at one''s disposal. However, with the deal struck with the Amazonians, Eren knew that his needs, as well as those of the rankers under his control, would be somewhat adequately addressed. As the meeting drew to a close, Eren felt a renewed sense of purpose and aplishment. The alliance between the White Raven Guild and the Amazonians had been forged, promising a prosperous future for both parties involved. The intricate threads of trade, trust, and mutual benefit had woven a tapestry of opportunities and growth. "This concludes our business with you, Eren," Valeria said with a smile, her voiceced in satisfaction. "I''m happy that we reached an agreement and looking forward to a consistent cooperation between us for years toe." Evelina also gave an approving smile at Eren before speaking up "hehe. Our business may have been concluded. But we will not let you go without giving us a chance to show our hospitality. Why don''t you" Evelina was about toplete her sentence when she saw Eren pursing his lips and raising his hands. "Not so fast, Matriarch Evelina," Eren said before fixing his gaze on Valeria. "Matriarch Valeria, are you sure the potions are the only products you want from my guild? We have a lot to offer to you apart from that." The atmosphere in the room shifted as Eren boldly questioned the Matriarchs'' decision to solely rely on potion supplies from the White Raven Guild. Valeria''s smile faded slightly, reced by a furrowed brow as she processed Eren''s words. The confusion on Evelina and Seraphina''s faces was evident as they exchanged nces, trying toprehend the meaning behind Eren''s statement. "What do you mean, Eren? If you want to provide us with hired help from your guild, then we''d have to decline" Before Evelina could finish her sentence, Eren swiftly intervened, raising his hands and pursing his lips, indicating that he had more to say. His gaze shifted from Evelina to Valeria, his eyes determined as he addressed the Matriarch directly. The pro-business smile returned to his face, a subtle hint of anticipation gleaming in his eyes. Valeria leaned forward, curious yet cautious. She questioned Eren, seeking rification on his intentions. Her inquisitive voice filled the room, searching for the meaning behind his cryptic statement. "No, Matriarch Valeria," Eren spoke, his voice firm and resolute. "I would never offer hired help from my guild for border disputes against the Asikha Empire. That would be a reckless decision for my guild. That''s not what I meant by offering more than just potions." Eren''s eyes sharpened, his voice taking on a deeper tone as he continued, his words filled with conviction. The gravity of his statement hung in the air, capturing the attention of the Matriarchs. His gaze swept across the room, his words resonating with a mix of concern and urgency. "Let me be frank with you, Matriarch Valeria," Eren stated. "During my journey here, I observed the artifacts used by the average Amazonian rankers in your settlement. No offense, but your artifacts are outdated for the current times. Theyck the necessary edge topete with rankers from outside the settlements, particrly in terms of offensive capabilities. You should know that we also have various arms deals with different organizations. So I know you understand where I''m going with this." Eren''s words painted a grim picture, highlighting the potential consequences of relying on outdated weaponry in battle. The severity of the situation weighed heavily in the room as the Matriarchs absorbed the implications of his words. Recognizing the importance of the topic, they silently agreed to discuss it privately. Eren maintained hisposure, patient andposed, disying no signs of haste. He understood the delicate nature of the topic and allowed the Matriarchs to reach their own conclusions, knowing the gravity of the decision they were about to make. It had to be noted that Eren deliberately avoided mentioning the involvement of the half-blood ns and concealed the identities of his clientele who had signed arms deals with him. Although there was no direct conflict of interest between the Amazonians and the half-bloods, Eren preferred to keep the two sides separate, ensuring a smooth and focused approach to his dealings. In the room, a brief pause hung in the air as the Matriarchs exchanged nces, their expressions serious and contemtive. Eren''s proposition had initiated a shift in their perspective, forcing them to reconsider their reliance solely on potions. Valeria remained silent for a while after listening to Eren''s new proposal, her expression thoughtful and contemtive. The proposition of an arms deal put forth by Eren intrigued her, but she remained unconvinced of his credibility in the field of mass weapon production. As the Matriarch, she held the responsibility of ensuring the safety and well-being of her people, and she couldn''t afford to make hasty decisions regarding their defense. The Amazonian settlement was well aware that their current arsenal of weapons was outdated and in dire need of an immediate upgrade. Valeria and the other Matriarchs had already begun considering equipping their best fighters with top-tier offensive and defensive artifacts. They understood the importance of up-to-date weaponry in order to stand a chance against external threats. However, doubts lingered in Valeria''s mind regarding Eren''s ability to fulfill their weapon requirements. She was not aware of Eren''s presence in the field because most of his previous weapons deals had been conducted under the table, in ndestine ck markets and through shady channels. Eren''s reputation in the weapon manufacturing business was yet to be established, especially whenpared to renowned names like House Derringer, with whom the White Raven Guild had an alliance. Eren and House Derringer were in alliance. However, Valeria pondered over the fact that if someone desired a direct deal with House Derringer, they would most likely approach them directly, bypassing Eren altogether. Why would they involve a middleman when they could strike a deal with a prominent weapon manufacturer themselves? It was a valid question that raised concerns about Eren''s capacity to deliver on their specific weapon requirements. Chapter 1297 Non-Exclusive Contract ? Considering the importance of the matter at hand, Valeria began to explore other options in her head. She contemted the possibility of seeking out other prominent ns and organizations in the weapon manufacturing business. House Lancelot, a pioneering organization in artifact manufacturing, crossed her mind as a potential alternative as well. Known for their expertise and innovation, they were considered a prime choice for those seeking top-quality weapons. Valeria knew that any decision regarding the acquisition of weapons for her people required careful consideration and evaluation. She would not rush into an arms deal without ensuring that the supplier could meet their needs efficiently and reliably. As the discussion with Eren concluded, she resolved to explore all avable avenues and gather more information before making a final decision. Valeria was determined to secure the best weapons for her people, ensuring their safety and bolstering their chances in the face of any potential conflicts or threats. After all, there were turbulent times ahead. Their resources needed to be used wisely. "I''m sorry Eren, but I don''t think we should" Valeria''s words hung in the air, ready to decline Eren''s offer, but he swiftly interjected, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Please, allow me to rify my previous words, Matriarch Valeria," Eren insisted, straightening himself and running his fingers through his hair, a subtle gesture ofposure. He spoke in a careful tone, determined to convey his message effectively. "I don''t mean to propose an exclusive arms deal, Matriarch Valeria," Eren exined, meeting her narrowed gaze with unwavering confidence. "To be frank, what I specialize in is producing and upgrading weapons in bulk quantities." He nodded, acknowledging her doubt before confirming her assumption. "That''s right. You are free to explore other alternatives when ites to equipping your best fighters with top-tier artifacts. However, I am offering an arms deal that can equip your masses with quality artifacts, ensuring exceptional results for the price you pay. These products would be best-in-ss." As Eren spoke, Isadora, who had been patiently listening, finally showed signs of interest. She looked at Eren with a discerning gaze and asked in a cold voice, "How much of a price difference are we talking about, Eren?" Her curiosity had been piqued, and Eren was ready to seize the opportunity. A smile tugged at the corners of Eren''s lips as he responded promptly, aware of the weight his answer held. "Conservatively speaking, if you were to purchase the same kind of artifacts from other organizations outside your autonomous zones, you would have to pay double the price. Yet, my products would still yieldparable results for the most part. However, if you choose to finalize the arms deal with me now, I will offer you an additional 10 percent discount. This discount will be valid for the entirety of our contract if and when you sign it." Eren bowed respectfully before the four Matriarchs, his voice filled with careful consideration. "I apologize for presenting this offer with a sense of urgency, but I must inform you that it doese with an expiration date. Given the high demand for arms deals, as I am currently pursuing agreements with numerous other organizations, there wille a point where our manufacturing quota will be reached, and I won''t be able to cater to your needs." The four Matriarchs exchanged nces, the weight of their decision evident in their expressions. Eren had put them in a challenging position with his deadline. They had initially nned to conduct market research before finalizing an arms deal with Eren or any other party. However, the temptation of a 10 percent discount lingered, hinting at the significant impact it could have on a long-term agreement. The room fell into contemtive silence as the Matriarchs weighed their options, knowing that this decision would have far-reaching consequences for their settlements. Eren surveyed the doubtful faces of the four Matriarchs, determined to find an alternative way to convince them. His gaze shifted behind him,nding on Callista, who patiently waited for him to conclude his meeting. A yful smile curved his lips as he turned back to the leaders, his eyes shining with confidence. "Seeing is believing, my deardies," Eren began, his voice brimming with conviction. "Allow me to dispel your doubts with a demonstration of my bulk weapons. I propose a duel between Callista and myself. She would make the perfect opponent to showcase the capabilities of my artifacts." Eren''s words carried a hint of excitement, a daring challenge to prove his ims. Callista, unfazed by the realization that she was being used to further Eren''s agenda, spoke up in agreement. "Hehe, I''m all for it, Matriarch Valeria. I''ll take on this guy and see if his artifacts truly live up to his boasts. Rest assured, I won''t go easy on him," she dered, her right fist meeting her left palm with a resounding smack. Her voice resonated with eagerness and urgency, eagerly anticipating the forting battle. She had been caught off guard by Eren''s brief interaction, allowing him to gain an advantage through his soul sense alone. However, during his conversation with the Matriarchs, Callista fortified her soul using an exclusive Amazonian technique. She believed she had adequately prepared herself to counter Eren''s advantage, confident in her ability to match his prowess. Valeria saw no reason to refuse Eren''s proposal for a live demonstration of his bulk weapons. Observing the duel unfold would provide invaluable insight to aid the Matriarchs in their decision-making process. She nodded at Eren, her expression serious and determined. "Very well, Eren. A duel it shall be. Callista will bring out the true potential of your bulk weapons," she dered, her gaze shifting towards Callista, silently acknowledging her role in the forting disy. Evelina chimed in, her tone a mixture of yfulness and warning. "I''m also on board with this demonstration, Eren. But remember, you must refrain from using your regr weapons. If you''re pitching the bulk weapons deal, we want to see you exclusively wielding them," she cautioned, ensuring that Eren''s showcase aligned with their specific interests. With the agreement set and expectations defined, the atmosphere crackled with anticipation. The uing duel promised to reveal the true capabilities of Eren''s bulk weapons, providing the four Matriarchs with the final piece of the puzzle they needed to solidify their decision. Chapter 1298 Nameless Blades ? Eren''s confidence in his highly attractive mass weapon prices left the Matriarchs intrigued yet wary. The surprisingly affordable rates raised concerns among the leaders, leading them to doubt if these weapons wouldpromise on offensive or defensive capabilities. Understanding their reservations, Eren proposed a demonstration to dispel their doubts. The tension between him and Callista filled the sacred space as they prepared for their duel. The four Matriarchs, along with Ma and Almera, observed the potential sh in silence from the sidelines, anticipating the oue. With a mischievous smile, Callista issued a warning to Eren. "This sacred ground holds the power of the Great Mother, granting me an advantage with Nature mana. While it may not be fair, I will wield that advantage against you. Are you fine with this, Eren? Or do you want us to change the venue?" Eren met her gaze, a curious glint in his eyes. He chuckled, casually shrugging his shoulders. "It''s fine. Our duel serves to gauge the quality of the weapons I can provide to the Amazonians. Your advantage will only serve to highlight their potential." Locking eyes with Callista, Eren''s voice turned yful. "In fact, I encourage you to stack all your advantages together, Callista. A longer fight is more enjoyable. It wouldn''t be fun if I defeated you in mere minutes." As he spoke, Eren summoned a previously unused weapona nameless dagger adorned with lightning-element engravings on its hilt and de. Honoring the Matriarchs'' request for weapons meant for bulk production, Eren brandished this rtively ordinary weapon. The dagger, specifically referred to as the Jambiya dagger, possessed a small de length with a slight curve, its hilt ck, and the de sporting a copper hue. Vibrant lightning runes adorned its surface, emitting a mesmerizing purple and red glowan unmistakable testament to Eren''s multi-Aspect lightning mana. Eren held the nameless weapons in his hands, their ordinary appearance belying the intricate runic engravings that hinted at their true potential. The Jambiya dagger boasted a curved de designed for precise shing strikes, enhanced by a central ridge for added strength. Runic symbols adorned the de, empowering it with exceptional sturdiness, as well as shing and piercing capabilities. These engravings offered the wielder the ability to enhance the damage potential of their attacks, granting them an edge they had been missing. But there was more. In Eren''s left hand appeared another weaponthe Khanjar dagger. Its silver de and dark silver hilt shimmered, adorned with minute runic detailing attuned to Eren''s fire-element mana. This dagger possessed the ability to augment Eren''s fire-based attacks, synergizing perfectly with his Dagger Arts. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Eren effortlessly wielded the nameless weapons, his Dagger Arts executed with precision. The daggers sliced through the air, their audible shes apanied by the crackling of purple and red lightning arcs, signifying Eren''s potent Expert-ranked mana. The orange and azure mes enveloped him, creating a paradoxical fusion of scorching heat and icy chilla spectacle that captivated all who witnessed it. While Eren appeared calm and collected, his aura exuded a fierce intensity as he familiarized himself with the virgin daggers that were yet to taste the blood of their wielder''s opponents. It was evident that his mastery of closebat went beyond mereposure. As Eren''s daggers danced around him at hismand, Callista found herself once again taken aback by his prowess. For a moment, she forgot to do anything and looked at Eren with fascination reflecting in her eyes. Through her connection with nature, she sensed that his Dagger Arts were merely scratching the surface of his true abilities. There was an underlying sense of darkness and lethal prowess concealed within his every move. "This young man... I never knew he possessed suchmand over his spiritual force. He has infused his intentions into these seemingly ordinary weapons, almost transforming them into spirit weapons," remarked Valeria, her gaze fixed upon Eren. She couldn''t deny that Eren was the first Expert-ranked outsider who wielded his Soul Sense with such proficiency. It served as a testament to the fact that even Eren''s mass-produced weapons could harness the spiritual force of their wielders, if only for a fleeting moment. "Hehe, he''s quite the show-off," Evelinamented, her eyes fixed on Eren''s masterful execution of Dagger Arts. The art itself was simple and straightforward, but it was Eren''s skill and mastery that imbued it with profound depth. Ma interjected, a tinge of nostalgia in her voice. "Well... I taught him the Dagger Arts when he was nothing more than a Novice. However, it has evolved into something entirely unique after he injected his Individuality into it." Ma felt a mix of joy and concern for Eren''s progress. Witnessing her former student surpassing her capabilities stirred a sense of self-doubt about her own growth as a ranker. For the first time, she regretted the days spent indulging in her vices, particrly her fondness for binge drinking. "No more drinking on the weekdays," Ma resolved, clenching her fists as she gazed upon Eren with a mixture of envy and determination. A primal hunger to catch up with him ignited within her. The four Matriarchs looked at Adepr-ranked Ma, their eyes filled with surprise as her words sank in. They had almost forgotten that Ma was Eren''s professor back in LA. The realization struck them that the young gun about to engage in battle with Callista had risen to Expert rank through sheer effort and determination. Blitz. Swoosh. Stop. A sudden halt in Eren''s Dagger Arts brought the flurry of his elemental manifestations to an abrupt end. His intense presence dissipated, leaving behind a facade of harmlessness. It was aplete transformation as if Eren had shed his formidable aura, reverting to the demeanor of an ordinary ranker. The warm-up sessionsted a mere half-minute, all the time Eren required to limate himself to the nameless des. He shed a smile at his opponent, his eyes meeting Callista''s as he remarked, "Thank you for waiting, Valiant Priestess Callista. I suppose it''s only fair that I return the favor. Keke." Eren''s chuckle snapped Callista back to reality, dispelling Eren''s captivating battle presence that had momentarily enthralled her. His words served as a reminder that she, too, needed to prepare for the impending duel. Chapter 1299 Ranker Vs Evoker P1 ? In the way of dual wielding, Callista had chosen a shield and spear as her weapons. The sound shield boasted a formidable radius of approximately one meter, its face adorned with intricate rune engravings that marked it as a product of Amazonian craftsmanship. Her spear, equally exceptional in its design, seemed to hunger for the taste of blood with every strike. Callista understood the dangerous nature of Eren''s closebat expertise. Allowing him to approach within striking range would spell dire consequences, even with her sturdy armor. Thebination of spear and shield provided her with the means to counter his specialization. The shield bolstered her defense, while the spear allowed her to strike at Eren without allowing him to get too close. With a surge of battle presence, Callista permeated the air with a peculiar form of mana. Little time was required for her to prepare, as she was already well acquainted with her artifacts. Eren found himself looking at Callista with a wary gaze as if she were an entirely foreign existence. Her presence felt peculiar, as though he were about to engage in a duel not with a fellow ranker, but with something altogether different. ''Is she a summoner? No... something feels off. A mage, perhaps? No... not quite. What ss is she in? A druid?'' Eren''s mind raced as he tried to decipher Callista''s enigmatic mana signatures that blossomed on the battlefield. He found himself unable to pinpoint her ss, and in fact, doubted whether she was a ranker at all or something entirely unique. Callista, perceptive of Eren''s confusion, chuckled before providing him with an exnation. "Hehe, I can see you''re taken aback, Eren. It''s only natural," she remarked, relishing in his surprise. "Some of us Amazonians don''t adhere strictly to Anfang''s ranking methods. Some of us are not merely rankers, but Evokers. I, myself, am what is known as an Elemental Shaman." As Callista''s words sank in, a metaphorical bomb exploded in Eren''s mind. Alephee had already informed him of the existence of worlds that followed different paths to power, deviating from the ss-based progression of rankers. Even she, despite her homunculus body being attuned to the ranker''s path, imed not to be a ranker. Eren was aware of these alternative paths, but encountering Callista in person was a shocking revtion nheless. It became clear to Eren why the Amazonians held steadfast to their rejection of Anfang''s customs. While some ambassadors like Ma and Almera were groomed to follow the ranker''s path, integrating with the world beyond their autonomous zones, a significant portion of the Amazonian poption walked apletely different path. They clung to their roots and embraced the path of the Evokers. Valeria, sensing the need to quell Eren''s swirling thoughts, took a deep breath beforeing forward to address him. For the demonstration of the weapons, Eren needed to fight with a clear mind. So she had to quell his queries first. "Eren, the ranker''s path is inherently restrictive," Valeria began, capturing Eren''s attention with her teacher-like tone. "It molds its most devoted followers into rigid molds we call sses. While having a ss bestows certain advantages, such as amplifying specific spells rted to your ss and elemental affinity, it alsoes with a significant drawbacka limitation you should already be aware of." The duel between Callista and Eren momentarily paused as Valeria endeavored to dispel Eren''s mounting queries, which threatened to overwhelm him. Eren was about to voice his questions when Valeria anticipated his need and continued her exnation. "Anfang''s traditional path to power renders rankers highly inefficient when ites to casting spells outside their ss or elemental affinity," she borated. "As you progress further along the ranker''s path, you be finely tuned to cast only a select set of spells, forfeiting the ability to cast spells beyond your designated domain of expertise." Eren nodded earnestly at Valeria and the other Matriarchs, silently urging them to continue their enlightening exnation. It was Seraphina who took up the mantle this time, her voice carrying a sense of authority and wisdom. "This is why the Amazonian Evokers, unlike the rankers of Anfang, tap into the ambient mana present in their surroundings to cast their spells," Seraphina elucidated. "Through incantations, enchanted artifacts, and various other means, they manipte the output of their spells to suit their specific needs." Eren''s mind harkened back to the different schools of spells within Anfang, where rankers could cast their incantations in slightly altered ways. Now, however, he realized that those variations were mere imitations of the paths to power possessed by the otherworlders. "Evokers refrain from tampering with the natural flow of mana circuits," Seraphina continued, her voice carrying the weight of knowledge. "They do not refine their mana circuits with each rank-up to progress further along their path. Instead, they utilize the mana stored within their mana cores as the driving force behind their spells. This approach results in significantly reduced mana consumptionpared to the average ranker of Anfang. It also makes Evokers'' spells more potent and groundbreaking in nature." Thoughts of Ramy Richard and his spellcasting methods surfaced in Eren''s mind. Ramy was adept at utilizing the surrounding mana through incantations. However, he had a knight ss and still followed the ranker''s path. Keeping his gaze fixed on Callista, Eren directed his question to the Matriarchs, seeking to deepen his understanding. "What sets an Evoker apart from a ranker who pursues a school of spells involving incantations?" Eren''s voice was filled with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. Evelina stepped forward metaphorically, ready to provide the answer to Eren''s query. Her words were delivered with serene confidence. "Put simply, Evokers excel in modifying their incantations in specific ways over time, something that rankers, for the most part, cannot achieve," Evelina exined. "The spell executiong that rankers experience when practicing a spell school influenced by the Evokers'' path is nonexistent for true Evokers. They possess the ability topress their incantations to a single syble, for instance, without the aid of additional artifacts or spells. This natural progression urs as they advance along their unique path. It is one of the key distinctions between Evokers and rankers who merely mimic our ways while remaining on Anfang''s traditional path to power." Chapter 1300 Ranker Vs Evoker P2 ? ''This this is interesting!'' The butcher thought to himself. As he keenly observed Callista, absorbing both her presence and the Matriarchs'' exnations, Eren felt the puzzle pieces of being an Evoker falling into ce. His narrowed eyes focused intently on his duel partner as he voiced his next question. "From what I gather from Callista''s mana signatures, are Evokers not bound by elemental affinities?" Valeria nodded approvingly at Eren''s observation before responding promptly. "Indeed, Eren. Elemental affinity holds little significance for those who do not belong to a specific ss. As long as certain conditions are met, Evokers can cast spells of any element with near-equal proficiency. Rankers, on the other hand, are restricted by their ss and elemental affinities. They find it exceedingly difficult to alter their ss. The higher they climb the ranks, the more challenging it bes to change their path." Valeria sighed before speaking up. "Rankers are shackled by their ss and affinities. These shackles only tighten further as they advance their ranking journeys. If not for this inherent limitation, the ranker''s path may have been considered superior to that of the Evokers." A self-assured smile yed across Eren''s face as he absorbed Valeria''s words, weighing them in his mind. Unlike conventional rankers, he wasn''t bound by the limitations of his ss or elemental affinities. In fact, he possessed the remarkable ability to fine-tune his spells like a true master of the arcane. Having unlocked six distinct sses for himself, Eren reveled in the vast possibilities granted by his multifaceted elemental affinities. These sses offered him an almost limitless array of approaches tobat. While he was currently restricted to utilizing his sses alternately within Anfang, he knew that once he ventured beyond his homeworld, his multi-ss capabilities would set him apart from the rest. Grateful for the Matriarchs'' guidance in rifying his doubts, Eren tightened his grip on his weapons, a subtle yet mischievous smile ying on his lips as he locked eyes with Callista. His tone dripped with challenge as he addressed her. "Callista, I''m counting on you to show me the true prowess of an Evoker. Don''t disappoint me." Unfazed by Eren''s provocation, Callista chuckled, adjusting her stance in preparation for the imminent sh. No further words were necessary. The intensity of their gaze conveyed their unspoken agreement as they simultaneously unleashed their spells. Sedated Perception. Stunning Speed. Blitz Steps. Blitz Wave. Igni Wave. Eren began with his go-to time element spells, showcasing his proficiency in close-quartersbat. Since he opted not to use his default weapons, he relied on basic spellcasting that synergized with his meleebat expertise. As for the newly acquired spells, Blitz Wave and Igni Wave, Eren had imbued his elemental mana into his chosen weapons. The Jambiya dagger pulsated with a dense aura of purple lightning mana, while the Khanjar dagger seemed to have emerged from the depths of moltenva, enveloped in fiery mana. Expert-ranked mana surged through them, causing a vibration that produced a distinctive sound akin to a bird''s melodious chirping. Valeria and the other Matriarchs fixed their gaze upon Eren, captivated by his disy. They couldn''t help but acknowledge that even without the Great Mother''s blessings, Eren could be regarded as the epitome of excellence within their settlements. In a blur of motion, Eren''s figure dissolved, vanishing from his initial position in the blink of an eye. Before Callista could fullyprehend what was happening, Eren closed the distance between them. nk! The resounding sh of metal against metal reverberated through the air as Eren''s des collided with Callista''s shield. To her surprise, not only did she manage to block his attack, but she swiftly countered with a spear thrust of her own. However, before her strike could find its mark, Eren vanished, leaving Callista momentarily bewildered. Yet, in a split second, her experience as an Evoker, honed battle instincts, and divine blessing granted her the foresight to anticipate Eren''s astonishingly nimble movements. In a matter of seconds, a flurry of exchanges transpired between Eren and Callista. The sh of their weapons produced a symphony of harmonious sounds, reminiscent of an intricate musicalposition. Sparks flew as Eren''s des met Callista''s shield and spear de, illuminating the battlefield with fleeting bursts of light. Bothbatants released their auras, their battle presences colliding with an almost tangible force. Despite the supposed advantage of the sacred ground, which served as their battleground, Callista struggled to gain a definitive edge over Eren. Growing apprehensive, Callista realized that Eren remained firmly in his element, despite not wielding his favored weapons. She sensed an underlying confidence in him, evident by the smile that graced his face whenever their eyes met during their intense sh. By this point, Eren''s Expert-ranked mana would have started to affect the surroundings if not for the sanctified ground reinforced by divine power. Ma and Almera watched the duel with a mixture of awe and trepidation, barely able to keep pace with the lightning-fast exchange unfolding before them. A resounding nk echoed through the battlefield as Eren''s des shed against Callista''s shield, their confrontation escting to new heights. The air crackled with anticipation as their spells intermingled in a dazzling disy of power. Amid their intense exchange, a sudden shift urred. Eren''s piercing gaze transformed, his eyes turning a chilling shade of white. With impable timing, he unleashed his Sedating Gaze Ability on Callista, seizing a critical moment of vulnerability. In a fluid motion, Eren spun on his heel, channeling lightning and fire through his legs. Thebined elemental energies enveloped his limbs as he delivered a round kick imbued with raw force, aimed squarely at Callista''s shield. The impact reverberated with a thunderous boom, propelling her into the air. Despite fortifying her soul through various means, Callista couldn''t hide the w in her defense when confronted with Eren''s perfectly timed Ability. Helpless against the sheer might of his mana-infused strike, she wasunched skyward, momentarily suspended in midair. Rather than pressing his advantage, Eren chose not to follow up with an immediate attack. He allowed Callista to descend safely, her body gracefully finding its footing on the ground once more. A smile yed across Eren''s lips as he began to stride confidently toward the projectednding spot of the Evoker, his voiceced with determination. "The warm-up is over, Callista. It''s time to take things a bit more seriously, don''t you think?" Callista didn''t reply with words. Instead, she smiled back at him and decided to use her divine blessing. === AN: VEH crosses another milestone with the 1300th chapter. Thanks and cheers! ;) Chapter 1301 Ranker Vs Evoker P3 ? The battle between Eren and Callista took an unexpected turn as thetter unleashed her hidden arsenal of spells. The once familiar and void-of-anything battlefield transformed before Eren''s eyes, morphing into a lush greenndscape as potent Nature mana surged through the surroundings. The very essence of nature seemed toe alive, as monstrous nt lifeforms materialized in every direction. These creatures possessed bodies made of twisted vines, gnarled tree trunks, and an assortment of vegetation. Their monstrous headscked eyes but sported menacing noses and sharp, jagged teeth that gleamed a vivid shade of green. Giant vines snaked through the air, moving with a mind of their own, slithering like serpents as they sought to ensnare Eren within their grasp. The creatures were adorned with thorns and other natural defenses, making them a formidable force to reckon with. To Eren''s surprise, Callista''smand over her spells exhibited a remarkable range and variation. As an Evoker empowered by the elemental forces of Shamanism, she possessed a freedom that rankers did not. With proficiency rivaling that of traditional Summoners, she summoned these monstrous nt lifeforms to aid her in the battle against Eren. Recognizing the danger of engaging Eren in closebat for an extended period, Callista strategically relied on her nt monsters to maintain a safe distance. Eren''s mastery of his weapons made him a formidable opponent, capable of breaching defenses with ease given enough time. Hence, Callista''s decision to employ her summoned creatures as a protective barrier proved wise. Though Eren attempted to close the distance between them using various means, he found himself constantly impeded by the abundance of nt monsters on the battlefield. However, Callista was not content to remain on the defensive. She countered Eren''s advances with a barrage of elemental spells, utilizing fire, water, and wind element spells to assail him. Additionally, she hindered his movements with earth-element spells, employing earth-elemental creatures resembling gigantic moles with unnaturally sharp, monstrous teeth. Their sturdy exoskeletons rendered them resilient against Eren''s weapon attacks. Eren skillfully dispatched some of the nt and earth-type monsters,unching precise strikes at opportune moments. However, Callista promptly reced the fallen creatures with newly summoned pawns, ensuring a continuous onught against Eren''s progress. Despite achieving his objective of showcasing the power of his bulk weapons, Eren''s satisfaction waned. He yearned to not only demonstrate his weapons'' abilities but to triumph over Callista, driven by the desire to beat the first Evoker he had encountered. Amidst the fierce battle, the four Matriarchs observed with increasing satisfaction, witnessing the impressive performance of Eren''s nameless des. The disy surpassed their expectations, prompting them to consider signing a non-exclusive contract with Eren and cing orders for bulk weapon manufacturing. Valeria had suggested to Eren and Callista that they could stop their duel as the weapons had been thoroughly tested. However, Eren''s focus extended beyond the weapons themselves. He remained determined to ovee Callista''s advantages, fueled by the burning curiosity to test his mettle against the formidable Evoker before him. "Damn it. She''s tougher than I thought," Eren muttered under his breath, his gaze fixed on Callista standing confidently at a safe distance. His eyes narrowed as he concluded, ''Evokers will pose a significant challenge for regr rankers if they evere out of their woodworks.'' Escape was his priority as Eren maneuvered swiftly, evading the treacherous trapid by the relentless nt monsters. Streaks of lightning crackled from his fingertips, obliterating the vines attempting to impede his path. Frustration gnawed at him, knowing that the vines were adapting to his movements, seeking patterns in his offense and defense to devise a countermeasure. To address the threat of being surrounded by multiple adversaries, Eren had exchanged his daggers for two nameless swords, formidable C-ranked artifacts imbued with multi-elementpatibility. He deftly sidestepped a fiery breath unleashed by an earth-element monster, retaliating with a barrage of Aqua des unleashed from his dual des. The water-element spell coursed through his weapons. Furthermore, a cluster of Water Whips materialized near the fire-breathing earth-element mole monster, ensnaring its massive 15-foot frame, effectively restraining its movements. As the earth-element monster attempted another fiery assault on Eren''s escape route, an Aqua Storm erupted, engulfing the monster in a tempestuous torrent of water. The creature and its fiery breath dissolved within the storm''s watery embrace, illuminating the surroundings with hues of red and orange. Steam billowed as the scorching heat evaporated some of the conjured water, dissipating the typhoon-like storm. The monster''s once-defined shape, now distorted and vanquished, a result of Eren''s adept utilization of spell fusion to expedite its demise. Understanding dawned upon Eren regarding Callista''s Blessing. Bestowed by the Great Mother, it granted most of her followers a simple yet potent Ability. The intentions that seeped into the Nature mana were rted to growth and nurture. This was why, through the infusion of her Nature mana, Callista could amplify the power of all her elemental attacks, effectively doubling or even tripling their strength, contingent upon her mastery of the ability. Furthermore, the sacred ground consecrated by the Great Mother provided an additional boon to Callista''s spells. The abundance of Nature mana enveloping her required minimal effort for its conjuration. It amplified the potency of her spells further with minimal effort. As an Evoker, she already held an advantage over Eren when it came to mana consumption. Even if Eren could hold his own against Callista''s attacks, a long-drawn battle was not in his best interest. From artifacts to spells, everything Callista used and employed was designed to let her take advantage of her blessings. The synergistic effect of various buffs bestowed Callista''s summoned creatures with enhanced size and heightened ferocity. Eren found himself expending a significant amount of mana to dispatch them, realizing the inefficiency of such a prolonged battle. Though still afforded a sliver of breathing room in his sh with Callista, Eren felt the walls closing in. His grip on the nameless swords tightened as he swung them with determination, cleaving through the encroaching monsters that served as obstacles. Amid the chaos, the butcher pondered his predicament, realizing the necessity of unveiling his own trump cards. Chapter 1302 An Apt Counter To Nature Mana ? ''I... I won''t defeat her easily unless I reveal my own Trump cards.'' Eren admitted to himself, the weight of the challenge urging him to delve deeper into his arsenal. He decided to use a special type of mana that could potentially serve as an apt counter against Nature mana. Eren wasn''t the only one who had been put on edge by the battle. Despite maintaining a calm demeanor during her battle with Eren, Callista felt a shock reverberate within her. She never could have fathomed that someone like Eren, whocked any divine blessing, would possess the strength to hold his ground against her within the sacred ground. "This is unbelievable. Rankers can effortlessly wield spell fusion and elemental fusion from their Expert ranks it seems. It''s difficult for us Evokers to digest," Callista mused to herself, observing Eren''s adept utilization of various spells to eliminate the creatures she had summoned. She begrudgingly acknowledged that without the advantage of the sacred ground, she would struggle to match Eren''s devastating damage output. Callista had always recognized that the path of a ranker propelled individuals to unlock the true potential of their elemental affinities. This granted them the ability to explore and harness different forms of elemental and Aspect fusion, at least for those rankers possessing the necessary talent and practice. In contrast, Evokers faced the dilemma of excessive choices along their path. Sometimes, an abundance of choices proved to be a double-edged sword. While rankers may havecked the freedom of choice during their ranking journeys, theypensated for it by delving deep into theprehension of their chosen element. Evokers, on the other hand, enjoyed liberation in their path but often found themselves burdened by the overwhelming array of options. Evokers needed an additional source of power, akin to a divine blessing, to maintain their edge against rankers. ''Hmm, I don''t believe he''ll retreat from this challenge, not when we''re so deeply invested in this battle. I should unleash my full strength and bring an end to this,'' Callista resolved. Recognizing that Eren would soonunch an aggressive offensive, she decided to catch him off guard by altering her battle style. One could say that just like Eren, Callista also believed that an overwhelming offense was the best form of defense. With graceful incantations, Callista unleashed her next set of spells, transforming her arms and legs into flexible vine-like appendages. These verdant limbs retained the general shape of her original limbs but possessed the uncanny ability to stretch and contract at her will, enhancing her agility in both movements and wielding her weapons. But Callista''s transformation did not end there. Her entire body underwent a profound change, assuming the form of a treant-like entity. Her once-fleshed skin morphed into a hardened bark-like exterior, her eyes took on a vibrant shade of green, and her stature grew in size. The dominance of her mana signature surged, radiating a formidable presence. In this hybrid form, she knew she could stand her ground against Eren''s relentless onught. Fully attuned to her modified body, Callista propelled herself forward, charging at Eren with an unyielding determination. Swoosh. Zoom. Pierce. Just as Eren plotted to catch Callista off guard with his surprise maneuver, she swiftly turned the tables byunching an unexpected offensive. Appearing before him in her transformed avatar, she attacked him with her expertly wielded Spear Arts. Caught off bnce by the sudden appearance of his opponent, Eren had only just managed to rid himself of the nt monster with its grotesque sunflower face and the leech-like maw. In that split-second of confusion, he nearly mistook Callista for yet another monstrous entity. But before he could react, her strikes found their mark. "Aaaargh!" Eren''s anguished cry echoed through the battlefield as Callista''s spear pierced his right shoulder. The de effortlessly breached his natural mana defenseyer and armor, its tip emerging ominously from the other side. Coated in Eren''s own blood, a droplet fell upon the sacred ground, vanishing as it made contact. The sh between the spear de and one of Eren''s swords left thetter damaged, forcing it from his grip as he attempted to parry Callista''s assault. With great momentum, the nameless sword flew behind him, propelled away from his current plight. It was a swift and unexpected turn of events that caught Eren off guard. Undeniably, Callista had timed her attack to perfection, urately deciphering his intentions and refusing to wait for him to respond with his own tactics. Just as Callista prepared to unleash another onught, delivering what she believed would be the final blow, Eren, fueled by sheer determination, disregarded the searing pain and caught her swinging spear with his bare hand. The ground beneath them cracked and gave way under the force of Callista''s weapon charged by her Spear Arts. Blood immediately stained Eren''s hand as he gripped Callista''s spear. The skin on his palm and the back of his hand ruptured, crimson rivulets flowing down his arm, eventually dripping from his elbow. Sensing imminent danger, Callista''s instincts urged her to retreat, to distance herself as far as possible from Eren, even if it meant relinquishing her weapon. "Hehe. I mustmend you for this attack, Callista. I confess, I underestimated the power of Nature mana," Eren said with a disarming smile, despite the serious injury marring his left arm. Calm andposed, his emerald green eyes gleamed with steely resolve as he locked his gaze upon his opponent. "But we Rankers know how to adapt to the unexpected. We are born without a blessing. So we learn to count on ourselves when everything else fails. Allow me to demonstrate," Eren dered before invoking his next set of spells, leaving Callista and the spectators of the duel utterly speechless. The four Matriarch''s utmost attention was drawn to the battle once again as they felt a repulsive mana ripple in the air. They looked at Eren with peculiar eyes as he unleashed the Trump card that could serve as an apt counter for the Nature mana. "Screeeeee!" A deathly scream was released from a new batch of summoned creatures. Within the sacred ground devoted to the Great Mother, an army of the undead materialized. A tempest of Death mana swirled around Eren as he tapped into his dormant powers as a necromancer. Chapter 1303 A Ranker With A Slight Twist ? Callista felt an unsettling surge of mana enveloping her enemy. Eren''s Death mana radiated outward, exerting its influence on the verdant vegetation that had flourished around him under the effects of Nature mana. From the very ground, several skeletons of fallen Amazonian warriors emerged, brought back to a semnce of life by Eren''s necromantic powers. Alongside them stood the nt monsters he had previously in, their allegiance now shifted as they were reanimated with the potent touch of Death mana. The creatures summoned by Eren were shrouded in the sinister aura of Death, a formidable counter to Callista''s Nature mana. Their eerie shrieks filled the air, a chilling symphony that signaled themencement of their relentless assault on their full-of-life foes. The nt monsters and earth-elemental mole creatures suddenly found themselves besieged by Eren''s resurrected soldiers. These undead warriors, imbued with Eren''s spell-infused essence through the art of Spell Integration, gained heightened offensive and defensive capabilities. In an instant, theplexion of the battle transformed, the revtion of Eren''stent powers as a necromancer leaving Callista and the four Matriarchs dumbfounded. For a moment, silence draped the field as they struggled to process the unexpected turn of events. Even Callista regarded Eren with a mixture of awe and uncertainty as if he were an enigmatic puzzle she could not entirely decipher. "I... I thought you were a Close Combat Expert," Callista uttered, her gaze darting around her surroundings. She issued amand to her summons, instructing them to defend and annihte the undead creatures that had materialized like rampant mushrooms. Callista possessed limited knowledge of Rankers, yet she couldn''t help but recognize that a Close Combat Expert''s chosen path should not grant them the ability to wield spells like The Army of the Dead. In her eyes, Eren seemed to possess a greater arsenal of spell variations than even the most versatile of Evokersa perception that left her questioning the boundaries of his powers. A chuckle rumbled from Eren''s lips upon hearing Callista''s query. "Keke. A Ranker''s path can be as broad or as narrow as one desire, Callista. Most choose to streamline their achievements to expedite their progress. As for me? Well, let''s just say I''m a tad more self-indulgent. I am but a Ranker with a slight twist," Eren''s voice dripped with amusement as he observed the astonishment etched across Callista''s features. Callista infused her weapon with a sudden surge of Nature mana, unleashing a burst of power that freed it from Eren''s grip. Swiftly creating distance between them, she focused her attention on the sh unfolding between her summoned creatures and Eren''s army of the undead. Empowered by Eren''s Death mana, his skeletal warriors proved resistant to the assaults of Callista''s summoned creatures. Unencumbered by the fear of mortality, the undead soldiers fearlessly engaged the nt monsters and earth-elemental moles. Some of the reanimated corpses brandished rusted weapons, while others relied on their bare limbs, augmented by the malevolent touch of Death mana, to strike with punches and kicks. Some preferred to sink their deformed jaws and sharp teeth into their enemies, biting and tearing with gruesome fervor. Anarchy erupted on the battlefield as Eren''s undead soldiers initiated their onught against Callista''s summoned creatures. With each strike, the dead soldiers exposed the nt monsters to the corrupting influence of Death mana, invading their bodies with foreign energies. As the opposing natures of Death and Nature mana shed, havoc ensued, causing the nt monsters to falter and their once-vibrant forms to wither. Contaminated by the invasive Death mana, the nt monsters began to wither and decay. Some shrank in size, their once-lush green exteriors transforming into weathered hues of brown. The earth-elemental moles, too, bore the mark of the dead soldiers'' attacks and bite marks, developing calloused, lifeless skin. Eren''s undead soldiers proved to be agile and cunning,unching relentless assaults upon the nt monsters without fear for their mana-infused yet mortal shells. Unrestrained by conventional battle norms, they fought with suicidal determination, their strikes aided by the effects of Spell Integration, Elemental, and Aspect Fusions. The Army of the Dead swiftly emerged as a dominant force on the battlefield. Caught in the grip of Death mana contamination, the nt monsters and earth-elemental moles struggled to purge the foreign energies from their bodies. Unable to expel the corrupted mana efficiently, they found themselves unable to recover. In a mere half-minute following Eren''s revtion of his necromantic powers, the tides had turned, and Callista''s summoned creatures were losing ground. Callista''s life had been devoid of encounters with Death mana until now. And yet, she instinctively understood its inherent opposition to the Nature mana upon which she relied. Gradually recovering from the initial shock, she cast a disapproving gaze upon Eren before voicing her concerns. "Eren, I implore you to cease the use of this malevolent mana within the sacred grounds devoted to the Great Mother," she said firmly, her grip on the spear tightening. The remaining remnants of her summoned creatures, reflecting her emotions, surged forward with renewed vigor to assail Eren''s undead soldiers. Perplexed, Eren''s face showed traces of confusion as he inquired, "Why would you make such a request, Callista?" Though he understood that the effects of Death mana on the battlefield might displease her, it seemed there was more to her aversion. "Because it repulses me," Callista responded, her nose wrinkling in disdain. "And everything that arises from it feels like an abomination, an affront to the natural order. I believe it is wrong to employ spells that draw upon this mana that reeks of death in a ce where we honor our goddess, whose domain is the nurturing of life, not its destruction." Her tone serious and her expressions devoid of levity, Callista made her plea, almostmanding Eren to desist from using his necromantic powers within the sacred domain. Eren arched an eyebrow at Callista''s words, briefly shifting his attention to the four Matriarchs who observed the duel from the sidelines. He discerned their disapproval of his use of necromantic spells in the sacred ground, yet they showed no intent to outright forbid him from employing his powers. ''Hmm. The Matriarchs know something about their goddess that thisss doesn''t,'' Eren came to a quick conclusion. Chapter 1304 Undisputed Win ? ''Hmm. The Matriarchs know something about their goddess that thisss doesn''t,'' Eren came to a quick conclusion. Understanding their stance, Eren came to a decision. They would not intervene in this duel, which provided him with the assurance he needed to respond to Callista''s request with a simple word. "No," he stated firmly, refusing to yield to her demands. With a snap of his fingers, he swiftly fixed his wounded left arm. Extending the revitalized limb, the weapon that had been wrenched from his grasp by Callista''s surprise attack flew back into his waiting hand. "Callista, I mean no disrespect," Eren remarked, his voice tinged with determination. "But if you truly wish to put a stopper on my powers, the simplest way for you to achieve that is to defeat me in this duel. Let us see how youpel me to abandon that which I refuse to relinquish. Because I believe that death is also a part of nature." After saying that, Eren charged his nameless swords with the death-element mana, his eyes turning cold and his aura assuming a bloodthirsty quality. Sensing his predatory gaze fixed upon her, Callista felt a shiver coursing through her body. However, for the sake of her Goddess, Callista steeled herself to meet the challengeC determined tounch an assault against Eren with unwavering resolveC determined to make him capitte to her demands. The sh between Eren and Callista intensified, their weapons and mana intertwining in a deadly ballet. Eren wielded his dual swords with exceptional finesse and precision, demonstrating his profound understanding of weaponry. Each strike released a storm of flying shes that cut through anything in their path, empowered by the Death mana coursing through Eren''s weapons. This allowed him to overpower Callista''s attacks infused with Nature mana. The battlefield became a dynamic stage as Eren and Callista swiftly changed positions, utilizing the entire area to their advantage. Their shes generated powerful mana pulses as if the personifications of Nature mana and Death mana were engaged in a fierce struggle for dominance. Amidst the chaos, a cry of pain and agony escaped Callista''s lips as Eren''s relentless weapon shes breached her supposedly impregnable defense. His desnded on her Treant-like limbs, inflicting deep wounds. A mix of red and green blood flowed from Callista''s fresh flesh, evidence of her transformation. Meanwhile, Eren''s army of the dead mirrored his ferocity, charging at their enemies with ruthless efficiency. The nt monsters and earth-element moles stood no chance, obliterated without mercy. Without the interference of her summoned creatures and with the nature of Death mana on his side, Eren swiftly overwhelmed Callista. The battle transcended mere sparring as Eren''s attacks chipped away at her skin. Since she had transformed into a nt monster, Eren chose to weaken her using the only method he knew best: a relentless physical and psychological assault by acting as the butcher he was. Callista''s monster transformation began to unravel under the onught of Eren''s brutal attacks. His strikes focused near her vital spots, while the Death mana contaminated her body, impeding her ability to channel Nature mana effectively. Her recovery speed waned, and her offensive and defensive capabilities eroded with each passing moment. Eren attacked Callista with an expressionless face, his actions driven by an instinct honed through countless battles. He realized that winning over Callista held no special meaning for him; it was simply another step in his journey. His swords danced around him, cutting through the air with lethal precision, while Callista''s attacks struggled to find their mark. For Callista, time seemed to stretch on as she fought desperately against the overwhelming tide. However, the second round of their duel concluded swiftly,sting a mere two minutes. She found herself hurtling through the air, wounds covering her body. Depleted of energy, shended in front of the four Matriarchs, her condition dire and in urgent need of medical attention. The Matriarchs, witnessing Callista''s defeated form, exchanged worried nces. They knew the extent of her injuries and the toll it had taken on her. The battle had been fierce, and Eren had emerged as the victor. With urgency in her eyes, Evelina rushed to attend to Callista''s wounds, her concern evident as she worked to heal the fallen Amazonian warrior. As the duel reached its conclusion, the weapons in Eren''s hands vanished into thin air. Callistay unconscious, her mana circuits overwhelmed by the threatening influence of the Death mana. The signs of contamination were evident on her bodypale skin and dark red, clotting blood. In stark contrast, Eren appeared unscathed, save for the damage inflicted upon his clothes and armor during the battle. The vibrant greenery surrounding him withered under the consuming force of his Death mana, transforming the once-lushnd into a deste wastnd. With a simple wave of his hand, he dispersed his army of the dead, causing them to lose their forms and vanish into the ether. Valeria, one of the Matriarchs, sighed and cast a concerned gaze upon Callista. She knew that although Evelina attended to her physical wounds, Callista would be deeply affected mentally. It was a blow to her pride to be defeated in the sacred ground of the Great Mother by a man devoid of blessings, wielding unfamiliar nameless weapons. "Couldn''t you have shown more mercy toward Callista, Eren?" Valeria asked, her voiceced with genuine concern. She understood the toll this defeat would take on Callista''s psyche. After all, she had witnessed a man, untethered by divine favor, ovee a talented Evoker of her generation in a ce of utmost reverence. "Believe it or not, Matriarch Valeria, I did show restraint," Eren responded humbly, his words brimming with sincerity. He possessed far deadlier means to deal with Callista, particrly after realizing her true potential as an Evoker. However, his focus had been on showcasing the capabilities of his nameless weapons throughout the entire battle. The summoning of his undead army and the utilization of Death mana to counter Nature mana had simply provided a convenient way for him to secure victory without subjecting Callista to mortal peril. Chapter 1305 Galen Ironfist P1 ? "Valiant Priestess Callista!" A concerned voice called out to the still-unconscious Callista, echoing through the sacred ground. Matriarch Valeria turned to address the voice, her expression reflecting a mix of understanding and determination. "Matriarch Valeria, who is this man? Why did he harm Priestess Callista?" another voice questioned, brimming with displeasure. The voices multiplied, growing louder and more impassioned as they echoed across the sacred ground. Eren, now aware of themotion surrounding him, recognized the voices emanating from the audience. Amazonian warriors and civilians had gathered to witness the duel between Eren and Callista, and now they voiced their concerns. A group of Amazonians stepped forward from the audience, their heads bowed in reverence to the four Matriarchs before approaching the injured Callista. Worry etched on their faces, they conveyed their deep concern for Callista''s well-being. Some cast menacing res toward Eren, making it clear that they disapproved of his heavy-handed actions. To the gathered crowd, Eren was a stranger. Seeing Callista endure such severe injuries within the sacred ground was beyond theirprehension. It not only shook their trust in Callista but also tested their faith in the Great Mother herself. The nature of an Evoker''s power relied heavily on the strength of their faith. Devotion to the divine allowed them to ascend to greater heights even when their path to power was so divergent in nature. Thus, when someone like Eren inadvertently challenged their faith, it created unease within their hearts. Undeterred by the intimidating gazes directed at him, Eren stood his ground firmly, retrieving his Sativa Stick from his pocket. With a flick of his fingers, he ignited the tip and took a leisurely drag, savoring the calming effects it provided. His demeanor remained unchanged, as he understood that responding to their intimidation would only fuel their unrest further. Eren was fully aware that the demonstration of his bulk-release weapons had exceeded the necessity of proving their worth. However, he also knew that the four Matriarchs would eventuallye to recognize the true value of his weapons once they reflected upon his performance in the duel. This would provide him with a favorable advantage when negotiating deals for his bulk weaponsan oue he eagerly anticipated. Silently, Eren exhaled a cloud of smoke, his mind focused on the uing discussions and negotiations thaty ahead. As the voices of concern and discontent continued to fill the air, he remained resolute, ready to face whatever challenges awaited him in the pursuit of his goals. "Everyone, calm yourselves. Eren is a friend who hase here to aid us." Valeria''s voice resounded with authority, infused with her mana, as she attempted to pacify the agitated crowd. Sighing, she continued, taking a moment topose herself before addressing the gathered audience at the sacred ground. Valeria exined that the duel between Eren and Callista was intended as a demonstration of his weapon''s capabilities. She emphasized that several Amazonian settlements were considering cing substantial orders for Eren''s weapons, establishing long-termmitments. Furthermore, Valeria rified that the intense nature of the duel was a mutual agreement between Eren and Callista. Valeria''s words gradually quelled the unrest among the audience. The atmosphere began to ease as understanding and trust took hold. Among the group of rankers, a man stepped forward, leading the way toward Callista''s motionless form. Standing at an imposing height of 6.7 inches, Galen Ironfistmanded attention with his muscr build. His physique boasted prominent arms and robust legs akin to pirs of strength. With piercing ck eyes, a crimson headbandpletely covering his forehead, and a well-defined jawline, Galen exuded an air of rugged masculinity. His shoulder-length ck hairplemented his wheatishplexion. Across his left chest, where his heart resided, he bore a runic tattoo symbolizing the blessing of the Mother''s Embrace. Galen adorned his bare torso with arm bracers and leg bracers made of beast skin while wielding a formidable axe. d in a simple wrap-around beast skin cloth around his waist, he emanated a powerful and imposing aura. Paying no heed to Eren standing at a distance, Galen halted only a meter away from the unconscious Callista. He patiently awaited Matriarch Evelina''s intervention, knowing that she would dispel Eren''s lingering Death mana from Callista''s system. In the meantime, she would mend her injuries and stabilize her internal organs. As a Valiant Guardian on the cusp of bing a Matron Protector, Galen''s strength ranked on par with a Solid Stage Expert Ranker, poised to make the breakthrough into the Master rank. Returning to Valeria''s settlement after dealing with a horde of C-Rank mana beasts for a whole month, he had arrived just in time to witness the unfolding duel between Eren and Callista. Like Callista, Galen had been repulsed by the manifestation of Eren''s necromantic powers. Were it not for the presence of the four Matriarchs, he might have intervened in the duel between Eren and Callista, unable to tolerate the disy any longer. Galen''s firm stance near Callista depicted his unwavering loyalty and concern for her well-being, as well as his readiness to take action should the need arise. Galen held a special attachment to Callista, harboring feelings of romantic interest toward her. Despite the absence of reciprocation, he remained patient, content with their close friendship. Engaging in hunts and war games together, Galen cherished their bond and cherished every moment spent by Callista''s side. However, Galen now regretted allowing the duel between Eren and Callista to escte to its grim conclusion. The weight of his decision bore heavily upon him, the realization of the potential harm inflicted upon Callista weighing on his conscience. Standing behind Matriarch Valeria, Ma, and Almera opened a groupmunication channel with Eren, disclosing Galen''s identity to him. Eren attentively listened to Ma''s exnations while calmly observing the bustling activity of the Amazonians surrounding him. Despite Valeria''s efforts to rify the situation, a lingering tension still pervaded the sacred ground. Galen''s presence, coupled with his silent demeanor, contributed significantly to the strained atmosphere. Nevertheless, Eren remained unfazed by the displeasure of a few disgruntled Amazonians. The tense ambiance failed to dampen his enjoyment as he indulged in taking drags from his Sativa Stick. Chapter 1306 Galen Ironfist P2 ? "Aaaaah... My body... it fucking hurts everywhere." Callista''s feeble voice finally emerged as she regained consciousness. Her words carried the weight of pain and exhaustion, herbored breaths serving as a testament to her ordeal. It was evident from her mana signatures that she still required a few more minutes to regain her footing. Fluttering her eyes open, she first cast her gaze upon the sky before finally fixing her tired gaze on Evelina, who wore a reassuring smile. "Callista! Are you alright?" Galen almost vanished from his previous position, swiftly making his way to Callista''s side. Emotions of care and concern shimmered in his eyes as he gazed upon the Valiant Priestess, his worry for her well-being palpable. Callista gradually regained her senses, her gaze sweeping over the crowd that had gathered around her. Among them, Galen stood closest, his concern evident in his eyes. Realizing that she had been rendered unconscious during her duel with Eren, she understood the cause of the worry etched on the faces of those surrounding her. Observing the care and unity disyed by the Amazonians, Eren couldn''t help but acknowledge their deep sense of familial bonds. It was a cultural distinction he hade to appreciate, setting the Amazonian settlements apart from the individualistic nature of Rankers'' society. Although Rankers were capable of forming strong camaraderie after spending years together, they often maintained their individuality within the group. These subtle differences might have gone unnoticed by many, but Eren paid attention to every intricate detail. After all, he was forging a business rtionship with the Amazonians. Nurturing this alliance required an understanding of their distinct traits, enabling him to influence them ording to his own goals. However, Eren dismissed any thoughts of using the Amazonians as pawns, especially with numerous formidable Matriarchs present. He recognized the need to strengthen himself individually and organizationally before even considering such maniptions. "Yes, I am fine. How many times do I have to tell you guys? Sheesh!" Callista responded to the crowd''s bombarding questions, her voice tinged with annoyance. Despite her tone, her face bore a gentle smile, appreciating the concern shown by herrades. Her smile conveyed gratitude for their genuine worry. In her mind, Callista offered a prayer to the Great Mother, utilizing her blessing to channel Nature''s mana throughout her body. In an instant, she felt rejuvenated. In the next instance, a gentle wind enveloped her, lifting her gracefully to stand on her own two feet. Noticing the source of the wind-based spell, Callista turned her gaze toward Galen, smiling warmly at him before speaking in an assuring tone. "No need to get so worked up, Galen. It was merely a duel to test Eren''s weapons," she waved yfully at him before her eyes scanned the area, searching for someone beyond the crowd. Callista''s search came to an end when her eyes locked with Eren''s, who happened to be savoring the effects of the Sativa Stick at that moment. Simultaneously, their gazes met, and a smile graced Callista''s lips. With a powerful leap, she soared through the air, swiftly distancing herself from the crowd. Landing a few meters away from Eren, she spoke up with a sense of appreciation. "Never in my life have I experienced such an exhrating duel, Eren. Thank you for enlightening me and pointing out the ws in my path. I must retract my previous words and admit that your title as Grimdawn suits you perfectly. In fact, your abilities as an Expert ranker surpass the expectations associated with that title." Callista had initially mocked Eren, questioning the authenticity of his title as Grimdawn. Of course, her jests had been intended to add spice to their duel, and now she humbly acknowledged her error. Eren took a final drag from his Sativa Stick, releasing the smoke through his nostrils before responding to Callista. His voice exuded serenity, and a gentle smile graced his lips. "Hehe. I have no qualms about someone questioning the legitimacy of my title, Callista. Titles are akin to badges of honor, bestowed upon individuals or taken away based on the whims of those who grant them. It is my journey as a Ranker that defines me and remains with me eternally. As long as you don''t deem me ackluster Ranker, we are on good terms." Callista smiled, appreciating Eren''s words. Eren first focused his gaze on her before shifting his attention to the gathered crowd. Inhaling deeply, he nodded at Callista, his expression turning serious as he addressed her. "Furthermore, I extend my gratitude for teaching me the true extent of Evokers'' capabilities, Callista. Irrespective of the oue, my respect for all Evokers has only grown." The weight of Eren''s words resonated throughout the sacred ground, stirring a sense of camaraderie among the Amazonians and alleviating any remaining doubts. It was evident that Eren possessed a talent for handling the emotions of the crowd. With a single reply, he not only brought joy to Callista but also appeased the majority of the Amazonians gathered in the sacred ground. Gradually, the atmosphere cooled, with most of the Amazonians finding sce in Eren''s words, although a few remained skepticalC including Galen. "Eren, is it?" Galen''s sudden presence beside Callista caught Eren''s attention. His gaze met Galen''s intense eyes, which still held a trace of anger towards Eren for his rough treatment of Callista and the use of necromantic powers within the sacred ground. "That''s correct. And who might you be?" Eren responded although he had already been informed of Galen''s identity by Ma. "Galen Ironfist." Galen offered a brief introduction before his voice took on a yful yet serious tone. "How about we put your weapons'' performance to the test once more before finalizing our deal? It would be an honor for me to engage in a friendly duel with you, that is if you don''t mind." Eren narrowed his eyes, his focus shifting to Galen''s pro-testosterone physique. He responded casually, his voiceced with confidence. "My bulk-manufactured weapons have already undergone thorough testing in my duel with Callista, Galen. I''m not a fan of retakes, you see." He continued, shifting his gaze towards the Matriarchs before returning it to Galen, a mischievous smile ying on his lips. "Furthermore, the Matriarchs themselves have borne witness to the test. To question the weapons again would indirectly imply doubting the Matriarchs'' ability to pass judgment." Galen silently cursed Eren, feeling as if he was using the Matriarchs as a shield to avoid his challenge. He had to admit that he had no rebuttal to Eren''s words, unable to press for the duel he desired. Seeking retribution for Callista''s pain, Galen had hoped to face Eren inbat. However, it seemed that Eren was cunning, showing no intention of epting his challenge. Or so Galen believed until he heard Eren''s next words. "Of course, I can always resort to my regr weapons if you truly desire a duel. A sh between two men, unrestricted and pure in nature. Right here. Right now. How about that?" Chapter 1307 Eren Vs Galen P1 ? "How about that?" Eren proposed, a wicked smile ying on his lips. His emerald eyes gleamed with a captivating brilliance as they locked onto Galen''s, undeterred by the imposing presence and formidable aura that surrounded him. Galen''s heart skipped a beat as he absorbed Eren''s words. A mix of surprise and apprehension coursed through his veins. It was an unexpected turn of events, and he found himself considering the possibility of engaging in a battle against this enigmatic ranker. A myriad of thoughts whirled in Galen''s mind. He understood the risks, the potential consequences, and the weight of the decision he was about to make. After all, Eren was a potential business partner. Galen needed to ensure that he didn''t antagonize Eren too much. But above all, Galen felt a burning determination to protect Callista and safekeep the faith of his people by scoring a win against Eren. After all, this was a sacred ground dedicated to the Great Mother. Her devout followers needed to score a win against Eren to bring back the lost honor. With a resolute gaze, Galen met Eren''s intense stare, matching thetter''s unwavering confidence. At that moment, a spark of determination ignited within him, and he made his choice. "You''re on, Eren," Galen dered, his voice carrying a blend of resolve and determination. "I ept your challenge. Let our sh be a testament to our strength and will." Callista and the four Matriarchs weren''t even given a chance to intervene or register their objection. Eren and Galen scheduled their duel in an instant. As the crowd watched in anticipation, the tension in the sacred ground soared to new heights. The atmosphere crackled with electric energy, foretelling the impending battle between the two formidable entities. The sacred ground, once again vacant, now served as the battlefield for the sh between Eren and Galen. The Amazonians formed a ring around the arena, their passionate cheers, and supportive chants resonating through the air, their unwavering faith in Galen evident. At one end of the battlefield, Eren stood with an emotionless face, his gaze fixed upon Galen. In his hands, he wielded his go-to weapons, the Diceros Left and Right katar set. These punching dagger des gleamed with a cruel light, the runes etched upon their surfaces pulsating with the stimtion of Eren''s mana. With the Diceros set in his grasp, Eren found a sense offort, these weapons having apanied him since the beginning of his new journey in this timeline. They had be an extension of himself, capable of manifesting his Individuality precisely as he desired. Meanwhile, Galen closed his eyes, seemingly engaged in prayer to the Great Mother. As he opened his eyes, they emitted a peculiar light, radiating with unwavering determination. He had taken Callista''s defeat personally, fueling his resolve to emerge victorious in this duel. Among the spectators stood Callista, positioned close to Matriarch Valeria, Ma, and the others. She sensed the weight that Galen ced upon her defeat, knowing the potential strain it could have on the rtionship between the Amazonians and Eren. As a decision-maker within the settlement, she understood the importance of maintaining a positive rapport with Eren, especially considering the increasing need for his powerful weapons. She hoped that the duel wouldn''t tarnish the Amazonians'' reputation, hoping to show Eren that they could ept defeat graciously and move forward. Eren, however, had his own straightforward approach to resolving any potential issues. As he operated his weapons, his katar des sliced through the air with seamless grace. His voice, devoid of emotions, cut through the tension. "I hope you understand, Galen, that I will be dueling with you without holding back," Eren dered. His words carried a sense of determination and a hint of warning. The swirling des around him mirrored his intent. "Whatever unfolds in this duel, let it be. We shall not hold each other responsible for the measures we take to secure our victory," Eren continued, his tone resolute. He acknowledged the stakes at hand, the sh that awaited them, and the necessity to push their limits to achieve their respective goals. The anticipation in the air grew palpable as Eren and Galen prepared to sh in a battle that held different significance for each of them. The butcher knew his Individuality better than anyone and understood that he could not afford to hold back this time. Unlike his duel with Callista, this fight with Galen became an opportunity to further refine his unique abilities. "Hehehe, don''t you worry about me, Eren," Galen responded with a smile, his eyes gleaming with the thrill of battle. "Just make sure not to let your frustrations affect our potential business deal when you find yourself on the losing end," Galen warned, swinging his axe around him with exceptional dexterity. Galen''s mastery of Axe Arts allowed him to materialize his mana into ethereal axe shadows for a split second. These axe shadows possessed the ability to inflict physical damage upon contact before dissipating. As a result, Galen''s Spear Arts created the illusion of multiple axes swirling around him, leaving a trail of deadly trajectories in their wake. Moreover, each axe shadow had the potential to release flying shes, adding anotheryer of danger to Galen''s offensive onught. The air crackled with the storm of weapon shes as Galen unleashed his Weapon Arts. Galen''s aura surged as his individual power as the Valiant Guardian spread forth. A dense cloud of Nature mana surrounded him as he prepared to utilize his blessing at a moment''s notice. Just like Callista, Galen also experienced a buff effect on himself because the duel was about to unfold on the sacred ground dedicated to the Great Mother. Although he didn''t think he needed a buff effect to fight with Eren, he weed it nheless after considering it as an encouragement from the Great Mother. Observing Galen''s disy, Eren analyzed the Axe Arts with a discerning eye. "Hmm, not as refined as Demonmir, but still one of the most formidable Axe Arts I''ve encountered. Perhaps I can negotiate to acquire this Weapon Arts as part of our deal once this duel is concluded," Eren mused to himself, appreciating the raw power and potential within Galen''s techniques. Chapter 1308 Eren Vs Galen P2 ? "Without a doubt, Galen has the upper hand." Seraphina sighed and made her observation known, her gaze fixed on Galen''s progress. She recognized the rapid growth in his mastery of Axe Arts within a remarkably short period. Galen, a rare male Evoker who harnessed Nature energy with nearly the same proficiency as his female counterparts, stood as a devoted follower of the Great Mother. His path as an Evoker was both grand and ambitious, supported by exceptional talent and unwavering faith, making him an outstanding Valiant Guardian. While Seraphina believed Galen would emerge victorious, Valeria interjected with a grim tone, her eyes shifting to Eren with a peculiar interest. "Do not be too quick to dismiss Eren, Seraphina," Valeria cautioned. "Evokers, blessed by the divine, indeed progress along their path more swiftlypared to the Rankers. Our society boasts a greater number of powerhouses than Rankers. However..." Valeria''s voice trailed off as she pondered something deeply. "Among the multitude of ordinary Rankers who follow the predetermined path set by the Land of the Faithless, there exist a few abominations with dreadful Individualities," Valeria continued, her voice tinged with a sense of foreboding. "They wield their elements and weapons in such a manner that even an army of Evokers would struggle to withstand their might when they reach their peak. The world of Anfang is known for producing a few terrifying children in every era." Seraphina was about to say something when she heard Valeria''s response. However, before she could fully grasp the implications of Valeria''s words and forumate a reply, a frigid and impassive voice pierced through the air, originating from none other than Isadora, who took the initiative to speak her mind. "Titan yers!" Isadora muttered under her breath, her wordsden with understanding as she remembered reading about the figures from the past era that Valeria was alluding to. Seraphina''s eyes widened withprehension, realizing the perspective through which Valeria was now regarding Eren. Valeria, being a repository of knowledge on Anfang''s lost history, possessed intricate details about the Titan yers who had valiantly fought during the harrowing Cmity War. The sheer notion that Valeria equated Eren with those legendary figures left Seraphina in disbelief, struggling to fathom the weight and significance that Valeria attributed to him. *** While the four Matriarchs engaged in their own discussions, a silent agreement passed between Eren and Galen, signaling themencement of their duel. With their preparationsplete, bothbatants vanished from their positions simultaneously. In the next instant, a tempestuous storm of mana erupted at the heart of the battlefield as the two men shed, their weapons drawn. A symphony of metallic shes filled the air, apanied by the dazzling spectacle of sparks dancing amidst the chaos. Eren''s dual-wielding Katar des shed against Galen''s Axe Arts, showcasing a myriad of multi-faceted attack patterns. The ground beneath them cracked under the strain, forming spider-web-like patterns on the once-sacred ground, while the sheer force of their sh reverberated through the surroundings. Eren''s Expert-ranked mana surged with an untamed ferocity, more wild and vtile than ever before. Galen''s Nature mana surged with equal intensity, causing trees and vegetation beyond the sacred ground to grow at an rming pace. The sh of weapons resonated, with Eren''s flying weapon attacks leaving their mark. Each strike created a resounding sonic boom as it sliced through the air, aiming to breach Galen''s defenses at close range. In front of the live audience of anticipating and excited Amazonians, Eren began to dominate the duel, inflicting severe damage upon Galen. Despite Galen''s valiant attempts, his attacks failed tond on Eren, who effortlessly diverted or dodged them with supernatural speed and agility, courtesy of his time-element spells. Eren materialized only when he knew his strikes would connect, denying the Axe-wielder any chance to harm him, let alone deliver a fatal blow. Galen couldn''t believe what was happening. He found himself helplessly outmatched, struggling to keep up with Eren''s unearthly weapon handling. Despite possessing formidable Axe Arts, Galen was unable to match Eren''sprehensive understanding of weaponry and his devastating elemental spells, which steadily chipped away at Galen''s defenses, inflicting increasing pain. Thunder crackled above and clouds of blue and orange mes materialized within the sacred ground, testament to Eren''s precise manifestation of elemental spells. Thebination of Eren''s potent magic, profound mastery of elements, exceptional agility, nimble weapon handling, and impable timing proved deadly. The watching Amazonians witnessed Eren''s attacks drawing blood from Galen, and leaving his body marred by numerous shing wounds. "Aaaaargh!" Galen screamed in agony as Eren''s swift strike severed his right arm from its shoulder joint. However, Eren''s immersion in his Individuality drove him further. It could be said that he waspelled to continue, faced with the mountain of a man that was Galen. Galen''s blood stained Eren''s katars, which sliced through the air with precision, deftly parrying Galen''s Axe Arts beforeunching a simultaneous counter-attack on Galen''s sr plexus, eliciting another pained cry. The relentless assault continued, and the next blow severed a substantial chunk of flesh from Galen''s right thigh. A sizable piece of his thigh soared through the air as Eren''s daggers struck from an unconventional angle. Streams of blood gushed forth, painting a macabre scene as Eren relentlessly pressed his attacks. Subconsciously employing his Sedating Gaze on Galen at intervals, Eren rendered his opponent more vulnerable to his onught. Unlike Callista, Galen''s soul proved to be less impervious to Eren''s ocr Ability, leaving him vulnerable to the full brunt of Eren''s relentless assault. Within a mere half-minute of their duel, Galen had already endured a staggering amount of suffering. Eren''s acute soul since yed a vital role in deciphering Galen''s intricate Axe Arts. It also granted him the ability to seize control of Galen''s consciousness at precisely the right moment, even if it was just for a fleeting fraction of a second. This invaluable advantage allowed Eren to inflict devastating injuries upon his opponent. Pressing his relentless assault, Eren''s merciless strikes resulted in the severing of Galen''s remaining arm from its joint. Yet, the tenacious grip of Galen''s hand still clung to the handle of his axe, causing the weapon to be propelled through the air, carried along by the momentum of the dismembered limb. "Grrrrrr!" A bestial roar erupted suddenly, shattering the soundscape. Just as Eren prepared to deliver what seemed to be a final blow to the defenseless Galen, a colossal mana beast in the form of a twelve-foot-tall bear materialized from beneath the ground. The majestic creature served as a shield, positioning itself between Eren and Galen, effectively warding off the impending strike. Galen suppressed a pained cry, using the newfound respite to create distance between himself and his relentless adversary. Chapter 1309 Eren Vs Galen P3 ?An error urred while reading the file: Could not find file ''/data/script/email_list.txt''. "What must one do to nurture a fearsome Individuality like this?" Valeria found herself asking a silent question, her voice lost in the depths of her mind as she observed the climactic sh between Eren and Galen unfolding before her eyes. The conclusion of their initial exchange had left her truly awestruck, realizing that Eren''s power far exceeded what he had initially revealed in his duel with Callista. The extent of his fearsome Individuality, however, was a mystery even to her until this very moment. Witnessing Eren''s formidable prowess at the Expert rank, Valeria couldn''t help but wonder just how terrifying he would be as he ascended the ranks. How powerful he could be as a Sage with such a potent Individuality. In the grand scheme of high-ranking entities, Eren still appeared to be a fledgling, a mere toddler taking his first steps without external support. Yet, his Individuality exuded the essence of an ancient monstrosity, as if his past experiences were fused with his present journey, propelling him forward with an unrivaled force. Eren''s presence had be doubly potent and awe-inspiring ever since he brandished his trusty weapons. The disparity was as ring as the distinction between earth and sky. It was only now that Callista truly grasped the magnitude of Eren''s statement when he imed to have held back during their duel. A profound silence enveloped the sacred ground as Eren and Galen distanced themselves from each other, locked in a momentary stalemate. The cheers of the Amazonians for Galen and their yful taunts towards Eren came to an abrupt halt as their gazes fell upon Galen''s grievous state. Galen bore severed arms and bore multiple gravecerations and puncture wounds across his body. Eren''s katars had not only breached his mana defense but also inflicted significant damage upon it. Eren''s mana coursed through Galen''s open wounds and kept rupturing his skin even further. The foreign mana invasion manifested in the form of lightning, mes, and other elems, further impeding his healing abilities and subjecting him to continuous passive harm. "Fck," Galen bellowed, his voice reverberating through the air as he stimted his mana circuits and invoked his divine blessing simultaneously. In the next instant, a visible surge of regenerationmenced, as Galen swiftly began forming his lost limbs at an elerated pace. Ivory-white bones materialized first, followed by motor muscles, blood, and veins. The subsequent emergence of supporting muscles and tissues enveloped the newly formed structures, and finally, the epidermis sealed the restored appendages. A discerning eye could detect a subtle difference in the appearance of Galen''s rejuvenated arms, theirplexion slightly fairer and devoid of the sun-kissed hue present in the rest of his body, indicating their distinct nature from the original limbs. Harnessing the nurturing potency of Nature mana, Galen extended his elerated healing to absurd levels, mending both major and minor injuries that marred his physique. Within a mere span of ten seconds, Galen stood intact before Eren once more, his body unscathed, imbued with renewed determination. During the intense first round of the duel between Eren and Galen, the absence of Eren''s undead summons became evident. Galen''s focus as an Evoker was more on body augmentation rather than summoning creatures, leaving him at a disadvantage in this regard. Nevertheless, Eren''s mastery of Death mana through his weapons proved formidable. Galen struggled to expel the invading mana, realizing the extent of Eren''s control and proficiency over his elements and in-depth weaponprehension. Though Galen couldn''t rely on summoned creatures like Callista, he possessed a powerful ally in his Beast Companion, a towering and ferocious Ironhide Bear named Nova. Unlike the Rankers from Anfang who tamed the souls of mana beasts, the Amazonians used the Beast Companion technique, establishing asting bond without sacrificing the creature''s original body. Nova stood protectively by Galen''s side as thetter focused on healing himself, ensuring Eren couldn''t approach easily and giving Galen the chance to recover. Eren wasn''t afraid of the beast as the beast was in the C-Rank as wellC something he could handle on his own even when itunched a tag-team attack with Galen. However, the butcher decided to y safe anyway since he did not know what other kinds of tricks Amazonians had in their arsenal. Eren, undeterred by the temporary setback, addressed Galen confidently, "It seems you''re not convinced. Shall we continue our duel for another round?" Eren acknowledged Galen''s power-up, particrly his effective implementation of the divine blessing. However, Eren concluded that Galen''s ability to regenerate lost limbs using Mother''s Embrace posed no threat. He could simply keep attacking until Galen could no longer recover. Galen nodded, expressing his eptance of Eren''s power, and replied, "an ultimatum, huh? Haha. You''ve earned the right to say that, Eren. But I''m not finished. If you''re this powerful, allow me to fight you with all my might as well." With that, Galen stimted his mana circuits once more, drawing upon the abundant Nature mana in the surroundings. A remarkable transformation took ce, causing Galen to grow taller and more muscr by the second. The Amazonian crowd broke into cheers once again as Galen transformed. When the transformation ceased, Galen stood as a towering 15-foot mini-giant, exuding an even more intimidating presence. But the transformation didn''t end there. Galen cried out in pain as two additional pairs of arms sprouted from his torso, granting him a total of six arms. This extraordinary body augmentation made him appear like a monstrous deviant rather than a human. Eren sensed that the transformation extended beyond the physical realm. Galen had fortified his soul, rendering it resistant to Eren''s soul sense and ocr Ability. His vitality soared, apanied by an overall elevation in all his body''s stats. Eren realized there would be consequences to such a transformation. Galen would likely experience severe weakness for a week or two when the transformation subsided. Furthermore, this enhancement might lead to a prolonged bottleneck in Galen''s path as an Evoker, as it seemed to rely on his life energy to grant him unparalleled power. Chapter 1310 Eren Vs Galen P4 ?An error urred while reading the file: Could not find file ''/data/script/email_list.txt''. Galen appeared determined to fully prepare himself for the final round with Eren, unleashing his full power to inspire faith not only within himself but also in the eyes of the Amazonians who watched intently. As the transformed mini-giant, Galen summoned five more axes, each arm wielding a weapon. The des sliced through the air, creating a blizzard of weapon shes that surrounded him. With his Axe Arts enhancing his attacks, it seemed as if Galen was engulfed by a swarm of axes, deftly juggling them from one hand to another. The addition of two extra pairs of arms had made Galen''s Axe Arts exponentially more dangerous, providing him with a perfect counter against Eren''s assaults. Eren realized that his katars, Diceros Left and Right, would be rendered ineffective in shing against the transformed Galen. The short descked the necessary length and maneuverability to parry Galen''s potential attacks and breach his defenses. "Tch! What the fuck is this? It''s like a giant muscr spider suddenly deciding to walk upright and wield axes," Eren thought to himself, clicking his tongue in frustration. In response, he made the punching daggers vanish, recing them with a pair of his trusted swordsthe Rigor Mortis set. With newfound determination, Eren and Galen locked eyes, taking deep breaths before their second and final roundmenced. The Amazonian onlookers held their breaths, their anticipation palpable as they awaited the continuation of this intense duel. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Eren and Galen came within each other''s striking range once again, their weapons colliding in a symphony of metallic shes. The battlefield became charged with an intimidating atmosphere as the two powerhouses unleashed their auras. Flurries of attacks wereunched from both sides, the sound of their shes reverberating through the air. This time, Galen effortlessly breached Eren''s defenses, inflicting severe damage despite Eren''s near-impregnable weaponprehension and exceptional time-element spells. The battle unfolded across multiple points, as Eren and Galen swiftly changed positions. The sheer mana storm, mes, sparks, and gusts of wind generated by their shes forced the onlookers to step back, even though a defensive shield had been deployed to contain the battle''s impact within the battlefield. Eren felt like a mere midget fighting against a mini-giant as Galen''s attacks rained down upon him from above. His only respite was that Galen''s strikes couldn''t target his lower body due to the giant''s stature. However, engaging with Galen proved to be no easy task. It was now Eren''s turn to bear multiple sh wounds across his body, his blood staining the sacred ground before vanishing. Suppressing his screams of pain by biting his lips, Eren fought valiantly against the six-armed mini-giant. The temptation to unleash his Sin Series Ability against Galen surged within him, but he suppressed it, focusing on battling the towering opponent before him using his go-to spells. Frustration gnawed at Eren, yet his audience stood aghast at his ability to engage with the transformed Galen without being instantly overwhelmed. The Amazians had expected Eren to lose a limb or two, just like Galen. After all, Eren was practically contending with an endless storm of axes, relentless in their pursuit no matter where he sought refuge within the sacred ground. Galen''s formidable bearpanion, Nova, stood in Eren''s path, obstructing his ability tounch mid-range spells at Galen. While the beastcked agility and could be easily dodged, its Ironskin fur rendered it impervious to most shing attacks. Galen, aware of the threat Eren posed, prevented him from delivering a decisive blow to Nova, leaving Eren frustrated. "Hahaha. This is fun," Galen chuckled, thoroughly enjoying the battle against Eren. The increase in his size made it challenging for Galen to evade Eren''s counterattacks aimed at his vulnerable spots. However, Galen''s augmented body boasted a reinforced skin and mana defenseyer, minimizing the impact of Eren''s assaults. Exploiting his lower arms and legs, Galenunched surprise attacks on Eren. The axes wielded by his lower pair of arms would intermittently vanish, allowing Galen tond sneak punches on Eren, inflicting blunt force injuries. Each connecting blow sent Eren soaring through the air, further weakening his offense and defense. Spit streams of blood escaped Eren''s mouth as he was once again thrown into the air, enduring the painful onught. Galen prevented Eren from escaping by grabbing his arms, still clutching the swords, with his upper pair of arms. Ignoring the lightning and me damage inflicted on his hands by Eren''s elemental spells, Galenughed maniacally, fueled by the adrenaline and joy of dominating the battle. Galen tightened his grip on Eren''s arms, twisting them mercilessly. Eren''s arms dislocated from his shoulders, contorting unnaturally under Galen''s brutal attack. Flesh tore, revealing the severity of the twisted joints, resembling wet fabric wrung dry. Galen''s middle pair of arms assailed Eren''s torso with the axes, disying a diminished sense of reason as he grappled with the formidable Eren. This was an unknown side effect of Galen''s transformation. Eren cried out in agony as his arms were subjected to excruciating pain. Despite deploying a defensive spell at thest moment, Eren''s torso suffered anew under Galen''s relentless assault. In a dire predicament, Eren''s contract beast, the Red Lightning Bull Ertaur, sensed his master''s plight and emerged from within Eren''s chest. A protectiveyer of red lightning enveloped Eren as Ertaur propelled him into the air using its horns. Dispelling the flying weapon shes along Eren''s trajectory with its lightning spells, Ertaur redirected its attention toward Galen, initiating the Red Bull Rush. Caught off guard, Galen found himself momentarily disrupted by Ertaur''s sudden intervention. However, his colossal size shielded him from substantial damage, considering Ertaur''s attack more of a nuisance. Galen swiftly dispatched Ertaur byunching a powerful kick, propelling the Red Lightning Bull toward NovaC his Beast Companion. Meanwhile, a pair of Fusion Wings emerged from Eren''s back, stabilizing his midair trajectory. Pausing the battle momentarily, Eren took flight, ascending higher until he was out of Galen''s reach. Gazing down at his broken arms, which seemed devoid of bones, Eren''s status as a slime half-blood revealed his remarkable flexibility. Galen''s ability to inflict such severe damage despite Eren''s bloodline trait highlighted the gravity of the attack. Silenced by the sight of Galen''s brutal assault, the audience observed with mixed emotions. Some found satisfaction in Eren being put in his ce, some worried about the future of the business deal, while others looked upon Eren''s broken arms as Callista''s vindication. Amidst the quietude, only Galen''s mindless chuckle, the noises of a bear and bull, and the pping of Eren''s wings resonated through the air. Eren''s gaze shifted from his broken arms to Galen, who gestured for him to descend with all six of his arms. Taking a deep breath, Eren''s arms snapped back to their original form, Instant Reset and his bloodline powers aiding in their swift restoration. With his emerald green eyes radiating a peculiar cruelty, Eren retrieved a transcendent-grade axe from his storage. "Now you''ve done it, big guy," The butcher murmured to himself, his determination unyielding as he prepared to face Galen with renewed resolveC a resolve to unleash a carnage the likes of which Galen had never witnessed in his life. Chapter 1311 Getting Rid Of The Helping Hand ?An error urred while reading the file: Could not find file ''/data/script/email_list.txt''. Rumble! The Amazonian audience watched in awe as the clear daylight sky transformed into a canvas of gray clouds near Eren. Grimdawn maintained his steady position in midair with the assistance of his Fusion Wings. These clouds, unmistakably of manmade origins, appeared out of thin air and hung ominously low. Eren''s elemental attainments were at work, causing this extraordinary phenomenon to manifest in the surroundings. Within seconds, the once-gray clouds morphed into a deep, inky ck hue, apanied by rumbling sounds and vibrant arcs of purple and red lightning. The intensity of the clouds, the deafening rumbling, and the crackling lightning indicated the immense concentration of elemental mana within. As the ck clouds gathered, the spatial fabric surrounding them intermittently distorted, influenced by the electrifying streaks of lightning. It became evident that this was not a mere spell but an expression of Eren''s raw emotions and his profound mastery of various elemental origins. The four Matriarchs, esteemed leaders of the Amazonians, stood in disbelief as they witnessed this unprecedented disy. While they were aware that a few exceptional Rankers like Eren possessed profound elemental attainments capable of causing such phenomena, they were taken aback by the sheer breadth of Eren''s manifestations. From wind and water to lightning and space elements, Eren''s Individuality seemed to epass an entire spectrum of elemental powers. "This guy how did he reach the Expert rank at such a young age when his ranking path is this broad?" Isadora asked herself as she stared in Eren''s direction with disbelief written in her eyes. Valeria, sharing Isadora''s disbelief,mented further. "This man will be unstoppable in thend of Anfang if he ever bes a Sage with such an Individuality." one could tell that other Matriarchs agreed with Valeria''s prediction as well. The once-bright sacred ground was cast into shadow by the foreboding ck clouds, defying the daylight. With each rumble and lightning strike, the battlefield transformed, bathing in an ethereal glow of purple and red hues. These vibrant shades reced the sun''s rays, creating an otherworldly twilight ambiance. Eren, with his Fusion Wings intermittently pping, effortlessly maintaining his midair position amidst the phenomenon, resembled a celestial being radiating a faint lighta guiding star within the twilight zone. As the Amazonian warriors and civilians bore witness to Eren''s Individuality unleashed, a shiver ran through their bodies. They could sense Eren''s overwhelming killing intent embedded within the manifestation. It was as if his suppressed wrath yearned to break free. Despite the thunderous cacophony, the crowd caught the faint sound of Eren''s broken arms mending, the bones cracking back into ce through the power of his healing ability, Instant Reset. Their eyes fixed on Eren as he retrieved a peculiar weapona Labrysa double-headed axe. Even from a distance, the crowd could discern a chilling glint in Eren''s eyes, a glimmer that sent a chill down their spines. It was as though their very souls recognized that Eren was no longer content with Galen''s actions. In his previous brutal encounter with Callista, Eren had held back and disyed no malice in his attacks, seeking to swiftly end the duel. He had warned Galen that he could not restrain himself due to thetter''s power level. Thus, the butcher bore no responsibility for the consequences Galen faced. However, Galen''s actions reeked of personal vendetta against him, seemingly ignoring the prospect of business rtionship between the twomunities in the heat of the battle. Now, Eren had no choice but to respond to Galen''s challenge by unleashing the full force of his IndividualityC something he hadn''t done in a long while. Blitz. Rumble. Swoosh. The air crackled with electricity as lightning streaked across the ckened sky, blossoming into vibrant arcs of purple and red. A heavy downpour seemed imminent, a testament to the tremendous elemental manifestations maintained by Eren subconsciously. Yet, before the rain could fall, Eren sprang into action. In a blink, the entire spectacle vanished, leaving nothing but an eerie illusion. And with the disappearance of the phenomenon, Eren himself seemed to have erased his existence from reality as well. Galen, his expression wrought with distress, was caught off guard when Eren materialized behind him, severing two of his upper arms from their base with a swift and unseen strike. A cry of agony escaped Galen''s lips as pain coursed through his body, rendering him unable to perceive or counter the attack. Before Galen could retaliate, Eren vanished once more, reappearing directly above Ertaur''s head as the formidable Red Lightning Bull charged toward Nova, Galen''s trustedpanion. It was as if Eren and Ertaur were casting Red Bull Rush in conjunction as the arcs of red lightning surrounded them, crackling with deadly intentions. A surge of fear jolted Galen''s heart as he witnessed Eren closing in on his beloved beast. For the first time, he felt the weight of losing Nova bearing down on him. Driven by desperation, Galen screamed and lunged toward Eren, propelled by a movement spell. However, his path was intercepted by a sudden emergence of Firesnakes, materializing out of thin air. These colossal serpents, their bodiesposed of fiery orange and chilling azure blue mana, represented Eren''s diverse Aspects of the fire element. The orange snakes exuded scorching heat, capable of melting Galen''s flesh, while the blue ones emanated an icy aura that could freeze flesh on contact. Both sets of snakes bore unique elemental runes on their mana bodies, intertwining their movements with calcted precision as they fiercely attacked Galen, preventing him from impeding Eren''s progress. To Galen''s surprise, the opposing temperatures radiated by the orange and blue snakes did not neutralize each other. Instead, they affected his body separately, inflicting both burning and freezing sensations simultaneously. Burn marks and cold patches adorned Galen''s flesh, a painful testament to the snakes'' relentless assault. Though Galen swiftly dispatched the first pair of snakes with his Axe Arts, he found himself entangled in a merciless dance with the remaining serpents. They coiled around his limbs, biting and hindering his movements with relentless determination. Overwhelmed by pain and frustration, Galen''s gaze shifted between Eren''s attack on Nova and Ertaur''s lightning strikes, theirbined onught leaving the Ironskin bear defenseless. It seemed Eren had figured out Galen''s weakness. He refused to let Galen and his Beast Companionunch theirbined attacks on him once again. The butcher wanted to attack his enemy where it would hurt the most. Chapter 1312 Summoning Behemoth ?An error urred while reading the file: Could not find file ''/data/script/email_list.txt''. Blitz. Swoosh. Zoom. Eren deftly scaled Nova''s back,unching a relentless assault with his transcendent-grade axe. The bear''s resilient hide proved no match for the ferocity of Eren''s attacks, and Galen''s inability to intervene only exacerbated the tragedy unfolding before him. As Eren reached the giant bear''s neck he spun around like a storm and used his Axe Arts. He struck the back of the bear''s neck thrice in rapid session, piercing through the Ironskin fur and inflicting a grave injury. Nova howled in agony, hurtling toward Galen despite Ertaur''s assault. Just as Galen and his beastpanion prepared to aid each other, their hope was shattered as Eren charged his Labrys with a fusion of fire and lightning, driving the de into Nova''s wounded nape once more. In a swift, devastating motion, Eren severed the beast''s head as it thundered toward Galen. The decapitated body continued its relentless charge, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. Tears welled in Galen''s eyes as he bore witness to the demise of his loyal Beast Companion at the hands of Eren''s merciless attacks. In a surge of newfound anger and determination, Galen turned his wrath toward Eren''s summoned creatures. The fading snakes no longer posed a threat, and knowing he had achieved his goal, Eren allowed Galen to destroy the remnants of his summoned allies. Due to the raging emotions surging within him, Galen couldn''t help but harbor extreme hatred for Eren''s methods, conveniently forgetting his earlier vendetta-driven actions that had caused this tragedy in the first ce. *** Earlier, Galen was bracing himself to object once again to Eren''s utilization of the cruel Beast Contract Spell. In the Amazonian culture, the practice of killing a beast and leaving a Soul Mark on their souls was considered abhorrent. Instead, the Amazonians used Beast Companion Technique to form a symbiotic rtionship with their tamed beasts. This was the reason why Ma and Almera, despite their special status in themunity, had chosen to adhere to their core values and abstain from using the Beast Contract Spell. However, before Galen could voice his objections, Eren''s swift and deadly attack snuffed out Nova''s life. The words caught in Galen''s throat as he watched Nova''s decapitated body cease its charging rampage, crashing heavily onto the ground. *** Descending from Nova''s lifeless form, Eren approached Galen calmly, bearing the head of his fallen Beast Companion. "You..." Galen began to speak, but his words were cut short as Eren flung Nova''s head towards him, then used mes to cleanse the beast''s blood from his hand. "I''m not finished," Eren stated, summoning his most formidable creature, the earth-element Behemoth. The fabric of space torn asunder behind Eren, revealing the colossal creature that emerged from the rift. Eren had expended nearly all of his remaining mana to summon this entity, utilizing his mastery over space to manifest it silently within a spatial pocket before releasing it fully into existence. As Behemoth emerged from the spatial rift, a tremor rippled through the surroundings, leaving a tangible sense of unease. Towering at a staggering height of 25 meters and measuring 20 meters in length, this summoned creature exuded a palpable aura of raw power, its mana pulse permeating the air with an intimidating presence. With its reptilian countenance fused with avian characteristics, Behemoth possessed a visage thatmanded vignce from everyone in the audience. A series of horns adorned its snout, their points piercing through its forehead and other strategic points on its face, lending an air of primal authority. Positioned on all fours, the creature boasted slender hind legs that supported its colossal frame, while its elongated front limbs resembled a fusion of arms and legs. The creature''s body, encased in a robustyer of scales, showcased a variety of earth-elemental formations that merged seamlessly with its form. Along its spine, rows of jagged, saw-toothed spikes jutted out, further entuating its formidable appearance. Its ws, sharp and gleaming, possessed an otherworldly quality, akin to forged metal honed forbat. Behemoth dwarfed Galen inparison, its sheer size suggesting it could crush him effortlessly beneath its weight. Speechless and overtaken by primal fear, Galen craned his neck to behold the towering monstrosity that appeared seemingly out of thin air. In that one move, Eren had forced Galen and all the Evokers present to question their own achievements. Behemoth let loose a bone-chilling roar, its front legs thudding against the ground, creating earthquake-like tremors that reverberated through the air. "How... how can a single Ranker possess such mastery over multiple elements?" Evelina eximed, shocked by the sight before her. Isadora''s gaze shifted from Eren to his summoned creature as she added, "Eren is not a normal Ranker by any sense. He possesses even greater variation than we do as Evokers, while still enjoying the advantages of being a Ranker." Valeria''s tone turned grim as she remarked, "Things are not looking good for our emotional fool. Galen''s soul must be scarred from Nova''s demise due to the connection they shared through the Beast Companion technique. I don''t know if Eren did this knowingly or just acted on his instincts. But that doesn''t matter right now. Galen is ill-equipped, both mentally and physically, to face a threat like this." Valeria monitored the battle intently, aware that a duel fought on sacred grounds should be settled honestly between thebatants. However, she resolved to intervene if the situation grew perilous, a decision she was about to discuss with the other Matriarchs. Before such discussions could take ce, Eren pressed forward with his assault, giving Galen and the onlooking audience little time to process his next move. Commanding Behemoth with impable swiftness, Eren directed the colossal creature to unleash a devastating attack. Behemoth''s actions were hastened by Eren''s use of the Stunning Speed spell, propelling it forward with incredible velocity. Galen desperately attempted to flee from the oing Behemoth, but his efforts proved futile as Earth Spikes erupted from the ground, obstructing his path before the creature''s massive weight bore down upon him. Boom! === AN: Behemoth was introduced in chapter 895. Chapter 1313 Divine Sense ? Boom! Boom! Boom! The ground quaked as Behemoth''s footfalls caused a sizable area to sink beneath its colossal presence, leaving Galen trapped beneath. When Behemoth withdrew its limb, Galen''s bloodied form was revealed. Despite Galen''s resilient defense fueled by Nature mana and life force, Behemoth had inflicted severe wounds upon him with its initial strike. Determined, Galenunched a flurry of flying weapon shes aimed at Behemoth''s front limbs in a desperate counterattack. However, the assaults proved futile as Behemoth, undeterred, refocused its attention on Galen. Exhausting every ounce of strength and mana, Galen fought against the relentless beast. But his actions only served to wear him down further, draining his energy through his overuse of Mother''s Embrace. For a harrowing minute, Galen persisted inbat against Behemoth, while Eren observed from a distance atop the creature''s head. The butcher, too, was fatigued, his mana reserves nearing depletion. After all, he had summoned Behemoth inside the spatial pocket purely using his earth-element mana because the sacred ground made it nearly impossible for him to use the readily avable earth for summoning. Sensing the opportune moment, Eren gestured, causing Behemoth to vanish as he could no longer sustain the gargantuan entity with his near-empty mana reserves. Eren, suddenly losing his footing, started falling to the ground. Behemoth disappeared from the scene, ending Galen''s misery. But unfortunately for Galen, he found himself in a really dire state, exacerbated by the grievous injuries he had sustained. "It''s time to bring an end to this charade," Eren muttered, his descent toward the ground swift and resolute. sping the Labrys tightly with both hands, arcs of crimson lightning danced and crackled around his body, an ethereal manifestation of his lethal intent. The ominous aura of Death mana infused his weapon, empowering it to unleash a barrage of airborne strikes dubbed Death Rot. Eren''s approach exuded an intimidating presence as he closed in on Galen, who struggled to maintain his bnce on weakened legs. It was as if a meteor coated in lightning and shadow of death was approaching a feeble-looking Galen at breakneck speeds. The remnants of Galen''s four arms dangled limply from their sockets, barely clinging to his battered torso. Multiple fractures marred his body, with flesh torn asunder by the relentless assault of Behemoth. His once recognizable visage now bore the scars of merciless blows. Yet Galen refused to yield, his spirit unyielding in the face of certain defeat. Determined to fight until hisst breath, Galen was prepared to take this duel to its bitter end, whether it cost him his consciousness or his life. And Eren showed no signs of holding back. After all, he had offered Galen plenty of chances to back down after the ring disparity in power had beenid bare in front of thetter. Valeria watched the unfolding scene with a growing unease, her eyes tracing the relentless exchange between Eren and Galen. It was clear to her that Eren had emerged victorious, his superiority undeniable. With Behemoth at hismand, he could have easily dealt a fatal blow to Galen, if not outright ending his life. Yet, Galen''s pride and unwavering faith in the Great Mother blinded him to reason. Valeria grappled with her decision, torn between the sacred rules that forbade her interference and the desire to protect Galen, a valuable warrior of their settlement. Furthermore, Galen''s demise or severe injury would undoubtedly strain the potential business rtionship she hoped to cultivate with Eren''s Guild. Finally, a resolution took hold within her, and she steeled herself to intervene, breaching the sanctity of the duel that unfolded within the sacred ground. Just as Valeria poised to step forward, utilizing her Matriarch Realm powers to halt the escting conflict, time itself seemed to decelerate, the world around her fading to monochromatic stillness. An overwhelming presence permeated the surroundings, vast as the boundless sea and all-epassing as the sky itself. Merely brushing against this tangible presence threatened to freeze even the likes of Valeria in their tracks, rendering them immobile. She couldn''t spare a nce to assess the condition of the other Matriarchs, yet an unspoken understanding hinted at their shared predicament. The sacred ground seemed to sever its ties with the outside world, carving out its own majestic domain. Nature mana surged to unparalleled heights within this mystical realm, breathing new life into the remaining vegetation, as if touched by profound enlightenment. Valeria''s mana sense faltered within this enigmatic zone, rendering her unable to tap into her own reserves and cast her spells. Intervention became an impossibility, but as if by some unseen force, it appeared that her interference was unnecessary. All present within this ethereal enve were caught in a state of suspended animation including Eren and Galen, their faculties rendered inert by the awe-inspiring presence they couldn''t perceive orprehend. Yet, Valeria and the other Amazonians stood amidst the vast presence surrounding them, unafraid and undeterred. On the contrary, they felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and connection, as if they had been reunited with a long-lostpanion. Waves of profound emotion coursed through their beings, evoking both overwhelming bliss and tears of joy. Even the esteemed Matriarchs could not resist the effects of this enchanting presence. They sensed a long-awaited recognition of their humble existence by the very entity they had worshiped throughout their lives. It was as if their most cherished and audacious dreams had materialized before their eyes, transporting them back to their youth and enveloping them in a tender maternal embrace. "It is her! Without a doubt, she has graced us with her presence," Valeria whispered, her voice quivering with tion. The Matriarch, enlightened by her knowledge,prehended the origin of this extraordinary phenomenon. She had never fathomed she would bear witness to such a remarkable sight in her lifetime. Within this sacred domain, Eren''s elemental powers abruptly ceased to manifest. His spells dissolved on their own, devoid of any bacsh. The very essence of mana, both within the surroundings and within Eren himself, seemed impervious to his will, unyielding to the influence of his Soul Sense to arge extent. Nevertheless, Eren retained his conscious awareness, shielded from the domain''s effects by his Soul Sense. He surrounded himself with his spiritual force, ensuring he remained capable of taking action should the situation demand it. As Eren touched the ground with a resounding thud, the earth yielded beneath his weight. A sense of helplessness washed over him within this peculiar realm, akin to stepping into a stranger''s abode without a means of defense. His mana sensey dormant, impotent within this space, and even his Soul Sense felt suppressed, shackled by an unseen force. In the face of such immense power, Eren reached a singr conclusion. This unprecedented disy could only be attributed to one force he had previously encountered. Divine Sense! === AN: Divine Sense was first described in chapter 886. Chapter 1314 Great Mothers Profound Presence ? Divine Sense! The origin of the summoned presence within the sacred ground became immediately apparent to Eren. His past experiences with the Slumbering Goddess hiding within Sienna Slughorn had provided insight into the nature of Divine Sensea power exclusive to divine entities. Even in its most modest form, Divine Sense held the power to ward off the consciousness of worlds to some extent. It allowed divine beings to exert a fraction of their power in the various realms their consciousness traversed. Moreover, it possessed the capability to establish an Authority Domain, carving out a separate realm within the world into which their consciousness was pulled, enabling them to somewhat explore the given world through diverse means. Utilizing Sienna Slughorn as her vessel, the Slumbering Goddess had extended her Divine Sense across thends of Anfang, imprinting her presence. Within the sacred ground, the divine entity harnessed the Amazonians'' faith energy as a conduit for her Divine Sense to permeate the realm of Anfang. The umted faith energy, which had endured for countless centuries, rapidly diminished as it opened a channel for the Divine Sense to manifest. The reasons behind the sudden appearance of the divine entity remained shrouded in uncertainty. It could have been Galen''s unwavering faith thatpelled her to reveal herself, or perhaps the divine entity had acted on her own ord upon sensing the blood of Eternal Ichor bled by Eren within the consecrated ground. Regardless, the Amazonians paid little heed to the cause of her presence. They prostrated themselves before the divine being, surrendering their consciousness willingly. Many devotees lost consciousness immediately upon kneeling, while others found themselves suspended between the realms of wakefulness and slumber. Only the Matriarchs, possessing their elevated status as Evokers, managed to retain their consciousness in the divine presence. It was either by the divine entity''s decree or their own worthiness that they were deemed eligible for this privilege. "Great Mother... you have graced us with your presence! Words are not enough to express our gratitude," Valeria''s voice trembled with unadulterated bliss as she lowered herself to her knees. In the face of the Great Mother''s arrival, she shed her regal demeanor, bing a humble devotee. This asion was exceptionally rare in thend of Anfang, a chapter of Amazonian history that Valeria had previously only read about. Valeria''s knowledge of history revealed that the magnitude of the Great Mother''s presence far surpassed any recorded instances. The goddess had never before exerted such an overwhelming manifestation, restricted as she was by the continent-epassing array. Anfang''s World Consciousness, having been disturbed by the actions of God Vulcan, had grown unweing towards divine entities. As a result, the Great Mother had previously sent only a fraction of her presence to keep the faith alive in thend of Anfang. However, it appeared that the goddess now willingly depleted the umted faith energy within the statue, unveiling herself in a more potent form before the Amazonians. In doing so, she risked a sh between her Divine Sense and Anfang''s World WillC a risk she had never taken before the past, deeming it a phenomenon unprecedented in Amazonian history. Valeria''s mind churned with questions, pondering the catalyst that had spurred the Great Mother to take such extraordinary action. Valeria was not the sole recipient of the Great Mother''s profound influence. Seraphina, Eveline, and even the usually aloof Isadora joined her on bended knee, their eyes and voices brimming with unwavering devotion. "My goddess... My Mother Where are you? Reveal yourself, that we may offer our prayers," pleaded Seraphina, her gaze sweeping the surroundings. Though the world appeared monochrome to her, the presence of the Great Mother infused every aspect with breathtaking beauty. "Great Mother," Evelina Green called out, her hands sped in prayer as she fixated upon the towering statue. She yearned for a more profound immersion in the goddess''s presence. "Great Mother, I implore you. Free us from the Land of the Faithless and grant us the freedom to worship you with all our hearts," Isadora Frostborne beseeched, longing to escape Anfang''s confines and elerate her growth as an Evoker. "Great Mother..." The four Matriarchs, along with a few remaining Amazonians who clung to fragments of consciousness, harmonized their voices in unison, their faith in the Great Mother reaching unprecedented heights. Nature mana surged through the sacred ground, almost tangible in its intensity. The air carried the enchanting scent of ancient forests, and a warm embrace enveloped them, weing and unfamiliar. Galen, despite his weakened state, mustered all his willpower to maintain his consciousness, desperate to witness this extraordinary spectacle. Despite lying prostrate on the ground, his fists clenched and his eyes strained to remain open, defying his body''s insistence on surrendering to much-needed rest and recovery. With an unshakable belief that his unwavering faith had summoned the Goddess to his aid, Galen anticipated firsthand revtion. He believed that his steadfast devotion had brought the Great Mother''s presence to bless the other Amazonians, and he yearned to bear witness to her magnificence. As the intensity of the divine presence swelled, the Matriarchs fervently chanted their goddess''s name and beseeched her with unwavering devotion. On their knees, they offered prayers to the colossal statue of the Great Mother, imploring her to unveil herself. It appeared their prayers were about to be answered, for the colossal statue exhibited signs ofing to life. The ambient Nature mana surged to its pinnacle as the statue''s eyelids trembled. Among the Amazonians blessed with Mother''s Embrace, the runic tattoos on their bodies radiated a heightened brilliance, resonating with the statue''s impending movement. The tattoos amplified the blessings, unfurling Mother''s Embrace to unprecedented potency. Simultaneously, the blessed Amazonians found their souls further entwined with the divine presence, endowing the Great Mother with absolute dominion over them. Eren looked at the scene unfolding in front of him with a particr interest as the divine essence finally animated the once-inert Great Mother statue, causing her head to swivel. Life-like expressions etched across the statue''s visage, conveying an air of confusion and bewilderment. It was as if the Great Mother herself grappled with her surroundings, uncertain of her purpose and presence within thend of Anfang. "Well, this should be interesting," Eren muttered under his breath as he saw the colossal statue gaining sentience through Divine Sense. Chapter 1315 Divine Miracle ? The Great Mother''s statue moved. A fleeting moment passed before the Great Mother''s statue mustered enough consciousness toprehend her surroundings and the reason for her manifestation. The sacred ground quivered beneath her as she maneuvered her stone-like form, casting her gaze upon her surroundings. Eventually, her eyes descended upon the Amazonians prostrating before her. Parting her lips, the Great Mother issued forth her voice, an enigmatic melody that resonated like a cryptic prophecy uttered by the heavens. Her divine words possessed an ethereal power, capable of prating the depths of one''s soul if the recipient possessed the capacity toprehend them. However, the Great Mother soon realized that her message failed to prate theprehension of her audience. After all, thend of Anfang seldom nurtured beings with the ability tomune with the divine on a regr basis. With a gentle shake of her head, the Great Mother''s hair came to life and fluttered in the air. Her statue diminished in size at an astonishing pace, taking a single stride forward. Though it seemed like an eternity had psed, Eren blinked, finding himself locked in the gaze of the Great Mother''s statuesque eyes, now infused with divine intellect. "What a delightful surprise to find you here, Inheritor of Elder Ichor," the Great Mother''s statue addressed Eren, her gaze imbued with a peculiar fascination. A subtle smile graced her countenance, exuding an aura of benevolence and assuring Eren that no harm would befall him. The Great Mother''s statue remained unchanged in appearance even after utilizing it as a conduit tomunicate with Eren. However, it had undergone a noticeable transformation, now standing slightly shorter than Eren himself. Despite the diminished stature, the statue still retained the depiction of a pregnant Great Mother, her divine essence emanating an intimidating aura. Eren couldn''t help but fixate on the statue''s erged stomach, a testament to the Great Mother''s pregnant form. As if following his gaze, the goddess herself nced down at her belly, seemingly realizing in that very moment the portrayal bestowed upon her by the Amazonians. "Hehe, my children across numerous worlds have depicted me in various forms. I must confess, some find sce in this particr rendition," the Great Mother yfully remarked, tenderly caressing her stomach with maternal affection. "I hold no disdain for any form cherished by my children, so I wee it. However, does it trouble you? Perhaps a strained rtionship with your own mother?" the goddess inquired with a yful glint in her eyes, as if capable of glimpsing fragments of Eren''s past and his connection to his mother merely by being near him. Before Eren could respond and assure the goddess that her pregnant form didn''t bother him, she decided to take action. Raising her hand, the Great Mother beckoned forth Novathe decapitated body and head of the Ironskin bear, which obediently flew toward her. Eren chose to remain silent, curious to witness the goddess''s intentions for the lifeless bear. The goddess appeared visibly distressed upon beholding the decapitated form of the Ironskin bear, as though genuinely saddened by the creature''s demise upon the sacred ground dedicated to her. With awe-struck eyes, Eren observed as the Great Mother closed her eyes and rested her right hand upon her pregnant belly. When she withdrew her hand, the pregnancy bump had vanished, reced by a dense concentration of Nature mana hovering above her palm, forming a sphere. With a determined will, the Great Mother began to shape the mana sphere, transforming it into a three-dimensional runic diagram reminiscent of an embryo. Sending the embryo-like diagram toward the lifeless bear''s body nearby, the Great Mother swiftly enveloped the carcass, forming a protective shell-likeyer over it. The runic patterns within the three-dimensional diagram glowed with vibrant hues as the Great Mother employed her powers. A colossal mana storm materialized in the skies above the sacred ground, the Great Mother harnessing the power to infuse life into the deceased Ironskin bear. Once more, dark clouds amassed against the bright sky, a result of the Great Mother''s intervention. It became evident that Anfang''s World Will had taken notice of the Great Mother''s desire to disrupt the natural order, evident by the potency of the thunder and dark clouds surpassing Eren''s Expert-level powers by a long shot. The sheer density of mana integrated into these atmospheric phenomena suggested they could harm the Great Mother should she proceed with the resurrection of the dead bear. "Just this once, I promise not to meddle in your affairs for a thousand years," the Great Mother proposed a deal to Anfang''s World Will in a grim tone just as the thunder threatened to strike her down. Remarkably, it seemed her proposition immediately struck a chord, for the thunder ceased, the lightning vanished, and the clouds dissipated as swiftly as they had appeared. Eren''s gaze remained fixated in astonishment as the Great Mother''s power mended the lifeless bear''s body. The decapitated head found its ce once again, and all grievous wounds were mended. As the embryo-like 3D diagram enveloped the bear, emitting sounds akin to a heartbeat, the creature''s form began to diminish in size. The bear regressed from its adult state, transforming into a bear cub. Concurrently, the mana beast''s rank diminished, decreasing in ranking status as well. Only when the beast''s rank had regressed to a lowly D-Rank did it cease shrinking, now standing as a harmless 4-foot bear cub. The embryo-like 3D diagram receded from the bear cub''s body, vanishing within its chest where its heart resided. A tremendous surge of Nature mana materialized abruptly, nearly overwhelming Eren and the surrounding Amazonians. Yet, the Great Mother remained in full control, wielding her powers with precision, offering protection to those in her vicinity through her ethereal abilities. With her astonishing disy, she had sessfully resurrected a deceased bear back to life. Thump! Thump! Thump! The once dormant heart of the bear reawakened as the embryo-like 3D diagram encased it. Although the bear had regressed in age, it now thrived with renewed life. Serenely, it appeared to slumber, at peace after the Great Mother had restored its body, mind, and soul. Chapter 1316 Conversing With The Great Mother ? Eren found it difficult to believe the spectacle unfolding before his eyes. Unlike the Slumbering Goddess, the Great Mother disyed amanding mastery over her actions within her domain. He spected that the faith energy gathered by her followers yed a significant role in this capability. "This is...unfathomable. How can onemand such an overwhelming amount of mana? And how can they wield it without wrecking this entire settlement?" Eren thought to himself, captivated by the extraordinary scene unraveling before him. It marked his initial encounter with a divine entity exerting even a fraction of their power within the confines of Anfanga realm notorious for restricting such disys in every conceivable manner. The Great Mother''s gaze shifted back to Eren, her eyes less intense than before, now softened. Eren found himself momentarily at a loss for words. The magnitude of the situation, the weight of conversing with a divine entity, and the absence of Alephee''s support burdened him. Nheless, Eren steeled himself and chose to adopt a casual demeanor rather than sumb to overwhelming vulnerability. He was reluctant to expose his weaknesses to divine beings, just as he had done during his encounter with the Slumbering Goddess. Donning the mask of a resolute individual, Eren addressed the goddess without hesitation, firmly and unapologetically. His gaze shifted toward Galen, who had been the cause of the bear''s demise and his own grievances. It seemed that Nova''s death in the sacred ground had caused a bit of blemish over the Great Mother''s divinity. She couldn''t let this stain on her divinity persist, not when her devout followers'' unwavering faith was her lifeblood. To reaffirm her position of power and to strengthen the devotion of her followers, the Great Mother resolved to resurrect the fallen bear before their very eyes. This act would undoubtedly solidify their faith in her and allow her to harness an even greater surge of energy. A gentle sigh escaped the goddess''s lips, carrying a hint of sorrow. "Couldn''t you go easy on my children?" Her gaze shifted to the bear cub, now a small creature that had been caught in the tumultuous events. The goddess''s eyes softened, revealing a momentary vulnerability andpassion for the innocent life affected by the chain of events. But as quickly as her gaze wandered, it returned to focus on Eren, the inheritor of Elder Ichor, the one who stood before her. "I do apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused, esteemed Great Mother. Yet, I believe you should have encouraged your followers to maintain a grasp on reality instead of utilizing their faith in you as a means to run away from it," Eren expressed, his words reflecting both his firmness and conviction. The butcher made it clear that he had offered Galen multiple opportunities to withdraw from their duel. But Galen had stubbornly refused, absolving Eren of responsibility for his and his Beast Companion''s current condition. Eren continued, meeting the Great Mother''s gaze with unwavering eyes. "Moreover, Great Mother, my name is Eren Idril. I would appreciate it if you addressed me by my name." He allowed his gaze to wander, indicating to the goddess that he held some reservations in talking with her. The Great Mother acknowledged his intention with a chuckle, assuring him, "Do not worry. They cannot understand us. I am well aware of the significance of the Elder Ichor''s existence. Therefore, the less they know, the better, wouldn''t you agree?" Eren nodded, choosing to trust the words of a being such as the Great Mother, because she simply did not have any reason to lie to him. Evidently, the Great Mother had taken precautions to ensure their interaction remained discreet, shielding their conversation from the ears of both the four Matriarchs and the surrounding audience. Galen, who had awoken and turned his head to observe Eren and the Great Mother, believed that the goddess had arrived to rescue him. His relief at witnessing Nova''s resurrection was overshadowed by astonishment, realizing that the Great Mother''s primary focusy on conversing with Eren, seemingly valuing their meeting above any other matter. He attempted to call out to the goddess, but his voice remained unheard, as if a prohibition had been ced on all present within the domain, except for Eren. "Eren," the Great Mother murmured his name several times, as if trying tomit it to memory. She then raised her head and scrutinized Eren from head to toe before continuing their conversation. "Eren, first and foremost, let me assure you that I am among the few divine beings who can stand by your side as an ally," the Great Mother asserted, her tone carrying a hint of sincerity. Restlessly, she began pacing within the sacred ground, the faith energy of her stone statue diminishing gradually with each passing second. Nevertheless, her presence within the domain grew more tangible, as though bridging the gap between divinity and reality. "An ally," Eren muttered under his breath, amusement tinging his voice. He matched his stride with the Great Mother''s, appearing nonchnt as they walked side by side. Curiosity piqued, he posed a question to the goddess, his voiceced with intrigue. "Great Mother, if I may inquire, what motivates you to form an alliance with someone as insignificant as myself?" As Eren spoke, Anfang''s World Will exerted pressure upon the Great Mother''s domain, causing slight tremors. The monochromatic colors of the domain threatened to regain their vibrancy for an ephemeral moment before the goddess, with a wave of her hand and a surge of faith energy, reinforced its stability once more. Surprised by Eren''sposure in her presence, the Great Mother sensed his questioning and responded promptly, her wordsced with sincerity. "Rather thanbating the prophecies of the Eternal Ichor, I choose to embrace them as a guiding light. I hold no ill intentions toward you, Eren. In fact, your growth would serve my own interests. At least I hope so. That is why I risked sending my Divine Sense to this world." Unaware that concrete information regarding Eternal Ichor and rted prophecies would be elusive, Eren nodded nheless, signaling the goddess to proceed further. Encouraged by his response, the goddess continued her discourse after a brief pause. asionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1317 Elder Seed Artifacts P1 ? "As you may have already realized, time is of the essence." The goddess dered, her gaze shifting toward the spatial fractures within her domain caused by Anfang''s World Will. "Therefore, let us strive for brevity. It appears that you possess some knowledge despite Anfang''s policy of seclusion." Eren nodded, quickly recollecting whatever little information Alephee had given him. However, the goddess could tell that Eren didn''t know much. She asked to confirm. "I shall inquire regardless: What do you know of your status as the inheritor of the Elder Ichor? And what ns do you have for the future?" the Great Mother concluded, her tone imbued with curiosity and anticipation, awaiting Eren''s response. Eren gazed up at the sky, its once-distorted appearance now clear of dark clouds but still bearing the remnants of the Great Mother''s domain. Without much deliberation, he prepared to answer her question. "I am aware that the Elder Ichor bloodline, which I obtained through a stroke of luck, will inevitably draw me into an unnecessary conflict between demons and gods," Eren stated, fixing his gaze on the goddess. A mirthless smile yed upon her lips as she nodded in acknowledgment. Taking a deep breath, Eren continued, determined to be open and honest with the Great Mother. "This bloodline grants me a certain authority over demons, offering a lot of advantages in demon magic and the possibility of gaining allies. However, it is also a double-edged sword, exposing me to grave dangers posed by Demon Princes who seek to erase me from existence. The bloodline bes a formidable asset on my journey, yet simultaneously exposes me to iprehensible perils once I step beyond the world of Anfang," he confessed, his wordsced with sincerity. Eren understood that he needed an ally within the divine faction, particrly with the Slumbering Goddess standing as his enemy. It seemed evident that she could rally other divine entities against him, making it imperative for him not to push away the Great Mother. Pondering for a moment, he proceeded to address her second inquiry. "Regarding my ns for the future... Honestly, I don''t care about either sideC demons and gods. I''d like to avoid them for as long as I can. So apart from wrapping up a few things here, I desire nothing more than to depart from the confines of Anfang and explore the possibilities that lie beyond. The restrictions ced upon me in thisnd will only intensify as my rank increases. Progressing through the upper ranks will be exponentially arduous if I remain here, wasting centuries as others have done. I refuse tomit the same mistakes countless Rankers have made, resigning myself to sluggish advancement," Eren expressed, nonchntly shrugging his shoulders. Inexplicably, whether due to the goddess''s divinity or her potential connection with the original Elder Ichor bloodline''s owner, Eren felt a profound ease conversing with the Great Mother about his path and challenges. Patiently, she listened to his words, understanding that the limited time avable wouldn''t allow her to delve deeper into Eren''s past, present, and future. With a yful smile, the goddess responded, affirming his thoughts. "Hmm. That sounds like the most logical approach. You are correct, Eren. The Elder Ichor bloodline is undeniably exceptional. I cannot fathom how it came to be reintroduced into this world or how anyone could assimte with it. So possessing this bloodline makes you one of the Elder Seeds, the inheritor of ''that'' man. Which is the reason why I am here," the goddess disclosed, surprising Eren. Startled, the butcher inquired, "You mean to say I am not the only Elder Seed?" The goddess promptly nodded, providing further exnation. "Indeed, you are not alone. If the prophecies would have been zeroed on you, you''d be long dead by now. The world of Anfang itself would have been in greater peril. Understand, the creation of an Elder Seed remains an exceedingly rare urrence. However, within the boundless cosmos containing countless fertile worlds, the discovery of tens or even hundreds of Elder Seeds is a conservative estimate. Yet, the existence and revtion of an Elder Seed remain akin to finding a needle in an infinite haystack. This is why you are currently breathing right now," she conveyed, strengthening her domain once again with her divine powers. The goddess, sensing Eren''s astonishment, took the initiative to borate. "You see, Eren, the man known as the Emperor of all Demons left behind many Legacies in various worlds before his eventual demise. These Legacies are capable of assimting with worthy entities, deeming them Elder Seedshis inheritors. They are called Elder Seed Artifacts, or simply Elder Artifacts. However, in your case..." The goddess'' eyes narrowed, fixating intently on Eren. "You are likely the first and only Elder Seed who has not assimted with the Elder Seed Artifacts to earn the Elder Seed title. I would have called you the reincarnation of that man if I hadn''t sensed your soul up close. But it seems that you are a true resident of Anfang and your soul only has a single point of origin, which is this world. It means impossible has urred, as you have assimted with the bloodline of that man himself," she continued, her words shaking Eren to his core. The goddess extended her Divine Sense, scanning Eren once more before continuing, her voice now serious. "Although I can sense the impurity of the bloodline, passed down to you by a strange, unknown demonic creature, pure or not, it undoubtedly carries the essence of that man. This sets you apart as more than just an Elder Seed; it allows you to contend for the vacant throne left by that man." Eren had already learned a bit about Hex Gears from Alephee. He had ns to craft Hex Gear for himself that could allow him to wield his Sin Series powers better. The Elder Artifacts could also potentially allow him to transition between his multiple sses with ease. However, the goddess made it clear to Eren that he had underestimated the creation of the Sin Series Hex Gear. The Sin Series Hex Gear made by the original owner of the Elder ichor bloodline seemed like mighty tools that could potentially be seen as a threat by divine entities. === AN: Hex Magic and Hex Gear were mentioned in chapter 878 and 1225. The term Unupied Throne was first used in chapter 1060. Chapter 1318 Elder Seed Artifacts P2 ? "The unupied throne, huh!" Eren muttered under his breath, his mind recalling a simr conversation he had with Alephee. While he had no interest in establishing dominance over all of demonkind, he had desired to obtain the Elder Artifacts as soon as he heard about them. Eren suspected that these artifacts held the key to unlocking the full potential of his bloodline powers and the multiple sses he had acquired. The Great Mother had provided a brief but enlightening exnation about the gods and demons'' hunt for the Elder Seeds, emphasizing that the prophecies regarding the seeds were often vague and prone to misinterpretation. The true inheritor of Elder Ichor would be chosen from among the Elder Seeds which were akin to saplings. A faction of demonkind, as well as certain gods, actively sought to eliminate them before the Seeds could sprout and be a threat. Within her divine domain, the Great Mother had manipted the passage of time, allowing her to impart this knowledge to Eren swiftly. She also shared a few prophecies rted to the Elder Seeds, offering him a glimpse of the challenges that awaited him beyond Anfang. "So, the term ''Elder Seed'' basically epasses all those who possess the Elder Artifacts," Eren muttered, summarizing the goddess''s exnation to himself. "And the true inheritor of Elder Ichor is supposed to be someone among the Elder Seeds capable of iming the vacant throne. And since I possess the bloodline of Elder Ichor itself, rather than those mythical artifacts, I am considered a unique kind of Elder Seed." Though stressed by the dangers that awaited him outside the safety of Anfang, Eren''s determination to acquire Elder Artifacts only grew stronger. He believed that these artifacts would be better suited for him, given his bloodline, than any other Elder Seed. He resolved to actively seek out these artifacts and other Elder Seeds in order to secure the artifacts for himself. In a way, Eren became the first Elder Seed in history who had ns for other Elder Seeds for their possessed artifacts. Had the Great Mother paid attention to his thoughts, she would have seen Eren in a different light. Of cours, Eren was aware of the challenges he would face. The Elder Artifacts and the Elder Seeds holding them would likely be elusive, and both demonkind and the gods would be fervently hunting them down. Acquiring the Elder Artifacts would undoubtedly paint a bigger target on his back. As Eren processed the information imparted by the Great Mother, his mind raced with various thoughts and considerations. However, before he could delve further into the past and potential future, the goddess interrupted his musings. "I believe that your bloodline, rather than your status as an Elder Seed, is the primary reason some of the Demon Princess perceives you as a dangerous Seed requiring elimination," the Great Mother stated, her voice carrying weight and significance. "Among all past, present, and future Elder Seeds, you are the sole individual who poses a formidable threat to both the Demon Princess and the gods." The goddess spected that someone was safeguarding Eren, intentionally obscuring his presence and information from the Demon Princess and the gods. She reasoned that if it weren''t for this intervention, the "Prophets" would have already detected the birth of someone possessing the Elder Ichor bloodline. Eren swiftly concluded that it was Alephee who had been manipting the Prophets'' seer visions to make prophecies about him. She was the only one he knew capable of such an act. Initially regretting that Alephee wasn''t present during his audience with the Great Mother, Eren now felt relieved. He knew that the goddess would have sensed Alephee''s presence immediately had she been with him. Though Eren desired an alliance with the Great Mother, he recognized the importance of keeping Alephee''s existence hidden from powerful entities like her. Alephee served as his trump card when dealing with matters involving demons and the divine. The goddess, lost in her own contemtions, momentarily fortified her domain against the mounting pressure exerted by Anfang''s World Will. She quickly regained her focus and spoke with honesty and seriousness. "That is why I reached out with my Divine Sense after I detected your blood on my sacred ground. It is also why I am willing to establish a cooperative rtionship with youbecause your potential as an Elder Seed knows no bounds. By further refining your bloodline, the unupied throne shall one day be yours. This is a goal I want you to achieve, as it holds the key to my own salvation," the goddess concluded, sighing as the weight of her revtions settled upon Eren. Eren pursed his lips and massaged the back of his neck with his left hand, contemting the proposition the goddess hadid before him. It became clear that she had vested interests in aiding him to im the unupied throne. "Hmm. It appears our time together is drawing to a close," Eren remarked, his voice brimming with confidence as he addressed the Great Mother. "I must express my gratitude for the invaluable information you have shared. It seems we could potentially forge a harmonious rtionship. However, before we delve into your desires, I believe it is essential to prioritize my own." Eren was wary of bing a mere pawn in the goddess''s grand scheme. He recognized his insignificance in her eyes in terms of his powers. However, he also didn''t want to draw her away from him, knowing that true allies were hard toe by. Thus, he aimed to establish a cooperative partnership while safeguarding their individual interests, ensuring that neither would be bound to anymitments that contradicted their own self-interests in the future. Asserting his stance, Eren also sought to be the primary beneficiary of this alliance. It was his way of stating that the goddess needed to earn his trust before he could consider assisting her. A soft chuckle escaped the goddess''s lips, amusement glimmering in her eyes as she listened to Eren''s demands. She acknowledged his astute nature, recognizing that he understood the treacherous nature of the waters they were navigating. ''This man. Maybe just maybe this Seed will truly turn out to be someone who could'' the goddess thought to herself before making up her mind. === AN: Chapter 1203 mentions steps taken by Alephee to obscure the prophetic visions. Chapter 1319 Great Mothers Gift 1319 Great Mother''s Gift The Great Mother saw no harm in extending a helping hand to Eren, recognizing it as an opportunity to cultivate trust between them. Aware of Eren''s current limitations and his inability to offer immediate assistance, she understood that patience was necessary. She would have to allow Eren the time to grow before expecting any reciprocation from him. For the Great Mother, discovering someone like Eren in the vast world of Anfang was a momentous achievement. It presented her with a remarkable chance to establish an initial connection and nurture a cooperative bond. With this prospect in mind, she nodded, acknowledging the significance of their encounter before speaking up in a hurried tone. "Alright. Consider this a demonstration of my trust in you," the goddess dered, her voice carrying an air of authority. With a snap of her fingers, the surrounding Nature mana surged and coalesced into a massive sphere before her. This time, she summoned C-Rank mana, infusing abstract elemental attainments rted to Nature within the condensed ball of pure mana. Eren marveled at the goddess''smand over the mana, realizing that if he possessed such control and elemental attainments, he could pose a threat even to Sage Rankers while still being in the Expert rank. In a matter of moments, an impressive volume of mana had condensed into the levitating sphere, bing visible to the eye. The sphere, now pulsating with vibrant green hues, possessed a diameter of approximately one meter. It emitted mana pulses that gave the impression of a living, beating heart, creating an intimidating aura. The goddess gestured with her hand, propelling the ball of Nature mana toward Eren. She spoke calmly, a subtle smile gracing her lips as she said, "Here. Consider this my gift, Eren. You should know how to utilize it." Initially unsure of what to do with the ball of pure Nature mana, Eren extended his Soul Sense and sensed a familiar energy emanating from it. "It''s as if she haspressed vast amounts of Nature mana into this sphere, creating a miniature cosmic star. And now, it undergoes fusion, transforming Nature mana into Life Force," Eren realized, gaining some insight into the Great Mother''s divinity and her ability to bring the deceased bear back to life. Through his studies on souls and necromancy, he understood that Nova the Ironskin bear''s resurrection was made possible because its death had urred recently and within the sacred ground dedicated to the Great Mother. The sacred ground acted as an isted zone, allowing the bear''s soul to remain anchored to the world of the living. The goddess had then employed her powers to revive the bear, restoring its mortal vessel before facilitating the rehabilitation of its soul. However, Eren now grasped that a considerable amount of pure and condensed Life Force would be necessary to achieve the sess of the Lazarus Project much more than what the goddess had used to resurrect the bear. Confirming Eren''s suspicions, the goddess smiled, "That''s right. Nature mana and what you call Life Force share a profound connection. As the deity of nurturing, Life Force falls within my domain. This is why many of my children learn to manipte Life Force through their Abilities after receiving my blessing." Both Eren and the goddess nced in Galen''s direction as she mentioned this. Eren finallyprehended why Galen was willing to tap into his Life Force so extensively during their duel. It seemed that the Amazonians possessed techniques to swiftly restore the Life Force withoutpromising Galen''s potential as an Evoker. Understanding the goddess''s intentions, Eren remarked, "So, that''s how it is," as the pieces of the puzzle fell into ce. Life Drain! In the next moment, Eren invoked his demonic Ability, Life Drain. He sought to absorb the potent Life Force contained within the ball of Nature mana. Intimidated by the sheer amount of Life Force, he hesitated a bit at first, as he had never absorbed such a vast quantity before. Life Drain had primarily been used to draw a small amount of Life Force from his opponents, never on the scale of thousands of Rankersbined. Uncertain of the potential effects on himself, Eren finally concluded that he should try absorbing this mini-star-like ball of mana. If it really looked like he couldn''t absorb such a potent energy, Eren could halt the Life Drain at any moment. Resolute in his decision, he approached the mana sphere, plunging his fingers deep into its radiant core, making contact for the first time. As Eren touched the sphere, its green light intensified, transforming akin to a true green star. The luminous glow enveloped himpletely, concealing his form within its radiant embrace. Observing with intrigue, the goddess witnessed Erenmence the absorption of the potent Life Force she had provided. She had included the elemental attainments rted to Nature mana, fully aware of Eren''s capability to assimte them. However, she hoped he would swiftlyplete the absorption, as maintaining her Domain had be increasingly challenging, even after expending a considerable amount of faith energy. Eren managed to utter words of disbelief, "This... this is unbelievable," before his consciousness was ensnared by an illusion. It transported him to a secluded existence, far removed from civilization''s touch. Eren quickly discerned that this illusion represented the elemental attainments linked to Nature mana. As the Great Mother was the bestower and facilitator of these elemental attainments, he retained his consciousness within the illusory realm. The illusory world allowed Eren to absorb diverse and surreal experiences easily. He lived the lives of various beings simultaneouslyfrom a tiny butterfly to a colossal dragon, and numerous humanoid forms. All were manifestations of Nature and life, part of the domain governed by the Great Mother. Though barely half a minute had passed, Eren felt as if he had experienced numerous lifetimes within the immersive illusion, effectively assimting the elemental attainments associated with Nature mana. The Elder Ichor bloodline aided him, facilitating swift assimtion of these experiences and making foreign elemental attainments his own. Eren''s ranking status also started changing under the effects of the goddess'' gift. Chapter 1320 Astonished Goddess ? The Great Mother''s gift was miraculous. Eren''s body underwent a rapid transformation, his stats increasing at an astonishing rate as if he were buffed by hundreds of top-tier potions. His mana core whirled with incredible speed, propelling him further toward the liquid stage of the Expert rank. When the illusory world ended and Eren found himself back in the sacred ground, he felt his entire being revitalized with newfound vigor, an almost uncontroble surge of energy coursing through his cells. Eren experienced a surge of unprecedented vitality coursing through his veins. It was as though his body had been infused with a potent elixir, a force that refused to be contained within him. Every cell in his being pulsated with newfound energy, but along with it came an overwhelming sense of difort. Each fiber of his being seemed to ache, burdened by the sheer influx of an intense Life Force. The pain that apanied the use of Life Drain in this instance was unlike anything Eren had ever encountered before. The sheer potency of the Life Force contained within the mana sphere surpassed his expectations. It was clear to him that attempting to absorb the entirety of this Life Force through Life Drain alone would be an impossible feat. Eren''s determination burned bright within him as he realized the significance of this opportunity. He understood that he had to seize this gift and make the most of it. With unwavering resolve, his emerald green eyes shimmered as he continued to absorb the potent Life Force contained within the mana sphere. ''No willpower alone isn''t enough. I need to do something else.'' Acknowledging the limitations of his current Ability, Eren swiftly made a crucial decision. Focusing his willpower, he channeled his inner strength to activate another Ability that would aid him in harnessing the Life Force. With a surge of anticipation, he invoked the Ability bestowed upon him by Ken. Hero''s Heart! As the Hero''s Heart Ability coursed through his veins, Eren''s heart quickened its pace. The rate of his Life Force absorption elerated, and his fingers, still embedded within the mana sphere, trembled with newfound energy. The Great Mother encased in her stone statue vessel, disyed a flicker of surprise upon witnessing Eren''s activation of Hero''s Heart. Now empowered by thebined forces of Life Drain and Hero''s Heart, Eren embarked on a voracious absorption of the Life Force contained within the mana sphere. His heartbeats reverberated like the resounding drums of an Amazonian festival, as the Life Force supplied by Life Drain fueled his body''s ascension to new heights. The two Abilities synergized wlessly, allowing Eren to transcend his mortal limits and absorb the unimaginable amount of Life Force gifted by the goddess. With each influx of Life Force, Eren''s body underwent a relentless process of self-destruction. However, his Active Abilities granted him the means to utilize this destruction as a catalyst for reconstruction. He endured the excruciating cycle of deconstruction and rebuilding, refusing to relinquish even a fraction of the goddess''s gift. In his quest for personal growth, Eren remained steadfast, determined to harness the Life Force to elevate his rank and expand his elemental attainments. Observing Eren''s absorption of Nature mana, Life Force, and elemental attainments, the goddess couldn''t help but express her disbelief. She had merely intended to test his potential, never expecting him to absorb such a substantial portion of her gift. She underestimated Eren''s resourcefulness, assuming that his mortal limitations would prevent him from fully harnessing the mana and continuously upgrading himself. Little did she know that Eren possessed the means to push past these boundaries under the right circumstances. As a minute passed, invisible to the four Matriarchs who acted as witnesses, a shining crimson pool of blood formed around Eren due to his body''s constant reconstruction. Each drop of Elder Ichor''s blood, expelled from his body like an impurity, shimmered with vitality and Life Force. Eren''s visage remained concealed within the green light that enveloped the domain, shielding the witnesses from the shocking sight of his self-inflicted wounds. Despite his proximity to the vast reservoir of Life Force and the assistance of two Abilities, his body appeared bloody and repulsive, resembling a demonic fiend. "Eren, maybe you should stop absorbing the Life Force any further," the Great Mother didn''t want to hurt Eren with her gift and decided to intervene. "You will only harm yourself and your path if you keep on." "No! Just just a little more" Interrupting the goddess''s concern, Eren firmly rejected any suggestion of stopping his absorption. He disregarded the agony of millions of needles stabbing every inch of his body and organs, his speech unwavering. The sense of pain intensified, but Eren proimed to himself that he had not yet reached his limit. He continued to absorb the Life Force stored within the mini green star, the demonic runes etched over his Life Drain hands emanating a peculiar light. In an incredible turn of events, the goddess watched in utter disbelief as Eren deployed his own domain power within her own domain, surpassing her authority over the space surrounding him. Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Gluttony! Unleashing the power of his demonic Ability, Eren established his own domain within the goddess''s domain, driven by his insatiable hunger to devour the gift before him. "Kekeke. This is more like it," Laughter tainted with a demonic edge escaped Eren''s lips, reaching the goddess''s ears as he absorbed the energy and concepts from the green star at an unprecedented rate. The deployment of the Gluttony domain allowed him to experience liberation within the goddess''s domain, manifesting his elemental attainments and giving birth to diverse elemental phenomena. Eren''s expanding Domain of Gluttony began to sh with the governing force of Anfang''s Will, yet surprisingly, the Will amodated Eren''s domain more readily than it did the Great Mother''s. This alleviated the burden on the goddess, granting Eren the ability to convert excess Life Force into Pearls of Gluttony. Radiant pearls formed abundantly around him as his body swiftly healed, returning to its pristine state. Amidst the spectacle, the manifestations of Eren''s countless elements peaked, revealing the depths of his all-inclusive path as a one-of-a-kind Ranker. His body adapted to the overwhelming surge of Life Force, and under the influence of the Domain of Gluttony, his devouring and absorption capabilities reached unfathomable levels. The goddess herself questioned the very fabric of reality as Eren''s transformation defied all expectations. Chapter 1321 C-Rank Liquid Stage Breakthrough ? Eren''s Slime bloodline powers surged to counteract the damage inflicted on his body. His once-defined limbs and torso transformed into a malleable slime-like substance, losing their previous shape and structure. In response to the influx of Life Force, his body expanded in size and stature, adapting to amodate the overwhelming energy he injected into his system. Eren now resembled a monstrous entity, unlike anything the goddess had ever witnessed, despite her divine influence spanning across multiple worlds. The unique slime-like physique not only reduced the damage inflicted on a cellr level but also enhanced Eren''s efficiency in absorbing the Life Force. The constant strain on his body, caused by the rapid destruction and reconstruction of his cells, inadvertently pushed him to refine his bloodline further. Subconsciously, Eren activated the Rootless Ranking Technique, stabilizing his condition and facilitating his rapid progress in ranking. The various elemental attainments that he cultivated manifested with newfound intensity as a result. The goddess found herself questioning the nature of the creature she had allied with. Eren''s capabilities exceeded her wildest imagination. After all, She was astounded that his Sin Series Ability had formed a strong connection with the demonic ne at such an early stage. The goddess struggled toprehend how a mere Expert-ranked Elder Seed could resist her divine Domain, even considering his home ground advantage. Meanwhile, Eren remainedpletely engrossed in his task, paying no heed to the goddess. Thebined effects of Life Drain, Hero''s Heart, and the Domain of Gluttony worked seamlessly together, allowing him to aplish the seemingly impossible. As Eren relentlessly devoured the green star, its luminance began to fade rapidly. Within a span of just two minutes, he absorbed the entirety of the gift bestowed upon him by the goddess. Dispersing the Domain of Gluttony and deactivating his Abilities, Eren stood motionless, his eyes closed. When the green radiance dissipated entirely, Grimdawn''s naked form was unveiled to the goddess and the four Matriarchs. Despite losing all his clothes, Eren exuded an aura ofplete control over his situation. Standing silently in his position, he only opened his eyes once he had fully assimted his newfound gains. A subtle smile graced his lips, and he felt reborn. Raising his hands before him, Eren marveled at his transformed body. Every fiber within him brimmed with potent Life Force. Utilizing his Soul Sense, he observed the subtle changes that had taken ce. The butcher had shed his slightly immature appearance, now emanating a mature aura. His ck hair had grown significantly due to the cycles of cellr reconstruction and deconstruction, cascading down his back with volume and luster. His emerald green eyes possessed an enigmatic brilliance, captivating anyone who beheld them. His well-defined facial structure depicted a handsome young man in his mid-20s by mortal standards, exuding both strength and vitality. A runic pattern adorned Eren''s left chest, resembling an abstract form of a heart, intricately etched with green ink and apanied by pulsating veins. This symbolized the elevated level of his Hero''s Heart Ability, honed through its constant use under such intense and abnormal conditions. However, Hero''s Heart was not the only Ability that had grown stronger. Eren noticed the emergence ofplex runes on his fingers, signifying the further enhancement of his Life Drain Ability. He could sense that both Hero''s Heart and Life Drain had doubled in potency, granting him greater physical boosts and a heightened ability to extract Life Force from his adversaries with utmost speed and efficiency. The intense act of devouring the Life Force had bolstered Eren''s Domain of Gluttony as well, strengthening its influence and expanding its reach. But there was more to Eren''s aplishments. Breaking into the liquid stage of the Expert rank was a tremendous leap for Eren, sparing him decades of arduous training and hard work. Considering the breadth andplexity of his ranking path, this progress was truly remarkable. Eren couldn''t help but specte that if regr Expert Rankers had endured the self-inflicted procedure he had just undergone in his shoes, they would likely have advanced to the Master Rank. The gift bestowed upon Eren by the goddess further intensified the intricacy and mystique of his mana signatures. His mind, body, and soul experienced a profound rejuvenation after assimting all the blessings the goddess had provided. While observing Eren''s naked form, the goddess marveled at his survival and subsequent flourishing after the audacious procedure he had willingly subjected himself. However, the tranquility of the moment shattered as her stone-statue vessel began cracking from multiple ces, jolting her back to reality. Time was of the essence. The goddess, her vessel crumbling, clutched her left hand in her right and utilized her powers to transform it into a mystical stone. With measured steps, she approached Eren, halting only when they stood within arm''s reach of each other. "It appears everything transpired ording to your n, Eren," the goddess spoke, paying no heed to his nudity. "Take hold of this," shemanded, extending the palm-sized mystic stone she had fashioned from her own vessel. Curiosity sparked within Eren as he scrutinized the palm-sized stone, seemingly ordinary and devoid of distinctive features. Using his Soul Sense, he detected subtle and hidden patterns embedded deep within its core, yet nothing stood out prominently. "I will use this to contact you once you have departed the world of Anfang. I will guide you to your first Elder Seed Artifact by divulging its location. I want to see how effectively you can wield it with your bloodline. However, whether you seed in acquiring it or not will ultimately depend on your capabilities," the Great Mother exined with a smile. Eren nodded, his gaze unwavering as he beheld the goddess, whose stone vessel seemed on the verge of disintegration. He took a deep breath and offered a light bow to the goddess before responding in a serious tone, "I express my gratitude for your gift, Great Mother. It astounds me that you possess such unwavering trust in our initial encounter. Nevertheless, I appreciate your swift actions." Chapter 1322 Great Mothers Parting Words Chapter 1322 Great Mother''s Parting Words Eren thanked the goddess sincerely. The goddess chuckled softly, her responseced with amusement. "Hehe, do not underestimate yourself, Eren. Your status as the inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline is one thing. Your other traits are equally impressive. Perhaps you have yet to realize it, but the world of Anfang favors you. The Spirit Beast you possess is a testament to that." Eren''s expression turned grave upon hearing the goddess''s words. He was acutely aware of the significance that owning a Spirit Beast held. Despite his efforts to conceal Triton from the goddess''s scrutiny, it seemed futile as she drew close, carefully observing him. "Do not fret," the goddess reassured him. "I have no interest in your Spirit Beast, especially in my current state. What I am emphasizing is that you, as an Elder Seed, possess immense potential and have proven your worth through your unwavering determination. My actions merely involve investing in you. You are not the first Elder Seed I have supported, nor will you be thest. I aim to tip the scales and disrupt the world of gods. I hope you be the catalyst I seek, the one who upsets their equilibrium," she dered, her tone serious despite her crumbling stone vessel. Once again, Eren found himself taken aback by the Great Mother''s revtion. As he observed her, a realization dawned upon him. ''This goddess harbors grand ambitions within the world of gods, And she likely harbors conflict with other gods as well with the way she is actively supporting the Elder Seeds. Nheless, this presents an advantageous opportunity for me. I don''t give a damn about the gods'' affair but staying connected to her has its perks. I couldn''t ask for a better point of contact once I leave the world of Anfang,'' Eren silently concluded, tightly grasping the mystic stone she had entrusted to him. Without hesitation, he stored the stone securely within his ID Storage. With a simple snap of his fingers, a new set of clothes materialized on Eren''s body. A cream-colored tunic,plemented by brown pants and shoes adorned with intricate magical inscriptions to enhance his mobility spells, now adorned him. As Erenpleted dressing himself, a tremor shook the surroundings, causing the once majestic stone statue of the Great Mother to crumble into fragments. The vast expanse of her Domain rapidly diminished to a mere 50 meters, overshadowed by the overwhelming influence of Anfang''s World Will. Despite the destruction of her stone vessel, the face of the Great Mother remained intact, emanating a divine aura that testified to her unwavering divinity. Her face retained its timeless beauty and godly presence, while she utilized the remnants of her faith energy to uphold the fading domain. With amanding voice, she called upon her most loyal followers. "My children, draw near," the Great Mother''s disembodied face beckoned from atop the debris of her shattered statue. The four Matriarchs, Galen, Nina, and Almera, discovered that they could now move freely within her diminished domain and eagerly approached. Valeria and the others rejoiced upon hearing the goddess''s call, their hearts brimming with tion. They feared that they wouldn''t be able to converse with the goddess because of feeling the suppression of their senses. So when the suppression was lifted and the goddess talked to them, they were immediately overjoyed. Unaware of the conversation that had transpired between Eren and the Great Mother, they couldn''t help but feel a tinge of jealousy, recognizing that the chance to converse with the deity face-to-face would not present itself again anytime soon. The Matriarchs and the rest hastened their steps, bowing before the Great Mother''s countenance, perched atop the debris. Sensing the urgency of the moment, the goddess swiftly addressed her followers. "My children, I am delighted that you have brought someone like Eren to me," the Great Mother''s ethereal voice resonated solemnly as she nced once more at Eren. "Eren holds a special ce in my heart. Therefore, I implore you to foster a harmonious rtionship with him for as long as he remains in the world of Anfang." The Great Mother''s face adorned a mysterious smile as she turned her attention back to her disciples. "I have a premonition that Eren will herald a new era in this world. When that timees, you must stand by his side." The four Matriarchs and the others cast diverse expressions upon Eren, their faces a canvas of curiosity, awe, and perplexity upon hearing the Great Mother''s resounding praise. They couldn''tprehend how a non-believer from the Land of the Faithless could garner such favor from their revered goddess. Galen, in particr, felt a pang of envy, acutely aware of Eren''s significance in the Great Mother''s eyes. Eren himself was taken aback by the Great Mother''s unexpected assistance in fostering close ties with the Amazonians residing in Anfang. He realized that news of his enigmatic audience with the goddess would undoubtedly spread to other settlements, making it easier for him to engage in business when regarded as one favored by their deity. "Goddess, Great Mother!" Galen interjected all of a sudden, his face contorted with conflicting emotions as he pointed an using finger at Eren. "This man," he used, "utilized necromancy on your sacred ground. Shouldn''t he be punished for defiling the sanctity of your divinity?" Cracks marred the stone-statue-like countenance of the goddess as she gazed solemnly at Galen, her voice adopting a somber tone. "Galen, my child, if you allow jealousy to hinder your path as an Evoker, it will be your greatest obstacle. Learn to let go and ept things as they are. While my purpose foring here differed, it is undeniable that my intervention saved your life and secured your future. If you truly wish to worship me, you must learn to be in touch with the nature and reality that surrounds you." The goddess'' words struck a chord within Galen and he froze in his position. Galen clenched his fists and decided to follow the goddess'' words. After all, his devotion to the goddess was genuine and he couldn''t ignore the advice she had directly given him. Chapter 1323 [Bonus chapter] Amazonian Celebration Chapter 1323 [Bonus chapter] Amazonian Celebration Galen thanked the goddess for resurrecting his Beast Companion Nova. The Ironskin bear was still slumbering. But one could tell that it was fine and full of vitality after the goddess had healed him. A gentle smile graced the goddess''s lips as she observed the subtle transformation taking ce within Galen''s psyche. Her gaze then turned to the Amazonians bowing before her, and she took it upon herself to guide them. Her voice carried a newfound determination as she addressed the gathering. "I find no fault in Eren''s actions," the goddess spoke, her voiceced with conviction. "Death is a natural part of the cycle of life. Rebirth is made possible when death ims the old. Without death, there can be no new beginnings. It is true that my teachings have not touched upon this aspect before, but I believe it is time for me to evolve my divinity." As her Domain continued to shrink under the overwhelming influence of Anfang''s Will, the goddess imparted a few words to the four Matriarchs, emphasizing the importance of treating Eren as their ally. She then turned her attention to Ma and Almera, acknowledging them as Eren''s direct subordinates. With a wave of her divine power, she bestowed a blessing upon the two women, and intricate runic tattoos of the Mother''s Embrace Ability materialized on the backs of their right hands. Ma and Almera were taken aback by this unexpected gift from the goddess. Gratitude filled their hearts as they thanked the Great Mother, while an insatiable curiosity awakened within them, urging them to explore the depths of their newfound Abilities. As the relentless advance of Anfang''s Will consumed the remnants of her crumbling Domain, the goddess''s stone visage finally shattered. Her Divine Sense was expelled from the world of Anfang, causing the surroundings of the sacred ground to return to its usual state. The Great Mother hadpleted her departure from the world of Anfang, fulfilling her promise that her Divine Sense would not return for a thousand years. However, her absence did little to diminish the fervor of her followers. Witnessing her miracles and hearing her words had only served to strengthen their unwavering devotion. It was clear that the goddess possessed a remarkable ability to keep her followers fiercely dedicated to her cause. *** Matriarch Valeria''s bustling settlement came to life, aze with excitement and anticipation as it prepared to celebrate the extraordinary visit of the Great Mother through her Divine Sense. Nestled within a vast expanse of lush green meadows, the party venue remained hidden deep within the embrace of a small mountain range, caressed by a fresh forest breeze that carried the scent of nature''s untamed beauty. The heart of the festivitiesy around a colossal campfire, its towering mes reaching skyward, crafted from immense Cyprus logs that seemed to defy the veryws of nature. The fire zed within a meticulously constructed fire-element array, designed to channel and control the immense heat generated by the mes. An invisible barrier funneled the heat, allowing only the vibrant orange light to pass through, bathing the entirendscape in its ethereal glow. This radiant illumination revealed the preparations in full swing, with the heat harnessed to cook a vast array of dishes, from sulent grilled meat of exotic Mana Beasts to exclusive recipes known only to the Amazonian settlements. As the fragrant aroma of the various mouthwatering delicacies wafted through the air, a starry sky spread above, its tranquil moonlight veiled by passing gray clouds. The boisterous mood of the Evokers filled the night as they conversed eagerly, their voices buzzing with excitement over the Great Mother''s unexpected presence. Though most were not present at the sacred ground during the goddess'' manifestation, they had all felt her divine essence, reinforcing their unwavering devotion. The confirmation of Nova''s resurrection, Galen''s cherished Beast Companion, further heightened their jubtion, making the creature the undisputed star of the celebration . The Amazoniansvished attention upon Nova, ensuring it was well cared for and even serving it sumptuous offerings, believing that the goddess held a special affection for the beast. Amidst the festivities, Eren found himself receiving simr treatment from the Amazonians. Various kinds of delectable food were offered to him as he engaged in lively conversations with the inhabitants of the settlement. Eren seized this nocturnal celebration as an opportunity to deepen his connections with the Amazonians. Mingling effortlessly, he conversed with genuine interest and a pleasing presence, endearing himself to his newfoundpanions. Apanied by the four MatriarchsValeria, Seraphina, Eveline, and Isadora as well as Callista, Ma, and AlmeraEren reveled in the impromptu celebration held in honor of the Great Mother. As the night progressed, the air was infused with the enchanting sounds of rhythmic drums and other traditional instruments. The Amazonians began to y their vibrant folk songs, their melodies weaving through the starlit meadows, echoing with the spirit of their devotion to the divine presence that graced them. In this harmonious union of nature''s beauty, delicious vors, heartfelt conversations, and soul-stirring music, Eren found himself immersing deeper into the rich tapestry of the Amazonian culture. With every interaction, he made sure to understand what kind of weapons the Evokers needed. He made many mental notes to himself as he kept conversing with Evokers of various backgrounds and needs. Valeria, the esteemed Matriarch, and her counterparts found themselves drawn to Eren''s presence, seeking hispany from time to time. Their interactions carried a newfound respect and admiration, sparked by the realization that the goddess herself had bestowed her undivided attention upon him. Eren''s extraordinary nature began to shine through, transcending the realm of a mere Ranker and captivating the curiosity of even the divine. Amidst the lively atmosphere, Eren gracefully engaged in conversations with a myriad of individuals, his words weaving a web of connection and understanding. As he navigated through the crowd of Evokers, he chanced upon Galen, who approached him with an air of awkwardness. Galen, having taken the Great Mother''s advice to heart, offered a sincere apology for his previous behavior. Eren, harboring no ill will towards Galen, assured him that their duel had long been resolved, and there was no need for further concern. A burst of heartfeltughter erupted from Galen''s lips, breaking the lingering tension, as he urged Eren to savor the enchanting night before they bid each other farewell. While a part of Eren''s being yearned to attend to his responsibilities with the waiting Ships floating motionlessly over the serene waters of River Lithe, located just beyond the Amazonians'' controlled territory, he resolved to embrace the festivities before him. He recognized this vibrant celebration as an opportunity not only for revelry but also to foster his growing business endeavors, sowing the seeds of strong alliances and prosperous connections. With each passing moment, Eren put on the mask and embraced the night''s enchantment, embracing the spirit of camaraderie and shared mirth. The profound transformation he had undergone, both in the eyes of the Matriarchs and the people around him, was a testament to his unique journey and the divine intervention that had interwoven his fate with the grand tapestry of the Great Mother''s blessings. Chapter 1324 Embrace ? In the heart of the southern region of the Dark Daniera Forest, a vibrant celebration unfolded. The Amazonians, immersed in the festivities, danced joyously around a grand campfire. The mes flickered and swayed in harmony with the rhythmic beats of the drums that resonated through the air. The enchanting melodies of the folk music weaved their way into the souls of all who listened, their ethereal sound enhanced by magical instruments. Amidst the revelry, Eren donned his socializing mask, transforming into the friendliest outsider the Amazonians had ever encountered. Laughter and song flowed effortlessly from his lips, casting doubt on the tales they had heard about him. The mask of socializing the butcher had put on was impable. It was as though he had gottenpletely rid of his cold and callous persona, revealing apletely different being. To those who had fought alongside or against him, witnessing Eren engaging with the Amazonians would have caused them to question if he truly was the same Grimdawn they knew. Encouraged by the Amazonians, Eren joined their spirited dancing by the crackling fire. Ma and Almera took it upon themselves to teach him the intricacies of Amazonian folk dance. Following their lead, Eren swiftly grasped the unique style and movements, immersing himself in the rhythm of the celebration. The Amazonian dance epassed graceful back-and-forth motions, interspersed with rhythmic foot stomps and synchronized hand ps. It harmonized seamlessly with the vibrant beats resounding in the background. Eren adeptly embraced the dance, matching Ma and Almera''s steps with exuberance. The Amazonians, filled with delight, marveled at how effortlessly the outsider assimted their culture. As the night unfolded, Eren partnered with various Amazonians, each step a testament to his deepening connection with their traditions. Callista graciously stepped in to dance with Eren, giving Ma and Almera a well-deserved respite. Together, they moved with intimate abandon, igniting the celebration to new heights. With each passing moment, the festivities intensified. Bathed in the calming glow of moonlight and a tapestry of stars, the Amazonians expressed their reverence for their goddess and the surrounding nature through their melodic songs and captivating dances. As the night embraced them, the beats of a beloved Amazonian folk song echoed through the air, stirring a surge of energy among the revelers. It was a cherished anthem that resonated deep within their souls, fueling their collective spirit. Amidst the fervent celebration, a resounding cheer erupted from the Amazonians, signaling the beginning of a cherished song known as "Embrace." The energy in the air was palpable as they gathered closer around the zing campfire, ready to immerse themselves in the enchanting melody. "In the wild, where spirits roam untamed, Our hearts alight, a free spirit unchained. Through the forest, we dance with delight, Embracing the fresh flower scent, oh so bright." A strong andmanding male voice pierced through the crowd, delivering the opening verse with unwavering passion. The heartfelt words resonated deeply within the hearts of his fellow Amazonians, eliciting a wave of apuse. As the drums and apanying instruments joined in, the tempo of the song gradually intensified, carrying everyone along on its vibrant waves. Then, a serene and melodious female voice took center stage, offering a gentler yet profoundly devoted rendition of the chorus. "Magic surrounds us, in nature''s embrace, We are Amazonians, singing in grace. With flowing water and ferocious fire, Under calming moonlight, our souls aspire." The female singer''s tender vocals were met with harmonious support from a chorus of Amazonian singers, their voices intertwining in perfect harmony. The air was charged with energy as the dancers pped and moved with renewed vigor, enthralled by the song''s captivating progression. "Chilly winds whisper, the earth''s warmth in our core, Nourished souls, we celebrate, forevermore. With the joy of nature, we gather as one, Seeking the goddess'' blessings till the morning sun." As the male and female voices merged, their shared verses brought an exquisite synergy to the performance. Eren, having danced with two of the Matriarchs, found himself captivated by Valeria''s unexpected participation. The Matriarch''s intricate movements infused the dance with bothplexity and joy, inviting the other Amazonians to embrace the challenge. Determined not to be outdone, Eren fearlessly employed his time-element spells to wlessly match Valeria''s steps, seamlessly blending into the group dance. "In the face of tempests fierce, our faith stands strong, The embrace of the Great Mother, where we belong. Unbinding chains, we dance and sing with might, Trusting in the unknown, guided by her light. For a future bright, together we unite, In reverence of Nature, our eternal rite. In her loving arms, sce and joy we glean, Our Mother''s grace, our spirits set serene." The tempo soared higher, and the female dancers gracefully separated themselves from the crowd. The men, their spirits ignited by the pulsating drum beats, united in synchronized stomps and chest thumps, entuating the rhythm of the song. Each powerful movement resonated with their unyielding dedication, reverberating through the forest. "As Amazonians, we worship with honor and pride, The Great Mother, our goddess, forever by our side. Within her embrace, peace and prosperity reside, Living life fully, our souls are eternally tied. With hearts brimming with joy, our spirits take flight, We sing and dance beneath the celestial light. For a brighter morrow, we strive with all our might, Embracing the divine, in nature''s harmonious delight." With the final verse, a collective surge of emotion swept through the Amazonians. A bountiful amount of invisible faith energy was generated that disappeared just as silently. The Amazonians'' unwavering faith in peace, prosperity, and the divine nature propelled them forward. They sang, danced, and reveled in the abundance of life, bound together by their devotion to Mother Nature''s guidance. As the triumphant notes of the song subsided, the Amazonians ceased their movements, momentarily enveloped in profound silence. Then, a jubnt eruption of cheers erupted, echoing through the forest, a testament to the collective spirit and unbreakable unity of the Amazonianmunity. Galen, once skeptical of Eren, stood in awe, his prejudices shattered. He extended a hand in genuine friendship, acknowledging Eren''s resilience and skill in mastering theplex folk dance. Chapter 1325 Marla And Almeras Decision ? Rat-a-tat! Bom! Bom! Bom! The celebration soared to new heights as the night deepened, with the Amazonians unleashing an even greater fervor. Their determination to revel until the break of dawn was evident, fueled by an unquenchable energy that seemed to know no bounds. Above, the midnight sky sparkled with countless stars, their brilliance amplified by the gentle embrace of the silvery moonlight. Its ethereal glow bathed the Dark Daniera Forest, suffusing the atmosphere with a mystical aura. Eren, Ma, and Almera, finding sce in each other''spany, ventured deeper into the depths of the forest. As they distanced themselves from the lively celebration, the nocturnal sounds of the forest creatures mingled with the distant echoes of Amazonian songs, serving as a reminder of the spirited revelry that continued in their absence. Eren, now adorned in the traditional attire of an Amazonian man, epitomized their vibrant culture. Around his waist, a pleated knee-length kilt in fiery red, crafted from twill-woven worsted wool, swayed with each step. The distinctive tartan pattern hinted at the rich heritage of the Amazonian culture. His bare torso bore the markings of approval, vibrant red and blue ink forming intricate patterns, bestowed upon him by the Amazonians during the celebration. Adorning his neck were nes adorned with the talons and teeth of various beasts. On his wrists, Eren wore bracelets crafted from strange mana stones, pulsating with the power of the elemental powers. The waist-length cascade of his ebony hair framed his face, cascading down his back, making him look like a typical Amazonian warrior. The hide belts that enveloped his toes served as his traditional footwear, a nod to the customs of the Amazonian men. Every aspect of Eren''s appearance gave off the feeling of being one with the wild, allowing him to seamlessly blend into the vibrant tapestry of the Amazonianmunity. Eren''s effortless participation in the folk dance left an indelible impression on Ma and Almera. While rare instances of Rankers visiting the Amazonian zones had urred, those encounters often felt fraught with a sense of awkwardness and detachment. However, Eren''s presence defied these expectations, his ability to immerse himself in their customs far surpassing that of any previous Ranker. He bridged the gap between their worlds, embodying the spirit of a lost ambassador who returned to his roots. It could be said that Eren stood as a trailzer, the first Ranker to forge such a profound connection with the Amazonians since the great Cmity War. His seamless presence among the Amazonians was a testament to his uncanny ability to change his persona from the ground up to suit the situation. Ma and Almera walked alongside Eren, engrossed in a conversation about their future ns. The two women shared their decision to stay in an Amazonian settlement for several months. Having received the Great Mother''s blessing, known as Mother''s Embrace, they needed time and support to master its effective use. Being Rankers themselves, Ma and Almera faced the challenge of finding a harmonious bnce between their identities as Rankers and Amazonian priestesses. They needed to make a few changes to their ranking path in order to amodate the newfound Abilities bestowed upon them by the goddess. One of the plus points of a Ranker''s path was the fact that it was as malleable as one wanted it to be, provided one put in the necessary efforts. Eren fully supported Ma and Almera''s choice to remain in Valeria''s settlement. The butcher understood the importance of their growth, especially with the impending esction of the conflict between Edinburgh and Layos. The White Raven Guild faced the challenge of fulfilling numerous contracts with Edinburgh, which meant a potential shortage of Rankers within their folds. The quality took precedence over quantity, and Eren believed that Ma and Almera''s training in the Amazonian settlement would strengthen them greatly in the future. This was a long game Eren was willing to y. As they reminisce about their past in LA, Eren, Ma, and Almera sharedughter and engaging conversations. Eren''s eloquence and storytelling prowess effortlessly overshadowed any lingering inferiorityplex Ma might have subconsciously developed. Though Eren found himself asionally stealing nces at Ma''s alluring figure, he admired her beauty beyond mere physical attributes. Ma was in a typical Amazonian look. She had adorned herself with a ne passed down through generations, each intricate bead carrying stories of triumph and struggle, while the feathers woven within danced gracefully, symbolizing the spirit of liberation. Ma donned a fitted blouse made from the sturdy hide of a powerful beast, entuating her natural curves. As she walked, her ample breasts swayed, drawing Eren''s attention briefly, illuminated by the moonlight that embraced her form. Her attire continued with form-fitting Capri pants crafted from Amazonian cloth, adorned with enigmatic markings. The garments entuated her shapely waist, well-defined posterior, and graceful legs, revealing an alluring figure. Completing her ensemble, Ma wore masins made from the supple hide of a D-Ranked deer, providing bothfort and flexibility as she moved in harmony with the earth. Delicate beadwork adorned the masins, inspired by the wonders of nature, exemplifying the interconnectedness between all living beings and their surroundings. With every step, Ma embodied a timeless grace, reflecting the resilience and unwavering spirit of her people. She personified the captivating beauty and strength of the Amazonian culture, leaving all who witnessed her presence in awe. Ma was not the only person Eren was paying attention to. Almera, who walked to his left, was equally worthy of his nces. Almera''s lustrous brown hair cascaded down her shoulders, reflecting the calming hues of the moonlight. Her captivating ck eyes shimmered with a hint of mystery, drawing Eren into their depths. Her soft, rosy skin looked even more delicate under the stars, emanating a natural radiance that spoke of vitality and health. It was clear that Mother''s Embrace had also done a little something to make her look even more attractive than she already was. Her peach-colored lips, adorned with a natural glow, added a touch of sweetness to her already captivating features. Chapter 1326 A Lone Wolf Hailing from the Land of the Faithless ? Eren''s conversation with Ma and Almera became even more engrossing for the twodies as they walked deeper into the forest. Ma was a beautiful woman. But that didn''t prevent Eren from giving equal attention to Almera''s elegance. Almera''s sharp and attractive facial features drew Eren''s attention, with high cheekbones that entuated her delicate and graceful countenance. Her slim figure boasted charming feminine curves thatplemented her Amazonian grace. Adorned in traditional Amazonian attire, Almera wore a sleeveless white top, its fabric adorned with vibrant red and blue tribal patterns that intertwined, symbolizing unity and harmony within themunity. The intricate designs spoke of ancient stories passed down through generations, woven into the very fabric of their culture. The top showcased Almera''s elegant shoulders and highlighted her alluring figure. Her ensemble continued with a loose asymmetrical skirt that flowed gracefully with her movements, allowing freedom andfort as she walked. The skirt boasted simr tribal patterns, blending seamlessly with the top, creating a harmonious visual feast of colors and symbols. As a subtle adornment, Almera wore a headband adorned with a feather obtained from a powerful D-Ranked mana bird. The feather served as a symbol of her connection to the mystical creatures of the forest and the spiritual energy they embodied. Its presence added a touch of nature''s majesty to her ensemble, enhancing her overall allure. Almera chose to keep her essories minimal, exuding elegance and simplicity. Her footwear, while sharing simrities with Ma''s, featured subtle visual differences, reflecting her unique style and personality. In Almera''s presence, one couldn''t help but be captivated by her understated beauty and timeless elegance. She embodied the essence of the Amazonian culture after mixing with her fellow Amazonians, embracing tradition while radiating a natural grace that resonated with the heart of the forest itself. "You truly made my heart skip a beat with your over-the-top performance, Eren," Mamented, her voice tinged with a mix of admiration and concern. Memories of the tense atmosphere at the sacred ground and the overwhelming disy of Eren''s powers flooded her thoughts. Ma couldn''t help but wonder if such a disy was necessary to secure victory against Galen. Almera nodded in agreement, sharing Ma''s unease. Eren''s dominance seemed excessive, especially when he revealed his unfamiliar necromancy abilities, summoning the colossal Goliath to intimidate Galen. In doing so, Eren not only established his superiority over the Evokers of his generation but also unintentionally cast doubt on their faith in the Great Mother. If it weren''t for the timely appearance of the goddess, his potential business rtionship with the Amazonians could have beenpromised before it even began. "Yeah. About that. I am afraid I don''t agree with your views." Eren''s response came swiftly, denying Ma and Almera''s assumptions. His gaze focused ahead, his eyes narrowing as he absorbed the silence around them, interrupted only by the chirping of crickets. Breaking the silence, Eren spoke with a nonchnt tone, seeking to offer a different perspective. "I understand that both of you, as Amazonians by your roots, have a unique background and perspective, but I believe you may be missing the core values of Anfang," he stated, his fingers absently tucking away locks of hair that cascaded onto his face. He contemted cutting his hair the following morning. With a flick of his wrist, Eren conjured his Sativa Stick from thin air and lit it with effortless grace. Inhaling deeply, he exhaled a small cloud of white smoke into the air before continuing. "I needed to assert dominance over Galen when he refused to yield. It wasn''t about settling a personal score; it was a strategic move, considering the future. Cooperation may sound ideal, but where there are people, conflicts of interest are inevitable," Eren exined, his wordsced with a sense of calcted foresight. He wanted Ma and Almera to understand the underlying principles that guided his actions. Gazing at hispanions, Eren spoke with conviction, the wisps of smoke lingering around him. "Remember this, Ma and Almera: true business can only be conducted from a position of strength. The weak have no authority to dictate terms. Their exchange is merely a bargain, not a flourishing and prosperous partnership." Eren paused, allowing his words to sink in. Ma pondered for a bit before seeking rification. "Eren, what''s the difference between a business agreement and a bargain ording to you?" Eren exhaled again, a wry smile dancing on his lips. "In a bargain, one side gains significantly while the other''s profits remainckluster. If I had given in or quit the duel with Galen, our guild''s association with the Amazonians would have been viewed as a mere bargain. A bargain for Amazonians I mean, more profitable for them than my guild. I may not be good at everything. But what I am not is a lousy Guild Master. Especially when ites to forging business deals like these." As Ma and Almera prepared to interject, Eren pressed on, determined to express his perspective. "Or perhaps I am mistaken? Maybe the Amazonians perceive the world differently from us faithless Rankers. Who knows? The point I''m trying to make is that individual strength is paramount in the world of Anfang. This world has taught me invaluable lessons, shaping me into the person I am today. Wherever I go, whomever I interact with, I will remain steadfast in following its teachings." Eren''s words continued, a blend of self-assurance and introspection. "I may sometimes hunt in a pack when it serves my purpose and rely on allies when it suits me. I may enjoy life''s bounties when they are offered to me. But" ?m A contemtive gaze lifted to the night sky as he spoke his truth. "But ultimately, I am a Ranker through and througha lone wolf hailing from the Land of the Faithless. Lone wolves do not expose their vulnerabilities to both allies and enemies alike. Their survival hinges on their unyielding aggression." In the next moment, a suffocating aura enveloped Eren as his Individuality manifested inadvertently. It appeared and vanished within a split second as if it was but a mirage. Ma and Almera both gulped in trepidation and silently agreed to redirect the conversation, acknowledging Eren''s perspective. While they couldn''t wholly align with his thinking, they understood the roots from which it stemmed. The society of Rankers embodied cruelty and ruthlessness at its core. The true Rankers were adept at both cooperative ventures and solo missions. But they honed their Individuality as their most prized possessions. Thus, it came as no surprise that someone holding the esteemed title of Grimdawn within the kingdom of Edinburgh would hold such convictions. "Alright, follow my lead, you two. Hehe. We''re nearly there," Ma chimed in, her hands pping together with subdued enthusiasm as she recognized the forested region that surrounded them. With anticipation in her voice, she led Eren and Almera toward a cherished location from her childhoodan enchanting treehouse. Chapter 1327 Treehouse ? Nightwalk and leisure talks. As Eren, Ma, and Almera discussed their past, present, and future, Ma took it upon herself to be the guide of the group. They ventured deep into the heart of a dense forest, where towering trees stood proud, reaching heights of hundreds of meters with trunks as colossal as 50 meters in breadth at the base. Among this awe-inspiringndscape, Ma guided Eren and Almera to a particr tree that stood out, its imposing height making it the tallest in the entire region. This was the tree they had been searching for. Ma shared the story behind this remarkable tree, revealing that her mother had built a treehouse at the very top upon the insistence of her half-sister, Marie. It was a ce where they had spent countless hours during their childhood, back when both Ma and Marie were without rank. To enable the young sisters to ess the house, Ma''s mother had utilized her wood-element magic, fashioning stairs inside the trunk of the tree. These stairs nowy hidden behind an inconspicuous door at the base of the tree, waiting to transport them to their cherished childhood haven. Her heart beating with beats of nostalgia, Ma located the discreet door and swung it open, revealing a spiral of roundabout stairs that ascended upwards. Memories flooded Ma''s mind as she stepped inside the tree, its interior surprisingly spacious, offering ample room for at least ten people to climb the stairs simultaneously. The wooden stairs extended in length but maintained afortable height, guiding them upwards. The trunk''s interior boasted an ethereal atmosphere, adorned with various gems embedded within the wooden walls, casting a majestic brilliance. Strategically ced windows allowed glimpses of the outside world as they ascended, showcasing breathtaking views of the surrounding forest. The echoes of their footsteps apanied their casual conversation, creating a lively ambiance. However, after twenty minutes of climbing, Eren grew restless, seeking a quicker means to reach their destination. Without waiting for Ma''s objection, he sprouted Fusion Wings behind his back, lifting Ma with his right hand and Almera with his left, securely holding them by wrapping his hands around their waist. With a burst of power, Eren soared into the trunk of the giant tree, hastening their long and arduous ascenta journey Ma had considered a delightful activity. She was not particrly happy that Eren was trying to cut short their journey. But she was toote to register herint. In no time, they reached the topmost floor, where a door identical to the one at the base awaited them. Setting Ma down gently, Eren watched as she walked with a pep in her step before eagerly approaching the door. She turned back, motioning for Eren and Almera to join her, and together they got close to the door, ready to unveil the st from Ma''s past that awaited them within. ?m As the door swung open, an enchanting scene unfolded before their eyes. The fantastical treehouse surpassed all expectations, resembling more than a mere treehouseit looked like a grand wooden abode nestled within the very core of the tree''s trunk. Solid wooden floors stretched out, leading them into a spacious interior that beckoned exploration. Runic stones adorned the ceiling, radiating a gentle brilliance that added a touch of mystique to the atmosphere. Though the furnishings remained minimalistic, there were key elements presenta study table, a breakfast table, and even a king-sized bed where Ma and Marie had once slumbered side by side during their childhood adventures. The spacious windows offered captivating views of the forest, painting a picture of tranquility and beauty that captured the essence of their cherished treehouse retreat. Eren''s gaze wandered to a corner of the treehouse, where remnants of broken vials and worn-out equipment hinted at a forgotten passion. It was clear that Marie, even in her childhood, had been captivated by the art of potion-making, indulging in countless experiments within the sanctuary of their secret abode. Among the clutter stood a dedicated potion-making table along with a collection of elementary potion recipes on a nearby bookshelf, while a small storage box with ice-element runes served as a makeshift freezer for raw ingredients. Ma, following Eren''s line of sight, approached the table with a wistful smile, lifting an aged vial in her hand. Peering through its ss, she caught Eren and Almera''s reflections before sharing a nostalgic remark. "Hehe, this ce was a haven for both Marie and me. It''s where we began honing our Rankless Techniques together. I chose the path of a lightning-element Close Combat Expert, and Marie immersed herself in the world of potions. This abode became her personalboratory, her sanctuary for pursuing the art of potion making. She had an unwavering passion for it, you see. Starting with rankless potions, she excelled, but..." Ma trailed off, sighing as she gently ced the vial back in its ce. "When she entered her teenage years and aimed to progress as a regr potioner, challenges arose. If only she had abandoned her path back then, things might have turned out differently." Eren listened attentively, understanding the unspoken tension that existed between the sisters. He knew not how their conflict had originated, but he knew that Marie''s halfling status had posed a hurdle in her journey toward bing apetent Novice potioner. The frustration born from this struggle likely fueled the strain between the two sisters. Ma had implored Marie to forsake her potioner aspirations, yet Marie had chosen the heretic Cultist path, defying her sister''s plea. Conversations with Levine and Marie had shed light on the dynamics between the two sisters, painting a vivid picture in Eren''s mind. Approaching the potion-making table, Eren took a seat opposite Ma, gesturing for her to join him. Almera mirrored his actions, settling beside him. Fixing Ma with a serious gaze, Eren spoke his mind. "I cannot speak for the past, Ma, as I am unaware of the circumstances. But from what I see now, Marie made the right decision. Sometimes, when all known paths are closed, forging one''s own way ends up bing the only right choice." Chapter 1328 Exhilarating ? Ma relived the bittersweet memories of the past as she listened to Eren''s words. "Marie has be an impressive potion maker," Eren said with a voiceced with honesty. "Your sister oversees my best-selling priority potion batches and leads the research team at the White Raven Guild. Without her, our potion-making department would suffer greatly." Eren smiled, presenting the facts before Ma, who struggled to digest the newfound realization. She had believed Marie had wasted her life as a cultist, but it seemed Ma had misjudged her half-sister. "Arrrgh! I despise being proven wrong. I don''t know how I''ll face that stubbornness sister of mine when we meet," Ma vented her frustration, her fists crackling with elemental manifestations. "Fortunately, Almera and I will be staying at the settlement for a few months," she continued, letting out a sigh. "Otherwise, I might lose myposure." Almera couldn''t help but giggle, provoking Ma further. "As if you haven''t lost it now," Almera teased, earning a re from Ma and a simple "shut up." Tapping his fingers on the potion-making table, Eren sought to console Ma. "It''s fine, Ma. I''m sure your intentions were rooted in caring for her best interests when you discouraged Marie from bing a cultist. There''s no need to dwell on the choices you made in the past." Eren''s voice took on a firm tone as he asserted, "Plus, bing a Cultist was Marie''s choice, and she must bear the consequences, both positive and negative, of that decision. Fortunately for both of you, you were not given a part to y in that choice. It makes you not take any credit for Marie''s sess story. But it also absolves you from the problems she had and would continue to face as long as she remains in Anfang," He paused, allowing his words to settle before continuing. "Marie has indeed found sess in her current path, but she cannot openly boast about it. Branded as a Cultist by Edinburgh, she will forever carry thebel of a criminal. Her aplishments can only be celebrated silently within the confines of White Raven City." Eren leaned back, running his fingers through his hair, a subtle smile ying on his lips as he met Ma''s eyes. "What Marie truly needs now is someone who can celebrate her sess alongside her. Someone like you. I''ll give you this free advice. If, at first, Ma wants to revel in her triumph, let her. Give her this small victory over you. Face her, congratte her for staying true to her chosen path, and watch as the walls between you both crumble like dust." Ma attentively absorbed every word that Eren spoke, finding a sense of rity in his perspective. Joining Eren''s Guild had been driven, in part, by the knowledge he shared about Marie. Ma realized that she had been simultaneously seeking closeness with her sister while also running away from her, resulting in a tumultuous mix of emotions and frustration. A nervous chuckle escaped Ma''s lips as she nced at Eren, her gaze filled with a blend of amusement and apprehension. "Hehe, I wish things could unfold as smoothly as you''ve portrayed, Eren," she admitted, pursing her lips before acknowledging him further. "But I must confess, your words always seem toe at just the right moment. I appreciate your genuine advice and will wholeheartedly work on it." Ma''s voice softened, carrying a sincerity that resonated with her gratitude. "Moreover, I want to express my deepest gratitude for weing me and my sister into your Guild. Even though Marie possesses remarkable talents in her craft now, you could have chosen safer options for recruitment. Yet, you epted Marie regardless. If we ever manage to bury the conflicts that separate us, know that you will be the catalyst for our reconciliation. So as her sister, I must extend my heartfelt thanks to you on Marie''s behalf as well." With folded arms resting on the table, Ma cradled her face in open palms, her expression a mixture of vulnerability and appreciation for the support Eren had shown. Eren smoothly shifted the conversation, his toneced with yfulness. "So, when do we get to witness this majestic sunrise you were raving about?" His eyes narrowed as he teasingly used Ma, insinuating that she had ulterior motives for bringing him here. A hint of mischief danced within his gaze. Ma met Eren''s yful gaze and responded with a smirk. "Oh, hotshot, before you interrogate me, how about you check the time?" She gestured toward the window behind Eren, where the darkened sky still held a few hours before the first glimmer of sunlight would grace the horizon. Almera, eager to divert the conversation, scanned the surroundings in search of something intriguing within the treehouse. Knowing about the tension between the sisters, she weed the chance to steer the discussion away from their strained rtionship. "What shall we do until then?" she inquired. Ma''s mischievous grin widened as she produced a bottle of her beloved Elven aleFrostfoam. "Hehe, fear not. I have something in mind," she announced, offering the bottle as a gesture of celebration. "Let us drink and revel in the progress each of us has fought for." Almera wrinkled her nose in annoyance at Ma''s behavior, aware of her reputation as a drunkard who indulged in her vices during times of sorrow and joy. The circumstances didn''t seem to faze herpanion. As Ma summoned three wine sses from her storage, Almera promptly declined. "No thanks, Lady Ma. You two go ahead," she said, dismissing the offer with a wave of her hand. Understanding Ma''s fondness for Frostfoam and the reasons behind it, Eren empathized. He had traversed a path in the previous timeline that was even more self-destructive than Ma''s present struggles. "I''ll pass as well, Ma," he revealed, observing her eager gaze fixed on the bottle of her cherished beverage. Ma red usingly at Eren and Almera as if they had betrayed her on the battlefield. "Ha! You guys are no fun," sheined, pouring a drink for herself. "I''d like to see what you cane up with that''s more interesting than savoring Frostfoam." Eren and Almera exchanged a nce, taken aback by Ma''s challenge. They pondered how to fill the time while Ma immersed herself in her drinks. "See? You''ve got nothing," Ma taunted, her voiceced with temptation as she attempted to sway both Eren and Almera. "Come on, you two. Join me for a few drinks, won''t you?" Almera, on the verge of reprimanding Ma once again, suddenly found herself sitting at the potioneering table as lightning crackled through the air. Perplexed, she looked around until her eyesnded on Eren, who stood before her. "Don''t worry, Almera. We''ll find something much more exhrating than Ma''s proposal," Eren dered with a mischievous smile aimed at Ma. Before Almera could respond, her face was gently grasped by Eren''s hands, drawing her closer to him. She met his gaze, finding her own reflection mirrored in his captivating emerald-green eyes. Ma, too, was taken aback by Eren''s unexpected actions. The drink she had prepared for herself remained untouched as she watched Eren and Almera share a kiss, disbelief etched across her face. She begrudgingly admitted that Eren had indeed discovered something far more thrilling than simply drinking Frostfoam with her. Chapter 1329 Lifes Only Constancy Lies Within Its Unpredictability ? Smhhhhh! Eren''s passionate kiss enveloped Almera, their lip-lock echoing with a distinct sound that resonated through the treehouse. At that moment, the atmosphere shifted entirely as Eren made his move on her. Almera''s mind ceased to function as Eren kissed her, the world around her fading into insignificance. Eren''s arms encircled her waist, drawing her closer to him, intensifying their embrace. Unintentionally, her legs spread, finding a natural position upon the potioneering table, granting Eren further ess as he leaned forward, his tongue gently exploring the depths of her mouth. Ma, a witness to this intimate disy, felt a rush of emotions surge within her. Her cheeks flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and excitement, their exact cause obscured by the effects of the Frostfoam ale she had just consumed. "Rascal, what in the fuck are you doing to that poor girl?" Ma''s voice erupted with a mixture of astonishment and bewilderment as she witnessed the intimate scene unfolding before her. Her emotions swirled in a tempest of conflicting feelings, leaving her uncertain whether her anger stemmed from Eren and Almera neglecting to join her in drinking Frostfoam or from the overwhelming sense of exclusion. Ignoring Ma''s questioning words, Eren continued to passionately kiss Almera, their connection deepening with each passing moment. Eren''s gaze couldn''t help but appreciate Almera''s choice of attire, a skirt that effortlessly allowed her to spread her legs in a tempting V shape, exposing the allure of her tender thighs. As their tongues intertwined in a passionate dance, Eren''s hands delicately explored the contours of her velvety skin, reveling in its irresistible smoothness. Eren''s hands began to explore, caressing Almera''s inner thighs with gentle yet purposeful movements. Each touch revealed the smoothness and delicacy thaty beneath, leaving a trail of sensation in their wake. The huge disparity in Ranking prowess between Eren and Almera meant that she struggled to resist the allure of Eren''s Sin of Lust Ability, a passive effect that exerted its influence over her. Gradually, her body temperature rose, responding to an uncontroble desire that drew her irresistibly closer to Eren. Initially overwhelmed by the suddenness of his advances, Almera found herself grappling with conflicting emotions. Yet, as Eren''s tongue ventured deeper into her mouth and his hands delicately traversed her inner thighs, her primal instincts awakened, and her body''s yearnings took hold of her. Almera''s surroundings faded into insignificance as her focus zeroed in on the intense connection with Eren. Oblivious to Ma''s disapproving gaze, she boldly entwined her legs around Eren''s, drawing him closer into her embrace. With her left hand anchored on the table, Almera arched backward, inviting the weight of Eren''s body to press against hers. The warmth and pressure ignited a thrilling response within her. Meanwhile, her right hand instinctively found its ce at the back of Eren''s head, entangling in his hair, as if guiding him in their passionate kiss. Interrupting the charged atmosphere, Ma''s voice pierced through,den with irritation. "Alright, that''s enough! Cut it out, you two," she snapped, her cheeks flushed with a mixture of annoyance and the effects of the potent Forstfoam ale she had consumed. The elven brew had already begun its intended journey into Ma''s senses, and the sight of Eren and Almera locked in their intimate exchange only deepened its impact, drawing her further into its enchanting haze. Ma''s mind raced as she observed the intense sexual disy between Eren and Almera. Eren''s lips left a trail of fiery kisses along Almera''s cheeks, making their way to her tantalizing neck. In a bold move, his left hand seized her right breast, eliciting an uncontroble moan of pleasure from her lips. A mixture of shock and intrigue consumed Ma as she witnessed the escting intimacy. ''I I should probably leave them to their devices,'' Ma thought to herself. Her breath caught in her throat as Eren''s hand ventured between Almera''s legs, exploring the depths of her most intimate desires with unrelenting fingers. The sight of Almera''s ecstatic expression and the seductive melody of her moans left Ma speechless. A sudden dryness gripped her throat, and she abandoned the conventional ss, opting instead to drink straight from the bottle, attempting to quench an unexinable thirst that seemed insatiable. Yet, a defiant thought took hold of Ma''s mind, thanks to the ever-increasing effects of the Frostfoam. Why should she be the one to retreat? This was her treehouse, after all, and it was the responsibility of the others to exercise restraint within her domain. With newfound determination, Ma dismissed any notion of leaving, choosing to assert her presence amidst the intoxicating scene that unfolded before her. "Something aaah something feels off. I can''t seem to oooof control myself." Almera''s voice trembled with a mixture of desire and confusion as she struggled to regain control over her own desires. She realized the gravity of the situation, questioning her response to Eren''s advances. While she held genuine admiration for Eren''s aplishments, she hadn''t yet envisioned him as a romantic interest. Moreover, the presence of Ma as a witness to their intimate exchange made Almera uneasy. "Er Eren maybe maybe we need to talk first before aaaah before," Amidst their heated encounter, Almera managed to express her concerns, her words imbued with a hazy longing. she confessed, her voiceced with a hint of vulnerability. Eren''s voice resonated with a captivating blend of amusement and authority, his words wrapping Almera in aforting embrace. "Keke. There''s nothing wrong with you, Almera. It''s all on me," he admitted, the tip of his tongue sensually trailing over her left earlobe, igniting a delicious shiver that cascaded through her body. Eren acknowledged the overwhelming grasp of the Sin of Lust, its enchanting passive effect ensnaring Almera''s every fiber, bestowing upon her an unrivaled state of euphoria. Chuckling softly, Eren continued his whispered discourse, a fusion of tender murmurs and profound wisdom. "It''s alright for people to start flying before they take their first step. And it''s alright for them to soar to new heights before solidifying their foundation. Life''s only constancy lies within its unpredictability. Let this unpredictability consume us." Eren''s words,ced with temptation and depth, forged a potent elixir for the present moment. "And besides... You revere the Great Mother and the essence of nature, do you not?" Grimdawn''s voice trailed off as he yfully nibbled Almera''s earlobe, his touch evoking a tantalizing mix of pleasure and desire. "This raw emotion blooming within your heart is also an expression of nature," the words slipped from his lips as he tenderly squeezed her now-erect nipples, fanning the mes of their shared passion. Chapter 1330 Divine Manipulation ? "Aaaaaah!" Almera''s mind swirled with conflicting emotions, caught between her growing desires and the reservations she held. The scene unfolded before Ma, whose presence added an extrayer ofplexity to the situation. And for some reason, thatplexity was starting to turn on Almera even more than she already was. ?m Almera found herself torn between the sensations coursing through her body and the thoughts racing in her mind. Eren''s touch and advances ignited a passionate response within her, while her rational side struggled to process the situation unfolding around her. Amidst waves of ecstasy, she mustered the strength to voice her objection, her voice trembling with a mix of pleasure and uncertainty. "Do ummm do you take me for a fool? You''re merely using the Great Mother''s name aaah to suit your narrative," Almera gasped, her words interwoven with the throes of passion. "You don''t even believe in her divinity." Ma''s palms mmed onto the potioneering desk, resolutely supporting Almera''s feeble protest. "That''s right, Almera. He doesn''t hold true faith in the Great Mother. Stay away from him," Ma urged, her voiceden with concern and jealousy. Ma''s forceful strike threatened to shatter the potioneering table, but Eren, utilizing his own mana, reinforced its structure. With a mischievous grin, he continued his sensual exploration, rubbing his erect member against Almera''s now-soaked panties. His hands wandered over her back, entuating the pleasure coursing through her. Chuckling, Eren responded to their objections, his voiceced with amusement. "Keke. It''s true that I don''t believe in the Great Mother. But both of you do, don''t you? I believe it is your duty, as devout followers, to please the man whom your revered Goddess holds in such high regard. Show Hmmm show your devotion." Ma found herself at a loss for words, confronted by Eren''s audacious maniption of the Great Mother''s name and his ability to alter Almera''s lingering logical reasoning. His words, akin to a divine maniption, pushed Almera further down the path of surrender to his advances, leaving Ma struggling to formte a response. The chilly night air gradually surrendered to the scorching heat of desire as Eren and Almera delved into the depths of their physical connection. Almera''s clouded consciousness acknowledged a glimmer of truth in Eren''s words. If the Great Mother had bestowed her approval upon him, there seemed to be little reason for Almera to resist his intoxicating touch. Ma, recognizing the futility of her attempts to intervene, fell silent in the face of the couple''s unyielding passion. Observing Almera''splete surrender to Eren, she witnessed Almera''s erosion of any lingering hesitations, reced by a tempestuous surge of desires that consumed her very being. Ma sought sce in a bottle, her indulgence in intoxication intensifying as she bore witness to the unabashed disy of affection. In a bid to distance herself from the intimate spectacle, Ma retreated from her previous position, finding respite upon a plush bed nestled in a secluded corner of the treehouse, near a window. Even from her new vantage point, she maintained a clear view of Eren and Almera''s entanglement. However, Ma soon discovered that she could not y as a mere spectator. Her desires had gained an unwee control over her,pelling her to explore the sensitive contours of her own body with trembling hands. Her touch gravitated toward her big breasts, yielding to the intoxicating allure of the scene unfolding before her. Eren emanated an aura of untamed masculine sensuality, his chiseled physique adorned with intricate Amazonian tattoos. His long, ebony locks cascaded over his face, adding to his wild and alluring appearance. Veiled by a wrap-around cloth, his erect manhood teased from beneath, heightening the air of anticipation. Moonlight filtered through the ceiling window, casting an ethereal glow upon Almera''s figure, entuating her untamed allure. Her visage exuded a mix of excitement and desire, mirroring the sensations coursing through her body under Eren''s intrusive touch. Eren relinquished all restraint, fully embracing the power of his Sin of Lust Ability. He made the conscious choice to brand Almera with its intoxicating influence. It was true that he had already secured her loyalty. However, his Ability held the potential to elevate Almera''s ranking status, an oue he had previously witnessed when he tested it on Agatha. With this knowledge in mind, Eren felt no need to withhold its power. As Eren activated the Sin of Lust: Mist of Lust Ability to its fullest extent, his elemental manifestations materialized, surrounding him in a swirling dance of abstract Wind mana. Drawing upon his mastery of the wind element, he forged an ethereal connection with Almera and her ranking path. After all, she was a wind-element Ranger. A flurry of minuscule wind-element des materialized, encircling Eren and Almera in a mesmerizing dance. With precise control, the des swiftly shredded their garments into infinitesimal fragments that dissipated into the air, leaving no trace behind. Despite their razor-sharp nature and infused Expert-ranked Wind-element mana, the des left Almera unscathed. Naked and exposed, the couple looked at each other, their desire palpable in the charged atmosphere. Almera reclined upon the potioneering table, her body an irresistible invitation for Eren. With a hungry gaze, Eren took in the sight of Almera''s alluring form, her arms outstretched in an enticing embrace, her legs parted to reveal the glistening essence between her legs. No words were necessary as their eyesmunicated a thousand desires. Almera, under the intoxicating influence of the Mist of Lust, gazed at Eren with an insatiable longing, her vision clouded as if she were intoxicated by Frostfoam, surpassing Ma''s state. Eren''s attention shifted briefly, noticing Ma indulging in her own sensual exploration from her bed. She was fingering herself as she looked at Eren''s erect manhood. Her carnal hunger had only grown after she was exposed to the Mist of Lust. A knowing chuckle escaped his lips as he absorbed the sight. "Keke. This is precisely what I meant by enjoying life''s bounties when they are offered to me," he murmured, a mischievous amusementcing his words. Aware of Ma''s presence as the sole audience to their encounter, Eren resolved to deliver a captivating performance, ensuring a show that would leave asting impression. === AN: VEH will have a mini mass release tomorrow. ;) Chapter 1331 Branding Almera P1* ? Swoosh! A tempestuous gust of wind swirled through the room, sweeping away the old vials, scrolls, and potion-making apparatus from the potioneering table. With an eerie intelligence, the winds gently relocated the items to an adjacent desk, arranging them meticulously without causing any harm. In a sh of lightning, Eren materialized atop Almera, their gazes locking amidst the cascade of his waist-length, obsidian hair. Acting as a veil, the lustrous strands cocooned them, creating an intimate space where their eyes only met each other. "Eren..." Almera''s voice carried a longing, her plea lingering in the air. "Almera..." Eren whispered her name, a gentle smile adorning his lips. Lowering his head, he bestowed a tender kiss upon her chin. Almera''s body, yearning for his touch, eagerly embraced his weight. She ensnared him with her arms and legs, their bodies merging as they explored each other''s contours. Eren initiated a slow descent, his lips mapping a trail of sensuous kisses along Almera''s neck. With each deliberate caress, his tongue marked a path toward her shoulders. Hevished her supple skin with delicate nibbles and love bites, descending further. Simultaneously, his hands ventured across her body, seeking out her most sensitive zones. His fingers danced upon her erect, chocte-hued nipples, skillfully kneading her generous bosom. The restrained melody of her moans reverberated in his ears, a symphony of desire. As Eren''s exploration continued, his lips found their way to the valley between Almera''s breasts. With gentle reverence, he pressed tender kisses upon her soft skin, his warm breath teasing the sensitive flesh. His hands, guided by an instinctual desire, trailed down her waist, tracing the contours of her hips before venturing toward the core of her being. Almera''s body quivered with anticipation, aching for the union that awaited her. Her senses were consumed by a whirlwind of pleasure, and her breathing quickened as Eren''s fingers delicately teased her dripping pussy lips. Waves of ecstasy coursed through her, their intensity growing with every skilled touch. Lost in the depths of desire, Almera''s hands explored the expanse of Eren''s muscr back, tracing the lines of his defined physique. She yearned to feel his strength enveloping her, to surrender herselfpletely to the man that had made a name for himself as Gimdawn. With a renewed surge of passion, Eren''s lips returned to Almera''s, their mouths merging in a fervent kiss. Their tongues danced in a synchronized rhythm, a symphony of desire and longing. As their bodies entwined, the world around them faded into insignificance, leaving only the pulsating energy of their union. Ma, from her distant vantage point, watched in a mixture of fascination and envy. The sight before she stirred a kaleidoscope of emotions within her. She couldn''t help but feel a pang of longing, a desire to be consumed by the same fervor that had enveloped Eren and Almera. Amid their tangled desires, Eren and Almera surrendered themselves to the intoxicating dance of pleasure, their bodies entwined as they embarked on a journey of mutual ecstasy, guided by the sinuous desires that bound them together. Their passion soared to new heights as Eren''s sensual touch continued its intoxicating dance upon Almera''s quivering flesh. With each lingering kiss, his warm breath cascaded over her body, setting her skin aze with desire. His lips traveled lower, leaving a trail of feathery kisses along her abdomen, until his tongue yfully toyed with her belly button, drawing forth gasps of pleasure.I think you should take a look at Eren''s skilled hands fine-tuned the responsiveness of her erect nipples, eliciting a sensual verse of moans from Almera''s lips. Her voice, a constant mix of his name, echoed through the room, a testament to the pleasure that consumed her being. In the throes of their intimate connection, Eren''s elemental prowess intertwined with the winds of Almera''s own elemental manifestations. He shared his mastery of the wind element with her, their energies merging and harmonizing in a sensual symphony. The Sin of Lust: Mist of Lust amplified their union, heightening Almera''s pleasure while simultaneously unlocking the profound depths of her unique elemental attainments. As Eren ventured further downwards, his lips pressed against Almera''s dripping pussy lips, igniting a fierce inferno within her. With gentle yet unyielding passion, he spread her legs and allowed his tongue to be an instrument of exploration, delving into her velvety depths. Almera''s body responded eagerly, her vaginal folds embracing his fleshly and ever-restless tongue with newfound vigor, each caress sending ripples of pleasure coursing through her. "Aaaaaah. It feels soooooo.... aaaaah!" Lost in the exquisite sensations, Almera''s hands clenched tightly at the back of Eren''s head, guiding him with unspoken desires. She surrendered herselfpletely to the waves of ecstasy that crashed over her, her moans now an unrestrained chorus of delight. In this intimate exchange, Almera''s Individuality as a Ranger and wind-element user came alive, infusing Eren''s elemental attainments with new meanings and interpretations. The profundity of her connection to the wind deepened, rewriting the very essence of the elementalprehensions Eren had shared with her, a transformation unique to her alone. "Aaaaaah. Yesssssss!" As Almera''s body quivered with pleasure, Eren continued to arouse her to the maddening intensity with his skilled touch. His fingers explored her trembling pussy, tracing delicate patterns, and the tip of his tongue ventured deeper into her inner vaginal folds. Every inch of her skin burned under his warm breath, intensifying the sensations that coursed through her. The pair''s connection deepened with each passing moment as if they were two souls merging into one. Eren''s tongue, now glistening with her love juices, returned to Almera''s pulsating clitoris, teasing it with tantalizing flicks. The electrifying waves of pleasure within Almera''s luscious body grew stronger, pushing her closer to the edge. In perfect synchronization, Eren''s ever-restless fingers elongated abnormally and began a rhythmic dance, prating her musky cunt with passionate urgency. Thebination of his oral action and finger movements sent shockwaves of ecstasy through her, igniting a fire within her that threatened to consume her soul entirely. "Oooooooh! Erehhhh I.. aaaaaaaah!" Chapter 1332 Branding Almera P2* ? "Aaaaaah!" Almera''s cunt released a flood of love juices. Her back arched in an exquisite arch, her body unable to contain the overwhelming pleasure that surged through her veins. She clutched Eren''s head firmly between her legs, drawing him closer as if she couldn''t get enough of him. "Aaaaaaaaah! Yessssss!" In a crescendo of desire, Almera reached the pinnacle of pleasure, her release crashing over her like a tidal wave. The air filled with her moans, harmonizing with the sound of their passion. Her love juices flowed freely, coating Eren''s face with a testament to their shared intimacy. Breathless and overwhelmed, Almera''s chest rose and fell with eachbored breath. Her eyes once closed in blissful surrender, slowly fluttered open, revealing a hunger for more. Her face, painted with satisfaction, conveyed an insatiable appetite for pleasure with depths yet to be explored. Eren, too, was captivated by the sight before him. He drank in the image of Almera, radiant and alive with newfound desires. Their intimate journey with each other had only just begun, and the promises whispered between their bodies were yet to be fulfilled. In the tender aftermath, theyy entwined, bodies still entangled, hearts beating in unison. The air crackled with erotic energy. The very essence of their elemental attainments lingered around them. The pair had just embarked on a path of exploration, where their bodies and souls would intertwine under the effects of the Sin of Lust, unraveling the depths of pleasure and intimacy that awaited them. Eren raised his head and adjusted himself back on top of Almera again. The pair looked each other in the eyes, their hungry gazes serving as the medium for their conversations. They silently decided to chase the new levels of ecstasy awaiting them. As the waves of pleasure subsided, Eren and Almera were caught in a passionate embrace at the potioneering table. Their bodies entwined, and they exchanged passionate kisses, their lips melding together in a dance of desire and longing. Feeling a surge of boldness, Almera took charge, her eyes shining with newfound confidence. She shifted her position, straddling Eren''s body and positioning herself above him. Her legs stretched out on either side, offering an alluring invitation. Ereny on his back, a yful smile ying at the corners of his lips. Almera trailed kisses along his neck and shoulders, her lips leaving a trail of fire in their wake. Her movements were slow and deliberate, each touch a testament to her growing sensuality. She continued her explorations, her lips descending lower, inching closer to the object of her desire. Eren''s anticipation grew with each passing moment, his body responding eagerly to her tender caresses. Almera''s lips finally reached their destination, and with a hunger that matched his own, she began tovish attention upon his thick veiny rod. She started sucking on his dick with passion, her tongue teasing and tantalizing. Eren''s body was filled with the pleasure of a skilled blowjob, a low groan escaping his lips as Almera skillfully worked her magic. "Hmm. That''s good. Keep going." Eren encouraged Almera with his words and actions. He caressed the back of her head before holding it in both hands from either side before slowly ramming his dick into her warm oral canal. The pleasure intensified with each passing moment, his breath bing ragged as Almera''s deepthroating drove him to the edge of bliss.I think you should take a look at "Ugggh! Ugggh! Ugggh!" Almera''s eyes turned red as she gave Eren the head he had craved for so long. Despite the difort Almera felt at the beginning, seeing Eren''s face encouraged her to continue. At this moment, time stood still, and nothing else mattered except the wild waves of ecstasy Eren and Almera were feeling at the moment. The potioneering table became their sanctuary, the backdrop for their uninhibited exploration of pleasure and intimacy. As Almera continued her sensual ministrations, Eren smiled knowingly. The pleasure was exquisite, but what made it, even more, euphoria-inducing was the Mist of Lust, which made Almera wild with desires the further she engaged in carnal acts with Eren. Almera worked on Eren''s erect member with passion and care, using her mouth to please him to the extent of her abilities. Thetter enjoyed Almera''s blowjob while looking down at her from his position, his face reflecting his confidence and the fact that things were under his absolute control. Almera fondled Eren''s balls while she was at them. She licked and stroked his veiny dick, making a slurping sound. She found it difficult to take his entire length at first. But that didn''t discourage her from giving Eren a pleasurable experience. "Hmmm!" Eren''s low grunt resounded in the treehouse as he released his manly essence into Almera''s mouth. This was a testament to a job well done. He released Almera''s head from his grip when the waves of pleasure flooded within him, allowing her to catch her breath. Almera looked up and shed a triumphant smile at Eren before wiping her mouth with her right hand. She sat straight over hisp and adjusted her hair before summoning a gust of wind that surrounded her like a mini-storm for a few seconds. When the wind-element mana around her was dispersed, Almera''s clear visage devoid of blemishes was revealed. She cleaned herself and rejuvenated her entire being by channeling her mana throughout her mana circuits. "We are just getting started," Almera spoke with confidence as she gripped Eren''s erect-again-shaft from behind her and guided it right between her legs. In afortable squatting position, she raised her pelvis before weing Eren''s rod into her dripping pussy. "Aaaaaah!" Almera let out a mixture of painful and ecstatic moans as she felt Eren break her hymen and enter her. She looked Eren in the eyes and lowered her head before locking her lips with him in a fiery kiss. Eren''s hands gripped Almera''s mushy buns as she rode him at a slow and consistent pace at first, gradually increasing speed. He squeezed her buttcheeks and excited her anal openings while inserting his tongue into her mouth. By this point, a bunch of fire snakes appeared around the pair, assisting Eren with his work. Almera soon realized that her nipples were being sucked on by Eren''s summoned creatures. Her clit was also subjected to a warm sensation as a reptilian tongue stimted it with restless enthusiasm. She couldn''t even moan as Eren refused to release her from the lip lock. Chapter 1333 Branding Almera P3* ? Tap! Tap! Tap! Eren started driving his shaft deeper into Almera''s wet hole after a few minutes of initial contact. Almera also met his thrust halfway by ramming her hips onto his erect member. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Harder fuck aaah fuck me harder, Eren!" Almera pleaded with a voice mixed with pure bliss and ecstasy as she rode on Eren''s dick. Being a Ranker, she didn''t have many physical or mental restrictions even though she lost her maidenhood tonight. p! p! p! Eren started getting rough with Almera as he fucked her. She increased the pace as well, riding onto Eren''s shaft harder and stronger with each passing second. Her mind was consumed by a blissful haze. The sounds of flesh meeting flesh were the only thing she could hear. Eren increased the size and girth of his rod after finding out Almera''s vaginal canal was amodating enough. Her dripping pussy weed Eren''s dick enhancement by clutching even tighter onto it, releasing even more sticky nectar in the process. "Yesssssss. More I want more Eren mess me mess my insides!" The Lust mana coursing through Almera''s body started to show. Almera''s thirst for Eren and all of him reached new heights as she kept getting dicked. "Kekeke. Aaaas you wish, my dear," Eren decided toply. With a sh of lightning, Almera found herself on all fours as Eren stood behind her on his knees. The fire snakes stilltched onto her body, constantly stimting her erogenous zones as she awaited for Eren''s dick to drive deeper into her again. "Wow. Look at the mess you created, my dear. Keke. Never mind. It''s a blessing that you are well hydrated," Eren said andughed, massaging Almera''s pussy lips with his right hand. Her wet hole was dripping with pussy juices, making her inner thighs and the potioneering table''s surface wet and sticky. Eren felt Almera''s pubes'' light growth. He inhaled the musky and alluring scent her entire body released at the time. And he enjoyed looking at Almera from her vulnerable position. He had to admit that Almera''spromising position was a boner-inducing scene. "Aaaaaah Sttttttop teasing me put. Put it in," Almera said with some difficulty. Her mind was clouded with thoughts of pleasure. There was a certain tone to her voice that made it even more appealing to hear from Eren. The butcher teased Almera more with his touches and licks. He made her reach the peak of her euphoria with his tongue alone before stopping all activities suddenly.I think you should take a look at "You." Almera felt like some kind of injustice was being done to her. Still, in a doggy-style position, she bent down and raised her hips even further before looking back to see what Eren was doing only to find him looking at her with a smirk. The Ranger was about to pounce on Eren with a cocktail of emotions consuming her heart and soul. But Eren ced his hands on her shoulder and prompted her to remain in that position. "Ha! I love the way your body moves and responds to my touch, Almera. And I must say that the way you squirt is an ultimate turn-on," Eren said and chuckled while rubbing the tip of his dick over her pussy lips. Almera was unaware of Eren''s praise in her current condition. She didn''t say anything but her gaze pleaded with Eren to fuck her then and there as she couldn''t wait anymore. Eren chuckled looking at Almera''s hungry eyes. He nodded at her before pushing his rod inside her with renewed passion. This time, he increased the girth of his erect member even more, stretching Almera''s inside further and putting much-needed pressure on her pink folds. Eren found out that her petal box was adapting to the changes, releasing a new wave of love juices. "Yessssss! Fuck me go deeper!" Almera''s voice was loud and proud as she felt her soul getting consumed by the mes of lust. She started pushing her hips backward to meet Eren''s thrusts, which overloaded her pleasure senses and drove her into euphoric madness. Her tongue started sticking out and she started cursing and cussing even more to vent out the overflowing feelings umting inside her. Eren pped Almera''s mushy buns and kneaded them into the shapes he liked. His wild actions turned her perky butt rosy red as blood rushed onto her supple skin. Below them, a pool of pussy juices reflected the moonlight falling from the ceiling window. "Yessss! Yesssss! Yesssssss" Almera rested her head over the potioneering table''s surface as she enjoyed getting railed by Eren. Her body responded aggressively to Eren''s profound thrusts as she sweated all over. The sounds of Eren''s pounding and Almera''s moans became increasingly audible with each passing second as Eren increased his depth and speed. The tip of his dick started hitting her uterus while his right hand''s middle finger found its way inside her anal opening. "Aaaaaaah! Yesssssss." Almera climaxed with even more maddening intensity than the previous two instancesbined. The sheer amount of vaginal liquid she released spread forth in every direction and almost covered the entire table''s surface. Almera found herself unable to maintain her position as her legs felt weak. She crashed onto the potioneering table with a distinct thud before lyingfortably on her tummy. She was too weak and fatigued to care about lying in her own pool of pussy juices. Her breaths werebored and her face made it very clear to Eren that she was not ready for another round right away. With a wave of his hand, Eren conjured orange mes that surrounded him and Almera. When they dispersed, he looked like he had just taken a fresh bath. Almera''s body was also cleaned by the mes'' purifying effects. The pool that surrounded her was nowhere to be found. However, her fatigue wasn''t something the mes could eliminate on their own. Eren took out a potion vial from his storage and ced it beside Almera. Thetter, perplexed by his actions, asked feebly what the potion was about as she tried to recover from her condition. Chapter 1334 [Bonus ] Voyeurs Guilt* ? Eren leaned in close to Almera, his lips brushing against her face as he whispered softly into her ear. The warmth of his breath sent a shiver down her spine. "This little remedy will aid in your recovery, my dear," Eren murmured, his voice filled with rare care. "Rest for now and drink it when you feel ready. Meanwhile, I''ll address the significant problem that may arise if we don''t take action." Almera''s brows furrowed with confusion, her gaze fixed on Eren as she caught her breath, silently urging him to exin further. With a theatrical sigh and a mischievous glint in his eyes, Eren nced at Ma and offered a yful smile. "You know our mischievous drunkard. I fear she may tease you for being a bit too vocal and squirter in bed. So, I must ensure the ying field is level for both of you. Can''t let her have the upper hand on you, can we?" Understanding dawned on Almera as she processed Eren''s words, and her eyes shifted toward Ma. The realization struck her anew that Ma had witnessed the entire encounter. "You... you can''t mean..." Almera''s voice faltered, disbelief etched across her face as she looked at Eren, unable toprehend how he still had the energy to tend to Ma after what had just transpired between them. Chuckling softly, Eren shed a cunning smile before disappearing from his position beside Almera. Her slightly weary eyes followed his movements as he reappeared by Ma''s bedside. Almera whispered under her breath, her voice barely audible, "Rascal," before mustering her determination to join him in his "quest." With a renewed sense of purpose, Almera began channeling mana throughout her body, igniting the mes of determination within her. After all, she had just embarked on her sexual journey. It was only her body that needed a bit of rest. *** Ma''s heart rode a rollercoaster of emotions ever since she had visited the treehouse. At first, the treehouse invoked memories of her childhood and the ache of her strained rtionship with her sister, Marie. Yet, amidst the tumultuous waves, Eren''s encouraging words offered a flicker offort, gently nudging her towards hope. Seeking sce, Ma sought refuge in her cherished spot within the treehouse, yearning to witness the majestic sunrise once again. She anticipated the tranquil embrace that Frostfoam ale would bring, soothing her troubled soul. However, it seemed that fate had a different n as Eren, ever mischievous, decided to carve his own path of amusement. Disbelief coursed through Ma''s veins as she beheld the explicit scene unfolding before her eyes. Eren and Almera, locked in a fervent and intimate exchange, their abandon unchecked. The sheer audacity of their actions left Ma momentarily speechless. Unexinable anger swelled within her, directed at Eren for ensnaring her innocent junior, Almera, within his inescapable web. Simultaneously, she couldn''t help but cast me upon Almera herself, questioning why she hadn''t put up a stronger defense against Eren''s advances. Yet, as the weight of the situation settled upon her, Ma turned her wrath inward. It was she who had brought this big bad wolf into her den, unwittingly exposing Almera to his devious ways. Eren had evolved since their days as mere students in LA, his allure nowced with a dangerous edge.I think you should take a look at The most confounding aspect of it all was Ma''s increasing fondness for him, drawn to his transformation despite her better judgment. After all, the maism of bad boys held an irresistible charm. There was a reason big bad wolves got invited inside houses in fairytales. Initially, Ma believed the spectacle would cease at Eren and Almera''s fervent lip-lock. But reality shattered her expectations. Almera, easily swayed by Eren''s seductive persuasions, delved further into intimacy with him. The sight of their uninhibited passion stirred something within Ma, stoked by the intoxicating effects of Frostfoam. At that moment, Ma''s desires collided with her conscience, a battle waged within her core. She couldn''t deny the maic allure of the scene unfolding before her, despite the conflicts it engendered within her being. The weight of voyeur''s guilt mingled with growing excitement, further fueled by the potent elixir coursing through her veins. Ma''s internal struggle intensified as her eyes remained fixed on the captivating disy before her. She started soothing herself as she watched the scenes of intimacy between Eren and Almera. Her right hand started pleasuring her intimate zone while her left hand squeezed her own breasts intermittently, fine-turning her erect buds. Before she knew it, she had gotten totally into the situation and even started craving to switch positions with Almera. After her first climax on her childhood bed, Ma faltered for a moment as doubt crept into her mind. Should she continue down this path of voyeur''s indulgence, or should she tear herself away from the seductive grasp of the scene ying out in front of her? But just as doubt threatened to overpower her desires, the Mist of Lust started showing its effects on her. Being exposed to Eren''s Sin Series Ability awakened a primal hunger within her that refused to be silenced. She no longer sought to resist the intoxicating pull of this moment; instead, she chose to embrace it. With renewed determination, Ma''s hand resumed its rhythmic motion, her pleasure mingling with the ever-growing anticipation building inside her. Her mind became consumed with fantasies and possibilities, her imagination running wild with the prospect of joining Eren and Almera in their carnal exploration. Her body yearned to feel the touch of Eren''s hands, the heat of his breath on her skin, and the intensity of his gaze upon her. She longed to taste his dick that had enticed her from the very beginning, the allure of Eren''s pounding powers captivating her in ways she couldn''t fullyprehend. Her moans were mixed with Almera''s as a result as she finger-fucking herself. By this point, Ma had lost most of the articles of clothing on her. Except for the undies and brassier barely covering her assets, she had nothing on her. Just when Ma was about to reach climax for the third time, she saw the intimate exchange between Eren and Almeraing to a halt. She cursed Almera for being an amateur. Ma''s heart was pounding in trepidation as she watched Eren approaching her bed. The air crackled with possibility, and the intoxicating scent of desire permeated every corner. "Hi there," Eren appeared beside Ma''s bed and greeted her with a devilishly charming smile on his face. Only then did Mae to realize that the big bad wolf she had invited into her abode was not content with only one prey. He wanted to im her as well. === AN: VEH will have another mini mass release tomorrow as well. ;) Chapter 1335 “Sometimes… I Let My Intrusive Thoughts Win”* ? Ma''s voice caught in her throat as Eren materialized by her bedside, leaving her momentarily speechless. The sight of his naked form sent a jolt of both excitement and nervousness through her, causing her words to stumble and falter incoherently. Her mind struggled to form a coherent sentence, a mixture of awe and confusion clouding her thoughts. Gulping nervously, Ma''s gaze remained fixed on Eren, his presence both captivating and intimidating. His chuckle resonated in the air as he observed her vulnerability, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Is there anything I can help you with, Ma my dear?" he asked casually. In a sh of lightning, he gracefully positioned himself beside her on the bed, propping his head up with his folded hand. His yful curiosity danced in his eyes as he traced abstract lines on her exposed tummy with his index finger. Sensations of both anticipation and trepidation washed over Ma as Eren''s touch grazed her skin, causing goosebumps to rise. Her hands instinctively withdrew from their previous activity, and she turned her neck to meet his gaze, locking eyes with him. The usatory tone in her voice carried a blend of excitement and apprehension as she found a semnce of rity amidst the overwhelming emotions. "It''s it''s all because of you you are the reason I''m in this state." Eren''s heartyughter filled the room, acknowledging the truth in her words. "I can''t deny that," he admitted, his voiceced with amusement. "But let''s not forget that your intoxicated state yed a part too, wouldn''t you agree?" He teased, his words carrying a hint of yful reproach, inviting Ma to share the responsibility for their current situation. Ma found herself caught in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, exacerbated by the effects of the Frostfoam coursing through her veins. She couldn''t deny that the elven ale had heightened her desires, intensifying the pull she felt towards both Eren. With a mix of frustration and arousal, Ma directed her words at Eren, her gaze locked with his, searching for any hint of apprehension in his eyes. Her breath came in quick gasps, her body responding to the surge of heat within her. The temptation to surrender to her desires was bing almost unbearable. "You... you have no shame, do you?" Ma''s voice quivered with a mixture of usation and desire. "Toying with both of us at the same time." Her eyes bore into Eren''s, the maic pull between them palpable. She wanted nothing more than to sumb to his seduction, to let him ignite the mes of passion within her. Eren''s lips curled into a confident smirk as he met Ma''s gaze, his eyes filled with a predatory glint. He closed the distance between them, his voice dropping to a low, husky tone that sent shivers down her spine. "Shame, my dear, is nothing more than a self-imposed barrier, a prison we create to deny ourselves the pleasures we truly desire," he whispered, his breath caressing her skin. "As for me," Eren''s voice trailed off as he used the tip of his nose to trace the contours of her neck. He inhaled her wildly arousing feminine scent beforementing further.I think you should take a look at "Sometimes I let my intrusive thoughts win. The trick is in choosing the right time and right ce for this form of self-serving surrender. Plus, you are responsible for making me feel this way about you. Both of you are beautiful, after all. You don''t see meining, do you?" Ma felt a surge of anticipation as Eren''s lips brushed against her cheek, his proximity igniting a fire within her. His words resonated deep within her. In that moment, she realized that surrendering to her desires might just be the liberation she had been craving. Ma''s breath hitched as Eren''s finger continued its tantalizing path across her exposed tummy. She couldn''t deny the electric thrill that coursed through her body, even as she tried to gather her thoughts. His proximity, his touch, it was all overwhelming. "Responsibility?" Ma repeated, her voiceced with a mix of defiance and desire. She liked that Erenplimented her and Almera both in a subtle way. "Perhaps... but you have a knack for leading people astray, Eren. and you''ve always known how to push my boundaries." She held his gaze, her eyes reflecting both uncertainty and a newfound boldness. Eren''s mischievous smile deepened, his hand tracing higher on her abdomen. "And you''ve always been willing to follow, Ma. It''s part of the thrill, isn''t it?" Ma felt a surge of conflicting emotions as Eren''s words resonated within her. The allure of indulging in desires and stepping into the unknown tugged at her, tempting her to surrender. However, a sense of caution held her back, reminding her of the potentialplications thaty ahead. Her voice trembled as she voiced her concerns, her wordsced with a mixture of restraint and longing. "After tonight, I fear the dynamics between Almera and me will never be the same," Ma admitted, her voice tinged with vulnerability. "The bond we share could be tangled andplicated because of our connection to you." Eren''s yful demeanor softened, his gaze turning serious as he listened intently. He paused, allowing her words to sink in before responding. "You''re right, Ma. There may beplications, but that doesn''t mean it has to be detrimental. Life is too short to deny ourselves the pleasures and experiences we secretly crave," he exined, his tone sincere. A whirlwind of emotions swirled within Ma as she grappled with her desires and her sense of responsibility. She reached out, her hand trembling slightly, and ced it on Eren''s chest. Ma felt the warmth of Eren skin beneath her touch as she spoke. "If we choose to embark on this path, Eren, let us do it on our own terms," she asserted, her voice filled with determination. "I refuse to be a mere pawn in a game between your guild and the Amazonians. I also don''t want Almera to be subjected to such fate," Ma''s care for Almera evident in her tone. Chapter 1336 Pacifying Marlas Concerns* ? Ma''s firm voice resounded in the treehouse. Eren''s initial surprise gave way to a mirthless smile as heprehended Ma''s belief that his intentions were driven solely by his uing dealings with the Amazonians. It was understandable that she would draw such conclusions considering his history. A sigh escaped Eren''s lips, realizing the importance of dispelling Ma''s doubts. He assured her that his motives for getting close to Almera or her were not rted to political gain or business advantage. With a gentle grasp, Eren sped Ma''s hand, bringing it tenderly to his lips for a kiss. His eyes shone with a mixture of admiration and desire as he spoke, his voice carrying sincerity. "I understand your concerns, Ma. But I want you to know that I did not have anything even remotely simr to what you feared in my mind when we came here. The goddess'' intervention has assured me that I do not need to exploit anyone in my dealings with the Amazonians." His unwavering gaze locked with Ma''s as he continued, his wordsced with genuine respect and understanding. "The bond I seek with both you and Almera stems from a genuine appreciation for who you are. While I would value your assistance in navigating theplexities ahead for the Amazonians, I will always respect your individual aspirations. That is should you choose to pursue other projects within the White Raven Guild. The choice is yours to make and I won''t intervene as your partner or as your Guild Master." Ma absorbed Eren''s words, finding sce in their assurance. Ma felt relieved that she or Almera was not seen as tools by Eren. She didn''t mind serving the White Raven Guild in building its connection with the Amazonians. However, she and Almera needed to make it clear to Eren that they were not his pawns. Eren''s sincerity resonated within Ma, igniting a flicker of hope. Amidst theplexities and uncertainties, she glimpsed the possibility of a genuine connection. With newfound rity, Ma made her decision, embracing the man lying beside her with all his strengths and ws. Trusting in Eren''s words, she resolved to let their bond be shaped by their own choices, free from maniption or hidden business agendas. Sensing Ma''s consent and trust, Eren leaned closer, their lips inching nearer in tender anticipation. In that suspended moment, the world outside the treehouse faded into insignificance, leaving only the pulsating connection between their bodies. As their lips met, sealing their pact, an all-consuming fire ignited within Ma. "Hmmmm!" A surge of electricity coursed through Ma''s veins as Ma tasted Eren''s lips, triggering a dormant feeling that had been smoldering within her. The intensity of their connection deepened with each passing moment as if they were exploring uncharted territory, discovering the contours of their souls. Eren''s hands roamed over Ma''s exposed skin, tracing a path of fiery trails that left her breathless. With each caress, the barriers between them crumbled, and Ma''s inhibitions dissolved into the heat of the moment.I think you should take a look at Lost in the rapture of their shared passion, Ma''s mind became a canvas painted with vivid hues of pleasure and vulnerability. Every touch, every whisper, sent tremors of ecstasy coursing through her being. Their bodies moved in harmony, driven by an undeniable maic pull. Ma arched her back, inviting Eren to explore the depths of her being, to unravel the mysteries hidden within her. Their connection transcended the physical, delving into realms where words ceased to exist, reced by anguage of fervent gazes and ardent moans. Eren''s lips trailed a path of feathery kisses down Ma''s neck, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine. His tongue traced delicate patterns, leaving a trail of desire in its wake. The bite marks he had left earlier on her neck now stood as a testament to their shared passion, marking her as his. Ma''s breathing grew heavy as Eren''s hands cupped her breasts, his touch sending waves of ecstasy coursing through her body. She arched her back, offering herself fully to him, yearning for more of his intrusive touch. The sensation of his fingers exploring her sensitive flesh heightened her pleasure, causing her to writhe in ecstasy on the bed. Eren''s devilish whispers, filled with charm and desire, enveloped Ma''s senses, fueling the fire that raged within her. His words teased and taunted, stoking the mes of her desire. She was driven by an insatiable craving to be one with him, to merge their bodies and souls in a passionate union. With a flicker of lightning mana dancing at his fingertips, Eren effortlessly dissolved the barriers that held Ma''s brassiere in ce. The delicate fabric vanished, leaving her big breasts on full disy, their pinkish peaks adorned with a mix of anticipation and vulnerability. "Keke. Damn, they are soft as fuck," Eren muttered under his breath as he fondled Ma''s breasts with both his hands. He always wanted to squeeze Ma''s tits since he firstid his eyes on them. He had to admit that reality was better than his imagination. As his fingers sank deeper into her flesh, he felt like he was touching the clouds and molding them into the shapes he liked. Eren took Ma''s left nipple in his mouth as he fondled her right breast. His tongue traced her are as he nibbled on the nipple''s tip. "Aaaaah what What are you doing? Go go easy on them," Ma pleaded as she felt Eren''s aggression manhandling her breasts. It didn''t help that they wererge and soft and responded to his touch by being extra mushy, instigating him to go even wilder on them. The manifestations of red and purple, and blue lightning arcs appeared around the couple as they explored each other''s bodies with relentless vigor. The red and purple lightning streaks represented the elemental Aspects of destruction and speed rted to the lightning element respectively. Blue lightning arcs represented instant incineration caused by lightning- an instantly incinerating heat. This version of the lightning element Aspect was wielded by Ma. Chapter 1337 Gaining Blue Lightning Aspect* ? Ma''s heart raced as Eren''s hungry movements consumed her. Their bodies were pressed together, skin to skin. The treehouse, which represented Ma''s childhood memories, became a sanctuary where the pair melded in a whirlwind of pleasure and vulnerability. An ethereal cocoon of Lust mana was created around the pair as they both immersed themselves in their carnal desires. Under Eren''s Sin Series Ability, Eren and Ma started sharing their elemental attainments, augmenting them in the process. Eren startedprehending another Aspect rted to the lightning element. Ma started digging deeper into her own elemental attainments after concepts rted to Eren''s lightning Aspects were given to her. "Aaaaah this" Ma was driven mad with desire as Eren''s hand moved with reckless abandon all over her body. His squeezes and touches overloading her senses. Eren''s lightning mana created an anti-gravity zone of its own, lifting Ma effortlessly off the ground. Suspended in mid-air, her body hovered seven inches above the bed. Her ample bosom pressed against his chest, Eren''s heated rod brushing against her leg. Ma''s eyes, filled with desperate longing, locked on his intense gaze. The rapid thumping of her heart sent her pulse racing, her breath growing heavier with each passing moment. A crimson hue spread across Ma''s flushed cheeks as she felt Eren''s body with her limbs and torso, revealing his sculpted physique to her with a newfound perception. If his gaze had beenpelling before, it now held irresistible power. "Ma, my darling, what shall I do with you?" he purred, his sultry voice weaving its way into her ears. Ma''sst shred of resistance crumbled under the weight of his words. "F Fuck me," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I didn''t hear you," Grimdawn teased, his voice demanding more. "Fuck me," Ma repeated, her voice strengthening. "Louder, my darling," hemanded, his tone igniting a primal fire within her. "Fuck me, Eren! Fuck my brains out!" Ma eximed, her words ringing with an urgency that matched the growing intensity of her desire. Her arousal flowed freely, her body burning with a sense of liberation. The notion that he was her master, that his touch would release her from all her inhibitions, etched itself deeply into her mind. Under the arcs of lightning that looked threatening and vtile, Ma''sst piece of clothing crumbled away. When it did, her vaginal scent became potent in the air, making Eren even more stimted. "Spread your legs," Erenmanded, and without hesitation, the D-Rankerplied, parting her thighs to reveal the glistening wetness that had consumed her. Ma had a bit of pubic growth that only intensified her appeal when it was revealed. Eren''s lips curled into a mischievous grin, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. He took hold of her dripping wet pussy with his left hand, fingers caressing it from bottom to top before sliding his index finger inside. Ma''s response was immediate, a pleasureden moan escaping her lips as an electric surge coursed through her body. Eren skillfully teased and pleased her with his fingers, exploring depths she never knew existed. He added his middle finger, increasing his movements'' tempo. Ma''s moans grew louder, her arousal intensifying. She eagerly thrust her hips, taking his hand deeper within her, riding the waves of ecstasy that enveloped her. But just as she reached the peak of pleasure, he abruptly withdrew his hand, his damp palm gently patting her cheek. "What is it that you desire? Tell me," Erenmanded, his voice dripping with dominance. He knew that Ma was a wild beast that needed to be tamed with such actions and self-affirmations.I think you should take a look at Desperation filled Ma''s gaze as she alternated between Eren''s eyes and the pulsating shaft pressing against her leg. "I want you to... put it inside me!" she eximed, her voice quivering with need. "Louder!" Eren demanded, lifting her right leg in a provocative gesture. "Aaaaargh Rascal I want you to put your dick inside me, Eren! To ravage my insides, to paint the insides of my cunt with your essence, to mark every inch of my body with your throbbing cock!" she roared, her desire echoing through the room. And Eren obliged. With one fluid motion, he drove his erection deep into her slick warmth. "Aaaaah!" Ma cried out, her lower lip caught between her teeth. Despite her utmost efforts, she failed to remain calm, her slick passage eagerly enveloping him. A peculiar light surged within her, heightening her sensitivity to unimaginable levels as Eren lifted her left leg, suspending her by her plush buttocks. Taking a moment to savor the sensation, he then unleashed a relentless rhythm, pounding into her with a primal force. Tap! Tap! Tap! The butcher''s cock drove into Ma like a flying vehicle zipping through empty skies, finding and conquering her sweet spots while hitting ces she didn''t know could be hit. His waist danced in serpentine arcs that sent his cock wreaking blissful havoc within her insides, while her gasps and moans entangled in a furious disy of pleasure. "Aaaahhohhhyessyesss!" Ma didn''t need to guide, she didn''t need to direct, she only needed to moan, moan, moan, and moan. Louder. Stronger. With each passing moment. To lose herself in the pleasure only Eren could offer her. "Guild Masteryessmasteryou''re sooo good! Heaventhis isheaven!" Eren took her lips into his, silencing her in muffled moans while his cock and balls mmed into her and hammered scalding, electrifying pleasure into their bodies. Then he flipped her onto her right leg, while still holding her by her left in a scissor-like position and bending her in an impossible arc to keep her lips in his. The butcher was a bit rough with Ma because he could tell that she liked it that way. Pah! Pah! Pah! The pounding resumed, with Eren''s cock hitting and creating new pleasure spots for Ma to drown in. With each thrust and moment of kissing, Ma''s hard-earned elementalprehension leaked from her body and slipped into Eren''s and vice versa. Like a true Lust demon, Eren devoured her essence while instilling soul-consuming pleasure into her body and turning her into an addict to his carnal powers. Chapter 1338 Marlas Expert Rank Breakthrough* ? The couple shifted positions once more. This time Ma poised on her hands, her body forming an acute angle with the ground. Eren firmly gripped her waist as he entered her from behind, their connection igniting a passionate rhythm that echoed through the room. Pah! Pah! Pah! With each powerful thrust, waves of pleasure coursed through Ma''s body, pushing her closer to the edge of ecstasy. Her surrender to Eren''s touch was absolute, her hands yielding as he skillfully supported her, ensuring their union remained unbroken. The intensity of their carnal y escted until Eren''s cock quivered, signaling the imminent release of his climax. "Cumming... again... again," Ma gasped, her voiceced with desire and anticipation. "Aaaargh!" Eren''s passionate groan reverberated in the air as he released his warm essence deep inside Ma, saturating her inner walls with a breathtaking white hue. He branded her at the same time. Overwhelmed by pleasure, Ma''s mind soared into a realm of uncertainty. "Is this... what they call paradise?" she wondered, her eyes zed over and a blissful smile adorning her lips. The rapid rotation of her mana core indicated the assimtion of Eren''s elemental gains, stirring a profound transformation within her. Unbeknownst to Ma, her subconscious instinctively guided the flow of mana, following the intricate mnemonic patterns embedded in her ranking technique. Recognizing the significance of changes urring in her ranking status, Eren allowed her a moment to adjust, aware of the impending ordeal that awaited her. A tempest of crimson and azure lightning crackled and surged, enveloping the couple in an awe-inspiring disy. Ma''s aura pulsed with the energy of a half-step Expert-ranked closebat expert on the precipice of her advancement. Every fiber of her being resonated with the culmination of her efforts, propelled by the profound elemental teachings Eren had shared with her. Ma''s mana core finally imploded from within, causing her extreme agony for a split second. In the next moment, her mana core formed anew, with a newfound mana type and caliber. She started consuming the surrounding Exper-Rank mana With each surge of power. Blitz Swoosh. Surge. With a gentle nudge from Eren, Ma effortlessly crossed the threshold into the esteemed realm of the Expert Rank. It was a remarkable breakthrough, arriving much earlier than even her most optimistic projections. Little did she anticipate that a passionate encounter with Eren would condense months of arduous training and tireless efforts into a single, blissful moment. Ma had already been on the verge of breaking into the C-Rank, having fulfilled all the prerequisites necessary for her ascent. Thus, her intimate connection with Eren granted her the same fortuitous leap as Agatha, propelling her into the coveted Expert Rank.I think you should take a look at "I... I am an Expert ranker," Ma murmured in disbelief and excitement, her voice infused with a mix of wonder and tion. Eren, reveling in her aplishment, yfully delivered a firm yet affectionate p to her tender buttocks, causing her to startle. "Congrattions, Ma," he eximed with a mischievous grin. "Allow me to reward you with even more pleasure and indulgence." As Eren and Ma prepared for another round of intimacy, they were pleasantly surprised by Almera''s arrival. Almera embraced Eren from behind, her hands wrapping around his torso. Her energy had been restored, courtesy of the potion vial Eren had given her. Initially taken aback by Ma''s sudden breakthrough, Almera soon realized the source of her senior''s transformation. She understood that experiencing pleasure with Eren was an incredible gift. A sense of anticipation and desire filled the air as the three of them basked in the warmth of their connection. Eren''s touch ignited a fire within each of them, driving them to explore new realms of pleasure and intimacy. They reveled in the passion that enveloped them, savoring the sensations that surged through their bodies. In this moment of shared desire, boundaries blurred and inhibitions dissolved. Each person''s desires and needs were met with openness and understanding. The trio embarked on a journey of mutual pleasure, each person finding their ce in this intimate dance of pleasure. Their bodies intertwined in a symphony of touch and caresses, with Almera''s hands stroking Eren''s hard rod, Ma embracing Eren''s passionate kisses, and their desires interweaving in a tapestry of bliss. The intensity escted as Almera''s lips found Eren''s, their mouths merging in a passionate kiss that expressed their unspoken longing. Meanwhile, Ma positioned herself between Eren''s legs, her hands and lips finding new ways to pleasure him. With skilled movements and a deep connection, shevished attention upon his veiny dick, arousing him further and intensifying the pleasure they shared. Her every touch and caress was guided by a deep desire to bring him ecstasy. This time, Eren didn''t want to burst into Ma''s mouth and waste his precious cum. He told her to go on all her fours and take his dick in her ass. Hesitant for a split second, Ma decided to oblige Eren''s orders anyway. After all, both Ma and Almera were already branded by him, influencing them to listen to their every desire. Plus, the domain of Mist of Lust was getting stronger by the moment, allowing the twodies to shed all their pretense to stay sophisticated despite the aura of debauchery oozed by Eren. As Eren continued to thrust into Ma''s rear, their bodies moving in harmony, he paused in his actions of eating Almera''s pussy and muttered seductively, "Ma, my darling, your body had be even more seductive after your breakthrough. Every inch of you has be more beautiful than before." Ma managed to process Eren''spliments thatnded on her ears. Despite the aggression in his actions, his words were quite soothing. She looked behind and saw Eren''s figure, her voice trembling with pleasure, and responded breathlessly, "Yessssss, Erennnn. This. Aaaaah Fuck me more Yessss!." Almera, unable to contain her desire any longer, released her pussy juices after Eren''s masterfulpping up of her dripping cunt. She would have lost her bnce and fallen off her position due to her legs suddenly getting weak if Eren hadn''t held her with both his hands at the right time. And so, the trio embarked on an intoxicating journey, exploring the depths of their desires and indulging in the forbidden fruits of pleasure. Their voices mingled in a chorus of moans and gasps, their bodies entangled in a passionate symphony. They traversed the realms of ecstasy, leaving no fantasy undiscovered. Chapter 1339 Peeking Into The Past ? The quiet hour of twilight enveloped the southern region of the Dark Daneira forest. The star-studded canvas cast a serene stillness over thend. The night of intense passion hade to a close, and Eren, with a tender touch, ceased his carnal activities with Ma and Almera, granting them the respite they so deserved. In the aftermath of their fervent tryst, the trioy intertwined upon a bed adorned with plush cushions and silky sheets. Their bodies glistened with a delicate sheen of perspiration, a testament to the depths of their indulgence. Hearts pounded in unison, their rhythm a testament to the powerful connection they had forged. As the first tendrils of dawn began to paint the sky in hues of gold and crimson, Eren surveyed the scene with a calm and expressionless countenance. His gaze wandered beyond the confines of the treehouse, drawn to the soft moonlight that filtered through the ceiling window above, illuminating the room with a gentle glow. A subtle smile yed upon his lips as he lifted his right hand, a conduit for his lightning mana. In a swift surge of power, Eren''s hand became ensconced in brilliant arcs of blue lightning. The crackling energy danced and flickered, seemingly scorching the very air it touched. It was a new Aspect of his lightning element, a result of the intimate bond he shared with Ma. The Sin of Lust, Eren mused within the recesses of his mind, appreciating the usefulness of this Ability. The lightning arcs emitted a melodic chorus, reminiscent of birdsong, a testament to the sheer damage potential of the Aspect. Yet, as Eren contemted the depths of his powers, a realization washed over him. The Sin of Lust, powerful as it may be, was not without its limitations. Its devouring nature could only unlock the potential within those who saw him as a significant figure in their lives, those who held a deep bond with him. Without such a profound connection, the gains derived from the Sin of Lust would be meager and unsatisfying. Nina or Agatha and his recent experience with Ma were no exceptions to the rule. Eren pondered this truth as he observed the effects of the Elemental Aspect bestowed upon him by Ma. It became evident to Eren that the Aspect of blue lightning could harmonize seamlessly with the fire-element mana he possessed. A spark of inspiration ignited within him, unveiling the potential for fusion spells that intertwined the raw power of lightning and the fierce heat of the fire. With the addition of the Blue Lightning Aspect, the potency of his fusion spells would soar to unparalleled heights, enabling him to cast spells of unimaginable devastation. The dawn approached, its early light sweeping away the remnants of night. Eren''s mind brimmed with possibilities as he contemted the fusion of elements, his fingertips tingling with anticipation. Leaving Ma and Almera resting in the bed, Eren rose from his bed with a sense of purpose. As he walked towards the expansive deck of the treehouse, he channeled his lightning mana, allowing its invigorating surge to flow through his veins. The ethereal energy cleansed his body, rejuvenating him from within. With each step, the Amazonian tattoos that had adorned his skin duringst night''s revelry gradually faded, leaving his body unmarked, a nk canvas ready to embrace the new day. A gentle breeze swept through the forest, and as Eren continued his journey with each slow step, a flurry of micro-sized Wind des danced around him, their enchanting touch working their magic. His once waist-length hair was trimmed, falling just below his shoulders, framing his face with an air of effortless charm. In a disy of arcane elegance, a set of clothes materialized around Eren''s body, manifesting out of thin air. Opting for a simple yet functional Adventurer''s outfit, he adorned himself with lightweight armor and arm and shoulder bracers, ensuring both mobility and protection. As he reached the railings of the deck, he stood tall andposed, a reflection of the newfound determination that pulsed within him. Ma had mentioned that the deck offered an ideal vantage point to witness the beauty of the sunrise. Curiosity tugging at his senses, Eren decided to heed her words and experience the magic that awaited him in the morning sky. Positioning himself with anticipation, Eren''s gaze turned towards the horizon. He watched as the first rays of the sun gradually breached the boundary between darkness and light, illuminating the sky with a breathtaking disy of colors. A kaleidoscope of vibrant hues adorned the celestial canvas, painting a scene that surpassed the realms of the ordinary. Eren couldn''t help but feel the air around him crackling with otherworldly energy, as though the very atmosphere was charged with an enchantment of its own. Eren stood on the deck of Ma''s treehouse, a vantage point that offered a breathtaking view of the Dark Daniera Forest. The sky was a canvas awaiting its masterpiece, and Eren anticipated a sunrise that would transcend the boundaries of the ordinary. As if summoned by the invisible hand of magic, the brilliant colors of the sunrise began to unfold. The bright golden sun rays painted the sky in a kaleidoscope of hues, transforming the atmosphere into a surreal tapestry of enchantment. A surge of mana seemed to pulse through the air, heightening the anticipation of something extraordinary. Amid this ethereal disy, a wondrous sight unfolded before Eren''s eyes. A gigantic apparition of the Great Mother goddess materialized in the sky, her majestic form exuding a divine aura that spread throughout the surroundings. The very air crackled with the power of her presence. Eren guessed that the Amazonians would feel a surge of reverence coursing through their veins if and when they witnessed this scene from his vantage point. Birds, guided by an instinctual connection, soared through the heavens toward the goddess''s ethereal manifestation. They formed a swirling dance in the sky, their wings beating in harmony with the mystical energy that permeated the atmosphere. Even the various mana beasts that inhabited the surrounding forest paused in their activities, looking up with a mixture of awe and reverence. In a moment of breathtaking wonder, the bright sky transformed, revealing a glimpse of the cosmos. The silvery stars shone with an otherworldly brilliance, their light growing in intensity until it seemed as though the entire universe had condensed above them. For a fleeting moment, Eren felt as though he could reach out and touch the distant gxies, the immensity of existence and unseen form of natureid bare before his eyes. Then, as swiftly as it had appeared, the cosmic disy receded, fading into the depths of the sky. The stars dimmed simultaneously, casting a shadow of darkness across the heavens, leaving the sky pitch ck and devoid of any celestial presence. With the arrival of the fully risen sun on the horizon, the giant apparition of the Great Mother goddess dissipated into the ether. The surreal atmosphere gradually lifted, reced by theforting familiarity of a normal sky. Yet, the memory of that awe-inspiring moment remained etched in Eren''s mind, a testament to the power and mystique of the divine he had just witnessed. "It was breathtaking, wasn''t it?" As Eren stood on the deck, captivated by the majestic sight before him, a familiar voice reached his ears, pulling him back from his reverie. He turned to find Ma, a few steps away, her gaze fixed upon him. Behind her stood Almera, her bright smile adding a touch of warmth to the morning air. Both Ma and Almera had undergone their own transformation, having freshened up and adorned their Adventurer outfits. Bathed in the soft glow of the morning light, they exuded a newfound radiance, their forms ethereal and captivating. Eren couldn''t help but notice the slight air of awkwardness that enveloped them, a natural consequence of their newfound intimacy. The boundaries they had crossed in the heat of passion the previous night had left them navigating uncharted territory in their rtionship. Eren offered them a reassuring smile, silently inviting them to join him on the deck. Turning back to face the sprawling expanse of the Dark Daniera forest, Eren observed the golden hues of sunlight cascading over thend. Ma''s question lingered in the air, and he took a moment to appreciate the beauty that surrounded them. "Indeed, Ma," Eren responded, his voice filled with genuine admiration. "It was a sight to behold. Your excitement was well-founded." Pausing for a moment, Eren''s gaze turned distant, his eyes narrowing as he contemted the cosmic phenomenon they had witnessed. "I am notpletely sure. But I believe it may be some sort of automated mechanism implemented by the Great Mother," he mused aloud. "A way to inspire reverence and cultivate the Faith energy of her followers. And I also think that such celestial marvels are limited to regions harboring Amazonian settlements." Eren''s thoughts delved deeper into the gods'' predicament, unraveling the mechanisms they employed to maintain their influence. Eren''s understanding grew, realizing the significance of these miracles in bolstering the gods'' following. In the world of Anfang, where direct divine intervention was forbidden, such disys served as a conduit to elicit faith and devotion. This was despite the fact that they only served as visual treat for the eyes for the most part due to the current state of Anfang. Ma and Almera drew closer to Eren, their presence on either side prompting him to encircle their waists with his arms, pulling them into an intimate embrace. As their bodies pressed against his, he felt their lingering fatigue, which he had eased with his top-tier potions. Greeting them with tender kisses, Eren allowed the two beautifuldies to separate from him, their bond solidified by the shared warmth they had found in each other''s arms. Ma gracefully tucked a strand of her lustrous hair behind her ear before she spoke. "Hmm. That''s correct, Eren. This phenomenon is exclusive to regions where the Great Mother''s devoted followers reside." Almera, a contented sigh escaping her lips, met Eren''s gaze with a sense of fulfillment. Her voice resonated with knowledge and reverence as she continued, her body craving Eren''s attention. "Eren, we Amazonians refer to this extraordinary urrence as the Mother''s Judgment. In ancient times, when thisnd was known as Daniea name meaning ''the Goddess Is My Judge''the Great Mother''s divine influence pervaded thesends for thousands of years, long before the cmitous war." Eren''s eyebrows arched in surprise at the revtion, and he directed his attention to Almera, his touch gentle as he caressed her back, silently urging her to continue. Almera cleared her throat, weing Eren''s proximity as she revealed further insights. "During that era, the Great Mother bestowed her divine presence upon her followers at the break of each day. Her Divine Will blessed those who adhered to her teachings and punished those who defied her faith.I think you should take a look at As her influence emanated strongly from this forest, it came to be known as Danie. The addition of ''Dark'' to its name cameter, after the Cmity War. Thus, the forest inadvertently became known as Daniera after a long passage of time, a name nothing but a distortion of its previous one." Eren''s intrigue deepened as he absorbed the information, recognizing its significance even in its seemingly incidental nature. He acted like a collector of random divine knowledge as he preserved these fragments in his mind. He was confident that they would one day form aprehensive picture from these tidbits, revealing profound insights into the inner workings of the gods. In this tranquil moment, the trio stood together, their connection forged through shared experiences and newfound intimacy. The forest embraced them, its ancient wisdom and divine legacy pulsating within its depths. Deep in thought, Eren''s brow furrowed as his mind swirled with a multitude of ideas. A sense of purposepelled him to believe that the alteration in the forest''s name held a significance beyond the mere passage of time. It seemed deliberate, a calcted attempt to diminish the Great Mother''s influencean act orchestrated by the Anfang Alliance after the construction of the continent-epassing array. Turning to Ma and Almera, Eren''s eyes sparkled with curiosity as he posed a questionden with intrigue. "Girls, is it possible that the Great Mother has adversaries?" His tone brimmed with a yearning for knowledge as he sought confirmation for his own spections. Before delving deeper into his future ns, Eren needed Ma and Almera to shed light on the matter. A silent understanding passed between the two women as they exchanged nces. Ma paused, her gaze distant, before offering her insights. "Eren, our training was primarily focused on forging connections beyond the confines of the Amazonian settlements. So you can''t expect us to know everything the Matriarchs are privy to. While weckprehensive knowledge, we do know that in the pre-Cmity era, the Great Mother''s influence held sway over the world of Anfang. Her faithful were spread far and wide, transcending boundaries. It wasn''t limited to the Amazonian settlements, as we observe today. As for enemies, we cannot say for certain if the goddess herself had any. However, her cult shed frequently with a few rival sects from different faiths during that time," Ma exined, allowing Eren to absorb the information. Eren''s emerald eyes shimmered with a peculiar gleam as he absorbed Ma''s words. A moment of silence passed, and Almera took the opportunity to interject, picking up where Ma left off. "Um... among these opposing cults, the followers of the Vulcan god frequently shed with the Amazonians. The animosity between the two faiths has been well-documented in the historical records avable to our people." A surge of realization coursed through Eren''s being as the puzzle pieces fell into ce. The sh between the faiths served as a telling sign that the Great Mother and God Vulcan were indeed bitter adversaries. Eren formted a hypothesis, surmising that God Vulcan purposefully disrupted the world of Anfang to spite the Great Mother. If her faith had once flourished across the continent, the most effective way to undermine its foundation would be to unleash a cmity beyond the goddess''s control. The repercussions of such an event would undoubtedly erode the prevalent faith in the Great Mother during the Cmity War. "This means that God Vulcan intentionally wrought coteral damage to undermine the Great Mother''s faith, thereby shaping the current state of Anfang. If God Vulcan''s followers still oppose the Great Mother, anyone associated with her would likely be targeted by Vulcan''s faithful as well," Eren concluded, his mind aze with a newfound understanding of the realm of gods. Contemting the implications, Eren resolved to gather further information concerning God Vulcan in the days toe. While he harbored no desire to entangle himself in the machinations of deities, the necessity of acquiring knowledgepelled him. After all, the butcher had chosen to ally himself with the Great Mother, and understanding the intricacies of the divine would prove essential to his cause. Determination etched across his face, Eren embraced the gravity of his decision, his thoughts racing to chart a path for the future thaty before him. *** "Hmm. The journey to meet the Matriarchs was truly worthwhile. But it''s time to move forward. There''s no reason to linger here any longer," Eren murmured under his breath, wrapping up his thoughts. He had decided to depart from the Amazonian settlement and rejoin his crew aboard his shipsFreya and Tidebreaker. Eren''s gaze shifted to Ma and Almera, a warm smile gracing his lips. Once again, he drew them into a tender embrace, bidding them a fond farewell. The trio indulged in a flurry of kisses, hickeys, and grabby grabs, their intimacy igniting a passionate connection thatsted for more than a few minutes. Finally, Eren reluctantly released himself from Ma and Almera''s grasp. Despite their weariness and evident desire to follow him back to bed, he knew he must resist the allure of carnal pleasure. A sense of urgency enveloped him, urging him to forge ahead with his ns. As he observed the longing expressions on Ma and Almera''s faces, Eren gently caressed their cheeks with his hands, assuring them with yful words. "Don''t worry, mydies. We will meet again in the city of White Raven from time to time. Complete your tasks here and report to the Guild''s headquarters as soon as possible. I may not be present by the time you arrive, but I promise to keep you informed of my visits in the future. As for your missions within the guild once you officially join... well, I''ll leave that for you and Agatha to figure out," Eren reassured them, his words soothing and his touchforting. Eren turned his focus specifically to Ma, offering her additional guidance. "Ma, my darling, prioritize stabilizing your Expert Rank breakthrough above all else. Ensure that the teachings of the Evokers do not hinder your path as a Ranker." Ma nodded, her eyes sparkling with determination. "Fear not, Eren. I won''t allow anything topromise my foundation as a Ranker. We will strive to fulfill our objectives here swiftly." Her voice carried a peculiar gleam as she continued, "Besides, I''m eager to reunite with my sister. Remember?" Eren chuckled, the memory of Marie bringing a mischievous smile to his face. Ma, however, didn''t miss the subtle shift in his grin, her curiosity tinged with suspicion. "What is it?" she inquired, her voice filled with both curiosity and uncertainty. "It''s funny you mentioned your sister today," Eren chuckled, his eyes gleaming yfully. "It''s amusing to me... considering... our encounterst night." Even Almera couldn''t help but feel puzzled by Eren''s words this time. He looked at her meaningfully before redirecting his gaze back to Ma, continuing his exnation. "Regarding your sister, Marie... let''s just say I had a simr experience with her when we first slept together." Eren''s words struck Ma like a bolt of lightning. She stared at Eren, utterly astonished, before finally finding her voice. "Eren, Marie slept with you?" Her voice rose with a mix of shock and disbelief. However, as Ma delved deeper into Eren''s revtion, another facet of his words surfaced in her mind. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion as she questioned him, "Wait... are you suggesting that Marie had a partner with her when you... when you were together?" Ma''s incredulous gaze fixed upon Eren as she drew her own conclusion. Eren chuckled, unabashedly nodding. "Keke. Yes. Between the tag teams of you and Almera, and Marie and Arizihana, I can confidently say that no side has a clear advantage when ites to... well, let''s say bedtime activities." Eren believed he was being understood by ensuring no one side had a distinct advantage. However, Ma regarded him with an expression that conveyed disbelief at the debaucherous life he had been leading. He had not only convinced her and Almera to join him in bed but had also orchestrated a simr scenario with her half-sister. Suddenly, Eren realized he had forgotten to inform Ma about his bond with Marie. "Um... it seems I forgot to mention this earlier. My apologies," Erenughed nervously, clearing his throat before continuing, "Well... if it''s any constion, Marie was already involved with Arizihana before I became involved with..." Eren halted mid-sentence, realizing that he was exacerbating the situation with Ma''s increasingly furious expression. Without a moment''s hesitation, he waved his hand, employing Blink to vanish from his position. The butcher chose to retreat at the opportune moment, avoiding an encounter with an enraged Ma. "Ma, my dear. You, Almera, Marie, and Arizihana... someday I''ll gather all of you in a room. And then... keke!" Eren''s voice trailed off, seeminglying from some distant source and an unknown direction. mixed with amusement, leaving a somewhat angered Ma in his wake. Meanwhile, Almera nced behind her and noticed a trail of Eren''s ck locks scattered on the ground. She sighed, reminiscing about her time with him the previous night. "I liked him more when he had long hair and an Amazonian vibe around him," Almera muttered under her breath with a tinge of longing mixed in her voice. Oblivious to Almera''s thoughts, Ma vented her frustrations, cursing Eren under her breath to release the shock caused by his revtions. However, Eren was nowhere to be found at the scene, having recently concluded his meeting with the four Matriarchs and bid farewell to numerous Amazonians. The butcher quickened his pace, heading towards his ships with determination. He needed to go to his city and settle all of his affairs there before starting with the Lazarus Project. Chapter 1340 Planning For The Future ? The Nightshade Duchy. A lesser-known city nestled near the tranquil River Lithe greeted the arrival of two majestic ships at its bustling port. Each vessel bore a resplendent figurehead depicting a regal White Raven, its wings outstretched as if poised for flight. The sight of these figureheads stirred whispers among the gathered rankers, who recognized the symbol and its significanceGrimdawn. The city authorities swiftly established a perimeter around the port, ensuring that eager rankers couldn''t approach the two anchored ships. The word had spread, and anticipation filled the air. The people knew that Grimdawn, recently bestowed with a prestigious title in the capital city, had be a figure of intrigue and curiosity. A crowd had gathered just beyond the guards'' perimeter, anxiously awaiting Eren''s arrival. Among them were devoted fans, eager to meet their idol and shake his hand. Some sought the thrill of challenging Eren or his subordinates to duels, testing their mettle against his prowess. Ambitious individuals hoped for the opportunity to join his renowned guild, while esteemed merchant families saw a chance to forge prosperous business alliances with the White Raven Guild. Eren''s name had be a ma, drawing attention and curiosity from all corners. After all, news had spread that he had secured numerous lucrative contracts from the capital. Anyone associated with him stood to benefit, despite the ongoing war between Edinburgh and the kingdom of Layos. Aware of the attention he would attract upon entering the Nightshade Duchy, Eren had taken precautions. He had asked Agatha to dispatch two skilled squadrons to act as his vanguard and rearguard. These squads were tasked with ensuring the safety of Eren and hispanions. Eren understood the flip side of famethe multitude of enemies he had amassed along with his reputation. Though he had dealt with House Slughorn and made amends with House Remus, the shadows still held threats in the form of the Escalon Guild and the Midnight Moon cultists. His business rivals could also take their shot at him, endangering Eren''s subordinates just because they happened to be with him. Traitors sponsored by the kingdom of Layos and Demonmir himself were also lurking, seeking to harm Eren and those who were with him by any means necessary. In short, the butcher had no shortage of enemies. Plus, they were relentless, willing to go to great lengths to undermine and hurt him. This was the dark underbelly of fame, the uglier side he hade to know. While he had confidence in the abilities of Nina, Levine, and Jiana to protect themselves, Eren harbored concerns for Renita and Sara, who were aboard his ships. He refused to take any chances with their safety. Eren was well aware that the security threats surrounding those connected to him would eventually dissipate with time. As his fans and enemies became embroiled in their own affairs, whether through direct involvement in the war or furthering their Ranking Paths, the intensity of their focus would lessen. However, until that time arrived, Eren understood the importance of maintaining caution. Having bid farewell to the Amazonian settlement, Eren had gathered hisrades from LA, weing them aboard the Tidebreaker. Their purpose was to apany him to his city and officially join the White Raven Guild. For Ron, Dino, Jake, Bel, Renita, and Ana, the decision to join the guild was an obvious one, given their long-standing links with Eren since their early academy days. However, the original White Raven squad from LA was iplete without two membersSteve and Becky. While Steve had been recruited by Edinburgh''s special forces, Becky had tragically lost her life in the Sansara World. The absence of these two members cast a bittersweet sentiment over the remaining squad members as they embarked on their journey to join Eren''s guild. Eren recognized that time would be the only healer of their collective sorrow. In theing months, he nned to immerse Renita and the others in such demanding missions that their minds would be upied solely with the tasks at hand. Renita, Ron, Jake, and the rest formed the first group to step onto the deck of the Tidebreaker, disembarking one by one. Eren''s other loyal subordinates followed suit. On the vessel Freya, Eren, Nina, Levine, and Jiana remained in their positions, allowing Renita, Sara, and the rest of theirpanions from the Tidebreaker to be safely escorted ashore. Once everyone from the Tidebreaker had disembarked, the attention of the city guards swiftly shifted to Freya. Before any representatives from the city administration could approach Eren''s ship and request an audience with him, a spirited male voice resonated through the air, capturing the attention of all present. "Aight. Nice and easy. Make way for this Prince, people." Argo pped his hands with gusto, confidently making his way toward Freya amidst the throngs of onlookers who had gathered to witness Eren''s arrival. A group of formidable-looking Rankers trailed closely behind him, catching the city administration off guard. However, it didn''t take long for the guards to realize that these Rankers were affiliated with the White Raven Guild, serving as the vanguard for Eren and hispanions. Argo assumed leadership of the vanguard squad, with the apanying Rankers serving as his direct subordinates. They were members of the Order of the Fly, a specialized force that operated covertly and overtly on behalf of the White Raven Guild. As Argo''s group approached Freya, the city guards and the crowd instinctively made way. With a swift, graceful jump, Argo, the enigmatic demon beast, bounded onto the deck of Freya, fearlessly seeking out Eren without any hint of reservation. Argo sported a distinctive appearance that set him apart from the other Rankers. With his hair cropped short and spiked, he possessed a unique visual style. d in a white topyered beneath a ck, leather-like, form-fitting armor that resembled a jacket, he exuded a very funk-like aura. His subordinates, following closely behind him, donned the same attire, further enhancing the underground-gang-like impression. In his humanoid hybrid form, Argo boasted beastly arms and feet adorned with eagle-like talons. Despite his bestial features, he retained the appearance of an ordinary teenager. His sheathed aura and friendly demeanor created an illusion of innocence as if he were a young boy who had yet to grasp the harsh realities of the world. However, a few astute high-ranking individuals present at the port quickly recognized Argo as a formidable force capable of wreaking havoc and causing massive loss of life should he unleash his intent-based magic. They also started perceiving Eren as even more of a threat because of his ownership over Argo. "Ayo, boss! Whereyouat?" Argo called out, scanning the surroundings in search of Eren. Just then, a secure door of the amodation structure swung open, revealing Eren as he emerged with a leisurely gait. Upon catching sight of Eren stepping out, Argo erupted into heartyughter. However, his amusement was abruptly interrupted by an unusual odor that wafted through the air as soon as the door was opened. He wrinkled his nose in slight annoyance before addressing Eren. "Damn boss. What in the Old Macdonald''s Farm happened in here? It smells like..." Argo''s words trailed off as he shifted his gaze toward the trio ofdiesNina, Levine, and Jianawho closely trailed behind Eren, making their way out of the amodation. The demon beast swiftly pieced together Eren''s activities aboard Freya, prompting him to offer a knowing smile. "Hahaha. You''re stepping up your game, boss. Not bad. Not bad. But you still gotta think bigger." Unperturbed by Argo''s unsolicitedment, Eren feigned ignorance, disregarding the remark as if he were oblivious to Argo''s insinuations. With deliberate precision, he straightened his immacte attire and adjusted his hair, exuding an air of self-assurance as he approached Argo. "Well, have youe prepared, you fat bird? If my intuition serves me right, our enemies will attempt something sinister on our journey to the City of White Raven," Erenmented, his voice tinged with a mix of confidence and caution. Argo responded with a nod of acknowledgment, casting a casual smile toward Nina and the others before cing a reassuring hand on his chest. "Hmmm, don''t you worry, boss. This Prince has everything well in hand," Argo assured, exuding unwavering confidence in his formidable powers. Eren had no intention of evading the eager crowd that awaited him. He greeted his fans with a smile on his face. With his Soul Sense alone, he dissuaded would-be challengers, his mere gaze serving as a deterrent. He also engaged in brief discussions with representatives from merchant families who sought to establish ties with him, inviting a select few to continue their conversations in the City of White Raven. Naturally, Agatha would oversee these discussions. With his affairs settled, Eren entrusted Argo with the responsibility of leading the entire group out of the bustling port city. A convoy of sturdy carriages set forth, propelled by an astonishing speed. Leading the charge was a group of battle-ready magical colts, guided by Argo soaring through the sky in his majestic eagle form. The rearguardprised silent and stealthy Rankers, employing their movement spells and artifacts to shadow the convoy''s path. True to Eren''s foresight, they encountered a group of unknown Rankers whounched an all-out attack along their journey. Yet, Argo and his subordinates, divided into vanguard and rearguard teams, swiftly neutralized the threat, effortlessly repelling the assants. One could describe Eren''s journey to the City of White Raven as rtively peaceful. Preferring not to involve himself in the skirmish, Eren entrusted the handling of the attackers to Argo, maintaining a low profile and deliberately reducing his public appearances. By shifting the focus away from himself, Eren aimed to divert the limelight and gradually fade from the public''s immediate attention. Thanks to the meticulous arrangements Eren had made, he and hispanions safely arrived at the majestic City of White Raven. Sara, Renita, and the others were awestruck by the grandeur that unfolded before their eyes. Crossing the city gates, they chose to explore the city on foot, eager to immerse themselves in its bustling streets and discover all the wonders it held. *** Inside Eren''s carriage, avish room enchanted with space-element magic weed him. This very carriage had been his sanctuary during his perilous journey from the City of New Beginnings in the past, a time when Shalen Craft and the rest had targeted him in a meticulous ambush. Shalen had taken herst breath inside this magical carriageC an assassin from Escalon Guild who got assassinated by Eren. With no one to lend an ear to his musings, Eren found sce within the confines of his carriage. He gazed out of the windows, taking in the sight of the city he had built from scratchhis creation, borne out of his own blood, sweat, and unwavering determination. It stood as a testament to his resolute spirit and his ability to navigate life without guidance. As Eren ventured deeper into the heart of his city, he realized that it was shedding its old facade with each passing month. The once-familiar streets had transformed into abyrinth ofplexity and activity, burgeoning in size, poption, and prosperity. The City of White Raven was undergoing a metamorphosis, evolving into a thriving hub of life and ambition. Despite Nina and the others'' persistent insistence, Eren had chosen to travel in a separate, isted carriage. His decision stemmed from a genuine concern for the safety of hispanions. By distancing himself, he sought to shield them from being caught in the direct crossfire should his enemies manage to locate him. It was his silent yet resolute way of demonstrating care, a manifestation of his confidence in his own ability to confront and ovee any adversary. "Times are changing," Eren murmured to himself, his voice barely above a whisper, as he observed the bustling happenings of the city he had brought to life. Through the carriage''s windows, he juxtaposed the city''s current state of prosperity with its humble beginningsa barrennd he had transformed with his vision and determination. "Soon, they will forget about me. Soon, they will be consumed by the rhythm of life. And soon, they will sumb to the inevitable embrace of death," Eren mused, a chuckle escaping his lips, a sardonic acknowledgment of the transient nature of existence. He allowed himself to be carried through the city''s busy streets, lost in contemtion. "Ever the Philosopher of BullshitteryC Mr. Eren Elijah Idril. Did you miss me?" But suddenly, a gentle yet firm feminine voice broke through the solitude, surprising Eren. Turning towards the source of the sound, he discovered a youthfuldy seated beside hima homunculus. Alephee had materialized within Eren''s carriage without triggering any of its safety mechanisms. In this rare moment, a genuine smile graced Eren''s lips as he beckoned Alephee to embrace him. The homunculus returned his smile, reciprocating the affectionate gesture. "I indeed missed you, Miss Timeless" Eren whispered, his hand gently caressing Alephee''s backa rare disy of tenderness. Alephee''s heart stirred at the sincerity behind Eren''s words. To hear such sentiments from a man like Eren held great significance. "I missed you too, Eren," Alephee replied, her face adorned with a subtle grin. "Although, we weren''t apart for long, and we did stay in contact most of the time, didn''t we?" she added, her tone modest, probing to see if Eren would retract his statement. Yet, Eren simply shrugged his shoulders, his words coated in honeyed warmth. "Can''t I miss you for simply not being by my side?" he sighed dramatically before yfully adding, "You are heartless, not taking my feelings into consideration." Alephee met Eren''s gaze with a momentarily nk expression before sumbing to a burst ofughter. "Heartless, he says. Coming from you, Eren, that''s quite rich," she retorted, herughter echoing within the carriage. Eren''s smile lingered as he watched Alephee''sughter subside. "I miss Reen too," he murmured almost imperceptibly to himself, a sigh escaping his lips. With a resolute decision, he released the carriage''s safety mechanisms entirely and employed Blink, causing himself to vanish from his position. Alephee, adjusting her hair, followed suit, leaving the carriage vacant. *** Six days after Eren arrived in the City of White Raven... In Agatha''s private chamber, an additional presence joined her. As she dressed, Agatha turned to the upant beside her. "When are you nning to leave?" she inquired, her voiceced with curiosity. Eren, reclining on her bed, responded with a tone infused with fatigue and contemtion, "Soon," he said, his gaze fixed on the ceiling of the chamber, devoid of expression. A wry smile curved Agatha''s lips at Eren''s answer. She knew he was nning to do something really big, yet he remained deliberately elusive whenever questioned. He sought to shield her from the potential fallout, ensuring her usible deniability. That is if circumstances took a turn for the worse, endangering him and everything he had built. Nevertheless, Agatha yearned for his openness, to be fully included in his n so she could contribute her unwavering support and expertise. s, Eren was determined to minimize White Raven Guild''s involvement for as long as possible. Heprehended the limitations of his solitary efforts and acknowledged the need to assess the situation first. Investing his city''s resources in the Lazarus Project right from the start might turn out to be harmful to him and his city. The morning''s arrival had transformed Agatha into an industrious figure, consumed by her duties. The wild aura she exuded during their intimate encounter the previous night had given way to an air of focused productivity. Eren observed this transformation with a mix of fascination and admiration, his eyes tracing her every movement. Agatha granted Eren a brief moment of solitude, allowing him to gather his thoughts. She proceeded to the counter kitchen, deftly working with the avable ingredients. Within minutes, she prepared a modest breakfast for both of them. As if summoned by her magic, a breakfast table materialized beside the bed, adorned with their morning meal. By now, Eren had readied himself, taking his ce at the table opposite Agatha. As they savored their breakfast, Agatha began briefing him on White Raven Guild''s forting project. Engrossed in their conversation, the pair delved into various topics, their voices mingling harmoniously amidst the backdrop of their shared meal. Agatha''s voice broke the intermittent silence with an unexpected question. "Eren.. did...did you dispose of the Myriad Potioner?" Her inquiry hinted at the knowledge that Eren and Alephee had captured Sebastian Slughorn, the elusive potion master who had been presumed dead. Agatha was well aware that Sebastian''s fate was sealed, but she sought assurance from Eren, wanting to understand any potential aftermath that might require her vignce. Eren calmly took a bite of his meal before responding, "Yes. Rest assured, there is nothing for you to concern yourself with. We have taken care of everything." Eren''s words alleviated Agatha''s worries, offering her a respite from the weight of uncertainty. Yet, there was another question lingering in her mind, hesitant to be voiced. "And...did you did?" Agatha''s voice trailed off as she hesitated to broach the topic. Eren chuckled, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Oh, yes. I devoured him," he replied nonchntly as if recounting a mundane event. "Every ounce of his elemental attainments and his Ranking Path became mine, bit by bit. However, I won''t be able to fully utilize his knowledge and expertise until I''ve had a few years to refine them." Sebastian''s name made Eren remember something. He quickly summoned his Status Screen and looked at the ID-Stone-generated as well as custom stats to see the changes that had taken ce. *** Name- Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Edinburgh Bona Fide Title: Grimdawn Organizations- Edinburgh Army (Veteran, Voluntary Exit), Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy (Graduated with Distinction), Founder of the City of White Raven, Guild Master of White Raven Guild Ranking Technique- Rootless (Custom Name) Base Stats: HP- 85 / 85 (?) MP- 85 / 85 (?) STR- 85 (?) AGI- 85 (?) INT- 85 (?) Spiritual Force (SF)- ?? (?) BTP~ 425 (?) BTP Visibility- Private Ranking Status: C-Rank / Expert Rank (Liquid Core State) sses Avable (Custom): Close Combat Expert, Summoner, Array Master, Berserker, Assassin, Ranger, Potion Expert (?) Sin Series Abilities (Custom): Sin of Wrath (Domain of Wrath), Sin of Gluttony (Domain of Gluttony) Sin of Lust (Mist of Lust), Bloodline Abilities (Custom): Memory Extraction, Expedited Regeneration, Devour, Shapeshift, Acquired Abilities (Custom): Instant Reset, Unlimited Weapon Works, Myriad Potioning (?), Hero''s HeartI think you should take a look at Self-created Abilities: Sedating Gaze Self-created spells: Wind-Fire Shards, Elemental Fusion Spells Lightning-element spells: Blitz Steps, Blitz Heal, Blitz Storm, Blitz Shield, Blitz Bolt, Solid Spark, Lightning Seed, Lightning Tree, Blitz Wave [ Aspects: Purple(Speed), Red (Destruction), Blue (Incinerating Dry Heat) ] Fire-element spells: Fireball, Firebreath, Hatching of the me (variations), Fire Wings, Rain of Fire, Crimson Storm, Igni Chains, Igni Steps, Blue Fire Domain [ Aspects: Orange (Heat), Azure Blue (Cold Fire) ] Time-element spells: Sedated Perception, Stunning Speed, Total Control, Age Expedite, Age Reverse, Motion Maniption Space-element spells: Blink, Dynamic Distance, Perfect Projection Wind-element spells: Wind Wings, Wind-de Tornado, Wind Steps, Wind Wall, Wind Shards Water-element spells: Aqua Hammer, Aqua Heal, Aqua des, Aqua Wall, Aqua Steps, Aqua Storm, Aqua Whips Wood-element spells: Green Prison, Vicious Vines, Healing Vines, Wood Life Control Earth-element spells: Earth Wall, Earth Steps, Earth Maniption, Earth Spikes Death-element spells: Death Wave, Death Rot, Shadow of Death Misceneous spells: Beast Contract Spell, Demon Beast Transformation Spell, Wind-fire Wings, Wind-Fire Shards Summoning Spells: Fire snakes (variations), Purple Lightning Snakes, Red Lightning Bull (Contract beast summoning), Griffin, Woond Summon, Woond Wondend, Army of the Dead, Contract Undead, Living Undead, Goliath, Earth Arachnids, Behemoth (calibrating new entries) *** Eren knew that he was still far away from making Sebastian''s achievementspletely his. So it was only natural that he would not be able to use Myriad Potioner''s ss or Ability anytime soon. But as long as he continued refining his skills in potion-making based on Sebastian''s life experiences, he would one day assimte with them, unlocking a new ss and Ability for himself. Eren''s casual demeanor sharply contrasted with Agatha''s reaction. She pushed her dish away, her appetite waning at the revtion. Letting out a sigh, she met Eren''s gaze, her voice steady but tinged with concern. "Tell me, at least, how long will it take for your radical n toe to fruition? And when will I have the chance to see you again?" Eren continued to eat, undeterred by Agatha''s inquiries. Pausing mid-motion, he raised his eyes to meet hers, a faint smile ying on his lips. "Fret not. You will catch glimpses of me now and then, Miis Manager. Our meetings, though, may notst as long as we desire," he replied with a touch of resignation. Shaking his head slightly, he refocused on his breakfast, taking a moment topliment Agatha on the delectable meal. It was a deliberate shift in conversation, a tactic not lost on Agatha. She regarded Eren with affectionate eyes, her voice holding a firm resolve. "As long as you make an effort to see me, I won''tin. Remember, should you ever find yourself in a tough situation, this city stands ready to support you. Whatever the cost, if it secures your survival, we are willing to pay it," she affirmed, her gaze piercing. Agatha''s eyes narrowed as she added, her tone unwavering, "You are more important to me than this city or this Guild. I am prepared to be a renegade once more, should the need arise. I once walked the path of a Cultist, and I have the courage to tread it again if things really turn to shit." Eren''s dining halted abruptly as Agatha''s resolute words resonated in the room. Gazing out of the window, he observed the cloudy sky, his expression contemtive. "I guess it''d rain soon," he muttered to himself, before shifting his attention back to Agatha. Despite the overcast atmosphere outside, Eren''s countenance beamed with cheerfulness as he responded to Agatha''s concerns. "Don''t worry, Agatha. I am not one to embrace self-destruction. I''m ready to sacrifice all my possessions if it means I can get the things I want in exchange. However, that is not the path I wish to tread. I indeed built this city to help me in this project of mine. And I will indeed make use of it. But I refuse to let my achievements crumble merely due to obligations imposed by a certain old hag," he assured. With the final morsel consumed, Eren set aside his empty te, allowing his words to flow freely. "Throughout history, people have willingly relinquished something dear to them in pursuit of another prized possession. However, if we delve deeper into this concept, we realize that they inevitably forfeit something of equal worth in the process. It is thew of equivalent exchange, as they say," he exined, his voice filled with a profound understanding. A mischievous grin curved Eren''s lips as he continued, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of determination and cruelty. "But assholes like me are not content with epting such boundaries. We yearn to challenge the very foundations of thisw. I refuse to be confined to choosing between two opposing extremes. Instead, I crave both and intend to shatter the delicate bnce of this world for my selfish take on life," he dered, subtleughter escaping his lips, permeating the air around him. His eyes reflected an unwavering resolve, unyielding to any obstacle that stood in his way. "What are you going to do? Is it a Sage Ranker you are up against? Why not seek help from Rodrick?" Agatha asked Eren while looking at him with concern. Eren savored the weight of Agatha''s concern as she inquired about his ns. Her eyes bore a flicker of worry, sensing the potential danger thaty ahead. With a hint of amusement dancing across his features, Eren shook his head gently in response. "It''s not a mere Sage Ranker I''m up against," he rified, his voice carrying a tinge of excitement. "I''m dealing with an Old Monster, once feared by the entire Anfang Alliance. And to confront this ancient threat, I must first challenge an organization that is equally dangerous to me. As for seeking help from Rodrick..." Eren paused, his expression tinged with skepticism. "If Rodrick were privy to my intentions, he would be the first to lock me away and seize everything I''ve built. And truthfully, I can''t fault him for that if I look at it from his perspective. Unleashing this monster upon the world poses a threat not just to me, but to all of Anfang." Eren released a resigned sigh, sinking back into his chair as the image of Reen shed through his mind, stoking a suppressed frustration within him. Agatha''s next question hung delicately in the air, her voice gentle butden with wisdom. "Are there other alternatives? Can running away solve this problem for the time being? Do you remember, Eren? You had once told me that I shouldn''t let my ns for the future destroy my prospects for the future. If you are still not ready to..." Agatha''s words echoed his previous advice, a reminder of the consequences that apany every action taken. Agatha implored Eren to proceed cautiously, suggesting that the execution of the Lazarus Project be postponed until they were better prepared to face the repercussions. Aware of the limitations of his guild, Eren acknowledged the truth in her words. Compared to the established guilds with their Sage Rankers, his own guild was but a nascent entity, its growth promising but stillcking in experience. Realistically, it would take a century or two, for his guild to pose a legitimate challenge to the established powers like House Lancelot. And he had a decade, at most. Understanding Agatha''s concerns, Eren offered her a wry smile before responding. "Time, Agatha, is a luxury I cannot afford. Don''t misunderstand me, I appreciate the importance of meticulous nning and the safety it provides. And I will try to n as much as I can. I also don''t disagree with the advice I once shared with you. However, life has a peculiar way of throwing curveballs, rendering all our preparations obsolete. It forces us to reveal our hand and engage in battles where victory seems impossible." Agatha interjected, urgency creeping into her voice, urging Eren to retreat and confront these challenges when the time was right Eren''sughter filled the air,ced with unwavering determination. "Everyone runs from their problems when they feel overwhelmed, seeking a fight they know they can win," he began, his tone resolute. "But the bnce of this world can only be shattered by those who acknowledge their destined defeat and yet choose to stand their ground. Their battle isn''t with their opponent but with destiny itself. And those who triumph over destiny are granted the power to rewrite it. I want to be that person who can rewrite his destiny. I am willing to go to any lengths to make that happen," he proimed, his confidence radiating. Agatha couldn''t help but perceive the imminent danger that Eren was about to face with his forting project. Yet, he regarded it as an integral part of his personal ascent, akin to a stepping stone. It was as if he craved the weight of this task upon his shoulders, knowing that once he emerged on the other side, he would transcend his own limitations and soar to unprecedented heights. Heights that the world of Anfang was ill-equipped to contain. "You...you are truly evil," Agatha uttered, captivated by Eren''s chuckle and the aura that emanated from him. A part of her was also smitten with this side of his. Eren found amusement in her words, tilting his head slightly and peering at Agatha with an innocent gaze. "My darling, I eat people for my gains. Do you think you can offend me bybeling me as evil? Kekeke." he replied with a touch of yfulness, resting his head upon his folded hand thaty upon the breakfast table. Agatha beamed at Eren, her understanding smile reflecting the recognition of his unwavering ambition. She had always known him to be a man with grand dreams, someone who achieved greatness by daring to reach for the stars. And at that moment, Agatha realized that her role was not to hinder his risk-taking endeavors but rather to provide unwavering support in his pursuit of greatness. *** After their brief discussion about the Lazarus Project, Eren, and Agatha resolved to embark on an intricate nning session to shape the future of the city and the White Raven Guild. Eren began by detailing the various alliances and agreements he had forged with half-blood ns, influential merchant families, House Remus, and even the secluded Amazonians. Agatha couldn''t help but feel a jolt of surprise at the mention of the closed-off society of Amazonians, but her years of handling guild matters had trained her to maintainposure even in the face of startling news. Taking out her Status Screen, she diligently recorded Eren''s words, analyzing the information and suggesting alternative approaches as they delved deeper into the nning process. A crucial decision emerged as Eren proposed that the White Raven Guild cease all monster subjugation missions. He reasoned that channeling all avable resources into the uing war with the kingdom of Layos would yield more substantial returns, considering the lucrative contracts secured from Edinburgh. Agatha assimted this information and began briefing Eren on the guild''s potion-manufacturing operations. Summoning Marie into her office, she entrusted her with the responsibility of continuing the briefing. Marie and Arizihana had previously met with Eren, but their previous encounter had not delved into the specifics of the guild''s business affairs per se. Now, the pending discussion unfolded, allowing Eren to grasp the intricacies, strengths, and challenges surrounding potion production. Guiding thedies ordingly, he designated Arizihana as the leader of a specialized team dedicated solely to procuring the raw ingredients necessary for potion-making. With established connections to the Amazonians and the half-blood ns, who were willing to provide valuable resources under the right circumstances, Arizihana would act as the primary point of contact in dealing with these organizations regarding the procurement of raw ranking ingredients. Before this, Eren had already convened meetings with Levine, her senior n members, and representatives of House Derringer. The purpose of these joint meetings was to determine the future of White Raven City and the allocation of revenue shares among the involved parties. Each side retained their respective shares while taking on additional responsibilities. For the time being, Eren enlisted House Derringer''s aid in creating mass weapons for various organizations. While Alephee could handle the upscaling of existing weapons, House Derringer would serve as a secondary source for customized requests and time-sensitive batch production. The n possessed the necessary expertise and expressed willingness to support Eren''s cause, in turn receiving a significant share of the profits. Furthermore, Eren personally met with Renita, Tuan Aag, Tumko Darata, Katalina, Drin Dawn, Bianka Bluedust, Grandmaster Amory, and Jiana, each leading their own squads. He disclosed the guild''s eptance of war-rted contracts from Edinburgh and called upon them to officially contribute to the kingdom''s campaign. He told them that he would join them from time to time in their raids, asking them to support each other''s squads in the future. In light of the looming threats, Eren decided to have Sara settled within the secure confines of the City of White Raven. Offering her a stable supply of ranking resources and an ideal environment, he ensured that she could resume taking missions when her experience as a Ranker was proportional with her actual Rank. Nina was advised by Eren to remain in the city for the time being as well, taking up residence in the Corvo Bianco estate. This would provide her with the opportunity to further her studies in arrays and healing potions. Eren was cautious of Demonmir''s insidious attacks and emphasized the importance of Nina following his advice. She would only participate in military missions led by Jiana Jihang and featuring Levine in the squad. Over the course of the past five days, Eren had established a brand-new media house under the auspices of the White Raven Guild. Taking the opportunity to meet with Viviana Falmas AKA Vixen, he appointed her as the head of this sister organization. Meanwhile, the artists invited during Eren''s graduation ceremony had arrived in the city, ready to coborate with Argo and the White Raven Media House, transforming the city of White Raven into a thriving hub of entertainment for the people of Edinburgh. Thanks to his connections with Rodrick, Eren secured broadcasting rights from Edinburgh, which would potentially allow him to influence public opinion and profit from the wartime situation. In a separate meeting with Argo and Agatha, Eren shared his ns to establish a chain of restaurants. He tasked Agatha with creating aprehensive and feasible n for Argo, ensuring a sessfulunch and sustained growth even amidst the backdrop of war. Leveraging the White Raven Media House''s resources, they would promote the prospective restaurant chain, reaching the masses and generating profits from the very beginning. Another significant development saw Eren designate a forbidden zone within a corner of the Kukenan teau, deep within the confines of his city. Implementing istion magic arrays and other security measures, he ensured the region''splete istion. Drawing forth Sansara World 2.0, he finally reunited with Maya, who expressed her profound gratitude for helping her escape Edinburgh''s control undetected. Maya pledged to remain in the White Raven City until it was safe for her to explore the world of Anfang freely. Maya also promised to shed light on Eren''s inquiries concerning Sansara Sage and his creation, only requiring him to find a suitable moment to listen. Understanding her desire, Eren granted her request to roam the streets under a false identity, knowing that as long as she stayed within the city''s borders, her safety was assured. Thus, thest five days witnessed Eren meticulously attending to his affairs, and meticulously nning for the future. The sixth day unfolded with the same sense of purpose as he engaged in extensive discussions with Agatha and her colleagues, leaving no stone unturned in their preparations. *** The eve of the sixth day unfolded in grandeur as the vibrant notes of music filled the air. Argo, a rising star, was set to perform in a specially constructed stadium within the city of White Raven. The anticipation was palpable as people from all walks of life gathered to witness his captivating charisma. The stadium overflowed with enthusiastic fans, their cheers resounding before Argo even took the stage. The concert was not limited to Argo alone; it also served as a tform for Viviana and her team of talented artists to showcase their craft through theatrical ys and musical performances. The songs that had be popr, paying tribute to notable figures such as The Boar Berserker Steve, and Grimdawn, added to the fervor of the crowd. Viviana ingeniously incorporated these songs, along with the ones sung by Eren and others at the graduation ceremony, into intricate theatrical spectacles. The concert, along with the ys, was broadcasted by the White Raven Media House throughout the kingdom of Edinburgh, marking Eren''s sessful foray into the world of media. Amidst the exhrating atmosphere, Eren quietly observed the concert, content to let his subordinates take center stage. He remained concealed, allowing others to bask in the limelight he had created. As the seventh day dawned, he prepared himself for the journey to the City of Lancelot. *** A week had passed since Eren''s arrival in his city. During this time, Eren tied up loose ends before embarking on his next endeavor. La and Ivor awaited him in Lancelot, ready to provide valuable insight and initiate the initial contact. Eren nned to assess the situation in the city and carefully analyze the information gathered by his allies before deciding on his next course of action. The Lazarus Project loomed before him, aplex undertaking that demanded utmost caution and strategic prowess. Obtaining the possessions of House Lancelot''s well-protected secrets was the crucial first step, setting the stage for the subsequent phases of the project. However, Eren was acutely aware of the challenges posed by House Lancelot''s formidable influence. The repercussions of his direct involvement in this ambitious endeavor, if came to light, could jeopardize everything he had meticulously built thus far. Nheless, he had prepared diligently for this moment, taking calcted steps in anticipation of the Lazarus Project. Now, the time hade for him to act. Eren understood the gravity of the Lazarus Project''s sess. He recognized that a mere decade was an inadequate timeframe for such an audacious undertaking by any stretch of the imagination. Nevertheless, he was constrained by Eliza''s diminishing lifeline, which hung precariously in the bnce. If he failed, Reen''s safety would be imperiled. With a swirl of contemtion epassing his mind, Eren silently departed from the city of White Raven. Apanied only by Alephee and Kirin, he embarked on his journey toward destiny. Casting a lingering gaze behind him, he took a deep breath, finding sce in the vast deserted expanse ahead. As his horse galloped forward, gradually blending into the horizon, Eren murmured to himself, "When the dust settles, history will either crown me as the greatest viin of my time or erase me from its pages altogether. Only time will reveal the verdict." === AN: Can be skipped. We bid farewell to the sixth volume of VEHC Advent of WarC with this chapter release. It packed a lot of information and action despite its rtively small chapter count. Eliza''s introduction was perhaps the first true turning point for VEH. Looking ahead, the uing Lazarus Project holds the promise of being another pivotal juncture in VEH''s storyline. As such, it will be a very thrilling volume to write and read about. To ensure the seamless progression of the narrative, I will be taking a one-week hiatus to prepare for the forting volume. Normal releases are expected to resume around the 27th of this month or at the beginning of the following month. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the readers. Your continued support and engagement have been invaluable, and I extend special thanks to our top contributors. You are invited to share your expectations for the uing volume or reflect on the events of "Advent of War" in thement section. That''s about it. Thanks and see you in the next volume. Cheers! :) Chapter 1341 Nine Years Later ? The bustling city of Lancelot. It was a haven for a particr group of experts often overlooked in rankers'' society. Often called support-type Rankers, these individuals werebeled as mere providers of potions, weapons, artifacts, and other essential supplies for the frontline warriors. However, their contributions did not go unnoticed, as the city of Lancelot offered them a paradise of opportunities and rewards. They were generouslypensated for their efforts and received exceptional benefits from the city administration. Lancelot also became their sanctuary during their Ranking Journeys, offering them ess to rare resources that elerated their progression through the ranks. Walking through the streets of Lancelot was like stepping into a Ranker''s dream. The city boasted wide, bustling streets adorned with magnificent architectural wonders and tall buildings infused with powerful space-element runes. The charming one and two-story residential houses doubled as artifact shops, giving the city a unique blend of functionality and beauty. Various top-notch inns and rest houses catered to the needs of temporary residents, providing both sophistication and affordability. Lancelot had dedicated districts housing weapon smithy castles, potionbs, and other support-type professions. Its vibrant markets bustled with activity, attracting traders and craftsmen who knew the city was an ideal hub for buying and selling artifacts. At the heart of the city stood the prestigious Lancelot Guild, a gathering ce reserved for a select few high-ranking Rankers. The guild''s administration building, a towering fortress of ck iron,manded attention from every corner of the city. Ordinary Rankers dared not venture into the central district, knowing it was the domain of powerful entities who preferred to keep their distance from the general popce. In addition to its architectural marvels, Lancelot boasted towering protective walls and a formidable force of high-ranking guards. The city''s significance in the eyes of the Edinburgh kingdom warranted exceptional security measures to ward off potential threats from foreign enemies. On this particr day, the city of Lancelot hummed with more activity than ever before. Its streets teemed with a diverse array of people from various races and backgrounds. Elves, dwarves, humans, and even a select group of monsters mingled together harmoniously. Masters of arrays, potion experts, skilled weapon smiths, and talented artifact makers of all genders and origins had converged upon the city over the past week, eagerly seeking employment under the city''s administration. The air was thick with anticipation as these experts showcased their talents, hoping to secure a ce in the esteemed ranks of Lancelot''s renowned support-type professionals. The highly anticipated moment had arrived. Today marked the day when Baelin Stoneforge would unveil his chosen apprentice. For this purpose, a rigorous selection test had taken ce in the esteemed city of Lancelot, meticulously narrowing down the pool of candidates. The week-long test had attracted the attention of countless aspiring Rankers, but ultimately, only eight individuals from diverse backgrounds had made it to the final round. The city administration held the responsibility of announcing the name of the lucky contender who would have the honor of joining Baelin Stoneforge in his legendary weapon smithy. A massive crowd had gathered at the expansive open space adorned with the grandeur of a weapon smithy castle. Among them were the participants of the test, anxiously awaiting the promation. Each contestant had endured a grueling seven-day trial, their minimum qualification being the esteemed C-Ranker status. The crowd itselfprised a remarkable assembly of high-ranking individuals, ranging from Expert Rankers to esteemed Master Rankers. Even a few weathered Grandmaster Rankers had joined the throng, having exhausted their potential as Rankers in pursuit of ascending to the revered Sage rank.I think you should take a look at Now, these Grandmasters'' aspirations rested solely on being selected as Baelin''s apprentice, hoping to spend the remainder of their lives in leisure while leaving asting legacy. Alongside them stood the eight finalists, their hearts pounding with anticipation. The other unsessful participants awaited the results with bated breath, yearning to discover the identity of the contender who had bested them. It was a natural curiosity to seek closure after investing so much effort in a demanding test, only to face the disappointment of not being chosen. The 8 finalists stood at the front of the castle''s grand entrance with stoic faces, separated at an arm''s distance from each other. The crowd that surrounded them from a distance started murmuring as it discussed the predictions of who would get selected. The moment arrived, shrouded in anticipation. Emerging from the entrance of the weapon smithy castle, a B-Ranked Master Ranker stepped forward and stood before the group of eight finalists. The murmurs of the crowd gradually subsided as they eagerly awaited the words of the esteemed Master Ranker. "Greetings, my name is Ravid, and I am a loyal disciple of Grandmaster Baelin," introduced the middle-aged Master Ranker, his words carrying a humble demeanor. "First and foremost, let memend each one of you for your remarkable talents. While only one shall be chosen as Grandmaster Baelin''s apprentice, rest assured that we can explore alternative avenues of employment for the remaining seven. The city of Lancelot continually seeks the presence of exceptional Rankers such as yourselves, so there is no need to despair over the oue of this test." Ravid''s tone was warm, seeking to alleviate any concerns among the finalists. Yet, despite his offer, it was evident that none of them harbored any inclination to work under anyone other than Grandmaster Baelin. They exchanged nces, silently conveying their shared determination yet politely allowing Ravid to continue. Observing the reactions of the finalists, Ravid sighed softly, recognizing their unwavering aspirations. Nheless, he proceeded to unveil the long-awaited result of the test. "Having meticulously assessed the contestants'' individual and collective performances throughout the rigorous evaluation, considering their elemental affinities, ranking prowess, unique abilities, specialized expertise, and backgrounds, we have arrived at our decision. There is no room for questioning the selection process. Engaging in such inquiries would only diminish your prospects of securing employment within the city administration for other vacancies," Ravid''s words resonated with a sense of authority, leaving a lingering impact on both the eight finalists and the remaining contestants in the crowd, who had long been eliminated from the race. With a purposeful gaze, Ravid swept his eyes over each of the eight contenders, ultimately fixing his focus on a young array master. Intently narrowing his gaze, he addressed the chosen candidate with a voice that carried a hint of acknowledgment. "Leo Longde, you have been selected." Chapter 1342 Leo Longblade ? Leo Longde. Such was the name that resonated with the utmost talent and prowess in the current generation of array masters. Throughout the arduous test, Leo had showcased his exceptional abilities, nearly achieving perfect scores across all segments. His remarkable adaptability in handling various elemental runes was evident, while his amodating Individuality granted him unparalleled finesse in refining weapons within his arrays, regardless of their type or elemental affinities. Thus, when Leo was proimed as Grandmaster Baelin''s chosen apprentice, the crowd received the news with little surprise. Even the most envious contestants, though casting him intense gazes, refrained from voicing any objections. It had be clear to almost all that Leo Longde was a deserving victor. Leo''s mana signatures and appearance did not exude any overt uniqueness. He appeared as a young man in his mid-20s, his jaw-length ck hair gracefully cascading down his face, lending him a youthful allure. His ck eyes and sharp features bestowed upon him amendable handsomeness, albeit without excessive mboyance. Standing at a height of 5.10 feet, he possessed a stature neither too short nor too tall. Despite his dedication to the art of weaponsmithing, his medium build did not grant him an imposing presence. d in an orange tunic beneath a knee-length ck long coat with an orange outline, Leo exhibited a harmonious color scheme. His attire wasplemented by dark brown pants fashioned from rugged cloth, while his wrists were adorned with ck arm bracers crafted from the hide of a formidable C-Ranked mana beast. In essence, Leo Longde did not overtly stand out in a crowd. However, should one choose to direct their attention towards him, they would discover his subtle charms. "It certainly is sweltering out here, isn''t it?" Ravid remarked rhetorically to Leo, guiding him deeper into the recesses of Baelin''s smithy. A chuckle escaped Ravid as he observed the young man''s perspiration and asional gulps, indicative of his growing thirst within the scorching confines of the smithy. Observing Leo''s gentle nod, Ravid sighed before offering reassurance, "Fear not, my young friend. In due time, you will adjust to it." Leo pursed his lips, acknowledging Ravid''s words with another affirmative nod. Ravid found himself immediately drawn to this young Expert Ranker, who exhibited curiosity in his surroundings. He sensed an undeniable fire within Leo, a burning desire to seize every opportunity the city of Lancelot had to offer. The atmosphere within Grandmaster Baelin''s smithy crackled with heat and intensity, stretching endlessly in every direction. Groups of dedicated Rankers were diligently engrossed in their respective projects, utilizing the smithy''sprehensive facilities to craft an array of weapons, from mass-produced armaments to exquisite artifacts. Within this expansive realm of toil and perseverance, where blood and sweat mingled, there was a constant need for artisans of unparalleled skill, individuals who held an intimate grasp of their craft. The resounding echoes of hammers striking metal and the asional bursts of small explosions filled the air. Sporadically, a radiant glow would emanate from one corner before swiftly dissipating. A concentrated veil of mana would materialize within a confined space, pulsating with a vibrant energy that extended in all directions. To the uninitiated Ranker, this scene might appear as if a vtile mana bomb were on the brink of detonation. Unquestionably, the security protocols exhibited numerous breaches. Yet, amidst the apparent chaos, an unspoken harmony prevailed. Every individual granted ess to Grandmaster Baelin''s smithy seemed to possess an innate understanding of their role. It was the very reason such rigorous tests were conducted periodicallyto ensure that the kingdom of Edinburgh presented Grandmaster Baelin with the epitome of talent it had to offer in each generation.I think you should take a look at Guided by Ravid, Leo stepped into the inner sanctum of the smithy, a restricted zone shielded by a formidable and unwavering mana barrier. As the barrier hummed withtent power, it created a clear demarcation between this sacred space and the bustling workshop outside. Stepping across the threshold, Leo found himself transported to a realm that exuded an air of focused serenity. This restricted space hummed with an air of exclusivity. This sacred chamber, essible only to a select few, was dedicated to the meticulous crafting of specialized artifacts that adorned the esteemed Rankers of Edinburgh. Inside this secluded enve, the symphony of sounds persisted, with the reverberations of hammer blows and the rhythmic ng of metal meeting metal resonating through the air. However, unlike the fric energy that pulsed through the rest of the smithy, there was a distinct sense of order and purpose within these walls. Here, master artisans plied their trade with unwavering focus and precision, their hands guided by an innate understanding of the intricate intery between mana and metal. The symphony of sounds echoed through the chamberresolute hammer strikes, the sizzle of molten metals meeting their destined molds, and the delicate chimes of chisels etching ancient runes onto des of unparalleled craftsmanship. The walls of this sacred space bore witness to a tapestry of past aplishments adorned with intricate diagrams and sketches of renowned artifacts that had once graced the hands of legendary Rankers. Shelves lined with meticulously arranged vials, each containing a rare and precious essence, stood as a testament to the relentless pursuit of perfection. Amidst the controlled chaos, a sense of purpose and dedication permeated the air as artisans worked tirelessly to breathe life into inanimate materials. Their every movement, a testament to their unwaveringmitment to their craft, revealed the artistry and expertise that had earned them a ce within this revered sanctuary. Within this isted sanctuary, the secrets of artifact creation intertwined with the dreams and aspirations of those who would wield them. Here, the legacy of Grandmaster Baelin''s smithy thrived, and the finest artifacts, forged with unparalleled skill, awaited their destined owners, poised to etch their names in the annals of Edinburgh''s storied history. Ravid observed Leo''s expressions with an amused glint in his eyes as the young apprentice''s initial curiosity transformed into sheer wonderment upon entering the restricted space. A yful chuckle escaped Ravid''s lips as he couldn''t help but revel in Leo''s reaction. With an excited tone, he addressed his junior, eager to share the knowledge and significance of this unique space. "Well, well, Leo. Surprised, aren''t you? This, my friend, is one of the many perks of working under the esteemed Grandmaster Baelin," Ravid eximed, his voice tinged with excitement. "You see, this particr section of the smithy is dedicated to the creation of spirit force-based artifacts, also known as spiritual artifacts. It''s a rare privilege to witness such craftsmanship, as there are only a handful of ces in the entirend of Anfang where the production of these extraordinary artifacts is permitted." Ravid''s pride swelled as he emphasized the exclusivity of their surroundings. The restricted space emanated an aura of significance and reverence, filled with secrets waiting to be unveiled. Continuing their journey, Ravid led Leo towards a raised tform where Grandmaster Baelin himself was engrossed in his work. As they traversed the bustling enve, Leo''s keen gaze scanned the intricacies of the environment, absorbing every detail with a discerning eye. His attention was captivated by a particr artifact prominently disyed within the facility. It was a modest-sized mirror, firmly held by an imposing mechanical humanoid construct. Unbeknownst to Ravid, a glimmer of greed flickered in Leo''s eyes as he fixated on the highly secured artifact. His irises, originally ck, seemed to momentarily shift, threatening to reveal shades of green and blue. Softly under his breath, Leo uttered the name of the soul-based artifact, ''Shallot''s Mirror. Finally, I''ve found you.'' === AN: Shallot''s Mirror was first mentioned in chapter 492. Chapter 1343 Baelin Stoneforge ? Baelin Stoneforge. This was the illustrious name of the Grandmaster-ranked dwarf who presided over the smithy that Leon Longde had entered. Adorned with the kingdom''s prestigious honor of Ironhand, Baelin was a master weaponsmith whose name resonated throughout thend of Anfang. Renowned for his unparalleled skill, unwavering dedication, and the legendary weapons he crafted, he was a sought-after figure among warriors far and wide. Baelin, a sturdy and stout dwarf, stood just under five feet tall, his presence radiating strength and resilience. His face, weathered and etched with lines, bore the marks of countless hours spent in front of a zing forge. A beard, long and intricately braided with metal sps, cascaded down his broad chest, a testament to his wisdom and experience. Piercing blue eyes sparkled with abination of determination and a profound love for his craft. While Baelin stood on the precipice of ascending to the esteemed Sage rank, he had not yet reached that pinnacle. His unwavering focus on his craft had led him to be an exceptional weaponsmith, but it also served as a hindrance on his path as a Ranker. This habit of devoting himself entirely to his creations had be a roadblock preventing him from attaining the coveted Sage rank. However, Baelin held no qualms about his current rank. At a mere 250 years of age, despite his appearance suggesting otherwise, he believed he had ample time at his disposal. Content in his pursuits, he continued to immerse himself in ambitious weaponsmithing projects, driven by his passion and boundless creativity. Balin''s true masteryy in the creation of legendary war axes. His unparalleled skill allowed him to infuse these weapons with a wless bnce of weight, razor-sharp edges, and an unrivaled strength capable of cleaving through the most resilient armor. Baelin the Ironhand was renowned for his gruff demeanor and direct manner of speech. He was a no-nonsense individual, singrly devoted to his craft. Though he often appeared stern and focused, Balin possessed a deep respect for those who recognized and appreciated the artistry and power of his weapons. He took immense pride in his creations, prioritizing quality over quantity, and sought to leave an indelible mark through his exceptional craftsmanship. It was no coincidence that this legendary dwarf hailed from the noble House of Lancelot, for his lineage was intertwined with theirs. His maternal connection bore the prestigious Lancelot surname, further solidifying his position as the overseer of the grand weaponsmith castle nestled within the heart of the illustrious City of Lancelot. Baelin, hailing from the esteemed City of Lancelot, had always been a figure of great interest among the Rankers, not only within Edinburgh but far beyond its borders. Even before the war between Edinburgh and Layos, Baelin attracted numerous foreign customers, including Rankers from the Asikha Empire, who sought his custom weapon orders. They willingly paid a handsome price, well aware that they would receive exceptional weapons and invaluable support-type artifacts in return. Such was the reputation and acim bestowed upon Baelin. While Baelin had long been renowned, his poprity soared to new heights in the past nine years, coinciding with the ongoing war. The conflict between Edinburgh and Layos persisted relentlessly, showing no signs of abating any time soon. ***I think you should take a look at For those who had never experienced war in their lifetime, the state of war was often viewed as a single event with a distinct beginning and end. However, the reality was quite different. War had a defined starting point butcked a definitive conclusion. It had the potential to endure for years, surpassing the limitations of time and defying resolution. War epassed countless skirmishes, both major and minor. It involved the conquest of territories and the triumph over the weak and vulnerable. It bred perpetual disputes, transformingnds into scenes of bloodshed, violence, and carnage. War entailed periods of famine, scarcity of resources, exploitation, corruption, and much more. Yet, the war also served as a stage for the courageous to showcase their talents. To such heroes, war was an opportunity to demonstrate their camaraderie, bravery, loyalty, and undisputed individual and collective powers. For exceptional Rankers, war became a whetstone upon which to sharpen their Individualities. Those who dared to face the ravages of war and harness their unique abilities often experienced breakthroughs in their ranking journeys, evolving and transforming themselves. When a prolonged period of intense conflicts, such as a nine-year war, ensues, ites as no surprise that the Rankers engaged in battle prioritize investing their wealth in their weapons above all else. This mindset, coupled with the prevailing state of war, further propelled the rise of Baelin''s prominence. He garnered weapon-crafting contracts even from a select few Sage-ranked individuals. One could say that business was thriving for Baelin as his significance and influence within Edinburgh reached unprecedented heights. *** Today was no exception for Baelin, the renowned Grandmaster-ranked dwarf weaponsmith. Immersed in his work, he focused on crafting a specialized spiritual artifact for a prominent figure within the Edinburgh kingdom. His cluttered on-site smithy table disyed an assortment of tools and objects, with a sturdy mug of potent dwarven ale upying a corner. Rather than intoxicating him, this brew served as a refreshing elixir, energizing Baelin during his working hoursor so he imed. Engrossed in his task, the dwarf meticulously examined a lengthy Smithscroll that detailed the intricacies of a specific weapon. His brows furrowed in asional frustration and confusion as he delved into the written details spanning three meters in length and one meter in height. Yet, moments of enlightenment graced him, apanied by widened eyes that revealed a newfound understanding of the concept weapon''s design. Previous doubts dissolved as heprehended the necessity of each preceding step. The Smithscrolls contained a wealth of information, epassing various aspects such asparable weapons, dimensional specifications, runic intricacies, required elemental affinities, raw ingredients, suggested weapon crafting methods, and the delicate bnce between raw power and nimble agility. With the Smithscroll at hand, a skilled weaponsmith could envision the weapon''s every minute detail. A master of the craft could even discern its potential power and ascertain its suitability for the Ranker whomissioned it. Just as Baelin was about to conclude his study and partake in the eagerly awaited dwarven ale, a voice emerged from behindRavid, his humble apprentice, announcing the arrival of Leo Longde, the chosen apprentice designated by the city administration. "Teacher Balein, your student has arrived." Chapter 1344 Two Geeks Geeking Out ? "What is your name, young man?" Baelin inquired of Leo as he took a hearty gulp from his dwarven ale-filled mug. Leo stood before the renowned Grandmaster rank, a mix of reverence and caution coloring his expression before he responded. "Grandmaster Baelin, my name is Leo Longde," Leo spoke with humility, punctuating his words with a respectful bow befitting Baelin''s esteemed rank. "I emerged victorious in the tests, surpassing my peers, so that I could have the privilege of training under your guidance," he added, a trace of pride and self-assurance threading through his voice. "Teacher Baelin, surely you received his file yesterday. Please don''t tell me you approved him without bothering to peruse the contents," Ravid cast a suspicious gaze at Baelin as he questioned him. "Bah! Do they think I have the leisure to read about some greenhorn''s background history? I am busy here, damn it. Let me work in peace," Baelin grumbled, cursing the city administration and muttering less-than-tteringments about certain influential figures within their ranks under his breath. Finally, he turned his attention to Leo Longde, giving him a careful examination. "Nevermind. Hmm. You don''t seem half bad. Show me your Individuality," Baelinmanded Leo, who nodded inpliance. In an instant, Leo unleashed his mana-infused elemental prowess, causing a pool of inky ckness to materialize beneath the ground. The ambient lighting dimmed, courtesy of Leo''s shadow element, lending an aura of shadowy intrigue to the space. Leo did nothing more, merely showcasing his Individuality as requested by Baelin, who seemed impressed once again. "Not bad, young man. With an Individuality like this, along with your shadow element, it''s no surprise you passed the test," Baelin remarked, setting aside his now-empty mug of dwarven ale. Only after confirming Leo''s Individuality firsthand did Baelin bother to delve deeper into Leo''s background by essing the file through the spectral screen at his disposal. Quickly scanning Leo''s known history and experiences, Baelin found himself satisfied with the provided details. However, one particr aspect caught his attention. "Hm? It says here that you resided in Edinburgh until the age of 8, then moved to the Asikha Empire and remained there until breaking through to the Expert Rank. After that, you seemed to have vanished from the radar for quite some time," Baelin noted as he perused Leo''s personal history. "And it says you returned to Edinburgh around five years ago. That means you came back during the war''s tumultuous times. What prompted your return to your homnd, young man?" Baelin posed the question with genuine curiosity, despite its divergence from the topic of weapon crafting. After all, to Baelin''s knowledge, the Asikha Empire boasted its own skilled weaponsmiths and the empire was currently embroiled in conflict with the Amazonians, presenting ample opportunities for someone like Leo. Leo''s ink-ck eyes locked onto Baelin''s with unwavering intensity before he responded sincerely, "To find sess in weaponsmithing within the Asikha Empire, Grandmaster Baelin, one needs to have certain connections. Unfortunately, being originally from here, Icked those connections. Moreover, influential figures within the empire spoke highly of your expertise. So I decided toe here in search of better opportunities for myself," Leo exined earnestly, his gaze fixed on Baelin. "Hmm, that does make sense," Baelin nodded in understanding. "I do have a considerable number of customers in the Asikha Empire. However, the ongoing war situation in both Edinburgh and the Asikha Empire has made it challenging formunication between the two sides," Baelin sighed.I think you should take a look at Ironhand could sense that the city administration had made efforts to gather detailed information about Leo. Yet, due to theplexities arising from Edinburgh''s conflict with Layos and the Asikha Empire''s sh with the Amazonians, acquiringprehensive background history on foreign soil proved difficult. Consequently, even though Leo had garnered some recognition in Edinburgh through his recent creations, his personal historycked explicit details. As Baelin stroked his long beard with his right hand, he carefully observed Leo, prompting another personal question, "What are your life goals, Leo?" Baelin continued scrutinizing him, sensing an underlying peculiarity about the young man before him. It was an intuitive perception, characteristic of his Grandmaster rank, yet Baelin couldn''t quite pinpoint the nature of this peculiarity. "Well, my first goal is to surpass you in artifact crafting, Grandmaster Baelin. As for my second goal Well it''s money. Earning wealth and obtaining invaluable resources for ranking is my goal," Leo replied with a resolute expression, his voice brimming with conviction. Baelin and Ravid were momentarily stunned by Leo''s answer, rendered speechless. After a brief silence, the dwarf burst intoughter. "Hahahaha! That''s refreshingly honest, young man. If you had expressed a desire to serve your homnd during these challenging times, I might have rejected you. I appreciate this candor," Baelin eximed, pping his work desk with excitement. "Thank you, Grandmaster Baelin," Leo offered another bow to Baelin. "I''m d to know that you value honesty. It''s something I strive for in my work," Leo humbly added. Baelin''s unwarranted concerns about Leo gradually dissipated, pushed aside by their engaging conversation. Each time Baelin inquired about Leo''s personal life, the young man responded with entertaining anecdotes. And whenever the conversation shifted toward artifact creation, Leo''s precise and focused answers hit the mark. It felt less like an interrogation and more like two friends bridging a significant age gap, engaged in lively banter. Ravid observed the entire exchange between Leo and Baelin as a silent observer. He couldn''t help but acknowledge Leo''s way with words. The Leo he had initially met seemed entirely different from the one interacting with Baelin. A wry smile crept onto Ravid''s face as he realized that he might not remain Baelin''s right-hand man forever. After all, Leo appeared to be on the verge of breaking into the Master Rank. From Leo''s file, Ravid knew that he was around 40 years old, making him almost 30 years younger than himself. Despite being nothing more than an array master, Leo''s rapid progress in rank was undeniably impressive. Ravid spected that it would take another 5 to 6 years for Leo to achieve the Master Rank. With such talent and potential, given the right opportunities and experiences, Leo could very well surpass Baelin someday. ''Am I going to have to stay on the good side of my junior as well?'' Ravid sighed inwardly as he watched Leo and Baelin passionately discuss various weapon-smithing techniques. It was akin to witnessing two passionate enthusiasts immersed in their shared obsession. Two geeks geeking out. Chapter 1345 Spiritual Artifact Creation ? For most weaponsmiths under the guidance of Grandmaster Baelin, the days spent refining their craft blurred together in a continuous cycle. They would take a brief respite in sleeping bunkers, catching precious moments of rest before returning to their ongoing projects. A week had passed since Leo Longde introduced himself to Grandmaster Baelin. The distant echoes of explosions and the resounding strikes of hammers still reverberated through the hot and humid atmosphere within Baelin''s weaponsmithy. However, within the secluded area designated for crafting spiritual artifacts, silence prevailed. This space was exclusively reserved for Baelin to work his magic, fashioning unique artifacts destined for use by renowned Rankers in Edinburgh. Ravid supported the runic array upon which Baelin was actively working to forge a spiritual weapon. The runic array boasted four operational eyes, indicating that, ideally, it should be operated by four capable Rankers. However, due to the perpetual shortage of staff and Baelin''s reluctance to hire individualscking the exceptional talent he sought, the runic array was being managed with the bare minimum of two Rankers. Within the array, Ravid upied one eye while the other eye was entrusted to Leo Longde. Ravid was relieved to have someone to share the burden with, but he couldn''t help but feel sorry for Leo. Since joining, Leo had been thrust into work immediately, causing his face to pale as he diligently operated the runic array under Baelin''s precise instructions. The runic array hummed with precision as Baelin showcased his mastery over his craft. Ravid and Leo skillfully maintained the array,pensating for any anomalies that arose during the creation of the spiritual artifact. A molten blob of metal hovered above the array''s center while Baelin tapped into his Mana Sense and Soul Sense, infusing the elemental attainments necessary for the concept weapon. asionally, a pure mana rune materialized from the array, swirling around the restless mass of metal before merging with it. With each added runic detail, the metal blob gradually took the form of a war axe. Adjacent to the weapon creation array, another runic array held the recently deceased fire-element wyvern''s body. Its soul remained contained within Shallot''s Mirror. Baelin intended toplete the weapon before binding the wyvern''s soul to it. The array responsible for isting the wyvern''s body and preserving its soul was known as the Soul Seed Insertion Array. Leo found himself drawn to studying the intricate runic details of this particr array. However, without ess to the array scroll that contained its precise information andyout, he could only observe its operations without fullyprehending its intricacies. Obtaining the Array Scroll of the Soul Seed Insertion Array was a nearly impossible feat for someone like Leo, a recent addition to Baelin''s weaponsmithy. Nheless, Leo diligently familiarized himself with the array''s functions while maintaining focus on the array eye Baelin worked in, so as not to incur the Grandmaster''s wrath. An additional 35 hours passed as Baelin, Ravid, and Leo tirelessly fulfilled their tasks. By this point, the war axe, intended to serve as the vessel for the wyvern''s soul, had beenpleted. The artifact emitted potent mana pulses even without the soul''s insertion. Silvery with crimson runic details adorning its surface, the weapon radiated a faint glow as the runes settled into ce. The weapon emitted a peculiar mana pulse, indicating its readiness to receive a soul. Baelin spent another 4 hours merging the two arrays together and binding the soul to the war axe, elevating it to a transcendent-grade weapon. All that remained was to awaken the dormant wyvern''s soul within the weapon and make necessary adjustments to the runic details through intent-based magic. This meticulous process would result in the creation of a spiritual artifacta fully awakened war axe imbued with the wyvern''s soul.I think you should take a look at The arduous part of crafting the spiritual artifact had concluded, leaving Baelin to add the finishing touches. He meticulously refined the weapon, making minute changes to its shape and tapering, as well as performing light tempering and polishing during the finishing treatment. Leo''s presence lightened Ravid''s workload, facilitating a smoother and faster creation process for the spiritual artifact. Baelin expressed his appreciation for Leo''s diligent work, despite his novice status, by exining the intricate details and requirements involved in the process. Leo seized this opportunity to learn from Baelin, eagerly asking questions and seeking rity throughout the 40-hour-long artifact creation process. "Teacher Baelin, I understand that we are in a time of war," Ravid voiced his doubts, his toneced with uncertainty. "But aren''t we producing an excessive number of spiritual artifacts with our current pace?" Ravid asked, his focus on maintaining control over the runic array. With the weapon creation process on track, Baelin, Ravid, and Leo finally had a moment to catch their breath. As they considered the workload ahead for the next five weeks, Ravid couldn''t help but voice his concerns. Baelin continued refining the intricate details of the spiritual weapon while responding, a serious expression on his face. "It''s because of those troublesome half-blood forces interfering in the conflict between Edinburgh and Layos," Baelin exined grimly. He borated further, "It appears they have struck a secret deal with the Kingdom of Layos, aligning themselves against Edinburgh. Led by the half-blood Sage JJ Edgar, they pose a significant threat." "Unfortunately, Edinburghcks concrete evidence of the alliance between Layos and the half-blood forces, leaving the Anfang Alliance as a silent spectator." Ravid and Leo listened attentively, finally grasping the fact that Layos was not the sole enemy of Edinburgh. The impact of the initial battle between the two kingdoms at the Edinnica Arena was still being felt in the ongoing war. It seemed that Edgar was taking a hardline stance against Edinburgh, using his influence to support Layos from the shadows. However, Ravid couldn''tprehend the connection between their increased workload of crafting spiritual artifacts and the half-blood forces siding with Layos. "Teacher Baelin, wouldn''t normal Ranked Artifacts be sufficient to deal with the half-blood forces?" Ravid questioned confidently, confident in his analysis of cost-effectiveness. Ravid believed that the spiritual artifacts being produced were excessive and a waste of taxpayers'' money. === AN: Soul Seed Insertion Array was first mentioned in chapter 493. Chapter 1346 Playing Both Sides ? "Hahaha. Things are not as straightforward as they might seem to you, Ravid." Baelin chuckled in response to Ravid''sment, before offering the rification needed to understand the true nature of the battlefield. "In an ideal scenario, you would be correct, Ravid," Baelin replied, his voice trailing off as he finished the final touches on the weapon. In that instant, a surge of potent mana emanated from the weapon, signaling the sessfulpletion of the crafting process. Baelin raised his hand, and the weapon floated towards him, its weight felt in his grasp. He continued, "But something has shifted in the dynamics of war,pelling Edinburgh to create an abundance of spiritual weapons." Baelin paused for a moment before delivering his exnation. "You see, Ravid, the half-blood forces are employing Hex artifacts in their fight against Edinburgh. Conventional weapons are inadequate against such a threat. After all, the key to countering intent-based magic is with intent-based magic. That''s why we find ourselves mass-producing spiritual artifacts, to meet the escting threat posed by the half-blood forces," Baelin revealed, swinging the war axe down. In an instant, a resounding draconic roar echoed from the weapon, breaking through the safety barriers of the array with a single swing. Its fiery de ignited the air upon contact, showcasing the power of fire-element magic. Ravid and Leo were forcefully propelled in opposite directions as the dwarf tested his creation. Ironhand seemed satisfied with the result of his new masterpiece. "Haah! You should have given us a warning, Teacher Baelin," Ravidined, rubbing his sore posterior as he got up. He had been thrown much farther than Leo, who had managed to adjust his trajectory mid-flight. Sprouting a pair of ck wings, Leo skillfully nullified the force acting on his body andnded gracefully not far from his original position. Leo paid little attention to the banter between Baelin and Ravid. Instead, his focus was on Baelin''s newly crafted spiritual artifact. He couldn''t help but acknowledge Baelin as a true master of his craft. ''The half-blood forces are in for a lot of trouble,'' Leo thought to himself with a sigh. ''Compared to Baelin''s artifacts, my Hex artifacts are nothing but half-baked attempts.'' Unbeknownst to Baelin and Ravid, the source of their increased workload was right among them. The individual supplying Hex artifacts to the half-blood forces had managed to infiltrate the City of Lancelot and get close to Grandmaster Baelin as well. He eventually ended up making spiritual artifacts for Edinburgh''s forces as well. If anyone discovered his activities, both the kingdom and the half-blood forces would be in an uproar, hunting him down for ying both sides. Unfortunately for both of them, Leo didn''t care about any side. In his mind, Leopared the Hex artifacts he had created to Baelin''s spiritual artifacts and found Baelin''s creations to be far superior. It wasn''t just because Leocked Baelin''s tools and facilities; the true disparityy in Leo''s limited experience in crafting spiritual artifacts.I think you should take a look at Leo couldn''t employ the same techniques as Baelin when creating Hex artifacts. He didn''t use Shallot''s Mirror or Soul Seed Insertion Array. He didn''t need to. This was because unlike spiritual artifacts, Hex artifacts didn''t rely on external souls to imbue them with spiritual properties. Instead, Hex artifacts were meant to develop consciousness on their own, growing alongside their consciousnessC also known as true weapon spirits. Leo had dabbled in the cultist method of splitting fragments of the owner''s soul to create Hex gear. However, he soon realized that hecked the necessary expertise in soul-rted techniques and spells to ensure the owner''s soul remainedrgely unharmed. As a result, the owners couldn''t use their weapons due to soul-based injuries caused by Leo''s iplete process. After numerous experiments, both traditional and heretical, and delving into various artifact forging methods and soul-based arrays, Leo had developed his own unique approach to crafting Hex artifacts. This methodbined his expertise as an array master and potion maker. It was a highly personalized method that only Leo could perform due to its intricateplexities. After all, no other Ranker had pursued such a diverse ranking path as Leo, epassing a wide range of skills. These nine years had taught Leo invaluable lessons, not just as an artifact maker, array master, or potionist, but as a well-rounded Ranker. This period of growth had allowed him to excel in various fields, bing exceptionally proficient in diverse areas. Leo acknowledged that despite his progress in crafting Hex artifacts, there was still a significant gap between his skills and Baelin''s expertise in artifact forging. Leo realized that he needed a few more years to refine his craft. With Baelin''s guidance and ess to resources, he believed he could eventually create exceptional spiritual artifacts and Hex gear. However, there was something else of great importance to Leo, the chameleon-like individual. He desired ess to the treasures hidden within Baelin''s weaponsmithy. "Teacher, I want to be the one to operate Shallot''s Mirror and the Soul Seed Insertion Array," Leo interjected, interrupting Baelin and Ravid''s discussion. Both of them turned their heads simultaneously, their expressions nk, before bursting intoughter. "Hahaha! Young man, do you even know what you''re saying?" Baelin asked Leo, amusement evident in his voice. He continued, "Those things can only be handled by me. Even Ravid isn''t qualified enough to use them. You''d need at least a hundred years of experience before we allow you anywhere near those tools." Baelinughed heartily. Baelin wasn''t mocking Leo; he recognized that, at best, it would take Leo a century to be capable of working with soul-rted elements. The arrays and artifacts associated with the soul weren''t skills that could be acquired solely through knowledge. They demanded the potential user to possess a sufficient Spirit Force, which usually grew with time and age. Unfortunately, Leo didn''t have a hundred years to develop the necessary Spirit Force. He had barely a year. So of course he wasn''t pleased by Baelin''s denial and made an ugly face, letting his dissatisfaction known to his new teacher. Baelin expressed his satisfaction with his new apprentice, approaching Leo and giving him an encouraging pat on the back. "Well done on your first week, young man. Take some time to rest and enjoy life outside the weaponsmithy. Remember to report back to me in a week." With those words, Baelin disappeared from sight, leaving Leo to his own devices. Ravid followed suit, apanying Baelin and already delving into ns for their next project on the raised tform. The experienced weaponsmiths didn''t need an entire week to recharge their mental batteries. Simply discussing the concept of a new weapon at a leisurely pace served as a much-needed respite for them. ''Time is running out. That old hag is about toe out. I... I must act swiftly,'' Leo thought to himself as he exited Baelin''s weaponsmithy. Chapter 1347 Cooperating With The Abductors ? Leo Longde found himself being kidnapped. He was confined inside a carriage that swiftly traveled away from the City of Lancelot towards the looming Lancelot mountain range. A special artifact had been crafted by Leo''s abductors that kept his shadow-element powers suppressed. Apanying him were five other Rankers, allplicit in this act. Despite the circumstances, Leo remained surprisinglyposed, giving off an air of calmness that unsettled two of his captors while frustrating the remaining three. They were determined to unsettle him, to coerce him into relinquishing his position as Baelin''s new apprentice. Envy and animosity fueled their actions, as they refused to ept Leo''s victory in the test and his subsequent inclusion in Baelin''s inner circle. Banding together, they conspired to force Leo out, creating a vacancy they could then contend for. Their intentions were clearto remove Leo from the equation first and foremost. Thus, they employed various means and threats to coerce Leo into the carriage, sessfully executing their n. However, they had not anticipated Leo''sck of resistance. This unexpectedpliance put them on edge, sensing that something was amiss with Leo''s acquiescence. Yet, they were unable to voice their concerns as Leoplied with their demands. The abductors found themselves in a dilemma, unsure of their control over the situation. "Hahaha. Thanks foring with us willingly, you spineless turtle." One of the contestants who had participated in Grandmaster Baelin''s test mocked Leo, attempting to provoke a response. ''Umm turtles have spines. You could have called me spineless jellyfish. No Perhaps you wanted to call me a pathetic turtle that did not have a spine? A unique turtle? In that case, that''s a good insult. I apud you for your creativity, Mr. Creative Insulter.'' Leo thought to himself after hearing the abductors'' insults thrown at him, but he didn''t voice his words. He then started thinking about the Shallot''s Mirror and Soul Seed Insertion Array, ignoring the words and more insults that followed,ing out of his abductors'' mouths. Amidst the barrage of insults, Leo remained steadfast and quiet. The abductors'' attempts to demean him with their poisonous words didn''t make him budge. Even the insults directed toward his mother bore no fruits. Leo simply refused to give them the satisfaction of a response. Instead, he turned his attention inward, contemting the mysteries of spiritual artifacts and how he could improve his weapons. The insults and derisive remarks from his captors became mere background noise as Leo immersed himself in his own world of knowledge and expertise. Each of the five abductors had their own motives for participating in this joint operation, but all sought to hear Leo speak to establish a sense of dominance. However, Leo remained lost in his thoughts, paying no attention to their appearance or names. It was as if he found no use in learning about their names or their aspirations.I think you should take a look at His silence intensified the pressure on his captors, and they finally decided to join Leo in his silence, plunging the carriage into an eerie stillness broken only by the rhythmic hoofbeats of the magical colts and the creaking of the carriage''s wooden wheels. The supposed full moon night was marred by clouds, obscuring the moon''s radiance and casting a gloomy atmosphere. Only faint starlight pierced through the carriage windows, adding to the sense of foreboding. "Hehe. Rx, guys. Our friend Leo is probably too scared to utter a word in response to our questions. After all, we did force him into this conversation," the other abductordy spoke, unable to bear the deafening silence any longer. She smiled wickedly at Leo before addressing herpanions with a sarcastic tone. "I think we''ve been going about this the wrong way from the start. Let''s reach our destination first before attempting any friendly conversation. Even if Leocks courage or isn''t suited for the position of Baelin''s apprentice, we should respect his right to feel scared," she said, chuckling and receiving nods and agreement from the rest of the group. Leo, who had been lost in his thoughts, finally decided to look at thedy abductor who had just spoken and mocked him. He narrowed his eyes and sighed, thinking to himself, ''This loudmouth beauty has such a great figure. What a waste.'' Leo appeared downcast after gazing at thedy abductor for some inexplicable reason. It was as if he genuinely felt sad for her. One of the abductors, feeling a bit intimidated by Leo for unknown reasons, looked out of the carriage and observed the ever-changing wilderness scenery on both sides of the road. This four-eyed beauty, whom Leo had aptly named Miss Overthinker in his head, had spent more years in the City of Lancelot than anyone else in the group. Thus, she possessed a deeper knowledge of the region. "You know, guys, there used to be bandits roaming this part of the Lancelot Mountain range," Miss Overthinker adjusted her sses and spoke as she looked out of the carriage window. "Of course, these mountain bandits haven''t been heard of in years. Some say they disappeared suddenly one day. But maybe we shouldn''t venture into this region and test our luck. I heard a Master-ranked couple was leading these bandit groups," she said in a somber tone, turning to face the others inside the carriage, who were now giving her concerned nces. "Hahaha," the one Leo had referred to as Mr. Creative Insulter burst intoughter at Miss Overthinker''s words before responding. "That''s precisely why we chose this region to educate our dear Leo, you idiot. If our friend Leo acts stubborn and things go wrong, we can always me this Master-ranked mountain bandit couple. They can be our scapegoats and ensure we get rid of our problems without causing much trouble for us in the future," Mr. Creative Insulter spoke withughter and jovial words. However, his intentions were far from friendly. Moreover, he made sure to speak these words aloud while looking directly at Leo, conveying the message that his life was in danger if he didn''t cooperate. Chapter 1348 Emergence After A Prolonged Concealment ? "Hm? Those two Master Rankers, right?" Leo finally spoke, his gaze fixed on Miss Overthinker. He pursed his lips, shook his head, and let out a dramatic sigh before sharing something with her. "Yeah, I hate to break it to you guys, but both of them died a long time ago. They were killed by that irritating homunculus La for her experiments, you see. So using them as a reason to harm me might not serve you. It can even backfire on you," Leo said, showing an understanding of their predicament and offering a usible answer. "If I were in your shoes, I would pin the me on foreign forces. We''re still at war with the Layos, after all. They have a history of such actions. Now that''s a more believable story if you ask me." Leo shrugged and concluded, emphasizing the usibility of his suggestion, before allowing silence to envelop the carriage once more. Of course, Leo''s suggestion didn''t sit well with his five abductors. They exchanged grim nces, realizing that their attempts to intimidate him had not gone well. Leo had managed to intimidate them instead without resorting to foulnguage or threats. The abductors came to a unanimous conclusion: Leo was either too oblivious to the mortal peril he faced or too confident in his abilities to care about their actions. Regardless, they knew they needed to find an advantageous location to confront Leo and force him to yield to their demands. The carriage finally came to a halt at the edge of a namelesske. Three abductors strategically disembarked, surveying the surroundings. Only when they signaled that the coast was clear did the remaining two forcefully escort Leo out of the carriage and join the others. With the group now surrounding him, Mr. Creative Insulter took the lead, attempting to reason with Leo. "Leo, my friend, let''s get straight to the point," he began, attempting to convey a sense of care and understanding. "We don''t want to harm you. We simply want you to relinquish your position as Grandmaster Baelin''s apprentice. I understand it''s not fair to ask that of you, and I know you might perceive us as evil. But this is Anfang, and we all have to look out for ourselves. However, rest assured, we''re prepared to offerpensation. How does a generous sum of 30,000 Extols sound to you?" Although Mr. Creative Insulter''s voice seemed considerate, his eyes betrayed the cruel intentions he harbored toward Leo. The artifact they had employed to suppress Leo''s shadow-element powers was still in effect. It consisted of multiple parts, with each of the five abductors wearing a ring crafted by theirbined talents as artifact makers. The artifact had been specifically designed to overpower Leo,pelling him to sumb to their demands. In addition to Leo''s elemental powers, these abductors had also considered his ss as an array master when creating the five-ring artifact. Their confidence stemmed from this artifact. It made them believe that they could either coerce him intopliance or eliminate him from thend of Anfang without causing amotion. Leo felt the suppression of unknown origin working on him, rendering him unable to utilize his shadow-element spells or activate offensive and defensive arrays. The blockage in his mana pathways made it nearly impossible for him to tap into his Expert ranked abilities.I think you should take a look at He immediately identified the source of this suppressionthe five rings worn by his abductors. With an impressed expression on his face, Leomented, "Hmm, those five rings are part of a single artifact, huh? Not a bad design at all. I must say, you''ve shown creativity in crafting this artifact. I might consider appropriating this design and employing it against my opponents in the future." Leo said, sporting a week''s worth of beard growth and having neglected personal grooming while assisting Grandmaster Baelin, absentmindedly scratched his chin. He didn''t feel an urgent need to trim his newfound beard just yet. At the moment, he found satisfaction in simply relieving the itch and experiencing the brief respite it provided. "This fucker is still acting strange," voiced the fourth abductor, who had remained silent until now. Leo fittingly dubbed him Mr. Foulmouth. At this point, all of them had reached the unanimous decision that they needed to eliminate Leo. Using their avable voicemunication channel, they quickly devised a n. They instructed Miss Loudmouth, who possessed an enticing figure, to create a distraction so they couldunch a coordinated attack on Leo. This one-timebo attack was a key function of the five-ring artifact, designed to inflict internal harm and fry his mana circuits once activated. Miss Loudmouth stepped forward, offering a seductive smile to Leo as she began to speak. "Isn''t 30,000 Extols enough, my dear prince? How about we raise the offer to 50,000 Extols, plus..." Before she could finish her sentence, Miss Loudmouth felt a grip on her throat. In the next instant, herrynx was forcefully torn from her neck. As she blinked, Leo appeared before her, his ckish eyes reflecting her own image. With another blink, she saw that his eyes had transformed from inky ck to emerald green, emitting a subtle radiance. Not only his eyes but his stature also began to grow in real-time as he stared into Miss Loudmouth''s eyes. While his ck hair remainedrgely unchanged, it acquired a newfound sheen that hadn''t been present before. She could feel that not just looks, Leo''s ss had also been changed, rendering their artifact ineffective against him. Miss Loudmouth attempted to speak, but she had forgotten that her voice box had been ripped out. She felt pain. And a lot more. Blood spilled from her mouth as she gazed at the transformed Leo in horror. Miss Loudmouth''s killer ced her voice box in her own right hand, raised in a defensive stance. Unfortunately for her, the killer''s actions were too swift for her to disy her skills or employ any trump cards. All she could do now was clutch herrynx, dropping to the ground in shock as she witnessed her killer, Leo, casting the same downcast gaze he had given her inside the carriage. "What a waste of a beautiful figure. It had so much potential." The butchermented, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings as his true self emerged after prolonged concealment. === AN: La kills the bandits in the Lancelot mountain range in chapter 710. Chapter 1349 Progressing Brick By Brick P1 ? "Must you always kill them in such a gruesome manner?" La questioned Eren with annoyancecing her voice. She couldn''t help but think that his unofficial title as the Osan Woods'' Butcher was more fitting than his official alias, Grimdawn. However, Grimdawn carried a far more sinister connotation, leading La to believe that Eren had attempted to maintain a low profile before resorting to this extreme measure. The gruesome battlefield before her only solidified La''s thoughts. As she arrived at the designated site, the sight of the five rankers'' mutted bodies surpassed the horrors she had witnessed during her own experiments with the bandits. Inparison, La''s treatment of the bandits at this very location seemed almost saintly, granting them a merciful release from this cruel world. Her gaze shifted from Eren''s recent battlefield, where the butchered remains of the rankersy, and she frowned, her forehead creased with concern. "Is it too much to ask for you to leave the bodies of your enemies intact? It is easy for me to get rid of the traces if their bodies are intact. A little caution would go a long way, Eren, especially considering how close we are to achieving our objectives in the City of Lancelot. We cannot afford to give them any reason to suspect us," La voiced her frustration, folding her arms beneath her non-existent bosom. Her early-teenager-like appearance and child-like voice made her worries sound like a harmlessint of a pampered child. "Hmm. That''s why I asked for you toe, you know. For a clean up of this battlefield, besides, it''s not my fault, La. These mads started the whole thing," Eren replied, nonchntly shrugging his shoulders. He sat at a distance from the carnage he had wrought upon the battlefield, seemingly untouched by the bloodshed and gore. The scent of perspiration clung to him, as he had not bathed for a week, tirelessly toiling away in Baelin''s weaponsmith. Eren had effortlessly dispatched the five rankers who hade to bully him. While the battlefield reeked of blood, Eren seemed as if he had just finished a light workout. La scowled at Eren''s casual demeanor, and in her frustration, she kicked the severed head of Miss Overthinker lying nearby. The spectacle atop Miss Overthinker''s decapitated head flew into the air along with it. In a swift motion, Eren snapped his fingers, causing the airborne spectacle to vanish using the Blitz Shards before it could descend upon him. "Stop kicking random body parts. Stop sulking. And clear the area, La. Time is of the essence," Eren instructed, rising from the massive rock he had been sitting on. Since he had not bathed in a week, he decided to indulge in a refreshing bath in the namelesske. Clenching her fists, La let out a sigh, epting her role as the handler of the crime scene for Eren. This was not the first time he had tasked her with tying up loose ends after dealing with his adversaries, and it certainly wouldn''t be thest. Furthermore, La understood that she couldn''tin too much about Eren eliminating insignificant individuals. She recognized his unwavering dedication to the sess of the Lazarus Project.I think you should take a look at So, she set about meticulously cleaning up after Eren''s mess, employing her potions and arrays. It was crucial to ensure that Eren''s alter ego, Leo Longde, remained untainted by his actions. This phase of the Lazarus Project was of utmost importance. Even in self-defense, neither Eren nor La wished for Leo Longde to be entangled in a scandal. "Have you seen Shallot''s Mirror and the Soul Seed Insertion Array?" the Little Witch inquired, summoning her colossal cauldron. With a wave of her hand, the dismembered body parts of the five deceased Rankers levitated and floated toward the cauldron. One by one, they descended into the bubbling vessel, and within seconds, the battlefield was devoid of any severed organs. La essed the runic array engraved on the cauldron''s base and ignited a green fire, causing the concoction inside to simmer. Emerging from his dive in theke, Eren surfaced and heard the Little Witch''s question clearly. He rinsed his mouth with the refreshingke water and ran his fingers through his wet hair, feeling the contours of his original face with both his palms. He also looked at his blurred reflection on the surface of the water and smiled. Eren continued to relish the soothing embrace of the coolke, illuminated by the gentle glow of the moon and starry night sky as he replied. "I did get a glimpse of them," Eren replied. "However, essing Shallot''s Mirror and the Soul Seed Insertion Array is still kinda difficult for me. Baelin believes my Spiritual Force is insufficient, or perhaps he deems me untrustworthy with such powerful artifacts. It''s understandable when you consider the circumstances," Eren answered honestly and sighed. He then proceeded to describe her things that he had seen while inside Baelin''s forge. As La meticulously refined the body parts of Eren''s recent victims in her cauldron, her mind swirled with thoughts of obtaining the two crucial elements needed for the sessfulpletion of the Lazarus Project. She pondered over potential strategies, but eventually, she sighed and decided to cease dwelling on the project. Excessive overthinking and worrying would only drain her mentally. It was wiser to entrust these matters to Eren, who possessed a peculiar knack for finding solutions even in the most challenging circumstances. Leisurely swimming in the namelesske, Eren luxuriated in the starry night sky above as he observed La''s diligent work. For some reason, he feltpelled to express his appreciation for her contributions thus far. "La, your efforts in controlling the key members of the city administration truly worked in our favor," Eren remarked, gracefully executing backstrokes in the water. "Their involvement ensured my victory in Baelin''s test. Despite my expertise, everything would have crumbled if we had relied solely on the natural course of events. These five fuckers had deep connections. They had even bribed city officials and other influential rankers within the City of Lancelot. If our pawns hadn''t intervened, I would not have been chosen as Baelin''s apprentice, regardless of my performance in the test. Plus, Baelin''s personal detachment from the evaluation process worked to our advantage. As much as anyone ims otherwise, something like racial bias is a real thing. So Baelin''sck of attention to the test contestants made him select a human as his apprentice instead of the dwarf whopeted against me." Eren concluded, emerging from theke in his unadorned form. The moonlight gleamed on his skin, while the water cascaded over it, forming a glistening veil. Chapter 1350 Progressing Brick By Brick P2 ? Initially, La harbored reservations. She was not okay with Eren assuming the identity of Leo Longde to infiltrate the City of Lancelot, mainly due to Leo''s affiliation with the Asikha Empire. She argued that during times of war, the city might not wee an individual with foreign ties over its own citizens. However, Eren adamantly insisted on adopting Leo''s persona, driven by his foresight into the aftermath of the Lazarus Project. While La''s concerns were centered solely around the project itself, Eren contemted the far-reaching consequences once it reached fruition. He understood that regardless of the project''s sess, Leo Longde would inevitably attract the attention of Edinburgh and potentially face persecution from the Anfang Alliance. Should this scenario unfold, it would not be long before Eren''s true identity was exposed by his homnd. This was a scenario Eren desperately aimed to avoid at any cost. If it were to ur, he would be forced to see his city getting demolished, even with Reen back by his side and the Lazarus Project aplished. The foundations he had painstakingly built thus far would crumble under the weight of such circumstances. After personally dealing with the original Leo in the Asikha Empire, who had resorted to demonic means to expedite his ranking progress and harness intent-based magic, Eren devoured him, absorbing his elemental attainments along with his other gains. Utilizing Leo''s identity, Eren sessfully entered Edinburgh, leaving a usible trail of his origins. Assuming the persona of Leo Longde proved ideal for Eren. Leo had few acquaintances, and his affinity for shadow-element magic made it challenging to trace his mana signature. With his previous connection to the Edinburgh kingdom and his purported presence in the Asikha Empire four years prior, the City of Lancelot faced difficulties conducting a thorough background check on him. Leo''s intermittent disappearing acts provided the perfect opportunity for Eren to make a seamless entrance in his stead. In summary, assuming Leo''s identity carried numerous advantages, albeit not without its drawbacks. Eren''s insistence on assuming Leo''s identity prompted La to put her long-devised strategy into action, one she had been formting and refining for her endeavors in the City of Lancelot. Through her extensive experimentation on subjects, including lowlife bandits, she had developed a means to control individuals, making them obedient to her precisemands while maintaining the appearance of normalcy. This was the purpose behind her past experiments on the bandits, conducted nine years prior. Even during her pursuit by Arthur''s forces, La continued her research, eluding Oliver, also known as Arthur''s Hound, who had nearly caught up to her by following the trail of dead bandits she left behind during her travels across Nightshade Duchy. Fortunately, La, Eren, Ivor, and Argo managed to neutralize the threat, eliminating Oliver and his entire squad. Eren also involved Ivor in the graduation ceremony, orchestrating Jason''s demise as a diversion to evade Arthur''s pursuit. Consequently, Duke Arthur shifted his focus from chasing La to hunting down the notorious Osan Woods'' Butcher. Over the course of nine years, Arthur''s forces targeted and eradicated numerous rendezvous points of half-bloods, eliminating prominent figures within their ranks. By eliminating these half-blood forces that sought to intervene between the armies of Edinburgh and Layos, Eren effectively shielded La from Arthur''s grasp, safeguarding the integrity of the Lazarus Project. Eren, La, and even Ivor made significant contributions to the Lazarus Project, methodically building their influence within the City of Lancelot. Whenever in Lancelot, Eren assumed the identity of Leo Longde, while Ivor adopted the persona of Jeth Arck Piper or simply Piper, a respected member of the Lancelot Guild. Through undertaking perilous solo missions, Piper proved his worth, earning a position among the upper echelons of the guild. La infiltrated the City of Lancelot prior to Eren''s graduation, using her custom-made hypnosis potions to control a small group of rankers. These individuals became her eyes and ears, monitoring the city''s activities. The Little Witch gradually corrupted and controlled influential rankers and even managed to infiltrate the city administration. Given the inherent demonic origins of Eren''s enving Sin Series Abilities, it was clear that exertingplete control over individuals within the City of Lancelot would pose challenges. The city had a heightened sensitivity to such influences, making it crucial for Eren to rely on La''s expertise in handling these pawns.I think you should take a look at While Eren focused on honing his skills in artifact crafting, La''s potions, despite their seemingly illogical nature,cked any trace of demonic influence. As a result, the pawns she created with her potions proved to be the perfect choice for their operation. Ivor, however, remained an enigmatic figure to the locals, yet his reputation grew as he embarked on daring solo missions and emerged victorious. His alter ego, Piper, gained special recognition after confronting and halting the progress of Isen Osan, a Master-ranked individual, at the border region between the two kingdoms. In this remarkable mission, Piper not only rescued a stranded Edinburgh squad but also achieved a breakthrough into the Master rank himself. The news of Piper eluding Isen Osan''s forces, who fought alongside Layos, spread throughout Edinburgh, earning him immense poprity. Given former baron Isen Osan''s status as a despised traitor from the City of Osan, Piper''s role in thwarting his advances as part of the Lancelot Guild''s contract missions earned him the unofficial title of Baron''s Bane. A lot had happened during these nine years. The efforts of Eren, La, and Ivor bore fruit. Eren sessfully became Baelin''s apprentice, marking the beginning of the long-awaited Lazarus Project they had pursued for nine years. La, the mastermind behind the scenes, manipted influential Rankers within the City of Lancelot, while Ivor, known as Piper, established himself as a prominent member of the Lancelot Guild. The stage was set for their ns. This crucial year marked a turning point for the Lazarus Project. Although they were still distant from acquiring Shallot''s Mirror or the Soul Seed Insertion Array, these nine years had brought them closer to their objectives than ever before. At this point, their task was to y their roles effectively and ensure that the diligent work of the past nine years would not be jeopardized by Eren''s impulsive actions. *** Over the course of nine years, La grew intimately familiar with Eren''s ways. She recognized that hispliments were intended to keep her focused and motivated. Eren possessed a persuasive charm that could coax people into working for him, and La couldn''t help but be swayed by his tactics, even though she saw through them. La provided Eren with a concise update on her and Ivor''s recent activities and engaged in discussions about various aspects of the Lazarus Project, seeking his input. Afterpleting the cleanup of Eren''s recent battleground and erasing any lingering traces of mana signatures, La bid him farewell. Eren, on the other hand, did not return to the City of Lancelot. With a week-long break granted to him by Baelin, he had important matters to attend to, ces to visit, and people to meet. Chapter 1351 Sansara Sage’s Space-Element Runes ? Sansara World 2.0. This was the ultimate masterpiece of Sage Lin Lehan. It stood as a unique and secluded dimension, a world unto itself, brimming with boundless potential. The appearance of Sansara World 2.0 resembled a newly formed primitive realm. It epassed diverse regions, each with its distinct atmosphere and climate. From lush tropical forests to snow-covered mountain peaks and from volcandscapes to serene rivends teeming with nature''s abundance, Sansara World 2.0 offered a rich tapestry of environments. In some areas, gravity exceeded the norms of Anfang, while in others, it was notably diminished. Unlike its predecessor, this iteration of Sansara Worldcked the presence of birds and animals, and the conventional food chain was absent. However, it seemed more capable of amodating various forms of life, as if it were an ideal stage for the flourishing of a new civilization. The sky above Sansara World 2.0 underwent mesmerizing transformations within a few minutes from day to night and back again, radiating with the brilliance of a bright and sunny day. However, were the sun and the moon really there? The absence of celestial stars did not diminish Sansa World 2.0''s ethereal beauty. It appeared as though thews of nature had been intricately interwoven within this isted dimension, defying conventional logic while still maintaining a coherent harmony. Although this special dimension might havecked the abundance of resources found in the original Sansara World, it possessed something far more profound. The Nature Laws of Sansara World 2.0 resonated with the reality of Anfang as if a mastermind had astutely infused the necessary elemental attainments into this separate dimension, seamlessly blending them with its essence, resulting in a natural and authentic existence. In the heart of this secluded realm, amidst a verdant field, stood a modest single-story house. Fashioned with pristine white marble tiles and adorned with an elegant architectural design, the dwelling exuded an air of sophistication. Its expansive courtyard, encircled by a diverse array of flourishing trees and vibrant shrubbery, hinted at meticulous care and nurturance bestowed upon the thriving foliage. As the sky painted a twilight tableau, casting a warm orange hue over the horizon without the physical presence of the sun, Eren materialized in this serene courtyard. The mysterious rune of space-element etched upon his hand momentarily illuminated before fading, signifying a sessful teleportation to his intended destination. "You don''te to meet me as oftentely, Eren," aining voice gently reproached from behind him, and even before he turned, he recognized the familiar tone. "Ah, Maya, I apologize for leaving you stranded for so many weeks. There were pressing matters that demanded my attention, tasks I couldn''t afford to postpone," Eren responded, offering Maya a gentle smile as he finally faced her. "But Ie bearing good news," Eren proimed confidently, his voice resonating with assurance. "Keke. You no longer need to confine yourself within this secluded ce." His eyes gleamed as he beamed at Maya, radiating an air of excitement. Maya''s raven-ck tresses cascaded down her face and gracefully draped over her back. d in an elegant ck dress that entuated her graceful figure, her stunning countenance mirrored a delightful mix of surprise and anticipation as she grasped the implications of Eren''s words. "Does that mean you have finally deciphered my father''s space-element runes in their entirety?" Maya asked, her voice tinged with excitement. Eren responded with another warm smile, nodding gently. It had been one of his arduous tasks over the past nine yearsto study the space-element runes crafted by the renowned Sansara Sage during his time in Anfang.I think you should take a look at *** Sansara Sage Lin Lehan''s space-element runes. These very runes had been incorporated into the Sansara World, enabling injured contestants to be transported in case of mortal danger while being part of the graduation test. They were also the runes that J.J. Edgar had decrypted and modified for use beyond the confines of the Sansara World. With their enigmatic powers, Edgar had traversed the capital of Edinburgh unhindered by any opposing force. Edgar could take such a bold move only because he had confidence in Sansara Sage''s creations. These space-element runes had facilitated Pdin of Pain Reva Rain''s narrow escape from Eren''s grasp during the battle at Edinnica Arena. Moreover, they had instilled the half-blood forces with newfound confidence during the past 9 years, enabling them to openly confront Anfang''s armies without concern for their exit strategy. From the moment Eren witnessed the astonishing disy of these space-element runes firsthand, he was captivated by their capabilities. Their ability to be activated without generating discernible mana disruptions or spatial anomalies fascinated him the most. Possessors of these runes could seamlessly traverse regions without leaving a trace of their entry or exit. Rankers adorned with these space-element runes would appear and vanish in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace of their activation. The advanced nature of these runes had even astounded King''s Hand Garos Renar, and the other Sages present at the Edinnica Arena battle. Edgar had bestowed the same space-element runes upon Demonmir and hisrades, enabling their escape from the clutches of Edinburgh''s forces. Their absence of residual mana signatures after activation rendered them untraceable by pursuing Rankers. Initially, Eren cursed these space-element runes to facilitate the Pdin of Pain''s escape. However, the more he observed Edgar''s use of the runes, the more he became enamored with their potential applications for his own purposes. Thus, Eren dedicated himself to painstakingly deciphering these space-element runes. With Maya''s invaluable guidance and ess to Lin Lehan''s original notes, observations, and research papers, Eren, with his array master ss, embarked on experimental endeavors to decode the runes methodically. A few years ago, Eren had achieved partial sess in decrypting Lin Lehan''s advanced space-element runes. This allowed him to undertake long-distance travel without relying on the kingdom''s official teleportation portals. It was thanks to these runes that Eren sessfully maintained his guise as Leo while fulfilling his other duties in recent years. === AN: Lin Lehan''s space element runes were first introduced in chapter 1175. Edgar uses these runes to make his escape from Edinburgh''s counterattack in chapter 1184. Chapter 1352 Decoding Sansara Sages Legacy ? Eren''s pursuit of decrypting the Sansara Sage''s runes did not unfold without its fair share of obstacles. The iplete decryption of these intricate space-element runes gave rise to a multitude of challenges. Glitches in spatial teleportation entries and unintended exit points resulted in undesirable consequences. Furthermore, the utilization of these runes was gued by various limitations that rendered them unsuitable for regr use. Eren''s relentless experimentation with the runes often left him injured and frustrated. These space-element runes would function akin to bungee cords and extract a Ranker from the fabric of space and instantaneously teleport them to a predetermined location. To activate these runes, precise spatial coordinates of the desired destination were required, which served as anchors for this peculiar brand of spatial magic. These coordinates need to be integrated into the very runes themselves. The Rankers would then be forcefully pulled from their current positions, akin to stic cords recoiling once the external force driving them had diminished. As a result, Rankers were unable to freely choose their exit points when utilizing these space-element runes in real time. Additionally, there was no built-in mechanism for returning to their original location prior to activating the runes and undergoing teleportation. To aplish this, it was necessary to carry an additional rune at all times, which posed a cumbersome requirement. Carrying these runes on one''s person at all times was no effortless task either. The passive effects of the runes imbued an unsettling sensation of detachment from their surroundings, making the users feel as if their bodies did not belong to the ce where they were currently at. This disorienting influence hindered the casting of spells and the performance of everyday activities akin to existing within an unseen pool of water. Should a Ranker dare to bear the weight of two or more such space-element runes, these side effects would intensify exponentially. Additionally, these runes had a continuous mana drain on the user, even when they were not actively being used. Lower-ranked entities would struggle to keep up with the mana consumption of these runes, even if the runes were somewhat adjusted to their ranks. Only Adept-ranked entities and above were truly capable of carrying Lin Lehan''s space-element runes at all times. However, even Expert-ranked entities found the runes burdensome due to their constant drain on mana. The study and research of these runes came at a significant cost as well. Each sessful activation of the space-element runes would deplete thousands of Extols, and even unsessful or misused attempts would result in the loss of hundreds of Extols. The Extol expenditure increased with the user''s rank and the number of users linked to a specific location through the space-element runes. During the initial years, Eren lost millions of Extols in pure research. Without the resources provided by his city, he would not have been able to sessfully decrypt the space-element runes.I think you should take a look at Eren now understood why Sansara Sage preferred to rule from the shadows in the past. Only with the backing of an entire kingdom''s resources could extensive research like this be carried out. Even with ess to the resources of White Raven City, Eren found it financially challenging to research on Sansara Sage''s scale. In summary, the usage of the space-element runes was limited by inherent restrictions, the adaptability of rankers to their side effects, and the financial costs associated with their use. However, despite the challenges, these runes proved invaluable as they provided users with the ability to escape tough situations and mortal peril without risk while also preventing pursuit by other Rankers due to their swift and seamless activation. Eren had dedicated a considerable amount of time to studying these runes. He had unlocked a new ss as an Array Master and gathered external knowledge to aid in understanding Sansara Sage''s research papers. With ess to the original research papers, he still found decrypting and adapting these runes to the world of Anfang a difficult task. However, the drawbacks of Sansara Sage''s space-element runes did not diminish their potential. Eren had sessfullypleted the arduous task of decrypting Lin Lehan''s runes, making them fully operational in the world of Anfang. His mastery of these runes now surpassed even Edgar''s abilities demonstrated nine years ago. While Edgar had spent centuries decrypting Sansara Sage''s runes, Eren aplished the same feat in just a decade. Maya''s guidance and ess to her father''s research materials yed a crucial role in Eren''s remarkable sess, along with his unwavering dedication and tireless efforts. Eren had requested Maya, urging her to remain within Sansara World 2.0 until he sessfully deciphered Sansara Sage''s runes and made thempatible for use in Anfang. He needed to establish various spatial anchor points that would ensure the runes'' effectiveness. Only then would Maya be able to carry the space-element rune with her at all times, providing her with a means of escape if she found herself in a perilous situation. Given that the upper echelons of Edinburgh believed Maya to be deceased, her presence within Edinburgh would not only endanger her but also jeopardize Eren''s ns. They had taken great measures to destroy Sansara World 1.0 to cover their tracks, and Maya''s capture would render all of their efforts futile. Even though the existence of Sansara World 2.0 and Maya''s escape from the detonation of Sansara World 1.0 remained unknown to others, Eren, being a chronic and a bit paranoid nner, was unwilling to take any unnecessary risks, especially when his focus was fully dedicated topleting the Lazarus Project. Maya, on the other hand, had no pressing need to explore Anfang at the moment. She was content toply with Eren''s request. After spending centuries in istion within Sansara World 1.0, she could patiently wait for another decade. She was both amazed and delighted by Eren''s remarkable achievement within just nine years. She knew that when she first met him, Eren had no expertise as an Array Master,cked profound space-element attainments, and had limited knowledge on the subject. Witnessing his growth from a novice to an exceptional expert in the field was truly remarkable. It was akin to witnessing someone achieve overnight sess in a very harsh domain. Despite being aware of the immense effort and resources Eren had invested in this endeavor, Maya couldn''t help but marvel at his astonishing progress. Chapter 1353 Breaking The Wheel Of Sansara: Sansara Sages True Legacy ? Relief! That''s what Maya felt washed over her knowing that she would no longer be confined to Sansara World 2.0. Was it truly how she felt, though? Or was it something her conscious-imitating runic array within her made her feel? She couldn''t tell. One had to say that Sansara Sage had done everything he could to make Maya feel almost all the emotions. They justcked a certain shade of reality to them. It was clear to her that something was missing in her emotions as if they were restricted andcked the depth of genuine experiences. Maya''s emotions felt constrained as if they were held back by invisible limits. She could smile, but the joy in her heart couldn''t fully manifest asughter. She could shed tears, yet the depth of her pain and anguish remained elusive. Maya yearned to break free from these limitations and experience the full range of human emotions. However, to feel such a heightened form of emotional shades, she needed something she never had till this point. She needed a soul. Maya yearned to cultivate a true soul within herself and transcend her artificial existence. To achieve this, Eren proposed that she travel and explore the world in all its vastness, embracing every facet it had to offer. With no other viable option, Maya wholeheartedly embraced the idea. Sitting at a garden table, sipping tea, Eren and Maya engaged in extensive discussions to n her departure. Eren provided her with a list of rmended ces to visit, both within and outside the borders of Edinburgh. With her Grandmaster-level powers, Maya possessed the strength to ovee any potential dangers, enabling her to explore even the most restricted areas. Eren''s suggestions included cities, settlements, and regions that held unique wonders and mysteries. *** Even the partial decryption of Sansara Sage''s space-element runes provided Eren with confidence he needed to explore Anfang. Over the past nine years, Eren had ventured beyond the confines of Edinburgh, embarking on an extraordinary journey. He had explored the Asikha Empire and the neighboring Amazonian settlements, experiencing a warm reception. In secrecy, he uncovered the hidden elven civilization within the kingdom of Layos, witnessing its advanced glory. But Eren''s explorations didn''t end there. The butcher ventured into other parts of Anfang that he had never imagined setting foot in. From the sovereign city-states beyond the Amazonian settlements, stretching towards the borders of the Asikha Empire, to the vast deserts ruled by formidable tribes in the south, and the snow-covered regions governed by democratic powers in the north, Eren left no stone unturned. With the aid of the remarkable artifact known as Echidna''s Authority, Eren even braved the Bands, traversing the boundary lines between various powers and engaging with leaders of monster tribes. The Inheritor of Elder Ichor''s bloodline powers became invaluable tools during his explorations, allowing him to seamlessly assume new identities and bypass borders without detection. His wealth served as a key that opened doors, enabling him to acquire the resources and knowledge he sought without concern for cost. Throughout his travels, the butcher dedicated himself to honing his skills and pursuing various projects. Each destination enriched him as a Ranker,pensating for the gaps in his knowledge and experience. He eagerly sought out Ranking Techniques of diverse elemental affinities, sses, backgrounds, types, and weaponpatibility, acquiring them from every major location he visited. This broadened his repertoire and granted him the versatility he desired.I think you should take a look at The vast distances between these ces provided Eren with a glimpse into the unique Ranking Journeys undertaken by native Rankers. He encountered unfamiliar Ranking sses, witnessing the distinctive paths these individuals followed to advance in their ranks. Utilizing Lin Lehan''s space-element runes, Eren managed to cut down his travel time and make effective use of these 9 years. He immersed himself in the intricacies of these regions, simultaneously studying the Sansara Sage''s enigmatic runes and testing their various modifications in real-world scenarios. One of the most rewarding oues of Eren''s travels was thepletion of his Rootless Ranking Technique for his current rank, along with significant progress in developing the techniquepatible with the Master rank. This achievement liberated him from relying solely on his bloodline powers to make progress in his Ranking Status. It allowed him to focus on diligently practicing and refining the Rootless Ranking Technique to enhance its effectiveness as he traveled. Eren''s extensive travels also greatly contributed to his prowess as an artifact crafter. Through observation and interaction with diverse weaponsmiths, he assimted a wealth of techniques and approaches. By the end of the 8th year since the initiation of the Lazarus Project, Grimdawn had acquired profound insights into the techniques employed by foreign Rankers to enhance their artifacts. Through his extensive travels and interactions with skilled weaponsmiths, he absorbed a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Additionally, the invaluable guidance and knowledge of Hex artifacts provided by Arie Lowin of House Lowin propelled Eren to be an exceptional weaponsmith within his generation. This was how he became capable of being seen as a worthy apprentice by Baelin. *** With his extensive experience gained from his long and challenging travels, Eren provided Maya with invaluable guidance and bestowed upon her various exclusive knowledge, items, and resources to aid her in her forting journey. Maya attentively absorbed Eren''s words, posing numerous questions as they engaged in hours-long conversations. Despite her formidable power, Maya possessed limited knowledge of the world''s affairs due to her isted upbringing and artificial consciousness, which had been shaped by the database created by Sansara Sage. Recognizing this, Eren focused on imparting knowledge, tips, and insights that couldn''t be found within Maya''s database. As the discussion drew to a close, nine hours had psed, yet the ever-changing hues of the sky within the isted dimension created the illusion of weeks passing by. "I believe I have provided you with everything you need for your journey, Lady Maya," Eren remarked, taking a deep breath. His fingers danced lightly across the surface of the tea table as he fixed his gaze on the artificial being seated before him. Then, he voiced a question he had long nned to ask. "Now that we have covered that, I would appreciate it if you could shed light on the true purpose behind Sansara Sage''s creation of this isted dimension and JJ Edgar''s fervent desire to possess it," Eren inquired, casting a nce around him. Fragments of insight regarding Sansara Sage''s underlying motives had started to form within Eren''s mind, but he required Maya''s confirmation to solidify his assumptions. Chapter 1354 Demonic And Divine Planes ? Eren was Sansara Sage''s legacy holder. He was well aware that the knowledge of space-element runes and valuable ranking resources within Sansara World 2.0 were not the sole legacy left by Sansara Sage. The isted dimension itself was one of the Sage''s most precious offerings to his sessor. It was now the inheritor''s responsibility to uncover the true purpose behind Sansara World 2.0. And to understand why Lin Lehan had bestowedplete ownership of this isted dimension upon his chosen one. Ideas began to form in Eren''s mind, theories rted to how Sage rankers, including Sansara Sage, were able to traverse beyond the boundaries of Anfang despite the world-isting array that prohibited spatial teleportation outside its confines. The timing couldn''t have been better for Eren to pose this question to Maya. With a smile, she responded by asking Eren a question of her own. "Eren, you''re aware that my father was a demonic ranker, right?" Maya inquired, her gaze fixed on him. Eren nodded in affirmation, recalling the revtion he had received during his visit to Nira Nightshade''s test site. "Yes, Sage Nira Nightshade''s soul fragment revealed that information to me. She and the other founders of Edinburgh were all demonic rankers." Maya confirmed Nira''s statement with a nod before borating further. "Being a demonic ranker grants one the ability to travel through the demonic nes, or at least qualifies them to enter these nes if they can create an entry point. Do you understand what I''m getting at?" Maya yfully asked, her smile betraying a deeper understanding. Eren furrowed his brow at the mention of demonic nes. He vaguely recalled Alephee mentioning the existence of seven major demonic nes, each ruled by a Demon Prince. However, these concepts remained mere abstractions to him,cking substantial knowledge. "Honestly, Lady Maya, I don''t fully grasp what you''re referring to," Eren sighed, his expression defeated. He met Maya''s gaze and continued, "And you know that I know you''re aware of that. So let''s dispense with the games and have a straightforward conversation, for once. Frankly, I''m tired of how Anfang treats knowledge as a bargaining chip. It''s one aspect of my home world that I find detestable." Eren''s annoyance became evident as he wrinkled his nose, making his feelings clear to Maya. Maya smiled before answering Eren''s query. "Eren, before understanding Sansara Sage''s true legacy, you first need to understand what the divine and demonic nes are," Maya said to Eren as she started drawing abstract lines over the table with her fingers. She paused for a bit and gathered her thoughts before continuing. "Deep within the intricate tapestry of the cosmos, veiled from mortalprehension, lies a realm steeped in mysteries known as the Demonic nes. These ethereal domains exist as elusive bridges connecting countless worlds scattered across gxies and universes, offering a passage beyond the confines of ordinary reality." It became evident to Eren that this was an entry from Maya''s vast database, a recorded message left behind by Sansara Sage specifically for him. His inquiry sparked the retrieval of this profound message, enabling him to unravel the mysteries concealed within Sansara World 2.0. Maya. without being distracted by Eren''s eager face, continued in a neutral voice.I think you should take a look at "The Demonic nes, akin to fantastical dreamscapes, shroud themselves in an ethereal mist, where the boundaries between imagination and reality blur into an indistinguishable haze. Within these nes, the very fabric of space and time loses its familiar structure, surrendering to a fluid and unpredictable dance. Thews that govern the physical universe sumb to arcane forces, rendering concepts such as gravity, thermodynamics, and electromaism obsolete and trivial in this realm of cosmic wonder." Maya said as she inclined back and rested her back on the chair. Her voice resonated with an air of intrigue as she continued to paint a vivid picture of the Demonic nes. Eren, captivated by her words, listened intently, absorbing every detail. "In the Demonic nes, traversing between worlds bes an ethereal ballet. Entities that venture into these nes find themselves suspended in a state that is neither alive nor dead, caught between the realms of existence and non-existence. It is a state where the boundaries of physicality dissolve, and the essence of being intertwined with the essence of all creation. In these realms, the astral currents flow like cosmic rivers, bending and twisting the very fabric of reality. The boundaries between worlds are permeable, allowing daring explorers to transcend the barriers of their homnds and embark on otherworldly odysseys. Here, the intrepid voyager can witness the kaleidoscope of worlds, each bearing its uniquendscapes, civilizations, and wonders," Maya said as she looked at Eren. Eren couldn''t help but feel a surge of excitement and curiosity coursing through his veins as Maya''s words continued to unravel the mysteries of the Demonic nes. It was as if a hidden realm of knowledge was being unveiled before him. "The demonic nes hold profound mysteries that elude mortalprehension. Entering the Demonic nes demands great caution and a profound understanding of the demonic mana, for the unwary traveler risks being consumed by the chaotic energies that permeate this extradimensional expanse. The veil between existence and oblivion is tenuous, and those who dare to venture into these realms must navigate treacherous currents of thought, will, and emotion. The celestial tapestry of the divine nes mirrors the enigmatic nature of the demonic nes, entwining reality and imagination. Just as the Demonic nes harbor formidable entities like Demon Princesses, the Divine nes are sanctuaries for an array of gods. These nes span the boundless expanse of infinite realities, their intricacies defyingprehension, unfolding withplexity beyond measure. It is within these demonic and divine nes that reality takes on a fantastical sheen, where imagination and the primal forces of creation intertwine. In the depths of these timeless and limitless realms, the notion of what is possible expands beyond mortalprehension, defying the confines of known physics and allowing the imagination to soar among the stars." Maya concluded Sansara Sage''s recorded message, leaving Eren with a profound realization. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into ce, and the significance of Sansara World 2.0 became clear to him. "Eren, this ce, Sansara World 2.0, holds the potential to open a passage to one of the demonic nes," Maya affirmed, sensing Eren''s curiosity and eagerness to delve further into this profound subject. "This is the true legacy of Sansara Sage," Eren murmured to himself, his voice filled with a mix of wonder and excitement. "It''s an opportunity to break free from the shackles of Anfang and explore worlds beyond its boundaries." Chapter 1355 Dangers Lurking In The Ethereal Planes ? Anfang, the world they called The Land of the Faithless. It was bound by invisible chains, preventing anyone from entering or leaving through conventional means. These shackles, embodied in the world-epassing array, severed the connections that once linked Anfang to neighboring realms. Long ago, before the devastating Cmity War, Anfang''s Rankers maintained awork of teleportation portals that allowed them to interact with the denizens of Echidna, Labh Salem, and Tel Quasser. Through these portals, distant worlds became intertwined, fostering a sense of cultural exchange. However, with the construction of the world-epassing array, these connections were severed. The original inhabitants of Echidna, known as the children of Echidna, found themselves trapped within Anfang''s borders. Unfamiliar to the residents of Anfang who had not witnessed the Cmity War firsthand, they werebeled as monsters. Simrly, the half-blood ns and covens of witches from Labh Salem were uprooted from their adopted home in Anfang due to their perceived demonic nature. Meanwhile, the denizens of Tel Quasser, a realm of enchanting fey, seamlessly merged with the local poption of Anfang, thanks to their invaluable support in the war against the Titans of Ansia during the Cmity War. Centuries after centuries had psed since the devastating Cmity of War, and yet the world-epassing array remained steadfast, impeding the departure of Anfang''s Rankers by any conventional means. This impregnable barrier rendered the Land of the Faithless imprable to entities hailing from other realms, fortifying its istion. However, those privy to the secrets of essing the enigmatic demonic and divine nes discovered an escape from Anfang''s clutches. By constructing a separate dimension within Anfang itself, one that adhered to itsws while remaining immune to the influence of the world-epassing array, these daring demonic rankers and chosen emissaries of the divine could journey into ethereal realms. These ethereal nes, existing beyond the realm of mortalprehension, were intricately interwoven with worlds that surpassed the bounds of the imagination. Within these boundless realms, courageous explorers could transcend the fetters that tied them to Anfang and venture forth into the uncharted expanses of infinite realities. However, it was crucial to understand that embarking on this extraordinary journey was often a one-way passage. Once these intrepid travelers progressed beyond a certain threshold, retracing their steps and returning to the familiar realm of Anfang became an insurmountable challenge. They became forever entwined within the ever-shifting tapestry of the interconnected dreamscape, a realm where the rules of reality were as capricious as the fleeting nuances of a dream. Each explorer''s experience within these nes was unique and personal, defying precise descriptions and evading simpleparison. Once ensconced within the enigmatic embrace of these otherworldly nes, the intrepid explorers faced a pivotal crossroads. They had but two choices before them, each carrying profound consequences. The first option beckoned them to embark on a quest to discover a portal leading to another realm, to venture forth and escape the ethereal clutches of these boundless nes. It was a race against time, a pursuit to reim their identities and preserve their sense of self.I think you should take a look at Alternatively, the second option offered a daunting fate: to surrender to the mesmerizing allure of these dreamlike ces and surrender their individuality to the whims of the ever-shifting tapestry. Here, within thebyrinthine depths of interconnected realities, they risked losing their very essence, bing mere echoes adrift in the limitless expanse of the boundless nes. The coveted knowledge of essing the divine and demonic nes was reserved for a select few within the ranks of Anfang''s legitimate establishments and the esteemed Anfang Alliance. Only those who attained the esteemed ranks of Grandmaster or Sage were deemed worthy of this revtion, depending upon their societal status. Yet, even among these elite few, those who sessfully ventured beyond Anfang''s borders and emerged unscathed in another realm were exceedingly rare. To facilitate their exodus, the Anfang Alliance made use of these mysterious nes. However, within these nes dwelled formidable entities, neither alive nor dead, eternal beings forbidden from meddling in the realm of the living of their own will. Yet, if a living being willingly trespassed into their realm, these entities possessed the authority to take action. Regardless of their divine or demonic nature, these immortal entities revealed in preying upon the living, toying with their minds, emotions, and senses within the limitless expanse of these nes. For mortal Rankers seeking escape from Anfang, delving into these ethereal realms held inherent peril. The majority who embarked upon such ventures vanished without a trace, their fate forever shrouded in mystery. One could perceive these nes as manifestations of the collective dreams, aspirations, emotions, and ambitions of the living, boundless realms capable of obliterating one''s very sense of self upon entry. The allure of venturing beyond the confines of Anfang and exploring the vastness of other worlds beckoned to the high-ranking entities residing within its borders. No longer content with reigning over their limited domains, they yearned for the boundless possibilities that awaited them. The world of Anfang, though formidable in its own right, could no longer sustain their ambitions once they ascended to the revered Sage rank after all. Hence, the Anfang Alliance chose not to eradicate the divine and demonic altars entirely. Rather, they remained hidden from the ordinary popce, carefully guarded and closely monitored. These altars held the key to essing realms beyond Anfang''s boundaries, realms where the allure of adventure and discovery proved irresistible to the high-ranking entities. Sansara Sage''s creation of Sansara World 1.0 held deeper significance than initially perceived. Maya disclosed to Eren that Sansara World 1.0 possessed the capacity to serve as a foundation for the portal to the demonic ne, much like Sansara World 2.0 in its current form. However, as the connection between Sansara World 1.0 and the demonic ne solidified, the very fabric of the Sansara World''s Nature Laws began to erode bit by bit. Sansara Sage, ever the visionary, had anticipated this oue and crafted Sansara World 2.0 as a contingency, a safeguard in case the Sansara World 1.0 failed tost the duration of his test. asionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1356 Convergence Of Reasons ? Sansara World 2.0 was created as a contingency n by Sansara Sage. It was a backup recement to the Sansara World 1.0, and it was better than its predecessor in every way. However, Sansara Sage''s meticulous nning and foresight prevented him from relying on such a contingency n in the first ce, allowing him to organize the departure of his fellow Sages, ensuring their escape from the confines of Anfang. He followed them soon afterward after settling his affair in Anfang. Before leaving, Sansara Sage had a brief talk with MayaC his daughter. Knowing the importance of preserving Sansara World 2.0, he entrusted its guardianship to Maya, cing the responsibility of finding a worthy sessor upon her capable shoulders. Sansara Sage''s unparalleled sess in safely transporting Rankers out of Anfang was a testament to his unparalleled mastery and ingenuity. Despite the sacrifices and trials endured in his experiments, he achieved what seemed impossiblesending not only himself but also his Sagepanions to other worlds unscathed. It appeared as though traversing the demonic ne was as effortless as drawing breath, but the truth was far moreplex and perilous than it seemed. Sansara Sage''s experiments rted to demonic nes. If they ever came to light, Maya was sure that the masses of Edinburgh would stop seeing him as a talented genius andbel him as an evil man. Of course, Sansara Sage did not recklessly venture into the demonic ne either. He conducted meticulous experiments and sent numerous test subjects as harbingers into its treacherous depths. In the face of the unknown, he devised the space-element runes, acting as metaphorical bungee cords, to aid those who strayed too far and risked losing their way back. He had invented these space-element runes to expedite his research and minimize the risks of getting lost in the demonic ne. However, since the demonic ne did not adhere to the same principles as the real world, the space-element runes did not work all the time. While the sess rate of saving Sansara Sage''s pawns was only fifty percent, these runes proved indispensable in his experiments pertaining to the demonic ne. Notably, the demonic ne Sage Lehan explored and documented was none other than the realm of gluttony, ruled by the enigmatic Demon Prince known as Beelzebub. The presence of Beelzebub''s Altar safely kept within Sansara World 1.0 facilitated Sansara Sage''s endeavor, granting him easier ess to this ne governed by the powerful Demon Prince. Only now did Eren grasp the true significance of JJ Edgar''s desire to possess Sansara World 1.0. The Sage half-blood must have realized that the creation of Sansara Sage held the key to breaking free from the constraints of Anfang and venturing into uncharted realms. During the Edinnica Arena incident, it became apparent that Edgar had a valid motive for seeking Sansara Sage''s creation. He, along with other half-bloods who had suffered unjust treatment in Anfang, envisioned using Sansara World 1.0 as a means to escape the confines of their oppressive world and seek refuge in another realm. Labh Salem, a world where discrimination was less prevalent, emerged as a promising destination. Their intrusion into the capital of Edinburgh was driven by this desperate n, hoping to seize the opportunity that Sansara World 1.0 presented. When Eren blew up Sansara World 1.0, he also blew up Edgar''s dream of following in Sansara Sage''s footsteps and venturing outside Anfang. The revtion that the space-element runes crafted by Sansara Sage were merely tools for exploring the demonic ne left Eren astounded. It was clear that Lin Lehan possessed a visionary mind that often surpassed his own understanding of his creations.I think you should take a look at Maya, having Eren finally being able to decrypt the runes in their entirety, finally shared the true legacy of Lin Lehan and the purpose of Sansara World 2.0. Mastery of the space-element runes was an essential prerequisite for traversing the ethereal ne as per Sansara Sage''s standards, and only now that Eren possessed this qualification could he be entrusted with this knowledge. Eager to explore the gluttony ne, Eren''s enthusiasm was dampened when Maya informed him that, while he was qualified to learn about these matters, he was not yet qualified to venture into the demonic ne itself. Maya emphasized that achieving the status of a Master ranker was the minimum requirement before even considering setting foot in the treacherous realm. Without this rank, Eren would have little chance of sessfully reaching the neighboring worlds beyond Anfang. With Maya''s exnation, another piece of the puzzle fell into ce for Eren. He now understood why Alephee had urged him to achieve Master rank before embarking on his journey outside Anfang. Alephee had shared a simr understanding, but Eren had approached her prematurely,cking the necessary preparations toprehend the depths of her exnation. Eren''s mind raced with newfound insights as he pondered the connections between the divine nes and his own experiences. If Maya''s words held true, then the denizens of Echidna must possess a simr method for bringing their own kind to Anfang. This revtion led Eren to reflect on his encounters within the Oni Dungeon, a separate dimension infused with its own set of Nature Laws, capable of supporting a portal to one of the divine nes associated with their divine entity. Specting that the Oni Dungeon could serve as a pathway to a divine ne, Eren surmised that the cooperation between the monsters in the dungeon and those from Echidna facilitated stable travel between the realms. Little did Eren know that a person named Bisha had been sent by priest Rok Jahar to investigate the Oni Dungeon in Anfang years ago, only to be trapped within the divine ne, unable to step foot in Anfang till this point. Surveying the primitive state of Sansara World 2.0, Eren began to understand why its construction had remained iplete. The raw and primal Nature Laws infused into this separate dimension would establish a more stable connection with the demonic ne when the portal was eventually opened within it. As this dimension existed outside the confines of Anfang, the world-epassing array would not impede the portal''s function. "I I need to be quick." Realizing the urgency of his situation, Eren murmured to himself about the need to achieve the Master Rank swiftly. He understood that he had only a year to aplish this goal, or else he would face a multitude of challenges andplications. === AN: Oni Dungeon was introduced in chapter 441. Rok Jahar and Bisha were mentioned in chapter 743. Chapter 1357 Standard Protocol ? Two days after Eren visited Maya. Around noon. The border region between Edinburgh and Layos. On the deste bordends that separated Edinburgh and Layos, a scarred town and a sparse forest bore witness to the devastating aftermath of their warring mes. The remnants of elemental spells marred the terrain, a haunting testament to the destructive power unleashed in this region. Twopanies of opposing Rankers stood poised, preparing to turn this ruinedndscape into their battleground once again. Onepany, numbering around 100 Rankers, represented Edinburgh. It consisted of amalgamated squads from the city''s army and affiliated guilds bound together by military contracts. The otherpany, hailing from the kingdom of Layos,prised approximately 120 Rankers, including army personnel, independent mercenaries, and sword-for-hire teams. Gray and ck clouds hung overhead, casting an ominous shadow and obscuring much of the sunlight. The region seemed shrouded in twilight, despite the midday hour. Storm clouds gathered, mirroring the mounting tension between the twopanies. One could question whether these atmospheric disturbances were mere coincidence or the result of mana agitation brought about by the convergence of powerful, high-ranking entities in one ce. Both groups stood at a distance of 500 meters from each other, lined up with hands sped behind their backs, gazing fixedly ahead. Every Ranker present held at least the minimum Adept Rank, with a few Expert Rankers among their ranks. Eachpany boasted two Solid-Stage Master Rankers, apparent leaders of their respective factions. Suddenly, a middle-aged man materialized in the vacant space, drawing the attention of bothpanies. d in simple attire, his unassuming appearance belied the immense mana radiating from him, proiming his status as a Grandmaster. Grim determination etched his face as he surveyed the leaders of the opposingpanies. "Karl Riverine of Edinburgh and Isen Osan of Layos, step forward and dere your intentions," the middle-aged man stated in a calm yet authoritative tone. Instantly, Karl Riverine and Isen activated their movement spells, appearing on either side of the man. With stoic gazes, they locked eyes in a silent challenge. Karl, representing Edinburgh, took the initiative and spoke in amanding and defiant tone. "Grandmaster Luan, the kingdom of Edinburgh asserts its rightful im to this region. Layos has uwfully invaded our territory, and we shall do whatever it takes to reim it," Karl dered, fearlessly meeting Isen''s gaze. Grandmaster Luan, a middle-aged Grandmaster Ranker affiliated with the Anfang Alliance, oversaw the conflict between these two kingdoms as part of his role within the governing body. The Anfang Alliance had maintained oversight of the ongoing war between Edinburgh and Layos, ensuring that both kingdoms adhered to the agreed boundaries. Grandmaster Luan had been appointed by the Alliance to oversee such confrontations, making this day no different from countless others. Listening attentively to Karl''s deration, Grandmaster Luan nodded in acknowledgment. It was a routine promation preceding the impending confrontation. He then turned his gaze to Isen, signaling for him to make his own deration. This was a standard protocol mandated by the Anfang Alliance, and both kingdoms and their representatives were obliged to follow it. Isen took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on Karl, before delivering his deration with conviction. "Grandmaster Luan, the kingdom of Layosys im to this region. We hold Edinburgh ountable for its ruinous state and are determined to bring their forces to justice," Isen dered, his voice resonating with mana that carried his words across the entire expanse.I think you should take a look at Grandmaster Luan nodded approvingly at Isen before granting permission for the twopanies of Rankers to engage in a fateful battle. "Very well. I shall now outline the standard rules established by the Anfang Alliance. Firstly, once this area has been won and imed by either side, the opposing faction shall be barred from making a new im for at least three years. This rule shall be respected by both parties, and the Anfang Alliance will ensure its enforcement. Secondly, both sides shall adhere to..." Grandmaster Luan''s voice, amplified by mana, cut through the air as he enumerated the customary rules of engagement. While the first rule was unique to this conflict, the subsequent rules were familiar restrictions observed by Rankers from both sides under the influence of Rankers'' Code of Conduct. Grandmaster Luan concluded his interaction with Karl Riverine and Isen Osan, stepping away from the battlefield to allow the opposing forces to engage in their fierce struggle. He nned to returnter in the evening to assess the oue and determine the rightful owner of the contested region. If any survivors remained from the defeated faction, he would ensure their safe retreat, safeguarding them from further harm by the victors. However, if the conflict persisted until evening, Grandmaster Luan would intervene and summon representatives from both factions to engage inbat. The oue of this representative battle would then determine the victory or defeat of their respective kingdoms. As the middle-aged Grandmaster finished stating the rules, Karl and Isen returned to their positions at the forefront of their groups, ready to lead their forces into battle. They awaited the departure of Grandmaster Luan, their anticipation mounting. "You maymence," Grandmaster Luan''s impartial voice resounded through the air, signaling the start of the confrontation. With those words, he vanished from sight, leaving the two factions to settle their differences within the scarred and deste battlefield. The battlefield crackled with anticipation as Grandmaster Luan''s final words resonated through the air. The sh of elemental forces was unleashed as both sides activated their spells and tapped into the raw power of their mana. Without wasting a moment, Isen Osan rallied his forces, bellowing themand to attack. Simultaneously, Karl Riverine spurred his own warriors into action, his voice carrying a fierce determination. With a swift incantation, Karl vanished from sight; his movement spell whisking him away. The previously fixed distance of 500 meters held little significance for the Rankers, who possessed the movement spells and utilized powerful artifacts. In the blink of an eye, the divide between the two factions dissolved as the Rankers closed in on each other, charging forward with a fervor fueled by their unyielding resolve. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. === AN: Karl Riverine was mentioned in chapter 1261. Chapter 1358 Neutralizing Grimdawn ? Thest nine long years were very eventful. The White Raven Guild had emerged as a formidable power within the city of Edinburgh, its reputation solidified through constant conflict with the neighboring kingdom. Eren''s vision of a guild that would reshape thendscape had be a reality as the guild''s members made their mark on the battlefield. The mere mention of their name struck fear into the hearts of Layos'' forces, for they knew all too well the prowess of Eren''s guild. As the conflict raged on, the White Raven Guild yed an active role in the strife between Edinburgh and Layos. In ordance with their war contracts, the guild had dispatched two squads to join the ranks of thepany led by Karl Riverine. Bianca Bluedust and Renita Diabreao stood at the helm of their respective squads, their rise to the esteemed Expert Rank a testament to their dedication and the Rank-up Programs organized by the guild. Though smaller in numberpared to other guilds, the White Raven Guild had invested heavily in their members, allowing them to unlock their true potential. Among the ranks of the guild stood a figure who held a dual role, both leader and lone warrior. He had forsaken the need for a dedicated squad, dering himself self-sufficient. When it came to the war between the kingdoms, he needed no other. Known by his official title, Grimdawn, allies and enemies alike recognized his formidable presence. Surrounded by Layos'' Rankers, Eren found himself amid a battle formation crafted solely for him. He surveyed the elves who encircled him, his gaze narrowing with a hint of apprehension. Yet, within moments, his frown gave way to a knowing smile as his eyes settled on the opposing squad leader. There was a mischievous glimmer in his eyes as he bowed before his adversaries, a light chuckle escaping his lips. "Ah, a battle formation crafted exclusively for my sake?" Eren''s voice resonated with casual confidence. His smile danced at the corner of his lips, a yful edge in his tone. "I''m honored," Grimdawn said without any apprehension in his voice. ''Eren, do you require assistance? Shall I redirect a squad to your location?'' Karl Riverine''s voice echoed through themunication channel, filled with genuine concern upon learning that Eren had been forcibly teleported away from the main battlefield. His words carried the weight of amander who valued the safety of his allies. ''No need, Uncle Karl. In fact, this separation works to my advantage. It makes my job a bit easier," Eren''s voice exuded confidence and reassurance, putting Karl''s worries at ease. Trusting in Eren''s capabilities, Karl relinquished his inquiries and focused on his own critical duel against Isen Osan, a notorious traitor who had defied death''s grasp time and again. Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, the leader of the opposing squad fixated her gaze upon Grimdawn, her beautiful features both captivating and sinister. Her light blue skin contrasted with fiery red eyes, while her ck hair cascaded down her back. She belonged to the elusive night elf race, a captivating enigma in its own right. With a mixture of fascination and cruelty in her eyes, she tantalizingly licked her lips, a gesture that carried an air of seduction but betrayed her true intentions toward Eren. As she bowed before him, her movement revealing a provocative disy of cleavage, it became apparent that her desires were far from romantic in nature. "Hehehe. It is my honor as well to finally cross paths with you, Grimdawn. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lysa," she dered, her voiceced with a mix of amusement and determination. Meanwhile, with amanding tone, she ryed her instructions to her squad through the voicemunication channel, ensuring they remained alert and prepared.I think you should take a look at Lysa understood all too well that even with the sessful implementation of their battle formation, their safety could never be guaranteed. Her opponent, Grimdawn, was a force to be reckoned withan entity whose Individuality had surpassed all expectations. Eren''s sheer prowess made him a formidable adversary, capable of holding his own against a multitude of Rankers, even when faced with less honorable tactics and overwhelming odds. Lysa had been given explicit orders: eliminate Grimdawn at any cost. She understood the stakes and was even permitted to sacrifice her squad members as coteral if it meant finally bringing an end to Eren. "No need to waste any more time. Let us settle this swiftly, Miss Lysa," Eren motioned for Lysa to engage him, his index finger pointing towards her in a taunting gesture. In the blink of an eye, a pair of katars materialized in his hands, his trusted weaponsthe lethal Dicerros set. "Go," Lysamanded, her focus on controlling the battle formation. Standing within a runic circle that served as the guiding eye of their tactical formation, she understood that facing Grimdawn head-on might not be the most prudent strategy. Instead, she sought to utilize the avable resources wisely, ensuring every advantage was exploited in their quest to dispose of Eren. As the battle raged within the confines of the formidable battle formation, Eren swiftly grasped its true nature. It became evident that this particr formation granted his opponents a significant advantage, multiplying the potency of their physical attacks tenfold. Their enhanced stats and fortified defenses allowed them to engage Eren in a fierce contest, steadily inflicting injuries upon him. However, a crucial stiption within the formation restricted both Eren and his adversaries from utilizing their elemental spells, a deliberate move to neutralize Eren''s mastery of his elements. The elves, well aware of the depth of Eren''s elemental attainments, sought to level the ying field. Which was ironic, considering elves were usually the ones with more profound elemental attainments than their human adversaries. Within the enclosed space, the sh of weapons echoed, and the air became thick with the scent of blood as both sides exchanged heavy blows. With each passing moment, Eren realized the level of preparation and nning that Lysa and her teammates had undertaken. The odds were stacked against him within the battle formation, their relentless assault pushing him to the brink of exhaustion and impeding his ability to effectively counter their attacks. Yet, in a moment of respite, Eren seized the opportunity to employ his unique AbilityInstant Reset. With a snap of his fingers, the fabric of reality warped, mending his battered form within mere moments. His appearance, bloodied and unyielding, exuded a dangerous aura as he fixed his unwavering gaze upon his opponents, devoid of any discernible emotions. "A good fight. Worthy adversaries. It''s time to put something to the test," Grimdawn murmured to himself, a hint of excitement in his voice. Drawing upon his umted experiences from the past nine years, he summoned a Hex gear specifically crafted to harness the power of his Sin Series mana and multiple sses. Bear''s Hex Gear + Berserker ss + Wrath Mana. === AN: Eren ns to manufacture Hex gear sets in chapter 1225. Chapter 1359 Origins Of The Hex Artifacts ? As Eren delved deeper into the secrets of Anfang''s past and immersed himself in the intricacies of Hex gear manufacturing, arger picture began to emerge before him. Like assembling the fragments of a grand tapestry, Eren''s understanding expanded, revealing theplex power struggle between divine and demonic forces that shaped the world of Anfang in the past. Thanks to Alephee, Eren was already aware that Hexers, the mana-harnessing entities, were not confined to Anfang alone. They thrived across multiple worlds, standing as prominent figures within their respective realms. These extraordinary beings possessed unique battle styles that were shaped by the teachings of their specific Hexer creeds. Central to the identity of Hexers was their gear and weapons, vitalponents that bolstered their physical capabilities and harmonized with their individual Hexes. Among the diverse creeds of Hexers, seven stood out prominently: The Crane''s Creed, The Cat''s Creed, The Eagle''s Creed, The Bear''s Creed, The Snake''s Creed, The Scorpio''s Creed, and The Wolf''s Creed. These distinct creeds and their practitioners could be found not only within the pre-cmity-Anfang but across various demon-infested worlds. It astonished Eren to learn that gods themselves had created these Hexers, bestowing upon them the power to counter demons and protect their realms by granting them Hex gear. They then shared the knowledge of creating Hex gear with their faiths, resulting in the mass production of Hex gear. In addition to the demonic nes, Eren also discovered the existence of divine nes. These ethereal realms were inhabited by formidable entities known as gods, revered and worshiped by those who believed in their divine authority. Had Eren been born before the Cmity War, he would have encountered a multitude of demonic and divine faiths, often referred to as cults, that influenced the beliefs and actions of people across different worlds. Eren understood the inherent advantage of demonic practitioners, their mastery of intent-based demonic magic, which amplified their spells and abilities to formidable levels. Unlike other mana-harnessing entities, those blessed by demons possessed direct ess to intent-based magic, making them a formidable challenge for regr Rankers, Evokers, Body Cultivators, Soulweavers, and Elementalists. To counter the influence of demonic forces, Hex magic was bestowed upon devout followers by the gods. This sacred magic empowered them with intent-based powers. The creation of Hex gear was specifically aimed at countering the unleashed powers of awakened demonic practitioners, as only intent-based magic could effectively rival intent-based magic. Throughout history, the records emphasized the consequences of wielding demonic powers, highlighting their potential for profound transformation and rebirth. However, they warned of the dangers inherent in embracing these tempting powers, often resulting in the formation of Faustian Contracts. Such contracts allowed demons to manifest in the mortal nes, igniting fierce conflicts between divine and demonic forces. Given the streamlined ess to intent-based magic granted to demonic practitioners, it was no surprise that many regr mana-harnessing entities were drawn to its allure. Struggling to advance in their own paths of power, they sought the extraordinary potential offered by demon magic. Interestingly, those influenced by demonic magic were unable to serve as followers of the divine forces. To empower their devout followers in the fight against demonic practitioners, the gods sought a solution that would protect and nourish their divine faiths. However, most gods hesitated to directly involve themselves with mortals due to their own reasons. Taking inspiration from Elder Seed Artifacts, they devised the creation of Hex gear. In certain worlds, Hex artifacts were even referred to as pseudo-Elder Seed Artifacts, as they operated on the principles of intent-based magic, just like their ancient counterparts.I think you should take a look at As Eren delved into the true history of Anfang, he discovered that the gods, despite their divine status, had their limitations. They did not directly engage inbat with the demonic forces but instead empowered their devoted followers by bestowing them with Hex gears, enabling them to confront and battle these malevolent entities. Elder Seed Artifacts could be used to count the demonic forces. But they were exceptionally rare, to the extent that one could search countless worlds without finding a single trace of them. These artifacts possessed an elusive nature and the ability to conceal themselves as ordinary objects when desired. Even gods and demons coveted these elusive treasures, making it impossible for the gods to distribute them to their followers. Eren also uncovered the truth that the gods were unable to create exact replicas of the Elder Seed Artifacts. The simple reality was that they could not do so. As a result, the Hex artifacts, often referred to as pseudo-Elder Seed Artifacts, were conceived as an attempt to replicate the process. One could say that without the crucialponent of the Elder Ichor Bloodline, the artifacts created by the followers of the gods could only be Hex artifacts. While the Hex artifacts were based on the principles of the Elder Seed Artifacts and granted ess to intent-based magic for ordinary individuals, they could only tap into a fraction of the immense power possessed by the original Elder Seed artifacts. Despite this limitation, the various cults of gods recognized the potential of the Hex artifacts in their ongoing struggle against the demonic forces. Consequently, these artifacts were mass-produced and distributed among the followers of the gods, serving as a means to safeguard their faiths. Although the Hex artifacts paled inparison to the true Elder Seed Artifacts, they were rtively easier to create and distribute, making them a favorable choice for the gods to bestow upon their devoted followers. In the era before the Cmity War in Anfang, Hexers were highly sought after by various kingdoms and organizations, as they possessed the ability tobat awakened demonic practitioners that posed a threat to their existence. The Hexers proved to be invaluable assets for these factions, ying a vital role in their struggles against the forces of darkness. As time passed, the Hexers underwent a transformation, moving away from their divine origins and consolidating into a unified organization. However, as they became more entrenched in their individual creeds, they began to view themselves less as a cohesive whole and more as distinct factions within the Hexermunity. This shift in perspective led to increasedpetition and rivalry among the various creeds as each vied for recognition and opportunities. The fiercepetition between the Hexers'' Creeds allowed the Hexers to focus on harnessing their talents and taking on subjugation contracts against the demonic forces. Unfortunately, as time passed, certain Hexers'' Creeds deviated from their core principles and sumbed to the allure of demon magic. They sought to enhance the potency of their Hex magic by delving into forbidden practices. This led to conflicts and internal strife among the Hexers'' Creeds, escting into a full-scale war involving both divine and demonic forces. This conflict reached its peak during the period of the Cmity War. Chapter 1360 Elder Seed Artifacts Vs Hex Artifacts ? Time possessed a transformative power capable of altering the very fabric of any world, given a sufficient duration. It was ironic that some Hexers, originally tasked withbating the insidious presence of demons, sumbed to the lure of personal gain and strayed from their noble purpose. In their quest for power and wealth, they exploited their Hex magic, betraying the essence of its creation. As a consequence, these wayward Hexers became entangled with ndestine underground organizations, participating in ethically questionable activities that tarnished the reputation of the entire Hexermunity. The resulting internal conflicts among the various Hexers'' Creeds further eroded unity and trust, leaving the prospect of establishing a united front increasingly elusive. During this tumultuous period, Anfang descended into chaos. Matters worsened when the Titans invaded the world, intensifying the already dire situation. As a result, the credibility of the Hexers in Anfang was significantly diminished, prompting many kingdoms to rely on ordinary rankers inrge numbers tobat the threats within their borders. The use of multi-ss-based squads became prevalent, allowing for more efficient handling of various challenges. The creation of Hex gear was a direct response to the demonic forces. As such, it was designed to be ipatible with demonic rankers. However, a peculiar discovery urred when the half-blood forces acquired Hex gear. They found themselves exceptionallypatible with the Hex gear, experiencing a significant Hex amplification of their powerspared to regr rankers. The half-blood forces, while not being true demons, had bloodline connections to these demonic beings. Their unique status as demonkin allowed them easy ess to both divine and demonic magic, as their mortal vessels were receptive to both forms of power. This dualpatibility granted the half-bloods tremendous advantages and the potential to tip the scales in any conflict, leading to resentment from regr Rankers within Anfang. The half-blood forces, despite being relegated to the shadows by the Anfang Alliance following the Cmity War, held on to their knowledge of Hex gear creation. But after Edgar showed himself out in the open, their struggle against oppression started once again. It propelled them out of the shadows and into the forefront of the battle. Naturally, they saw fit to ce mass production orders for Eren to fulfill. The time for concealment had passed, and they were determined to utilize the power of Hex gear to confront their oppressors directly. There was no longer any reason to refrain from employing Hex gear in their fight for freedom. *** The simrities between Elder Seed Artifacts and Hex Artifactsy in their shared ssification as spiritual artifacts, operating on the principles of intent-based magic. Hex Artifacts, often referred to as pseudo-Elder Seed Artifacts, were created by deities and their followers in an attempt to replicate the essence of the true Elder Artifacts. While Hex Artifacts possessed significant growth potential, they were limited by the absence of a crucialponent in their creationthe Elder Ichor blood. Eren''s curiosity led him to inquire about producing Elder Seed Artifacts, considering his own Elder Ichor bloodline. However, Alephee cautioned him, exining that crafting Elder Seed Artifacts was a far moreplex endeavor than creating Hex gear.I think you should take a look at Even crafting Hex Artifacts required substantial skill and experience, which Eren currentlycked. Alephee humorously remarked that Eren would need to be reborn just to learn the basics of such high-level artifact forging and gain the necessary experience. Instead, Alephee advised Eren to focus on honing his skills in crafting Hex artifacts first. She emphasized that mastering the creation of transcendent-grade artifacts would be a crucial step in his journey. While transcendent-grade artifacts didn''t rely on intent-based magic, they had the unique ability to grow alongside their wielders through the bonding of a mortal soul residing within the weapon. This bond was solidified by the wielder''s blood. By employing traditional methods and materials, a skilled weaponsmith could bind souls of various origins to the artifacts, transforming them into weapon spirits. This integration of weapon spirits and the transcendent-grade weapons allowed both the weapon and the embedded beast soul to evolve in tandem with the wielder''s progression. Baelin''s decision to create transcendent-grade artifacts before attempting Spiritual Artifacts was deliberate. He ensured that the weapons he crafted were capable of hosting a soul through the use of Soul Seed Insertion. Baelin then bound the soul of a recently in wyvern to the transcendent-grade weapon, utilizing Shallot''s Mirror in the process. Through careful adjustments to the magical runes and meticulous fine-tuning, the dormant soul within the weapon was awakened, transforming it into a spiritual artifact. Transcendent-grade artifacts could be seen as a bridge between regr artifacts and spiritual artifacts. While Hex Artifacts represented failed attempts at creating Elder Seed Artifacts, transcendent-grade artifacts could be regarded as an oue of iplete Hex Artifact production, possessing unique qualities and characteristics. The majority of transcendent-grade artifacts housed dormant consciousness, which remained inactive most of the time. However, their unique connection to spiritual energy allowed these artifacts to amodate Rankers of various statuses. Take, for instance, Eren''s acquisition of the transcendent-grade artifact, Ogre Lord''s Labrys, during the Titus tournament. Within this weapon resided the slumbering soul of a formidable entity. As Eren advanced in rank and entered the Expert Rank, the runic details etched upon the Labrys spontaneously shifted, aligning the weapon with his current level. This transformation not only enhanced Eren''s proficiency in wielding the artifact but also personalized it to suit his specific needs, courtesy of the weapon spirit''s subconscious adjustments. While alternative weaponsmith techniques existed to bypass the creation of transcendent-grade artifacts in order to derive Hex artifacts, their sess rate remained considerably low. Crafting transcendent-grade artifacts provided a more viable path for Eren as an aspiring artifact forgerpared to directly producing Hex artifacts. Bymencing with the crafting of transcendent-grade artifacts, Eren gradually umted the necessary expertise, allowing him to advance step by step. Ultimately, he achieved a level of mastery where he sessfully forged Hex artifacts out of every ten attempts, which was considered a remarkable sess rate. Chapter 1361 [Bonus ] Discovery Of An Elder Seed Artifact On Anfang ? In the recorded history of Anfang, there was a noticeable absence of any information regarding Elder Seed Artifacts. Eren could only surmise that such artifacts simply did not exist or had not been discovered and recognized within Anfang. However, when the time was right, Alephee provided Eren with some crucial insights to fill in the gaps. She exined that the general poption of any world typically remained oblivious to the existence of Elder Artifacts, their true power, and how to locate them. Instead, these artifacts were often associated with their previous owners, who were empowered by them and left an indelible mark on the history of their respective worlds. Consequently, the Elder Artifacts became synonymous with the influential figures who possessed them. Having acquired privileged information over the course of nine years, Eren became aware of many things that were unknown to most members of the Anfang Alliance. It was through this knowledge that he recognized Shallot''s Mirror''s extraordinariness when he witnessed its operation in Baelin''s weaponsmithy. The mirror followed the trend often observed with Elder Seed Artifacts, where a person named Shallot, the previous owner, had harnessed its powers to forge a renowned reputation within Anfang''s history. As a result, Shallot''s name became synonymous with the mirror among the people of Anfang. Eren quickly deduced that Shallot''s Mirror was indeed an Elder Seed Artifact, surpassing the initial recognition of its power. He realized that Baelin''s utilization of the mirror to craft spiritual artifacts was merely scratching the surface of its true capabilities. Naturally, Eren had no intention of disclosing his discovery to La. She believed that Shallot''s Mirror was solely a remarkable transcendent-grade artifact with potential for the Lazarus Project. Eren intended to maintain this perception and keep Shallot''s Mirror for his own purposes, even beyond thepletion of the Lazarus Project. Everything started making sense to Eren as he unraveled the history andplexities surrounding the Hex gear. He realized that Anfangcked such depth and diversity in the current era. Nevertheless, he understood that this knowledge would prove invaluable once he ventured beyond Anfang''s clutches and explored other worlds. *** Uponmencing the Lazarus Project, Eren dedicated the initial three years to familiarize himself with the fundamentals of Hex artifacts and their intricacies. Soon, he realized that supplying the half-blood forces with Hex artifacts associated with the seven main Hex Creeds was impractical. The requirements for producing such artifacts were excessively stringent, resulting in high production costs and low sess rates. This rendered them unsuitable for mass production. In response, Eren embarked on a journey of experimentation, modifying the transcendent-grade artifacts themselves. Concurrently, he absorbed and internalized Sebastian Slughorn''s experiences, making them his own. Through this process, he discovered a unique approach to mass-producing Hex artifacts utilizing supplementary potions exclusive to his production method. As a result, Eren devised his own innovative Hex artifacts, inspired by the ssics, specifically tailored for the half-blood forces. However, Eren opted for a more authentic approach when it came to crafting his own unique Hex artifacts. He dedicated several years to refining these variants, ensuring that they were tailored specifically for his personal use. Every aspect, from their design and runic engravings to their manapatibility and the intensity of Hex amplifications, was meticulously fine-tuned. Furthermore, Eren made novel modifications to make the artifactspatible with his various sses. With these custom Hex artifacts, Eren was confident in unlocking the true potential of his multi-ss advantage. The transition between sses would be smoother, as each Hex artifact catered to different aspects and battle styles associated with the specific sses.I think you should take a look at Even the most subtle details held significance when it came to intent-based magic. They influenced the runic engravings and the resulting Hex Amplification produced by the artifacts. For instance, Eren selected a Hex artifact from the Bear''s Creed for his Berserker ss and Wrath mana. The creation of a Bear''s Creed Artifact necessitated a soul from a bear-type mana beast, which spiritually aligned with the Wrath mana and berserker ss. While thepatibility may not have been perfect, it was substantial enough to yield satisfactory results. Since the Hex artifacts Eren created for himself were genuine spiritual artifacts rooted in intent-based magic, they naturally harmonized with his Soul Sense. This meant that Eren instinctively employed his Soul Sense, infused with Spiritual Force, whenever he wielded these artifacts. Although Eren had refined the design of his Hex artifacts numerous times, they still possessed minor ws in their manufacturing process that impacted their stability. However,pared to the Hex artifacts he had produced for the half-blood forces, his personal creations for his own use were vastly superior. They represented the pinnacle of his skill as an Artifact Forger and showcased his unique Individuality, impressing even Alephee with their exceptional performance. The low-grade Hex artifacts crafted for the half-blood forces had already prompted Edinburgh to initiate mass production of spiritual artifacts. If Grandmaster Baelin were to discover the true capabilities of his apprentice Leo, it would shatter his perception of centuries of work, leaving him traumatized and questioning the purpose of his own endeavors. As Eren delved deeper into the realms of Elder Seed Artifacts, Hex Artifacts, and intent-based magic, he became increasingly aware of the vastness of his own ignorance. Despite his significant progress and personal achievements, he humbly acknowledged that he had merely skimmed the surface of this boundless discipline. Intent-based magic defied simplisticprehension and could not be fully grasped through mere logic or a few years of experimentation. In agreement with Alephee, Eren realized that he might need to embark on countless journeys across different worlds and live multiple lives in order to unlock the true potential of wielding intent-based magic to its utmost capacity. One of the greatest advantages of utilizing Hex artifacts was their unique ability to avoid leaving behind regr residual mana signatures. This distinct characteristic allowed Eren to freely tap into his Sin Series Mana and seamlessly transition between different sses without the fear of being perceived as a demonic ranker or cultist. Unsurprisingly, this feature greatly appealed to the half-blood forces, as it made their movements virtually untraceable by any means avable to Edinburgh. === AN: I have tried to provide aprehensive overview of Hex Artifacts in these chapters, and I believe further boration may not be necessary. However, for those genuinely interested in delving deeper into their understanding or witnessing their capabilities firsthand, I would highly rmend reading "Infinite Mana In The Oasis." I''ll release two extra chapters tomorrow, along with the regr releases, to get us back on track. :) Chapter 1362 An Unbearable Bear Attack ? Subjugating Grimdawn was no easy task. Having thoroughly perused numerous battlefield reports on Eren, Lysa, the night elf, was already acquainted with his formidable powers. Thus, she remained unfazed when he effortlessly employed Instant Reset to heal his injuries inflicted by her team. Recognizing the endurance required for this arduous battle, Lysa maintained confidence that toppling Grimdawn was an achievable feat with her team''s unwavering determination. Yet, just as she contemted reengaging Eren, a peculiar surge of mana emanated from him, alerting Lysa to halt her teammates'' actions. With wary eyes, she observed as Eren adorned his Hex artifact before her. The Bear''s Hex,bined with the Berserker ss and Wrath Mana: With the activation of runic tattoos adorning his chest, symbolizing the face of a roaring bear, Eren''s entire body became enveloped in a metallic suit. Though possessing the durability and sheen akin to conventional armor, the ckened ting exuded an unexpected flexibility akin to supple leather. The crimson glow of the runic engravings shimmered, pulsating with the coursing Wrath mana. The Bear''s Hex gear included specially crafted arm guards, leg guards, and shoulder guards. Eren''s footwear also transformed, transitioning from leather shoes tobat boots with a metallicposition, prioritizing stability and solidity over ease of movement. The alterations in Eren''s presence extended beyond mere visual changes. Effortlessly shifting his ss, he seamlessly assumed the role of a berserker. The countless hours devoted to training his mana circuits under Alephee''s guidance yielded fruit, enabling him to seamlessly transition between Ranking sses. Upon adopting the Berserker ss, Eren''s stature expanded, adding at least half a foot to his already considerable height. His muscture became more pronounced, swelling in both size and definition, presenting an intimidating, testosterone-charged physique. The Bear''s Creed armor effortlessly amodated these physical changes as the Wrath mana coursed through its intricate runic patterns. The Diceros Set katars that Eren once wielded vanished, reced by a substantial Labrys, a formidable and imposing weapon. This was the very Labrys he had acquired during the Tirus tournament, albeit modified over the course of nine years, awakening the slumbering Weapon Spirit within and transforming it into a potent Hex artifact. In a blink of an eye, Eren seamlessly transitioned from a discreet closebatant to a formidable and awe-inspiring berserker. The witnesses stood in stunned silence, rendered immobile by the sudden transformation. Eren''s presence underwent a dramatic shift, leaving Lysa and her teammates utterly shocked and uncertain, their gazes darting between each other to validate what they were witnessing. "What what the fuck are you?" With a wariness in her voice, Lysa cautiously addressed Eren, struggling toprehend the unprecedented level of threat emanating from him. This astonishing transformation went beyond anything she had encountered in the reports concerning Eren. The previously held confidence in easily defeating him crumbled before her eyes. Lysa and herpanions found themselves grappling with the enigma that stood before them. The revtion of Hex Artifacts had only recently reached the general popce of Anfang, and the unique creations that Eren had fashioned for himself remained shrouded in mystery. These artifacts defied conventional understanding, eluding easyprehension even through the use of Mana Sense. Consequently, Eren''s presence became even more elusive and perplexing to his adversaries.I think you should take a look at "I am what I need to be," Eren replied, his grip tightening on the Labrys as he deftly swung it through the air, producing distinct, cutting sounds. His entire bodynguage underwent a profound transformation following his transition to the berserker ss. He exuded an air of caution andposure as if he were prepared to handle any threat that crossed his path. It was evident that he had grown less inclined to engage in an up-and-personal brawl with his opponents. His weapon carried a resolute Weapon Intent as if silently promising to cleave through any obstacle obstructing Eren''s path. Eager to put his newly acquired mastery of the weapon and his transformed state to the test, Eren didn''t allow Lysa to make her move. Having field-tested his Hex gear numerous times against dummy opponents, he now faced real adversaries. An unmistakable gleam of excitement appeared on his face as he smiled, confidently advancing toward the nearest enemy, relying solely on his physical prowess. With each thunderous step, Eren left deep imprints on the ground, seemingly bearing the weight of a hundredfold. Despite this tremendous increase in mass, he moved with remarkable agility, leaping forward andnding not far from his nearest adversary. Having tapped into the power of Wrath mana, Eren had fully embraced the berserker mode. The sheer physical force behind his movements and weapon swings surpassed anything he had previously disyed. As he skillfully manipted his Labrys, he unleashed a flurry of airborne shes using the Axe Arts he had acquired from the Amazonian Settlements, the very same techniques employed by Galen. Of course, Eren had introduced his own changes to it to suit his needs and battle style. A storm of crimson shes materialized around Eren, swirling in a rapid tempest as he executed his unique Weapon Arts. In a fraction of a second, this de storm coalesced and expanded, hurtling toward his opponent at an astonishing speed. It was an attack impossible to ignore, as it appeared to assail the enemy from all directions simultaneously. Swoosh. Zoom. nk. A pained cry pierced through the battlefield as Eren''s Wrath-mana-infused shes found their mark. The weapon attack effortlessly sliced through the opponent''s shield-like artifact and mana-enhanced defenses, severing the arm gripping the shield. All of this urred while Eren remained a considerable distance of 30 meters away. It became evident that his mid-range assault possessed such potency that it surpassed the limitations imposed by the battle formation. "Aaaah. Stop him!" Lysa''s voice reverberated, shattering the silence that had enveloped her. Finally emerging from her stunned state, she resumed hermand over the battle formation, determined to mount a counteroffensive against Eren. Yet, Eren proved to be an unstoppable tempest, his onught tearing through the defenses of Lysa''srades. The night elf could only watch with growing dread and horror as Eren''s Hex gear, and Labrys became drenched in a macabre symphony of his enemies'' blood. Chapter 1363 Beastly Fury ? Eren stood firm in the face of his adversaries, a total of nine opponents, including the formidable Lysa. They moved with precision and disyed remarkable teamwork, coordinating their attacks to create a seamless flow of offense and defense. Each opponent supported one another, skillfully covering theirrades and alternating their positions to maintain a relentless assault on Eren. Lysa, utilizing her expertise in battle formations, bolstered the defenses of her teammates who dared to engage Eren directly. This came at a cost, weakening those who were forced to remain in the defensive position. Two of Eren''s enemies donned sturdy armor, reinforced byyers of mana defense granted by the battle formation. They stood as a formidable front, determined to withstand Eren''s onught. Meanwhile, the remaining adversaries unleashed a barrage of mid-range and long-range attacks. Eren found himself engulfed in a storm of flying weapon shes, apanied by a volley of arrows released from crossbows and bows. It seemed as though he was being drenched in a torrent of diverse and potent assaults from every direction. Eren''s Wrath mana surged forth, its malevolent energy infecting any opponent unfortunate enough toe into contact with it. The wounds inflicted by Eren''s Labrys festered, the Wrath mana wreaking havoc within their bodies, disrupting their mana circuits in a relentless assault. It was only because of the battle formation that they could put up such a fight against Eren even after he had worn the Hex gear. Despite the onught, Eren''s Hex armor remained impregnable, deflecting and absorbing multiple powerful attacks. However, the sheer force behind the relentless strikes, amplified by the battle formation''s buffing effect, began to take its toll on Eren. The armor, though sturdy, started to yield, inflicting blunt force injuries upon him. With each intensified blow, Eren''s form underwent a profound transformation. This was when the butcher decided to wake up the Hex spirit within the gear. A spectral manifestation of arge red bear materialized, lending an air of primal danger to his already imposing presence. It was as if Eren himself had be a fearsome mana beast, ready to unleash untamed fury upon his adversaries. As the crimson-red bear''s soul surged within, a resounding roar echoed from the depths of Eren''s being, reverberating through the battlefield. The presence of the bear''s essence permeated his consciousness, melding with his own identity. Aware of the influence of the Hex Artifact, Eren willingly relinquished control of his body, allowing the primal instincts of the bear''s soul to guide his movements on the field. With a swift flicker, the Labrys in Eren''s hands vanished, reced by the imposing sight of his transformed bear paws. His once-human nails extended into lethal bear ws, gleaming with a crimson hue that hinted at their deadly purpose. Each w spanned a meter in length, resembling naked des honed for battle. As the spectral form of the bear materialized more tangibly, Eren''s stature expanded, his size once again transcending his previous boundaries. He felt a peculiar detachment, as if he had switched to autopilot while piloting a flying artifact.I think you should take a look at It was an otherworldly sensation as if he had be a foreigner in his own body while simultaneously embracing the feral instincts that surged through his veins. With each step, Eren''s movements mirrored those of arge and menacing red bear prowling the domain of Lysa''s battle formation. The bellowing roar that erupted from the bear''s throat reverberated through the air, rattling the eardrums of Eren''s adversaries. The sheer power imbued within his mana-infused voice was enough to send shockwaves of terror coursing through the hearts of those unfortunate enough to stand in his path. The battlefield quaked beneath the weight of this transformed being, a creature driven by instinct, determination, and the fierce power of the crimson-red bear. As Eren closed in on his opponents, a primal aura enveloped him, an unyielding force that would bring about a tempest of destruction upon those who dared to stand against him. The sh of his ws against armor and the reverberating roars filled the battlefield, leaving an indelible mark on the memories of all who witnessed this fearsome spectacle. The ground beneath quaked, yielding to the relentless onught of the bear''s thunderous charge. With unstoppable momentum, the colossal creature closed the distance, closing in on an opponent who desperately sought escape. In a disy of immense strength, the bear effortlessly seized the man by the back of his neck, its grip unyielding. With lightning-quick precision, the bear''s free handunched a ferocious assault upon the man''s exposed back, its razor-sharp ws slicing through flesh and sinew with chilling ease. A shrill cry pierced the air as the bear''s ws cleaved through the man''s body, akin to a hot knife effortlessly cutting through butter, rending him asunder. Yet, even after the victim''s death, the bear''s relentless fury persisted, undeterred by the lifeless form it held. Ignoring the onught of attacks raining upon its crimson fur, the bear continued its brutal assault, undeterred by pain or hesitation. With primal strength, the bear seized the mangled body, tearing the head from its shattered frame. With a fearsome disy of power, the severed head became a projectile, hurtling through the air with unimaginable force, creating a thunderous boom that reverberated through the battlefield. The gruesome impact struck its intended target, piercing flesh and tearing through the man''s abdomen, leaving behind a gaping hole of devastation. Still consumed by its relentless bloodlust, the red bear showed no signs of satiation. Summoning the Labrys once more, it deftly wielded the massive weapon with a single hand, disying an uncanny mastery that transcended its bestial form. Unlike Eren, the bear executed the intricate maneuvers of the Axe Arts effortlessly, its free hand ready for swift and calcted maneuvers, adding an element of agility and adaptability to its already overwhelming might. A chilling aura of horror gripped Lysa''s heart as she bore witness to the gruesome spectacle unfolding before her eyes. The red bear, now an embodiment of relentless savagery, unleashed its devastating power upon her hapless teammates. It was as if the attacks that had once troubled Eren were now rendered utterly futile against the wrathful beast. Either that or the red bear simply disregarded the pain inflicted upon it, pressing on with its relentless assault. Chapter 1364 Repercussions Of Using The Hex Artifacts ? In a disy of unparalleled brutality, the red bear tore into its opponents with a ferocity that defied all reason. Its razor-sharp ws ravaged their bodies, rending flesh and crushing bones with ruthless precision. With the Labrys in its grip, the red bear swung the mighty weapon, severing limbs and cleaving through torsos with horrifying ease. Driven by a maddening frenzy, the red bear resorted to macabre tactics of dismemberment and desecration. It forcibly pinned one enemy''s leg to the ground, then mercilessly tore his other limb in the opposite direction as if tearing through fragile parchment. With an appalling twist, the red bear yanked an enemy''s arm from its socket, transforming it into a gruesome gpole that it ruthlessly thrust down the throat of another hapless foe. The sheer speed and force behind these acts left the enemies defenseless, unable to prevent their own grim fate. Amidst the chaos, some of Eren''s dying enemies met their end swiftly as the bear''s lethal strikes found their mark on vital spots. Others, less fortunate, found themselves trapped in a maelstrom of agony, their screams and curses mingling with the wails of anguish. The red bear''s once-menacing eyes zed with an even fiercer intensity as the Wrath mana seamlessly integrated with its very essence, transforming it into an unstoppable force of unfathomable brutality. The insatiable hunger for blood consumed the red bear, driving it to unleash an onught of carnage upon its enemies. Blood rained down, sttering the battlefield with crimson hues, while organsy scattered like hunting trophies. As the merciless disy of violence continued, only four adversaries remained, including Lysa, their faces contorted with terror. In a stunning turn of events, the battle formation shattered due to theck of Rankers required to support it, crumbling beneath the weight of the red bear''s ruthless onught. The once-organized domain now dispersed, leaving Lysa paralyzed with fear. Never before had she borne witness to such unfathomable carnage. She had believed that only the infamous Osan Woods'' Butcher, whose reports she had read, possessed the capacity for such brutality. Little did she anticipate that an aristocratic figure like Eren Idril could transform this war-tornndscape into a canvas drenched in the blood of his enemies. Fear coursing through her veins, Lysa made a desperate choice. She turned and fled, leaving her remainingrades to face the maddened beast in her stead. Yet, her hope of evading the red bear''s wrath proved to be in vain. With merciless efficiency, the red bear dispatched the defeated opponents who had surrendered their will to fight, and their courage extinguished. Lysa''s scream of terror pierced the air as she scrambled for safety. But in the blink of an eye, her moist eyes widened in horror, for the red bear now stood before her, an indomitable force of brutality. With a thunderous roar that rattled her very soul, the red bear''s menacing presence shattered herposure. Lysa''s trembling form copsed,nding heavily on the ground. Panic consumed her as she frantically sought escape, her feeble attempts to distance herself from the bear only resulting in a desperate, undignified scramble on all fours. "Help! He... he..." Lysa''s voice quivered with terror as she pleaded for salvation, her pleas echoing through the deste battlefield.I think you should take a look at As Eren''s intent permeated the battlefield, the effects of his overwhelming presence were not limited to physical injuries. Lysa, although unharmed in body, found herself profoundly impacted on a spiritual level. Her slumbering soul had been exposed to the sheer dominance of Eren''s intent, leaving her devoid of any will to fight back. With each deliberate step, the menacing bear took toward the helpless Lysa, its form began to dissipate. In a fleeting moment, the Wrath mana that had shaped its monstrous figure dispersed into the air, leaving behind Eren''s weary countenance. Eren swiftly deactivated his Hex gear, causing it to vanish from sight, and his appearance returned to its previous state, reverting to the close expert ss as his body shrank back to its normal proportions. "Aaaargh... my head!" Eren grimaced, clutching his temples with both hands as he massaged away the throbbing ache that pounded within. The intensity of the headache threatened to erase the memories of his recent actions, despite his prior knowledge of this side effect. Gradually, Eren''s blurred vision cleared, allowing him to recall the events that transpired while wielding the Hex gear. However, he remained uncertain about the extent of his own agency in those acts, knowing the bear''s consciousness had also exerted its influence. "My Spiritual Force... Damn! It''s still insufficient for me to wield advanced Hex gear like this," Eren sighed, his realization of the cause behind the side effects sinking in. He now understood Alephee''s reservations in teaching him intent-based attacks and soul spells. His Spiritual Force needed significant elevation before he could harness the power of these Hex gears without such detrimental repercussions. As his vision fully restored, Eren''s gaze fell upon the blurred figure of Lysa, who crawled and screamed, her voice muffled by a mix of anguish and terror. She wed her way through the scattered remains of her fallenrades, her hands and knees stained with their blood. Her focus remained fixed on Eren''s solitary figure, her cries reaching an increasingly fevered pitch. Yet, as Lysa''s screams abruptly ceased, a chilling silence descended upon the battlefield. The cause of this abrupt stillness became apparent when Lysa''s head was cleanly severed from her neck, her body frozen in its crawling position, forever silenced by the merciless stroke. The ghastly act had been executed with precision and efficiency, the result of a simple strike from the deadly Purple Reaver, a weapon sh borne of Rigor Mortis. The difference between Eren''s powers and the collective force of Lysa''s entire team was so vast that Eren felt like he had kinda bullied his victims. Therefore, he offered Lysa an easy death as a form ofpensation. Eren''s mirthless smile hung from his lips as he surveyed the aftermath, his eyes cold and detached. The carnage that surrounded him, though reminiscent of a savage beast''s handiwork, also bore the unmistakable mark of his own distinctive style. Chapter 1365 Meeting The Mentor ? The scene, drenched in blood and scattered remains, was a grim reflection of the butcher''s true nature. His Individuality had been drawn out in the open by the use of the Hex gear. As Eren''s gaze fixated upon the haunting scene sprawled before him, a flicker of self-awareness surged through his thoughts, punctuating the gravity of the moment. Softly uttered, his words carried an air of introspection that echoed in the stillness. "There was more of me within that beast than I initially thought." Yet, the weight of his realization was abruptly interrupted by a mischievous feminine voice that pierced the air from behind Eren. "Hehe. I couldn''t agree more, Mr. Grimdawn." Before he could pivot to face the source, the lone female Ranker capitalized on his mental weariness, exploiting the opportunity to catch him off guard. With swift precision, she unleashed her formidable Ability upon him, making the most of his vulnerable state. Reverse Rain! *** Eren was an attentive student of the battlefield, drawing valuable lessons from each encounter. He found himself immersed in deep introspection as he assessed the toll that his utilization of the Bear''s Creed Hex Artifact had taken on his mental and physical well-being. With pitifully depleted mana reserves and an aching body that seemed to protest with every movement, he felt the aftermath of pushing his limits. Yet, it was the impact on his soul that resonated the strongest. Eren''s Spiritual Force had been drained to the point where even venturing into his Soul Space would reveal a deste void shrouded in a sparse amount of ethereal fog. The sparse mist represented the remnants of his diminished Spiritual Force, a stark reminder of the side effects manifesting as a pounding headache that permeated his entire being. Nevertheless, despite the mental fatigue weighing upon him, Eren''s thoughts remained lucid. He concluded from his experience with the Hex gear, acknowledging several crucial insights. Firstly, he couldn''t help but feel a sense of satisfaction at the sess of his Hex gear in the heat of actualbat against Lysa''s team. The brutal battle had served as an ideal proving ground, thoroughly testing the capabilities of his meticulously crafted artifacts. In this regard, he couldn''t have asked for better test subjects or a more controlled environment to scrutinize their performance. Secondly, Eren felt a profound sense of relief that he had chosen not to distribute these advanced Hex artifacts to the half-blood forces. If he had equipped them with such potent gears, it would have tipped the bnce of power too heavily in their favor. This was a risk he was unwilling to take, driven by both hisck of trust in the half-blood forces and the potential repercussions from the Anfang Alliance. Moreover, Eren contemted the possibility that the Hex amplification achieved by the half-bloods, when paired with the appropriate Hex gear aligned with their bloodline genesis, could surpass even his own advancements. He envisioned a synergistic effect, where the selection of a mana beast soul tailored to their individual heritage would unlock exponential Hex Amplification, propelling their prowess to unprecedented heights.I think you should take a look at Epiphany washed over Eren''s mind as he finallyprehended the fervent pursuit ofpatible Hex gears by the half-blood forces. The significance of these arcane artifacts became crystal clear to him, illuminating the path to unparalleled offensive and defensive prowess. The realization struck him with a jolt, unveiling the immense potential thaty dormant within the right kind of Hex gear. With their unique bloodline origins, the half-blood warriors possessed a profound opportunity to unleash theirtent powers and ascend to unprecedented levels of strength. Eren understood the far-reaching implications of such advancements, recognizing that they could potentially reshape the entirendscape of the ongoing conflict. It reinforced his conviction that he had made the right decision in safeguarding the advanced Hex artifacts for his personal use. Eren wanted to keep the status quo of the battle maintained so that he could reap benefits from it. Any scale-tipping move was detrimental to him and his business. And it would have been detrimental to the Lazarus Project as well, to arge extent. Eren''s heightened perception allowed him to discern the damage inflicted upon the bear''s soul as a consequence of their intense battle. It became evident to him that the soul of the bear, although formidable, was not entirelypatible with the ferocious currents of Wrath Mana, or at least not with his particr blend of it. This realization led him to deduce that the Hex gear he had crafted would only sustain its optimal functionality for two or three more uses before the bear''s soul would disintegrate irreparably. The strain inflicted upon the bear''s soul was a result of Eren''s still-imperfect utilization. He acknowledged that his manufacturing process for the Hex gear yed a part in this oue. Unlike regr Hex artifacts, which birthed the consciousness of weapons through various means, Eren''s modifications had fused multiple techniques, rendering the stability of his creationpromised. Furthermore,cking advanced tools like Shallot''s Mirror or Soul Seed Insertion Arrays, Eren had to rely on his own ingenuity, inevitably giving rise to anomalies in the process. Contemting the potential dissolution of the bear''s soul within his Hex gear, Eren''s mind swirled with thoughts of securing a suitable recement. The image of Baelin utilizing the soul of a wyvern to craft a formidable spiritual artifact lingered vividly in his memory. The notion of harnessing the raw power of a ferocious wyvern resonated deeply within him as he sensed the innatepatibility between such a creature and the currents of Wrath Mana. The prospect of obtaining a wyvern''s soul stirred a mixture of excitement and trepidation within Eren. The process of capturing and ying such a formidable beast would be no small feat, and the subsequent insertion of his own soul into the Hex gear would require careful mastery. Yet, driven by his unwavering ambition and the desire to push the boundaries of his craft, Eren feltpelled to embark on this audacious endeavor. *** Eren''s fatigued mind churned with a medley of thoughts as he surveyed the aftermath of the battle, his gaze shifting from the lifeless body of Lysa to the surrounding battlefield. In his weakened state, it was no surprise that someone from Layos'' faction had managed to close in on him unnoticed. Seizing the opportunity, she swiftly drove her dagger into his heart, aiming to end his life. Yet, as the de pierced his chest, an unexpected surge of power surged through Eren''s veins. The Sin Series Ability, inherent to his being, activated in response to the attack. Turning to face the female ranker, a chilling smile curled upon his lips, a mix of joy and determination shining in his eyes. "Keke. I have found you atst, Reva Rain," Eren spoke, his words dripping with a sense of cruel intentions. Chapter 1366 Reva Rains Turbulent Nine Years ? The past nine years had been an unrelenting trial for Reva Rain. Such was the case even within the confines of the kingdom of Layos, far from the grasp of Edinburgh''s influence. It was a period that pushed her to her limits, testing not only her physical endurance but also her mental fortitude. As time wore on, she found it increasingly challenging to maintain herposure and face the relentless obstacles that gued her existence. Assassination attempts had be an all too familiar urrence during these arduous years. Solo mercenaries and rogue Rankers, often operating in organized groups, relentlessly pursued her with the intent to end her life. Even obscure cultist organizations seemed to harbor an inexplicable vendetta against her,unching intermittent attacks that turned her life into a perpetual nightmare within the borders of Layos. It didn''t take long for Reva Rain to realize the orchestrator behind these relentless assaults was none other than Eren. Through painstaking investigation and interrogation of her would-be assassins, she uncovered the web of financial connections that traced back to him. Eren''s vast wealth provided him with the means to orchestrate these deadly assaults, even from a distance, ensuring that Reva lived in a state of constant fear and frustration. The hired assants Eren dispatched were carefully chosen, calcted to provoke her and fuel her frustration rather than deliver a fatal blow. It was evident that he derived twisted pleasure from tormenting her, promising to pay the mercenaries handsomely should they inadvertently seed in ending her life. Meaning he was fine even if his little game came to an abrupt end as well. Reva Rain, a skilled healer by her Ranking ss, possessed formidable powers such as Reverse Rain that made it near impossible for her to fall victim to Eren''s hired hands. However, the unrelenting stress of facing unknown forces at unknown times and ces took its toll on her consciousness. Each new attack added to the weight that burdened her mind, driving her perilously close to the edge of sanity. The fear of the unknown haunted her every waking moment, denying her the sce of peaceful slumber. Sleep became an elusive luxury for Reva, her nights gued by restlessness and perpetual vignce. Every creak, every rustle, heightened her senses, as she awaited the next ambush with trepidation. The umted toll of this ceaseless torment threatened to shatter her resolve, a constant battle against unseen adversaries that pushed her to the brink. In the shadows of her sleepless nights, Reva Rain yearned for respite, a moment of tranquility amidst the storm. She knew that to confront her tormentor, Eren, and break free from this cycle of fear, she would need to summon every ounce of her strength, resilience, and resourcefulness. The trials she faced had tested her resolve, but she refused to sumb to despair. There was a flicker of hope left within her and that was the reason for her restlessness. Reva''s frustration stemmed from more than just the relentless attacks she endured. There was a deep-seated dissatisfaction within her, rooted in her regression from the solid core stage of the Expert Rank to the vapor core stage. When she had crossed paths with Eren during his graduation ceremony, she had stood at the precipice of breaking into the revered Master rank.I think you should take a look at At that time, Reva was hailed as a prodigious Ranker, garnering admiration for her swift ascent to the Expert Rank. Her exceptional powers and rapid progress were fueled by the utilization of demonic rituals, propelling her to unimaginable heights and granting her dominance over her peers. She held a position of influence within the esteemed Escalon Guild, and her name reverberated through the masses of Edinburgh, bathed in glory and fame. Even the kingdom itself turned a blind eye to her dealings with mortals, acknowledging her value and indispensability. However, the tides turned when Reva betrayed Edinburgh, forsaking her previous home to join forces with Demonmir in the kingdom of Layos. It was meant to be a fresh start, a chance at redemption, but little did she foresee the interference that would gue her Faustian Contract. Almost immediately upon her arrival in Layos, Reva experienced a gradual regression in her ranking status. Confusion engulfed her as she struggled toprehend the cause of her sudden decline. Initially, she suspected the slumbering demon within her, intertwining its influence with her consciousness. However, she soon discovered that her assumptions were misced. Someone among her victims had managed to exploit a w within the Faustian Contract, reversing the flow of her progress. It was a loophole she had failed to foresee at the time of signing the contract, a miscalction that now haunted her. Reva''s frustration deepened as she grappled with the repercussions of her choices. The loss of her esteemed status and the erosion of her powers weighed heavily on her spirit. She yearned for answers, seeking to unravel theplexities of her predicament and reim the ground she had lost. Reva was left in a state of shock as she realized that there was an individual in Anfang beside Demonmir who possessed an intricate understanding of demonology. It was a revtion that struck her with a profound sense of unease and dread. What further shook her was the realization that this unknown party had executed their ns with such precision and thoroughness that she found herself utterly powerless to counter their actions. Helplessness gnawed at Reva''s core, leaving her teetering on the edge of desperation. She resorted to conducting numerous demonic rituals in a desperate attempt to mitigate the consequences of the Faustian Contract''s reversal. Yet, to her dismay, these efforts merely served to maintain her current rank at the expense of empowering her unknown adversaries. The kingdom of Layos soon became aware of her dark practices, disying none of the diplomatic leniency Edinburgh had extended. The forces of Layos swiftly put an end to her activities and pressed her into active service in their war against her former homnd, Edinburgh, the kingdom she had betrayed. Chapter 1367 Systematic Eradication Of The Escalon Guild ? Eren''s methodical approach was akin to a patient gardener tending to his crops. He allowed the fruits of hisbor to ripen before reaping the rewards. He exercised restraint, biding his time with meticulous precision, until the moment of his vengeance was all but certain. Over the course of nine years, Eren had systematically dismantled the Escalon Guild through abination of legal maneuvers and shadowy tactics. The guild, once a formidable force within Edinburgh, nowy in ruins, its key members vanishing without a trace. It stood as a testament to the devastating efficacy of Eren''s methods, leaving the guild powerless and erased from the annals of Anfang. In this timeline, the Escalon Guild found themselves embroiled in this conflict with Eren due to the involvement of Demonmir. Ottoman had hired them to disrupt Eren and his city, but when the chips were down, Demonmir abandoned Edinburgh, leaving the guild to bear the brunt of Eren''s retribution. Yet, Reva found herself detached from the fate of the Escalon Guild, the organization she had once called home during her active days in Edinburgh. Instead, she had aligned herself with Isen Osan, another defector from Edinburgh who had joined Layos. Under his banner, she fought to safeguard her rank, but even so, she was inexorably drawn into the battlefield. Deployed alongside Isen, she fought to prove her worth and secure her ce. Raids on Edinburgh''s forces became a regr urrence for Reva under Isen''s leadership. It was within the theater of the two kingdoms'' conflict that she found an excuse to conduct her demonic rituals, striving to maintain her edge and avoid regression to a lower rank. It seemed that, at longst, she was making some progress. The unknown individuals who had reversed the Faustian Contracts had surpassed her in ranking status, rendering their attempts to strip away her gains futile. It was akin to robbers abandoning their efforts to pilfer from the destitute, for they had seeded in reducing their victim to a state of abject poverty. However, Reva had descended so far into the depths of despair that the prospect of breaking free from her cycle of misery no longer held any allure. Her hope had withered, leaving her resigned to her fate, epting the bleakness that enveloped her existence. Reva often pondered the concept of poetic justice, questioning whether it was a mere literary trope or a tangible force at y in her own life. The irony was not lost on her. As the Pdin of Pain, she had reveled in inflicting torment upon her adversaries, drawing strength from their screams and the anguish that permeated their souls. It seemed only fitting that the tables would eventually turn, and she would find herself on the receiving end of her own malevolence. *** When Reva learned of Eren''s imminent arrival on the battlefield, standing against Isen''spany, she willingly joined Lysa''s crew as the tenth member. Her purpose was clearto lie in wait, hidden in the shadows, until the opportune moment presented itself to help her teammates in a pinch and strike at Eren. Patiently, Reva bided her time, initially believing that Lysa''s formidable battle formation would be sufficient to eliminate Grimdawn once and for all. It was the possibility she didn''t minding into reality at all.I think you should take a look at Though her ultimate desire was to witness Eren''s demise, she was content with the confirmation of his death and the release it would bring. Nearly a decade of pent-up pain and resentment would finally find its release, allowing her to exhale a breath long held. Thus, Reva found it rtively easy to await thepletion of Lysa''s mission. While she would have relished the sight of Eren drawing hisst breath before her eyes, she acknowledged her own fear. Fear of a man who possessed the ability to torment her without dirtying his own hands. Fear of the man who had bested her nine years ago, with her survival being a mere stroke of luck. She had no desire to tempt fate once more by facing him head-on. Reva skillfully concealed herself from prying eyes, observing as Lysa''s team sessfully ensnared Eren within their battle formation''s domain. From her vantage point, she could not witness the events unfolding within the domain or keep track of Lysa''s team as they engaged their formidable opponent. With a mix of anticipation and unease, she fixated her gaze upon the battle formation, patiently awaiting its dispersal. Her wait proved short-lived, much to Reva''s delight. A soundless chuckle escaped her lips as she relished what she believed to be Eren''s weakness. She acknowledged that assessing Eren''s abilities in the face of nine opponents simultaneously was an unfairparison, but her subconscious reveled in his apparent misfortune. Yet, Reva soon sensed a disturbance. Her attention turned to Lysa, whose countenance betrayed fear and dismay. Panic gripped Reva''s heart as she surveyed her surroundings, seeking the presence of Lysa''spanions. The sight that awaited the Pdin of Pain was one of bloodshed and carnage, overwhelming her senses and impairing her ability to rationalize. A chill coursed through Reva''s spine as she watched the red bear methodically ughter each of her remaining teammates, dispatching them as effortlessly as swatting flies. Gripped by paralyzing fear, she bore witness to the brutal demise of Lysa''spanions. In her former self, the Reva of nine years past, such scenes would not have fazed her. She had reveled in inflicting pain upon others, her hands stained with the blood of both innocents and adversaries alike. The previous Reva would have even found a twisted appreciation for the macabre artistry on disy and the artist who bore simrities to her own demonic rituals. But this was not the same Reva that Eren had encountered years ago. She was but a husk of her former self, driven to flee the battlefield just as Lysa was. The Pdin of Pain could not muster the courage to step forward and save Lysa or herrades, despite her role as a healer demanding otherwise. Chapter 1368 Fears Rooted In Logic ? The Pdin of Pain could not even face the red bear, let alone attempt to halt his ruthless ughter of the elven warriors. When the red bear roared at Lysa, Reva almost soiled her pants. She felt a surge of terror within her guts, her instincts urging her to escape the battlefield entirely. However, her legs refused to obey, locked in ce by the lingering effects of a potent intent-based magic. The faint echoes of her demonic consciousness confirmed her own fear, retreating further into the depths of her soul. Reva''s disbelief grew as she realized that even the hidden depths of her own demonic consciousness were filled with fear. This sensation had only manifested when she interacted with Demonmir, but now she sensed a fear greater than anything the demon prince of Wrath could induce. Instinctively, Reva understood that there was a higher entity within the demonic hierarchy, one wielding this powerful intent-based magic. Yet, she could not discern the identity of this enigmatic figure. All she saw before her was a colossal and bloodthirsty red bear, leaving her to question its true nature. How did a red bear appear on the battlefield? The question echoed ceaselessly in Reva''s mind as she remained motionless, fixated on the harrowing sight of the bear advancing towards the crawling Lysa. Every second stretched into an agonizing hour as she watched in paralyzed silence, hearing Lysa''s desperate cries for her. The night elf pleaded for the tenth member of their team to appear, but Reva abandoned Lysa without hesitation. Her sole desire was tomand her legs to flee this ce, to escape the nightmare unfolding before her. Her eyes turned a fiery shade of red, consumed by the terror that engulfed her. She could no longer discern what was happening within or around her, for her focus was solely on Lysa and the menacing red bear that embodied her darkest fears. The effects of the intent-based magic on her soul were of no concern to her; after all, what good was a correct diagnosis when there seemed to be no remedy? She paid no heed to the inexplicable desire of her demonic consciousness to conceal itself. Even witnessing Lysa''s impending demise did not stir her empathy. All she yearned for was to evade the wrath of the red bear. Yet, what unfolded next shattered any semnce of reality, leaving Reva questioning if she had stumbled into a twisted nightmare. Goosebumps prickled her skin as the bear''s Wrath mana body dissipated, revealing the figure of Eren concealed within. Regret flooded through her, regret for ever agreeing to this ill-fated mission. She cursed herself for entertaining the ludicrous notion of confronting Eren, realizing that facing one''s deepest fears is not always a wise choice. Particrly when those fears are rooted in logic and reason. Reva found a strange sense of relief wash over her as she witnessed Eren swiftly sever Lysa''s head with a single sword sh. With Lysa''s team wiped out and no one left alive to bear witness to her actions, Reva no longer had to justify herself. She could craft a myriad of excuses and safely retreat back to the kingdom of Layos. She had made up her mind never to confront Eren again, even if forced onto the battlefield by Layos. After all, she had managed to survive and thrive on the battlefield for nine long years, enduring numerous assassination attempts. She had the utmost confidence that she could endure and prevail once more.I think you should take a look at To make her escape a reality, Reva silently thanked her luck for going unnoticed by Eren. And, by some force within her, she managed to reim control over her frozen legs. All she needed to do now was run. ''Run, Reva... Run. Run. Run. Run. Run,'' she repeated to herself, urging her own feet to carry her away from the battlefield. She was willing to forsake Isen''spany entirely and be a full-fledged Cultist ranker if it meant securing her escape. However, something caught Reva''s eye, causing her to halt in her tracks once again. She observed Eren''s condition, seeing him lost in his thoughts, breathing heavily with depleted mana reserves. As a healer, she could discern the subtlest of bodynguage, leading her to conclude that Eren''s fatigue was genuine. He was physically and mentally drained. ''This this is a chance,'' Reva thought to herself, observing Eren''s unsteady steps and apparent distraction. Memories of the mental torment she had endured for nine years flooded her mind. She couldn''t pinpoint the exact culprit behind her rank regression, but she had a strong suspicion that Eren was involved. Reva realized that as long as he remained alive, she could never truly be free. With her heart steeled and her fists clenched, Reva made the decision to seize this one-in-a-million opportunity. Her mind raced, contemting multiple scenarios in a fraction of a moment. Drawing upon her umted experiences and honed skills, shemitted herself to finishing what Lysa''s team had started. Like an ephemeral wind without origin or destination, the Pdin of Pain vanished from her position after what felt like an eternity of inaction. With unwavering finesse and a deep well of experience, Reva stealthily closed in on Eren from behind. Drawing upon her extensive knowledge of human anatomy, acquired through countless acts of torture, she aimed her strike with deadly precision, targeting Eren''s heart. This was a task she had performed time and again, a dance of death she was all too familiar with. The only difference was that this time, the stage was the battlefield, not her secluded Kill Room. How difficult could it be? The dagger''s tip found its mark as Reva''s strike proved sessful. A surge of exhration coursed through her veins as she felt the de sink deeper into the core of Eren''s being. For the first time in nine long years, she experienced genuine joy, as if her greatest objective had been achieved. A profound sense of relief enveloped her, and she willingly released her grip on the dagger. In her mind, she believed her attack had sealed Eren''s fate, trapping him in an inescapable web of agonizing death on the battlefield. Or so she thought. Chapter 1369 Acquiring A Demon Soul Fragment ? "Keke. Atst, Reva Rain, I have found you." Eren''s voice dripped with a malevolence that sent shivers down Reva''s spine. There was a subtle demonic essence woven into his words, as if they reverberated in the air, creating an echo that went unnoticed. Stunned into silence, Reva locked eyes with Eren, her mind struggling toprehend the reality before her. Her gaze shifted to the tip of the dagger protruding from Eren''s chest, a chilling confirmation that her lethal strike had not been a mere illusion but a tangible act. "How? How the hell are you not injured?" Reva''s voice trembled with anger and disbelief. She couldn''t help but curse the unfairness of the situation, as if the world owed her a favor, expecting Eren to be gasping for hisst breath after she had sessfully pierced his heart. "Oh! This little thing?" Eren nced down at the dagger lodged in his chest for a brief moment before meeting Reva''s gaze again. With a touch of mncholy drama in his tone, he replied, "You should have aimed for the head, Miss Pdin of Pain. Not that it would have made much of a difference." He spoke calmly, as if fatigue weighed heavily upon him. With a flick of his hand, the dagger that had impaled him materialized in his grasp. Strangely, it bore little blood, and Eren''s wound seemed void of bleeding. It was as if having a dagger plunged into his heart was a normal state of affairs for his body. Reva sensed a shift in Eren''s mana signature, an illusory presence coursing through his veins with the effects of foreign mana. Eren remained unaffected by the Wrath mana, his mind shielded from its influence. He manually deactivated his Ability, preventing the release of a Wrath Domain. It was unnecessary to use it on the terrified Reva before him. Eren''s movements appeared deliberate and unhurried, yet Reva soon realized she was unable to escape his grasp. She felt the vice-like grip of his right hand around her throat, preventing her from creating any distance between them. Reverse Rain! Reva unleashed her demonic Ability with all her might, summoning a torrential rain of pain-inducing droplets that enveloped Eren. However, to her astonishment, he showed no signs of pain, even as he was drenched in her demonic onught that surged from the ground and reached for the sky. Struggling to speak through Eren''s grip on her throat, Reva managed to rasp out her question, "How... cough cough cough... How is this possible? Is... is my Ability ineffective against you?" Reva''s voice was feeble, and her body refused to obey hermands. Her mind was a jumble, unable toprehend how one man could possess such an overwhelming and soul-numbing presence that reduced her to this state. She could sense that her Reverse Rain had indeed started inflicting pain upon Eren, but why was he unresponsive to the torment she had unleashed upon him?I think you should take a look at Eren responded to Reva''s question with an assured voice, "Oh, it''s working, alright. Just not to the extent that it would elicit a response from me. Were you always this weak, or have I grown considerably stronger than you?" He tilted his head, a look of puzzlement on his face as he regarded Reva. "Hmm, perhaps a bit of both," he mused, answering his own question. Eren vividly remembered the impact of Reva''s Ability during their previous encounter, yet now it seemed almost trivial to endure. He chuckled to himself, realizing that he had truly broken Reva, inflicting irreparable damage to her psyche. "You know, Reva, I would have granted you a swift and painless death after ensuring that you had a ''great time'' during these past 9 years. But unfortunately for you, I can''t do that. At least not right away," Eren said, his voiceced with sarcasticment. "You truly believed that I was unaware of your connection with Isen? Did you think I wouldn''t anticipate your interference in my battles? How lowly you must think of me, Miss Pdin of Pain," Eren addressed Reva, disappointment evident in his gaze. He made it clear that he had been well aware of Reva''s intentions to disrupt his fight against Isen''s forces. After all, he had ced Sylphie as an intelligence gatherer in the kingdom of Layos, establishing his ownwork that operated independently from Edinburgh. While he couldn''t obtain every minute detail of Layos'' forces, he could focus his attention on select individuals. And that''s exactly what he had done with Isen. "You... Demonmir... Demonmir will never let you live if you..." Reva''s voice trembled as she tried to intimidate Eren by invoking Demonmir''s name. However, her words only elicited moreughter from him. "Haha. I hate to break it to you, Reva, but your ex-lover couldn''t care less about you. And who in the world would be afraid of Demonmir anyway? I''ll dig a hole for him soon," Eren replied, chuckling, before tightening his grip around Reva''s neck. He hadn''t engaged in conversation with Reva to only prolong her suffering, although it was indeed one of the reasons. It seemed he was inspecting her soul with his Soul Sense, maintaining close proximity to her as if searching for something. "Keke. Found it," Eren dered, his expression filled with jubtion as he bit the thumb of his other hand and drew a drop of blood, smearing it on Reva''s chest. "Come out,e out, wherever you are, little demon," he taunted, his voice tinged with amusement. In an instant, a runic circle manifested over Reva''s chest, emitting a blood-red hue. The runic symbols bore the mark of demonic origins and pulsated with energy upon appearing on her skin. This runic circle represented the Faustian Contract. Eren hadpelled the dormant consciousness of the demon within Reva to awaken. In the next moment, Reva''s mana signatures underwent a transformation, her mana core bing more vtile. Due to her gradual assimtion with demonic energy throughout her life, her body didn''t immediately implode like the Creatures of Wrath. Reva had been turned into an awakened demonic ranker by Eren. Chapter 1370 [Bonus ] Farewell Paladin Of Pain ? Reva''s brownish-red hair turned gray as the demonic consciousness fully awakened within her. Her eyes turned a deep red, her features altering as well. Her once supple white skin darkened to a deep red, while two little ck horns sprouted from her forehead. Her stature and muscles grew, and though Eren still held her by the throat, her feet touched the ground again. Reva had been transformed into a fully awakened demonic ranker through Eren''smand alone. The intensity of her mana signatures soared beyond measurepared to her normal state. Her body''s stats reached exceptional levels, surpassing her strength from nine years ago. However, fear continued to etch itself on Reva''s face, if not intensify. In the presence of Eren, she appeared even more terrified than before. "Hmm, turning into an awakened demonic ranker, huh? In an ideal world, it could have been a moment of growth for you. A turning point. Unfortunately, you crossed paths with me," Eren remarked, locking eyes with Reva. It appeared that a foreign consciousness had taken hold of Reva''s body, speaking through her using the demonic tongue rather than Anfang''s nativenguage. "My... my liege... please release me. Should I kill this vessel? I..." Reva began to address Eren in a peculiar manner, in a demonic tongue, her eyes welling up as if on the verge of tears. However, before she could say more, Eren interrupted her. "I have no interest in learning your demonic name. But I may find use for you in the future. So abandon this vessel and enter in this crystal," Erenmanded in an authoritative tone, handing her a palm-sized red crystal with a vial of blood encased within. The crystal bore intricate runic symbols of demonic origin etched upon its surface. The demonic consciousness, now fully in control of Reva''s body, hastily grasped the demonic crystal with trembling hands. Despite possessing enhanced physical abilities, she made no attempt to escape Eren''s grip. Instead, she obediently followed hismand without hesitation. Soon, Reva''s demonic form dissipated, the demonic consciousness vanishing from within her. Reva''s body began to react adversely to the process, convulsing in pain. Her mana core was damaged, her mana circuits in ruins. Even her soul bore the scars of the ordeal. "What... what have you done to me?" Reva asked, her voice filled with a mixture of fear and sorrow. She could hardlyprehend the profound transformation that had just taken ce. It felt as if someone had extracted her vital organs without surgical precision, leaving her feeling iplete, as if a substantial portion of her soul had been severed. With her mana circuits and core damaged, she sensed her condition spiraling further into a state worse than death. "You don''t need to know the details, Reva. What matters is this: just a little more pain, and it will soon be over," Eren reassured her in a voice that sparked a glimmer of hope within her heart. He released his grip, allowing Reva''s body to crumple to the ground, her legs no longer capable of supporting her weight. A peculiar space-element rune slithered over her neck where his hand had made contact, a rune deliberately ced by Eren. Reva lifted her gaze to meet Eren''s unwavering stare. He regarded her with impartial eyes before breaking the silence. "Regardless of your intentions, Pdin of Pain, your actions have ultimately benefited me. The lessons you imparted were numerous, and they have shaped me into who I am today. I am grateful for that," Eren stated, bowing slightly before her. Perplexed, Reva struggled toprehend his words, her mind unable to grasp their meaning. But before she could voice her confusion, Eren continued, crouching down to meet her eye to eye. "Our enmity wille to an end with your death. Yet, the lessons you taught me will forever remain with me. That is all. Thank you for being a mentor I didn''t ask for but needed anyway. Farewell, Pdin of Pain." Eren dered in a serious tone before activating the space element rune on her.I think you should take a look at In their previous encounter, a space-element rune had saved Reva''s life by teleporting her away from Eren''s clutches. This time, a simr rune was employed, yielding simr results. However, the destination was not one of safety but rather a grim and dimly lit room. Reva materialized above an autopsy table, her limbs bound by runic bindings uponnding. Even her mouth appeared sealed shut. Sara Stark, an Expert-ranked individual at this point, entered her field of view, holding a scalpel. Though reluctant, Sara knew she had a duty to fulfill, having agreed to Alephee''s n. And so, with a resolute determination, she began her torment of Reva. *** As Sara exited the room, Alephee awaited her, wearing a subtle smile. It was evident that Reva Rain had met her demise at Sara''s hands, propelling Sara forward into the Master Rank. Sara Stark had achieved her breakthrough into the B-Rank even before Eren, a remarkable feat considering her mortal status just nine years prior. "You did a good job, Sara," Alephee said with a calming voice. Sara mustered a smile in response to Alephee, though it carried a hint of strain. She had dedicated herself to honing her skills as a Ranker over the past nine years, adapting to the rapid progress she had achieved. Her hard work had borne fruit. With Reva''s death by her hands, Sara had made sure to sever the connection she had with her for good. It propelled her into the prestigious B-Rank at a rate that defied conventional logic. While conversing with Alephee, Sara''s thoughts drifted to Eren, and she found herself missing his clever retorts to her puns. A smile tugged at her lips as she momentarily forgot the gruesome and puke-inducing actions she had taken, instead eagerly anticipating her next encounter with Eren. It had been far too long since they had crossed paths, and she felt a readiness to take their rtionship to the next level after nine years of stagnation. *** Meanwhile, Eren grappled with a pressing matter of his own. He was just done with getting rid of Reva when he learned from his guild mates that Ivor was on the verge of killing his own grandfather, Isen Osan, on a distant battlefield. Yet, for reasons obvious, Ivor hesitated in carrying out the task. Isen''s death was crucial for Eren to further stoke the fires of war, and it appeared that he would have to intervene in the sh between these family members who shared his city of origin. Chapter 1371 Isen Vs Barons Bane ? Jeth Arck Piper. He was Ivor Osan''s spare identity, acting as a renowned member of the Escalon Guild. He had joined Sebastian''spany along with his squad to confront Isen''s forces. Piper''s inclusion was an obvious choice, given his reputation as the "Baron''s Bane" for his previous sess in thwarting Isen Osan''s advances on a different battlefield. However, little did hisrades know that Piper had downyed his achievements. In theirst encounter, Piper had defeated Isen outright, yet he chose to let him escape. Despite sustaining critical injuries himself and witnessing his team members getting hurt, Isen fared far worse. If Piper had pursued his advantage, Isen would have been utterly defeated. The present battle followed a simr pattern. After Isen cunningly neutralized Sebastian and assumed control over him, Ivor, Isen''s grandson, took up the fight. Though Isen resorted to underhanded tactics to harm Sebastian, they proved ineffective against Piper, who had donned a distinctive golden armor to deflect Isen''s assaults. Sebastian, on the other hand, was shifted to a safe location by his subordinates as Isen and Ivor in Piper''s identity exchanged blows. Piper, the masked adventurer of the Lancelot Guild, once again dominated Isen, utilizing his unique Sin Series AbilityC Armor of Pride. However, inexplicably, he hesitated to strike the finishing blow. "Hehehe," Isenughed heartily, despite his brutal injuries and kneeling position. He gazed at the masked figure standing at a safe distance and spoke with unwavering confidence. "I... I have no doubts anymore. You are not Piper, my boy. You... You are my grandson, Ivor Osan!" Piper froze upon hearing Isen''s revtion. The golden armor that had shielded him from Isen''s relentless attacks dissipated, and he removed his mask, revealing his true face as Ivor Osan. "I am nothing like the Ivor you abandoned years ago. So... how did you know?" Ivor questioned, his gaze fixed on his grandfather. He struggled to decide whether to close the distance between them or call for backup and assign someone else the task of ending Isen Osan''s life. "Hehehe," Isen''sughter turned manic as he observed Ivor''s face. It appeared that his im had been a mere guess, but he was surprised and strangely pleased to find it was indeed true. "You always had a way with words, twisting them since you were just a child. You called it your ''encoded messages,'' as if you were some kind of spy for Edinburgh," Isen remarked, momentarily forgetting his grave injuries as he observed Ivor with amusement. "Your name, Jeth Arck Piper, essentially Jack the Ripper. Hahaha. Your messed-up sense of humor can''t fool me, brat. I remember the grimm fairy tales you used to read. Only you coulde up with a name like that." Ivor''s grip tightened on the daggers in his hands, his eyes brimming with unmasked hatred as he stared at Isen. "It seems you hold all the fond memories of my childhood, grandpa. I don''t. Do you know why?" Isen''s smile remained, but he ceased hisughter. He observed the trembling of Ivor''s daggers and made another conjecture. "You... you''re also not the Osan Woods'' Butcher, are you? If you struggle to finish me off, then there''s no way you could have killed Isaacyour older brother," Isen stated, studying Ivor''s expressions.I think you should take a look at Over time, even Isen hade to believe that Ivor was indeed the Osan Woods'' Butcher. After all, he understood the animosity between the two brothers better than anyone. Thus, Isen had also embraced the popr belief that Ivor had cunningly deceived everyone and killed Isaac by assuming the identity of the Butcher. "But if you''re not the Osan Woods'' Butcher, then you must have been working for him all along. There''s no other reason for you to infiltrate the graduation test and cause trouble for Arthur," Isen deduced, drawing from his observations and the intelligence he had gathered over the past nine years regarding all matters concerning Edinburgh. It must be said that Isen was a crafty individual. He could sense that his grandson hesitated to kill him and decided to exploit that weakness. Of course, Isen had no intention ofunching a lethal attack against his own grandson. Despite their strained rtionship, Ivor was still his kin. Isen may have abandoned him in Edinburgh and sought refuge in Layos, but he believed it was due to circumstances beyond his control. At least, that''s what Isen convinced himself of. Isen couldn''t bring himself to kill his own flesh and blood, just as Ivor struggled with the same dilemma. However, using his grandson''s vulnerability as an opportunity to flee the battlefield was still an option Isen considered. Isen was a survivor. He retained the ambition he had possessed in the city of Osan. Although he intended to ignite a war between the two kingdoms, he had no ns to sacrifice his entire life for the battle he had essentially provoked. The former baron from the city of Osan had already begun formting ns to depart from Layos and seek better opportunities beyond the grasp of both Layos and Edinburgh. Why should he die for Layos when it merely provided temporary shelter? *** Ivor''s mind was rattled by Isen''s words. He red at his grandfather, his voice filled with anger as he expressed his thoughts, "You could have at least made an effort to find me once you found safety in Layos. You could have defended me and proimed that I was not the Osan Woods'' Butcher. But true to your selfish nature, you did nothing of the sort. What can I expect from someone like you? Instead of protecting your own grandson, you chose to fuel the mes of war between the two kingdoms for your petty revenge. What did you gain from all this? The royalty of Edinburgh still doesn''t give a damn about you. I..." Lost in his own tirade, Ivor failed to notice the array circle that had materialized around him. In an instant, it activated, abruptly cutting off his words. It was a defensive barrier deployed by Isen, modified to serve as a barrier to halt Ivor in his tracks. Ivor couldn''t believe that Isen would resort to such tricks even in defeat. It was only now that he realized his emotions had clouded his judgment, allowing Isen to iste him. Chapter 1372 Isens End ? Struggling to rise to his feet, Isen cast a triumphant smile toward Ivor before speaking. "Hahaha. Yes, you''ve always been a foolish ve to your emotions, Ivor. Your ego was too grand even when you were but a child burdened by its weight. Not that I me you. I, too, am a man driven by ego, to be honest. I suppose it runs in the family. My ego dictated my actions as well. So what if I incited this war between the kingdoms? So what if thousands of lives were lost because of me? Rankers willingly embrace a life of danger from the moment they be Novices. Besides, in war, there is no right or wrong. Once both kingdoms epted the state of war, nobody was deemed right." Isen''s smile grew cunning as he produced a potion bottle from his storage and consumed its contents. Feeling the effects of the potion, he decided it was time to flee the battlefield. Isen exuded confidence, convinced that Ivor was at his mercy and would be unable to stop him. Isen intended to create the perfect circumstances to facilitate Ivor''s resignation. The barrier surrounding Ivor was imprable, a powerful and translucent domain that kept him trapped. Mentally, this was all the reason Ivor needed to believe he was helpless against Isen, which was precisely what Isen intended. However, just as Isen turned and began channeling mana through his body to activate his movement spell, he suddenly felt a dagger pierce his neck from the right, emerging on the other side. Isen''s eyes widened in surprise as he sensed the presence of a third party who had stealthily appeared behind him, catching him off guard. The attack had been executed before Isen could even detect the assant. A perfect assassination of a vulnerable victim. Copsing to the ground, Isen clutched his neck with both hands. The blow was fatal, and there was no way to stem the flow of blood in his current condition. "Youggggghhhhh" Lying on his back, Isen turned to face his killer, his expression filled with shock as he attempted to utter words, but the dagger lodged in his neck rendered him unable to speak. "You say there''s no right or wrong in war? Old man, you''ve got it all mixed up in your head," the shadowy figure emerged from the darkness, a beak-like mask obscuring his face. With an emotionless gaze, he continued, "Of course there''s right and wrong in war. The winner is right, and the loser is wrong. It''s as simple as that." Removing his mask to reveal his appearance, the figure allowed Isen to witness his enemy before meeting his demise. As Isen locked eyes with the man''s emerald green gaze, he knew that escape was futile. He ceased his struggles, epting the inevitable flow of blood and his impending fate. When the green-eyed man appeared, Isen observed Ivor''s expression and immediately recognized his true identity. "Ta tage carh oof my grandchi fou me, Osan Woo ooo gs Butcher," Isen managed to speak through his mortally injured throat, his words barelyprehensible, before drawing his final breath. Isen found it utterly funny that the man celebrated as Grimdawn throughout Edinburgh was also its most hated viin. If he had a few more moments to process this irony, he would havegged his heart out.I think you should take a look at Unfortunately for the former baron of Edinburgh, his journey ended at this point. In this pivotal moment, Isen Osan met his demise at the hands of Eren, marking a resounding victory for Edinburgh''s forces. Yet, Eren felt no sense of satisfaction from killing Isen. Isen himself and Ivor may have believed Isen to be the root cause of the war between the two kingdoms, but Eren understood that Isen was merely one factor in aplex web of circumstances. Isen''s death did not alter the underlying dynamics between the kingdoms; it was merely another battle won by Edinburgh''s forces, nothing more. Exhausted from his sh with Lysa''s team, Eren found sce in the ownership of Yuffie Loy''s mask. Ivor had already inflicted significant damage on Isen, making it rtively effortless for an Expert-ranked individual like Eren to bring an end to the Master-ranked Isen. Turning his attention to Ivor, Eren observed the emotional turmoil consuming him. With a sigh, he spoke to Ivor, his voice a mixture of understanding and authority. "Ivor, I don''t me you for your hesitation. It''s perfectly alright if you''re not the cold-hearted Osan Woods'' Butcher. It''s alright if you need to grieve. However, now is not the time for that. You must be Piper once more. Edinburgh''s forces will soon arrive here. Our diversion at the graduation event has led them to chase after the elusive Osan Woods'' Butcher in Layos. But if they catch even a hint of your presence, all will be in vain." Eren''s words carried weight, and Ivor, though wanting to express something to Eren with tear-filled eyes as he gazed at Isen''s lifeless body, understood the urgency. Rather than directing anger towards Eren for cold-bloodedly killing Isen, Ivor felt a sense of gratitude that Eren had shouldered the burden of ending Isen''s life, absolving Ivor of the weight of killing his own family member. Yet, Ivor knew that dwelling on these emotions was futile. He donned his mask and began walking away from the battlefield, a swirl of conflicting emotions stirring within his mind. Among them, a deep sense of relief emerged, knowing that Isen''s demise hade by another''s hand. Arcs of green lightning enveloped Piper''s form as he vanished into thin air. Sebastian''spany emerged victorious against Isen''s forces, with minimal casualties from Edinburgh''s side. Prominent guild members from Lancelot, Firebrand, and White Raven guilds remained unscathed, while most of the casualties urred among Edinburgh''s army. After reuniting with Renita, Bianka, and the rest of his team, Eren listened intently as they recounted the events that unfolded after his teleportation to confront Lysa''s team. With Renita at his side, offering aforting embrace, he absorbed their perspectives and insights. By evening, Grandmaster Luan arrived at the battlefield. After assessing the battle''s oue, he dered Edinburgh as the victor, granting them control over the region. Eren spent just one night with Renita and the team at the army base before parting ways. With only a few days remaining of his week-long break, he had a multitude of matters to attend to. Only once those responsibilities were taken care of could he fully focus on his role as Grandmaster Baelin''s apprentice. Chapter 1373 Consequences Of Isens Death ? The next day. Saisha Goren''s office in the Layos army base at the border. As Saisha received the news of Isen''s death through his spectral screen, apanied by images of the desecrated bodies of Layos soldiers hanging from trees, Saisha couldn''t help but feel a surge of anger. While he understood that Edinburgh intended to send a message to the traitors like Isen and Reva, theck of respect for the fallen from Layos'' side stirred a deep sense of indignation within him. Saisha knew that the sight of such a gruesome disy would have a profound impact on Layos, fueling further hostility towards Edinburgh. Isen''s demise struck Saisha on a personal level, as he had shared a roof and discussions about the initial ns of war with him. It was Saisha who had first engaged in conversations with Isen, finding merit in his arguments and involving other influential individuals from Layos in their deliberations. "Farewell, my friend. At least the war hase to an end for you," Saisha murmured with a bitter smile, raising his ss of army-blended scotch in a silent toast. He had to let his anger go because his position in the army didn''t allow him to be hotheaded. Aware that dwelling on the post-battle scenes would only dampen his spirits, Siasha closed the spectral screen and focused on contemting the repercussions of Isen''s death and its multifaceted implications. Saisha couldn''t help but suspect Grimdawn''s involvement in the mocking disy orchestrated against Layos. After all, Grimdawn had established Grim Pir Town, employing a simr tactic to taunt his adversaries. This time, Eren''s enemies epassed an entire kingdom. It was undeniable that Layos had be overly fixated on Grimdawn, going to great lengths to devise traps to capture him. Lysa''s team had been part of this scheme. In response, Eren had chosen to mock Layos for its inability to contain him despite their borate tricks and attempts to neutralize him. Notably absent from the report were any details about Lysa''s team. This omission suggested that Eren had dealt with them in such a thorough manner that no traces of their existence remained on the battlefield. It became apparent to Saisha that even a battle formation alone was insufficient to hinder Eren. If Layos truly sought to eliminate one of Edinburgh''s esteemed title holders, they would have to devise a much more formidable strategy than their previous failed attempt. Saisha''s shock grew when he discovered that Reva was missing in action, despite being dispatched alongside Isen. With her unique AoE Ability and talent as a healer, Reva had the highest chances of surviving the battle among Isen''spany. Thestmunication Layos received from her indicated that she was part of the team assigned to take down Eren. Her disappearance could only mean that Eren had sessfully dealt with her as well. Leaning back in his chair, Saisha gazed out the window, murmuring to himself, "Isen, Lysa, and Reva. It''s difficult to believe that they all perished in a single battle. They were perhaps thest remnants of Layos'' middle order. The war is steadily progressing towards its climax."I think you should take a look at Layos had known that a war against Edinburgh would be challenging, but the extent of casualties on their side was unexpected. It seemed as though Layos'' key figures were systematically being eliminated while Edinburgh''s losses remained minimal. For instance, Layos wouldn''t have felt the bitterness of Isen and Reva Rain''s deaths if Isen''spany had managed to kill either Sebastian or Eren in their battle. After all, they were not true citizens of Layos anyway. However, the news of Lysa''s team being entirely wiped out without any reports of fatal injuries inflicted on Eren was disheartening for Layos to hear. With the deaths of Isen, Lysa, and Reva, Layos waspelled to send more Master and Grandmaster Rankers to the battlefield. Meanwhile, Edinburgh still enjoyed afortable position, minimizing their casualties while ensuring their key yers remained unharmed. This loss of Layos'' middle order Rankers would subtly impact the long-term war, as well as the morale of those fighting on Layos'' side. "I suppose Layos will need to carefully consider Demonmir''s offer if it wants to deliver a major blow to Edinburgh. We cannot afford to becent now that the war has reached this stage," Saisha concluded in his mind as he sipped the army-issued scotch from his ss. Immersed in his thoughts, Saisha got up from his seat. Walking up to the window, he observed the soldiers'' daily training taking ce in the expansive grounds before the building he was in. As Saisha prepared to head downstairs for the evening briefing with his soldiers and guild members from Layos'' side, he was interrupted by yet another prompt. Annoyed at the interruption during his moment of rxation, he begrudgingly opened the message to see its contents. "Arthur''s forces bing active on the battlefield? Is he returning after his two-year absence?" Saisha''s eyebrows shot up in surprise as he read the report. Duke Arthur of Edinburghmanded a formidable private army, not to be taken lightly.\ However, at the start of the battle as well as the past two years, Arthur had shifted his focus to dealing with the half-blood forces within Edinburgh''s borders, effectively disappearing from the frontlines. It seemed that the half-blood forces had suffered significant losses despite their ess to Hex artifacts. "If that crazy bastard Arthur Renar joins the battlefield, the loss of life on our side will be catastrophic," Saisha muttered to himself, deep in thought. He narrowed his eyes and surveyed the horizon,ing to a resolute decision. "I suppose I''ll have to intercept him. They''re about to start deployingpanies led by Grandmasters anyway. I''ve been yearning for a battle like this. I better start nning ahead." With his ss now empty, Saisha gulped down thest remnants of scotch in a single motion. He activated the array disk on his table, summoning arge spectral screen. Navigating to a specific section at his disposal, he meticulously reviewed a lengthy roster, carefully selecting the experienced veterans and contracted guild members avable to join hispany. Chapter 1374 Meeting Demonmir ? Last Blood Bastian. City-state of Ancient Blood. House Fenris province. Fort Fenris. In the center of a grand and spacious hall, a long table had been meticulously arranged. The ambiance was perfectly bnced, with just the right amount of light. A magnificent chandelier adorned the ceiling, its precious gems reflecting and casting a subtle dance of light upon the expansive table below. The table was surrounded by an array of chairs, upied by esteemed Rankers from various factions. Representatives from each half-blood House were present for the crucial discussion taking ce. Among them were familiar faces like Sirius Fneris and Arie Lowin, who shared a history with Eren. Fiona Fenris, however, stood among the crowd surrounding the table, not yet deemed worthy of a seat. The meeting was held in Fenris province, chosen due to Eren''s familiarity with House Fenris. The House graciously offered its fort as a venue, taking pride in being at the center of such influential proceedings that would impact the entire half-blood forces. Eren was apanied by Agatha, who had been at the Last Blood Bastian for over a week. Eren''s duty in Sebastian''spanypleted, he joined Agatha to finalize important matters and provide his approval. Agatha had already taken care of the formalities. It was just a repeat of what the two sides had been doing for thest 9 years anyway. So everyone was ustomed to the process. A middle-aged man chuckled warmly in response to Agatha''s briefing. "Ah, excellent news, Agatha, my dear," he said, clearly pleased. "I mustmend the White Raven Guild for their exceptional work ethic. The quality and quantity of the Hex artifacts they''ve provided thus far has surpassed our expectations. These artifacts have truly bolstered our fearlessness in confronting the forces of the Anfang Alliance." Agatha returned the smile. "Thank you, Uncle Barnes," she replied. "We aremitted to ensuring that our customers receive the utmost value for their investment. It''s simply our dedication to our craft." As Agatha''s words sank in, Brandon Barnes nodded in agreement. He then shifted his gaze towards Eren, who sat beside Agatha. Despite being a bear-type half-blood Grandmaster Ranker with nothing to fear from Eren, Brandon couldn''t help but feel a slight unease whenever he locked eyes with the man. Eren''s emerald green eyes had a certain intensity that sent a shiver down Brandon''s spine. Nevertheless, as a prominent member of the half-blood forces, he knew he had to address Eren and couldn''t afford to offend him in any way. Besides, he had legitimate inquiries about the Hex Artifacts provided by Eren, so he decided to speak up. "So, Eren, when you say we''re getting our money''s worth..." Brandon focused his gaze on Eren, his voiceced with curiosity. "I have a request, if you wouldn''t mind." Eren had been engrossed in a hushed conversation with Sirius, who sat to his right. When Brandon''s words reached his ears, he paused their discussion and turned his attention towards him. Sitting up straight in his chair, Eren nodded in acknowledgment. "Of course, Uncle Barnes. Feel free to ask me anything, and I''ll do my best to provide a satisfactory answer." Brandon returned the nod before expressing his thoughts. "Very well. I understand the process of artifact creation to some extent, Eren," Brandon began, carefully choosing his words. "I''ve noticed that there might be room for improvement in your Hex runes. Though I must acknowledge that your unique method of crafting Hex Artifacts makes it difficult to be certain. So, I was wondering if it would be possible to enhance the efficiency or output of the Hex Artifacts by refining the Hex runes themselves."I think you should take a look at Brandon didn''t want to imply any doubt in Eren''s ability to create Hex artifacts. However, he sensed untapped potential in the Hex Artifacts, and he believed that expressing this sentiment might put Eren in a challenging position. Brandon didn''t want to introduce uncertainty into their business dealings or undermine the solid foundation they had built over the past nine years. Yet, there was an undeniable feeling that Eren''s Hex Artifacts had even more room for improvement. Eren had anticipated this question would arise eventually, but he took a moment to gather his thoughts before responding, making it appear as though he was providing a spontaneous exnation. "There is indeed room for improvement, Uncle Barnes," Eren began, cing his hands on the table and speaking with conviction. "However, enhancing the Hex Artifacts in that way wouldpromise their stability. What good is increased mana efficiency and output if the artifact bes unreliable for prolonged use? You rightly mentioned that I employ a unique method of artifact creation. It is precisely this method that has allowed me to achieve efficient mass production while ensuring the stability of each Hex Artifact for a wide range of scenarios. If you are familiar with the creation process of intent-driven artifacts, you must also be aware of the inherent vtility of this type of magic. Can we afford to introduce instability into Hex Artifacts, particrly when the wielder''s emotions are heightened? The consequences could be disastrous, not just for the wielder but also for their allies," Eren exined, his tone serious as he locked eyes with Brandon. Sirius chimed in before Brandon could respond. "Indeed, instability in the Hex Artifacts would put both the wielder and those around them in grave danger," he affirmed, disying House Fenris'' staunch support for Eren. Eren had no intention of providing the advanced Hex Artifacts to the half-blood forces. He had already supplied them with customized Hex Artifacts tailored to their specific bloodline origins, enabling them to unleash their maximum potential. Moreover, these Hex Artifacts deviated from conventional designs and patterns; they were Eren''s own creations, unlike anything seen in Anfang even before the Pre-Cmity Era. He was confident that the half-blood forces remained unaware of the existence of the advanced Hex Artifact variants he deliberately kept separate. Brandon was taken aback by Eren''s response. He sensed a mixture of truth and ambiguity in Eren''s words, providing a response that addressed his question without revealing everything. Nevertheless, Brandon acknowledged that he couldn''t afford to have unstable Hex Artifacts. Letting out a sigh, he responded, "I understand, Eren. Forgive me for..." Before Brandon could continue speaking, Arie suddenly stood up from her seat, causing him to pause. Yielding to Arie''s initiative, he allowed her to contribute to the conversation. Arie smiled at Eren, a glint of pride in her eyes, as she addressed him. "You wanted to meet him, didn''t you? Demonmir has entered the Last Blood Bastian. He''s here," she announced, clearly fulfilling the promise she had made to Eren, and taking pride in her aplishment. Chapter 1375 Demonmirs Progress ? Sirius felt the tension in the air escte as Demonmir''s name was mentioned by Arie. He nced at Eren, intending to warn him about the dangers of confronting Demonmir within the Last Blood Bastian. However, Eren interjected before Sirius could speak. ''Rx, Sirius. I know how to conduct myself. Everything is under control. But you must ensure that Demonmir himself does not provoke any conflict with me. If that were to happen, I cannot be held responsible,'' Eren reassured Sirius, rifying his position. The butcher had no intention of engaging in a fight with Demonmir within the stronghold of the half-blood forces. By this point, Demonmir would have likely garnered support from numerous influential individuals. Eren had to admit that Demonmir possessed a charisma capable of achieving such influence. Sirius nodded in agreement and replied, ''Of course. This is House Fenris'' territory. Regardless of the favor House Lowin holds for Demonmir, he wouldn''t dare to challenge you here. He and House Lowin are well aware of our unwavering support towards you.'' Eren acknowledged Sirius with a nod before settling back into his chair. As he gazed subtly toward the hall''s entrance, he contemted the significance of the uing meeting. *** Eren and Demonmir harbored deep personal grudges against each other, stemming from Eren sessfully iming ownership of Minerva''s Utopia. Their first direct sh urred during the battle at the Edinnica Arena, but even before and after that encounter, Demonmir had continuously obstructed Eren''s ns using various methods, employing his subordinates as expendable pawns. Demonmir had chosen to go rogue after recognizing the hidden opportunities presented amidst the war between the two kingdoms. Despite severing ties with the kingdom of Edinburgh and House Montmorency, Demonmir persistently interfered with Eren''s endeavors over the past nine years. Eren and his closest allies faced numerous assassination attempts orchestrated by Cultists and rogue Rankers who maintained direct or indirect connections to Demonmir. When these attacks failed, Demonmir''s covert forces targeted individuals associated with Eren''s business and guild, aiming to hinder their growth. Demonmir''s forces had even employed rogue mercenaries to attack members of the White Raven Guild. Jake''s father, Jack, had fallen victim to one of these incidents, and Renita had been severely injured in another attempt orchestrated by Demonmir''s forces. The White Raven Guild lost valuable members like Ketsu Hasu and Wan Wilder in acts of sabotage orchestrated by cultists hired by Demonmir. In summary, Demonmir had repeatedly targeted Eren and his allies over the past nine years. While property damage and financial losses were recoverable, the harm inflicted upon Rankers affiliated with Eren could not be resolved solely through mary means. Furthermore, Eren recognized that there were limitations to the precautions he could take against Demonmir''s persistent threats. He couldn''t just cease his activities during this tumultuous period. As such, Eren had also started counterattacking. Despite Ottoman''s actions, Eren still retained a level of control over himself and his organization. This was primarily due to Demonmir''s status as a rogue, making it difficult for him to directly target Eren or his allies. Being one of the most wanted men by the Anfang Alliance, Demonmir faced significant restrictions and limitations as a result of his fugitive status.I think you should take a look at As a result, Eren used Edinburgh''s forces to counter Demonmir. Even the individuals dispatched by Anfang Alliance had aided Eren in subjugating Demonmir''s forces many times during these 9 years. Furthermore, Eren had adeptly employed strategies derived from Demonmir''s own ybook. He had hired rogue Rankers and cultist organizations to eradicate Demonmir''s forces operating within Edinburgh and Layos. Over the course of nine years, Eren had invested considerable resources to deliver substantial blows to Demonmir''s side. Consequently, Demonmir''s forces had been kept on constant alert, unable to find respite. The cold war between Eren and Demonmir persisted for nearly a decade without their paths crossing. This gathering at Fort Fenris marked the first asion since the battle at the Edinnican Arena where they woulde face-to-face. Naturally, the tension within the fortress was palpable. Both Eren and Demonmir held crucial positions within the realm of the half-blood forces. While Eren had proven his value by supplying Hex Artifacts, Demonmir had contributed with his wealth of knowledge and techniques specific to half-bloods. Given Demonmir''s possession of a soul fragment of a Demon Prince, it was unsurprising that he possessed such knowledge. Consequently, the half-blood forces were reluctant to antagonize either Eren or Demonmir. The half-blood forces werefortable to remain on the fence. They preferred to maintain a status quo where both individuals remained within their respective domains, avoiding any direct interaction. However, Eren''s persistent request for this meeting could not be ignored indefinitely, prompting the gathering to take ce. *** The sound of approaching footsteps reverberated through the narrow corridor, signaling the imminent arrival of several individuals. As the grand hall''s doors swung open, all eyes turned towards the figure who entered firstDemonmir himself. Dressed in an exquisite ck coatyered over a light blue tunic, Demonmir exuded an air of elegance. His dark gray pants and shoespleted the ensemble, entuating his impable sense of style. Flowing white hair, neatly arranged in a shoulder-length ponytail, framed his face. With sharp,manding eyes and chiseled facial features, Ottoman de Montmorency possessed an aura of regal charm. His tall and imposing stature, coupled with a physique radiating strength, left an indelible impression on all who beheld him. Yet, it was not merely his physical presence that made Demonmir formidable. His Individuality, the essence of his being, permeated the hall as he stepped inside, instantly making his newfound status as a Grandmaster known to all. Eren couldn''t help but feel taken aback by the revtion that Demonmir had attained Grandmaster Rank in a mere nine years. It became clear that plotting against Eren was not the sole focus of Demonmir''s endeavors during this period. ''Now I understand. This is why they agreed to meet only now.'' Eren mused silently,prehending the reason behind House Lowin''s decision to arrange this meeting at this specific time. It seemed that House Lowin intended to dissuade Eren from taking any direct action against Demonmir, subtly conveying a warning by highlighting thetter''s recent promotion to the esteemed A-Rank. Chapter 1376 Grandmaster Rank + Bloodline Aquisition ? This meeting served as a subtle yet unmistakable message, urging Eren to abandon any schemes he may have devised against Demonmir. A smile yed on Eren''s lips as he observed Demonmir approaching the table, seemingly ted by his recent attainment of the A-Rank. Although the A-Rank was not the ultimate pinnacle of power within Anfang, Eren knew that Demonmir''s achievement was no small feat. It was rare for a Master rank individual to progress to the A-Rank due to the inherent challenges and risks involved. The fact that Demonmir had aplished this within a decade showcased both his exceptional talent and his mastery over the demonic arts. Alephee''s voice resonated in Eren''s mind, acknowledging that Demonmir''s antagonistic actions against an entire kingdom had indeed yielded significant rewards. Alephee had been monitoring Demonmir closely through Eren''s senses and had anticipated his rapid advancement in rank. However, even she was taken aback by the swiftness of his progression, not only reaching the final stage of the Master rank within nine years but also obtaining a rank promotion. It became evident to Alephee that Demonmir had skillfully utilized the vast resources and support offered by the half-bloods of the Last Blood Bastion, facilitated by Sage JJ Edgar of House Lowin. Alephee further informed Eren that Demonmir had sessfully be a half-blood, although the chaotic nature of his bloodline energy hindered a precise determination of his specific lineage. Nheless, it was clear that he had assimted with a draconic bloodline and was on the verge of unlocking his bloodline genesis. ''Grandmaster rank and bloodline powers, huh? Keke. Even better. It''s like a sheep taking efforts to fatten itself to serve as a good sacrifice. I expect nothing less from this bastard.'' Eren, unperturbed by this information, locked eyes with Demonmir, devoid of any apprehension. He had foreseen Demonmir''s remarkable growth and had long ceased plotting against him on a personal level. Instead, the butcher harbored a bold na n to manipte Demonmir''s powers to his advantage. All he needed was to ensure the smooth execution of his agenda during this meeting. Contrary to House Lowin''s assumptions, Eren believed that the timing of this gathering could not have been more opportune. After all, Eren had just recently gained ess to the means necessary to leverage Demonmir as his pawn. "Haha! Wee,d. Join this old man," Seth Lowin, the Grandmaster Ranker of House Lowin, greeted Demonmir with a warm smile and a gentle tone, gesturing to the vacant seat at his right. With his flowing white hair and long beard, Seth appeared to be in his eighties by mortal standards. Despite addressing Demonmir with a term of endearment and treating him as a junior with his way of address, Seth regarded him as an equal with his bodynguage. A glimmer of admiration shone in Seth''s eyes, reflecting his firsthand understanding of the arduous journey required to attain the Grandmaster rank. As a fellow Grandmaster, Seth recognized the magnitude of Demonmir''s aplishments. Arie Lowin, seated to Seth Lowin''s left, greeted Demonmir with a nod and a gentle smile, her gaze then shifting towards Eren to gauge his reaction. Eren maintained a neutral expression as he observed Demonmir settling into his seat beside Seth, engaging in conversation with the others in an ideal manner. The initial tension gradually dissipated, and everyone participated in the discussions with Demonmir, oveing the lingering sense of restraint. Demonmir possessed social skills to make people gravitate towards him.I think you should take a look at "Congrattions on achieving the Grandmaster rank, Demonmir," Brandon offered his greetings, his curiosity piqued by the lingering energy emanating from Demonmir''s bloodline. "I suppose you''re now one of us, right?" the bear-type half-blood inquired earnestly. "Haha, indeed. I am now one of you, Grandmaster Brandon," Demonmir responded with a smile. His gaze shifted towards Eren, amusement glimmering in his eyes as he made a sarcastic remark. "Unlike certain individuals with a feeble sense of pride, born from what can only be considered to be weak bloodlines, my bloodline heritage is something upon which all of us half-bloods can depend. Although I have yet to fully assimte with my bloodline, I assure you that I will lead my fellow half-bloods towards a brighter future in due time," he proimed confidently, his tone exuding unwavering assurance. Ottoman''s eyes locked onto Eren, brimming with malicious intent and a cruel gaze as he continued, "And when that timees, Grandmaster Brandon, we will no longer need to rely on feeble men who refuse to step outside theirfort zones and wholeheartedly support the Last Blood Bastian. Theirck of resolve tarnishes our pride as half-bloods. It would be better to rid ourselves of them once they have outlived their usefulness, rather than celebrating their cowardice." Eren detected a subtle undercurrent of intent-based magic interwoven in Demonmir''s voice as he indirectly addressed him. While such words would have stirred the blood of any other Expert-ranked individual, Eren merely chuckled in response, meeting Demonmir''s gaze with a tant disregard that denied him the satisfaction of evoking anger. ''Hmm? He doesn''t seem angry at all. Did my Draconic Tongue fail?'' Demonmir wondered to himself, momentarily astonished as he observed Eren. He clicked his tongue in irritation as if ming Eren for not reacting to his words as intended. Unlike Eren, Demonmir hadn''t dismissed the possibility of killing his arch-nemesis right there in the meeting hall. He awaited a valid reason to take action against Eren, eagerly contemting the opportunity to rid himself of this problem now conveniently seated nearby. Furthermore, within the confines of Last Blood Bastion, Anfang Alliance would be powerless to intervene or prosecute him for such an act. At Demonmir''s level, his true feary solely with the Anfang Alliance. Even most of the Sages failed to exert significant pressure on him. However, to his surprise, an Expert-ranked individual, whom he regarded as a nobody, had resisted the effects of his Draconic Tonguea newly acquired innate bloodline ability he had unlocked upon bing a half-blood. Eren absentmindedly scratched his jawline and the back of his ear, surveying the individuals gathered around the table before sharing his thoughts. "Everyone, I believe Agatha''s presence is no longer necessary now that our crucial matters have been concluded, wouldn''t you agree? She is a busy woman, after allmy manager. It would be a waste of her time to remain involved in petty affairs and with unimportant individuals," he remarked, his gaze sweeping across the room, even meeting Demonmir''s eyes as he concluded his statement, intentionally signaling that his words were directed specifically at him. The hall suddenly brimmed with the remnants of a cold war between the two adversaries, and the atmosphere charged with tension. Neither Eren nor Demonmir disyed any intention of backing down, and it became evident that a sh was inevitable should circumstances continue along this path. Chapter 1377 Ars Goetia ? Agatha let out an exasperated sigh, tucking at Eren''s sleeve, ''Tch! Don''t drag me into your conflicts, Eren.'' Eren responded with a smile, his gaze fixed on Demonmir, as he conveyed his thoughts to Agatha without uttering a word. ''I''m looking out for your safety, Miss Manager. Demonmir is dangerous. I can handle this situation, but I suggest you distance yourself from him as much as possible. Consider my words as your excuse to leave this meeting,'' Eren silently exined, maintaining unwavering eye contact with Demonmir. Several of Demonmir''s subordinates, who had apanied him into the meeting hall, seethed with anger upon witnessing Eren''s tant disrespect toward their master. Among them were Demonmir''s former colleagues from his time in Edinburgh, as well as individuals bearing the Montmorency surname who had been loyal to him since their youth in House Montmorency. Two Rankers from House Lowin had also forsaken their n loyalties in favor of Demonmir after he offered them demonic powers. These subordinates, or more urately, Demonmir''sckeys, stood a few paces away from the table. Initially, they were expected to remain silent throughout the meeting. However, Eren''s provocative words ignited their fury, making it impossible for them to contain their anger any longer and maintain a neutral face. It seemed they were used to letting anger drive their actions for as long as they had served Demonmir. "Impudent brat! Who the hell does he think he is, calling Lord Demonmir unimportant? I''ll fucking teach you a lesson!" One of Demonmir''s subordinates, Mael Montmorency, seethed with rage as he red at Eren. Mael, appearing to be in his early thirties, stepped forward, locking eyes with Eren, aiming to assert his dominance as a Master-ranked individual and subdue Eren, whom he sensed to be an Expert Ranker. However, as Mael attempted to channel his mana, he witnessed a striking change in Eren''s eyes. Suddenly, Mael''s consciousness was drawn into a sinister world, where blood-soaked flowers bloomed, a crimson moon hung in the sky, and rivers of blood flowed endlessly. Paralyzed by Eren''s Sedating Gazea skill Eren had consciously developed and honed over the past nine yearsMael abruptly ceased speaking. "Back off, you fucking idiot. I don''t need your assistance," Demonmir refused to allow Eren to exert dominance over his subordinate solely through his gaze. Employing his Draconic Tongue, Demonmirpelled Mael to snap out of Eren''s Sedating Gaze, forcibly causing his body to retreat a step. "I... I apologize, my lord," Mael stammered, addressing Demonmir as he regained hisposure. He cast a fearful and apprehensive nce at Eren, no longer daring to meet his eyes. A brief silence settled over the room as the members locked eyes with each other. It was Arie Lowin who took the initiative to break the tension, initiating a casual conversation with the half-blood members seated at the table. The discussion gradually shifted back to the ongoing war, and as Eren had requested, Agatha seized the opportunity to excuse herself from the meeting, leaving Eren to face Demonmir alone.I think you should take a look at Eren and Demonmir resumed engaging in casual conversations with the members of the half-blood forces, deliberately avoiding direct interaction with each other. As the main topics of the meeting concluded and the representatives of various half-blood ns began to depart, the atmosphere grew tense once again. Eventually, only members of Demonmir''s forces, House Lowin, House Fenris, and Eren remained in the meeting hall. "I''ve heard the White Raven Guild has been prosperingtely thanks to its active participation in the war," Demonmir decided to approach Eren, his demeanor calm andposed. He smirked mischievously before continuing, "Ah, and you were a part of Sebastian''spany, Grimdawn, weren''t you? It was you who dealt with Reva Rain, I believe?" Demonmir showed no signs of being affected by the revtion that his former colleague Reva Rain had perished at Eren''s hands. He had used her extensively for his own gain, even utilizing her name now to strike up a conversation with Eren, exploiting her as a pawn even after her demise. Eren nodded before responding, "That''s correct, Ottoman. She remembered you in her final moments. Too bad for her, she didn''t realize you don''t truly care about your subordinates," he remarked, his gaze directed at Demonmir''s followers. Demonmir remained unfazed by Eren''s attempt to provoke his subordinates against him. He chuckled before speaking. "Hahaha. That wretched woman was no longer worth my attention or nurturing. It''s as simple as that. The only reason I took an interest in her was because the demonic fragment within her soul belonged to one of the Ars Goetia demons. Unfortunately, she failed to awaken the fragment and trigger demonification, rendering her useless in my eyes," Demonmir exined, casting a nce in Eren''s direction. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, showing little concern for the audience. Since the half-bloods were born as demonkin, the half-blood nshad retained some knowledge of demonology, and there was no need to restrain their discussions within the Last Blood Bastian. ''It appears I''ve acquired something quite valuable as a spoils of war. That''s why Alephee was insistent on capturing the slumbering soul fragment within the Pdin of Pain,'' Eren thought to himself beforemunicating with Alephee telepathically. ''Miss Timeless, what does Ars Goetia mean?'' Alephee had been hesitant to divulge this information prematurely, but since Demonmir had brought it up, she decided to satisfy his curiosity to some extent. ''Ars Goetia refers to a group of 72 demons who hold exceptional authority over other demons, Eren. These 72 demons are ranked just below the Seven Demon Princesses and serve as capable lieutenants for them. This was why I asked you to capture the demon soul fragment slumbering within Reva before killing her. I''ll tell you about it at the right time.'' Unaware that he was inadvertently helping Eren solve a puzzle, Demonmir regarded Eren with an amused expression before redirecting the conversation. "And how is my dear cousin, Levine? Is she serving as your obedient concubine? Shall I train her to meet your exact desires? I assure you, I can mold her to perfection," Demonmir taunted, intending to provoke a strong reaction from Eren. Chapter 1378 Rune Implantation ? "Kekeke." Eren''sposure remained unwavering as he let out a hearty chuckle, his gaze never leaving Demonmir''s. "If you truly wish to incite my anger, you''ll need to put in more effort. Perhaps by insulting my mother? Although, I must admit, even that might not go as nned," he retorted with a touch of amusement in his voice. However, his tone turned somber as he continued. "As for Levine, she is flourishing. Come year''s end, I may have to reveal to her just how remarkable her cousin was before his unfortunate demise. I fear she may be overly excited and injure herself from the sheer delight of such a pleasant surprise," Eren concluded, his wordsced with a subtle hint of anticipation. Sirius couldn''t help but feel impressed by Eren''s unwaveringposure and sharp retorts. He recognized Eren''s ability to give Demonmir a taste of his own medicine. If Sirius were in Eren''s position, he knew he would have lost his temper long ago. He realized that advising Eren to remain calm had been a foolish move on his part. Arie cast a disapproving gaze at Demonmir due to his choice of words. However, given Demonmir''s favorable position with Sage Edgar, she chose to withhold her ownments for the time being. ''This What is he nning?'' Demonmir''s eyes narrowed as he absorbed Eren''s words. Despite his outward demeanor, he had never taken Eren''s words lightly. He recognized the significance of Eren''s existence, as he was despised by the slumbering demon soul fragment within Demonmir himself. It became clear to Demonmir that Eren held a special quality that had the potential to attract the attention of a Demon Prince. Underestimating Eren would be foolish. Throughout the past nine years, Demonmir had targeted Eren''s allies indirectly in an attempt to disrupt his ns and force him into making mistakes. He was willing to employ any means necessary to eliminate Eren, no matter the cost. However, Eren had proven to be more cautious and pragmatic than Demonmir had anticipated, evading his traps and schemes. The reason why Demonmir and House Lowin had chosen this particr moment to meet with Eren was because Demonmir had recently achieved the Grandmaster Rank and assimted a draconic bloodline. House Lowin hoped that Eren and Demonmir woulde to an understanding after this meeting. Demonmir, on the other hand, had hoped to mentally unsettle Eren by showcasing his own aplishments, aiming to provoke a reaction. Yet, the tables had turned, and it was Demonmir who found himself intimidated by Eren''s chilling threat. "What are you plotting, you bastard? If I am to fall, rest assured, I will take you down with me," Grimdawn countered, his voice oozing with confidence. He smirked, continuing, "All it takes is for the Demon Prince within me to seize control of this vessel. Your ns, your traps, will all be rendered useless." Demonmir''s eyes emitted an eerie red hue as he spoke, the aura of Wrath mana enveloping his body. ''That''s what I''m counting on,'' Eren said to himself but didn''t say out loud. He felt that it was necessary for him to distract Demonmir mentally before his next set of actions. ''Time to act a little brazenly.'' Eren quietly whispered to himself, knowing that he needed to distract Demonmir mentally before his next move. With a bold decision in mind, he leaned forward and pressed his right index finger against the wooden table, exerting an overwhelming force of physical pressure and mana. The table instantly shattered into countless tiny pieces, surprising everyone in the meeting hall. Fortunately, their experience and high-ranking status allowed them to avoid any injuries from the flying debris. Standing up from his seat, Eren confidently walked towards Demonmir, causing his subordinates to tense up, ready to intervene. Mael, fueled by anger, prepared to attack Eren with his fire-element spells. However, Demonmir asserted his authority by raising his hand andmanded his subordinates to stand back, preventing any interference.I think you should take a look at Demonmir gazed at Eren with anticipation and a wide smile, believing that he had finally shaken Eren. He had no qualms aboutplicating matters by killing Eren within Fort Fenris if given a valid reason. "Eren, what the fuck are you doing? Stand back." Concerned, Sirius stood up and warned Eren to stay back, ready to intervene. But Eren reassured him in a calm voice, alleviating Sirius'' worry. "Rx Sirius. It''s nothing serious." Sirius realized that Eren''s pun on his name indicated his lighthearted mood, signifying that he had everything under control. Eren stood face-to-face with Demonmir, who stood a bit taller, peering down at Eren, expecting a reason to engage in conflict. "I think it''s high time we stop instigating each other with words, Demonmir," Eren said in a neutral voice as he looked at Demonmir. "I think it will sully both of our reputations if we do that for any longer. People will think we only talk with nothing to show for. Let''s be civilized in carrying out the enmity between us. Let''s meet each other on the battlefield and settle our differences for good one day. Until then, it was nice meeting you," Eren said while raising his hands. Eren spoke neutrally, suggesting a change in their approach. He emphasized the need to stop instigating each other with words, as it would only tarnish their reputations. Instead, Eren proposed settling their differences in a Rankers'' Code of Conduct on the battlefield, where they could truly prove themselves. With that, Eren raised his hands. Enraged, Mael was about to retaliate, assuming Eren intended to attack Demonmir. However, Sirius swiftly intervened, restraining Mael and scolding him for jumping to conclusions. "Don''tplicate things, you overexcited brat. Eren is just offering a handshake to your boss. Now stop barking and stay still like a good dog." Sirius asserted that Eren was merely offering a handshake. Mael reluctantly kneeled under Sirius'' pressure. Demonmir raised an eyebrow, surprised by Eren''s actions and provoking words once again. Conflicting thoughts raced through his mind as he subconsciously raised his own hand. Eren chuckled before shaking hands with Demonmir, gazing into his eyes. "I have a feeling we will meet again soon, Demonmir. Until then, I wish you sess and prosperity," Eren said, retracting his hand. "Sirius, the meeting has concluded. We can leave," Eren informed Sirius. With a nod, Sirius proceeded to escort Eren out of the meeting room. Eren didn''t forget to express his gratitude to Arie before departing from Fort Fenris. Amidst the chaotic turn of events and Eren''s unconventional actions, nobody noticed the invisible space-element rune etched on Demonmir''s palmthe same hand with which he had shaken hands with Eren. Chapter 1379 A Life Saved ? "What the hell was that all about?" Mael eximed, his face and eyes filled with anger as he directed his gaze toward the meeting hall''s entrance. He then turned to Demonmir, seeking an exnation for the unexpected turn of events. Demonmir also shifted his attention to the exit Eren had taken, deep in thought. He nced down at his palm, the one that had shaken hands with Eren, and narrowed his eyes with a hint of suspicion. "That brat Eren... he proposed that we halt our attacks on each other''s forces and settle our conflict on a more personal level," Demonmir revealed, observing his palm with caution. Reflecting on the meeting, he couldn''t help but question whether agreeing to meet Eren had been a mistake. He realized that he was unable to take direct action against Eren or incite anti-Eren sentiments among the half-blood members present. Eren had proven adept at navigating the political and social traps set by Demonmir. Furthermore, Demonmir had a feeling that Eren had done something to his palm, although there were no visible traces. Was he paranoid? Or was it because Eren''s radical actions made him paranoid? He clenched his fist, contemting whether he was overthinking the situation. Ultimately, he reassured himself. ''It''s not that I want to underestimate him. But what can an Expert Ranker possibly do, no matter what schemes he may have up his sleeve? Logically speaking, this bastard Eren is still a greenhorn aspared to me. Even if he reaches the Master rank in a few years, it changes nothing. This Grandmaster rank is just the beginning. With my demonic powers and my newly acquired bloodline, I will ascend to the Sage rank faster than anyone can imagine. This war has been advantageous for me, and it will continue to be until I leave this confined world for good.'' Demonmir''s smile conveyed his unwavering confidence in his abilities to face any challenges thaty ahead. "Very well, since Grimdawn has expressed it this way, we will cease our attacks on the members of the White Raven Guild. The agreement stands as long as we are not targeted by Grimdawn''s forces from the shadows. And when Grimdawn''s significance to the Last Blood Bastian diminishes, I will personally eliminate him," Demonmir proimed, his gaze hollow yet determined. Continuing with his confident posture and hands held behind his back, Demonmir added. "And diminish it shall, as I begin providing these half-bloods with genuine Hex artifacts. During these past 9 years, I have been upied with numerous endeavors. However, now I can spare some time to increase my value in the Last Blood Bastian. Within two years, I will guide and train an artifact creator to craft high-quality Hex artifacts. With my connections to the kingdom of Layos, obtaining the necessary raw materials will be an effortless task. Commander Saisha Goren from the Layos army has recently reached out to me, expressing their willingness to cooperate as long as we enhance our support for the Layos forces." Demonmir stood tall, radiating pride as he addressed his subordinates, who had gathered behind him led by Mael. "Everything is falling into ce for me after these arduous nine years ofbor. I will eventually rid ourselves of this nuisance. We have many tasks at hand, so cease your focus on Grimdawn and his allies," hemanded. The subordinates responded with a resounding affirmation before following Demonmir as he exited the meeting hall. Arie and the other half-bloods, unable to object, watched in silence as Demonmir departed with his entourage. They understood that the long-standing enmity between Eren and Demonmir had reached its inevitable conclusion. The half-blood forces could only hope that the Last Blood Bastion would not suffer significant losses due to their sh.I think you should take a look at However, Mael remained dissatisfied with the oue. Outside Fort Fenris and the Fenris province, he couldn''t resist asking Demonmir. "My lord, why wait for two years? Should I track down and kill that bastard Eren right now? He couldn''t have gone too far. Just assign a Grandmaster ranker to keep Sirius upied, and I will dispose of that nuisance without harming Sirius. With my Ability, it is entirely feasible for me to locate and" Mael was interrupted when Demonmir burst intoughter before responding. "Mael, if you wish to die, be my guest. Go ahead and chase Eren to your heart''s content. But do not waste the life of my Grandmaster ranker in the process. Do you think raising a Grandmaster ranker is an easy feat?" Mael was left speechless, unable to fathom that Demonmir held Eren in such high regard. Demonmir paid no attention to Mael as he continued walking ahead. "If it were that simple to dispose of him, I would have done so long ago," Demonmir sighed before disappearing from sight. Demonmir''s subordinates trailed closely behind him as he strode toward the exit of the Last Blood Bastion, leaving Mael to his own devices. However, one person remained behind, cing a reassuring hand on Mael''s back before speaking up, "If you''re still determined to pursue your n of eliminating Eren, I will shadow you from a distance." Mael felt a glimmer of hope as at least one of Demonmir''s subordinates agreed with his intentions. He looked at the man with anticipation and said, "That''s excellent news, Grandmaster Heram. If you handle Sirius, I can..." Mael''s words were abruptly interrupted by Grandmaster Heram. "Do not misunderstand. I merely wish to assess Eren''s progress over these past 9 years. Unlike you, I am well aware of what that man, known as Grimdawn in Edinburgh, is capable of. He is brutal when he knows he can beat his enemies and fucking scumbag-like trickster when he knows his enemy is stronger than him. Basically, he is no different from lord Demonmir. Umm... perhaps even more sinister than Lord Demonmir in some cases. I will observe from the shadows, taking notes as you engage inbat. Naturally, I will ensure that you receive thest rites in the event that Eren leaves your body intact. However, considering Grimdawn''s track record thus far, the chances of that happening are minimal." Heram stated in a saddened tone as if he was sad for Mael''s potential demise. Contrary to Mael''s initial perception, Heram intended to assist Mael rather than deter him with bleak predictions. He did not wish for the young blood''s grim end. Heram''s words seemed to resonate with Mael, prompting him to reluctantly abandon the idea of following Eren''s path. A life was saved on this day. Chapter 1380 Lady Zees Acquisition Of Soul-Nourishing Rewards The period of the war was an equation-changing event. The secretive organization known as the Illuminati had retreated into the shadows with the onset of the war between the kingdoms of Edinburgh and Layos. With the Anfang Alliance growing more vignt, the Illuminati had ceased its activities within these realms, its members adopting new aliases to blend in as ordinary rankers under the watchful eye of Anfang''s forces. Among the Illuminati members residing in the City of White Raven were Julia Ekhart, also known as Jules, Tara Far, and Lady Zee. Since the organization had halted its operations, it had relinquished its ambitions of seizing control over Minerva''s Utopia. The war had drastically altered the dynamics, making any such move under the vignt gaze of the Anfang Alliance perilous for the cultist organization. During these 9 years, Jules, Tara, and Lady Zee had the freedom to operate as regr rankers. Finding themselves with ample spare time, they offered their services as mercenaries to the White Raven Guild, engaging in border patrols and scout missions assigned by the guild''s administration. It was no secret to Jules that Eren had assumed the alternate identity of Ron Damien, the man she had been searching for, and whom she had abandoned the Lionheart Duchy to find. Jules harbored a bit of resentment towards Eren for leaving her behind, yet he managed to assuage her feelings and gain her favor once again by spending time with her whenever he returned to the City of White Raven. Moreover, he had also branded her with his Sin Series Ability, ensuring her silence regarding his discarded identity as Ron Damien in the presence of her colleagues, Tara and Lady Zee. Jules, Tara, and Catherine were granted special missions by the White Raven Guild, providing them with higher rewards and lower risks. The chaos of war presented them with unique opportunities to acquire rare ranking resources as part of their mission rewards. Catherine, formerly known as Lady Zee, was particrly delighted with her situation. Aware of the bounty on her cultist identity, she had sought Tara''s assistance in altering her appearance a bit and adopting a new name. Now known as Catherine, she could operate without the burden of her past. The trio frequently coborated as a team, undertaking missions together and leveraging their synergy to aplish their objectives. During these 9 years, Jules and Tara had achieved the rank of Adept, making remarkable progress in their ranking journey. With just a few more months, they were poised to break into the esteemed Expert rank. Their rapid advancement wasrgely attributed to the White Raven Guild''s rank-up program, an opportunity exclusively offered to Jules'' group of mercenaries. The women treasured their time in the guild, demonstrating unwaveringmitment topleting guild missions with passion. Catherine, or Lady Zee in her previous guise, found great satisfaction in the missions she undertook. These assignments allowed her to progress steadily in her ranking journey. The White Raven Guild''s generous mission rewards and guidance propelled her towards the Expert rank, with the coveted Master rank within reach. ***I think you should take a look at "Thepletion of mission codename EVL 5432 has been authenticated and recorded in the database. Well done once again, Julia Ekhart," Sha Hinsken, the head administrator of the White Raven Guild, addressed Jules with a smile, her gaze focused on the spectral screen. After finalizing the entries, Sha finally looked at Jules and inquired. "How''s it going, Jules?" Sha inquired, her voice filled with curiosity. However, her tone quickly shifted to theint as she frowned at Jules. "You don''t stay in the city very often these days, so we rarely get to meet. And when we do, it''s either when you''re heading out on a mission or here in the guild''s grand hall to collect your rewards," Shamented, voicing her frustration. Jules chuckled and replied. "Hehe, it''s not that I''m trying to avoid you, Sha. It''s just that my reason for staying in the city of White Raven doesn''t often cross paths with me. So, I''ve had to prioritize my ranking journey. Not that I''mining, though. This war has provided an extraordinary opportunity for rankers like us without influential backgrounds. I strive to enhance my skills and make significant progress. Sadly, leisure activities have taken a backseat as a result," Jules responded with a dramatic sigh. Sha detected a sense of aplishment in Jules'' voice and smiled wryly before presenting the rewards to her entire party. They exchanged a few more words and decided to catch up over drinks on the uing weekend, taking advantage of the vibrant atmosphere in the city. While Jules conversed with Sha, Tara, and Catherine patiently awaited her. Finally, when Jules finished her conversation, Tara''s excitement couldn''t be contained. "What were our bonus rewards this time, Jules?" Tara asked with enthusiasm. Jules smiled and distributed the rewards to her two team members, including both regr and bonus rewards. However, Catherine frowned when she received her bonus reward. Concerned, Jules asked her, "What happened, Catherine? Are you not happy with your reward?" Catherine sighed and shook her head. "It''s nothing. I don''t have anyints about my regr rewards. It''s just that... I received another C-Rank soul-based potion as an additional reward. I''ve been getting these potions for quite some time now, and while they enhance my Spiritual Force, they don''t contribute to my ranking progress. And I can''t make use of my Spiritual Force since I don''t have Soul Sense," she exined with a wry smile. Before Jules and Tara could respond, Catherine waved her hand dismissively and continued, "But you girls don''t need to worry. I don''t need to request a recement for the potion. It''s not like I''m not receiving anything else besides these potions. I''ll consume it and move on. Anyway, what are our next set of missions, Jules?" Jules and Tara exchanged nces, recognizing that the matter wasn''t a significant issue. They shifted their focus to discussing their uing missions, heading towards the teleportation portal avable for White Raven citizens, ready to embark on their next assignments. Chapter 1381 Disadvantages Of Fame: Manipulation Failure ? In a quaint, nameless town on the outskirts of Nightshade duchy within the Edinburgh kingdom, two high-ranking individuals were enjoying a delectable meal. Despite their elevated statuses, they had concealed their ranks to avoid rming the low-ranking townsfolk and mortals. The table before them was adorned with an array of mouthwatering dishes, and they savored each bite while engaging in casual conversation. However, to everyone''s surprise, their words remained unheard by any eavesdroppers, leaving spectators perplexed. "Speaking of which, why don''t you return to Fort Fenris, Sirius? I''ll manage just fine on my own," Eren suggested to Sirius as he skillfully sliced into a tender piece of slow-cooked beef cheeks. He delicately savored the morsel before washing it down with a sip of red wine, using a napkin to wipe his mouth. He then turned his gaze towards Sirius, awaiting his response. Sirius smiled and surveyed their surroundings before replying. "Hehe, nice attempt, Eren. You already know I''m not overly concerned about your well-being. My worry lies in what you might do to someone from Demonmir''s faction if they decide to follow you. I don''t want them to meet their demise at your hands and disrupt the Last Blood Bastion''s ns of utilizing both you and Demonmir to our advantage. I apologize for being straightforward, but that''s the reality," Sirius exined, sighing as he continued enjoying his meal. His te featured sulent Lamb Shanks,plemented by a ss of rum. Eren chuckled upon hearing Sirius'' genuine response. "Well, I appreciate your honesty, so no hard feelings. I understand your concerns when I put myself in your shoes. But what can a lone man do when attacked over a trivial disagreement? I must defend myself, don''t you agree?" Eren questioned as he took another bite. ncing around discreetly, Eren extended his Soul Sense to survey their surroundings before sighing, "Fortunately for you, there''s no one tailing us. I even attempted to provoke that Mael fellow by using Sedating Gaze, hoping he would be incensed enough to seek a private conversation with me," Eren shared, disappointment evident in his voice. Eren had purposefully employed his Ability to manipte Mael''s psyche, intending to provoke him intounching an ambush. It appeared that Sirius was well aware of Eren''s penchant for seeking conflict and manipting others. Shaking his head, Sirius voiced his perspective. "I''m here merely as a precaution in case they do show up. However, I highly doubt anyone would make that mistake. Demonmir knows how to control his hounds and how to utilize them effectively. He understands whom to release his hounds upon and whom to confront personally. Besides Mael, I don''t think anyone in Demonmir''s entourage would be foolish enough to act on a personal vendetta against you. Your fame as Grimdawn has made you too notorious for them to fall victim," Sirius smirked, his gaze fixed on Eren as he swiftly downed a ss of exquisite rum, the town''s sole restaurant offering. "Hey! Don''t paint me with such a negative brush, man. Am I really the viin here?" Eren protested. "Yes, you most certainly are," Sirius responded without hesitation. "In some cases, you surpass even Demonmir. Honestly, I''m surprised you two haven''t be friends yet. You two share so many simrities." Eren chuckled in response to Sirius'' usations. "Well, let me offer this perspective to help you see me in a better light: that guy started it. I''m simply ensuring that things unfold in my favor," Eren remarked, shrugging his shoulders.I think you should take a look at Sirius nodded in acknowledgment of Eren''s statement before sharing further information. "Eren, my sources have informed me that Demonmir has made secret contact with the kingdom of Layos. Saisha Goren is involved in their dealings. Although we don''t have all the details yet, it''s highly likely that Demonmir is seeking to establish his own production of Hex Artifacts using Layos'' resources. It seems Layos intends to secure its own supply of Hex Artifacts through this arrangement." Sirius spoke in a grave tone, reclining in his chair. He swirled the rum in his ss before continuing, "If things unfold as Demonmir ns, and I believe they will, he will soon have his own production of Hex Artifacts for personal use and for the Last Blood Bastion. Can you imagine the implications for you if that bes a reality?" Eren smiled, appearing undeterred by the potential consequences. "The Last Blood Bastion will no longer have a need for me. This means they will no longer protect me from Demonmir''s pursuit. He won''t even have to take direct action. All he needs to do is expose my half-blood status to the Anfang Alliance and provide evidence of my ties to your group. That would be enough to shatter my foundation and ce me in the same category as hima wanted criminal in the eyes of the Anfang Alliance. If that urs, the Anfang Alliance will stop at nothing to hunt me down, considering my significant contributions to the Last Blood Bastion and the audacity of conducting them right under their noses," Eren stated matter-of-factly as if discussing someone else''s predicament rather than his own. Impressed by Eren''s astute analysis, Sirius pursed his lips before responding. "Eren, House Fenris ismitted to ensuring your safety, as well as the safety of your allies and assets. However, if the Last Blood Bastion finds an alternative source for Hex Artifacts, our ability to protect you would be severelypromised. You must exercise caution from now on, Eren. In the event that things take a turn for the worse and a bounty is ced on your head, you can always rely on us and seek refuge in the Fenris province within the Last Blood Bastion. But I must be honest with youwe would face significant challenges in countering Demonmir''s threat, especially if you are beyond our sphere of influence," Sirius said in a grave tone. Eren paused in his meal, his attention fully focused on Sirius. He straightened up in his chair and stroked his chin, contemting the situation. Chapter 1382 Rare L ? Eren paused in his meal, his attention fully focused on Sirius. He straightened up in his chair and stroked his chin, contemting the situation. "Hmm, that is indeed a valid concern. While I''m not afraid of Demonmir, I would prefer to avoid any coteral damage. So, how much time do I have? Negotiating with Layos is likely to be even more difficult than with Edinburgh," Eren inquired. Sirius raised his right hand, disying a victory sign with his fingers as he responded, "You have approximately two years, give or take. That''s the time frame Demonmir needs to match your sess in Hex Artifact creation." Eren chuckled upon hearing Sirius'' answer. "That''s more than enough. I only need one year to get rid of that bastard," Eren replied, a knowing smile ying on his lips. "You should head back now, Sirius. This meal is on me," Eren added before returning to his food. Sirius couldn''t quite fathom how Eren intended to eliminate Demonmir within a year, but for some reason, he had faith in him. After confirming that no one was tailing them once again, Sirius let out a sigh before vanishing into thin air, leaving Eren to finish his meal in solitude. Within a few moments, Alephee appeared sitting in a chair previously upied by Sirius. She didn''t seem interested in food. But she lifted a bottle of red wine ced in front of Eren and fixed herself a ss. "Don''t provoke people into bing your enemies just to satiate your tendency to butcher people up, Eren," Alephee reprimanded Eren in a soft and gentle voice. She looked at him intently, observing his visage before continuing. "Especially now, when the pressure of so many space-element runes is acting on you. Your movements are thoroughly restricted because of them. Your ability to use spells has been greatlypromised because of them. Nobody would be able to tell this about you after looking at you or your actions. But that''s not the reason to be careless at this point." Eren turned his gaze towards Alephee, a smile ying on his lips as he nodded in acknowledgment. Deep down, he couldn''t help but admit that the use and control of space-element runes ced a considerable burden on his body, hindering his ability to fully unleash his powers and abilities. During his encounter with Lysa''s team, they had failed to recognize this change in him, attributing it to their battle formation rather than realizing that Eren''s elemental spells had lost a certain edge that had be synonymous with his name, Grimdawn. Eren had practically imposed a handicap on himself by burdening his body with the space-element rune imntation that was active even before the burden inflicted by Demonmir''s rune imntation was added into the mix. In doing so, he provided Lysa''s team with an unintended advantage during their battle. However, thanks to the Hex Artifacts he possessed, Eren was able topensate for the limitations imposed by the rune and rely solely on his physical prowess to dismantle the formidable battle formation and ovee Lysa''s entire team. Before attempting to imnt the space-element rune on Demonmir, Eren had conducted a thorough field test on Reva. He had firmly gripped her by the throat and nted the rune just bying into contact, ensuring that the rune imntation would yield the desired results.I think you should take a look at With Reva''s sessful imntation paving the way, Eren proceeded to imnt the same rune on Demonmir, achieving the desired oue. One could say that Reva had paved the way for her ex''s potential downfall. Eren needed to encrypt the space-element rune within a cluster of other aether-element runes, concealing its true nature. Additionally, he had to bear the burden of carrying the space-element rune himself, carefully concealing any side effects that could potentially alert Demonmir to his actions. If Demonmir had sensed the presence of the space-element rune and its detrimental effects, he would have spared no effort in eliminating the ticking time bomb that Eren had nted within him. As Eren continued eating, he couldn''t help but sigh as he reflected on the challenges he faced in trying to make the Lazarus Project a sess. Dealing with Demonmir was thest thing he needed during such a critical time. Unfortunately, several unexpected obstacles forced him to alter his ns. Initially, Eren had intended to eliminate Demonmir within two to three years after the war between Edinburgh and Layos began. He had made extensive preparations and sought the involvement of someone from House Lowin to execute his n. Arie had been his chosen candidate for this role. Aware that his Sin Series Ability would be ineffective against a powerful demonkin like Arie, Eren had attempted to win Arie''s favor through romantic gestures. However, Arie managed to maintain her neutrality between Eren and Demonmir, thwarting his attempts to manipte her. It seemed that Arie had developed a strong mental fortitude after discerning Eren''s true intentions. She remained guarded whenever they interacted, making it difficult for Eren to establish any intimate connection that would allow him to set a trap for Demonmir. Eren was well aware that he couldn''t easily manipte women driven by a strong sense of duty without resorting to the power of the Mist of Lust. His current inability to utilize the Sin Series Ability posed a notable disadvantage. Argo, upon learning about Eren''s predicament, couldn''t help but burst intoughter, deeming it to be a "rare L." The butcher realized he needed to think outside the box. Thus, he decided to incorporate Demonmir into the broader scope of the Lazarus Project. Maintaining a friendly and cordial rtionship with Arie despite her neutrality, Eren allowed Demonmir to be drawn to him of his own volition. And he had to admit, it worked out perfectly and at just the right time. As Eren finished his meal, a mysterious mist began to envelop him, concealing his form. He swiftly transformed his appearance into that of Leo Longde, tapping into his acquired bloodline powers. With a satisfied smile, he silently expressed gratitude to Reen for granting him such groundbreaking abilities. Turning his attention to Alephee, Eren spoke with determination, "I''ve resolved many matters during this week''s break. It''s time to return to the City of Lancelot." Alephee nodded in understanding. In the blink of an eye, Eren activated one of the space-element runes infused within him. As the mist dissipated, the lunch table was left empty, devoid of any sign of their presence except for the bill amount and generous tip ced on the table. Chapter 1383 A Step Closer To The Shallots Mirror ? ng. ng. ng. The air filled with the rhythmic ng of hammers striking metal, resounding from every direction. Upon Leo''s return to the ck Iron Fort in the City of Lancelot, he stepped into the familiar atmosphere of Grandmaster Baelin''s renowned weaponsmithy. The smithy was a hive of activity. Inside, the air crackled with heat and intensity, surrounded by the energy of devoted weapon forgers, runic experts, and weapon augmenters. Each craftsman was deeply immersed in their tasks, utilizing the smithy''sprehensive facilities to create a diverse range of weapons, from mass-produced armaments to exquisite artifacts. The rhythmic symphony of hammers striking metal resounded through the space, asionally apanied by small bursts of controlled explosions. Every now and then, a radiant glow would emanate from a corner before vanishing as quickly as it appeared. The entire scene was a testament to the expertise and dedication of those working within Grandmaster Baelin''s renowned establishment. "So, Leo, how did yourst week go?" Grandmaster Baelin inquired, his skilled hands delicately modifying the runic engravings on a spiritual artifact he had justpleted. Leo and Baelin''s other apprentice, Ravid, stood by, providing support for the intricate runic array Baelin was working inside. "It was a highly productive week, Teacher Baelin," Leo responded, maintaining the stability of the runic array from within his designated circle. Baelin, the venerable dwarf Grandmaster, chuckled heartily, his long, braided beard swaying as he did so. He continued the conversation, "That''s excellent to hear, my boy. And what about those five troublemakers who bothered you?" Leo''s expression remainedposed as he recounted the incident. During the week-long test, five fellow Rankers had also qualified as finalists for Baelin''s apprenticeship. However, they were resentful of Leo''s selection and attempted to coerce him into giving up his position with threats and a meager sum of money. Without hesitation, Leo swiftly dealt with them, and with the help of La, they left no trace of the confrontation. Leo was momentarily taken aback when he realized that Baelin knew about his actions regarding the Rankers who had been bothering him. However, noticing Baelin''s casual and epting demeanor, Leo decided to be honest with his teacher. "Yes, teacher Baelin, you''re right. They were trying to force me to give up the apprenticeship, and reasoning with them didn''t work. So, I took matters into my own hands to ensure they wouldn''t trouble me again. I did it so I could fully focus on the tasks you assign me and give my absolute best in this field," Leo exined with aposed smile. Grandmaster Baelinughed heartily in response. "Hahaha, you handled it well, my boy. I had a feeling something like this might happen. That''s why I had some of my underlings keep an eye on you. But when they reported that you willingly went with those troublemakers, I knew you had a n of your own. So, I let you handle them in your own way. After all, I respect the privacy and capabilities of my apprentices," Baelin exined while continuing to work on the runic engraving of a newly crafted weapon. Leo was aware that he had been under surveince when he met with the five Rankers. He was relieved that Baelin had trusted him enough to call off the monitoring for his protection. However, he also knew that it was difficult to keep secrets from Grandmaster Baelin, considering the close watch he kept on his apprentices.I think you should take a look at Baelin''s protective measures were meant to keep his apprentices safe from enemies and external forces, but it addedplexity to Leo''s situation due to the secrets he carried. Despite that, Leo didn''t mind Baelin''s watchful gaze, as he still had a measure of control over the situation. Thus, he didn''t object to Baelin''s attentive approach. Ravid seemed annoyed when Baelin mentioned respecting the privacy of his apprentices. He couldn''t help but remind Baelin of the time when the master had unexpectedly appeared during Ravid''s date with ady friend. Baelin had hriously recounted all of Ravid''s mishaps in the smithy, inadvertently bing a third wheel that night. Although thedyughed and enjoyed Baelin''spany, the date didn''t go as Ravid had hoped. Leo and Baelin burst intoughter at Ravid''s misfortune and yfully teased him, offering unsolicited advice on how he could salvage the situation and rekindle the spark with his date. Amidst all the banter, Leo was also focused on honing his skills as an artifact forger. Determined to prove himself, Leo observed Baelin''s work in progress and decided to step up. He addressed Ravid, who was standing opposite him within the array circle. With confidence in his abilities, Leo spoke, "Ravid, take a break if you want. I can handle things by myself until teacher Baelin finishes this weapon." Leo''s words exuded self-assurance as he alternated his gaze between Ravid and Baelin. Ravid''s face lit up with relief as he dly epted Leo''s offer for rest. He nced at their teacher, Grandmaster Baelin, seeking confirmation. The seasoned dwarf master observed both his apprentices for a moment before giving his approval. "Haha. Cheeky brat, don''t think that I don''t know what you are doing," Baelin said and chuckled as he looked at Leo with a smirk. "I know you are trying to prove your worth by demonstrating that your Spiritual Force is more than enough to handle the burden of the artifact creation process from its start to end. I also sense that your Spiritual Force has spiked unexpectedly within a week, which tells me you have consumed a lot of soul-based potions. Frankly, I don''t know how you could afford such potions and that too in such quantities for your Spiritual Force to shoot up like that. But I''m guessing this little stunt of yours must have cost you a fortune," Baelin urately deduced Leo''s game n as he kept working on the spiritual artifact in front of him. Leo smiled wryly and scratched his right cheek before nodding at Baelin, letting him know that his observation was on point. Baelin actually appreciated Leo''s eagerness and recognized that Ravid would benefit from a simr approach if he had adopted it earlier. Thus, the Grandmaster proposed a challenge to Leo, allowing him to delve into artifact creation. Chapter 1384 The Illusion Of Choice ? Baelin proposed a challenge to Leo, allowing him to delve into artifact creation. "If you are that much in a hurry to make spirit artifacts of your own, we need to start from the basics from this very moment. Your first task would be to stay involved in the artifact creation process with me for 6 days straight without taking Ravid''s help. If you canst for 6 days straight with me, I''ll start teaching you the fundamentals of spiritual artifact creation. If I teach right and you learn right, you should be able to handle Shallot''s Mirror within a month," Baelin dered as he concentrated on the task at hand. Leo''s eyes shone with determination as he heard Baelin''s words. Clenching his fists, he started maintaining the array with much more focus than before. Leo understood that this was the crucial test he needed to pass in order to gain the privilege of using Shallot''s Mirror within Baelin''s smithy. With determination in his heart, he set aside all other distractions and focused solely on observing Baelin''s work. Every move and adjustment made by the Grandmaster dwarf was carefully analyzed by Leo, who in turn made fine-tuned adjustments to the array''s operability. He ensured that his actions did not hinder Baelin''s weapon creation process in any way, demonstrating his skill and dedication. *** Around a monthter. Less than a year remains for Eliza''s resurrection. Grandmaster Baelin''s smithy. "Leo, my boy," called out Baelin to Leo Longde, who had justpleted the creation of a transcendent-grade spear. "Coming," Leo replied, taking a moment to admire his finished product with a smile of satisfaction. cing the spear gently on the work table, he made his way up the raised tform where Grandmaster Baelin was seated, climbing the stairs slowly until he stood before the venerable craftsman. Pausing from his scroll reading, Baelin looked at his apprentice and inquired, "How was it? Did you follow the guidelines I provided for creating that quadruple elementpatible weapon?" Leo beamed and nodded in response, saying, "Yes, Teacher Baelin. At first, I wondered why you assigned me to craft such a specialized weapon when none could effectively wield it in Edinburgh. But I understood it was one of your tests, and Ipleted the assignment exactly as you requested. Please take a look." Baelin chuckled, pleased with Leo''s understanding and diligence. Without dy, he tapped his desk, causing the weapon to vanish from Leo''s table and appear before Baelin on his work desk. The Grandmaster examined Leo''s creation closely, infusing it with his mana and Mana Sense to assess its quality. Satisfied with the craftsmanship, he smiled at Leo and offered well-deserved praise for his efforts. "Hahaha! You''ve truly surpassed my expectations, brat," Baelin eximed, his face disying a mix of surprise and admiration. "By crafting such a magnificent transcendent-grade weapon, you''ve proven that you''re more than ready to learn everything from me. It seems you were not kidding when you said you are ready to start creating the spiritual artifacts on your own. I must admit, I might have underestimated the extent of your Spiritual Force." Baelin''s praise for Leo''s craftsmanship was evident, and he looked at his apprentice with newfound respect and excitement for the possibilities thaty ahead.I think you should take a look at But he quickly adopted a hushed tone as he continued, "However, I must rify that this spear isn''t meant for anyone in Edinburgh. It''s actually just a samplemissioned by customers outside the kingdom through a third party." Leo''s eyes widened in surprise, and he spoke in a doubtful tone, "Teacher Baelin, you''re not nning to sell this weapon to someone from the kingdom of Layos, are you? That could cause trouble for all of us..." Baelin raised a finger to his lips, gesturing for Leo to keep his voice down. "Calm down, you fool. I would never sell weapons to Layos; that would be self-sabotage," Baelin reassured him. "This sample is for the Amazonians, the ones resisting the Asikha Empire. They''ll test the weapon''s performance before cing an order. I want to keep this discreet because I still have customers within the Asikha Empire, and selling to their enemies would be awkward," Baelin exined with a wry smile. Leo''s frown transformed into a knowing smile,ced with ambition, as he absorbed Baelin''s words. It became evident that the Amazonians had shifted their focus towards acquiring custom-made weapons from renowned weaponsmiths and esteemed establishments. The White Raven Guild, while still engaged in mass trading with the Amazonians through the non-exclusive contract, could not cater to their specific needs for specialized weapons nine years ago when Eren first struck a deal with them. Hence, Eren had proposed seeking such weapons elsewhere. Now, the Amazonians were determined to equip their special executives and lieutenants with these tailor-made spiritual weapons. Understanding the reason behind Baelin''s request for a quadruple-element spear, Leo realized its significance. As most Amazonians were Elementalists, they possessed the unique ability to wield multiple elements with exceptional proficiency. These specialized spiritual weapons were meant to unleash their true potential. Leo''s transcendent-grade spear was not yetplete. Baelin would utilize the Soul Seed insertion Array and Shallot''s Mirror to process the weapon further, transforming it into a full-fledged spiritual artifact before sending it to the Amazonians. Only after thoroughly confirming its quality and spiritual amplification would the Amazonians ce a weapon consignment with Baelin, sealing their partnership. The Eren hiding within Leo''s skin couldn''t help but find amusement in the situation with the Amazonians. They were unknowingly benefiting from both his mass trade weapons and the specialized ones crafted under Baelin''s name. And by doing so, they were about to pay him for both types of weapon consignments. This situation reminded one of a colossal corporation running two shellpanies, each with its own distinct branding and customer base. One catered to the majority, offering affordable products, while the other targeted the elite, producing exclusive, high-quality items. To the unsuspecting masses, it appeared as though they had options to choose from, two separate entities meeting their specific needs. However, unbeknownst to them, bothpanies were under the control of a single entity, creating an illusion of choice where none truly existed. The option to choose was a mirage, cleverly crafted to give the appearance of diversity while serving a single purpose. Eren''s guild had entered a non-exclusive contract with the Amazonians, but the deal seemed almost insignificant considering his involvement in producing specialized spiritual weapons under Baelin''s name. This situation made the contract more of a jest than a binding agreement. Regardless of how the Amazonians decided to obtain their weapons, Eren would ultimately reap the benefits, leaving him with the upper hand in their arrangement. === AN: The White Raven Guild entered a non-exclusive contract with the Amazonians in chapter 1297. Chapter 1385 Pinnacle Of Intent-Driven Magic: Immortal Magic ? "Kekeke. You truly deserve to be my teacher, Grandmaster Baelin." Leo chuckled, recognizing that his teacher shared a simr idea of catering to opposing factions. After all, he had also sold weapons to the Rankers from both sides of the war. So it was only natural that he would appreciate his dwarf master''s cunning approach before speaking his mind. "Count me in on your n, Teacher. Just bless me with your guidance as well," Leo expressed, his gaze fixed on Baelin. The Grandmaster cackled in agreement, assuring his apprentice that he would be rewarded for his efforts. "Haha. Don''t worry. You will get your due share, brat. However, we''ll need to keep this n between us, as Ravid isn''t cut out for this type of business. So it will be our little secret. Of course, while we embark on this side project, we can''t neglect our regr assignments, so be prepared to work at full speed." After checking the clock, Baelin realized he had been working for quite some time and decided it was a good moment to take a break. He nced at Leo and announced. "Alright, brat. Consider this your lucky day. You''ve impressed me with your performance, so I and Ravid will step out of the smithy for a few days to get some fresh air. You''re free to experiment with the Shallot''s Mirror during this time. You already know how to use it from watching me work. Just be cautious and avoid injuring yourself, understand?" Leo''s face lit up with joy upon hearing Baelin''s words. He had put in extra effort in the smithy, hoping to hear such words. It seemed like all his hard work had paid off. With aposed demeanor, Leo replied, "Yes, Teacher Baelin. Rest assured, I''ll be sure to inform you if the smithy catches fire while I run the show here." Baelin was momentarily taken aback by Leo''s cheeky response, finding it quite aggravating and amusing at the same time. He managed to control hisughter and replied with feigned anger, "You little rascal, don''t do anything reckless. I''ll be watching you closely." With that, Baelin bid farewell and left the smithy with Ravid. Leo found himself alone with the Shallot''s Mirror, a mix of excitement and determination building inside him. "Finally," he mumbled to himself, heading towards the Elder Seed Artifact with eager anticipation.I think you should take a look at *** In the annals of forgotten epochs, amidst the mysteries of time,y a relic of unparalleled intriguea peculiar artifact housing an extraordinary consciousness. Unlike typical enchanted objects, this consciousness was not merely embedded within the artifact; it existed uniquely and independently, forged through the enigmatic powers of immortal magica force that defied the limitations of conventional sorcery. The origins of this consciousness remained veiled in obscurity, shrouded by the mists of time, as it recalled only vague memories of its birth and the entity responsible for its existence. Eons had passed since its inception, leaving the once-clear recollections now faded and fragmented, like an ancient tapestry slowly unraveled by the relentless march of time. Endowed with the mystical attributes of immortal magic, the artifact''s consciousness transcended conventional boundaries, bestowing upon it enigmatic powers that defied logic and reason. As if imbued with the essence of eternity itself, this artifact wielded the highest form of intent-based magic, capable of transcending the rules that governed mere mortals. And so, the consciousness roamed the cosmos, traversing countless worlds and gxies, a cosmic wanderer bearing witness to the rise and fall of civilizations, the birth and death of stars, and the grand tapestry of existence. As it journeyed, it became an integral part of diverse civilizations, a silent observer of their triumphs and tragedies, their glories and downfalls. Throughout its cosmic odyssey, the artifact''s consciousness embodied an enigmatic principle. It had no set alignment, neither good nor evil, divine nor demonic, choosing to eschew the confines of mortal judgments. Instead, it served as a vessel for those who wielded it, adapting to their desires, dreams, and ambitions, bestowing upon them powers beyond their wildest imaginings. As history unfolded like an eternal scroll before its boundless gaze, the artifact''s consciousness had encountered myriad wielders throughout time. Each time the artifact chose a new owner, its consciousness awakened from a slumber that transcended the constraints of temporal existence. Guided by immortal magic, it sought out those who proved worthy, resonating with their souls, and granting them ess to its potent abilities. The consciousness took no pleasure in the fall of empires or the triumphs of heroes; it merely observed and guided. It bore witness to the grandeur of celestial wars, the beauty of burgeoning civilizations, and the heartache of shattered dreams. Through it all, it remained a silentpanion, a guardian spirit that sought to empower and uplift those who wielded its power with virtuous intent. In the countless realms it traversed, the artifact''s consciousness became known by various names. The artifact''s consciousness, existing beyond the limitations of mortality, bore witness to the ebb and flow of existence. With each awakening, it delved into the hearts of its chosen ones, discerning their true nature and potential. It sought the rarest of qualitiessteadfastness of spirit, unwavering resolve, and an unyielding dedication to the greater goals than the dreamer''s feeble existence. These traits were the keys that unlocked the vast reservoirs of the artifact''s power, transforming its wielder into an indomitable force within the cosmic tapestry. Yet, while the artifact''s consciousness journeyed through the realms as an eternalpanion, its own destiny remained an enigma. For even within the boundless expanse of immortal magic, some mysteries eluded even the wisest of beings. In one such world, known as Anfang, the artifact had once resided in the possession of a remarkable individual named Shallot Lancelot. The echoes of that era had long since faded, but the legacy of the artifact endured. Though countless years had passed, its journey remained ceaseless, seeking new souls to carry the torch of its ownership. In the depths of its memories, the Elder Seed Artifact''s consciousness held vivid recollections of Shallot, thest soul deemed worthy to wield its logic-defying powers. Shallot had been an extraordinary individual, leaving an indelible mark on the world of Anfang during a time of great turmoil. Chapter 1386 Titan Slayer: Shallot Lancelot ? The Cmity War. In those tumultuous days, Anfang faced an unprecedented threat from otherworldly invaders who descended upon the realm with malevolent intent. The denizens of Anfang found themselves engulfed in a desperate struggle for survival, their very existence hanging in the bnce. Amidst the chaos and destruction, Shallot emerged as one of the beacons of hope and strength. Armed with an awakened Elder Seed artifact''s awe-inspiring powers, she became a force to be reckoned with, vanquishing countless invaders and turning the tide of battle in favor of her people. In the heat of battle, Shallot Lancelot disyed her mastery over the artifact''s logic-defying abilities, leaving allies and enemies alike astounded by her prowess. She became a symbol of resistance and determination, inspiring courage in the hearts of those who fought alongside her. As word of Shallot''s heroic feats spread throughout Anfang, her name echoed in the hearts of its people, a testament to her unyielding spirit and unwavering resolve. She stood as a living legend, a testament to the power that resided within the artifact. In the annals of history, Shallot Lancelot, the Sage-ranked warrior of her time, achieved a remarkable feat that echoed through the ages. Armed with the extraordinary powers of her artifact, she single-handedly vanquished a fearsome Titan, a mythical creature of colossal proportions. This astounding triumph elevated Shallot to the echelons of fame, cing her in the pantheon of renowned legends alongside the likes of the illustrious Eliza Samael. The tale of her first solo Titan kill earned Shallot the resounding title of "Titan yer," a coveted distinction reserved for only the most exceptional entities of the Cmity Era. Nevertheless, possessing the Elder Seed artifact did not grant Shallot Lancelot invincibility. Despite wielding the artifact''s formidable powers with exceptional skill, she soon discovered her mortality in a fateful encounter with the relentless otherworldly invaders. In a valiant fight to protect her realm, Shallot suffered a grievous injury that proved fatal, leaving the artifact''s consciousness to slumber once again. Shallot''s allies, bereft of her innate connection to the artifact, struggled to harness its powers effectively. The once formidable artifact became nothing but a fancy mirror after Shallot''s death, seemingly devoid of the legendary powers that had once dwelled within. As the war against the invaders reached its conclusion, the artifact''s significance waned, and it was merely recorded in history as "Shallot''s Mirror," without its true essence being known. Before her untimely demise, Shallot had kept the artifact''s true powers a closely guarded secret, revealing nothing to herrades. To them, it was just another transcendent-grade artifact, one that had seemingly fallen into her possession by chance. As time passed, the artifact spirit slumbered, seemingly forgotten, its potential untapped. In the prime of her life, Shallot Lancelot harnessed the powers of the Elder Seed Artifact to her advantage, wielding it with prowess on the battlefield during the tumultuous Cmity Era. However, her remarkable achievements were solely attributed to her individual abilities, and the artifact''s name remained obscured from fame. Following Shallot''s passing, the artifact found its ce within House Lancelot, passing through the hands of generations until it eventually found its way to Baelin''s esteemed smithy. In the wake of Shallot''s demise, the knowledge of the artifact in question faded from the collective memory of House Lancelot, and its significance was lost to the annals of time.I think you should take a look at Despite the curiosity and efforts of some, attempts toprehend the mirror''s true power or transform it into a spiritual artifact yielded no fruit. The elusive artifact, shrouded in mystery, resisted any modifications or destruction attempts. The secret of the Elder Seed Artifactsy in their origin, rooted in the enigmatic immortal magic. They bore an essence of immortality, impervious to any harm and not confined to a singr realm. Beyond the constraints of the mortal world, these artifacts held a timeless and boundless nature that surpassed the limitations of ordinary existence. Faced with the enigmatic properties of Shallot''s Mirror and the mystery surrounding its true potential, House Lancelot found no other recourse but to incorporate the artifact in the creation of their spiritual artifacts. Though itsplete capabilities remained veiled, the mirror still proved to be a valuable asset in the smithy. Its presence eased the process of crafting spiritual artifacts, granting the creators a harmonious fusion of their craftsmanship. Through this coboration, Shallot''s Mirror gradually regained a measure of the importance it once held within House Lancelot. Though its full extent remained elusive, its contribution to the art of artifact creation was undeniable. The mirror''s aura of antiquity and the immortal magic that coursed within it cast an aura of reverence among the smithy''s artisans on a subconscious level. They began to perceive it as more than just an ordinary tool, recognizing it as an enigmatic relic that bore the legacy of their ancestor Shallot Lancelot. As the spiritual artifacts took shape under the guidance of Shallot''s Mirror, their mystical qualities seemed imbued with a touch of the artifact''s own profound essence. The smithy became a crucible of artistry and magic, where the mastery of both mundane and otherworldly skills danced in harmony. The river of time flowed ceaselessly. Within the confines of Baelin''s weaponsmithy, Shallot''s Mirror had found a new home, serving as a mere tool for spiritual artifact creation. The weight of its history and the once awe-inspiring consciousness within nowy dormant, tucked away in the smithy, awaiting its next destined wielder. Little did anyone know that the immortal magic, bound to the artifact''s destiny, had already woven a n for its future. The magic''s ancient design would soon whisk the artifact away from the world of Anfang, transporting it to an entirely new realm in search of a worthy sessor. But, before that destined hour arrived, a glimmer of awakening stirred within the artifact. The slumbering artifact spirit felt a faint ripple of consciousness, a hint that someone had managed to awaken it once more. Someone with the power and potential to im the artifact''s legacy as their own. The artifact spirit remained cautious, intrigued by the prospect of a new bond, yet wary of what the future held. As the awakened consciousness stirred, the artifact spirit''s presence pulsed with anticipation, curious to discover the identity of the one who had ignited its dormant powers. On this particr day, in an ethereal realm shrouded in enigmatic mist and seemingly boundless void, a feeble yet ancient voice trembled with awakening. "Who... who has awoken me?" The artifact spirit''s query echoed, seeking an answer from the mysterious presence that shared this timeless space. It had been an eternity since such a question was posed, and the spirit anticipated a response from the enigmatic figure that now graced its presence. In response to the spirit''s query, a confident voice resonated with authority. "Hm? It''s me, Eren. Your new owner from now on," dered the presence, a sense of purpose ringing in his words. Surprisingly, the spirit felt no resistance or dissent at this revtion, as if the Shallot''s Mirror had been destined for this very encounter from the very beginning. Chapter 1387 True Capabilities Of Shallot’s Mirror ? Nine years ago. Before embarking on the Lazarus Project, Eren received a confidential report from crown prince Rodrick Renar. This report delved into the intricate details of House Lancelot''s affiliations, key n members, and its illustrious history that stretched back to the kingdom of Edinburgh''s inception. Among the valuable information shared by Rodrick was knowledge about the Lancelot Guild and the City of Lancelot, two entities intricately connected to the house''s present prosperity and substantial influence within the kingdom. At that time, Eren''s focus was primarily on House Lancelot''s recent strengths and weaknesses, but the discovery of Shallot''s Mirror being an Elder Seed Artifact piqued his curiosity about the n''s past heritage. To his surprise, information about Shallot herself was ssified by the kingdom because of the fact that she was a Titan yer. Only Rodrick''s report contained insights into her life. Even most House Lancelot n members remained unaware of their ancestor''s remarkable exploits. Sage Shallot Lancelot''s remarkable contributions during the Cmity War yed a pivotal role in elevating House Lancelot to generational wealth and enduring influence. Her influence on history continued to shape the n''s prosperity even after her passing. As Eren delved into Rodrick''s ssified reports rted to Shallot, he was captivated by the depth of her history. One revtion was that Shallot was not a conventional Ranker but an Elementalist, a path different from that of a Ranker chosen by the diverse dwellers of Anfang at that time. Although she was titled a Sage due to her powers rivaling the Rankers of her era, Shallot herself did not attribute much importance to such titles as an Elementalist. During the turbulent era of the Cmity War, Shallot exhibited exceptional talent as an Elementalist, but she was just one of many prodigious geniuses who emerged during that time. Her true transformation urred when she obtained a mysterious mirror, a remarkable artifact that could change its shape and be worn as a bracelet with the mirror serving as its central ornament. As Eren delved deeper into Shallot''s journey, he uncovered the pivotal role that this enigmatic mirror yed in her life. With every page he read, Eren''s fascination grew, as the story of Shallot and her extraordinary artifact unfolded before him. The discovery of her past and the hidden powers of the Elder Seed Artifact held the potential to change the course of Eren''s own journey, as he unraveled the secrets of the past to shape the future. From the moment Shallot was born, it was evident that she possessed an extraordinary gift of overabundant Spiritual Force. It was so formidable that she initially considered walking the path of a Soulweaver. However, due to the limited establishment of Soulweaving in Anfang, she eventually chose to be an Elementalist, which allowed her to make active use of her overabundant Spiritual Force. Shallot''s potential was quickly recognized when she awakened her Soul Sense at a very young age, making her one of the rare talents in the realm. The chaotic battles that raged during the Cmity War against the otherworldly invaders provided the perfect training ground for Shallot to hone her Spiritual Force even further. Her feats in the battles gained her significant recognition within the Anfang Alliance. Yet, it was when Shallot chanced upon the Elder Seed Artifact that her true brilliance began to shine. With the artifact in her possession, she became a force to be reckoned with, effortlessly overwhelming her opponents and leaving behind an impressive trail of victories.I think you should take a look at Her mastery over elemental powers took on a new level of efficiency and efficacy with the artifact''s influence. Her elemental manifestations came to life, bing extensions of her fierce will as they attacked and decimated her enemies. These manifestations transcended the conventional elemental powers of Elementalists, harnessing the power of intent-based magic. Swiftly conjured, they held the explosive strength that rivaled the most aplished Rankers'' Spell-stacking techniques. In addition to her awe-inspiring elemental prowess, Shallot''s Soul Sense became a potent weapon in controlling her adversaries on the battlefield. With a mere thought, she could manipte their actions, causing confusion and disruption among her enemies. They would find themselves helplessly surrendering their weapons or freezing in ce, granting Shallot and her allies a strategic advantage. As tales of Shallot''s legendary battles and feats spread, she became renowned as a monster prodigy. Her name struck fear into the hearts of her enemies and admiration among her allies. With the Elder Seed Artifact as her catalyst, Shallot Lancelot etched her name in the annals of history as a formidable force that transcended the boundaries of elemental magic, forever leaving an indelible mark on the realm of Anfang. Being an Elementalist bestowed Shallot with a remarkable advantage the ability to create elemental clones of herself. These clones possessed bodies formed from elemental energy and mirrored her very will. These replicas obediently carried out hermands, granting Shallot the ability to confront multiple adversaries without sumbing to overwhelming numbers. At first, her elemental clones functioned much like those of any other skilled Elementalist. However, as Shallot advanced in her prowess, her clones developed an uncanny resemnce to her true self. In some instances, merely dispatching her clones proved sufficient to dispose of enemies without Shallot herself being physically present on the battlefield. Her feats grew increasingly astonishing as she honed her elemental powers and ascended to higher levels. Eren was taken aback by a particr ount of her solo Titan kill. ording to an eyewitness, during the fierce battle, the Titan inflicted harm upon his own arms with his own weapon, self-sabotaging his own efforts and ultimately enabling Shallot to secure victory. ssified information attributed Shallot''s extraordinary abilities to her unique Soul Sense and her mastery as an Elementalist. However, learning about the Elder Seed Artifact from Alephee and the goddess Great Mother shattered this presumption for Eren. The butcher could see that the true source of her peculiar powersy not in her path as an Elemantalist or Soul Sense but in the seemingly insignificant jewelry she wielded the Elder Seed Artifact. === AN: Eren obtained ssified information about House Lancelot from Rodrick in chapter 1256. Elementalists were first mentioned in chapter 1259. Chapter 1388 Nepotism ? Alephee filled in the gaps for Eren, supplementing the initial information received from Rodrick''s ssified reports. The homunculus conjectured that the Elder Seed Artifact allowed Shallot to cast reflections of her intent upon her opponents in the form of Soul Reflection and Intent Reflection. As such, her opponents were forced to follow her intent when she reflected her will onto them using the artifact''s powers. Her Soul Sense merely augmented the artifact''s powers, granting her the ability to wield them even against a formidable Titan, earning her the illustrious title of a Titan yer. Moreover, Shallot could even create Soul Imprints with the artifact''s powers, generating additional versions of herself without risking harm to her own soul. This logic-defying ability bestowed sentience upon her elemental clones obtained from her elemental powers as an Elementalist. This very sentience allowed Shallot''s clones to dominate the battlefield using their own abilities, independent of her direct intervention. Alephee noted that, by her standards, Shallot''s usage of the Elder Seed Artifact was still considered primitive. The artifact''s powers were bound only by the capabilities of its wielder. The stronger the wielder, the more they could draw upon the immortal artifact''s powers. Shallot had only scratched the surface of the artifact''s potential. Had she survived and progressed further in her ranks, she would have undoubtedly been recognized as an Elder Seed Inheritor by powers beyond the confines of Anfang. Eren''s understanding of the Elder Seed Artifact deepened as Alephee conjectured the unique capabilities of Soul Reflection granted by the immortal artifact. This soulful power could be transformed into Soul Imprint, akin to the way demons used their soul fragments to infiltrate other worlds. The true advantage of possessing an immortal artifact was apparent the mirror allowed its owner to inhabit the bodies of beings with weaker Spiritual Force without harming either soul. It also allowed them tomand their actions to some extent by merely reflecting their intent onto them. Learning this peculiar aspect of the artifact from Alephee sparked a tremendous desire within Eren to possess Shallot''s Mirror. He had long been captivated by the concept of demons infiltrating worlds with their soul fragments. His mind swirled with numerous ns, all of which woulde to fruition with the acquisition of Shallot''s Mirror. Unlike demons, Eren did not wish to jeopardize his soul to obtain fragments. His mortal soul was far more vulnerable to damage, and recovering from such an endeavor would be perilously slow. However, Shallot''s Mirror offered him a way to bypass these risks, providing an unprecedented opportunity to possess others even more effectively than demons could. Of course, these were ns for the future and not something Eren wanted to partake in while he was in Anfang. Rankers had a basic understanding of forming clones using elemental manifestations and mana bodies for battle. However, this strategy was often disregarded due to its inefficiency. The spell-generated clones crafted by Rankerscked stability and intelligence, making them poor decoys and imposing significant burdens on the casters. As a result, no sensible Ranker adopted this strategy to confront their foes, as it would only diminish their powers. Nevertheless, for Eren, owning Shallot''s Mirror would change this narrative entirely. Alephee''s conjecture hinted that Eren could utilize mana bodies in a manner simr to Shallot''s elemental clones. By employing the powers of the artifact, he could reflect his soul onto these replicas, engaging opponents with various Ranking sses and spells. However, Eren knew that he was not an Elementalist like Shallot, and thus, he might not be able to utilize the mirror''s powers in the same way as her, at least not immediately. He recognized the need to discover his unique approach to harness the mirror''s potential, enabling him to maximize the benefits of his multi-ss Ranker abilities.I think you should take a look at With this newfound revtion, Eren was determined to unlock the full extent of Shallot''s Mirror and wield its incredible powers in ways that would set him apart as an unparalleled force. **** Equipped with newfound knowledge about Shallot''s Mirror, Eren recognized the golden opportunity presented to him in Baelin''s temporary absence from the secluded confines of the smithy. Here, he stood alone with the enigmatic artifact, a chance he had eagerly anticipated. Though the Sage-level runic binding barred Eren from physically relocating the mirror, he understood that he didn''t need to touch it to engage with its powers. The artifact''s secrets could be unraveled through other means. Eren hastened towards Shallot''s Mirror, disregarding Baelin''s instructions to experiment with creating spiritual weapons. Instead, he chose to smear his blood on the artifact, seeking to awaken its dormant powers. Whilemon sense dictated that nothing should happen due to the powerful runic bindings, the immortal artifact defied expectations. It absorbed Eren''s blood, recognizing the unmistakable Elder Ichor bloodline that flowed within him. The genesis of the artifact, the Elder Ichor, could not remain oblivious to its own origins, even amid the strongest restrictions. In an instant, Eren''s consciousness was drawn into an ethereal space, immersed knee-deep in ake that mirrored the blue night sky without a single star. Theke''s thick, mercury-like waters reflected the ethereal aurora lights, creating a mesmerizing spectacle. Surprisingly, theke''s reflection revealed different facets of Eren''s being. First, he saw himself as an old man from his previous timeline, followed by his white-haired transformation form with radiant blue eyes and runic tattoos adorning his body, symbolizing his Elder Ichor lineage. The mirror delved deeper, showing his current form, leaving Eren entranced by the artifact''s ability to peer into his past, present, and even glimpses of his future. Amidst this extraordinary encounter, a powerfuldy materialized before Eren, exuding amanding aura reserved only for the highest echelons of Anfang. Eren immediately recognized her as Shallot''s residual Soul Imprint, her essence lingering within the artifact even after her demise. Unconsciously, he grasped her purpose for appearing before him. With a resolute expression, Eren addressed Shallot''s replica, asserting his im to the artifact without undergoing any tests to prove his worthiness. "Yeah. no offense to you Miss Ghost but I don''t want to be subjected to any form of test to prove my inheritance. My bloodline alone gives me the right to im ownership. So let''s go with nepotism this time. Miss Artifact Spirit, reveal yourself and acknowledge your new owner." In a bold promation, Eren awakened the artifact''s spirit without partaking in any conventional trials, relying on the undeniable connection borne of his Elder Ichor heritage. === AN: Eren''s ns to use demons'' way of traveling to other worlds were first discussed in chapter 850. Chapter 1389 Naming the Elder Seed Artifact Chapter 1389 Naming the Elder Seed Artifact The residual essence of Shallot Lancelot dissipated as the artifact spirit awakened at Eren''s call, revealing a young girl who appeared to be no older than 12 years by mortal standards. Standing at a mere 4 feet tall, she possessed a petite and delicate frame. Her off-blond hair cascaded gracefully to her shoulders, and her eyes shimmered like two small mirrors, reflecting Eren''s own image back at him. Her adorable face boasted a small nose and dainty red lips,plemented by soft, rosy-hued skin reminiscent of a baby''splexion. The young girl adorned a princess-like dress that seemed to be woven from the very essence of aurora lights. Its hues shifted intermittently, radiating silver, green, and blue shades, bestowing her with an ethereal and otherworldly presence. In this mysterious domain, she exuded an enchanting aura, seemingly inplete control of her surroundings. "Who... who has awakened me?" The girl blinked, rubbing her eyes as if roused from a deep and satisfying slumber. Her voice, gentle and inquisitive, directed the question towards Eren, her curiosity piqued. Aware that this enchanting girl was the artifact spirit of Shallot''s Mirror, Eren exercised caution in his interaction. He introduced himself once more to the spirit, asserting his newfound ownership. "It''s me, Eren. Your new owner from now on," Eren replied calmly, his words infused with determination. The girl''s confusion surfaced as she gazed around, summoning Shallot''s residual soul to her side. "New owner? But you didn''t even defeat" she began, puzzled. Then, with a moment of realization, she waved her hand, and Shallot''s soul vanished again. "Her. You didn''t even defeat her." "Hmm?" The young girl was even more puzzled by the realization. "Wait a moment. How were you able to awaken me without defeating the previous owner''s residual soul?" The young girl blinked repeatedly, her fascination with Eren growing as she seemed to fully awaken from her slumber. Eren nonchntly scratched below his right ear and tugged at his earlobe, answering the girl''s query with ease. "To be honest, I''d be more than ready to take the test and face off with Miss Ghost by your side, young girl. But time is not on my side. I cannot afford to engage in a prolonged battle with someone who was once a Titan yer. It would be time-consuming. So, I opted to skip that part and summoned you here. And as for how I was able to do all this... You should be able to figure it out by now," Eren remarked, allowing his Elder Ichor Bloodline aura to manifest in the ethereal realm. The young girl''s eyes widened in realization as she grasped Eren''s words. Without hesitation, her form melted into theke''s mercury-like water, only to reform right beside him. She flew up slightly, mercury-like droplets clinging to her until she met Eren''s gaze at eye level. Cupping his face with her tiny hands, she touched his skin, and Eren felt a gentle, cool sensation. Eren''s body underwent an unexpected transformation, turning into his white-haired form with runic tattoos adorning his skin, all thanks to the young girl''s touch. Eren raised an eyebrow in surprise but decided to remain observant, silently watching her actions. "You..." her voice trailed off as she touched theke''s surface with her toes before continuing. "You truly possess my creator''s bloodline," she said curiously, confirming Eren''s conjecture. "The bloodline flowing through your veins indeed grants you the right to im me, or any other Elder Seed Artifact for that matter. You don''t need to undergo any test to prove yourself," she stated before dismissing Shallot''s residual essence into theke once more. With a knowing smile, she acknowledged the validity of Eren''s ims. A bond seemed to form between them as she wrapped her essence around him. Eren reciprocated, touching her face with his right hand, feeling the icy cool sensation enveloping his palm. Filled with emotion, the young girl spoke further. "They said you died, and maybe they were right. But we always knew that you''de to us in some form, in some way," she said, her mirror-like eyes fixed on Eren. Eren was about to rify that he was not Shallot''s true creator, even with his bloodline, but before he could, the young girl already knew his thoughts through their bond. She shook her head, confirming that she was aware of the truth. "I already know that you are not my creator, Eren. Your soul origin confirmed that for me. Yet, I feel that a part of my creator has been revived through you. And for that, I''m happy," she spoke profound words with a child-like voice. Relieved by her understanding, Eren knew she had questions of her own. But before that, he wanted to learn more about her. "Like I said before, my name''s Eren. Nice to meet you," he introduced himself, taking a step back and kneeling before her. Gazing directly into her eyes, he asked, "Should I address you as the artifact spirit, or do you have a name?" The young girl pondered for a moment before responding to Eren''s question. "I''ve been called many names by the previous Elder Seed Inheritors who imed me after passing the trial. But those are not the names I want you to associate me with," she beamed at Eren, her charming smile lighting up her features. "So, you can name me. I''ll ept any name that sounds good to you." Eren smiled wryly at the peculiar request. He scratched his jawline thoughtfully beforeing up with an idea. "I get to name you, huh? Let''s see... How about Shallot, the same name as your previous owner?" he suggested, his gaze locked with the young girl''s as he saw his reflection mirrored in her eyes. The young girl scrunched her nose yfully at Eren''s casual way of naming her. However, surprisingly, she didn''t object to his suggestion and instead epted it with a nod. "Alright, from now on, you can call me Shallot," she said, epting the name given to her by her new owner. Chapter 1390 Owning the Elder Seed Artifact Chapter 1390 Owning the Elder Seed Artifact Shallot, the newly named artifact spirit, was happy. She felt a surge of joy knowing that the prophesied one had been hiding in this seemingly insignificant world, honing his skills and avoiding immediate danger from his enemies. She also took joy in the fact that Eren had no bond with any other Elder Seed Artifact, making her the first of her kind that he had discovered. She knew that her destiny was to vanish from the world of Anfang, as the immortal magic bound to her was unable to find a worthy sessor after Shallot''s passing. So, she was overjoyed that Eren had imed her before that eventuality. Meeting him was a momentous asion she wouldn''t have wanted to miss. Yet, amidst her happiness, the encounter with Eren also brought forth a realization for the artifact spirit. The man who had created her and the other Elder Seed Artifacts had indeed perished, unable to return in his former form. Seeing Eren, practically speaking a blood rtive of her creator, carried a bittersweet touch to her tion. It reaffirmed the truth that her creator had lost his immortality and met his end. The artifact spirit, now Shallot, tried her best to recall her original name as Eren inquired about it. She knew deep within that she had once been given a name at the time of her creation, but the veil of time had shrouded those memories. Or perhaps the ancient enchantments and immortal magic ced on her had intentionally obscured certain aspects of her past. Despite this, Shallot felt a strange sense offort in adopting the name of her previous owner, Shallot Lancelot. It was a name that resonated with power and purpose. "Eren, should I destroy the restrictions ced on me so that you can carry me?" Shallot asked as she looked at Eren with anticipation. As Eren contemted whether Shallot should release the restrictions ced upon her, she couldn''t help but feel a surge of eagerness. Having found her true inheritor, she yearned to assist him in every possible way. However, Eren''s response was cautious. "Please don''t do that," Eren said quickly. "At least not right now. I have many preparations to be made before I ask something like that from you." Perplexed, Shallot questioned Eren''s reservations. She knew his response would lead to an in-depth conversation between them. With a wave of her hand, Shallot demonstrated her powers, freezing the entireke''s surface to create a mirror-like ground. Eren quickly jumped out of the freezing water, but as he touched the solid surface, he realized that theke was more than just water; it was an umtion of Spiritual Force from countless beings. Shallot confirmed Eren''s realization, exining that theke represented the essence of all those who hade in contact with the Elder Seed Artifact throughout history. It contained the energy of previous owners, their adversaries, and even beings who had unknowingly crossed paths with the artifact. This revtion left Eren in awe, understanding the incredible significance of Shallot''s Mirror. The vast reserves of Spiritual Force within theke stretched endlessly in all directions, a testament to the artifact''s potential. Eren''s mind raced with possibilities, but he also realized the grave repercussions that came with harnessing such power. ''I I am not ready to make use of such a foreign Spiritual Force to do my bidding,'' Eren thought to himself and smiled mirthlessly. The possession of Elder Seed Artifact had opened new possibilities for him. However, they were so grand and majestic that he couldn''t make use of them right away. He needed something of his own level to conclude the Lazarus Project his own way. "I need to be cautious, Shallot," Eren spoke with a mix of excitement and prudence. "There''s this thing I''m working on right now" As Eren and Shallot joined hands, an extraordinary connection was forged. Memories flowed freely between them, allowing Shallot to gain a profound understanding of Eren''s character, ambitions, and the significance of the Lazarus Project. She realized the importance of remaining sealed within the runic bindings imposed by House Lancelot, ensuring that the project proceeded as nned. Curious to know more about Shallot''s powers, Eren eagerly questioned her. Although she tried to answer as much as she could, Shallot''s memories seemed to be veiled, held back by the immortal magic that brought her to life. Nevertheless, she shared valuable insights with Eren. After a day spent in Shallot''s realm, Eren knew he couldn''t linger any longer. He returned to Baelin''s smithy, where he had to present his progress in using Shallot''s Mirror to create spiritual artifacts. Wanting to ensure the sess of the Lazarus Project, Eren had to bnce his time between impressing Baelin and deepening his bond with Shallot. Eren decided to utilize the expertise he gained over the past nine years to craft a set of spiritual artifacts that would leave Baelin impressed. Thanks to his control and mastery over Shallot''s Mirror, crafting spiritual artifacts became extremely easy for him. Of course, the spiritual amplification of his newly created weapons was also something that could awe anyone. However, he intentionally introduced some imperfections to avoid raising too many expectations and attracting unwanted attention. As predicted, Baelin was thoroughly impressed with Eren''s performance and considered him a rare artifact virtuoso. This led to an increase in Eren''s workload, both from crafting spiritual weapons and fulfilling Amazonian assignments on the side. Eren spent the next two months tirelessly toiling in Baelin''s smithy, diligentlypleting all his assigned tasks. The weight of responsibility and the impending Lazarus Project drove him to push his limits without any recreational breaks. By the time Eren emerged from the smithy, less than nine months remained until the officialunch of the Lazarus Project. He had honed his skills with Shallot''s guidance, impressing Baelin with his mastery of spiritual artifact creation. However, the core part of the Lazarus Project had just begun, and Eren knew he had to be well-prepared to face the challenges ahead. Chapter 1391 Kev Larson Vs Kaalmahen And Baran ? War between the two kingdoms was getting fought on various fronts. As Armor Knight Kev Larson gazed upon the unfolding battlefield scenes, he was filled with shock, anger, and disbelief. His meticulously crafted n hadpletely fallen apart, and he now understood the grave mistake he had made. A decade ago, Kev had struck a deal with the monster tribe residing in the strategic part of the Bands. The tribe was then led by Bigua, and the agreement aimed to secure the tribe''s support in preventing Layos forces from infiltrating Edinburgh''s territory through the vital valley pass. Given the unique nature of the Bands, installing conventional security measures or stationing personnel on-site was practically impossible. Thend was fraught with dangerous monsters, making it a perilous territory for either Layos or Edinburgh to upy for extended periods without meticulous nning and borate procedures in ce. Thus, both kingdoms faced significant hurdles when attempting to establish a firm foothold within the treacherous Bands. This location held immense strategic importance, as it was the only entry point for Layos forces that could avoid Edinburgh''s trap array mechanisms. Consequently, due to the geographical nature of the region, it was only easy for Layos to infiltrate Edinburgh''s soil and not vice versa. However, soon after the deal was sealed, Kev learned that leadership had changed within the tribe. A powerful Ogre named Kaalmahen had taken over, having defeated Bigua. Despite the leadership shift, Kaalmahen had surprisingly respected the agreement between Edinburgh and the tribe, continuing to deter Layos forces from entering Edinburgh''s domain. This seemingly smooth coboration hadsted for years, greatly benefiting Edinburgh in its ongoing war with Layos. Kev believed that Kaalmahen was solely supporting Edinburgh in exchange for the valuable resources provided by the kingdom. The Ogre''s assistance had been instrumental in thwarting Layos'' advances. However, the shocking reality now unraveled before Kev''s eyes, revealing Kaalmahen''s deceitful nature. In a chilling revtion, Kev realized that Kaalmahen had been ying both sides all along, manipting both Edinburgh and Layos for his own gain. Cunning and strategic, the monster had been orchestrating intermittent attacks on forces from both kingdoms to maintain his advantage. By appearing loyal to both sides, Kaalmahen reaped rewards from Edinburgh''s resources for the in elven forces and Layos'' payments for killing Edinburgh''s rankers. Kev''s trust in the monsters'' allegiance had been misced, and the consequences were devastating. The very creature he had considered an ally had turned into a double-dealing puppet master, manipting both Edinburgh and Layos to his advantage. *** Upon receiving vital information from Kaalmaahen, Kev Larson skillfully intercepted Layos'' forces attempting to infiltrate Edinburgh through the crucial geographical region within the treacherous Bands. A fierce and gory battle ensued between the two kingdoms within Kaalmaahen''s territory, with Edinburgh gaining the upper hand due to the element of surprise. They managed to eliminate more of Layos'' Rankers than they lost. Prior to the mission, Kev had been alerted by his intelligence unit about Layos'' secret coboration with the half-blood forces. Knowing that he had led numerous squads in the Blood Punisher Force, specialized inbating half-bloods with their unique abilities and artifacts, Kev had meticulously nned to confront Layos'' forces within Kaalmaahen''s territory. To execute this operation, Kev was entrusted with three distinct squads. The firstprised seasoned soldiers from Edinburgh''s army, while the second consisted of skilled mercenaries and guild members of various prominent guilds active within Edinburgh contracted by the kingdom. The third squad wasposed of elite members of the Blood Punisher Force.I think you should take a look at During the initial confrontation, Kev wisely deployed only the first and second squads to engage Layos'' intruders, reserving the Blood Punisher Force members for the inevitable intervention of the half-bloods, keeping them away from sight. His strategic foresight proved urate when the half-bloods from the Last Bloods Bastion unexpectedly joined the fray,unching a surprise attack on Edinburgh''s forces, validating the intel unit''s report of Layos'' coboration with them. Kev''s preparations didn''t falter; he immediately summoned the waiting Blood Punisher Force members who were strategically positioned at a safe distance. These formidable warriors, adept at neutralizing half-blood adversaries, expertly dispatched the half-bloods who had allied themselves with Layos. Amidst the chaos, Kev remained focused and vignt, realizing that the apparent neutrality of Layos'' forces was merely a fa?ade, concealing a ndestine agreement with the half-bloods. With skillful leadership and the prowess of the Blood Punisher Force, Kev ensured that Edinburgh''s defense remained steadfast in the face of this treacherous coboration between Layos and the half-bloods. *** True to Kev Larson''s strategic calctions, he achieved a resounding victory against Layos'' invading forces. The surviving remnants of Layos'' side realized the futility of continuing the fight against Kev''s formidable three-squad force and wisely opted to retreat. Kev remained unperturbed by their escape, prioritizing the safety of his own troops over the pursuit. He trusted that Kaalmaahen and his tribe, stationed within the region, would handle the fleeing Layos members as they crossed back into Layos'' territory. All seemed under control until an unimaginable and horrifying turn of events unfolded, leaving both Edinburgh''s forces and the surviving Layos members in disbelief and distress. In an unprecedented act, Kaalmaahen''s monstrous tribe encircled both sides of the conflict,unching a simultaneous attack on them. Caught off guard, the Layos'' survivors were swiftly eradicated by the cunning monsters. Meanwhile, Edinburgh''s forces, already fatigued from their earlier grueling battle with Layos, were at a disadvantage against the sudden onught. Kaalmaahen''s tribe effortlessly eliminated the Rankers from both sides, using minimal effort to wreak havoc on the battlefield and paint it red with the blood of their enemies. Kev Larson was taken aback by the savage and treacherous intervention by the monster tribe. The relentless attack effectively brought the conflict to an abrupt and devastating end, leaving Kev both astonished and infuriated by Kaalmaahen''s sinister maneuver. The unexpected betrayal by the once-trusted ally cast a dark cloud over the victory that Kev had achieved against Layos. The one who was given the bona fide title of Armored Knight was now faced with the bitter reality that it was utterly foolish to trust the monsters of the Bands. === AN: Kaalmahen was first introduced in chapter 692. Kev Larson was first introduced in chapter 720. The deal between Bigua and Kev was struck in chapter 721. Lastly, Kaalmaahen''s takeover of Bigua''s tribe was mentioned in chapter 901. Chapter 1392 Finding A Long Lost Ally? ? The battlefield was a gruesome scene of one-sided carnage. Kaalmaahen''s monstrous tribe mercilessly decimated Kev''s forces. Kaal had cunningly chosen the opportune moment to strike, catching Kev''s troops at their weakest, worn out from a fierce battle against Layos'' Rankers. Even the formidable Blood Punisher Force, led by Kev himself, struggled to put up any meaningful resistance against Kaal''s overwhelming onught. To Kev''s astonishment, he encountered another unexpected monster on the battlefield, a fierce Orc named Baran fighting alongside Kaalmaahen''s tribe. The revtion of two tribes of different racial identities working together in the Bands was virtually unheard of, leaving Kev with an unsettling realization that a superior force might be manipting the alliance between the two tribes. Furious and anguished, Kev attempted to intervene and save his subordinates from their gruesome fate, but Kaalmaahen proved to be an imprable obstacle, skillfully thwarting Kev''s every move to protect hisrades. Though Kaalmaahen had risen in his monster ranking status over the decade, his attempts to kill Kev were repeatedly foiled by the Armored Knight''s exceptional defense, fortified by a powerful spiritual artifact armor he donned. This impregnable armor had earned Kev the title of Armored Knight, making him a formidable force on the battlefield. Kev faced a heart-wrenching reality, witnessing his loyal soldiers fall one by one to the relentless monsters. The deafening silence of his helplessness contrasted sharply with the chaos and violence surrounding him. Kev could only watch with a mix of determination and grief as the monsters continued their brutal assault, their malicious grins a stark contrast to the horrors unfolding around them. The realization that the enemy possessed a superior intellect and cunning, uniting two tribes of different races for their own purposes, weighed heavily on Kev''s mind. After all, this assimtion of tribes was a red g for Edinburgh. It was as serious as the war with the Layos kingdom. As the cries of agony echoed through the battlefield and the air filled with the scent of blood and violence, Kaalmaahen''s tribe continued their relentless ughter of both Edinburgh and Layos'' Rankers until only Kev Larson and a few members of the Blood Punisher Force had remained on the battlefield. Amid the chaos, the Armored Knight began to formte a n, determined to find a way to protect his remaining forces and thwart the monsters'' calcted attacks. With ogre Overload Kaalmaahen and Orc Overlord Baran proving to be an obstacle he could not ovee directly, Kev knew he needed a strategic advantage to turn the tide of battle. Drawing on his tactical acumen and experience as a skilled leader, Kev coordinated a strategic retreat, pulling his remaining forces back from the merciless clutches of the monsters using various emergency-only Trump Cards he had at his disposal. He sought refuge in a defensible position, using the natural terrain of the Bands to gain a slight advantage over the encroaching monsters. With his forces regrouped and his determination renewed, Kev prepared for the next wave of attacks, devising a counter-strategy to ovee the monsters'' overwhelming force. The orc and ogre monster tribes may have united against him, but Kev knew that unity could also be their vulnerability. As the tension in the air thickened, a resolute determination shone in Kev''s eyes, his resolve unshaken even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. The battle was far from over, and the Armored Knight was ready to reim control of the battlefield, one strategic move at a time. *** As the battle raged on, Kev Larson and his team found themselves in a precarious situation. Enemies closed in from all directions. "We... we are going to get surrounded," Kev muttered in a grim tone, sensing the impending danger. He turned back to face the forces of Kaal and Baran, who relentlessly pursued them. "You betrayed us, Kaalmaahen," Kev''s voice seethed with anger as soon as the monster and his forces behind him came into Kev''s vision. He was trying to buy time for himself and his team, strategizing their next moves. While he had other cards up his sleeve, they required careful preparation and timing.I think you should take a look at Kaalmaahen chuckled in response, seemingly falling into Kev''s trap. "Let''s not pretend we were natural allies, human. You proposed ying Layos'' forces, and I did it for the resources you provided. But my loyalty was never for sale. I have only acted on the orders of my liege," Kaal asserted,manding his tribe to stand down and let their allies close in. He knew Kev was trying to gain an advantage. However, Kaal was also wary of Kev and his potential kamikaze attacks. Despite his anger, Kev recognized the importance of dealing with Kaalmaahen tactfully. The Ogre Overlord was cautious not to approach him recklessly, knowing the power of Kev''s spiritual artifact armor. Kev had mastered using the artifact''s intent-based magic, which made him a formidable opponent. Taking unnecessary risks was not in Kaalmaahen''s best interest, especially with his reserves on the way. ''Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Who the fuck is the mastermind behind all this? Who the fuck is the monsters'' boss? Just like Layos had half-blood forces as backup and Edinburgh had Blood Punisher Force members in reserve, Kaal and Baran also have their own reserves. And they attacked with such precision and coordination that they almost behaved like Rankers. These wild and unruly monsters have found a dreadful leader for themselves,'' Kev realized, his mind racing to formte a n. Kev knew they couldn''t afford to wait for their enemies to fully surround them. They needed to act quickly and decisively. He rallied his remaining team members, their faces showing determination mixed with exhaustion. *** ''Guys. It''s now or never. I don''t want to say this. But some of us might die here. However, we will fight together, as one!'' Kev dered to his team members through voicemunication channels, igniting a fire of courage within each of them. As Kev prepared himself for the impending battle, a sense of familiarity tugged at his consciousness. Turning his gaze to the 3 o''clock position, his eyes widened in disbelief. Emerging from the dense forest woods was none other than Meera Medinah, his long-lost subordinate who had vanished without a trace a decade ago. "Meera? What the..." === AN: Baran was first introduced in chapter 425. He made subsequent appearances in chapters 620 and 636. Meera Medinah was first mentioned in chapter 720. She made subsequent appearances in chapters 857 and 891. Chapter 1393 Another Suicidal Bomber Attack ? "Meera? What the..." Kev''s voice trailed off, astonishment evident in his expression. Meera''s appearance in this situation was an unimaginable event for him. And yet, hope flickered in his heart, believing for a moment that fate had brought her back to him in his hour of need. Meera''s disappearance had been a perplexing enigma, leaving behind a veil of controversy and spection. Her formidable skills and mysterious absence fueled rumors that swirled throughout the ranks. However, unbeknownst to everyone, the truth behind her vanishing act was far moreplex. In reality, Eren had converted Meera Medinah into the Living Undead after defeating her. He cleverly made use of her to cover his tracks at the timeC orchestrating the deaths of the Blood Punisher Force members and other enemies who posed a threat to him. Cunningly, he had shifted the me onto Meera, making her appear responsible for his kills. As a result, Edinburgh had ced a bounty on her head, which was active even at this point. However, Kev didn''t believe anything that Meera was used of. He always believed that she had been set up by someone, possibly Layos'' forces to cover their tracks. After all, it had been made apparent 9 years ago that Layos had managed to infiltrate on a deeper level within Edinburgh to shake its foundation. Amidst the chaos of the looming monster siege, Kev found himself reunited with the woman whose fate had been altered by Eren''s machinations. Despite the multitude of questions swirling in his mind, Kev knew that now was not the time for answers. Survival took precedence over curiosity. Kev indeed found Meera''s unhindered ess to them to be a bit suspicious. However, he quickly got rid of that suspicion after thinking that the monsters had nned to get rid of all of the humans in one go by allowing them to regroup at a particr ce. At least that''s what Kev would have done if he was in Kaal''s shoes. Desperation gnawed at Kev''s judgment,pelling him to devise a n to escape the dire situation with Meera by his side. The battlefield was a cauldron of danger, and Kev understood that every moment mattered. There was no room for hesitation or distraction. He had to focus on the immediate task at hand C surviving the monster siege and finding a way to outmaneuver both the pursuing enemy and the malevolent forces that would soon be here. Sacrificing a few of his subordinates seemed a small price to pay for securing a powerful ally in the form of Meera. However, little did he know that the woman approaching him wasn''t the same Meera he once knew. She had been transformed into a Living Undead. Captain Kev''s team members were hesitant and apprehensive as an unknown figure approached them. The atmosphere crackled with tension, and their guard was up. Sensing their unease, Kev reassured them, dering the neer as an ally C a former member of the Blood Punisher Force named Meera. In a sh, Meera swiftly closed the distance and hugged Kev, surprising him with her sudden appearance. However, before he could inquire further, an ominous aura emanated from Meera, setting off warning signals in Kev''s mind. Something was amiss. Realization dawned on Kev as he noticed the absence of a heartbeat in Meera. His fears were confirmed C she was no longer among the living. The truth was unveiled toote, for Meera was no ordinary entity. She had been turned into a vessel of destruction, her body filled with RDX C a deadly explosive concoction. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. A split secondter, the RDX inside Meera detonated, unleashing a crimson torrent of mes and potent fire mana. Kev and his team members were caught in the st, unable to react in time. However, the explosion seemed contained within a mysterious, ethereal barrier that had materialized just before the detonation. This was no ordinary RDX potion bomb. It was the culmination of Eren''s relentless experiments over the past decade. Eren had mastered its creation, optimizing it for maximum efficiency. This potent potion bomb allowed him to control the st radius, ensuring his own safety and that of his allies.I think you should take a look at As the dust settled, Eren revealed himself, appearing alongside Kaal, the monster leader. He stood in his adventure gear. The true lord of monsters had gathered his subjects here,manding their loyalty without the need for the Echidna''s Authority artifact. "My liege!" Kaal respectfully bowed before Eren, acknowledging his presence and his approval of the sessful detonation. Eren exuded an air ofmand, effortlessly bending the monsters to his will. Their devotion to him knew no bounds, willing toy down their lives for their liege. "You did good, Kaal." With the st subsiding, Eren addressed Kaal with nonchnce, praising his aplishments in the orchestrated attack. The stage was set, and the bnce of power tilted in Eren''s favor. As he surveyed the aftermath of the explosion, he knew that his schemes were falling perfectly into ce. Kaal couldn''t contain his delight upon receiving praise from Eren. As he prepared to move closer to the st site to confirm Kev''s demise, Eren''s stern gaze stopped him in his tracks. "Don''t approach recklessly. You might get your hands burnt," Eren warned, his eyes fixed on the swirling smoke and dust at the site of the explosion. "Aaaaargh!" Suddenly, a cry of pain and agony rang out from the aftermath of the st. It seemed that Kev''s survival had surprised Kaal, who had underestimated the Armored Knight''s abilities as well as the spiritual artifact he had worn as armor. "Why did you think I chose to use Meera as a suicide bomber against Kev?" Eren asked nonchntly. "There''s a reason he''s known as the Armored Knight, you know." Taking out his Sativa Stick, Eren lit it up with a flying ember and took a leisurely drag. As the dust began to settle, he seemed to have predicted Kev''s resilience all along. With a calm but calcting demeanor, Eren looked toward the 9 o''clock direction and addressed a certain someone. "This is your chance to get rid of the Armored Knight with your own hands, Fiona. Seize it before I ask someone else," he suggested with a smile. Meanwhile, Kev''s fears materialized as the enemy reinforcements he dreaded arrived C half-bloods from House Fenris, led by Fiona Fenris. Their appearance marked Fiona''s thirst for vengeance, fueling the tension on the battlefield. === AN: Eren first used suicide bombers in chapter 868. Fiona Fenris was first introduced in chapter 648. She made subsequent appearances in chapters 810 - 815. Chapter 1394 Lack Of Remorse ? Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. As the fiery st engulfed him, Kev Larson''s world turned into a swirling maelstrom of red and orange. Despite the protection of his spiritual artifact, the pain was overwhelming, and his senses struggled to process the agony in real time. He wanted to scream, to release the torment tearing through him, but the pain receptors had overloaded, leaving him in stunned silence. As the st subsided, Kev found himself injured and vulnerable, an unimaginable state for the renowned Armored Knight. The spiritual artifact, a gift from the King of Edinburgh, had shielded him from pain for so long that he had almost forgotten what it felt like. Now, the stark reality of his vulnerability shocked and bewildered him. Kev knew this attack was no random act of monsters. It was meticulously nned by someone who understood the intricacies of his spiritual armor. Meera''s presence on the battlefield had been exploited to destabilize him emotionally, preventing him from fully utilizing the artifact''s defenses. Though the st didn''t im his life, the spiritual armor was in ruins, its golden splendor reduced to tattered remnants barely clinging to his battered body. The once mighty Armored Knight was now a wounded figure, struggling to stand amid the dust and destruction. Finally, the pain overwhelmed him, and Kev cried out in agony. His face, which had been hidden beneath the armor''s headgear, was now exposed to his enemies. Burnt and disfigured, his features were unrecognizable. His once fierce eyes were out of their sockets, and his nose was gone, revealing his white nose cartge. The rest of his body bore the same marks of burning injuries, his skin marred and seemingly beyond recovery. Stripped of his clothes and dignity, Kev stood as a haunting testament to the brutal attack. The battlefield, now silent except for the whispers of dust and devastation, held the shattered remains of a once mighty warrior. "GRIMDAWN!" Kev''s voice echoed with rage and confusion as he confronted Eren. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded. But Eren remained silent, allowing Kev''s true enemy to strike him mercilessly with a dagger. "Aaaaargh!" Kev''s cry of pain filled the air once again as he felt the dagger pierce his heart, a deadly blow that left him gasping for breath. He looked down to see the weapon embedded in his vital organ, held by a young woman with wolfish eyes and features. Instantly, he recognized her as a half-blood, even though she had yet to unleash her full beastly transformation. "Do you feel injustice now, mighty Kev Larson? The so-called Armored Knight of Edinburgh. What did you protect apart from yourself with that fancy armor of yours? Where were these feelings of injustice when you hunted them and killed someone''s parents and kids in front of them before sending them to the death''s door?" Fiona, the half-blood, coldly stared at Kev''s haunting visage, devoid of any sympathy. She taunted him, questioning his sense of justice and righteousness. She reminded him of the countless innocent half-bloods he had hunted and killed, leaving behind families torn apart by his actions.I think you should take a look at As Fiona twisted the dagger in his heart, Kev''s fate seemed sealed. His squad members were already dead, and now he faced the inevitable end of his own life. It was a devastating defeat, perhaps the most significant mass wipeout of three squads in one go in Edinburgh''s war history. Coughing up ckened blood, Kev''s body struggled to cope with the aftermath of the alchemic st. His blood thickened and his strength waned, rendering his once formidable trump cards useless. With a soft thud, Kev''s legs gave out, and he sank to his knees, folding his legs beneath him. He gazed at the fatal wound in his chest and began tough maniacally. "Hahaha. So this is how one of the top leaders of the Blood Punisher Force meets his end, huh? Hahahah. I... cough cough cough never saw iting," he said, meeting Fiona''s gaze with defiant eyes. "To answer your question, half-blood," Kev continued, his voice steady despite his condition, "I never felt sympathy or guilt for killing your kind in the past. You are abominations, a threat to the peace we''ve fought for since the Cmity War. Our world''s stability depends on keeping half-bloods in check." As his words trailed off, Kev''s breathing becamebored, but his spirit remained unyielding. He faced his demise with unapologetic conviction, leaving behind a chilling legacy as the once mighty Armored Knight. Fiona was ovee with the need to speak her mind to the dying Kev, feeling unsatisfied with his unyielding beliefs. She felt the weight of the countless innocent half-bloods he had hunted and the atrocitiesmitted by the Blood Punisher Force. However, Eren intervened calmly, his voice cutting through the tension like smoke from his Sativa Stick. "It is foolish to expect a dying man to change his beliefs, Fiona," Eren said, exhaling a lungful of smoke. "Not everyone has a life-altering epiphany in their final moments, and we shouldn''t expect them to. While you may not agree with him, you must respect his consistency and convictions. As a form of respect and courtesy towards a warrior, it is right to end his life swiftly. After all, he was merely a foot soldier following the kingdom''s orders." Fiona couldn''t find words to respond as Eren saw through her emotions. She expressed her dissatisfaction towards Kev, frustrated by hisck of remorse. Though his consciousness was fading, Kev still heard Eren''s words clearly. He turned his gaze to Eren, his voice feeble as he asked, "Why?" It was a simple question, one that Eren understood without further context. "There are many answers to that question, Kev," Eren replied, smiling. "But I''ll give you one that will help you understand my position better. You see, I am a half-blood too." Kev was taken aback by the revtion. "It it makes sense then," he said before turning his gaze back to Fiona. She knew what he sought from her, and without hesitation, she granted him his request. With a swift motion, Fiona infused her dagger with mana, making it even deadlier before using it on the nearly lifeless Kev. In an instant, his head was separated from his body, and he fell to the ground. Kev Larson, once one of Edinburgh''s most fearsome assets, met his end at the hands of his half-blood enemy. In his final moments, he wondered if it was a ssic case of poetic justice. Chapter 1395 Erens Monster Army P1 "How do you feel now that Kev lies dead by your own hands?" Eren''s casual tone startled Fiona as he appeared beside her. In the aftermath of the intense battle, with Kev Larson lying lifeless on the ground, Eren''s demeanor was seemingly unfazed. The pungent aroma of the Sativa Stick still hung around him, causing Fiona''s sensitive wolf-like senses to twitch in annoyance, but she chose to ignore it for the moment. Fiona''s squad had also gathered around, their expressions reflecting a mix of relief and disappointment after the fierce encounter. After all, the half-bloods couldn''t do anything to the Blood Punisher Force members now that all of them were dead. Fiona surveyed the scene, her eyes settling on Kev''s lifeless form before she spoke with cautiousposure. "I... I feel relieved that he''s dead. At least Kev and the members of the Blood Punisher Force who have died today won''t be able to harm innocent half-bloods anymore. But deep down, I can''t help but feel that true satisfaction eludes me until..." Eren cut in before she couldplete her sentence, his emerald eyes shing with a profound understanding of revenge. "Fiona, don''t let vengeance consume you. It can taste sweet, yes, but it''s essential to know when to stop and how to wield its power to your advantage. It may help you ovee hardships, but don''t let it define your existence. Kill your enemies, but don''t dwell on it. Move forward." Eren''s straightforward words resonated deeply with Fiona for some reason, as if they were pieces of wisdom she had been yearning for. As if he knew what he was talking about. She smiled warmly at Eren, reaching out to touch his left arm in gratitude. "So, just kill and move on, huh? Hehe. You have a way of finding simplicity inplexity," she remarked yfully, acknowledging the truth in his advice. "Thank you, Eren. I will remember that. And thank you for allowing me to kill this guy." As she nced around at the surrounding monsters, she felt a sudden curiosity stirring within her. Lowering her voice, she leaned closer to Eren and asked, "By the way, Eren, how did you gain the allegiance of these mons I mean these children of Echidna?" Eren looked genuinely puzzled by her question, puzzling over its implications. "Gaining their loyalty wasn''t a matter of striking deals," he replied casually. "They serve me willingly." Fiona''s eyes widened in astonishment. The children of Echidna were known to be fiercely loyal to their own kind, rarely submitting to outside influence. The fact that Eren had managed tomand their allegiance as a half-blood fascinated her, deepening the enigma surrounding him. ''This man holds more secrets than I can fathom,'' she realized, deciding not to pry into his affairs further. Fiona knew better than to expect him to reveal all his cards. Observing Eren with keen eyes, she came to appreciate theplexity of his character. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Fiona''s attention was quickly diverted by the sudden release of a powerful mana pulse in the distance. Her keen senses detected the unmistakable aura of A-Rank entities locked in a fierce battle. One was undeniably human, while the other emanated a distinctly monstrous presence. The gravity of the situation dawned on Fiona as she realized that two Grandmaster-level entities were engaged in a life-and-death struggle. She immediately concluded that Kev''s superior who must have been following the team must have gotten intercepted by the monster entity.I think you should take a look at Despite the considerable distance separating them, she couldn''t shake off the feeling of impending danger. The A-Rank fighters could easily shift their battlefield and inadvertently involve Fiona and her squad in the crossfire. The other members of House Fenris shared Fiona''s apprehension, their eyes darting between each other and the surrounding monsters, searching for the safest escape route. Unlike the half-bloods, the monsters seemed unperturbed by the distant sh of powers. Eren, ever attuned to the concerns of those around him through his Soul Sense, interrupted their fretful thoughts, assuring them that there was no need to fear. "Rest assured, Fiona. The A-Rank opponent facing Kev''s backup is none other than my loyal monster underlingan Ogre Emperor named Ror," Eren calmly exined. Kaalmaahen, appearing beside Eren, took pride in providing further confirmation in Anfang''s officialnguage. "Indeed, our liege speaks the truth. Ror, the Ogre Emperor, is my father. We called you here as a precaution in case Kev arrived with excessive reinforcements. But it appears our worries were unfounded." A monster had spoken with excellent grip over Anfang''s nativenguage, letting the half-bloods know that he was talented in many fields. Fiona''s heart was put at ease by Eren''s words, realizing that the creatures engaged in the battle were under hismand. The trust he ced in his monster subordinates was well-founded, and she marveled at the strategic advantage he had gained through their loyalty. *** Eren''s sessful expedition to the Oni Dungeon had bestowed him with invaluable assets, such as Kaalmaahen, Ror, Sharog, Lasha, and Lunaeach leading their own dedicated monster squads or monster tribes for that matter. These monsters were collectively akin to Eren having a secretive version of the White Raven Guild, which operated in the shadows and provided Eren with the lethal edge he needed in every form of the battlefield. Throughout the past nine years, these monsters had proven their worth, supporting Eren''s guild in countless ways. The guild had also formed secret alliances with these tribes, allowing Eren to call upon a vastwork of powerful and dependable creatures when facing high-risk missions. Among his prized assets, Kaal and Ror stood out as one the exceptional leaders of their respective domains. Ror''s prowess as an Ogre Emperor enabled him to rival A-Rank Rankers, while Kaal showed extraordinary potential to surpass even his father in the future. Baran, too, had demonstrated his skill as a formidable monster tribe leader, skillfully coordinating with the denizens of the Oni Dungeon. === AN: Ror was mentioned in chapter 665. Resha was mentioned in chapter 663. Baran''s ns for tribe assimtion were first discussed in chapter 636. Chapter 1396 Erens Monster Army P2 ? Baran''s ascent within Eren''s monster army had been remarkable. From his humble beginnings as a tribe chieftain, he had risen to be the general of Eren''s entire monster force stationed outside the Oni Dungeon. Under his guidance, Baran''s own tribe had flourished, expanding rapidly after merging with Kba''s tribe and relocating to the Monster Canyon. With his strategic vision and prowess, Baran continued to conquer and assimte various tribes within the treacherous Bands. His tribe assimtion n proved highly effective, yielding a significant number of loyal orcs who joined Eren''s growing army. These orcs were raised and nurtured within the secluded confines of the Bands, away from the prying eyes. Baran''s transformation extended beyond his role as a monster leader; he had also evolved as a devoted family man. In the Orcina named Resha, he found not only a life partner but also a trustedrade who shared in his responsibilities rted to the tribe. Together, they raised a family of orc children. Baran''s partner was carefully chosen by Eren to y crucial roles in the monster army as well. However, it seemed that the butcher''s n had worked too well and Baran ended up bing a family man. A milestone in character development. Gone were the days of seeking pleasure with multiple Orcinas, as Baran now dedicated all his attention to expanding the might and influence of Eren''s monster army within the heart of the Monster Canyon. Resha, his beloved wife, proved to be an invaluable asset in this endeavor. As they worked side by side, they witnessed the rise of the monsters within thend of Anfang, a vision Resha had longed to see during her time with Kba in the past. The Monster Canyon became a symbol of growth and strength for Eren''s monster subordinates, a testament to Baran''s leadership and his unwavering dedication to Eren. His tribe, once small and insignificant, now stood as a formidable force under the banner of Eren''s monster army. As the monsters expanded their influence during the course of thest decade, they encountered countless challenges and adversaries. Yet, under Baran''s guidance, they emerged victorious time and again. His strategic brilliance,bined with the fierce loyalty of his orc brethren, ensured that the Monster Canyon became a sanctuary of power and unity. The bond between Baran and the forces of Oni Dungeon strengthened as they fought side by side, facing the perils of the Bands and Rankers of Anfang together. Baran''s unwavering loyalty to Eren''s vision and the monster army''s cause earned him respect not only from his fellow monsters but also from the monsters hailing from the Oni Dungeon. Through strategic resource management and the use of the guild''s facilities, Eren had provided his monster subordinates with unique advantages. For instance, Eren''s monster subordinates had ess to a specialized healing potionIce Fairy''s Kiss adapted to work on monsterswhich provided temporary freezing to mend critical injuries. These resources also allowed Eren''s monsters to participate covertly in the ongoing war between the kingdoms while mitigating the losses and supporting their personal growth. In addition to these formidable allies from the Oni Dungeon, Eren had a force of 24 Orcinas under hismand, each leading their own monster squads. These Orcinas operated independently, providing unwavering support to Eren''s monster army in every mission they were assigned. Working closely with Baran and Ror, these 24 Orcinas ensured seamless coordination within the monster ranks. Eren''s monster subordinates were not confined to the Bands between the two kingdoms alone; they extended their reach to support the Amazonians in their fight against the Asikha Empire. The symbiotic rtionship between Eren''s monster army and the Amazonians proved highly beneficial, leading to the demise of numerous powerful Rankers from the Edinburgh, Layos, and Asikha Empire''s factions.I think you should take a look at The alliance between Eren and the Amazonians provided a wealth of resources and invaluable cooperation during battles. Together, they formed a formidable force, capable of challenging and ying high-ranking adversaries from the warring kingdoms. This alliance was a testament to Eren''s remarkable ability to build bridges between different factions and species, uniting them under amon cause. Through strategic alliances and resourceful nning, Eren had crafted a powerful and diverse force that extended its influence far beyond the Bands. *** The sh between the two formidable A-Ranked entities, Ror and the human Ranker, came to a swift and decisive end. Ror''s overwhelming power, enhanced by the special resources provided by Eren, proved to be more than enough to subdue his opponent. Fiona couldn''t help but be awestruck by the might disyed by Eren''s subordinates. As Fiona gazed upon the scene, a mixture of awe and intrigue swept over her. Her mind couldn''t help but swirl with thoughts about the enigmatic monster army and the extent of its true capabilities. She had spent a decade working alongside Eren, witnessing only glimpses of his remarkable abilities and formidable force. But only now did she realize that he had formidable A-Ranked monster entities at hismand. However, Fiona also suspected that what she had seen was merely the surface of a much deeper and hidden strength. The thought of the countless mysteries shrouding Eren and his monster subordinates tempted Fiona to pry further into his affairs. Yet, she knew better than to tread into thebyrinth of secrets he guarded so closely. Fiona had seen enough to recognize that Eren was a master of keeping his cards close to his chest, revealing only what he deemed necessary. With a determined shake of her head, Fiona chose to respect Eren''s boundaries and focused on her own responsibilities. The Last Blood Bastian had entrusted her and her team with important tasks, and she had a duty to fulfill. With a nod, Fiona expressed her gratitude for being included in the mission to subjugate Kev. She realized that Eren''s involvement had been instrumental in the sess of their mission. However, before she could bid him farewell, Eren surprised her by pulling her into an embrace. His lips were close to her ear as he whispered cryptic words that left Fiona blushing and flustered. Curiosity and confusion hung in the air among the onlookers, unsure of what transpired between Eren and Fiona. Their hushed conversation and supposedly sweet nothings piqued the interest of those present, but the true nature of their exchange remained a mystery. === AN: Ice Fairy''s Kiss was mentioned in chapter 786. Chapter 1397 Erens Monster Army P3 ? As Fiona and her team prepared to depart, Eren continued to maintain an air of calm authority. He exchanged a knowing nce with Kaal, who assured him that he knew what needed to be done with the battlefield, including disposing of Kev''s body to avoid any further investigations. Addressing Kaal and the other monsters in their nativenguage, Eren emphasized the need for caution and discretion. He warned them of the potential repercussions from both Layos and Edinburgh if they were discovered here. The strategic geographical location needed to be abandoned because it had served its purpose. Overstaying here was foolishness. Thus, the butcher told his monster subordinates to migrate their tribe from the region immediately. With the battle concluded and the dust settling after Eren''s speech, Baran stepped forward towards Kaal, a sense of camaraderie evident in his eyes. He extended an inviting hand and spoke with a warm tone. "Kaal, my fellow leader, I invite you and your tribe to join us in the Monster Canyon. We can unite our strengths and resources, creating a formidable force together. My tribe will dly offer any assistance you and your subordinates may need." Baran had not done anything too significant in this mission to eradicate Kev''s team. This was because he recognized that Eren wanted Kaal to show his progress to him. Kaal regarded Baran with a mix of surprise and curiosity. The idea of migrating his tribe to the Monster Canyon intrigued him. He had seen the might and unity disyed by Baran''s tribe, and he knew that joining forces could be a mutually beneficial arrangement. After a brief moment of contemtion, he nodded, acknowledging Baran''s offer. "This Monster Canyon sure sounds like an interesting ce, Baran," Kaal responded, his voice carrying a hint of respect. "I have seen the prowess of your tribe prospering under the liege''smand, and I believe such an alliance could indeed lead to greater achievements." Baran smiled, pleased with Kaal''s willingness to consider the idea. The two leaders briefly looked at Eren and exchanged a firm handshake, sealing the promise of cooperation between their tribes. "As leaders, it is our duty to ensure the safety and prosperity of our people," Baran said with conviction. "Together, we can forge a new path and build an army that thrives in the heart of the Monster Canyon. An army that can serve our liege well. Hahaha." Kaal agreed wholeheartedly, recognizing the wisdom in Baran''s words. As a leader, he understood the responsibility of making decisions that would shape the future of his tribe. With a newfound alliance formed between their tribes, Baran and Kaal turned to address their subordinates, who were watching with eager eyes. They conveyed the decision to migrate and join forces, and the news was met with a mix of excitement and anticipation. *** Eren had refrained from taking direct action against Kev''s squad to avoid entangling himself in the web of consequences. The Blood Punisher Force''s involvement and the possibility of Anfang Alliance getting drawn into the conflict made it a delicate situation.I think you should take a look at Thus, Eren had strategically observed the battle from a distance, allowing his subordinates and allies to take center stage. He skillfully maneuvered behind the scenes, ensuring that his hands remained untainted by the blood of high-profile Rankers from both kingdoms. As he achieved another of his nned objectives, Eren couldn''t help but smile to himself. He knew that his actions had far-reaching consequences, and he tookfort in knowing that he had safeguarded his interests while still achieving his goals. As Baran and Kaal took charge of the tribe migration, Eren watched with a sense of satisfaction. Leading a monster tribe through such a process was no easy task, involving considerations of hunting grounds, resource management, and the changing of tribe elders. It was a test of both experience and ambition as the older monsters stepped down, and the younger generation eagerly vied for new conquests. As Eren observed their efforts, he couldn''t help but feel a surge of pride for the prosperous growth of his monster army. However, with the increasing numbers came a new challenge. Eren realized that relying solely on Echidna''s Authority wouldn''t be enough to control the vast horde of powerful monsters he had amassed over the years. In his contemtion, Eren knew that the S-ranked monsters, whom he had encountered during his journey, wouldn''t simply bow to him because of his reputation or past aplishments. He could only count on Echidna''s Authority for so much. Despite the recognition he had gained among the people of Edinburgh while acting as Grimdawn, it held little sway over the Children of Echidna. To trulymand their loyalty, Eren needed strengthoverwhelming might that could back his authority. His current C-ranked Expert status wouldn''t suffice. Eren understood that the respect and allegiance of the monsters could only be earned through a higher rank. The need for progress weighed heavily on his mind as he intermittently offered guidance to Baran and Kaal during the migration nning. As he surveyed the gathering of monsters, Eren couldn''t help but feel a sense of urgency. Time was not on his side. He longed for more years to prepare himself, to strengthen his abilities, and to break through into the coveted Master Rank. Over the past decade, Eren''s focus had been consumed by the demanding Lazarus Project and numerous side tasks, leaving him with precious little time to invest in advancing his ranking journey. Despite this daunting challenge, Eren''s unique bloodline and awe-inspiring Sin Series Abilities yed a crucial role in hismendable progress within his current rank. It was a testament to his exceptional talents and unwavering dedication that he had managed to make strides even amidst the overwhelming responsibilities of his various projects. Yet, the reality was that the sands of time continued to slip away. Though the desire for 30 or at least 20 more years of training gnawed at him, Eren knew he had to adapt to the circumstances before him. The deadline set by the Lazarus Project was unforgiving, and his enemies wouldn''t wait for him to catch up. With resolute determination, Eren epted the challenges thaty ahead. He understood that getting over the bottleneck of the Expert rank to enter Master rank would be arduous. He had to do something really risky to achieve something like that within less than a year. As the monster tribe''s migration unfolded, Eren''s mind was set on achieving the strength and influence necessary to lead his vast army. The quest for power and rank was now his driving force, propelling him towards an uncertain future. Chapter 1398 Avalon Lancelot ? The City of Lancelot. The Lancelot Guild. A spacious hall exuded a bright ambiance within the esteemed Lancelot Guid. The walls of this grand hall were adorned with an array of artifacts, weapons, and various magical runes, creating an awe-inspiring sight. Among the captivating features, historical paintings adorned the walls, portraying epic battles between Rankers and mythical beings. The artworks skillfully blended reality and imagination, leaving viewers to ponder whether these magnificent duels truly transpired or were the fruits of the artists'' creative minds. One particr painting stood out amid the distractions, capturing the attention of all who entered the grand hall. The masterpiece depicted a bravedy confronting a colossal giant, her diminutive figure pitted against the giant''s towering presence. The oil painting''s remarkable level of detail made it the focal point of the hall, towering at a staggering 15 meters in height and 30 meters in length, upying a significant portion of the left wall. The captivating details of thedy in the wall painting were truly mesmerizing. The artwork portrayed a stunning light-copper-haired woman d in formidable battle armor, standing courageously on a war-torn battlefield, facing a colossal giant as her sole opponent. Though only part of her facial features were visible, one could immediately recognize her striking beauty. Her captivating facial features,plemented by her wavy, cascading hair, evoked an air of allure and strength. Her dark, mesmerizing eyes, cute nose, and brownish-red lips exuded a sense of determination and elegance. The form-fitting battle armor not only entuated her feminine figure but also provided her with the protection needed for the fierce conflict. Adding to her charm, a delicate bracelet adorned her right wrist, reflecting a faint sunlight, hinting at its mirror-like quality. In contrast, the figure of the giant was artfully obscured by clouds and dust, intentionally blurred to draw the viewers'' focus solely on the resolutedy standing amidst the chaos of battle. Surprisingly, the oil paintingcked any name or im by its artist. Unlike the other paintings in the hall, this masterpiece remainedpletely mysterious, shrouded in anonymity. No description que apanied it, leaving viewers to wonder about the story behind the awe-inspiring scene they beheld. The House Lancelot seemed to harbor a desire to keep the painting''s significance hidden, creating an enigmatic atmosphere around it. This grand masterpiece stood as an open secret within the n, known only to a select few. Visitors to the impressive hall found themselves inexplicably drawn to the captivating painting, even without understanding its context. Curious, they approached the n members, hoping to unravel the mystery behind the artwork. However, their inquiries yielded no definitive answers. It appeared that even the House Lancelot members were either unaware of their own history or deliberately chose to withhold information about the profound historic achievement of their ancestor depicted in the painting, carefully concealed from public view. The grand hall of House Lancelot was a ce rarely essible to outsiders, reserved for those with a connection to the Lancelot Guild. To gain entry was a mark of recognition for one''s talent and service under the guild''s banner. Amidst the captivating paintings that adorned the walls, the grand hall''stest visitor was drawn to the oil painting depicting a copper-haired woman. Although her identity remained a mystery to most, there was one exception in the form of this visitor who recognized her immediately. ''Shallot Lancelot,'' Eren thought to himself as he approached the painting with silent steps. Having encountered Shallot''s ghost trapped inside the Elder Seed Artifact, he had no trouble identifying her.I think you should take a look at Before he could immerse himself in the artwork, a voice interrupted his musings. Someone had appeared behind him, addressing him as Piper. "Congrattions for officially receiving the title of Baron''s Bane from the kingdom, Piper," the figure greeted. The reason why the person addressed Eren as Piper became clear. He had skillfully shapeshifted into Piper''s visage. After learning about the meeting, he instructed Ivor to take the day off and assumed the famous Piper identity for the gathering, which had recently gained fame for killing off Isen Osan. Piper''s heroic feat of supposedly ying Isen Osan marked a momentous asion in the history of the kingdom of Edinburgh, garnering widespread recognition and admiration from its citizens. Isen''s treachery had posed a grave threat to the kingdom, making Piper''s act of eliminating him not only a heroic deed but also a necessary one to ensure the safety and security of the realm. As word of Piper''s courageous act spread far and wide, he rightfully earned the admiration of the kingdom''s people and caught the attention of its royalty. The kingdom''s rulers, recognizing the significance of his actions, bestowed upon him a prestigious title as Baron''s Bane in acknowledgment of his bravery and service to the realm. Moreover, Piper was generously rewarded with other honors and benefits that reflected the kingdom''s gratitude for his selfless dedication. Amidst the turmoil of chaotic times, the value of titles bestowed by kingdoms had somewhat diminished, as they were now being liberally granted to numerous individuals who had showcased their valor on the battlefield. Piper was well aware that his newly acquired fame might not endure for long, as the kingdom would soon witness the rise of other remarkable individuals who would achieve great feats and capture the awe of Edinburgh''s popce. In a seamless transition, Eren presented himself as Piper, ready to participate in the meeting incognito. Eren looked in the person''s eyes as he introduced himself. "Hehe, to be honest, the title Baron''s Bane makes it sound like I''ll only be effective against barons. But thanks anyway, Grandmaster" "Avalon, young man," the figure replied. "You can call me Avalon Lancelot." The man introduced himself as Avalon Lancelot, a handsome A-Ranked Grandmaster who looked to be in his 40s. d in leather armor adorned with the fur of a mythical mana beast, Avalon stood tall at around 6.7 ft, dwarfing Eren''s current form. His lean yet muscr physique exuded strength and confidence. Despite his attempts to contain it, the aura of an A-Ranked Grandmaster radiated from him, unmistakable in its power. Having achieved the solid stage of the A-Rank two decades ago, Avalon was a rare talent in the history of House Lancelot. The House Lancelot had high hopes for him. He was predicted to ascend to the rank of the Sage in theing centuries. Avalon''s remarkable progress and potential set him apart as a force to be reckoned with, both within the guild and the wider world of Rankers. Having recently assumed the position of Guild Master, Avalon''s face was unfamiliar to some members, but his capabilities spoke volumes. Eren, still in his Piper guise, couldn''t contain his surprise upon learning Avalon''s name. "What a surprise! It''s my first time meeting the Guild Master of the Lancelot Guild. I would havee bearing gifts had I known I''d be granted an audience with you. Anything I could afford with my meager earnings to please your eyes, that is," he said politely, bowing before the esteemed Grandmaster ranker. Chapter 1399 An Ancient Corpse ? "Whatever you can afford with your meager earnings, you say?" Avalon chuckled, "what an euphemistic way of saying that whatever you have been receiving from the guild is not enough. Hahaha." Avalon''s admiration for Piper grew with each passing moment. Taking charge of the guild had given Avalon the opportunity to identify and nurture new talent. He was keen on nning ahead, cultivating individuals who could be exclusively under his guidance and control within the guild. Piper, with his unaffiliated status and rtive novelty, presented the perfect candidate for such development. By providing financial and ranking resources, Avalon could exert his influence over talented individuals like Piper. Avalon had heard rumors of Piper''s abilities, but meeting him in person revealed a deeper reservoir of potential than anyone had credited him for. Despite Piper''s attempts to conceal his true strength, Avalon could discern an overwhelming power lurking beneath the surface, much like an iceberg''s hidden depths. With a self-deprecating smile, Piper admitted, "Keke. My appetite for growth and improvement knows no bounds, Guild Master Avalon. I devour every opportunity thates my way to better myself and strive for greater heights." Another bow followed, disying Piper''s respect for Avalon as he acknowledged the Grandmaster Ranker''s insight into his true nature. Avalon nodded approvingly, acknowledging Piper''s appetite for seizing opportunities as a young Ranker. "Young bloods should always hunger for growth. How else will they thrive and reach their full potential?" Avalon remarked with a warm smile before adopting a more serious expression. He motioned for Piper to follow him, leading the way to the other end of the grand hall. Once they were away from the oil paintings, Avalon broached a sensitive topic, sensing Piper''sck of enthusiasm regarding the title and rewards bestowed upon him by Edinburgh for his efforts in the war against Layos. "I understand your sentiment," Avalon began candidly. "The rewards offered to achievers after the war are indeed meagerpared to those received during the time of peace. The kingdom''s resources are stretched thin, and they must ration the rewards ordingly, you see. Even the titles given to distinguished Rankers during the decade-long warcked thoughtful consideration. You weren''t even invited to the capital city to receive the title. It''s just done as a formality, as a way to inspire Rankers working for Edinburgh. It has not been done keeping your interests in mind." Piper couldn''t help but smile wryly at Avalon''s straightforward honesty. Though unspoken, Avalon''s words confirmed Piper''s suspicion that receiving a title from Edinburgh had lost much of its significance. The value of such des had diminished over time. And Avalon was doing his best to highlight or exaggerate this part. It was amon tactic employed by managers to temper the perceived worth of their employees'' aplishments, subtly implying that their achievements weren''t as extraordinary as they might believe. This approach served to discourage employees from demanding higherpensation or privileges, ultimately fostering a sense of loyalty andmitment to the organization. Piper''s mind quickly grasped the subtle implications of Avalon''s words, leading him to a clear realization: Avalon wanted to recruit him. After all, Piper''s true identity was that of Eren, a seasoned Guild Master of the White Raven Guild, who had adeptly employed simr psychological strategies to hire members without giving in to their exaggerated demands. In guild-rted matters, Avalon was still a juniorpared to Eren, who had mastered the art of maniption and dealt with countless individuals over his decade-long experience. It was effortless for Eren to read through Avalon''s approach. While these thoughts swirled in Piper''s mind, Avalon continued speaking, dispelling the notion that titles were mere empty honors and contradicting his earlier statements. "Young man, whatever I have said is the truth. And yet, titles hold more power and significance than you might think. Their true value lies beyond mere prestige, fiefdoms, and mary rewards," Avalon turned to face Piper with a knowing smile, allowing his words to sink in. Confused, Piper inquired, "What do you mean?" Avalon chuckled warmly before responding. "Titlese with exclusive privileges, young man. These privileges grant you ess to hidden truths about the world we live in. Being privy to this valuable information is a gift bestowed upon you by the kingdom. Now, it''s up to you to find a way to seize this opportunity with your own hands," he said, his gaze fixed expectantly on Piper. Eren had a vivid recollection of how the Amazonians had opened up to him and freely shared historical anecdotes only after he was bestowed with the title of Grimdawn. It became evident that possessing a bona fide title from a kingdom was the key to gaining ess to hidden truths from legitimate organizations within thend of Anfang. Such titles granted individuals the right to knowledge that remained concealed from the masses. Despite being aware of this fact, Piper maintained aposed facade, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully and remaining silent. Avalon expected this reaction and proceeded to borate further. "By now, I''m certain you''ve encountered numerous questions concerning the world''s history. Why do monsters exist in our realm? How do they wield advanced magic while beingbeled as barbarians in the Bands? And why are we unable to travel to other worlds despite our great strides in teleportation magic? These questions must have crossed your mind on numerous asions, yet satisfactory answers have remained elusive. Of course, this much-needed secrecy is a way of maintaining order throughout the world of Anfang. However, as you ascend higher in the ranks, these lingering questions can be burdensome obstacles in your path," Avalon concluded with a somber tone as he continued leading Piper deeper into the grand hall. Eventually, Avalon and Piper who was following right behind him stood in front of a small passageway which seemed to be sealed by a very potent barrier magic. Avalon turned around and faced Piper before speaking further. "I believe actions speak louder than words, so I''d rather show you the true extent of privileged information. Consider it a gift from me for your well-deserved title, if you''re open to epting it," Avalon proposed, locking eyes with Piper. "So, young man, are you willing to embrace this gift?"I think you should take a look at Piper responded with a knowing smile, speaking cordially, "Please, lead the way, Guild Master." *** Eren had a specific purpose in mind when he instructed Ivor to make a name for himself within the Lancelot Guild as Piper. At that time, he was unaware that Shallot''s Mirror was an Elder Seed Artifact, but he did know it was securely kept in Baelin''s forge, protected by numerous runic bindings. Removing these runic bindings required specific information, so Eren assigned Ivor and La the task of gathering intelligence on them. La had made considerable progress and was close to deciphering the runic bindings. However, Eren kept a crucial secret from both of them C he had already awakened the artifact spirit of Shallot''s Mirror and bound it to himself. As a result, getting rid of the runic bindings was a simple task for him. Despite this, Eren chose not to divulge this information to Ivor and La. He feared that revealing the true power of the artifact might inadvertently tip off Eliza through La, and he didn''t fully trust Ivor''s acting skills to keep such a significant secret from La or Eliza. However, Ivor had yed his role remarkably well, so much so that the new guild master, Avalon, showed genuine interest in having him join his faction. Eren couldn''t help but acknowledge Ivor''s talent for fitting in seamlessly within the Lancelot Guild. *** Step. Step. Step. Footsteps rang in a narrow corridor. ''Hmm. The stability of Avalon''s position as Guild Master doesn''t seem as secure as I initially thought. The Lancelot Guild''s size has led to factions forming within it. Avalon''s focus now is on recruiting young talents to benefit himself with minimal investments,'' Eren contemted inwardly, maintaining his disguise as Piper in front of Avalon. Eren understood that the absence of factions in his guild was due to its rtively recent establishment. He had managed to maintain a strong grip on the organization with the help of key individuals like Agatha, Levine, Amory, Jiana, and Nina. Nheless, Eren was aware that in the future, if he were to step aside or leave a vacant leadership position, the possibility of factions forming within his guild might arise. However, these were distant concerns that Eren didn''t need to fret over at this moment. ''Damn it. This trip is going to be such a waste of time. I already know everything there''s to know about thanks to Nira, Sansara Sage''s Legacy, and other sources. This man is probably not going to offer any reward for Piper if he is treating the information as this grand and legendary gift.'' Despite not knowing what Avalon had in store, Eren found himself disinterested. He had taken Ivor''s ce as Piper, assuming that the Lancelot Guild would offer Piper a significant reward for ying Isen Osan. However, the prospect of receiving information about Anfang and its secrets wasn''t new to him. He wasn''t particrly excited about the opportunity Avalon presented. Eren wondered if it would have been better to let Ivore as Piper, as Ivor might have been more informed about these matters. ''Ah well, I won''t lose anything by ying along and pretending to be impressed with everything I hear and see,'' Eren decided, following Avalon down a narrow corridor with a faint light at the other end. However, the butcher didn''t know how wrong he was in his assumptions. As he crossed the ethereal barrier separating the narrow corridor from the grand hidden chamber, an overwhelming sense of ancient energy washed over him, causing him to freeze in ce. The feeling was all too familiar, and his mind raced toprehend its significance. He couldn''t shake the sense of intimidation emanating from the raised tform not far away. ''It can''t be,'' Eren whispered to himself, trying to make sense of the situation. The sensation he felt was reminiscent of encountering a Titan before. He realized that Avalon had deliberately led him here to witness something extraordinary. His heart pounded as he gazed at the giant raised tform, realizing the truth behind Avalon''s intent. Piper was being shown the corpse of a Titan that had fallen during the Cmity War, an ancient event Shallot Lancelot had been part of. Chapter 1400 An Aim To Become A Nightmare Itself ? An eerie sense of dread filled the air. It was as if the entire secret chamber had been submerged in an abyssal sea. It was as though this space held its own ethereal ocean, and Eren stood at the bottom, gazing upon a motionless monstrosity atop the raised tform. Despite the creature''s lifeless state, it emanated a terrifying aura that evoked instinctual fear in anyone who encountered it. Being exposed to a Titan''s aura made one acutely aware of their own insignificance and the limitations of their powers. No matter how powerful or skilled, in the face of such ancient and overwhelming energy, everyone couldn''t help but feel small and vulnerable. Avalon''s impromptu move forced Eren to take an unexpected trip down memoryne. He was torn between cursing the Grandmaster Ranker for triggering a lost trauma and admiring him for skillfully catching him off guard. It was a psychological tactic reminiscent of Eren''s own strategies whenever he yed the role of the guild master for the White Raven Guild. It seemed that he had underestimated Avalon. The man didn''t have much experience as a guild master of the Lancelot Guild. But his status as a Grandmaster ranker was enough to assume that role seamlessly. The memory of his first encounter with a dead Titan''s aura flooded back into Eren''s mind. Back then, he was just an Ace Ranker, and the mere presence of such a fearsome entity haunted his nightmares for weeks. To worsen matters, Eliza had used the skeletal remains of these Titans as peculiar home decor, carefully arranged in a way that unnerved Eren to the core. The ancient auras emanating from the gigantic skeletons and their hollowed eyes seemed to fixate on him, leaving him shaken both physically and mentally during his visit to Eliza''s abode in Purgatory. Eren chuckled inwardly as his hand trembled in the presence of the dead Titan. ''I... I thought I got over this,'' he thought to himself. ''No. Something''s different this time.'' Taking a deep breath, he decided to face his fear head-on by retracting his Mana Sense and extending his Soul Sense instead. His trembling ceased as he shifted his approach. Comparing his current experience with his past encounters, Eren noticed something peculiar about the dead Titan''s presence this time. ''This... the Titan is indeed dead, but his body is still intact for the most part. These bastards have preserved his body after Shallot yed him in the Cmity War,'' he muttered, confirming the Titan''s status using his Soul Sense. Eren couldn''t help but curse the past Rankers for their peculiar fascination with preserving the bodies of Titans as macabre mementos of their battles. Eliza had indulged in this practice, and now it appeared that Shallot had followed suit. The legacy of Shallot, and her encounter with the dead Titan, had been passed down through her n, resulting in the preservation of the colossal creature''s lifeless form to this day. The eerie and unsettling presence of the Titan''s body served as a haunting reminder of battles long past, perpetuating a tradition that Eren found unsettling and unnecessary. Turning to Avalon with an incredulous look, Eren wordlessly conveyed a multitude of questions. Avalon was impressed by Piper''sposed response. "You have surprised me, young man. You are handling this better than I had thought," he said with admiration.I think you should take a look at "When I was exposed to this ce at a young age, I almost shat my pants. Hahaha." Avalonughed, breaking the formality of his rank, and patted Piper''s back in encouragement. Eren found somefort in knowing that even the esteemed Avalon had experienced the same daunting feeling when first exposed to the dead Titan''s aura. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he sought rification from Avalon. "So the legends were true. That corpse over there is what they call a Titan, right, Guild Master?" Piper inquired, and Avalon confirmed his question with a nod. "Indeed, Piper. Remember the oil painting you were admiring in the grand hall? The Titan depicted in it is the very same one lying on that tform. The figure facing off against the Titan in the painting is our ancestor, Shallot Lancelot. She single-handedly defeated that giant and earned the title of Titan yer. Knowledge of Lady Shallot and her aplishments is considered privileged information, and House Lancelot takes great pride in our legendary hero of the past," Avalon spoke with evident pride in his voice. Eren nodded, genuinely acknowledging the awe-inspiring feat. He couldn''t help but recall Eliza''s even more remarkable aplishmentsdefeating an entire squad of Titans in a single battle, while they were in their battle formation. If Avalon took pride in Shallot''s victory over one Titan, Eren knew that La, upon learning about Eliza''s achievements, was bound to be even more devoted to resurrecting her. Observing Avalon''s nostalgic expression as he looked at the raised tform, Eren understood the lingering impact of the dead Titan''s presence. "So much time has passed, but the intensity of that wretched Titan''s aura remains undiminished. It can strike fear into the hearts of mortals and make them drop dead on the spot. It can make lesser entities question their very existence. These fuckers were called Walking Cmities for a reason." Avalon said, his hands resting behind his back. After a brief pause, he turned to Piper and teasingly proposed, "Would you like to get a closer look? If you''re not too scared, that is." Avalon expected a refusal, and he had good reason to anticipate it. "Let''s go. I want to see that fucking Titan with my own eyes," Eren remarked boldly, mirroring the informal tone set by Avalon. Without waiting for guidance, he confidently strode towards the raised tform. "Hahaha. Be careful what you wish for, young man. Merely glimpsing those Titans is enough to keep you sleepless for nights on end," Avalon teased, following closely behind Eren. ''Nightmares? Fuck them. Who cares about mere nightmares when I can be the nightmare itself? Merely looking at the Titan won''t satisfy me anymore. I... Kekeke... I must thank House Lancelot for this revtion. Because NOW...'' Now, I will have the opportunity to devour a fucking Titan!'' A spark of greed ignited in Eren''s eyes as his ambitions soared. Instead of sumbing to dread, his body now hungered for the chance to devour the colossal creature. === AN: VEH punches in 1400 chapters with this release. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the dedicated readers and a special shoutout to the top contributors. We have a new book cover to celebrate this milestone. Check it out. The artwork offers you a glimpse into the soul-stirring charisma of Titans. I think it perfectly captures their dreadful grandeur. Thank you all for being a part of this incredible journey so far and stay tuned. ;) Chapter 1401 Angels Of Destruction ? In the heart of a hidden chamber, Eren stood before a sight that left him both fearful and in awe. It was a sight he knew would haunt his memory for years toe, imprinted with the dreadful grandeur of the past. There, encased within a massive ice b,y the lifeless remains of a Titanthe very same creature in by Shallot Lancelot. The ice b, a product of Shallot''s formidable elemental magic, had preserved the Titan''s corpse through the ages with the aid of intricate runic arrays. House Lancelot, recognizing the significance of this fallen behemoth, had entrusted a dedicated team of Rankers to ensure the preservation of the corpse. Thanks to the runic array that maintained Shallot''s elemental magic at all times, the corpse remained wless, keeping the Titan''s dreadful form intact. Frozen in time, the Titan''s dead body appeared more menacing and dangerous than ever. The ice, like a transparent veil, offered a chilling glimpse of the creature''s immense size and terrifying features. Though standing at an impressive 90 meters in length, Eren was aware that there were Titans evenrger than this one within Eliza''s domain, but that did little to quell the overwhelming sense of trepidation that washed over him. The Titan had a human-like face for the most part. However, it had horn-like protrusions above his forehead. It seemed that Shallot''s blows hadnded on his face as well which mangled his flesh, resulting in his face looking dreadful. The Titan''s arms were massive, resembling boulders with bulging muscles and raw power. The legs, too, were like towering pirs, supporting the colossal weight of the creature. d in sturdy armor, the Titan exuded an aura of invincibility. In the face of such immense strength and resilience, Eren couldn''t help but marvel at the bravery and skill of the Titan yers who had faced these walking cmities. The mere thought of witnessing one of those legendary battles ignited a fiery desire within him. He pondered what extraordinary feats and techniques the Titan yers must have employed to bring down such behemoths. The visage of the Titan, marred by Shallot''s fateful strikes, etched a grim image in Eren''s mind. The creature possessed a partially human-like face, adorned with horn-like protrusions above its forehead. Shallot''s blows had disfigured its flesh, leaving behind a dreadful countenance. The Titan''s eyes, a target of the Titan yers'' strategic strikes, were now shrouded in darkness, their true nature hidden from view. As Eren continued to gaze upon the frozen behemoth, a mix of emotions swirled within him. While fear coursed through his veins, there was also a fascination with the Titan''s immense power and the secrets it held. Titans were said to be guardians of ancient times, beings whose existence predated the civilization found in Anfang. The mere presence of a Titan was enough to make mortals question their own fragility and the might of the ancient world. Eren was well aware of the tactics employed by the Titan yers of the Cmity Era. They had developed a standard protocol to confront these towering adversaries, and it involved strategically targeting specific areas of the Titans'' bodies. In particr, their focus was on the creatures'' eyes and the back of their legs, aiming to hinder their movements and neutralize their threats effectively. It also helped the Titan yers reduce the damage potential of Titans. As Eren observed the frozen Titan before him, it became evident that Shallot had executed the strategy with precision. The creature''s missing eyes were a testament to the calcted strikes. As Eren''s gaze swept over the frozen Titan, he couldn''t help but notice a massive open wound on its left wrist. The size and nature of the wound were distinct enough to set it apart from the injuries inflicted by human-sized Rankers or their spells. It became evident to Eren that this was a self-inflicted wound, a grievous actmitted by the Titan himself. His mind quickly connected the dots, understanding the significance of the wound. Shallot Lancelot had wielded the power of the Elder Seed Artifact against the Titan during their fierce battle. Utilizing the mirror''s mysterious and potent abilities, she had reflected her will upon the towering creature,pelling him to harm his own body. This unexpected tactic had given Shallot a decisive advantage, making it easier for her to ultimately defeat the formidable Titan. Eren''s preconceived notions about Titans were challenged as he examined the armor adorning the frozen Titan. The tales and legends he had heard had portrayed Titans as nearly indestructible and overwhelmingly dense creatures. However, upon closer inspection, he realized that his assumptions had been misced. The armor encasing the Titan''s body was made from an unconventional material, resembling a fusion of leather and wood. Surprisingly, this uniquebination allowed the Titan to wear it with ease while still providing formidable defensive capabilities. Eren couldn''t help but feel a sense of awe at the ingenuity behind the creation of this armor. From a headgear, main armor covering the torso, arm and leg bracer to strong and sturdy gauntlets, the dead Titan seemed to be disying the ingenuity of his race with pride. I think you should take a look at The tattered and broken state of the Titan''s armor painted a vivid picture of the brutal and grueling battle he had endured against Shallot. The scars of the conflict were evident, with countlesscerations, cuts, and bruises marring his massive form. The sight of his ckened and coagted blood around these wounds was a testament to the intense suffering he had endured. Despite the Titan''s pitiable appearance, no one dared to extend any sympathy towards him. The imposing and fearsome aura that surrounded the creature, even in death, reminded all who beheld him of the catastrophic destruction he had once been capable of. It was a somber reminder of the power and peril that Titans represented, serving as a stark contrast to the admiration and awe reserved for the likes of Shallot Lancelot, the legendary Titan yer. A spark of excitement surged through Eren as he imagined the epic sh between Titans and their intrepid adversaries. If given the chance, he would have dly parted with a considerable portion of his vast wealth just to witness the ancient confrontations. The spectacle of Titans battling against the skilled and determined Titan yers was a tale he longed to witness, and his mind was filled with wonder and curiosity at the thought of such historic encounters. Avalon, who stood by Eren''s side, observed the young man closely. He knew all too well the overwhelming emotions that encountering a Titan evoked, having experienced it himself in the past. Avalon''s voice resonated in the grand chamber as he recounted the legend of Shallot Lancelot, the ancestor of his n, who had faced and in the young Titan before them. He emphasized that what they saw was only a glimpse of a Titan''s true potential. "These Titans are believed to be the very creation of gods," Avalon continued, his tone filled with reverence and awe. "Their veins are said to flow with divine blood, granting them extraordinary powers from the moment theye into existence. Some ancient records even refer to them as angels of destruction, divine beings destined to bring chaos to the worlds they tread upon." Piper listened intently, captivated by the history unfolding before him. His initial trembles had ceased, reced by fascination and a glint of greed that flickered in his eyes. As Avalon delved deeper into the tale, Eren''s mind raced, contemting the possibility of iming the Titan''s corpse for himself. Yet, he knew better than to reveal his intentions before Avalon in any form. Avalon took the time to carefully exin the history of Anfang and the onset of the Cmity Era, providing crucial details to help Piperprehend the events that had unfolded in the past. Eren noticed, however, that Avalon seemed to downy the contribution of the half-bloods during that tumultuous period. The omission of Eliza Samael''s feats in particr did not escape Eren''s notice. Despite this, Eren chose not to challenge Avalon''s narrative. He understood that the Anfang Alliance, as the victor of the Cmity Era, had shaped history in a way that suited their interests. It was only natural for Avalon to adhere to the established script set forth by his superiors. Avalon meticulously recounted the past, sharing some new details with Eren. Thetter listened intently while disregarding information that was already familiar to him. Eren couldn''t help but acknowledge that Avalon had yed his cards well. The young talent Piper, who had received the kingdom''s Title, was bound to uncover the true history of Anfang eventually. In their first meeting, Avalon saw an opportunity to provide Piper with what he perceived ascking. Avalon invited Piper to join his faction present within the Lancelot Guild in the end. Although Eren didn''t reject Avalon''s invitation outright, he wisely asked for a few months to contemte the offer. Avalon readily agreed, showing understanding and patience. However, Eren harbored no intention of allowing Ivor to join any faction within the Lancelot Guild. He had a clear agenda and timeline in mind. In just a matter of months, he nned to create upheaval within the city of Lancelot, causing tremors that would shake the very foundation of the domain. When that fateful moment dawned, neither Leo nor Piper would be found within the borders of Lancelot. Like elusive specters, they would vanish without a trace, returning to the shadows from whence they came. At least that was the n. Chapter 1402 Wyvern Hunt P1 ? As the war between the kingdoms of Edinburgh and Layos raged on, the battlefield grew increasingly intense. After nearly a decade of stalemate, the conflict was showing signs of escting dramatically, thanks in no small part to Eren''s strategic maneuvers. Layos had unleashed their secret weapon: tamed mana beasts. These ferocious creatures proved to be formidable opponents, difficult to defeat in battlepared to human and elven soldiers. With the right tactics and resources, these mana beasts could turn the tide in Layos'' favor. In response, Edinburgh''s forces adapted to Layos'' strategy, employing their own mana beasts on the battlefield. But they didn''t stop there. They also harnessed the power of demon beasts and their tamers, securing permission from the Anfang Alliance to lift the restrictions on using demon spells. As both kingdoms loosened their restrictions, war became the domain of the elite. Ordinary Rankers were no longer confident in their chances of survival when facing such powerful and exotic forces from both sides. The battles became more perilous and the stakes higher than ever before. *** The border region between the two kingdoms. In the contested border region between the two kingdoms, the battlefield was engulfed in the chaos of war. The standard protocols of engagement were being followed as the opposing forces shed in brutalbat. A formidablepany, consisting of soldiers and warriors from various guilds, was under themand of an army leader from Edinburgh. With around 150 members, thispany fought with the clear objective of iming the region by the day''s end. As the battle unfolded, thepany split into multiple squads to handle different fronts. Among them, several members of the White Raven Guild fought bravely, fighting side by side with the army-ledpany. Among these guild members was Eren, who took on the role of the de facto squad captain for the White Raven squad deployed in the heat of the battle. Their primary adversary was a squad of enemy Rankers, bolstered by the presence of a formidable Gray Scale Fire Wyvern. The Wyvern was an awe-inspiring sight, measuring a colossal 30 meters from head to tail. Its tail alone ounted for a significant portion of its length, covered in a cluster of scales and protrusions that seemed almost independent entities. The creature''s gray draconic scales adorned its body, rendering it nearly invulnerable to elemental and weapon assaults. Though the wyvern''s rear legs were rtively short, their impressive girth provided stability and power. Its tail, however, was a lethal weapon, capable of catching unsuspecting Rankers off guard. A single strike from the wyvern''s tail, enhanced by the infusion of magic, could prove fatal. With two formidable wings supported by its front limbs, the wyvern could take to the skies at will. Its draconic face disyed a wide maw, revealing a row of vicious teeth. Menacing yellow eyes exuded an aura of fear, striking trepidation into the hearts of ordinary Rankers. Draconic mana beasts were a legendary existence, residing at the pinnacle of the food chain. Falling under the esteemed Legendary Category, they were regarded with both awe and terror by Rankers. Even the wyverns, considered lesser forms of true dragons,manded respect due to their mastery of their Elemental Attainments, robust physical forms, and seemingly boundless stamina and mana reserves. The mere presence of a wyvern was enough topel regr Rankers to retreat rather than face it inbat. The Gray Scale Fire Wyvern, summoned by the forces of Layos, lived up to its species'' reputation for ferocity. Its elemental attacks and imposing size made it a formidable adversary for the Rankers of Edinburgh, who struggled to deal with it effectively. Although capable of flight, the wyvern wisely chose to remain grounded, avoiding the vulnerability to long-range attacks it experienced while airborne.I think you should take a look at Roar! The battlefield trembled with the echoing roar of the wyvern, filling the air with a dreadful atmosphere. The fearsome creature charged at the White Raven team with the intent to annihte them. With a powerful breath attack, it unleashed a torrent ofpressed fire-element mana, aimed straight at Eren and hispanions. The wyvern''s wings bore the marks of previous attacks, hampering its flight, but itpensated byunching its assault from the ground, denying Eren any opportunity to target its massive form while airborne. "Regroup!" Eren''s voice rang out with urgency as he assessed the situation. Breaking formation to evade the attack would only expose them to the enemy Rankers'' cunning trap. Instead, Eren chose to confront the wyvern''s breath head-on, trusting in his team''s unity and strength. Responding to Eren''smand without hesitation, his teammates swiftly converged around him. Their movements were seamlessly coordinated, forming a protective cluster. "Jakey!" Eren yelled. Jake, recognizing the critical moment, stepped forward and deftly deployed his defense shield. It intercepted the iing breath attack just in time, deflecting the fiery torrent with resolute determination. *** Over thest decade, the White Raven Guild had implemented a remarkable rank-up program and provided its members with abundant ranking resources. Thanks to this initiative, the guild members achieved remarkable progress in their individual paths. Among them, Jake stood out as a shining example of sess. Currently, in the liquid-core stage of the Expert Rank, he had honed his skills to be an exceptional defense specialist and a formidable Tanker. Initially, Jake''s focus had been on growing his father''s business after graduating from LA. Since his father''s contracts were with the White Raven Guild, there was no conflict of interest, and Eren dly entrusted Jake with certain business endeavors of his guild, easing the burden on Agatha. Jake proved to be a shrewd businessman, generating significant profits for both Eren''s guild and his father''s business. However, tragedy struck when Jake fell victim to Demonmir''s forces, serving as a harsh reminder that individual strength still held supreme significance in thend of Anfang, despite his business influence and wealth. Following his father''s death, Jake underwent a profound change in perspective, realizing the importance of personal power. He dedicated himself to his path as a Ranker, focusing diligently on his training and growth during thest few years. The tragedy that befell Jake had a profound impact on shaping his path as a Ranker. It was a stark reminder that sometimes, even from the darkest moments, positive oues could emerge. === AN: Jaker''s father was announced dead in chapter 1375. The rank-up program was mentioned in chapters 787, 901, and 977. Chapter 1403 Wyvern Hunt P2 ? The results of Jake''s unwavering dedication and effort were now evident as he flourished as a formidable Ranker. His water-element spells were tailored for exceptional defensive capabilities, benefiting both himself and his teammates in battles. The profound transformation in Jake''s journey as a Ranker showcased the power of determination and resilience in the face of adversity. The wyvern unleashed its potent fire-element breath attack, colliding with the 10-foot wall barrierposed of dense water-element mana. In an explosive sh, clouds of mist and vapor billowed into the air. The sheer force of the beast''s elemental powers was staggering, swiftly evaporating Jake''s defensive spell formation, forcing him to retreat a few steps. "This fucking beast!" Jake eximed in frustration, channeling more mana to reinforce his spell. He couldn''t help but curse the Edinburgh kingdom for not investing in taming their own wyvern. The formidable creature alone was enough to keep all the White Raven members preupied. Even the Rankers from Layos hesitated to intervene between the wyvern''s attacks and Eren''s team, fearing the risk of friendly fire from their own beast. It was a wise decision on their part, as the wyverncked the finesse to distinguish friends from foes on the chaotic battlefield. "Ron! Dino!" Eren urgently called out to the two Expert Rankers seeking protection behind Jake''s spell. Their role was clear, and they swiftly moved to support Jake. As berserkers, they were fierce fighters, but they also possessed capable mid-range defensive spells. Erecting walls of iron and copper from the ground, they strengthened Jake''s defensive formation. For this particr attack, these metal walls proved sturdier than Jake''s water-element spell, while Jake''s spell provided crucial support, preventing the walls from sumbing to the wyvern''s searing heat. The draconic fire was not to be underestimated; it could have melted Ron and Dino''s metal walls within moments if not for the cooling effect of Jake''s water-element spell. Though the sh between the wyvern''s elemental attack and Eren''s teamsted only 10 seconds, for the Rankers facing the onught, it felt like they had been trapped in a hellish furnace for hours, surrounded by fire from every angle. The intensity of the battle tested their mettle, and they knew the real trial was yet toe. Eren knew that the wyvern would take some time to cool off right after it had finished its breath attack. He wanted to encash on that small window of opportunity and that''s why he had asked Jake to tank the wyvern''s attack instead of scattering his team. So when the wyvern finished attacking, Eren disappeared from his position. His teammates knew what he was about to do so they supported him by releasing their own torrent of spells. Renita, with her crossbow and mana gun in hand, positioned herself to cover Jake and aimed at the wyvern with deadly precision. Each weapon offered unique advantages: the crossbow allowed her to infuse more wind-element mana into each attack, but it required a longer reload time, while the mana gun provided a continuous barrage of mana bullets, ensuring nog in her assault. However, they were practically harmless to the beast unless Renita only targeted the beast''s weak spots. By skillfully employing both weapons simultaneously, Renita effectively mitigated the disadvantages of her Ranger ss. Her recent promotion to Expert Rank,bined with a solid stage mana core, elevated the power of her attacks to a whole new level. Additionally, her Way of the Elements had undergone significant improvement, granting her enhanced freedom and control over her long-range strikes. As Renita unleashed her assault, the wyvern roared in agony as a volley of attacks found their mark on its massive body. The beast had nowhere to hide, as Renita''s attacks could change directions mid-flight, precisely targeting its vulnerable spots. Meanwhile, seizing the opportunity, Ron and Dino charged at the elves from Layos who were positioned just beyond the wyvern''s range. The enemy Ranger ss Rankers were undoubtedly trying to cover for the wyvern''s weakness with their long-range attacks. Undeterred, Ron and Dino engaged the enemy head-on, fully aware of the threat they posed. Ron and Dino, the dual berserkers, had already ingested their berserker potions, and their bodies were coated in metal-like suits of their respective elements, providingprehensive protection and enhancing the impact of their physical attacks. As they struck the ground, the earth trembled beneath their powerful blows, disrupting the enemy nk. However, their impressive disy of power was overshadowed by Ramy Richards, a Ranker from Eren''s team who had been patiently waiting behind Jake''s Tank-specific spell. As soon as the wyvern exposed its weakness, Ramy seized the opportunity tounch a daring offensive. Armed with his Knight-ss spells and sound-element attacks, he overwhelmed his enemies with both mind and body. Recently attaining Expert Rank, Ramy had fully embraced his status as a C-Ranker. His sound-element spells were multifaceted, inflicting physical debuffs, confusion, illusions, and even disrupting his opponents'' mana circuits. The profound mastery of his Way of the Sound granted him ess to various Elemental Aspects, allowing him to add unpredictability to his elemental spells. "Hahahaha. Weave aaw you looking at? Bozo!" Yet, the true headache for Ramy''s enemiesy in his foulmouthed speech, which he purposely exaggerated with a lisp. He skillfully used his taunting rhetoric to enrage opponents, breathing new life into each battle while also relishing the joy ofbat. Ramy truly enjoyed the fights, using them as opportunities to learn from his mistakes and observe his adversaries. In a stunning disy of prowess, Ramy dispatched three enemies within a mere 15 seconds, fearlessly charging deeper into the enemy cohort. Fully embracing his role as a distraction, he drew the enemy''s attention upon himself, creating openings for his allies to exploit. Eren''s enemies were vignt, especially when it came to Grimdawn. The moment he disappeared from their sight, they knew trouble was on the horizon. "Quick! Protect the wyvern. Grimdawn is going to..." The enemy squad captain barely had time to give orders to shield their precious mana beast. But it seemed that he had miscalcted. The butcher wasn''t interested in facing the wyvern at all. Eren had different ns; he was after the enemy squad captain himself. Blink. Unlimited Knife Works. Chapter 1404 Need For Infinite Mana ? Blink. Unlimited Knife Works. With a swift blink, Eren activated the Unlimited Knife Works, unleashing a relentless onught of lethal strikes at close range. His Katars cut through the enemy captain''s defensive spells, armor, and even Trump Cards, thanks to his extraordinary Ability gained from Sage Luftansa. In a disy of unparalleled proficiency and skill, Eren''s peculiar weapon-specific Ability turned the unfortunate elf into a shredded mess of minced meat. The Sage himself would have marveled at how his sessor wielded the Ability with such mastery. In a unified cry, the Rankers from Layos rushed towards their fallen captain, hoping to rescue him from Eren''s relentless onught. Unfortunately, by the time they reached him, it was toote C their leader had already met his end. Seizing the opportunity, Eren swiftly activated a movement spell, propelling himself towards a nearby opponent. His Katars unleashed a flurry of elemental attacks C Blitz Wave and Igni Wave C with deadly precision. But one of the enemy Rankers saw that hisrade''s life was hanging by a thread and decided to nk Eren from behind,unching a series of axe attacks. With a wry smile, Eren realized he was caught between two foes. This was bound to happen since he had barged into the enemy stronghold. He deftly parried the sword attack from his first opponent and responded with a barrage of elemental strikes,bining Blitz Wave and Igni Wave to great effect. The enemy Ranker, however, was not one to be trifled with. He retaliated with his own elemental spells, conjuring a storm of purple water that formed into a myriad of razor-sharp daggers hurtling towards Eren with deadly intent. The purple water also created a barrier around the Ranker, serving dual purpose by providing the Ranker with defensive measures as well. Meanwhile, the other enemy Ranker, who had sneaked behind Eren, wasted no time in shattering the Blitz Shield that Eren had hastily deployed for protection. He then unleashed a barrage ofpressed wind-des from his axe, slicing through the air and tearing through the weakened defense. Within just a few seconds of dispatching the enemy captain, Eren found himself surrounded by his adversaries. He couldn''t help but admire the Layos army''s preparedness C despite the loss of their leader, they regrouped quickly and coordinated their attacks effectively. The battlefield was now enveloped in a chaotic storm of mana clouds, the result of the intense close-rangebat. Eren knew escaping from this relentless onught would be challenging; the cooldown period of his Blink ability made it impossible to use again so soon. Rather than retreating, Eren made a bold decision to confront the two enemy Rankers. Drawing strength from the Hero''s Heart Ability gifted to him by Ken, he fortified his body and bolstered his physical defenses, preparing for the impending sh. Aware of the peculiar properties bestowed upon the cluster of water summoned by the enemy Ranker''s Elemental Aspect, Eren opted for a different approach. Instead of relying on his lightning-element movement spell, he invoked Earth Steps, enveloping his legs in an anti-gravity field that repelled everything in their vicinity. Sedated Perception Stunning Speed With his keen mastery over time-element spells, Eren manipted the perception of time around him. As if drifting into an ethereal realm, everything seemed to slow down, granting him an advantage over his adversaries. Eren''s journey through the ranks had not only enhanced his time-element abilities but also invited Alephee''s influence, infusing his spells with a dreadful potency. However, this newfound mastery also presented a challenge C the restrictions of the Near-stagnant World seemed to tighten, hinting that his rapid progress in Elemental Attainments required his body and Ranking Status to catch up in order to fully unleash his boundless elemental prowess. Motion Maniption Eren''s agility and mastery over time-element spells enabled him to perform remarkable acrobatics. Seizing the opportune moment, he used the enemy Ranker''s bent thigh as a springboard to propel himself into the air. With precision and finesse, he then leveraged his shoulders tounch even further, soaring an impressive 15 meters above the ground. Thanks to his effective use of Earth Steps, Eren managed to evade the harmful touch of the enemy Ranker''s purple water. Swiftly adapting to the situation, he seamlessly transitioned to Wind Steps mid-flight, seemingly stepping on air as he ascended higher, granting him even greater freedom and maneuverability in the air. Total Control Through his time-element spell, Total Control, Eren demonstrated astonishing spell-switching prowess, effortlessly moving from one spell to another without any dy or loss of efficiency. Even within the confines of the Near-stagnant World, Eren''s mastery over his arsenal of elemental spells surpassed conventional understanding, elevating both his offensive and defensive capabilities to extraordinary levels. Eren swiftly pivoted and observed the two enemy Rankers, who were charging toward each other in their failed attempt to catch him. Their expressions shifted from confusion to surprise as they realized Eren''s absence between them. His mastery of time-element spells allowed him to savor their bewilderment, relishing the advantage he had gained on the battlefield despite the debuff imposed by the space-element runes. However, as he smirked in triumph, he couldn''t help but curse the limitations of having only one mana core. With a myriad of spells and abilities at his disposal, Eren yearned for greater mana reserves to fully unleash his potential as a multi-element and multi-ss Ranker. Hepared it to a highly advanced flying vehicle equipped with countless features, but shackled by a small fuel tank, preventing it from utilizing its full capabilities. ''My diverse spells and multiple sses mean nothing if I don''t have the mana reserves to support them.'' Eren pondered, his mind filled with frustration and determination. ''I need a second mana core. Or perhaps something even better,'' he mused aloud, his inner voice tinged with curiosity and hope. ''A simple question needs a simple answer no matter how ridiculous it may sound. To resolve my problem, I''ll need a mana core that continuously replenishes itself by absorbing the very essence of the universe. Of course, no matter how simple an answer is, it would be useless if it does not turn into a feasible solution. Now the question is: Is that even possible?'' Eren questioned, his eyes scanning the surroundings as if seeking answers from the world itself. Eren was deep in his thoughts even while he was battling against the forces of Layos. In his peculiar state, he couldn''t help but wonder if such a remarkable power source could exist. Chapter 1405 Back-Up ? Eren had honed his proficiency in various elemental spells to a remarkable degree. He had be a formidable force, capable of matching any Ranker of his generation, even those with deviant elementalpatibility. However, while he could seamlessly switch between elemental spells without a problem, he knew that doing so during a battle was far from staying mana-efficient. Each transition between different elemental profiles required a significant amount of mana, hindering his overall spellcasting efficiency when it came to mana consumption. His desire for a solution was clear C Eren yearned for a boundless source of mana that could sustain him regardless of how frequently he switched between elemental spells. With such an inexhaustible well of power, he could fully unleash the potential of his diverse spellcasting repertoire. Yet, Eren was no stranger to the fact that wishes were one thing, and achieving them was another. Obtaining an evesting mana source was no simple task; it required meticulous nning, dedication, and perhaps even centuries of research and development. Eren understood that countless other Rankers and mana-users across different worlds had likely pondered this very concept throughout history. Nevertheless, during this very fight against the forces of Layos, Eren embraced the challenge, knowing that it was a long-term endeavor. Drawing inspiration from past pioneers, studying the legends of mythical beings, and carefully nning his steps were all part of his approach. He remembered the lessons from the Lazarus Project, recognizing the power of prenning and breaking seemingly impossible goals into achievable milestones. The path to his ultimate goal might be arduous, but Eren was resolute in hismitment to see it through. *** ''These mid-battle epiphanies wouldnd me in deep troubles one day. No need to worry about how to have an infinite mana core right now. I''ll worry about this after I step out of Anfang. For now, I need to focus on what''s in front of me right now,'' Eren finally concluded his thought process. Resolving to make the most of the moment, Eren decided to end his time-element spell from a safe distance. Fixing his gaze on the two enemy Rankers, he activated his ocr Ability, locking their eyes with his own powerful stare. Sedating Gaze! Eren''s blurred visage quickly became visible to his enemies after he canceled his time-element spells. The enemy Rankers, who were about to sh with each other, realized they had been outmaneuvered by Eren. They attempted to either cancel or redirect their spells. However, before they could act, they locked eyes with Eren, and their consciousness was pulled into a nightmarish world of blood and gore. In this bizarre realm, flesh flowers bloomed grotesquely, and gigantic meteors tore through a crimson sky. Ensnared by the Sedating Gaze, the enemy Rankers lost control over their spells. The first Ranker''s potent flying weapon attacks, meant for Eren, struck the second Ranker, causing severe damage. Simultaneously, a batch of deadly flying daggers conjured by the second Ranker from purple water-element mana found their unintended mark in the first Ranker, inflicting grave wounds. Their defensespromised and consciousness altered, the two enemies suffered severe injuries from their own attacks. The second Ranker lost both arms and had his left leg severed at the knee. The first Ranker''s torso was riddled with mana-contaminated daggers that caused painful blisters on his skin. The unnned friendly fire, caused by theirmon enemy, Grimdawn, left them both gravely wounded and vulnerable. The battlefield crackled with raw elemental power as Eren unleashed his deadly ocr Ability, Sedating Gaze, upon the two enemy Rankers. Their consciousness wavered and their faces twisted in agony, but before they could even vocalize their pain, the swift twin des of Rigor Mortis sliced through the air, severing their heads from their torsos. The enemies'' lifeless bodies crumpled to the ground as their heads flew through the air in a gruesome spectacle. The victorious Eren stood amidst the aftermath of his lightning-fast attack. His Shamshirs, crackling with electric energy, were named Rigor Mortis for good reason. The flying sh attack, Red Reaver, had beenposed of pure lightning-element destruction Aspect, carrying a lethal charge that brought a swift end to his foes. With the enemy squad leader and two disguised Rankers dispatched in mere moments, Eren''s focus shifted to his team members. Renita, skilled andposed, expertly protected the team''s tank, Jake, and the healer, Ana, from enemy assaults. Her long-range attacks kept the menacing GrayScale Fire Wyvern at bay, preventing it from unleashing its destructive fury. While Renita managed the wyvern, Eren''s allied Rankers, dispatched alongside the White Raven team members, took on the beast in a coordinated effort. Theirbined strength sought to contain the mighty creature, allowing the White Raven Guild members to engage the enemy Rankers directly. In the midst of the chaotic battle, Eren''s teammates showcased their extraordinary abilities. Dino and Ron''s berserking powers struck fear into the hearts of the enemy, leaving a trail of defeated Rankers in their wake. Ramy Richards'' exceptional sound-element spells kept his opponents enthralled, as he danced with deadly precision, captivating their attention. As the enemy Rankers realized the extent of Eren''s devastating prowess, their resolve wavered. Their leaders had fallen at his hands, and fear crept into their hearts. The wyvern, though still dangerous, was a distant constion amidst the overwhelming might of the White Raven Guild. Just as the enemy Rankers began to gather their strength for a counterattack, an ominous realization dawned on them. An unknown force approached, an unseen army marching to answer Eren''s call for reinforcements. Panic spread among the enemy ranks as they faced an even greater threat than they could have anticipated. The iing force was no ordinary backup; it was the formidable aid that Eren had summoned, ready to turn the tide of the battle. Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, a squad of Rankers from Firebrand arrived, led by a distinguished Master Ranker. The air seemed to crackle with anticipation as their arrival signaled a shift in the tide of the battle. "Hehe! Did you miss me?" A familiar voice rang out behind Eren. A smile spread across his face as he turned to greet the figure. "I did, Tasha darling," Eren said, his voice warm with familiarity as he casually embraced the person before him. The Master Ranker revealed herself to be none other than Altashia Argas. Chapter 1406 [Bonus ] The Scythe Queen’s Concerns ? As the chaotic battle raged on, Eren''s prayers for backup were answered in the nick of time. The GrayScale Fire Wyvern''s relentless onught had pushed them to their limits, and facing it alone was simply not feasible for Eren and the White Raven Guild members present on the battlefield. The enemy Rankers from Layos added to the challenge, leaving them with no option but to y defensively and contain the ferocious beast. However, they knew their limits and realized that taking down the wyvern required a specialized approach. Eren urgently needed the expertise of Firebrand''s Rankers, known for their mastery of fire-element magic. Leveraging the co-op agreement between the White Raven Guild and Firebrand, Eren quickly called upon Altashia and her team to join forces. Altashia''s team arrived, a skilled and cohesive unit, well-versed in handling fire-element threats. As per Eren''s instructions, they focused solely on containing the fearsome GrayScale Fire Wyvern, using their fiery prowess to keep the beast at bay. Thanks to the mastery over the Way of Fire and various special artifacts at their disposal, these Firebranders were also immune to the beast''s elemental attacks. All they needed to do was to make sure that the beast did not concentrate all of its attacks on them or tried to deal a physical blow to them. With the Firebrand team taking charge of the wyvern, Eren and the remaining White Raven Guild members turned their attention to the enemy Rankers. Their duties now shifted to eliminating the remaining foes, who were already shaken by the loss of their squad captain and vice-captain at Eren''s hands. As the enemy Rankers attempted to retreat, they found themselves confronted by Eren and hisrades, their path to escape effectively cut off. Eren''s team worked with impressive synergy, dismantling the fleeing foes one by one with skillful coordination. The tides of battle had turned in their favor. Meanwhile, Altashia and her fellow Firebrand Rankers engaged in a fierce struggle with the relentless wyvern. Its vitality and strength seemed never-ending, bearing testament to its formidable draconic lineage. The C-Ranked wyvern that was close to achieving its beastly evolution, surrounded by a multitude of Rankers, refused to back down despite the fierce battle that had raged on since its inception. Fuelled by peculiar potions from the Layos forces, it remained undaunted, refusing to flee from the scene. This legendary draconic creature possessed a myriad of devastating abilities beyond its fiery breath attacks. Its exceptional Elemental Attainments allowed it to manipte fire-element mana, extending its reach to absurd levels. With ws and coat aze, it unleashed fiery whips and conjured clouds of mes wherever it roamed. The beast''s draconic wings harnessed the elemental fusion of fire and wind, releasing storms of fiery destruction. In a fit of rage, the wyvern took to the skies again despite its damaged wings,unching aerial attacks against Altashia''s team. The skies lit up with a spectacle of fireballs, fire bolts, and me shards raining down on the enemy, resembling a celestial dance of mini-suns. Eren''s team would have been overwhelmed if they were to be present at the scene at this point, but Firebrand''s Rankers proved their mettle, employing their expertise to deal with such creatures. Firebrand Rankers skillfully used fire-element mana chains to ground the beast and neutralize its flight capabilities. With its wings restrained, the wyvern focused its efforts on eradicating its perceived pests. Altashia, wielding her formidable scythe, officially titled the Scythe Queen by the kingdom of Edinburgh at this point, divided her team into two groups. One group maintained control over the elemental chains, keeping the wyvern leashed and vulnerable. The other provided crucial support as Altashia led the fierce assault, dancing on the battlefield with deadly elegance. Her oversized scythe cleaved through the air, releasing waves of flying weapon shes that struck the beast''s previously inflicted injuries. Altashia''s strategy was evident, targeting the wyvern''s rugged draconic skin where it had received previous injuries to weaken it further. Her deadly precision and calcted attacks made it clear that she was intent on breaking through the creature''s resilience. The battlefield was alive with elemental shes, magic spells, and the roar of the wyvern. Eren knew that victory hinged on the collective efforts of both the White Raven Guild and Firebrand. With thebined might of these skilled Rankers, the daunting challenge before them would be ovee, one step at a time. It took more than half an hour for Eren and his team to be finally done with finishing off the fleeing enemy Rankers. They quickly made their way back to ground zero and regrouped before joining forces with the Firebrand Rankers. The battlefield crackled with tension as Altashia swiftly switched positions with her vice-captain upon spotting Eren''s team approaching. Understanding the gravity of the situation, Eren immediately directed his team to support the Firebrand Rankers, while he went to meet Altashia. His voice filled with concern and his forehead creased with stress lines, Eren asked Altashia, "How is it looking?" As they observed the sh between the Rankers and the ferocious beast from a safe distance, it became evident that the battle was far from over. Altashia let out a sigh, her eyes reflecting memories of a past encounter. "It reminds me of when I fought Rodrick''s wyvern in the Titus Arena. But this wyvern here is fully grown and on the verge of evolving to the next rank. Eren, if we continue like this, we might face casualties. Shouldn''t we restrain the beast for now and retreat? I can''t ask my guild members to risk their lives against a cmity of nature like the GrayScale Fire Wyvern." Eren shook his head, his voice unwavering. "The risks of fleeing are as great as staying and fighting, Tasha. If we run, the beast might pursue us and attack us individually when we are not in a formation to support each other. It also might return to the Layos tamers, making it an even deadlier adversary in our next battle. You already know the peculiarities of dragonkind. They are favored by the world and mana itself. Evolving after such a battle would be effortless for that Overhyped Lizard. It''s foolish to offer your enemy a respite only for them to end up getting stronger." Taking a deep breath, Eren steadied himself, his gaze determined as he added, "To be honest, I have a personal stake in this too. I need the beast''s soul for my Hex Artifact. So, follow my lead as I take charge of this raid." === AN: Altashia fought with Rodrick''s wyvern in chapter 481. The traits of dragonkind were first exined in chapter 483. Altashia was unofficially named the Scythe Queen in chapter 484. Eren decided to get the wyvern''s soul for his Hex armor in chapter 1365. Chapter 1407 Renitas Progress: Carrying Nira Nightshades Legacy "Follow my lead as I take charge of this raid." With his words echoing in the air, Eren''s Shamshirs vanished, reced by a runic crossbow. His emerald eyes gleamed with a peculiar light, and a sense of purpose emanated from him. "I won''t let this chance slip away. We must face this overhyped lizard head-on," Eren dered, striding forward with unyielding determination. The beast dominated the Rankers surrounding it, but Eren was ready to seize control of the situation and fulfill his own purpose. Amidst the chaos of battle, Eren knew that time was of the essence. Completing his Hex armor required the soul of a wyvern, and the beast before them held the ideal recementthe soul of the bear had served its purpose and was fading away. A Grayscale Fire wyvern''s soul could potentially bring out the best of the Wrath mana. "Listen up, everyone! Keep the beast restrained with the elemental chains," Erenmanded, addressing both his team members and the Firebrand members. Then, his gaze settled on a certain Ranker. "Renita, I need you here with me," he called out, his voice carrying a mix of urgency and concern. Some of the other team members grumbled at the apparent favoritism Eren showed towards Renita. In their hearts, they muttered curses, but they didn''t let it hinder their task. Another Ranker quickly took Renita''s position in the chain formation to keep the beast restrained. Even Altashia couldn''t help but furrow her brows as she noticed Eren''s focus on Renita''s safety. She understood Eren''s nature, though, and sighed quietly. For Renita, Eren''s gesture brought a smile to her face. However, she knew that now wasn''t the time to express her feelings. She followed his orders, getting close to him. "Reni, we''ll target the beast together. You keep it distracted, and I''ll focus on dealing critical damage," Eren said, a warm smile gracing his lips as he looked at Renita. Having tactically switched to the Ranger ss, Eren aimed to weaken the beast before closing in for close-range attacks. He understood that simply inflicting superficial wounds would be futile, as the creature possessed almost boundless vitality, capable of recovering from moderate injuries quickly. He had already seen this happening when Altashia was inflicting her damage on the beast with her scythe. Eren knew that he couldn''t outperform Altashia''s attacks with his Expert-ranked moves. The best he could do with his current situation was to match her performance, which was clearly not enough. Eren understood that Edinburgh''s army had thoroughly underestimated the wyvern''s capabilities. A bunch of Master Rankers were needed to work in unison to y this monstrosity. Even then, these Master Rankers involved in the raid needed to deploy a battle formation for them toe out of the battle unscathed. Eren and Altashia had underestimated the beast''s vitality as well. They didn''t know that the beast could stay tenacious even after being bombarded with so many restrictions and elemental spells unleashed on it. Eren didn''t want to make the same mistake of underestimating a dragonkind ever again. Instead of risking his life with meaningless assaults, Eren opted to pave the way for a more strategic approach. He needed to assess the beast''s weaknesses beforeunching his close-range offensive. "Alright, Eren." Renita nodded, her admiration for Eren''s capabilities evident. They had fought side by side many times during the past 9 years, and she knew he had be as skilled a Ranger as she was. She both envied and loved him for his prowess as a capable Ranker, and she trusted him implicitly, following his orders without question. In the midst of the battlefield, Eren and Renita''s unspoken bond was stronger than evera shared trust and understanding that transcended the chaos around them. As they faced the formidable creature together, the two Rangers pointed their weapons at the beast, took aim, and fired their volley of attacks. Renita''s heart raced as she gripped the crossbow of Nira Nightshade, a transcendent-grade artifact gifted to her by Eren a decade ago. Its power was beyond anything she had wielded before, capable of unleashing the full potential of her Ranger ss and spell capabilities. Renita knew that the bow held even greater secrets than she could currentlyprehend. She felt a connection with it, a sense that it would remain by her side even after she broke into the esteemed Sage Rankan indication of its profound abilities. But for now, her current rank and limited Elemental Attainments acted as barriers, preventing her from fully tapping into the bow''s true potential. When the battlemenced, Renita hesitated to employ the artifact, knowing the immense burden it would ce on her. Additionally, the chaos of the battle had left her unable to concentrate enough to utilize the mysterious bow effectively. However, as the situation stabilized with the aid of the Firebrand Guild members and Eren''s strategic maneuvers, an ideal opportunity presented itself. Eren had created an environment where she could use the artifact without worry, even if it meant overdrawing from her mana reserves. With a deep breath, Renita made her decision. As the battle raged on around her, she channeled her focus and summoned the strength to wield the crossbow. The artifact''s intricate runic patterns seemed to glow in response to her touch, and a surge of energy coursed through her veins. Her eyes narrowed in determination as she aimed at the most formidable adversary before her. The air seemed to crackle with anticipation as she conjured and released the first arrow made of pure wind-element mana. The moment it left the bow, the arrow transformed, leaving behind a trail of shimmering light. It homed in on its target with precision and speed, piercing through the defenses of the opponent with deadly uracy. Renita''s heart swelled with pride as she witnessed the bow''s prowess in action once again. It was as if the artifact had be an extension of her own will, guiding her strikes and empowering her abilities. === AN: Renita received Nira Nightshade''s bow from Eren in chapter 1091. Chapter 1408 Sedating Gazes Failure: Dragonkinds Spiritual Might Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. The wind-element arrows whistled through the air, creating an illusion of countless projectiles converging on the wyvern from every direction. Renita''s mastery over the wind-element had unlocked a unique Aspect, enabling her arrows to replicate themselves just moments before striking the target. Each arrow multiplied into two or three replicas, a mesmerizing disy of precision and power. But the true marvel was what happened upon impact. Upon piercing the wyvern''s scaly hide, the wind-element mana of the arrows that had found itself inside the beast''s body multiplied once again as a form of foreign mana invasion, unleashing a chain reaction of destructive force within the creature''s body. This was no ordinary attack; it was a symphony of elemental destruction. Even Nira Nightshade would have taken Renita as her disciple upon seeing thetter''s potential. In the past, Renita''s attacks had been impressive, yet the additional damage dealt was limited. With her regr artifacts, the beast''s formidable defenses proved challenging to ovee. However, the introduction of Nira Nightshade''s transcendent-grade bow changed everything. The bow enhanced Renita''s attacks to new heights, breaking through the beast''s near-impregnable draconic skin and inflicting cellr-level damage. As the wind-element arrows found their marks, the wyvern roared in agony, its once-imposing form now struggling under the relentless assault of Renita''s attacks. The sheer intensity of her assault left the creature reeling, its ability to retaliate greatly hindered. With Renita''s wind-element arrows striking with devastating precision, the beast found itself staggered and vulnerable. Eren, a skilled Ranger himself, provided cover fire with his own crossbow, aiming for the wyvern''s exposed weak spots created by Renita''s barrage of attacks. As the battle raged on, Renita''s confidence grew, and she allowed herself to be consumed by the flow ofbat. She moved with grace and precision, never missing a shot, and drawing on the bow''s strength to augment her spells. The battlefield became a canvas of explosive power and strategic maneuvers, with Renita at the heart of the storm. Amidst the chaos, she stole nces at Eren, who fought alongside her, his support bolstering her resolve. Their unspoken understanding and shared goals ignited a spark of determination within her, fueling her desire to push beyond her limits. The two Rangers coordinated seamlessly, taking turns in their relentless assault from a safe distance. Each of Eren''s shots was meant to deal critical damage to the enraged wyvern, who retaliated by casting devastating elemental spells in a wild disy of fury. Amidst the chaos, one of Renita''s arrows found its mark, piercing through the wyvern''s eyes. The beast let out a deafening roar and went berserk, its rage overpowering the elemental chains that bound it. With a mighty force, it tore the chains apart, freeing itself from their constraints. It seemed that the wyvern had lost all sense of reasoning as itunched itself toward the source of the long-range attacks it was facing. ''This I was waiting for this,'' Eren muttered under his breath before changing his battle style yet again. Bear''s Hex Gear + Berserker ss + Wrath Mana Eren and the mighty wyvern charged at each other with an electrifying intensity. The Hex Armor manifested around Eren, exuding an aura of power as he locked eyes with the formidable dragonkind. Sedating Gaze Eren''s ocr Ability ignited, turning his eyes devoid of irises. The butcher attempted to ensnare the beast''s consciousness in an illusory world. However, this was no ordinary opponent; it was a dragonkind, possessing a spiritual force too immense to be easily swayed. Sedating Gaze failed on the wyvern. As Eren''s eyes turned crimson, tears of blood streamed down his face, the pain of his Ability failing evident in his expression. The wyvern''s resistance to his ocr prowess was unprecedented, leaving Eren in a state of physical and mental agony he had never experienced before. Yet, this unexpected setback did not surprise the butcher. He had suspected that the wyvern''s vast spiritual force might surpass his Ability''s influence. Dragonkinds, born with prodigious spiritual reserves, dominated other creatures through intent-based magic, casting spells of unparalleled strength. Their potency was such that conventional defenses simply crumbled in their wake. Despite this knowledge, Eren had chosen to employ Sedating Gaze as a tactical move. He aimed to create a momentary diversion, a brief window of opportunity amidst the beast''s resistance. His ultimate objective was to unleash a lethal attack, a move he had meticulously prepared ever since he set his sights on acquiring a wyvern''s soul for his Hex Gear. Ѧdsvel As Eren charged towards the wyvern, a magnificent and otherworldly form materialized around hima resplendent red bear, majestic and fearsome. In a mere fraction of a second, he seamlessly merged with the illusory bear, transforming into a towering and awe-inspiring beastly berserker. The bear''s ethereal presence enveloped him, elevating his stature and infusing his mana with a beastly aura. The onlookers stood in stunned silence, captivated by the sudden metamorphosis. Witnessing Eren''s dramatic shift left Altashia''s teammates bewildered, their minds racing toprehend the spectacle before them. Their gazes darted between one another, seeking confirmation that what they were seeing was real. The fame of spiritual and Hex artifacts had spread far and wide due to the ongoing wars across Anfang, but none had ever heard of a Hex Gear capable of such a formidable transformation. ''This man, he sure has a lot of tricks up his sleeves. He has all the money and connections he needs to get something like that for himself.'' Altashia remarked, sighing as she relinquished the idea of boasting about her recent breakthrough to Master Rank in front of her man. Eren''s disy of power was humbling, leaving no room for vanity. His current state hinted that he could effortlessly best her, despite her higher rank. It was a testament to the vast arsenal of abilities he had at his disposal. The battlefield crackled with energy as Eren''s transformed figure charged toward the wyvern, infusing his attacks with the bear''s might. In a seamless disy of exceptional agility despite the overbearing physical form, the bear climbed onto the wyvern''s back. The red bear joined his hands together as he sat on the back of the wyvern''s stretched neck and struck with all his might. Eren''s strike reverberated with raw power, causing the wyvern to reel from the onught. Eren''s new form allowed him to unleash a ferocity that seemed to transcend human capabilities, and the spectators couldn''t help but feel awe-struck in the presence of this seemingly invincible warrior. Having meticulously nned his attack, Eren knew that the wyvern''s neck was vulnerable from the previous barrage of long-range assaults done by his and Renita''sbined efforts. It was now time to capitalize on their attacks and deliver the final blow. His majestic red bear form granted him formidable strength, and he utilized his beastly ws to exacerbate the dragon''s injury, tearing through the tough draconic skin. Sensing the imminent danger, the wyvern attempted to take flight once more, hoping to shake off the relentless assant on its back. But Eren was not done yet. Swiftly reaching into his storage, he retrieved a vial containing a potent RDX potionC its modified form specially tailored for the use of a wyvern. With a precise thrust, the butcher embedded the vial deeper into the wyvern''s wounded neck, ensuring it couldn''t escape the devastating effects of the explosive concoction. Knowing the risks involved, Eren made a split-second decision. He jumped down from the wyvern''s back andid t on the ground, positioning himself on his tummy. The terrorist''s heart pounded in anticipation as he waited for the sound of detonation. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Chapter 1409 Bathed In Wyverns Blood ? In the midst of the intense battle, Eren had devised a daring n to take down the relentless GrayScale Fire Wyvern. Knowing that using Sedating Gaze on the dragonkind would likely fail, he cleverly used the failed attempt to his advantage. By momentarily slowing down the wyvern''s reactions, Eren seized the opportunity to climb over its massive back andunch a deadly attack from close range. The beast''spromised responses prevented it from effectively countering Eren''s swift assault. However, the failed spiritual attack had its consequences. Eren endured physical and mental bacsh, which hindered his ability to utilize many of his spells and abilities. Topensate for the restrictions imposed by the space-element runes, Eren had to think creatively and adapt his battle strategy. Switching between multiple spells with varying elemental profiles, though more mana-intensive, became a necessity under these circumstances. He also found himself increasingly reliant on his Hex artifact due to the limitations of the runes. Eren was still proficient in dealing with regr Rankers, but against formidable opponents, he couldn''t unleash his full potential. The dilemma was furtherplicated by the necessity of keeping the space-element runes always working on his body in a passive mode to protect his alter identity as Leo Longde under the Lazarus Project. The opportunity to hunt the wyvern had been on Eren''s mind for weeks, nning to explore the treacherous Bands for the beast''s soul. But fate had offered him a unique chance when the Layos army brought their own wyvern to the battlefield. The hunt for a legendary-tier creature was always risky, but the prospect of iming the beast''s soul with the backing and resources of Edinburgh was too enticing to resist. Eren''s preparation for the wyvern hunt came in the form of special Trump Cards, specifically crafted to take down the formidable creature. Among them was the RDX potion bomb, not the typical mass-produced variety his guild was ustomed to. This particr concoction was infused with deadly wyvern poison, ensuring that the explosive damage was coupled with a rapid, deadly poisoning effect that would course through the beast''s veins. With precision, Eren embedded the potion bomb deep into the wyvern''s neck injury, ensuring its potent effects were unleashed. Eren''s heart raced with anticipation and determination when he started fighting with the wyvern. The odds were stacked against them, but his unwavering resolve and strategic nning would be the key to oveing the ferocity of the GrayScale Fire Wyvern and iming victory for both the White Raven Guild and Edinburgh. Reluctance tugged at Eren''s heart as he contemted using the deadly wyvern poison to take down the beast. The wyvern''s body held a plethora of rare ranking resources that would be invaluable for his potion-making and artifact manufacturing endeavors. By using the poison, he riskedpromising the potential resources he could obtain from the creature''s corpse. However, confronting the wyvern head-on without a solid n would be a fatal mistake, and the safety of his team and himself took precedence. Thus, in the end, he made the difficult choice to utilize the peculiar concoction. In a swift and calcted move, Eren positioned himself below the wyvern''s flying shadow right after he primed and detonated the RDX potion bombced with the deadly wyvern poison. The st unleashed a cacophony of sound, mingling with the agonizing wails of the wyvern. Brilliant light engulfed the creature as the potent fire-element mana erupted, dealing massive damage to the wyvern''s formidable scales. The once airborne beast came crashing down, causing a fiery spectacle on the ground below. Dazed from the bacsh of the failed Sedating Gaze attempt, Eren quickly regained his footing and reached for a recovery potion vial, consuming its contents in one swift gulp. He wasted no time in rallying his team. "Guys!" he called out urgently, knowing other members of this wyvern hunt understood their next move. Without hesitation, Renita unleashed a barrage of attacks on the fallen wyvern, surrounded by a cloud of mes. Altashia and other Rankers surrounding the beast and Eren alsounched a volley of attacks on the fallen wyvern. The fight was far from over, and they needed to be vignt against any resurgence from the resilient creature. Roar! As the menacing wyvern''s deafening roar reverberated through the battlefield, Eren and the other Rankers surrounding the beast couldn''t help but shiver. The creature pped its now-tattered wings, scattering the engulfing cloud of mes that had concealed it moments ago, revealing its fearsome countenance to all. The potion bomb detonation had taken a toll on the wyvern, evident from the grievous injuries it bore. Dark red blood oozed from its wounds, staining the ground beneath in a macabre hue. Residual mes flickered on its damaged scales, releasing a pungent scent into the air. The beast had suffered severe burn damage, but the most critical woundy on its neck, where it appeared as if its head and neck might soon part from its torso. Though cauterized by the explosion, a blue hue surrounding the wound indicated the wyvern poison''s insidious work. Refusing to surrender, the wyvern unleashed another thunderous roar and red at its opponents with unbridled rage. In a broken human tongue, it spat venomous threats. "You you fil thy maggots, you will pa pay for..." The beast aimed to unleash a final, devastating attack, gathering mana from its surroundings with its intent-based magic. However, before it could act, Eren abruptly approached, disrupting its deadly ns. "Just drop dead already, you overhyped lizard." Eren''s bear form manifested before the wyvern, wielding the oversized Labrys with deadly precision. Heunched relentless strikes at the dying creature, preventing it from casting an area-of-effect spell that could have spelled doom for everyone nearby. Even in its dying moments, the wyvern put up a formidable fight against Eren. Were it not for the protection of his Hex Armor, Eren would have been dealt critical damage by the beast''s ferocity multiple times over. The skirmish was brief but intense, pushing Eren to unleash the true potential of his Berserker and Close Combat Expert sses. In the end, the wyvern took its final breaths, and the bear soul attached to the Hex Armor dissipated after Eren''s exhaustive use of the armor. Chapter 1410 Master Rank Breakthrough Induced By Battle Trance ? "Haah!" The battle''s conclusion left Eren drenched in the poisonous wyvern blood, a testament to the perilous struggle he had faced. Eren felt the weight of exhaustion settling upon him like an anchor, his body aching from the taxing battle with the wyvern. The Hex Armor, pushed to its limits, had drained him considerably. Yet, an odd sensation surged through him as the wyvern''s dark red blood coated his entire form. His vision blurred, and dizziness washed over him. His mana circuits swelled and his mana core was nearing depletion. From the contact with the wyvern''s blood, visible wisps of smoke rose from Eren''s skin, and an unsettling change seemed to stir within him. His limbs felt weak and unsteady, as if his bones had turned to mush. The pull of exhaustion tempted him to close his eyes and surrender to sleep for days on end, but he resisted, focusing on the wyvern''s corpse before him. ''I can''t harvest this overhyped lizard''s soul in my current condition,'' Eren murmured, touching the wyvern''s head. ''Normal Hex methods won''t work either. it would damage the soul irreversibly, just like what happened to the red bear''s soul. No. a wyvern''s soul is precious. I can''t do shoddy work with it. Not after the amount of effort I had to put in ying it." As Eren''s eyes turned red and his condition grew unstable, the other Rankers stood in awe and concern. However, Altashia signaled her guild members to remain silent, granting Eren the privacy he needed. They sensed that something extraordinary was unfolding before them. In respectful silence, Jake, Ramy, Renita, Ron, Dino, and the other members of Eren''s faction stepped back, forming a protective circle around theirrade. They too had sensed that Eren was going through some kind of peculiar change. In the aftermath of the intense battle, Eren found himself in a peculiar mental state known as the Battle Trance. It had allowed him to push past his limits to vanquish the draconic beast. Now, its lingering effect was triggering a breakthrough in his Rank. Bathed in the warm, dark red, and poisonous wyvern''s blood, Eren was on the cusp of bing a Master Ranker. The butcher''s mana-starved Expert Rank core absorbed the surrounding mana, preparing for the imminent breakthrough. Despite having meticulously nned the wyvern hunt, Eren found himself unprepared for what followedthe unexpected breakthrough into the esteemed Master Rank. He had assumed he had more time before facing such a monumental shift in his ranking journey, as it had only been a little over a decade since he had ascended to the C-Rank. Eren was well aware of the vastness of the Raking path that he had chosen for himself, and he had expected that achieving the Master Rank would require significantly more time and effort. However, destiny had a different n, and the timing of his breakthrough caught him off guard, leaving him grappling with the sudden surge of power and change of his ns that came with this prestigious rank. ''Fuck! This was not how I wanted to go through my breakthrough. This is a fucking battlefield, damn it. But nothing can be done about it since the process has already started. I I need to prepare.'' Despite his exhaustion and the inability to control the process, Eren weed the transformation. He knew life often took unexpected turns, and he had learned to embrace the moment rather than resist it. The stress lines on his forehead mirrored the intensity of the moment, realizing that the Battle Trance-induced breakthrough couldn''t be halted. The Hex Armor''s extensive use had left him too fatigued to suppress the breakthrough. Nevertheless, the butcher recognized this as an opportunity he couldn''t let slip away. With the wyvern''s corpse as the backdrop, Eren prepared himself to ascend to the Master Ranker status, epting the gift of power and growth that the current situation had bestowed upon him. A peculiar kind of mana signatures started getting released from Eren at its epicenter. The battlefield remained hushed as the miraculous ranking metamorphosis was about to unfold before the mesmerized eyes of the onlooking Rankers. ''I need to first seal the wyvern''s soul within its body to prevent it from dissipating,'' Eren murmured to himself, his voiceden with determination. He retrieved an intricately designed array disk from his pouch and gently ced it upon the beast''s head. With a swift activation of the disk, golden chainsposed of mystical runes materialized and spread across the wyvern''s lifeless form. The radiant runes slithered gracefully across the scaly surface, securing the creature''s body with their binding enchantments. The butcher''s preparations for the wyvern''s hunt were indeedprehensive, for he had not only nned various means to subdue the formidable creature but had also invested valuable resources to secure its potent soul. Initially, Eren had contemted harvesting the wyvern''s soul through conventional methods to integrate it into his Hex Armor, using the modified technique he had ingeniously developed. However, with the possession of Shallot''s Mirror, his ns took a profound turn. Why risk damaging the precious soul when he could employ the powerful capabilities of Baelin''s smithy to craft a bespoke Hex Artifact? The newfound authority over Shallot''s Mirror assured him that the Hex Artifact produced from the wyvern''s soul would surpass any of his previous creations in unparalleled quality. With the assurance that the wyvern''s soul was now secured, Eren felt a weight lift off his consciousness. He turned to acknowledge the Rankers who had fought alongside him during the perilous raid, his voice heavy and eyes drooping with exhaustion. "Th Thanks for your unwavering support, everyone," Eren acknowledged the spectators with a weary yet appreciative gaze. His keen eyes scanned the surroundings, resting upon familiar faces. "Renita, Altashia, and the rest of the Haaash rest of the White Raven members closest to me can stay here. The rest of you must leave this ce," hemanded with authority, leaving no room for dissent. === AN: Battle Trance was first mentioned in chapter 1162. Chapter 1411 The Mortal Perils Of Breaking Into The Master Rank ? A Ranker''s breakthrough was an intensely personal affair, an unveiling of their unique Individuality when reaching new heights of power. The other Rankers understood the significance of such a moment and didn''t question Eren''s decision to have his privacy during this crucial event. With brief verbal wishes and knowing nods, they dispersed from the scene, leaving Eren with the protection of his trustedpanions. Renita, Altashia, and the members of the White Raven Guild stayed within the vicinity, forming a protective perimeter around theirrade. They also maintained a safe distance from Eren just for him to have his privacy and go through with his breakthrough. Eren knew that he would be most vulnerable during the shattering of his current mana core, making way for the formation of the B-Rank mana core inside him. This battlefield was no ce for indiscretion, as enemy kingdoms could exploit his vulnerable state if they caught wind of his breakthrough. The prospect of ying the renowned Grimdawn from Edinburgh would bestow Layos'' Rankers with immeasurable fame and benefits. Therefore, Eren anticipated that unwee visitors would soon approach him once news of his peculiar state reached the ears of Layos'' Rankers, who were still engaged in battle with the remaining squads from Edinburgh. The battlefield was a precarious ground, and Eren knew he must remain vignt against potential threats seeking to exploit his vulnerable condition for their own gain. It was crucial to have reliable defenders during this critical time. With the wyvern''s corpse safely secured in a specially crafted space-element urn, Eren took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the momentous event about to unfold. Seeking additional assurance and protection, Eren called out to a particr individual who had patiently awaited his summons. "Miss Timeless..." Alephee emerged from her pendant abode promptly, already aware of Eren''s status, eliminating the need for any exnations. "Don''t worry, Eren. Focus on your breakthrough, and leave the rest to me." Alephee assured, positioning herself in front of Eren. Grateful for her presence, he smiled and nodded before assuming a meditative lotus position. With his eyes closed, he began to practice the Roortless Ranking Technique, a method he had painstakingly modified through years of research. Observing Eren closely, Alephee''s expression held both warmth and concern. Conducting a quick Soul Sense inspection, she verified that Eren was primed for a sessful breakthrough into the Master Rank. She was determined to leave nothing to chance during this crucial phase. Raising her hand, she tapped into her powers. Authority Over Time: The Frozen Flow With a disy of her unique authority over time, Alephee summoned forth a dome-shaped barrier of mystic spiritual energy, forming an exclusive time-element domain that none could enter or exit without her permission. Within this extraordinary space, the flow of time was deliberately slowed, creating an ideal environment for Eren''s breakthrough. As Eren found himself submerged in a dense, illusory fluid that restricted his movements, even his heartbeat seemed to slow. In this protected cocoon, he could solely focus on the monumental task of achieving the Master Rank. As Eren''s mana core reached its saturation point, having absorbed mana from the surrounding environment, he decided to seize control of his destiny rather than leave anything to chance. While the mysterious state of Battle Trance had undeniably facilitated his breakthrough into the coveted Master Rank, he yearned to shape his future with his own hands, guided by his unwavering determination. Eren thrived on being inmand, his cautious nature always shielding him from unforeseen perils. Despite the allure of the miraculous effects induced by the Battle Trance, he was resolved to im his advancement on his own terms, demanding rather than passively epting what the universe had to offer. Drawing upon the potent Rootless Ranking Technique, Erenpelled his mana core to absorb even more mana, despite its brimming state. To further assert his control, he deliberately blocked all his mana circuits, directing the mana within his mana veins to increase the pressure on his core. Stress lines etched themselves over Eren''s forehead as an overwhelming feeling of dread washed over him. The mana he attempted to absorb seemed to threaten to implode within him, posing a severe risk of damage. His mana circuits were already inted from his intense battle with the wyvern, their condition only worsening under the pressure of the dreadful stress emanating from the depths of his being. A torrent of pain engulfed Eren as he felt every fiber of his being undergo cellr damage. His skin ruptured in multiple ces, and his bones seemed to fracture under the pressure of an unknown force. Blood began to flow from various bodily orifices as his body struggled to amodate the surging mana, surpassing its normal limits. Eren''s journey had been rtively smooth sailing until now. His previous breakthroughs, from Rank F to Rank C, had been stressful but not life-threatening. However, breaking into the Master Rank was an entirely different ordeal. It felt like a gamble with his life, a dangerous line he was treading between life and death. ''This this is bad. I won''t be able to stay in control for much longer. Should Should I stop controlling the mana flow and let it flow freely?'' As he gasped for breath, the butcher instinctively grasped the severity of the situation. His heart pounded in his chest, and sweat poured from his body. The pain and misery he endured made it increasingly difficult to maintain focus, pushing him towards relinquishing control and allowing events to take their course. ''No Just a bit longer.'' In the midst of the turmoil, Eren gritted his teeth and resolved to hold on for just a little longer. Rather than allowing his mana core to sumb to the pressure, he harnessed the building pressure inside him as a medium to contain its state, fortifying it while continuing to bombard it with more mana. This instinct-driven yet strategic move allowed him to umte an even greater amount of mana within his body, albeit with a measure of controlled struggle. === AN: Alephee''s usage of Authority Over Time: The Frozen Flow was mentioned in chapter 1213. Chapter 1412 Core Evolution ? Driven by Eren''s unwavering determination, his mortal vessel was subjected to a thorough breakdown. The relentless pressure within him spared not even his heart, brain, or vital organs, inflicting damage on every level. Yet, Eren understood that this destruction was vital, the crucible in which the foundation for his Master Rank would beid. Just as a mythical phoenix rises from its own ashes, so too did Eren''s transformation require this process ofplete destruction and renewal. With every ounce of effort expended to establish this firm foundation, Eren''s next step was to transcend his mortal bounds. Engaging his Soul Sense, he separated his consciousness from his physical form, allowing his body to surrender to the inevitable breakthrough into the B-Rank. Crack. Crack. Break. As Eren released his grasp on control, the pressure upon his mana core became overwhelming, leading to its ultimate destruction. In the wake of this upheaval, Eren''s test had only just begun, now tasked with condensing a mana core of a higher rank. It was a trial that would demand every ounce of his will and strength. Empowered by his Soul Sense, Eren maintained consciousness amidst the agonizing pain and the rebuilding of his body from the ground up. With tenacity, his body purged the vestiges of the C-Rank from his very core and began absorbing the higher-rank mana, birthing a new, more potent mana core in its ce. Through his Soul Sense, Eren witnessed the intricate changes unfolding within him from an outsider''s perspective. It was then that he recalled La''s teachings, realizing that the current nomenture for Ranking was a mere simplification introduced by the Anfang Alliance after the Cmity War. In the past, the Ranks were ssified based on the state of the individual''s mana core and their transformation upon breaking through into each respective rank. La had described the F-Rank as "Elemental Activation," the E-Rank as "Elemental Stabilization," the D-Rank as "Elemental Condensation," and the C-Rank as "Core Elementalism." These names provided a deeper understanding of what each rank represented. La had enlightened Eren that the B-Rank was termed "Core Evolution." It signified a realm where his mana core would undergo a monumental transformation. Evolution was not an easy process. This was why breakthroughs after C-Rank were physically challenging and morally demanding. They tested a Ranker''s resolve to ascend to higher ranks andpelled them to unleash their true Individualities toplete the transformation. The treacherous journey to ascend to higher Ranks was littered with the wreckage of countless high-ranking entities that had failed in their attempts. Post the Expert Rank, the risks became exponentially colossal, deterring most Rankers from even considering a breakthrough. Their Individualities oftencked the strength to endure the process, making it seem outright impossible. For many Expert Rankers, the solid stage of the C-Rank''s mana core was their peak. They recognized the futility of pushing for the next Rank, understanding that it would only lead to their demise. These power-hungry individuals were not suicidal; they preferred to savor their enhanced lifespanspared to mortals rather than risking everything for an elusive promotion. Only the most confident Rankers in their potent Individualities would dare venture into the Master Rank and beyond. Even then, they meticulously prepared before embarking on such a trial. Selecting suitable ranking resources, securing an ideal environment, and implementing multiple failsafe methods, however insignificant they may seem against the dangers, were indispensable precautions. None would ever dare attempt a breakthrough on the battlefield. As Eren pondered the daunting task ahead of him in reaching the Master Rank, he couldn''t help but envision the even greater risks thaty ahead for those seeking to ascend to the Grandmaster or even Sage Rank. The scarcity of Sage Rankers in Anfang was no longer a mystery. Many hopefuls were weeded out in their pursuit of higher Ranks, revealing the fierce and unforgiving nature of the path they sought. As his Soul Sense allowed him to survey the condition of his body, Eren realized the gravity of the undertaking he had embraced. Eren''s consciousness bore the weight of an overwhelming pressure as the B-Rank mana core began condensing within his being. It dawned on him that ascending to the Master Rank wasn''t merely a physical transformation; it extended to the depths of his very soul. Like an ethereal fabric, Eren''s soul seemed to stretch in every direction, as if its worth were being magnified. The exposure to the potent B-Rank mana was tempering his mortal body while a mysterious force remodeled his soul. This process, though agonizing, elevated his spiritual force, strengthening his soul and augmenting his Soul Sense. Yet, this stretching of his soul was no gentle affair. Eren experienced a form of pain that transcended mortal limits. Its intensity seemed boundless, ever-expanding as his soul umted more spiritual force with each passing moment. This level of pain was far from ordinary. Not every Ranker endured such a brutal breakthrough. Eren''s experience was uniquely intense, excruciating, and life-threatening due to the vastness of the Ranking Path he had chosen. The one-of-a-kind status he had achieved came at a price. Every glory demanded its sacrifice, and Eren now paid the toll for the exceptional Ranker he had be. As Eren''s Soul Sense guided him through his progress, he became aware of a mysterious and profound change sweeping over his consciousness. If the heightened state he experienced during the wyvern battle was deemed Battle Trance, then this new enigmatic state he found himself in could only be described as the State of Epiphany. In this state, the subject''s soul was connected with a higher consciousnessthe very consciousness of the world they inhabited. This was Eren''s first time to experience the State of Epiphany after his Ace Rank breakthrough. The Anfang World Will, intrigued by Eren''s breakthrough, took the initiative to engage in a rare dialogue with one of its children. [ My child... true inheritor of Elder Ichor! ] === AN: La mentions the pre-Cmity War nomentures of Rankers'' ranks for the first time in chapter 361. The state of Epiphany was exined in chapters 48 and 85. Chapter 1413 Unparalleled Individuality ? As Eren delved deeper into his breakthrough, the resonance of his Individuality began to reverberate throughout the world around him. Out of nowhere, ominous lightning clouds amassed in the sky, transforming the once serene white clouds into dark, foreboding masses. The atmosphere shifted as thunder roared, and the winds howled fiercely, setting the stage for an impending storm. A strange and potent windstorm emerged, growing in size and intensity with every passing moment. des of abstract wind-element mana materialized, spinning wildly and creating a perilous zone for low-ranking entities to approach. Unexined bolts of deadly lightning appeared in the surroundings, each color showcasing a different Aspect of its elemental power. Purple sparks exemplified the lightning''s incredible speed, red bolts showcased its devastating force, and blue sparks incinerated everything they touched with scorching heat. Within the vicinity of Eren and Alephee, wisps of mes flickered, radiating intense heat and, paradoxically, a cooling sensation from the absorbing blue mes. The once peaceful forest surrounding the battlefield underwent a rapid transformation as wood-element mana surged, causing trees to grow uncontrobly and morph into terrifying tree monsters and Treants that bellowed with monstrous cries. Even the fallen Rankers'' bodies were not exempt from the mystifying transformation. Dead flesh melted away, and bones melded together in a morbid dance of death mana, giving rise to eerie and menacing undead warriors. Amidst this chaotic spectacle, a horde of elemental creatures materialized, summoned from the depths of Eren''s power. From fiery Hatching mes to serpentine Purple Lightning Snakes, from forest-born Woond Creatures to towering Goliaths, an array of creatures with various elemental attributes appeared, only to vanish in the blink of an eye, as if a cosmic sculptor was swiftly reshaping reality itself. But this was not all. As Eren condensed the B-Rank mana core, other elemental manifestations began to unfold, casting a dazzling disy of miniature mana storms that seemed to warp the very fabric of space. The awe-inspiring transformation initiated by Eren''s breakthrough extended beyond the immediate vicinity, spreading like wildfire throughout the nearby region. It was a testament to the boundless and extraordinary nature of Eren''s Ranking Path. The scene seemed to be ying on a visual array disk in fast-forward, as if the entire process had been condensed into mere moments from the instant Eren initiated the Rootless Ranking Technique to break through into the Master Rank. The tremendous change left no doubt about the sheer magnitude and depth of Eren''s unparalleled Individuality. Abruptly, the once tumultuous atmosphere fell into an eerie calm. The brilliant daylight hidden behind the dark clouds faded into a faint, ghostly glow, and the searing heat of the sun dissipated. The world around Eren grew unnaturally quiet, devoid of both the vibrancy of day and the darkness of night. The region seemed to have been inexplicably transported to an otherworldly twilight zone, where time and space held their breath in a haunting stillness. *** Amidst the ongoing battle between Edinburgh and Layos, multiple frontlines emerged throughout the border region between the two kingdoms. As the telltale signs of Eren''s impending Master Rank breakthrough started materializing and spreading through the air, both sides'' teams halted their skirmishes, their attention now fixated on the enigmatic phenomenon unfolding before them. Carvel Horin, the esteemed Master Ranker from the Layos army, momentarily disengaged from hisbat with a rival enemy, opting instead for a strategic retreat. His sharp senses detected the unusual atmospheric changes, leaving him puzzled and apprehensive. It was evident to him that this was no ordinary spell''s doing; there was an inexplicable force at y, leaving him questioning its origin and intent. Carvel, an elegant high elf with a regal aura, appeared to be in his early 40s by mortal standards. His striking cobalt blue eyes and shoulder-length white hair added to his enigmatic allure. While he bore the trademark features of a high elf, his less elongated ears hinted at a mixed heritage, suggesting a connection to more than just the purebred high elven lineage. Nevertheless, his family''s close ties to the elven royalty of Layos held significant sway in the kingdom''s hierarchy. d in a resplendent suit of silvery armor that exuded power and resilience, Carvel stood tall as a knight specialized in the art of Spearmanship. The de of his spear bore the telltale stains of his recent skirmish, glistening with the blood of his vanquished foes, a testament to the wounded enemies left in his wake. As the bewildering phenomenon continued to unfold, Carvel''s keen intuition and tactical acumen prompted him to consider the possibility of an Illusion Specialist''s trickery. Yet, the absence of Array Disks or magical circles in the vicinity quashed that notion. His subordinates, bowing respectfully behind him, shared their findings, ruling out the possibility of illusions. Contemting the unfolding scene, Carvel''s surprise turned into realization. "Could this be someone''s Individuality at work? Is someone attempting to break through to the next rank amidst this battlefield?" he spected, his expression a mix of astonishment and curiosity. It was beyond hisprehension that an Individuality could wield such profound effects on the world around them. Even more perplexing was the audacity to undergo such a momentous transformation in the midst of the heated conflict between two kingdoms. One had to have the balls of steel to do something like that in their current predicament. Carvel''s mind raced with awe and determination as he observed the extraordinary disy of Individuality unfolding before him. There was no doubt in his mind that this Ranker possessed the potential to scale the pinnacle of Anfang''s ranks, bing a force to be reckoned with in the world of Rankers eventually. If this remarkable individual hailed from Layos, Carvel was determined to ensure their safety and sess in this crucial moment of breakthrough. On the other hand, if this enigmatic Ranker proved to be a member of the enemy cohort from the kingdom of Edinburgh, Carvel knew the gravity of the situation. The consequences of allowing such a powerful and unpredictable figure to survive this event would be disastrous for Layos in future battles. Chapter 1414 Carvel Horin Vs Birmond Remus ? Carvel was resolute in his decision. If the Ranker belonged to the enemy, they needed to be neutralized immediately, even at the cost of their own vulnerability and coteral damage on the battlefield. "Identify this mad Ranker at once! Discover their allegiance and location," Carvelmanded his subordinates with an unwavering tone. "If they are ourrade, provide support and protection. But if they belong to Edinburgh, attack without hesitation. We must eliminate them before they unleash havoc upon us in the future," he concluded, his face set in determination and his voice resolute in the face of this crucial moment. In the face of the unprecedented phenomenon caused by the mad Ranker''s breakthrough, Carvel made a decisive choice. He temporarily ced the priority of identifying and dealing with this powerful individual above the immediate concern of winning the disputednd between the two kingdoms. With a firm voice, he conveyed his orders to his subordinates, and they wasted no time in executing hismands. *** The Layos and Edinburgh Rankers, swept up in the urgency of the situation, scattered in all directions to locate the mysterious Ranker responsible for the atmospheric changes with their Individuality. The once-coordinated battles now became a chaotic scramble as both sides tried to track down the source of the disturbance. To ensure utmost security, Renita and Altashia''s factions made a unanimous decision not to disclose Eren''s extraordinary condition to their allies. The fear of crucial information falling into the wrong hands prompted them to keep silent, even as the chaos escted around them. The recent battle had taken a heavy toll on Layos'' forces, leaving no survivors from Layos'' army who had fought against Eren''s group. As such, the Layos forces were as clueless as their adversaries about the mysterious Ranker seeking his ranking promotion amidst the battlefield turmoil. The uncertainty added an air of mystery and danger to the already tense situation, leaving both sides on edge as they continued their relentless search for the elusive mastermind behind the atmospheric upheaval. Carvel, ever vignt, kept a wary eye on his opponent, Birmond Remus, the esteemed Frost King of Edinburgh. While the two warriors engaged inbat, Carvel''s mind was preupied with the unfolding events. The search for the enigmatic Ranker put aside, even the Edinburghmander recognized the gravity of the situation and ordered his forces to join in the hunt for the cause of the atmospheric upheaval. As the battlefield devolved into a frenzy of pursuit andbat, the true power of the mad Ranker''s Individuality continued to elude them all. The fate of the disputednd hung in the bnce, but for now, the focus was on identifying and either protecting or neutralizing the one-of-a-kind Ranker whose presence had sent shockwaves through the minds of the Rankers present in the disputed region. *** Birmond Remus found himself entangled with his formidable adversary, Carvel. In the not-so-distant past, Birmond had reluctantly buried the hatchet with Eren, realizing the immense danger that the enigmatic Ranker posed. This act of reconciliation had undoubtedly saved House Remus from being utterly obliterated by Eren''s might. In the years that followed, Birmond dedicated himself to numerous battles, dutifully fulfilling the war contracts epted by House Remus on behalf of the kingdom of Edinburgh. The trials ofbat had finally begun to bear fruit, as Birmond''s once-stagnant Ranking Path exhibited promising signs of progress. The injuries inflicted on Birmond''s mana core, a consequence of resorting to the cultist method for ranking promotion, were gradually healing. After nearly a decade of relentless effort and self-improvement, Birmond had attained stability in his Ranking Path and was now ready to venture further along his destined journey. However, this time, Birmond faced a challenge unlike any other. Carvel, dispatched to the battlefield by the kingdom of Layos, was handpicked to counter Birmond''s prowess. The battle between these formidable adversaries transformed the surroundingndscape into a mesmerizing dance of contrasting elements. Birmond''s domain seemed encapsted by ice and snow, while Carvel''s terrain bore the characteristics of an active volcano. The air surrounding Carvel was rife with the scent of sulfur, and moltenva teased the earth''s surface, threatening to erupt from the seams. As the two Rankers locked horns, their sh sent mana shocks through the battlefield, captivating and terrifying all who bore witness. The very elements seemed to be at war, and the battlefield became a battleground of ice and fire, reflecting the deep-seated conflict between the kingdoms of Edinburgh and Layos. In the midst of the chaotic battlefield, Birmond and Carvelmanded their awe-inspiringpanions, Naya, and the colossal wyvern, respectively. Naya, Birmond''s loyal demon beast, stood faithfully by his side, radiating an aura of dark and enigmatic power. On the other hand, Carvel''s imposing wyvern loomed menacingly behind him, a sight to behold. Unlike the wyvern Eren had encountered, this majestic creature wasrger and more mature, exuding an aura of authority over its elementthe scorching power of fire andva. With each beat of its powerful wings, the wyvern had unleashed its intent-based magic, transforming the once-familiar battleground into a searing volcandscape. The moltenva flowed like rivers, its fiery touch melting anything unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. The wyvern''s mastery over theva element made it a formidable counter to Naya''s demonic abilities centered around the element of ice. The tag team of Birmond and his loyal demoness Naya would have wrought havoc upon Carvel''s forces had it not been for Layos'' strategic deployment of this draconic guardian. Layos'' army had executed a masterful surprise by unleashing not one but two wyverns upon the disputednd. This region, abundant in valuable ranking resources, held great significance for both Layos and Edinburgh, serving as a vital strategic location for future conflicts. The desire to im this territory had driven Layos to exhaust all efforts in securing the upper hand in the ongoing battle. Among the Rankers of Edinburgh''s seasoned warriors, Birmond stood as one who had prior knowledge of Eren and his extraordinary Individuality. The encounter with Eren''s unique power in the past had left asting impression on him and others who shared this secret insight. Swiftly deducing the true identity of the mysterious Ranker going through his ranking promotion, these small bunch of Rankers from Edinburgh chose to keep this revtion close to their chests, concealing it from the enemy forces. Amidst the tumultuous battlefield, Eren, the catalyst of the abrupt change unfolding, remained oblivious to the monumental shifts transpiring around him. His undivided focus was fixed upon a singr goal C achieving the revered status of a Master Ranker. In this pivotal moment, the chaos of the battleground paled in significancepared to the profound connection the butcher had established with Afang''s World Will. Chapter 1415 Asking For Help ? [ My child true inheritor of Elder Ichor! ] In the midst of the enigmatic State of Epiphany, Eren''s consciousness found itself resonating with a familiar yet awe-inspiring entity. The thought, powerful and resounding, reverberated through his being, echoing within the depths of his soul. Immediately, Eren recognized the source of this profoundmunication C none other than Anfang''s World Will. The consciousness that presided over the vast expanse of Anfang possessed an unmistakable and boundless presence. Eren had experienced its intervention on several asions in the past, each time leaving an indelible mark on his journey. From the moment he first acquired Reen''s bloodline to obtaining the two Sin Series Marks, the ripples of his aplishments had resonated with the world. Even the separated dimension in which Eren had acquired the Sin Series Marks could not prevent the resonance of his acquisition of the old demonic magic of the past as signs of his achievement appeared beyond Eliza''s Purgatory. The World Will, though passively agitated by the disruption of established norms, acknowledged Eren''s presence and identity as the Inheritor of Elder Ichor at that time. Ror bing oathbound to Eren was another instance where the summoning of Anfang''s World Will was witnessed, though this time it was at the behest of others. Eren had also experienced Will''s intervention during the emergence of the Slumbering Goddess within Sienna Slughorn and the Great Mother''s visit to her worshippers in the Amazonian tribes''nd. Each time, the all-powerful and all-seeing consciousness of Anfang''s World Will revealed itself, remaining a neutral observer within thend of Anfang. It had acted passively in response to the other''s actions in the past. However, what set the current encounter apart was the proactive nature of the World Will''s appearance. Unlike previous instances, where its intervention was either forced or invoked by others, this time, the consciousness had manifested on its own ord, seeking out Eren exclusively. In this moment of profound connection, Eren sensed the gravity of the situation. Anfang''s World Will hade for him, acknowledging his unique position as the true inheritor of Elder Ichor. The implications of this encounter were profound and left Eren''s metaphorical heart pounding with anticipation, wondering what was the reason for the World Will to seek him out. In the depths of the State of Epiphany, Eren found himself in a state of profound connection, yet also a paradoxicalck ofplete control over his senses. Simrly, he sensed that Anfang''s World Will also grappled with a simr limitation in expressing itself fully. Understanding the nature of this encounter was vital, for the World Will was not akin to an individual soul with set memories and experiences, but rather a collective consciousness epassing the entire world. Anfang''s World Will manifested from the myriad of living beings within its domain, creating a vast tapestry of thoughts, emotions, and experiences interwoven as one. Consequently, trying to convey a singr coherent thought or engage in a traditional dialogue was beyond its capabilities. All it could do was iste those thoughts from Eren except for letting Erene in contact with a few relevant ones. Themunion between Eren and the World Will was more like an exchange of ephemeral thoughts, floating through a surreal and delicate connection forged by the State of Epiphany. In this ethereal realm, Eren sensed the profound existence of Anfang''s World Will, a cosmic entity beyondprehension, trying to reach out to him in its unique and enigmatic way. It was as if the very essence of Anfang itself was seeking to ask something momentous to the true inheritor of Elder Ichor, transcending the boundaries of mortal understanding. [ Yes? Why did you seek me out? ] With an air of curiosity and caution, Eren directed his thoughts towards Anfang''s World Will, his mental voice echoing in the ethereal space of the State of Epiphany. Although he knew the World Will could hear him, he sensed neither hostility nor warmth emanating from its presence. It was as if the vast consciousness of Anfang''s World Will transcended the concept of favoritism, treating all within its domain with impartiality for the most part. Though uncertain if he held any special ce in the eyes of the World Will, Eren couldn''t help but feel a glimmer of hope, knowing that it had sought him out. Perhaps, in this encounter, therey an opportunity for a different future, a future where he might earn the favor of Anfang''s World Will, joining the ranks of select prodigies and geniuses it had nurtured. Or at least that''s what the populous used to refer to these prodigiesC favored by the world itself. Eren wasn''t certain if the enigmatic entity would provide him with a clear answer. With quiet anticipation, he remained silent, an observant spectator to the unfolding encounter with Anfang''s World Will, ready to witness the enigmatic actions of this iprehensible force that had sought him out. [ Help me ] After what felt like an eternity, the resounding plea echoed within Eren''s consciousness. The enigmaticmunication from Anfang''s World Will left Eren feeling lost in the surreal State of Epiphany, where the passage of time seemed distorted and iprehensible. Moments stretched infinitely, and yet, they seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Confused by this temporal paradox, Eren pondered whether both perceptions could be true simultaneously, each from a different perspective. Ultimately, he chose to set aside these mysteries and respond to Anfang''s World Will. [ Help you? Help you how? ] Eren''s query wasden with bewilderment. The idea that this vast and seemingly desireless consciousness sought assistance from him left him perplexed. Despite his recent ascendance into the ranks of B-Rankers, he couldn''t help but feel insignificant in the grand tapestry of events unfolding within Anfang. What could he possibly do to assist such a formidable entity? Moreover, he couldn''t fathom why the World Will had chosen him for aid instead of reaching out to other stronger entities that still inhabited its world. Surely, the esteemed Sage Rankers possessed the capabilities and prowess to fulfill Will''s request. Eren found it difficult toprehend why the World Will had turned to him, a mere Master Ranker, for help in its enigmatic predicament. [ Help me. Getting rid of the shackles. ] Chapter 1416 Fabricated Coincidences ? [ Help me. Getting rid of the shackles. ] The response echoed within Eren''s consciousness, and if he had control over his body at that moment, his eyes would have widened in astonishment. Thanks to the profound connection he had established, the butcher understood the meaning of the shackles that burdened Anfang''s consciousness instantly. The World Will sought his assistance to break free from the World Epassing Array, an intricate web of divine intervention cast upon it by the Slumbering Goddess. Anfang''s World Will harbored a deep aversion towards the intervention of the Slumbering Goddess. The divine being had cunningly exploited the desperation of Anfang''s residents during that era, manipting them into unwittingly constructing their own prison. Through her artifice, she ensnared not only the people but also shackled the very consciousness of the world itself. The World Will yearned for liberation from the stifling grasp of the World Epassing Array, imposed upon it by the goddess'' divine magic. It craved the pure essence of freedom, unburdened by any external influences. The constraints forced upon it went against the very nature of its being. During the Cmity War, the World Will found itself powerless to break free from the chains of the World Epassing Array. However, it now sensed an opportune moment to cast off these restraints and reim its autonomy once more. [ Why should I involve myself in such a grand and seemingly impossible task? ] Eren expressed his doubts, his thoughts echoed through the enigmatic State of Epiphany. Despite the profound connection he felt with Anfang''s World Will that could have made ordinary souls lose themselves in it, he remained level-headed. Breaking the shackles imposed by a goddess was no ordinary feat, and Eren knew it was a colossal undertaking beyond his mortal capabilities. The request seemed burdensome and time-consuming, and Eren felt a strong aversion to epting it. His ultimate goal was to leave the world of Anfang afterpleting the Lazarus Project. As he approached the rank of a Master Ranker, he would have the qualifications to venture beyond Anfang and elerate his Ranking Journey. epting this request would bind him to Anfang and hinder his progress. At least that was his conjecture. Eren''s determination to explore the world beyond Anfang remained resolute, as he sought greater heights and possibilities beyond the confines of thend he hade to know. Fulfilling the demanding request of Anfang''s World Will would only serve to restrain his growth potential and impede his quest for the boundless opportunities thaty beyond the world he knew. [ Help me because I we helped you first ] However, amidst his thoughts, another resonating foreign thought echoed in Eren''s mind, apanied by a series of vivid images and scenes from the past. To his surprise, Eren began to understand the significance of Anfang''s World Will''s plea. In a sh, Eren''s consciousness was drawn into a not-too-distant past. Scenes of events in which he was not physically present unfolded before his eyes. The first scene showed the birth of a boy named Ivor in Isen''s manor, in the City of Osan. Astonishingly, upon chancing upon a view of the calendar, Eren noticed that Ivor and he shared the same birthdate, with only a few hours of difference. He witnessed Ivor''s journey as he broke through into the Novice rank with a lightning-element affinity and witnessed his growth until he was ready to attend LA. The scenes yed out from a third person''s perspective, and it dawned on Eren that Anfang''s World Will hadpiled and presented these experiences to him. Initially confused about the connection between Ivor and himself, Eren''s questions were soon answered as the scenes shifted, revealing the profound link between Ivor and his own past. The scenes of the past changed once again. In the vivid disy this time, Eren''s attention shifted to Arthur Renar, engaged in conversation with an experienced couple he recognized as Lin Lehan''s parents C Grandmaster Garvin and Cybil Lehan. Renowned Array Experts, they were often consulted by the kingdom of Edinburgh for various projects. Through the revtions of Anfang''s World Will, Eren learned how Arthur sought their expertise to uncover clues about the elusive Osan Woods'' Butcher. Garvin utilized the Seer Array tomunicate with Anfang''s World Will, seeking much-needed clues. However, the World Will''s responses were enigmatic and open to interpretation. When Arthur received the ambiguous clues from Garvin, he assumed Ivor to be the notorious Butcher, rather than identifying Eren. Discovering that Anfang''s World Will had intentionally led Arthur astray left Eren utterly shocked. He realized that Anfang''s World Will had manipted the course of events, crafting Ivor''s existence to serve as a convenient scapegoat. The fabric of cause and effect, intricately woven by Anfang''s World Will, had set Ivor on a path destined to be linked with the butcherC with him. Curiosity and astonishment entwined in Eren''s mind as he considered the implications of these revtions. Filled with newfound understanding, he inquired. [ Can you can you look into the future? ] It was impossible that Anfang''s World Will could shape Ivor''s existence so precisely without knowing what Eren would ultimately be. The mastermind behind this borate scheme became evident to Eren, realizing that Anfang''s World Will had orchestrated the apparent coincidence between him and Ivor from the very beginning. Eren''s mind buzzed with curiosity, eager to understand the intricacies of Anfang''s World Will''s nning. Despite considering himself a skilled strategist, the consciousness had orchestrated events with such finesse that it made Eren''s own nning seem amateurish. However, the elusive answers he sought soon came his way. Anfang''s World Will responded in a neutral tone, shedding light on its unique perspective. [ Glimpses of infinite future possibilities aremonce for an existence like mine us. I we simply allowed the possibility to exist and watched as events unfolded, shaped by your actions and the actions of others. ] The consciousness'' words were neutral, presenting the truth of its extraordinary intervention. It finally dawned on Eren why he had managed to remain concealed from Arthur''s relentless pursuit. He understood that engaging with Arthur during that period would have been a fatal event, and survival would have been a distant dream. Anfang''s World Will, for all its vastness and power, was unable to actively interfere and prevent someone from taking action. It couldn''t prevent Arthur directly. So it chose to foster possibilities that could ensure Eren''s survival once he escaped Eliza''s Purgatory. The World Will had yed its part in shaping the threads of fate, allowing him to find a path to survival. [ So you mean to say I owe you one. And now you want to invoke the principle of Equivalent Exchange, huh? Kekeke. You truly are the World Will of Anfang. Not that I amining. I guess as your child I am just like you. ] Eren''s amusement bubbled forth as the revtion sank in. The profound connection with Anfang''s World Will left him astonished, finally allowing him to gather his thoughts. The realization of how cunning and calcted the World Will truly was left him chuckling to himself. It seemed that the traits of this boundless consciousness had been inherited by him as one of its inhabitantsC its child. === AN: There are just too many reference chapters to mention separately. Basically, from chapter 248 to 360. Chapter 1417 Uncertain Future: Way To Obtain God Spark ? [ I am sorry. But this is not enough to convince me. ] Eren''s thoughts resonated firmly with Anfang''s World Will. He acknowledged the significance of the favor exchange being based on the principle of equivalent give-and-take, but he couldn''t help but express his reservations. The task the World Will had set before him was colossal and daunting, one that required breaking divine shackles with his mortal abilities. Though grateful for the life-saving intervention in the past, he felt that he needed more substantial assurance to consider embarking on such a perilous endeavor. Eren sought something greater from the World Will, something that could persuade him to seriously contemte the audacious nid before him. [ The Spirit Beast you have in your possession I we can mold it into your God Spark. ] Eren''s mind raced as he processed the astounding proposition put forth by Anfang''s World Will. He had not anticipated such a remarkable reward for his cooperation. The idea of turning the Spirit Beast he possessed into a God Spark sent a shiver through his very soul. The power to transform a Spirit Beast into a God Spark rested with the World Will of any realm, granted that one of its inhabitants earned its approval and fulfilled certain tasks at its behest. However, such a remarkable opportunity required extraordinary circumstances and a person deemed worthy by the discerning consciousness of the World Will. Of course, the world in general and World Will of such a world also needed to be spiritually strong to possess such a capability in the first ce. In dire circumstances, the World Will might lower its stringent requirements, as demonstrated when Otherworlders invaded Anfang in pursuit of the newly birthed Spirit Beasts caused by God Vulcan''s misdeeds. These Otherworlders, even after acquiring their own Spirit Beasts, continued their ruthless onught against Anfang''s inhabitants. Their motive was to create a state of desperation within Anfang, hoping to force the World Will into granting them the coveted transformation of their Spirit Beasts into God Sparks. Unaware that the World Will''s approval was the key to this transformation, Eren was taken aback by the revtion. Sage Nira Nightshade had mentioned the Spirit Beast''s connection to the God Spark, but she had cleverly omitted the requirement of the World Will''s consent. Eren now understood why the other Sage Rankers from Edinburgh had chosen to leave their Soul Fragments in Anfang while venturing into other realms. They foresaw the birth of the Spirit Beast and sought to obtain the highly sought-after God Spark from Anfang''s divine consciousness. As Eren pondered this life-altering offer, he knew that his decision would shape the course of his journey and the world around him. The potential rewards were immense, but so were the risks. He was faced with an enigmatic choice that could define his destiny in the ever-evolving world of Anfang. [ Kekeke. Now I understand why Triton appeared out of nowhere when I was at the Lake Moonlight Death. The Spirit Beast was merely acting on your intentions by appearing in front of me at that time. You had nned to offer me this deal from that very moment. It''s just that you needed me to break into Master Rank for you tomunicate with me like this. ] Another puzzle unraveled for Eren as he made this realization. The fortuitous acquisition of the Spirit Beast had puzzled him for some time, but now he understood that it was no mere coincidence. Anfang''s World Will had orchestrated events to align with its grand n, using Eren and Ivor as strategic pieces on its cosmic chessboard. Just like Ivor, Eren held a significant role in the World Will''s intricate scheme. Being regarded as a chess piece by the World Will didn''t bother Eren. He understood that the realm of Anfang operated on the Principle of Equivalent Exchange, where actions had consequences and favors were granted with expectations in return. It was a natural manifestation of the collective consciousness of the living beings within Anfang, prioritizing its interests and seeking bnce in the cosmic web it weaved. Eren was d that Anfang''s World Will had singled him out for this important task. It presented a tremendous opportunityone that could grant him his very own God Spark. With a personal God Spark in his possession, he would no longer have to fear the possibility of his Spirit Beast being taken by formidable entities like Nira Nightshade once he ventured beyond the boundaries of Anfang. This was a chance to secure his power and independence, a prospect he couldn''t pass up. [You say you can see the future of infinite possibilities that are limited to your realm. Can you foresee a path where I could sessfully aplish the task you''re asking of me? ] Eren''s inquiry was filled with genuine curiosity and hope. He recognized the enormity of the task before him and was uncertain of how to even begin. Rather than wasting valuable time on trial and error, he turned to Anfang''s World Will, seeking guidance for a feasible solution. However, the World Will didn''t possess a clear-cut answer. [ There are certain junctures in the flow of time where the future''s myriad possibilities be so intertwined that I we cannot discern them apart. Moreover, since our conversation began, the future''s uncertainty has increased. Therefore, the method to break the divine shackles is something you must discover on your own. ] The World Will''s response left Eren deep in thought, realizing theplexities of foreseeing the future from the World Will''s perspective. The ongoing war between the kingdoms, other conflicts across Anfang, and the potential impact of the Lazarus Projectpletion all contributed to the uncertainty. Moreover, Eren''s direct interaction with the World Will added to the unpredictability of future events. Though the uncertainty posed challenges, Eren found a glimmer of hope within it. If the future was not set in stone, then there was a chance for him to achieve his goals and ambitions before leaving Anfang. The possibilities were vast, and Eren was determined to seize the opportunities thaty ahead. Chapter 1418 5th Ranking Breakthrough: “This Is My Peak For The Lazarus Project” ? Within the vast tapestry of events, Eren acknowledged that he was merely a coincidence, not a chosen one favored by Anfang''s World Will or connected by any ancestral ties to the Elder Ichor bloodline. It was just that one coincidence had paved the way for another to ur. As Eren contemted this unique position, he resolved not to squander the opportunity before him. While he didn''t rely solely on luck, he recognized that if fabricated coincidences had been orchestrated to assist him, he was willing to embrace them. Even if they came with conditions, the butcher''s determination remained unshakable, and he would persist unwaveringly in achieving his goals. The concept of time was blurred for Eren yet again. Leveraging the State of Epiphany to his advantage, his mind worked like a finely tuned machine, meticulously processing his thoughts, knowledge, and experiences. The butcher delved into countless possibilities, analyzing various ns and their potential oues, all while deciphering the clues provided by Anfang''s World Will. After what felt like an eternity of contemtion, Eren finally arrived at a single, viable solution that could bring all his ns to fruition. It was a daring and audacious n, one that held the power to alter the very fabric of Anfang. The n was not impossible. However, he couldn''t dismiss the immense risks and potential consequences it carried, endangering countless lives. [ A mayhem would ensue if I go through withpleting the task you have asked of me. Is this okay with you? ] With trepidation, Eren addressed Anfang''s World Will, questioning the feasibility of his grand n. He was aware that the World Will could perceive his thoughts through the State of Epiphany, and he needed to gauge its stance on the matter. [ I never stopped the Otherworlders froming into my domain. So do what you must in order toplete the task. ] The World Will''s neutral response surprised him, as it did not mind the Otherworlders'' arrival in Anfang. This revtion shook Eren''s psyche once more. Despite the high stakes and potential chaos, the World Will gave him the go-ahead to pursue his task. [ Kekeke. You are one cruel Mother, aren''t you? If that is the case, I ept your proposal. ] Amused by the seemingly cold and detached nature of the World Will, Eren epted its proposal with a mix of awe and determination. The die was cast, and the path he had chosen was one that would challenge the very fate of Anfang itself. *** Immersed in the State of Epiphany, Eren engaged in a profound conversation with Anfang''s World Will while his body and subconscious worked tirelessly to break through into the Master Rank. This extraordinary state of simultaneous enlightenment granted him numerous benefits. Within the ethereal realm of Epiphany, Eren''s Elemental Attainments deepened, epassing all the elements he hade to understand. As his mana core reached the coveted vapor state, it stabilized his newfound Master Rank, allowing him to progress further along his ambitious Ranking Journey. Eren''s mana core now stood apart from other Rankers'', bearing the mark of his unique path as the inheritor of Elder Ichor. It had be a runeless mana core which could host the profound elemental runes of any element as per Eren''s wish. The Rootless Ranking Technique he employed also purified his bloodline, bringing it closer to its true origin. Surpassing even Reen in Ranking Status, Eren ventured into uncharted territory with the newfound benefits and effects his enhanced bloodline would grant him. Eren''s soul underwent a grueling process during the breakthrough, causing his Spiritual Force to soar to unprecedented heights. The strength of his Soul Sense now far surpassed what he had in the Expert Rank. With his ascension to the B-Rank, every aspect of Eren''s physical body underwent a remarkable transformation. His mortal vessel evolved into a more robust and amodating container for his powerful soul. Muscles became rippled and toned, bones denser than mythical steel, and his skin took on a supple, alluring appearance. His very presence set him apart, a vision of beauty. The breakthrough also elevated both his regr Abilities, bloodline Abilities, and Sin Series Abilities. The runic tattoos rted to the Sin Series swirled ethereally across his body, more intricate than ever. These Abilities were divided, separated, andbined with newfoundplexity. Eren''s eyes emanated a proud glow, particrly his Sedating Gaze, which had been elevated to an entirely new level. If he were to use this ocr Ability on the Grayscale Fire Wyvern, its effect would be unparalleled, as both his Spiritual Force and Sedating Gaze now had the power to influence even the mightiest draconic beings. As the Hero''s Heart Ability strengthened, Eren''s pulse quickened, its rhythm echoing like drums of liberation. His skin took on a transformative, slime-like state, enabling his heart to pump blood at an astonishing rate. His hair followed suit, momentarily resembling a mess of slime before regaining its luster. With this evolution, every aspect of his being embraced the powers of his unique bloodline foundation. This newfound unlock allowed him to freely ess all his abilities and unleash the full potential of his Elder Ichor bloodline like never before. As Erenpleted his breakthrough, his eyes slowly opened, revealing a radiant smile as he beheld his transformed self with a newfound perspective. He gazed at his hands and the rest of his body, bursting intoughter filled with exhration. "Kekekeke. This power, this bloodlineit''s beyond belief it''s downright ridiculous! It keeps astonishing me, as if it holds the very essence of magic and mana, and I''m just unraveling its true potential step by step. With this, I can chart any path I desire. This is my 5th Ranking breakthrough My peak for the Lazarus Project," Eren eximed, clenching his fists in excitement. Rising to his feet, he examined his rejuvenated form, adorned in new attire after his breakthrough left his old clothes in tatters. He took a deep breath, gathering his resolve, and decided to step out of the peculiar zone Alephee crafted for him, eager to embrace the boundless possibilities thaty ahead. === AN: Note to self. This chapter was published on 6th August 2023. ;) Chapter 1419 Hamang Horin Vs Altashia And Renita ? Demon Beast Transformation! Altashia soared through the sky with her demonic ck wings, a testament to her ascending prowess. As she advanced in her path as the Warrior-ss Ranker, the scion of House Argas had be increasingly adept at harnessing the powers bestowed by Roo Roo, her crow-type demon beastpanion. The ebony feathers that adorned her newly sprouted wings bore witness to this growing symbiotic partnership. Altashia''s ebony wings unfurled with amanding air, each powerful p propelling her to soaring heights before she dramatically plummeted towards her adversaries below, reminiscent of a formidable beast stalking its ground-bound prey. Her aerial finesse was a sight to behold as she gracefully sidestepped every elemental assault hurled her way, an intricate dance of evasion that showcased her unparalleled mastery of the skies, seamlessly woven with her potent Demon Beast Transformation. The very essence of Altashia''s transformation went beyond the mere gift of wings. It ushered in an elevation of her physical attributes, her body bing a conduit for augmented strength and heightened mana reservoirs throughout the duration of her metamorphosis. This mystical evolution also bestowed upon her certain beastly characteristics, conspicuously disyed for all to witness. In this altered state, Altashia''s eyes assumed a primal crimson hue, surrounded by intricate runic patterns that seemed to dance with otherworldly energy. Her once-supple skin gained an imprable resilience, interspersed with patches of sleek feathers, an organic armor that amplified her defensive capabilities. Yet, it was not just her outward appearance that was transformed; every attack she unleashed bore the distinctive signature of Roo Roo''s mana, infusing her strikes with a demonic fervor that elevated them into a realm of arcane spellcraft. Amidst the tumultuous sh of forces, Altashia found herself in a fierce engagement against the formidable troops of Layos. The realization that Eren was on the cusp of ascending to the Master Rank had ignited Layos'' determination to thwart his progress. Thus, Altashia and her ally Renita stood as the vanguard, battling against the encroaching enemy Rankers, striving to create a protective barrier that would grant Eren an undisturbed ascent to his coveted status. Just a scant four miles separated Altashia and Renita from Eren''s pivotal location. It was a calcted distance that aimed to shield Eren''s breakthrough from the tumult ofbat. Yet, the enemy''s relentless pursuit of Eren revealed their unwavering determination, their every move being thwarted by the protective parameters set by Eren''s loyal allies. In the defensive rear, Renita stood surrounded by three adept Rankers from the Firebrand Guild, forming an impervious shield against potential threats. From this vantage point, she channeled her formidable long-range spells, offering vital support to Altashia as thetter engaged the enemy forces head-on. Altashia''s fierce reputation was affirmed as she decimated two Expert Rank Rankers and a contingent of lower-tier Layos soldiers. Her assault was bolstered by her guildmates and Renita''s strategic contributions. Still, the battlefield was far from quiet. Four formidable adversaries from Layos remained steadfast, a trio of Expert Rankers and their shrewd Master Rank leader. While Altashia might have dispatched these foes with more ease in individualbat, their Master Rank leader, Hamang Horin, was a cunning strategist. Aware of Altashia''s formidable abilities, Hamang employed a tactical formation, effectively employing his subordinates to counter her relentless assaults. Altashia''s swift maneuvers had already imed the lives of two Expert Rankers and several Adept Rank soldiers, but Hamang, fueled by both ambition and allegiance to Carvel Horin, his uncle and themanding figure of the Layos forces, pressed on undeterred. At this juncture, Hamang contemted splitting his forces, a strategic maneuver aimed at closing in on Eren from two fronts. One contingent would engage Altashia in fiercebat, effectively diverting her attention, while the other unit would stealthily approach Eren, primed to strike him down at the precise moment of his breakthrough. However, Hamang was acutely aware that Renita''s long-range assaults posed a formidable challenge. The White Guild''s skilled ranger held within her repertoire a handful of trump cards, potent enough to deliver a potentially fatal blow to even a seasoned Master Ranker like himself, should he underestimate her capabilities. Despite the treacherous terrain, Hamang couldn''t help but acknowledge the meticulous preparations undertaken by Eren. Each member of his guild was meticulously armed with the appropriate arsenal of offensive and defensive ranking resources, rendering Layos'' forces perpetually cautious when engaging the formidable White Raven Guild. The lingering aura of this rivalry was a testament to the shrewdness of Eren''s tactics, something Hamang begrudgingly conceded as he cast a venomous re in Renita''s direction, all while maintaining a calcted distance from her. Nevertheless, Hamang''s resolve to eliminate Grimdawn and carve his name in the annals of glory remained steadfast and unyielding. Carvel''s orders extended beyond the battlefield''s frontlines. They bore significance not only for the present engagement but also for Hamang''s future prospects within Layos'' ranks and his standing within his own n. Such were the intricateyers of power dynamics that fueled the ongoing battle and molded the actions of its yers. ''Fuck! These meddling harlots just won''t let me approach that wretched Grimdawn. I need to catch them off guard. When they are at their weakest.'' Under his breath, Hamang muttered curses directed at Renita and Altashia, his frustration simmering beneath his tactical demeanor. With a swift incantation, he unleashed a torrent of elemental spells, deftly orchestrating his subordinates within an offense-oriented Battle Formation. This renewed assault was aimed squarely at Altashia, an adversary he viewed with heightened determination. Hamang''s unique ss designation was that of a Summoner, his elemental affinity aligned with the gusts of wind, while his Elemental Aspect was steeped in the corrosive potency of acid. His mastery over these elements materialized in the form of summoned creatures, a cluster of ashen hawks brought forth through the maniption of his grayish wind-infused mana, which could corrode the Ranker''s defenses as soon as they came in contact. These avian manifestations bore the signature traits of his Elemental Aspect elerated acidic corrosion. Engaging Altashia, he directed the hawk-like entities in a coordinated assault, their trajectories resembling homing missiles as they closed in on their intended target. The intention was clear: these avian entities were designed to self-destruct upon proximity, unleashing a cataclysmic implosion and getting rid of the Scythe Queen for good. === AN: Demon Beast Transformation was exined in chapter 585. Demon Spells were exined in chapters 426 and 590. Chapter 1420 The Scythe Queens Might ? Amid the intense battle, Altashia''s formidable Demon Beast Transformation enhanced herbat capabilities to a whole new level. The empowering surge of energy granted by this transformation extended her attack range, allowing her to wield her flying weapon shes with unparalleled precision. With focused determination, she utilized this advantage to intercept the iing hawks conjured by Hamang Horin, rendering their threat null before they could even draw close. Renita''s supportive efforts dovetailed seamlessly with Altashia''s offensive onught, forming a crucial line of defense against Hamang''s summoned creatures. Together, their synergy became a testament to their formidable teamwork. Yet, Altashia''s prior engagements, including the formidable wyvern and the confrontation with Layos''s members, had begun to take its toll. Her stamina and mana reserves, though formidable, were gradually depleting under the relentless strain of the ongoing battle. Complicating matters, the trio of Expert Rankers from Layos relentlessly amplified the pressure. Employing a coordinated Battle Formation, they unleashed their fiery, mid-range attacks in the form of potent me Arcs, expertly tailored to challenge Altashia''s defenses. These explosive fire projections varied in size and intensity, aiming to break her resilience in tandem with Hamang''s minions. Altashia''s graceful flight faltered as she sustained injuries because of the me Arcs, which contributed to angering her. She steadied herself with the beat of her wings, clutching her runic scythe with unwavering resolve. The fusion of wind and fire element chains materialized, coiling around her weapon, augmenting its potential. The runic scythe was hurled using the elemental chain with such power and precision that it disappeared from sight. The captivating sight of her dancing scythe seemed to halt time itself. It was as though the world paused, witnessing the fusion of Altashia and her weapon into a singr entity of unbridled ferocity. Her battle cry, a blend of determination and primal power, resonated through the air as she channeled her Elemental Attainments into the torrents of weapon shes she hurled at both the iing hawks and her remaining adversaries. An awe-inspiring sight unfolded as Altashia''s mastery over her scythe manifested in her swift and precise shes, each apanied by the furious howl of scorching mana. The very atmosphere seemed to ignite, the wind now bearing the scalding touch of mes as the weapon shes cleaved through the air with a distinct sizzle. A crimson hue dominated the sky, a testament to the inferno the Scythe Queen wielded. Even Renita was surprised by Altashia''s mastery over her Elemental Attainments and Weapon Comprehension. ''She truly is the granddaughter of the Crimson Ghost,'' the ranger blurted out as she observed her ally with fascination and respect. Such was the ferocity of Altashia''s onught that the gray hawks were obliterated in an instant, their forms disintegrating under the relentless barrage. Altashia''s mana radiated with an intensity that defied the confines of her Master Ranker status. Even among the aplished Master Rankers at the Solid Stage Mana Core state, her disy would have demanded attention. The unrelenting assault swiftly dispatched Hamang''s summoned creatures and me Arcs, leaving nothing but a field of scorched earth in their wake. Undeterred by her dwindling mana reserves, Altashia''s determination crystallized into action. With unmatched mastery over her Warrior ss and trusted weapon, she aimed her gaze at Hamang, the source of her turmoil. A circr flying sh of immense magnitude burst forth, radiating energy in all directions, distorting the surrounding mana and intercepting the newly formed me Arcs. The opposing forces collided in a brilliant explosion that resonated with the very heartbeat of the battleground. The impact echoed with a resounding boom, setting the scene aze. Altashia''s crescent-moon-shaped flying sh dispersed, giving birth to a cascade of miniature shes that rained down like fiery meteors upon the earth below. The ground ignited upon contact, mes surging and intertwining in a mesmerizing dance. The concussive force of Altashia''s assault propagated, the nearby vicinity bing an inferno as other fires ignited in response. The spectacle of her unyielding prowess painted the battlefield in hues of red and gold, an indomitable testament to her skill and resolve. Altashia''s unyielding assault shattered the protective sanctuary woven by the Expert Rankers'' Battle Formation. Within the confines of her relentless onught, even Hamang, the orchestrator of the assault, wasn''t spared. Her flying weapon shes, a disy of newly honed Master Rank powers, cleaved through the defenses with a ruthless determination, leaving behind a trail of grievous injuries. The battlefield bore witness to Altashia''s astonishing disy of prowess, a feat that left both allies and adversaries in stunned silence. The Scythe Queen''s proficiency was undeniable, even though her forte did not lie in long-rangebat. Her attacks, while not at their zenith due to the tactical distance she maintained, radiated power that was nothing short of awe-inspiring. "Aaaargh! This fucking bitch" Amid the chaos, Hamang''s enraged curses reverberated, his eyes locked onto Altashia with a blend of fury and frustration. The ripple of the Foreign Mana Invasion, triggered by her attacks, was a potent reminder of their destructive potential. Worse yet, the engulfing sea of mes, a consequence of their surroundings, inflicted relentless harm upon them, leaving them trapped in a relentless ze. As Altashia''s assault subsided, the air was heavy with the scent of burnt earth and singed flesh. Herbored breathing reflected the intensity of her efforts; both her mana reserves and her stamina were depleted, leaving her drained. The ephemeral guise of her Demon Beast Transformation dissolved, revealing her battered, injured, and exhausted form. The once-vibrant ebony wings adorning her back began to shed their feathers, dissipating like shadows melting into the ether. The descent was inevitable, and Altashia''s weakened form sought refuge in Renita''s embrace. The enduring camaraderie between them was a palpable force as Renita provided the support Altashia required to stay on her feet. A genuine smile yed upon Renita''s lips as she gently held Altashia. "Your title as the Scythe Queen suits you well, Altashia," shemended, her eyes reflecting both admiration and camaraderie. Altashia reciprocated the smile, her words unspoken but understood. With Renita''s unwavering assistance, she pivoted to confront their enemies once more, a determined fire burning in her gaze. Her stance resonated with the unspoken promise that her fight was far from over. "I I am not done yet." The ground beneath their adversaries quivered as if in response to Altashia''s unyielding spirit. mes surged, a turbulent sea of fire summoned at hermand. The scythe, emblematic of her mastery, dissolved from her grip as her raised hand harnessed the lingering mana, uniting it with the intent-based magic drawn from her demon beast''s essence. In a culmination of power, Altashia cast forth her signature Demon Spell, a might etched in the war records of Edinburgh kingdom at this point Burning Abode. === AN: Burning Abode was used in chapters 426 and 590. Chapter 1421 [Bonus ] Merciless Stroke ? Burning Abode. Altashia''s mastery over the mes, ignited by her potent onught, transformed the battlefield into an inferno. The flickering tendrils, once wild and erratic, now obeyed her will as they gravitated toward their intended targets Hamang''s ensnared forces. The stray mes, scattered like embers, converged under hermand, bing the fuel for the manifestation of her formidable Demon Spell. With unparalleled control, Altashia harnessed the ambient mes, intertwining them with her incantation within a fraction of a moment. The potency of her Demon Spell was intricately linked to the presence of these residual mes. As if orchestrating a symphony, shemanded the stray embers to weave her conjuration. In a breathtaking metamorphosis, the fiery sea''s zing orange hues transformed into radiant gold, suffused with an intensified heat that mirrored the amplifying effects of her incantation. The golden ze advanced inexorably toward Hamang''spany, shrouding them in an unforgiving embrace before escape was even an option. Amid the sea of mes, the engulfed figures of Hamang and his subordinates were swiftly enshrouded. The very essence of the mes forged their confines, shaping an evolving structure from a modest cabin to a three-story edifice of searing intensity. mes and form merged, birthing an entity both lethal and grotesquely captivating. In the span of mere moments, the transformation wasplete. The surrounding inferno dwindled, leaving behind a towering inferno-engulfed mansion, a trap from which Hamang''s forces could not escape. The zing structure stood as a testament to Altashia''s devastating power. Yet, the ordeal was far from over. The scorching walls seemed toe alive, animated by Altashia''s Weapon Intent. A torrent of flying weapon shes materialized within the confines of Burning Abode, a fusion of fire and wind that dealt a lethal onught to Altashia''s imprisoned adversaries. The tempestuous onught, unleashed within the conjured abode, rippled with lethal force, extending its effects beyond its fiery prison to assail Hamang''s forces. From within the inferno''s bowels, agonized cries erupted, a chilling symphony of despair that resonated with Renita as she stood witness. Goosebumps danced across her skin as the ferocious Mana Signature emanating from Burning Abode assaulted her senses. "This zing inferno there''s no viable counter to this Demon Spell, is there?" She couldn''t help but gulp audibly, her murmured thoughts belying the gravity of the situation. The enormity of the spell left her pondering if there was any usible solution to its devastating effects. Altashia, thoughboring under the weight of her efforts, caught Renita''s impressed reaction. Rather than basking in the acim, Altashia''s strategic mind churned, recognizing Renita''s growing ambition and the sparks of determination to surpass her own abilities. Their unspoken exchange resonated with an unbreakable camaraderie forged in the crucible of battle. A weary chuckle escaped Altashia''s lips, carried by herbored breaths. "Hehe. It''s not invincible, per se. Eren managed to break through Burning Abode when he was just an Ace Ranker. The key is to fight with fire," she shared with a grin, reminiscing the moment when Eren had shattered her formidable spell using his potent Elemental Fusion. The memory of Eren''s triumph loomed in her mind, a testament that even the most formidable spells could be unraveled by ingenious and unwavering determination. As the culmination of Burning Abode''s might enveloped the battlefield, Renita, Altashia, and the members of Firebrand who encircled them found sce in the sight of the conjured creation reaching its apex. Exhaustion, an unweepanion, seeped through their bones, a testament to their relentless sh against Layos'' formidable forces. The confrontation with the wyvern, a trial of strength and willpower, had exacted a heavy toll on their vitality. The battle with Hamang''s squad had truly tested their limits. Their collective relief palpable, they gradually released their spells and allowed the protective barrier, which had been draining their already dwindling mana reserves, to dissipate. The brilliant spectacle of Burning Abode''s zing brilliance reflected in Renita''s eyes, which gleamed with renewed determination. As the enchantment began its graceful descent into oblivion, her fists clenched, her resolve undaunted. "Eren he managed to ovee THAT?" Altashia''s words resonated in Renita''s mind, igniting the fires of ambition within her. Her lips parted to express her determination, her voice carrying a mix of contemtion and aspiration. "Perhaps I need to embrace such perilous trials to breach the barrier into the Master Rank as well," she mused aloud. Her unwavering ambition to chase after Eren, to bridge the gap between them, propelled her toward this daring idea. The prospect of being ensnared within the deadly intricacies of Burning Abode held the promise of enlightenment, an elixir to satiate her insatiable thirst for progress. A knowing smile graced Altashia''s lips as she sensed the direction of Renita''s thoughts. The bond forged on the battlefield was one of mutual growth, and Altashia was attuned to herrade''s aspirations. As the ethereal mes of Burning Abode dimmed, Altashia''s voice carried an invitationden with camaraderie. "Why not pay a visit to House Argas Estate with Eren in theing days? Our n can provide aid in your Ranking Journey. Hehe. I don''t want to brag but our repository boasts a wealth of Runic Steeles that you wouldn''t find in your guild. You could significantly augment your wind element mastery using them," she proposed, extending a helping hand to her fellow warrior. Altashia had already given the same offer to Eren in the past as well. But Eren had refused since he was wary of the Crimson Ghost. Renita''s eyes shimmered with gratitude as she absorbed Altashia''s offer, her replyced with excitement. "Really? I''d like to" Swoosh. Zoom. sh. Abruptly, the tranquility shattered like ss, reced by the sickening swish of a de cleaving through the air. Three valiant members of Firebrand, positioned as the guardians before Renita and Altashia, were felled in an instant, their forms sundered by swift and lethal sword strikes. The cruel interjection emerged from the ether, a manifestation of Hamang''s sinister gambit. A chillingughter resonated, woven with malevolence and victory, its barbs aimed at the twodies. Hamang emerged from the shadows that covered his visage in a gray fog, a venomous grin etched across his visage as he brandished a summoned sword, an instrument of death forged from the depths of his arcane summoning arsenal. His voice dripped with sadistic intent as heid out his grim ns. "You vile bitches I''m sorry but I''ll have to piss on your ns for the future. I want to hear your screams as I fucking chop you into pieces," Hamang taunted, his gaze venomous as it settled on Renita and Altashia, bearing witness to their vulnerability, a rare opportunity to strike at their weakened states. Renita''s voice quavered, a desperate plea slipping past her lips as she attempted to steer herrades from this impending doom. "Run... Get away" Her warning hung in the air, but her plea was drowned by the suppressed sound of steel meeting flesh. Hamang''s de struck once more, narrowly missing Renita as she invoked a movement spell, her agility allowing her to evade the fatal blow. Yet, the price of her escape was steep; her right arm, severed by the merciless stroke, plummeted to the ground, a grotesque monument to her peril. Chapter 1422 Steely Resolve ? Desperate times need desperate measures. At a prior juncture, Hamang found himself ensnared in the clutches of dire circumstances as Altashia''s onught pressed upon him from all sides. The vice of her unrelenting assault tightened around him, his predicament bordering on the precipice of destruction. The jaws of the Burning Abode yawned before him, a maw eager to consume him in its fiery embrace. Only through the sacrifice of his loyal subordinates did he narrowly escape the inferno''s consuming wrath. These sacrificial pawns had be the conduit for his survival, their vitality, and mana intertwined with his own, allowing him to wrest free from the shackles of the zing enchantment Altashia had woven. The ashen sword, a creation woven from the very fabric of the wind element''s essence and imbued with corrosive potency, bore testament to Hamang''s cunning prowess. This weapon stood as another treasured card in his deck, ast resort for moments when adversity threatened to crush him. The summoner couldn''t use this special summon in the form of the sword regrly because of the strain it put on his mana core and mana circuits. Plus, he needed to use the sword along with a defensive measure in order to engage in closebat fights. This defensive measure had also boosted his body stats temporarily, granting him the required basic foundation needed to get close to his opponents. Recognizing the insurmountable joint front formed by Altashia and Renita, Hamang opted for a strategic retreat, conserving his strength to orchestrate a devastating counterattack. This calcted maneuver necessitated the relinquishment of his loyal underlings, a strategic concession that ultimately permitted his survival amid the ze of the Burning Abode. Emerging from this crucible of mes, he seized his chance when the tides were against his adversaries,unching a ferocious assault at the very moment of their vulnerability, a calcted gamble that could shift the bnce of the battle. Hamang had strategically guarded his trump cards, reserving them for an adversary of undeniable caliber - Grimdawn, a name etched in the annals of fame and fear. Though they hadn''t crossed paths, Hamang''s meticulous study of reports had painted a vivid portrait of this ruthless enemy. Every nuance, every strength, and weakness, was cataloged within Hamang''s mind. He had read all the known knowledge that was essible to the forces of Layos. Then he armed himself with an array of countermeasures, each one a safeguard against the enigma that was Grimdawn. Hamang''s preparations were akin to a master artisan crafting a masterpiece, every stroke of anticipation meticulously ced, every defense strategically aligned, all in readiness for an encounter. However, Renita and Altashia just had to get in the way of Hamang''s path to glory. Renita, too, had carved her narrative into the chronicles of war over the past two years. Her prowess as a Ranger had unfurled like a vibrant blossom amidst the crucible of bloody conflict between the warring kingdoms. Beside her stood Altashia, already an illustrious figure, her reputation bolstered by the resonance of her lineage, interwoven with the legendary Crimson Ghost. To Hamang, their names echoed in the same lofty echelons as Eren''s. After battling with them, he was forced to realize the strategic importance of their elimination, knowing that erasing them from the equation was tantamount to halting a powerful juggernaut in its tracks. As events unfurled and ns adjusted in the crucible of battle, Hamang''s aim shifted. The tide of practicality urged a shift in tactics; his path to Grimdawn could not be carved without first confronting these two formidabledy Rankers who had proven themselves as thorns in his side, as relentless tormentors on the battlefield. In the end, Hamang gave up on confronting Grimdawn. He unleashed the trump cards he had prepared for Eren onto Renita and Altashia, turning the tides of the battles instantly. **** With steely resolve, Renita mped down on the cry of pain threatening to breach her lips, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. The agony that rippled through her body was undeniable, but she understood the futility of giving in to it. Lamentations and tears wouldn''t mend her arm, and they certainly wouldn''t mend the tenuous situation at hand. There was no room for resentment toward her assant; the battlefield had long erased the lines between honorablebat and unscrupulous tactics. Both sides had embraced the grim reality that survival was paramount, and every tool in their arsenal was fair game. Thus, Hamang''s treacherous strike wasn''t an aberration but rather a calcted move in their deadly dance. Her mind, a battleground of emotions, held no space for anger. Instead, a steely determination took root. Renita''s disappointment was directed inward; she had momentarily dropped her guard, a misjudgment that had now cost her dearly. Self-pity wasn''t her path; regret held no allure. Rather, she''d let her instincts guide her to the most logical response. In the face of her freshly severed arm, she enacted a swift self-healing. She controlled her mana circuits, staunching the bleeding. Her focus shifted from pain to survival, her senses honing in on Hamang, the cause of her current plight. Wind Steps. Renita used her movement spell with exceptional fluidity despite being struck by nerve-wracking pain. Recognizing that Hamang''s strengthy primarily in summoning, she used her strategic advantage - her expertise in rangedbat - to create a chasm between them. No matter what kind of Trump Cards he might have prepared in advance, Renita understood that summoners oftencked prowess in closebat. She aimed to exploit this limitation by putting distance between her and her assant. With every calcted step, Renita aimed to dilute the effectiveness of Hamang''s arsenal, hoping to face him on terms more favorable to her ownbat style. "Hehe. Not so fast." Hamang knew that his current enhanced state, thanks to his stored treasures, was a fleeting advantage. With a ticking time bomb on his side, he had no luxury to indulge in prolonging this encounter. His pursuit of Renita wasn''t just a chase; it was a race against the impending expiration of his augmented abilities. With an agility that defied the conventions of the Summoner ss, he rapidly closed the gap between them. The scene unfolded in a tense choreography, Hamang''s figure converging with Renita''s fleeing form. The distance diminished, a visual testament to his determination. His gray sword gleamed malevolently in the light, its deadly intent unmistakable. With a fluid motion, he brought the weapon down in a swift and calcted arc, the edge poised to collide with Renita''s vulnerable form. Chapter 1423 Renita’s Last Stand: Don’t Fear The Reaper ? ''Is is this the end?'' A fleeting thought crossed Renita''s mind, the world seeming to decelerate as Hamang''s descending sword drew near. Time momentarily stretched, allowing her toe to terms with her own vulnerability in this dire situation. The tapestry of her achievements danced before her eyes, an ephemeral montage as the sword''s lethal trajectory hung suspended. The sword was a vessel of formidable mana, its impending strike poised to cleave her body in two. Even her premium-grade armor, a bastion against many dangers, wouldn''t fend off this specialized summoned de. The defensive barrier she hastily conjured crumbled as the sword''s edge met it. Her secondary defense, the Natural Mana Defense Layer, proved powerless in the face of this onught. At this moment, Renita stood defenseless, neither evading nor resisting, all thoughts evaporating. Altashia''s anguished cry pierced the air as she strained to close the distance between herself, Renita, and the looming threat of Hamang. She couldn''t even employ her movement spell anymore. Altashia''s efforts were undeniable, yet her mana reserves had been thoroughly depleted by the preceding battles. The wellspring of her stamina and power seemed almost dried up. Despite her desperate sprint, the chasm between them persisted. She was racing against the inexorable tide of fate, and it seemed she might falter just short of preventing Renita''s potential demise. The cruel truth was clear C Altashia''s valiant pursuit was unlikely to outpace the tragic fate that appeared imminent for Renita. Even if she did arrive in time, she knew her own power was insufficient to thwart Hamang''s sinister designs. Hamang''s focus had been riveted on Renita for a reason, a calcted strategy to eliminate the Ranger before turning his attention to Altashia herself. In his scheme, Renita was the priority target, and the Scythe Queen''s waning strength had made her a secondary concern, a pawn to be dealt with afterward. After all, in her current condition, Altashia couldn''t run away from him. In her most vulnerable moment, a memory surged within Renita, a scene painted with emotions, a conversation that she had once shared with Eren. It swept before her like a vivid tableau, a testament to the intimacy they shared. "Eren," she had spoken with conviction, her words etched in the annals of her mind. "Remember when you had told us that the pursuit of power doesn''t need a reason? It is indeed true. But the same can be said about love. The pursuit of love doesn''t need a reason either." In the haze of uncertainty, that moment crystallized, a heart-to-heart dialogue where she had bared her thoughts. The vors of life, as they had shared, became her touchstone now. "What good is a long life obtained by higher-ranking status if we don''t have the crayons of emotions to color it up?" she had continued, her voice echoing across the chasm of time. "Shouldn''t we try to gain everything that this life has to offer? I don''t want to have any regrets, Eren. If I can obtain everything this life has to offer, then when my timees, I won''t fear the Reaper." Renita''s mind, suspended in a surreal realm, traversed these thoughts. Was this the famed rity that often enveloped one before the precipice of demise? Her words, her own words, cascaded in her consciousness C ''Don''t fear the Reaper.'' These words she had once spoken to Eren rippled through her like a rising tide of courage. In this suspended moment, Renita found an unexpected resilience, her determination fanned by the memory of those words. The embrace of emotions, the pursuit of life''s kaleidoscope, they converged to lend her strength. Amidst the swirling maelstrom of danger, her conviction shone as a beacon, dispelling fear and kindling the fire of resolve. With her very being poised on the precipice, Renita made a critical choice. Rather than sumbing to despair, she embraced her fate with newfound determination. If her demise was imminent, she would meet it with fierce resistance. Regrets for unrealized potential and lost connections condensed into a single, blinding resolve. Her soul, like a tempest surging forth, shook her core. Amidst the impending strike, a shift urred within her, stirring her dormant Spiritual Force from its slumber. Her Soul Sense awoke, unfurling with a force that surpassed her mortal constraints. "Stop fucking underestimating me!" She roared, unleashing her awakened Spiritual Force in a torrential deluge. Her Soul Sense surged, crashing against Hamang''s psyche like an unstoppable wave. In an instant, his actions faltered, as if caught in the grip of an unseen force. His impending strike was arrested, his body locked in its motion. The de did find its mark, slicing into Renita''s soft and supple flesh and drawing blood, the injury heavy. But her surge of Soul Sense had achieved its goal, preventing the de''s fatal embrace. Amid the pain and chaos, Renita stood resolute. The sh had exposed her to atent realm within herself, one she had yet to fathom. As the encounter unfolded, the echoes of her scream and Hamang''s surprise hung in the air, the battle bnced on a razor''s edge. Renita wasn''t sure what was happening to her. She felt as if she had awakened something very primal within her. The connection she shared with her surroundings was strengthened to the next level. She started seeing more without using her eyes. She started hearing more without using her ears. However, she isted herself from the stray thoughts and decided to focus on the task at hand. Driven by her unyielding intent to eliminate the foe before her, a foe momentarily ensnared by the unexpected intrusion of Renita''s formidable Soul Sense, she clutched the transcendent-grade artifact gifted by Eren C Nira Nightshade''s bow. Her very essence seemed to seep into the bow, stirring thetent Weapon Spirit that rested within it. In the blink of an eye, the bow underwent a wondrous metamorphosis, its form shifting into an entirely new incarnation C that of a double-barrel Mana Gun. In this swift, heart-pounding moment, Renita''s newly roused Spiritual Force surged forth, fueling the weapon''s transformation, its power channeled into crafting an ammunition unseen till now. Spirit Bullets! === AN: The conversation between Eren and Renita mentioned in this chapter took ce in chapter 264: Don''t Fear the Reaper. Chapter 1424 Spirit Bullets ? Swoosh. Raise. Shoot. Without a moment''s hesitation, Renita raised this newly birthed weapon, the double barrel gun, its sleek contours pulsating with potential. Her fingers danced over the intricate runic patterns etched into its surface. And as if attuned to the awakening surge within her, the weapon responded with a vibrant hum. A mystical manifestation, these ethereal projectiles resonated with her awakened Soul Sense, a fusion of her essence and the weapon''stent spirit. The very air seemed charged as she locked onto her paralyzed target, her finger tightening on the trigger, determination coursing through her veins. The Mana Gun''s barrels crackled to life, each channeling her Spiritual Force into the ethereal bullets that materialized within. The convergence of her newfound powers and the weapon''s inherent might culminated in the birth of these deadly projectiles, each poised to unleash her intent. In a breathless moment, her will coalesced into action, the Mana Gun discharging a pair of Spirit Bullets that streaked forth like spectral lightning, bridging the gap between her and her immobilized adversary. The spiritually potent ammunition pulsated with her resolve, an embodiment of her courage and the awakening strength within her. Two wisps of lights, carrying the might of Renita''s Spiritual Force in a condensed form, were made visible as soon as they materialized themselves as soon as Renita pulled the trigger. The wisps disappeared as soon as they appeared traveling using a surreal medium to target Renita''s target. They easily breached all of Hamang''s defenses before lodging themselves into the elf''s very soul, damaging his Soul Space. The Spirit Bullets birthed by Renita''s artifact defied solidity, akin to fleeting dreams given form. As transient as a whisper of wind, their essence transcended the confines of material substance. Impervious to mortal armor or conjured barriers of mana, these ethereal projectiles existed beyond the grasp of mere defenses. And as they materialized, Hamang found himself utterly defenseless, devoid of any means to thwart Renita''s assault. His meticulously crafted safeguards proved as impotent as sand castles against the tide. A tableau of astonishment yed across Hamang''s countenance as he bore witness to the radiant pair of white lights hurtling toward him, a force he couldn''t evade or repel. He stood suspended in disbelief as these luminous entities merged with his being, a merger that transcended flesh and bone. What transpired next unfolded in a blur of disorientation and agony. As if an arcane detonation had erupted within the confines of his mind, his perception darkened to shadows. An unfamiliar shockwave rippled through his consciousness, like a tempest ravaging the seas of his cognition. His cerebral faculties seemed to liquefy, a chaotic torrent threatening to spill his very essence from within. "Aaaaaaaaaaargh!" A pain-filled elven shriek. The merest contact with the Soul Bullets had wrought havoc, the tendrils of their power prating Hamang''s psyche with malevolent intent. Their potency was overwhelming, a raw primal force that rent the fabric of his reality. Unleashing an elemental fear he had never known, Hamang teetered on the precipice of annihtion. He perceived the erosion of his soul itself, obliteration lurking without a trace of bodily harm. Such was the devastating might contained within Renita''s attack, a silent devastation that left no outward mark, only an echoing terror in the depths of Hamang''s being. Renita''s assault had inflicted a grievous wound on Hamang''s very soul, an unseenceration that seared his essence while leaving his corporeal form untouched. This metaphysical injury acted as a jarring jolt, shattering the stasis that had frozen him. ''She she is dangerous. One more of that attack and I''m gone.'' Stepping back from Renita with a newfound urgency, Hamang felt a primal fear surging within him. Every fiber of his being screamed that any further exposure to the Ranger''s soul-rending arsenal could spell his untimely demise. But alongside this existential terror, a brutal headache pounded within his skull, muddling his thoughts and darkening his sight. The approaching footfalls of Altashia registered like distant echoes, a cacophony in his muddled mind. Caught between two pressing threats, Hamang stood at a crossroads of action, torn between pressing on against Renita or fortifying himself against Altashia''s impending assault. With both hands clutching his skull in a desperate grip, Hamang''s left hand met his cheek in a sharp p. The impact reverberated through his head as if shaking loose the chaos that clouded his consciousness. Shaking his head in a bid to clear his reeling senses, his vision swam back into focus, only tond on Renita, whose gaze appeared vacant. ''Has has she passed out?'' A thread of realization wound its way through Hamang''s disoriented mind C Renita was unconscious, her countenance a nk canvas of slumber. The emergence of one''s Soul Sense was a seismic event for the soul, an upheaval that demanded a toll. Renita''s immediate channeling of her nascent Spiritual Force into those soul-infused projectiles, coupled with the fatigue and wounds she bore from the preceding battles, hadbined to plunge her into an unconscious abyss. As the weight of her physical and metaphysical struggles bore down upon her, the fall into unconsciousness was a natural consequence, an unforeseen aftermath of her potent gambit. ''This this is my chance,'' Hamang''s countenance, once wavering and weak, underwent a swift transformation, the flicker of resolve igniting within his eyes. A sudden rity washed over him as he recognized Renita''s incapacitated state as an opportunity too grand to be missed. Gathering his scattered thoughts and summoning his flickering courage, he decided to seize this opening, to eliminate the Ranger before turning his exhausted attention to Altashia, who was struggling at the brink. "Hahaha. I''ll fucking kill you, you witch. Then I''ll kill that bastard you were trying so hard to protect. This battle is my win!" Hamang''sughter, dripping with vindictive delight, danced through the air, mingling with the sight of Renita''s unconscious form. Swiftly evading Altashia''sst-ditch scythe assault, fueled by the remnants of her ebbing mana, he lunged towards Renita, sword poised for the final blow. Yet, just as his de seemed on the precipice of contact with Renita''s vulnerable figure, an unexpected interloper materialized between them. They caught Hamang''s sword strike with their bare hands and dissipated the force behind it like it was a mere figment of Hamang''s imagination. A figure d in resplendent garb. Their unstable yet domineering aura was the mark of a newly ascended Master Rank that had been emzoned upon them, their emerald eyes radiating an undeniable authority. Hamang''s eyes locked onto those eyes, heavy with lethal intent, as the intruder''s voice reverberated through the air, cold and grim. "Whatever grievances you may have against me, I''d prefer if you said it to my face." The figure''s words, chilling and resolute, carried an ominous weight that sent shivers racing down Hamang''s spine. In that instant, the summoner recognized the being before him C Grimdawn, a monstrous entity capable of materializing like a specter andmanding his will through voice alone. The pieces fell into ce for Hamang, the revtion crashing like a tidal wave upon him C Altashia and Renita, these two formidable women, had been a bulwark, protecting him from this very entity, a predator whose presence alone could unravel his sanity. The realization crystallized within Hamang''s mind, a stark understanding that he had been unwittingly dodging a cataclysmic catastrophe. His purpose, once the extinguishment of these two valiant women, now morphed into a desperate scramble for survival, a race to escape the clutches of a malevolent force far beyond hisprehension. Chapter 1425 Eyes Of An Unsentimental Observer ? ''Eren, what the hell are you doing?'' As Eren strode purposefully through the battlefield, Alephee, her expression etched with gravity, trailed close behind. They remained hidden from the view of Renita, Altashia, and Hamang, their positions allowing them a stealthy insight into the unfolding conflict through the expansive scope of their Soul Senses. Eren''s footsteps slowed as he reached the fringes of the battlefield, a stance of cautious observance. His gaze was intently fixed on the scene before him, where Hamang''s sword had just mercilessly severed Renita''s arm. Sedating Gaze Authority Over Time Eren and Alephee had synchronized their temporal time-element abilities, stretching their perception of time itself to gain a heightened understanding of each crucial moment in the battle. ''Eren, this is reminiscent of the situation with Becky. If you don''t act now, Renita might'' Alephee regarded Eren, a mixture of concern and perplexity evident in her features. She couldn''t fathom his seeming reluctance to intervene when Renita''s need was dire. Through their shared Mind Link, she conveyed her unease, her thoughts reaching out to him. Before Alephee could finish her thought, Eren''s response cut through their connection, his voice unflinchinglyposed within their shared minds. ''Don''t worry, Renita won''t die here. Am I not here? Are you not here? Her injury is repairable C a lost hand can be easily restored with my potions and Instant Reset.'' Eren''s words carried a clinical air as he surveyed the tumultuous contest between Renita and Hamang, his senses attuned to every nuance of the battle. Eren''s eyes, emerald beacons of determination, bore a peculiar luminance as he continued his dialogue with Alephee through their psychic link within a realm suspended beyond time. ''What truly matters for Renita is her personal growth,'' Eren''s words resonated, his eyelids descending as his focus intensified. ''I detect a surge of agitated spiritual energies from her. It''s her Soul Sense awakening. This isn''t akin to the Becky situation C my concern for Becky was negligible. But Renita She''s different. And yet, I won''t allow my emotions to cloud my judgment or obstruct her progress. This is her chance to break her confines, Alephee. I won''t destroy this opportunity due to sentiment. My feelings are irrelevant. My obligations aren''t dictated by personal attachments.'' Alephee''s internal sigh resonated as she realized Eren''s unwavering rationale in letting Renita''s Soul Sense awakening ur organically. Though she hadn''t hesitated when Eren employed a simr strategy with Becky in the past, Alepheeprehended the distinction C Eren held genuine care for Renita. Yet, he was willing to withhold his intervention to grant her the chance for personal triumph. She acknowledged that Eren could disentangle his emotions from the immediate situation, perceiving the broader tapestry at y even when the one he wished to protect stood at the precipice of peril. ''In truth, he''s been this way all along,'' Alephee''s inner reflection bore a touch of admiring revtion. ''But I underestimated him. The ability to separate emotions from action C this is what defines a true bearer of Elder Ichor''s legacy. Another might be consumed by the weight of the bloodline''s expanse. An inherently righteous soul would falter, burdened by the extensive path it sets forth. An inherently malevolent being would wreak havoc, evoking a swift retaliation from established powers. But Eren... he walks on the narrow boundary between light and dark. He can shroud his actions in seeming emotionlessness, yet conjure any emotion when needed. Only one with this skill can wield Elder Ichor''s legacy, survive, and make the most of it,'' Alephee mused, realizing Eren''s unique aptitude for bnce. A bnce that wouldn''t be understood by many. A bnce that couldn''t be achieved by all. Understanding the intricacies of Eren''s mindset, Alephee decided to allow him to dictate the course of action as he saw fit. Eren weed Alephee''s questioning without reservation. Rationality dictated such inquiries, a testament to her vignce. Permitting Renita''s Soul Sense to blossom amidst her precarious plight was akin to venturing into dangerous terrain. Eren recognized the magnitude of this choice. Since the inception of the final phase of the Lazarus Project, he hadbored ceaselessly to fortify his inner resolve, brick by brick. He understood that a steadfast heart was indispensable, enabling him to navigate treacherous waters. Amid the tumultuous storms of sentiment, he aimed not just to endure but to thrive. ''At least Renita has me to lean on,'' Eren ruminated. ''Yet, when my moment arrives, I won''t have that luxury. No safety. No backup. Not that I''ll crave one. I''ll be the backup that I''ll need.'' A surge of determination surged through Eren, his fists clenching in silent affirmation. With Sedating Gaze dissolved, he surged into motion, a seamless disappearance heralding his appearance before Hamang. Blink. It was a swift interception, sparing Renita from the potentially lethal strike that loomed menacingly. *** "Whatever grievances you may have against me, I''d prefer if you said it to my face." Eren''s words sliced through the tense air, his tone an icy de. He held the edge of Hamang''s Summoned Sword with his bare hands, his grip unyielding. Eren had been meticulously monitoring Hamang''s actions, absorbing every word spoken, every intention revealed. Thus, his chilling intent remained unleashed, his Soul Sense a suffocating cloak. Hamang found himself abruptly engulfed in Eren''s ominous presence, the realization of his grave mistake settling like a stone in his gut. Eren''s soul-wrenching aura and the pressure of his Soul Sense, as vast as a silent sea, hammered the message home: Hamang had erred gravely by attempting to target this man. Not only had he achieved his breakthrough in the middle of the battlefield like a mad man, he had gotten even more dangerous than the known records of his deeds portrayed him as. Swift as thought, Eren utilized his Soul Sense, knocking out the iing Altashia without harming her. He did that to prevent her from casting forbidden spells or techniques that could further jeopardize her ranking foundation. A colossal serpent of fire-element emerged, its serpentine form coiling protectively around Altashia, forestalling her unconscious fall. ''I really pushed it this time, didn''t I?'' Chapter 1426 Forced Cannibalism ? ''I really pushed it this time, didn''t I?'' Eren ruminated inwardly, his grip on Hamang''s throat effectively stifling any retort. "Never mind. This guy we''ll serve as an outlet for my umting frustration. It''s a bit hypocritical, yes, but allowing myself the satisfaction from his iing agony isn''t a privilege I''ll deny," Eren''s internal discourse resonated as he skillfully employed one of his Sin Series Abilities in a unique manner. In the ensuing instant, an enigmatic runic serpent materialized upon Eren''s skin, resembling an intricate tattoo before weaving its way onto Hamang''s flesh. Renita''s earlier assault had already left Hamang''s awareness in tatters. Eren''s Soul Sense further oppressed him, negating any attempts to cast spells or musterst-ditch defenses. Thus, the runic serpent, bearing the essence of the Sin of Gluttony, found no resistance. "Aaaaargh!" A surge rippled through Hamang''s consciousness as the runic serpent dissolved into his form. Subsequently, an insatiable hunger seized him,pelling him to consume anything within his grasp. Mark of the Seven Sins: Rune of Gluttony. "What... What have you done to me?" Hamang discerned that Eren had manipted his primal instincts through an obscure spell or Ability, absent from any record he was privy to. Despite recognizing the unnatural nature of his voracity, Hamang''s attempts to quell it remained futile. His entire being mored for sustenance as if he had been starved for an eternity. Unsheathing his de wasn''t necessary for Eren. He manipted a rudimentary spell within his arsenal C Blue Blitz Bolt C transforming it into an uneven sword-like form that cleaved through Hamang''s right arm. The cauterization caused by the Blue Blitz Bolt was instantaneous. Capitalizing on this, Eren promptly enacted his ocr Ability C Sedating Gaze C nullifying Hamang''s capacity to vocalize the torment that he felt. The butcher didn''t want to grant Hamang the sce of expressing his agony. With an almost nonchnt grace, Eren deposited Hamang on the ground, simultaneously snatching up Hamang''s severed arm in a single, fluid movement. "Here. Eat this," his voice held an unyieldingmand, an utterance that brooked no dissent. By this juncture, the Gluttony mana had infiltrated Hamang''s veins, initiating a nefarious impact on his psyche. The grip of insatiable hunger clenched at him, casting his own severed limb in a disturbingly appetizing light. Forced cannibalism through the use of Gluttony Mana. Further words from Eren were unnecessary, for the scene unfolding in front of him told the tale vividly. Eren observed Hamang''s unrestrained, almost primal fervor as he sank his teeth into the raw flesh of his own severed arm, the manifestation of his ravenousness gleaming within his eyes. Yet, within this spectacle of frenzied consumption, traces of Hamang''s subconscious persisted. He remained partially cognizant of his own degradation, a helpless spectator to his own involuntary actions, dictated by the Sin of Gluttony. As Hamang gnawed upon his own flesh, bloodied tears spilled from his eyes. He contended with unmanageable screams, locked in a visceral battle with his own self, even as he relentlessly devoured his severed arm. The gruesome process painted his face and mouth in a nightmarish hue of crimson. Hamang''s predicament was pitiable; he had lost control of even the bleeding from his maimed shoulder, his vitality as a Master Ranker serving as the sole sentinel against the encroachments of oblivion. However, the cost of maintaining consciousness under such dire circumstances wasn''t something he would willingly endure. To him, it would have been preferable to sumb to death than bear the searing scars on his psyche. Observing Hamang''s torment, Eren''s lips curved in a subtle yet merciless smile. This, he believed, was a suitable retribution to mete out for Hamang''s atrocity of severing Renita''s arm. "Eren, Altashia is out of harm''s way," Alephee''s confirmation resounded as her hand relinquished contact with Altashia''s forehead. "Thoughpletely drained and her mana reserves nearly depleted, she has managed to safeguard her mana core from harm. A few days'' rest should restore her to her usual self," Alephee''s assessment bore in mind Altashia''s overall physical state. Acknowledging her update with a nod, Eren extended his hand, summoning Renita''s severed arm to his grasp before attempting to quell the maelstrom of power emanating from him. He aimed to approach Renita without inadvertently inflicting any further harm. ''Hmm. My individuality is going berserk. I need to sheathe it before moving on to my next task.'' Recent ascension into the Master Rank had rendered the butcher''s mana signature unstable, his aura prone to erratic surges. This was the product of his evolving Individuality, which had begun to influence his surroundings without hisplete control. While he had intentionally subjected Hamang to this suppressing Individuality, he exercised restraint when approaching Renita, understanding the need to be cautious. Having subdued his own aura, Eren drew nearer to Renita, who stood on the battlefield, her firearm raised defiantly. She had sumbed to unconsciousness while still standing, an indicator of her unwaveringmitment to the battle. "Reni, I''m sorry you ended up with a cold-blooded maniac like me." Eren''s mirthless smile carried a tenderness as he gently cupped Renita''s face with his free hand. With a deliberate touch, he returned her severed arm to its rightful ce. Subsequently, he produced a premium-grade healing potion, the "Ice Fairy''s Kiss," from his store and applied it to her arm and shoulder before making her consume it orally. The butcher then activated his healing Ability C "Instant Reset". His healing Ability worked wonders when he used it for himself but knew its limitations used on others. Therefore, he blended the healing properties of the potion with the potency of Instant Reset, aimed at repairing Renita''s injuries without leaving any errors. The severed veins and skin saw an elerated rate of cellr division and regeneration. Within moments, Renita''s handicap status was revoked. Since it hadn''t been long since the injury, there were noplications. "Ahm, she seems to be on the mend. Although it''d take her a few weeks to use the arm the way she used to, there wouldn''t be any blockage with her mana circuits." Chapter 1427 Bloodline Ability: Partial Shapeshifting ? Eren breathed out a sigh of relief, his gaze settling on Renita''s reattached arm. A sense of reassurance washed over him as he observed the sessful repair. He was acutely aware, however, that Renita''s path to recovery would be more arduous than Altashia''s. The toll of Renita''s exhaustion was not restricted to her physical form alone. Her Spiritual Force had been drained to its very limits, a taxing trial on her very soul. Eren surmised that it could take a week or even a fortnight for Renita to awaken from her imposed slumber. ''On the bright side, her awakened Soul Sense will stand as a huge asset for her in the future. I think I did the right thing, even though I wouldn''t admit anything about it to her. There are some things a man should never tell to his woman no matter how solid their bond is,'' Eren thought as if self-assuring himself. With a shift of his focus, he directed his attention towards Alephee, who stood near Altashia. His words to her carried aposed tone. "Alephee, take both Renita and Altashia away from this disputednd. I''ll manage things from here and rendezvous with you shortly. There are some expected guests who are just "dying" to see me." The approach of several Rankers drew Alephee''s attention, their movement spells signaling their steady advance toward Eren''s current position. Raising her hands, she orchestrated the elevation of the unconscious forms of Renita and Altashia, the two women now hovering around her. Addressing Eren with a tone of bothmand and concern, she issued her instructions, "Alright. However, you need to exercise some restraint with your Master Rank powers, Eren. Your advancement hasn''t yet settledpletely. Act a bit prudently," With her words hanging in the air, Alephee vanished from the scene, her departure apanied by the disappearance of Altashia and Renita. "Keke. Prudent is my middle name, Miss Timeless," Eren said aloud, not knowing if Alephee could still hear him or not. In the moments leading up to this, Eren had alreadymunicated to his team members that the need for them to secure a perimeter around him was no longer imperative. Thanks to his guildmates and the members of Firebrand, his promotion to the Master Rank had been executed right in the midst of the battlefield without a hitch. Having achieved a breakthrough into the stagnated world enforced by Alephee''s Authority, his breakthrough had been a recent achievement in real-time. Thus, when he issued the order for hispanions to retreat, he anticipated that his adversaries would soon be upon him, his swift actions against Hamang acting as a clear signal. He had also directed hisrades, both from his team and the Firebrand Guild, to cease their interference against the forces of Layos. The battles, including the taxing wyvern hunt, had drained their resources considerably. He could not ask them to persist in futile battles. "Time to tie loose ends," Eren contemted inwardly, his gaze resolute as it fell upon his lone remaining foe at the scene. Determined not to let Hamang be rescued by his allies by some wild cards or the so-called destiny of a protagonist, Eren took swift action to conclude this confrontation. For the butcher, revenge was a satisfaction best savored briefly. He hade to realize that the act or revenge needed to be concluded at the right time for the sake of his own well-being. There was no use prolonging the act just to gain a vain supply of satisfaction. With this resolve, Eren materialized before Hamang once more, his gaze unyielding. Hamang, ensnared in the maddening grasp of Gluttony''s power, was still consumed by his gruesome feast upon his own flesh. Only half of his severed arm remained, the other part having been devoured and regurgitated multiple times. His desperation fueled his anger, and he managed to find enough coherence to voice his disdain. "You demon you''re a demon, Grimdawn. You make me sick." Eren''s chuckle rippled through the air in response. "Oddly enough, I find thatparison rather fitting," he retorted, a dark amusement dancing in his eyes. "Although I might take offense at being likened to a mere demon, rather than the Demon God." With this witty remark, Eren''s hand descended upon Hamang''s head, a twist of magic conjuring another Blue Blitz Bolt. Swift and precise, he cleaved Hamang''s head from his body, ending the torment once and for all. "Lord Hamang! Noooo.!" The cry, thick with both agitation and fear, resounded through the air in the wake of Eren''s swift dispatching of Hamang. With a forceful kick, he sent Hamang''s lifeless form sprawling backward,ing to rest on the ground. sping the severed head of his vanquished foe by the hair, Eren''s actions were driven by the impending arrival of anticipated visitors. Amidst a tense atmosphere, a group of five Expert Rankers materialized, followed closely by a contingent of Adept Rankers. But Eren had no intention of affording them even a moment''s pause. He cared not to examine their appearances or discern their expressions. Every second wasted on idle interaction was one relinquished from the battle that beckoned. Dismissing Hamang''s head as if it were naught more than discarded refuse, Eren propelled himself forward, his focus locked onto his new adversaries. Every nuance of the scene seemed to indicate that the butcher waspletely fine by the rapid and unusual ascendancy into the Master Rank, a feat that typically demanded considerable limation. And as he surged toward his foes, he made no concession to their potential actions, choosing to take the initiative. For the forces of Layos, it was a moment both remarkable and disconcerting to witness Eren not only achieving Master Rank status in an astonishingly short interval but also mastering it with an unusual quickness, as evidenced by his apparent readiness for battle. A particr unease simmered among them, intensified by the realization that Eren had in Hamang Horin, who bore a familial link to theirmander, Carvel Horin. The opposition had harbored borate strategies for neutralizing Eren once he officially attained the Master Rank. They had anticipated a degree of instability in his new status and had conceived intricate Battle Formations for coordination. Yet, their ns were shattered by Eren''s ferocity. With a single-minded determination, he killed any notion of dialogue, instantly engaging them inbat as they ventured within his proximity. ''What a timely entry. Just when I was looking for a few test subjects to test my new powers on,'' Eren looked at his opponents with a prefatory gaze. A faint smile lingered at the edges of his lips, his anticipation transforming into a palpable excitement as he charged at them. Bloodline Ability: Partial Shapeshifting Chapter 1428 Intoxicating Power ? Erenmemorated his ascension to the Master Rank by unleashing a deluge of bloodshed. The Adept-Ranked elves from Layos found themselves utterly outmatched. Eren''s assaults annihted them the instant he closed in. He granted them no opportunity to muster a Battle Formation. To him, these Adept-Ranked adversaries were mere nuisances, distractions to be swiftly eradicated. Only Expert ranked entities could serve him as his test subjects. Fiery explosions. Flesh-cutting tempests. And the lethal buzz of lightning arcs. Eren''s elemental incantations resonated with newfound potency, overwhelming his foes and casting doubt upon their decision to target him. Theirmander''s directive was to eliminate Grimdawn, yet how could they carry out this order when their lone adversary remained unperturbed by the instability of his Ranking Status? Thanks to the State of Epiphany, Eren had unlocked the Master Rank versions of his spells. This allowed him to unleash his spells with the full force of his newfound rank. However, he quickly realized that this wasn''t as straightforward as he initially thought. Breaking into the Master Rank had fundamentally evolved his mana core. Due to his unique Ranking Path and the attributes of his bloodline, his mana core now operated without traditional runesa phenomenon he had never read about before. The ease with which Eren could cast his multi-elemental spells was exceptional, channeling the utmost prowess of each respective element, all due to his runeless mana core. It was as if he could tap into his Elemental Attainments with privileged ess. Yet, he grappled with controlling the output of these spells as he desired. This unconventional method of spellcasting was unfamiliar territory for him. Simultaneously, the instability in his Ranking Status posed a conundrum. Even by his standards, it would likely take a week or two to harmonize fully with his new Rank and its attendant advantages. Furtherplicating matters was the debuff levied by the space-element runes, a hallmark of Sansara Sage''s space-element runes. The potency of this debuff had amplified following his ascension. Eren could make use of the space-element runes with increased proficiency. And yet, it appeared that the very proficiency in space-element runes was inversely proportional to the ability to harness elemental might. This, in turn, intensified the spatial pressure emanating from these runes, an unexpected consequence of his Promotion. However, Eren remained resolute in his decision to confront his adversaries, recognizing that the sooner he limated to his new Rank and capabilities, the better. He understood that facing real challenges in battle was the most efficient way to swiftly harmonize with his current Ranking Status. In essence, he aimed to employ his enemies as tools to hone the newfound weapons in his arsenal. Opting to diversify his approach, Eren chose not to solely rely on elemental spells. Instead, he resolved to harness his Bloodline Abilities to their fullest extent. His ascent to the Master Rank had refined his bloodline, unlocking itstent potential. Among these abilities, the power of Shapeshifting held paramount importance, a core facet granted by his slime bloodline. Eren had exploited this capability on numerous asions. Yet, certain constraints necessitated meticulous control to achieve seamless transformations. Following his elevation to B-Rank, these limitations governing Eren''s Shapeshifting Bloodline Ability had significantly eased. He now possessed the capacity to selectively adopt partial characteristics from any previously assumed form. *** Eren harnessed his Summoning ss prowess to conjure a small contingent of summoned creatures, each springing into existence under the sway of his powers. These ethereal entities became his tactical pawns, diverting the attention of the other Rankers while he zeroed in on a specific male Tanker within the Layos army. From skeletal warriors of theherworld to almost-sentient Woond Creatures, and from fiery Hatchlings to formidable Earth Arachnids, Eren summoned an eclectic array of creatures. Elevated to the B-Rank echelon, these summoned entities experienced a substantial augmentation in their Base Stats, courtesy of Eren''s upgraded status. Eren, however, was not inclined to let his summoned allies dispatch his foes entirely. Instead, he instructed them to engage his adversaries, restricting them from delivering fatal blows and maintaining a strategy to hinder their escape. The butcher nned to methodically eliminate each foe on an individual basis. As one of the Layos army''s Expert Rankers, a shield-bearing and spear-wielding Tanker, advanced, his voice dripping with vitriol, Eren acted with swift resolve. Employing the Fist Arts techniques acquired from Ken Riverine, Eren''s bare hands met the Expert Ranker''s form mid-charge, delivering a relentless barrage of punches. Yet, a discernible transformation marked Eren''s arms from their previous state. They now bore a monstrous aspect, muscr and formidable. These limbs encapsted the strength and physical traits of an Ogre, a race native to Echidna renowned for their prodigious physical prowess. Eren''s arm skin had thickened, acquiring the resilient constitution of an Ogre''s hide. His bones had undergone a metamorphosis into the robust skeletal structure of his Ogre counterparts, affording him enhanced bone density that elevated the potential of Ken''s Fist Arts to a new zenith. Boom. Boom. Boom. ''Kekeke. This power, this unadulterated physical prowess coexisting with human agility... It''s intoxicating,'' Eren ruminated inwardly while locked inbat, his gaze mirroring the euphoria of battle coursing through his veins. Confronted with Eren''s assault, the Expert Ranker from Layos brandished his shield in defense. A session of Eren''s forceful punches rent the air, producing sonic ripples as the sheer momentum cleaved through the atmosphere. The impact against the Tanker''s shield triggered the activation of its embedded runic symbols, though they soon crumbled under the relentless assault. Within moments, both the shield and the defensive mana barrier it projected sumbed to the might of Eren''s unyielding fists. Boom. In an instant, Eren''s blow connected with precision. A solitary strike. His fist collided with the Tanker''s visage, and in that fleeting moment, his face caved, obliterated into fragments by the force of the impact. ''This is just one of the manybinations. What can I aplish with these newfound Abilities?'' Eren pondered as he observed the crimson droplets of his adversary''s life drip from his tightly clenched hand. A curious smile tugged at his lips. For the first time, his hands emerged unscathed even after wielding Ken''s Fist Arts. ''But that''s not the question to ask, is it? The better question would be this: Do limits exist to what I can achieve with these Abilities?'' Eren chuckled inwardly, addressing the query to the void within his mind. Chapter 1429 Spell Integration + Compound Elemental Fusion ? Eren had outgrown his reliance on the Blood Seeds for shape-shifting. This marked one of the most significant advantages he''d gained since ascending to the B-Rank. He now possessed the liberty to seamlessly morph into the various races he''d procured Blood Seeds from. Though his Shapeshifting had been rtively seamless even during his time as an Adept Ranker, it had be even more refined following the evolution of his B-Rank mana core. The Tank from the Layos squadron, sent to quell him, had met his end at Eren''s hands. Yet, this was merely the inception of his onught; a multitude of adversariesy before him, ripe to experience the full force of his newfound powers. Determined and ruthless, he advanced, choosing to confront them individually, while his summoned creatures held the others at bay. The battlefield was a discordant symphony of spell detonations and weapon collisions, the gravity of the situation rendering any taunts or banter obsolete. Eren seemed uninterested in exchanging words. He methodically engaged his enemies, taking them on one by one. Dispelling the summoned entity engaged with a female elven Ranker, Eren opted for direct engagement. This particr adversary was an Expert Ranker specializing in time element, a rarity among her kind. A Mage that was not a ss Canon. Using talismans to augment her physical attributes, she''d effectively countered her supposed frailty. Employing her time-element prowess, she could distort opponents'' temporal perception, amplifying her speed and spellcasting abilities. These attributes, coupled with her talismans, enabled her to unleash a gamut of elemental assaults ranging from wind des to fire projectiles. The elven Mage''s preparation had seemingly equipped her to face powerful opponents of all kinds, including Master Rankers who''d yet to transcend the Liquid Mana Core Stage. At least that''s what she had thought. Her estimation, however, faltered when Eren personally entered the fray. Eren''s summoned creatures had been dispatched with ease by her time-based attacks, and it was clear that Eren found in her a genuine contender. So he decided to deal with her personally after the Tanker after confirming that there was no Healer present among them. ''No Healer, huh? Did they think they won''t need one because they are dealing with a newly ascended Master Ranker with an unstable foundation? Keke. Good. Saves me the trouble anyway,'' Eren thought as he concentrated on his next opponent. Summoning an intricate trio of spells C Purple Blitz Steps, Blue Blitz Bolt, and Red Solid Spark C Eren confronted the female Mage. Executing these spells seamlessly, he fused them into a singr,plex sequence, making it nearly impossible to discern that they were individual incantations fueled by different elemental Aspects of lightning. Eren''s body became an electrifying canvas, arcs of lightning sinuously weaving around him like serpentine bolts of pure energy. His limbs were engulfed in the dazzling dance of lightning mana, rendering his extremities formless and ethereal. It seemed as though the line between physical and ethereal had dissolved as he wielded his newfound abilities, as if his entire form had evolved into an enhanced conduit of mana. His control over his mana circuits had escted, lending him unmatched mastery over his spells. Yet, the female Ranker was far from idle. Utilizing her talismans and capitalizing on her time-element prowess, she counteracted his assault, her spells colliding with his in a vivid sh of sparks and energy, a vivid testament to the convergence of their powers. ''What manner of being is this man? How can he wield such a plethora of elemental spells with such finesse? And how can he manipte time-element magic without conjuring the associated mana ripples?'' The female Ranker stood in shock, her astonishment palpable as she beheld Eren''s overwhelming might. Swiftly, the female Mage discerned that her time-element debuffs were futile against Eren. Whether his resistance was innate or he merely offset her debuffs by his own time-element abilities, it rendered her attempts at dominance fruitless. Unbeknownst to her, this equilibrium was due to the Sansara Sage''s space-element runes interying upon him; without these runes, Eren would have surged far beyond her grasp. Her sole recourse was to employ a transcendent-grade artifact C a runic wand C to amplify her mid and close-range assaults. This, coupled with a vignt deployment of augmented mana barriers, shielded her from Eren''s potentially lethal strikes. However, Eren''s relentless barrages proved too potent for her defenses to entirely withstand. Amidst the cacophony of spells colliding, bothbatants found themselves wounded, locked in a deadly dance of magical shes. The butcher''s brow glistened with sweat, his breathbored, and his rhythm faltering. Though only a scant two minutes had transpired since severing Hamang''s head, his mana reserves had dwindled precipitously. The vtility of his nascent Rank had catalyzed an uncontrolled outpouring of his mana. He realized that further persistence in this franticbat and experimental spellcasting would propel him into a perilous predicament. ''ytime''s over. I got to settle this quickly,'' Eren cogitated, channeling his wood-element spell, Vicious Vines, to counteract the Aqua Whipsunched by his female adversary. With calcted precision, he closed the gap anew and summoned a domain-type spell he''d acquired from Becky. Blue Fire Domain. In an instant, the voluminous mes conjured by the female Ranker dwindled as Eren''s domain expanded to envelop both contenders. The azure inferno extinguished the ambient heat, plunging the surrounding area into icy submission. Within a blink of an eye, the Aqua Whips'' movement froze, the arctic grip of Eren''s spell immobilizing them. ''How is this possible? How can Grimdawn weave this intricate web of spells? How can he sustain such a relentless confrontation mere moments after ascending to Master Rank?'' Shock and fear flooded the female Mage''s gaze as she found herself ensconced in the wave of azure mes, their frigid touch akin to infernal frost. Aware that time was of the essence, Eren pressed forward not solely due to his waning mana reservoir but also due to the impending culmination of the interkingdom strife, as prescribed by the Anfang Alliance''s regtions. The butcher was resolute not to allow his enemies to slip through his grasp due to bureaucratic intricacies. Now that they had witnessed his might firsthand, he deemed it imperative to neutralize them. A new Compound Elemental Fusion Spell was brought forth to life at this moment. Fire Snake + Ster Speed + Death Rot == AN: Blood Seed was first mentioned in chapter 429. Elemental Fusion was described in chapters 286, 591, 592, and 947. Compound Elemental Fusion was described in chapters 1163 and 1199. Spell Integration was described in chapters 801, 802, and 1134. Chapter 1430 Win A Battle, Lose The Land ? Compound Elemental Fusion Spell: Fire-Snake + Ster Speed + Death Rot With this urgency in mind, Eren opted to unleash an untried Compound Elemental Fusion spell, a fusion amalgamating three disparate elemental profiles. His prowess in fire, time, and death mana converged as he conjured an entirely new entity into existence. Eren''s incantation birthed a fire snake, distinct from his typical fire-element serpents. This one possessed a unique appearance,pact and agile. Unlike the mana body characterized by vivid orange and red mes seen in his conventional creations, this snake exhibited a ckish-red hue, a clear indicator of its potent death mana infusion. While the female Ranker struggled toe up with strategies to counter Eren''s unrelenting assault, she failed to notice a diminutive me serpent skillfully infiltrating her defenses. The mana barrier, already weakened by Eren''s ceaseless onught, could not recover in time to intercept the serpent''s advance. Swift and agile, the me serpent advanced with exceptional speed toward the female Mage. Eren''s me serpent had been conjured using Spell Integration and Compound Elemental Fusion, a feat his evolved mana core now enabled him to aplish. This particr serpent had been imbued with Ster Speed, rendering it difficult for the female Ranker to intercept before it sank its fangs into her. "Aaaaargh!" In a moment of agony, the female Ranker cried out as the serpent''s bite found purchase on her right toe. Her distress stemmed from the insidious presence of vile death mana coursing through her system, eroding her mana circuits. Death Rot stood as a formidable spell within Eren''s arsenal, one he rarely invoked due to itsplex execution. However, his recent ascension to B-Rank had amplified his mastery over all elemental spheres, empowering him to meld spells of distinct natures. This advancement not only permitted him to utilize Death Rot in novel ways but also opened avenues for inventive variations, a realm he was still in the process of exploring, deploying each iteration to unveil the potential for freshbinations. With a single, sessful bite, the me serpent injected a concentrated dose of its stored Death mana into Eren''s adversary. This venomous bite induced a profound corrosive effect. The insidious Death Rot methodically ate away at the female Ranker''s flesh and vitality, its malevolent influence radiating from the bite mark and rapidly spreading across her form. Infused with fire properties, the Death mana engendered an agonizing burning sensation thatpounded her suffering. The infusion of time-element mana expedited the process, leaving the female Ranker no respite to seek a remedy. The inflicted damage proved sufficient to sow a w within the female Ranker''s spellcasting prowess. Eren astutely seized upon this vulnerability, materializing before her with the grace of a Blink. As his form emerged, his fingers underwent an elongation, tapping into the potency of his Life Drain Ability. His hands took on a withered appearance, nails metamorphosing into dagger-like points, which found their mark by piercing the female Ranker''s neck from opposing sides. The utilization of Life Drain facilitated the replenishment of Eren''s vitality, stamina, and a portion of his dwindling mana reserves. The female Ranker''s once-youthful figure underwent a rapid transmutation akin to a mummified state, age prematurely manifesting in her form mere moments after Eren''s assault. Her countenance swiftly devolved into that of an aged crone, a result of Eren breaching her defenses and executing his unrelenting maneuver. Soon after, her constitution crumbled beneath the corrosive influence of Death mana, the malevolent energypletely iming her as it eradicated her life essence. The Life Drain Ability had undergone a notable evolution, now capable of siphoning a greater portion of the target''s mana and stamina. This enhancement served Eren well, affording him the means to restore himself during the heat ofbat, each sessful strike bing an opportunity to recharge. Given Eren''s reliance on Hero''s Heart to bolster his Base Stats, the deployment of Life Drain emerged as an ideal decision in his current circumstances. "Haash!" With a profound exhtion akin to a sigh of relief, Eren vanquished the time-element Mage, acknowledging her resilience. He recognized her as a formidable adversary. Had it not been for his Compound Elemental Fusion, she might have indeed seeded in prolonging the confrontation. She was astute in perceiving the instability of Eren''s Ranking Foundation, the vtility underlying his explosive onught of spells. Her strategy rested on extending the skirmish, anticipating Eren''s eventual mana depletion. "Your efforts weremendable. I shall offer you the Last Rites, honoring your role as a capable opponent," Eren dered sincerely, a snap of his fingers instigating the female Ranker''s dissipation. In an instant, her fragmented remains were engulfed by hues of fiery red and orange before disappearing into thin air. Simultaneously, Eren''s summoned creatures had effectively dispatched their adversaries. These conjured allies had been summoned through advanced iterations of Spell Integration and Elemental Fusion, possessing aprehensive arsenal of potent abilities to neutralize the Layos Rankers. They awaited Eren''s directive to initiate their decisive maneuvers. ''Damn. This was so obvious. Why didn''t I realize this before?'' A newfound realization dawned upon Eren, one he had previously overlooked. His summoned entities could express his Elemental Attainments with greater liberty than he himself could at his current state. While he bore the brunt of Sansara Sage''s space-element debuffs, his summoned creatures were unburdened by such hindrances. They functioned as conduits through which Eren''s elemental spells could manifest at their zenith. "Hmm, moving forward until the culmination of the Lazarus Project, my approach should focus on the use of Hex Gear or Summoner ss. Employing my summoned creatures to carry out my experiments seems to be the most suitable solution," Eren swiftly resolved to address the previously neglected oversight. The engagement between Eren and an entire Layos Rankers unit concluded within a span of five minutes, a testament to Eren''s formidable Individuality. One might even argue that it ventured into the realm of the monstrous, if not the outright abhorrent. Lifeless Layos Ranker bodies littered the battleground, leaving Eren as the sole living presence. Yet, amidst this aftermath, Eren''s preupation centered on the optimization of his newly acquired powers, maximizing their potential. As he immersed himself in these reflections, a voicemunication reached him, rousing him from his musings. With a focused gaze directed toward a specific orientation, Eren processed the information imparted by hisrades and mumbled introspectively. "So, Edinburgh suffered defeat, did it? Birmond Remus met his end at the hands of Carvel Horin." Winning a battle, losing thend. Eren''s hands clenched into fists as he made a resolute decision to make his way to the battlefield where two seasoned Master Rankers, bothmanders of their respective factions, had engaged in a duel on. "This so-called strategd means nothing to me. I couldn''t care less that Edinburgh''s im on this territory has been lost. Yet, they damn well better hand over Birmond''s lifeless body to me," Eren muttered to himself, his determination resolute. Eren took Hamang''s headless body and severed head into his storage space. Without a moment''s dy, he vanished from view, his destination being where Carvel was situated, even though he had just taken the life of Carvel''s kin. Birmond Remus''s recently deceased form held significant importance for Eren. Birmond was a rare ice-element summoner hailing from House Remus, and Eren harbored intentions of devouring his entire repository of Elemental Attainments and spells. Chapter 1431 Saving Naya ? And of ice and fire. The battleground where Carvel Horin had shed with the now lifeless Birmond Ramus was a scene of chaos. A sh of frosty ice-element mana and scorching magma-element energy had transformed a portion of the field into a frozen abyss, while the other portion, bigger in size, resembled a seething pit of fiery inferno. The struggle between the opposing forces was evident in thendscape''s transformation. The fire element''s relentless advance was gradually oveing the icy domain, causing the once icy expanse to dwindle to a mere fifth of the original terrain, surrounded by the encroachingva, magma, and intermittent mes that erupted randomly. Amid this shifting battlefield, Birmond''s lifeless bodyy within the boundaries of his own masterful icy domain. Despite appearing rtively unscathed, his skin bore the crimson hue of magma-mana infusion, with veins that once carried green and blue now pulsating an ominous red. This physical transformation was an unmistakable sign of Foreign Mana Invasion, the result of Carvel and the wyverns''bined onught. Even in death, Birmond''s eyes remained open, a testament to his unwillingness to submit to fate. Layos had achieved tactical supremacy by deploying two formidable wyverns to the battlefield, catching Edinburgh''s forces off guard. Intially, Birmond had been confident in Naya''s assistance to counter Carvel and his wyvern, relying on her potent Demon Spells and the wyvern''s magical might. Little did he anticipate the resurgence of old injuries, a cruel twist that led to his downfall in the midst ofbat. At Birmond''s sidey Naya, her form weakened and frail. A loyalpanion and demon beast, she had thrown herself into the fight to support Birmond against Carvel''s onught. Her interventions had prolonged Birmond''s resistance, and her sacrifices had been the unsung foundation of his stand. Yet, her strength was waning, rendering her unable to maintain her humanoid form. Each breath was a struggle, her eyes drooping as the toll of mana exhaustion and mana core damage brought her to the precipice. Their bodies, battered and bloody, were a stark contrast to their former vitality. Birmond''s death carried a heavy burden of unfinished objectives, while Naya, on the brink of sumbing, was poised to follow her master''s fate. This was the somber tale of the defeated, entwined in the chilling grip of their own icy creation. But amid this tragedy, whaty in store for the victors of this tumultuous battlefield? On the opposing end of the battlefield, amidst the fiery tumult and molten rivers, two figures endured as the survivors of the maelstrom. Carvel, his once-mighty armor reduced to ruins by Birmond''s relentless barrage, bore the battle''s scars both visibly and beneath the surface. His battered form revealed the toll of Birmond''s potent attacks, etching his bare torso with a mosaic of injuries that bled crimson trails across his skin. Tousled hair and a countenance marred by various scars painted a portrait of weariness and determination. His left hand, severed at the wrist,y frozen, its icy pallor casting an eerie hue. The intery of blue and red marks across his frame bespoke the relentless battle within, a visceral struggle against the encroaching ice-element mana surging through his mana circuits. Beside him stood his draconic ally, a once-mighty wyvern now bearing the evidence of the fierce battle it had engaged in. various physical and elemental injuries scarred its massive form, the colossal wings bearing irreparable damage. Ice-element rods jutted from its limbs, the very ice they shed with in a battle of elemental prowess. Yet, despite these visible wounds, the wyvern retained an aura of strength and resilience, a testament to its indomitable spirit. Carvel''s gaze shifted between his fallen enemies and the steadfast wyvern at his side, his voice a weary mixture of exhaustion and hate. "Birmond, that wretched bastard... His ice-summons held more power than I could''ve imagined. Were it not for you, Akass..." His voice trailed, acknowledging the role the wyvern had yed in his survival. In response, Akass emitted a low, rumbling growl, a sound that transcended the boundaries ofnguage. Carvel''s hand sought the wyvern''s scaled head, a gentle pat that conveyed gratitude and a silent partnership forged in battle. Akass, the draconic creature with mastery overva and magma, was no simple tool; it was a being of pride and intelligence, possessing the capacity toprehend andmunicate in the tongues of Anfang''s realm. With his wyvernpanion''s beastly response, Carvel''s expression shifted, adopting a look of focus and acknowledgment. However, the wyvern''s demand wasn''t far behind, a testament to its inherent nature and pride. Its voice, a blend of authority and insistence, cut through the air. "Carvel, elvenmander, heed my words. You must provide me with the resources fitting my contribution. This battle''s demands exceed our predictions." Akass''s words held the nuance of loyalty coupled with the assertion of its worth, a reminder that even the potent elven magic''s bonds could not suppress the innate nature of the creatures it sought to control. Carvel hesitated to approach his fallen enemies while a faint breath still stirred within Naya''s form. He held back, waiting for that final exhtion that would confirm the cessation of life. Moments crawled by, and as Naya''s humanoid fa?ade waned, she transformed into her true essence, taking on the form of a ck-panther-like demon beast. A faint smile etched its way onto Carvel''s face, his anticipation rewarded as Naya''s heartbeat dwindled to an almost imperceptible murmur, as if on the cusp of stillness. "Finally!" Carvel exhaled, the weight of his relief palpable. With Naya''s apparent passing, he contemted taking the necessary steps to ensure the end of his adversaries. Yet, his intent was interrupted by a sudden arrival, a rapid and potent rush of mana signature that bespoke a Master Ranker''s prowess. "Fuck! Who the." Carvel''s experienced senses discerned the neer''s ascent from the ranks of an Expert, an achievement realized amidst the maelstrom of battle C an audacious feat that would etch the neer''s name into the annals of history books of both the kingdoms. Swoosh. Zoon. Snap. Instant Reset! Chapter 1432 Upgraded Sedating Gaze ? "Grimdawn!" Carvel uttered in recognition, his wary gaze falling upon Eren''s face. In contrast, Eren''s attention remained singrly fixed on Naya''s form. The growling wyvern at Carvel''s side seemed almost an afterthought to him. Focused and seemingly unaffected by Carvel''s presence, Eren''s intent shifted to Naya, and with a snap, he summoned forth his miraculous healing ability. Instant Reset! Naya''s wounds underwent a remarkable transformation, rapidly knitting back together as Eren channeled his ability. As in the case of Renita, he fortified his healing with the rejuvenating power of the Ice Fairy''s Kiss potion, enhancing the recovery process. "No!" Carvel''s anguished cry echoed through the air as he discerned Eren''s intentions. With Naya and Birmond already defeated, Carvel''s victory seemed secured. He could ill-afford to let Eren undo the damage before his eyes. Roar! A guttural roar, mirroring Carvel''s frustration, erupted from the wyvern positioned behind him. Driven by its determination, despite its injured wings, the creature leaped into the sky, pping with a furious energy, its massive form casting a shadow over the battleground. Intent on preventing Eren''s interference, the wyvern, named Akass, hurtled towards the duo with malicious intent, preparing to unleash a fearsome Draconic Breath. Eren met the wyvern''s advance with a resolute focus. His eyes underwent a mystic transformation, the once-white canvases adorned with intricate crimson runes, swirling into the formation of fiery-red irises. Soul Sense + Sedating Gaze! In a heartbeat, a potent surge of spiritual energy radiated from Eren''s gaze, epassing both Akass and Carvel. Unlike before, there was no agonizing aftermath of bleeding eyes; instead, the wyvern felt the impact, its consciousness wounded under the weight of Eren''s ability. But the narrative didn''t conclude there. Materializing from thin air, an assemge of serpentine forms, born of fused elements, manifested, entwining around the wyvern''s limbs and torso. The serpents, guided by Eren''s mastery, homed in on the grievous wounds inflicted by Birmond and Naya. Their fangs found purchase on exposed flesh, injecting Eren''s mana into Akass''s system, thereby initiating a fierce foreign mana invasion. This intricate concoction of fused elements made for a hostile presence, a persistent intrusion that Akass''s draconic resilience found difficult to immediately purge, despite its robust constitution. Carvel bore an even harsher impact than Akass. Sumbing to the influence of Sedating Gaze, he dropped to his knees. A surge of unbridled rage surged through him, like a torrential force that sought to dismantle everything in its path. This vehement onught originated from Eren''s fusion element serpents, which injected the essence of wrath mana into his being. A tempestuous anger engulfed Carvel, directed both inward and outward. He berated himself for his protracted struggle against Birmond, despite the formidable might lent by Akass. Indignant at his own vulnerability in the face of Eren''s gaze, Carvel''s frustration reached its crescendo, fueled further by his perception of Eren as nothing more than a presumptuous upstart. Eren''s ocr ability, Sedating Gaze, had progressed significantly since his attainment of Master Rank. It now permitted him to weave spells into its influence. Typically, a Ranker''s spellcasting domain was delineated by a sphere of influence, its potency being inversely proportional to spatial separation. This radius of effect was strongest when near the caster and diminished as the distance expanded. Certain spells required close proximity, while others demanded advanced preparation before deployment. Naturally, exceptions and variations existed, but generally, proximity to the target facilitated effective spellcasting. Eren''s refined ocr prowess defied these conventions, granting him the Ability to cast basic spells within the strongest sphere of an opponent''s influence. While he was currently limited to simpler spells due to his mastery level, this method demanded a significant ouy of his spiritual energy. Despite its toll, it was worth it as it could allow him to catch his enemies off guard during crucial junctures. An ear-splitting roar. Akass snapped himself out of Eren''s illusion within moments. However, the wyvern''s capacity for flight had been severelypromised during these fleeting seconds. Helplessly, the creature plummeted to the ground, a trajectory bound by its own momentum. With a resonating thud, its colossal form crashed to the earth, dragging across the terrain, eventually halting just a mere 80 meters from Eren''s position. ''Fuck!'' Eren''s lips curled into a muttered curse as he gripped his head, his fingers digging into his scalp. Although he managed to evade the previous bacsh from using his ocr ability on a wyvern like Akass, the manner in which he wielded it exacted a toll in the form of a pounding headache. Yet, this minor inconvenience paled in significance, for Naya''s life was preserved. The ebbing current of her vitality had stilled, her uneven breaths signaling her existence in this realm. Though grievous wounds still marred her form, she had traversed the precipice of mortality. Nevertheless, she remained ensnared in the bonds of unconsciousness, mentally and spiritually drained, an expected consequence. Eren grasped the fact that Naya''s precarious mental state must have driven her to wield intent-based magic beyond her inherent limitations. Her spiritual resources had dwindled to near depletion, mirroring the state of her mana reserves. Her inner sanctum, her Soul Space, bore scars, rendering her unlikely to awaken for a span of two to three weeks, should she endure till then. The Faustian Contract that had intertwined Naya''s fate with Birmond''s had run its course, and Eren pondered the fate of the demon fragment housed within her. The fragment''s subsequent path remained uncertain; it could persist within Naya, exert its dominion by transmuting her into a wholly demonic entity, or perhaps slumber within her depths. The eventual trajectory depended on Naya''s psyche and the contract''s terms. ''For now, let''s save her and think ofplicated things forter,'' Eren ruminated silently, resuming the process of healing Naya before straightening himself. "Human! You dare wield your spiritual force against me!" Akass, the wyvern, bellowed, the resonance of his outrage echoing across the terrain. Taking wing once more, the draconic mana beast surged into the heavens. His vtile might surged forth anew, triggering eruptions of moltenva from subterranean depths around Carvel. These fountains ofva ascended like coiling serpent necks, solidifying into coursing streams that bore down upon Eren. Freed from the shackles of ice-element magic that once opposed them, theseva dragons vaporized obstructions in their path, their fiery gaze unrelenting. "This fucking overhyped lizards! Their arrogance is thicker than their hide. Someday I''m gonna go on a hunting spree, butchering every one of their ilk that dares to fucking look down on me like this," Eren seethed with disdain, his words dripping with contempt, as his gaze shifted to the impending catastrophe drawing near. === AN: Sorry for the dyed release. I''m currently dealing with a minor workout injury that''s affecting my typing speed. Chapter 1433 Timely Retreat ? ''Hehehe, Grimdawn, your game is up.'' Carvel Horin sneered. ''Now that you''ve attained the rank of Master, don''t me me for not holding back. Pity, though, that you chose this ce to achieve your long-awaited breakthrough,'' Carvel''s maniacalughter rang out as he fixed his gaze on Eren. Carvel, despite his injuries, still possessed enough strength to engage Eren in battle. His elevated rank had brought about simr enhancements to his mana core and soul as Eren''s own breakthrough. Thus, while cautious of Eren''s ocr prowess, Carvel''s resolve wasn''t paralyzed by it. Still, Carvel saw fit to leave the task of dealing with Eren to Akass. In his assessment, Grimdawn was shrewd beyond measure. Only the raw power of a wyvern could counteract Eren''s cunning tactics, however devious they might be. Even after taking heavy damage from Birmond and Naya, the wyvern retained enough vigor and might to handle four Rankers like Eren at the same time. With a sinister grin, Carvel observed the encroachingva dragons, closing in on Eren and Naya C his sole remaining adversaries. Despite Eren''s confident demeanor, Carvel discerned his vulnerability. Both his Spiritual Force and his Rank status appeared to be in a precarious equilibrium. ''You won''t venture close to me, will you? Clever move,'' Eren swiftly deduced Carvel''s motive. ''No matter, it''s to my advantage,'' he contemted, gazing at the oing tide of molten creatures. Swiftly adopting a stance akin to a military posture, hands tucked behind his back, Eren raised his voice to a resonating crescendo. "Grandmaster Luan! I, Eren Elijah Idril, participated in this battle under themand of thete Master Birmond Ramus. On behalf of Edinburgh, I concede defeat in this battle and relinquish our im to thisnd to Layos'' forces." Eren proimed with his voice imbued with mana, ensuring it carried for miles without excess volume. Within mere seconds of his arrival on the battlefield, he acted with speed and precision, preempting Carvel or the wyvern fromunching an assault. "Rankers from both sidesC cease your attacks." As the fearsome dragon-shaped figures, forged from moltenva currents, drew dangerously close to Eren, an aged voice resonated with unwavering authority. It was the unmistakable timbre of Grandmaster Luan, the figure assigned by the Anfang Alliance to oversee the sh unfolding between the rival realms. The sky reverberated with Akass'' roar, the wyvern''s vocal retort aimed at the heavens as an expression of its discontent. The desire to exact vengeance on Eren for hisbined maniption of Spiritual Force and the Sedating Gaze Ability, an act that had tumbled the mighty beast from the skies and into a state of disgrace, coursed through the wyvern''s instincts. Yet, despite the fiery pride that marked the heart of dragonkind, the creature understood whenpromise outweighed aggression. In the presence of Grandmaster Luan''smanding voice, both the wyvern and Carvel quelled their animosity towards Eren. With Akass nullifying its draconic powers, the once-livelyva serpents, their heads shaped in the likeness of dragons, devolved into mere trickling streams of molten rock. These fiery torrents liquefied the frozen terrain and theyers of snow, their warmth inducing a fog that obscured Eren''s view as he regarded Carvel with a knowing grin. ''Devious fellow.'' Carvel muttered inwardly, his thoughtsced with exasperation at Eren''s cunning maneuver. Only now did Carvel discern Eren''s strategy in timing his appearance. Eren had seemingly bided his time, anticipating the emergence of Grandmaster Luan on the cusp of the conflict''s closure, as dictated by the Anfang Alliance''s schedule. Eren''s intervention was astutely timed, neither dyed nor premature. It allowed him to save Naya''s life and swiftly admit defeat, sparing him a confrontation with Carvel and Akass. Grandmaster Luan descended like a meteor,nding squarely between the two opposing sides, straddling the boundary that demarcated the icy inferno from the domain of mes. His gaze turned upon Carvel, who bowed with a deferential stance before addressing the Grandmaster. "I extend my gratitude to Grandmaster Luan for presiding over this battle," Carvel spoke respectfully, proceeding to fulfill the formalities required by the circumstance. "On behalf of the Layos kingdom, I acknowledge Master Eren''s concession of our im," Carvel''s gaze shifted to Eren, his face bearing a begrudging acknowledgment. Grandmaster Luan then cast his gaze upon Eren, his voice resuming in an impartial tenor. "In ordance with the Anfang Alliance''s directives, this territory is now ceded to the Layos kingdom. A grace period of two hours will be granted for any remaining Anfang forces to conclude their activities and withdraw beyond the demarcated boundaries. The Anfang Alliance assumes no responsibility for any repercussions should the Edinburgh forces exceed this time frame and attract the attention of higher-ranking entities from Layos." Grandmaster Luan''s tone bore a firmness that implied the potential consequences of overstepping the stipted limit. Eren''sprehension of Luan''s implicit message was immediate: remaining in this region for more than two hours would warrant pursuit and potential confrontation with the Grandmasters or even Sages from Layos. "Thank you, Grandmaster Luan. We shallply with the stiptions," Eren conceded with a respectful bow towards Luan, aligning himself with the rules as outlined. At this juncture, the residual Layos and Edinburgh forces were converging, forming a palpable contrast against the backdrop of the battleground. The Edinburgh troops materialized behind Eren, while the remaining Layos squads assumed their positions with an air of triumph behind Carvel. Despite the toll of lost lives, the Layos contingent emerged victorious, having secured the contested terrain. They could mourn their fallenradester; for the present, they reveled in the evident despondency etched upon the faces of the Edinburgh Rankers. On the whole, Edinburgh had suffered multifaceted defeat. Not merely forfeiting thend, they also incurred a notably higher tally of fallen Rankerspared to their adversaries. Were it not for Eren''s preemptive deration of thend''s cessation, Carvel would have likely persisted in his hunt for the remaining standing Rankers from Edinburgh. This was a timely retreat. === AN: Grandmaster Luan was first introduced in chapter 1357. Chapter 1434 Wartime Diplomacy: An Off-The-Books Handling After concluding the formalities, Eren instructed a group of Rankers from his side to attend to Naya and ensure her well-being. Given that she was alive, her body couldn''t be imed as war spoils by the Layos forces. ''Haash! Herees the trouble,'' Eren muttered under his breath, striding toward Birmond''s motionless figure. His intention was to employ his ID Storage to preserve Birmond''s remains. However, just then, a predictable but resounding voice cut through the air. "Grimdawn, get the fuck away from Birmond''s body. It is now the property of the kingdom of Layos," Carvel''s words held a menacing edge, directed at Eren. Following Birmond''s demise, Eren, as per the Anfang Alliance regtions, technically lost the right to im his body. ording to the alliance''s statutes, the fallen Rankers'' remains became spoils of war, a privilege exclusively bestowed upon the victor. In the typical course of these kingdom conflicts, a sort of wartime diplomacy was observed. While the Rankers on both sides fought fiercely, a tacit agreement existed, allowing either faction to im their fallenrades'' bodies. It was a form of exchange if both parties consented, the Anfang Alliance seldom intervened. But should the victor object, the rule about the ownership of war spoils would be enforced, preventing the defeated side from reiming their Rankers'' remains. ''Damn it. I hope my acting skills have also elevated with my rank-up,'' Eren thought to himself and prepared himself to act a part by taking a deep breath. Carvel''s protest didn''t catch Eren off guard. He pivoted, meeting Grandmaster Luan''s gaze with an imploring look, his voice quivering as he addressed the Grandmaster. "Grandmaster Luan... Birmond was more than just a battlemander. He was my close friend," Eren''s words quivered with sorrow, his face bearing the weight of pain. His demeanor mirrored his emotional state. "Birmond and I had ns to celebrate his recovery from a lingering injury with a few drinks. Who could have foreseen that he... he..." Eren stumbled over his words, choked up with emotion. His gaze fixed upon Birmond''s lifeless form. "All I desire now is to grant my friend a respectful resting ce," he uttered as he seated himself beside Birmond, his hand gently resting on the fallen Ranker''s shoulder. ''Heh. Eren, if Birmond''s soul could perceive your intentions, it might prefer Carvel, his arch-enemy who brought about his end, to possess his remains,'' Alephee''s mocking voice resonated within Eren''s thoughts, his words followed by a chuckle. ''Shut up, woman,'' Eren responded to Alephee''s mockery while maintaining his Grieving Friend act. Eren''s ability to feign emotions was remarkable, so much so that even the Rankers from his faction who had witnessed Eren and Birmond''s interactions before began questioning their memories. Many among them were convinced that Eren and Birmond had shared, at most, an amicable working rtionship. However, those who knew the history behind Eren and Birmond''s coboration understood that the two had begun as bitter adversaries a decade ago. Eren had even been responsible for the deaths of several members of House Remus, until a truce was negotiated between the White Raven Guild and the house. Their alliance had essentially formed due to the backdrop of the kingdom''s conflict. Yet, Eren''s impressive act led these observers to believe that their connection had genuinely evolved into a deep, fraternal friendship. Eren''s sole objective was to remove Birmond''s body from the scene. His intention was to apply his bloodline Abilities to Birmond as soon as he could find a secluded space. Waiting would only diminish the potential benefits he could gain from devouring Birmond''s body. Yet, Eren couldn''t flout the Anfang Alliance''s regtions. Even the Alliance''s sole representative present, Grandmaster Luan, was beyond Eren''s ability to challenge by disregarding the rules. Furthermore, Eren''s past actions had led to another obstacle. He had a history of desecrating the bodies of his enemies. This made it unlikely that anyone from Layos would willingly adhere to war-time protocols while Eren was on the opposing side. Anticipating Carvel''s response, Eren knew Carvel would seek retribution for his past deeds. Even if Carvel decided to allow someone from Edinburgh''s side to im Birmond''s body, intricate procedures, and agreements would be involved. Moreover, Birmond''s remains wouldn''t be handed over to Eren personally. Instead, they would be entrusted to Edinburgh''s surviving Rankers as a whole. Birmond''s body would then be transported to the nearest Edinburgh army base before reaching its final destination at House Remus estate. Eren was determined not to let either side take Birmond''s corpse. Thus, his only option was to leverage his emotions to appeal to allies and adversaries alike. He wanted to settle this matter in an off-the-books manner. He was particrly focused on swaying Grandmaster Luan through his disy. Unaware of Eren and Birmond''s history, Grandmaster Luan sighed, as if he had witnessed countless simr tragedies before, before addressing Eren in a soothing tone. "Erend, it''s unfortunate that Birmond, yourmander and friend, has perished in this conflict. Your sentiments are understandable. But, I''m afraid you can''t remove him without Carvel''s consent," Luan spoke with a kind gaze fixed upon Eren. Eren''s fists clenched, as if a torrent of emotions was vying to escape as tears. He turned his watery gaze towards Carvel before speaking, his voice brimming with emotion. "Master... Master Carvel. The enmity that existed between you and my friend Birmond should end with his death. I''ve already admitted defeat. Plus, I assure you that my forces will vacate thisnd within the stipted two hours. Why Why not..." Eren''s voice trembled with a semnce of authentic sentiment, a testament to how deeply he had immersed himself in the portrayal of emotions. The pretense was such that he had begun to regard Birmond as a long-lost brother in his own mind. However, Carvel wasn''t a man easily swayed by Eren''s acting. He took a stride forward and extended a pointed finger at Eren in an using gesture before retorting. "Spare me the theatrics, Grimdawn. If it were anyone but you, I might have entertained this. But your crocodile tears aren''t enough to deceive me. Birmond''s remains, along with whatever is held within his ID Storage, shall be surrendered to the kingdom of Layos. We im full rights to our spoils of war," Carvel dered resolutely. Despite being the target of this venomous deration, Eren maintained his facade unbroken. He locked eyes with Carvel, his expression portraying a sense of injustice, before continuing his act. "Then... might I propose an exchange? I take possession of Birmond''s body, and in return, you''re you are granted custody of your nephew''s remains?" Chapter 1435 Digesting Birmonds Gains ? "I take possession of Birmond''s body, and in return, you''re... you are granted custody of your nephew''s remains?" "Haha. I really like the look on your face now, Grimdawn. I wha hmm? what?" Eren''s proposition halted Carvel in his tracks. It took him a moment to process the implications of Eren''s words. It dawned on him that Eren''s statement meant Hamang, his nephew, had met his end in the battle. He recollected having dispatched Hamang with a sizable contingent under hismand to eliminate an unknown Ranker who was on the cusp of advancing into the Master Rank. At that juncture, the identity of this enigmatic Ranker remained concealed. Yet, Carvel held confidence that Hamang, fortified with numerous subordinates and life-saving means, would easily neutralize this unidentified contender. In case they failed to thwart this individual''s ranking ascension and they did indeed progress, the turbulence typically apanying a promotion to the B-Rank should theoretically pave the way for Hamang''s squad to dispatch the newly-promoted Ranker without much ado. "How... how could he be gone?" Carvel''s voice trembled with grief and disbelief, his emotions spiraling. Themander of the Layos forces had opted to mute all externalmunication channels during theter stages of his confrontation with Birmond, intent on concentrating on the intense skirmish. Consequently, he remained unaware of the events subsequent to hismand for his subordinates to locate and neutralize the unidentified Ranker, ultimately unveiled to be Eren. Carvel nced back at the assembly of Rankers standing behind him. Their eyes were downcast, avoiding meeting Carvel''s gaze. Unspoken understanding permeated the air C Hamang had indeed met his end. Recognizing the opportune moment, Eren decided to provide Carvel with tangible evidence of his words. From his ID Storage, he retrieved Hamang''s lifeless body, severed head included. "Here lie your nephew''s remains, Master Carvel. Now, the choice rests in your hands. You can persist as the upholder of regtions, or we can both opt for a more conciliatory approach. What shall your decision be?" Eren''s expression remained neutral as he addressed Carvel. Recognizing Carvel''s skepticism toward his previous emotional disy, Eren adopted a more assertive stance. This slight shift lent authenticity to his previous performance. Grandmaster Luan, attuned to interpersonal dynamics, deduced that Eren was prepared to leverage Hamang''s lifeless body to secure Carvel''s agreement, given that verbal appeals seemed to fall on deaf ears. This signaled to Luan that Eren was earnestly striving to retrieve Birmond''s remains for proper closure. ''Damn this hardass elf.'' Eren cursed inwardly, observing Carvel''s wavering stance. He rose to his feet, locking his emerald gaze onto Carvel, its intensity entuated by a grim tone. "Master Carvel, I urge you to make a swift decision. If you''re truly inclined, I can grant you Birmond''s ID Storage, allowing you ess to his spoils of war. It''s highly probable that House Remus has implemented safeguards to protect key inheritances from falling into enemy hands upon Birmond''s demise. In fact, every present Ranker would exercise simr caution, ensuring vital assets aren''t vulnerable posthumously. However, since you''ve imed Birmond''s ID Storage, I''ll simply relinquish it to you, preserving your dignity," Eren''s words triggered a noticeable shift in Carvel''s countenance. Instead of diffusing the tension, however, Carvel''s eyes glinted with a more intense fury. Eren deduced that Carvel was listening to a report made by someone through the voicemunication channel, receiving real-time updates on Hamang''s demise as he and Eren spoke. Although not privy to theplete picture, Carvel was aware of Eren''s involvement in Hamang''s death. ''This is spiraling out of control and taking too much time,'' Erenmented internally, recognizing his diplomacy was falling on deaf ears. He couldn''t entirely fault Carvel C rationality coexisted with emotion in Rankers. ''Diplomacy would not work anymore. I must resort to clear cut threats,'' Eren concluded. Clearing his throat, he shifted to a chilling tone to vocalize his strategy. "Grandmaster Carvel, it was indeed my hand that slew your nephew. Yet, what oue did you anticipate when you permitted Hamang''s engagement in this battle? Did you envisage his immunity from harm due to his rtion to you and the esteemed Horin House? We stand on a battlefield, not a sanctuary of impunity. I bear no desire to harbor enmity over Birmond''s demise. I propose you do the same. Deny me Birmond''s remains, and Hamang''s remains shall stay within my custody as well. In addition, fueled by ire, I might opt to erect a Grim Pir in Hamang''s memory at the heart of Grim Pir Town. This scenario, I''m certain, requires no further exnation. You must have read all about me by this point." Eren''s tone turned menacing as he asserted his position. Carvel''splexion red crimson as his fists clenched in a surge of anger. Yet, Eren''s words triggered a stark realization of the individual he was contending with. The title of Grimdawn, bestowed upon Eren by the kingdom of Edinburgh, had not been granted frivolously. Carvel couldn''t disregard Eren''s past, infamous for desecrating enemies'' corpses. The thought of Eren possibly applying the same disregard to Hamang''s remains prompted Carvel to reconsider his stance. House Horin, a venerable force within Layos, would certainly be saddened by Hamang''s passing, but their structural integrity remained intact. What truly concerned Carvel at this point was the potential damage to the n''s reputation, should Eren employ Hamang''s remains for a Grim Pir. "Grimdawn, let this be engraved in House Horin''s memory. I''ll be sure to settle all my grudges the next time I see you on the battlefield," Carvel conceded to Eren''s terms, embedding a veiled threat within his agreement. ''Does this guy think I''ll not strike him first? I''ll not waste my breaths in dering my threats. Since you want this feud to continue, I''ll be sure to respond in kind,'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at Carvel silently. Turning his gaze to Grandmaster Luan, Carvel continued, "Grandmaster Luan, under your supervision, I am prepared to execute the exchange of our fallen Rankers'' remains." Eren''s chest heaved with relief at Carvel''s unexpectedpliance. While it foreshadowed the inevitable enmity of House Horin, securing Birmond''s lifeless form took precedence. ''Cultivating that Grim Pir Town wasn''t in vain, after all,'' Eren said to himself and smiled mirthlessly. Chapter 1436 Plan To Meet Maya Once Again ? Subsequent events unfolded with tranquility, devoid of additional upheavals. Eren finally reimed Birmond''s body. The weing enthusiasm of hispanions, Jake and the others, awaited him, a testament to his ascent into the Master Rank. Inquiries concerning Renita and Altashia''s welfare followed, to which Eren responded sinctly, expressing gratitude for their well-wishes and assuaging concerns. Dispensing with formalities within a mere ten minutes, Eren promised a celebratory gathering in the City of White Raven for his Master Rank achievement, extending an invitation to all present. As expeditiously as he''d settled the matters, Eren vanished from the scene, Birmond''s remains in tow. *** Within an obscure mountain cave, ensconced withinyers of barrier magic and bolstered by an Earth Wall spell, resided an enigma. The cave, though rtively small and draped in profound darkness, was aglow with a faint luminescence. This spectral radiance emanated from its sole upant, a Master Rank individual engrossed in honing their Ranking Technique. Without this ethereal luminance, the cave would have plunged into absolute obscurity. After dedicating an uninterrupted three days to assimte the spoils harvested from Birmond''s remains, Eren''s eyes fluttered open. The congealed slimy membranes that once housed Birmond''s remnants regained their original fluidity, merging seamlessly into Eren''s hands. A meticulous observer would have found no vestige of Birmond''s corporeal existence; the amalgamated mass of slime had entirely consumed his remains. This devouring process allowed Eren to assimte Birmond''s ice-element Master Ranker''s spells and the repository of his experiences. ''Sigh. In the end, I couldn''t obtain those two Abilities. Tch.'' Eren''s sigh wafted through the cave, tinged with the weight of his revtion. Despite the exhaustive period he invested in absorbing Birmond''s essence, Eren found himself devoid of the two ice-element Abilities that had distinguished Birmond. These Abilities had begun to precede Birmond''s reputation throughout the kingdom of Edinburgh. Eren had initially anticipated that swiftly consuming Birmond''s remains would grant him ess to at least one of Birmond''s prized Abilities. However, Birmond''s demise during the battlefield conflict introduced aplex variable. The duration he dedicated to the meticulous "consumption" of his fallen foe directly impacted the magnitude of his gains. House Remus and the White Raven Guild had aplicated history. A decade prior, Eren and Birmond had entered into a strategic covenant, a pact borne out of the overarching wartime dynamics between their kingdoms. This binding arrangement had curtailed any actions Eren could take against Birmond or his kin, regardless of his prior inclinations toy im to Birmond''s gains. Nheless, Birmond''s demise disrupted this binding ord, thereby affording Eren the opening he needed to assimte the prolific ice-element summoner''s trove of aplishments. Eren now found himself in a position of abundance, courtesy of House Remus. The n''s "generous contributions" had significantly enriched his path as a Summoner, giving him an extensive repertoire of spells and experiences specific to this branch of magic. In light of these considerable benefits, Eren''s disposition had little room for grievances, even in the face of seemingly minor challenges. ''Haah! Never mind. I can still use these ice-element Elemental Attainments. Especially to get my hands on that Titan''s corpse. I am not sure if I can use Birmond''s knowledge and experiences to break a Sage rank array formation. But still, it will help a lot,'' Eren mumbled to himself. Eren''s resolve remained unshaken. Drawing sce from the wealth of spells, ice magic, and Birmond''s profound knowledge of ice-element arrays he had acquired, a new strategy took shape within his mind. Eren discerned a conduit in Birmond''s insights that could potentially lead him to im the Titan''s corpse safeguarded within House Lancelot''s ndestine enve. An epiphany unfurled: by building upon Birmond''s intricate groundwork, he could potentially secure the Titan''s body, possibly unlocking ess to mimic the nightmarish Titan bloodline. Before locking himself inside the cave for three days, Eren had taken preemptive action by notifying House Remus through a long-rangemunication artifact that Birmond''s remains wouldn''t be surrendered to them. He skillfully wove a story that he was ambushed by Carvel''s forces right after he left the disputed territory, substantiating this with the public threat Carvel made against him. This fabricated narrative was made more believable due to the presence of witnesses who had listened to Carvel''s threats. Over the past nine years, the White Raven Guild had significantly fortified itself, rendering it impervious to threats from smaller ns and organizations. Furthermore, with Birmond''s demise, House Remus was left weakened. Yet, Eren was determined to preserve the alliance that had been stable for nearly a decade, rather than sow discord. This motivated him to operate covertly, assimting Birmond''s gains without arousing suspicion. Even the calcted maneuvers he executed on the battlefield to secure Birmond''s remains were driven by this intent. Despite these meticulous efforts, Eren was far from at ease. The weight of impending responsibilities weighed heavily on him. With only around five months remaining until thepletion of the Lazarus Project, he was acutely aware of the pressing nature of hismitments. Even the potential advantage of space-element runes couldn''tpletely alleviate the strain of his demanding agenda. Eren''s mind raced as he sat in meditation, a practice he maintained even after halting his Rootless Ranking Technique exercises. His thoughts raced through his numerous responsibilities, and he began to prioritize his uing tasks. The unexpected Master Rank advancement during this critical juncture was indeed a boon, potentially saving him from convoluted detours. The elevated status it granted might also serve him in negotiations, particrly with Grandmaster Baelin. "I can handle Grandmaster Baelin. Asking for a few privileges wouldn''t be a big deal now that I''m a Master Ranker. But first I must confirm the feasibility of my n to break the World-Epassing Array formation." Eren pondered, recognizing the gravity of the task ahead. With time of the essence, he envisioned concluding all hismitments, including the Lazarus Project and other side endeavors, before considering leaving Anfang. Everything needed to be settled within these five months. His mental calculus continued, and he decided that his next course of action would involve seeking guidance from Maya, a person of unparalleled knowledge due to her connection as the daughter of Sansara Sage. Eren nned to utilize his space-element runes to summon her from her expedition for a crucial meeting. As these thoughts swirled like a tempest within him, he began his journey towards the City of White Raven. Chapter 1437 An Audacious Plan ? The next day. Inside Sansara World 2.0. Maya''s deserted courtyard once again received its master. Eren had hurried to this location right after he had assimted Birmond''s devoured knowledge. He had entrusted Sansara Sage''s space-element rune to Maya, instructing her to keep it on her at all times. This rune could function as a reliable escape strategy as she navigated the perilousndscapes of Anfang. This was the very reason why Eren hadbored over deciphering the space-element rune for nearly a decade C to provide Maya with freedom and security. Yet, he harbored an additional, more discreet motive behind giving her this rune. Through its influence, he could establish contact with her regardless of her whereabouts in the vast expanse of Anfang. He had used the space-element rune''s reverse function to call her back. Seated across from Eren, Maya emanated her characteristic serenity. The tea table situated between them was adorned with a teapot and a pair of cups, containing an exotic tea she had sourced from a remote location. She had prepared these special cups for both herself and Eren. Eren took a sip of the tea, savoring its unique vor, and then posed his inquiry with a genial smile. "How has your journey been progressing, Maya?" Her gaze met him with a hint of intrigue as she responded. "It''s been a fulfilling journey so far, Eren. I''ve already traversed the formidable Great Withered ts. I intend to rest there briefly before embarking on the next leg of my expedition, which will lead me to the Unweing Tundra. But I presume you didn''t summon me here merely to discuss my ongoing travels. What''s on your mind?" Eren''s understanding of Maya''s hastened words was not lost on him. She wasn''t entirely pleased about being called here unexpectedly. Eren recognized the sentiments she disyed were artificially constructed, a testament to Sansara Sage''s intricately simted emotions. It appeared that Maya''s journey had begun to impart valuable lessons. The instruction to explore Anfang had kindled thetent emotional aspect of her runic array, prompting a simted but substantial emotional response. "Venturing the world to gain experiences is just one facet of the equation, Miss Maya," Eren spoke with aposed tone, sighing lightly. "However, transforming those experiences into authentic emotions is pivotal if you want to shed your status as an Artificial Human. To achieve this, you''ll need a soul." Eren''s words were patient and contemtive. "What you''re currently undertaking serves as a necessary foundation, but have you contemted the more substantial undertaking that lies ahead?" Eren reframed the issue rather than posing a direct question, aiming to provoke a more profound reconsideration of her path. Maya''s eyes were fixed on Eren, her cup of tea once again finding its way to her lips as she queried, "What are you getting at?" Eren cleared his throat, leaning back slightly in his chair beforeunching into his exnation. "What I''m suggesting is that I believe I''ve uncovered a potential means for you to acquire a soul. To be honest, it''s aplex solution, not without its issues, and it might not offer a permanent fix. However, it''s a step in the right direction." Maya observed Eren closely, her scrutiny evaluating his words. "Hmm. It seems to me that your purpose for summoning me extends beyond a simple conversation. Considering your disposition, I have no doubt that you''ve indeed discovered a way. But I also know you well enough to understand that your motives aren''t entirely altruistic. So, let''s cut to the chase. What is it that you''re asking of me in return for your assistance?" Eren''s smile persisted as he regarded Maya. As expected, her curiosity was piqued this time, a clear indication of her genuine interest in his proposition. "I want to destroy the World-Epassing Array," Eren stated matter-of-factly immediately after Maya finished speaking. His deration prompted an array of surprised expressions from Maya, her reaction akin to a metaphorical bomb detonating within her mind. "Are you being serious?" Maya''s incredulous gaze was fixed on Eren, disbelief resonating in her tone. Eren nodded solemnly, his expression grave as he continued, "Absolutely. And I require your aid." Leaning forward, his elbows resting on the table, he inteced his hands, his focus unwavering on Maya. She continued to meet his gaze, absorbing his seriousness, before bursting intoughter. "Hehehe. Eren, you may believe you''re being sincere, but it''s hard for me to ept your words as anything but a joke. If destroying the World-Epassing Array formation was as simple as you suggest, both the Last Blood Bastian and the formidable monsters known as Children of Echidna dwelling in the Bands would have already grouped up to annihte it," Maya remarked, finishing the tea in her cup with evident enjoyment. Maya''s attention shifted to the simted sky within the Sansara World 2.0 as she borated further. "Eren, you realize that all these factions possess S-Rank entities, right? But even a grand assembly of S-Rank monsters and Sagescks the might to dismantle the divine array that materialized through the goddess'' immense power. Battling divine forces with mere mortal strength, no matter how exceptional, is an endeavor bound to fail. Not to mention you don''t even have a single Sage Rank entity you can count on. My proficiency in array formation, a legacy from my father, grants me some insights, but even with me, you, and all the other S-Rank beings present in Anfangbined, weck the potency to breach the World-Epassing Array. What I mean is I won''t even begin to inquire about your reasons for this audacious pursuit, simply because it''s an impossible feat." Eren''s lips curved into a knowing smile as he absorbed Maya''s response. It was exactly the kind of skepticism he had anticipated C the counterargument that he himself had debated internally for days before finding his solution. Thus, he wasn''t taken aback by Maya''sck of optimism. He concluded his cup of exotic tea, savoring its invigorating lemony notes before articting his thoughts in a distinct, resolute tone. Chapter 1438 Getting Maya On Board ? "Maya, I''m well aware of these factors you''ve raised," Eren took a deep breath before speaking further. "However, my n doesn''t revolve around dismantling the World-Epassing Array itself. I''ve no intention of meddling with something on such an immense scale directly. \ What I''m seeking your assistance for is to superimpose another Runic Array Formation atop the existing one," Eren revealed, his gaze unwavering as he observed the intrigue flickering across Maya''s features. "Essentially, you''re suggesting that I coborate on establishing another world-spanning array formation? In theory, given the necessary resources and time, this could be achievable. But how does this tie into your goal of breaking the World-Epassing Array?" Maya''s curiosity was tinged with a hint of inquiry, her perspective on Eren''s proposition evolving. "It''s an ambitious undertaking, one demanding significant ranking resources and a substantial investment," Eren respondedposedly, his demeanor unfazed. "While I possess the financial means and resources, what Ick is your expertise. Moreover, considering you''re already journeying across different ces across Anfang, your involvement in constructing this global array would be convenient. Do you see where I''m going with this?" Eren punctuated his question with a rhythmic tap of his finger on the table. "So, you''re suggesting that I continue my travels in the same vein, scattering the pieces of thisplex puzzle wherever I go? All with the ultimate purpose of assembling them into a monumental array that you''ll activate one day," Maya contemted Eren''s proposition, her gaze tinged with caution as she raised the fundamental question that had sprouted in her mind as she unraveled his n. "Yes," Eren replied simply and honestly. "Eren, your suggestion to embark on this worldwide journey, does it serve as the foundation for your grand n? Have I been manipted by you right from the beginning?" Maya''s tone shifted, the atmosphere around her acquiring an undertone of suspicion as she confronted Eren head-on. "It''s not as you might suspect, Maya," Eren replied, shaking his head. "Why would I manipte someone for their own benefit? And even if I did, would it harm you? This is simply a coincidental alignment of circumstances. Or rather, I''ve taken into ount your ongoing journey in devising this n. You can continue exploring the world, collecting experiences, while also helping me seed theponents of this grand array. It''s a mutually beneficial proposition. However, I won''t deny that what I''m asking isn''t trivial. To reflect its significance, I''m prepared to offer substantialpensation in return. So, what do you say? Are you in?" Eren inquired, his gaze fixed on Maya. After a period of contemtion, Maya nodded in affirmation. Eren cleared his throat, then proceeded to expound on his scheme, starting from the beginning. He understood that Maya needed the entire base context to make an informed decision, so he conveyed the rationale behind his n. He also outlined his vision for the extensive array formation he sought Maya''s assistance in casting across Anfang. Maya''s astonishment was palpable as she learned that Eren hadn''t just been approached by Anfang''s World Will, but also tasked with such an ambitious mission. The revtion about Spirit Beasts evolving into God Sparks was a paradigm shift for her understanding. It took time for her to assimte this new information. Eren''s exnations also altered her perspective on him. She began to grasp that Eren was not bluffing; his intentions were genuine. In this light, she saw Eren as an extraordinary entity, perhaps even Anfang''s figurative heir. Despite her father''s knowledge and talents, he had never been given such prominence by Anfang''s World Will, even though he had actively tried tomunicate with it through diverse array formations. Eren seemed to surpass even her father in this domain. Eren''s concept for the grand array was surprisingly straightforward, amon formation employed by many Rankers from their earliest days in the field. However, its sheer scale was unprecedented. Maya was confident in her ability to help Eren enact this uplicated formation on such a massive scale. However "Still, something perplexes me, Eren," Maya addressed him with a puzzled expression. "How does the act of creating the array you propose corrte with destroying the divine World-Epassing Array crafted by the goddess?" Eren''s smile took on a mysterious quality as he continued, "That''s a question you''ll uncover the answer to as you proceed, Maya. Naturally, I''ll provide you with the evidence you seek to validate my earlier im to help you. Here, examine the contents stored in this array disk." Eren produced an array disk from his ID Storage and ced it on the table before Maya. With a focused breath, she sent her Artificial Mana Sense into the disk, immersing herself in the audiovisual content it contained. For several moments, Maya remained with her eyes closed, traversing the data within Eren''s array disk multiple times. Instead of immediate answers, the information it held engendered a slew of new inquiries. Nevertheless, one truth became apparent C Eren''s sincerity. The disk illuminated the path he had charted, a step toward their respective goals. "So, it seems your bloodline is truly exceptional," Maya remarked, her gaze fixated on Eren with an intrigued gleam. "I always sensed an intriguing peculiarity about you as a half-blood, but it appears I greatly underestimated the extent of it. If your ims align with the data within this array disk, then the creation of this array formation won''t sh with the ancient World-Epassing Array. Rather, it would..." Maya''s voice trailed off, prompting Eren to fill in the missing pieces. "It would activate its self-destruct mechanism. Essentially, the World-Epassing Array will crumble from within," Eren elucidated, his expression brightening into a smile. He locked eyes with Maya before continuing, "These constraints that bind us will be eradicated. Why confine yourself to thesends when we can explore otherworldly realms beyond Anfang together, Maya?" Pausing for a moment, Maya raised another critical point. "Your n certainly seems viable. The grand-scale array you''re envisioning is straightforward, and the necessary ranking resources aren''t scarce. However, the sheer scope of this array is staggering, Eren. Its execution would drain a substantial portion of your guild''s amassed funds. By any reasonable estimate, more than half of your wealth would be expended, regardless of the project''s oue. Your guild could even face bankruptcy. Are you truly prepared to shoulder such a risk?" Maya wanted to ensure Eren was fully aware of the scale he was dealing with. While she recognized his adequate knowledge in array formations, she assumed he might not fully grasp the monumental dimension of his endeavor. "Money exists to be used," Eren replied, his tone resolute. "My guild was established to support my Ranking Journey. Every investment is justified if it leads me to obtain the God Spark." He observed Maya, awaiting her final confirmation. With a nod, Maya rose from her seat, signaling her readiness to take action. "Hehe. We better get to work then," she stated, her smile radiant. Eren breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that he had finally secured Maya''smitment to his audacious n. Chapter 1439 Gaining A New Beast Companion ? The city of White Raven. Naya sat upright in her humanoid form, her weight supported by the plush bed. Sunlight streamed into the room, brightening the atmosphere on this sunny day. However, Naya''s surroundings failed to mirror her inner turmoil. Her injuries were stabilized, and surprisingly, the demon fragment within her remained dormant, refraining from triggering her demonic transformation. It neither dispersed nor consumed her. Somehow, an unknown force had intervened, suppressing the demon fragment''s attempts to sever its connection with her. Naya''s condition defied expectations. After Birmond''s death, she should have either metamorphosed into aplete demon or seen the fragment dissolve naturally. Yet, her existence remained unchanged, perplexing her. She should have wondered about the mysterious intervention keeping her in this state, but a strange mental fog paralyzed her thoughts and actions. Thus, Naya sat in silence. The only other presence in the room, aside from her, was Eren. His patience was evident as he stood by the window, allowing her the time she needed to navigate her internal turmoil. "It''s good to see you awake," Eren''s voice broke the quiet after what felt like hours. He shifted his gaze from the window to Naya, settling onto the edge of her bed. Naya met Eren''s gaze but didn''t respond verbally. Her eyes revealed the void of emotion engulfing her. Eren, without turning to her, shifted his attention to the sky beyond the window. With his arms bracing him on the bed, he leaned back slightly before continuing. "Birmond is gone. I arrived toote to change that oue. So I saved you instead. It''s been nearly five days since then. You''re in my city C the City of White Raven. I''ve ryed all the necessary information to House Remus. Unfortunately, his n members don''t possess his body. All they can do is arrange a memorial without his remains at House Remus Estate. If you wish to attend, I''ll apany you," Eren offered without directing his gaze toward Naya. Erenpsed into silence, allowing Naya to absorb his words. He intentionally omitted certain details to evoke a response from her. And true to form, after a few minutes, Naya finally spoke. "What What happened to Birmond''s body? Did the enemy army im it as a war trophy?" Naya''s voice quivered as she addressed Eren, her eyes fixed on his figure, illuminated by the brilliant afternoon sun. Eren''s lips curved into a knowing smile, and he raised his hand in response. "It''s me. I happened to him after his death," Eren''s words wereced with a hint of an enigma as he extended his hand before him. Swiftly, potent frost energy enveloped his outstretched hand. In a fraction of a moment, crystalline ice encased his palm, transforming it into an ice-d, monstrous appendage. Initially bewildered, Naya struggled toprehend the sight before her. Eren''s once normal hand now refracted light particles, casting an iridescent glow upon her. Slowly, realization dawned that this was Birmond''s fundamental spell, honed during his early days as a Ranker. Surprise coursed through Naya, yet inexplicably, anger eluded her. Even in the aftermath of Birmond''s death, she found herself unable to summon resentment towards Eren for appropriating his spell in his bid to shake her from within. "You what did you do to him?" Naya''s words were subdued, apanied by a flicker of B-Rank mana through her mana circuits. Strangely, she felt an odd difort when attempting to channel spells in Eren''s presence. Moreover, her inability to ess her own mana core puzzled her, rendering her spellcasting impotent. "I devoured him," Eren''s response was candid, void of apprehension regarding Naya''s potential reaction. His demeanor remained unaffected by the gravity of his confession. "What What does that even mean? And what have you done to me? I seem to be unable to cast any spells," Naya regarded Eren warily, her tone cautious. An unsettling feeling emanated from Eren since their initial encounter, persisting throughout the nine years of shared missions with Birmond. During their numerous coborations, she remained near her master, while Eren remained a stalwart ally. Their alliance extended beyond their joint effort to overthrow Myriad Potioner Sebastian Slughorn. Yet, despite Eren''s adherence to the alliance''s principles, Naya''s interactions with him perpetually evoked a sense of bloodline suppression. Thistent force thwarted her attempts to establish rapport with him, even as Birmond grew increasingly friendly with Eren over the years. "It means precisely what you''re thinking. I can now emte most of Birmond''s powers, if not all. I assure you, I''ve done nothing to you. Can''t you sense that you''re unharmed? Your spellcasting is hindered because of your intent to harm me. Attempt a spell without harboring any intention of using it against me, and you''ll find it functional," Eren elucidated, allowing the frost and ice element mana enfolding his hand to disperse. Swiftly, the crystalline ice fragmented, and the potent frost energy dissipated into the air, leaving behind a delicate iridescent mist. "Have you wondered why you haven''t fallen intoplete demonic transformation after Birmond''s demise? " Eren lowered his hand, a slight smile tugging at his lips. His eyes, a luminous emerald green, bore into Naya''s, as if peering into the recesses of her soul. Naya''s eyes widened at Eren''s words. Closing them, she delved into her Soul Space, aiming to validate her emerging hypothesis. Indeed, it became evident that the Faustian Contract she had bound with Birmond had been altered, and Eren was now her new master. "How How did you?" The realization finally dawned on Naya, elucidating why her spells were ineffectual against Eren. Evidently, the man before her had somehow manipted the Faustian Contract, recing Birmond as her master. Eren''s enigmatic smile grew more profound. "You''ll gradually uncover all there is to know about me. As of now, let''s just say I possess certain methods. Now it seems our partnership requires a deeper level of engagement than its previous superficial state." "To mark this bond, I offer you a promise," Eren continued nonchntly as he rose from the bed. "Revenge, or as you might prefer tobel it a ''closure.'' Whatever you like to call it. I''ll help you in dealing with Carvel and his overhyped flying lizard." Chapter 1440 Nayas Clarity ? "I I''m not seeking revenge." Naya clenched her fists, her eyes welling up with tears as she spoke, her voice quivering. "Whatever urredit was a part of the battlefield''s reality. I''m not na?ve enough to believe that victory is guaranteed in every sh. It''s just that... it''s difficult to" Her voice trailed off as she averted her gaze, masking the tears that streamed down her cheeks. "It''s difficult to cope with loss. Difficult to confront pain," Eren finished Naya''s unspoken words. He paced the room with his hands folded behind his back, seemingly lost in thought. "They say the cycle of pain is unending. To break it, they say one must forgive those who''ve inflicted suffering. I see the depth of this idea. Yet, the more I contemte it, the more distasteful it seems. Maybe I''m superficial. Maybe I''m not mature enough to embrace forgiveness toward my adversaries. But perhaps I''m fine with my immaturity as well," Eren chuckled. "Humans, Fae, Children of Echidna, demons, and deitieswe''re all creatures of emotion, Naya. Emotions are the essence of life. Having them doesn''t equate to weakness. It''s about channeling them wisely, so they don''t be our tormentors," Eren paused, then turned to face Naya. "Regardless, even if you choose not to pursue revenge, that''s eptable. I''m your master now. On the battlefield, your actions will be under mymand. You''ll follow my orders because you have no other choice. And I choose to kill Carvel and Akass," Eren stated, his expression serious. Eren aimed to divert Naya from descending into sadness and remorse. While she might not harbor resentment towards Carvel or Akass for Birmond''s death, Eren understood that over time, suppressed emotions could transform into such bitterness. By offering her a purpose, even the motivation for revenge, he gave her a direct outlet for these sentiments that her subconscious was trying to evade. ''Maybe Naya''s aversion to seeking revenge stems from feeling suppressed? It''s possible she was affected by that cursed wyvern''s spiritual suppression. To truly alleviate this suppression, she''d need to confront its root causeughtering Akass,'' Eren mused internally. Naya wiped her tears, her gaze now fixed on Eren with newfound rity. Through the Faustian Contract''s connection, she gleaned that he was genuinely considering her well-being. This understanding dispelled any negative sentiments she might have harbored toward him. "He''s truly gone," Naya whispered to herself, choosing to make peace with her current reality. In an odd way, Eren''s control over her provided a sense of relief. Left to her own devices, she wasn''t certain how she would cope. Besides, Eren''s eptance of her as his demon beastpanion offered her a sense of purpose. This feeling of being needed to be acted as a lifeline, grounding her back to reality. ''Eren, my new master. He''s even more unusual than I initially thought. He already has a demon beast in the form of Argo. How did he manage to form a Faustian Contract with me too?'' Naya regarded Eren with a quizzical expression as her thoughts rambled on. "Wait? You saved me. But now that Birmond''s gone, Edinburgh will surely..." Suddenly, it struck Naya that surviving Carvel and Akass''s assault didn''t exempt her from danger. In the world of Anfang, it was widely believed that one could only control a single demon beast at a time through the Blood Ritual. Upon their master''s death, there was a high likelihood that tamed demon beasts would fall into demonic transformation. This led factions across Anfang to eliminate ownerless demon beasts. "No need to fret. I''ve handled things while you were unconscious," Eren reassured Naya before borating. "Kekeke, my bullshittery is legendary. I exined to them that I stumbled upon some old inheritance regarding alternative methods of demon beast control with a few drawbacks I can afford. But, of course, my exnation alone didn''t suffice. They scrutinized your status after my exnation while you were sleeping. Only upon confirming your normal stats andck of demonic transformation risk did they relent," Eren sighed, then shrugged his shoulders. "They treat you rather well, all things said and done, especially considering I''m still breathing," Naya remarked, her gaze fixed on Eren. She held the belief that anyone else in her shoes might not have received such a lenient response from Anfang''s forces, given the triviality of the exnation. "Well, these days they do treat me rather well. But not because they want to. But because they don''t have a choice," Eren responded with a chuckle. "This war is truly a blessing for me. It''s more a case of them needing Grimdawn C me C to rally the Rankers under my name. After all, who would fight their battles if they didn''t sweeten the deal a bit? However, they have made a strategic retreat since the war is in full swing. I could see the greed in their eyes when I talked about this mysterious demonic technique. When the war ends or turns a little less aggressive, they''ll probablye knocking about that supposed demonic inheritance I stumbled upon in those mysterious ruins. But by then, it''ll be toote," Eren cryptically added and chuckled. With the Lazarus project merely months away from its conclusion, Eren deemed it time to unveil some of his concealed tactics. His days of remaining discreet were numbered; he needed to reveal some of his hidden strengths to expedite achieving his goals. Naya''splete physical and mental recovery further bolstered Eren''s confidence. An experienced demon beast, her panther-like nature designated her as abat-oriented entity, distinct from Reen. Unlike Argo, the demon fragment within Naya wasn''t linked to a Demon Prince. As such, Eren could more freely call upon Naya''s aid in battle. In the interim, both Renita and Altashia had roused from their slumber. Just as Eren had arranged for Naya, specialized healing chambers facilitated their swift recuperation. Both Altashia and Renita regained consciousness and were well on their way to a full recovery. Renita''s Ranking Status had mildly regressed due to the severed limb, but her arm had been reattached seamlessly. Eren assured her that her long-term Ranking Status wouldn''t be affected either. With continued practice of her Ranking Technique, she would fully recuperate in a matter of weeks. "I would like to be present at Birmond''s funeral." Naya dered, her tone resolute as she rose from her bed. Eren acknowledged her wish with a nod, providing her with a few instructions before departing the room. He had business at House Argas Estate, which convenientlyy on the way to House Remus Estate. Recognizing this opportunity, he allowed Naya to apany him. Eren''s forting n required the involvement of two Sages, and he was banking on the cooperation of Crimson Ghost Altair Argas who has recently achieved his breakthrough into the Sage Rank. This imminent rendezvous with the Sages was poised to tip the scales of battle in the direction Eren had been meticulously orchestrating. Chapter 1441 Altairs Celebration ? House Argas Estate. A grand feast was arranged within the opulent expanse of a grand hall, the asion being none other than Altair Argas'' elevation to the rank of Sage. Attendees from diverse backgrounds and origins converged to partake in this borate celebration, orchestrated by House Argas. The banquet spread was a cornucopia of delectable cuisines and beverages, while the gathering was treated to mesmerizing musical performances delivered by aplished artists. Representatives hailing from the Edinburgh kingdom, an array of smaller andrger organizations, converged here from every corner of the realm to honor Altair Argas'' achievement and extend their felicitations. Even those linked to cultist sects managed to find their way here, cloaking their true affiliations so as to not cause trouble. In effect, the revelry had evolved into an opportunity for various factions within Anfang to formally engage with Altair Argas, the freshest addition to the ranks of Edinburgh''s Sages. Gifts, rare and precious, as well as valuable ranking resources flowed to Altair from the well-wishers who had assembled to mark his ascent. Prior to attaining Sage status, Altair was already a renowned figure in Edinburgh, bestowed with the title of the Crimson Ghost by the reigning king. However, his newfound Sage status elevated his renown even further, making him the focal point of conversations not only within Edinburgh but even across the borders in the rival kingdom of Layos. Altair had taken his turn at addressing the gathering. Expressing his gratitude for their presence, he swiftly transitioned into sharing poignant anecdotes from his own arduous journey of Ranking. Known for his sinctmunication style, he concluded his speech promptly, thus initiating the festivities. The grand hall burst to life as the audience dispersed into clusters to engage in various forms of revelry. The soire pulsated with an effervescent energy. The hour had grownte, yet the merrymaking showed no signs of waning. A stage, suspended in midair, hosted a band of musicians who skillfully weaved mellifluous tunes. The lead singer, exuding elegance, was nked by a harmonizing chorus, captivating the audience. In one corner, pairs swayed on the dance floor, while around them, clusters of Rankers watched the performances unfold. As one ventured farther from the floating stage, the musical ambiance dwindled, creating pockets for tte--ttes. Here, individuals congregated in clusters, exchanging hushed conversations. Attendants, ranging from Novice to Ace Rankers, attended to their needs, serving beverages and ensuringfort. What was striking was the shroud of confidentiality each gathering seemed to cloak itself with, ensuring that conversations remained private amidst the revelry. Altair had tasked his granddaughter, Altashia, with extending an invitation to Eren for the grand celebration. As intended, Eren, apanied by Altashia, Naya, and a handful of his steadfastpanions, graced the event to honor Altair. After all, the White Raven Guild, led by Eren, had forged a significant alliance with Altair''s Firebrand Guild. Over the past nine years of relentless conflict between the two kingdoms, these guilds and their members had coborated on numerous battlegrounds. Thismon history meant that the Firebrand members mingled seamlessly with Eren''s guildmates, no introductions necessary. Amidst the camaraderie, stories of triumph, struggles, and future prospects were shared, punctuated by heartfelt toasts to fallenrades. Engaged in a tte--tte, Altair expressed his gratitude to Eren for looking after his granddaughter. As they conversed face to face, Altashia, alternating her gaze between her grandfather and Eren, exchanged a few words with Naya. The scene was graced by the presence of a striking woman, introduced as Altair''s fifth wife C his matrimonial alliances amounting to nine. Four of Altair''s wives attended the gathering, each overseeing different aspects of the feast. They rotated in apanying Altair during his interactions with significant guests, and Eren was certainly counted among them. Eren, in response to Altair''s appreciation, shook his head modestly and released a sigh before replying. "The gratitude is mine, truly. Altashia yed an instrumental role in safeguarding me during my Master Rank breakthrough. She kept the Layos forces at bay, allowing me to achieve the breakthrough undisturbed." Eren''sment was apanied by a gentle squeeze of Altashia''s hand. She was dressed elegantly for the asion, and her yful gaze met Eren''s as she retorted. "Ah, but let''s not forget, you had a formidable guardian watching over you during that moment. I might not have seen her, but the aura she exuded while ensnaring you within her domain Ability spoke volumes of her capabilities." Altashia was, of course, alluding to Alephee, Eren''sst line of defense during his transition to the Master Rank. Altair and Eren engaged in a rxed conversation for a while. The trio of Altair, Eren, and Altashia delved into various topics, touching upon ongoing projects and the prospects of future war contracts. Altair had now attained the revered Sage Rank, the pinnacle of individual power within Anfang. As such, he was on the brink of facing restrictions from the Anfang Alliance, a development that prompted Eren''s personal visit despite his own demanding schedule and numerous pending tasks. This timing presented the opportune moment for Eren to glean Altair''s unrestricted insights. It appeared that Altair had been contemting relinquishing his role as Firebrand''s Guild Master. While his preference was for Altashia to inherit the position, he recognized that she wasn''t yet prepared for such a mantle. Within the Argas n, Altair had several more qualified contenders who could take up the leadership of Firebrand, thereby allowing him to dedicate himself to his Sage journey. Nevertheless, Altair had a unique vision for Altashia''s involvement in Firebrand''s decisions. Hence, he entrusted her with discussing guild matters with Eren, asionally interjecting with his own insights. As the conversation transitioned from official to personal matters, Eren found the moment apt to request a private exchange. Altair, with a nod, briefly parted from his fifth wife, leaving a kiss on her cheek, before guiding Eren away from the throng and onto one of the open balconies adjoining the grand hall. Ensuring their privacy, Altair reassured Eren, "Speak candidly, boy. We haveplete seclusion here." Eren acknowledged the assurance with a nod, his tone now grave andposed. Chapter 1442 Paradox Of Immortal Planes ? "Crimson Ghost, I''vee to offer you an alternative to what the Anfang Alliance might propose." Eren''s meaningful smile preceded his words. "The proposition I bring isn''t shackled by constraints. You won''t be bound to serve the Anfang Alliance for endless centuries just for a taste of the wider world beyond. If all proceeds as nned, you could be departing Anfang within a matter of months. Moreover, this endeavor wouldn''t subject you to binding agreements that limit your freedom even beyond Anfang''s reaches. Does this proposition intrigue you?" Eren posed the question, locking eyes with Altair, his expression brimming with an enigmatic intensity. Altair maintained a contemtive silence, his gaze fixed on Eren. Despite having attained the exalted status of a Sage, he found himself unable to unravel the intricacies of the young man''s thoughts. It seemed that with each revtion about Eren, Altair was merely scraping the surface of an enigmatic andplex character. "Your demeanor doesn''t suggest jest," Altair sighed, breaking the silence. "It appears that you''re already privy to the notion of the Immortal nes." Eren swiftly deduced that the term "Immortal nes" epassed both the divine and demonic realms. He nodded in affirmation before borating, "Indeed, within a few months, I''m nning to..." Before Eren could unfold his n, Altair interjected, his words brimming with urgency. "You''re missing the point, Eren. If you''vee across the existence of the Immortal nes, do you think that veterans like us, who have spent centuries here, remain oblivious? I was aware of their existence when I ascended to the Grandmaster Rank. A considerable span of time has psed since then. The deeper I delved into the Immortal nes, the clearer it became that traversing other realms, using them as conduits, isn''t as straightforward as it might appear," Altair''s tone conveyed a hint of resignation as he turned away. Leaning against the balcony''s railing, he intertwined his fingers in a contemtive stance, his gaze drifting over the vibrant panorama of House Argas estate. After a moment, he resumed speaking. "Eren, you must realize that entering the Immortal nes mandates at least a Master Rank. However, paradoxically, the higher your power, the more perilous these nes be. It''s an intricate equation," Altair paused, granting Eren time to absorb his words. Altair''s revtion left Eren astounded. Leaning beside Altair against the balcony''s railing, Eren''s gaze wandered across the grand hall''svish splendor as he posed a query to Altair, his voice rife with curiosity. "I was under the impression that achieving the Master Rank was the sole prerequisite for entering the Immortal nes. Wouldn''t your journey through these nes be safer as you advance in your Ranking Journey and bolster your Individuality? Your Sage Rank should offer you maximum safety while traversing through the Immortal nes. What am I missing here?" Altair appreciated Eren''s ability to converse with him in a casual manner, despite the inadvertent leaks of his Sage Ranker aura that intermittently emanated from him. Altair had achieved the revered Sage Rank a few months prior to this celebration and hadrgely stabilized his Ranking Status since then. However, broaching a sensitive subject like this momentarily unsettled the equilibrium of his Individuality. Gathering aposed breath, Altair responded to Eren''s inquiry with a measuredposure. "Navigating the Immortal nes poses an intricate dilemma. Master Rankers are exposed to the highest risk when utilizing these pathways. They face the possibility of losing their way or encountering fatal idents that might unfold within the Immortal nes." Altair''s exnation continued, drawing arger picture. "However, Grandmaster and Sage Rankers are not exempt from danger within the Immortal nes either. These realms are inhabited by entities of unfathomable power, Eren. Some of them are often on the lookout for potent vessels through which they can infiltrate the mortal realm. Paradoxically, the more formidable a Ranker bes, the more they attract these potential possessions during their traversal of the Immortal nes." Altair concluded with a sigh. He conjectured that Eren might have inadvertently stumbled upon some perilous esoteric passage into the Immortal nes. Consequently, he was intent on educating Eren about the inherent hazards of such methods. Contemting Altair''s words, Eren deduced the implications. "Hmm. This implies that the less powerful you are, the more fraught the Immortal nes be. However, the mightier your stature, the greater the risk you draw upon yourself. Damn. These Immortal nes are a bitch. In essence, there''s no ideal Rank for Anfang''s Rankers to venture into these nes. Irrespective of their Rank, danger hangs over their heads as soon as they step into these domains," Eren mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Altair nodded, not casting his gaze toward Eren, as he continued the discourse. "Indeed, Eren. The Immortal nes transcend being mere gateways to alternate worlds. They represent the dominion of entities akin to gods, beings capable of obliterating thousands like you and me with naught but a fleeting thought. Whether divine or demonic, thistent peril remains an ever-present shadow. That''s why it is important to have a formidable patron if one even contemtes venturing near the fringes of the Immortal nes," Altair''s words resonated with a solemn gravity, allowing the weight of the information to seep into Eren''s understanding. Beside Altair on the balcony railing materialized a brimming chalice of wine, conjured forth by his mere intention. He replicated this motion for Eren, producing a drink as well, and signaled for Eren to raise it in a toast. Uncertain of Eren''s level of familiarity with the Immortal nes, Altair took it upon himself to elucidate further. "Let me rify, Eren. I, too, want to transcend the confines of Anfang and explore realms beyond. With my unexpected rise to the rank of Sage, this world has begun to feel stifling. However, cing my faith in a haphazard method to venture beyond Anfang''s borders, devoid of the safeguard of an immortal guardian, is not a course I can take. The Anfang Alliance, while admittedly restrictive, provides a secure conduit for a select circle of Sages to traverse into other domains, shielding them from the veiled perils enshrouding the Immortal nes. Have you ever wondered why numerous Sages opt to align with the Anfang Alliance despite its binding agreements?" Altair Argas conveyed his sentiments in a tone tinged with disillusionment. The notion of being instrumentalized by the Anfang Alliance post his attainment of Sage rank did not sit well with him. Yet, the alternative Eren was presenting did not appear to him as a preferable alternative. "So, does this imply that one requires the benediction of a divine or demonic entity to even consider my proposition?" Eren''s emerald gaze glistened with an enigmatic gleam. He shed a mysterious smile before delivering a final inquiry to Altair. "Altair, what if I could provide the assurance you seek?" Chapter 1443 Billys ? The City of White Raven. After escorting Naya to Birmond''s funeral and paying his respects to the Crimson Ghost for his ascension to Sage Rank. It had been five days since the butcher returned to his city after concluding these external matters. During this span, the City of White Raven surged with diverse activities and programs. Artistic exhibitions unfolded at various corners, while tournaments tailored for Rankers seeking acim and reward took center stage. The city''s gates opened wide to all participants, offering manifold avenues to engage with its dynamic culture. The entire city seemed to revel in Eren''s aplishment of the Master Rank, amplifying his feat. Although established Rankers and higher ranks typically marked their advances grandly, Eren''s celebration spanned a week, overshadowing even the festivities hosted by some Sage Rankers. Eren remained the focal point throughout the week-long jubilee within his domain, yet he didn''t need to be constantly in the public eye. He had already delivered a broadcasted address regarding his ascent, subsequently looping across spectral screens stationed across the city. Eren duly acknowledged his guild members, the Edinburgh army, and Firebrand associates for their protective role during his breakthrough amidst the battlefield chaos. Adhering to Rankers'' traditions, he also shared insightful counsel with the next generation, urging adaptability between prudence and daring as situations warranted. Eren''s sinct speech garnered admiration from Rankers of all affiliations, further enhancing his renown and adding luster to his Grimdawn epithet. All Edinburgh-based Rankers present during Eren''s breakthrough battle into the Master Rank were invited to this week-long festivity. The Crimson Ghost himself, Altair Argas, graced Eren''s city to personally extend his congrattions for the milestone. While Altair could have offered his felicitations during the festivities his n had organized at the House Argas estate, he opted instead to visit Eren in person, underscoring the significance of the alliance connecting Eren''s White Raven Guild and Altair''s Firebrand Guild. Altair''s brief presence, along with his greetings, was meticulously recorded and ryed via spectral screens throughout the city, emphasizing Eren''s importance in Altair''s estimation. *** Sage Osha Daman had been graciously invited to Eren''s city during this time. Rather than heralding her arrival, she opted to slip into the city''s embrace quietly, relishing its vitality firsthand. Under a clever disguise and masked Ranking Status, she ventured into the city, her true identity as a renowned Sage Ranker carefully concealed. Though briefly halted by the city guards for identity verification, their stand abruptly softened under superior orders, granting her swift passage. Amid these recent days, Osha reveled in traversing the City of White Raven, immersing herself in its pulsating energy. Unbothered by onlookers, she engaged in various contests, earning her share ofurels. Lightly dismissing challenges from Novice to Expert Rankers, she disyed her prowess whenever provoked, bestowing those who treated her kindly with extraordinary gifts, their full value often unbeknownst to the recipients. In essence, Osha ignited a storm of activity within the City of White Raven during this time, her interactions withmon Rankers and even regr citizens capturing the public''s imagination. Yet, Osha remained unperturbed by the stir she ignited. This marked the first time in ages that she could interact with Rankers of diverse backgrounds without constraint, a freedom she relished wholeheartedly. She pondered why Eren or the city authorities hadn''t reached out to greet her, even as her presence resonated throughout the city. After noticing an uncanny aura around Osha, several Rankers attempted to shadow her discreetly. Even though Osha had diligently concealed her Ranking Status, astute observers had intuited that the unassuming young woman held far moreplexity than met the eye. They could instinctively detect an undercurrent of destructive potential within her, capable of reducing an entire district to ruins with a mere gesture. Among the regr Rankers, some nurtured whimsical daydreams of recruiting Osha into their respective organizations or adventurer parties. Yet, despite their best efforts, none could sessfully trail or monitor Osha. She possessed an ability to materialize like the wind and vanish like a phantom, rendering her practically unreachable if she desired solitude. Of course, Osha was confident that Eren could unveil her true identity given the fact that they had already met, yet he granted her the liberty and uninterrupted moments to explore his city. Undoubtedly, hosting a Sage Ranker like Osha Daman posed challenges for any burgeoning city. In normal circumstances, securing her visit to Eren''s city would have been a near-impossible feat. However, during Eren''s graduation celebration, Osha had assumed the role of host. There, Eren emerged triumphant in a poetic duel against her. As a reward for his victory, Osha pledged three favors to Eren. One of these rewards was his request for her to grace his city. True to her word, Osha journeyed to Eren''s domain. She found herself grateful that Eren''s chosen rewards afforded her the opportunity to relive life as an ordinary Ranker once again. *** Today marked the fifth day since Osha''s discreet entry into the City of White Raven. This day, she had ventured into a district exclusively reserved for affluent and influential Rankers, a haven restricted to Adept Rankers and above. ess came at the cost of a substantial entrance fee, regardless of whether the district''s luxurious amenities were availed or not. The exclusivity of the district tranted to fewer pedestrians traversing its polished pathways. Of course, for someone like Osha Daman, the supplementary tax was of little consequence. With a scarcity of activities in this rtively deserted district, she decided to explore a select few establishments that dotted itsndscape. In her n to disclose her true identity as Osha Daman to Eren by day''s end, she resolved to make a call. Meandering through the district''s streets without a set destination, Osha chanced upon an establishment that seemed to be garnering more attention than others. A restaurant and bar, it sported a distinctive signboard that read "Billy''s." The name was written with halogenic light-element magic, capturing onlookers'' attention instantly. "Billy''s? What an unconventional name and an unconventional way of advertising. Let''s check this ce out," Osha mumbled to herself and decided her next agenda on the spot. === AN: Eren asks Osha Daman to visit the City of White Raven in chapter 1244. Chapter 1444 Gluttonous Indulgence ? Billy''s stood as a two-story edifice, its entrance exuding an air of grandeur to warmly receive its guests. The exterior was adorned with an array of lively signs and posters, beckoning potential patrons with its vibrant allure. Osha''s curiosity piqued. Without hesitation, she decided to venture into this establishment that held a central position within the district. Upon crossing the threshold, an inexplicable aura seemed to envelop Osha. She discerned an air of peculiarity distinct from the opulent restaurants that peppered Edinburgh or the entirety of Anfang. The restaurant''s unassuming exterior was a mere prelude to itsvish interior, a feat achieved through the mastery of spatial-element magic. As Osha entered, she was confronted with a question: was this establishment truly just a simple restaurant? The intricately partitioned spaces within hinted at a design not just for culinary pleasure, but forprehensive entertainment. These varied sections seemed tailored to gratify every desire and amuse its visitors, offering aplete package of sensory delights. The establishment''s culinary offerings spanned an extensive spectrum, featuring a rich variety of delectable dishes. To perpetuate the cycle of gluttonous indulgence, a diverse array of activities was interwoven, ensnaring guests in an almost irresistible rhythm of consumption. This design suggested that anyone who crossed the threshold might find themselves incapable of departure until they had sampled every diversion and indulged in every unnecessary luxury it offered. Inside Billy''s, a bowling alley section beckoned, while a group of Rankers clustered around a raised table, deftly aiming for small numbered balls with sleek sticks, seemingly attempting to guide these balls into pockets situated around the table''s perimeter. In one corner, a group of musicians yed an infectious tune, their harmonies blending with the clinking of cutlery as patrons relished their sumptuous meals. Another corner provided a family-oriented space, where kin could gather, relishing a variety of exquisite dishes while enjoying each other''spany. At another nook within Billy''s, a bar catered to the insatiable thirst of its patrons, offering an unending stream of drinks. Before them, a sizable holographic screen broadcasted live tournaments urring throughout the City of White Raven. These patrons had already chosen their preferred teams, their cheers and jeers apanying their drinks as they watched the matches unfold, instructing the bartender to keep their tabs open. Amid the camaraderie of clinking sses, patrons engaged in animated and exuberant discussions, passionately defending their choice of team and vehemently dismissing rival contenders as inconsequential. The air was charged with excitement as patrons energetically debated the merits of their chosen favorites. Wagers were ced, and friendly debates escted into lively betting sessions, where drinks were exchanged with every victory or defeat recorded by the participating Rankers in the ongoing tournaments. What remained veiled to the warriors striving for recognition and prestige was that their triumphs and setbacks were being collectively experienced by their fervent supporters, connecting them in a bond beyond the battle itself. ''Never before have I encountered a ce like this, even beyond the borders of Edinburgh.'' Osha murmured to herself, her eyes raptly taking in the bustling activities around her. After a contemtive pause, she made her way toward the bar area. Choosing a secluded corner devoid of people, she secured a seat for herself. With a view of the bartender''s station, she settled in and proceeded to ce an order as the live stream of an ongoing tournament flickered across a sizable spectral screen suspended above. Osha engaged her Mana Sense, intuitively navigating the process of ordering. With a mere mental gesture, a floating board materialized before her. Fingertips tapping gracefully, an extensive and intricate Spectral Menu unfolded. The selection ranged from the familiar to the exotic, granting her the freedom to customize dishes to her liking. A variety of premium spirits and liquors beckoned, some of which she seamlessly blended to concoct her own unique cocktail. Osha discovered an engaging feature within Billy''s establishment: if her created cocktail was consumed by a set number of patrons within a day, she would have the honor of naming it. Leveraging her profound Spiritual Force as a Sage, crafting a potentially exquisite cocktail was a swift endeavor. In a matter of moments, her order was ced, apanied by a delectable dish of her choice. ''Not a bad ce, but the prices are rather exorbitant.'' Osha wrinkled her nose in response to the numbers disyed beside each item on the Spectral Menu. Her astonishment deepened upon discovering that a ss of water carried a hefty price tag of 20 Extols, solely because it bore thebel "Sparkling Water." The sheer variety of coffee options equally baffled her, ranging from Red Eye to Long ck, turning the once simple beverage into an exclusive concoction emblematic of Billy''s culinary audacity. ''Perhaps I should taste this damn over expensive Sparkling Water as well and see what all the fuss is about." Osha mumbled to herself, her gaze fixed on the entry that danced across the Spectral Menu. Despite her status as a Sage and the wealth that apanied it, Osha had never been one to indulge in extravagant spending. Her beginnings had been modest, instilling within her a certain level of hesitation when it came tovishness. Her contemtions, however, were interrupted by a voice emanating from behind her. "Kekeke. Anything you choose shall be on the house, Sage Osha. Feel free to order to your heart''s content." Turning, Osha discovered none other than Eren, the architect of the City of White Raven and the very individual who had extended the invitation to her. Finally, after granting her nearly a week to explore his city, he had made his appearance. A smile crept onto Osha''s lips, and with a beckoning gesture, she invited Eren to take a seat beside her. Shooting him a mildly reproachful look, she spoke her mind, her annoyance thinly veiled. "Eren, you have some gall to overcharge your patrons. Who in their right mind sells a ss of water for a staggering 20 Extols? And a ss of coffee for whooping" Eren, in response, simply shrugged, his hands raised in a gesture of surrender. He cut Osha off before she could finish voicing her "customerint." "Hey, don''t me me for this. This ce isn''t under my management. Beelze cough.. I mean Argo is the one overseeing these restaurants. You might not be aware, but Billy''s extends its reach beyond the confines of the City of White Raven. It boasts several branches across the entirety of Anfang. You''d be surprised how many customers are willing to pay for things like these out of their own initiative." Eren exined, deftly shifting responsibility for Argo''s business practices. === AN: Argo decided to run Billy''s in chapter 1257. Chapter 1445 Osha On Board P1 ? Osha Daman inquired with evident curiosity, her gaze fixed on Eren. "Argo? If I recall correctly, he''s your demon beastpanion, isn''t he? There''s been scarce mention of him over the past decade. What''s he been up to?" Eren''s lips curved into a knowing smile before he answered. "That guy is always up to no good. He''s been quite upied with his business ventures." While Eren''s response wasn''t entirely false, it only told part of the story. Argo had indeed shared his ambitions with Eren. The demon was indeed working to extend the reach of his Billy''s restaurant chain throughout thend of Anfang. However, the majority of Argo''s time was devoted to his demonic cultivation. Argo was fostering the emotion of gluttony within patrons who frequented his restaurants. Being a Demon Prince of Gluttony with a soul fragment of Beelzebub residing within him, Argo''s ascent within the hierarchy of Anfang wasn''t governed by conventional rules. With Billy''s restaurant chain drawing in a growing customer base over the past nine years, Beelzebub''s soul fragment had been steadily strengthening. As Eren and Osha conversed, thetter''s order manifested on a levitating tform seemingly out of thin air. Lifting the cocktail to her lips, she took a delicate sip before continuing with another question. "I''ve also heard that you''ve managed to establish another bond with a demon beastpanion. Naya C Birmond''spanion. How did you aplish something like that?" Osha inquired, savoring the vors of her chosen cocktail. Eren''s eyebrows arched in surprise, the swiftness of information spread in Edinburgh striking him. Particrly when such news involved prominent figures like himself. He inhaled deeply, a moment of acknowledgment preceding his response. "Indeed, that''s right. However, these are rather minor affairs that don''t require your attention," Eren replied, his toneposed. He realized the need to direct their conversation toward the matter that brought him to her. Small talk and attempts at building rapport could wait. His recent months had beenden with numerous pressing tasks, leaving him with scant time for wooing a Sage. Thus, he abandoned the idea and focused on the purpose that had prompted him to invite Osha to the City of White Raven. "Ah, well, this should be interesting," Osha''s curiosity was piqued by Eren''s altered demeanor. Casting a discreet nce around, she deduced that the enchantment woven into the restaurant isted their conversation from the prying ears of other patrons. Clearly, Eren had something rather confidential to discuss. "Go ahead, Eren. I''m all ears," she prompted, taking another sip of her cocktail. Eren fixed his gaze on Osha, his voice earnest as he began, "Sage Osha, the lines from the poem you recited during my graduation event still echo in my mind. They resonated deeply with me." His gaze turned introspective as he sought to recall her words. With the precision of memory, he recited the closing verses, "Now I stand proud, a victor''s crown, with all my foes beaten down. I wonder, is there anyone who can match my stride? Or am I alone, at the summit of my pride?" Osha''s faint smile attested to her recognition of her own verses,posed casually but evidently retained in Eren''s memory even after nearly a decade. "Hehe. Yes, those were indeed my words. But what relevance do they hold in the present?" Osha inquired, her attention divided between Eren''s words and the ongoing spectacle on the spectral screen disying the Ranker battle. Eren''s gaze remained on the spectacle as well as he exined. "Sage Osha, you''ve conquered the peak of Anfang, breaking into the Sage Rank. However, this is just one realm, one summit. Beyond Anfang''s boundaries lies a broader expanse C grander worlds. I wonder if you''re content to have your pride confined to the limitations of this world or if you''re ready to venture beyond Anfang, transcending its restrictions?" Osha''s response remained momentarily withheld as she continued to observe the screen, a quiet smile gradually emerging. Eventually, she turned toward Eren, her voiceced with amusement as she yfully echoed his own lines. "What did you say at that time? Oh yes: "Your summit is merely a stepping stone for me."" Her gaze softened as she addressed Eren more directly. "So that''s what you meant by those words. You intend to step out of Anfang''s bounds while still in the Master Rank." Eren nodded, his attention still partially caught by the unfolding battle. "Exactly. Over these past nine years, I''ve umted knowledge and somehow stumbled upon a way to escape Anfang. And yes, I''ve learned quite a bit." A disappointed click of his tongue followed as the Ranker he supported suffered an injury during the ongoing duel disyed on the spectral screen. Osha''s response was a thoughtful silence, her gaze unwaveringly on the screen. But then a knowing smile curved her lips. Turning to Eren, she added more seriously. "Despite the risks, you have made up your mind, huh? And it appears you gauged from my poem that I harbor little to no allegiance to Edinburgh or Anfang Alliance. That I possess the audacity to explore avenues beyond the Alliance''s offerings, avoiding being used by them." Her expression shifted to a contemtive one. "However, there''s something you might have overlooked. I" Eren anticipated her thoughts and promptly reassured her before she could articte her concerns. "You''ll receive the protection of an Immortal patron before entering the Immortal ne. Plus, Sage Altair Argas himself has approved of this n." Altair''s name carried the weight Eren intended. Osha''s response was a thoughtful silence, her gaze shifting slightly, signifying the gears turning in her mind. "It seems I''m not the sole Sage you have approached. Very well," she finally broke her silence, her tone resolved. "Give me all the details." With this invitation, she granted Eren permission to borate on his n, her seriousness underscoring her intent toprehend the proposal in its entirety. Eren meticulously outlined his n to Osha, his voice measured and patient. He addressed each of her inquiries with thoroughness, leaving no detail unattended. === AN: The poetry challenge between Eren and Osha was covered in chapters 1242 and 1243. Chapter 1446 Osha On Board P2 ? Amid their discussion, Eren artfully reminded Osha of the promise she had made, the third wish he had earned from her by triumphing in the poetry challenge. He emphasized that his third wish, secured through their poetic duel, was merely an invocation for her participation in this scheme. Through abination of assurances and the pact they had forged, Osha''s initial resistance began to erode. "Alright then, alright, hotshot. Spare me the sales pitch. No need for more words. I''m in. But remember, you''ve exhausted your third wish on this. If the n crumbles, I won''t be ountable." Osha''s tone carried a hint of irritation. In her view, Eren resembled a persistent vendor using persuasive tactics to sell a product, inundating potential buyers with flowerynguage to move his goods. Handling such a vendor typically required giving in just to secure some peace. However, Osha wasn''t averse to Eren''s n per se. The more she contemted it privately, the more it ignited her adventurous spirit, stoking the mes of her ambition. Eren''s intuition had proven correct C in alignment with the sentiments expressed in Osha''s poem, the youthful Sage harbored aspirations of consistently scaling greater summits than her current achievements. "I may not be entirely certain about your n''s chances of sess, Eren. But even if it crumbles, I''ve got ways to protect my hide from the potential fallout. So there''s no need for me to think too much," Osha spoke resolutely. "Hmm. I can understand why you are so desperate. It seems you had no other option but to rely on this sort of exit strategy from Anfang, given your status as a Demon Beast Tamer." Osha gazed at Eren with curiosity as she put forth her observation. Eren''s brows knitted in confusion. "Hmm? What do you mean by that?" he inquired with a curious tone. Osha was taken aback that Eren wasn''t aware of what she was referring to. She sighed before borating further. "Eren, have you ever wondered why most high-ranking figures, particrly those closely associated with Edinburgh or even Anfang Alliance, steer clear of being Demon Beast Tamers, despite the streamlined ess it provides to demonic might and Intent-based Magic? Among the myriad of Sage Rankers in Anfang Alliance, you''ll struggle to find even one who doubles as a Demon Beast Tamer. Do you know the reason behind this unusual trend?" Eren found himself once again surprised by Osha''s insights. He had never contemted this perspective before. The more he ruminated on Osha''s words, the more valid they appeared. He realized that none of the high-ranking Demon Beast Tamers he had encountered were deeply connected to Edinburgh''s forces. Rodrick might have been the only exception if he were to step into the Master or Grandmaster Rank. However, Rodrick did not seem to have any ns to leave Anfang in the first ce because of the fact that he was a prince of Edinburgh. Although Eren wasn''t as familiar with Anfang Alliance, Osha''s statement seemed to apply there too. "Could you enlighten me about this peculiarity?" Eren politely asked Osha, his curiosity piqued. Osha nodded and continued. "The reason why Anfang Alliance usually prefers Sages who aren''t entwined with demon beast taming is quite straightforward. The exit they provide is linked to a Divine ne, which opens only briefly at specific intervals. And since this ne is of divine nature, it hates any who have ties to demons," Osha exined, giving Eren a moment to absorb her words. "You''re suggesting" Eren''s voice trailed off, a revtion forming in his mind. Osha affirmed this with a nod before continuing. "Exactly. The Blood Ritual and Faustian Contract tarnish one''s very soul, making entry into a Divine ne perilous, if not impossible. Even if someone manages to enter, their odds of survival are slim. Worse yet, their presence could draw disaster upon their fellow Rankers who apany them. That''s why Anfang Alliance exclusively enlists Grandmasters and Sages untainted by Faustian Contracts with demons." Eren was taken aback by this revtion, wondering why Alephee had not disclosed this information earlier. Nevertheless, he decided to act grateful to Osha for enlightening him. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Sage Osha," Eren expressed his gratitude with a slight bow before raising his ss in a toast to her. "Enough of business for now. Let''s enjoy the game and unwind. Keke. Let''s have drinking bets on these Rankers," he proposed. Osha readily agreed, clinking her ss with his before fixing her gaze on the unfolding battle projected on the Spectral Screen. Eren appreciated his decision to have this conversation in the City of White Raven. He believed that Osha might not have spoken so candidly in any other setting. Furthermore, her ability to discuss these matters openly indicated that she hadn''t bound herself by any overly restrictive contract with Anfang Alliance. Evidently, she, too, was searching for an alternative way to break free from Anfang''s confines, which was why she had chosen to remain in Edinburgh. In Eren''spany, Osha immersed herself in leisure activities for the rest of the day. In the bowling alley, she consistently scored perfect games without relying on magic. With darts, she consistently hit the bull''s eye while blindfolded and facing the opposite direction. She even yed a game Argo called Snooker, nailing every shot. Recognizing her excessive disy, Eren discreetly led her away from Billy''s to avoid causing a stir among the other patrons. Osha''s custom-made cocktail was named after her - "Osha''s rity." It was soon set to be featured on menus throughout Anfang,plete with its creator''s name and origin story. For the following three days, Osha remained in the City of White Raven to finalize her n with Eren. Having extensively explored the city, she eventually bid farewell to Eren, assuring him of her readiness to respond when the right moment arrived. Eren now had the coboration of two Sages, even if they weren''t the absolute powerhouses of Anfang. For someone like Eren, a Master Ranker, this partnership was a significant achievement. He hoped his n would proceed smoothly, even though he kept a lot of crucial details hidden from both Altair and Osha. The butcher was convinced that revealing his true intentions would likely lead to both Sages either strangling him to death or burying him 6 feet under the ground. They were both in the dark regarding the full scope of what they had unwittingly consented to. Chapter 1447 Obtaining Minervas Legacy P1 ? Minerva''s Utopia. The southern testing grounds. Test of Bravery. Minerva''s Utopia stood as a realm of its own. It had a dedicated region to serve as the host for the Test of Bravery. The chosen venue was a massive circr tform situated within an expansive open expanse. This tform, suspended 40 meters above the ground, was epassed by the vivid greenery of Minerva''s Utopia, forming a picturesque backdrop. To ess the tform, participants ascended phantom stairs that led them upwards. The tform itself appeared to beposed of robust and rugged limestone, extending with a radius of 20 miles. This ample expanse amodated numerous participants concurrently. The tform''s primary function was to assess a participant''sbat potential. However, physicalbat between opponents was unnecessary. Instead, the tform''s design transported participants'' consciousness into an illusory realm, where virtual opponents were projected for them. These pairings urred randomly within this illusory space, enabling participants to engage in conflict without any actual physical harm. The participants would battle until their energy was depleted within the illusory realm. During these engagements, they aimed to umte points, rated on a scale of 0 to 100. As participants progressed and garnered more points, the battles grew progressively more challenging. Those nearing the 100-point mark faced heightened difficulties often pitted against multiple opponents and even incarnations of unknown adversaries who hadn''t physically participated on the tform. These spectral manifestationscked distinct facial features and transcended the capabilities of regr rankers. These apparitions engaged the participants intermittently, intensifying the challenge of amassing 100 points. However, the trials within the illusory space were not limited to physical strain alone. The environment amplified sensations of agony and suffering to an extent far surpassing that of the real world. This aptly earned it the title of the Test of Bravery. Even with the understanding that the pain and torment were illusory, participants could not evade the creeping dread of the impending confrontations, both against fellow participants and spectral adversaries. The heightened sensations of pain escted as they neared the goal of achieving 100 points. The prospect of enduring pain multiplied several times over was decidedly unwee, particrly when the real-world injuries were already formidable. On this day, the Test of Bravery weed a distinct challenger, one who held special significance. This participant stood out for various reasons, most notably due to his identity as the overseer of the city that granted ess to Minerva''s Utopia. In essence, he could be termed a pseudo-owner of this domain. This challenger, none other than Eren, upied a solitary position on the Test of Bravery''s designated tform. His purpose was clear: to conquer Minerva''s Utopia and im its ultimate legacy. To ensure an undisturbed focus on his objective, Eren had made arrangements with Agatha to temporarily restrict ordinary participants'' entry while he engaged in this endeavor. Already having triumphed in the three preceding tests within Sage Minerva Midea''s creation, Eren now faced the final trial of Bravery. The butcher had breezed through the Test of Wisdom, leveraging his advanced potion-rted knowledge gleaned from devouring Master Ranked Sebastian Slughorn''s experiences. Even Meeli, the custodian of Minerva''s Utopia, was astounded by Eren''s profound mastery of potion craft disyed during this trial. The Test of Patience, set within a verdant greenhouse, was simrly aced by Eren. Here again, his extensive expertise in processing a variety of ranking resources, acquired from absorbing Sebastian''s knowledge, proved pivotal. Though Eren already possessed considerable potion-making skills and vast knowledge rted to this field, Sebastian''s insights elevated his performance to perfection, breaking previous records set by fellow Rankers. While Eren encountered some challenges during the Test of Courage, his unwavering determination led him to achieve perfection, exhausting the Mini Monster Canyon''s capacity to generate adversaries surpassing his abilities. Throughout these trials, Eren''s achievements broke all prior records, earning him a wless 100 out of 100 points in each test. Such a feat had never been aplished before. Meeli, the guardian of Minerva''s legacy, watched Eren intently as he embarked upon the fourth and final challenge of Bravery. She maintained a respectful distance, refraining from intruding on his focus. A perfect score on the fourth test would afford Eren the opportunity to encounter Minerva''s residual soul fragment, the key to iming her ultimate inheritance. Eren stood closer than anyone before to grasping Sage Minerva''s true legacy. Meeli was a mix of anticipation and anxiety, her role as custodian intertwining with her emotional investment in Eren''s journey. Meeli had discerned that the level of difficulty Eren confronted far exceeded that posed to ordinary Rankers. As a homunculus who was merely in charge of the tests and not the mechanisms behind them, she remained unaware of the reason for this disparity in treatment within the runic array system established by Minerva. Nheless, she was certain that Eren must have triggered Minerva Utopia''s heightened scrutiny. Of course, this augmented trial difficulty was rooted in Eren''s true Ranking Status. As a B-Rank or Master Ranker, Eren technically wasn''t eligible for entry into Minerva''s Utopia. The realm was tailored for participants ranging from F-Rank to C-Rank after all. Eren, however, gained ess with the assistance of Alephee. Using Perfect Paradox, she instilled a phantom C-Rank mana core within Eren. Through coborative efforts, they suppressed Eren''s actual Ranker status, allowing him passage. Perfect Paradox''s effect granted Eren a C-Rank mana core, albeit at the lower end of the C-Rank spectrum. As such, he had a pseudo mana core that was in the vapor stage. Of course, he could not make use of his Master Rank mana core in this state. This oue emerged because Perfect Paradox had been based upon a recently ascended Expert Ranker''s mana core. Alephee''s powers had limitations of their own after all. This was already the best possible scenario Eren and she could manage to arrange. This C-Rank mana core and Eren''s physical attributes were misaligned, constrained to mimic the physical abilities of an Expert Ranker in the liquid stage mana core. This incongruity did not escape the detection of Minerva''s Utopia''s design, thus subjecting Eren to elevated trial intensity. === AN: The tests conducted inside Minerva''s Utopia were exined in chapters 697-707. The Perfect Paradox was exined in chapter 729. Chapter 1448 Obtaining Minervas Legacy P2 ? Eren wasn''t inclined to attain Minerva''s true inheritance through this route. His original strategy had been to excel in all four tests with wless scores when he was on the cusp of ascending to the Master Rank. This calcted approach would have afforded him the best odds of securing perfection across all trials. However, his unexpected promotion to the Master Rank, sparked by the unforeseen Battle Trance encounter with the wyvern, disrupted this blueprint. As such, Eren found himselfpelled to obtain Minerva''s Legacy under considerably more demanding circumstances by using a crafty yet pain-in-the-ass trick. *** While his physical form remained seated, eyes shut in deep concentration, Eren''s consciousness inhabited the illusory realm. His tally stood at an impressive 90 out of 100 points, and the adversaries confronting him were progressively growing more formidable as he inched closer to that elusive perfect score. He was just a few steps away from scoring the perfect score. Yet, this had be the most crucial stage of the test. Alephee had warned Eren that attempting to employ Perfect Paradox once more to gain entry into Minerva''s Utopia would prove fruitless. ording to her, Minerva''s Utopia had integrated a safeguard mechanism that would block any subsequent entry after recording Eren''s elevated status. Essentially, this endeavor represented Eren''s final opportunity to secure Minerva''s true legacy. As such, this round within the test was the most important obstacle for him to clear. He did not have a do-over. However, not everything was bleak. Despite operating under the constraints of his suppressed Expert Ranker status, Eren''s Elemental Attainments resonated at the level of a Master Ranker. These Attainments proved immune to suppression. Fortunately, this elevated mastery did not bar his entry into Minerva''s Utopia, leaving Eren with no room forints. As such, he faced the augmented challenges with unwavering dedication and intense focus. Aqua des. Vicious Vines. Wind de Tornado. Lightning Wind Fire Shards. In a rapid session of elemental spells, Eren unleashed his might. Infusing his heightened Elemental Attainments with a dash of Wrath Mana, he crafted his unique versions of these spells, enhanced through Intent-based Magic. These variants carried amplified power and escted damage potential. Death Wave. Death Rot. Eren unleashed another torrent of his spells upon the encircling adversaries. The dimensionally restricted battlefield inside the illusory realm made the use of movement spells impractical, so he ceased his evasion. Preserving his energy was crucial, knowing that the challenges ahead would intensify as he neared the 100-point threshold. Thus, he was cautious not to exhaust himself prematurely. The ethereal shadows that hemmed Eren were engulfed by his sequential death-element spell onught. If the first wave bore the mark of Wrath Mana, the second volley drew from the devouring effect of Gluttony Mana. Death Wave and Death Rot synergized exceptionally well with Gluttony Mana infusion. This coupling rendered these death-element spells a potent bane to the enemies'' vitality. Infused with Gluttony Mana, the death element mana voraciously consumed life force at an elerated pace, causing the spectral shadows to falter before advancing towards Eren. Whoosh. Zoom. Thwack. "Arrrgh! Fuuuuck!" A visceral curse erupted from Eren as an arrow, too swift for interception, plunged into his right eye. The projectile appeared as if conjured from thin air, a testament to the ranger''s mastery of space-element magic. The assant, stationed at a safe distance, capitalized on the surprise, inflicting a critical wound on Eren. "This damn ranger has been harassing me for a while now, and he''s as slippery as an eel. Whose phantom is that? I''ll fucking beat his ass if I find him." Eren''s assessment dismissed the notion of amon ranker; this foe employed an entirely distinct spellcasting style, bearing little resemnce to his era. Eren conjectured that this ranger must have enjoyed equal prominence in his time, given the caliber of powers demonstrated thus far, echoing Minerva''s own legendary battles. "Fuck. No matter how much I want to take a slow and rational approach, this stage won''t let me have an easy time." Eren came to a grim conclusion. This was not the time for conserving mana. Pulling out the lodged arrow from his eye, Eren harnessed his bloodline''s powers. Employing his healing Ability Instant Reset, he elerated the healing process. Since Instant Reset alone wasn''t enough to get rid of such an injury, his slime-type half-blood powers needed to be used at the cost of putting additional stress on his vitality. The worst thing about this fight was the fact that Eren''s enemies were not real. As such he could not refill the lost vitality and stamina using Life Drain. Eren gave up on the conservation of his mana. He summoned a cadre of creatures to divert attention and fashion a strategic opening. His right eye resembled a gruesome tableau, oozing blood and viscera. Already severe, the injury was exacerbated within the Test of Bravery''s pain-enhancing environment. Though the torment surged beyond ordinary tolerances, Eren''s consciousness remained lucid. The pain, while excruciating, failed to unhinge his rationale, enabling him to think coherently amidst the onught. He had gone through something much worse when he was working under the Pdin of Pain after all. This amount of pain and misery meant nothing to him. As his eye mended at an elerated pace, Eren''s mind ignited. Typically, he''d prioritize neutralizing support-type adversaries like healers and rangers, killing them first and foremost before dealing with the rest of the opponents. Yet, the unique circumstances dictated an exception. His past futile efforts underscored the ranger''s invincibility while he was being supported by other spectral shadows. Ignoring this lesson would be suicidal. Surveying the exceptional ranger with caution, Eren''s gaze then swept across the encircling shadows, yielding another insight. "These pests and the ranger cooperate seamlessly. They phase in and out instantaneously unless I constantly barrage them with spells, pinning them down," he ruminated as his summoned entities faltered against the spectral shadows'' relentless onught. The oue was a first for Eren C his summoned allies, normally formidable, found themselves utterly outmatched by the Test of Bravery''s spectral constructs. "It''s time for a change of tactics," Eren contemted, opting for a repertoire of spells rarely employed. Shadow mes. Shadow Chains. Shadow Clone. Chapter 1449 Shallot’s Mirror + Shadow Clone ? The shadow element could be considered to be a shadow of other elements. A form of mana that could mimic the properties of other elemental forms. It proved an optimal choice for runic arrays, a preference shared by Sansara Sage, who had a foundation in this element before bing the prodigious Array Master of Anfang. Particrly useful for creating spectral forms of Rankers, shadow-element runic arrays could mimic the attack patterns and powers of the original Rankers. Being a versatile void element, the shadow foundation allowed the generated spectral forms to wield a range of elemental attacks and maneuvers. The true advantage of these spectral formsy in their ability to phase in and out of material existence using their shadow-based mana bodies. This phasing allowed them to evade attacks by momentarily dissolving into the shadows. However, these spectral forms couldn''t maintain this state indefinitely and continue their attacks simultaneously. Overusing this phasing could lead to their permanent dissolution as well. Thus, Eren''s strategy revolved around using spells like Wind de Tornado and Lightning Wind Fire Shards to keep these spectral forms engaged. These spells were rtively economical in terms of mana consumption and could be stacked, creating a barrage of highly charged elemental shards and cutting wind des. Each individual shard or de mightck the power to cause critical damage, but their strength was in their numbers and area coverage. Eren skillfully employed these spells in an area-of-effect fashion to immobilize the spectral enemies while conserving his mana to some degree. Despite having ess to these advantageous spells, Eren wasn''t finding it easy tobat the spectral enemies. His difficulty was exacerbated as he neared the end of the test, primarily due to the spectral shadow of the Ranger that had emerged once he reached a score of 90 out of 100. This spectral shadow was undeniably the major hurdle obstructing Eren''s path to a perfect score. Initially, Eren had believed he should conserve his energy for potential future opponents. However, grappling with the Ranger, who had managed to inflict a critical eye injury using his space-element powered bow and arrow mastery, led Eren to realize that there might not be subsequent opponents. The Ranger alone embodied the strength of tens of regr Expert Rankers, considering the formidable powers and abilities he had demonstrated thus far. Eren wanted to use Blink against the Ranger. But thetter had interfered with the spatial fabric around him using his own space-element powers. As such, the butcher could not get close to him at all despite his mastery over Blink. As a result, Eren shifted his strategy. He opted to employ the shadow-element spells acquired from the original Leo Longde. Having mastered these spells andprehended their corresponding Elemental Attainments, Eren had invested considerable resources. The butcher obtained various Runic Steles associated with the element to deepen his understanding of this enigmatic force. Additionally, he had engaged in sparring sessions with his guild member Drin, a proficient shadow-element Ranker, drawing on Drin''s expertise to further enhance his grasp. The reason Eren had refrained from employing shadow-element spells within the illusory realm was hisck ofplete confidence in utilizing them effectively during intense battles. After all, using these spells in pinch battles was apletely different ball game altogether than merely collecting experiences and engaging in safe sparring sessions. However, given the pressure exerted by the Ranger, Eren finally decided to harness the power of these spells, aiming to gain an elemental advantage. There was another significant factor that emboldened Eren to employ shadow-element spells during this critical moment. His newfound confidence derived from the utilization of an Elder Seed Artifact he had formed a bond with several weeks earlier. Unlike ordinary artifacts, the enigmatic nature of Elder Seed Artifacts granted them distinct properties and fewer constraints that blurred the line between what was possible and impossible. Even though the artifact, Shallot''s Mirror, wasn''t physically present with Eren, his connection with it allowed him to harness a portion of its capabilities. While Shallot''s Mirror remained situated within Grandmaster Baelin''s workshop, Eren''s unique rapport with the artifact permitted him to ess some of its powers in his current predicament. As fate would have it, Shallot''s Mirror''s abilities harmonized perfectly with a particr spell associated with the shadow element. Shadow Clone. The Shadow Clone spell, ording to the prevailing generation of Anfang''s Rankers, was often perceived as one of the least practical shadow element spells. This sentiment stemmed from the clones birthed into existence by these spells, whichcked the cognitive capacity and real-time awareness necessary for effective engagement in genuinebat scenarios. These shadow-generated duplicates couldn''t even execute basic instructions their conjurer provided, rendering them ineffective even as fleeting diversions, all while siphoning a substantial amount of mana to sustain their ethereal forms. Rtively speaking, the shadow element appeared to be the most suitable choice for crafting clones among Rankers. However, even this seemingly optimal element remained impractical for livebat due to its clones'' deficiency in battle instinct and overall cognizance. This predicament arose because Anfang''s Rankers generally neglected training their Spiritual Force, an essential factor in imbuing satisfactory intellect into clones for practical battle application. The Rankers'' path primarily concentrated on refining their mana cores and honing their Elemental Attainments after all. The scarcity of awakened Soul Sense among Rankers was a result of this paradigm. Moreover, even those rare few who possessed Awakened Soul Sense struggled to wield it in a manner that would offer strategic advantages through elemental clones. As a result, the Rankers abstained from employing elemental clones in real-time confrontations, despite the existence of various spells and artifacts rted to such clones. Eren was akin to the majority of Rankers in his reluctance to deploy elemental clones inbat due to their inherent limitations. However, his perspective shifted when Shallot''s Mirror entered the equation. This artifact endowed Eren with the capability to reflect his intent onto elemental clones, a revtion that transformed his stance. Given that the shadow element held greater promise for cloning tactics, he resolved to master the Shadow Clone spell. Eren had yet to implement thebination of Shallot''s Mirror and the Shadow Clone spell in actual battles. Hisprehension of the Elder Seed Artifact''s capabilities was only beginning to evolve, and he had recently discovered that he could harness the artifact''s powers without its physical presence. As such, the butcher was as nervous as a newbie Ranker when he cast hisbo in front of his enemies. Shallot''s Mirror + Shadow Clone. Chapter 1450 Repertoire of Shadow Spells

Chapter 1450 Repertoire of Shadow Spells

Shallot''s Mirror + Shadow Clone. Using his Soul Sense, Eren essed his Soul Space and located what he sought. Within a void expanse in his Soul Space, a spectral mirror form floated serenely. This apparitional reflection of the mirror symbolized Eren''s connection with Shallot''s Mirror. Leveraging his Soul Sense, he tapped into the artifact''s power, and almost instantaneously, a circr mirror shape manifested on his right palm. As the shadow clone materialized before him, Eren lifted his hand and projected his intent onto it. The surface of the illusory mirror exuded a faint light as it reflected Eren''s intent. In an instant, the shadow-element clone coalesced into existence, gaining a semnce of awareness. Eren''s Shadow Clone mirrored his body size, stature, and even his attire''s silhouette, hairstyle, and facial features. However, its constitution was an opaque ck substance, solidified pure shadow-element mana. The replicated Eren possessed intelligent eyes that flickered as they assessed Eren and the Ranger positioned afar. An illusory bond connected this artificial form to Eren, granting him the ability to manipte its actions solely through his intent. Eren''s intent remained dynamic, instantly altering the clone''s actions in real-time alignment. This bestowed him direct control over the clone''s movements. Eren''s true self and the Shadow Clone were discernable due to the clone''s appearance akin to a creation from the abyss''s ink. It had failed to replicate Eren''s intricate visual particrs urately. However, this deficiency wasn''t a w of the clone, but of Eren''s proficiency with the Shadow Clone Spell. He had yet to master itsplexities, resulting in the casting of the most rudimentary iteration of the spell. Distinguishing his identity from the Shadow Clone was of no concern to Eren. He didn''t intend for the clone to function as a mere decoy. Instead, his objective was for the clone to approach the Ranger''s position while evading dissolution. Eren couldn''t afford to approach the Ranger recklessly due to the lethal long-range spells at his disposal. No matter the extent of Eren''s groundbreaking healing powers, they would prove futile if he allowed the Ranger unchecked advantage. Thus, Eren''s initial course of action involved neutralizing the adversaries encircling him first and foremost. By liberating the Shadow Clone from the besiegement, it could traverse the considerable distance between itself and the Ranger, positioned safely at a distance. Right after summoning the Shadow Clone, ethereal chains crafted from the shadow element emerged from the spectral beings themselves. Typically, Shadow Chains materialized from the opponent''s shadow before restraining them. Yet, the spectral incarnations of Eren''s foes were essentially shadows. Consequently, Eren''s stacked Shadow Chain spell materialized from within each spectral opponent before constricting them. Next in line was the Shadow mes Spell. As the Shadow Chains sessfully restrained Eren''s adversaries, the spectral forms were engulfed in Shadow mes, reducing them to searing embers. Eren used his fire-element Attainments while casting Shadow mes. As such, these shadow mes mirrored regr fire''s properties but burned with heightened intensity. Eren had infused a trace of Wrath and Gluttony Mana, intensifying their ferocity and insatiable appetite for consuming all they touched. As the foes encircling Eren were subdued by his spells, the Shadow Clone sprang into action. This sequence of events unfolded in a matter of moments, denying the Ranger the opportunity to devise a countermeasure from his distant stance. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Although the Shadow Clone caught the Ranger off guard, it failed to fully avert the onught of half-formed long-range attacks directed its way. A barrage of arrows surged toward the advancing Shadow Clone as it closed the distance to the Ranger. Upon the Shadow Clone''s arrival, the Ranger''s space-element arrows began to distort and contort the clone''s form. The arrows seemed more than just a showcase of spatial maniption; the Ranger demonstrated versatility across multiple elements. Some arrows burst into mes upon impact, igniting the clone''s body. Others were formed from pure light-element mana, radiating blinding brilliance and inflicting substantial damage upon the shadowy doppelg?nger. "Unbelievable. This son of a bitch was concealing his strength as well." Eren muttered in frustration as he witnessed his Shadow Clone obliterated before it could engage the Ranger directly. The clone''s demise not only incurred a tactical setback but also dismantled Eren''s controlled intent. He understood that the remote utilization of Shallot''s Mirror limited hisplete control over the Intent Reflection. Moreover, he could reflect only one Intent Reflection onto a Shadow Clone at a time, restricting him to operate only one sentient clone. The Shadow Clone spell, without the synergistic effect of Shallot''s Mirror, became a waste of mana and effort, preventing Eren from conjuring more than one clone simultaneously. Having the artifact in his possession would have significantly eased Eren''s situation. Nevertheless, he refrained from utilizing Shallot''s Mirror prematurely, deeming it imprudent before the crucial phase of the Lazarus Project. Leveraging the artifact''s abilities remotely already provided him with substantial advantages. The ensuing minutes transformed into a battle of endurance. Eren struggled to eliminate the Ranger swiftly, yet approaching him using his own self meant fatal harm. Dodging attacks required maintaining a safe distance. However, the Ranger sought the same tactic to continue, umting the effects of his relentless assaults. In a matter of minutes, four of Eren''s Shadow Clones sumbed to the Ranger''s onught one by one. Although Eren managed to clear the adversaries surrounding him, recements promptly filled the void. Eren deduced that the Ranger stood as the ultimate adversary, the proverbial "Last Boss" of the stage, requiring defeat to secure a perfect 100 out of 100 score on the test. Mana reserve had significantly dwindled for Eren during these few minutes. As such, he refrained from annihting the encircling enemies, which would only summon new spectral opponents. Learning from his past experiences, the butcher bound them with Shadow Chains this time, neutralizing their interference in his duel against the Ranger. Despite the Ranger''s sess in destroying four of Eren''s Shadow Clones, these encounters became valuable learning experiences. Eren''smand of the Shadow Clone spell, along with Shallot''s Mirror''s synergistic prowess, improved through real-time engagement, fueled by the intensity of battle. "Beat me once, shame on you. Beat me twice" Eren mumbled as his fifth Shadow Clone approached the Ranger. This clone incorporated Shadow Steps, its legs adorned with tentacle-like extensions, as it harnessed the movement spell to draw nearer to the Ranger. The Ranger disyed increasing cunning as he shed with Eren. He shifted positions strategically, transitioning from one secure point to another. Observing Eren''s Shadow Clone closing in, the Ranger executed his movement spell, propelling himself in the opposite direction to evade the clone''s approach. Simultaneously, the Ranger unleashed a volley of arrows infused with various elements at the clone. However, this time, the Ranger couldn''t elude quickly enough. The Spell Fusion of Shadow Clone and Shadow Steps proved triumphant. The Shadow Clone sessfully advanced to the striking range, its form partially intact despite the lethal arrows. At this pivotal juncture, Eren enacted the trump card he had reserved for this very moment. Shadow Switch. Blitz. Swoosh. Chop. Harnessing the power of Rigor Mortis, Eren executed a swift beheading of the Ranger as he swapped positions with his Shadow Clone. Despite his overwhelming mastery over the long-range spells, there was nothing the Ranger could do when he let a closebat expert like Eren get close to him. The Ranger''s shadow dissipated into the void as his spectral head tumbled to the ground. Simultaneously, the encircled adversaries, previously bound by Eren''s Shadow Chains, disintegrated into nothingness with the Ranger''s demise. Eren, having vanquished this seemingly boundless wave of opponents, dropped to his knees. Both mentally and physically drained, he observed the illusory realm disintegrate before him, shattering like a fractured mirror. Amidst his exhaustion, a smile emerged on his wearied countenance as he checked his test score. 100/100. === AN: Shadow Chains, Shadow mes, Shadow Steps, and Shadow Switch were introduced in chapters 717 and 718. Chapter 1451 Meeting Minerva Midea ? Minerva''s Utopia. The southern testing grounds. Following his release from the illusory realm, Eren''s eyes fluttered open, finding himself back on the levitating tform. The intensity of the battle he had experienced within the realm hadn''t physically drained him, yet a lingering mental fatigue remained. The use of Shadow Clones and the intricate process of reflecting his Intent Reflection onto them had left him with a throbbing headache. "Congrattions, Eren. You''ve sessfully cleared my master''s test," a cheerful voice resonated. He raised his gaze to encounter Meeli standing before him, a smile gracing her lips. It appeared she was genuinely pleased that someone had finally triumphed in iming Sage Minerva''s legacy. "Aah. Thank Thank you, Meeli. Now, where do we go to meet your master?" Eren inquired, his voice strained as he tried to alleviate the headache by massaging his forehead. The illusory realm''s effects had left his vision slightlypromised, making distant objects appear blurry even within close range. Meeli''sughter tinkled like a melody as she stepped to the side. Extending her arm, she pointed ahead. "Hehe, you don''t need to go anywhere. My master hase to you. Look straight ahead," Meeli disclosed. Eren lifted his gaze, focusing his eyes on the figure that had materialized on the levitating tform. Blinking to dispel the residual blurriness, he peered intently at the newly arrived presence. Before him stood an exquisite woman, appearing to be in her early 30s by mortal standards. Her countenance was captivating, featuring wless skin with a delicate peach hue, entrancing eyes, and a pert nose. The crimson lips and graceful neckplemented her appeal. Dark brown hair, cascading to her shoulders, framed her face. d in purple breastte armor, she emanated both femininity and strength, her curvaceous form standing at an imposing 5.10ft. Her very presence exuded elegance and allure. As Eren''s eyes focused, he caught a waft of a sweet, herbal scent that seemed to cling to her. It was as if this enchantingdy had stepped directly from an borate potion-making endeavor. The figure that stood before him was merely a soul fragment of a Sage, projecting her true form through her Soul Sense. Eren required no introduction; her gentle yet potent Sage-like aura provided ample insight into her identity. "Thank you for seeing me, Sage Minerva," Eren greeted with a bow, remaining seated to both acknowledge her and ount for his lingering mental fatigue. Eren was yet to take full control of his body. Not wanting to rush to his feet and potentially make a clumsy impression, he chose to maintain hisposed posture before Minerva. Minerva regarded Eren with a scrutinizing gaze, as though assessing his value. Her demeanor wasn''t overtly hostile, but neither did it exude a warm wee. Eren suspected that Sage Minerva wasn''t particrly pleased that a Master Ranker had circumvented the fundamental prerequisite she had set to im her legacy. "You''re not an Expert Ranker, are you, boy?" Minerva''s eyes narrowed with a hint of furrow on her brow. "You''ve utilized some methods to infiltrate this space as an Expert Ranker even though you are clearly in the Master Rank." Minerva swiftly deduced Eren''s true rank status. Aware that deceit held no ground in the presence of a Sage Ranker, Eren acknowledged her assessment with a nod before speaking in a deferential tone. "Indeed, Sage Minerva. I simply wished to test my fortune. If my actions have offended you, I extend my apologies." Minerva pondered Eren''s response, her gaze then shifting to Meeli, seemingly seeking her input. Meeli, though thrilled to witness her master''s return, managed her enthusiasm and addressed Minerva respectfully. "Hehe. Rest assured, Master. Apart from his suppressed ranking status, the young man hasn''t employed any other deceptive methods to ace the four trials you designated. His scores are genuinely earned. I offer these log records for your confirmation." With a graceful gesture, she sent an Array Disk gliding toward Sage Minerva before bowing. Minerva deftly caught the Array Disk and delved into it with her Soul Sense. The log entries meticulously validated Eren''s sessful navigation of Minerva''s Utopia and its distinct tests. Maintaining herposure, she perused each entry, considering Eren''s aplishments. Minerva''s gaze softened as she confirmed that Eren had genuinely ovee her tests using his own abilities. While his status as a Master Ranker still lent him the edge of superior Elemental Attainments, they had only marginally aided him, particrly in the final challenge. "Not bad," Minerva remarked, her tone mild as she directed the Array Disk towards Meeli. Then, her gaze shifted back to Eren with a touch of curiosity. "What is your name?" she inquired. "Eren Elijah Idril," Eren responded carefully, his words measured. Minerva acknowledged his reply with a nod before continuing. "You''ve cleared the tests on your own merit. Concealing your true ranking will result in a penalty, but fear not, most of my legacy in Anfang is still yours to im," she stated as she walked purposefully toward Eren. Eren released a sigh of relief as Minerva confirmed his sess. He was relieved that he had persevered in iming Minerva''s legacy, even after inadvertently attaining the B-Rank. The penalty was eptable to him, an oue far preferable to receiving nothing at all. Standing just a few steps from Eren, Minerva paused and waited for him to rise. Eren promptly stood, facing her with a mix of anticipation and uncertainty, unsure of what was toe. "Offer me your hand," Minervamanded, her right hand lifted and palm open before Eren. Without hesitation, he raised his own right hand, extending it as requested by the Sage. he rested his palm onto hers, strategically steering away from converting into a dubious hand-holding. The touch of Minerva''s hand was soft, but an unusual sensation passed through Eren as their palms met. It was clear that he was touching something other than a physical body. He was on the verge of breaking the uneasy silence that had fallen when he noticed Minerva''s startled expression. Chapter 1452 Minerva’s True Legacy: Virtue Series Marks ? ''Fuuuck,'' the butcher cursed. ''Why is her expression changing like that? Something must be amiss," Eren''s heart raced as he noticed the surprise on Minerva''s face. He had numerous secrets to protect at all times, and in this moment, it felt like they were all exposed. He felt like he was caught with his pants down. Needless to say, Eren despised these unsettling sensations creeping over him. ''Damn it. What has she discovered? Is it my Spirit Beast? My Elder Ichor bloodline? My pact with Anfang''s World Will?'' Eren''s thoughts raced like a wildfire, each second feeling like an eternity. Eren didn''t regret his decision toe for Minerva''s Utopia. He was fully aware that Minerva''s soul fragment would thoroughly examine him before bestowing her inheritance. Therefore, he had prepared for the possibility that Minerva''s soul fragment might refuse him. He had several solutions for this predicament, though each came with its own costs. In the worst-case scenario, he might have to relinquish Minerva''s Utopia forever. Eren didn''t fear the Sage-like existence anymore. At least not when he was merely facing their soul fragments. However, he did not want to create a conflict with Minerva''s soul fragment if he could help it. The butcher was keen on maintaining the functionality of Minerva''s Utopia even after obtaining her true inheritance. This dimension formed the bedrock of the City of White Raven, and he was reluctant to let it go if he could help it. As he poised himself to make a final decision, he watched Minerva''s astonished expression. ''I can never count on my luck to get things done, can I? Damn it. I hope I won''t gain another adversary among the Anfang''s Sages before departing from here for good. But if that''s inevitable, then I must eliminate this soul fragment in its entirety." Eren masked his thoughts, careful not to reveal his killing intent to Minerva. Removing a Sage''s soul fragment from thend of the faithless was nothing new for him, having employed a simr tactic when he encountered Nira Nightshade''s soul fragment within Sansara World 1.0. Eren had eradicated Nira Nightshade''s lingering soul fragment to keep his possession of the Spirit Beast hidden from her true self. While Minerva''s whereabouts were uncertain, he presumed that like Nira, Minerva had also moved beyond Anfang to continue her journey beyond the Sage level. Thus, he was bracing himself for another possible showdown with a Beyond Sage entity. But Minerva''s next words caught him off guard, stalling any action he was nning. "You... you possess at least one Sin Series Mark," Minerva uttered, her voice a blend of astonishment and some more astonishment. Her gaze bore into Eren''s, probing for something as she spoke. "I apologize, young man. It seems you are not the rightful heir to receive my true legacy," Minerva announced, leaving Eren utterly bbergasted. "What what do you mean?" Eren stammered, sweat trickling down his brow. Minerva regarded Eren, a hint of bewilderment in her eyes at his visibly agitated state. She couldn''t fathom why the young man before her was so flustered and overwhelmed by her presence, especially considering she had concealed her Individuality so as not to harm him in any way. Minerva also sensed a surge of relief emanating from Eren despite her deration that he couldn''t ess her true inheritance. Almost as if he had never intended to im it in the first ce. ''What an odd young man,'' Minerva pondered, releasing Eren''s hand. With a sigh, she began her exnation. "Eren, you must have acquired the Sin Series Mark from some pre-Cmity-War-era ruins, correct? It''s due to your eptance of the Sin Series Mark that you''re now ineligible to inherit what I left behind in Anfang. You see, my true legacy would have allowed you to acquire at least one Virtue Series Mark, were it not for the presence of the Sin Series Mark you acquired," Minerva spoke with a calm patience, addressing Eren''s perplexity. Being a seasoned Ranker, Minerva was well-versed in Anfang''s workings. Only the truly gifted or privileged Rankers had ess to the knowledge about the world''s true history. She was confident that a Master Ranker like Eren was already well-versed in many aspects. "Virtue Series Marks," Eren muttered contemtively, casting his gaze downward momentarily before refocusing on Minerva. "Are you suggesting that there are Seven Virtue Series Marks, mirroring the Seven Sin Series Marks?" "That''s right," Minerva confirmed, her nod apanied by further exnation. "Eren, there are Seven Virtue Series Marks that bestow various Abilities based on one''s unique characteristics. However, my true legacy grants ess to Abilities linked with only four out of the seven Virtue Series Marks. Had you not carried the Seven Series Mark, you would have been eligible to acquire at least one of the four Virtue Series Marks under my possession. And two or more Virtue Series Marks, if you were really capable. Recall the four tests I established as a prerequisite for my inheritance?" Minerva inquired, her gaze locked onto Eren. At this juncture, Eren''s countenance and thoughts were a riddle too intricate for Sage Minerva to decipher. Regardless of the extent of the benefits he might gain from Minerva''s bequest, Eren was certain that there would be no antagonistic aftermath involving her. Although Minerva wasn''t particrly excited by the notion that the individual who had rightfullyid im to her inheritance bore a Sin Series Mark, her disposition didn''t appear to reflect any abhorrence toward Eren''s presumed demonic affinities. This was a relief. Hence, Eren opted to refrain from impulsivity and precipitate judgments. Rather, he drew in a deep breath, preparing to address Minerva''s inquiry in an impartial tone. "The Test of Wisdom, the Test of Patience, the Test of Bravery, and the Test of Courage. Those were the four challenges within your Utopia," Eren responded. Minerva acknowledged this with a nod before she proceeded with further elucidation. "The establishment of these four trials in my Utopia was for a reason, you know. The Test of Wisdom gauged the propensity for acquiring the Virtue of Temperance Mark, while the Test of Bravery assessed the inclination for the Virtue of Fortitude. The Test of Courage, in turn, acted as a metric to evaluate suitability for the Virtue of Justice. Lastly, the Test of Patience functioned as a yardstick to measure one''s aptitude for the Virtue of Prudence." Minerva expounded, her gaze focused on Eren asprehension gradually illuminated his features. Chapter 1453 Two Sides of the Same Coin P1

Chapter 1453 Two Sides of the Same Coin P1

"Ah, I see now. So that was your reason behind having those tests." Eren eximed, taken aback by the extent to which Minerva had meticulously crafted a method for prospective imants to ess her true legacy. Nevertheless, he sensed a void in her exnation. "Hmm? With Seven Virtue Series Marks in existence, why were there only four tests?" Eren quizzed, a look of perplexity etched across his face. Minerva shrugged in response before borating. "This is due to my capacity to bestow merely four of the Seven Virtue Series Marks C namely prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. These four Marks are referred to as Cardinal Virtues. Naturally, my assessment of aspirants is limited to thepatibilities linked to these specific Virtue Series Marks. Why would I conduct tests and checkpatibility for the Virtue Series Marks that I wouldn''t be able to bestow?" Minerva exined in an even tone. Initiating a directionless walk with Eren in tow, Minerva sighed, her words continuing to unfurl. "Within Anfang, myriad isted dimensions were established by past Sages. The enves you dub Utopias stem from the Sage of the divine faction, whereas those known as Purgatories originate from Sages with a demonic inclination. At least that''s the case with most isted dimensions and ruins you''d find here. Naturally, not all Utopias or Purgatories grant aspirants the privilege of acquiring Sin or Virtue Series Marks. Plus, not every Utopia or Purgatory would allow you to choose from either seven Sin Series Marks or seven Virtue Series Marks. It all depends on the Sage and their capabilities at the time of creating inheritance grounds. Let''s just say that these are merely the reverberations of Anfang''s past that persist in the present because Sages like us can''t help but want to leave our imprints upon the world we hail from." Minerva concluded, her voice carrying a tone of nostalgia as she shared these insights with Eren. ''Minerva Her demeanor is distinctly dissimr from Nira, the Sage of Sansara, or even that old hag, for that matter. I guess the Sages aligned with the demonic and divine factions can be discerned by their conduct towards those who might inherit their legacy. This divergence in disposition is vividly expressed through the isted realms they forge for the generations toe, designating them as Utopia or Purgatory ording to their divine or demonic leanings.'' Eren mused to himself as he walked beside Minerva. It was apparent that Minerva''s intentions greatly contrasted those of Eliza, whom Eren would often refer to as the old hag. Unlike Eliza, whose Purgatory primarily served as a tool to ensnare pawns for her own purposes, Minerva genuinely intended to leave behind a meaningful legacy within thend of Anfang. Eliza''s trials appeared rather arbitrary, designed to gauge the aspirants'' overall abilities, irrespective of theirpatibility with any of the Sin Series Marks. Eliza seemed indifferent to whether the aspirants were apt for the Sin Series Marks. The only redeeming aspect of Eliza''s Purgatory was the presence of the Seven-Headed Serpent Statue, which could evaluate aspirants''patibility with the Seven Sin Series Marks on its own before bestowing someone with the respective Mark. Eren spected that Minervacked a convenient method, akin to Eliza''s Seven-Headed Serpent Statue, for conferring Virtue Series Marks. He guessed that instead of relying on the mediums, she herself served as a meditator to bestow the Virtue Series Marks. Therefore, Minerva meticulously constructed tailored trials for prospective imants, emphasizing foresight for the younger generation. While Eliza''s charisma overshadowed that of other Sages, Eren gleaned from Minerva that no Sage should be underestimated. Minerva''s influence might have been less imposing than some of her counterparts, but her strategic acumen and nningpensated for it. "Sage Minerva, I think we can both agree that I have passed all four tests with flying colors. It means I ampatible with any of the four Virtue Series Marks in theory. Why would the presence of the Sin Series Mark render me ipatible? Aren''t the Abilities from the demonic and divine realms merely two divergent paths within Intent-based Magic?" Eren inquired, maintaining pace with Minerva. Minerva shook her head before responding. "Eren, the matter isn''t as straightforward as it may appear. While the demonic and divine Abilities stemming from the respective Sin or Virtue Series Marks are indeed rooted in Intent-based Magic, they represent the dual facets of a singr coin. At the end of the day, you and I are Rankers from Anfang and we respect power no matter where ites from. As such, I don''t mind that you have demonic inclinations. But you must understand that we can not choose both sides of the coin at the same time after it has been tossed in the air. You must choose a solitary side andmit to it. That is the most prudent route. And from the looks of things, you have already chosen a side. To obtain Virtue Series Marks without facing a bacsh, you''d have to get rid of the Sin Series Marks, which would only end up damaging your soul and foundation. I don''t think any sane person would be willing to do that. The Sin and Virtue Series Marks are very powerful. They have the potential to turn the tides in the wielder''s favor instantly if they are capable. How could obtaining such powerful Abilities be easy and convenient? Life isn''t forgiving like that," The Sage Ranker asked Eren rhetorically. Minerva''s exnation resonated deeply with Eren. The Sin Series Marks had consistently served as his reliable trump cards during his journey so far. Of course, the butcher had ns to acquire the remaining Sin Series Marks from the Seven-Headed Serpent Statue within Eliza''s possession before ultimately departing from Anfang. Uncertain about the potential potency of the Virtue Series Marks inparison to the Sin Series Marks, Eren believed that they, too, could be valuable assets in his arsenal. As such, he didn''t want to waste the opportunity of gaining such Marks if he could help it. With conviction, he cleared his throat before addressing Minerva. "Sage Minerva, would you consider bestowing those Virtue Series Marks upon me as an experiment? I''m curious to explore the possibility of acquiring additional Abilities. Whether they align with the divine or demonic factions doesn''t concern me, as long as they prove advantageous," Eren proposed with enthusiasm. Chapter 1454 Two Sides of the Same Coin P2

Chapter 1454 Two Sides of the Same Coin P2

Minerva chuckled after she heard Eren''s proposal. "Of course you wouldn''t mind, brat. We are Rankers from Anfang who hone our Individualities. The powers that contribute to our Individuality are enticing to us, no matter their origin. But you need to understand that it''s not about what we desire or don''t. The Sin and Virtue Series Marks are fundamentally opposed to each other. Trying to house Marks from these conflicting factions within you would create an internal struggle. If you attempt to selfishly wield both Divine and Demonic Abilities simultaneously, it''s likely that both Marks would reject you, causing harmful effects on your soul. They would wage their battles within you, using your body and soul as their battleground. And no matter who wins the battle, the battleground will always suffer. Unless you can find a way to harmonize them, I''d advise against pursuing any of the Virtue Series Marks," Minerva exined, turning her head slightly as she addressed Eren. The Sage Ranker signaled for Meeli to join her, affectionately ruffling her hair and yfully pinching her cheeks like a caring guardian. After instructing Meeli on some tasks toplete now that her Soul Fragment had been awakened by Eren, Minerva had her step aside, leaving Eren alone with her. Minerva sensed Eren''s disappointment at her decision to withhold the Virtue Series Marks. She realized that he might not yet grasp the potential dangers ofbining Marks from two opposing factions. In a calm tone, she continued to exin her reasoning. "Eren, let go of the idea of wielding Abilities from both the demonic and divine factions. Instead, consider the Abilities within a single faction," Minerva began, her tone earnest. "While I''m not certain of the circumstances surrounding your acquisition of the Sin Series Mark, you should know that obtaining more than two Marks, even within the same faction, is incredibly challenging. For instance, if you were to attain the Virtue of Temperance Mark, acquiring the Virtue of Prudence Mark or any other two of the four Marks I can bestow upon you would be exceedingly difficult. And even if you managed to gain two Virtue Marks, obtaining a third would be exponentially more arduous," Minerva exined. Eren held his suspicions about this topic. He understood that his possession of three Sin Series Marks wasrgely due to his Elder Ichor Bloodline. But whether this bloodline would also allow him to wield the Virtue Series Marks with equal proficiency remained uncertain. However, he was determined to learn as much as he could from Minerva to better understand his limitations. "Sage Minerva, regarding these potential limitations in harnessing Abilities from both Divine and Demonic factions, do they rte to one''s soul?" Eren inquired, his contemtion evident as he tugged at his right earlobe and scratched underneath. Minerva nodded, offering a more detailed exnation. "Indeed, Eren. Ordinarily, a soul can handle only one, or at most, two such Marks. It would require an exceptionally rare genius, perhaps urring once in centuries, with an immensely strong inherent Spiritual Foundation to manage more than that. Moreover, it''s not guaranteed thatpatibility with a Mark will lead to obtaining it. Sometimes, a Ranker''s Soul Space or the soul itself simply isn''t capable of housing a Sin or Virtue Series Mark, even ifpatibility is there. Hence, I set up the four tests, hoping the potential legacy holder would clear them wlessly. This raises their likelihood of obtaining at least one out of four Virtue Series Marks, and if two are gained, it''s even better. Since I am capable of wielding all four Virtue Series Marks, I wish my sessor possesses the same caliber. Though, I understand that there''s always a possibility of settling for someone more ordinary. However, I can bestow these Marks only once before my soul fragment departs from Anfang. This is why I searched for someone with the potential to bear four Virtue Series Marks, which would allow me to have no regrets in my choice of sessor," Minerva exined while ying with a strand of her hair. Coming to a halt, Minerva turned to observe Eren absorbing her words. She gave him a moment to process the information before continuing. "Eren, I suggest you stick with the Sin Series Mark. You''re highlypatible with it. Ick the power to erase the Mark imprinted on your existence, which would be unwise even if I could. Moreover, obtaining Virtue Series Marks is a vastly different process from attaining Sin Series Marks. Despite the turmoil demons often sow across countless realms, their bestowment of Sin Series Marks follows a straightforward and organized approach. The same can''t be said for the divine faction, which grants Virtue Series Marks to its followers," Minerva sighed, her voice carrying a note of resignation. ''Pressuring her for the Virtue Series Mark won''t yield positive results,'' Eren concluded after absorbing Minerva''s exnation. ''If I push too hard, she might question my confidence in avoiding potential consequences. Even if I manage to gain the Mark through coercion, it might backfire. Considering the fallout with Nira Nightshade, I can''t afford to make an adversary out of Minerva as well. Besides, the Virtue Series Marks aren''t exclusive to this world. There are countless opportunities beyond these confines. I shouldn''t be hasty. First, I should focus on acquiring all the Sin Series Marks before attempting the Virtue Series Marks,'' Eren contemted before continuing his thoughts. "Very well. Sage Minerva, I''ll heed your advice and forgo the Virtue Series Marks. If it''s not meant to be, I won''t insist upon it," Eren responded with a tinge of disappointment in his tone, followed by a sigh. He then respectfully bowed before Minerva, continuing, "But since the bestowment of the Virtue Series Mark was a core aspect of your legacy, please consider its omission as the penalty for a Master Ranker like me entering your secluded domain. So... I would like to im all the other rewards that are avable to me." === AN: The subtle disparities between a Utopia, potentially inclined towards the divine, and a Purgatory, possibly leaning towards the demonic, were outlined in chapters 206 and 466. Chapter 1455 Andrium Radix ? "Hmm? What is this shiny golden thing?" Eren inquired with a curious tone, retrieving an array disk that hovered nearby. Levitating around him were a plethora of rare ranking resources, awaiting his scrutiny and appraisal. These valuable items constituted the official rewards he could rightfully im after sessfully acing all four of Minerva''s tests. Eren''s attraction to the array disk was due to its unique aura. Fashioned from a gleaming, golden-like substance, it possessed a weightiness that belied its palm-sized dimensions. While easily conceble within one''s sleeve, thispact disk was surprisingly hefty, weighing approximately 5000 lbs one of the most bizarre ranking resources Eren hade to witness. Its surface was etched with enigmatic runes distinct from the runic symbols and formationsmonce in Anfang. Though not well-versed in the intricacies of Virtue Series Marks, Eren sensed that Minerva had harnessed the power of these marks through Intent-based Magic to craft this array disk. He could discern that Minerva had channeled all her expertise into its creation. Having eded to Eren''s request, Sage Minerva extended to him the core inheritance rewards stowed within her created Utopia. Given that the omission of the Virtue Series Mark had been deemed the penalty Eren bore, Minerva had bestowed upon him all the other pivotal aspects of her legacy. Minerva''s smile widened as Eren''s fingers curled around the array disk. She regarded the item for a moment before revealing, "Eren, this array disk is what I''ve named Andrium Radix. It epasses the perpetual Andrium synthesis method." Her revtion caught Eren off-guard, his eyes widening in astonishment. Minerva believed that the Virtue Series Marks constituted the heart of her legacy. While that held true to some degree, obtaining the means to independently generate Andrium was just as vital, if not more so, for Eren. Andrium''s plentifulness within Minerva''s Utopia was due to the ingenious array disk she had concocted. Bybining her prowess as a potion-maker and alchemist with ess to Intent-based Magic, Minerva had blurred the lines between the achievable and the imusible, making it possible for Minerva''s Utopia to offer Andrium ingots as amon reward. Minerva had ingeniously devised a distinct method for creating Andrium through the utilization of potions as catalysts. This process remained an enigma to the denizens of Anfang, confounding even the most astute potioners, array masters, and alchemists. Yet, this mystery didn''t dissuade them from venturing into Minerva''s Utopia as participants, eager toy their hands on the prized Andrium ores granted as rewards. Observing Eren''s fascination with the array disk, Minerva felt a sense of satisfaction. It was evident that he was fascinated with the disk not merely as a Potioner but also as an artisan of artifacts. After all, Minerva excelled in enhancing artifact capabilities by infusing them with the power of potions. As Eren gazed at the array disk, his eyes brimming with the curiosity of a researcher, Minerva could discern the birth of diverse ideas in his mind. ''This this is big. I already had an abundant supply of Andrium ever since I found my city. But this thing right here It''s the very golden goose that has beenying golden eggs for me,'' Eren looked at the Array Disk with anticipation as he thought to himself. The knowledge of creating Andrium presented Eren with uncharted prospects. This very knowledge would enable him to fabricate Andrium alloy using the insights, techniques, and research materials encapsted within the array disk. Eren had intentions of crafting Hex Artifacts, and the acquisition of the array disk alone made him believe that enduring the trials to im Minerva''s Legacy had been utterly worthwhile. For a weaponsmith like Eren, seizingmand over the inception of weapon creation from its very roots was very crucial. It meant the ability to craft exceedingly potent Hex Artifacts that seamlessly resonated with his essence. The enhanced Andrium served as a superior foundation for crafting these new Hex Artifacts, acting as a more effective conduit for Intent-based Magic. This would facilitate Eren in elevating his offensive and defensive prowess to unprecedented levels. Minerva''sughter resonated as she observed Eren bing absorbed in his thoughts. With a melodic yetmanding voice, she redirected his attention toward her. "Hehe, it seems you DO understand the opportunities I''ve bestowed upon you through this array disk, Eren. To be honest, I initially contemted withholding this item from my potential sessor, intending to monopolize its benefits for myself. What alchemist would willingly unveil the recipe for a creation that only they possess the capacity to make? Such a disclosure would amount to forfeiting the wealth, status, and a plethora of other advantages heading their way. Even if I had left Anfang, I wouldn''t have revealed this secret to anyone. After all, there''s a possibility you would leave Anfang ande to where I am. It would mean I created apetitor for myself using my own hands," Minerva appraised Eren intently as she spoke. "Why offer me something like this then?" Eren questioned, his brows furrowed as he regarded Minerva. She gently took the Array Disk from Eren''s grasp, treating it as a cherished creation. A sigh of fond nostalgia escaped her lips before she continued. "The reasoning behind my decision to grant you this Array Disk is rtively straightforward," Minerva exined, her voice a blend of reflection and exnation. "After departing from Anfang, my understanding of the craft delved even deeper, enabling me to conceive revolutionary creations that I could monopolize. Furthermore, a bit of guilt for withholding the Virtue Series Marks from you yed a role. Thus, I chose to offer you this C the sole conduit within Anfang that not only enables the synthesis of Andrium but also empowers you to forge your unique strains of Andrium alloys." Eren''s gratitude manifested in a warm smile, prompting his next inquiry. "Keke. I''m grateful, Sage Minerva. But how did you manage to fabricate Andrium, a substance believed to solely exist in nature? Was it your prowess in potion-making or mastery of alchemy that made it possible?" Chapter 1456 Summoning-Type Formation: Woodland Creatures Edition ? Minerva paused, considering Eren''s question before responding thoughtfully. "I would attribute the synthesis of Andrium to a fusion of my expertise in both potion-making and alchemy. Yet, there''s another piece of the puzzle that most wouldn''te to see. Otherwise, Anfang''s Rankers might have deciphered my form long ago. My Virtue Series Marks yed a crucial role in devising this method. Had you acquired these Marks, you wouldn''t have needed to retain the Array Disk exclusively. Mastery of the techniques stored within, coupled with the Virtue Series Marks as a conduit, could have enabled you to create your personalized Andrium. However, since youck these Marks, this Array Disk would also serve you as a transcendent-grade artifact. It can act as a conduit for you to synthesize your unique Andrium variety." Minerva''s words unfolded the tale of her ingenuity. "One of these Array Disks has been seamlessly integrated into the Utopia''s construct, ceaselessly producing Andrium ingots as rewards for the fledgling entities who venture here. This serves as another essential facet of my inheritance." Walking amidst the suspended array of resources, Minerva exined the reason behind the mystery surrounding the creation of Andrium, one that baffled countless Sage-ranked alchemists and potion makers. The intent-based magic that Minerva harnessed, capable of producing an unending abundance of Andrium ingots, defied replication through conventional reverse engineering. The intricacies of this type of magic remained elusive to the regr Rankers of Anfang. It allowed Minerva to be a legendary figure among the present Sages for aplishing the seemingly impossible C bestowing upon the world an endless supply of Andrium that was believed to be very limited in quantity and exclusively the product of nature. ''This Array Disk might not be useful to me while I''m still in Anfang. But it''s a treasure with lots of opportunities. I can even make use of it when I finally enter the otherworlds,'' Eren ruminated, his gaze fixated on the gleaming golden disk cradled in his palm. A premonition whispered to him that Minerva''s gift possessed an enduring capacity, perhaps even the potential to forge his fortune beyond Anfang. This was a gift that would keep on giving as long as he made the right use of it. In this world, Eren''s wealth and influence had burgeoned, but he acknowledged that he would be a nobody beyond the Anfang''s confines. Minerva''s bestowment, he spected, could transmute into a wealth-generating machine in the wider cosmos. Storing the Array Disk within his ID Storage, Eren turned his attention to the array of other rewards. Among Minerva''s treasures, one item beckoned to him with particr allure C a colossal runic scroll spanning thirty feet. Eren extended his hands, a gentle infusion of mana coaxing the scroll''s contents to life. His gaze descended upon the intricate array embedded on the parchment, seeking to decode the mysteries concealed within its intricacies. "Hmm? This... appears to be a creature-summoning formation," Eren noted, his focus riveted on theplex magic circle pattern etched onto the scroll. The material itself exuded an essence akin to the essence of powerful S-Rank Woond Creatures, bestowing an aura of inherent might upon the scroll''s very substance. Unbeknownst to Minerva, Eren''s array mastery and summoning expertise paralleled his prowess inbat and potion craft. Hence, her impressed gaze rested upon him as he unraveled the foundational principles enshrouding the ancient and intricate runic array. With a subtle gesture, Minerva directed his attention to an adjacent volume. "Indeed, Eren. What you''re seeing is a Mandrake Formation, capable of summoning a limitless amount of Mega Mandrakes, as long as you have enough Extols to support its operability. By tweaking its configuration, you can extend its use to summon a spectrum of Woond Creatures. Look over there. The book beside it describes the procedure of utilization and adaptations needed for summoning diverse Woond Creatures," Minerva borated, her toneden with imparted wisdom. Eren realized that Minerva''s legacy epassed not only the perpetual yield of Andrium ingots but also the limitless summoning of the Mega Mandrakes, thanks to this ingenious summoning formation. Notably, the summoning threshold of Mega Mandrakes had been intentionally calibrated to the C-Rank, likely to ensure equilibrium for Expert Rankbatants. However, the formation Eren had been rewarded as extended beyond such confines. It presented Eren with the potential to conjure even S-Rank Mega Mandrakes, though the consequences of this action could be perilous. Eren, of course, wasn''t recklessly prone to summoning entities beyond his control in the first ce. Eren''s eyes, gleaming like emeralds, danced with excitement as he nced over the contents of the opened book. What he discovered was that Minerva''s rewards resonated beyond his expertise as a potion maker, embracing his roles as an array master and summoner. This singr array formation, coupled with its apanying tome, unveiled a realm of possibilities that epassed Eren''s diverse skill set. He could use this reward in creative ways to make the most of it. The Andrium Radix, though brimming with potential, demanded diligent study before its benefits could be harnessed. Conversely, the Mandrake Formation Scroll beckoned immediate utilization, an opportunity Eren was eager to embrace. ''Hmm. This Mandrake Formation is useful indeed. It can be used for summoning Woond Creatures to serve as alchemical resources or potioning materials. But that shouldn''t be its only application. In my hands, it''ll soon be something entirely different. Keke. I''m d I met with Minerva here and cleared her Utopia. In the grand scheme of things, battle prowess alone isn''t everything. Sage Minerva is not like the other Sages I have met till this point. I needed someone like her to guide me in the right direction when ites to my side professions. My side professions are the ones that''ll help me put food on the table right after stepping outside Anfang after all.'' Eren contemted, his gaze transfixed on the intricate runic pattern hovering above him. Proficiencies in potion-making, array maniption, and summoning intertwined within him, equipping him to explore uncharted applications for this gift beyond even Minerva''s conception. === AN: Andrium and Mega Mandrakes were exined in chapter 466. Chapter 1457 Borrowed Might Potions ? After securing the Mandrake Formation and its apanyingpendium, Eren expressed his gratitude once more to Minerva before proceeding to scrutinize the remaining rewards. Next on his inventory was a transcendent-grade potion enabling the casting of elemental spells with the powers of an S-Rank entity. This consumable, a one-time-use elixir, granted Eren temporary ess to a singr S-Rank spell. There were three potion bottles of this kind. This means Eren could technically cast three S-Rank elemental spells. There would be side effects but Minerva assured that they wouldn''t be permanent or life threatening. Minerva also cautioned Eren that while these potions augmented his spellcasting, his own Elemental Attainments would invariably impose constraints, preventing an exact replication of a Sage Ranker''s might. Since Eren was a Master Ranker at this point, the Sage predicted that Eren would be able to unleash the might of the beginning of the A-Rank using these potions. Minerva aptly named these potions as Type One Borrowed Might potions. Minerva knew the power structure of Anfang as well as the restrictions and policies set by the Anfang Alliance. She warned Eren that he shouldn''t use these potions unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, he would be taken in for questioning by Anfang Alliance for carrying such destructing threats on his personnel. In addition to the consumable potions, Eren found himself bestowed with augment-type elixirs. These potent concoctions held the power to temporarily elevate the prowess of diverse artifacts and weaponry to the echelons of S-Rank might to some extent. Minerva called these potions Type Two Borrowed Might potions. The Type Two Borrowed Might potions, while potent, had their constraints. Their efficacy was dependent on the quality of the targeted artifact and the variance between a Ranker''s original status and the S-RankC a wider gap led to diminished effects. Nheless, Minerva surmised that these elixirs could potentially enable Eren to channel the might of up to a Grandmaster Ranker in their prime. However, the potency of these potions would be fleeting,sting merely a few seconds at best. Additionally, their utilization risked damaging the targeted artifacts, with the potential forplete destruction once the heightened influence of the potion waned. ''This this is even better than the summoning formation. I can use these potions anytime I want. With these Borrowed Might potions at my disposal, I''ve acquired another arsenal of trump cards. The Lazarus Project ising to an end. At this point, I couldn''t have imagined a more fitting trick to keep on me at all times as a backup,'' Eren reflected, securing the potions within his ID Storage. Minerva was very thorough with her rewards. Her gifts included these Borrowed Might elixirs as well as the potioning and alchemical insights essential for their creation. The weight of seeding Minerva in her legacypelled Eren to not only inherit but also innovate upon her research. This was the essence of the sage''s inheritance. The Sages who left the inheritance grounds wanted to witness the blossoming of fresh ideas from the seeds of knowledge they had sown. Minerva wasn''t a run-of-the-mill potion maker; her fortey in enhancing spells, artifacts, and ranking resources through the catalytic magic of her elixirs. Thus, her legacy epassed not just potion recipes but also this specialized facet of her expertise. Eren marveled at the richness of the inheritance Minerva had entrusted him with. It contained a trove of precious resources poised to benefit him even beyond his ascent into the A-Rank. His dual pursuits when it came to the generation of wealth C potion-making and artifact craftsmanship C could both reap rewards from the rare magical minerals, diverse metal ingots, and ranked herbs that were now at his disposal. All thanks to Minerva. Over the past nine years, Eren''s resources, obtained from various sources, had gradually diminished due to his experimentation in potion-making and crafting artifacts. While the City of White Raven had periodically replenished his funds and other ranking resources, there was a limit to how much Eren could allocate from the city''s finances for his personal projects. Additionally, the challenge of acquiring rare ranking resources extended beyond mary constraints. Their scarcity posed a significant hurdle, contributing to their exorbitant prices. In this context, one could assert that Minerva''s rewards came at precisely the opportune moment when Eren''s need was most pressing. These rewards provided him with a timely influx of resources. Eren spared little time contemting the resources Minerva had presented to him. He cast fleeting nces at them and posed a series of questions to Minerva to rify their nature. With thorough exnations, Minerva not only addressed Eren''s queries but also offered essential precautions for the proper utilization of the rewards she had extended. In addition to these valuable resources, Minerva ced into Eren''s possession an unassuming-looking Array Disk. However, Eren was taken aback to discover that this seemingly ordinary disk contained meticulously recorded experiment logs from Minerva''s tenure in Anfang. Astonishingly, these logs epassed not only textual information but also audiovisual data and Minerva''s personal recollections intertwined with her pursuits in potion-making and alchemy. Minerva could have employed alternative methods to directly transmit her knowledge to Eren. Yet, adopting such an approach would have sapped her soul fragment''s vigor, resulting in her eventual fading from Anfang. Minerva was reluctant to let her soul fragment disperse just yet without finding the right candidate to receive the Virtue Series Marks she had to offer. Thus, the Sage Ranker opted to furnish Eren withprehensive written records of her field of expertise. Concurrently, she initiated his guidance, offering insights into crucial nuances embedded within her legacy. Eren weed the abundance of information Minerva shared. She discerned his exceptional capacity to perpetuate her legacy, his adeptness spanning diverse domains despite his rtive youth. Standing before her was a young man not even a century old, yet already possessing profound acumen in potion-making, artifact craftsmanship, and runic array formation. She wondered how he could have achieved something like that? Eren seemed to embody the cumtive wisdom that thend of the faithless had to offer. Chapter 1458 Obtaining the Governing Rights of Minerva’s Utopia

Chapter 1458 Obtaining the Governing Rights of Minervas Utopia

Eren had made use of the Sage legacies as stepping stones to expand his knowledge across diverse domains and amass a range of proficiencies in such a short time. The Sage legacies he had selected were impably aligned with his aptitudes and passions. They functioned as convenient shortcuts, enabling him to secure his desired gains from Anfang prior to embarking on his journey to explore other realms. In addition to Sage Minerva''s inheritance, the butcher had embraced the legacies of Nira Nightshade, Ivar Ironside, Youffie Loxley, and Sansara Sage. One might say that he had even absorbed a portion of Sage Eliza''s inheritance with the Sin Series Marks and her gifting him with Argo. The discussion between Eren and Minervasted for almost a day. By the end of the discussion, Eren bowed in front of Sage Minerva once again before conveying his thanks. "Your guidance has been invaluable, Sage Minerva. If you don''t mind, I n to seek out your true self after I step out of Anfang," Eren expressed with a tone of deep respect. Minerva raised an eyebrow before addressing him. "Hmm? You are already nning to get out of Anfang with your current Rank?" Minerva''s voice held a touch of surprise. "It kind of makes sense though. Considering the peculiarities of the Immortal nes, I suppose the Master Rank is enough of a qualification. Alright. If you seed in exiting Anfang and venturing to the world where I reside, you''re wee to locate me. Honestly? If you had acquired the Virtue Series Marks, I could have arranged a means for you to leave. A special Gate could have been created, blessed by the Virtue Series Marks, guiding you to my world. But it''s useless for the current you, given your possession of the Sin Series Marks. The way out I could offer is perilous, if not fatal," Minerva concluded with a sigh. Eren found himself surprised by Minerva''s extensive knowledge across various domains. Despite aligning herself with the divine faction, she had chosen an independent route instead of aligning with the Anfang Alliance. The Sage had attained ess to the Virtue Series Marks on her own ord, forging her own passage out of Anfang withoutpromising with the Anfang Alliance''s restrictive terms. It appeared that Minerva had uncovered an alternative route to transcend into the Immortal nes. Her method involved a fusion of potion usage, alchemy, and reverse-summoning formations, a stark departure from the approaches taken by Sansara Sage or the Anfang Alliance. As Eren delved deeper into the achievements of exceptional Sages spanning various eras, his fascination with their aplishments grew. Each outstanding Sage of their generation, it seemed, had responded to the same question in their own unique ways. They hade up with their own set of answers. And all these diverse solutions held equal merit, none overshadowing the others. ''Damn. I guess no Sage from Anfang should be underestimated, regardless of their domain. The progress of the Rankers here, considering the istion of Anfang from broader interworld civilizations, is remarkable,'' Eren mused to himself as he rose from his meditative pose and stood. "Sage Minerva, it seems you seek a suitable wielder for the Virtue Series Marks, am I right? I believe I have a candidate who could excel in acing all your trials. With a bit of guidance from me, they can surely meet all your expectations," Eren stated, a smile gracing his features. At this juncture, Minerva had intuited that Eren sought a quid pro quo for proposing a fitting candidate for her Virtue Marks. "Hmm. I could surely use the right candidate capable of embracing my core legacy fully. I will entrust them with all the wisdom I''ve shared with you. Plus, I want to guide them regarding the manifold applications of the Virtue Series Marks I havee to develop on my own. But it seems you desire something in return for presenting such a candidate to me. So, do share, what is it?" Minerva inquired with a sense of urgency. Eren''s manner ofmunication hinted that his rmended candidate was exceedingly capable of receiving her legacy in its entirety. Minerva couldn''t help getting intrigued by Eren''s proposal. "I don''t want anything big after receiving all the rewards from you. I just want your assurance that this Utopia will persist in its current state even after you''ve chosen the ideal heir to inherit your legacy. Is that possible?" Eren inquired, a trace of uncertainty tingeing his tone. He perceived Utopia''s architecture as self-sustaining, yet he harbored doubts about Minerva''smitment to its continuity after selecting her sessor. It was usible that the Sage would opt to close the Utopia after finding her true heir. "It seems you still want to milk this ce for all it has even though you are nning to leave Anfang. Hehe. you sure are a greedy fellow. Not wanting to lose everything you''ve built so far, I take it?" Eren nodded to Minera''s casual query. Minerva chuckled before continuing further. "Hehe. I can rte. To bepletely frank, I intended to permanently close this secluded dimension once I identified the true heir to my legacy," Minerva shared, her fingers toying with her hair, winding the strands around them absentmindedly. "You see, Eren, I also pledged to grant Meeli her freedom once I discovered the rightful sessor to my legacy. This release from her role as the guardian of this Utopia has long been her aspiration. She grew genuinely thrilled when she learned that you might be the heir I sought. However, since you haven''t yet received my core legacy, Meeli''s duty as the Utopia''s caretaker had to be continued. If the candidate you propose does indeed fulfill all my criteria, I am willing to maintain Utopia''s operation with the assurance that Meeli will be relieved from her role. Her departure would entail certain functionalities of the Utopia ceasing or functioning improperly. Moreover, you would need to arrange for a few individuals to ensure the smooth operation of the remaining setup. While the Utopia is, in essence, self-sustaining, a degree of watchfulness is necessary. Assuming you agree with this arrangement, I can introduce some modifications and delegate control over the Utopia to you. This, of course, hinges on your ability to provide the right candidate in the first ce," Minerva calmly proposed. Chapter 1459 Minervas True Successor ? House Carren Estate. The City of White Raven. Within the confines of a sophisticated and meticulously maintained potionb, two skilled potion-makers engaged in aplex and intricate brewing process. A young man, his emerald green eyes asionally gleaming with a distinctive light, observed the potion-making procedure with utmost attention, guiding a beautiful elf young woman through the intricate steps. Her concentration was palpable, her actions meticulously aligned with the young man''s instructions, resulting in the creation of an exceptionally intricate concoction. The young man in question was Eren, while the beautiful elfina standing before him, her countenance a blend of charm and elegance, was Lensa Carren. Eren had promptly headed to the Carren Estate after his departure from Minerva''s Utopia,mencing Lensa''s training the moment they met. Of course, Lensa was the individual Eren intended to present to Minerva as the rightful heir to herplete legacy. Having dedicated nearly a decade to the art of potioneering, Lensa exhibited remarkable talent in this domain. Her Abilities flourished, propelling her advancement through the ranks at an impressive pace. Mastery over her Elemental Attainments and her proficiency in manipting light reached the pinnacle within her current rank, a testament to her relentless practice and unyielding effort. Lensa''s previous setback during Minerva''s trial, marred by Sienna Slughorn''s interference, had instilled profound lessons. Although she skillfully utilized the incident to dissolve her engagement with Ken, Lensa remained unsatisfied with the overall oue. This prompted her to intensify her dedication to potion-making. Following in Minerva''s footsteps, she delved into the expansive field of alchemy, expanding her knowledge of diverse runic array formations to enhance her repertoire of potions. In her pursuit, Lensa benefited from the guidance and resources offered by House Karren, which facilitated her growth in the craft. Her ess to the exclusive elven wisdom concerning potion-making and alchemy propelled her rapid progress. Additionally, Eren''s asional assistance throughout thest nine years, woven into their time spent as a couple, further bolstered her skills as a potion-maker. Lensa had demonstrated herself to be a proficient potion maker, treading a path akin to that of Minerva''s expertise. It was this congruence that fueled Eren''s confidence in her bing Sage Minerva''s true sessor. Lensa had been poised to undertake Minerva''s tests once again, a preparation spanning a decade anyway. She had stayed in the Carren Estate that was located inside the City of White Raven for the same reason. The episode involving Sienna had illuminated her shorings, spurring her growth. Save for the Test of Bravery, she had mastered all other challenges within Minerva''s Utopia. Eren, well-acquainted with the test levels Lensa would encounter, initiated her guidance upon leaving Minerva''s realm. Today marked Eren''s seventh and final day of mentoring Lensa. His knowledge in potioneering and alchemy had nearly caught up with hers, leaving him with little more to impart. Nheless, he offered insights on refining her spells and abilities with respect to the tests, elevating her chances of achieving perfect scores. Having conquered these trials himself, the butcher hade up with the tactics that would ensure Lensa scored 100 out of 100 in each. Of course, since he had already taken permission from Sage Minerva, training her to improve a specific set of spells wouldn''t be seen as a form of cheating by Meeli or the Utopia''s pre-configured setup. With her focus on the path of a potioneer, Lensa had tailored herbat style ordingly. It hinged on leveraging potions to augment her physical attributes and mana reservoir, weakening foes through potion-inflicted debuffs, and enhancing elemental spells with potion-derived effects. She had even mastered the art of generating potions from ambient mana, serving as both container and catalyst. Lensa had also mastered a distinct summoning technique, conjuring spectral beasts as battle allies. Unlike conventional summoned entities, these spectral creatures were materialized with the potion''s foundation rather than upying mana bodies. Thus, their summoning didn''t deplete Lensa''s mana, relying instead on the potion''s infused mana for attacks and recovery. As long as the potion''s potency endured, these summoned creatures remained impervious to annihtion. In his current guidance, Eren was directing Lensa to brew a series of potions enabling her to summon colossal Spectral Beasts. Upon integrating Eren''s rmendations, these summoned beings would gain amplified power, equipping them to vanquish the shadow creatures that popted the Test of Bravery. Lensahad elemental affinity with the light-element mana. Plus, her diabolic Ability allowed her to cause massive explosions. As a result, the Spectral Beasts she summoned using her potions came with a default "kill-switch." Therefore, Eren was confident that Lensa would fare better than him in the Test of Bravery, which employed shadow creatures as adversaries. She had the elemental affinity that was the bane of the shadow creatures after all. Moreover, the shadow-wielding Ranger Eren had faced as the Last Boss in the Test of Bravery had light-element capabilities as well. If Lensa could outmaneuver the Ranger on his own turf, deploying her Spectral Beasts, she stood a chance to triumph over this trial. As for contending with pain, Eren advised Lensa to rely on numbing potions. Throughout the week, Eren subjected Lensa to various tests, refining her approach to each challenge. He mated with her throughout the course of the week, eliminating the Sin of Lust Brand from her soul. This maneuver aimed to ensure Lensa encountered no impediments when she epted the Virtue Series Mark. All of these measures were steps toward Eren''s goal of attaining the control of Minerva''s Utopia after sessfully designating Lensa as the rightful heir to Minerva''s legacy. The massive volumetric sk, seemingly crafted from pure light-element mana, autonomously heated as Lensa activated the runes inscribed upon it. With control over the runic array formationid out before her, she orchestrated the potion-making process and incorporated additional ingredients into the mixture within the sk. At the moment of addition, signs of destabilization rippled through the potion, and the sk itself appeared on the brink of rupture. However, Lensa adeptly intervened, adjusting the mana output to quell the destabilization before catastrophe struck. "Haah... It''s done." === AN: Lensa attempts the Test of Patience for the first time in chapter 702. Sienna interferes in Lensa''s test in chapter 705. Eren brands Lensa with the Mist of Lust Ability in chapter 765. Chapter 1460 Bigger Playground ? "Haah... It''s done." Lensa exhaled breathlessly. Swiftly, the volumetric sk shrank to palm size, transforming into a translucent potion vial suffused with light-element mana. Its contents, an enigmatic purple brew, seemed to simmer perpetually. p. p. p. Apuse broke out, apanied by Eren''s appreciative smile. Drawing close, he enveloped Lensa in his embrace, his hand caressing her hair as she nestled against his chest. "Do Do you want me to summon the Spectral Beast?" Lensa inquired between breaths. With a chuckle, Eren responded, "Keke, no need. With this, you''re fully prepared, my darling." Lensa found sce in Eren''s agreement to allow her another attempt at Minerva''s tests. While she remained uncertain about her own capabilities, she ced strong faith in Eren''s discerning judgment. His words infused her with newfound assurance. "Eren," Lensa murmured gently, her head resting upon his chest. "The way you''re doing changes within your city, and the presence you carry around those close to you... Are you nning to go somewhere? Another period of introspection and secluded training, perhaps to deepen your Ranking Path? But you have just broken into the Master Rank. Why would you" Eren hesitated briefly before replying. "Well, in a way, I''m indeed nning to go somewhere very far, Lenny. The future is still kinda a blur to me, but one thing is clear C I won''t wait for opportunities toe to me. The space I have here has served its purpose. Let''s just say I''ll gather all the valuable tools and toys I can and venture out in search of a "bigger yground."" Lensa sensed Eren was nning something big, though the details eluded her. She understood he wouldn''t readily share them either. It appeared this had been a long-considered n, and she refrained from burdening him with probing questions. "Hmm. I... I want to apany you to that ''bigger yground,'' wherever it may be. Take me with you," Lensa implored, her arms encircling Eren, absorbing hisforting presence. Eren chuckled before responding. "Fear not. This ce will forever remain a home I can return to, Lenny. I''ll just go ahead and have a look, securing a foothold. And then I''ll pave the way for others to follow. And if your eagerness cannot be contained, there''s a possibility within Minerva''s Utopia that might lead you to that ''bigger yground.'' Sage Minerva will exin everything. That is, if you can truly be her rightful heir," Eren assured, his hand tenderly tracing circles on Lensa''s back. Lifting her head, Lensa met Eren''s gaze, and an unspoken understanding flowed between them. Moving closer, their connection deepened, and their lips met in a tender kiss. The secluded potionb transformed into a realm exclusively for the couple to share this intimate moment. *** Around four months remain until the conclusion of the Lazarus Project. The pace of events on the battlefield between the kingdoms of Edinburgh and Layos was intensifying. The Ace and Adept Rankers were no longer adequate cannon fodder, as the deployment of Master and Grandmaster-ranked entities was bing increasinglymon. Eren didn''t wait for Carvel''s aggression. Instead, he initiated a preemptive strike on House Horin, located within the kingdom of Layos. With Slyphie''s assistance, he tapped into cultist organizations and rogue Rankers, leveraging them against House Horin without the need to personally enter Layos. Carvel Horin, a Master Ranker elf, had overtly threatened Eren following the death of Birmond on the battlefield. Armed with a wyvern named Akass from the kingdom of Layos, Carvel sought vengeance for his nephew Hamang''s death at Eren''s hands. Unbeknownst to him, Eren had already marked the entire Horin n due to Carvel''s hostile words. Instead of spewing venom verbally, the butcher preferred to take decisive actions. House Horin experienced significant losses, and their control over ranking resources within Layos suffered due to various surprise attacks sponsored by Eren. Carvel''s intentions to avenge Hamang were sidelined as he grappled with the aftermath of Eren''s devastating strike against his n. Though Eren had carefully concealed his involvement, anyone familiar with the dynamics between the two kingdoms would likely deduce his hand in the attacks against House Horin. He had harnessed the fringe elements within Layos to cause another internal upheaval. Eren''s focus on consequences appeared to have waned as the war between the kingdoms approached its end. It seemed that he just didn''t care if he would be persecuted by the Anfang Alliance after the war. Carvel now deeply regretted provoking Eren. Thetter came across as a vengeful demon to him, uninterested in mere threats but inclined to deliver ruthless blows that left enemies devastated. Carvel came to a conclusion regarding Eren. This was a form of enemy one shouldn''t mess with unless they had a way topletely get rid of them with one swift move. Of course, Carvel had attempted simr tactics against Eren, exploiting his wealth and connections. However, curiously, cultist organizations and rogue Rankers within the kingdom of Edinburgh didn''t ept offers to harm Eren''s forces no matter how tempting Carvel made them out to be. The Grimdawn''s reputation seemed to deter any attempts to target him or his forces in Edinburgh. His previous actions had be a shield against the enemy''s potential aggression. As a long-standing powerhouse in Layos, House Horin''s recent tribtions had a ripple effect on the kingdom''s military strength along the border dispute. The kingdom of Edinburgh benefitted from this turmoilC scoring more victories on the battlefield as the two sides kept settling border disputes across various regions. To safeguard itself from potential targeting by Layos'' fringe elements, House Horin found itself resorting to drastic measures. The house relinquished its resource-abundant territories and shut down all of its businesses. Additionally, they relocated most of their members to remote areas. These actions tarnished House Horin''s reputation, paving the way for rival houses within Layos, which had long standing grievances with House Horin, to capitalize on their vulnerability and seize what was once rightfully under House Horin''s domain. The butcher didn''t need to intervene directly once House Horin''s adversaries began their maneuvers. It could be argued that his prior actions had set off a chain reaction,pelling these adversaries to act against House Horin. === AN: Carvel Horin threatens Eren in chapter 1435. Chapter 1461 Carvel’s Counterattack

Chapter 1461 Carvels Counterattack

Less than four months remain until the conclusion of the Lazarus Project. Carvel Horin shifted his strategy, transitioning from relying on others to harm Eren and his allies to direct and forceful retaliation against the forces of Edinburgh. The previous approach had burdened House Horin''s finances without yielding substantial results, prompting them to reconsider their tactics. House Horin now concentrated on bolstering Layos'' war campaign to strike back at Eren. They recognized that they no longer required the assistance of fringe elements within Edinburgh to target Eren, as his Guild was inevitably deploying members to the battlefield. This provided House Horin ample opportunities for retaliation. The n extended its support not only to Carvel but also to other n members active in Layos'' army. House Horin equipped them with rare artifacts and expendable ranking resources to eliminate the enemy. These valuables, previously secured in House Horin''s vault, were unleashed to demonstrate the n''s prowess to Edinburgh and to dissuade other houses causing unrest within Layos. Wherever Carvel Horin fought within Layos'' ranks, victory followed. This trend persisted even when he faced one of Edinburgh''s most renowned Rankers, Manas Reach. In a matter of hours, Carvel''s forces overwhelmed Manas'' contingent. Manas Reach spearheaded Edinburgh''s pseudo Spirit Beast Program,manding apany of Pseudo Spirit Beast Spell users. Edinburgh believed that Manas and his unit would pose a strong challenge to Carvel Horin and his wyvern, Akass. Yet, their assessment proved incorrect. Manas had achieved considerable sess over the nine years of battles against Layos, progressively expanding Edinburgh''s territories. While he suffered a handful of defeats, he managed them skillfully, preserving hispany''s core strength amid the chaos of war. The pseudo Spirit Beast Program had significantly empowered Edinburgh, and Manas'' unit performed admirably against Layos'' regr Rankers. Each member of Manas''pany wielded a Pseudo Spirit Beast spell, enabling them to dominate opponents and secure contestednds. Unbeknownst to Manas and Edinburgh, Layos had devised countermeasures against the pseudo Spirit Beast users. They harnessed draconic creatures, leveraging their power against their adversaries. In their initial sh, Manas failed to overpower the opponent with his Pseudo Spirit Beast spell. He could only inflict minor injuries on Akass, the wyvern. He had tobine the powers of all hispanions and their respective Pseudo Spirit Beasts to inflict some serious damage to Akass. Yet, even this was insufficient to subdue Akass. It appeared that the wyvern had no adversaries among Rankers below the Grandmaster Rank. Given that the mana beast fell within the B-Rank ssification, Edinburgh couldn''t enlist Grandmaster Rankers to neutralize the threat, presenting a predicament that confounded Edinburgh''s forces. Thus, Akass had transformed into a symbol of dread for Edinburgh''s military, sowing destruction wherever it engaged inbat and exacting a heavy toll on the lives of numerous Rankers from Edinburgh due to its formidable power. Manas, despite exerting all his strength, couldn''t vanquish the wyvern. This inability forced him to acknowledge the inadequacy of Edinburgh''s Pseudo Spirit Beast program, which had been specially devised to counter Layos'' forces. Or it could be said that Layos'' approach to handling the situation was more effective. The elves of Layos had ingeniously formted their own techniques for subduing these formidable draconic creatures, showcasing their resourcefulness in managing these potent entities. Employing their distinct methods of taming the creatures not only demonstrated their strategic acumen but also proved economical, saving them from costly war-driven endeavors. Nevertheless, these draconic beings were fiercely proud, making it impossible for the forces of Layos to rely solely on their method of control. They had to treat these creatures as allies, offering rare ranking resources in exchange for their willing cooperation. Otherwise, the creatures might have engaged in self-destructive conflicts with Layos'' forces, despite the elves'' unique beast-controlling methods. This was why Carvel needed to invest a substantial portion of his family''s wealth to control Akass. Still, Layos'' approach emerged as a more cost-effective alternativepared to Edinburgh''s borate Pseudo Spirit Beast Program. While Edinburgh meticulously charted its path for the war, Layos adopted a pragmatic strategy to counter Edinburgh''s program, ultimately proving to be the most effective course of action. This marked the second encounter between Carvel''s and Manas''panies in the battlefields of their respective kingdoms. During their initial sh, Manas had adeptly employed Anfang Alliance''s rules as a protective shield, managing to salvage most of his core team and himself from Carvel and Akass'' onught. This maneuver allowed him to survive the skirmish, even though he had lost the battle and the contestednd. Now, facing each other once more, Carvel was resolute in preventing Manas from evading him again. After a fierce engagement with Manas and his forces, Carvel emerged victorious. Although Akass yed a significant role in this triumph, Carvel''s personal vengeance against all of Edinburgh''s forces was evident with the way he had shed with Manas'' forces so aggressively. Frustrated by his inability to target Eren directly, he was determined topel Edinburgh to dispatch Grimdawn back to the battlefield by eliminating their esteemed Rankers, no matter the cost. He was sure that the enemy kingdom and Eren himself wouldn''t be able to ignore the pressure of the masses that''de up with his aggressive stance and Edinburgh''s casualties on the battlefield. Driven by his mission to confront Eren personally, Carvel didn''t allow Manas'' to dere surrender, resulting in Manas'' demise during their second encounter. Manas reach died while inflicting a severe injury on Carvel as well as Akass. Many of the key Rankers who had been part of Manas'' leadership in the Pseudo Spirit Beast Program also met their end, leaving only a few survivors. If Arjun still served in Edinburgh''s army, he would have likely perished, having enrolled in the Pseudo Beast Program. Fortunately for him, Eren''s guidance had extricated him from this perilous situation. Presently, Arjun and hisrade Lyon belonged to the White Raven Guild, both retaining the Pseudo Spirit Beast Spell thanks to their past affiliation with the Edinburgh Army. Despite this, their allegiance had shifted, rendering them beyond the kingdom''s control. === AN: Manas Reach and the Pseudo Spirit Beast Program were introduced in chapter 714. The Pseudo Spirit Beast Spell was first mentioned in chapter 585. Eren instructs Arjun and Lyon to leave the Edinburgh army and invites them into his guid in chapter 900. Chapter 1462 Wyvern Armor Set + Wrath Mana

Chapter 1462 Wyvern Armor Set + Wrath Mana

? Around three months remain until the conclusion of the Lazarus Project. Carvel''s presence on the battlefield had intensified over the past few weeks. His aggressivebat style had proven instrumental in settling numerous border disputes in favor of the kingdom of Layos. Despite the kingdom''s rmendation for mandatory respite, Carvel remained relentless. House Horin''s dire circumstances demanded drastic action,pelling Carvel to forsake rest. The House conveyed that it needed the support of Layos royalty to quell the internal upheaval inflicted by its adversaries. To secure this assistance, Carvel and his n members needed to secure resounding victories that favored Layos on the battlefield. Of course, Carvel''s excessive battlefield involvement wasn''t solely driven by his n''s request. He had a multitude of motivations fueling his participation in battles across various regions. Firstly, both the kingdom of Layos and his npensated him substantially for his active role. Secondly, bolstered by his partnership with Akass the wyvern, Carvel brimmed with confidence. With Akass by his side, he could effortlessly dominate any battlefield. Thirdly, Carvel harbored a personal desire to avenge his nephew Hamang''s death. Though he had transcended his initial grief, Eren''s use of Hamang''s remains as a bargaining chip had left Carvel determined to eliminate Eren. He sought to establish his authority and rectify the humiliation inflicted upon him when Eren, newly elevated to Master Rank at that time, had in Hamang despite Carvel''s presence alongside Akass. This incident had exposed Carvel to scorn from his adversaries and garnered usations of ipetence, even with the considerable resources and the formidable Akass at his disposal. Anticipating that the kingdom of Edinburgh would soon align Eren with Layos'' Master Rankers due to his stabilized Ranking Status as a B-Ranker, Carvel aimed to orchestrate another confrontation with Eren. No longer reliant on external avenues for vengeance, Carvel resolved to exploit the ongoing conflict between the two kingdoms as a tform to address his personal vendettas. Consequently, Carvel embarked on a campaign of taunting Eren, uttering his name like an invocation on every battlefield he dominated. His macabre signature involved inscribing Eren''s name on the fallen bodies, a sinister message directed at both Edinburgh and Grimdawn. Carvel deliberately left the victims'' remains untouched, permitting the forces of Edinburgh to im them, ensuring his message reached the masses. In addition to his grim symbolism, Carvel began branding Eren and his fellow Edinburgh Rankers by proxy as cowards, referencing their strategic retreat from their previous engagement. Informed members of Edinburgh''s forces knew the truth C Eren''s decision was strategic, not cowardice. Nheless, Carvel sought to manipte public perception, tarnishing Eren''s reputation and dismantling the aura of Grimdawn. While Carvel couldn''t harm Eren physically, he aimed to mortally wound Eren''s reputation, painting him as a coward and unpatriotic. The general popce of Edinburgh wasrgely ignorant of Eren''s circumstances during the relinquishment of the contestednd to Carvel. Yet, public sentiment was indifferent to the nuances of a "strategic retreat," driven by raw emotion. Their focus was resolutely fixed on Eren''s eptance of defeat rather than a valiant stand against Carvel. Carvel strategically hoped to stir a public uproar by amplifying the news of Eren''s surrender of the disputed territory. Simultaneously, he was well aware that he would be the ultimate antagonist in Edinburgh''s collective eyes. ndering Grimdawn and mocking the entire kingdom would inevitably have unforeseen consequences. Carvel''s actions would portray him as a major obstacle that Edinburgh needed to ovee to boost public morale. As Carvel wished, the public sentiment evolved C it demanded Eren to personally vanquish Carvel and Akass to erase the blemish on his popr image. This became the litmus test for Eren to redeem his reputation. Usually, Eren wouldn''t have been chosen as Carvel''s adversary by Edinburgh''s forces. The butcher had only recently ascended to the Master Rank, while Carvel was a seasoned Master Ranker, on the brink of Grandmaster Rank. The difference between the vapor stage and solid stage state in the B-Rank was huge after all. On paper, it appeared foolish to pit Eren against such a seasoned veteran. It would have been wiser for Eren to face Layos'' other Master Rankers who hadn''t progressed as far in their ranking journey, considering Eren''s rtive inexperience as a B-Ranker. Such matchups would maximize Edinburgh''s potential victories in their war against Layos. The Edinburgh army thrived on strategic deployments, optimizing their forces and contracted allies. However, public sentiment''s swaypelled Edinburgh to ultimately designate Eren as Carvel''s adversary. Practicality yielded to the imperative of sustaining public morale. Eren, for his part, remained unfazed by being chosen as Carvel''s opponent. Hisck of response to Carvel''s provocations and his failure to counteract the growing public sentiment in his favor stemmed from his preupation with pressing personal matters. Uponpleting his preparations, Eren took the initiative to contact Edinburgh''s forces, formally epting the assignment to face Carvel in a contested region shared by the two kingdoms. Although the location differed this time, the animosity between Eren and Carvel remained as potent as ever, if not more lopsided. As the moment arrived and Eren encountered Carvel and his formidablepanion Akass on the battlefield, he made a pivotal choice C to confront them without the backing of his ownpany. Apanying him was Naya, driven by her personal stake in Carvel''s eventual demise. Wrath Mana + Wyvern Armor Set For this critical battle, Eren harnessed his newly honed Hex Gear, a strategic surprise neither his allies nor adversaries had anticipated. Previously known as the Bear Armor due to its integration with the essence of a bear-type mana beast, this time Eren had reconfigured it, retaining itspatibility with the Wrath Mana while substituting the bear''s essence with that of a wyvern''s. Eren''s initial guess was right. The wyvern''s soul was indeed better suited to act as a super conduit for the Wrath Mana. This alchemical feat resulted in the creation of the Wyvern Armor, a masterpiece enriched with Eren''s recently aquired Andrium alloy knowledge. The potency of the Wyvern Armor surpassed Eren''s expectations. In a mere five minutes from themencement of their duel, he had killed Carvel, tearing down his body limb by limb. While vanquishing Akass was more challenging, Eren''s meticulous preparations, bolstered by Naya''s assistance, led to the eventual triumph. Remarkably, this marked Eren''s second triumph over a wyvern on the battlefield. Of course, Eren didn''t forget to express his gratitude to Layos'' forces and even Carvel himself in his mind, albeit in an ironic sense, for furnishing him with another wyvern soul so conveniently. Chapter 1463 Dragonoid

Chapter 1463 Dragonoid

"Haaah! So this is how it feels like to be a draconic creature. No wonder these overhyped lizards act all cocky around everyone." Leo Longde, AKA Eren, had refined his Hex Armor Set in the second iteration. He had made optimal use of the Shallot''s Mirror and other convenient tools avable at Baelin''s smithy to create this artifact for himself. It could be said that he was pretty satisfied with the results. Unlike before, he didn''tpletely turn into a bear or a wyvern. He achieved a remarkable bnce that preserved his human-like visage while seamlessly channeling the raw physical prowess and attributes of the beast''s soul encapsted within the armor. Eren''s transformation into his Dragonoid form, granted by the formidable Wyvern Hex Armor set, was a spectacle that struck awe and fear into the hearts of those who beheld it. His forehead bore the imposing presence of two draconic horns, curving with a blend of regality and menace. From his broad shoulders sprouted massive gray wings, reminiscent of the majestic creature, their membrane adorned with intricate patterns that spoke of draconic lineage. His once human form now adorned the scales of the very draconic beings he harnessed, each scale a testament to his newfound power. While still maintaining his humanoid structure with four limbs, Eren''s physique had transformed into a monument of strength and might. His muscles werepressed, rippling beneath his skin, the definition of his abs chiseled with precision. His arms and legs, though brawny, exuded a lean gracefulness, crafted for both lethal precision and raw force. His hands had morphed into formidable talons, echoing the lethal grasp of a wyvern. Yet it was his legs that trulymanded attention. His mighty leg muscles allowed him to stomp the earth with titanic force, creating craters with a single strike. This was not magic, but pure, unadulterated physical strength. Eren''s mana reserves surged to new heights at the time of battling with Carvel and Akass, empowering him with explosive spellcasting capabilities. His senses heightened to an extraordinary degree, allowing him to perceive the world around him with an uncanny rity. His emerald green eyes, once full of human depth, now bore the beastly irises of his draconic lineage. These beasty eyes held an intensity that could send shivers down the spine of any regr Ranker, channeling an aura of primal dominance. The very visage of his face was transformed, covered by ayer of thick scales that made him appear inhuman, almost monstrous. Standing at an imposing 6.8 feet, his stature exudedmand. Yet, amidst this hybrid manifestation of human and wyvern, Eren''s mana signatures emitted an aura of wrath, a being that defied categorization as either wyvern or human. He had turned into a creation of unbridled power, a force that could neither be ignored nor underestimated, a living embodiment of wrathful abomination. Only within the scope of the Berserker ss, avable to Eren, could the true potential of the Dragonoid Form bestowed by histest Hex Armor Set be unlocked in its full potential. And it was the utilization of the Wrath Mana that truly channeled this draconic might into devastating attacks. Without the physical metamorphosis offered by the Berserker ss or the formidable nature of the Wrath Mana, this form could have proven perilous, potentially crumbling under its own potency and harming Eren. In fact, Eren''s audacious alterations to the Hex Armor Set were only possible due to the presence of these options. He would never have dared to tamper with something so potent and hazardous if hecked confidence in his prowess as both a Berserker and a wielder of Wrath Mana. Eren found sce in the fact that he had adeptly harnessed the wyvern''s soul and seamlessly integrated it into his Hex Armor Set, all under the guidance of Shallot''s Mirror. Shallot herself materialized to provide Eren with guidance throughout the intricate process, ensuring the wyvern''s essence remained unscathed. This resulted in Eren''s dragonoid form being not only exceptional but also imbued with a sense of power that made him akin to a half-blood of dragons, a being who had delved into their ancestral abilities to achieve a remarkable transformation. As he dissipated his dragonoid form, Eren''s voice quietly resonated. "This armor has surpassed my expectations. So, this is the genuine potential of a fine-tuned Hex Artifact, huh? Quite impressive, I must say." The Wyvern Hex Armor Set, the guardian of his form, faded into the ether, revealing the butcher''s unblemished state despite the intensebat he had just been engaged in against Carvel and Akass. *** In the heart of a deste battlefield, Eren stood amidst andscape transformed into a molten expanse due to thepound elemental forces unleashed by Carvel and Akass. Unlike Carvel''s previous encounter with deceased Birmond, Eren had not extensively used his ice-element spells, opting instead to engage Carvel and Akass with a relentless ze of his own Fire Element Attainments. He met fire with fire, scorching his adversaries before unleashing the primal force of his dragonoid form, a manifestation of his sheer physical dominance. Carvel''s demise proved swift and rtively effortless for Eren. Even with Akass''s efforts to shield the elf, Eren''s berserk state, fueled by the heightened might of the Berserker ss and his upgraded Hex artifact, enabled him to vanquish Carvel in a matter of minutes. Despite Carvel''s numerous defensive trump cards, they crumbled before Eren''s agile and overpowering onught. Eren strategically employed the ice-element spells he had gained from absorbing Birmond, primarily using them defensively whenever he sensed the Elemental Attainments of Akass threatening to ovee him. This approach didn''t necessarily grant him an upper hand against Akass, but it provided an effective means of self-defense. Unlike the field where Birmond and Carvel had shed, this battlegroundcked the stark contrast of opposing elements. Any lingering ice and snow patches amidst the fieryndscape were solely attributed to Naya''s intervention. With her ice-element attainments, she managed to hinder the might of Carvel and Akass. Naya''s efforts acted as a crucial buffer, preventing Akass''s dominance from entirely subduing Eren, effectively supporting his defense whenever the need arose. Thus, Naya became Eren''s vital ally as he confronted the elf and wyvern head-on. Chapter 1464 Akass Formation

Chapter 1464 Akass Formation

Eren entrusted Naya with the final strikes against both Carvel and Akass. It not only allowed her to avenge Birmond''s death but also provided her with an unexpected catharsis, soothing a sense of unrest she hadn''t recognized within herself. "I still find it hard to believe that Birmond''s experiences and Elemental Attainments ended up with you," Naya materialized beside Eren, her voice gentle and contemtive. Eren responded with a faint smile, his eyes showing a hint of amusement. "Well, I didn''t set out to acquire Birmond''s powers personally. It just happened that the chance was there, and I took it. Hope you get my perspective," Eren said, his shoulders lifting in a nonchnt shrug. He moved around Akass'' lifeless body, studying it with keen interest. Even in death, the massive wyvern emanated an aura of danger through lingering mana signatures. "I don''t mind. In fact, it''s better this way." Naya''s head shook. She remained still, watching Eren''s actions closely. She was gradually peeling back theyers of Eren''s character, uncovering a straightforward andprehensible individual. With each passing day, her grasp on his true nature tightened. He was her master, and she was his loyal demon beastpanion. There was no need for them to hide things from each other. Eren seemed content with his victory this time. In contrast to his previous encounter against the previous wyvern, he had taken care to preserve Akass'' remains. He contemted his kill trophy, squatting by the wyvern''s side and running his hand over its draconic hide. The moment his fingers made contact, a palpable surge of energy coursed through him. ''Both targets are down. No need to hang back, everyone. Proceed to assist others. Let''s wrap up this battle and secure a victory for "dear" Edinburgh,'' Eren''s voice resonated through themunication channel, reaching his trusted guild members. ''Understood,'' Tumko''s response echoed, representing his entire squad''spliance. ''Sure thing, Eren. But keep your vignce,'' Sara Stark chimed in a doting manner before obeying the orders. With Sara and Tumko''s squads departing to support fellowbatants, Eren was left alone with Naya near Akass'' lifeless body. Following Eren''s lead, these two seasoned Rankers directed their teams to join the ongoing engagements. *** With Carvel and Akass now eliminated, the kingdom of Edinburgh could be considered to have secured victory in the contest for the region. Yet, Eren was determined toplete his task of eliminating as many Layos Rankers as possible before the Anfang Alliance intervened to halt the official battle. In the confrontation against Carvel and Akass, Eren and Naya had essentially stood alone. However, Eren had ingeniously employed a distinctive Battle Array Formation, strategically orchestrated by his guild members acting from a distance. Several months prior, Eren, disguised as Leo Longde, had been abducted by a group of formidable Rankers. During this incident, he had been captivated by the artifacts and array formations his captors had utilized to confine and neutralize his powers. These captors, skilled artifact forgers from various corners of Edinburgh, had developed a unique artifact setprising five rings. This ensemble enabled them to suppress Eren''s physical attributes and Elemental Attainments rted to shadow elements. It could be considered an innovative manifestation of a Battle Formation. Unfortunately for the abductors, Eren''s Elemental Attainments weren''t limited to the shadow-element alone. And that''s how a formidable Battle Array Formation failed to give Eren''s enemies an advantage. The failure to see through Eren''s myriad Elemental Attainments had cost his abductors their lives despite their seemingly "foolproof" n. Refusing to remain at the receiving end of such formations, Eren sought to wield the power of suppression himself. He too liked bullying stronger entities. Regr Battle Formations didn''t pique his interest. So he aimed to engineer a highly advanced formation that could trap formidable beings in an inescapable web. Eren took the abductors'' concept and array formation, refining it to his own design since he had discovered a way to blend the fields of artifact creation and array formations seamlessly. He meticulously fine-tuned the artifacts and optimized the runic array formation inscribed upon them, constructing an effective suppressant for Akass. Only now did Eren understand why his adversaries had often deployed Battle Array Formations against him. When employed skillfully, they offered a means for weaker entities to ovee mightier foes. For instance, Tumko Darata, Sara Stark, and their respective squads were merely at the Expert Rank, far from being a match for Akass. Yet, by harnessing their collective power through the ring artifacts and Battle Formation, they could effectively immobilize Akass long enough for Eren to deal the decisive blows. This suppression tactic nullified Akass'' Elemental Attainments and his abilities, while also subduing his physical attributes. Eren expanded the number of rings capable of serving as Array Operators. Moreover, the suppression effects could be amplified through the participation of additional Rankers operating as Array Operators. As long as they remained within a specified range, the effects of the Battle Array Formation would seamlesslybine and act upon the chosen target, designated by the wearer of the prime ring artifact. Eren, of course, donned the prime ring, singling out Akass as his intended victim. *** Eren discarded the original concept of the five rings'' restricted roles as a set and, drawing upon his mastery of Hex Artifact creation, reimagined a wholly novel artifact set never before witnessed in Anfang. An artifact set that could be used by so many Array Operators at once as soon as the Battle Formations inscribed on the rings are deployed. Before the start of his battle with Carvel, the butcher directed all members of Tumko and Sara Stark''s teams to don these ring artifacts. This strategic move distributed the load of powering the array formation against the draconic entity across all team members. This collective effort shielded them from being overwhelmed by both the immense draconic power and Akass'' retaliatory spiritual assaults. By altering the array formation''s fundamental structure and improving the five-ring artifact, Eren eliminated the necessity for Tumko and Sara Stark''s squads to remain in immediate proximity. Moreover, the ring artifacts inherently concealed the presence of their wearers, bolstering the element of surprise. Eren cunningly averted Akass'' ability to pinpoint the sudden source of his overwhelming suppression. Upon confirming Carvel''s demise, Eren triggered the Battle Formation through Tumko and Sara''s squads. He then harnessed the full potential of his Hex Artifact Set, obliterating the formidable wyvern, Akass, in a remarkably swift interval. Among the Edinburgh Rankers, Akass was hailed as one of the most formidable adversaries. Consequently, his swift demise was destined to reverberate across both Edinburgh and Layos, bing a matter of widespread discussion. The butcher paid no heed to Carvel''s smear campaign against him, nor did he seek to bask in the glory of ying Akass. His foremost concern was to prevent any dent in his reputation from bing an obstacle to the Lazarus Project. He aimed to deflect scrutiny until he was adequately prepared. The surest method to do that was to fulfill the assignment bestowed upon him by the kingdom of Edinburgh. "Hmm. Given that this artifact-enhanced Battle Formation has enabled me to finally kill this overhyped lizard, let''s name it the Akass Formation," Eren mused, choosing to name his refined Battle Formation. Naturally, he harbored no intention of attributing credit to the deceased abductors who had initially sparked the idea for this formation. === AN: Eren/Leo gets kidnapped by the abductors in chapter 1348. He decides to adopt the five-ring Battle Formation for his use in the same chapter. Chapter 1465 Sacrifice P1

Chapter 1465 Sacrifice P1

The aftermath of the conflict unfolded precisely as envisioned. The removal of Carvel and Akass, two of the most formidable obstacles for Edinburgh, had transpired as a resounding triumph. The Layos Rankers who had apanied Carvel also met a simr fate,rgely decimated by the coordinated efforts of Eren''s forces. In his maiden mission as a deputymander, Eren secured the disputed territory for the kingdom of Edinburgh. If he were still an active member of the army, his aplishments would have undoubtedly cemented his legacy as a distinguishedmander. Although he had long withdrawn from the ranks of the Edinburgh army, Eren''s prior service and his current status as a Master Ranker warranted his temporary appointment as deputymander. Demonstrating remarkable prowess, he had fully validated the privileges bestowed upon him, orchestrating a brilliant and magnificent victory that reimed the contestednd for the kingdom of Edinburgh. *** A day after Eren''s victory over Carvel''s forces. Slicing through the clouds with a purposeful grace, a flying craft advanced towards the nearest city-state equipped with a teleportation nexus. Resembling a colossal fish, it unted lively fins extending in all four cardinal directions,plemented by metallic bat-like wings and a visage crafted from obsidian ss. At the helm of this aerial marvel sat Duja Katak, an elf hailing from the capital city of Edinburgh. Eren''s initial encounter with this elf had taken ce during his first visit to the city of Edin, coinciding with his graduation. Engaged by the kingdom of Edinburgh for wartime responsibilities, Duja Katak''s current task involved escorting Eren and Naya to the closest teleportation juncture. Within the flying vessel, the passengerpartment remained meticulously sealed off from both Duja Katak and the external environs. Laden with a range of defensive measures, the craft was engineered to guarantee the deputymander''s immunity from inadvertent mishaps or the targeted assaults that might be orchestrated by the adversary''s fringe elements. "I''m still grappling with one question," Naya inquired of Eren, her expression etched with bewilderment. "Why go to such lengths to secure victories for the Kingdom of Edinburgh? It''s not like you to reveal so many of your Trump cards. You could have simply contested the unfair deployment due to your recent ascent to the Master Rank. they would have listened if you had used the connections you had built. I doubt this stems from concerns over public sentiment," she concluded, her eyes fixed on Eren, seeking an earnest response. Eren''s gaze wandered through the small window adjacent to his seat, casting his eyes over the ever-shiftingndscape below: majestic mountains, winding rivers, dense woods, and remote hamlets C all bathed in the changing hues of the sky as the craft soared. Pondering Naya''s query, he deliberated before answering. "My battles fought for Edinburgh aren''t meant to be simply seen as my allegiance to the kingdom, Naya," Eren''s words flowed, his attention still captivated by the scenic panorama outside. "Nor is it driven by public sentiment. I''m not seeking recognition from Edinburgh. What I want is simpler: I desire war," his voice adopted a colder tone as he spoke. Naya''s perplexity deepened, etched on her features. Eren sensed her need for rification and hastened to offer it. "I''m not speaking of the ongoing battle orchestrated by the Anfang Alliance between Edinburgh and Layos. I''m referring to an all-epassing war. A war spanning Edinburgh and Layos, unfolding at various points across Anfang. A war that would keep the Anfang Alliance spread too thin to focus on a single conflict," Eren''s tone remainedposed as he locked his gaze on the sea of white clouds. "But what do you stand to gain from such a massive war? Your weapon contracts have been dwindling in profitabilitytely. New contenders have entered the market, putting the White Raven Guild''s dominance in jeopardy, both legally and in the ck market. You have made a lot of shady deals. Even Birmond was aware of some of them due the fact that he closely worked with you. Given Anfang Alliance''s awareness of your arms supply to the Amazonian settlements in defiance of the Asikha Empire, I''m struggling to grasp your endgame," Naya questioned, her eyes searching Eren''s, a note of annoyance creeping in as she noticed his continued preupation with the window view. Eren picked up on Naya''s subtle scorn through their connection. He turned his head, meeting her gaze with a light smile before continuing. "There are many reasons behind why I want to torch an entire continent in the fires of war, Naya. I won''t deny that I sought to capitalize on the conflict, ying the role of a merchant of death by dealing arms. But that''s not the sole motivation. There''s a deeper purpose driving my desire for this grand-scale war. It''s all tied to the Lazarus Project, and I''m sure you recall one of the stiptions set by that old crone," Eren''s voice held a thoughtful tone as he broached the topic. Naya had been initiated into Eren''s intricate scheme weeks ago, a n that revolved around saving the very first demon beast he had ever formed a pact with, a creature named Reen. Intrigued and somewhat envious of Reen''s significance in Eren''s mind, she recollected the information Eren had shared and ventured a guess with a sense of dread settling on her. "Sacrifices! Sage Eliza''s requirement for numerous sacrifices to uphold her former Sage Ranker status even after she assumed a new form. Are you considering the participants of a full-fledged war to fulfill that condition?" Naya''s astonishment was evident in her widened eyes, her voice quivering slightly with a tinge of trepidation. "Eren, there have to be alternatives to amassing sacrifices. You mustn''t tread down such a reckless path. Should the Anfang Alliance catch wind of your intentions, they''ll undoubtedly mobilize their forces to thwart your resurrection of Eliza, perhaps even before the Lazarus Project reaches fruition," she cautioned earnestly, her voice bearing an edge of concern. The revtion that Eren had orchestrated the war''s esction to harness its participants as necessary sacrifices left Naya incredulous, especially given the Alliance''s watchful eye. === AN: Duja Katak was first mentioned in chapter 1000. Chapter 1466 Sacrifice P2

Chapter 1466 Sacrifice P2

Eren''s recent actions had taken an intriguing turn, as he deliberately eliminated well-known Layos Rankers despite having more convenient options, effectively stoking the fires of the ongoing conflict. His demeanor had undergone a profound transformation in these recent months. Once enigmatic and reserved, he now openly disyed his strengths, stepping out from the shadows he had long cloaked himself in. It seemed that Eren had a newfound desire to step into the light, discarding the mystique he had so meticulously upheld. This change, as Naya saw it, was a risky maneuver, especially considering Eren''s deep involvement in the arms trade. His bold moves could catch the attention of the vignt Anfang Alliance, a development that was sure to spell trouble sooner orter. Over the past nine years, Eren had reaped substantial profits from his arms deals. However, the lion''s share of this wealth had been reinvested into the production and distribution of weaponry. From Naya''s perspective, he had silently be one of the most influential power brokers operating behind the scenes. So why was heing out of the shadows at this point when he already had a stable setup working for him? Naya, harboring genuine concern, hoped to prevent Eren''s exposure to the watchful gaze of the Anfang Alliance. If his sole aim was to procure the necessary sacrifices for the Lazarus Project, there were more discreet avenues avable to him. While Naya wasn''t inclined to cause harm to innocent lives, she was willing to ept this possibility if it led to Eren achieving his ultimate objective C the retrieval of Reen through thepletion of the Lazarus Project. "You still fail to grasp the full picture," a mysterious voice resonated within the flying vehicle''s passengerpartment. Naya turned to find an attractive and mysterious young woman suddenly beside her, seemingly materializing out of thin air. Draped in a gothic ck dress, she calmly regarded Naya while engrossed in a book. "cingplete trust in Eliza is unwise. Thepletion of the Lazarus Project requires a certain level of exposure. The looming presence of the Anfang Alliance serves as a necessary deterrent against any potential betrayal on Eliza''s part. I don''t want to glorify our enemy. But the fact of the matter is Eliza is not a normal Sage by any means. That Sage Ranker from House Samael could be considered as a monstrous genius even outside Anfang. I''m afraid she would be too much to handle even for me in my current status," the woman named Alephee exined, her toneposed and insightful, speaking on Eren''s behalf. Naya had indeed encountered Alephee several weeks back. During their meeting, Naya had sensed a subtle but undeniable aura of influence emanating from Alephee. It was almost as though the homunculus herself existed beyond the boundaries of what Naya had considered normal. Even though Alephee held the same Master Rank status as Eren, her presence seemed to rival that of a Grandmaster poised on the verge of attaining the exalted Sage Rank. Alephee gracefully turned a page in her grimoire and continued her discourse, her attention never wavering from the ancient runes she was deciphering. "Furthermore, the Lazarus Project should not solely cater to Eliza''s interests. We possess our own motives to exploit from its fruition. Lets just say that no amount of sacrifices, obtained through conventional means, would suffice for our impending venture. Arge-scale conflict between Edinburgh and Layos within the next three months is a must-have for our goal. Number of sacrifices isn''t the only criterion. We also need to look at the quality of the sacrifice, you see. Only sacrifices of a certain number of powerful Rankers could allow us to rip the most benefits out of this ordeal. And such powerful sacrifices could only be obtained by a grand-scale war. Of course, starting such a grand-scale war between two kingdoms is not easy. Especially when the Anfang Alliance is acting as the intermediary. This is why Eren had to approach those two Sages," Alephee further expounded. In recent weeks, Eren and Alephee had been feeding Naya an influx of information. The more she absorbed, the more a sense of trepidation surged within her. Unbeknownst to her, Eren had been meticulously orchestrating events over the past nine years, actions she found utterly audacious and dangerous. Naya had acknowledged Eren''s distinct bloodline, a lineage that granted him extraordinary dominion over demons. However, given his rtively recent ascent to the Master Rank, she was convinced that he couldn''t emerge from the Lazarus Project unscathed, regardless of her thoughts on the matter. "I see. With the unfolding events, it seems we might be on the right course," Naya remarked, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. "Even Master Rankers are falling on the battlefields now. It''s bing increasingly likely that arge-scale war could erupt within the next couple of months," she added with a sigh. Eren shook his head in disagreement, his voice measured as he continued to borate. "While it''s true that Master Rank individuals are meeting their end, we''re still a long way from pushing things into the realm of a full-blown grand scale war. The death of Master Rankers isn''t sufficient to stir the general popce or the central authorities of both the sides. Without a more significant catalyst, the two kingdoms will likely continue their current conflict, dragging on for years without resolution. In the worst-case scenario, this could devolve into intermittent periods of tense cold warfare." Eren paused, addressing Naya''s potentialck of awareness. "You see, a state of cold war would serve the interests of the powers-in-charge on both sides. It would offer them the means to control their citizens, manipte Rankers to align with their agendas, and fortify their positions as rulers C all while ostensibly safeguarding their realms from supposed adversaries. The elder statesmen at the upper echelons of power in both nations wouldn''t necessarily object to a controlled conflict, one that doesn''t spiral into a full-scale war. This is why the conflict has persisted for nearly a decade without a clear resolution in sight. The state of a cold war or managed warfare is something the influential figures at the upper echelons arefortable with, Naya. They don''t care how long itsts or how many bugs it kills. I, however, can''t allow this carefully bnced tension to continue. I need to do something to tip the scales." Eren''s voice grew deep as he concluded, his gaze once again drifting thoughtfully out of the window. Chapter 1467 Mirrored Deployment ? The rtively stagnant conflict between Edinburgh and Layos was abruptly reinvigorated. It was almost as if an unseen hand had expertly stoked the embers of war,pelling both factions to respond with resolute and aggressive measures. Considerable time had psed since the Grandmaster-ranked figures of both realms had been positioned along the borders. However, as of now, they had yet to make their strategic moves. In this regard, Duke Arthur Renar of Edinburgh and Commander Saisha Goren representing the kingdom of Layos were noteworthy individuals. Following the demise of Isen Osan, Duke Arthur Renar had arranged the mobilization of his forces near Edinburgh''s borders. In a fitting countermeasure, the kingdom of Layos had dispatched Saisha Goren to stand as a poised deterrent against any direct action Arthur Renar might contemte. It could be argued that both kingdoms had embraced a mirrored deployment strategy, strategically bncing their forces toplement the ongoing engagements. The Grandmaster-ranked entities from both sides satfortably in their army bases while the conflicts between their Master Ranker-led battalions took ce regrly. The delicate bnce of power, however, was shattered when Arthur''s forces unexpectedlyunched a covert assault against a Layos battalion that had emerged victorious in the struggle for a contested region situated between the two kingdoms. This action was deemed a vition of the Anfang Alliance''s code of conduct, given that neither an official proctor from the Alliance was present nor was the battle officially sanctioned by the Alliance. Leading Arthur''s forces to attack the said battalion was Nysa Nael, a young woman holding the rank of Expert. She had garnered a reputation by actively participating in various battlefronts and representing Arthur''s interests in several of Edinburgh''s campaigns. Interestingly, Arthur himself remained oblivious to Nysa''s decision to initiate such an attack against Layos'' forces. Upon discovering that Nysa had unterally engaged the returning Layos battalion, he was both astonished and displeased by her impulsive actions. *** Inside the briefing room of Arthur Renar at Edinburgh''s Army base, the Duke was seated behind an expansive desk. An array of holographic screens adorned the desk, disying real-time data on Edinburgh''s current deployments across various locations, ongoing conflict zones, and geological intelligence on advantageous terrains. Two notably sizeable holographic screens directly before Arthur provided him with his daily schedule and vital information concerning both allies and adversaries. This privileged information, meticulously organized by Edinburgh''s intelligence operatives, was essible only to a select few, with Arthur holding the highest level of clearance. At present, one of theserge screens was dedicated to presenting Arthur with all avable information on an individual named Nysa Nael. As the Duke of Edinburgh, Arthur had an extensive staff at his disposal, prompting him to navigate the central database on this screen to recall that Nysa Nael had been employed by him and was operating under his authority. The reason behind Arthur''s current scrutiny of Nysa''s dossier was her imminent presence in his briefing room for an official inquiry. Her actions had vited the Anfang Alliance''s protocols, and as her superior, Arthur waspelled to prepare a report for the Alliance, outlining her misconduct. During this time of war, the Anfang Alliance treated breaches of its protocols with utmost seriousness, a standard upheld on both sides of the conflict. Neither Edinburgh nor Layos were granted any leniency by the Alliance. Or at least, that was the official stance. However, even the Anfang Alliance wasn''t as upromising as it might seem. While such code vitions were infrequent and not taken lightly, a certain level of leniency could be negotiated if both Edinburgh and Layos were willing to pay a certain price. In Arthur''s mind, a debate raged about whether Nysa Nael was worth such an effort. With his extensive influence and resources, he could easily mitigate the punishment that awaited her. Nheless, he needed to ascertain whether Nysa''s potential contributions justified his investment in altering her impending fate. *** A decade ago, Arthur would not have been so cautious when it came to cing trust in those under hismand. However, numerous events have transpired since then. During the Battle of the Edinnica Arena, he learned that a substantial number of individuals working under him were spies infiltrated from the kingdom of Layos. Exploiting his easygoing nature, they had insinuated themselves into his private army and wreaked havoc upon him, his son Jason, and the entire kingdom of Edinburgh. Since that incident, Arthur had grown warier of extending trust too freely. He had developed a habit of extensively investigating the backgrounds of potential allies, employing various resources at his disposal before arriving at any decisions. It''s safe to say that the ongoing war had substantially transformed a once-trusting and somewhat haughty Ranker like Arthur. He no longer believed that people wouldn''t betray him just because he was a Grandmaster or that he was the Duke of Edinburgh. He no longer epted things at face value, instead choosing to delve deeper into matters. Naturally, Arthur didn''t harbor a perpetual undercurrent of suspicion or paranoia. As a Grandmaster Ranked individual, his self-assuredness couldn''t be easily swayed. Consequently, he opted to carefully scrutinize Nysa''s actions before arriving at a definitive verdict. Standing before Arthur in a stance reminiscent of a seasoned military veteran, Nysa Nael was attired inbat-ready clothing. Despite the ruggedness, there was an undeniable elegance to her appearance in the long-sleeved top and cargo pants. The sleeveless armor she wore ensured protection without being overly ostentatious or burdensome. Her light blue hair was neatly secured behind her head. With her hands bound behind her back, she gazed expressionlessly ahead, awaiting themencement of Arthur''s questioning. "Child Nysa, could you rify the reason behind your assault on the Layos forces during their return to their kingdom? I''m sure you are well aware that such an action vites the established code of conduct by the Alliance," Arthur inquired in a somber tone, his attention focused on Nysa''s history disyed on the holographic screen. === AN: Saisha Goren initiates mirrored deployment against Arthur''s forces in chapter 1373. Eren instructs Nysa Nael to join Arthur''s forces and be his spy in chapter 1194. Chapter 1468 Arthurs Fury: Wolf Of Layos ? Nysa''s inquiry was being conducted by Arthur in his briefing room. The holographic disy showcasing Nysa''s background revealed that she had graduated in the same year as the Edinnica Battle, cing her in the same generation as Arthur''ste son, Jason Renar. As he absorbed this information, memories resurfaced, and his demeanor softened somewhat. Recognizing her age alignment with Jason''s, Arthur felt inclined to minimize any undue hardship, if possible. Anticipating Arthur''s query, Nysa hade prepared with a response. In answer to his question, she retrieved an array disk from her ID Storage and positioned it prominently on Arthur''s desk. Returning to her previous posture, she began speaking "Your Highness Arthur, kindly review the contents of this array disk. It has a recording of a man I encountered within the Layos battalion I engaged," Nysa conveyed in a neutral tone, prompting Arthur to ess the visual data stored within the array disk. Arthur''s brows lifted at Nysa''s words. Activating the array disk, he sought to understand the rationale behind her actions. As he delved into its contents, his expression shifted. "This... this motherfucker... was present during your attack on the battalion?" Arthur''s formidable Grandmaster-level presence began to emanate, causing the desk before him to creak, and the room''s safety enchantments to activate abruptly, warding against his overwhelming emotional turmoil. Exposed to the fierce intensity of Arthur''s aura, Nysa was almost physically forced to her knees, overwhelmed by the sheer force of his emotions. Arthur''s fleeting surge of anger stemmed fromying eyes on someone he detested even more than the notorious Osan Woods'' Butcher. The array disk Nysa presented to him captured the brief visage of Adam Loyroost. Adam Loyroost, a Layos spy deeply embedded within Edinburgh, had served under Arthur Renar''smand for an extensive period. Employing the polyjuice potion, Adam had assumed the persona of Jaime Lancaster, thereby gaining Arthur''s trust. Under the guise of Jaime, Adam had been dispatched by Arthur to probe into the enigma of the Osan Woods'' Butcher. He had even sworn loyalty to Arthur despite serving as an LA professor. However, the truth behind this facade only emerged during the Edinnica Arena battle, when Arthur discovered that Jaime was an borate ruse, concocted by Adam to exploit Edinburgh''s resources from within. But Adam''s transgressions extended beyond this deception. He yed a pivotal role in broadcasting the manipted footage of Sansara World 1.0. Arthur first thought that Jaime was concealing Jason''s identity as a demonic Ranker with the manipted footage. By the time the duke learned of Adam''s identity, Jason was already dead. Adam had masterfully orchestrated Arthur''s belief in Jason''s survival till it was toote. Thus, in the end, Arthur was unable to take action against Jason''s killerC Ivor Osan who Arthue believed to be the Osan Woods'' Butcher Adam''s motives weren''t personal vendettas against Arthur or Jason. Instead, his actions were motivated by his desire to safeguard Layos'' aspirations for Sansara World 1.0. Adam adamantly rejected thebel of "traitor," asserting hisck of loyalty to Arthur or Edinburgh from the start. Adam''s had shed with Lin and Linda. Managing to evade Sage Garos Renar''s intervention, he slipped away from the tumultuous Edinnican Arena,ter reemerging in Layos as a celebrated hero. His feats earned him the moniker "Wolf of Layos," a title highlighting his cunning and courage in deceiving even the enemy duke. Adam''s growing fame within Layos only fueled Arthur''s sense of humiliation and fury. Each mention of Adam''s name felt like a daily p on his face to the Duke of Edinburgh, a continuous reminder of his powerlessness. Therefore, encountering Adam''s fleeting image on Nysa''s array disk was like salt on an open wound for Arthur, leading to an instantaneous outburst of temper. This wasn''t the first instance of Arthur''s emotions spiraling out of control in such a manner. Thest time his office suffered the brunt of his unbridled rage, he had been confronting the Earl of House Riverine. Arthur''s inclination toward quick anger and temper re-ups had hardly waned, despite the profound lessons he''d learned from the war and his son''s tragic death. Although these experiences had undoubtedly imparted wisdom, they hadn''t tamed his propensity for anger. Nheless, Arthur retained his grasp on reason, even when consumed by fury. He had grown adept at reining in his emotions, often as rapidly as he''d lost control. In the wake of the incident, Arthur acknowledged hispse and took a moment to regainposure. He approached Nysa in a more restrained manner, apologizing for his outburst and exining his connection to Adam. As he deactivated the array disk to eliminate Adam''s infuriating visage from his view, Arthur confessed the history between them, his voice tinged with exasperation. Turning his attention back to Nysa, Arthur pressed on with a more collected tone. He questioned whether her assault on the Layos battalion was motivated by her knowledge of his interest in capturing Adam. With a nod, Nysa acknowledged Arthur''s inquiry, her gaze avoiding direct contact with his eyes. She spoke cautiously, her voice measured. "Indeed, Your Highness Arthur. You had instructed us to engage this man upon sighting him and had assured your readiness to assume ountability for any potential operationalplications resulting from the engagement. Although this order was issued a decade back, since there was no change in the order given to me, I proceeded to assume that the order was still valid and took action," Nysa exined in aposed manner. Subsequently, she delved into a detailed ount of her encounter with Adam, recounting her experience in a steady narrative. Nysa led a groupprising not only her own squad but also three additional squads. Their path converged with the returning Layos battalion, fresh from securing a recently contested region. This encounter unfolded within the unimed neutral forest area, lying beyond the jurisdictions of either kingdom. In a move that defied official authorization, Nysa boldly issued a challenge to the opposing battalion before plunging into the confrontation. === AN: Jaime first reveals his real identity as Adam Loyroost in chapter 1150. Adam dupes Arthur with fake broadcasting of Sansara World 2.0 in chapters 1151 and 1154. Chapter 1469 [Bonus chapter] Ruining Demonmir’s Plans

Chapter 1469 [Bonus chapter] Ruining Demonmirs ns

Nysa saw the opportunity to strike, particrly since Adam was among them, aiming to prevent his escape. Nysa exined to Arthur that she had assumed dealing with the Layos Rankers would be rtively easy, considering their recent involvement in a significant battle. Regrettably, Nysa''s efforts ended up in vain. Adam managed to escape. He had suffered injuries in Nysa''s hands. But they weren''t substantial enough to prevent his departure. The oue left Nysa visibly disappointed. She and her team did manage to eliminate a few Layos Rankers, but Adam slipped through their grasp. As Nysa ryed the sequence of events to Arthur, her ount resonated with him. The order Arthur had issued years ago had been driven by the fresh wounds of his son''s loss and the sting of betrayal from those he had trusted. Although a decade had passed and circumstances had evolved, Arthur understood the importance of honoring his previous decree. Learning that Adam had escaped despite Nysa''s efforts incited a clenched-fist reaction from Arthur, battling to contain his anger. Yet, he had already decided to stand by Nysa''s actions. After a calming breath, Arthur regarded Nysa intently before asking, "So, where is this man now? Considering you managed to injure him with critical wounds, does that mean" Nysa''s smile met Arthur''s gaze directly, a new level of connection forming. "Your Highness, I have independently verified that this individual is currently under treatment at a Layos army base secured by Grandmaster Saisha Goren. The location isn''t very far from here," she hinted cryptically. Nysa''s implication took Arthur by surprise, prompting a thoughtful silence. Ultimately, he sighed and shook his head, responding with a trace of resignation. "Unfortunately, we can''t assault an enemy base directly without a justifiable cause. Our actions are already drawing Anfang Alliance''s attention due to your initiative," Arthurmented with a voiceced in regret. Nysa was about to say something to Arthur but thetter gestured to her to listen to what he had to say first. "Don''t misunderstand me,ss. I will support your actions and find a means to legitimize them. However, attacking a battalion andunching an assault on an entire army base are vastly different. This is a breach I can''t rationalize or manipte out of, regardless of the circumstances." Foreseeing Arthur''s stance, Nysa remained undeterred. She produced yet another array disk from her ID Storage, cing it on Arthur''s desk once more. "We do possess a legitimate reason for my actions, as well as any actions you may intend to take against the Layos forces, Your Highness. This array disk contains evidence of Saisha Goren''s affiliations with the Half-Blood faction. Hehe. I believe this proof could sway the Alliance''s perspective in our favor," Nysa conveyed with confidence, her eyes aze with the fervor of battle. Arthur was plunged into disbelief at Nysa''s revtion. Swiftly, he engaged the second array disk, meticulously reviewing its contents. He then discreetly contacted his trusted sources via a private voicemunication channel, cross-checking the details Nysa presented in her report. The sheer magnitude of the discovery left Arthur reeling. "This... this is big,ss Nysa. Where did you get this?" he inquired, verifying the authenticity of the data she had delivered. He found it astonishing that an Expert Ranker had infiltrated Layos'' confidential affairs so deeply without any prior background or external support. Nysa''s response came with a hint of reluctance, as if she were hesitant to share this specific information with Arthur. "I someone I know from the half-blood forces gave me this." Perceiving that Nysa might be associated with a half-blood, Arthur''s disappointment surfaced. He cautioned her, his tone carrying a note of care. "Child, you must exercise caution with this informant of yours. Their involvement could bring not only trouble for you but also for them." Arthur had once contemted transforming Jason into a half-blood through the artificial demon beast program under Sage Eliza''s demands. So he wasn''t antagonistic toward the half-bloods. He recognized that Nysa''s connection with one could potentially lead to difficulties. ''Young love is always blind,'' Arthur murmured inwardly, shaking his head. "Hmm. Implicating the entire Layos kingdom in dealings with the Half Blood Bastian is impossible. At most, the me might fall on Saisha Goren alone before Layos severs any ties with him," Arthur reasoned thoughtfully. "Nevertheless, I must thank you." He expressed gratitude for the array disk''s provision, recognizing that it enabled him to confront Saisha directly without Alliance intervention. Moreover, it offered a chance to eliminate the Wolf of Layos, a traitor in Arthur''s eyes who he needed to kill under any condition. Chuckling slightly, Arthur continued, his tone exultant. "Of course, this array disk grants us the means to vindicate your actions too." Stepping away from his desk, he approached the window, his gaze fixed on the panorama beyond. "Contacting the Alliance beforehand would be unwise. News would inevitably leak to Layos. It''s better to act first and rify matters afterward," he opined, his gaze drifting up to the clear sky. "I guess this time I''ll raise the level of this war campaign single handedly. Ready yourself to depart the base, Nysa. we shall unleash an attack against Saisha Goren and that fucking traitor, catching them off guard," Arthurmanded without ncing her way. Bowing in acknowledgment, Nysa took her leave. She anticipated that Arthur would soon reward her with a rare ranking resource for her contribution. However, the primary reason behind sharing the array disk with Arthur was Eren''s request. After all, it was Eren who had gathered intelligence on Saisha Goren''s dealings with the Half Blood Bastian. He had stumbled upon the rted proofs during his investigations into Demonmir''s activities. The butcher opted to employ this data not against Demonmir, but against his secret business partner, Saisha Goren. Naturally, the presence of Jaime, also known as Adam, within the battalion and Nysa''s "coincidental" encounter with him were orchestrated by Eren. Acting on Eren''s directive, Nysa had allowed Adam to evade capture after inflicting significant injuries on him. This wasn''t the first time of Eren subtly manipting Arthur. The butcher was set to exploit the duke''s actions to escte the intensity of the war campaign on both fronts. All while damaging Demonmir''s business endeavors with the same move. === AN: Sirius Fenris informs Eren of Demonmir''s dealings with Saisha Goren in chapter 1381. Chapter 1470 Attacking Layos Army Base

Chapter 1470 Attacking Layos Army Base

"Fuuuuck! This arm is killing me." The Wolf of Layos, Adam Loyroost, bitterly regretted his decision to be active on the battlefield. Greed had clouded his judgment, making him believe he could achieve the same sess in a head-on confrontation with Edinburgh''s forces as he did during his years as a spy within the enemy kingdom. Adam had barely survived the encounter with Edinburgh''s battalion on the battlefield. If his suffering had ended there, he might not have been so vocal about his regrets. However, fate had a different n. The battalion he was returning with unexpectedly shed with a stray group of Edinburgh''s Rankers, resulting in severe injuries that almost cost him his life. "Gah! I should''ve never heeded that devious Frank''s suggestion. That bastard can''t be trusted after all. No amount of extra coin or rare ranking technique is worth the agony I''m enduring right now." Adam cursed through clenched teeth as he felt the excruciating pain in his right arm gradually subside under the ministrations of a healing-type runic array. These were intermittent bouts of pain and relief. Hey within the infirmary of Layos'' military base, staring at the ceiling, his face contorted with suffering. The infirmary was presently vacant. The Layos healer on duty had set up the runic array before leaving for other responsibilities within the army base, leaving Adam to his thoughts. "That blue-haired girl who attacked me, severed my arm, and subjected me to this agonizing ordeal... I I can''t shake the feeling that she allowed me to escape of her own volition. Something about that encounter just doesn''t sit right with me." Adam gritted his teeth as he watched the runic array mend the shattered bone in his missing arm. Adam couldn''t help but suspect that the mission to participate in the battlefield had been a set-up orchestrated by an enemy within the kingdom of Layos. Otherwise, there was no logical exnation for the battalion''s unexpected encounter with a stray group of Edinburgh Rankers. It was almost as if these Edinburgh Rankers had known of his presence with that battalion. Although Adam was aware of the deep-seated animosity held by many of Edinburgh''s Rankers towards him, nearly a decade had passed since his espionage activities had ceased. It was highly improbable for ordinary Rankers to harbor such lingering grudges unless it was a profoundly personal vendetta. "Who could have set me up? Is it an inside job, or did someone from the kingdom of Edinburgh want me dead? But why now after a decade has passed?" Adam Loyroost questioned himself as he watched his severed right arm almostplete its regeneration under the effects of the runic array. Only the finger bones and the remaining skin needed to reform. "Why not both?" a sudden response to his inner musings echoed through the infirmary. It was a female Ranker''s voice, vaguely familiar to him. "Who?" Adam attempted to sit up, eager to greet the unknown visitor who had entered the infirmary. Being within Layos'' army base, he believed his safety was assured. Unfortunately for him, this assumption would prove to be his gravest mistake. Swoosh. Zoom. sh. Adam heard the sound of a sword sh nearby. His sedation had dulled his pain, preventing him from immediately realizing that the attack had inflicted another severe injury. His vision shifted, and before him appeared a strikingly beautiful girl, obstructing his view of the infirmary ceiling as she stood and looked at him with a gaze of an overlord. It took Adam a fraction of a second to recognize her as the same blue-haired girl who had wounded him earlier. In the next moment, heprehended the gruesome truth: she had disemboweled him with her sword, targeting his stomach before ruthlessly dismantling the healing array. "Aaaargh!" Adam''s scream reverberated through the infirmary as he came to terms with his horrifying predicament. He couldn''t fathom that an Edinburgh Ranker had infiltrated Layos'' army base solely to eliminate him. His attempts to scream for help were futile, as the ring sirens drowned out his desperate cries. "Arthur Renar sends his regards, dear Jaime Lancaster." Nysa bestowed a slight smile upon the writhing Adam. She had addressed him by his false identity because she wanted him to meet his end known solely by his counterfeit persona, the identity recognized by the Kingdom of Edinburgh. This was Arthur''s specific request, one that Nysa had no qualms about fulfilling. With her second swift sh, she severed Adam''s body in two at the waist, cleaving his torso from his legs. Astonishingly, he didn''t sumb to the fatal injury immediately. "Arthur! So it was that fucking bastard. Aaaaaargh!" Fortunately for him, Nysa was not one to relish in the dissection of her foes. She administered a third strike, impaling his heart with the tip of her de, swiftly ending his life. As Adam met his demise, a multitude of emotions yed out on his dying visage. Yet, thanks to Nysa''s parting words, the bitterness of not knowing why he was being killed was not among them. In his final moments, Adam''s thoughts were consumed by curses directed at Arthur Renar. Meanwhile, outside the infirmary at the Layos army base, pandemonium reigned. The ring sirens, mingled with the anguished cries of Rankers, filled the bloody air. Suddenly, two distinct auras of Grandmaster rank spread throughout the area, colliding violently. "Arthur! Have you fucking gone mad?" Saisha Goren''s thunderous voice echoed from all directions as he recognized the intruder responsible for breaching the Layos army base. Naturally, Arthur hadn''t embarked on this mission alone; a group of Rankers apanied him, spearheading the unexpected assault and catching Layos'' Rankers off guard. Among them was Nysa Nael. Nysa had her own methods for tracking down Adam, a task assigned by Eren. However, Adam had now outlived his usefulness to Eren, who sought to initiate a direct confrontation between Saisha and Arthur. As Arthurunched an assault on the Layos Army base, preparing for a personal confrontation with Saisha Goren, Nysa had received her new directive from Arthur and Eren: to finish what she had begun, and she was more than willing toply. Chapter 1471 Arthur vs Saisha

Chapter 1471 Arthur vs Saisha

The frigid night crackled with an ominous atmosphere, shrouded in a crimson haze as the bloody scent ran rampant. This moonless night bore witness to the loss of many lives. The once-mighty Layos army basey in utter ruins, transformed into a grim tableau of devastation. This chilling scene was the dire consequence of Arthur''s unexpected assault on the Layos army base. It was a meticulously executed operation that swiftly eradicated Layos'' foothold in the neighboring regions, leaving no trace of their presence, all within a single night. Surviving Rankers on both sides silently reached an unspoken consensus: they needed to vacate the area, and quickly. As the two Grandmaster Rankers squared off, an unrelenting atmosphere of elemental power enveloped them. Rankers from both sides retreated, wisely choosing to shift their battles away from the decimated Layos army base. Nobody dared to intervene when two Grandmaster Rankers harnessed the full might of their Elemental Attainments, wielding potent A-Rank Mana in their lethal duel. The battlefield where Layos army base once stood was an elemental maelstrom, a battleground of fury where two Grandmaster Rankers shed with murderous intent. The very air crackled with power as they summoned their elemental spells. A whirlwind of water and wind surged forth as Arthur and Saisha faced each other. Arthur''s spear, an extension of his will, glowed with the ethereal blue of water, and the gusts howled in chorus with his fierce determination. "Hmph! That''s what you get for helping Isen and sending spies my way to tarnish my name, Saisha Goren," Arthur''s voice cut through the chaos. Saisha''s response was immediate. mes erupted from his fingertips, forming a fiery barrier before him. The sh of elements created a tempestuous cyclone of steam and scorching mist. "Arthur! You old fool. You have gone and done it now. Anfang Alliance will never let this go. Your entire kingdom will face the wrath for your impulsive action," Saisha roared, his eyes ame with deadly resolve. Their power raged against each other, but neither gave an inch. The night sky quivered as their fusion of elements began. Arthur''s water swirled with Saisha''s mes, creating a vtile mix of steam and scalding rain. Whirlwinds of fire and wind intertwined, spiraling upward like a towering inferno. The battlefield around them vanished in a cascade of mist and embers. Their fusion of elements had created a deadly dance of steam and mes, shrouding them from prying eyes. Expert Rankers and below could only watch in awe and shock as the battlefield seemed to warp around these two Grandmasters. "Hahaha! No need to worry about the Alliance. I have already sent them enough proof to justify my actions. They''ll get it in a few days. However, you and that fucking bastard Jaime won''t be here in Anfang to see what I''m talking about," Arthur said to Saisha, a deadly edge to his words. "You I had heard that the Duke of Edinburgh had be entric after his son Jason''s death. Turns out it''s the truth. Since it''s the battle you want, it''s the fucking battle you shall get, Arthur. Don''t think Layos elves are easy to bully. We are not your subjects," Saisha responded, his voice seething with murderous intent. The Elemental Fusion and Aspect Fusion of both the Grandmasters'' spells reached their zenith. A colossal waterspout of fire and wind erupted from their location, a devastating pir of elemental destruction that reached toward the heavens. The very ground quaked as their power coursed through it. At that moment, Arthur and Saisha were no longer individuals but living embodiments of their respective elements. Theirbined might shook the battlefield, leaving an indelible mark on the night as they fought as one, masters of their elements, both determined to kill the other. *** As the two Grandmasters shed in a fierce battle, Rankers from both sides were engaged in their own skirmishes, periodically ncing towards the ruin of Layos army base to keep tabs on the titanic struggle between Arthur and Saisha. Nysa, nearing the end of her duel with a Layos Ranker, suddenly found herself facing a reinforced enemy as another female Layos Ranker joined the fray. Nysa, far from intimidated, donned a confident smile as she readied herself to unleash her spells. Being a space-element Ranker, Nysa had an array of tactics to close in on her foes swiftly, catching them off guard. But before she or the enemy Rankers could make their next move, an enigmatic and imperceptible entity infiltrated their duel, simultaneously piercing both their hearts from behind. Two nearly identical daggers protruded from the front of their chests, and in the blink of an eye, they lost their arms in a precise and lightning-fast strike, their dismembered limbs falling like a gruesome work of art. Their severed heads followed suit, rolling onto the ground in eerie unison, as if these acts of violence were all part of a single, orchestrated performance. The entire sequence of attacks had transpired in the span of just a few seconds, leaving behind the lifeless husks of the enemy Rankers. An indistinct figure materialized behind the headless and limbless corpses, soon revealing itself to be none other than the Osan Woods'' Butcher. Eren removed Yuffie Loxley''s beaked mask and greeted Nysa with a warm smile. "Come here, you," he beckoned, arms wide open. Nysa''s own smile broadened upon recognizing Eren as her mysterious "savior". Without hesitation, she vanished from her previous spot and reappeared in Eren''s embrace. "I''ve done as you asked," Nysa whispered. Eren gently stroked her back before cradling her face in his hands, bringing her closer for a brief, passionate kiss. The exchangested a mere few seconds, but to Nysa, it felt like an eternity and a fleeting moment all at once. "Hmm, a job well done, Nysa darling," Eren praised, his gaze turning serious the next second as he held her face tenderly. He spoke in a voice tinged with warning. "Your part is finished now. From tomorrow onwards, you need to distance yourself from Edinburgh''s forces. The real show is about to begin, and things are going to take a serious turn. You need to leave this ce as soon as you can along with the rest of the White Raven guild members." The butcher cast his eyes towards the distant battle between the two Grandmaster Rankers, a storm of elemental power raging around them. Chapter 1472 [Bonus ] Fishing in Troubled Waters

Chapter 1472 [Bonus Chapter] Fishing in Troubled Waters

A mana storm was brewing at ground zero as two Rankers fought. The battle between Arthur and Saisha, both towering Grandmasters, had raged on for an extended duration and showed no signs of waning. Grandmasters harnessed nature''s very essence through their acquired Elemental Attainments. They possessed the remarkable ability to harness ambient mana, allowing them to engage in prolongedbat without draining their personal mana reserves. When Grandmasters dueled, the conflict could endure for hours provided they did not go overboard with their attacks. Arthur and Saisha, astute and cautious Rankers, had mutually recognized the futility ofnding a decisive blow upon the other. Arthur boasted a superior set of potent Elemental Attainments, fortified by his exceptional offensive and defensive artifacts. Saisha, on the other hand, wielded a repertoire of spells that seamlesslyplemented his distinctivebat style. Furthermore, Saisha held a higher A-Rank status, solidifying his position in the Solid State Mana Core stage, a tier above Arthur''s Vapor Stage Mana Core stage. Ordinarily, the gap between the Vapor and Solid stages in the A-Rank hierarchy would offer Saisha a pronounced advantage, often resulting in decisive victories. These breakthroughs in the A-Rank realm were exceptionally challenging, but they bestowed Rankers with overwhelming power and finesse over their Elemental Attainments. Yet, as the Grandmasters ventured deeper into their respective Ranking journeys, their unique Individualities would y a pivotal role in unleashing their powers. Saisha recognized that despite his elevated Ranking Status, Arthur''s individualitypensated for any potential shorings. Arthur''s dual roles as the Duke of Edinburgh and a formidablebatant were remarkable. Furthermore, Arthur''s possession of superior equipment further tilted the scales against Saisha. Arthur and Saisha harbored no true intent to kill each other. As Grandmasters, they understood the near-impossibility of ending a fellow Grandmaster''s life without an overwhelming disparity in their Individualities. Both Grandmasters recognized the myriadplications that could arise during their duel. This was especially true as they weren''t merely dueling as individual Rankers but as representatives of their respective kingdoms. Arthur''s sudden assault on the Layos army base had a single purpose C to eliminate Adam. Saisha''s role was to defend his territory in response to Arthur''s aggression. Even with the Layos army base obliterated by Arthur''s destructive attacks, Saisha couldn''t simply yield to Arthur and retreat from his position. Doing so would invite criticism from his own kingdom, as it would appear he abandoned his post. Saisha understood the grave repercussions that would ensue if he attempted to eliminate Arthur, not just for himself but for Layos kingdom as a whole. After all, Arthur held the prestigious position of the Duke of Edinburgh. Saisha couldn''t help but wonder what had provoked Arthur to act so audaciously,unching a direct assault on the Layos army base he was tasked with protecting. So his best option was to let Arthur reveal his cards so that he could take preventive actions. Conversely, Arthur was well aware that allowing Saisha to live might be the more prudent choice. This way, he could potentially unleash the wrath of the Anfang Alliance upon Saisha when the ties between him and the Half-Blood Bastian were exposed. After all, he had already arranged for things to unfold in that way even beforeing to the army base. Such an event would inevitably force Layos kingdom to sever its connections with Saisha, creating an internal division within their forces. Ultimately, this internal rift would greatly benefit Edinburgh in the long run. Whether Saisha survived the joint prosecution of Layos kingdom and the Alliance or met his demise at their hands, the Kingdom of Edinburgh would undoubtedly reap the rewards, whichever way the pendulum swung. The intricate calctions within this scenario led to a standoff. Breaking such a stalemate would require them to undertake risks that outweigh the potential rewards, even if they seeded in eliminating their foes C a highly uncertain oue. Nysa had informed Arthur that Adam was killed by her, which should have prompted a cautious retreat. Meanwhile, Saisha had suffered numerous casualties due to Arthur''s surprise assaults and aggressive posture. Many of Saisha''s Rankers had either fled or fallen to enemy Rankers from Edinburgh. Only a handful of witnesses remained in the vicinity, bearing witness to the ongoing battle between two Grandmaster Rankers. While most Rankers from both sides watched the battle between the two Grandmasters with a sense of curiosity, anticipating a chance to deepen their own Elemental Attainments, there was one observer with an entirely different and cunning agenda. Despite the chaos and tension, Eren managed to maintain an air of calm as he leisurely smoked his Sativa Stick, observing the battle as if he were a spectator at an entertaining event he''d purchased tickets for. The butcher silently contemted the opportune timing. He sensed that both Arthur and Saisha had grown rtively fatigued amid the surge of mana and the shockwaves of their relentless attacks. "Arthur was too aggressive so he is wearing down, and Saisha is growing restless. It seems they would decide to retreat any time now," Eren mused, exhaling a lungful of smoke into the air. He made up his mind to set his n in motion before either Grandmaster decided to step back from their stance. "My friend, it''s about time." With a decisive nod, Eren contacted a particr Ranker through hismunication channel, giving the green light for their intervention in the battle. It was time, he thought, to start castings into these troubled waters. In an instant, a series of space-element runes red to life from a distance, materializing their users on the battlefield as if from thin air. These enigmatic arrivals were none other than the half-bloods affiliated with House Fenris, a powerful faction hailing from the Last-Blood Bastian. Taking charge of this group was none other than Sirius Fenris, who had swiftly responded to Eren''s earlier signal. Without wasting a heartbeat, Sirius sprang into action as soon as he arrived. He issued a concisemand to his n members, instructing them to target both Edinburgh and Layos Rankers. Simultaneously, he approached the two Grandmaster Rankers with a sudden, almost bewildering attack on Arthur. All of these maneuvers unfolded within the blink of an eye, leaving Arthur, Saisha, and the surrounding Rankers in a state of perplexity, struggling toprehend the appearance of this unanticipated third party. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Chapter 1473 Heavenly Fenris Bloodline Transformation ? Howl! A cacophonous wolf''s howl shattered the battlefield''s tense atmosphere the moment House Fenris members stormed onto the scene. These half-bloods had forcefully invaded what was once an exclusive arena designated for Arthur and Saisha''s grand confrontation. They immediately tapped into their half-blood powers before initiating the attack. Sirius Fenris tapped into his bloodline transformation, a metamorphosis that ignited the dormant powers coursing through his veins. His n members also followed his lead and activated their own bloodline transformations. As the ethereal energy surged within Sirius, the very air around him grew thick with the ancestral might of the Fenris bloodline, an energy so potent that even ordinary Rankers in proximity could feel its crushing weight, choking the breath from their lungs. The transformation began with a visceral rush, as Sirius harnessed the primal essence of his wolf-like lineage. His onyx-ck hair cascaded down his back, extending to his waist like a raven''s wing. His once-human stature grew taller, stretching to an imposing 8-foot figure that defied easy ssificationit was neither purely human nor aplete beast. In this altered state, his eyes underwent a radical transformation, irises now resembling those of a fierce and cunning wolf, gleaming with an unearthly intelligence. His fingers lengthened into ws, and wickedly sharp talons that mirrored a wolf''s lethal precision. As the metamorphosis deepened, his entire physique underwent a remarkable changemuscles became denser, leaner, and honed to a predatory perfection. A potent aura, wild and beastly, enveloped him like a wild tempest, announcing his newfound might to the world. His powers as a Grandmaster Ranker surged to an unprecedented zenith, as his bloodline''s gifts elevated him to a higher level of existence than regr Rankers. Though he couldn''t quite achieve theplete transformation into a Heavenly Fenris, the godly progenitor from whom his bloodline descended, he stood on the very precipice of his Bloodline Genesis, an ultimate transformation. Among the Fenris n''s most gifted half-bloods, Sirius was destined to attain Atavism, a state where his powers would unlock aplete Fenris transformation, a divine form that mirrored the legendary Heavenly Fenris itself. However, that prospecty in his future, perhaps when he ascended to the revered rank of a Sage. In a mere instant, his transformation wasplete. Sirius Fenris had be a terrifying visage of his lineage, a fusion of human intellect and the primal might of Fenris blood. With his newfound form, he advanced toward Arthur at astonishing speed, the Grandmaster of Edinburgh barely able toprehend the unfolding spectacle before him. Even Arthur''s opponent, Saisha Goren, stood baffled by the sudden and audacious intrusion of Sirius into the epic sh of Grandmasters. "Aaaaargh!" The air was rent with Arthur''s agonized cry as Sirius''s ferocious attack tore through his defensive artifact. Four cruel w-like gashes marred Arthur''s torso, testaments to the sheer potency of Sirius''s strike. Miraculously, Arthur''s life was spared by the protective armor he wore, but it bore the brunt of the devastating assault. Sirius showed no hesitation,unching himself into closebat against the wounded Grandmaster. The force of his previous attack had sent Arthur soaring hundreds of meters away, but Sirius pursued him relentlessly. Engaging the Duke of Edinburgh once more, Siriusunched a flurry of attacks, his bare hands a blur of vicious strikes. However, this time, Arthur disyed a newfound readiness for his opponent''s moves. He expertly wielded his spear, not only deflecting Sirius''s wed strikes but alsounching counterattacks with the spear''s tip. "I knew it!" Arthur''s voice rang out amidst the chaos of their battle, dripping with scorn. "Saisha you bastard, it seems you''ve abandoned your pretense. You dare seek aid from your half-blood allies. The Alliance will soon have a field day fucking you and Layos up." Saisha, locked inbat with Arthur''s words echoing in his mind, was momentarily at a loss. It took him a few heartbeats to grasp the implications of Arthur''s revtion. ''This man... Does he know about our dealings with Demonmir? How could he possess such information? No. wait. This surprise attack! There must be solid proof in Arthur''s hands for him to act this way. In that case, Arthur isn''t acting impulsively with his attack on the Layos army base. He intends to use this evidence against me and, by extension, Layos, to justify his actions before the Anfang Alliance. Damn it. I knew something was up with this bastard Arthur,'' Saisha concluded, his thoughts racing as he realized the depth of the trap Arthur had set. ''Hmm? Hold on. Why is Arthur under attack from this half-blood? These roaches have been pushing their luck with those space-element runes. But why would they be here if Arthur had nned a surprise attack? Who tipped them off?'' Saisha''s thoughts churned as he observed the battle between Arthur and Sirius, his brow furrowing with bewilderment. ''I I just don''t get it. My dealings with Demonmir are only on the primary level at this point. We certainly didn''t establish any arrangement for him to send aid like this. What the fuck is going on here?'' A disconcerting feeling of coincidence gnawed at Saisha. Demonmir had never shown such an inclination to assist him without seeking something in return. Saisha was torn between twopeting instincts: to intervene and rescue Arthur, clearing his name, or to align himself with the werewolf who had appeared out of nowhere and together quell Arthur''s aggression. Saisha was lost in a maze of uncertainty. His dealings with Demonmir were based on the condition that he provided Layos with a consistent supply of Hex Artifacts. How could Demonmir intervene and help him like this? As far as Saisha knew. Ottoman certainly wasn''t so kind as to invest in him or Layos without getting anything in return first. Saisha didn''t know that Eren had taken preemptive steps to dismantle Demonmir''s ns. Armed with the proof presented to Arthur by Nysa, Eren had deftly manipted the Duke, prompting him to take action against Saisha and derail Demonmir''s schemes, disrupting all three factions in one fell swoop. Chapter 1474 Spoiler Title ''Who the fuck is behind all this? And what the fuck do they want?'' A pervasive sense that unforeseen equations were at y, forces unbeknownst to him, gripped Saisha. The prospect of taking action withoutprehending the machinations underlying the tumultuous events surrounding him seemed perilous. The capablemander of Layos'' army screamed in his head as he witnessed Arthur getting manhandled by Sirius. He found himself ensnared in a perplexing predicament. While Arthur and Saisha were entangled in a quagmire of indecision, Sirius, unlike his adversaries, pursued a clear and ruthless objective. Each moment of the protracted battle felt like an eternity to those embroiled in it. Arthur reached an inescapable conclusion: his spear was futile against the physical might of Sirius. He begrudgingly acknowledged his inferiority in terms of close and mid-rangebat prowess. Arthur''s sole advantagey in unleashing potent elemental attacks from a secure distance. With a quick decision, Arthur retracted his weapon in a bid to create space between him and Sirius. However, this was precisely what Sirius desired. The moment Arthur sought to bolster his agility, Sirius harnessed his bloodline energy to amplify his reflexes and speed. Bursting forth with newfound power, he swiftly closed the gap between himself and Arthur. Arthur locked eyes with Sirius as the formidable foe drew dangerously near. Reacting on pure instinct, he swathed himself in his Elemental Attainments, conjuring a tempestuous maelstrom of fire and wind-infused mana that roiled fiercely around him. Sirius, undeterred by the tempest''s fury, howled a defiant cry and thrust his arms into the whirling vortex. The savage elemental forces tore at his skin, searing his flesh as he seized Arthur by the throat and shoulder, his grip unyielding. Intimidation emanated from Sirius'' savage eyes, his ferocity palpable. Arthur, attempting to sound resolute, started to issue a warning. "What the hell are you nning to" His words were abruptly silenced as Sirius hoisted him into the air andunched skyward. The earth beneath them quaked as Sirius ascended hundreds of meters above the ground, paying no heed to the elemental onught Arthur desperately hurled his way. Sirius had a specific target in mind, his cruel eyes gleaming with malevolent intent as he expertly navigated the skies with a pseudo-flight. They descended like meteors locked in a cataclysmic sh, homing in on a particr individual who had been a solitary A-Rank witness to the tumultuous duel unfolding between them. Panic swept over Saisha as he beheld the two descending juggernauts, Arthur and Sirius, hurtling toward him like celestial titans on a collision course. He swiftly moved to alter his position, intending to evade their impending sh. Yet, Sirius had anticipated this maneuver. He invoked his Elemental Fusion, a dense surge of mana that fused both wind and water elements, forming a tangible barrier around Saisha. The towering wall, resembling a swirling amalgam of air and water, enveloped him in a confined space roughly 50 meters in height, rendering escape impossible. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all!" Saisha''s cuss filled the air as he found himself forcibly immobilized. With no escape in sight, he gripped his sword with unyielding resolve, infusing it with his mana, and enveloping the de in his unique Elemental Fusion. Meanwhile, Arthur had inflicted grave injuries upon Sirius due to the half-blood''s audacious gambit. However, he soon realized there was more to Sirius''s attack than met the eye. Before him, a dire tableau unfolded, leading Arthur to assume an alliance between Sirius and Saisha, aimed at killing him. "Saishaaaaaa! I am not going down without a fight." Arthur''s realization was punctuated by a scream as he forwent his battle with Sirius, focusing instead on his impending groundward descent. With a trump card to y, Arthur activated inscrutable runes etched upon his spear, enhancing its lethality to an extent that even Saisha would be unable to parry. This desperate move came at a great cost to Arthur, sapping a significant portion of his life essence. He would not have resorted to such a maneuver if his back weren''t against the wall. In the blink of an eye, three Grandmasters unleashed their cataclysmic assaults. They each used their Trump Cards tond a decisive blow upon each other. Saisha and Sirius bore down upon Arthur, while Arthur aimed his spear at Saisha''s heart in a lethal thrust. A surge of mana, each bearing distinct signatures, shrouded these three formidable A-Rankers as their attacks collided. Boom. Boom. Boom. The unthinkable transpired. Mere moments ago, Arthur and Saisha had contemted withdrawal, never anticipating a mortal sh between them. But the arrival of Sirius had irreversibly altered the equation. Saisha''s sword breached Arthur''s Mana Defense Layer, delivering a grievous wound from his waist to shoulder, nearly bisecting him. Only Arthur''s shoulder bone obstructed the de frompletely cleaving him in two, drenching the earth with his Grandmaster blood. Simultaneously, Arthur''s spear bore through Saisha''s chest, creating a gaping cavity. Saisha''s organs sizzled within from the searing impact due to the Foreign Mana Invasion, preventing immediate bloodshed. Though Arthur''s assault did not directly pierce Saisha''s heart, his stationary posture had afforded him enough control to deflect Arthur''s blow sufficiently to avert immediate death. Sirius fared marginally better among the trio, yet Arthur''s relentless onught had exacted its toll. His beastly fury in tatters, his bones and inner muscles exposed in various ces. He would have been a done deal like Arthur as well if he was not a half-blood. "Saisha Despite us being enemies I I didn''t expect this from someone like you. You''ve used a hired hand to end me. The Duke of Edinburgh. Do Do you feel proud?" Arthur chuckled with a cruel smile as he clutched his impaled heart. Facing impending demise, the Duke of Edinburgh chose to embrace it, rather than flee. In that fateful moment, Arthur decided to decisively trigger the detonation of his mana core, intending to ensnare Saisha within its deadly radius. Yet, just as Arthur stood poised to trigger a cataclysmic detonation of his A-Rank mana core, a fierce kick abruptly assailed his back. The sheer physical force behind this assault tore through Arthur''s flesh, baring his pelvic bone and spine. The force behind this jarring kick could only belong to Sirius. Sent hurtling back toward Saisha by the momentum of the kick, Arthur''s near-instantaneous approachpelled Saisha to instinctively execute another strike. It mirrored his previous attack - same stance, same sh. This time, Saisha''s de managed to cleave Arthur asunder, severing his life before the malevolent energies of his mana core could unleash their destructive fury upon the world. At this moment, Arthur Renar, the Duke of Edinburgh, met his end. The reality of this momentous event was so surreal that even his killer found it difficult to fathom that he had, indeed, dispatched the enemymander in such an unusual turn of events. Spoiler Chapter title: Arthur''s End === AN: Can be skipped. Arthur Renar, a prominent figure in the VEH universe from Volume 2 until this point, now takes his leave from our narrative. I really wanted Arthur and Eren to engage in one final conversation before his death. There were countless topics to explore, as Arthur''s actions, whether direct or indirect, have yed a significant role in advancing the storyline of VEH. However, the way I''ve crafted Eren''s character doesn''t permit him to willingly reveal himself to Arthur. Arthur''s passing urred without him ever discovering the puppeteer who had been orchestrating events from the shadows for years, leaving himpletely unaware. From a world-building perspective, this oue makes sense. Still, as an author, I can''t help but feel a twinge of regret over the missed opportunities for revtions, surprises, and those satisfying "gotcha" moments. It could have been a very entertaining reading experience to witness Eren divulge his schemes to Arthur. Nevertheless, for better or worse, I''mmitted to maintaining the integrity of Eren''s character and adhering to the stringent rules of VEH''s world setting. So yeah. That''s about it. Goodbye, Arthur. ;) Chapter 1475 Exploiting Grandmasters ? Sirius reverted to his natural form after confirming Arthur''s demise. Utilizing the lingering traces of his bloodline energy, he mended the majority of his grievous wounds. Being a Grandmaster half-blood and a skilled scion of House Fenris, Sirius possessed a deep understanding of how to harness his bloodline transformation effectively. This allowed him to maintain control and preserve his sense of self while transformed. Meanwhile, Saisha grappled with the shocking reality of what had just urred. His gaze fixated on Arthur''s lifeless form, severed in two by his own strike. His sword remained tainted with Arthur''s blood, and the foreign mana intrusion from Arthur was still present and continued to afflict his wounds. The Layosmander found it difficult to process the gravity of the situation; he had taken Arthur''s life, a truth too staggering toprehend in an instant. "No, I didn''t kill Arthur. I was pushed to this," Saisha murmured to himself, his voice tinged with bewilderment and disbelief. He raised his head, fixing Sirius with a gaze that conveyed his overwhelming desire to ask a multitude of questions. Saisha observed as Sirius resumed his regr appearance, dispelling the formidable bloodline transformation. It took him a moment to recognize the man before him. "Wait... I remember you. Weren''t you the one responsible for stirring unrest in several Layos cities about a decade ago?" Saisha''s eyes widened with surprise and a hint of hostility. Finally, the pieces fell into ce as he connected the dots between Sirius''s ordinary appearance and his bloodline transformation. *** A decade earlier, Eren had orchestrated a targeted strike against the Midnight Moon cultist organization operating in Layos and Edinburgh. House Fenris, led by Sirius, had been handsomelypensated for arranging this operation. The butcher had also directed Sirius and his n to incite turmoil in various Layos city-states as a preemptive measure. This maneuver aimed to destabilize the rival kingdom, as it was believed that Layos and Midnight Moon might secretly coborate against Eren''s guild. Saisha Goren had been appointed as a key investigator tasked with unraveling the disturbances caused by external forces. He had attempted to establish contact with Sirius and Fiona through the Ancients, which was a cultist organization effectively run by the half-bloods. As a result, Saisha had received multiple reports concerning Sirius''s direct involvement in fomenting unrest in Layos. The reports had mentioned a very powerful wolf-type half-blood being the mastermind behind the attacks with Sirius'' appearance. During that period, Sirius had rejected a potential partnership with Saisha, even when thetter had offered to double the payment Eren had provided. After creating significant chaos, Sirius had once again vanished into obscurity, effectively thwarting Saisha''s attempts to resolve the decade-old unrest in Layos. *** "Hmm? Do you know who I am?" Sirius arched an eyebrow, an expression of surprise crossing his face. He flexed his limbs and assessed his overall condition, ensuring he wasrgely unharmed. Although he bore various lingering injuries and the effects of Arthur''s Foreign Mana Invasion, they posed no immediate threat, and he could address them at ater time. "Why the hell are you here? And why did you kill Arthur?" Saisha''s voice brimmed with menace as he questioned Sirius. Saisha''s suspicions deepened, and he grew increasingly convinced that Sirius couldn''t be an ally. Firstly, Saisha hadn''t wanted Arthur dead. Secondly, the individual who had incited unrest in Layos and rejected cooperation a decade ago was hardly a likely candidate to be sent by Demonmir to aid Saisha. Saisha concluded that Sirius must have had ulterior motives for interfering in his duel with Arthur. Sirius stretched his arms and chuckled before responding to Saisha. "Hahaha. Grandmaster Saisha, don''t make baseless usations. It was you who killed Arthur. I merely lent a helping hand." Sirius then shifted his gaze to Arthur''s lifeless body, sighed, and remarked, "Now that the man is dead, it''s time for me to take my leave. Goodbye, Grandmaster Saisha. I expect further cooperation between us in the future." With that, Sirius activated a space-element rune and vanished from the scene, eluding Saisha''s attempts to halt him and seek answers. "Damn it. These space-element runes from the Sansara Sage''s era are a pain in the ass to deal with," Saisha cursed, realizing that Sirius had sessfully evaded him and his effective Mana Sense range, leaving him without any answers. The way Sirius had spoken hinted at arger conspiracy. "Something''s not right. I need to get the fuck away from this..." Saisha''s internal musings were abruptly cut short when he detected the approach of another formidable presence heading rapidly toward his location. "This! It can''t be" If his intuition served him right, this was reinforcement from Edinburgh. After all, if it had been Layos''s reinforcements sent to aid him, they would have informed Saisha in advance. "Fuck. Who is this fucking bastard ying with Grandmaster Rankers like this? A Sage? Why would a Sage Fuck! Forget it." Saisha made a swift decision to distance himself from ground zero immediately. It became apparent that while he was engrossed in his confrontation with Arthur and Sirius, the half-bloods who had arrived alongside Sirius had set their sights on what remained of Edinburgh''s forces. Granted, there weren''t many Layos Rankers left on the battlefield in the first ce. Most had perished, and the few survivors had managed to escape further from the epicenter even before Sirius had vanished. Swoosh. Zoom. Run. With neither the time nor the inclination to check on his subordinates, Saisha sensed the approach of a Grandmaster-ranked entity. Without hesitation, he abandoned hisrades and fully harnessed his Movement Spell, intent on putting as much distance as possible between himself and the battleground. Regrettably for Saisha, his attempt to flee the battlefield bore unfavorable results. === AN: Sirius stirs unrest in Layos following a payment from Eren in chapter 938. Chapter 939 sees Saisha Goren attempting to make contact with Sirius, who ultimately declines cooperation. I encourage readers to refer to these two chapters for a better understanding of the ongoing storyline. ;) Chapter 1476 Manipulating Sages ? Regrettably for Saisha, his attempt to flee the battlefield bore unfavorable results. The Grandmaster Ranker who caught up to him hailed from the kingdom of Edinburgh. As soon as he closed the distance, heunched an assault on Saisha. "Saisha Goren, I must exact revenge upon you for ying the Duke of Edinburgh," dered the Edinburgh Grandmaster Ranker, who happened to be none other than Zethos de Montmorency, a recently ascended A-Ranker from House Montmorency with close ties to the White Raven Guild. "First Arthur and now you Un fucking believable!" Saisha''s agonized voice resounded through the air as he confronted Zethos. He sounded like he felt wronged by the circumstances he was facing. And that life had been unfair to him. Zethos appeared thoroughly prepared for their encounter, from his formidable armor to the gleaming saber gripped tightly in his hand. Saisha couldn''t fathom that Arthur''s assault on the Layos army base had been a unteral decision after witnessing Zethos''s swift arrival on the battlefield following his prior skirmish. It was as if the stage of a grand theatrical production had been meticulously arranged, where one actor gracefully exited, allowing another to seamlessly take their ce and advance the plot. In this dramatic y, Saisha felt relegated to a supporting role, a mere backdrop to emphasize how the main character had schemed behind his back. "Who... who sent you here?" Saisha''s voice wasced with frustration as he fixed his gaze on Zethos. The most exasperating aspect of this situation was Saisha''sck of knowledge about the puppeteer orchestrating events from the shadows. This unseen figure was neither naive nor egotistical enough to reveal themselves. "You should" Zethos began to respond but halted mid-sentence as if receiving additional instructions that prevented him from engaging Saisha in conversation. "I... I apologize," Zethos sighed, clearly conflicted. "I''ve been instructed not to waste time talking." Saisha had a noticeably higher Ranking Status than Zethos, and his grasp of Elemental Attainments was far more profound. Unlike Zethos, Saisha had spent considerable time as a Grandmaster. If Saisha had not been injured, Zethos wouldn''t have been his match. Zethos had enjoyed the privilege of Eren''s elerated Rank-up Program through the White Raven Guild. He was one of the lucky members of Levine''s faction who had benefited from the program. It wasn''t a charitable offer, though. Eren asked Zethos to repay him through his involvement in this n and his confrontation with Saisha. Without dy, Saisha and Zethos shed in a fierce battle, their confrontation marking the creation of a new Grandmaster-level battleground. Once again, the very elements around them surged with power, giving rise to formidable attacks as the two Grandmasters engaged inbat. The battle clearly showcased one Grandmaster''s dominance over the other, primarily due to thetter''s weakened state from the prior encounter. As the battle raged on, Saisha and Zethos found themselves gradually departing from Layos'' territory, heading towards a neutral region that neither kingdom had yet toy im to. Zethos had a dual purpose: defeating Saisha and driving him out of Layos'' domain. Amid the fight, Saisha received an unexpected voice message, which served as a lifeline amidst the intense battle. ''Saisha, hold your ground. I''m on my way,'' an aged yet authoritative voice resonated through themunication channel, offering a glimmer of hope to Saisha in the midst of battle. Recognizing the voice, relief washed over Saisha, and a smile broke across his face. ''Sage Gregory! Thank the heavens. I''ll send you my location. Please arrive as swiftly as you can,'' Saisha implored Gregory, his voice a blend of hope and gratitude. He was determined not to fall victim to the conspiracy plotted against him. *** "Hmm? Would you look at that smile? He is practically farting sunshine and rainbows with how happy he seems. Eren, why does that bastard Saisha appear as though he''s just received a stroke of good fortune? He''s battling with Zethos with newfound determination. It''s clear he''s buying time." Sirius cautioned Eren, his eyes fixed on the unfolding battle between Saisha and Zethos as he stood beside Eren. Eren wore a knowing smile as he replied to Sirius''s query. "Keke. Saisha''s delight likely stems from a voice message he received from Sage Gregory Grant," he offered, his smile hinting at his understanding of Saisha''s rekindled resolve in the battle. Sirius was taken aback by Eren''s revtion. He swallowed hard as he contemted the implications of Sage Gregory Grant''s impending arrival. Casting a troubled look at Eren, he carefully voiced his suggestion. "In that case, we should leave this area immediately. We''ve already achieved our goal of eliminating Arthur. Staying here serves no purpose." Eren shook his head, refusing Sirius''s proposal. "This area essentially falls within Layos'' jurisdiction. No matter how many restrictions we put on Saisha, it was only a matter of time before he received reinforcements. I merely elerated the process by alerting Sage Gregory Grant in advance." Sirius was stunned by Eren''s audacity. He regarded Eren with disbelief, his voice trembling as he spoke. "Wh. what? What the You tipped off Grant? Eren, no offense, but are you fucking out of your mind? Why take such a risk? Has sess gone to your head to the point where you underestimate the power of a Sage? Regardless of Gregory''s tarnished reputation and his injuries, he remains an S-Ranker. Tell Zethos to withdraw. LIKE RIGHT NOW. We must leave immediately." Sirius implored, a sense of urgency in his tone. He felt that Eren was unnecessarily gambling by involving a Sage Ranker. While Eren and Sirius shared the goal of sparking a full-scale conflict between Edinburgh and Layos, manipting a Sage Ranker was a line Sirius wouldn''t dare to cross, despite his higher rank than Eren. "Hm? Sirius, my friend, do you think I don''t have Sages at my disposal to counter Gregory? That''s precisely why I alerted him to Saisha''s situation in advance." Eren replied, his eyes still fixed on the battle between Zethos and Saisha. "Nevertheless, you''re free to leave if you wish. However,e what may, I got to see this through. The night will be long, that''s for sure. Rest assured, though, that both kingdoms will wake to a new reality with the dawn of a new day. I, Eren Elijah Idril, promise this in my name." Eren concluded with an enigmatic tone, the chill in his voice palpable as he turned away from Sirius. The winds howled, and the night sky underwent a spectral transformation, as if the very region itself mored for more violence, demanding a somber climax to the Rankers it hosted within its confines. === AN: Zethos was first mentioned in chapter 908. Gregory Grant was mentioned in chapter 1135. Gregory was the same Sage who had been caught by Garos Renar and waster handed to Layos in a prisoner exchange program mentioned in chapter 1187. Chapter 1477 Declaration of Full-fledged War P1 Chapter 1477 Deration of Full-fledged War P1 Day 1 after Arthur''s death. The initial piece of news that swiftly circted throughout both kingdoms concerned Saisha''s alleged collusion with a cultist organization as a means of retaliating against Edinburgh. Demonmir had already been dered as one of the most wanted cultists and criminals by the Anfang Alliance. So when Arthur''s proof of Saisha''s coboration with Demonmir came to light, the masses of Edinburgh supported his actions against Layos'' army with all their hearts. Arthur had taken deliberate steps to ensure that this news reached the masses of both kingdoms. He had also strategically informed multiple authorities within the Anfang Alliance, thereby preventing any attempts to suppress the information. This revtion, along with the evidence Arthur had brought to light, served as the foundational justification for his audacious attack on the Layos army base. The people of Edinburgh erupted in jubtion upon learning of Arthur''s unwavering resolve in the face of Layos'' forces. The Duke of Edinburgh was hailed as a war hero, and numerous influential Rankers within the city-state sought to establish contact with him. During this period, only Arthur''s daring assault on the Layos army base had been made public knowledge, and the news of his demise had not yet reached the masses. *** Day 2. Despite Arthur''s clear vition of the rules and regtions of warfare by attacking the Layos army base, the Anfang Alliance found itself unable to prosecute him or Edinburgh by extension. The Alliance would have ced the me on Saisha and Layos for their alleged collusion with Demonmir. However, a secondyer of news began to circte among the popce, revealing the deaths of both Arthur and Saisha in the events that had unfolded four days prior. The citizens of both kingdoms were left in shock upon discovering that Arthur and Saisha had perished during these events. It was widely reported that Saisha had sought the assistance of a cultist to eliminate the Duke of Edinburgh, solidifying his reputation as a coborator with these shadowy organizations in the eyes of both Edinburgh''s popce and the Anfang Alliance. For those Rankers with ess to privileged information, it became apparent that Saisha had conspired with the Last Blood Bastian and enlisted the aid of a wolf-type half-blood to eliminate Arthur. This revtion not only shocked them but also raised questions about how Layos had dared to form an alliance with the half-bloods, in direct contradiction to the Anfang Alliance''s strong stance against their kind. Among the general popce of Edinburgh and the Rankers who had been directly or indirectly involved in the war against Layos, there was a collective sense of mourning for Arthur. Despite his impulsive attack on the Layos army base, news of Saisha''s coboration with a cultist to kill him cast Saisha as the greater viin in the eyes of Edinburgh''s inhabitants. *** Day 3. This situation would have been simpler for Layos had it concluded with Arthur''s death alone. It would have allowed the kingdom to sever its ties with Saisha and designate him as the sole Ranker responsible for collusion with Demonmir and the cultist organization behind him. This move could have shielded Layos from eventual prosecution by the Anfang Alliance without breaking a sweat. After all, this was a sought-after loophole that was often used by the kingdoms to avoid the wrath of the Anfan Alliance. However, the revtion of a thirdyer of news regarding the events from four days priorplicated matters significantly for both kingdoms and the Anfang Alliance. It soon became public knowledge that Saisha had also met his demise at the hands of another Edinburgh Ranker, Zethos de Montmorency. Zethos imed that he had been tracing Demonmir''s actions for some time, seeking revenge for Arthur''s death and Saisha''s involvement with Demonmir. It was widely known that Demonmir had betrayed and killed numerous established Rankers from House Montmorency before bing a cultist and a wanted criminal. Only Levine''s faction within the House Montmorency had survived Demonmir''s treachery. Demonmir''s betrayal not only stabbed the kingdom of Edinburgh in the back and earned the enmity of the Anfang Alliance but also undermined the foundation of House Montmorency. Zethos'' actions, by thwarting Demonmir''s ns through Saisha''s death, could be seen as justified on multiple fronts. Fortunately, Zethos survived the encounter, eliminating Saisha in a neutral zone on the verge of being contested by both kingdoms before returning to Edinburgh''s borders. Consequently, all the Rankers. 07:58 Simultaneously, the central administration of Layos and its citizens credit and poprity that would have gone to Arthur shifted to Zethos, instantly making him one of Edinburgh''s most celebrated Rankers. Simultaneously, the central administration of Layos and its citizens raised objections against Zethos'' impulsive and reckless actions. Layos argued that Zethos'' sudden arrival on the battlefield was too coincidental, suggesting that these events were a meticulously nned setup to frame Saisha as the viin. Ideally, Layos would have allowed Saisha to shoulder the me for its budding coboration with the Last Blood Bastian and Demonmir. It certainly wouldn''t have defended Saisha at the cost of receiving scrutiny from the Alliance. However, after Saisha''s demise at Zethos'' hands, Layos waspelled to portray him as a martyr and a war victim. The kingdom vehemently denied any association with the cultist organization, shifting all responsibility onto Arthur. Layos imed that it was Arthur who had orchestrated the plot to frame Saisha and had colluded with the half-bloods. Layos asserted that Zethos had been hastily dispatched by Edinburgh to conceal this secret alliance with the half-bloods, silencing Saisha permanently to prevent the leakage of any of Arthur and Edinburgh''s secrets. *** Day 4. Day 4 marked a critical turning point following Arthur''s demise. It was then confirmed that Sage Gregory Grant of Layos had been in by Sages Altar Argas and Osha Daman of Edinburgh. Gregory Grant had taken it upon himself to rescue Saisha upon learning of Arthur''s assault on the Layos army base. Tragically, when he arrived, it was already toote to save Saisha. In his desperation for revenge against Edinburgh''s actions, Gregory attempted to eliminate Zethos, triggering a fierce confrontation with the Crimson Ghost and Sage Osha Daman. Before Gregory had a chance to retreat or call for help, Altair and Osha had managed to kill him before he could see the sunrise of the next day. This startling revtion was initially met with disbelief and considered mere rumor. It marked the first Sage fatality in the ongoing conflict between the two kingdoms, a development entirely unexpected by all parties involved. Chapter 1478 Declaration of Full-fledged War P2 Chapter 1478 Deration of Full-fledged War P2 Four days. That''s the time it took for the news surrounding the events of Arthur''s assault on the Layos army base to reach the general popce of both kingdoms. As time passed, a clearer and moreprehensive narrative of these events began to emerge, gradually unfolding before the eyes and ears of the people. The security agencies in both kingdoms did their best to control the dissemination of information in order to prevent the spread of misinformation and to protect public morale. However, the sheer magnitude of the incident made it impossible to keep things under wraps. Even the Anfang Alliance, a powerful organization in its own right, found itselfpelled to corroborate some of the news surrounding these events. This incidentpelled both Edinburgh and Layos to halt their customary wartime practices and traditions. The citizens of each kingdom had rallied behind their respective war heroes and embraced their own interpretation of the "truth" surrounding these events. Consequently, neither Edinburgh nor Layos was willing, or perhaps even able, to yield. Key figures from both sides could discern that Arthur''s assault on the Layos army base was far from a straightforward matter. There were too many serendipitous and unexpected factors that had converged to result in the deaths of Arthur, Saisha, and even Sage Gregory. The masses could be kept away from knowing about the full details of the event. However, these key figures had their own ways of investigating the incident in their own way. Moreover, rumors circted that Sage Altair Argas, known as the Crimson Ghost, and Osha Daman had sustained injuries during their confrontation with Sage Gregory. As such, both of these Edinburgh Sages discreetly informed their respective contacts before vanishing from public view. Even the central administration of Edinburgh found it impossible to establish contact with Altair and Osha. However, given their involvement in a highly controversial incident that implicated the kingdom of Edinburgh, the influential figures within the kingdom had no choice but to endorse Altair and Osha''s actions to legitimize their cause. King Emil Edinburgh von Renar the 9th of Edinburgh publicly supported the actions of Arthur, Altair and Osha. Arthur''s assault could be considered as a way for him to get rid of the cultists'' links. Plus, as the battle between the Sages had taken ce on disputed territory, the king of Edinburgh possessed the means to support the Sages from his faction. It was almost as if an unseen force hadpelled both kingdoms to deviate from their previous skirmishes and escte to a full-scale war, involving even Sage-ranked entities. This single incident, triggered by Arthur''s assault, seemed to have influenced Rankers from both sides to embark on arge-scale conflict. *** Agatha''s meeting room. The White Raven Guild. The city of White Raven. Inside a grand and spacious hall, almost all the prominent figures of the White Raven Guild and its allies had assembled. Team captains like Nina, Levine, Drin Dawn, Bianka Bluedust, Arjun, Tuan Aag, Tumko Darata, and others stood with their respective teams. Even Grandmaster Amory was present with a few of his disciples. Agatha took a prominent position before them, seemingly waiting for a significant revtion. Eren lingered a little behind Agatha, his demeanor suggesting he wasn''t the one to brief the gathered White Raven Rankers. Nevertheless, the guild members couldn''t resist stealing nces at him. He acknowledged them with a light smile, offering up-nods and friendly waves. Suddenly, a spectral screen hovering above Agatha sprang to life, disying the image of Jiana Jihang. She had emerged from a briefing that had included other influential figures from Edinburgh. Jiana was presently located in the capital city of Edinburgh, Edin. She had represented the White Raven Guild in this capacity, and the time hade for her to convey the decisions made by Edinburgh''s central administration to her guild members. "Jiana, no need for formalities," Agatha addressed Jiana firmly. "I''ve gathered those we can rely on, so there''s no need to withhold any information. Share all the details," Agatha urged, her voice tinged with urgency. Watching the live footage of Jiana, it was evident she was under stress. Having managed guild-rted affairs and maintained contact with Edinburgh''s central administration for nearly a decade, she had "In one week''s time, a full-scale war will erupt between Edinburgh 07:59 and Layos," Jiana Jihang dered in a somber tone, her forehead navigated various war-rted matters with poise. For her to appear tense meant only one thing C the bnce of power that had endured for the past nine years had shifted significantly. "In one week''s time, a full-scale war will erupt between Edinburgh and Layos," Jiana Jihang dered in a somber tone, her forehead etched with stress lines. "This conflict will involve Sages from both sides. The Anfang Alliance will primarily act as a neutral observer. The Kingdom of Edinburgh has mandated the participation of all organizations holding war contracts, and this includes the White Raven Guild. We must dispatch a specific number of Rankers, ranging from Novices to the highest echelons, to engage in this all-out war. Failure toply with thispulsory participation will be treated as mutiny, and strict actions will be taken against offending organizations and individual Rankers." Jiana conveyed with a solemn shake of her head. It appeared she had attempted to reduce the number of participants Edinburgh expected from the White Raven Guild, but her efforts had proved futile. Upon hearing this news from Jiana, the Rankers maintained stoic expressions. They couldn''t be described as surprised, as they were already aware of the recent incident involving Arthur''s assault. However, some had held out hope that the full-fledged war wouldn''t include the participation of Sages. "It appears we''ve reached this point," Agatha murmured in a disheartened tone, releasing a heavy sigh. She couldn''t help but contemte who the vile evil mastermind behind the Arthur incident was, the one who had poured oil onto the smoldering embers and ignited a full-scale war between the two kingdoms. If she ever crossed paths with this individual, she felt an overwhelming urge to strangle them to death. ''Hmm? In just a week''s time? FUUUUUUCK! It looks like I''ve pushed forward the execution of the Lazarus Project by three whole months," Eren, the true instigator of the all-out war, struggled to digest the news from Jiana. A sardonic grin formed on the butcher''s lips as he recognized the unforeseen repercussions of his actions. He had exceeded his own expectations, only to find that it had led to more problems rather than the relief he had anticipated. Chapter 1479 The Long-Awaited Exchange P1 Chapter 1479 The Long-Awaited Exchange P1 The City of White Raven. Eren upied his private workshop, which doubled as both his potionboratory and secluded training space for honing his Ranking Technique. Here, the ambient atmosphere pulsated with an array of elemental mana, its potency augmented by the presence of exceptionally scarce Mana Blessing stones, painstakingly procured from far-flung corners of Anfang. These Mana Blessings, designated as B-Rank rarities, were a coveted prize, so scarce that only a lone Master Ranker out of hundreds couldy im to their possession. And yet, Eren had amassed a staggering collection of nine Mana Blessings, an extravagant luxury that eluded the grasp of the typical Master Ranker. Upon learning from Jiana that the full-scale war between Edinburgh and Layos was looming just a week away, Eren chose to remain within the confines of the City of White Raven. He focused on fortifying his foundation as a Master Ranker, leveraging the privileges and resources at his disposal as the White Raven Guild''s master. Nearly two days had psed since Eren delved into the practice of the Rootless Ranking Technique. Time became irrelevant as he meticulously circted mana throughout his body, adhering to the technique''s core principles. Only when he sensed an iing long-distancemunication did he stir from his meditative state. This call was long-awaited. Eren blinked and opened his eyes and ceased his Ranking Practice, assuming aposed posture as he permitted the spectral transmission to connect. "Is everything proceeding as nned, my charming kitten?" A voice that once haunted Eren''s nightmares. Sage Eliza''s spectral form engaged Eren in a voice that carried a blend of amusement and inquisitiveness. Her Soul Sense projection exuded an aura of authority, appearing as a prime version of herself. Eliza''s Soul Sense Manifestation exhibited slight distortions and static interference, revealing the inherent instability of the long-distancemunication array used for contact. Expectedly, Elizamunicated from her Purgatory, a method Eren had seldom employed due to its limited functionality and temporal constraints. Eliza''s projection remained as imperious and self-assured as ever. She donned a provocative leather bodice, coupled with aplete armor set,prising armguards, leg guards, and waist protection. A simple-looking yet powerful dius hung from her waist belt. Her voluminous hair framed her visage, imparting an additionalyer of allure. Her eyes, dark green akin to the most precious jade, possessed an enigmatic charm. A dainty nose and a gracefully oval-shaped face adorned her clearplexion, with a subtle blush entuating her cheeks. Her petite lips bore the color of ripe cherries. Although she appeared to stand at 5 feet 10 inches, her svelte figure lent an illusion of even greater height. This young woman with her captivating countenance, boasted an equally mesmerizing physique, replete with generous proportions and graceful curves. Behind Eliza''s Soul Sense projectiony her actual body, a stark contrast to her projected self. This body appeared even more frail than the one Eren hadst seen a decade ago. It sat upon a throne fashioned from precious bones, firmly bound by intricate runic restraints. Her true form had dwindled into a mummified skeleton, with desated skin clinging precariously to its frame, poised to crumble at the slightest breath of wind. The mysterious runic bindings, which enveloped Eliza''s mummified body, sustained her existence, and her life teetered on the verge of extinguishing if these runic tethers unraveled. Judging by their deteriorating state, this impending death was not far off. In stark contrast to her fragile corporeal form, Eliza''s Soul Sense projection emanated an air of calmposure. The mummy Eren observed behind her projected self seemed almost incongruous with her demeanor. Eren swiftly grasped Eliza''s motive for initiating this form ofmunication. She aimed to convey her unwavering mastery of her faculties, regardless of her body''s fragility. Her message was clear: no matter how vulnerable her physical form, her Soul Sense projection alone remained a formidable force capable of confronting any challenges posed by Eren or external influences from Anfang. This unshakable self-confidence defined Eliza''s character. She subtly cautioned Eren against harboring any misconceptions regarding the Lazarus Project, despite her frail condition. Familiar with Eliza''s penchant for psychological tactics, Eren remained unfazed by her attempt at intimidation. He inhaled deeply before responding with gravitas. "Sage Eliza, things things have happened and we need to expedite our preparations. The Lazarus Project is set to activate in five days," Eren stated solemnly. Eliza reacted with a dissatisfied wrinkle of her nose upon hearing this news. She assumed a slightlyining tone in her reply. "Five days, you say? That hardly affords me adequate time, boy. I had presumed we still had three months to prepare. I still have a lot I need to prepare. Can''t you postpone it by at least a month? I thought you were a skilled nner," Eliza mused, toying with strands of her hair. Eren bore a crease of annoyance on his forehead in response to Eliza''sints. Nevertheless, he maintained his stoic demeanor and addressed her patiently. "In an ideal scenario, I would oblige Sage Eliza. However, I am no deity, and circumstances have forced my hand. We can only adapt to our circumstances. Trust me, I did not intend to hasten the Lazarus Project as well. And yet, here we are," Eren asserted as he rose from his meditative posture. He deactivated the array formation that had been supporting his practice of the Rootless Ranking Technique. Eliza responded with a yful chuckle, her gaze keen as she continued. "Fufufu. I was of course kidding, my dear. It seems I must stop addressing you as ''cute kitten,'' considering the growth you''ve made since ourst face-to-face encounter," she remarked, her tone friendly yet tinged with a hint of wickedness. "I understand the difficulties you might have encountered in arranging this whole thing up. I am not blind to not see the efforts you have made. And the way with which you have handled the n. Had it been anyone else, they might have either exposed us prematurely or faltered in theirmitment. Rest assured, I will be sure to prepare within these few days so that we may embark on the Lazarus Project whenever you deem fit," Eliza concluded with an assuring smile and tone. === AN: Mana Blessing was exined in chapter 13. Chapter 1480 The Long-Awaited Exchange P2 Chapter 1480 The Long-Awaited Exchange P2 Eren''s deration about the expedited Lazarus Project wasn''t merely a pretense. It had genuinely disrupted his meticulously crafted preparations. He had devised an extensive n epassing numerous intricate steps that he was bound to take during these three months. However, the elerated onset of the war had forced him to abandon these wellid schemes. Yet, this was no unfamiliar territory for Eren. Throughout his previous Lazarus Project attempts, setbacks and unexpected obstacles had beenmonpanions. With each hurdle, he had learned to adapt, even if it meant adjusting his strategy and navigating unforeseenplications. Initially, Eren had believed that merely creating the Pleasure Paradise potion would secure him the coveted Shallot''s Mirror. His intention was tobine Pleasure Paradise with his own Mist of Lust Ability, effectively gaining control over a prominent female figure within the Lancelot Guild. Thisbination, bolstered by Eren''s Sin Series Ability, would have granted him leverage over a Grandmaster-ranked woman affiliated with House Lancelot. However, his n was shattered when he discovered that the artifact resided securely within Grandmaster Baelin''s smithy. House Lancelot''s tradition dictated that their female Rankers constituted the primarybat force, while the male n members oversaw guild management and weapon manufacturing. Shallot Lancelot had served as a role model for the female n members of House Lancelot after all. This tradition made it all the more difficult for Eren to obtain Shallot''s Mirror through his initial strategy. And this was just one of the many hurdles he encountered while preparing for the Lazarus Project. Numerous obstacles forced him to adopt alternative approaches and repeatedly veer from his original ns. *** Eren and Eliza engaged in a lengthy discussion, carefully finalizing critical aspects rted to the execution of the Lazarus Project. Remarkably, throughout their conversation, neither Eren nor Eliza resorted to verbal threats or warnings. This surprising absence of hostility didn''t stem from mutual trust but rather from a shared understanding that such threats and warnings held no value for them. Both Eren and Eliza possessed an acute awareness that each would pursue actions aligning with their own best interests, regardless of the consequences imposed upon the other. Consequently, their dialogue resembled a delicate mental battleground, where every word was chosen with precision, akin to navigating a field of hidden traps. Eren briefed Eliza on the imminent full-scale war between Edinburgh and Layos, emphasizing that this conflict was just one among several brewing in the Anfang world. He mentioned the escting tensions between the Asikha Empire and the newly formed Amazonian Unity, a development partially ess to a substantial arsenal of weapons and high-grade Hex artifacts. However, Eren chose not to delve into the specifics of his spurred by his secret supply of weapons and artifacts to the Amazonians. The White Raven Guild had amassed considerable wealth and connections from this business, while the Amazonians had gained ess to a substantial arsenal of weapons and high-grade Hex artifacts. However, Eren chose not to delve into the specifics of his dealings with the Amazonians, opting instead to focus on the various emerging war scenarios across Anfang. Eliza didn''t need to know everything. The Anfang Alliance, in its efforts to contain these multifaceted conflicts, had stretched its resources thin, deploying representatives to different regions in an attempt to quell or manage these brewing wars. But their results had thus far fallen short of satisfactory. Eliza was already acquainted with some of these developments through her contact with La. Hence, Eren and Eliza''s conversation revolved around the implications of these ongoing conflicts on the Lazarus Projects and their respective connections with the evolving warlike situations. Towards the end of their discussion, Eliza inquired about Eren''s strategy for obtaining Shallot''s Mirror. She was already informed, through La, that Eren had secured a suitable vessel for her and had acquired an Astral Projection Potion. Eren, aware that Eliza was essentially seeking confirmation of information she had received from La, didn''t hesitate to exin how he had gained Grandmaster Baelin''s trust by assuming the persona of Leo Longde. He reassured her that he would secure Shallot''s Mirror at the appropriate moment to ensure its avability for the Lazarus Project. *** "Fufufu. It seems" Eliza remarked, her voice tinged with genuine appreciation. "You''ve grown significantly, Eren boy. I must say, I made the right choice in selecting you for this task. Regardless of the twists and turns our paths may take, remember this: I, Eliza Samael, the sole heir of House Samael, acknowledge you as the most remarkable half-blood of your generation. Even though your bloodline is artificial, I consider you one of us." Eren responded with a subtle nod, preferring not to delve deeper into this matter. Eliza sensed his preupation and wisely shifted the conversation''s focus, motioning for someone to join her. In the next instant, Reen''s spectral form materialized beside Eliza. She had assumed the appearance of one of her earlier devoured subjects, Elena. At first nce, she appeared well, but Eren detected a subtle irregrity in her form. As a C-Ranked slime-type demon beast, her presence should have been more pronounced, even in spectral form. However, her ranking status had suffered to some degree, rendering her weaker than when Eren hadst encountered her in person. It was evident to Eren that Eliza''s relentless experiments on Reen had taken a toll, both physically and mentally. Regardless of how Eliza tried to minimize the effects, the consequences of these experiments were far from gentle. In fact, Eren found it surprising that Reen had maintained her status as a C-Ranked entity rather than regressing. Of course, Reen didn''t want to appear weak or vulnerable before Eren. Theirmunication within Eren''s Soul Space had been infrequent and restricted in various ways. They both kept their interactions hidden from Eliza''s watchful eye. The talk they had in Soul Space always felt so surreal to both of themC akin to a dream. So this call could be considered as the first genuine conversation that they had after a long time. When Reen''s spectral form appeared before him, Eren smiled, and she reciprocated. They didn''t need words; their souls seemed tomunicate effortlessly. "Hehe. You still trust me, right?" Eren yfully inquired, exuding confidence in his bodynguage. Reen smiled and nodded, her voice unwavering despite its weakness. "I always have, Erni, and I always will," Reen affirmed with determination. === AN: Eren devised a strategy involving the use of the Pleasure Paradise potion to obtain Shallot''s Mirror in chapter 682. Elena was mentioned in chapter 9. Chapter 1481 Witchcraft

Chapter 1481 Witchcraft

Eren and Reen exchanged a few words, but in reality, their connection transcendednguage. The mere sight of each other spoke volumes. Eren offered a fleeting smile to Reen and nodded courteously at Eliza before severing themunication link. The moment he did, his expression changed drastically. His face contorted with a seething mix of hatred and anger, his aura manifesting in elemental storms, a reflection of his bloodthirsty Individuality. "Fuck that old hag," Eren muttered, his voice dripping with frustration and rage. While part of his anger was directed at Sage Eliza for what Reen had endured, a deeper resentment smoldered within him. He loathed being a tool in someone else''s grand design. Naturally, theposed facade he''d maintained during his talks with Eliza was a mask. It concealed his vulnerability from the sole scion of the House Samael. Eren clenched his fists, teeth grinding, and his eyes red, a tempest of emotions raging within him. "This this is the reason I need to grow strong. I need to hold an absolute might that can''t be questioned. All tricks fail in front of an overwhelming might. Never never again will I allow another to fucking dictate my path. Never again will someone else taste the fruits of MY fuckingbor," Eren vowed, his words barely audible, his Individuality surging outward. Within his potionb, the Mana Blessing formation shattered under the strain of his aura. Eren''s Individuality extended beyond his private space, casting a shadow over the Kukenan teau. It cloaked the region in an eerie twilight, even though it was midday. "Eren! Get a hold of yourself!" Alephee rushed into Eren''s chamber as his Individuality threatened to smother the guild members present on the teau. Their exposure to Grimdawn''s unbridled Individuality left lower-ranked members on the verge of death. As Alephee approached, Eren regained control. His feelings of frustration, momentarily unleashed, retreated. The suffocating atmosphere dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. The Kukenan teau returned to its usual state, bathed in the brilliant sunlight. "I... I apologize," Eren uttered, addressing Alephee with a sigh. He reached into his pants'' pocket and located a certain item. Extracting a Sativa Stick from the packet, he lit it, drawing a deep drag. The soothing effects of the Sativa Stick gradually washed over him, calming his agitated mind and body. Alephee observed Eren''s condition and sighed. "No matter how youpose yourself around her, she knows she has leverage over you," she remarked with a sympathetic nce. She had anticipated that Eren''s conversation with Eliza would have some impact on him, which was why she had stayed outside his private chamber, avoiding a direct encounter with Eliza to minimize her presence in thetter''s eyes. "Haah!" Eren responded to Alephee with a smirk, a hint of determination in his eyes. "That''s true, but let her believe what she wants. Alephee, beneath that fa?ade, I see fear and desperation in that old hag''s eyes too. Maybe even more than I do. I bet she must be frustrated witnessing how much I''ve grown in just a decade," Erenmented, releasing a plume of smoke into the air. By now, he had regained hisposure fully. Alephee nodded in agreement, acknowledging Eren''s insight. She added her perspective. "Nevertheless, no matter how desperate she might be, she still holds numerous trump cards. We shouldn''t force her hand prematurely. Pushing too hard too soon won''t benefit either side. Otherwise, it could lead to losses on both ends." She walked toward Eren, her footsteps resonating in the secluded space. Eren sighed in agreement with Alephee''s suggestion, his frustration temporarily set aside in favor of maintaining hisposure. He understood that allowing his emotions to overwhelm him would jeopardize all of his carefullyid ns. Aware that he could do little while Reen remained in Eliza''s custody, Eren acknowledged that he must bide his time and let Eliza think she was winning. His true strategies and trump cards would onlye into y once the opportune moment arrived. "Eren, are you certain you don''t want me to remove the restrictive runes that Eliza might activate during the Lazarus Project?" Alephee inquired with genuine concern coloring her voice. Alephee had detected the subtle maniptions Eliza had employed to essentially incapacitate her whenever the runes inscribed on her homunculus body were triggered. These binding runes had materialized on Alephee seemingly out of nowhere several weeks ago. Of course, these voodoo-magic-based runes had otherworldly nature from Labh Salem and they couldn''t be seen or studied by any native of Anfang. As such, Eliza and La, the two witches, assumed that Alephee had powers to detect these binding runes on her. Miss Timeless swiftly deduced that these binding runes were likely ced by La, using Eliza''s formidable S-Rank magical prowess as their foundation. With her own homunculus vessel and exceptional skills in potion-making, La possessed the means to restrict Alephee''s capabilities whenever she chose, given careful nning and preparation. These restraining runes had remained dormant on Alephee until now. Alephee had promptly informed Eren that she had been subjected to a kind of witchcraft reminiscent of voodoo magic, originating from the world of Labh Salem. As House Samael originally hailed from Labh Salem, it was only natural that the Witch of the Endermes and the Little Witch would have ess to such an enigmatic form of magic. "No, leave those Voodoo runes in ce," Eren responded calmly, shaking his head. "I had expected the old hag and La to resort to this once they learned of your existence. They must be thinking that you are some subordinate from the past Sage that I befriended because of your homunculus vessel. They might not worry about you. But they are trying to be cautious of the Sage behind you. It''s unfortunate that La was able to detect your presence. But I guess what''s done is done. That being said, we still maintain an advantage. Those damn witches don''t know of your true capabilities. I don''t want to rm them by removing your restrictions. Let them believe they have the upper hand," Eren stated with a cold resolve. Chapter 1482 Voodoo Magic from Labh Salem Chapter 1482 Voodoo Magic from Labh Salem Eren had mentally braced himself for the solitary execution of the Lazarus Project. Though he had a considerable number of allies and subordinates at his disposal, Eliza had ounted for them, rendering them effectively useless. The Lazarus Project held different objectives for each side. For Eren, it symbolized the liberation of Reen from Eliza''s grasp, while for Eliza, it represented her resurrection to her prime form. The moment either side achieved its goal before the other would tip the bnce. Eren had meticulously nned many aspects, yet uncertainty loomed in his encounters with Eliza. He harbored the belief that he was destined to lose in their impending struggle. Despite her frailty, Eliza remained a formidable adversary, not just a Sage but a one-of-a-kind dragon-type half-blood, renowned as the strongest Titan yer in her prime. Eren''s progress over thest decade had been remarkable, yet still insufficient to stand firmly against Eliza. He wasn''t even a century old. Contending with an old monster who had lived for centuries on end was unthinkable even for him. Given this reality, he devised a strategy to continue the game, even in the face of defeat. He aimed to transform the contest into a series of rounds, allowing him the opportunity for aeback if he lost the initial round. To realize this, Eren needed to ensure that Eliza believed in her imminent victory, creating the illusion of sess while reducing the number of participants on his side in their intricate game. He recognized the futility of engaging Eliza in a battle of attrition, a contest she was sure to dominate. It was akin to a game of chess, where the pieces had been arranged on the board before Eren even entered the match. The Witch of the Endermes had plotted a checkmate scenario for the butcher, regardless of his moves. His sole recourse was to allow her to im victory, forcing her to reset the board and engage in a new game where he could secure the win. A definitive triumph. Eren''s inner thoughts seethed with anger and determination. ''So, voodoo magic, huh? They''re resorting to tricks from their home world. Is it only effective on homunculus vessels? Otherwise, they would have surely tried it on me,'' Eren deduced that voodoo magic evidently came with certain limitations, particrly within Anfang. Otherwise, La and Eliza wouldn''t need to rely on him to carry out their schemes if voodoo magic held such overwhelming and all-epassing power. ''They''re trying to one-up me. In every fucking way. Not that I me them or feel wronged. After all, I''m also trying to screw them. However, that old hag should have reserved such moves for the eleventh hour. I suppose she''s underestimating me, which is kinda natural if I think about it from her perspective. Kekeke. Despite enduring substantial losses at the hands of previous-era Rankers, these cunning witches still fail to grasp the fundamental truth. They indeed fought for this world in the past but I guess never fully integrated with its core values due to their otherworldly heritage. That heritage became their blindfold, preventing them from seeing the obvious truths. While the past treatment of half-bloods might have been unjust, it''s essential for them to acknowledge their own role in their downfall instead of attributing their hardships solely to the indigenous people of Anfang,'' Eren thought to himself as he tried to understand what Eliza and La were thinking and how their decision-making process was based on. Eren consistently made an effort to understand his adversaries, striving to grasp their actions and underlying motivations. Despite the appearance of victim-ming, his contemtions were actually acts of self-reflection, an attempt to envision the experiences of half-bloods who lived during the Cmity War era. This was especially pertinent because both Eliza and La hailed from that period. ''When faced with adversity, anyone, even a true Anfang native, would naturally prioritize self-preservation. The true Anfang Rankers of the past may have been ruthless, but their brutality ultimately ushered in an era of peace for this world. They seized control and pursued what was in their best interest, never underestimating their adversaries. Thend of the faithless isn''t a paradise where wishese true by mere desire. And that''s the beauty of it. The witches don''t realize that no Ranker should ever be underestimated. Voodoo magic, mystical arts, and other foreign hocus-pocus shit can kiss my true Anfangian ass. I''ll fuck those witches so bad they''ll wish they should have just died in the era they belong to.'' Eren vowed silently. Despite his otherwiseposed demeanor and aristocratic facade, Eren''s agitation led him to express himself in profanity, a habit from the past timeline he couldn''t shake off even now. Alephee then ryed that someone wished to meet Eren. Eren had sensed the presence of a Master Ranker waiting outside his secluded chamber, and he gave Alephee a nod before inviting the individual inside. "Ivor Osan, you may enter," Eren dered, directing his gaze in the direction from which Alephee had emerged. Ivor promptly revealed himself, his demeanor serious and preupied with myriad thoughts. "Have you spoken with Sage Eliza?" Ivor inquired while maintaining eye contact with Eren. Although Eren seemedposed, his eyes betrayed a hint of redness, a testament to the inner turmoil he was experiencing. Ivor had never expected to see the enigmatic Osan Woods'' Butcher rattled, even if it was a minor disturbance. Eren appeared, if only slightly, more human to Ivor now. "Yes, I have," Eren confirmed, nodding. He then turned and motioned for Ivor to follow him. Alephee walked alongside Eren, signaling for Ivor to do the same. The secluded chamber expanded to reveal a solitary cliff on the opposite side. Eren''s private chamber was essentially an enhanced artificial mountain cave imbued with spatial-element magic. This secluded cliff was inessible from the outside, concealed by mysterious spatial distortions. Only Eren could reach this location by entering his private space. Eren led Alephee and Ivor to the very edge of the cliff before turning around. He faced Ivor before speaking in a serious tone. Chapter 1483 A Friend? Chapter 1483 A Friend? Eren led Alephee and Ivor to the very edge of the cliff before turning around. He faced Ivor before speaking in a serious tone. "Ivor, I''m not a firm believer in predetermined fates or a set future for anyone," Eren asserted, his gaze locked with Ivor''s. "However, I must acknowledge that we were meant to be chess pieces that this world was using to y a game of its own. Our futures were interwoven right from our birth. But what we will do from now on will depend upon us." Ivor wore a perplexed expression, struggling to discern the true meaning behind Eren''s words. Unbeknownst to him, Anfang''s World Will had a n in which he would bear the responsibility for Eren''s actions. This knowledge had been conveyed to Eren during his Master Ranked breakthrough. Eren paused, taking a deep breath, and began to share some of the insights he had gained from his conversation with Anfang''s World Will. It was only then that Ivor grasped the reasons behind his false identity as the Osan Woods'' Butcher. Eren, however, omitted certain details, indicating that he had been entrusted with a significant task by Anfang''s World Will but remaining vague about the particrs. With a solemn demeanor, Eren slowly unveiled the enigma surrounding their shared history before proceeding with his narrative. "Ivor, our encounter was rather fortuitous for me. I understand if you don''t share the same sentiments, and I won''t hold it against you. But know this. I thank you for shouldering the me as the Osan Woods'' Butcher to protect my interests," Eren conveyed sincerely, offering a respectful nod to Ivor. Ivor found himself slightly taken aback by Eren''s candidness. Memories of their deal in the Purgatory, which had irrevocably altered his life, shed through Ivor''s mind. Eren retrieved a bottle of rare White Raven ale from his ID storage along with three small sses. Seating himself on the verdant grass, he gestured for Alephee and Ivor to join him. cing two sses before Alephee and Ivor, he secured one for himself. Carefully, he poured the ale from the bottle, filling all three sses to the brim. Eren felt a strong inclination to down the ale in a single gulp, a vice he''d asionally indulged in from his past timeline. However, he reined in his urges and instead lifted his ss. Inhaling the rich aroma of the ale, a product of his own craftsmanship, he took a deep breath before continuing. Eren''s expression turned solemn as he addressed Ivor, his words carrying a weight of sincerity. "Ivor, it''s because of you that I''vee this far. Even if the world were to uncover the truth about me tomorrow, it wouldn''t matter. Even if you were to try and betray me tomorrow, it wouldn''t matter. That old hag, your family, your loved ones, and the very world that gave you life, they all viewed you as nothing more than a tool or pawn to further their own agendas." Ivor couldn''t help but let out a wry smirk at Eren''s words. "Haha, you''re no different, Eren. You''ve used me too." Eren nodded without hesitation before continuing. "You''re absolutely right. I won''t deny that I used you. But I used you when I could have easily ended your life. I used you because I had this inkling that you held some significance for me, something that made it worth keeping you alive. Now, after speaking with Anfang''s World Will, I''m even more convinced of it." Ivor recalled a conversation Eren had with Sage Eliza during his captivity in Purgatory, where Eren had argued against killing him. Eliza had agreed, not wanting to displease Eren. Eren''s revtion left a bittersweet smile on Ivor''s face as he acknowledged that his life had been spared thanks to Eren. Eren sensed Ivor''s unspoken thoughts and decided to borate further. "The Lazarus Project is on the brink of conclusion, one way or another. I''ve done everything in my power to safeguard my interests. During this time, I handled everything alone to ensure I did things right. But perhaps for the first time, I want to ce my trust in someone other than myself and the ones I consider a part of myself," Eren looked at Alephee as he said. Alephee smiled at Eren and raised her ss as well, waiting for him to finish what he wanted to say to Ivor. "The infamous Osan Woods'' Butcher suddenly wants to have a friend? Why the change of heart?" inquired Ivor with a curious look. Eren shrugged before exining. "Because I, too, have been manipted by someone else. Not that I find fault in it. When you''re strong, you use others, and when you''re weak, you''re used by others. It''s one of life''s fundamental truths. But as pawns, it''s our responsibility to rise above our circumstances, to free ourselves from the control of others. Nobody ising to rescue us. We must pull ourselves out of the pits others have pushed us into." Eren raised his ss, brimming with White Raven Ale, in front of Ivor, a silent toast to their shared resilience. Ivor chuckled at Eren''s words. "So you''re suggesting that us pawns should stick together?" Eren joined in theughter and then nodded. "Yes, something along those lines. We both hail from the same city, and you''ve been one of the few people to stick with me for a significant period of time. From one pawn to another, you''re as close to a genuine friend as I could think of. So, I need to know: Are you with me or against me?" Eren inquired in a neutral tone. Ivor adopted a slightly sarcastic tone. "Let me guess, if I choose to stand against you, you''ll eliminate me during the Lazarus Project?" Eren''s response was a serious nod. "Yeah. But why wait until then? I''d have to deal with you right here and now if you''re going to oppose me. I''ll give you a painless death, something I rarely offer to anyone," Eren said with a in look in his eyes. It was as if he was talking about killing someonepletely irrelevant to Ivor or him. Chapter 1484 The Bigger and Badder Wolf

Chapter 1484 The Bigger and Badder Wolf

Ivor''s skin prickled with unease upon hearing Eren''s words. "You you intend to provoke Eliza even before the Project starts?" Ivor attempted to maintain a fa?ade ofposure as he asked in a steely tone. To arge extent, the scion of House Osan managed to convey that he hadn''t lost his cool. Eren chuckled in response to Ivor''s words before continuing. "You are kinda right to some extent. Eliza indeed might not be pleased if I move against you at such a crucial time. But to be honest, she likely anticipated this when she sent you to me. So, neither her ns nor mine will deviate significantly from their original course. I''m merely being open with you now because I''m extending a hand of friendship. I got to be honest here whether you like it or not. There''s a third option for you as well: don''t side with Eliza or me. In that case, I won''te after you and you can go your own way. I''ll even help you by providing you with some resources. I''ll help you lift the restrictions Eliza might have put on you and set you free. You can do whatever you want with that freedom. But remember, if I fail to conclude the Lazarus Project as I intend, that old hag will surelye for you. Choose wisely; either way, I''ll respect your decision," Eren exined in an even tone. Ivor didn''t doubt a word Eren said. He recognized the gravity of this stage in the Lazarus Project. He had already made up his mind, but Eren''s honesty made his choice easier. It was something he hadn''t encountered often over thest decade. Ivor took a deep breath and raised his ss in a toast to Eren, clinking it against Eren and Alephee''s. "I''m with you, Eren. In truth, I think I already was. But after this conversation, I have no doubt," Ivor dered before taking a hearty sip of the ale offered by Eren. Eren and Alephee exchanged smiles and followed suit, sealing their newfound alliance with a drink. *** "Eren, do you genuinely trust Ivor enough to form a friendship with him? Or did you say those things to him just for the sake of it?" Alephee inquired with curiosity, after Ivor had departed and left Eren and Alephee alone to finalize certain details of their n. "I''m not just talking about his support during the Lazarus Project. Will you maintain a friendship with him even after the Project concludes? I ask because you''ve killed his brother Isaac and grandfather Isen. I understand that Ivor wasn''t on the best terms with his family, but as they say, ''blood is thicker than water.'' What if, in the future, he grows more ambitious and decides to seek revenge?" Alephee posed the question with a serious tone. Eren smiled at Alephee''s remark before responding. "You know, Miss Timeless, my aunt Nina used to share some fundamental principles of a Ranker''s life with me when I was very young. She often recited a saying that went, ''trust him not whose kin you have in, no matter how young he may be, for often grows the wolf in a boy,''" Eren said as he refilled his ss with more of the White Raven ale. Alephee began to ask another question, but Eren interrupted her with a continuation of his thoughts. "However, my father had a different perspective. He said, ''wolves can be your greatest allies if you know how to use them wisely. You just need to ensure that you''re the bigger and badder wolf when you''re the one giving the orders,''" Eren exined and sighed. "That''s not to say that the hand of friendship I''ve offered him isn''t sincere. It''s up to him how he chooses to use it," he concluded, settling the matter. *** The following days were a whirlwind of activity for Eren. His first order of business was to reach out to the Last Blood Bastian and arrange meetings with factions that had been friendly towards him. During these encounters, he emphasized the pivotal role that the uing war between Edinburgh and Layos would y in the future of Anfang''s half-bloods. When questioned about details, Eren simply urged the half-blood ns to ce blind trust in his words for the time being and support him in the uing task. Among the factions within the Last Blood Bastian, House Fenris stood out as one that had unwavering faith in Eren. Although it wasn''t entirely clear what Eren was nning, House Fenris extended its full support and inquired about the type of assistance he required. Eren requested that the half-blood factions aligned with him dispatch their high-ranking members to join him on the battlefield. Additionally, he asked for high-ranking half-bloods to protect the city he had established C the City of White Raven. Specifically, he sought Master Ranked half-bloods or entities with even higher Ranking Status for these roles. He told them Expert Ranked entities wouldn''t be useful in the challenges that were waiting for them up ahead. House Fenris'' cooperation encouraged some other factions toe forward. These factions were willing to bet on Eren because of his previous track record. There were those that held reservations. These factions, which had initially supported Demonmir and his ns to supply Hex artifacts to the kingdom of Layos, were understandably displeased with Eren for disrupting those arrangements, as they had been intended to benefit the Last Blood Bastian. Furthermore, there were factions like House Lowin that remained uncertain about Eren''s cryptic proposal to participate in the war between Edinburgh and Layos. Eren didn''t disclose his reasons for having half-bloods safeguard his city while Edinburgh and Layos engaged in a full-scale war, leaving these factions puzzled by his requests. Eren made no effort to persuade these hesitant factions to join his cause. With limited time and patience, he chose to share his ns only with those factions that had expressed their support, outlining his requests and expectations to them. Harnessing the power of space-element runes and Echidna''s Authority, Eren embarked on a journey to visit the diverse monster tribes scattered throughout Anfang. Apanied by a few of his loyal monster allies from his private monster army, he reached out to these tribes and presented his requests, just as he had with the half-blood factions. Eren''s plea to the monster tribes, particrly directed at the S-Rank monsters, was to rally to his side in his time of need. Inevitably, the monster tribes were curious about Eren''s motives and questioned why they should extend such significant support. Eren''s response was brief but impactful, as he solemnly dered. "Help me, and I shall break the chains that bind you." Chapter 1485 All Hands on Deck

Chapter 1485 All Hands on Deck

The day before the full-scale war between Edinburgh and Layos, the City of White Raven buzzed with activity. Inside the White Raven Guild''s central meeting hall, key guild members gathered for an important assembly. The purpose of this grand meeting was to address the deployment strategy organized by Edinburgh''s central administration. With a full-scale war imminent, nearly all hands were expected on deck. Aside from a handful of Rankers designated for support roles, every member was to participate in thisrge-scale conflict. A significant distinction marked this uing war from the controlled conflicts that had characterized the past decade between Edinburgh and Layos. During the preceding ten years, these kingdoms had engaged in carefully orchestrated skirmishes, vying for control of disputed bordends. These conflicts adhered to specific rules, with limitations on the number of Rankers each side could deploy, in ordance with the Anfang Alliance regtions. However, a full-scale war was an entirely different ball game. In this scenario, both kingdoms were obliged to send nearly all of their able-bodied Rankers to the designated border regions. The entire border area became the battlefield, with no restrictions on the number of Rankers each side could employ. Moreover, there were no longer any ethical codes governing Rankers'' conduct, meaning that higher-ranked individuals could attack those of lower rank without regard for seniority or status if left unchecked. The only potential deterrent preventing high-ranking entities from targeting lower-ranking ones was the presence of other higher-ranked individuals on the battlefield. However, this deterrence was far from guaranteed and could not provide absolute safety. In this brutal and unforgiving battlefield, the pursuit of bloodshed transcended allegiance, with all participants exposed to the same risks, regardless of which side they fought for. The use of potions and artifacts was not only permitted but strongly encouraged. These items were akin to extra lives on the battlefield, providing a significant advantage. Consequently, the battle favored those who possessed substantial resources and wealth, as background and economic strength were poised to y a pivotal role. *** In the heart of the hall, a grand, elongated table took center stage. Seated along its length were the captains of various squads, while the respective vice-captains stood attentively behind their leaders. At the forefront of this assembly, presiding over the meeting''s proceedings, was none other than Agatha. She addressed the gathering, fielding questions from team members, her chair poised but empty, awaiting her upancy. Agatha left no stone unturned as she meticulously dissected the deployment n with guild members ted for battle. She had already disclosed that Sages from both sides would participate in this monumental sh. Edinburgh''s roster included Sage Hansen Lehan, Sage Marcus Moretti, and Sage Urs Moretti. There was a possibility that Osha Daman and Altair Argas would also take part in the battle. That is, if Edinburgh''s central administration managed to establish contact with these two Sages who had gone off the radar for some reason. Even the King of Edinburgh, Emil Edinburgh von Renar the 9th, would grace the battlefield, nked by his private royal army and royal guards. His role was more symbolic, a show of support for his kingdom''s warriors. Emil would remain stationed within the grand army base constructed for the event, a short distance from the actual fray. Sage Garos Renar, known as the King''s Hand, was also part of the battlefield contingent. His primary duty was to protect King Emil and remain within the army base at all times, except in cases where the base itself came under attack. This was one of the few strict boundaries stipted by the Anfang Alliance, governing the actions of both sides. Layos, Edinburgh''s adversary, would implement aparable arrangement. Agatha shared her insights and spections with her team members concerning the enemy''s strength and deployment strategy. She possessed privileged information from Edinburgh and maintained her ownwork of spies within Layos, ensuring cross-verification. Agatha''s conjectures held significant weight among the Rankers, and they paid close attention to her assessments. Agatha had from the outset dismissed the prospect of enemy Sages as immediate threats. Neither side, she surmised, would want to unleash these S-Ranked entities at the start of the conflict. Sages possessed catastrophic potential, capable of causing harm to both their own ranks and the enemy, given the chaotic nature of a full-scale war. It was a risk neither faction was likely to take lightly. Of course, the situation at the battlefield was bound to devolve any day. *** Jiana Jihang asionally chimed in to augment Agatha''s exnations. With over a decade of experience dealing with Edinburgh''s central administration, her insights held considerable weight. She offered her perspective, specting that the Sages might be active four or five days after themencement of the full-scale war. Her spection was rooted in a consideration of the numerical strength of the Rankers from both sides. It was expected that the Sages would join the fray when both kingdoms neared their established thresholds for casualties, an eventuality neither side wanted to reach at a faster rate than the other. Regarding the oue of the battle, it was clear-cutthe side that conceded first would lose. This concession, in turn, would hinge on the number of casualties suffered by each faction. Ultimately, it would be the Sage Rankers'' battles and casualties that would influence such decisions. The impending full-scale war was nothing short of a nightmare for lower-ranked entities. They were thrust into a chaotic event where they could be struck down by the mere breath of higher-ranked entities. Regardless of their preparations, there would inevitably be casualties. *** Every White Raven Ranker present in the meeting wore a solemn expression. They were all at least Expert Ranked or higher, significantly increasing their chances of survival. However, these Captains were responsible for groupsprising lower-ranked entities, meaning they would bear witness to the deaths of their subordinates, powerless to prevent them. Agatha, after her extensive exnation, summarized the formation they had devised based on the assignments provided by Edinburgh''s central administration. She scanned the meeting hall and its attendees before inviting questions and offering assistance. Her smile carried a tinge of bitterness. The fatigue from the past week was evident despite her status as an Expert Ranker. It couldn''t shield her from the toll of overwork. "So that''s about it. Anybody still have any doubt?" Agatha asked, hoping nobody would ask her anything after exining things so thoroughly. s, Miss Manager''s prayers weren''t answered. Amid the quiet tension, Bianka Bluedust hesitantly raised her hand, her gaze sweeping the hall. She voiced the question that lingered on the minds of nearly every Ranker present: "Um... I have only one question. Where''s the guild master? Why isn''t he here?" ''Haah! I''d like to ask that question as well. To whom do I ask?'' Agatha sighed, massaging her forehead with wearied hands. The question mirrored her own thoughts. However, she was tasked with providing answers rather than seeking them. Eren had been unreachable in recent days, leaving her to make decisions in his absence. "I... I don''t know," she admitted, her frustration palpable. Eren''s absence during such a crucial time weighed heavily on her, and like always, she had taken charge of guild-rted matters to the best of her abilities. The team captains turned their attention to Nina, Jiana, and Levine, hopeful that they might possess information about Eren''s whereabouts. These three Master Rankers were known to be closest to Eren and, they hoped, held clues to his mysterious disappearance. Nina, however, offered no insight. She shrugged her shoulders, her own curiosity piqued about Eren''s absence. "Don''t look at me. I don''t know where he is either," she confessed, echoing the sentiments of the other Master Rankeddies who sat beside her. They, too, wondered what could take precedence over a critical guild meeting during the looming war between Edinburgh and Layos. "I''m here," a familiar voice suddenly resonated from beyond the hall''s entrance. All eyes swiftly turned towards the sealed door, anticipation hanging in the air. Stepping into the hall was the man they had all been waiting forthe guild master of the White Raven Guild. "Um Apologies for mying thiste," Eren addressed everyone with a faint smile gracing his features. Externally, he appearedposed, but his presence exuded an aura of sharpness and lethality, as if he had just emerged from a battle yet tomence. "Eren..." "Erni..." "Guild Master..." The Rankers in the hall erupted in a chorus of greetings, prompting Eren to raise a hand in a sign for them to hold off. "Give me a moment, everyone. My ass could use some rest. *Sigh I''m looking for a nice andfy seat," Eren quipped, punctuating his statement with a deep, tired sigh. ''Hmph! He only cares about his ass. What about my ass?'' Agatha found herself mildly vexed by Eren''s choice of words. Light-hearted humor seemed out of ce given the gravity of the situation. Yet, beneath her irritation, she understood that Eren had likely exerted himself as much, if not more than she had. Deciding to let it slide, she patiently awaited his cement. Chapter 1486 Treason and Freedom

Chapter 1486 Treason and Freedom

Eren settled between Nina and Levine, his expression silently conveying an unspoken apology to Agatha. He didn''t wish to exclude Miss Manager from his whereabouts or dodge her calls, but the past few days had taken a significant toll. He had crisscrossed Anfang, using the power of space-element runes to engage with formidable and often sinister entities. These days had been a whirlwind of meetings and negotiations, blurring the boundaries of day and night. "Now that you''re here, allow me to brief you on some crucial details regarding tomorrow''s deployment," Agatha began, taking a deep breath in preparation to outline her decisions for the White Raven Guild members. However, Eren interrupted her with a single sentence, his expression earnest and his voice calm. "Miss Manager, we don''t need to adhere to Edinburgh''s guidelines anymore," Eren stated matter-of-factly. "For tomorrow''s battle, we will only deploy Expert Rankers and above. Even then, our guild members won''t risk their lives in directbat with Layos'' forces. Their primary focus should be on survival until the Sage Rankers initiate their battles. Once the S-Rankers from both sides engage, all of you need to retreat." Agatha and everyone else in the meeting room were left momentarily speechless by Eren''s words. It took a moment for the implications of his statement to sink in. "Eren... Are you... are you serious?" Agatha asked, her expression a mix of shock and concern. "What you''re proposing could be seen as treason once it bes known," she cautioned, her voice trembling. "Guild Master, this isn''t a time for jokes," Jiana Jihang interjected, her face marked by seriousness as she expressed her displeasure. "Don''t underestimate Edinburgh''s central administration. We''ve painstakingly worked out all the details. We simply need your approval," she added, casting an almost using look at Eren. Eren, through a private voicemunication channel with Jiana, yfully teased her. ''Jiana, my dear, why do you insist on calling me ''guild master'' when you can call me ''Eren'' or something even more endearing? I might just leave a love bite on those lovely elf ears of yours tonight to ensure you hear my name loud and clear,'' he whispered to her. Eren appreciated Jiana''s dedication to maintaining professional decorum, even in their close rtionship. The more professionally she behaved, the more he was drawn to her. s, the time of war didn''t allow intimate times with the lovelydies in his life. All he could do at this point was flirt. Eren''s privatement caused Jiana''s cheeks to redden slightly, but she watched as he shifted to a serious demeanor and continued speaking for everyone to hear. "Hmm. So where was I? Yes! Guys, I wouldn''t joke about something like this. Don''t concern yourselves with charges of treason. Given how events are likely to unfold, Edinburgh won''t even have an opportunity to address the consequences of this battle. And in the best or um worst-case scenario, there''s a chance this world will witness a new future that no one could have imagined," Eren concluded, his tone solemn as he surveyed the Rankers gathered around the table. Eren''s ominous prediction about the war triggered a barrage of questions from all corners of the room. White Raven guild members grappled with the idea that defying the kingdom might not be in the guild''s or the City of White Raven''s long-term interests. After all, wars eventuallye to an end. To ensure the guild''s prosperity beyond the conflict, members believed they needed tomit wholeheartedly to this full-scale war. Getting stamped as traitors was not a good idea especially during such a crucial time. The guild might lose all support from the general popce, allowing Edinburgh''s central administration to take strict actions against it. The tension was particrly palpable because Eren had epted vital war contracts from Edinburgh. The kingdom had fulfilled its part of the deal by providing the guild with an array of rare ranking resources typically reserved for privileged Rankers. Now, it was the White Raven Guild''s turn to fulfill its obligations. It appeared that Eren wasn''t concerned about the repercussions that he and others involved in the binding contract might face due to this decision. While Eren didn''t offer definitive answers to Agatha or anyone else, he made it clear that his decision was final and that strict adherence to his orders was expected from everyone. Taking the lead in the meeting, Eren outlined the deployment strategies he had devised. He urged guild members to avoid a specific location on the battlefield and tasked Jiana with leveraging her connections in the central administration to secure an altered deployment location for guild members. The goal was to legally keep as many White Raven members as possible away from this particr area. Eren also tasked Agatha with procuring rations and ranking resources, enough to sustain the city for at least a century. He expressed the need for the city to prepare for a potential siege in case the situation took a dire turn. Over the past week, Eren had already struck deals with various merchant organizations, arranging for the delivery of a wide range of supplies and longsting food rations. Agatha''s role was to ensure the smooth reception of these forting deliveries and to secure additional regr supplies through her own channels. All of this had to be aplished while the full-scale war raged on. In line with Jiana''s predictions about the involvement of Sage Ranked entities, Eren emphasized that these tasks needed to bepleted within a tight window of 3 to 4 days, starting the next day. Agatha found herself perplexed by Eren''s decisions. She couldn''t fathom why he was adamant about fortifying the city as if preparing for a prolonged siegesting years. If she didn''t know any better, she might have assumed that the battle between Edinburgh and Layos was about to take ce right outside the walls of the City of White Raven. Agatha felt a growing sense of frustration as she continued to absorb Eren''s borate ns. Eventually, she had to express a harsh reality to him: the guild''s financial resources were insufficient for the extensive stockpiling he envisioned, especially in the midst of an ongoing war. Eren''s use of over half of the guild''s funds for his undisclosed private project had burnt a hole through the guild''s pockets. It left the guild with an inadequate amount of cash to procure the vast quantity of supplies and ranking resources he was requesting. Eren, fully aware of the guild''s financial situation from the outset, had a solution prepared. He provided Agatha with a storage artifact, all the while instructing other guild members on their specific roles, emphasizing the importance of diversifying their efforts beyond the war. When Agatha examined the contents of the storage artifact Eren had entrusted to her, she was on the verge of sheer astonishment. It contained a vast assortment of Extols, along with an array of other rare treasures and valuable ranking resources, all of which could be converted into much-needed funds. What Eren had handed over was his personal fortune, painstakingly amassed over a decade through arms deals with various organizations. It was as though he had decided to relinquish all his wealth, leaving himself with almost nothing, as if he were embracing a monk''s life. Agatha let out a resigned sigh as she recognized the futility of arguing with Eren or seeking any rationale behind his course of action. It was evident that he had firmly decided on his course. She stowed the storage artifact away and, atst, conceded to his demands. The team captains and vice-captains of their respective squads harbored a certain satisfaction that their lower-ranked subordinates wouldn''t be recklessly thrown into battle as cannon fodder. Nheless, they also needed to ensure their own safety in the midst of the war and potential reprisals from Edinburgh. After all, all of them were at the risk of beingbeled as traitors to the kingdom. *** Just a few hours remained until the officialmencement of the full-scale war between Edinburgh and Layos. In the eerie twilight hour, a chilling night breeze rustled through the dense forest. In the midst of the Bands, a certain demon beast was on the brink of achieving an S-Rank breakthrough. He hadid low for a very long time while harnessing his demonic powers to digest the umted faith energy. This was his chance to put those umtions to right use. This demon beast was none other than Argo, and the timing for his ascent to the coveted S-Rank had been deliberately chosen by Eren and himself. With the impending war looming, neither Edinburgh, Layos, nor the Anfang Alliance could afford to divert their attention to Argo''s transformation. "Aaaargh!" Argo''s cry echoed through the night as his mana core erupted, marking the initiation of his S-Rank breakthrough. Instantaneously, storm clouds converged overhead. In his humanoid form, Argo sat cross-legged atop a massive, ck stone etched with enigmatic runes. The already dim twilight sky grew even darker as obsidian clouds gathered over Argo. Howling winds whipped around him, and the ck clouds released a torrential downpour of fiery liquid, subjecting Argo to a raging inferno. Within a five-mile radius around Argo, the tranquil forest was instantaneously reduced to ashes. The deluge of mes from the ominous clouds showed no sign of relenting. The surrounding winds conjured abstract wind des that tore through everything in their path. As Argo''s breakthrough reached its critical point, the S-Rank mana in the area surged. Even Anfang''s World Will was summoned, exerting immense pressure on Argo. Argo''s body was engulfed in mes from the sky, his durable demonic form bearing numerous wounds from the razor-sharp winds. It was evident that the entire world was determined to challenge his ascent to S-Rank. "My liege, I''ve never witnessed anyone attracting such cmity upon themselves in pursuit of an S-Rank breakthrough,"mented Ror, who stood behind Eren as they observed the distant spectacle. Eren and Ror had maintained a safe distance from Argo as he embarked on his transformation into an S-Rank entity within Anfang. "Hmm. Let''s say he is very special," Eren answered nonchntly. Argo had informed Eren that his breakthrough would provoke such a cmity, owing to his progress in the Ranking Journey fueled by the faith energy he had umted over a decade. His restaurant chain, Billy''s, had generated a potent reservoir of faith energy as patrons indulged in the Sin of Gluttony. This abundant reserve of faith energy had propelled him swiftly through the Ranking Journey, enabling him to reach the apex Rank of Anfang within a mere decade. His inherently freedom-loving spirit would find no restraints once this breakthrough was achieved. Chapter 1487 S-Rank Breakthrough Calamity

Chapter 1487 S-Rank Breakthrough Cmity

Amidst the chaotic tempest of mes and howling winds, Argo maintained his cross-legged position upon a colossal obsidian rock. His feeble-looking form bore the relentless onught of Anfang''s World Will, resulting in unceasing injuries. Throughout his breakthrough, Argo''s once-shoulder-length white hair cascaded down to his waist, indicating a unique perception of timepared to the rest of the world. His crimson eyes, though bloodshot and bleeding at the corners, reflected the scenes of devastation wrought by scorching mes and deadly gales. Argo''s dark skin bore numerous ruptures, bleeding profusely. It seemed as though his mortal form was enduring the relentless hammer blows of the Cmity he had unleashed. His garments were the first to be torn asunder and subsequently reduced to ashes. His flesh began to peel away, exposing the stark outlines of his bones as the elemental onught of the Cmity grew fiercer and more unrelenting. When Argo, through his indomitable will, attained his humanoid form, he appeared to be a mere adolescent, around 14 or 15 years of age. Yet, beneath his youthful visage, his eyes and demeanor exuded a tremendous transformation, rendering him a formidable entity. This metamorphosis intensified during the Cmity, rendering him even more fierce and untamed. "Hahahaha!" Argo''s maniacalughter echoed through the chaos as his demonic form withered in the maelstrom of mes and winds wrought by Anfang''s World Will. The S-Rank breakthrough was merciless, threatening to consume him before he could ascend to this new realm. "Hahahaha! It hurts like bitch, but who gives a damn." Argo eximed, bloodstained hands smacking his forehead. He gazed skyward, where the darkening, intensifying me clouds unleashed their fiery deluge. "Is that all you got? Huh? This Prince ain''t scared of shit! I''ll fucking devour everything you throw my way." Argo proimed, his voice unwavering, capable of shaking the very world around him with its sheer force. Just as Eren assumed his second demon beastpanion was on the verge of sumbing to his deadly injuries, Argo tapped into his signature demonic powers. Domain of Gluttony. Igniting the soul fragment of the Demon Prince of Gluttony within him, he harnessed the full extent of his Gluttony abilities. In an instant, a vast Domain of Gluttony unfurled around Argo, stretching for miles. Even as Anfang''s World Will attempted to suppress it, this domain-type magic resisted its efforts. The birth of Gluttony Mana within the domain unleashed a voracious hunger. The celestial mes and bloodthirsty winds thatprised Argo''s Breakthrough Cmity were devoured by the insatiable Gluttony Mana, assimting them into his growing power. Demonic might surged forth, consuming all in its path. Authority: Devour and Assimte The Demon Prince of Gluttony had invoked his Authority,manding everything within the domain to bend to his will. The celestial canopy fractured as the Demon Prince of Gluttony harnessed his immense power. The very fabric of space showed signs of damage, birthing manifold mana storms in the vicinity of Argo. At this juncture, a distinctive and resounding mana pulse radiated outward, its intensity suggesting that it might reverberate across the entirety of Anfang. Eren couldn''t speak for others, but he was certain that Demonmir, housing the soul fragment of the Demon Prince of Wrath, would recognize this demonic phenomenon as linked to their arch-nemesis, Beelzebub. Not that it mattered at this juncture. Argo''s ravaged form, teetering on the brink of utter obliteration, embarked on a process of rejuvenation, nurtured by the Gluttony Mana. Organs that had beenpletely annihted began regenerating, and shattered bones and ruptured skin gradually restored themselves. Argo had harnessed the potent emotions of Gluttony derived from the denizens of Anfang through his widespread restaurant chain, Billy''s. These emotions served as a conduit for tapping into the Origin Force of the world, allowing him to abundantly consume it and further propel his Ranking Journey. Above Argo''s form materialized a spectral giant griffin, its wings unfurled and an eagle-like scream piercing the heavens. Its expansive wings enveloped a vast area, and its gaping maw devoured the surrounding mes and deadly tempests, converting them into vital Gluttony mana that bolstered Argo''s ascent by disassembling the elemental Cmity. Within mere minutes, Argo''s S-Rank mana core materialized, achieving stability andmencing its rhythmic rotation. This marked his triumphant breakthrough into the revered S-Rank. His body, reforged by the Cmity to amodate such a potent mana core, pulsed with the might of an S-Rank entity. Every fiber of his mortal vessel surged with the power befitting an S-Rank being. Argo wore a contented smile as he sensed the finality of his S-Rank breakthrough. Unlike other S-Rank entities who needed to invest significant effort and time in stabilizing their newfound status, Argo felt no such burden. Handling this magnitude of power seemed second nature to him. In fact, even the power of an S-Rank entity appeared inconsequential in his eyes, given that the Demon Prince of Gluttony within him possessed the capability to manipte thousands of S-Rank entities as if they were mere ythings. The Cmity enveloping Argo gradually dissipated, leaving behind a destendscape. Anfang''s World Will, too, gradually withdrew its presence, as ifing to terms with the relinquished Origin Force in its contest against Argo. It appeared that the Demon Prince of Gluttony residing within Argo had sessfully seized the lion''s share of Anfang''s Origin Force. Over the course of ten years, Argo had only utilized a fraction of the Origin Force for his own purposes, enabling him to ascend to two Major Ranks and solidify his status as an S-Rank entity. By invoking Beelzebub''s Authority, Argo had consigned the majority of the Origin Force back to the original Demon Prince of Gluttony. As Eren approached Argo, thetter was humming a tune while seated. "Ba ba da da ba ba da da And I know you heard thest song about the girls that didn''tst long..." Argo continued singing a mysterious tune, growing more attuned to his S-Rank powers with each passing note. Upon opening his eyes and concluding his song, Argo noticed Eren standing before him. He shed a mischievous grin and spoke in his characteristic confident manner. "Yo boss! I''m all set." Chapter 1488 Origin Force Chapter 1488 Origin Force "How do you feel, my little brother?" Eren inquired, drawing from his Sativa Stick and exhaling a billowing cloud of smoke into the brisk air. The two sped through the sky, leaving behind the destion where Argo had transcended into the S-Rank. It was a hazardous ce to linger. Eren was certain that Argo''s breakthrough had piqued the interest of formidable beings across the world. He had initially believed he had everything under control, yet he had underestimated the shockwaves generated by Argo''s S-Rank Breakthrough Cmity, which reverberated throughout Anfang. No matter how busy the old monsters were busy in their affairs, they wouldn''t miss something as astonishing as Argo''s breakthrough. Argo had assumed his majestic eagle form, a formidable demon beast. Perched on his back, Eren relished his smoke, battling the gusts of wind that tousled his hair and ruffled his clothes. Argo had evolved from an epic-tier creature to a legendary-tier entity, his demonic prowess now exceptionally potent. He could shift into his demonic form and control his size with greater finesse. His transformed body had undergone a metamorphosis post-S-Rank breakthrough. Every beat of his wings generated tempests capable of threatening small cities and devastating towns. His physical might alone could overwhelm Grandmaster Rankers and A-Ranked entities without relying on mana or demonic powers. "Hahahaha! The fresh wind in my lungs. A horizon about to wee a new day. And the very pinnacle of this little world," Argo replied to Eren''s earlier question with exhration. "Boss, I feel fucking great. Absolutely amazing. Like I''m ready for anything," he proimed, soaring higher and executing free backflips, a blur in the sky once more, breaking the sound barrier with his speed. "Aaaaaargh! Slow down, you fat bird." Eren mumbled as he struggled to bring the Sativa Stick to his lips. He was certain the wind would have stolen his smoke if he hadn''t protected it with ayer of mana. Despite his words to Argo, Eren wore a genuine smile. He was sincerely thrilled for Argo. Through him, he could taste what it was like to dominate the world''s apex. Eren harbored the desire to experience Argo''s current sensations personally. However, he understood that achieving S-Rank alone wouldn''t suffice. He yearned to feel untouchable and invincible in any world. The skies of Anfang had been lowered for him. He aspired to explorerger skies in other realms even before hitting the ceiling of this world. That''s how much he wanted to grow. At an unprecedented level. The kind of growth that was never imagined by the denizens of Anfang ever before. "Hahahaha. Roger that. Let''s find a ce to touch down," Argo decided to conclude his aerial antics. The sky was his realm as the Lord of the Flies, and he could explore it at any time. No need to rush the experience. Argo was also intrigued by Eren''s impending actions. He wanted to hear his n. After all, Argo sought to push the boundaries of his newfound might, and the conflicts unfolding across Anfang, along with Eren''s imminent confrontations with powerful figures, provided the perfect stage for Argo to showcase his prowess. *** "What is this?" Eren inquired, gazing at an ethereal cloud of smoke ensnared within a translucentyer of Gluttony mana. This hovering cloud was handed to him by Argo the moment they touched down on the cliff of an unfamiliar mountain. The Gluttony mana used to create the runes containing the smoke was gradually eroding the ethereal haze. Through his familiarity with Gluttony mana, Eren sensed that these runes weren''t designed to consume the smoke. Instead, they had to devour it to maintain stability and prevent it from being reimed by Anfang''s world. "That sweet little thing is what''s called the Origin Force," Argo elucidated, sporting a smug grin as he observed the ethereal cloud floating above Eren''s hand. "You mentioned you wanted to cultivate Gluttony mana, but without a God Spark, you wouldn''t be able to tap into gluttony-rted emotions. So, I... I mean... Beelzebub did the heavy lifting, wrestling the Origin Force from Anfang''s clutches. What you see there is your share from our deal," Argo stated, his arms folded confidently. "Origin Force?" Eren muttered as he gazed at the ethereal cloud. When he had initially asked for help with his Ranking Journey and the harnessing of people''s emotions, he hadn''t fully grasped the mechanics at y. He''d simply sought to derive some benefit from his significant investment in Argo''s restaurant chain venture. "Is that all? Where''s the rest of it?" Eren inquired with a skeptical look, implicitly requesting anything else Argo might have acquired through his extraordinary breakthrough. Argo snorted disdainfully before continuing. "Stop the cap, boss. Your outstanding swindling skills won''t work on me," Argo retorted, pointing to the dense cloud of Origin Force. "You don''t know jack shit about what I''ve given you, do you? Yet, you pretend it''s a modest share. What I''ve given you is already extravagant, to the point where even the apostles of gods wouldn''t hesitate toe for your ass if they learned of your possession. That''s the dankest stuff you got there. I can guarantee you of its quality as your one and only reliable fence dealing in Origin Force," Argo shook his head in disbelief, sighing deeply. Eren pursed his lips upon hearing Argo''s words. He shrugged as if conceding, "Well, I had to try," before posing the most obvious question. "What is the Origin Force, though?" Eren inquired, attempting to touch the ethereal smoke with his other hand. In the next moment, his hand passed through the cloud as if it had never been there. Argo chuckled before borating. "The Origin Force is something sought after by all gods and Demon Princes. They look for that stuff like those snorters look for white lines. But you don''t have to dwell on it too much for now. I mean... you won''t be able to utilize the Origin Force here in Anfang even if I were to tell you. However, I''m sure you''lle up with something once you venture beyond this world," Argo exined. === AN: Monster and beast categories rted to epic and legendary tiers were exined in chapter 434. Eren asks Argo to help him cultivate Gluttony mana in chapter 1257. Chapter 1489 Anfang World Wills True Motive Chapter 1489 Anfang World Will''s True Motive Eren wasn''t particrly eager to delve into the intricacies of the Origin Force at this juncture. He had more immediate concerns that demanded his attention. The dawn of a new day had already broken, signaling the time to set his ns into motion. "Alright. How do I store this thing?" Eren inquired of Argo while scrutinizing the cloud of Origin Force. He had initially attempted to store it in his ID Storage, but doing so had caused the space runes within the storage to teeter on the brink ofplete dispersion. Realizing that normal methods wouldn''t suffice for this enigmatic substance called the Origin Force, he abandoned the idea. Argo scratched his chin thoughtfully before offering a solution. "Well, boss, considering you''re originally from this world, the easiest way for you to store it is in your Soul Space. Just envelope it in your Soul Sense, then retract it. That should stow the Origin Force inside your Soul Space," Argo exined. Following Argo''s guidance, Eren promptly stored the potent Origin Force within his Soul Space, effectively harboring it within the depths of his soul, always within arm''s reach. *** "Now that that''s settledC Argo, how confident are you in a battle against a Sage?" Eren inquired directly, wasting no time on formalities. He didn''t have the luxury of investigating every detail rted to Argo''s activities over the past decade. While he had maintained contact with Argo, the demon hadrgely kept to himself, focusing on cultivating the emotions of the patrons frequenting his restaurant chains. Argo didn''t want to iste himself during the period when he was cultivating gluttony emotions from his patrons. However, he had deliberately reined in his freedom-loving nature while harnessing his demonic heritage, all to avoid drawing attention and jeopardizing Eren''s Lazarus Project. In his perspective, the conversion rate of gluttony emotions to Origin Force was disappointingly low. Nevertheless, keeping a low profile had also afforded him the advantage of staying hidden from prying eyes. And his restaurant chain had really grown over the course of thest decade, bncing what hecked in quality with quantity. Now, having sessfully extracted Origin Force from the world of Anfang and achieving S-Rank status, he no longer needed to maintain this covert approach. Moreover, the Lazarus Project that Eren had been diligently working on had reached a critical stage where Argo''s identity as the Demon Prince of GluttonyBeelzebubno longer needed to remain concealed. In fact, Eren needed him to step out of the shadows and reveal his newfound powers. This marked a pivotal moment for both Argo and Eren. "Hmm, that''s a tough question, boss," Argo replied, contemting Eren''s query. "Truth be told, itrgely depends on the Sage''s Individuality. For example, I might have a decent chance against someone like that Gregory Grant guy or Sages such as your sugar mama''s grandpa and Osha Daman. I mean No matter how confident I am in my abilities, I sure as hell am not delusional. I''ve just broken into the S-Rank, so taking on Sages like them would already be pushing my limits," Argo opined. He then shook his head and sighed before addressing Eren''s subtle query. "But if you were to ask me to face off against that old hag, I''d be in way over my head. There''s simply no way I could handle someone like her. Even someone like Garos Renar would be too much for me. He could probably take me down within minutes, even if I ignited the demon soul fragment within me," Argo exined, outlining his perceived limitations with his newly acquired S-Rank powers. "So, it seems I got to proceed with the n I''ve already set in motion," Eren muttered to himself. He wasn''t disheartened by the fact that Argo couldn''t instantly resolve all his concerns. He was already satisfied with the fact that he had Argo to rely on when it came to regr Sage Rankers from various factions. In truth, even if Argo had possessed the power to eliminate Eliza, it wouldn''t have guaranteed Eren''s ultimate sess. His primary focus in the Lazarus Project had always been Reen. Argo eliminating Sage Eliza wouldn''t necessarily ensure Reen''s safety. In fact, it might expose her to even greater dangers. Eren was certain that Eliza had taken extensive precautions to safeguard Reen. With her roots in the Lab Salem and her status as a Witch of the Endermes, her voodoo magic alone could easily influence someone as formidable as Alephee. After over a decade in Eliza''s care, there was little doubt that Reen would be bound by the intricacies of voodoo magic, making her situation even more precarious. Eren proceeded to outline the intricacies of his ns to Argo, who took some time to contemte before offering his thoughts. "Boss, I believe sticking with the n you''ve devised is the way to go. My newfound status as an S-Ranker doesn''t significantly alter the situation, except for the fact that I can contend with a Sage. I can bet your left nut that there''s a strong likelihood that Anfang''s World Will will assist you in all your endeavors in theing time, possibly to ultimately hand over its own God Spark to you. If you manage to break its shackles, it might actively work towards granting you a God Spark," Argo concluded, his expression pensive. Eren furrowed his brow, intrigued by Argo''s insight. He had assumed that his pursuit of the God Spark was primarily driven by his own desperation and desire for power. Argo''s exnation hinted at an ulterior motive behind Anfang''s World Will''s actions, one that Eren had yet to fully grasp. Argo chuckled before borating further. "It''s rather simple, boss. Anfang''s World Will is akin to a clever fox that seeks meat without having to hunt for it. It yearns to free itself from the constraints of the world-epassing array while safeguarding its ecosystem from excessive disruption caused by otherworldly hyenas. By bestowing you with the God Spark, it effectively shifts its problems onto your shoulders. The otherworldly invaders from the Cmity Era sought the God Spark when they came to Anfang. So, once you dust yo ass and leave from Anfang with the God Spark, they''ll have little incentive to return here. Even if they do, they won''t stay for long. In essence, while Anfang may experience turbulence for a time after you seed in your n, Anfang ultimately foresees a brighter future for itself. But it all depends upon how thoroughly you get rid of the world-epassing array," Argo exined, shedding light on the true motive behind Anfang''s World Will''s engagement with Eren. Chapter 1490 [Bonus chapter] Dawn of a Full-scale War

Chapter 1490 [Bonus chapter] Dawn of a Full-scale War

Eren contemted Argo''s words and couldn''t help but see an opportunity. ''Hmm. I could put this to good use,'' he mused to himself, mentally processing the implications of Anfang''s World Will''s move. He recognized that harnessing the considerable power of Anfang''s World Will could be a valuable part of his strategy. After all, there was no harm in utilizing the support of one''s benefactor. If Anfang''s World Will was determined to bestow the God Spark upon him, then Eren saw no reason to decline. He was unfazed by the underlying motives behind this offer. What mattered most was that acquiring the God Spark would ultimately serve his interests, regardless of the potential challenges it might bring. Anfang''s World Will faced a significant challenge in cultivating the Origin Force due to the perpetual presence of the world-epassing array. These restrictions, often referred to as shackles, prevented Anfang from freely engaging with the vast cosmic forces surrounding it. To truly assimte with the Origin Force and achieve self-evolution, it was imperative for Anfang''s World Will to liberate itself from these constraints. Paradoxically, this liberation required Eren to possess the God Spark, even if it meant disrupting Anfang''s fundamental essence. Anfang''s World Will''s approach mirrored that of someone prioritizing survival by amputating a limb to prevent the spread of poison. By willingly bestowing the most valuable possession it held upon someone it trusted, Anfang''s World Will effectively deterred potential threats, akin to a homeowner donating their most precious item to dissuade burrs. As a collective consciousness of the world, Anfang''s World Will wasmitted to safeguarding its native inhabitants, ensuring that its quest for freedom did note at their expense to arge extent. In essence, it had ingeniously devised a strategy to reconcile its seemingly contradictory objectives. Indeed, this operation initiated by Anfang''s World Will was akin to a crucial, self-administered remedy for a long-standing ailment. It was an inevitable process, one that would inevitably bring pain to both the world and its inhabitants. The World Will possessed full awareness of the impending difort but remained resolute in its decision to proceed with the n. For Eren, this presented a unique opportunity to serve as the skilled hands performing this critical procedure on his home world. As the infamous "Osan Woods'' Butcher," he had executed numerous surgical strikes on his adversaries, resulting in the severing of their connections. ''Keke. It wants me to operate on and remove a tumor at the cost of bleeding profusely in the process. Good thing it came to the right guy for this kind of operation.'' Eren couldn''t help but smirk as he drew parallels between his past actions and Anfang''s World Will''s current needs, recognizing the symmetry in the tasks they had undertaken. *** Thendscape was transformed into a realm of pristine white, where snow nketed what had once been lush and vibrant greenery. The biting cold permeated to one''s very bones, and the frigid air had the uncanny ability to congeal each breath, casting visible clouds of mist as people vigorously rubbed their hands together in search of warmth amidst the deste cold. The typical bright morning of the season was cloaked in an unusual gloom, a result of an unexpected overnight snowfall that had cast a pervasive influence on the region''s climate. As the day unfurled, the blizzard''s fury intensified, its relentless winds sweeping across the vast expanse that marked the border between two kingdoms, Edinburgh and Layos. It appeared that a momentous event had unfolded overnight. It was as though an immensely powerful entity had consumed the very essence of Elemental Attainments associated with fire and wind, leading to the abrupt freezing of regions within Anfang. One such affected area was the southern duchy of Edinburgh, known as Lionhearts, where even during the winter season, snowfall had been a rarity. Yet, thend now seemed to have exchanged its typically warm climate for the frigid winds moremonly encountered in the northern reaches of the Nightshade duchy. This very region was the battlefield for the armies of the both kingdoms. Two formidable armies, each hailing from one of these rival realms, stood in a tense standoff, maintaining a calcted distance of a mere three miles. This seemingly modest gap held profound significance in the context of their battle-hardened experience, as it was akin to having a foe poised right before them for the seasoned Rankers involved in this impending conflict. Both the Edinburgh and Layos armies adhered to a simr hierarchical structure. At the core of this structure were squadsposed of five to seven skilled Rankers, each under the leadership of their respective squad captains. Five to six of these squads were grouped together, forming a team that wasmanded by a team captain selected from among the squad captains. Three such teams were further organized to constitute apany. For the past decade, both kingdoms had only deployed theirpanies, each under themand of apanymander, to vie for control of the disputed territory within the Anfang Alliance''s vignt purview. This controlled conflict from the past resembled lingering embers of a war, preventing it from either extinguishing or escting beyond a certain threshold. However, a full-scale war surpassed the confines of merepany deployments. In this scenario, both sides united three of theirpanies to establish a battalion, which was led by a lieutenant colonel. Three of these battalions were thenbined to form a brigade, overseen by a colonel chosen from the ranks of the lieutenant colonels. Simrly, thebination of three brigades resulted in the creation of a division,manded by a major general. In a simr fashion, merging the three divisions resulted in the establishment of a corps, a formidable forceprising approximately 10,000 individual Rankers. The leadership of the corps was entrusted to a lieutenant general chosen from among the three major generals. Each of the kingdoms, Edinburgh and Layos,manded three such corps, amounting to a total of six active corps. This meant that roughly 60,000 Rankers from both sides were actively engaged in thisrge-scale conflict. The consolidation of three corps gave rise to a field army representing both kingdoms, overseen by a general. This position was honorary and traditionally reserved for the respective kings of both nations. These corps, each loyal to their respective kingdoms, confronted one another at three distinct bordend locations between the two realms. Every corps from both sides had been meticulously organized into a disciplined army formation, poised for potential engagement with their adversaries at a moment''s notice. At this particr location, where one of the three corps was deployed on Edinburgh''s side, an exceptional Grandmaster Ranker, who served as the major general of his division, received an urgent long-distance voicemunication. "What... what did you say?" Grandmaster Avalon Lancelot, the division''s major general, eximed as he absorbed the information contained in the personal message. His astonishment was entirely justified, as he had just learned that someone had managed to infiltrate the secure facility located within House Lancelot''s territory and absconded with something of immense significance. They had seized the opportunity presented by the ongoing war and the deployment of most of House Lancelot''s n members to breach this highly secure facility. ''This... this is unbelievable. And at a time like this... damn it. Who could be audacious enough to steal that ancient Titan''s remains from our territory?'' Grandmaster Avalon cursed the audacious Ranker who had dared to affront the entire House Lancelot just before themencement of the full-scale war between the two kingdoms. Simultaneously, as Avalon grappled with the audacious theft that had unfolded within his n''s territory, a deafening st of an instrument''s call resonated throughout the expansive snowyndscape. This sound, amplified by the intricate sound element runes, proved potent enough to stir the very essence of the Rankers present, imbuing their faces with flushed determination. Even the snow beneath their feet quivered and yielded to the mighty sound waves. ''Fuck! What at the worst possible time! I I can''t do anything but fight.'' Just as Avalon contemted rying decisive orders to address this audacious heist, the war co red, signaling themencement of the conflict between the two kingdoms. === AN: Avalon Lancelot was first introduced in chapter 1398. === For those interested, here''s a concise breakdown of the army formations employed by both kingdoms: Squad: Comprising 5 to 7 Rankers, led by a squad captain. Team: Combining approximately five to six squads, totaling around 30 Rankers, and led by a team captain. These captains are typically Expert Rankers or Adept Rankers with at least a solid stage mana core status. Company: Formed bybining around three teams, with about 100 Rankers in total, and under themand of apanymander, typically a Master Ranker. Battalion: Assembled bybining around threepanies, involving around 300 Rankers, and led by a lieutenant colonel, who is typically a Master Ranker with at least a liquid core mana core status. Brigade: Formed bybining around three battalions, with roughly 1000 Rankers in total, and led by a colonel, usually a Master Rank with at least a solid stage mana core status. Division: Comprising around three brigades, involving approximately 3000 Rankers, andmanded by a major general, who is typically a Grandmaster Ranker. Corps: Formed bybining around three divisions, totaling around 10,000 Rankers, and led by a lieutenant general, typically under themand of a Sage. Field army: Assembled bybining three corps, epassing around 30,000 Rankers, and overseen by a general. This position is honorary and reserved for the kings of both kingdoms. === Can be skipped. The 7th volume of "VEH: The Lazarus Project" concludes with this chapter. We will start the 8th volume with the next chapter release, simply titled "Liberation," which is a significant turning point in the narrative of VEH. In One Piece terms, it''d be like Luffy entering the New World. :D As of now, VEH has a word count of approximately 1.69 million words across nearly 1500 chapters. This month, on the 22nd of September, we will celebrate its second anniversary. So what we have here is the culmination of almost two years of pure world-building. I guess a little self analysis is in order. When I embarked on my writing journey, I was an avid reader of Webnovels. My primary goal when starting "VEH" was to create a lead character who would stand apart from the usual heroes, anti-heroes, and viins. I wanted to create something interesting and unique out of the usual setting and troupes. The feeling was same as wanting to create a unique dish from regr day-to-day ingredients. I aimed to write about a protagonist who could reflect a wide spectrum of characteristics without being confined to either the light or dark side, disying various traits from goodness to wickedness depending on the circumstances. And not sticking to such conventional traits was supposed to make him defy the conventional mold and be the enigmatic "vile evil" character, capable of shrouding himself in a veil ofplexity. My vision for VEH was to paint a picture of a grimdark world founded on the bedrock of absolute control, yet steeped in cruelty and brutality at every turn. I recognized that thrusting a lead character with an ordinary background into this harsh world would be an even greater challenge. No usual protagonist, strictly good or strictly evil, would survive/thrive here. Therefore, I ced adaptability at the core of Eren''s character. Writing this story has been a profound learning experience for me. While they say, "Find a job you love, and you''ll never have to work a day in your life," I''ve found the reality to be somewhat different. In my view, one should avoid turning their hobbies into a job, lest they lose their hobbies altogether. However, don''t take this too seriously. Regard it as the musings of a somewhat seasoned writer, perhaps akin to a wise old grandpa, sharing insights born not of age, but of experience, and seeking release from the weariness of the craft. A metaphorical puff of a pipe and a cloud of contemtive smoke might apany these stray thoughts as I let them wander on their own. ;) While some naturally gifted authors can effortlessly create immersive worlds, my journey with VEH has been a deliberate one. I nned this stage in the storyline two years ago, with only minor detours along the way. I''ll be honest. While I have key plot points carefully mapped out, the path beyond the 8th volume remains somewhat flexible. And I believe that''s a good thing. While nning unquestionably has its merits, excessive nning can be a creative hindrance. My premeditated approach acted as a safety, preserving my motivation and guiding my writing direction. As a result, I never suffered from the so-called writer''s block, and for the most part, I knew exactly what I needed to write every day. Yet, this approach meant letting go of opportunities to incorporate some interesting insights gained along the way, so as not to stray from our intended destination. However, once Eren departs from Anfang, I will have the freedom to explore new dimensions of VEH''s narrative. So, in a sense, the title of the 8th volume, "Liberation," signifies not only the freedom of the characters and Anfang but also my own liberation as the author of this tale. Rest assured, the 8th volume will be packed with action and more action. For me, it will be akin to reaping the long-awaited fruits of a tree I''ve nurtured for years. I apologize for not responding toments for an extended period as I was preupied with concluding this volume while juggling my daily life, including my day job and routine tasks. I will strive to be more active here as well as on Discord now that I havepleted this volume. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all the readers of "VEH," with special appreciation for our top contributors. That''s all for now. Stay tuned and enjoy your reading. Chapter 1491 Witch of the Enderflames’ Day Out

Chapter 1491 Witch of the Endermes'' Day Out

"Fufufu!" In a secluded corner of the Lionhearts Duchy within the Edinburgh kingdom, an ancient Sage made her return, ending her extended absence. This was the resurgence of a Sage, a prominent figure from the Cmity War era and once renowned as the most formidable Titan yer of her time. Witch of the Endermes. "Ah, fresh air after a millennium of waiting. It feels invigorating." Eliza murmured with a smile as she emerged from Purgatory, her eyes brimming with hope and anticipation. Her Soul Sense projection led the way out of the dense forest, the very same where Eren had intervened in a sh between two Adept-ranked beings to shake off his pursuers after exiting Purgatory. Reen trailed Eliza closely, her expression mostly inscrutable, though traces of concern and yearning flickered in her eyes. Part of her savored the newfound freedom outside Purgatory, and her ravenous instincts tempted her to hunt nearby mana beasts for sustenance and security. However, Reen suppressed her impulses, recognizing that her actions remained at the sole discretion of Sage Eliza. Walking alongside Reen was Le, the other guardian of Eliza''s Purgatory, whom Eren had encountered shortly after he firstid eyes on Eliza''s mummified form. Le bore an uncanny resemnce to La, her twin sister. Yet, unlike La''s haughty demeanor, Le exuded an air of innocence and humility. Le shouldered a significant responsibilityto care for Sage Eliza''s physical body, which rested within a coffin-like container suspended before her. At this pivotal juncture in the Lazarus Project, Eliza had severed the runic bindings that had tethered her mortal form to the confines of Purgatory. Having liberated her body from these enchantments that had sustained her existence, Eliza knew she had but a week or two left to live. Not that she had much time left even if she were to stay cooped up in Purgatory. The runic bindings, no matter how long they had stayed with her, came with expiration date as well. She had only hastened the inevitable by a little. The Witch of the Endermes, however, was willing to ept this risk. Having endured immense losses in her past, she had little left to forfeit. She had meticulously orchestrated her resurrection as part of the Lazarus Project, and now, it was time for her to take action. "Arthur met his end, huh? Poor fellow. I could have let him have the Sin Series Marks he was yearning for if he was alive at this point." Eliza sighed dramatically as she strolled leisurely ahead, absorbing the information La had ryed to her. Needless to say, Arthur Renar would have bristled at Eliza''s words had his soul been privy to them. Eliza had denied him the coveted Sin Series Marks during his lifetime, using them as bait to enlist him in the Clean te Project. After all, Reen''s birth, as an artificial demon beast conceived within aboratory, owed itself to this very project. Eliza had manipted the Duke of Edinburgh with deft skill to orchestrate her desires, so she felt confident in handling someone like Eren, who had been a mere unknown when he first entered Purgatory. The Clean te Project was the first step. And the Lazarus Project was the second and final step of her resurrection n. ''Hmm. Things turned out better than I had once imagined it to be. However, I shouldn''t underestimate him. After all, he ascended to the Master Rank in such a short span. That young whelp truly exceeded my expectations.'' Eliza mused with a sly smile. In the next moment, she turned to Reen, addressing her with a blend of curiosity and yful banter. "Do you not think highly of your master, Reen? He plunged two kingdoms into war just to set the stage for my return. He appears to have done everything within his power to ensure the Lazarus Project''s sess. Aren''t you impressed by Eren?" Eliza inquired, her grin knowing. Reen, however, remained silent. She understood that Eliza enjoyed baiting her to provoke reactions, and having spent a long time with the Witch of the Endermes, she had grown adept at handling her various mood swings. Opting for silence was often the best response to Eliza''s multi-facetedments. "Tch! You''ve grown dreadfully dull. Seems you''ve picked up some truly insipid habits from your master," Eliza muttered in mild annoyance before shifting her attention to Le without making eye contact. "Le, dear, it appears Eren has acquired Shallot''s Mirror. I may need to rely on you when the timees to manage certain matters," Elizamented casually. Le nodded and replied in a gentle tone, "Certainly, Master Eliza. But where is my sister?" Eliza''s smile widened as she responded to Le. "She''s secured us a good spot near the battlefield between the two kingdoms. We must hurry," Eliza urged, quickening her pace. La had prepared a space-element array not far from the Purgatory''s entrance, making it easy for them to reach La''s location swiftly. "Another battle?" Le murmured to herself, gazing ahead with a hint of bitter nostalgia in her eyes. It was clear she was attempting to avoid revisiting painful memories from a past era, memories that had irrevocably altered her existence, as well as her sister La''s. Eliza empathized with Le''s thoughts, hearing her sigh. She chuckled before speaking with a voice filled with both excitement and suppressed anger. "Irony, isn''t it, Le dear? When I fled to my Purgatory after being betrayed by all of Anfang and the entire Anfang Alliance, it was amid a battlefield between the world''s inhabitants and otherworldly invaders. I was the driving force in that war against those wretched invaders, yet they forced me to flee. Now, as I stand at death''s threshold awaiting resurrection, I''m running toward yet another war C the one I''m eagerly anticipating this time," Eliza mused aloud, looking at the sky and sighing contemtively. "Oh! This cheeky brat La really does her job well. I''ve finally located that Space Gate. Let''s move quickly. Quick! I don''t want to miss the spectacle of two armies locked in a life-and-death struggle. Fufufu! I really want to witness the battlefield''s excitement once more." === AN: Le was first mentioned in chapter 338. Chapter 1492 Argo vs Avir

Chapter 1492 Argo vs Avir

"Haaah! I really want to witness the battlefield''s excitement once more." Eliza dered, picking up her pace as she headed in a specific direction. Eren and La had both informed her that the initial days of the battle wouldn''t involve Sage-ranked entities shing. Thus, she had some time to wait. However, she could alleviate her prolonged boredom by observing the bloodshed that was unfolding, essentially for her and because of her. Outside Purgatory, Eliza''s journey was rtively trouble-free. They soon located the Space Gate they were searching for and used it to swiftly reach La''s current position. Eliza had been apprehensive, fearing that Sage Rankers from the Anfang Alliance would be waiting for her as soon as she stepped out of Purgatory. Her greatest concerny with the Seer Array users frequently employed by the Anfang Alliance to monitor Sage Rankers at the pinnacle of their abilities. Even if the current generation of Rankers wasrgely unfamiliar with her, the elder members of the Alliance knew she had escaped the lethal trap they had set for her. Since they couldn''t confirm her death firsthand, they likely considered her an unexpected threat. Regardless of how many generations of Sages hade and gone within the Alliance, this enduring "menace" in the form of Eliza was an issue they were meant to contend with. However, it appeared Eliza''s concerns had been unwarranted. There was neither death nor danger awaiting her. She regretted not being aware of this, as she could have at least released her Soul Sense Manifestation from Purgatory if the Anfang Alliance had proven to be so careless. Unbeknownst to Eliza, there was a specific reason why the Alliance hadn''t initiated conflict with her. The exnationy in Argo''s recent breakthrough into the S-Rank, which had urred just hours ago. The Alliance regarded Argo''s breakthrough as the most significant anomaly and threat, warranting extreme caution. Even though the Alliance had thinly spread its resources due to the ongoing conflicts between major powers throughout Anfang, it had allocated all avable assets to locating Argo. Argo, harboring the soul fragment of the Demon Prince of Gluttony, Beelzebub, was considered a walking cmity of even greater magnitude than Eliza or any other Sage of her caliber currently within Anfang. The Alliance urgently needed to find and address the Argo situation. They either had to negotiate with him or eliminate him entirely, employing all their strength if necessary. Given the Alliance''s existing challenges in dealing with Demonmir, who could be seen as the embodiment of the Demon Prince of Wrath, Samael, they were reluctant to allow the world of Anfang to descend into demonic chaos due to the presence of another Demon Prince. *** A substantial portion of the Lancelot Mountain Range, just beyond the City of Lancelot,y in ruins. It was a testament to the brutal sh between two S-Ranked entities. Among them was Avir Lancelot, the city lord of the City of Lancelot, who had attained S-Rank status six centuries ago. His mana core had progressed to the liquid core stage, a clear indication of his well-established foundation as a Sage Ranker. On most days, Avir appeared regal and aristocratic, no older than 40 by mortal standards, signifying that he had plenty of time ahead to advance further in his arduous Ranking Journey. However, despite his considerable talent and experience as an S-Ranker, Avir resembled nothing more than a battered ragdoll due to the formidable opponent he was facing. In contrast to Avir''s nearly 600 years of experience as an S-Ranker, his adversary was a newly minted S-Ranked entity who had not even spent a full day enjoying his newfound Ranking Status. Nevertheless, thanks to his overwhelming demonic might, this opponent had managed to thoroughly trounce Avir. The opponent''s physique alone was as robust as a transcendent-grade artifact. "Fucking thief. Just who the fuck are you? Hand the Titan''s corpse as well as Shallot''s Mirror you stole from us and I might let you have an easy death." Avir Lancelot demanded with unwavering resolve as he locked eyes with his adversary. He discerned that the entity he faced was not merely an S-Ranker but a demon beast of extraordinary power, surpassing that of ordinary Sages. Yet, Avir possessed his own means to confront this S-Ranked demon beast. "Yo. This Prince is no thief, sir. I''d snatch everything right from under your nose if it were me. But perhaps it''s time to let this one slide, knowwhatimsayin! You see, the boss... Uh, I mean that wretched thief How dare he, right? Yeah. He has already made off with his sweet loot. You might wanna keep your distance from me too. Otherwise, I might''ve had to use my hands as well," Argo cautioned Avir Lancelot in a tone that didn''t quite convey seriousness. Avir found it infuriating that, despite his deadly attacks, he couldn''t wipe the smug expression and demonic grin off Argo''s face. Avir''s assaults had left the nearby region significantly altered, forever changing thendscape of the Lancelot Mountain Range. Yet, all they had aplished was to provide Argo with insights into Avir''s strengths and weaknesses as an S-Ranked entity. Unbeknownst to Avir, Argo was merely toying with him. He could have unleashed his full might against Avir, but Eren had advised against it. Eren understood that, with Argo''s recent breakthrough, the Anfang Alliance would be hot on his trail. No matter how upied they were, they would send at least a few Sage Rankers with liquid core mana or higher to engage with Argo. Eren had advised Argo to prioritize safety and evasion over engaging with Avir. However, given Argo''s recent breakthrough, it wasn''t simple to shake Avir off his tail, even if he could eventually defeat him in a head-on confrontation. Avir''sughter dripped with disdain as he red at Argo, his fury undisguised. "Hahaha, what a joke, you vile demon beast," he scoffed. "It appears you harbor some delusions. Do you think we will let this slide just because Edinburgh is currently entangled with Layos? You''ve meddled with House Lancelot. No matter where you hide or how many tricks you employ, we will track you down, and we will end you," Avir dered, unwavering in his resolve. Argo initially regarded the man with a neutral expression but couldn''t help himself and burst intoughter. ''Sorry, boss. I gave it a shot,'' he muttered to himself before finally unleashing his distinctive demonic abilities. With a smile, Argo cautioned, "dude, I hope you''ve prepared yourst wishes and bid farewell to your loved ones. This Prince will get serious now. Maximum efforts!" Argo extended his arms, casually summoning a formidable demonic domain. Beelzebub''s Authority: Domain of Gluttony! Chapter 1493 Getting Shallot’s Mirror and Ancient Titan Corpse

Chapter 1493 Getting Shallot''s Mirror and Ancient Titan Corpse

In a remote, deste location far from the Lancelot mountain range, the spatial fabric rippled, and three weary figures emerged. The strain of their sessful heist was evident on their faces, etched with the hardships and dangers they had encountered. These three figures were Eren, Alephee, and Naya. Eren bore the gruesome aftermath of his confrontations, his form drenched in the blood and remnants of his fallen foes, an aura of death and violence surrounding him. Naya, too, appeared drained, on the brink of copsing, her pallid face glistening with sweat. Alephee, rtively speaking, was in better shape, yet even she disyed signs of exhaustion from their perilous endeavor to pilfer the very heart of House Lancelot. Eren had engaged and vanquished two Master Rankers and wounded a Grandmaster Ranker from House Lancelot, employing the limited Pearls of Gluttony he had amassed over a decade. He had used these precious Trump cards liberally during their audacious heist within the City of Lancelot. Alephee had vanquished two Grandmaster Rankers from House Lancelot and inflicted injuries upon a recently promoted Grandmaster Ranker. In this brief but intense heist, she, too, had expended numerous trump cards and reserves. It was as though Eren and Alephee had meticulously saved their most potent tactics for this decisive confrontation, channeling their every resource to secure the coveted Shallot''s Mirror and the ancient Titan''s corpse. The formidable might of the Lancelot Guild was not easily ovee by Eren and his allies alone. Their sessful theft of Shallot''s Mirror and the Titan''s corpse from the City of Lancelot was made possible by the fact that the Lancelot Guild had diverted most of its resources and manpower into the ongoing war between the two kingdoms. Without this distraction, Eren''s audacious theft would have been nigh impossible. Naya''s role had been to dismantle the ice-element runic array formation that had long safeguarded the Titan''s corpse. With the appropriate tools and resources provided by Eren, Naya had sessfullypleted her task, hastened further by Eren''s use of his own ice-element powers. Together, they had seized the Titan''s corpse, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake. The trio had sent shockwaves through the very heart of the City of Lancelot. Luckily, they hadn''t lingered in the city long enough to be encircled by reinforcements. Eren''s meticulous preparations, carried out under his alter ego Leo Longde, ensured that their n proceeded with minimal disruptions. "We we left Argo behind," Naya murmured softly, casting a concerned nce backward. Eren cleared his throat, spitting out the blood that had pooled there due to internal injuries. He wiped his bloodstained lips with the back of his hand before speaking in a somber tone. "I... I warned him not to engage in such a fierce battle with the city lord," Eren coughed slightly, calming his racing heart and chest before continuing. "But I suppose things rarely unfold as smoothly as we hope. Life doesn''t often adhere to our daydreams, does it?" Eren''s gaze hardened as he looked ahead. Leaving Argo behind was not part of his n, but he understood that, at his current level, he would only be a burden to his S-Ranked demon beast. The best assistance he could offer was to refrain from intervening in the showdown between Argo and Avir Lancelot. "Eren, it appears that Argo is close to defeating Avir, but there''s trouble iing. Three more Sages are headed his way, and my bet is they''re from the Anfang Alliance." Alephee informed Eren as she gazed towards the battlefield where Argo and Avir shed. Eren cursed softly upon hearing Alephee''s warning. He ryed the situation to Argo through their mental connection and then clenched his fists, his determination clear on his face. "Fuck! I couldn''t make Sansara Sage''s runes work for an S-Ranker like him. He progressed way ahead than my current capabilities. Argo... he will need to handle this on his own. We can''t afford to wait here. Let''s keep fucking moving." Eren stated before tapping into the space-element runes he had diligently cultivated. With each use, he found himself more attuned to his Elemental Attainments. However, there was no time for celebration, given the daunting tasks ahead. Naya and Alephee exchanged nces, then nodded in agreement. They activated Sansara Sage''s space-element runes provided by Eren, following his lead toward their next destination. *** In the deste forest just outside Eliza''s Purgatory, the same location where the Witch of the Endermes and her entourage had been only minutes ago, Eren and his allies materialized. It was the exact ce the butcher had once narrowly escaped from. "It appears she was here recently," Eren remarked in a cold, calcted tone. He activated his Soul Sense, meticulously examining his surroundings to draw conclusions. Alephee nodded in agreement and added. "Indeed, to be precise, Eliza is currently with Reen and Le, the girl you met inside Purgatory. She''s even brought her real body along, showing her unwaveringmitment to see the Project through to its conclusion, whatever that may be." Eren, with narrowed eyes, decided to proceed with his n. Leading the two women, he guided them to theke that he had once used as an entrance to Eliza''s Purgatory. Without hesitation, he dived into the water, moving gracefully like a natural-born swimmer. Alephee and Naya closely followed suit. Within a few moments, Eren arrived at the hidden cove where he had previously met Lady Zee and her group. This cave-like structure was only essible by traveling through theke. "This this certainly brings back memories," Eren murmured to himself as he surveyed the surroundings. He then turned to Alephee, awaiting her confirmation. She nodded in agreement, and after a quick exchange with Naya, they set to work on prying open the entrance to Eliza''s Purgatory. Time was of the essence, and Eren took this opportunity to devour the ancient corpse he had pilfered from House Lancelot. Eren retrieved the Titan''s corpse from his ID storage. Though once a massive Titan, the form before him now was that of an ordinary-sized denizen from the world of Ansia. === AN: Pearls of Gluttony were exined in chapter 1131. Ansia was first mentioned in chapter 1076. Chapter 1494 A Wave of Grim Nostalgia

Chapter 1494 A Wave of Grim Nostalgia

"This... took me quite by surprise." Eren muttered to himself as he observed the Titan''s corpse. In the distance, Alephee and Naya worked diligently, setting up a runic array formation based on the instructions from Alephee''s grimoire. Eren found himself uncertain about whether to still consider whaty before him as a Titan, given its now human-like size. He bent down for a closer examination of the Titan''s corpse, now that the immediate threat from House Lancelot had passed. Something truly extraordinary had urred after Eren dismantled the ice-element formation that had preserved the Titan''s corpse for so long. As Shallot Lancelot''s powers dissipated due to the destruction of the runic array formation, the Titan''s corpse rapidly shrank within the span of a few heartbeats, reverting to what seemed to be its original form. Eren might have panicked and believed that something had gone horribly wrong in his mission to steal the Titan''s corpse, were it not for Alephee''s timely rification. She had informed him that the denizens of Ansia, for the most part, were simr to regr humans. Their colossal forms were bestowed upon them by their Titan god, which they worshiped. This blessing allowed a select few to transform into the dreaded Titans that struck fear into the hearts of humans and other races. Alephee assured Eren that he could still consume the Titan''s corpse to obtain its gic imprint. This imprint was the key to harnessing the power of the Titan''s blessing. Although the blessing had been dispelled to some extent, it still lingered within the corpse and could be essed a few more times if correctly harnessed. In essence, as long as Eren followed Alephee''s guidance and devoured the Titan''s corpse, he would gain ess to the gic essence of the privileged Ansian race. This gic imprint,bined with the residual blessing, would enable him to transform into a Titan for a few times. "No time to waste. Let''s get to work," Eren said to himself before taking a deep breath. Devouring a Titan''s corpse wasn''t easy. And he certainly couldn''t depend on his bloodline powers alone to do this job. Not to mention the almost insurmountable difficulties he would face because of therge power gap he had with the Titan''s corpse, he didn''t have time to take things slowly either. Thankfully, he could depend on Argo''s demonic abilities to perform this job for him. Beelzebub''s Authority: Domain of Gluttony! Eren cast a rtively smaller Gluttony domain for himself using the rune given to him by Argo along with the drop of his blood. Beelzebub''s Gluttony Domain was going to devour the Titan''s corpse and convert it into digestible essence for him. That essence will in turn get devoured by his bloodline powers, allowing him to finally assimte with the Titan''s powers and obtain its gic imprint. *** Forty hours. That''s the duration it took for Eren topletely consume the Titan''s corpse, even with the assistance of Beelzebub''s Authority. Upon awakening, Eren activated his Titan bloodline heritage. There were no immediate physical changes; he appeared just as he did before. However, a runic image of a blood-red sun materialized between his eyebrows, signifying his newfound Titan bloodline and the apanying blessing''s power. Eren had little time to limate himself to this new Titan gic imprint. Shortly after his sessful consumption of the Titan''s corpse, Alephee and Naya sessfully opened the entrance to Eliza''s Purgatory. "Eren," Naya began to call out, but she soon realized that Eren had already positioned himself before the forcefully unsealed entrance. Without any hesitation, Eren stepped into Eliza''s Purgatory, with Alephee and Naya closely trailing behind him. It didn''t take long for Eren to navigate his way to a familiar area within Eliza''s Purgatory. Like the icy battlefield that mirrored the conflict between the two kingdoms, this region was also nketed in snow. However, the frosty energy here was much more intense, instantly immobilizing anyone of Adept rank or below who ventured into it. "Hmm? It was cold the first time I came here, but not this cold," Eren muttered to himself as he used Blitz Steps to traverse the frigid ins. Alephee, closely tailing him, chimed in. "It seems she''s cranked all the runic formations within the Purgatory to their maximum. I''m not sure if she anticipated your visit in her absence, Eren, but we should exercise caution." Eren nodded in agreement with her words. Several changes had urred within Eliza''s Purgatory since Eren''sst visit. Instead of the array of Rankwise towers designed for individuals to test their abilities based on their respective Ranking Status, there stood a colossal tower before him. This ancient, towering structure dwarfed Eren and the two women apanying him. Its walls were adorned with various mystical runes that periodically lit up, making their presence known. Eren entered the tower, with Naya and Alephee following closely. Unlike his previous visit, there were no inspection runic formations to assess their aptitude before entry. As soon as they stepped inside, they were instantly transported to the tower''s interior. Eren nced upwards and saw a starry night sky devoid of the moon. Then he surveyed the surroundings and realized they were standing on a deste tform above a mountain. It seemed as if the mountaintop had been sliced off with a single, precise strike, leaving an unnaturally t expanse above the peaks. The breeze felt chilly, but itcked the influence of snow. Moreover, it was remarkably stable for natural winds, considering the height at which they seemed to be situated. Eren chuckled, recognizing this familiar setting. "She must have known I''de here and decided to make it easier for me. All so that I don''t waste her time," he mused, realizing he was standing on the same mountaintop that had been severed by a powerful entity''s sword sh. "Screeeeeeeee!" A wave of grim nostalgia washed over Eren as he heard the haunting cries of creatures he had battled within Purgatory to im Eliza''s legacy. Before long, Eren found himself, along with Alephee and Naya, encircled by formidable wraiths that seemed to materialize from thin air. These spectral entities closed in on the trio from every direction, poised tounch their assault. Chapter 1495 Facing Wraiths Once Again

Chapter 1495 Facing Wraiths Once Again

In the blink of an eye, the wraiths materialized all around Eren, Naya, and Alephee, forming an encircling barrier. These wraiths bore grotesque resemnces to humanoid rankers of various races. However, their flesh was in a state of decay and disarray. Many of them had missing flesh on their faces and limbs, exposing the skeletal structures beneath. Hollow eye sockets stared out, some with yellowish-white remnants where eyes once were. Bald crowns, missing teeth, fractured and twisted limbs - the wraiths were a haunting coge of deformities. Draped in tattered, disintegrating garments, some clutched old, dpidated weapons that appeared non-threatening at first nce. Yet, Eren sensed an ominous mana signature unique to these creatures. It cloaked both their weapons and their abilities, making it challenging for him to gauge their true potential. Eren recognized that these wraiths were a creation of forbidden magic, crafted from the remains of rankers. Observing them more closely this time, he began toprehend their origins better. "These fucking wraiths," Eren spoke with gravity, connecting the dots based on the familiar Sin Series Mana he detected within them. "They''re the result of Eliza''s Sin Series Ability rted to necromancy. It exins how she managed to extend her own life. She must have used her Ability on herself to keep her ass from dying." Alephee concurred, adding her insights. "Back then, I was limited in my ability to use Soul Sense, so I couldn''t discern these nuances. But now, it''s bing clearer. You''re right, Eren. These wraiths are connected to Eliza''s Sin Series Ability. With that seven-headed serpent statue in her possession, it''s likely she gained ess to the Sin Series Ability at a young age. She must have mastered it to control these wraiths even after her physical presence is no longer here." As they conversed, the wraiths steadily advanced, closing in on the trio. Eren possessed an acute sensitivity to Wrath Mana, and he discerned a formidable concentration of it within several potent wraiths amidst the surrounding horde. It was evident to him that Eliza wielded the Sin of Wrath Mark, but he detected moreplexity beneath the surface. It seemed that Eliza, due to her indomitable soul, could harness another Sin Series Mark simultaneously. This revtion startled Eren. Previously, Eren believed that at least in Anfang, no one could bear more than one Sin Series Mark without grave consequences. Even an aplished Ranker like Ivor could only bear the Sin of Pride Mark without his soul sumbing to its repercussions. Eren swiftly activated a defensive array formation that he had stored on an array disk, creating a barrier to keep the encroaching wraiths at bay. While effective for the moment, he knew this barrier had a limited lifespan, expected to dissipate in a matter of minutes. In this brief respite, Eren carefully observed the wraiths, pondering the n he had meticulously devised. He couldn''t help but draw parallels between this current situation and his previous encounters with Eliza. It wasn''t that Eliza''s powers had surged since theirst meeting. Rather, he was only now beginning to fathom the true extent of her abilities, thanks to the knowledge and experiences acquired over the past decade. It was akin to revisiting a seemingly simple painting after gaining a wealth of understanding and life experiences, suddenly perceiving its intricate nuances and depths that had eluded him before. "I underestimated her talents," Eren admitted wryly, realizing the incredible power Eliza must have wielded in her prime. Despite having read records about her, it was only during his second visit to the Purgatory that he grasped how inadequately they portrayed Eliza Samael, this enigmatic and monstrous figure. Eren deduced that Eliza''s Sin Series Ability allowed her to reanimate in Rankers who perished in her vicinity, or as a result of her actions. It was a domain-type Ability, and she apparently possessed two, synergizing to enhance the wraiths'' lethality. Her capability to umte power through death exined her sess against the Titans. Eren muttered to himself in a grim tone, "Witch of the Endermes is truly an abomination amidst the ordinary." It was also because of her Abilities that Eliza often felt an excitement whenever she was in a battle or approaching one. And it was also because of her Abilities that the Anfang Alliance was scared of her. Naya, her senses alert and ready forbat, inquired cautiously, "What''s our n now?" She was well aware of the daunting task ahead. Eren needed to locate the Seven-headed serpent statue to obtain the remaining Sin Series Marks. Alephee had discovered that Eliza kept the statue within the tower. The only way to reach it was to endure an unending assault of wraiths, potentiallysting for an unknown duration. Both Eren and Alephee were unsurprised by this strategy, as Eliza had subjected Eren to a simr trial when he was a mere Novice Ranker. However, unlike the past, the wraiths this time were considerably mightier. Their strength didn''t adhere to conventional Ranking Status, but rather was determined by the potency of corrupted Wrath Mana within them. The crowd contained at least nine wraiths equivalent to Grandmaster Rankers in power, with one ominously nearing the level of a Sage Ranker''s adversary. Naya couldn''t help but feel a sense of tension creeping over her. It was her first time witnessing such powerful wraiths with their menacing mana signatures. The eerie appearance of these wraiths was unsettling enough, but what truly sent shivers down her spine was their formidable strength, rendering most elemental and conventional physical attacks ineffective against them. Alephee, on the other hand, sported a reassuring smile as she observed Naya''s anxious expression. She gently ced her hand on Naya''s shoulder and spoke with a calming tone. "The Witch of the Endermes is undoubtedly an abomination, but we have an even greater form of abomination with us. Don''t worry, we''vee well-prepared for this," Alephee reassured Naya, her gaze shifting towards Eren, who stood resolutely ahead. Eren responded to Naya''s unspoken worries with a wicked grin. "Kekeke. That old hag thinks she can still intimidate me. She either wanted me to fucking run from this tower after revealing her Sin Series Abilities in such grand manner, or she hoped to exhaust my strength and resources battling these wraiths. But it seems she underestimated me more than I did her. Her wraiths were once the stuff of my nightmares. Did she truly believe I wouldn''t be ready to confront them again?" Eren''s emerald eyes glinted with unwavering determination as he spoke. Alephee observed the relentless wraiths'' attempts to breach the barrier with keen interest as she continued hermentary. "Eliza was the most formidable Titan yer and a prominent participant in the Cmity War. It''s likely she amassed thousands, if not millions, of these wraiths during that time. This means that no matter how many we cut down, they''ll keeping, like an unending tide. So, it would be simply foolish to waste our efforts battling them. Instead, we should focus on neutralizing her Ability, addressing the root cause rather than merely dealing with the symptoms. Eren I think there''s no reason for you to wait anymore as there are no risks involved," Alephee advised Eren, her gaze signifying approval for him to proceed with his n after ensuring it was safe. Eren, without turning away from the oing threat, acknowledged Alephee''s wisdom with a smile. He retrieved another array disk from his ID storage and promptly hurled it toward the wraiths. As the disk easily pierced the defensive barrier, Eren wasted no time activating it. In the next moment, Eren deployed two of his Domain-type Sin Series Abilities at the same time. The Domain of Wrath as well as Domain of Gluttony spread all around him, ovepping each other and covering the entire region and taking wraiths into their field of effect. "Eliza''s puppets will be my minions." Eren dered his intention to control Eliza''s creations. As he advanced, his appearance underwent a dramatic transformation. His once-ck hair turned an ethereal white, and his emerald green eyes shifted to the same ghostly hue. Intricate tribal tattoos manifested across his body, and his voice took on an otherworldly resonance. "What was once hers shall now be mine. This is the kind of revival technique she wouldn''t have imagined in her wildest dreams," he dered. An unsettling grin spread across his face as he released the contents of the array disk he had thrown. Upon contact with the ground, the array disk unfolded, creating an intricate runic formation. It also summoned the lifeless bodies of various Rankers Eren had defeated over the past decade, some of whom were members of House LancelotC his fresh kills. With a swift change in his Ranking ss to Summoner, Eren tapped into his necromantic powers, invoking a repertoire of death-manipting spells he had amassed over the years. Before Naya''s eyes, an incredible transformation urred. The wraiths, once attempting to breach the protective barrier, had their souls wrenched from their decaying forms. These souls were then transnted into the lifeless bodies of the fallen Rankers ejected by the array disk. An ominous aura enveloped the surroundings as Eren simultaneously activated multiple Abilities and spells. He disrupted the very essence of Eliza''s Purgatory, interfering with its soul-recycling mechanism. In a matter of moments, the grand-scale soul-rted array formation representing Purgatory''s structure disyed visible cracks, destabilized by Eren''s relentless maniption of souls and the undead. Chapter 1496 Creating Fiends En Masse

Chapter 1496 Creating Fiends En Masse

The mountain peak within the tower''s interior was engulfed by an eerie and malevolent mana storm, creating an otherworldly atmosphere where the boundary between life and death seemed to blur. As a consequence of Eren''s actions, the ethereal and intangible souls of the departed became visible as they were drawn into this peculiar region. He shattered the runic array formation that sustained Eliza''s Purgatory, setting free a multitude of souls trapped within. Eliza''s Purgatory had been designed with a mechanism: when anyone died within its bounds, their souls would seamlessly integrate into the fabric of Purgatory. Eliza would then utilize these souls to fashion wraiths, endlessly supplying challengers who dared to intrude into her domain with formidable opponents. Eren,cking both the time and the patience to subject himself to the torment he had faced before, opted to dismantle the very core of Eliza''s Purgatory. Rather than enduring days to reach the seven-headed serpent statue through a grueling process, he sought to obliterate the bedrock of Eliza''s creation. The threat posed by the wraiths vanished as their former bodies decayed and evaporated into thin air, leaving no traces once their souls were severed. These souls were thenpelled to inhabit the bodies of the deceased Rankers Eren had previously in, infused with potent forms of Wrath Mana and Gluttony Mana. This marked the fruition of Eren''s n, developed in tandem with the Lazarus Project, to vanquish Eliza''s wraiths by transmuting them into his minions. He aimed to wrest control of all the souls she held sway over, transforming them into loyal subordinates who would heed only hismands. With an encrypted array disk obtained from Lin Karr, Eren had acquired the whereabouts of theboratory where Reen was created, buried deep within the Osan Woods. Sponsored by Arthur, theb was instrumental in the Project Clean te for Eliza. Unfortunately for both Arthur and Eliza, theb was ruined when Reen came to life and broke all her shackles, causing mayhem. Eren had visited this facility before venturing to the Nightshade Duchy, salvaging various partially destroyed study materials and research papers pertinent to Project Clean te. Ever since hearing about the Lazarus Project from La, Eren had initiated a project of his own. Drawing parallels between research papers he obtained from Arthur''s dpidatedb and Lazarus Project details, he experimented with his own flesh and bloodline. Eren''s side project gained substantial momentum with the acquisition of his necromancer powers and the attainment of the Summoner ss. It was during this phase that he ventured into experimenting on living subjects, ultimately leading to the creation of fiends. Darven and Harja Mel became the first subjects of Eren''s experiments, undergoing the transformation into fiends as part of his side project. The sessful conversion of these two Rankers into fiends bolstered his confidence, instilling in him the audacity to venture into Eliza''s Purgatory without trepidation. Initially, Eren had grappled with several limitations when crafting his fiends. However, over the course of a decade, he surmounted these challenges, refining his revival technique to near perfection with minimal ws. *** Eren allowed the once-protective barrier to dissipate, recognizing its futility. He weed the souls of the departed to surround him, those who had met their end within Eliza''s Purgatory. His intention was to assess their potential before extending an offer of renewed existence under his dominion. The gathered souls exhibited an array of forms as they encircled the trio. Some appeared as mere ethereal wisps, while others coalesced into small clusters of death-infused mana that still retained traces of consciousness. A select few souls maintained humanoid semnces, indicative of their rtively robust Spiritual Force. It was evident that the possession of substantial Spiritual Force was fleeting for these departed souls. Those who managed to retain their humanoid forms likely possessed formidable Spiritual Force at the time of their demise, had passed away rtively recently, or potentially both. Eren''s frigid blue gaze scrutinized the spectral entities, his death-imbued hands making contact with them. He shut his eyes and methodically assessed their caliber one by one, the souls flickering around him akin to fireflies dancing around antern. *** "Hmm? I remember you both." Eren opened his eyes, a grin stretching across his face as he regarded the two spectral humanoid figures that had materialized before him. "Ashton and Hilda, if I recall correctly?" Eren inquired, allowing them to maintain their current forms and consciousness through the effects of his spells and Abilities. His expression took on a wicked twist as he contemted the audacity of Ashton and Hilda, the very individuals who had once sought his demise in the icy realm of Eliza''s Purgatory. "Kekeke. I don''t mind granting you a second chance at life. But know that upon bing my fiends, you''ll be bound to my will as ves," Eren stated knowingly, aware that Ashton and Hildaprehended his words. "Hilda, do you recall the advice I offered you thest time?" Eren asked with an air of amusement, shing a smile as he allowed the souls of Ashton and Hilda to choose their new mortal vessels. In her former life, Hilda had been a skilled Ranker of her generation. However, she was a cultist and her dedication to a deviant Ranking Technique had transformed her physique into something less conventionally feminine, earning her Eren''s colorful critique likening her to a tirelessly weightlifting gori. Ashton, on the other hand, had opted not to kindle a romantic me with Hilda, a choice whose reasons Hilda either didn''tprehend or chose to disregard. Eren had advised Hilda that, should she be granted a second chance at life, she ought to prioritize her appearance. To Eren''s delight, this was the counsel she had opted to follow when presented with the opportunity to return as one of his fiends. Ashton inhabited the body of a young male Ranker, while, following Eren''s suggestion, Hilda assumed the form of an alluring female Ranker affiliated with House Lancelot. With this transformation, Ashton and Hilda''s love story was poised to rmence, albeit as fiends unwaveringly loyal to the Osan Woods'' Butcher. === AN: Ashton and Hilda first made their appearance in "Chapter 302: Ashton & Hilda C A Short Love Tale." Eren bids farewell to Hilda in "Chapter 308," offering her farewell advice. Eren acquires the coordinates of theboratory sponsored by Duke Arthur Renar in "Chapter 365." This facility was the birthce of the artificial demon beast, who we know Reen, as detailed in previous chapters. In "Chapter 415," Eren is mentioned to have explored the ruinedb, securing significant findings from the site. "Chapter 490" delves into Eren''sprehensive study of summoning, animated spells, necromancy, and their connections to revival techniques, all rooted in the research materials he salvaged from Arthur''s abandonedboratory in the depths of Osan Woods. Eren''s foray into this field of study begins with Chapter 490, coinciding with La''s briefing on the Lazarus Project. Chapter 494 explores Eren''s parallel project alongside the Clean te Project. Chapter 1138 details how Eren sessfully created fiends, drawing from the knowledge gleaned from Arthur''s forsakenboratory as well as the test results he had obtained from his own experiments. Furthermore, "Chapter 490" contains an author''s note that foreshadows the eventual return of Ashton and Hilda. Several other minor foreshadowing instances are scattered throughout the narrative. Unfortunately, I am unable to mention the specific chapters the rest of them have been mentioned in due to their numerous and subtle nature. The characters Darven and Harja Mel are mentioned in "Chapter 1137." Chapter 1497 Fiends’ Test of Calamity

Chapter 1497 Fiends'' Test of Cmity

"It seems Br''s soul wasn''t captured by Purgatory.''" Eren thought to himself as he carried on with his fiend creation process. "Or it was collected and then released due to its perceivedck of potential," Eren murmured, his eyes closed, still wielding the powers of his Sin Series Abilities and Summoner ss. "I had hoped to surprise Viper and Renar by resurrecting him. Fate, it seems, has decided that only half of my ns shalle to pass, while the other half is at the mercy of my ever-dismal luck," Eren sighed as he settled on the number of fiends he intended to create. Br had been one of Eren''s anthrope subordinates during his initial venture into Eliza''s Purgatory with Renar and Viper. He had met his demise at the hands of their enemies, as Eren had used him as bait for their escape. Eren, though unwavering in his actions, had wished to facilitate a reunion between Br, Renar, and Viper. Regrettably, Br''s soul remained out of his reach. Eren finalized his selection of souls to be resurrected as loyal fiends. Lacking a means for his fiends to level up post-creation, he opted to imbue each fiend with the potential to rival Grandmaster Rankers. As always, quality took precedence over quantity, and he settled on creating 30 fiends, each possessing thebat capabilities of at least an early-stage A-Ranker within their mana core. With Eren''s choices made and souls aligned with their chosenpatible bodies, a snap of his fingers saw the dissolution of the remaining bodies into pure essence, devoured by the Wrath mes and Mouths of Gluttony. Elemental Attainments and Weapon Comprehensions of the deceased Rankers were extracted and distributed among the fiends ording to their requirements andpatibility. The 30 fiends, their bodies coated in a slimy substance crafted by Eren''s bloodline powers, began to writhe strangely as their souls became bound. These slimy primers were essential to facilitate the fiend creation process. As the mana storm invoked by Anfang''s World Will raged on, dark clouds gathered, releasing powerful lightning strikes upon the 30 soon-to-be fiends to impede their resurrection. Spectral mes emerged and consumed the bodies, even the ground beneath transforming into quicksand in an attempt to swallow them. Eren envisioned the turmoil this process might unleash upon the world beyond Eliza''s Purgatory, but he pressed on, unfazed by the Cmity sent by Anfang''s World Will to test his fiends'' resolve. He kept on injecting these bodies with Wrath Mana, Gluttony Mana while allowing them to sustain the Cmities using the runic formation he had created using the previously thrown array disk. The Cmities cleansed the flesh and souls of the 30 bodies. "One must endure the darkest night before basking in the light of dawn," Eren mused, allowing Anfang''s World Will to temper his fiends. Knowing he had prioritized quality, he held hope that not many would perish in this arduous transformation. The Test of Cmitysted for a few minutes before disappearing into thin air. When the dust settled, Eren, Alephee, and Naya found out that 6 fiends had sumbed to Anfang World Will''s Cmity and only the remaining 24 had survived. "Hmm. Not a bad turnout." Eren grinned as he surveyed the 24 fiends gradually awakening before him. He couldn''t help but feel satisfaction at the prospect of having gained the strength of 24 Grandmaster Rankers uponpleting his Fiend Creation project. Eren noted that his fiend creation had progressed even more smoothly this time, as evidenced by the Cmities invoked by Anfang''s World Will during their births. His meticulous preparation and utilization of the groundworkid by Eliza''s Purgatory had exceeded his expectations. The slime-like substance enveloping the fiends'' bodies was eventually absorbed by them, and the magic runes that writhed over their forms like restless serpents sank deep within. As their heartbeats synchronized, the 24 fiends crossed the threshold between life and death, emerging as living fiends in the world. "Perhaps Anfang''s World Will showed restraint as well," Eren mused as he observed the fiends gradually opening their eyes. He had relinquished reliance on luck to achieve such favorable results in his first attempt at fiend creation. So he guessed that there was something else at y. Not that it mattered to him. He was content with the results because they were quite fruiteful. The fiends appeared bewildered and disoriented upon awakening, as if trapped in a dream-like state. It took several minutes for them to regain their senses and offer obeisance to their master, who had bestowed upon them a second chance at life. "My liege!" "Master!" "Savior!" The fiends greeted Eren with lowered heads and gestures of absolute submission. Though each fiend individually surpassed Eren in strength by a considerable margin, none dared to act against him. They understood that opposing Eren meant forfeiting their newfound lease on life. As their creator, Eren held absolute control over their existence, even if it led to their second demise. These fiends disyed diverse appearances, shaped by their choice of bodies for resurrection and theirpatibility with various types of mana involved in the process. Some resembled grotesque Children of Echidna, while others took on divergent monster forms. A few bore humanoid features with subtle distinctions, while others defied description due to their nightmarish visage. Eren dispelled the Domains of Wrath and Gluttony after confirming there were no immediate threats. He had been somewhat hesitant about empowering the fiends to A-Ranker levels. Yet he deemed this level ofbat prowess manageable without risking their uncontroble rampage. Creating fiends weaker than Grandmasters served little purpose given the circumstances he faced. Eren cast a swift, assessing nce at his devoted subordinates before continuing. "Embrace your second chance at life," he dered, stepping closer to the fiends who remained humbly on their knees. "From this point forward, your existence is bound to me, regardless of whether it''s long or fleeting," Eren spoke in a stern voice. "Many of you may still grapple with uncertain origins or undefined purposes. But fret not. I''ll infuse your lives with newfound meaning." Coming to a halt before Hilda and Ashton, he leveled apelling gaze at them. "Are you prepared to reshape this world under my name?" The butcher intoned, his deep voice resonating through the hearts of all the fiends. === AN: Eren, Renar, and Viper offer eulogy to Br in chapter 312. Chapter 1498 Hettie

Chapter 1498 Hettie

The fiends remained silent in response to Eren''s words, but their emotions spoke volumes, easily discerned by him. He swiftly ascertained that none of the current fiends harbored even the slightest inkling of rebellion. Some of them regarded Eren with eager anticipation, while others bore expressions tinged with fear. All, however, disyed their allegiance by bowing in unison, touching their noses to the ground. Hilda was no exception. Once a fierce adversary who had cursed Eren and met her end as a result, she had now been reborn, her loyalty pledged entirely to him. Though her memories had been somewhat fragmented, the vivid recollection of her pitiful first death remained etched in her mind. For her second chance at life, Hilda had heeded Eren''s counsel, choosing to inhabit the body of a striking female Ranker from House Lancelot. The fiend creation process had not entirely stripped her of her humanlike presence. Hilda now appeared as a beautiful woman in her mid-20s, her voluminous grayish-white hair cascading gracefully around her face. Other than the faint runic markings on both her cheeks, her features remained virtually wless and pristine. These ivory-hued runes, somewhat blurred in nature, lent her an otherworldly aspect, distinguishing her slightly from a typical human. Her light blue eyes sparkled,plemented by her crimson lips. Two inconspicuous horns, concealed by her gray hair, adorned her head. The torn and almost-destroyed clothes of the female Ranker, whose body she had chosen, had been meticulously mended by Hilda, who aimed to present herself appropriately to her lord. Thus, she now wore a stunning ck top with a deep neckline beneath a sleeveless leather armor. An elegant ne adorned her neck, while a ck rose ornament nestled just below her left shoulder, possibly a remnant from the body''s previous owner. Kneeling beside Hilda, Ashton underwent a simr transformation. Having initially appeared as a fiend with fang-like teeth, he took a few moments to regain control and revert to a more human-like guise. *** Eren''s fiends possessed the capability to revert to their original forms, a trait demonstrated by Harja Mel and Darven. However, Eren anticipated that it would take some time for the fiends from this batch to gain control over this ability. After all, these newly created fiends were more potent than their predecessors, having undergone a wholly distinct resurrection process. To his pleasant surprise, someone like Ashton seemed to have already mastered this skill. ''Hm, it appears this man has a better grasp of his fiend abilitiespared to most others,'' Eren mused silently as he observed Ashton. He couldn''t help butmend Ashton''s control, especially considering their past confrontation in mortalbat. Eren contemted, ''Death often reminds us of lessons we''ve long known but conveniently ignored. Who knows this better than me?'' and couldn''t help but chuckle to himself. Eren offered a warm smile to Ashton and Hilda before passing between them. The two fiends exchanged nces and experienced a surge of emotions. Eventually, they managed to smile at each other, their eyes glistening with emotion. The one known as Grimdawn didn''t hinder them from expressing their feelings; instead, he celebrated their ability to wield emotions so vividly. This indicated that his current fiend creation process had been more sessful than previous attempts. It became evident that the disposition and inherent nature of the Rankers who were transformed into fiends yed a role in influencing their fiendish abilities. Eren made a mental note of this observation as he traversed the assembly of fiends, all kneeling before him. *** "Hm? You are?" As Eren approached a particr fiend, he sensed a distinct curiosity about her. This fiend, with her forehead respectfully lowered to the ground, slowly raised her head upon feeling Eren''s interest. Her appearance was remarkably striking, devoid of any monstrous features. If not for her mana signatures, which clearly deviated from those of regr Rankers, one might mistake her for a formidable Grandmaster Ranker hailing from Anfang. This enchanting fiend possessed shoulder-length plum-colored hair, setting her apart from the others. Her nose was delicately cute, her facial features alluring. Her skin, a wless and supple light peach hue, wasplemented by cherry-red lips. Her neck was graceful, bosoms ample, waist slender, and hips curvaceous, showcasing her prominent posterior. However, what truly distinguished her were her misty eyes, devoid of pupils. Aside from these eyes, she bore no fiendish traits. Witch-like charms seemed to envelop her, with her eyes possessing an eerie power to ensnare and subdue anyone who met her gaze. She had inhabited the body of a female Ranker but had wholly transformed it after possession. Those who knew the body''s previous owner would hardly recognize her now. Eren deduced that she had made maximum use of the slime primer he had provided to all fiends, fully returning to her original form,pleting her revival on her own terms. Eren ced his right palm on the female fiend''s head and delved into her soul. A vague sense of familiarity tingled within him. He had encountered her at the time of the soul selection but had been in haste when selecting her for resurrection during the Fiend creation process, not pondering it too deeply. Yet, now, her presence intrigued him. "Hahahaha. I didn''t expect you toe back to life as well." He burst into wildughter, catching Alephee and Naya''s attention. Alephee inquired, "Who is she, Eren?" Eren regarded the captivating female fiend with amusement as he responded to Alephee''s query. "She''s the same female wraith from whom I obtained Life Drain," he said, narrowing his eyes at the female fiend. With a change in his demeanor, he questioned her in a deep voice, "You... you were a witch from Labh Salem before your first death, weren''t you?" The female fiend lowered her head in submission, her voice trembling as she sensed the imminent danger from Eren. It was apparent she struggled to recall her origins, but after a few breaths, she managed to confirm Eren''s query. "Ye yes, my lord. I believe I was from Labh Salem, and I died here in this world aftering here. My name... my name is Hettie," she answered, her voice quaking with fear. === AN: Hettie, previously known as a female wraith employing the Life Drain Ability who had confronted Eren, made her first appearance in chapter 318. Her roots as a witch originating from the world of Labh Salem were unveiled in chapter 1139. Chapter 1499 Fiendish Vampirism

Chapter 1499 Fiendish Vampirism

"Hettie, you say? So, you do remember your name. That''s a good start." Eren remarked, his eyes fixed on the alluring female fiend as if she held the key to a treasure trove of information about the world of Labh Salem. "What more can you recall from your homeworld?" he inquired, filled with anticipation and curiosity. He wasn''t sure where he wouldnd after stepping out of Anfang. But it didn''t hurt to gain information rted to Labh Salem in advance. Eren understood that a considerable amount of time had passed since Hettie had been transformed into a wraith by Eliza''s Sin Series Ability. She had likely undergone numerous cycles of death and rebirth within the Purgatory''s recycling mechanism. It was only natural that her memories would be fragmented after returning to life as a fiend. Even if she could remember bits and pieces, the current Labh Salem might bepletely different from her memories of the world. Nevertheless, any information she could provide would be invaluable. Hettie appeared visibly stressed as Eren posed his question, her fear of him palpable. She vaguely recollected their confrontation more than a decade ago when Eren had first entered Eliza''s Purgatory. At that time, he had taken her eyeballs and devoured them to obtain her Ability, Life Drain. She vaguely remembered the steep price she had paid to gain this Ability from the Demon Prince of Gluttony, Beelzebub. Now, it had been acquired effortlessly by the man standing before her, back when he was still an unknown. Though time was somewhat muddled for her due to her soul being trapped within Purgatory''s mechanism, Hettie recognized that not much time had passed since her initial encounter with Eren. Ten years was a mere blink for powerful entities. Yet, the gulf in power between the Eren of the past and the present was staggering. "My lord... I recollect fragments of Labh Salem. I..." Hettie began, but Eren interrupted her with a p of his hands. "That''s excellent," Eren acknowledged with a smile. "Keke. I only asked to confirm. It''s probably not the right moment to delve into it now. We''ll discuss it when things settle down. Stand up," he ordered, prompting Hettie to rise promptly. Without hesitating, Hettie obeyed hismand. Eren approached her, locking his gaze with hers. He gently held her face to prevent her from looking away and smiled before encircling her waist with both his hands. "Hettie, I got to say. You look stunning," Eren remarked, a smile gracing his lips as he gazed at her. In the next instant, he pressed his lips against hers, taking her entirely by surprise. Hettie found herself momentarily bewildered by Eren''s sudden kiss and embrace. But within moments, her stirred soul sumbed to the Sin of Lust,pelling her to respond to Eren''s advances. Not that she needed the Mist of Lust to respond to Eren''s advances. Eren had employed his Sin Series Ability for a different reason. *** During the Fiend Creation process, Eren had also utilized the Sin of Lust: Mist of Lust Ability. However, it wasn''t a domain-type Ability. Rather, he had invoked Lust Mana through Mist of Lust and manually injected it into his fiends at varying concentrations. The resulting fiends, born from the fusion of three distinct Sin Series Mana types, disyed a wide range of emotions. Their affinity with the Sin Series Mana was linked to the concentration of the Mana injected into their vessels during creation. Depending on this concentration, they could ess different emotions, although they were primarily attuned to one of the three emotions associated with the Sin Series Abilities. Eren understood that fiend creation was akin to crafting potions, with the Sin Series Mana serving as the primary ingredients. The more types of Sin Series Mana he had, the more opportunities it would open up for him to create a diverse range of fiends. Just as a potion''s attributes and effects could change based on the inclusion and concentration of variousponents, fiends exhibitedpatibility with different Abilities depending on the inclusion and concentration of Sin Series Mana involved at the time of their creation as well as their assimtion rate with it. In this fiend creation project, Eren yed the role of a deity, wielding the Sin Series Mana to recalibrate his fiends'' constitutions, allowing the dormant potential Abilities within them to flourish. Eren sensed that Hettie required a higher concentration of Lust Mana to unlock her fiend Abilities fully. Her vessel already contained a potent form of Gluttony Mana alongside a trace amount of Wrath Mana. Eren decided to intensify the Lust Mana within Hettie''s constitution through their passionate kiss and close proximity. All so that he could empower her, pushing her battle prowess in thete-stage A-Rank realm. After all, capable subordinates would serve him better. Fortunately, since he had justpleted their creation, he had a window of opportunity to makest-minute adjustments to their constitutions. Without dy, he manually increased Hettie''s loyalty and servitude towards him. *** Naya''s voice quivered with disbelief as she eximed. "Wha What on earth is he doing? Is this the right time for such antics?" Her face bore a shocked expression, and her mouth hung open in astonishment. The idea that Eren was indulging in such a lewd y with Hettie at this moment seemed utterly iprehensible to her. Alephee observed the scene before her with a contemtive gaze before nonchntly shrugging her shoulders. "Umm let''s wait and see how this unfolds," Alephee remarked in a manner that suggested she had grown ustomed to Eren''s unpredictable moments of debauchery. The other fiends dared not direct their gaze toward their master''s actions. They kept their heads lowered, bracing themselves for any potential scrutiny or inspection. As Eren''s hands roamed all over Hettie, feeling every nook and cranny of her mature body, she was consumed by the waves of lustful passion. The Lust Mana that came from Eren through the Mist of Lust was cultivated by her fiend body right away, refining her flesh anew and increasing her potential as a fiend. Chapter 1500 Acquiring The Seven-Headed Serpent Statue ? "Hmmmm!" A muffled moan that conveyed the surging waves of ecstasy the alluring fiend felt at the time. Hettie''s bodynguage started showing signs of lustful fervor as thetter''s hands started exploring her mature and tempting fiend body. This was so that she could invoke the sense of Lust within her, allowing her to cultivate the Lust Mana that was being provided to her in abundance. Hettie''s fiendish abilities surged, fueled by the infusion of Lust Mana into her essence. This mystical energy not only bolstered her strength but also initiated a profound transformation within her. It rendered her flesh more resilient while simultaneously enhancing its suppleness. Her bones grew denser, and her heartbeats slowed, a testament to her exceptional metabolism. The alterations Eren had introduced to her body in the eleventh hour left Hettie with a sensation akin to being submerged in scorchingva, causing her to experience a feverish heat. "Haaaaah!" Hettie gasped for breath when Eren broke his liplock with her. Her misty eyes grew even cloudier. Her expressions conveyed a deep longing as she gazed at Eren, silently urging him to continue. "Hmm, there are indeed some changes in her," Eren mumbled as he observed the sharp fangs that had sprouted in Hettie''s mouth. These fangs were certainly not present when he initially created her. They had manifested after he injected her with more Lust Mana, supplemented by a touch of Gluttony Mana to restore equilibrium between her attributes. He had deliberately minimized the inclusion of Wrath Mana to build her foundation primarily on Lust and Gluttony-rted Abilities. Hettie now appeared even more alluring and enchanting than before. Her skin had taken on a slightly paler hue, and her allure had intensified. Alongside these changes came an increased appetite for devouring the Life Essence of potential victims and an undeniable desire to mate with Eren. It could be said that Hettie had evolved into a fiend capable of rivaling a Grandmaster Ranker with a solid-state mana core status. Eren''s recalibration of her constitution had elevated her fiendish abilities to greater levels, making her as potent as someone at the peak of the A-Rank. "So, thebination of Gluttony Mana and Lust Mana yields this type of fiend," Eren contemted, his thoughts veering towards La''s fantasy stories and the term "vampire." Lost in contemtion, the butcher absentmindedly kept kneading Hettie''s mushy buns with both his hands while also preventing her from kissing him. His actions were driving Hettie into the realm of blissfulness and restlessness at the same time. "Aaaaaah! My lord," Hettie''s misty eyes suddenly developed two distinct dark blue pupils as her assimtion with the Lust Mana reached its zenith. Her fingers extended and her nails transformed into talon-like appendages, giving her a truly fiendish appearance. Hettie had once employed her mummified, elongated fingers as conduits to extract Eren''s life force and mana when she fought against him as a female wraith over a decade ago. Back then, the elongation of her fingers signified her activation of the Life Drain Ability to consume her victims'' essence. However, this time, she unconsciously used her Ability to expel the surplus Lust Mana that had overwhelmed her body, preventing her from perishing due to the process Eren had subjected her to. Naturally, Hettie had limited control over her bodily functions and abilities after being exposed to Eren''s Lust Mana. Her mortal vessel could no longer contain the assimte with the additional Lust Mana within. Her skin was turning paler by the second and she was about to turn into an undead. Two potential oues loomed if Eren persisted: either Hettie''s powers would skyrocket to a critical stage, propelling her into the realm of fiendish power akin to S-Ranked entities, or her body would rupture at the cellr level, resulting in her demise. The chances of thetter were staggeringly high. Recognizing the perilous situation, Eren halted his actions, taking two steps back from Hettie. When she made an eager move to bridge the gap, he fixed her with a stern gaze and spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "Tch. What are you doing? This is hardly the appropriate time for such activities." Eren continued, addressing Alephee and Naya while adjusting his attire and running a hand through his hair. "*Cough. I was merely improving this poor witch''s abilities, seizing an opportunity as it presented itself," he exined preemptively, even though no one had asked for an exnation. He then smiled at Hettie, who wore a look of longing, and whispered in a low voice, intended only for her ears, ''Some other time, my dear.'' Alephee chuckled and offered further insight. "It seems you now have added motivation to expedite your quest for the remaining Sin Series Marks, Eren. If you can achieve this level of sess with just three Sin Series Marks, obtaining the remaining four could elevate this fiend creation project to even greater heights in the future. Yet, the true treasure lies in obtaining those Sin Series Marks themselves. I have a strong feeling that the Elder Ichor coursing through your veins will grant you benefits beyond your wildest imagination once you possess all the Marks." The butcher nodded in agreement with Alephee''s observation. "Indeed, Miss Timeless. I must confess I never fullyprehended the true worth of this Elder Ichor bloodline. For the most part, I merely treated it as a passive blessing that lets me wield any element with equal proficiency. It seems I underestimated its true potential." He said with a voice mixed in anticipation and newfound realization, raising his hands and studying them with contemtive fascination. His attention fixated on the emerald veins coursing beneath the surface of his skin, acutely aware of the life force surging through them. He balled his hands into fists, his expression resolute. "I guess I owe a strange debt of gratitude to that old hag''s constant pressure. It was the relentless push she imposed on me that drove me to relentlessly pursue power. Over the past decade, it was this pressure thatpelled me to experiment tirelessly. To keep on improving myself in various ways. Using every trick I had in my sleeves. Without that drive to maximize my trump cards, I might have remained oblivious to the potential of my bloodline. I might have remained oblivious to the real truth of the world and the worlds that are beyond the reaches of Anfang." Eren shifted his gaze to the sky, his thoughts drifting. "I think I have done all I could to make the Lazarus Project end on my terms. I''ll explore the other facets of Elder Ichor in the future because it clearly has a lot more to offer. For now, I must focus on my current priorities," he dered aloud. He acknowledged that the fear of death and the prospect of losing what was rightfully his were powerful motivators. Eliza''s demanding tasks had pushed him to his limits, but they had also revealed the untapped potential within him. *** Eren concluded his inspection of the remaining fiends. Each one possessed remarkable and unique abilities, but none appeared to possess qualities that set them significantly apart from the others. With the destruction of Eliza''s Purgatory''s root array, achieved by liberating all the imprisoned souls, Eren''s aplishment was tantamount to achieving a perfect score in Eliza''s testing tower. In a swift transition, a spatial portal materialized before him. Eren wasted no time and stepped through it. In the blink of an eye, Eren found himself within another familiar setting within Eliza''s Purgatory C her castle. There, before her throne, were meticulously arranged skeletons of Titans, like eerie decorations. Among them stood an eerie statue of the Seven-Headed Serpent, the object of his quest. The mysterious sculpture gave off an overwhelming and otherworldly aura. It stood at three times Eren''s height. It had a unique design, with its upper portion expandedterally while maintaining a smaller size at the bottom, as all seven-headed serpents shared a single torso. "Kekeke. I kept you waiting, didn''t I?" The butcher''s emerald-green eyes gleamed with excitement. Hepletely disregarded the unsettling aura exuded by the Titan skeletons now that he could mimic Titan''s bloodline. Instead, he directed his focus to the long-sought statue. "Damn. This has been long overdue. Let me get those remaining Marks. Nice and easy," Eren mumbled to himself as he walked towards the statue. === AN: The Seven-headed Serpent statue was first mentioned in chapter 351. VEH crosses another milestone with this 1500th chapter. Check thement section for new artworks. Cheers! ;) Chapter 1501 Memories Of A Fallen God ? Step. Step. Step. Footsteps resonated through the expansive hall as an uninvited guest made his way into Eliza''s castle. "Hmm. Now how do I activate this thing?" Eren stood before the imposing Seven-Headed Serpent Statue, pondering how to activate it. In the past, it was Eliza who had triggered the mechanism behind the statue, granting him two of the Sin Series Marks simultaneously. However, Eren''s understanding of magic runes wasn''t advanced enough to decipher the intricate engravings covering the statue. Reflecting on the nature of the Sin Series Marks, which were rooted in intentions, Eren decided to rify his intentions while in the statue''s presence. Scratching his jawline in contemtion, he resolved to act upon this assumption. "Um hey! Do you remember me?" Eren addressed the statue, briefly feeling the absurdity of conversing with a stone sculpture. He acknowledged that such an act would appear utterly ridiculous if he were in the presence of others. Fortunately, he had followed Alephee''s advice and ventured here alone, sparing him from awkwardness. With newfound determination, Eren continued, "Over a decade ago, I arrived here as a mere Ace Ranker. During that time, you granted me two of the Seven Sin Series Marks." He regarded the statue with eager anticipation. "I have since acquired the Sin of Gluttony from Beelzebub. Now, I seek to obtain the remaining Sin Series Marks." Eren''s exnation was sinct, and he concluded with a resolute question, "What must I do to attain the remaining Sin Series Marks?" Expecting further conversation with the stone statue, Eren was pleasantly surprised when a foreign thought abruptly infiltrated his mind, conveying a concise message: blood. Acting swiftly, Eren unsheathed his sword, Rigor Mortis, and cut his left palm, allowing the vibrant red blood to flow and disappear as it touched the ground. In an instant, an overwhelming presence, more profound than the aura of the Titan skeletons surrounding him, encased Eren. He understood that his efforts had borne fruit, activating the statue. All seven heads of the statue simultaneously opened their eyes and moved independently. The snakeheads, detached from each other, slithered like living serpents, extending their tongues and hissing at Eren as the adjoined torso drew near him. Another foreign thought entered Eren''s mind, this time apanied by four distinct echoes, akin to a choir of voices within his head. It asked him a vital question. ''Do you ept this binding?'' "Yes!" Eren dered unwaveringly to the statue. Four of the snakeheads, representing the remaining Sin Series Marks that he sought, hissed at him and drew nearer. In the next instant, searing pain red in Eren''s right shoulder as the colossal serpent''s head bit him with unexpected agility and intensity, forcing him to his knees. The other three snakeheads followed suit, delivering venomous bites to various parts of his body. Although Eren should have been writhing in agony, he had already lost consciousness after the initial bite. As his soul detached from his mortal form, intricate runic patterns began to manifest, weaving the remaining Sin Series Marks into the very essence of his being. Even in his unconscious state, Eren''s body experienced excruciating torment. His bloodline abilities activated spontaneously, rendering his skin slime-like to preserve his strength and alleviate his pain. His physical form underwent repeated cycles of cellr destruction and rapid regeneration, fortifying his body to serve as a more robust vessel for the remaining Sin Series Marks. *** Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Within Eliza''s castle, a tempest of mana erupted, triggered by the tumult of Eren''s Sin Series Mark bestowal. The Mana Pulses around him were so potent and destructive that they began to wreak havoc on the sage''s abode as if it were constructed from flimsy cardboard. Not even the Titan skeletons escaped the wrath of this formidable mana storm. It was as if the storm possessed its own sentience, methodically obliterating each Titan skeleton through a diverse array of elemental assaults. To influence the Titan skeletons, which were considered Sage-level entities, the mana storm had to match their formidable caliber. The sheer destructive force of this storm was evident in the fact that the Titan skeletons, which had adorned Eliza''s abode as part of its eerie decor since the Pre-Cmity era, ultimately sumbed to the relentless barrage of elemental onughts, crumbling into dust. *** Outside Eliza''s castle, storm clouds gathered once more, darker and more foreboding than those summoned for the Fiends'' Test of Cmity. The very air became charged with electricity, tinged with a hint of ozone. Fierce winds howled, intensifying the ominous atmosphere with their shrill sounds. The environment inside Eliza''s Purgatory grew increasingly hostile. It was as if someone had initiated the self-destruct mechanism, unleashing a catastrophic storm. Even the external weather underwent a drastic transformation, casting the entire region into an eerie twilight, despite the broad daylight. The Way of the Elements, rting to every natural element within the world of Anfang, surged inexplicably. The ground near Eliza''s Purgatory fractured, creating spontaneous rifts. The forest ignited in mes, yet the trees remained undamaged. The whole area appeared to be submerged in a spectral liquid, exerting tangible pressure on every living being present. *** Amidst this turmoil, both within and beyond the confines of Eliza''s Purgatory, Eren''s consciousness found itself in an enigmatic state. It was as if he had relinquished control over himself and traversed into an unfamiliar realm. Meanwhile, his physical form underwent an inscrutable metamorphosis, perpetually cycling between cellr disintegration and rapid regeneration, as if undergoing the tempering influence of an arcane power. The four serpents of the Seven-Headed Serpent statue had sessfully delivered their bites to Eren, a fact made evident by the distinct runic patterns now cascading across his skin like serpents on a profound journey. Eren''s garments had long since dissolved during this transformative process. Sin Series runes etched themselves upon his body and soul, forming intricate and enigmatic tattoos. Even the previous tribal-like pattern, a result of the earlier Sin Series Marks, grew more intricate as the remaining four merged into it. Eren was unquestionably undergoing a profound metamorphosis. Although not perilous, the process was far from smooth. In all worlds spread across boundless multiverses, no living being had ever seeded in iming all seven Sin Series Marks for themselves. Legend held that a single individual couldn''t bear the weight of all seven. Yet, this unwritten rule had been shattered. Eren''s body and soul seamlessly assimted the remaining Sin Series Marks, defying the conventional wisdom. Eren experienced a sensation that the concept of time had be elusive during his time in this mysterious state. His consciousness drifted into a realm where the line between past and present blurred. ess to the Seven Sin Series Marks had awakened something extraordinary. It was as if he delved into foreign memories concealed deep within his Elder Ichor-infused blood. *** In his bewildering state, Eren sensed as if he inhabited the body of aplete stranger. He lingered in a surreal space, not fully awake yet not entirely devoid of awareness. His consciousness teetered on the precipice, reliving the memories of another. Within this dreamlike realm, Eren experienced an existence that seemed to span eons. With but a gesture, he birthed countless worlds and brought forth myriad races. He felt as though the universe itself would conspire to fulfill his every whim, should he but express it. Every force in this boundless expanse stood ready to trante his thoughts and desires into reality. Eren''s perception epassed mastery over every fundamental element within this limitless domain. At his mentalmand, countless worlds erupted into an infernal congration, and his mere gaze extinguished the most radiant cosmic stars, shrouding them in frigid darkness and snuffing out their fiery essence. Continuing to immerse himself in these memories, Eren experienced a profound connection with the Way of the Elements and the World Wills of the various realms he traversed. In every world he ventured into, he found himself capable of wielding his divine powers with absolute mastery. To his own astonishment, Eren assumed a benevolent demeanor when interacting with mortals and even mighty beings in the worlds that piqued his interest. Despite their insignificance in his cosmic perspective, he treated them with respect and humility. He refrained from adopting an omnipotent air, choosing instead to embrace the multifaceted tapestry of life. As Eren delved deeper into these memories, he became increasingly convinced that they couldn''t possibly be remnants of his past lives. The extent of his benevolence, a stark departure from his character, left him skeptical. If he had once possessed such immense powers, he doubted he would have exercised them with suchpassion. *** In an instant, a monumental cataclysm unfurled across the cosmos. Countless worlds crumbled and perished as a godfall took ce. Eren, once omnipotent, now grappled with his own mortality. It felt as if he had been cast down from celestial heights to the abyss of mere mortality, his once-potent essence enfeebled by an inscrutable force or entity. Amid this profound transformation, Eren saw a mocking smilea grin etched on the countenance of a beguiling goddess who appeared to be the architect of his fall. Eren remained ignorant of this goddess''s true identity, unable to conjure her visage in his mind''s eye. Yet, one certainty anchored itself in Eren''s thoughts: she held some connection to Sienna and the enigmatic Slumbering Goddess he had encountered just before Sienna''s demise. Chapter 1502 "Brother" ? Eren''s perspective once again shifted, immersing him in a daydream-like reverie, where he experienced the fragmented memories of a fallen god. This time, he found himself prone upon an endless, deste in, a world teetering on the brink of obliteration. The parched ground beneath him appeared as though it hadn''t tasted a drop of water in millennia. Above, the sky of this dying realm seemed on the verge of utter copse, deprived of the sustaining influence of the Way of the Elements. As a result, it was riddled with spatial rifts, as the relentless Winds of Void Assimtion rent the fabric of the world asunder. The once-star-filled night skyy shattered, fragmented into countless pieces resembling a broken mirror. Through these ruptures, giant spatial meteors hurtled towards the world, propelled by the fury of earth and fire. Their me-draped forms left radiant trails across the heavens. Oddly, this world''s impending demise could appear as a hauntingly beautiful nocturnal spectacle to a few. There was a peculiar serenity to be found amid absolute destruction, for those whose perspective reached profound depths. Throughout thend, massive spatial rifts had yawned open, leading to realms unknown. It was as if this dying world extended a lifeline to any living being within its domain who could endure the relentless Winds of Void Assimtion. Sadly, no survivors lingered in this forsaken realm, save for a dying god, stripped of all his divine essence and power. He too stood on the precipice of obliviona fate he had never anticipated. How could an ancient, immortal god meet his end? It was through the theft of his immortality and his divine prowess. The demise of a god paralleled the extinction of cherished concepts. The fading god wasn''t perishing alone. The very ideals ofpassion and kindness upon which he had built his immortal existence were unraveling alongside him. Eren found himself in an unusual state, experiencing the final moments of a dying god without any injuries or ailments. This was not a death brought on by the ravages of time but rather a deliberate imposition of end upon him. End of a concept. End of the divinity. Had it only been his mortal vessel failing him, the dying god could have effortlessly conjured countless new vessels from thin air or allowed his immortal soul to cycle through the multiverse''s reincarnation, granting him endless opportunities to begin anew as a god. However, it wasn''t just his body that faced demise; both body and soul remained unscathed. This was a death of a deeper nature. Having experienced death in his previous timeline, Eren discerned subtle distinctions between his own demise and the dying god''s fate as he perceived it through foreign memories. ''Is it going to end like this? Can''t I do something to avoid this?'' As the broken-mirror sky foretold an impending meteoric deluge, Eren or rather the dying god questioned his own impending death. These meteors hurtled inexorably toward him, and he was powerless to halt their descent. In his previous state, such a threat would have been inconsequential, easily averted. Yet now, even rising from his frailty seemed an insurmountable task. ''Fucking move, damn it. I can''t die like this!'' Eren struggled to move, only to realize that he was inhabiting someone else''s memories, not his own reality. Zoom. Pause. Reverse. Just as Eren braced for the meteors'' cataclysmic impact, the inconceivable urred. The meteors, poised to annihte the world, reversed their course, retracing their paths as though rewound in time. The world''s condition improved, rewinding to a verdant state, the sky healing into azure splendor, and the destructive Winds of Void Assimtion relenting. Spatial rifts, once rampant, sealed shut, and the broken world regained its integrity and stability. *** All of this unfolded in an instant, leaving Eren''sprehension trailing far behind. The sheer magnitude of power required to reverse the world''s demise and to end the life of an ancient god defied exnation. Even the collective might of hundreds of Sages from Anfang, formidable as they were, would prove utterly impotent in the face of such monumental acts. Eren mused internally, his thoughts tinged with a touch of cynicism. ''Sages? What a fuckingughable notion! Though I''m hardly a figure of consequence, I have to say that even S-Rankers would be insignificant specks on this stage,'' he reflected. He couldn''t help but acknowledge that these powers existed on a ne far beyond his limited perspective. Here, within the living memory of a dying god, the authority of Sages was nonexistent, rendering them as powerless as the newly sprouted verdant grass beneath his form. Though an unknown entity had reversed the world''s fate, the dying god''s destiny seemed sealed. The entity had granted him but a few more breaths, a temporary extension of his existence, before it would be erased from past, present, and future. The mending world was a byproduct of these fleeting moments being granted to him. Someone had expended their powers extravagantly to prolong the dying god''s existence, suggesting that he had not only enemies but also beings who cared for him. Eren''s tumultuous thoughts were silenced by a soft, sorrowful voice calling out. "Brother!" He turned his gaze skyward to behold the figure who hade to meet him in his final moments. This enigmatic figure materialized from the ether, and her arrival seemed to halt time itself. It was as though she had traversed myriad worlds to reach this ce, drawn by the fleeting presence of the dying god. Her very divinity bore scars from the journey, evidence of the lengths she had gone to in search of him. As Eren witnessed these moments through the dying god''s recollections, he beheld a breathtaking goddess, her countenance suffused with sorrow. However, no words could urately capture her features or describe her attire, for his mortal perspective struggled to encapste her divine beauty. Yet, A strange familiarity tugged at Eren''s consciousness in her presence, as if he had encountered her not merely once, but as if she were a daily presence in his life. These emotions, however, were not those of the dying god but his own. Chapter 1503 Existential Concepts

Chapter 1503 Existential Concepts

''Who is this goddess?'' Eren pondered as he observed the goddess''s graceful descent towards the world. Though Eren was immersed in the ancient god''s final memories, he recognized the limitations of his human senses. The mere fact that he hadn''t been overwhelmed by what he witnessed was a boon. In his own reality, his consciousness would have likely shattered long ago within the dying god''s form. "Found you," the goddess uttered, her voice tinged with bitterness. Eren sensed her profound sadness and self-me, a pitiful acknowledgment of her inability to alter her brother''s tragic fate. "Look at what they''ve done to you," the goddess eximed, her fists clenched in anger. In an instant, the slowly recovering world around the dying god trembled, threatened by the unleashed fury of the goddess. The dying god, trapped in his fading state, couldn''t speak or move to convey his emotions. All he could do was gaze upon the goddess with unchanging expressions. Suddenly, the goddess vanished from the sky, reappearing beside him. She tenderly caressed the dying god''s face after making him rest his head on herp, and although Eren couldn''t see her tears, a cold droplet grazed his cheek, a testament to the goddess''s sorrow for his plight. "You... you are responsible for your own predicament, brother," the goddess uttered, her voiceced with bitterness andint. "If only you had been... more." Her words trailed off as she struggled to express her feelings, her gaze locked onto the fading divine body Eren now inhabited. Before Eren could discern the identity of the familiar voice of the goddess, another momentous event unfolded. The dying god''s body began disintegrating, turning into spectral dust starting from his toes. It was as if some unexinable forces were at work and they were resisting the goddess'' powers that she had exerted to reverse and pause the dying god''s final moments. The dying god''s divine body dissolved slowly, but without any sign of pain or sorrow. The goddess, however, grew even more agitated, her frustration palpable. She screamed and summoned her divine powers once more. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. In the blink of an eye, a runic circle epassing an entire continent appeared, with the dying god and the goddess at its heart. The goddess channeled her powers and the dwindling vitality of the world, determined to defy the dying god''s fate. She was willing to sacrifice entire worlds, even countless lives, to buy him just one more minute, one more second of life. Once again, the world teetered on the brink of annihtion. The Winds of Void Assimtion returned, apanied by numerous spectral rifts that tore through the fabric of reality like ravenous beasts. Suddenly, an immense presence enveloped the dying world, surpassing even the goddess beside the dying god in profundity and power. A spectral, feminine figure materialized before the dying god, its form ever-shifting and ethereal. One moment, it took the form of a spectral wisp, and the next, it manifested as a humble mortal woman of unknown features. Then, in the span of another second, it transformed into a colossal, cosmic being, dwarfing even the mightiest Titans by a factor of at least a thousand. Despitecking a definitive body, this being radiated omnipotence and unwavering control. Eren sensed that it was conveying a messagea message of futility regarding the goddess''s efforts. ''It''s no use.'' Although its tone came across as cold, there was an undeniable fondness for the dying god in its presence. It seemed incapable of expressing sorrow with the same intensity as the goddess, yet its underlying discontent with the god''s impending death was even more profound. The mere fact that it had chosen to materialize before them spoke volumes about the value it ced on him. "Mother, please. Save him," the goddess implored, her voice heavy with sorrow, as she watched the dying god''s form disintegrate, her heart seemingly breaking in tandem. ''I cannot do that. He has been cursed, and it is irreversible,'' conveyed the overwhelming presence in response. While the goddess may have been too emotional or simply unable to see it, the dying god detected a trace of regret in the thoughts transmitted by the overwhelming entity. "I am willing to wager my divinity," the goddess dered with unwavering determination, yet her plea fell short of eliciting the desired response from the all-epassing entity. ''Not enough. He is destined to die here; that is inevitable,'' the overwhelming presencemunicated in its subsequent thoughts. Though the goddess was prepared to sacrifice her divinity and perish alongside the god in an attempt to rebel against fate, the overwhelming presence offered a glimmer of hope in its next ripple of thought. ''It is true that your divinity alone is insufficient to save him, and we cannot bring about his incarnation. However, there is a way for him to persist, at least in partthrough his bloodline,'' the overwhelming presence imparted, kindling a flicker of hope within the goddess, who teetered on the brink of despair and self-sacrifice. *** The dying god remained silent as he observed both the goddess and the overpowering presence bearing witness to his final moments. It was difficult to discern his emotions, whether veiled beneath immeasurable depth or masked by profound serenity. Eren perceived that the dying god, instead of experiencing his own death, seemed to observe the end of another with impartial eyes. The goddess extended her hands and extracted a potent shard from her own chest, a diamond-like spark condensed into partial tangibility. She promptly offered it to the overwhelming presence, and the Divine Spark hovered around her in response. Another ripple of thought traversed the minds of the dying god and the goddess as they beheld this sacred object. ''This Spark holds the potential to ensure the appearance of an inheritor of his bloodline in the future,'' conveyed the omnipotent presence, her tone neutral. With a gentle gesture, she drew a drop of blood from the dying god''s divine form, which continued to disintegrate. Expanding the spatial rifts encircling the trio, the omnipotent presence sought living beings from other worlds. Or rather, she was looking for Existential Concepts of beings that varied slightly across worlds. Existential Concepts were akin to temtes that were followed by countless worlds. Croak! Croak! Croak! In her grasp, a spectral ck raven materialized. This was the chosen Existential Concept, intended to merge with the bloodline Concept of the dying god. As soon as the omnipotent presence made the Concept of the ck Raven ingest the god''s blood and use the goddess'' Spark as the fuel to initiate the fusion, the ck transformed into something else. Thus, a new Existential Concept of a living being was born at this point which was bound to be followed by countless worldsthe Concept of the White Raven. === AN: The Existential Concept of the White Raven was first exined in chapter 618. Chapter 1504 Cursed by the Feminine

Chapter 1504 Cursed by the Feminine

Existential Concepts, integral to the vast tapestry of boundless existence, held sway over the very essence of living beings. The omnipotent entity that had materialized beside the sorrowful goddess and the dying god wove the bloodline of Elder Ichor into an Existential Concept, merging it with the "temte" of the White Raven. This fusion ensured the eventual emergence of the Elder Ichor bloodline in a distant future. It was only a matter of time before some world, adhering to thews of the cause-and-effect fabric, would give birth to the inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline by following this temte. The White Raven''s Existential Concept would inherently bear the traits of the integrated bloodline. Regardless of its birthce or journey through realms, it would forever carry the Elder Ichor bloodline. As long as someone could harness this mythical beast''s bloodline or use the Elder Seed Artifacts to perfection, the dying god''s sessors would manifest. This strategic maneuver also guaranteed the continuous existence and evolution of the Elder Seed Artifacts the dying god had crafted. These artifacts were designed to generate Elder Seeds in the form of their owners, paving the way for one of them to inherit the dying god''s legacy. Without the Existential Concept of the White Raven, these Elder Seed Artifacts would have been next in line after the dying god to perish by the divine curse. A resounding, enraged female voice reverberated throughout the dying world the moment the Existential Concept of the White Raven was formed. It seemed as if the very void surrounding the realm seethed with anger. In response, a new supreme entity manifested in the domain of the dying world. This entity was the cause of the dying god''s plight, and she seethed with fury at the prospect of the god having an heir in the future. As the lower part of the dying god''s body crumbled into nothingness, he shifted his gaze toward the source of the furious voice, which seemed to emanate from every corner of the world. Observing a figure approaching, he remained outwardlyposed. Yet, beneath the surface, a primal storm of emotions began to stir within him, evident in the intensity of his gaze. This goddess possessed a level of beauty that was unparalleled. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Eren sensed that she couldn''t fully harness her charms at this moment. It appeared that her once-beautiful countenance had been marred by the mere possibility of the dying god having an heir in the future, and the powerlessness she felt to prevent it. "What have you done?" questioned the newly arrived hauntingly beautiful goddess, her face betraying a suppressed fury. She didn''t direct any questions or usations at the omnipotent existence, but she disyed no fear of her either. "Hehehehehe," the once-crying goddess burst into maniacalughter as she observed the expressions on the hauntingly beautiful goddess''s face. The former was aware that thetter had paid a tremendous price to bring the dying god to his current state. Her intention had been to eliminate the dying god once and for all, erasing any possibility of his legacy continuing. This would enable her and her allies toy im to his "throne." However, now that the Existential Concept of the White Raven had been created, she and her allies were left with nothing to do but wait for the inheritors of Elder Ichor to emerge from somewhere in the boundless cosmos. And there was nothing they could do to prevent it. Meaning they could treat the symptoms by targeting any Elder Seeds they could find. However, they could do nothing about the root cause. "All your efforts havee to naught," the once-crying goddess, now free of tears, reveled in the fact that the newly arrived goddess''s endeavors had been in vain. She taunted her withughter before continuing. "You cursed him and abandoned him here to die. But in the end, you were cursed too. Is this what mortals call divine retribution? Hehehe. I understand it now. It''s truly a beautiful concept." Despite her smile, the goddess''s divine form grew pallid, a testament to the price she had paid by relinquishing her Spark to create the possibility of an Elder Ichor inheritor. She wasn''t exactly in a condition to confront the newly arrived goddess head-on. The hauntingly beautiful goddess regained herposure upon learning that the crying goddess had expended her Spark. This was still a win, no matter how small it was. Disying anger or emotions that served no purpose in front of her adversaries. Instead, she promptly altered her demeanor and shed a cunning smile as she spoke. "It appears you''re quite confident that I won''t be able to interfere with his potential inheritors," remarked the hauntingly beautiful goddess as she raised her hands. "Allow me to remind you. I seeded in bringing him down and shattering his Divinity into fragments. Previously, after I used my ultimate trump card on him, there was nothing more I could have done. It was a trick that guaranteed his death. What could surpass that? But you shouldn''t have taken the actions you did. Now that he will have heirs in the future, I shall curse them as well. Even if it means slumbering for eons on end, I will ensure his sessors can never im his throne," she dered, her divinity on the line as she tampered with the very fabric of cause and effect in the boundless cosmos. At this moment, powers far beyond the realm of conventional magic were unleashed. The dying world stood on the brink of annihtion as god-level entities wielded their formidable abilities. The goddess''s influence unleashed fresh turmoil across the world, hastening its descent into destruction with unprecedented speed. Yet, another colossal runic circle enshrouded the fractured sky, as the adversary of the dying god spoke in a malevolent tone filled with killing intent. "May the true inheritor of Elder Ichor, whenever and wherever they may appear, be cursed by the feminine. May the feminine be their downfall, now and forever," the hauntingly beautiful goddessughed as she cursed all the future inheritors of Elder Ichor. Chapter 1505 Blessed by the Feminine

Chapter 1505 Blessed by the Feminine

The hauntingly beautiful goddessughed as she cursed all the future inheritors of Elder Ichor. The curse, though seemingly simple, held a profound purpose. Through this malevolent enchantment, the hauntingly beautiful goddess ensured that no worthy inheritor of the Elder Ichor would emerge with a promising destiny. She intended to employ her own curse as a guide to locate potential Elder Seeds, thwarting their growth before they could sprout. By targeting these budding Elder Seeds, she wanted to assure herself that the dying god''s "throne" would remain vacant for all eternity. This curse had the potential to affect all prospective True Inheritors of the Elder Ichor to varying degrees. The more capable and closer to bing the genuine heir to the dying god''s throne they were, the more pronounced the curse''s impact. Moreover, this curse was designed to manifest in any world in the boundless cosmos where potential Elder Seeds existed, leaving no escape from its grasp. If she couldn''t im the dying god''s throne, the hauntingly beautiful goddess aimed to keep it unimed and vacant for eternity. With no worthy sessor, she believed she had nothing to fear. "No! Stop her!" implored the goddess with tear-filled eyes, cradling the dying god''s head in herp, as she beseeched the omnipotent presence standing beside her. However, thetter calmly exined. "I can''t. She possesses the authority and means to curse the potential true inheritor of the Elder Ichor." The omnipotent existence directed its gaze towards the hauntingly beautiful goddess as it delivered this neutral assessment. The establishment of this Divine Curse hade at the cost of the hauntingly beautiful goddess''s very Divinity. Thest curse she had ced upon the potential true inheritor of the Elder Ichor had already inflicted significant damage to her Divinity. These injuries werepounded by her previous curses upon the dying god. Consequently, this cursing goddess was destined to enter periods of slumber and wakefulness in the future. Henceforth, she would be known as the Slumbering Goddess. The only way for her to rid herself of the aftereffects of these curses and prevent her perpetual bouts of slumber was to take the curse back. This was something she would never do. *** "It is done," the hauntingly beautiful goddess proimed, a wicked grin adorning her face as she lowered her hands. Eren sensed through the dying god''s memories that both goddesses had weakened due to the immense strain of wielding their divinities in such a manner. His ally goddess, his sister, endured suffering as she endeavored to ensure a part of him was revived through his heir. She sought his Echo''s existence. On the other hand, his enemy goddessthe one who had just cursed all his future inheritorswas also in pain, having gone the extra mile to bring about his destruction and that of his potential sessors to his "throne." Emotions stirred within the dying god for the first time in a long while as this scene unfolded before him. Initially, Eren had believed that the dying god could not experience emotions because of the effects of the dream-like world he had been summoned inside. Yet, when the dying god began to harness these emotions, they surged like tidal waves. "Alephee, my sister!" the dying god finally spoke, his eyes welling with tears as he observed the hole in her heart, symbolizing her sacrifice of her own Divinity using her own hands. He gently grasped her hand, gazing into her eyes that had been brimming with tears for a considerable time. "I am sorry you had to endure this," the dying god spoke as rity returned to his eyes. For the very first time, Eren saw the reflection of the dying god in the weeping goddess'' eyes. Eren was struck by the appearance of the dying god. He had to admit that the dying god was better endowed in the looks department than he was. The god possessed waist-length, snow-white hair and a chiseled face that made him strikingly handsome. His icy blue eyes appeared as profound as the concept of the deep blue sea itself. It reminded Eren of his white-haired transformation. However, he felt a bit regretful that he could not naturally harness such looks in that transformation. Not that he couldn''t alter his appearance as per his whims and fancy if he really wanted to. This dying god wore flowing white robes. His divine form was immacte in every sense, or would have been if it were not gradually melding into nothingness. *** ''Hmm? Hold on1 what did he say?'' Eren took a moment to grasp the implications of what he had just heard, or rather, understood from the dying god''s memories and emotions. ''Did he just mention Alephee?'' Eren was dumbfounded when he recognized the identity of the weeping goddess. If he had any control over the dying god''s body in this dream-like realm, he would have expressed his astonishment by widening his eyes upon discovering Alephee''s origins in this manner. Only now, Eren could scrutinize the face of the weeping goddess for himself after realizing who she truly was. She bore striking resemnces to the current Alephee residing in a homunculus body. There were only subtle differences in her appearance, but these nuances were sufficient to depict the beautiful goddess she was at this point in her existence. "Brother! You... you can speak?" Alephee was taken aback to witness the dying god exhibiting emotions after such a long period of emotional silence. Not too long ago, he had cast aside all his emotions to create the Seven nes of Sins, establishing order in the boundless cosmos that had been plunged into chaos by the infiltration of demons into various worlds. He had then appointed Seven Demon Princes to govern these nes, ensuring that demonic influences adhered to thews of the boundless cosmos and Creation. Ever since the dying god had forged the Seven nes of Sins by relinquishing his emotions, he had remained quiet and reclusive. Even when brought to death''s door by the enemy goddess, he had felt nothing. No anger towards the enemy goddess, no wrath towards her allies who had harmed him. His heart had been devoid of negative emotions, for he had willingly abandoned them. Yet, Alepheethe tears of her sister and her current state of sufferingwas something he could not ignore. The Seven nes of Sins, constructed upon the foundation of the dying god''s discarded emotions, now faced the risk of crumbling as he began to reim his emotions. The dying god gently caressed his sister''s tear-stained face with his bare hands before addressing the omnipotent existence. "Mother, you know that you owe me one, right?" he dered in an authoritative tone. It became evident that the dying god held more sway than his sister as he issuedmands to the omnipotent presence before him, whom he referred to as mother. She acted promptly upon the dying god''s resurgence of emotions. "Very well," the Mother responded to the dying god before raising her own hands to enact a grand spell. "The fabric of cause and effect within the boundless cosmos shall remain untarnished. Curses and blessings shall be distributed impartially. The Curse of the Feminine shall lose most of its powers when the future inheritors are devoid of their mothers'' love. And since they have been cursed by the feminine, they shall also be blessed by it," the omnipotent existence utilized her own powers to ripple through the intangible fabric of cause and effect. A faint smile graced the dying god''s lips upon hearing his Mother''s words. Instead of directly opposing the enemy goddess''s curse, she had redirected it by ensuring his future inheritors would be raised without their mothers. However, he discerned a deeper significance in his Mother''s handling of this curse. "You do not wish a part of me to call someone else their mother, do you? How possessive of you!" The dying god spoke serenely to the omnipotent existence, even though all that remained of him was his upper body, as the lower half had dissolved into nothingness. === AN: Chapter 1059 talks about the dying god relinquishing his emotions to craft the Seven nes of Sins and designating the seven Demon Princes as their de facto rulers. Chapter 1060 introduces the term "unupied throne" for the first time. Chapter 1506 Goddess Echidna

Chapter 1506 Goddess Echidna

"And now," the dying god shifted his gaze toward the enemy goddess, his eyes narrowing as they zed with boundless wrath. His tone remained eerily calm, yet Eren could sense the seething anger emanating from the dying god. "Would you mind giving me some space?" The enemy goddess grew alert as the dying god''s wrathful gaze locked onto her. Instinctively, she took a few steps back, seemingly vanishing into thin air. In the blink of an eye, a cataclysmic elemental attack erupted from her previous location. It manifested as an Elemental Fusion, an amalgamation of various elements condensed into a tiny sphere norger than a quail''s egg. Yet, the gravitational pull it exuded was unimaginably strong. Eren could sense that this minuscule sphere held the weight of a mini star, perhaps even equal to the entire mass of the world it originated from. The moment this devastating attack came into being, the very fabric of space surrounding it contorted and the ambient light distorted, as if the world itself teetered on the brink of annihtion. There was something profoundly different about the way the dying god had unleashed this attack. With sheer intent alone, he had conjured a force capable of obliterating the world without directly wielding his already sealed powers. It was as if the forces of nature conspired to create this cataclysmic assault on his behalf. The enemy goddess stared at the dying god with a mixture of anger, shock, and fear. She couldn''t fathom how he retained such incredible power even as he stood on the precipice of death. She had shattered his Divinity and distributed fragments of it among her allies, granting them a share of his formidable abilities. As she observed the dying god, she was once again reminded of why he was hailed as the Darling of the Elements. "Let me rify," the dying god remarked, an amused expression crossing his features. "I created that attack just to keep you at bay. I have no desire to be in yourpany during my final moments." Spatial rifts tore open, and several entities emerged from them. One by one, the allies of the enemy goddess appeared behind her. It was evident that she had sent some form of distress signal to summon them. "Hmm, so these are the instruments to whom you''ve imparted my Divinity?" the dying god observed the figures materializing behind the enemy goddess. They were all concealed in their appearances and enveloped in divine auras. mes cloaked one of them, while another was shrouded in the elemental essence of water. *** The divinity of the dying god stood as the most profound among the ancient deities, granting him unparalleled mastery over all the elements of the world. His dominion over nature''s elements was absolute, a power so vast that it allowed him to stand beside his "Mother," despite not sharing her Divine Status. He had even managed to be the Demon Emperor with his grand Divinity alone. No single god or goddess could harness his divinity to its fullest potential. By shattering his divinity and distributing its fragments among her allies, the enemy goddess had secured a significant advantage. She had summoned her allies to this confrontation, intending to thwart the dying god''s actions with their newly acquired divine prowess. "Hah! Just drop dead already. No need to pretend that you''re as mighty as you once were," the enemy goddess spat out her curses while locking her gaze on the dying god. Her intent was clear: she would not leave until she was certain her foe was truly vanquished. Yet despite her bold and provoking words, it was evident that she harbored fear of him. *** The allies of the enemy goddess stood behind her, their expressions vignt. They could sense that the divinity they had recently assimted could be reimed by the dying god with but a thought. However, the dying god himself recognized that retrieving his divinity from them would be a futile endeavor. His impending demise was inevitable, and his divinity was destined to scatter anyway. "I''ll allow you to hold onto those for now," the dying god dered with aposed demeanor. "My rightful heir wille to reim what you have stolen from me," he added. At this juncture, only the head and neck of the dying god remained, the rest of his body having dissolved into nothingness. The head flew in the air and reached for the broken sky, drawing the gazes of the dying god''s enemies and allies on him. Despite his diminished state, he continued to manipte the very fabric of the cause and effect spread across the boundless cosmos with his thoughts alone. A runic circle, spanning entire worlds, materialized as the dying god staked the remnants of his being to establish the criteria for his future heirs. "I hope that my true sessor will wield my Sins with absolute mastery," the dying god spoke casually, as if he were engaging in conversation with the cosmos itself, treating it as one of his close friends. "I prefer an heir who is the opposite of me and yet simr in some ways. One who ces self-interest above all. Someone capable of wielding my powers with a clear conscience, unburdened by thebels of ''evil'' or ''heartless,'' no matter how many deities and their followers they may vanquish. I desire an heir who will shake the very foundations of the Godly Realm," he concluded, his voice brimming with confidence and serenity. The dying god''s criteria were more like guiding lights for the whole of cosmos to select his heir for him. Since he had met his end despite doing the good deeds, he wanted his inheritor to bepletely different from him. All so that they would not be schemed against by the other gods just like what had happened to him. The dying god had not harbored any intentions to harm anyone and yet he had still suffered. So he wanted his heir to choose apletely different path from him. *** "My liege!" At this pivotal moment, another deity-like entity materialized, just as the dying god''s form teetered on the brink of dissolution. She appeared next to Alephee, her voiceced with desperation and on the verge of tears. Following her arrival, a wisp of demonic me, having assumed the form of a fly, materialized beside the dying god. The female goddess who joined Alephee possessed an appearance vastly distinct from that of a human. She featured an alluring visage and a well-proportioned, feminine figure. With voluminous, waist-length hair that melded shades of ck and blue, she bore an arresting presence. Her dark blue skin and two prominent horns adorning her head were defining characteristics. Her red-golden eyes radiated a brilliant luminance, akin to twin stars. Her aura exuded the essence of a primordial monster queen, capable of devastating continents with a mere flick of her fingers. The human-sized demonic fly that appeared beside this monstrous queen-like entity did not utter words. Nevertheless, its sorrowful demeanor upon witnessing the dying god''s current condition mirrored the sentiments of the other allies. "Echidna, you came!" The dying god greeted the horned goddess with a smile. She hade to meet him, despite the injuries she had sustained at the hands of the enemy goddess. *** Echidna was the chief goddess of all the monster gods. She had been leading the monster gods'' pantheon with her absolute might ever since she was birthed into existence by the dying god. Echidna shared a very close rtionship with the dying god. She had been created with the dying god''s drop of blood as well. But after she inherited the bloodline of the Elder Ichor from him, the Elder Ichor had mutated to match her Divinity. If the White Raven''s Existential Concept was not created, she would have eventually died as well. The divine curse cast by the enemy goddess was that powerful. The monster gods'' pantheon would have lost their leader if that had happened. The White Raven had basically be the anchor which supported the existence of all those who were rted to the Elder Ichor in some way. The horned goddess and the demonic fly were taken aback by the dying god''s smile and his interaction with them. They swiftly surmised that, somehow, against the odds imposed by the Seven nes of Sins he had created, the dying god had managed to rekindle his emotions. The dying god conversed with his allies for a while before his entire existence was dissolved into nothingness. During that time, his allies decided to do something to help his inheritors as well. Alephee decided to split herself into seven parts. She had already harmed her Divinity earlier in order to secure the dying god''s Echo. So after splitting herself, most of her divine powers were sealed before the seven fragments of her disappeared into seven different directions across the boundless cosmos. The mighty demonic fly decided to interfere with the cause and effect fabric too. But this was not something he could do on the fly. Instead, he needed to harness more souls for himself and spread the influence of the Sin of Gluttony to more worlds. All so that he could finally be able to meet with the true Inheritor of the Elder Ichor. The omnipotent being who was referred to as the dying god''s mother gave a boon to the dying god''s future inheritor as well, granting the heirs an affinity with the World Wills of the worlds they were born in. As long as the inheritors proved themselves worthy of inheriting the dying god''s throne, this boon would show its effects in some way or form. She wasn''t interfering with the boundless cosmos or the fabric of the cause and effect. Not really. Instead, she was helping the dying god pass some of his traits to his future inheritors. The enemy goddess didn''t stay silent as well. She disappeared from the world after confirming the dying god had truly died, taking a momentary breath of relief from the fact that the biggest threat to her existence was gone. However, she knew that she couldn''t stay put. She was bound to slumber once the repercussions of her deeds started to weigh down on her. Before that happened, she needed to make some preparations. The enemy goddess decided to split herself as well. She decided to invade various worlds using her incarnations in order to suppress and get rid of the potential true inheritors of the Elder Ichor. She had decided to take care of these potential enemies before they even had a chance to grow. The enemy goddess also told her allies to be on the lookout. They were supposed to hunt down all the Elder Seeds they could find before they managed to im the dying god''s throne. They were told to use Prophets and gather the clues regarding these Elder Seeds. One had to say that the enemy goddess was cruel and cunning. These aspects of her had allowed her to score a victory against the dying god despite the difference in the Divine Status they shared. This was why the dying god wanted someone to be his heir who could deal with the enemy goddess using her own ways. Someone who could surpass her when it came to cruelty and cunning. *** Eren observed the dying god''s final moments with an impartial gaze. In his mind, numerous connections were forming as he processed the dying god''s memories. It became evident that the curses and blessings bestowed upon the dying god''s future inheritors by both his enemies and allies had yed a significant role in his life. However, Eren understood that this wasn''t the mere work of fate or destiny that had brought him to this juncture. Instead, it was the culmination of his own choices and actions that had unintentionally molded him into the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor. The formidable guests that had once graced the dying world eventually vanished without a trace. The sky above this realm had been torn asunder, and the very ground beneath had fractured, creating colossal rifts. Before long, the world, teetering on the edge of destruction, sumbed to its inevitable fate. Chapter 1507 Aleph: A Fallen God’s Echo

Chapter 1507 Aleph: A Fallen God''s Echo

"Finally! It''s over." Just as Eren believed he would be ejected from this dream-like reverie, the shattered world coalesced once more. However, it wasn''t a return to reality but rather an entrance into another dream-like realm, one depicting the moments just before the dying god''s divine form was destined to be wiped from existence. This time, there was a distinct shift. Eren''s consciousness wasn''t confined within the dying god''s divine vessel. Instead, he materialized, taking on his true form within this ethereal domain. The surroundings had also transformed; they no longer pulsed with life but appeared frozen in time, akin to a breathtaking painting of a world on pause. In this surreal dreamscape, Eren stood alone, his presence the sole moving frame in this otherwise stagnant tableau. Confusion swirled within him as he surveyed his surroundings, tinged with a hint of anxiety. He was aware that he couldn''t afford to linger too long within the fading memories of the dying god, as pressing matters outside of Eliza''s Purgatory demanded his attention. "Now how do I get myself out of this situation? I am on a tight schedule, damn it." Eren pondered his predicament as he approached the remaining head of the dying god, contemting the best means to extricate himself from this surreal realm. The notion of taking his own life crossed his mind, as a desperate bid to jolt himself awake. However, just as Eren extended his hand toward the fading visage of the dying god, something unusual took ce. The deity''s head pivoted, directing its gaze squarely at Eren. What were once dim, lifeless eyes now gleamed with renewed intelligence and a spark of curiosity. "So, you are my true inheritor?" The dying god''s sudden utterance resonated with amanding yetposed tone, carrying an air of authority tempered by understanding for Eren, a mere Master Ranker from Anfang. In the blink of an eye, the god''s ethereal form, which had dissolved into nothingness, reconstituted itself to its pristine state before Eren. Despite this transformation, the stagnant world surrounding them remained unchanged. It dawned on Eren that this was the dying god''s method ofmunication, a profound connection transcending the boundaries of their respective existences. *** "Thank you for meeting me. My name is Eren Elijah Idril," Eren introduced himself respectfully to the dying god, offering a bow as a token of respect. Conversing with a god of this stature was slightly intimidating, yet Eren had encountered gods before during his time in Anfang, which had granted him some experience in such matters. He managed to maintain hisposure in the presence of the dying god, who exuded no threatening aura. It felt as though he was engaged in conversation with an ordinary mortal who had somehow be entrapped within an intriguing painting. The dying god regarded Eren with intrigue upon hearing his introduction. He sighed and reciprocated, "You can call me Aleph. As you can see, I am the progenitor of the bloodline you''ve inherited through a twist of fate." "Yes. Um I thought you were dead, God Aleph," Eren observed Aleph warily, seeking rification. "If that''s the case, how are youmunicating with me in this manner?" The dying god chuckled lightly before responding. "Ever so cautious, huh? You need not worry excessively, Eren. To put it simply, I am but an Echo of my former self. I exist in the past, yet my presence can still be felt in the present. When gods fall and are erased from existence, they retain their Echo as long as some form of Anchor prevents theirplete dissipation. This Anchor can either be their followers, their ces of worships, or simply something that is connected to their divinity in some way. This time, my Echo was activated because you obtained the bloodline memories after being acknowledged by all Seven nes of Sins." "A God''s Echo," Eren murmured, recalling that the omnipotent being, referred to as their mother by Aleph and Alephee, had used that term earlier. It appeared that Alephee had expended her God Spark to secure Aleph''s Echo, and the White Raven''s Existential Concept served as the supposed anchor for Aleph''s Echo to persist. "Eren, most gods are immortal in a traditional sense," Aleph exined, gazing at the stagnant sky while maintaining a neutral tone. "However, those who lose their divinity and are forgotten by mortals are essentially considered dead in the eyes of the mortals. They possess no powers and have no means of regaining them. Hehe. The nature of an Echo is such that the more it resounds, the more it dissipates until it can no longer be distinguished. I didn''t want to exist like this, to be honest. That divine curse would have surely done its job ofpletely erasing me along with my Echo if it wasn''t for Alephee. My sister she acted on impulse and was overwhelmed by emotions at that time. I''m not sure whether I should thank her for her self-sacrifice or scold her for her emotional recklessness. But I guess there''s no use crying over a spilled milk, right? The more you live, the more you realize, things don''t happen the way you want them to, no matter how much you n." Aleph''s recollections of his own demise left a profound sense of regret, and Alephee''s current situation, a consequence of his death, ranked among his most significant regrets. "I I see," Eren exhaled in relief. While he was grateful for inheriting such a potent bloodline, he couldn''t deny a certain unease he felt at the idea of Aleph being alive. There was an underlying sense that it could be a looming issue he''d need to contend with in the future. "Thank you for acknowledging me as your true inheritor," Eren expressed with aposed and grateful tone. He then approached the conversation cautiously, asking, "Is there anything you wish to convey to me?" Aleph reassured him, almost as if he could sense Eren''s thoughts. "Don''t be concerned. It''s been barely a day since you received all the Seven Sin Series Marks. I''ll soon send your consciousness back to where it belongs after I have a few words with you," the dying god said soothingly. Chapter 1508 The Right Mindset

Chapter 1508 The Right Mindset

Aleph spoke further. "Regarding gratitude for choosing you as my true heir, Eren, I must rify that it wasn''t my decision. It was you who proved yourself worthy and selected yourself as my true heir. I cannot predict whether this will be a blessing or a curse for you, reaching this point. However, I am genuinely pleased that you are precisely the kind of individual I hoped would inherit my throne. You see, Eren, these so-called gods, being immortal, cannot sire children of their own. That''s the reason they create their legacies and leave them behind in mortal worlds. The Elder Seed Artifacts I created were the legacies I had left behind in mortal worlds. But who would have thought the true inheritor of my throne would emerge from something I didn''t n at all? Even for a god, the stings of fate can be unpredictable sometimes. But um never mind. In a way, you are the closest thing to a son I have," Aleph disclosed with a warm smile. Erenwas very close to twitching his eyes in annoyance upon hearing Aleph''s words. For some reason, they made him feel like an illegitimate child of this once-revered god, the Darling of the Elements. Whether Aleph was oblivious to Eren''s contemtion at this moment or simply unconcerned, he continued speaking. "I must admit, I am content with the way things have unfolded. If anything, it makes you even more worthy of iming my throne," Aleph remarked as he proceeded towards the motionless spectral image of his mother, standing within the static world. "Forgive me for being so direct, Eren," Aleph uttered as he gazed upon the image of his mother, his eyes locked with her lifeless ones. "You might be the least naturally gifted of all the Elder Seeds who bear my legacy, if you could even be called an Elder Seed given the unorthodox way you''ve secured your im to my throne. Yet, I am inclined to recognize you as my true heir. Do you know why?" "I I don''t," Eren admitted with a shake of his head. While he didn''t particrly like being considered less talented than other Elder Seeds, he knew it to be true. His potential as a Ranker in the first timeline had been limited. His life had been marred by both the choices he''d been forced to make and hisck of innate talent. Unlike individuals like Altashia, Lensa, Ivor, or Sage Eliza, Eren hadn''t been graced with extraordinary abilities. He wasn''t what could be regarded as a prodigy. In his second timeline, the butcher had encountered countless prodigies. His ability to stand beside them without losing his edge stemmed from sheer hard work. He had utilized every opportunity and even created his own, surpassing those considered prodigies. However, Eren believed that his diligence alone couldn''t be the reason for Aleph''s choice. Many others could possess both talent and hard work. He wasn''t deluded into thinking that he was the sole hard worker in existence. After all, Anfang wasn''t the only world where the Elder Seeds could be found. "It''s your mindset," Aleph provided Eren with the answer. "Even now, as we converse, you''re processing myriad thoughts simultaneously. You''re unfazed by what you''ve glimpsed in my memories. You have thoughts of using the information you gleaned from those memories. But you know how to prioritize. You''re not concerned with the origins of your bloodline powers. You simply wish to wield them. There''s no profound motive behind your pursuit of power. Not really. You view it as a natural instinct. And um You certainly don''t feel indebted to me. Your disy of respect is merely a means to expedite this encounter. You know how to be humble or assertive as circumstances demand. In truth, you''ve surpassed me in maintaining such an unwavering mindset. Perhaps this is the most suitable mindset for harnessing my bloodline powers, a mindset I didn''t even possess in my prime." Turning to face Eren, Aleph leveled his prating blue gaze upon him. It was as if those eyes could read Eren like an open book. The Echo of the deceased god continued, his tone unwavering. "Eren Elijah Idril, from the world of Anfang. The very instant you began delving into my history, I delved into yours. Pardon mynguage, but you are one audacious bastard, aren''t you?" Alephe chuckled. Eren found himself at a loss for words in response to Aleph''s remark. He couldn''t discern whether Aleph was delivering apliment or a reprimand. As such, he opted for silence, allowing Aleph to expound further. "Your mindset is indeed something that is the most refined among all the other Elder Seeds currently in existence. You learn from your past and n for the future. And yet you consistently emphasize living in the present. At this very moment, your thoughts are consumed with whether Eliza is a blessing or a curse bestowed upon you by the gods, and how to deal with her," Aleph spoke with a knowing rity, fully aware of Eren''s current dilemma. Eren couldn''t help but chuckle at Aleph''s words. "Blessed by the Feminine and Cursed by the Feminine," he mumbled as he looked directly at Aleph before posing a direct question, "So, what do you think that old ha I mean Eliza is?" Aleph responded with a knowing smile, "Hehe. Why can''t she be both? Or why can''t she not be either of those things?" He turned the inquiry back to Eren, his voice filled with curiosity. "Think about your demon beast, Reen. Can''t she be both a curse and a blessing simultaneously? The same goes for my sister, Sienna, Reva Rain, and even that girl from House Lowin. The deeper you delve into this matter, the moreplex it bes. That''s the nature of curses or blessings like these. So perhaps it''s best not to dwell on it too much. Just remember this C curses and blessings can change depending on your actions. Your choices have a significant impact on the fabric of cause and effect, even if you''re not fully aware of it. So, my advice is simple C follow your heart and do what feels right. Don''t be overly concerned with the blessings and curses that are sure to affect you in some way. Take sce in the fact that all mortals face their own share of blessings and curses, and you''re not so different from them. The only distinction is that your blessings and curses will reverberate in the Godly Realm. That''s something only my enemies or to be more precise,,, your future adversaries should worry about C not you. Like I said, you have the right mindset for iming my throne. Don''t let these things affect the only trump card you have against the rest of the Elder Seeds or your other enemies." Chapter 1509 Echidna’s Placenta

Chapter 1509 Echidna''s centa

God Aleph continued with a solemn tone. "Luck, talent, or sheer hard work alone won''t suffice. If mere diligence guaranteed sess in this boundless cosmos, every hard worker would be a victor. And almost everyone would be working hard because who doesn''t want to win in their life? But reality dictates otherwise. Many diligent individuals remain ensnared by their fates because they excel solely in diligence. The same principle applies to luck and talent. However, the right mindset can shatter these constraints. It''s about knowing when to toil tirelessly and when to work intelligently. It''s about possessing the insight to discern what must take precedence on your path to sess. This kind of vision can only be cultivated through the right mindset," the fallen god stated earnestly. Eren listened attentively to Aleph''s words, feeling his perspective broaden as he absorbed the fallen god''s teachings. Although he was familiar with much of what Aleph was conveying, the fallen god''s exnation offered new insights based on his past experiences. ''Anything and anyone I encounter can turn into a blessing or curse depending upon how I deal with them,'' Eren quietly murmured to himself, pondering Aleph''s wisdom. In his mind, images of Eliza and other significant figures from his life shed, prompting him to heed Aleph''s counsel and stop viewing individuals through the lens of blessings or curses. Eren then expressed his gratitude with a respectful bow. Aleph acknowledged the gesture before continuing with his advice. "Now, as for the guidance I wish to impart," Aleph began, "it''s quite straightforward. Eren, you''ve inherited my legacy through a series of unique coincidences. As such, what you possess differs significantly from what I had envisioned for my true heir. Your Elder Ichor bloodline bears resemnces to mine, yet it has developed distinct attributes in your case. What I want you to focus on is refining your bloodline and establishing Edicts over the Elements." ''Establishing Edicts over the Elements?'' Eren echoed thoughtfully. He fixed his gaze upon the fallen god, seeking further rification. "Could you please borate?" he inquired. Aleph paused briefly before exining. "Simply put, Eren, your Elder Ichor bloodline epasses two facets. The first aspect originates from me and my mastery of the Elements. The second facet belongs to the artificial demon beast from which you inherited the bloodline. This aspect is tied to Echidna, the very first fiend I created using my bloodline," Aleph disclosed, a subtle smile gracing his features, seemingly enjoying Eren''s surprised expressions. *** Eren''s eyes were fixed on the motionless form of the horned goddess with blue skin, his expression a mixture of astonishment and curiosity. In the stagnant world, she stood like a statue, granting Eren the opportunity to study her more closely. He recalled that she had been referred to as Echidna by the other gods when he delved into Aleph''s memories. "How is Goddess Echidna connected to Reen, God Aleph?" Eren inquired, his eyes fixed on Aleph, awaiting an exnation. This was a significant discovery for him, and he was determined to gather as much information as possible before finalizing his ns for the conclusion of the Lazarus Project. Aleph met Eren''s gaze with patience, then began to shed light on the mysterious connection. "It all starts with the artificial slime," he began. "Or, to be more precise, what your demon beastpanion, Reen, represents. Reen was initially conceived to serve as a vessel for a summoned demon, but what the creators inadvertently achieved was something far different from their intentions. Hehe. It''s often said that many inventions in this boundless cosmos emerge as a result of idents. This was one of those cases." The fallen god continued, revealing the intriguing backstory that nobody in Anfang was aware of. "The creators of the artificial demon beast were unaware that they were, in fact, crafting what ismonly referred to as Echidna''s centaan amorphous substance that Echidna manifested using her powers to give rise to various races. Or perhaps, the research rted to the creation of the artificial demon beast was meant to be this way? After all, Samael was crazy to obtain my powers at any cost even during my time. Um I am not going to bother about this. I''ll let you find out the truth yourself. Anyway Let''s focus on the things at hand. Echidna''s centa is an Existential Concept, meaning it exists across various worlds within the boundless cosmos. These researchers managed to synthesize this Existential Concept in its most primal form, which allowed them to birth Reen using my blood as a crucialponent. After all, Echidna herself was initially created from a drop of my blood." Continuing his exnation, Aleph illuminated the wider significance of their discussion. "The races that Echidna forged using her Existential Concept are now recognized as the Children of Echidna. This is why you possess the ability to transform into what ismonly referred to as ''monsters'' through the shape-shifting powers of your bloodline," Aleph exined. He further emphasized the lineage''s origin. "The lineage ultimately originates from me and my bloodline. However, your acquisition of it through Echidna''s Existential Concept has naturally inclined you to favor one aspect of the bloodline while unintentionally overlooking a fundamental aspect, the aspect associated with me. What my bloodline grants is not limited to the affinity with the myriad elements. It grants you the ability to establishplete control over them." Aleph pointed out the unique nature of Eren''s abilities. "Neither I nor my bloodline were known for shapeshifting abilities. Not really. No Elder Seed who has harnessed my bloodline possesses such capabilities. This is something entirely unique to you." The fallen god continued with a sense of purpose. "That said, it''s fine to develop the bloodline abilities linked to Echidna. After all, it gives you an advantage over your enemies and also shields you from most prophetic visions. However, as my true heir, I want you to also focus on the core aspect of Elder Ichorestablishing Edicts over the Elements. I had dominion over all the elements found within the boundless cosmos. It would be a profound loss if you, as my true heir and son, didn''t inherit that legacy from me." With this, Aleph concluded his revtion, ensuring Eren grasped the significance of his dual inheritance and the responsibilities it entailed. Eren listened with rapt attention, understanding the weight of the path thaty ahead. Chapter 1510 Ability, Authority, and Edict

Chapter 1510 Ability, Authority, and Edict

Aleph could discern that Eren was deep in thought, mulling over his words. He could sense Eren''s skepticism, particrly regarding the prospect of harnessing the other facet of his bloodline any time soon. Eren appeared to believe that his already impressive affinity with the myriad elements was challenging enough to fully utilize. How could he possibly wield the powers of a fallen god while still holding the Status of a Master Ranker? Aleph, aware of Eren''s concerns, emitted a soft chuckle before exining. "Eren, your capability to wield my powers isn''t dependent on your Ranking Status. You''ve already demonstrated the ability to harness my bloodline''s aspect in the past. Do you remember your encounter with my sister and how you dealt with her attacks during your sparring session in the Oni Dungeon?" Eren''s eyes widened with sudden realization as Aleph''s words brought back a hazy memory. He could vaguely recall the incident the fallen god referred to. It had taken ce within the confines of the Oni Dungeon. Back then, Alephee and he had engaged in a heated battle, with Alephee seeking to demonstrate the more refined usage of his spells and abilities. During that confrontation, Alephee had recently gained control over her homunculus vessel, yet she had managed to utterly overwhelm Eren in their sparring match. However, towards the bout''s climax, something extraordinary had urred. Eren had been plunged into a State of Epiphany, which allowed him to deal with Alephee''s moves subconsciously. It had rendered him impervious to Alephee''s spells. Astonishingly, he had takenmand of her spells with remarkable ease, effectively nullifying their effects on him. At the time, Eren had manipted Alephee''s spells as though he had cast them himself, and Alephee had been so caught up in the heat of battle that she hadn''t initially realized she had lost control. *** Aleph went on to borate on the profound distinctions between Eren''s utilization of Elder Ichor''s bloodline powers and Aleph''s own mastery of the Elemental Edicts. Aleph''s control over the Edicts had always been a matter of dominance, seizingmand over his opponents'' elemental abilities through sheer force. In contrast, Eren''s method was an entirely novel approach to harnessing the Elemental Edicts of Elder Ichor. Eren had effectively employed Echidna''s powers as a conduit to ess and manipte Aleph''s Elemental Edictsa feat that even the fallen god himself had never contemted. Aleph''s affinity with the elements had always been innate, rendering his Edicts absolute and unwavering during his use. In contrast, Eren''s approach allowed him to wield Elder Ichor''s bloodline abilities while still merely an Adept Ranker, even though he did it subconsciously under the effects of the State of Epiphany. Instead of wrestling control away from his adversaries, he had ingeniously altered his Mana Signatures to disrupt their spell effects. Aleph found Eren''s technique intriguing, possessing far more potential than Eren had likely realized. Rather than overpowering opponents through brute force, Eren could potentially exert control over their elemental abilities by manipting the Elemental Edicts in this manner. Furthermore, Aleph exined that Edicts were divine powers that enabled an individual to govern the manifestations of mana, intimately tied to the corresponding Edict. An Edict wielder could freely employ all the powers associated with their chosen Edict, with the environment responding to their will. They didn''t need spells or Abilities to manifest these powers. Within the boundless cosmos, thews of Creation allowed Edict wielders to remain immune to negative consequences tied to mana manifestations rted to their Edict. They could also dominate all manifestations in their vicinity, even if cast by someone other than the Edict wielder themselves. For instance, during Eren and Alephee''s spar within the Oni Dungeon, Eren harnessed the Edict of Fire to nullify spell effects and gain control over Alephee''s spells. This was the power of an Edict that Eren had instinctively wielded on that asion, allowing him to emerge unscathed from Alephee''s dual-pronged attacks. Aleph highlighted that wielding Edicts typically required the possession of a God Spark. Without one, individuals could only manifest a lesser form of Edict known as Authority. Authority was essentially an advanced level of control over Elemental Attainments, a manifestation of one''s Individuality. However, under ordinary circumstances,cking a God Spark meant Authority could not ascend to the status of an Edict. Another distinctiony in the scope of usage. While Authority was limited to an individual''s homeworld and could be contested by another Authority wielder, an Edict could be exercised anywhere by its wielder, regardless of their location or progress in the Paths to Power. Once established, an Edict remained unchallenged. In essence, Authority represented the culmination of one''s honed Ability, the natural evolution of their control. It then advanced to be an Edictthe next stage of this evolutionary progression. This was considering the wielders met the required criteria to advance them. *** Aleph allowed Eren a moment of reflection before extending his guidance. "Eren, I understand that your previous experience wielding my powers wasrgely subconscious, leaving you with only vague memories of it. So I don''t expect you to wield the Edicts at the snap of your fingers. You see, this was what I meant when I said you are the least talented among all the Elder Seed inheritors. A lot of Elder Ichor''s potential is still dormant within you. However, this also demonstrates your inherent capability to wlessly harness my Elemental Edicts, which you did by essing my aspect of the Elder Ichor''s powers. In the future, I want you to actively devote yourself to mastering the Elemental Edicts. I recognize that doing so while remaining in Anfang may present challenges, but as you venture into other worlds, you''ll find numerous opportunities to refine your proficiency with my abilities. Actively seek out these chances, for they will pave the way for you to consciously wield my Edicts. This marks your initial step towards fully embracing my legacy. As of now, you are yet to unlock the true might of the Elder Ichor." === AN: Eren subconsciously wields Aleph''s Edict for the first time in "Chapter 740: Groundbreaking Bloodline Powers." The term Edict was first used in the same chapter as well. Authority was first mentioned in chapter 1213. Chapter 1511 Demonic Genesis: Hvergelmir Springs

Chapter 1511 Demonic Genesis: Hvergelmir Springs

Aleph maintained a focused gaze on Eren as he continued his counsel. "Considering the unfolding events, I have little doubt that you will eventually find yourself in the World of Gods, Eren. It''s an exceedingly unforgiving realm. To stand any chance among the formidable entities that inhabit it, you must wield my powers through the Edicts and make them your own. I want you to begin preparing for these eventualities now, understanding which opportunities to seize once you depart from Anfang. This foresight will prove invaluable in the challenges that lie ahead," Aleph cautioned Eren with a tone of utmost seriousness. Eren nodded, signaling his readiness to heed Aleph''s counsel. He then delved into his next inquiry. "God Aleph, how should I effectively wield my Sin Series Marks? Now that I possess all seven of them, do you have any guidance regarding their use?" Eren sought the wisdom of the god who had conceived the concept of the Sin Series Marks himself. Having acquired all seven of them, he was eager to grasp Aleph''s perspective on harnessing the formidable power of his demonic heritage, bestowed by the Elder Ichor bloodline. After all, the Sin Series Abilities had proven to be Eren''s most dependable assets thus far. He aimed to further empower them with Aleph''s insights. Aleph observed Eren intently, taking a moment to reflect before posing a counter-question. "Eren, before we delve into the Seven Series Marks, allow me to ask: do you know what demons truly are?" Eren shook his head in response. "No," he admitted. "I''m aware that they originate from the Demonic Realm, which is a collective term for all the Seven nes of Sins. but that''s just it." Acknowledging Eren''s response, Aleph proceeded to shed light on the nature of demons. "Eren, demonse into existence when the surplus of negative emotions exuding from living beings coalesces into sentient forms as they flow into what, in many realms, is referred to as the Hvergelmir Springs. These negative emotions are like sediments. Their coagtion is simr to eggs that nurture the nascent demonic consciousness within them as they traverse through the Hvergelmir Springs. These "eggs" are ultimately hatched by the pure infernal energy that surrounds them, akin to the springs'' water. Upon hatching, they manifest as serpent-like hatchlings. To advance their existence as demonic entities, these hatchlings instinctively seek vessels. Eventually, these demonic hatchlings slither their way out of the Hvergelmir Springs and barge into the realm of the living beings. What ismonly recognized as demonic possession is essentially living beings reencountering the negative emotions they had previously expelled, only for them to return through this process. Demons will continue to exist as long as living beings do, which is why they are often categorized as immortals. These demonsck conventional parentage, instead, the diverse array of living beings scattered across the boundless cosmos serves as their surrogate parents. The demons feed upon the emotions of these living beings, much akin to offspring seeking sustenance from their parents. This is why the demons are so proficient in using intent-based magic. They are born because of the infernal intent of the living beings. So it''s only natural for them to wield what''s known to them since their birth," Aleph exined patiently for Eren''s understanding. Eren found himself immersed in a continuous stream of enlightenment as he engaged in conversation with the progenitor of his bloodline. Aleph was a veritable treasure trove of knowledge and information, a resource Eren had long sought but never truly encountered. Every moment spent in dialogue with Aleph felt invaluable. With curiosity dancing in his voice, Eren swiftly posed his next question to the god, "God Aleph, what exactly are the Hvergelmir Springs?" Eren was acutely aware of the crazy strong enemy awaiting him beyond the boundaries of Anfang, the Demon Prince of Wrath. The notion of immortality for demons through the Hvergelmir Springs perturbed him deeply. To effectively confront these demon beings, he recognized the need to delve into the very roots of their origin. Aleph responded promptly to Eren''s inquiry, elucidating the nature of the Hvergelmir Springs. "Eren, the Hvergelmir Springs represent an Existential Concept established by Creation itself to sustain life throughout the boundless cosmos. It flows through all the worlds within this cosmic expanse beneath the surface-level existence, intertwining with every living being, be they mortal or formidable beings of their respective realms." He continued, delving into the intricacies of wisdom and emotion. "Wisdom and knowledge, as they say, are a dual-edged sword. The greater one''s wisdom, the more profound their contemtions be. In turn, deep contemtion births a spectrum of emotions. Were it not for the Existential Concept of the Hvergelmir Springs, the influx of negative emotions within living beings would overwhelm them." Understanding the profound connection between demons and living beings, Aleph offered insight into the seemingly unbreakable ties. "The existence of demons is intricately linked to the beings within the boundless cosmos. Therefore, severing the connection between demons and living beings is a futile endeavor. The demons'' infiltration of Anfang, despite the istion imposed by the World-Epassing Array, stands as a testament to this fact." Eren observed as Aleph gracefully moved around the spectral figure he referred to as "Mother," his voice unwavering. "This is precisely why demons were a formidable menace across the myriad worlds within the boundless cosmos, fueled by theirtent infernal potential. Before the creation of the Seven nes of Sins, demons were exposed to a myriad of negative emotions experienced by living beings. Upon entering the world of the living, they would rapidly escte in power, often plunging the infiltrated realm into chaos and madness." With a somber tone, Aleph narrated his role in mitigating this threat. "It was then that I was entrusted with a taskto alter the very nature of the Existential Conceptid down by Creation. Eradicating the Concept was an insurmountable feat, but I possessed the power to reshape it, diminishing the influence of demons over the realm of the living. To achieve this, I lived countless incarnations, cultivating emotions without ever releasing them. These cultivated emotions became the cornerstone for establishing the Seven nes of Sins. unfortunately, I forfeited all of my own emotions in the audacious act of interfering with the primordialws enshrined by Creation itself." Chapter 1512 Inheriting the Fallen God’s Legacy

Chapter 1512 Inheriting the Fallen God''s Legacy

Eren discerned a tinge of mncholy in Aleph''s voice, despite the noble purpose behind these deeds. He surmised that Aleph''splex rtionship with the slumbering goddess likely yed a part in this endeavor. Aleph appeared to shake himself free from the depths of his reminiscences, returning his focus to Eren with newfound determination. He pierced Eren with an intent gaze as he addressed the pressing matter at hand. "Anyway," Aleph began, his voice now infused with renewed purpose, "I understand your motive for asking. You want to deal with Samael, correct?" Eren met Aleph''s scrutiny with a resolute expression, rifying his intentions. "It''s not that I want to eliminate him," he replied, shaking his head slightly. "But I won''t permit anyone to obstruct my path, and it seems he may pose such an obstacle. So I should stay prepared to address the issue at its root," Eren stated matter-of-factly. Aleph couldn''t help but chuckle in response to Eren''s pragmatic approach. "I see. You do have a penchant for meticulous nning, But I must say that you are still significantly underpowered whenpared to Samael. It would be wise to maintain a considerable distance from him. Thanks to the safeguards my sister has implemented, he and our other adversaries won''t be able to locate you anytime soon. This, of course, hinges on your continued discretion," Aleph cautioned, urging Eren to exercise caution and avoid proximity to Samael in the immediate future. Switching to another topic, Aleph imparted his guidance to Eren. "As for the Sin Series Marks, I''m confident you can unravel their mysteries on your own. Disclosing them to you would actually hinder your personal growth, so I shall refrain. However," Aleph paused briefly, pondering his next words. "With the Seven Sin Series Marks and the Elder Ichor bloodline, you indeed possess the capability to confront and vanquish practically any demon you encounter. That is any demon you encounter and can win against. Thebination of the Sin Series powers and my bloodline grants you the ability to devour demons and assimte with the infernal energy, thereby elerating your progression in the Rankings. To achieve this, you''d simply need to sever their coagted souls using Shallot''s Mirror and absorb the infernal energy that constitutes their essence. This process would propel your advancement in the Ranking Journey more effectively than any divine treasure you could acquire at this juncture. At the same time, it will allow you to "kill" demons," Aleph provided Eren with a method to swiftly elevate his Ranking Status. However, he cautioned that such opportunities wouldn''t be readily avable within the confines of Anfang. Eren would need to venture into other worlds, where demons abounded, to seize these prospects for advancement. *** Eren and Aleph engaged in a lengthy discourse concerning the origin of demons and the myriad ways Eren could leverage these infernal creatures to his advantage. As Aleph continued to expound upon these topics, Eren''s mind became clearer and he started forming new ideas. At this juncture, Eren was d for the opportunity to converse with Aleph. Without the wisdom and guidance imparted by the fallen god, Eren was certain he would have squandered considerable time and effort discovering the true potential of his inheritance. After a moment of contemtion, Aleph shared his profound aspiration with Eren. "I wish for you to surpass me, Eren. And in due time, I hope you will surpass my ''Mother,''" Aleph dered. "I desire for you to reach heights that even eluded me in my prime. To support you in this endeavor, I have a gift for you." Aleph moved closer to Eren, his form fluid and ephemeral. With a gesture that defied physicalws, Aleph passed his hand through his own chest as though it wereposed of nothing more than a shadowy illusion. From within, he withdrew an unassuming shard, resembling a fragment of crystal-clear ss. The shard was diminutive, fittingfortably within Aleph''s palm, and seemed inconspicuous at first nce. "With this, I shall make you the true heir to my throne," Aleph proimed, his voice imbued with a mystical resonance. He held the shard aloft, and its translucency took on a subtle luminescence as he spoke. Aleph turned his piercing blue gaze upon Eren, and the shard''s radiance intensified. At this moment, Aleph transcended his role as a mere Echo of his former self. Eren felt as though he stood in the presence of a god, akin to a boundless ocean that, though still and tranquil, concealed within its depths profound mysteries and unfathomable horrors. Aleph''s offer hung in the air, and Eren was faced with a pivotal choice: would he ept the mantle of this divine legacy? *** "I do," Eren responded with a deliberate and contemtive tone. He had taken ample time to weigh the implications of epting Aleph''s offer. Eren understood that bing Aleph''s true sessor was akin to wielding a double-edged sword. On one hand, it promised a multitude of advantages, expediting his Ranking Journey and unlocking numerous boons. On the other hand, it meant that he would paint a target on his back for all of Aleph''s adversaries, who would undoubtedly perceive him as a threat. However, Eren also recognized that these foes would pursue him whether he embraced Aleph''s legacy or not. His mere qualification as Aleph''s sessor had already marked him as a formidable adversary in their eyes, regardless of his future choices or affiliations. Consequently, Eren discerned virtually no disadvantages in epting Aleph''s inheritance. A smile graced Aleph''s countenance as he observed Eren''s response. Without further ado, Aleph thrust the ss-like shard deep into Eren''s chest, as if he were integrating his legacy into the very core of Eren''s soul. The moment Aleph initiated this process, Eren''s consciousness was abruptly seized by an intense, searing agony that radiated from every fiber of his being. He crumpled to the ground, writhing in anguish, his cries of pain echoing through the ethereal realm. "Aaaaargh!" he bellowed, using the vocal release as a meager outlet for the excruciating soul-deep injuries he suffered. The world around Eren blurred, its once-distinct contours melting into an amorphous haze. It felt as though he were being forcibly expelled from this dream-like realm, his senses jarred by waves of torment. Chapter 1513 Destruction of Eliza’s Purgatory

Chapter 1513 Destruction of Eliza''s Purgatory

"Endure it, boy." Aleph urged as he watched Eren''s agonized form. "The pain will be overwhelming for now. However, in due time, it will allow you to im what was once mine. With this act, I have designated you as my true heir. I shall also task you withpleting what I left unfinished, or whaty beyond my own capacity," Aleph spoke to Eren with a steady tone even as he grappled with the excruciating pain. Eren''s perception of Aleph gradually blurred, his image dissolving into indistinctness, his voice seemingly faded as if emanating from a distant room. "Um that''s about it. Oh, and please, take care of my sister, would you? She has her own challenges to confront. Extend her a helping hand if you''re able," were Aleph''s final words to Eren before his consciousness dissolved into nothingness, and he sumbed to unconsciousness. Upon awakening, Eren found himself back in the realm of reality. When he did, he found his head resting on Alephee''sp, in the same manner that Aleph wasforted by Alephee in his final moments. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with Alephee''s radiant smile. And when he looked around, he was greeted with the sight of destruction. *** The moment Eren acquired the remaining Sin Series Marks from the Seven-headed Serpent Statue, it triggered a cataclysmic event in Eliza''s Purgatory and beyond. It was as if Eren''s attainment of all seven Sin Series Marks was seen as a momentous omen by the very essence of Anfang''s World Will. In response, a colossal mana storm was unleashed, wreaking havoc upon everything in its path. Oddly, Ereny unconscious in the midst of this tempest, seemingly untouched, as if sheltered by the storm''s eye. The earth trembled as fault lines snaked across the ground, and fierce winds whipped through the surroundings, akin to the relentless Winds of Void Assimtion. The Spatial Boundary, initially established to contain Eliza''s Purgatory, struggled to confine such a massive natural force. Simultaneously, the world beyond the purgatory reacted vehemently. Dark thunder clouds gathered ominously, casting an eerie twilight across the skies, while enigmatic aurora lights danced in the heavens. The apparition of a colossal Seven-headed Serpent phantom materialized, shrouding thend in an oppressive atmosphere,pelling those who witnessed it to bow in submission. It was as if an eerie twilight had descended in the middle of the day, ushering in a foreboding dawn filled with grim possibilities. This upheaval persisted for a considerable duration. Eventually, the turmoil culminated in theplete annihtion of Eliza''s Purgatory. The once-imposing Spatial Boundary that had defined the purgatory simply disintegrated, and the previously isted space seamlessly merged with the outside world. Gone were the frigid mountain ranges, the vast expanses of umted snow, and the relentless blizzards that had mercilessly bitten at exposed skin, leaving behind frostbite. There were no remnants of the towering structures or the intricately constructed dungeon that had dominated thendscape. Eliza''s castle, along with the colossal Titan skeletons that had served as peculiar home decor,y in ruins. It could be said that the Titan Skeletons, along with the lingering consciousnesses attached to them, had finally found the eternal rest they had long sought. The profound impact of Eren attaining all the remaining Sin Series Marks wasn''t confined solely to Eliza''s Purgatory or its immediate vicinity. Its repercussions reverberated far and wide in various manifestations. Deep within lush forests found across all of Anfang, dormant mana beasts stirred, inciting beast tides that rippled through nearby cities. Some regions experienced seismic tremors of such magnitude that they reduced mortals'' painstakingly constructed homes and structures to rubble. Mysterious and sudden, many of the intricate magic circles scattered throughout Anfang were inexplicably obliterated. The painstaking efforts put into their creation were rendered futile as these formations ceased to function. Even the battlefield, the stage for the ongoing conflict between the two kingdoms, felt the unsettlingmotion. Both the forces of Edinburgh and Layos, though fierce rivals, intuitively recognized the imminent danger posed by the all-epassing mana surges. In unspoken agreement, they withdrew to their respective bases, wary of the looming disruption to their spellcasting capabilities. The battle would rage on soon. What happened was merely a temporary respite. *** "Hey, Miss Timeless." Eren greeted Alephee with a warm smile as he gradually returned to reality. He allowed his head to rest on Alephee''sp, relishing her gentle caresses through his hair. Nearby, Naya maintained her watchful stance, her arms folded over her chest, her gaze alternating between them and their surroundings. Her vignce remained unwavering, driven by the urgency to depart this area promptly. Eren''s recent tumultuous event was far too conspicuous to go unnoticed and was sure to pique the interest of the bigshots, regardless of their allegiances. Naya didn''t want any more surprises. Given the storm of disruption that Eren had inadvertently triggered, Alephee and Naya had no choice but to evacuate Eliza''s Purgatory and its vicinity. They had managed to escape before employing the spatial runes of the Sansara Sage to transport themselves away from the chaos. "You''re finally awake," Alephee ceased her hair caressing and feigned a scolding tone as she surveyed their surroundings. "Just look at the mess you''ve made," she chided, her gaze sweeping the destruction. Eren disregarded her mockints and replied casually, "I met your brother." "Did you now?" Alephee responded, her eyes focused on Eren. It was evident that she had anticipated such an encounter once Eren acquired all seven Sin Series Marks. "What did he say?" Her stoic demeanor barely concealed a hint of agitation. "He told me to take care of you," Eren stated matter-of-factly, sinking his head deeper into Alephee''sp. Alephee couldn''t contain her chuckle at Eren''s words. "ARE YOU SURE my brother didn''t tell you to take care of yourself first? Just look at the pitiful state you''re in," she quipped, lightly smacking Eren''s forehead with an audible smack. Eren was on the verge of responding to Alephee''s light-hearted remark with an equally yfulment when Naya interjected with a somber tone. "You two might want to wrap up your ideal chatter. We''ll soon have some unweepany." Alephee and Eren simultaneously wiped the smiles from their faces upon hearing Naya''s warning. In the next instant, they both rose to their feet. Acting in unison, the trio activated their space-element runes and vanished from the area before the impending, uninvited guests could cross their path. Chapter 1514 Restless King Emil

Chapter 1514 Restless King Emil

Right after Eren received his remaining Sin Series Marks. At the battlefield between the two kingdoms. "These mana ripples Uncle Garos, what in the heavens is going on?" The voice, marked by shock and apprehension, echoed through a spacious chamber nestled within Edinburgh''s army base. The speaker was none other than Emi Edinburgh von Renar the 9th, the reigning monarch of Edinburgh. "This...this is an omen," responded another resonant voice, heavy with gravitas. "It means that something momentous has taken ce." The tone grew increasingly serious. "It appears that someone within our kingdom is implicated in this matter. I can sense an overwhelming surge of infernal energy suddenly injected into this closed-off world, seemingly out of thin air. Anfang''s World Will is reacting and neutralizing by inducing these natural cmities," exined the source of the second voice. Garos Renar, the King''s Hand, was the speaker. As a Sage Ranker with apletely saturated mana core, he teetered on the cusp of ascending to the Saint Rank, holding an unparalleled position of power within Anfang. He possessed profound insights into the arcane nature of mana, secrets far beyond the reach of themon inhabitants of this world. "First and foremost, Emil, it''s imperative to maintainposure. These cmities will soon abate," Garos advised, his voice emerging from the shadows. "I''m not primarily concerned about the disasters themselves but rather the individual responsible. I would have investigated personally, but I cannot leave you alone here on the battlefield. But this matters we can not let it unfold on its own. Dispatch someone to probe the root of this incident urgently. It is as grave as, if not graver than, dealing with the Layos conflict," Garos admonished Emil with unwavering seriousness. "Al.. alright, uncle Garos," Emil straightened himself in his throne-like chair. "Hmm? Wait a minute. Is it usible that this is rted to the emergence of the second Demon Prince, the one who suddenly ascended to S-Rank?" Emil questioned his spection based on the immense power required to shake Anfang to its core, a feat he associated with a soul fragment of a Demon Prince. As the honorary general of the Edinburgh army and the kingdom''s ruler, he received constant updates from across the kingdom and the battlefield, revealing that various significant regions within Edinburgh had been impacted by the turmoil unleashed by this enigmatic entity. Consequently, he wished to take proactive measures. If the entity behind this was indeed a recently ascended S-Rank demon beast carrying within itself the soul fragment of a Demon Prince, his forces alone would not be sufficient to contend with the threat. He would need to enlist the support of the Anfang Alliance. "I guess it''s a possibility," Garos replied, his tone less certain. "OR, it could be an unknown entity. Nevertheless, there is a clear connection between the appearance of the second Demon Prince''s soul fragment within Anfang and the individual responsible for the sudden influx of infernal energy. So we will treat them as separate entities for now while keeping the possibility of their cooperation open." Garos offered a fresh perspective to Emil, serving not only as the guardian of the current monarch but also as his trusted advisor, offering counsel on a wide array of matters. Emil nodded in response before continuing in a somber tone. "Alright. Things are taking absurd turns from thest few days. And I don''t think the forces of Layos are behind this. Someone has assaulted the City of Lancelot, sessfully pilfered something, and in the City Protector, Avir Lancelot. My sources suggest that even the Alliance may have yed a role in confronting the attacker, but the Sages they dispatched either perished or chose to remain discreet. So in the end, we are uncertain about the exact details of the incident. Moreover, mistrust is brewing even among our own allies within the kingdom. House Lancelot, for instance, remains reticent about the nature of the stolen item. These sequences of events appear far too interconnected to be mere coincidences. What are your thoughts, Uncle Garos?" Garos discerned Emil''stent unease stemming from recent events. It was as though Emil subtly implied that Garos could temporarily relinquish his duties as the King''s Hand, granting him the freedom to address the situation personally. Given Garos''s formidable prowess and resources, contending with a recently ascended host of a Demon Prince''s soul fragment wouldn''t pose an insurmountable challenge. Garos sighed,prehending the dilemma lurking in Emil''s thoughts. Emil was aware that Garos had intentions to depart Anfang once the Layos conflict concluded. After all, the Spirit Beast for which he had waited for so long had been robbed from him and he had no other reason to stay. It was only natural that the king of Edinburgh wished for Garos to resolve major issues that might potentially haunt him in his future. He wanted Garos to assure him that the royalty of this kingdom still stayed in power even after his absence. "Hmm. These matters are undeniably troublesome. Very well, I shall see what can be done," Garos eventually conceded to Emil''s subtle request, granting Emil a sigh of relief. Emil had no qualms about Garos leaving him unapanied on the battlefield. As king, he recognized that he was the most safeguarded individual among his forces on the battlefield. Therefore, he harbored minimal concern that anyone, regardless of whether Edinburgh emerged victorious or defeated in its conflict with the opposing kingdom, could incite sufficient chaos to threaten even him. *** A few days after Eren''s acquisition of all the seven Sin Series Marks. In an unnamed region, nestled deep within a rugged mountain range, ensconced by untamed forests, Eren sat cross-legged within a spacious cave formed by skilled earth-element magic. Naya and Alephee guarded the cave''s entrance. At this juncture, amid the renewed vigor of the war between the two kingdoms, Eren dedicated himself to perfecting his Rootless Ranking Technique, diligently consolidating his newfound gains. The attainment of all seven Sin Series Marks had not only expanded his Soul Space but also propelled him further along his Ranking Journey. Consequently, Eren''s Spiritual Force had surged. His Elemental Attainments gained new enlightenment, propelling him deeper into the ranks of the Master, with his gaseous-state mana core poised on the precipice of transitioning into a liquid state. With a fresh perspective on things, Eren smiled as he concluded circting his Ranking Technique. He slowly opened his eyes and essed his Status Panel to check up on his progress. Chapter 1515 Eliza’s Raised Vigilance

Chapter 1515 Eliza''s Raised Vignce

Immediately after Eren had received his remaining Sin Series Marks, A bit away from the battlefield between the two kingdoms. The distinct sounds of spell castings and metal shings could be heared in the distance. a small groupprised of Eliza, Le, La, and Reen stood upon a solitary mountain peak. Thanks to La''s meticulous preparations, they had concealed their presence so as not to alert the Sages from either side. Eliza''s Soul Sense projection observed the battle with an impassive countenance. Yet, a glint of curiosity and anticipation gleamed in her eyes, revealing her enjoyment of the spectacle. This, despite the fact that her true body was ensconced safely behind the group within a secure runic array formation. She stood on the precipice of death, but her aura remained as vibrant as it had in her prime. "Hehehe," Eliza chuckled as she witnessed the Rankers on both sides fighting with unwavering determination. "They do struggle like pigs," she remarked nonchntly before turning her gaze to La, who was positioned to her left. "Is it just me, or has the caliber of Rankers in this era declined somewhat?" Eliza queried aloud. La, the Little Witch, responded with casual agreement. "You''re quite astute, Master. While there are indeed some above-average Rankers in this era, the Rankers in general simply don''t measure up to the Rankers we had during your time. Those were an entirely different breed." "You know," Eliza began with a sigh, "I was starting to think that I would..." Her casual conversation with La came to an abrupt halt when she sensed something amiss. "Hmm? There''s... something going on with my castle," Eliza could feel that unsettling events were unfolding within her Purgatory. Her eyes widened in surprise as the sensation intensified, signaling that her castle had been reduced to rubble. "Who... who could have" La was on the verge of erupting in anger at the perpetrator responsible for demolishing their home. But, in the next instant, she felt something far more ominous. The Spatial Boundary she had established to create her Purgatory had vanished. "My... My Purgatory... someone has detroyed it," Eliza mumbled in disbelief, momentarily too shocked to be incensed. La was about to inquire further, but in the next moment, she too sensed it. A physically subtle yet mentally overpowering form of suppression swept across the entire region before advancing. It was akin to someone ying a piercing and jarring instrument near one''s ears that made the lisnters'' brain buzz before moving on to do the same to the remaining audience. An ominous mana pluse radiated in all directions, causing even the forces of Edinburgh and Layos toe to a standstill. Suspicion hung heavy in the air as they regarded their adversaries, fearing that the Sages from the opposing side had initiated some form of action. The climate underwent a sudden and drastic transformation, plunging the region into an eerie twilight. The earth quaked and fissured, while tumultuous mana storms swirled above, all indicating that something of colossal magnitude was unfolding nearby, within a world startlingly close to their own. The surge of infernal energy also had repercussions for the World-Epassing Array. This influx triggered the defensive mechanism of the array formation, exerting a measure of control over the demonic energy surge. However, in the process, the array formation sustained some damage. While it possessed self-repair mechanisms, the weakening would persist for a considerable duration due to this incident. *** "Unbelievable," La murmured, her gaze fixed on her Master. She discerned that Eliza was contemting the same notion. "Could... could it be him?" La inquired, her expression a mix of doubt and trepidation. Both she and Eliza had foreseen the possibility of Eren visiting the Purgatory once Eliza had vacated it. They were aware that Eren sought to acquire additional Sin Series Marks, and the Seven-Headed Serpent Statue had been one of his primary targets in recent years. "It seems likely," Eliza responded, her tone heavy with gravity. She squinted, her gaze seemingly piercing through the low-hanging gray lightning clouds above that had been rapidly gathering. "The destruction of my Purgatory and the arrival of this worldwide omen can hardly be coincidental. It appears that he seeded in obtaining more Sin Series Marks from the statue," Eliza concluded as she keenly sensed the sudden surge of infernal energy coursing through the world of Anfang. As a Sin Series Marks holder, she possessed acute sensitivity to infernal energy. Moreover, she had implemented measures within her Purgatory to keep her informed about its status even when absent. She could discern that Eren had not only razed everything within her Purgatory and obliterated the Spatial Boundary but also unleashed a severe mana storm across the entire regionone potent enough to even threaten her. Eliza understood that Eren couldn''t have singlehandedly orchestrated such a phenomenon. His actions had set in motion a chain reaction of events. *** "Didn''t I tell you, Master. That man is utterly unpredictable. I... I should have..." La''s voice trembled under the mounting oppressive force. Eliza gently shook her head, interrupting her. "It''s not your fault. You''ve done everything within your power," Eliza assured her, her expression grave as she patted La''s head, her fingers tenderly brushing through her hair. "In fact, we''ve all done what we could. That boy was going to do something like this anyway. So what if he is a bit special? It changes nothing for me or the Lazarus Project. I''m just thinking how many Sin Series Marks he acquired to trigger such an influx of infernal energy. Could it be two? Or perhaps three? Or maybe even more than I possess?" Eliza mused aloud. La''s eyes widened in astonishment. "That''s impossible," she eximed, unable to contain her immediate reaction. "Master, your bestowment of three Sin Series Marks was already a rarity, setting you apart even among the gifted Rankers of our time. How could someone like... like Eren... surpass you? I... I can''t ept this. Him acquiring two or three Sin Series Marks is already a miraculous feat for him. It can''t be more than you." The Little Witch argued, though her words seemed aimed more at herself than at Eliza. Chapter 1516 Demonmir’s Determination

Chapter 1516 Demonmir''s Determination

"Hehehehehe." Eliza chuckled, yfully tousling La''s hair. "We shouldn''t underestimate him, kiddo. I chose him to carry out the Lazarus Project for a reason. It appears I''ve picked a natural-born fiend to execute my bidding in this era. Looking at the scene unfolding in front of me, we all have to admit that hispatibility with demonic powers surpasses mine. Unfortunately for him, even if he secures four or five Sin Series Marks, it won''t alter his current situation. He yed it safe and waited too long. Time isn''t on his side for mastering the demonic blessings he''s received. Sooner orter, he''ll need toe here, the Sages from both kingdoms are at each other''s throats. Therefore, the Project will proceed, regardless of his intentions and power-ups," Eliza remarked in aposed and unwavering tone. Eliza herself possessed three Sin Series Marks, so she didn''t deem it entirely imusible for others to achieve the same feat. Nevertheless, even with her extraordinary talent and unique bloodline, it had taken her an extended period to unlock the full potential of her Sin Series Abilities. Consequently, regardless of how exceptional Eren had proven himself to be beyond her initial estimation, she couldn''t view him as someone who could wrest away from her clutches. Nheless, she resolved to heighten her vignce; underestimating Eren was no longer an option. It was a risk she couldn''t afford to take. If she aspired to rejuvenate herself and construct a fresh vessel, her forting actions needed to be executed with precision and at the right moment. "Master, the forces of both kingdoms have stopped their battle," La eventually spoke, her voice strained under the oppressive aura. "So how will the Sages from both sides fight if both factions withdraw their forces?" she inquired of Eliza. "Fufufu," Eliza chuckled softly before offering her analysis. "This retreat is temporary, kiddo. Soon, both kingdoms will grow suspicious of the other''s intentions. When the battle rmences after this brief pause, it will escte to even greater intensity than before. I guess the Sages will find it necessary to reveal themselves on the battlefield sooner than anticipated," Eliza predicted, her gaze fixed on the unfolding scenes in the distant battleground. One could say that her battle insticts were as sharp as ever. *** In a secluded location within the Layos kingdom, "First, that damned Beelzebub, and now this! What is happening in Anfang?" Demonmir screamed, his voice echoing across the tranquil terrace of a simple vi. He gazed at the twilight sky, his eyes filled with frustration. Below him, a vastke''s surface rippled sporadically, stirred by the waves of a mana pulse emanating from the direction of the Edinburgh kingdom. Demonmir''s schemes to profit from the ongoing conflict between Edinburgh and Layos had been utterly disrupted, as a full-blown war had erupted far sooner than expected. His sole reliable contact within the Layos army and his potential business partner, Saisha Goren, had met a tragic end just as Demonmir was on the verge of finalizing a lucrative deal for the production of Hex Artifacts within Layos territory. Already agitated by this loss, Demonmir had been further rattled by the revtion that, apart from himself, there was another individual harboring the soul fragment of a Demon Prince. This enigmatic figure had incited a significant upheaval that did not escape the notice of Samael, the Demon Prince of Wrath, whose fragment resided within Demonmir. Aware of the animosity between Samael and Beelzebub, Demonmir had no desire to be embroiled in their brutal conflict. Despite the influence of Samael''s soul fragment on his personality, he retained his own ambitions and aspirations. After all, even if he could be considered as Samael''s incarnation, Demonmir had his own identity. He yearned to rise above his current limits in Anfang and ascend to greater heights before Samael abandoned him entirely. A portion of his identity still remained that of Ottoman de Montmorency, a young and ambitious Ranker from Anfang striving to carve out his own legacy. Or at least Samael was letting him have his personality for the time being. As Demonmir contemted the recent tumultuous events and his thwarted ns, he mused aloud. "Could could this be the work of that bastard, the one Samaelbeled as the Usurper? That brat Grimdawn... could he be responsible?" His thoughts raced as he sensed the expanding mana pulse. "I''ve heard rumors of his demon beast, Argo, but we''ve never crossed paths, and he remained elusive for nearly a decade Hmm? Wait a minute. Billy''s!" Suddenly, it clicked for him, as if invisible threads connecting the dots in his mind snapped into ce. Determination filled Demonmir''s eyes as he muttered grimly, "I cannot allow him to grow any further." Realizing the decade-long partnership between Eren and Beelzebub had escaped his notice, he resolved to rectify this grave mistake, no matter the cost or consequences. "Fuck those damned restrictions by the Last Blood Bastian, in a few days, I will break them all. Then, I will fucking kill him and his demon beast," Demonmir dered resolutely, vanishing from the scene. *** Eren wasn''t aware of what Demonmir was thinking or doing at this point. He was busy analyzing his own progress. *** Name: Eren Elijah Idril (Verified) Official Titles: Edinburgh Bona Fide Title: Grimdawn Affiliations: Edinburgh Army (Veteran, Voluntary Exit) Lionhearts Adventurers'' Academy (Graduated with Distinction) Founder of the City of White Raven Guild Master of White Raven Guild Ranking Technique: Rootless (Custom Name) Base Attributes: Health Points (HP): 195 / 195 (?) Mana Points (MP): 195 / 195 (?) Strength (STR): 195 (?) Agility (AGI): 195 (?) Intelligence (INT): 195 (?) Spiritual Force (SF): ?? (?) Base Technique Points (BTP): 975 (?) BTP Visibility: Private Ranking Status: B-Rank / Master Rank (Vapour State Core) Avable sses (Custom): Close Combat Expert Summoner Array Master Berserker Assassin Ranger Potion Expert Sin Series Abilities (Custom): Sin of Wrath (Domain of Wrath) Sin of Gluttony (Domain of Gluttony) Sin of Lust (Mist of Lust) Sin of Envy (??) Sin of Pride (??) Sin of Sloth (??) Sin of Gluttony (??) Bloodline Abilities (Custom): Memory Extraction Expedited Regeneration Life Drain Devour Shapeshift Partial Shapeshifting Acquired Abilities (Custom): Instant Reset Unlimited Weapon Works Myriad Potioning Hero''s Heart Self-created Abilities: Upgraded Sedating Gaze Self-created Spells: Wind-Fire Shards Elemental Fusion Spells Lightning-element Spells [ Aspects: Purple Speed, Red Destruction, Incinerating Blue Heat ] Blitz Steps Blitz Heal Blitz Storm Blitz Shield Blitz Bolt Solid Spark Lightning Seed Lightning Tree Blitz Wave Fire-element Spells [ Aspects: Amber Heat, Azure Cold Fire, Spatial Red me ] Fireball Firebreath Hatching of the me (variations) Fire Wings Rain of Fire Crimson Storm Igni Chains Igni Steps Blue Fire Domain Time-element Spells Sedated Perception Stunning Speed Total Control Age Expedite (Potion rted) Age Reverse (Potion rted) Motion Maniption Space-element Spells [ Aspects: ck Spatial Vibration?] Spatial Chains Spatial Knives Spatial Arrows Spatial Spheres Blink Dynamic Distance Perfect Projection Wind-element Spells [ Aspects: Enhanced White Wind Control, Ivory Heat Conductivity ] Wind Wings Wind-de Tornado Wind Steps Wind Wall Wind Shards Wind Swords Wind Sabers Water-element Spells [ Aspects: Aqua State Fluidity, Turquoise de Forms ] Aqua Hammer Aqua Heal Aqua des Aqua Wall Aqua Steps Aqua Storm Aqua Whips Wood-element Spells [ Aspects: Green Nature Essence ] Green Prison Vicious Vines Healing Vines Wood Life Control Earth-element Spells [ Aspects: Carbon Hardening, Yellow Tensility ] Earth Wall Earth Steps Earth Maniption Earth Spikes Death-element Spells [ Aspects: Controlled Rust Degeneration ] Death Wave Death Rot Shadow of Death Shadow-element Spells: Shadow Steps Shadow Switch Shadow Clone Shadow Chains Shadow mes Misceneous Spells: Beast Contract Spell Demon Beast Transformation Spell Wind-fire Wings Wind-Fire Shards Summoning Spells: Fire Creatures (variations) Lightning Creatures (variations) Earth Creatures (variations) Water Creatures (variations) Wood Creatures (variations) Ether Creatures (variations) Undead Creatures (variations) [ Urgent Alert: Immediatemunication with Edinburgh''s central administration required concerning the unexpected relocation of White Raven Guild''s disptached forces. Please reach out to authorized personnel without dy. Nonpliance within the specified timeframe will lead to severe consequences for White Raven Guild and its members. ] *** Chapter 1517 Stand Down

Chapter 1517 Stand Down

Eren wore a satisfied smile as he examined the remarkable progress he had achieved. What he was seeing in front of him wasn''t just the boost he had received from attaining the Sin Series Marks. It was also the result of nearly a decade of relentless hard work. ''Hmm, I''m just one step away from bing a Master Ranker with a liquid state mana core. It''s amazing to think how unattainable this would have been in my previous timeline. And it''s downright surprising considering how broad my Ranking Path is.'' Eren mused to himself, his smile tinged with a touch of mncholy as he reflected on the past. He felt a sense of nostalgia for the years of dedication and effort he had invested since being granted a second chance at life. Considering that Eren had only recently broken into the Master Rank, his progress was nothing short of astounding. He had even outpaced the so-called prodigies from his generation in Anfang. Eren sensed that his connection with infernal energy had surged to even greater heights after acquiring the remaining Sin Series Marks. The sheer magnitude of this newfound power left him somewhat overwhelmed, as if he''d been handed an unfamiliar and potent fuel source with no manual. Additionally, Eren perceived a change in the Sin Series Marks since Aleph had formally chosen him as his heir. It was as if he could now detect the constant emanation of residual infernal energy all around him. However, he struggled to grasp how to harness this energy to its full potential. "I guess fully utilizing Aleph''s inheritance at my current level is not something I can pull off at my current level," Eren admitted with a sigh. "I don''t even know the extent of what he''s granted me, and how to wield it effectively. So it''s best to not think about this Elder Ichor inheritance for now," he concluded. "Hm? What is this? Urgent alert?" As Eren prepared to close his ID-Stone-generated Status Panel, his attention was drawn to a new message at the bottom of the status updatesa stern amber alert issued by Edinburgh''s central administration. "Heh, they''re a bitte with their warnings." Eren chuckled wryly as he read the notice directed at him and the White Raven Guild. He had foreseen this unfolding when he madest-minute changes to his guild members'' deployment, though he was somewhat surprised that the kingdom had taken this long to issue a warning. Eren had already instructed Agatha to disregard all warnings issued by Edinburgh''s central administration. His advice to her was to provide superficial responses to buy them more time. Currently, the White Raven city was in the midst of preparations for a 100-year-long siege. The city''s key figures, including Nina, Levine, and Jiana, were fully upied with tasks such as procuring food, Ranking resources, and other essential provisions. Eren had already reached out to the Matriarchs of the Amazonian tribes to secure these vital resources. Valeria Vanlor, Seraphina Riversong, Evelina Green, Isadora Frostborne, Callista ckthorn, and Galen Ironfist were presently en route to Eren''s city, fulfilling his invitation to visit and delivering the much-needed supplies. Alongside them, Galen''s mana beast, Nova, a resilient bear-like creature resurrected by the Goddess Great Mother, joined the group. They were expected to arrive in the City of White Raven within a matter of days. Eren''s connections with the Amazonians had proven invaluable in his current predicament. "I can''t predict what will happen to this kingdom once I''ve concluded the Lazarus Project my way. But I hope that the things that I built from the ground up will endure the aftermath," Eren muttered to himself, his eyes looking into the void. "Eren, are you ready?" Alephee''s voice, though somewhat distant, cut through his contemtion like a sharp call to attention, snapping him back to reality. Eren replied as he rose to his feet. "Yes, I''m done. Are wete?" Eren inquired as he emerged from the cave, where Alephee and Naya were patiently waiting. "We''re right on schedule," Alephee responded, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon as though peering into the enigmatic unknown. "Although it is just for the show to give confidence to their respective forces, the Sages from both factions have already started their confrontation," she added, closing her grimoire. In an instant, the book containing her spells and abilities vanished from her grasp, signaling her readiness to depart. "There''s no news from Argo. And we we can''t contact him. But we can''t wait here for him as well. We we shouldn''t keep that ancient Sage waiting," Naya remarked, her eyes fixed on Eren. She had embraced her role in this grand scheme and was resolute in her determination to aid the man who had given her a renewed purpose. "Then let''s get moving," Eren dered with a solemn tone, his recently enhanced yet somewhat unsteady Individuality poised to radiate. His emerald green eyes gleamed with resolve as he clenched his fists. In the blink of an eye, he, along with Naya and Alephee, vanished from their surroundings. *** In the heart of the City of White Raven, a bustling tavern served as a hub for Rankers of all backgrounds, where they convened daily to mingle and discuss various matters. Presently, it buzzed with activity as news of the ongoing war dominated conversations. The tavern was notably more crowded than usual,rgely due to recent changes in the policies of the White Raven guild concerning wartime deployment. Typically, most Rankers from the City of White Raven would have hastened to the borders between the warring kingdoms. However, an advisory had been disseminated to the members of the White Raven Guild and its affiliates, and the message was simple: stand down. Citizens learned that the White Raven Guild had diverged from the traditional arrangement of war contracts issued by Edinburgh''s central administration. It had opted not to dispatch any of its lower-ranking personnel to the battlefield. This was a drastic decision that had even impacted some of the Expert Rankers who were instructed to refrain from participating in the conflict. The news regarding Eren''s stance swiftly spread throughout the City of White Raven. It triggered discussions and debates in every nook and cranny of the city. Those Rankers directly affected by this choice found themselves uncertain about how to interpret the news and what consequences it might bring to them. After all, Edinburgh wouldn''t just brush this matter aside. "Haah! So much free time that I don''t know what to do with it. It feels like we got unemployed out of the blue. What are we supposed to do now?" Amid this uncertainty, Tara Far voiced her concerns, her voice tinged with disappointment for the potentially lost pay, as she sipped from her wine ss. She turned to herpanions for answers, Julia Ekhart and Lady Zee, who nked her at their table in a secluded corner of the tavern. Chapter 1518 Summoned Away

Chapter 1518 Summoned Away

? In the past ten years, Tara Far, Julia Ekheart, and Lady Zee had established a firm foothold in Eren''s city. The trio found the war-rted missions assigned to them by the White Raven Guild to be highly profitable. Tara felt like she was doing only half the work yet reaping double the rewards. These missions were low-risk and perfectly suited to their team of three, almost as if they had been custom-tailored to their strengths. Thanks to the resources and specialized facilities provided by the guild, Tara''s Ranking Progress had excelled. Her teammates had experienced simr advancements in their respective Ranking Journeys. As such, Tara felt content with her role in the White Raven Guild as one of its go-to mercenaries. Thus, when the guild abruptly removed all war-rted missions from its Status Panel, Tara couldn''t help but feel disheartened. Her hardworking nature had been cultivated by the rich rewards she''d received over the past decade. Julia, casually sipping her drink, shared her thoughts. "I think we should take no action and do what we are toldC stand down," she began, having received a prior warning from Eren a few days ago before he left the city. "Eren believes this war will be different from what we anticipate. He mentioned spoilers in the conflict that will change the entire oue. Sadly, it''s the lower-ranked individuals on both sides who will bear the brunt of the casualties," Jules finished as she emptied her wine ss halfway. Lady Zee, with a light chuckle, posed a curious question. "How can Eren be so sure there will be spoilers in the war? Doesn''t that make him one of them, given his confidence in their involvement?" she inquired, her gaze fixed ahead while her finger traced the rim of her wine ss. Jules nodded in agreement before adding thoughtfully. "Indeed, but that wouldn''t surprise me given his nature. What''s puzzling is why he would keep Lady Zee, an Expert Ranker just a step away from bing a Master Ranker, from participating. You are more than qualified for such a role. Perhaps. is it due to us?" Jules pondered aloud, her uncertainty regarding Eren''s reasoning evident. *** During their recent meeting, Eren had a candid conversation with Jules about her affiliations with the Illuminati and proposed that she settle permanently in the City of White Raven. He extended an invitation for her to formally join his guild. Jules had inquired about the possibility of Tara Far also bing a member, to which Eren was open. However, when it came to Lady Zee, Eren had been evasive about her joining the White Raven Guild. Eren had previously shared with Jules that he had an intimate history with Lady Zee, a fact Jules epted. However, she grew uneasy when Eren exined that he couldn''t amodate Lady Zee in his guild. Jules suspected that Eren''s hesitance wasn''t solely due to Lady Zee''s use of the alias "Catherine" to evade a bounty on her head. She also believed that a prior intimate involvement between Eren and Lady Zee wouldn''t be a sufficient reason for him to reject her from his guild. Eren hadn''t been forthright about the true rationale behind his choices. Consequently, Jules had decided to keep Eren''s invitation to join the White Raven Guild confidential for the time being. She didn''t want to risk alienating herself and Tara from Lady Zee by immediately epting Eren''s offer if it meant Lady Zee couldn''t be part of the guild. *** "I don''t believe it''s because of you guys," Lady Zee reflected, her thoughts swirling. "It feels more like I''m grounded for some reason. Um don''t get me wrong. I am d for the opportunities that were provided to us. But looking back, don''t you think the missions we undertook and the rewards we received were rather disproportionate? Even if either Jules or I were favored by Eren, how could we... hmm?" Lady Zee was on the verge of sharing her thoughts when she noticed a tall and handsome mature-looking man approaching. Her words trailed off as she observed himing closer. He positioned himself beside her and introduced himself, his smile warm. "Hellodies, my name is Lopen Har. I''m an Expert Ranker." He directed his attention towards Lady Zee with an intent gaze, continuing, "Do you mind if I share your table? Hahaha, I''ll treat you lovelydies to some drinks as a token of my gratitude for yourpany," Lopen expressed confidently. The three women swiftly picked up on Lopen''s advances towards Lady Zee. With the City of White Raven and its core Rankers preparing for an extended siege, ordinary Rankers found themselves with little to do. Staying idle during the war''s preparations felt lonely, so many sought thepanionship of others to alleviate their solitary existence. Some Rankers preferred to date those of equal status, and as an Expert Ranker himself, Lopen found itfortable to approach Lady Zee. After all, within the City of White Raven, all Expert Rankers were highly regarded, and he saw no reason why Lady Zee would decline his offer. Tara and Jules turned their gaze to Lady Zee, waiting for her response to Lopen''s invitation. Rather than uttering a word, Lady Zee smiled and made a subtle gesture, indicating for Lopen to upy the vacant seat beside her. She didn''t wish to decline the offer ofplimentary drinks for herself and her teammates. With a friendly smile, Lopen settled into his seat, ready to engage in casual conversation with Lady Zee and see where it might lead. "I know a bit of your group. It''s Catherine, right? About this war, Catherine. Do you think" However, just as he began to speak, something peculiar urred. Lady Zee, seated right next to Lopen, inexplicably vanished into thin air, leaving only her half-drunk wine ss behind, marked with the traces of her lips. Lopen was taken aback, rendered momentarily speechless. He nced at Tara and Jules, voicing his bewilderment mixed with a hint of irritation. "Ladies, that''s rather impolite, don''t you think? She could have simply declined." With a resigned sigh, he rose from his seat and walked away from the table, leaving Tara and Jules alone. Unbeknownst to him, Lady Zee''s teammates also wore confused expressions, indicating theirck of understanding regarding her sudden disappearance. Lopen believed that Lady Zee had employed some unusual means to evade hispany. Yet, the truth was far from his assumptionshe hadn''t left the tavern by her own volition. Instead, she had been summoned away. === AN: Sorry for the dy. I am currently dealing with severe cold (and a mild headache), which might affect VEH''s posting frequency for the next 2-3 days. Chapter 1519 A Contest Between Two Deep Schemers P1

Chapter 1519 A Contest Between Two Deep Schemers P1

House Lowin''s Estate. The Last Blood Bastion. "Any word on that bastard Grimdawn?" Demonmir inquired of Arie Lowin, his tone grave. They strode side by side, their conversation carrying them toward a raised tform not far in the distance. The gathered Rankers in the open hall yielded to them, heads bowed in reverence to Demonmir. These assembled Rankers were all under Demonmir''smand, including some half-bloods from House Lowin. "He''s been absent from the battlefield since the full-scale war began between the two kingdoms," Arie replied, her voice carrying concern. "Even the people of Edinburgh are hunting for Eren, but he''s gone off their radar. Moreover, it appears his guild hasn''t dispatched the requisite number of Rankers to the battle. If he doesn''t appear within a few hours, it''s likely he and his guild will face persecution from Edinburgh''s central administration," she provided Demonmir with all the avable information on Eren. "Where could that motherfucker be?" Demonmir muttered to himself as he processed Arie''s report. He swiftly dismissed his doubts before speaking aloud. "I guess it doesn''t matter. He''ll reveal himself soon enough if a warrant has been issued for his presence. Hehehe. It seems my moles within Edinburgh''s central administration are still diligently working for me. They promptly issued Grimdawn a warning at the first opportunity," Demonmir thought to himself with a chuckle. Demonmir had numerous subordinates still embedded within Edinburgh''s central administration. He had refrained from contacting them casually to avoid exposing them as his informants. Yet, his subordinates seemed to continue executing his directives, seemingly poised to seize upon any slip-up by Eren forwful prosecution. The night''s hush was disrupted by the rhythmic echoes of footsteps within the open hall, bereft of walls but marked by towering pirs. As Demonmir and Arie conversed, their exchange of news continued. "Very well, Arie darling. What can you tell me about House Fenris or Sage Edgar?" Demonmir inquired as they paused several steps away from the raised tform. Before addressing his assembly, he aimed to gather all the intelligence Arie could provide. Arie contemted for a moment before responding. "In the Last Blood Bastion, it''smon knowledge that House Fenris is wholeheartedly loyal to Eren. So, when you shared your intentions to take action against Eren, House Fenris immediately appeared on my watchlist," she began. "Unfortunately, I couldn''t gather much information about them. They''ve isted themselves in their estate a few days ago, and it seems they''re preparing for big moves. They''ve also withdrawn considerable resources from the Last Blood Bastion''s treasury, paying a hefty amount. But I haven''t been able to ascertain their exact ns or targets," Arie reported in a neutral tone. "As for Sage JJ Edgar," Arie continued, pausing to gauge the crowd''s attention before raising her voice slightly. "He''s stated his intention to join the battlefield during the impending conflict. However, Sage Edgar has rified that he wishes to participate in the broader war between the two kingdoms and doesn''t have any direct involvement in supporting Demonmir''s campaign against Eren Idril. He also won''t obstruct us from pursuing our objectives, as he views both kingdoms as enemies of the half-bloods," Arie announced, ensuring her words reached everyone assembled beneath the pressed-pyramid-like roof, supported by massive white pirs. It was evident that Edgar harbored deep-seated resentment toward both kingdoms, particrly stemming from the Edinnica Arena incident a decade ago. He had taken Demonmir under his wing as a direct affront to the Anfang Alliance and had supported Demonmir''s efforts to sow chaos on the battlefield. However, he refused to target Eren or fully support Demonmir in his vendetta against him, deeming it beneath his stature as a Sage to engage directly with a Master Ranker. Even though Eren was in a different faction and not exactly an ally of House Lowin, he was still a half-blood. As such, not directly targeting Eren was the most Edgar could do for him. Whether Eren survived Demonmir''s attack on him or not, it would have to depend on Eren''s own capabilities. "Tch," Demonmir clicked his tongue with a trace of regret upon realizing Edgar''s passive stance toward dealing with Eren. During the course of the decade, he had done much to secure House Lowin''s backing, but it appeared it still wasn''t sufficient to gain Edgar''s full support. ''This old fool Edgar is still ying both sides, huh?'' Demonmir thought to himself with a clenched fist. He was more disappointed in himself than in Edgar for counting on the Sage'' help. ''Fine. It''s not like I need you to handle a puny fly anyway.'' Demonmir had been preparing ever since he realized Beelzebub was with Eren. He had dismantled all the runic constraints that might have hindered his actions against Eren. In a way, Demonmir had defied the entire Last Blood Bastion with this decision, as it had been mutually agreed upon that neither he nor Eren would directly target each other, with the Last Blood Bastion acting as an intermediary. However, after the loss of any possibility of cooperation with the Layos kingdom due to Saisha Goren''s demise, Demonmir saw no reason to gradually align himself with the other factions within the Last Blood Bastion. Ottomancked the time and patience for a cold war with Eren, as it had been for the past decade. Eren''s targeting of Saisha Goen along with Arthur had influenced Demonmir to take these drastic steps. Moreover, with the presence of another Demon Prince allied with Eren, Demonmir was unwilling to take any more chances. He had already persuaded some of his allies within the Last Blood Bastion to support his actions. He was prepared to deal with the consequences of killing Eren and quelling the Last Blood Bastion''s anger as a whole, once he ensured theplete destruction of Eren and his guild. Ottoman de Montmorency had summoned all the Rankers under hismand, as well as his allies, at this point. He intended to lead them onto the battlefield from Layos'' territory and strike at Eren at the earliest opportunity. He was ready to eliminate Rankers from both kingdoms to achieve his goal. At least, that was Demonmir''s n. Chapter 1520 A Contest Between Two Deep Schemers P2

Chapter 1520 A Contest Between Two Deep Schemers P2

''Hehe. He will never know what hit him.'' Demonmir smiled wickedly. His bloodlust permeated the surroundings as he envisioned killing Eren, casting a suffocating aura around him. He disregarded the suffering Rankers who knelt around him and ascended the raised tform in the next moment. "I extend my gratitude to all the Rankers who have gathered here to support my cause," Demonmir began, addressing the assembled crowd below. "Tomorrow, we will confront a vile evil man who has shown insufficient loyalty to the Last Blood Bastion despite the numerous opportunities we have provided," he dered in amanding tone, captivating his audience. "Tomorrow, we shall strike first and rid ourselves of Eren and his damned city..." Demonmir was in the midst of stirring up the crowd against Eren, but his speech abruptly halted as he vanished from the raised tform as if he had been transformed into a ghost. Confusion rippled through the Rankers in the crowd as they exchanged perplexed nces. Their collective gaze turned to Arie Lowin, seeking answers, but even she appeared taken aback and bewildered by Demonmir''s sudden disappearance. ''Hm? That''s strange. Where has he gone off to now?'' Arie looked around, unsure of what to do with the crowd anymore. *** Several miles away from Grim Pir Town. Nestled within an unnamed forest surrounded by stretches of barrennd. This region, long considered deste and unproductive, had been miraculously turned into a lush forest thanks to the work of mages and earth-element array masters. These experts had beenmissioned by the City of White Raven to convert this once-barrennd into one of the most fertile territories within the kingdom of Edinburgh. Under the half-moonlit midnight sky, embraced by chilly winds, this nameless forest was ying host to both unfamiliar and familiar guests. Two distinct groups had converged within its depths. One factionprised Rankers dispatched by Edinburgh''s central administration, while the other wasposed of Rankers from the City of White Raven. "Halt! We we have been surrounded." Captain Langdon, who led the team sent by the central administration, spoke with a grim undertone as he sensed the encroaching presence of adversaries from all directions. *** Johar had been entrusted with the mission to address the City of White Raven''s defiance, an insubordination that had drawn the ire of Edinburgh''s authorities. However, that was only the front. An excuse. Langdon harbored deeper motives; he was a subordinate of Demonmir and had seized upon Eren''s disobedience as a pretext forunching a preemptive assault against the City of White Raven. Langdon, a Master Ranker on the brink of achieving Grandmaster status, was bolstered by several other Master and Expert Rankers within his group. He had handpicked these formidable individuals hastily from Edinburgh''s central administration. Recognizing that obliterating an entire city with his force was an insurmountable task, Langdon wasn''t willing to throw his life away merely to inconvenience Eren. Instead, he had a backup team trailing his initial group. Drawing upon Demonmir''s connections, Langdon had assembled a second team consisting of Rankers who had no strong affiliations with the Edinburgh kingdom. In essence, it was a motley crew of cultists and rogue Rankers. With the help of a few of Demonmir''s loyal subordinates, he had directed this backup team toward the City of White Raven. Langdon''s n was straightforward. First, he aimed to create widespread chaos within the City of White Raven, leveraging the central administration''s presence as a deterrent against the city''s native Rankers. Then, he intended to besmirch Eren''s reputation and that of his city, branding him a traitor. He would then incite the city''s popce to rebel against the city''sw and order, prompting them to plunder and vandalize in the name of vengeance against the alleged traitors Eren had referred to as his subordinates. Civil unrest would ensue, and Langdon wouldn''t need to singlehandedly raze the city; the citizens would do it themselves in their greed and fury. Langdon held unwavering confidence that the Ranker tasked with safeguarding the City of White Raven would prove powerless against his actions, primarily due to his influential position within Edinburgh''s central administration. Taking action against him would be tantamount to a self-deration of treachery. Even if they did take any steps against him, he could readily employ the same tactics as he had with Eren: issuing warrants against them for their "failure to cooperate with the legal inquiry." Of course, Langdon had been instructed to act this way by Demonmir. Ottoman had set up an entire stage for Langdon to act. He merely needed to follow the script arranged by Demonmir. If possible, Demomir also wanted Langdon to target and attack Levine de Montmorency if he could, who was staying within Eren''s city. But Langdon was instructed that ying Levine was merely a bonus task that he did not necessarily have to stick with at the cost of ruining the other set of ns. Furthermore, the backup team, orchestrated by Langdon, was precisely that - a contingency n. It boasted the presence of two Grandmaster Rankers, individuals whose formidable abilities could ensure the safety of Langdon and his primary team should events escte dramatically. One of the Grandmaster Rankers within the backup team was Heram, a direct subordinate of Demonmir. There was also Mael who was present alongside Heram. Mael was the same man who wanted to target and kill Eren for acting brazenly in front of Demonmir. Langdon could subsequently shift me onto the administration of the City of White Raven, painting them as the aggressors in an unwarranted attack while his team was merely on a fact-finding mission directed by the central administration. Essentially, Langdon''s ability to shape the narrative was contingent on his capacity to inflict significant damage upon the City of White Raven, tarnishing its reputation that was carefully cultivated over the past decade. Langdon was keenly aware that the City of White Ravencked a Sage Rank protector. The best they could manage were Grandmaster Ranked entities. These Grandmaster Rankers in his backup team possessed the formidable firepower necessary for Langdon to execute Demonmir''s mission effectively. Or so he believed. Chapter 1521 A Contest Between Two Deep Schemers P3 Chapter 1521 A Contest Between Two Deep Schemers P3 Demonmir had opted for a multi-pronged strategy in his relentless pursuit of his arch-nemesis, Eren. Eren''s alliance with Beelzebub had rattled him deeply, and even the restless fragment of Samael''s demon soul within him urged him subconsciously to seize the earliest opportunity to eliminate Eren and Argo once and for all. It could be said that Demonmir had spared no effort in his mission to eradicate every trace of Eren''s existence. He had meticulously orchestrated every aspect of his n, poised to strike at Eren''s very core. As soon as Eren made an appearance on the battlefield, Demonmir was resolved to take matters into his own hands and personally end the profound enmity that had festered between them. *** "Wee, dear guests," Grandmaster Amory suddenly materialized before Langdon, leading his contingent of Rankers from the City of White Raven. "We insist you stay here Forever! The Grim Pir Town shall be your eternal resting ce," Amory uttered cordially as if he was addressing the guests in his inn while puffing on his pipe, releasing wisps of smoke into the air. The embers from his smoking pipe glowed brightly with each inhtion, casting an eerie light upon his aged visage under the moon''s clear illumination. Amory''s assembly included Tuan Aag, Bianka Bluedust, Will Evaan, Drin Dawn, Silvera Rehrook, Ray Rinehart, Seraf C the formidable Mega Mandrake monster C along with several others. It became apparent that this was not merely a routine patrol but a purposeful interception team prepared to thwart Langdon''s advances. Langdon''s eyes widened in astonishment as heprehended the might of the enemy Rankers now confronting him. "How...how did you know we wereing?" he stammered aloud, his gaze shifting from his foes to the traitorous member of his own party. This was more of a self-directed question than a query to his adversaries. In the span of a heartbeat, Langdon realized that someone within his ranks had betrayed him, but it was already toote. Almost instantly, friendly fire erupted as one of hisrades, supposed to be an ally, struck him from behind with a powerful blow, causing a gaping hole in Langdon''s chest. The ordeal didn''t end there. Two additional members of Langdon''s team turned on their own,unching a swift assault that caught Langdon and a few loyal allies off guard, rendering them defenseless. "Well This one''s finished," the man whose hand was now drenched in Langdon''s bloodmented casually as he withdrew his hand from the lifeless body. There had been no spell involved; the man had ended Langdon with sheer physical force. "Hehe. Excellent job ying your part, kid. Even I was convinced for a fraction of a second," Amory remarked, directing his praise to the man who had executed Langdon. The perpetrator of Langdon''s demise was none other than the Boar Berserker, Steve Austin. Amory also marveled at the fact that Steve could kill someone like Langdon with his bare fists alone. The title of Boar Berserker suited him too well. He responded to Amory''sment with a chuckle before acknowledging two aplices from Edinburgh''s central administration, who had simrly dispatched their ownrades. "Those guys were impressive as well. Hahaha. What can I say? Eren''s nning runs deeper than Demonmir''s," he remarked, reflecting on the intricate scheme. Among Langdon''s team were Harja Mel and Darven, the two fiends created by Eren within Sansara World 1.0. In their fiendish forms, they unleashed their true potential for swift elimination. The trio,posed of these two fiends and the Boar Berserker, swiftly dispatched three of theirrades. With ruthless intent, they advanced toward the surviving members, determined toplete their task. Amory, observing the terrified expressions of the central administration Rankers who hade to assail Eren''s city, released a weary sigh, punctuated by a touch of theatrical ir. Amory, his pipe held leisurely between his lips, spoke with a mix of pity and disdain as he gazed upon the gruesome spectacle. "Ah, these unfortunate souls. Their leader, Demonmir, is entirely clueless about what he has messed up with. Demonmir is like an innocent baby with his neat magic tricks when I picture him against Eren. That brat Eren fucks every enemy he has ever had just at the right time, nuts in them, before throwing them to vultures. Then he''d ask the vultures to pay him for feeding them. Tragically, these hired helps shall meet their demise for their boss''s blunders. Quite unfortunate. I should offer prayers to these lost souls." Grandmaster Amory remarked in a "saddened" tone. As Amory observed the Boar Berserker and the two fiends, Harja Mel and Darven, methodically dispatching the remaining central administration Rankers from Edinburgh, a macabre scene unfolded. The star-powered nightly ambiance cast a haunting glow upon the pools of crimson, lending an eerie reflection of the moon upon the dark, blood-soaked earth. The night air reverberated with agonizing screams, and the gruesome tableau of violence stretched far and wide. Of course, the information provided by Darven, Harja Mel, and Steve enabled Amory and his team to anticipate and prepare for Langdon''s backup squad of Rankers. As such, the City of White Raven had dispatched a dedicated unit to counter Langdon''s reinforcements. As the night wore on, the gruesome toll of death continued to mount, and the once-piercing screams and agonizing howls reached a fevered pitch. By the night''s dreadful conclusion, two of Demonmir''s closest subordinates, Heram and Mael, had met their demise, their deaths executed in a seemingly nondescript fashion, as though mere background characters were being swept aside to make way for a fresh narrative and a new scheme. Demonmir had been under the illusion that his infiltration into Edinburgh''s central administration was a feat unmatched, unaware that Eren possessed even greater capabilities in the same department. This was, in essence, a contest between two deep schemers C Demonmir and Eren C a contest that Eren had decisively won in the span of a single night. === AN: Darven and Harja Mel became Eren''s fiends in chapter 1138. They were chosen to be a part of Edinburgh''s central administration during Eren''s graduation ceremony. Demonmir''s subordinates Mael and Heram were mentioned in chapter 1379. Eren asks Steve to join Edinburgh''s central administration in chapter 1016. Steve officially joins it in chapter 1218. Chapter 1522 Reunited: The Original White Raven Crew Chapter 1522 Reunited: The Original White Raven Crew "It''s done. I have permanently severed all ties with Edinburgh''s central administration. I am finally free!" Steve muttered to himself as he surveyed the scene of fallen Rankers, their bloodied forms and severed limbs strewn across the ground. His own body was drenched in the blood of his enemies, presenting him as a monstrous figure, a humanoid beast bent on unleashing death and destruction. Swoosh. Steve retracted the Demonic Transformation that he had unleashed through his demon beast, returning to his regr human form. He was injured and mentally fatigued. Although his infernal form had rendered him nearly unstoppable, it had taken a toll on him, leaving him gasping for breath. Exhaustion hung on him like a heavy shroud, threatening to make him lose his bnce. Fortunately, someone appeared to support him. "Hahaha. Wee to the White Raven Guild, Captain!" The person who steadied Steve and prevented him from copsing greeted him. Steve didn''t need to see the person''s face to recognize him. "Hehe. Jakey, it''s been a while, hasn''t it?" Steve''s voice, exhausted yet relieved, reached Jake''s ears. He allowed Jake to guide him toward the group of Rankers that had gathered not too far away. "Wee, Steve." "Damn. Look at those beastly eyes! He is indeed the Boar Berserker." "With him here, the original White Raven team has three Berserkers in its roster once again. Hehe. I want to spar with him as a fellow Berserker. Let me see the might of the Boar Berserker first hand." "Stop it, Dino. Let the guy breathe." "Steve Captain let me heal you." "Stevey, fight me! Let''s see who''s a bettaw Wanker bekween us!" Ramy Richards, Renita, Ron, Dino, Bel, and Ana were there, weing Steve with smiles on their faces as well as various remarks. This was the reunion they had all longed for. Steve, by officially joining the White Raven Guild,pleted the team that had been formed more than a decade ago at Lionhearts Academy. Except for a certain deceased Mage, all those who were part of the original White Raven team had made it. *** Following Eren''s instructions, Steve had maintained a certain distance from his former team members. He had achieved remarkable sess working for Edinburgh''s central administration, further elevating his reputation as the Boar Berserker among the people of Edinburgh. Even Layos, the enemy kingdom, recognized him as a significant threat that needed to be eliminated at the first opportunity. However, Steve''s title as the Boar Berserker came with its share of responsibilities. He diligently fulfilled them, earning the trust of the central administration, which rewarded him with resources and opportunities to advance in his Ranking Journey. Throughout this time, Steve remained loyal to his roots, and Eren maintained a steadfast connection with him, supporting his ascent as a Master Ranker even more effectively than the kingdom of Edinburgh ever could during these turbulent times. This mission, which involved the elimination of Rankers from Edinburgh''s central administration, marked Steve''s liberation from serving as a mere pawn of the kingdom. He was finally free to reunite with his former teammates and officially join Eren''s guild. As a result, Steve felt an overwhelming sense of relief upon being reunited with his friends. He felt as if he was finally able to remove the mask he had been forced to wear. *** Grandmaster Amory allowed Steve and the others to catch their breath and took charge of dealing with the aftermath of the battle. The enemy Rankers who had fallen in this battle would soon be remembered with a memorial pir, where their body parts and remaining energy signatures would be disyed, preserving their memory in Grim Pir Town''s history. Eren had dedicated a special section for Demonmir''s subordinates. No matter the future of Anfang, he wanted to disy Demonmir''s failures as prominently as possible for the future generations. The original White Raven team members chatted among themselves, paying little attention to the ongoing cleanup of the recent battlefield. Since most of these White Raven Rankers hadn''t seen Steve in over a decade, they had a lot to catch up on. Steve''s initial sense of liberation from Edinburgh''s control didn''tst long. As he conversed with his teammates, he began to grasp the gravity of what had urred on this night, and he grew concerned about his actions, which could be seen as a betrayal by the Kingdom of Edinburgh. "I I just hope Eren knows what he''s doing." Steve confided in his friends beneath arge tree. Ana, the healer, had provided him with first aid, greatly relieving his severe injuries and fatigue. "This kind of action is likely toe back to bite us on the ass if.if" Steve added, voicing his worries about the potential repercussions of their recent actions. "... If he doesn''t deal with the whole of Edinburgh, am I right?" Another voice unexpectedly finished Steve''s thought. Steve and his turning her attention to Amory. "Uncle Amory, please leave the cleanup here to the others. Come friends turned toward the source of the voice and spotted an attractive and intelligent woman who seemed to appear like a phantom, approaching them with a subtle smile. She exuded an air of authority, with shoulder-length whitish-gray hair styled in a slightly tousled center-parted manner and sparkling eyes that shone beautifully under the moonlight. "Hehe, I finally got to meet you. Wee to the White Raven Guild, Steve," Agatha warmly greeted Steve. "As for dealing with the kingdom, let''s leave it to Eren for now," she suggested before turning her attention to Amory. "Uncle Amory, please leave the cleanup here to the others. Come with me so we can wee our guests," she said to Amory in a clear and confident tone. Steve and the other White Raven Rankers abruptly tensed up as they detected the approach of powerful beings converging on their location from all directions. Steve was aware that Langdon''s backup team had already been neutralized. Thus, the substantial number of formidable entities converging on ground zero must be the guests Agatha had mentioned. Steve''s voice trembled as he spoke, "Who... who are they? These auras, they''re... S-Rank monsters!" The Boar Berserker''s apprehension grew with each passing moment, strengthening his conviction that Eren had been nning something really big, considering the unfolding events. Chapter 1523 Monster Sovereigns ? "Hello, Agatha. I''m Sharog." A mature, seductive, and imposing orcdy introduced herself to Agatha with a friendly smile and a rxed tone as they faced each other. "It''s a pleasure to finally meet you. My lord must have informed you about our arrival, I assume?" She inquired in wless native Anfangnguage. Sharog wore her monstrous armor, but her alluring figure didn''t detract from the sense of danger she exuded. Behind her, an entourage of Orcinas stood. These 24 monstrously beautiful Orcinas were chosen by Eren to lead their own teams and assist in managing his monster army. *** Over the course of a decade, Eren''s monster army had grown in both strength and numbers. Eren had run another monster-specific Rank-up program for the talented monster he had in his monster army. After all, the Rank-up program was created after he had overtaken the possession of another monster named Bigua. So it wasn''t too difficult for him to run the same program for his monster subordinates as well. Now that he was approaching the endgame, it was time to reveal its true power. Sharog, Baran, Baran''s wife, Kaalmaahen, Ror, Radoo, and the 24 Orcinas, along with Eren''s other key monster subordinates, had coborated extensively during these years. Under Eren''s orders, they hade to meet with Agatha. Their purpose to meet Agatha was straightforward: Eren wanted them to emerge from the Bands and establish a permanent presence in the City of White Raven. He suggested they create distinct sections, designated for monsters, allowing them to integrate with the city''s human poption more easily. However, Eren understood that this integration wouldn''t be seamless. The Children of Echidna, AKA the monsters, had their own customs and way of life. Therefore, it was important for the key figures from both sides to meet, discuss, and reach agreements before Eren could proceed with relocating his entire monster army to the city. Once Agatha and Sharog''s parties reached an understanding, they could proceed with the relocation n. However, the sess of this move also hinged on Eren''s ability to dismantle the rudimentary restrictions ced on Rankers and the Children of Echidna since the creation of the World-epassing Array. Without this assurance from Eren, any decisions made now would ultimately prove futile. Bringing the monster army to the City of White Raven served several vital purposes for Eren. Firstly, it would fortify the city''s defenses, enabling it to withstand the impending chaos he nned to unleash upon the world. Secondly, having the monster army stationed within the city provided Eren with greater flexibility in deploying and utilizing his formidable forces. Additionally, it allowed Agatha to leverage these monstrous subordinates to advance her goals, working in concert with Eren''s other monster subordinates to foster prosperity within the city, even amidst the looming turmoil. *** "Nice to meet you, Sharog. Indeed, Eren has told me of your arrival," Agatha acknowledged, her gaze shifting between Eren''s assembled monster subordinates. Eren had appointed Sharog to lead the negotiations with Agatha''s team, so the two women engaged in discussions while their subordinates listened attentively. This marked the first asion that Grandmaster Amory had encountered such potent monsters emerging from the Bands and confidently standing before him. He recognized that if he were to engage inbat with the orc monster named Ror standing beside Sharog''s right at this moment, his chances of victory would be no more than 50% at best. Moreover, there was a risk that he might not survive even if he defeated Ror. Amory''s pyrrhic victory was based on the assumption that the orc did not have any unexpected and extraordinary trump cards hidden up his sleeve. ''What am I thinking? These these are allies.'' However, Amory swiftly chided himself for having thoughts of battling against the monster figures. He realized that contemting battle with these allies was not only unwise but also contrary to their coborative objectives. He understood that his prejudiced views on monsters, influenced by theplex dynamics between Rankers and Monsters in Anfang, wouldn''t easily dissipate. Nheless, he resolved to refrain from making any injudicious remarks or actions that might provoke the ire of Eren''s monster subordinates. Rankers from Agatha''s side were quite intimidated by the monsters'' presence around them. Even Steve and Amory felt quite tense. Only someone like Ramy Richards and Agatha could keep their cool for the most part. *** "It appears you were in the midst of dealing with these nuisances. Do you require our assistance?" Sharog inquired casually, her gaze sweeping over the evident aftermath of the confrontation between the White Raven Rankers and Edinburgh''s central administration personnel. Sharog and herrades stood poised and prepared forbat even beyond the confines of the Bands, dedicated to safeguarding Eren''s interests. Agatha shook her head, politely declining their offer. "We appreciate your willingness, but it won''t be necessary. We''ve already resolved the issue at hand. More importantly, Eren instructed me to take charge of a particr prisoner from your group. Where might they be?" Agatha inquired, scanning her surroundings for any signs of the said captive. Observing Agatha''s signal, Ror nodded in acknowledgment. The Orc Emperor promptly vanished from his position, reappearing momentster at the same spot. However, this time, he was apanied by S-Ranked Monsters who had awaited him at a short distance. Monster Sovereigns! Rankers from Agatha''s side felt a collective shiver and unease as four formidable S-Ranked monsters materialized before them amid the assembly of Rankers and monsters. Even Sharog''s subordinates couldn''t help but feel overawed by their imposing presence. These four S-Ranked monsters were not part of Sharog''s original team of monsters. Instead, they were allies forged by Eren during his explorations within the depths of the Bands and throughout Anfang. These S-Ranked monstrosities stood here because Eren had given them a certain assurance, with Orc Emperor Ror acting as the primary intermediary in establishing these connections per Eren''s instructions. Apanying these S-Ranked monsters was the captive Agatha had been anticipating. This detainee happened to be none other than Bisha, the Oni monster, who had been dispatched by the priest Rok Jahar from the Continent of Echidna. === AN: Bigua was mentioned in chapter 721. Sharog was mentioned in chapter 446. Radoo was mentioned in chapter 624. The 24 Orcinas were mentioned in chapter 625. Ror was mentioned in chapter 665. Kaalmaahen AKA Kaal was mentioned in chapter 692. Also, Bisha and Rok Jahar were mentioned in chapter 744. Chapter 1524 Goblin Sovereign Loma & Orc Sovereign Kayini ? Bisha''s mission was to investigate a specific individual who hadmitted sphemy against their god. Eren''s previous conversation with Priest Rok Jahar had unsettled him, as Eren had refrained from initiating any contact with him since their initial discussion. Consequently, Rok dispatched Bisha on a mission to gather more information about Eren. Bisha utilized the Immortal ne as a conduit to traverse her world and enter the realm of Anfang. At least that was the n. However, reality was far different from an ideal scenario. Her journey through the Immortal ne was far from straightforward, and she spent an extended period within it before eventually arriving within the Land of the Faithless. Her emergence took ce inside the Oni Dungeon, a domain Eren had long since seized control of. The coboration of Anfang''s forces was necessary to facilitate Bisha''s entry into their world. When Rok Jahar reached out to Ror to make the necessary preparations for Bisha''s eventual arrival, Eren became aware of the situation. Rather than sending Bisha away or refusing to cooperate, Eren chose to allow her entry into Anfang before apprehending her. Ror had prearranged the snare for Bisha and enlisted the aid of the Monster Sovereigns, who were Eren''s allies, to execute Eren''s n. Thus, Bisha found herself ensnared in a webid by Eren. At this juncture, Eren did not intend to kill Bisha but was also reluctant to allow an interloper to acquire knowledge about him. He sought to gain information about the current state of affairs regarding Echidna from her. As such, he asked Agatha to take her custody. He would meet with Bisha and interrogate her after the Lazarus Project''s conclusion. *** Bisha, in her current predicament, appeared powerless. Her entire physique bore intricate, serpentine-like runes that traversed her form, emitting a faint luminescence. These were the runic bindings employed by a Monster Sovereign, which restricted not only her mobility but also her magical capabilities. Despite her monstrous heritage as an Oni, Bisha bore a strikingly youthful and spirited countenance, exuding an air more akin to an elf abomination than a typical monster. She possessed shoulder-length azure tresses concealing her pointed ears, fierce crimson eyes, a cute nose, and red lips framed by four fangs. Her baster skin had a reddish hue. Her femme fatale form rendered her a captivating yet dangerous presence, with her distinctive pair of horns on her forehead setting her apart from human women. Standing at nearly 6 feet tall with amanding aura, Bisha boasted an ample, statuesque figure. Her attire, designed for battle, coupled with protective armor, gave her an appearance of readiness for any challenge. Nevertheless, all her preparations seemingly crumbled when she fell into Eren''s meticulously set trap. Bisha cast a hateful re upon her captors as she reluctantly followed Ror and his entourage. It appeared that she was harboring a readiness to unleash her fury on the first individual she could reach as soon as the runic bindings confining her were dispelled. Her continuous struggles to break free from the magical shackles, however, proved to be in vain. Nevertheless, her efforts to provoke a reaction from anyone werergely ignored at this juncture. This was because those who had brought her here emanated an aura of far greater intimidation than she did. *** "Lass Agatha, I am known as Ror." Kaal''s father dered, stepping forward and offering an introduction in a resonant yet respectful tone. "Allow me to introduce both sides, on behalf of my liege, the identities of the Sovereigns who have answered his summons," he continued, positioning himself between the two groups of onlookers before proceeding to introduce the S-Rank monsters. In response, Agatha nodded and offered a respectful bow to the S-Ranked monsters, signaling for Ror to proceed. "This is Goblin Sovereign Loma," Ror presented the first S-Ranked entity, a goblin monster of great stature. Loma exuded an untamed demeanor as she silently surveyed her surroundings, her yellow sclera and white eyes imparting an air of mystique. Loma possessed jet-ck hair and a rather unremarkable nose. Her skin bore a hue reminiscent of seaweed, while her elongated arms contributed to her distinctly non-human appearance. Her sharply pointed ears left no room for confusionthey were unlike the elegant ears of an elf. d in leather armor, she resembled a wilderness hunter on the prowl for exotic prey. Compared to her fellow S-Ranked peers, Loma stood at a rtively diminutive height of about 168 cm. She boasted a medium build and projected an aura of tamed violence, concealing her capacity for devastation beneath her seemingly unthreatening exterior. Agatha and herpany greeted Loma with deference, and in return, the S-Ranked Child of Echidna acknowledged them with a simple nod. Ror then proceeded to introduce the remaining S-Ranked monsters who had gathered to meet Agatha. Standing alongside the Goblin Sovereign was an Orc Sovereign named Kayini. Her Orc heritage was evident in her formidable physical prowess, apparent from her demeanor and appearance. Orc Sovereign Kayini sported hair the color of desert sands and had light-cyan-hued skin. Her physiquebined feminine curves with pronounced muscr definition, giving her a blend of beauty and strength. She adorned herself in garments fashioned from exquisite beast hide and fur, exuding a wild aura. Notably, she wore signature essories from her tribe, lending a tribal touch to her overall appearance. Kayini''s height was nearly on par with Bisha''s, nearing the 6-foot mark. A smile graced her countenance as she received a bow from Agatha. A thought crossed her mind, acknowledging that Eren must have imparted some of his skills to his subordinates. Unlike Loma, Kayini did not conceal her presencepletely, her aura as an S-Ranked entity surrounding her. She only made sure that the Rankers from Agatha''s side didn''t suffer because of her. One could say that she came across as a calm storm that was ready to run wild at a moment''s notice. === AN: With Echidna''s Authority as a leverage, Eren strikes deals with S-Ranked monsters (who turn out to be Monster Sovereigns mentioned here) in chapter 1397. Echidna''s Authority was exined in chapter 661. Chapter 1525 Ogre Sovereign Rawood Khal & Gnoll Sovereign Parmar ? In response to Agatha''s greetings, Kayini reciprocated with both a nod and verbal encouragement. She asked Agatha a few questions regarding the City of White Raven as well as the things she needed to be wary of now that she was out of the Bands. She also seemed interested in Eren''s monster army personnel but decided to strike conversations with them in the future. The Orc Sovereign Kayini wanted to meet Eren directly to discuss a few things. However, Eren had remained unapproachable due to the Lazarus Project. So she had to wait for him inside his city. The next S-Ranked monster introduced by Ror to Agatha and her entourage was Rawood Khal, an Ogre Sovereign. In many respects, Rawood bore the appearance of an elderly human mortal in his seventies, but his well-defined muscture suggested that he was used to spending hours everyday in the gym. His ck eyes and shiny golden sclera imparted an intimidating gaze. With ash gray hair cascading down his shoulders and a long beard, he possessed the air of a formidable senior figure, marked by a prominent nose, forehead creases, and scale-like patterns on his face that seemed to eternally convey a sense of anger. Rawood Khal''s arms appeared as though they were constructed by amalgamating several human arms. His broad chest and pir-like legs further emphasized his imposing presence. d in remarkably resilient and cutting-edge metal armor, especially considering its origins in the heart of the Bands, he stood at a towering height of 8.6 feet as an ogre, resembling a colossal metal tree brought to life. Despite his formidable stature, Rawood Khal seemed to harbor lingering doubts about epting Eren''s offer. It was as if he contemted returning to the Bands to evade theplexities of engaging with the Sages from Edinburgh. Nheless, he maintained an outwardlyposed demeanor, posing a few questions to Agatha but refraining from further inquiries. With Loma and Kayini present alongside him, he apparently decided that withdrawing from the arrangement with Eren would not be in his best interest. Even as monsters, these S-Ranked entities were mindful of their image, especially when interacting with lower-ranked entities and their subordinates. Next in line for introduction was Parmar, a Gnoll Sovereign. His facial features were mostly concealed by a headgear, revealing only his canine-like teeth and intermittently glowing red eyes as he scrutinized his surroundings. Parmar''s attire was minimal, consisting only of shoulder guards and an ornate ne artifact. His torso remainedrgely exposed, with dark gray skin covered by a thick growth of fur. He had wrapped a simple cloth around his waist. Physically, Parmar possessed a tall and lean build, resembling that of a half beast and half human. His hands, simr in structure to a human''s, featured retractable nails that could instantly transform his grasp into a gnoll''s powerful grip. Even though he was the newly evolved Sovereign, Parmar''s Elemental Attainment appeared more profound than that of his peers apanying him. Unlike the others in his group, Parmar had never ventured beyond the Bands to interact with the broader poption of Anfang. For centuries, he had resided within his governed region, leading his tribe while continually advancing as a monster through Monster Evolution. Parmar was the most excited to be in Agatha''s presence even though he tried his best not to show it. He viewed Eren''s offer as an opportunity for personal growth and exploration. He sought to observe the lives of the native Anfang inhabitants who had fully integrated with the world''s customs and way of life. After all, he had received his rity as he evolved, which made him aware of Echidna''s existence but also alienated him a bit from the Land of the Faithless. As such, he wanted to know where he truly belonged. epting Eren''s proposal would enable Parmar to expand his perspective on the world he was born into but had never fully explored due to the fear of the Anfang Alliance. Having achieved the rank of S-Rank just a decade ago, bing a Gnoll Sovereign, he had decided to step out of hisfort zone and witness the splendor of Eren''s city now that he had reached the pinnacle of Anfang''s ranks. Parmar''s tribe was very deep into the heart of Bands. Eren had been the first human he encountered upon attaining this level of power, prompting him to take this opportunity to experience a world beyond his own. Parmar initiated most of the conversation with Agatha, inquiring about various aspects of societies beyond the Bands. This meeting took on the character of a cultural exchange program, with Agatha maintaining herposure and patiently answering Parmar''s inquiries. With the initial greetings and casual discussions concluded, Agatha took the lead in guiding her guild members, Eren''s monster army, and the four Monster Sovereigns toward the City of White Raven. These four Monster Sovereigns were not the sole S-Ranked entities Eren had invited to his city. During his decade-long journey through the Bands, Eren had encountered other Monster Sovereigns, such as the Cyclop Sovereign, Kobold Sovereign, and Illithid Sovereign. However, these entities had declined Eren''s invitation to be his allies. As always, Eren''s ns did not yield aplete sess, but he would likely have been satisfied with the oue, given that at least four Monster Sovereigns had answered his call. *** Agatha took charge of Bisha, who waspelled to apany her while riding on Kaal''s back. Despite being a B-Rank Oni on the cusp of breaking into the A-Rank, Bisha possessed divine blessings that made her stronger than her rank would suggest. The runic bindings applied by the Monster Sovereigns kept her restrained and non-threatening to the others. Otherwise, she might have broken free long ago, eager to escape the Land of the Faithless and return to her home world, even if it meant exploring the Immortal ne indefinitely. Observing Bisha''s struggles, Agatha couldn''t help but chuckle before addressing her calmly. "You you certainly chose an interesting time toe here." Agatha remarked while regarding Bisha. === AN: Monster''s rity was exined in chapter 629. Chapter 1526 Marla Meets Agatha And Sharog ? "I''ve been told your name is Bisha." Agatha continued speaking to the Oni captive of hers. "Wee to Anfang, Bisha. As you can see, we are not particrly well known for our hospitality here in the Land of the Faithless. Nevertheless, we will do our best to amodate you. You''ll soon learn about the man you and that priest were so interested in. Um Let''s hope he doesn''t vent his frustrations from his current endeavors on you. He can be rather ruthless to his enemies, you see. So I suggest you stop struggling and start cooperating. This is the best advice I can give you for your well being. Don''t get me wrong. This is not a threat but merely a suggestion. You are free to follow or ignore it." Agatha concluded her message before quickening her pace, signaling for her group to follow suit. In her exchange with Bisha, there was a certain intensity in Miss Manager''s eyes that instilled a sense of trust in the Oni woman. After a brief moment of hesitation, Bisha ceased her resistance and began cooperating with her captors, evidently keen on avoiding the wrath of the man she had ventured here to investigate. *** The next day was on the verge of breaking, with the sky already aglow in the burgeoning twilight. The rustling of the winds and the steady hum of arge group filled the surroundings, leaving an air of excitement and anticipation in its wake. A vast assemge of Rankers and Children of Echidna moved swiftly through a dense forest, their Movement Spells propelling them forward without pause. They were en route from Grim Pir Town to the City of White Raven, aiming to reach their destination before daybreak. However, Agatha''s keen eye spotted another group of Rankers waiting for them, prompting her to approach them with a warm smile. "Hehe, Agatha, I never thought I''d run into you out here," Ma chuckled as she saw Agatha drawing near. "I half expected you to be confined within the city walls forever," she teased, unfazed by the Rankers and monsters apanying Agatha. Agatha replied casually, her voice channeled directly to Ma, "Well, I had to step out. Some tasks can''t be aplished from behind a desk, you know." Her next words were meant for Ma''s ears alone, spoken in a grave tone through their privatemunication channel. ''Ma, we have S-Ranked monsters among us. Eren has invited them here.'' Understanding dawned upon Ma as she subconsciously used her Mana Sense to verify Agatha''s words. She was already aware that Eren had the allegiance of the Children of Echidna, but the notion that he had also forged connections with Monster Sovereigns had not crossed her mind. Ma hadn''te alone either. She had brought a contingent of Amazonians with her to fulfill their promise to Eren. Among them, Almera stood with a casual smile, nked by Amazonian Matriarchs including Valeria Vanlor, Seraphina Riversong, Isadora Frostborne, Evelina Green, as well as Callista ckhorn, Galen Ironfist, and his loyal beastpanion, Nova. The Amazonian Matriarchs were taken aback by the sheer number of monsters and Rankers apanying Agatha. It was astounding that a rtively new organization like the White Raven Guild had amassed such manpower. Meanwhile, Seraphina''s curiosity about Eren deepened as she observed the S-Ranked monsters trailing Agatha''s group. Isadora and the others remained silent, allowing Ma and the de facto group leader, Valeria, to handle the coordination with Agatha. Ma and Almera had spent the past decade residing with the Amazonians. Their decision to stay in the Amazonian settlements had proven to be wise. It was a choice they had made voluntarily, driven by their ambition to further advance in their respective Ranking Journeys. Judging by their progress, it was evident that their decision had paid off. With abundant resources from the Amazonian settlements and Eren''s support, including his Rank-up program, Ma had achieved the status of a Master Ranker. Almera''s progress indicated that she was on the cusp of breaking into the B-Rank as well within a matter of months. Ma and Almera had adeptly harnessed their advantages as Rankers while living among the Elementalists and utilizing the rare resources unique to the Amazonian territories. Having learned all they could from the Amazonians, they had now decided to officially join Eren''s guild. After all, it was these scarce resources, found exclusively within the Amazonian-restricted areas, that had led Ma''s group to meet with Agatha. Eren had informed the Amazonians of his need to purchase a significant quantity of Ranking Resources, even if it meant paying above-market prices. He was prepared to make a substantial upfront payment. The Amazonian settlements had a good rapport with Eren and his White Raven Guild. They had emerged as trusted partners of each other. Eren had provided the Amazonians with a consistent supply of weapons and artifacts, supporting their resistance against the Asikha Empire. In exchange, the Amazonians had paid Eren a substantial amount of resources, supporting the exceptional growth of his guild members. Before approaching the Amazonian group, Agatha instructed Amory and Kaal to enter the city along with their captive, Bisha. She preferred not to reveal to the Amazonian Matriarchs that they had detained an unknown Oni woman for interrogation. While she could exin the reasons behind Bisha''s capture, she wanted to make a positive first impression on the Amazonian Matriarchs, considering their arrival. First impressions could be the only impressions that would matter to some people. This was one of the fundamental principles of business she had learned from Eren. The two groups finally converged just outside the City of White Raven, where Ma took the lead in introducing Agatha to the Amazonian Matriarchs she had brought along. Introductions and greetings extended for a while as Agatha, Sharog, Ma, and their respective groups engaged in conversation. In the midst of their discussion, the dawn broke, and along with it, the arrival of two S-Ranked Sages who had been living discreetly within the City of White Raven. These two Sages were none other than Altair and Osha. They approached Agatha and conveyed their intention to depart from the city, exining that her presence, along with four S-Ranked Monster Sovereigns, rendered their protection of the city unnecessary. Altair and Osha had intentionally kept a low profile following their actions, including the unsanctioned elimination of Gregory Grant from the enemy kingdom. At that time, they were unaware of the chain of events their actions would set into motion, events even beyond the control of Sages. "Where will you be heading now?" Agatha inquired as soon as they revealed their departure ns. Altair exchanged a brief nce with Osha and let out a chuckle before responding. "Well Eren has informed us that today, something rather intriguing is set to unfold on the battlefield between two kingdoms," Altair replied with a hint of mystery. Without further ado, he vanished from his position, followed swiftly by Osha, as they both seemed intent on participating in the uing battle or, at the very least, witnessing the enigmatic "old monster" that Eren had promised they would encounter. === AN: Ma and Almera decided to stay inside Amazonian settlements in chapter 1325. Eren reached out to the Matriarchs of the Amazonian tribes to secure vital Ranking resources in chapter 1517. Chapter 1527 White Raven Rankers Retreat ? "Fear Firdaus!" Tumko Darata used his ocr ability to halt his adversaries in their tracks. With his recent Master Rank breakthrough, Fear Firdaus had evolved, enabling him to exert greater influence over his targets'' minds. Upon casting Fear Firdaus, those affected would find their consciousness transported to a paradise-like garden, replete with lush greenery and towering trees. The birds would sing melodious tunes and the winds would rustle one''s hair. The sunshine would bathe one''s spectral bodies in golden lights, allowing them to invoke the best moments of their life. The captivating surroundings would imbue a sense of tranquility, lulling the targets into a state of rxation, causing their worries to dissipate. For those with lower Spiritual Force, escaping this mirage would prove impossible, their awareness ensnared by the illusion. Those who retained some inkling that Tumko was manipting their perception would witness the paradise scenes abruptly shift into a nightmarish visage. The once-giant flowers within the garden would transform into menacing nt monsters, sprouting sharp teeth and agile limbs that allowed them to stand upright. Vines serving as their hands would be adorned with thorny ws. These nt monstrosities would relentlessly pursue and torment the consciousness of the Fear Firdaus-affected targets. Previously, Tumko''s ocr ability had merely startled his targets before they regained their senses. However, his ascent to Master Ranker had expanded his mental prowess, granting him greater control over his opponents'' minds. By initially inducing a false sense of security in the paradise garden, he effectively lowered their guard. When he subsequently manipted their minds, the fear instilled in his targets was magnified, leaving them disoriented and paranoid even after exiting the illusion. Tumko did his job. And the battlefield echoed with anguished cries: "Aaaaah!" "Aaaaargh you bastard, I will kill you" "Surround him Aaaaaargh!" Tumko swiftly dispatched a group of adversaries ensnared by the Fear Firdaus, his de gleaming with their crimson life essence as he surged through the enemy ranks. In his wake, the agonized screams of his foes rent the air as they crumpled to the ground, their grievously wounded forms staining the earth with pools of blood. Tumko didn''t need to exert much effort, especially against opponents with rmingly low Spiritual Force, thanks to the potent Fear Firdaus. Moreover, Eren had instructed him to withhold his full strength from the outset. Thus, Tumko engaged in direct confrontations, sparing his magical abilities for strategic moments. As a Mentalist, Tumko''s Ranking ss granted him insight into the emotions of those around him and a degree of influence over them. The spells he employed operated on the same principles, permitting him to partially control his opponents'' actions. Within the spell''s range, Tumko could manipte the opponents with the spells, synchronizing them to activate just after the Fear Firdaus took hold. This enabled him to dominate their movements and disrupt their potential counterattacks with greater efficacy. "Cognitive Control!" Tumko promptly unleashed his second series of spells, intended for opponents less affected by his ocr ability, who hadn''t sumbed to paralysis. When Cognitive Control took effect at critical moments, it hindered their movements. Some under its influence even turned their aggression upon themselves, causing self-inflicted harm or fatalities. Tumko''s journey up the ranks had rendered him one of the most fearsome Master-rankedbatants. Close behind Tumko in his relentless charge against the Layos Rankers were his core team members: Jaad Ugar, Bhaah Laah, Teer Maar, and Kavach. Each led a team of Rankers, swiftly finishing off the foes Tumko had left in his wake as he surged ahead. Eren''s constraints on the number of White Raven Rankers deployed to the battlefield meant that Tumko, chosen for this war, had to shoulder extra responsibilities. Currently, he led hispany, battling a horde of Layos Rankers as their Company Commander on the battlefield. "What what a monstrosity!" "Tumko you fucking monster. Fight me!" "He heeeeeelp!" "Aaaaargh! Mages, use your AoEs on hi. Aaaargh!" "Berserkers charge ahead!" "Kill this masked bastard from Edinburgh." Tumko, charging forward, left a trail of defeated Layos Rankers in his wake. He had been locked inbat day in and day out ever since his deployment. *** The war saw daily interruptions,ing to a halt at sunset for the past few days before resuming with renewed intensity each morning. The nightly rest was the only respite Tumko and his team had experienced in this relentless conflict. A few days ago, Tumko and hispany had been recalled to Edinburgh''s base due to a Worldly Phenomenon that had unsettled the ground forces of both kingdoms. However, when the war resumed after a brief hiatus, it did so with a thunderous impact, demanding the Rankers to redouble their brutal efforts. Tumko stood as one of the few prominent White Raven Rankers to leave his indelible mark on this vast canvas of war. Other than Tumko and his team, no core members of the White Raven guild were present. However, Eren''s selection of Tumko and his team was a testament to their high chances of survival in the increasingly treacherous conflict. Eren believed that Tumko''s ocr Ability rivaled his own Sedating Gaze. A substantial portion of Rankers from Anfang exhibited low Spiritual Force, regardless of their Rank. This bolstered Eren''s confidence that Tumko could maneuver in and out of the war at his discretion, leveraging the potential of his ocr Ability. Bathed in blood and wielding a sword, Tumko carved a path ahead. His enigmatic mask, revealing only his eyes, added to his intimidating presence. The cacophony of enemy screams and the sh of weapons and spells enveloped him. Just as Tumko prepared to press forward and vanquish more foes, a concise message reached him from a particr source. He halted in his tracks, scanning his surroundings. Then, he turned around and addressed his core team members. "It''s time. Retreat!" Tumko informed Bhaa Laah and the others. Swiftly changing direction, the mentalist ventured down a different path. His core team members exchanged nces and unanimously decided to follow suit, trailing him closely. === AN: Tumko made his initial appearance back in Chapter 15, and he, along with his teammates, received mention in Chapter 745. The concept of "Fear Firdaus" was exined in Chapter 749. Also, in Arabic and Persian, "Firdaus" carries the meaning of "paradise." Now that we''ve connected all the dots, prepare yourselves for we''re about to delve into the central part of this arc starting from the next chapter. ;) Chapter 1528 Lazarus: “Keep Your Faith In Me” ? "Why did you take so long, little kitten?" Eliza asked yfully, a hint of amusement in her voice, as she and Eren faced each other. She could see that Eren had undergone a profound transformation since theirst encounter. He retained the same determination and purpose, but his experiences had left their mark, changing his perspective on life. She sensed that he regarded her with caution, but not fear, not anymore. "Just had to tie up some loose ends," Eren replied casually, meeting Eliza''s gaze steadily. "But I''m ready now. I assume you''vepleted your preparations as well?" he added, ncing at La, who stood behind Eliza. Reen, too, was by La''s side, her gaze fixed on Eren, her movements constrained by runic bindings that Eliza had imposed. "Indeed. But You you seem oddly confident about this whole thing. Is there anything you want to dere beforehand?" Eliza remarked with an amused tone. She didn''t mind Eren''s growth over the years. After all, despite his explosive progress, he remained a Master Ranker, and in a head-on confrontation, she was confident of her superiority. What unsettled her was Eren''s demeanor and behavior. It was as if he had given up on reiming Reen or that he held all the cards. She couldn''t decipher his intentions or grasp the tricks and trump cards that gave him such confidence, allowing him to meet her eye to eye and converse as equals. "Shall we skip the pleasantries?" Eren suggested, nonchntly shaking his head. "You asked me to execute the Lazarus Project, and I''ve done that," he said, retrieving his Sativa Stick and igniting it with a snap of his fingers. He took a deep drag and exhaled a cloud of white smoke into the air, savoring the rxation it brought. His emotionless gaze fixed on Eliza as he continued. "You tasked me with preparing the stage for you, and I''vepleted that as well. Lastly, you requested my assistance in your resurrection, your rebirth, which I fully intend to do. And in exchange, you release Reen''s custody to me. This was the arrangement we had. So, what''s the dy now? I''ve fulfilled every one of your requests. Every single one. It''s time for us to conclude our deal and just be done with it," he concluded, drawing another drag from his Sativa Stick. "Fufufu! Ah, little kitten, don''t let yourself be overly enamored with the situation just because we stand here on this stage." Eliza chuckled in her unique way before continuing. "While I acknowledge your contributions, don''t allow them to inte your ego. I could have achieved the same, if not better, results in various ways. I''m certain I could have located ''assistants'' like you through La if I had taken the effort to do so. Your selection was a matter of convenience. I believe I mentioned this very fact when we first met. You''d do well to remember that," Eliza said as she advanced toward Eren. "Someone like me?" Eren arched an eyebrow, his lips curving into a sly grin. "If even my father couldn''t create someone like me, I doubt anyone else ever will. In this boundless cosmos, you shall find no other like me. At least not unless I decide to do something about it," he said with a casual tone. Eliza halted both her steps and her words upon hearing Eren''s response. His words sounded so convincing that nobody would have questioned him. And this was when he was only a Master Ranker. She had to admit that Eren''s Individuality had exceeded her expectations. Of course, she wasn''t referring to his mastery of Elemental Attainments. Instead, she meant how his Individuality had developed and begun to influence his interactions with the world and those around him. This distinct personal essence could manifest in a person''s everyday actions and speech. Eren''s Individuality allowed him to appear as an ordinary, unassuming individual. Eren''s words were simple and non-threatening. It made hime across as a quiet and confident guy who meant no harm to anyone. But someone like Eliza could discern the subtleties of his unique essence. She could sense that Eren had meticulously prepared himself for any obstacle that might cross his path. That he was willing to go to any lengths toe out on top at the end of their ordeal. ''I have to admit that he is not wrong. But that doesn''t bother me much because it proves that I didn''t choose wrong. He he truly is a high-functioning psychopath.'' Eliza mused silently as she fixed her gaze upon Eren. After a brief pause, she continued in her characteristic casual yet confident manner, a demeanor she had consistently maintained in Eren''s presence. "Very well, boy. It seems you''re in even more of a hurry than I am, which is rather unusual given that I''m the one who''s knocking on death''s door," she remarked, injecting a wry touch of humor about her own mortality. She chuckled at her own jest before continuing. "I''d like to grant you some time with Reen so that you two can catch up after this long separation. We''ll begin when you''ve had your words," she added, punctuating her words with a gracious smile. It was worth noting that the woman who had earlierbeled Eren a psychopath could be described with the same tag herself. Upon hearing Eliza''s words, Eren swiftly vanished from his spot, reappearing right in front of Reen. He noticed that some of the runic bindings on her had loosened, allowing her limited mobility and speech. A warm smile graced his lips as he embraced Reen, and she reciprocated the hug. "Erni, I... I am s..." "It''s alright, Reen." Eren interrupted her gently before she could finish. He lovingly stroked her back and spoke with unwavering assurance. "No matter what happens, you must keep your faith in me, Reen. you must do what I tell you to do when the timees. Promise me that, and I guarantee we''ll always be together. Do you understand?" Eren reassured her. Chapter 1529 Lazarus: "Isn’t That Grimdawn?"

Chapter 1529 Lazarus: "Isn''t That Grimdawn?"

Eren didn''t engage in much conversation with Reen. He had mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do, and it was time to take action. Staying with Reen longer than necessary would only stir his emotions, something he aimed to avoid. Eren surmised that Eliza''s intention in allowing him to reunite with Reen was to expose his vulnerabilities, hoping to exploit them. Nevertheless, he took the bait because, for someone like Eliza, glimpsing his vulnerabilities would be the key to making her believe that everything was still under her control. From one control-freak to another, he understood her psychological needs. After considerable contemtion about Eliza and the intricate Lazarus Project, along with their intense sparring within the Nightmare Domain of Sansara World 1.0, Eren felt he was gradually unraveling Eliza''s character. The more he delved into her psyche, the more he recognized her vulnerability concealed behind a facade of bravery and indifference. ''Everyone harbors fears within them, unless their mind is truly unhinged. Every individual has their breaking point. It''s merely a question of how much pressure they can endure before they reach it,'' Eren reflected inwardly as he regarded Eliza. "Let''s get this thing started." Eren dered, concluding his conversation with Reen. He then exited the isted domain. With La and Ivor in tow, he made his way to the nearby battlefield, where the blood of Rankers flowed continuously. Above this gruesome scene, the skies had be the stage for the Sages from both factions to disy their earth-shattering powers. The Rankers currently fighting for their respective kingdoms didn''t know at this point what wasing for them. *** "Akass Formation!" These words resonated across the battlefield as Tumko and hisrades activated the runic array formation. This artifact-centric marvel, conceived by Eren''s fusion of diverse knowledge and expertise, proved invaluable for their retreat. As they made their escape, the formation drew the gaze of allies and adversaries alike, evokingplex emotions from those who watched Tumko''s departure from the battlefield''s center stage. While the Akass Formation remained active, elemental spells from foes lost their might. It protected the Rankers wearing the runic rings who traveled together. It created a spectral domain that shielded them from physical and magical effects, thanks to Eren''s modifications tailored for the White Raven Rankers. This adaptation transformed the formation into both an offensive and defensive tool, enhancing their chances of survival. Other White Raven Guild Rankers, scattered across various units, followed Tumko''s lead. They too possessed the necessary runic artifacts for the Akass Formation, ensuring their safe passage from the dire situation. Eren''s generosity in distributing the runic rings demonstrated hismitment to minimize losses of his own guild, both to the war and his impending destructive actions. He had prepared to depart the world of Anfang anyway. So there was no point in keeping the Akass Formation to himself. Most Rankers on the battlefield remained unfamiliar with the formation, leaving them helpless to thwart the White Raven Guild members'' escape. "What''s going on with those White Raven Guild Rankers?" a bewildered Edinburgh Ranker eximed. "Wait... isn''t that Tumko? Why the fuck is he..." questioned another before he was disturbed by his enemies. "Traitors! We''ve got fucking traitors among us." "Hahahahaha! Look at the Edinburgh Rankers. They''re fleeing like scared rabbits! Layos Rankers, advance! Cut down these cowardly foes of our kingdom and avenge our fallenrades!" an enthusiastic elf from Layos urged. "Edinburgh''s formation has crumbled. Seize Tumko and his team. Exterminate them!" another elf proimed, rousing the Rankers deployed on the ground with him. "Capture Tumko! Grandmaster Avalon Lancelot will personally handle him." Even Edinburgh Rankers who had shown respect to Tumko''s actions all this time were pissed because of his sudden betrayal. It didn''t take them long to ignore the contributions he had made in thest few days. Now they could only see Tumko as someone who needed to be punished because he didn''t want to risk his life on the battlefield along with them. Chaos erupted on the battlefield as a result of Tumko''s actions, sending ripples of confusion and discord across various sections. High-ranking entities grappled with one another, unable to directly intervene and rescue their subordinates without endangering their own safety. Tumko had chosen a strategic moment, in the bright afternoon sun, to plunge the entire battlefield into a nightmarish state. *** Just when it seemed that Tumko''s sudden retreat had stolen the spotlight, a formidable group emerged on the battlefield, following the path he had carved and ruthlessly dispatching any Rankers who stood in their way, regardless of faction. This group was marked by its swift, unrelenting strikes that left all who witnessed them in awe. Their speed was matched only by their savagery, resulting in a trail of severed limbs and lifeless bodies in their wake. The battlefield echoed with intensified screams, and chaos reigned as various mana signatures filled the air, apanied by elemental spells and Abilities executed in rapid session. This was the Lightning War strategy in full effecta coordinated, high-speed, and aggressive approach designed to secure swift and decisive victories by overwhelming the enemy through abination of spells and lightning-fast weapon attacks. It hinged on three key elements: speed, surprise, and the concentration of force. It proved virtually unstoppable, regardless of the desperate attempts by Rankers on both sides. Rankers from both factions paused in their actions to identify the group that had arrived. At first, they wanted to know whether they were allies or foes. However, as the group continued its relentless advance, it became increasingly clear to the Rankers that they were facing amon enemy. This group showed no favoritism, meting out the same merciless treatment to Rankers from Edinburgh and Layos alike. "Wait a minute... These spells... this mana signature isn''t that" a surprised Ranker''s voice rang out as he recognized the leader of this enigmatic group. "It''s him! Eren Elija idril from Edinburgh!" an elf from Layos eximed as she too identified Eren amidst the chaos. Eren had decided to show himself on the battlefield just when Edinburgh''s central administration had issued a "search and persecute" order against him. === AN: Akass Formation was mentioned in chapter 1464. Chapter 1530 Lazarus: "Get Fucking Lost or Get Fucking Killed!"

Chapter 1530 Lazarus: "Get Fucking Lost or Get Fucking Killed!"

Hack. sh. Boom. The group that Eren brought onto the battlefield looked very strange to the other Rankers. One part of Eren''s team consisted of Rankers who had distinctly different mana signatures. They resembled humans but had an eerie quality that set them apart as unusual or even monstrous. These were none other than Eren''s newly created fiends, which he decided to deploy in battle as part of the Lazarus Project. Swoosh. Zoom. Chop. Another portion of Eren''s group appeared severely wounded and near death. They fought without regard for their own lives,unching suicidal attacks against anyone who obstructed Eren''s path through the battlefield. It took some time for Rankers from both sides to realize that these injured individuals were the fallen warriors from both factions who had recently perished on the battlefield. "No no no. Make him stop!" "What What is going on? Why is Madeek fighting alongside Grimdawn?" "This Grimdawn is desecrating the bodies of our dead warriors! Attack him." "Where are Grandmaster Rankers? Are they not here yet?" "Make Sages stop their duels ande down here! This Grimdawn had gone fucking mad." The sight of deceased Rankers joining the ongoing battle was unsettling and grotesque to the observers. Some were moved to tears, while others felt anger as they watched the lifeless bodies of these Rankers employ the same powers and abilities they had possessed before their deaths. Corpse Dance! This phenomenon was the result of Alephee''s time-element powers. Through a technique called the Corpse Dance, she couldpel the deceased Rankers to perform the spells and Abilities they had mastered before they died. With a surplus of deceased bodies to manipte, the group fighting alongside Eren against both factions grew steadily. Rankers soon realized that Eren had someone in his group who could manipte the bodies of deceased Rankers from both sides to fight for him. The Rankers of Anfang had rarelye across necromancy. So they did not know how to deal with what Alephee was doing. Furthermore, Corpse Dance was not technically a necromancer''s power in the first ce. It was so insidious that it made the live Rankers fight with someone they knew or already in, causing frustration and psychological trauma. Things were getting worse for the Rankers of both sides as the chaos started to make its presence felt across the entire region. However, the Rankers collectively felt that they could not let Grimdawn remain unchecked on the battlefield. They intensified their efforts against Eren, recognizing that this newly emerged third faction on the battlefield was bing increasingly dangerous. They could battle with each other all they wanted and seek each other''s blood all over again if and when they killed Grimdawn and his allies. Of course, they hadpletely given up on interrogating Grimdawn or asking for the reason he was doing this. Inquiries and digging into people''s past to judge their present actions was not something that was being done on the battlefield. It only demanded two responses: kill or be killed. The reason for Eren''s betrayal could be foundter on when they neutralized him alongside his allies. Some influential Rankers were even happy that someone like Eren had finally "cracked", giving them plenty of reason to punish him and seize all his assets. Even the high-ranking individuals contemted setting aside their conflicts to confront Eren and his group, which had appeared on the battlefield for unknown reasons. *** Eren had only been on the battlefield for less than a minute, yet he had already single-handedly taken down over 45 Rankers. The casualties caused by his forces were even more significant. Right behind him, Alephee followed closely, utilizing the Corpse Dance to resurrect fallen foes as allies. She wasn''t afraid to get her hands dirty, wielding two daggers with finesse just like Eren. Ivor, another formidable member of Eren''s group, proved unstoppable as well. His battle style mirrored Eren''s, relying on lightning-fast speed and area-of-effect lightning-element attacks to incapacitate multiple opponents before finishing them off with precision. "Eren!" Suddenly, amanding voice cut through the chaos, drawing the attention of all present. It belonged to Arie Lowin. The Rankers were astonished to see a new faction on the battlefield,posed entirely of half-blood Rankers, specifically from House Lowin. Leading this group was Arie Lowin herself, who hade with the intention of targeting Eren as soon as he appeared. Arie hade prepared, with Grandmaster-ranked members of her n separating themselves from her and approaching their counterparts of equal standing on the battlefield. While Arie had initially nned to wait for Demonmir''s arrival before targeting Eren, something about the situation had unsettled her. She suspected that Eren was somehow connected to Demonmir''s sudden disappearance and believed that he held the key to locating him. Arie had already aligned herself with Demonmir''s interests, and with his whereabouts unknown, she couldn''t afford to let Eren continue unchecked. She knew that waiting would only allow Eren and his forces to grow stronger. As a result, she decided to confront him directly. Eren locked eyes on the approaching group, led by Arie. The half-blood Rankers faced little resistance from the other Rankers, who recognized the animosity between Eren''s forces and Arie''s team. Hoping the two factions would eliminate each other, they allowed Arie''s group to pass without interference. Eren''s forces shed head-on with Arie''s group, leaving their leaders to confront each other. A fierce battle erupted around them as both sides sized each other up with intense gazes. "Where is Demonmir?" Arie demanded in a cold, unwavering tone as she locked eyes with Eren. It was as if there was a voice within her head that made her sure that Eren was definitely behind Demonmir''s disappearance. Part of her wished to flee from this confrontation, but her newfound loyalty to Demonmir had given her the strength to face Eren. For some reason, she could feel a bubbling anger building within her as she stared at him, propelling her to do whatever it took to ensure Demonmir''s safety. "I don''t have time for this. Either get fucking lost or get fucking killed!" Eren paused for a breath before speaking up right after. "You know what? Scratch that. Just get fucking killed." === AN: Corpse Dance was exined in chapter 862. Chapter 1531 Lazarus: "Let My Weapons Do The Talking." ? "Hmm? Quite impressive." Eliza maintained a keen watch over Eren''s actions from her well-protected vantage point, finding herself genuinely impressed by his approach to dealing with his adversaries. "Fufufu. He truly lives up to his reputation as a butcher. His method of dispatching the cannon fodder may be a tad messypared to other Rankers, but there''s an odd elegance to it. It''s like a skilled meat cutter creating chaos all around but delivering a perfectly tender, boneless cut in the end." "Hmm? That girl with those daggers! Is she the same homunculus you mentioned to be Alephee, La dear?" Eliza''s attention shifted to Alephee who was reanimating Eren''s defeated foes into his allies. With her extensive experience in forbidden and restricted magic, Eliza recognized that Alephee''s powers were not typical of necromancy but rather rted to the maniption of time. Nevertheless, she couldn''t pinpoint the precise origin of these unique abilities, as if Alephee followed a distinct branch of magic unbeknownst to Eliza. "Yes, Master," La replied with a concerned tone. "That''s the homunculus we subjected to our voodoo magic. Should should I restrict her now?" La''s eyes remained fixed on Eren''s intense battle, a sense of unease growing within her. Unlike Eliza, La felt deeply unsettled by Eren''s rapid growth and the considerable potential he was revealing. She was particrly wary of Alephee, who stood steadfastly by Eren''s side, supporting him in his every move. La had prepared her Lazarus Project meticulously and didn''t want any surprises from Alephee at this critical stage. Unlike Eliza, Lacked confidence in her ability to confront Alephee if it came to that. She was inclined to restrain Alephee using the voodoo magic trap she had readied in advance to alleviate her concerns before Alephee could surprise her with something unexpected. "Fufufu. Don''t be hasty, La dear," Eliza chuckled and affectionately ruffled La''s hair before continuing. "Let our little kitten y out all his trump cards to the fullest. He''s fighting those battles on our behalf, after all. In fact, if it weren''t for the Sages in the skies, I might have lent a hand myself. But I can''t remain concealed once I intervene. So timing is key," she added, her gaze shifting upwards to the aerialbat of Sages which was obscured by the clouds. "Alright," La conceded, putting aside her doubts and reservations. She had considered cautioning Eliza about Alephee potentially posing a greater threat than anticipated. However, she decided to follow Eliza''s lead instead of sowing doubts or causing hesitation, respecting her master''s judgment. *** "Just get killed!" Within a split second, a decision was made. Eren replied with evident ruthlessness, his voice cold and his eyes bloodthirsty. Looking at Arie in contempt, he spat on the ground before abruptly vanishing from his position. ''Cursed by the feminine, huh! Kekeke. I''ll embrace this curse dly. I can always butcher these harlots until they lose the courage and their lives in an attempt to fuck with me.'' Eren thought to himself as he approached the half-blood member of House Lowin, the world around him turning into a blurry tunnel. Eren had abandoned the idea of reasoning with Arie or trying to win her over to his side. His previous attempts to secure House Lowin''s support had failed, and he hade to ept that the house would eventually oppose him due to Demonmir''s influence. ''Let my weapons do the talking.'' Since words proved ineffective, Eren was ready to let his swords take charge of his case. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Arie wasted no time in unleashing the full extent of her powers the moment Eren sprang into action. She tapped into her bloodline heritage, setting off a profound transformation within her. Her physical attributes surged to extraordinary levels, her mana surged through her veins, and her mana signatures intensified in a fraction of a second. Her eyes took on a vertical and beastly appearance, while a spectral, membranous form enveloped her entire body. This membrane quickly ignited with white mes, the distinct bloodline ability of the Celestial White Lion, the progenitor of House Lowin. House Lowin members were distinguished by their unique bloodline lineage, making them one of the most formidable ns within the Last Blood Bastion. These individuals were known for their fierce ambition and fearlessness, far surpassing regr Rankers thanks to their bloodline gifts. Their attacks were lethal and the gift of white mes they received also allowed them to use them as their primary defense, boosting their chances of overall survival against regr Rankers of their generation. This was the reason Edgar had dared to meddle within Edinburgh and trigger an incident at the Edinnica Arena. However, only a select few half-bloods within House Lowin could genuinely unlock the full potential of their bloodline. The beast''s powers were typically harnessed effectively only by JJ Edgar. And it was possible for Edgar only after he had attained the Sage Rank. Yet, in the past decade, Arie, with the support and resources provided by Demonmir, had managed to purify her bloodline, unraveling greater mysteries and unlocking hidden powers within her gic heritage. As Eren and Arie confronted each other in the heart of the battlefield, their weapons shed fiercely. Dozens of moves were exchanged in a mere instant, with the resounding sh of metal damaging the surrounding environment due to the sheer force of their movements. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Upgraded Sedating Gaze + Unlimited Weapon Works + Hero''s Heart + Sin of Wrath + Partial Shapeshifting + Instant Reset + Blitz Bolt Eren, in his full attack mode, was vastly different from his usual self. He identified Arie as his adversary and unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks without concern for her counter offensives. Moreover, since Eren had relinquished most of the space-element runes, he felt a newfound freedom in dealing with his adversaries. He was unburdened when casting his elemental spells, and he moved with a sense of liberation as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders, allowing him to move more like a wind and attack like the infamous butcher he was. "Aaaaargh!" In the blink of an eye, despite Arie''s tapping into her formidable bloodline powers and partially transforming into a beastly form, her body bore countless injuries. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Arie''s screams and desperate cries fell on deaf ears as Eren relentlessly bombarded her with his unrelenting assault. === AN: House Lowin''s bloodline heritage of White mes was mentioned in chapter 1181. Chapter 1532 Lazarus: “Don’t Act Like A Victim In The Problem You Created For Yourself.” ? The duel between the two Master Rankers was brutally short,sting a mere five seconds. Yet, it was a fiercely one-sided encounter, with the losing side nearly meeting their demise in the very first exchange. "Aaaaargh!" Arie''s anguished cries reverberated across the battlefield, mingling with the surrounding chaos. She managed to break free from Eren''s relentless assault, but not without significant cost. Her right arm had been severed at the shoulder, and her less dominant left hand, typically employed solely for defense, suffered severe damage. The flesh on her left arm appeared as if it had undergone surgical removal, with the Radius and Humerus bones exposed. Astonishingly, these white bones remained unharmed, indicating that Eren''s precise attacks had meticulously targeted her flesh while avoiding the bones. This should have been impossible for a regr Ranker no matter how much they had battled in their lives. It was as if Eren had studied bodily anatomy so closely that his attacks were subconsciously in line with his knowledge. Such precision was entirely unprecedented in Arie''s experience. Arie had used her mana to stop the blood flow and keep the remaining flesh on her left hand from falling to the ground. As a result, her hand looked as if it had been half-sacrificed into some kind of flesh-offering ritual. Arie deliberately avoided inspecting her wounds. She believed that doing so might instill fear in her, potentially worsening the ongoing struggle against the Foreign Mana Invasion. Yet, there was another powerful emotion simmering within her, an unrestrained rage. It felt as though her entire being was immersed in a sea of anger and fury directed at Eren. This surge of emotion provided her with the necessary determination to continue her course of action. "You... you won''t get away with this, you fucking maniac. House Lowin will do everything in its power to hunt you down now that you have attacked me like this." Arie asserted this as she carefully maintained her distance from Eren. She had also instructed a few of her subordinates to be ready to step in if needed. It had be painfully clear to her that engaging Eren in closebat alone was nothing short of a suicide mission. "Don''t act like a victim in the problem you created for yourself." Eren, seemingly unfazed by the situation, responded casually and even taunted Arie. He stretched and rotated his limbs as if preparing for another round ofbat. It was evident he intended to conclude their battle swiftly and move on to his next objective. As for the white mes that were consistently damaging Eren? He only needed to snap his finger and use his own bloodline powers to counter them. Snap! *** While the scion of House Lowin had heard about Eren''s style from her records, it was only now that she realized these records had grossly underestimated or downyed his strengths. Or Eren was finally unveiling his full range of abilities, choosing to step into the spotlight all of a sudden. Sometimes, hearsay and others'' experiences fell short. Mere records couldn''t do justice. Some things had to be experienced personally to truly grasp the conclusions others had drawn before. Eren''s mind-boggling healing rate and the sheer force of his lethal offensive strikes set him apart from other Master Rankers. In fact, it seemed as though his abilities had outgrown the confines of his conventional Rank, inching ever closer to the Grandmaster tier. Arie was just about to resume her death spar with Eren. After all, Eren''s body was still covered in her white mes. They couldn''t be extinguished using normal means. Plus, they had a resilient nature to them. The white mes were supposed to damage Eren constantly over time. As such, she needed to keep on maintaining pressure on Eren while he was being dealt the passive damage by her mes. But she halted her steps in dread when she watched something unimaginable urring in front of her. Arie watched in disbelief as Eren casually shed the patches of skin that had been exposed to her white mes. To her astonishment, he seemed to discard his own skin as if it were lifeless, revealing fresh, unharmed skin beneath. The damaged skin, which had been affected by the white mes, fell to the ground and transformed into a viscous, slime-like liquid. This transformation extinguished the white mes, causing them to vanish into thin air. The liquid then returned to Eren, seemingly moving of its own ord, before melding back into his flesh. "You what kind of fucking abomination are you?" Arie asked while looking at Eren with vignce and trepidation. Her mind was sending her danger signals as she watched Eren do something in front of her that no records on him had ever described him to do ever. "This this is not normal even by the half-bloods'' standards. How can a normal half-blood survive the white mes from House Lowin? How can you do THAT!" she screamed. Goosebumps appeared on Arie''s skin as she felt the otherworldly mana signaturesing from Eren at this moment, when he was using his Abilities. This was the side of him that he had seldom exposed. ''That''s a bloodline Ability for sure. But I have never seen or heard someone do that even in ancient records rted to all the half-blood ns who were living in Anfang prior to the Cmity Era,'' she thought to herself. Arie struggled toprehend how Eren had inflicted such extensive damage upon her in mere seconds. Plus, he could disregard the white mes as if they were nothing but a fancy trick. Her bloodline powers had practically no effect on the guy apart from creating a minor nuisance. This oue contradicted the expectations she had based on all the publicly avable knowledge and privileged data she had gathered on Grimdawn. She had thought that Eren, as a half-blood, had an inferior bloodline of unknown origin. Despite the ordeal he had just endured, Eren appeared mostly unharmed, except for some minor injuries on his arms and the right side of his waist. Moments ago, his body had been engulfed in white mes as a consequence of confronting Arie directly, causing severe pain and third-degree burns. Chapter 1533 Lazarus: “Hes Got Some Serious Game” ? Partial Shapeshifting + Instant Reset Due to his strategic use of multiple Abilities during the battle, Eren''s injuries were mitigated, preventing him from suffering the same fate as any other Master Ranker facing House Lowin''s white mes. Eren allowed Arie to retreat when he decided to extinguish the white mes. He opted not to let them hinder his battle with the half-blood, as she was merely a distraction from his primary mission. Still baffled, Arie regarded Eren with a mixture of caution and unease, bracing herself for another round of deadlybat. She had devised a strategy to outmaneuver Eren by having her subordinates attack him at a critical moment while he defended against her. Her intention was to catch him off guard and allow her subordinates to inflict mortal injuries on him. She had selected two of her subordinates for this task. "Kekeke. Do you think I am an idiot, Arie, my dear?" However, it seemed as if Eren could almost read Arie''s thoughts. His own fiends swiftly obstructed the path of the two approaching Master Rankers from House Lowin before they could reach him. Without wasting a moment, heunched an attack on Arie before she could hatch an even more sinister n. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. In dire circumstances, most half-bloods had the ability to ignite their bloodlines, granting them enhanced strength and elerated healing. Normally, this was considered forbidden magic for half-bloods because it could adversely affect their bloodline purity and hinder their progress in Ranks. However, facing life-or-death stakes, Arie didn''t hesitate to unleash her bloodline power, determined to finally confront Eren. Arie had to admit that she had underestimated Eren. The man was every bit as ruthless as Demonmir, if not more so. Furthermore, he remained acutely aware of his surroundings even amidst their intense, lethal duel. She regretted allowing House Lowin to be entangled with someone like Eren at this stage. Yet, regrets were always a bitter pill to swallow, and there was no usementing past decisions. Purple Reaver! A barrage of sword strikes in condensed mana forms emanated from Eren''s weapons as he shed with the wounded Arie once more. These strikes were infused with three distinct Elemental Aspects of the lightning element: blue, purple, and red. As Eren and Arie dueled, these sword attacks enveloped them, forming a dense cocoon. Their destructive power wreaked havoc on their surroundings, even injuring nearby Rankers due to their lingering effects. Eren''s mastery of Elemental Attainments and his profound Weapon Comprehension were on full disy. Their potency was so remarkable that they began to subtly disrupt the spatial fabric in their vicinity. The sheer intensity of these attacks was enough to deter ordinary Rankers from approaching, an awe-inspiring spectacle that even most who had battled alongside him had never witnessed before. Arie found herself once more overwhelmed by Eren''s relentless assault. Despite only a minute passing since their battlemenced, their subordinates were just beginning to sh, yet their respective leaders were on the verge of determining a victor. Though her left arm, stripped of its flesh, was slowly regenerating due to her Bloodline Ignition, Eren swiftly severed it once more, chopping off her flesh like he was slicing off a roasted meat chunk, evoking another agonizing scream from Arie. Eren''s Abilities surged once more, breaking through Arie''s defenses. At a critical juncture, he wielded her own severed right arm, which he had removed earlier, as an instrument of attack. Arie remained unaware of how and when Eren had retrieved her dismembered arm, which had fallen onto the battlefield during the prior exchange. The white mes enveloping her body treated her severed limb as an extension of herself, enabling Eren to inflict a fatal injury using Arie''s very own hand as a weapon.I think you should take a look at "Aaaargh!" Arie looked down to see that her own chopped arm had been lodged through her stomach, right below her sr plexus. Eren used the gaping hole as a way to insert his own hand into Arie''s chest cavity and squashed her heart with one swift motion, as if he had done this hundreds of times. Everything happened within a split second and it was over before the half-blood could do anything about it. Arie opened her eyes wide in shock and dread as she realized what Eren had done. She couldn''t even scream and register her pain because Eren had yanked off herrynx and shoved it inside the chest cavity from the gaping hole at her sr plexus, which he had erged earlier with his own hands. Arie''s entire body had be a mess. Her own voice box was in her stomach. Her heart had been squashed. And both of arms and legs had been finally severed and chopped down, making her fall to the ground. Only then did the pseudo domain of Purple Revear disappear, finally revealing the visage of Eren and Arie to the rest of the Rankers. Thud! Arie''s torso, which was about the only intact things about her, if it could even be called intact, fell to the ground with a loud thud. Before her subordinates could even get to see the state of the battle, she had met her end by Eren''s hands. "Hmmm? What is." Eren paid no heed to Arie''s remains as he strode past them. His gaze fixed firmly on the path ahead, ready to proceed with his intentions. But an uncanny sensation emanated from her barely animated form. Something that made him halt in his steps and turn around. "Wrath Mana!" The butcher was surprised when he recognized what was happening to Arie. A fiend transformation was triggered within her before thest vestiges of her life could be extinguished. She was basically turning into the Creature of Wrath. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Just as the gravely wounded scion of House Lowin was nearing thepletion of her fiendish transformation, Eren acted decisively. His right foot forcefully struck her face, shattering her skull and sttering her gray matter in all directions. In an instant, her fiend transformation was abruptly halted, preventing Arie from making a potential resurgence. "Demonmir Guess he fucked her," Eren mumbled to himself as he lifted the right leg before channeling his lightning-element mana throughout his body. He got rid of all the bloodwork he had received from fighting with Arie. "Unbelievable! Almost nine years of efforts for this mademoiselle, and yet I couldn''t seed. Meanwhile, Demonmir aplished what I couldn''t so easily. Life isn''t fair. I have to give it to him, he''s got some serious game. Or was it due to the fact they spent more time together? Not that I mind. Especially considering what I''m about to do to him." the butcher chuckled as he strolled away from Arie''s lifeless form. "Nothing personal, Arie," Eren appeared to speak to the deceased Arie as he departed. "It would have been..." He paused suddenly. "Um... I suppose... you''re already no more, so it doesn''t really matter to you as well, does it?" In the next moment, whatever remained of Arie''s body burst into mes, and the butcher vanished from his spot, apparently in pursuit of his next enemy. Chapter 1534 Lazarus: “The Witch Of The Enderflames Is About To Be Revived” ? ''Eren, what the fuck are you doing?'' Eren received a personal message through his voice channel, and the voice sounded very angry. It was Rodrick Renar, the crown prince of Edinburgh. "Rodrick!" Eren wasn''t surprised that Rodrick had contacted him. It meant that Rodrick was at the Edinburgh army base, keeping an eye on the battlefield without being on it himself. He couldn''t be on the battlefield without his security detail. The only reason he was present was because he was the crown prince and feltpelled to apany his father, the king. ''It''s good that you called me,'' Eren said while continuing to fight with his enemies, shing and hacking at them. ''I... I don''t have time to exin, Rodrick. You'' he said while cutting off an enemy Ranker''s head from Layos. ''Haah! Even if you did, you wouldn''t tell me anything,'' Rodrick replied before Eren could finish. ''That''s true, Rodrick. But that''s not the point,'' Eren said through their private voice channel. "If you want to save your key Rankers, do it now. Get them off the battlefield immediately. Tell them not to fight me or my forces and to retreat to Edinburgh''s army base. I don''t want to waste my time dealing with small-fry if I can. That''s the biggestpensation I can give you right now,'' Eren said, unafraid of Rodrick''s status as the crown prince. "You..." Rodrick began to huff with anger. The more he listened to Eren''s indifferent words, the more helpless and furious he felt. "Compensation, my ass! Stop spewing bullshit. That attack on the City of Lancelot, it was you, right? What the hell are you up to? I''m doing my best here to keep you from beingbeled a traitor. I can stille up with something if you stop now ande back to meet me. Otherwise..." Rodrick spoke in a serious tone, implying that Eren knew what he meant. Rodrick had quickly realized that Eren was behind the attack on the City of Lancelot. After all, he had given Eren confidential information about the city and the key figures of House Lancelot. Rodrick always knew that Eren was like an iceberg, with depths he couldn''t fully fathom. He knew some of his secrets, and they were enough to make him aware that Eren was one of the most dangerous Rankers in Edinburgh. However, even after being close to Eren as a friend, he was shocked to learn that Eren had started attacking forces from both sides on the battlefield for some reason. He had contacted him as soon as he could after learning about this unexpected turn of events. "Didn''t you hear what I said?" Eren''s voice was tinged with irritation. "When have I ever lied to you?" He addressed Rodrick, then paused, realizing his mistake. "You don''t have to answer that. My point is, I''m not joking, Rodrick. Soon, it won''t matter if I''m considered a traitor to Edinburgh or not. So don''t worry about that. Instead, it would be in your best interest to follow my advice now. It will be toote once I reach the center of the battlefield," Eren exined. "Screw you, Eren," Rodrick retorted angrily. "If it weren''t for the fact that King''s Hand isn''t with him right now, my father would have personally appeared on the battlefield to see what you''re up to. He''s extremely angry, Eren. He never expected you to do something like this.I think you should take a look at Stop what you''re doing ande back. This is yourst warning from me, you backstabbing bastard," Rodrick''s voice conveyed a mix of emotions. He was both angry and hurt that Eren wasn''t willing to listen, despite Rodrick having his best interests at heart. Eren, on the other hand, widened his eyes in surprise upon learning that King''s Hand Garos Renar wasn''t with King Emil on the battlefield. This was not a standard protocol. Garos'' sole job was to protect King Emil. especially now because he was near the battlefield. Eren could only assume that it was the king himself who had ordered Garos to do something only he could do as one of the strongest Rankers in Anfang. It was ssified information that Rodrick had shared with him, a testament to their friendship and trust. However, knowing about this made Eren more frustrated than ever. His enemies bore the brunt of his anger as he realized something. ''Fuuuuck! No wonder that bird brain isn''t answering my calls or hasn''t shown up here,'' Eren thought to himself as his eyes spewed venom for his opponents. ''My shitty fucking luck must have gotten rubbed off on him. The King''s Hand leaving King Emil alone. It could only mean It''s likely that Garos went after him, keeping him upied. If Argo has shed with Garos Then'' Eren suddenly had a grim premonition about Argo. he remembered what Argo had told him about shing against someone like Garos. Eren and Argo had been separated for nearly four five days, with no contact. Rodrick''s information led Eren to conclude the reason. ''Damn it. This isn''t what I had in mind.'' Eren cursed the unfolding events. He didn''t mind Garos being present on the battlefield. In fact, he could have used him as leverage against Eliza if needed. But with King''s Hand pursuing Argo, neither of them could be relied upon to keep Eliza in check. Eren''s risk had increased significantly after Eliza''s revival. Plus, he didn''t like that someone was targeting Argo because of his status as a vessel to Beelzebub''s soul fragment. ''Rodrick, forget about everything for the time being, will you? I might sound like an ass for saying this but I urge you to do this in the name of our friendship. If you can reach Sage Garos Renar, ry this message: the Witch of the Endermes is about to be revived on the battlefield. If he intends to stop her, he needs to make his way here immediately." === AN: King Emil sends Garos Renar on Argo''s tail in chapter 1514. Eren asks Rodrick to hand over privileged information about House Lancelot and the City of Lancelot in chapter 1256. Chapter 1535 Lazarus: “I Shouldn’t Have Used Him” ? Eren''s voice carried a sense of urgency. He hoped that this warning would prompt Garos to change his priorities and forget about Argo. The revtion of his ns on the battlefield didn''t matter to Eren at this point. Saving Argo was paramount, and he was willing to pay any price for it. The Lazarus Project was nearlyplete anyway. Whether Garos found out now orter made little difference. ''Who the fuck is this Witch of the Endermes?'' Rodrick inquired with a blend of annoyance and curiosity. Despite his status as the crown prince, Rodrick had never delved deeply into Anfang''s history, and the title was unfamiliar to him. While he was aware of Eliza Samael, her designation as the Witch of the Endermes was not widely known. Eren''s lips curled into a sly smile upon realizing that Rodrick was not well-versed in Eliza''s history. This ignorance yed into his hands, buying him additional time. ''Just ry the message to Sage Garos. He will understand,'' Eren replied, sidestepping Rodrick''s question. ''Fuck! What the fuck is wrong with you, man. It seems you''re hell bent to continue this betrayal, regardless of what I say or do.'' Rodrick''s voice took on an icy tone. Eren, however, remainedposed in his response. ''Rodrick, my friend, I don''t me you for reacting this way to my actions. I can understand your situation and your perspective. Kekeke. Um.. soon, you''ll learn more about me, and you might be inclined to deploy the Blood Punisher Force against me. Anfang Alliance is likely closely monitoring the battlefield after all. Things are bound to go beyond your control soon anyway. So, you''re free to pursue whatever course you believe is best for you and your position as the crown prince of Edinburgh.'' Eren said while advancing ahead in his path, cutting down whoever dared toe in front of him. The battle with the enemy Rankers was getting intense for Eren and his allies. They were simply too many to count after all. Thankfully, House Fenris had shown up in Eren''s support. Fiona and Sirius hade personally on the battlefield, supporting Eren''s approach. They had also brought some allied half-blood ns with them. They neutralized the threat of House Lowin''s Rankers right away and allowed Eren to continue on his bloody journey. It took a while for Eren and Rodrick to continue their conversation. ''I I''m sorry. I was in the middle of something, you see. So where were we? Yes you are free to do whatever you want, Rodrick. But let me tell you something before you make up your mind. I still consider you as my friend. No matter the kind of actions you take. I, for one, never let my friend''s dubious deedse in the way of my friendship with him. I''m sure you know what I''m talking about. A royal''s life is not easy. Your hands are probably more stained in blood than mine, if we really startparing, Mr Crown Prince. And that says a lot about you than it does about me. And let''s not forget about the fact that you used me to get to your position. To survive the fucking royal bloodbath. Yes, I am doing what I think is right. My moralpass had always been skewed to point out in any direction I wanted it to point out. And I don''t think that it shoulde as a surprise to you. It takes one to know one, after all. So I guess what I''m saying is this. Before you sever our ties, ensure you won''t require my assistance again. There are turbulent times waiting for all of you, my friend. You only have about a few minutes to decide. Choose well. I wish you good luck. Bye, Rodrick. Catch you on the flipside.'' Eren concluded before abruptly severing themunication link with Rodrick. He hoped that Rodrick would heed his advice and order some of the powerful Edinburgh Rankers to withdraw from the battlefield, reducing the number of adversaries he had to contend with. Every moment and every Ranker''s battle held significance at this critical juncture for Eren and his allies. He also hoped that Rodrick would somehow manage to get Garos off of Argo''s tail. He had left Argo with enough means to get to him using the right tools. Argo just needed to get a breather and safe space before he could use those means. "Eren! Eren! Wait Aaaargh Fuck!" Rodrick attempted to reestablishmunication with Eren, but his efforts were in vain. He realized that Eren had no intention of continuing the conversation. Rodrick was torn about how to handle the situation. However, he understood that Eren wasn''t ying games at such a critical juncture. ''What what the fuck am I supposed to do now? What about father? Should I tell him? No that won''t do anyone any good. Then'' Rodrick started pacing around in his private chamber, the stress lines on his forehead and stress in his eyes visible. He genuinely wanted toprehend Eren''s motives for his actions on the battlefield. ''It''s all my fault. I gave this headache to my current self. I I shouldn''t have used that bastard to be the crown prince. Fuck! No wonder he was cool with it at that time. He he is worse than those crafty demons who dangle their Faustian Contracts in front of desperate scumbags and make them fall in their traps,'' Rodrick started cursing Eren as well as himself. ''No matter how much I do for him, it''s never enough. It''s like an endless cycle of paying the interest on the loan amount while the principle stays the same. I can bet my father''s left nut that he is using me. But what the fuck can I do but let him use me? Aaaargh!'' In the end, Rodrick decided to relinquish his reservations and act upon Eren''s counsel. Rodrick promptly contacted some of his subordinates and instructed them to reach out to the Expert Rankers and above from Edinburgh, rying a message: on the crown prince''s orders, they should retreat to Edinburgh''s army base. Almost immediately, the effects of Rodrick''s message became apparent as several Rankers from Edinburgh''s forces left their positions and began heading back to the army base. === AN: Rodrick''s deal with Eren was covered in Chapter 778: Everything In Life Comes At a Price. ;) Chapter 1536 Lazarus: “Ignorance Is Bliss” ? Madness and mayhem intensified. The battlefield was already spiraling into chaos, and Rodrick''s secret orders to some key Edinburgh Rankers only worsened the situation. These high-ranking Rankers were leading their teams and units, so when they were pulled away and asked to return to Edinburgh''s army base, it left their teams without leaders. Other Edinburgh Rankers, who hadn''t been informed of these orders, suddenly found themselves under pressure from the Layos Rankers. With the loss of their leaders, the Edinburgh Rankers couldn''t coordinate effectively, and they too began to retreat. While the Edinburgh Rankers were struggling with chaos and ack of leadership, the Layos Rankers were highly motivated. Eren and his allies, abandoned by the Edinburgh Rankers, now faced their enemies from Layos. "Hahaha! Look at these cowards!" One elf Ranker from Layosughed hysterically as he observed the disarray in the enemy ranks. "ughter them! Move forward,"manded another Layos Ranker, a Berserker woman who advanced with her team, cutting down and injuring any Edinburgh Ranker in their path. "House Horin will avenge Carvel and Hamang''s deaths. My men, let''s attack Grimdawn together," dered an elderly man from House Horin. The bald old elf had been in a battle with an Edinburgh Ranker at the time. But his opponent abruptly withdrew upon receiving Rodrick''s orders. This allowed the old elf from Layos to break through the enemy forces and approach the circle of fiends and Corpse-Dance-powered deceased Rankers inside which Eren and his core members were situated. With the mounting pressure, Eren allowed his subordinates to transform into their fiend forms. He assigned these fiends to deal with the elves who were attempting to personally target him. Meanwhile, he selected a few of his teammates to apany him, his target still the same as everC the epicenter of the battlefield. "Grimdawn! You coward. Why are you avoiding me? Did you not think a redemption woulde your way when you killed Hamang and Carvel? Did you think House Horin will let things go after you tried to fuck with all of us? ANSWER ME!" Shouted the bald old man from House Horin in frustration. He was angered that Eren wasn''t engaging him directly and was instead sending his subordinates. However, his cries fell on deaf ears as Eren advanced. He had already destroyed House Horin with his preemptive strike in advance. The residual forces of the once-a-prominent n were not powerful enough for him to pay attention. No amount of taunts or battle cries were enough for Eren to spare his attention. He was fine with his enemies dissing his mother and cursing her as well. He dealt with anyone who could be dealt with within a few seconds and spared the rest for his subordinates to deal with. "Hmph! Don''t try to push your luck, baldy. My lord is upied with other matters. You''re not worthy of facing him," Hilda responded with a mocking voice before transforming into her fiend form. This transformation shocked the old man more than his anger at Eren''s absence. Hilda underwent a remarkable transformation after receiving Eren''s demonic gift. Two horns sprouted from her forehead, drawing attention to her snow-white skin, which soon shifted to a pale purple hue. Her eyes emitted a unique bluish-purple radiance, and sharp fangs gleamed in her mouth. Her mana signature underwent aplete overhaul, signaling that she was no longer an ordinary Ranker. Her physical abilities received a substantial boost, and her presence on the battlefield became palpably weighty, impossible for her approaching enemies to ignore. She felt an unbridled surge of power that she had never experienced in her past life. This feeling alone was enough for her to feel extreme loyalty towards her new masterC Eren. Joining Hilda in the battle against House Horin''s Rankers was her lover and fellow fiend, Ashton, who had also tapped into his fiend form before entering the fray. The bald old man from House Horin couldn''t contain his terror upon sensing Hilda''s monstrous presence. He then watched others beside Hilda transforming into their fiend forms and screamed with all that he got. "This! She... she''s a cultist! They all are. This fucking coward this motherfucking Grimdawn is coborating with cultist Rankers," he shrieked upon seeing the transformed fiend, finally taking her seriously. The Rankers from Anfang, unfamiliar with demonic transformations, tended tobel anything extraordinary as the work of cultists. ''Hehe. Cultist, he says. Ignorance is bliss!'' Hilda found the old man''s words amusing. She contemted telling him that she had indeed been a cultist in her previous life before Eren had killed her. However, she had been resurrected by him, imbued with powers beyond those of any mere cultist. In fact, the cultists from her past life would have done anything to attain the level of power Eren had granted her. She chose not to correct the old man, allowing him to assume what he wished. After all, she understood Eren''s intentions perfectly well. These intentions were resonating in her mind, urging her to attack first and engage in silly conversationster. Hilda and her team shed with the old man''s group, leaving Eren and a few of his subordinates to advance further on the battlefield. Hilda skillfully eliminated enemy Rankers with her crossbow and arrows. Her fiend form allowed her to participate in personalbat as well. But it wasn''t necessary at this moment, as Ashton, her partner and closebat expert from the past life, skillfully handled such confrontations, while she provided support. Ashton exhibited wless mastery of his dual spears, dispatching three Layos Rankers in mere seconds. His Dual Spear Arts had gained a deadly edge due to his fiendish transformation, enabling him to execute attacks more lethal than ever before. Meanwhile, Hilda''s arrows had be so corrosive that they dissolved the armor worn by enemy Rankers before striking them and ending their lives. Her targets'' bodies disintegrated under the assault of her highly corrosive arrows. Ashton and Hilda had once posed a formidable challenge to Eren with their teamwork. Now, by a twist of fate, this fiendish duo was fighting on his side. The Ashilda pair had effectively halted House Horin''s advance toward Eren. === AN: Ashton and Hilda''s teamy was first described in Chapter 304: Ronny Vs. Ashilda. Chapter 1537 Lazarus: "Im Starting To Enjoy Being A Fiend" ? Hilda possessed a keen ability to read people through her battles with them. She had a knack for understanding them on a personal level, deciphering their motivations and aspirations based solely on their auras. Her unique sixth sense for reading people through their mana signatures was an invaluable skill. She had employed it when first shing with Eren, allowing her to discern his true nature. By observing his bodynguage and paying attention to his every subtle action, she had unraveled him like an open book. This time, Hilda used the same sixth sense to assess her enemies. As a former Ranger, she excelled at observing foes from a distance. She could simultaneously monitor multiple adversaries and target them with her barrage of arrows. Anticipating their movements and actions, she countered them in advance, breaching their defenses and eliminating them with precision. She could target them individually whenever she found their defensescking. She could attack them in groups and prevent them from attacking her allies effectively. She supported Ashton''s advances, covering for him as he advanced. On the other hand, Ashton adopted a more direct approach. His fiend form had endowed him with a substantial physical boost, and a nearly imprable mana shield enveloped him. His fiend skin was protected by demonic scales that made him look like a reptile creature. Regardless of how the enemies attempted to harm him, his fiendish body, pulsating with demonic power, remainedrgely impervious to serious injuries. It had basically turned him into a Tank while allowing him to retain his agility and explosiveness as a spear wielder. The bald elf leader observed in disbelief as his subordinates fell victim to Ashton and Hilda''s relentless attacks. He questioned their incredible strength and pondered if they were indeed cultists. However, it became evident that they were something entirely different. Their actions defied logic, challenging the very essence of being a Ranker in their fiendish forms, prompting the old man to realize his mistake in identifying their true nature. Regrettably, by this point, it was toote to rectify his error. *** "Here, my dear. The "precious items" you asked me to collect," Ashton appeared beside Hilda, cing something in her hand. They were the forcibly removed organs from the foes they had vanquished together, specifically the galldders of Rankers that Ashton had gathered for her. Coated in blood, these organs looked menacing. "Thank you, darling. Just what I needed," Hilda smiled at her partner, then elegantly held the cluster of galldders in her palms, almost cradling them. With her fiendish powers, she conjured a corrosive mist that transformed the galldders in her hands into a pure liquid essence. Hilda wasted no time absorbing this corrosive essence. When she finished, she shed a smile at her fiendish boyfriend. "Let''s put an end to this," she dered. Shen then ced her crossbow into her storage, preparing herself to cast an area-of-effect spell she hadst used on Eren. In her fiend form, Hilda''s powers as a Ranker had significantly amplified. She could now cast the forbidden spell without any consequences, utilizing the galldders of her adversaries as a medium. This was the most significant benefit she had gained from her transformation into a fiend. It was as if the galldders collected by Ashton had transformed into an even more potent and logic-defying corrosive essence. This was the advantage of harnessing demonic might C it allowed practitioners to disrupt the bnce established by the concept of Cause and Effect. In her past life, this forbidden spell had been the cause of her demise. Eren hadn''t needed to personally end her life; he had turned her own powers against her and her boyfriend, essentiallypelling her tomit suicide. However, this time around, Hilda had no reason to dread the adverse repercussions of her forbidden spell. It was as if the restraints on her individuality had been shattered, enabling her to express herself to the fullest. "Hehehe. I think I''m starting to enjoy being a fiend." Hilda remarked with a grin. She lifted her hands above her head, and the mana and moisture in the surrounding air began to converge at a single point. Gradually, a colossal dark green water sphere, boasting a 100-meter radius, took shape in the air. It emitted a demonic mana pulse that far exceeded the conventional standards of an E-Rank spell. This dense water mass hovered ominously, pulsing from within as if it teetered on the brink of losing its form and plummeting to the ground. *** "This... they''re demons... They''re all demons! We must alert the Anfang Alliance. Run... Get away from here." The bald elf couldn''t endure any longer. He ordered his remaining subordinates to retreat, intending to escape from Hilda and herpanions. He could sense the sheer power of the forbidden spell summoned by Hilda. He knew that her impending rain of acidic arrows would be so potent that no defensive spells or artifacts would protect them. His n was already devastated by Eren; he couldn''t allow his subordinates to die at the hands of Eren''s demonic allies as well. Hilda chuckled softly as she watched her enemies flee. Her superior control over her demonic powers gave her confidence that her acidic arrows wouldn''t harm her allies, despite their proximity to their foes. She didn''t instruct them to retreat but rather to block the enemy''s escape route, preventing them from getting away. Unrestrained screams and curses echoed in the vicinity as Hilda unleashed her acidic arrows, invoking a hellish rain with her demonic abilities. Yet, these screams did little to deter the fiend as she harnessed her demonic powers to their fullest. "Hehe. Farewell, old man." Hilda bid the enemy Ranker goodbye before unleashing her area-of-effect forbidden spell on her foes. She released the arrows that originated from the massive green water sphere. The arrows shot upwards before descending at incredible speeds, cutting through the air with distinct "whoosh" sounds. Thus, it appeared as if a green arrow rain was pouring onto the battlefield. Arrows that struck the ground began to melt it or anything they touched. They dissolved Rankers'' artifacts, seared through their clothing, and melted their entire bodies, leaving them as fleshless skeletons. A mist enveloped the battlefield as the flesh of the enemy Rankers turned into billowing white smoke due to the acidic arrows. The old elf, too, fell victim to these arrows. His exposed limbs felt the burning sensation as the projectiles struck them, releasing a noxious odor. Soon, the rest of his body followed suit as more arrows found their mark. "A you poor pumpkins. Don''t feel bad for them. You will join them soon," she chimed in yfully, before once again raising her hands. Another torrent of arrows was released at this time, taking the lives of Layos Rankers who had unfortunately decided to y witness to the event. === AN: Hilda had first used her forbidden spell in Chapter 306: Rain Of Acidic Arrows. Chapter 1538 Lazarus: “The Title Of Grimdawn Doesnt Suit You” ? "Eren! Stop!" Thundered amanding voice that cut through the battlefield''s chaos. Suddenly, a group of Edinburgh Rankers blocked Eren''s path. There were around 350 Rankers in total surrounding Eren and his group. Eren''s force, on the other hand, consisted of only about 100 members, including the Corpse-Dance-powered undead Rankers. Since he had to split his men by leaving Hilda and thepany behind, the burden on the subordinates who he had brought along with him had increased. The owner of this formidable voice was a man who looked to be in his fifties named Adam Stone. He had recently achieved the rank of Grandmaster, gaining fame throughout Edinburgh. Adam Stone was a Berserker ss Ranker with an imposing physique. Standing at a towering 7.2 feet with muscr arms and sturdy legs, he looked to be in the prime of his life as a Grandmaster. He wore a beast skin over his back like a cape and wielded two axe-type weapons, making him a formidable adversary in close and mid rangebat. *** Adam Stone had been a well-known figure in Edinburgh long before Eren''s time. He had brokered numerous beneficial deals for the Edinburgh army, particrly in the past decade, which had earned him many rewards from the Edinburgh royalty. The Berserker was even allowed to use the Elemental Pool that only the Edinburgh royalty and its subordinates or allies were allowed to ess. The elemental Pool worked in the simr fashion like Eren''s rank-up program, helping the Rankers with their bottlenecks and allowing them to unearth their true potential as mana-harnessing entities. The ongoing war provided an ideal opportunity for Rankers to advance in their journey if they had the skills. Adam had greatly benefited from this decade-long conflict, climbing the ranks to be a Grandmaster Ranker. He had finally broken into the prestigious A-Rank three years ago, following nearly two centuries of stagnation in the Master Rank. As such, Adam Stone was much senior to Eren. As per the Rankers'' code of conduct, he shouldn''t have initiated a conflict with a junior like Eren at all until thetter broke into the Grandmaster Rank. But everything was fair in war. Or that''s how Adam had interpreted his current situation with Eren. Adam was ustomed to earning fame and honor on the battlefield. He understood that performing well against Edinburgh''s internal adversaries could secure additional resources for himself, boost his reputation, and elevate his status among the people of Edinburgh. Taking down a figure like Grimdawn who was popr for all the right and wrong reasons would be a significant achievement. This was why Adam chose not to follow Rodric Renar''s order to retreat. He believed that only King Emil Edinburgh von Renar had the authority to issue such orders, given that Emil served as the honorary general of the Edinburgh army. If the orders had the king''s approval, Adam would have obeyed without hesitation. But he considered someone like Rodrick unqualified tomand him, a mindset he had developed since reaching the Grandmaster Rank. Adam was not acting alone in opposing Eren. Over the years, Eren had umted numerous enemies within the kingdom of Edinburgh due to his high-handed business dealings. Many of these conflicts had been suppressed by his enemies of their own vitions, thanks to his fame and connections. However, Eren''s reckless actions on the battlefield severed those connections, emboldening his adversaries to openly confront him. Additionally, not all were Eren''s enemies right from the beginning before this day. Some Rankers in Adam''s group were genuinely aggrieved by Eren''s betrayal. They felt that it was an affront to the memory of their fallenrades in the war to let Eren escape the consequences of his actions. Under Adam''s leadership, they united to oppose Eren, sessfully preventing him from advancing toward the center of the battlefield. *** "Adam, get the fuck out of my way. I am not in the mood to y around." Eren said in a grim voice, his emerald green eyes shining with a peculiar form of ruthlessness. Eren was all for the Rankers'' Code of Conduct when it suited him. But since the Berserker was going against the rules, Eren had no intentions to abide by them all by himself. Adam Stone''s intervention was unexpected and problematic for Eren. he did not want to fight him. But not because he couldn''t handle a Grandmaster Ranker like Adam. He had ways to deal with even the most skilled Rankers even in the Sage Rank. However, time was of the essence for Eren. He needed to activate a specific Runic Formation as quickly as possible, before the battlefield changed too much for his liking. Edinburgh''s Rankers were either fleeing or giving up their strategic positions, even those who hadn''t received orders from Rodrick. Meanwhile, Layos'' Rankers were chasing down the retreating forces, adding to the chaos. If this continued for long, there wouldn''t be a stable center to reach on the battlefield. Eren understood that once he triggered the formation, everything would spiral out of control. So, he wanted to position himself advantageously before doing so. *** "Hahaha! No Rankers'' Code, huh? I guess it is expected from a bastard like you who has decided to mingle with the cultists. Before Anfan Alliance holds Edinburgh responsible for your actions, I shall kill the problem from its roots." Adam chuckled sinisterly as he noticed Eren addressing him by his real name, not using the honorific titles typically observed by lower-ranked individuals. "You''re just a Master Ranker, yet you dare to dismiss a Grandmaster like me? Your Rank and fame have all been purchased with your wealth, you young and fat goose. You''re nothing more than a nouveau riche who doesn''t understand what it means to earn your Rank, to earn the respect of your countrymen. Too much sess without hard work can be a curse disguised as a blessing." Adam Stone spat in contempt. He ordered his men to take their positions through his voicemunication channel before continuing. Chapter 1539 Lazarus: “Settle This In a More Violent Way” Chapter 1539 Lazarus: Settle This In a More Violent Way Around 350 Rankers apanying Adam Stone assumed their positions and prepared for battle. They decided to attack Eren''s allies in groups, leveraging their numerical advantage. Adam had even kept two Master Rankers as backup in case the renowned Grimdawn yed any trump cards. Despite his bold ims, Adam had no intention of underestimating Eren. Initiating a conversation with him was a way to analyze Eren''s reactions and assess his strengths. He could tell that he needed to be wary of Naya and Alephee who were with Eren at the time. Even then, he was only concerned about their surekill moves and forbidden spells. Beside these two, there was no real threat for the Berserker. Only after confirming that everything was under control did Adam decide to confront Eren directly. *** "Haah! You''ve let sess go to your head, Eren." Adam Stone said with a contemptuous voice. Disregarding Eren''s cold and callous gaze, he continued. "What the fuck are you looking at? Listen here now The title of Grimdawn is ill-suited for you. It''s meant for those who will usher in a new dawn for the Kingdom of Edinburgh when it''s shrouded in its darkest hour. Let me kill you and take it for myself. That title will be better suited for me in the future, now that I ensure you get killed in this ground. May your treacherous blood be offered as a sacrifice to this earth, that it may bless ournds." The Grandmaster-ranked Berserker dered with a chilling resolve. Adam Stone dered, tightening his grip on his dual weapons. He wore a confident smile, and his aura surged with excitement at the prospect of facing someone like Eren. He wanted to assert his dominance as a Grandmaster Ranker over Eren and bully him. He believed that killing Eren on the battlefield might grant him new insights into Elemental Attainments, considering Eren''s versatility with elemental spells. Eren couldn''t help but smack his forehead with his palm upon hearing Adam Stone''s words. He slowly brought his hand down, revealing a weariness in his expression. He had many arguments to counter Adam''s ims, but in the end, he decided it was futile to exin and instead tapped into his bloodline powers. "Alright! Rejoice, Adam. You got yourself a deal. Let''s settle this in a more violent way." Eren replied in a neutral, emotionless tone as he locked eyes with the Grandmaster Ranker. He was cautious of Adam''s Rank, but not intimidated by the man himself. The presence of 350 Rankers on Adam''s side was also a concern, but it didn''t mean he would alter his ns due to these obstacles. It was time for him to reveal another trump card that would change the tide in his favor altogether. The butcher had prepared many measures against any potential obstacles like these. He wanted to keep them hidden as much as he could so as not to alert Eliza anymore than he already had. But that didn''t mean he wouldn''t ever use them. Amidst the rapidly shifting battlefield, as he prepared to confront Adam Stone and his forces, Eren underwent a transformation, adopting his Potion Expert ss. Until now, this ss had been primarily employed for crafting potions, offering little advantage inbatpared to his other sses. Moreover, Eren had concealed his unique ability to alter his sses on the fly using his bloodline. After all, it was something that was too unbelievable for the Rankers of Anfang to grasp. For years, he had kept these powers hidden, but now, he was willing to reveal some of his cards to gain the decisive edge in battle that he sought. As Eren shifted into his Potion Expert ss, a peculiar mana surge coursed through him. His hair threatened to turn white, and his entire aura underwent a sudden transformation. His very essence appeared altered, making him appear an enigmatic entity in the eyes of both factions'' Rankers. Despite the gasps and astonished expressions of his enemies, Eren remained undistracted. He brushed aside their threats andbels, keeping his focus firmly on the impending confrontation with Adam Stone. While the Grandmaster Ranker was momentarily taken aback by Eren''s transformation, it did not deter him from his purpose as he advanced towards Eren. And this battle awareness was about to cause him a lot of harm. Eren''s allies followed closely behind him, ready to engage their respective adversaries. Adam''srades mirrored this approach, moving in groups to confront Eren''s subordinates with the aim of swiftly overpowering them. However, just as Eren''s forces and Adam''s forces stood on the brink of a collision, something unusual and unexpected urred. Shadows among the Rankers from Edinburgh''s side seemed toe to life, separating themselves and casting an area-of-effect shadow-element spell. Grimdawn was the source of this spell. With a wave of his hand, Eren tapped into his powers as a Potion Expert, summoning a cluster of potion vials. With a simple snap of his fingers, these vials vanished into thin air, just as they had appeared. Adam and his allies soon realized that the potion vials had been absorbed by the shadows, causing the once inert shadows to stir with an eerie restlessness. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Myriad Potioneering! This was a power Eren acquired by devouring Sebastian Slughorn, who bestowed it upon him. The potions Eren employed were the very ones he had acquired with the help of Jiana Jihang from the Brewmaster''s Bounty. Sebastian Slughorn intended to use Brewmaster''s Bounty, his ship, to reach the kingdom of Layos and start a new life there. However, Eren intercepted him before he could do so and ultimately killed him. Eren absorbed Sebastian''s knowledge over the years, finally unlocking Sebastian''s signature Ability Myriad Potioneering, granting him the title of the Myriad Potioner. Along with this newfound power, Eren also confiscated the potions Sebastian was carrying as coteral for his stay in the kingdom of Layos. These potions could be used against Edinburgh Rankers in the battle after all. Layos was very interested in acquiring these potions from Sebastian. That''s why it had offered the Myriad Potioner and his n with such a life-rebooting offer in the first ce. At this point, these potions revealed themselves on the bloody battlefield. === AN: Eren destroys Brewmaster''s Bounty and acquires Ranker-specific debuff potions concocted by Sebastian Slughorn in chapter 1282. Chapter 1540 Lazarus: “That’s One Down” Chapter 1540 Lazarus: Thats One Down The debuff potions concocted by Sebastian Slughorn posed a significant threat to some of Edinburgh''s most renowned Rankers. They were designed to inflict targeted debuffs on Rankers who had been exposed to the Myriad Potioner''s specially crafted concoctions. Sebastian had prepared these potions in advance. After disposing of Sebastian andmandeering Brewmaster''s Bounty''s cargo, Eren incinerated the ship to eliminate all traces of his possession of such potent potions. Now, Eren saw fit to utilize these potions, which spelled trouble for Edinburgh''s Rankers. Unlike Sebastian who had used alchemy dolls to deploy his potions, Eren decided to use his shadow-element powers to achieve greater efficiency in potion deployment and effectiveness. Eren had also assimted with Levine''s Elemental Attainments using the Sin of Lust Ability. He used Levine''s way of teleporting potions freely anywhere within a certain range, allowing him to insert the potion vials into the shadowy creatures he had made using an area-of-effect wide scale spell. One could say that Eren had fused together the things he had learned from Levine and Sebastian together before finally creating something different out of them using his multi-elementpatibility as a foundation. This way, which was now unique to Eren, allowed him to make use of Sebastian''s Ability with even more precision than him. It also made it easy for him to catch his opponents off guard without having to use the alchemy dolls. Of course, Eren could not have custom-made debuff potions for everyone that was present on the opposing side. However, he did not solely rely on Sebastian''s potions that he had secretly seized from Brewmaster''s Bounty. He had kept Sebastian''s work going during thest 9 years, using his Ranking ss as a Potion Expert to its fullest to concoct more targeted debuff potions for as many Rankers he knew from both Edinburgh and Layos'' side. Plus, he could always create debuff potions on the fly using his Myriad Potionneering Ability. Since these ethereal concoctions had been made hastily, the debuff they would produce was bound to be lesser inparison to the ones he had prepared in advance. However, as long as the debuff worked even for a short time, Eren knew it was enough for his allies to give a strategic advantage. Especially when so many debuff potions had been deployed in such a unique way, taking the opponents by surprise. Eren was able to summon the custom-made debuff potions that he had prepared in advance for around 65% of the Rankers who stood against him, including Adam Stone. The potency of these potions prepared in advance by Sebastian himself was so much that the Rankers affected by them would lose almost all of their powers or would be unable to tap into them for a short time. This window was enough for Eren and his allies to ughter them quickly. The remaining 35% of the debuff potions had been concocted by Eren on the fly using his Myriad Potioneering Ability. It did not have that much potency in casting debuffs for Master Rankers included in the enemy group. But it severely affected the Rankers below the B-Rank, effectively robbing them of their movements and ess to mana for a few moments. Those moments of weakness were now about to decide their fate. *** ''He he can use shadow-element spells too? This was never mentioned. This is un fucking be'' Adam Stone muttered in disbelief as he watched the rapid and unexpected events unfold before him. They urred so swiftly that he couldn''t react defensively. A shadow behind him cast a kind of pseudo domain that affected him. This pseudo domain acted like a debuff and severed his connection to his own mana core, rendering him incapable of casting spells. Even his Elemental Attainments were affected by the debuff, as if some strange interference was preventing him from interacting with the world. With this abrupt disconnection, the excited Berserker could no longer sustain his Movement Spell, causing him toe to an abrupt halt and nearly lose his bnce. Before Adam could regain hisposure and find his footing, his perspective shifted abruptly. He discovered himself staring at the ground, his face forcefully pressed into it, mud and blood obscuring his vision. In mere moments, Grandmaster Adam realized that his head had been severed by the very Master Ranker he had insulted just moments ago. He never even had the chance to unleash his Berserker powers against Eren, dying in a manner one might describe as sudden and unremarkable. In the next moment, the Berserker''s eyes turned lifeless while his own torso was bathing his head in streams of warm blood. One could see the expressions of shock and injustice still etched over his face if they were to pick his severe head from the ground. Eren had timed his attacks with the debuff perfectly. He had to say that Unlimited Weapon Works and Hero''s Heart were one of the most low-key yet highly effective Abilities he had received from his trip to the Sansara World. These Abilities allowed him to stack the effects of his various powers together, enabling him to kill a Grandmaster Ranker as well within such a short time. It was nothing short of a miracle, in this case an unexpected nightmare, for the remaining Rankers of Anfang that Eren had managed to kill a Grandmaster Ranker. "That''s one down." Eren turned around and muttered to himself while gazing at the lifeless body of the Grandmaster Ranker. While he would typically celebrate another Grandmaster kill, the time constraints didn''t permit such revelry. Eren vanished from his spot, conjuring a series of elemental spells around him. He deployed his Master Rank powers on the opposing Rankers who hade to confront him, systematically eliminating them. Eren''s allies found it easier to handle these 350 Rankers, despite the substantial numerical advantage held by the enemy side. Eren''s targeted debuff potions proved to be invaluable, enabling Naya, Alephee, Ivor, and the others to dispatch the enemy Rankers with ease. Chapter 1541 Lazarus: “What Did I Miss?” Chapter 1541 Lazarus: What Did I Miss? Eren''s demon beastpanion, Naya, fought in her full beast form. She viciously tore through her opponents with jaws and beastly ws. She resembled a ravenous ck panther, her eyes hungering for the blood of her enemies. Ivor showcased his lightning-element powers with striking intensity. Initially, he maintained an altered identity to fight alongside Eren. However, as he unleashed his powers to the fullest, his true nature couldn''t be concealed. People soon recognized him as the alleged Osan Woods'' Butcher. This revtion both terrified and provoked his adversaries. Despite his attempts to change people''s perceptions, the name had stuck,pelling him to embrace it, bing even more fearsome than they imagined. Hettie, hailing from Labh Salem, disyed her formidable abilities against the enemies. Since her transformation into a fiend, her power to devour her foes'' life essence had intensified and evolved. She could now summon a swarm of spectral insects, resembling demonic mosquitos, which she employed to assail her enemies. They shredded through defenses and drained life essence, ultimately turning her victims into mummies. Hettie also engaged enemy Rankers personally, showcasing the same agility and closebat proficiency she had demonstrated when facing Eren in Eliza''s Purgatory. Her fingers morphed into talons, allowing her to draw their blood more efficiently. The more she battled, the more they bled, which, in turn, made her stronger. The demonic insects she summoned provided the power required for her elemental spells. The stolen essence from her enemies aided her in healing even the gravest wounds, rendering her formidable even when facing groups of attackers. In just a minute or two, Eren and his allies managed to deal with all 350 Rankers who had opposed them. Since they had challenged Eren, he felt the need to make a statement, so he pursued those who tried to escape the battle using Blink and Ranger ss, ensuring they met their end. And he tapped into his Berserker ss to deal with multiple enemies in the mid-range, bathing his entire body in their blood. After this period had passed and the enemy Rankers were defeated, the number of Eren''s subordinates actually increased. This was because Alephee had turned the fallen Rankers from the enemy side into an undead fighting force using her Corpse Dance spell. Sadly, since Eren had in Adam Stone by severing his head, he couldn''t be turned into a lifeless doll. However, neither Alephee nor Eren cared at this point. It was clear Alephee struggled a bit to control these additional undead Rankers with her powers. However, they were necessary because Eren anticipated even stronger opposition as he neared the central part of the battlefield. These undead Rankers would serve as cannon fodder. Eren pressed on through the crowd of Rankers who were either engaged inbat with each other or blocking his path. He had lost track of time and the number of Rankers he had defeated along the way. He dealt with anyone he could deal with easily and he escaped the grasp of those who were a tough nut to crack. As he fought, Eren''s Individuality was making itself known to the rest of the world out in the open for the first time. All he could see was a moving curtain of blood in front of him, painting his vision red and intensifying his aura even further. *** "Hey, boss! Wha what the fuck did I miss?" As Eren reached the battlefield''s center, he heard a familiar voice just behind him. Swiftly turning around, he confirmed it was none other than Argo. Argo had employed a variation of Sansara Sage''s space-element rune, powered by his own S-Rank abilities. As Eren had previously mentioned, Argo could reach Eren without trouble if he had some uninterrupted time, regardless of Eren''s whereabouts. "You... seem to be in better shape than expected," Eren remarked, a mixture of surprise and concern in his voice. The demon was visibly injured, his body bearing various severe wounds, but he''d managed to avoid losing any limbs or sustaining fatal injuries. "Haah! Those those little shits ain''t got nothing on this Prince," Argo replied confidently, though his forced smile concealed the pain and hardships he''d endured. It was evident that he''d faced a rough time contending with multiple Sage Rankers who''d targeted him since their heist and escape from the City of Lancelot. *** Argo had sessfully dispatched Avir Lancelot, the City Protector of House Lancelot''s city. However, his troubles had not ended there. Following Avir''s death, a group of Anfang Alliance Rankers had intercepted him, preventing his immediate reunion with Eren. Ultimately, Argo found himself in a fierce battle with Garos Renar, who would have defeated and eventually killed him. Argo had prepared to ignite Beelzebub''s demon soul fragment, a desperate move that would likely result in both of their deaths or severe injuries for Garos. Yet, unexpectedly, the King''s Hand, mid-battle, received an urgent message from Rodrick and decided to withdraw. This gave Argo the chance to rejoin Eren atst. Argo had narrowly escaped with his life during confrontations with multiple Sages. Their trump cards and artifacts were anything but ordinary, a testament to the alliance''s determination to eliminate a significant demonic anomaly like Argo, who had suddenly appeared in the world of Anfang. After confirming Argo''s involvement in the heist in the City of Lancelot and the city''s partial destruction, the Anfang Alliance had deemed him a severe threat. It did not even offer him the same deal it had offered to Demonmir once. Consequently, it had dispatched as many Sages as possible to deal with Argo, even though the alliance''s resources were strained due to various conflicts erupting worldwide at the same time. As a result, Argo had to battle with four Sage Rankers while they were using the Battle Formation. Argo had been pushed to his limits and had employed all his avable resources for self-defense. Eren had provided him with artifacts, potions, and other items, particrly since his ascent to the S-Rank. Eren had obtained these resources from Minerva''s Utopia. They finally found their use through Argo''s hands. === AN: Eren obtains resources in Minerva''s Utopia in chapter 1458. Chapter 1542 [Bonus ] Lazarus: “Rest In Peace” Chapter 1542 [Bonus ] Lazarus: Rest In Peace Argo had tapped deeply into his Gluttony-rted abilities while battling a relentless stream of S-Rank opponents. Considering the number of powerful Sages he had confronted immediately after ascending to the Sage Rank, it was downright astonishing that he still drew breath. The battlefields he had left behind had be barren and inessible by regr Rankers. Even his S-Rank mana core wasn''t entirely stable, making his survival even more remarkable. His role as a vessel for the Demon Prince of Gluttony was instrumental in this extraordinary feat. These logic-defying demonic powers facilitated rapid healing, helping him recover from wounds and renew lost energy and mana. Thanks to these incredible abilities and wellid ns, he ultimately managed to reunite with Eren on the battlefield. Eren could discern the struggles Argo faced despite his brave facade. Putting Argo at risk wasn''t part of his n. But he was always aware of this possibility and had allowed him to tag along anyway. This was because Argo was the only one he could count on. The butcher affectionately patted Argo''s shoulder and then embraced him. "Thanks for giving it your all," he told Argo in a solemn tone. "You''ve been a big help, you fat bird." Argo chuckled, returning the gesture, "Damn right. I or rather "we" did you a solid, didn''t we? Remember that when you take your ''throne''." Eren''s smile briefly acknowledged Argo''s words. However, his expression soon grew serious as he inquired, "Alright. How many did you manage to get?" His gaze was expectant, filled with urgency. Both Eren and Argo understood that Argo''s ascension to the S-Rank would inevitably bring the wrath of Sage Rankers from both Edinburgh and the Anfang Alliance. Rather than viewing this as a disaster, Eren saw an opportunity. He had unwavering confidence in Argo''s ability to aplish a specific task essential for the Lazarus Project''s sess. That''s why he had eagerly awaited Argo''s return. To ensure Argo''s safe return, Eren had discreetly informed Rodrick about Eliza''s presence. This movepelled Garos Renar to cease pursuing Argo, enabling the demon to reunite with Eren. Argo rejoined Eren just as they were approaching the battlefield''s center, which was perfect timing for Eren''s mission. "I I got five. Five freshly baked Pearls of Gluttony, boss!" Argo eximed, raising his right hand and revealing five radiant pearls resting in his open palm. These were no ordinary pearls; they were Gluttony Pearls, unique resources that Argo had obtained for Eren by harnessing his Domain of Gluttony: Beelzebub''s Authority. Argo had extracted them from the remains of the S-Rank foes he had confronted, making them incredibly potent and exuding an intimidating aura. *** The moment the Gluttony Pearls emerged, a potent surge of mana radiated from them, causing everyone in the vicinity of Eren and Argo to freeze in their tracks. Eren''s allies and adversaries alike turned their attention toward Eren and a newly arrived young man. "What... what is he holding?" Stammered a Layos Ranker, his voice trembling as he cautiously distanced himself from Eren''s group, which stood at the epicenter of the battlefield. "Never mind whatever the fuck that may be, who is that guy holding them?" Questioned an Edinburgh Grandmaster Ranker as he observed the scene from a distance. Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, it took some time for those present to realize that an unknown S-Rank entity had mysteriously materialized before Eren. A wave of dread and unease washed over the Rankers surrounding Eren and his allies once theyprehended that Argo was an S-Rank entity. They understood that any of his spells possessed the power to obliterate them without a glimmer of hope for survival. Consequently, both Edinburgh and Layos Rankers ceased theirbat and shifted their focus to Eren and Argo. Fear and apprehension enveloped them, urging them to flee. The once tumultuous skies, hosting a fierce battle between the Sages of Edinburgh and Layos, fell eerily silent. The Sages, too, halted their shes as they sensed an unfamiliar S-Rank presence intruding upon a battlefield intended for non-Sages. Swish. Swish. Swish. Sages from both factions abruptly materialized in the center of their respective groups. On Edinburgh''s side, Sage Marcus Moretti, Sage Urs Moretti (Marcus''s wife), and Sage Hansen Lehan appeared. The Layos side was mirrored, with three Sages who had been locked inbat with the Edinburgh Sages. It appeared that, in a rare moment of unity, all the Sages had collectively decided to cease their ongoing skirmishes and confront the new threat that had materialized on the battlefield. Their wariness extended not only to each other but also to the enigmatic S-Rank entity now facing Eren. "Thatd is Eren. And his demon beastpanion. When when did he.. S-Rank?" Remarked Hansen Lehan, gazing at Eren and Argo with astonishment. He couldn''t fathom how the once insignificant young man he''d known a decade ago had grown to pose such a significant threat to both kingdoms through his actions and the formidable allies he''d brought into the fray. "Indeed, Hansen." The deep voice of the King''s Hand, Garos Renar, rang out, catching the attention of those present. Garos had nimbly positioned himself behind Hansen Lehan and the other Edinburgh Sages after arriving on the battlefield by his own means. He cast a menacing look at Eren and Argo before disclosing critical information. "That demon is the one who attacked the city of Lancelot," Garos stated, his voice weighty with authority. "He''s also the same filthy demon who breached S-Rank and caused a ruckus a few days ago. He serves as the vessel for the Demon Prince of Gluttony." Garos''s voice carried throughout the battlefield, reaching every Ranker. Amid a day filled with shocking events, these revtions left the assembled forces in even greater astonishment. Even the Layos Sages became wary of Eren and Argo after hearing Garos'' words. Hansen Lehan voiced his uncertainty, asking. "Beel Beel I shouldn''t say that name. What should we do now?" He harbored no fear of Argo, but the demon soul fragment residing within Argo was a formidable entity he was reluctant to confront. Garos responded with authority, "What do you mean, ''What should we do''? We kill them." This deration hung heavily in the air, leaving the assembled Rankers to process the gravity of the situation. A profound weight descended upon the entire battlefield as Garos initiated his actions. The situation had spiraled into unrestrained chaos, and it was now Garos''s turn to intervene directly and restore order. In the blink of an eye, Eren found himself hoisted off the ground by his throat, suspended by the formidable grip of none other than Garos Renar. The King''s Hand left no room for Argo to act, utilizing the powers of a limited-use artifact to immobilize him and everyone who coulde to potentially Eren''s rescue. Eren, trapped within Garos''s vice-like hold, was rendered powerless. All of his abilities and Elemental Attainments proved utterly ineffective. He struggled to break free from Garos''s unrelenting grasp, locked in a gaze with the relentless King''s Hand. Yet, he couldn''t even cough, let alone utter words. The chasm in their Ranking Status was insurmountable, and Eren felt the grip on his throat tighten further. Ultimately, he ceased his futile resistance and met Garos''s gaze with unwavering resolve. "Don''t get too cocky, you brat. I''m not sure of your motives in orchestrating this. However, your intentions can be unraveled once you''re gone. Rest in peace." Garos dered as he clenched Eren''s neck with a forceful grip, ultimately ending his life. With his other hand, he seized Eren''s head and crushed it into oblivion. With his S-Ranked powers, he also squashed every bone in Eren''s body before destroying the flesh entirely. The abrupt arrival of the Sages on the battlefield led to an instantaneous transformation of events. There were no grandiose disys or world-shattering spells. None were required. In the presence of countless onlookers, their emotions ranging from shock to horror, and amidst an eerie silence that hung over the tumultuous battlefield, Grimdawn was extinguished by Garos Renar as though he were nothing more than an insignificant insect. Chapter 1543 Lazarus: “We Meet Again, Demon” Chapter 1543 Lazarus: We Meet Again, Demon The tumultuous battlefield abruptly fell into a chilling silence as Eren''s life slipped away within Garos'' grasp. A shroud of fear and intimidation enveloped the entire scene, rendering most bystanders speechless. Garos''s aura was so oppressive that it stifled any attempts at utterance. One could hear their suppressed breaths and heartbeats under such a suffocating silence. Following the release of his vice-like grip on Eren''s throat, the lifeless body crumpled to the ground, bereft of its head, which had seemingly vanished into thin air. This mystical disappearance seemed a consequence of Garos'' extraordinary water-based Elemental Attainments. The corpse had endured such extreme torment in such a brief span that it no longer resembled a human form. From every conceivable angle, Garos'' water-elemental powers crushed Eren, reducing his once vibrant body to a slimy amalgamation of blood, bones, and viscous liquid flesh. Garos, far from lessening the oppressive atmosphere, expanded his dominance. He shifted his gaze towards Argo, who stood a mere few paces away. Argo, still bewildered by Eren''s demise, was abruptly hoisted off the ground in a manner eerily simr to Eren''s final moments. Garos tightened his grip around Argo''s neck, enveloping him in the full weight of his Sage-ranked might. "We meet again, demon. You must have known by now that I''m not scared of you. Even if that entity known as Demon Prince were to be 10,000 times stronger than me, so what? In the Land of the Faithless, neither you nor the Demon Prince supporting you wields any power. Or rather, you shouldn''t be allowed to. I am not going to y around with you this time, I''m afraid. There''s no use. We have concluded that you can''t be turned into a valuable asset anymore." Garos dered coldly as he advanced towards his opponent. Fixing his gaze on Argo''s bewildered expression, Garos discerned a connection between Argo''s schemes and thete Demonmir, but the precise motives remained unclear. "I see it now. Those restaurant chains, Billy''s, were your doing, weren''t they? This is how you managed to attain S-Rank. Am I right? After all, you are the incarnation of Beelzebub. What a mess. What a slip up. You''re even more dangerous than Demonmir," Garos surmised aloud, studying Argo with an intense, dark re. As the Sage pondered the mysterious connection between Eren and Argo and the true objective behind the battlefield chaos, his anxiety intensified. His restless heart urged him to extract answers from the newly ascended S-Ranked demon before him. "Here''s your one and only chance to redeem yourself," Garos spoke sternly, making Argo meet his unwavering gaze. "Answer truthfully and inly: Why did you attack the City of Lancelot? What''s your rtionship with the Witch of the Endermes? Did you orchestrate all this for her revival? Is she here? Who else are your aplices? Start answering any of these questions and then I''ll think about sparing your life." Garos'' cold query, coupled with his piercing scrutiny, sought to uncover the secrets harbored by the captive demon beast. *** Returning to the Edinburgh army base, Garos learned that Eren and Argo had appeared on the battlefield, causing harm to both sides. Garos had initially agreed to the Anfang Alliance''s conditions of non-participation in the conflict between the two kingdoms. However, the situation had taken a distinct and unexpected turn. He was confident that the Alliance would appreciate the gravity of the situation, considering it revolved around Eliza Samael. Still, he decided to neutralize the threat while minimizing the casualty he would cause on the Rankers of both sides. He had decided to leave Anfang after the war, after all. He did not want the Alliance to hold him here because of his careless moves. Garos'' intervention in the battle stemmed from Rodrick''s revtion that the Witch of Endermes might materialize here. The news was so astonishing and unconventional that Garos couldn''t dismiss it. Eliza Samael remained an unknown figure in the present era for the most part, with even the preceding generation of Sagescking knowledge of her title as the Witch of the Endermes. As such, Garos was sure that there was nobody apart from him who could understand the gravity of the situation. In the context of Eliza Samael, Argo and Eren appeared the most dubious to Garos. He believed that immediate action was necessary before anything untoward urred. Thus, he decided to act swiftly, culminating in Grimdawn''s death. *** Argo initially seemed shocked and dazed. It took him some time to process Garos'' questions. When he did, he fixed a menacing gaze on Garos and started to respond, "I ain''t tellin you shit, big man. Do you think you..." Before Argo could finish his sentence, Garos sprang into action. He initiated a deadly attack on Argo in the same manner as he had with Eren. First, he snapped Argo''s neck, and then, using his free hand, he attempted to crush Argo''s head. It could be said that Garos was exceptionally ruthless in his actions. He seemed indifferent to gathering information from Eren or Argo. His inquiries to Argo appeared almost ceremonial. As soon as he concluded that there was no value in conversing with the demon beast, he resolved to eliminate him. Just before Garos could crush Argo''s head, he experienced a powerful repelling force emanating from Argo. Argo''s demonic aura grew stronger, dispelling the ethereal pressure that Garos had created with his Way of the Water. Argo sprouted wings and seized Garos'' arm, the same arm that had been used to lift him by the neck. Argo''s fingers resembled eagle-like talons as he gripped Garos. It seemed as if he intended to send Garos soaring into the skies to settle their confrontation once and for all. However, Garos anticipated Argo''s actions and escted the ethereal pressure generated by his Way of the Water, anchoring both himself and Argo to the ground. He knew about Argo''s powers firsthand after battling with him. He knew that if Argo was allowed to enter the skies, he would be a muchrger threat for him and everyone else. As such, Garos had decided that he would not let the Lord of the Skies escape to his familiar domain. Chapter 1544 Lazarus: "You Dare to Mock This Prince?" Chapter 1544 Lazarus: "You Dare to Mock This Prince?" Hmmmmmmm! The very air vibrated as Garos expressed his Elemental Attainments in the most threatening form. This sudden surge in atmospheric pressure was incredibly painful for Argo. It felt as though he was being crushed under the weight of the deep sea''s water, rendering him incapable of swimming or ascending to the surface. The bone-crushing pressure caused Argo to cough up blood and tore through his skin and flesh. Garos'' control over his Water Element Attainments was near perfection for his Sage Rank. However, even he couldn''t help killing off a few Rankers surrounding him and Argo as he tapped into his powers vigorously in order to suppress the enemy. The Rankers who died left behindpletely hideous forms of remains behind. It looked as if a bunch of giant tomatoes had been pressured into pulps all around the two S-Ranked entities. "Aaaaaargh!" Argo unleashed a piercing scream and channeled his newfound S-Ranked powers, breaking free from the ethereal restraints imposed by Garos. Suddenly, the gem nestled in Garos''s pendant shattered, and Argo regained his mobility. The gem had evidently been the source of his confinement. Argo, fueled by newfound strength,shed out at Garos, wounding the Sage''s arm with raw physical force. His w-like fingers pierced skin and flesh, drawing blood. The potent aura surrounding Argo intensified as he invoked Beelzebub''s Soul Fragment within him. Garos remained stoic, even after sustaining a serious injury, and calmly shifted to his second line of attack when the first had failed to subdue Argo. He summoned a translucent barrier of water-element mana that isted him and Argo. Then, he conjured two colossal arms from water-element mana. They mirrored the form of his actual limbs but acted independently as they advanced toward Argo. With a swift, brutal motion, the water arms tore Argo''s limbs from his shoulders. "Aaaaargh!" Argo howled in agony as blood streamed from his grievous injuries. While Eren had met a rtively peaceful end at Garos'' hands due to his pitiful Master-ranked abilities, Argo was not as helpless. Having the bare minimum ability to survive the torture! Argo''s S-Rank powers had be a source of prolonged torment at the hands of Garos''s dominance. Garos was on the verge of crushing Argo entirely with his overwhelming powers. But before he could continue his assault, the atmosphere darkened as an ominous demonic aura engulfed the entire battlefield. Argo had sessfully summoned Beelzebub, and the demon was now heeding his call. "Puny human, you dare to mock this Prince?" Argo''s painful expressions suddenly turned somber as he looked in Garos'' direction. He spoke in a voice that didn''t sound like his own. His eyes shone with blood red in color. Argo suddenly stopped struggling. He disregarded the pain that was induced by two missing arms and looked at Garos as if he was looking at a mere ant. It was clear that Beelzebub''s consciousness had taken over Argo. as a result of this, Anfang''s World Will was agitated. It was soon about to make its presence known in the battlefield to suppress Beelzebub from interfering in the affairs rted to Anfang. Beelzebub''s consciousness was still hazy and the connection with Argo had not been properly established. However, it instinctively knew that the man standing in front of him was his enemy. As such, Beelzebub decided to take action. Mouths of Gluttony! Beelzebub''s consciousnesses that was currently upying Argo''s body easily separated himself from Garos'' clutches. Using the Mouths of Gluttony that had appeared out of nowhere, Argo devoured his own two arms that had fallen to the ground and generated new arms for himself. In the next moment, Garos lost his right arm without there being an injury on his body. It was as if the very concept of Garos having an arm was devoured by someone. Garos looked like he had no right arm ever since his birth. "Aaaaaargh! You vile demon!" For the first time in centuries, Garos let out an excruciating scream as an ethereal w,posed entirely of Gluttony Mana, was summoned and directed towards him. When the assault concluded, the left lower part of Garos'' torso, left hip, and his partial upper leg region were nowhere to be found, as though a portion of his body had been devoured by the very space he upied. This time, there were gruesome injuries and Garos'' internal organs were exposed. It was only because of his Sage-ranked body that he could still function. In a fraction of a second, the tables were turned, and Garos looked as if he''d been struck and mauled by a massive force. All of this urred while Beelzebub''s consciousness had not yet fully taken control of Argo''s body. But just before Argo could execute his next move to finish Garos or giveplete control to Beelzebub, a sword with an unusual length impaled Argo''s heart. Swoosh. Zoom. Pierce. Another individual had stepped into the fray during the confrontation between Garos and Argo. This individual, a Sage sharing the same Ranking Status as Garos, had been dispatched by the Anfang Alliance to resolve the chaotic situation. This newly appeared Sage was as cunning as he was powerful. He didn''t say anything to anyone in advance or even let Garos know of his position or n. He just attacked when he saw the right moment and window of opportunity, taking Argo and even Beelzebub by surprise. The man who appeared behind Argo seemed to be in his prime, likely in his 50s. He held a remarkably long sword de without a hilt, grasping it with both hands. The de had prated Argo''s heart, causing more blood to flow. The man''s Sage-ranked mana began to wreak havoc inside Argo''s body, with the de acting as a conduit for its direct infusion. Argo had already suffered numerous injuries before arriving on the battlefield to meet Eren. Traces of mana still lingered within Argo''s body, leading to a Foreign Mana Invasion. He had managed to keep these injuries and conditions at bay, primarily due to his robust S-Ranked beastly vessel''s foundation. However, as soon as the Anfang Alliance''s man sessfully harmed him, all of Argo''s umted injuries resurfaced to torment him. All of this had been transpired within only a few seconds after Eren''s death. Yet, to the audience, it looked as if they were watching the shocking events unfold in front of them for hours on end. Chapter 1545 Lazarus: “Any Last Words?” Chapter 1545 Lazarus: Any Last Words? Argo possessed a vibrant personality from the moment he entered the Land of the Faithless. Although he could be seen as an embodiment of Beelzebub, he cultivated his own distinct identity in thend of Anfang. Argo''s individuality yearned for freedom above all else, a deep hunger that set him apart. He expressed this unique character through his music, unlike any heard before in Anfang. Argo made a significant name for himself through his concerts and shows, bing Anfang''s sole worldwide celebrity whose fame transcended kingdom boundaries and controlled territories. With his captivating music and wits, he carved a special ce in the hearts of the masses. After opening his restaurant chain named Billy''s, Argo made fewer public appearances. Yet, the memories of his music and his iconic status remained vivid in people''s minds. In a twist of fate, this same Argo was now gravely injured by two Sages from Anfang after his true identity was exposed. "Ugggh!" An agonized moan escaped Argo''s lips as he felt the de''s sting. He turned to re at the man with intense resentment. "This Prince Shall capture your soul for your impudence," Argo dered. In the next moment, the Sage Ranker from the Anfang Alliance witnessed his de shattering into numerous pieces. He was then engulfed by Gluttony Mana, initiating his transformation into the Creature of Gluttony. Garos had contacted the Alliance while en route to the battlefield. Therefore, he wasn''t taken aback when the Sage-ranked long-de swordsman came to his aid. Rather than engaging in conversation or preventing the fellow Sage Ranker from dying by Argo''s attacks, the King''s Hand opted tounch his own attacks on Argo to neutralize himpletely. Even if it meant sacrificing the long-de Sage swordsman at the hands of Argo''s Gluttony powers, Garos was determined to seize this opportunity. The Sage-ranked water-element wielder summoned his dius for the first time in a long while to do his bidding andunched a swift sword attack. His strike was both ruthless and rapid, targeting both Argo and the long-de Sage. Garos was all for coteral damage if it could ensure the neutralization of a Demon Prince. Swoosh. Zoom. Chop. Though it seemed ordinary and unthreatening, the attack embodied the true essence of his Elemental Attainment and Weapon Comprehension. Garos'' will blended these two concepts, forming a Sword Intent that cleaved both Argo and the long-de Sage horizontally. Argo, despite Garos'' assault, focused on incapacitating the long-de swordsman. Since the newly appeared long-de swordsman was being sliced horizontally by Garos'' attack along with him, Argo found it easier to inject the Sage from Anfang with Gluttony Mana. Domain of Gluttony: Beelzebub''s Authority In the blink of an eye, a miniature Domain of Gluttony materialized. Following Beelzebub''smand, the long-de swordsman from the Anfang Alliance transformed into a Gluttony Pearl expediently, practically skipping the stage of being converted into a Gluttony Creature. Just as Beelzebub and the swordsman were sliced horizontally, this Gluttony Pearl was dropped on the ground, awaiting someone to im it. Swiftly, Argo''s body was barraged by hundreds of Sword Intents from all directions. Garos staked his life, disregarding his severe injuries, the foreign mana invasion from Gluttony Mana''s devouring nature, and his missing right arm, tounch this precise and controlled assault on the demon beast. With a resounding thud, Argo''s severely wounded and split-in-half bodyid on ground as Garos'' relentless wave of sword strikes took its toll. In thest few days, ever since he ascended to the S-Rank, Argo had endured significant torment. He had practically battleled day and night. The exhaustion finally got to him. Before Beelzebub could enact any changes, he was vanquished by the unrelenting King''s Hand, Garos Renar, renowned throughout Edinburgh and beyond. *** Argo''s connection with Beelzebub grew fragile due to his severely weakened body. The vessel containing Beelzebub''s consciousness had been so battered that it could no longer serve as a proper host. In fact, Beelzebub''s consciousness became more of a hindrance to Argo. Even his mana core had suffered damage from Garos'' relentless attacks. "Hmph. As I told you, demon, you''re powerless here." Garos remarked as he observed Argo''s pitiable state. Despite his own injuries from Beelzebub''s attacks, Garos could still stand and continue his mission: to end Argo once and for all. Yet, he couldn''t see the despair painted on Argo''s face. ''I really got him right? What the fuck was he nning?'' Garos thought to himself. He desired to understand why Argo had taken such perplexing actions after keeping a low profile for nearly a decade. These conflicting actions made no sense to him. At this moment, Anfang''s World Will intervened, converging on the battlefield and exerting pressure on Argo, signaling that it wanted Beelzebub''s consciousness to leave this world. Coughing violently, Argo''s condition couldn''t have been worse. His vision blurred, and his heartbeats slowed. It appeared that Garos had once again employed his reserved Trump Card, preventing Argo from essing his Elemental Attainments. With each step, Garos approached Argo, his dius in hand. He was breathless, and his eyes focused on the demon''s battered and bloodied form lying just a few steps away. As the King''s Hand loomed over Argo''s broken body, he saw something unexpected C Argo was smiling. "It is over, demon. Do you have anyst words?" Garos asked as he raised his dius over Argo, hoping to extract some useful information that might shed light on Argo''s perplexing actions. ''Why do I feel like I have not won even after doing everything I could to beat this cmity?'' A growing unease gnawed at Garos'' heart. It felt as if something was warning him that eliminating Argo wouldn''t be the end of his troubles. Therefore, Garos wasn''t content to wait for Argo''s eventual demise. He was determined to be the one to end it, hoping to find peace of mind in doing so. Argo managed a feebleugh upon hearing Garos'' words. Though his battered body could give out at any moment, his eyes remained full of life and authority as he spoke with a feeble yet confident voice. Chapter 1546 Lazarus: "Respawning In 3... 2... 1" Chapter 1546 Lazarus: "Respawning In 3... 2... 1" "Hahaha," Argoughed in contempt. "You... you need to practice what you preach, big man. Don''t get too cocky," the Lord of the Flies said with strained breaths, his chest heaving with great effort. This time, Argo''s voice took on a deep and demonic tone, indicating Beelzebub was also speaking through him. "If we wished, we could have wiped out the two kingdoms and all their inhabitants before departing from this world. Killing you wouldn''t be a problem once the Demon Soul Fragment was fully ignited. However, doing so would introduce unpredictable errors. We didn''t want to spoil the grand stage our lord set for himself, you see. So count yourself lucky, BITCH!" Argo spoke with his eyes fixed on the sky above, a hint of longing for flight in his gaze. Unbeknownst to Garos, Argo had restrained Beelzebub from fully descending upon the Anfang world. Or rather, it could be said that Beelzebub had restrained himself from doing so. Otherwise, Eren''s multiyered Runic Array Formations that were previously set up would have been obliterated. Beelzebub''s original consciousness would have faced dire consequences during his descent while the World Epassing Array was still active. However, eliminating someone like Garos and destroying the battlefield and all its upants would have been a trivial matter for Beelzebub within a fraction of a second if his descent had fullymenced. "Lord?" Garos'' heart raced upon hearing Argo''s fading words. After all, Beelzebub wouldn''t refer to an ordinary individual as his lord. He peered at Argo cautiously, then asked with a mixture of doubt and anticipation building in his heart, strengthening his grip on the sharp dius he had poised to strike. Whether Argo responded to his question or not, Garos intended to strike him down in the next moment, eliminating the battlefield''s anomaly that was the Demon Prince of Gluttony. Cough. Cough. Cough. Argo first coughed, which gradually morphed into a sinisterughter. Heughed at Garos and disyed his bloodied teeth before continuing. "Haha. I got punked too, so I don''t me you. He... he saved his progress just before the boss fight. Respawning in 3... 2..." Argo''s words seemed like gibberish to Garos, who was prepared to dismiss them. But as Argo began counting down, an ominous feeling overcame Garos,pelling him to turn around. "1..." Argo finished his countdown, and in the next instant, a spatial disturbance manifested right beside him. It appeared Garos had been duped into looking the other way when the so-called Respawner materialized right beside Argo. Swoosh. Zoom. Chop. *** A certain someone found himself in an isted space that resembled a vast world of mirrors and reflections. An expansive, motionlesske extended in every direction, its end beyond sight. It looked like a giant surface of a wless mirror. Overhead was a starless blue sky devoid of stars. Theke''s thick, mercury-like waters mirrored ethereal aurora lights, creating a mesmerizing spectacle. The originally colorless water took on the hue of the sky above, its only source of color. An ethereal form rose from theke''s depths, giving the impression of a lifeless body drifting aimlessly. It took some time for the body to open its eyes. "I died, huh?" Eren muttered to himself as he gazed up at the starless sky inside Shallot''s Mirror, floating on his back. Theke''s surface rippled as he sat up. Eren was profoundly distressed, having experienced death once again. He struggled to grasp the time or location. He was struggling to remember what he was supposed to do at this point. What he did know was that he had been killed by Garos. "Eren, how did it go?" a soft and soothing voice chimed in Eren''s ears. He turned his head to see the artifact spirit of the Elder Seed Artifact beside him. She resembled a sweet girl in a princess-like gown, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at her owner. "I... I''m okay," Eren responded, attempting to stand but failing for some reason. He sighed and remained seated. "It''s just that my recent encounter isn''t a pleasant memory. But don''t worry, Shallot. I''ll be fine." He reassured the artifact spirit, deciding to wait for his Spiritual Force to stabilize before attempting to rise. As Eren addressed Shallot, another entity materialized on the opposite side of him. She was the actual Shallot Lancelot, or rather, her apparition, as Eren liked to think of it. He looked at her, raising his eyebrows, realizing he had made a significant error by renaming the artifact spirit with the same name as its previous owner. He sighed again, choosing to overlook his mistake for now. This wasn''t the first time he had made mistakes. He was sure that it wouldn''t be thest either. With a wave of his hand, he signaled Shallot''s Lancelot to vanish from his view. He had no desire to interact with someone whose descendants he had robbed recently. "Eren, the Soul Imprint you sent out is no more. Your Soul Space is agitated. It might take some time for you to stabilize your Spiritual Force. But I I can help you." Shallot exined, shedding light on Eren''s sense of distress and disorientation. She extended her hand, suggesting Eren use it for support. Eren chuckled at Shallot''s gesture, wondering if he could indeed stand with the artifact spirit''s assistance. She appeared quite diminutive, barely reaching his waist in height. Yet, Eren feltpelled to ept her offer when he noticed the way she presented her hand. As soon as he grasped Shallot''s hand, the internal turmoil in his mind subsided, and he felt the peace he sought. With this newfound rity, Eren managed to regain his footing. He moved around, stretching his limbs, although he knew it wasn''t his physical body but rather a mental strain he needed to alleviate. Sometimes, engaging in stress-relieving activities could be sufficient to ease the tension, regardless of the location. === AN: Soul Imprint was exined in chapter 1388. The capabilities of Shallot''s Mirror were exined in chapter 1387. Chapter 1548 Lazarus: "You? Wha? Haa?" Chapter 1548 Lazarus: "You? Wha? Haa?" Garos found himself caught off guard. An unusual quality in his opponent''s mana disrupted Garos''s ability to instantly heal his injuries. This perplexing effect persisted despite the fact that the mana wielded by the opponent was of a lower rank than his own. For the very first time since his ascent to S-Rank, Garos experienced a profound sense of helplessness and fear of life. Garos felt that his Sage-level body was useless. Beelzebubs had already devoured his missing arm. And there was no way for him to fix it even if we were to use a healing spell. It was as if being with one arm was his new reality and the concept of having two arms for a human did not exist for him anymore. With his lone functioning hand, Garos desperately applied pressure to the wound on his neck, endeavoring to stem the profuse bleeding. He conceded that he''d never encountered such a life-threatening situation, not even during his early days as a Novice Ranker. Nevertheless, he momentarily set aside the agony and concentrated on identifying the assant who had abruptly appeared. However, as he did so, he became profoundly bewildered. "You... Wha... Haa...?" Garos stammered, his speech hindered by the neck injury. For an instant, he refused to ept the sight before him. He blinked repeatedly and extended his Soul Sense to dispel any illusion. But these actions only confirmed that what he was witnessing was indeed reality. Garos harbored a strong conviction that the Eren he had previously in was no mere clone. Even a clone conjured by a skilled Elementalist couldn''t have deceived him into believing it was the original. What Eren had executed defied the very boundaries Garos had established in his mind. "How indeed," Eren replied, his voice devoid of emotion. His eyes remained fixed on Garos with a cold, unfeeling determination. In this critical moment, Eren decided to employ yet another ace up his sleeve. He produced a vial containing a mysterious potion and, before anyone could react, uncorked it and consumed its contents. Borrowed Might! *** Eren immediately felt the effects of the potion given to him by Sage Minerva. It granted him ess to S-Rank mana, essentially transforming him into a pseudo-Sage. This miraculous elixir was known as the Type Two Borrowed Might potion. Prior to confronting Garos, Eren had already applied the Type One Borrowed Might potion to hisbrys. This was the reason he could hurt Garos in the first ce. Eren inhaled deeply as the presence of S-Rank Mana coursed through him, a sensation he had never experienced before. It made him believe that his Elemental Attainments would heed his every whim, responding keenly to his thoughts and emotions. He felt that he could change the very geography of this region if he wanted to. ''I I get it now. I can now understand why the Rankers be so prideful once they attain Sage status.'' Eren reflected, gearing up for the impending battle with Garos. Meanwhile, Garos stood there, bewildered by the astounding transformation Eren had undergone after drinking the Borrowed Might potions. ''Just how many aces does this wretched cockroach have up his sleeve?'' Garos pondered as he harnessed his own S-Rank Mana. He had prudently maintained a safe distance from Eren, closely observing his opponent''s actions. Now that he was certain of Eren''s survival, Garos decided to unleash his full might, determined to end Eren''s life once again. He wanted to see how many times Eren could employ the same tactic before meeting his final demise. ''Even if he has nine lives today, I''ll fucking kill this rat.'' *** In the audience. Right after Eren showed himself once again. "How... How can this be? He is not dead?" Sage Hansen Lehan and the other Sages apanying him were utterly astounded as they witnessed Eren''s sudden reappearance on the battlefield. They had recently witnessed Garos ruthlessly ending Eren''s life, and the kill had been unequivocal; it couldn''t be mistaken for a mere illusion. They were all Sages after all. There was no clone or illusion potent enough to fool them. The Rankers weren''t used to employing the clones in the first ce. The clones were only used primarily in the Cmity Era, mainly by the Elementalists to reduce the casualties. "Hm? Hold on a moment," Marcus Moretti interjected, his eyes fixed on Eren with a mix of uncertainty and bewilderment as he voiced a theory that had crossed his mind. "Remember, the City of Lancelot suffered a theft, right? House Lancelot never disclosed what was stolen. Is it possible..." Marcus''s voice trailed off as he observed the intense confrontation between Eren and Garos, both locked in a silent, unyielding standoff. "Shallot''s Mirror!" Urs eximed in shock, providing the missing piece of Marcus''s thought. She was well aware of Shallot Lancelot of House Lancelot, a prominent figure during the Cmity Era known for her ability to create clones. The Sages quickly drew the connection and deduced how Eren had aplished the seemingly impossible. Sage Hansen Lehan was bbergasted by the theory put forth by the Sage couple. He urgently contacted Avalon Lancelot, who was present on the battlefield, to verify the uracy of this spection. "Brat Avalon, what exactly did the thieves steal from House Lancelot?" He questioned Avalon bluntly, his stern tone leaving no room for ambiguity. Avalon hesitated initially but, under Hansen''s insistence, provided a truthful response. "Yes, Sage Hansen Lehan. Shallot''s Mirror, our most prized heirloom and the relic of our ancestor, was indeed stolen. We are still trying to figure out the exact details of the event, including how the thieves managed to evade our robust security measures. What I can affirm is that it was a meticulously crafted n. Someone dedicated years to its execution." Avalon disclosed to Sage Hansen Lehan, sharing what he knew while carefully omitting certain details. He was still hesitant to reveal that the thieves had also made off with the Titan''s remains in their possession during the heist. After all, Avalon and his n didn''t really trust Edinburgh''s central administration. === AN: Borrowed Might potions were exined in chapter 1457. Chapter 1549 Lazarus: "Hand Over the Shallots Mirror" Chapter 1549 Lazarus: "Hand Over the Shallot''s Mirror" "Heh. It seems that I really underestimated the current generation. This man Eren was the mastermind behind the Lancelot heist. I have no doubt in my mind anymore." Hansen regarded Eren with a cautious look as he spoke. The longer he observed Eren, the more disquiet he felt. Someone capable of pilfering from House Lancelot and deceiving even Sage Garos couldn''t be an ordinary individual. He wasn''t sure even he would be able to do something like that with his current Rank. Hansen had a nagging sense that something more significant was unfolding behind the scenes, something concealed from the knowledge of both kingdoms and their inhabitants. "We also suffered the loss of Uncle Avir just a few days ago due to that urrence," Avalon informed Hansen solemnly. "So, this matter is deeply personal to us. While we appreciate Lord King''s Hand taking care of that vile demon Argo, we cannot let the matter rest here. The Kingdom of Edinburgh must grant House Lancelot the right tounch an assault on the City of White Raven as reparation for Eren and his demon beast''s actions." Avalon demanded from Hansen. Recognizing Hansen''s pivotal role in Edinburgh''s central administration, he sought permission to directly attack the City of White Raven. Hansen conferred briefly with Marcus before addressing Avalon once more. "Very well. I grant you permission in my name," Hansen consented, agreeing to Avalon''s request. "In fact, we shall also dispatch a unit from the Blood Punisher Force to support your efforts. Together, we will raze this half-blood''s city to the ground. The Kingdom of Edinburgh will crush everything he has erected with unrelenting force." Hansen dered, his gaze fixed on Eren with a cruel resolve. Avalon was ted upon receiving Hansen Lehan''s approval. He promptly ryed the news to House Lancelot''s core n members. While an unexpected confrontation unfolded on the battlefield, the Kingdom of Edinburgh and House Lancelot had forged a coborative effort to assail Eren''s city. Avalon envisioned that Minerva''s Utopia, upon which Eren had built his foundation for so long, would fall into the possession of House Lancelot due to this strategic maneuver. Avalon couldn''t help but gaze at the intense standoff between Eren and Garos with eager anticipation. He yearned for Eren''s demise at Garos''s hands so that he could regain Shallot''s Mirror and the Titan''s corpse. Meanwhile, his house would methodically im everything from Eren''s city, all under the banner of legality. Avalon Lancelot perceived this as a fortunate turn of events for House Lancelot, one concealed beneath the guise of a blessing. *** "I must admit, I''m impressed. He not only seeded to acquire Shallot''s Mirror but also seems to have learned to use it in an astoundingly short span of time. This little kitten is quite the enigma, isn''t he, La dear?" Eliza asked La as she observed Eren''s reappearance on the battlefield. Being from the same era as Shallot, Eliza was intimately familiar with the mirror''s powers. This is why she had patiently waited even after witnessing Eren''s apparent death at Garos''s hands. Of course, she couldn''t be entirely certain if Eren had genuinely mastered the use of Shallot''s Mirror in such a brief period. This is why she had prepared herself to intervene and eliminate Garos immediately after he dealt a definitive blow to Argo. "Haah! Frankly, master, I''d be shocked if he didn''t secure the Mirror, given all the scheming and plotting he''s done over the past decade," La replied to Eliza, sighing. Eren had a knack for exceeding expectations, despite her best efforts to overestimate his capabilities. She knew this better than anybody. Reen smiled looking at Eren''s progress. Unlike Argo, she was not part of the battle. Therefore, she could think with a clear head. She could feel her connection with Eren was as strong as ever. That''s how she knew Eren had survived his encounter with Garos. ''Hmm? Is there any mystery to this transcendent-grade artifact that we don''t know about?'' Eliza thought to herself and pondered. She then shook her head and sighed before speaking out loud. "In any case He is using it really well. Even I might not have been able to do so if I was in his shoes. However, Shallot''s Mirror does have its limitations. He needs to defeat that Sage swiftly and initiate our n. But considering his Rank, it is downright impossible. I guess I might need to enter the battle sooner than we nned," Elizamented yfully. Watching Eren drink Borrowed Might potions, she was taken aback yet again. Chuckling, she spoke further. "Fufufu. Would you look at that? It seems he''s also acquired some peculiar potions, so it might be possible. The little kitten appears to have prepared quite meticulously. Ah! I''m eagerly waiting for him to activate the first Runic Formation so that I can reveal myself. I can hardly wait any longer," Eliza remarked with an expectant and anticipatory expression as she observed the battlefield. Since Eren still had things under control, she decided to hold on for a bit longer. La, conversely, felt more anxious than ever. She had been thoroughly briefed on Eren''s n to pilfer Shallot''s Mirror from Grandmaster Baelin''s smithy. After all, she had yed a role in executing Eren''s objectives within the city and had a deep understanding of the n. Under normal circumstances, there was simply no way Eren could have obtained Shallot''s Mirror and made a clean escape from the City of Lancelot. It was as though Shallot''s Mirror had purposefully nullified its own limitations to facilitate Eren''s escape. ''Le, you you need to be careful. That man he is I hate to say this but he is even more dangerous than our master.'' La instructed her sister Le to exercise extreme caution when dealing with Eren and Shallot''s Mirror. Le was tasked with managing the aspects rted to the use of Shallot''s Mirror in the Lazarus Project. La was determined to prevent Sage Eliza and her sister Le from experiencing any unexpectedplications during the actual execution of the Lazarus Project. Chapter 1550 Lazarus: Do You Think Ill Die Just Because You Asked Nicely?” Chapter 1550 Lazarus: Do You Think I''ll Die Just Because You Asked Nicely? Less than a minute. The unspoken and unanticipated staring contest between Eren and Garossted less than a minute. Yet it provided them both with the time they needed to ready themselves for the impending battle. In this brief interlude, Garos, with his Sage Rank, managed to recover significantly from his severe injuries. He had even seeded in healing the once gaping neck wound Eren''s attack had inflicted. What was previously a bloody injury had transformed into a deep cut that was slowly but surely repairing itself. With a solemn tone, Garos issued a warning to Eren. "Eren Idril, surrender the Shallot''s Mirror you stole from House Lancelot, and I may contemte sparing your city. Make no mistake, you will meet your end here. But at least spare those who worked under you from suffering the consequences of your actions, don''t you agree? I''m offering this proposition because I don''t wish to create amotion before my dear friends from Layos. The Sages from the other side are silent only out of courtesy, and I have no intention of prolonging the inevitable confrontation that awaits you," Garos stated as he gripped his dius firmly. Eren met Garos'' words with aposed voice and a tranquil countenance. "Garos, do you really believe I''ll die just because you asked nicely? And after you''ve made this personal, do you think I''ll let you off so easily?" Eren''s gaze shifted to Argo''s fading form as he continued speaking. Garos burst intoughter at Eren''s retort. "Boy, do you imagine yourself as a Sage just because you''ve sipped that potion? Do you truly consider yourself my peer? Even the most aplished Sages of this age wouldn''t dare to im equality with me. I''ve walked this world for nearly 2000 years. Your meager three decades of existence, your modest abilities, and your borrowed strength are insufficient to even scratch me." Garos dered as he advanced towards Eren. "Your destiny was sealed the moment you failed to eliminate me with a single strike. Let''s see how you manage to survive this time." The King''s Hand remarked before unleashing his Elemental Attainments. Under Garos''mand, the very air adopted fluid properties, bearing down on Eren with such force that the ground beneath him cracked, forming a 15-foot-deep depression. Simultaneously, Garos extended his Soul Sense to exert mental pressure on Eren. Eren felt as if he were submerged deep in an ocean, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. Inhaling the affected air Garos'' Elemental Attainment produced felt as if it could cause him to implode from within. Thankfully, he had be immune to Garos'' Soul Sense because his Soul Sense was as potent as Garos. It also meant that Eren''s Sedating Gaze wouldn''t work on Garos. So the butcher didn''t even bother trying. To counteract the debilitating influence of Garos'' Elemental Attainment, Eren used his own water-element Attainments. He then employed a Movement Spell, closing the gap between himself and the Sage Ranker without disying a shred of fear or apprehension. Aqua Steps! In the ensuing moment, time seemed to slow down for both Eren and Garos as their weapons shed. Metallic echoes filled the air and sparks flew as they wielded their respective weapons with such versatility and finesse that they left asting impression on the onlookers, including the lower-ranked individuals in the audience. Garos was battling handicapped. His dominant hand was gone. So he failed to employ his Weapon Comprehension as effectively as he used to. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Garos found himself taken aback as Eren managed to parry and counter his strikes. While Eren''s Elemental Attainments didn''t rival Garos'', he possessed exceptional Weapon Intent and even more remarkable Spiritual Force. Additionally, Eren harnessed the power of Wrath Mana, channeling his emotions into his Weapon Intent, thereby making his Intent-driven magic as potent as Garos''. ''Un fucking believable. He is a Demonic Ranker as well? What the fuck Edinburgh''s intelligence bureau was doing all this time to let such a huge threat go uncheked like this for so many years?'' Garos thought to himself as he battled with Eren. A Sage Ranker like him was unable to get rid of a simple Master Ranker like Eren. This felt humiliating for Garos even though he was battling with Eren handicapped. If anybody had said this would happen one day to Garos in the past, he would haveughed at their faces. He was preparing to leave Anfang because he had been at this world''s pinnacle for a very long time. How could he have known that some upstart woulde to challenge him and still hold on his own while doing it? ''It it must be those potions!'' ng. ng. Push. Garos concluded and self assumed. ''Even Myriad Potioner''s concoctions wouldn''t be able to achieve something like this. It can only mean that he received those potions from from Minerva. He had been monopolizing Minerva''s Utopia for a decade after all. That means he has already imed her inheritance. What a ticking time bomb this man has been! Even the most dangerous known cultists aren''t as sinister and scheming as this little bastard.'' Garos learned more about Eren the more he fought with him. And the more he learned the more shocked he was. He couldn''t figure out how someone who had his Ranking Path set as a Close Combat Expert obtained Minerva''s Legacy? Hack. sh. Cut. At first, Garos thought of suppressing Eren with his Elemental Attainments alone. He had not used any spells in his battle against Eren, thinking it was not required. But he changed that decision merely within ten seconds fighting with Grimdawn after engaging in a close-range brawl with him. Even though Eren had failed to injure Garos yet, the way Eren moved and operated on his weapon made Garos subconsciously nervous. ''This man he is not normal. Beelzebub must have done something to him. Demonic Blessing? Has he also allied with Demonmir? First of all, why did the two Demon Princes appear at the same time in the same world? It it can''t be a coincidence, can it? What the fuck is happening inside Anfang. It was never this chaotic in thest 2000 years. I I need to kill him. Fuck!'' Chapter 1551 Lazarus: "YOU STOLE MY SPIRIT BEAST!" Chapter 1551 Lazarus: "YOU STOLE MY SPIRIT BEAST!" An apex predator''s Individuality. Garos instinctively felt that Eren had cultivated a kind of Individuality for himself within merely 30 years which he was unable to do even after living for around 2000 years. The more he fought Eren, the more he needed to assure himself that he was still better. This feeling creeped up on him sneakily, making him want to dominate Eren at any cost. The King''s Hand subconsciously felt that only by showing off his strength as a Sage could he feel better about himself. "Enough. No matter how many tricks you have up your sleeves, you are still weak!" Garos eximed as he deployed his water-element spell. In the next moment, a huge mass of water appeared from thin air and surrounded Eren from all angles. It trapped him inside and lifted him up in the air before shrinking in size all of a sudden, locking Eren within it. Through the use of his spell, Garos made the inner surface of the Water Sphere have sharp spikes made of dense water-element mana. Blink. Quick as a blink, Eren skillfully employed a space-element spell to evade the impending Water Sphere, leaving Garos astonished once more. ''He even has space-element Attainments? This this is absurd,'' Garos couldn''t help but think with some trepidation building inside his heart the more he fought with Eren. The exchangested for about a minute before the two were separated. "If you want to call me weak," Eren reappeared unscathed in front of Garos, his tone now aged and unfeeling, "at the very least, make you kill me with one hit. Otherwise, stop spewing bullshit," he spoke with unwavering certainty. Fueled by repressed anger, the Sage opted for more formidable spells, ones that posed a heightened risk to the nearby spectators. Up until this point, both Eren and Garos had instinctively tried to limit coteral damage for their own reasons. However, Garos abandoned this cautious approach after realizing that Eren was a far more formidable opponent than he had initially assumed. Harbour Wave! Garos raised his sole hand and called forth a vast, sky-enveloping water mass. Its looming presence cast a colossal shadow over a significant portion of the battlefield. The water held within this mass was infused with such dense and potent water-element mana that its weight defied nature, making it much heavier than normal. Even a small fraction of this water pressing down on or enveloping the Master and Grandmaster Rankers could prove fatal to them. This was how powerful a Sage was. They could handle multiple Grandmaster Rankers without breaking a sweat. Garos'' Elemental Attainments were a reflection of his Aspect, focusing on the sheer density and weight of water. His signature ability, Harbour Wave, granted him the power to summon and manipte immense water masses solely through his gestures. This ability provided him with the flexibility to deploy it as and when he saw fit. At this point, Garos could potentially eliminate half of the total Rankers on the battlefield just by letting the water fall on them. But fortunately for these Rankers, Garos'' target was singrly set on Eren. His mastery over the ability allowed him to precisely strike Eren while minimizing coteral damage. The sight of Garos activating his ability sent shockwaves through the ordinary Rankers on both sides, sparking panic. However, fear kept them rooted in ce, avoiding any actions that might draw attention. Eren gazed up at the colossal water mass, making him appear minuscule inparison. Before he could employ his magic, several Aqua Vines extended from the mammoth water blob, snaking towards him, eager to ensnare and transport him away. Eren had a sense that if he were captured, he wouldn''t be able to employ Blink. Nevertheless, Eren made a surprising decision to not resist the Aqua Vines and let them apprehend him. He was swiftly carried into the air before vanishing into the towering water mass, which had shrouded the sun. Garos was left bewildered as he observed Eren''spliance with his capture. An uneasiness nagged at him, but he didn''t halt his ability. In the next moment, an unusual event unfolded. As Eren vanished into the colossal water mass, it began emitting peculiar mana pulses. The water both within and above the battlefield started to tremble and agitate, creating an intense, swirling motion, as if a whirlpool had formed inside the massive water mass. ''What what''s his n??'' Garos muttered to himself, bewildered by this development. His ability had covered a substantial part of the battlefield, and he believed he had captured Eren securely. However, he found himself at a loss when Eren willingly submitted to capture. To make matters worse, Eren not only survived within the influence of his ability but also began unraveling it from within. "This this can''t be!" Garos looked carefully to see a certain horned fish was swimming around Eren in circles. Despite the overwhelming weight and density of the water, this horned fish looked fine. Garos'' eyes widened with surprise when Garos finallyprehended the situation inside the vast water mass generated by his ability. It seemed that his own Elemental Attainment was being gradually drained by someone or something, and that a certain entity had shielded Eren, rendering him immune to the ability''s elemental effects. Garos recognized only one exnation for this perplexing urrence. "Aaaaaaaah! YOU STOLE MY SPIRIT BEAST. I I''LL KILL YOU." His shock swiftly transformed into fury as Garos realized that Eren was in possession of the Spirit Beast he had carefully nurtured for nearly three centuries. For so long, he had relentlessly pursued the culprit behind the theft of his Spirit Beast. This pursuit had led to numerous persecutions and even escted the conflict between the two kingdoms, as he had believed that the Layos kingdom was responsible for the spirit beast''s disappearance. Little did he suspect that the very man he was searching for in the enemy''s territory was residing within his own domain. Sage Garos increased the density of the water as he flew towards Eren. He was going to make sure Eren died the cruelest way possible. Chapter 1552 Lazarus: “What In the World Are You?” Chapter 1552 Lazarus: What In the World Are You? As Garos advanced toward Eren and the manifestation of his conjured ability, a strange urrence unfolded. The ground fractured at various spots, as though hidden pits had been dug beneath it. Emerging from these openings were Earth Condors, substantially sized earth-elemental creatures gifted with the ability to fly despite their massive size. These Earth Condors defied gravity with an anti-gravity field around them, granting them the agility needed to ascend into the sky. Hundreds of these Earth Condors took to the air, much to the spectators'' surprise. Their summoner had woven them into the Total Control spell, rendering them challenging for regr rankers to halt. As these Earth Condors soared, they ignited into mes. Their wings, strengthened by Fire Wings, allowed them to breathe fire, thanks to the Firebreath spell''s integration. mes of vibrant orange and yellow enshrouded their entire bodies due to the Fireball spell. The infusion of fire into these earth-elemental summons transformed them into what appeared to be flying meteors, significantly enhancing their destructive potential. The battlefield''s sky seemed poised to unleash a meteor shower upon the spectators. Those watching were dreadfully astounded by how these earth-elemental creatures could seamlessly adopt fire properties, recognizing the summoner''s dual-element mastery. However, they did not know that they were still underestimating him. This was only the start of a flurry of summonings on the battlefield. The summoner continued to call upon an array of summons, showcasing expertise in various elements, elemental fusions, elemental aspects, and profound insights into each element''s attainments. The next arrivals were the Water Hawks. These water-elemental summons emerged by disbanding the colossal water mass created by Garos. The Water Hawks separated from Garos'' Harbour Wave, taking on distinctive forms. Following the earlier summonings, wood-element cranes, lightning falcons, undead flying reptiles, and multi-element griffins were called forth. Many of these summoned creatures harbored multiple Elemental Aspects and boasted a wide array of Spell Integrations that bolstered their offensive and defensive prowess. Notably, the multi-element griffins had been summoned through Elemental Fusion, rendering them significantly more dangerous and formidable. Each of these summons possessed the ability to take flight. They emerged en masse, casting a shadow over the ground as their collective presence emanated potent S-Rank mana pulses. Some were even enveloped in Sin Series Mana, enabling them to harness Intent-based magic. This intelligence-enhancing magic indicated the summoner''s exceptional skill in their craft as well as their in-your-face demonic nature. The mana fluctuations these creatures generated upon materializing were so astonishing that itpelled Garos to halt and observe with a wary eye. But before he or any other Sage could respond to this multitude of summonings, the summoner hadpleted their conjuring. *** "Is this... the work of a single Summoner?" a Sage from Layos stuttered, gazing at the menacing summons that now filled the sky. "Only House Remus could possess the depth and resources to nurture a summoner of this caliber, perhaps. But how can a single Summoner ss Ranker possess such profound insights into so many elements?" wondered Hansen Lehan, watching the sky with trepidation. Sages from both sides reached a dreadful conclusion. The summoner responsible for this multitude of creatures had transcended their understanding of magic. While these summons didn''t pose a direct S-Rank threat, they came remarkably close. Not even the Summoner Sage among the Layos forces, who was currently present at the scene, could single-handedly manage theplexities and sheer number of these summons. In fact, not even Garos could tackle this overwhelming variety of creatures. It became evident that massive and varied summoning like this couldn''t be achieved through skills and elementalprehension alone. It seemed that a substantial fortune and various resources were literally burnt into smithereens in this extraordinary disy of summoning. The sight sent shivers down the spines of every Ranker present on the battlefield as they beheld these cmity-like birds. They cast worried nces at their respective Sages, silently urging them to take action before the summoner unleashed the unthinkable: a relentless bombardment that would rain death and destruction upon the battlefield, unlike anything witnessed since the battle''smencement. Thanks to his Spirit Beast, Eren hadpletely dismantled Sage Garos'' Harbor Wave Ability and seized control over it. He reappeared in the open, confronting Garos directly. *** "What What in the world are you? Even the half-bloods aren''t as abominable as you," Garos inquired, baffled by Eren''s unexpected powers. "How can you ess the Summoner ss while still being a Close Combat Expert? And just how many elements have you mastered to conjure monstrosities like these?" He gazed at Eren with a scrutinizing eye. In Garos'' view, Eren had turned into a grim enigma, which then sparked his curiosity instead of hasty aggression. With the possibility of attaining Saint Rank just a step away, Garos hoped that a conversation with this unique individual might offer valuable insights and allow him to leave Anfang on a positive note. Meanwhile, other Sages from both the Edinburgh and Layos factions had also taken to the skies. Sage Hansen and his group stood behind Garos, while the Layos kingdom''s Sages assembled on the opposite side. Eren found himself positioned between these two groups. The gathering of Sages encircling Eren was a clear indication of the collective concern regarding his abilities and the overwhelming number of summoned creatures under hismand. Their intent was clear C to eliminate him midair, sparing the Rankers below from potential harm. Although the Sages refrained from overt threats, their apprehension was evident in their eyes. They recognized Eren as a potential threat, especially if he were to ascend to the Sage Rank. There were doubts about their ability to match him even if he reached Grandmaster Rank, given the profound nature of his Individuality and the path he was treading. It was bing apparent that Eren had embraced an extremely difficult and yet extremely dangerous Ranking Path, causing uncertainty and fear among the gathered Sages. They regarded Eren as an immediate threat to be eliminated swiftly. Recognizing that Garos alone might not suffice to confront this formidable figure, they were prepared to join forces to ensure that such a powerful Ranker never became a threat to them as long as they were in thend of Anfang. Chapter 1553 Lazarus: “I Know a Thing Or Two About a Thing or Two” Chapter 1553 Lazarus: I Know a Thing Or Two About a Thing or Two Wind-Fire Wings! A pair of wings emerged behind Eren, granting him stability in midair now that he had escaped from Garos'' Ability. "I know a thing or two about a thing or two," Eren spoke in aposed tone as he noticed all eyes on him. "Why summon these creatures here? You know well they can''t harm any genuine Sage, despite being fueled by S-Rank mana," Garos inquired, his voice low and menacing. And as soon as he did, a sense of foreboding grew within him, leading him to covertly contact Sages from both factions to prepare for the worst. Eren responded, his voice devoid of emotion, as he nced down at the spectators. "Oh, I know. But I''m quite sure I can target those who now watch me with fear in their eyes. Even if I lose some of my own underlings, it''ll be entertaining to witness the deaths of numerous Rankers, meaningless though they may be." Eren''s words held cruelty and malice as he locked eyes with Garos and the Sages supporting him. No need to focus on those from Layos, as his summoned creatures had already done that. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Without a moment''s dy after issuing his threat, Eren executed it promptly, substantiating its credibility. Curses and condemnations escaped the Sages'' lips as soon as that happened. Their original n was to vanquish him through collective efforts. But before they could formte a strategy, he took all the other Rankers present on the battlefield hostage,pelling the Sages to prioritize their safety. A medley of S-Ranked spells were unleashed simultaneously, cast by Sages on both sides. The initial focus was safeguarding the Rankers below with protective spells of considerable reach. Following this, they aimed to eliminate Eren''s summons entirely. The third and final goal was to deal with the summoner himself. Yet, they were all aware that Eren''s threat wasrgely attributed to the Borrowed Might potions, which would eventually wear off, rendering him far less menacing. So they didn''t panic and got to work. As the Sages diligently carried out their ns, or rather as they were about to, an unexpected peril approached them from behind, taking them off guard. Even Garos, the King''s Hand, couldn''t conceal his face-paling astonishment when another figure materialized behind him, akin to a phantom, and executed a lethal assault. To his shock, it was another of Eren''s clones, having teleported right behind him through the use of Sansara Sage''s space-element runes. *** Swoosh. Zoom. Pierce. Myriad Potioner''s debilitating elixirs targeted the Sages. Augmented by Borrowed Potions and aided by the surprise factor of Sansara Sage''s space-element runes, Eren had devised a lethal strategy to eliminate all the Sages on the battlefield at once. The Sages had not paid to Eren''s use of the debuff potions earlier. They were busy battling with each other after all and did not have time or will to keep tabs on everything their subordinates did. So they were caught by Eren''s use of the Myriad Potions on them. Eren''s clones possessed various Ranking sses, including Close Combat Expert, Assassin, Array Master, Berserker, Ranger, and Potion Expert. He utilized these trump cards in a coordinated assault, targeting each Sage ording to their unique abilities. As the Sages grappled with Eren''s catastrophic intent-based magic and attempted to quell the unfolding chaos on the ground, he executed his attack with such precision and finesse that they were unable to defend themselves. *** In the blink of an eye, Eren''s maneuver imed the lives of five out of six Sages. Even Garos couldn''t evade a translucent-grade dagger that distinctly resembled part of Sage Loxley''s legacy. Hansen Lehan was the sole Sage survivor of Eren''s onught. Descended from Sage Lin Lehan, the Sansara Sage, Hansen possessed special methods to automatically counter surprise attacks facilitated by the space-element runes. The limited-use safeguards handed down through the generations by the Sansara Sage enabled Hansen to survive Eren''s fatal attack, though he was involuntarily transported to a random location. Sage Marcus and his Sage-ranked wife died unremarkable deaths. Incidentally, they died while looking at each other with worries and regrets. Even as participants of the war, their lives were never in danger. Or at least that''s what they had thought by agreeing to do their part in Edinburgh''s war campaign. *** Unlike Garos, Eren managed to dispatch all the other Sages rtively easily after exhausting his arsenal of tactics. He outssed them using his trump cards before ending their lives before they had the chance to use theirs, eliminating six Sages in one fell swoop. Eren was destined to etch his name into Anfang''s history as the sole Master-ranked Ranker who had single-handedly eliminated multiple Sages, all within a single day. Had he existed during the Cmity Era, he might have stood alongside the revered Titan yers. Nevertheless, despite these monumental aplishments, Eren''s countenance remained devoid of triumphant satisfaction. He had made a deliberate choice to keep his heart and mind resolute, unwavering in moments of both victory and defeat. This stability was needed to achieve what he had achieved so far and what he wanted next. The myriad summoned creatures Eren had used to hold the Rankers on the battlefield hostage ceased their advance just before reaching the Rankers, returning to the sky and locking their attention on the frightened Rankers. They acted as a deterrent, preventing the Rankers from fleeing the battlefield. Without the Sages'' presence, the Rankers would be powerless against the summoned creatures. Even the Grandmaster Rankers would fall to these creatures if they attacked en masse. *** "Aaaaargh! This motherfucking son of a bitch he he fucking yed us!" It dawned on Garos that Eren''s real target had never been the Rankers. He merely used them as part of his diversion tactics to eliminate the remaining Sages. Garos regretted not knowing about Eren sooner. He would have preferred burning the whole City of Osan down to kill Eren if he knew that thetter would one daye to im his life. Chapter 1554 Lazarus: “The King’s Hand is Without Arms In His Death” Chapter 1554 Lazarus: The Kings Hand is Without Arms In His Death Even though devoid of knowledge concerning the Borrowed Might potions'' intricacies, the Sages understood their limitations. They initially chose to safeguard the Rankers before refocusing their efforts on a foe they believed they could ovee collectively. This was the governing factor behind their decision-making process. Eren had subtly given them false hope by drinking the Borrowed Might Potions in front of them before extinguishing their lives. The Sages from both sides had been locked in battle before Eren''s intervention. Even without leaving their positions, they were already grappling with fatigue and significant mana expenditure. This was the reason why Eren wanted to halt executing the Lazarus Project unless and until the Sage-ranked entities from both sides got involved with each other. Had the Sages foreseen that these seemingly minor factors would culminate to enable Eren to eradicate them all at once, they would never have prioritized the safety of the Rankers on the battlefield. *** "Aaaaaah!" Garos managed to kill another of Eren''s clones, but the cost this time was higher. Sage Yuffie Loxley''s treasured dagger remained embedded in his heart, spreading the uncontroble Foreign Mana Invasion. As the lifeless Sages fell from the sky, Eren''s clones swiftly caught them. These S-Ranked individuals, now devoid of life, were delivered to the ground before the shocked Rankers. ''Myriad elements, multiple sses, overpowering Individuality. That damn mirror. And most of all, devious nature. This man... he''s a catastrophe incarnate, a living and breathing disaster. Only chaos would spread in Anfang if he is not killed.'' Garos thought to himself as he tried toprehend the unfolding events. He considered fleeing from this opponent, but he couldn''t help but wonder if it was even possible, given Eren''s possession of the Sansara Sage''s inheritance. Garos had transcended shock; he couldn''t fathom how one Ranker could master so many Ranking sses and wield multiple Elemental Attainments so wlessly. Even the legendary Titan yers from the Cmity Era seemed less extraordinary inparison. *** Swoosh. Zoom. Chop. As soon as his clone was killed, Eren materialized right behind Garos, severing hisst arm. Before Garos could recover from his previous injuries or react to this new assault, Eren relentlessly assaulted him with Unlimited Weapon Works. Life Drain + Expedited Regeneration +Instant Reset + Hero''s Heart + Partial Shapeshifting Unlike the other Sages, Eren couldn''t use a debuff potion on Garos Renar due to the Sage''s elusiveness and distant nature. So he couldn''t employ Myriad Potioning as he had with the others. Thus, he had only considered Garos to be the only real threat he had to his ns. Eren relentlessly bombarded Garos with spells and continuously caught him off guard with his trump cards until finally bringing an end to the Sage. His Spirit beast effectively neutralized Garos'' counterattacks. Eren''s meticulous preparations paid off, and his well-timed tactics removed all the obstacles that would have hindered his uing ns. *** Ultimately, Garos met the same fate as the five Sages previously dispatched by Eren''s clones, deprived of any opportunity to defend themselves. As Eren tightened his grip around Garos'' neck, he remarked in a cold and merciless tone, "Tch. Tch. Tch. The famed King''s Hand is now without arms in his death." Before Garos could utter hisst words, Eren silenced him by crushing his neck. Eren then used his other hand to squash Garos'' head. With enough pressure applied post mortem, it burst like a water balloon. Eren''s vengeful spirit remained steadfast throughout his Ranking Journey, evident in the way he executed Garos, mirroring the Sage''s previous actions against his clone. By this point, even Avalon, who had witnessed this unexpected Sage hunt, realized that Eren could wield Shallot''s Mirror more effectively than his n''s ancestor, Shallot Lancelot. ''Is that Is that how we were supposed to use that mirror?'' Avalon cursed. He recognized that there was more to the artifact than their records indicated. If Avalon or any other House Lancelot member had known that Shallot''s Mirror could be used this way, they would never have allowed it to be relegated to a mere tool for artifact creation within Baelin''s smithy. If any of their Sages had harnessed its potential in the same manner as Eren, they might have had the means to suppress Edinburgh''s royalty. Even someone like Garos wouldn''t have posed much of a threat to them. *** All this chaos had taken just one minute to subside. Yet, the impact was enough to haunt the Rankers witnessing Eren''s actions for many years toe. Eren held Garos'' armless body and descended towards Argo, who miraculously still clung to life. None of the onlookers dared to intervene or confront Eren and his clones. While the effects of the Borrowed Might potions were fading, no one wanted to risk challenging Eren and discovering how long he could continue to wield their power. "Hey, boss, you did it," Argo weakly congratted Eren as he gazed at him. Eren sat down cross-legged beside Argo. Ignoring Argo''sment, Eren spoke with a serious tone, "Is is there anything we can do to help you in this situation? I..." His voice trailed off as he observed Argo''s frail condition. Eren sensed that something was suppressing Argo''s soul, rendering him incapable of using his powers. In different circumstances, healing from the severe injuries he was currently suffering wouldn''t have been so challenging for him. He only needed to use his devouring Abilities on the Rankers surrounding him to achieveplete recovery. "No, boss," Argo replied, his voice weary. "The moment I ignited Beelzebub''s soul fragment, my fate was sealed. It appears that Anfang''s World Will no longer ept my presence here. I... I gotta leave this ce before I die for real, you know. I was only holding on till now to to see you," Argo continued, his breathsbored. As a soul fragment of Beelzebub, Argo possessed immortality. His physical body was the only part deteriorating. Beelzebub could reim his own soul fragment that was Argo before it dispersed. Then, the Demon Prince of Gluttony could send this soul fragment to other realms, starting Argo''s journey anew. Chapter 1555 Lazarus: “I’mma Dip” Chapter 1555 Lazarus: Imma Dip Eren nodded in response to Argo''s words. Realizing that he himself was departing from Anfang, Eren understood there was no need to keep him tied to this world. Eren believed that, if fortune favored them, they would meet again in another world. Argo had provided crucial assistance to Eren, greatly supporting Eren''s version of the Lazarus Project. While, as a being with the soul fragment of a Demon Prince, Argo might view his actions as insignificant, Eren highly valued what he had done. With this in mind, Eren resolved to repay Argo one day when he possessed the strength to do so. "Aight. Time to yeet but before I go in this world of Anfang, this shall be myst gift to you, boss. Use use it well." Argo said, his voice frail, before summoning the massive Mouth of Gluttony. Despite the suppression of his soul, Argo reignited Beelzebub''s soul fragment. He then separated his soul from his body and allowed the Mouth of Gluttony to consume his flesh. His soul was absorbed by the Mouth of Gluttony as well, which gave the apparition of the Concept of Devour the intelligence it was missing. Argo, or more precisely, Beelzebub, devoured his own body to conjure the Domain of Gluttony once again. He employed his Authority to transform all the Sage bodies collected by Eren''s clones into Gluttony Pearls in an instant. The Rankers on the battlefield were filled with dread as they witnessed the colossal yet blurred manifestation of Beelzebub in the sky. A humanoid demon with wings and horns. This was the Lord of the Flies, the Demon Prince of Gluttony, Beelzebub. The audience started hearing the demonic chants from an unknown source as they looked at Beezebub''s apparition that had covered the entire sky. They could hear these demonic verses even if they had closed their ears with their hands, indicating the fact that it was their very soul that was receiving these demonic verses. An ominous demonic aura permeated the surroundings. The Domain cast by Beelzebub, through the sacrifice of his own flesh, covered the entire battlefield. The Rankers felt as though their bodies and souls might be devoured by the gigantic Mouth of Gluttony summoned within the Gluttony Domain. The Mouth of Gluttony devoured Garos and the five other Sages'' bodies, forming six new Pearls of Gluttony. These Pearls materialized in Eren''s hands. "Aight. This be it," the Mouth of Gluttony spoke while smacking its lips as if appreciating a good meal. The Gluttony Domain dissipated upon their formation, allowing the nearby Rankers to breathe freely once more. "Hehehe. Aight. That be it. Imma dip, boss. See you when I see you." With a voice reminiscent of Argo''s, the Mouth of Gluttony addressed Eren with a grin. It then vanished into thin air, erasing Beelzebub''s presence from the world of Anfang. Argo''s name and his Individuality was bound to be recorded in the annals of Anfang''s history forever. He was bound to live in masses'' memories through his restaurant chains and music. "See you when I see you," Eren mumbled to himself before taking a deep breath. Once Argo hadpletely disappeared, leaving only the Pearls of Gluttony as his gift to Eren, Eren rose from his seated position. Eren had already dispatched the first batch of Pearls of Gluttony to his subordinates, who had reached their intended positions. Therefore, he allowed these Pearls to teleport to his remaining subordinates responsible for executing a massive runic formation. *** By this point, the Rankers from both sides had endured one harrowing event after another. They were fed up with fighting amongst themselves and had no desire to tangle with Eren''s small force either. All they wanted was to exit the battlefield and survive the day. Some had already begun to flee in various directions, seeking escape from their positions. To their pleasant surprise, Eren''s summoned creatures were also dissipating into the air. The powers granted to Eren by the Borrowed Might potions had finally run their course, restoring him to his Master Ranker status. He could no longer control the S-Rank Mana, which meant he had to relinquish his hold over the summoned creatures. The Rankers dashed in all directions once the S-Ranked summoned creatures ceased to pose a threat. But before they could put much distance between themselves and the battlefield, they all heard a quietmand issued by Eren, amand that miraculously traveled in all directions without being loud. "Let''s begin." Eren ordered his subordinates to activate the runic formation, with him at the center as the Formation Eye. In the next moment, an unusual kind of Mana Pulse radiated across the surroundings as a runic formation unknown to the Rankers suddenly sprang to life. The members of Eren''s group who had been entrusted with the Gluttony Pearls inserted the same pearls into the Array Disks that Eren had provided. They initiated the partial formation by acting as Runic Eyes for a particr demonic Formation. Soon, all the partial formation barriers became interconnected, forming aplete Runic Formation. The ground beneath the Rankers became covered in enigmatic runes and magical patterns that emitted a soft white glow. These runes slithered across the ground like serpents before merging to form aprehensive barrier. Under the influence of Eren''s runic formation, Mana Threads resembling spiderweb lines materialized. They appeared in the battlefield''s sky, extending in all directions to enclose the entire area. These Mana Threads created a birdcage-like istion field, preventing the Rankers from escaping their impending fate. The Mana Threads were intricately interlinked, forming a translucent mana barrier that permitted entry only from the outside. The trapped Rankers within found it impossible to break free from the barrier. The colossal birdcage-like barrier remained unwavering even as Grandmaster entities exerted their full force in attempts to breach it and flee the battlefield. Only a few Rankers managed to escape the sudden trap before it was activated. The Mana Threads wereposed of exceedingly intricate and minuscule runic symbols, resembling the fine lines of a spider''s web. Despite their delicate appearance, they were far mightier than iron bars, effectively imprisoning the Rankers. Empowered by Gluttony Mana and fed by Gluttony Pearls, these threads devoured the surrounding Mana, growing stronger with each passing moment. They also consumed the elemental spells cast by the trapped Rankers in futile attempts to break free from the Runic Birdcage. Chapter 1556 Lazarus: "I wasnt Bluffing" Chapter 1556 Lazarus: "I wasn''t Bluffing" The trapped Rankers soon realized their attacks on the Runic Birdcage Barrier were only empowering the domain. After several futile attempts, the Birdcage Barrier began reflecting their attacks back at them, inflicting injuries or even death upon them. No Ranker was foolish enough tounch an attack on the Runic Birdcage anymore. Eren''srades, the ones holding the Gluttony Pearls, acted as the Runic Eyes for the massive Birdcage Barrier. They were isted from the trapped Rankers, ensuring they could maintain the barrier without worrying about attacks from within that could disrupt the Runic Formation. *** Beelzebub had provided Eren with this barrier-type formation simply named Birdcage Barrier. It required only five S-Ranked Gluttony Pearls as the minimum power source to activate. However, it could benefit from additional Gluttony Pearls, strengthening the formation beyond the bare minimum requirement and making it more dependable. At the beginning of the full-scale battle between the two kingdoms, each side had approximately 30,000 Rankers in their field armies. As such, there were around 60,000 Rankers participating in this conflict. Over the past few days, that number had dwindled significantly. The number of Rankers who perished on the battlefield, often at the hands of enemy Rankers, numbered in the thousands. After ounting for these casualties and a small percentage of Rankers who managed to escape the trap, roughly 43,000 Rankers from both factions found themselves trapped within the Runic Birdcage. Around 6,000 Rankers who sessfully escaped the istion domain Eren had constructed could be considered the truly fortunate ones, having survived both the kingdom''s battle and Eren''s trap. Many of them were high-ranking individuals from the kingdom of Edinburgh who had heeded Crown Prince Rodrick''s orders to withdraw. Their prompt response to Rodrick''smands gave them the head start needed to evade the Runic Birdcage formation. However, upon seeing the Runic Birdcage, powered by numerous Gluttony Pearls, some of these "lucky escapees" decided to enter to save their fellow Rankers who had fought alongside them. Initially, entering the barrier seemed simple, and they acted without hesitation. Unfortunately, they soon realized their decision had backfired, as they became trapped alongside those they intended to rescue, unable to exit. *** The Birdcage Barrier operated on the Intent-based magic. None of the trapped Rankers, whether due tock of knowledge or proficiency in this kind of magic, couldn''tprehend its underlying principles. This formation was unlike the kind they hade to witness in the Land of the Faithless. They found themselves unable to disrupt the Formation from within or introduce any anomalies. Even the most skilled Array Experts among them were baffled by the intricate runesprising the barrier. Eren, having harnessed the power of Gluttony Pearls obtained from Sage-ranked entities, equipped the Runic Formation to withstand attacks from S-Ranked entities as well. Without the use of a more potent offensive-type S-Ranked Runic Formation, breaking the Birdcage Formation proved virtually impossible. This was also why Eren had strategically positioned himself at the center of the battlefield earlier. The center of the battlefield allowed him to summon the Birdcage Formation at the optimal location, ensnaring as many Rankers as possible within its confines. He had been fighting to reach the center of the battlefield for this reason. *** As the trapped Rankers realized their inability to escape the Runic Formation, some decided to confront the source of the problem, Eren himself. But before they could even approach Eren, he swiftly erected a secondary barrier. A smaller Birdcage formed within the primary one, isting Eren and some of hisrades from the rest of the crowd. This secondary Birdcage possessed the same formidable strength and insting properties as the primary one, ensuring that the trapped Rankers couldn''t approach Eren and his allies any longer. "Eren, my friend, what is the meaning of this?" asked a trapped Ranker as heid his eyes on Eren. This was a male Ranker from Edinburgh, who had met Eren at a social gathering and even exchanged pleasantries with him, looked upon Eren with wariness and questioned him in a deep voice. He hoped to leverage their prior interaction to influence Eren. "You lots from the kingdom of Edinburgh, release us right now. We know you are only pretending to infight. Let us go otherwise" A Grandmaster Ranker from Layos sternly addressed Eren and his subordinates from the kingdom of Edinburgh, issuing a threat. He used them of feigning internal strife and demanded their immediate release, warning of potential repercussions for Edinburgh''s citizens. Eren, however, paid no heed to thements, insults, pleas, or threats hurled at him by the trapped Rankers who couldn''t approach him. He regarded them with indifference, as if their existence held no significance for him. "Fufufu. For a fraction of a second, I really thought you were going to kill them before you even erected the Barrier. I must say that you really bluff well, little kitten." Just when Eren had sessfully set up the two barriers and ensured the Rankers'' istion, a pleasant female voice sounded in his ears. An assortment of figures materialized behind Eren, revealing that Sage Eliza''s entourage had arrived within the second barrier, intended solely for Eren''s core allies and subordinates. Eren turned to face them and shook his head, correcting Eliza''s assessment. "Oh, I wasn''t bluffing when I tried to attack those Rankers. Something like a mere bluff wouldn''t have worked against someone like Garos in the first ce. If Garos and other Sages had not acted on time, I would have let all those creatures loose on the battlefield. It would have killed a quarter of them in actual attack as well as the stampede and spell-sh that would have followed. The remaining ones would have managed to escape. Even you involving yourself personally wouldn''t have changed that oue. Guess you are lucky that Garos acted that way," Eren smiled lighty at Eliza as he spoke. Eren''s actions weren''t mere bluffs, and this admission surprised Eliza. She couldn''t helpughing heartily. ''This brat he is one mad gambler,'' she thought to herself. Chapter 1557 Lazarus: “Birdcage” Chapter 1557 Lazarus: Birdcage Eliza, La, and Le had experienced a moment of apprehension when Eren had nearly attacked the Rankers with his summoned creatures. The lives of the Rankers present on the battlefield were meant to serve as the sacrifice Eliza required for an immediate restoration of her Sage ranking upon revival. Had they perished before the barrier''s activation, Eliza''s ns would have been jeopardized. For a brief moment, Eliza entertained the notion that Eren might have betrayed her at thest moment to thwart her Sage ranking restoration. However, Eren''sst-minute decision to withhold his summoned creatures from attacking the Rankers preserved Eliza''s designs. Eliza had to acknowledge Eren''s ruthlessness and unambiguous approach. He had staked the entire fate of the Lazarus Project to deceive Garos and the five other Sages. She chuckled, thenmented on Eren''s remarkable mindset. "A bluff that isn''t a bluff, huh? There were so many things that could have gone wrong. And yet, here we are. I have to say It takes a special mindset to pull off something like that. Had it failed, I would have called you a fool. But I''m tongue tied now that you''ve seeded. Either way, you''re quite the cunning character, little kitten," Eliza remarked, apanied by a knowing smile. *** At this juncture, the other trapped Rankers recognized the presence of a second group that had materialized within the secondary domain. Their inability to approach Eren and his allies prompted them to address Eliza, who appeared authoritative to them. "Ma''am, please, kill that wretch Grimdawn and release us. The kingdom of Layos is prepared to offer a handsome reward," urged a Layos Ranker, directing his plea to Eliza. These pleas triggered the Rankers from Edinburgh, and they also began making various offers to Eliza and her entourage in hopes of ridding themselves of Eren and his allies. "Ugh! So irritating! Should I kill these bugs?" Eliza, however, grew increasingly annoyed. She regarded them with disdain, as if they were mere pests buzzing around her. La intervened to dissuade her. "No need, master. They are the "batteries" we need. Let them live a bit longer," the Little Witch remarked with an almost yful tone. Her demeanor echoed Eliza''s cruelty as she surveyed the trapped Rankers. *** Suddenly, a group of 16 Sages appeared just beyond the expansive Birdcage barrier. This assemblyprised Sages dispatched by the Anfang Alliance and Hansen Lehan, who had barely survived. "What what the fuck is this?" Hansen was taken aback, his eyes wide with disbelief, as he observed the colossal Birdcage barrier. The sudden, drastic transformation was beyond hisprehension, as it had transpired in just a few minutes during his absence. "Is is that her? Garos was telling the truth?" Some of the Sages from the Anfang Alliance recognized Eliza with trepidation, referring to her as the Witch of the Endermes, as their records had described her. Another Sage confirmed her identity. "That''s correct. It is indeed her, exactly as the records depict her," a female Sage affirmed, peering at Eliza from outside the Birdcage Barrier. "We We were toote. What will she do now? Garos had informed us that she was nning to receive herself. How how could we" Realizing the dire circumstances, another Sage acknowledged theirteness and adopted a somber tone as he assessed the Birdcage barrier. Although he had yet to engage with the barrier, he understood that it wouldn''t be easily dispelled by anyone among their group. "Hansen, you need to give us a detailed ount of the events. Leave no details out." Insisted another Sage, fixing a prating gaze on Hansen. The urgency in his voice underscored the gravity of the situation. Now that Argo''s death had been confirmed, the Anfang Alliance''s primary mission was to ensure that Eliza Samael was eliminated once and for all. Her survival was an enigma to them, but now that they had confirmed it, they were determined to ensure she met her demise. The Anfang Alliance recognized Eliza Samael''s deep-seated animosity toward Rankers associated with Anfang''s traditional establishments, as she had been betrayed by the Alliance in the past. Her revival could spark renewed chaos in Anfang, considering her status as the legendary Titan yer from the Cmity Era. Even the collective might of multiple Sages might not be sufficient to suppress her. *** Hansen recounted all he knew and detailed the events leading up to his abrupt teleportation to an unknown location. He remained uncertain about the fates of his fellow Sages and Garos Renar. However, he dered them to be dead for the time being. Yet, based on their absence and the dire circumstances, he could only conclude that they likely perished. The fact that they had not contacted the Alliance during such a crisis left him with no other reasonable exnation. ''Did did he really kill the King''s Hand?'' Hansen himself struggled to fully ept his own deductions. However, given the state of affairs and the firsthand ounts he received from the surviving Rankers, he feltpelled to voice these harsh truths. It was an attempt to grapple with the absurd reality. If anyone had told him previously that Sage Garos would meet his end at the hands of a Master Ranker who had absconded with his Spirit Beast, he would have regarded it as a preposterous jest. Yet, reality had proven stranger than even the most oundish of jokes. The Sage Ranker who appeared to be leading this new group of Sages quietly uttered Eren''s name under his breath and regarded him with intense scrutiny. He had just heard the ount of Eren''s actions on the battlefield, and he was profoundly taken aback by the audacious feat Eren had aplished. This leader Sage found it difficult to believe that a Master Ranker could vanquish six Sages, including Garos Renar. ording tomon sense, no matter the stratagems and snares employed by a Master Ranker, they shouldn''t have the capacity to eliminate a Sage Ranker. ''First, it was a Demon Prince. And now this! What the fuck is happening today?'' The leader Sage thought to himself. Chapter 1558 Lazarus: “This Is Not a Hostage Situation” Chapter 1558 Lazarus: This Is Not a Hostage Situation Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. At this point, a second group of Sages sliced through the skies with the swiftness of the wind, arriving at the scene. These newly arrived Sages approached the initial group and identified themselves as Sages from the kingdom of Layos. They were reinforcements dispatched by Layos kingdom following the confirmation of the deaths of the previous Sages who had fallen to Eren''s hands. "Please, Sage Hansen, help us!" Ady Master Ranker beseeched Hansen with a pleading gaze. She hailed from Edin, the capital of Edinburgh, and seemed to have personal connections with Hansen Lehan. She counted on these connections to persuade him to rescue her from the entrapment. "Sage Hansen, we implore you. This traitor Grimdawn is messed up in his head. He''s already taken the lives of the Sages. We don''t want to be his next victims." Another male Ranker joined in, surrounded by fellow male Rankers. All of them fixed their eyes on Hansen with pleading expressions, hoping he would show thempassion. However, it was evident from the longing look in Hansen''s eyes that he was only interested in rescuing the female Ranker. "Sage Miyen, help us. We are the loyal subjects of Layos. You can''t leave us here. These Edinburgh Rankers are barbarians." Rankers from Layos beseeched Sage Miyen for help, relying on the Sages dispatched by Layos kingdom. The pleas and cries swelled in volume as the trapped Rankers glimpsed hope in the form of the Sages standing outside the barrier. "Grimdawn. This despicable man! I could have understood if it was only the Rankers from Layos. But how could he conspire against his own countrymen? This I can not tolerate it. I don''t know what the fuck is he nning to do. But it looks like I will have to eliminate him and put an end to this." Sage Hansen dered, his suppressed anger evident as he stepped forward. From the corner of his eye, he kept an eye on the female Ranker who had sought his assistance. It was as if he was projecting a valiant image to impress her. "Hansen! At least mind your age and keep it in your pants. This is not the time to fool around." However, the leader Sage from the Anfang Alliance halted Hansen in his tracks. With a grave tone, he addressed the Birdcage barrier, instructing caution. "This barrier will allow us to enter freely, but it won''t let us leave. It functions using intent-based magic. So any regr means won''t work on it. At least not the way we want them to," the leader Sage said while observing the Birdcage Barrier intently. "What the f Err What are we supposed to do then?" asked Hansen while recalibrating his attitude. The leader Sage pondered a bit before answering. "We We must coborate to dismantle the formation from the outside. Otherwise, we might end up trapped within it. This isn''t a typical hostage situation; otherwise, we would have received a list of demands. They have ess to Sansara Sage''s runes and yet aren''t trying to escape. This implies they have a specific purpose here. Something that ties them here. So this is something else. Based on my observations, I can only tell you what they are not nning, but I don''t know their actual intentions. This poses a significant challenge for us. In any case, getting trapped inside won''t be advantageous. So, it''s crucial to stay the fuck away from that barrier and avoid entering it at all costs. Do not let your personal emotions get in the way of what we are supposed to do here," he cautioned. The leader Sage briefly looked at the beautiful female Master Ranker who had asked Hansen to save her before looking at Hansen himself. He subtly let Hansen know that he was aware the reason for the haste Hansen had shown earlier. The leader Sage could tell that breaking the formation from inside was beyond their capabilities, but deciphering the array''s functioning was something they could tackle. While the fate of the trapped Rankers didn''t concern him greatly, he was resolute in preventing Eliza''s revival. Consequently, his goal was to find a way to dismantle the Birdcage Barrier from the outside. If the trapped Rankers perished in the process, so be it. Their safety was only a secondary option for all the Sages. *** "Sage Eliza Samael, we I know we have our differences. But this is not the old Anfang Alliance anymore. We want to cooperate and are ready to listen to any request you have. In return, we ask for your cooperation." The leader Sage spoke in a solemn tone as he fixed his gaze on Eliza. He was testing the waters to see if engaging the Witch of the Endermes might offer them an easier route to breaking the barrier. Upon hearing the leader Sage''s words, Eliza was on the verge of mocking him. However, Eren intervened. "Ignore them. That''s what they''re aiming for. Never talk with the negotiators when they don''t have anything to offer you that you actually want. It only wastes time. Let''s stay focused on the task at hand. Everything is set for the Lazarus Project. When would you like to start?" Eren inquired neutrally. Eren could sense Eliza''s eagerness to converse with the Sages outside the Birdcage Barrier. Having spent a considerable amount of time alone with only two young witches and hordes of undead wraiths aspany, she yearned for normal interactions with other Rankers. She had curses to give, injustice to speak about, and quite possibly a few verses to sing that she had written in her free time. Even if they were her adversaries, the Witch of the Endermes was prepared to verbally spar with them. However, Eren''s words put an end to that spar before it even began. "Tch! You''re no fun, little kitten," Eliza grumbled, her discontent evident on her face. She then took a deep breath and assumed a serious tone. "Alright, ytime''s over. Let''s begin," the Witch of the Endermes dered, vanishing from her position. Chapter 1559 Lazarus: “These Fucking Sages Are Trying to Kill Us?” Chapter 1559 Lazarus: These Fucking Sages Are Trying to Kill Us? Eliza withdrew her Soul Sense manifestation, and her withered body moved within a casket-like container. After a prolonged period of inactivity, her sunken eyes fluttered open. Although her eyes appeared dry and almost sightless, they radiated a fervent spirit and vitality. Despite the shadow of death looming, her will to live and exact revenge burned more brightly than ever. With creaking sounds, the casket-like cover was lifted, revealing Eliza''s original body, upright andposed. Her frail form shifted, facing Eren. Her dry, skin-covered jaw moved with effort, and she managed to speak a few words. "La, Le, my dears, remember what I told you to do, alright? Meanwhile, I will... I will keep an eye on Reen," she rasped, her skeletal gaze turning to Reen, who stood next to her casket-like container. "Erni, take care of yourself," Reen said to Eren with a warm smile. He nodded in response and reassured her with confidence, "Don''t worry, Reen. One way or another, we''ll be together by the end of all this." *** "Witch of the Endermes, this is not the Cmity Era anymore. You do not belong here." "Eliza Samael, if you agree to cooperate with us, the Anfang Alliance will make sure that you are able to leave Anfang and explore other worlds." The Sages outside the Birdcage Barrier persisted in their attempts tomunicate with Eren and Eliza''s group, mixing pleas and threats. Soon, more Sages from both kingdoms joined the efforts. After confirming Eliza Samael''s survival, the Anfang Alliance wielded its influence to stop the two kingdoms from battling each other. Theypelled both sides to mobilize reserve Sages who weren''t initially supposed to participate. The Alliance had already dispatched the maximum number of Sages they could. As a result, they had to rely on the reserved Sages from both kingdoms. At this point, the leader Sage recognized that their requests, suggestions, and demands were falling on deaf ears regarding the architects of this strange situation. He also observed Eren and Eliza''s group making preparations for what seemed like an unusual ritual or a demonic ceremony. He grew apprehensive about their intentions and concluded that it was time for action rather than words. *** The leader Sage from the Anfang Alliance beganmanding his own Runic Formation to address the Birdcage Barrier. He instructed the other Sages apanying him to function as Array Eyes for this offensive-type formation. The Battle Formation employed by the leader Sage was akin to the one Eren had encountered during his confrontation with Arthur''s Hound, Oliver. It was a pure offensive Battle Formation that materialized a colossal weapon by condensing S-Ranked Mana. The more Sages acted as Array Eyes for the formation, the more potent and intricate it became. Oliver, in his battle against Eren''s team, had conjured an elemental sword with his deployed Battle Formation. In contrast, this Battle Formation produced a colossal Elemental Spear that surpassed Oliver''s creation in its terror. The Elemental Spear loomed in the sky above the Sages who stood within the Battle Formation''s protectiveyer, covering them like a domain Ability. This Elemental Spear stretched approximately 500 meters in length, bearing a massive de throbbing with ominous S-Ranked Mana. The shaft of the giant spear was adorned with magical runes. It appeared as if one swing of this magical weapon could obliterate half of the trapped Rankers from both sides on the battlefield. A second swing might suffice to annihte the Field Armies fielded by both kingdoms. Swoosh. Zoom. Bang. The massive Elemental Spear generated by the Battle Formation sliced through the air, causing a fierce storm in the vicinity and emitting a sharp cutting sound as it collided with the Birdcage Barrier. Booom! Rumble! A muffled, primal sound emanated from the sh of the two Battle Formations. One Formation was concentrated on defense and istion, empowered by intent-based magic, while the other had the numerical advantage in terms of Sages serving as its Array Eyes. It also had prative Abilities. This collision ruptured the fabric of space momentarily, revealing a devouring void. It unleashed a potent S-Rank Mana Storm that would have been deadly for many Rankers had they been exposed to it. Ironically, the Birdcage Barrier, which confined the Rankers from both sides, protected them from this violent energy. "What are they doing?" "They these fucking Sages are trying to kill us?" "Aaaah! Sage Hansen, please save me. I I will do anything you ask of me." The trapped Rankers implored the Sage Rankers outside to cease their actions, shocked by the Sages'' disregard for their safety. Some Rankers inside the Birdcage Barrier, their priorities shifting, now wished for the barrier to withstand the offensive-type Battle Formation employed by the Sages. If this was let on, the Rankers with two opposing ideas would form groups and start attacking each other for a new cause. Boom. Boom. Boom. The sounds of the impacts were akin to a giant hammer striking a ss window with an unnatural ability to endure the blows while maintaining its ss-like properties. This sight would have sent shivers down the spines of lower-ranked entities had they been outside the Birdcage Barrier. The Elemental Spear became adorned with various offensive spells as it attacked the Birdcage Barrier, shing with the elemental walls with such intensity that the defensive formation''s runes vibrated with a resounding "huuuummmmm" sound. The Sages outside incessantly struck the Birdcage Barrier, aiming to overwhelm it and forcefully breach it from the outside. However, the leader Sage soon noticed that something was amiss with the Formation-generated Elemental Spear. "It... It can''t be. That barrier is siphoning away the condensed mana from the Elemental Spear," he muttered as he observed the state of the manifested weapon produced by the offensive-type Battle Formation. The other Sages also grew fatigued as they realized that an unusuallyrge amount of S-Rank Mana was being drawn from them while they served as the Array Eyes for the Formation. They soon grasped that the Birdcage Barrier was siphoning their mana to enhance its strength. Chapter 1560 Lazarus: “Bring Out the Final Piece of the Puzzle” Chapter 1560 Lazarus: Bring Out the Final Piece of the Puzzle "Don''t stop. Continue the assault!" The leader Sage urged his fellow Sages within the Battle Formation. "Even if this damn formation is absorbing mana, it can''t do so endlessly. We''ll persist with our attacks but change our approach," he exined to the Sages before revealing his n. The leader Sage chose to limit the number of Sages acting as the Battle Formation''s Array Eyes. He divided them into two groups, with one group serving as Array Eyes and the other resting to preserve their energy. If the first group became exhausted, the Sages from the second group would take over the Formation. The Sages would keep the formation active on rotational shifts. This strategy would enable them to maintain constant pressure on Eren''s istion barrier while conserving their strength. The Anfang Rankers didn''t know much about the formation Eren had received from Argo. However, they understood that the true limitationy in the Rankers deploying the Formation. As long as they could tire out Eren''s subordinates serving as the Array Eyes for the Birdcage Barrier, the defensive barrier would eventually dissipate. They just needed to apply sustained pressure in the right ce. Behind his stoic and confident demeanor, the leader Sage felt stress and anxiety. His attacks had no psychological impact on Eren and the entities inside the second barrier, who continued with their Lazarus Project despite the ongoing assault. It was as if they did not care what happened to them or the Sages present outside the barrier. *** While the Sages from the Anfang Alliance and both kingdoms relentlessly attacked the Birdcage Barrier, Eren and Eliza''s groups continued their final steps for the Lazarus Project. An unspoken agreement prevailed among these two groups to ignore external interference, whether it was the cries and warnings of the Rankers or the disturbances caused by the Sages outside the Birdcage Barrier. Contrary to the leader Sage''s assumptions, Eren had already taken measures to ensure the Birdcage Barrier would endure for an extended period. That''s why he had his fiends act as the Array Eyes for the Battle Formation. These fiends possessed potent demonic energy that helped stave off fatigue. Unlike regr Rankers, their fiendish bodies were not easily worn out in the first ce. Moreover, Eren had equipped them with specialized potions to swiftly recover from any sudden challenges. As a potion maker who had run a sessful potioneering business for years, he had all the resources and tools needed to pull this off. The fiends who served as Array Eyes were separated from everyone else. As long as these fiends remained in good shape, Eren had little to fret about the relentless Sage attacks on the Birdcage Barrier. In short, Eren and Eliza''s groups faced no immediate threats, so they didn''t halt their preparations. Another Array Formation had been established within the second istion barrier at this stage, known as the Soul Seed Insertion Array. Eren had recently acquired theyout for this Array from House Lancelot after raiding the City of Lancelot. While Eren and his allies were busy setting up the Soul Seed Insertion Array, La and Le were upied with processing a specific Ranking resource. They held onto stalks of flowers, each with an ethereal blue hue that cycled from dark to light blue before reverting to dark. The horn-like protrusion, on the other hand, looked solid and lifelike. These flower stalks they processed with their mana were none other than Simbelmyne''s flowers. Producing and acquiring Simbelmyne''s flowers was a challenging endeavor for Eren. They took decades to bloom even in a controlled greenhouse environment. Eren had acquired them a decade ago by participating in House Remus'' auction event. The flowers were not seen in legal markets for years toe after that. The butcher had obtained these flowers by "borrowing" them from the Rankers who had won them in a bid inside House Remus'' auction house. Once the initial preparations werepleted, Eren allowed Shallot''s Mirror to manifest itself. The small mirror ornamented bracelet he wore detached from his wrist, forming an average-human-sized mirror. The mirror''s rim was adorned with intricate magical symbols and runic patterns in a metallic-like frame. The oval-shaped mirror had a ck surface that reflected nothing. *** Amidst all these activities, Eliza''s mummified body was finally able to exit the casket-like container and hover in the air. In a weak and feeble form, she assumed a meditative posture. Eren could discern that she was practicing her Ranking Technique to stabilize her condition for whaty ahead. Her dying body needed stable stats to sessfully undergo the Lazarus Project. The Soul Seed Insertion Array created by Eren had multiple Array Eyes. Initially inspired by House Lancelot''syout, he and Eliza had adjusted it to suit their Lazarus Project requirements. The modified Array Formation was circr in shape and featured several runic circles acting as Array Eyes. Eliza upied the northern Array Eye, with Reen on her right in the eastern Array Eye. She was supposed to offer a part of her mass as a Primer for Eliza''s resurrection. Eliza had already conducted her experiments on her throughout these 9 years. So they had all the necessary data regarding the theoretical process. The southern Array Eye, directly opposite Eliza, was under the control of Le, with Shallot''s Mirror hovering behind her. The central Array Eye was held by the Little Witch La, who held all the Simbelmyne''s flowers, infusing them with her mana. Eren remained outside the Soul Seed Insertion Array, silently observing as each party performed their final preparations. "Little kitten, we''re ready. Bring out the final piece of the puzzle." Eliza''s mummified form said, her sunken eyes focused intensely on him. Her breathing became irregr, and a draconic aura surrounded her, making her presence overpowering. It was as if her life essence had caught fire which was about to burn brighter just a moment before it was extinguished for good. If Eliza hadn''t made conscious efforts to control her aura, it would have been suffocating for everyone within the second istion barrier. "Alright," Eren nodded to Eliza before closing his eyes. Using the spatial handle of the Sansara Sage''s space-element runes, he summoned a specific individual to the scene. This act of summoning was like pulling a tether connected to someone on the other end. A slight spatial fluctuation urred, and someone appeared within the western Array Eye. This neer looked bewildered and disoriented, unsure if her surroundings were real or a dream. "Where... where am I?" Lady Zee questioned herself as she nced around the unfamiliar environment. Chapter 1561 Lazarus: “These Damn Witches Are Up To No Good” Chapter 1561 Lazarus: These Damn Witches Are Up To No Good ? "Hmm. So, this is the vessel you''ve chosen for me." Eliza remarked as she observed the newly appeared Expert Ranker inside the western Array Eye. She looked a bit unsatisfied. She then turned her gaze to La. "Could you not have found someone more suitable? She seems rathercking," Eliza expressed her dissatisfaction. La was about to respond, but Lady Zee''s voice interrupted. "Where... where am I?" Lady Zee questioned, ncing around the unfamiliar surroundings. Hmmmmmm! However, before Lady Zee could say more, her senses were engulfed by a Sage''s power. She was rendered motionless, looking helpless and weak. "You don''t quite trust me, do you?" Eren stared at Sage Eliza, understanding her intentions. The mummified Sage chuckled before responding. "Fufufu. I was merely ensuring that the ''goods'' are as good as promised, little kitten. After all, transitions can be unpredictable. No need to get so worried." Eliza replied, retracting her powers. She sensed a slight irregrity with the vessel chosen by Eren and La but couldn''t pinpoint what it was. ''This This is still doable. No matter what trap this brat has set for me, I''ll ovee them once I regain control of the body. A Master Ranker''s soul won''t be strong enough to resist me,'' Eliza thought to herself, determined to proceed with her n. Eliza''s self-assuredness was unwavering. Eren wasn''t concerned about her double-checking Lady Zee. Their rtionship was built on a skewed form of trust, and if the chosen vessel showed no anomalies, it would be more suspicious than otherwise for Eliza, who would have expected surprises. Finding anomalies in Lady Zee assured Eliza. If she had found none, she would have changed the initial n altogether. If Eren truly understood La and Eliza, which he believed he did, there was a possibility that the two witches had kept extra vessels as backups in case something happened to Lady Zee. These spares might have had lowerpatibility with Eliza than Lady Zee had shown. Otherwise, they would have employed one of their backup vessels instead of Lady Zee. When Eliza withdrew her Soul Sense, Lady Zee felt like she had been suddenly pulled out of a raging fire, finally able to breathe again. With a horrified expression, she looked at the source of her distress and nearly cried out in shock and fear. However, she couldn''t regain control of her voice in time. All that emerged from her mouth was a muffled, barely audible screech, akin to a cat''s hiss. "Heeeeeeeessssssss!" In her panic, Lady Zee began frantically scanning her surroundings, seeking an escape from this nightmarish situation or someone to seek help from. She had never felt so helpless in her life. As a Cultist Ranker, she had navigated life''s challenges with a determined spirit. But this was different; it might not shape her into a better Ranker but lead her to bing a deceased one. ncing in a specific direction, Lady Zee saw a young man standing outside the Runic Array, silently observing the ritual she had unwillingly be a part of. Due to being inside the Array Eye and having just encountered Eliza''s Soul Sense, her vision remained blurred, preventing her from immediately identifying the man. Yet, she sensed that she knew him well. "You... over there... Help..." Before Lady Zee could implore the young man outside the Array Formation for assistance, La began to take control over Lady Zee''s body. It felt as if Lady Zee had lostmand over her own limbs and her central nervous system had beenmandeered by someone or something else. With trepidation, Lady Zee watched as the Little Witch produced a palm-sized stuffed doll that bore an eerie resemnce to her. La opened the doll''s mouth, and inexplicably, Lady Zee waspelled to mimic the action, causing her to open her own mouth. ''These damn witches are up to no good,'' the butcher thought to himself. Eren, as a silent observer, noted that these witches employed unusual techniques, clearly not originating from Anfang. It seemed they were drawing upon their knowledge from Labh Salem for this peculiar procedure. Voodoo Magic! "Here, you need to drink this," La said to Lady Zee, her voice carrying an air of authority. She didn''t wait for a response and directed a levitating vial of potion toward Lady Zee. Though it was against her will, Lady Zee''s hand moved on its own ord, catching the vial. Her face reflected a blend of shock and unwillingness, but her hands seemed to act independently. Lady Zee uncorked the vial with a flick of her hand and downed its contents in one go. Gulp. Gulp. Gulp. Lady Zee had consumed an Astral Projection potion, the concoction Eren had obtained from Dan Carren, Lensa Carren''s great-grandfather. Typically, this potion was used by Rankers to separate their souls from their physical bodies, enabling them to delve into profound epiphanies. In the Lazarus Project, however, it was employed to extract Lady Zee''s soul without causing harm to her physical form. Lady Zee waspelled to drink the potion against her own wishes. Following this, she was made to sit cross-legged and close her eyes. Meanwhile, La extracted a set of needles from her ID Storage and started puncturing the doll she held in her hand with them. Simultaneously, Lady Zee felt as if she was being pricked by various needles at crucial points on her body. She was then coerced into circting the mana within her body while processing the Astral Projection Potion. With thispleted, La made the doll in her possession vanish into thin air. Subsequently, she caused multiple stalks of Simbelmyne''s flowers to levitate toward Sage Eliza. These flower stalks encircled the northern Array Eye within the altered Soul Seed Insertion Formation, allowing Eliza to inhale their fragrance. "Master, this one''s for you," La produced another vial containing the distilled essence of the Simbelmyne''s flowers that she had prepared earlier, and she directed it toward Sage Eliza. The Witch of the Endermes caught the vial with her mummified hand. Without further ado, she continued her own Ranking Technique. Eliza was expected to consume the potion at the right moment when Lady Zee''s soul detached from her physical body. Chapter 1562 Lazarus: "Enderflames!" Chapter 1562 Lazarus: "Endermes!" "Haash! The initial steps areplete." La spoke in an even tone as she directed her gaze toward Lady Zee. Given that Lady Zee had beenpelled to ingest the Astral Projection Potion and allow her body to absorb its effects, it was expected that the results would take some time to manifest. ording to La''s calctions regarding the effectiveness of the Astral Projection potion on Lady Zee, it would take a day or two for her system to fully process the potion''s effects. While she had utilized Voodoo Magic from Labh Salem to expedite this process, it was insufficient to prompt Lady Zee''s soul to willingly depart from her physical form within just a few hours. "How noisy, right? Let''s bring an end to this turmoil and create a calm environment for us and the spectators gathering outside the barrier. Let''s show them a scene that''ll etched into their memories forever," the Little Witch chuckled with a touch of malevolence as she activated another pre-prepared Runic Formation. It was as if she was remembering the old memory of being trapped inside such traps in the past and was now venting the effects of that trauma out by torturing the trapped Rankers. One could see that Sage Eliza was also reliving her past memories as soon as she heard what the Little Witch was up to. *** La decided to address the trapped Rankers who were still causing significantmotion through their ceaseless attempts to breach the primary and secondary Birdcage Barriers. As soon as the Little Witch initiated the formation, the ground beneath the trapped Rankers became marked with a variety of enigmatic magic runes and symbols. In the next moment, the vision of the confined Rankers was enveloped in a green hue as a sea of green mes materialized within the primary Birdcage Barrier. These mes selectively ignited the ground upied by the trapped Rankers, sparing the area protected by the secondary Birdcage Barrier. The potion used by La in conjunction with the Runic Formation was, in fact, a concentrated form of the Endermes in potion form that Sage Eliza had conjured for her. The Little Witch had harnessed a conventional Spell Synthesis Array Formation to transmute the Endermes into this potion. The Array Formation that had been deployed at this point not only facilitated La''s precise deployment of the Endermes but also granted her control over their intensity and reach, providing her with the means to transform the trapped Rankers into a unique kind of fuel. More precisely, it was a fuel that Sage Eliza could utilize to boost her Ranking Status immediately upon her revival. Of course, this procedure was also based on Voodoo Magic from Labh Salem and had no roots in the Land of the Faithless. *** Bang. Bang. Bang. Even the few Grandmaster Rankers ensnared within the Birdcage Barrier resorted to desperate attempts, pounding the impassable and ethereal walls before them with all their strength. Some directed their assaults at the primary barrier, seeking escape to preserve their own lives, while others set their sights on the secondary barrier, aiming to breach it and confront Eren and hispanions. "Attack together! Unite your efforts!" Cried out a Ranker who was not actively engaged in the assault on the barriers, seemingly considering such endeavors futile. However, he recognized the danger of disengagement and others joining him into not-doing-anything-ness, choosing to encourage those struggling to break free, as "their" sess might ultimately serve "his" interests. It was evident that living beings spanned a wide spectrum of behaviors and attitudes in any circumstance. Among them, some persistently prioritize their self-interest, even when their survival hinged on cooperation with others. However, not everyone was keen on standing on the sidelines or letting others take care of their survivability for them. Arge group of Rankers had already decided to cooperate. Inside this enclosed space where Edinburgh and Layos Rankers were held captive, something unexpected unfolded. The Rankers from both factions ceased their hostilities. In an odd turn of events, they began to coborate in their efforts to escape this sudden, enforced imprisonment. The threat to their lives, along with the presence of an external force capable of posing such a threat, proved enough to overshadow their longstanding enmity. The Rankers from both sides disyed a striking shift in behaviorpared to their recent hostilities. They came together to assail the barriers in unison, pooling their collective strength, ranking resources, and artifacts to maximize the damage they could inflict. Some of these Rankers initiated Battle Formations together, enhancing their assaults and coordinating their strikes with the Sages outside who targeted the same barriers. Eren''s actions unintentionally and strangely brought about a truce between the two kingdoms within this confined domain. The Lord of War had be a Peacemaker in the end. *** More Sages had begun to join the efforts to break the barrier by this point. It should be noted that, at this juncture, the Birdcage Barrier might have given way if not for its unique capacity to absorb the elemental attacks from both the entrapped Rankers and the Sages outside. The formation, entrusted to Eren by Beelzebub, converted this absorbed energy to fortify its barriers, granting it the tenacity required to withstand the ceaseless barrage of Rankers attempting to breach it from both within and without. Amidst the attacks, an arrogant Ranger ss Master Ranker from Layos exuberantly rallied hisrades as they directed their efforts against the primary Birdcage Barrier. "Hahahaha, we''re getting close, my fellowrades," he jubntly proimed, leading the charge with a team of Rankers supporting him. "Just a few more hours of dedication, and we''ll shatter this damn prison. If the Sages from our side can bring down the secondary barrier, I''ll personally deal with Grimdawn," he asserted confidently, his eyes zing with ambition. Simr conversations and coordinated actions unfolded across various groups of Rankers as they synchronized their strikes against the istion barriers. Yet, before the Ranger ss Master Ranker and his counterparts could celebrate their efforts or the abundance of their resources used in the endeavor, an overwhelming surge of mana enveloped them. In an instant, the vision of these Rankers was consumed by a deluge of green mes. "Endermes!" Eximed the leader Sage outside the Birdcage Barrier with a look of terror, his face aglow with a greenish hue due to the mes before him. Chapter 1563 Lazarus: "Im Helpless To Change Anything" Chapter 1563 Lazarus: "I''m Helpless To Change Anything" The trapped Rankers screamed in agony, their voices echoing in despair. "Help... help me... these mes they won''t die..." "Sages, you useless cunts, save us Aaaaargh!" The Sages attacking the Birdcage Barriers from the outside froze in shock as the green mes erupted inside the trapped space. They exchanged bewildered nces, feeling the powerful mana emanating from the green mes. La selectively targeted low-ranked individuals, subjecting them to slow and agonizing deaths to extract the purest Mana Essence. The more experienced and higher-ranked Rankers remained unharmed for the moment, spared from the hellfire torment inflicted upon the lesser entities. Since Lady Zee''s soul departure from her mortal coil was a lengthy process, La prioritized efficiency in drawing out the Mana Essence from the trapped Rankers rather than incinerating them all at once. The burning inferno was now going tost for more than a day. Terrified, the trapped Rankers frantically unleashed elemental spells, primarily water-based, in an attempt to quell the green mes. Yet, it was akin to dousing a raging inferno with a mere drop of water. Plus, the Endermes did not look like they had their elemental weakness exposed when they came in contact with the water-element mana. They change the state of water instantly, making the top of the Birdcage Barrier get umted with white clouds of steam. The Endermes burned with such intensity that even a collective effort of Grandmasters couldn''t diminish their fierce power. The Rankers resorted to curses, directed at Eren, Eliza, and the Sages outside the barrier, as well as their own ill-fated circumstances. Eren watched this nightmarish scene unfold, his demeanor that of a detached observer, seemingly unfazed by both themencement of the Lazarus Project and the suffering of the trapped Rankers. *** ''It.. it has finally begun.'' Reen watched the green mes with an anxious expression on her face. Her concern wasn''t for the trapped Rankers but for her own destiny. Eren''s presence by her side offered her a measure of sce. She clung to it while remaining seated within the eastern Array Eye. Something within the Array Eye seemed to beckon her to assume her slime-beast form, but she knew it wasn''t the right time for her to participate in the Lazarus Project. ''With the way I am now, I''m helpless to change anything. I can only trust him.'' Reen was resolute in adhering to Eren''s directives. She knew him well and was certain he''d considered every facet of the Lazarus Project meticulously. Her past had been spent in Eliza''s Purgatory, and she trusted Eren to navigate theplex situation. Once a C-Rank demon beast more powerful than Eren, she''d separated from him when he was just an Ace Ranker. Over a decade, their roles had reversed, with Eren now gaining a higher Rank than her. During that time, Reen''s own progress had stagnated, and her Rank had regressed due to the experiments inflicted upon her by the Witch of the Endermes. Unfamiliar with the political dynamics between the kingdoms of Edinburgh and Layos, and possessing only scant knowledge of the Anfang Alliance, Reen remained essentially a nk te. The dormant demon soul fragment within her provided no infernal insights as well. It was as if she was not capable of wielding the might of the soul fragment that was part of herself. At least not the current-her. Reen recognized that the best course of action was to heed Eren''s guidance and await his instructions. This was crucial to ensure they didn''t merely be pawns in the Witch of the Endermes'' scheme. Of course, her worry for Eren''s safety overshadowed her apprehensions about her own. *** "Endermes... She really is the Witch of the Endermes!" The leader Sage from the Anfang Alliance murmured to himself. He observed the green mes wreaking havoc within the enclosed space where both factions'' Rankers were trapped. The Alliance''s library contained detailed ancient records about the mes conjured by Eliza Samael. Initially, when he first read about these green mes, the leader Sage dismissed them as exaggerations. He was a fire-element Ranker, well-versed in the depths of fire Elemental Attainments. Therefore, he found it hard to believe that ady Grandmaster Ranker from the Cmity Era, known as the Witch of the Endermes, could challenge a Sage with those legendary green mes. The Sage Rank was the pinnacle of power in Anfang, and the gap between Grandmasters and Sages was seemingly insurmountable. He surmised that either the ancient records about the Witch of the Endermes had been tampered with by the half-bloods of that era to excessively glorify her role in the Cmity War, or she had received substantial assistance from her fellow draconic Rankers belonging to House Samael. As a fire-element Sage himself, he knew that dealing with the green mes before him would be a daunting task, even if the caster appeared on the brink of death. "Hurry! It''s the Witch of the Endermes! We must speed up our efforts to break this damned barrier." The leader Sage shouted at his fellow Sages. He urged them to concentrate all their power into dismantling the Birdcage Barrier, with the intention of defeating Eliza when she was at her most vulnerable. *** It had been over a day since the Birdcage Barrier was first erected. The suffering of the trapped Rankers hade to an end. They all perished, leaving behind pure Mana Essence. This Mana Essence resembled a colorless, highly viscous liquid, about the size of a sphere with a radius of 20 meters. It looked harmless. However, it emitted a potent mana pulse. Eren fixated his gaze on the sphere of Mana Essence, knowing it was the substance to restore Eliza''s Sage Rank after her revival. This sphere had been ced inside an extension of the isting Array Eye, just outside the modified Soul Seed Insertion Array formation. It was evident to any Array Expert that this extra Array Eye was an addition to the original Arrayyout. It served as a one-time means for Eliza to regain her S-Ranker status upon assuming her new vessel. Chapter 1564 Lazarus: "Death Is Eternal & Ever-prosperous, Just As Life Is" Chapter 1564 Lazarus: "Death Is Eternal & Ever-prosperous, Just As Life Is" A sinister gleam briefly danced in Eren''s eyes as he regarded this extracted Mana Essence. However, he swiftly reined in his desires, ensuring they did not manifest outwardly. Since acquiring all the Seven Sins Marks, Eren felt like his emotions had been amplified to a certain degree. This made him more adept at using intent-based magic. Yet, it also meant that his emotions could surface inadvertently. Eren had no intention of following Aleph''s path, discarding his emotions. Nor did he want them to subdue his will and dictate his actions. He had chosen to wield the powers granted by the Sin Series Marks in his own unique way, without imposing limitations on his journey. ''My emotions won''t control me or my actions. I''ll use them to strengthen my convictions in my actions. Let''s see what the old hag does before I make any further decisions.'' Eren pondered, focusing on the Mana Essence with aposed expression, as if he had dismissed all the distracting thoughts trying to invade his mind. ''It''s going to happen. soon.'' Eren contemted silently as he assessed Lady Zee''s condition. His Soul Sense indicated that her soul would soon depart her physical body, initiating the final stages of the Lazarus Project. Eren shifted his attention to the isted space between the two barriers, which had once held around 45,000 Rankers but now stood deste and empty. The Endermes had left no trace of even their skeletons, incinerating them entirely. ''Death is eternal and ever-prosperous, just as life is.'' Eren mused indifferently, gazing at the now-vacant space. His mind remained cid, like a calm sea. Even if emotions swirled within, they did not disrupt theposed exterior he had cultivated. Deciding to check the situation outside the primary barrier, Eren observed that more Rankers from both kingdoms had gathered to witness the gruesome spectacle. They expressed anger towards Eliza and the others for their cruelty towards the trapped Rankers. The Rankers who had died inside the Birdcage Barrier were willing participants of the full-fledged war between the two kingdoms. While these trapped Rankers had known the risks of the battlefield, a third faction conspiring against them and annihting them for their own nefarious purposes was deemed uneptable by the Rankers surrounding the Birdcage Barrier. The battlefield seemed to oscite between silence and chaos. Inside the Birdcage Barrier, an eerie quiet persisted, akin to a massive haunted house. Outside the primary barrier, the watching Rankers vented their fury, vocally expressing a range of emotions. Amidst Eren''s emotionless scrutiny of the cursing Rankers, he unexpectedly received a voicemunication message from an alliance partner he had recently aligned with. ''Eren, you never mentioned anything like this.'' Aposed, strong-sounding yet surprised female voice resounded in his mind. He scanned the surroundings but noticed that the speaker had no intention of revealing herself amidst the crowd. ''Monster Sovereign Kayini, what brings you here?'' Eren conveyed his surprise over the voicemunication channel. He promptly recognized the voice as that of an S-Ranked Orcina named Kayini. Eren had expected her, along with three other S-Ranked monsters, to be in the City of White Raven, following a confirmation through Agatha. Kayini was among the few S-Ranked monsters who had responded to Eren''s alliance call. At his request, she hade to stay in the city for a few days, not aware of the extreme actions he was taking on the battlefield while having her and the other three S-Ranked Children of Echidna serve as bodyguards for his assets. It appeared that Kayini had only recently approached the battlefield meant for the two kingdoms. However, she had somehow learned about the events within the Birdcage Barrier. Her startled voice suggested that she hadn''t anticipated Eren''s bold and ruthless actions against the Rankers from both kingdoms. Nevertheless, Kayini didn''t sympathize with the trapped Rankers. She didn''t regret forming an alliance with Eren. However, her annoyance at hisck of transparency regarding his ns and actions was evident in her voice. "You are one shrewd demon, aren''t you? Rest assured, we''ve protected your city as agreed. Khal and Loma are still residing there. Parmar and I are here to check up on you after we ensured that your city would be safe for the time being," Kayini informed Eren via the voicemunication channel. She informed Eren, as he had foreseen, that House Lancelot had attacked the City of White Raven, apanied by the Edinburgh kingdom''s Blood Punisher Force and some allies from across the kingdom. The joint attacking force included two Sages, one from House Lancelot and one affiliated with the Edinburgh royalty. House Lancelot and Edinburgh''s central administration believed that deploying two Sages in the attack force would be sufficient to obliterate Eren''s city and his achievements ten times over. However, they hadn''t anticipated the presence of S-Ranked monsters from the Bands and Grandmaster-level Matriarchs from Amazonian settlements, positioned behind the city''s walls. Eren''s Monster Army, following his prior orders, was also stationed within the city. Orc Sovereign Kayini and her fellow allies had utilized all the trump cards Eren had left them to fend off the joint attack by House Lancelot and the Edinburgh kingdom. They had intercepted the threat before it could approach the City of White Raven, swiftly neutralizing it with a coordinated effort. The two Sages from the attack force had met their end at the hands of the S-Ranked monsters. Subsequently, Kayini and Parmar had left the city to investigate Eren''s current activities. *** "Eren... looking your current actions, I have to ask," Kayini inquired with a tone reflecting doubt and curiosity. "Is it truly achievable, breaking the World-Epassing Array? If you happen to renege on our agreement, just so you know, I''llplete what your enemies couldn''t do to your city with my own hands." She stated in a manner that, while portraying a grim scenario for Eren''s city,cked a threatening quality in her voice. Eren wasn''t bothered by her not-so-threatening threat. He casually shrugged before replying. ''I suppose we''ll find out soon enough. Stay where you are and enjoy the show.'' The butcher said with a tone ofposure. === Chapter 1565 Lazarus: “You Shouldn’t Have Done That” Chapter 1565 Lazarus: You Shouldnt Have Done That A rtively short distance from the battlefield and the Birdcage Barrier. A neutral gathering ce had been set up for the two warring factions. Specifically, the leaders of the two kingdoms hade together on the battlefield to discuss matters unrted to the ongoing war. On one side stood the Edinburgh Rankers, while on the other, the Layos Rankers formed their assembly, facing off against each other. Both groups were apanied by a contingent of Sages who acted as the first andst line of defense for their respective kingdom''s honorary army generals. "King Emil, what is the meaning of this? You raised a demon snake that swallowed all my people whole. Tell me why I shouldn''t hold you responsible for breaking the guidelines set by the Alliance?" Questioned a solemn elven royal, addressing the King of Edinburgh. This elf bore shoulder-length, off-golden hair and unusually long elf-like ears. He also wore a set of distinctive earrings signifying his royal lineage within the kingdom of Layos. This royal elf was none other than Ozark Oloris, the reigning monarch of Layos. Ozark shared a striking facial resemnce with Eren''s Living Undead, Shandil Oloris, as thetter was, in fact, Ozark''s offspring. It was noteworthy that Shandil''s physical form had been recently destroyed while apanying Eren on the battlefield without Ozark''s knowledge. However, Ozark had previously presumed Shandil to be deceased for over a decade, so there had been no reason for him to keep track of this missing or assumed-dead offspring. For Ozark, siring new children was always a possibility, given time. King Ozark fixed his gaze upon King Emil, as if expecting some form of exnation from him. King Emil, however, shook his head, rejecting the idea that he owed an exnation. In a serious and forthright tone, he began to speak. "I had no prior knowledge that this would transpire, King Ozark. Do you genuinely believe that I would allow that vile thing to kill my own uncle to kill your Rankers? And at the cost of killing my own men as well? This thing it''s beyond the concept of causing coteral damage to hurt one''s enemy. I''m sure you already know that." King Emil met Ozark Oloris''s intense gaze, keenly addressing the issue. King Ozark raised an usatory point. "Yet your key Rankers retreated before the construction of that malevolent barrier, did they not?" He shifted his focus to Crown Prince Rodrick, positioned a few steps behind King Emil. Obligated to respond to King Ozark''s inquiries, King Emil found himself momentarily at a loss for words. A pointed look directed at Rodrick indicated that he had some exining to do. With a sigh, Rodrick finally spoke up, sounding as diplomatic as possible. "I was indeed informed by Grimdawn before his actions, King Ozark. At the time, I was unaware of his true intentions. However, due to our personal connections, I opted to heed his advice. Had Had I known the extent of the impending crisis, I would have immediately alerted the Anfang Alliance," the crown prince of Edinburgh spoke in a helpless tone. ''Fuck you, Eren. Fuck you and your mom. Wait knowing you, you probably wouldn''t take offense in that.'' Rodrick muttered his inner frustrations towards Eren. He didn''t particrly care about Eren killing the King''s Hand, Garos Renar, who was technically his ancestral uncle. However, he disliked Eren for cing him in this troublesome situation. No matter what he did now, there was no reversing the fact that Eren would be pursued by the people of both kingdoms and the Anfang Alliance. As such, Rodrick decided to reveal everything he knew about the incident. Because it was bound toe into light anyway. King Emil attempted to defuse the situation by swiftly intervening. "What''s done is done. I have already dispatched a force, in conjunction with Rankers from House Lancelot, to capture that demonkin''s city by force. We won''t allow this incident to go unanswered, and we''ll dismantle everything that wretched abomination has managed to build so far." Rodrick was taken aback by King Emil''s actions. Evidently, the king of Edinburgh had made a unteral decision without consulting his own Crown Prince prior tounching an attack on the City of White Raven. "You you shouldn''t have done that," Rodrick eximed, his voice trembling in surprise. "Rodrick, have you gone mad?" King Emil retorted angrily. "Are you still trying to defend that monster''s actions? He killed over 40,000 Rankers from..." King Emil was about to continue his statement, but Rodrick swiftly interjected. "That''s not what I was trying to say, Father," Rodrick rified. "You don''t understand Eren as well as I do. If he''s nned this, he must have a backup n. The forces you''ve sent, the involved Rankers, they may get killed in vain unless you call them ba..." Rodrick''s words were abruptly halted as a Sage from the Edinburgh side, standing behind him, spoke gravely, addressing King Emil. "My king, the forces you sent to take down the City of White Raven. They all have been killed along with the two Sages. Sage Rutham Renar and Sage r Lancelot they they died." The Sage''s solemn tone delivered the grim news to King Emil. In the absence of the King''s Hand, the elderly Sage had shouldered the responsibility of defending King Emil. Rodrick, observing the unfolding situation, couldn''t help but express his silent "I told you so" sentiments through his expressions. If King Emil had sought Rodrick''s advice beforehand, Rodrick would have strongly advised against targeting the City of White Raven. It was not solely due to the fact that Rodrick had resided within Eren''s city, sheltered by its walls during the height of the royal bloodbath. During the time they had worked together, the crown prince had closely studied Eren''s nature and recognized him for who he really was. Even with his cunning nature, Rodrick would never willingly engage in a brutal confrontation with Eren. King Emil was left shocked upon hearing the news from his Sage guard, and King Ozark Oloris appeared equally distressed. After some contemtion, King Ozark proposed a solution to the Edinburgh side. Chapter 1566 Lazarus: “You Are a Terrible Friend” Chapter 1566 Lazarus: You Are a Terrible Friend "King Emil," Ozaek Oloris spoke in a grave tone. "it seems this venomous snake has attacked both our sides with equal ferocity. If my Rankers had been ughtered by your army on the battlefield, I wouldn''t suggest this. But we can''t let an upstart demonkin fuck with us like this, can we? It would tarnish both our images among our people. I I propose we call for a truce and address the issue at hand. Our top priority should be to eliminate Eren and all his allies as swiftly as possible. We will allow the Anfang Alliance to handle Eliza Samael, the ancient threat. Naturally, we''ll offer any support we can to the Alliance. However, we won''t side with that threat just to score a victory against each other. How does that sound?" King Ozark Oloris inquired of King Emil with a piercing gaze, expecting a swift and decisive response. King Emil swiftly grasped King Ozark''s intention. He could discern that King Ozark feared Edinburgh forming a ndestine alliance with the Witch of the Endermes. The Elven King was also concerned that the popce would mock him if they discovered the true course of events on the battlefield. Engaging in an all-out war and losing a significant army was one thing, but permitting a mere Master Ranker to conspire against both armies was a humiliating situation for the kings and their immediate Sage subordinates. Such revtions would inevitably sow chaos within both kingdoms'' borders, endangering internal security and fomenting negative sentiments among the people toward their current rulers. Thus, King Ozark proposed a solution that essentially involved creating a cover-up with the assistance of the Kingdom of Edinburgh. In return, he promised to support King Emil''s version of the cover-up, in an effort to quell any potential chaos. However, this arrangement relied on both King Ozark and King Emil refraining from exploiting the situation for their own benefit. Rodrick was inclined to protest that this was not the time for political maneuvering or cover-ups through conspiracy theories. But he wisely chose to remain silent and allow the two kings to reach a mutual agreement. ''No matter what I say, they won''t listen anyway. So I might as well y the role of a silent observer. That guy once told me that keeping one''s mouth shut during critical moments was an art that few could master. I''ll use his method to deal with the mess he''s created,'' Rodrick thought, keeping his thoughts to himself. After a moment of reflection, King Emil responded to King Ozark''s proposal. "You need not worry about the Kingdom of Edinburgh harboring a threat as formidable as the Witch of the Endermes solely to target Layos. I assure you that we will not..." King Emil was about to continue, but he was interrupted by a powerful surge of mana emanating from inside the Birdcage Barrier. It rippled out in all directions for miles. King Ozark followed King Emil''s gaze and beheld the Birdcage Barrier in the distance. It appeared as if the sky above the Birdcage Barrier had transformed into a massive storm''s eye, casting the surrounding area into a twilight-like state. The elemental forces exhibited unusual behavior, gathering around the Birdcage Barrier. "There is something amiss," a Sage from Layos murmured before quickly joining King Ozark''s side. "My King, we must depart immediately. Now that the war has officially ceased, there is no need for you or King Emil to remain here," she advised, casting an assessing gaze toward Edinburgh''s party. The Sages from Edinburgh reacted simrly, forming a protective circle around King Emil. As such, the kings of both kingdoms decided to exit the battlefield and leave the rest in the hands of their subordinates. Even the Sages were helpless in the face of Eren and Eliza''s grand y at this stage. As mere A-Ranked entities, both Ozark and Emil were not only powerless but also burdensome to the Sages who had acted as their protectors. ''You are a terrible friend, Eren. Emotionally bankrupt and inherently malevolent. You epitomize the kind of badpany the old men say to their younger generation to avoid at all costs because it only brings trouble. Yet, as my one and only friend, I hope you survive, if only so I can kick in your balls the next time I see you.'' Rodrick silently reflected, sighing as he withdrew from the battlefield alongside his father. He kept his thoughts of wanting Eren to survive this incident to himself, knowing that revealing them would likely result in beingbeled a traitor alongside Eren and facing prosecution by the King of Edinburgh himself. *** The Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation sprang to life as soon as Lady Zee fell unconscious. Her posture resembled someone dozing off in a cross-legged position, her head slumping forward. From her body emerged a spectral blur, radiant and apanied by a subtle spiritual aura. This was none other than Lady Zee''s soul, separated from her physical form through the Astral Projection Potion and transformed into a tiny seed-like sphere under the influence of the Soul Seed Insertion Array. La, utilizing soul-rted runes empowered by the array, isted her Soul Seed. Preventing Lady Zee''s soul from dispersing was crucial. Her body could fall into a vegetative state or worse, perish if her soul was harmed or lost. For the Lazarus Project to proceed smoothly, Lady Zee''s soul needed to remain dormant while her body entered aa-like state. "Master, you can consume the potion I provided now." La said with contained excitement. The Lazarus Project was advancing ording to her and Eliza''s desires. The Little Witch was impatient for her master to be reborn in a new vessel and regain her full power. "It seems my judgment day has finallye," Sage Eliza mumbled, her feeble voice emanating as she slowly opened her sunken eyes. Her mummified appearance looked even more fragile under the relentless pressure of the Array Eye. "Fufufu. I am prepared for whatever awaits. Wish me luck, little kitten," she added, directing her gaze toward Eren. Chapter 1567 Lazarus: “If You Can Dream It You Can Do It” Chapter 1567 Lazarus: If You Can Dream It You Can Do It "Well.. cough cough cough He Here goes nothing." The Witch of the Endermes took a deep breath before uncorking the vial provided by La. The distilled essence of Simbelmyne''s flowers was sipped slowly. With a soul as experienced as hers and a highly profound Soul Sense, she didn''t require the Astral Projection potion to release her soul from her body. She could do so voluntarily. The extract from Simbelmyne''s flowers served to calm her soul and rectify any spiritual deformities it might harbor. Another spectral blur manifested within the modified Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation, assuming a seed-like appearance. "Le, now," La signaled her alert sister, who stood inside the southern Array Eye. Without dy, Le got to work. She had linked her Soul Sense with Shallot''s Mirror, utilizing her connection with the artifact to draw Sage Eliza''s Soul Seed into the mirror. Tendrils formed from pure spiritual energy emerged from the ckened mirror, resembling wild vines suddenly infused with rapid growth. These tendrils, appearing akin to the material of the mirror itself, converged around Eliza''s Soul Seed and drew it close. The mirror''s surface appeared as though a stillke had been disrupted by a small sinking rock, rippling to amodate Eliza''s Soul Seed. Previously, Shallot''s Mirror exhibited no reflection, as if it had failed in its role as a mirror. However, it now mirrored Eliza Samael in her prime state with her eyes closed, as though she were standing before it. Eren inferred that this reflection represented how Eliza perceived herself; her soul manifested this image in response to her self-concept. "Haash! Master Eliza''s soul has been sessfully secured within Shallot''s Mirror without any issues. Baby steps, La. Baby steps." La muttered to herself, inspecting her own progress as she managed the functions of the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation. The formation provided an ideal, isted environment for her toplete this task; otherwise, relying solely on Shallot''s Mirror would have been insufficient to safeguard Eliza''s soul. "Now, onto the most critical part of the Lazarus Project," La whispered to herself, her fists clenched in determination. She extended both hands before turning to Reen, who was enclosed within the eastern Array Eye. "Reen, it''s your turn," the Little Witch signaled to Reen before engaging the eastern Array Eye''s functions. Reen nced at Eren, who stood outside the Soul Seed Insertion Array formation and nodded in acknowledgment. She then abandoned her human guise and transformed into her original form, that of a demonic, slime-like beast. Her distinctive features dissolved into a mass of semi-transparent, jelly-like blob. ''Echidna''s centa!'' Eren suddenly heard these strange words echo in his mind when Reen reverted to her former state. However, he disregarded the voice and focused on La''s ongoing actions. Over thest decade, the Little Witch and Sage Eliza had conducted numerous experiments on Reen''s constitution. They realized that they couldn''t simply utilize her as a Biological Primer to shape Lady Zee''s vessel into an ideal form for Eliza''s resurrection. Not without proper bnce needed to make the Project a sess. This crucial stage of the Lazarus Project demanded La to strike a delicate bnce. If she used the Primer too sparingly, it would introduce irregrities, rendering the fusion of two vessels for Eliza''s new body unsessful. Conversely, excessive use of the Primer would allow it to dominate the gic information of the two vessels, rendering the new vessel unsuitable for Eliza. Thisplexity was precisely why they needed a decade of experimentation with Reen. Such a bnce couldn''t be achieved spontaneously but required data from numerous trials. La activated the northern and western Array Eyes concurrently while leaving the eastern Array Eye operational and ready. With a wave of her hands, the magical runes and symbols encircling the lifeless bodies of Lady Zee and Eliza began to shine more intensely than ever before. The two bodies were enveloped by an unusual kind of Mana, undergoing a molecr deconstruction. Over time, these two vessels lost their physical forms, transitioning into a liquid stateprising flesh and bones. These liquified forms assumed a spherical shape, akin to excessivelyrge watermelons. At the center of these spheres were two mana cores. One of these mana cores was that of a C-Rank at its limit to break into the next Rank. The other mana core, belonging to Sage Eliza, was an S-Rank mana core which was only at the vapor state of the Sage Rank. After La sessfully formed the new vessel, the two mana cores would distingrate and form a new mana core that would belong to the Novice Rank. This process would be the final step and rtively less bothersome for La. As long as the Little Witch ensured that no anomaly urs while creating apatible vessel, the fusion of two mana cores would take ce naturally. La appeared visibly strained at this point. Maintaining the Array Formation''s operation, managing the three Array Eyes concurrently, ced immense pressure on her homunculus body and soul. ''La darling, if you can dream it, you can do it.'' La encouraged herself before refocusing on her task with renewed determination. She gestured with her left hand, extracting a portion of the Flesh Sphere from the western Array. Then, she repeated the process with the eastern Array Eye situated to her right. These two portions were introduced into the northern Array Eye, where Eliza''s mortal vessel had been transformed into yet another Flesh Sphere. La cautiously initiated the fusion process, blending three types of blobs together. Eliza''s flesh was solely used for extracting gic and soul-rted information. Lady Zee''s mortal vessel had been rendered as a nk canvas for imprinting with data from Eliza''s mortal vessel. Reen''s flesh was meant to serve as an ink, facilitating the imprinting of this information onto the newly formed mortal vessel resulting from the fusion. Uponpletion of this process, a wholly distinct vessel would emerge, perfectly attuned to Eliza''s soul. This represented the initial framework of the Lazarus Project, a coborative endeavor between Eren and Eliza''s sides. Chapter 1568 Lazarus: "Can I Have a Word With You?" Chapter 1568 Lazarus: "Can I Have a Word With You?" Hours had ticked away since Lamenced the fusion process, aiming to craft a vessel whollypatible with Eliza. Eren discerned that the project still had a way to go before its conclusion. During this interval, more and more Rankers congregated around the Birdcage Barrier. Some hailed from the kingdoms of Edinburgh and Layos, while others represented various factions and ces, drawn to witness a momentous event unfolding in the Land of the Faithless. Some remained on the fence about the whole thing while the others decided to take active part in the situation in some form or way. There were some Rankers who had started recording the audiovisuals of the scene unfolding in front of their eyes, wanting to make a fortune by selling the Array Disks for the right prices. The Anfang Alliance persisted in their efforts to dismantle the Birdcage Barrier, utilizing all avable resources and influence. Yet it was evident that the Sages and Rankers tasked with this mission had all but surrendered. They grasped that this barrier wasn''t one to be ovee through sheer numerical advantage. They continued their attempts primarily to keep those within distracted. By this juncture, even the least informed Rankers recognized Eren and La''s endeavor to resurrect Eliza. The Sages from the Anfang Alliance, Edinburgh, Layos, and their allies, who had gathered around the barrier, now waited for it to disperse naturally. They intended tounch a concerted attack, showing no mercy to anyone within. However, to their surprise, another faction abruptly appeared on the battlefield, utilizing the Sansara Sage''s space-element runes. This group wasposed of Sages from the Last Blood Bastion. "JJ Edgar!" Hansen eximed, recognizing one of the key figures in the newly arrived faction. Even the leader Sage from the Anfang Alliance grew tense upon seeing Sage Edgar and his associates materialize outside the Birdcage Barrier to act as another group of uninvited specters. "Before you jump to any conclusions, allow me to rify." Sage Edgar interjected, raising both hands and addressing the Anfang Alliance''s Rankers in an affable, non-threatening tone. "We had no hand in nning this. We aren''t here to form alliances or engage in conflict. At least, not anymore. We merely wish to observe what emerges once the barrier disperses. So, shall we agree to a temporary truce until then?" Edgar proposed calmly, locking eyes with the Anfang Alliance''s leader Sage. "Haah! I find it quite difficult to believe that the Last Blood Bastion had no hand in Sage Eliza''s possible resurrection, Edgar." The leader Sage remarked as he locked eyes with House Lowin''s de facto leader. He was reluctant to ept that a mere Master Ranker, not even a century old, could orchestrate all of this. Edgar shrugged, his expression neutral, before speaking further. "You''re free to believe what you want. I can''t back up my words with evidence I don''t possess. Even if I did have such evidence, I wouldn''t share it. However, the truth is, at this juncture, we''re just as in the dark about this situation as you are," Edgar calmly exined, his ocean-blue eyes steady. Zavir, the leader of Sages from the Anfang Alliance, remained skeptical. Seeing this, Edgar took a deep breath before continuing. "I know we are enemies. And we will act like one when the time is ripe. But just think about this for a second, Zavir. I''ve no motive to deceive you, have I? We could stake a im in Sage Eliza''s possible resurrection, but I doubt the Witch of the Endermes herself would be okay with that. We could remain neutral, but I don''t think your group would appreciate that either. So, all we aim for is to observe and assess the situation with that ancient monster. If she proves a threat to us as well, we may need to coborate to to "take good care" of her." Edgar stated, his gaze shifting towards the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation. Zavir had no intention of engaging his forces with the Last Blood Bastion at such a crucial moment. Doing so would only make it easier for Sage Eliza to handle them if she were resurrected in a new body. The Last Bloods who had joined the battlefield were formidable, equipped with the Sansara Sage''s space-element runes. As such, targeting them for elimination in one swift strike was not a viable option either. Furthermore, the idea of temporarily joining forces with the Last Blood Bastion''s Sages to deal with Eliza before settling their own disputes didn''t seem too bad to Zavir. Frankly, they could use all the help they could get to confront the Witch of the Endermes. They treated Eliza as the biggest spoiler on the Land of the Faithless at this point and dealing with everyone else involved in the Lazarus Project was a minor matter for them. "Alright, let''s stand down and monitor the situation for now." Sage Zavir nodded at JJ Edgar, signaling his agreement. Edgar motioned to his forces to pull back as well. Consequently, the Anfang Alliance Rankers positioned themselves on one side of the Birdcage Barrier, while the half-bloods from the Last Blood Bastion stood on the other. Both groups maintained a respectful distance, adhering to the unspoken rules of their temporary truce. Edgar breathed a sigh of relief upon Zavir''s eptance of the temporary truce. It wouldn''t have been so had there not been a more immediate threat demanding Zavir''s attention. The threat of the resurrection of the Witch of the Endermes was so serious that it made it possible for the Alliance to stop seeing the half-bloods as their enemies, if only temporarily. Edgar then approached the Birdcage Barrier cautiously and spoke in a calm tone. "Lad Eren, can I have a word with you?" Edgar inquired from just outside the Birdcage Barrier, maintaining a non-threatening posture. It appeared that he wished to converse with Eren. Eren, observing La''s ongoing work and estimating that it would still take some time for her toplete the new vessel, took a deep breath and decided to ept Edgar''s offer. Chapter 1569 Lazarus: "Being Underestimated Is Good" Chapter 1569 Lazarus: "Being Underestimated Is Good" La observed Eren as he left, passing through the second barrier and approaching the boundary of the first. She appeared to have something to say, expressing a desire for him not to engage with the Sages outside, even if they hailed from the Last Blood Bastion. Nheless, in the end, she shook her head and allowed Eren to go, recognizing the urgency of the task at hand. It didn''t take long for Eren and Edgar to find themselves standing about 2 meters apart, separated by the primary Birdcage Barrier. "Sage Edgar." Eren offered a nod of acknowledgment to Edgar and indicated for him to speak. Edgar maintained eye contact with Eren for a moment before inquiring, "That demon beast is yours, isn''t it?" He gestured towards Reen in the distance. Eren simply nodded, recognizing the futility of concealing the truth any longer. Edgar continued, "So you are the Osan Woods'' Butcher, the one who escaped with the artificial demon beast created by Arthur." Edgar had pieced the facts together, and his expression conveyed both curiosity and surprise. Eren opted to remain silent, but Edgar interpreted this as confirmation of his suspicions. The Osan Woods'' Butcher case had implicated the half-bloods and the entire Last Blood Bastion during Arthur Renar''s investigation. As a result, Edgar had kept a close watch on all the known and hidden details rted to this notorious figure. Edgar noted Ivor''s presence inside the secondary Birdcage Barrier. However, he realized that even Ivor Osan had been manipted as a pawn in the grand scheme. Edgar had plenty of questions for Eren and much to say, but he could only let out a sigh before speaking. "We underestimated you, brat. Not just the half-bloods, but also the Rankers opposing us, as well as the various monsters and other factions active on Anfang. We all failed to see that there was someone like you nning something this big," he admitted, gazing at Eren as if he were an unsolvable enigma. Eren chuckled and responded. "Sometimes, being underestimated is good. It can work in one''s favor. I wouldn''t be here standing in front of you, alive and well, if I hadn''t been underestimated. So I don''t mind that. What surprises me, though, is that you''re not asking me about the deaths of your n members." He nced around the isted space between the primary and secondary barriers. Edgar shook his head, denying any potential restatement he might have harbored against Eren. He exined his position to Eren, emphasizing that he hadn''t supported or opposed him from the beginning. The n members who had acted against Eren under the leadership of Arie Lowin were not following House Lowin''s orders but rather Demonmir''s. So, Edgar had distanced himself from that situation. He rified that he didn''t care whether the n members who had attacked Eren had seeded or perished. To him, life''s winds brought storms, and he didn''t concern himself with every extinguished me in those storms. He spoke in a casual tone, indicating his indifference. Eren was a bit surprised to find out that Edgar was unbothered with the fate of Arie Lowin and the House Lowin members she had brought to fight on Demonmir''s behalf. It seemed that the Sage was more interested in observing how Demonmir would handle the opportunities he had been given, which, in his eyes, had resulted in failure. ''Sages from Anfang are really a case study,'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at Edgar with a newfound perspective. "You are behind Demonmir''s sudden disappearance, I take it?" Edgar asked another question to Eren. thetter pressed his lips against each other, his expressions screaming ''what do you think?'' "What are you nning to do with him? Where is he?" Edgar asked in a curious voice only to receive a question from Eren. "You are not interested in Demonmir, are you, Sage Edgar? Not really. You are more interested in how I got to him?" Eren smiled lightly before admitting to Edgar. "I think you must have your doubts by now. So I''ll just go ahead and spare you the trouble of digging any further. Yes, you are right. I received Sansara Sage''splete legacy. That''s how I was able to decipher his encrypted runes." Edgar''s eyes widened in shock as his hypothesis was confirmed. Eren had managed to abduct Demonmir just before he was about tounch an attack. Eren had employed a more advanced form of the space-element rune, which he had been using for the past nine years, to aplish this feat. Edgar quickly deduced that Eren possessed theplete inheritance of the Sansara Sage. "How How did you get your hands on his legacy? Sansara Sage was wait.." Sage Edgar stuttered his words as he tried to digest the news that Eren was someone with Sansara Sage''splete inheritance. "No wait" Edgar tried to grasp the implications of this revtion, stumbling over his words. The realization dawned on him, and his face revealed his shock and self-discovery. He connected the dots and spoke further in a shaky voice. "The Sansara World 1.0 getting blown into smithereens a decade ago in the Edinnica Arena. It was you! You blew up Sansara Sage''s artifact to cover up your tracks. You You Bloody hell!" Edgar couldn''t contain his agitation at this revtion. He had paid a significant price tounch a raid on Edinburgh''s capital in an attempt to acquire theplete inheritance of the Sansara Sage, only to witness the artifact''s destruction due to some "unknown malfunction." To say that he was shocked to discover that Eren was responsible for the incident would be an understatement. "Haah! And here I thought I was the radical one for bing a cultist when I was at my peak as a Ranker. I thought I was the shit for bing a half-blood not by birth but by my own efforts. What kind of balls do you have to mess with basically everyone like this? Eren, do do you even understand the consequences of your actions over the years?" Edgar looked at the Rankers from the Anfang Alliance in the distance before speaking in a serious tone. Chapter 1570 Lazarus: "Who Says Im Running?" Chapter 1570 Lazarus: "Who Says I''m Running?" Edgar fixed Eren with an intense gaze, his tone serious as he issued a stark warning. "The Rankers surrounding this barrier won''t grant you an easy death once they uncover what you''ve been doing right under their noses, Eren. They''ll subject you to centuries of torment before allowing you to find release in death," Edgar cautioned. Eren began to respond, but Edgar raised his hand in a ''halt'' gesture and continued. "How about this? The Last Blood Bastion can offer you protection to safely escort you to our hideout. In return, you need only surrender theplete inheritance of the Sansara Sage. To be honest, I can''t guarantee a safe extraction from this ce, but we of the Last Blood Bastion will do our utmost to shield you and your assets. We both possess space-element runes and can work together to find a way out before the entire continent turns against you," Edgar''s words dripped with desperation, revealing hisck of full confidence in the n. Eren shook his head at Edgar''s proposal, speaking calmly as he retrieved his Sativa Stick. With a flick, he lit the Stick and inhaled deeply, releasing smoke through his nose as he spoke. "You want me to take asylum in the Last Blood Bastion and stay there forever? I''m sorry Sage, Edgar, but that does not look like a very healthy choice to me?" Edgar didn''t take offense at Eren''s actions or his words. The opportunity to obtain theplete inheritance of the Sansara Sage outweighed concerns about the rigid Rankers'' Code of Conduct. He looked at Eren with a troubled expression, voicing his concerns. "How do you n to escape from this ce? The Anfang Alliance will eventually utilize their space-element sages to nullify the runes you''ve been using. They''ll track you down; it might not be today or tomorrow, but eventually, they''ll reach you. I''m not even certain you can leave the battlefield by using space-element runes. With the Anfang Alliance''s full resources, it is highly possible that you will be tailed," Edgar painted a bleak picture of Eren''s future. Eren shook his head, calmly responding. "There seems to be a misunderstanding, Sage Edgar. Who says I''m running? And don''t assume I''m seeking a death wish by remaining here. I have my methods to handle the situation I''ve willingly created." He spoke calmly, locking eyes with Edgar, his emerald gaze reflecting his determination. Edgar let out a sigh when he grasped that the possibility of acquiring Sansara Sage''splete legacy from Eren was next to none. Eren didn''t seem the type to give anything away for free. Not even the prospect of saving his life seemed at the cost of putting his life on the line to sway Eren''s decision, leaving Edgar with little hope of getting what he desired from this enigmatic man. Yet, Eren''s following words took Edgar by surprise once again. Eren leisurely enjoyed the effects of the Sativa Stick, then spoke in a casual tone, intriguing Edgar. "Sage Edgar, you needn''t go to great lengths to obtain Sansara Sage''splete legacy anymore. After all, it''s only a means to an end for you, right? You want to leave Anfang using Sansara Sage''s legacy. But what if I told you that I won''t need it when I''m through with it?" Eren questioned Edgar in a curious tone, a hint of a smile on his lips. Edgar was now certain that Eren possessed Sansara Sage''s legacy after hearing his words. He decided to get to the point. "It seems you''ve found a way. Tell me, what do I need to do to earn your trust?" Edgar asked Eren directly. Eren responded promptly. "Simply leave this battlefield and walk away. Disassociate yourself from Demonmir. Regardless of what happens to him here, you''ll have no involvement with him." His words allowed no room for refutation or negotiation. For a moment, Edgar felt like he was conversing with a fellow Sage. He noticed Eren reading his expressions, detecting his doubts. So Eren aimed to dispel them. "Look, Sage Edgar, you wanted to support Demonmir because you believed he could find a way to free the half-bloods from this cage. I understand. But I can offer you something far superior. Show yourplete allegiance to me, and I''ll transform the entire situation for you," Eren proposed in a calm, matter-of-fact tone. Edgar couldn''t help but think about all he knew or suspected about Eren. ''Someone who managed to snatch Arthur''s artificial demon beast, remained concealed for all this time, became the Osan Woods Butcher, acquired Sansara Sage''s legacy, and allied with an ancient witch, daring to create a spectacle right in front of the Anfang Alliance. Eren Elija Idril, this man is an enigma. The more I learn about him, the more I understand that I''ve only scratched the surface of the mysteries surrounding him,'' Edgar concluded his chain of thoughts and, after taking a deep breath, he finally responded to Eren. "Alright, I''ll let you handle things with Demonmir," Edgar assured Eren. "The Last Blood Bastion won''t involve itself in this matter anymore. We would have aided Demonmir if he''d adhered to our contract. But since he vited the contract rules, we''re free to disassociate from him." Eren smiled, relieved by JJ Edgar''s confirmation. He didn''t want the Last Blood Bastion as an additional enemy when he summoned Demonmir onto the battlefield. Without this faction''s presence, Eren''s headache would be considerably smaller. Edgar nodded at Eren and turned to leave. However, Eren''s next words stopped him in his tracks. "Here, catch this," Eren threw something at Edgar, and it passed through the Birdcage Barrier as if it didn''t exist. Edgar raised his hand, caught the object, and turned around with a puzzled expression. He gaped at his own diary, a relic from his time as a small-time Ranker before he became a half-blood. "This this is my diary! How... How did you get this?" Edgar regarded Eren with sheer wonder. Eren smiled and replied. "It''s a long story, Sage Edgar. I''ll share it when we meet under different circumstances on another day." Without waiting for Edgar''s response, Eren turned and walked toward the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation. To the observers, it was a mystery what had passed between Eren and Edgar. But they were astonished to see that Edgar''s forces hadpletely withdrawn from the battlefield, leaving no trace behind. Chapter 1571 Reborn: Limits of Forced Miracles Chapter 1571 Reborn: Limits of Forced Miracles Inside the northern Array Eye, a figure of a stunning young woman with captivating green eyes and flowing emerald hair levitated. This lifeless figure exuded both beauty and an air of danger. Her facial features resembled Lady Zee''s, but her eyes had an uncanny resemnce to Eliza''s. This young woman possessed remarkable features, from her facial charm to her graceful curves; she seemed the embodiment of perfection. Despite looking as if she had just stepped out of her teenage years, her mana signatures were nothing short of extraordinary, hinting at depths hidden beneath her serene surface. Tall and impably proportioned, she had a rosy, wlessplexion. Her figure, with its subtle curves, was captivating. The essence provided by Lady Zee and Reen was continuously molding her body, working on forming her limbs and creating her mana core. This mana core was being crafted from the remnants of Lady Zee and Eliza''s cores, resulting in a novice rank. This F-Rank mana core seemed to be fullypatible with the Elemental Attainments of fire element, which would have been impossible for an F-Rank mana core to possess. A normal F-Rank mana core that is. After all, all regr mana core did not have anything to do with the Elemental Attainments. But this one did, attesting to the fact that the vessel was bound to make its owner an exceptional talent upon sessful possession. Itspatibility with the elemental abilities shared by Lady Zee and Eliza made this fusion possible. Finding a vessel perfectly harmonious with Eliza''s resurrection had been La and Eliza''s fixation for this very reason. If they had settled on anyone other than Lady Zee, they wouldn''t have obtained such ster results. With this ideal vessel and mana core, Eliza would regain her ability to wield the Endermes, her potent and highly incinerating green fire. For the one known as the Witch of the Endermes, this was a monumental development. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. The freshly crafted vessel emitted a strong mana pulse as it reachedpletion. This new creation was the epitome of perfection from top to bottom. Although the new vessel''s appearance and aura did not precisely resemble Sage Eliza or Lady Zee, there was a hint of both within her, as if she were a blend of their gic materials, akin to a creation born from theirbined makeup. One could say that Eren''s convenient belief "Destruction births life" could apply here as well. This was because both Lady Zee and Eliza''s bodies had been destroyed to make this new vessel get summoned into reality. "Haah! It''s finally finished." La exhaled a relieved breath as she witnessed thepletion of the new vessel. The hours during which the Soul Seed Insertion Array was operational had been incredibly taxing, both physically and mentally. If it weren''t for the supplementary potions she had prepared in advance to support her body and soul, she would have failed many times over by this point. Little Witch nced at her sister to gauge how she was faring. "Le, shall we proceed with the final step?" La inquired, her concern evident as she observed Le. She knew her sister better. Le wouldn''t tell her anything that might worry her. This approach instead made La worry for her sister even more. Le had been tasked with maintaining a continuous connection with Shallot''s Mirror, overseeing Eliza''s safeguarded soul within the mirror. While Le wasn''t as physically fatigued as La, her operation with the soul-rted artifact meant that she was experiencing double the mental exhaustion. She already had a killer headache and her vision was getting a bit blurry. La sensed something amiss with Shallot''s Mirror. The artifact seemed to be depleting her Spiritual Force at a faster rate than she had anticipated. It was almost as if it possessed a mind of its own, unlike any regr transcendent artifact. However, just as La feared, Le chose not to burden her sister with this added concern. Le knew that soul-rted artifacts often had their idiosyncrasies. She didn''t want to add to the stress her sister was already under by voicing her worries. "Yes... Yes. I''m fine, La. Let''s finish what we started." Le confirmed, her voice resolute. Every minute, every second counted as they entered the final phase of the Lazarus Project. While Eren had assured both La and Le about the Birdcage Barrier''s endurance against the Sages'' attacks from outside, they were reluctant to subject the barrier to prolonged testing. They were keen to conclude the event as swiftly as possible. After all, they could never be too cautious of the Anfang Alliance. *** Eren hadpleted his private conversation with Sage Edgar and returned. He was relieved that he had sessfully persuaded Edgar to withdraw from the current situation. Eren was confident in his ability to handle the Grandmaster Rankers, given the numerous trump cards at his disposal. However, dealing with Sages like Edgar was a different matter. Eren''s previous sess in eliminating six Sages, including Sage Garos Renar, had been a one-time feat, made possible through the Borrowed Might potions he no longer possessed. These were the forced miracles Eren had created using his own hands and wits. But they too had their limits. Grimdawn had exhausted all his Gluttony Pearls, which he used to enhance his spells. These pearls had been used in constructing the Birdcage Barrier. Thus, he decided to form an alliance with Edgar by providing him with the right information. The deal with JJ Edgar was way smoother than Eren had previously predicted. He feared that he might have used all his luck for the day or even week by making Edgar his silent ally. Eren found Sage Edgar to be an amodating individual, an unusual trait among most Sages who were often either conceited or uninterested in matters concerning lower-ranked individuals. The butcher had already expressed his gratitude to the Sage for the diary, which had been a valuable resource during his time as an Ace and afterwards an Adept Ranker. However, having read and extracted all the pertinent information from the diary, Eren chose to return it to Edgar as a gesture of goodwill. Chapter 1572 Reborn: Sprouted Soul Seed Chapter 1572 Reborn: Sprouted Soul Seed Eren was serious when he told Edgar that they would meet once the Lazarus Project waspleted. Edgar''s diary had been a valuable resource for Eren, and it was time for him to reap the rewards directly from the diary''s creator. Like Edgar, Eren had a strong interest in delving deeper into Sansara Sage''s knowledge and creations. He admired Edgar''s pragmatic approach, which allowed him to break free from the narrow perspectivesmonly found in Anfang. Eren didn''t want to waste his time and resources reinventing the wheel when predecessors like Sansara Sage had already paved the way. He had numerous pending projects on his agenda and needed to embark on them without dy. The research materials of Sansara Sage would serve as a solid foundation, enabling Eren to develop his own ideas upon it. Sage Edgar was the right person to guide Eren in these endeavors. He had many inquiries about theplete inheritance he had received from Sansara Sage. By providing Edgar with pertinent information, Eren could also benefit from Edgar''s actions and research. It would be akin to two students of the same teacher sharing their insights to enhance their learning speed and grasp over the subject taught by their teacher. Additionally, Eren wished for Sansara Sage''s artificially created daughter, Maya, to remain with him even after leaving Anfang. The butcher believed that Maya could offer him significant advantages, provided he maintained their alliance after the Lazarus Project''s conclusion. To achieve this, Eren could use the knowledge he gained from Sage Edgar to keep Maya engaged and interested. The chronic nner in Eren didn''t allow him to rest even when he was at a crucial stage of the Lazarus Project. The chronic nner in Eren didn''t allow him to rest even when he was at a crucial stage of the Lazarus Project. *** ''Hmm? It looks like I came back at the right time.'' Eren watched Eliza''s new vessel from a distance and noted the fatigue in La and Le''s expressions. He could read in their eyes that despite their exhaustion, their determination to keep the project going remained strong. ''The more I look at it, the more sure I get. This vessel creation process is simr to the artifact creation process in many ways.'' Eren couldn''t help but draw parallels between creating apatible vessel for someone and crafting apatible artifact. Both processes followed simr principles, but creating a suitable vessel presented significantly more challenges. Eren had substantial experience as an artifact creator over the past nine years. While he didn''t fully understand the homunculi''s difficulties, he recognized the nature of their work due to his extensive background in artifact creation. ''Hmm. If it was me, I would have taken apletely different approach to reviving someone.'' He contemted an alternative approach to reviving someone. The current method, in his view, essentially gave Eliza a fresh start in the race. Although it wasn''t inherently wed, itcked creativity and might yield suboptimal results. Nevertheless, Eren decided to put such thoughts aside. ''If your enemy is making mistakes, the best thing you could do is stay silent,'' the butcher thought to himself. He then focused on assessing Reen''s condition and breathed a sigh of relief upon finding her stable, with minimal harm done. It wasn''t that Eren waspletely fine with Reen''s current state. But considering the worse oue he had imagined, this was still a better result. ''It all depends upon how that old hag acts after upying the new body though. She, La, or Le wouldn''t try to mess with me until she is yet to upy the vessel perfectlypatible with her soul and Elemental Attainments. However, once the soul had been transferred and thepatibility had been confirmed, that would be when the real test of their characters began. Mine as well.'' Eren thought to himself as he watched the two sisters work hard to make the Lazarus Project a sess story. ''Was was I worried for nothing? All the preparations I made. All my trump cards. Were they obtained in vain?'' As he watched La and Le''s efforts, Eren questioned whether his paranoia had been unfounded. He contemted the implications of Eliza adhering to their original arrangement. ''No. I can''t think like this. Preparing for the worse is one thing. But I shouldn''t wish for her to backstab me just so I could do the same to her. It would have the opposite effect on my mindset going forward.'' Eren had another thought as he felt the effects of the Sativa Stickpletely revitalizing his mind and body. Even though it was a stressful situation all around him, he felt nothing but calm and peace at this time. *** After ensuring the vessel was fully prepared to receive Eliza''s soul, La shouted to her sister, "Le, the vessel is ready." She nced back at Le, who stood inside the southern Array Eye. Le nodded in acknowledgment and activated the runes on the Shallot''s Mirror once more. Tendrils, resembling octopus limbs, emerged from the mirror''s surface. Composed of pure Spiritual Force and bearing the appearance of liquified mercury, these tendrils carried the securely stored Soul Seed from the Shallot''s Mirror. These tendrils moved slowly, guiding Eliza''s Soul Seed toward the newly created vessel. They wound around the vessel, enveloping her limbs and torso before raising her higher. La manipted these tendrils, directing Eliza''s Soul Seed to enter the new vessel through the space between her eyebrows. The Soul Seed entered the vessel as if it was made out of nothingness. It disappeared into the vessel before it sprouted inside. This sprouted Soul Seed devoured the Spiritual Force provided to it by the tendrils of the Shallot''s Mirror. The Spiritual Force the artifact provided was akin to water for the Soul Seed, which helped it germinate and grow. As Eliza''s Soul Seed entered the new vessel, an intense surge of mana permeated the surroundings. The previously clear sky, housing the calm eye of the storm, darkened rapidly, and streaks of lightning illuminated the horizon. Rumble! When the new vessel''s eyes opened fully for the first time, a deafening p of thunder reverberated, challenging the limits of the onlookers'' eardrums and infusing their souls with an unknown energy. A special kind of Rankers'' Cmity had been issued. Chapter 1573 Reborn: Rite of Passage Through Calamity Chapter 1573 Reborn: Rite of Passage Through Cmity "Aaaaah! It''s good to be alive." Amidst the rolling thunder and the brooding storm, a voice filled with jubtion and ecstasy echoed across the battlefield, capturing the attention of the assembled Rankers. "Fufufu. Being alive is one thing. But it''s exhrating to be youthful once more," Eliza purred in an ted tone as she assumedplete control of the newly crafted vessel. "They say youth is merely a state of mind. That you can stay young as long as you feel young at heart. Hahaha! It''s all nonsense, a way for folks to cope with their aging. To truly feel young, one must be young. It''s as simple as that," she dered with a chuckle, her feet making their first contact with the ground. Rumble! The Catastrophe for the Rankers under Eliza''s influencemenced the moment her feet met the earth. A deafening peal of thunder resounded, causing every Ranker to freeze in their tracks. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. The brewing tempest and the thunder''s resonancebined to create a blinding brilliance. A charged bolt of lightning materialized and surged toward Eliza with themanding force of a natural cataclysm. This bolt of lightning passed through the Birdcage Barrier as if it were nonexistent, affording neither shocked Rankers serving as witnesses nor the joyful Eliza the chance for countermeasures. With a fierce rush and electrified energy, the lightning struck Eliza, obscuring her form within a blinding radiance. Kirrrrrrrrrrrr! "Aaaaaaaah!" Eliza''s agonized cry filled the air as the lightning enveloped her. Arcs of lightning incessantly ravaged her, turning her peachyplexion crimson, rending her skin, and making her blood seem to boil within her veins. Her bones felt as though they might splinter into dust. She felt as if her soul was about to disintegrate after being offered a rite of passage by the worldly might of Anfang. Eliza''s organs felt as if they were slowly roasting in an oven, her heart as though pierced by hundreds of daggers all at once. Her head throbbed, pounded mercilessly by an invisible, colossal hammer, bestowing upon her a headache of unparalleled intensity. Eliza''s limbs felt utterly powerless, her vision shrouded in a hazy obscurity. The buzz of white noise rang incessantly in her ears, a disorienting symphony. Her lungs seemed punctured by countless minuscule needles, each breath a struggle. The lightning strike that heralded the Rankers'' Cmity was no ordinary bolt. It was imbued with a mysterious potency that transcended mere electrical damage. It was as if this lightning carried the versatility to mimic other elements, adapting to the victim''s Elemental Attainments as well as the elements that existed in that particr world. Under its onught, Eliza experienced a relentless barrage of elemental spells. Mostly, the lightning attacks mirrored the devastating might of fire-elemental mana due to the fact that Eliza''s Ranking Path was based on that particr element. The colorless and odorless mes brought by the lightning seared the Witch of the Endermes, inflicting second and third-degree burns and hurting her soul, despite her protection by the robust draconic scales. A single strike had brought her to this state of agony. La, clutching the voodoo doll that represented Eliza, watched in horror as it burst into mes and vanished upon the ground. This voodoo doll had been prepared as a safeguard, designed to bear the brunt of Eliza''s ordeal, shielding her from the worst of the Cmity. Even with these precautions, she still bore grievous injuries, both externally and internally. Had she not employed this countermeasure, a single attack might have proven fatal. "Hehehe. This is child''s y. Give... your best shot." Eliza managed to utter through her pain, her gaze now aze with unyielding determination. She raised her hand, forming a half-lotus gesture, which she then twisted. In an instant, a wave of verdant mes enveloped her form. With her modest F-Rank mana, Eliza conjured a pool of Endermes, a testament to her profound Elemental Attainments. Achieving this as a Novice Ranker would have been unthinkable without such mastery. It seemed that she had ess to her profound Elemental Attainments to some degree even though she was still a Novice Ranker. Yet, she did not stop there. Eliza harnessed her draconic lineage, sprouting draconic scales all over her body. By drawing upon her bloodline, she metamorphosed into a Dragonoid, an awe-inspiring transformation, her response to the harrowing Cmity. ''Hehehehe. All our efforts were worth it. That Lady Zee was indeed a good vessel. It was as if she was born for this very purpose. Master... Master can truly wield the Endermes with her new body. Soon, she would be able to get her Sagehood back.'' La''s joy was palpable as she witnessed Eliza''s sessful conjuring of the Endermes, an attempt tobat the relentless Cmity that still loomed over her. La quickly fashioned another voodoo doll and let a drop of blood, collected from the new vessel, fall upon it. In an instant, the featureless doll, resembling a children''s stuffed toy, took on Eliza''s visage with an uncanny likeness. La held the freshly crafted voodoo doll, ready to heed Eliza''smands. *** Rumble. Swoosh. Boom. The onught of lightning strikes against Eliza Samael continued unabated, each one more menacing than thest. Although the Endermes valiantly tried to reduce the damage, they offered only marginal assistance. Eliza''s body bore the relentless pummeling of lightning strikes, her physical state, her spiritual force, and her bodily attributes plummeting. This merciless barrage of lightning persisted for nearly fifteen seconds, with Eliza enduring nearly a hundred sessive attacks in such a brief span. At this dire juncture, La released another voodoo doll, allowing Eliza to partially recuperate from her grave injuries. In just those fifteen seconds, Eliza had lost both her arms, her chest marred by a gaping void. Eliza Samael''s flesh had transformed, bing charred and ky, with a hardened ck texture, owing to the intense voltage energy she had been subjected to. Even her rib bones were exposed to the naked eye. It was only through her draconic scales that she had staved off an even more catastrophic fate. "Is is that it?" Chapter 1574 Reborn: Anchored Soul Chapter 1574 Reborn: Anchored Soul "Is... is that all?" Eliza whispered to herself, her form still and resolute within the confines of the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation. In response to her inquiry, the heavens above unleashed yet another storm of lightning strikes, each bearing the potential to obliterate hundreds of lives in a mere heartbeat. Boom. Boom. Boom. The earth surrounding Eliza, scorched and seared to a deep obsidian ck, bore witness to the lightning''s relentless assault. Each bolt homed in with surgical precision to target every inch of her being. A peculiar scent of concentrated ozone permeated the air inside the Birdcage Barrier, making it feel as if inhaling too much oxygen would lead to suffocation. Even the fiends inside the Bircage Barrier couldn''t help feeling frustrated and intimate by witnessing this form of Cmity. It could be said that the fiends created by Eren had really lucked out surviving the Cmities they were subjected to. If they had to face Sage Eliza''s Cmity for themselves, no fiend would have survived. Throughout Eliza''s trial, La had maintained the northern Array Eye''s operation. Consequently, the lingering essence drawn from Lady Zee, her own old and mummified constitution, and Reen''s essence worked to mend her wounds sustained from enduring the Rankers'' Cmity. *** Every problem came with a set of solutions and every storm had an end. As swiftly as the cmity had descended upon the battlefield, it dissipated, leaving behind an unsettling stillnessthe calm before the storm, witnessed by all the present Rankers. Though the Cmity''s duration was fleeting, it left an indelible mark on those who had borne witness, their awestruck gazes locked upon the spectacle. Even the Sages themselves couldn''t help but be unnerved by the ordeal Eliza had ovee in her quest for a new lease on life. Some Rankers still found themselves tingling with unease, reying the horrifying moments in their minds. They pondered their own chances of survival in such a harrowing predicament, and most couldn''t muster much optimism, estimating their own endurance at mere seconds. ''It it''s settled now. We really did it.'' As the skies began to clear and the tempestuous winds subsided, La breathed a sigh of relief. It was clear to her that Eliza had triumphed in her trial. The harrowing journey Eliza had undertaken served as undeniable proof, cementing her right to a fresh start after emerging victorious from the crucible of the Cmity. La and Eliza had to sacrifice three voodoo dolls to weather this cataclysm. In doing so, they expended nearly all of their resources to ensure Eliza''s survival. ''Hm? Is that all? Did I pass the test? This This can''t be. I thought it would take much more time considering my actual age and my state. Something feels off.'' Eliza wondered, her face etched with a mix of shock and doubt as she gazed skyward. The storm''s eye had vanished, and the clouds drifted away into oblivion, confirming that her trial had indeede to a close. ''The test really ended. But how? How did it end so quickly?'' Eliza pondered as she straightened herself. ''There''s no use thinking about this. Anfang''s World Will might subject me to more tests in the future. But for now, let''s just take this as my temporary win.'' Eliza shook her head and refocused her energy on self-recovery using the northern Array Eye. Now that she had ovee her Cmity, dwelling excessively on the matter seemed futile. Eliza remained enveloped in residual arcs of lightning as she reconstituted herself. This time, her presence seemed more stable, and she appeared more grounded to reality than before the Cmity had struck. It was as if the trial had helped Eliza take control over her new vessel, securing her soul within it. Her soul had been sessfully anchored to this new vessel at this point, attesting to the fact that she had indeed been granted a new lease on life. With a snap of her fingers, Eliza summoned a fresh set of attire. She turned to La and spoke with restrained excitement. "La dear, let''s not wait any longer. Let''s start the next phase of our n," the Witch of the Endermes urged. "I have no intention of roaming as a mere Novice Ranker for long. The Cmity couldn''t kill me but I might just die of embarrassment if I remained as a Novice Ranker by the end of this day," she dered, fists clenched in determination. Eliza''s new body, having emerged unscathed from a Rankers'' Cmity, was ripe for transformation. Her mana core and physical attributes were open to evolution for a limited amount of time. Although there was still ample time for Eliza''s transition to stabilize at the Novice Ranker level, she was keen to reim her Sagehood promptly to avert potentialplications. "Yes, Master," La acknowledged, poised to activate the subsequent stage of their strategy. Just as she was about to tap into the stored Mana Essence outside the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation, Eren''s voice interrupted her. "La, the next phase doesn''t require Reen to remain within the Array, does it? Would you mind releasing her to my care? Our agreement is now fulfilled, especially since Sage...uh, Miss Eliza is perfectly restored in her new vessel," Eren remarked nonchntly, casting a nce in Eliza''s direction. "That" La stood in stunned silence at Eren''s words, her gaze shifting to Eliza as she sought to find the response to Eren''s inquiry. The Witch of the Endermes graced Eren with a subtle smile before speaking in a charming tone. "What''s the rush, little kitten? Technically, our pact isn''tplete just yet. I''m sure La had briefed you back then about the sacrifices. I''m still a Novice Ranker, you see. So I''ll relinquish Reen when I''ve reimed my Sagehood," Eliza asserted confidently. "Alright. But make it quick," the butcher replied after taking a second to think. Eren''s swift agreement caught La and Eliza by surprise. They had anticipated a more protracted negotiation before he acquiesced to their terms. ''This little kitten has his ns,'' Witch of the Endermes thought as she smiled graciously at Eren. Chapter 1575 Reborn: Expedited Journey to Reclaim Sagehood Chapter 1575 Reborn: Expedited Journey to Reim Sagehood The eastern and western Array Eyes had be inactive. After all, Lady Zee was no longer contained within the eastern Array Eye, and there was no need for Reen to sacrifice her demonic constitution for Eliza''s resurrection. Reen assumed her human form after the process waspleted. She looked like she would regress in her Ranking Status if she was put through the same form of experiments once again. Eren and Reen exchanged looks. Even though they knew that they had seeded in executing Project Lazarus for the most part, they both remained calm because they knew that it was not over yet. Plus, Eren and Reen didn''t really feel like it was them who had won considering the fact that they gained practically nothing from this decade-long ordeal. It was only Eliza, La and Le who could derive genuine pleasure from the Lazarus Project''s sess. The southern Array Eye remained on standby, overseen by Le with the Shallot''s Mirror positioned behind her. To maintain the Soul Seed Insertion Array''s operation, the southern Array Eye had to remain active or on standby. La embarked on the next stage of their n, taking control of the array formation once again to elevate Eliza''s Ranking Status to the coveted Sagehood. With a graceful gesture, she ushered the Mana Essence Sphere into the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation, firmly cing it within the eastern Array Eye, once upied by Lady Zee''s body. The Little Witch meticulously adjusted the runic symbolsposing the array formation, ensuring its readiness for the impending task. Meanwhile, Eliza assumed a meditative posture inside the northern Array Eye, patiently awaiting La''s guidance. Before initiating the process, La inspected all elements within the array formation using her keen senses. ''This this is perfect. I never thought it would go this smoothly,'' she thought to herself. The ethereal tendrils stirred to life once more under La''s control. They encircled the pure Mana Essence sphere andmenced channeling it through the intricate runic veins within the array formation. One end of these mystical runic veins concentrated around the eastern Array Eye housing the Mana Essence Sphere, while the other half focused around the northern Array Eye, where Eliza resided. It was reminiscent of a cotton wick, immersed in the reservoir of oil at its base, ensuring themp''s me could be nourished and ultimately ze more brilliantly. Upon the infusion of Mana Essence extracted from over 40,000 Rankers, the runic mana veins pulsated with energy. They zed brightly, emitting a searing white light that would have overwhelmed anyone and blinded their vision within the secondary Birdcage Barrier. La swiftly adjusted the Mana Essence output to suit Eliza''s present constitution and Ranking Status, only activating the northern Array Eye when she was confident of the quality and quantity of Mana Essence that Eliza could sustain for her current F-Rank status. Eliza emitted a soft groan as she experienced the surge of pure Mana Essence enveloping her within the confined space of the northern Array Eye. The preparations she and La had made previously now came into y, enabling Eliza to absorb the abundant Mana Essence. The Mana Essence, guided through the Array Formation and optimized within the runic veins, entered the isted realm of the northern Array Eye. There, the ethereal tendrils approached Eliza, who had maintained her closed-eyed, tranquil stance throughout the process. These tendrils wrapped around Eliza and prated various parts of her body, establishing contact with her Mana Points. Serving as conduits, they supplied her Mana Points with a pure and optimized form of Mana Essence. ''Fufufu. It''s working.'' Eliza perceived her entire Mana Circuits activating in response to this sudden infusion of Mana Essence. As she had only recently cleared the rite of passage by oveing the cmity, her Mana Circuits were still in a rudimentary state. Eliza seized this opportunity to expand her Mana Circuits and influence her growth as a half-blood Ranker. It was as if the tempering she had received from the Rankers'' Cmity was being used to make her even better specimen as a Ranker. Upon confirming the initial sess of this contact, La directed the spiritual tendrils toward Eliza''s newly formed mana core, providing it with an additional surge of Mana Essence to stimte its Ranking Evolution. *** "Damn it. This is bad. Break this damn barrier at any cost. Use all your S-Rank resources. Anfang Alliance will pay the cost of your Sage Rank potions and artifacts getting used here." The leader Sage dered. The realization of Eliza''s elerated ascent within the Birdcage Barrier spurred the Rankers outside into a frenzy. Earlier, they had believed the Witch of the Endermes getting resurrected in a fresh body was enough to instill a mixture of fear and determination. But they soon realized that the prospect of her regaining her S-Rank status was even more terrifying than her original form. They knew that if Eliza managed to gain her S-Rank back, it would be disastrous for them. The only thing they feared more than the Witch of the Endermes was Sage-ranked Witch of the Endermes. Eliza, unburdened by the chaos she had caused outside the Birdcage Barrier, started making remarkable progress through the ranks. Her Elemental Attainments as a Sage Ranker had remained intact even though she had acquired a new vessel for herself. She seemed to bypass the typical hurdles of a Ranker''s journey, achieving her Ace Rank with astonishing speed. Adept and Expert Ranks quickly followed. With each advancement, her Elemental Attainments came to life, invoking the forces of nature across the battlefield. Endermes emerged from the void, coating the once barren terrain, while the very winds themselves ignited under the influence of her Elemental Attainments. Roar! As she ascended, a colossal dragonhead manifested in the sky above the Birdcage, its roar sending shivers down the spines of the witnessing Rankers. Eliza''s presence grew increasingly draconic as she journeyed through her ranks, practicing her n''s half-blood Ranking Technique alongside La''s efforts to boost her Ranking Status. This led to an enhancement in Eliza''s bloodline purity. But the spectacle didn''t stop there. The Sin Series Mana, an embodiment of her demonic powers, swirled within the confines of the Barrier. Eliza, steadily advancing toward the Grandmaster Rank, retained her connection to her demonic abilities, despite inhabiting a new body. Chapter 1576 Reborn: Embracing Emotions Chapter 1576 Reborn: Embracing Emotions ''She she really is the most gifted being I have evere across in my two lives.'' Eren couldn''t help but sigh in a bit of unexined mncholy. He observed the unfolding spectacle, awestruck by the remarkable Ranker before him. If his Individuality was an expansive sea, embracing all within its depths, Eliza''s was an unyielding mountain that defied conquest. Contrary to the envy that some Rankers felt, Eren did not resent Eliza''s rapid ascent through the ranks. She had already proven herself as a Sage in her prime, and he harbored no ill will toward her for the trials she imposed on over 40,000 dead Rankers to reim her Sagehood. What Eliza pursued now was merely capitalizing on her circumstances to reach her peak as swiftly as possible. Had Eren shared her experiences and predicament, he might have made the same pragmatic choices. Perhaps, he could even have been more ruthless, orchestrating greater tragedies for personal gain. Nheless, these practicalities couldn''t stifle the pangs of envy Eren felt for the innate gifts Eliza had inherited from birth. It underscored how life had offered him a meager starting point. Eren had long recognized life''s inherent unfairness, bestowing harsh fates upon the undeserving and gifting the fortunate with unearned privilege. This was life''s stark biasid bare. Yet, for the first time, Eren found it challenging to reconcile with these truths and ept them for what they were. Although proud of his hard-earned aplishments, Eren couldn''t help but wrestle with a twinge of jealousy toward Eliza. It felt as though he had toiled for a modest daily wage, only to watch someone, miraculously absolved of their debts, amass great wealth through prior investments. When he earned bit by bit, coin by coin, the prodigies became rich by being delivered the treasures right at their doorsteps. Eliza, a dragon half-blood, carried the mantle of her entire n, once a formidable power in Anfang. Her lineage, steeped in the legacy of Labh Salem, augmented her prodigious talents as a Warrior-ss Ranker, surpassing even the most esteemed talents of Anfang. Perfection at its finest. What''s more? Eliza had the drive and passion necessary to be a great Ranker. She had all the wits and cunning needed to make her stand apart from the regr Rankers. She was brave and hard working. She was willing to go to great lengths to hone her Individuality. And she was ready to learn from her past mistakes and lessons that were taught to her. The Witch of the Endermes had even more innate Spiritual Force than Shallot Lancelot in her prime. She could wield multiple Sin Series Marks without getting corrupted by their overuse. As a dragon-type half-blood, she was already exceptionally good at using the Intent-based magic. Bing a demonic Ranker with the heritage of being a witch was just icing on the cake. In her prime, this monstrous talent from House Samael had all the riches and resources in the world she could ever want. Her only disadvantage was the fact that she was born and raised in the Cmity Era. If Eliza had been born after the Cmity Era, Eren was certain that half-blood Rankers wouldn''t have been the oppressed group in Anfang. Just her presence would havepelled the Anfang Alliance to negotiate and findmon ground with the remaining half-bloods. As someone who had lived through two timelines, the butcher had experienced the concept of the butterfly effect firsthand. His minor changes in the second timeline had changed the fates of everyone he was involved with. Those who were never even Adept Rankers in his first timeline had managed to break through into the Expert and Master Ranks in his second timeline. And those who were destined to reach for the stars had ended up dead. Had Eliza been active after the Cmity Era, not confined within her Purgatory, Anfang would have been utterly transformed from its current state. There might not have been two kingdoms known as Edinburgh and Layos in the current timeline if she was active. Eliza''s arrival had already reshaped the game during the Cmity Era,pelling everyone to strive for excellence. At the same time, her absence alone was sufficient to push even the mightiest half-blood ns into the shadows, subjected to oppression by the Anfang Alliance. The strongest Titan yer from Anfang who was feared by the Walking Cmities known as the Titans themselves. Someone who could battle with multiple S-Ranks and even a pseudo Sain Rank and still win. Some individuals possessed such extraordinary, unique, and potent qualities that their prime would revolutionize the world around them. These exceptions singlehandedly altered the rules of the game, setting new standards for others to adapt to. Witch of the Endermes Eliza Samael exemplified this rare category. *** "This envy..." Eren pondered as he watched Eliza''s astonishing growth. While most Rankers trembled with fear, he felt an unusual desire to im everything that Eliza had achieved. ''Should I even be envious?'' Eren questioned himself, pressing his palm to his chest to feel his own heartbeats. The connection with Aleph''s Echo seemed to counsel him to let go of these feelings of greed and envy. But that wasn''t who he was. ''No. I won''t demonize my emotions.'' Eren gently patted his chest, soothing his inner turmoil. ''Anger, envy, pride, greed, and all these emotions are part of being alive. I won''t me myself for feeling envious of certain people. At the same time, I will also not feel ashamed or sorry for myself for having a rougher start than them.'' As Eliza''s mana core reached the peak of the Master Rank, advancing from an F-Ranker to a B-Ranker in just an hour, Eren continued his internal dialogue. ''My goal isn''t to rid myself of extreme emotions, be they positive or negative.'' He mused while observing Eliza''s ascent. ''My goal is to learn how to respond in the right way irrespective of why and when they arise. I won''t feel superior or inferior to those different from me. In this boundless cosmos with endless realities, I don''t need topare myself to anyone. There''s always room for growth because self-improvement has no endpoint. At the same time, my actions will prove that there''s no one more ''me'' than myself. These thoughts might be the musings of someone who wants to feel better about not having things handed to him on a silver tter. But these views are mine, and no matter how radical or boring they might seem to others, I embrace them.'' As hepleted this introspective chain of thoughts, Eren closely observed Eliza, who was on the cusp of breaking through into the Grandmaster Rank. Chapter 1577 Reborn: Bloodline Shackles Chapter 1577 Reborn: Bloodline Shackles As Eliza embarked on her journey to attain the Grandmaster Rank, sporadic Endermes ignited across the expansive battlefield, consuming everything they touched - ground and air alike. Fire Elemental powers and the formidable Sin Series Mana surged through the area, causing lower-ranking observers to retreat. To them, it seemed as if another cmity had been unleashed by Anfang''s World Will, a punishment and test for someone daring to ascend to Sage Rank. "Retreat!" Sage Zavir, the leader of Sages-only group from Anfang Alliance, abandoned his futile attempts to breach the Birdcage Barrier and urgently signaled his allies to withdraw from the battlefield''s center. The intensifying Endermes gave him a grave sense of foreboding, and he wisely chose not to toy with this all-consuming fire. Backpedaling in frustration, the Sages appeared defeated, as if they had been humiliated without a single punch thrown. Theirbined might, the pinnacle of Anfang''s ranking hierarchy, couldn''t dismantle an istion barrier, nor could they halt Eliza''s rapid ascension through the ranks. Their hard-earned reputation as Sages was poised to crumble due to this unexpected turn of events. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Suddenly, a tremendous explosion reverberated across the battlefield, emanating from the heart of the secondary barrier. It created a shockwave that obliterated the encroaching Endermes, wiping them out of existence. This formidable force also swept away the lifeless bodies of Rankers who had perished beyond the Birdcage Barrier before it materialized. The corpses, limbs, organs, damaged artifacts, and shattered armors were unceremoniously hurled towards the battlefield''s outer rim. The source of this awe-inspiring shockwave was none other than Eliza Samael. Her mana core had sessfully broken through to the elusive A-Rank, propelling her to the revered status of a Grandmaster Ranker. *** "La, dear, I I need some breather." Eliza, visibly drained and panting, spoke to La. Beads of sweat glistened on her brow, a testament to the exhaustion she had endured. La acknowledged Eliza''s request and momentarily deactivated the Soul Seed Insertion Array. She also sighed with relief, clearly affected by the taxing process. The struggle was more challenging than it seemed. Eliza had exerted herself immensely to attain Grandmaster Rank in a single bound. While La still possessed an abundance of Mana Essence, ample to facilitate Eliza''s progression into Sage Rank for a few times over, she knew it was unwise to push her when she was mentally and physically fatigued. La, too, found herself in a weakened state, her limbs feeling uncooperative and weak. "Haah! So much work in a single day. I never had busy days like these for so long. So I have mixed feelings. Fufufu." Eliza rose to her feet, stretching her limbs as if waking from a deep slumber. Despite her mental and physical weariness, she couldn''t help but feel a sense of exhration. She missed the exhaustion and mental strain she was feeling at the time, akin to someone regaining the ability to walk after a long hiatus, choosing to run to embrace this newfound blessing. Finally, Eliza turned her attention to the Sages observing her from outside the primary Birdcage Barrier at a considerable distance. She narrowed her eyes, deep in thought for a moment. Then, she clenched her fists. ''I can scare them a bit and make a run for it,'' La contemted while igniting a small me on her right index finger. ''But direct confrontation with them would be quite challenging. If the Alliance decides to dispatch more Sages to stop me, things won''t turn out good for me either. I better prioritize something else before thinking of running away from this ce.'' The Witch of the Endermes decided not to engage with the adversaries outside the Birdcage Barrier for the time being. *** Eliza harbored the desire to engage the enemy Sages beyond the Birdcage Barrier and assess the capabilities of her new vessel. Yet, her yearning for battle didn''t blind her to the distinctions between what was good and bad for her. The journey to attain the Grandmaster Rank and, ultimately, secure the Sage Rank would be a far more formidable challenge than her prior progression through the Master and lower ranksbined. Moreover, it carried inherent risks, as it was certain to provoke the Rankers'' Cmity, issued by Anfang''s World Will. Eliza possessed confidence in her ability to ovee the Rankers'' Cmity associated with the Sage Rank. However, she questioned whether La and Le could maintain the Array Formation for an extended period. Thus, Eliza decided to temporarily suspend the process, affording La, Le, and herself a well-deserved break. She inhaled deeply, relishing the sensation of her lungs filled with fresh air. ''Good. My condition is favorable, I have attained the Grandmaster Rank and the istion barrier remains intact. These small victories are important,'' Eliza contemted. ''There''s no immediate need to disperse this barrier. In theory, the Lazarus Project could conclude here, and I could depart to stabilize my advancement to the Grandmaster Rank. I could coerce the half-blood ns into setting aside a space for me within the Last Blood Bastion and remain there until I decide to show myself out in the open again. But..." She gazed at La with a sly smile before addressing her. "La, dear, do you recall the side project we initiated alongside the Lazarus Project? I believe it''s time to put it to the test and observe the oues." La, taken aback by Eliza''s proposition, interjected with an objection. "Ma master, I don''t think it''s wise to undertake anything too radical immediately following your resurrection. Moreover, the preliminary results I obtained weren''t particrly promising. Perhaps we should..." Before La could articte her concerns further, Eliza interjected. "You are wrong, dear. In fact, this is the most apt time for me to break my bloodline shackles. This vessel is still malleable. My bloodline is malleable too. This is as good time as any to cause bloodline evolution through mutation," Eliza spoke in a confident tone. "Master," La''s hesitation lingered as her gaze shifted between Reen and Eren, her features revealing her inner turmoil. "This idea wasn''t included in our initial agreement." She hesitated toply with Eliza''s directive for reasons known only to her. Chapter 1578 Reborn: Bloodline Evolution Chapter 1578 Reborn: Bloodline Evolution ''Something''s up.'' Eren thought to himself as he fixated his gaze on Eliza. But before he could take any action, Eliza activated the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation using her Soul Sense manifestation that appeared at the center of the formation beside La. "La dear, when I tell you to do something, you do it without raising questions, alright?" Eliza''s Soul Sense manifestations threatened La with a gracious smile on her face. Bang! Bang! Bang! Thumps reverberated in the surroundings. Another istion barrier manifested at the precise moment when Eren approached the entrance to the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation. This barrier, created by Eliza''s pure Spiritual Force, mimicked the Birdcage Barrier in certain aspects. Although not an exact replica, it proficiently fulfilled its primary role of repelling "unexpected guests." Soul Spell! Eliza had invoked a Soul Spell to impede Eren from intervening in her actions. Her Soul Sense Manifestation extended a hand and forcibly reactivated the western Array Eye, rousing Reen from her slumber. "Ale..." Voodoo magic! Before Eren could even utter a word to summon Alephee''s assistance in countering the Soul Spell, a sudden weakness afflicted her limbs, causing Alephee to plummet to the ground with a heavy thud, her face buried in the earth. Intricate runic symbols materialized all over Alephee''s body, bearing their origins in Labh Salem. They acted like chains that kept her from moving. They also made her unable to use her mana core. At this moment, Eliza held a diminutive doll resembling Alephee. She had chosen to deploy the trump card she had prepared in advance. ''Eren I can''t move,'' Alephee''s voice was heard in Eren''s mind. She was the only one who could help him with the Soul Spells and now she had been incapacitated by Eliza''s moves. Eren looked at Eliza before initiating a flurry of elemental spells tond on the Soul Spell cast by a Grandmaster. Boom. Boom. Boom. Eren, wordless but determined, attempted to forcefully infiltrate the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation. Yet, his efforts proved futile. "Fufufu. It''s useless. There''s a reason I waited till I at least became a Grandmaster Ranker to do this. The powers I have right now are enough to deal with someone like you. It''s a bit sad for me that my n''s research ultimately ended up benefiting you. So I have to ask for somepensation from you, don''t you think?" Eliza, having achieved remarkable sess in the Lazarus Project, had opted to proceed with another of her objects. "Master, please reconsider this," La implored, her countenance awash with concern and fear. "That man... he''s surely taken these factors into ount. He may not be as strong as you, but he can be more vicious." Eliza chuckled before addressing La. "Do you think I''m unaware of that?" She turned to La, her tone marked with an unusual gravity. "I have raised this snake so I know how venomous it can be. So there''s need to be afraid. If this damn snake doesn''t understand what''s good for itself, I''ll burn it down. But this is crucial for my future. I don''t want to remain confined to Anfang as a Sage Ranker. I aim to transcend the Sage Rank and reach even greater heights. To achieve that, I must break free from my Bloodline Shackles right now." With her deration, Eliza activated the entire modified Soul Seed Insertion Array unassisted, excluding La and Le from the process. A guttural cry emanated from Reen as her humanoid formmenced a bizarre dissolution when the western Array Eye was activated in an unprecedented manner. Her flesh transformed into a slime-like substance, subsequently stripped away and absorbed by the runic veins. These runic veins extended to the northern Array Eye, where Eliza''s real body was situated. "You finally showed your true colors, didn''t you?" Eren, ceasing his futile attempts to breach the barrier, calmly addressed Eliza. She turned her gaze in his direction before delivering an assurance. "Don''t fret, little kitten. If everything goes well, you''ll have Reen back, alive. Just allow me toplete what I''ve initiated, and I''ll ensure you survive the enemies lurking outside the barrier." *** For thest nine years, Eliza and La had conducted numerous experiments involving Reen and the unique bloodline that Eren had acquired. By now, even the most intellectually challenged Ranker could discern that Eren''s bloodline possessed extraordinary characteristics, setting it apart from the typical half-blood bloodlines. The Elder Ichor itself hadpatibility with all the existing elemental mana. Thispatibility was so potent that it could allow a Ranker to wield all the elemental powers with equal proficiency, provided they had the needed Elemental Attainments. Eliza, too, came to understand that simply taking or stealing this bloodline from Eren or Reen wasn''t an option. It seemed to possess a will of its own, actively stopping the emergence of another like Eren. The bloodline of Elder Ichor exhibited a tendency to alter itself and mutate into something different entirely if anyone attempted to appropriate it. It steadfastly refused to remain with a fixed genesis. Upon grasping these peculiarities of Elder Ichor, Eliza had contemted relinquishing her dragon-type bloodline in favor of acquiring Eren''s unique bloodline. After all, Elder Ichor held more promise than her draconic bloodline. If she could obtain it, she knew she would be able to wield it to its fullest potential. However, the results of tests on Reen reinforced the notion that Elder Ichor was unattainable through mere desire. Over the course of nine years, as they delved deeper into their research, Eliza found herself increasingly captivated by this enigmatic bloodline Eren possessed. Since acquiring the Elder Ichor bloodline proved unfeasible, she decided to pivot her focus toward the next best option: utilizing Reen''s constitution as a foundation for inducing bloodline evolution. Breaking the bloodline shackles meant the inheritors of the bloodline would not have their origins tracked to the first primogenitor. Eliza knew that the bloodline shackles could be broken if the bloodline evolved into something else from its original genesis. With Elder Ichor''s properties extracted from Reen, it waspletely possible for Eliza to trigger bloodline evolution and be even more of a fearsome Sage than what she previously was before the Lazarus Project. She would be able to take her draconic bloodline even further by triggering its evolution. === AN: Soul Spell was first mentioned in chapter 638. Chapter 1579 Reborn: Reen’s Slumbering Demon Soul fragment Chapter 1579 Reborn: Reens Slumbering Demon Soul fragment "Don''t think of doing anything stupid, little kitten." Eliza looked at Eren before calmly speaking further. "If you decide to lower the Birdcage Barrier thinking that ourmon enemy will target me first, I will kill Reen first and foremost before running away. I have already neutralized the homunculus aid you have. I''ll kill her too along with Reen if you bother me too much." Eliza said while looking in Alephee''s direction. She was wary of Alephee because she could sense a subtle form of danger from her. This was why she neutralized the homunculus when the time was ripe to do so. The Witch of the Endermes was a bit irritated by how calmly Eren was taking things considering she had blocked all his ways to rescue Reen. She narrowed her eyes on him before speaking further. "Umm I''m not sure about killing you since you still have those space-element runes on you, Eren. But I''ll assure you that I''ll try my best to not let you go unscathed." Eliza said while continuing to operate on the Array Formation. Due to this operation, the slime-like mass obtained from Reen''s severed and melted limbs was being used on Eliza''s real body like an all-body mask. "Even if you somehow manage to take Reen away from me through sheer luck and nning, which I think is highly improbable, I will still kill Reen through the Voodoo Magic. I spent enough time with her to set up these countermeasures after all. I''ll be sure to use them if you give me a reason to." Eliza said confidently as she looked at Eren as if reading his inner thoughts. "Let me tell you in case you didn''t know. I can always track Reen because of the seal I had entrusted Arthur to imprint on her soul at the time of her creation in the Osan Woods''b. So even if you manage to break the voodoo magic through some special means, I will still be able to track Reen and get to her. Through her, I could get to you as well, ensuring that I uprooted all future troubles. This is nothing personal, Eren, even if you might not see it that way. Just like you, I''m simply prioritizing what is best for me at this point." Eliza said while letting the Primer obtained from Reen dissolve into her flesh and bones. Eren''s guess was proven to be right with Eliza''s confession. He had assumed that Eliza had her way to keep track of Reen. This was when Eren and Eliza had met in her castle inside her Purgatory for the very first time. Eren had drawn this conclusion because Eliza had managed to remain calm even after she found out that Arthur had lost track of her due to theb ident. This behavior was unnatural in Eren''s eyes because of the kind of efforts and resources she had invested in her and Arthur''sbined project. It seemed that Eliza could still make use of this seal to keep track of her whenever she wanted to. Meaning there was no way for Eren to run away with Reen and hide from her. Even if he managed to leave the world Anfang behind, the Witch of the Endermes would forever remain a threat to him as well as Reen. This was because Eren didn''t think even Eliza would stay in Anfang for long after she had sessfully achieved her resurrection. Eliza''s family was from Labh Salem after all. Eren could guess that she had all the knowledge and means necessary to traverse the Immortal nes of demonic affiliations. She had just decided to not put her already fragile life at risk by exploring the dangerous Immortal nes. But now that she had been resurrected in a new body, the Immortal nes were not so dangerous for her anymore. Or rather, she wouldn''t necessarily die after she decided to explore the Immortal nes in her current form. Unbeknownst to Eren, there was another reason why Eliza or her n didn''t want to leave the Land of the Faithless even during the Cmity Era. It was the bloodline shackles that no member of House Samael present in Anfang could break free from because these shackles were rooted in their very existence. *** Incidentally, the seal Eliza had Arthur imprint on the artificial demon beast was the reason why Reen couldn''t get in touch with the slumbering demonic soul fragment she had within her. For the most part, Reen remained oblivious to her innate demonic heritage because the seal interfered with her demonic awakening. Unlike Argo or Naya, she wasn''t even innately aware of the fact that she was a demon. As such, the personality Reen developed was devoid of any past influence of the demonic soul residing within her. The bloodline powers she discovered along the way were through a rigorous learning curve. Of course, Eliza was serious about not wanting to kill either Eren or Reen if they didn''t bother her. She gained nothing by killing the duo after all. If anything, she wanted to keep Reen alive for as long as possible. She would have preferred Reen stayed with her even after the Lazarus project ended. Although Reen''s Ranking Status was bound to regress due to Eliza''s sudden change of ns, it wouldn''t necessarily endanger her life. Or rather, Eliza hadn''tunched this new project to break free from her bloodline shackles just so she could kill Reen. As for Eren, Eliza appreciated all the things he had done for her. He was the high-functioning psychopath she had chosen to do her bidding. And he had done it so masterfully that even she was shocked by his nning and cunning. However, the feelings of appreciation she felt weren''t enough to make her stop about her own well-being and choose what was best for her. === AN: Chapter 345 hints at the fact that Eliza could track Reen using the seal she had imprinted on Reen''s soul. Chapter 1580 Reborn: Trust Chapter 1580 Reborn: Trust Bloodline shackles. This was the reason why Eliza''s n had decided toe to Anfang, a seemingly barren world thatcked Ranking resources for the high-ranking entities. These bloodline shackles had forced the ancestors of House Samael to leave their home in Labh Salem and find their footing in the Land of the Faithless. Eliza didn''t want to subject herself to the same form of bloodline shackles after leaving Anfang. Achieving the bloodline evolution was her chance to gainplete freedom. A form of freedom that would not be blemished by the so-called shackles even after she steps foot outside Anfang. If it weren''t for this reason, Eliza would have no issue releasing Reen into Eren''s custody and concluding the deal they had struck a decade ago. They could have parted ways and achieved their own goals after sessfully running away from their siege. No matter how thankful she was towards Eren and Reen for making huge contributions in resurrecting her, the Witch of the Endermes was not ready to let the only opportunity she had to gainplete freedom slip by her hands. "Haah! Eren, I wanted to keep you busy battling with that little eel till I was done with Reen." Eliza said in a bit of a disappointed voice while looking in Ivor''s direction. Ivor could be seen standing quietly in the isted space between primary and secondary Birdcage Barriers. One look at his quiet form was enough to let Eliza know he wouldn''t listen to her. "s it seems you have managed to win Ivor''s allegiance. So I won''t bother ordering him around. Not that it matters anyway," Eliza chuckled lightly as she looked at Eren before speaking further. "You, Ivor, and everyone you and I employed toplete the Lazarus Project have served their purpose. A job well done, I must say. I thank you all sincerely. You can ask for reasonable favors or rewards from me, and I shall do my best to grant them to anyone who is involved in the project. However, all of you would have to excuse me for the time being. As you can see, I''m a bit busy dealing with something really important to me," Eliza said in a soft and neutral voice while looking around, briefly resting her gaze on all those who were present inside the Birdcage Barrier before focusing all her attention on her real body. *** Only a minute had passed since Eliza had decided to actively take action about breaking her bloodline shackles. This whole time, while listening to Eliza''s words, Eren stood silently and looked at the torture Reen was subjected to because of Eliza''s actions. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists in frustration, seemingly confused by the only two choices he had had at his disposal. Part of Eren wanted to believe in Eliza''s words. After all, he and Reen had alreadye so far in dealing with Eliza''s demands. Reen would still be as important to him even if she ended up regressing in her Ranking Status. The other part of Eren, however, was hesitating. The second option Eren had was so extreme that it could make all his efforts of freeing Reen go down the drain if even one thing went wrong in his n that was to follow afterward. Just like Eliza had predicted, Eren had prepared many Trump Cards he could use in this situation to run away with Reen. However, if she was bound to stay affected by the voodoo magic and the seal imprinted on her soul, then those Trump Cards were practically useless. Of course, not everything Eliza had predicted Eren would do was on point. Eren wasn''t stupid enough to lower the Birdcage Barrier so that the enemy Sages could target Eliza. After all, there were better ways tomit suicide. Eren didn''t argue with the fact that Eliza was the biggest threat in the Alliance''s eyes. However, the Witch of the Endermes had obviously underestimated the hate he had garnered from the enemy Sages of the Anfang Alliance. Unlike what Eliza thought, Eren was sure that he would be the first to get targeted before anyone else. Without someone like JJ Edgar and his allies supporting him from outside the barrier, there was no way he could dare to use the Eliza was indeed the high-priority threat the Anfang Alliance had to get rid of. However, Eren was someone who had practically toyed with the Anfang Alliance and a whole lot of others by causing this incident on the battlefield. As far as he knew, his nuisance level was higher in the Alliance''s eyes than Eliza''s threat level. Eren didn''t throw insults at Eliza for backstabbing him because he knew that it was useless. He neither begged for Eliza to reconsider nor tried to distract her in hopes of buying time. He didn''t try to express his anger or betterment out in the open either. Instead, he started harnessing those emotions, making him calmer than ever before. ''Running away would do me no good,'' Eren mumbled to himself as his nk eyes stared at the scene in front of him. ''Letting Reen escape from this ce on her own also won''t resolve my problems. It''s actually good that Eliza has blocked all my options. This way, I won''t have to me myself for what I''m about to do. This is not the time to think about revenge. This is not the time to feel sorry for myself or for Reen as well. No matter what happens from now on, I''ll keep my heart steady. No matter what happens from now on, I''ll not let my emotions get the better of me.'' Eren decided to proceed further with the only gamble he had nned beforehand that could either make him win everything or lose everything. ''Reen'' Eren called out to Reen through the soul connection he shared with her. ''Er Erni aaaargh. I'' Reen''s voice sounded in Eren''s mind, distraught and filled with pain. She also sounded a bit guilty for having to impose on Eren with regard to her helplessness in the situation. ''Do you remember what I had said before the start of the Lazarus Project?'' Eren asked in a caring voice, which was unlike the regr him. ''I I trust you.'' Reen managed to stutter a response. Eren had asked her to have faith in him. And she was abiding by those words. Chapter 1581 [Bonus ] Reborn: Lazarus 2.0 Chapter 1581 [Bonus ] Reborn: Lazarus 2.0 By this point, Reen''s Ranking Status had regressed. Eliza had forced her to be a D-Rank demon beast. Reen''s bloodline powers were still forcefully active while Eliza was operating on the Array Formation. As such, her lost limbs and flesh kept growing back only for Eliza to rob them again from her. The regression was escting at a rapid rate due to this continuous cycle. ''I won''t let your trust in me go to waste, Reen. You know what you need to do to make us win big, right?'' Eren asked Reen while looking at Reen''s feeble state. ''I I know,'' Reen responded. ''Should I'' she asked with some difficulty. ''Yes,'' Eren responded while clenching his fists hard, his bones making a crackling sound. ''Al alright, Erni,'' Reen looked at Eren with her clear eyes before leaving a parting message. ''You you need to know that, no matter what happens, I aaaaah I won''t me you. Goodbye, for the time being. Or forever" Reen said while looking at Eren with misty eyes. She wanted to smile at him to leave a good image in his mind. She didn''t mind if the smile looked forceful. But unfortunately, her situation didn''t allow her to. Eren nodded at Reen, his own eyes moist for some reason, his heart beating erratically as if he was hyperventting. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Crack. Crack. Crack. "Aaaaaaargh!" While she was busy triggering bloodline evolution in her seemingly lifeless real body, Eliza suddenly received a bacsh from the failed operation of the Soul Seed Insertion Array. Her Soul Sense Manifestation started flickering as if she was turning into a spectral entity. Her expressions made her look shocked and livid. It was clear that her Soul Space had been harmed due to this sudden malfunction in the Array Formation. "Who who interrupted my" Eliza started looking frantically around her to identify what had caused the Array Formation to malfunction which resulted in her receiving such a heavy bacsh from it. It took her a while to realize what was the reason behind it. It seemed that the Array Formation had been interrupted from within. Eliza found out that the eastern Array Eye had suddenly gone inactive while she was concentrating all her attention on the northern Array Eye. The reason why that had happened was because the entity confined within the eastern Array Eye had died by letting her mana core explode. Eliza opened her eyes wide in surprise when she realized that Reen hadmitted suicide. Eren had already taken action while Eliza was busy dealing with the spiritual bacsh. The Soul Spell barrier that Eliza had cast using her abundant Spiritual Force was no more because of the bacsh. While the Witch of the Endermes was busy trying to figure out what had happened to her, he entered the Soul Seed Insertion Array and took Reen''s lifeless body away with him. Meanwhile, Reen''s soul was converted into Soul Seed by Shallot''s Mirror in a fraction of a second. The Soul Seed was soon pulled inside the mirror''s space. "Aaaaah!" Another scream was heard at this point. Le, who had remained on the standby inside the southern Array Eye also received a spiritual bacsh from Shallot''s Mirror as her consciousness was forcefully kicked out. The Shallot''s Mirror had also stripped almost all of the Spiritual Force from Le, forcing her to lose consciousness. The homunculus sister of the Little Witch fell on her back in a lifeless manner after losing consciousness. Shallot''s Mirror disappeared from its predefined position at this point. It appeared on Eren''s wrist as a wristband, going back to its true owner. "Now!" Erenmanded his friends to change the behavior of the secondary Birdcage Barrier as soon as he stepped out of it. The fiends acted right away, making it so that the secondary Birdcage Barrier could not be breached by those who were inside it. Everything happened in a split second with such a quick session that it was nothing but a blur for Eliza''s alreadypromised vision. However, it didn''t take her long to realize what had transpired. "This vile creature," Eliza hissed at Eren''s distant figure with anger and frustration. She could have never imagined in her wildest dreams that he would make Reenmit suicide to break free from the absolute checkmate situation she had arranged for him. "Aaaaah! I was trying to go easy on you and you just had to do this. You you''ll pay for this. Do you think this Birdcage Barrier is enough to stop me froming for you? I am not like those pathetic Sages waiting outside the barrier, you vile brat," Eliza looked at Eren with anger and eyes that sought revenge. Eliza clenched her head with both her hands, her eyes turning red. Her soul was seriously hurt by the bacsh she had just received. But for some reason, her Soul Space was damaged more than the injury entailed. As if this soul-rted injury had exposed a deeper problem with her soul that had remained hidden from her attention. ''He he had me. This snake he didn''t even hesitate to kill the only connection to sanity he had,'' Eliza thought to herself and cursed at Eren. ''He he is indeed more dangerous than I thought. I''ll I''ll have to kill him. I I must kill him because now he won''t rest until he kills me,'' the Witch of the Endermes quickly concluded. Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Wrath Eliza deployed her demonic domain for the first time in a long while. She knew that demonic barriers could only be dealt with demonic might effectively. Plus, the bane of Gluttony Mana was Wrath Mana as well. However, deploying the Domain of Wrath was perhaps the biggest mistake she had made at this point. Unbeknownst to her, Eren had summoned someone inside the secondary Birdcage Barrier using Sansara Sage''s space-element runes before sealing them inside. "You you dare" A deep and wrathful voice sounded in Eliza''s ears before she could take any action against Eren who was looking at her with eyes with equal hatred. She turned to her side to look at the owner of this voice. "You dare usurp the position of this Prince?" The man who had been suddenly summoned inside the secondary barrier spoke while looking at Eliza with hateful eyes. He had grayish-white, waist-length hair that had gotten messy for some reason. His pro-testosterone physiquey exposed. He had two giant axes in his hands. And for some reason, this muscr-looking dual-axe-wielding man also looked injured and distraught, as he had been fighting with someone or something for a very long time. It was as if in his angered haze he was yet to realize that he had been teleported to an entirely different location from his previous one. This man was none other than Demonmir, also known as Ottoman de Montmorency. "Who the fuck" Eliza was about to question Demonmir while clenching her head with her hand. But before she couldplete her sentence, she was attacked. To her surprise, Demonmir could also use domain-type demonic attacks. Samael''s Authority: Domain of Wrath! Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. "Aaaaaargh!" Saying that Eliza was shocked would be an understatement at this point. Before she could realize how her demonic domain had weakened all of a sudden before she could even make use of it, the injured-looking Demonmir attacked her with his Dual Axe Arts, destroying everything around her with his attacks. The Witch of the Endermes was sent a few meters flying from her initial position, her newly formed and severely injured body getting invaded by Demonmir''s intrusive mana. Endermes! The green fire made its appearance inside the secondary Birdcage Barrier. "You bastard! I I''ll kill you," Eliza deployed another demonic domain at this point while charging at Demonmir. A cuss sword had appeared in her hand that demanded blood from her potential victims. This was only the beginning of the battle between the Witch of the Endermes and Demonmir. The moment this battlemenced, the true might of the demonic Rankersid bare for everyone in Anfang to see. Meanwhile, the orchestrator of this battle watched the scene unfolding in front of him with misty eyes. He then looked down and looked at Reen''s lifeless body in his arms which was beginning to lose its human-like form. ''I I''ll show this world how a resurrection is supposed to be done. It better be ready to pay the price for it.'' While two of his biggest enemies were busy battling with each other to death, the butcher decided tounch his own version of the Lazarus Project. A project that would change the fate of this world forever. Chapter 1582 To Win By Losing Chapter 1582 To Win By Losing Months before themencement of the Lazarus Project and the initiation of the war between Edinburgh and Layos. Inside Sansara World 2.0, within Maya''s residence. A table was arranged in the courtyard. Two individuals sat across from each other, engrossed in a game of chess. "How confident are you that you can beat Eliza?" Maya inquired, taking her turn on the chessboard. She sipped her tea, maintaining a keen gaze on her opponent, awaiting both his move on the chessboard and his reply. "First, let''s define what winning means." Eren responded, his attention concentrated on the chess pieces. He wore a serious expression, deep in thought about his next move. Maya smiled, recognizing she was likely to secure another victory. Their routine games apanied their discussions on the progress of therge-scale Array Formation Eren had Mayay down across all of Anfang. Winning against Eren with the same calcted moves had be her norm. Eren, unsatisfied, finally made his move, sacrificing one of his pawns to pave the way for his queen piece. Maya''s smile seemed to anticipate this move. "Let me see," Maya leaned forward, resting her folded arms on the table, her face supported by her right hand. "Your win would entail rescuing Reen and escaping Anfang Alliance safely. But you must ensure Eliza doesn''t turn against you after the Lazarus Project. Otherwise, your temporary victory will be short-lived," she dered, maneuvering her chess piece toy siege to Eren''s king in a different approach. "That''s one way to look at it, Maya. But life isn''t always simple like that. What if a sh with Eliza bes inevitable after her resurrection?" Eren pondered, eyeing the chessboard. Maya''stest move disrupted his previous strategy, a frustration he couldn''tpletely conceal, despite hisposed facade. Maya didn''t see any reason for Eliza to harm Eren and Reen after being resurrected. However, she refrained from asking Eren. They were discussing hypothetical scenarios, and as long as they made sense in their argument, the specifics didn''t matter. "In that case, you''d need to beat her toe out on top. Your and Reen''s survival will depend on that victory. Umm that would be a deadly scenario from what I know about her through your descriptions. How confident are you about winning against her when she would be at her peak?" Maya asked while observing Eren''s struggle to strategize his next move on the chessboard. "At the moment, with my current status and all the trump cards I possess, I''m absolutely sureC" Eren stated with a wry chuckle. "CI''m absolutely sure that I''d lose to her in under 10 seconds, maybe less, depending on her mood. She''s a fickle old hag," he added before making another move on the chessboard. Eren''s move was peculiar, different from what she had observed from all the previous instances, but Maya didn''t dwell on it and responded tactically to Eren''s move on the chessboard before turning her attention to him. "You have Borrowed Might potions. Could you save some in case you need them for her?" Maya inquired, curious about Eren''s n. Eren shook his head. "I''ve met her. She''s many times stronger than the top Rankers of Anfang in this era. Borrowed Might potions might work against someone like say Garos Renar if caught off guard, but they won''t be enough against someone like Eliza. Her Individuality is too powerful to be subdued that easily. She could defeat me and all my allies multiple times before I could even try to use those trump cards on her. Plus, I''m sure she has ced a lot of failsafe measures on Reen, meaning I won''t be able to escape with her by abandoning the Lazarus Project midway. This this is Ebasically a rigged game that I''m forced to y," Eren sighed. "What would you do then? If the sh is inevitable and there''s no way to ovee Eliza, the Lazarus Project is your downfall." Maya remarked, moving another chess piece, anticipating her potential victory in the next few moves. One could say that she had let her guard down as she was so close to scoring another win against Eren. "I''ve decided I''ll just let her win," Eren stated calmly. "In a game where the odds are against me from the start, struggling to win doesn''t benefit me. It''s better to end the game quickly by voluntarily losing. Then, in the next round, I''ll aim to win when the odds are in my favor," Eren concluded,pleting his chess move. "To win by losing," Maya murmured, contemting Eren''s words. Lost in thought, it took her a moment to realize what happened on the chessboard. When she did, she was wide-eyed with surprise. Eren had checkmated her just when she thought she was close to trapping his king. He wasn''t a few moves ahead; he was several rounds ahead of her. "You..." Maya was speechless as she realized why Eren had been losing to her in their previous chess sessions. She hadn''t noticed that he had led her to think she had understood his usual moves, only to change tactics and lure her into a trap. "My father would probably enjoy ying chess with you," Maya sighed, reclining in her seat. "No wonder you wanted another favor if you won. So, Eren, what do you want from me this time?" she asked, storing the chessboard away. "I want to create my version of the Life and Death Altar Sansara Sage used in Sansara World 1.0," Eren smiled. "I need the Array Formationyout and your guidance for a few modifications to its workings," he requested, settling back in his chair. The Life and Death Altar was an Array Formation where a Ranker''s consciousness entered an illusory realm to confront their worst fears. Sansara Sage used it to assess potential legacy inheritors. The Life and Death Altar had made it possible for Eren to battle Eliza''s illusory form. He had learned a lot from that seemingly never-ending battle session. "Life and Death Altar?" Maya was puzzled. "Will you use it for training your subordinates?" she inquired, intrigued by Eren''s request. "Not exactly," Eren replied. "I''ll use it as a backup n for the Lazarus Project. You''ll learn more about itter." "And what changes do you want to make?" Maya asked, eager to understand Eren''s intentions. "I want those undergoing the Life and Death Altar''s judgment to confront my fears instead of their own," Eren responded calmly. === AN: Life and Death Altar was mentioned in chapter 1094. Chapter 1583 Settling Grudges Against Demonmir Chapter 1583 Settling Grudges Against Demonmir A few days before themencement of the Lazarus Project. Grandmaster Amory, Grandmaster Zethos de Montmorency, and Levine de Montmorency were seen heading deeper inside a tunnel, their footsteps echoing in the surroundings. The other end of the tunnel soon led them to a well-lit and spacious hall. This isted hall looked like it was part of the Array Formation. This was because all the walls of this hall as well as its high ceiling were etched with strings of runic symbols. There were loads of A-Rank Extols studded on the walls and ceiling at fixed intervals, indicating that it was an Array Formation meant to be used on Grandmaster Rankers. "Where are we heading, brother Zethos?" Levine asked curiously as she looked around. She did not know that there was such a ce inside the City of White Raven. It seemed Zethos was also clueless about their purpose of being here. He looked at Amory to provide Levine with an exnation. "Hahahaha. It ruins the fun if I tell you what it is before you see it with your own eyes,ss. But I''m sure you will be happy to see what a nice little surprise that brat Eren has prepared for you," Amoryughed heartily as he guided the two Rankers forward, walking towards a grand altar that had 99 steps. Levine scrunched her nose in dissatisfaction as she followed Grandmaster Amory. However, she did notin anymore. She was curious to know what Eren had nned for her as well. The trio of Rankers soon climbed up the altar''s steps and reached the top. There, a sight of manying t on the raised tform was waiting for them. This man had a rugged face, grayish-white hair, and muscr physique. He had his eyes closed and his facial expressions tensed as if he was having nightmares. This man was a ndestine figure across all of Anfang. However, Levina and Zethos knew this man personally as he was once part of their n. "DEMONMIR!" Levine and Zethos practically screamed the identity of the man they were seeing in front of them. They were too shocked to act calm while receiving this special form of "gift" from Eren. "LEVIC GET AWAY FROM THAT" Zethos was about to take Levine away with him. He stepped forward to protect her from Demonmir''s potential attacks. But before he could take any action, he was calmed by Grandmaster Amory''s words. "Hahaha. Shocked, right? Rx, you two. He is not awake. He can''t hurt you," Grandmaster Amory chuckled while enjoying the shocked and paranoid reactions of Levine and Zethos. He took a few more puffs from the pipe he was smoking before speaking further. "This wretched man''s consciousness is being judged by the Life and Death altar at this time. It will stay there for an indefinite amount of time until that brat Eren decides to do something about it. So there''s no need to worry," Grandmaster Amory exined with a calm voice while enjoying his favorite leisure activity of smoking his pipe. Levine took a breath of relief when she realized that Demonmir was practically forced to sleep and was unable to wake up. The relief soon changed into the hatred she had for him as she was reminded of what Demonmir had done to her n before leaving it. Demonmir had ughtered half the number of her n members from House Montmorency. He was also the one who was responsible for her father''s death. He was also the reason why House Montmorency had lost all its former glory. Levine had all the valid reasons to harbor a grudge against the despicable man in front of her. She decided to act on her feelings by killing the man lying defenseless in front of her. This was the kind of temptation she could never resist. She wanted to kill Demonmir so badly that her hands started shaking. It was as if someone facing withdrawal symptoms were suddenly offered the poison they sought for. "I I''ll fucking kill this man," Levine''s eyes turned red as she stepped forward. She was about to summon her weapon to kill Demonmir and vent out her anger. But just then, Grandmaster Amory''s words made her halt in her action. "Lass, I''m afraid we are not here to kill Demonmir. We are here to torture him. Or to be more specific, we are here to torture his body while his consciousness also gets tortured by Eren''s nightmares," Grandmaster Amory said while releasing a lungful of shit smoke through his big nostrils. "What what do you mean, Uncle Amory?" Zethos asked, turning towards Amory. He was as angry at Demonmir as Levine was. Perhaps even more than her because the wounds Demonmir had inflicted on his soul were rtively fresher and more personal. After all, his wife had been killed by Demonmir when he decided to betray House Montmorency and be a half-blood. However, Zethos didn''t let his emotions cloud his judgment. Since it was a gift from Eren, he decided to follow what Eren wanted from him. Amory scratched his forehead to think of something. He then shook his head before taking out a simple scroll from his ID storage. "Ummm Eren has given us specific instructions on how to "operate" on this demonic scum," Amory said while opening the scroll. He cleared his throat to get rid of the tar from the pipe before speaking up. "Rule number 1C we can not kill Demonmir under any circumstances. Rule number 2C we are to inflict his body with serious injuries that wouldn''t kill him. Rule number 3C we need to let his body recover from wounds naturally before we can start injuring him once again. Rule number 4C we are not supposed to target his heart or head that might force his consciousness toe back to his body. Lastly, rule number 5C we can''t move his body away from the altar," Amory said out loud the rules of the torture that he was given by Eren. "Thiswhat how am I" Levine was lost for words when she heard Eren''s instructions through Amory''s mouth. She felt like a moment of absolute bliss was taken away from her by taking Demonmir''s death off the table. "Don''t worry,ss. This scum will meet his end soon. Eren will make sure of it. We are just here so that you could vent your frustrations," Amory looked at Levine caringly as he exined. Zethos went forward and ced his hand on Levine''s shoulder before speaking further. "This is already the best thing that could happen to us, Levi. I think we should ce our faith in Eren on this one," Zethos said while looking at Demonmir''s slumbering form. Amory sighed as he looked at the two Rankers who stood at either side of the tforms, wielding their respective hands. He understood his role well in the situation. He was basically asked to be here by Eren to make sure that the two members of House Montmorency who had a lot of grudges against Demonmir did not end up killing him. A controlled form of torture soon began, painting the tform red in Demonmir''s blood. His Grandmaster-ranked body tried to heal his wounds while he was unconscious. However, it only prolonged his suffering. Demonmir''s consciousness battled endlessly against Eliza Samael''s rendition inside Life and Death Altar''s illusory space. Meanwhile, his body was getting injured methodically, as if reflecting the injuries his soul was suffering because of the Life And Death Altar''s judgment. The entire act was akin to tenderizing the meat before it was roasted to perfection on a grill. Incidentally, Demonmir had ended up in a somewhat simr situation as his ex, Reva Rain, the Pdin of Pain. If Reva''s consciousness was present here, she would have taken joy in watching the man, who had abandoned her after using her, suffer the same form of fate as her. Chapter 1584 Divinity: Artifact Creation Chapter 1584 Divinity: Artifact Creation Boom. Boom. Boom. Eliza and Demonmir shed fiercely, causing the very ground to tremble as if a series of miniature earthquakes had taken over thendscape. The battleground isted by the secondary Birdcage Barrier underwent a dramatic transformation. Once a t expanse, it was now divided into two distinct regions. One half of the battlefield was enveloped in Endermes, creating a vivid sea of green fire that emitted scorching heat. The intensity of these mes could easily obliterate hundreds of Expert Rankers within a 100-meter radius. The other half was a chaotic blend of wind and lightning, intensified by Wrath Mana, creating a furious domain of wrathful electrifying energy. Though the sh of weapons echoed, the ongoing events within the secondary Birdcage Barrier remained hidden from the eyes of most of the onlookers. Although the Rankers involved in the fight were Grandmaster-ranked, not even Sages would want to be inside the secondary Birdcage Barrier at this point. This was because the Rankers involved in this mortal duel had used their respective intent-based magic to amp up their spells and powers. Even the simplest forms of attacks made by either Eliza or Demonmir were enough to seriously injure most Sages if not outrightly kill them. As such, no sane Ranker would decide to barge into the battle between these two powerhouses carelessly. Not every spectator could understand what was going on inside the Birdcage Barrier though. "What what the fuck is happening right now inside that damn barrier?" A Sage spoke in part surprise and part frustration. Due to the strong disturbance caused by Demonmir and Eliza''s battle, he was unable to sense what was going on inside the Birdcage Barrier. However, the leader Sage from Anfang Alliance, Zavir could use his Soul Sense to keep track of things inside the Birdcage Barrier. He waited for a while to confirm his earlier readings before speaking up. "It''s Demonmir. He has somehow appeared inside the barrier and is currently battling against Eliza Samael," Zavir updated his allies in a grime tone. "Demonmir? What the fuck is he doing there now?" asked Hansen Lehan with a shocked expression. He had a score to settle with Demonmir as well. But he was more surprised by the fact that he had decided to appear on the battlefield and fight against the Witch of the Endermes. "Is is Demonmir with us in our fight against Eliza Samael?" asked a female Sage while looking in the direction of the Birdcage Barrier. For some reason, she believed that confronting Eliza would not be as difficult as the other Sages made out to be if Demonmir was fighting her alongside them. "Surely, you are kidding. You have to. That demon he will never be on anyone''s side," Hansen spat in contempt before speaking further. "Demonmir is the leader of backstabbers. He would never put his own life on the line for something so unrted to him. It looks like he was forced toe here," Hansen said while looking at Zavir. "Indeed," Zavir confirmed Hansen''s suspicions. "He has been set up to fight with Eliza Samael," he said in a serious tone. "Are are you fucking serious? Please tell me it''s true. Hahaha," Hansen startedughing all of a sudden. "I never thought I would say this but this but I''m d someone who could fight against that wretched bastard and kick his ass is here. Serves that demon right. He has been backstabbing and setting traps for everyone for so long that it sickens me. This is the first time I see that he has been given the taste of his own medicine," Hansen Lehan looked overjoyed by Demonmir''s predicament. "He was probably set up by the same man who had almost killed you not too long ago. So you will do well to keep your personal grudges in check, Hansen," Zavir warned Hansen in a stern tone. He didn''t like that Hansen wasughing in such a serious situation even though he agreed with his words all the same. Zavir was still d for the fact that someone had appeared to stop Eliza''s logic-defying Ranking Progress. Hansen opened his mouth to say something. But ultimately, he decided to rein in his words, deciding to mumble a few words of displeasure against someone or something instead. "Wait look at Grimdawn. What is he doing?" someone in the group delivered everyone''s attention to Eren who was present inside an isted space between primary and secondary Birdcage Barrier. The Sages outside watched with curiosity as they saw Eren and his subordinates work on another Runic Formation. This Runic Formation bore a resemnce to the original Soul Seed Insertion Array with only a few minor tweaks. "It is the Soul Seed Insertion Array from House Lancelot!" Another Sage recognized the type of Runic Formation Eren was constructing inside the isted space right for everyone to see. "It seems he stole theyout for the Soul Seed Insertion Array from House Lancelot. That brat Avalon was notpletely honest with me," Hansen sighed as he spoke. Avalon Lancelot was already dead because of being offered as a sacrifice for Eliza''s rapid Ranking Progress. So Hansen did not want to speak ill of the dead. "Hmm? What is he doing by constructing such a useless Array Formation inside the barrier?" asked the same female Ranker who was concerned about Demonmir''s allegiance earlier. "It seems he is creating an artifact? I can only guess based on what I CAN see," said the Sage who was a bit aware of how Array Formations worked. "Should I contact Grandmaster Baelin to confirm?" asked a Sage from Layos. Hansen was surprised by learning that a Sage from the enemy kingdom could contact one of the most prominent weaponsmiths of Anfang so easily. It could only mean that Grandmaster Baelin had been selling his weapons to the Rankers outside Edinburgh, profiting from the war. ''These damn weaponsmiths from House Lancelots. It''s good that their city was robbed. Served them right,'' Hansen thought to himself. He decided not to pursue Baelin''s apparent betrayal of Edinburgh at this point. It served no purpose. They had bigger fish to fry here. "Do it," Zavir gave permission, and the Sage elf from Layos contacted Grandmaster Baelin quickly using a special Array Disk. In the next second, Grandmaster Baelin''s spectral image hovered over the Array Disk for everyone to see. Grandmaster Baelin coughed while looking at Hansen Lehan. He then confirmed the hypothesis, stating that Eren was indeed about to make an artifact. However, even Baelin was shocked to the bone after he realized the peculiarities found in the new Array Formation created by Eren. "It it can''t be. Leo Longde! It was him!" Chapter 1585 Divinity: All Or Nothing Chapter 1585 Divinity: All Or Nothing Ivor Osan stood amidst the group of Rankers and fiends. "Boy, you look worried. Do you regret following our liege in his n?" Hettie asked yfully as she looked at Ivor. Ivor looked at Hettie with a neutral gaze before answering calmly. "Not really. I don''t care what happens to me anymore. However, I am concerned about what he is nning to do with that dead demon beastpanion of his. I don''t know what others see at this point. But I have never seen him this distraught," Ivor replied while looking at what Eren was up to. The Rankers and fiends trapped in the isted space between the primary and secondary Birdcage Barriers decided to collectively ignore what was happening of Eliza and Demonmir''s battle. They had also chosen to ignore what was happening outside the primary Birdcage barrier as well. This was because something interesting was taking ce inside the isted space. They all paid attention to what Eren was doing. Hettie, intrigued, nced at Ivor. "Anfang''s Rankers are a peculiar lot, huh? Unperturbed by the potential consequences?" she pondered. Ivor, puzzled by her words, questioned, "What do you mean?" Hettie reflected briefly before answering. "Well, our liege is about to make asting mark on Anfang, whether his n seeds or fails. Do you think you will be able to deal with the aftermath of this incident?" she probed, peering back at Eren. Unmoved, Ivor focused on Eren. "No. You misunderstood, Hettie. That''s not what I meant by my previous words. I''ve had my share of the spotlight here. I seek no further fame. But whether my name bes the talk of the town in a bad way is not relevant to me anymore. Does it matter if I n to leave Anfang after this is over? Do I have to care about people cursing me if I''m not going to be under the same roof as them? No matter what happens from now on, I''ll leave Anfang. If I make it through, that is," Ivor responded casually. Hettie nodded, acknowledging his stance. "Interesting. Will you join our liege on his venture or follow your heart?" she asked, curious about Ivor''s intentions. "It depends on Eren, honestly," Ivor shrugged his shoulders before speaking further. "Yet, exploring other worlds solo isn''t a bad notion. I''ll think about this when we find a secure space for thought," Ivor said and sighed in contemtion. It took a while for him to expound on his words. "To be honest, surviving this incident isn''t high on my hopes, Hettie. I think we are all doomed. If the Sages present outside don''t kill us, whoever wins the battle inside the secondary barrier will. Eliza or DemonmirC they will treat us the same. Not that I me anyone, including Eren. I knew the risks before I decided to not be on Eliza''s side. I just haven''t considered future ns because my goals ended when I saw my grandfather die in front of me. I once held grand ambitions. But time has changed me and I allowed it to happen. I know those who knew me from my past would call me directionless if they were to see me now. But I feel like I''m a free bird now. Apart from being tortured for the rest of my life, I''m okay with anything. I''m okay with. "Abrupt ending" so to speak. And I''m okay with having new goals as well. However, there needs to be a secure present first before we can think about the future.So I have to live by the moment, whether I like it or not. We all have to." Ivor shared, gazing at the diverse mix of Fenris half-bloods and fiends dispersed in the isted space. Hettie concurred with a smile. "Fair enough. Alright. Here''s a deal: if we survive and you wish to explore Labh Salem, I''ll guide you. Things might have changed, but I can assist in introducing you to our customs," she offered with excitement. "Labh Salem?" Ivor mused, contemting Hettie''s homnd. He chuckled, appreciating the prospect. "Sure, something to look forward to after the dust settles," Ivor said, peering at the sky, an air of determination around him. In silent prayer, a glimmer of unusual behavior seemed to arise from someone born in the Land of the Faithless. *** Simr discussions were taking ce among the group of Rankers and fiends as they watched Eren construct a very intricate Array Formation. For some, these discussions served as a way to handle the stress, while others sought a glimmer of hope for their uncertain future by openly conversing about these matters. As time passed, uncertainty mounted among those in the isted space. By this point, they were all aware that Sages from Anfang Alliance managed to disrupt the operation of the Sansara Sage''s space-element runes through sheer brute force. The Sansara Sage''s space-element runes were so well-encrypted that the Sages couldn''t directly influence them or their usage. However, the Sages outside could manipte the spatial fabric surrounding the Birdcage Barrier. The Anfang Alliance''s space-element Sages altered the space outside the primary Birdcage Barrier, significantly increasing its spatial distance. Therefore, the activation of the Sansara Sage''s runes was bound to result in users missing their intended destination by a considerable margin. The Birdcage Barrier offered security but also trapped those within it. It prevented movement, giving the Sages outside the chance and time to devise countermeasures against the Sansara Sage''s space-element runes. Eren and his allies already foresaw this development. They were aware of the risks involved at the prospect of staying at the same ce for too long even before Eliza had voiced them to Eren to shake his confidence. The fact that almost no one attempted to leave after Eliza''s resurrection was a testament to their allegiance to Eren and his n. Rankers like Sirius and Fiona Fenris had willingly stayed inside the Birdcage Barrier even though they were given the head-up regarding the potential inoperability of Sansara Sage''s space-element runes, their only way out of this mess. Survivors within the barrier understood that following Eren was an all-or-nothing scenario. There was no scope for the middle ground. === AN: In this chapter''sment section, write the number corresponding to the world you''d like the VEH''s storyline to explore in the uing volume. The world with the most votes will be prioritized. Each of you can only choose one option. ;) 1) Echidna (Children of Echidna AKA monsters) 2) Ansia (world of Titans) 3) Labh Salem (witches, demonic beings, and half-bloods) 4) Tel Quasser (Land of the Fey) Chapter 1586 Divinity: Ridiculously Simple & Mind-blowingly Genius Chapter 1586 Divinity: Ridiculously Simple & Mind-blowingly Genius Within the newly formed Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation, ayout distinct from the one used to resurrect Eliza took shape. It resembled the design favored by Grandmaster Baelin in his weaponsmithy. Unlike the four Cardinal Array Eyes used by La in the Lazarus Project, this formation contained three. These three eyes formed an equteral triangle, evenly spaced apart. Grandmaster Baelin preferred thisyout for its precision in Artifact crafting while conserving Spiritual Force. One of the Array Eyes was his Control Array, while the remaining two were managed by his apprentices, Ravid and Leo Longde, who shared his burden. Thisyout pattern of the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation was Grandmaster Baelin''s spin on the original design. This was why it could be recognized by Baelin at first nce. This pattern had increased Baelin''s sess rate of creating spiritual artifacts, making him one of the most aplished weaponsmiths across all of Anfang. Eren, familiar with this variant, opted for a simr structure. He had decided to bet on all the experiences he had gained during thest decade as Leo Longde. His spin on the Lazarus Project. In his adaptation, Eren included two control units instead of one. He manned one controlling Array Eye while the other was handled by Alephee. The sole Array Eye meant for crafting an artifact was upied by Reen''s lifeless form. As such, this design could be called apletely opposite variant of Grandmaster Baelin''s variant. If he was here at the present to see his apprentice doing something like this, the dwarf weaponsmith would have scolded Eren for stealing his knowledge as well as appreciated him for creating something better off of it. *** Eren''s version of the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation was ridiculously simple and mind-blowingly genius at the same time. It had all theplexities of the traditional designs while making the creation process simpler. Eren had used all the expertise he had gained from digesting Array Experts, his own experiences, and Sansara Sage''s legacy. He hadbined all of those gains before using his Array Master ss to create this masterpiece. Although the process of array creation was a methodical approach to using magic, it could be as artistic as it was systematic. It all depended on how the Array Creators employed the experiences they had gained by studying this branch of magic. Sansara Sage had excelled in this branch of magic purely because his approach to the array creation was more artistic than it was systematic. As his legacy holder, Eren''s way of handling this branch of magic was bound to be influenced by Sansara Sage as well. This was also why there was a custom among powerful entities to leave their legacies behind in their home world. A lot of them wanted to see how creative their legacy holders could get with the pieces of the puzzle they had provided to them. Even Sansara Sage would have been inspired by Eren''s way of employing his own insights. If La had ess to thisyout, she wouldn''t have suffered from such terrible Spiritual Force fatigue. Of course, Eren didn''t have any intention to share thisyout with the Little Witch in the first ce. Eren had never thought he could save Reen from Eliza''s clutches alive. He could guess that she was bound to be interested in the bloodline he had acquired from Reen. Even if she didn''t kill her or him, there was little hope for Eliza to release Reen just because the Lazarus Project ended. Reen''s existence was just that precious and he knew it better than Eliza. This was why he had been running his parallel n alongside the Lazarus Project. This was also the reason why he had been looking for ways to counter Endermes. Eren''s first answer to this dilemma was Fiend Creation. He had been working on this n for as long as he was working on the Lazarus Project. Judging by his recent experiments, he had obtained great results. Eren knew that the fiend creation was more direct and had rtively less chance of failure. The only problem in the fiend creationy in the fact that it triggered a Cmity. However, as their creator, Eren understood the limitations of fiends better than anybody. As fiends, their bodies were only adept at handling infernal energies. They couldn''t handle the world''s mana with the same proficiency as the regr entities. Plus, the fiends'' demonic inclinations were bound to affect their behavior. For example, Hilda was already showing signs of bing apletely different person than what she was before she was alive in her own body. Eren didn''t want Reen to have the same type of limitations or repercussions by turning her into a fiend. He wanted her to remain the same while allowing her innate potential to reach greater heights than before. Eren found the way he was looking for when he assumed the identity of Leo Longde. The more he started creating and handling the spiritual artifacts, the more sure he was of his new idea. An idea that had been taking root inside his head for a good part of thest decade. The Hex Artifacts were ever-evolving. They grew with the users and had no limit on their growth potential. Plus, they didn''t affect the spiritual beings bound to them, dubbed as artifact spirits, in a negative way. This was what Eren had been looking for the most. The butcher decided to abandon the fiend creation n he had for Reen after learning about the Hex artifact creation. He dabbled in their manufacturing process and experimented with them extensively to know his ins and outs around them. He used them thoroughly on the battlefield and tested their limits. The problem with making Hex Artifacts was that they didn''t always turn out right. Even if Eren became really good at making them, he couldn''t make them perfect every time. Sometimes they just crumbled away, ruining all his efforts. He could do his best when he was all alone and focused, but even then, he could only get close to a 50% sess rate. That''s why Eren worked so hard to improve the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation that Grandmaster Baelin made. He wanted to boost his chances of sess and make fewer mistakes. Eren had nned everything carefully, but when it came to making the Hex Artifacts, the final result wasn''t something he couldpletely control. *** "Eren, are you good to go?" Alephee inquired, noting Eren''s uneasy demeanor behind hisposed facade. She didn''t want to pressure him, but time was of the essence. Taking a deep breath, Eren responded, "Yes. Let''s begin." At that moment, the focus and determination he sought came back to him. The coldness and callousness of an uninvolved passerby gripped his Individuality once again, as he initiated the process to create a never-seen-before Hex artifact. Chapter 1587 Divinity: Rabid Mutations Chapter 1587 Divinity: Rabid Mutations The wheel of time spun ceaselessly. Night shifted to morning, painting the sky orange. Yet the battlefield remained stagnant. Demonmir and Eliza were still battling against each other. They had both emptied their mana reserves long back. It was only their Elemental Attainments and intent-based magic that allowed them to keep the battle going. However, they both were mentally and spiritually fatigued at this point. They did not have time to deal with anything else. Demonmir had been fighting Eliza longer, even before he was forcefully summoned by Eren to appear on the battlefield. He had been fighting Eliza''s illusory form for so long that it blurred the line between what was real and what was imaginary for him. He still thought that he was trapped in an illusion, fighting a fight that seemed to have no end. Demonmir''s poor mental and physical condition should have allowed Eliza a clear advantage. However, Eliza had her own problems to deal with. First, her A-Rank mana core was still notpletely stable because of the instant Ranking Status ascension she had performed on herself. Second, she was still getting used to her new body. Andstly, her Soul Space had been damaged by the stunt Eren had pulled on her. Eren had basically forced both Eliza and Demonmir to fight in their weakened form, now allowing either of them to achieve definite victory against the other with overwhelming strength. So, they fought a never-ending battle that wasn''t going to benefit either of them. Some Rankers began streaming the battlefield scenes illegally, even though the Anfang Alliance had banned such broadcasts to prevent panic. They knew wealthy and powerful individuals would pay to secretly watch the stream, despite its blurry andpromised footage. The unusual scene inside the Birdcage Barrier attracted many viewers in the shadows who were eager to witness this unprecedented event in Anfang''s history. Meanwhile, within the space confined by the primary and secondary Birdcage Barriers, Eren and Alephee continued their work. They were adding more runes to a mana sphere containing Reen''s lifeless form. Reen''s body, which would have naturally changed back to its original state, was prevented from doing so due to the ongoing artifact-creation process. Rings of runes encircled the third Array Eye where Reen''s body was confined inside a cocoon-likeyer. Eren and Alephee steadily increased the number of runic rings using their respective Array Eyes. Eren and Alephee both looked stressed as they concentrated and kept on operating on the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation. Both had stress lines on their foreheads and beads of sweat kept trickling down their faces, indicating how physically and mentally stressful the whole process was. ''Steady hands. Steady mind. I can do this. Now for the final round.'' Eren mumbled to himself as he observed the process. He nodded at Alephee before operating on the Arry Formation with newfound intensity. He changed the pattern of the runes and asked Alephee to follow up on his rhythm. He raised his hands and took control of the third Array Eye manually, guiding the runes to fuse with the cocoon-likeyer surrounding Reen. The runes eventually started fusing, indicating the final phase of the artifact creation was about to take ce. Eren and Alephee both focused as they knew this was the most crucial step in the process. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. A series of intense mana pulses started originating from the third Array Eye, generating mild shockwaves in response that gradually grew more frequent and stronger. Since Eren hadn''t bound this artifact creation to a particr element, all sorts of Elemental Attainments started manifesting around the surroundings. "Eren, you should.." Alephee was about to warn Eren. "I know" he responded to her before she could finish her words. Utilizing the powers of Shallot''s Mirror, Eren extracted Reen''s Soul Seed from its secure enclosure. Guiding the Soul Seed towards the third Array Eye, he used tendrils sprouted from the mirror''s surface. ''It... It''s going to seed,'' said Alephee to herself, smiling as she observed Eren''s adept handling of the process. Their work had been wless thus far. She harbored no doubts that, as long as Eren maintained the same steady flow, he would sessfully transform Reen''s body into an artifact and her soul into an artifact spirit. The cocoon-like manayer, tethered with numerous runic strings, began to contract. Enveloping Reen''s body like a form-fitting sheath, it allowed her Soul Seed to prate her lifeless form. Zoooooom. A powerful surge of mana permeated the surroundings. Elemental manifestations intensified as Reen''s Soul Seed began to germinate within her newly enhanced body. Crack, Crack. Crack. The earth surrounding the third Array Eye trembled, creating deep fissures. The entire Array Eye was veiled in otherworldly mana, as something or someone within Reen awakened from its slumber for the first time. Boom. Boom. Boom. The Elemental Manifestations encircling the Runic Formation took a perilous turn. They began to harm Eren''s allies who stood nearby as witnesses. "Aaaaaargh... My arm!" cried a half-blood as his arm suddenly transformed into a monstrous limb. It erged and altered unexpectedly before rupturing, sttering flesh and blood in every direction, and sending shards of bone scattering. "My legs... FUCK!" "Heeeeeeeelp!" "Where? Where''s the healer? Aaaaaargh my ey aaaaargh!" "Get... Get the fuck away from here. Quickly!" "Run!" "Aaaaaargh. Help me my head it''s about to explo" Witnesses standing near the Runic Formation experienced rapid mutations. Unaffected survivors and those affected but agile enough to flee decided to distance themselves from the Runic Formation. Half-bloods and fiends both were affected by the sudden mana fluctuations that seemed to have otherworldly origins. No artifact or spell was able to stop or mitigate the effects of the mutation. As such, these witnesses ran away from the Runic Formation, keeping a safe distance from it. Despite bracing themselves for the possibility of death, they wished to avoid agonizing final moments in a hellish state. It seemed that something had gone wrong in the Hex artifact creation, making the final product way too unstable to keep its form intact for longer. Chapter 1588 Divinity: Failure Chapter 1588 Divinity: Failure ''Something has gone horribly wrong.'' Eren and Alephee both thought the same thing at the same time as they looked at each other with a wide range of emotions painted on their faces. They remained in their positions, left to deal with the error that had been introduced in the process. Somehow, Eren remained immune to the adverse effects of exposure to these otherworldly mana fluctuations. However, Alephee struggled to maintain her current form. ''What What happened? Where did we go wrong?'' Alephee asked herself with emotions of regret and self-ming gripping over her. She looked at Eren and Reen intermittently, as if trying to figure out the root cause of this anomaly. At this juncture, both Eren and Alephee realized an unprecedented and unexpected event was unfolding. Reen''s Soul Seed was rejecting the vessel it had been given, leading to these anomalies. ''Did I fail? How How did that happen? Reen will she'' Eren''s expression turned grim as heprehended that the Hex artifact creation he hadbored over was on the brink of failure. Utilizing the Soul Seed Insertion Array along with his Soul Sense, Eren discerned that Reen''s Soul Seed had indeed taken root within the vessel he had prepared for her. However, inexplicably, the vessel transformed into a Hex artifact and was unable to securely contain her soul. Her body showed signs of disintegration due to the substantial spiritual fluctuation generated by Reen''s Soul Seed. Reen had a demon soul fragment within her that remained slumbering because of Eliza''s seal on her soul. As a result, Reen was never influenced by her demonic soul fragment for the most part, enabling her to develop her personality from scratch. However, when Reenmitted suicide and died, the seal left by Eliza on her soul vanished and her demon soul fragment was set free to awaken. So when Reen''s Soul Seed upied a new vessel, the demon soul fragment subconsciously wanted toy im over it. Unbeknownst to Eren, Reen''s demonic soul fragment that had remained slumbering till her death had managed to awaken, causing this anomaly. He could have never foreseen such a drastic development to take ce all of a sudden. The butcher had a lot of backup ns for problems he could predicting his way. But he had nothing to counter the problems that he couldn''t seeing. Technically, Eren had done everything wlessly. However, even that wasn''t enough to give him the kind of sess he wanted. With the way things were going, the vessel was bound to implode before it could allow Reen''s Soul Seed to sprout sessfully inside it. The Hex artifact creation had almost failed. And there was no way to reverse the process. Even Shallot''s Mirror couldn''t turn Reen''s soul into a Soul Seed right after it had germinated inside the vessel. If Eren tried such a trick at this point, all he would get would be a damaged Soul Seed that would have no chance of germinating inside any vessel. Pangs of regret started to creep up on Eren. He started backtracking in his mind, trying to find the root cause behind his failure. He started regretting not turning Reen into a fiend. The more he started thinking about these things, the more these feelings were taking root in his psyche. p! Eren pped himself and the p was so hard that it bludgeoned his cheeks, rupturing his skin. ''No It can''t end like this. I can''t lose her now. Not when I came this far.'' Eren refused to give up. He tried his hardest to contain the mana fluctuations within the third Array Eye. He tried to sheathe Reen''s body in a cocoon-likeyer once again to keep her from disintegrating. He kept adding more runic circles with reckless abandon in hopes of stabilizing the situation. But it seemed that it was only dying the inevitable. Alephee did her best to assist Eren, but she knew that theirbined efforts were akin to using a bucket of water to douse a raging wildfire. Instead of being overwhelmed by the surging emotions, she focused on finding a solution. s, her search only led her to a dead end. "Eren... Reen... Her demon soul fragment is unconsciously attempting to take control of her body. But the vessel isn''t capable of housing such an entity." Alephee realized what was happening to Reen in a short period. She conveyed the same to Eren. ''I... I understand now. Whose soul fragment this belongs to,'' Alephee''s eyes widened upon realizing the situation. ''This isn''t a coincidence. Beelzebub! This... this is his doing. He has manipted the fabric of cause and effect to this extent,'' Alephee med Beelzebub for what was urring with Reen for some reason. All this while, Alephee couldn''t discern the owner of the soul fragment since it had remained dormant within Reen. However, the mana fluctuations it caused upon awakening were enough for Alephee to identify its origin. "Is it one of the Demon Princes?" Eren inquired, struggling to contain the mana fluctuations threatening the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation. The intense power made him think of existences on simr scales as Beelzebub and Samael. "No!" Alephee responded swiftly. "It''s someone much higher up thedder," she said, sharing Eren''s burden. "But that''s not important right now," Alephee''s voice conveyed a sense of sorrow. "Eren, you need to let go now. The process has failed because we didn''t anticipate this. Reen... she can''t be revived anymore. A Hex artifact can''t contain someone like her. You need to let her go before she starts hurting you and destroys this world in the process," Alephee tried to remainposed and rational. "No." Eren calmly rejected Alephee''s suggestion. Although part of him understood her reasoning and the impossibility of binding Reen''s soul to the vessel he had prepared, another part of him refused to give up aftering so far. ''There must be something. There has to be something I can do.'' Even though the reality of life came crashing down on him, Eren''s visage was hauntingly calm as he tried to think of a solution. Even though he watched years of his efforts go to waste, he was trying his best to find a solution out of the huge blunder. It was as if a switch had been flipped inside him, which allowed him to keep his negative emotions at bay. Immortal magic! A thought echoed in Eren''s mind when he was at a loss when he was in his most desperate situation. This one echo spurred Eren to understand his next step. ''If Hex artifact creation has failed, so be it,'' Eren tightened his fists, resolving himself. ''I have Elder Ichor flowing through my veins. I''ll just create an Elder Seed Artifact.'' === AN: Hex artifacts were exined in chapters 878, 1359, and 1360. Immortal Magic was exined in chapter 1385. Elder Seed Artifacts were exined in chapters 1317 and 1318. Beelzebub admits of interfering with the cause-and-effect fabric in chapter 1057. Chapter 1589 Divinity: Divine Flames Chapter 1589 Divinity: Divine mes Failures. Eren had faced failures in his life ever since he embarked on his journey as a Ranker in the first timeline. In the past, these failures had left him shattered and made his life miserable. However, he had learned from his experiences and developed a mindset that allowed him to ept failures as a part of life. Whether he was cursed by the goddess or not, Eren had made peace with the fact that sess wasn''t something he could easily achieve, regardless of the tasks he undertook or the fields he pursued. This was why he ced great importance on nning things, as he knew he couldn''t rely on his luck. Eren''s past experiences had taught him to remain calm even when things were falling apart. It was as if he was trapped inside a burning house with no escape. Despite this, he remained patient, waiting for the house to burn downpletely so he could escape. All he needed to do was oust the mes that were trying to burn him to the cinders. The Lazarus Project and the other side projects Eren had undertaken were no exception to this rule either. He had an abysmal rate of sess, forcing him to face many failures in his projects that would have mentally frustrated any other Ranker, exhausting their patience to deal with the reality of life. ''I''ve failed so many times before. So this situation is no different,'' Eren thought to himself. His emerald green eyes glinted with determination as he began to sort through his thoughts. ''I may not possess exceptional talents, and I may have terrible luck, and perhaps numerous other ws, but it will not stop me from giving my utmost in everything I do. Because that''s the only thing that has worked for me.'' Eren thought to himself as he watched Reen''s vessel wreaking havoc around her, the Array Eye she was confined to was on the brink ofplete destruction. He didn''t try to dispel the Array Formation anymore even though he knew that it was on the brink of copse. The bacsh from the Soul Seed Insertion Array''s failure was no joke. This was what Alephee feared the most. If the Array Eye was destroyed at this point, Eren would suffer from the same form of injury he had made Eliza go through by catching her off guard. Eren''s Soul Space was nowhere near as profound as the Witch of the Endermes. He would surely be in worse condition than Eliza if Reen''s Soul Seed managed to destroy the third Array Eye. Of course, Alephee herself wouldn''t be in much better condition than him either considering the improved Array Formation had two Array Eyes as its control units. It meant that she would receive the bacsh from the Array Formation''s sudden interoperability as well. Eren and Alephee were already surrounded by so many enemies that were just waiting for the Birdcage Barrier to run its course and disappear on its own. Plus, they had Eliza and Demonmir to deal with. If both Eren and Alephee were to receive injuries to their souls in such a condition, their chances of surviving would be close to zero. "EREN!" Alephee screamed at Eren to make him snap back to reality from his chain of thoughts. But before she could plead with him to lecture him about anything, she saw him remove something from his storage. Eren took out two ice-block-like objects that had azure blue energy stored in them. Alephee took a second to remember what those were. Inside these ice blocks, the azure-blue mes refrained from flickering and stood still as if they were just the lifeless image of the same mes. The ice blocks looked as if they wouldn''t melt no matter how much heat was provided to them. ''Divine mes from one of the monster gods!'' Alephee immediately remembered that she had helped Eren freeze these azure blue divine mes using her soul spell. It was when Eren had conquered the Oni Dungeon and established himself as the ruler of the monster army inside it. "What what are you nning to do?" Alephee asked as she watched Eren start melting the ice blocks using his own spiritual force. He then sent those two divine mes floating toward the third Array Eye where Reen was at. "Can''t you tell?" Eren asked Alephee casually as he guided the divine mes to envelope the cocoon-likeyer Reen''s vessel was sheathed in. The two divine mes eventually came back to life when defrosted from Alephee''s soul spell. They enveloped Reen''s vessel quickly by dancing over the cocoon-like manayer she was secured in. It was as if Reen herself was burning in azure blue divine mes. The azure blue divine mes also started burning off the excess of mana fluctuations Reen''s Soul Sense was giving off. After the appearance of the divine mes, it didn''t take long for the Array Formation to stabilize and get back to its previous state. It seemed that the divine mes had some form of connection with Reen''s Soul Seed. This was why they were able to have such an influence over the Soul Seed. ''Immortal magic! He is going to use these divine mes as a furnace to craft an Elder Seed Artifact.'' Alephee soon realized what Eren was up to, finding it difficult toprehend how she should react to his decision. Still, she closed her agape mouth and took a deep breath before speaking further. "Eren, first of all, Immortal Magic can''t be cast by mortals. I''m sure you know that. Secondly, the sess rate of you turning Reen into an Elder Seed Artifact is even lower than that of you turning her into a Hex artifact. Thirdly, do you know how much spiritual force is needed to even have a chance at creating an Elder Seed Artifact? Even a sacrifice of a million lives wouldn''t be enough. Lastly, the Birdcage Barrier will soon disperse. You don''t have enough time toplete the task given by Anfang''s World Will. How will you spare time for creating an Elder Seed Artifact in such a situation? You are better off turning Reen into a damaged Soul Seed using Shallot''s Mirror than doing something like this." Alephee tried to sound as patient as she could. But one could tell that she didn''t want Eren to even attempt doing something like that. gm === AN: Eren acquires the first divine me in chapter 638 while the other was acquired in chapter 677. Chapter 1590 Divinity: Something Radical ? Elder Seed Artifacts! These artifacts could be considered to be the pinnacle of immortal magic. They were something Alephee''s brother Aleph had created while he was at the peak of his divinity. Aleph had lived countless lives through his incarnations and used his godly powers to perfection to create the Elder Seed Artifacts currently in existence. Alephee had seen her brother''s experiences up close, even apanying his incarnations to see the births of some of the Elder Seed Artifacts he had created while exploring myriad worlds across the boundless cosmos. Of course, Alephee didn''t doubt Eren''s potential to reach Aleph''s heights one day. But she didn''t think the current Eren was even remotely qualified to dabble in something like creating the Elder Seed Artifacts. This was perhaps the first time that Alephee wasn''t supportive of Eren''s decision. She didn''t want to be the naysayer. But she didn''t want Eren to experience even more losses than what he had already suffered by heading down the path of utter failure. "Yes, Alephee. I''m aware of all that," Eren said calmly. The chaos that was about to unfold because of Reen''s Soul Seed was averted for the time being due to the appearance of the divine mes. Eren''s utilization of the mes had bought him enough time to ponder on what he was about to do next. He looked around and sensed that the Birdcage Barrier indeed had not much time left in it. The uptime of the Birdcage Barrier had already gone past Eren''s initial estimation. It was only thanks to the extra Gluttony Pearls given by Argo before he departed from Anfang that the barrier was still holding on. Otherwise, it would have been dispersed into nothingness while Eren was busy turning Reen''s body into a Hex Artifact. "Still, I must do this," Eren said while calmly adding more runic circles around the third Array Eye to restart the process. "I know this was not how we had nned things. We were supposed to do things separately. In a safer way. But life happens when we are busy making ns. So we will adapt to our situation and make necessary changes as we go. That''s what we have been doing all along anyway." Eren said and managed to smile at Alephee. ''He he smiled? He is THAT confident in himself!'' Alephee thought to herself as she looked at Eren with a newfound view. For some reason, this smile was enough to resolve a lot of worries in her heart. "As for the immortal magic," Eren''s voice turned deep and his emerald eyes shone with determination before he spoke up. "I''ll just be a god to get ess to it," he said with utter confidence in himself. "You" Alephee was lost for words when she saw Eren''s confidence. Some of that confidence seemed to be contagious as she too felt that there was some practicality to Eren''s aim after all. ''I I can''t help but think of my brother after seeing this level of self-belief in him. They are so pr opposite from each other. But this aspect of theirs it''s the same.'' Alephee thought to herself. She sighed and took a deep breath before responding to Eren with a smile of her own. "Alright. I''ll follow your lead." Alephee said before nodding at Eren. This was all that Eren needed to hear anyway. Using the powers of the Shallot''s Mirror, he produced a clone of himself and allowed it to take control of the First Array Eye. He then freed himself from maintaining the operation of the Array Formation, allowing his clone and Alephee to handle that affair entirely. ''Since I don''t have enough time, I''ll just do both of those tasks at the same time.'' Eren thought to himself as he started walking away from the Soul Seed Insertion Array. While walking towards the other side of the isted space, he contacted a certain someone using his voice channel. ''Maya, everything is set?'' Eren asked as he reached his intended position. The isted space between the two barriers was huge and could be said to have been divided into two sections. The first section was considered to be on the secondary barrier''s right side while the other section was on its left. ''Yeah. Ready when you are, Eren.'' Maya replied through the voicemunication channel to Eren. it seemed that she was also present near the battlefield but kept her safe distance away from it. ''Good. I guess it''s about time to gain a certain World Will''s favor. Time to do something radical!'' Eren said to Maya before recovering an Array Disk from his storage. *** Inside the secondary Birdcage Barrier, the entire region had been transformed to look like an excavation site for constructing something enormous. There were gaping holes in the ground that resembled the burrows of gigantic monsters. Deep fissures surrounded these pits. All of these geological changes had been caused by Demonmir, who used his physical powers and Dual Axe Arts to the fullest. On Eliza''s side, patches of the ground had turned obsidian ck, with a certain shine to them, as if they were ck mirrors embedded in the ground. These obsidian formations were caused by the incinerating heat generated by the green mes, which had affected the terrain in such a way that it changed its nature. This was the doing of Eliza Samael. The battle between Eliza and Demonmir was so intense that viewers were willing to pay a hefty amount to watch it through the live stream. The fight has now entered its final phase, and even the streamers who were banned by the Anfang Alliance were ignoring all other events happening inside the Birdcage Barrier to focus on it. Since Eren had made sure to make them fight on equal grounds, there seemed to be no clear winner between Eliza and Demonmir. However, upon closer inspection, one could tell that Eliza could fight for longer than Demonmir. As such, the Witch of the Endermes would win over Demonmir by default eventually. She just needed to wait patiently. "Aaaaaaargh! Why. Why aren''t you disappearing like thest few times?" Demonmir asked while looking at Eliza in anger. Chapter 1591 Divinity: Scion Of House Samael Vs Bloodline Progenitor ? Swoosh. ng. Boom. The two powerful individuals engaged inbat within the confines of the Birdcage Barrier came face to face, their weapons talked in metallic tongues and the sparks flew as a result. They shed once again before disengaging and keeping a safe distance from each other. They appeared to have reached an unspoken agreement to temporarily cease hostilities. "Aaaaaaargh! Why. Why aren''t you disappearing like thest few times?" Demonmir asked while looking at Eliza in anger. He was severely injured by Eliza''s sword, the sh wounds were clearly seen on his muscr physique. His skin had been charred in some ces due to the exposure to the Endermes. "What what the fuck are you talking about?" Eliza asked while eyeing Demonmir with equal rage in her eyes. She was not in a better condition than Demonmir either. Her left arm had almost been severed from her torso by its shoulder joint. The Witch of the Endermes had coated her injuries with Endermes, keeping them from worsening any further than they had to. By this point, Eliza hade to understand that Demonmir wasn''t the average run-of-the-mill Ranker she thought he was. He had forced her to discard the use of the Sin of Wrath Mark. She had tried using her spells with Wrath Mana against Demonmir but they only had the opposite effect on her. Thus, Eliza didn''t take long to realize that Demonmir carries within himself the demon soul fragment of Samael, the Demon Prince of Wrath. She stopped using the Wrath Mana after that realization struck her. Eliza knew who Demonmir was thanks to La. La had told her the details of all the important Rankers within Anfang who were still active. Demonmir was mentioned by La because he was the host for Demon Prince Wrath''s soul fragment. Eliza didn''t know how Eren could make Demonmir appear here on the battlefield. She was even more perplexed by the fact that he had decided to attack her indiscriminately as if he had a personal vengeance on her. As far as she knew, La had never bothered Demonmir or his forces while executing the Lazarus Project''s prep work during thest decade. Eliza could only draw one conclusion as she battled with Demonmir for hours on end. She and Demonmir both were set up by Eren to fight each other to death. Demonmir was still yet to understand that he was being manipted by Eren into fighting her for no reason at all. "Are are you fucking deaf? I asked how many times you are going to get resurrected before I kill you for real?" Demonmir asked in a grim tone as he clenched the grip on the dual axes he was wielding. He wasn''t sure how he could take down someone like Eliza who had kept reviving the more he fought her. He was yet to realize that the illusory form of Eliza with whom he had been fighting at the Life And Death Altar had never talked with him. That form just died by his hands before respawning within a few moments, not allowing Demonmir a moment of respite. Demonmir had been blinded by the rage after he fought Eliza''s illusory form for a long time. He had lost sense of time, direction, and spatial awareness as he harnessed the Wrath Mana to his fullest. After all, Eliza wasn''t an opponent he could deal with by doing things half-heartedly. "Kill me?" Elizaughed mockingly as she looked at Demonmir. "It seems your brain has stopped working. Did someone hit you there?" Eliza pointed at her own head with her free hand before speaking further. "Your name is Ottoman, right? The one they call Demonmir? Let me rify something to you. I have indeed been "resurrected" recently so to speak. But I have never fought with you before. Trust me. You wouldn''t mistake me for anyone else if I ever fought with you," Eliza said as she stepped forward, the cloak of Endermes surrounding her getting brighter by the moment as she added further. "You are quite an arrogant man, aren''t you? I guess that''s something bound to happen since you never faced any real challenge in your life before. Do you think someone like you can kill me just because you are hosting a Demon Prince''s fragment within you? Do you think you are invincible because of it?" Eliza asked as she looked at Demonmir intently, her juniper green eyes reflecting the confidence she had in herself. Demonmir was about to say something at this point, trying to boast about his demonic heritage. But Eliza didn''t allow him to speak and pressed forward. "What that man Garos said was indeed true. As long as the Demon Prince''s fragment within you doesn''t get ignited, I have nothing to worry about you in the Land of the Faithless," Eliza said calmly. "Haah! Your first mistake is underestimating me,dy. And your second and probably the biggest mistake is underestimating the Demon Prince of Wrath, Samael. You''ll soon pay for your sin." Demonmir said while rotating his shoulders clockwise one moment and anticlockwise the other. He could hear the contempt she had against Samael and decided to teach her a lesson in his next round against her. "Will I, now? And who exactly will make me pay for my "sins" here? You?" Eliza said and smirked. "Do you even know how long I have lived? Do you even know what era I am from? Even though you have Samael''s backing, you are still a greenhorn with a little talent in my eyes. Maybe you don''t know this, but my bloodline origin IS from Samael. House Samael was created by him in Labh Salem a long time ago, Mister Big Guy. So I''m pretty sure I know about him more than you do. And all I can say about Samael from the records my n had kept on him is that he is probably the most certified asshole there is among Demon Princes. And from the looks of it, I can say with confidence that his incarnations follow his footsteps," Eliza said before raising both her hands. She tapped into her Sin Series Mark and injected Wrath Mana into her body as well as the Endermes around her, making them burn more intensely with even more ferocity than before. Chapter 1592 Divinity: Demonmir’s Exorcism? Chapter 1592 Divinity: Demonmirs Exorcism? "Don''t think that you are the only demonic Ranker here. I have ess to Wrath Mana as well." Eliza stated in a neutral voice. "Plus, I have a home-ground advantage with me. I didn''t want to engage in a spiritual tug-of-war against Samael when my Soul Space was hurt. But if pushes to shove, I''d go all out. Even if the demon soul fragment within you does get ignited, so what? All I have to do is buy time and you''ll disappear on your own. Plus, I could always make use of Anfang''s World Will to corner you, hurt or even kill the soul fragment within you when it gets suppressed by it." Eliza''s words had their intended effect on Demonmir who was too stunned to respond. What she had stated were indeed his weaknesses to some extent. He just didn''t think she would be capable enough to exploit them. The reason why Demonmir was trying to leash Samael''s soul fragment within him was also what Eliza had described it to be. If Samael''s soul fragment woke uppletely within him, there was no way for him to prevent Anfang World Will from kicking the soul fragment out of the world''s boundary. The fusion between Ottoman and Samael''s soul had progressed to the level that his soul might also tag along and get kicked out by it. The so-called "exorcism" would end up killing him as well. After all, the same thing had happened to Argo as well. ''She she is not a simple woman. A Warrior ss Ranker with such a deadly fire-element Ability. Elemental Attainments that are profound to the level of being wielded by Sages. Superior Weapon Comprehension than me. And her draconic bloodline is even purer than mine. Judging by her mana signatures and the draconic aura surrounding her, she can probably tap into her bloodline transformation and turn into a real dragon. But she refuses to use that card against me. She is definitely a half-blood. But I don''t think she is Last Blood Bastion''s trump card. Who the fuck is she? Wait... She said something about House Samael. I feel like I should know about this woman. Where have I heard about these mes? My mind... has been affected by that damn illusion. I can''t remember shit. In any case, I don''t think I should fight her directly. Let''s see if I can swindle her first.'' Demonmir came to realize that he had underestimated Eliza. She had a profound knowledge of demonic possession. With all the trump cards she had in her sleeves, she could indeed not lose to him even though they both practically shared the same Ranking Status. Eliza didn''t care about what Demonmir was thinking about her at the time. Shepletely dealt with the Wrath Mana trying to invade her mana circuits using her Endermes. She healed herself from the most severe injuries before speaking further. "Samael holds no power over here, Demonmir. At least not over me. Garos may havecked the capabilities to execute the theory he preached, but I''m different. If it weren''t for my unstable mana core and my soul injury, I would have killed you by now. Now the question is: do you want to get in sync with reality or stay within your dreams where I get killed many times by you?" Eliza asked while trying to heal her injuries using a Healing Spell. Even though she knew who she was battling with, there was not even a hint of doubt or fear in Eliza''s eyes. She had absolute confidence to prevail over Demonmir as well as Samael''s soul fragment within him. Eliza knew that she just needed to oust her opponents and wait for them to make mistakes. This was how she had killed multiple Titans at the same time as well, by simply ousting her enemies in terms of stamina and mental fatigue. ''Talking with this knuckleheaded demon is good. Helps me buy time for myself. But it can''t go on for longer. I I probably need to go all out in the next round. I''ll use my bloodline transformation this time. I''ll ignite my blood for a short period to get rid of this guy. Then I can deal with that bastard Eren," the Witch of the Endermes thought to herself. Eliza''s dragonoid form had saved her from getting critically injured by Demonmir. However, since she had no mana left within her, she had decided to use that form sparingly, allowing her to avoid the most deadly injuries and fight with Demonmir for longer. Demonmir had only survived battling with Eliza because he had forced her to dispel the Wrath Mana using his demonic powers. If he hadn''t depended upon his demonic heritage that came from Samael, he would have been quickly overpowered by Eliza shortly after their battle started. "What?" Demonmir looked surprised as realized that he was not inside the illusory realm set by the Life And Death Altar anymore. "This you are a real person?" he asked while looking at Eliza with suspicion. "Haah! Get your head out of your ass and look around," Eliza spat in contempt and got rid of the residue of internal bleeding she had.She cleared her throat before speaking to Demonmir in a clearer voice. "Even if you are stupid, there''s a limit to how much you let someone y you to this extent," she said while looking in Eren''s direction. "What.. what are you" Demonmir mumbled to himself as he followed Eliza''s gaze and looked past the secondary Birdcage Barrier. He could see that Eren had deployed another Array Formation at a remote corner of the isted space, standing inside its only Array Eye. "Grimdawn!" Demonmir recognized Eren immediately. It took him another moment to realize that Eren was the one who had brought him here. ''That son of a whore! He was behind this!'' Demonmir gnashed his teeth in anger as he looked at Eren who had chosen to ignore him and do his things outside the secondary Birdcage Barrier. The realization had finally struck him that he had been dancing to Eren''s tune all this while. "Um It seems there was a bit of misunderstanding," Demonmir said while trying to get his uneven breath in control. He tried to control his anger and sound as genuine and pragmatic as possible. "This battle was a huge mistake. It it doesn''t serve us, does it? So I suggest we should stop our uncalled-for conflict miss?" Unlike Eliza who was aware of Demonmir''s identity by name, Demonmir didn''t even know who he had been fighting against. He could tell that someone like Eliza would be very popr in Anfang after seeing her capabilities. But he couldn''t remember any famous Ranker who matched her description and battle style. "That''s not how this works, Demonmir," Eliza chuckled in disdain before adding further. "Do you think I''m some doormat you could just step on without facing any consequences? Even if you were manipted by that brat into battling with me, my Individuality doesn''t allow me to let this slide just like that. The Demon Prince of Wrath doesn''t belong in the Land of the Faithless. Let me set him free. I''ll tell you my name when I am about to end your life. Let it get etched in your soul''s memories forever." Eliza said in a cold and callous tone as she stepped forward for the final round with Demonmir. Chapter 1593 Divinity: Transformation Chapter 1593 Divinity: Transformation Just as Eren was about to begin the crucial part of his n, something favorable happened. Eliza decided to end Demonmir''s life once and for all, even though she knew that he had been used as a pawn by Eren to distract her. Demonmir had tried to kill Eliza due to being influenced by the Life and Death Altar, and she had taken it personally. With renewed ferocity, Demonmir and the Witch of the Endermes started battling each other. They sensed that Eren was up to something using their Soul Senses and had felt the mana fluctuations released by Reen''s Soul Seed as well. However, they didn''t have enough time or window of opportunity to keep track of his doings. It looked like Eliza was bound to oust Demonmir and win by default. She had also started using the other Sin Series Marks on him now that the injury on her soul had been healed to some extent. It was difficult using the Sin Series Marks when one''s soul was injured. However, Eliza was blessed with profound spiritual might from her birth. Her draconic bloodline allowed her to recover from her soul-rted injury at a faster rate than normal beings, allowing her to overpower Demonmir one sh at a time. *** ''Those idiots one is full of pride while the other is full of stupidity. I thought that guy was smarter than that. Guess everyone has their ill moments. Or it could be just that I got him good.'' Eren thought to himself as he set up his Array Disk on the ground and allowed the runes over it to expand in all directions. They formed a perfect Array Formation, making Eren stand inside it by default. Eren wanted to get rid of both Eliza and Demonmir at the same time if he could. He would have preferred if one of them had established a clear dominance over the other. If one of them managed to kill the other, he could use that opportunity to finish off thest person standing in the battle as well. Of course, this was Eren''s ideal case scenario. He knew killing either of them wouldn''t be as easy as he wanted it to be. Nheless, it would still serve him well. However, Eren knew that this was not the time to prioritize dealing with them. Instead, he had to focus all his attention on the task at hand. ''Reen just wait,'' Eren looked in the direction where the Soul Seed Insertion Array had been set up. He confirmed that things were still in his control, thanks to Alephee and the clone he had left behind inside the Soul Seed Insertion Array. With his raised hands, Eren started activating the runic system embedded into the Array Formation. As a result, the magic circle started exuding a faint light. Compared to theplexities of the Soul Seed Insertion Array, this Array Formation was very simple to the point that even the Rankers with the most elementary knowledge in the field of the Array Formation would be able to operate on it and use it for themselves. Within a few moments, a special environment was created inside the Array Eye as it isted its Array Operator from the surroundings. Eren was seen levitating motionlessly inside the Array Eye as he closed his eyes and focused all his attention on making the runic formation run at its full potential. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. A sensation that was familiar to most Rankers spread in the surroundings as Eren activated another Array Formation. Even Eren''s ally who had been trapped inside the isted space between the two Birdcage Barriers, looked at him with puzzlement as the effects of the Array Formation''s operation started reaching them. They couldn''t help but doubt Eren''s sanity as they saw him activate such a "simple" Array Formation that served no purpose in his current predicament. They hadn''t been let in on the n by Eren. So the Rankers inside the Birdcage Barrier were as clueless about Eren''s n as the witnesses outside it. This newly constructed Array Formation had two array eyes positioned in the yin-yang style. Eren stood inside one of the eyes while chanting some incantations. The other Array Eye was empty and inoperable as if this Array Eye was not meant for him but for someone or something else. It had been reiterated that what Eren had activated all by himself was one of the basic Array Formations that even regr Ace Rankers and above would have ess to. Almost half the Rankers'' poption in Anfang had made use of this Formation to increase their might and aid in their Ranking Journeys. One could say that this Array Formation was one of the most foundational elements of being a Ranker in Anfang. It had been sold in a controlled manner to some extent. The organizations in Anfang used this formation as a form of reward for the low-ranking entities to gain their allegiance. Some had gotten ess to this Array Formationwfully while others used not-so-legal methods to use this Array Formation on themselves. In any case, this Array Formation could be recognized by all the Rankers of Anfang at a nce. Of course, Eren had made a few changes to the Array Formation''syout using Maya''s help. However, soon the Rankers inside and outside the Birdcage Barrier would be able to recognize what kind of Array Formation Eren had activated. It was only a matter of time. *** "What the fuck is he up to now?" asked Sage Hansen Lehan out loud without directing the question to anybody in particr. For some reason, he had started to pay more attention to what Eren was doing at the time instead of focusing his attention on the battle between Eliza and Demonmir. "Beats me," Sage Zavir responded in a careful tone. "But the second Array Formation that he has activated doesn''t look like it has anything to do with the first. I am no expert in the field of Array Formations but it doesn''t look like an offensive-type formation to me," Zavir concluded as he focused all his attention on Eren. "This" another Sage mumbled to himself as he asked doubtfully. "Doesn''t that Array Formation feel familiar to you?" he sounded unsure of his statements. "It indeed is, now that I think about it," Sage Hansen Lehan spoke as he caressed his chin in contemtion. However, before he could say anything more about the formation, it expanded, catching him off guard. All of a sudden, the Array Formation that Eren''s real body was operating on expanded in all directions. Or rather, it became the final piece of the puzzle that had been alreadyid and remained invisible until now. The runic symbols on the Array Formation expanded in all directions at lightning speed. They covered the entire ground of the battlefield in the blink of an eye before reaching even further. Kingdom of Edinburgh. Kingdom of Layos. Askiha Empire. Sovereign city-states beyond the known kingdoms and Amazonian settlements. Vast deserts, ruled by formidable tribes down south of Anfang. Snow-covered regions governed by democratic powers in the north. The runes and runic symbols spread all across Anfang in a moment one takes to count to three. This spread was unstoppable because the groundwork for the formation toe alive all across Anfang had already beenid by Maya. "What in the world" Zavir was lost for words as he realized Eren had cast a grand-scale Array Formation that covered the whole of Anfang. It took him another moment to realize what the Array Formation was since it had revealed itself so brazenly. "Beast Contract Spell!" Zavir and the few Sages with him spoke the name of the Array Formation in unison, as if they had practiced it before. They were surprised and confused by Eren''s casting of a simple Array Formation on such a grand scale, and were about to react when Eren activated the Beast Contract Spell. This single action changed the fate of the entire world forever. === AN: The Beast Contract Spell was exined in chapter 100. ;) Chapter 1594 Divinity: Raging Chaos Chapter 1594 Divinity: Raging Chaos Drip. Drip. Drip. Eren cut his index finger, letting the blood flow. The Array Formation absorbed each drop of blood, repeating the process over and over. The blood transformed into bloodline energy, keeping its purity while amplifying it. This amplified energy spread throughout Anfang via the grand-scale array formation. Eren recalled how he became a half-blood while pondering over how to fulfill Anfang World Will''s wish. Unlike Demonmir or JJ Edgar, who had somehow managed to be one despite the rejection of two gic makeups, Eren''s transformation was linked to the Elder Ichor bloodline synthesized within Reen. If Demonmir and Edgar''s transformations had demonic origins, Eren''s transformation was based on something much more primal. Something that could be linked with the Existential Concepts that governed the boundless cosmos. Elder Ichor. This unique bloodline could mutate upon being harnessed the right way, acting as a bridge between distinct gic makeups. It altered the Beast Contract Spell, enabling something considered impossible by regr Rankers. Using this aspect of the Elder Ichor bloodline, Eren nned to transform almost half of the Rankers into half-bloods. Many Rankers, including Sages, had used the Beast Contract Spell to enhance their abilities. Eren''s Beast Contract Spell, which he had cast on the entire world, aimed to expose these individuals to the Elder Ichor''s bloodline energy, altering their prior contracts. One also considered the influence of Eren''s renowned and groundbreaking White Raven potions. A vast majority of Rankers all across Anfang had consumed the White Raven potions containing traces of Eren''s transformed blood. Once in someone else''s veins, the Elder Ichor bloodline changed its traits, preventing anyone from acquiring it in its original form. However small the residue of the Elder Ichor in the bodies of regr White Raven potion users, exposure to the Beast Contract Spell''s bloodline energy meant their bodies would change rapidly. There was a high chance, over 95%, that these users would be half-bloods. For the users of the Beast Scroll Spell who had not yet consumed the White Raven potions, exposure to the Elder Ichor''s bloodline energy also happened. Their likelihood of bing half-bloods was somewhat lower, around a 65% conversion rate. The Beast Contract Spell marks a person''s body with a beast tattoo using beast blood, the beastly essence remaining separate from the user''s body. Yet, with the introduction of the Elder Ichor''s bloodline energy, this beast blood was bound to merge with the spell users'' very existence as Rankers. The Elder Ichor, functioning as a primer, would facilitate the fusion of the two different gic makeups. Those who fail to merge properly might lose control over their Beast Contract Spell, or the spell would vanish on its own. In the worst-case scenario, these Rankers would face severe injury or even death. Eren had not thoroughly tested the Array Formation or the "test subjects" to ascertain how many would survive the transformation process or how efficient the Array Formation was in producing newly turned half-bloods. The estimated percentage of half-blood conversions was only derived from theoretical assumptions. Some experiments needed to be performed only once. Plus, Eren just didn''t care how many of the Rankers were converted into half-bloods as long as it got the job done. As for why Eren aimed to convert almost half the Rankers into half-bloods? This question would soon be answered. *** "Aaaaaaah!" A Sage in Zavir''s group cried all of a sudden after the global Beast Scroll Spell got activated. The others were shocked. Fearful and confused, they looked at him because of his screech only to find him lying on the ground, writhing in pain and agony that had befell him from seemingly nowhere. This Sage''s name was Rahtor and he was dispatched to the battlefield by the Anfang Alliance. It seemed that the exposure to Elder Ichor''s bloodline energy had caused something drastic to Rahtor''s constitution. Sage Rahtor was the user of the Beast Contract Spell. It had developed alongside his Ranking Journey, turning S-Rank when he became a Sage. However, it seemed that the transformation caused by the bloodline energy had nothing to do with Ranks and one''s individual might. All of the living beings who had had ess to Beast Contract Spell were prone to go through such transformations. Sage Rahtor''s body started partially shape-shifting as the blood of his contracted beast fused with his own. The beast blood was integrating with his existence and turning him into a half-blood. Sage Rahtor''s body couldn''t deal with this drastic change quietly. It tried to resist, wanting to keep its original gic makeup intact. However, the more the beast''s blood was suppressed the more it caused heavy side effects on Sage Rahtor''s body. His skin appeared to melt, resembling a liquid exposed to extreme heat. Internally, his vital organs were under strain, unable to handle the rapid transformation. "Rahtor what is happening to you?" Sage Zavir asked Rahtor with dread and vignce in his eyes. Even though it might have looked like Sage Zavir had asked Rahtor thinking of his well-being, the former did not dare to go near Rahtor. It seemed that Zavir thought that the problem happening with Rahtor was contagious. He didn''t want to be subjected to the same fate as his colleague. "Aaaaaaaaargh!" Sage Rahtor could only respond to Zavir''s questions with screams and more screams. By this point, Rahtor''s eyes had turned beastly and his mana signatures had also changed drastically. It was as if Rahtor''s Individuality as a Ranker itself was at stake as he went through with the transformation. It didn''t take long for Sage Rahtor to exhibit beastly features all over his body. Zavir and the rest could tell that these beastly features were not because of any spell or artifact but Rahtor''s new-normal state. "This" Sage Zavir was lost for words when he realized what was happening to Sage Rahtor. "He he it can''t be. This is the worst," Zavir mumbled to himself as he looked at his colleague''s situation. "What? What do you mean? What is happening to Rahtor?" Hansen panicked after hearing Zavir''s words. Sage Rahtor''s kept screaming as he tried to deal with the internal bodily turmoil that was caused by Eren''s actions. Simr screams were heard from other directions as well, indicating the fact that the situation with Sage Rahtor was not an isted incident. "Rahtor he is turning into a half-blood! They all are!" Chapter 1595 Divinity: Hellboud Chapter 1595 Divinity: Hellboud "Rahtor he is turning into a half-blood! They all are!" Zavir finally concluded as he saw the situation with his colleague. One had to note that the utter shock Zavir and Sage Rahtor had felt in their heart was much more profound than the pain the transformation was causing. Zavir''s and Rahtor''s shock was deeper than the pain of the transformation. They were part of the Anfang Alliance, against the hidden half-blood ns. Now, they faced bing like the very enemies they once opposed. What was one supposed to do if they became the very thing they hated? Eren''s actions had started to turn the Beast Contract users into half-bloods one after the other. These transformations started urring all across Anfang as the Rankers continued to get exposed to the Elder Ichor''s bloodline energy. Some transformations took ce effortlessly, causing rtively less pain and trouble for Rankers. Others were not so lucky. They went through hellish procedures before they could stabilize their body stats. Some truly unfortunate ones couldn''t even survive the transformation, dying before the beast blood merged with their existence. The number of the half-bloods within the Land of the Faithless kept increasing at a rapid rate. When it crossed a certain threshold, something never seen before took ce. The World-Epassing Array Formation revealed itself on the vast expanse of Anfang''s sky, covering everything under it. A grand magic circle of seemingly endless runic symbols appeared, nketing the whole of Anfang. Even the sunlight turned dim as the divine formation appeared, sapping away the world''s essence found in the surroundings. "This World Epassing Array!" *** Sage Zavir immediately recognized the divine formation as a member of the upper echelons within the Anfang Alliance. He was well-versed in the details of this formation. This divine formation dates back to the Cmity Era, a period when Anfang faced threats from otherworldly invaders. It was a creation of a slumbering goddess who approached the Anfang Alliance when the world was facing its darkest time in recorded history. To activate this formation, the half-blood ns and their descendants were sacrificed. This formation earned Anfang the name "Land of the Faithless", it prevented otherworldly invaders from entering its borders freely. It also led to the near eradication of half-bloods and other demonic Rankers. The divine formation''s very existence made them retreat into shadows following the Cmity Era. Constructed using immortal magic, this formation was considered indestructible by mortals. However, the goddess imposed certain conditions for it to function perpetually. One key condition of the istion array was that it would begin to deteriorate if the descendants of the sacrificed subjects exceeded a certain number in the poption. The divine formation could not be destroyed by mortals. However, it would eventually crumble from within if the stated conditions were not met. Eren decided to use this loophole in the divine formation so that it would break from within. He didn''t need divine might or ess to the immortal magic to destroy something that the slumbering goddess had created as an eternal cage for the potential inheritor of the Elder Ichor. He only needed vast amounts of resources and thorough prenning to counter the goddess'' machinations. *** The Elder Ichor''s bloodline energy kept radiating all across Anfang in waves. There was no barrier that could stop it. No healer that could cure it. Even the mighty Sages of Anfang were not immune from it. "Aaaaaah!" "Help me something something''s happening to me." "Keh! What the My blood''s boiling. Does this formation inflict us with a curse?" "What the fuck is happening to these people? What are they turning into?" "I I''m going to die_aaaaaah" *Pichoook! The screams of helplessness and agony erupted all across Anfang as the regr Rankers started turning into half-bloods. A form of uncontroble chaos erupted all over the world as Eren''s bloodline energy sipped into these Rankers and changed them into something most of them didn''t even know of. "Eren Elijah Idril!" As Eren was busy supplying the Array Formation with his blood drops, he heard someone call out to him with a mix of anger, fear, shock, and other sorts of emotions. The voice sounded shaky as if the owner of the voice wasn''t even sure what his intervention could achieve. Eren turned to his side to see Zavir had appeared outside the Birdcage Barrier once again, looking at him intently. He didn''t have to say anything because Zavir hade to him loaded with his curses. "You filthy scumbag. Stop this Array Formation right now or I will kill fucking you." Zavir tried to sound as threatening as possible. But s, it had no effect on the butcher. "Make me," replied Eren while looking into Sage Zavir''s eyes fearlessly. "What what the fuck do you want? The Anfang Alliance will do everything to meet your demands if" Zavir was about to put forward his conditions when he saw Eren shaking his head in denial. "I wasn''t asking forpensation, mister Sage," Eren said calmly as he kept the array formation active. He looked above and stared at the appearance of the divine formation as he spoke further. "This was never a hostage situation to begin with. So there will be no negotiations. As you can see, I will do everything in my power to look after my self-interests. So I want you to do everything in your power to stop me. That''s what I asked from you. I am not trying to mock you. And I''m not trying to kill all these people. Not really. But no matter what happens from now on, I''m not stopping on my own. You have to make me stop. You have to take that responsibility. That is the only way you and I can stop this chaos." Eren said as he kept on pouring more blood into the array formation. "You sick fuck! You" Sage Zavir couldn''t control his emotions as his eyes turned misty. One could tell that he was thinking of his loved ones back home who were probably suffering from the same fate Eren had imposed on practically every Ranker of Anfang. "You will go to hell for this, Grimdawn." Zavir said before disappearing from his position. He wasn''t willing to waste his time on the battlefield anymore. Eren looked at Sage Zavir''s disappearing figure before speaking out to particrly nobody. "Hell? I am not going to hell. It bettere to me." === AN: The conditions of the divine formation were mentioned in Chapter 1082: Machinations Of A Slumbering Goddess P2. Chapter 1596 Divinity: Deification Chapter 1596 Divinity: Deification Zavir could tell that more than half of the Rankers who were part of the Anfang Alliance would be affected by Eren''s bloodline energy. So there was just no way the Alliance could work as wlessly as before. As far as this situation was considered, the Alliance was no more. At least it had ceased to exist for him. So he decided not to follow its orders anymore. As a result of Eren''s actions, thousands of Rankers were either getting killed or transformed into half-bloods per second all over Anfang. And when a certain number of Rankers were converted into half-bloods, the unthinkable took ce and the divine formation cracked. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. The world''s mana surged all over at multiple ces, causing mana storms. The waves of earthquakes were strong enough to create gaping fissures, changing the appearance of the terrain in the blink of an eye. The spatial fabric thinned and created a lot of anomalies. All of these natural disasters were caused by a bacsh because Eren''s actions interfered with the divine formation. The earthquakes and the mana storms caused by the breaking of the divine formation were so strong that even Eren''s allies started fearing for their lives. This was a cataclysmic event that Eren had triggered on his own for reasons that only mattered to him. There was no great cause behind Eren''s actions. He did not think of saving the half-bloods from their oppression. He did not think of freeing the Children of Echidna from their poor condition in Anfang. There was no grand vision behind his deeds. This was because that was not the kind of a man Eren was. "Retreat!" Sage Zavir reached out to other Sages before announcing his decision. "We, as Sages, are thest line of defense for this world. We can not afford to watch this world descend into total destruction. We must use her powers to mitigate the situation. Go to your families. Go to your cities. Try to protect the regions you can. This cmity it''s going to get worse. Much worse. So brace yourselves," Zavir said before taking out a flying vehicle from his storage. He soon disappeared from the region, heading to where his extended family was at a rapid rate. *** Crack. Crack. Crack. The vastnd of Anfang began to fracture, spewingva and forming deep crevices that snaked across the expanse. These ruptures intertwined, dividing the regions and altering thendscape. The repercussions of the divine formation''s disintegration were immense, set to permanently change not only the climate and geography but also numerous other aspects of the world. Billions of lives would be affected by this cataclysmic transformation. Anfang was traditionally known as the Continent of Anfang, a title bestowed by otherworldly visitors before the Cmity Era. This colossalndmass had remained undivided since the civilizations had established themselves upon it. With no significantndmass nearby, the term "Continent of Anfang" was fitting. For most inhabitants of Anfang, the sea remained an unseen wonder. Inessible and perilous regions hindered any visits to the seaside. Many denizens, even among the low-ranking entities, had neverid eyes on the sea and felt no regret for the absence of that experience. Yet, those present near the sea at this moment would witness towering tidal waves, watching as the sea transformed into a ravenous behemoth, wreaking havoc and destruction. Eren''s actions marked a profound shift in the world''s destiny. The immense continent of Anfang was poised to split into seven smallerndmasses that would gradually drift apart, eventually settling into an arrangement bearing no semnce to its former state. *** "I told you I''m not running away, didn''t I?" Eren mumbled to himself as he watched the witnesses of the whole event outside the Birdcage Barrier run for their lives. He didn''t even need Eliza''s protection or the operability of the space-element runes anymore to get away from the Sages of Anfang Alliance. This was because those Sages were one of the first ones to leave. "Hmm. This should be enough." Eren thought to himself and ceased feeding the Array Formation with his blood. The divine formation had deteriorated beyond repair and was destined to crumble on its own one day. [ My child... true inheritor of Elder Ichor! ] An ancient-sounding thought echoed in Eren''s mind. Before he could even attempt to trace the origin of that thought, an overwhelming pressure enveloped the entire regionAnfang''s World Will had decided to manifest. A spectral blur materialized in front of Eren in a somewhat humanoid form, positioned a few meters away. With just a nce, Eren knew who this profound entity was. "I have kept my promise. Now it''s time for you to fulfill your end of the deal." Eren stated calmly, bowing before Anfang''s World Will. However, before Anfang''s World Will could respond, another entity took hold of the spectral form and temporarily anchored itself to this world. "Hmm?" Eren sensed a change in Anfang''s World Will; it was like a colossal mountain reced by a cosmic star. Identifying the presence, he bowed once more. "It seems you know of me," stated the entity in a voice that didn''t sound like a voice. This entity had superseded Anfang''s World Will. "From God Aleph''s memories," Eren replied calmly. "He referred to you as his mother." "I wanted to witness who he has chosen as his inheritor," the entity responded in a neutral tone. "Summon your Spirit Beast. By thews of cause and effect, I will fulfill the promise made to you," the entity added. Eren didn''t think it was the appropriate moment to ask questions, so he obliged and summoned his Spirit Beast. It changed the air, giving it water-like properties as it encircled Eren. The being referred to as God Aleph''s mother did not question Eren or say anything further. It seemed as if she had gleaned his past and present merely from observation. Through her thoughts alone, shemenced the process of transforming Eren''s Spirit Beast into the God Spark. Chapter 1597 Divinity: Ask, And It Shall Be Given Chapter 1597 Divinity: Ask, And It Shall Be Given Eren''s consciousness found itself adrift, flying away in an unknkwn direction without the use of wings or magic. It felt as though his soul had been ejected from his body, plunging into the unknown. Weightless and formless, a vague shape lingered in his subconscious. His senses stretched through the liminal space between reality and ethereality, an unconscious endeavor to grasp his uncertain existence. Dizzy and disoriented, Eren savored an immersive sensation, akin to being in an imagined pool of water, though no water was there. This peculiar state embraced him, offering respite from the burdens he had carried throughout his life. Longing to shed his emotions and simply exist, he felt content in this timeless state. Eren sensed his soul hurtling through countless realms, far surpassing the known cosmos, indicating that what he understood was a mere fraction of what truly existed. It was as though he had departed from a drop of water containing his consciousness only to face an endless sea. His soul drifted aimlessly, carefree. After what felt like an eternity, a foreign thought pierced his consciousness, signaling the fact that he was forgetting something. ''Hmm?'' An unknown presence sought tomunicate through unconventional means, relying solely on thoughts for this intimate exchange. [ Seek and ye shall find. ] This realization infiltrated Eren''s consciousness, probing his desires. [ You''re asking me what I want? ] Eren pondered, his past and present swirling in his mind, the question proving as challenging as it appeared. What could he possibly want from anyone? What could he possibly get from the world? Allowing his thoughts to roam freely, Eren sought the answer. Despite hisck ofplete control, he gained rity in his current state. This because the immersion his soul was subjected to seemed to contain all the answers to questions he could think of. ''What what do I want?'' Eren''s essence dissipated into the expanse, his mind questing for answers, perceiving infinite mysteries across boundless worlds, expanding his previous perceptions. ''This This is too much. The sheer number of possibilities.'' The deluge of information caused him to halt, recognizing his unreadiness to confront the unknown. His existence felt too fragile to delve deeper into whaty beyond. [ Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. ] The space that surrounded his existence, once a single droplet, echoed in Eren''s mind again, this time unveiling more, demanding greater involvement. Excited and stressed at the same time, Eren watched the door to infinity swing wide open before him. Eren''s subconscious mind felt overwhelmed by countless possibilities, clouding his thoughts further. The vastness ahead scared him, making him feel unready to tackle the infinite choices awaiting him. Despite his limited understanding, he managed to stay sane. Or was trying hard to. He wondered if staying with limited perspective and choices was the path to satisfaction. Perhaps, with his limited view, he could create a path leading to perpetual contentment. If he were to know everything, his life''s meaning might vanish. He''d always sought personal freedom''s highest point. But if he''d already reached it, where could he head next? The knowledge of everything was attainable, but greedily absorbing it might cost him his identity. In his current state, he wasn''t ready to im everything there was to know even if he could. Thus, Eren decided to noty im over the infinite possibilities thaty before him. He didn''t want them if they meant losing himself. When faced with many such dilemmas, Eren grasped something he''d been oblivious to all his life. Perhaps, within the realm of limited possibilitiesy a man''s potential to maximize what he had. Maybe, with limited resources,y a man''s skill to create something precious out of them. [ Seek, and ye shall find ] Everything was up for the taking. However, one needs to pay the price for what they are looking for. That''s what the higher consciousness was trying to tell Eren when it reverberated a single thought in his being. These enigmatic thoughts resonated over and over within Eren''s consciousness, like ripples in water. They prated his senses without overwhelming him. The space around Eren seemed to quiver as the thought urged him to seek the answers within himself. Subconsciously, Eren sensed that staying in this state for long would dissolve his sense of self. So, instead of seeking external answers, Eren looked inward, delving into the depths of his being to discover what he truly needed. ''What do I need?'' he questioned himself, feeling the weight of his existence amidst boundless possibilities. ''If this is the realm of infinite choices, I seek an infinity that aligns with my existence.'' [ Seek, and ye shall find ] The resounding thought echoed again, like a drop of ink into a crystal-clear pool of water. The ink dissolved into the water, thinning into oblivion one look at a time before losing its valuepletely, vanishing without a trace. Eren had grown used to these thought-provoking interruptions, realizing they aimed not to disrupt his thoughts but to fortify his resolve. He repeated his newfound convictions to himself, embracing the resolutions forming within him. They tempered his resolve, allowing him to make sense of them. He always knew his goals. But now he was starting to understand the reason behind their existence. He was starting to realize why he should have them and what will be the cost of nurturing such goals. ''I now understand that my existence, once significant to me, pales inparison to the vast world around me. I am but a pebble in the grand scheme of things. So whatever I choose based on my current needs would only limit the future-me. Thus, I refuse to limit myself based on my narrow perspective. I choose to be selfish to obtain what can be obtained by the past, present, and future-me. I want to protect what is mine at all costs. I yearn to be greedy, to live life to the fullest, and embrace all that it offers. I also want to experience the vastness of life up close and decipher the mysteries hidden in the cause-and-effect fabric.'' Chapter 1598 Divinity: Seek, And Ye Shall Find Chapter 1598 Divinity: Seek, And Ye Shall Find [ Seek, and ye shall find ] The resounding thought continued, pulsating with life as if a calm heartbeat pulsated with a peaceful rhythm. ''I seek power to rise above the limitations that have held me back. If my enemies are gods, I demand divine powers to conquer them all. If fate blocks my path toward my goals, I require endless ways to reach them. I crave the power to dream infinitely, to set boundless goals and explore infinite possibilities.'' [ Seek, and ye shall find ] The thought reverberated once more, its presence akin to a hunger that kept growing with time. ''I want ways that can help me keeping back to this state of all-knowingness. So that I can create my own path from the experiences I gain for myself. I want to feel immersed in this state again and again even if I have to take many births. I want to find ways that can help me save someone I want to save. I want to find ways that can help me turn my problems into solutions. It''s fine if I have to pay the price for nurturing my grand ambitions. But I want to find ways that can help me fulfill them at the cost I deem to be right. I am willing to look for solutions to my problems across the boundless cosmos. I am willing to visit myriad worlds to fulfill my goals. So I need endless ways to travel to these worlds, towards the answers I''m looking for.'' As he had managed to retain his sense of self despite the kind of effect the ethereal state had on him, Eren was able to clearly state what he wanted from whoever or whatever was providing him with answers. Eren realized that being immersed in this consciousness was the ultimate blessing someone like him could have at the cost of losing his sense of being. His greedy nature prevailed and allowed him to make the most of the opportunity provided to him. Thus, he asked for ways with which he could enter this state of all-knowingness again. Only by experiencing this state repeatedly could he forge his path ahead without losing everything he held dear to himself including his identity. [ Seek, and ye shall find ] The thoughts reverberated in Eren''s mind once again, like an echo of a voice that was spoken a long ago but kept repeating itself. Seek and ye shall findC even though the message was the same, Eren could discern the deeper meaning behind each iteration for some reason. It was as if these words were the pieces of the puzzle that gave different answers depending upon who solved them and when. He could tell that this time, this all-knowing consciousness wanted him to choose a divinity for himself, a kind of divinity rted to the God Spark he had acquired. Eren contemted for what felt like a short time and an eternity to him before replying. ''Like a ceaseless river that finds its way to flow forward irrespective of the obstacles ced in its path, I want my divinity to be unstoppable. Just like the nature of water that absorbs everything it can absorb, I want my divinity to be all-inclusive and limitless. Just like the adaptability of water that takes any shape or form depending on its situation, I want my divinity to cast its shadow on every aspect of the divine. Just like a stream of water drops that eventually breaks the might of a rock just by being persistent, I want my divinity to destroy everything that dares to hinder its path. My divinity shall be formless like a calm sea and yet have the ability to take the grandest form like a raging tide that can''t be stopped, no matter how many mountains are in my path.'' Eren concluded his train of thought, fully aware that the one posing the question was listening. His ims might sound grand to the ones who knew him in Anfang. But to the current him who was immersed in this peculiar state, they were nothing but what he truly felt he should have. Eren didn''t feel like he was asking for something big. Neither did he feel like he should be asking for something more. What he had asked was enough. What he receives would also be enough. Rather, he would make sure that it manages to satisfy him somehow. In the next instant, Eren felt an indescribable sensation permeating his being, as if his very existence was being inscribed with ancient runes. ''I I feel hauntingly peaceful. As if all my worries and problems are dissolving. I can feel that if my problems dissolve now, I will also get dissolved along with them.'' Eren felt as though his sense of being would be erased due to the inscription of ancient runes on his soul. It dawned on him that the type of divinity he had chosen was too vast and grand for his mortal soul and his limited experiences. ''Hmm. Looks like I bit more than what I could chew.'' While his soul was immersed in the pool of all-knowingness, Eren realized that certain divinities couldn''t be imed merely because one desired them. He felt as though he had unknowingly lifted something, thinking it was a boulder, only for it to transform into a mountain. ''It doesn''t matter. Doubting myself will be more fatal for me at this point. So I''ll just grow my level of existence to match my goals.'' Eren sensed that his soul might not be able to sustain the inscriptions of the ancient runes due to the grandness of his divinity. Yet, he was determined not to retract his words. In this ethereal state, Eren felt no fear. Or rather, he did not allow his fears or doubts to tarnish his soul or thoughts. His past experiences had helped forge an iron will, enabling him to face the fears of being dissolved into nothingness in pursuit of his grand divinity. ''Time, fate, and circumstances can conspire against me all they want. I''ll be getting what I want,e what may.'' Chapter 1599 Divinity: Knock, And It Will Be Opened Chapter 1599 Divinity: Knock, And It Will Be Opened The ancient runes continued to be etched over Eren''s soul. The consequences of choosing such a grand divinity made him lose his identity as Eren Elijah Idril. He felt as if all his past memories were getting blurred. He felt as if the sheer number of paths he could choose to tread from his current point were so many that he had lost the reason to take any of them. Yet, Eren held on. He refused to close his eyes when the view of infinite possibilities was trying to blind his vision by being exceedingly bright. Just as he believed his will to retain his sense of self would be severely tested, something unexpected happened to Eren. Emerge. God Aleph''s divine legacy, previously granted to Eren, emerged from the depths of his soul. A ss-like shard showed itself, absorbing the ancient runes that Eren couldn''t manage on his own. Eventually, the shard also dissolved into Eren''s soul, bing a part of him and enabling Eren to maintain his sense of self despite the grand divinity he had chosen. Although Eren couldn''tprehend sensations beyond his five senses, he knew that the inscribed runes were bing an integral part of his being. Eren''s conscious mind remained unaware of the events urring around him or the origin of the thoughts, unaware of the significance of the changes taking ce within him. However, one thing was clearhe had expressed his desires, and they were being fulfilled. For what purpose, he did not yet know, unaware of the impact it would have on himself and the boundless cosmos of which he was a part. The inscription of the runes upon his soul appeared tost for an eternity and a mere moment simultaneously. Then, as if being absorbed into his very essence, the runes dissolved, integrating themselves into his existence. As Eren''s subconsciousness grew hazy, the enigmatic thoughts whispered their final message. [ Seek, and ye shall find! ] *** In the boundless cosmos, there existed a unique ce. This ce stood on the border between what was considered the mortal and immortal nes. It weed the consciousness of divine entities, regardless of whether they leaned towards the so-called holiness or had more demonic tendencies. There was an endless expanse of ethereal ground nketed in smoke, a white mist known as the Origin Force. This smoke was purer and more tangible than anything found in the numerous worlds within the boundless cosmos. The ground itself was veiled in the white smoke, while the sky above was adorned with innumerable stars. It seemed as though one could reach out and touch these stars with a mere lift of their hand. The white smoke obscured one''s senses, making it challenging to discern the boundaries of this ce. It could be argued that the location had no specific dimensional limits, yet it distinctly had a center. At the heart of this realm resided the pantheon circles of gods. Within this space were numerous thrones encircled by smaller chairs. The thrones bore a majestic, grand, and ancient appearance, belonging to the leaders of their respective pantheons. Around these pantheon leaders were circles of chairs. Just as the thrones represented the divinities of the pantheon leader gods, these chairs also reflected the divine powers of their owners, the subordinate gods of the pantheon. While less imposing than the thrones of the pantheon leaders, these chairs were equally vital to the mortals who worshiped these gods. By mortals'' definition, this ce could be referred to as a celestial court where the wills of all divine entities were housed. *** The entities with the ability to project their consciousness here were mighty and revered by mortals who worshiped them. They were said to have transcended the limitations of mortality, bing immortal and existing beyond the rules that governed regr humans. The gods maintained a portion of their consciousness present here at all times, establishing their respective positions. These wills were represented by ethereal manifestations specific to their owners. Some chairs had mes burning upon them, others were adorned with various gems, and still, other divine seats were surrounded by different elemental manifestations. Typically, this ce hosting the consciousness of the gods within the boundless cosmos remained silent and inactive for extended periods. Sometimes a thousand or even ten thousand years could pass by mortal standards before any activity stirred in this domain. The divine entities held an impassive stance, having lost themselves within their individual divinities. Perhaps that''s why mortals perceived silence to be divine. Amid this usual silence, an unexpected arrival suddenly drew the attention of all the gods. This urrence broke the spell of their supposed slumber,pelling them to open their eyes and acknowledge the arrival of this new entity. This new entity, who had recently imed a divinity for themselves, was symbolized by a unique divine chair. This chair represented their new divinity and interestingly did not belong to any previous pantheon. Gradually emerging from the veil of white smoke, this divine chair began to be engraved with ancient runes, illustrating the divinity of its new owner. "Hm? It seems we have to wee a new friend," murmured Vulcan, a divine god and leader of a specific pantheon, speaking in an unknownnguage with an uncertain tone. All the divine gods and pantheon leaders began to manifest themselves over their respective seats as they sensed the new development. Despite the boundless opportunities within the cosmos, the birth of a new god was a rare event. Although many gods and their seats already resided in the celestial court, the arrival of a new deity sparked curiosity among old and new gods alike. "Why isn''t that divine seat a part of an existing pantheon?" Pondered a goddess aloud as she materialized in her beautiful divine form upon her chair, attempting to decipher the divinity of the freshly emerged god. The newly emerged divine chair was still being etched with ancient divine runes. As such, the divinity of the new god was still under the veil. Chapter 1600 Divinity: Claiming the Unoccupied Throne Chapter 1600 Divinity: iming the Unupied Throne "Interesting. I''m curious about this new god." Chimed in a yful voice from a demonic god who belonged to a unique pantheon. This pantheon consisted of seven chairs encircling a single ancient unupied throne. The seven divine seats surrounding the demonic throne were upied by seven demon gods, known among mortals as Demon Princes. The consciousness of the six Demon Princes, seated around their divine chairs, shared their curiosity regarding the identity of the new god. Their interest was piqued as the newly emerged divine seat was in close proximity to their pantheon circle, suggesting a demonic inclination in the new god''s divinity. "Hahaha!" At this moment, a chuckle echoed throughout the court, drawing the attention of the other gods to Beelzebub, the Prince of Gluttony from the demonic pantheon. "Why do you find this amusing, Beelzebub?" Inquired Samael, the Prince of Wrath, from his divine chair, his voice carrying an undertone of coldness as he focused on Beelzebub. For some reason, there was a sense of unease within him regarding the emergence of the new god. "Hahaha. You''ll find out soon. My liege arrived earlier than expected," Beelzebub chuckled, his response leaving Samael visibly displeased. This displeasure was soon converted into profound shock as Samael understood the meaning behind them. "It can''t be," Samael said with a mix of shock and anger as he looked at the demonic throne. The throne he wanted to im. *** Samael and Beelzebub had a long-standing enmity between them. Consequently, the other Demon Princes and gods from different pantheon circles were not surprised by their recurrent shes. Just as Samael was about to press Beelzebub for more answers, another unexpected event took ce. The newly constructed divine seat within the celestial court dissolved into nothingness as if it had never existed. "hm/ How strange. Did this newly emerged god lose their divinity right after iming it?" Expressed a surprised goddess, known as the Great Mother, who upied the throne seat of her pantheon circle. She felt an odd familiarity with the newly emerged god. Just when the gods assumed the new god''s achievement was short-lived, changes urred in the demonic throne within the pantheon circle. The previously unupied demonic throne began to have a new set of runes etched upon it. The demonic throne was raised even higher than before and started absorbing the Origin Force around it. Under the stunned gazes of the six Demon Princes and the hopeful gaze of another, the demonic throne was imed, shocking all the gods. The once-unupied throne was now upied by the true inheritor of Elder Ichor. "NO!" The manifestation of the Demon Prince of Wrath let out a scream. Samael had long awaited the chance to im the demonic throne, only to realize his efforts were in vain as someone had already imed it. This was not all. As the demonic throne was imed, several divine seats started emitting creaking noises. The divine gods, whose divinities were centered around the element of water, discovered damage to their divinities, represented by cracks on their divine seats. "Aaaaaaah!" cried a specific goddess from a distinct pantheon circle. Another scream echoed from a different pantheon circle. Wails and cries emanated from various parts of the celestial court. All the gods who suffered divinity damage shared onemon traittheir divinities were linked to the element of water. "This how is this possible?" The Great Mother was at a loss for words upon realizing that the emergence of a new god had led to harm to one of her subordinate goddesses within her pantheon circle. She couldn''t believe that a newly emerged god could im such a grand divinity that it would simultaneously damage the divinities of numerous divine entities. "Hahahahaha," God Vulcan couldn''t contain hisughter at the sight of many divine entities having their divinities harmed by a single, newly emerged god. "This this is fun. His divinity is water while mine is fire. Hahaha. I have a new enemy to spar with and further enhance my divinity. And I know who can help me find him." God Vulcan was delighted by the emergence of the new god. He nced in the direction of a particr pantheon circle, led by a Slumber Goddess sitting calmly on her throne, her eyes closed. Upon the throne being imed, the gods sensed that the newly emerged god had not yet be immortal. He was a mortal god, a demigod who had somehow managed to im divinity. However, this realization shocked them even more. Suddenly, a goddess''s consciousness departed from her divine seat. She passed the Demon Princes and stood before the demonic throne. Studying the newly etched runes, she spoke grimly. "This this is indeed an inheritor of the Elder Ichor. He is here!" The goddess said solemnly, indicating the gravity of the situation. The Inheritor of the Elder Ichor was prophesied to be the downfall of many gods, particrly those with primary elemental divinities. "This god he is not even 100 years old!" she revealed, making another startling statement. "And he has already caused the deaths of billions of mortals," she uttered, her voice filled with shock as if she couldn''t believe her own words. "Hahahaha," God Vulcanughed once more. "Causing the deaths of billions of mortals, huh? Already acting like a god. Now, I''m really eager to meet him," he said, rising from his throne. "WHAT?" eximed a god, a mix of shock and fear evident in their voice. "This this has to be a mistake. A god who is not even 100 years old? How how is that possible?" another goddess cried in disbelief from a different corner. "Beelzebub!" the Demon Prince of Wrath bellowed at the Demon Prince of Gluttony, rising from his divine seat. "Do you know who this worm is?" "Hehehe. Certainly, I know the identity of my liege. But you''d regret calling him a worm, Samael," Beelzebub said nonchntly while sitting on his divine chair. At this point, a particr goddess from the monster pantheon rose from her divine seat. Gazing longingly at the demonic throne, she appeared to confirm the identity of the one who had imed it. "It it''s him. My liege has returned in another form," the leader goddess of the monster pantheon said zealously as she looked at the newly imed demonic throne. Then, she nced at Samael before continuing, "Samael, it seems all your strategies have failed." Goddess Echidna couldn''t help but re at the Slumbering Goddess, expressing disdain and resentment as she mocked Samael. This horned goddess, who upied the throne of monster pantheon, was recognized as Goddess Echidna. === AN: Goddess Echidna was mentioned in chapter 1506. She has also upied VEH''S book cover currently. ;) VEH punches in 1600th chapter and crosses another milestone with this release. Cheers! Chapter 1601 Father and Son Chapter 1601 Father and Son Around two decades ago, in the City of Osan. A bright and sunny afternoon unfolded. In the spacious backyard of a suburban house near the city walls, a man in histe 30s was practicing his archery skills. Engaged in target practice with his bow and arrow, he aimed at various targets positioned about 20 meters away. This gentleman possessed captivating emerald green eyes, stood tall, and boasted an impable physique. His shoulder-length ck hair, along with a full-grown beard,plemented his appearance. d in his usual tunic and pants, he seemed to be unwinding at home. In his backyard, this man practiced archery without employing mana. With closed eyes, he readied multiple arrows on his bow, pulling the string and smoothly releasing the tension. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. The arrows sliced through the air,nding on the target boards but fell a circle or two away from the bull''s eye. Upon inspecting the oue, he revealed neither joy for hitting the boards nor sorrow for missing the bull''s eye. It was apparent that he was pursuing the art of archery without letting any preconceptions cloud his mind. After a moment of contemtion, he shut his eyes to feel the wind''s direction and recollect the sensations from his previous attempt. He acknowledged that, to enhance his archery skills, he needed to draw from his experiences, whether they brought sess or failure. Every experience held value for him; even losses served as significant lessons. Physically and mentally prepared for his next attempt, he was about to load more arrows onto his bow when he detected footsteps behind him. With a smile, he turned to witness an approximately 10-year-old boy approaching. The man didn''t seem surprised by the boy''s arrival; after all, he was his son. Their matching emerald green eyes were a clear indication of their father-son rtionship. Apart from their shared eyes, the boy didn''t seem to have inherited his father''s charm and handsomeness, but at 10 years old, puberty''s effects were yet to fully unfold. The 10-year-old kid disyed a few bruises on his face, notably a bit of swelling and redness around his left eye, indicating a scuffle with other kids his age. Respecting his father''s focus, the boy navigated towards a set of round tables and chairs, choosing one to settle into. Due to his diminutive stature, he struggled a bit to seat himself, but after a few attempts, he managed to perch on the chair. Meanwhile, the boy began munching on the sd his father had set out for him, all the while observing his father engrossed in his archery practice. "Father, why are you using a bow? Aren''t you a swordsman?" The curious boy inquired, picking at his fruit as the man fired his arrows once more. Observing the oues, the father took a moment before responding to his son''s question. Though not yet a Ranker himself, the boy had a basic understanding about the Rankers'' sses. He was aware that his father was a Close Combat Expert skilled in wielding a single broadsword. So, watching his father practicing archery with a bow in the backyard puzzled him. "Anfang''s ss System limits a person''s growth, son," the man exined in a patient tone, unsure of how much his son could grasp at his age. "Though it has its advantages, I''ve never been fond of it," he concluded, readying the next set of arrows on his bow. After drawing the string back, closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath, the father prepared to release the arrows. But before doing so, he threw a question at his son. "By the way, do you want to tell me how you got the sore eye? What did you do this time?" the man asked curiously. Swiftly releasing his arrows, this time three out of the five target boards received bull''s eye marks. For a beginner, the man appeared to be making significant progress with each attempt. "What''s the use? You''ll only say it''s my problem to deal with anyway." The boy responded casually. Having be ustomed to his father''s lessons, he could anticipate his father''s reactions to certain situations. The man smiled and shook his head in response to his son. "That''s true, son. I want you to handle your problems on your own. But that doesn''t mean I can''t also offer guidance. I can always provide advice for you to consider and do better," the man said, preparing for his next attempt by retrieving multiple arrows from the quiver on his back. Finishing a bite of fruit, the boy replied. "Same old. Those jerks I y with beat me again, using me of cheating in hide and seek." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Did you cheat, son?" the man asked neutrally. "Not this time. But they beat me up anyway," the boy responded honestly. "Why do you y with them if they hurt you so much?" "Because mother says I''m weird and insists I y with kids my age to understand how others behave," the boy shrugged, signaling that ying with these "friends" was not his choice. The man''s smile faded when the boy mentioned his mother. He began to say something but paused, choosing to keep his thoughts to himself. Loading his arrows onto the bow, he shot them again. This time, all five target boards were hit in the bull''s eye. Satisfied with the oue, he stored the bow and arrows in his ID Storage. Approaching the table, the man sat next to his son. He poured fruit juice for both of them, observing his son closely. "So those kids don''t like ying with you, huh?" the man asked. "Yeah. But I don''t like them either. So it''s fine," the boy responded while sipping the juice his father had given him. "Son, perhaps the reason they don''t like you is because you don''t like them. Why would they y with someone who doesn''t like or see them as a friend? The problem might be you. Sometimes, you act too mature for your age, and it shows," the man said, lightly tousling his son''s hair. Chapter 1602 “The Difference Lies In What Comes Afterwards” Chapter 1602 The Difference Lies In What Comes Afterwards "How can I be the problem, father? I never gave them a reason to hate me. I even pretended to like them." The boy honestly exined. "I cheated in the game only once. And that because the others were doing the same. So why did they only attack me? This is the fifth time now that this has happened. When will they stop?" The boy spoke and sighed, expressing the weariness of a lifetime of being struck by his "friends." "Fifth time?" the man mumbled to himself, carefully observing his son again. It was then that he noticed his son had a few light bruises on his body. At that moment, the manprehended that his son''s situation was a bit more serious. "People don''t always need a profound reason to hate something, son. Sometimes, they don''t need a reason at all. They can hate anything that is unusual or anyone who is not like them," the man looked up at the sky as he spoke in a distant-sounding voice. The boy sensed a change in his father''s expressions. Expectantly, he looked at his father before asking, "Would you beat those jerks for me?" "No," the man firmly stated, shaking his head. "This is your battle, son. You have to handle it yourself. In life, you won''t always have someone by your side. You can''t rely on others to solve your problems for you. However, I''ll assist you in preparing for your battles. I''ll ensure you''re ready to face the challenges that have or will trouble you in the future," the man said before taking a bite of his fruit sd. "So what are we dealing with? How many targets are we talking about?" the man asked, looking at his son. It was as if the father and son had had these kinds of talk before. "Six jerks. All of them are bigger and stronger than me. They strike me when nobody''s watching so others can''t intervene," the boy matter-of-factly stated. Observers would find it challenging to believe that a 10-year-old could be soposed, indicating that his mother''s assessments about him were notpletely wrong and he was indeed a bit different from other kids. The boy''s father seemed unfazed by his child being unique. He treated his son''s words as if they were briefings from one of his party members before continuing. "Hmm. 6 enemies. All of them are stronger than you and united. Looks like you''ll need to give this your all. Do you remember the first rule of a battle?" "Never fight a fight you can''t win," the son said. "Good. What if the fight is unavoidable?" the father asked promptly. "Oh I remember this. This was something you wrote in the second scroll. Wait. Let me think about this." "Take your time." "Aah! Yes. If the battle is unavoidable, control the battlefield." "What does that mean?" "It means to take the initiative in choosing the right battlefield. The right settings." "How does that trante in your current situation?" "I I am not sure." "Memorizing the scrolls is useless if you don''t know how to use them in your real life, son." The man looked at his son with a critical gaze. "Tch. I know all that, father. I didn''t want to hm? Wait. I think I got it. The ce we y hide and seek. That is the battlefield I can choose, right?" "Correct. So you have chosen your battlefield. Now what will you do? What is written in the 3rd scroll I gave you?" "Keke. I remember the third scroll''s content very clearly. After choosing the battlefield, we have to make it ours. We have to make it benefit us and hurt our enemies." "Excellent. Now how will you do that in your current situation?" "By maximizing the advantages I have over them. It means I need to find something I am better at than my enemies and use that against them." "What are you good at, son?" "Thinking. Those jerks can''t think with their silly heads." "Hahaa. Anything else?" "Wait. Swinging sticks. I have practiced swinging sticks for years because of your training. I can probably beat them all using a stick. But I can''t carry the stick when I''m ying with them." "This is where the advantage of choosing the right battlefieldes in. You can choose to keep the stick hidden on the yground even before you arrive to y there with those boys," the man said and gave his son a wink. "Oh!" The boy was genuinely surprised by his father''s idea. He liked the idea so much that he startedughing. "Kekeke. That can work. I''ll teach them a lesson." "Not "them," son. If you beat the first guy, the others won''te near you. Do you think they''ll just offer themselves to get beaten up by you if they see a stick in your hand and see how well you can use it? People are cowards and intelligent at the same time. They don''t like to be defeated by someone "lesser" than them. They also don''t like to engage with someone stronger than them." "Oh! Then what shall I do?" "Lure them in. Don''t use the stick immediately, son. Wait for them to let their guard down. Let them approach you." "That is Genius Hmmmm? wait," the boy was about to say something but then he realized something else hidden in his father''s suggestion. "Haah! It''s useless then," the boy said. "What''s the use of me beating them with a stick if they end up beating me first? The goal was to prevent them from beating me. But your n makes me do exactly that," the boy said in a sulky mood while reclining in his chair. "Haha," the man chuckled before speaking further. "If you want to punch someone in the face, you must first prepare yourself to eat a punch in the guts, son." "But father, what''s the use of anything if even in winning the battle, I end up in the same situation as losing?" the boy asked his father in an unsatisfied tone. The man looked at his son and smiled before speaking in a calm tone. "The difference lies in whates afterwards. Those boys will never dare to beat you again if you win the battle like this. Nobody will. Sometimes, on the battlefield and in life in general, you have to lose a bit to win big. Always remember this, my son," the man concluded while finishing his meal. "I have to lose a bit to win big" The boy''s emerald green eyes had a peculiar spark in them as he processed his father''s words. He then got up and left in a hurry, towards the yground, his battlefield. Chapter 1603 A Smart Mind Needs Discipline Chapter 1603 A Smart Mind Needs Discipline The City of Osan, Northern city gates. "Father, when will youe back?" Eren asked Elijah as thetter sat on his magic colt. It seemed that the father and son duo had been talking to each other for quite some time as the boy followed his father to the city gates to bid him goodbye. "I I have to tell you something, Eren," Elijah spoke with a voice full of seriousness as he looked at Eren. "We we may not be able to see each other for a very long time." "Oh. Alright. When can I see you again?" Eren took the news very lightly as if Elijah leaving him behind was not a new thing for him. Eren didn''t mind his father leaving. A man had to work, and Elijah had made Eren realize that he genuinely cared for him. Kinship and love didn''t have to be shown by constantly staying together. "I I am not sure," Elijah smiled mirthlessly at Eren as he saw how casual his son was even after knowing they may not see each other for a very long time, or ever. He could only me himself for making Eren a strong individual at such a young age who didn''t need constant parental support to grow. "It''ll be a while," Elijah said in a neutral voice. "If things go ording to how I want them to, we may see each other in a few years. But I have a feeling they won''t be," Elijah spoke in a grim tone as he stared at the path leading outside the City of Osan in front of him. "Why do you have to go then?" Eren asked, looking at Elijah with a puzzled expressions. "Send someone else to do that job for you. Scroll seven says: delegate the task to your subordinates if you find them too tedious. Hire people to do dangerous jobs for you by offeringrge rewards. The world will neverck desperate people. Use them," Eren said as if stating the contents of an official document from his memory. "Hahaha," Elijah chuckled. "I know what I have written in the scrolls I gave you, son. After all, I wrote them," Elijah''s expression turned serious as he said. "But this is not something that can be done by methods mentioned in the scrolls. Because if I don''t go, someone mighte looking for me here. I don''t want that. And before you ask, I can''t take you with me. It''s dangerous," Elijah said before Eren could open his mouth to speak as if anticipating what his son was thinking. Elijah then told Eren where he was going and how to find him. As far as Eren understood, this ce was not in Anfang and was very far. Nevertheless, Elijah told Eren to remember the ce and how to find him without worrying too much about anything else. Elijah told Eren that if he was one day strong enough to leave Anfang, he coulde looking for him using the information provided. Eren could tell that Elijah was not really expecting Eren to find him using the information that was provided. The only reason Elijah had given him the information was for his own peace of mind and to give Eren another reason to start his journey as a Ranker with zeal. "So this this might be thest time we are seeing each other. Where''s Mother? Did you tell her?" Only now did Eren seem a little agitated. He realized that this was not like the usual drill and that his father might nevere to see him again. "We We talked about it soon after you were born, son. I offered to let here with me at that time," Elijah said and sighed, a tone of disappointment in his voice. "But she didn''t seem too thrilled about it. I guess she still isn''t okay with it and I don''t me her for it. So I won''t make her choose again and will leave quietly. Besides, if your mother stays here, that is good for me as well. At least she''ll be here to look after you. As for the others, I have already told them I''m going on a solo mission. So that will be my official record after I disappear. I suggest you don''t tell anyone else about what we talked about. Otherwise, it might bring more trouble for you." Elijah requested his son. He knew he was asking for something big from a mere child. However, he knew that Eren was mature enough to keep his secrets. "Alright. I''ll tell no one. Not even mother," Eren said while nodding at his father. One could tell that he was intrigued about sharing a secret that only he and his father knew. "Eren, even though your talent as a Ranker will be subpar, you are exceptionally smart. It is indeed a blessing," Elijah''s voice turned soft as he spoke to his son while patting his colt. "But a smart mind needs discipline. A routine. Otherwise, it will overthink and overindulge in negative things and destroy you from within. So be careful of your own mind. It is your strongest weapon and most dreadful enemy. Also, you need to work on your people skills. They are not as good as you think they are. Fake your emotions if you have to. Fake them until you start feeling them for real. You also need to learn how to read people better so they don''t end up taking advantage of you and your intellect. There''s a difference between being book-smart and being street-smart, my son." Elijah concluded and shed a smile at Eren. "Your mother is here, so I know you''ll be okay," Elijah assured Eren as he led his magical colt by the reins. "She''ll look after you when I''m away. Nina will visit too. Listen to them both. Goodbye, Eren. I hope we''ll meet again. If not, I hope you find someone you can trust, who makes you feel things others can''t." Elijah finished speaking and let his colt run to the city gates, leaving Eren behind. "Goodbye, father," Eren said inly. While watching his father leave, he realized he wasn''t like other kids. They often cried when their parents left for a long time. But when Elijah said goodbye, Eren didn''t feel too upset. Eren wasn''t happy that Elijah had left. He wanted his father to stay, to guide him always. But Elijah was usually away as any regr Ranker in Anfang, so Eren found it easy to cope with his father''s final departure. Chapter 1604 A-Rank Breakthrough Chapter 1604 A-Rank Breakthrough "Goodbye, Eren" "Eren, your father, where is he? Where the hell is he?" "No. I can''t take it anymore. Why didn''t he tell me? He he could have asked me again." "I hate it when I see your face, Eren. Those eyes. They remind me of him." "Stay here with Aunt Nina for a while, Eren. Mother will go look for your father." "Close your eyes and go to sleep, Erni. Even though I am not like your parents, I will do my best to take care of you. We''ll have so much fun. Hehe." "Oh, it seems you are already sleepy." "Good night. Sleep well." "Sleeeeeep." *** Eren felt as if he had lived his past life once again while his consciousness was suspended in a mysterious state. When he gained a semnce of control over himself, he felt like he had been sent into an even stranger ce. This ce had a star-studded sky as its ceiling and a profound white fog as its ground. This ce didn''t seem to have definite borders. It was as if one could reach any world across the boundless cosmos using this ce as a pathway. Eren could sense that there were seats arranged neatly inside this ce. These seats created various circles with a respective throne in their center each. Eren felt like a formless and odorless fog had surrounded him. He felt as if he was still in his infantile soul form, approaching a ce that now belonged to him. ''Hm? Who are these guys?'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at the blurred figures of people who were by their respective seats and thrones. He could tell that they were strong. So much so that each one of them could destroy his homeworld, Anfang, many times over. While Eren was busy observing the gods, the gods were observing him. To them, he was like a mere drop of water that had managed to sneak inside the Celestial Court. Yet, for some reason, Eren didn''t feel like he should be scared of these divine beings. That''s because when he approached, he could feel their emotions directed at him. He wasn''t sure how, but he could tell that some of them were afraid of him. Others were either intimidated or chose to remain on the sidelines as he approached his intended destination, which was calling for him. Eren felt like his soul was being greatly nourished aftering to this peculiar ce. It was as if it was absorbing all the white surrounding him. He could tell that this white form was the same stuff Argo had given him as his share for helping him cultivate Gluttony ManaC Origin Force. For the first time, after his soul was tempered by the almighty consciousness and nurtured by the Origin Force of the purest form, Eren managed to project his Soul Sense Manifestation in the celestial court. He felt as if he had grown his limbs and the rest of his body as he got closer to the throne that was silently calling out to him. Eren didn''t care about the entities staring at him with all sorts of emotions and fears running through their minds. He went past the boundary of the seven divine chairs that surrounded a peculiar throne before moving towards the throne itself. Reach. Eren reached his right arm and touched an empty throne that he knew in his heart belonged to him. When he touched the throne with his Soul Sense Manifestation for the first time, he felt as if his soul was burning from within. He felt as if he could harness the emotions of the Seven Sins of countless beings spread across the boundless cosmos. Hmmmm! Eren felt like groaning because of how heavy and nauseating he was feeling at the time. He felt as if he would implode from within if the inflow of those emotions into his soul did not stop. [ Eren, do not try to touch the throne yet. You have imed it. But you are not capable of a seat on it yet. ] Eren heard an echo in his head. This time he could hear the voice clearly and knew that it belonged to Aleph, whose throne he had acquired atst, epting his final legacy with all its merits and demerits. Listening to Aleph''s warning, Eren released his connection to the throne. If merely touching it affected him so severely, sitting on it might destroy his soul. Now, heprehended that he had gained an incredibly potent power. ''I''ll I''ll return here someday,'' Eren thought to himself as he let his soul get pulled back by an ethereal tug his soul was entangled in. When Eren opened his eyes, he found himself back in Anfang. *** Rewinding back in time, just before Eren was about to cast the Beast Contract Spell on all of Anfang. "Le Le are you finally waking up? Are you okay?" La asked her sister with concern. She gently caressed Le''s face, hoping for her to regain consciousness. Ley resting on the ground, her head resting on La''sp. When Le finally managed to open her eyes, she found herself at a rtively secluded spot inside the second Birdcage Barrier Formation. Since Eren had changed the way the Birdcage Barrier worked after sessfully retrieving Reen''s body, La and Le both were unable to leave the secondary barrier. Le sensed that La had shielded them despite being inside the domain while Eliza and Demonmir battled each other to their apparent destruction. Le understood that La''s protection wouldn''t have sufficed if Eliza hadn''t consciously attempted to keep the sisters away from her conflict in the first ce. "What What happened to me?" Le inquired, looking around with a throbbing headache. Though the vision in front of her was still blurry, she managed to sit up. "I warned you about that man Eren before you took charge of the Shallot''s Mirror, didn''t I? He managed to harm your soul when we all had our guards down." La exined what had transpired after Le was forced to lose consciousness. By the time La finished her exnation, Le''s vision had returned to normal. She could see the ongoing battle between Eliza and Demonmir. "That means," Le was taken aback by how Eren had dealt with Eliza and her threat. La nodded at her before articting what Le couldn''t voice. "That''s correct. Eren had nned for failure from the start. This is what I meant when I told you that he is more frightening than our master. I advised Master Eliza not to confront him, but she wouldn''t listen. Now we''re here, with our master engaged in a battle she had no part in. Honestly, I''ve seen many of Eren''s enemies meet their end this way. Sometimes they don''t even get a chance to curse him before he eliminates them." La sighed as she looked in Eren''s direction, curious about his actions. "This" Le hesitated for a moment before continuing. "La, I''m not certain. But there''s a high chance that Eren has tampered with Master Eliza''s soul while it was inside Shallot''s Mirror. He easily took control of the artifact. I think I think there might be something incorrect in the information we had about Shallot''s Mirror," Le exined, trying to recall what happened before she lost consciousness. "Hm? Master''s soul? Wait. That''s not the main issue right now. What what is Eren doing now?" Both La and Le watched with curiosity as Eren activated the Beast Contract Spell. Their initial curiosity turned into fear and dread as they observed him interfering with the World-Epassing Array Formation itself. "This man he is insane!" La cursed Eren for his actions. *** Even Eliza and Demonmir halted their battle when they sensed that Eren was inviting catastrophes upon Anfang with his actions. Soon, as chaos descended upon the world of Anfang, the spectators outside the primary Birdcage Barrier vanished. The primary Birdcage Barrier also vanished afterpleting its purpose. The secondary Birdcage Barrier was soon following the same path. Except for Alephee and the fiends, Eren''s other allies also disappeared from the scene. Sirius and Fiona would have stayed behind to assist Alephee, but they didn''t know how to help. They would have only be a burden to Eren. Thus, Alephee instructed them to leave the area. Alephee then asked the fiends to help protect the newly created Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation that Eren had established for Reen. The battlefield, which was once upied by around 40,000 Rankers from both kingdoms, had be nearly deserted, bearing signs of widespread destruction. The cmities caused by Eren made the situation even worse,pletely altering the battlefield''s structure due to the ongoing massive earthquakes. Watching from a distance, La''s eyes reflected the intense shock she felt within. She couldn''t grasp how Eren was able to cause such widespread destruction at a world-level all by himself. *** La observed a blurred figure appearing in front of Eren after he sessfully dismantled the World-Epassing Array. In the next moment, she felt an overwhelming pressure, almost like the weight of a mountain, overwhelming her senses. ''Who who is that?'' La thought to herself in terror. She couldn''t voice these words. Not only she but even Eliza and Demonmir were halted from taking any action. All the spectators were frozen in ce when this entity appeared. La didn''t know much, but she could tell that this entity was likely apletely different existence than a Sage. After that, La watched Eren remove his eyes and close them. A blinding light radiated from Eren, rendering La and everyone else''s vision useless. Then, the newly appeared entity created a God Spark for Eren. La lost track of time and the events that followed for Eren. When the blinding light subsided, she saw Eren standing alone inside the Beast Contract Spell array with his eyes closed. ''This it can''t be. Eren he just entered the Master Rank. How is he progressing so fast without even using our trick? How is that possible?'' La wanted to ask this question to someone who could answer her. Unfortunately, there was nobody who could, including Eren. Eren kept progressing in his Ranking Journey at an exceptional pace, even breaking Eliza''s earlier record. From vapor to liquid to solid, his mana core climbed the stages within the Master Rank. ''He is about to achieve a breakthrough into the A-Rank?'' While Eren''s soul was preupied with its own matters, his status as a Ranker had decided to ascend. The butcher was on the verge of breaking into the Grandmaster Rank. Chapter 1605 Grandmaster Eren Chapter 1605 Grandmaster Eren A Grandmaster Ranked breakthrough was initiated when the world of Anfang was in chaos. Eren had practically skipped toiling his years away stuck in the Master Rank. The emotions tied to the Seven Sins that Eren''s soul waspelled to nurture aftering into contact with his divine throne had a profound impact. This connection resonated with his current vessel, enabling him to break through numerous Elemental Attainment barriers all at once. As Eren advanced in his Ranking Journey, progress became increasingly challenging. His path was so vast that an average Ranker would struggle to advance beyond the Adept Rank even with centuries of preparation. Eren''s multiple Elemental Attainments signified the potential for numerous barriers in his path. Under normal circumstances, achieving a breakthrough into the Grandmaster Rank would have taken Eren at least seven centuries even with his demonic Abilities added into the equation. However, when Eren ceased being an ordinary Ranker, stepping into the world of the divine, all those Elemental Attainment barriers disappeared. The rapidity of this change dumbfounded La and Eliza. Suddenly, Eren''s B-Rank mana core copsed from within, generating mana storms in his vicinity. Despite the existing cmities, the Elemental Attainment manifestations caused by Eren further added to the chaos of the world. Eren swiftly formed a new mana core within him, absorbing A-Rank mana that belonged to the Grandmaster Ranked entities. This marked the fastest-ranking breakthrough in Eren''s life. Despite Alephee having forewarned him, he found it hard to ept that he had truly be a Grandmaster Ranker. *** "Miss Timeless she was correct in her spection," Eren mumbled to himself while ncing at Alephee. She was upied with managing the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation he had entrusted to her. Though focused on her task, Eren sensed her happiness for his breakthrough. ''You, me, and Reen. We''ll celebrate this breakthrough of mine in due time. So just bear with it for a while, will you?'' Eren conveyed to Alephee through their Soul Space connection, prompting her to look at him and nod with a smile. Surveying the surroundings, he noticed that his foes and allies had departed to attend to their own concerns. ''Hmm. I don''t me them,'' the butcher ruminated, observing the signs of widespread destruction. He sensed that the repercussions of his actions would gradually unfold, altering Anfang''s destiny despite the Sages'' attempts to control the situation with their S-Ranked powers. Experiencing the newfound powers of a Grandmaster Ranker coursing through his mana circuits, Eren raised his hands before him, reflecting on the sensation of touching the divine throne in the Celestial Court. "This power. I can make use of it." Eren''s emerald green eyes sparkled with determination as he sensed his soul''s different reaction to the world around him. It was as if he had been looking at things while his eyesight waspromised. And then suddenly, he was given the right eye gear topensate for his deformity. He felt a surge of wrathful emotions emanating from afar as if he had be a beacon for various sentiments, particrly those tied to the seven sins. Only now did she understand why Beelzebubs had focused on cultivating the emotions of Gluttony and Demonmir had focused on eliciting anger and wrath from those who met him. Although his body was mortal, Eren''s soul had touched the divine, cing him beyond the ssification of a regr Ranker. His interaction with mana had transformed, enabling him to wield and cast spells with improved range and efficiency, influenced not only by his recently attained Grandmaster Rank but also by his status as a demi-god. "Time to deal with those two." Eren muttered to himself, observing the situation within the secondary Birdcage Barrier created by Eliza and Demonmir. With a snap of his fingers, the already deteriorated istion barrier consumed the Endermes and Demonmir''s Elemental manifestations, vanishing into thin air. As the dust settled, Eren witnessed the oue he anticipated. Eliza had thrust her sword into Demonmir''s heart, albeit at the cost of her left arm. The battle between Eliza and Demonmir concluded, marking Eliza''s victory. Was it her victory to im though? Even the victor herself asked this question to herself. *** Eliza had heightened the potential of her spells and attacks, disying a newfound determination while fighting Demonmir. She had unlocked her bloodlinepletely, transforming into a dragonoid to gain an advantage in the battle against him. Simrly, pushed to his limits, Demonmir experienced personal growth during the battle with Eliza. For the first time, he essed the dormant potential of his draconic bloodline, assuming the form of a dragonoid. Despite Demonmir''s newfound power, Eliza''s greater experience and control over her bloodline abilities allowed her to dominate the fight. She cornered Demonmir, pushing him into a state of desperation with each passing moment. She even made use of the Birdcage Barrier against the man, giving her the advantage she needed against him. Finally, driven to the brink, Demonmir sumbed to his anger, deciding to unleash Samael''s soul fragment to eliminate Eliza, despite the risk of being suppressed by Anfang World''s Will. Just as Demonmir aimed to activate his demon soul fragment, an unforeseen event urred. Eren disrupted the World-Epassing Array Formation, causing such significant chaos that it affected the very essence of the time and space fabric of the entire world. Subsequently, the manifestation of Anfang World Will emerged before Eren, imposing a suppression that neither he nor Eliza could ovee. To add to this, a higher entity exploited Eren''s disruption in the divine array formation soon after, descending upon Anfang and severing Demonmir''s connection with the Demon Prince of Wrath with her mere presence alone. As a result, Demonmir failed to ignite his demon soul fragment, as Samael''s consciousness remained dormant within him, hindering his use of demonic powers to their maximum potential. The pill of regret always tasted a bit bitter to swallow. Demonmir acknowledged that he should have taken Eliza seriously from the beginning, using all avable means to eliminate her. But now? He was as helpless as Reen was during the Lazarus Project. Chapter 1606 Spoiler Title Chapter 1606 Spoiler Title (Chapter title at the end of the chapter) When at his lowest, Demonmir seized the opportunity, observing Eliza''s momentary distraction upon Eren''s achievement of Grandmaster Rank. Always cunning, Demonmir aimed tounch a sneak attack on the Witch of the Endermes while she seemed to have her attention divided to deal a devastating blow. His n seeded, but not without a cost. Demonmir managed to sever Eliza''s left arm and inflict heavy damage to her right leg and waist using his Dual Axe Arts. Yet, he underestimated the resilience of an experienced draconic Ranker. Even caught off guard, Eliza managed to turn the tide with her Soul Spells alone. Ultimately, although suffering severe injuries and the side effects of the bloodline ignition, Eliza overcame Demonmir. It was at this moment that she realized the secondary Birdcage Barrier had dispersed around her. ''Heh! Just in time.'' Eren mumbled to himself upon witnessing the oue of Eliza and Demonmir''s battle. With Demonmir''s back turned towards Eren and his attention focused on Eliza, he remained oblivious to the disappearance of the secondary Birdcage Barrier, allowing Eren to approach him from behind. In contrast, Eliza could clearly perceive Eren''s approach as he strolled, instilling a sense of apprehension in her heart, sensing his newfound capability to pose a threat. "Aaaargh! You" Demonmir cursed Eliza in agony, attempting to escape. However, Eliza''s sword had shattered his heart, an injury even a Grandmaster Ranker with draconic and demonic abilities would struggle to recover from. "Aaaaah! GET GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" Demonmir eventually utilized his Spiritual Force and invoked his Draconic Tongue,pelling Eliza to step back and provide him with some breathing space. He hadn''t anticipated that his Draconic Tongue would affect someone like Eliza, who also possessed ess to her draconic lineage. Eliza had already made a strategic decision to create distance between herself and Eren to observe his next move. Yielding to the influence of Demonmir''s draconic Ability, she moved back and swiftly reached La and Le, leaving Eren and Demonmir to face each other. La had potions that could help to some extent in healing Eliza. Though her soul was still recuperating from the aftereffects of the bacsh, there was little La could do immediately. However, her potions could significantly aid in healing Eliza''s physical injuries. Byuuuuk! Cough. Cough. Cough. Demonmir coughed up blood and clutched his heart in disbelief at Eliza''s formidable strength, despite her unstable mana core and the injuries in her Soul Space. "I won''t be killed like this easily, you whore! I''ll fucking kill" Demonmir was fixated on Eliza, who had retreated to where La and Le were, unaware of the approach of a certain someone from behind. "How''s it going, Demonmir?" Recognizing a voice he despised, Demonmir screamed, "Grimdawn!" trying to resist Eren''s control. With a swift motion, Eren exploited the wound inflicted by Eliza, letting his hand get lodged inside Demonmir''s chest wound from behind. He broke his rib cage, crushed his already pierced heart, and seized his kidneys, extracting them through the same wound. A moment of surprise and agitation of emotions was all that was needed to create an opening. Eren''s action made Demonmir get pushed forward. Demonmir turned around to see Eren''s bloody hand holding onto the bean-shaped organs that he had pulled out from his mortal injury along with several major arteries. "You" *cough* *cough* *cough* Demonmir felt his vision getting blurred when Eren''s mana started damaging his remaining internal organs even further. This was a vicious blow. A blow from which Demonmir could not backtrack to safety. "You coward, you you set me up," he said while looking at Eren hatefully. "That I did. How do you feel?" Eren asked in a grim tone while looking into Demonmir''s eyes. "You won''t get away from this, Eren." Demonmir''s bloody mouth managed to sh a smile as he continued. "You are the inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline that Samael told me about. Even if you kill me now, I will make sure that you are targeted by Samael for the rest of your short life." Demonmir could see that his end was near. He had no energy left in him to ignite Samael''s demon soul fragment anymore. Even if he could, he didn''t think that someone like Eren would allow him to use his trump cards. He was too battered and mentally exhausted to deal with Eren, who, although freshly ascended Grandmaster, was inplete control of his powers and practically unscathed. "Hahahaha," Demonmirughed as he looked mockingly at Eren. "That''s right. Kill me now. My soul had already been assimted with Samael. I''ll just possess a new body and get reborn. But I know everything about you. Our enmity will never end as long as you are not dead. No matter how many times you kill me, I wille back. I wille back and haunt you forever," Demonmir said while his legs gave out and brought him down to his knees. "That is indeed a good n, Demonmir," Eren said while looking at Demonmir. He morphed his bloody hand into a slime-like mass and absorbed Demonmir''s vital organ within it before speaking further. "But who told you that I''m letting your soul get away?" The butcher asked while producing a crystal. This was the same crystal he had used on Reva Rain to trap her demon soul fragment within it. "I think you two lovebirds need some talking to do. So get in there and have a word with your ex." Eren said before raising his hand in front of Demonmir. In the next moment, his Soul Sense Manifestation produced a spectral demonic snake that seemed to have been conjured using the Wrath Mana. Hissss! The snake sprouted from Eren''s palm and attacked Demonmir before the guy had a chance to register his shock, grievance, and other emotions. "Who who dares trap this Prince," Demonmir spoke in a tone quite different from his normal self. He sounded as if he was still slumbering and speaking in his sleep. Swoosh. Zoom. Pull. Eren pulled out the soul fragment Demonmir had been harboring inside him for so long that it was practically inseparable from his own soul. Eren didn''t care that the two souls were fused and stored the soul inside the crystal safely. Demonmir''s lifeless body fell to the ground when Eren yanked his soul from him. Eren took a step forward and raised his hand once again, creating a slime-like mass with his free hand, which covered Demonmir''s entire body quickly. In the next moment, Eren''s hand turned to normal, and Demonmir''s body was nowhere to be found. "I dare. Why shouldn''t I?" Eren asked particrly to nobody as he raised the crystal in front of his face and looked at Eliza through it who was standing at a safe distance away from him. He couldn''t help but like the look Eliza gave him as their eyes met. In the end, Demonmir was defeated by Eliza but died at Eren''s hands. His body and his soul both were imed by his finisher. His body was bound to be used by Eren to acquire Demonmir''s Elemental Attainments, which Eren had been eyeing ever since the two fought in the Edinnica Arena. His soul, on the other hand, or rather, Demon Prince Samael''s demon soul fragment, was going to be used by Eren to create another artifact for himself. This was something he had been nning ever since he nted Sansara Sage''s space-element runes on Demonmir. It was just that the type of the targeted artifact had been changed from Hex Artifact to Elder Seed Artifact. Every ounce of worth that Demonmir could provide to him was extracted by Eren at this point. And all this happened only within a few moments after his Ranking Breakthrough. The butcher''s next goal was to create two Elder Seed ArtifactsC one for absolute offense while the other for absolute defense. Of course, the fuel that would support the creation of these two Elder Seed Artifacts would be none other than the cmities caused in Anfang themselves. The only obstacle in his path that has still remained standing was the Witch of the EndermesC Eliza Samael. *** Chapter title: Demonmir''s Demise === AN: Eren used the crystal to trap the demon soul fragment within Reva Rain in chapter 1370. Demonmir first used Draconic Tongue in chapter 1376. Eren expressed his desire to im Demonmir''s Elemental Fusion for himself in chapter 1163. Can be skipped. Goodbye Ottoman de Montmorency AKA Demonmir. Even though you were hated by many readers, as your creator, I have nothing but apuse as you step down from the grand stage. I merely created the mold but you came alive on your own, inciting wrath in one''s mind who read about you. ;) Chapter 1607 The Necessity to Acquire More God Sparks Chapter 1607 The Necessity to Acquire More God Sparks ''So I need the God Sparks rted to other elements as well to be a true god, huh? Or at least as true as the rest of them I found there?'' Eren mumbled to himself as he thought about the experience he had when his soul was inside the celestial court. Usually, the forging of a single God Spark was enough toplete the deification process and make one ascend to the level of gods. For some gods who had achieved this feat in the past, it was a huge sess for them, turning them into immortals. Even though their divinities were limited, these gods were fine with just enjoying their divine status. Even though they could be termed as the weakest gods in the celestial court, the gods with a single God Spark in them couldn''t be underestimated by mortals. Eren could have be one of the weakest gods in the celestial court as well with the feat he had achieved. However, he had chosen a grand and an allCepassing divinity for himself. Alephe''s throne also required him to choose such a divinity in the first ce. Thus, to remove thebel of the demi-god and be a true god, Eren needed to acquire more God Sparks like the one he had acquired in Anfang. Only then could he sit on the divine throne he had imed for himself. ''So this is why Aleph told me to focus on refining my Elemental Attainments to their finest. The Edicts over the Elements, huh? Acquiring a single God Spark was already this challenging. How many worlds will I have to scour and possibly destroy to get my hands on the remaining ones?'' Eren wondered as he looked around to see the destruction. He couldn''t help but sigh at the work that wasid in front of her to make the divine throne he had imedpletely his. ''No point thinking about those things now. I must focus on the present. Reen needs me. With her by my side, things would be a lot easier for me in the future,'' Eren thought to himself and smiled before stepping forward. Step. Step. Step. Instead of approaching Eliza, Eren walked confidently in a specific direction, unconcerned about Eliza''s potential reactions. As La''s potions mended her injuries, Eliza watched Eren''s movements attentively. ''That bloodline is truly exceptional. It''s a pity I can''t obtain it.'' Eliza pondered to herself as she observed Eren. Despite her shock at Eren''s calcted actions and detailed nning, she wasn''t afraid of him. Or, it was that she didn''t want to allow herself to be afraid of him. She kept her emotions in check to maintain control of her situation, despite the precarious position Eren had ced her in. Her physical injuries could mend. Her Soul Space was also trying to stabilize itself. A part of her wanted to leave the ce to heal her injuries. The world was in chaos after all. There was nobody capable and free enough to stop her when the entire world was splitting into various continents. However, Eliza knew that the enmity she had created with Eren was bound to stay. If she let Eren grow unchecked, he maye for her on his own after surpassing her. No matter how confident Eliza was, she didn''t want to underestimate Eren. he had given her a lot of reasons to feel this way. Eliza still held an unyed trump card, which she was in no hurry to use prematurely. She preferred getting in peak condition first, courtesy of La''s care, before confronting Eren. *** "You''ve had this nned from the start, haven''t you?" Eliza chuckled, then added, "It eases my conscience for breaking our initial deal," as La''s potions healed her wounds and her reattached arm was being tended to. "Perhaps," replied Eren without ncing at Eliza. Continuing his advance toward his intended destination, he borated. "Or maybe things would have transpired differently if you hadn''t cornered me. At least I would have done a few things differently. Either way, does it truly matter now? My current actions are free from any past regrets, even if people me you or me for what I''ve done to Anfang. My mind is at peace. I assume the same goes for you." Eren spoke calmly, a faint smile adorning his face. "Why do you feel different now? What did Anfang''s World Will do to you?" Eliza inquired further, intrigued by the transformation Eren''s soul had undergone. Her Soul Sense detected that Eren''s soul was entirely distinct from that of regr Rankers. While a regr Ranker''s soul resembled a small earthenmp in the dark of the night, Eren''s soul was akin to the first ray of the sun piercing through the twilight darkness, painting the entire world in vivid colors. Despite her potent Spiritual Force, Eliza couldn''t discern the changes urring within Eren''s soul. Eliza wasn''t aware of the deal Eren made with Anfang''s World Will, nor did she possess extensive knowledge about the deification process. While familiar with God Sparks, her understanding of how to convert them into divinities was limited. Nevertheless, Eliza recognized that Eren had aplished a feat unprecedented in Anfang''s history. He transformed a significant portion of Anfang''s poption into half-bloods, breaching the World-epassing Divine Array Formation. By summoning Anfang''s World Will and causing his soul''s ascension, Eren evaded Eliza''s trap entirely, granting him the freedom to oppose her. "You''ll find out soon enough. I have an important task at hand right now. We''ll settle our differencester," Eren announced,ing to a halt. Eliza then realized that Eren was searching for the Mana Essence of the 40,000 Rankers that La had extracted and stored for her advancement to the Sage Rank. The protection of the Mana Essence sphere was part of the secondary Birdcage Barrier, preserving it despite Eliza and Demonmir''s intense battle within the isted domain. Their spells and physical attacks could not harm the intangible Mana Essence. Eliza''s gaze turned cold as sheprehended Eren''s intentions. "Are you attempting to take what''s rightfully mine, little kitten?" she queried in a low, threatening voice. "I might have expected this from someone like you. But remember, I''m still here," she warned, poised to intervene at any moment. "Steal?" Eren turned to Eliza, appearing puzzled. "What do you mean by ''steal''? It''s not stealing when something''s taken right in front of you. I''m sure there''s a word for that. I''ll let you figure it out. So yeah. I''m taking this Mana Essence sphere. The real question is: what will you do about it? What CAN you do about it?" Chapter 1608 An Always-active Sin Series Ability Chapter 1608 An Always-active Sin Series Ability Eren''s provocative words reached Eliza, inciting an angryugh. "It seems a little sess has gone to your head, little kitten. Do you think I won''t teach you a lesson just because you assisted me in obtaining a new vessel? Do you believe we''re equals now simply because you''ve attained the Grandmaster rank?" Eliza retorted, her annoyance evident as she adjusted her recently reattached left arm using La''s potions. Eren chuckled before responding. "Are you trying to feel "pride" by acting boastful? You think you will be able to justify your "pride" by confronting me?" Eren asked and watched Eliza''s expressions change. "Why do you look surprised now? Do you think I don''t know about your Sin Series Abilities? Especially the one that is rted to the Sin of Pride?" Eren asked as he stared at Eliza. "The Sin of Pride Mark that you have on your soul has indeed granted you a rather peculiar Ability. It is not rted to the physical buff of magic. That Ability affects your very soul itself, doesn''t it? This Ability makes you cultivate more Spiritual Force the more prideful you be of your actions. Surprisingly, it''s an always-active Ability that allows you to wield a crazy amount of Spiritual Force and use it without seemingly no bacsh. The more Spiritual Force you have, the more effective your intent-based magic is. The more potent our intent-based magic is, the more powerful you be. From ying multiple Titans to escaping the deathtrap the Anfang Alliance had set for you, all your feats in the past are based on this Ability of yours. Even your Endermes are powered by your near-endless reserve of Spiritual Force, allowing them to defy the norms and be so destructive that they defy the logic of mana. Those green mes are primarily fueled by your Spiritual Force which never runs out in your case. It''s as if you have already solved the mystery that I want to find the answer to in the futureC infinite mana. Or rather, infinite spell-casting." Eren said while looking at Eliza as if he could now read her like an open book. ''This man How did he know about my Sin Series Ability?'' For the first time, the emotions of shock and trepidation, which Eliza was trying so hard to keep at bay, were trying to overwhelm her. After all, this was the first time anyone could figure out her Ability like this. Only a select few knew about Eliza''s Ability rted to the Sin of Pride. And except for La and Le who happened to be one of the chosen few, nobody had survived the test of time. Eliza knew that the records about her couldn''t have mentioned this Ability of hers. It meant Eren had managed to learn this Ability of hers just recently. This was not good news for Eliza. This was because if her opponents knew that Eliza''s prideful nature was required to support her always-active Ability, they would do everything to hurt her pride. This was the easiest way to counter the seemingly overpowered Ability. Emotions were tricky. And cultivating them was trickier. This was why intent-based magic was not meant for anybody to wield. Eliza had kept her always-active Sin of Pride Ability a closely guarded secret. She knew that those who knew about how the Ability worked would eventually figure out how to counter it. Eren liked the silence observed by Eliza. He knew that she couldn''t lie to him now that her secret was out. It would hurt her pride if she did. He shed a crooked smile at her before speaking further. "I have to say your always-active Ability is really too powerful. It''s the solution to a lot of my problems. If I knew how to steal Sin Series Abilities from others, this would be the first one I would have my eyes on. The Ability has made your Soul Space abnormal. No wonder you were able to recover from the bacsh I gave you by disrupting the Soul Seed Insertion Array. No wonder I had nightmares for months after being exposed to your Soul Sense. And no wonder you were able to overpower Demonmir and the demonic powers given to him by Samael even while you were practically running on fumes in terms of your mana reserves. It all makes sense now," Eren said casually. "Heh! So what if you know about my Ability? At the end of the day, my actions justify the pride I feel in my heart. My pride enhances my powers, which in turn, helps me cultivate my pride better. Others im that their strength is their pride. However, in my case, my pride is my strength. And it will always be that way. So to you, I''m still as powerful as I was before you figured this out about myself. It changed nothing for you, little kitten. It will never," Eliza said confidently while adjusting her grip on the sword she was wielding. "Not so fast," Eren chuckled as he altered the runes of Array Eye that contained the Mana Essence Sphere right in front of his audience. As the Array Eye started exuding altered illumination due to the changes in the runes, the butcher spoke further. "I agree that there are a lot of benefits to your Ability. However, it also forces you to preserve your pride at all costs. Otherwise, there would be serious repercussions. This was why you decided to kill Demonmir even when you knew he was manipted by me to keep you busy. In short, you are enved by the Sin of Pride. The way you talk. The way you look down on others. It''s all needed to support the Sin Series Ability you have been bestowed with. However, let me assure you that Ability will not work against me. At least not in the same way it worked against Demonmir. You can try if you want to though," Eren dered, takingmand of the Array Eye that securely held the Mana Essence sphere. "Realistically speaking, you have two options now: observe what I do and wait patiently for your turn, or attack me now and discover what I can do in return. Either way, I''ll make sure that your pride gets broken here." The butcher stated calmly andposedly. Chapter 1609 Planting a Landmine Inside a Soul Chapter 1609 nting a Landmine Inside a Soul "Master, don''t fall into his trap. He''s a very cunning man. Let''s... let''s leave him be and depart from here. For my and Le''s sake, if not yours." La implored Eliza to avoid another confrontation with Eren. The injuries Eliza sustained from her battle with Demonmir still affected her, despite La''s use of her most potent potions. But it wasn''t just Eliza''s injuries that concerned La. Eren attempted to provoke her into action. She knew Eren wouldn''t speak to Eliza in such a manner without having something against her. By providing her with logic and a personal plea, La wanted to give Eliza enough reason to pull out from a potential fight against Eren without hurting her pride. After all, La knew that Eliza wasn''t blind to see that her aim to break the bloodline shackles was practically unachievable at this point. Firstly, too much time had passed since her resurrection. Secondly, the battle with Demonmir had practically forced Eliza to anchor her soul to her new vessel. This was a good thing for Eliza if she was only looking to harmonize with her new vessel. However, her goal to break the bloodline shackles had gotten ten times more difficult to achieve than it was before. Thus, La saw no merit in Eliza engaging in another battle with Eren. If possible, La wanted them both to bury their hatchets and ept each other''s existence. Of course, she also knew that with Eren and Eliza''s personality, it would be downright impossible. The Little Witch had underestimated the envement of Sin Series Mark on Eliza''s soul. Or rather, under a certain someone''s presence, Eliza''s weakness in using the Sin Series Ability had been amplified. Thus, the Witch of the Endermes shook her head in denial before addressing La. "La dear, take your sister away from this ce and wait for my arrival. I wille to pick you up shortly." Eliza said before stepping forward. La was left speechless by Eliza''s words. She wanted to tell her that she was more concerned about Eliza than her sister. But in the end, she closed her mouth and decided to remain silent, lest she end up hurting Eliza''s pride. A huge amount of Spiritual Force was churned around Eliza as she tapped into her Sin of Pride Mark. her Elemental Attainments were stirred, making strands of Endermes appear all over the battlefield. "I guess it''s time to teach you a lesson in humility, little kitten," Eliza said as she walked forward, wielding her sword in her dominant hand. "It''s about time you learn that no amount of cunning works in the face of overwhelming might," Eliza said before disappearing from her position. Using her movement spell, Eliza breached the distance between her and Eren in an instant. The green mes that coated her body burned with even more intensity as she got closer to Eren. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Sedating Gaze. "Aaaaaaargh!" Eliza was forced to go back to where she hade from after being subjected to Eren''s ocr Ability. For some reason, she felt like she would go insane the moment she met her eyes with him. "This. This can''t be. How did he do that?" Eliza clutched her head with both her hands as she asked to herself. Her eyes had turned red and she had drops of sweat covering her forehead instantly. The Witch of the Endermes couldn''t believe that an ocr Ability from Eren would have such a profound impact on her despite the overwhelming Spiritual Force she hadpared to him. She could instinctively sense that there was something wrong with her soul. She just couldn''t figure out what it was. Or what had caused such an anomaly. On the other hand, Eren was impressed with how Eliza was able to break free from his Ability so quickly. He had used his ocr Ability for the first time after bing a demi-god after all. Even when he was not inplete control of his enhanced Spiritual Force, the casting of his Ability had to have been more potent than before. Then again, he had not used the Sedating Gaze on Eliza per se but rather someone else hiding within her soul. Eliza''s consciousness was just kind of forced to tag along with that person''s soul after being affected by Eren''s ocr Ability. "What''s wrong? I thought you were going to teach me a lesson. I''m here. Ready to learn all that I can. Waiting for you. Were you all bark and no bite, miss Witch of the Endermes?" Eren taunted Eliza, there was a sardonic pity in his eyes as he looked at her. "EREN IDRIL!" Eliza screamed at Eren, her expression turning livid. "That''s my name. Say it louder. Say it harder. Kekeke. I don''t know why but I feel so good when you scream my name like that." Eren said while sessfully inserting Sansara Sage''s space-element rune inside the rune mechanism of the Array Eye he was working on. In the next moment, the Array Eye disappeared from its position and appeared right inside the second Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation, which had been created for Reen. The Mana Essence sphere itself was not teleported along with the Array Eye''syout. But it now started gravitating towards the Array Eye''s new position at a steady pace. From the looks of it, with its current pace, the Mana Essence Sphere would reach inside the designated Array Eye within a minute or two. This was all the time Eren needed to make Eliza halt in her tracks. "You you think I''ll let you go off easily after disrespecting me like that? I''ll." Before Eliza could finish speaking, Eren activated his Sin Series Ability which one could never imagine him to activate on a battlefield. Marks of the Seven Sins: Mist of Lust "Aaaaaaaaargh! My head!" Eliza started experiencing a headache she had never experienced before. Even a bacsh rted to souls couldn''t be this potent. She felt as if a different set of memories were trying to contaminate her past experiences. The green mes that surrounded her body like a protective cloak started turning ck under the influence of Eren''s Sin Series Ability. Or rather, it was someone else''s Elemental Attainments that had been manifested. "You. what did you do to meeeee. Aaaaargh!" Chapter 1610 Causing a Split Personality Disorder? Chapter 1610 Causing a Split Personality Disorder? "What was that you were trying to teach me again?" Eren asked sarcastically as he stepped forward, heading towards Eliza. "No amount of cunning works against an overwhelming might, right? Well, of course, I know that. My old man taught me many things and this was one of them. This sounds like a profound statement but it''s really not. It''s the reality of life thates naturally to everybody sane enough to look inside themselves for answers. Why do you think Rankers pursue higher Ranking Status than their peers? Why do mortals want to be Rankers and Rankers like us want to be gods? It''s because we know that no trick would work against an overwhelming might and we don''t want to be on the receiving end when it happens to us. Who would? But let me ask you something, Eliza. Do you think a guy like me, who has sent his entire homeworld into chaos just for the sake of his own goals, wouldn''t be bothered to do something so obvious? Are you underestimating me or are you just delusional? How many sleepless nights do you think I had because of you? What do you think I was doing all these years? Only think of your well-being like those two little servants of yours?" As he walked toward Elize, Eren took his time in verbally hurting Eliza in every way he could. "What the fuck did you do to aaaargh!" was what Eliza could muster as a response. The Witch of the Endermes was in no situation to process Eren''s sarcastic remarks. She felt as if she was trying to fight an invisible battle inside her head against someone who had be a part of herself. She also raised her hands in front of her and looked at the ck mes that were dancing all over her skin, making her realize that there was some kind of anomaly with the way she wielded her Elemental Attainments. Swoosh. Zoom. p. Eren decided to use Eliza''s vulnerability. He appeared right in front of Eliza and pped her so hard that she was sent flying a few meters away from her position. Her screams started sounding distant the more area she covered with her trajectory. "EREN IDRIL" Eliza''s voice started sounding strange as if there was a default echo attached to it. Her left eye turned pitch ck and the left side of her face started morphing into an entirely different woman. Eliza was about to charge at Eren once more in her rage. However, before she could do so, there was another part hidden within the depths of her soul that took over her body and spoke up. "Guild Guild Master what What am I doing here? Take take me with you aaaaah!" Eliza had a somewhat shocked expressions on her face and she processed the words that came out of her mouth. Only now did she realize that there was the soul of someone else who had been merged with hers. Eliza managed to wrestle control away from the other soul. She regained control over her body before speaking up. "You I understand now! That vessel! You merged her soul with mine. H how?" "Haah! If I had an Extol for every time someone asked me how I did things," Eren said and sighed while looking at his hand which he had used to p Eliza with. "Master!" La approached Eliza quickly while being wary of Eren who was in front of her. She supported Eliza somehow despite her small stature and created a safe distance from Eren once again. Surprisingly, Eren didn''t try to stop La or target Eliza again. He watched them both with a stern gaze before speaking up. "Like I said, I''m a bit busy with my affairs right now. So we will settle this after I''m done with them," Eren said before turning around. He was sure that Eliza wouldn''te to bother him while he was busy within the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation anymore. The trick he had used against her was enough to scare her into keeping her distance from him. But now her pride won''t allow her to leave things either. So she was stuck in limbo, unable to deal with the root cause of her problem. Thus, he had bought himself enough time to finish his two crucial projects. His version of the Lazarus Project that he had been nning for so long. *** Lady Zee''s soul was supposed to disperse on its own in the original Lazarus Project. Both La and Eliza had ignored her soul after it was sessfully severed from her natal body. However, they didn''t realize that Shallot''s Mirror had pulled the soul into its space without Le realizing it even though she was in charge of the Array Eye that handled the artifact. This did not happen because La, Le, or Eliza were careless. But it happened because they were not aware of the true capabilities of Shallot''s Mirror. The Shallot''s Mirror didn''t necessarily need to manifest spiritual tentacle-like limbs to pull a free soul inside it. It could also attract a soul inside discreetly if the owner wished for it. The fusion of two souls took ce when Eliza''s Soul Seed was secured inside the Shallot''s Mirror. As Eliza''s soul was transformed into a Soul Seed, her consciousness was forced to slumber away inside it. She was not aware that Eren had nned such a trap for her inside an artifact that was supposed to be a safe ce for her. Of course, Eren knew that Eliza''s soul was too powerful. The fusion of two souls wouldn''t have been made possible if Lady Zee''s soul was extremely weak. Or rather, even if the fusion took ce in such a situation, the fusion itself wouldn''t bring any benefit to Eren as Eliza''s soul would instantly overwhelm Lady Zee''s soul. Thus, Eren had been strengthening Lady Zee''s soul for thest decade with various precious and expensive soul-rted potions and resources. This was so that her soul could survive the fusion process. Eren had made a lot of moves against Eliza like these. This was just one of them that had panned out. After all, when he had made this move against her, he was not sure if he would actually be able to pull it off. This was just a possibility he wanted to exist at the time. However, his ownership of the Shallot''s Mirror actually made it happen. As for why Eren was able to awaken Lady Zee''s merged soul? The answery in the fact that he had enved her soul with his Sin Series Ability. It was just that he had never triggered the Brand on her soul. One could say that Eren had nted a surefirendmine inside Eliza''s soul that he could detonate anytime he wanted. This move of his had made her suffer from a mild case of split personality disorder. Eren was sure that Eliza would eventually be able to wrestle control away from Lady Zee and use her force to keep the second soul suppressed. She would be able to treat the symptoms using her overwhelming Spiritual Force but not treat the cause. In short, there was no permanent cure for Eliza''s current situation anymore. At least not in Anfang. === AN: Eren''s preparations for Lady Zee''s soul strengthening were hinted at in Chapter 1380: Lady Zee''s Acquisition Of Soul-Nourishing Rewards. Eren nts an untriggered Sin of Lust branding on Lady Zee''s soul in chapter 792. Can be skipped. We had a lot of things nned for Eliza''s supposed split personality disorder. This was why I had bothered to give her a uniqueugh (fufufufu) right from her introduction in the early chapters, which was supposed to be used as a distinguishing factor to recognize when she was in charge of the body shared by two souls. She was supposed to wreak havoc on Anfang with her split personality disorder and also cause a few personal mishaps. But it looks like we would have to postpone that stuff. Now, I just want Eren to wrap things up nicely and leave Anfang behind. So let''s just say for almost all major characters those things will happen in the backdrop now as the story progresses forward with Eren at its focus. ;) Chapter 1611 Harvesting Billions of Souls P1 Chapter 1611 Harvesting Billions of Souls P1 Inside the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation. A triangr-shaped arrangement epassed a central supplementary Array Eye, holding an immense quantity of pulsating Mana Essence, radiating raw energy that influenced the surrounding spatial fabric. Assuming control of the Array Eye, Eren lightened Alephee''s load upon his appearance within the Array Formation. As she observed Eren, she spoke up. Eren divided the Array Eye that housed Reen''s vessel into two parts. One section held Reen''s body, still levitating engulfed in divine mes, while the other section enclosed a levitating cloud-headed saber. This pre-designed weapon crafted by Eren using Grandmaster Baelin''s Smithy had reached Hex artifact standards,cking only a soul. Eren specifically fashioned it to amodate Samael''s soul fragment once he obtained it. The cloud-headed saber matched the size of a broadsword, featuring a de as wide as a buster sword. Meticulously crafted and infused with Wrath Mana, it exuded an enticing yet sinister aura. Its dark, light-absorbing de emanated an air of shadow and enigma. The hilt was a blend of intricate obsidian metalwork and subtle, enigmatic runic etchings, illustrating demonic symbols associated with the Sin of Wrath. At its pommel sat a deep, obsidian-hued gem encapsting the essence of the night skythe very crystal Eren had used to confine Samael''s soul fragment. The saber seemed capable of slicing through adversaries and even damaging the spatial fabric itself with remarkable efficiency. Despite its appearance of weightiness, the butcher had verified its maneuverability in the past as soon as it was made. He wielded the weapon while tapping into the Berserker ss. And he had to say that the results were promising. And this was when the artifact did not even have an artifact spirit to amplify Eren''s attacks. Eren could not even imagine how powerful the weapon would be after Samael''s soul fragment was added into the equation. In Eren''s hands, the weapon moved with the fluidity and swiftness of a feather, resembling the graceful dance of the wind. In essence, it was well-suited to serve as a suitable container for the Prince of Wrath, given Eren''s treatment and preparation. It had to be noted that the appearance of this weapon bore some resemnce to Elijah''s broadsword. Just like Elijah''s, Eren''s broadsword had a ck hue adorned with red runic patterns, which he had carefully crafted to support Wrath Mana. The pommel and hilt design of Elijah''s sword found its simrity in Eren''s pseudo-Hex Artifact, albeit presented in a different format. The disparity between Eren''s and Elijah''s swordsy in Eren''s sword having a slightly curved de towards the end. Another distinction was Elijah''s sword bearing a divine inclination while Eren''s sword was intended to house a soul fragment of the Demon Prince of Wrath, Samael. Eren enjoyed wielding dual weapons. However, he eventually realized that the potential of his Berserker ss could only be fully harnessed by wielding a Cloud Head Sabre. Failing to find an existing weapon that suited his needs, he decided to create one for himself. This was when Eren thought of taking inspiration from his father''s sword and his swordsmanship. The butcher had initially nned for Samael''s soul fragment to serve as his slumbering Artifact Spirit from the moment he had nted Sansara Sage''s space-element rune on Demonmir. Nevertheless, after bing a demi-god, he made alterations to his previous n. Originally, Eren had intended to fashion a Hex Artifact from Demonmir''s soul fragment. However, upon achieving divinity, Eren''s perspective expanded, reaching new heights in his goals. His new aim was to craft an Elder Seed Artifact using Samael''s soul. Recognizing that the destruction he had caused to fulfill Anfang World Will''s promise was the opportune moment to create Elder Seed Artifacts, he decided to capitalize on the timing by crafting not just one, but two Elder Seed Artifacts. Before attaining divinity, Eren harbored many doubts about creating a single Elder Seed Artifact to save Reen. However, the butcher discarded all his uncertainties. He recognized that only aposed and resolute mind, free of doubts, would enable him to wield immortal magic. *** "Do you think she will attack us now that we don''t have the protection of the Birdcage Barrier anymore?" Alephee asked while looking in Eliza''s direction. She knew what Eren had done to Eliza. She just wasn''t sure something like that would be enough to stop the Witch of the Endermes. "It should be fine for the time being. It''s not like I don''t have ways to deal with her even if she attacks. La looks terrified so I''m betting she would do everything in her power to stop Eliza or make her rethink her strategy. She would also try to do some potion-rted patchwork to her soul. Um even if that old hag decides to y her tricks on us now, we have fiends who could at least slow her down. Osha and Altair are also nearby. So I don''t think we should be worried about her. But at the same time, we can''t ck off at this point and finish this fast." Eren replied while raising his hands. He started operating on the Array Eye with speed and efficiency, indicating that he had done this work thousands of times before. "How will we get the Spiritual Force required to you know" Alephee asked another question to Eren. She trusted Eren''s judgment on Eliza. However, she was still unclear about how Eren would be able to craft an Elder Seed Artifact using a crazy amount of Spiritual Force, which he was in no possession of at the time. "We''ll get there when we get there." Eren replied in a calm manner, prompting Alephee to focus on her task as well. She could tell that Eren had some kind of epiphany at the time of the deification process. So she stopped speaking and started helping Eren with a newfound vigor. The process was restarted once again. However, this time, the incorporation of runic circles created by Eren was many times more than before. Eren started making use of his enhanced Spiritual Force obtained by his deification to elevate the standard of his artifact creation. This time, the artifaction creation process reached the same stage where Eren had experienced failure in his previous attempt. Chapter 1612 Harvesting Billions of Souls P2 Chapter 1612 Harvesting Billions of Souls P2 Keeeeeeee! A sharp, unstable sound permeated the surroundings as the Cloud Head Sabre vibrated with erratic energy. Concurrently, Reen''s vessel disyed signs of implosion, suggesting that the artifact creation process had reached a precarious, unstable state, akin to before. "Eren" Alephee regarded Eren with a tense expression. "I know," Eren responded with a stoic gaze. Despite the stress induced by the process, his control over the formation''s functionality remained wless. "Shallot,e out!" Eren called to the artifact spirit of his first Elder Seed Artifact, now epassing his right hand like a bracelet. In the following moment, Shallot emerged before Eren. ''So, this this is Shallot. She looks familiar.'' Alephee pondered silently upon encountering the artifact spirit for the first time, her curiosity piqued. However, she chose to reserve her thoughts and focused on operating the Array Eye. Alephee was unsure how Shallot could assist Eren at this juncture. Nheless, she sensed that questioning this would be futile at this point. It was best to allow Eren to takemand. Eren closed his eyes and concentrated, shutting out his surroundings and listening to his heartbeats. After taking a deep breath, he let his Soul Sense expand around him, wielding his God Spark within his soul. Zooooom! A power distinct from Mana spread throughout every corner of Anfang from Eren''s epicenter. It manifested as an intangible force, akin to a formless sea of divine might, using the Elemental Attainment of water. As a consequence, for a fleeting moment, every living being in Anfang felt as though they were suddenly submerged in water. This was Eren''s first time wielding his divine powers, yet he did so with such proficiency that it left even Alephee in shock. *** "Edict Over Water: Be my mirror and reflect the image of the world to me." With this simplemand, Eren exercised his divine might. It seemed that mere words from a divine being were enough to alter thews of the world. An Edict functioned differently from spell casting. It didn''t adhere to the standard rules of Spiritual Force or magic. Simply verbalizing the desires of the wielder was enough. The Edict would interpret the wielder''s wishes ording to their imagination and will, enabling them to manifest their divine might however they desired, rtive to their God Spark. The God Spark served as the conduit through which the divine will could be expressed. This expression didn''t require the support of one''s Spiritual Force. The Edict Over Water that Eren had employed showcased his divine might rted to his water-element God Spark. Almost instantly, water-element mana began manifesting across Anfang in various ways. Even therge and small bodies of water in Anfang began behaving strangely. In certain regions, water covered the ground, seemingly recing the earth. It changed viscosity, turning mercury-like, acting as a vast mirror that reflected the panicked expressions of the living beings and the devastated state of the environment due to the sessive cmities. In other regions, the Elemental Attainment of Water enveloped the world, intangible yet making the living beings inside it feel as if they had been transported to the deepest part of ake bed. In some other areas, mist formed from bodies of water gathered in the sky, creating a thinyer of water. This thinyer remained in the air, bing semi-opaque. It resembled a giant cicada wing that covered arge region, faintly reflecting the events urring below its surface. Such scenes unfolded throughout Anfang. Even the most forbidden zones in the world were not exempt. Not even Sages could interfere with the way divine might manifested. The current battlefield was also affected by Eren''s divine might. It transformed the vast expanse of barrennd into ake in an instant, submerging the feet of Eren and others in water-element mana. While mortals and Rankers might have panicked if Eren had unleashed his divine powers on any other day, they had more pressing matters. Many people were perishing due to the chaos caused by the deterioration of the divine array formation. Hence, the inhabitants of Anfang collectively chose to overlook the unusual behavior of water or water-element mana. Eren''s divine might didn''t pose any immediate threat to them. Rather than panicking at the sight of his divine powers, they focused on prioritizing their survival. *** "You know what to do?" Opening his eyes, Eren asked Shallot while raising his hand in front of her. His emerald green eyes had a divine sheen to them. "Hmm," Shallot answered, cing her small hand in his before closing her eyes. In the next moment, something unusual took ce all over the world. The various water manifestations that had appeared all around the various parts of the world became medium for Shallot to exert her powers. Countless tendrils made of her reservoir Spiritual Force manifested themselves. These spectral tendrils sprouted from the surface of the water manifestations all around the world and spread in all directions. These spectral tendrils did nothing to the living beings. However, they startedtching onto the souls of those whose vessels had just died. These spectral tendrils started drawing the souls inside them in droves. One could say that Eren was in the process of harvesting the souls of all beings who had lost their lives recently due to the cmity. And as the chaos caused by the sudden deterioration of the divine array formation was big, the number of souls Eren was harvesting was in the billions. The souls were soon pulled inside the water manifestations from which the spectral tendrils had sprouted from. In the end, they ended up inside an isted space of the Shallot''s Mirror. ''This I never thought Shallot''s Mirror could be used like this,'' Alephee said to herself with shocked expressions as she watched Eren perform a miracle only a god could perform. Only now did she realize why Eren was confident in making not one but two Elder Seed Artifacts at the same time. ''This is insane. It hasn''t even been a day since he became a demi-god and he has wielded his divine might with a profound rity. No wonder those gods feel threatened by him.'' Alephee thought to herself and sighed before smiling mirthlessly. ''He''ll be unstoppable when he bes a true god.'' Chapter 1613 Divine Soul in Mortal Vessel: Limitations of Using Divine Powers for a Demi-god Chapter 1613 Divine Soul in Mortal Vessel: Limitations of Using Divine Powers for a Demi-god "Cough. Cough. Cough." Eren began coughing uncontrobly as soon as he finished harvesting the souls of the recently deceased beings. He felt feverish, and his eyes turned red, blurring his vision. His limbs felt powerless, and his heartbeats were erratic. He didn''t believe there was anything wrong with him. However, he instinctively felt as if his current body was restrictive. He felt like an endless sea confined within a jar of water, as if the container that was his body was increasingly bing incapable of containing his divine soul. "What What is happening to me?" Eren asked Alephee in a low voice as he tried to control his mana circuits from going haywire. He also sensed that his mana core would burst if he didn''t employ his Ranking Technique to quell the outpour of mana that was being absorbed into his mana core like a bottomless pit. "What is happening to you, you ask. You are using divine powers in a mortal body, and on such arge scale. Of course, there''d be a bacsh, silly." Alephee sighed before continuing. "I''m surprised your body didn''t implode after such an extravagant use of your divine powers. You need to thank Reen once again. Without that peculiar half-blood constitution that allowed you to wield your divine powers in such a way, you would have destroyed your vessel and be a divine Specter," she said while keeping herself focused on operating the Array Eye. "I I see." Eren mumbled to himself before shaking his head to clear his vision. Fortunately, the maneuver worked, and his vision returned, allowing him to think clearly. ''I''d better limit the use of my divinity from now on. This body it''ll burst like a watermelon if I overdo things.'' Eren thought before channeling the mana throughout his body to eliminate the bacsh. Thankfully, he had recently ascended to the Grandmaster Rank. Otherwise, using his divinity might have been fatal. "Shallot. You you are up," Eren prompted the artifact spirit tomence the process. Shallot, nodding at Eren, raised both her hands toward the opposite Array Eye before releasing numerous spiritual tendrils sprouting from her palms. The spiritual tendrils surrounded Reen and the Cloud-headed Saber in the hive, enveloping thempletely. Their intangibility allowed them to prate Reen and Saber''s forms. A substantial amount of Spiritual Force began pumping through the spiritual tendrils. The two potential artifacts avidly absorbed this Spiritual Force, bringing Eren''s version of the Lazarus Project to its final stage. Shallot started using all the Spiritual Force she had obtained from harvesting the souls, injecting it into the forms of two spiritual artifacts in the making. The divine mes that had been enveloping the two potential Elder Seed Artifacts burned brighter, tempering the forms as they absorbed the Spiritual Force. "It''s about time," Eren thought to himself before closing his eyes once again. His raised hands with empty palms remained empty no more as two white wisps appeared hovering above them. Origin Force! The two wisps were the strands of Origin Force that Eren had received from Argo right after his S-Ranked breakthrough. The inclusion of Origin Force was as important as the Spiritual Force to craft Elder Seed Artifacts after all. Eren waved his hands and two wisps of Origins Force began making their way towards Reen and the demonic saber. When they entered the Array Eye, they were immediately absorbed by Reen and the sword''s forms. The divine mes burned even brighter when that happened. The appearance of lightning and storm. The very air felt heavy and highly charged. The Elemental Attainments of various elements started appearing in the surroundings when the Origin Force was added into the equation. They added to the chaos that was happening all over the world. It was as if someone had dimmed the sun by causing an eclipse of unknown form. As if the perception of colors that was observed by all living beings had been affected to the point that everything became monochromatic. One could tell that the kind of magic Eren was using to create his artifacts couldn''t be defined in terms of Ranks of intensity. It was apletely different form of magic that couldn''t be used by regr beings. It could only be used by divine entities. Immortal magic. Eren didn''t have to observe the changes around him. He kept his attention focused on the artifact creation process, treating anything other than his current task as non-important things. Reen and the demonic saber''s forms were half-way into bing the Elder Seed Artifacts. They were just missing the crucial ingredient they needed to make them Elder Seed Artifacts. They needed Elder Ichor. sh. Eren took out a dagger and shed both his hands, drawing streams of blood. The blood was absorbed by the runic formation of the Array Eye he was currently operating. The bloodline energy within his blood was amplified before the two streams of blood made their way to the opposite Array Eye. Eren''s blood was quickly absorbed by Reen''s form and demonic saber. Skreeeeee! A sharp metallic shrill was heard. It was as if the weapon was crying. A domain of Wrath Mana was created by the demonic saber itself as the runic etchings over it were lit up. Eren could tell that Samael''s soul fragment didn''t want to be subjected to the treatment Eren was giving him. After all, Eren was practically hurting the Demon Prince of Wrath and his divinity by turning his soul fragment into an artifact spirit. "This bastard Demonmir he just won''t give up." Eren''s emerald green eyes shone with cruelty as he guessed the intentions of Samael''s soul fragment. In the next moment, he deployed all his Sin Series powers at the same time to suppress the Demon Prince''s soul. However, what Eren had deployed were not simple Sin Series Domains anymore. Instead, he now had the capability to use higher forms of his Sin Series Abilities that could cancel out the simr Abilities cast by others: Authority! == Chapter 1614 Asura Chapter 1614 Asura Authority: Domain of Wrath Authority: Domain of Greed Authority: Domain of Gluttony Authority: Domain of Pride Authority: Domain of Envy Authority: Domain of Lust Authority: Domain of Sloth All seven types of Sin Series Mana were injected simultaneously into both Reen and the demonic saber. In the case of the demonic saber, the six types of Sin Series Mana were intended to suppress Samael''s soul fragment. The seventh Sin Series Mana type, Wrath Mana, was used to nullify Samael''s Authority. The Sin of Lust Mark had not granted Eren a domain-type Ability earlier. However, even that was changed when Eren sessfully inherited Aleph''s divine throne. However, the seven types of Sin Series Mana had a different role in Reen''s case. They were utilized akin to the divine mes, to temper Reen''s form so that she could bepatible with all seven forms of Sin Series Mana. Samael''s soul fragment, embodying the alter ego of Demonmir, became helpless once again. His Wrath Domain was eventually obliterated when overridden by Eren''s Authority. Eren sensed that the demonic saber required more from him. Or rather, he needed to ensure that it surpassed his expectations. "Hmm. If I want to create artifacts that can evolve with me, I need to integrate them with myself." Eren mumbled as he closely observed the artifact creation process. As the new runes were added to both Reen and the demonic saber''s forms, Eren began nningst-minute alterations to his creations, aiming to break the mold of regr artifacts and create something unique to him. "Here, take this!" Using Rigor Mortis, Eren promptly severed his left arm without hesitation and flung it toward the demonic saber. Gritting his teeth he held on and snapped his fingers with the other hand. The butcher used his A-Ranked bloodline powers and Instant Reset to instantaneously regrow his severed limb. His slime-like constitution and his existence as a divine entity were increasingly evident as he ascended the Ranks, making the regrowth of a severed limb a seemingly effortless process. Had Eliza been in the right frame of mind to notice Eren''s actions, she would have been shocked to witness how effortlessly he regrew his limb from nothing. While she and La had to pay a price to reattach her severed arm, Eren''s disy showed that he was nearly an immortal being at this stage. At least when it came to butchering one''s self up and stilling out unscathed in the next moment. *** Eren''s severed limb, now a mass of slime-like essence, adhered to the demonic saber. The blood inside the chopped arm, Elder Ichor, was absorbed by the saber, intensifying the glow of its runic engravings. The essence of Eren''s arm profoundly transformed the foundational structure of the weapon artifact while maintaining its shape, almost as if imbued with some of Eren''s bloodline properties. The demonic saber cracked the ground around its Array Eye upon Samael''s domain cancetion, emanating a stabilized form with a wrathful aura, coated with bloodthirst and vengeance. At this moment, a previously unseen Elder Seed Artifact took the shape of a ck saber. Unlike Reen''s case, Eren easily subdued Samael''s soul fragment due to the legacy ownership obtained from Aleph. The creation of the demonic saber, rtively speaking, gave Eren fewer headaches in the artifact-creation process. Eren was less obsessed with making a demonic saber out of Samael''s soul fragment. He was even content with the failure in Samael''s case, treating it as a mere option rather than a necessity. asionally, endeavors that received less attention turned out to be artistic masterpieces. Such was the case with the demonic saber. Eren''s side project proved to be a major sess while his primary project was still in progress. Eren''s intention to create the demonic sword, housing Demonmir as the artifact spirit, stemmed from hisck of trust in Demonmir not causing trouble in the future. Eren anticipated Demonmir''s possible return, as Demonmir himself had mentioned before his demise. Though Eren was no longer worried about Demonmir, he found it wasteful to let powerful enemies makeebacks and disrupt his progress. The butcher was a firm believer in the fact that certain issues needed to be eradicated from their roots. After all, if one''s opponents made aeback even after being beaten, the responsibility of theebacky in one''s inability to get rid of their "problems"pletely and permanently. ''Demon Prince of Wrath, Samael. That demon better stays away from me. Otherwise, I''ll have to find a recement before eliminating him as well.'' Eren contemted as he observed the demonic saber. He smiled wickedly when the process of the saber creation finally finished. Eren raised his right hand, and the saber instantly flew into it. Upon touching it, he sensed boundless wrath and hatred emanating from the artifact spirit. This appeared to be the first Elder Seed Artifact that detested its creator. "This saber it is angry It hates me," Eren chuckled as he gripped the hilt and wielded it a few times. "Even better, I''d say. I''ll be able to channel my Wrath Mana even more efficiently. Kekeke. Hate me more. Stay angry, you dimwitted bastard!" Eren said while swinging his sword around casually. "Hmm? What shall I name you? My father''s sword was named Sura. So I will call you Asura. Though, I don''t think a motherfucking bastard like you deserves such a cool name. Kekeke!" The weapon screeched in Eren''s hand when it heard Eren''s words. However, it was unable to break free from Eren''s grasp. "Aaah! You poor soul. How can the world be so cruel, right? s! There''s no way for you to break free from me. So you might as well ept the reality you are in. Alright. I''ll y with your angry asster. You are not that important to me anyway." Mocking Samael''s soul fragment now transformed into an artifact spirit, Eren merged the sword into his arm, fusing it back into his flesh. A runic tattoo of a saber appeared over Eren''s arm as he assimted his newest Elder Seed creation. Given that a part of his flesh was utilized in its creation, the sword could dissolve into Eren''s flesh and detach itself at his will. Eren wanted to learn more about his creation. However, the present moment was not suitable. His side project concluded smoothly, but his primary project was still causing him a bit of trouble. Chapter 1615 Heart of Evil Chapter 1615 Heart of Evil Despite absorbing a substantial amount of blood from Eren, Reen''s form remained somewhat unstable. It seemed that the demonic soul fragment within Reen was unable to fully upy the vessel due to its inadequate strength. "Hmm? What might be the issue here?" Eren pondered to himself, scratching his chin. He wasn''t concerned that Reen''s artifact creation would fail. After bing a demi-god, he possessed enough confidence in his ability toplete the task, regardless of the challenges that arose. However, Eren desired Reen''s transformation into an Elder Seed Artifact to be wless without any lingering anomalies. Unlike the case with the demonic saber, he sought perfection in Reen''s transformation. "I... I think I know what she needs, Eren," Alephee finally concluded as she examined Reen''s unstable form. "Your blood the Elder Ichor it is not close to its original genesis. So it''s still notpletelypatible with Reen''s soul. Or rather, it is notpatible with the goddess'' soul fragment to whom it truly belongs. That''s not the only problem we have, though. I think the soul fragment is subconsciously trying to merge with where she came from. She does not want to live a fragmented life away from her original form," Alephee exined, looking a bit stressed. Eren raised his eyebrows upon hearing Alephee''s theory. After some contemtion, he posed a question in return. "So you''re saying I need to convince her to stay here with me to get anchored to her vessel? That''s a little mean considering what I have done for her, don''t you think? I basically destroyed my homeworld to get her. What else can I convince her with?" Eren sighed as he looked at Reen''s unstable form. He wondered if his curse was at y here. While he was sure that he could convince Reen to stay with him, he also wanted her to make that choice for herself. Yet, if her unconscious form couldn''t ess the soul fragment''s memories as Reen, it was only natural that it wouldn''t recognize Eren and seek to leave this world to return to its origin. Eren could understand the nuances behind the problem, but it still didn''t make him feel any better about the current situation. *** "You know how intent-based magic is, Eren," Alephee smiled mirthlessly before continuing. "It is unpredictable. And even the slightest change in one''s emotions can affect the end result. This is even more so when ites to immortal magic, which is considered the pinnacle of intent-based magic," Alephee said while adding a few more runic circles to the Array Eye containing Reen''s unstable form. "I don''t think Reen needs any convincing to stay with you," Alephee said, confirming Eren''s assumptions. "However, the alter ego of a goddess and that of Reen are two different things. The slumbering consciousness of the goddess has no attachments to this world or Reen''s vessel because she had been slumbering ever since she entered the world of Anfang. Reen does not have control over self anymore. It''s her who''s sleeping now, letting her alter ego take charge. You could say that she did not have any connection to the memories and experiences that Reen had. So you need to find a way for either Reen to awake from her slumber or make her share her memories and experiences with the soul fragment of the goddess. I''m sure the artifact creation will seed if these conditions are met," Alephee said. Eren knew that immortal magic worked on the same principles as the Divine Edicts. After all, the Divine Edicts were also a form of immortal magic. It meant that immortal magic had no set rules or definitions. The caster of such magic could wield it effortlessly if they spoke a few words with the right intentions. However, sometimes, one would struggle to find the right words to express how they feel, even though they knew what they were feeling. Sometimes, it was difficult to exin one''s thoughts about themselves or others around them. And that''s where the difficulty in wielding immortal magic came from. "How should I resolve these problems then? I just broke into the Grandmaster Rank. My blood is as close to Genesis as it could be," Eren said while looking in Alephee''s direction. By this point, Reen''s form was about to disperse into nothingness. Eren did not want topromise on Reen''s artifact creation in any way now that he hade this far. However, if push came to shove, he would have to consider forcing his will on this project of his. "I don''t know how to solve this problem either, Eren," Alephee said and sighed before continuing. "I just diagnosed the issue. You are the wielder of the immortal magic now. It''s your job to figure it out. Just follow your heart." "Follow my heart, huh?" Eren mumbled to himself, echoing Alephee''s words as he nkly stared at Reen''s unstable form. He was attempting to connect with his emotions at this point. "Follow my heart." Eren ced the palm of his right hand over his chest, feeling the rhythm of his own heartbeats. He closed his eyes and listened to the steady beat. "Seek and ye shall find," Eren said to himself before opening his eyes. In the next moment, it was evident that his vision was filled with a sense of rity and determination. Blitz. Pierce. Pull. In a bizarre turn of events, Eren used his own lightning-mana-coated right hand to pierce his chest. He created a gaping hole in his sr plexus before grabbing onto his own heart. With one swift motion, he pulled the organ out by severing its veins and other connections. The butcher performed this self-muttion so precisely and correctly that there was practically no blood around the gaping wound he had created in his torso. In the next moment, the Wrath Domain deployed on its own before dispersing once again. Eren''s face had turned red due to the severe injury he had caused to himself. However, he did not let the feeling of pain contort his face. Instead, he maintained a stoic look as he pulled out his own heart and examined it with keen eyes. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. The heart was still beating. "Let my beating heart, evil as it may be, convince you to stay here," Eren said, letting his thumping heart float towards the Array Eye in which Reen''s form was. "Let my heartblood be the anchor you need toe back to me," Eren said intently as he transnted his heart into Reen''s form. gm Chapter 1616 Reens Rebirth Chapter 1616 Reen''s Rebirth Eren''s words were akin to a spell. The immortal magic reached its peak when he expressed his feelings through his actions. And it started working when he verbalized what he felt at the time. Reen''s unstable form showed signs of change. Her Soul Seed started spreading its spiritual roots once again with a newfound vigor right after Eren''s heart vanished into the vessel. Skreeeeeeeee! The world of Anfang was shaken once again as the soul fragment''s alter ego took control of Reen''s vessel. When Reen opened her eyes, they exuded a divine might that Eren was not personally familiar with. Yet, he could sense a familiaritying from it. A sky-piercing manifestation of a cosmic entity was formed above the sky of the battlefield. This manifestation was so big that it could not be fully seen by Eren and others around himpletely. This manifestation of the goddess had reddish-golden eyes that exuded light like two new bright suns had appeared in the Anfang''s sky for the first time. She had a beautiful face and two horns protruding from her forehead. She had blue skin and a primal feminine form. This was the goddess who had separated herself from the demonic pantheon after forming her own divinity. This was the goddess who had formed her own pantheon, iming her own throne in the celestial court. This was the goddess who was the chief deity of monsters across the boundless cosmos where monsters existed. She ruled over the monster gods and all those mortals who called themselves the Children of Echidna. This was the goddess Echidna herself. The manifestation of the goddess looked down and stared at Eren. In the next moment, it shrunk from its cosmic size and became human-sized before approaching Eren. "You Inheritor of Elder Ichor," the manifestation of the goddess came very close to Eren and spoke. She touched Eren''s face with both her hands, cradling it with affection as she spoke in the divine tongue that Eren could understand because of his demi-god status. "From now on, you shall be my liege," the manifestation of the goddess spoke in affection before resting her head over Eren''s chest. "No. not you. I want my Reen back." Eren said in a serious voice. He allowed the goddess Echidna''s manifestation toe near him because he did not sense any ill will from her. However, he did not let her influence in any way. Though Reen''s origin was Goddess Echidna, he still preferred the version of Reen that he had left behind in the Purgatory. After all, that''s why he had been working hard for thest decade. To save her. If Reen as Eren knew her to be didn''t survive the project''s conclusion, Eren was ready to discard it and start anew afterbeling it as a failure. He didn''t want the goddess Echidna''s original consciousness recing Reen even if it came with potential benefits to him. "Reen" the manifestation of Goddess Echidna mumbled to herself as if trying to remember the name of the alter ego her soul fragment had developed. She lifted her head and smiled at Eren before speaking up. "Reen she''s like a child born between us. I can understand why you are so protective of her. Very well, my liege. I shall follow your wishes," the goddess Echidna spoke calmly and smiled at Eren for thest time before vanishing from the world of Anfang. She pulled out her consciousness from the world of Anfang before Anfang''s World Will could do something about it. As soon as the Goddess Echidna''s manifestation vanished, Reen''s Soul Seed stabilized in her vesselpletely. It epted the vessel it was in, setting the stage for Reen''s consciousness to wake up in her not-so-new body. Kiiiiii! Eren felt like something in his ID Storage was trying to resonate with Reen who had stabilized her soul within her new vessel. He didn''t think twice and pulled that item out of his storage. This was a crown. Echidna''s Authority. This was the same crown Eren had obtained from Har Jahar inside the Oni dungeon. Back in the Monster Continent in the past, Goddess Echidna had blessed the artifact herself to be used by some of her steadfast followers. The crown was the representation of her Authority as the chief goddess of all the monster gods and their mortal descendants. The monster gods themselves were created from Echidna''s centa, which was an Existential Concept that supported Echidna''s divinity. The crown eventually ended up in the continent of Anfang because it was used as a way to suppress the Children of Echidna. After all, no matter who the myriad monsters worshiped as their gods, the chief goddess Echidna''s Authority was unchallenged. The same crown, which had its own profound history, was trying to break from Eren as Reen''s form became increasingly definite. He let go of the crown and it flew towards Reen like it was being pulled by a very strong attraction force. The crown disappeared into Reen''s form before it spectrally appeared over Reen''s head. It was as if the monster artifact itself wanted to crown her as the queen of all the monsters. In the next moment, the Array Eyes was destroyedpletely and the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation broke from within. Alephee was also relieved from her responsibilities at this point. It didn''t take long for Reen to open her eyes and look around. She was searching for a familiar figure. And that familiar figure appeared right in front of her as soon as her rebirth was concluded. "Erni I missed you," Reen said while pulling Eren into his embrace. Her voice was tinged with a mix of emotions. The emotions of happiness and relief were dominant in that mix. "Didn''t I tell you to have your faith in me?" Eren said and smiled as he caressed Reen''s head. At this point, he felt all the troubles he had gone through to get her back were worth it. Another Elder Seed Artifact was born in the boundless cosmos at this point. One that had unlimited room for growth. Chapter 1617 Half-bloods and Monsters’ Eventual Rise in Anfang? Chapter 1617 Half-bloods and Monsters Eventual Rise in Anfang? ? "What what just happened?" Gnoll Sovereign Parmar stuttered as he recalled the scene that had taken ce a few moments ago. The sight of Goddess Echidna''s manifestation was still clear in his memory. He felt as if the goddess he had only heard about had finally graced him with her presence. It made him pious and emotional at the same time, making him recall her cosmic manifestation that covered the sky again and again. "That that was Goddess Echidna," Orc Sovereign Kayini answered Parmar while looking as stumped as him. She felt goosebumps as well, recalling the moment that had been etched on her mind forever. As monsters from Anfang, Parmar, and Kayini were really not in touch with their ancestral heritage back from the Continent of Echidna. They still carried on their traditions but there was not much faith in what they practiced. However, the sight of the goddess Echidna was enough to make them rethink their positions. There was something inherently divine in goddess Echidna''s manifestation that the Children of Echidna could instantly devote themselves to. It was as if they had finally seen the sight of their long-lost mother who they had been wishing to see from the moment they were born. Of course, reverence was not the only emotion Kayini and Parmar felt when Goddess Echidna revealed herself in the Land of the Faithless. They also felt instinctive fear towards someone who was the origin of their existence. These Children of Echidna could instinctively feel that the goddess could erase their existence from reality just by mere thought alone. She didn''t even have to use an ounce of her powers. After all, the monsters suffered from the Bloodline Shackles as well. Parmar and Kayini were not alone in feeling such things. All of the Children of Echidna who were alive and breathing had felt the goddess Echidna''s presence. They could instinctively know that something big had happened in the Land of the Faithless now that the goddess Echidna had shown herself in it, if only for briefly. Some even had epiphanies when they felt Goddess Echidna''s presence, which allowed them to sense where the presence originated from. These monsters immediately considered Reen to be the incarnation of their goddess Echidna. They started worshiping her in goddess Echidna''s stead, as her proxy in the Land of the Faithless. Some of them immediately thought of currying favors just with Eren so that they could be blessed by the goddess. "Anfang will change drastically in theing years. The Anfang Alliance will have its hands full dealing with the cmities and protecting the mortal popce from harm. So the Children of Echidna and the half-bloods will make theireback in Anfang. Without the divine formation''s suppression, we will have an easier time as well," Kayini said with an excited tone. Parmar nodded before adding further. "The divine formation has deteriorated but it is still working to some extent. It will keep the outsiders at bay for the time being. We have a little more than a hundred years for the divine formation topletely stop working. We We need to form strong ties with the City of White Raven from now on. We also need to make sure that we don''t give Eren any reason toin, lest our goddess gets angry at us," Parmar spoke in a grim tone as he looked at Kayini with an admonishing gaze. Kayini was made to remember the subtle threat she had given to Eren just before he started the Lazarus Project. At that time, she was still plenty doubtful of Eren pulling off what he had promised to her and the remaining three S-Ranked monsters. After all, who would believe a mortal blindly when he proimed that he would shatter the divine formation that nobody was able to put a dent in from the moment it was up and running from the Cmity Era? One could say that Kayani''s doubts were justified and the threat she had given to Eren was also a way for her to get the most out of the deal with Eren. However, not only Eren had done what he had promised but also made himself known as the goddess Echidna''s ally. Kayini couldn''t help but regret the words she had said to him. If possible, she wanted to go back in time and change her tone and words just so that Eren and the goddess by proxy would not get angry at her. "Don''t worry, Parmar. Things are still in our control. As long as we show enough sincerity to the goddess'' champion, she will not get angry at us," Kayini said with a determined voice. "We still have a head start over other Children of Echidna who are sure toe out of their woodwork and show themselves at the gates of Eren''s city. However, we are already inside the city. We allied with him when nobody was willing to. I''m sure Eren would consider that," Kayini reassured Parmar and herself with her rational words. "Let''s get moving then," Parmar looked in the distance before speaking in a low voice. "We need to act fast. The world of Anfang will never be the same after today. The previous structures and molds have all been broken by Eren. It''s time to form a new order. We must unite the Children of Echidna under one g and secure a new territory for ourselves. Gone are the days of Children of Echidna living in the Bands. Let''s im one of the newly forming continents for ourselvesC for us," Parmar''s ambitions were at their peak as he said this. One could say that the mes of ambitions were clearly seen burning in his eyes. Kayin and Parmar decided to leave the ce, intending to contact their respective monster tribes and allied forces. Eren hadpletely destroyed the fold and traditions that existed in Anfang to get Reen back. This was the time for the suppressed to make theireback. The monsters didn''t want to fall behind half-bloods in preparation for their eventual rise in Anfang. Chapter 1618 The Pride Breaker Chapter 1618 The Pride Breaker "Destruction births life indeed." Maya said to herself as she watched the conclusion of Eren''s project with her own eyes. As she sensed the aftermath of Eren''s deeds happening all across Anfang, she could not help but remember the words he had spoken to her in passing. One had to say that Maya had yed a huge role in making Eren''s project a sess. Her involvement had allowed Eren to act bolder and take bigger risks, ultimately winning a bigger reward. Of course, Maya did not feel like she was the cause of cmities happening all across the Land of the Faithless. This was because she knew that the world itself was fine and it was only the living beings, especially the mortals, who were caught in the crossfire. As far as the world of Anfang was concerned, the deterioration of the divine formation was a good thing. Even if the giant continent was in the process of splitting into multiple pieces ofnd, the world itself was bound toe to normalcy eventually. In fact, after a certain period, the world will flourish with new life because of the diversity of life it would create, which would be the result of today''s destruction. "He was right. He''ll eventually find a way to make me a living breathing human again if I stay with him," Maya thought to herself before deciding to retreat from the battlefield as well. *** Eren had seeded in getting Reen back. He had turned her into an ever-growing, ever-evolving Elder Seed Artifact. The Mana Essence sphere that he had robbed from La and Eliza had beenpletely consumed in making the two artifacts. The demonic saber did not consume too much of Eren''s time or resources in its creation. However, the artifact creation for Reen''s soul had been a pretty hectic experience for Eren and Alephee. Even after the involvement of the Mana Essence derived from more than 40,000 Rankers'' deaths and the Spiritual Force acquired from billions of souls in her vessel''s creation, Reen did not have any Ranking Status attached to her. She had lost her mana core in the process of turning into an Elder Seed Artifact. Or more like, she did not need a mana core anymore. So anything that was not needed was discarded in her rebirth. It was almost like an evolution process where the living beings acquired the characteristics for things that would help them survive. Elder Seed Artifacts had no definite Ranks to begin with. They were as strong as their wielders were. Crafted from immortal magic, they did not work on thews of mana. And yet, they adhered to the limits assigned to them by the Creation. Reen slept in Eren''s arms after her form was stabilized and her soul was rooted firmly in her current vessel. She closed her eyes and slept like she had been starving for a rest like this for decades on end. A light smile graced her lips as she embraced a peaceful slumber and indulged in a much-needed respite. One couldn''t me Reen for sleeping right in the middle of nowhere. She was mentally exhausted and spiritually shaken. It was as if there was some void in her soul that needed filling. Reen was in such a condition mentally because the goddess Echidna''s consciousness hadpletely retracted its presence from Reen''s soul, giving herplete autonomy. She was not the goddess'' incarnation anymore. She couldn''t be called the soul fragment of a higher being anymore. Reen had established herself as apletely separate entity that was not rted to the goddess Echidna or Demon Princes. And as long as she was notpletely destroyed by someone powerful, she could be said to be immortal as well. As such, she could be said to be walking on the path that would eventually set her free from the circle of life and death. Alephee was spiritually and physically drained because of operating on the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation as well. She had practically faced the entire burden of operating on the array formation from its start to conclusion. Thus, she needed a respite as well. So Eren asked Alephee to take charge of Reen''s well-being and retreat to a safe distance, away from the battlefield. He also asked Ivor and the rest of his fiends who had survived till this stage to retreat along with them. *** When every one of his allies was out of his eyesight, Eren stood on the battlefield devoid of any supporters. He stood at a distance from where Eliza was, waiting patiently for her to face him. Eren lit one of his Sativa Sticks and indulged in the peaceful feeling it brought him. He smoked right in front of Eliza while seeing her struggle to suppress the anomalies in her soul. Eliza felt like her blood was boiling seeing Eren subtly make fun of her. Yet, she did not attack him prematurely and decided to prioritize the well-being of her soul first. "What is he doing? Why doesn''t he attack those witches and finish them off once and for all?" Osha asked as she watched Eren from a distance. She had stress lines on her forehead looking at Eren''s mood. As far as she knew, Eren liked taking his enemies by surprise or when they were at their weakest. And Eliza Samael was as weak as she could get at this point. Under normal circumstances, Eren would have attacked Eliza after he got done with concluding his version of the Lazarus Project. So Osha did not understand what was stopping Eren from acting on his rules. Eren''s survival was necessary for Osha and Altair. This was because they had already renounced their allegiances to the Anfang Alliance by partnering up with Eren. At this point, both of them wanted to leave Anfang to facilitate their growth as Rankers. And Eren was their best bet. Even as a Sage Ranker herself, Osha was fearful of Eliza Samael who had only managed to regain her Ranking Status as a Grandmaster. After all, she had witnessed the might of the Endermes with her own eyes. Only now did she believe that the records rted to the Witch of the Endermes were not exaggerated at all. She could really kill Sage Rankers while being a Grandmaster. "He wants to break her pride," Altair answered Osha in a serious tone while looking at Eren''s spectral image. He had heard what Eren had said to the Witch of the Endermes. "Let''s return to the City of White Raven. We are not needed to assist him anymore. He wants to face that witch all by himself," Altair said before disappearing from his position. "Your summit is only a stepping stone for me" Osha mumbled a verse from Eren''s poem that he had said to her in the poetry challenge. The more she recalled Eren''s piece, the more moved she was while looking at the aftermath of his deeds all around her. She realized that Eren had not only broken Eliza''s pride but her as well by mocking her for having low ambitions. In the end, she sighed and left Eren alone, following Altair closely behind. Chapter 1619 Dignity, Envy, and Enmity P1 Chapter 1619 Dignity, Envy, and Enmity P1 On a deste, half-ruined field, a man yed with the smoke exhaled through his nostrils. A portion of the white smoke transformed into a miniature sparrow and took flight. Before it could traverse the skies, a flying snake, crafted from the same white smoke, struck. It ate the bird in one gulp. The snake, in turn, was devoured by an eagle. Ultimately, the eagle screeched before disintegrating into fragments, reverting to white smoke once again. "You you must be feeling pretty proud of yourself now that all your schemes have seeded, right?" Eliza stood upright, her voice icy, finally gainingplete control over her mind and suppressing Lady Zee''s consciousness temporarily. "Hmm?" Eren halted his y with the smoke, turning to Eliza. He chuckled before responding, "I''m indeed proud of my achievements. But you are wrong about thetter half of your opinion. Not all of my ''little schemes'' seeded. You see, one of them would have actually turned me into a Sage if things had gone my way. I was going to use that Mana Essence for myself if my artifact creation hadn''t failed initially. I believe it could have been possible. I would have, at the very least, reached the peak of the Grandmaster Rank even if my Elemental Attainments fell short in the final stage. But things didn''t go my way. Not the way I wanted them to at least. So I guess we all need to make somepromises in life," Eren sighed dramatically as he concluded. Upon realizing the potential gains from fulfilling Anfang World Will''s request, Eren''s ambitions soared. The prospect of bing a Sage loomed on the horizon, but not all of Eren''s ns unfolded as intended. Leaving Anfang after reaching the pinnacle of power had been Eren''s preference. Sagehood, once an unattainable dream in his previous timeline, would have offered a profound sense of aplishment. Still, Eren was content with the way things had turned out to be. Rescuing Reen and making her one of his pirs of strength for the future was his priority, which was what he seeded in. Everything else was just a bonus. "It seems you have the guts to dare big. And look how far you''vee. Your progress is indeed astounding. Too bad it came at the expense of so many lives you took." Elizamented while stepping forward. She told La and Le to retreat to a safe distance as well. Unlike before, she was notpletely sure of what would happen in her battle against Erenn. She did not want La and Le to get in the crosshairs. Though Eren had said his words casually, Eliza did not believe that they werepletely fictional. She could sense his ambitions through his Individuality. This was the man who had turned the Land of the Faithless upside down to get what belonged to him. Although she hated him for messing with her soul, she had to admit that Eren was a worthy adversary that needed to be dealt with with respect. "Coming from your mouth, those Spare me the moral high ground," Eren chuckled sardonically before speaking further. "You killed 40,000 Rankers from both Anfang and Layos armies to get your Ranking Status back. What was that for? Your act is justified just because you were the victim of a personal tragedy? And just because my actions led to the deaths of billions, I''m the one with "bigger ambitions? Do you think that I didn''t have my share of tragedies that made me shape into who I am today?" Eren asked Eliza in a cold yet casual tone. He sighed before speaking further. "Does the number of kills one has under their names make theme across as more evil than the rest? Even if I am to bebeled as the most evil Ranker of Anfang, I''ll ept thatbel from anyone else but you," Eren said as he stepped forward. "I envy you, Eren," Eliza said as she drank the potion La had given her before leaving. She emptied the vial in one gulp before speaking further. "If I was born in your time, I could have achieved much more. I could have had steady growth without worrying about my future. I would have left Anfang long ago if it wasn''t for the mess I had to deal with during the Cmity Era. I say this even after considering the state half-bloods had to live in after the war with the otherworlders. Rankers who did not have to face that era would never understand how lucky they are." Eliza spoke and summoned her sword in her hand. She gripped it tightly as she looked at Eren with a mix of emotions reflecting through her eyes. "Hahahaha," Eren burst intoughter when he heard Eliza''s words. "Keke. This is the funniest sentence I have heard in a while. But I guess I can understand why you would look at things this way. I get it now. Things indeede full circle in life," he said while activating the Asura runes spread across the length of his right arm. Eren remembered how he felt envy while witnessing Eliza''s resurrection. At that time, he felt that Eliza was blessed with all the right blessings, making her an exceptional Ranker across all generations. He envied the time she was born in which had given her more opportunities to sharpen her skills. In the end, he had envied her for having a better start from birth than him. After all, whether sessful people agree or not, one''s family had a huge role to y in one''s sess. And as far as Eliza''s starting point was considered, Eren couldn''t have asked for anything better than that. Only now did the butcher understand that the feelings of envy he had towards her were just the mental blocks in his head. He re-realized the meaning behind the statement "the grass is always greener on the other side." and why it was unavoidable sometimes no matter how "sessful in life" one was. Chapter 1620 Dignity, Envy, and Enmity P2 Chapter 1620 Dignity, Envy, and Enmity P2 There was a bit of a dilemma in cultivating the Sin of Pride Mark that Eliza had to face. It made her stand at the crossroads. Each of Eren''s words made sense to Eliza in some way. However, she had started to see Eren as one of her mental blocks in life. His very existence was a threat to her prideful nature. So she had to deny him and his opinions to validate her pride. And yet, having pride did not mean that Eliza had to bepletely dense about how Eren had waited for her to gain her bearing back, even if he had done it to hurt her pride. She decided to pay her due diligence so that Eren''s act would not be one of her mental blocks in the future. "I have to thank you for waiting for me to recover and get back to my senses, Eren," in a rare disy of sincerity, Eliza conveyed her gratitude to Eren. Elize decided to convey her gratitude to Eren so that the incident wouldn''t be a blemish on her pride. "Even if we were to battle each other to our deaths, I''d prefer if there was some dignity in the way we acted on our enmity. I have decided to give you thest rites that you deserve. I''ll also not target Reen or any of your allies after your death. As long as they don''t get it my way, I''ll not meddle with their affairs. However, I hope you don''t hold me responsible for not returning the favor to you personally. This is because I can''t let you live. You are perhaps the most interesting and also most dreadful chapter I have in my life. I''ll make sure that you arepletely eliminated from the face of this world just so I can finally move on. That is if you don''t run away from the battlefield and carry on the battle to its end." The Sin of Pride acting on her soul was indeed her shackle. She had to face Eren and kill him without using any tricks to soothe her agitated soul. So she stated what she thought was a fair deal to him. After saying what she had to say, the Witch of the Endermes raised her right hand. She made a half-lotus sign with her hand before twisting it, conjuring the Endermes all around her. After all, if Eren somehow managed to use his space-element runes by some miracle during their uing battle, there was nothing she could do. Eren narrowed his eyes on Eliza as he looked at her and processed her words. "I think you''re mistaken about something. You have managed to get your dignity back only because I allowed you to do so. Do you think I gave you time to recover just so I could run away from you in the end? Do you think I need to be as pretentious as you? I can take back what I have given you in a split second," Eren said and activated one of his Sin Series Authorities once again. Authority: Domain of Lust In the next moment, a domain of Sin Series formed taking Eren and Eliza inside it. Immediately after that, Eliza''s suppression of Lady Zee''s consciousness started to get challenged. Eliza''s face turned pale when she realized Eren still had the power to cause severe split personality symptoms in her. Eren snapped his fingers and the Sin Series domain vanished into thin air. This time, he had used his divinity to cast the domain, which put a visible strain on his body. So he had a bit of a problem maintaining it as well. However, one could easily identify that Eliza had it worse. The Endermes she had summoned all around her and in the surroundings turned ck. They lost their previous might and affected the very nature of the residual Endermes as well. It was as if the ck mes were detonating and consuming the Endermes that were known for being untamable and highly incinerating. "This is how easy it is for me to pull the rug under your feet, Miss Witch of the Endermes," Eren said as made use of his self-created demonic saber in a unique way. Both of his arms grew saber-edge-like protrusions along their length. Eren mixed his bloodline Ability along with the demonic saber''s unique form, making his arms slender and a bit elongated. It was as if he had turned both of his arms into foldable-sword-like weapons. As soon as Eren dispersed his Authority, Eliza managed to get her split thoughts in check. She looked at Eren warily. For the first time since she had received it, her always-active Sin Series Ability was showing signs of going haywire. She felt that a bacsh would erupt within her soul if she didn''t do something about it. "Eren Idril No no more tricks," Eliza said while taking a deep breath and massaging her forehead with her free hand. "If you can defeat me, I promise to never get in your way. If you manage to kill me right here, I promise that La and Le will not bother you as well. Is this is this enough for you to fight a fair fight with me? Or do you want to add anything else?" Eliza asked in a serious tone. Eren shook his head before responding. "I don''t want to strike deals with you. The task I did for you was thest. There shall be no more dealings with you," Eren said as he swung his arms around, trying to feel the arms he had converted into his dual des. Eren was experimenting with Asura at this point. As an Elder Seed Artifact, Asura gave more freedom to Eren when it came to its operability. So he wanted to see how imaginative he could get with his demonic saber. "That being said," Eren spoke casually. "I assure you that I won''t use the Lust Mark as a trigger against you in our battle. I never intended to do that in the first ce. We''ll have our fair fight. Even I want to see how it feels to fight with someone like you." "Very very well then," Eliza said before activating her Movement Spell. She also turned into her dragonoid form, intending to dominate Eren from the get-go. Eren emerald green eyes shone with anticipation and excitement as he sensed Eliza''s approach. He smiled wickedly before meeting Eliza''s charge head-on. Swoosh. sh. Boom. Chapter 1621 Sin of Wrath: Wraith Summoning Chapter 1621 Sin of Wrath: Wraith Summoning The once-barrennd that hosted powerful Rankers from Edinburgh and Layos became the battlefield for two newly ascended Grandmasters. These two A-ranked entities fought without exchanging words, not even screaming to express the pain inflicted by each other. This battle unfolded in utter silence as if the world around the two Rankers had lost all its colors, summoning them into a monochrome realm where only their attacks and weapons conversed. The two engaged without concern for the cmities unfolding across Anfang. An unspoken agreement dictated minimal mana usage for the time being. Both utilized their Elemental Attainments, infusing their Spiritual Force into attacks to determine the superiority of their intent-based magic. They fought dominantly with their physical prowess, almost as if these Grandmasters weren''t ustomed to fully wielding A-Rank capabilities for their own reasons. However, they were gradually adjusting, growing more serious in their battle with each passing moment. This was a sh between two fire element specialists. One perfected green mes, incinerating everything, while the other employed blue mes to absorb the heat from the green mes, rendering them impotent. If the green mes represented the pinnacle of the incineration concept, the blue mes were their counter, capable of devouring the incinerating heat. The blue mes resembled ravenous beasts, relishing the consumption of the green mes. As they fed on the Endermes, these azure blue mes burned even brighter, absorbing the heat and freezing the surrounding temperature until triggering the formation of ice in the nearby region. Yet, the green mes seemed fueled by a source far from exhaustion. Even after being devoured by the azure blue mes, they maintained a prominent presence on the battlefield, melting down the ice formations created by the azure blue mes. The domain of green and blue mes shed against each other as their respective casters fought using their weapons and fists. The two had several injuries inflicted on their bodies. Yet, neither of them wanted to back out. Eliza and Eren each had their own fire-element summons inside their domains which they used to counter each other''s moves. While Eren focused on the quantity of his summons that ranged from fire-element snakes to firebirds, Eliza summoned a fire wyvern at a time, showcasing her mastery over her summoning abilities. However, Eliza''s summons were special. They were not summoned using the normal mana but using thebination of death and Wrath Mana. They had mangled flesh attached to their bodies and their skeletal figures looked menacing. Eliza''s summons were wraith-like and seemingly unlimited in number. They were immune to regr fire damage. If Eren didn''t have the blue mes under his arsenal, he would have had his hands full dealing with the wraiths once again. Of course, Eren knew that Eliza had employed another of her Sin Series Abilities by summoning these wraiths. This Ability was granted to her by the Sin of Wrath Mark, which basically allowed her tomand those who had recently died on a battlefield with rage in their hearts. Eliza could summon these rageful warriors to do her bidding after their deaths. And she could keep them enved for an indefinite period of time after they were summoned, allowing her a privileged summoning skill that never had a run-out time. Eliza just needed to make sure that the undead summons she turned into her wraiths did not have more Spiritual Force than the current her before their deaths took ce. Otherwise, she wouldn''t be able to control these wraiths and also receive some bacsh. However, this was when Eliza''s always-active Sin Series Ability granted her one more boon. It made sure that she could summon practically anyone as a wraith as long as the previously stated summoning conditions were satisfied. One could say that Eliza''s Sin of Pride Ability had a synergetic effect on her remaining trump cards. It not only allowed her to increase the might of her green mes but also enabled her to summon a special kind of summons that was always angry and more vicious than regr summons. The wraiths carried all the rage in their hearts from the time of their deaths, making them bloodthirsty and seeking revenge on anyone who was living. Their rage was cultivated to even greater heights when their summoner woke them up from their eternal slumber and forced them to fight a fight that wasn''t theirs. As a result, the wraiths were a force that the normal army of Rankers couldn''t effectively fight against. They had otherwordly mana surrounding them which could affect the psyche of the living beings. The regr Rankers would have nightmares for years on end even if they were to survive battling against a horde of such wrathful wraiths. As the battlefield had nock of fresh victims who had died not too long ago, Eliza had all the ingredients she needed to summon an army of wraiths. With each passing moment, she was summoning loads of wraiths who were getting crushed by Eren''s summons just as quickly. Eliza didn''t like to summon her wraiths when she was not fighting against an army of Rankers. However, she didn''t shy away from using another of her Sin Series Abilities against Eren now that he had a way to counter her Endermes. Eren had already uncovered how Eliza was able to summon the wraiths when he had visited the Purgatory for thest time. He knew that her Sin Series Ability was different from normal summoning methods. Her summons could sustain their existence for an indefinite amount of time as long as they weren''tpletely destroyed by her opponents. She didn''t need to employ her mana in summoning them or maintaining their existence. The Wrath Mana''s enving abilities had defied the logic of mana this way. It made Eliza a better wraith summoner than Eren while not negatively affecting her path as a Warrior ss Ranker. And this was when Eren had unlocked a Summoner ss for himself that allowed him to counter Eliza''s summons effectively. If he didn''t have the azure blue mes or the summoning powers he had cultivated for himself, the Witch of the Endermes would have easily defeated him. === AN: Eliza''s Sin of Wrath Ability: Wraith Summoning was exined in chapter 1495. Chapter 1622 The Born Strongest Vs The Strongest Struggler Chapter 1622 The Born Strongest Vs The Strongest Struggler Blue Fire Domain. Cold Haze. When Eliza sumbed to Eren''s spell, she sensed her body heat siphoning away,pelling her bodily functions to decelerate. This happened despite her attempt to shield herself from the blue mes by enveloping her in the Endermes. The blue mes didn''t scorch Eliza''s skin, but an unwarranted hibernation-like effect seized her. Her body temperature would have plummeted dangerously against Eren if not for her Endermes, guarding her from frost-like damage. Encountering a fire-element Ranker using a uniquely employed Way of Fire was a first for Eliza. Opting for a defensive stance, she curtailed her offensive moves, precisely timing and matching Eren''s attacks. Yet, being on the defensive meant enduring umting injuries with no immediate prospect of reciprocating damage. The sky-blue mes darkened as they absorbed the perpetual heat emanating from the Endermes. The mes seemed even more voracious, climbing Eliza''s limbs to absorb more warmth. It was as if these mes were intoxicated by the warmth of their targets. Eliza''s fire-element summons proved ineffective against Eren''s creatures conjured with the azure blue mes. However, Eliza''s wraith summons were immune to the heat-siphoning damage from the blue mes. Lacking living, breathing bodies, their mangled and barely-there organs as well as skeletal frames remained unaffected, presenting an effective counter against Eren''s Blue Fire Domain and Cold Haze. Upon realizing that Eliza''s wraiths were shifting the bnce, Eren altered his strategy. Instead of fire-element summons, he employed earth-element and wind-element summons, coating them with azure blue mes to make them resilient against Eliza''s wraiths. Eren''s versatility proved valuable, introducing the necessary variety to match and counter Eliza''s moves. Eliza endeavored to maintainposure in her battle with Eren, but it was evident she was caught off guard by his ability to match her, even after revealing most of her trump cards. The more they shed, the more Eliza grasped that Eren was an abomination surpassing even her. Despite her blessings and natural gifts, Eliza, a Ranker who had pushed the boundaries, found Eren to be beyond a typical Ranker. Eren wielded multiple sses, offsetting Eliza''s apparent advantages. His mastery over multiple Elemental Attainments rivaled, if not surpassed, that of a regr Grandmaster Ranker. It was as if he had pursued each element and ss individually, amalgamating the gains from multiple lifetimes. However, what intimidated Eliza the most was Eren''s mastery over Weapon Comprehension. Witnessing him from afar was impressive, but facing him in personalbat, exchanging blows, and shes, made her heart skip a beat. Eren had basically turned his arms into his weapons. Whenever he got a chance to approach and attack Eliza, he did it with such finesse that her defensive stance was breached more often than it should have. And this was when Eliza herself had exceptional Weapon Comprehension to begin with. As a result, Eliza suffered from multiple grievous injuries while trying to study Eren''s attack pattern. She used her army of wraiths as a defensive line to keep her distance from Eren while observing the variations in Eren''s attack patterns. On the other hand, no matter how Eren pressed his advantage against Eliza, he didn''t feel like he was winning. Even though she suffered grievous injuries by changing her battle stance midway, Eren could see why Eliza had chosen to go with that particr option. If anything, he felt more stressed the more he brought Eliza on the backfoot. This was because Eliza was reading Eren''s moves. With her mastery over the Weapon Comprehension, it wasn''t difficult for her toe up with a good counter against Eren''s butchering skills. It was as if she was trying to create a new attack pattern just for the sake of countering Eren''s moves. Eren had to say that Eliza had natural battle instincts. She could instinctively understand her opponent''s weakness and react ordingly. She also knew when to shift between offense and defense, enabling her to deal maximum damage to her enemies while suffering minimum repercussions while doing it. Of course, when the two exceptional Rankers fought, the repercussions were unavoidable to both sides. Still, Eren didn''t want to turn his offense down a notch. If anything, he was trying his best to evolve his skills as the two fought, making him look as if he was just that thirsty to torture the Witch of the Endermes in anyway he could. One could say that this was a battle between the one who was born the strongest of their generation and the one who had be the strongest of their generation with their hard work alone. As such, the battle represented the sh between the two beginnings. *** At this point, both the Grandmaster Rankers realized that their summons were practically useless on the battlefield. Because she didn''t have to use her mana reserves for the most part, Eliza could have kept summoning the wraiths to eventually wear down Eren''s summons. However, she didn''t want to use her Sin Series Ability if it didn''t grant her a surefire and quick way to win against Eren. her instincts were telling her not to prolong her battle with Eren any more than she had to. Swoosh. ng. Boom. The summons from both sides were dispersed into thin air as Eren and Eliza shed with each other personally. Eren had a deep sh wound across his torso while Eliza''s left arm was almost severed from her shoulder joint once again. It was apparent that Eren had targeted her recently joined arm purposely, exploiting the injury she had already suffered during her fight with Demonmir. The two were forced to separate from each other when their respective spells shed, generating a repulsive force strong enough to push them apart several meters from their initial positions. "You how long have you been nning to battle against me?" Eliza finally broke the silence. She gasped for air and wiped the blood on her lips with the back of her right hand as she stared at Eren. "Long eno *cough cough cough*... Long enough!" Eren responded while trying to cough out the mixture of blood and other bodily fluids. The internal bleeding he had to face was more severe than Eliza''s despite thetter being on the defensive stance most of the time. === AN: Blue Fire Domain and Cold Haze were exined in chapters 249 and 250 respectively. Chapter 1623 Emotionally Defunct or Emotionally In Better Control? Chapter 1623 Emotionally Defunct or Emotionally In Better Control? Instant Reset! Expedited Regeneration! Eren snapped his fingers and activated his bloodline Ability at the same time, allowing him to recover from serious injuries within a few blinks. His bones mended and the severe cuts deep enough to hurt his organs became flesh wounds. The Rank Upgrade had its perks. Eren was really bing the undying cockroach that his enemiesbeled him to be just before their deaths. At his current level, if his body had any real threat, it came from his own soul that had been turned divine. It was as if his body was struggling to contain his soul within itself. The battle with Eliza was turning into a beneficial event for Eren because of his condition. The constant damage and regeneration made his body subconsciously adjust its attributes to better suit his divinity. As a result, Eren kept growing in his Ranking Status at an rming rate the more he fought Eliza and got battered in the process. It was as if he was using the Witch of the Endermes and her mes to temper his physical form. The battle also helped Eren stabilize his newly formed A-Rank mana core. He was solidifying his gains and readjusting to his newly obtained Rank with each passing second. Of course, Eren had lost count of how many times he was forced to use Instant Reset. This wasn''t the kind of growth he was seeking. However, Eliza''s skills forced him to tread on this path. She really was every bit of a monster the legends about her depicted her to be. *** ''This brat. How did he grow so much within just a decade?'' Eliza tried to get her breathing to normalcy as she thought to herself. The splitting headache she felt was growing because of the state of her soul and the continuous battles she was forced to fight. She could have suppressed Lady Zee''s soulpletely if she had just enough time and rest. With her Sin of Pride''s always-active Ability, it would have been an effortless process. However, her current situation allowed Lady Zee''s subconscious soul topletely fuse with hers, making it a part of herself. Lady Zee''s soul had lost its original identity, bing one with Eliza. Thus, Eliza couldn''t continue to suppress Lady Zee''s subconscious anymore because her soul and even the Sin Series Ability treated it as a part of her own soul. Basically, Eliza couldn''t suppress her own soul. Lady Zee''s memories and her experiences were slowly fusing with Eliza, making it difficult for thetter to retain her identity. As she fought with Eren in the real world, she also fought with Lady Zee''s soul in her Soul Space. The mental war she fought with Lady Zee was worse for Eliza because it did not have a clear winner. The only thing that kept Eliza in control of her current situation was her Always-active Ability. Thus, instead of fighting against Lady Zee''s consciousness, Eliza decided topletely assimte with her soul while retaining her core personality intact. *** The standstill between the two Grandmasters onlysted for about a minute. After stabilizing their forms, they both were ready to reopen each other''s wounds afresh. "You you are a weird man, Eren," Eliza spoke up after taking a deep breath. "I sense a bit of anger in your attacks directed towards me. But the more you are fighting with me, the more your feelings of anger are turning into something else," Eliza said as she looked at Eren and observed his deadpan expression. "Yeah? Then what am I thinking right now?" Eren smiled and asked Eliza. He let her Soul Sense wash over him without any hindrance, allowing her to get a firm read on him. He did that because he was not scared of her Spiritual Force anymore. Even though it was as potent as it was before, Eren felt as if there was something different about his soul that wouldn''t be suppressed by mortal souls anymore. "You are neither excited nor disinterested to fight with me. Not really," Eliza said as she narrowed her eyes on Eren. "Rather, you just want to be done with me. You are more concerned about what should be your next course of action. You are thinking of leaving Anfang soon. So your mind is already revolving around that possibility," Eliza said as she gripped her sword hard. Her near-boundless Spiritual Force had allowed her to read others'' intentions effortlessly, a feat known to Eren from the very first time he had met with her. "Isn''t that normal?" Eren asked as he raised his eyebrows and looked at Eliza with a puzzled look. "It is not," Eliza said and shook her head in denial. "It would have been more normal had you fought with me while feeling the rage inside you. It would have been normal if you had tried to vent your frustration on me, which I''m sure you would have felt over thest decade. And yet, here you are, battling with me not out of personal vengeance but as a way to be finally done with thest problem you have in Anfang. Earlier I had thought of you as one of high-functioning psychopaths. However, I doubt even they would have the kind of defunct emotions you have. It feels as if your soul is someone''s failed experiment. The only real and genuine emotions you showed were directed at your demon beastpanion Reen. And even then, they were.." Eliza paused abruptly as something clicked in her mind. "Wait," Eliza''s eyes widened in surprise as she processed the implications of her analysis. "How... how many Sin Series Marks do you have on your soul right now?" Eliza asked Eren warily, hesitant to believe her own hypothesis. She knew Eren had received more than two Sin Series Marks on his soul; she had monitored the destruction of her Purgatory. However, she found it hard to believe that Eren could carry more Sin Series Marks than her, especially considering he was just a Master Ranker, and his Spiritual Force wasn''t as profound as when he had received those remaining Sin Series Marks. "Well... all seven of them," Eren replied nonchntly. Only now did Eliza realize the reason why the Seven-headed Serpent Statue had acted oddly when Eren had received his first two Sin Series Marks in her presence. Chapter 1624 Dragonoid Vs Dragonoid Chapter 1624 Dragonoid Vs Dragonoid "All seven of them," Eren replied nonchntly. ''I I was right. This man he has all seven Sin Series Marks on his soul,'' Eliza received another shock from Eren. ''How is that possible? How is his soul not destroyed by now? Even during the Cmity Era, the number of demonic Rankers who could carry more than two Sin Series Marks on their souls were considered elites. I was the only one here in Anfang who could wield three Marks. I was told that even outside Anfang, the demonic Rankers who could wield four Sin Series Marks on their soul without losing their identity in the process could be counted on one''s fingers and considered as the true demons. Then what would they say to this brat who has all seven of the Sin Series Marks on him?'' Eliza felt likeughing sardonically at the number of times Eren had managed to astonish her. This was the first time she felt as if she was nothing specialpared to Eren. Eliza felt that her soul was bound to face the repercussions after the battle because her pride was genuinely hurt. But she suppressed the feelings of inferiority for the time being before they could consume her mind. Eren pressed his lips together in contemtion before responding to Eliza. "I indeed received all seven of the Sin Series Marks. But I think you are mistaken about something here. The seven Sin Marks have little impact on the way I feel about things. Err I mean they can only affect me when I allow them to," Eren said and smiled. "It''s not because I became what I am today because I received all seven Sin Series Marks. It''s because I am like this that all the seven Sin Series Marks were epted by my soul," Eren said and canceled the weapon-like transformation of his limbs. In the next moment, Eren opened the palm of his right hand and summoned Asura in its regr form. He changed into his Berserker ss beforementing further. "It''s simple really. My emotions don''t control me. I control my emotions. That being said, it is easy for me to feel wrath and hate towards you if I allow my mind to feel. But I guess be careful what you wish for." Eren said in a casual voice before closing his eyes. When he opened them in the next moment, Eliza could sense boundless wrath within him directed towards her. Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Wrath The Wrath Mana domain was subconsciously deployed by Eren when he allowed himself to feel the rage directed toward Eliza. It was as if he had willingly flipped a switch inside him that made him suddenly cultivate the emotions of anger and revenge. ''Can he really be called a Demonic Ranker at this point? I doubt even the Seven Demon Princes would be more demonic than this man.'' Eliza asked herself as she started harnessing her Wrath Mana as well. She could tell that there was a sudden mood shift within Eren. she could instinctively feel that this was not very good news for her. What Eliza didn''t realize was the fact that once Eren allowed himself to be consumed by the feelings of Wrath, it was very difficult to flip the switch inside him ande back to his usual self. It was as if Eren had a tap inside him that was easy to open and difficult to close. Without a moment''s dy, Eliza activated her dragonoid form, growing draconic scales over her skin. Her stature increased and her aura intensified. She grew a tail behind her that could act independently. Her limbs were injected with draconic strength and her soul felt a little less troubled than before. ''This the headache vanished after I used my bloodline Ability to partially transform. I get it now. The vessel''s original soul... It can''t contend to take over my body if I use my bloodline Abilities to transform.'' Eliza finally realized the trump card she was looking for. A knowing smile graced her lips when she realized things had finally started to work out for her. After using the dragonoid form against Demonmir, Eliza was a bit hesitant to use it against Eren because of the kind of pressure it put on her body as the aftereffect.However, if Eliza could fight Eren peacefully without having to worry about how she should suppress a foreign soul fused within her, she could really bring out her A-game. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. The Berserker ss Eren and Eliza shed with each other once again. This time, Eliza was able to push Eren back by 100 meters with her pure physical force alone. She didn''t let Eren have a breather and followed right behind him. ng. ng. ng. It was now Eren''s turn to go on the defensive as Elizaunched her assault with fearsome draconic might. Each of her sword strikes cut through the Earth Walls Eren had created around him in defense. She let her sword shes cut through his elemental summons and effortlessly breached his safe zone. "Hmmm!" Eren groaned in pain. Eliza''s sword had managed to lodge through his abdomen and carve out a part of his flesh, making Eren flesh above his right waist. It also made his right thigh vanish into thin air as it was separated from his body and consumed by the Endermes. Since Eren could use his severed flesh to mend his wounds, Eliza had decided to destroy him bit by bit. She decided to hack Eren''s body part by part before burning away his flesh pieces, not allowing him to heal himself as quickly as before. She also injected her Wrath Mana into the wounds, causing a more potent form of Foreign Mana Invasion than before. Before he could effectively make use of his Wrath Mana or his Berserker ss, Eliza in her dragonoid form had managed to overpower him effortlessly. For some reason, she was even stronger than before when she had fought with Demonmir in her dragonoid form earlier. Eliza realized during mid-battle that the curse of soul fusion Eren had embedded within her was also a form of blessing when it came to using her bloodline transformations. This was because she had to fight another battle with the beastly consciousness within her bloodline to be inplete control of herself. It was part of the bloodline shackles after all. However, Lady Zee''s soul had be an anchor that allowed her to keep her senses and not get consumed by the beastly consciousness. And since Lady Zee was not a half-blood when she died, her soul could not contend to take control of her body. As such, all of Eliza''s debuffs were removed by default and her perks were enhanced. Blink. Eren disappeared from his position before Eliza could hurt him more. He looked even more battered and bloody than before. It was as if a surgery had gone horribly wrong and his body was missing flesh from various parts as a result. "Fufufufu. Little kitten, I feel great now," Eliza chuckled as she saw Eren appear at a safe distance away from her. "Why are you running away from me now? This is where the real battle begins you see," she said as she leisurely walked towards Eren. "Yeah?" Eren seemed unbothered despite the kind of grievous injuries Eliza had inflicted on him. "Then I guess I need to get serious as well," Eren said in a cold and callous voice, a sight of him that he was yet to bring out in the battle. In the next moment, he summoned his Hex gear set and transformed simrly as Eliza. "No no fucking way," Eliza''s confidence felt a tremor of uncertainly once again when she saw what Eren had transformed into. Even without harnessing the draconic bloodline, he had transformed into a draconic being. Eren had also transformed to be a dragnoid. === AN: Eren''s dragonoid form was mentioned in chapter 1463. Chapter 1625 Elizas Sin of Envy Chapter 1625 Eliza''s Sin of Envy Eliza realized something as she saw Eren transforming into a dragonoid using his Hex Artifact Set. She realized that Eren had been obsessed with countering her in every possible way. He had always nned to face her after her rebirth in a new vessel. Because the dragonoid transformation wasn''t something that could be unlocked on a moment''s notice. Although the Dragonoid transformation that Eren had tapped into was done using the artifact set, Eliza didn''t feel that it was an inferior and shoddy copy of what she could do as a genuine dragon half-blood. Rather, she sensed a strong mana signature from Eren, allowing her to know that Eren had outdone even the most established artifact creators of Anfang. Eliza could sense a wyvern''s bloodline had been used by Eren to trigger the dragonoid transformation. Typically, Eliza should have the superiority with her genuine draconic transformation. However, Eren hadpensated for the inferiority of the bloodline energy by making his artifact set more durable and resilient. This type of artifact creation had never been attempted in the Land of the Faithless ever before. Even the legendary artifacts from the Cmity Era would pale inparison with Eren''stest creations. After all, Eliza was aware of the current standards of Anfang''s artifact makers. None of them were able to create an artifact set that would allow them to turn into a dragonoid. If Anfang Alliance had ess to Eren''s knowledge and artifact sets, the Sages it deployed would have posed a genuine threat to Eliza. Eren had fine-tuned a Hex Artifact for himself that allowed him to take advantage of all his strong suits. He could use his bloodline powers while using the artifact set, enhancing their effects. He could also use his multi-element and multi-weaponpatibilities to bring out the versatility in his attacks. This was not all. Eliza also realized something else. Eren had achieved all this while La was keeping tabs on him. He was a skilled potioner, an exceptional artifact creator, a knowledgeable Array Expert, andstly, a multi-ss Ranker. It was as if he hadbined the expertise in all his fields toe up with his way to handle his problems. And as far as Eliza knew, Eren was barely a 30-year-old upstart Ranker. Even if Eliza were to add Eren''s devouring abilities that allowed him to assimte others'' experiences and knowledge, the assimtion itself couldn''t have allowed him to be this good in every field his Ranking Path currently consisted of. The way he had handled the Lazarus Project made Eliza feel a shiver run down her spine. If he had a few more years to grow, she figured he would have been able to prevent her from resurrecting herself without letting any harme to Reen. *** There was a reason why Eren didn''t allow himself to be consumed by the feelings of rage from the get-go. He always had a problem donning the Hext artifact and tapping into the dragonoid transformation. It made him go berserk, making him lose control over his emotions and blurring his thoughts. After all, Eren had thoroughly tested the Hex Artifact Set''s usability in the battle by donning it to take care of the Rankers from Layos. At that time, he was so out of focus after using the artifact that Reva Rain had managed to sneak up upon him. Eren had made a lot of improvements in the Hex Artifact Set after that incident. He also added a wyvern''s soul into the mix, which made matters a bit worse for him. The draconic soul amplified his emotions of hatred and anger to abnormal levels. Eren figured that the Hex Artifact Set would be more detrimental to the user who wore it if it was being worn by a regr Ranker. After all, those who allowed themselves to get consumed by anger and couldn''t think straight for themselves were bound to attract a cmity upon themselves. With his current mastery in the field of artifact creation, Eren''s artifact sets could only be worn by him. Only someone with his mindset could control their actions while wearing the set, if only barely. One could say that they were defective pieces that only worked for him. As the creator of the artifact set himself, the butcher knew about its shorings better than anybody. If he were to express his feelings of anger out loud from the start, they would start having apounding effect on him after he wore the artifact set. So he leashed those feelings in his heart while battling with Eliza. This was so that he could use the artifact set at the right time. *** "You wanted me angry?" Eren''s voice sounded guttural and beastly as she spoke to Eliza. "Congrattions. Now I''m angry," Eren said before disappearing from his position, leaving the sunken region behind him. The next few seconds were a blur for the witnesses from both sides. Eliza found a draconic palm m against her face. The next thing she felt was being weightless. And then all of a sudden, she was mmed against the ground, adding to the tremors the battlefield was experiencing. "Aa" Eliza''s shrill was cut short when she was forcefully pulled out of her sunken hole. Her cries became non-existent when a draconic roar sounded in the surroundings, bringing with it a destructive fire breath. Roar! Roar! Eliza released her own fire breath, meeting Eren''s breath attack withpressed forms of the Endermes. She quickly tried to pull away from Eren''s current position, in an attempt to create a safe distance. Unfortunately for her, Eren followed his breath attack with dozens of sword shes that cut through the cluster of blue and green mes. These sword attacks were embedded with Eren''s Elemental Attainments in various elements as well as the Sin Series Mana. The most noticeable integration in Eren''s attacks was the integration of the Wrath Mana. Only now did Eliza understand how much hate and vengeance Eren was harboring in his heart for her. The potency of the Wrath Mana was so strong that his azure blue mes took the shape of the dragonheads before attacking Eliza all at once. ''This. From acting neutral to bingpletely enraged. What What kind of demon am I fighting with?'' Chapter 1626 Titan Transformation Chapter 1626 Titan Transformation ? Eliza had a hard time trying to keep up with Eren as he attacked her in every form he could. Her skin was getting scorched by the mes that didn''t burn. And this was her first time getting injured by someone else''s mes who had the same Ranking Status as her. Boom. Boom. Boom. No matter how hard Eliza tried, she had to face the brutal attacks Eren subjected her to in various forms. His Weapon Comprehension was as profound as hers if not more. This was despite the fact that she had centuries to hone her skills while he barely had a few decades. Eren''s Elemental Attainments in the fire-element weren''t as profound as Eliza''s. However, he made up for it by using his various Elemental Fusions, Spell Fusions, and Spell Integrations. Eliza felt like she wasn''t fighting with one man but an entire army of elite Rankers by herself. When the Witch of the Endermes tried to summon the Wraiths to impede Eren''s movements, he tapped into his white-haired transformation. Turning into a necromancer on the fly, he used his Sin Series Authority and necromancer powers against her. The Wraiths that Eliza had summoned turned against her, attacking her in hordes. Eliza had to forcefully make the Wraiths disappear by disrupting her own Sin of Wrath Domain. When Eliza was metaphorically pushed against her wall, she activated another of the trump cards. "Don''t fucking underestimate me," Eliza screamed before casting a tripleyered domain. This domain was created using thebination of the Endermes-driven fire-element domain, Domain of Wrath, Domain of Pride, and Domain of Envy. Eliza''s third Sin Series AbilityC Domain of Envy. The Domain of Envy allowed Eliza to create a spectral version of someone she envied. She could use this Ability along with the Sin of Wrath,bining them to create a Wraith as strong as her opponent was, copying the opponents'' attacks and Elemental Attainments. Eliza''s Sin of Envy Ability wasn''t as strong as it sounded if it was cast as a standalone Ability. However, afterbining it with her always-active Sin of Pride Ability as well as Sin of Wrath Abilities, it was taken to another level. The synergistic effects of the three Abilities Combined allowed Eliza to wield Authority-like powers even when her soul hadn''t touched the divine. In the past, Eliza had employed this triple-domain attack on a group of Titans who had tried to surround and kill her. She was able to take care of a pseudo-Saint Ranked Titan using this power, making her the strongest Titan yer in the history of Anfang. *** Eren found his base stats suppressed when he was subjected to Eliza''s tripleyered domain. In the next moment, he saw someone he had killed on the battlefield between the two kingdoms earlier to be resurrected as a Wraith by Eliza. This Wraith was no other than the King''s Hand Garos Renar. Eliza also summoned a bunch of Sages Eren had killed before turning them into wraiths who had strong grudges and resentment against Eren. She then used her Sin of Pride Ability to give them the same kind of powers that Eren possessed, in the hopes of allowing them to contend against him long enough for her to finish him off once and for all. Since Eliza had summoned these Wraiths using thebination of her two Sin Series Abilities, she believed that Eren wouldn''t be able to take control of them like before. She was indeed right. However, she had missed something very crucial in her calctions. "Fucking maggots," Eren screamed in anger as he looked at the mangled forms of the Sages he had already killed. He then watched as these Sages spectrally made themselves look like him. The effects of donning the Hex Artifact Set were strong on him. As a result, Eliza''s move irritated Eren to no end. In his rage, he wielded his divine powers once again without caring about the repercussions it would have on his body. "Nobody''sing between you and me anymore. I won''t allow it," the butcher''s voice was akin to a divine oracle spoken by the very sky itself. He raised his hands before driving his right fist into his left palm. Sin Series Authority: Domain Cancetion "Aaaaaargh!" Eliza received another bacsh as her Sin Series Abilities were forcefully canceled by Eren''s Authority. She couldn''t even employ the trump card she had used to fight against Titans. Eren''s Wraith clones dispersed on their own when Eliza''s tripleyer domain was canceled forcefully. The trump card was reversed as soon as it was cast. Eliza hadn''t felt this helpless even when she fought against the Titans all by herself. Eliza stopped caring about her physical and mental well-being after her Abilities were canceled. She decided to use herplete bloodline transformation at this point just so she could pummel Eren into the ground andpletely crush him. The green mes surrounding Eliza''s hand shot up, forming a protective shell around her. The mes transformed into a beast, starting withrge wings, followed by a serpent-like torso and four powerful limbs. Razor-sharp talons formed on the limbs, and horn-like protrusions grew on the beast''s crown and neck. Dragon scales covered its body, including a long tail with protrusions. The green dragon, standing 70 meters tall, appeared intimidating in the grand hall. Despite its size, it was a significant threat to the vulnerable human teenagers in its presence. The dragon roared loudly. Eliza felt inplete control of herself when she transformed into her true dragon form. The muddled memories and interference that subconsciously came from Lady Zeepletely disappeared. In fact, Eliza could feel that she would be able to sustain this transformation for longer because of her soul fusion with Lady Zee. This was something she hadn''t expected. Otherwise, she would have made use of the transformation a long time ago. "ROARRRRRR!" The butcher looked at Eliza''s transformation with cold eyes. "I was waiting for this," he mumbled to himself while controlling the feelings of rage as best as he could. "Do you think I''m as gullible as I used to be in the past? Do you think I can get scared into submission by that?" Eren asked as he stepped forward. A red tattoo of a zing sun appeared between his eyebrows before he triggered a unique transformation for himself as well. In the next moment, Eren''s form was surrounded by golden lightning as his body started to shapeshift. A blinding golden thunderbolt was struck from the sky on him, enveloping his form. Titan Transformation! Chapter 1627 Mythical Beast Vs Walking Calamity Chapter 1627 Mythical Beast Vs Walking Cmity "This how how did he turn into a Titan?" Le asked herself in a low voice as she watched Eren''s Titan form. Eren had turned into a giant of about 100 meters in height, towering well over Eliza who had tapped into her bloodline transformation and became a dragon. Incidentally, Eren still had his Hext Armor Set on him, turning him into a Titan Dragonoid who looked as vicious as he was intimidating. The wings on his back were as big as Eliza''s and his draconic face looked full of hatred and anger. Eren''s mana signatures hadpletely changed to make it look like he had really turned into a Titan, preventing Eliza and other witnesses from assuming that this was an illusion or a spell-driven transformation. It was as if the Titan from the Cmity Era had been left behind in the Land of the Faithless and he was suddenly showing himself out in the open. The dragon roared and the Titan summoned roared back in his guttural voice. Eren summoned his demonic saber which changed its size and shape to match his current needs. After all, Asura was an Elder Seed Artifact. Changing its shape to suit its owner''s needs was almost like it''s second nature. "La, why didn''t you inform our master about this?" Le turned towards her sister and asked in a shaky voice. Thetter shook her head before answering. "Do you think I wouldn''t have let our master know about this monstrosity if I was aware?" La asked her sister in a frustrated voice. "I only thought that we were nning to steal theyout for the Soul Seed Insertion Array from the City of Lancelot. But I guess Eren had nned to steal something else from House Lancelot as well." "That robbery to get the Soul Seed Insertion Array!" Le realized what Eren had done, widening her eyes in surprise. "He must have gotten his hands on the Titan''s corpse that was killed by the Titan yer Shallot Lancelot." La nodded her head, supporting Le''s conjecture. "I didn''t know Eren''s bloodline could assimte with a Titan from Ansia as well. This this is huge. No wonder Master Eliza wanted to trigger her bloodline evolution using Reen. She could have reached greater heights than her peak in the past had she seeded in her n. s," La sighed in disappointment as she looked at the sky that had be the battlefield for the two giant entities. *** One of the biggest advantages of tapping into a bloodline transformation was the fact that it would refill one''s mana core instantly, giving them additional time and fuel to keep on fighting. This was the reason why Eliza hadn''t used her dragon transformation against Demonmir even when he made her desperate to do so. Eliza didn''t want to waste the one-time opportunity she had to refill her mana core on Demonmir only to be outfoxed by Eren in the end. Eren had something simr going inside his head as well. He knew about the bloodline transformation quite well. Eren could guess that Eliza would tap into her bloodline transformation when she was in her most desperate situation, to potentially turn the tides in her favor. Thus, he saved this trump card forst as well and only revealed it after his enemy turned into a dragon. Another benefit both Eliza and Eren enjoyed by tapping into their respective transformations was rted to how they could galvanize the mana around them. As their size and stature increased, the sphere of influence within which they could make the mana in the surroundings obey their will also increased exponentially. Meaning, that both of them could cast elemental spells that dealt hundreds or even thousands of times more damage than before. This was the reason why the Rankers feared dragons and the Titans from the Cmity Era. The Titans were called the Walking Cmity because they only needed to cast single and most straightforward spells they would have in their arsenal to destroy an entire regionpletely. This was also the reason why fully-grown dragons were deemed mythical beasts that needed countries toe together and open a united front tobat them. The physical form of destruction that both fully grown dragons and Titan could bring about was a separate matter altogether. This was why creatures like these were treated as a catastrophic level threat by the Rankers of the Land of the Faithless. Sometimes even the most potent forms of spells or Array Formations were not enough to stop a casual attack from these monstrosities. The Battle Formations only prolonged the inevitable for the Rankers fighting against such creatures. Not even Sages were enough to deal with such entities all by themselves. They needed to battle in groups, preferably using the Battle Formations, to even stand a chance to pose a threat to them. One could say that the Sages from the Anfang Alliance were fortunate. They were not present on the battlefield, sparing them the dreadful sight in front of them. Otherwise, they would have lost their cool seeing a Titan appear in the Land of the Faithless for the first time after the Cmity Era. *** The sky of the battlefield was lit up like never before. The view of the Divine Formation that had appeared in the sky was blocked as the two A-ranked giants cast their respective spells. It was as if waves of green and azure blue mes were shing against each other. Incidentally, the area of influence for these mes had exceeded the size of the battlefield. The potency of these mes had also increased. If these mes were to be cast on the ground at this point, it would have turned the two big regions from Edinburgh and Layos kingdom into wastnds. Not that the two regions weren''t barren to begin with. Roar! The dragon tried to bite and tear through the Titan''s flesh with its maws and giant beastly ws. However, it had to be wary of the Titan''s saber which could cut through its defenses and even manage to hurt its dragon scales. Eliza attacked Eren with her fire breath as well as her physical attacks. She had stopped using the Sin Series Mana in her attacks, taking the lesson from her previous experience with Eren. "Grgrgrgrgrgr. You have just made a fool of yourself by turning into a Titan, Eren. I am called the strongest Titan yer of Anfang for a reason," Eliza''s thunderous voice boomed in the surroundings as she spoke to Eren while stabilizing herself in the air using her giant wings. Getting past her initial shock, it didn''t look like she was afraid of Eren anymore. If anything, she saw Eren''s figure as a challenge for herself, a challenge she was ready to face without there being any hesitation. For her, defeating a Titan was an aim that she had already achieved in the past. She just needed to relive her past glory. "That may be true. But you are mistaken about something here, witch" Eren responded in an equally menacing voice. "I am not a Titan," Eren said before wielding his saber in front of him. "I am Eren." Chapter 1628 Spoiler Title Chapter 1628 Spoiler Title Boom! An earth-shaking and powerful sound traveled across far reaches of the battlefield. Something gigantic fell off the sky and crashed on the barrennd with destructive momentum, creating a deep canyon The valley created by the creature''s fall was almost a mile long. The valley had steep sides measuring up to 500 meters in height. It looked like someone had put a scar on the ground that was visible even after 10,000 miles up the sky. The steep sides of the valley were imbued in the Elemental Attainments of the creature as well as its opponent. Strange runes formed all across the valley before disappearing. These magic runes seeped into the very core of the ce. It was about time this ce would start to subconsciously harness mana on its own and create a special environment around itself. A new ecosystem would be formed that would bepletely different from the ones found in the normal habitat of Anfang. One could say that another mysterious ce had been created in Anfang, one that was quite simr to Monster Canyon. The famous Monster Canyon of Anfang was created because of the fight between S-ranked entities. It was the reason behind the formation of the City of New Beginnings. However, this newly made canyon was created by the battle between two A-ranked entities. And yet, in the future, this ce was bound to be more mysterious than the existing Monster Canyon. Incidentally, there was one thingmon between both sites. The person who had been involved in the formation of the Monster Canyon was also involved in this newly made canyon. However, in the past, that person had won the fight between them and their Titanpetitors. The Monster Canyon was formed because the bodies of their Titan enemies fell to the ground one by one. This newly formed magical site was formed because the person who had won the fight against a group of Titans had lost a fight this time, against a singr Titan. The Monster Canyon had birthed the City of New Beginnings in the past. However, this site would set the foundation for a ce that would be called the Pride Breaker down the line. *** Eliza''s dragon form was seen lying at the far end of the canyon. Her true dragon body had been critically injured, posing a severe threat to her life. The sh wounds on her torso were so deep that it looked like her internal organs were about to spill out. Her beastly form was taking haggard breaths, indicating the fact that she was indeed alive, if only barely. In the next moment, her Defensive Mana Layer vanished into thin air as her mana core ran out of mana. Eliza''s dragon transformation soon came undone. Within a few breaths, her form shrunk. Her naked and almost dying human form was made visible. Eliza''s green eyes stared at the sky above her, her face painted with emotions of sorrow and broken pride. She watched as the golden lightning lit up the whole sky. What came out from the clouds of mana was the figure of a single man who approached her using his draconic wings. Eren had returned to his normal size as well after retracting the Titan transformation. He didn''t look much better than Eliza. There were various wounds on his body as well, as if a ravenous beast had chomped on his flesh. There were clear bite wounds and missing pieces of flesh all over his limbs and torso. He was bleeding profusely through these wounds, making his form bloody and difficult to look at. Erennded a bit away from Eliza. This was because the wings on his back had disappeared, indicating the fact that his Hex Armor Set was beyond repair. Nobody could read his facial expressions at this point because his face had several w marks over it, making it bloody and mangled. His left eye had almost popped out of its eye socket, giving him a hideous look. Eren retracted his almost-destroyed Hex Artifact Set, undoing his dragonoid transformation. His naked form looked even more battered than Eliza''s. However, for some reason, somehow, Eren was able to walk. His flesh had turned slime-like around his wounds, trying hard to fix itself up while expelling the Foreign Mana Invasion. ''Let let me see if it works.'' Eren raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. However, nothing happened because he did not have the Life Force or Mana in him to support his Instant Reset Ability anymore. "Kekekeke. I guess I am as beat as you," Eren managed tough sinisterly as he looked at Eliza. His expression then turned cold as he started walking towards her slowly but surely, dragging his left foot as if he had lost all sensation in his left leg. Step. Step. Step. Eliza could barely hear the sound of Eren''s steps as he approached her. Even though she didn''t want to, her eyes started shedding tears. As if she didn''t want to face the reality she was subjected to. "I I should have killed you the first chance I" Eliza was about to curse Eren as he stood above her, looking at her with his bloody emerald green eyes. However, before she could finish, her mouth was shut because Eren had rammed his right foot in her face. Eliza''s head was forcefully lodged deep inside the ground as Eren''s foot mmed against it with pure physical force. His heel forcefully entered her mouth, breaking her teeth and dislocating her jaw. "This for all that you did to me. And all that you made me do," Eren said in a voiceced with suppressed anger. He then coughed a little to spill out his blood on her. Eren bent down and picked up Eliza''s left arm which he had almost severed from her torso. He screamed in rage and pulled with all his might. "Come out! Come out! I!" Eliza couldn''t scream because Eren''s heel was still lodged inside her mouth, preventing her from registering her pain through her pain-filled voice. She watched from the side as Eren managed to disjoin her arm from her torso, spilling more of her blood on and around her. "And this is for Reen," Eren said calmly as he looked at Eliza''s severed arm with nonchnt expressions and heavy breaths. He was about to throw the arm away and pull another of Eliza''s limbs apart. However, he stopped midway in his action and looked at her arm in contemtion. Eren smiled sinisterly at his opponent as he decided to use his bloodline Ability at this point. His arms morphed into a slime-like mass before it devoured Eliza''s arm whole. Eliza watched with fearful eyes as Eren devoured her arm. She watched with dread as he processed his "food" with closed eyes. When he opened his eyes, the butcher had a mocking glint as he pointed an index finger towards her. A small green me started dancing over the tip of Eren''s index finger the next moment, burning away the tiny Spiritual Force he had. He then brought his face towards Eliza before speaking to her in a low voice. "What what do you say, Witch of the Endermes? Up for another round?" === Chapter title: Eliza''s Defeat: Acquiring Endermes Chapter 1629 Alephees Intervention Chapter 1629 Alephee''s Intervention "Should have killed me the first chance you got? Do you think I didn''t have a n if you had decided to backstab me before the Lazarus Project? Did you read La''s books to cure your boredom in the past? Do you think I''m some D-grade viin in a story in which you are the heroine?" Eren asked Eliza mockingly. As he spoke, his vision was getting blurry. His thoughts were turning hazy. But he held on and stood straight. "Why why aren''t you answering me?" Eren used his left hand to pop in the left eye hanging by the veins back in its rightful ce. He then shook his head and focused his bloodline regenerative Ability around his left eye. His vision soon returned to normal and he could clearly see Eliza''s face stepped on by his right foot. "Oh. I see I see My bad. Let me ungag you." Eren said and lifted his right foot, removing his heel from her busted mouth. Some of Eliza''s teeth could be seen lodged inside his skin. Eliza looked at Eren as soon as he gave her some space to do so. But there was no hatred or signs of broken prideced within her gaze. The way she looked at Eren was enough for thetter to figure out it wasn''t Eliza but Lady Zee who had taken over the body. "Gui guild master Er what? Why? How did" Lady Zee tried to speak but since her jaw was broken and her tongue was injured as well, she was having a hard time pronouncing her words. She looked distraught, confused, and fearful. It was as if Lady Zee was so shocked after seeing the reality around her that she had rejected it to some extent. Instead, she was inclined to believe that this was a nightmare. Eliza should have died by this point after Eren broke her pridepletely. This was because her always-active Sin Series Ability had heavy repercussions on her if someone managed to hurt her pride. The moment Eren stepped on Eliza''s face was the moment Eliza''s soul had relinquished control over Lady Zee subconsciously, saving her life. However, Lady Zee was not Eliza Samael even though the two had their souls fused together. As such, a loophole was created in the penalty of using an always-active Sin Series Ability. Earlier, Lady Zee''s soul fusion with Eliza had helped thetter attract a lighter Cmity in herself to gain the right of passage for her rebirth. After all, even though Eliza had lived for thousands of years and shouldn''t have been alive, Lady Zee''s soul made it possible for her to survive the Cmity with lighter punishment. The loophole in the Always-active Sin Series Ability was also another of the perks that was granted to Eliza by a mere coincidence. Eren could sigh realizing it was Lady Zee he was speaking to. As someone who could wield the Sin Series Authority, he could understand the nuances of Eliza''s Sin Series Ability fine. After gaining his divinity and iming Aleph''s throne, the butcher could practically read the Faustian Contract''s details on her soul. As such, he really found it odd that he had managed to strengthen his opponent by providing her with a loophole in her Sin Series Ability. "I guess Aleph was right. Curses and blessings doe hand in hand." Eren sighed before looking down at Lady Zee''s poor form. "No hard feelings. But I gotta finish what "she" started, Lady Zee." Eren said and drew out his sword from his storage. Earlier, he had decided to torture Eliza to his heart''s content, keeping her alive for longer for his satisfaction. However, her consciousness had been forced to slumber deep within her soul, allowing Lady Zee to take over. No matter what kind of grudges Eren had with Lady Zee in the past, she didn''t deserve to be tortured by Eren for it. At least that''s what the butcher believed. Thus, he decided to end her life quickly and painlessly. Eren raised his sword above her head, ready to sh down on Lady Zee''s neck and sever her head from her torso in one go. "Er. wait what" Lady Zee was frightened by what she was seeing at the time. She tried to stop Eren with her stuttered speech and broken words. However, it didn''t look like they were enough to stop him. Swoosh. Zoom. Bang. Eren''s Anduril sword swung down at a rapid pace. However, it hit a semi-transparent protectiveyer before it could end Lady Zee and Eliza''s life. It was a Soul Spell. And Eren was surprised to find out that it had a familiar feel to it. "Eren, wait." Alephee intervened. She came from behind Eren and held onto Eren''s hand holding the sword. She didn''t try to take away Eren''s sword. But it didn''t look like she intended to let go of Eren''s hand either. "Miss Timeless, what is the meaning of this?" Eren asked in a cold tone, showing his displeasure at Alephee''s actions. Thetter took a deep breath before speaking up. "You have already beat her," Alephee spoke calmly as she looked into Eren''s eyes. "She can no longer use her Sin Series Abilities on you. Heck, she can not even use her Endermes on you. What''s more? Her soul is fused with Lady Zee who you can control." "So?" Eren asked while still looking down at Lady Zee with the eyes of a passerby, a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes. "So she is no threat to you anymore," Alephee maintained herposure as she spoke. "I can not say for sure. But I believe she has strong fate supporting her. So she is more useful to us alive than dead. Had Reen not survived in the aftermath, I wouldn''t havee between you and your vengeance. But this this is enough. You have achieved all that you wanted to achieve, right? Now you have to prioritize your interests. Or did you forget about the Anfang Alliance altogether?" "You and I both know that I can deal with the Alliance. It would only be more troublesome, that''s all," Eren said in a neutral voice. Chapter 1630 Liberated Chapter 1630 Liberated "No matter what she did to us, we have to admit that she was also dragged along like a ragdoll by her fate." Alephee spoke while looking at Lady Zee''s body pitifully. "Betrayed and left to die on her own. The whole world against her. Backed into a corner with no way to retaliate. No way to escape the circumstances she was subjected to. You know how it feels, right? Add a few thousand years of loneliness on top of that and anybody is bound to turn into her. I don''t want topare. But I believe you would have turned out much more ruthless than her if you were in her shoes," Alephee spoke in a calm voice as she looked into Eren''s eyes. Eren stopped staring at Lady Zee and turned to look at Alephee from the side. He didn''t dispute or agree with Alephee''s words. Instead, he turned silent and allowed her to speak further. "They say time heals all wounds. And that may be right for some cases. But sometimes, the same passage of time ends up festering the negative feelings inside us. My consciousness had been drifting across the boundless cosmos for even longer than that. So I get it as well. I had you or rather my brother''s Echo as an anchor during the times I felt loss. But Eliza she didn''t have much to grab onto. Only the thoughts of vengeance and willingness to do anything to achieve it. I''m surprised she can still care for her helpers even after her rebirth. You might not realize it. But this is an achievement on her part. The reason I want to save her is because of that achievement. I believe we can make a better Ranker out of her. Someone we could count on in the future. You don''t know it yet. But you need allies like her, Eren. Especially now that you have been noticed by "them." Eren shook his head before voicing his thoughts. "Just because I understand what motivated her to do what she did doesn''t mean I would sympathize with her. You are indeed right when you said that I would have turned out much more vicious than her if I had been ced in her shoes. I will never deny that. However, even then, if our positions were reversed, I wouldn''t haveined if my opponent were to beat me fair and square. I could understand her by battling to death with her. I''m sure Eliza would have dly epted her end if she was in charge of the body at the moment. I''m just concluding the unsigned agreement we both had before we started to duel with each other. As for dealing with "them", I''ll think about it when the timees." Alephee was about to say something when Eren pressed on as if reading what she wanted to say to him. "I get what you are trying to say. I really do. But you need to understand one thing as well. This is not the world of could-have-been, Miss Timeless. The regrets exist in the past and possibilities exist in the future. But this thing called "reality" exists today. And today''s reality tells me I should finish this. Or are you telling me I was wrong? That I would have let her walk all over me because of her circumstances?" Alephee shook her head before responding. "I am not saying what she did to you or Reen was fine because of her situation. I just want you to think about the future. And it''s not like you have never prioritized your benefits over acts of revenge before. You spared Ivor after seeing his potential. And that decision positively impacted the Lazarus Project. Every right decision you took over thisst decade, no matter how insignificant it might seem, yed its role in your sess today. So I need you to learn from your past self. Agreed, things with Eliza were personal and you have every right to take them personally. But still, I want you to find that "rational Eren" within you and have a word with him." Alephee spoke. She felt that she didn''t have to force Eren to not swing his sword anymore. This was a sign of relief to her. So she took a deep breath before speaking once again. "If not for you, then do it for me," Alephee said as she looked at Eren expectantly. "Now that''s just ying dirty," Eren growled at Alephee and looked at her and frowned. But he let go of his sword, letting Alephee take hold of it. As soon as Eren let go of his sword, two more entities appeared at the scene. They quickly appeared on either side of Lady Zee and pulled her away at a safe distance from Eren. "Who who are" Lady Zee tried to speak to La and Le who had appeared beside her suddenly. But she was stopped from speaking by Le as she held on to Lady Zee''s broken jaw gently. She made her drink a vial of potion to stabilize her condition, finally saving her from slow and imminent death. "Thank Thank you, Eren Idril. For your generosity," La bowed in front of Eren, her eyes watery as she looked at Eliza''s form from the corner of her eyes. "I am not sure about what our master decides in the future. But I can assure you that my sister and I will put our lives on the line to prevent her from ever bing a hurdle for you. We.. we will take our leave now and won''t bother you with anything." La knew Eren well. The fact that he had spared Eliza''s life was something she could have never imagined. However, she didn''t want to give him enough time to change his decision by letting Eliza be in his vision. She was nning to take Eliza and her sister to the Asikha Empire, or rather, whatever remained of the empire after the cmity. "Little Witch, I have indeed spared Eliza''s life, and yours too. But I never said I will allow you to roam free and do whatever the fuck you want," Eren said in a low and threatening voice as he looked at La with a neutral gaze. "What what do you mean?" La asked Eren with an expressions of distress. "You know the ssic adageC keep your friends close but enemies closer. You guys areing with us," Alephee answered for Eren as she supported his weight on her shoulders. Eren rested his head on Alephee''s shoulders and closed his eyes after confirming that the hardest battle he had ever fought in his two lifetimes was finally over. Eren''s consciousness, which had been under constant pressure for thest decade, finally relented to much-needed, carefree rest. A genuine smile graced his lips as he quickly gave in to his slumber, a smile of liberation. === AN: VEH''s 8th Volume: Liberation concludes with this chapter release. A lot happened in this volume. Needless to say, I enjoyed writing it. Also, excited to write whates afterward with Reen back in the picture once again. See you in the next volume. :) Chapter 1631 The Great Shattering Chapter 1631 The Great Shattering The wheel of time spun ceaselessly. Nine months had passed in Anfang since the Great Shattering, the term used by the inhabitants to describe the events rted to the Lazarus Project. Some even referred to it as the Grim Shattering, subtly implying the culprit behind the event. Of course, the people of Anfang did not openly point fingers at Grimdawn. It was as if his name had be a taboo subject among the general popce. Much had changed in Anfang since the Great Shattering. Firstly, there was no unified continent in Anfang anymore. Instead, there were seven major continents and twelve mini-continents, along with numerous inds formed after massive tectonic shifts across the Land of Anfang. This was a significant change for the survivors who found themselves suddenly separated from one another, divided by vast seas. Billions of people perished in the Great Shattering. Most were mortals who died on the first day the Divine Formation cracked. A considerable number of low-ranking entities also sumbed to the event, losing their lives without resistance. Only about 8 billion people survived the cataclysm, less than half of the pre-Shattering poption. Considering the remainingndmass of Anfang, this number was rmingly low. S-Ranked entities, affiliated with the Anfang Alliance or not, yed a crucial role in calming the aftershocks. They used their Elemental Attainments and Array Formations to expedite the continental separations, stabilizing the situation faster than the natural process that would have caused more tragedies. Even the S-Ranked monsters of Anfang contributed, using their powers to protect their tribes andnds. Some monsters were better prepared, benefiting from the event. The S-Ranked entities rallied the Grandmasters and Master Rankers to work under their banners. The collective efforts of these high-ranking entities finally allowed the mortals of Anfang to breathe a sigh of relief after months of continuous suffering. The seven major continents were now divided among the various groups in Anfang. Thend where the majority of humans lived was named Arsn, further divided into countries and kingdoms resembling, to some extent, the pre-shattering division of Anfang. For example, the kingdom of Edinburgh still existed on Arn, though significantly different from its past. It had been reduced in size due to the fact that arge portion of itsnd was chipped away from it during the Great Shattering. The continent where the elves established themselves was named Katiyal. The elves formed their own empire by uniting various elven ns and houses under amon cause. The kingdom of Layos yed a crucial role in Katiyal. Just like the kingdom of Edinburgh from Arsn, the kingdom of Layos also had arge part of itsndmass missing. This was because the Great Shattering had started on the barren battlefield between the two kingdoms of the past, which had caused the two kingdoms to separate from each other. The long-standing conflicts between the kingdom of Edinburgh and Layos seemed to havee to an end, with a vast sea spanning hundreds of miles separating them and preventing easy contact. It was possible theter generations from both kingdoms would have a hard time believing theirmon history. The monsters imed a specific continent after the Great Shattering,ter named Shiragna. Territories in Shiragna were divided among various monster races based on the strength of their tribes, with orcs and ogres emerging as major powers. Velen became the continent where the half-bloods established their dominion. After the Great Shattering, they emerged from hiding and divided the continent among their ns. House Fenris established its own nation in Velen, known as Fenria. The cultists also seized an opportunity to benefit from the Great Shattering, iming a continent for themselves named Kojurao. On Kojurao, the cultists united under a single organization, previously known as the Ancients. After iming a continent, the Ancients renamed themselves the Keerthi Union. The Union divided the continent of Kojurao into several governable parts, allowing each region to develop independently under the leadership of a particr cultist school. The Amazonians had also made use of the Great Shattering for themselves, enabling them to finally have an isted continent for themselves. They named it Mater. The continent of Mater turned out to be the most peaceful continent among the remaining major continents after the Great Shattering was finally over. This was because the Amazonian tribes didn''t have to fight with each other to establish their foothold on Mater. Instead, they consulted with their deity toe up with the division process. On Mater, everyone was weed as long as they followed the specific customs of the Amazonians. It did not directly get itself involved with the new Anfang Alliance. However, it allowed a few Amazonians to join its ranks. Thest seventh continent was named Goltier. It was mostly ruled over by the mana beasts and demon beasts. The high-ranking mana beasts and demon beasts who could shapeshift and think for themselves became the heads of their respective regions. There was no unity among the major forces found in the seventh continent. However, there was also no overwhelming hostility. The seventh continent did not join the Anfang Alliance in any form or way. It wished to remain isted from the other major forces. The twelve mini-continents that existed all around the major continents also had the rules of their own. However, their poption was more diversified. Due to theck of manpower and resources, a majority of these twelve mini continents had decided to ally themselves with the major powers close to them in terms of the new geography of Anfang. There were two mini continents that were imed by the merfolk. These merfolks had decided to show themselves above the sea surface for the first time after the Cmity Era. One of them had also started to approach Arsn while the other got close to Katiyal in order to establish trade. Most of the newly formed inds of Anfang were unimed by the major powers. They were the wildnds on which the powers from various ces would soon ce their im. One could say that they were the new Bands for the Rankers. The seven main continents and twelve mini-continents came up with their own ways to rule over their denizens. The respective leaders of these continents managed to put their differences aside,ing together to deal with the aftermath of the Great Shattering. Chapter 1632 Anfangs New Reality Chapter 1632 Anfang''s New Reality The first priority for all major powers after the Great Shattering was ensuring the well-being of their mortal poptions. Strictws were enacted to prevent Rankers and mana-harnessing entities from harming mortals, and incentives were provided to increase birthrates. The Rankers like Reva Rain would be immediately prosecuted in thend of Anfang no matter where they were from. Even the majority of cultists weren''t willing to harm the mortal popce in any way due to the kind of situation they were forced to be in. The post-Great Shattering period was both chaotic and full of opportunities for the existing powers. This power struggle was expected to continue for centuries before settling down. To sustain this, major powers needed their mortals to have more children, leading to a greater number of mana-harnessing entities. The future of these powers relied on how quickly they could increase their mortal and Ranker poptions. While the Anfang Alliance persisted, it had to adapt its rules post-Great Shattering. The Alliance had imed a mini continent for itself as its headquarters. It acknowledged the existence of half-bloods and monsters, acting as an intermediary between various powers to quickly mitigate the repercussions. Of course this was a decision not born of free will butck of options. Although hesitant to coborate with cultists, the Anfang Alliance allowed other major yers to establish connections with Kojurao. Simrly, half-bloods and monsters were reluctant to cooperate but had no other choice given the challenges posed by the Great Shattering. The period of upheaval became a great unifier. Continents and their powers quickly epted the new reality in Anfang. They established trade routes and business deals to expedite recovery from the losses incurred during the cataclysmic event. *** The world of Anfang itself remainedrgely intact after the Great Shattering. If anything, the mana in Anfang seemed to have improved following the cracks in the divine formation, which continued to grow slowly but steadily. One could say that the world had shed its skin and it was the old shell that had suffered the consequence of the metamorphosis. The impact of the Shattering was felt primarily by the weak and vulnerable, those ustomed to suffering regardless of the prevailing circumstances on a global scale. The divine formation was destined to copse on its own in a century or two. And despite the Anfang Alliance''s efforts to coborate with those it had once persecuted, there was no reversing this fate. The copse was inevitable, so the Alliance focused on utilizing all avable resources to prepare for the eventual arrival of the otherworlders. The Alliance, particrly wary of Titans from Ansia, worked diligently to establish connections with Tel Quasser and the Continent of Echidna, leveraging the feys and monsters under its control within Anfang. This preparation was aimed at fortifying itself against a potential Titan invasion in the future. Despite acknowledging the existence of half-bloods, the Alliance refrained from reaching out to Labh Salem. The hesitation stemmed from the belief that powerful figures in Labh Salem might not extend leniency toward Anfang, given the fraught history between them. As long as Labh Salem maintained a neutral stance, the Anfang Alliance opted to keep its distance, avoiding potentialplications for as long as possible. *** In the newly changed geography of Anfang, there existed andmass in the sea which had been separated from the kingdom of Edinburgh and Layos. It was too big to be called an ind and yet too small to be called a mini continent. Thisnd surrounded the sea from all directions, isting it from the rest of the major powers. Thisnd was called White Ravendale. Some even referred to it simply as Ravendale. Nestled between Arsn and Katiyal, closer to the northern Shiragna and bordered by Mater to the south, thisnd found itself encircled by influential powers. Ravendale also had various other small inds around it. However, nobody had tried to im those inds either, treating them as the neutral ground. Incidentally, some of thesends were imed by the merfolk who were not aware of the situation of the Anfang above sea level. As such, it had already established a contact with Ravendale, treating it as a business partner. Nobody had tried to approach White Ravendale after the effect of the Great Shattering died down. This was because the man who was the major reason behind the Great Shattering lived here. He and his organization had decided to stay away from the matters of the Anfang Alliance for the time being. The heart of Ravendale was The City of White Raven, which, post the Great Shattering, transformed into a formidable city-state. Despite the challenges posed by the Shattering, the city had flourished, and its prosperity extended beyond its physical borders. The White Raven Guild, stewarding The City of White Raven, emerged as one of the most prepared organizations in the aftermath of the Great Shattering. Economically and in terms of ranking resources, it reached unprecedented heights. With extensive reserves of food and ranking resources, enough tost well over a century for its current poption, and a mortal popcergely unaffected by the cataclysm, the Guild''s administration worked diligently to encourage birth and growth among both mortals and Rankers respectively. Utilizing its mortal popce, the White Raven Guild embarked on a project to cultivate farnds across White Ravendale, entrusting various Rankers with the administration of these territories. Beyond this, the Guild established numerous greenhouses across thend to cultivate ranking resources for its non-mortal residents. Thanks to Eren''s foresight and guidance, the Guild had the necessaryponents for such facilities even before the full-scale war erupted. Surrounded by a sea that served as a natural barrier, Ravendale maintained its neutrality, and no major power had dared to approach it since the Great Shattering. This reluctance was fueled by the knowledge that the individual responsible for the catastrophic event resided within its borders. The mastermind and his organization opted to stay out of the Anfang Alliance''s affairs temporarily as well. Despite the ongoing chaos in Anfang, a semnce of order was emerging. The Anfang Alliance, though yet to make any aggressive moves against Ravendale, stood as a looming variable in the equation. With the dust settling, the dynamics were poised to change. Chapter 1633 Ravendales Challenges and Opportunities Chapter 1633 Ravendale''s Challenges and Opportunities Eren deliberately avoided public appearances after thepletion of the Lazarus Project, even within Ravendale. His interactions were limited to select Rankers, half-bloods, and monsters, as he focused on advancing in his Ranking Path and digesting the insights he had gained. Public attention would have only diverted him from his crucial pursuits. The public perception of Eren as the most evil entity in Arsn and Katiyal or as a savior in Shiragna and Velen didn''t bother him. His motives weren''t driven by a desire to spite or save any particr group; they were rooted in serving his own interests. Consequently, he felt no need to exin the reason behind the Lazarus Project and his circumstances. Despite this, Eren allowed his organization, particrly the White Raven Guild''s mass media arm, to issue statements on his behalf. The guild actively made often absurd ims to rationalize Eren''s actions. The media house understood that the Rankers under the White Raven Guild''s leadership wanted to believe in Eren''s character, countering the negative portrayals from Arsn and Katiyal. The Rankers, especially low-ranking entities and mortals from Edinburgh and Layos currently stuck on Ravandale, faced an unexpected predicament due to Anfang''s geological changes. Trapped in Ravendale, they couldn''t freely return to the banned continents. Staying in Ravendale, they found themselves under the guidance of the White Raven Guild. Initially apprehensive about Eren and his organization, particrly given the world-altering nature of the Lazarus Project, these individuals were reassured by the efforts of the White Raven Guild''s media arm. It yed a crucial role in establishing peace within thends, fostering a conducive environment for Eren''s organization to steadily prosper by recruiting more people under its banner. In this way, Eren''s Guild was steadily progressing to be more than a mere guild. Eren had already asked the guild members to let the colonies of Rankers and mortals currently on Ravandale develop on their own. He had ns to turn Ravandale into a semi-republic nation in which his guild would hold substantial power without having to act as a dictator. Eren believed that dictatorships had a set expiry period and the pure democratic arrangements were wed at their core. ording to him, sometimes democracy meant all the idiots were on one side. Thus, to secure the future of his foundation in Anfang for years toe, Eren hade up with his own form of rules that would be observed by Ravandale. *** Eren understood the guild''s need to clear his image in public. So he let his people cook up their own reasons that somewhat justified his actions. Even though Eren''s organization had enough resources thatst for a century, Agatha didn''t believe that burning the resources without ways to replenish them would help her or the guild in the long run. Hence, she was making these moves so that the image of Ravendale would eventually recover. Agatha already had some under-the-table resource-exchanging deals with Arsn and Katiyal without the public knowledge. The people in power knew that Eren''s organization had plenty of resources it could exchange with them. However, since it was against public sentiments, they had decided to keep the trade with Ravendale a secret. The high-ranking entities from Shiragna, Mater, Velen, and Kojurao had already started not-so-hush-hush deals with Ravendale. The Amazonians from Mater were not particrly happy about the destruction Eren had caused all across Anfang for his own selfish reasons. They worshiped nature and life. And Eren''s actions had directly resulted in causing harm to them. However, since the whom they worshiped, the Great Mother, herself had approved of Eren, they found it a bit easier to establish trade deals with Ravendale. Ravendale was mostfortable dealing with Velen and Shiragna. The half-bloods from Velen and the monsters from Shiragna had supported Eren''s actionspletely even though they had also faced a fair share of deaths within their ranks. To them, the death of a few of their own was a small price to pay to achieve this form of freedom in Anfang. To them, Eren was nothing short of a god among men. Gnoll Sovereign Parmar, Goblin Sovereign Loma, Ogre Sovereign Rawood Khal, and Orc Sovereign Kayini had be one of the representatives of Kojurao assigned to handle the trade deals with Ravendale. These monsters also spread the news within Shiragna that Reen was the insertion of their deity Goddess Echidna, spreading her fame. These monsters had already established contact with Eren and presented themselves as his allies. And Ravandale was pretty lenient dealing with the monsters because of that. As such, Shiragna made startling improvements in its lifestyle with the White Raven Guild''s help. Likewise, the half-bloods from Eren almost openly supported Ravendale. The people in charge of Velen had aligned themselves with the Anfang Alliance to recover from their losses. As such, Velen could not officially support Ravendale who ran the risk of offending the Alliance. However, it had strong support from the masses of Velen. They practically considered Eren as one of their own and assumed he had shattered the divine formation to break their shackles. Kojurao had a mixed reaction towards Ravendale and Eren''s actions in general. Some of the high-ranking cultists from Kojurao supported Eren''s deeds openly without caring about the Alliance. However, some of them chose to wait on the sidelines and observe before they made any moves. Of course, this period of observation did not stop them from making ck-market deals with Ravendale. Eren''s mass media venture had ns to infiltrate the other continents and gather news from there. It also had ns to improve Eren''s image among the hostile masses so that the trade between Ravandale and other continents would eventually face fewer hurdles in the future. Agatha did a ster job managing the resources Eren had made her horde just before the global-level cmity. She used these resources as leverage and bait to make the White Raven Guild take a favorable position in peoples'' hearts and minds. Slowly but surely, she proved with her actions that the guild was not set on causing more chaos in the world. The White Raven Guild first earned the favor of people currently living in Ravendale. Through various programs, it earned their trust. After the foundation had been stabilized and the prospect of growth had been assured, it was time for Eren''s guild to shed its old skin and deal with Anfang''s new reality. Chapter 1634 Reen Wakes Up

Chapter 1634 Reen Wakes Up

ng. ng. ng. The rhythmic resonance of a weaponsmith''s hammer echoed through the air as it expertly tempered a demonic saber upon a sturdy anvil. ng. ng. ng. Sparks erupted from the intense collision, apanied by the dazzling manifestation of Elemental Attainments from various elements. The demonic saber absorbed these energies, concurrently cultivating both mana and intent-based magic. Within a self-made weaponsmithy, Eren diligently worked on tempering his demonic saber. Sincepleting the Lazarus Project, he had immersed himself in diverse projects, utilizing his time in Anfang to its fullest. Leaving Anfang immediately wasn''t an option due to the prolonged instability in the spatial fabric. Recently, as the situation normalized, Eren found himself able to address pending tasks before bidding farewell to Anfang. Even if the Gate could transport him to the Immortal nes right after the Lazarus Project''s conclusion, essential matters were demanding his attention. Eren, having invested effort in preserving his creations within Anfang, aimed to ensure their longevity even after his departure. ng. ng. ng. The demonic saber resonated sharply as Eren increased the force of each strike, activating the runes adorning the weapon. He then poured a peculiar potion over the curved de. Screeeeee. The saber seemed to cry out in rage as it underwent tempering, giving off an impression that it despised being handled by Eren. A deep-seated hatred towards its owner emanated from the weapon. Strangely, this very rage and animosity seemed to empower it. ''Stop what you''re doing ande out. "She" woke up.'' Alephee''s sudden announcement caused Eren to freeze amid his actions. A subtle smile graced his lips. He touched the hilt of the demonic saber, deactivating the runes. Wrapping the de with Elemental Attainments of water, he absorbed its scorching heat. The weapon lost its form, transforming into a slime-like mass that seamlessly rejoined Eren''s body. With a snap of his fingers, Eren vanished, leaving his weaponsmithy devoid of any presence. For the past nine months, Reen had been in a state of recovery, her consciousness residing within Shallot''s Mirror. It marked a unique use of an Elder Seed Artifact to heal another of its kind. Eren prioritized ensuring Reen''s well-being before making any significant moves. Hence, he didn''t try to leave Anfang right away. Instead, he used this time to strengthen his foundations in every field that was part of his Ranking Path. "Erni!" Reen excitedly greeted Eren as he appeared in her room. She sat up, eager, with a room full of weing faces including Alephee, Nina, Agatha, Levine, Jiana, and other Rankers. "You sure took your time to get up," Eren said with a smile, sitting beside Reen. "How are you feeling?" he asked, checking on her condition. "I... I feel different," Reen expressed, hugging Eren. "As you should be," Eren responded, caressing her back. "You are an Elder Seed Artifact now. Technically speaking, your existence is on a higher pedestal than the one who made you, you know," he added, sighing. Reen smiled at Eren''s words. She really felt special after waking up. She could tell the change within herself as soon as she saw Alephee''s face. It was as if the world around her had suddenly turned brighter and more beautiful than before. She could tell that the world was the same as before. It was her perception of the world that had been changed since she had stopped being a mortal existence. She didn''t feel alive. There were no heartbeats that could make her feel the same as before. However, for some reason, she found it easier to ept the changes that had happened to her. "Eren, I did my best to heal Reen''s consciousness. Spiritually, she is fully recovered now," Shallot, the artifact spirit of the Shallot''s Mirror, appeared near Eren and spoke. She looked cute in her childlike form and princess-style dress. "Thanks a lot, Shallot," Eren separated himself from Reen''s bear hug and thanked Shallot. He ruffled her hair before letting her get inside the wristband he was wearing. Eren had made Shallot take care of Reen''s well-being for thest nine months. As an Elder Seed Artifact that harnessed the Spiritual Force, she had all the qualifications to take care of Reen. If it wasn''t for the Shallot''s Mirror, Reen might have taken a little more than a century to wake up. Eren found it ironic that the positions had been reversed this time after the Lazarus Project concluded. He clearly remembered that it was him who had gone into a long slumber because of things happening to him in the Purgatory. At that time, it was Reen who had been beside him. They had to separate after Eren had woken up. One could say that the Lazarus Project had really started from the moment Eren woke up from his slumber on an old Anfang. And it had ended for good after Reen opened her eyes to Ravendale on a new Anfang. "Do you feel as hungry as you used to feel before?" Eren asked Reen as he studied her features with his gaze. Thetter pondered a bit before answering. "Um I kinda feel hungry. But it''s quite different from what I used to feel. I don''t think I''m hungry for food anymore. Not really." Reen answered Eren''s questions as she looked around. She then saw the Rankers who hade to meet her. Reen only knew some of the Rankers through Eren''s memories of them. She had not met them personally. However, that did not stop her from greeting them with a smile on her face. She really felt as if she had left her dark times behind. Eren introduced Reen to all those who were present at the ce. Nina and Agatha were especially active in asking Reen a lot of questions about her. Reen felt as if she had won a battle against a terminal disease with the way people were looking at her. However, she didn''t mind and answered the questions and queries thrown at her to the best of her abilities and knowledge. The discussion went on for quite a while as Reen talked with people other than Eren. This was her first time doing so and she enjoyed speaking out loud. Eren proceeded to take Reen out, to make her see the city he had built using his blood and sweat, over the skeletons of his enemies. Chapter 1635 Reen’s Hunger

Chapter 1635 Reen''s Hunger

Eren was seen lying on his back on a makeshift wooden bed that was ced in the middle of a green field, which stretched for miles on end from all directions. This green field was one of the farnds on Ravendale that Eren''s guild had decided to cultivate for its popce. After the cmity, for some reason, the crops and Ranking Resources grew at an expedited rate. It was as if the very cmity was the nutrition the world of Anfang needed to wee a new green revolution. Reen was with Eren. Thetter had used Reen''s thighs as a pillow, resting on the bed as his gaze stared at the blue sky. Reen was seen feeding him the fresh green grapes that the farnds produced, plucking a grape from the cluster, and sending one grape at a time. As he enjoyed eating the grapes, Eren raised his right hand and twisted it in a half-lotus manner. In the next moment, his right hand was engulfed in bright green mes that seemed to be hungry to burn everything that came within their grasp. These were the Endermes. "Hmm. They are not as useful for me as I thought they would be." Erenmented as he observed the Endermes up close. He could tell that his version of the Endermes didn''t pack as much punch as Eliza''s. He could increase the intensity of the mes upon his will but doing so put a greater burden on his Spiritual Force. "These mes are Spiritual Force hoggers," Eren mumbled to himself as he analyzed the mes. "That witch had made use of her Sin of Pride Ability to sustain these mes. With her never-ending Spiritual Force, using these mes was no biggie for her. But I don''t have that advantage. If I used these mes too much, I might end up hurting myself more than the enemies my attacks are meant for," Eren concluded and sighed. Eren dispersed the Endermes and let the matter go for now. He wanted to unlock Eliza''s Sin Series Ability for himself as well so that he could make effective use of the Endermes. With an always-active Sin Series Ability like Eliza''s, Eren could do so much more. His artifact creation progress would improve by leaps and bounds if he were to get his hands on it. His potion-making process would also get streamlined. Eren''s intent-based magic and his Sin Series domain usage would also benefit from it. Eren eventually came to understand why Alephee had stopped him from killing Eliza right away. There were so many things he could take from her. There were so many lessons he could learn from her. It would have been a waste if he had proceeded to act upon his instincts. "Reen, how do you feel about letting Eliza live?" Eren asked with a curious voice as he opened his mouth to receive a grape from her. Thetter pondered a bit before responding. She was unconscious when he and Alephee had decided to spare Eliza and her two homunculi. It was only recently that he had filled her in on the details. "Um I am fine with whatever you decide, Erni," Reen said calmly as she kept on feeding Eren one grape after the other. "I indeed had some personal grievances with her. But those don''t matter anymore. I already died once and came back to life. Why should I carry the burden from my past life? I''d rather focus on what''s ahead of us. And I''m excited to leave Anfang and see other worlds with you," she said and smiled. Eren nodded at Reen as he processed her words. He had to say that Reen''s mindset had changed a bit after she turned into an Elder Seed Artifact. He could sense that she was exposed to a greater truth about herself and the Goddess Echidna during the time she was in a death-like slumber. As such, her perspective had broadened a lot, allowing her to see things in a way that wasn''t quite like her from the past. Even though Reen''s perspective on things had changed a bit, Eren was d that it was still her and not the consciousness of some goddess she was once part of. He could tell that Goddess Echidna was on his side because of her connections with God Aleph. However, he preferred Reen to stay as Reen. This was why he had gone to such extreme lengths to preserve her personality during the time of the artifact creation. This was why he had asked the goddess'' consciousness to sever herself from Reen, turning her from a soul fragment to an individual soul itself. *** "Here. Eat some grapes too." Eren plucked a grape from the cluster beside him and tried to feed Reen the same way she had been feeding him. However, thetter shook her head before responding. "I don''t think I''m hungry for this type of food, Erni," Reen replied in a downcast voice. "I can feel that this is no longer the right supplement for me," she said before receiving the green grape from Eren. Reen could still eat food like regr Rankers and mortals. However, she no longer felt any joy from eating such food. Though she could feel its taste in her mouth, she could no longer feel satiated eating it. In the past, Eren was used to carrying a ton of food on him in his ID Storage at all times to keep Reen''s hunger in control. Later on, when Argo was with him, this habit continued. However, Eren could have never imagined that Reen''s fundamental trait would change upon turning into an artifact creation. Or rather, he was so focused on turning Reen into an Elder Seed Artifact at that time that he did not care about what came after it. Eren had tried to resolve Reen''s hunger issue during thest couple of days. However, he could not find the kind of food she wanted no matter what he offered her. He was stumped by the way his own artifact creation had turned Reen into. Chapter 1636 An Artifact Spirit That Devours Other Artifact Spirits

Chapter 1636 An Artifact Spirit That Devours Other Artifact Spirits

Eren could tell that Reen and Asura were different from other Elder Seed Artifacts. Asura was a demonic saber that carried the consciousness of the Demon Prince of Wrath within it. However, for some reason, Eren could not interact with Demonmir the way he was used to interacting with Shallot or Reen, the two artifact spirits. Demonmir had indeed been transformed into an artifact spirit by Eren. However, Samael had managed to iste his spiritual connection from Demonmir at the veryst moment, turning Demonmir''s consciousness dormant. It was as if Demonmir had been robbed off of logical thinking and all the sentiments that turned him into the existence known as Demonmir. Only his primal instincts remained with him after turning into an artifact spirit. This was the reason Eren was trying new methods to temper his demonic saber. This was so that he could awaken Demonmir''s consciousness within itpletely. He did not want to only harness Wrath Mana with his demonic saber. Instead, he wanted to challenge Samael''s Authority using Demonmir as leverage. Eren wanted to wield even a fraction of Samael''s powers without putting himself in danger. For some reason, he believed that his demonic saber was the key with which he could unlock a plethora of demonic abilities for himself. Reen''s case was as peculiar as Asura''s as well. Except for changing her physiological needs, the artifact creation process basically changed nothing for Reen. She could still use her bloodline powers to shapeshift into anyone she wanted. She could still merge with Eren and detach from him at her will. And she could still do everything she could before transforming into an Elder Seed Artifact. As such, Reen did note across as an Elder Seed Artifact like Shallot''s Mirror. Instead, her existence had turned mysterious for Eren. Eren would have consulted with Alephee regarding this issue after Reen woke up. However, Alephee and Maya were busy with a particr task. So he couldn''t disturb her. Eren knew that he had turned Reen into an ever-growing Elder Seed Artifact. However, he needed to find out what could allow her to grow first. The worst part about this whole thing was that even as a creator Eren could not figure out what had gone wrong with Reen. it was as if he had crafted a cutting-edge creation without creating a user manual. "You still feel hungry right? Do you seek to eat something specific? Like a magic ore or Extols?" Eren asked Reen as he lifted his head from herp and sat straight. Eren knew about Reen''s hunger firsthand. He didn''t want anyplications in her growth by making her starve. No matter what kind of sustenance it was, he wanted to find it so that he could strengthen Reen as soon as possible. "Not really," Reen responded after thinking to herself. "I don''t think my hunger is rted to just the physical aspect of food or items in general. I think I think I''m hungry to devour an idea. An existing concept. Does does that make sense?" Reen looked at Eren intently as she asked curiously. She could not describe the kind of hunger she was feeling at the time. And her mental connection with Eren was not what it used to be like before. So she could only hope that Eren would be able to understand what she was trying to say without her having to find words to describe her vague feelings. "Hmm. you want to devour an existing concept, you say?" Eren scratched his chin as he pondered. He ate one more grape that Reen fed her beforeing up with something. The expressions of excitement and anticipation were painted on his face abruptly as he decided to act on the idea he hade up with. With a flick of his fingers, Eren produced a set of Artifact Set in front of him. It consisted of a breastte, arm guards, shoulder guards, leg guards, and headgear. The artifact set seemed to be in ruin. It was as if someone had fought a very brutal battle wearing it, turning it into an almost useless relic. This artifact set was none other than the Hex Artifact Set with Wyvern''s soul added into it as the set''s artifact spirit. This was the same artifact set that had allowed Eren to turn into a dragonoid, enabling him to fight with the Witch of the Endermes on equal grounds. "Try devouring this," Eren asked Reen with a knowing smile on his face. "Hmm? Are are you sure, Erni," Reen asked as she looked at the artifact set. She could sense a wyvern''s soul bound to the set with her senses. And for some reason, she wanted to tame it for herself. "I am sure. Just give it a shot," Eren responded confidently. Thetter nodded before getting up from her position. She spread her hands before turning into her usual slime-like form. She nketed the levitating artifact set before embracing the individual parts. In the end, she returned to her usual self while the artifact set had vanished into her. Roar! A wyvern''s roar was heard from an unknown direction as Reen started devouring the artifact set, digesting its properties and spiritual aspects. A smile crept on her lips as she finally felt like she was "eating" something. "This wyvern''s soul is tough indeed." Reen mumbled to herself with closed eyes. Eren could tell that her consciousness was busy fighting with the wyvern''s soul. One could say that a higher-grade artifact spirit was trying to devour a lower-grade artifact spirit. However, it didn''t seem like the wyvern''s soul could put up much resistance against Reen. She had managed to devour the artifact spiritpletely within half a minute, making it along with the artifact set vanish from existence. "Hehe. I know what I need to do now." Reen opened her eyes and chuckled heartily beforeing close to Eren. She embraced him before turning into her slime-like form once again, this time taking the shape of the artifact set she had just devoured. Chapter 1637 Reen’s Path

Chapter 1637 Reen''s Path

A Dragonoid was seen flying through the open sky with his wide-open wings. He easily broke the speed of a sound, channeling his A-Rank Mana to fly without any set direction. "This this is awesome." Eren said aloud as he felt the effects of his new dragonoid transformation. He could feel that Reen had upped the stats of his original Dragonoid transformation quite a bit. Plus, he felt as if the set was not a separate entity but a part of himself. Eren could feel that his mana consumption had reduced while the overall functionality of the Dragonoid transformation had been enhanced to the next level. Furthermore, he did not feel like his psyche was being affected by the use of the Dragonoid transformation. Earlier, Eren had restricted the use of the Dragonoid transformation because it affected his emotions and his psyche quite a bit. He couldn''t keep his cool after donning the set, getting influenced by the Wrath Mana and the anguished wyvern''s soul. However, since Reen had isted the wyvern''s soul from Eren, he was inplete control of himself. He did not feel like he was wearing the Hex Artifact Set. instead, he felt like he was tapping into one of his natal transformations, like the white-haired transformation. Reen''s mana signatures had alsopletely changed after she devoured the Hex Artifact Set. earlier, one could sense that she was a bit mysterious even though she appeared to be normal. However, nobody would mistake her for a regr artifact set anymore after her transformation. Reen''s earlier signaturespletely evolved to match the Wyvern set. Since she had subdued the wyvern''s soul within her, she could unlock more features of the Hex Artifact Set for Eren, giving him the versatility he needed as per his Ranking ss, spells, and Elemental Attainments. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Erennded abruptly on the ground, sinking a region of about 50 meters in diameter around him with his pure physical force alone. He thought of disengaging from the armor set and in the next moment the armor set separated from him before turning into Reen. "How was it?" Reen asked Eren with an excited voice. She finally found out how she could be useful to Eren. This fact was a mental relief for her for some reason. "Kekeke. It''s better than I thought it would go," Eren chuckled as he ruffled Reen''s hair yfully. "So I have to keep on feeding you artifacts from now on. Um let''s see. Shall we do some more experiments?" Eren asked as he thought of something. Reen nodded. She was also keen on learning more about her capabilities. This was a journey they both had to go through together to understand Reen''s limits as an ever-growing Elder Seed Artifact. Eren quickly produced some regr artifacts in front of Reen that did not have an artifact spirit. These were the artifacts Alephee had created to help Eren grow his weapon distribution business all across Anfang. In the past, Eren had be a mass distributor of weapons even before he started making them. He had a lot of premium-grade artifacts he had kept aside for himself and carried with him at all times. Reen managed to devour the artifacts Eren had produced easily. However, she told him that she could not feel the same level of satiation as before. Her stats and powers also didn''t change. Not visibly at least. And she felt no different from before. Eren retracted the rest of the artifacts, storing them in his ID Storage once again. Since Reen did not feel anything remarkable after devouring dozens of artifacts in one go, there was no point in burning the rest of the artifacts away. He could guess that Reen''s growth had indeed taken ce after devouring the weapons. However, it didn''t matter much because the artifacts didn''t have artifact spirits in them. The next batch of artifact sets Eren produced were the transcendent-grade artifacts. These artifacts had artifact spirits bound to them. However, these spirits were slumbering inside their respective artifacts with no chance for them to wake up. These transcendent-grade weapons were the failed attempts Eren had produced to master the Hex Artifact creation. He didn''t have loads of them stored in his storage. However, he still managed to produce about 15 of them, prompting Reen to devour them. Reen obliged Eren''smand right away. She was able to devour the physical properties of the artifacts right away, making them be a part of her. However, she had to sit in a cross-legged position to devour the slumbering souls inside the artifacts. Reen was able to tame the artifact spirits inside the transcendent-grade artifacts easily. They were far lower in the hierarchy than her after all. However, she had devoured too many of them at once, forcing her to digest her gains slowly. Reen felt as if too many voices were speaking inside her head after she devoured so many spirits and tamed them. She felt it was distracting for her and told her findings to Eren. Upon Eren''s instructions, Reen started to devour the artifact spirits as well, separating their residual Spiritual Force from them before allowing them to disperse on their own. Reen soon found out that the mental rity she needed was returning to her. The voices quieted down one after the other as she kept dispersing the artifact spirits. Eren didn''t feel like he was losing anything by letting Reen disperse the artifact spirits he had bound to the transcendent-grade artifacts he had created. These creations were his failed attempts at creating the Hex Artifacts anyway. If anything, he felt that they were better used on Reen for her growth at this point. Eren finally took out the Hex Artifacts he had sessfully created under Grandmaster Baelin''s guidance. There were only seven of them in number and they weren''t as detailed as the dragonoid Hex Artifact set. This time, Eren told Reen to devour the Hex Artifact sets one by one. He had a feeling Reen would get overwhelmed if she tried to tame the artifact spirits of multiple Hex artifacts in one go. After all, the Hex Artifacts hadpletely awakened artifact spirits. Chapter 1638 Bisha’s Predicament

Chapter 1638 Bisha''s Predicament

''Keke. I don''t have to keep on maintaining new Hex Artifact sets for myself anymore.'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at Reen''s progress. Earlier, Eren had ns to construct separate Hex artifact sets that would suit his Ranking sses and battle styles. The Dragonoid artifact set was just the first invention that he had managed to tick off his to-do list. Many projects needed his attention. Eren was worried about donning these sets in session after he managed to craft them for himself. After all, the emotional and mental turmoil they would cause after donning them wouldn''t be something he could easily shake off of him. However, with Reen added into the equation, the butcher did not have to worry about donning these artifact sets or using them for prolonged periods. He could alter between these sets at the flick of his fingers and the change wouldn''t negatively impact his battles in any way. Eren had decided. He would either keep on creating new artifact sets for himself. Or he would find existing HEX artifact sets in otherworlds before feeding them to Reen. This was the best course of action to increase his powers while supporting Reen''s growth. ''Feeling and intents are important in casting the immortal magic,'' Eren thought to himself as he watched Reen tame one Hex artifact spirit after the other. ''At the time of creating Asura, I was focused on creating an artifact that would allow me to wield my Sin Series Mana with better efficiency without casting the required domains. This was why Asura turned out that way. In Reen''s case, I thought of creating an Elder Seed Artifact that would grow with me. An artifact spirit that would be as free to forge her path ahead as me. This is why Reen turned out the way she has now. I wonder what would happen if I wielded my divinity while creating Hex Artifacts? Will they produce high-caliber artifacts or high-tier artifact spirits? Will Reen be able to tame them in that case? And will such artifacts allow her to progress at a rapid rate? Hmm. Her growth is not my only concern. I also have to ensure that she keeps her identity intact as she keeps on devouring more artifact spirits. I wouldn''t get affected after using the Hex Artifact sets through Reen. but it doesn''t mean that they also wouldn''t affect her in the long run. We need to find a bnce. I''ll probably need more Hex artifact sets for that. Too bad the world of Anfang doesn''t have very many Hexes for us to experiment on.'' Eren pondered in his head as he looked at Reen intently. He had to think about Reen''s path well in advance. This was because she did not have a mana core anymore. She could only galvanize the surrounding mana around her or use his mana to power her abilities. This was a form of blessing and curse for the current Reen. Since Reen didn''t have a traditional mana core within her, she did not have to think about her Ranking Path anymore. She didn''t have to act like a demon beast and keep on devouring beasts and humanoids to support her growth. This was a blessing. However, Reen had lost her right to make use of the Elemental Attainments traditionally because of theck of the mana core. A lot of her elemental abilities had been restricted because she wasn''t used to casting them by galvanizing the surrounding mana. This was her curse. Thus, Eren needed to n Reen''s growth in such a way that it wouldn''t restrict herter down the line. All while ensuring that Reen''s psyche stayed the same while unlocking new abilities for herself. *** Bisha slowly opened her eyes in her confined room. She felt as if she had a massive headache. "That bastard. When will my suffering end? Haaah!" The Oni woman cursed as she got up from her bed. She massaged her forehead with her right hand as she walked towards the spacious balcony to which her prison-like room was attached with. Bisha leaned on the deck as she looked at the expanse of the farmnds in front of her from her multi-story high position. She felt like escaping to the distant corner of the world to escape from this prison. However, the runic shackles on her body didn''t allow her to step a foot outside her room. If she tried, she would have to face serious consequences in vain. She had learned this fact the hard way after trying many times. Bisha had been a prisoner inside thisvish private chamber for thest nine months. She had to say that she had chosen a pretty nasty time to get inside Anfang through the Immortal ne she had ess to. Bisha was caught by the monsters of the Oni dungeon as soon as she arrived. She was thenter handed to Agatha by the monsters as a gift from Eren''s monster army. Agatha had managed to get Bisha to cooperate with the White Raven Guild as soon as thetter''s custody was handed to her. As a gesture of goodwill, Agatha had then allowed Bisha to stay inside thisvish chamber to spend her days in peace. For the most part that is. Bisha''s biggest headache was Eren, literally and metaphorically speaking. He had indeed visited her a few times to interrogate her. However, he didn''t ask her any questions. He didn''t have to. The butcher would just use his bloodline Ability Memory Extraction on Bisha, learning more about the Continent of Echidna with each of his visits to her. And in the process, he would give her headaches and asional ckouts. She wondered if the man had also devoured some of her memories for good. Just as Agatha had warned her, Bisha found out the hard way that Eren was no ordinary Elder Seed inheritor. She had to say that the Land of the Faithless had produced a fearsome contender for God Aleph''s potential inheritor. Of course, she didn''t know about the fact that Eren had already managed to im Aleph''s throne for himself. Chapter 1639 Bisha’s Interrogation

Chapter 1639 Bisha''s Interrogation

"Were you cursing me just now?" Bisha looked up at the sky from her balcony to see her expected visitor arriving to meet her again. The Wind Fire Wings on his back almost made her clothes get torn to shreds as they pped. Luckily, she was allowed to use Mana for basic tasks. So she activated her mana defenseyer before taking a step back to receive her guests. She gulped an empty air before speaking up. "I I wasn''t. What what brings you here?" Bisha almost regretted asking that question. Because she could see it in her visitor''s smile that he hade to meet her to extract her memories from her again. "I am here to meet you, my darling. What else?" Eren smiled as hended right in front of Bisha with a subtle smile on his face. He had gotten so familiar with Bisha in thest few months that he interrogated her in his own unique way. With each passing day, one could say that Eren was trying to challenge Bisha''s private space more and more, making her remember the fact that she was helpless to act against him. "I I think you have extracted every bit of memory from me, don''t you think, sir Eren?" Bisha asked as she followed Eren into her own private chamber. "What could you possibly need to know that requires you to visit me personally? I.. I am already ready to cooperate. You''d just have to ask, you know." Eren chuckled before responding. "Don''t think I don''t know about your divine protection, Bisha darling," Eren said as he walked towards the bed Bisha had just slept on. The man had no hesitancy as he breached the private space meant for the Oni woman. Eren sat by the edge of the bed, looking at Bisha''s tense face as he spoke up. "That blessing It is keeping your core memories safe. For now at least. So I have to use some uncanny methods to do partial memory extraction. Don''t want to turn you into a braindead idiot before I get what I want, you see," said Eren as he used his arms as support to lean back a little. "How how did you know about the blessing?" Bisha was shocked to find out that a mortal was able to detect her blessing without her active use. She could have never imagined that Eren was able to have his way around the blessing. It also meant that whatever Eren had extracted from her memories, although partial and fragmented, were her authentic memories. There was no way for her to dupe him anymore. "I I I am so." Bisha started to stutter as she tried to apologize to Eren. However, thetter just shook his head before speaking further. "It''s fine. I would have considered you to be an idiot if you were honest with me from the moment we met up," Eren said as he took out a Sativa Stick. Lighting it with a flick of his fingers and taking a drag, he continued. "I didn''t expect you to cooperate with me in the first ce. So no harm done. However, I havee here with another additional purpose in mind. I''m sure you''d be more willing to help me once you meet this person," said Eren as he shed a knowing smile at Bisha while enjoying his smoke in peace. "Hm? What are you" Bisha was about to ask Eren a question when something strange happened. She saw a slime-like mass separate from Eren''s body before assuming a humanoid shape. Soon, Bishaid her eyes on Reen for the first time. "Who who is she?" Bisha asked Eren as she looked at Reen with a mix of curiosity and trepidation. She did not think that she had seen this person before. As far as she knew, Agatha and a few others were Eren''s core members and they had all seen her for some reason or the other. This was the first time she wasying her eyes on Reen. ''Erni, whichnguage is she speaking in?'' Reen, on the other hand, was interested to learn about Bisha and her origins. The very first thing she noticed was the fact that Eren and Bisha weren''t speaking in Anfang''s nativenguages. Instead, it was anguage she did not know or heard of at all. ''Aaaah. My bad. You don''t know the Oni tongue, do you?'' Eren pped his forehead before providing a brief exnation. "It''s one of the keynguages on the continent of Echidna." ''Echidna!'' Some form of understanding was dawned on Reen as she looked at Bisha with a newfound perspective. After she woke up, Eren had told her about the different worlds he had the option to go to. The continent of Echidna and the world of Labh Salem were Eren''s priorities for the time being. This was why Eren was trying to gather as much information as he could about the other worlds. He was especially interested in learning about Echidna and Labh Salem. Bisha''s memories were getting scoured by Eren for the same reason as well. Of course, Eren had learned about the Oninguage from Har Jahar, by extracting his memories and devouring him bit by bit. He had polished his Oni tongue by talking with Kirin Jahar, his wife, who was a half-Oni woman herself. Incidentally, Kirin had also met up with Bisha a few times. Eren had asked his wife to keep an eye on the Oni woman from Echidna from time to time. It was only recently that Kirin had left Bisha alone to do a few tasks for Agatha. *** ''Here. let me help you understand her better.'' Eren said before extending his arm. His arm stretched unnaturally like an octopus'' limb before his right palm was ced on Reen''s head. He provided her with basic knowledge about the Oni tongue right away. Memory Extraction was Reen''s bloodline Ability after all, back when she was still a demon beast. For some reason, she was not able to use her previous Abilities the same way she was used to in the past. At least for now. However, receiving memories from Eren and processing them in an instant was still no issue for her. Chapter 1640 Reen Channeling Her Inner Goddess

Chapter 1640 Reen Channeling Her Inner Goddess

"Reen. let her know who you are." Eren said matter of factly after he gave her the basics in the Oninguage. Thetter understood what he wanted from her without additional details. She closed her eyes and turned into the form she was vaguely familiar with while spreading out her aura. In the next moment, Reen''s appearance changed drastically. From a normal-looking human, she turned into something monster-like. Her skin turned blue and she grew a pair of long horns from her forehead. Her eyes turned golden orange as if they were two mini suns. Her aura also changed, making here across as a divine entity. Bisha''s eyes opened wide as she looked at Reen with a look of shock. Soon, that shock was converted into a look of joy and devotion as she felt Reen''s presence closely. "This this can''t be a mistake. She she is the incarnation of Goddess Echinda," Bisha got on her knees and she looked at Reen with her eyes tinged with pure bliss and faith. "My goddess, I your humble servant will do anything to please you. Please give me your blessings," she said as she lowered her head in front of Reen in devotion. Bisha had witnessed the worldwide phenomenon that the goddess Echidna''s brief arrival had caused in Anfang. She was shocked to find out that the chief goddess of the monster pantheon, who was considered the supreme power in Anfang by default hade to Anfang, the Land of the Faithless for some reason. She was sure that nobody from Echidna would have believed her if she was able to send news regarding those events back to her previous contacts on Echidna. Bisha had seen the series of cmities that had struck Anfang one after the other. Since nobody had clearly told her what had actually transpired, she had just considered goddess Echidna''s presence as the reason why the mortals on Anfang were facing such harsh times. Thus, Bisha was shocked to find out that the goddess'' incarnation, who was the reason why Echidna was able to show herself, was also connected to Eren in some way. Before meeting Reen, Bisha had considered cooperating with Eren on a need-to-know basis. She believed that as long as she kept buying time, someone from Echidna would eventually show up. And therein lies her chances of breaking free of the shackles Eren had ced on her. However, her priorities had involuntarily changed after taking one look at Reen. She wasn''t interested in leaving Anfang anymore. Escaping from Eren''s grasp was also not very important in her eyes. At this point, Bisha''s priority was to ensure that she showed her devotion towards the incarnation of the chief monster goddess. She was willing to go to any lengths to please Reen as much as she could. After all, the more she pleased Reen, the more she would earn back in Echidna. Eren had not told Bisha that this was clearly a case of mistaken identity. Reen was not Goddess Echidna''s "incarnation". At least not anymore. The butcher had made sure to liberate Reen from her past, present, and a set future as the soul fragment of goddess Echidna. Of course, Bisha didn''t need to know that. The whole point of him beginning Reen to meet Bisha as soon as the former woke up from her slumber was because he was expecting Bisha to give reactions like these. ''This is better than I thought it''d go,'' Eren thought to himself as he tried to suppress hisughter looking at Bisha. He could tell that he had underestimated the goddess Echidna''s importance in the monsters'' eyes. At least the monsters from Echidna were spiritually active in offering their devotion to their respective monster gods. ''Erni? What What is the meaning of this? What is this monstress doing?'' Reen looked at the kowtowing Oni woman in front of her strangely. Since she was a separate entity from goddess Echidna at this point, she could no longer feel thetter''s faith energy. ''Just act haughty and important. Do as I tell you to do,'' Eren informed calmly as he instructed Reen in private. In the next moment, Reen''s face turned serious as she greeted Bisha. "Your faith in me ismendable, little one. You may raise your head," she said in a cold and callous voice as she looked at Bisha with an impartial look. "Thank Thank you, my goddess." Bisha expressed her gratitude with words and expressions painted across her face as she slowly raised her head. "If there''s anything" "Eren is my champion in the Land of the Faithless," Reen spoke to Bisha as if she hadplete authority over thetter. One had to say that she was ying her part well in channeling the inner Echidna in her that she didn''t have. "As such, you need to help him in every way you can," Reen spoke as she stepped forward and raised her hand a bit in front of Bisha''s face. Thetter held her hand with both of hers as if she were touching some precious object. She did not dare to kiss the back of Reen''s hand, considering it to be the act of "unrealistically reaching for the stars." "As you wish, my goddess," Bisha nodded at Reen as if she would be killed instantly if she didn''t cooperate with her. She then looked at Eren with a newfound perspective as she spoke. "Sir Eren, this things would have gone much smoother between us if you had told me your connection with my goddess," she said as she looked at Eren with a bit of aining tone leaking through her voice. "As if you had believed me if I had told you in advance," Eren snorted as he looked at Bisha carefully. He took one more drag of his Sativa Stick as he addressed Bisha. "The only reason you believe me is because the goddess'' incarnation is with me right now. Why do you think I waited for this long to ask you real questions rted to your world?" he said as he released a lungful of white smoke through his nostrils. Chapter 1641 Pros and Cons P1

Chapter 1641 Pros and Cons P1

Things went smoothly for Eren after he introduced Reen to be the "incarnation" of goddess Echidna to Bisha. Bisha couldn''t undo the divine blessing herself. However, she did not dare to lie in front of Reen. She spilled everything about the current situation in the continent of Echidna, allowing Eren to get a clear picture of her world. Bisha was also truthful about the problems and risks Eren would have to face if he were to visit Echidna as one of the Elder Seeds. The monsters were not quite on friendly terms with the Elder Seeds and potential Elder Seed inheritors. Bisha told Eren about various prophecies rted to the potential inheritor of the Elder Ichor''s divine throne. These prophecies were rted to various existing Elder Seeds. One such prophecy imed that one of the Elder Seeds would be responsible for killing the incarnation of goddess Echidna. That the incarnation would be severed from its original roots and end up hurting the chief monster goddess'' divinity. Eren and Reen looked at each other with nk faces when they heard about this prophecy from Bisha. Eren didn''t know that his act of killing Reen would be seen as an act of sphemy by the monsters on Echidna. The fact that he resurrected her didn''t count because he had also made Echidna sever her ties with Reen so that thetter would be able to retain her personality. If anything, Eren would be seen as a "professional sphemer" if the monsters in Echidna were to know that he had practically told goddess Echidna not to be a part of his life. Eren was sure that goddess Echidna herself wouldn''t mind that he had turned Reen into an Elder Seed Artifact. She also wouldn''t mind that he was making Reen pose as her incarnation in front of her followers or that he had told her to let go of her incarnation. However, he couldn''t convince the goddess'' followers the same way he had convinced Echidna. At least not right away. Not without facing some repercussions in return. Eren could sense that the goddess'' followers on Echidna would be no different than fanatics who would do anything and everything to please her. Even if it meant their definition of appeasement was warped to serve their own interests in some way. Reen was good at acting the part. However, the trick to let Reen assume the form of the goddess Echidna would only work on someone like Bisha because she was currently in Anfang and trapped inside her chamber by Eren. Eren doubted the same trick would work on other monsters, especially the priests who would be spiritually aware of Reen''s identity as a separate entity from the goddess. It also didn''t help that he had already imed Aleph''s divine throne for himself, which made him stand against some forces on Echidna by default. The discussion took quite a long time to conclude. Bisha provided Eren with the answers he needed to his questions. Of course, there were some things she didn''t know or didn''t know the whole truth of. However, Eren managed to get a clear picture of Echidna with his talks with Bisha. *** The night sky had studded itself with countless stars by the time Eren bid adieu to Bisha, promising to return to her in a few days along with Reen. He decided to take a walk through the farnds, using the trail left behind by the mortal farmers. He was lost in his own thoughts as he walked ahead, his eyes looking at the starry horizon in front of him. Reen walked beside him silently, enjoying a peaceful walk after what felt like an eternity to her. She didn''t want to disturb Eren while he was thinking. However, curiosity was trying to get the best of her. In the end, Eren sensed that Reen was trying to ask him something and provided her with some answers. "I was just thinking of the pros and cons of visiting Echidna, Reen," Eren said as he walked slowly, the sounds of his footsteps almost non-existent amid the chirping of crickets. He looked at the half-moon above his head and took a deep breath before expounding on his thoughts. "On one hand, it can allow us to lord over the monsters using your connection with the goddess Echidna. If things pan out the way we want them to, it might allow us to progress steadily with minimum effort. While on the other hand, it can make us the target of zealots who are obsessed over their goddess. What if one of them decides that you are to be caged inside a temple to garner faith for their goddess? I don''t know about you. But I don''t want to destroy another world just to get you back." Reen and Eren both chuckled at Eren''s attempt to joke about their situation in the past. Both of them had grown stronger after they faced their obstacles head-on. So they found it within them to look back at the past events with a fresh perspective. "So Labh Salem then?" Reen asked Eren, keen on knowing about his ns. Thetter pondered a bit before responding. "Can''t say now. Compared to Echidna, we have less information about Labh Salem." Eren said as he scratched under his right ear before tugging at the earlobe. "We can trust the authenticity of the information provided to us by La and Hettie. But the thing about their information is that it is outdated. It would pose a great threat to us if things have changed drastically there. I''m probably overthinking things here. But I don''t want to take risks after iming Aleph''s divine throne." Eren had interrogated La, Le, and even Eliza about the information rted to Labh Salem. All three of them were witches who had their roots in Salem. However, they were born and brought up in Anfang. As such, they could only tell Eren what they knew about their homeworld from House Samael''s old records. Chapter 1642 Pros and Cons P2

Chapter 1642 Pros and Cons P2

Eren''s fiend Hettie was also a witch in her pre-fiendish life. Unlike the trio of witches in Anfang, Hettie hailed from Labh Salem proper. She hade to Anfang as an otherworldly invader during the Titan Cmity Era. Thus, the fiend authenticated the information Eren was given by the trio of witches. She also had more to add, enabling Eren to get a rough picture of the witches'' world. "So you don''t want to visit Labh Salem yet?" Reen asked. Thetter shook his head before adding further. "On the contrary, I want to visit Labh Salem the most out of all the worlds I can get easy ess to. I already had ns to perfect my potion-making skills there ever since I came to know about it. The world is full of half-bloods so I would be able to blend in with them just fine. Plus, the Sin Series Marks are widely used there. Compared to Anfang, it is prowling with demonic entities. Keke. I dare say, they are my people, my pawns. I''d have an easier time manipting them. Labh Salem is like a safe ce for me to experiment with my demonic powers." "I see," Reen nodded after hearing Eren''s exnation. "What about me?" she asked curiously. Since her identity as the ex-incarnation of Echidna was a bit sensitive, she wanted to learn about the potential pros and cons regarding it. After all, she didn''t want to be a burden to Eren ever again. "Labh Salem is safe for you as well, Reen," Eren said calmly. "I say this because you won''t be treated like a goddess there. It means we won''t be given VIP treatment but we also won''t attract too much attention to ourselves. In this way, it offers an opposite set of benefits from Echidna. And in a good way too. Labh Salem also has a considerable number of Amazonians who oppose the council of witches. Unlike what they are in Anfang, they are arge force there, almost as strong as the witches. I don''t care about the dynamics they have with or against each other. But I have established a temporary alliance with the goddess of the AmazoniansC Great Mother. So that might be useful for us as well," Eren exined patiently. The butcher proceeded to exin to Reen the dealings he had with the Great Mother. Although he was sure that the Great Mother would use him for his own benefit, he was okay with it as long as he could reap the benefits of doing it. Eren liked that the Great Mother was honest and upfront about what she wanted from Eren. He would have been more tense dealing with a goddess who had only provided him with benefits without asking for anything in return. As far as he knew, those "overly kind" gods were the kind who would do the most harm to him or anyone they dealt with. "I see. Um something tells me there''s a "but"ing." Reen said and chuckled. She knew that Eren would not focus on the pros of visiting Labh Salem. Eren smiled lightly before speaking further "But! Labh Salem should be too chaotic even now. That means we''ll have to fight against a tide no matter which way we decide to swim. There''s one more thing. Unlike Echidna where only the monster gods from Echidna''s pantheon have their influence, Labh Salem is easier to approach and keep an eye on for the rest of the gods. The Demon Princes will be even more active there. I still don''t know how many Demon Princes consider me as their legitimate ruler and how many stand against me to reim the divine throne for themselves. However, I do not doubt in my mind that Samael will do everything in his power to rally my enemies against me there. Unlike the Land of the Faithless where he was almost powerless to do anything logic-defying, Samael and his underlings will be at their peak in Labh Salem. With his influence, I''ll probably be targeted the first day I step foot inside that world. I have shown too many of my cards while executing the Lazarus Project. The other gods might see meing there. That could be a good or bad thing depending upon who was Aleph''s friend or foe. However, I don''t like the uncertainty attached to it. So I''ll not consider it to be anything good for me. I''m also not sure how prophecies work or who releases them to these fuckers. But they kinda scare me. Imagine me doing absolutely nothing so as not to draw attention to myself and those followers of gods still managing to nab me. So I have to be careful. No "we" have to be careful," Eren said as he looked at the starry sky. "Apart from all thatC from what I have understood about Labh Salem," Eren continued. "There are plenty of ways for me to deepen my potion-making and alchemy knowledge. But that''s not the only reason for me to go there." "Hm? There''s another, more convincing reason?" Reen asked. "Yes," Eren nodded. "An Elder Seed Artifact. I need that artifact from Labh Salem, Reen. The sooner the better. In my hands, that Elder Seed will show its true powers. It''s like it was specially made for me by Aleph. If what I learned about the Seed is true, it would help me greatly to avoid future troubles heading my way." A sort of understanding dawned on Reen as she understood why Eren wanted to go to Labh Salem despite ack of knowledge and greater risks. She could already see Eren''s hunger to im that artifact for himself in his eyes. Reen knew Eren well. He always liked to y safe. As much as he could. However, he wouldn''t hesitate to risk everything on a single wager if the potential gains were worth it. The fact that she was standing beside him and talking with him with her altered status was proof of how much of a risk-taker he was. Chapter 1643 Prolonged Use of Clones

Chapter 1643 Prolonged Use of Clones

Ravendale. The City of White Raven. Agatha''s office. "With this, the ties between Ravendale and Mater have deepened, Miss Agatha. I, Valeria Vanlor, thank you for your cooperation." Valeria thanked Agatha who sat opposite to her on the other side of the desk. She was all smiles because of the long-term business and cooperation deals she had struck with the White Raven Guild, which was the only major power in Ravendale. She also thanked Eren with a nod who sat right beside Agatha. Eren had basically let Agatha handle the matters rted to the deal between Mater and Ravendale. He only offered his insights whenever necessary while ensuring that Agatha''s authority was retained in the process. Valeria was not alone in representing Mater, the newly formed continent that was majorly run by the Amazonians at this point. Seraphina Riversong, Isadora Frostborne, Callista ckthorn, Evelina Green, and Galen Ironfist were also there attending this crucial meeting along with a few more. On Agatha''s side, Eren was one of the major decision-makers along with her. Apart from this duo, Nina, Levine, Jiana, and a few other White Raven Guild members were present. Since the trade and deals wererge scale this time and concerned the future of their respective continents, all of the major yers needed to be on the same page. Thus, Agatha had summoned everyone to this business meeting. "I thank you too, Matriarch Valeria," Agatha responded with a smile on her face. "It is much easier to talk to someone like you who understands us. You had been our guest in the past. And we''d be happy to host you if you decide to stay here for a few days." Agatha had met with the Amazonians a few months ago, right after the Great Shattering. The Amazonians were pretty scared back then, lost about what they needed to do in a world so chaotic because of Eren''s actions. It was Eren who had made Valeria and the rest see this cmity as an opportunity for all the Amazonians in Anfang. It was he who had hinted to them to change their dynamics with the Anfang Alliance and im their own continent for themselves in this chaos. Valeria and the rest were a bit skeptical at first. However, they all remembered what their goddess had said to them when Eren first came to the sacrednd dedicated to her. She had told them that Eren would bring a new era in Anfang and they needed to support him in his endeavor. As such, they decided to heed their goddess'' words. Valeria took the lead and formed a temporary alliance with the White Raven Guild before departing from the newly formed Ravendale. It was only on this day that this temporary alliance was finalized. "We would like to stay here as well, Miss Agatha," Seraphia smiled bitterly before speaking in a voice tinged with exhaustion. "However, we have a lot of work cut out for us. That evil man who sits beside you has made sure that no living being on Anfang dares to take even a moment of rest," she said while looking at Eren with mixed emotions. Seraphina was not alone in wanting to stay in Eren''s city. Evelina and the rest of her original crew who knew Eren personally before the Great Shattering also wanted to spend some time with him. They had a lot of questions to ask. Galen would have been eager to have another spar with Eren as well. He had learned quite a lot in hisst battle with Eren at the cost of almost crippling his path as an Amazonian. He would have definitely asked Eren for another rematch if things between them had stayed the same. However, Galen did not dare to after sensing that Eren had surpassed him and be a Grandmaster. What was the use of a spar if he did not even pose a challenge to Eren? and as far as he knew, Eren was not someone who would take things lightly even if it were to be a friendly spar. The guy would treat it as an opportunity to make Galen suffer the consequences of his absurd demand for a spar between two non-equals. "There''s one more thing before we go, Miss Agatha. Eren." Isadora spoke while looking at Eren and Agatha. She then looked at Valeria and received a nod. Leaning forward against the desk, Isadora spoke in a serious tone. "Arsn and Katiyal are nning to initiate a maritime siege against Ravendale from their end," Isadora spoke as she looked at Eren. "they have also asked Mater, Velen, and Kojurao to cooperate." Agatha looked at Eren when Isadora brought up the subject of a potential siege in the future. She wanted him to take the lead on this. From the looks of it, nobody on Agatha''s side looked surprised. It was almost as if Eren had already predicted something like this was bound to happen someday. "Hm. Let me meet you personally to discuss this," Eren spoke while tapping his fingers on the desk. "Hm? What do you" Isadora looked puzzled when she heard Eren''s response. However, she witnessed Eren vanishing from his position before she could evenplete voicing her query. The one who was Shadow-switched ces with Eren was also another Eren. This time, Eren''s presence was much more prominent than before, almost making Galen gulp in frustration. "You since when can you use clones like an Elementalist?" Valeria asked Eren, expressions of surprise painted across her face. She couldn''t believe that a Ranker could use a clone so proficiently, so much so that even she failed to recognize it was a clone until the real Eren came to meet her. The Amazonians had heard a lot of rumors surrounding Eren ever since the Great Shattering. Some rumors imed that he had killed Sages, chopping them into fine pieces like vegetables. Some had him portrayed as someone who had struck a deal with Anfang''s World Will itself. Some rumors even imed that he had defeated the Witch of the Endermes, a cmity-like existence, a Titan yer from the Cmity Era who would have wreaked havoc on Anfang after her resurrection. Valeria was starting to believe that there was some truth in those rumors after looking at the real Eren in his eyes. Chapter 1644 The Undercurrents In Anfang

Chapter 1644 The Undercurrents In Anfang

Shadow Clones. Ever since he had imed Shallot''s Mirror for himself, Eren was keeping at least three clones active every day at all times to maximize his workflow. His one clone was dedicated to him practicing his potion-making and artifact-creation skills. There was another clone that Eren had maintained to develop a Ranking Technique suitable for his current Rank. Lastly, the third clone dealt with business and political affairs rted to his city and guild. This third clone worked closely with Agatha, lessening her burden by quite a lot. Eren wanted to have a fourth clone for himself which could help Maya in creating a Spatial Gate for his travel to the otherworlds. However, he found it exponentially difficult to keep his remaining clones functioning. In the end, Alephee told Eren to stick to using three clones maximum for now. She decided to take the lead in his ce, supporting and helping Maya in her task. The duo was also helped by Altair Argas and Osha Daman who had nned to leave Anfang along with Eren, starting their own journeys anew in foreign worlds. Maya and Alephee worked in tandem to create this Gate. They were only a week or two away from finalizing the task at hand. The real Eren spent his time with his close ones. Reen had practically reserved the real Eren all for herself ever since she woke up from her nine-month-long slumber. Of course, keeping three clones active at all times put a lot of pressure on Eren''s Spiritual Force. However, he had a lot of soul-recovery potions to mitigate the side effects. Plus, Alephee had told Eren that keeping clones active using Shallot''s Mirror was a good way to increase his proficiency with the artifact as well as train his Spiritual Force. Thus, the butcher kept on abusing the hack that was given to him by the Elder Seed Artifact without a care in the world. *** "What''s an Elementalist?" Agatha asked Eren, clearly not surprised by the fact that she was dealing with Eren''s clone just a moment ago. Instead, she was curious about the term Isadora had used to make sense out of Eren''s logic-defying clone usage. "I''ll tell youter," Eren said to Agatha before focusing his gaze on Isadora and others. Taking a bit of time to collect his thoughts, Eren spoke in a calm and collected tone. "To be honest with you, I was expecting things like this to take ce sooner orter. And I don''t me the two continents for acting this way. I understand you have your own concerns regarding this matter. I also understand that you can''t offend the Anfang Alliance directly. But don''t worry. Things will not be too serious. I''ll make sure of it. Just carry on with the arrangements we have discussed while I make sure to end this matter once and for all," Eren spoke in a confident tone, assuring Valeria and the rest with his promise. Valeria and the rest then took their leave, intending to return to Mater as soon as possible before the potential siege could take ce. They believed that Eren would do as he promised. They just didn''t want to get in the crossfire. "Erni, how confident are you in handling this siege?" Nina asked with a bit of a worrisome voice. "After all, it''s the Anfang Alliance we are talking about." It was only after the guests had left that the White Raven Guild members allowed themselves to express how tense they felt. They did not have sizable S-ranked entities in their ranks to deal with the Alliance. So it was natural to feel stressed no matter how unbelievable Eren''s deeds were in the past. "Keke. Do you think the Alliance wants to fight with us by initiating the siege?" Eren asked Nina and all the others present in Agatha''s office. He shook his head in denial before speaking further. "Those guys are desperate. They are not in a position to fight. Nobody really is with the way things are in Anfang right now. They just want to scare us into giving them a better deal. Remember. We have sizable ranking resources in our reserves. They just want a better deal for themselves than what we have given to the Amazonians. They don''t want to strike deals under the table anymore. They want upfront deals to calm their masses. Especially the popce of Rankers." Eren said while reclining in his chair. The consistent use of the Shadow Clones gave him mild migraine. So he started massaging his temples with his fingers. Agatha was even more tense after hearing Eren''s predictions. "We have already struck a deal with the Amazonians, Eren. We can''t afford to involve anyone else if we want our reserves tost for a sufficient time." Eren smiled before responding. "We don''t have to. I have already talked with the monsters-in-charge from Shiragna. They have sided against the Anfang Alliance in matters rted to initiating a siege against Ravendale. Plus, we have La working on greenhouses all across Ravendale. I believe we''ll soon gain desirable oues from the newly established greenhouses." "So you mean" Agatha asked Eren with a bit of doubt in her voice. Thetter nodded before confirming her assumptions. "That''s right. We''ll ally with Shiragna and even Velen. We will cripple Arsn, Katiyal, and the Alliance as a whole democratically. By turning them into a minority." Eren didn''t have to do much in forming ties with Shiragna. The continent in which the monsters were the majority had readily allied itself with Ravendale just because Reen was there with Eren. The news of her awakening had reached Shiragna after Eren deliberately let the monsters know of her status. As for Velen. Eren had a brief discussion with JJ Edgar regarding the potential alliance with the half-bloods who had imed the continent of Velen for themselves. The half-bloods were already allied with Ravendale. Eren just promised Edgar that he would be able to use the Spatial Gate with him when it was prepared. And that was all the wager he needed to make the half-bloods oppose the Alliance openly. Chapter 1645 “Missing You Will Be the First On My Agenda”

Chapter 1645 Missing You Will Be the First On My Agenda

Corvo Bianco Vineyards. The southernmost region of the City of White Raven bathed in the early evening glow. The sky, though still bright, disyed various shades of orange and gold. "Erni, what will you do after you leave Anfang?" Nina inquired, her gaze fixed on Eren. Seated at a garden table, surrounded by vibrant greenery, the two engaged in conversation. "Hmm, that''s an interesting question," responded Eren between bites of his supperScotch Eggs paired with White Raven ale. Taking a small bite and washing it down with a sip of ale, he continued, "Missing you will be the first on my agenda," a knowing smile apanying his words. "Hehe. You don''t have to use your sweet nothings to convince me, Erni," chuckled Nina. "I already approve of you leaving Anfang. I appreciate the gesture though." "I am not saying it for the sake of saying it," Eren retorted, looking at Nina with a hint of offense. "I''ll indeed miss you, you know." Nina''s face brightened at Eren''s words, easily pleased or perhaps charmed by his simple gestures. One could say that Nina was easy to please. Or Eren knew how to please her in the right manner with mere words alone. "Don''t worry too much, Nina," reassured Eren, finishing his supper. Raising his ss of ale, he continued. "Once I find stable footing, I''ll call you guys up there. After all, no matter where I go or end up, I can use capable hands as my allies. And who better than the guys I already know from Anfang? I''ll leave an arrangement behind after I leave that you guys can use to follow me whenever you are ready to leave Anfang. Or I cane back here after some time and pick you up myself. You could focus on perfecting the Nirvana Array and break into the Grandmaster Rank till then. I don''t want your Ranking Progress to stagnate after my departure." Nina couldn''t help but reflect on how quickly the dynamics had shifted. It wasn''t long ago that Eren, not even a proper Ranker at the time, imed he would surpass her in Ranking Status. Back then, with her Expert status, the gap was considerable. However, in just a few years, Eren not only bridged that gap but also surpassed her, attaining the status of a Grandmaster. It wasn''t that Nina had stagnated. She was already considered to be one of the exceptions in her generation by attaining the Expert Rank at her age while staying in the City of Osan. Furthermore, her Ranking Progress had been extra remarkable since joining Eren''s guild. Yet, Eren''s achievement was nothing short of extraordinary, practically skipping the Master Rank to be a Grandmaster. Nina''s achievements as a Ranker when shepared them against what Eren had achieved. "My Ranking Progress hasn''t stagnated though. It''s you who has used some kind of cheat to surpass me," Ninained while looking at Eren with expressions that said she was looking at a deviant. "Kekeke," Eren chuckled, looking at Nina''s expressions. He nodded before speaking further. "You are indeed right when you say that your progress has not stagnated. But you still need to do better. And I know you can. That''s why I want you to focus on your Ranking Journey with a new perspective. Forget the standards we have in Anfang. You must think of what you need to do to survive in the otherworlds. Not just you. Or Levine. Or Agatha. We all need to do this. So that all of us can rise above the goals we had set for ourselves when we knew nothing about the worlds that are out there," Eren spoke with genuine honesty in his voice. Nina nodded before responding. "Alright. Who else is going with you?" Nina asked while picking up her ss of ale. Sipping her drink slowly, she paid close attention to Eren''s response. "The Immortal nes are not easy to explore," Eren said seriously, his expressions turning a bit stern as he spoke. "With rewardses risk, Nina. My higher Ranking Status might be a problem for me as I''m trying to leave this world. In the past, I had nned to leave Anfang when I was just a Master Rank because that was the bare minimum requirement for one to enter the Immortal nes. It was also said to be the most ideal Ranking Status for one to leave Anfang through the Immortal nes. However, things happened, and I ended up bing a Grandmaster. They say that the risks you attract in the Immortal nes are bound to increase the higher your Ranking Status is. So I''ll be using some Master Rankers from the guild and our allies to be pathfinders for me. Ivor will be the one leading this group. Apart from those guys, I''ll have Reen and Alephee apanying me. Depending upon the path to the world the Spatial Gate connects to, I''ll be taking La or some of my monster underlings as allies. I guess that''s about it." Nina nodded in understanding. She appreciated the fact that Eren was well-prepared for his journey ahead. She also liked that he had considered the risks of traveling through the Immortal nes. Asking him not to travel through those nes because it was risky was stupid. And telling him to be careful was a moot point. Nina was a Ranker herself, and she could understand why Eren wanted to leave Anfang at the cost of taking risks. Thus, she pondered a bit before speaking further. "The world of Anfang will bepletely open to the otherworlders after a century or two. Stepping outside will be a lot easier when that timees. Rankers like me can skip having to explore the Immortal nes if we use the spatial Gates that connect us to the worlds we are traveling directly. I think I''ll probably take a safer route and wait for that time toe. Meanwhile, I''ll try to break into the Grandmaster Rank. With the kind of ranking resources we have at the time, it shouldn''t be too difficult." Nina said casually before gulping down the remaining ale in her ss. Chapter 1646 “I Never Want To Stop Making Memories With You”

Chapter 1646 I Never Want To Stop Making Memories With You

The period of a century or two was not that big for a Master Ranker like Nina. The idea of staying apart from Eren for such a long period was indeed a bit difficult for Nina to digest. However, she also treated it as one of the motivations she needed to progress in her Ranking Status. She was also fascinated by the prospect of exploring realms other than Anfang. She felt like she had again be a beginner Ranker and was preparing herself for her days as an adventurer ahead. Seeing Eren progress in his Rank had lit a fire inside Nina''s heart as well. It was as if she wanted to impress Eren after he was gone by giving her everything to progress ahead in her path as a Ranker. Eren smiled at Nina after seeing how understanding she was. From his side of the table, he let his hand approach hers before holding it firmly. "You know, you never told me how you felt after I caused the Great Shattering here. Is there anything you want to tell me? I''d understand if you want to brand me as you know," he said in a low voice. Nina shook her head and held Eren''s hand before speaking up. "I won''t judge you because I wasn''t in your shoes, Erni. It''s fine if this worldbels you as evil. I and many others from the White Raven Guild, who have benefited from you and your sess, are equally implicated. I believe that if we share our fortunes, it''s also our responsibility to share the burden thates with them. None of us from the White Raven Guild have any moral stance tobel you as evil or judge you for your actions. And since I have already decided to side with you no matter what, I won''t think about anything else," Nina said in an assuring voice. "Keke," Eren chuckled after hearing Nina''s words. He had to say that she knew how to make him feelfortable as much as he knew how to make her feel secure. It was as if the two could understand each other without having to verbalize their thoughts. "You never fail to impress me," Eren said before standing up while still holding onto Nina''s hand. "Hehe. The feeling is mutual, Erni," Nina said while getting up from her chair. The two stood in front of each other, their breaths on each other''s faces. As the evening sun painted the sky with hues of orange and gold, Eren and Nina found themselves drawn to each other. They took a walk together, discussing various things. Casual talk meandered into the realm of romance, reminiscent of the moments they had shared in the past. Amidst the lush greenery, Eren and Nina decided to revive an old tradition. A soft tune yed in the background, setting the perfect ambiance for a slow dance. Eren extended his hand to Nina, inviting her to the dance floor formed by the dense foliage and flowers. They swayed to the gentle rhythm, their movements synchronized like a well-practiced dance. In each other''s embrace, they lost track of time, cherishing the familiar warmth and thefort of being close. As they danced, casual conversation intertwined with the romantic atmosphere. Eren, with a tender touch, started caressing Nina''s face, tracing the contours as ifmitting every detail to memory. Nina, in turn, found herself inhaling Eren''s scent, a mixture of familiarity and something indefinitely special. The world around them faded away as they enjoyed each other''spany, wrapped in the enchantment of the evening. Nina rested her face on Eren''s chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. The slow dance became an intimate moment, where words were exchanged not only through conversation but also through thenguage of touch and shared memories. The two lost track of time as they enjoyed each other''spany. When the night fell, Eren and Nina discovered a silentnguage, a dance of emotions that transcended the need for words. The Corvo Bianco vineyards witnessed their connection growing deeper, the dance floor bing a canvas where the strokes of their shared history painted a picture of affection and understanding. As the music yed on, Eren and Nina continued to dance in each other''s arms, savoring the simplicity and depth of the moment they had created. They knew they were about to get separated from each other for quite some time. However, instead of feeling downcast, they both started focusing on the present. Eren had worn a simple half-sleeve white tunic and caramel-colored trousers. He would always wear aid-back outfit whenever he visited Corvo Bianco vineyards. It was as if the outfit was his way of telling the world and Nina that he had left all his problems behind him for the time being. And that he was here to enjoy Nina''spany. Nina wore a simple cobalt blue dress and a pair of blue shoes. She looked elegant and charming at the same time. As they swayed, Eren''s fingers traced delicate patterns on Nina''s back. The casual talk transformed into whispers of shared secrets exchanged in the quiet pauses of the music. "What''s the color today?" Eren asked while dancing slowly to the beats. He knew she would know what he was asking about. "Hehe," Nina chuckled. "Um tapis colored I think," she said with a bit of uncertainty. "I I don''t know what color that is," Eren smiled mirthlessly as he came clean. All his imagination failed him. He was pretty sure that this was the first time he had heard the word tapis. "Hehe," Nina found Eren''s expressions amusing. "You''ll soone to know what "tapis" looks like, my dear," she said while pulling his right cheek yfully. "I''m looking forward to it," Eren said. "Same here. I never want to stop making memories with you," Nina responded. Nina, looking up at Eren, found herself captivated by the sincerity in his eyes. She felt as if her consciousness would get pulled into an illusory world merely by looking into his emerald green eyes. Eren''s hand, which had been caressing Nina''s face, gently moved to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Nina, in response, nestled closer, her head finding afortable spot on Eren''s shoulder. Their heartbeats, now in sync with the music, seemed topose a melody of their own. Soon they found themselves inside Nina''s boudoir. They spent the night in each other''s embrace. Chapter 1647 Eren’s Allies: Myriad Goals

Chapter 1647 Eren''s Allies: Myriad Goals

Inside Sansara World 2.0. Maya''s courtyard. "So how''s the progress so far?" Eren asked Alephee and Maya as soon as he met them. The strange world created by Sansara Sage had been bustling with activity for a few months, courtesy of Eren''s aim to enter one of the Immortal nes. The Sansara World 2.0 provided the right kind of environment for the task. It was as if the Sansara Sage himself wanted his sessor to get outside of Anfang and find him. Alephee looked at Maya, gesturing to her to answer Eren''s query. Thetter looked in a particr direction before answering. "If things go well, we''ll be able to open a stable connection within nine days. Maybe even before that, if we get a bit lucky, that is," Maya answered truthfully while sipping on her tea. "So roughly a week? That means we are right on schedule," Eren smiled as he looked at the twodies with an appreciating nod. He knew that both of them worked hard to make this possible within such a short time. Even if they had Sansara Sage''s research data and guidelines to work on, it was them who had done all the groundwork. Eren knew that if it was only him, it would have taken him three years at the very least to achieve the kind of progress the two had achieved in a few months. This was not because Eren''s Ranking Status was low or because he was less talented than Maya or Alephee in this field. It was just that the experiments rted to opening a gate to traverse the Immortal nes were unpredictable half of the time. "Indeed. Have you wrapped up all your affairs here, Eren?" Alephee asked curiously while indulging in the vourful aroma and taste of the same tea Maya was having. One could say that Maya had turned Alephee into a bit of a tea lover like her. "Well, I have done all that I can," Eren said while shrugging his shoulders. "However, new things just keep popping up like wild mushrooms," he said with a bitter smile. *** Eren''sst few months were pretty hectic. This was why he had been using his clones to split his workload. He had multitasked like no other, allowing him to make the most of his limited time in Anfang. It was not that Eren had only invested time in his business endeavors. He had also made sure to bid goodbyes to the women he was involved with personally. Some did not take the news of him leaving Anfang as lightly as Nina. However, all of them understood that it was probably for the best that Eren was leaving. After all, as things were, one could say that Eren had a target painted on his back. There were just too many Sages who were after his life. They had only stopped themselves from targeting Eren directly because they were afraid of his trump cards. However, the more Eren stayed idle in Anfang, the bolder the Sages targeting him would get. They were bound to muster enough courage in them to attack Ravendale and deal with the butcher personally. Sage Zavir from the Anfang Alliance was personally motivated to kill Eren the first chance he got. His son had died because he was unable to survive the half-blood transformation Eren had triggered to execute the Lazarus Project. The current Anfang was too unstable. The cmities had ended and the world was on the course of recovering itself anew. This was an idle time for the Sages from the Anfang Alliance to get rid of the massive threat they all had in the form of Eren. Eren needed to disappear from Anfang for some time for things to cool down. Only after his disappearance could Ravendale try to pitch for non-aggression pacts with the rest of the world. Some of Eren''s allies wanted toe with Eren. His monster underlings like Baran, Sharog, and Kaalmaahen wanted him to influence his decision so that he would visit Echidna and they''d be able to visit that world along with him. Even the S-Ranked monsters like Parmar, Loma, Rawood Khal, and Kayini had somehow got the wind of Eren''s eventual departure from Anfang. They too wanted to visit Echidna with him in search of something that would allow them to break past their current ranks. Thanks to the bloodline memories the monsters had inherited about Echidna from their birth, they all knew that there was a bigger realm out there where the fabled S-Rank from Anfang held little significance. If they wanted to exceed the standards set in Anfang, they needed to step outside along with Eren. However, Eren didn''t want to take all of his monster allies with him. He was unsure about how the Immortal nes worked and taking these monsters with him mightplicate things for him during such a precarious journey. Nevertheless, Eren decided to respect the feelings of his underlings and allies. He was going to make Sansara World 2.0 essible to his allies. All so that they could use the arrangements left behind by him to travel to the worlds they desired. As such, Eren encouraged his monster allies to explore Echidna on their own when the time was ripe. He was sure that after he seeded in traveling through the Immortal nes, the data collected from his journey would help those who wanted to leave Anfang after him. The butcher told his monster army that they would probably be able to meet on Echidna if and when he decided to enter the world meant for the Children of Echidna. In a way, he had asked his monster underlings to establish their own domain of influence in Echidna when they found themselves on Echidna one day. He hoped that his monster underlings would be able to create their own space in a world full of "monsters". All so that he could rely on them and their potential connections in the future when he finally decided to visit Echidna. Chapter 1648 Maritime Seige

Chapter 1648 Maritime Seige

Eren had also met up with the White Raven Crew members during this time. They had be an integral part of the White Raven Guild at this point, finding their ce inside his city. They too had decided to leave Anfang once they broke through into the Grandmaster Rank. Unlike Eren, Jake, Renita, and a few others from the White Raven Crew wanted to visit Tel QuasserC thend of the Fey. they believed that the homeworld of the fey would allow better opportunities for them to forge their Ranking Path ahead. Of course, all of this depended on how sessful Eren''s departure from Anfang was. The Spatial Gate that Maya and Alephee had created needed to be wless for Rankers from Anfang to leave their homeworld without taking many risks. Only then could these Rankers travel to their required destinations effortlessly. As for how the Rankers allied with Eren could enter the Immortal nes? Eren had made use of the Seven-headed serpent statue that he had obtained from Eliza''s Purgatory to brand the souls of his allies with the Sin Series Marks. Of course, the Sin Series Marks were not for everyone. This was because not everyone was suited to receive such Marks on their souls. Eren''s allies could also choose to mark their souls with the Virtue Series Marks, thanks to Lensa''s sessful im over Sage Minerva''s Utopia. The Spatial Gate Maya and Alephee had forged were technically primed to open links with a myriad Immortal nes of either demonic or divine inclinations. As long as one had the Sin or Virtue Series Marks on their soul, they could use the respective Immoral ne that suited them to leave Anfang. At least that''s how things were supposed to go as per Sansara Sage''s case study. As for those who didn''t want to brand their souls with Sin or Virtue Series MarksC Eren simply asked them to bid their time and wait in Anfang. He was sure that with the weakening of the divine formation each day, it wouldn''t be too long before the direct teleportation gates between Anfang and the worlds closest to Anfang got opened. While Eren was discussing stuff with Alephee and Maya, he received an urgent message from one of his underlings through the voicemunication channel. He smiled before speaking to thedies sitting on the opposite side of the table. "See? Didn''t I tell you that things keep popping up out of nowhere?" Eren''s expression turned serious as he spoke in a grim voice. "Some guests havee to visit us. I better greet them before theyin about me not being a good host," said Eren before vanishing from his spot. Alephee and Maya both looked at each other when the discussion they had with Eren came to an abrupt end. Then they looked at the chair Eren was sitting on just a few seconds ago in contemtion. "I guess they finally arrived," Maya said and sighed. The experiments they did inside Sansara World 2.0 were isted from the rest of Anfang by default. However, she knew that Sages would eventually be able to tell that someone was trying to establish a connection with the Immortal nes. The Sages of the Anfang Alliance had been made aware that Eren had stolen Sansara Sage''s legacy right from under their noses. It didn''t take a genius to understand what Eren was nning to do once the fact rted to the Immortal nes was established. They couldn''t allow Eren to escape Anfang just like that. They were fine with establishing ties with Ravendale in the future after Eren was punished for his crime. As such, Maya wasn''t surprised by the arrival of Eren''s guests. If anything, she was more surprised by the fact that they had waited this long. She could only attribute this phenomenon to Eren''s vicious methods of dealing with his Sage opponents at the time of executing the Lazarus Project. "Should we follow him?" she asked Alephee. Thetter shook her head. "No need. He''ll be able to handle them just fine," she said casually as if it was no big deal. *** A seemingly wild ind. A few nautical miles away from Ravendale''s shore. It looked like something huge had happened overnight on this particr ind, transforming itpletely. It had now be a base for a small army of Rankers who hade here from Arsn and Katiyal. Some hade here using ships driven on mana as fuel. Others had been summoned here after the teleportation array formations were set up on the ind. This ind was not the only one that had received such type of attention from Rankers. The natural inds around Ravendale had been turned into bases for these small armies of Rankers. It looked like the arrangement was part of arge-scale maritime siege initiated on Ravendale. "Quick! Set up the formations," A Ranker from Arsn shouted at his underlings. "Sage Zavir is personally going to check up on today''s work at the end of the day," he warned them in a threatening tone. "Yes, Grandmaster Remon. We will be able to finish." One of the Rankers who was answering Grandmaster Remon suddenly stopped in his tracks when he saw a lonesome figure approaching their makeshift camp from a distance. He could tell that the figure steadilying towards them with deliberate steps was no ally of theirs. His presence was akin to a sheathed weapon that was ready to draw blood at any moment. "Its it''s Grimdawn!" The Ranker was finally able to recognize the name of a Grandmaster who was approaching their camp. He had seen Eren up close and he had felt thetter''s presence at the time of the Lazarus Project, on the battlefield. He was one of the lucky few who had managed to survive the tragedy because he had retreated on time. As such, he couldn''t mistake Eren for anyone else. Especially when Eren had no intentions to hide himself. The sky crackled and the mana of the entire region was galvanized as soon as Eren''s identity was confirmed. The array formations lit up and the Rankers present on the ind screamed and prepared themselves for whatever was about toe to them. "So you finally decided to show yourself," Sage Zavir appeared at the entrance of the makeshift camp. He looked at Eren and made an "I''m impressed" face beforementing. "I am surprised you still have the guts to face me," said Zavie while looking at Eren with a gaze soaked in suppressed hate and anger. Eren smiled before responding. "I''m surprised for the same reason as well. I wonder how many Sages will I have to kill in Anfang before they finally learn their lesson?" gm Chapter 1649 The Pressure Tactics

Chapter 1649 The Pressure Tactics

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Within the blink of an eye, Sage Zavir was joined by other Sages, including Sage Hansen Lehan, representing the current kingdom of Edinburgh back in Arsn. "What do you have to say about now, boy?" Sage Hansen smiled with evil intentions as he looked at Eren. Eren had killed King''s Hand Garos Renar and other important Rankers from Edinburgh during the Lazarus Project. Plus, he had killed Hansen''s potential love interest inside the Birdcage barrier as well. Hansen had a score to settle with Eren for that. "What do you want me to say? Did you already forget what I had done thest time I was surrounded by these many Sages?" Eren asked calmly as he looked around, facing a Sage-level siege. Zavir''s expressions darkened, reminded of how Eren had killed multiple Sages during the beginning of the Great Shattering, and he was barely a Master Ranker back then. ''Hansen. Don''t do anything stupid. This demon is too crafty. Be on your guard and just stay in your position.'' Zavir warned Hansen privately, preventing him and others from taking any action against Eren. He was sure that the feat Eren had pulledst time couldn''t be repeated so easily. However, he didn''t want to give Eren the chance to y multiple Sages once again. "I hope you know what you have done to the whole of Anfang, Grimdawn. Billions of people died because of the things you did back then," Zavir stepped forward and said to Eren, looking him in the eyes. "I know what I have done," Eren nodded as he looked at Sage Zavir. "I''m sorry for any loss of lives you may have personally been involved with. It all happened because I didn''t have a better choice back then. I was backed into a corner so I had to retaliate. So no matter how I feel right now, I''d do things in the same manner all over again if I was sent back in time." "You." Sage Hansen felt anger boiling within him hearing Eren''s words. However, Zavir''s expressions softened when he heard what he considered to be an apology from Eren. One could say that the butcher knew what to say on which asion. "The past cannot change, but you can certainly rewrite your wrongs in the future, Grimdawn. We are here to stop you from entering the Immortal nes. We can''t let you go unpunished, you see." Sage Zavir said after taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Things would go smoothly for you and your people if you surrender and cooperate with us. We''d like it if you let go of your im on Ravendale as well." Eren smiled knowingly when he heard Zavir''s words. He understood the hidden meaning behind them. It turned out that he had predicted right. The continents of Arsn and Katiyal were desperate for resources, and Ravendale was the ideal ce to acquire them. As such, they wanted to take Eren out of the picture and strike a deal with whatever remained of the White Raven Guild after his forced or voluntary exit. Just like he had imagined, the maritime siege was the pressure tactic the Anfang Alliance hade up with to flush Eren out of hisfort zone. They knew that with such big movements happening all around Ravendale, Eren would be forced to show himself. Except, they didn''t expect him toe to them all by himself without his army of monsters and Rankers under him. Thus, Zavir couldn''t help being on his guard. His past experience had taught him that Eren was most dangerous when he was all alone. "Cooperate? Kekeke," Eren chuckled mockingly as he looked at Zavir and Hansen with eyes full of contempt. "You want me to stretch my neck out for you so that you can chop my head off without breaking a sweat? I may have altered the past, present, and future of Anfang with my actions. But I didn''t know I made you guys hallucinate. You guys, things change with time. However, they also stay more of the sameC a paradox of time, if you will. This is still Anfang. And things will never be given gift-wrapped to you here, no matter which era we live in. Come. Take whatever that you want from me using your brain or brawn. Or go back to your homes, live your lives in a bubble. I have nothing against people who want to hallucinate anyway." "This is not hallucination but the reality you have brought upon yourself, Grimdawn," Hansen said, gritting his teeth. "If you don''t relinquish your im over Ravendale, not only you but your allies and subordinates will also suffer." Eren smiled as he looked at Hansen. Shaking his head, he spoke calmly. "If you want to use my subordinates'' well-being as a bargaining chip to strike an unfair deal with me, be my guest. In return, I''ll just start targeting your people instead. I''m talking about your kin who are in Arsn and Katiyal. The things and people you care about. I hope you know I''m perfectly capable of doing that. If you force me to do something I don''t want to do, the end result will not be pretty for you. I can guarantee you that. I guess words are useless. Instead, let me show it to you. Watch closely now." Eren said before tapping his Titan transformation. A runic tattoo of a red sun appeared right between Eren''s eyebrows. In the next moment, streaks of golden lightning surrounded the butcher, and the sky above him darkened all of a sudden. Swoosh. Strike. Boom. The golden lightning struck Eren and the elemental mana in the surroundings was galvanized like a tidal wave. "This not good. ALL OF YOU! GET BACK!" Sage Zavir shouted at his allies before pulling himself back from his initial position. He looked at Eren with a mix of shock and dread as he watched him transform into a Titan. ''This this can''t be. A Titan from Ansia! He belongs to that wretched race from Ansia!'' Chapter 1650 Failure of the Pressure Tactics

Chapter 1650 Failure of the Pressure Tactics

Eren turned into a towering giant within a blink of an eye. He stepped forward and caused a mini earthquake that the Sages and other Rankers surrounding him could feel in their bones. Reen was with Eren. She chose not to show herself because she didn''t think she needed to confront the Sages personally. However, she transformed herself into an Elder Seed armor and allowed Eren to be a dragonoid as well. All without Eren having to say anything to her. Roar! Eren screamed at Sage Zavir and Hansen, which was turned into a draconic roar thanks to the dragnoid armor. The roar was so intense that it caused some Master Rankers in the far back to lose consciousness just by being in the vicinity. The Grandmasters struggled to stop their legs from shaking. And even Sages had expressions of worry and fear etched across their faces as they looked at Eren. ''So our assumptions were right. He was the one who subdued the Witch of the Endermes.'' Sage Zavir gulped empty air as he looked at Eren''s dreadful dual transformation. He knew that Eren was trying to intimidate them. However, it didn''t stop him from having goosebumps on his skin. When Sage Zavir blinked again, Eren had returned back to his normal form. The whole transformation was so surreal to Zavir and the rest that they had to look at each other''s face to verify the fact that it actually happened. ''Damn it. This transformation forces me to go naked in front of my opponents,'' Eren cursed the Titan transformation as soon as he returned to his normal form. ''Thanks for covering for me, Reen,'' he said to his ex-demon beastpanion turned Elder Seed Artifact spirit. ''Hehe. don''t mention it.'' Reen responded in Eren''s mind. She chuckled after imagining how things would have turned out for Eren if he had held diplomatic talks with Zavir while being buck naked. Eren snapped his fingers and a set of clothes appeared under his artifact set. Only then did he ask Reen to retract herself. "What do you have to say about now?" Eren asked as he looked at Zavir and others with eyes that said "try me." "How How did you turn into a Titan? Are you originally from Ansia?" A Sage asked Eren with a serious face. However, the subtle shake in his voice let Eren know how much internal turmoil he was facing at the time. "Was it you who defeated the Witch of the Endermes?" Anotherdy Sage asked while looking at Eren warily. They had heard that a Titan had defeated Eliza Samael after everyone was gone from the battlefield. Of course, nobody could actually confirm after the events unfolded during the Great Shattering. Eren smiled at thedy Sage. ''Now that''s a good Sage bod. Truly S-Rank,'' Eren said to himself as he stared at her contours from afar. "What do you have to say about now, Sage Zavir?" Eren did not answer the questions thrown at him by the remaining Sages. Instead, he decided to strike a conversation with Zavir who was clearly the leader of the Sage gang and the other Rankers present at the scene. "You are you from Ansia?" Sage Zavir asked Eren in a serious voice. If Eren was indeed from Ansia, there was no use trying to pressure him into striking deals with them. There was no use trying to bargain for ranking resources. Sage Zavir would have told all the Sage Rankers tounch an attack on Eren directly without worrying about the consequences. This was because Sage Zavir had read about the people from Ansia. He was asked by his seniors to never allow the denizens of Ansia to step foot inside Anfang. "No. I was born and brought up in this soil. Anfang is as much as my home as it is yours," Eren said in a serious voice. It was as if he could read what Sage Zavir was thinking about and decided to calm his nerves. Sage Zavir wanted to ask Eren how he could transform into a genuine Titan if he was from Anfang. If he was able to acquire the method that could allow the Rankers to transform into Titans, it would be a big win for the Anfang Alliance. After all, the divine formation had already shattered, barely clinging on as a residue. The Titans from Ansia were bound to visit Anfang one day. If the Rankers from Anfang could turn into Titans, it would provide the denizens of thisnd to pose an actual threat to those ursed otherworlders. That too without having to sacrifice thousands of Rankers in the process. Incidentally, this was what the Clean te Project was all about. House Samael was tasked with finding a way that could allow the Rankers from Anfang to turn into Titans using the Titans'' bloodline as a driving force. The creation of an artificial demon beast was the solution House Samael hade up with at the time. It was just that the denizens of Anfang never got to know about House Samael''s findings before it was destroyed. Sage Zavir realized that asking Eren how he found a way to transform into a Titan was useless. Eren wouldn''t tell him because he asked nicely. After all, this was a crucial piece of information and they hade here to bargain with Eren in the first ce. "I see that you indeed have a trump card to carry on with your threat," Sage Zavir took a deep breath and said. "However, do you believe that we can still kill you by using S-Ranked battle formations? No matter how many of us get killed in the process, we can ensure that you don''t see tomorrow''s sun," he said to Eren calmly. "Hahahaha," Eren startedughing. "Do you think we are not capable of doing that?" Sage Hansen asked, not liking the fact that Eren wasughing in their face. "No. I believe you. Why wouldn''t I?" controlling hisughter, Eren responded. "However, you can only kill me if I decide to fight with you till myst breath. Do you think I''m some ideological idiot who''d fight a battle he can''t win and wager his life while doing it?" Eren asked as he looked at the Sages with a gaze that challenged them to act. "I''ll just run away from here and find a safe spot. Then I can just take my time nning my revenge on you guys. I still have Sansara Sage''s space element runes on me. Nobody can stop me if I want to leave this ce unscathed." Chapter 1651 “Blood of My Enemy Shall Boil and Break Past His Mortal Coil”

Chapter 1651 Blood of My Enemy Shall Boil and Break Past His Mortal Coil

Hearing Eren''s words made Sage Zavir realize something. Zavir realized that this was not the same Eren he had faced during the Lazarus Project. He had different circumstances a few months ago when he was resurrecting Eliza. At that time, Eren didn''t run away from a siege because he was forced by his circumstances, making him stay on the battlefield despite being surrounded by myriad dangers both inside and outside the Birdcage Barrier. However, Eren was not bound by the same restraints he had back then. The man did not believe in the Rankers'' Code of Conduct to begin with. He was fine with saving his life even if it came at the cost of his reputation getting sullied. "Stand back," Sage Zavir sighed beforemanding his allies not to draw weapons against Eren. There was no use applying pressure tactics on a man who was ready to set the whole world on fire in response. He had to say that it was Eren who had applied his pressure tactics on his enemies sessfully. ''I can''t allow my pride to get the better of me. For this world, for people living in it, I have to take a step back,'' Zavir thought to himself. The continent of Anfang was already going through a lot of turmoil even if the natural cmities came to an end. Zavir didn''t want to add to the problems he was already facing by making someone like Eren his enemy. "Wise choice, Sage Zavir." Eren smiled at Zavir before offering a courtesy bow to him. He knew it was finally time to talk business. However, he had underestimated the enmity a certain Sage had cultivated in their heart against him. "No! We can''t allow this brat to walk all over us just like that." Hansen Lehan was not happy with Zavir''s decision. He looked at Eren with anger boiling within himself. Looking at Eren''s smile, he felt as if he was being ridiculed. One could say that he was taking things way too personally. Even if he had topromise, he wanted to release his frustration by bullying Eren a bit. After all, Eren had oncee very close to killing him. It was only due to the Sansara Sage''s inheritance that he had survived the trap Eren had set for a bunch of Sages surrounding him during the incident that started the Great Shattering. He decided to act on his emotions right away, not allowing Sage Zavir or any other to intervene in the matter. Swoosh. Zoom. Bang. Sage Hansen Lehan had space-element attainments. He used them to separate Eren and himself from the rest of the crowd by creating a temporary alternate dimension. Within a fraction of a second, water-and-fog-like walls were created around Eren and Hansen. The Sages and other Rankers ying witnesses could see Eren and Hansen trapped in this illusoryyer. However, they could not approach them because the two didn''t exist in the same spatial dimensions as them. "Hansen you fucking braindead old man. What the fuck are you doing?" Sage Zavir screamed at Hansen while trying to intervene in his eventual sh with Eren. However, the moment he tried to touch the illusory wall, his hands went right past it. Hansen had prepared this move beforehand, using an S-Rank array disk to cast this barrier. This was why the Sages failed to intervene. One could say that Hansen hade prepared to target Eren and counter his ess to the Sansara Sage''s runes from the get-go. Although the barrier was only going tost for a few seconds, it was all the time he needed to take care of Eren. At least that''s what Hansen had thought. Sage Zavir decided to use his own S-Ranked powers to forcefully break Hansen''s barrier. However, he knew that it would take a while for him to do so. And it didn''t look like Hansen was going to wait for Zavir to stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do. Hansen ignored Zavir and others. It was not like he could listen to them anyway because of the special dimension he was in with Eren. He looked at Eren with a grim look before speaking up. "Brat, there''s just no way I''ll let you do whatever you please," Hansen spoke as he stepped towards Eren. "You are from the old kingdom of Edinburgh. So I believe it''s my responsibility to puni" Hansen didn''t get to voice his threats to Erenpletely. This was because thetter decided to act as soon as he confirmed the position he was in. ''Edict Over Water: the blood of my enemy shall boil and break past his mortal coil.'' Hansen didn''t know what happened to him but he suddenly felt as if his innards and internal organs were in a scorching furnace. He felt the energy in his S-Rank body draining and his control over the surrounding mana weakening. "What uuuuugh. What kind of . Aaaaaah spell is this? What kind of Ability. Aaaaaargh!" Hansen''s body turned red as if he were a mortal and having some kind of severe allergic reaction. His speech was cut short when the blood from his body decided to pour out of his orifices all at once. Hansen vomited blood. His eyes cried tears of blood. His skin ruptured from various ces and blood poured out from it as if it was excited to get out of his body. His ears also sprouted blood like two mini fountains. His nails bled and so did his dder via its usual release. Even his anal opening was no exception to this phenomenon. A pool of blood was created around Hansen in a short span of time. His Sage Ranked body tried hard to fight against this phenomenon by repairing muscle tears and abrupt vein openings at a rapid rate. However, it was of no use. He would soon drop dead in his own pool of blood if things didn''t change for him. ''This this should be enough to make a statement. I should not uggh go any further.'' Eren let go of his divine hold over his divinity just before it could kill Hansen. This was not because he wanted to show leniency towards Hansen but rather because his own body was receiving damage after he wielded his divine powers. Swoosh. Zoom. Grab. Eren grabbed Hansen by his throat and lifted him in the air. His fingers easily dug into his skin and grabbed hisrynx. He was about to yank Hansen''s organ out of its ce when he heard Sage Zavir''s voice. "Eren. Please please let Hansen go." Chapter 1652 Hidden Side of the Politics & Anfang’s Metamorphosis

Chapter 1652 Hidden Side of the Politics & Anfang''s Metamorphosis

Sage Zavir was left aghast by what he saw. He saw that Eren had managed to neutralize Hansen within just a couple of seconds. Even he wouldn''t have been able to do something like that. He could tell that what Eren had used against Hansen couldn''t have been an Ability. However, he was unsure of what it actually was. He neither experienced something like that taking ce in his long life as a Sage nor had read about it in the old records of Anfang avable to him. Only now did Zavir realize that there was a bigger world outside the known limits of Anfang. He felt as if Eren had exceeded him and all the other Sages not in terms of Ranking Status but something much more profound. He wanted to prevent Hansen from making any foolish mistakes. However, he felt that this experiment was worth it to test Eren''s powers. Earlier, Sage Zavir was a bit doubtful about striking deals with Eren. But after seeing how easy it was for someone like Eren to dispose of S-ranked entities, he stopped doubting his decision. Hansen''s array formation shattered when Eren wielded his divinity. It allowed Zavir to approach Eren and Hansen. He interrupted Eren just before he could yank Hansen''s vocal cords out of his body. "Eren. Please please let Hansen go." Sage Zavir said while looking at Eren''s bloody fingers still lodged deep inside Hansen''s throat. He could see that Hansen was still conscious but he had lost his ability to speak or do anything else. A Sage like him had turned into as docile as a chicken after Eren had grabbed him by his neck. Eren turned around and looked at Sage Zavir. He pondered a bit before nodding at the Sage. "Hmm. I''ll agree to your request because you asked nicely. Um I''m sorry you had to see this. This is force of habit." The butcher said before letting go of Hansen''srynx. He could tell that Zavir was mentally disturbed by what he had done and what he was about to do to Hansen. He pulled his fingers lodged deep inside his neck and wiped them off over Hansen''s clothes before throwing him towards Sage Zavir like it was some ragdoll. "Contrary to what''s being said about me in Arsn and Katiyal, I''m a reasonable man, Sage Zavir. Here you go. Take care of this old dog for me. Make sure to leash him for his own good." Eren said while turning around to see Hansen being supported by Zavir. He looked at Hansen before speaking further, knowing full well thetter could listen to him. "Don''t try to bully me just because I''m your junior. The Eren you saw graduating in front of you belongs in the past. I''ll let you go this time. But there won''t be another." He warned Hansen before shing a cordial smile at Zavir. "So where were we?" he asked the leader Sage as if he had nothing to do with the earlier esction. Sage Zavir sighed before gesturing to a female Sage to look after Hansen. After releasing Hansen in her care, he looked at Eren and said in a downcast voice. "Follow me," he said before walking towards the makeshift camp. Eren''s Titan transformation and the resultant tremors had destroyed some of the earlier structures inside the camp. However, a few buildings were still intact. Zavir took Eren into one such structure so that the two could talk in private without any external disturbance. The business talks between Eren and Zavir proceeded smoothly. Zavir decided it was against his interests as well as the interests of all of Anfang to pressure Eren into striking deals he didn''t want. Instead, he took a friendly approach, allowing Eren to state his demands first before negotiating. Contrary to what Zavir might have nned earlier before the meeting, Eren was encouraged to leave Anfang as soon as possible. The arrangements he and Eren had agreed upon during this meeting would onlye into effect after thetter left this world. Sage Zavir also had some seemingly odd demands. He told Eren that his reputation as a Ranker needed to be sullied in the eyes of themon popce and Rankers. Even more than what it was at this point. He would be dered a fugitive by the Anfang Alliance after his departure. The "crimes" he did and the ones he didn''t do would be pinned on him. Only then could the Alliance approach Ravendale and strike deals with the White Raven Guild openly post his exit. Of course, they would portray Eren as the oppressor and the people living in Ravendale as the oppressed. This was so that Rankers from Ravendale wouldn''t be discriminated against by others in the future when trades between continents were opened. Eren was fine with the ill fame as long as it helped him preserve his interests in Anfang. It was not like he was getting praised by the general popce of Arsn and Katiyal while he was here anyway. People at the top often cooperated at the expense of their subordinates'' emotions. A perfect ruse would be created to justify the actions of the upper echelon. This was the hidden side of politics that the general popce would never be aware of. Just like Eren had promised to the Amazonians, he was able to get Arn, Katiyal, and the whole Anfang Alliance to drop their idea of initiating a siege against Ravendale. Things went a lot more smoothly than what Eren had initially predicted. Might makes right. Sage Zavir was very cooperative after seeing what Eren could do. One could say that he deserved to be a leader as he knew when to advance and when to retreat. Eren left just as quietly as he arrived, leaving Zavir and others to handle the rest. He needed to talk with Agatha and others and make them understand the arrangements he had made with Zavir and the Anfang Alliance by proxy. The world of Anfang would embark on a new journey after Eren''s departure. The old setups would eventually be lost in the sands of time. And new political and economdscapes would be created. In a way, Anfang was in the process of shedding its old skin. And Eren was the reason for its metamorphosis. Chapter 1653 The White Raven Colosseum

Chapter 1653 The White Raven Colosseum

Agatha''s private chember. The City of White Raven. Ravendale. "It seems your voluntary exit has been turned into a banishment." Agatha sighed andmented after Eren was done exining to her the arrangement he had established with the Anfang Alliance. Thetter smiled before speaking up. "Does it matter? I get to do the thing I was going to do without any hindrances. So I don''t care what theybel it as," he spoke as he got up from Agatha''s bed. Agatha sat straight in her bed as well, revealing her naked form. She spoke while trying to redo her hair. "They''ll drag your name through the mud, Eren," she said before raising her right hands in front of her before swiping it right. It looked like she wasn''t particrly okay with the arrangements Eren had made with the Anfang Alliance. A mass of water was condensed out of nowhere and wrapped around her body. Another mass of water covered Eren. When the water-element Ability was dispersed, the two had gotten afresh from their night of passion. "Keke. even better," Eren said and stretched his limbs to get rid of the stiffness of his muscles. He looked to be in his best form, his A-Ranked body filled to the brim with vitality and lifeforce. Eren took out his clothes from his ID Storage. ck pants, cream colored tunic, and a full-sleeve ck coat. A formal attire. It was more or less simr to what he wore during his graduation event. "Hmm? Better? Better how?" Agatha asked while looking at Eren with puzzled expressions. "I guess they want to discourage everyone from doing what I did. Especially the future generations," Eren exined while tucking his tunic inside his pants. He then wore his ck coat over it and started buttoning his sleeves as he spoke. "I can see why they would do things like that. To be honest, I don''t want there to be more like me in Anfang either. Otherwise, it will face another series of cmities," Eren said and smiled brightly as he looked at Agatha, as if he was criticizing his own actions. "Rankers like me are a menace to the system of order. What if the next Ranker who causes such a turmoil isn''t as level-headed as I? What if they are not as charming as I am? Evil for the sake of being evil is boring and chaotic evil is hard to control. So in a way, I was probably the best thing that happened to this world. The Alliance doesn''t want to take any chances with whoeveres after me," he said as he watched Agatha getting ready with a new set of clothes. Agatha smiled bitterly when she heard Eren''s perspective on the moves initiated by the Anfang Alliance. She couldn''t deny it in her heart that she adored Eren for his radical perspectives on life. "I''ll soone looking for you, you know," Agatha said as she stood in front of Eren after she was dressed neatly. She wore her usualC a semi-formal attire that was her signature look ever since she had taken up the responsibility of managing the City of White Raven. "I''ll be waiting," Eren said while pulling her in his embrace. His lips nted on hers and the two exchanged a passionate kiss. "A charming evil indeed. You you look great, Eren," Agatha said while trying tob his unruly hair with her hands. Within a matter of seconds, she made him go from semi-decent to formally dressed for the asion. "I''m looking forward to your farewell speech today," Agatha said as she separated herself from Eren''s embrace and looked at him dotingly. "I''ll try not to disappoint," he said and smirked. He brought his hands together and cradled her face, caressing her cheeks, his emerald green eyes having a peculiar sheen staring in hers. In the next moment, he vanished from Agatha''s sight, leaving her alone. Agatha''s eyes turned a bit misty for a moment. However, she took a deep breath and looked all around before shaking her head. In the next moment, a genuine smile appeared on her face as she exited the room. Today was a big day. Not just for her but also for all of the Rankers present inside the City of White Raven. In fact, it was a big day for all of Ravendale. The city was about to host an event to send Eren off. It wasn''t supposed to be big but ended up bing one anyway after the White Raven Rankers came to know the reason behind it. Contrary to what Eren might have thought about himself, "Grimdawn" still had a legit fanbase. *** The Kukenan teau. The White Raven Guild grounds. This was a colosseum. A special kind. People called it the White Raven colosseum. The concepts behind Sansara Sage''s Life And Death Altar had been incorporated into this colosseum. The Rankers associated with the White Raven Guild could fight with their fears or someone else''s fears for real by manifesting them inside this colosseum. Eren had taken up on Maya''s advice to use Life And Death Altar as a training ground for the Rankers under him. To train them better and turn them into a better unified force. The colosseum was what he hade up with. Eren had used his expertise as an Array Expert and made full use of the inheritance left behind by the Sansara Sage. In a way, this colosseum was better than the Life and Death Altar inside the Sansara World 1.0 such that the Rankers didn''t need to "die" in order to face their fears. The Rankers could not only face their own fears but also someone else''s fears as well. The manifestations that were brought to life inside the colosseum were as good as the real-life counterparts most of the time, enabling the Rankers participating as the contestants toe face to face with their mental blocks in real life. Some of the Rankers who managed to win inside this colosseum even experienced Epiphanies they were looking for to ovee their bottlenecks. Some entered Battle Trance and overcame their fears. Chapter 1654 Farewell Speech Chapter 1654 Farewell Speech The colosseum gained poprity in a short time when the Rankers experienced how beneficial it was for their respective Ranking Paths. After all, it allowed the Rankers to unearth their true potential while fighting with their fears. It made them ovee their fears, making it so that it would not hinder their Ranking Journey anymore. And by battling with someone else''s fears, the Rankers started understanding each other better. Soon, it became a mandatory training module for a lot of Rankers'' parties to fight with the fears of their party members, enabling them to gain a new perspective on their teamy and coordination. Compared to what Sansara Sage made the Rankers go through in order to gain something from the Life and Death Altar, one could say that the White Raven colosseum offered an easy therapy. It allowed the Rankers to recover from their past trauma. That is if they were able to conquer their fears. Eren created this magnificent piece of magic and array formation before leaving its care and maintenance to the city administration. He had created this architecture in passing anyway. So he did not think much about it after it was finished. Then one day, out of nowhere, a giant statue of a handsome man was brought into this colosseum. This statue was created by an unknown artist. And it was ced inside the colosseum in such a way that it would be the first thing the spectators would see entering the colosseum. The statue was made from a special white marble stone that exuded a faint moon-like light in the night. However, it had two giant emerald green gems studded into it that served as its eyes. Of course, the statue represented a very controversial figure. The statue depicted a handsome man who had sharp features and a gaze that spoke volumes about his ambitions. He had two swords by his waist and his hands seemed eager to unleash them from their respective sheathes. There was a figure of a white raven perched over the statue''s right shoulder. It had his wings spread in either direction, as if it had justnded on the man''s shoulder. Everyone in the City of White Raven could tell who the statue represented. However, the obvious was bound to be doubtful with the passage of time. Especially since the statue did not have any description attached to it. Today was a special day inside the colosseum. There were no scheduled battles inside the premises today. There were no regr viewers. Instead, the colosseum was filled to the brim with the members of the White Raven Guild. The core members of the guild were allowed to step inside the battleground, to serve as the primary audience for whatever that was about to happen on a levitating tform. The audience in the spectators'' bay as well as the Rankers standing on the battlefield silently. It was as if someone had put a gag order on them that all of them were collectively aware of. Step. Step. Step. The deafening silence was broken into many illusory fragments like a ss screen shattering into million pieces. Someone hade aboard the levitating tform out of nowhere. "Hello and wee," Eren greeted his audience confidently as he looked around to see a sea of people gathered inside the colosseum. He smiled lighty at the crowd and stood with his hands behind his back before speaking further. "First of all, I thank all of you foring to see me off," he said and offered a light bow to his audience gracefully. "I know we all have been busy with our own affairstely because of you know. So yeah, whether you werepelled toe here or kinda forcefully obligated to because of being employed by the White Raven Guild, I thank you all the same." Eren didn''t mind the silence he received in response to his words. Instead, he took a deep breath before continuing. "My father used to say this: you never know how strong or weak you are until you''ve had some real life experience. And more often than not, the things that make you weak can serve as a whetstone for you to be a sharper and stronger version of yourself. You know my mother used to say that I''m a dysfunctional child. And maybe she was right. But my father molded that dysfunctionality into something I could make use of in this chapter of my life. We are all like that. We all have the potential to rise above our circumstances, as defective or broken as we might be," Eren said as he looked at the familiar figures in the audience. It was as if he was pouring his heart out for them. Especially them and nobody else. The original members of the White Raven Crew from Eren''s academy days to the Rankers Eren hade in contact with during his time in the army. From the Rankers he knew in the Lionhearts duchy to people he met in his time in the Nightshade duchy. Even the Rankers from Layos and Arsn who hade to the White Raven city after Ravandale became Ravendale. Just for the sake of being near Eren. Eren addressed these people in the audience. "So what I''m trying to say here is this: don''t run away from your weaknesses. Do everything in your power to gain an upper hand over them. Fight your battles your own way, without caring about thebels you attract. Remember this as you live your lives. Sess is not final. And failures are not the end of the world unless you make them out to be. It is the courage to continue that counts. They say that it is better to fail in originality than to seed in imitation. I say what a load of crap that is. Sess is sess. And failure is failure. Whether you obtain sess through imitating someone or through your own experiences. It does not matter. What matters is howrge and positively life changing your sess is." Chapter 1655 Getting the Basics Right Chapter 1655 Getting the Basics Right The Rankers'' Code of Conduct in Anfang dictated that the Grandmasters share their insights into their Ranking Journey after their recent breakthrough into the A-Rank. This sharing of insights would serve as a sort ofpass for their juniors. For example, Grandmaster Amory shared the insights of his Ranking Journey when it was his time to address the audience during the event that celebrated his breakthrough. Amory''s insights were epted by the Rankers who had simr Ranking Paths as him, enabling them to benefit from his experiences. However, Eren''s speech didn''t include these insights. Instead, he focused on making Rankers go through a phase of self-reflection. This was rather contrasting because Eren could share insights that could be applicable to almost anybody. One could say that his insights were, in a way, globallypatible with all of the Rankers of Anfang. They would have benefited most of the audience if not all. After all, Eren''s Ranking Path was so broad that it would have assimted with every known Rankers'' Path avable in Anfang. Eren had gone for this approach not because he didn''t want to let others benefit from his struggles. Instead, he believed that his not sharing them with others would do them more good. After all, his Path as a Ranker was not suitable for anyone. Only he, seemingly a dysfunctional man, could tread on this path. Others would indulge in self-harm if they tried to imitate him. This was the first time in Anfang''s known history that a Grandmaster''s guidance didn''t include the insights of their Ranking Path. Instead, Eren had used the tform given to him as an outlet to reflect on what he had done and what he was about to do. "After I''m gone from Anfang, you might hear a few rumors about me." Eren said as he looked around. He chuckled to himself before admitting. "Keke. I guess some of them will be true. Before you let those rumors bother you because of your forced or willing association with me, know that they will never have the power to bother me." "What What do you mean by that, Grandmaster Eren?" A low-ranking teenage boy among the crowd asked as he looked at Eren intently. Eren could tell that he was seen as someone legendary in the boy''s eyes even though the two had never personally met. He smiled at the boy before speaking further. "Soon, the Ravendale''s istion wille to an end. It will start interacting with Arsn, Katiyal, Shiragna, and other continents. If someone abuses me or sullies my name, do not fight with them. Do not oppose them. Join them and berate me if you have to, if that''s what it''ll take for you to form connections with them. I don''t care if you talk shit about me behind my back to further your own goals because I won''t be here. Prioritize your self-interests because nobody will do that for you. I used my fame as a tool in the past. So it is only right if I allow you guys to profit from destroying that fame. The times ahead will be tough. You can me being born at the wrong time. You can me it on me for increasing your difficulties. But it wouldn''t solve anything for you. Tough times will also bring with them new opportunities. Think about how you can make use of those opportunities to better yourself. Think about how you can monopolize those opportunities as much as you can." Eren''s speech finally started to have its effects on those who listened to him keenly. They looked at each other for validation. The boy who had asked the question looked perplexed as if he was still debating if he should listen to Eren''s advice or ignore it. Of course, some of the Rankers in the White Raven Guild knew what Eren was talking about. The deal he had struck with the Anfang Alliance was made known to them through a few trusted sources. It didn''t take long for the news to spread. As such, most of the listeners knew what Eren was referring to. The Rankers of the White Raven Guild knew that things weren''t as they used to be in the past anymore. They needed to cooperate with the Rankers from other continents to progress ahead in their respective Ranking Journeys. Furthermore, the world of Anfang will eventually be open to the otherworlders. They, as the denizens of Anfang, needed to stick together in order to stand united against the potential threats. Eren had basically freed the Rankers from any moral obligations that might have hindered them from mixing with the Rankers from other continents. It dawned on some of the Rankers that no matter what the Anfang Alliance says about Eren, the fact remained that he had achieved what he wanted to achieve in Anfang. The way Eren was leaving Anfang was not his silver lining. Instead, metaphorically speaking, his potential ill fame was a small imperfection on an otherwise beautiful vase, which made it more attractive. Perfection in imperfection. "Remember the struggles you made when you were at the bottom," Eren verbally marched on while scanning the crowd with his neutral gaze. "Those who stay in touch with their origins and use them as roots to grow further will eventually outgrow those who don''t," Eren said as he looked at Jake and Steve. "It might sound like I''m saying something mundane or the usual," Eren continued. "And maybe I''m. But you''d be surprised how many of you get your basics wrong. No matter how much this world has changed or will change in the future, Anfang will be more or less the same Anfang that we all used to know. That means it will provide plenty of opportunities to those who work hard to find them. And it will make the ones who want to ride on others'' coattails suffer eventually. Anfang was always about the survival of the fittest. It was always a struggle for Rankers to progress in their respective Ranking Journeys. I ept without any guilt that I''m the cause behind the breaking of Anfang''s established norms. Yet. I want this world to keep its core values intact. It''s like how most of us want the town in which we spent our childhood to not change with time. No matter how much weined while staying there." Chapter 1656 Turning the Colosseum Into a Sacred Ground? Chapter 1656 Turning the Colosseum Into a Sacred Ground? Eren looked at Renita and smiled before speaking further. "Some of you will have to go through tough times to unearth your potential. And some of you will have an easy ride progressing in your path. We can''t control what kind of curses or blessings we get after all. But no matter what the days ahead will have in store for you, keep working hard. Keep striving to better yourself with each passing day. There won''t always be reasons that would make you want to push forward. And that''s okay. Remember. The pursuit of power doesn''t need a reason. The pursuit of self-improvement doesn''t need a reason." The White Raven Crew looked at each other as they heard Eren''s words. They felt as if they had gone back in time and be the students of LA once again. Eren disappeared from his position after saying what he had to say. The audience soon turned in a particr direction all at once to see that Eren was standing over the head of the giant statue that resembled him. "I''m sorry if you didn''t get to hear what you hade here hoping for," Eren said as he looked at the crowd from a new vantage point, a new perspective. "To be honest, I didn''t quite like the idea of Rankers sharing their insights into their respective Ranking Paths to pave the way for future generations. I believe that people don''t care about or appreciate enough of the things they get for free. Maybe, I''m just a bitter man about these traditions because I didn''t benefit from them when I was in your shoes. But for some reason, I think making you work hard to gain my insights will eventually do you more good. If my actions put a bit of blemish on the tradition we have here in Afang, so be it. But I refuse to give hand-outs to Rankers who haven''t shown their resolve to me," Eren said before tapping into his bloodline Ability. In the next moment, Eren effortlessly changed into the Array Master ss. He got on one knee and ced his right palm over the ground, activating an Array Formation. He also tapped into his divinity, adding divine runes to the statue. The Array Formation lit up, assimting with the divine runes. The spiritual fragments rted to the Way of Water were manifested around the statue before they got assimted with the statue as well. Soon, a small water-element replica of Eren was created at the foot of the statue''s leg. It dispersed into thin air after it was stabilized, bing a part of the statue once again. Something strange happened at this point. The statue started exuding a faint divine aura when Eren was done with it. Of course, the Rankers from Anfang were not exposed to the divine nature of things and the value of faith. However, they could sense that something had changed about the statue just by being in the vicinity. The statue was soon coated in Eren''s aura, reflecting his intense and blood-curdling Individuality. The Rankers who started in the statue''s eyes started seeing the world of blood and gore. Some struggled to stay in their positions after they tried to gauge Eren''s Individuality with their senses. They had to fight hard not to scream and lose their calm. Eren''s statue started having a somewhat simr effect on the audience as the Amazonians whenever they saw the giant statue of their deityC the Great Mother. However, the intensity of physical and mental pressure that Eren''s statue had brought onto the audience was far lesser than that of her. Soon, even that pressure subsided after the runes slithering across the statue were absorbed into it like dry earth absorbs droplets of water. It was as if Eren had turned the Colosseum into a pseudo-sacred ground, which was dedicated to him as a demigod. One could say that from destroying other gods'' sacred grounds to making one for himself, a sphemer hade a long way. "Hmm. This should be enough. Like my father used to sayC I will help you by not helping you. I will leave my legacy here in Anfang. It will have the insights that you want," Eren said as he stood straight and looked his audience straight in the eyes. "This colosseum will serve as an ideal testing ground for me to test your resolve. Show me that you deserve what I have to offer to you. And I shall make sure that your Ranking Path bes broader and more profound than you''d ever thought was possible," Eren said as he scanned his audience. Eren had again deviated from the customs of Anfang by leaving his legacy in Anfang when he was only a Grandmaster Ranker. One could say that he was a bitter-minded Scrooge who didn''t want to let other benefits from his hard work. However, the legacy he had left behind was more profound than what even Sage-level entities could afford or care to leave behind. Those who manage to get Eren''s legacy for themselves are bound to soar to new heights no matter their respective Ranking Paths. The low-ranking entities looked at each other with suppressed excitement when they understood what they had to do. They realized that Eren had used the colosseum''s default mechanism as a way to imbue his Individuality into the statue. Eren''s manifestations would appear inside the Colosseum whenever the contenders issued their challenge in front of the giant statue. The Rankers needed to defeat these manifestations in order to im Eren''s legacy for themselves. The colosseum''s mechanism would make sure that the level of his manifestations is matched with the contenders in order to give even a low-ranked entity a fair chance to im Eren''s legacy. The Rankers weren''t sure what kind of legacy Eren had in store for them. However, they were all excited to challenge Eren''s statue multiple times if they had to. After all, it was a legacy left behind by the infamous Grimdawn. Little did they know that things weren''t as easy as they thought them to be. Chapter 1657 Eliza’s Rampage

Chapter 1657 Eliza''s Rampage

Eren left soon after giving his farewell speech to the audience. He didn''t stop Agatha and others from throwing a celebration in his honor for breaking into the Grandmaster Rank. He believed that he didn''t need to oppose all of Anfang''s traditions. It was fine if others celebrated in his name. And it was fine to follow traditions just for the sake of following them. After Eren left, the tform was taken over by the stage artists he had hired long back during his graduation ceremony. The y this time depicted Eren''s struggles at the time of the Lazarus Project. It was his story but with some dramatic ir and exaggeration. Sort of twisting the truth and erging the drama for a theater-like experience. The y was broadcast on various parts of Ravendale at the same time, enabling the people of the continent to get some insights into what actually happened that caused the Great Shattering. The y also had an onscreen Eliza serving as the onscreen Eren''s arch-nemesis. The actors ying these two lead roles were chosen carefully by the city administration. As such, the audience received the y quite well. After the y, one of Argo''s recorded performances was going to get rendered spectrally on the tform. The colosseum was soon filled with various bustling noises and shouts as the Rankers started enjoying the celebration. The Grandmaster for whom this celebration was organized was nowhere to be found. However, nobodyined. It was as if people hade to a tacit understanding to just enjoy themselves for the day before moving on. *** Sansara World 2.0. Maya''s abode. "That was quite a speech you gave there," Eliza said as she saw Eren approaching her. It seemed that the Witch of the Endermes saw Eren making his public appearance via a spectral feed avable to her inside Sansara World 2.0. She wasn''t surprised by the fact that Eren had taken his timeing here. After all, some personal goodbyes needed to be done for the onest time. "I could have said more. But then they''d have to pay me," Eren said casually as he stepped towards Eliza. It didn''t take him long to stand right in front of her. Eliza was not alone. Le and La were also with her. Plus, Maya and Alephee stood close to each other in the vicinity as well, discussing stuff only they were aware of regarding the uing task. *** A lot of things happened to Eliza after Eren defeated her during the onset of the Great Shattering. Eren made sure that Eliza, La, and Le could never hurt him or his allies. He used the Sin Series restrictions that only he had ess to. He then set the trio free, enabling them to seek vengeance on the Anfang Alliance. This was so that the Anfang Alliance could focus on its greatest threatC Witch of the Endermes and leave Ravendale alone for some time until he got things in order. One could say that Eren''s n had worked too well. This was because it took the Alliance a whole nine months to initiate a siege on him. A part of the credit needed to be given to Eliza. Eliza had not kept quiet after she recovered from her physical and soul-rted injuries. She could not do anything against Eren. her pride had already been broken so she could not use her Sin Series Abilities on him anymore either. It was as if she had be a toothless tiger when it came to battling against Eren. Eliza did the next smart thing after she realized the situation she was in. She decided to make use of the chance given to her by Eren, seeking payback from the Anfang Alliance for what they did to her, her House, and all of the half-bloods of her time. It seemed that Lady Zee''s consciousness also influenced Eliza''s actions to some degree. This was because she had located and fought with a group of cultists from the Illuminati who had persecuted Lady Zee for having the same name as Eliza''s original name. One could call it a mere coincidence or fate itself that Lady Zee shared her original name with Eliza. However, since Eliza''s name was considered an ill-omen in Afang by a lot of Rankers who knew about the Cmity Era, the cultist Ranker had to call herself Lady Zee. Eliza was pissed when she got to know about Lady Zee''s past experiences. Her Sin Series Ability influenced her to take a hard stance against Lady Zee''s enemies within the Illuminati. It didn''t take much effort on Eliza''s part to destroy arge number of Illuminati assets during the past nine months. She defeated the man from the Illuminati who had forced Lady Zee to change her name. However, she didn''t kill him. Just like what Lady Zee wanted, Eliza changed the name of the man after defeating him effortlessly in an open duel. She renamed him Asswipe and asked the other witnesses to call him by his changed name from then on. Of course, Eliza didn''t care about what she had to do across all of Anfang to settle Lady Zee''s score with some members of the Illuminati. She destroyed a few cities that were closely connected with the cultist organizations, causing more headaches for the Alliance than what it was forced to deal with due to the Great Shattering. It seemed that Lady Zee and Eliza had decided to ept each other after being forced to share the same body. The two were slowly letting their soul fusion change themselves into someone who was both of them at the same time. They had agreed to let the other take control of the body they shared intermittently. This was thepromise Eliza had decided willingly in order to recover from the grievous soul-rted injury she had. Eliza got ess to Lady Zee''s ck mes after she epted thetter and took revenge in her stead. She managed to merge the properties of ck and green mes, turning her spells even more potent and destructive than what they were before. === AN: Lady Zee''s circumstances were exined in chapter 647. Chapter 1658 Destination: Labh Salem

Chapter 1658 Destination: Labh Salem

Eren let Eliza settle her score. As a result, the Anfang Alliance had a consistent headache for the past nine months. Eliza could even fight and win against Sages while still being a Grandmaster Ranker. She specifically targeted the Sages from the Alliance, killing many of them during thest nine months. Thanks to her eptance of another soul that was Lady Zee, the behavioral restrictions Eliza had on herself due to her Sin Series Ability weren''t as limiting anymore. One could say that her always-active Sin Series Ability had evolved to better amodate another soul. She wasn''t as pressed to keep her pride unsullied as she was before. As such, Eliza could run away from the Anfang Alliance when things became difficult for her to handle. And nobody could stop her if she decided to retreat from the battles of her choosing. Eliza''s vengeance was one of the reasons why Sage Zavir was so keen to strike a deal with Eren. He knew that Eren had subdued Eliza and could control her actions to arger extent. As such, one of Zavir''s conditions for striking business deals with him was to make Eliza stop her rampant attacks on the Sages who had nothing to do with what had happened in the Cmity Era. Eren agreed readily because he had other ns for Eliza as well. After much contemtion, Eren had finally settled on which world to visit right after leaving Anfang. He was about to take Eliza, La, and Le with him, taking them to Labh Salem. The butcher''s n was simple. He was going to use witches to counter the witches of Labh Salem. Of course, he didn''t know what kinds of surprises awaited him in a foreign world. However, he always liked to prepare in advance. Just like how Eliza had used Eren to achieve her own goals, Eren had something simr in mind. House Samael''s roots were in Labh Salem and he could use that to his advantage after leaving Anfang. Eliza had agreed to help Eren get his hands on an Elder Seed Artifact that was in Labh Salem. This was something she needed to do to make herself not feel indebted to Eren''s generosity in sparing her life. There was more than one reason Eliza waspelled to follow Eren. After wreaking havoc all across Anfang during thest nine months, she felt that her vengeance wasn''t as satisfactory as she wanted it to be. This was because those who had wronged her and all the other half-bloods had already left Anfang a long time ago. Assuming things went well for these aggressors, they would still be alive and prospering in foreign worlds. After all, they were Sages from Anfang during the Cmity Era. As such, they had a better chance of survival even in foreign worlds. Eliza wanted to target these Rankers who had exceeded the standards in Anfang. She wanted to destroy them for what they had done to her. Of course, Eliza wasn''t delusional enough to think that she could destroy these Rankers with her current Ranking Status. However, identifying the targets was her priority at this point. She could set her goals and work hard in Labh Salem to match the advancements her enemies had made before destroying thempletely. Furthermore, Eliza also wanted to see what remained of her House in Labh Salem after all these years. She knew that House Samael had been persecuted in its home world due to various circumstances. These circumstances were the reason House Samael was forced to seek shelter elsewhere. Eliza wanted to break her bloodline shackles. And the connections she shared with the original family from Labh Salem could help her in her endeavor as well. The Witch of the Endermes had no interest in the Elder Seed Artifact that Eren wanted for himself. Being from Anfang, she did not even know or understand about the Elder Seed Artifacts as well. As such, she agreed to help Eren get the artifact without much contemtion. Eren and Eliza both knew that they couldn''t just delete the history they had between them. They couldn''t just shake hands with each other to explore Labh Salem, which had be theirmon destination. However, for better or worse, they both knew how to prioritize their self-interests. As such, their temporary alliance did not see many hups in formation. It also helped that their self-interests did not intersect with each other. Eren was fine with Eliza attracting the attention of the big leagues. He was fine with her seeking her due vengeance as long as it did not hurt his interests. Lastly, he was fine with her reestablishing her ties with her familiar roots. If anything, he wanted to see if he could ally with House Samael from Labh Salem as well. He could use the draconic half-bloods as aunchpad to instantly gain a foothold in a foreign world. This was provided they held some importance rted to the artifact he was seeking in Labh Salem. Eren could have let Lady Zee''s consciousness win its fight against Eliza, making her the dominant soul in their soul fusion. It would have allowed Lady Zee to suppress the Witch of the Endermes, enabling her to gain control of her body. However, after much thinking, Eren decided not to do that. This was because doing so would have made Lady Zee or Eliza less useful. Eren had to say that Eliza was a better Ranker than Lady Zee and she knew how to use her gifts well. Only Eliza could make use of her Sin-series Abilities effectively. Only she could summon the Endermes and ck mes both. As a powerhouse from the Cmity Era, the Witch of the Endermes could dominate the talents born outside Anfang as well, making here across as a much better choice as a pawn in Eren''s eyes. If Eren were to help Lady Zee suppress Eliza, all of Eliza''s advantages as a powerhouse would also get suppressed. This was why he discarded the idea. A strong pawn was a bit hard to control but it was useful in the hands of a right maniptor. However, one could not make much use of a weak pawn even if thetter were to remain loyal to their masters. Chapter 1659 Leaving Anfang P1 Chapter 1659 Leaving Anfang P1 "I owe you a favor, Eren, which I would repay in Labh Salem." Eliza said while looking into Eren''s eyes. There was no prideful tone in her voice anymore. However, one could still feel that Eliza was trying to keep her dignity intact as she conversed with Eren. "But after I''m done repaying that favor, my obligations end. I hope we can part ways after that. Not as enemies but as allies," she said as she looked in Alephee''s direction. During thest nine months, she hade to understand that she had underestimated this homunculus that Eren had created. The Witch of the Endermes also knew that Eren listened to Alephee. Some of his crucial decisions were influenced by her suggestions and rmendations. It was Alephee who had asked him to spare Eliza. And it was also she who had suggested to Eren that he should visit Labh Salem despite the dangers awaiting him there. Eliza was not sure what Rank Alephee had in her natal body. But she was sure that Alephee''s Ranking Status had exceeded Anfang''s standards by a long stretch. That is assuming Alephee had started as a Ranker to begin with. Alephee had asked Eren to spare Eliza so that he could use her in his journey to Labh Salem. However, the fact remained that Eliza was offered another chance in life because of it. As such, Eliza didn''t forget to thank Alephee for doing her this favor. "I have no issues with that," Eren nodded at Eliza''s proposal after pondering for a bit. He knew that he couldn''t keep Eliza as his subordinate forever. After all, her pride wouldn''t allow something like that to happen even if it was him who had shattered it in the first ce. Eren also felt that Rankers like Eliza wouldn''t blossom in someone''s shadow. She was a lot more like him in a way that she also wouldn''t do well serving under someone. And she couldn''t form genuine rtionships with her allies either. It was just not in her. At least not at the present. The temporary alliance he had formed with Eliza was sufficient for his exploration in Labh Salem. He would let things unfold on their own after his tasks were done in the foreign world. "Will you cause another cmity in Labh Salem? Another war?" La asked as she yfully looked at Eren. Compared to her master''s vtile connection with Eren, La had managed to resume her initial rapport with Eren that she had before the execution of the Lazarus Project. La knew why she was able to pull off such a feat. This was because she had opposed Eliza''s idea to use Reen as a way to break the bloodline shackles. Even if her opposition was in vain, she had managed to convey to Eren that she had no will to stand against him. Le had taken good care of Reen in Eren''s absence inside Eliza''s Purgatory as well. This was all Eren needed to bury the hatchet with the two little witches. One could say that it was his way of showing that Reen had a special ce in his heart. "Haah! There you go spouting random bullshit," Eren shook his head and smiled before replying. "Contrary to what you might think of me, I don''t initiate wars for the sake of it. Even in Anfang, all I did was create the right environment for the Lazarus Project. I wouldn''t have wasted my time sowing seeds of war if I didn''t have the obligation to resurrect your master. Wars are dual-edge weapons. One can''t always benefit from them no matter how careful they think they are. I could do it here because I knew all of Anfang like the back of my hand. However, in Labh Salem, the world I barely know of, things wouldn''t be as simple. And why would I create disturbances in the first ce? I''m not one of those storm chasers who get their thrill from watching the world around them copse in front of their very eyes. My n in Labh Salem is simple. Lay low and find ways to get my hands on "that" artifact. I don''t intend to cause a ruckus if I can achieve my goals while staying off of anyone''s radar," he said as he looked at Eliza. Unlike what had happened in Anfang, Eren didn''t want to attract too much limelight in Labh Salem. He knew that the Demon Princes who considered him to be their enemies and the enemy gods would be able to target him effectively as long as he got identified in Labh Salem. A lot of Eren''s worries had been put to rest by Alephee when she said that the prophecies wouldn''t be able to track him down anymore because he had been turned into a demigod. He wasn''t a mortal anymore. So the gods couldn''t make use of the prophecies to track him down. This news was a relief to Eren who had been stressed because of what he had heard from Bisha. He felt that all the risks and all that he had to do in Anfang to forge a God Spark for himself were worth it. However, the butcher didn''t want to put his guard down ande out in the Labh Salem right from the start. He needed to y safer and weigh his options well before making any big moves in Labh Salem. "Hehe. I don''t know if he wants to wage wars in Labh Salem or not," Alephee appeared beside Eren and spoke in his stead. "But if the wars do take ce there, no matter which side, he''ll win," she said while tugging at Eren''s arm. Her smile and the way she looked at Eren were enough to tell La and others that she had the utmost confidence in the man. "Did you say your goodbyes, Eren? She asked as she looked at Eren. "Yeah. I''m all set," he said while looking around him. It was as if he was trying to take in what he could see of his homeworld. === AN: Eren''s arrangement with Tumko was mentioned in chapter 753. Chapter 1660 Leaving Anfang P2 Chapter 1660 Leaving Anfang P2 "Hehe. This day has finallye." Hettie said as she looked at Ivor with a gazeced with excitement. "You remember our deal right? The one we had agreed upon in the past," she asked Ivor as she looked at the runic gate in the distance. "I sure do," replied Ivor and chuckled. He could have never thought that the daydreams he had expressed to a certain fiend would eventually see the light of the day. That he would survive the Lazarus Project and be allowed to leave Anfang along with Eren. Ivor''s aspirations had already started rising in his heart. He had decided to explore Labh Salem with Hettie for some time after reaching there. He woulde to work under Eren after he saw the witches'' world with his own eyes, using his own experiences. *** "I thank the Guild Master for keeping his word." Tumko appeared in front of Eren and bowed, conveying his gratitude with words and action. He was not alone. The party he had been leading for quite some time was also with him. Bhaa Laah and others from Tumko''s team stood beside thetter. They were thest group who had been allowed to enter the Sansara World 2.0 to leave Anfang alongside Eren. They were fine with the destination as long as they could get outside Anfang. "Keke. Just what we had agreed upon. Thank you for being an exceptional guild member, Tumko," Eren said as he patted Tumko''s arm in a friendly manner. He was d that he had hired Tumko in his guild when things were still stable in Anfang. Eren and Tumko had met each other outside Oni Dungeon years ago. It was the time when Eren had just killed Har Jahar and exited the Oni Dungeon after conquering it. In fact, it was thanks to Tumko that Eren was able to enter the Oni Dungeon and im a monster army for himself. He knew Tumko and his deeds from his past timeline. He had just backtracked on Tumko''s actions to locate the Oni Dungeon before finally conquering it for himself. In Eren''s past timeline, Tumko had used the Oni Dungeon and a divine Immortal ne to leave Anfang. He had struck a deal with the monster god associated with the Oni Dungeon to pull off such a feat. However, Eren''s actions changed everything in his second timeline. Instead of keeping the connection with the divine Immortal ne active, the butcher severed ties with the monster god. He imed the dungeon and all of its resources to himself. Eren was a lot quicker to act than Tumko in a way that he didn''t even allow thetter to initiate contact with Har Jahar or strike a deal with him. He had killed the Oni King, forcing Tumko to drop all his ns. The ns he would have formed eventually just like Eren''sst timeline if thetter had left things as they were. After a bit of skirmish outside the Oni Dungeon, Eren and Tumko came to a formal arrangement. It was agreed upon that Eren would provide a way for Tumko and his party to leave Anfang in the future. In exchange, Tumko would serve as Eren''s guild member, following his orders to a T. Tumko and his party had been Eren''s top Rankers in the guild, making quite a name for themselves. He had trusted them to arrange the right environment for the initiating of the Lazarus Project and they had excelled in the task, making it easier for Eren to barge into the battlefield. As far as Eren knew, Tumko shouldn''t have any connections with the realms outside Anfang. However, he never asked Tumko why he wanted to leave Anfang so much even though he was born here. Now that the Gate to the Immortal ne had been created, Eren decided to honor his arrangement with Tumko. He contacted him before giving him the news. "Eren," Bhaah Laah appeared beside Eren in an attempt to strike up a conversation with him. However, she was forced to halt her speech when she received a light smack on the back of her head. It was her brother Jaad Ugar. "Show some respect, you idiot. Either call him a Grandmaster or guild master just like how the team leader has done," he said to his sister in an admonishing tone. He looked at Eren and smiled wryly as if he was sorry for the brash behavior his sister was often prone tomit. "Hmm? Aren''t we leaving Anfang? Why must we stick to its customs now?" asked Bhaa Laah as she looked at her brother as if she had been wronged by him. She then looked at Eren and took a deep breath before saying further. "Anyway. So where was I? I I just wanted to convey my thanks, guild master. I don''t want to sound too rude but it was suffocating to live in Anfang," she said as she looked at Eren and smiled yfully. "We will part ways with you after we sessfully reach Labh Salem. But we can keep in touch with each other if you want," she said as she winked at Eren. "Haha. Stop hitting on someone way out of your leagues. You are just a child, Bhah Laah. I''m sure the guild master has more important things to do than babysitting a night elf brat," said Jaad Ugar as he appeared on the other side of Tmko and nodded at Eren. Eren chuckled at Bhaah Laah before shaking his head in a mirthless smile. He preferred that Tumko and his party leave him alone after they reached Labh Salem. However, he didn''t mind staying in touch with them after their formal agreement came to an end. As such, he allowed Tumko and his team to contact him in the future if they found the right opportunity to do so. Eren had a brief talk with Tumko and the rest of his team members after that. He told them to keep an eye on news rted to a particr artifact in Labh Salem. He told them to contact him using any means if they somehow got ess to valuable information rted to it. Maya soon informed the Rankers present at the scene that the 50-foot-tall and 15-foot-wide red runic gate was ready for use. The others gathered at the foot of the gate before looking at each other with bated breaths. "This is it," Eren said as he stepped forward. "All of us will leave Anfang. For our own reasons. For our own goals. I hope some of us get toe here in the future. So that we could see how far we havee from what we are now," he said with a serious voice that wasced with a bit of excitement. "Hehe. That''ll be something to look forward to," Reen appeared beside Eren out of nowhere and said while taking his hand in hers. The two were the first to step into the spatial gate before dissipating into the veil of the bright light. Alephee followed right afterward, leaving others to follow in her footsteps. After achieving what he wanted to achieve and desperately craved for, Eren finally left his homeworld behind him. However, one could say that his journey as a demigod had just begun. === Volume 09: Departurees to an end with this chapter release. With a chapter count of only 30 chapters, it is the shortest volume of VEH so far. Volume 10: Entering Labh Salem will be the real turning point in the storyline. It''ll be fun. ;) I thank all the readers who have made it this far. Special thanks to the top contributors. See you in the next volume. :) Chapter 1661 Kizamgaars Ruins Chapter 1661 Kizamgaar''s Ruins Kizamgaar''s ruins. Brol forest. Continent of Onianum. Labh Salem. Deep within the enchanted heart of Brol Foresty the mysterious and perilous Kizamgaar''s Ruins, a ce veiled in ancient mystique and shadowed by the whispering leaves. Brol Forest was always known to harbor arcane energies that danced through the air, enchanting the very essence of the towering trees and mystical magic that stretched far and wide. This mystical woond was home to mana beasts, creatures whose forms were sculpted by the pulsating energies of the forest. Fauna with luminescent hides, ethereal wings, and eyes that gleamed with untold secrets roamed freely. Yet, amidst this magical splendor, there existed a ce that defied the benign nature of the forestKizamgaar''s Ruins. The air in this forsaken enve was heavy with an eerie silence, disrupted only by the distant whispers of the trees. The ruins, ancient and worn, stood as a testament to a forgotten era. The danger that permeated Kizamgaar''s Ruins did not emanate solely from the dpidated structures. It arose from the malevolent entities that lingered in the shadows. Demonic beings, twisted and dark, had imed this forsaken realm as their own. The very ground seemed to pulse with an ominous energy, an unseen heartbeat that synced with the malice dwelling within. As one ventured deeper, the air became charged with a palpable sense of malevolence. Sinister whispers echoed through the crumbling corridors, telling tales of the once-great civilization that sumbed to an ancient darkness. Amon theme in Labh Salem for as long as one can remember. Wandering through the remnants of Kizamgaar''s Ruins was to tread a perilous path, for demonic entitiesy in wait, hungry for the souls of unsuspecting intruders. Few dared to traverse the tangledbyrinth of Brol Forest to reach the heart of Kizamgaar''s Ruins. The ancient whispers and demonic shadows stood as silent sentinels, guarding the secrets buried beneath the ruins and warning those who would dare to unravel the mysteries of this enchanted, yet perilous, realm. The architecture of Kizamgaar''s Ruins, now reduced to a crumbling testament of a bygone era, spoke of a once-thriving city that had sumbed to the relentless march of time. Dpidated structures, their grandeur now a distant memory, loomed like a ghost of the past over the forsakenndscape. Fallen pirs and shattered archways hinted at the former magnificence of a city that had flourished in the embrace of magic. Among the remnants of this ancient metropolis, a particr city square stood out, its past glory now overshadowed by a palpable aura of demonic might. Once a bustling hub of activity, the square had been a vibrant center formerce, celebrations, andmunal gatherings. The stones beneath had witnessed theughter of children, the haggling of merchants, and the joyous festivities that colored the city''s past. Now, the city squarey twisted and distorted, transformed into a festering ground for demonic energies. The once-paved stones, were now cracked and uneven. The air, thick with an unnatural stillness, seemed to quiver with an unseen force that whispered of ancient curses and the residue of dark rituals. The fountain at the center, once adorned with intricate carvings and cascading water, now stood stagnant and corrupted. Its waters, once a source of life and purity, now looked dangerously green as if it had been turned into a vicious poison. Visitors who dared to tread upon the distorted cobblestones of this ursed square could feel the weight of the past pressing upon them. As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows over the ruins, the city square became a haunting spectaclea stark reminder of the city''s tragic fate and a chilling testament to the potent forces that had transformed a lively metropolis into the deste and malevolent realm, which eventually came to be known as Kizamgaar''s Ruins. *** As the eerie night descended upon Kizamgaar''s Ruins, a haunting tranquility settled over the forsaken city, entuated by the full moon''s luminous glow. The air was thick with a sense of foreboding, and in the distance, the mournful howls of wolves echoed through the silence, carried on the ethereal breeze that swept through the crumbling structures. In the heart of the once-vibrant city square, bathed in the silvery light of the full moon, an unexpected gathering emerged from the shadows. Seven figures, cloaked in dark robes and surrounded by an entourage of 25 demonic beings, stepped into the open, revealing themselves as the long-hidden coven known as Helenbora. Step. Step. Step. The presences stepped forward, their strides deliberate. Some within the group were excited about what they were about to do while the others were nervous. Of course, the ones who felt nervous weren''t nervous because of what they were about to do. Instead, they were stressed because of the fact that they were being hunted. At the forefront of the ominous assembly stood uria Helenbora, the bewitching leader of the coven. Despite the malevolence that emanated from her presence, there was an undeniable allure to uria''s beauty. Her raven-ck hair cascaded in loose waves around her shoulders, framing a face that bore the timeless elegance of a sorceress. With eyes that gleamed like twin orbs of molten silver, she surveyed the deste city square with an air of authority. ''This this is perfect. Hilbeli has indeed chosen a great ce for a ritual. This ce feels like a grand-scale demonic ritual was performed here in the past,'' uria concluded as she looked around while continuing her stride. She knew that the lingering demonic energies might make it a bit difficult for her to maintain her demonic circle. However, she didn''t want toin. They didn''t have the luxury of time to "optimize" the ce for a fresh demonic ritual. In short, they did not have time to optimize the ce with fresh blood and sacrifices. "This full moon has convinced me. Looks like The time is ripe for us to perform the ritual. I just hope we summon a strong demon this time. Strong enough to destroy all of our problems in one go," the head witch said out loud, revealing her aim for the night to her group. Chapter 1662 Summoning Something Really Demonic? Chapter 1662 Summoning Something Really Demonic? Despite the situation and surroundings they were in, a few within the Helenbora coven were excited. "Hehehe. I can feel the demonic energies caressing my skin as if they are pampering me. With a ce like this, we might just be able to summon a Demon Prince''s soul fragment," said a second witch who followed behind uria closely in a hopeful tone. "Haah! Why stop at a Demon Prince then? Why don''t we summon a Demon Emperor while we are at it?" rebuked the third witch, clearly displeased about the optimistic and cheerful tone cultivated by the second witch. "Hehehe. I don''t see any reason why we would fail in our objective, Harleen. Well, unlike you, I''m hopeful," retorted the second witch. "Let''s just hope that someone like a Demon Emperor exists though. We can''t summon someone that doesn''t exist, can we?" she asked the third witch rhetorically. "Will you two stop bickering now?" uria spoke before the two witches could continue to argue with each other. "We have more pressing matters tonight. If we fail one more time, we''ll be in deep trouble for sure. Need I remind you that the summoning of five lesser demons or two greater demons is not a sess for us?" she asked while turning to look at the five demonic beings who were following her obediently. Of course, she was referring to them, the newest addition to their group, five demonic beings who had been turned into her and her subordinates'' servants. "The Ishgaar''s Temrs will eventuallye to know about whereabouts," Hilbeli, the witch who was second-inmand in Helenbora coven, spoke up in a grim tone, highlighting what uria wanted to say. "It''s only a matter of time before they get a hint of our presence in these ruins. My sisters. So we need to be a bit careful. We''ll be forced to leave this ce empty-handed after all that we have been through. It would be such a waste of effort and resources if we couldn''t at least summon an archdemon tonight," Hilbeli said while looking at the full moon in the sky. "Hehe. uria, my dear, you look beautiful under the light of this full moon. But the stress you feel in your heart is showing on your face. I say let Leesha speak her heart out. There''s nothing wrong with feeling excited even if we are under a lot of pressure," another witch joined the fray and supported the second witch with a yful smile on her face. And with that, she rebuked what uria and Hilbeli were trying to say to Isha. However, unlike in the case of Leesha the second witch, nobody tried to argue with this fourth witch. This was because she was uria''s lover with a very yfully argumentative disposition. Nobody won in a verbal spat against her. As such, the others in the coven often steered clear of this fourth witch. "*Cough. Guys, focus. We we have a job to do," the head witch said while looking at the fourth witch with eyes that almost screamed "not now" at her. uria could argue with the fourth witch just fine. However, for some reason, she only focused on the bit of praise she received from her lover. It was as if the fourth witch knew how to control someone who was hailed as the head of the coven. The fourth witch didn''t lie. uria indeed looked beautiful under the calming yet eerie full moon. She appeared to be in her early thirties by mortal standards, yet her beauty transcended the passage of time. Her features were both delicate and mesmerizing, and a subtle air of mystery surrounded her. Adorned in a flowing, midnight-ck gown that seemed to absorb the moonlight, she exuded an otherworldly grace. *** The seven witches of the Helenbora coven had long concealed themselves, driven into hiding by the relentless pursuit of Ishgaar''s Temr. Tonight, however, under the unhindered gaze of the full moon, they chose to reveal themselves. The celestial orb hung in the cloudless night sky, casting an unwavering spotlight on the city square, signaling the opportune moment for the coven to unleash the arcane energies that pulsed within them. After reaching the middle of the abandoned city square, uria snapped her fingers to manifest a grand demonic circle that almost covered half the area of the giant city square. This was done so precisely and effortlessly that the other witches felt respect for their leader. The other witches as well as the demonic beings surrounding them didn''t need to be ordered. They knew what they were supposed to do and took their respective positions within the demonic circle. With calcted precision, uria raised her hands, and the other six witches joined her in a synchronized incantation. The demonic beings, their dark forms lurking at the periphery, awaited their mistresses''mands. The air crackled with malevolent energy as the coven began to weave a ritual that would potentially summon a strong demon and further enshroud Kizamgaar''s Ruins in the grip of supernatural darkness. "O demon of the abyss, heed my call, Rise from the shadows, let darkness fall." udia started the ritual in her serene and confident voice. "Bathed in the moon''s glow, Awaken, creature of the shadow. O mighty demon, from realms high and low, Materialize now, let your strength freely flow. Through the night, let chaos reign, As I summon thee, break the mundane." As the haunting echoes of the witches'' incantations reverberated through the silent city square, the shadows themselves seemed to dance to an unholy rhythm. The once-thriving metropolis, now a canvas for forbidden rituals, bore witness to the resurgence of the Helenbora coven and the ominous power they sought to unleash upon the world. Under the effects of the witches'' demonic prayers, the spatial fabric started fluctuating. It soon tore itself up before resealing itself in the next moment. However, that fraction of a second was enough for someone from beyond the veil to enter the world of Labh Salem. Just like how the coven wanted, someone had appeared inside the central Eye of the demonic circle. However, the witches were conceded. They looked at each other with perplexed gazes as they wondered if the ritual had failed. It was because the entity they had summoned appeared to have flesh and looked alive. ''This can''t be a demon,'' they all thought collectively. "Kekeke. Finally! Damn. How many huh! I wonder how many years have passed since I breathed in the fresh air." The "demon " spoke in an unknown tongue while being surrounded by a renegade coven of witches. Chapter 1663 Broken Labhi

Chapter 1663 Broken Labhi

"Hm? Who who is this guy?" Asked Leesha with doubtful expressions. Of course, she was looking at the man who had appeared inside the summoning circle out of nowhere. That too,pletely naked. As such, Leesha had so many questions to ask but she didn''t know who to ask them to. "Did did he just say something? That didn''t sound like a demonic tongue. What did he say?" Asked another witch from the Helenbora coven who had paid close attention to the man and all that he had just said. She could feel that thenguage he spoke wasn''t something that belonged to any of thenguages avable in Labh Salem. The witches and their subordinates were shocked to find out that they had summoned a random man instead of summoning an archdemon. The man clearly had a natal flesh of his own that didn''t feel like it had been possessed. But then how could he appear inside a demonic circle that was specially meant to summon a royal demon? "You there!" uria stopped her ritual and stepped forward. She looked at the man with an inspecting gaze before speaking in a grim tone. "Who are you? And who gave you the right to interrupt our ritual? Are.. are you one of Ishgaar''s Temrs?" The head witch asked while raising her hand in front of her. It was as if she was ready to use means avable at her disposal to get rid of the man if he dared to threaten her or her coven members in any way. uria felt exceptionally calm around this mysterious naked man, which put her more on edge. It was as if the man had a way to conceal his presence, fooling her threat perception sense. The head witch could sense that there was somethingpletely different and radical about the man. uria didn''t feel like the man was trying to fool her senses. The man appeared in a calm sea to her with depths hidden in him that could drown her. She felt as if she was standing next to an ocean that could send towering tidal waves at her in the next moment if he wanted to. uria wanted to scan the man from head to toe using her Spiritual Sense. However, he was standing inside a summoning circle, surrounded by a very potent form of demonic energy. As such, she couldn''t pinpoint what was wrong with the man. The man appeared to be in his early 20s. He had emerald green eyes and a charming smile. He was handsome but not overly so. He had a sculpted physique that was not too bulky nor too muscr. He looked human. And uria could tell that he was born not too long ago as his Life Force was very potent and unadulterated even without him having to cultivate it. By her estimation, this man was at least 10 years younger than her. And yet, she could tell that he had an A-Rank Mana Core. Even by Labh Salem''s standards, that was a remarkable progress in one''s Ranking Journey. Beforeing to Kizamgaar''s Ruins, uria had collected information about various threats that might oppose her and her coven. She could tell that this kind of talent standing in front of her was an anomaly. Otherwise, she would have heard about it. "Ho hold on," the man raised his hand in a stop sign and spoke in a broken Labhi, thenguage most used in Labh Salem. "Let uh let me wear some clothes first," he said before summoning a set of clothes out of thin air. "There''s something different about him. He did not use Menaka''s Blessing to summon those clothes," uttered Hilbeli in a serious voice as she closely observed what the man with the emerald green eyes was doing. "I I think he is dangerous. We should all be on our guard. And he speaks in a broken Labhi. Maybe he is from a distant continent? A spy from one of Onianum''s enemies maybe? Wait. scratch that. Howe he can''t speak Labhi if he is a spy sent by Onianum''s enemies? That''d be the lousiest thing a spy can do if he wants to infiltrate Onianum. And who evenes to Kizamgaar''s Ruins to spy? Sister udia, this man is bad news. We should get rid of him." Another witch, Harleen, voiced her guess while raising her staff in front of her in defense. Unlike Leesha, Hilbeli and others who thought that the ritual was a failure, Harleen feltpletely opposite. She felt as if they had achieved too much sess for their own good. Even though the man appeared to have a natal body, she could instinctively feel that this man was more demonic than the vilest of demons. "Um You all forgive me. for my broken Labhi," the man spoke after wearing a set of clothes that also made him look slightly different from the regrs found in Labh Salem. "The thing was um no the thing is those three bitches wait no sound wrong those three witches who teach me Labhi they they out of touch. Understand? Like travelers... from far... who forget where theye from after them live in a foreign kingdom. Get it? I can''t learn good if I don''t get teach good," the man took a fraction of second to think about what he said before correcting himself. "Oh wait that can not be right. Let me correct that. I can''t learn good if I don''t get taught good," the said casually as he tried to step forward. "Stop," uria, the head witch of the Helenbora coven warned the strange man against stepping forward. "Don''t you dare to fucking move from your position unless we tell you to. Do you have a problem understanding the warning I gave you just now?" she asked as she looked at the man with wary eyes. "No," the man shook his head. "Um Labhi not good when speak, I. BUT I understand fine. I think. Hear fine," the man said and smiled at uria. He scratched under his right ear before tugging at his earlobe, an action that could be taken as his way of telling uria to shoot her questions at her. Chapter 1664 Menakas Mesh & Skills Chapter 1664 Menaka''s Mesh & Skills "What is your name?" Asked uria while maintaining her distance from the man with broken Labhi. By this point, the demonic circle had vanished into thin air, leaving the abandoned city square to assume its former destion. Of course, it was dested if one could ignore the fact that it was hosting a bunch of witches and demonic beings surrounding a seemingly foreign man. "Eren," the man gave his name without any fear or trepidation. It was odd that the man who did not even have Menaka''s Blessing on him to be this calm. "My name is Eren Elijah Idril," the man said while looking around him, observing the stances of people who had him pinned to his position. ''I was hoping for a peacefulnding. But I guess, like always, luck isn''t on my side,'' Eren sighed internally and thought to himself as he looked at the people surrounding him. [ Skill: Truth Seeker ] All of a sudden, Eren''s body was coated in an ethereal energy. It seeped into his body and even tried to touch his soul, which was a kind of intrusion he evaded sessfully using his Spiritual Force. ''So these are the skills from Labh Salem,'' Eren thought to himself as he concluded. ''They are quite different from spells I''m used to casting in Anfang,'' the butcher concluded as he let someone''s skill do an initial inspection on him and what he had just said. Eren had collected a lot of information about Labh Salem from Hettie, Eliza, La, and Le. It was them who had told them that the way people in Labh Salem used magic was quite different from the practices of Anfang. Eren had then asked the witches about themon Skills and how they worked in Labh Salem. Truth Seeker was one of the most fundamental Skills found in Labh Salem. From the looks of it, things hadn''t changed much when it came to these fundamentals. This was why he wasn''t surprised when a skill was used on him. And this was why he had bothered to give them his actual name. He didn''t want to have a bad start with the denizens of Labh Salem right from the get-go. s, even when he didn''t want any trouble, the trouble found him. In fact, it not only found him, it summoned him. "He is speaking the truth," Hilbeli said while nodding at uria. Eren immediately figured out that it was her who had used the Truth Seeker Skill on him. Eren raised his right hand in front of him before closing his eyes. He concentrated and tried to feel the mana around him. He tapped into his mana core and tried to summon a simple Fireball using his spell. "What what are you doing?" uria asked Eren warily as she sensed a weird form of mana fluctuationing from Eren''s hand. The more she observed this man the more curious she was. The more shocked she was. It was as if this man had a lot of secrets on him. *** ''Haah! No use,'' Eren sighed and thought to himself as he brought his hand down. He concluded that use of spells in Labh Salem was a lot more difficult than he had initially thought. It was not like he couldn''t cast spells on Labh Salem. He could if he concentrated and tried his best. However, the casting time was going to be horrendous, mana expenditure was way out of proportion, and the spell output was abysmal whenpared against what was normal in Anfang. It was as if someone really powerful had cast a giant invisible web all across Labh Salem. This invisible and intangible web was making it difficult for Eren to cast his spells normally. And at the same time, this intangible web made it easier for people to wield magic in the form of Skills. Menaka''s Mesh. This was the term the denizens of Labh Salem used to describe this intangible web. Skills were a shortcut to casting magic. A shortcut that was exclusive to the worlds that were covered with Menaka''s Mesh. The Skill use was instantaneous and its effects were very potent whenpared against what Eren would get by casting spells in Labh Salem. The Skills themselves were near limitless in numbers with a myriad of effects, allowing the denizens of Labh Salem to wield magic as freely as they wished. Thanks to his interrogation and data collection, Eren knew that Skills worked a lot like Abilities back in Anfang. After all, Skills and Abilities didn''t have casting timeg or incantation requirement. Both of them were very easy to cast and used a minimal amount of mana. However, unlike the case with Rankers with their Abilities, the denizens of Labh Salem didn''t have to work hard or achieve a profound level of mastery in their respective fields to obtain Skills. One could technically get as many Skills as they want through a special medium known as Menaka''s Blessing. Of course, they also needed to pay using special means to get those Skills. Eren had to say that Skills had a definitive advantage over spells because of the restrictions in spellcasting he felt. He felt that his A-Rank mana core would have to face some stress just for him to cast a simple and non-threatening Fireball. ''All the spells I learned in Anfang are useless now. All my hard work in learning them. All the time spent in honing them. All my Elemental Attainments. They are all useless. People in Anfang were happy with casting spells using their free will and based on their own efforts. They never adopted this approach. And I guess now I have to pay the price for that.'' Eren clicked his tongue and thought to himself. He felt that someone had robbed him of his major advantages he had over the others. ''Thankfully, the Abilities are still working more or less in the same manner,'' The butcher thought to himself and smiled as he looked at a tiny green me dancing over the tip of his index finger. He felt relieved when his Abilities weren''t affected by Menaka''s Mesh for the most part. Chapter 1665 Menakas Blessing P1 Chapter 1665 Menaka''s Blessing P1 ''Hmm. I can still sense some resistance.'' Eren looked around as he thought to himself. ''Even with the number of Abilities I have ess to, I shouldn''t getcent. It''d be better for me to turn them into Skills for easier casting. But for that to happen, I''ll need Menaka''s Blessing.'' Eren hadn''t entered a foreign world with a nk te. Through the information he gathered from the three witches as well as Hettie, he knew that Goddess Menaka was one of the few neutral gods who didn''t support the divine or demonic factions. Her divinity revolved around facilitating the use of magic to all living beings, irrespective of their race, faction, or inclinations. It was said that her eyes, ears, and mouth were sealed so she couldn''t diverge the information about anyone to anyone even though she knew everything because of how widely her Blessing was being used across myriad worlds in the boundless cosmos. Menaka was also not a goddess who could be pressured by anyone. It was said that she was one of the oldest divine beings whose divinity had never stopped growing ever since her inception as a goddess. As such, her Blessing was used by both factions to get ess to some exclusive perks. These perks and powers were only avable in worlds with Menaka''s Mesh spread over them. Menaka''s Blessing allowed one to get various Skills for themselves, irrespective of the elementalpatibility. The use of the Skills was instantaneous and there was no learning curve involved. Meaning one didn''t have to spend days and weeks perfecting a Skill from scratch. As long as one sessfully gained ess to a Skill, they could wield it to perfection from that moment on. The one Advantage Eren had over the other Rankers and mana-harnessing entities had also been robbed after he entered Labh Salem. If everyone was capable of wielding multiple elements with the same proficiency as him, then the fact that he had Elder Ichor bloodline did not give him an edge over the others. At least when it came to casting multi-element spells. ''The advantage is gone. But at least I won''t be regarded as a freak if I wield my bloodline powers here. Yeah. I should focus on the positives.'' Eren thought to himself. One could say that it was his conscious effort to cheer himself. ''I shouldn''t wait too long. I''ll need to get Menaka''s Blessing as soon as possible. Maybe these witches can help me,'' he concluded before looking at the people surrounding him with hopeful eyes. *** Menaka''s Mesh was akin to a canvas. A Skill was simr to a set temte of a drawing. When these two things were brought together, one only needed to inject their mana into theyout that would act as an ink, allowing for a picture-perfect image to manifest. Casting Skills was an entirely different experience than casting spells. One could cast Skills and alter the output of the Skills using the Perks even if they didn''t have sufficient Elemental Attainments. It meant that anyone from Labh Salem could fight with a genius Ranker from Anfang with an equal footing as long as they had sufficient resources invested into Menaka''s Blessing. Of course, one could manipte the output of a Skill to some degree using intent-based magic as well as external factors like potions and artifacts. They could also tweak the end result using their Elemental Attainments as a strong influence. However, the oue didn''t differ much from its default value. Thus, one could say that geniuses didn''t matter much in Labh Salem. Not really. One only needed to strengthen their Menaka''s Blessing for them to conquer all their obstacles. This was why the use of Skills was seen as a shortcut by all the Rankers of Anfang as soon as they came across it. Eren wasn''t the first Ranker who felt a bit downcast after learning about the use of Skills. Unlike Anfang, the information rted to Skills was freely avable to anyone carrying the Menaka''s Blessing. The free flow of information allowed the denizens of Labh Salem to choose wisely. It allowed them to make well-informed decisions rted to their respective professions. Of course, only knowing about the Skills was not enough for one to conquer their difficulties in Labh Salem. They also needed a seemingly illusory form of currency to get those Skills for themselves. Or they could do what Rankers were used to doing, which was to learn a spell from scratch. Practice it long enough for it to be their Ability. And then convert those Abilities into their personal Skills with the use of Menaka''s Blessing. It was obvious that almost nobody in Labh Salem wanted to take the traditional route of learning magic the hard way. Who would spend years perfecting spells and wait for them to turn into their respective Abilities? The mana-harnessing entities had different circumstances than the Rankers of Anfang. As such they never thought of following the ssical way of casting magic. Menaka''s Blessing also had a lot of other functionalities apart from granting Skills to its users. It could be used as a mode ofmunication as well as personal storage. It could also be used as a way to keep track of one''s progress in their respective Paths to Power. Menaka''s Blessing was a runic fragment that one could bind with themselves and have ess to at all times. It could be used by Rankers, Body Cultivators, Spirit Tamers, Elementalists, Soulweavers, etc alike. It would adapt as per the user, allowing them to make the most of the Skills and other personal belongings they bought through a special portal. The users didn''t need to do anything from their end to personalize Menaka''s Blessing either. The blessing would adapt on its own, making it easier for them to use magic and Skills with each passing day until the saturation. In rare events, the Skills would evolve into Greater Skills, allowing the users to gain a tremendous advantage over their counterparts. Chapter 1666 Menakas Blessing P2 Chapter 1666 Menaka''s Blessing P2 Eren surmised that Greater Skills were simr to Authorities. Unlike the Skills that could be gained easily through Menaka''s Blessings, the acquisition of Greater Skills wasn''t so simple. It had special requirements. Plus, not everyone could wield them. They were reserved for special entities. And most of these special entities had direct connections to the gods or Demon Princes. Menaka was a neutral goddess. So she facilitated the gods and mighty demons to maintain close ties with some of their followers. The Menaka''s Blessing was a way for the followers to obtain Perks and other blessings from the gods they idolized. As for the Edicts? Eren wasn''t sure if he could use Edicts through the use of Menaka''s Mesh. After all, Edicts could only be wielded by divine beings. Eren wanted Menaka''s Blessing to be a solution to his problem. His mortal vessel couldn''t handle the weight of his divine powers. And if they kept growing, he would just burst from within. Being a demi-god was no joke. Especially one like him who had inherited Aleph''s divine throne. He felt that he could really use some help in wielding his divinity better. If Menaka''s Mesh could help him do just that, a lot of his problems would vanish into thin air just like that. Of course, the butcher hadn''t met anyone other than himself in Anfang who could even use an Authority. He also needed to know more about Menaka''s Blessing and use it personally to confirm his hypothesis based on the known information. He couldn''t just channel his divine might through Menaka''s Mesh. No matter how neutral the goddess Menaka appeared to be, the fact that she was a goddess made him have a few doubts regarding her confidentiality. One could say that Menaka''s Blessing was an advanced form of the ID Stone from Eren''s homeworld. Or rather, ID Stones had been invented in Anfang as a way to mimic Menaka''s Blessing to some degree. Instead of adding goddess Menaka into the picture, the Rankers from Anfang removed the added cluster of functionalities found in Menaka''s Blessing, keeping the ID Stone''s spectral interface clean and clutter-free. Instead, they focused on the fundamentals and made their invention adapt to the needs of Anfang. The ID Stones allowed the Rankers tomunicate with each other without any divine being acting as a mediator. They also allowed the Rankers to use them as a portable storage solution using the space-element runes. All of the functionalities found within ID Stones were driven by the primal use of magic. They didn''t involve intent-based magic and divine magic added into the equation. In a way, it was a game changer for Rankers from Anfang to have their own form of Menaka''s Blessing for themselves. And they had done this without the help of any divine being. One could say that the Rankers from Anfang were highly innovative. Of course, ID Stones couldn''t do half the stuff Menaka''s Blessing was capable of because Anfang didn''t have Menaka''s Mesh. It couldn''t have Menaka''s Mesh because it was isted by the divine formation cast using the Slumbering Goddess'' powers. When Eren first learned about Menaka''s Mesh and everything rted to it from the three witches and Hettie, it was sufficient to say that he was fascinated. He wanted to see with his own eyes how a society with such an advanced form of tform for magic functioned as a whole. He got over the fact that he couldn''t use his spells quickly. However, he felt it urgent to get Menaka''s Blessing for himself. *** "WHY ARE YOU IGNORING US?" uria Helenbora couldn''t take it anymore and yelled at Eren. it seemed that the man hadpletely ignored her. He had dared to get lost in his chain of thoughts while surrounded by the entire coven of Helenbora. Or whatever that was left of it. "Hm? Oh. You say something to me?" Eren was snapped back to reality after he heard uria scream her lungs out. He acted as if he was innocent in whatever crime uria wanted to pin on him. "I asked where did youe from? And who are you associated with?" udia controlled her anger and asked in a patient tone. She was trying to make her voice sound normal. However, that forced control made it sound as if she was about to cry. "Um I rather not say where Ie from," Eren replied while shaking his head. "As for my asso Um. That word is bit difficult to pronounce. But I not asso with anyone as of now," he said while scratching the back of his head. "Sister uria, this guy is as shady as a darkspawn''s shadow," Leesha said in a grim voice while looking at Eren. "I say we kill him here and restart the ritual. The night is still young. We''ll use him as a sacrifice and try to summon an archdemon. I say we use his blood and organs as a tribute to the Demon Prince of Wrath. Use his severed head as a centerpiece in our ritual to attract the Demon Prince of Pride''s attention. And use his chopped phallus as an offering to the Demon Prince of Lust. Hehe. look at the moon. Feel the surge in the demonic energies all around us. It''s as if a great demon wants us to summon them here. Most of all, our efforts shouldn''t go in vain. Whatever I have said is doable, don''t you think, sisters?" Leesha asked yfully as she looked at the remaining witches. One could see that she had a certain killing intent in her eyes. She could tell that Eren was not normal. However, the fact that he didn''t have ess to Menaka''s Blessing made her confident in winning against him. She knew that Eren could hear her and understand her. She also wanted to intimidate him by saying things like these in front of him. However, she was a bit annoyed by Eren''s expressions. Someone from Labh Salem not having Menaka''s Blessing was an anomaly enough. The fact that the same person did not go on his knees after finding out the others who had surrounded him were trying to kill him was even weirder. Chapter 1667 Eren vs Helenbora Coven P1 Chapter 1667 Eren vs Helenbora Coven P1 "Um what''s a what was it phallus?" Eren asked Leesha with a puzzled expression on his face. He was sure that he had not been taught this word by the trio of witches who acted as his guides in learning Labhi. "You" Leesha was tongue-tied answering Eren''s question. She had a hard time dealing with the fact that her intimidation tactics had been disarmed just by the man''s innocent-sounding question. She looked at the head of the coven for help but all she received from uria was a shrug of her shoulders. ''Hehe. Erni I think they mean your "little guy."'' Reen''s voice sounded in Eren''s head and the next moment "Now I get it" expressions were painted on his face. He chuckled before speaking out loud, addressing uria. "Youdy seem like the head of the group. Ie in peace. May I have a word with you?" One could see that Eren was irked by the fact that he was forced to stay inside a ritual circle that did not exist anymore. He wanted uria to retract her siege on him. All so that he could move freely. Eren''s voice was calm and his demeanor casual when he addressed uria. It made udia almost agree with him immediately. She was subconsciously drawn by the subtle demonic charm surrounding him. She felt as if her consciousness would get lost in another world if she were to keep staring into his emerald-green eyes. However, she controlled her emotions and took a deep breath before speaking up. "Let me get this straight. You interrupted our ritual by barging in here through unknown means. You don''t want to share with us where youe from and what you are doing here. There are many oddities surrounding you. And yet, you still want us to believe that youe in peace. Mister Eren, I''m a reasonable woman. But don''t take my rationality for naivety. Still, considering there''s no bad blood between us yet, I want us to cooperate. How about this? I''ll use my Skill: Inspect Soul Origin on you. It''d probe your soul a bit. Things would go smoothly for you if you keep your Spiritual Force retracted when I use the Skill. I assure you that I''ll tell my subordinates to take a step back and let you go if and when I confirm that you are not a threat to us." uria looked at Eren with a serious expressions after she said what she had to say. She was confident that her proposal was reasonable and Eren had no reason to not agree with her. After all, he was surrounded by her entire coven. And he did not have Menaka''s Blessing on him. That meant he was basically a sitting duck with no way to go. His chances of survival, if he were to not cooperate with her coven, were next to none. ''Tch. There it is again. Another Skill.'' Eren thought to himself and scrunched his nose in annoyance. He wasn''t sure what the Skill was supposed to do or what kind of information it would tell uria about him. So there was only one way to find out. Plus, he didn''t want to aggregate the matters if he could help it. So after much thinking, he nodded before speaking up. "Alright. go ahead," he said to uria. uria shed a cheerful smile at Eren and looked at her coven members for approval. The others agreed, letting their head decide the course of future action for them. [Skill: Inspect Soul Origin ] uria didn''t waste any more time and used her Skill on Eren right away. Her eyes started exuding an unnaturally red hue as the Skill was activated, allowing her to peer inside Eren''s soul. "Aaaaaaaaaargh!" All of a sudden the head witch cried in agony. Her eyes started bleeding a mix of blood and tears and her face was contorted in pain. She felt as if her entire strength had been robbed away from her. The Skill was abruptly canceled. Her entire body turned red as if experiencing some kind of side effects of unknown form and origin. Her legs gave up on her and she crashed onto the ground as if she had suddenly lost control of her limbs. "uria!" "Sister uria!" "Sister!" The remaining witches cried out in rm as they saw the head witch suddenly copsing on the ground. They all broke their positions and approached uria with panicked and worried expressions. "Demons! Surround this man and don''t let him go," Hilbeli ordered the demonic beings while approaching uria. She looked at Eren hatefully as if it was him who had done something to her. The demonic beings, who already had Eren surrounded, tightened their siege around Eren. They had their features hidden because of the ck cloaks they wore. However, Eren could see and feel their presence more clearly than before after they drew close to him. Some of them looked like the Creatures of Wrath. Some of them looked like the Creatures of Gluttony. Others looked like a mix between the demonic creatures and fiends. However, these demonic creatures seemedpletely in control of themselves. They did not like their forms to be unstable, unlike what Eren was used to dealing with whenever he deployed his Sin Series Domains. ''Um... Something tells me they will not cooperate with me now.'' Eren sighed as he looked at the crying and writhing uria clutching her eyes. ''Hehe. You think, Erni?'' Reen''s voice sounded in Eren''s head once again, as joyful as ever. One could tell that she was just happynding in Labh Salem and exploring the new world through her and Eren''s senses. She wanted to reveal herself earlier. However, the situation Eren had suddenly found himself in was not apt for her. She would have made thingsplicated for him. ''Damn it. Every time I want to solve something peacefully, something bad happens. Every fucking time. It''s almost as if the boundless cosmos itself doesn''t want me to act as the good guy. Either that or the Existential Concept of violence has an unhealthy amount of obsession over me. Or just both.'' Chapter 1668 Eren vs Helenbora Coven P2

Chapter 1668 Eren vs Helenbora Coven P2

The butcher was not sure what had happened to the witch. He had cooperated with uria''s inspection fully. But he could tell that uria was experiencing some kind of bacsh after using a soul inspection Skill on his divine soul. ''I can''t me everything on luck andck of knowledge as well. On second thought, letting her examine my soul was a bad idea. I I should be careful from now on,'' the butcher thought to himself and shook his head in disappointment. ''Mistakes are stepping stones to sess as long as I''m willing and able to learn from them,'' he consoled himself. "Kill him! Kill him now," uria screamed and ordered her coven. "He he is not human. He he can''t be. There are Sin Series Marks on him. Many. manyplex marks. Demonic runes. The kind of Marks I haven''t seen or dealt with yet. He Aaaaargh he is all of seven Demon Princesbined into one. ALL OF THEM! We need to kill him and capture his soul. He has what we were looking for. Aaaaargh! My head. Kill him now." It seemed that uria''s bacsh wasn''t just physical. Her soul had also received some damage when she tried to peer into Eren''s divine soul which had been marked with Sin Series Marks. The kind of Marks that one couldn''t find on an ordinary demonic Ranker. As a result of her probe on Eren;s soul, uria''s own Soul Space had been hurt. She would have died on the spot if Eren''s Spiritual Force had not been retracted. "I told you guys this man is bad news. You wouldn''t listen to me," Leesha got up from her position as she said looking at Eren. "We should have used him as a sacrifice for our ritual from the moment weid our eyes on him," she said while taking out her staff from her personal storage facilitated by Menaka''s Blessing. The other five witches also stopped tending to uria and got up. The sixth witch who happened to be uria''s lover stayed by her side, allowing the other witches to deal with Eren. "You need rethink," Eren said to the witches and the demonic beings who seemed as if they were gearing up tounch their attacks on him all at once. "I did no do anything," he decided to put forward his case no matter how vain it might seem even to himself. "Shut the fuck up. I am sick of listening to the way you butcher Labhi," Harleen spoke up, sharing the rage Leesha had towards Eren. The witches did not doubt what they were supposed to do anymore. uria''s orders were clear. She wanted to kill Eren and capture his soul. The capturing part of the soul could be dealt withter on as long as they managed to do the first step right. As such, the witches were driven to kill Eren for more than one purpose. First, they wanted revenge for whatever he had done to uria. And secondly, they wanted to use his soul for their own purpose. "Come then. What are you waiting for?" Eren spoke in his own tongue and shed a smile. He was sure that his new enemies would get what he wanted to say to them all the same even if they couldn''t understand Anfang''s native tongue. This was because he had also summoned his punching daggers in both his hands. Diceros Left and RightC a pair of Katars he had been using for a very long time. Of course, they had been turned into Hex Artifacts by this point. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. "Raaa!" [Skill: Incinerate] [Skill: Shock Therapy] [Skill: Demonic Wind des] [Skill: Purple Ice Blood] [Skill: Hundred Hands Attack] A lot of Skills were unleashed on Eren at one go by the witches while maintaining their safe distance from Eren. At the same time, the demonic beings attacked Eren simultaneously, approaching him from every direction. They had sealed his way of escape with the way they approached him. "Aaaargh!" This time, it was Eren''s turn to cry in agony. The sheer bombardment of multiple Skills was too much for him to handle. The worst thing about the Skill deployment was the fact that he could not sense their activation until the moment they acted on him. He could not track their trajectory the way he was used to doing with his enemies'' spells. It was as if Skills were a natural phenomenon that appeared as a debuff on his body out of nowhere. Eren couldn''t counter them using his means. He learned the hard way that only Skills could counter other Skills. This was the reason why the witches were so confident in taking him down even though he appeared stronger than them individually. Eren''s body was attacked from multiple directions at the same time. The demonic creatures found the opening they were looking for andunched their physical attacks on Eren with their multiple weapons. When things started going downhill for Eren, his body was suddenly protected by a silmy substance that covered him from head to toe. It grew multiple arms and pushed the demonic beings aside. In the next moment, one of the arms extended outward and grabbed onto debris found in the city square before pulling Eren''s body towards it. Reen protected Eren just when things started looking too dire for him to handle all by himself. If she hadn''t shown herself to protect him, he would have been gravely injured. "Fuuuuuck!" Eren cursed as he tried to shake off the debuff of the Skills he was still feeling. He could feel that the effects of the Skills had been reduced ever since Reen had shown herself, protecting his body. "I am going to fuck you up now," Eren''s voice turned cold as he looked at his enemies with signs of anger on his face. In the next moment, he gripped onto his Katars before deploying his Sin Series Domains all at once. Domain of Wrath. Domain of Pride. Domain of Gluttony. Domain of Lust. Domain of Greed. Domain of Envy. Domain of Sloth. Chapter 1669 Terminating the Faustian Contracts by Force

Chapter 1669 Terminating the Faustian Contracts by Force

Scree! "My liege forgive me. I I didn''t recognize you." "My liege, I was bound by the Faustian contract into listening to those witches'' orders." The demonic beings halted in their steps as soon as Eren deployed his multiyer domain. Some of them screeched while the others managed to form coherent sentences in demonguage. They all looked at Eren with expressions of shock and horror, asking for his forgiveness with their words and actions. Their voices sounded demonic but the fear they felt in their hearts was no less than that of mortals. Eren didn''t have time to deal with the demons residing within the bodies of Helenbora members. He snapped his fingers and made the demons leave the shells they upied. Some of them turned into wrath mes while the others turned into pearls of gluttony, harming the bodies of the host as they left. Some demons just got themselves out of their respective hosts'' shells, leaving the original back in control of their bodies once again. All of this happened within a few moments, making it difficult for the witches to understand what had happened to their subordinates. The subordinates that they had nurtured for so long. Sedating Gaze. Life Drain Hero''s Heart Sedating Gaze. Unlimited Weapon Works. Swoosh. Zoom. Chop. Eren used his punching daggers to perfection once the demons left the bodies they upied. The world around him blurred as his consciousness entered a near-stagnant gray world that was devoid of bright colors. "Aaaaargh!" "Sis." "What is ha. uuuugh!" The original owners of the bodies were still distraught and unable to deal with the situation at hand. Eren used this timing to deal with them one by one. That too in such a way that their bodies fell to the ground, lifeless, before they could realize that they had not only been forcefully exorcised but also killed in the process. Swoosh. Chop. Drop. The severed heads flew off and the chopped-off limbs littered the grounds. The torsos of the Helbenbora members were soon riddled with gaping holes as the punching daggers were used as skewers on their unprotected flesh. One could see that the flesh of some of the bodies had been turned into something strange. It was as if the blood from some of these bodies had been extracted before turning them into mummies with chopped limbs and exposed organs. "Spare m" "Who the f" Unlimited Life Works was wielded precisely to the point of perfection by Eren. it was as if his daggers hade to life when they were used in conjunction with a weapon-specific Ability. These Hex Artifacts allowed Eren to channel his anger. Coated in Wrath Mana, these conductors of the intent-based magic were unlike the denizens of the Labh Salem had ever seen. They sliced and chopped, separating meat from the bones. They hacked and punctured, giving Eren a bloodbath in the process. A bloodbath made with the blood of his enemies who had been exorcised not too long ago. Sedating Gaze was an Ability Eren had synthesized by using two of his go-to time-element spellsC Sedated Perception and Stunning Speed. As such, through the use of the Sedating Gaze, he could achieve the same effects as if using these two spells in conjunction. However, this time, Sedating Gaze wasn''t used to attack the targets'' consciousness. Instead, it was used to enhance Eren''s speed and agility. The level of swiftness Eren achieved with his Ability was so overwhelming that only one in a million people in Labh Salem could keep up with it using a specific set of Skills or Greater Skills. Additionally, Sedating Gaze also enhanced the effects of the Unlimited Life Works because thetter Ability dealt with maximizing the weapons'' eleration. As Sedating Gaze was a time-element spell, it ended up augmenting the effects of the weapons-specific Ability Eren had. Of course, Eren felt that it was a bit difficult for him to deploy his Abilities here in Labh Salem because of Menaka''s Mesh. He even found it difficult to exert his physical prowess. After all, he and his body were still getting used to the natural suppression of the advanced world that was Labh Salem. This was why Eren had also used Hero''s Heart and Life Drain in conjunction. It allowed him to ignore the various suppressive effects he felt, allowing him to make full use of the limited time window he had been allotted. It was clear that their Life Force had been robbed away from them in their final moments. This siphoned Life Force was used to heal Eren''s injuries and restore him to his peak condition. Hero''s Heart helped the butcher digest this surge of Life Force in a better way, allowing him to amodate and use all of the Life Force he had robbed from his fresh victims. Robbing of one''s Life Force was not a new thing for people in Labh Salem. It had many demonic entities who practiced simr arts. However, these demonic arts always had some repercussions and side effects. And for the most part, these demonic arts couldn''t be used in live battles as digesting a foreign Life Force wasn''t something one could do on the fly. As such, Eren''s use of the Hero''s Heart and Life Drainbo exceeded the expectations of the Helenbora Coven. Before any of the witches could intervene and prevent more of their subordinates from dying vainly, Eren had managed to deal with all of the small fries effectively. The witches were still in a daze after realizing that Eren had managed to deploy not one or two but all of seven Sin Series domains on the scene. For some reason, they had pulled away from the domain''s range and were afraid to step in. Unlike the Rankers of Anfang, the witches knew how demonic domains worked and were afraid to contend with someone who could deploy seven different types of domains at the same time. A thick stench of blood and exposed organs permeated the surroundings. By the time witches could understand what had happened, all of their subordinates had been neutralized. The demons whom they had signed the Faustian contracts with had been reduced to be spectral demonic mes, which were levitating near the respective fleshly husks they had previously upied. Whatever remained of that husk that is. Chapter 1670 A World Without Historians

Chapter 1670 A World Without Historians

When the witchesid eyes on Eren once again, they were not sure what they were looking at. Eren''s body had been coated in a slime-like substance that seemed to even devour the moonlight falling over it. His facial features and bodily details had been blurred. Due to the effects of the Life Drain, the nails of his fingers had been turned into ws. His mana signatures had been altered and his body stats had been enhanced to the next level. It was thanks to the body stat-enhancement offered by Reen that he was able to exert so much of his physical strength to get rid of his enemies. Of course, this was not the first time Eren had used this enhancement mode. He had used this mode many times in the past when Reen was with him before she was taken as a prisoner by Eliza. He looked like an unknown demonic being himself, the kind the people of Labh Salem had nevere across with ever in their lives. "Keke. This form. It reminds me of the day when we tag-teamed for the first time to deal with some brats in the Osan Woods''. Do you remember, Reen?" Eren revealed his facial features and asked Reen, cherishing the past he had left behind in Anfang. Thetter''s face appeared where Eren''s heart was. She chuckled before speaking up. "Hehe. yes. And we are kind of in a simr situation as well, Erni." Reen said while looking at the witches as if they were nothing more than minor hurdles for her. "Naah. there''s a huge difference this time," Eren shook his head and corrected Reen. "you know what that is?" "Um in the past, we had to silence Isaac and his party to get rid of the trouble heading our way. And this time it''s the witches we have to silence. I don''t see any other difference. Not distinct enough at least," she said while staring at the witches with her inspecting gaze. "Keke. you are forgetting something very important," Eren said. He started walking towards the agitated witches while speaking with his Elder Seed Artifact whose face he was donning on his chest. "First, unlike what happened to us in Osan Woods, we are in the middle of nowhere with nobody chasing us," Eren''s eyes turned cold as he looked at the witches. He shed an evil smile as he continued. "And secondly and most importantly, there are no Historians in Labh Salem. You know what that means?" "Aaaah! I get it now," Reen said as if she just had an "eureka" moment. "This indeed a liberating experience, Erni. As long as we remain a bit careful, we are basically free to do whatever we want here." "That''s right. Keke. I guess Bel would be jobless if he were toe here. But I have to enjoy my time here. Without any shackles ced on me," Eren said as he kept walking towards the witches who had now gathered around each other into one group. *** A world without Historians. This was one of the most important reasons why Eren was looking forward to his trip to Labh Salem. He had dared to test the effects of uria''s Skills on him because of this reason as well. Labh Salem was backwardpared to Anfang when it came to tracking someone using their residual mana signatures. This was because tracing someone was not something the people of Labh Salem focused on. Of course, Labh Salem also had tracking-type Skills. But they were nowhere as effective as the spells of Historians. Plus, tracking-type Skills also consumed a limited number of Skill Slots one had ess to through Menaka''s Blessing. Nobody in Labh Salem was willing to engage their limited number of Skill Slots on tracking-type Skills, which were basically useless in terms of battle-oriented or profession-centric needs. The culture and practices of Labh Salem werepletely different from what Eren had experienced in Anfang. In Anfang, the Historian ss was widely used to track down and neutralize the half-blood poption. This had been the case until he had caused the Great Shattering in his homeworld. However, in Labh Salem, the half-bloods were asmon as regr beings. Hence, the mana-harnessing entities here didn''t have any need to focus their time and efforts on tracking someone. Eren was not the only Ranker who had felt liberated after visiting Labh Salem. Every other Ranker from Anfang, who had managed to step into this world despite the odds ced against them, had felt the same type of liberation. They went wild after finding out that there were no Historians. To the denizens of Anfang, Labh Salem was almost like awless world where they were free to do practically anything they wanted. Sometimes they overused this "perk" and acted unchecked. As such, the original denizens of Labh Salem were used to calling the Rankers from Anfang wild hyenas. Of course, Eren had extracted this information about Labh Salem from the three witches and Hettie. He knew that as long as gods and prophecies were not involved in his affairs, he could do whatever he wanted here, provided he was careful with choosing the right kind of environment. *** "You. who are you?" uria asked in a shaky voice as she looked at Eren who kept on walking towards them with a casual stride. She and the other witches would have run away at this point. However, they had seen the man deploy the demonic domain as easily as he breathed, all by himself, without using any Skill, Greater Skill, or artifact Perks. It meant that Eren could get rid of his enemies just as easily. All he needed to do was expand his demonic domain and cover an entire city square with it. They could be easily killed by him when that happened. Or worse, they would be turned into demonic creatures, forever enved to him. The witches subjected their subordinates to the fate of envement through the use of the Faustian Contracts. However, they weren''t willing to sign the contract themselves. Especially when the contract owner was someone like Eren. "Who am I?" Eren shed a graceful smile at the witches before answering. "I am what I need to be." Chapter 1671 Blessing of Asmodeus– Enslaving Cocoon of Lust

Chapter 1671 Blessing of AsmodeusC Enving Cocoon of Lust

Droplets of sweat trickled down Leesha''s neck as she watched Eren closing in on them, step by step. She took a step back, unconsciously, while trying to think of something that could help her get out of this sticky situation. She could have never imagined that the random man who had barged into their demonic ritual would be so powerful. Leesha had seen and dealt with a lot of demonic entities at this point. She was almost 100 years old, a capable witch who could enve powerful demons to do her bidding for her. If not for uria and Hilbeli, she would have started a coven of her own, making a name for herself in the world of Labh Salem. After all, Leesha was favored by AsmodaeousC the Demon Prince of Lust. She had all the necessary background and resources to im fame and riches for herself. One could say that Leesha was hoping the Helenbora Coven to get abandoned on its own at this point, destroyed by Ishgaar''s Temrs, to start her own journey anew. With a coven getting abandoned naturally, Leesha could expand her newly established coven without any worries. She already had ns in motion that could allow her to do just that. This was why the trip to the Kizamgaar''s ruins was as important for her as it was for uria and Hilbeli. Eren narrowed his eyes on Leesha as he sensed her taking a step back. He immediately recognized that she was mentally disturbed as she processed her ns crumbling right in front of her. This was the chance he was looking for. ''Ugh. I can''t even change my ss easily now,'' Eren thought to himself and cursed. He dropped the idea of changing into the Assassin ss. Instead, he decided to deal with these witches in his usual wayC a Close Combat Expert getting up and personal with his opponents. "Where do you think you are going?" Eren appeared behind Leesha, catching her off guard. It took her a while to realize that her enemy had taken advantage of her dazed state. "Leesha, watch out!" "Sister Leesha, hang on" Domain of Wrath Domain of Pride Domain of Gluttony "Aaaargh!" The witches tried to help Leesha. But they were caught inside Eren''s demonic domains. In the next moment, the Sin Series Mana started to infiltrate into their bodies, causing severe reactions. Eren felt that his demonic Abilities had received a huge boost ever since he had stepped foot in Labh Salem. They allowed him to exert greater control and power of his demonic heritage associated with the Elder Ichor Bloodline. It was as if the entire world of Labh Salem was ustomed to the demonic powers. As such, Eren found it easy to influence the witches who drew their powers from demonic origins. It was as if they were trying to infiltrate the house he was the owner of and as such he had been given all the necessary rights by the primordialws to deal with the infiltrators anyhow he saw fit. "You" Leesha was about to say something to Eren when she turned around and faced him with a horrified expressions. However, her short speech became even shorter when Eren clutched onto her neck with his right hand. He gripped her neck so hard that her face immediately turned red. The Sin Series Mana started to infiltrate her body, making it difficult for her to do anything against Eren or his vice-like grip. [ Greater Skill: Blessing of AsmodeusC Enving Cocoon of Lust (Temporary ess: Remaining Uses: 2) Enve your foes using the feelings of lust. Resistance is almost impossible. The effect stays on for years on end. Unable to be countered by any other Skills. Cooldown time: Seven Days Asmodeus demands the soul of the host or 100 other capable souls as a tribute. Asmodeus demands your body to act as a host for his soul frag. Asmodeous demands. Asmodeous demands. Time limit: One Month. Failure to fulfill the demands within one month will result in result in Asmodeus iming host''s life and soul ] When Leesha was in a pinch, she stopped caring about the consequences and activated her Greater Skill. The kind she did not own but still had ess to, thanks to the Asmodeous'' favor on her. She didn''t evenpletely read Asmodeous'' requirements that shed on her spectral screen for using a Greater Skill she didn''t own. After all, as long as she could get to keep her life tonight, everything else she could figure out within a month. The ess to a Greater Skill was Leesha''s trump cardC the one she hadn''t even told her sisters from the coven about. It was something she had stumbled upon coincidentally and wanted to keep to herself. She had ns to go back to a certain ce and im more of such rewards for herself after the matters rted to the Ishgaar''s Temrs were settled one way or the other. Something unthinkable happened when Leesha activated her Greater Skill. It canceled out Eren''s domain abruptly and freed Leesha from Eren''s influence. The Lust mana was conjured out of nowhere and surrounded Eren, trapping him into a cocoon-likeyer. The might of a Greater Skill, even though used by someone with limited ess and limited capacity, was still something that couldn''t be ovee by a Ranker''s Ability. At least not in Labh Salem. The abrupt cancetion of Eren''s demonic domains also saved the remaining witches from turning into demonic creatures. They looked in Leesha and Eren''s direction with panicked expressions on their faces, trying to figure out exactly what had happened during thesest few seconds. "That.. that was close." Leesha tried to soothe her soul and mind while caressing her neck which had been squeezed by Eren''s hand earlier. She could still trace Eren''s fingers over her neck as they had left their distinct red marks on her supple fair skin. "Don''t worry sisters, I have tamed this madman for us," Leesha tried to sound upbeat as she looked at the other witches. "We can use him as a sacrifice for our ritual. I''ll just need you to do something for me in return in the uing month," she said as her gaze rested on the cocoon of Lust Mana standing in front of her. Chapter 1672 Erection and Eradication Chapter 1672 Erection and Eradication The Kizamgaar''s ruins were still restless as the potent and dense form of Lust Mana converged around a peculiar orchid-colored cocoon. The thick stench of blood and gore was masked by the aroma of flowery petals that emerged from nowhere. The eerie-looking moon and chilled moonlight atmosphere turned into a romantic paradise when the Lust Mana revealed itself. The spectral forms of rose petals fell from the sky, turning the abandoned-looking city square into a flower bed. The nightly winds carried with themselves a sweet and warm scent, which would invoke the feelings of love, affection, and passion in one''s heart. This was just a manifestation of Lust Mana that was affecting the surroundings. One had to note that all of this was caused by the ripples of someone using the Great Skill, which was rted to the Demon Prince of Lust. These manifestations were not intended but had appeared because someone "not worthy" wielding the power of a Greater Skill in a not-so-usual way. As such, the wielder of the Greater Skill herself had no power to dispel such effects and manifestations. Leesha''s n for satisfying Asmodeous'' demands was simple. She was nning to take her coven''s help in meeting the demands of the Demon Prince of Lust. All by herself, it was nearly impossible for her to fulfill the requirements that had been forced on her because of her use of the Greater Skill. But with the entire coven helping her, she stood a chance to make the repercussions go away. uria and other witches were not sure exactly what Leesha had done to get rid of Eren''s domains. However, they felt d that someone like her was part of their coven. They smiled brightly and looked at each other with hopeful eyes, their expressions changing from despair to that of oveing something life-altering. However, all of their jubtions were cut short when the cocoon broke abruptly and revealed Eren''s features. He was seen smiling, which did not paint a very good picture for the witches. Swoosh. Zoom. Grab. Eren appeared right in front of Leesha and grabbed onto her neck once again. His smile had a hint of crueltyced in it as he lifted her up in the air with his one hand once again. "Ugh. Cough cough cough A Greater Skill did not work on you? How?" Leesha asked Eren in disbelief as the feelings of helplessness gripped her heart once again. She was sure that her Great Skill deployment was a sess because her spectral screen had said so. There was no way for even someone as abnormal as Eren to counter a Greater Skill with his Abilities and domains. "Oh it worked alright," Eren said as he looked at Leesha with his cold eyes. "Don''t you see? I have a boner in my pants because of you," he said looking down. "Then then how?" Leesha asked with some difficulty as her face started turning red once again, her eyes assuming the color of the blood. "What do my feelings have to do with what I do with you?" The butcher asked Leesha and chuckled. "It''s simple really. No matter what demonic powers you use on me to invoke the fake feelings, I''ll do what I have set out to do." He said before applying pressure on the witch''s neck. In the next moment, he used his other hand as a support and yanked out Leesha''srynx, tearing apart her flesh with his bare hands. The bloodwork was sshed onto Eren''s body as if an abstract art. Leesha''s face was all shades of surprise and shock as she looked at Eren with a dreadful look. When she raised her hands to clutch onto her open throat, Eren handed her the voice boxC the one that belonged to her in the first ce. "No wonder you talked about my "phallus".. offer as a tribute for Asmodeus," Eren said while looking into Leesha''s dying eyes. "You threaten me. It''s fine. You abuse me with words. No big deal. You try to kill me, I try to kill you. Nothing personal. But you just had to go there, get my uh.. Little "baby" involved, who did nothing to you. Do you not know men take how do you say yes men take huge offense in someone targeting their "main part"? Remember. Never say anything bad about a man''s "family jewels". Tch. tch. Tch. People in Labh Salemck basic manners." Eren spoke in broken Labhi as he supported Leesha with his blood soaked hands, preventing her from falling to the ground. He started injecting her with Wrath Mana. Eren''s erect member resumed its normal state as soon as he saw the object of his desire bloody and dying, making her unattractive in his eyes. The Greater Skill was broken abruptly and the manifestations rted to Lust Mana stopped as well. p. p. p. Eren pped Leesha and prevented her from immediately sumbing to her injuries. Her eyes were filled with unbridled rage for Eren as she experienced how the man was treating her. He was not even allowing her to die peacefully. She would have screamed her lungs out if she still had her vocal cords intact. It didn''t take long for Eren to turn Leesha into a pure and potent Wrath me. Without further ado, he absorbed it right away, iming the witch''s memories and experiences for himself. Meanwhile, Reen had appeared not too far away from Eren, keeping an eye on the witches while Eren digested his gains from Leesha. Earlier, the moment he sensed the iing effects of the Greater Skill acting on him, he had sent Reen away after telling her to separate herself from him. This was so that she would be able to take countermeasures against the Greater Skill if he were to fall prey to it. Things would have gotten out of hand if Reen and Eren both were affected by the same Greater Skill. "So where were we?" Eren opened his eyes and looked at the remaining witches with a graceful smile. "Helenbora Coven it''s a pleasure to meet you here. At least a pleasure for me," he said while offering a courtesy bow to them. "We could have worked something out between us. We could have cooperated with each other. But I''m afraid we are past that. So you''ll have to forgive me for what I''m about to do with you," he said in a calm manner. One had to note that this time the butcher spoke in an impable Labhi. It was as if he had been speaking thisnguage all his life. It was sufficient to say that the witches'' fates were sealed from the moment he finished his short speech. What the Ishgaar''s Temrs couldn''t do was achieved by the end of this fateful night. Theplete eradication of the Helenbora Coven. Chapter 1673 Digesting the Faustian Rune Fragments Chapter 1673 Digesting the Faustian Rune Fragments The dawn of a new day approached on the horizon. Reen was busy disposing of the mangled bodies Eren had left behind after he was done with the entirety of Helenbora''s coven. Reen didn''t have to do much. She just incinerated the chopped-up corpses while humming an abstract tune. It was as if she was doing a daily chore that didn''t need much thinking. Eren and Reen weren''t in Anfang anymore. So they didn''t need to take special precautions while disposing of the bodies of their enemies. Thus, Eren let Reen handle this task all by herself while he focused on something much more important. "These Wrath mes they are different from what I had in Anfang." Erenmented to himself as he yed with a spectral red me floating over his open right palm. He was seen sitting over a destroyed pir left behind in the middle of the abandoned city square. ''This is thest one I have. Thest gift left behind by those witches. I better hurry up and absorb it,'' he thought to himself. He took a deep breath before closing his eyes once again. Channeling his Rootless Ranking Technique, he willed the Wrath me to disappear into his palm. The Wrath mes had already helped Eren a lot during his time in Anfang. They were highly effective in iming someone''s memories and experiences. Almost all of the mana-harnessing entities of Labh Salem didn''t polish on their Elemental Attainments much because they were used to deploying Skills. The Helenbora coven was no different from this general rule. As such, Eren''s Elemental Attainments didn''t see much of an improvement. However, Eren felt as if his connection with his own divine throne was strengthening as he absorbed the essence of the demonic beings. He also felt that his Authority over the Sin Series'' powers was increasing at a rapid rate as he digested his recently harvested gains. Even after turning into a demi-god, Eren was still a newbie when it came to handling divinity. He had no prior knowledge about how to nurture his divinity, how to raise it to the next level, and how it could help him grow. Although he had imed Aleph''s divine throne for himself, Eren could not even maintain a stable connection he had with it through his soul. Thus, something that could increase his chances of increasing his affinity with the divine throne was highly sought-after by him. Eren knew that as long as he could wield his divinity with basic proficiency, dealing with obstacles he may eventuallye across in Labh Salem would not pose much threat to him. He felt that nurturing his divinity was more important than focusing on increasing his Ranking Status. However, herein lies Eren''s dilemma of being a demigod. As someone with an immortal soul and mortal flesh, his current vessel could not allow him to wield his divinity the way he wanted. As such, he needed to increase his Ranking Status, which would strengthen his mortal flesh. This practice, in turn, would allow him to wield his divinity with greater proficiency and potency. Eren already knew that his efficiency in handling his divinity was directly proportional to the Ranking Status he had. This rtion between the two aspects was the reason behind why he had stepped into the Grandmaster Rank in the first ce. So when he found out that the Wrath mes left behind by the witches helped Eren in both of these aspects, he was overjoyed. Eren felt that his Ranking Status had increased, rtively speaking, by a huge margin after iming the experiences of all the witches of the Helenbora coven. This was impressive because it hadn''t been long since he had broken into the A-Rank. A few years of no progress was a norm for his current Rank. As a Grandmaster Ranker, his progress in his recent Rank was bound to be slower than ever. At least that''s what he had thought beforeing to Labh Salem. But it seemed that there was indeed a shortcut avable in this world that he could make use of to quickly climb up the Rankingdder. As he digested the gains in the Wrath me, Eren lived the life of a witch named uria. She had given him a bit of trouble with her Skills. So she was thest person to die at Eren''s hands. He had finished off the other witches before focusing all his attention on her. The butcher also kept the Wrath me birthed by Helenbora''s death atst for his consumption. For the wrath mes generated by other witches, he prioritized speed over efficiency while digesting the wrath mes. However, uria acted as the head of the coven. As such, the butcher felt that he needed to digest uria''s Wrath me with a bit of care. He could learn much about Labh Salem and the coven''s entire situation by paying close attention to her memories and experiences. It took him a while to digest uria''s gains. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with Reen''s cheerful face. "How much did you gain this time?" she asked with a smile on her face. "A lot," Eren responded quickly. "It seems I''m not only iming the witches'' gains but also absorbing the runic fragments of the Faustian contract they had on their souls. Apparently, the annulment and absorption of these Faustian Contracts are really good for my divinity as well as my Ranking Status. Killing these witches was totally worth it. It''s as if I''m gaining the right to sit on my divine throne bit by bit as I absorb these Faustian rune fragments." "Hehe. This is indeed good news, Erni," Reen said with a voice coated in suppressed excitement. "It seems we made the right choice." "That''s right," Eren nodded at Reen before speaking in a tone full of anticipation. "I''m really d that we came to Labh Salem as soon as we got a chance to do so. I could have never found out about this thing had we stayed in Anfang," he said while getting up. "Let''s go. Time to leave this ce," Eren said to Reen. "I know where we should go now," he said before starting to walk in a particr direction. Reen followed behind him for a few steps before disappearing into thin air. Chapter 1674 Labh Salem’s Peculiarities: Triad Suns & Quatern Moons

Chapter 1674 Labh Salem''s Peculiarities: Triad Suns & Quatern Moons

Brol forest. Miles away from Kizamgaar''s ruins. A lone man was seen traversing through a winding forest path that seemed to be getting increasingly wider as he kept on going forward. The sound of his footsteps echoed in the surroundings. However, they sounded stretched and weird for some reason. It was as if they had been through some kind of spatial distortion. The man walked at a leisurely pace. However, for some reason, he was able to cross hundreds of meters with his single step. It was as if the spatialws of the world were beginning to bend to his will, allowing him to travel great distances at a pace that looked like someone''s morning walk. "Hmm. Even the afternoon sky looks different with three no four suns in the sky. One real sun and the other three seemed to be the satellites," the man mumbled to himself as he walked. The world of Labh Salem had one sun and seven subsC or rather, natural satellites. Three of these satellites were visible in the daytime and hence were called the triad suns. Apart from the main star that was the sun, these three suns served as the supporting morning stars for the skies of Labh Salem. As such, the daytime in Labh Salem was bright and sunny for most of the time in most regions. The other four satellites of Labh Salem were visible in the night time and hence they were called the quatern moons. The four moons had their own lunar cycles and visibility patterns. Eren observed all the significant and seemingly insignificant differences the world of Labh Salem had with his homeworld. He was trying to process all that he saw, forming connections in his head with the memories he had digested from his recent "food source." "It''s such a shame that we had to kill those witches, Erni." Suddenly, Reen spoke as her face appeared right over Eren''s chest in her slime-like form. It was as if the heart he had given to her during the process of her rebirth was effectively reced by her. She instinctively chose for her face to appear over his heart. "We could have used them as pawns to navigate in this world. Things would have been simpler for us if that had happened. Especially when we have lost contact with the others who came with us to Anfang," Reen spoke in a casual voice. "I was of a simr mind until I tested the effects of those witches'' Skills. Even that Greater Skill was no joke. I would have fallen prey to the effects of that Greater Skills if I was dyed to kill that witch by a second or two," Eren shook his head and admitted the fact that he was bluffing when he acted carelessly in front of the witches of Helenbora coven. Eren''s bloodline lineage had helped him against Leesha''s Greater Skill. His mindset as a Ranker was another factor that yed a huge role. However, he had to admit that the Greater Skill itself was nothing to scoff at. It was only because he had not shown a weakness against Leesha that he had managed to dispel its effects. He found it strange that the effects of the Greater Skill could still work on him, who was the possessor of the Elder Ichor BloodlineC the one who had been granted the Authority over the Sin Series-rted powers. Though he had masked it, the appearance of the Greater Skill spooked Eren into eliminating every witch he had. He even dropped the idea of turning them into his ves through the use of the Mist of Lust, a tactic he would have used without any care in the world if there were no risks involved. "Reen darling, I can''t handle the variables the Skills and Greater Skills bring to the table yet. So there''s no use in taking someone as a pawn," Eren said to Reen in a voice that made him sound like a teacher. "With or without my demonic powers, it''s not easy to take hold of one''s psyche. It has its own limitations andplications. Theseplications would turn fatal for us because of the potential of the Skills added into the equation. We can''t control someone unless we know the system of this world inside out. Rather, we shouldn''t even try to in the near future. There won''t always be an on-the-run coven for us to experiment on. So we should be careful." Reen was well aware of Eren''s capabilities as a one-of-a-kind demonic Ranker. If even he wanted to y safe in Labh Salem, she had to say that her things were a bit more serious than she had initially thought. "It is indeed a bit disheartening that all of us from Anfang had to separate from each other," Eren said and sighed before continuing. "I sense that Alephee has entered the world of Labh Salem long before us. But due to the effects of Menaka''s Mesh, I can''t pinpoint her location. However, I feel that she is far away from us. It seems you and I were thest ones to exit from the Immortal ne. The only reason we stayed together was because you could merge into my existence. All of us from Anfang have been scrambling in different directions. Our starting point is different and so are our destinations. At least for now. So the priority we have is to establish contact with each other," he said as he kept on walking forward in his unusual way, using the space-element Elemental Attainments. "How do we do that?" Reen asked Eren curiously. "How do we establish contact with Alephee and others?" "It''s simple. We use Menaka''s Blessing for that. Trust me, it''ll work better than the ID Stones from our homeworld," Eren said and smiled. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the city walls of a certain city in the distance. Eren had finally stepped out of the Brol forest at this point. His very first goal was to get Menaka''s Blessing for himself. Chapter 1675 Complex Dynamics in Labh Salem

Chapter 1675 Complex Dynamics in Labh Salem

The demonic entities were Labh Salem''s reality. From witches to demonic Rankers and from half-bloods to demonkins, the demonic entities varied in strength and numbers for each region. However, their existence in society was as prevalent as the breathable air. The demonic entities were a crazy bunch that participated in all types of heinous activities. They were often linked with blood and gore rituals that would sometimes take ce in various parts of the kingdom. These rituals were conducted by the demonic entities to please the demons and use them to do their bidding. The lure of the demonic power was not something that one could ignore. Demonic entities knew no bounds. To march forward on their respective paths to power, they did not care what rules they would have to break or how many lives they would have to sacrifice. Their demonic techniques required them to kill and plunder even mortals. The demonic entities were not a particr kingdom''s headache. They were the dark side of Labh Salem which could be found in every corner of the world. The kingdoms would often use the forces at their disposal as well as the organizations within their territories to fight off the demonic entities. And most of the time, such forces associated themselves with divine entities. As such, the skirmishes happening all across the world of Labh Salem often had divine and demonic sides going toe to toe against each other. Of course, both divine and demonic sides fought for their own prospective gains. They fought against each other when it suited them. And in some cases, they would join forces to defeat the kingdom''s hold over the resources. In Anfang, a kingdom''s royalty or the head of the state was the sole bearer of political power. However, this was often not the case in Labh Salem. Here, most kingdoms had the head of the state that were no more than mere puppets. The divine or demonic forces often controlled these puppets from the shadows. Both of these sides had realized that wielding such political power directly often made the one in charge an easier target. It was easy to rile up the masses against the ones in charge if they were out in the open. Like in any world, the mortals and the weak were a huge resource in Labh Salem. It was very easy to establish dominion over them. But it was very difficult to maintain that dominion for a very long time because these mortals would often get dissatisfied with the way they were being exploited by the people in power. Thus, both demonic and divine sides chose to rule over their respective masses using puppets, which were dubbed as the kings and emperors by the general popce. The regions such rulers governed were in fact the yground for the divine or demonic sides backing them from the shadows. The divine and demonic sides each had their own dominions. They used these regions to garner faith and demonic essence from their mortal popce. Thus, in some regions the temples of gods could be seen standing proud, attracting the attention of the mortal popce. And in some regions, the demonic activities were glorified and capitalized on, making their association with the demonic side subtly known. The demonic and divine sides often sh against each other with such a setting in the background. Their sh and uneven power distribution made Labh Salem a veryplex and multifaceted world to explore. The divine sides were often outspoken, trying to recruit more people into their fold using the respective head of the state as their promoter. After all, the more well-established a god was, the more power they could disy in the mortal world. This, in turn, attracted the masses, allowing these gods to gain their steadfast followers. As a result, the gods who had been well-established for a very long time became stronger with the passing of time. The demonic entities, on the other hand, were known for their strike-and-hide tactics. Especially when they were inside regions that were governed by the divine side. As such, it was almost impossible for any kingdom topletely eradicate the demonic entities'' presence from within their territories. The continent of Onianum could be called the yground for both the divine and demonic factions. This was because no side had an absolute hold over the regions they controlled. In some regions, where the divine faction had set up shop, the infiltration of the demonic entities was amon urrence. And in some regions, where the demonic entities were in power, an uprising by the masses was brewing. The kind of uprising that was caused, managed, and fueled by the divine side. Of course, the divine and demonic factions were not unteral forces to begin with. Some gods steered clear of other gods whereas some gods absolutely hated their counterparts. Often, the tensions between the two divine entities result in their followers fighting against each other as well. Simrly, the demonic side was also far from iming itself to be united. The seven Demon Princes often fought against each other. There were other powerful and ancient demons as well who wanted to overthrow the dominions of the established Demon Princes. In fact, one could say that the demonic faction was even more divided and chaotic than the divine counterpart, making it a bit easier for the demonic side to sustain their presence in a world as chaotic as Labh Salem. If the demons weren''t present in Labh Salem, the regr people of this world would have liked to remain faithless as it brought fewer troubles to their doorsteps. Ultimately, both the divine and demonic factions fought against each other to grow their influence over the masses. If the divine side had prosperity and stability to offer to their most ardent followers, the demonic side had created an allure of explosive growth for its staunch supporters. No faction seemed to register a clear win against each other as a whole in Labh Salem. However, it didn''t look like either of them was in a rush. Chapter 1676 Skill Trees

Chapter 1676 Skill Trees

The world of Labh Salem was aplex maze. It was not assured that a particr region would stay under the control of a particr faction forever. Unlike Anfang, where only the kingdoms waged wars against each other, the conflicts in Labh Salem were often multifaceted. The world of Labh Salem had 27 major continents. It also had inds, neutral zones, and artificialnds. However, the fight between the two factions was often concentrated on these 27 continents. The divine side, or the divine faction, consisted of gods and their followers. They had a strong presence in 10 continents. The demonic faction consisted of the demonic entities and the powerful demons supporting them from the Immortal nes. They had established their firm hold over roughly 13 out of 27 continents. The remaining continents were either supposedly neutral continents or huge conflict zones for the two factions. To split things further, the witches governed seven of the 13 demonically affiliated continents. The half-blood ns ruled three continents. The demonic entities themselves were rtively straightforward to define. Mana and Spiritual Force were like a form of the essence of the boundless cosmos. And those who harnessed these essences could be referred to as the Practitioners of the Paths. The Practitioners of the Paths who practiced unconventional techniques, Skills, spells, artifacts, etc that required them to kill were called demonic entities. Demonic entities could therefore be anyone or of any race. The demonic entities often sent their forces to thends ruled by the divine factions, infiltrating the enemy region to cause unrest and eventually gain control. The infiltrators often tried to cause chaos within thends ruled by their enemies to shake the faith of the regr people. A ssical case of sowing the seeds of distrust in the minds of people who wanted to stay faithful to their gods. The Helenbora coven that Eren had eradicated was one such infiltrating group that had just entered the continent of Onianum. Unfortunately for the coven, they met up with a stranger who was more than what they could handle even after a lot of preparation. In thends ruled by the divine faction, thews against demonic entities and demon practices were strict. Kingdoms and empires used every means at their disposal to get rid of them. That''s because the demonic entities would often bring death and destruction to the regions they were active in. The most notorious demonic entities had bounties ced on their heads. The bounty hunting missions were avable to all the citizens of their respective kingdoms, whether they were part of any temple or not. In the Onianum continent, some people made a living hunting demonic entities. Just like the notorious demonic entities, the bounty hunters who yed them would alsoe into the limelight from time to time. There were some bounty hunter-specific organizations as well. These organizations concentrated on capturing the demonic entities in well-nned traps. They would then torture them to get more information about their peers active in other parts before targeting the connected demonic forces and their respective organizations. Things were a bit difficult for the demonic entities in the Onianum continent as it was a stronghold of the divine faction. As such, the demonic entities active here often liked to work alone. But it wasn''t that they didn''t have a system in ce. Various demonic organizations were created to counter kingdom forces and the forces of the divine, AKA Temrs, hunting them. The Temrs yed a significant role in countering the demonic organizations and unfettered demonic entities. Receiving purging missions rted to demonic entities was nothing but a regr Tuesday for such Temrs. Ishgaar''s Temrs was one such force that had been in the process of hunting Helenbora coven ever since it hadnded on the continent of Onianum. They had taken a harsh stance against the Helenbora coven with the means avable at their disposal, forcing them to take shelter in the Brol forest, where uria and her subordinates met their end. If the Temrs did well in the tasks they were assigned to, the gods backing them would often bless them in order to promote faith within their followers. They would support the talented entities and help them grow at a faster rate than their peers, allowing them to go further in their respective Paths. As such, the Practitioners of Path would often try to be Temrs themselves. In Onianum, bing a Temr was the best decision one could take. Or at least that was themon conception within the masses. Ishgaar''s Temrs was one of the top-ranking Temrs in the Onianum continent. They were often as cruel as their supposed enemies who were the demonic entities. Each of these Temrs was a force to be reckoned with. Often, an Ishgaar''s Temr would work alone in hunting the demonic entities. This was because the set of Skills the God Ishgaar granted them was not the Skills the Temrs could use and deploy while being surrounded by their allies. God Ishgaar offered one of the most destructive forms of the Skill Tree to his followers. Almost all of the Skills in his Skill Tree caused a huge amount of damage to the surroundings. The special Skills avable in Ishgaar''s Skill Tree were one of a kind and could be easily distinguished from the regr Skills. This was the reason why the Helnbora coven initially thought at first that Eren was part of the Ishgaar''s Temrs. He hade alone to intercept them and he had some unusual ways of implementing magic. These two aspects about him were enough for the witches of Helenbora coven to have their doubtsC the doubts which ended up taking their own lives. Of course, the witches had gathered a limited amount of info about the forces active in Onianum to begin with. They had done the basic homework that was required in their infiltration mission. As such, the information Eren received about the Onianum continent from the witches'' memories was also iplete and only touched on the basics. Not that he wasining. To him, this basic information was all the cards he needed to establish a foothold in the Onianum continent. After digesting the witches'' memories rted to the world of Labh Salem in general, Eren felt that Onianum continent was the best starting point he could have asked for. He wanted to establish a firm foothold here by joining the divine faction. After iming the Faustian rune fragments, Eren concluded that hunting demonic entities was the quickest way for him to wield his divinity to the fullest. This was all the reason he needed to join the side he was not supposed to join. He just needed a perfect veil to pull off such a feat. Chapter 1677 Tantra P1

Chapter 1677 Tantra P1

At the city gates of BrolC a city in the Kaisaayan empire. A city close to Brol forest and Kizamgaar''s ruins. As the sun was setting on the horizon, Brol weed another stranger at its gates. "Hold up. State your name and business in Brol." With a stern gaze and strict tone, a city guard halted a green-eyed young man at the city gates. In the next moment, however, his tone changed and his expression softened after realizing the man was a Grand Knight by his Ranking Status. "How may I help you, sir Grand Knight?" He asked while looking at the man''s emerald green eyes. Meanwhile, he tried to search for the man''s features in his memory. "Hello. May the light of the triad sun shine on you forever. My name''s Eren Idril and I''m here to pay a visit to Ishgar''s temple," Eren answered truthfully. He wasn''t surprised by what the city guard referred to him as. Labh Salem had its own distinct nomenture to refer to the A-Ranked Grandmasters after all. "Ishgaar''s temple?" the city guard frowned before responding. "Grand Knight Eren, you may not have heard about this. But most of the Ishgaar''s Temrs, priests, and managing personnel are not here in Brol. They" Eren interrupted the city guard before he could finish saying what he wanted to say. "I know. Most of them have gone out to hunt the Helenbora coven. I want to speak to the person in charge of the Ishgaar''s temple in Brol right now regarding the same matter as well," he said calmly. "I see," the city guard nodded at Eren. he was about to ask Eren to show the proof of his identity. But Eren pressed on before he could do so. "Let me tell you something else, Grand Knight Servano. The Menaka''s Blessing over me was wiped by the Helenbora coven members during my recent encounter with them. As such, I can not confirm my identity. But I have something else that can help you confirm what I just said now," Eren said before producing a runic sword he had by his waist. The city guard looked at Eren with a doubtful gaze. He had never heard about a Skill that could wipe out Menaka''s Blessing on someone. After all, if Skills like these existed, everyone would have invested their time, money, and efforts to get those Skills. Wiping away Menaka''s Blessing meant robbing someone of ess to their respective Skills. Still, since it was a fellow Grand Knight, the city guard did not object to Eren''s im outrightly. Instead, he took the sword given by Eren and analyzed it carefully. "This is this is indeed a Hex Artifact issued by Ishgaar''s Temrs. Where did you get this" The city guard stopped abruptly before he opened his eyes wide in surprise. "I recognize this sword. It is owned by Priest Hildon!" "Was" Eren corrected. "What?" "It WAS owned by Priest Hildon but not anymore. One can''t own things after they die, you see," Eren said and sighed dramatically, his eyes drifting far away as if he was relieving a painful memory. "WHAT? Who killed Priest Hildon?" the city guard asked, the expressions of shock and disbelief on his face intensifying. "The Helenbora coven," Eren said and shook his head. "It was a one-sided massacre. I believe I''m the only one who escaped the trap set by those damn witches. It was Priest Hildon himself who wanted me toe here. His only condition was that I tell the authorities of the Ishgaar''s Temrs what happened to him. This is why I''m here." The city guard didn''t waste time. He sidestepped and allowed Eren to pass through the city gates. He also arranged a carriage for Eren that would take him directly to the Ishgaar''s temple. Eren smiled to himself after getting into the carriage. ''That man wasn''t afraid of me when he greeted me. He respected me the same way one respects someone of their equal. In Anfang, the city guards would have lost their cool at the time of interrogating a Grandmaster,'' he thought to himself. *** As a Grandmaster-ranked entity, Eren couldn''t be called a nobody even in Labh Salem. However, he felt that the weight behind his Ranking Status had been significantly reduced. He felt that he was just a tad bit stronger than the average Practitioners of Paths found in Labh Salem. The reason for this drastic change and contrast in treatment was simple. It was much easier for the Rankers of Labh Salem to break into the Grandmaster Rank than those who hailed from Anfang. The Rankers of this world practiced an entirely different kind of Ranking Technique after all. In Anfang, almost nobody cultivated their Spiritual Force. The Ranking Techniques practiced by the Novices to high-ranking entities only focused on one''s mana and Elemental Attainments. However, in Labh Salem, the Ranking techniques involved the cultivation of Spiritual Force as well. As such, they had a different name hereC Tantras. Tantras worked in almost the same manner as the Ranking Techniques found in Anfang. The only differencey in the fact that it enabled the Rankers to tape into their Soul Space as well. The Tantras made it possible for the Rankers of Labh Salem to not see almost any form of bottlenecks till the B-Rank. Things did get tough for them after breaking into the A-Rank. However,pared to the Rankers of Anfang, their Ranking Journeys could only be described as smooth sailing. It was easier for Rankers of Labh Salem to awaken their Spiritual Force as well, thanks to the various Tantras they practiced. Since they didn''t have to worry too much about their Elemental Attainments, the Rankers could focus on increasing their Spiritual Force through the use of thepatible Tantras. Thus, using intent-based magic was a norm in Labh Salem. Everyone could use their Soul Sense, which was referred to as the Third Eye or Spiritual Sense in Labh Salem. As most Rankers awakened their Spiritual Force by default by the time they became Knight or Grand Knight, they adopted intent-based magic much more easily. Chapter 1678 Tantra P2

Chapter 1678 Tantra P2

Only now did Eren realize what Alephee meant when she said that he was swimming in the wrong pool when he was in Anfang? Labh Salem was many timesrger than Anfang geographically. However, theplexities it contained within itself were much more profound for someone like Eren. He realized that the advantages he had in AnfangC the advantages he had fought so hard forC the advantages he had earned for himself through hard work and perseveranceC almost didn''t matter much in Labh Salem. This was because almost everyone else had them as well. When everyone has the same advantage as you, it is simr to having none. Tantras allowed Rankers to break even with the Practitioners of other paths. For example, most Rankers would have lost to Elementalists or the Soulweavers when it came to employing intent-based magic or making use of one''s Spiritual Force. The Tantras provided the Rankers the means topete with the Practitioners of other paths by leveling up the ying field. They allowed even the Rankers of mediocre talent and aptitude to progress much further than what they could hope to reach using merely Ranking Techniques. For example, Amory would have be a Grandmaster a long time ago if he had ess to a Tantra suitable for him. He wouldn''t have to risk his life in Monster Canyon or be a part of the Rank-up program initiated by the White Raven Guild if he had a Tantra. A suitable Tantra not only reduced the bottlenecks the Rankers had during their Ranking Journeys, but it also streamlined one''s Path. This means the Rankers'' affinity with a particr element of Ranking Path would only increase with time if they kept on practicing a suitable Tantra. It might sound like it didn''t mean much, but in reality, Tantras had the potential to turn every Ranker into a genius of their generation. Of course, Tantras could only be used in Labh Salem because of the Menaka''s Blessing as well as the involvement of the immortal gods and demons. Without these aspects acting as the dampers, the use of Tantras would have turned half of the Rankers'' poption into lunatics. And the other half would have been scarred for their lives. Most Rankers would have refused to practice Tantras if their divine patrons didn''t give them the assurance they needed to embark on their Ranking Journey this way. As the world that was referred to as the Land of the Faithless, Anfang didn''t have gods backing their followers. Thus, the exclusion of Tantras became a norm there after the erection of the divine formation. When Eren learned about the existence of Tantras in Labh Salem, he decided to get a hold of a few of them for his own research. He did not have ns to start using the Tantras right away. However, he wanted to convert his Rootless Ranking Technique to Rootless Tantras after analyzing a few samples. He had ns to develop his own Tantra in a way that would make it easy for him to channel his divinity as well. ''Tantras are not only beneficial for the followers who practice them but also the gods who support the said followers. It means that the Tantras could help the gods grow their divinity. The more practitioners a Tantra had that was linked to a particr divine entity, the easier it became for the said gods to increase their divinity and benefit from their followers at the same time. This was why the gods and powerful demons were ready to support their followers in practicing Tantras for themselves,'' the butcher concluded. ''Erni, are you really considering creating a Tantra rted to your divinity and spreading it among the White Raven guild members in Anfang?'' Reen asked a question when she sensed the chain of thoughts. ''Yes, eventually. It would be a huge plus for me if I could make use of the resources I have in Anfang the right way. It could also help my workforce there, enabling the Rankers of Anfang to break past their limits and get rid of their respective bottlenecks. So it''d be a win-win situation for me and the Rankers still staying in Anfang as well. But I''m far away from doing anything like that for now. I don''t even have ess to the Tantras that are suitable for me. So I''ll focus on getting just that first,'' Eren answered Reen''s question truthfully. ''How about we just steal these Tantras from people in here? Or plunder them after killing them? Reen asked the next question. ''Naah. The kind of Tantras we wantC the powerful TantrasC are a well-protected resource that the temples of various gods offer only to their most steadfast followers. Tantras also make it easier for the Rankers to make the best use of the specific Skill Tree their patron god gives them ess to. They also have the powers to enhance So it has to have a high value in the Rankers'' eyes,'' Eren exined patiently. ''Then how do we know which Tantras to look for?'' Reen asked. Eren pondered for a bit as if he was trying to recall a memory that was not his, to begin with. ''Tantras also have set categories, Reen. The high-caliber Tantras sanctioned by the gods could only be practiced by their priests because it required the respective gods to exert some Of course, one could get their hands on some basic Tantras using money. Or they could be a hired help for the temples. Or they could sign contracts with someone to get their hands on apatible Tantra. I have to say this. Compared to Anfang, it is much easier to get these Ranking Resources here. But something tells me the Tantras that one could get easily would not be as effective as I would want them to be. Especially for me who has such a broad Ranking Path. I want the most effective Tantras for myself. Only then could I progress rapidly in my Ranking Path,'' Eren let his thoughts run free as his carriage approached Ishgaar''s temple region? Chapter 1679 What It Means to Have Faith in the Divine

Chapter 1679 What It Means to Have Faith in the Divine

Labh Salem was a broader, moreplex world than Anfang. Thankfully, being able to put things into perspective was an art that Eren had learned and mastered ever since his rebirth in the second timeline. Eren wasn''t disheartened by the fact that being a Grandmaster-ranked entity wasn''t a sign of greatness in Labh Salem. Instead, he was content in knowing that he wasn''t starting from scratch in a new world. His A-Rank still meant something here. He just needed to raise his standards to match with his current reality. Eren discussed various things with Reen and told her his ns for the future. Reen was always talkative by nature. She liked turning tight-lipped Eren into someone who would tell her anything and everything he had going on in his mind. And by doing that, she felt special, knowing that she was one of the only two people Eren could talk his heart out with. Of course, the other person was Alephee. The carriage proceeded to approach a certain district within Brol City as Eren and Reen talked with each other. Unlike the colts used in Anfang, the carriages in Labh Salem were being pulled by spectral steeds which were almost invisible to the naked eye. The mortals could not even see these spectral steeds with their mortal senses. The intent-based magic was a norm in Labh Salem. It expressed itself via various means, from spirits to spiritual force-driven artifacts and potions. Eren had been keeping tabs on every minute detail around him ever since he had boarded the carriage. Though he yed it cool, he couldn''t help but be fascinated by everything he saw and witnessed with his own senses. To the uncaring eye, the subtle differences between Anfang and Labh Salem might seem superficial. However, Eren could tell how fundamentally different Anfang had been from the worlds that had the existence of gods woven into their social fabrics. He could see people praise their patrons gods before greeting each other. He could see people offering their food to the pyres lit in their gods'' names. He could see temples dedicated to various divine beings and parishes built around them. Being from Anfang, these sightings were apletely different experience for Eren. He felt that gods'' existence was so woven into the fabric of Labh Salem''s reality that it was almost impossible to make people forget about gods. It might take something like a divine formation and a period of a few millennia to make Labh Salem as godless as Anfang had been. Not that he wanted to do something like this in this world. ''It is indeed surprising that people put so much of their trust in gods, Erni. Why do they keep attributing everything in their life to be the grace or punishments of the gods they are worshipping?'' Reen was also paying attention to how people talked all around in the surroundings as their carriage crossed through the Ishgaar''s parish. They could see a giant white marble like structure that was Ishgaar''s temple right in front of us in the distance. ''It''s simple, Reen darling,'' Eren narrowed his eyes before speaking to Reen. ''Some people don''t want to take responsibility for whatever they do in their lives. They want to live as carefreely as they can. And putting their trust in gods they worship is perhaps the easiest way to do that. Or perhaps they want to see and experience something different than the reality they live in. Gods offer hopeC a promise of a better future to their ardent followers. To the one who has lost all hope, this promise is the raft they look for that''d save them from drowning,'' Eren said and sighed. He pondered for a bit before expounding on his thoughts. ''Not that I find the practices of Labh Salem unpleasant or disheartening. To be honest, I could have used some of that faith when I was at my lowest point in the previous timeline, struggling to make ends meet and just survive. I can not say for sure but it might have helped me. It would have at least helped me hold hope for a better tomorrow. Sometimes that very hope is all you need to see colors in your monochrome life. Hope doesn''t need toe into reality for people to see its effects. Even if stays as an illusion, it can still do what it was supposed to doC make people not give in to their despairs.'' ''I get what you are trying to say, Erni. And this might sound redundant, but why look for something illusory in the first ce? Gods can''t care for each of their followers, can they? Don''t you think the promise of any kind of intervention from gods is nothing but a mirage for most of their followers? Having hopeC having faith in something that might not happen will only lead to people having regretster in their lives.'' Reen said to Eren, exining her point of view on this matter. She sounded like she was a bit irritated with Labh Salem''s regr lifestyle. Eren smiled lightly when he heard Reen''s words. He felt that Reen was very much attached to the fundamentals of Anfang, probably more than him. He pressed his lips against each other while looking outside as he spoke further on the matter. ''Having faith in something is not a bad thing, Reen darling. It is a privilege not everyone has ess to. Especially someone like us who, for better or worse, learn to deal with our problems on our own. People cope and live their lives ording to what they were taught by the bubble they live in. We would have been like them as well if we were born here. To them, we from the Land of the Faithless, are strange and savage creatures. Being from Anfang, I can never put my trust in any potential divine intervention. I can never trust gods to do my bidding. I can never pray to them in the hopes of making my life easier. I can never ask them to take care of my problems for me, financial or otherwise. However, I have nothing against people who could do what I can''t. As long as their faith doesn''t get in the way of what I want from my life, I couldn''t care less about how they operate. Kekeke. If anything, I would like to have a few believers to myself as well. It would be so easy to use them simply by giving them something to believe in,'' Eren chuckled as he said. After all, Eren was a demi-god. He had to say that he had a better chance of growing his divinity in Labh Salem than in Anfang. Chapter 1680 God Ishgaar’s Temple

Chapter 1680 God Ishgaar''s Temple

In the heart of the Ishgaar''s parish in Brol, nestled amidst the fusion between lushndscapes and urban backdrop, there stood a grand temple of ethereal beauty. Ascending to its entrance were stairs of pristine white marble, gleaming under the gentle caress of the sun''s rays. These steps, adorned with intricate patterns, served as a regal prelude to the sanctum beyond. Tall pirs, majestic and adorned with ornate carvings, stood sentinel on either side of the temple''s entrance. Each pir seemed to reach towards the heavens, their surfaces adorned with ancient symbols and mystical runes. The temple, an architectural marvel, exuded an aura of sacred grandeur that beckoned the curious and devout alike. One could feel the faith energy gathering in the surroundings just by being inside the temple''s premises. As worshippers ascended the monumental stairs, they entered a spacious gathering hall bathed in the warm glow of sunlight filtering through stained ss windows. The hall, resplendent with intricate designs and delicate sculptures, served as a celestial nexus where believers congregated to offer prayers and seek divine guidance. A circumambtion passage, adorned with softly glowing braziers and adorned with symbolic carvings, led worshippers on a sacred journey around the inner sanctum. Thisbyrinthine path facilitated contemtion and reflection, guiding pilgrims on a spiritual voyage within the hallowed walls. Surrounding the temple were serene garden-type passageways, adorned with vibrant flowers and fragrant herbs that whispered in the gentle breeze. These pathways, shaded by ancient trees, provided a tranquil retreat for worshippers seeking moments of introspection before or after their spiritual endeavors. The temple''s surroundings echoed with the hushed footsteps of worshippers, their garments flowing gracefully as they moved in and out of the sacred space. The air carried the melodic strains of ceremonial chants, creating a harmonious symphony that seemed to blend seamlessly with the natural melodies of the surrounding wilderness. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the temple''s architecture glowed softly in the moonlight, casting an otherworldly aura. The rhythmic ebb and flow of worshippers continued, creating a timeless connection between the mortal realm and the divine within the sacred embrace of Ishgar''s temple. At the heart of the grand temple dedicated to God Ishgaar stood an imposing statue, a magnificent representation of the deity revered by those who sought sce in solitude. The statue depicted Ishgaar, a male god of great stature and strength, his divine presence emanating from every meticulously carved detail. God Ishgaar''s countenance was chiseled with the wisdom of ages, framed by a thick beard that cascaded like foliage of moonlit shadows. His eyes, serene yet prating, held the weight of the cosmos, reflecting a profound understanding of the loneliness that threaded through the fabric of existence. The physique of Ishgaar, immortalized in stone, exuded an unparalleled strength, symbolizing not just physical might but the resilience of the spirit. His divine form seemed to stand as a testament to the god''s unique connection with the essence of solitudea quality that set him apart from the pantheon of deities. After all, God Ishgaar''s divinity was rted to the feelings of loneliness and solitude. He was a well-established god whose divinity had allowed him to have a pantheon of his own. And yet, he was the only god in his pantheon, not allowing anyone under him to reach godhood and join his side. As such, his divinity was reflected through all the temples and worshippers dedicated to him. Ishgaar''s followers became like him, cherishing solitude. Worshippers approached the statue with quiet reverence, their footsteps softened by the sense of introspection that enveloped the temple. The air within the sacred space seemed to carry the divine energy of Ishgaar''s presence, fostering a sacred hush that discouraged unnecessarymunication. The worshippers of God Ishgaar, guided by the god''s inclination towards solitude, seldom engaged in extensive conversations with one another. The temple, rather than a ce formunal gatherings, became a sanctuary for personal reflection and silentmunion with the deity. Ishgaar''s Temrs, the devoted guardians of the god''s teachings, were known for their preference for solitary missions. d in armor adorned with symbols representing the god''s dominion over loneliness, these Temrs embraced the solitude of their sacred duties. Working alone, they found strength and guidance in the silent whispers of Ishgaar''s wisdom. In the presence of the god''s statue, worshippers and Temrs alike found sce in the understanding that in solitude, there lies a unique connection with the divine. As the thick walls of the temple absorbed the quiet devotion of its inhabitants, the statue of God Ishgaar stood as an enduring symbol, reminding all who entered of the profound divinity intertwined with the sacred embrace of loneliness. Under normal circumstances, Ishgaar''s Temrs protected the temple''s premises from any potential threat to the people''s faith in their patron god. They would not even let the empire''s administration personnel use carriages and chariots on the sacred grounds. So when the Temrs gave a free pass to a particr carriage inside the sacred grounds, it was bound to catch attention. The worshippers looked at the carriage''s receding view and then looked at each other to see if anyone among them knew who was inside it. The carriage stopped at the foot of the temple. Eren stepped out of it in the next moment and looked all around him. ''This god he has deep pockets,'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at the temple''s opulent premise. ''Is this what he is trying to say to his followers? That people who stay alone end up bing rich?'' The butcher smiled before shaking his head, a mirthless smile gracing his lips. "Eren Idril?" A guard Temr greeted Eren with a nod before asking him in a serious voice. Eren nodded back before responding verbally. "I assume you are Akel Aaloom. Nice to meet you. Please lead the way." Eren looked at the near-endless view of stairs and had a stressed expressions on his face. He didn''t feel that casually using spells or Abilities to conquer such a tall task in the temple''s premises was allowed. Thankfully, the Temr guard came to his rescue and teleported him directly inside a secure facility alongside himself. Chapter 1681 Archpriest Jivem Kaulsen Chapter 1681 Archpriest Jivem Kaulsen Within the sacred halls of God Ishgaar''s temple, a figure of quiet devotion and wisdom emerged in the form of Priest Jivem Kaulsen. He looked to be in his early 50s by mortal standards, bearing the mark of a life dedicated to divine service. His countenance was etched with lines of experience and spiritual insight. Jivem''s thick beard, adorned with subtle streaks of gray, flowed with a quiet dignity that mirrored the timeless wisdom he carried. Each strand seemed to tell a story, a testament to the years spent in contemtion andmunion with the divine. d in a priest robe of muted hues, Jivem moved with a measured grace through the temple''s hallowed corridors. The fabric draped over him bore symbols of Ishgaar''s dominion over loneliness, a visual representation of the god''s teachings that the priest held close to his heart. The robe, worn with both humility and reverence, whispered tales of sacred rituals and solitary vigils. Jivem''s eyes, keen and perceptive, mirrored the deep wells of understanding he had gained through a lifetime of devotion. Whether guiding worshippers in silent prayer or offering solitary blessings to those seeking sce, the priest embodied the tranquil spirit of Ishgaar''s teachings. Jivem was the head of the Ishgaar''s Temple in Brol. Usually, his days were spent in quiet contemtion, seekingmunion with the divine in the secluded corners of the temple. Jivem''s voice, when raised in prayer or ritual, carried a resonance that echoed through the sacred space, stirring the hearts of those who sought the god''s presence. Tonight''s night was like usual. Except, Jivem had received an interesting message from Brol''s city guard. Thus, he had let Eren enter Ishgaar''s temple without any formalities usually observed. In the soft glow of candlelight ced over the desk, Jivem Kaulsen was seen busy writing something in his journal. "Come in," he said before Akel could knock on the door. "Archpriest Jivem, I have brought Eren Idril," Akel said and bowed in front of Jivem. After receiving a nod from thetter, Akel exited Jivem''s office and let Eren have a word. "Pleasee in," Jivem said to Eren before closing his journal. The things Eren had mentioned were too serious not to have his undivided attention. ''This guy he is stronger than an average S-Ranker from Anfang,'' Eren thought to himself as he approached Jivem''s desk. He could feel the simr level of mana signatures emanating from the priest as any other Sage. Except, Jivem''s mana signatures were more intense andplex at the same time. Jivem wasn''t a Ranker. He was an Arch Priest, a level of existence who could battle with multiple Sage Rankers of his generation. Jivem''s Path to Power was closer to the Amazonians. The Amazonians called their S-Ranked-level male entities Valkyrie Guardians and their female entities Valkyrie Priestesses. Eren had already met up with Valkyrie Priestesses and Valkyrie Guardians in Anfang besides Valeria and others who were Matriarch Priestesses. His interactions with the Amazonians back when he was in Anfang had prepared him to face someone like Jivem while maintaining his calm. Still, he felt as if the man sitting by the other side of the desk was as powerful as two Altair Argasbined. If Eren was a bit surprised by Jivem''s powerful yet calm aura, Jivem was taken aback by the presence emanated by Eren as well. He felt a cloud of invisible mist surrounding the man who had just taken a seat in front of her. Even his trained eyes couldn''t see past the subtle veil the man had around himself at all times. ''This young man he is not ordinary. But I just can''t put my finger on what''s so extraordinary about him,'' the arch-priest thought before weing Eren with a light smile on his face. ''Something or someone is protecting him through a special divine blessing maybe? Is he a god? No. That can''t be right. He is certainly connected to a divine being. Then again, I have heard from the city guard that he doesn''t have a Menaka''s Blessing on himself. Odd. This brat is really odd.'' The Arch Priest quickly let go of his stray thoughts and decided to focus on the task at hand. "Can I see the sword, young man?" Jivam said while looking at the sword Eren had strapped to his waist. Thetter nodded before cing the Hex artifact on Jivem''s desk, allowing thetter to study the artifact. "So Hildon has be one with perpetual solitude," Jivem mumbled and sighed. "May Ishgaar have mercy on his soul," he said while joining his hand in a prayer. Tracing the runes etched over the de and hilt with his fingers, the Archpriest looked at Eren before speaking in a somber tone. "I''d like to keep this sword here if you don''t mind, young man. It is the temple''s property in the absence of its owner," Jivem said calmly. Eren wasn''t here to im ownership over Hildon''s sword, to begin with. He had never even seen the man. So he nodded immediately, prompting Jivam to store it securely in his personal storage through Menaka''s Blessing. "Tell me everything you know," Jivem reclined into his chair and gave Eren his undivided attention. It was then that Eren started talking about his fictional encounter with Ishgaar''s Temrs in Brol forest near Kizamgaar''s ruins. He then added some truth to his concocted story, giving it a touch of reality. He portrayed himself as someone who had been caught in the brawl between Ishgaar''s Temrs and Helenbora coven while he was out exploring Kizamgaar''s ruins. The memories he had obtained from his recent victims helped him a lot while weaving such a tragic tale for the Temrs, which was nothing but bullshittery. Before they crossed paths with Eren, Helenbora coven had finished off all of the Ishgaar''s Temrs they had encountered during thest few days. As a result, they had also been weakened and lost a significant number of witches and subordinates in their coven. Eren had eradicated the coven as thoroughly as thetter dealt with Ishgaar''s Temrs. So there was nobody who could question the validity of his narration. ''Kekeke. I just love this world with no Historians in it. Made my job so much easier,'' the butcher thought internally as he sold his bullshittery to the Archpriest. Chapter 1682 Using Traps As Stepping Stones

Chapter 1682 Using Traps As Stepping Stones

"I am sorry for all the trouble you went through because of us, young man." Jivem expressed his regret after Eren was done exining to him all the hurdles he was forced to go through because of Ishgaar''s Temrs. Of course, the reason Jivem was able to trust Eren''s narration of the event right away was because he had done some investigation of his own during thest few days. He could confirm some of the things Eren had included in his narration. Plus, Eren seemingly had no reason to lie to Jivem. "And I am sorry for all the unjust deaths of Ishgaar''s Temrs as well," Eren responded in a regretful tone. "Those witches were really vicious. They had threatened to chop off my penis and offer it to some arch demon as a tribute. If it wasn''t for Ishgaar''s Temrs, I really don''t know what would have happened to me," he said with a fair bit of fear in his voice. Jivem raised his eyebrows in surprise when he heard Eren''s words. "They were nning to summon an archdemon in Kizamgaar''s ruins? Hm. It is somewhat possible considering their choice of location to hold the ritual." Jivem got up from his chair and approached the half open window behind him as he continued. "Kizamgaar''s ruins also hold a special ce for those of us from the Ishgaar''s Temple, Grand Knight Eren. It is a ce where one of our own had fallen to the demonic side. They say that God Ishgaar had to send one of his incarnations to get rid of the evil that was in Kizamgaar. God Ishgaar''s incarnation died that day after ying the city lord of Kizamgaar, Arzain Kizamgaar. Their battle was what turned the city of Kizamgaar into Kizamgaar''s ruins. They say that Kizamgaar hailed from God Ishgaar''s own lineage that existed before his ent to godhood. This was why it got all messy for Ishgaar''s Temrs at that time to handle the situation. Anyway, before he took hisst breath, Ishgaar''s incarnation foretold that another evil would be born at Kizamgaar''s ruins, one that could shake the very foundation of Labh Salem. Thus, the Ishgaar''s Temrs at that decided to settle not too far from the root of future evil, forever keeping watch over the ruins. And because of that, this city was born. This is also why Ishgaar''s Temrs hunt down any group that tries to conduct demonic activities inside Kizamgaar''s ruins. We belive it is our duty to act upon our god''s intentions," Jivem said while looking at the quatern moons shining in the sky, disying various distinct phases of their own. ''These damn gods and their prophecies. Even if they can''t prohpesize about me anymore, it seems they have already done their prep work before I even entered the frey.'' Eren cursed God Ishgaar in his head. He had to say that he couldn''tpletely count on the facr that he had be a demigod. He certainly had the advantage of bing one. But the gods had time on their side. They had beenying traps for the potential Interior of Elder Ichor even before he was born. This was something he couldn''t counter no matter what he did. ''Hehe. Erni, why are you so confident that God Ishgaar''s incarnation was talking about you when he made that prophecy? You can''t be the only one here who can shake this world. You are just being overconfident if you assume that, don''t you think?'' Reen''s voice sounded in Eren''s head. Thetter smirked before responding. ''Reen darling, who else if it''s not me? And it''s not overconfidence if my abilities exceed God Ishgaar''s wildest expectations. He had ns to intercept Inheritor of Elder Ichor. But he couldn''t have imagined that I''ll use his trap as a stepping stone,'' Eren reaponded to Reen''s taunt. ''Hmph. You have be prideful, Erni. It feels like another Witch of the Endermes was born the day you defeated that witch,'' Reen hit back. Eren was about to say something to Reen in responce when Jivem''s words caught his attention. "Young man, it seems you were lost in thought. Is anything weighing on your mind?" Jivem asked in a curious voice. Eren pondered a bit and nodded before speaking further. "I I couldn''t help recalling the horrible experience, Archpriest Jivem. I have to thank you for providing me with the reason why Ishgaar''s Temrs fought with those evil women with so much conviction. It somehow helps me make sense with their deaths. Those witches were really powerful with their strange demonic powers. I just hope that nobody else from Onianum continent should suffer the same fate as our fallen heroes," the butcher said and sighed, as if the weight of all that was good in Labh Salem resting on his shoulder. "Strange indeed," Jivem turned around to look at Eren before adding further. "A demonic Art that can allow someone ro erase Menaka''s Blessings of their opponents. This. a mere Skill can not do that. No wonder so many of Ishgaar''s Temrs died by those witches'' hands. Without Menaka''s Blessing, the Temrs were nothing but target practice for those harlots. It also exins why they couldn''t contact us at the time of their deaths," Jivem spoke in a grim tone. "If the witches are really capable of doing something like that, then this is indeed not good news for the whole continent of Onianum. This is also not something we from Ishgaar''s Temrs can fight on our own. I''ll have to have a word with priests of other gods as well. We might have our differences but when ites to opposing the demonic faction, we stand united." Jivem then looked at Eren before assuring him. "Don''t worry, Eren. You will get your due reward for assisting Ishgaar''s Temrs in your capacity. I''ll also arrange for you to get Menaka''s Blessing back. You won''t have to go through the usual hassle of getting it back at the city administration. But let''s not talk about that. You said you were originally from the neutral continent Jiren. Tell me young man, are you ready to devote yourself to our god and be one of us? Ishgaar''s temple will dly ept your faith and take you into it''s fold if you say yes." Chapter 1683 Gaining Menakas Blessing Chapter 1683 Gaining Menaka''s Blessing Eren acted as if he was taken aback by Jivem''s sudden proposal. Jivem smiled before speaking further. "I know it''s sudden. And I also know that people on Jiren don''t like to involve themselves with the path of the divine. But please hear me out before making your decision, young man." Jivem sat back in his chair and assumed his priest-like calm demeanor once again before continuing. "A Ranker''s talent and potential is determined by the Individuality they cultivate ever since they started on their Ranking Journey. Your Individuality tells me that you could achieve great things if there''s a force supporting you in the continent of Onianum. I don''t know how they did things in Jiren, boy. But here, you''ll need a strong backer, an organization that can back you up. That is if you don''t want to be taken advantage of by the hyenas that are prowling here. Your Individuality also tells me you are strong and capable. It also tells me that you are verypatible with our god''s teachings. Your Individuality exudes a solitary pursuit that isn''t dependent upon the allies you might gain along the way. You harness feelings of loneliness in your heart. You know about our god''s divinity, right? If you say yes, not only will we get a promising Temr in the future, but you will also gain a strong backing in the form of Ishgaar''s Temple." Eren was genuinely surprised by how much the Archpriest was able to deduce about his personality by analyzing his IndividualityC his aura. He had to say that the man in front of him was very perceptive. ''I guess, no matter the path of a practitioner, anyone who could win over Sages easily isn''t someone I can take lightly of,'' Eren thought to himself. "The feelings of loneliness, huh?" Eren smiled bitterly before responding. "As of yet, I am not sure about following a god''s teachings, Archpriest Jiren. I am still a newbie on Onianum. So I''d like to explore this continent a bit before I make my decision. Who knows? I might not be a suitable candidate to follow God Ishgaar''s teachings in the future when I am done with my exploration," Eren said calmly, giving Jivem the reason he had already prepared well in advance. Eren had already guessed that Ishgaar''s Temple might try to rope him in considering the kind of enemy he had dealt with and revived. He hade to realize that the coven of witches he had taken care of was seen as a great threat by the Ishgaar''s Temrs. So this proposal was bound to get offered to him. "That''s a good point, young man. But do you know why the Skills offered in God Ishgaar''s Skill Tree are so destructive in nature?" Jivem asked his next question in an attempt to persuade Eren further. It was as if he had already expected a "no" from Eren and still wanted to turn it into a "yes". "I I don''t know. Please enlighten me," Eren said to Jivem, maintaining his cool and listening patiently. Even though he would never join Ishgaar''s Temple, it never hurt to listen. And he wanted the resources offered by the temple. So saying a tant "no" to them wasn''t in his best interest. "Most of the Skills offered by God Ishgaar''s Skill Tree are destructive in nature because the feeling of loneliness is destructive at its core. Or rather, it will eventually bring destruction to those who cultivate it within their heart if it is not handled properly. If people fail to channel their feelings of solitude the right way, they will corrode them from within, turning them into bitter-minded people that can only cause harm and chaos to the world. I am not saying you will embark on the destructive path because of your Individuality. But things will go much more smoothly for you if you join us. God Ishgaar will set you on the right path and help you make sense of your feelings of solitude. His teachings will help you grow your Individuality in the right direction. We will also provide you with a sought-after Tantra that is suitable for your Individuality. And if you perform well as a Temr for us, we will provide you with the remaining Ranking resources as well. Of course, you will be issued a Hex Artifact set that is tailored for your personal use." It seemed Jivem was keen on taking Eren under his wings. Thetter''s curiosity was obviously piqued when Jivem included a suitable Tantra for him as one of the potential rewards if he were to join the Temrs. However, he knew gaining only one Tantra at the cost of sacrificing his freedom wasn''t a trade suitable for him. "How can I follow God Ishgaar''s teachings when I enjoy thepany of women?" Eren said and shook his head. "You are giving too much importance to me, archpriest Jivem. I don''t think I deserve to waste your time." "Haha," Jivem chuckled when he heard Eren''s words. "I don''t me you if you think all of God Ishgaar''s followers are all loners with no partners in their lives. You havee from a neutral continent after all. While it is indeed the case, for the most part, not all of god Ishgaar''s followers are hermits. There are people like me as well. I have four wives and seven children. And yet, I do just fine as a follower of Ishgaar, am I not?" Eren was genuinely taken aback by Archpriest Jivem''s personal information. He couldn''t have imagined that the man sitting in front of him was also a "yer" so to speak. A priest with four wives. "How?" he asked while looking at Jivem with confusion. "Hahaha. Married men can feel lonely too, young man," Jivem chuckled before continuing. "In fact, there are times when married men feel most lonely right in their homes even if they are surrounded by the people they love and care about. The feeling of solitude doesn''t exactly go away when you find yourself surrounded by a crowd. The feelings of loneliness are universal and one of the most primal feelings one could feel irrespective of their circumstances. This was why our God was able to form his own pantheon. It was because his Divinity allowed him to grow at an exponential rate. So it''s not about the amount of feelings you feel in your heart. It''s about how you control them. It''s about how you use them as fuel to shape your reality." One had to say that Jivem was very persistent. As such, the discussion between Eren and him was stretched for hours on end. In the end, the Archpriest finally gave up on recruiting Eren right away. He felt that letting go of a ster candidate like Eren go away was indeed a bit regretful. But he would have been tagged as a salesman rather than a priest if he had kept pestering Eren about the same topic. As such, he let Eren go after giving him the resources he had promised. However, Jivem managed to make Eren perform a few tasks for the Ishgaar''s Temple in the future. Jivem just didn''t want to let go of a promising young man just like that. So he hired Eren''s help by practically turning him into a mercenary. Eren didn''t want to attach himself to any temple right away. However, doing mercenary work was something he wasfortable with for the time being. Jivem also promised good rewards for all his sessful missionpletions so there was no reason to hesitate. Thus, the butcher finally agreed with Jivem on something, ending the debate between them. *** "So it seems you will be working with me in the capacity of a mercenary," Akel Aloom addressed Eren with a smile on his face. "Hahaha. Archpriest Jivem doesn''t look like it but he can be very persuasive when he wants to be," Akel said while patting Eren''s back in a friendly manner. "It will be a pleasure working with you, Akel." Eren smiled back. "I want to regain my ess to the Menaka''s Blessing. You must have been briefed by Archpriest Jivem, I take it." "Indeed," Akel said. "Follow me." Akel led Eren to Brol''s city administration hall where Menaka''s Blessing could be given to all those who were born in the region. The people in the city hall were confused when they saw that a grown man was standing inside a runic circle that was usually used by kids. Akel took care of all the formalities on behalf of Jivem and allowed Eren to cut through the crowd and take Menaka''s Blessing on a priority basis. Eren stood motionlessly, allowing the runic circle to get activated and impart a brand on his soul. Eren felt a connection to a divine entity as soon as the brand on his soul was established. While his eyes were closed, he saw a vast spatial emptiness that was filled with nothing but stars and asteroids in all directions. And right in front of him was a beautiful yet colossal cosmic figure of a goddess who had her eyes, ears, and mouth sealed. This entity was none other than Goddess Menaka, the one who ruled over an all-epassing Mesh. Inheritor of Elder Ichor! A thought rippled through Eren''s mind as he felt his vision was getting blurred just by looking at the goddess'' cosmic figure. He felt that the regr mortals weren''t even allowed toy their eyes on the goddess'' true form during the ritual to ept her Blessing. It was only because he was a demigod and the fact that he was the true inheritor of God Aleph''s divine throne that she had made an exception for him. Chapter 1684 Formal Agreement with a Goddess Chapter 1684 Formal Agreement with a Goddess The divine presence of Goddess Menaka graced those who sought her ethereal wisdom. It was said that her beauty transcended mortalprehension, for she was portrayed with a perfect feminine form that embodied an otherworldly grace. Menaka''s face, an epitome of allure, remained veiled in an air of mystery beneath her radiant presence. Adorned with hair as ck as the cosmic emptiness itself, cascading down like the flowing strands of the universe, she wore the enigmatic allure of the cosmic void. Her clear, supple skin seemed to glow with an inner light, a reflection of her divine essence that transcended the boundaries of mortal definitions. Yet, what captivated those who beheld the goddess was something peculiar. Blindfolded eyes, a silent mouth, and sealed ears all bore intricate runic patterns, indicating a profound symbolism. Menaka, in her divine form, could not see, speak, or hear in the traditional sense. Instead, she relied on her Divine Sense tomune with her audience. Her lips, painted in a luscious shade of red, remained sealed by the sacred runes, a representation of the unspoken wisdom she conveyed. Cloaked in an elegant white dress that bore golden pleats and patterns reminiscent of celestial constetions, Menaka stood as a vision of cosmic beauty and silent power. Her divinity was rted to neutrality. As such, she was bound by her own rules, turning her into a unique existence among the immortal beings. In her delicate hands, she held a golden staff, an artifact as potent as an Immortal Seed. The staff, adorned with mystical symbols, emanated an aura of authority and ancient strength. As Menaka gestured with her staff, the air shimmered with divine energy, attuned to the rhythm of the cosmos. Goddess Menakamunicated not through words, but through the subtle whispers of her Divine Sense. And that''s what she used tomunicate with Eren as well. Goddess Menaka''s cosmic form had long been abandoned by her when she sensed who was standing in front of her. She appeared in regr form in front of Eren before addressing him through her Divine Sense. [ Do not fret. I am neither with you nor against you. ] Eren felt another thought ripple through his mind. Even if it was the goddess'' consciousnessmunicating with him directly, he didn''t feel scared or intimidated by the goddess'' presence. ''Truly neutrality, huh? Well that''s a relief.'' Eren thought to himself as he processed the goddess'' intentions. Just like what Alephee had said, goddess Menaka was one of the very few true neutral immortal entities in the boundless cosmos. He didn''t want any help from the goddess. He could only hope that his identity and location do not get leaked to his enemies while signing a pact with Goddess Menaka through her blessing. ''This this is strange. I don''t feel scared anymore. This goddess doesn''t scare me.'' Eren had another thought. He felt that part of the reasony in the fact that the goddess merely wished to have a word with him and as such had made it so that her presence didn''t scare him. And the other part of the reason was because he had be a demigod. His divine soul had allowed him to keep his cool in front of the goddess. "Greetings, Goddess Menaka. I wish to get your blessing." Eren conveyed without wasting much time. He would have offered her a bow but it was only his consciousness that had been summoned in this ethereal ne to meet with the goddess. His physical body was still at Brol. The butcher didn''t want to create a ruckus in the city administration office by attracting the goddess'' attention. But now that things hade to this, he wanted to be done with the formalities as soon as he could. [ Inheritor of the Elder Ichor, I can indeed bless you, so to speak. But the procedure can not be the same for you as it is for those with mortal souls. You are a demigod. As such, we need toe up with a formal agreement. This was why I had to appear in front of you personally. ] "What kind of arrangement?" Eren asked as he looked at the goddess'' beautiful form. He was a bit disappointed by the fact that Menaka spoke without using her lips. He would have liked to see those luscious lips doing some work. ''Damn. It seems my pent-up desires are making themselves known without my permission. I must focus,'' Eren had another thought as he tried to concentrate on what Goddess Menaka had to say to him. [ I offer this arrangement to all the demigods. It gives you ess to my Mesh at the cost of sharing a bit of your faith energy with meC the faith energy you have or will gather in the future if you continue your journey on the divine path. Of course, you will gain some special privileges while essing the Mesh because of your demigod status. Considering your current situation, my Mesh will help you a lot in the future, provided you agree to the arrangement between us. ] The goddess exined in a neutral voice. Even if she could feel Eren''s perverse intentions about her beauty, she did not pay them much heed. Or she just didn''t care enough to read his intentions in the first ce through her Divine Sense. "So basicallyC a tax for using the Mesh. That''s a bit unfair for all the demigods, don''t you think? By the way, how many demigods are currently using the Mesh?" Goddess Menaka chose to remain silent at Eren''s questions. Thetter sighed before adding further. "No information about other demigods, huh? Not even a little bit?" Eren received silent treatment from the goddess once again. He shook his head before asking her his next question. "You really are neutral. Anyway, how much "tax" are we talking about here?" [ The share varies as per the instance. It depends upon various factors. You will soone to know if you form an agreement with me. ] The goddess of Mesh responded in a stern voice. "Are there any risks for a demigod who is using the Mesh?" Eren asked the goddess in a careful tone. He didn''t like dealing with the divine beings. Even if Goddess Menaka was a neutral goddess, he felt that he should be wary of her as well. As such, he needed to know everything there was to know about the arrangement he was making with her in order to get ess to the Mesh. he knew that she was bound to tell him the truth as per the rules of the engagement. [ My Mesh might not always work for you if you were to wield your divine powers through it. It would also stop working abruptly if you were to use your Edicts. Of course, you can pay me to strengthen the Mesh for your use temporarily. The pay I''ll demand from you will depend upon various circumstances. ] Eren felt like smiling bitterly when he heard another catch about using the Mesh. he could only hope that the limitations ced on the demigods would be counterbnced by the perks they get, giving them considerable advantage over those with mortal souls. "What about the Abilities and Authorities I have?" [Your abilities and Authorities will be converted into Skills and Greater Skills respectively inside the Mesh while keeping your mastery over them intact. Additionally, you can find Skills suitable for the Spells you are used to with. There are other ways to get Skills as well. I''m sure you wille to know about them eventually. ] Eren breathed a sigh of relief when he got confirmation about his Abilities and Authorities from the goddess herself. Even Alephee was not sure that the goddess would take such troubles even if the conversion itself was possible. "How do I convert my Spells into Skills?" [ Not possible in a traditional sense. You''d have to pay to get ess to Skillspatible for your use. They would be simr to the Spells you use but you''d obviously feel some differences in using them as Skills. You can buy a set ofpatible Skills directly from me. Or you could gain those Skills via others who have synthesized them beforehand. My Mesh is alive, a true Inheritor of Elder Ichor. It is like a split personality of mine that has its own consciousness. And it constantly evolves. As such it would be difficult for you to understand what it can or can not do from the beginning. But I promise that you will eventually get to know about whatever you want to know at the right time. ] Eren wasn''t sure how much time had passed in the real world. However, he kept on asking a few questions to the goddess and got a satisfactory response from her. In the end, they came to a formal arrangement, and a divine pact was formed between them. *** A spacious hall inside the city administration office of Brol. This particr hall was dedicated to imparting Menaka''s Blessing to adolescents. Today, a man who appeared to be in his early 20s was allowed to cut through the line to get Menaka''s Blessing. Thus, it was only natural that people gathered inside the hall had irritated faces as they looked at Eren. Their irritation was increased further when the man stayed inside the runic circle for quite a long time, not allowing others to have their turn. "Who is this man? Was he wanking off at the time others of his age group were receiving their Blessing? " Asked a man to the crowd while looking at Eren with disdain. He would have addressed Eren directly but thetter had his eyes closed and seemed lost in his thoughts. As such, the man decided to vent his anger by publicly targeting Eren. The others started chattering as well, joining the man in their united front against the man whom nobody among them knew the identity of. Before things could escape though, they were all forced to shut up by Akel''s loud voice. "Silence!" Akel shouted from outside the runic circle. "This man has been given special permission by Archpriest Jivem. Do you have anyints regarding the procedure? Take it up with the Archpriest himself." The crowd quieted down as soon as Archpriest Jivem''s name was mentioned. As one of the founding groups of the city, Ishgaar''s Temple had a huge influence inside Brol. If people knew that the man absentmindedly standing inside the runic circle was associated with the Ishgaar''s temple, they wouldn''t have let their discontentment known. ''Tch. Damn, these pompous brats with their connections. But that madman Jivem is not someone I can deal with. I I really shouldn''t have opened my mouth. Anyway, It looks like that buffoon is finally done with getting his Blessing. I will send my granddaughter right after him." The man who had first badmouthed Eren thought to himself as he saw the runic circle finally exuding a faint light. He was an A-ranked entity himself. So he could sense that the procedure for Blessing was finally over and Eren was about to snap out of his "zone". However, all of a sudden, Goddess Menaka''s residual Divine Sense permeated the surroundings and overwhelmed everyone present in the hall. Another unknown divine presence was also added to the equation, making the runic circle break from within. This supposed malfunction in the runic circle made the majority of the audience lose consciousness. The rest had a mix of shock, fear, and reverence in their expressions as they looked at the man who casually approached Akel. Eren acted as if the malfunction in the runic circle had nothing to do with him. Just like that, his attempt at getting Menaka''s Blessing for himself had ruined the chances of getting one for everyone else. === AN: Apologies for the solitary chapter release. I''ve been on the road for the past two days, which has made it challenging to maintain the usual chapter uploads. To make up for it, a mini mass release will be arranged soon. :) Chapter 1685 New Spectral Screen Chapter 1685 New Spectral Screen Eren finally managed to get Menaka''s Blessing for himself. Though he caused a bit ofmotion inside the city administration, it was dealt with rather peacefully. The operability problems in the runic circles used to im Menaka''s Blessing weren''tmon. However, it was also the fact that the runic circle break would ur on rare asions. As such, Eren was considered an isted case before he was relieved. Eren chatted with Akel for quite some time before deciding to head to the temporary residence Archpriest Jivem had arranged for himself. He promised to meet up with Akel in a couple of days before bidding him goodbye. Serene Solitude! Nestled in the heart of a bustling city, the inn named Serene Solitude emerged as a tranquil haven, cradled within the embrace of a lush garden. The inn''s exterior, adorned with creeping vines and delicate blooms, offered a serene wee to weary travelers seeking refuge from the outside world. As Eren entered the inn, a subtle aroma of exotic herbs and fragrant blossoms enveloped him, adding a touch of natural allure to the air. The interior, a seamless blend of rustic charm andforting elegance, boasted wooden furnishings embellished with intricate carvings that told tales of thend''s history. ''People in Labh Salem seem to cherish all that is vintage it seems,'' Eren had a random thought as he surveyed his temporary abode''s surroundings. The inn''smon area featuredrge, arched windows that opened to the garden, allowing a gentle breeze to caress the space. Illuminating the winding ways of the garden were enchanting yellow magicmps suspended from twisted iron stands. Their soft glow cast a warm hue upon the verdant surroundings, creating a peaceful ambiance. ''This inn has to be sponsored by Ishgaar''s temple. Some intent-based magic is at y. They have done something to the inn so that it makes you seek peace and solitude here. Not that I''mining. The less I talk with people the better would be my chances of not blowing my cover.'' *** Serene Solitude, with its enchanting garden and magical atmosphere, stood as a testament to the art of hospitality, offering respite and a touch of mystique to those seeking sce in the heart of the bustling city. Eren greeted the passerby with a smile and nod as he carried on. By the time Eren had reached the inn, the daylight was nowhere to be found. When the starry sky adorned the heavens, the garden became a mesmerizing sanctuary for the patrons of Serene Solitude. Eren observed as individuals, under the celestial canopy, engaged in the intricate use of their Tantras C mystical techniques that allowed them to progress further in their respective Paths to Power. ''This world really is diverse,'' Eren thought to himself as he watched people practicing their Tantras openly without worrying about anything. It seemed that there were special arrangements they could use through Menaka''s Blessing, which would assure them of their safety while allowing them to focus on their techniques with no disturbance from the outside world. ''Or maybe it is because Ie from Anfang that I find these things odd. Maybe the Tantras are not as restrictive as I thought them to be. Then again, it is odd for people worshiping Ishgaar to seekpany while practicing their Tantras. There''s something I''m not aware of about Tantras I guess,'' the butcher concluded in his mind. Being from Anfang, Eren was like any other Ranker in his world. In his homeworld, the Ranker preferred practicing their Ranking Techniques in seclusion. He had never seen people here and had considered it to be a group activity. ''This is yet another culture shock. I may never get used to things like these. Especially considering the kind of Tantra I''ll be required to practice. I should stick with my customs from Anfang for the time beingC stay alone.'' Eren thought to himself as he walked ahead while observing his surroundings. The winding paths meandered through the garden, revealing hidden alcoves and secluded corners where patrons could find moments of sce or engage in quiet conversations. The symphony of nature, amplified by the asional soft melody of a harp or the gentle hum of distantughter, added to the enchantment of the inn. Eren found himself drawn to a quaint wooden bench nestled beneath an ancient oak tree, its sprawling branches creating a natural canopy overhead. From this vantage point, he could witness the celestial spectacle above. ''Labh Salem and Anfang. This this is indeed a different world. And I can see that the sky is different from what I used to see in Anfang. Yet, for some reason, it is not that different. I guess the sky, the suns, and the moons of the worlds all across the boundless cosmos have be Existential Concepts. They are the same yet different.'' Eren wanted to chat with Reen for a while while looking at the stars. However, she had fallen asleep. It seemed that even as an Elder Seed Artifact, she could not keep her consciousness active all the time. Eren didn''t mind. He let her sleep and indulged in the feelings of solitude that the inn had to offer. *** As the night deepened, the patrons of Serene Solitude continued to explore the garden''s wonders. Some practiced their Tantras with focused dedication, while others revealed the magic-infused camaraderie that flourished in the inn''s tranquil outdoor space. The innkeeper, a genial figure with a twinkle in her eye, approached Eren and offered a steaming mug of herbal tea, its aroma carrying hints ofvender and chamomile. With a knowing smile, the innkeeper gestured toward a small wooden table adorned with a vase of freshly picked wildflowers, inviting Eren to bask in the serenity that the inn so aptly promised. The innkeeper of Serene Solitude was a vision of beauty and charm, a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties by mortal standards. With auburn hair cascading down her shoulders like a river of burnished copper and captivating red eyes that seemed to hold the warmth of flickering embers, she exuded an air of allure. Her olive skin, wless and radiant, entuated her attractive features, framed by a sharp nose that added a touch of elegance to her countenance. d in a cute red dress that perfectlyplemented her figure, she boasted perfect feminine curves that lent an air of grace to her tall stature. Confidence radiated from her every movement as she gracefully navigated the inn''smon area, attending to the needs of the patrons. Her voice, a harmonious blend of calmness and cheerfulness, echoed through the space, creating an atmosphere of ease andfort. ''Damn. She''s she''s not bad.'' The butcher thought to himself as he looked at the innkeeper. He wanted to ask her name. But decided otherwise after seeing how busy she was handling her chores even sote into the night. Upon noticing Eren''s gaze from a distance, the innkeeper greeted him with a genuine smile on her face, the expression reflecting both warmth and hospitality. Her eyes sparkled with an inner light, mirroring the enchanting ambiance of Serene Solitude. "Grand Knight Eren, let me know if you need anything while you enjoy your stay in Serene Solitude." She greeted Eren with a calm and cheerful voice once again. *** Eren roamed some more after enjoying his beverage while kinda being apanied by the innkeeper. Too bad, she was busy with her affairs. Otherwise, he had ns to ask her for a tour of the inn. Only when he confirmed that the inn was safe for his stay did he allow himself to retire in his room for the day? Eren''s room at Serene Solitude embodied a blend offort and whimsy, providing a refuge within the enchanting inn. The door, adorned with a weathered brass handle, opened to reveal a space that mirrored the tranquility of the surrounding garden. The walls, painted in a soothing shade of celestial blue, held murals depicting scenes from ancient myths and constetions that seemed toe alive in the soft glow of the ambient lighting. Arge, ornate mirror adorned one wall, reflecting the room''s ethereal ambiance. A four-poster bed, draped in flowing curtains of deep indigo, stood as the centerpiece. The bedspread, woven with intricate patterns reminiscent of cosmic gxies, beckoned Eren to rest beneath its celestial embrace. Pillows adorned with embroidered moons and stars added a touch of whimsy to the sleeping quarters. In a corner, a wooden writing desk held parchment and quills, inviting creative musings amid the enchanting atmosphere. A potted fern, its emerald leaves reaching toward the room''s canopy, added a touch of verdant life to the space. ''Hmm? Did they also figure out the fact that I write poems?'' Eren asked himself before shaking his head. ''Naah. All of this this is just to increase the intense feelings of solitude in one''s heart. This ce it''s a trap for those who are not proficient in using Intent-based magic. I understand now why they arranged for me to stay here. Kekeke. I''ll just allow you guys to use your little schemes on me until they work in my favor as well.'' Eren thought to himself as he surveyed his room. ''I have to say the ce is not bad.'' The window, framed by diaphanous curtains that billowed gently in the breeze, offered a view of the garden bathed in the soft glow of the yellow magicmps. As Eren gazed outside, he could see the winding paths illuminated by the enchanting lights, creating a serene tableau that hinted at hidden wonders. A cozy reading nook nestled beneath the window,plete with a plush armchair and a small bookshelf filled with tomes of ancient lore, provided a quiet spot for contemtion. The air within the room carried a subtle fragrance ofvender, contributing to the overall sense of calm. The room exuded an aura of mystery, a calm retreat where the magical energies of the garden seamlessly transitioned into the private sanctuary of Eren. Serene Solitude had woven a haven where the terrestrial and the mystical coexisted, creating an experience that transcended the boundaries of the mundane. When Eren was left all alone inside his room, he took a deep breath before essing the spectral panel. The same spectral panel that one could ess by getting Menaka''s Blessing. When he did, he was shocked and amazed by the number of choices and options the screen presented to him. [ Menaka''s Blessing: Special Pact ] [ Name: Eren Elijah Idril ] [ Human (?) / Half-blood (?)] [ Origin: Anfang ] [ Current World: Labh Salem ] [ Current Location: Brol, Onianum Continent ] [ Path to Power: Mana Core Harnesser / Ranker ] [ Mana Core Status: A-Rank Vapour State ] [ Ranking Status: Grandmaster / Grand Knight ] [ Special Status: Demi-god, Elder Seed, True Inheritor of Elder Ichor''s Divine Throne ] [ Divinity: Edict Over Water (elemental) ] [ Tantra: Unavable ] [ Current Affiliations: Ishgaar''s Temple (non-restrictive) ] [ Base Attributes: Vigor: 400 Mind: 400 Endurance: 400 Strength: 400 Dexterity: 400 Intelligence: 400 Spirit: 2000 Faith: ???? [ Active Profession: Close Combat Warrior ] [ Passive Professions Avable: Summoner (Varied), Runemaster (Varied), Berserker, Assassin, Ranger, Potioneering Warlock ] [ Greater Skills: Domain of Wrath, Domain of Gluttony, Domain of Lust, Domain of Pride, Domain of Greed, Domain of Envy, Domain of Sloth ] [ Bloodline Skills: Memory Extraction, Expedited Regeneration, Life Drain, Devour, Shapeshift, Partial Shapeshifting ] [ Skills: Instant Reset, Unlimited Weapon Works, Potioning (varied), Hero''s Heart, Demi-god''s Gaze ] [ Equipment: Elder Seed ArtifactC Shallot''s Mirror (Wielder-defined name) ( Inactive ) Elder Seed Artifact (?) C Reen ( unrecognized / Unknown ) Elder Seed Artifact (?) C Shura ( inactive ) ] [ Currency Avable: Menaka''s RunesC 10,000 (Recent History: 10,000 Meroons Credited by Jivem Onianum''s DiremC 500 Extols (Anfang)C 67312946 (unusable in Labh Salem) Jn (Echidna)- 4775 (unusable in Labh Salem) ] [ Personal Storage ess: GrantedC 295 Out of 300 Slots Used ] [ Communication ess: Granted ] [ Menaka''s Market: Granted ] Chapter 1686 Absence of Binding Contracts?

Chapter 1686 Absence of Binding Contracts?

"Damn. My spells didn''t make it." Eren sighed as he looked at the spectral screen in front of him. He had hoped that some of the spells that he was most proficient in would unlock as Skills for him after gaining Menaka''s Blessing. Unfortunately for him, all his hopes were just wishful thinking. Menaka didn''t allow him easy ess to Skills just because he was a demi-god or the fact that he was the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor Bloodline. "That goddess How can I force her to break her neutrality with her own hands?" Eren smiled before shaking his head. The way he was now, his thoughts were nothing but a daydream. Still, it was something he wanted to do something about. He knew that forcing Menaka to break her neutrality would harm her divinity. It would also affect the myriad worlds the Mesh existed in. However, if he could pull off something like that, it could give him a crucial advantage over his enemies. "Hmm. Compared to what I see here, the Spectral Screen generated by ID Stone feels like a shoddy copy." Eren was amazed by the options found in the Spectral Screen that represented Menaka''s Blessing. He could see that the Blessing automatically gained some in-depth personal knowledge about him as soon as it was bestowed. For example, it could decipher that Eren was a half-blood and that he originated from Anfang. "Hmm? What is this thing here?" Eren narrowed his eyes on a down-arrow sign that was in front of a peculiar entry in the Spectral Screen. As soon as he focused on the sign, it glowed before changing the Spectral Screen Entirely. The description rted to the options in front of him was disyed on the header of the Spectral Screen. [ Special Status Perks: Wielder can make use of the Perks associated with the Special Status here. The Perks offer various advantages over the regr Skills. They can be used to buff certain effects associated with various Skills or used as a debuff modifier for the effects associated with opponents'' Skills. Perks are bound to the respective Special Statuses. Wielder can only keep one Special Active at any given time. Avable Special Statuses: Elemental Demi-god, Elder Seed, True Inheritor of Elder Ichor''s Divine Throne ] Eren raised his eyebrows in surprise when he looked at the Perks avable to him for use in front of each entry avable in the particr section. He felt like he had seen something simr to this. It took him a while to understand why these options felt familiar to him. "Bloody hell Sansara Sage! He was trying to mimic Menaka''s Blessing inside an isted world. What.. What kind of legendary genius that man is? Wait How How did he find out about Menaka''s Blessing? And what did he learn by conducting such an experiment there? Is there anything else about his legacy that I haven''t understood as of now?" The cogs in Eren''s head started churning as he connected the dots. The more he thought, the clearer his understanding about the Sansara Sage became. "It all makes sense now. Why did he want to get outside Anfang so much? He is probably thinking the same thing I''m thinkingC how to make use of Menka''s Mesh to one''s advantage." Eren had indeede across something simr when he had entered Sansara World 1.0 just as a student and graduation aspirant. He had to say that Sansara Sage was way ahead of his time even when he was limited by his circumstances in Anfang. Eren ignored the Perks associated with the Special Statuses for the time being and moved on. Since he had already experienced using Perks in the past, he didn''t feel like he would find them difficult while using Menaka''s Blessing. [ Tantra: Unavable ] Next, Eren focused his attention onto a particr entry in the Spectral Screen. This was the entry he wanted to see active the most. However, he was helpless to change anything about it since he did not have the necessary requirement to unlock it. ''Sticking to the Ranking Technique from Anfang would not help me much here. It can''t even be detected in the Spectral Screen officially. And without the entry, I wouldn''t be able to apply Skills and Perks rted to that particr section. Should I y along with that Archpriest Jivem some more and get my hands on a Tantra? How could I resume my Ranking Journey without a valid Tantra.'' While thinking on those lines, Eren''s attention was drawn to a particr entry, which made him drop the idea of swindling Jivem anymore than he already had. [ Current Affiliations: Ishgaar''s Temple (non-restrictive) ] Eren knew that this particr entry would change if he decided to establish an official connection with Ishgaar'' temple. Unlike Anfang, people in Labh Salem didn''t need to sign binding contracts with each other toe to a formal arrangement. The role of binding contracts was reced by Menaka''s Blessing in Labh Salem and every other world the Mesh was active in. Through this particr section, an individual and a particr organization woulde to a particr agreement. Menaka''s Blessing would act as the intermediary between the two parties, ensuring that the rules of the engagement will be upheld by both sides. "When I heard that there are no binding contracts in Labh Salem, I celebrated. I was looking forward toing to such a world where there are no restrictions. I also thought that the absence of the binding contracts would be the second best thing that had happened to me. But it seems it was a premature celebration. This thing it looks even more vicious and dangerous than the repercussions caused by the annulment of the binding contract found in Anfang. I don''t know what kind of restrictions will be ced on me by the temple if I were to ept their offer and take apatible Tantra from them. So it''s better to take my time and study this thing for now." Chapter 1687 Spoiled for Choices Chapter 1687 Spoiled for Choices Due to the personal limitations in assimting with his victims'' memories thoroughly, Eren had discarded most of the witches'' memories rted to the restrictive uses. Not that the restrictive uses would be universal for every organization and the entities associated with them. After all, the restrictions ced on the witches would not be simr to the ones imposed on him by Ishgaar''s temple. However, through the residual memories of the witches, he knew how controlling these restrictions could get through Menaka''s Blessing once they were established. In some cases, they were even more dangerous than the binding contracts found in Anfang. "When the goddess herself acts as the guarantor, there''s no way for anyone to break them. At least not throughmon means. So there''s no reason for me to feel disheartened about this. If I can''t con anyone, it also means that nobody can con me. I I can probably make use of this in a different way." Eren caressed his chin in contemtion as he started thinking about the affiliations and the respective restrictions and uses thate bundled with them. "Forming official ties with Ishgaar''s temple is a no-go. This organization is as big as the Amazonians. So the uses and restrictions they ce on an individual would also not be something I could ignore. Plus, the more I stay with them, the more are the chances of my lies getting exposed. But perhaps I can find a less established organization where I could gain a suitable Tantra for myself while facing the least level of restrictions. I''ll need to stay on the lookout for a "sweet deal" like that." Eren had already received his due reward from Ishgaar''s temple for giving them the news rted to Helenbora witches. He had selected mary benefits. As such, he received 10,000 Menaka''s Runes from the temple. He also received 500 Direm as a personal reward from Jivem, which was a local currency of Onianum continent as a whole. Menaka''s Runes were a form of illusory currency that could only be used in the Spectral Screen. Usually, it did not have any physical form. Plus, it could only be transferred from one person to another through their respective Spectral Screens. Menaka''s Runes could be used in various ways. One could use them to buy Skills, Arts, Artifacts etc from Menaka''s Market. The runes could also be used to increase one''s proficiency in using a particr set of Skills. Menaka''s Runes could be exchanged for buying something in Labh Salem. In fact, it was the most used currency throughout Labh Salem irrespective of one''s inclinations and origins. Eren did not know how much buying power the total sum of 10,000 Menaka''s Runes had in Labh Salem or inside Menaka''s Market. However, he hoped that the sum would be enough for him to get hold of some basic Skills. Of course, he did not want to rush buying Skills right away. At first nce, buying Skills from Menaka''s Market looked safer and more convenient. However, he also knew that it was also a bit costlier. There were local shops where he could get the same Skills for a lesser amount of Menaka''s Runes. As such, he prevented himself from checking out the Menaka''s Market right away. "There are some changes in my Base Stats as well. Or maybe not. Hmm. The changes are rted to the way the Base Stats are referred to here." Eren looked at the Base Stats panel and thought to himself. He could guess that Health Points in ID Stone''s Spectral Screen had been changed into Vigor. The same was the case with most of the other parameters as well. However, for the first time, Eren was able to see how much Spiritual Force he had. ID Stone from Anfang did not have a way to quantify one''s Spiritual Force. However, in his new Spectral Screen, it had been denoted as Spirit. He could also surmise that it was somewhat simr to the total summation of all the Base Stats. "What is Faith though?" Eren asked himself. "I guess it is rted to my demi-god status maybe? Or it could be rted to the patron divine entity one can decide to be a follower of? In any case, I don''t think it could be something that I could use directly like my other Stats." Eren contemted for some time before letting it go. By this point, he was sure that the Spectral Screen itself would provide him with all the necessary information once it deemed it appropriate to do so. "Professions, huh? So my sses have been turned into Professions here? I guess Active and Passive Profession choices are pretty straightforward. But what are these side-choices attached to them?" Eren focused on the down-arrow sign beside the active professions. And in the next moment, a sub-panel was opened in front of him. This sub-panel consisted of how he could make use of the Active Profession as well as a few inherent Perks attached to it. For example, Eren didn''t have to alter his Mana Circuits manually anymore to modte his Base Stats as per the Ranking ss he wanted to use. This task would be managed by Menaka''s Blessing itself, allowing Eren to seamlessly switch between various Professions. Eren also gained some Skill-rted Perks attached to each of the Professions. For example, all the movement-type Skills would receive a default buff if his Ranger profession was active. The Close Combat Warrior Profession would allow him to increase the damage potential of supported Hex Artifacts through the Spectral Screen itself. "This This is sweet. I couldn''t make much use of my multi-ss advantage while I was in Anfang. But here, in Labh Salem, I can practically create at least six different personas by changing the Professions. Keke. So let me get this straight. No binding contracts. No Historians. Practically no residual mana signatures because of the use of Skills. And now the option to select from six Professions. Damn. It''s like this world is asking me to pull all my stoppers here." Eren chuckled when he understood the kind of opportunities Menaka''s Blessing had opened for him. If he was careful and smart in using the Blessing, he basically had nopetition in his category. Plus, he could remain lowkey and still be aggressive about all the opportunities presented to him. Chapter 1688 Feeding New Skills Into the Mesh Chapter 1688 Feeding New Skills Into the Mesh Eren kept rummaging through his Spectral Screen, trying to know the essential stuff. He found out that the category Profession was closely associated with one''s identity in Labh Salem. It was something that almost nobody could change once they had made their decisions. At least not on the fly. Plus, those who used Menaka''s Blessing could only use one Profession at a time. If they somehow managed to change their Profession, the progress they made in their previous Profession was practically lost. Of course, there were exceptions to this rule in the form of rare items, artifacts, and certain Perks that one could buy from Menaka''s Market, etc. However, nobody else was as spoiled for choices as Eren was in this department. Eren was very happy to find out that he couldmit identity fraud by using the multi-profession option that only he was privy to out of all those who used Menaka''s Blessing. He had to say that the formal agreement he had struck with the goddess was worth it just by considering this advantage alone. He came to know that his expertise in Array Creation as well as weapon creation could be utilized through the use of a single profession called Runermaster. This Profession gave him a few inherent Perks that he could make use of while synthesizing the Runic Array Circles or crafting Hex Artifacts. The Runemaster Profession also allowed him to use a few Skills rted to the artifact and array creation in a streamlined manner. In Anfang, he had a few limitations while making use of his expertise rted to these fields. However, in Labh Salem, through the use of the Mesh, he could be a one-man factory while creating artifacts. He could also createplex array circles on the fly using the Mesh, which could allow him to outss even pre-Anfang-exit Sansara Sage. The Summoner Profession was another example of having one Profession giving the benefits of many. His powers as a necromancer and elemental summoner had been properly segregated under one Profession. He could make use of any one of them at a given time and achieve greater effects if he were to turn Summoner as his Active Profession. His bloodline Skills somehow felt more easily essible to him than the rest. He could feel that the effects that they brought were also a tier higher than the other Skills he still had in his possession. This was because Menaka''s Blessing couldn''t limit the Skills associated with his bloodlineC the Elder Ichor bloodline. It seemed even the Mesh did not have the power to cap the effects brought to him by his bloodline powers. However, not everything was cool and dandy for Eren. especially when he browsed through the contents rted to the Greater Skills. For one thing, they had huge Cooldown time, which basically meant he couldn''t use certain Greater Skills in session. He could neither stack them nor fuse them. He was sure that there were ways to get around these limitations if he had enough Menaka''s Runes under his name. However, until he could exert his Greater Skills to their fullest potential, he needed to be a bit mindful of their use. "Hmm? Sedating Gaze has been changed to Demi-god''s gaze?" Eren quickly selected the down-arrow sign beside the Skill and saw the prompt generated on the Spectral Screen. [ Demi-god''s Gaze: Wielder can affect the psyche of their opponent simply with their stare alone. The effects can range from changing the perception of time for the targets to temporarily trapping their consciousness into an illusion. This primary Skill also gives ess to the wielder to use the time-element Skills it evolved from. The Skill can evolve for 70,000 Menaka''s Runes. It can also link with the wielder''s divinity upon paying 325,000 Menaka''s Runes ] "Damn. 325,000 Menaka''s Runes! I only have about 10K right now." Eren smiled to himself bitterly and was about to close the sub-panel associated with the Skill. However, just then, another prompt shed. [ A new Skill detected. Insertion into Menaka''s Mesh as a new entry is possible. Would you like to donate/sell this Skill to Menaka''s Mesh?] "The gall of this thing! Donation it says. Yeah. I don''t do donations." Eren scoffed as he read the prompt. He quickly selected "no" for the donation and checked the "sell" option just for the sake of it. He just wanted to know how much this original Skill, the one he had made all by himself, would sell for. [ Option 1: One-time payment of 800,000 Menaka''s Runes. The Skill will bepletely owned by the Mesh after the sessful payment. Wielder can spend the credited Runes to buy various items from Menaka''s Market. ] "I''ll be damned. Those zeroes before sure look tempting." Eren opened his eyes wide in surprise when he realized how much his Skill would him in profit after feeding it to Menaka''s Mesh. he could also see a preview of items under Option 1 that he could buy from Menaka''s Market. The more he scrolled sideways into the preview section, the more he was tempted to feed his Skill into Menaka''s Mesh. Some of the items he saw felt downright illegal to him by Anfang''s standards. Of course, once he fed the Skill into the Mesh, it could be bought by others at the right price. It meant that there would be others who could use the same Skill he could. He would basically give away the sole proprietary of the Skill to the goddess Menaka. And then, the goddess would be able to bestow his power as a Skill to those who used her Blessing. "This goddess she is basically sitting atop a mountain of knowledge and rare powers that only she is aware of." Eren narrowed his eyes as he thought of how many Skills and Greater Skills the goddess was able to acquire through her Mesh. Of course, these Skills and Greater Skills did not directly help her. However, they enriched the Mesh and helped her grow her divinity as a whole. [ Option 2: Get a two percent share of Menaka''s Runes every time someone buys Demi-god''s Gaze through Menaka''s Market. Effective period: indefinite. ] [ Option 3: Get a ten percent share of Menaka''s Runes every time someone buys Demi-god''s Gaze through Menaka''s Market. Effective period: 50 years. The Skill will bepletely owned by the Mesh after the effective period ends. ] "Basically, I will get a cut every time some user of the Blessing buys my Skill. This sounds like a more reasonable deal to me. Provided, it gets sold enough times." Eren also weighed down Options 2 and 3 in his head and guessed that Option 2 was a better deal for him. This option would allow him to co-own his Skill with the Mesh, enabling him to get a steady flow of Menaka''s Runes for as long as he was using the Blessing. Option 3 was great when it came to receiving a bigger cut per transaction. But it had an expiry date, which meant that he would not be able to earn Menaka''s Runes after the effective period of the deal. "Sedating Gaze was one of my most hard-earned Abilities from Anfang. I remember getting my ass beat right from my academy days, willingly, to develop this Ability. And it has served me well so far. I''m d to see that my hard work can still give me dividends in the long run. But I don''t want to see others using this Ability. It shall be something that only belongs to me and me alone." Eren made up his mind and canceled all the options he saw in the sub-panel. If his ocr Ability was as powerful here in Labh Salem as it was in Anfang, it would still serve him as one of the most reliable Trump Cards. Eren''s ocr Ability was practically a sure-shot way for him to create a chink in one''s armor. The effects of the Ability were instantaneous and it could be executed by him as easily as he blinked his eyes. Plus, there was no significant mana consumption. But all of that could change if he decided to go through with the deal. He knew through the witches'' memories that as soon as his Ability was fed into the Mesh, it would be decipheredpletely. It also meant that the goddess would provide counter-skills to her patrons in the future once enough users started using his Skill. Thus, his choice to sell his Skill now coulde to bite him in the ass in the future. So even after knowing that selling his Skill could give him the best starting point in Labh Salem he could ask for, he decided to not ept Mesh''s offer. "Gotta y the long game," Eren sighed as he browsed through the options further. However, something struck in Eren''s mind like thunder when he understood how the game worked. He quickly went back to the previous panel and tried to execute a particr spell he had developed through his own merit in Anfang as well. Wind-fire Shards! Chapter 1689 Passive Income Chapter 1689 Passive Ie The elemental sparks were lit around Eren as he tried to cast Wind-Fire shards. However, it looked as if he was trying to light a fire by striking stones against each other. The embers of the sparks barely made themselves known before dying quickly after. "Damn. It is really difficult to cast spells here." Eren cursed the way magic was employed in Labh Salem. He had been casting Wind-fire Shards for quite some time. But the Spectral Screen didn''t show any update. So he had to keep on casting. The more he cast the more stressed his mana circuits became. A simple spell-casting had be a chore for him because he wasn''t using the Mesh. "Guess I''ll have to concentrate." Eren sat down on the ground cross-legged and closed his eyes. He then regted his breathing before tapping into his mana core. Channeling the mana through his mana circuits, he called forth his Elemental Attainments to aid him in the spell-casting. The elemental sparks around Eren lit up once again. However, this time, they burned brighter and their forms stabilized. The elemental mana used in their creation was stabilized before the fusion of the two different types of elemental mana took ce. [ A new Skill detected. ] Eren had a smile on his face as he opened his eyes. He quickly essed the Spectral Screen and checked up on the new prompt he had. [ A new Skill detected. Wind-Fire Shards. A unique Skill born by fusing two different elements and their distinct Elemental Attainments. Insertion into Menaka''s Mesh as a new entry is possible. Would you like to donate/sell this Skill to Menaka''s Mesh? ] Eren quickly discarded the "donate" option and selected "sell". In the next moment, just like what had happened in the previous instance, three choices shed in front of him. [ Option 1: One-time payment of 315,450 Menaka''s Runes. The Skill will bepletely owned by the Mesh after the sessful payment. Wielder can spend the credited Runes to buy various items from Menaka''s Market. ] [ Option 2: Get a 1.4 percent share of Menaka''s Runes every time someone buys Wind-fire Shards through Menaka''s Market. Effective period: indefinite. ] [ Option 3: Get a 6.8 percent share of Menaka''s Runes every time someone buys Wind-fire Shards through Menaka''s Market. Effective period: 20 years. The Skill will bepletely owned by the Mesh after the effective period ends. ] "So the Mesh considers Wind-fire Shards to be less valuable than Demi-god''s Gaze, huh? Can''t say I''m surprised." Eren mumbled as he read the specifics of the three options. He had to say that he was a bit disappointed seeing the percentage of the share had also dropped down considerably for Options 2 and 3. "I feel like I can safely choose Option 1 here and get a lump sum of around 300,000 Menaka''s Runes. Wind-Fire Shards is something I created in a moment of spur. It is not that powerful and can be countered using normal means. Therefore, it was never something I used as my go-to tool. However, let''s take Option 2 for the sake of taking it. That way, this Skill will give me a steady flow of Menaka''s Runes for as long as I want it to be. I''ll see how many Menaka''s Runes it garners me after a few months. If the numbers are lower than I expected, then I will switch to Option 2 and Three in the future." Eren weighed his options before finallying to a decision. Had he chosen Option 1, there was no way to reverse the decision he made. The Skill would be owned by the Meshpletely, depriving him of a steady flow of ie. He could go back to the remaining options if he were to select Option 2. It was just that the deal''s conditions would be different and the profit he had earned by selecting Option 2 would be taken into ount. This means his cut would be lower. There was a reason Eren was okay with feeding Wind-Fire Shards into the Mesh and getting Menaka''s Runes in return. It was because he could tweak Wind-Fire Shards however he wanted just by introducing minor changes to it. He had created this spell in duress when he was caged inside Altashia''s Burning Abode along with Argo. At that time, he had taken inspiration from Argo''s way of using his Elemental Attainments to create this spell. Eren had Elemental Attainments in multiple elements. The number of Elemental Aspects he possessed was even greater. As such, he could tweak the spell by employing different Elemental Aspects while keeping the fusion concept the same. He knew that the Mesh recorded the Elemental Aspects employed while feeding a novel spell into it as a brand-new Skill. Therefore, no matter the case, Eren would always have an advantage over others even if his opponents decided to use his own spell against him. Eren willed it in his mind and chose Option 2. A new prompt appeared on his screen when he did that. [ Option 2 has been selected by the wielder. Proceed further? ] "Yeah. Go ahead," Eren said out loud and made his choice known to the Mesh. In the next moment, his body was bathed in a white light which then proceeded to illuminate his room brighter. It was as if a mini sun had been summoned inside his closed-door room in the middle of the night. Eren felt like his entire body and soul had been scanned by something. The elemental shards he had produced around him also vanished into thin air as if they had been robbed by the Mesh. Eren waited patiently for the Mesh to process his spell and convert it into a Skill. Thankfully, he didn''t have to wait long. A new prompt appeared in front of him within a few seconds. [ Wind-Fire Shards #6669 has been sessfully registered as a Skill. As a co-owner of the Skill, the wielder would not have to pay for getting the Skill for his own use through Menaka''s Market. Would you like to unlock the Skill for free right away? ] "Hm? Were you nning to sell me my own spell as a Skill if I had chosen Option 1?" Eren asked the Spectral Screen in a suspicious tone. Unfortunately for him, he didn''t get any reply. "This goddess is capitalist by nature," the butcher sighed before saying "yes" out loud. Immediately, Wind-Fire Shards was added to the list of avable Skills Eren had in his possession. Without a dy, he activated the Skill topare the level of ease and the casting effect of the shards post their sessful port into the Mesh. This time, the Wind-fire Shards appeared around him like fireflies. They appeared in droves and were packed to the brim with condensed forms of elemental mana. When he waved his hands, they cut through the air in unison. It was as if they had been turned into a school of fish that swam freely in water with a unique rhythm. "This I feelpletely in control of this Skill." Eren mumbled to himself as he analyzed the effects of the Skill. He had a strong urge to make these shards explode around him in the next moment. However, he controlled his impulses and made them disappear into thin air. "Adopting to Skills in Labh Salem was a wise choice indeed. I just can''t stick to Anfang''s standards anymore even if I wanted to. It''s like adamantly sticking to using a knife while the others have moved on to using mana guns." [ A wielder in XXX bought Wind-Fire Shards #6669 from Menaka''s Market. 28 Menaka''s Runes have been credited into your ount. ] Just as Eren was about to move on to the next segment of the spectral screen, he received another prompt. He was surprised to find out that someone had actually bought Wind-Fire Shards just a few seconds after its sessful insertion into the Mesh. "Damn. I underestimated this Mesh. Choosing Option 2 was indeed the right choice." He smiled as he swiped the prompt away from his Spectral Screen. He did some quick math as per the share he was promised and was surprised once again. "So Menaka''s Market is selling Wind-Fire Shards for 2000 Menaka''s Runes as of now. I don''t know if it is high or low ording to the current standards. But it''s a start. I could always bring more variation to the Wind-Fire Shards and sell it to the Mesh as a different fusion Skill. But doing so might undermine the Skill I already sold. So I will wait for some time, and let the Skill reach enough people before bringing out the next variation. Of course, at most, I could sell three variations before the importance of all three starts getting reduced with time in the Market. But with this, I now have a way to gain stable ie from Menaka''s Runes." Eren got up from his seat and proceeded toy on his bed. He had been very satisfied with the results he had obtained so far. He wanted to explore the new Spectral Screen some more. However, he decided to prioritize some rest for the time being. "My first peaceful night in this world. I wonder how many of such nights I''ll get to have in the future?" Eren mumbled to himself before closing his eyes. Chapter 1690 Greater Skills’ Passive Effects

Chapter 1690 Greater Skills'' Passive Effects

Eren woke up from his peaceful slumber and found out that he had received 1742 more Menaka''s Runes. Menaka''s Market was always open and people could buy and sell the items avable in the market at any time, at any ce. Unless there were some special circumstances, people could buy stuff from Menaka''s Market even while they were in transit or doing something really crucial. Eren had never experienced an economy that was always on, always churning. He couldn''t me the goddess for being capitalist anymore after he got his cut from the system. After being included in the profit margin, the butcher couldn''tin about a system that worked for him. He was sure that he would have turned the Mesh into a profit-generating machine as well if he had given the reins over it. As such, he was pleasantly surprised to find out that his decision to turn his spell creation into a Skill had given him this much profit overnight. He had to say that he couldn''t have asked for a better start to a new day. He freshened up before heading downstairs. The inn he had stayed in for the time being was less of an inn and more of a monastery sponsored by the Ishgaar''s Temple. As such, there was no room service. He had to go to a food court where he could reserve a table and get local cuisine for himself. Soon, he found a table for himself and sat down. Reen was seen sitting beside him, observing the crowd around them. At the food court, the atmosphere shimmered with magical hues, as if the very air was infused with the essence of mystic spices and ethereal vors. The scent of exotic herbs and enchanted ingredients wafted through the air, creating an olfactory symphony that teased the senses. Eren settled at a small wooden table adorned with celestial motifs, beneath a canopy of enchanted vines that sparkled with tiny, dancing lights. The food court was aglow with an otherworldly radiance. Like always, it induced feelings of tranquility and solitude in one''s heart. For some reason, Eren was not affected by the feelings the ce was trying to induce in him. His thoughts were fully focused on getting something really good to eat. This would be his first proper food in a foreign world. He wanted this experience to be perfect. Unbeknownst to him, it was his emotions, and his food cravings that were affecting the patrons around him. The Domain of Gluttony had subtly started to show its effects, affecting others around him on a subconscious level. The intent-based magic the inn had worked so hard for failed to iste others from Eren''s demonic influence. "Reen darling, what would you like to have?" Eren asked his partner while looking at the spectral menu in front of him. The screen was nothing but the food court''s menu. He could order anything he wanted from his position and the food would appear right in front of him after some time. "Um you order it for me." Reen didn''t need to eat anymore. However, she could still enjoy the taste of food with her current status as an artifact. So she let Eren order anything he wanted and chatted with him like the chatterbox she often was from time to time. The menu listed an array of dishes that transcended the ordinary. Eren''s curiosity led him to order a dish known as "Stardust Delight." After a few minutes, when the dish finally appeared on his table, Eren marveled at the exquisite presentation. The Stardust Delight was a culinary masterpiece, a symphony of colors and textures. On the te, translucent orbs of iridescent jelly shimmered like captured starlight, surrounded by delicate petals of enchanted herbs that released fragrant wisps of magic. "I I hate to admit it but this. Thing looks better than what he had in Anfang so far." Reen scrunched her nose as she looked at the dish in front of him. Eren had just ced the same order twice, making Reen eat the same thing he was eating. "Keke. Why do you look offended that the food in Labh Salem is better than what we had in Anfang? Rx a bit,ss. We are not the representatives of our world and we have nothing to prove here." The butcher said before focusing his attention on the task at hand. Eren took a tentative bite, and as the Stardust Delight touched his pte, a burst of vors unfolded. Each bite seemed to evoke something deeper within him as if he was savoring the very essence of the stars. The dish was a harmonious blend of sweet and savory, with notes of distinct spices that tingled on his taste buds. Magical elements danced in the cuisine, leaving a subtle, lingering energy that invigorated Eren with each mouthful. The Stardust Delight seemed to transcend mere sustenance, offering a culinary experience that resonated with the enchantment of Serene Solitude itself. As Eren enjoyed the magical feast, he couldn''t help but notice the diverse crowd in the food court. Patrons conversed in hushed tones, their faces illuminated by the radiant glow of their dishes. Some wielded small orbs that levitated above their tables, casting a soft, ambient light that added to the enchantment of the space. For some reason, it felt like they were trying to eat more than usual. It was as if they had not had food for quite some time. And all of their feelings of hunger had kicked all at once, forcing them to devour the food in their sight. ''Hm? This this is weird. Why are they all so zealous about having their food?'' Eren narrowed his eyes at the patrons of the inn present at the inn. He could tell that something was odd about the way they ate their food. He could understand if some of the patrons ate their food as if they were starving. ''That hunger It''s the Sin of Gluttony.'' Eren quickly figured out what was causing the odd behavior of the people around him. He quickly essed the Spectral Screen and found a way to stop it. [ Greater Skill: Domain of Gluttony''s passive effect has been boosted by the user''s mental state. Due to the user''sck of experience in handling his demonic powers, the passive effect can not be turned off. ] ''Lack of experience? That''s strange. I did not have this problem while I was in Anfang. Then why'' Eren quickly figured out the reason behind this odd incident. The inn was specially enchanted to amplify the effects of the intent-based magic. Plus, the Mesh itself reacted to the Greater Skills differently. Plus, it didn''t help that Eren himself harbored strong feelings of hunger in his heart after indulging in the taste of the food. All of these things were not avable in Anfang. So he could wield his demonic powers without any worry. However, Labh Salem was different. ''My weaknesses The things that Ick have been highlighted for me one after the other ever since I stepped foot in this world. I guess I need to establish a firm control over my demonic powers. And I need to do a better job at it than I did in Anfang.'' ''Is it possible to control Domain of Gluttony''s passive effects?'' Eren asked in his mind, knowing full well that the Mesh would process his question. [ Manual intervention to control the passive effect of the user''s Greater Skill is possible through the use of the Mesh. Do you wish to proceed? ] ''Yeah. Do that. The sooner the better.'' Eren quickly responded in his head. [ 30 Menaka''s Runes would be spent every hour for as long as the Greater Skill''s passive effect is active. The user will be givenplete control to turn off the effects of the Greater Skill or to amplify its effects. Do you wish to proceed? ] ''Damn it. Nothing is free here. YesC proceed.'' Eren sighed as he turned off the effect of the Greater Skill manually using the Mesh. It wasn''t apparent right away but he knew that the people around him would soon assume their normal behavior without anyone being the wiser. The butcher breathed a sigh of relief after he avoided a potential inspection speck on him by the Ishgaar''s Temr. He didn''t have to celebrate his small victory. Reen was doing that for him without being concerned by his problems. It seemed that Reen was not affected by the effects of the Greater Skill. However, it did not stop her from praising the food. While eating, she seemed to be browsing through an invisible screen in front of her. "Erni, this Menaka''s Blessing sure is convenient." Reenmented as she checked up on the Spectral Screen avable specially for her. Reen was not like a normal, living, breathing entity anymore. As such, she could not receive Menaka''s Blessing directly. However, she could still ess the Mesh through her bond with Eren. One could say that Reen has ess to Eren''s sub-panel which was dedicated specially for her. Even the sub-panel of the Mesh had so many options that Reen was impressed with the goddess'' blessing as a whole. Of course, most of the options that she saw were locked for her and required her to fulfill some special conditions. So she could control her excitement to some extent. Chapter 1691 Contacting Alephee Chapter 1691 Contacting Alephee Eren nodded at Reen before responding. "I was equally surprised when I checked out Menaka''s Blessing too. Now we just need to find the right time, ce, and opportunity to test out the options to ourselves. But before anything else, we need to do something very crucial." "And what would that be?" Reen asked while enjoying her breakfast. "Contact Alephee," Eren said before essing his own Spectral Screen. He just thought of Alephee as he essed a dedicated panel meant to be used to contact someone. Menaka''s Blessing allowed the patrons tomunicate with each other through various means. People in Labh Salem could share their uniquemunication brands with each other through their Spectral Screens, which they couldter use to contact one another. Themunication didn''t have the traditional limitations like the ones associated with the ID Stone''s use. The distance basically didn''t matter much. In fact, one could contact the other even if they were in two separate worlds, provided both the worlds had the Mesh. If people knew enough about one another, they didn''t need amunication brand to contact someone. They could simply think about the person in their mind and the Mesh would find themunication brand associated with those particr memories. Eren was sure that Alephee would have gotten ess to the Menaka''s Blessing by this point, no matter how far she was from him. As such, he contacted her as soon as he determined that the time was ripe. "Eren!" Eren''s Spectral Screen changed in the next moment, showing him a familiar smiling face. Alephee had kept her appearance the same for the most part. However, she had abandoned her gothic back dress afternding in Labh Salem. "You you finally managed tond in Labh Salem huh? I I''m afraid you caught me with a bit of bad timing." Miss Timeless embraced an attire that seamlessly melded elegance and readiness for the unknown. Her youthful face, framed by the midnight hues of her cascading locks, exuded an air of both mystery and determination. Draped in a white tunic that peeked from beneath a dark brown jacket, Alephee''s ensemble spoke of practicality and style. The jacket, adorned with silver-edged embroidery. A circlet, intricately crafted with magical symbols, adorned her brow, adding a touch of ethereal charm to her appearance. It seemed that it had been quite some time since Alephee had been to Labh Salem. She had decked herself with Hex Artifacts. Eren was surprised to find Alephee all by herself, exploring some unknown terrain. Her rugged brown pants, chosen for their durability, allowed freedom of movement as she navigated through the perils of unchartednds. Over her tunic, she wore a silver-threaded sash that seemed to shimmer with hidden enchantments. Completing her ensemble were arm guards that wrapped around her forearms, practical yet embellished with ornate designs that mirrored her affinity with the time-element magic. At her waist, a sword in an intricately designed scabbard hung in readinessa silentpanion ready to be unsheathed at a moment''s notice. "Inded here a few days ago," Eren said as he greeted Alephee. "Uh It took me some time but I finally managed to get this damn Blessing." Eren exined to Alephee how he was able to finally get himself out of the maze that was the Immortal ne. He told her his current circumstances as well as his ns. Alephee listened to everything closely. She told him that it had been almost 18 years since she hadnded in Labh Salem. The others who had embarked on this journey with Eren had also appeared one after the other on various corners of this world. Alphee confirmed something Eren had already conjured on his ownC that he was indeed thest Ranker from their group to arrive in Labh Salem. Since he was in the Immortal ne where the concept of time and space were twisted, it had taken him quite some time by Labh Salem''s standards to finally find his way. Alephee told Eren about where she was. She also told him about the Rankers from Anfang who had appeared before and after her. She also briefly told him what she was up to during thest 18 years while he was still trapped by the Immortal ne. "This This was to be expected when we left Anfang in order toe here through the Immortal nes. I guess you still had it easy considering the fact that it only took you about 18 years to get here. Not bad for the first timer," Alephee said while continuing her journey. The silver-threaded sandals that cradled her feet hinted at a blend offort and style, suitable for the unpredictable terrains that an adventurer might encounter. As she moved, the subtle jingling of charms woven into her attire added a melodic cadence to her every step. Alephee''s ruby red eyes, a striking contrast to the dark hues of her attire, gleamed with the spark of excitement. Her entire ensemble painted a portrait of someone on the brink of a new mission. She was looking forward to finding something that nobody was able to find in Labh Salem for quite some time. "I''m d you obtained Menaka''s Blessing without any hups. I was afraid that the goddess would have um anyway. That exins why it took so long for you to call me. Where are you right now?" Alephee asked as she strode forward, the white and crimson fog around her thickening as she stepped further. "Brol. Near Kizamgaar''s ruins. Um where are you? And what are you doing?" Eren asked with a bit of curiosity in his voice. He had never seen Alephee this focused on doing something as she was at this point. Back in Anfang, there was nothing that could excite her and make her want to focus all her attention on. But it seemed that she had finally found something to invest her time and efforts in. "I I am at Broken Faith grounds. It''s a famous region on the continent of Epas, far away from where you are, Eren. And I uh I''m trying to find something I have been looking for quite some time. That thing I''m getting closer to it. I can feel it," she replied. "Epas! That''s indeed a tough ce for me to reach with my current circumstances." Eren raised his eyebrows when he found out about Alephee''s location. Not only was the continent of Epas far from where he was, it was also ruled by a coven of witches. As such, it was not a ce he could get to so easily from Onianum. "Yeah, I know," Alephee stopped in her tracks and replied. She decided that she would finish speaking with Eren first before carrying on with her mysterious adventure. "It seems we need to adapt," Alphee clenched her fists before voicing her decision to Eren. "Eren, you remember what I did after my brother died right?" Alephee asked. "I do," Eren nodded. He remembered through Aleph''s memories that Alephee had split herself in seven parts using Perfect Paradox. She had done that in order to raise her chances to find the true inheritor of the Elder ichor bloodline. It meant there were six other versions of Alephee that existed in the boundless cosmos. Alephee had be almost powerless after splitting herself this way. She had lost her divinity and fell from grace, almost turning her into an ordinary existence. However, she had decided to do something about it ever since she stepped foot in Labh Salem. "Eren one of my split forms it''s here. In Labh Salem. I need to merge with that form after making her believe that you are the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline. So I can''te and join you where you are as of now because I''m busy tracking down well myself, in a way. You should know that merging with my own self would not be an easy endeavor for me. It might take a few years even to merge after getting hold of my split form. I also have some other troubles I''m trying to get rid of. I don''t know in which state or condition the split form is in. and I don''t know what psychological changes it has gone through after so much time has passed. I am getting close to that form. It took me quite a while to find its location. And I had to invest quite a lot of effort. But I''m finally on the right track. I can finally feel its presence growing close to me. As such, I can''t just lose track now. Otherwise, all my efforts would go down the drain." Alephee exined to Eren that merely finding one of her split forms was not enough. She also had to convince the form that it was her that had found the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline. Things would get even moreplicated if that form had zeroed in on a worthy sessor of Aleph''s divine throne on its own. In such a situation, she needed to convince the split form that Eren was the right choice for their brother''s legacy. Not that the job would be too difficult for her as Aleph had already given his divine throne to Eren, making him his true inheritor. "So we part ways?" Eren asked. "We part ways," Alephee confirmed and sighed. "For the time being that is." === AN: Alephee splitting herself into seven forms through Perfect Paradox was exined in chapter 1506. Chapter 1692 Alephees Guidance 1692 Alephee''s Guidance "Ha, you''re acting like it''s a problem for you," Eren chuckled. "Keke. It could be just the thing you were looking for, you knowC a blessing in disguise. I bet you''ve been getting some good shut-eye now that you''re all alone. Enjoy this break, Miss Timeless. Enjoy your me-time while itsts." "Well, I can''t deny that," Alepheeughed with Eren. "After being with you for so long, peace almost feels strange to me. You were a problem ma in Anfang even if it wasn''t your fault. So, I still find it hard to believe I''ve been feeling rtively calm for the past 18 years." "Problem-ma, huh? Kinda a harsh way of putting it. But I guess that''s something I can''t deny as well." Eren''s broad smile turned smaller as he looked at the three-dimensional spectral form of Alephee, which was standing atop his table at this point. Eren and Alephee started chatting about various things as they epted the fact that they hadn''t meet each other for a very long time. Reen provided her input intermittently while enjoying her breakfast. Alephee was d that Reen was with Eren now that she wasn''t. She knew that Eren was a vicious man at his core. He did not hold a deliberate malice in his heart towards anyone in particr. But the kind of malice he could harbor in his heart was not something one could ignore. Reen and Alephee herself were the chains that kept Eren''s viciousness in check. They stopped him from embarking on a downward spiral that he had once charted. In Alephee''s absence, Reen was the sole existence that could keep Eren on the right track. Otherwise, the evil in his heart would consume everyone around him before it starts hurting him as well. From his vices to his obvious weaknesses, everything woulde back to haunt him once again and turn him into the man he was in his first timeline. After all, it did not take much effort from anyone to let their inner voices win. With Reen keeping Eren in check, Alephee could focus on her tasks at hand. She knew that Eren would make all the right decisions with Reen in tow, making him prioritize his safety over instant gains. Although she hadn''t nned things to unfold in this way, Alephee had prepared herself to separate from Eren from the moment she stepped into the Dimensional Gate in Anfang. She knew that prioritizing searching for her split forms was the right choice for her. However, she couldn''t drag Eren with her and derail his progress. Alephee had a lot of work cut for her. For thest 18 years, she had been preparing for Eren to arrive in Labh Salem. She had used every means in her arsenal to make it difficult for the gods and their followers to track him down. She also wanted to get rid of her homunculus vessel because it was notpletelypatible with Menaka''s Blessing. She had a genuine divine soul but her artificial body limited the functionalities of the Blessing to arge extent. Merging with her split forms was a start. Alephee could then acquire a better vessel for herself, one that could allow her to wield her powers better. Alephee felt like she had rested for quite some time after spending time in Afang. She was practically worry-free when she was in the Land of the Faithless. However, every vacationes to an end. A sad reality of life one has to face someday. The homunculus vessel could work in Anfang because no Ranker was an expert in wielding the Spiritual Force. However, it could be countered easily in a world like Labh Salem where this thing called Mesh existed. Alephee didn''t need to tell Eren about the problems with her vessel in Labh Salem. She did not want to make him worry. As such, she focused on directing him in the right way. So he could make as few errors as possible while using the Mesh. She told him that he shouldn''t use his Sin of Lust to brand, someone, while he was in Labh Salem. This was because, unlike Anfang, people in Labh Salem were experts when it came to dealing with soul-rted matters. The Practitioners of Paths in Labh Salem were pretty skilled in cultivating their Spiritual Force. As such, it was very difficult to brand their souls with Sin of Lust unless a wide gap of Spiritual Force existed between Eren and his potential targets. Even if he could brand their souls with the Sin of Lust mark, it was not guaranteed that it would stay that way for a very long time. Plus, the Practitioners of Paths in Labh Salem had ess to various Skills. Skills that could allow them to get rid of such brands on their souls at the right price. Eren''s ability to brand his target''s soul could end up backfiring on him as well if the target happened to be a demonic entity associated with the Demon Prince of Lust. The followers of Asmodeus were very skilled when it came to branding someone with the Sin of Lust. The followers of Asmodeus had ess to Asmodeus'' Skill Tree, which could allow them to control Eren as soon as he ced his brand on them via reverse branding. Eren had already dealt with a witch who happened to be a follower of AsmodeusC Leesha. Things would have gone horribly wrong for him if he had decided to brand her using the Sin of Lust. Of course, Eren could kick the Demon Princes from holding a seat in his demonic pantheon using the governing rights granted to him by Aleph''s divine throne. He could rece them with the demonic entities of his choice, reshaping his pantheon altogether. However, Eren was still struggling with wielding his divinity. He had his own limitations. Plus, reshaping the demonic pantheon would make hime out in the open. He would be easy to target for all the Demon Princes who had decided to oppose him. Chapter 1693 Top-tier Demon Slayer of Labh Salem? 1693 Top-tier Demon yer of Labh Salem? Eren needed to be a lot more careful in Labh Salem. He especially had a lot of restrictions in using his demonic powers now that he had decided to join the divine faction. Keeping the Demon Princes in check was more important for the current Eren than removing them from their respective positions. He could impose them with restrictions if things really came down to confrontation, using thews of the demonic pantheon. The Demon Princes were more dangerous to Eren if he were to free them from their current positions and responsibilities. Plus, he was not able to handle any responsibility and carry the load on his shoulders if he were to vacate a seat. He was nothing more than a Demi-god. Of course, Alephee supported Eren''s decision to be part of the divine faction even though Labh Salem was heavily influenced by the Demon Princes. Doing so would allow him to stay lowkey and still target the demonic entities. It could allow him to make a lot of progress in mastering his demonic heritage associated with the Elder Ichor Bloodline. Eren could count on Beelzebub to support him. But the Demon Prince of Gluttony himself was in a lot of trouble with other Demon Princes because of his apparent connection with the newly rising true inheritor of Aleph''s divine throne. The other Demon Princes could use Eren''s connection with Beelzebub as a way to track him down beforeunching targeted attacks on him. Things would be 100 times more difficult for Eren if the Demon Princes and enemy gods were to know about Eren''s current location. Goddess Menaka hade to a formal agreement with Eren that made sure that no Skill or Greater Skill could be used to track down the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor Bloodline. It was only this very anonymity provided to him by the neutral goddess that had kept him in the veil for so long. However, Eren''s agreement with the goddess would be futile if were to get exposed due to his negligence. As such, Alephee warned Eren against doing things half-heartedly and carelessly. Of course, she also told him several ways he could employ to improve his situation. She told him ways with which he could wield his demonic powers in a better way. It was possible for him to outright eliminate or keep the potential repercussions of using the demonic powers at bay provided he did a few things right. Alephee told Eren that he needed to secretly join demonic factions to get hold of a few key things. These things could not only make him invisible in the Demon Princes'' eyes, but they could also help him progress further in his Ranking Journey without having to depend on any Ranking Technique or Tantra. Eren was d that he had not used his demonic powers to brand someone in Labh Salem. He had decided to experiment with the inn''s owner by branding her with the Sin of Lust. but he dropped the idea after listening to Alephee''s warnings. These restrictions did not matter much to Eren. he waspletely fine with not being able to use his Sin Series powers for the time being. However, he wanted to resolve the matter as soon as possible. After all, he had decided to hunt demons of Labh Salem for his own benefit. And he''s using his demonic heritage against such demons would provide him with an unfair advantage. The butcher might be able to be one of the greatest demon yers the world of Labh Salem had ever seen in his known history after wielding his demonic powers to perfection. For that to happen, he needed to iron out a few things. Eren was fascinated with the details provided to him by Alephee. He was d that she had many years to prepare a few things in advance before he arrived in Labh Salem. That way, he knew what to look for and how to handle the potential problems. Eren needed toe up with his own Tantra based on a fusion of the Rootless Ranking Technique with the ways of Labh Salem. However, he also knew that this was not a project he could conclude with a snap of his fingers. He needed time, effort, and a bit of luck to formte his own Tantra. Thus, when Alephee told Eren about an alternate way to progress in his Ranking Journey using the power of the Mesh, Eren''s interest was piqued. He decided to follow Alephee''s suggestions right away, making her exin a few things in great detail. Eren had already realized that his control over his demonic powers wascking by Labh Salem''s standards. He told Alephee about the uncontroble passive effect he had unexpectedly released in the surroundings and affected people around him. Alephee was not surprised by Eren''s situation. Labh Salem was a world that employed intent-based magic to its perfection. The demonic powers had a greater sway here, especiallypared to Eren''s homeworld Anfang. Alephee told Eren that he should keep his emotions in check until he could control his demonic powers better. The Skill and Greater Skill acquisition was the easiest and most effective way he could achieve fine control over such powers. He just needed to acquire the Skill Tree rted to his demonic origins and things would go a lot more smoother for him. Eren also had a lot of advantages he could use to get such Skills and Greater Skills for himself. He just needed to find the right demonic ces and entities to get them. Alephee gave a list of a few noteworthy ces for Eren to explore. She knew that he''d have an easier time keeping his identity concealed, thanks to the multi-profession option he had been blessed with. He''d be able to act more freely than his former self from Anfang. As Eren listened to Alephee''s suggestions, a n started to hatch in Eren''s mind. It was as if Miss Timeless had provided him with just the right number of puzzle piecesC pieces that could allow him to decipher the picture if not outright solve the puzzle itself. Chapter 1694 Kayara 1694 Kayara "I wonder when we''ll get to meet face to face." Eren murmured to himself as he ended his conversation with Alephee. It seemed she was upied with her own matters, so he decided to give her the time she needed to sort things out. "Hehe. Don''t worry about her. She''d be fine. To be honest, unlike you, I''m d Alephee isn''t here, Erni. She spent a lot of time with you. Now it''s my turn." Reen chuckled, fading from her seat and merging back with Eren. It felt like a spectral hug before she concealed herself within him. "And here I thought you two got along well," Eren said, smiling wistfully. ''We do, but that doesn''t mean I don''t envy her,'' Reen replied in his mind. "Grand Knight Eren? I thought you hadpany." Eren didn''t know when but someone had sneaked up behind him. When he turned around to greet, he saw that it was none other than the auburn-haired innkeeper. "Hi there, Miss Kayara. Please drop the formalities and call me Eren." Eren greeted Kayara with a charming smile. He gestured with his hands to take a seat in front of him. "I indeed hadpany. She is my artifact spirit. She''s a bit of a shy person, you seeC doesn''t like to interact with anyone other than me." "I see," Kayara came to an understanding as she sat on the chair. She wasn''t surprised by the fact that Eren was in possession of a Hex artifact. Although the Hex Artifacts were rare in Labh Salem as well, one could still get ess to it for the right price. "So you have a Hex Artifact. No wonder you were able to survive the encounter with Helenbora coven," Kayaramented as she looked at Eren with an inspecting gaze. Eren didn''t say anything regarding the matter. He knew that the innkeeper was connected to the temple in some way. But he didn''t know that the intel about him was also shared with her. It meant that Kayara was not some regr innkeeper for the temple. At least that wasn''t the only thing she did. "Is there something you wish to say to me?" he asked curiously as he looked at Kayara. He regretted the fact that Alephee had suggested using his Sin Series powers against random people in Labh Salem. Otherwise, his information gathering would have gotten much smoother. "Yes," Kayara nodded before exining. "Eren, I believe you must have been briefed about our situation. The Helenbora coven has given us a big blow by killing some of our crucial Temrs. We can''t just fill the spots left behind by the deceased with random nobodies. It will take some time for us to get things back in order. As such, we will have to use external force to keep things in order. We are going to hire mercenaries and rogue entities to get rid of the demonic entities present in our region." Eren reclined in his chair before responding. "Yeah. the Archpriest Jivem mentioned something like that. He was very persuasive to hire me as a mercenary for that very reason as well. It seems the region around the parish is riddled with demonic activities. And the Ishgaar''s Temrs'' branch in Brolcks the manpower to get rid of thempletely for the time being." Kayara used her Spectral Screen option to generate a regional map in front of her and Eren before exining further. "You have met up with Grand Knight Akel Aaloom earlier. He, you, and I will coordinate with each other to take care of any the threats directed at the Ishgaar''s Temrs. Helenbora coven was a wild entity we weren''t expecting. However, the temple also has other forces to worry about. This is why I''m here. We are going to start in a few days. I''ll be relieved of my innkeeping duties and sent on-field for the Temrs'' missions when that happens. The three of us will leave Brol together. However, we are free to act on our own. Unless required, we''ll move separately and clear a few known targets. We will meet intermittently after every few days to discuss our progress so far." Eren caressed his chin as he processed Kayara''s words. Being from Anfang, he was used to moving andpleting missions in a team. "Why can''t we move as a group right from the start?" he asked, trying to learn about the reason for the kind of n Kayara hadid out for him. He didn''t mind taking care of the demonic entities by himself. However, he preferred to have more information about the situation before he made any moves. "Ishgaar''s Temrs have always preferred working alone, Eren," Kayara answered and paused for a bit before adding further. "Plus we we alsock the manpower," Kayara said honestly. "This was why we used an oracle to get this information about our targets. The temple has spent a huge sum of Menaka''s Runes to get this strategic intel about our enemies. Of course, it has its limitations. So we need to act carefully. Besides, dealing with the targets on an individual basis also serves us well. This way, we will be able to save time and prevent the demonic entities from forming a joint front against us. It would also send a strong message to those wretched demons." ''Oracles! I wonder how this intel gathering through Oracle works. From the witches'' memories, it seems like it is something that one can''t take casually. The sum they would have expended might be in the hundreds of thousands of Menaka''s Runes. The Ishgaar''s temple must be really desperate to get rid of the demons surrounding them. Are they expecting something big to happen in the near future? It wouldn''t be about the potential sessor of Aleph''s divine throne, would it?'' Many questions popped into Eren''s mind like wild mushrooms as he thought about Kayara''s n. On one hand, the temple''s predicament provided him with a perfect opportunity to test out the waters of Labh Salem. He could use the temple''s enemies as his test subjects in order to get used to using the Mesh. he would also get paid by the temple for something he wanted to do as wellC hunting down demons and using them as adder to elevate himself. However, he was afraid about helping his potential enemies. He wasn''t sure if God Ishgaar was hostile towards the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor even now. However, he didn''t want to find the answer to that question by himself. After all, some questions were better left unanswered. Kayara thought that Eren was worried about battling against strong demonic entities in an individual capacity. She thought she had spooked him a bit with her briefing. As such, she cleared her throat before adding further. "That being said, the Ishgaar''s Temrs know how to work in groups when they need to. We won''t leave ourrades and allies behind if they ever happen to be in some kind of danger. We could also form a group to deal with a threat that we wouldn''t be able to handle all by ourselves. But for that to happen, we will need to know more about each other. Thus, the meetups we would do will serve as a way for us to get to know about our fortes and weaknesses. So don''t worry, Eren. I will provide you with the right set of information, resources, and guidance to make your hunts as easy as possible." Kayara started briefing Eren about the tasks he was supposed to undertake in the nearby regions to Brol. She exined to him the strategies they could implement to lure out the targets. She also told him about the secret hideouts of Ishgaar''s Temple they could use. ''No wonder that priest was so hell-bent on asking for aid from meC a total stranger from a neutral continent. These Temrs already were in deep shit even before the Helenbora coven showed up at their door. The witches just aggravated the symptoms that already existed in this region. I have to say that these demons have done a fantastic job shaking the foundations of such a well-established temple. Now I just need to make sure that I benefit while these two sides fight each other to death.'' Eren thought to himself as he listened to Kayara''s exnation closely. He could tell that it would at least take him about three to five months to clear the regions toplete the tasks assigned to him. He didn''t know if Kayara had yed it fair while assigning tasks among three people. But hecked information to question her distribution of the work. So he stuck to asking her about the details of the missions. Eren told Kayara that he''d need about five days to prepare. He told her about the "ident" he had when he encountered the Helenbora coven, which was supposedly the reason for him being deprived of the Menaka''s Blessings. As such, he needed to start from scratch and buy back the Skills he had lost. He knew that Kayara knew about his incident. So she didn''t find it surprising that he needed five days to prepare. Chapter 1695 Five Months Later 1695 Five Months Later Five monthster. Deep within the heart of a dense forest, concealed by the twisted limbs of ancient trees, a foreboding cave harbored a den of demonic entities. The cavern echoed with eerie whispers and pulsated with malevolent energy as a demonic ritual unfolded within its shadowed recesses. The air in the cave quivered with an unnatural stillness, broken only by the guttural incantations of the demonic congregation. At the heart of the ritual stood Zargoth, a towering demonic body cultivator with obsidian-hued skin that seemed to absorb the feeble light. His eyes glowed with an unholy fervor, reflecting the depth of his dark powers. To Zargoth''s left, Rivena, a demonic Ranker associated with the Demon Prince of Lust, swayed with ethereal grace. Her flowing crimson hair framed a face adorned with serpentine features, and her eyes sparkled with beguiling allure. With a mere nce, Rivena could ensnare the strongest wills and bend them to her demonic whims. On the opposite side, Gorgoth, a hulking demonic Dreamweaver covered in jagged scales, brandished a massive, ming sword. Each swing sent waves of infernal heat through the cavern, leaving a trail of smoldering embers in his wake. Gorgoth''s demonic powery in the maniption of fire and the searing intensity of his wrath. In the farthest corner, Lilithra, a shadowy figure cloaked in darkness, channeled her demonic energy into the very shadows themselves. Her eyes glowed an ominous violet, and her form seemed to waver, blending seamlessly with the shadows. Lilithra''s powery in the maniption of darkness and the ability to slip through the veil between worlds. She was an Elementalist with an affinity with the shadow-element. As the demonic ritual intensified, the cave resonated with thebined powers of Zargoth, Rivena, Gorgoth, and Lilithra. Arcane symbols etched into the cavern walls gleamed with an otherworldly radiance, amplifying the demonic energies that surged through the air. Outside the cave, the forest seemed to recoil from the unfolding darkness within. Unearthly cries echoed through the trees as the demonic den continued to channel their nefarious powers, weaving a web of malevolence that extended far beyond the confines of their hidden sanctuary. "My guess was right. Something has happened to the echelon of the Demon Princes. None of them are responding the way they should be to our rituals,"mented Zargoth with a frown on his face. He was not happy with the additional time the ritual was taking toplete. "Well, even if the entire demon realm is filled with unrest, we are not qualified enough to know about it," responded Rivena before concentrating on the ritual once again. With a mere gesture of her hand, a series of containers appeared in the air. These containers emptied the stored blood within them inside the demonic circle before disappearing into the thin air. One could only guess from where Rivena had obtained so much blood from and her methods of obtaining them. "Hehehe," Gorgothughed sinisterly before adding further. "Don''t you guys see? This is this is an opportunity for us to rise further. Hvergelmir Springs is about to appear in Labh Salem. The thing that is said to be the origin of all the demons. The infernal energy within Labh Salem is already on the rise. The scales would tilt in our favor when the Hvergelmir Springs appear in this world. This world will see a new era when that happens. An era in which the demonkin would rule this world. Our kind. They say that there''s a position vacant among the 72 Ars Goetia Order. We could be true demons if one of the Seven Demon Princes favored us. We we could be immortals if that happens. Hahaha." Lilithra the Elmentalist was annoyed by Gorgoth''s baseless confidence. "Making bold statements won''t take you much far, Gorgoth," Lilithra spoke. "If you truly want to turn into a demon ghost, be my guest. But at least concentrate on the ritual. It is about to bepleted. Who knows? We might truly get lucky. I have also heard that the Demon Princes are going to start a." Lilithra lost her voice mid-speech. At first, she didn''t even realize that her mouth was not producing any sound even though her lips moved as she spoke. It took her a bit to realize that she had been muted. She couldn''t even produce a gag-like voice even though she decided to scream. She then looked at her demonicpanions and found they too were suffering from the same dreadful phenomenon. Just when they thought that their demonic ritual was about to seed, someone entered the den and used a peculiar area-of-effect Skill. His entrance was felt by many because everyone in the den has lost their voices. As the demonic entities reveled in their dark rites, a sudden intrusion shattered the eerie ambiance of the cavern. From the shadows emerged a silent figure, d in aplete set of premium-grade Hex artifacts that gleamed with an ethereal darkness. This mysterious intruder, an assassin veiled in ck armor, moved with deadly precision through the twisted recesses of the cave. [Skill: Sound Devour] The assassin activated a peculiar Skill that only a few had ess to even within the entire demonkind. Such a Skill could not be a stray Skill that one could gain simply by buying it through Menaka''s Market. This Skill belonged to a Skill Tree that one could only have ess to if they were favoured by BeelzebubC the Demon Prince of Gluttony. A sudden hush enveloped the den, as if a vacuum had swallowed every whisper and incantation. The demonic entities, caught in the grip of the skill, found their voices stifled, their unholy chants reduced to silent gestures. Within this newfound silence, the assassin advanced undetected. Building upon the stealthy advantage, the assassin unleashed another Skill from the Skill Tree he had ess to. [Skill: Light Devour] A consuming darkness spread through the cavern, defying the presence of any light source within. Even the demonic mes that danced in Gorgoth''s hands sumbed to the insatiable hunger of this skill. The den, once illuminated by an otherworldly radiance, plunged into an abyssal void, rendering the environment pitch ck. The demonic entities, now blinded by the engulfing darkness, groped in confusion, their powers momentarily nullified. Zargoth, Rivena, Gorgoth, and Lilithra, once bathed in the sinister glow of their ritual, were now enveloped in an imprable shadow. === AN: The term "Hvergelmir Springs" was mentioned in chapter 1511. The term Ars Goetia was first mentioned in chapter 1377. Merry Christmas! May your days be merry and bright, filled with joy and delight. ;) Chapter 1696 Using Demonic Skill Tree 1696 Using Demonic Skill Tree With the den plunged into a silent darkness, a shadowy assassin engaged in a deadly dance with the demonic entities present inside it. The separation caused by [Skill: Sound Devour] and [Skill: Light Devour] left them isted, ignorant of each other''s plight. There was no way to counter them as the Assassin had used [ Greater Skill: Domain of Gluttony ] to support his cast Skills. Only a Greater Skill could hope to contend against a Greater Skill. Usually, such a wide-scale Skill usage was bound to face restrictions one way or the other. However, the key demonic practitioners did not want to test the waters. They decided to y defensive as soon as their sense of sight and hearing were robbed away from them. The key demonic figures deployed the defensive measures around them as soon as the Greater Skill was cast. They decided to use their followers as a canon fodder against their unknown enemy. ''What What kind of demon can cast Skills and Greater Skills like these? Who are we fighting against? A rival demonic guild?'' Zargoth thought to himself as he tried to process the situation. This sudden intrusion from the assassin had prevented him and others from carrying out their demonic ritual. And there was no way to restart it from where they had left off. As such, Zargoth cursed the timing at which this intruder had decided tounch his strike against the entire den. Even Lilithra could see that the attack was well nned. It was as if there was someone among them who had provided the intruder with all the information and real-time intel they needed to strike with such precision. As such, a shadow of mistrust was cast on the minds of the key demonic figures who were at the center of the demonic ritual. They did not try to contact each other or call for help. Instead, they all decided to prioritize their self interests. It seemed that the assassin''s strategy was clear C dismantle the demonic entities individually. It was as if one assassin wanted to clear a horde of demonic entities in one go, all by themselves. Of course, this assassin was none other than a Ranker from Anfang who hadnded in Labh Salem not too long ago. He had changed a lot about his battle style, adapting to changes imposed on him by the Mesh. In his Assassin guise, Eren manifested a striking transformation. His onyx-ck hair cascaded down, a shadowy veil framing his sharper facial features. Emerald-green eyes glinted with a calcting intensity, reflecting the stealthy prowess that now defined him. Taller and leaner than his usual form, the Assassin''s silhouette spoke of agility and precision. Arm bracers adorned his forearms, their matte ck surface hinting at concealed des. Leg guards clung to his lower limbs, designed for swift maneuvers in the darkness. A light chainmail armor, woven with shadows, draped over his frame, offering protection withoutpromising his nimbleness. His footwear, crafted from the supple skin of a unique mana beast, boasted mysterious runic patterns. These leather shoes bore the essence of inherent movement, allowing them to possess a Skill slot of their own. The shadows seemed to dance around Eren''s silhouette, a testament to the symbiotic rtionship between his profession and exceptional affinity with the shadow-element he was in possession of. This version of Eren, the silent harbinger of shadows, embodied the essence of his chosen ProfessionC Assassin. Each element of his attire contributed to the seamless dance of darkness, a manifestation of his abilities as a silent killer as he navigated the treacherous den in pursuit of demonic entities. Soon the lesser demonic entities present within the den were cleared out. It only took Eren little more than a minute to kill dozens of the demonic entities. It was as if he was killing a bunch of Adept Rankers with his Grandmaster-ranked powers. As such, hepletely dominated them before leaving only the key demonic entities behind. Within barely a minute, he had transformed this demonic den into a ce that only showcased the aspects of blood and gore in various forms and styles. ''The cannon fodder is done with. Now it''s time to get rid of these nuisances.'' Eren thought to himself before approaching the demonic entities he had left behind for a reason. Zargoth, sensing the impending threat, summoned [Skill: Abyssal Ward], creating a protective barrier of swirling shadows around him. As Eren closed in, Zargothshed out with [Skill: Void Grasp], attempting to pull him into the abyss. However, Eren skillfully evaded the ethereal tendrils, countering with [Skill: Shadow Mirage], creating illusory shadows to confuse Zargoth. In the ensuing chaos, Eren unleashed [Skill: Umbral Strike], a swift and precise shadow-element attack that bypassed the Abyssal Ward, striking at the heart of Zargoth''s demonic essence. The obsidian giant roared in agony as darkness consumed him. Of course, he couldn''t speak or voice his frustrations with hisst breaths because Eren''s Skills were still active. ''Now it''s time for this hot chick,'' the butcher thought to himself as he wiped the blood off of his face. The warmth he felt on his face due to the fresh blood seemed to have invigorated him. Rivena, with her beguiling allure, attempted to ensnare Eren''s mind with [Skill: Enchanting Whispers] as soon as she felt his presence near him. Yet, the silence of the den thwarted her, leaving her powers in disarray. Seizing the opportunity, Eren activated [Skill: Shadow Step], appearing behind Rivena in the blink of an eye. He countered her with [Skill: Void Shroud], a cloak of imprable darkness that shielded him from her mesmerizing gaze. Eren, hidden within the shadows, executed another of his weapon-based Skill using Rigor Mortis, a devastating attack that eclipsed Rivena''s enchantments. The temptress crumpled to the ground, her illusions shattered by the silent assassin. The silence still dominated the surroundings. It was as if someone was ying a recorded visual from an Array Disk. Except, the visual was nothing but a nk screen and did not have any sound. Chapter 1697 Skill-queuing 1697 Skill-queuing Gorgoth, surrounded by an aura of searing mes, silently roared with [Skill: Infernal Roar], attempting to overwhelm Eren. His mouth was open wide and there were vigorous expressions on his face. It was just that no sound came from his mouth. It was as if the Existential Concept of sound itself had been affected by Eren''s [Skill: Sound Devour]. Of course, the loss of sound and sight could not deter a Dreamweaver like Gorgoth. His Path to Power as a Dreamweaver had also allowed him to blur the lines between what was real and daydream to some extent. His Path as a Dreamweaver allowed him easy ess to one of the most sought-after and reliable powers in Labh SalemC Skill-queuing! *** Skill-queuing was a lot like Spell-stacking in that it allowed the casters to cast multiple forms of evocation at the same time by expending mana at a higher rate. However, unlike spell-stacking, it did not matter which Skills were used in Skill-queuing. One could use Skill-queuing with Skills that usedpletely different forms of elemental mana or Elemental Attainments from each other. Plus, it was easier for one tounch Skill-queuing if one decided to queue Skills belonging to a particr Skill Tree. The effects generated by such a Skill-queuing would be greater than the summation of its parts. Of course, if the Skills belonging to a particr Skill Tree were also rted to one particr element as well then one would achieve a synergetic effect while casting Skill-queuing. It allowed the casters to go beyond their limits and unleash something that challenged the norms set by the Mesh. This was provided the Mesh epted the Skill-queuing arranged by the casters trying to achieve this mythical synergistic effect, which was a rare instance in Labh Salem. In most cases, some special conditions needed to be fulfilled for the Mesh to validate an extraordinary form of Skill-queuing. Of course, the conditions were set by the Mesh. The level of difficulty in fulfilling the conditions would increase exponentially as one tried to unlock higher forms of Skill-queuing for themselves. The existence of the Mesh had made it easier for the regr Practitioners of the Path to achieve simr effects to spell-stacking without burdening their Centre of Power. The easy ess to the regr folks didn''t mean that Skill-queuing was always easy. The difficulty of Skill-queuing increased exponentially as more Skills were added to a single queue. One could say that spell-casting was tough for regr folks. However, the difficulty of spell-stacking didn''t increase much if the caster decided to add more spells into a singr stack. As such, a wide variety of spells could be stacked together without practically no repercussions whatsoever. This was not the case with Skill-queuing. It was easier to achieve Skill-queuing with the help of the Mesh but things would get more difficult for the caster as they kept on adding more Skills into a queue. The immediate repercussion of casting the Skill-queuing was the fact one would burn through their umted Menaka''s Runes. The cost one would have to pay for such Skill-queuing would rise exponentially as they kept on adding more Skills into the queue. There were other repercussions of using Skill-queuing as well. For example, one would attract a debuff on themselves in some form if the Mesh was overused past a certain extent due to the abusing Skill-queuing. Of course, these repercussions existed because the Skill queue put a strain on the Mesh. It overloaded the Mesh and made it unstable for the caster''s own use. So the repercussions were the Mesh''s way of trying to set things in their rightful ce. In the worst case scenario, misuse of the Skill-queuing one would be temporarily kicked off from using the Mesh, preventing them from casting Skills altogether. In this case, the user would not be able to use any of their Skills until their connection with the Mesh was re-established. One could also face Skill-rted debuffs or injure their Centre of Power while using the Skill-queuing if they decided to skip on spending Menaka''s Runes. Plus, the option to burn Menaka''s Runes to use Skill-queuing itself had a lot of limitations based on an individual and their real-time situations. The instance of Skill-queuing through the Mesh was a lot easier to use than spell-stacking at the initial level. However, as the stakes increased, spell-stacking proved to be more manageable and affordable to use than its counterpart. *** Gorgoth deployed his arsenal of Skills one after the other. He used two defensive-type Skills and three offensive-type Skills at the same time, which highlighted his Skill-queuing capabilities. The surroundings of the den became a huge mess when Gorgoth unleashed his Skills. They also ended up damaging the bodies of his deceased allies. Only Lilithra managed to get away from him in time as she moved in the dark with pure instincts alone. Due to Gorgoth''s peculiar Skills as a Dreamweaver, the ground beneath his feet changed its properties and started acting like a quicksand. The air in the surroundings started to adopt rubber-like properties,pressing and stretching in a manner that was unthinkable for a regr mortal. The onyx mes he generated around him started making everything they touched to change their properties as well. His defensive-type Skills also made use of his Path to Power as a Dreamweaver. His Skills had basically allowed him to turn his surroundings into someone''s nightmare. The most dreadful thing about his Skills was the fact that they couldn''t be countered using regr elemental Skills. Of course, the shadow element was not a regr element to begin with. As such, the assassin that appeared inside the den was a bad match for Gorgoth. Undeterred, Eren retaliated with [Skill: me Devour], extinguishing the demonic mes and cloaking himself in darkness. Gorgoth, blinded by the sudden obscurity, swung his ming sword wildly. Eren, using [Skill: Phantom Shadow des], summoned ethereal des from the shadows, countering Gorgoth''s onught. Closing in, Eren executed [Skill: Shadow Evisceration], a precise strike that extinguished the fiery essence within Gorgoth. All of Gorgoth''s efforts into strategically casting his most powerful Skills had been turned wasteful because of Eren''s way of dealing with his powers. It was as if he already knew what Gorgoth could or could not do. Chapter 1698 Accumulated Wealth 1698 umted Wealth ''Backstabber! There''s a fucking backstabber among us.'' Lilithra came to a dreadful and infuriating conclusion. She came to this conclusion because the assassin who was going on a killing spree into the den was doing it without there being any doubt in his movements. However, the feeling of fear and panic soon took hold of psyche as she sensed her ally''s fate. She had kept tabs on the assassin''s actions to some extent with her Spiritual Sense. She wanted to just run away from the scene if she could instead of facing her enemy. s, she wasn''t given the opportunity to do so. It became clear to Lilithra that every form of intel regarding the den, demonic ritual, and the demonic entities involved at the scene had reached this assassin. He then used this intel in a way that allowed him to clear the den all by his lonesome. ''This demonic Ranker do Rankers like these exist in Labh Salem?'' A question popped into her mind as she prepared herself for the inevitable. She was scared for her life. She felt like pleading and begging the assassin to spare her life. However, the fact that she couldn''t speak or see her potential killer robbed her of that choice. ''If I can''t beg, then I shall fight,'' the demoness clenched her fists and sharpened her Spiritual Sense. In the next moment, as she sensed the attacker approaching, she deployed her set of Skills, one that she had tried and tested many times before. ''Ooh. This one feels feisty. I wonder how many seconds it''ll take for me to get rid of her.'' The butcher thought to himself as he approached hisst target. He had expended a ridiculous amount of mana in a short time due to the deployment of Skills in conjunction with a Greater Skill. As such, he needed to get rid of the opponent as soon as he could, lest things beplicated for him. Lilithra, hidden within the shadows, attempted to manipte Eren''s perception with [Skill: Veil of Shadows]. However, Eren''s mastery over the shadow element allowed him to see through the illusion. When it came to wielding one''s Elemental Attainments, the Elementalists usually had an upper hand against the Rankers. However, for some reason, Lilithra couldn''t couldn''t make use of these advantages against her unknown attacker. The most frustrating thing about the situation was the fact that she could not even see the face of her attacker. She could also not decipher the attacker''s identity using her Spiritual Force because the opponent had cloaked themselves in their own Spiritual Force as well. All she could do was predict their movements due to proximity and respond ordingly. Unleashing [Skill: Shadow Devour], the butcher disrupted Lilithra''s connection to the shadows. In retaliation, Lilithra conjured [Skill: Twilight Veil], creating an area of fluctuating darkness. Eren, undeterred, employed [Skill: Shadowmeld], merging seamlessly with the shifting shadows. As Lilithra emerged from her veil, Eren struck with daggers in hand. Soon, Lilithra started losing chunks of flesh off of her body as Eren operated on her. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Each strike was so precise that Lilithra couldn''t do anything against it despite her wide range of Skill arsenal. The butcher used [Skill: Unlimited de Works] in conjunction with the [Skill: Severed Flesh Devour], tearing through the fabric of shadows and sealing her fate. When he was done with her, only the fresh white skeleton was what was left of her former self. The fresh skeletal remains dropped to the ground as soon as it was left unattended by Eren. Drip. Drip. Drip. The sounds of something falling and dripping down the ground. The sounds of residual Skill effects cause harm to the surroundings. A gory sight that consisted of spilled blood, guts, and everything in between. All of a sudden, the existence of sounds and light filled the surroundings as Eren''sst victim died inside the den. They highlighted something that had already happened but remained in the veil for so long. It was as if someone had rebooted the yback of the Array Disk containing the audiovisual from the start, bringing the spectral screen back to life. Everything came to life all at onceC the sounds and the visuals. It was just that there were not many who could experience the normalcy that was restored with their own eyes at this point. "Haah!" Eren dropped to the ground, sitting in the middle of a red pool created from his targets'' blood. He sat cross-legged and used his arms as a support to recline. He breathed heavily while trying to analyze the mistakes he had made during the raid. ''That Skill-queuing would have been a bitch to tackle if I didn''t have the necessary intel on it,'' Eren thought as he reyed the scenes of the battle in his head. This was not his first battle in Labh Salem. However, he still felt like he was back in his academy days in LAC learning new things. Even after continuously battling with the demonically possessed entities for thest five months, he was amazed by the variety of Skills each one possessed. Anfang had variations in spells as well. However, in Labh Salem, he couldn''t evenprehend the number and type of Skills his enemies could possess. As such, he quickly figured out the fact that In Labh Salem intel on one''s opponent was one of the most deciding factors in battles. Only by understanding opponents'' Skills could one prepare a better set of Skills to counter them. Of course, he could use and employ better and higher grade Skills and Greater Skills, which could be effective on almost any type of foe he faced. However, buying such effective Skills in the Menaka''s Market required a lot of corpus in terms of Menaka''s Runes. So Eren was forced to umte Menaka''s Runes the hard way, by doing mercenary work for the Ishgaar''s temple. The butcher also had a substantial amount of passive ie that he earned through selling his unique Skill to the Mesh. With two streams of ie supporting him over thest five months, he had finally umted a satisfactory wealth that could allow him to get the Skills he wanted. [ Menaka''s Runes: 147,889 ] The number Eren saw on his Spectral Screen put a smile on his blood-soaked face. "Kekeke. It indeed feels good to be rich." Chapter 1699 Skill Ownership 1699 Skill Ownership "Hmm. My current wealth should be enough to get the Skills I want." Eren concluded as he looked at the number of Menaka''s Runes on his Spectral Screen. He then sighed at the fact that he had been working hard to earn something he couldn''t even touch with his own hands. "This virtual wealth feels like one huge scam to me," he mumbled to himself. He became kinda homesick as he remembered how wealthy he had been in Anfang. His homeworld had tangible wealth. For all the benefits the Mesh provided to him, this was something Labh Salem couldn''t give him. Not really. Labh Salem liberated his actions. But he felt like this world had trapped his mind somewhere, forcing him to run after something he could only see as digits on a Spectral Screen. "When in Rome do as the Romans do, huh? Instead of fighting it, I better find ways to exploit this system and make it work in my favor. That fat bird surely had some weirdly wise things to say." Eren smiled as he remembered something Argo used to tell him. He wondered if he would get to meet him ever again in a different form. "Maybe the concept of money itself is made up, a fabric of one''s imagination. It feels real because we give it value. And as long as we keep on doing that, it is as real as the elements of the world. And that''s what matters in the end." The Skills Eren had used to clear the entire den of demonic entities were his borrowed might. It had been lent to him by the Mesh because of his special status as the Inheritor of the Elder Ichor Bloodline. It also helped that Beelzebub, the facilitator of these Skills, was on Eren''s side. The Skills that dabbled with the Existential Concepts of the boundless cosmos were not something one could use just because they had a buttload of Menaka''s Runes. They broke themon sense and well-established order of the Mesh. As such, they couldn''t be owned permanently by Eren with his current form either. The sole reason Eren had invested a substantial amount of Menaka''s Runes to borrow these Skills was because he had deemed it to be a profitable endeavor should he seed in clearing the den all by himself. Plus, he wanted to see how the Skills utilized the Existential Concepts through the Mesh. The Ishgaar''s Temrs had already started looking at him as if he was crazy for trying to take one bold mission after another. However, they called him a madman when they learned that he was nning to clear a demonic den all by himself. Jivem was very happy with Eren''s performance. He had offered him an attractive position within the ranks of Ishgaar''s Temrs. However, Eren seemed to be only interested in working for the temple as a mercenary. Eren hade to realize that there was a reason behind the increased demonic activities all across the continent of Onianum. This was because of a legend that stated that Hvergelmir Springs was about to appear in the world of Labh Salem. The demonic entities were doing everything they could to prepare for this supposed big event. Most of these demonic entities had been harnessing a demon within their mortal shellsC a willful state of being possessed. Some of them had managed to awaken the demon within them, merging with the demonic essence and turning into a true demon. However, most had slumbering demonic fragments within them. It was said that Hvergelmir Springs would allow these demonic entities to merge with the slumbering demon fragment within themselves, giving them higher benefits. The demonic entities with awakened demon soul fragments within themselves could progress further in their respective Paths to Power. Plus their progress would be rapid and hardly have any bottlenecks. The awakened demon soul fragment also meant that the demonic entities could finally ess the Skills that had remained dormant and locked in their Spectral Screens. There were other benefits of Hvergelmir Springs as well. However, the more Eren learned about these things, the stranger they sounded to him. He decided to learn more about these things and the validity of this well-known legend. The easiest way to do that was by hunting demonic entities. Eren started hunting demons one after the other in the past five months, which allowed him to learn more in every aspect. It made him understand the necessary changes he needed to make in his battle style to make him more used to employing the Skills in his possession. Initially, Eren was a bit downcast to learn the fact that he could not obtain the demons'' Skills after devouring them. His targets bought the Skills through Menaka''s Market. They were not the owner of the Skills themselves. As such, Eren could not im the targets'' Skills after their deaths. The Mesh just severed the connection with the targets when they died. Basically, the Skills were the Mesh''s property that was lent to all living beings who had been blessed with the Menaka''s Blessing. The Mesh would reim the Skills it had lent to the patrons in the case of their deaths. There was no way for Eren to change the rules of the agreement that took ce between Goddess Menaka and those who epted her Blessing. Not unless he messed with someone''s soul using his divine powers. ''Naah. I should drop that idea. I already have too many gods as my enemies. I don''t want to add more to the list. Especially someone like Menaka. Plus, I don''t know to what extent she could keep tabs on those who she has blessed. Unless I can go off the Mesh and be invisible, I should not think about breaking the Mesh.'' Eren didn''t want to mess with the Mesh or the goddess who supported it at this point. No matter how greedy he was for the acquisition of new Skills, he didn''t want to offend a goddess by experimenting with someone''s soul in order to bypass the restrictions on one''s soul. Chapter 1700 Kirin in Echidna Chapter 1700 Kirin in Echidna Eren let his mind wander off to an uncharted territory. ''Hmm? Messing with the Mesh, huh? Breaking the system. Breaking it in such a way that it bes exploitable. It seems there''s a connection between seemingly random things. Being from Anfang, I''m sure the Sansara Sage would not be too keen on running after imaginary wealth as well. He would not be interested in serving some god as well. He was a researcher at heart. A true son of the Land of the Faithless. He was well prepared when he left Anfang behind. But what did he do after leaving Anfang? And what did he achieve? The Sansara World. The way the Mesh functions. The breaking of Sansara. The research rted to bringing artificial creations to life. Maya. What was the Sansara Sage trying to achieve by creating that legacy? Should I create a Sansara World of my own based on his legacy?'' Eren asked himself as he wilfully digressed. Even though he was sitting in a pool of warm and crimson red pool of his victims'' blood, the stray thoughts in his head made him forget about his surroundings. Eren was sure that he would be able to im a new Skill for himself without spending Menaka''s Runes if he were to devour a Skill owner. It meant he needed to devour someone like him who owned or co-owned a Skill and was selling it in the Menaka''s Market. However, so far he had found no such Skill owner. He also understood that staying anonymous while selling one''s Skill was a crucial factor in Labh Salem. Otherwise, people would target him to get a Skill from him. The people of Labh Salem had a number of ways and Skills to extract a Skill and rted information about it from a Skill owner. More than the Skill effect itself, owning a Skill in the Mesh was a big thing. It could allow one to generate a steady flow of passive ie. There were ways with which the Mesh could be tricked into considering someone a new owner of a particr Skill. Of course, after eradicating the original owner. Thankfully, Eren had been warned of the dangers of exploring the Mesh virtually from the beginning. As such, he had protected his identity while putting his Skill up for grabs in the Menaka''s Market. [ Iingmunication request. Proceed to ept? ] Eren was lost in his thoughts when he received amunication request out of the blue. He picked it up right away after realizing who it was. "Husband." Kirin''s miniature spectral form appeared above Eren''s open right palm. Despite her rosy skin tinged with a distinct red hue, she didn''t quite look like an ordinary human. Her face was stunning, featuring a cute nose and golden eyes inherited from her father, yet devoid of any cruelty. Her lips, as red as cherries, held a delicate charm. While her ears had an elf-like quality, they weren''t overly stretched. Adorned in a waist-length ponytail with long golden bangs cascading over her forehead, her hairstyle entuated her beautiful eyes. Surprisingly, the young Oni possessed a curvaceous figure that defied expectations given her cute visage. Her ample bosom, slim waist, and shapely posterior could easily induce an inferiorityplex in other females. Standing over six feet tall, Kirin was considered a giant monstress, yetpared to her dead father, she seemed rtively young and small. Kirin''s outfit in a seemingly new world was notably distinct from what she wore in Anfang. She donned an ensemble befitting a skilled rogue. Her attire, a blend of ck and blue hues, featured a form-fitting tunic with intricate leather stitching. Unlike her warrior outfit in Anfang, this attire embraced a subtler allure, shrouded in mystery. A hooded cloak, dyed in deep midnight tones, cascaded down her shoulders, concealing a portion of her golden locks. The fabric whispered as she moved, a sound barely audible amidst the echoes of the magical forest that surrounded her. Leather pants, tailored for agility, clung to her lithe form, allowing unrestricted movement. Strapped thigh-high boots, adorned with silver buckles,pleted the ensemble, leaving imprints of a silent hunter traversing the enchantednds. Around her waist, a belt housed concealed pockets, holding tools of her trade C lock picks, vials of potions, and a small pouch of enchanted dust. The subtle gleam of a dagger''s hilt protruded from its sheath, nestled against her lower back. It seemed she was also out there, busy doing something but had managed to find some time to contact her husband. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Kirin finally managed tomunicate with Eren using Menaka''s Blessing. She seemed happy and relieved to know that Eren had finallynded in Labh Salem. "Wife," Eren had learned to match up with Kirin''s vibes. "You sure were not easy to contact, you know. And where are you?" Eren asked with a smile on his face. He wiped the residual blood off of his face by rubbing it against his arms in order to look as decent as he could in front of his wife. The half-elf-half-oni woman wasn''t surprised by Eren''s appearance and greeted him normally. "Not easy to contact? Hmph. You are one to talk. Do you know how many times I tried to reach you through this Blessing thing? And hmm? Oh it seems you have already started working," she added as she looked at Eren with seemingly cold yet subtly doting expressions. Her vision was filled with blood and gore that was around Eren. but somehow her eyes could only see Eren and his face. She looked at him as if she was trying to inspect him, reprimand him, and kiss him at the same time. Eren had learned to ignore Kirin''s snarky remarks. He stood nothing to gain from arguing. He also knew that she was not too happy about her current predicament after being separated from him due to unforeseen circumstances in the Immortal nes. Kirin was a quiet woman. As such, her emotions and their various shades were also expressed in a quiet manner. === AN: VEH has reached a new milestone with 1700 chapters! Big thanks to all the readers and a special shoutout to the top contributors. Cheers! :) Chapter 1701 The Wifes Initiative. Chapter 1701 The Wife''s Initiative. Kirin appeared more brooding than usual. She almost looked like she was angry at Eren for something he didn''t do. At least not deliberately. Comining to Eren about his unavability to contact her for so long was Kirin''s way of venting out her frustrations. The fact that they existed mattered more to her, no matter how valid his reasons were for not being able to contact her. She trusted Eren to pull through any situation but at the same time, she also couldn''t help but worry about his well-being. Eren knew that Kirin could guess the problems he had to deal with in Labh Salem. So there was no need to exin, which was bound to make him sound like he was giving excuses. He only needed to convey ''I''m sorry'' in some way. That''s all he needed to curb Kirin''s anger. Eren needed to give her this win. He smiled at her bitterly and gave her an apologetic look, which softened her expression as well. ''I''m genius,'' he patted his own back metaphorically as he defused the bomb that was Kirin. The butcher had upgraded hismunication ess tier only a few days ago. The upgrade could allow him tomunicate with allies from other worlds supported by the Mesh. He had tried to call Maya and others who had been separated from his group inside the Immortal ne. He couldn''tmunicate with them using normal means so he deduced the fact that they might have entered a different world from Labh Salem. Thus, he spent a significant amount of Menaka''s Runes to upgrade hismunication ess tier. Echidna also had the existence of gods and their followers. However, the divine paths and fellowship in Echidna were limited to arge extent. For the most part, they were only rted to the pantheon of monster gods led by Goddess Echidna. Thankfully, Echidna also had the Mesh, which enabled Eren and Kirin tomunicate with each other. They couldn''tmunicate regrly due to some inherent restrictions. But they could spend a significant chunk of Menaka''s Runes to contact each other every few months. Kirin was one of the people whom Eren had tried to call as soon as he had ess to Menaka''s Blessing. It seemed that Kirin was not able to pick up Eren''smunication request for some reason. However, she called him as soon as she was able to. "I I am doing fine by the way. I am in Echidna though." Kirin exined to Eren how shended in Echidna after her separation from him inside the Immortal ne. The Immortal nes were full of strange activities and even stranger beings. They were filled with opportunities and dangers. As such, Eren didn''t find it too surprising that Kirin had strayed away from their intended destination andnded in the world of monsters. The more he listened to Kirin the more d he became that things had unfolded this way. ''Perhaps it''s because of who she is,'' Eren thought to himself as he talked with Kirin, listening to her side of the story closely. ''The intent-based magic in the Immortal ne considered Kirin''s roots as she explored that strange ce after being separated from me. This was how she ended up in Echidna. Or perhaps it is because of that goddess Goddess Echidna. Did she influence Kirin in some way while she was in the Immortal ne? Hmm. Quite possible considering Kirin has Oni lineage. Is this what that old hag meant when she talked about the Bloodline Shackles? Does she want something from Kirin? Or does she want to give something to her?'' A bunch of questions popped into Eren''s mind as he chatted with his Oni wife. However, he didn''t voice them and decided to act as a good listener. "I am not sure how much time has passed in your current world but it''s about 10 years by Anfang''s standards since Inded in Echidna. I have been trying to contact you for over a decade," Kirin provided Eren with her progress in Echidna after shended there. She told Eren that she was trying to backtrack the way she came to Echidna. The Oni dungeon in Anfang was her targeted ess point. This ess point could be used in the future to allow some key figures from Eren''s monster army toe to Echidna. All so that they could grow at a rapid rate using higher-tier resources avable at Echidna. The existence of the Mesh alone was a blessing in itself, literally and metaphorically. It was clear that visiting Echidna could allow monsters from Anfang to break past their conventional limits. And no monster in their right mind would turn down such an offer if it was ever presented to them. Kirin believed that her project was only a few months away from achieving sess. It helped that she had the Oni lineage which made things a bit easier for her to do and arrange. Baran, Ror, Kaalmaahen, Sharog, and a few other monsters from Eren''s monster army were bound to join Kirin in Echidna. If possible, Eren''s monster allies like Goblin Sovereign Loma, Gnoll Sovereign Parmar, and S-Rank Orc Sovereign Kayini would also enter Echidna after settling everything they needed to settle back in Anfang. Kirin was treading on a distinct Path to Power as a half-monster. She had made ideal use of the opportunities provided to her in Echidna, allowing her to make huge personal gains on her Path. She was only a few years away from achieving a breakthrough in A-Rank and bing Oni Emperor. Kirin was treading on a distinct Path to Power as a half-monster. She had made ideal use of the opportunities provided to her in Echidna, allowing her to make huge personal gains on her Path. She was only a few years away from achieving a breakthrough in A-Rank and bing Oni Emperor. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Eren was surprised by the progress Kirin had made in such a short time. He didn''t hold back while praising her while also highlighting the fact that he missed her. Kirin tried to maintain a stoic face but even she couldn''t help but sh a genuine smile after receiving such warm regards from her husband. ''Maybe it''s good that Kirin separated from me and ended up in Echidna. She would have had a much harder time here in Labh Salem if she had managed toe here,'' Eren concluded as he listened to Kirin''s progress. Chapter 1702 Giving Free Rein Chapter 1702 Giving Free Rein ??1702 Giving Free Rein ''Well with great fuck-upse great damage control.'' The butcher had a random thought as he chatted with his wife. It was not the first time that things hadn''t gone the way he had nned initially. So it was easy for him to ept the fact that Kirin would not be able to join him in Labh Salem. It had almost be second nature for him to improvise them as we progressed forward. Plus, he didn''t think that the inadvertent change in his n was necessarily bad for him. The more he listened to Kirin and what she had been doing for thest few years the more sure he was of what he wanted her to do from this point on. The butcher decided to make use of the fact that Kirin hadnded in Echidna. He had his own ns for Echidna, which he couldn''t execute because of the fact that he was in Labh Salem. However, he came to realize that he didn''t need to be physically present to work on his to-do list in a world ruled by monsters. Kirin already knew what he wanted to do in Echidna and had started preparing in that direction, taking initiative. Kirin could help him achieve his goals in Echidna. As such, Eren told her to prioritize her current project of turning the Oni dungeon into an ess point. He was sure that she would have a much easier time doing something like that since he had already taken care of the divine istion barrier. There was one more benefit to be had if Kirin managed to turn the dungeon into an ess point for her and her allies'' use. Eren''s non-monster allies would also be able to use the dungeon as a way to get into Echidna. Eren had left behind a mechanism for the capable members of his guild to follow in his footsteps and leave Anfang behind through the Dimensional Gate. However, the Gate was connected to the Immortal ne of demonic affiliation, making it a more risky way to leave Anfang. The fact that Eren was stuck inside the Immortal ne for years on end before finally making it to Labh Salem was the best proof of how unpredictable the Immortal nes were. However, the Oni dungeon would turn out to be a more stable and safer option for those who didn''t want to take such risks. This was provided Kirin was able to im the other end of the dungeon in Echidna to herself. Eren just hoped that Kirin would steer clear from the god who had erected a dungeon in Anfang to spread his faith there. At least until they sessfully manage to im his dungeon for their own use. He was sure that she would get in conflict with him once their deeds were exposed in the future. As such, she needed as many helpers from his monster army as she could get before the god in question came to know about what they had done. Eren had already offended the god''s priest by killing Har Jahar. He had then cut off his connection with that god''s Archpriest in Echidna, forcing him to send Bisha to Anfang to see what Eren was up to. Eren had managed to sessfully intercept Bisha, forcing her to be his ally for the time being. However, he was sure that sooner orter the god in question would grow wary of him. After all, all he needed to do was connect some dots and his identity as the true inheritor of Aleph''s divine throne would get known to him. Eren was sure that Goddess Echidna was his ally. At the very least, she would not oppose his rise to godhood if he decided to tread further on his path as a demi-god. The only reason she had decided to act neutral was because she was trying to test him and his caliber as the inheritor of Aleph''s divine throne. The more he proved himself as the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor, bing the true Elder Seed, the more favorable his impression would be in Goddess Echidna''s eyes. Not that he was trying to get in her good books in the first ce. Nevertheless, it was always a good choice to find an ally in such a powerful goddess for Eren. Eren remembered his brief interaction with Goddess Echidna when she took over Reen''s consciousness and mortal shell and appeared in front of him. He also remembered the fact that she was weing of his im to Aleph''s divine throne when his consciousness was inadvertently sent into the celestial hall. These things were enough to make Eren believe that Goddess Echidna was on his side, if only on a superficial level at this point. However, he was not sure about the monster gods who were in her pantheon. They could take apletely different approach than Goddess Echidna depending upon their self- interests. Eren didn''t want Kirin to face the consequences of his actions in Anfang just because thetter was connected to him. As such, he warned her about the possible consequences that might arise in Echidna if his association with her were to be known. Staying low and doing things in the shadows for the most part was her ideal choice. Therefore, Eren told Kirin to act prudently and bide her time. He asked her to prioritize safety over efficiency while she executed her tasks in Echidna. After all, Kirin wasn''t like him who could make use of the multi-profession choices through Menaka''s Blessing. Eren and Kirin talked with each other for quite some time so much so that the former lost track of time. He found out that Kirin was a lot more talkative if she was on a spectralmunication line than she was in real-time, conversing face to face. He smiled to himself and considered it as one of her odd traits as well. Or maybe she just decided to hit pause on her stoic demeanor for the time being after being able to talk to Eren after so many years had gone by in utter silence. Either way, Eren conversed with Kirin as much as she wanted, answering any question she had for him before their talk turned casual once again. For the most part, Eren only cautioned Kirin to be careful and shared his thoughts on what he wanted to achieve in Echidna. Apart from that, she was free to execute the tasks however she wanted. Kirin had been given the free reigns to act ording to her best interests first and foremost. She could even abandon the project and go into hiding if she attracted too much heat in Echidna. Eren knew how Kirin operated. After all, she had done things like these before. It was because of her that the Grim Pir Town got famous. In a way, it was because of her that he was called Grimdawn in Anfang. She was bound to go above and beyond his expectations if he didn''t limit her actions. And that''s what he did while hoping she did not cause too much turmoil in Echidna in future. Of course, he knew that predicting future was not exactly one of his strong suits. Chapter 1703 Vepar AKA Roza Thaglas Chapter 1703 Vepar AKA Roza Thas ??1703 Vepar AKA Roza Thas "My liege are are you done here?" Suddenly, a female conjurer approached Eren from the front. She was the sole survivor of the den''s original residents. She didn''t have any injury on her body and lookedpletely calm. It was clear that she was left unscathed by Eren on purpose. It seemed that this demonic Conjurer had been a bit busy on Eren''s recent murder site while he was busy chatting with his wife. She cleaned up the ce nice and clean while making sure that she collected appropriate trophies for Eren. *** This Conjurer''s name was Roza Thas. She bore sea-green eyes that hinted at depths unknown. Her chest-length moss-colored hair framed a face of demonic beauty, entuated by pale skin with a subtle bluish hue. Amethyst-colored lips held a mysterious charm, catching the gaze of those who dared to look upon her. A delicate headband adorned her, featuring a captivating blue gem resting just above the space between her eyes. The dark blue hood shrouded her head, concealing the details of her attractive and demonically beautiful face, adding an air of mystique. A ck rose was attached to her hood near her left ear, giving a subtle nod to her name. Enhanced with magic, her shoulder guards were light and flimsy, yet carried a formidable enchantment. Underneath, she wore a slim-fit, deep-neck blouse beneath leather armor, exuding a blend of elegance and lethal grace. Skin-tight leather pants and matching shoespleted the ensemble, showcasing her bewitching figure. Roza Thas stood at amanding height of 5.10 feet, her hourss figure a testament to both beauty and strength. A cold and callous aura, tinged with a hint of bloodlust, surrounded her like an invisible cloak. Diverging from Eren''s Path to Power, Roza followed the route of a Demonic Conjurer. As a Sorceress in the Conjurer Rank, she held a status roughly equivalent to a B-Ranked Master Ranker. Yet, she lingered on the cusp of ascension, a step or two away from achieving the coveted title of an Arcane Sorceress in her relentless pursuit of power. Roza Thas was a bona fide witch, born and raised in Labh Salem. Just like the Helenbora witches, she too had infiltrated the Onianum continent in order to spread the demonic influence here. The demonic fragment within Roza Thas had been awakened. Or to be more precise, the slumbering demonic fragment within her was reced by an awakened demonic fragment by Eren a few months back. He had done this after defeating her in a battle, breaking her will. The demonic fragment Eren had inserted into Roza''s demonically attuned body was something special. It was the demonic soul fragment of one of the 72 Ars Goetia demons, the demons serving right under seven Demon Princes as theirmanders. Of course, Eren had imed this demonic soul fragment from one of his most cunning enemies, Reva Rain. He had extracted this demonic fragment from her before she could awaken it within her body on her own. The demon within Roza had a distinct demonic identity. This demon had a nameC Vepar. It was said that Vepar served under the Demon Prince of WrathC Samael, acting as one of his most trusted aides. Demoness Vepar was said to have a twisted personality, which was normal by demonic standards. She would inflict wounds on her targets before causing worms to breed in them. Vepas was depicted to be a mermaid in the records dedicated to her deeds in Labh Salem. This was because she had been incarnated as a mermaid in Labh Salem''s long past. This demon would cause extreme pain and suffering to her victims before finally iming their lives. However, she could also use healing magic to heal her targets. It was said that Vepar learned powerful healing magic just so that she could heal her victims when they were on the brink of their deaths. This way, she could make them suffer under her torture once again instead of setting them free from their miseries. Vepar had been one of the most trusted pirs in Samael''s demonic army. However, it seemed that she had turned coats ever since Eren had tamed her after extracting her from Reva Rain''s body. Vepar was scared of Eren and for all the right reasons. As the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline, his authority over her couldn''t be questioned. Thus, she staked everything she had to incarnate as Roza Thas when Eren gave her a chance to serve him, hoping she would not be devoured by him. Thepletely awakened form within Roza had merged the two souls, turning Roza into one of Vepar''s incarnations. While the demon had only influenced her previous host to a certain extent when she was in Reva Rain''s body, the stakes for the demons while upying Roza Thas'' body werepletely different. Vepar had adopted Roza Thas'' behaviors and goals after merging with her soul. She had be apletely different entity from her previous pseudo incarnation- Reva Rain. She was now Roza Thas first and foremost, serving as Eren''s subordinate in Labh Salem. Roza had been one of the most trusted subordinates of ZargothC the leader of the demonic den that Eren had raided. However, her loyalties changed when Vepar''s demonic consciousness took over her, turning her into Eren''s mole. It was Roza who had betrayed Zargoth and the rest by providing Eren with the right and strategic information. It was also she who made it easy for Eren to infiltrate the den without triggering its security measures. Roza wanted to help some more by killing Zargoth, his allies, and subordinates with her own hands as well. However, Eren didn''t give her much of a leeway to showcase her powers. By the time she could hear and see things in the den, Eren had alreadypleted his raid. ''I I just hope that my liege doesn''t find me useless,'' the demoness thought to herself as she approached Eren with careful steps. === AN: Vepar was caught and tamed by Eren in chapter 1369. The term Ars Goetia was first used in chapter 1377. Chapter 1704 Unique Skills Chapter 1704 Unique Skills ??1704 Unique Skills "It seems you took care of the formalities." Eren said while looking around him. "Good job, Roza," he gave a nod of approval as he got up from his position. "You know what they were talking about right? I think I got some of it. Nheless, could you shed some light on it? You were here with them for well over two weeks. Anything you want to say apart from the things you said in your daily reports?" Eren asked Roza as he stretched his arms. His Ability Unlimited Weapon Works had always strained his wrists and finger joints because of how logic-defying his weapon movements got under its influence. However, the repercussions of using Unlimited Weapon Works after it was converted into a Skill were even more noticeable. Especially if and when he used that Skill for an extended period. Of course, unlike his other Skills, the effects of the Unlimited Weapon Works had also been enhanced for some reason. The butcher concluded that the Mesh gave bonus to Skills that were weapon-handling rted, provided the wielder had sufficient mastery over the respective weapons. He had a wide array of weaponprehensions assimted into his battle style. As such, the bonus his Skill Unlimited Weapon Works received because of it was significant. "Um. are you talking about the appearance of the Hvergelmir Springs, my liege?" Roza asked Eren as she followed right behind him. Both of them were heading towards the den''s exit, leaving a fresh and processed murder scene behind them. "That''s right. I know that Hvergelmir Springs is an Existential Concept," Eren nodded as he kept on walking ahead. "I know that Existential Concepts are bound to manifest in one way or the other all across the boundless cosmos. It''s how the Existential Concepts highlight their state of being after all. However, I don''t understand the significance of Hvergelmir Springs for these wanna-be demons. What will it mean for them if the Hvergelmir Springs appear in Labh Salem? How will it benefit them?" Roza pondered a bit on Eren''s question before answering. "My liege, witnessing Hvergelmir Springs is like the blessing from the Demon Realm itself. You must have known by now that there''s a difference between different kinds of blessings. We can get blessed by gods or Demon Princes. However, their blessings have limitations. A chance to witness and ept the Hvergelmir Springs is like epting the Seven Sin Series Marks from the Seven Immortal nes. It can allow one to break past their limitations and be a higher level of existence." Eren processed Roza''s words calmly. "So the Sin Series Marks are a form of a demonic blessing. The only difference is that it does note from a god but from the Immortal nes themselves. But I thought the Sin Series Marks represent Faustian Contracts. Was I wrong in my assumption?" "No. You were right in your assumption. But that''s not the whole truth," Roza replied promptly. "The Sin Series Marks represent Faustian Contracts as well. However, the Marks evolve as one progresses further in their respective Paths to Power. This is why the Sin Series Marks bestow different powers to their wielders ording to their souls and inclinations. As the user keeps using the power of these Marks, the connection between the user''s soul and the Immortal ne they are associated with through the Faustian Contracts gets deepened. The Faustian Contracts themselves offer a blessing to the users when they get demonically attuned in a true sense. Further, you need to know that the blessing one can obtain from Hvergelmir Springs is a no-conflict blessing. It will not interfere with their existing demonic blessings or the Faustian Contracts. In fact, it can be used to alter their Faustian Contracts in their favor. Usually, Faustian Contracts can not be messed with once they have been formed. That means the users of the demonic arts and the demon soul fragments slumbering within them have to fulfill their end of the deal no matter what. However, getting a blessing from Hvergelmir Springs offers the users of the demonic arts a one-time chance to alter their Faustian ContractsC meaning upgrade the benefits they obtain through the contracts to a higher tier." "Hmm," Eren scratched his chin as he asked Roza his next question. "That''s great and all. But like what does it mean in reality? What are the tangible benefits one can have after receiving a blessing from Hvergelmir Springs?" "Oh," Roza didn''t take long to answer Eren''s question. "It means the users of demonic arts have a chance to obtain powerful Skills for themselves. There''s a chance one of their most used Skills gets converted into Greater Skills as well. They can also obtain a Tantra that has been created especially for them. It is also possible for them to obtain a Unique Skill, a Skill that can potentially rival a Greater Skill in effect without the necessary cooldown attached to the Greater Skills. However, Unique Skills are rare and not something everyone can have. As such, most consider it to be a pipedream to obtain. What''s interesting is the fact that they won''t have to spend Menaka''s Runes to get such benefits from Hvergelmir Springs. This blessing and all its effects would be um free of cost so to speak." "Aah," Eren came to an understanding when Roza exined the tangible benefits of obtaining the blessing from Hvergelmir Springs. "No wonder those petty goons were so hard at work inside the den. Any other benefits apart from what you have mentioned so far?" he asked as he stopped in his tracks. *** A chance to obtain Greater Skill was indeed tempting. However, Eren was interested in a chance to obtain a Unique Skill. The term implied that only one user could have ess to such a Skill at any given time. If Greater Skills were the higher forms of Skills then the Unique Skills could be defined as Skill anomalies to some extent. They would allow their users a tangible edge over their opponents. The Greater Skills had a lot of limitations in their use. They couldn''t be used frequently due to the cooldown times. Plus, they had a higher rate of mana consumption. This was not the case with the Unique Skills. In some cases, they could even outshine the Greater Skills, provided their users used them in the right way. Chapter 1705 True Demon Transformation Chapter 1705 True Demon Transformation ??1705 True Demon Transformation There was one more advantage of having a Unique Skill. The users of the Unique Skills could tweak their Unique Skill execution through the use of the Mesh. It meant that the users of the Unique Skills had all the convenience of using the Mesh while enjoying the versatility of spell execution. Best of both worldsC so to speak. Usually, the levels of Skills people could buy and use through the Mesh were matched ording to their individualities. The users of the Mesh didn''t have to do much while casting their Skills as a result. They only needed to pour mana into the Mesh and let it cast Skill almost automatically. It means an A-Ranked Grandmaster would have all their Skills set as A-Ranked level by default unless they wanted to use a lesser form of that particr set of Skills. It also meant that Grandmasters didn''t have ess to S-Ranked Skills no matter how much they were willing to pay in terms of Menaka''s Runes. However, with Unique Skills, one could adjust the output of the Skills effect, breaking this fine bnce. As long as the Unique Skill execution waspiled in one''s Spectral Screen, the users of the Unique Skills could practically cast a Skill effect that was greater than the Skill effect boundary defined for their respective Rank. For example, it was possible for the Grandmaster with Unique Skill ess to contend with a Sage Ranker. All they needed to do waspile a Unique Skill execution in a way that the Skill effect would rival an S-Ranked Skill. In some cases, the wielder of the Unique Skills could evenpile a Skill effect that rivaled Saint Ranked Skills. Of course, merely obtaining a Unique Skill was not enough. The wielders themselves needed to be capable enough topile the Unique Skills'' execution, which could only happen if and when they were proficient in using the intent-based magic. In the case of Rankers with Unique Skill ess, they needed strong and potent Individuality topile a logic-defying Unique Skill execution. The ess to Unique Skills could be said to be wasted on someone with weak Individuality. Unique Skills couldn''t be bought through Menaka''s Market. And as far as Eren knew, he couldn''t rob them from the Unique Skill owners as well. At least not using the way he was familiar with. Unique Skills were like the original temte of a Skill that was epted to exist in the Mesh. Through this temte, others could use the Skills in a definite way. Thus, it was said that the Skill owners had a higher chance of turning their inventions into Unique Skills in the future. In most cases, it was the Skill owners'' proficiency with the intent-based magic that was preventing them from turning their inventions into Unique Skills. Unique Skills were unique in the sense that no two simr Unique Skills could exist in the Mesh. Therefore, the Unique Skill users were also one of a kind by definition, allowing them to lord over the others. The Unique Skill holders were very famous in Labh Salem because almost every one of them had achieved something monumental for themselves. They were a sought-after recruit for any organization, enabling them to reap maximum benefits from their supposed services. Eren was sure that his Individuality was potent enough to make him a well-known Unique Skills user. All he needed to do was to unlock a Unique Skill for himself. Thus, he couldn''t help but be interested in Labh Salem''s urban legend that was Hvergelmir Springs. If possible, he wanted to unlock a series of Unique Skills to himself given the fact that he was already an owner of multiple Greater Skills. *** "I see. Any other benefits apart from what you have mentioned so far?" Eren asked Roza as thoughts about the Unique Skills swirled inside his mind. The butcher was sure that the demonic entities were not foolish enough to run after something that could only happen to one in a million. At least not all of them who were inside the den he had just raided. There had to be something much more feasible that made them look forward to the supposed appearance of Hvergelmir Springs with such zeal. Roza was lost in her thoughts when Eren asked her the question. She kept on walking ahead as she tried to answer. "Um my liege you should know that most demonic entities sign a Faustian Contract with the demon they can summon in the material ne. However, for most, these demonic soul fragments stay slumbering. Through the Hvergelmir Springs, they have a chance to awaken the demonic soul fragments within them and trigger a soul- based transformation, turning them into true demons. It''s something simr to what happened to me after I took over the original Roza''s body. What''s a true demon, you might ask. A true demon is different from other living beings. In a way, they are a higher form of existence. They can progress in their respective Paths to Power at a much higher rate than it was ever thought possible for someone who is not a true demon. For example, an A-Ranked demonic Ranker who has be a true demon might be able to be an S-Ranked demonic Sage within a few decades. This speed of progress would be an unimaginable feat for those who are not true demons. True Demons have ess to a dedicated Skill Tree for themselves. They have a higher chance of obtaining Unique Skills or Greater Skills. They be so proficient in using intent-based magic that they cannot be countered by someone from their generation. Of course, there''s a chance the true demons might lose a sense of self after their metamorphosis. This happens when the demon soul fragment that had fused with their souls ends up dominating them at the time of soul amalgamation. The true demon transformation triggered by the Hvergelmir Springs would be a sought-after choice for these demonic entities because they wouldrgely be unaffected by the transformation. It means, for the most part, their sense of self would not change." Chapter 1706 Witches Sabbath Chapter 1706 Witches'' Sabbath ??1706 Witches'' Sabbath ''Hmm. so it''s like a do-it-yourself fiend transformation.'' Eren thought to himself as he processed Roza''s words. He could guess that such fiend transformation would allow its users to wield their demonic powers with greater efficiency and effectiveness than before. The reason why the den dwellers were conducting the demonic rituals was to make themselves more attuned to their demonic nature. This way, they would be better prepared to receive the blessing they could get from the Hvergelmir Springs. The demonic ritual Eren had thwarted by raiding the den was not an isted incident. Such rituals were taking ce all across Labh Salem as the legend about the Hvergelmir Springs grew. These preparations were out in the open when it came to the continents governed by the demonic entities. For example, on the continent of Epas where Alephee was, the covens of witches were congregating and conducting demonic rituals en masse. The coven of witches had named this period in Labh Salem as Witches'' Sabbath. They wanted to grow their influence in Labh Salem more than ever before as they sensed the day of Hvergelmir Springs drawing near. The witches had initiated confrontations with their primary adversaries, the Amazonians, to ensure the sess of the Sabbath. Simultaneously, they began infiltrating other continents to extend their demonic influence, all in preparation for the approaching Hvergelmir Springs. As the Hvergelmir Springs approached, demonic entities found themselves reaching peak strength. The impending event elerated their progress, granting ess to a broader and more potent array of Skills. Labh Salem seemed to lean towards the demonic faction in anticipation of the Hvergelmir Springs, presenting the faction with an opportunity to im the entire realm. Sensing this advantageous moment, the demonic faction aimed to seize control. Contrastingly, the divine side opted for a cautious approach. Preferring to maintain their positions until the conclusion of the Witches'' Sabbath, the divine side understood the cyclical nature of the cosmos. They anticipated that thews governing the boundless cosmos would create an opportune moment post-Hvergelmir Springs, when the demonic faction would be at its weakest, allowing for a decisive strike. In the boundless cosmos, a natural ebb and flow dictated that what rises must eventually face a decline, and what rests at the bottom will ascend to great heights. ''I sure chose an apt time to be here,'' Eren smiled to himself as he understood the undercurrent flowing in Labh Salem. ''Or perhaps, the reason Hvergelmir Springs is going to appear in Labh Salem is because of me? Am I important enough for something like that? Or is it just a coincidence?'' In the end, Eren concluded that it was nothing but a coincidence. This was because the demonic faction had already started acting on its intentions even before hended in Labh Salem. It meant that the appearance of the Hvergelmir Springs was bound to happen one way or the other whether he came to Labh Salem or not. ''I don''t believe in destiny crap. My choice toe to Labh Salem was purely driven by my desire to obtain ''that'' Elder Seed Artifact. I shape my reality. If I believe this to be a coincidence, it will stay as a coincidence for me,'' the butcher clenched his fists and decided. Bang! Roza ran into Eren as they both were lost in their chain of thoughts. Roza''s head was buried in his chest and thetter was scared for life. She thought that she had done something unforgivable and disrespectful. "Ma ma my liege I I am sor.." "It''s fine. It was my mistake too," Eren cut Roza off before she could convey her apology in a shaken voice. ''Damn. Is this the same demon who had possessed Reva RainC the Pdin of Pain?'' Eren questioned himself as he read the fearful expressions on Roza''s face. He had to say that he wouldn''t have imagined Vepar''s demonic incarnations would be so different from each other. Reva Rain was a cruel and sadistic Ranker who took pride in torturing people for her own benefit or fun. Or both. She was as cunning as a hyena and as ruthless as Eren himself. In fact, one could say that Reva Rain contributed significantly to making Eren who he was at this point by torturing him in his previous timeline. ''Perhaps the demons can only act as augmenters for something that already exists in one''s heart. Reva was already rotten before she was possessed. Or because she was already rotten did she be a demonic Ranker, allowing Vepar to possess her easily? ''Or perhaps I scared her so much while she was possessing Reva that it changed her,'' Eren chuckled as he remembered what he had done to Reva Rain before finally iming her life. ''I guess I need to learn more about demons and how they possess someone. I also need to learn what happens to the demons after a sessful possession.'' Eren had already been fascinated with how demons possessed living beings, turning them into demonic entities willingly or through coercion. He wanted to mimic their possession technique and use it to his advantage. After all, he had Shallot''s Mirror, an Elder Seed artifact that could allow him to cast his soul''s shadow without having to split his soul. So he didn''t have to split his soul to achieve simr results. ''A lot of my projects can start here while I''m in Labh Salem. I just need a quiet ce and a steady supply of resources to get started. It''s good that I have one of 72 Ars Goetia demons under mymand. I can learn a lot from her,'' Eren concluded as he decided to make use of Roza even more thoroughly. ''It would have been a bit easier for me to do things in Labh Salem if Alephee was here with me, providing me with the right information from the start. I guess I''ll have to do things the hard way.'' Eren sighed dramatically before bringing Roza closer to him once again. He brought her face closer to his before nting his lips on hers. Thetter was startled by Eren''s approach. But after her initial hesitation and trepidation, Roza was able to reciprocate. === AN: Technically speaking, this chapter marks the final upload for the year 2023. Wishing all VEH readers a happy new year. See you in 2024. Cheers. :) Chapter 1707 A Way to Level-up Intent-based Magic? Chapter 1707 A Way to Level-up Intent-based Magic? ??1707 A Way to Level-up Intent-based Magic? Roza felt as though she was melting in Eren''s embrace. Eren''s kiss stirred a range of emotions within her that she believed had perished in her demonic heart. She felt alive once more, sensing that her human side hadn''tpletely faded away. A part of her previous self seemed to linger. Even after cleaning himself up, the scent of blood still clung to Eren, but to someone like Roza, it wasn''t repulsive. To her, this was something primal and emotion-evoking. "Hmmmmmm," she hummed as she returned Eren''s kiss. She weed his hands, gently caressing her back. Each finger left a distinct touch, tracing imaginary lines on her body as Eren held her. Roza''s body, once as cold as an ice statue, began to warm from within. Her pale skin gained color as Eren''s body provided the much-needed warmth. It surprised Roza to realize howforting someone''s body warmth could be for her. She had believed that her transformation into Vepar''s incarnation had erased her identity as Roza. However, Eren''s gesture reconnected her with the Roza she had known since birth. It made her realize that she wasn''tpletely a demon, no matter how the world maybel her after her "true demon transformation." Eren could sense the range of emotions budding within Roza. it was as if he had opened the floodgate of something that was supposed to stay close. He enjoyed the fact that he had so much sway over this girl from Labh Salem that he hade to know within only a few months. ''Some warmth is needed in one''s life for them to appreciate the beauty of living. Nobody can enjoy a barren living for long,'' Eren thought to himself as he kept on kissing Roza, feeling her body with his ever-restless hands. Eren brought his hands between him and Roza beforetching them onto her perky breasts. He squeezed and kneaded them as he nibbled on her earlobe. He would have kept on kissing her. But it was a bit distracting for him to keep on kissing her while he attended to her boobs. "Aaaah my" "Call call me Eren." Eren whispered in Roza''s ears and stopped her from speaking. Her voice which was barely audible turned into ecstatic moans which she was trying to muffle by biting on her lips. Eren moved his hands once again, sending them on a south- bound mission. This time, they rested on her shapely posterior. His fingers sunk into her mushy flesh as he traced her neckline with his overly stretched tongue. "Hmmmmm" Roza held onto Eren with more strength, feeling his hands. Rising on her toes, she embraced him tightly, exploring his back with her hands. Her aura seeped out as emotions ranging from warmth to passion took over. However, as Roza''s aura leaked, memories from Eren''s initial timeline in Anfang flooded back. They surged, transporting Eren''s consciousness back in time, forcing him to relive his past. These were the memories that were rted to Reva RainC the Pdin of Pain. "Tch tch tch. You failed this mission as well, Old Idril. Just what I expected from you. Another pathetic performance. Another excellent reason to punish you." "At least take responsibility for your failure and stop screaming. A high-ranking entity like mine has toe down in this filth to teach you a lesson in humility." "You should be d that I''m giving you special treatment. And you are not even grateful for all that I do for you. What a shame what a shame" "Tch. Tch. Tch. Excuses and more excuses. Is this how an Escalon guild member conducts himself? Didn''t Shalen teach you any manners?" "You could target the healer first. You could yank out their vocal cords to prevent them from casting spells. You could have be a fucking killing machine and butchered your opponents up before they even had a chance to retaliate. Whose mistake is that? When will you take responsibility for yourck of skills and nning?" Reva Rain''s voice and presence lingered in Eren''s soul for all the wrong reasons. He recalled the torment she had subjected him to, making his first timeline a living nightmare. Or perhaps, it wasn''t so much a recollection as an inability to forget. ''Damn it. I I can''t.'' Eren abruptly halted his advances on Roza as the shbacks from his past hit him. It was as if someone had doused the fire within him by pouring cold water over it. It was as if he had suddenly gained a post-nut rity even before the actual act. He stood still and stopped moving his hands even when Roza was still in the heat of the moment. It took a while for Roza to realize that something had changed within Eren. When she did, she felt extremely awkward and humiliated. She separated from Eren before mustering enough courage in an attempt to speak. "You don''t need to say anything. It''s not you. It''s me," Eren sighed as he got closer to Roza before cing his hands on her shoulder. Eren said that it was not her fault that he had such a strong sense of enmity towards Vepar''s previous possession. He didn''t go into details but told Roza that Reva Rain was the worst Ranker from Anfang he ever had a chance to meet with. "I know that Reva and you are twopletely different beings. And that I shouldn''tpare you. I also know that I should drop the baggage I have from the past and move on. But these things they can''t happen overnight even if one understands their nature. I can control my emotions. I can pick and choose the memories I want to invoke at will. But I just need some time to do it in this case." Eren spoke to Roza sincerely while caressing her cheek. Only now did he realize that he was not inplete control of his emotions. At least not as much as he thought he was. Especially when it came to controlling emotions that were attached to his core memories. ''Perhaps I need a breakthrough in my ability to control my emotions as well. Only then can I level up my intent-based magic.'' The butcher thought to himself as he tried to console Roza. Chapter 1708 Manhunt in Labh Salem Chapter 1708 Manhunt in Labh Salem ??1708 Manhunt in Labh Salem Eren made the effort to make Roza realize his perspective. He did this so he could gain her trust seamlessly. After all, he could eradicate Vepar or make the demon leave Roza''s body using the unchangeable writ he had as the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline and sessor to Aleph''s divine throne. But he couldn''t control her actions. Not really. Not yet. Vepar was loyal to Eren but that loyalty was driven by the instinctual fear of someone who could harm her despite her seemingly immortal status. Roza was also like that by extension. All her actions indicated that she was fearful of Eren and what he could do to her. The stuttering. The shaky voice. The jittery nerves. The constant act of worrying. And the need to please him so that he doesn''t do anything to her. Roza was aplete contrast to Vepar''s previous demonic possession which was Reva Rain. Roza did an excellent job as a spy for Eren for this particr job. But she was scared of him all the same even while handling the operation. Feeling scared of him had be her second natureC an instinct. The same instinct that she had inherited from Vepar, was then magnified in her mind. Having instincts was a good thing. But one could not base all their actions on them. Eren knew that Roza''s instincts would eventually die down in the long run. In the future, there was a possibility that Vepar would either find ways to escape from Eren''s grasp or try to associate herself with another Demon Prince. Both of these things were not the oue Eren wanted. After all, Vepar had switched sides when she was forced by Eren to do so. By incarnating as Roza, Vepar had left behind Samael''s side to serve him. Same thing could happen to him as well if he was not careful. It was better for Eren to make Roza believe that she was at home with him. That she was not treated as a pawn but as an ally who could get rightful benefits by serving him. ''Hmm. This could be considered as a payback for what Demonmir did to me by getting Arie Lowin on his side before I had a chance to do anything. He could shift the loyalties of womenfolk in his favor simply by keeping them near to him. And he did a pretty solid job at that considering that half-blood was loyal to him till her death. I''ll admit, it was kinda impressive that he could do that. But I also don''t see why I can not do the same. Kekeke. Get cucked Samael.'' Eren had a random thought as he looked at Roza with a caring gaze. Thetter was touched by the way he talked and behaved with her. Roza found him to be even more charming than before now that they had such a talk right after such an intimate experience. "I I understand," Roza said while looking into Eren''s emerald- green eyes. "I''ll wait for as long as it takes," she said softly while taking a step back from Eren. She felt that the demonic side within her, the side that belonged to Vepar, was also pleased by the treatment she had received from Eren. Eren nodded before turning serious. "I forgot to ask. What else did you learn from those den dwellers? I mean anything rted to bounties maybe? Anything that you thought was unusual?" Roza didn''t take long to change gears ande to her normal behavior. "I did," she said before adding further. "There are various demonic cults active all across Labh Salem who have told their followers to look for a Ranker with unknown origins. Some cults have started capturing Rankers whom they think are mysterious. Others have started outright killing them. Some divine temples have also followed suit. They too have adopted a simr approach, inspecting the origins of the Rankers they interact with. Of course, not all groups are outrightly killing the Rankers they find mysterious. Some have been simply detained. Are are they looking for you?" Roza asked as she looked at Eren curiously. "Keke. what do you think?" he asked before turning around. ''So it has started the hunt for Aleph''s inheritor. They suspect I''m here,'' he thought before correcting himself. ''No. that''s not it. They KNOW that I''m here.'' Eren knew this was bound to happen as soon as he left Anfang. His enemies from both factions would actively try to hunt him down as soon as they found some leads about him. They knew that he was a Ranker. They could decipher this because his soul had appeared inside the celestial hall. However, they could not pinpoint his location. Part of the reason was that he had turned into a demi-god. The other was because he had struck a deal with Goddess Menaka, which prevented them from using the Mesh against him. Eren''s enemies could not use oracles to zero in on his location. They could also not use artifacts against him because the artifacts themselves could not track the true Elder Seed inheritor. Thus, they were left with initiating arge-scale manhunt in Labh Salem based on the information they had so far on Eren, which wasn''t much to begin with. This was the reason Eren had hidden his origins when he interacted with Ishgaar''s Temrs. "Anyway. Keep me updated on this matter, Roza," Eren said as he marched forward. "I can not run leads on this news because I run the risk of exposing myself. But you as the denizen of Labh Salem and someone with a Conjurer Profession would not be suspected by your contacts in the demonic faction." "What about Ishgaar''s Temrs? Do you trust them?" Roza asked. "No," Eren replied promptly. "We need to prepare to leave this kingdom behind us. We''ll move after I collect my reward for clearing the den from Ishgaar''s Temple," Eren said before disappearing from his position, leaving a lost-in-her-thoughts Roza behind him. Chapter 1709 Off the Records Chapter 1709 Off the Records ??1709 Off the Records Ishgaar''s Temple. Archpriest Jivem''s office chambar. Brol. Kaisaayan empire. "You you did it. You actually found and cleared that ursed den all by yourself." Jivem had a shocked expression on his face as he admired the deed Eren had done for the temple. On his desks were the severed heads of Zargoth, Rivena, Gorgoth, and LilithraC the top demons whom the temple had been gunning for a very long time. Jivem also had a magically enhanced pad and pen on his desk. These simple alchemy items were recording the minutes of the meeting for him. This record was going to be used as the final entry in the incident report Eren had submitted to the temple. The butcher had also handed over some other things he had acquired from the raid as proof to validate his im of a sessful raid. The severed heads that were on Jivem''s desk were one of the things he had handed over. The four demons whose heads Eren had severed in his recent raid had remained elusive for the Ishgaar''s Temrs for quite some time. Even gaining vague intel on their whereabouts was difficult. Zargoth and Gorgoth, the two cousins who had walked on the demonic path together, were especially a pain in the ass to deal with for the Ishgaar''s Temrs. Zorgoth was a body cultivator on whom usual Skills didn''t work. Gorgoth had ess to some wield Skills because of his status as a Dreamweaver. It would have been a nightmare for a regr Temr from Ishgaar''s temple to tackle the entire den by themselves. Plus, there was no way for them to ensure that these four leaders of the demons would stay in the den while the raid took ce. Jivem was sure that the den featured multiple entry and exit points. Technically speaking, Zargoth and his fellow demons had been the bigger problems for the Ishgaar''s Temrs than the Helenbora coven could be. This was because Zargoth and his cousin knew how to evade Ishgaar''s Temrs. Plus, Rivena and Lilithra also had useful Skills in their arsenal they employed to get them out of tough situations the Ishgaar''s Temrs tried to put them in. The fact that all four of these demonic entities were together inside a den at the same time highlighted the gravity of the demonic ritual they were conducting. Killing one of these demons who was on the temple''s top priority list was an achievement in itself. However, Eren had killed all four of them in a single raid. When Eren first shared his interest in doing something about these demons, Jivem was skeptical. Not because he didn''t trust Eren''s ability to confront these demons. But because these demons had been the temple''s problem for a very long time. The Archpriest didn''t think an upstart like Eren could take on these demonic entities just because he found the rewards on their heads to be tempting. As such, he realized that he would need to reevaluate his assessment of Eren. "Did did you enlist any external help?" Jivem asked seriously as he looked at Eren who was standing in front of his desk with his hands behind his back. "I did. That''s how I got those four in the same ce," Eren replied calmly. "Why didn''t you ask Kayara or Akel to help you? They were supposed to assist you in this raid." Jivem asked patiently. He didn''t want to grill the man who had performed well beyond his expectations. However, his job as Archpriest required him to ask these questions. So that he could get to the bottom of the incident before putting it behind him. "It was because the demons would have seen my attacksing had I involved Kayara and Akel in the raid," Eren shrugged as he replied. "They knew about those two and had kept tabs on them because they were closely linked with the temple. They weren''t expecting me. I would have lost the element of surprise if I had informed them about the raid. My chances of getting all four demons in this raid would have been reduced to nothing if that had happened," Eren replied honestly. "You mean to say someone was keeping tabs on Kayara and Akel?" Jivem asked as he snapped his fingers and stored away the heads of the four demons. With a nce, he checked upon the minutes of the meeting recordings that were being written by the pen, making sure whatever Eren said was included in the official record. "Basically? Yeah." Eren replied shortly and concisely. "How did you" Jivem was about to ask Eren another question when he realized something. His expression changed as if he had finally figured out something about Eren''s raid. "So that''s how it is. You had an inside helper, didn''t you?" Eren looked at the moving pen that was writing the minutes of the meeting on a piece of paper. Jivem understood his actions and willed the pen toe to a halt. He also erased the question that had been written down on the paper. "You are free to speak now. I assure you that it will be kept off the records," Jivem spoke to Eren sincerely. He had a favorable impression of Eren. plus, the fact that Eren hadpleted the raid sessfully had earned him special attention from Jivem. The Archpriest knew that some underhanded tactics needed to be used against demons who used underhanded tactics as a way of their lives. Sometimes, such demons needed the taste of their own medicine. No matter how clean and proper he wanted some operations to be, Jivem understood that there was a need to dirty one''s hands in some shady deals. This was not Jivem''s first time dealing with someone like Eren who knew how to get the job done irrespective of theplications he had to deal with. And he was sure that it wouldn''t be hisst. "Yes. I indeed had inside help," Eren nodded before answering honestly. He cleared his throat before exining further. Chapter 1710 The Language of Half-truths Chapter 1710 The Language of Half-truths ??1710 The Language of Half-truths There was a simple reason why Eren didn''t include Kayara and Akel in his recent raid. The butcher couldn''t have used Skills from Beelzebub''s Skill Tree if he hadpany. And without the Skills he had deployed at the scene, it would have gotten much harder for him to kill all the demons along with the four demonic leaders whose heads he had presented to Jivem. Plus, he wanted to hog all the rewards that came from his kill to himself. He also didn''t want to let Ishgaar''s Temrs know about the mole that he had ced among the demonic den dwellers. Kayara and Akel would have reacted differently to Roza''s presence if the two sides had met on the field. Of course, the fact that Kayara and Akel were being misguided by the den dwellers was also true. Thus, Eren decided to speak thenguage he was good atC thenguage of half-truths. "A few days ago I received a tip that Akel and Kayara were being tailed using some special means. Through this tail, they were purposefully kept busy to pursue leads on small fries that didn''t matter much to the temple. Obvious things are deducted from obvious actions. If I had informed them about the same, they would have started acting differently from their usual selves while conducting their own raids. Or they would have started digging on their own about the possible tail. They could have also retreated from the on-field operations you had all three of us set out to do. They were my allies and not subordinates. I had no authority to govern their actions in any way. Not that I wanted authority over them. In any case, no matter how they behaved or which course of action they decided to take, Akel and Kayara would have ended up alerting the den dwellers. Things would have gotten messy if that had happened. The demonic ritual would have seeded. It would have gotten much harder for us to deal with all four targets at the same time if that had happened. Even with Kayara and Akel supporting me on the frontline. My contact in the den would have also run the risk of being exposed. In short, we wouldn''t have gained anything if I had involved Kayara and Akel in this raid. So I sat on that intel for a few days without altering anyone. Then I chose the right time and setting to strike at them when they were at their most vulnerable and least bothered about external threats," Eren said while looking into Jivem''s eyes. ''This damn brat'' A thought crossed Jivem''s mind. ''He is as devious as demons. Um Maybe more. Also, he doesn''t trust anyone from Ishgaar''s Temple. Even after working with us for thest five months.'' Jivem analyzed Eren''s actions in his head. He had to admit that what Eren did was the most ideal way of dealing with the demons. However, it also implied that Eren was not bothered if Kayara and Akel ran into a trap set by the den dwellers. He was okay with using them as baits so that he could lower the demons'' guard and attack them at the time of his choosing. ''This man is dangerous. A true hunter who knows how to use bait,y traps, lure his prey, and end his hunt on a good note. A calm, cold, and logic-driven man who knows how to get things done no matter the cost,'' Jivem thought to himself as he kept on profiling Eren. The more Jivem started profiling Eren, the clearer he started to understand the motives on which thetter operated. ''His consciousness, if he has any, has taken a backseat for a long time now. And maybe that''s how he was able to survive the sh with the Helebora coven. That is provided the story he gave us is true to some extent. I wouldn''t be surprised if he killed some of the witches in the coven before making a run for it. He just didn''t want to admit that he left the Temrs behind so he lied. Putting him along with Kayara and Akel was a bad choice. They only cooperated a few times during thest five months and the results of their co-op weren''t that great. But doing things on his own, he had a greater form of sess. As Ishgaar''s Temr, I wouldn''t want him supporting my subordinates on the field. Because he''d be the first to bail out on them if the hunt turns ugly. But I''d still want to employ him as a mercenary.'' Jivem understood that Eren was not a team yer. Or rather, he couldn''t provide Eren with the right people from Ishgaar''s Temrs who could act as good team members for him. Eren was a different beast who couldn''t hunt in a regr pack. However, that didn''t stop Jivem from looking at Eren as if he was the solution to most of his problems happening all around the region. Even while acting alone, Eren had provided him with better results. Jivem hade to realize that Eren was notpletely suitable for Ishgaar''s faith. Eren had a distinct brand of solitude that was quite different from Ishgaar''s divinity. It meant that Eren wouldn''t necessarily be able to gain God Ishgaar''s favor no matter how much he prayed or tried to serve the temple as a faithful devotee. However, as far as the Archpriest was concerned, Eren didn''t need to know that. He could keep benefiting from Eren''s deeds while providing him with substantial amounts as rewards so that they could encourage him to serve the temple as a mercenary. Jivem was a man who spoke half-truths as well. As such, he took a deep breath before asking Eren. "You you are still adamant on not wanting to join Ishgaar''s Temrs, young man?" Jivem asked while producing a wine bottle from thin air. A set of two chalices appeared on his table along with the bottle. Jivem poured the wine into two chalices before offering one to Eren. Thetter didn''t say anything but sat on the other side of Jivem''s work table. He took the wine ss in his hand and raised it to his lips as he listened to Jivem''s offer. "A forced faith is of no use to anyone. So it''s okay if you don''t want to join us officially. But you could still help us by staying with us, helping us in your capacity as a mercenary, Eren. We would take care of you, you know. We could provide you with a suitable Tantra as long as you stay with us for a decade. You''d get more benefits than a regr Temr who joined us and has served our cause for more than 50 years. I can assure you that you wouldn''t find any other temple offering the Tantras they hold so dear to a mercenary. You wouldn''t see me offering this deal to any other mercenary either. Consider this to be a special case because I like you. A decade, young man. That''s all I ask. What''s a decade to a young Grand Knight like you? It''ll be over before you know it, trust me." Chapter 1711 Recommendation Token Chapter 1711 Rmendation Token ??1711 Rmendation Token Jivem asked Eren before bringing his wine ss to his lips. He took a deliberate sip and allowed the wine to mingle with his taste buds for a bit before sending it down his throat. Then he looked at Eren, waiting for his answer. "I''m d you think so highly of me, Archpriest Jivem. I really do." Eren swirled the wine in his ss and inhaled its aroma before speaking further. "But I''m afraid I''d have to turn down your offer. Not because I don''t want to keep working with you. But because some other things take priority." Eren patiently told Jivem about his n to leave the Naahak kingdom. He wanted to go to the Aksar kingdom, which was still within the jurisdiction of the Kaisaayan empire. However, it was practically at the opposite end of the empire, far away from Brol. Eren told Jivem that he wanted to be a bona fide Demon yer recognized by the empire. And joining Kaaysaayan''s Demon yer Corps that was headquartered in the Aksar kingdom would be an ideal start for him. Jivem could understand why Eren had taken this decision. To someone as capable as Eren, joining the Demon yer Corps presented him with promising opportunities. He could acquire a Tantra for himself without being associated with a particr faith. He could get premium-grade Ranking resources while ying demons. That too without additional strings attached to him. "Maybe I woulde back to you in a few years after getting recognized as a Demon yer," Eren emptied his wine ss and ced it on the table before speaking further in a determined voice. "However, I need to see what the Onianum continent has to offer to me first. I''m sure you understand how I feel." "I I do," Jivem sighed as he reclined in his chair. "So that''s it, huh? I have to say that this region is bound to get more chaotic than before without your presence. And I''m not trying to guilt- trip you into staying here. I''m merely stating the facts." Eren smiled before speaking to Jivem in a subtly cheerful voice. "I''m sure the Ishgaar''s Temrs in Brol will eventually be able to figure things out. The foundation you have established wouldn''t get shaken because of a mere mercenary leaving your fold. If nothing works, you could always ask for God Ishgaar''s temples in other regions for help." "Things aren''t as simple as you make them out to be, young man," Jivem shook his head in denial. "You know about the eventual arrival of the Hvergelmir Springs, right? The unrest that you have witnessed in Brol is omnipresent in every corner of the world these days. Everyone is busy saving their own house here. Who has time to douse the burning abode of their neighbors? Plus, there''s politics involved if I start asking for help from others. This is the kind of politics I don''t want to deal with for as long as I can avoid. Why do you think I started employing mercenaries like you in the first ce? I I won''t bore you with problems that I have to sort out on my own. Let''s just say that an Archpriest''s seat is not asfy as one imagines," Jivem looked as if he was lost in his own train of thought for a bit. But he snapped out of it just as quickly before asking Eren. "Anyway. I wish you all the best for your journey ahead. Is there anything I can do besides giving you your dues for a job well done?" Jivem asked as he looked at Eren. Since Eren had made up his mind, Jivem didn''t try to change it. It was better to maintain a cordial rtionship with a future member of the Demon yer Corps after all. Jivem could use this connection with Eren in the future if thetter really turned out to be sessful. "Actually," Eren sat upright in his chair before speaking. "There indeed is something you could do for me. You you could give me a rmendation token from Ishgaar''s temple. I know what it means for you to extend such a courtesy to me, if and when you agree to it. Let''s just say that I''d be grateful if your answer is yes." Eren stated his demands disguised as requests unabashedly. This was one of the primary reasons why he had been grinding so much for the past five months. The rmendation token he could receive from Archpriest Jivem and Ishgaar''s faith by proxy was bound to help him in the future as he entered the Demon yer Corps. It could bypass a lot of tedious and potentially dangerous hurdles attached to his identity, enabling him to be a part of one of the most prominent non-faith-based organizations in Labh Salem without blowing his cover. The manhunt for Aleph''s inheritor had begun in Labh Salem. Eren wanted to adopt a safer approach by integrating himself with Labh Salem''s society. And receiving a rmendation token from Ishgaar''s temple was a firm step towards that integration. He knew that he was only dying the inevitable. If not a year, then a decade. If not a decade, then a century. Someday his enemies would be able to track him if and when they organized their search efforts. But the "when" part of that inevitability mattered more to Eren than anything else. Usually, the rmendation tokens weren''t something that one could demand. And they were certainly not for someone who had been linked with a prominent organization like Ishgaar''s temple for a measly five months. However, Eren had sessfully created an unforgettable impression in Jivem''s mind. He had increased his value as a potential ally in his eyes in an organic manner. He had spent his time and efforts in making sure that Jivem understood the value of investing in him. "Oh!" Jivem chuckled before ensuring Eren. "Hahaha. So that''s how you want to do things. It''s actually not surprising when I think about where youe from. Rest assuredC you''ll get your rmendation token. Just wait for a couple of days and it''ll be given to you along with the rest of your payment and rewards." Eren and Jivem chatted for a while after sorting out a few things. In the end, Eren bid adieu to the Archpriest, retiring to the same inn he had been upying intermittently for the past five months. One could say that the meeting ended on a good note for both of them. Chapter 1712 Origin Force Absorption Chapter 1712 Origin Force Absorption ??1712 Origin Force Absorption Serene Solitude Inn. Brol. At the stroke of midnight, three of Labh Salem''s four moons graced the sky, casting a frigid bluish hue upon the world below. The nocturnal winds, though gentle, carried a subtle momentum, almost as if they sought to explore every corner within their reach. Silent, yet assertive, these winds announced their presence through whispers that seemed to caress one''s ears. In a specific chamber within the inn, these whispers took on a more pronounced form, transforming into an echoing recital of demonic verses. ''Saaa haa yaaaai'' ''Sheshekvyi.'' ''Haaizaaaahvawhaaaaaooooo.'' The melodic demonic murmurs surrounded a man seated in a cross-legged position within a runic circle. Thanks to the meticulously arranged formation, these whispers remained confined within the room''s four walls. Apanying the man was a young girl, seemingly on the cusp of her teenage years. She sat on the windowsill, her head nestled on her folded legs, gazing at the three moons illuminating the night sky. One could not decipher the kind of mood the young girl was in. This was because she felt absolutely at peace with herself at this point, not allowing joy or sorrow to cloud her vision. As such, the reflection of the three moons in her eyes was as clear as clearke water. ''I I don''t know why. But I miss Anfang.'' All of a sudden, the young girl thought to herself and sighed. The feelings of homesickness took over, which blurred the clear reflection of the three moons in her eyes. ''Damn it. I have some bitter memories there. I thought of leaving that ce behind me when I was captured inside the Purgatory. I dreamed of visiting an entirely different world like this. So why do I miss my old world now that I''m actually here? Why do I feel not satisfied after getting what I have been wanting for so long? These thoughts are stupid.'' She concluded and smiled bitterly to herself. Although sheined in her head, she was not really bothered by her thoughts but rather allowed herself to have them for the sake of having them. She was processing the feelings of nostalgia from a ce of peace. She could find her peace because herpanion was here. And there was no other ce she''d rather be than be with him. Although appearing idle, she yed a crucial role by managing the magic istion barrier, allowing the man to concentrate undisturbed on his task. Eren was absorbing the Faustian Rune Fragments that he had obtained from his recent victims. The raid had been a really fruitful endeavor for him. It allowed him to earn a sizable ie and additional rewards. Plus, he sold off some of the artifacts he seized from the raid site to the Ishgaar''s temple itself, earning him an additional profit. One could say that he had made ideal use of everything he acquired from the den dwellers he had raided. However, the acquisition of the Faustian Rune Fragments was the most significant reward for Eren and his current needs. This was the biggest raid he had initiated on the demons at this point. As such, the gains he received from this raid were also more significant than the ones he had been having for thest five months. Killing demonic entities, acquiring loots they owned, gaining payments and rewards for the hunt, andstly, digesting the Faustian Rune Fragments they dropped. For the past five months, Eren had been repeating this process over and over. As such, he had gotten quite good at this new routine. As he kept on devouring and digesting the runes, his connection with his divine throne was getting more and more stable. He felt as if he was learning a musical instrument by reading the instructions that were scattered in the form of pages he could find all around him. Eren''s Ranking Status was increasing at a very slow and almost negligible rate even after digesting so many Faustian Rune Fragments this time. This was because his mana core was in a saturation state, not allowing him to progress further in his Ranking Journey. Not really. After all, it was not too long ago that Eren had achieved ster progress in his Ranking Journey after devouring the Faustian Rune Fragments from the entirety of the Helenbora coven. The fact that he was able to acquire even more Faustian Rune Fragments for himself in such a short time was an achievement in itself. "Erni leave some portion for me, alright?" Reen spoke as she looked at the demonic runes floating around Eren in the air with hungry eyes. As a special kind of artifact spirit of an Elder Seed artifact, she should have only been able to devour other artifacts. However, she could instinctively feel that she could devour the demonic runes from the Faustian contracts as well. At least those that had been preprocessed by Eren. Reen instinctively felt that her proficiency in wielding the demonic mana would increase by a lot if she were to devour the demonic runes. As such, she didn''t shy away from asking for her share in Eren''s "meal". "Hmm. Just just wait a bit longer." Eren replied while keeping his eyes closed. He had been channeling the Rootless Technique while digesting the Faustian Rune Fragments. Although a Ranking Technique was slower than a Tantra, it was still better than not having either of them. Plus, the Rootless technique helped Eren a lot while he processed the rune fragments. Eren felt as if he was starting to understand the mysteries behind the demon magic and the Faustian Contracts as he devoured the rune fragments one by one. He also started processing the experiences of the demons the rune fragments originally belonged to before they died at Eren''s hands. Especially the experiences that belonged to the four demons who acted as leaders of their own groups. Eren let go of most of these experiences and only focused on the core essence of the Faustian Rune Fragments that helped him strengthen his connection with his divine throne. [ Basic synchronicity reached ] [ Unlocking a new function for the user/demi-god ] [ Origin Force Absorption ] "Hmmm?" Eren''s concentration was hampered when he received a series of prompts. He paused the process and essed his Spectral Screen. ==== AN: Origin Force was mentioned in chapter 1488. Faustian Rune Fragments were exined in chapter 1673. Chapter 1713 Origin Force Points Chapter 1713 Origin Force Points ??1713 Origin Force Points "Origin Force Absorption, huh? But what''s its purpose?" Eren pondered, his attention fixed on the unfolding prompts. In the following moment, a description materialized, offering insights into the newly unlocked function within the Mesh. [ Origin Force Absorption: Within close proximity, the user gains the ability to convert an array of emotions directed at them into Origin Force Points through the Mesh. The Origin Force Points signify the intensity of emotions the user has invoked in others, represented in numerical form. It''s important to note that only living beings with genuine souls born out of Creation will be considered for Origin Force Absorption. ] "Oh!" Eren eximed, a realization dawning as he absorbed the details of Origin Force Absorption. "That''s what''s up, huh! That''s why gods and demons are so dedicated to amassing followers. Mortal souls act as conduits for them, allowing the extraction of Origin Force. The more devoted the mortals are to their faith, the more efficient conduits they be. Mortals are essentially batteries for these deities, usable once epted into their faith. The emotions invoked by these immortals in their followers directly influence the efficacy of the Origin Force drawn. This exins the structured rules and regtions in their faiths. They are there to turn them into better conduits of the Origin ForceC better batteries. For instance, Ishgaar''s divinity revolves around Solitude. The more followers contemte and invoke feelings of solitude, the more Origin Force he can draw from them." Eren''s deduction proved urate as he delved deeper into the Origin Force Absorption description. [ As per the user''s divinity and demi-god status, only the emotions rted to Seven Sins will be effectively considered for Origin Force Absorption. Other emotions will have a significantly lower rate of being converted into Origin Force Points even if they turn out to be an amalgamation of emotions rted to the Seven Sins. The function will stay always-on and continue to work in the background, allowing the user to gain Origin Force Points at all times as long as sufficient amount and intensity of Origin Force Points are directed at them. Menaka''s Blessing will charge an annual fee in terms of Origin Force Points to avail the user of such services. The amount of the annual fee will be dynamic and will depend upon the user''s activity ] Eren had creases on his forehead as he read about the additional charges ced on him by Goddess Menaka. He had to say that he had chosen an ideal divinity for herself. No wonder she was neutral. It served in her interests to act as a neutral party. Goddess Menaka was considered one of the most powerful gods in existence despite a significantly low number of followers. She could pull it off by acting as a middleman between gods, demons, and their respective followers. Eren had already epted the fact that there was no use in fighting against the system. It was not worth the efforts to prevent Mesh from acting as a middleman and keep all the Origin Force to himself. This was because he was not at a level where he could convert emotions directed at him into Origin Force. This was why Beelzebub had to do the hard work for both of them before giving him a share of the pie in the form of Origin Force. Eren was a demi-god who was not even 100 years old at this point. Something like Menaka''s Blessing was exactly the kind of "manager" he needed to earn from his assets. As such, he ignored the stuff rted to Goddess Menaka''s charges and focused on the crucial aspects of the Origin Force Absorption. He would strike a different deal with Goddess Menaka when he became more proficient in acting as a demi- god. "So that''s why I could feel the emotions rted to the Seven Sins directed at me by others. I had thought that this was just a by-product of bing a demi-god who had inherited Aleph''s divine throne. Turns out it was actually something I could have made use of. I I wonder how long it would have taken me to figure this out on my own if I hadn''t left Anfang." One of Eren''s long-standing questions was answered at this point as he read through the description. He distinctly remembered the strong feelings of anger, hatred, and rage directed at him among other intense emotions as soon as he had be a demi-god. At that time, Eren had basically turned his homeworld upside down, affecting countless souls with his act. He wondered how many Origin Force Points he would haveted if Anfang had the Mesh at the time. It also exined why the gods and demons were so keen on saving and destroying the worlds their followers inhabited at the same time when they didn''t want to do either. Not really. They just wanted to muddy the waters. All their actions were so that they''d stay muddy. It was only through great ordeal could they invoke a greater and more intense range of emotions within their followers. The souls born out of Creation were needed by both factions to im more Origin Force for themselves. It also exined why gods or demons couldn''tpletely eradicate their enemies'' existencepletely from any world they had influenced with their faiths. After all, they both needed each other to cause perpetual turmoil. And through this perpetual turmoil, they could get a constant supply of Origin Force. ''Can Can things be so simple? Let''s read further before I make any decisions here,'' Eren thought to himself and decided to not dwell in the past. [ The user can convert the Origin Force Points into Origin Force for their own use with the use of Menaka''s Blessing. They can also offer them to Goddess Menaka directly and obtain a fair share of Menaka''s Runes in return. The user will also have a chance to increase his Ranking Status by spending an appropriate amount of Origin Force Points. Please note that the Mesh will charge an additional sum of Origin Force Points for such an upgrade, depending upon the user''s current circumstances. ] A basic form of understanding started to form in Eren''s head about the new function he had unlocked in his demi-god- specific sub-panel. He had to say that he was impressed by the convenience Menaka''s Blessing provided to him. Chapter 1714 An Abominated Divinity Chapter 1714 An Abominated Divinity ??1714 An Abominated Divinity "Ha! Exchanging Origin Force Points for Menaka''s Runes is out of the question. It seems like this goddess wants to swindle me." Eren smirked as he thought to himself. He knew how rare and precious Origin Force was, thanks to Argo AKA Beelzebub. It was because of Origin Force that the creation of two of his Elder Seed artifacts had be a reality. Things would have beenpletely different for Eren if he didn''t have the Origin Force at the time of the Lazarus Project. If Eren was like any other demi-god who hadn''t dealt with Origin Force, he would have considered treating Origin Force Points as a second form of currency in Menaka''s MarketC a substitute for Menaka''s Runes. But his experiences in Anfang had taught him the importance of the Origin Force. No matter how neutral goddess Menaka was or seemed, she was nothing but a businesswoman in Eren''s eyes. She would indeed give him a fair share of Menaka''s Runes in exchange for Origin Force Points. However, the definition of what was fair would be set by her and not him. It had taken the Demon Prince of Gluttony more than a decade to umte the emotions rted to Sin of Gluttony from all over Anfang. Only then could he manage to wrestle away a bit of Origin Force from Anfang World Will''s clutches. Even then, Beelzebub had to send his consciousness into Argo to pull it off. However, that was Anfang, thend of the faithless where the Mesh didn''t exist. Here, in Labh Salem, Eren didn''t need to wrestle against Labh Salem''s World Will to im Origin Force for himself. The Mesh could act as his dealer, allowing him to progress further as a demi-god without having to constantly fight against Labh Salem''s World Will. Eren didn''t even have to wait for a decade like what Argo did in Anfang. Thanks to the Origin Force Absorption, he could keep on umting every shred of Origin Force he received through his divinity. He could then make use of the Origin Force in anyway he wanted. "Hm. Should I use my Origin Force Points to progress further in my Ranking Status? This feature sounds tempting. But I don''t know how effective it''ll be." Eren tugged at his right earlobe and scratched right under his ear in contemtion. He could guess that he would be able to progress by leaps and bounds then his peers if he were to use Origin Force Points to increase his Ranking Status. However, he felt that the more saturated his mana core was, the more expensive the upgrade each time would be in terms of Origin Force Points. It meant that he needed to use his Origin Force Points smartly and not waste them just because he could. "The more I think about it, the more I''m sure that Origin Force is a currency the immortals use to trade with each other. Otherwise, there was no need for Goddess Menaka to focus so much on staying neutral all the time. And no wonder she was ready to strike a deal with me. She knew what kind of divinity I had gained and what kind of benefits it would unlock for me. In her eyes, I''m one of her elite clients who potentially have a ton of money he inherited from his "guardian". The emotions rted to seven sins are some of the most primal emotions one can have. I bet such emotions would give me a higher amount of Origin Force Points than most demi-gods or even gods for that matter." Only now did Eren realize why Aleph''s divine throne was sought-after by others. And why he was deemed as a threat by his enemies. His divinity was simply too overpowered. It could allow him to lord over other gods and Demon Princes if he yed his cards right. And this was when he only wielded one aspect of his divinity. His other aspect of divinity was rted to the elements themselves. He was sure that the elemental aspect of his divinity would also provide him with the same kind of edge as his demonic aspect if not more. "AlephC he was a threat to the gods after he managed to split Hell into seven separate Immortal nes. By doing that, he obtained another aspect of his divinity, which was rted to the seven sins, and associated himself with one of the most fundamental emotions any living being could experience in their lifetimes. Aleph''s elemental divinity was already imposing, to begin with. It was something that no god could contend against. By adding a demonic aspect to it, he just stepped over the divinities of all the other gods and demons who existed at the time. No wonder he had to appoint a new set of Demon Princes after establishing himself as the rightful ruler of the entire infernal realm. All the existing Immortal Demons of that time who sat in the celestial hall must have died after Aleph''s conquest. Aleph tried to bnce things out by turning Echidna into a Goddess. He shared a part of his divinity with her that was rted to the demonic aspect. But by that time, the bnce was already broken. Aleph became an anomaly among the gods when he conquered HellC someone who was neither a god nor a demon but a fusion of bothC simply an abomination. He attracted too much attention to himself when he did that. And the others got fearful of him. So these bunch of fearful ones plotted against him and managed to kill himC kill a god that was powerful beyond their imagination. Goddess Echidna must have separated herself from Aleph''s pantheon after his death. She went on to form her own pantheon in order to oppose the Demon Princes who stood against Aleph at that time. Both aspects of Aleph''s divinity were passed down to me through a series of coincidences. And when these two aspects came together through me, Aleph''s Echo was created. Or more like, I was able to meet and talk with him when that happened. I guess they see me as a threat because of this as well. To them, I''m an anomaly that needs to be dealt with as soon as they can. Because if left unattended, I''ll be as much of a threat to their divinity as Aleph once was." Eren was able to figure out many things from a simple description through his logic-based deductions. The description just resonated with the memories he had obtained from Aleph''s Echo. Only now did he understand why Aleph was a bit hesitant to hand his divine throne to him. In a way, he had just painted a target on Eren''s back. Chapter 1715 How to Nurture a Multifaceted Divinity?

Chapter 1715 How to Nurture a Multifaceted Divinity?

?1715 How to Nurture a Multifaceted Divinity? Eren felt that Aleph made one horrible mistake in the past. This mistake was way bigger than the mistake he made by trusting the Slumbering Goddess. It was the fact that he didn''t ept his abominated divinity himself. He didn''t embrace it. Not really. Aleph did what he did and conquered Hell to bring a semnce of peace all across the boundless cosmos. And since he conquered it, it was inevitable that it would belong to him. However, his act broke the fine bnce that had been established between the demons and gods since time immemorial. It meant that his sess had apletely opposite effect from the one he had set out to achieve. It was as if he was being criticized for being an overachiever. The fights between demons and gods broke their usual thresholds and imed more lives than ever before during this tumultuous period. Even though Aleph tried to establish the bnce back by appointing new Demon Princes, things didn''t change much for a very long time. The race for supremacy became even more prominent among the gods and demons who had a huge following of their own. And this very race birthed a new form of chaos all across the boundless cosmos. Aleph''s actions would indeed help the boundless cosmos eventually in the future, which it did by the time Eren inherited his mantle. But the fact remained that they were the reason behind countless tragedies happening all across the boundless cosmos. The fact that he was the reason behind this new reality didn''t allow Aleph to ept his divinity for what it was. And by doing this, he set himself up for his eventual downfall. The Slumbering Goddess had indeed betrayed Aleph and plotted against him. But the real reason why Aleph was erased from existence was because of his own actionsC his own mindset. His own inability to ept the new reality he had created for himself. "So this was why he was so keen on finding the inheritor with the right mindset. He didn''t want his inheritor to make the same mistakes that he did," Eren thought to himself as he kept on thinking about many things at once. "Keke. I don''t see anything wrong with an abominated divinity. I ept anything and everything that allows me to survive and thrive." Eren realized that his divinity was special. And he didn''t shy away from embracing it to its fullest. He couldn''t care less if he was hated by both factions for it. "I''ll have to reestablish my connection with the divine throne and make it more stable. I don''t know or understand how to grow the elemental aspects of my divinity. But this aspect of my divinityC the inherently demonic oneC is easy to understand. The seven sins are a part of my faith. The emotions rted to them would allow me to grow. As such I ept them for all that they have to offer, the good and the bad, to me or anyone that cultivates them within their hearts. A divinity that is rted to the Seven Sins has to be one of the most fundamental forms of divinities to exist all across the boundless cosmos. As such, I have an infinite potential to grow as a Ranker and to grow as a god." Eren mumbled to himself as he started to realize what his divinity actually was as a demi-god. He believed that only by epting his own divinity could he tell others to do the same and establish his faith around it. "How do I grow my faith though? It feels like I could just be a leech by funneling a share of the Origin Force Points from the well-established setup. The same setup that is run by the Demon Princes. I either do that or break the existing setup and establish a new one. But things aren''t the same in my time as they were in Aleph''s time. The Demon Princes have been in this game for longer than I. There are a lot of ways things could go wrong for me if I decided to change them abruptly. I don''t want to be a leech to the existing system either because it wouldn''t allow me to grow, forever forcing me to stay as a leech. If I start using the followers the seven Demon Princes have under theirmand, I''ll only end up bing a second-hand choice. Someone their followers would choose to call in the absence of the one they are devoted to. Hmm. So I shouldn''t discard the current setup or be the beneficiary of the grunt work the seven Demon Princes are doing. Then how should I grow my faith? How should I nurture my divinity?" Eren asked himself. He immediately thought of offering the Seven Sins Marks to a wide popce that had not been initiated into any faith. They could serve him as batteries to generate Origin Force Points. The butcher had the Seven-headed serpent statue that he had acquired from Eliza''s Purgatory. With a few tweaks, he could use the statue as a way to grow his faith and establish himself as a deity in Labh Salem. After all, offering the Marks of the Seven Sins was one of the most effective ways for the Demon Princes to grow their respective influences among the masses of any world. If it worked for them, Eren was sure that it would work for him as well. ''No. not so fast. I have to see how to wield this form of divinity first. I need to know the pros and cons it has to offer. It''s limitations and the ways with which I can break past those limitations. Only then can I hope to spread it effectivelyC spread it wide not just in Labh Salem but in other worlds as well.'' Eren made up his mind as he got up from his position. He decided to cancel his ritual and retracted the undigested Faustian Rune Fragment within him. He would offer it to Reen to devour themter on. "Reen, you are stupid." Eren spoke to Reen all of a sudden who was busy moon gazing outside the window. At first, she didn''t realize Eren was talking to her. But when she did, she looked at Eren with expressions of anger on her face. "That that came out of nowhere. What is wrong, Erni?" Of course, Eren was trying to invoke emotions of anger in Reen''s heart to see the effects of the new function he had unlocked for himself. He knew that it was a synthetic way of evoking emotions in people. However, he was not interested in the methods but the results themselves at this point. Chapter 1716 Consciously Manufactured Emotions

Chapter 1716 Consciously Manufactured Emotions

?1716 Consciously Manufactured Emotions Eren was ready to change the way he behaved with everyone around him if it could help grow his divinity significantly. He remembered how Demonmir was used to behaving with his friends and foes from Anfang. At that time, he thought that Demonmir was just trying to put on an act to make himself feel better and more elite than the rest. Only now did he understand why Demonmir behaved the way he did. It was so that the Demon Prince of Wrath within him could grow his faith and influence. Eren didn''t think it was shameful to follow Demonmir in his footsteps. In a way, he too was trying to cheat the system by evoking emotions within people in a superficial way. He wanted to see if he could generate Origin Force Points through such means. "You are stupid, Reen." Eren reiterated while staring at his Spectral Screen from one corner of his eye. "What''s wrong with you, Erni?" Reen looked as if she was angry and confused at the same time. She didn''t understand what happened to him after she left him to his devices for only a few minutes. ''Damn it. She''s not angry,'' Eren thought to himself. He decided to make Reen understand what he wanted to do to see if it could make a difference. "Reen, feel some form of anger towards me, will you? Don''t ask me questions. Just do it." Eren said as he encouraged Reen to double down on the irritation in her heart. Reen did not clearly understand what Eren wanted to achieve. But she was not as stupid as Eren called her to be. She could instinctively understand that it was rted to intent-based magic and Eren''s divinity. She looked at him angrily and reyed the word ''stupid'' in her head as a way to feel genuine anger. A bloodthirsty aura was released around her as she looked at Eren as if she wouldunch a lethal attack on him at any time. ''Still nothing. Either this synthetic way of generating emotions doesn''t work. Or Reen is just incapable of feeling angry at me,'' Eren said to himself while scratching his jaw. ''Or or maybe it''s both in this case,'' sighing, he concluded. He couldn''t say that he was surprised by the results. Even with this little and supposedly failed experiment, Eren realized that he couldn''t grow his faith by second-guessing what people would think of his actions. Even if he could manufacture certain emotions through his actions like what Demonmir did in Anfang, the results he would get would be subpar at best. The butcher realized that it was more in his favor for him to act neutrally. Let people''s intentions towards him develop on their own. Of course, he would take certain conscious steps to grow his faith but would not worry about the results he could get from them. ''Maybe I don''t need to take Demonmir''s approach. He was restricted by the emotions of wrath because Samael''s divinity was limited by it. My divinity covers all the seven sins. I can be as free as I want to be in my actions. Acting as I want to act for the most part would serve in my best interest in the long run. I just can''t stay under a veil anymore if I have to grow my divinity. But that doesn''t mean I have to limit my actions or control the way I behave. It would actually benefit me and my followers if I embrace the full extent of my divinity instead of segregating it into multipleyers and then selectively base my actions on a particr one.'' It didn''t take long for Eren to figure out that he had leverage, unlike other gods and demons, thanks to his abominated divinity. His faith wasn''t as restricted and isted as the rest were. For example, the God of Solitude Ishgaar could only benefit from his followers cultivating the emotions of solitude within their hearts. They could take various approaches to achieve that goal. But in the end, their goal had to be the same for them to qualify as Ishgaar''s true followersC his true devotees. However, Eren''s divinity could allow his potential followers to cultivate a range of emotions within their hearts. They could be split ording to the emotions they cultivated proficiently and yet they would all be worshiping the same deity. The multifaceted divinity would be something unique to Eren that even the Demon Princes didn''t have the privilege to have. Or rather, he was the only demi-god and potential deity who had such an abominated divinity. ''The demons. They are the key for me to progress further in my divine path. The more I rob the Faustian Rune Fragments from them, the better I would be able to wield my divinity. It''s like the Creation itself is telling me to bnce things out before I can im my divine throne for real. The so-called bnce be damned. I''ll fucking kill every single one of them that I can kill here in Labh Salem if that''s what I''ll have to do to seed,'' Eren felt as if his vision for the future had been unblurred as he thought of these things. *** "Haah. Forget it Reen dear. You can''t do it." Eren said while waving off his hand as if he was swatting down a fly. He had been waiting for Reen to cultivate a sense of anger directed at him in her mind. But so far he got a big fat zero on his spectral screen. He stopped his experiments and slowly walked over to his bed andy down, looking at the ceiling with nk expression. "Hey! Don''t write me off like that, Erni. I CAN get angry at you, you know. I I just need some time," Reen said in protest. But by the time she decided to try seriously for the second time, Eren had already closed his eyes. "Aaah. Wait for me," Reen said. In the next moment, she disappeared from her position and appeared right over Eren''s chest in her slime-like form. Reen couldn''t sleep like the rest of the living beings. However, she decided to follow the ritual nheless- the ritual Eren and she had between them when she was nothing but a slime-type demon beast. Chapter 1717 Journey to the West Chapter 1717 Journey to the West ??1717 Journey to the West "Hm? It''s a pleasant surprise, I must say. What brings you here, Kayara?" Eren greeted an unexpected visitor in his carriage. The guest turned out to be Kayara, with whom he had coborated to eliminate demonic threats in the regions around Brol. Kayara''s presence caught Eren off guard, considering they were no longer in Ishgaar''s temple territory. Moreover, Archpriest Jivem, Akel, or Kayara herself hadn''t hinted at her joining Eren on his travels. A week had passed since Eren departed from Brol, heading west towards the Aksar Kingdom, where the Kaaysaayan''s Demon yer Corps headquarters awaited. He was only a few days away from entering the borders of Aksar Kingdom He was in a remote region far from Brol. The nearest town was a few miles ahead where he along with his fellow travelers would rest before continuing their journey ahead. Unlike Anfang, Labh Salem''s world had fewer areas imed by wild mana beasts, making travel between states rtively less perilouspared to Anfang. However, it didn''t mean Labh Salem''s journeys were trouble-free. The risks often involved encounters with demonic cults or followers of bloodthirsty gods seeking sacrifices. People in Labh Salem preferred group travel with merchant and mercenary caravans to ensure safety. Eren, too, was part of a caravan heading to the Aksar kingdom. Safety was paramount, and he didn''t want to attract unnecessary trouble by traveling alone, having learned firsthand the challenges of solo travel in Anfang. He had no intention of inviting Labh Salem''s version of troubles to seek him out. "Hehe. Remember what you said thest time we met? Well, I decided to join you, Eren." Kayara remarked with a smile as she boarded Eren''s carriage. The carriage started moving again as she boarded and the journey to the nearest town was resumed. It seemed that Kayara was able to join the caravan easily without many hurdles after she let her association with the Ishgaar''s temple be known. iming a seat opposite him, she continued. "I''m also trying my luck with the Kaaysaayan''s Demon yer Corps. Who knows, it might have something more to offer someone like me." Perplexed, Eren turned to Reen in his mind and asked, ''Um what did I say to herst time?'' Despite his smile and wee, the details of their conversation during theirst encounter on a co-op mission to eradicate demonic entities in Brol eluded him. ''Don''t ask me. I don''t pay attention to every conversation you have with sleazy girls.'' Reen replied honestly. It seemed that she was not particrly a fan of Kayara. Even though she was not a demon beast anymore, the animal instincts Reen had as one were still with her. And the same animal instincts told Reen that Kayara was notpletely honest with Eren whenever the two met. Still, Kayara hadn''t done anything wrong to Eren. So there was no need for her to take action. As much protective of Eren she was, Reen trusted Eren and his judgment. As a special Elder Seed artifact, Reen could switch her consciousness on and off at will, which was kinda simr to sleeping but not quite so. She opted to disengage, leaving Eren to handle his unexpected guest on his own. With auburn hair flowing like a burnished copper river down her shoulders and captivating red eyes holding the warmth of flickering embers, Kayara exuded an air of allure. Her olive skin, wless and radiant, entuated her attractive features, framed by a sharp nose that added elegance to her countenance. Dressed in practical light leather armor and dark brown trousers, she maintained her perfect feminine curves while boasting a tall stature. Ready for travel, this ensemble added an air of practicality to her grace. "After leaving Brol, I took some time to mull over my future," Kayara shared with Eren, her gaze fixed on the scenery outside the carriage window, her voice carrying a sense of contemtion. "It felt like Brol lost its charm without you, Eren. So, I sought permission from Archpriest Jivem and temporarily set aside my services to the temple. Instead, I''ve decided to pursue bing a genuine Demon yer," she exined, turning her charming eyes towards Eren. Both Eren and Kayara, being A-Ranked entities, weren''t required to engage in frontlinebat for unexpected hurdles faced by the caravan. Reserved for situations beyond the capabilities of lower-ranked entities, Eren, Kayara, and their powerful counterparts were free to converse without concern for travel-rted issues. As A-Ranked entities, Eren and Kayara could leisurely recline in their luxurious, magically enhanced carriages, serving as formidable deterrents to potential threats. With a mere snap of his fingers, he could transform the carriage''s interior into a premium suite. Interestingly, he didn''t need to tap into his own space-element attainments or spells for this feat. The carriage itself boasted a magical feature, an item-specific Skill inherent to the carriage, essible through Menaka''s Mesh. Eren could ess this feature through his Spectral Screen. Throughout his more than a week of travel, Eren had stepped out of the carriage only once to confront an A-Ranked demonic entity. Unfortunately, a few lower-ranked entities from his caravan perished in the ensuing conflict. Nevertheless, Eren effortlessly handled the situation, emerging practically unscathed. He swiftly neutralized the threat, leaving the aftermath for hispanions to manage. Even in Labh Salem, Eren was no longer a small fry contending with D-Ranked entities and their lesser counterparts. He didn''t need to personally engage with fanatical followers, highly motivated by their faith or substance abuse, or both. "Yeah? Well I''m d you decided to join me." Eren replied, a smile gracing his face. His initial attempts to win over Kayara had been part of his quest forpanionship in Labh Salem. However, their paths diverged as they became entangled in their individual assignments over the past five months. Eren never anticipated that his earlier unsessful endeavors would yield unexpected results after he had resigned to moving forward. Yet, a surprising revtion shed across his spectral screen, leaving him genuinely taken aback. [ Kayara holds feelings of anger towards you. You have earned 20 Origin Force Points ] Chapter 1718 Kayaras Invitation Chapter 1718 Kayara''s Invitation ??1718 Kayara''s Invitation [ Kayara holds feelings of anger towards you. You have earned 20 Origin Force Points ] Eren was taken aback by the substantial number of Origin Force Points he acquired from Kayara''s directed anger. It dawned on him that her ire extended beyond mere disappointment over his abandoned attempts at romantic persuasion. Her frustration wasn''t triggered by his departure without notice, nor by his solo resolution of the den, reaping all the rewards for himself. The umtion of 20 Origin Force Points hinted at a more profound reason for her resentment. In the preceding week, Eren had unraveled the function tied to his divinity. This unique demi-god attribute enabled him to amass Origin Force Points from individuals harboring emotions linked to the seven sins in their hearts. Emotions they direct at him. Even after figuring out how the new function worked, Eren decided to y it safe and didn''t do anything. He had temporarily discarded the idea of artificially cultivating emotions in someone''s heart before harvesting them. Eren wanted to contact Goddess Menaka once again before he made use of the function to its fullest. He wanted to use this function in a way that no god or demi-god had ever used before. Eren was sure that Goddess Menaka would agree to his proposal after seeing the potential profits she could earn from it. As fast as he understood about her, the goddess was a pure capitalist with her divinity rooted in the act of business. She was bound by her very own divinity to ept his proposal. He just needed to make sure that he pitched the proposal the right way. He would be able to keep himself safe while exposing himself to the rest of the world as the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline if everything went ording to his way. His enemies wouldn''t be able to touch him even when he actively tried to spread his faith in Labh Salem. Of course, Eren had bigger ns in ce that would allow him to exceed the boundaries of the world as well. With the right steps, he could also make use of his home world, the world which was traditionallybeled as the Land of the Faithless. But that woulde after he made sure that his Origin Force Points harvesting went smoothly in his current world. *** ''Well, Reen was right. Something''s up. This woman is smiling at me with all her pent-up anger in her mind. Gotta say she is a brilliant actor, as good as me even. I probably wouldn''t have noticed her state if it wasn''t for this prompt,'' Eren thought to himself as he kept on chatting with Kayara. The two started conversing casually as the carriage kept on moving. Eren was not sure why Kayara was so angry at him. He had not done anything to upset her. Even the fact that he had kept her away from the demonic den raid was a logic-driven decision based on their circumstances of that time. He was sure that Kayara wasn''t stupid to not see the potential repercussions if he had gotten her onboard the raid. Still, Eren didn''t let Kayara know that he was aware of her state. He chatted with her normally, enabling her to keep on the act. In any case, the seamless harvesting of the Origin Force Points was always a wee scenario for him. *** Early evening painted the sky with shades of light golden hues. The caravan chose to rest in the quaint town of Shemar instead of hasting the journey ahead. Traveling at night was not a wise choice no matter which world it was. Eren liked the rest spot the caravan had chosen for itself. He couldn''t help admiring the town''s subtle charm as he talked with a metaphorical time-bomb he had weed aboard his carriage. Nestled between rolling hills and surrounded by a lush forest, Shemar exuded an inviting charm that weed weary travelers. The town''s entrance was marked by a sturdy wooden gate adorned with intricate carvings depicting scenes of mythical creatures and ancient heroes. Yellow banners, embroidered with symbols of a major faith followed by the townsfolk, fluttered in the gentle breeze. As the caravan ventured deeper into Shemar, Eren and the rest found themselves traversing cobbled streets lined with shops and stalls. Colorful awnings stretched overhead, providing shade and a vibrant contrast to the stone facades of the buildings. The architecture spoke of a blend of magical elegance and mortal practicality, showcasing the harmonious coexistence of people of different backgrounds. The market square bustled with activity. Merchants peddled items integrated with some minor Skills, exotic spices, handcrafted jewelry, and magical trinkets. A fountain adorned with sculptures of witches, warlocks, Demon yers, and mythical creatures stood at the center, offering a refreshing respite for both locals and visitors alike. Shemar''s inn, known as the Celestial Haven, beckoned with its warm lights and weing ambiance. The exterior boasted ivy-covered walls, and the entrance was nked by topiaries shaped like fantastical creatures. Inside, themon room featured a roaring firece, plush seating, and a lively atmosphere created by theughter and chatter of patrons. Eren and Kayara both kept each otherpany as they mingled with their fellow travelers, discussing the ns for the journey up ahead. The town''s enchanting garden, located at the heart of Shemar, served as a serene retreat. Illuminated by mystical bluenterns, the garden boasted a mesmerizing array of flowers, herbs, and ancient trees. A gazebo at the center provided a perfect spot for Tantra practice or quiet contemtion. Shemar''s residents greeted the caravan with genuine hospitality. The town''s leaders, a council of elders from different races, extended their wee and offered assistance if needed. As Eren''s caravan settled in Shemar for the night, the town''s magical charm embraced them, promising a peaceful respite before the journey continued. Eren inquired, "Any ns for the night?" as he and Kayara, finding themselves alone in thete hours, engaged in conversation. Their drinks, a local brew best savored slowly, were already halfway consumed. A yful look in her eyes, Kayara responded, "well I wanna get a good night''s sleep," she paused for a bit before adding further. "Unless, of course, you''re thinking of joining me in my room." Chapter 1719 Mixed Signals P1*

Chapter 1719 Mixed Signals P1*

?1719 Mixed Signals P1* Kayara''s assigned inn room was apt for someone of her status. The walls adorned with carvings depicting mythical hound-like creatures seemed toe alive under the gentle glow of enchanted sconces. Of course, the reason such carvings existed in the inn was because it was under the influence of a faith that worshiped that hound-like creature. The entire region was regted by the followers of a beast god. The wooden furniture of Kayara''s room, meticulously carved with intricate patterns, exuded an air of craftsmanship beyond mortal skill. Arge canopy bed dominated the center of the room, its velvet curtains cascading like a waterfall of rich burgundy. Therge and plushy bed itself appeared to have been charmed for the perfect night''s rest. Soft cushions and luxurious linenspleted the inviting allure. A quaint writing desk nestled near the window bathed in the silvery light of Labh Salem''s quatern moons, seemed to beckon creative contemtion. The view from the window revealed a serene garden illuminated by magical orbs, casting an ethereal glow upon the flowers and winding paths. The air carried a hint ofvender, a soothing fragrance that permeated the room as if nature itself conspired with magic to ensure a peaceful rest. Rest, however, was not a priority for the room''s two upants. "Mhhhh!" A sensuous moan escaped Kayara''s lips as she felt Eren kissing her neck. She could feel his hot breaths on her bare skin. The blood rushed to the spots he kissed and bit on, giving her the red spots on her neck. [ Kayara holds feelings of anger towards you. You have earned 10 Origin Force Points ] [ Kayara holds feelings of lust. You have earned 8 Origin Force Points ] [ Kayara holds feelings of envy. You have earned 1 Origin Force Points ] [ Kayara holds feelings of greed. You have earned 1 Origin Force Points ] ''You gotta be kidding me. She''s still mad at me?'' Eren couldn''t believe that the woman in his arms was still angry at him for something he didn''t know. The only good news was her anger had lessened a bit. She also felt some other strong emotions for him, which he saw as a small win. By now, Eren had taken off his tunic, and Kayara followed suit. They were both bare from the waist up, feeling each other''s warmth. They used their hands to explore each other''s bodies, getting in sync with each other''s rhythm. "Hmmmmm!" Another groan escaped Kayara''s lips and reverberated into her body as Eren''s tongue sought entry, dueling with hers, stroking her teeth,pping up every breath. Her remaining clothes inched up her thighs and the hard length of his erect member burned through the clothes separating them. "Ooooh! Ereeeen!" Kayara moved her hips, rubbing against him, sending tingles of electricity darting through her wet mound. She soaked her flimsy panties at the thought of stripping away thosest barriers. She was angry at Eren for some reason only she knew. But that didn''t stop her from giving it her all in the carnal act. She was d that she was chosen for this specific mission. She wanted to feel Eren inside of her. She wanted him to give her the pleasure she had been craving for so long before she could start her original n. "Kayara" Eren''s voice slurred ever so slightly between kisses and licks as their mouths moved together. It was like some sloppy wet swordy. Or a form of dancing, tongues waltzing together, circling each other. "Kayara" Eren seemed even more into the act than Kayara was. He had supposedly let his guard down, giving Kayara all the confidence she needed to proceed further in her act. Eren leaned his head back, fingers fisting in Kayara''s hair, trapping her when she would have followed anyway. His chest rose and fell. His excitement fueled her own. "Sweetheart, I swear to Ishgaar, you''re so beautiful." The butcher''s murmur was low and throaty. Kayara felt her own body heating up to Eren''s touches. She was starting to forget the real reason she was with Eren. She felt as if her previous mission was not important anymore. "I I didn''t know you were so religious" Kayara managed to reply in between her breaths. "I am not. But right now, I am ready to follow ummmm a religion that worships you, my dear," Eren spoke his sweet nothings in Kayara''s ears with a voice mixed inmitment and conviction. ''This guy I underestimated him He he is good too good.'' Kayara thought to herself. She couldn''t respond to Eren''spliment right away in a verbal manner. Instead, she responded by pressing her soft body against his hard muscles even harder than before. The auburn-haired woman looked into Eren''s emerald green eyes and felt as if her consciousness would get sucked into them if she stared for a bit longer. The thought was tempting as she wanted him to make her forget everything about her and the baggage she carried. Yet, she tried to stay on course by reverting her gaze to his chiseled body visible under the moonlight seeping through the open windows. "You are mine now, you know," Eren spoke in a voiceced with authority and vigor. The kind of authority that couldn''t be questioned. Would Eren sound that hoarse when they were naked and rolling together? Kayara shuddered, one aching tangle of desperation. At this point, she could feel that Eren was not a normal Grand Knight. He would have lost his mind by being with her by now if he was. And yet, he could still keep his consciousness intact. The carnal pleasure he was feeling with her didn''t make him lose sense of himself. The two didn''t know when they were upying Kayara''s plush bed that had been waiting on them for quite some time. Their bodies stayed glued to each other as they continued what they were doing on a new tform. Kayara''s hands ttened against Eren''s chest, the pounding of his heart a fast rhythmic cadence beneath her questing fingers. === AN: Thank you Drin for the castle. :) Chapter 1720 Mixed Signals P2* Chapter 1720 Mixed Signals P2* ??1720 Mixed Signals P2* ''I I don''t think I ever felt this way.'' Kayara murmured. She had joined the caravan to spend time with Eren. However, the intentions behind that act werepletely different. She had tried to rationalize her thoughts. But only now did she understand how difficult it was to carry out the task she had been given. She would have let go of things and enjoyed her time with Eren if she didn''t have the "shackles" ced on her. Kayara wanted to feel his skin, to see his bodypletely, to touch and feel every inch of him with her hands and her mouth. Thus, she decided to pleasure herself first before doing anything else with Eren. The mission she was handed could be carried out after she had enough of Eren. After she got the ever-consuming lust burning her consciousness out of her system. Erenidfortably on his back and allowed Kayara to take charge. Thetter used the freedom she had been given by her partner well, kissing him and his body as she pinned him down on her bed. Her hands explored his chest and her tongue tasted his neck. She even sucked on his man-nipples in heat before heading downwards. Snap! Kayara snapped her fingers and in the next moment, Eren found himselfpletely naked. The bluish moonlight bounced off his muscr and lean body, making hime across as a perfect specimen of male beauty. ''Oh Interesting! She likes giving head. I am ready to see where this goes now,'' Eren thought to himself as he saw Kayara taking his dick in her hands, wrapping her fingers around it as she looked at him with yful and lustful expressions. Eren was very confident even though he knew Kayara had certain ns for him. He remembered Alephee''s advice just fine. But the following advice didn''t mean he should deny himself the pleasures of the flesh. It had been more than five months since he hadnded in Labh Salem anyway. This was his first night to let loose and taste the "vors" of this new world. He wanted this experience to be as desirable as possible. "Ummmmm!" Kayara felt the hot head of Eren''s cock bump against her cheek and she opened her mouth slightly, easing into the act before gradually taking control. The salty intrusion that opened her jaw surprisingly didn''t trigger her gag reflex. It was as if Eren''s cock somehow had a mind of its own as it evaded her esophagus. Kayara let Eren enter her mouth at his pace, feeling the heat of his hot rod run over her tongue, and back, towards her tonsils. The auburn-haired woman swallowed expertly, feeling the secret delight she always did when she was able to deep- throat her lovers in the past. Kayara felt the thick head of Eren''s erection slip down her throat. When her nose made contact with his body, she knew he waspletely inside her. "Hmmmmm!" Kayara''s mouth and her throat were full of Eren. She swallowed around the mass inside her, feeling every little bit of him. "Good Gooood. That''s a good girl. Hmmmmm!" Eren hissed in pleasure as Kayara started giving him proper head. He began to move himself inside her mouth while grabbing her head with both his hands from either side. "Hmmmm!" Kayara felt her sex tremble and open in response to Eren fucking her mouth. She licked the shaft and sucked onto the mushroom-like penial head, tasting the bitter taste of his pre - cum and sweat. Eren''s hand was on her head, and despite herck of vision, she felt blissful and only mildly unsatisfied. What she wished for was for the trusting cock to leave her throat and enter her wet cunt instead. ''Damn I I am close.'' Eren gripped Kayara''s head harder as he started thrusting his rod inside her mouth. He could hear the choking sounds she made. He could feel Kayara was having a hard time adjusting to his rapid movements inside her. But at this point, he decided to be selfish. "Hmmmmm!" Eren released his load deep inside Kayara''s throat as he reached his climax. He practically ran to the summit without caring about his fellow traveler. He didn''t look back and just finished his journey as quickly as he could. "Aaaaaah," Eren took a deep breath as he looked down to look at Kayara''s red face. "Keke. Forgive me for being a "quick" shooter tonight. It''s been a long timeing," he chuckled as he gave her an honest reason why he came so fast. ''This man is not least bit ashamed of what he has done,'' Kayara thought to herself as she found her head still skewered by Eren''s rod. She couldn''t believe that a Grand Knight couldn''t hold himself up and finish within a minute. She was more amazed by the fact that Eren could treat it as something natural, not ashamed of the way he prioritized his pleasure. ''Damn. I must be going mad. I find this even more appealing than a mansting longer,'' Kayara couldn''t help looking at Eren with admiration and passion. But then it dawned on her. The man''s rod was still as hard as it was before his release, which meant she could keep on doing what she wanted despite the supposed pause. Only now did Kayara realize where Eren''s confidence came from. The man could retain his erection even after his release. This wasn''t something new to the people of Labh Salem. That too without any obvious external help. However, this kind of ability almost always meant that the people who could do this were associated with the Demon Prince of Lust in some way or using the"blessings" rted to such demonic entities. ''Is he is he a demon?'' Kayara asked herself. It could exin a lot of things about Eren if her assumption was true. The fact that he could clear an entire den of demons by himself could also be exined. Eren withdrew with a shudder from Kayara''s mouth, leaving saliva and cum filling her mouth, which she promptly swallowed, tasting the man she had suddenly started to desire so much. Chapter 1721 Tantric Sex P1* Chapter 1721 Tantric Sex P1* ??1721 Tantric Sex P1* "Aaaaah!" Pleasure stung Kayara''s erect nipples as Eren started twisting them between his fingers. She was lying down on her back, all naked, writhing in passion under Eren. She weed his exploration, holding the back of his head with her hand as her fingers ran through his hair. He kneaded her creamy mounds to his heart''s content, making the blue veins visible under her supple skin, which was turning red under his "pressing" needs. Her wet cave dripped with desire, pulsing to be touched. It was as if an excited storm was tickling her stomach from within. She was scared by how much she wanted Eren to satisfy her. Her carnal needs were taking precedence over her mission. ''I I won''t be able to keep to my senses if this goes on. I I have to start now,'' Kayara thought to herself. With some difficulty, she prodded her head and looked at Eren with lustful expressions before speaking up. "Eren do Do you want to try something different than usual?" she asked Eren in a voiceced with temptation and desire. Thetter seemed to bepletely in control of his senses after his first release. Eren stopped what he was doing because of Kayara''s sudden query. He raised his eyebrows, "what do you have in mind?" he asked while looking at Kayara with an inquisitive look. "There''s this Tantra I learned that can enhance our pleasure," she said while pulling Eren over him. She kissed him passionately before rolling to her side, getting on top of him before speaking further. "To be honest, I don''t want to go back to Ishgaar''s temple anymore. Not when I got my hands on something really special," she said while activating her Tantra. In the next moments, a bunch of runes were made visible all over her body. The demonic runes were rted to the Sin of Lust. "This." Eren pretended to act surprised. His acting skills were wless as ever, especially because he had prepared himself for Kayara''s surprise revtion. "Surprised?" Kayara chuckled before adding further. "Don''t be. We all have our secrets to keep, don''t we, Eren?" she asked yfully. "Hahaha," Eren responded with a lightughter of his own. "Certainly," he said while resting his head over the folded arms. "I know we have a lot to talk about," Kayara added further. "But let''s not get intoplicated stuff tonight. We''ll answer each other''s questions tomorrow. Tonight, however, you will follow my lead." she said more as amand than a question. "Yes, m''am" Eren replied, letting Kayara take control over their session. Eren was a bit impatient to know what Kayara had nned for him. So he didn''t want to ask her unnecessary questions before that either. The auburn-haired woman weaved her hands together with Eren''s before lowering herself to kiss him. She smooched him passionately, inserting her tongue while rubbing her body all over him. "Al alright. He here''s what you need to know about the basics of what we are about to do." Kayara exined the new Tantra that she had obtained and its benefits. The Tantra she had could merge their neural pathways, allowing them to feel what the other was feeling simultaneously. Kayara''s new Tantra would also allow her to alter her perspectives limited only by her imagination. She could imagine herself anywhere and under any circumstances she wanted. The imagination woulde to life for the time being as long as the Tantra was active. Since Eren shared his senses with Kayara, he would be part of Kayara''s illusory world as well. He would see and feel the same illusion she would feel, allowing him to immerse himself in Kayara''s dream world. This Tantra was supposed to benefit both Kayara and Eren as they felt extreme bliss together. The continuous practice of this Tantra was supposed to enhance the Spiritual Force of both the parties involved in the session. This Tantra was one of the rarest non-conflict Tantra that could be used by anyone. It could be practiced as a supplementary Tantra without having to discard one''s default Tantra. Eren hade to realize that Kayara''s Tantra obviously had demonic origins. It wasn''t something that could be taught to her by Ishgaar''s temple. It meant that she had obtained this Tantra only recently. This Tantra could be used by anyone because it did not affect one''s soul and Spiritual Force directly. Instead, it used Mantra and Yantra as a way to trigger its effects on the users. Yantra was a device or an item that one could use to practice a Tantra without binding one''s soul to it. The binding rted to the Tantra was done on the Yantra itself. The users of the non- conflict Tantra were only supposed to link their consciousness with the Yantra to make use of the Tantra without getting bound by its supposed rituals. A Mantra was a chant that one could use to link their consciousness to the Yantra. A Mantra could be repeated constantly or intermittently depending upon the strength of the link one had established with the Yantra. The Tantra was non-conflict in nature due to the use of a Yantra. However, it would obviously leave behind traces of infernal energy on one''s soul. A special cleaning ritual was needed to get rid of such traces. Without such cleansing, the entities rted to gods would have trouble activating their Skills rted to their god''s Skill Tree. The Tantra Kayara had found was indeed special. It was rare even among the most staunch followers of Asmodeus. Usually, only one of the most top-tier Lust demons would have it. And they would use this Tantra without the use of a Yantra, allowing the Lust Mana to affect their body and souls. Ishgaar''s divinity wasn''t rted to celibacy. As such, the temple didn''t prohibit anyone from exploring their fleshly desires. However, it drew a clear line when it came to anything demonic. Someone like Jivem Kaulsen would be able to identify Kayara''s malpractice easily if she came in contact with him. Jivem was bound to be pissed at Kayara if she used such external factors to increase her Spiritual Force and progress further in her Path. Thus, Kayara decided to leave Ishgaar''s temple for the time being and enter Kaaysaayan''s Demon yer Corps. It was said that it was okay for the members of the Corps to use demonic powers as long as they used them to hunt other demons. Kaaysaayan''s Demon yer Corps was a neutral organization funded by the Kaaysaayan empire. As such, it did not care who worked under its umbre as long as it got the results it wanted from them. Kayara''s logic was simple. She would use this Tantra to increase her Spiritual Force by leaps and bounds without having to worry about restrictions from Ishgaar''s temple. The Corps would allow her to get the resources she wanted and Eren would serve as her ideal Tantra partner. At least this was what Kayara had told Eren while indulging in a forey with him. She brought out the Yantra, which was nothing but an Array Disk. She threw the disk in one corner of the room after activating it. She had already linked her Spiritual Sense with the disk because of which demonic runes had appeared all over her body in the form of light blue tattoo lines. While chanting a special Mantra, she asked Eren to follow her lead. Eren did what was asked of him. He sent his Spiritual Sense into the Array Disk, linking his consciousness with it. He then started chanting the Mantra that Kayara gave him. It didn''t take long for the demonic runes to appear all over Eren''s body as well. *** The Tantra was in full effect. Eren suddenly found himself levitating aimlessly in the void. There were stars and nts cosmic distance away from him. He felt as if not only his body but also his soul was exposed to the astral energy he was feeling all around him. "What What is this ce?" Amazed, Eren asked the only person who was with him at this mysterious ce. Kayara was still sitting atop his waist, her legs stretched to either side. Her naked form somehow looked even more beautiful and tempting to Eren. "This this is what heaven looks like, my dear," Kayara said confidently as she kept on kissing Eren all over his body. Eren''s hands wrapped around Kayara, cupping her left breast. His agile thumb stroked her hardened nipples. The light brown bud reacted, her areing alive with soft tingles. Eren''s fingers and his palm took on the job of a masseuse. A shudder coursed through Kayara''s body as she felt Eren'' erect member between her legs. She could feel the sexual high he was feeling and vice versa. As such, she felt that her senses were being overridden by pleasure and passionbined to form something entirely different. Instinctively, Kayara slipped her hand down. She shifted so that her mons brushed his hot rod, which stood hardened between her legs. Grasping him, she gently ran her finger along its thick vein to the head. Chapter 1722 Tantric Sex P2* Chapter 1722 Tantric Sex P2* ??1722 Tantric Sex P2* Kayara toyed with the penile tip, her touch soft and encouraging. She brought him to her snatch, rubbing his rod along her folds like a tool. Her clit inmed, bursting from a small spark into mes. Her vaginal cavity pulsed, expanding one moment and contracting the next, eager for fulfillment. She could feel what Eren was feeling to some extent, the highs and lows of his ecstasy mixed with her own. The effects of Tantra had brought them together, their soul entwined due to the special circumstances it created. "Oooooof!" Kayara groaned in pleasure as she weed the waves of pleasure to hit her soul. She changed her position swiftly, taking the initiative to make this act a sess in her books. After all, she would get what she wanted only when she was sessful in her ritual. Kayara arched her body, pressing her back against Eren''s chest. With his other arm, thetter gripped her waist. He held the auburn-haired woman against him, the head of his dick teasing her lips. "I I can''t wait any longer," Eren said before biting Kayara''s left earlobe. He felt the highs she was feeling at the time and decided to take things to their desired destination. Slowly he pressed inside Kayara, allowing her time to amodate him. Her vaginal muscles stretched for his pulsating shaft, a slight sting slicing through them before they rxed. Once he was buried inside her, Eren slowly pumped in and out, his steady plunges rubbing an ultra-sensitive spot deep within her. "Ohhhh yesssss!" His fingers rubbed Kayara''s clit. The touch sent her cascading into an orgasm, her pussy shuddering with pleasure. "That''s that''s the spot." Eren slowed, rotating his hips in circles. He started ramming into her eventually, hard and fast. The concepts of time and space became diluted for both of them as they enjoyed each other''spany under the influence of Tantra-driven sex. Tingles crawled through Kayara and her loins red. "Oh yeahhhhhhh," she couldn''t help but be vocal about her situation. With the figment of her imagination, she produced a ss of wine in her free hand. She took arge gulp before offering it to Eren. all while riding Eren''s dick to perfection. ''This illusion is more real-like than reality itself,'' Eren thought to himself as he took hold of the wine ss. Without a dy, he emptied the ss before throwing it away. The liquid burned through his stomach, almost making him assume that he had really drunk the wine that was nothing but Kayara''s imagination. The cosmic illusion soon started blurring into nothingness as Kayara rode on Eren''s dick. She couldn''t control her thoughts as they rushed through her mind, her imagination going wild. The starlight around the couple started intensifying as they both felt themselves getting closer to their respective orgasms. ''This is the finest form of reverse-style dick-riding I have ever experienced in my life,'' Eren thought to himself as he enjoyed the sensation he was feeling. There was a part of him that was immersed in Kayara''s Tantra-driven illusion. However, he could still hold on to his awareness without letting her know. Kayara swayed her hips, She couldn''t control her thoughts as they rushed through her mind, her imagination going wild. And in the next moment, she and Eren both could hear the sound of a very slow and passionate music bande to life somewhere. While prating her, Eren inserted two fingers deep into her snatch, which surprised her and made her wince in a cocktail of emotions. Yet, Eren didn''t back down. He swirled his dipped fingers around, then removed them. He slipped them into her rear opening and pressed deep inside her. He thrust them in and out, opening her back entrance. White lights of pleasure sparked in Kayara''s vision, ecstasy swamping her body. "I I have I have to say I''m surprised. You''re so very ready for me," Eren said while driving his fingers in and out of her anal opening. All while prating her with his dick. "Yessssss. Yesssss You fuck me, Eren fuck me in the ass" she answered, wishing he''d get on with it instead of torturing her with words. She wanted less talk and more action even when it came at the cost of Eren defiling her virgin ass. "Good good girl," Eren''s fingers slipped free. The butcher grasped Kayara''s hips with one hand and brought his other hand around to y with her clit. His two fingers elongated abnormally and found their way inside her dripping cunt. Eren had already taken his hard member out of Kayara''s wet folds because he was about to be given a different responsibility. The head of his cock slid along her wet folds, then pressed into her anus, pushing into her. Eren entered her very slowly, allowing the auburn-haired woman''s body time to adjust to his size. When his head was a couple of inches inside her, Eren slowly rotated within her. "Aaaaaaah! Yessssss!" Eren''s dual-pronged campaign was just too much to handle for Kayara. She could feel Eren''s fingers deep inside her vaginal tube, touching the very limits of her depth. She could feel his dick viting her anus, feeling the heat it was radiating deep within her. All this while her pink button getting fiddled by his thumb. "Ereeeeeeeeeeeen!" Ecstasy shot through Kayara. Waves of orgasm threatened to burst from her as he fingered her pussy, fucked her in the ass, and toyed with her clit. The pressure on the tiny pink nub sent sparks through her body. Kayara couldn''t take it. She "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Kayara''s body exploded from the heights it rode on, her snatch convulsing as she came. She screamed out, moaning and shuddering as her entire body shook in an unprecedented form of pleasure. A secondter, Eren''s hot seed filled her as he shook inside her rectum. ''Hmm. This should do it. Now let me see what she is really up to,'' Eren thought to himself as he prepared himself for Kayara''s next move. Chapter 1723 Unique Skill: Winged Monarch of Lust Chapter 1723 Unique Skill: Winged Monarch of Lust ??1723 Unique Skill: Winged Monarch of Lust [ Unique Skill: Winged Monarch of Lust Derived from the Greater Skill Asmodeus'' BlessingC Enving Cocoon of Lust, the Winged Monarch of Lust deploys the user''s Spiritual Force into the target''s vulnerable soul. This process involves skill-queuing rted to Spiritual Force insertion, injectingrva-like Spiritual Force packets into the exposed soul. Enhanced effects are achieved whenbined with apatible set of Tantra, Mantra, and Yantra. Therva-like packets, fueled by Lust Mana from both user and target, hatch within the target''s soul, creating distinct spiritual entities. These entities integrate with the target''s soul, offering a means of control over their actions. Notably, the Winged Monarch of Lust operates across any distance, enabling users to observe targets through the senses of the spiritual entities. Activation does not deplete the user or target mana. Instead, it feeds on the target''s Spiritual Force, growing stronger over time. The effects are permanent, with attempts to remove the Monarch risking harm to the target''s soul. The user faces minimal repercussions, regardless of the Unique Skill''s active status. Skill-queuing synchronicity: 97% Compatible Tantra synchronicity: 95% Compatible Mantra synchronicity: 92% Compatible Yantra synchronicity: 86% Comption Status: Unique Skill execution possible with a 97% sess rate. No potential repercussions to the user. Unique Skill Effect: Immediate Unique Skill Immediate Activation: Possible. Unique Skill Dyed Activation (Maximum Dy Period: 2 Days): Possible (Sess rate subject to change in this case) Proceed? Yes / No ] *** "Haaah Give give me a moment to catch my breath," Kayara pushed Eren away andid t on the bed, her butt exposed for Eren to feast his eyes on. "Kekeke. Whatever you say, dear," Eren responded while lying beside her. He pped her exposed and mushy tushy, making it vibrate like jelly. The details rted to Kayara''s Unique Skill kept shing on her Spectral Screen as she tried to stabilize her mind from the sexual euphoria she had just experienced. For a moment or two, she couldn''t focus on anything in her mind. It could be said that she would have had a hard time telling her own name if someone were to ask her at this moment. Thus, she first stabilized her mind before focusing on theption status of her Unique Skill. ''Haah! 97 percent sess rate with no repercussions. I I finally did it. I can finally use Winged Monarch on this bastard. Proceed. Proceed damn it.'' Kayara selected the immediate activation of the Unique Skill. She watched with fascination as the Skill effects immediately started appearing all over Eren''s body. "Hm? What what is going on?" Eren watched with expressions of shock and rm painted across his face as the demonic runes that had previously appeared all over his body made themselves known once again before altering their state. The runes started converging at specific points all across his body before formingrva-like tattoos. As soon as theserva-like tattoos appeared on Eren''s body, he felt that his Spiritual Force was getting sucked dry by them at a very rapid rate. And he couldn''t do anything to prevent this from happening. "What. What did you do to me?" Eren started to panic as therva kept consuming his Spiritual Force. He could feel it in his soul that theservae were alive in some manner and were about to get hatched. He tried to move away from Kayara in a hurry. But it was no use. He felt as if he had lost strength in his limbs. He couldn''t even ess his mana core as therva''s hatching process kept interfering with his mana circuits. "You I''m afraid you are toote to change anything, my sweetheart," Kayara gave Eren a straight smile as she watched her Unique Skill''s effects take ce on Eren''s being. Even though she was forced to change her ns by a lot, the auburn-haired woman was content with the fact that she would be able to control Eren without any worries from this moment on. Soon, the cocoons hatched and transformed into full-fledged butterflies. These butterflies appeared all over Eren''s body in the form of runic details. They then got rid of their meta-state and manifested themselves in spiritual forms, spreading their wings and flying near Eren''s body freely. The butterflies had spiritual bodies and appeared to have many colors all at once. The multiyered light they exuded brightened the whole room as if they were nothing but fancy fireflies. Kayara could feel a unique connection to these butterflies thanks to the fact that it was her Unique Skill that had caused their birth. On the other hand, Eren instinctively realized that they were the creatures that had been created to control him. Or more likeC his soul. "What are these creepy fuckers? What the fuck are you up to, Kayara?" Eren asked angrily as tongues of purple lightning and orange mes appeared around his naked form. He tried to hurt these butterflies using the Elemental Attainments he had. However, it seemed that the use of mana did not affect the spiritual entities. "Hehehe. Spirits can''t be killed using mana, you fool. At least not the way you are trying," Kayara looked at Eren with a mixture of amusement and anger as she spoke further. "I first thought that you were trying to swindle Ishgaar''s temple by acting as the ally of the Temrs," Kayara said as she watched Eren struggle with the butterflies. At this point, she had absolute control over Eren''s actions through the Winged Monarch. She couldn''t control Eren''s thoughts and was using her Unique Skill. However, what Eren thought was not important for Kayara in the first ce as long as she could control his actions. With anger in his gaze, Eren turned to Kayara. "What the fuck are you talking about? Release me this instant!" he demanded while trying to take control of his own body. Chapter 1724 A Witch in Hiding Chapter 1724 A Witch in Hiding ??1724 A Witch in Hiding Kayara dismissed Eren''s verbal threats with a determined air, steadily gaining control of the situation. "You know, Eren. When I first heard your story, I thought you were just another swindler trying to exploit Ishgaar''s temple meeting Temrs in Kizamgaar''s ruins, aiding them altruistically, teaming up to confront witches, and, in the end, Priest Hildon risking his life to save you. Your background story was too good to be true, practically wless. Except..." Sitting up on the bed, Kayara tied her ruffled hair into a knot and inspected Eren with a discerning gaze. "Except... I knew Priest Hildon better than Archpriest Jivem. As devoted as he was to God Ishgaar, he wouldn''t risk his life, especially when he could use you as a distraction and shield against the Helenbora coven. Giving you his sword as a memento so that you can get the temple''s help for your contribution? Hehehe. Not his style. Someone like him wouldn''t prioritize another person''s well- being when facing the risk of death," Kayara said, noting Eren''s changing expressions. "You you don''t work for Ishgaar''s temple, do you?" Eren asked with a wary expression, attempting to break free from the paralysis induced by the Winged Monarch of Lust, but it showed no effect. Kayara smiled at Eren, her gaze mixed with a hint of lust as she observed his moonlit form. Resting her head on her raised legs, she met Eren''s gaze. ''So pinning everything on that Priest Hildon guy was a bad idea. Then again, I did not have a better choice than him considering the fact that I only extracted his profile from those wretched witches'' memories. It''s true what they say I guess. Most liese packaged with an expiry date,'' he thought to himself and sighed internally. Kayara liked the fact that Eren had gone silent after she took charge. Earlier, she was afraid of him for some reason. She felt that she was in the presence of a dreadful person who she shouldn''t mess with at all. As such, Eren''s vulnerable state made Kayara feel safer and morefortable. She chuckled before adding further. "Don''t be so rmed that I caught your lies, my dear. Honestly, I might have believed you if I didn''t have extra information the Temrscked. From your facial expressions to your bodynguage, you nailed everything. Traits of a serial liar, I reckon. Goes to show how much of a conniving son of a bitch you are," she said, yfully running her index finger over Eren''s body. Eren stopped struggling and stayed silent after listening to Kayara''s words. He didn''t try to exin things to her or deny the conclusions she had drawn. It was as if he had realized that his lie had been caught and there was no way for him to reverse that. "There was no way you could have survived the Helenbora coven if you had met them," Kayara''s voice turned serious as she spoke. "Because the coven had sent capable witches to expedite our operations in this region. Leesha, my sister, was one of them. Plus, the group was led by uria, one of Witch Helen''s descendants. How could you have encountered them and survived when you didn''t even have Menaka''s Blessing at the time?" Eren opened his eyes wide in surprise when he realized what Kayara''s words implied. "You. you are one of them. You are a witch too?" he asked, expressions of shock and panic painted across his face. "That''s correct," Kayara replied calmly. "When the coven first entered this continent, it took a severe hit. We lost numerous members due to Ishgaar''s Temrs and their allies working together. I felt powerless when the entire system targeted witches for elimination. So, I chose to wait patiently. I manipted demonic activities in the nearby region to escte,pelling Ishgaar''s Temrs'' allies to abandon their temporary alliance and focus on protecting their own parishes." Kayara spoke almost as if she were contemting with herself, narrating the background history of Eren''s encounter with the Helenbora coven. She didn''tprehend why she was sharing this information with Eren, as if her subconscious mind guided her. She detailed to Eren how she utilized the den dwellers to increase their activities near Brol. She exined how she used Rivena to control Zargoth''s actionsthe demonkin in charge of the den,ter killed by Eren in his raid along with Rivena and others. "When the time was right, I decided to act," Kayara confessed. "I ensured that nobody disrupted the demonic ritual the coven was about to conduct in Kizamgaar''s ruins. I led the Temrs on a wild goose chase with fabricated clues about the witches. How did they see through my ruse and locate the coven during the ritual night without informing me? It was peculiar. We utilized all our manpower to make the demonic ritual a sess. Right when we were on the verge of achieving the desired sess, the entire Helenbora coven in Kizamgaar''s ruins went silent. I couldn''t contact anyone." Kayara looked at Eren with a grim expression, narrowing her eyes with a killer gaze before continuing. "A few days after that night, you appeared at my doorstep. You presented your version of the story, which I couldn''t ept or deny. I couldn''t conduct my separate investigation at that time either. I never believed for a second that you killed my sisters. But your timing was too suspicious. So, I decided to see what you were up to. In hindsight, there were so many loopholes in your story. Gah, it''s crazy they believed you. I have to hand it to you; you could really sell your lies well. You should have pursued a career in thievery and swindling. You would have had much more significant sess. Anyway, after a few days, I epted the fact that something had happened to the remaining witches. I thought they had either left Onianum or gone into hiding to save themselves from pursuing forces. Still, the fact that they didn''t even give me a hint was odd." Chapter 1725 Just Another Puppet Chapter 1725 Just Another Puppet ??Kayara took a deep breath and looked outside the window. She felt the cold nightly breeze churning in her lungs as she continued. "Things were returning to normal. I continued my duties as a silent witch while being employed by the enemy. I had years of a head startpared to my sisters, and I used that advantage well. I did an excellent job staying under the radar if I do say so myself. Even Archpriest Jivem couldn''t see through me." Kayara expressed pride in her deeds. "I I get it now," Eren spoke seriously. Some form of understanding dawned on him. "The tricks the den dwellers used to divert you from their activities were just an excuse for you to not take action against them. You instructed your contact to proceed organically. You stayed out of the loop and allowed the demonic entities to act on their own. You fell for their traps willinglyC repeatedly. It could also be possible that you didn''t know what they were nning inside the region to bring out the authenticity in your act. You only used Rivena as your internal contact and stayed hidden from the rest of the den dwellers so they don''t know that you are one of their original backers. Meanwhile, you carried out the missions given to you by the Ishgaar''s temple along with Akel and me so that your cover doesn''t get blown." p! p! p! Kayara began apuding. "I must say, Eren, you catch on quickly to these matters. I had intended to remain dormant within the ranks of Ishgaar''s Temrs until the Helenbora covenpleted their demonic ritual. But that day will nevere because you''ve already killed them, haven''t you?" Kayara asked Eren, her voice dripping with hatred, her eyes reflecting a hint of her killer instinct. "Hmm. When did you find out?" Eren inquired inly, his face neutral. He was confident that Kayara couldn''t have visited his kill site. Even if she did, there was nothing for her to know what had actually transpired there. The world of Labh Salem simply didn''t have Historians. "When you killed the den dwellers all by yourself," Kayara replied honestly. "You don''t even realize what kind of stunt you pulled off, do you? Maybe Archpriest Jivem didn''t realize it, but I do. Not any Grand Knight could clear that den by themselves. I''d go ahead and say that it was downright impossible even if I and Akel were to join you and fight with you as if our lives were on the line. Zargoth, the leader of those useful idiots, alone would have posed a mortal threat to all three of us with his expertise in the body cultivation Path alone. At least that''s how it was supposed to be. But then How did you pull it off all by yourself? Rivena managed to contact me a few moments before her death. She couldn''t use her senses to contact me because they had been robbed from her due to your absurd Skills. But she managed to send me her thoughts. She she told me you could use Greater Skills from Beelzebub''s Skill Tree," Kayara looked at Eren as if to confirm if what she had said was true or not. However, Eren maintained a stoic face, subtly forcing Kayara to continue on her own. "Nobody from the divine faction could do that. And there was not a single person in the demonic faction who could use Beelzebub''s Skill Tree to cast Greater Skills and Unique Skills as if they were nothing. You were a huge anomaly, holding ess to types of Skills that are beyond your status as a Grand Knight. Only someone like you could eradicate all of the Helenbora covennded on this continent the way you did. It didn''t take long for me to figure out what might have happened. I contacted the headquarters of the Helenbora Coven and asked them for guidance. You you know what they told me?" Kayara asked Eren hatefully as if it was his mistake that she had to contact the higher-ups of her coven. Of course, he knew that the question was rhetorical. So he didn''t disturb the auburn-haired witch and allowed her to continue on her own. "Those fucking old hags they told me they wanted to bring you under their fold. Can you believe it? Even after you killed so many of my sisters? They said that someone like you who has ess to such powerful demonic Skills is a potential asset to the Helenbora coven, even if you did end up killing some of our members. They see you as someone who could shake the foundations of the Onianum continent in the future. As such, they they want to invest in you. So I was tasked with this job. They didn''t even allow me to kill you. They just wanted me to get you under my control so that they could control you through me," Kayara said, frustration evident in her voice. The auburn-haired witch pounded her fists on the bed as she continued. "I hate it. I fucking hate it. I hate the fact that I and my sisters were nothing but pawns in the eyes of those old hags. That they all died in vain without achieving anything. Those hags didn''t even allow me to take revenge for the deaths of my sisters. It''s fucking absurd. The divine side is messed up, but the demonic side is no better. It''s all just a fucking game to the higher-ups of both factions," Kayara finished, clenching her fists in silent agony. Eren could see that her eyes were a bit numb. He could see that she wasn''t allowing herself to cry in front of her target. ''Well that exins her anger towards me,'' Eren thought to himself and sighed. ''She is angry at me because she can''t kill meC someone who has killed her sisters. She is also angry at the fact that she ended up bing a puppet in the hands of her higher-ups. The frustration is eating away at her heart. It''s like a bone has been thrown right in front of a hound who can''t chew it because of its leash. She harbors greed towards me. Or rather, the secrets I possess that allowed me to use those demonic Skills. She also envies me because I had more value in the eyes of her higher-ups than her or her dead sisters.'' Chapter 1726 Branding Kayara Chapter 1726 Branding Kayara ??Eren quickly grasped Kayara''s emotional state. He had to say that her feelings towards him were justified to some extent even though he would kill the witches of Helenbora Coven all over again if he was put in the same circumstances. When Kayara noticed Eren struggling to break free, it reminded her of her own predicament. Like Eren, she felt bound by her coven, unable to escape her metaphorical chains. This was why she couldn''t ridicule Eren after sessfully executing her Unique Skill, even though she had nned to do so in her head before she even caught up with him. ''I guess I got everything I could from her. It''s time to stop pretending,'' Eren dered, sitting upright on the bed. He imbued his hands in his Spiritual Force and swatted down some of the spiritual butterflies. The trick seemed to have worked as the spiritual beings couldn''t get up after Eren swatted them down. "Hm? What are-" It took a moment for Kayara to realize Eren was no longer under her control. Or rather, he stopped pretending that he was after getting the information he wanted from her. When she realized what Eren could do even after her near-wless execution of the Unique Skill, shock overcame her. She was lost for words as she realized Eren was not in the same league as other Grand Knights. "Thanks for answering my questions," Eren said, stretching his limbs. "It wasn''t easy, but I''m grateful you allowed me to brand you using that Tantra. Couldn''t have been able to pull it off without it." "Wait. How" she stammered, her voice tinged with shock and disbelief. Supposedly, she was meant to control Eren through the Winged Monarch. She hurriedly essed her Spectral Screen to check the status of her Skill. [ Unique Skill: Winged Monarch of Lust Status: Activated ] ''What''s happening? How did he...'' Kayara couldn''tprehend the situation. Strangely, she couldn''t summon hate, anger, or other negative emotions towards Eren. It was as if her feelings had been manipted by something within her soul. ''A Soul Mark! He marked me, and these effects manipte one''s emotions. I can''t do anything to counter this soul mark even though I know how it works.'' Kayara widened her eyes in surprise, realizing what Eren had done. She couldn''t believe she allowed someone to ce such a powerful ve mark on her. In the next moment, Kayara''s surroundings began to change. The spiritual butterflies from her Unique Skill vanished as if they never existed. The inn room disappeared, reced by an endless illusion. Now, Kayara and Eren were left alone in a surreal realm where the blood moon hung in a red sky, blood-red clouds almost within reach if she raised her hands. In this strange world, flesh flowers blossomed, and trees made of flesh and bones rapidly cycled through growth and decay, as if time were on fast-forward. Turning to Eren for answers, Kayara couldn''t help but meet his emerald-green eyes, which then turnedpletely white before shifting to blue. Eren had transformed beyond just his eyes. His ck hair turned white, and unfamiliar runic tattoos appeared on his body. These runes were so intricate that she couldn''t ce them within any demonic faith. "You" The sudden change in Eren''s appearance surprised Kayara. As she gazed into his eyes, the illusory world shattered, and her perception of time and space returned to normal. As if surrounded by concave mirrors that broke simultaneously, the familiar view of the inn room reappeared. rmed, Kayara immediately used her Spiritual Sense to break free from the illusion. [ Skill: Demigod''s Gaze Status: Deactivated ] A mini Spectral Screen in front of Eren dered the deactivation of his ocr Skill. He didn''t mind, having already achieved his goal. "I... I was under an illusion the whole time? When? When did you..." a shocked Kayara asked. She couldn''t believe someone had turned her own trick against her, enving her. Eren''s Soul Mark seemed even more potent than what she could do with the Winged Monarch. Kayara''s Unique Skill allowed her to control Eren''s actions, but Eren, using his demonic powers, could go further and manipte her emotions by branding her soul. This wasn''t achievable through regr Skill acquisition or Unique Skills. "When you say? Let me see You were trapped in an illusion since I came in your ass," Eren responded honestly, rising from his position to approach the room''s window. His thoughts seemed upied with matters beyond Kayara, focusing on what she had disclosed. ''He he could trap my soul in such a wless illusion?'' Kayara realized the Unique Skill disy she witnessed was a deception created by Eren to make her believe the Winged Monarch of Lust was active. She realized that he had provided a false sense of security to extract information. ''So the Helenbora Coven is after me. Do they know about me? Or do they just see me as a good recruit?'' Eren pondered as he processed Kayara''s revtions. "You who are you? What What are you? Are are you some incarnation of a Demon Prince?" Kayara asked cautiously, her gaze signaling a multitude of questions. ording to her knowledge, only a Demon Prince could achieve what Eren had done to her. "I am what I need to be," Eren replied calmly. "Now, stay quiet for a bit and let me think," his voice exuded absolute authority. Kayara discovered she couldn''t move from the bed without Eren''s consent. Her lips sealed on their own,pelling her to remain silent. It was evident she had fallen into the same trap she set for Eren, and the pit she found herself in seemed even more daunting than the one she attempted to create for him. There was no apparent way out. Alephee had warned Eren against using the Sin of Lust to brand souls in Labh Salem. However, when Kayara exposed her soul using the Tantra, he seized the opportunity to brand it. ''So I need this Tantra if I ever want to use Mist of Lust on someone to brand them. What do you know, huh? It''s good that I found a way around my problem, thanks to this woman. Now the question is what do I do with her?'' the butcher thought to himself as he looked outside the window in contemtion. Chapter 1727 Asmodeus Intentions Chapter 1727 Asmodeus'' Intentions ??Cough! Cough! Cough! Eren coughed as he took the first drag of a smoke. He had recently opted for an alternative to his usual Sativa Stick due to unavability in Labh Salem. It didn''t take long for him to regret his choice. "Ugh! What is this awful taste? It''s like I''m smoking a dog turd wrapped in paper." Eren tossed the smoke out of the window, watching it burst into mes and vanish in irritation. He regretted not stocking enough Sativa Stick during his time in Anfang. The supplies from his homeworld had depleted in his storage, leaving him with what he deemed as either mediocre or ipatible substitutes. "You know what I don''t like about your world, Kayara?" Eren asked Kayara abruptly without turning back at her. "It''s that the demons and gods have consumed the lives of people here. Don''t get me wrongC I don''t think having faith is a bad thing. But too much of anything can cause a problem." Eren said as he sighed and looked at the star-studded night sky. The butcher, not feeling shy of his naked form, reclined over the window sill with both his folded arms and felt the gentle nightly breeze on his skin as he continued speaking to her. "You see, we don''t believe in anything where Ie fromC which I think is equally bad. But at least we got some things right even when we were called the faithless. You people are so busy fighting some ever-so-eternal religious war that you don''t know what this life has to offer to you. You are so busy fighting with each other that you can''t see what''s best for all of you. For all the diversity in faith you have here, you can''t even get a simple thing like making good smoke right." Eren said and dramatically sighed again. As soon as he realized that there was no better alternative to Sativa Stick, he started to crave it even more. ''This man is he for real?'' Kayara found it quite surprising that the man, whose bare tush was currently in her line of sight, was criticizing all of Labh Salem simply because he couldn''t find the specific smoke vor he desired. Unfortunately, she couldn''t respond since he had previously imposed a gag order on her. "Anyway, it seems I''ll have to solve this problem myself because I don''t think someone else will do that for me here," Eren muttered to himself while extracting a handful of Sativa Seeds from his Inventory. He observed the seeds under the moonlight and asked Kayara. "Do you know how to farm? You better start learning everything about it if you don''t. Because I expect a great yield of Sativa crops from you in a few months." With that, he stored the seeds away. Eren removed the gag order, allowing Kayara to speak. She regarded him skeptically before cautiously asking, "You... you mean you won''t kill me?" Kayara had assumed her fate was sealed the moment Eren uncovered the truth about her and her motives. Knowing his decisiveness in tying loose ends, especially after neutralizing many of her sisters in Kizamgaar''s ruin, she believed he would feel nothing killing one more. "Why would I? You belong to me now," Eren replied calmly as if stating the obvious. "I know what you''re thinking, but it couldn''t be further from the truth. Let me tell you something about me first. I didn''t kill your sisters for sport or some twisted enjoyment. I did it because they attacked me first. Just because I''m good at what I do doesn''t mean I do it for fun." He paused for a bit before correcting himself. "Um At least not most of the time. And certainly not when your coven attacked me first in the Kizammgaar''s ruins." Eren exined as he retrieved a wine bottle that he had obtained from the inn''s cer. From his Inventory, he produced two wine sses, cing them on the windowsill before slowly pouring the wine. With a subtle gesture, Eren invited Kayara to join him for a drink. He then lifted the wine ss in his hands, gently swirling its contents as he continued speaking. "Besides, if I kill you, your coven will send more witches after me," he chuckled. "Keke. Some of them will spread their legs for me just like what you did. Some will try to bargain, others will resort to ckmail and threats. And when all else fails, they''ll attempt to eliminate me. I''ve yed this game before and don''t want to waste my time ying the same thing with different yers." Kayara was shocked once again at how urately Eren could foresee the actions of her coven in the future. It aligned perfectly with what the higher-ups had nned for him. "I''m not worried about your coven, Kayara. I can deal with them," Eren spoke seriously as he sensed Kayara getting up from the bed. He allowed her to join him and stand beside him before continuing. "I''m more concerned about the powers that support your coven. Tell me, what is the importance of the Demon Prince of Lust for your coven? Because I''m seeing a pattern here that I refuse to brush off as a mere coincidence," he asked Kayara as he watched her lift her wine ss warily. He didn''t say anything to her and allowed her to gauge the contents of the wine silently. "Demon Lord Asmodeus... he is worshiped by one of the three main branches we have in our coven," Kayara responded to Eren truthfully, even though he was supposed to be her enemy. She hade to realize that Eren didn''t need to do anything special or even lift his hands to kill her. He could just order her to kill herself, and under the influence of the mark, she would have no choice but to follow his orders. As such, she didn''t hesitate any more and drank all of the wine in the ss in one big gulp to calm her nerves. The auburn- haired witch then began exining the structure of her coven and its hierarchy. Chapter 1728 Biding Time Chapter 1728 Biding Time ??Kayara began exining the structure of Helenbora Coven and its hierarchy. She also briefed him about the three main factions within the coven. Asmodeous'' faction was one of the second strongest factions in the coven. Eren knew a bit about the coven, thanks to the witches'' memories he had extracted. He used Kayara''a information to fill in the nks. ''Asmodeus... he has definitely messed with the cause-and-effect fabric of this world here to counter me. The pawns he has created across Labh Salem are just being lined up on their own to oppose me in response to his interference. Is this what they call divine intervention? Or more like demonic intervention in this case?'' Eren narrowed his eyes as he thought to himself. ''That means things changed after I imed Aleph''s divine throne. The Demon Prince of Lust stands against me, which also means that he''ll tag-team with Samael to get rid of me as soon as he knows my location.'' Eren downed another sip of the wine slowly as he processed the events that had happened to him since he hadnded in Labh Salem. First, Leesha, who could use a Greater Skill rted to Asmodeus at the cost of severe repercussions. Then Rivena, one of the den dwellers he had killed, was also one of the favored demons of Asmodeus. And finally, Kayara, who had ess to a Unique Skill rted to the Sin of Lust. Eren knew what Argo, AKA Beelzebub, had done to meet him. He knew that it was also possible for someone like Asmodeous to interfere with the cause-and-effect fabric of the world to make certain coincidences happen. Three of his devout followers crossing his path meant that the Demon Prince of Lust certainly didn''t have good intentions towards the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline who hade out of nowhere and obtained Aleph''s divine throne. ording to what Argo had conjectured, Asmodeous didn''t want to obtain Aleph''s divine throne like Samael. However, he was also not happy with someone else from outside iming the divine throne. Certainly not some greenhorn like him. ''Asmodeus Demon Prince of Lust. In some ways, he is even more powerful than the Demon Prince of Wrath. I heard from Argo that his domain has expanded a lot recently thanks to a few worlds where his influence is second to none. Damn it. It will be very difficult for me to avoid the traps he has set for me. I would have been in a lot of trouble dealing with this redhead too if I didn''t have my demi-god powers,'' he thought to himself. Eren didn''t want to antagonize the Demon Prince of Lust. But he had to defend himself somehow in case thetter wanted confrontation. ''Hmm. Let''s look at what I know and what I have. Asmodeus doesn''t know that some of his followers have already made contact with me. That they are trying to recruit me. He can interfere with cause-and-effect fabric to some extent but he can''t control or keep an eye on each of his pawns. I can probably use that in my favor. Of course, I need to be careful. If I kill too many of these witches, he''ll start digging and focus all his attention on me. But If I get very close and cozy up to them, my chances of being exposed will equally rise. I don''t want that. Not now. The best approach for me right now would be to bide my time with Helenbora CovenC neither going against them nor standing beside them. I can use Kayara to stall time. I''m sure they''ll either eventually deem me less important once something of greater importancees their way,'' Eren made up his mind and smiled to himself. In a few days, Eren nned to execute a n that would shock all of Labh Salem. He was confident that once he initiated his n, all the organizations active in Labh Salem would halt their activities and start searching for "him." Earlier, Eren hesitated about spreading his faith in Labh Salem. He didn''t know where to start or what actions to take. It would take him a few centuries to establish himself as a demi-god in Labh Salem if he went the usual route. The butcher didn''t want to be like other demi-gods who were mere puppets for the gods and demons in the celestial hall. Demi-gods who hadn''t pledged allegiance to the Immortals were vulnerable targets if the Immortals ever decided to reveal themselves for fame. On the other hand, those who swore allegiance to a specific pantheon were bound to be exploited by the Immortals for their purposes. Even if such demi-gods managed to ascend, their divinities would be shackled by the pantheons they swore their allegiance to. It would force them to be a minor god inside that pantheon and forever stay there. Moreover, Eren didn''t want to confine his divinity by presenting himself as a water deity. Even if he could gain significant faith by portraying as one, it was likely to limit him in the future when he imed God Sparks rted to other elements. However, listening to Kayara''s plight gave him confidence in his radical n. It affirmed that he was right in devising a n that would make him the primary enemy of almost all the Immortals. Eren was already at odds with many of them by iming Aleph''s divine throne for himself. Thus, he was okay with providing them with a new reason to despise him. As such he couldn''t help but widen the smile that was already blooming across his face. "Why are you smiling like that?" Kayara asked, cing her empty wine ss down. She considered asking for a refill but decided against it for some reason. She felt strange talking with him so naturally after being branded by him. "Because I''m excited. There''s a new dawning for the people of Labh Salem, Kayara." Eren said, standing straight as he gazed into the distance. "Not sure if it''s ''grim,'' though," he added with a chuckle. Blitz. Swoosh. Thud. Suddenly, lightning sparked in the inn room. Kayara''s vision shifted abruptly. She discovered herself on the bed, staring at the ceiling. A secondter, Eren was above her, gazing at her like she was his cherished possession. "So we''ve got a lot on our te, my dear witch. But that is all the more reason for us to enjoy ourselves tonight," Eren said to the auburn-haired woman, shing a peculiar smile at her. Before she could respond, he sealed her lips with his. Chapter 1729 The Path of a Conjurer: Witches and Warlocks Chapter 1729 The Path of a Conjurer: Witches and Warlocks ??Within the Path of a Conjurer, practitioners could harness a mana core within them, progressing from F to S Rank and even beyond as they advanced on their path. The term "witches" specifically applied to female conjurers, while their male counterparts were known as warlocks. In the hierarchy, F-Rank witches were called Hexen, with the title of Grand Hexen reserved for those at the E-Rank. D-Rank witches were Enchantresses, while C-Rank witches were known as Grand Enchantresses. B-Ranked and A-Ranked witches earned the titles of Sorceress and Arcane Sorceress, respectively. The highest rank, Siren, was reserved for an S-Ranked witch. Labh Salem even recognized a rank beyond S-Rank, termed S-Plus Rank, with witches achieving this status being known as Arcane Sirens. Male conjurers, or Warlocks, hadparable titles associated with their mana core-based status. For instance, an A-Ranked Warlock was referred to as an Arcane Sorcerer, an S-Ranked Warlock was an Evoker, and the highest rank, S-Plus Rank, carried the title of Void Evoker. *** "Eliza Samael!" Kayara eximed in surprise at the mention of the term ''Witch of the Endermes.'' "You... Do you know her?" she asked him, her voice tinged with shock. It seemed Kayara had heard many things about Eren''s former arch-nemesis from his time in Anfang. "Yeah, kinda," Eren nodded as a few images from his past shed in his mind like a motion picture. He opened his mouth to say something but then decided not to speak about his past with Eliza. "Let''s just say she owes me one. But this is not the right time for me to make her repay that favor," he said, inhaling Kayara''s scent from her neck. He stretched his tongue abnormally, licking along her neckline, making her feel ticklish and aroused at the same time. Eren liked Kayara''s perfume notes that had a hint of rosemary oil. So much so that he couldn''t get enough of her even after having so many intimate sessions with her. "Um... what are you doing? This is not" Kayara asked with a shaky and sultry voice. The more time she spent with him, the more attached she grew. For the first time in a long while, she felt out of reach of both the powers that had been dictating her lifethe Helenbora Coven and Ishgaar''s Temple. "Kekeke. Let me show you what I am doing," Eren was about to take their intimate session to the next level inside the carriage when the magic colts stopped galloping, bringing the carriage to an abrupt halt. "Apologies for the interruption, sir. We''ve arrived at our destination," announced the carriage driver with a clear, respectful tone, not directly disturbing Eren. His words prompted Eren to cease his actions with Kayara and shift his attention to the outside scenery. Though Kayara seemed dissatisfied with the journey''s end just when things were getting heated up, she followed Eren''s lead and gazed out of the window. "Quite a bustling city." The auburn-haired witch remarked softly, observing a lengthy line of carriages awaiting entry at the colossal gates of the City of Demondeath, home to the headquarters of the Kaaysaayan''s Demon yer Corps. asionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1730 Demondeath Chapter 1730 Demondeath ??The City of Demondeath, often simply called Demondeath, stood out as a vital city in the Kaisaayan Empire. It differed significantly from all the cities of Anfang. Labh Salemcked Bands for hunting monsters, and the presence of mana beasts and demon beasts was mostly ced away from the general poption. Instead, conflicts revolved around various factions seeking dominance, such as demonic cults, half-blood ns, Temrs from god-dedicated temples, and pantheon-specific organizations. Labh Salem exhibited a profound divide between the divine and demonic factions, yet unity prevailed within each faction when facing the enemy. Demondeath City operated on a simr principle. Housing the Kaaysaayan''s Demon yer Corps, it weed applicants from all faiths to form a united front against the demonic faction. As it aimed to unite faiths across the Onianum continent, it couldn''t be tied to a particr faith or temple, prompting the Kaisaayan empire to oversee its affairs. The Corps served as a central force against demonic entities within the empire''s borders. Moreover, the Demon yer Corps coborated with pan-continent and global agencies tobat the demonic threat. The Corps functioned as part of a vastwork to repel the influence demonic entities sought to spread among the masses. The City of Demondeath housed teleportation portals exclusively for authorized personnel of the Kaaysaayan''s Demon yer Corps, facilitating travel to different regions of the kingdom. Serving as a central hub, the city allowed Corps members tomute to and from mission sites. Those with proper clearance could use these portals to journey to different kingdoms and even continents requiring their intervention. The city boasted a significant military presence, with the Kaisaayan Empire''s Practitioners of the Paths freely traversing its streets. Aside from a handful of merchants, mortal presence within its confines was nearly nonexistent. Demondeath housed numerous weaponsmith workshops, where skilled craftsmen gathered to create weapons catering to people of diverse faiths and talents. Additionally, the city featured potion-makingbs that produced a wide array of potions, each crafted from unique recipes with varying effects and price ranges. The city served as a haven for aplished runesmiths, Array Experts, alchemy masters, schrs representing different faiths, and skilled artifact makers, drawing prodigies from each generation. With its vast size, Demondeathprised numerous districts, each dedicated to showcasing a distinct aspect of the city. For instance, a particr district within the city boasted man-made giant pits designed as battle arenas for Path Practitioners seeking confrontations for various reasons. Combat encounters were strictly prohibited everywhere except in this designated district. Towering spires adorned with intricate runes and glowing sigils reached towards the heavens, their peaks disappearing into the ethereal mists that veiled the skies. Each structure seemed to whisper long-forgotten secrets. The architecture of Demondeath showcased a fusion of magical aesthetics and practicality. borate archways, crafted from enchanted stones, formed the thresholds of buildings, shimmering with a faint luminescence. The walls, adorned with magical reliefs, told tales of the city''s history through animated disys that came to life with each passerby. As one traversed the city''s winding streets, they would encounter buildings with crystalline fa?ades that refracted sunlight into a myriad of spectral hues. Beautiful gardens, suspended mid-air through levitation spells, adorned balconies and rooftops, boasting a kaleidoscope of mystical flowers that blossomed under the influence of unseen forces. The grand halls of knowledge, libraries of immense proportions, boasted vast shelvesden with arcane tomes and grimoires. The books seemed to hum with a gentle energy, responding to the touch of those seeking wisdom. Floating tforms facilitated ess to higher shelves, embracing both functionality and the ethereal aesthetics that defined Demondeath. Bridges made of enchanted materials spanned across districts, creating pathways through the air itself. These bridges, adorned with radiant runes, facilitated the flow of foot traffic and served as conduits for the city''s magical energies. Waterfalls of iridescent liquid cascaded from hovering basins, creating a mesmerizing disy of liquid magic that descended through the city like radiant tendrils. At the heart of Demondeath, the Kaaysaayan''s Demon yer Corps headquarters stood as a testament to architectural magnificence. Its towering structure seemed to meld seamlessly with the magical energies that permeated the city. The city''s skyline was a symphony of enchantment, illuminated by floating orbs of magical light that cast a soft radiance upon the streets below. The very stones beneath one''s feet seemed imbued with integrated Skills, pulsating with a gentle glow that guided the way through the city''sbyrinthine thoroughfares. Demondeath''s architecture, a harmonious blend of magical prowess, Mesh integration, and visionary design, elevated the city to a realm beyond the ordinary. It stood not just as a testament to craftsmanship but as a living testament to the intertwined destinies of magic and civilization, where the mana wove itself into the very fabric of the city''s existence. Demondeath also featured separate districts specifically dedicated to food-rted activities and entertainment. Unlike typical cities, the royal presence was not wee here. Despite previous attempts by the royal family to establish an isted district within the city, citizens vehemently opposed the idea, leading the royal family to abandon the notion. In the end, Kaisaayan''s royalty dropped the idea of establishing its royal presence, which was ironic considering the fact that it still had to support the city from its own coffers. One could say that the temples belonging to various gods were only using the Kaaisayaan empire''s royalty to act as a middle person while they dealt with each other. Still, it wasn''t that the empire''s royalty didn''t have any backers. The Temrs of various faiths allowed Kaisaayan''s royalty to look after the city''s matters because the Kaisaayan royal family had a backing of the Great MotherC the patron goddess of all the Amazonians. While the Kaisaayan royal family managed the affairs of its empire, the Great Mother held sway over the extensivework that epassed the Kaisaayan Demon yer Corps. The goddess served as a unifying force, aligning various elements within the divine faction. Guiding her pantheon in spearheading efforts against the demonic presence in Labh Salem, the continents under the divine faction''s influence enjoyed prolonged periods of stability and prosperity spanning centuries. Chapter 1731 A New Faction

Chapter 1731 A New Faction

?"Damn. Color me impressed." Eren said to Kayara as she confidently stepped out of the inspection circle of Demondeath located near its entrance. He had to say that he was a bit skeptical when it came to entering Demondeath with a witch in tow. But it turned out he was worrying in vain. Kayara was a witch in hiding and as such prepared for events like these. She had been acting as one of the Ishgaar''s Temrs for a long time without anyone noticing her origins. The Rankers and Conjurers shared simr Paths to Power for the most part. Where Rankers focused on their Elemental Attainments to make their spells or Skillse to life, the Conjurers used summoned demons and demonic energies that they conjured from the infernal ins to manifest their powers. As such, it was very easy for the Rankers to act as the Conjurers and vice versa using the right medium and tools. Kayara had these tools in her possession, which allowed her to be seen as a normal Ranker. She was seen as an A-Ranked Grand Knight when she was allowed entry inside Demondeath. Of course, it also meant that the auburn-haired witch couldn''t use Hex magic which wasrgely dependent upon her original Path as a Conjurer. She was cut off from wielding demon magic for the most part, save a few Skills from Asmodeus'' Skill Tree. And to ess her previous powers to perfection, she would need to get rid of the facade that made her a Grand Knight. Incidentally, she also needed to spend a fix amount of Menaka''s Runes intermittently in order to retain her ess to the demonic Skill Tree. Kayara had signed a Faustian Contract with a Lust demon but it had been forcefully slumbering deep within her. This meant that she couldn''t switch between being a Grand Knight and her original status as an Arcane Sorceress on the fly. One had to say that the demonic faction was hell bent on the order established by the Great Mother in Labh Salem. As such, it had started creating pawns like Kayara before making them enter enemy territories. These efforts had been nearly doubled ever since the demonic entities predicted that the Hvergelmir Springs was about to appear in Labh Salem. Challenging times loomed over Labh Salem, demanding heightened security measures for Demondeath. The city administration meticulously scrutinized every individual before granting entry. As Kayara sessfully navigated the security check, Eren metaphorically wiped away a sense of relief from his brow. "Hehe. you don''t need to worry about me," Kayara responded to Eren with a smile on her face. "Rather, is it always this crowded here in Demondeath?" the auburn-haired witch asked as she looked around. "I don''t think so," Eren replied as he followed Kayara''s gaze. "This outpour of people is mostly due to the uing selection exam of the Kaaysaayan''s Demon yer Corps. The Practitioners areing from all across the empire to try their luck here. You were supposed to join the Corps with me. You weren''t aware of this selection process?" "Well, that was obviously a lie I crafted to get close to you, Eren. I had no ns of joining the Demon yers Corps," Kayara smiled bitterly as she looked at him. As much as she was confident in her abilities to not expose herself as a witch, she didn''t want to take any chances. Plus, entering such an organization was like her ying with fire. Only someone like Eren could take such risks without being worried about any potential consequences. After all, Eren didn''t need to sign Faustian Contracts with demons anymore. He was someone who would make others sign them for him. There was no security measure in ce that could detect someone like him prowling on the streets of Demondeath. "I didn''t think I would have toe to Demondeath at all," Kayara added while taking a deep breath. "You should have been under my control long before you even made it here ording to my original n," she replied honestly. Eren chuckled when he heard Kayara''s original n. He had to say that the auburn-haired woman was well-prepared for her operation. Things would have been a lot different for him if he hadn''t advanced his demi-god powers. "Have youe prepared for the test? Don''t you have to register yourself as a candidate first?" Kayara asked as she saw Knights, Grand Knights, and other Practitioners of Paths heading in a particr direction. "No need to worry. I''ve got this," Eren retrieved the Rmendation Token from his Inventory, a gift from Archpriest Jivem in Brol. With this token, he effortlessly bypassed the queue at the city entrance, avoiding the usual inspection process. He intended to leverage the token during the selection process as well, allowing him to skip background checks and preliminary rounds. Seeing Kayara''s apprehension, Eren, strolling casually away from the city entrance, reassured her, "No need to put on a brave face. I understand the stress you have due to your origins. But I have a solution. I can extract the Lust demon within you and nullify your Faustian Contract. You can remain a Ranker for as long as you desire without any concerns," he promised, putting an end to Kayara''s internal anxieties. Curiosity tugged at Kayara, urging her to inquire about Eren''s true identity and how he possessed the ability to cancel Faustian Contracts without limitations. She hesitated but ultimately decided not to pry. Hoping that Eren wouldn''t view her merely as a pawn in his schemes, she resigned her hopes tied to the divine and demonic factions and embraced the prospect of aligning with this enigmatic neer. A man who had his own faction. A new faction that was neither divine nor demonic but something else entirely. The duo started exploring Demondeath together. The city''s vibrancy was mirrored in the faces of its denizens C a mosaic of people belonging to different backgrounds, each contributing to the prosperity of Demondeath. Merchants peddled wares imbued with magical properties, while schrs engaged in animated discussions about thetest developments in magical theory. Eren and Kayara, amidst the kaleidoscope of urban wonders, navigated the city with a sense of awe. The bustling streets and enchanting sights painted a vivid portrait of a city where magic wasn''t merely a tool but an integral part of daily life, interwoven with the very fabric of Demondeath''s existence. Chapter 1732 The Mesh and the Social Media

Chapter 1732 The Mesh and the Social Media

?A weekter. [ Inheritor of Elder Ichor, what do you want to talk about? You have 10 minutes. ] Goddess Menaka asked Eren in a neutral voice. Thetter''s consciousness was pulled inside a void where he and the goddess couldmunicate with each other directly. He had spent 5000 Menaka''s Runes to have this talk. "Greetings, Goddess Menaka," Eren offered a bow to the beautiful and stoic looking goddess before answering her question. "I called you here because I have a business proposition for you." [ what is it? And how can it benefit me? ] asked the goddess in return, sending her thoughts directly into Eren''s mind instead of voicing them through her mouth. "My proposal will allow you to grow your divinity at a rapid pace," Eren said confidently, his emerald-green eyes admiring the goddess'' beautiful form. "I have to be honest by saying that it will cause chaos in this world and disturb the order that you are benefitting from right now. But soon, the risks you have taken will be wellpensated by the number of people spending their Menaka''s Runes through the Mesh." Eren knew that there was only one way to get Goddess Menaka aboard his n. And that was to make her his ally in a true sense. And he needed to give her tangible benefits for that to happen. He figured that Goddess Menaka wanted people to spend and umte Menaka''s Runes in an endless cycle from the moment they had ess to the Mesh till the day they died. This was why the goddess had allowed her blessing users to buy and sell things on the Mesh. She didn''t need to spread her faith like the rest of the gods. She could benefit from sitting on the sidelines while the others did the work for her. Eren knew that the goddess was a pragmatic capitalist in nature who had been bound by her divinity to stay neutral. However, that same divinity had forged a unique path for her while influencing her to go after anything and everything that suits her. He was sure that the goddess would be at least interested to hear about his n if nothing else. Thus, he had prepared his business pitch for his meeting with her. [ Exin. ] Said the goddess in short. Thetter nodded before exining what his proposal was. "I want tomunicate with people using the Mesh." [ You can do that through themunication channel ] "You''ve misunderstood, and understandably so. Let me rify," Eren paused before continuing. "I want tomunicate with all the people of Labh Salemthose I know and those I don''t." The goddess fell silent, indicating she still hadn''t grasped Eren''s intentions. "It''s akin to a one-sidedmunication channel where only I''ll speak, and the audience will listen. It''s like a recorded message essible to everyone using the Mesh. I believe there''s a term for it..." Eren wracked his memory for a term Argo had mentioned back in Anfang. His face lit up as the recollection surfaced. "I think it''s called social media. The Mesh will serve as a tform for this social media to thrive in Labh Salem." Eren detailed his vision for the Mesh, drawing inspiration from Argo''s experiences in another world. He carefully integrated specific features to align his socialworking concept with the envisioned benefits. [What will you gain by having this feature in the Mesh? And more importantly, what will I gain?] The goddess appeared unimpressed with Eren''s idea, not because she deemed it impossiblemost of his proposals could be easily incorporated with a snap of her fingers. Rather, she failed to see the purpose behind these changes. Eren wasn''t presenting anything novel; the Mesh already facilitatedmunication for various entities, such as priests updating followers or armies disseminating orders. [Are you going to sell your recorded message on Menaka''s Market? I don''t think it''ll generate much revenue in terms of Menaka''s Runes.] The goddess responded bluntly, suggesting Eren was overestimating his influence in the eyes of billions. She doubted anyone would pay attention to a recorded message, especially if it came from him. "No," Eren shook his head, anticipating the goddess''s reluctance. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "We have to create a separate subpanel for this thing. We want everyone to have unlimited and free ess to this subpanel, where they can freely consume live or recorded messages of other people they are interested in." [ And how are we supposed to generate revenue if we give free ess to this subpanel?] The goddess asked in a cold and callous manner. If true neutrality wasn''t embedded in her persona, Eren was sure that she would have given him an irritated look. "Um... consider this new subpanel of the Mesh to be an investment," Eren exined awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "It''s a n that will surely benefit you in the future." The goddess remained silent. Eren knew that the time he had with the goddess was limited so he pressed on without her response. "My dear Goddess, let''s be direct with each other. Implementing these suggestions won''t cost you a thing. If you desire, you can charge users a minimal one-time fee in the form of Menaka''s Runes for ess to this sub-panel. Additionally, you could impose a standard rate for featuring messages in the sub- panel. In short, the sub-panel will remain free for the most part once the people get in. And the ones who put up messages there will have to pay a bit to make their voices heard. The messages themselves remain free for the listeners. The Mesh serves as a tform for people tomunicate. While I understand that my ideas might not be groundbreaking, they will undoubtedly spark the transformation you seek once they gain traction." The goddess regarded Eren differently when he suggested modifications to his original n. The prospect of a Mesh feature being freely essible without her receiving any share displeased her. Nheless, she was open to incorporating these changes if it meant she could charge the masses even a minimal amount, be it one or two Menaka''s Runes. After all, she understood the concept of "making big wealth by charging small" better than anyone. [Alright. You answered what I gain from this social media. But what would you gain by doing this? What are you nning?] Eren sensed, for the first time, that the goddess had set aside her true neutrality and regarded him with sheer curiosity. It seemed as if she was trying to fathom his intentions behind these proposed changes to the Mesh. ''I sure hope she remains neutral when this thing goes big,'' Eren thought to himself and chuckled. He then locked eyes with the goddess before speaking confidently. "Did you forget who I am?" Eren asked Menaka rhetorically and smiled mysteriously before continuing. "I am a mere demi-god, Goddess Menaka. Of course, I want to use this thing to grow my faith. I don''t want to align myself with any other pantheons. I don''t want to expose myself to other gods who may not have good intentions towards me. And I certainly don''t want to find enemies within my demonic pantheon either. I want to focus on growing my faith and not battle with the endless hordes of enemies that maye my way once I expose myself as a demigod. If the regr folks are my target audience, why would I waste my time talking and battling with entities who would never support my endeavors?" Eren''s voice turned serious, and his gaze zed with passion as he continued. "I want to be the progenitor of a new faction that is neither divine nor demonic. I will rewrite the rules of the game. I''m sure you are aware of what I''m talking about. The same game factions on both sides have been ying among each other for so long. The Mesh gives me the opportunity to gain new followers. I don''t have to build my temple. I don''t have to create my sacred grounds. I don''t have to ask for sacrifices. And I don''t have to make people follow a certain set of rules for them to show their faith towards me. I, Eren Elijah Idril, will be a god unlike any other. And my divinity will be like a violent storm that no god or demon could stop on their own," Eren dered, clenching his fists, his determination shining through his eyes. For the first time in a long while, the goddess'' face was painted with a particr emotion a mixture of shock and awe. [ You sure seem confident in saying this to my face, Aleph''s Inheritor? Did you forget that I am also a goddessC one of the participants of the so-called "game" that you want to destroy? ] The goddess asked in a cold voice, regaining herposure. Eren shook his head before responding. "No, my goddess," Eren said casually before adding further. "I wouldn''t ce you in the same league as the rest of the "usual suspects" so to speak. You are part of the game but you have never yed it like the other yers. The fact isC you have been benched. Forever and ever. The fact that you chose to bench yourself doesn''t take away from what I said about you and your divinity earlier." [ It will offend a lot of Immortals ] "Not a lot," Eren corrected the goddess. "You will almost offend everyone in the celestial hall. And by offending all of them at once, you will retain your true neutrality." It had to be said that Eren''s confidence was palpable when he said these things to the goddess. "That being said, I can always go find other ways to do the same thing. These hurdles have never stopped me from doing what I want. There will not be an exception this time either. So I ask youC what will it be?" Chapter 1733 Order of the Root, The Golden Demon Ivor Osan, and Hettie Chapter 1733 Order of the Root, The Golden Demon Ivor Osan, and Hettie ??A gathering den of the Order of the Root Coven. Somewhere in Labh Salem, nestled deep within an underground city. The members of the Root reveled in their recent triumph over enemy forces. The den echoed with the sounds of celebrationsinging, dancing, and the enticing aroma of barbecue filled the air. Shadows of revelers danced by the fire, creating rhythmic patterns on the ground and walls. Amidst the joyous chaos, away from the bustling crowd, a couple found sce in each other''spany. The man, young and handsome, and the woman, demonically beautiful, were none other than Ivor Osan and Hettie. While others discussed raids, demonic rituals, and territorial matters, Ivor and Hettie engaged in conversations unrted to the typical coven subjects. Hettie, once resurrected by Eren, had been given a second chance at life. Simrly, Eren had saved Ivor, enabling him to leave Anfang and explore the vastness of Labh Salem. Ivor had once thought that beingbeled as Osan Woods'' Butcher was the biggest misfortune in his life. That his life was over after the entirety of the Anfang Alliance had started hunting him. However, aftering to a different world and handling a new set of challenges, Ivor realized how limited his perspective about life in general had been. He realized that the problems he had when he was just a teenager were not as big as he had made them out to be in his head. Or perhaps, it was he who had grown stronger from his circumstances. Ivor realized that the "end" he was dreading in Anfang was nothing but a beginning. That life had more to offer to him other than a messed up family and shitty fate. Separated initially, Ivor and Hettie had reunited after a few years and had been inseparable ever since, navigating the dangers and possibilities of this new world. Their journey began with a promise made in the face of uncertainty inside Eren''s formidable Birdcagea promise that if they ever made it to Labh Salem, they would stick together, and explore together. Surviving the Birdcage incident and the subsequent Great Shattering was nothing short of a miracle for them. Eren had basically rewritten their fate along with all the other denizens of Anfang. Despite their initial attempts to find Eren in Labh Salem proving futile, Hettie and Ivor blossomed into a couple during their travels. They almost had nothing inmon but somehow they didn''t let their differences get between them. Staying in Anfang would have limited Hettie''s fiendish ascent, but Labh Salem offered myriad opportunities for her advancement. Transformed into a fiend by Eren, she bypassed the need for a Faustian Contract with another demon. This independence allowed her to tap into demonic energies directly, fostering steady progress in her newfound home. Hettie was originally from Labh Salem, to begin with. She knew the ins and outs of the demonic rituals and demonic powers better than anyone in Anfang. She also knew which Skills were suited for which battle style. As such, she streamlined her own progress as well as guided Ivor in his Ranking Path. The couple managed to rise through the ranks within the coven, which earned them a certain level of respect from their peers. They both were leading their respective teams, strengthening their coven one mission at a time. Eren, having recently arrived in Labh Salem, reached out to the duo a few weeks ago. Ivor and Hettie were taken aback by the considerable time it took for Eren to join them. Despite their eagerness to reunite with him, Eren advised them to continue their current pursuits. He didn''t want to disrupt the substantial progress they had independently achieved, offering nothing in return. Eren appreciated that those who chose to follow him in Labh Salem had already carved out a robust path for themselves. This showed him that he was not investing in them. It was as if the saplings he had nted in the past had been turned into trees that could grow on their own without his support. Ivor, Hettie, Eliza, La, Le, Maya, and others who had entered the Dimensional Gate with Eren were carving their own destinies in a new world. Disturbing their rhythm and impeding their progress would run counter to Eren''s own objectives. As such, the butcher urged Ivor and Hettie to concentrate on their individual growth, allowing the duo to continue their endeavors without interference. Within a few short years of arriving in Labh Salem, Ivor Osan gained the illustrious title of the "Golden Demon." This designation stemmed from his Sin of Pride Ability, centered around his unique armor, which had evolved into a Unique Skill through his utilization of the Mesh. Acting on Hettie''s rmendation, Ivor joined the Root, a formidable coven in the region equipped with demonic resources, diverse Tantras, and expansive territories. His active participation within the coven contributed significantly to his advancement. Abination of Ivor''s innate talent, dedicated efforts, straightforward Ranking Path, Labh Salem''s resource abundance for Rankers, andpatible Tantras propelled him to the esteemed rank of Grand Knight. His Elemental Attainments soared when he used Tantras inbination withpatible Yantras and Mantras. His weapon proficiency leveled up when he made use of the special Arrays avable in the coven. He also became well-versed in handling the demonic mana, unlocking several Skills that supported his Unique Skill. Unlocking the Soul Sense further allowed Ivor to exponentially enhance his Spiritual Forcepared to his time in Anfang. This Spiritual Awakening, in turn, heightened his proficiency in wielding his Sin Series Ability. Amidst Labh Salem''s abundance of prodigious individuals, Ivor emerged as one of the most exceptional Rankers when all his advantages were stacked together. With the fabled S-Rank status on the horizon, Ivor stood at the threshold of bing a Sage or Kaiserterms denoting S- Ranked Ranker entities in Anfang and Labh Salem respectively. Should his progress continue at its current pace, Ivor was poised to achieve Sage status within a few short years, a feat his grandfather, Issac Osan, could only dream of but ultimately failed to attain. Chapter 1734 Agora Chapter 1734 Agora ??Seated in a cozy nook away from the lively crowd, Ivor and Hettie engaged in a yful exchange of words. The pompous, egoistic, and rage-driven Ivor was nowhere to be found. Or rather, that side of him had been mellowed down to highlight the other aspects of his personality. Sitting so close to her, Ivor couldn''t resist expressing his admiration for Hettie''s demonic beauty. "You may think I''m stating the obvious, my dear. But your beauty could make even the most stoics blush," Ivorplimented, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Hettie responded with a devilish grin, "Well, you''d have to thank your friend. You wouldn''t have said this to me if we had met in Purgatory," she said and chuckled. Hettie was reminded of her time spent in Eliza''s Purgatory as a wraith. At that time, she was reduced to being an old hag while she was under the influence of Eliza''s Sin Series Ability. If it was up to her, she would have never let Eliza go for all that she had to suffer. But she respected Eren''s decision and moved on, restarting her life in Labh Salem. Eventually, she managed to move away from her past. Ivor had stressed expressions on his face. "Let''s not talk about Purgatory here. To be honest, I don''t have good memories regarding that ce either." He sighed and took a deep breath before speaking with a newfound vigor. "Instead, let''s talk about you. I I gotta say wardrobe choices are on point like always. Those robes are devilishly stylish, my dear." Hettie yfully twirled a strand of her hair, "Hehe. You know, Ivor there''s a saying among the witchesC that dogs guard, cats judge, and men praise the shit out of anyone they want to fornicate with." Ivorughed heartily, "Well that''s notpletely wrong. But I''d say that I can guard and judge you too. So you don''t need cats and dogs because you got me." Hettie looked at Ivor as if she wasn''t expecting him to be so direct. "That''s not" she startedughing before she could prohibit Ivor''s verbal advances. The duo continued their banter, weaving puns and jokes into their conversation. Ivor couldn''t resist another set of yfulpliments with double entendres. Hettie responded ordingly while refilling her drink. "Hm?" Ivor stopped speaking to Hettie when his Spectral Screen suddenly popped up in front of him. It looked like Hettie experienced the same thing too because she also grew quiet at the same time as if she was shocked by something in front of her. The entire den went into silent mode all of a sudden because of a certain phenomenon. It looked like everyone had started noticing some changes in the Spectral Screens they had ess to. ''Hm? What the hell is this thing?'' Ivor asked himself as he opened a new subpanel in his Spectral Screen that he had never seen before. He quickly explored it to see what kind of features it had. This new subpanel was named Agora. It came with an introduction. [ Goddess Menaka is proud to unveil thetest addition to the Mesh C the Agora subpanel. It represents a groundbreaking leap in massmunication within the Mesh. The Agora sub-panel serves as a dedicated space where entities across Labh Salem can converge, exchange ideas, and engage in free-flowingmunication. This dynamic tform transcends traditional Mesh capabilities, offering a spectrum of features tailored to the diverse needs of its users. ] The more Ivor read through the description the more confused he got. "Are you seeing what I''m seeing?" he asked Hettie, unsure of what this new feature was all about. "Um I think so," Hettie answered while reading through the introduction of the new subpanel. She had never seen or heard about this sub-panel. Menaka''s Blessings hardly ever changed with time. And the changes it came with were minimal at best for the most part. However, this was the first time in Labh Salem''s known history that the goddess had decided to introduce something new to the Mesh. The fiend was as clueless as Ivor but she kept on reading instead of asking questions. [ Key Features of Agora are listed below. Universal ess: Agora opens its gates to all Mesh users, ensuring unlimited ess after paying 20 Menaka''s Runes annually. Regardless of faith, faction, or allegiance, entities from every corner of Labh Salem can participate in this shared space. Live and Recorded Messaging: Users of Menaka''s Blessing can broadcast live messages to the entire Mesh or submit recorded messages forter ess. This feature allows for real-timemunication as well as asynchronous engagement, fostering a sense ofmunity across distances. Interactive Social Networking: Agora facilitates a new form of socialworking within Labh Salem. Entities can connect, share thoughts, and engage in discussions, creating a vibrantmunity that transcends traditional boundaries. Diverse Content Consumption: The subpanel supports a range of content types, from educational lectures and divine teachings to entertainment and cultural events. Agora bes a melting pot of knowledge, creativity, and expression. As Agora takes its ce within the Mesh, it is poised to be a beacon of inspiration, transcending divine and demonic boundaries. Free from the constraints of the existing order, Agora allows everyone to be a contributor, a listener, and a catalyst for change. Join us in the Agora subpanel, wheremunication knows no bounds, and the journey towards a connected Labh Salem begins.] "Hm? It looks like it''s some kind ofmunication featureC I think," Ivor scratched the back of his head as he tried to make sense of things. "It''ll probably be used by priests, archpriests from the enemy side. In our case, it''ll probably be beneficial to Demon Generals and Demon Barons. I don''t think it has anything to do with us," he said while sounding unsure. "Hmm," Hettie pondered a bit before thinking out loud. "Still, it doesn''t hurt to see what this thing is all about at the cost of 20 Menaka''s Runes, right? I''ll pay and see what happens," she said before selecting a particr option. In the next moment, 20 Menaka''s Runes were deducted from her bnce and the Agora subpanel waspletely open for her. It seemed that everyone hade to the same conclusion as Hettie and decided to pay for the sub-panel out of curiosity. Hettie''s expression turned grim when she saw the very first post of the sub-panel. She looked at Ivor with careful expressions, and looked around to see if anyone was looking at them, before speaking to him in a low voice. "You might want to see the very first entry of this subpanel." "Hm?" Ivor knew Hettie. She didn''t easily get spooked. So he quickly paid the entry amount for the sub panel in order to see what her partner was talking about. His expression also turned dead serious when he read the name of the first and only post present in the Agora. [ A Message from True Inheritor of the Elder Ichor ] Chapter 1735 "What is Creation?"

Chapter 1735 "What is Creation?"

?"What in the world is going through his mind? I thought he was supposed to keep a low profile here." Ivor muttered to himself, his eyes fixed on the singr feed within Agora. Turning to Hettie, he sought answers, expecting some semnce of exnation. "Don''t look at me. I had no clue about this," Hettie shrugged, responding to Ivor''s inquisitive gaze. It was true that Hettie was still technically under Eren''smand. However, Eren wasn''t exactly forting with many details of his ns. "This isn''t his usual approach at all," Ivor said, lost in thought, his eyes scanning for any clues. Having coborated and shed with Eren in the past, Ivor was well aware of Eren''s preference for working discreetly, allowing his schemes to mature over extended periods beforeing to fruition. Given this, Ivor couldn''t help but question the authenticity of the feed. "Maybe it''s someone impersonating Eren to draw him out?" Ivor spected, considering various possibilities. "Well," Hettie replied, "there''s only one way to find out." With that, she opened the lone post in Agora, determined to uncover the truth behind the unexpected revtion. Ivor did the same. A spectral depiction of a mysterious man materialized in a miniature form, captivating those exploring the initial feed within Agora. d in simple attire with features concealed behind an intricate mask, the man bore distinctive patterns that set him apart. His surroundings offered no identifiable objects, shrouding both his location and identity in an air of mystery. ''Ah, this mask gives it away. This asshole likes that mask. Fuck! Tumko is going to have a tough time ahead.'' Ivor recognized the mask immediately, a wry smile ying on his lips. The mask served as a clear indicator to Ivor and Hettie that the enigmatic figure was indeed Eren. Their encounter with Tumko in the White Raven Guild enhanced their understanding of Eren''s cryptic method of confirming his identity to his allies while keeping others in the dark. By donning this mask, Eren inadvertentlyplicated Tumko Darata''s presence in Labh Salem. The Fear Firdos Skill user now faced the dilemma of changing masks or swiftly departing this world altogether. What Ivor didn''t know was the fact that Eren had already contacted Tumko before releasing his feed in Agora. Tumko had been given enough time toe up with countermeasures. It also happened that Tumko had prepared to leave Labh Salem altogether along with his team. After all, Labh Salem was nothing but aunch pad for Tumko''s team. Tumko and his team couldn''t go to their intended destination right from a closed realm such as Anfang. Tumko and team had been preparing for their eventual departure for years on end ever since theynded in Labh Salem along with Ivor and others. When Eren told Tumko what he was about to do, thetter took it as a sign for him to leave Labh Salem and go to his intended destination. So he gave Eren the green signal to use his masks. *** "Greetings, inhabitants of Labh Salem," the masked man addressed in an altered voice, deep enough to defy any resemnce to a regr human. "I apologize for maintaining my secrecy, a necessity for my continued existence. Believe it or not, I enjoy living. I like waking up every day. It''s something I have been doing ever since I was very small. Breathing is fantastic, and I intend to keep doing so for as long as I please. Kekeke." ''This guy he is literally joking with gods at this point. Gotta hand it to his legs for carrying the weight of his balls.'' Ivor''s expression darkened when he heard Eren''s sinister chuckle. He surveyed his surroundings, noting the perplexed expressions of nearby den dwellers. ''Still his cover is not blown. Or more like ''our'' cover is not blown. That''s a relief.'' Observing his partner, Ivor found relief painted across Hettie''s face. A sigh escaped Ivor as well when he realized Eren had chosen to reveal himself uniquely while safeguarding his identity. The stakes were high, and in the worst-case scenario, the revtion of Eren''s identity to the masses could result in a hunt for Eren, Ivor, Hettie, and their allies by the true leaders of the divine and demonic factions. "I''m certain many of you have questions swirling about my identity. The concept of being a genuine Inheritor of Elder Ichor may be unfamiliar to most. Allow me to exin C I am what many users of Elder Seed Artifacts aspire to be. I hold something they covet. I''m afraid, however, that the race for the title of ''God Aleph''s interior'' has concluded. I''ve bested the other Elder Seeds from thepetition by iming something they could never attain in their entire lives." Gasps and shocked expressions rippled through the audience, and Ivor couldn''t fault them. Eren had just disclosed an achievement that appeared to defy the bounds of possibility. While the denizens of Labh Salem might be unfamiliar with the specifics of God Aleph or the origins of Elder Seed Artifacts, they understood the significance of these artifacts and their transformation into Elder Seeds. Throughout Labh Salem''s history, numerous Elder Seeds, also known as Elder Seed Artifact users, had risen to fame upon acquiring these powerful relics. The Elder Seeds were considered an unstoppable force that defiedmon sense. Labh Salem still had many Elder Seeds still active and all of them were famous in their own way. In essence, the people of Labh Salemprehended the gravity behind someone proiming their supremacy over other Elder Seeds C a bold derationden with significance. "At this juncture, I don''t feel the need to expound much upon my identity," dered the spectral figure of the masked man, exuding confidence while maintaining a disciplined, army-like posture with arms behind his back "Before long, the realm of Labh Salem will be buzzing with chatter and revtions about me. Some among you may be tasked to track me down. Undoubtedly, various temples and cults will ce bounties on my head, attempting to quell the discussions surrounding me. Yet, I have to say that I''m going nowhere. So there''s no cause for concern. You can always locate me right here C directly in front of you. I must extend my gratitude to Goddess Menaka for presenting me with this opportunity, and I appreciate my viewers for lending an ear to what I am about to say," expressed Eren, offering a slight bow to his audience before proceeding. "I have a crucial message to share, and I implore you to hear me out entirely before forming any judgments. Are you prepared for this?" Eren inquired, deliberately creating suspense, causing his audience to hold their breath in anticipation. He waited for the excitement to peak before delivering his message with grave seriousness. "Every one of you is being deceived. Both the divine and demonic factions seek to manipte you as pawns to advance their own agendas," Eren dered, his words carrying a weighty seriousness. A momentary silence nketed the surroundings, followed by a cacophony of varied reactions. "What the fuck is this guy talking about?" queried a nearby Dreamweaver, expressing confusion. "Hahaha! I''ll have what this fucker is having," said a bald and muscr body cultivator whileughing to himself. "Damn! He got me. I thought he was going to reveal something groundbreaking,"mented another person to Hettie''s left. "That does it. If they try to hunt this guy down, count me in," asserted someone with evident frustration and anger in their voice. "Haah! I might as well close this subpanel and focus on drinking. I am too sober for this absurdity," remarked a tired voice from somewhere in the den. "Yeah? Water is wet, air is invisible, and fire feels hot. Now, where''s my first prize for stating the obvious?" joked another individual. "Who the fuck is this clown?" pondered someone quietly to themselves. "He must be a demon. Only demons try to mislead people and coerce them into signing Faustian Contracts," opined another with a judgment of their own. "Ummm his voice sounds sexy. And those eyes behind the mask. It''s like they have a world of their own in them. Sigh. If only he would reveal his face. I might have entertained his delusions if he were handsome enough," added a witch with a romantic inclination, eyeing the mysterious man seductively. Ivor and Hettie found themselves surrounded by such chatter after Eren''s initial statements. Though unsure of Eren''s intentions behind his seemingly random and vague words, they maintained theirposure, opting to hear him out. "What is Creation?" Eren posed the question to his audience, who were still dismissing his earlier statements. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Creation is the origin of all that exists in the boundless cosmos. It is essible to all, residing within us. Each of us isposed of a fragment of Creation that has endured for eternity and will continue to endure for eternity more. The gods and the demon gods won''t tell you this. But you are being used for what you have within you." Chapter 1736 "Some Truths Get Denied Because They Are Too Truthful for Their Own Good"

Chapter 1736 "Some Truths Get Denied Because They Are Too Truthful for Their Own Good"

?"SILENCE!" Eren''s spectral form abruptly raised his voice to its maximum, taking everyone by surprise. A hushed quiet fell upon Eren''s audience before he resumed speaking. "I''m certain many of you are acquainted with how intent-based magic operates. You utilize your emotions as the fuel to empower your magic, be it a spell, sorcery, witchcraft, or Mesh. This principle remains constant. Most of us oftenplicate many things by not understanding the basics behind them. Have you ever contemted why your emotions y such a pivotal role in intent-based magic? Have you ever pondered why the gods and demons urge you to feel specific emotions? Why are sacrifices necessary? Why do you need to follow a certain set ofmandments? And have you ever questioned why they want you to continue feeling those things repeatedly? Don''t you think it''s an endless cycle? Like a chore that you need to repeat over and over again until the moment you take yourst breath?" Eren''s questions were straightforward yet intricate to answer. Consequently, the initially forced silence began to feel more natural as his audience engaged in introspection prompted by Eren''s inquiries. At this juncture, people hade to the realization that this wasn''t a live transmission of the masked man. Nevertheless, they felt as if they were engaging in a one-on-one conversation with him in real-time as Eren began speaking with a deliberate tone. "Imagine Creation as an endless sea of the most purest form of water," Eren exined inyman''s terms, ensuring that even mortals couldprehend his message clearly. "Each of us is like a container attempting to capture some of that life-nourishing elixir for ourselves. These containers are our souls. When we strive to enhance our Spiritual Force, essentially, we''re making ourselves better vessels. However, let me remind you: this spiritual water we carry within cannot be duplicated. Moreover, regardless of one''s greed, each of us can only contain a fixed amount of water within us. All of us are vessels for an potent substance that can foster life in a barren seed. Do you grasp what this water represents?" Eren posed this question to his audience, pausing before providing a sinct answer in two simple words: "Origin Force." "Intent-based magic surpasses any conventional form of magic because it incorporates Origin Force into the equation to some extent. It''s akin to a sapling getting nourished by being watered, making it turn into a giant tree. The Origin Force invokes the veryws of nature to act on your behalf. Our emotions serve as a diverse set of spoons, used to fill the Origin Force into the containers that are our souls. These same spoons are employed to extract the Origin Force from within us. What''s interesting about these spoons is the fact that they can''t remain in the same size and shapes forever. They are always changing their dimensions. After all, we can''t be happy, sad, bitter, or excited all the time. It just doesn''t work that way. The intensity of the emotions we experience at a given time corresponds to the size of the respective spoon. The greater the emotions, therger the spoon represents that particr emotion bes. When we use these emotions to draw out the Origin Force within us, we can extract more than usual. Those who know how to make use of these spoons at any given time would eventually be proficient in the inten-based magic. This is the reason why intent-based magic holds that distinctive edge," Eren elucidated, shrouding himself in an enigmatic aura. Eren''s audience started paying attention to what Eren had to say inadvertently. A lot of their questions regarding intent- based magic and how it worked were getting answered. It was aplete mood change, as if everyone in the den was bought by him. Some of them felt his words to make sense from within them. It was as if they knew what Eren was talking about from the very beginning but had been ignoring these things. It was only when Eren pointed out this fact that they started to make sense of how intent-based magic worked for them. Eren''s ethereal form allowed a moment of contemtion for his audience before he continued. "However, harnessing magic is just one of the fundamental applications of Origin Force. It has much broader implications such as transforming you into the gods and demons you venerate." "sphemer!" eximed a woman, hastily rising from her seat. "This guy...he''s out of his mind," murmured another in a hushed tone. A cascade ofments ensued. "Some truths are ringly obvious. And sometimes people oppose them because these truths are too obvious. Some of us want our realities to be extraordinary and profound. They run after something that is very far away from themC a mirage. But most of life''s mysteries are easy to understand if you just keep your eyes open and see." Eren pressed on, undeterred by the murmurs. "These truths be difficult to ept because our ingrained beliefs act as a curse. I''m certain no faith, whether divine or demonic, would broach this topic. Because if they revealed these truths, you''d recognize how dependent these Immortals are on you. They prefer you docile, obedient, like sheep, so they can shear you for the wool you grow, which is Origin Force. Demonic cults perform rituals, divine temples partake in fervent prayers. Yet, they share amon goalthey all want you to continue producing Origin Force. You might be curious about my unwavering confidence in these assertions. The reason is simpleI am also one of the beneficiaries of the same system. I am one of the demi-gods seeking to harvest the wool you produce," Eren dered, as though stating the most obvious fact. His audience took a moment to grapple with the revtion. Uncertain whether to wholly reject or fully ept Eren''s narrative now that they knew he too was a demi-god. Eren''s revtion was akin to a pseudo magician unveiling the secrets of his trade to the audience and betraying the others of his kind. Chapter 1737 Elder Ichor Faction Chapter 1737 Elder Ichor Faction ??In a secluded part of Labh Salem. A city nestled in a lush valley far from the Onianum continent. A dimly lit room hosted a man appearing to be in his early thirties by mortal standards. Possessing captivating emerald-green eyes, shoulder-length ck hair, and an air of calm authority, he was attired in a sleeveless ck leather light armor over a white tunic. Intrigued by the new sub-panel Agoraunched by Goddess Menaka, the emerald-green-eyed man initially explored its offerings. However, when he encountered a recorded feed featuring a mysterious masked figure expounding on various subjects, his curiosity was piqued. The masked man''s discourse, though radical and challenging for themon inhabitants of Labh Salem, resonated as an unflinching truth about both the divine and demonic factions. Fortunately, the masked man was in the know of things rted to the cultivation of faith. As such, he could rte to what the masked man was trying to convey with his speech. As the masked man dered, "I am one of the demi-gods seeking to harvest the wool you produce," the emerald-green-eyed man found himself entertained and intrigued. "Hehehe. This guy" Initially tense, he chuckled lightly, unable to fathom that a young demi-god would risk self-sabotage by unveiling such truths to the masses, potentially jeopardizing the entire business of selling faith in Labh Salem. With a smile ying on his lips, the bearded man shook his head, acknowledging the masked man''s audacity. "This young demigod is truly one-of-a-kind. I doubt someone like him has ascended to demigod status recently in Labh Salem. And most of the existing demigods are puppets imnted in the masses by their true masters. They won''t do anything like this. Makes me wonder about his origins," he mused. The emerald-green-eyed man also failed to see what the masked demigod was trying to gain by revealing these nuances about the faith to the masses. By doing this, he was also hurting his chances of bing a true god. ''No need to dwell on these thoughts. Let''s concentrate on what he''s saying first,'' the bearded man murmured to himself, adjusting in his chair to give full attention to the masked man''s speech. "I share these thoughts because I''ve got nothing to lose. Freedomes when you''re not bound by anything. I''m already in conflict with both factions. So, offending my enemies doesn''t bother me; they were enemies from the start," the masked man conveyed to his audience, striking a tone that was neither arrogant nor submissive. "The people of Labh Salem must liberate themselves from the grasp of gods and demons attempting to control their lives," he continued, casually scratching under his ear. "Make no mistake C your choice doesn''t matter as things stand. Whichever faction you pick, you''ll end up being used by others. Let me rify. I don''t mind gods and demons utilizing their followers. It''s kill or be killedC use or be used. Using someone andpensating them for their efforts is nothing but a transaction. It''s the way of any world. And sooner orter youe to ept it. What I do mind is how little they offer you after using you as batteries for continuous Origin Force generation. The benefits they offer you are abysmal whenpared to what they gain from you. I know that it won''t be the case for every faith and its followers. There may be a few Immortals who do care about their worshippers. But let''s just face it- they are in the minority. The gods who ascended to divine status were once mortals, walking steadfastly on their respective Paths to Power before iming a God Spark. Simrly, Demon Princes and the 72 Ars Goetia Demons originated from negative emotions that gained consciousness in Hvergelmir Springs. These demons were nothing but hatchlings once, raising themselves from that status and attaining demonic immortality. It means that these Immortals were once as insignificant asmon folks. It''s only when they learn to harness the Origin Force did they get rid of their mortality and be Immortals. I too was as insignificant as you not long ago. And maybe I still am to some extent considering the fact that I still have to wear a mask. But you know the major difference between you and me?" The emerald-green-eyed man could feel the masked man smiling behind his mask as he continued. "I''m not delusional. I won''t join either faction. So believe me when I say that you can elevate yourselves to be the next god or demon. If nothing else, you can at least put an end to the unfair treatment. You don''t need Sin Series Marks or Virtue Series Marks on your souls. No prayers to gods or offerings to demons are required. Don''t pray for me either. As much as I want you to generate faith energy for me through your prayers, I''d rather if you stopped worshiping the Immortals who don''t deserve your attention. You''d help me to some extent if you choose to not join these two main factions in any way or form. And that is enough for me as of now," said the masked man in a determined tone. The bearded man inferred, ''He''s opting for a preemptive move. It''s not about gaining faith energy from potential followers; instead, he aims to diminish the followers of existing faiths.'' A smile yed on the bearded man''s lips as he acknowledged the masked man''s cunning strategy. ''Well well well. He''s been well-instructed. Either he has a mentor, or his experiences as a demigod are exceptionally enriching for his age,'' mused the emerald-green-eyed man. The masked man continued, "I want you to trust and have faith in yourselves. We possess the same fragment of Creation as these Immortals. In the eyes of Creation, we are all equal. These principles will guide my faction, the third faction that I''ll name the Elder Ichor faction." The masked man challenged Labh Salem''s faith-centric society, urging them to have faith in themselves instead of worshiping the lmmortals. Chapter 1738 Tools of Liberation Chapter 1738 Tools of Liberation ??"Hmm? So he aspires to be the originator of a new faction?" The bearded man found himself surprised by the masked man''s ambitious deration, a statement unheard of among demigods, at least as per his current knowledge. "I can''t discern his ultimate goal here," mused the bearded man. Tugging at his right earlobe and scratching under his ear, he let his thoughts wander off. "He has basically dismissed the idea of converting people into his followers. Granted, there''s a substantial portion of practitioners in both factions dissatisfied with the predetermined rules of the game stacked against them. These followers are weary of abiding by rules that favor the Immortals or the ones who are in charge of their faith-generating machines. However, this masked demigod is likely to convert only a handful of them into followers. That number won''t be sufficient to elevate him to the status of a true god anytime soon. He tells his potential followers to believe in themselves. By saying this, he has implied that they shouldn''t believe in him. This concept ispletely against Labh Salem''s culture. Who would follow a demigodcking faith in the power of belief? Who would rally behind someone starting with such a radical approach, poised to sh with almost every Immortal by undermining their follower count? He won''t gain much from debuting this way; he''s destined to remain a demigod indefinitely. Unless... he offers something in return to his potential followers," concluded the bearded man, entertaining various thoughts simultaneously. The masked man resumed speaking as if addressing all the inquiries the bearded man harbored in oneprehensive statement. "Followers of the Elder Ichor faction will never be required to bow before any Immortal," dered the masked man, infusing his voice with conviction and assurance. "They will receive their due benefits based on merit and contributions to the cause, with no favoritism towards any particr individual or group. All you need to do is believe in yourself and trust in me as a representative of the shared Creation within us. Currently, the factioncks numbers. So I will wait for us to reach a sizable headcount before putting some do''s and don''ts. The Elder Ichor faction will not discard the concept of faith but will not prioritize it at the core of our beliefs. The choice to believe in me and my faction will always be voluntary. I won''tbel someone a sphemer for having greater faith in themselves than in me. I pledge to prioritize cultivating strong, self-reliant individuals among my followers, capable of carrying their own weight with or without external sources of power," concluded the masked man as he adjusted his mask over his face. ''Herees the carrot,'' thought the bearded man as he understood what the masked man was about to say to his audience. "The Elder Ichor faction will offer something unique to its followers. Something that you can''t get by aligning yourselves with divine or demonic factions," the masked man''s voice started gettingced with a tinge bit of excitement as he continued. "What if I told you that you could tap into infernal energy without summoning demons? What if you could be a demon yourself instead of getting possessed by one? What if I told you that you could wield Sin Series powers without having to sign a Faustian Contract with demons?" the masked man asked his audience, his voice radiating with a sense of temptation. The bearded man raised his eyebrows when he heard how the masked man was trying to tempt his potential followers into joining a new faction. He could only guess that this demi-god was only trying to bluff everyone. After all, he hadn''t heard of someone getting Sin Series Marks or wielding the demonic magic without there being a Faustian Contract added to the equation. "The Immortals function as mere intermediaries for the Origin Force," elucidated the masked man, rifying his earlier statements to the global audience of Labh Salem. "The gods and demons you revere umte your faith, offering to enhance your intent-based magic in return. Naturally, theyy im to a portion of the Origin Force for acting as intermediaries. This Origin Force is generated by you, utilizing your soul as a generator. And yet, you are the ones who end up paying for something that helped generate. By epting Sin Series Marks or Virtue Series Marks, you permit these Immortals to amass faith energy through you. In return, im Origin Force directly from Creation itself. This contractual arrangement between you and the Immortals is symbolized by Faustian Contracts and Divine Contracts. As such, these contracts are nothing but trade agreements between you and these Immortals, which will always be in the Immortals'' favor. But what if you could eliminate the intermediaries? What if you could ess infernal or divine magic directly through your own soul? That too with the same amount of efficiency? The Elder Ichor faction is here to facilitate just that. The shared fragment of Creation within each of us empowers us to wield any form of magic without intermediaries. Followers of my faction will utilize demonic Skills they''ve unlocked more effectively with the aid of the right tools. A dedicated section in Menaka''s Market is designated for followers of the Elder Ichor faction to acquire these tools, liberating them from constraints. These tools are safe to use and don''t even have me as your intermediary. It means that the faith energy you generate towards me will always be voluntary. It will always depend on your willingness to follow me. However, be forewarned: once you employ these tools, there''s no turning back. Committing to the Elder Ichor faction means you can never revert or align with the other two factions." Cautioned the masked man, offering potential followers a stern admonition against attempting to exploit him for benefits and then deserting the factionter on. "I want to make it clear that these Tools of Liberation won''t be offered freely. I firmly believe that things obtained without a price tag are seldom appreciated in the long run. The true value lies in understanding the beauty of what we possess when we''ve invested something meaningful," conveyed the masked man, a subtle smile gracing his lips. "Someone once imparted this wisdom to me, and now I share it with my potential followers," the masked man continued, taking a deep breath before leaving his audience with these parting words: "I am being kind to you by not being kind to you." Chapter 1739 Shaynak Top 100

Chapter 1739 Shaynak Top 100

?"I am being kind to you by not being kind to you." With those words, the recorded feed of the masked man concluded. The bearded man''s once-sturdy room fell into a heavy silence as the spectral rendition vanished. Unlike the usual tranquility he found in silence, the bearded man''s expressions shifted through various shades all of a sudden. He abruptly stood from his seat as the identity of the masked man dawned on him. Thest line of the masked man struck the bearded man''s heart like a bolt of raging lightning. "Eren!" eximed the emerald-green-eyed man, shock painted across his face as memories of time spent with his son in Anfang flooded back. "When? How? And he... he became a demi-god? What What exactly happened in Anfang?" The initial shock transformed into worry as he realized his son had found a way to Labh Salem, despite leaving him in Anfang, a closed-off realm hidden from the denizens of Labh Salem. "Kaiser Elijah, we are all set. Should we proceed forward?" Interrupted another man, entering the story room through the open door. It was as if Elijah was expecting this subordinate of his toe to visit him all along. Elijah Idril took a moment topose himself before responding. "No... not now. Change of ns. I''ve decided to halt all operations for the time being. Wait for further instructions." Elijah clenched his fists, inwardly reflecting. ''My son, you shouldn''t havee here.'' *** Km Continent. Green Dragon Valley. Labh Salem. In the heart of the mystical Green Dragon Valley, stood the awe-inspiring City of Dragonblood. If one looked at the city from a very high vantage point, one would find that it had been shaped like a colossal dragon''s maw, pulsated with energy that echoed the tales of ancient dragons and half-bloods rted to them by blood. As one ventured toward the city, the architecture seamlessly blended draconic elementsscales, wings, and sinuous curvescreating a harmonious fusion of solid architecture and mythical grandeur. Towering spires, adorned with intricate draconic motifs, soared to the heavens, bearing witness to the city''s profound connection with the legendary creatures. At the very heart of Dragonblood, a monumental tribute to the dragons took formthe gigantic Green Dragon Statue. Crafted with unparalleled artistry, the statue depicted a regal dragon, wings outstretched in a gesture of dominion. The dragon''s eyes glowed with an eye-catching brilliance, reflecting the ancient power coursing through the veins of Dragonblood''s citizens. The journey continued deeper into the city, unveiling the renowned Dragon Pcean ethereal abode that could rival the heavens. mes and fire-inspired architecture adorned its exterior, with pirs featuring sculpted mes and intricate dragon carvings. As visitors stepped inside, the air itself seemed to pulse with a warm, fiery aura. Within the Dragon Pce, runic details in draconic tongues adorned the walls, each telling a tale of dragons in various forms. Corridors echoed with the distant roars of dragons. The throne room, a masterpiece of fiery design, housed a throne carved from dragon bonea symbol of the ruler''s intimate connection with the mystical beings. Every element in the City of Dragonblood was a living testament to the unbreakable bond between its denizens and their draconic ancestors. In every me-kissed corridor and dragon-carved structure, the legacy of dragons thrived. *** Nestled within Dragonblood''s ancient walls, House Samael stirred from its age-old slumber. This half-blood n was propelled into newfound prominence by the enigmatic and potent presence of a woman who materialized in Labh Salem like a tempest. This formidable figure appeared out of nowhere and single- handedly lifted the declining n from obscurity, restoring its dominion over the region. Having triumphed over formidable adversaries, the mysterious woman, a force to be reckoned with, chose to breathe life back into her ancestral legacy within the heart of Dragonblood. Under her influence, the region underwent a remarkable transformation, a testament to her unwavering prowess. Earning widespread acim for her victories and ascending through the esteemed Shaynak Top 100 rankings, she swiftly became known as the Strongest Debutant of the Century. Her reputation soared, fueled by a relentlessbat style and the scorching fame of her green mes. Presently situated within the top 50, predictions abounded that she would effortlessly breach the top 40 in the ensuing years, given her relentless ascent. The city, now buzzing with life, attracted a throng of daily visitors eager to witness the mysterious woman recognized as the Witch of the Endermes. Among these guests were emissaries from influential organizations spanning Labh Salem, seeking to allure the Witch of the Endermes with Ranking Resources, wealth, and other enticements into their fold. Others, drawn to the city, yearned for the ultimate test of their prowess, challenging the enigmatic figure to duels that promised fame and recognition alongside the Witch of the Endermes herself. After all, those who could defeat her would rob her of her ce in the Shaynak Top 100 and be equally famous. The winds of change swept through Dragonblood, bringing an era where House Samael''s name echoed with newfound vigor and respect. The Witch of the Endermes now practically ruled this revitalized city. Due to her newfound fame and central role in the city, this mysterious woman found herself unusually busy every day. However, she chose to pause her activities and closely monitor the recent changes within Menaka''s Blessing. The Witch of the Endermes was a mesmerizing beauty, with enchanting green eyes and cascading emerald hair. Her remarkable features, from the allure of her face to the elegance of her curves, portrayed a stunning image. Despite appearing as if she had just emerged from her teenage years, her mana signatures spoke of extraordinary depths concealed beneath her peaceful exterior. One could only describe her as a beautiful monster. With a small baby dragon in her arms, she listened intently to the masked man''s words and quickly deduced his identity. Halting all her work, she focused on what he had to say. "I am being kind to you by not being kind to you." The spectral rendition of the masked man vanished in front of the Witch of the Endermes after uttering thesest words. A smile graced her face as she contemted. ''Fufufu. Anfang was not enough. It seems "he" wants to cause chaos in this world as well.'' Chapter 1740 Fiend Transformation Potions

Chapter 1740 Fiend Transformation Potions

?"Master Eliza!" Suddenly a young girl appeared behind Eliza and called out to her. "Did you see" "Yeah. it''s him, alright," Eliza confirmed La''s hunch before thetter could even confide it in her. "The question isC what does he n to do?" La sighed before speaking further. "Even after dealing with him for so many years in Anfang, we still don''t know much about him, do we? Makes me wonder if he is an incarnation of some Immortal?" La wondered out loud. "Even an incarnation can''t do what he has done in Anfang," Elizamented while patting the head of the dragon baby ying in her arms. "And no Immortal would try to turn others of his kind against them by doing something as crazy as what he had done and said just now." Eliza then gave the newly born dragon into La''s hands while speaking up. "In any case, we can somewhat guess what he is up to by checking out what he has kept in Menaka''s Market for his followers." "Aaah. I was so lost in thoughts that I forgot to check that," La pped her forehead before quickly essing the Spectral Screen of the Menaka''s Blessing. Since she was a homunculus, there were certain restrictions ced on La regarding the use of Menaka''s Blessing. Thankfully, she was still able to ess Menaka''s Market. La soon found a new section within Menaka''s Market named Tools of Liberation. It was created by Eren under the title of True Inheritor of Elder Ichor. This section had several products avable for people to buy. La quickly started going through these Tools of Liberation one by one. [Fiend Transformation Potion: Initiates a fiend transformation within the user. Users can harness demonic energies without the need for Faustian Contracts, ensuringpatibility with their natural talents and elemental mana type. The fiend transformation allows users to seamlessly shift between their standard forms and the altered forms triggered by the transformation. The transformation will be instant and always controlled by the user''s will. Facilitated by the Mesh, this transformation unlocks an additional Skill Tree tailored to the specific altered form. While the fiend transformation enhances body stats and increases mana efficiency, a fixed amount of mana points is consumed to activate the transformation each time. There will be no mana consumption for undoing the transformation. Users are advised to exercise caution C the fiend transformation permanently alters the user''s state of being, transforming them into corrupted life forms. Both their bodies and souls undergo corruption, rendering the faith energy generated by such fiends ipatible with the divine and demonic factions. Thus, users will be unable to unlock divine or demonic Skill Trees. The existing Blessings from their patron Immortals would cease to work on them. Any additional buffs caused by the Immortals'' influence would also be nullified. Potions are avable in limited quantities, exclusively in Maneka''s Market. Can only be used by Children of Creation. A single potion per Menaka''s Blessing User. Buyout price: 1000 Menaka''s Runes.] "This, Master Eliza... have you seen it?" La''s voice trembled as she confronted Eliza, her shock evident. The product description Eren had listed under the dedicated section called "Tools of Liberation" within Menaka''s Market had left her astounded. La and Eliza, well aware of the fiends created by Eren for the Lazarus Project, understood the implications of these potions. By creating and distributing these potions to the masses, he was going to swindle the number of worshippers of all the faiths across both factions. After all, those who used the fiend transformation potion wouldn''t be able to keep their faith. They would be forced out by their respective organizations permanently. It meant that joining the Elder Ichor faction was a one-way street. The users would be able to wield the intent-driven magic in their own way, skipping the brokers. They wouldn''t have to sign Faustian Contracts with the seven Demon Princes or seventy- two Ars Goetia Demons. The inability to still be privy to have faith in Immortals was the cost of skipping Faustian ContractsC skipping these so-called brokers. The purchasing price of the potion was neither too cheap nor too expensive considering the kind of benefits it offered. It made it so that most regr buyers would be able to buy this potion. The purchasing limit of one unit per user would prohibit the rich entities from hoarding the potions to some extent, allowing Eren to spread these potions among the masses. "I have indeed read it," Eliza confirmed, nodding. "Eren effectively utilized the fiend creation process he crafted in Anfang. It seems that he has managed to synthesize its effects into a potion. This potion is going to shake the foundation of this world because of how revolutionary it is. The manufacturing of this potion makes that guy one hell of an Array Expert, top-tier Potioneer, exceptional researcher,petitive developer, and talented seller in one go. I guess we underestimated the time and effort he had spent in Anfang to sharpen his fangs beforeing here. I remember what his fiends were able to do in Anfang at the time of the Lazarus Project. The adaptability of those fiends impressed even me. Even then I knew that this transformation had a lot of untapped potential. While I expected him to transform some of his subordinates into fiends, I never imagined it would be on such a global scale," Eliza expressed how impressed she was by Eren''s move. After all, not even a year had passed since Eren''s arrival in the city. ''Is he a better Potioneer than I? I I have to find out. Maybe maybe I can reproduce his stuff.'' sping her fists, La decided to invest. Opting for the buyout, she spent a substantial sum of 1000 Menaka''s Runes to secure thest avable potion. The moment shepleted the purchase, the potion was marked as sold out. Checking her Inventory, La discovered a new entry. Uncorking the vial, she inhaled the potion''s scent and scrutinized its contents using her Spiritual Sense. "La dear, don''t try to reverse engineer it," Eliza warned, anticipating La''s intentions. "Eren is cautious, and I''m sure he has implemented safety measures to prevent duplication. I know how he works and why he might dare to sell such potions here. Trying to mess with his products could backfire, possibly injuring yourself." === AN: Fiend transformation was mentioned in chapters 1138, 1496, 1497, and 1499. Chapter 1741 Sin Series Marks V2 Chapter 1741 Sin Series Marks V2 ??After Eliza''s cautionary advice, La abandoned the idea of delving into the potion synthesized by Eren. In her pursuit of concocting something groundbreaking, she had momentarily forgotten the formidable and vicious nature of the individual involved. "That vile man... we should never underestimate him," La murmured to herself, stowing away the potion vial. The Little Witch''s homunculus vessel rendered her unable to personally test the potion. However, Eliza had a cadre of other subordinates avable for testing, allowing her to analyze the fiend transformation''s effects. "So that''s what he meant by ''trusting in oneself,''" La pondered Eren''s words. "But, Master Eliza, this potion has a significant drawback. It severs the users'' connection to the gods and demons they worship. Corrupted souls and bodies essentially make them akin to monsters from Echidna. However, they won''t be able to worship the monster gods either due to their distinct bloodline genesis. Who would take such a drastic step, bidding farewell to their existing faiths?" La voiced her thoughts, a hint of curiosity and disbelief in her tone. "Never underestimate the frustration within some so-called unlucky individuals from both factions," Eliza responded with a light smile as she settled into a chair within a meticulously maintained pce garden. Preparing a cup of warm tea, she took a slow sip before continuing. "Injustice is inevitable within both factions, affecting those who don''t deserve it. The followers of Immortals be embittered, feeling suffocated by the hold their factions exert over them. Eren ns to target this frustrated demographic within both factions, converting them into followers of his own. With the fiend transformation being irreversible, the number of his followers will inevitably grow over time," Eliza exined, savoring her tea while gazing at the Dragon Pce in front of her. "I I see," La responded as she processed her master''s words and found them to be logical. She patted the baby dragon''s head with her small hands as she started thinking of various things at once. Eliza spoke again, snapping La from her reverie of Eren. "La dear, those potions were not the only thing he put up in the Menaka''s Market. You might want to check the Tools of Liberation section again," Eliza advised as she watched the baby dragon falling asleep in La''s arms. ''This beast is still too young. I need to find ways to expedite his growth,'' the Witch of the Endermes thought to herself as she looked at the beast she had tamed. "Hm? Oh right!" La smacked her forehead once again as she immediately essed her Spectral Screen once again. She soon found the entry her master was talking about. [ Seven-headed Serpent''s Bite: A spectral rendition of the seven-headed serpent statue is created for the user. The users could gain altered forms of Sin Series Marks after being bitten by the spectral rendition of the serpent. The True Inheritor of the Elder Ichor has used his Edict to alter the demonic contracts. As such they wouldn''t be called by their regr nomenture anymore. The altered forms of the Sin Series Marks would also skip on making the users sign a Faustian Contract with any demon consciously or subconsciously. As such, the users of the altered version of the Sin Series Marks would be able to use their demonic abilities for longer periods without losing their sense of self in the process. The Seven-headed Serpent''s Bite could also be used by entities who currently use Sin Series Marks. If the users decided to proceed forward in this case, their existing Faustian Contracts would get nullified, undoing the existing demonic possession if there''s any. As such, the altered forms of the Sin Series Marks could be used by individuals who want to terminate their Faustian Contracts willingly. The demonic exorcism caused by this feature would not be harmful to the users, allowing them to terminate their contracts with their respective demons without suffering from any short or long-term soul-rted side- effects. Users are advised to exercise caution C epting the altered version of the Sin Series Marks permanently changes the user''s state of being, transforming them into corrupted life forms. Both their bodies and souls undergo corruption, rendering the faith energy generated by such fiends ipatible with the divine and demonic factions. Thus, users will be unable to unlock divine or demonic Skill Trees. The existing Blessings from their patron Immortals would cease to work on them. Any additional buffs caused by the Immortals'' influence would also be nullified. The Seven-headed Serpent''s Bite could be availed in the form of booking slots, exclusively in Maneka''s Market. However, the Mesh can only allow a fixed number of users to avail of this product. As such, expect cooldown times and waiting periods. Users are encouraged to avail of this product in advance to avoid rushing and overburden the Mesh. Can only be used by Children of Creation. A single booking slot per Menaka''s Blessing User. Buyout price: 500 Menaka''s Runes.] "FUCCCCCCCK!" La''s vehement curse sharply contrasted with her cute and innocent appearance. Once again, she was taken aback by Eren''s audacity in cing such an item in Menaka''s Market for his potential followers. "This man has gone crazy since arriving in Labh Salem," La remarked, looking at Eliza with a stressed expression. "This is the most audacious ''Fuck You'' directed at all seven Demon Princes and 72 Ars Goetia Demons. I don''t know how he could do something like this, but what I do know is that from now on, all demonic cults will pursue Eren like bloodhounds on a thirst hunt." The Little Witch predicted, sighing with a sense of disappointment at Eren''s apparent recklessness and arrogance. While the conventional Sin Series Marks caused the user''s soul to be increasingly demonised with each use, Eren''s version did not carry such a disadvantage. Users would retain control over their will, regardless of how frequently they employed the Sin Series Marks. The unexpected bonus of the Bite being able to annul existing Faustian Contracts for the users added an element that caught everyone by surprise. Chapter 1742 Syl Ouroboros Chapter 1742 Syl Ouroboros ??"Did you not notice something else, La?" Eliza reclined in her chair, gracefully tucking her lush green hair behind her ear. A mirthless smile yed across her lips as she continued. "It seems he took the Seven-headed serpent statue after raiding my Purgatory. Now, I understand why the statue wanted to ce all the Sin Series Marks on him," Eliza remarked, gazing at the second offering in the Tools of Liberation section of Menaka''s Market. "That thief," La cursed under her breath. "If he wants to capitalize on our possessions, we should demand a fixed amount of Menaka''s Runes per user from him," she suggested, eyeing the buyout price of 500 Menaka''s Runes for the Bite. The Bite''s ability to cancel Faustian Contracts alone justified its price. It was almost foolproof for all users unless they hadpleted their True Demonic Transformation. Moreover, the Bite could bestow users with deviated forms of Sin Series Marks. At 500 Menaka''s Runes, the price was more than reasonable. ''This subpanel he has secured for himself. It will soon turn into a cash cow trade for him.'' La was confident that many individuals seeking to undo their Faustian Contracts would opt for Eren''s solution rather than terminating them manually. Eren''s approach resembled a risk-free, non-intrusive organ-removal operation with minimal errors and attractive benefits. La''s eyes were on the potential wealth that could flow Eren''s way as he increased his followers across Labh Salem. However, Eliza''s words snapped her back to reality. "We lost that statue fair and square when Eren defeated me in Anfang, La dear," Eliza shook her head, sighing. "I understand its significance to House Samael, but even if we wanted to, we wouldn''t have used that statue to amass wealth. We have to ept that he is special. Besides, I have my pride to consider. Losers can''t demand spoils of war from victors once the battle''s oue is clear." "Master Eliza," another figure entered Eliza''s view, seeking her attention. It was none other than Le, La''s sister, and a homunculus, riding on a broomstick. Interestingly, it was the same broomstick La had used in Anfang C Hexen Bee. Curious, Eliza inquired, "What is it, Le dear?" as she observed her subordinate approaching with a sense of urgency. "Kaiser Sylberos hase to propose marriage once again," Le reported, jumping off her broomstick andnding in front of Eliza, her voice tinged with worry. "He spoke with Kaiser Jerome Samael, who mentioned that you''re engaged in your Tantra practice. Like what we had discussed when we expected that he''d arrive here. Unlike before, Sylberos has decided to stay in Dragon Pce. He wants to wait patiently for the conclusion of your practice," Le conveyed the message from Sylberos. "He just won''t take no for an answer, will he?" Eliza''s expression reflected her frustration. "It seems that a brute bastard can''t grasp the concept of consent. He just can''t take hints." Eliza had garnered attention and benefits after showcasing her talents in Labh Salem, earning a prominent spot in the Shaynak 100 list. However, with recognition came unwanted attention. She had be a sought-after figure for entities as strong as or stronger than her. Sylberos was among those who sought a romantic rtionship with her. Eliza, being Eliza, had decided to manipte the people around her in order to progress further. She used his influence to strengthen House Samael''s position in Labh Salem and fend off other potential suitors. What made things worse for Eliza was the fact that every once in a while she would let Lady Zee''s soul take over the body they both shared. That was the agreement she had with Lady Zee, after all. Lady Zee had flirted a bit with Sylberos when she had the vessel she and Eliza shared. Both of them shared the simr goals of using Sylberos and his connections. However, the way Lady Zee interacted with Sylberos waspletely different from how Eliza dealt with him. Unfortunately, Sylberos didn''t find Eliza''s behavior to be odd. He just assumed that the Witch of the Endermes was interested in him but ying hard-to-get. That''s how he made sense of Eliza''s supposed mixed signals. Of course, the Witch of the Endermes didn''t forget about the gratitude she owed to House Ouroboros after her position in Labh Salem was solidified. She fostered professional ties to aid Sylberos'' family House Ouroboros in their ventures, considering it a fair exchange for the favors she received. However, Eliza''s business-driven arrangements meant little to Sylberos. In his eyes, the only appropriate way for the Witch of the Endermes to express gratitude to House Ouroboros was through marriage. Marriage to him. It was as if Eliza''s green mes had set his heart aze. The situation had escted to such a degree that Eliza regretted the fact that she could not assume her "old hag" form from Anfang anymore. However, she doubted even that form was enough for Sylberos to stop his unwanted advances towards her. Initially attempting to ignore Sylberos, Eliza progressed to avoiding him altogether. When avoidance tactics failed, she began offering excuses through her subordinates, hoping to sidestep any direct confrontation. However, it appeared even that strategy had its limits. "What''s your n, Master Eliza?" La inquired of the Witch of the Endermes, handing her sister the baby dragon, who was eager to engage in yful antics with the beast. La understood that Eliza couldn''t outright reject the proposal due to the intricate ties between House Samael and House Ouroboros in their business ventures. "Hmm, an interesting dilemma," mused Eliza, contemting how to resolve the Sylberos predicament withoutpromising House Ouroboros'' standing or her own pride. In the next moment, a revtion struck her, prompting her to rise from her seat. "Fufufu," Eliza chuckled and essed the Agora subpanel, eyeing Eren''s masked form as she addressed her subordinates. "How about this? I''ll issue a challenge, informing that brute that he must defeat the True Inheritor of Elder Ichor to earn the right to marry me." "Hehehehe," La startedughing after hearing her master''s proposal. "Master, you are truly brilliant. Let those two vile men duke it out with each other. You are basically exporting all your troubles to Eren," she said as a smirk tugged at her lips. "No," Eliza corrected her subordinate. "You and I know that Eren and this masked man making rounds in Labh Salem are one and the same. But Sylberos doesn''t. Nobody does. And it''s better that way, for Eren as well as for us. As long as Eren''s identity is protected, he''ll never have to deal with House Orobours. I''ll basically send the brute onto a wild goose chase," she said as the n she had hatched on the moment of spur started making more sense to her with each passing moment. "That''s smart," Le said as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Eren is like our ally at this point. We we shouldn''t antagonize him," Le said as she caressed the baby dragon''s scales with. Le had a good Eren from the moment she met him in Purgatory. She also couldn''t forget his bloodthirsty and domineering version in Anfang. She didn''t want her master to make uncalled-for troubles for Eren because she had seen what he could do at the end of the Lazarus Project. "That settles it then. Eren better hope the brute doesn''t find him. Fufufu." Eliza said as she took a deep breath. She then walked deliberately towards the Dragon Pce before disappearing into thin air. For the first time in months, she had decided to meet with Sylberos and give him a new target to chase instead of her. *** Celestial Hall. The Immortals had sent their consciousness into this ce and were busy arguing on a very grim matter. This matter was of course rted to Goddess Menaka''stest change in the Mesh as well as her supposed special treatment to God Aleph''s inheritor. "Goddess Menaka, have you gone mad? Did you forget about the prophecies rted to the True Inheritor of the Elder Ichor?" asked one of the 72 Ars Goetia demons who was close to the Demon Prince of WrathC Samael. "Goddess Menaka, you are only hurting your divinity by doing something like this. where is your true neutrality now?" asked another elemental goddess from the divine faction. With her harsh tone, she was basically questioning the goddess'' stance and her divinity. "Kyahahaha," Beelzebubughed as looked at the Immortals surrounding Goddess Menaka''s divine throne. "My goddess, don''t pay attention to these scared cats. I haveplete trust in my Domain." "Beelzebub!" screamed Prince of Wrath Samael, his voice coated in anger. "That puny demi-god is scaring nobody. But he has be too arrogant if he thinks he can get away by challenging all of us at the same time. All of youC listen to me. We need to-" "Silence," Goddess Menaka finally spoke, interrupting Prince of Wrath. "Don''t mistake inaction for neutrality. My true neutrality isn''t harmed by anyone," she spoke inly without attaching any form of emotions to her voice or her demeanor. "I''d like to rify that what is avable for the true inheritor is also avable for you and your followers. If you wish to counter God Aleph''s inheritor, you can do so by using the Mesh. he has decided to expose himself because of me and the Mesh. Now it''s up to you how you could make use of the opportunity." She said calmly while looking at everyone from her divine throne. Although her face was devoid of emotions, her eyes were subtly posing a challenge to all the Immortals. "Very well," the slumbering goddess partially opened her eyes after a long time. She coldly looked at Goddess Menaka before speaking further in a voice coated in cruelty. "We will use the same tform that Goddess Menaka has provided to that wretched being. And using the same tools, we will hunt him down." gm Chapter 1743 Divine Red Herring Chapter 1743 Divine Red Herring ??The City of Demondeath. Eren''s temporary residence consisted of a simple and spacious room, devoid of distinct furnishings. "I am being kind to you by not being kind to you," said Eren, concluding his debut in Agora. Dismissing a simple space-element Array Formation, the void surrounding him dissipated. He then terminated the Spectral Screen feed, revealing his unmasked face. "How did I do? Not bad for a first attempt, huh?" Eren inquired with a smile, addressing his three spectators C Reen, Roza Thas, and Kayara. Upon removing the mask, his voice resumed its normal tone. "You''re the best, Erni!" eximed Reen enthusiastically, expressing her approval through a hug. Eren''s sess was a source of pride for her, aspiring for him to lead his faction rather than follow another. "My liege, the Celestial Hall is in great uproar because of you," informed Roza, bowing in respect. "They are nning to use Agora against you," she added, disclosing the ns of Eren''s immortal adversaries. "Hehehe," chuckled Eren as he affectionately patted Reen''s back. "Yeah? I don''t mind. That Mesh Goddess can''t just keep Agora as my tform to connect with people. So I can''t say I didn''t see thising," he dered, separating from Reen''s embrace. Approaching Roza, Eren lifted her from her kneeling position, grasping her arms. "Do our friends in the Celestial Hall know about your defection to me?" he queried, meeting Roza''s gaze. Roza, the incarnation of one of the 72 Ars Goetia Demons C Vapar, responded, "No, my liege. Prince of Wrath would have already targeted me I mean Vapar and her followers if he learned she no longer supported him." Vapar was one of Samael''s subordinate demon goddesses. It was only recently that she had changed sides after interacting with Eren personally through her incarnation. Of course, the demoness didn''t reveal her inclinations to her former boss knowing full well what kind of enmity he shared with Eren. Samael''s dream of iming Aleph''s throne was crushed because of Eren. anyone who was associated with him was bound to attract wrathful action from the Prince of Wrath. "Excellent," sighed Eren in relief. "Let''s keep it that way. You''ll be my eyes and ears in the Celestial Hall. I''d rather not extend my consciousness there more than necessary, especially after making such a debut in Agora. The Celestial Hall provides neutral ground, safeguarding all equally. But I prefer avoiding unnecessary risks," he exined, gently caressing Roza''s right cheek. "Yes, my liege," promptly acknowledged Roza, content not only to serve Eren but also relieved to escape Prince of Wrath''s dominion without detection. She had no desire to remain one of his generals. Meanwhile, Kayara maintained a contemtive silence, rendered speechless by Eren''s impassioned speech. The injustices he described, experienced firsthand by Kayara herself, had left her disillusioned with both factions. Having been manipted as a pawn by each, she had lost faith in their causes. Eren''s words resonated deeply within her, striking a chord that reverberated through her very being. "Do... Do you genuinely want to help people by establishing this new faction, Eren?" Kayara questioned, her eyes holding a glimmer of hope. Wanting to believe in Eren''s words, she harbored a fear that he might turn out no different from individuals aligned with the existing factions. "Hm? Didn''t you catch my words, Kayara darling?" Eren materialized in front of Kayara, tenderly cupping her face with his hands as he continued. "I aim to help those who are ready to help themselves. My support hinges on their self-belief and the extent to which they prove themselves deserving of it. The Tools of Liberation I''ve presented offer freedom from their constraints, yet they also strip away the dependency on others. The third faction I represent is a dual-edged sword. It will depend upon the person who will wield it in the future whether they harm themselves with it or cut the obstacles in their path with it. The responsibility doesn''t lie in the weapon itself. It can''t and it shouldn''t. I can''t predict how I''ll aid these individuals in the future or if my assistance will suffice to transform their lives, which will turn them into unwavering believers. After all, today marks my debut as a demigod before such a vast audience. I won''t make grandiose ims at this point. I''m still a nobody in the grand scheme of things. All I can say now is that I will try to give hope to those who seemed to have lost it by involving themselves in the matters of the established factions. After all, the more I help my wayward followers, the more they help me in the long run," Eren conveyed calmly, locking eyes with Kayara. "Hm? Help you? How? It''s not like you asked them to worship you. You are not getting any worshippers from your speech. At least not anytime soon. Weren''t you deliberately stirring trouble on both sides? Just so that the followers from both sides start having doubts about who they are worshiping?" Kayara inquired, studying Eren with curiosity. "Is there something we missed?" Eren smirked in response, turning to face Reen and Roza before borating further. "The true motive behind my words in Agora wasn''t to amass followers; rather, it was to get haters from both factions. Do you know why?" He asked, directing his yful gaze at Roza and Reen. "Hm? Get haters, you say. I mean I could" Roza began to respond, but Reen interjected, answering Eren''s question with enthusiasm. "Hehehe. Abominated divinity!" Reen dered, looking at Eren as if she had unraveled a significant mystery and eagerly awaited recognition. "Abominated divinity," Eren affirmed. "The entire narrative I presented in Agora serves as the ultimate red herring in the matters of the divine. By fostering hatred, envy, greed, and other negative emotions among their followers towards me or because of me, these two factions inadvertently empower me, consistently and unwaveringly, regardless of my location. The beauty of this tactic is that sooner orter the Immortals wille to realize that they are empowering me through their followers but won''t be able to do anything about it." The butcher exined, the emerald brilliance in his eyes shining with a peculiar intensity. Chapter 1744 Origin Force Points Farming Chapter 1744 Origin Force Points Farming ??One after the other, the notifications bombarded Eren''s Spectral Screen like an unstoppable deluge. [ Vasco Joel holds feelings of greed because of you. You have earned 0.1 Origin Foce Points ] [ Horen Laal holds feelings of anger towards you. You have earned 0.3 Origin Foce Points ] [ XXX holds feelings of envy because of you. You have earned 0.2 Origin Foce Points ] [ XXX holds feelings of lust because of you. You have earned 0.3 Origin Foce Points ] [ XXX holds feelings of pride because of you. You have earned 0.2 Origin Foce Points ] [ XXX holds feelings of [ XXX holds feelings of It''s noteworthy that these updates reflected Eren''s ability to channel Origin Force Points within a limited radius, suggesting that the numbers would have escted exponentially if he could tap into Origin Force points throughout all of Labh Salem. "Hahahaha," Eren hid his face in both his hands as heughed loudly to his heart''s content. Only now did he understand why God Aleph was feared by his fellow Immortals. It was because of his abominated divinity that empowered him constantly no matter what he did. "This this is awesome, My n worked it seems. Better than I expected, I must say," Eren ran his fingers through his hair as he said out loud. ''I see that there are a lot of followers of the divine faction who are pissed at me for what I said. There are even demonic entities inside the city who want to hunt me down for what I have done to undermine the Faustian Contracts. This is good. This is really good. The more they harbor these feelings towards me, the more they help me.'' the butcher thought to himself and smiled. He knew that his trick would work. But the response he was receiving from just the citizens of Demondeath was overwhelming, to say the least. Plus, most citizens of the Demondeath weren''t faith-fanatic to begin with considering the fact that the city promoted neutrality to arge extent. Eren was sure that he would receive more Origin Force Points from the faith-centric regions found in Labh Salem, especially the societies established around divine temples or demonic altars. He also realized why the gods created sacred grounds and the demons created demonic altars in the worlds they wanted to grow their influence in. and why they wanted to create multiple incarnations of themselves which they would send to multiple worlds found in the boundless cosmos where civilizations thrived. The sacred grounds, altars, incarnations, statues, etc. served as the Immortals'' proxy within the respective worlds as they nurtured their followers. These proxies helped them generate Origin Force even though they were not present in those worlds in a literal sense. Eren was reminded of his time in Anfang. He remembered Beelzebub''s demonic altar, the altar of a monster god in Oni Dungeon, and Great Mother''s sacred grounds as well as her giant statue. He remembered how she had to descend to Anfang to collect the Origin Force umted within her own statue. ''Hm. I think Anfang was an isted case,'' Eren contemted as he thought of his past experiences deeply. ''It is isted because it doesn''t have the Mesh. I''m sure it would be a lot easier for the gods and demons to nurture their followers and influence the poption in the worlds that have the Mesh. In most cases, these Immortals wouldn''t even have to descend into the worlds of their followers. The Mesh would allow them to interact with their followers easily. They could just offer their Blessings and keep their followers working for them endlessly while consistently umting the Origin Force,'' Eren concluded. ''Hm. Is it possible for me to use the White Raven Colosseum as my own sacred ground? Is the statue created in my name umting Origin Force as the people visit that ce over and over again?'' Eren had another thought. He was sure that his hypothesis was right. He just didn''t have the luxury to check. ''I just hope the Divine Istion Array breaks as soon as possible and the Mesh reaches Anfang. So that I can collect the Origin Force umted in my homeworld. I bet the umtion there will be significant considering the state I have left it in.'' Eren''s identity was well established in Anfang as someone who had caused the Great Shattering. As long as his subordinates kept the White Raven City alive, the butcher did not doubt in his mind that the negative emotions directed towards him or because of him would be much more potent inparison. "Then there''s this other thing. I''ve thrown shade at those gods, but I haven''t yet eroded their authority," Eren mused aloud. "Not exactly. However, the impact of the Tools of Liberation on demonic cults will be far more profound. Except the cults tied to Beelzebub, the others wille after me with even greater fervor than their divine counterparts. So, I need to create fake trails," Eren concluded, rubbing his jawline in thought. Roza Thas sought rity, awaiting Eren''s instructions. "What should we do, my liege?" she inquired. "Hmm?" Eren nced at Roza, shaking his head before responding casually. "Don''t fret. For now, I''ll handle these issues. It was inevitable since the moment I decided to hunt demons and employ them as cannon fodder for my growth. It''s just that their followers will suffer due to their affiliations. But you shouldn''t be focused on these matters. Your task is simple," he directed at Kayara. "Seriously?" Kayara eximed in shock, realizing the implications of Eren''s gaze. "I thought you were joking about making me learn farming," she said, looking at Eren as if she''d fallen for a prank. "You thought wrong, my dear. I never joke when ites to my endeavors," Eren retorted in a serious voice, shaking his head. "Why do you think I leased a ce with a spacious backyard? Bring Roza along if you need assistance. I expect a bountiful harvest from both of you within a week," he added, handing Kayara a vial containing Ster Sativa seeds. Additionally, he provided Roza with alchemy scrolls, crafted through his spells Age Expedite and Age Reverse, to expedite the farming process. "Alright. Chop. Chop. Let''s get down to business," Erenmanded, pping his hands, then turned towards the exit of the house. "Reen, youe with me. Today we will pass the final selection round and officially join the Kaaysaayan Demon yer Corps," he informed Reen without looking back. "Hehe, sure thing," responded Reen, vanishing from her spot as she melded with Eren, leaving no trace of her presence behind. Chapter 1745 Body Cultivation

Chapter 1745 Body Cultivation

?In the early morning hours, the City of Demondeath was bathed in the radiant glow of Labh Salem''s three suns. As the fourth sun began to ascend, anticipation filled the air, infusing the day with renewed energy and endless possibilities. Nestled within an isted dimension essible only through a massive Dimensional Gate, the headquarters of the Kaaysaayan Demon yer Corps was ced apart from the city''s original structure. This strategic seclusion aimed to safeguard the headquarters from potential demonic entities that might attempt to infiltrate Demondeath. Eren approached the imposing doors serving as the Dimensional Gate, positioned in the center of a spacious ground. These were only doors that had been erected in the middle of the ground. Lacking a conventional structure to gate-keep, these doors featured intricate runic details and embedded crystals within small array formations. A gathering of Practitioners awaited, engaged in discussions about the final round of tests conducted by the Kaaysaayan Demon yer Corps. There were murmurs that mentioned the aspirants who had failed in the initial rounds. And there were talks about promising candidates who had proved their mettle in the earlier tests. The oue of this test would determine which Practitioners would ascend to be official Demon yers, supported by the Kaaysaayan empire. Naturally, conversations among the Practitioners revolved around the test. However, there were also hushed discussions about the recent message posted on Agora by the so-called True Inheritor of the Elder Ichor. Almost all of the candidates had gone through the recent changes in Menaka''s Blessing and were aware that a certain someone in the mask had challenged the entire faith-centric society of Labh Salem. "True Inheritor of the Elder Ichor, huh?" Vasco pondered aloud, his face expressing a mix of confusion and intrigue as he mentally reviewed Eren''s message. Turning to hispanion, Horen, he inquired, "Who do you think this guy is, Horen? Seems like a clown to me." The two men, having formed a bond during the preceding days, had decided to stick together for the final round unless the test dictated otherwise. Horen, a skilled Body Cultivator, demonstrated proficiency in both broadswords and spears. The Weapon Proficiency in any weapon type came easily to him thanks to his elevated body stats, exceptional reflexes, and sharp senses. His adeptness with dual weapons allowed him to employ a versatile battle style, keeping adversaries on their toes and unsure of his next move. Looking to be in his early thirties by mortal standards, Horen stood tall, with a striking handsomenessplemented by his darkplexion, reminiscent of burnished copper. His chiseled face was framed by shoulder-length dark brown hair, presenting a visage sculpted to perfection. Notably, his well-defined muscles and imposing aura added to his overall intimidating presence. Adorning his chest were abstract tattoos, visible to all as he eschewed any covering for his torso. These runes depicted the intricate details of some of his formidable Skills, ready to be unleashed upon his foes. d in ck pants and shoes tailored to enhance his movement-based Skills, Horen sported a ne crafted from enchanted ck beads, a creation possibly influenced by mage-type entities. Skipping on traditional armor and support-type artifacts, Horen deemed them impractical. His mortal body, akin to an artifact itself, boasted exceptional strength and resilience, rendering additional protection unnecessary. In fact, it would only hinder his speed and reflexes, something that all the body cultivators wished to avoid at all costs. *** The practitioners known as Body Sculptors, colloquially referred to as Body Cultivators or simply muscle heads, followed a unique Path to Power distinct from their counterparts. Rather than emphasizing the cultivation of mana cores or alternative sources of power, they dedicated themselves entirely to transforming their bodies into formidable weapons. For Body Cultivators, the ranking of their Mana Cores, if they possessed any, rarely advanced beyond their initial formations. While their mana cores remained at lower ranks, their bodies underwent significant upgrades. These cultivators'' physical forms umted mana throughout every fiber, enhancing their resilience to the effects of Skills and physical damage inflicted by adversaries. They didn''t even need to employ mana or use Skills to get rid of regr enemies. By using pure physical strength alone, they could tackle a lot of problems heading their way. Body Cultivators boasted exceptionally robust mana defenseyerspared to ordinary Rankers, and their body stats far surpassed those of their counterparts. This elevated physical prowess enabled them to execute remarkable feats relying solely on their bodies. In some instances, certain Body Cultivators forwent having mana cores altogether. Instead, they utilized alternative mediums, tools, special Tantras, alchemical items, etc., to harness mana. Upon achieving proficiency in their Path, these practitioners could abandon external sources of power, concentrating solely on refining their mortal vessels. As a result, the Mesh provided specific features tailored for Body Cultivators, allowing them to unlock the full potential of their bodies. For instance, nearly all Body Cultivators possessed varying levels of Blunt Force Resistance, sh Resistance, and Elemental Mana Resistance. The proficiency of these resistance-type abilities varied among individuals, contingent on their unique practices and Tantras. Body Cultivators with a high proficiency in the Blunt Force ability remained impervious to harm when facing opponents wielding hammers, fists, or other blunt force weapons. Those with elevated sh Resistance could withstand attacks from weapons causing shing wounds, while those with substantial Elemental Mana Resistance became immune to the elemental Skills of their adversaries. However, it was crucial to acknowledge that Resistance-type abilities for Body Cultivators had their limits. Once the damage surpassed a certain threshold, these protective abilities would break down, rendering the practitioners susceptible to the corresponding damage inflicted by their enemies. Fortunately, the Mesh provided an efficient means for Body Cultivators to utilize their Resistances. These Resistance-type abilities were quantified with numerical values disyed on the users'' Spectral Screens. As long as the damage potential of attacks did not exceed these numerical values, the Resistances would remain active, allowing Body Cultivators topletely ignore their enemies'' assaults. To illustrate, if a Body Cultivator was immune to elemental damage under 100 units, Skills generating 90 units or fewer damage points per second would have no effect on them. Damage would only be inflicted if the damage points exceeded 100 units, a principle applicable to other forms of Resistance- type abilities as well. Body Cultivators had the option to unlock specialized Resistances using the Mesh, such as poison damage resistance, me damage resistance, sword damage resistance, and more. Unlike all-epassing protections, these specific Resistance-type abilities provided immunity against specific types of damage, catering to individual preferences. They came with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. In evaluating the prowess of Body Cultivators, emphasis wasn''t ced on their mana cores but rather on the extent of mana infusion, their bodies underwent. As their bodies absorbed morepatible mana from their chosen Paths, they underwent transformative changes, enabling them to progress in ranks without the need to attend to their mana cores. Body Cultivators enjoyed a simplified Path to Power in Labh Salem, with less concern for Elemental Attainments and Tantra selection during rank advancement. This streamlined approach contributed to a notable presence of Body Cultivators in Anfang. Furthermore, the Path to Body Sculpting was often endorsed by certain gods, demons, and even the demonic cults associated with the Demon Prince of Gluttony, Beelzebub. Thetter facilitated their followers with the appropriate environments andpatible Tantras, making it one of the easiest Paths to support. Beelzebub''s Skill Tree, in particr, streamlined the growth of demonic Body Cultivators, requiring them to focus primarily on securing the right resources as their food source while the rest was managed by Beelzebub''s Skill Tree. The Body Cultivators, who had just started their journey on their Path to Power and could go toe to toe against the F- Ranked entities, were called Brass Body Cultivators. Those who could deal with E-Ranked entities were called Bronze Body Cultivators. A Body Cultivator had a Silver Body if they could handle D- Ranked Adept Rankers. They were referred to as Gold Body if they could battle on equal grounds with C-Ranked Expert Rankers. The B-ranked-level Body Cultivators were referred to as tinum Body Cultivators while the nomenture of the Diamond Body was reserved for those who handle an A-ranked opponent in a duel. The Crimson Body Cultivators would find their match in Sages. Lastly, a Body Cultivator was supposed to have an Iridescent Body if they could handle a single S-Plus-ranked Saints all by themselves. Still, it was difficult to gauge the true strength of Body Cultivators. For example, a Diamond Body Cultivator with a D- Rank mana core could lose against a tinum Body Cultivator with an A-Rank mana core because of the difference in the mana core. Simrly, a Silver Body could win against a Gold Body if the former had a very dense amount of mana infused in their bodies thanks to their top-tier Tantra. In Labh Salem, no one dared to underestimate a Body Cultivator, especially those capable of challenging high-ranked entities. Viewed as wildcard entries by most organizations, they garnered recognition and stood out in the masses. Chapter 1746 Elementalists, Seraphs, and Angels P1

Chapter 1746 Elementalists, Seraphs, and Angels P1

?Horen Laal had a C-Rank mana core that he had cultivated within him inadvertently as he kept progressing further on his Path as a Body Cultivator. However, his mana core was not an urate indicator of his capabilities. He was a Diamond Body Cultivator who could go against an A-Ranked entity and win without breaking a sweat. Horen''s Laal''s acquaintance, Vasco Joel was an equally qualified candidate that had still remained in the race to be a bonafide Demon yer. He had high aspirations to be a Demon yer so that he could get a better Tantra andpatible element-rich environment for his needs. Vasco Joel looked to be in his mid-30s by mortal standards, possessing an enigmatic aura that drew attention among a sea of candidates. His rugged features told tales of experience, with eyes that flickered like dancing mes, revealing the fire that raged within his Soul Space. His fiery mane, resembling the untamed mes of an eternal forge, cascaded down his shoulders, a reflection of his affinity for fire-type mana. d in intricately woven crimson robes adorned with shimmering patterns resembling dancing mes, Vasco carried a staff-type Hex Artifact that crackled with contained infernos. The staff, a conduit for his elemental prowess, resonated with the vtile energy that coursed through his veins. Vasco''s presencemanded both awe and respect, leaving behind a trail of smoldering embers. His mastery over fire magic was not merely a Skill. It was an extension of his very being, a manifestation of the relentless determination burning within and the profundity of his Path. Unlike Horen, though, he was an Elementalist. *** Elementalists'' Path could be said to bepletely opposite to Body Cultivators. Their Path to Power made them especially focus on their Spiritual Sense, Spiritual Force, and Elemental Attainments. They were the masters of wielding elemental magic and capable of dealing with multiple enemies all by themselves. That''s why most of the Elmentalists were oftenpared with an army of people. If the Body Cultivators had certain Resistances by default, the Elementalists had Bonuses whenever they used a certain set of element-type Skills. Their elemental-type attacks were much deadlier than the regr Practitioners, thanks to the element-type Bonuses they received. Bonuses often included enhanced elemental-type damage points, elevated element-type defense points associated with respective Skills, and lower mana consummate rates when it came to using a certain set of elemental-type Skills. Sometimes, the Bonuses could be transferred to the weapons and artifacts as well. The Elementalists with the right set of gears could unearth the true potential of their Path. Thus, Elementalists liked possessing Hex Artifacts. They often invested a great amount of their resources and time in getting thepatible artifacts they desired. A high-level Elementalist with aplete set of Hex Artifacts was considered a force to be reckoned with. They were capable of summoning cmities in the region all by themselves with the control they had over nature''s elements. The Elementalists also sharpened their Spiritual Sense to the extent that they could summon multiple elemental clones of themselves easily. They often had various clone-type Skills that allowed them to deal with multiple enemies while protecting themselves. Elementalists often had rtively weak constitutions. If caught off guard, they would be done in a mere sh by a regr Practitioner of their rank. As such, they preferred keeping a distance from their enemies, wielding range-type weapons that allowed them to take advantage of their Bonuses and deal with their enemies. They often used elemental shells, being protected inside barrier-type Skills that were hard to break through. Elementalists cultivated mana core within them. However, more often than not, it was not the only source of their power. If the Body Cultivators infused mana in every fiber of their muscles, the Elementalists took the same concept but applied it differently. Elementalists also had mana points and mana veins in their bodies like Rankers. However, instead of just ranking up their mana cores, they preferred transforming their mana points and mana veins into mini-mana cores. They umtedpatible elemental mana in their bodies in certain mana points and mana veins, turning them into a source of power rather than merely acting as carriers. These strengthened mana points would then develop additional pathways. Thus, Elementalists had moreplex mana circuits than Rankers who only kept mana cores as the focal point of their source of power. This was the reason why it was difficult for Elementalists to execute their spells regrly. However, once learned, the Elmentalists were able to use their spells more profoundly. Elementalists from Labh Salem would have had a hard time expressing their powers if it wasn''t for the Mesh. The Skill execution allowed them to skip manually handling theplexities rted to their mana circuits, enabling them to reap the rewards of their Path without having to suffer from the initial bacsh. Shallot Lancelot was an Elementalist when she was active in Anfang during the tumultuous Cmity Era. It was very difficult for her to contend with her enemies due to theck of mastered spells she had in her arsenal. Plus, the Land of the Faithless didn''t have the Mesh as well, even during the Cmity Era when the Divine Istion Array Formation was yet to be established. She wouldn''t have been able to leave a mark in Anfang''s history if it wasn''t for the Elder Seed Artifact. The approach of decentralizing the mana core also allowed the Elementalists to have higher mana reserves than their Ranker counterparts. It also enabled them to wield their Elementalist powers more efficiently and effectively. Some Elmentalists could leverage this capability of theirs to turn their bodies into pure Mana Bodies temporarily as well. Elementalists, who could turn their fleshly bodies into Mana Bodies, were considered elites. When they were in this transformed state, they could break past their mortal limits and wield their Elementalist-centric powers with enhanced potency and control, enabling them to dominate their opponents. One could say that a Ranker''s Path was bnced in that they took care of their mortal vessels as well as their Elemental Attainments. Whereas, the Body Cultivators and Elementalists represented two extremes of the Ranker''s Path. Chapter 1747 Elementalists, Seraphs, and Angels P2 Chapter 1747 Elementalists, Seraphs, and Angels P2 ??Elementalists also used a special set of Tantras to cultivate their Path. Their Tantras often required them to be immersed in or stay in the vicinity of the element they were supposed to wield. For example, a fire-type Elementalist would often prefer to stay in the volcanic region, naturally or artificially created. An Elementalist with a water-type element would be found in arge body of water. The F-Ranked Elementalists were recognized as Neophytes while the E-Ranked Elemnatlists who could battle on equal grounds with Ace Rankers were referred to as Tyros. The title of Schr was given to D-Rank Elementalists whereas Elite nomenture was used for C-Ranked entities. The titles of Maestro, Savant, Eminence, and Seraph were given to Elementalists who broke into B-Rank, A-Rank, S-Rank, and +S-Rank respectively. It was said that some capable Seraphs could get rid of their mortal shells if they wanted to and still survive using their Mana Bodies. Such Seraphs were considered pseudo-Immortals. After all, they could survive indefinitely as long as their souls were not dispersed because of internal or external influence. They were often used as representatives of certain Immortals because of this aspect, ensuring the faith they represented remained strong within the masses for generations after generations. The Elementalists attaining the esteemed Seraph rank, serving as emissaries for the Immortals they embodied, weremonly known as Angels among the popce of Labh Salem. These pseudo-immortal beings were considered bearers of the faith they personified, earning profound respect from both their patron Immortal and the devout followers of the corresponding belief. *** The B-Rank was a huge turning point for Elementalists who kept on walking forward in their Path. All those who could achieve this Rank were able to transform their bodies intopatible elements at least partially if not entirely. As such, they were hard to kill. The B-Ranked and beyond Elementalists often came out unscathed even when confronted in closebat. After all, the Elementalists who could turn their bodies into theirpatible elements could not be dealt physical damage. They were impervious to all forms of sh attacks, bludgeoning, and physical weapons as long as this elemental transformation was active. They could also use this Mana Body Transformation to increase their agility and intelligence. They could fly in the air with greater versatility than their counterparts from other Paths. Of course, when the Elementalists turned the nature of their bodies from its fleshly genesis to that of elemental form, they had to use their Soul Space as a foundation to support such transformation. Doing this often exposed their souls. As such, those who battled with Elementalists could imbue their attacks with potent Spiritual Force to hurt them. The Skills or weapon-type attacks coated in a dense amount of Spiritual Force were fatal to the Elementalists. However, the Elementalists were the masters of wielding the Spiritual Force to begin with. Almost all of them had higher reserves of Spiritual Force, sharper Spiritual Sense, and a more well-defined Soul Space than Rankers, Body Cultivators, Witches and Warlocks. Only Dreamweavers were somewhat considered a threat to the Elementalists when it came to battling a Spiritual Force battle. But Dreamweavers were not thatmon. Thus, their weakness to the Spiritual Force-imbued attacks was not considered a weakness at all. After all, only those with higher amounts of Spiritual Force than their Elementalist opponents could actually make use of this well-known weakness. Most were not even capable of withstanding a Spiritual Attack initiated by their Elementalist enemies. The only advantage the Rankers had over the Elementalists were their rtively sturdier bodies as well as their in-depth Weapon Comprehensions. The Elementalists usually did not have time to master their weapons arts to their utmost because they were busy practicing their Tantras in apatible element-rich environment. *** Horen was busy nning his strategy for the uing round when he heard Vasco''s question. He pressed his lips against each other briefly before answering. "Well to be honest, I don''t think anything of that guy," Horen said to Vasco Joel in answer, a smirk ying across his lips. "And you shouldn''t take him seriously as well. He''ll soon be history now that he has messed with all the big-shots." "That may be true," Vasco nodded in understanding before speaking further. "But since he ims to be the true Inheritor of the Elder Ichor, I suspect that he has one of the most powerful or versatile Elder Seed Artifacts. At least one of them, possibly two if his ims have any real merits to them. We could be Elder Seeds as well if we were to kill the guy and take his Elder Seed Artifacts for ourselves," he said as he looked in the distance in contemtion. Horen was stunned by his peer''s assessment. "I never thought of this," he said after thinking on the matter for a bit. "So you think we should join the hunt?" "Yes," Vasco responded quickly. "It''ll be better if we could clear the final round and be a bonafide Demon yers. That way, we''ll have the means avable at our disposal to carry out the hunt," he said as his gazended on the Dimensional Gate once again. "Who are we hunting?" Suddenly asked a voice behind the duo. Horen and Vasco were both caught off guard when this happened. They couldn''t believe that someone had managed to sneak up behind them. Both of them turned around instantly to look at the man who had just appeared on the scene. "Who who are you?" Vasco didn''t like that the man had almost scared them to death with his sneaky approach. It also seemed that he was listening to their conversation. Plus, he couldn''t believe that he was able to interfere with his Spiritual Sense to turn himself invisible. Both Vasco and Horen felt no threating from Eren. For a moment, they felt as if they were facing a mortal man who was not even a low-level Practitioner. But that''s what terrified them the most. They could instantly sense that Eren was more than he let on. "He he is a Ranker," Vasco opened his eyes wide and spoke a bit louder than usual. This was the shock he had after realizing Eren''s Path. As an A-Ranked Savant, he was supposed to have a more dominant Spiritual presencepared to a Grandmaster. And yet, the emerald-green-eyed man in front of him wasn''t intimidated by the spiritual suppression he was exuding at the time. Chapter 1748 “The Best Way to Predict the Future Is to Create It Together” Chapter 1748 The Best Way to Predict the Future Is to Create It Together ??''This guy his aura is simr to Steve''s.'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at the startled Horen Laal. With a simple nce, Eren quickly figured out Horen''s Path. After all, Steve from Anfang was also a body cultivator. However, Steve had used Body-strengthening Art that tweaked his Path as a Ranker and fine-tuned it to focus on his body more. Eren could inherently feel that this was not the case with Horen. The man in front of him had obviously started walking on the Body Cultivation right from the start. He practiced a Tantra instead of an Art, which allowed him to progress at a faster rate than Steve could ever possibly hope for. Blue: [ Horen Laal holds feelings of anger towards you. You have earned 0.2 Origin Foce Points ] Red: [ Horen Laal holds feelings of anger towards you. You have earned 1 Origin Foce Points ] ''Hm. The Origin Force Points I receive by interacting directly with people are vastly more significant than the indirect interaction,'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at the newly appeared notifications in the sub-panel. ''But whatever indirect interactioncks in quality it more than makes up for it in quantity.'' Eren was very satisfied with the harvest of the Origin Force Points he was receiving by directly and indirectly interacting with people. He had to say that his abominated divinity was working wonders for him. He could guess that the rate of the Origin Force Points he received with his indirect reaction was a bit low because he had kept his identity hidden. He would have received a lot more of the Origin Force Points from his audience had he gone in front of them without the mask. ''Safetyes first,'' Eren thought to himself. ''I am fine with a slow but steady and safe source of Origin Force Points,'' he concluded as he looked at the distinct notifications he received from his direct interaction. The blue notifications that Eren received in the sub-panel were because of the Origin Force Points he had received from acting as a masked man in Agora. However, the red notifications were because of his direct interactions. The color-coded notifications made it easy for him to distinguish them. ''So the guy''s name is Horen Laal. I sure remember seeing his name when I debuted in Agora. He just lied to his friend when he said he feels nothing about the true inheritor of Elder Ichor,'' Eren looked at the red notifications and shook his head. He couldn''t me the guy considering almost all of the living beings would try to hide their true feelings from one another for simply no reason whatsoever. Eren was one of them as well. After unlocking the core potential of his divinity, Eren had met a lot of such people who said one thing but feltpletely opposite. This had been an eye-opening experience for him, which allowed him to give up on trying to understand someone''s consciousness. "Calm down," Eren looked at Vasco and smiled before speaking further. "I know I should have led with this but anywho! Hi. Nice to meet you, Name''s Eren. I am a Ranker," he answered casually to Vasco''s question. ''And this man is an Elementalist,'' the butcher concluded as he sensed Vasco''s presence up close. This was not his first time meeting an Elementalist in Labh Salem. Plus, he had already met with Shallot Lancelot''s ghost inside the isted space of the Shallot''s Mirror. He had to say that Elementalists were a bit difficult to distinguish from Rankers. Especially if the other party purposely tried to hide their Elemental Attainments for some reason. Blue: [ Vasco Joel holds feelings of anger towards you. You have earned 1 Origin Foce Points ] Red: [ Vasco Joel holds feelings of greed towards you. You have earned 0.2 Origin Foce Points ] ''And this guy''s name is Vasco Joel. He is eyeing my Elder Seed Artifacts. But at least he is honest about his greed,'' Eren understood a lot about Vasco with just this brief interaction alone. "So this is the Dimensional Gate for our use, huh?" Eren said as he looked past Vasco and stared at the two giant doors, his voice coated in curiosity. When do you think this round will start?" he asked the duo without looking at them. Vasco and Horen both looked at each other with a bit of wariness in their eyes. But then that wariness subsided before it was reced with a bit of shame for their own jitteriness just because Eren had sneaked up behind them. "It it should start in a few minutes," Horen Laal said and rxed his visibly tense muscles. "My name''s Horen Laal and I practice a Body Cultivation Tantra. I take it you are one of those candidates who have been selected for the final round from the start?" Only the candidates were allowed to be anywhere near the gate. And since Horen and Vasco hadn''t seen Eren in the initial rounds, they could both guess that Eren had been pre-selected for the final round because of his connections. "Yes," Eren nodded before turning to Vasco, waiting for him to introduce himself. Thetter sighed before speaking up. "Elementalist. Vasco Joel. Um. Nice to meet you, Eren. Is Is there a reason for you to strike up a conversation with us in such a weird way?" Vasco eyed Eren from head to toe as he asked. The man clearly knew that the duo would act this way if he were to alter his Spiritual Force and sneak up behind them. And yet, he had diffused the tense situation he had caused just as effortlessly. He could tell that there was something definitely weird about Eren. "There''s indeed a reason," Eren smiled at Vasco. "I believe there will be a test that will require the candidates to fight in groups. I didn''t join the initial rounds like you guys. So I don''t know anyone here. I thought I should introduce myself to a group that looks promising to me. I don''t want to sound romantic when we don''t have a femalepany but you know what they say, right? The best way to predict the future is to create it together." Chapter 1749 “I Hope I Kill Them With My Success, Not My Hands” Chapter 1749 I Hope I Kill Them With My Sess, Not My Hands ??Eren possessed keen insight into how people thought in tense situations. He particrly understood the concept of group mentality. He knew that he would get targeted the moment other candidates realized he had been admitted into the test because of his preselection, thanks to the rmendation token given to him by Archpriest Jivem. To the candidates who had proved their mettle by passing the initial rounds, Eren and others like him were nothing but outsiders. And outsiders would always get bullied by people who were in a particr situation or ce for far longer than the neers. Eren had experienced something simr in his academy days in LA. he had learned his lessons after experiencing life''s realities personally. He didn''t want to iste himself and make the same mistake of bing the target of all the bullies. Thus, he decided to be one with the bullies themselves by approaching them straightaway. While Eren was confident in his ability to handle challenges, he acknowledged the diverse skill sets of Labh Salem''s inhabitants. Despite sensing his inherent superiority, he understood the importance of avoiding unnecessary conflicts. To mitigate potential hostility, he aligned himself with promising individuals like Horen and Vasco, recognizing the benefits of joining forces with those who showed promise. Eren sneaked up behind the dup to make them understand how capable he was as a Ranker. He knew that the duo would never agree to work with a weak candidate who would lower the chances of their win. This was a subtle show of force that he knew would work on them. Vasco and Horen were a bit doubtful about Eren''s guesswork. However, it didn''t stop them from forming a temporary alliance with him. After all, they both preferred to increase the chances of their survival in the test and eventual selection in the Corps. Vasco, Horen, and Eren started chatting among themselves as they waited by the giant doors. The two briefly told Eren about other promising individuals whom they had identified from the initial rounds. Thankfully, the candidates didn''t have to wait long. The Dimensional Gate Opened and out came a panel of judges, which had been selected by the Kaaisayaan Empire to organize this year''s selection process. The panel of judges briefly introduced themselves before exining the rules of the game. They confirmed what Eren had predicted all alongC that the candidates were allowed to form groups of three or four members to deal with the challenges ahead. Unlike some of the earlier rounds, the challengers didn''t need to fight among themselves. All of them, including the preselected candidates, had proved their mettle already and the fact that they were allowed to participate in the final round was proof of that. They were expected to fight their potential arch enemiesC demons and demonic powers. Of course, the rules also specified the candidates'' rights to prioritize their self-interests. It basically meant that the candidates didn''t necessarily have to fight among themselves in order to be selected as bonafide Demon yers. However, if a group decided tounch an attack on another for any particr reason, the attacked were allowed to retaliate. The candidates were given a ss badge that looked like nothing but a palm-sized transparent b. It was supposed to absorb the demonic energies the candidates would encounter and subdue as they fought inside demonically attuned environments and demonic entities. The candidates were allowed to fight in groups to showcase their team-ying abilities. However, the ss b would absorb the demonic energies ording to the individual contribution. Of course, the b was enhanced with intent-based magic. It meant that the candidates'' contribution would be judged by how their Skills affected the surroundings and helped their teammates. Therefore, those who only used long-range Skills but had no or low kill count didn''t have to worry about scoring lower than the other teammates. The candidates would be considered as passing the final test when the transparent ss b they were supposed to carry on themselves at all times changed color and turned coal-like ck,pletely opaque. The panel of judges made it clear to all the challengers that the empire and the Corps held no responsibility for the damages urring inside the isted environments used to conduct the test. The candidates could quit the test by breaking the ss b with their hands anytime during the course of the test. However, they were warned that some dangerous entities inside the test may not even allow them to reach for the ss b. Their fates might get sealed if they were dealt life- threatening damage before the ss b was broken. The candidates could also wait for the week''s duration to end if for some reason they were unable to quit the test. They might not get selected but such an approach could end up saving their life. They were given a week to clear the test. However, there was an upper limit to the number of candidates the panel would enroll in the Corps. About 50 percent of the candidates were supposed to get weeded out from the sea of candidates present for the final round. Of course, the candidates could clear the test anytime during the week. They would be teleported outside the testing grounds automatically when that happened. Or they could choose to keep on helping their teammates by interfering with the automatic teleportation function on the ss b manually. The anticipation was high as themencement of the bonafide Demon yers'' first batch loomed, expected to emerge within three to four days of the test initiation. These elite Demon yers, however, wouldn''t gain any additional advantages over those who passed the test on the final day. It meant that all the sessful candidates would share the same starting point in the Corps. ''That is she an +S?... No not quite. But she is close even closer than King''s Hand Garos Renar,'' The butcher was stunned as he made a shocking assessment. The panel of judges, all S-Rank entities led by a pseudo-Saint, took turns exining the rules. It was Eren''s first encounter with a pseudo-Saint, and her imposing presence was undeniable, effortlessly emanating an intimidating aura. To Eren''s surprise, the Dimensional Gate served not only as the entrance to the Kaaysaayan''s Demon yer Corps headquarters but also linked the City of Demondeath to several isted dimensions maintained by the empire for various purposes. The judges activated the runic details adorning the Dimensional Gate, swinging open the colossal doors to reveal an endless void awaiting the candidates. "I hope I kill them with my sess, not my hands," Eren muttered to himself, stepping into the void passageway alongside his twopanions. Chapter 1750 Demon Werewolves Chapter 1750 Demon Werewolves ??The third day after themencement of the final test. Eren, Horen, and Vasco had managed to stay in the game at this point. But they knew that things would only get difficult for them as they progressed further. The trio stood at the entrance of the Labyrinth of Illusions, their anticipation masked by stoic expressions. The colossal doors sealed behind them, plunging them into an eerie silence. Eren took the lead, his eyes scanning the ever-changing corridors. "Stay close," Eren''s voice cut through the silence, a subtle assurance for hispanions. Horen''s massive frame and Vasco''s elemental prowess nked him. In the ever-changing Corridors of the Labyrinth of Illusions, the trio navigated a dynamdscape that shifted its form as swiftly as shadows in the moonlight. Thebyrinth morphed seamlessly from one environment to another, challenging the trio''s senses and adaptability. "I wonder what will it be this time," Vasco murmured, his steps measured. Thebyrinth''s ever-changing environments had proven unpredictable as they ventured through, battling demonic entities and harvesting the released energies. Three of them had participated equally in the test. As such, they didn''t need to worry about any of them falling behind. "Whatever it is I just hope it''s not those Skarvenstalkers again. Those giant demon flies are fucking irritating," Horen spoke with a deep, tense tone, having learned from experience that losing their sense of direction meant repeating patterns. "Don''t fucking jinx it, you fool." Eren shot Horen a look as if he had just harmed his pet dog. He had to admit, Horen''s luck seemed even worse than his, and that was saying something. The trio walked further into the corridor when something happened. Creak. Creak. Creak. It was as if some heavy metallic lever was being pulled. The corridor transformed into a dense, verdant forest,plete with towering trees and vibrant foliage. The star-studded night sky showcased three full moons in all their glory. The air resonated with the sounds of unseen creatures. Eren signaled a halt, and the trio observed their surroundings. "This forest the easier it is on the eyes, the tougher our opponents are going to be. Stay on your toes," Eren cautioned as they continued through thebyrinth''s arboreal illusion. Howl! An ear-piercing wolf howl was sounded in the surroundings. And that''s when the trio realized what kinds of opponents they were going to deal with. The Emberfang Ironwolves possessed an uncanny ability to transcend their lupine forms and assume humanoid shapes, adding an extrayer of terror to their already menacing presence. When the moon hung high in the ominous sky, these shapeshifting entities would unleash their humanoid avatars, blending the ferocity of wolves with the cunning intellect of humanoid beings. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. The dense vegetation around the trio rustled and sounds of hushed footsteps could be heard. Eren and the rest quickly figured out the fact that they had been surrounded even though their mana senses and spiritual senses had been tampered with by the maze''s environment. "Aah damn. Things are going to get a bit difficult for us it seems. It''s the Emberfang Ironwolves!" Vasco used a Skill to decipher the identity of the iing enemies and warned his allies. "They are not our match on an individual level but they have the numerical advantage. Plus, they disy excellent team y. So be careful," he warned in a grim voice. In their humanoid forms, the Emberfang Ironwolves retained an air of sinister elegance. d in dark, ethereal armor that mirrored the color of midnight shadows, they moved with a haunting grace that belied their predatory nature. The crimson eyes, an unyielding testament to their demonic essence, glowed fiercely within the humanoid countenance. Each Emberfang Ironwolf possessed a unique set of Skills, and gifts bestowed upon them, thanks to their demonic inclinations that governed Labh Salem. Some wielded the power of shadow maniption, allowing them to weave through darkness unseen, while others harnessed the ferocity of hellfire, engulfing their foes in searing infernos with a mere gesture. Most Emberfang Ironwolves were only as strong as a D-Rank Adept. However, the squad leader of each squad was as strong as a B-Rank Master. Plus, the Emberfang Ironwolves who controlled multiple squads were as strong as A-Rank Grandmasters. The humanoid avatars of the Emberfang Ironwolves were formidable adversaries, seamlessly merging the physical prowess of wolves with the arcane prowess of dark sorcery. Their irond ws transformed into wickedly sharp des, capable of cutting through both armor and arcane defenses with equal ease. The iron jaws, now belonging to humanoid visages, could unleash eerie incantations and unleash howls that disoriented the minds of their unfortunate victims. The Emberfang Ironwolves'' humanoid forms added ayer of unpredictability to their predatory strategies. This was because they were known to shapeshift mid-battle to destroy their opponents'' carefully chosen strategies. These half-beast creatures were one of the most preferredckeys for the demonic cults because they were easy to breed and nurture. Plus, they were fiercely loyal. Those who encountered these shape-shifting fiends knew that their doom was not only swift but orchestrated with a malevolence that transcended the boundaries between wolf and demon. Unsurprisingly, there were at least three A-Ranked Emberfang Ironwolves present at the enemy lines. It was obvious that the test had interfered with the natural behavior of these half- beast demonic creatures. Otherwise, there was no way three A-Ranked Emberfang Ironwolves and their subordinates would work along with each other to target three enemies in such a coordinated manner. That too without there being a natural leader present within them. Eren and the rest stood at a distance from each other and waited for their opponents to make a move. The possibility of a careless preemptive strike when they didn''t know about the opponents'' numbers or the traps they might have implemented forced them to go on the defensive. "Well.. at least it''s not those fucking Skarvenstalkers," Horen''s awkward smile betrayed a hint of tension as they prepared for the impending battle. Eren and Vasco exchanged a silent nce, tacitly acknowledging Horen''s sentiment. Chapter 1751 Deviated Skill Casting Chapter 1751 Deviated Skill Casting ??The trio had separated from each other so that their enemies wouldn''t be able to pin them in one ce and focus their attacks. And yet, the distance was just enough for them to intervene in one another''s fight, providing support to anyone who needed it the most. Eren had longe to ept the way people on Labh Salem did things, which was a lot different from the party-based system of Anfang. People in Labh Salem fought their own battles without there being a specific role for anyone in their groups. For example, people in Labh Salem didn''t care that they did not have someone with a focus on healing-typer powers in their groups. The roles of Rangers, closebat personnel, mid-range fighters, and Tanks weren''t predefined from the start either. Needless to say, the presence of a Historian in a group was a foreign concept to Salemians. Here, the group strategies did not revolve around battle styles that took into ount each other''s advantages. The nning generally entailed the division ofbor in its most straightforward form. Any cooperation to tackle amon big foe would only be considered during critical situations when they had no choice. Of course, it did not mean that groups from Labh Salem did not believe in team-y at all. It was just that they couldn''t be called members of the same party. There was a certain element of unpredictability attached to the use of Skills that made it difficult for people toe up with party-based battle styles. Sticking to these battle styles for an extended period was even more difficult. After all, nobody could assure themselves or their team members that they would keep on using the same Skill they had unlocked for themselves. Thanks to the convenience provided by the Mesh, anyone could do anything as long as they had invested the right amount of time and effort into buying rtive Skills and kept on upgrading them. Thus, the dedicated roles attached to the traditional party-based system didn''t really work in Labh Salem. However, the unpredictability introduced by the Skills was exactly the reason Eren wanted to ally with Horen and Vasco despite knowing the fact that a party-based support system did not exist in Labh Salem. He needed the two to handle a certain number of enemies for him so that he could have some breather to himself. Eren wasn''t foolish enough to believe that he would be able to handle all the enemies by himself just because he had a few inherent advantages over them. All this while keeping his trump cards hidden from the inspective gazes in a controlled environment. *** ''It''s their wolf-like features. It makes me want to mutte their genitals.'' Eren thought to himself as he found himself surrounded by the gang of shapeshifted Emberfang Ironwolves. One could also describe them to be demonic werewolves. He stood poised amidst the swirling darkness of the Ever-changing Corridors, his dual swords, Rigor Mortis, glinting ominously. The Emberfang Ironwolves emerged from the shadows, their red eyes gleaming with malice. A predatory tension hung in the air as they circled their prey. [ Skill: Blitz Bolt ] [ Skill: Blitz Steps ] [ Skill: Blitz Wave ] Purple lightning crackled around Eren''s form as he activated his lightning-based Skills. In an instant, arcs of electrifying energy shot forth, aimed at the approaching Ironwolves. The shes of purple illuminated the surroundings, casting an eerie glow on the demonic creatures. After spending several months in Labh Salem, Eren sessfully reacquired many of his spells in the form of Skills. Utilizing the Menaka''s Runes he had umted, he purchased the Skills he was most familiar with from Menaka''s Market. Eren''s expertise with his preferred spells proved advantageous as he regained ess to familiar Skills. Upon unlocking these Skills, he demonstrated immediate effectiveness in their use. Moreover, Eren discovered a unique approach to manipte the behavior of these Skills. By activating the Skills through the Mesh, promptly deactivating them, and then manually seizing control of the mana involved, Eren found he could modify the Skills as if they were the spells he had been ustomed to casting in Anfang. It enabled him to make his Skills more unpredictable than before at the cost of increasing his mana consumption by a bit. Of course, the trade-off was worth it because people in Labh Salem were not used to deviated Skill casting. They could not use the Mesh-based tools to predict Eren''s attacks. It''s worth noting that this method didn''t grant Eren Skill Ownership or transform the Skills into Unique Skills, given his unconventional approach to casting. Nevertheless, Eren was unfazed by these limitations. He felt a sense of relief as he gained control over the diverse battle styles he had refined in Anfang. *** Reacting swiftly, the Emberfang Ironwolves shifted their forms, avoiding the initial onught. Their irond bodies moved with unnatural agility, disying the versatility bestowed upon them by their demonic nature. Eren, undeterred, adjusted his perception of time using his time-element Skills. [ Skill: Stunning Speed ] [ Skill: Sedated Perception ] As the Emberfang Ironwolves lunged at him, their movements seemed sluggish to Eren. The world around him slowed, giving him a crucial advantage. With a swift motion, he parried the iron ws of one wolf and countered with a whirlwind of shes from Rigor Mortis. Howl! The not-so-sentient demonic werewolves howled in pain and agony as they tried to attack Eren by surrounding him. Some of them found out that their limbs had been severed from their joints. Some had their bodies yed, the flesh destroyed to expose the bones underneath. Some werewolves had their genitals mutted because of Eren''s strikes. Some had their jaws broken and made to open weirdly. Some of the werewolves had their guts spilling out and some had their vital organs pierced. All of this happened within a few moments as soon as the werewolvesunched a well-coordinated attack on the butcher. However, they quickly found out that Eren had an advantage in terms of the deviated Skill usage all along. The inherent Skill runes on his swords ignited, enveloping his enemies in crimson mes that matched the intensity of the wolves'' red iron furs. [ Weapon-based Skill: Invi ze ] [ Weapon-based Skill: Purple Reaver ] Eren danced through the battlefield, seamlessly blending his purple lightning and red fire Skills. Each strike was a deadly disy of precision and power. The Emberfang Ironwolves, despite their resilience, struggled to keep up with Eren''s elerated perception of time as well as his vicious attacks. Chapter 1752 Using Enderflames in Skills Chapter 1752 Using Endermes in Skills ??[ Skill: Red Solid Sparks ] A surge of purple lightning surged from Eren''s fingertips before condensing into a tangible bolt. Eren grabbed the lightning-element bolt and hurled it at the iing enemy, engulfing another Ironwolf in a crackling vortex. The demonic creature howled in agony as the electric currents seared through its irond form. Eren seized the opportunity to close in, delivering a barrage of strikes with Rigor Mortis, each blow leaving a trail of red mes in its wake. [ Weapon-based Skill: Invi ze ] x6 [ Skill: Blitz Steps ] He closed in on his next group of opponents within a blink of an eye,nding right in the middle of them. He brought his swords together and spun around as he unleashed the umted sh attacks in one go. This time, he changed the Elemental Aspect of the fire-element attacks, giving the mes a distinct green shade. The mes caused by the weapon-based attacks were supposed to be invisible, thanks to the inherent property of the Anduril swords that had still been maintained even though they had been modified by Eren to suit his current needs in the world of Labh Salem. And yet, these me-based attacks turned visible because of the Elemental Aspect he had used them in conjunction with. Endermes! Howl! Howl! Howl! The noticeable smell of flesh burning assaulted Eren''s nostrils right away before it turned hideous. At first, it smelled hunger-stimting before turning foul. It was as if the meat kept on the barbeque had suddenly been immersed inbustible fuel that incinerated it and turned it into charcoal in an instant. A group of four Emberfang Ironwolves died just like that, their still-burning bodies dropped on the ground and Eren''s visage was made visible to the onlookers. The bodies soon lost their physical forms, which then transformed into coal and ash. ''Unbelievable,'' Eren was shocked by his own performance as he looked at the enemy remains scattered around him. Thankfully, the remaining enemies didn''t attack him for some reason, allowing him to process the experience. ''Endermes are just too powerful but they consume too much of my Spiritual Force. No wonder that witch had it easy when she reached Labh Salem. Only she can wield these mes without worrying about their side effects.'' Eren concluded and sighed. He essed the Spectral Screen and checked upon a particr stat value that had been used to overpower 4 werewolves at once. [ Spirit: 780/ 2000 ] ''More than half, huh? Are those mes that scary or am I that ipetent in using them? Either way, those numbers don''t look promising. And this is when I have the highest stat value in Spirit out of all the others. I''ll be helpless to do anything else if I use Endermes on these many enemies at once. I need to find a way to increase my Spiritual Force and mana reserves. Too bad I can''t use Life Drain to replenish my Spirit from the enemies I kill. Otherwise, I would have kept on using Endermes all the time like that old hag.'' Eren thought to himself. He was forced to ept that Endermes was a borrowed power he had obtained from Eliza. It didn''t really suit his Individuality the way he was at this point. It was as if he was using someone''s crooked mana gun that had its own set of peculiarities. Only the original owner of the mana gun knew how to operate their weapon. Anyone else would either hurt themselves using it or not use it in the right way at all. Yet, the Endermes had the potential to be one of his trump cards if he found a way around to minimize the crazy amount of Spiritual Force consumption they required. Either that or he had to look for a way in which he would be able to increase his mana and spiritual reserves. Grrrr! Eren was snapped back into reality when he heard the growls and grunts around him along with the sound of backtracking footsteps. The remaining Emberfang Ironwolves, sensing the shifting tides, hesitated for a moment. They became inherently scared of the Endermes he had unleashed on their dead peers. One had to say that Endermes weren''t just scary because of their burning aspect. They also had a psychological impact on one''s mind as they consumed so much of the user''s Spiritual Force, which made them exude a peculiar type of soul-based pressure. Eren smiled as he realized what his enemies were thinking. He was once at the receiving end of the horror the mes would incur on anyone. He could see the fear and hesitation in the werewolves'' red eyes and knew exactly how they felt. One couldn''t fight with their instincts for long. ''Maybe those shy mes have their use after all,'' he thought before stepping forward. Eren, undeterred, continued his onught. *** With a final, powerful sweep of his dual swords, he dispatched thest of the demonic creatures. He found it easy to dispatch the enemies because they felt instinct-driven suppression whenever Eren got close to them. When thest enemy died, the glow of fading purple lightning and dissipating green mes cast an otherworldly ambiance. Thest enemy he had killed was as strong as a Grandmaster, forcing him to go all out. The amount of destruction Eren had caused using his basic spells, exceptional agility, and Weapon Arts was something to be awed at. It was a form of art grotesquely. ''This this is tougher than I expected it to be. Especially with the suppression runes.'' Eren, breathing heavily, deactivated his active Skills. He had to say that the final round of the test was making him use every trump card he had no matter how hard he tried to keep in the wraps. With wary yet vignt eyes, he surveyed the aftermath of the battle. The Emberfang Ironwolves that hade for his heady defeated, their red iron furs now charred and lifeless. If they had identifiable bodies or body parts that is. "EREN!" cried Vasco as he looked in Eren''s direction. Thetter sighed before activating his movement Skill and approaching his ally. Chapter 1753 Horen the Jinx

Chapter 1753 Horen the Jinx

?On the third day of the final round, Vasco Joel faced a relentless horde of Emberfang Ironwolves. The wolf-like beasts and shapeshifted werewolves with their red eyes and iron fangs closed in on him, their predatory instincts honed for battle. "You fucking dogs! Come someC get some!" Vasco''s eyes flickered with determination as he unleashed his elemental prowess. He raised his hands, summoning forth Elemental Clones with a mastery unique to Elementalists. [ Skill: me Ifrits ] Each clone bore the fiery essence of his me Ifrit Skill, mirroring his movements and intentions. He had spent a significant amount of Spiritual Force on them, which was only possible because he was an Elementalist. He would have run out of Spiritual Force and dropped on the ground after executing the Skill if he had Eren''s stat values as his own. The me Ifrits manifested with an ethereal brilliance. These fiery entities bore an uncanny resemnce to Vasco''s physical dimensions, standing tall and mirroring his stature. However, their formscked distinct facial features, giving them an otherworldly and mysterious appearance. The mes thatposed the bodies of the me Ifrits seemed to have beenpressed and sculpted into humanoid shapes, acting as a fiery shell encapsting the essence of Vasco''s elemental power. Each me Ifrit radiated an intense heat, casting a warm glow in the surroundings as their fiery silhouettes moved with fluid grace. This use of the clones waspletely novel to anyone from Anfang. The clones Vasoc had created acted as if they were really alive. They did not need any additional instruction from their creator either. It was as if they already knew what they were supposed to do. Theck of facial features didn''t diminish the me Ifrits'' expressiveness. Instead, the flickering mes seemed to convey an array of emotions C determination, aggression, and unity in their purpose. Their fiery limbs moved seamlessly, synchronized with Vasco''smands, turning the elemental clones into an extension of his will. Vasco didn''t stay quiet either. He started casting his long-range elemental spells around him in various forms, targeting the enemies that were all around him with exceptional precision. One could say that he had be an aplished summoner and a well-established ranger at the same time. The variety of the Skills he had in his arsenal allowed him the freedom to pull this off. Vasco, like everyone else in Anfang, had a Skills cap. It meant that he couldn''t exceed a certain number of Skills he had kept unlocked for himself in the Mesh. This Skill Cap was based on various factors. But to arge extent, it was associated with one''s Profession. Vasco wasn''t like Eren who had multiple Professions. Therefore, the number of Skills he could keep active in the Mesh was limited. So he had carefully selected his Skills and honed them to perfection. He would have had a much easier time dealing with his enemies if his Elemental powers weren''t suppressed by the suppression runes active in the test. ''That muscle head must be having an easy time because the suppression runes won''t affect him much,'' Vasco cursed in his head before focusing on the task at hand. As the me Ifrits engaged the Emberfang Ironwolves, their movements were a dance of controlled chaos. The clones could cast a Skill or two of their own, allowing them to attack Vasco''s enemies effectively. mes trailed behind them as they executed swift attacks and evasive maneuvers. Thepressed mes that formed their bodies intensified with each strike, leaving a trail of scorched air in their wake. Despite theck of distinct facial features, the me Ifrits emanated an aura of power and elemental mastery. Thepressed mes that constituted their bodies pulsed with vibrant energy, reacting to the elementalmands of their summoner. Howl! The Emberfang Ironwolves, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of these fiery doppelgangers, hesitated for a moment. It was all Vasco needed. With a swift motion, hemanded his Elemental Clones to unleash a synchronized onught. The Elemental Clones lunged forward, mes dancing around them as they engaged the demonic creatures. me Ifrit''s power surged through their attacks, searing through the iron- like fur of the wolves. The surroundings echoed with the sh of elements as Vasco seamlessly coordinated his every move with the Elemental Clones. [ Skill : me Smanders ] As the battle unfolded, Vasco, using his me Smanders Skill, conjured fiery creatures that circled him like guardians. These elementalpanions added anotheryer to his defense, intercepting the relentless strikes of the Emberfang Ironwolves. Yet, the relentless assault took its toll on Vasco. His mana reserves dwindled as the battle raged on. He was affected the most by the suppression runes after all. With one powerful Emberfang Ironwolf remaining, an A-Ranked adversary, Vasco found himself on the brink of exhaustion. "EREN!" In a moment of urgency, Vasco reached out through their mental connection, calling for Eren''s assistance. The A-Ranked Emberfang Ironwolf, recognizing Vasco''s weakened state, seized the opportunity and lunged forward with a ferocious attack. Just as the metallic jaws were about to close on Vasco, Eren materialized beside him. Blitz. Swoosh. sh. [ Skill : Unlimited Weapon Works ] The butcher swiftly swung his dual swords, Rigor Mortis, intercepting the A-Ranked enemy with a cascade of purple lightning and red fire. Together, Vasco and Eren fought as a synchronized force,bining their skills to overwhelm the remaining Emberfang Ironwolf. The corridor became a battleground of elements, a dance of fire and lightning that ended with the defeat of the A- Ranked werewolf. "Th thanks, Eren. I I thought I was a goner." Breathing heavily, Vasco nodded to Eren in gratitude. The fight had tested their limits, but their teamwork had proven essential in oveing the metallic onught. "Hahahaha," Eren and Vasco both heard joyousughter behind them that wasced with a bit of mockery. "Look at you two pussy cats. Breathing like a dame who has just been railed by her lover," Horen the body cultivator approached them practically unharmed and covered in his enemies'' blood. "Those werewolves were nothing" Bzzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzzt! Horen was about to brag some more in front of his allies when he heard a distinct sound. His jovial expression quickly transformed into a frown as he realized the next batch of enemies had already arrived at the scene. And this time, Horen had to face something he didn''t want to face at all. "Those giant flies. They are back," Horen started the obvious as he looked at his allies. Eren and Vasco had darkened expressions on their faces as they both came to the same conclusion. That Horen had practically invited this new batch of enemies to approach them by jinxing their arrival. Chapter 1754 Skarvenstalkers

Chapter 1754 Skarvenstalkers

?Skarvenstalkers, often called demon flies in Labh Salem, emerged from exposure to demonic energies. These grotesque beings, with their monstrous proportions, struck terror into the hearts of all who encountered them. Encased in a robust exoskeleton that gleamed like darkened metal, they appeared as nightmarish amalgamations of insectoid terror. Individually, most Skarvenstalkers were only as strong as E-Ranked Aces with very few of them being as strong as D-Ranked Adepts. However, these demon flies flew in swarms, nketing the sky with their presence. Their metallic exoskeletons, adorned with arcane patterns, were impervious to conventional attacks, rendering the Skarvenstalkers formidable adversaries. The weight of the exoskeletons and their gigantic size would have made the flies unable to fly if it wasn''t for the fact that they were using intent-based magic in its purest form. Razor-sharp fangs protruded menacingly from their mandibles, ready to tear through anything that dared cross their path. Each limb ended in cruel ws, capable of gripping and rending both flesh and armor with ease. As these demonic flies unfurled their expansive, razor-edged wings, the air around them seemed to shudder. The wings, sharp as des, cut through the atmosphere with a menacing hum, leaving a trail of ominous echoes in their wake. The agile and swift movements of the Skarvenstalkers made them formidable aerial predators, darting through the shadows with lethal precision. The sight of these giant demonic flies would instill dread in even the bravest souls. Their presence signaled impending chaos, and the malevolent hum of their wings served as a sinister prelude to the relentless onught they would unleash upon those unfortunate enough to cross their path. The reason why Horen hated dealing with these demon flies was because they were practically impervious to the blunt attacks unleashed by him, thanks to their sturdy exoskeletons. Being a body cultivator, Horen did not have much freedom to deal with the demon flies once his ability to deal physical blunt damage was taken away from him. Plus, they could fly away from him and use various group tactics to counter his battle style. Much like Horen and his body cultivation skills, Skarvenstalkers also favored attacking without relying on elemental magic. Operating in coordinated packs, they utilized their physical prowess for offense with clever strategies. As such, Horen''s elemental resistances proved practically ineffective against the onught of these demon flies. Battling them felt akin to facing numerous miniature versions of himself, proving to be a nuisance due to their persistent buzzing and the challenge they posed in elimination. No matter how many he defeated, more reced them incessantly. It was like being trapped in a sprawling forest ofrge mosquitoes, incessantly biting him, and despite his efforts to swat them away, they kept multiplying. Moreover, these demon flies didn''t relent even when they recognized the strength of their adversaries. Regardless of their understanding that victory was unattainable, they persisted in unrelenting attacks, often pursuing their targets relentlessly for miles on end. The inclusion of "stalker" in their name wasn''t without reason. Therefore, attempting to escape from these airborne nuisances proved futile, especially within the confined test environment crafted by the panel of judges. Eren and hispanions had no choice but to focus on eliminating the entire swarm of demon flies before they could catch a much-needed break. *** The air crackled with tension as the swarm of Skarvenstalkers descended upon Eren, their menacing hum filling the atmosphere. [Skill: Igni Steps ] The butcher jumped in the air, meeting the iing horde head-on. He swiftly activated his [Skill: Fireball], conjuring fiery orbs in his hands. With precise aim, heunched the zing projectiles at the iing demon flies, creating small explosions upon impact. Boom! Boom! Boom! The fiery explosions scattered the swarm momentarily, but more quickly took their ce. Unfazed, Eren unleashed his [Skill: Fire Breath], a torrent of mes that swept through the air like a dragon''s roar. ''Unbelievable! Is he really a Ranker with such malleable Elemental Attainments? And I thought he was a closebat specialist with mastery in swords. Then how in the hell'' Vasco thought to himself and produced many questions in his head as he looked at the way Eren executed his Skills. He had never seen a Ranker with so much in-depth Elemental Attainment in fire-element that he could practically rival him in the said department. This was when he was supposed to have a superior hand in the Elemental Attainment because he was an Elementalist. ''I I need to focus.'' Vasco snapped out of his state and focused on supporting Eren in his attacks. He aggregated Eren''s fire-element attacks using his own Skills, making them have arger impact area than before while enhancing their damage potential. Vasco''s support made Eren''s attacks even more deadly, allowing him to cover the sky with a nket of orange and red fire that just remained suspended in the air. The demon flies caught in the ze screeched as their metallic exoskeletons heated up, slowing them down. Hovering in the air with his [Unique Skill: Windfire Wings], Eren shifted his battle style. The dual swords were reced by a crossbow. Drawing the string back, he unleashed a volley of [Skill: Fire Arrows], each arrow trailing mes in its wake. The fiery projectiles pierced the wings of the Skarvenstalkers, disrupting their flight patterns. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The arrows cut through the air, creating a symphony of fiery streaks. Eren then employed [Skill: Rain of Fire Arrows], showering the demon flies with a relentless barrage. The sky erupted in mes, causing chaos among the swarm. With [ Skill: Blue Fire Domain ], Eren changed the Elemental Aspects of some of the Fire Arrows that he had previously shot. These arrows changed their Elemental Aspect mid-flight just before they were about to hit the target. They siphoned the heat from the bodies of the demon flies they pierced and froze them mid-air, forcing them to drop to the ground like a dead weight. Eren had greater control of the Blue Fire Domain than ever before since he had managed to unlock it as a fire-element Skill in the Mesh. Compared to Endermes, this Aspect of fire that he had obtained from Becky was certainly rtively less powerful. But it made up for it by being versatile. Taking advantage of the confusion, Eren activated [Skill: Igni Chains], creating chains of fire that wrapped around the wings of the demon flies. The burning chains restricted their movements, making them easy targets for Horen on the ground. Eren didn''t waste time dealing with the demon flies personally after damaging their wings. He just let them lose their ability to fly so that Horen could deal with them in the most brutal way possible. The demon flies, now grounded and disoriented, faced the wrath of Horen''s devastating attacks. Horen, with his Body Cultivation skills, unleashed powerful strikes, crushing the metallic exoskeletons of the demon flies. Crack! Smash! Crush! Horen''s attacks echoed through the air as the demon flies met their demise. Descending gracefully with his Windfire Wings, Erennded beside Horen. Vasco joined them soon as the trio found themselves in the middle of a battleground littered with corpses of Skarvenstalkers and Emberfang IronwolvesC the horde of demon werewolves that they had killed just before the demon flies'' arrival. The trio''s foreheads glistened with beads of sweat, weariness etched across their expressions, and their heartbeats pounding erratically. The demanding task had left them too exhausted for words. As they were on the verge of silently relishing their consecutive triumphs, their attention shifted unanimously in a specific direction, and a shadow of concern clouded their faces. It appeared they had an uninvitedpany. However, it wasn''t another horde of creatures but a contingent of fellow aspirants engaged in the same test. Chapter 1755 Intruders Chapter 1755 Intruders ??By the time Eren, Horen, and Vasco had sessfully dealt with two sizable groups of demonic creatures, the fourth day of the test had officially dawned. As they were on the cusp of reaping the rewards of their hard-fought victories, another group of candidates decided to make an entrance. It was evident that these intruders intended to capitalize on the fruits of Eren''s team''sbor, aiming to im the demonic energies emanating from the corpses strewn across the ground. p. p. p. "Hehe. Excellent performance, guys," eximed Jen Omer, apuding as she strolled toward the trio of candidates, who regarded her warily. There was a hint of ridicule mixed in her voice as if mocking Eren and the rest for their pitiful states. She seemed unconcerned about stepping on the corpses of werewolves and demon flies scattered on the ground. Walking carefreely, she knew that neither the deceased creatures nor their killers posed a threat at this point. Jen Omer, a young woman with orange hair, appeared to be in her early 20s by mortal standards. Slim and tall, she possessed the figure of a nimble dancer. Her bright orange hair and captivating blue eyesplemented her sharp nose and oval face. Unusually long ears hinted at a potential elven lineage. And yet, her aura told Eren a different story. He could feel that the approaching woman was not an elf even though her ears made her look like one. d in Hex armor, a fusion of brass-like metals and dark brown animal hide, Jen carried no apparent weapon. Her presence suggested an assassin, yet her gaze exuded the confidence of a frontalbatant. Jen was not alone in approaching Eren''s group. Two allies nked her closely as they advanced, assuming a defensive formation. The candidate on her right, Raif Karsaal, was a Berserker by Profession, heavily invested in transforming his body into a weapon akin to a Body Cultivator. Eren surmised that Raif practiced a unique Tantra or Art that allowed him to retain his elemental magic casting ability while strengthening his body, positioning him between a Ranker and a Body Cultivator in terms of Path. Yugi Olen positioned herself on Jen''s left as they approached Eren, her gaze cautious and inquisitive. Her mint-colored eyes lent her a perpetually curious appearance,plemented by mint-colored hair with peach highlights. Puffy red lips adorned her slim face, and while shorter than Jen, she disyed expertise in movement-type Skills. A Professional Elementalist, Yugi exuded amanding presence as an A-Ranked Savant. Her mastery over Elementalist powers surpassed Vasco''s, despite them sharing the same Rank. Eren swiftly discerned that Jen shared a simr strategy. Just as he had approached Horen and Vasco before the test, choosing to lead them, Jen had also adopted the idea of forming a bnced team. Opting for a Body Arts Specialist and an Elementalist, she mirrored Eren''s approach in selecting a team that made her adapt to any form of challenges heading her way inside the isted dimension. "Miss, you might want to stop right where you are," Eren rose from his position, delivering a stern warning. Yet, he smiled slightly at the intruders before issuing another caution. "Unless you and your teammates want to face the same fate as these dead demonic creatures," his slightly cheerful tone added an eerie touch to his words. Jen disregarded Eren''s words, but her subconscious mindpelled her to pause. It was as if a part of her believed Eren''s warning and knew he would follow through. Her twopanions also stopped, positioning themselves at a distance, weapons drawn, ready for potential confrontation. Facing Eren''s group, they awaited the unfolding situation. "You''re the leader, I presume?" Jen scrutinized Eren and spoke in a clear, cold voice. "Let''s get to the point. Allow us to harvest these kills, and we''ll let you leave unharmed. We promise not to attack if you agree to these terms." she said as she took out her ss b and unted it in front of Eren in a yful way. Eren, Horen, and Vasco were supposed to collect the demonic energies exuded by their dead foes into their respective ss bs given to them at the start of the test. However, they were so busy battling with so many opponents at once that they decided to do this manually after they were left with no surviving enemies. It seemed that Jen and her teammates had counted on the fact that Eren and his teammates would be forced to implement this strategy. They had intercepted Eren at the right time as well. "Feel free to decline," Yugi added softly, gripping her rapier firmly. "But then, we''ll have to kill you and im these demonic energies. Let''s not pretend you''re in any condition to negotiate a better deal," she warned Eren and the others. "Hahahaha. You fucking beggars with your pompous-ass attitudes. Didn''t your mommy teach you that you get down on your knees whenever you beg in front of your patrons? You want a favor, right? Alright. We can do something about that. Why don''t youe here and suck my" Horenughed angrily, ready to berate the intruders, but Eren stopped him with a raised hand. Waving Horen to stand back, Eren addressed Jen and her group. "Miss, I''m not interested in lengthy discussions with nobodies. I''ll count to three, and if you''re still here by the time I finish, I''ll attack without hesitation," Eren''s emerald-green eyes exuded a peculiar shine as he warned. ''Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. we are screwed. The muscle head doesn''t know how to de-escte the situation. And Eren''s words aren''t helping either. We have lost so much time killing these creatures. But we could still make it to the cut-off list. Maybe. If we just'' the Elementalist from Eren''s team couldn''t help thinking of the worst oue. He felt nervous in this tense situation, and less optimistic than Eren and Horen. Yugi''s words about their inability to fight held some truth, and his mana consumption worsened his condition. Yet, Vasoc knew better. Despite his worries, he chose not to voice them, fearing it might discourage his teammates. "Hehehe. You sure jest, Mr. Tough Guy. But do you think we haven''t done our homework?" Jenughed at Eren''s tough talk, iming they had been keeping tabs on them. "Three" Eren began his countdown, prompting an exchange of nces between Jen and her teammates. Jen stood her ground, poised to give another threat, when she sensed something amiss. Suddenly, Eren vanished from her sight. The next sensation she felt was a deadly strike to her vulnerable nape. Eren had initiated his attack even beforepleting his countdown. Chapter 1756 Profession Change Bonuses & Venti Transformation

Chapter 1756 Profession Change Bonuses & Venti Transformation

?A deadly strike struck at the unprotected nape, slipping past the defenses of the Hex armor. Eren''s countdown was a clever ruse, a masked prelude to a devastating attack on the intruders at the kill site. It was a simple trick but effective nheless. Since Jen and her two teammates had caught Eren at the worst possible time, he decided to return the favor. [ Profession Change: Assassin Dexterity: +20% Dagger damage: +10% Movement-type Skill Bonus: +5% ] [ Skill: Unlimited Weapon Works ] [ Bonus Applied ] [ Skill: Motion Maniption ] [ Bonus Applied ] In the blink of an eye, Eren, like a ghost, appeared behind Jen, wielding two gleaming Katars with expert precision. The cruel light reflected off the des as Eren juggled them midair before executing his strike. A red streak of blood painted the air as Eren''s Katars breached Jen''s Natural Defense Layer, slicing through her delicate-looking skin. The passive effect of the Hex Armor saved her from a clean neck cut. "Aaaaaargh!" Jen''s cry of pain echoed as she swiftly activated her movement Skill, attempting to put distance between herself and Eren. A once-beautiful face contorted into ugly expressions as she grasped the reality of the situation. ''This man he is not like other Rankers. What the fuck did I run into?'' Jen hurled curses at both Eren and her own choice to intervene at the kill site. She had anticipated an easy benefit from Eren''s vulnerable situation, but his swift and decisive counterattack caught her off guard. His immediate response to her aggression wasn''t negotiation or threats but a relentless doubling down on aggression from his end. ''Run I must run away. He is dangerous.'' She dared not turn around to face her attacker, realizing instinctively that escaping from her current position was imperative before the temporary defense granted by her Hex Armor wore off. The looming threat of Eren decapitating her motivated her to flee. Yet, in her haste, she unwittingly rushed into the path of Horen, who stood ready for her arrival. His broadsword swung with precision, targeting the injured neck region. Swoosh. Zoom. Chop. Horen managed to chop Jen''s head clean off with his wide-scale broadsword attack. It also helped that Eren hadunched a preemptive strike at Jen, subconsciously making her drop her guard down. Eren did not stay quiet while the encounter between Jen and Horen was happening. He adjusted his specs for his uing confrontation as he closed in on Yugi. [ Professional Change: Close Combat Warrior Endurance: +5% Vigor: +5% Dexterity: +10% Close-range Skill Bonus: +2% Close-range weapon Bonus: +2% Elemental damage Bonus: +1% ] [ Skill: Unlimited Weapon Works ] [ Skill: Hero''s Heart ] Eren cranked things up a notch by activating Hero''s Heart. He would usually activate this power along with Life Drain to support the excessive Vigor consumption. However, Life Drain had demonic origins so he had to abandon the idea of opting for his usualbo. Thankfully, the active Close Combat Warrior Profession boosted his Vigor stat to some extent. Thus, he had some leeway when it came to using the Hero''s Heart at the time of the close-range confrontations. He only hoped that Vasco would be able to support him from a distance after figuring out what had transpired within this split second. This was because he couldn''t handle Yugi on his own when he was practically running on fumes. "Jen!" Yugi cried out in rm and panic as she watched Jen''s severed head flying into the air. Meanwhile, Horen who had just chopped the head moved on to deal with Raif Karsaal. Yugi couldn''t grieve for her ally who had lost her life. This was because she sensed dangering her way and activated her defense Skills while turning towards her right and drawing out her rapier in front of her in a defensive formation. Swoosh. Zoom. nk. Eren''s Katars shed with Yugi''s rapier, creating numerous sparks in the process. The sound of metal shing against metal filled the surroundings as the two exchanged loads of blows against each other within a few moments. Eren''s barrage of attacks made Yugi change her position, making her retreat in a direction away from Raif. ''This man... engaging in closebat with him is risky.'' Yugi pondered to herself as she felt some of Eren''s attacksnding on her body despite her best efforts to defend or divert them. Surprisingly, this was when she was full of energy, while Eren was supposed to be practically helpless after his continuous fights with the demonic creatures. She concluded that she would have been riddled with fatal injuries at this point if she hadn''t caught Eren at his lowest. However, it was not like she didn''t have the means to go against a Close Combat Warrior. After all, she was an Elementalist. One could say that she was more capable than Vasco because she had unlocked a sought- after Profession-centric trait for herself. [ Skill: Venti Transformation Venti Form: 35% Mana Body Transformed Active Duration: ~10 Minutes ] Yugi, covered in scars and sh wounds from Eren''s persistent attacks, suddenly activated her Elementalist-specific Skill. This Skill caused vital parts of her body to change their nature, transforming into a mana-like form. Yugi''s body was suddenly coated in a dense amount of wind mana that made her look like a VentiC a wind spirit. The wind- element mana changed the property of her flesh at various ces before turning her transparent to some extent. It was as if The Mana Body allowed Yugi to get rid of severe injuries, gainingplete immunity to Eren''s attacks whenever theynded on the body part currently under the effect of her Skill. ''Damn it. What the hell is happening? I could have bet Argo''s left nut that my attacks were working against her a second ago. The fuck kinda broken Skill is this?'' Eren cursed in his head as he watched Yugi exchange blows with him in her semi-transformed form. Being from Anfang, this was his first time battling against an Elementalist who could change the nature of their bodies in such a manner. Chapter 1757 Cat Goddess Bastet & The Blessing of Nine Lives

Chapter 1757 Cat Goddess Bastet & The Blessing of Nine Lives

?It was not like the butcher hadn''t dealt with Mana Bodies before. The summoned creatures conjured by his opponents in the past could also defend themselves against Eren''s physical attacks in a simr fashion. However, the summoned creatures were limited by their intelligence. Plus, they were not able to control the flow of the mana within their bodies, making them vulnerable to Elemental Attacks. Especially if the attacks were of opposite elements than the elemental mana the Mana Body was made from. Eren was used to deal with Mana Bodies by changing the elemental spells. For example, he would use water-element spells to deal with fire-element creatures summoned by his opponents and that would be enough to deal with them. He would use fire-element spells against woond creatures, dealing with them effectively by taking advantage of their natural vulnerability against certain elemental forces. However, an Elementalist with the ability to transform into Spirit form was apletely different creature. His sh attacks werending on Yugi''s body and even passing through it, but they failed to cause any damage. It was as if he were hurling stones into ake, expecting them to cause harm, when in fact, they just sank into the water without any effect. This was due to the fact that Yugi had greater control of her Mana Body whenpared to the Mana Bodies of the summoned creatures. She could choose to defend against Eren''s attacks whenever it suited her or simply let them pass through her body as if they didn''t exist for her in the first ce. She didn''t seem to have an elemental vulnerability against any element either. Not that Eren wanted to test out this theory byunching various elemental Skills on her. He neither had the mana reserves nor the breathing room for such adventures. When it came to Weapon Comprehension and closebat battle style, Yugi was no match for Eren even when he was worn out due to his recent battle. However, her Profession-specific Skill allowed her to break the bnce and overwhelm Eren as soon as it was activated. ''Eren! It''s the Mana Body Skill. Be careful and use your Spirit in the attacks.'' Vasco''s urgent voice sounded in Eren''s head when thetter was in a pinch. Thetter had expended a significant amount of his Spirit Stat due to the use of the Endermes in his fight against the demonic creatures earlier. However, this was not the time to be frugal. At this point, even Yugi realized that targeting Eren''s team was a huge mistake that Jen hadmitted. However, Yugi felt that she was equally responsible as she didn''t stop Jen from taking action as well. After all, she too was convinced that dealing with Eren was easy. Plus, the amount of demonic energy they could im from the dead demonic creatures was just too much to ignore. "Uggh!" An audible grunt was heard from Yugi as some of Eren''s Spirit-imbued sh attacks managed to damage her real body to some extent. However, one could tell that the affected area quickly recovered due to the nature of the Mana Body. It was as if Eren''s sessful attempts to injure Yugi had also gone down the drain. [ Skill: me Ifrit ] With the remainder of his pitiful mana reserves, Vasco executed his skill, deploying his clone to support Eren against his duel with Yugi. He then executed his long-range attacks at once, concentrating them around Raif so that Horen could have a bit of an easy time dealing with the Body Art specialist. The me Ifrit attacked Yugi from the opposite direction of Eren. She was sandwiched between the attacksing from two directions, which affected her ability to control the flow of the mana. Due to this, Eren''s Spirit-imbued attacks started doing more damage to her Mana body as well, visible by the streaks of blood he drew even though her Mana Body was supposed to be impervious to his attacks. "Haah. Don''t underestimate me." [ Skill: Venti Transformation Venti Form: 55% Mana Body Transformed Active Duration: ~4 Minutes ] [ Skill: Venti Scythes ] [ Skill: Venti Heart ] [ Skill: Venti Multi Arms ] Yugi regained control of the battle she had just lost due to being outnumbered. She upped the percentage of the Mana Body Transformation at the cost of bringing down the time limit for which she could maintain the Skill. However, she preferred dominating her opponents instead of ying defensively. She grew another pair of arms that allowed her tounch Venti Scythes, countering Eren''s dual prolonged attack. With Venti Heart, she enhanced her Body Stats temporarily, enabling her to take her offensive and defensive capabilities to the next level. After all, she had plenty of energy and mana reserves left with her while her opponents were trying tond a lucky hit on her. She didn''t want to give Eren and Vasco''s clone the satisfaction of pulling that off sessfully. [ Spirit: 103 / 2000 ] [ Spirit: 102 / 2000 ] [ Spirit: 101 / 2000 ] [ Spirit: 100 / 2000 ] [ Spirit: 99 / 2000 ] [ Warning: Excessive consumption of Spirit Stat has been observed. The user will lose consciousness if and when the value reaches zero. ] A spectral warning briefly shed before Eren, indicating his excessive use of Spirit to confront Yugi in her current form. Undeterred, he chose to press forward instead of retreating. [ Skill: Demi-god''s Gaze ] [ Spirit: 10 /2000 ] Eren''s eyes turnedpletely white as he locked his gaze onto Yugi, heralding a significant shift. Suddenly, an alternate version of the world materialized before Yugi, rising from the ground. In this surrealndscape, the ground wasposed of flesh and bones, with limb-like branches bearing flesh flowers on the flesh trees. The blood-red sky of this illusory realm merged with the maze''s sky inside the isted dimension. It seemed as if Yugi stood at the crossroads of two colliding worlds, yet instead of destruction, they harmoniously fused, creating a new reality. It took a moment for Yugi to realize that Eren''s ocr Skill had affected her consciousness, a potent ability considering it could influence an Elementalist like her with enhanced Spirit Stat. However, this briefpse was enough for Eren to find an opening in her defense. Swoosh. Zoom. sh. "Ugh!" A heart was pierced during this crucial moment, but it wasn''t Yugi''sit was Eren''s. He had been attacked by a third person when he was just about to get rid of Yugi. His attacker was someone he had assumed to be dead since the beginning of the battle. "Hehehehe. You thought you had me, didn''t you?" Jen smiled mockingly as she appeared behind Eren like a phantom, just as he had done to her. Using her bare hands and cat-like metal ws, she had pierced Eren''s heart from behind with her elongated fingers. "I''m a devout follower of Goddess Bastet, you see. I have nine lives," she whispered in Eren''s ear before yfully biting his earlobe. Chapter 1758 Epiphany on the Deathbed?

Chapter 1758 Epiphany on the Deathbed?

?Yugi was scared to death when she thought that Eren was about to take her life. She had never experienced such a life-threatening situation ever before. As such, it was only natural that she would be paralyzed when she came face to face with it. Her limbs stopped responding and her body became as heavy as rock after she pulled her consciousness out of Eren''s illusory world. She had never experienced an ocr Skill that could make her so helpless. ''I I would have died if it wasn''t for Jen,'' she thought to herself as she got behind Jen. She felt indebted to Jen for saving her life. However, when she saw Jen licking the bloody fingers that were coated in Eren''s blood, she had another thought. Jen''s appearance had changed a bit after she used Cat Goddess Bastet''s divine blessing to revive herself. Her ears had elongated a bit more than the previous state. Her eyes had turned beastly and her stature had been shortened to some extent. Jen''s ginger hair had turned a shade darker. Plus, there was ayer of orange body hair on her limbs as well, which made it look as if she had grown cat-like fur. There was a certain beastly aura mixed within Jen''s presence, which made here across as someone who was only a part human and part something else. Yugi didn''t know if the altered appearance was a temporary thing or a permanent state of the affair for the revived Jen. However, she knew that such a powerful blessing like [ Goddess Bastet''s Blessing: Nine Lives Ten Deaths ] would surelye with some kind of side effect. ''Wait. Goddess Bastet''s Blessing kicks in immediately. This pussycat bitch only chose to revive herself when the enemies were at their most vulnerable. This means. She was using us as bait.'' Yugi drew another conclusion from her teammate''s behavior, which darkened her expressions. The gratitude she felt earlier towards Jen vanished into thin air. "Eren!" Vasco summoned his me Ifrit to forcibly move Eren away from Jen, hurling him in Vasco''s direction. Taking advantage of the diversion, the me Ifrit executed a suicidal attack on Jen. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Jen adeptly dodged the explosion, utilizing her nimble figure and feather-light movement Skill to create a safe distance, still holding onto the injured Yugi. Vasco did not make his me Ifrit trigger an explosion to take Jen down in the first ce. His intention was to separate Eren from the assants, preventing any immediate follow-up attacks. Eren, in a vulnerable state, was caught by Vasco before crashing to the ground. He vomited a mouthful of blood as soon as he was held by Vasco. It seemed that he was trying to control the bleeding because of the fatal attack dealt to him by Jen. Vasco inspected Eren''s injury with beads of sweat running down his cheeks. The severity of the wound suggested that healing required a specialized Skill or a healer-type Profession none of which they possessed. ''He''s on the brink,'' Vasco concluded, sensing the impending demise of hispanion. He cast a nce filled with dread and anger at Jen, believing she had been dealt with by Eren and Horen earlier. A distinct scar on Jen''s neck revealed the mark of Horen''s broadsword, a sign that she had reattached her head, granted by the Cat Goddess Bastet''s blessing. The scar, however, remained as evidence of her encounter with death. It also made Vasco realize that whatever he saw about Jen was real. That Jen really had made use of the divine blessing to change the oue of the sh in her favor. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Horen''s bloody body flew towards Vasco and Eren before crashing right in front of them, creating a mini crater. His muscr body was riddled with sh wounds and blunt force trauma. Raif had managed to do quite a number on the body cultivator thanks to the fact that Horen was already pushing himself to battle with the guy. After all, Horen and Eren had overexerted themselves physically and spiritually dealing with the demonic creatures earlier. The toll from theirst battle hadn''t quite worn off when Jen''s team had decided to show themselves. Cough. Cough. Cough. Horen, coughing blood, made a concerted effort to stand on shaky legs. Frantically shaking his head, he sought spatial awareness lost in the intense sh with Raif. A sharp p to his face brought rity to his blurred vision, and he finally grasped the gravity of the situation. He breathed deep before screaming loudly to vent out his anger and frustration. Then all of a sudden, he went into silent mode as he looked at his opponents with eyes that didn''t have a shred of regret in them. "Don''t Don''t worry about me. I''m fine," he assured his battered teammates, standing without ncing back at them. A strangely eerie smile adorned his bloody face, lending him an unsettling, maniacal appearance. ''Haah! Don''t worry about me, he says. You are fine? YOU ARE FINE? Mate, I hate to break it to you but you are not fine. WE are not fine. All fucking three of us,'' Vasco cursed Horen in his head just to feel better. But the reality in front of him made him introspect his actions as well. ''Not like I was much help in the situation. Eren and Horen did what I didn''t have the guts to do. These three hijackers would have chosen to attack us anyway, even if we had decided to retreat. I heard Cat Goddess Bastet''s devout followers just look for troubles. Plus, they are nothing but scavengers who like to im what they find most interesting.'' Vasco drew his conclusion as he observed Jen. One had to admit that the man had considered various aspects simultaneously in such a short span. It was as if his mind processed this brief stalemate differently than the rest. As if he was genuinely experiencing various memorable moments of his life shing before his eyes like a moving film. ''Is this what they call an epiphany on the deathbed?'' he questioned himself. Chapter 1759 Automated Skill Activation

Chapter 1759 Automated Skill Activation

?''Damn it. This is bad,'' the Elementalist from Eren''s team was beginning to lose hope. ''One is high on an adrenaline rush, and the other has his heart pierced by the cat harlot. As for me, not only am I out of mana, but my mana core has also sustained damage due to the overdraw. I could probably cast a Skill or two for a few seconds. But that''s just it. I''ll be nothing but a ragdoll after that. I thought being a Savant had given me plenty of liberty to act as I wanted. Turns out I was delusional. What did I fucking achieve bying this far? Are are we going to die here?'' Vasco, piecing things together, confronted Jen while supporting Eren. Uncertain of Eren''s intentions, he nevertheless followed his lead. It seemed they were all on the brink of death, rendering Eren''s goals inconsequential at this critical juncture. *** "Kihihihihi," Jen purred like a cat, eyeing her helpless adversaries. "You could have avoided this fate, you know. If you had just left this ce silently, we wouldn''t have to battle it out like this. I wouldn''t have to lose one of my lifelines here as well. I only have seven lifelines remaining now. Whose fault is that? Hmm? Who will take responsibility for the cost I''ll have to pay for using the Blessing?" she queried Eren and the rest, her voice dripping with anger and bloodlust as she fixated on them with a predatory gaze. Raif and Yugi had got behind her at this point, taking ideal formation to deal with the trio of candidates who looked to have their one foot into their graves already. They just needed one more push and their troubles would be over. At least that''s what they thought. ''Listen up guys,'' Jen contacted her teammates secretly before theyunched their final attack on Eren and the rest. ''I''ll focus on getting rid of the big guy. Raif, you will target Eren. the guy''s only living on borrowed breaths. You wouldn''t face any problem. As for YugiC you will tackle that scared cat who wastes too much time thinking about stuff. You wouldn''t have much trouble dealing with a fellow Elementalist,'' she said to Raif and Yugi in a voice that didn''t allow much scope for cross questioning. ''Haah! If he is on hisst breaths, why don''t you go ahead and deal with him?'' Raif snorted as he thought of Jen''s suggestion. Of course, he didn''t say this in themunication channel, considering the kind of situation they were in. This was not the time to argue. The Body Art Specialist could discern the logic behind Jen''s tactic. However, he retained enough sanity to realize that swapping targets with her wouldn''t have made much difference unless Eren still posed a threat. It seemed as though Jen hesitated to put herself in a position that might cost her another lifeline, despite her bold demeanor. Yet, Raif perceived no issue in dealing with Eren, who was evidently on the brink of demise. The man hadn''t raised his head to nce at them even once after the close encounter with Jen. "Ready?" Jen asked rhetorically. "Three!" she announced before swiftlymanding, "Attack!" One could say that she was subconsciously trying to ovee the trauma Eren had given her by pulling the same trick on him. *** [ Greater Skill: Domain of Wrath Automated Activation ] A sudden notification shed on Eren''s screen just as he was on the verge of finishing off Yugi for good. In the next moment, a familiar sensation enveloped himhis heart pierced by an unfamiliar object. ''What the'' Eren was forced to take control of the Greater Skill after its automated activation and prevented himself from forming a Wrath Domain. As a result of this, his attack on Yugi was halted abruptly. He was forced to look down and see what had managed to attack him when he was at his most vulnerable. An elongated finger, with metallic w extensions, had managed to pierce through his heart from back to front. A hole now revealed a glimpse of Eren''s body attempting to close the wound through elerated regeneration. "Uggggh!" Eren grimaced in pain, even though the injury wasn''t fatal. He was immune to his heart being pierced but that did not mean that he was immune to the feeling of pain and misery as well. The intense pain, coupled with his Spirit nearing zero, affected his vision. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Suddenly, Eren found himself propelled into the air by Vasco''s me Ifrit. The clone exploded, creating a st that carried Eren further through the air, reaching Vasco, who seemed to be awaiting his arrival. ''Come closer, damn it. You are not going to catch me like this,'' Eren cursed Vasco inwardly as he braced for the imminent crashnding. The butcher opted not to perform a mid-air maneuver to avoid tipping off the enemy that he was still functional despite the supposedly fatal injury. "Eren! No," the butcher heard Vasco''s panicked voice. "Stay down; I will" Vasco attempted to make him lie down. "No!" Eren halted Vasco''s actions. "Help help me get up," he requested with a hint of difficulty and grim conviction, a blend of sincerity and deception. The butcher could have assured Vasco and Horen that he was fine, but he doubted their acting skills. So, he opted not to take the risk, letting them believe he was on the brink of death to maintain the illusion for their enemies. Eren felt a sense of satisfaction as Vasco''s detonated clone brought an unexpected pause to the battle. This temporary respite was crucial for Eren, who had just discovered something intriguing shing on his Spectral Screen. [ Necessary requirements met. Skill: Demi-god''s Gaze can be converted into Unique Skill: Unreal Reflection by spending 1200 Origin Force Points. Would you like to continue? ] [ umted Origin Force Points: 7698.65 ] ''This greedy goddess,'' Eren cursed Goddess Menaka in his head as he kept his head down. ''She doesn''t want me to spend her fake money for this. Instead, she wants to im the Origin Force I have managed to im for myself. Capitalist through and through.'' Eren sighed internally before reluctantly epting the offer. For one, he didn''t have the luxury to argue with the goddess. Secondly, he was in a desperate situation. Andstly, he was curious about what would happen if his ocr Skill turned into a Unique Skill. As soon as he selected "yes," he felt as if his eyes had been washed with acid. A burning sensation engulfed them, as if they were being roasted on fire. "Three!" Eren heard Jen''s voice. "Attack," she said before activating the movement Skill and riling up the two teammates right behind her. Eren didn''t have time to get used to the sensation. For better or worse, he was given the opportunity to test the Unique Skill he had just acquired right away. [ Unique Skill: Unreal Reflection Activated ] Chapter 1760 Unique Skill: Unreal Reflection Chapter 1760 Unique Skill: Unreal Reflection ??Raif Karsaal triggered his movement-type Skill, advancing directly toward Eren. Thetter appeared to be struggling to maintain his stance given his current condition. The bleeding from his pierced heart had mysteriously halted, but Raif understood that this was merely a temporary measure Eren had taken to prolong both his life and the battle. "Aha!" He let out a scream as he charged Eren with his broadsword. Channeling mana into his weapon, the elemental runes illuminated. As a Ranker proficient in Body-strengthening arts, Raif still had ess to a variety of Skills. This was the advantage he had over the traditional Body Cultivators. Utilizing his water-element affinity, he enveloped his broadsword in potent A-Ranked water-element mana. He wielded his Elemental Attainments with exceptional proficiency, which was surprising considering the Path he had chosen for himself. From Jen''s order to charge to Raif''s swift preparations as he approached Eren, all of this unfolded within a fraction of a second. As he neared Eren, Raif intended to lock eyes with his adversary before bringing an end to his life. ''You have epted your defeat, huh?'' Observing Eren with his head down, gazing at the ground, Raif believed that the man had resigned from the fight and embraced his impending fate. "It''s okay to give up sometimes. Let me grant you a clean death." Raif muttered to himself as he approached within arm''s reach of Eren as if offering the man thest rites in his own mind. Raising his broadsword, Raif swung it downward, releasing a concentrated burst of water-element mana that transformed into a lethal flying sh attack. The attack sliced through the air, aiming to bisect Eren vertically. The sheer force generated a sonic boom, showcasing Raif''s physical power and the elemental aspect of the water-element mana he had cultivated. The existence of this flying sh attack created atmospheric pressure around it as it tried to dispel thepressed form of mana in the form of waves. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. The flying sh attack struck Eren''s body forcefully, propelling him 30 steps backward. Raif was on the verge of relief, witnessing his sessful attack on Eren. Already nning his next move, he debated whether to assist Jen or confront Horen, with whom he had shed earlier. ''Hmmm? Wait a minute. This feedback from Skill is odd. Something''s off.'' Raif thought to himself, noticing Eren''s body remained entirely intact despite the direct hit from his broadsword. However, that wasn''t the peculiar part. What surprised him was the failure of the weapon Skill he had employed against Eren. All the water-element mana he had invested in the Skill had disappeared without his consent, as if someone had forcefully taken control of his Skill and dispersed it into thin air. It made him question whether he had really attacked Eren with his Skill earlier. ''What the fuck did he do? I didn''t sense him casting any Skill to counter. Then how did he do that?'' Raif regarded Eren with curiosity, and as their eyes met, a transformative shift urred in the surrounding environment. It was as though the world itself was morphing into something ominous. ''This what the fuck. Those eyes... What the hell are those eyes?'' Raif questioned in dread, fixating on Eren''s eyes or theck thereof. Indeed, Eren no longer had eyes; his eye sockets appeared hollow as if his eyeballs had been stolen. Instead of eyes, those who dared to gaze into Eren''s hollow sockets were met with an all-consuming void, seemingly capable of drawing in the souls and consciousness of onlookers. Raif felt an intimate and profound disturbance. His soul had been affected by the ocr Skill Eren had unleashed. However, manipting the targets'' psyche was not the sole capability of Eren''s Unique Skill. Having transformed into a unique Skill, Eren''s [Skill: Unreal Reflection] began to tamper with the reality surrounding him and his adversary. It was an ocr Skill that ceased to remain just as an ocr Skill. Thews of reality underwent a profound transformation right before the spectators'' eyes, and there was no recourse to halt the change. It was as if someone was introducing new colors to an existing painting, adding a few personal touches that couldn''t be avoided. Raif sensed that the world around him had been reshaped by an omnipotent force, an unprecedented experience for him. It felt as though he had been transported to an alternate reality, one intricately interwoven with his present surroundings in a peculiar juxtaposition. The newly summoned world, a creation of Eren''s ocr Skill, featured blood-red skies and soil, an expansive destion strewn with bone heaps. The remains of monsters and humans, in hues of white and yellow, are scattered across thendscape, apanied by various skulls from diverse beings and beasts. Raif and his teammates couldn''t discard these added elements of the altered reality as illusions anymore. Because they could actually step on the bones and skulls littered all over the ground. They could feel a tangible form of bloodlust that surrounded them. Abruptly, a red moon materialized in the sky, and crimson lightning crackled through scarlet clouds. These illusory elements seamlessly melded with the tangible features of the isted dimension, generating an alternate reality under Eren''smand. ''This Did he have this Skill from the beginning? No It can''t be. And what the fuck kinda Skill is this? Is is it a blessing from some unknown god? WaitC what about Jen and Yugi?'' Raif quickly turned around to look at his teammates. And for better or worse, he got the answer he was looking for. Raif realized that he was not the sole target of Eren''s Unique Skill. Both his allies, Jen and Yugi, and Eren''s teammates, Horen and Vasco, found themselves drawn into this altered reality. They all had stopped moving, the shocked expressions on their faces were enough of an indicator for Raid to conclude that Eren''s Skill had indeed affected the world around them. An ocr Skill that blurred the distinction between what was real and what was unreal. Chapter 1761 Guaranteed Hits Within the Pseudo-domain Chapter 1761 Guaranteed Hits Within the Pseudo-domain ??''What... What is this creepy sensation? What kind of ocr Skill is this?'' Goosebumps formed on Yugi''s skin as she found herself thrust into an alternate reality by Eren''s Unique Skill. It felt as though every fiber of her being was urging her to escape this zone Eren had conjured around him. It was an environment she instinctively knew she shouldn''t confront head-on. ''Is this a domain-type Skill? But there''s no barrier. A pseudo-domain maybe. I can see the normal world outside this weird zone. That means we can get out. As long as I step outside this zoneC everything will be fine. But the problem isC how can I move? I I hate to admit it but I I''m scared.'' Yugi''s intuitionpelled her toe to a halt, preventing her from charging toward her opponent, Vasco from Eren''s team. Fortunately, Vasco had also ceased his movements, indicating that she wouldn''t face consequences for her momentary inaction in the battleat least not from Vasco. Step. Step. Step. The sound of Eren''s advancing footsteps echoed through the eerie zone, captivating everyone ensnared within its confines. Yugi and the others turned their heads, their attention drawn to Eren as he nonchntly approached Raif. The few steps he had been pushed back by Raif''s flying sh attack were retraced by Eren, leaving a distinct trail etched into the ground by his own footsteps. The butcher stretched his arms as if he had just woken up from a nice slumber, walking casually in a haunting world he had created around him. This zone was the reflection of his Individuality. And he was certainly not fearful of his own IndividualityC his own reflection. He liked himself and epted himself for who he was. A smile was etched on his handsome face as he looked at the effects of his own Unique Skill with a sense of awe and wonder. One could tell that this was his first time seeing the effects of his own Unique Skill as well. He was experiencing [ Skill: Unreal Reflection ] for the first time along with his allies and enemies. As such, he chose to remain silent for the time being and observed the degree of change he could inject into his current reality. Behind Eren materialized a runic wheel, reminiscent of an ancient Array Formation. Unlike human-crafted arrays, this formation seemed to be an intrinsic part of the Existential Concepts, following the fundamental Rules of Creation. Within this mystical array were two Array Eyes, peculiar circles created by ancient runes and magic signs of unknown origin. These Array Eyes had a diameter of around two meters. As Eren blinked and offered a smile, his own eyes seamlessly reced these Array Eyes within the formation. His emerald-green eyes expanded to the size of his body inside the Array Formation floating above him, assuming a runic form above his head. These eyes seemed to possess an otherworldly sight, gazing in unison with Eren, prating through everything, including the very souls of those ensnared in the altered reality crafted by his Unique Skill. ''Raif run. Run away, damn it,'' Yugi silently screamed within herself as she witnessed Eren closing in on her teammate. Strangely, her voice seemed imprisoned, stifled as if her very soul was coerced into a forbidding silence. She had lost the ability to move a step away from her current position as well. It was as if the spatial fabric around her had been altered, robbing her ability to walk freely in the zone. Unbeknownst to Yugi, Raif was desperately attempting just thatstruggling to create a safe distance from the approaching Eren. However, an unexpected hindrance thwarted his efforts. Despite the mix of panic and desperation etched on his face, he had tried to act cool. But the closer Eren got the more panicked he felt in his heart. ''Why why the fuck can''t I get away from this demon?'' Raif looked down and discovered that fleshy arms,posed of bones, limbs of otherworldly creatures, and spectral hands had emerged from the ground. These arms and weird extensions had imprisoned his legs like shackles. The arms multiplied exponentially within moments, like a grotesque manifestation preventing him from taking a single step back. They grew in size and the power they exerted over Raif''s body made it difficult for him to remain standing on his legs. It felt as though the entire world conspired to immobilize Raif. His strong muscles and pro-testosterone body could do nothing to fight against Eren''s control over the psycho- domain. He could intrinsically feel that he needed Eren''s permission to move in this altered zone. And something told him Eren wasn''t just going to give him one just because he asked nicely. Eren halted within arm''s reach of Raif. Although his facecked eyeballs, his emerald-green eyes, now part of the Array Formation, fixated on Raif from the space above Eren''s head. The gaze held a deity-like air, treating Raif as nothing more than an insignificant ant. "Water epts all gifts from living beings, but it always gives back what it takes eventually," Eren cryptically stated to Raif, a mysterious smile ying on his lips. Raif, along with Eren''s other enemies and allies, found themselves baffled, unable to grasp the meaning behind his words. In the ensuing moment, their confusion deepened as they witnessed Raif''s earlier flying sh being summoned back into existence with a mere wave of Eren''s hands. It materialized in the space between Eren and Raif. This reappearance was mysterious, mirroring its disappearance moments ago. This rejuvenated flying sh carried an even more substantial amount of water-element mana, surpassing its initial creation by Raif. It now bore the addedplexity of Eren''s Elemental Aspects rted to water, acquired through his Elemental Attainments. "Here. I give you what belongs to you." Eren dered with an indifferent gaze fixed upon Raif. The water-element sh attack, once again, vanished into thin air. However, what followed were distinct thudding sounds that echoed one after another, perplexing Yugi and the rest. "Aaaaaaaah!" Yugi''s horrified scream pierced the air as she grasped the reality of what had transpired. The flying sh attack manifested as a phantom between Raif''s corporeal form before the rules dictating its existence underwent a profound transformation. In an eerie turn of events, the flying sh transitioned from its phantom state to a tangible form just as it intersected with Raif''s body like an illusory ovey, resulting in a vertical split that cleaved him into two distinct parts. The unsettling thud sounds that echoed were the echoes of Raif''s divided form colliding with the ground. Jen and Yugi, gripped by horror, shared a chilling realization. Eren''s Unique Skill conferred upon him a formidable capability the assurance of guaranteed hits for any of his attacks on adversaries within the pseudo-domain. There was no way for anyone to avoid being hit by Eren''s attacks as long as they were within the range of [ Unique Skill: Unreal Reflection ]. Unlike most ocr Skills, this Unique Skill affected everyone who could be seen by the pair of emerald-green eyes hanging over Eren''s head inside the Array Formation. === AN: The foundation for the Unreal Reflection wasid in chapters 740 and 1432. Chapter 1762 Narrow Escape

Chapter 1762 Narrow Escape

?"You spoke of granting me a painless death" Eren uttered in a neutral tone, his gaze fixed on Raif''s lifeless, vertically divided form at his feet. "I sensed no trace of sarcasm in those words. I guess you showed respect to your opponent. I kinda get that. In return, I offer you the samea death devoid of suffering. Um rtively speaking." Speaking to the remains of Raif, still expelling blood and entrails from the brutal cleaving, Eren drew a deep breath before snapping his fingers. ''No matter where I amC cruelty follows me. I embrace every facet of it, acknowledging all it presents to me. I''ll not pretend that I detest it. I have longe to ept the fundamental truth of lifeC that there''s no absolute right or wrong. In the battle of survival, whoever wins gets to tell their version of the truth to the masses. But it also doesn''t mean that I should be heartless. That I should be driven mad by any one set of emotions. My enmity dies with the death of my enemy. So, Raif, I extend to you a warrior''s final respects.'' Eren found a sense of rity as he looked at the pool of blood that hade into existence because of Raif''s split form. In an instant, Raif''s bisected figure became engulfed in searing Endermes. The mes conjured within the pseudo-domain raged with such intensity that Raif''s lifeless form disintegrated into dust within mere seconds. The Spirit-driven mes had done their job and were about to be extinguished on their own. ''These mes. I can use them without any worry inside the Unreal Reflection. I guess they consume the same amount of Spiritual Force as before. But for some reason, I don''t feel like I''ll ever run out of Spirit Stat while this Unique Skill is active.'' *** In the wake of this act, Eren experienced an unusual revtion about his Unique Skill. Within Unreal Reflection''s effective zone, he sensed an inexhaustible reserve of Spiritual Force. His nearly depleted Spirit stat had undergone an inexplicable replenishment. This was simr to how Eliza was able to wield Endermes to their fullest potential. She too had near limitless reserves of the Spiritual Force due to her Sin-Series Mark. Eren could tell that there was something very different about how he had achieved this feat. However, he had to admit that the end result was the same. ''There''s more. I feel rejuvenated mentally. As if I did not spend my Spiritual Force at all. This Unique Skill is strange.'' This was another effect of using the Unique Skill. All traces of mental weariness vanished. His mind was clear and focused. It was as if he had enjoyed a restful sleep, and his cognitive abilities felt notably heightened. ''Kekeke. I should research this Unique Skill carefullyter on. For now, I''ll just run with what I got.'' Eren thought to himself as he raised his right hand and twisted it in half-lotus formation. In the next moment, his hand was engulfed in bright Endermes that illuminated his face green, making him look even more sinister in the eyes of his enemies. Eren didn''t hesitate to employ Endermes any longer. Although he couldn''tprehend why his Spirit Stat seemed inexhaustible while [Skill: Unreal Reflection] was active, that was a matter to investigateter, away from the ongoing battle. For now, his focus was on eliminating the immediate threat. *** ''Vasco, Horen, stay back and don''t intervene. Let me handle this.'' Eren issued a concise directive to his teammates through the voicemunication channel. Recognizing Horen''s severe injuries and Vasco''s damaged mana core, Eren understood their limited use in the current confrontation. The Unreal Reflection was still active, allowing Eren to takeplete control of the battlefield. With three days left in the test, Eren prioritized stabilizing his teammates'' conditions, deeming any external assistance unnecessary. ''Tha thank fucking go'' Vasco whispered his gratitude to the heavens, copsing to the ground as if his very soul had departed. It seemed that only his survival instinct had kept him upright until Eren took charge. Once assured that Eren had everything under control, Vasco''s survival instinct dissipated. In the following moment, he closed his eyes and surrendered to sleep, as if he had heard the sweetest luby from Eren''s lips. "Haa!" Horen, too, experienced relief. He sank to one knee, employing his broadsword for support to maintain bnce. Though exhausted, he was eager to witness Eren''s capabilities within the pseudo-domain. ''Hehehe. Look at their faces. I want to see that crazy cat beg for mercy,'' A triumphant grin adorned the Body Cultivator''s face as he regarded his adversaries with a predatory gaze, anticipating a spectacr performance from Eren. *** Meanwhile, Eren''s enemies had a different set of emotions budding within their hearts from his allies. ''This how could this be? How did Raif even die?'' Asked Jen to herself, her cat-like eyes contracting to focus on Raif''s form that wasn''t there anymore. For a moment, she felt as if she was inside an illusion, which was notpletely untrue considering the properties of Eren''s Unique Skill. Despite the short duration since Eren activated his Unique Skill, to Jen and Yugi, it felt as though they had been trapped in a nightmarish scenario for hours. It took them a while to grasp that Raif had met his end at Eren''s hands. ''This This man is not simple. It has to be a power drawn from a divine Blessing. It means that the god behind him must be very powerful,'' Jen started connecting dots in her head as she processed the current situation. There was a part of her that wanted to simply run away from the mess she had created. However, she doubted Eren would let her go so easily after she had tried to kill him with her earlier attack. ''I I still have seven lifelines left. What what should I do now?'' Jen thought of the divine Blessing she had received from Cat Goddess Bastet. She forced herself to stop thinking about Raif and focus on her survival. Of course, she had stopped thinking about iming the demonic energies from the demonic creatures a long time ago. ''If it gives me assurance that I could kill him and be done with any potential ramificationster on, I would dly sacrifice one more lifeline. But what if'' Jen started thinking about the pros and cons of her next move. For the first time since she had received the divine blessing, she felt that seven lifelines were not enough. "Aaaaah!" Yugi''s horrified scream echoed as she witnessed her teammate disintegrate within the Endermes. While Eren''s attention remained on the fading remnants of the Endermes, the emerald-green eyes within the ancient Array Formation observed the spot where Raif''s body existed just moments before. It appeared that the areas not scrutinized by the emerald- green eyes inside the Array Formation were less constrained by the binding effects of Eren''s pseudo-domain. Thus, Yugi discovered the ability to move within Eren''s pseudo-domain. ''Run... run... fucking run.'' Yugi''s internal scream urged her to escape Eren''s pseudo- domain. Fortunately, she mustered the strength she needed, rising to her feet and sprinting in the opposite direction, determined to exit the Skill zone promptly. She did not even try to deal with her opponent who had obviously lost his consciousness and waspletely vulnerable to her attack. Taking advantage of her Elementalist abilities and the lessons learned from previous encounters with Eren, Yugi devised a simple strategy. Aware of Eren''s difficulty in targeting her body effectively with Spirit Force, she activated her primary Skills, transforming into Venti form. Her flesh converted into Mana Body, rendering her seemingly impervious to Eren''s attacks. The Mana Body also made her feel lighter. She felt as if she had be wind herself. "Hm? Where are you running off to?" Eren, sensingmotion, turned his attention toward Yugi, who, with a mix of dread and hope, was just steps away from escaping his pseudo-domain. However, upon hearing Eren''s voice, she froze in ce. As the emerald-green eyes inside the Array Eye locked onto her, Yugi''s newfound ability to navigate freely within Eren''s Skill zone was abruptly taken away. Eren unsheathed Anduril, infusing it with mana while coating it in the menacing Endermes. [ Skill: Invi ze ] Eren activated the weapon-specific Skill and sent a flying sh attack in Yugi''s direction, his expressions nonchnt. He wanted to target Yugi''s vital spot. But at the same time, he detected anothermotion from Jen which made him lose his focus on Yugi. "Aaaaah!" The Natural Defence Layer meant little to the Endermes. Yugi''s cry echoed in pain as Eren''s flying sh attack severed her left arm at the joint. Believing that her Mana Body would grant immunity to Eren''s assaults proved to be a miscalction. Within the Skill zone of Unreal Reflection, Eren''s attacks were guaranteed to connect, making evasion futile. Initially, Jen anticipated using Yugi''s actions as a window of opportunity for a surprise attack on Eren. However, Yugi turned the tables by leveraging Jen''s intervention for her escape. Eren swiftly shifted focus to deal with Jen the moment he sensed her movement, prioritizing her over Yugi. Despite the loss of her arm, Yugi pressed on, continuously running until she broke free from Eren''s Skill zone. As she escaped, her senses returned to normal, allowing her to activate her movement-type Skill. Swiftly distancing herself from the scene, Yugi left Jen to deal with the consequences of her actions alone. Chapter 1763 Loopholes in the Skill Zone

Chapter 1763 Loopholes in the Skill Zone

?After witnessing things up close, Jen had discerned some of the intricacies of Eren''s Unique Skill. The Array Formation hovering above his head,plete with its emerald-green eyes, allowed him to subject anyone within their gaze to the Skill zone''s maximum penalty. The debuff the eyes cast was not only psychological but also physical in nature. A mere gaze was enough to cast this debuff. However, this Skill zone had a noticeable loophole. Simr to the eyes not possessing a 360-degree field of view, the pseudo-domain alsockedplete coverage. Centered around Eren, it enveloped an area with a 280-degree field of view. Although the Unreal Reflection influenced everything around Eren, the restraining effects on its subjects were only active within the limited field of view governed by the eyes. And just like the regr eyes, Eren could only keep one target at the focal point, blurring the view for everything else. With his ocr Skill, he could only pressurize one opponent at a time by making the emerald-green eyes focus on them directly. The others trapped within the pseudo-domain would face significantly less amount of physical and mental pressure. The mental pressure within the Skill zone arose from Eren''s abundant Spiritual Force attempting to intrude into the target''s soul, seeking entry into their Soul Space. This tant and sudden infiltration triggered adverse reactions in their souls, making them see things not the way they were but the way they feared to see. The physical pressure, exerted by the emerald-green eyes, was tied to Eren''s Elemental Attainments. Particrly, his mastery of time-element and space-element yed a crucial role in the ocr Skill, empowering him to manipte and restrict his targets as he desired. The illusions of a bloody ground, flesh trees, flesh flowers, bones, and other elements perceived by the targets within the Skill zone were merely their interpretations of Eren''s Elemental Attainments. Due to the mental pressure they experienced, hindering their ability to think clearly, they became unable to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Consequently, they started witnessing manifestations of Eren''s Elemental Attainments, viewing these illusions through a lens shaped by Eren''s Individuality as a Grandmaster Ranker. What remained intriguing was the foundational nature of Unreal Reflection as an ocr Skill. Essentially, it empowered Eren to manipte reality through the lens of his Individuality. His Elemental Attainments, Weapon Comprehensions, and even divinity was part of this Individuality. Eren felt as if all the mental barriers he had of things he could or could not do had vanished into thin air. In this condition, he was able to tap into his most potent bloodline power, which allowed him to imprint his will into the spells or Skills cast by others. This Skill zone also allowed him to wield Edict Over Water more freely. There were virtually no offensive, defensive, or supportive Skills avable in Menaka''s Market that could be acquired and employed as a countermeasure. Within the pseudo-domain, individuals found it rtively uplicated to escape, provided the emerald-green eyes weren''t directly fixated on them. As this realm was a pseudo-domain, Erencked the means to prevent their departure unless his eyes were specifically focused on them. The assurance of a guaranteed hit within the Skill zone was dependent upon the scrutiny of the emerald-green eyes. In other words, the effectiveness of this guarantee relied solely on the eyes observing the target. If Eren shifted his attention to a different adversary, the reliability of the guaranteed hit would bepromised. What remained intriguing was the foundational nature of Unreal Reflection as an ocr Skill. Essentially, it empowered Eren to manipte reality through the lens of his Elemental Attainments. Consequently, there were virtually no offensive, defensive, or supportive Skills avable in Menaka''s Market that could be acquired and employed as a countermeasure. Within the pseudo-domain, individuals found it rtively uplicated to escape, provided the emerald-green eyes weren''t directly fixated on them. As this realm was a pseudo- domain, Erencked the means to prevent their departure unless his eyes were specifically focused on them. The assurance of a guaranteed hit within the Skill zone was contingent upon the scrutiny of the emerald-green eyes. In other words, the effectiveness of this guarantee relied solely on the eyes observing the target. If Eren shifted his attention to a different opponent, the reliability of the guaranteed hit would bepromised. Jen thought that as long as she did not act foolishly, she would be able to make use of the ocr Skill''s disadvantages against its caster. All she needed was a suitable timing, which Yugi provided to her even without asking. *** Swoosh. Zoom. Grab. Jen lunged at Eren, employing her unique set of skills that granted her exceptional agility and blinding speed. Her attack was based on the assumption that Eren was preupied with dealing with Yugi. She evaded the direct line of sight as she approached Eren beforeunching an attack from behind him. Unfortunately for her, she had underestimated Eren''s cognitive abilities that had been enhanced because of his own Skill zone. To Jen''s astonishment and dread, Eren effortlessly dodged her attack. It dawned on her that he would dly allow dozens of Yugi''s clones to slip away if it meant getting a hold of her. Seizing her by the throat, he hoisted her into the air, addressing her in a nonchnt manner. "It''s true what they say. Orange cats are the most troublesome." Eren said as he looked at the woman with the Profession of a Rogue. "You... ah, what kind of Unique Skill are you using? WhaC what is your faith?" Jen struggled to speak, managing to utter a few words with difficulty, directing a question toward the man who had her neck in his grip. A sense of powerlessness engulfed her the moment Eren captured her. "Kekeke," Eren chuckled as he discerned Jen''s attempt. "Let me guess. You want to know more about me to leverage in your next lifeline, don''t you? Hoping to extract every advantage from the lifeline you''re on the brink of losing? Smart move, I must say. Unfortunately for you, I am not telling you shit. Now let''s see how many times you die ande back to life, shall we?" Chapter 1764 Unique Skill Deactivation

Chapter 1764 Unique Skill Deactivation

?Only about a minute or two had passed since Eren had activated [ Skill: Unreal Reflection ]. However, this short period was filled with screams and more screams. "Aaaaaargh!" Jen''s anguished scream echoed through the air as Eren ruthlessly tore apart her fallopian tube with his bare hands, having already ripped through her stomach and methodically extracted her internal organs. It looked ruthless at first nce. But if one really cared to look up close, they would see that there was a certain grace with which Eren handled Jen''s internal organs without looking at them. It was as if he already knew where everything was and how to pull it apart from the web of muscles and muscle fibers. This was a feat of an exceptional hunter, gourmet chef, or a well-trained butcher. "Youuuuu. Aaaaaaargh. You devil. I''ll fucking kill you." Jen spat with venomous hatred, her gaze fixed hatefully on Eren as her entrails spilled out. She could tell that Eren was only ying with her, using his ocr Skill on her intermittently as if she was some guinea pig he hadid his hands on after a long time. Suspended in the air by Eren''s hand sped around her throat, she endured the torment while he continued his macabre rearrangement of her internal organs. The smell of blood filled the surroundings. Jen''s constant screams and curses were the only thing her audience could hear. "Tch. Tch. Tch. Looks like you still don''t understand the position you are in, Miss Jen. It''s me who will kill you so that you cane back to life. So that I can kill you once again." Eren remarked dispassionately as he seized her liver, forcibly removing it and causing more blood to spill. Her stomach had been hollowed out at this point. It was as if someone had made mini-cargo space inside her tummy while keeping her epidermis intact for the most part. Even Horen, witnessing the gruesome spectacle, couldn''t bear to look at the torture inflicted by Eren. However, he refrained from intervening, recognizing that Jen had initiated the confrontation herself. It wasplete lunacy to take pity on an opponent who wanted to kill you for their own benefit. No matter how pitiful Jen seemed in Horen''s eyes, thetter would not help her in any way. It was just that Eren was making it very difficult for the Body Cultivator to ignore the woman''s screams. ''Eren is insane. His methods of torture send chills down my spine. It''s as if he sought justification for such actions. Thisdy''s luck was truly rotten when she thought of messing with this man.'' Horen contemted, sighing as he observed Eren''s calm andposed demeanor, hoping he hadn''t aligned himself with aplete psychopath. "Don''t look at me like that, big guy." Eren addressed Horen audibly without ncing in his direction, as if he could discern Horen''s thoughts. "I''m not doing this because I enjoy torturing people. And proficiency doesn''t always align with personal interest, you know. Sometimes you can be good at things you don''t particrly like just because you kept doing them over and over. I''m merely probing the extent of this catdy''s divine blessing. I''m curious to see how much her body can mend after her third revival in front of me. Sometimes, research demands getting your hands dirty. Figuratively and literally speaking," Eren remarked casually while continuing to torment Jen. He had quickly figured out the extent of her divine blessing for the most part. However, there were still a few details that eluded him. He was not looking at the aspect of the divine blessing as a potential recipient. He was looking at this whole thing as a potential bestower of the divine blessing to his followers. After all, he was a demi-god and needed raw data to understand how the blessings worked before he could even think about blessing his future followers. *** Cat Goddess Bastet''s divine blessing was truly extraordinary and coveted by many of her devotees. It bestowed the ability to resurrect from any fatal injury as long as the original body and soul remained intact. Even decapitation by Horen''s broadsword wouldn''t impede Jen''s revival. Therefore, it was reasonable to assume that the blessing functioned in nearly any circumstance. Jen retained her consciousness in a bodiless soul form after supposed death, courtesy of the divine blessing. After watching her revive herself using the blessing, Eren hade up with a few hypotheses. Firstly, for a limited duration, she existed as a spectral entity after her soul departed the body, allowing her to observe ongoing events without her adversaries being aware of her presence. With the divine blessing, Jen could choose an immediate revival or wait within a restricted time frame. The blessing offered her the flexibility to return at her convenience based on the unfolding situation. There was no cooldown between sessive uses of the blessing. However, after the final revival, Jen would undergo aplete transformation into a cat-type beast, losing her sense of self. *** In a matter of mere minutes, Eren had not only neutralized Raif but had also twice brought about Jen''s demise. Each time, hepelled her swift return to life by infusing her lifeless form with death-element mana. Eren discovered that Jen waspelled to resurrect whenever her body teetered onplete dispersion. Despite isting her body from her soul using his Spiritual Force, she could still ess the Blessing. This revtion signified that the Cat Goddess'' divine blessing was impervious to interference. The Blessing meticulously healed her body after every use, erasing all traces of previous wounds and leaving behind only faint tissue scars as a lingering reminder of the injuries inflicted by her adversaries. ''It''s the Mesh! This Mesh makes it possible for these people to use their Blessing even after their supposed death. I wonder if that greedy goddess charges them an additional fee for such value-added services. But it does make me ponder. What type of Blessing should I bestow upon my followers? How can I create a Blessing that truly reflects my divine essence? Can a demi-god indeed impart blessings to mortals? Or is this something only the legit gods could do?'' Eren mused on these questions while persisting with his torment of Jen. "Aaaa" Abruptly, Jen''s cries ceased with the cessation of her life. However, in that moment, the pseudo-domain he had cast also abruptly dissipated without his consent. The ancient Array Formation behind him dispersed into thin air, and his eyes returned to their normal state. ''Hm? What in the world'' Confusion etched his face as he sought the reason behind the automatic deactivation of his Unique Skill. Fortunately or unfortunately, he soon unraveled the mystery when a Spectral Notification shed before him. [ Unique Skill: Unreal Reflection deactivated due to insufficient Origin Force Points. Current Origin Force Points: 0 ] Chapter 1765 Bonafide Demon Slayers

Chapter 1765 Bonafide Demon yers

?''I fucking knew it. Shit was too good to be given for free.'' Eren vented his frustration with a string of curses directed at the goddess, dismayed at the apparent theft of his hard-earned Origin Force Points. If there had been a table in front of him, he might have been tempted to flip it in a fit of rage. It seemed to him as if the goddess had offered him the Unique Skill with the sole intention of siphoning off his Origin Force reserves. While he appreciated the Skill''s effects, he found fault with its reliance on the rare Stat. He would have preferred if the Skill had tapped into the more replenishable Mana or Spirit Stats. He could recover them easily with a day of rest. So he would have had no problem using the Unique Skill more freely. Risking exposure as the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline, Eren had turned the world of Labh Salem upside down to amass around 8000 Origin Force Points. Though these points were still in the process of regenerating, fueled by the ongoing spection surrounding his masked appearance in Agora, he was aware that the fervor would eventually wane. The initial hype would yield diminishing returns over time, necessitating his constant engagement in Labh Salem''s affairs if he wished to employ the ocr Skill regrly. [ Unique Skill: Unreal Reflection allows the user to temporarily create their own world inside the Skill zone. Origin Force is the foundation behind the creation of any world, which is why it has the word ''Origin'' in its nomenture. Consequently, Origin Force acts as the vital energy source supporting the Unique Skill. Due to the intrinsic nature of the world creation process, no other Stat can be utilized to activate this Unique Skill.] ''Wow. Now you''re even monitoring how I feel?'' Eren muttered under his breath, expressing further discontent after perusing the rification from Menaka''s Blessing. A new prompt materialized promptly. [Menaka''s Blessing provides automated responses to address any queries users may have regarding unlocked Skills or items acquired through the interface. Rest assured, user information is safeguarded at all costs. This service isplimentary, offering users an opportunity to enhance their understanding of their Skills.] ''Now that''s just creepy.'' Eren grimaced in irritation before dismissing the Spectral notification. He opted to delve into the details of the Unique Skillter, taking advantage of the goddess''s free informational service. However, a more pressing matter upied his thoughts, evident in the contemtive furrows on his forehead. ''Well If the Unique Skill is gone, I''m kinda fucked. Then'' Eren quickly checked out his base attributes and found out that except for the Spirit Stat, all his other Stats were dangerously low. His Mana was basically zero. It meant that he wouldn''t be able to cast Skill enough times for him to continue his battle with Jen. With the Unique Skill''s effect gone, he wouldn''t be able to stop Jen from using her own set of Skills either. And she still had plenty of revival tries left. Eren narrowed his eyes as he realized he had fallen into a different kind of trap. ''Damn. I would have killed this crazy catdy a thousand times over if I knew that the Unique Skill would die on me like that. Since I can''t kill her for good, I need toe up with a different game n,'' Eren decided in his head and dropped Jen''s lifeless form. Eren took a few steps back from his earlier position and patiently waited for Jen to revive herself using the Blessing. At first, Jen refused to revive herself right away. But seeing that Eren wasn''t doing anything to her, she waspelled to make use of the lifeline once again. Eren and Horen watched as Jen''s mangled body was covered in a bright golden light. The mangled body parts healed and the missing parts regrew in quick session. It was as if the divine blessing was resetting Jen''s existence anew. Jen opened her eyes abruptly as soon as her soul was pulled into her body, which had beenpletely healed from wounds given to her by Eren. She quickly shot up in her two feet and created a safe distance from Eren. "What What are you nning to do with me?" she asked Eren warily as she looked at him with a gaze tinged with masked panic. The earlier confidence she had about her Rogue-specific Skills and her divine Blessing was nowhere to be found. One could say that Eren had beaten her into submission. "Payback," Eren responded casually before pointing a finger at his unconscious teammate. "Your intervention has cost us quite a bit of time and nuisance. Plus, my teammate has been suffering from a damaged mana core due to our constant battles. Clearly, we are not as efficient of a team anymore as we were before you poked your nose in our affairs. So" Eren trailed off his sentence, letting Jen figure out what he wanted from her on her own. "You Do you want me to carry your team?" Jen asked with a voice that was mixed with fear and doubt. She was taken aback by how right she was when Eren nodded at her statement. "You intervened in our hunt just to pass your time, didn''t you?" Eren narrowed his eyes on Jen as he responded. "Your team was capable of passing the test even if you had skipped on iming our hunt for yourself. After inspecting your soul up close, I can tell that you have plenty of trump cards you haven''t even shown to your allies. You just wanted to have some fun tonight. It didn''t help that we made your intervention that tempting with the number of demons we killed," Eren said calmly as if he was reading an excerpt from a book. Jen felt exposed because of Eren''s words. She realized that Eren had peeped into her Soul Space and extracted some of her memories as well as emotions while the Unique Skill''s effect was active. "It''s unfortunate that Raif had to die because of your misadventure," Eren shrugged as if he had nothing to do with the man''s death. "With just you and that runaway Elementalist, it would be a bit difficult for you to stay at the top position of the test. However, if we join hands, things would be easy to deal with for both of us. I know that with a bigger team, the profit margins per candidate dwindle. But that is something we have to deal with by hunting more fiercely," Eren said as he observed Jen''s ever-changing expressions carefully. "Of course, you can refuse. But then I''ll have to kill you," Eren''s tone turned icy cold as he looked at Jen with a predatory gaze. Without the support of his Unique Skill, Eren was not a threat to Jen in his current condition. However, he didn''t let that stop him from acting tough all the same. "Al alright," Jen agreed after some hesitation. Briefly toying with the idea of retaliating against Eren on the final day, she abandoned the thought upon meeting the fearful gaze of his emerald-green eyes. Eren, despite struggling to stand, permitted Jen to contact Yugi. He almostpelled the evasive Elementalist to approach him. "Kekekeke. Look what the cat dragged in," Eren greeted Yugi as she and Jen approached him. Swiftly forcing Yugi intopliance, he achievedplete suppression and cooperation from his ex-enemies. Things were a bit easy for Eren and the rest after the end of the fourth day. They found plenty of demons to hunt. And they managed to repel any group of candidates who came to them with nefarious intentions. In fact, it was Eren who decided to pull the same move Jen had pulled on him. His choice for selecting such groups to "feed" on was even more thorough and foolproof than Jen''s. Surprisingly, he didn''t have trouble convincing them to his seemingly unreasonable demands either. ''I I tried to bully the guy who makes his living out of bullying others,'' Jen thought to herself as she watched Eren in action. Eren didn''t have to kill any other candidate after Raif''s death, which was a feat because more and more three-person teams were forced to group up with each other as the test progressed. He seriously injured a candidate or two in such groups. And this action was enough for the groups to back off on their own. Most candidates who hade to take the test were smart. They could identify the threat that was right in front of their face and take action ordingly. At first, she and Yugi were quite ufortable with teaming up with Eren after he had killed their ex-teammate. But they were manipted intoing around. All Eren needed was time and a set of right words. With this forceful yet effective approach, Eren secured his position within the top 20 candidates who sessfullypleted the test. His teammates, Horen and Vasco, also emerged victorious. Unsurprisingly, even Jen and Yugi managed to clear the test as well, solidifying their status as certified Demon yers by the conclusion of the seventh day. Jen and Yugi quickly distanced themselves from Eren after they were out of the isted dimension. They practically ran away, not allowing Eren to turn them into his acquaintances. They hoped that they would never have to cross paths with the demon they had seen live in action during the course of thest few days. Chapter 1766 Demondeath Island Within the Void Dimension Chapter 1766 Demondeath Ind Within the Void Dimension ??The headquarters of the Kaisaayan''s Demon yer Corps was a floating ind inside a void dimension. This ssified dimension could only be essed by opening the giant doors in the right manner. The same giant doors that allowed Eren and other candidates to enter the test grounds a week ago. The void dimension was akin to a seemingly endless sea and the headquarters of the Kaisaayan''s Demon yers Corps was only one among many inds floating inside it. Theserge and small inds floated at considerable distances from each other inside the pitch-ck void. This vast emptiness was a result of potent space-element magic, creating a seemingly infinite void that served as an intricatework connecting various locations across Labh Salem. The inds, scattered throughout the void, represented different cities and regions linked to this otherworldly dimension. Among these inds, one particrly significantndmass stood out C Demondeath Ind. Maintained diligently by the Kaisaayan empire, it housed the official buildings of the Demon yer Corps, overseen and regted by the empire. A pivotal feature of Demondeath Ind was the teleportation Array Formation, allowing swift entry into the City of Demondeath. This magical array also acted as a gateway for those seeking ess to the isted void dimension from the outside world. Once within the void, travelers could navigate to other inds, utilizing teleportation Array Formations present on each respective isle to journey across connected locations. Of course, they needed a valid clearance to use these formations. But for the most part, it was a very convenient way for the Demon yers to go to their assigned locations andplete their on-field duties. The inds within the void dimension mirrored the structural blueprint of Demondeath Ind, each maintained by the organizations and regions they were affiliated with. The overarching administration of the entire void dimension fell under the auspices of the Temple of the Goddess Great Mother. As a neutral entity, the Great Mother''s temple yed a crucial role in fostering cooperation among the diverse agencies within the void, ensuring stability and effective governance. One could say that the Great Mother represented the divine faction which was made of gods and their followers. The void dimension represented a collective tform for all these forces. The void dimension emerged as an indispensable resource for the Demon yer Corps, providing an efficient means to dispatch on-field agents to various zones. Coborative efforts between organizations from different anti-demon kingdoms and empires became possible, enabling the establishment of joint forces tobat demonic threats within their governed regions. The headquarters of the Kaisaayan''s Demon yer Corps on Demondeath Ind showcased a fantastical spectacle. Towers of ethereal crystal rose towards the sky, their surfaces adorned with intricate runes pulsating with magical energy. The centralmand structure stood as a testament to the Corps'' unwavering dedication. Various buildings on the ind incorporated magic formations, each serving a specific purpose. The Arcane Archives, a towering structure with floating books, housed extensive knowledge on demonic beings and demonic rituals as well as effective ways to counter them. It also had a vast collection of Tantra practice manuals, which were only avable for the Demon yers. The Forge of Celestial Hex Armaments enveloped in a perpetual glow, produced weapons forged from enchanted materials to battle demons effectively. There were other facilities on the Demondeath ind as well which the bonafide Demon yers could use for various purposes rted to their work. They could get their hands on rare Tantras, powerful Skills, premium-grade Array Formations, multifaceted potions, and a lot more from these facilities. The resources avable in the void dimension made for the Demon yers couldn''t be bought in Menaka''s Market. The organizations protected these resources very thoroughly. They could only be bought by visiting the facilities physically after their identities as the bonafide Demon yers had been confirmed. Demon yers d in enchanted armor moved purposefully across the inds, utilizing the teleportation Arrays to traverse between the void dimension and the outside world. The arrays shimmered with energy as individuals emerged or disappeared, assigned to their respective duties in response to emerging threats. The Temple of the Goddess Great Mother presided over this fragmented yet powerful alliance. The Kaisaayan''s Demon yer Corps was but one part of the unified front, ready to confront the challenges posed by demonic forces across Labh Salem. *** "Wow. Now, this is something else," Eren eximed in awe, his eyes scanning the surroundings of Demondeath Ind within the void dimension. The impact of the ce struck him immediately, leaving an indelible impression. Draped in a sleek, long ck trench coat, a matching full-sleeve tunic, and ck pants C the official attire for certified Demon yers C Eren embodied the essence of the Corps. ck leather gauntlets adorned his hands, and his every step resonated with the gravity befitting his role. His shoulder-length ebony hair was meticulouslybed backward, while the asional brilliance in his emerald-green eyes betrayed a subtle fascination with the environment. The standard-issue ensemble provided to Demon yers wasn''t just a uniform; it was a formidable piece of equipment. Enchanted with an array of magic runes, it bestowed wearers with resistance against demonic Skills and debuffs associated with Demonic Skill Trees. Despite the standardized appearance, Demon yers could personalize their outfits, incorporating specific Skills and buff effects to tailor them to their preferences. They could tune these ensembles to suit their battle styles. The ensemble could also be modified visually and functionally through Menaka''s Blessing interface, giving the wearerplete control over how they looked outside the void dimension. The visual modification capability of the ensemble would automatically be disabled when the Demon yers entered the void dimension. Here, everyone looked the same, highlighting the fact that they were part of a united front against all that is demonic. Vasco, apanying Eren, remarked, "indeed. Forget scanning the entire void dimension; even my Spiritual Sense struggles to cover the entirety of Demondeath Ind. This ce is far from ordinary." Walking beside Eren, Vasco sported spectacles, adding a schrly touch to his Demon yer appearance. Meanwhile, Horen, d in a trench coat that strained against his bulging muscles, exuded a distinctly pro-testosterone aura, standing as a testament to his formidable physical strength. "Hehehe. Honestly, guys, my main reason for bing a Demon yer was to gain unrestricted ess to this void dimension," Horen chuckled, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings. Chapter 1767 Arcane Archives Chapter 1767 Arcane Archives ??"Oh?" Surprised by Horen''s words, Eren turned to his right to look at him as they walked. "Are you a fan of visiting new ces, big guy?" he asked casually. "Naah," Horen shook his head as he continued. "You''re familiar with my Vajra Body Tantra, right? Gathering the necessary resources for my Tantra is a real headache for me. Not to mention the exorbitant prices in Menaka''s Market. If you haven''t noticed this about me already, let me tell you. I''m always broke. Like, sometimes I have to team up with C-Ranked peeps to get some chump change. Some of the herbs and consumables I need for my Tantra practice are really hard to find. Sometimes you can''t even find the thing you are looking for in the Market because nobody wants to sell them through the Mesh. Getting them through localworks and connections is also a bitch. And don''t get me started on the quality of resources I get from shady ck market deals. It''s always better to use Mother Nature''s gifts when they are fresh and in their natural habitat. Only those who walk on the Path of refining their bodies know this and understand this. But things are different now. As a Demon yer, I can finallyy my hands on those resources with ease. I heard there are many stores run by Demon yers here inside this void dimension. Needless to say, I''ll fucking enjoy the privileges I get with this badge," he added, rubbing his hands together eagerly. The joy of sessfully clearing the test and attaining Demon yer status radiated from him. As an A-Ranked Diamond Body Cultivator, Horen faced significant hurdles in advancing along his Body Cultivation Path. He was more than 200 years old and still stuck in the Diamond Body''s Initial Stage. His progress had basically halted after attaining the A-Rank status. Compared to Eren, his chances of breaking into the next rank were getting slimmer by the day. The abundant resources within the void dimension, coupled with convenient ess to remote locations, promised Horen a pathway to streamlined progress. "I see," Eren nodded thoughtfully as he strolled away from the recently used teleportation circle. The intricacies of Tantra practice were bing apparent, particrly the challenges faced by those who pursued body refinement through their respective Paths. Horen''s insights into theplexities of body refinement struck a chord with Eren, who was contemting the selection of a Body-strengthening Art for himself. After all, one of the reasons he had decided to join the Corps was because he wanted to get a suitable Tantra for himself. Eren often experienced physical strain when unleashing his divine powers against adversaries. His mortal body wasn''t well-suited for the use of Edict Over Water, resulting in internal injuries during recent encounters, such as redirecting Raif''s attacks. The necessity of altering his strategy andpromising with Jen arose from such limitations. While Eren had sessfully turned challenges to his advantage in the past, he was keen on avoiding a simr predicament. Realizing that achieving godhood was a distant goal, given his current understanding as a demigod, he opted to fortify his body. The goal was to enhance its resilience, enabling him to better withstand the side effects of wielding his divine abilities. At the very least, he wanted his divine powers to not be a hindrance during his battle. Of course, Eren had his concerns rted to choosing a Tantra that focused on Body Refinement. He had exceptional Elemental Attainments in every element. So he wanted to choose a no-conflict Tantra for himself that would act as a "best of both worlds" bncer for him. Eren, Horen, and Vasco discussed various things with each other as they approached the Arcane ArchivesC their first destination in order to avail themselves of suitable resources. *** The Arcane Archives stood as a majestic testament to the profound foundation of the Corps, an imposing tower adorned with floating books that danced in an ethereal ballet around its towering structure. Situated in the heart of Demondeath Ind within the void dimension, this grand edifice served as the ultimate repository of arcane wisdom for all the Demon yers associated with the Kaisaayan''s Demon yer Corps. The exterior of the tower was an intricate blend of mystic symbols and runes, pulsating with intent-based magic that resonated with the magical essence within. The towering structure seemed to reach into the very fabric of the void dimension, its spire disappearing into the infinite expanse above. Floating books of various sizes orbited the in-house tower in an enchanting disy, their pages flipping autonomously as if driven by some unseen force. Each bookC each scroll contained profound insights into various topics. From the information rted to demonic beings, their dark rituals, and the most effective strategies for countering their malevolent influence to some mysterious Tantra manuals that had been tried and tested by the previous generations of the Practitioners, Arcane Archives had it all. The covers of these mystical tomes shimmered with iridescent hues, hinting at the ancient knowledge held within. As one approached the entrance, a grand portal adorned with ancient sigils beckoned those seeking enlightenment or some simple know-how before they embarked on their respective missions. Upon crossing the threshold, visitors were greeted by an expansive,byrinthine library that seemed to stretch endlessly into the tower''s core. Staircases crafted from shimmering crystals led to various levels, each housing an array of knowledge spanning Tantra practice manuals. The ambiance within the Arcane Archives was one of hallowed reverence as if the very air resonated with the umted wisdom of centuries. Dimly lit by the soft glow of magical orbs suspended in the air, the shelves of books exuded a faint, mystical aura. The facility housed insights into forgotten or lesser-known Skills, Array Formations, potion recipes, and incantations. It even had spell manuals that were seldom used by almost anyone in Labh Salem. The Tantra practice manuals, kept under protective enchantments, were a coveted collection essible only to the initiated Demon yers. These manuals, bound in leather adorned with mystic symbols, contained the secrets of various Paths, providing invaluable insights to those dedicated to their personal growth. In the heart of the tower, a sacred chamber housed the most ancient and powerful grimoires, protected by wards that only permitted entry to those with necessary clearance tokens. Illuminated by an ethereal radiance, this inner sanctum was a sanctuary of esoteric knowledge, safeguarded for the benefit of the Kaisaayan''s Demon yer Corps. As Eren, Horen, and Vasco delved deeper into the mysteries of the Arcane Archives, their fascination grew in tandem with the wealth of knowledge surrounding them. It took them three days to sift through the vast repository and hone in on their specific interests. By the culmination of this immersive exploration, each of them had made informed decisions, selecting a Tantra manual that resonated with their individual Paths. Alongside this pivotal choice, they secured additional items and insights, maximizing their utilization of the initial privileges granted to them as novice Demon yers. However, they were well aware that to get further benefits within the void dimension, they would need to carry out missions sanctioned by the Demon yer Corps. Chapter 1768 Bodyforge Zenith Tantra Chapter 1768 Bodyforge Zenith Tantra ??At a secluded corner of the Arcane Archives, a man with emerald-green eyes sat in contemtion. Before him sprawled an array of opened books and partially rolled scrolls, creating a mosaic of knowledge on the table. Eren found himself at a crossroads, caught amid the chaos he had created by delving into too many texts. "*Sigh. Sometimes, more choices don''t necessarily mean a clearer picture." Eren, facing the challenge of selecting the perfect Tantra to fortify his mortal frame, felt the weight of indecision. Two potential manuals had captured his interest, yet uncertainty lingered in his mind, clouding the path ahead. Engrossed in the introductory summaries of the Tantras, Eren understood that the true essence of these practices would only be revealed once hemitted. He sought to empower his mortal body, striving to discern which Tantra resonated most with his goals. As he reclined in his chair, deep in contemtion, Eren''s gaze drifted somewhere afar. With a subtle movement of his hand, a scroll gracefully soared into his grasp. Channeling his mana into the scroll, a Spectral Screen materialized before his eyes, offering a renewed insight into the introductory summary. *** [ Bodyforge Zenith Tantra. Bodyforge Zenith is an arcane Body-Strengthening Tantra bestowed upon the Rankers who seek to elevate their physical prowess to extraordinary heights. Rooted in the amalgamation of ancient elemental energies and mystical practices, this Tantra transcends the mundane limits of the mortal form, forging a synergy between body, spirit, and elemental forces. Features: Elemental Resonance: Practitioners attune their bodies to a chosen elemental affinity, be it the fiery vigor of Pyraflux, the stalwart resilience of Terranegis, the swift currents of Aquair, or the ethereal agility of Aerozephyr. This resonance enhances the corresponding aspects of their physique. Thepatible elemental Resistances gain an additional 10 percent fortification upon basic mastery of the Tantra. Yantra of Embodiment: The practitioners inscribe intricate Yantras on their bodies in the form of talismans, channeling the elemental energies through sacred geometric patterns. These Yantras act as conduits, facilitating a harmonious blend between the practitioner''s bodily essence and the chosen elemental force. The agility-based weapon attacks gain 5% additional sh damage upon basic mastery of the Tantra. Mantra of Unison: The Mantra is a series of rhythmic chants synchronized with the practitioner''s movements during physical training. These incantations invoke the elemental spirits, aligning their influence with the practitioner''s body, fostering a holistic unity between the physical and metaphysical realms. Stages of Ascendance: As the practitioners progress through the stages of Bodyforge Zenith, they unlock enhanced physical attributes corresponding to their chosen element. This includes augmented strength, speed, endurance, and specialized abilities unique to each elemental path. Elemental Fusion Techniques: At the pinnacle of mastery, practitioners can fuse their elemental affinity with their Skills to empower them. Pyrokic strikes, Terramorphic defenses, Aquaflow evasion, and Aerostride agility are examples of the devastating fusion techniques born from the union of Bodyforge Zenith andbat skills. Embarking on the path of Bodyforge Zenith demands dedication, discipline, and a profound connection with elemental forces. The practitioners harness the primal energies coursing through their veins, transcending the limitations of their mortal forms and ascending to the zenith of physical prowess. ] The deeper Eren delved into the intricacies of the Bodyforge Zenith, the more captivated he became. He couldn''t help but notice the striking resemnce between this Tantra and the Rootless Ranking Technique he had tirelessly developed over the years. However, he harbored reservations regarding the Tantra''spatibility with his diverse Elemental Attainments. While the Tantra purportedly allowed Rankers to pursue multiple Elemental Attainments, Eren understood that "multi" didn''t necessarily epass "all." Eren harbored concerns that incorporating additional Elemental Attainments into his practice would significantly heighten the challenges on his Ranking Path. Leveraging his unique privilege as a demigod, he expended a substantial amount of Menaka''s Runes to promptly ess any archived information within Menaka''s Compendium. Menaka''s Compendium was just like Arcane Archives but in a virtual form and avable to a select few users at the right cost. Of course, it couldn''t sell Eren a premium-grade item like the Bodyforge Zenith Tantra. However, he could still gain some information rted to it that wasn''t mentioned in the scroll. Eren paid the right price. Swiftly, the desired information materialized before him in the form of a smaller Spectral window. [ Key Points to remember about the Bodyforge Zenith Tantra: The Bodyforge Zenith Tantra sets itself apart from normal Ranking Tantra ormon Body-strengthening Arts for Rankers. It allows Rankers to cultivate their mortal flesh withoutpromising their Elemental Attainments. As such, mastering this Tantra is significantly more challenging. Practitioners will endure significant physical and mental strain during the practice of the Tantra. If the Tantra is adopted in theter stages of one''s Ranking Journey, the practices may lead to prolonged injuries for the Practitioners. In such instances, a third person is essential during Tantra practice to provide consistent care and vignce for the Practitioners. This Body-strengthening Tantra not only enhances mortal flesh but also allows Rankers to augment their Elemental Attainments. However, users may encounter substantial bottlenecks during intra as well as inter Rank Upgrades, epassing spiritual, elemental, and body essence-rted challenges. As a result, those practicing this Tantra may face a more arduous path to advancementpared to their peers. To sustain the practice of the Bodyforge Zenith Tantra, users must consistently procurepatible potions, poisons, and elixirs. Obtaining these supplies can be challenging, and they are often sold at steep prices. Practitioners are advised against concurrently cultivating Elemental Attainments in more than three elements while practicing this Tantra. Such an approach may result in harm to their bodies, mana cores, and Soul Space, or disrupt the established foundation of previously acquired Elemental Attainments. As the Rankers are not solely dedicated to cultivating their bodies, the Resistance-type abilities they gain rted to elemental damage and physical damage would becklusterpared to those who practice their Path in the body cultivation more steadfastly. The Rankers practicing the Bodyforge Tantras are expected to mold their battle styles ordingly. By focusing on both the physical and elemental aspects of a Ranker''s Individuality, the S-Rank breakthrough Cmity that users attract bes exceptionally difficult to ovee. Without proper support and assistance, users may struggle to survive the Cmity, hindering their progression towards bing a Sage. ] === AN: S-Rank Cmity was exined in chapter 1487. Chapter 1769 Amalgamation of Tantras

Chapter 1769 Amalgamation of Tantras

?"Ranker''s Cmity, huh? Things are way moreplicated than I wished them to be." As Eren perused the details of the Bodyforge Zenith Tantra, his eyebrows raised in caution, especially noting its impact on the S-Rank breakthrough and the ensuing Ranker''s Cmity. Recollections of Argo''s perilous journey to the S-Rank as a demon beast shed in his mind. Despite having the support of his main form, Beelzebub, the Demon Prince of Gluttony, Argo faced severe survival risks. "Hm? How formidable would my Cmity be if I opt for this Tantra? And this restriction on pursuing more than three Elemental Attainments also doesn''t sit right with me," Eren mused, sighing as he ced the scroll back on the table. While Eren was okay with obtaining lower Resistance-type abilities from Bodyforge Zenith, he hesitated due to the limitation on Elemental Attainments. After all, the reason he wanted to choose such a Tantra in the first ce was because he wanted to strengthen his physical form so that it could allow him to wield his divine powers better. He didn''t really need Resistance-type abilities from his Tantra in the first ce. His proficiency in welding every element equally made countering elemental Skills straightforward. For example, he could use water-element Skills against a fire-element Practitioner. He could employ earth-element Skills for someone using wind-element abilities on him. The requirement of potions as a practice fuel didn''t deter him either, as his potion-making skills were top-notch, and obtaining resources as a Demon yer posed no significant challenge. However,promising his ability to wield a multitude of elements was a deal-breaker for Eren. Moreover, the revtion about the Tantra affecting the Ranker''s Cmity was a new considerationC something he hadn''t thought about at all. "Let''s not jump to conclusions just yet. I need to take a broader perspective." Deciding to reassess his options, Eren set aside Bodyforge Zenith and turned his attention to the second Tantra he had shortlisted. This time, the introductory information was stored within a gem. Eren delved into the gem with his Mana Sense, essing the details in the Spectral Window with focused attention. [ Mundraflux Serenity Harmony of Stillness, also known as Mudraflux Serenity, is an esoteric Body-Strengthening Tantra designed for practitioners seeking a path devoid of elemental influence. This unique discipline draws inspiration from the tranquil arts of Mudra and Aasana, guiding the adept toward physical mastery through serene meditation, precise gestures, and controlled postures. Features: Mudra Mastery: Practitioners delve into the intricate art of Mudra, performing precise hand gestures that channel and manipte the vital energies within and around them. Each Mudra represents a specific aspect of physical enhancement, ranging from flexibility to internal energy cirction. All agility-based attack damage increases by 2% upon basic mastery. Aasana Alignment: Aasana, or bodily postures, are carefully curated in Mudraflux Serenity to align the practitioner''s physical form with the natural flow of energy. Through deliberate poses, the adept attains bnce, flexibility, and strength, fostering a harmonious connection between body and soul. Skills imbued with Spiritual Force gain 10 percent additional efficacy upon basic mastery. Mudraflux Affirmations: Bybining Mudra gestures with meditative affirmations, practitioners unlock thetent potential within their bodies. The affirmations, spoken in conjunction with Mudra sequences, reinforce the mind-body connection, enhancing physical attributes and unlockingtent reservoirs of energy. Strength Stat gets an additional 10 percent bonus upon basic mastery. Breath Control Techniques: Integral to Mudraflux Serenity is the practice of Breath Rhythm Control, regting breath to synchronize with Mudra and Asana. Controlled breathing techniques optimize mana flow and Spiritual Force flow, vitalizing the body and fostering a serene state of concentration during training andbat. Vigor Stat gains an additional 10 percent bonus upon basic mastery. Progressive Mudra Sequences: Practitioners advance through Mudra sequences, each building upon the foundations of the previous. These sequences progressively amplify strength, agility, and resilience. The user gains Basic Elemental Resistances against all elements upon basic mastery. The Mudraflux Serenity adept bes a master conductor of their own physical symphony, orchestrating movements with grace and purpose. All movement-type Skills gain a 10 percent bonus upon basic mastery of the Tantra. Mental rity and Focus: Through the meditative aspects of Mudraflux Serenity, practitioners cultivate mental rity and unwavering focus. The stillness achieved through Mudra and Aasana transcends into heightened awareness, enabling the adept to navigate challenges with a tranquil mind. Enhanced mental fortitude against illusions and spiritual attacks upon basic mastery. Harmony of Stillness embraces the power of subtlety and finesse, weaving together Mudra and Aasana to unlock the untapped potential within the practitioner''s physical and mental realms. This Tantra offers a serene alternative to those who seek mastery over the body without invoking elemental forces. ] Eren closed the Spectral Window and put the gem down. He tapped his fingers on the desk before fetching the hidden information rted to the Tantra from Menaka''s Compendium. [ Key Points to Remember about Mundraflux Serenity: Elemental Neutrality: Mundraflux Serenity distinguishes itself by focusing on Mudra and Aasana practices, devoid of any elemental aspect. It means that all the Elemental Attainments the user has gained over the years would practically be useless after practicing this Tantra to perfection. Bnce of Mudra and Aasana: The Tantra emphasizes achieving harmony between Mudra (hand gestures) and Aasana (body postures). Practitioners need to master the intricate coordination of both aspects to unlock the full potential of Mundraflux Serenity. One needs a secure ce, serene environment, and utmost concentration to practice this Tantra every day. No Elemental Distractions: Unlike Tantras focusing on elemental cultivation, Mundraflux Serenity eliminates the distraction of mastering multiple elements. This allows practitioners to delve deeply into spiritual refinement without theplexities associated with elemental diversity. As such, the users need to make sure that their environment at the time of the practice is not elementally charged. Physical and Spiritual Benefits: The Tantra promises holistic benefits, impacting both the physical and spiritual aspects of the practitioner. Mudras and Aasanas contribute to bodily resilience while fostering spiritual growth, creating a well- rounded path for personal development. As such, the users need to expend a sufficient amount of Spiritual Force every day to practice this Tantra. Minimal External Dependencies: Practitioners of Mundraflux Serenity are less reliant on external resources. The Tantra minimizes the need for external aids such as potions Yantra, or elixirs, emphasizing the self-sufficiency of its practices. Spiritual Alignment Challenges: While the Tantra promotes spiritual alignment, practitioners may encounter challenges in maintaining this alignment. Vignce and regr practice are essential to ovee spiritual obstacles and achieve the desired serenity. The users might face Soul Space damage if and when their Tantra practice is deviated due to internal or external factors. Versatility in Combat: Mundraflux Serenity''s benefits extend tobat situations. The enhanced spiritual connection and bodily resilience attained through its practices contribute to a versatile skill set for practitioners engaged in battles. However, they will not be able to cast most elemental Skills with satisfactory output. Incorporation into Ranking Journey: As practitioners progress in their Ranking Journey, Mundraflux Serenity offers a unique avenue for spiritual and physical refinement. As it is non- elemental in nature, it canplement other Tantras or practices to a certain extent, contributing to a well-rounded approach to cultivation. ] "Hm? Complement other Tantras?" Eren''s surprise echoed through his thoughts as he absorbed the exclusive details from the second Tantra manual. Just as he was poised to immerse himself in the decision-making process for his chosen Tantra, an unexpected Spectral Notification abruptly dominated his field of vision. An automated response from Menaka''s Blessing unveiled something he desperately needed at the time. [ Menaka''s Compendium can attempt to amalgamate Bodyforge Zenith Tantra, Mudraflux Serenity, and the user''s current practice of the Rootless Ranking Technique. Other misceneous Body-strengthening Arts could be used in the amalgamation to serve as connecting bridges. This fusion offers the user a personalized Tantra at a reasonable cost. The cost will depend upon the user''s Individuality, needs, and the number of foundational Tantras used in the amalgamation. Please note that the two foundational Tantras that the user is interested in are safeguarded against unauthenticated use in the Mesh. Thus, it''s essential to possess the actual offline copies of the original Tantras for this amalgamation. ] [ Would you like to proceed? ] Chapter 1770 Rootless Tantra

Chapter 1770 Rootless Tantra

?''Reasonable rate, my ass!'' Eren cursed the Mesh in his mind as he looked at the Spectral Screen. [ Origin Force Points: -13798 ] [ Menaka''s Runes: 0 ] The substantial umtion of Menaka''s Runes he had amassed over several months had been reduced to nothing. Moreover, his Origin Force Points disyed a deficit. It meant that any earnings he garnered in the uing months would be utilized to offset the expenses incurred in amalgamating different Tantras into a customized version tailored exclusively for him. "You know what? Never mind," Eren shook his head and sighed. "There''s no such thing as a free lunch in any world. This actually saved me a considerable amount of time, probably four or five years by rough estimates. The time I would have had to invest in developing my own Tantra could now be utilized for almost anything else," Eren tapped his fingers on the desk as he concluded. ''I shouldn''t alwaysin about every minor inconvenience either. One earns so that they can spend on things that matter to them. Thank you, Goddess Menaka, for providing me with something tailored to my current needs,'' Eren expressed his gratitude to the goddess in his thoughts. The butcher smiled in relief before retrieving the information about the fusion Tantra created specifically for him. [ Tantra Name: Rootless Tantra The Rootless Tantra emerges as a revolutionary fusion, harmonizing the potent energies of the Rootless Ranking Technique, Bodyforge Zenith Tantra, and Mundraflux Serenity at its core. This unique practice integrates insights from the Rootless Ranking Technique, misceneous Tantras, and Body-strengthening Arts avable in Menaka''s Compendium. Aiming for elemental versatility, the Rootless Tantra offers practitioners an intricate range of Mudras, Asanas, and Mantras, culminating in an innovative approach to elemental cultivation. ] [ Key Features of Rootless Tantra: Potion Mastery: At the heart of the Rootless Tantra lies the practitioner''s responsibility to concoct personalized potions. Throughout the Tantra''s progression, practitioners tailor elixirs to meet the unique demands of their elemental journey, fostering a deeper connection between their concoctions and evolving elemental prowess. With each step in the Practitioner''s Ranking Journey, their understanding of the art of potion-making will intensify, concurrently enhancing the strength and vitality of their body. Yantra Crafting: The Tantra encourages practitioners to fashion their own Yantra, utilizing Array Formations to replicate diverse elemental environments. Whether navigating volcanic regions, ice-coated destends, harsh deserts, or other elementally chargedndscapes, practitioners gain unparalleled adaptability. The user will get to deepen their knowledge about the Array Formation while cultivating their vessels. Mudras, Asanas, and Mantras: Rootless Tantra introduces an extensive array of Mudras, posture patterns (Asanas), and Mantras. These intricate practices form the backbone of the Tantra, weaving together physical refinement, spiritual harmony, and elemental synchronization into a seamless whole. Elemental Versatility: Unlike conventional Tantras, Rootless Tantra allows practitioners to embrace any elemental affinity without conflicts with their myriad Elemental Attainments. This groundbreaking feature offers practitioners the freedom to explore and master multiple elemental paths simultaneously. Exclusion of Body Cultivation Arts: Rootless Tantra forgoes the traditional benefits associated with body cultivation arts. Practitioners won''t acquire Resistance-type abilities, emphasizing a streamlined focus on elemental mastery without diversions. Enhanced Ranker''s Cmity: As a trade-off for wielding unparalleled elemental versatility, practitioners of Rootless Tantra may face a harsher variant of Ranker''s Cmity during their S-Rank breakthrough. This challenges them to ovee formidable obstacles and emerge stronger in their elemental pursuits.] "This this isn''t bad at all." Eren''s face lit up with a smile as he read the description of the Rootless Tantra disyed on the Spectral Screen before him. Not just the introductory description, Eren had ess to the entire Tantra for himself. Of course, Eren was only supposed to get one Tantra for himself issued by the Corps. In a trade-off forgoing standard- issue benefits, he had invested in acquiring the offline copies of the Bodyforge Zenith Tantra and Mundraflux Serenity. The Mesh offering its users to customize their Tantra for them wasn''t exclusive to Eren. As such, Eren didn''t have much trouble convincing his superiors that he needed the full versions of the two Tantra manuals so that he could derive his personalized Tantra from them. Eren had to let go of the Ranking Resources for one year. His annual pay was also halved when he decided to choose two Tantras instead of one. This sacrifice paved the way for the initiation of the Tantra amalgamation process. He felt that it was totally worth it. After all, he could get his own Hex Artifacts and didn''t really need the Corps to pay for it. He didn''t need the potions or support-type artifacts either because he could just make them on his own with the right recipes, blueprints, and ingredients. Furthermore, with his customized Tantra, Eren would also be able to sharpen his expertise in other fields as well. This Tantra truly suited him and his Individuality. Practicing it would not only allow him to strengthen his mortal vessel but also make progress in potion-making, artifact creation, and Array Formations. It would also support his multi-profession ability, enabling him to shuffle between various roles easily while upping their levels at the same time. "Unbelievable. Six months! It only took me around six months to get a customized Tantra for myself," Eren mumbled to himself as his life in Anfang shed before his eyes. "And if I exclude the struggle I had to go through before acquiring ess to this library, the actual time of obtaining a customized Tantra is even shorter. I had to spend close to a decade perfecting my Rootless Ranking Technique when I was in Anfang. I had to practically explore the nook and cranny of my homeworld toe up with the Rootless Ranking technique. But I only needed six months toe up with something even better. I have to sayC leaving Anfang was the best decision I could have made for my growth. With bigger riskse bigger and better opportunities. And with better opportunitieses a better future. Labh Salem is just in a different league from my homeworld when ites to having a profound foundation," Eren smiled bitterly as he thought to himself. Chapter 1771 Personalized Path to Progress

Chapter 1771 Personalized Path to Progress

?Practicing a customized Tantra offered numerous advantages: Firstly, it reduced obstacles in the Practitioners'' Paths, enabling quicker progresspared to their peers. The impact of this progress would gradually increase the longer one kept practicing their personalized Tantra. Secondly, a personalized Tantra enhanced the chances of breaking through Rank barriers, allowing practitioners to exceed their inherent limits. For instance, someone who could only be a Grandmaster with their talent might have discovered the potential to be a Sage with ess to a personalized Tantra. Thirdly, the tailored Tantra empowered Practitioners to excel in their strengths while addressing weaknesses and maintaining a bnced approach to their Paths. This prevented deviations in their journeys and mitigated additional consequences. For example, a Practitioner weak in Spiritual Force could focus on maximizing it while enhancing their natural talents. On the other hand, someone with a weak constitution would take a different approach and still obtain simr benefits. Lastly, a personalized Tantra granted independence from any single organization. It established a robust foundation that wasn''t reliant on external factors. Diligent practice ensured a continual pathway for progression in their respective Paths. For example, a Grandmaster with a personalized Tantra didn''t need to rely on their organization for an S-Rank Tantra after reaching Sage status. They could modify existing Tantras over time or instantly with the Mesh''s assistance, albeit at a cost. However, not everyone could afford to use the Mesh to do this job for themselves. Not everyone had ess to Origin Force points after all. And paying through Menaka''s Runes was almost impossible for an average Practitioner no matter how hard they tried. Usually, the Practitioners would choose the Tantra that they thought best suited them and their respective Paths. They would then customize the Tantra on their own as they progressed further in their respective Paths. Of course, this way of manually modifying a Tantra was not always an easy road for the most. Arge number of Practitioners risked inflicting physical and spiritual injuries as they tried to experiment with their in-use Tantra. It was only through hard work, diligence, and consistency would they be able to derive a Tantra that represented thempletely. Eren had skipped all these hurdles by letting the Mesh do the hard work for him. It not only saved his time but also allowed him to skip a whole lot of troubles and suffering. Obviously, Eren did not tell his seniors from the Corps that he had already obtained a personalized Tantra for himself because that would have indicated that he had the necessary background and funds to use the Mesh this way. Instead, he told them that he would try toe up with a personalized Tantra on his own after studying Bodyforge Zenith and Mundraflux Serenity simultaneously. Eren was naturally reminded of the risks of obtaining a personalized Tantra for himself the hard way. However, he managed to convince his seniors that he was just testing his luck. *** "Still, not everything is cool and dandy," Eren thought to himself as he focused on some of the pointers mentioned in Rootless Tantra''s introduction. Rootless Tantra could only be practiced by Eren or someone just like him. As such, it would allow him to cultivate his Individuality to the next level. Thus, he could not sell it as a product in the Mesh even though it was unique. Apart from this, the Rootless Tantra came up with its own set of cons as well. For example, the Tantra did not grant Resistance-type abilities, leaving practitioners without specific defenses against elemental attacks. It meant that Eren would not be immune to any elemental attacks by default, which waspletely opposite of what the Practitioners who cultivated their bodies were blessed with. It meant that Eren could not fight with other Body Cultivators on an equal pedestal if he were to only use his mortal flesh. Even as someone who cultivated his body, he needed to employ his mana core to the full extent if he was facing someone who was in the same Rank as him. Eren also ran the risk of facing a more challenging variant of the Ranker''s Cmity during the S-Rank breakthrough, potentially posing greater risks. He was sure that the Cmity he would attract by practicing Rootless Tantra would be much greater than what he would have had to face if he had just practiced any other Tantra. Not to mention, the continuous requirement to concoct personalized potions and create Yantra demanded significant time, effort, and resources from the practitioner. *** "Hmm, despite itsplexities, I''ve finally secured a suitable Tantra for myself," Eren mused, closing the additional Spectral Screens and Notifications as he reflected on his progress. "Plus, aligning with a neutral organization that wields influence across a significant portion of Labh Salem will surely work in my favor. I can use the Corps and its resources until Hvergelmir Springs surfaces. I can use its channels to travel almost anywhere I want. Utilizing the intelligence gathered by Demon yers throughout Labh Salem will also y to my advantage, allowing me to strategize ordingly. I can also ask other Demon yers to help me in case any emergency arrives. Plus, I can keep on refining the demons for their Faustian rune fragments as a bonafide Demon yer. I can bet Argo''s right nut that the Immortals who oppose me will likely intensify their efforts to find me in theing years. They have probably started already. The Immortals who are friendly to me have no way to contact me. I could probably ask Goddess Great Mother for help with the thing she gave me in advance. But this is not the best time to ask her. In the worst-case scenario, I might get detected by enemies the moment I try to contact her. On the other hand, those who want to y neutral would not help me. They would rather watch as mute spectators as the game of cat and mouse is yed in front of them. Though I haven''t seen it yet with my own eyes, a wildfire has already been lit around me. A trap that will only progress inwards so that it can finally catch me. If If only I had a few people to count on" Chapter 1772 Damoiseau in Distress Chapter 1772 Damoiseau in Distress ??"If If only I had a few people to count on" As Eren mulled over various thoughts, memories of Alephee, Kirin, Nina, Naya, Levine, Jiana, Agatha, Sara, Steve, Jake, Ana, Bell, Ron, Dino, Amory, Tumko, Sirius, Ma, Almera, Marie, Arizihana, Ashton, Hilda, Hettie, Ror, Katalina, Bianka, Drin, Lasha, Luna, Tuan, Ray, Fiana, Kaalmahen, Baran, Isadora, Seraphina, Evelina, Valeria, Osha, Altair, Slyphie, and numerous others who had aided him during his time in Anfang shed through his mind. Some of Eren''s allies had arrived in Labh Salem ahead of him, but their presence was either inessible through virtual means or situated too distantly to offer immediate assistance. Certain allies had chosen to go into hiding, each with their own motives. Contacting them would not only put them in danger but also bring him unforeseen trouble. Then there were some who Eren refused to contact casually. Eliza, for instance, had aligned herself with a demonic faction, making it impossible for Eren to ept her aid. Moreover, Eliza wasn''t exactly an ally; rather, she owed him a favor. Eren intended to leverage this owed favor from the Witch of the Endermes, aiming to extract maximum benefits from this unique arrangement. And this was not the right time for him to pull that off. Others among his allies were preupied with their personal matters. Alephee, dealing with her own challenges, found herself unable to extend help or seek assistance from Eren. Conversely, those who remained in Anfang were likely utilizing the Oni Dungeon as a gateway to ess Echidna. Eren anticipated that his wife, Kirin, was actively involved in Echidna and would seed in taking control of the Oni Dungeon''s operations from the other end one way or the other. Kirin possessed the same shrewdness and vignce as Eren. Being a half-oni nurtured by Har Jahar, she could be considered even more ruthless than him. When shemitted to a goal, she applied all the knowledge and skills she was born with or had acquired from Eren, ensuring that she achieved her objectives precisely as intended. Therefore, Eren harbored no uncertainty regarding Kirin''s sess. It wasn''t a question of "if" but rather a matter of "when." Some of Eren''s allies should technically have an easier way to get to him. Eren entrusted Agatha with the responsibility of opening the Dimensional Gate connected to the ne of Gluttony whenever she deemed fit. This strategic move would enable her to dispatch capable White Raven members into the gate as needed. However, the Immortal ne itself added a ton of uncertainty. With the kind of luck he had, Eren had experienced it firsthand. Upon arriving in Labh Salem, the bungee-cord-like space-element rune that adorned Eren snapped, serving as a signal to his allies in Anfang, indicating the duration of his journey to the destined location. Two decades of aimless wandering into a dangerous ce was not something everyone was prepared or capable of doing. Recognizing that not everyone would attempt to follow him, given his nearly two-decade entrapment within the Immortal ne, Eren understood that direct assistance from his allies in Anfang was not forting. The prospect of receiving help hinged on various external factors beyond his control. Certain allies, such as Eren''s monster generals and half-blood associates from House Fenris and House Lowin, chose to remain in Anfang. They were not in a haste to leave their homeworld anytime soon. The lifting of restrictions on their growth, following the destruction of the Divine Istion Array, provided them with newfoundfort in Anfang. JJ Edgar, for instance, altered his ns and opted to stay in Anfang, relishing the freedom to progress that the post-Great Shattering era offered. While the prospect of leaving his homeworld had once beckoned due to stifled progress, the sessful conclusion of Eren''s Lazarus Project left Edgar feeling liberated and reluctant to depart from such a promising yground until the excitement of liberation subsided. *** "Damn. No Princess Charminging to the rescue for this damoiseau in distress." The butcher finally cut the trip down the memoryne short and sighed to himself. He wished for the presence of his allies, wanting their support to establish a foothold in Labh Salem with greater ease. His desire was fueled by the imminent threat silently approaching, one that he knew he needed to confront. His ns would have unfolded more smoothly with a sufficient number of people to execute his projects. Having endured the solitude of his first timeline, he hade to acknowledge the limitations of solitary efforts. True prosperity and security, he believed, could only be attained through unity. After all, he had erected a solid organization like the White Raven Guild from scratch in Anfang. It had allowed him to progress by leaps and bounds, finally enabling him to leave his homeworld behind. Eren understood the concept of the division ofbor just fine. Yet he was a neer in a world fraught with various dangers. Trust did note easily to him, especially when dealing with the unfamiliar inhabitants of Labh Salem. As such, he didn''t want to form another organization like the White Raven Guild in Labh Salem. It was not worth his time and effort. It wasn''t that he shunned forming new connections; rather, his altered identity as the true inheritor of Aleph''s Throne made him inherently cautious, and with valid reasons. For instance, a more casual approach could have led him into a binding agreement with the witches if he hadn''t been vignt and allowed Kayara to mark his soul with her Unique Skill. Through a stroke of luck and watchfulness, he had turned Kayara into an ally, averting potentialplications that loomed unexpectedly. Hence, Eren chose to approach every connection in Labh Salem with a degree of skepticism. He would prefer the presence of trusted individuals from Anfang, allies he knew he could rely on for support. However, wishes alone wouldn''t necessarily sway events in his favor. A thoughtful smile yed on his lips as he continued his contemtion. "Alone," Eren whispered, dispersing manuals and half-opened books with a wave of his hand. "I am alone." Chapter 1773 A Long Stakeout Operation Chapter 1773 A Long Stakeout Operation ??''Hey!'' Reen''s objection resonated in Eren''s mind upon hearing him speak of being alone in Labh Salem. Her voice carried a tinge of irritation as if she hadn''t anticipated Eren feeling lonely while she remained faithfully by his side. The butcher chuckled, shaking his head before offering rification. "No disrespect to you, dear. I was merelyparing. I meanpared to what I had established for myself in Anfang, I am practically on my own here. The Corps is not something I own or run. With backing that provides limited support, conditional on my allegiance to the gods'' faction. I could probably hire a mercenary army to get things done but Ick the funds required to partake in a game of this magnitude. Plus, it''s not like I don''t need to worry about my own expensesC my growth as a Ranker. Six months into Labh Salem, and I''ve already epted a loan that I suspect wille with its due interest," Eren remarked, reflecting on his negative Origin Force Points stat. "The helping hands that I need are nowhere to be found," Eren continued, tapping his fingers on the desk. "And above all, Ick followers as a demigod. Aside from my confidence in myself, I''mcking in nearly every other aspect." Eren then rose from his seat and began pacing in front of the desk, contemting his next steps for the future. "That''s why I havee to a decision. I I can''t do the same thing I did in Anfang. There would be no provoking wars from the shadows. There would be no shady deals with shady people to amass wealth. Lastly, I shouldn''t betray the divine faction unless I have a solid reason to. I don''t have the shade given to me by the tree I nted and cultivated by myself. So I must proceed with caution and make the right moves. But not all is lost either. I don''t need to be a turtle and hold myself up from progressing. Though it won''t resemble Anfang, I can certainly fish in troubled waters. First and foremost, I must locate a secluded ce to steadily progress without attracting undue attention. A base of operation, if you will. My identity as Eren needs to vanish from the spotlight and embrace anonymity whereas my identity as the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor needs to reach the masses. Archpriest Jivem has some knowledge about me. The witches who sought to reach me through Kayara will likely persist in their pursuit. Then there''d be people from the Corps who would be curious about my Unique Skill after knowing about how I defeated Jen''s group. There would be a few who''d like me in their special units to fight with the demons on the frontlines. Therefore, I must maintain my identity as a Demon yer but in a manner that prevents their contact until it''s toote. Curiosity dies with time. Especially when there''s no external stimulus provided to it regrly. In essence, I need me apelling reason to operate undercover as a Demon yer. The base of operation we select must be away from all the prying eyes. Most of all, I need a suitable assignment from the Corps that can allow me to do all of this," Eren contemted with determination etched on his face. ''Base of operation? What kind of ce are we looking for?'' asked Reen curiously. "A base for conducting my experiments," Eren responded as he narrowed his eyes. "A ce from which I can conduct my demon hunts and still not worry about any repercussions. A ce that will stay untouched by the gods and demons to arge extent in the uing years despite the winds of unrest currently brewing in Labh Salem." Eren concluded, gently caressing his chin in contemtion. In the next moment, however, his expression changed abruptly. "Mortals!" Eren eximed with a smile, vocalizing his thoughts. He promptly essed his Spectral Screen and began perusing the active missions suitable for an A-Ranked Grand Knight affiliated with the Kaaisayan Demon yer Corps. After a bit of searching, he identified a mission that aligned perfectly with his requirements. "Keke, this is just what I need." Eren chuckled as he stumbled upon a distinctive entry in the active mission list. Without hesitation, he applied for the mission and swiftly received approval. *** Eren, Vasco, and Horen met up several days afterpleting their Tantra and artifact selections, official paperwork, and mission assignments. As they delved into a discussion about the missions they had chosen from the Corps, Vasco expressed disbelief upon learning about Eren''s selection. "A five-year stakeout and entrapment operation? Against a demonic Kaiser associated with a cult?" Vasco gazed at Eren incredulously. "Eren, of all the assignments, why this one?" "Hahaha. He either enjoys the prospect of boring himself to death or aims to bring down a Kaiser while still a Grand Knight," Horenughed, offering a friendly pat on Eren''s back, albeit a bit too vigorously. "I can''t decide if you''rezy or ambitious." "A bit of both," Eren replied with a light smile. Vasco shook his head, questioning Eren once again, "Where is the location for your assignment?" "I can''t disclose that information. It''s confidential," Eren replied with a casual shrug. The nature of his chosen assignment allowed him to maintain a low profile for the next five years. "Well... considering it''s a long stakeout involving a demonic Kaiser, there should be a small group coordinating with you on this assignment. How many positions have been filled so far?" Vasco inquired with a touch of interrogation. "Zero," Eren responded, raising his hand to visually emphasize the number. He didn''t think any Demon yer in their right mind would like to join such a boring, less lucrative, and possibly dangerous mission. Not unless the Corps forced them to at crucial times. "Hahaha," Horen enthusiastically patted Eren''s back once more. "That settles it then. We''ll join you in a few years after taking on some lucrative assignments ourselves," he dered to Eren with assurance. ''Please don''t.'' The butcher thought to himself after hearing what the two were nning to do. He smiled at the two and continued, "Guys, you don''t have to feel indebted to me for saving your lives. I did what I did for my own self-interests. It''s as simple as that." Vasco and Horen exchanged a knowing nce, silently acknowledging their friend''s desire for privacy. "You just don''t want us meddling in your affairs, huh? Fair enough. We''ll uncover the details of your mission through our own channels in the Corps," Vasco smirked, emphasizing, "After all, we''re Demon yers just like you, Eren, and from the same batch, no less." *** Parting ways amicably, the trio shared their Communication Sigils before heading in separate directions. Within the expansive and seemingly boundless dimension, Eren took his time locating the teleportation circle he sought. Presenting the required clearance documents, the array formation activated with him at its center. ''Well Let''s see what the mortal part of this world has to offer.'' Eren mused to himself as the runes and magic symbols within the array lit up. In a blink, he vanished from sight, leaving only the dissipating traces of his mana signature in the air. Chapter 1774 Sunhaven Chapter 1774 Sunhaven ??Kingdom of Eldorath. Joravar Continent. Labh Salem. This mortal kingdom was located at the borders of the Joravar Continent. It was nothing but an insignificant dot in the grand map of the entire Labh Salem world. Eldorath was a ce where the majority of the poption chose to embrace a simple mortal life. This was a ce where the enchantments of magic yed only a minor role in daily affairs, and the citizens found sce in the ordinary rather than the extraordinary. In Eldorath, the majority of citizens led humble lives without delving into theplexities of magical practices. The kingdom was renowned for its emphasis on mortal endeavors, focusing on agriculture, craftsmanship, and traditional arts. Magic was viewed with a sense of reservation, reserved for special asions, and seldom integrated into the daily routines of its inhabitants. At the helm of Eldorath was the wise and revered King Cedric, a ruler who cherished simplicity and the inherent strengths of his people. The Eldorathian royal family, consisting mostly of mortals, had held the throne for generations, fostering a deep connection with the citizens and their way of life. King Cedric was known for his fair rule and dedication to the well-being of his subjects. His vision for Eldorath was to maintain a harmonious bnce between magic and mortality, ensuring that the kingdom prospered without sumbing to the potential pitfalls of magical pursuits. Eldorath thrived as a modest and self-sufficient kingdom, relying on traditional trades and craftsmanship to sustain its economy. While neighboring realms may have unted their magical prowess, Eldorath''s economic strengthy in its fertilends, skilled artisans, and diligentborers. In the political arena, the kingdom operated with a meritocratic system. It allowed the royal family to gain people''s favor while maintaining their rule over them. The kingdom was not ustomed to nurturing Practitioners but that didn''t mean it didn''t have them serving as its citizens. D-Ranked Practitioners, mostly adept at practical and non-intrusive magical arts, held key administrative positions, overseeing the governance and welfare of Eldorath. The F-Ranked Practitioners, trained as elite guards, protected the royal court and ensured the safety of the realm. Eldorath''s citizens, proud of their mortal heritage, rarely ventured onto the Path of a Practitioner. The allure of simplicity and the avoidance of the potential risks associated with magical pursuits kept them rooted in their ordinary lives. The kingdom''s educational institutions focused on nurturing practical skills, traditional craftsmanship, and agriculture, reinforcing the values of the mortal way. In Eldorath, Practitioners were respected, but the heart of the kingdomy in itsmitment to embracing the ordinary. As the kingdom flourished under the wise leadership of King Cedric, Eldorath remained a beacon of simplicity and tradition. *** In Labh Salem, numerous secr kingdoms, akin to Eldorath, found themselvesrgely exempt from the relentless power struggles between the divine and demonic factions. Within the intricate fabric of Labh Salem, an unspoken ord prevailed, delineating these mortal realms from the relentless sh that unfolded among gods and demons. Despite their allegiance to specific faiths, these kingdoms remained alien to the divine-demonic feud. This arrangement found its roots in a tacit understanding, a delicate bnce that ensured tranquility. The gods and demons, each presiding over multiple mortal kingdoms, harbored no ambitions towards these realms. The mortal territories, in turn, adopted a stance of neutrality, steering clear of involvement in the eternal tug-of-war. Faith, paramount among mortals and practitioners, flourished within these kingdoms. The divine and demonic Immortals orchestrated this intricate dance, managing these realms as a means to nurture the belief systems that sustained them. However, the mortal kingdoms, despite their dedication to particr deities, purposefully distanced themselves from the overarching celestial strife. A principled refusal to ept assistance from any Immortal outside their designated patron deity became the hallmark of these mortal regions. While gods and demons vied for supremacy, the secr kingdoms, presided over by their chosen Immortal, retained a steadfast independence. *** The City of Sunhaven. Nestled along the remote coastline of Eldorath, the city of Sunhaven stood as a beacon of simplicity and devotion. In this quaint coastal settlement, life flowed with the gentle rhythm of the tides, and the inhabitants found sce in the embrace of Goddess Sekhmet, the revered fire and sun deity. Sunhaven thrived as a hub for Eldorath''s coastal trade, where humble fishing vessels and cargo ships exchanged goods, linking the city with neighboring realms. The architecture of Sunhaven mirrored the simplicity valued by Eldorath, with low- rise structures adorned with modest carvings reflecting the city''s maritime culture. Narrow cobbled streets led to the docks, where the salty breeze carried the tales of distantnds. A peaceful ce that attracted little to no Practioner traffic. The people of Sunhaven embodied the virtues of Eldorath, finding joy in the simplicity of life. Fishermen set out at dawn, returning with the day''s catch to bustling markets where traders engaged in lively barter. Artisans crafted intricates and sails, contributing to the maritime livelihood that defined the city. Evenings were spent inmunal gatherings, where stories of the sea and songs of Sekhmet resonated through the coastal air. At the heart of Sunhaven rose the grand Temple of Sekhmet, an architectural marvel adorned with golden hues that reflected the warmth of the goddess it honored. The temple served as both a spiritual sanctuary and amunal center where citizens sought guidance, celebrated festivals, and made decisions collectively. Sekhmet''s influence permeated every aspect of life in Sunhaven, from the city''s governance to the daily rituals of its citizens. As such, she was hailed as the patron goddess of the citizens. In Eldorath''s interpretation, Goddess Sekhmet manifested as a radiant figure of fiery brilliance. Her eyes, resembling the sun itself, zed with divine intensity. Adorned in regal attire with a headdress resembling a fiery crown, Sekhmet''s presence invoked both awe and reverence. Citizens believed that Sekhmet''s benevolent gaze safeguarded their city and blessed their endeavors. The temple priests, known as me Keepers, yed a pivotal role in Sunhaven''s governance. Citizens sought guidance from the oracles, who interpreted Sekhmet''s will through sacred mes. Major decisions, trade agreements, and even the city''s defenses were shaped by the divine counsel received in the hallowed halls of the temple. Sekhmet''s wisdom, they believed, guided Sunhaven''s destiny. In Sunhaven, where the sun kissed the horizon and the sea whispered unknown tales, the citizens lived in harmony with the rhythmic ebb and flow of the coastal tides. In the shadow of Sekhmet''s divine presence, the city stood as a testament to the enduring bond between Eldorath''s people, their goddess, and the bountiful sea that cradled their way of life. Sunhaven was away from all the conflicts between the divine and demonic factions. Even Goddess Sekhmet''s temple wasn''t interested inpletely taking over the city''s affairs. It only yed an active role in the citizens'' lives to foster their faith in the goddess. *** Nestled along the coastal expanse, the City of Sunhaven was ustomed to the regr influx of visitors - a diverse assembly of guests ranging from merchants and travelers to the asional Practitioner seeking respite before delving into the uncharted depths of the Joravar Continent through the maritime routes. For most Practitioners who used Sunhaven as a resting spot, the city held little allure,cking the mystic attractions found in the deeper territories. However, for mortals dwelling in the far-flung reaches of Eldorath, Sunhaven stood as a beacon of aspiration and a haven of dreams. Every day witnessed the vibrant pulse of Sunhaven''s trade and activities, drawing a continuous stream of individuals, journeying from distant towns to partake in the city''s dynamic life and extract profit from its bustlingmerce. On this particr day, a significant queue formed outside the western gate of Sunhaven. The city guards, primarily F-Ranked Practitioners, meticulously scrutinized the arrivals, permitting entry only after verifying their identities and the purpose of their visit. Unbeknownst to these diligent guards, among the multitude with eager aspirations, stood an A-Ranked Grand Knight with emerald-green eyes. Patiently biding his time in the queue, he awaited his turn to cross the city''s threshold, wanting to make Sunhaven as his abode for theing years. Chapter 1775 Gaining Permanent Residency Chapter 1775 Gaining Permanent Residency ??"Kid, where are your folks?" The city guard stationed at Sunhaven''s western gate inquired of a scrawny youngster in shabby clothes, having first verified his identity through the bestowed grace of Menaka''s Blessing. The kid responded with a bashful smile, absently scratching the back of his head. "Sir, is today your first day as a city guard?" the youth questioned. "Indeed, it is. Why do you ask?" The guard regarded him with curiosity. "Because you''d know me otherwise. I live out in the boonies." The kid gestured southeast with his finger, adding. "I''m a regr around Sunhaven, picking up odd jobs most days and visiting my folks on weekends." He patiently exined his routine, casting hopeful eyes at the newly appointed guard. "I''d appreciate it if you let me in... you know," he concluded, ncing around discreetly. "No free passes, kid," the city guard dered sternly, eyeing the youngster with some displeasure. "Every day within the city costs a Joravar Direm. Fail to meet this minimum requirement, and you''ll find yourself getting kicked out. Don''t expect any favor from me. State the duration of your stay, and pay upfront ordingly." He punctuated his words by mming his spear on the ground before the kid. The scrawny youth cursed the city guard silently. He couldn''t help but remember the previous guard, who, on asion, would let him in without demanding a Direm. Sometimes, the old guard would only ask for a coin or two and permit him a week''s stay. s, the old guard had sumbed to old age, leaving behind this rule-abiding, young F-Ranked sentinel who seemed immune to his pleas. "I. I''ve only got three Direm right now." The scrawny kid reluctantly retrieved three silver coins from his Inventory, presenting them in his open palm. With evident reluctance, he extended his hand to the guard. "Three Direm received." The city guard waved his hand, causing the coins to vanish from the kid''s palm. "You''re allowed to stay inside Sunhaven for three days. Overstaying will result in a penalty or a temporary ban from entering the city. Clear?" "Yes yes, sir." The kid almost offered a military-style salute to the city guard but halted his hand midway, sensing the guard''s death stare. He smiled awkwardly before passing through the gate. "Kid, wait for me there, would you?" an emerald-green-eyed man behind the scrawny kid spoke just before he could resume his usual work in the city. The kid turned around, eyeing the man. ''This... this guy looks like a fat sheep.'' The kid''s eyes gleamed with a peculiar brilliance as he identified a potential customer. "It would be my pleasure to be of service to you, big bro," the kid responded, waving at the emerald-green-eyed man. "Are you also one of the regrs? Do you know him?" the city guard asked as the emerald-green-eyed man approached. The man clearly wasn''t happy about letting a beggar into the city. But rules were rules. As long as the identity was verified and the nominal fee received, he could not technically stop the kid from entering Sunhaven. "No, and no. But I n to change that soon." Eren said before cing his hand on the Array Disk the city guard produced. In the next moment, a Spectral Screen appeared above the Array Disk, allowing the city guard to confirm Eren''s altered identity. [ Name: Ren Roman Idril ] [ Path to Power: Mana Core Harnesser / Ranker ] [ Mana Core Status: E-Rank Solid State ] [ Ranking Status: Rook ] [ No affiliation with the demonic cults found ] [ No active warrant ] "A Rook?" The city guard was taken aback by Eren''s Ranking Status, clearly suppressed to match his altered identity. The city guard started looking at Eren in a different light after finding out that his Ranking Status was higher than his. The guard gulped as he scanned Eren with his Spiritual Sense. He was sure that he did not detect any Mana Signature from the guy earlier. However, after his identity was revealed, Eren released his aura a bit, letting the city guard know that he was not only an Ace Ranker but also someone who was only a few steps away from bing an Adept Ranker. In Labh Salem, the term Rook was reserved for Ace Rankers, and Adepts were referred to as Grand Rooks. "Sir Rook, please" the city guard was about to deliver his standard speech with a bit of nervousness when Eren waved his hand and produced a medium-sized pouch. He ced the pouch in the city guard''s hand and smiled at him before responding. "I heard you loud and clear when you instructed that kid," Eren met the city guard''s eyes and said calmly. "There are no free passes indeed. Now, would you mind telling me how many days I''ll be able to stay with the entry fee I just deposited?" The city guard nodded with some nervousness as he opened the pouch Eren had handed to him. The guard''s eyes widened when he saw a cluster of golden coins inside. "Sir Rook, would you perhaps like to receive permanent citizenship in Sunhaven?" The city guard didn''t bother counting the Direm after confirming Eren''s identity. "I would love to," Eren nodded casually. The guard could tell that Eren knew how much money it would take for him to be a permanent resident of Sunhaven and thus offered him just that amount C nothing more, nothing less. "Al Alright. Give me a moment." After receiving confirmation from Eren, the city guard imbued his mana into the palm-sized Array Disk and made some changes before asking Eren to ce his open right hand on the surface again. In the next moment, Eren''s basic information was updated on his Spectral Screen. [ Name: Ren Roman Idril ] [ Permanent resident of the City of Sunhaven ] "Wee to the City of Sunhaven, Sir Rook," the city guard bowed in respect, ushering Eren inside with a gesture. "You are now a permanent resident of the city. If you need any assistance, feel free to visit the city administration office at the central avenue," he added respectfully. "Aaaaah! What''s a Rook doing over here?" whispered a mortal woman to her friend as she observed Eren from a distance with a surprised expression. "Forget about that. Didn''t you hear the guard? He he is going to live with us. I I hope our lives are not disturbed because of Practitioners like him," said the woman''s friend in a hushed tone. Others started shattering behind Eren as well, giving him all kinds of stares and gossiping all kinds of things about him. ''I can hear all of that, you know,'' Eren thought to himself and sighed. He didn''t bother looking at the women standing in the queue behind him and moved forward. "You you are not a fat sheep you are a fat elephant, aren''t you?" the scrawny kid in shabby clothes said to Eren, looking at him with pleasantly surprised expressions. "Kekekeke," Eren chuckled as he looked at the kid. "Careful, kid. Your greed is showing on your face," he said, ruffling the boy''s hair. Chapter 1776 Arman Chapter 1776 Arman ??Beforeing to the mortal realm, Eren has discreetly altered his appearance to blend in seamlessly with the mortal popce. He deliberately diminished his usual good looks, reduced his stature, and toned down his muscr definition. Employing a self-concocted potion, he concealed his aura, ensuring that the mortals could engage with him without feeling overwhelmed or intimidated. As he entered the City of Sunhaven, the usual pressure associated with his A-Rank Status was conspicuously absent. He appeared as normal as he could be and his presence was just like that of a veteran Rook. Shifting his appearance was a simple task for Eren, courtesy of his inherent bloodline powers. He could assume the appearance of almost anyone he wanted or thought of. It was only adjusting his Mana Signature that posed him a challenge. However, the Kaaisayan Demon yer Corps provided invaluable assistance. The artifacts provided for his on-field assignment enabled him topletely mask his original Mana Signature, even interfering with the Menaka''s Blessing, preventing any inadvertent exposure of his true identity. Eren was well aware that the Corps had likely paid a significant price to Goddess Menaka''s temple to secure such capabilities. However, considering the fact that Goddess Menaka was neutral, he was sure that she offered the same services to the demonic faction as well at the right price. The Corps-endorsed artifact even granted him the ability to suppress his true mana core, allowing him to assume the guise of an E-Ranked Rook. Thus, Eren found himself temporarily unable to harness any of his A-Ranked powers while the suppression was in effect. While Eren initially contemted adopting a wholly mortal facade, he eventually reasoned that such a choice would be counterproductive. His primary goal in Sunhaven was to attract minimal attention, a necessity dictated by his on-field assignment''s requirement for discretion. He had his own reasons to stay low-key as well. Presenting himself as an ordinary mortal would undoubtedly subject him to scrutiny and potential harassment from fringe elements within the popce. They would see a "new guy" as someone they could make use of in any way they can, trying to benefit from him at his own expense. Of course, Eren didn''t really me the fringe elements within the mortal societies for acting like this. Even his world as Rankers and Practitioners in general also had these fringe elements. It was useless to fight them or hope that they wouldn''t exist wherever he was or meant to go. Instead, it was better for Eren to make sure that he revealed his strength to keep these fringe elements at bay. And if they really came knocking on his door, he would be free to take action ordingly. In short, it was better to pose as a "not-so-regr" regr Ranker for Eren. Thus, Eren opted to appear as an E-Ranked Rook, dissuading trouble-seeking forces from approaching him. After all, an E-Rank Rook was a formidable presence that most mortals would find challenging to confront without external assistance. *** When Eren came to Sunhaven, he presented the image of a man in his mid-30s by mortal standards. Voluminous shoulder-length ck hair framed his face, apanied by a well-defined beard and fuller mustache. The distinct gleam in his emerald-green eyes had vanished, rendering them seemingly ordinary. Posing as an E-Ranked Rook, Eren maintained a rtively fit physiquepared to the average mortal. He donned a simple green long robe, adorned with modest embroidery,yered over a white tunic and green pants an ensemble that allowed him to seamlessly blend in with the local popce. Holding a small potion-making book in hand, Eren exuded an air of schrly interest in concoctions, suggesting a penchant for leisurely reading. This demeanor cast him as an amiable potion maker in the eyes of those around him. Eren''s appearance struck a bnce between handsome and in, conveying neither excessive wealth nor destitution. In every aspect, he emanated an aura of unremarkable averageness. Contrastingly, the thin-looking young boy facing Eren conspicuously diverged from the surrounding crowd due to the ragged attire enveloping his form. A mere adolescent, he bore a skeletal frame bereft of any hint of muscr definition, indicative of irregr and insufficient meals. His teal-colored eyes and off-ck messy hair entuated his youthful yet deprived appearance. Adorning himself in cast-off leather armor, visibly marred and severed at the shoulder, the boyyered it atop an aged and dusty half-sleeve tunic, egregiously oversized for his slender build. Draped around his neck was a partially torn scarf, well- worn to the point of frailty. The scarf''s fabric threatened to disintegrate with the slightest pull. Extending from thed''s shoulder to his stomach and around his waist was the strap of a sizable leather bag. His footwear, revealing his toes through their worn-out soles,pleted the ensemble. It appeared as though the boy had donned an assortment of discarded and timeworn garments and essories, each seemingly forsaken by their prior owners due to age. Despite thed''s attempts to mend them with stitches and additionalyers, the patchwork only served to entuate his pitiable condition. Hence, it came as no surprise that the city guard perceived the youngster as nothing more than a beggar, someone who had arrived in Sunhaven seeking charity and handouts. Yet, Eren discerned a fiery determination in the boy''s eyes, a spirit unwilling to resort to begging. "What can I assist you with, big bro?" the youngster queried, a radiant smile adorning his face. "I can run errands, tend to your carriage, feed your horses, tidy your house" "Hold on," Eren interjected before the boy could continue enumerating his offered services. "First things first, what''s your name?" he inquired, gesturing for the boy to apany him along the bustling main street of the city. "It''s Arman Arson, big bro," thed promptly replied, matching Eren''s pace closely. "And yours?" he added, curiosity evident in his voice. "Ren Idril," Eren provided the name of his assumed identity, his gaze sweeping the surroundings as the vibrant activity of the city unfolded. ''This This is it. This is the city I can use as a base of operation for theing years,'' Eren thought to himself as he surveyed the city with his own eyes. Chapter 1777 Exploring Sunhaven

Chapter 1777 Exploring Sunhaven

?Eren paused for a bit before continuing his conversation with the boy from the boonies. "You mentioned to the city guard that you''re a regr here. Could you show me around? You know, give me a quick rundown of the city''s history, noteworthy ces, eateries, and notable figures?" he asked without turning to face the boy. "Hahaha," Arman chuckled heartily, rubbing his hands together. With a confident assertion, he dered, "Fear not, big bro. You''ve stumbled upon Sunhaven''s finest tour guide. Leave it to me," punctuating his promise with a resounding pat on his chest. "Keke," Eren chuckled at the boy''s enthusiasm. "Easy on the chest pping, my little friend. You might end up with a damaged rib cage." "Haah! What nonsense are you spouting?" Arman retorted, his yful defense apanied by a dramatic sigh. "Bright minds aren''t always the picture of fitness, you know. We''re too busy tending to the world to fuss over ourselves," he dered, maintaining a light-hearted tone. "Kekeke. I like your enthusiasm, little kid. I guess you are more outspoken than I was at your age. I''m d I got to meet you on the first day of me being here," Erenughed,ing to a halt. "Lead the way then, Mr. Sunhaven''s Finest Tour Guide. I want the premium package," he dered, making a sweeping gesture with his hands. The boy leaped with excitement, recognizing that Eren was ready to avail himself of his services. ncing around, he put the pinkie fingers of both hands into the corners of his mouth, inhaling deeply before emitting a sharp whistle. Almost instantly, a fleet of carriages appeared, approaching the duo. These were simple, mortal-designed carriages without any magical embellishments. Pulled by F-Ranked horned horses, these conveyances offered spacious interiors, amodating around four people at a time. "You''ll get what you asked for, big bro," Arman said as he opened the door of one of the carriages for Eren. Thetter boarded, with Arman following suit. The carriage driver, initially irked by the sight of a beggar boy entering, withheld hisints upon glimpsing Eren''s face and sensing his distinctive aura. Taking charge of Eren''s tour, Arman directed the carriage driver along the route he had devised in his mind. As the carriage headed northbound through the city, Arman provided Eren withprehensive insights into the various facets of the City of Sunhaven, apanied by brief histories of the sites they passed. ''Hmm. Everything is exactly how I wanted it to be. I can inform Roza and Kayara to join me here in a few days after selecting a suitable ce and settling my affairs with the city administration.'' Eren contemted as he surveyed the city with an impartial gaze. Mortals, he observed, had their unique way of handling things. To him, it didn''t seem like they werecking anything in their lives by not incorporating mana into their daily routines. ''Magic and mana don''t fundamentally alter things. They merely amplify the blessings and curses that already permeate our lives,'' Eren mused with a subtle smile, allowing his thoughts to wander. As the carriage navigated through the broad city streets, Arman continued sharing information about Sunhaven. While Eren possessed some prior knowledge about the city, Arman added additional insights, granting Eren a deeper understanding of his chosen operational base. "I''m bored, Erni. Let me see the city as well," Reen materialized beside Eren seemingly out of thin air. She promptly settled by the carriage window, observing the changing cityscape as the carriage progressed steadily. Reen, too, appeared to be a mortal girl, inheriting Eren''s distinctive eyes. She wore her waist-length hair neatly tied, with locks gracefully cascading down her face, giving her an elegant appearance. Her rosy lips, clear skin, and cute face made her seem youthful as if she were in herte teens. Dressed in a simple ck gown devoid of any shy elements, Reen emanated a natural and unassuming beauty. She seemed like a girl from the capital city of Eldorath who had ventured into this seemingly remote city for sightseeing. In Sunhaven, Reen had deliberately altered her usual appearance, suppressing her powers to appear no different from Arman. However, unlike Eren, she couldn''t entirely conceal her inherent charms. It was ironic that Reen didn''t have much experience when it came to altering her appearance considering it was through her that Eren had received the groundbreaking bloodline powers. Then again, Reen didn''t have any reason to alter her appearance in the past. Her time in the Purgatory was wasted on worrying about her survival. With the resemnce she bore to Eren, it appeared as if Eren were Reen''s young father. This observation left Arman wondering whether it was appropriate to continue addressing Eren as his "big bro." He didn''t want to inadvertently offend Eren by undermining his seniority. "Who... who is she?" Arman questioned in surprise at the sudden appearance of a third person inside the moving carriage. "She is Reen, my... um... my kin," Eren responded casually. "Don''t worry about her. Now, where were we?" he prompted, encouraging Arman to resume his city exnations. ''Magic... magic truly is magical. I wonder if I can ever be a Practitioner like them?'' pondered the scrawny youth from the boonies. ''This This is a big chance for me. Let me provide them with the best service. I can seek their helpter on. Guiding me in the right direction shouldn''t be too challenging for them.'' It took Arman a while to regain hisposure. Eventually, he sighed, assuming that such urrences were par for the course for Practitioners of Eren''s caliber. He also decided to ask Eren for help regarding his wanting to be a Practitioner. Arman rebooted his tour guide duties with renewed focus, even fielding Reen''s inquiries about various aspects of the city. He answered briefly and made the carriage driver stop at the right ces for Eren and Reen to explore a few ces on foot. As Arman spent time with Eren and Reen, he observed their distinctiveness from regr individuals and even Practitioners of Paths with whom he had asional interactions. They appeared unfazed by his shabby attire and colloquial Labhi. They showed no concern for the scrutinizing nces from citizens that their presence invited. Instead, they simply sought to absorb every detail about the city from him. Chapter 1778 God Vulcan’s Pantheon: Lioness Goddess Sekhmet & Cat Goddess Bastet

Chapter 1778 God Vulcan''s Pantheon: Lioness Goddess Sekhmet & Cat Goddess Bastet

?The bustling City of Sunhaven offered a plethora of activities and sights, with various businesses catering to a diverse clientele. As noon approached, Eren, Reen, and Arman had already explored a substantial portion of the city. Aware that Arman would be hungry after serving as their tour guide, Eren and Reen decided to treat him to a nearby restaurant, a suggestion that had subtly originated from Arman himself. The scrawny kid from the outskirts eagerly anticipated the visit to the restaurant, reassured by Eren''smitment to cover the expenses without deducting them from hispensation. This would be his first time entering such avish facility. As such, he couldn''t contain his joy and started talking excitedly. Located at a rtively less-crowded corner of Sunhaven, away from the bustling main street, was a charming fantasy restaurant known as Mystic Hearth. This unassuming eatery, with its simple yet enchanting exterior, stood as a go-to spot for both locals and visitors seeking respite from the city''s lively atmosphere. The entrance was adorned with hanging vines and colorful crystals that softly shimmered in the sunlight, giving the ce an elegant charm. As patrons stepped inside, they were greeted by the warm glow of mystical orbs suspended from the ceiling, casting a soft, ethereal light over the rustic wooden tables and chairs. The aroma of herbs and spices wafted through the air, enticing guests to explore the diverse and imaginative menu. The culinary offerings at Mystic Hearth were a fusion of traditional mortal fare and magical ingredients, creating a unique gastronomic experience. However, the delicacies with mana-enhanced ingredients in them were only reserved for the Practitioners to consume. As such, these delicacies weren''t made in advance but prepared only after the Practitioners visited the ce. Dishes such as Glowing Ember Stew and Enchanted Blossom Sd promised not only delightful vors but also a touch of magic in every bite. The only reason they were retained on the menu was because the Practitioners visiting the city as guests liked to order them. The majority of the dishes on the menu were suitable for mortal consumption. The restaurant staff, dressed in simple yet elegant attire, moved with grace between the tables, delivering impable service. The ambiance of Mystic Hearth was further enhanced by a talented minstrel ying gentle melodies on a mystical harp in the corner. The soft hum of conversation and the asionalughter created a harmonious symphony, making the restaurant a perfect ce for both quiet contemtion and lively gatherings. The enchanted atmosphere extended to the outdoor seating area, where guests could dine under a canopy made of giant green leaves and enjoy the fresh air. Whether seeking a quiet meal for reflection or a lively celebration with friends, Mystic Hearth offered a simple yet memorable culinary experience in the heart of Sunhaven. ''Aaaah! These people are really weak, Erni,'' Reen expressed her astonishment to Eren as she surveyed the surroundings. She sheathed her aura even more carefully than before to ensure that she didn''t give nightmares to people passing by. ''Yeah. Control yourself and try not to break anything. Everything is so fragile here,'' Eren responded to Reen while taking a seat by the table, which had been ced at a quiet corner inside the restaurant. Eren and Reen found themselves in a surprisingly uplicated eatery, one notablycking in magical elements. It was a departure from their usual dining experiences within the realm of Rankers, where even Anfang and the City of Osan were heavily influenced by magical practices. The City of Sunhaven embraced a simplicity crafted by and for mortals. The avoidance of magic was evident throughout, from the staff to the patrons. In this establishment, Eren and Reen appeared to be the sole Practitioners of the Path, surrounded by a predominantly mortal ambiance. Arman didn''t waste any time and ordered a variety of dishes that he wanted to eat for a long time. The restaurant served food meant for the Practitioners. However, it was meant to be consumed by low-level Practitioners, which didn''t really sound tempting for Eren and Reen. As such, they chose to order mortal food along with Arman as well. "Big bro Eren, did you know that Sunhaven''s patron deity, Goddess Sekhmet, is said to be the sister of Cat Goddess Bastet?" Arman inquired, savoring the appetizers served before the main course. "Hmm? Is that so?" Eren arched his eyebrows, processing Arman''s revtion. Having recently encountered a devoted follower of Cat Goddess Bastet with the unique ability to revive herself nine times, Eren was genuinely impressed by the feline goddess''s formidable blessing. If Sekhmet was indeed Bastet''s sister, Eren spected that her power might be equal, if not surpassing. He couldn''t help but find it intriguing that two sisters from the same divine lineage had transcended their mortal existence to be Immortals an urrence with seemingly abysmally low odds. "You bet," Arman affirmed, taking a gulp of water to cleanse his pte. Wiping his lips with the back of his right hand, he continued. "Cat Goddess Bastet and Lioness Goddess Sekhmet are considered close sisters, revered by mortals across Labh Salem. Temples dedicated to them choose a select few followers from among the mortals and low-level Practitioners. The chosen ones partake in a symbolic ritual where they consume offerings associated with both goddesses. It''s a source of great pride for the chosen mortals and their families to be devoted followers of these revered deities. We often" Cough. Cough. Cough. Arman''s words were momentarily interrupted as he choked on a mouthful of food, attempting to convey his thoughts while indulging in the appetizers. "Hehe. Take it easy, Mr. tour guide," Reen chuckled, offering a soothing pat on Arman''s back along with a ss of water. "The food and we aren''t going anywhere. You can take your time," she reassured him, yfully ruffling his hair. "Haha. My bad sister Reen," Armanughed awkwardly, recovering from his cough. Despite the interruption, his appetite remained undeterred, and he promptly refocused on the delectable spread before him. "Hmm. What more can you share about Goddess Sekhmet, Arman?" Eren inquired, observing Arman return to his usual eating pace. "Hmm? Not much, I" Arman replied, meeting Eren''s gaze as he attempted to recall any information about the goddess. Suddenly, a realization struck him, bringing to mind an important detail about the sister deities. "Wait. I just remembered. Big bro Eren, both of these sister goddesses are recognized as fire deities within the same pantheon. This pantheon, in turn, is said to be headed by the fire god Vulcan," Arman casually mentioned, attempting to multitask by stuffing more munchies into his mouth. ''Vulcan!'' Eren concealed any surprise on his face upon hearing the name of the fire god associated with Goddess Sekhmet and Goddess Bastet. Anfang''s history, as revealed within Sansara World 1.0, quickly shed through his mind. ''Could he be the same asshole Nira Nightshade mentioned?'' === AN: God Vulcan was mentioned in chapter 1072. He was first introduced in chapter 577. Chapter 1779 Unwanted Royal Trouble Chapter 1779 Unwanted Royal Trouble ??Eren couldn''t shake off the unsettling revtion Nira Nightshade had shared about the God Vulcan. ording to her, Vulcan yed a significant role in the Cmity Era that had afflicted the inhabitants of Anfang in the past. Of course, Eren didn''t have any feud with the guy as he was not present in that era. Even his first timeline was unaffected by the god''s interference in Anfang. However, he remembered the animosity he felting from a certain fire deity when his consciousness was brought to the Celestial Hall. If his guess was right, this fire god was none other than God Vulcan himself. God Vulcan''s reason for opposing Eren was simple and straightforward. He wanted to crush a newbie demigod with Edict Over Water to sharpen his own divinity. ''Erni, should we consider leaving Sunhaven for another ce?'' Reen cautiously voiced her concerns to Eren, her tone tinged with slight anxiety. ''The patron goddess of this city is linked to that god. If he somehow discovers your presence here, it might lead to trouble.'' She nced around the restaurant, sensing a disturbance outside. Despite themotion, she focused her attention on Eren. ''Hmm? How did you know about this?'' Eren asked Reen with a surprised expression. In the next moment, he answered his own question. ''Goddess Echidna talks with you, doesn''t she?'' ''Hm,'' Reen nodded. ''She visits me in my dreams from time to time. She says she has cut herself from mepletely. But she worries about you so she asks me to be careful,'' she disclosed. ''Should have told me sooner.'' Eren shook his head and sighed before responding to Reen''s earlier question. ''Anyway. We should stay here without a doubt,'' Eren replied as he patiently awaited the arrival of the main course at his table. Leaning back in his chair, he opened his book, seemingly engrossed in its contents as he continued. ''Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Reen. Contrary to what you might think, this is probably one of the safest ces for us. Hunt is on everywhere. Where else could we go that is absolutely safe? This entire world is full of people with faith. There''s no running away from them. These so-called gods were once like us. They are prone to making the same type of decisions as us based on certain conditions. Enemies are less likely to search in their own backyard. Besides, we can gather information about that god and overall situation through the Temple of Sekhmet.'' Eren addressed Reen, turning the pages of his book. "Dear sir, your order is here. Please enjoy your food,'' one of the restaurant''s managers came to Eren''s desk and announced politely while offering him a slight now. Eren nodded and waved his hand, making the book disappear from his hand. Soon, the restaurant staff arrived with a trolleyden with a variety of delectable and aromatic dishes that Eren''s table had ordered in one go. "Hahahaha," Arman eximed in joy as the main course was served. "Today, I''ll eat like there''s no tomorrow," he dered, thumping his fists on the dining table, which clutched the fork and spoon. "Who''s this insufferable loudmouth acting like he''s never tasted a meal in his entire existence?" A voice abruptly resonated through the inner sanctum of the restaurant. A troupe of individuals entered from the grand entrance, with the apparent source of irritation toward Arman''s exuberance visibly at the forefront. This was a group of royals and their retinue from the Eldorathian royal family. As they entered the restaurant, some of them couldn''t hide their evident disdain as they eyed Arman. Their leader, adorned in regal attire, with arrogance dancing in his eyes, approached Eren''s table. "What is this?" the royal spat, a sneer gracing his lips. "How can a beggar like you be allowed in a ce meant for the elite?" he asked while looking at Arman hatefully. Arman, targeted for his shabby appearance, felt the weight of their disdain. A royal teen, who stood behind the retainer continued mockery. "Look at this ragged urchin. Is this how themoners dine nowadays? In thepany of beggars and misfits?" she taunted as she looked in Eren''s direction. ''Hmm? Where the fuck did these clownse from?'' the butcher thought to himself. ''Reen dear, don''t do anything stupid. I''ll have to wipe out everyone in this city and raise it to the ground just to cover our tracks here,'' he warned Reen before she could take any actions against them. Eren, maintaining hisposure, raised an eyebrow at the royal girl. "Pardon us, mydy. Can we be of service to you?" he inquired courteously. ''Hehe. Erni, maybe she wants to meet this city''s patron goddess face to face.'' Reen teased in Eren''s mental realm, her words soaked in bloodlust even though she didn''t let it manifest outwardly. Eren was sure that Reen would have devoured these nuisances already if he hadn''t warned her against doing it. From her birth, she cared little about human lives. As a demon beast, they were her natural prey to feed on. Or maybe, she would have just killed them and not devoured them because devouring mere mortals like them would run her palette. Reen was very peculiar with the choice of her "food" even after being turned into an Elder Seed Artifact Spirit. ''Did did I speak too loud? Is this because of me? I I didn''t know. What should I do now?'' Arman, caught between difort and fear, suppressed the retort bubbling within him. He didn''t think himself to be qualified to speak. The imposing group left him feeling uneasy, causing him to overlook the sumptuous main course awaiting his indulgence on the nearby food trolley. For the first time in a long while, he felt awkward about his clothes and looks. He felt a bit uneasy about his situation and the life he had been living. He wouldn''t have entered this rich facility if he knew something like this would happen. The scrawny kid from the boonies preferred having good food for free but not at the expense of humiliation. He would rather have dry bread and eat it by dipping it in water than face such troublesome situations. ''Wait! Those motifs on their clothes. Royals they are Eldorathian royals from the capital.'' Arman quickly recognized who the trouble-seeking patrons of the restaurants were. After all, this was not his first time seeing such royal scions in Sunhaven. They often came around this time in Sunhaven for the annual festival of the goddess. ''I I shouldn''t make things too difficult for my customers. I I should go and wait outside.'' Arman reflected to himself, setting down his fork and spoon. Surprisingly mature for his age, he had learned to cultivate suchposure due to the challenges of his upbringing. "Stay put, little man. You are not going anywhere until the tour ends." Eren interjected before Arman could rise. Although Eren''s words were in and unthreatening, the underlying message was crystal clear C he cared little for the royal scions and their opinions of Arman. "Hahaha. It seems this middle-aged buffoon is unaware of our standing," a young man in his early twenties, adorned in opulent attire, stepped forward with a smug tone. He chuckled derisively at Eren, exchanging a yful wink with the royal girl, signaling his intent to handle the situation. Hailing from a prestigious merchant family in Sunhaven, he sought to impress the royal girl apanying the entourage. "Do you truly belong in Mystic Hearth, uncle? Is this your first time in Sunhaven, perhaps? This establishment caters to the refined, not beggars like your littlepanion here. Either you kick the kid out or I''ll arrange for all three of you to leave this city." He dered, pointing disdainfully at Arman, his words dripping with condescension. Eren shifted his gaze to the young royal girl apanying the outspoken scion of the merchant family. Her difort with Arman''s presence was palpable, evident from the moment she set eyes on him. ''Some people truly believe in their superiority based on birth. Is it truly their fault or the fault of their parents? Looking at them, I''m kinda d my father left me the way he did.'' Eren sighed, shaking his head. Closing his eyes briefly, he took a deep breath before reopening them. The once dull, mortal-like emerald-green eyes now radiated their usual brilliance as he focused on the young scion and the others around him. [Unique Skill: Unreal Reflection Downgraded variant: Sedating Gaze ] Chapter 1780 Sin Snakes

Chapter 1780 Sin Snakes

?''Hehehe. This should be fun. I''m betting on that schrly guy toe up with a good excuse or reveal that he is connected to some bigshot in the kingdom,'' said a hushed voice to another. ''Haah! Didn''t you see the royal crest on their clothes? What can he do in front of the Eldorathian royal family? I am pretty sure that guy and his two mates would be kicked out of Sunhaven soon,'' responded another with a voice tinged with absolute confidence. The patrons at Mystic Hearth restaurant anticipated a spectacle as a group of royals and their retainers attempted to expel Eren, Reen, and Arman. They refrained from intervening or summoning city guards, choosing to remain silent observers and relish the unfolding drama without taking sides. Even the head manager of Mystic Hearth found himself powerless to prevent the royals from encroaching on the privacy of other patrons. Firstly, he couldn''t risk offending the royals. Secondly, he harbored reservations about Eren''s decision to allow a beggar into the establishment. The onlookers gazed at Eren''s table with a mix of emotions. Some secretly cheered for the royal group, while others hoped Eren and Reen would emerge as heroes and shield young Arman from unjust treatment. After all, not everyone liked royals and their pompous attitudes towards themon popce. Even if some of them did not particrly like a beggar sitting alongside them, they were ready to support Eren''s side in silence as long as he could put up a good resistance against the royals. It was evident that the scion from Sunhaven''s merchant family was gearing up to intervene, taking charge of the situation initiated by the beautiful yet haughty royal girl. Just so that he could impress her and form connections with the Eldorathian royal family. However, just as the situation appeared to spiral out of control, an unusual turn of events unfolded. The threats from the royal group ceased abruptly, and they all came to a sudden standstill. In the next moment, they seemed as if they had just awakened from a peculiar dream. Yet, almost immediately, they behaved as though no conflict with Eren had urred at all. It was as if they had collectively forgotten the presence of Eren, Reen, and Arman. The silent onlookers observed the trouble-seeking group snap out of their dream-like state and redirect their path. They all turned around at once, as if strategically choreographed. They resumed conversing as they had before entering the establishment, leaving the restaurant with smiles and jokes. Through some unexined intervention, normalcy was restored, and the restaurant returned to its previously serene ambiance. Unbeknownst to the onlookers, Eren discreetly conjured a cohort of spectral serpents when the troublesome group distanced themselves from him. These ethereal and invisible creatures,posed of various Sin Series Mana forms, swiftly slithered toward the royal scions and their attendants. With remarkable stealth, the serpents ascended their bodies, unnoticed. Each serpent bared its fangs and delivered a bite to its designated target, vanishing into thin air without detection by either the victims or the spectators. In the imminent future, a series of cmities would befall these royal scions and their entourage. Some would sumb to forbidden desires, meeting their demise in the process. Others, consumed by rage, would perpetrate heinous acts, ultimately leading to their demise at the hands of the city guards. Among the group, some would sumb to unwarranted pride, attempting ill-fated sea ventures that would lead to their demise. Others, choosing istion, would lock themselves away in their homes, sumbing to sloth and eventually perishing due to self-imposed starvation. The royal girl, who had initiated the confrontation with Eren, fell victim to a Sin Snake crafted from Envy Mana. In time, her envy would intensify,pelling her to take action against her own siblings and start her downfall with her own hands. The merchant scion, aiming to impress the Eldorathian girl, suffered the bite of a Gluttony Snake. His end woulde through excessive indulgence in food. He would die by eating mana-enhanced food bursting inside his stomach due to his inability to digest it. However, these events were destined for the future. The connections between their deaths and the nature of their demise would remain obscured, leaving observers unable to discern any pattern. Most significantly, the link between their conflict with Eren and their subsequent fates would remain elusive. Eren had no issue letting the mortals depart without consequences. However, he recognized the need to appease Reen. She harbored a distaste for those who mocked him. The butcher had to address the situation before an Elder Seed Artifact Spirit intervened while he was busy with something else. In her desire to seek revenge, she could put countless lives at risk by obliterating half the city in the process. Reen shed a smile at Eren as she observed him summoning the Sin Series Snakes. She could guess what they could do to the targets. Only then did she rx, deciding to let bygones be bygones. *** "What are you so zoned out for?" Eren snapped his fingers at the still-stunned Arman. "Weren''t you hungry a moment ago? Let''s dig in," he gestured to the nearby restaurant staff, signaling them to serve the trio from the food trolley. "Aaaah! Right," Arman shook off his daze, putting aside his questions to focus on the meal at hand. Reen, too, readied her cutlery, ready to join the feast. As the restaurant staff catered to their preferences, the trio delved into discussions about their uing ns. Just as Eren savored the first bite of the main course, he noticed another young man approaching their table. This neer bore the same royal symbol over his robe, just above his heart, akin to the one the royal girl had. Signifying his connection to Eldorathian royalty, he addressed Eren with a courteous bow. "Excuse me, sir. Would you mind if I joined your table?" The young man asked politely. Eren, showing a hint of stress, hesitated. He preferred to avoid using his ocr powers in the mortal realms unless absolutely necessary. Besides, he couldn''t fathom how he was attracting so much attention, despite attempting to keep a low profile in Sunhaven. ''They say counting blessings is wiser than counting troubles. Well, this city is making it pretty fucking challenging for me to follow that advice.'' Eren mused to himself, casting a nk expression toward the man. Chapter 1781 The Oracle Path Chapter 1781 The Oracle Path ??''Perhaps I should have chosen a different mortal city. People here seem too curious, and it''s bing fucking irritating.'' Eren pondered and sighed inwardly. Yet, he sensed a difference in this neer. Firstly, he was an E-Ranked Practitioner. Secondly, a trace of divine power emanated from him. Eren deduced that the young man was a follower of Goddess Sekhmet. "It appears you are eager to have a word," Eren remarked, continuing to enjoy his meal. "Feel free to take a seat," he added, studying the young man attentively. "Thank you, I''ll dly ept that offer." The young man smiled, nodding at Eren before settling into a chair between Eren and Arman. "I apologize for my cousin''s behavior earlier. Her impulsiveness should diminish with time," he exined, leaning back in his chair. Eren signaled the restaurant staff to serve the neer as well, though he personally wasn''t enthusiastic about consuming more mortal food. It seemed more fitting to let the young man enjoy his share. "I know you were observing the entire situation from a distance. I guess you have some questions?" Eren inquired, skillfully cutting a bite-sized piece of mutton from a roasted b. Dipping it into a special sauce, he savored the taste of the mortal food, finding it rather impressive. ''Hmm. Better than I imagined,'' he apuded the chef in his head. "I have no questions," the young man stated with a shake of his head. "I''m unaware of the methods you employed to pacify those troublemakers, and quite frankly, I prefer to keep it that way. Labh Salem is teeming with peculiar individuals, entric deities, bloodthirsty demons, and enigmatic phenomena. Why delve into every enigma that goes beyond my understanding? An insatiable curiosity, if left unchecked, may lead to my death one day. Hence, I''m not inclined to unravel the specifics of your intervention. However, I want to know about you instead. Maybe form a friendship?" Eren found himself taken aback by the young man''sposed demeanor and clever response. It was only at this moment that he truly observed the young man''s appearance and sensed his presence through Soul Sense. ''This kid There''s something different about him.'' While Eren assessed the young man, thetter extended an introduction to the trio. It became evident that he harbored no reservations about sharing a conversation with Arman, treating him with a casualness that defied typical royal demeanor, much to the surprise of onlookers. ** With a countenance that bore the noble features of his lineage, Wilfer Rath possessed striking azure eyes that sparkled with intelligence. His neatly trimmed, dark brown hair framed his face,plementing the refined aura that surrounded him. Hailing from a prominent family in Eldorath, known for their influence in both political and magical circles, Wilfer was the seventh in line for session. Unlike his more impetuous cousin, he was characterized by a thoughtful and diplomatic demeanor, tempered by a keen understanding of the intricate web of politics within the royal court. Wilfer had devoted himself to the practice of being an oracle for the goddess Sekhmet, aspiring to merge the traditional ways of his family with the mystical forces that flowed through the world. Wilfer''s journey along the Oracle Path diverged significantly from the conventional courses followed by other Practitioners. Rather than bestowing upon him overt physical or magical prowess, his chosen Path endowed him with unique Skills and abilities exclusive to Oracles, setting him apart from his counterparts. As an Oracle, Wilfer prioritized the augmentation of his Mind and Spirit Stats, diverting from the more conventional focus onbat or adventure. This specialized approach confined Oracles to roles as devout followers within the religious structures of Labh Salem, utilizing the resources of temples to propel them further along their chosen Path. Within the hierarchy of Oracle ranks, those at the F-Rank level bore the title of Seers, while elevation to E-Rank conferred the esteemed status of Grand Seers. Advancement to D-Rank earned the designation of Diviner, with further recognition as Grand Diviner granted to C-Rank Oracles. Stepping into the realms of higher proficiency, B-Ranked and A-Ranked Oracles held the titles Augury and Grand Augury, respectively. The loftiest echelons of Oracle achievement included the titles Destiny Sage for S-Rank Oracles and Prophets for those attaining the rare S-Plus-Rank Status. *** ''Oh! He is an Oracle!'' Eren stood in awe, discovering the presence of an actual Oracle in the seemingly isted mortal city of Sunhaven. Practitioners following the Oracle Path were exceedingly rare in Labh Salem. Many of them found themselves confined to the lower echelons of the ranks forever in their Paths. Talented Oracles were highly esteemed assets within any faith, receiving abundant care and attention from the temples with which they were associated. They were sought after by the demonic factions for their own use as well. Whether aligned with divine temples or demonic cults, Oracles enjoyed a significant share of resources, indicative of their importance. Despite Eren''s attempt to conceal his surprise, his gaze lingered more attentively on Wilfer. The notion of employing Sedating Gaze to divert the Oracle''s attention crossed his mind. Alephee''s warning echoed in his thoughts, cautioning against interactions with Prophets, the zenith of the Oracle Path. Prophets possessed the ability to unravel any deception and identify Eren as the True Inheritor of the Elder Ichor Bloodline. In the past, Prophets had foretold prophecies about God Aleph''s sessor, ultimately unveiling Eren''s role as the chosen one. Although Eren''s ascension to a demigod status had rendered him pseudo-divine, preventing Prophets from predicting his future actions, they retained the capability to pierce through any facade if and when he came in proximity with them. This proximity could ovee any restrictions and enable the Prophets to predict his past, presence, and future. Eren had to tread carefully in conversations, especially if he encountered a Prophet, as a single utterance from him could potentially trigger a "Revtion." However, the young man before Eren was just an E-Ranked Grand Seer, a league way below Eren''s Grandmaster Ranker status. As such, Eren had little to fear. As Wilfer and Eren engaged in conversation, Arman and Reen chatted while relishing their meal. It didn''t take long for both Eren and Wilfer to gain a basic understanding of each other. "So, you''re the E-Ranked potion-maker who secured permanent citizenship in Sunhaven today," Wilfer remarked with a chuckle as he wiped the corners of his mouth with a table napkin, indicating he had finished his meal. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Ace Ren Roman Idril." "Hmm? A little show and tell huh? Did you deduce that through your Oracle powers?" Eren asked yfully. Wilfer smiled and shook his head before responding. "Haha. Prophecies and past visions don''t work like that, Rook Ren. Certainly not when ites to someone of your caliber. It''s much simpler than you think. Um let''s just say that news travels fast in Sunhaven for those who are willing to pay attention." === AN: The term Prophets was first used in chapter 1203. Chapter 1782 Striking a Formal Agreement with Wilfer Chapter 1782 Striking a Formal Agreement with Wilfer ??Eren quickly grasped the implications of Wilfer''s words. "I see. It seems the newly appointed city guard is part of yourwork within the city," Eren remarked, observing Wilfer, who nodded and continued. "That''s right. It''s not every day Sunhaven wees an E-Ranked Practitioner who buys permanent residency on their first visit. So it was only natural that you would be noticed," Wilfer exined, leaning back in his chair. "In other words, you had your eyes on me from the moment I entered Sunhaven," Eren stated matter-of-factly. Wilfer acknowledged that Eren was aware of being observed by some of his subordinates in the city, and there was no need to conceal it any longer. "I nned to observe you for a few days before proposing you work for me," Wilfer admitted, sighing and shrugging. "But my cousin intervened andplicated things. By the time I could intervene, you had already taken care of them. You were very decisive and gentle at the same time. So I thought there would be no better time than now to introduce myself." ''Gentle? Just because I made them leave without causing a ruckus?'' Eren chuckled inwardly. "You give me way too much credit, Royal Highness. I am not as nice as you think I am." The butcher replied, savoring another bite of his meal and the taste of wine. Reen smirked at Eren''s statement, ncing at Wilfer. However, she remained silent, allowing the two to continue their conversation. "In any case, I would like to offer my friendship" Wilfer began, raising his hand for a handshake, but Eren interrupted. "If you want me to work under you, then you are barking up the wrong tree, Your Royal Highness. I am not interested in being leashed with restrictions by you or your subordinates," Eren said sternly. "The royal faction supporting me would offer you plentiful rewards," Wilfer countered, unsurprised that Eren had deciphered his intentions. "Thest time I interfered in royal affairs, it did not go well for the royal family or the entire kingdom," Eren added with a cryptic smile. "Trust me, you don''t want me involved." "Hehe. Thest time you were involved with royal affairs, things didn''t go well for the entire world, Erni," Reen''s cheerful voice echoed in Eren''s mind, but he chose to ignore it as if he hadn''t heard her. "But" Wilfer attempted to argue further, yet Eren raised his hand in a "stop" sign, signaling for him to hold his thoughts. "Let me finish. I said that I didn''t want to work under you. But that doesn''t mean that I can''t work for you at the right price from time to time. Feel free to ce your potion orders with me, and I''ll do my best to meet your expectations," Eren said, a smile ying on his lips. Wilfer carefully processed Eren''s proposition, finding it reasonable. After a deep breath, he agreed to form a symbiotic rtionship with Eren. "That that works as well," Wilfer admitted, though it was evident he wasn''t entirelyfortable with the arrangement. He didn''t want to pressure Eren into anything. Regardless of the world, potion-makers were always respected, and Wilfer, with his Grand Seer powers, could deduce that Eren was a special existence. He didn''t want to offend a hidden expert just to advance his standing in the Eldorathian royal court. "Here. I want you to have this, Rook Ren," Wilfer handed Eren a medallion with the royal symbol etched on it. "This will help you a bit in Sunhaven," he assured. "Thanks," Eren didn''t bother with modesty and promptly stored the medallion in his Inventory. "We''ll stay in touch. If there''s nothing else, I will take my leave," Wilfer decided to leave Eren and hispanions to their devices after formalizing their agreement. However, Eren''s casual question halted him. "Where are you going?" Eren inquired. "Um, I was just about to" Wilfer, confused and at a loss for words, feltpelled to answer Eren about his ns. But before he could dere them, Eren rified the situation. "Royal Highness, you ate food by our table. Surely you don''t want to engage in an eat-and-run activity here, do you?" Eren asked, casting an inquisitive gaze at Wilfer. "What?" Wilfer was taken aback by Eren''s tant thriftiness. "I I just ate a little" Shocked by Eren''s shamelessness, he found it challenging to exin his side of the situation. "The portion of the food that you ate doesn''t matter; the fact that you ate it does," Eren said with a dramatic sigh. "Forget it, Your Royal Highness. If it''s too much for you to pay right now, I shall cover the bill with my own money." Wilfer''s difficult-to-read expressions transformed into a mirthless smile as he regarded Eren in a new light. "You are indeed way different from what I expected you to be, Rook Ren," Wilfer remarked while scratching his right cheek. "On second thought, it would indeed be shameful of me to let you pay for the food on our first meeting. If I want to befriend someone in my capacity as a royal, I should act like one. I will take care of the bill for you, don''t worry," he assured before getting up from his chair. Bidding adieu to Eren and the rest, Wilfer exchanged a few words with the head manager of the restaurant before making his exit. ''This young chicken thinks he can use me by dangling a carrot, but he''s still too wet behind his ears if he believes he can manipte me into doing things for him,'' Eren shook his head in amusement. ''He doesn''t know that I''ll eat the carrots without a second thought and still choose not to help him. It''s good that I let those guys keep an eye on us though so I could meet this kid. I''ll surely make use of his position. His connections with the temple of Sekhmet will also benefit me in the future,'' he concluded his thoughts before refocusing on the food. "Did you hear, Mr. Tour Guide?" Eren pped his hands with enthusiasm as he looked at Arman. "Today''s bill will be covered by the royal highness. Let''s make good use of it," he dered before delving back into his meal with even more gusto than before. Reenughed in agreement, following Eren''s lead. Arman stopped eating after some time, his stomach fully overloaded, but the other two continued to order and devour various delectable dishes with unabated enthusiasm. Chapter 1783 Owning Siren’s Sanctuary

Chapter 1783 Owning Siren''s Sanctuary

?After indulging in a delightful meal at Mystic Hearth, Eren and Reen resumed their city tour with Arman back in the role of the tour guide. Eren took the opportunity to visit a few shops, ensuring Arman acquired a stylish set of clothes and essories that would transform his appearance from that of a street urchin to a more refined one. Despite possessing the ability to make problems vanish in Sunhaven with a mere snap of his fingers, Eren preferred preemptive solutions over reactive ones. He acknowledged the limitations of changing mortals'' perspectives and behaviors and recognized that he couldn''t force Sunhaven''s residents to ept Arman for who he was. Rather than attempting to alter public opinion, Eren found it more convenient to create an illusion that Arman was a local Sunhaven resident rather than an outsider from the boonies. To Arman''s disbelief, he found himself guiding a man capable of making even the Eldorathian royalty dance in the palms of his hands. Witnessing Eren effortlessly resolve a significant conflict and establish a formal agreement with a royal scion, all while maintaining an air of calm and collected indifference, left Arman in awe. It seemed as though challenges of this magnitude were inconsequential to Eren, regardless of their origins. In the kid''s eyes, Eren was more of a magician than a Practioner. Upon receiving additional support from Eren in the form of stylish clothing and essories, Arman felt that serving Eren was worthwhile, even if there were no mary rewards at the end of the tour. The transformation in his appearance alleviated the lingering awkwardness, instilling in him a sense of belonging to Sunhaven and the rightful im to be there. As evening descended, Eren concluded his city tour, mentally cataloging his observations and deciding on a residence for the next few years. Apanied by Arman and Reen, he ventured to a secluded corner of the city, closer to the shore andrgely abandoned by locals. Here, he discovered precisely what he sought C an abandoned vi avable for sale. This vi enjoyed solitude,cking immediate neighbors. A rustic wooden fence separated the backyard from the Sunhaven shore, providing an easy pathway for one to climb over and revel in the expansive view of the sea. The vi, known locally as "Siren''s Sanctuary,"?was nestled in a quiet corner of Sunhaven. Its two stories bore witness to the passage of time, and though its architecture showed signs of age, it exuded an undeniable charm. Constructed from timeworn stone, Siren''s Sanctuary featured a slightly faded but once-vibrant blue door that hinted at a maritime legacy. The exterior, now tinged with a soft, sea-salt patina, told stories of a time when captains and sailors might have sought refuge within its walls. The front yard, though currently barren, offered the promise of potential. Once lively with blooming flowers and manicured hedges, it awaited the touch of a caring hand to restore its former glory. The architectural details, such as the arched windows and intricate wrought-iron railings on the second-floor balcony, bespoke an era when craftsmanship was an art form. The vi held a rich history spanning generations. Constructed by a seasoned pseudo-D-Ranked sea captain, the vi served as a tranquil retreat between his maritime ventures, witnessing both seafaring exploits and intimate family gatherings. As Sunhaven evolved, and maritime activities shifted to a different harbor, the vinguished, patiently awaiting a practitioner with the means to restore its former glory. The original owner, particr about the vi''s fate, decreed that only E-Ranked or higher practitioners were eligible buyers. Moreover, he insisted on the payment not just in Direm but also invaluable mana-enriched resources. Despite asional visits from royalty and influential figures, the vi remained unimed, its distance from the bustling Sunhaven Harbor deterring potential buyers. Thus, the grand estate continued to await a new proprietor. The locals whispered of ghostly echoes from the past, faint sounds ofughter, and the creaking of timeworn floorboards. Some even imed to catch glimpses of a spectral figure gazing out from the second-floor balcony toward the distant sea. Whether true or merely the product of imaginative storytelling, Siren''s Sanctuary held an undeniable allure. Acquiring this once-majestic vi, Eren found himself drawn not only to its physical structure but also to the istion it offered to him from the rest of the citizens. This was a very crucial parameter because of the kind of experiments he had nned to conduct at this ce. With ns to rejuvenate both the building and its surroundings, Siren''s Sanctuary was poised to be more than a mere residence; it would be a fort for all his overt and covert activities. Eren wasted no time in decisive action. Swiftly reaching out to the vi''s owner, he presented a substantial sum of money and a collection of E-Ranked resources as an upfront payment. The elderly proprietor, content with the offer, dly agreed to part with the property, especially after receiving a generous supply of Serenity Potions from Eren. These potions, once a specialty of Purgatory, were now within Eren''s expertise, and he had effortlessly crafted them using basic magical ingredients. Eager to achieve a breakthrough into the revered D-Rank and extend his lifespan, the old man did not haggle and promptly epted Eren''s terms. To finalize the acquisition, Eren utilized the medallion gifted by Wilfer to streamline matters with the city administration. Despite initial reluctance due to the abrupt nature of the request and the approaching day''s end, the medallionpelled the administration to expedite the process. As nightfall nketed Sunhaven, Eren officially became the owner of Siren''s Sanctuary. Stepping into the vi under the cover of darkness, a palpable sense of satisfaction radiated from him, signaling his contentment with the acquisition. With a vision in mind, Eren aimed to transform the property into an apothecary, reminiscent of Aunt Nina''s establishment in the City of Osan. His ns included the creation of a shop for vending potions and herbs, a secluded potionboratory for crafting various elixirs, and a dispensary to cater to in-house patients, epassing both mortals and Practitioners. One could say that Eren hade full circle, evolving from seeking refuge in an apothecary during the early stages of his life to establishing one in a different world. Despite the legitimate fa?ade of the apothecary, it would serve as a cover for Eren''s secret operations. He envisioned a spacious underground basement for conducting experiments in secrecy and harbored intentions of utilizing the shore as a discreet sea route for entering and exiting Sunhaven unbeknownst to others. While unconcerned about deceiving mortals, Eren remained vignt regarding the presence of the temple in the city. No matter how low-ranked the temple''s followers were, Eren didn''t want to underestimate the power of a goddess. Especially when there was a worldwide hunt taking ce to find God Aleph''s sessor. This was why he put so much effort into his cover. To avoidplications, he meticulously executed his ns without raising any issues among the citizens. Chapter 1784 Hiring Arman

Chapter 1784 Hiring Arman

?The interior of Siren''s Sanctuary was spacious and rustic. The grand entrance led into a spacious foyer adorned with aged yet meticulously maintained furniture, disying a rustic charm that hinted at the vi''s history. A sweeping staircase, embellished with intricately carved railings, ascended to the upper floor, where empty bedrooms awaited future inhabitants. The rooms were currently devoid of personal touches. Tall windows adorned with delicate curtains allowed moonlight to filter through, casting a soft glow on the wooden floors. The ground floor boasted argemon area, featuring a firece that stood as a centerpiece, promisingfort during chilly nights. The walls, adorned with maritime-themed artwork and artifacts, paid homage to the vi''s origins. Towards the rear, a set of doors opened onto a patio, offering a breathtaking view of the deserted backyard and the distant sound of the sea. The absence of immediate neighbors contributed to the vi''s secluded ambiance, creating an atmosphere of tranquility. In a corner of themon area, a doorway hinted at the potential for a secluded potionboratory. Eren envisioned this space to be equipped with alchemical apparatus, shelves stocked with exotic ingredients, and workstations for crafting the magical elixirs he had mastered over time. "Hm. This ce really is "haunted", in a traditional sense," Eren thought to himself as he scanned the entire region with his Spirit Sense. He detected several presences that weren''t quite alive. [ Greater Skill: Domain of Gluttony Derived Skill: Mouths of Gluttony ] Eren unleashed his Greater Skill, summoning the Mouths of Gluttony across the newly acquired vi grounds. These ethereal entities manifested to consume the lingering Spirit Force remnants left behind by deceased Practitioners. In the wake of their appearance, a symphony of distant wails and muffled cries echoed. It was as if someone was ying various audio-capture Array Disks at once and the cacophony of these sounds was creating a haunting ambiance. "Aaaaah! Ghosts! They they are real!" Arman, unsettled by the mysterious voices echoing around him, was ovee with fear. The chilling realization that something spectral surrounded him prompted him to instinctively seek sce by embracing Reen. The sensation of an otherworldly presence left him trembling with goosebumps. Reen chuckled, gently ruffling Arman''s hair in an attempt to ease his distress. "Don''t worry; it''ll be over soon." These residual spiritual force clusters,monly referred to as ghosts by mortals, exined the vi''s name, "Siren''s Sanctuary." The mortals were often spooked by the sounds these residual Spiritual Force clusters produced. These sounds were often linked to a siren''s wail in the region, which became the origin of the vi''s name. Swoo. Swoo. Swoo. The Mouths of Gluttony diligently devoured these lingering spiritual entities, their consumption contributing marginally to the enhancement of Eren''s Spiritual Force. However, for a demigod with a Grandmaster Ranking Status, the augmentation didn''t mean much. "Hmm. This should be enough," Eren thought to himself and waved his hand. The unsettling aura that had gripped Arman gradually dissipated as the Mouths of Gluttonypleted their task. Even as a mortal, he sensed a profound transformation within the via purification, an exorcism of spiritual impurities that rendered the once-creepy atmosphere cleansed and renewed. "Alright, big bro, now that you''ve settled in, it''s time for me to leave," Arman dered, observing Eren effortlessly dealing with the ghosts haunting the vi. Despite the sessful exorcism, the mortal kid harbored concerns about potential lingering spirits, unwilling to risk encounters with unseen apparitions. After all, hecked the ability to make problems disappear with a snap of his fingers, a luxury reserved for beings beyond mortal confines. Raising his eyebrows, Eren regarded Arman with understanding, quickly deciphering the kid''s unease. "You know, little Arman, I can help you be a Ranker if you don''t want to feel powerless all the time." Eren casually extended an offer that addressed the mortal''s unspoken fears. Initially taken aback, Arman eventuallyprehended the significance of Eren''s proposal. Kneeling before Eren, he bowed, expressing readiness to be the demigod''s disciple. "I am ready to be your disciple, Sir Eren," Arman proimed, prompting both Eren and Reen to exchange confused nces before refocusing on the earnest mortal. Eren gestured for Arman to stand, addressing the misconception. "Where did you get the idea that I''m epting you as a disciple?" Eren queried, observing Arman''s perplexed expression. The mortal, equally bewildered, responded, "Weren''t you going to teach me how to be a Ranker?" Eren didn''t know that the mortals were often recruited by Practitioners into their fold as disciples. Especially when the mortals were in their teens. Kids of Arman''s age were ideal seedlings for the divine temples and demonic cults to raise as their own. They imprinted strong ideologies onto the kids'' psyches from their young years, making them staunch supporters of the faith their respective organization was practicing. This was why Arman had assumed that Eren was ready to follow other Practitioners in the footsteps. One could say that this was one of themon practices in Labh Salem. Eren rified the misunderstanding, shaking his head. "No, it seems you got something wrong. I said I''d help you. At most, you''d be my subordinate. I''ll need some assistance managing this vi and the uing potion-selling business. In exchange, I''ll offer you a suitable F- Ranked Tantra and a few Skills. What I''m suggesting isn''t a master-disciple rtionship but an employer-employee deal." Arman''s eyebrows shot up in surprise at Eren''s proposal. "So, you''re saying I won''t be bound to your school or faith if I choose to leave your service?" he inquired cautiously, seeking rity on Eren''s intentions. Eren chuckled softly before replying. "Exactly. You''ll have the freedom to chart your own course in life, Arman. I''ll give you a few pointers from time to time if need be. But the path you take will be entirely your own. Where Ie from, a Ranker''s Path is seen as a solo journey, one that can only be initiated by the individual on their own." He crossed his arms as he spoke. === AN: Mouths of Gluttony were exined in chapter 1128. Chapter 1785 Home Delivery of Test Subjects

Chapter 1785 Home Delivery of Test Subjects

?A few days after Eren acquired Siren''s Sanctuary. In the early morning, on a deste road, a mysterious mist enveloped the surroundings, limiting visibility to a few tens of meters. A city administration staff member met with a dubious client not far from the vi Eren had recently purchased. Tension gripped him as he heard approaching footsteps. Had Eren been present, he would quickly recognize the man as Grimsham, the one who facilitated the vi''s purchase. Initially reluctant, Grimsham''s attitude shifted when he glimpsed the royal medallion Eren presented, a token from Wilfer. "Grisham, we made it clear we didn''t want anyone owning Siren''s Sanctuary. Just a few more days and we would have bought the damn vi ourselves. Why sell it to that E-Ranked potioner who appeared out of nowhere?" A disheveled man in histe 50s interrogated Grimsham as soon as he approached. It appeared he wasn''t pleased that the Sunhaven city administration had sold Siren''s Sanctuary to Eren, especially in such a hasty manner that left him powerless to intervene. "I... I was in a difficult position, Enchanter Kwan. He had ties to the Eldorathian royalty," Grisham replied hastily, attempting to exin his predicament with a touch of politeness born out of fright. "It would have caused more trouble if he discovered I was intentionally impeding his acquisition of the vi. He might have alerted the authorities about our covert sea piracy operations we are used to running from that vi," he added, the strain evident in his voice. "Eldorathian royalty?" Kwan raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Hmm. That does indeedplicate matters for us," he said as he narrowed his eyes and he looked at the distant shadow of a structure that was Siren''s Sanctuary. "What... what''s our next move?" Grisham inquired cautiously. He was wary of offending Kwan, especially after the vi had been sold under duress. Grisham, being a mere mortal, recognized Kwan''s status as a D-Ranked Enchanter from the Warlock Path. Kwan, a formidable D-Ranked Enchanter from the Warlock Path, possessed amanding presence entuated by his distinct appearance. Towering above others, he had a tall and robust frame, emphasizing his strength and resilience. His skin, tanned from exposure to the elements, bore the marks of countless enchantments and mystical symbols. Long, flowing locks of jet-ck hair cascaded down his shoulders, adding an air of mystique to his demeanor. His piercing gaze, framed by sharp eyebrows, revealed an intensity that spoke of both wisdom and power. In the bustling mortal hub of Sunhaven, Kwan could be considered as a powerhouse, capable of sending ripples through the popce with his mere presence. His arrival would have undoubtedly garnered attention, prompting even figures like Wilfer from the royal family and other city elites to personally extend their greetings. Yet, Kwan chose a ndestine entry, using a concealed sea route to infiltrate the city. Operating covertly, he held the reins of the hidden maritime piracy activities unfolding in Sunhaven''s shadows. Being a demonic Enchanter, Kwan boasted affiliations with the realms of demons and the demonic continents. His role as the purveyor of demonic entities, artifacts, and potions from the continents dominated by the coven of witchespelled him to shun public appearances whenever possible. "Let''s pay a visit to this potioner," Kwan dered after a brief contemtion. His tone turned icy as he continued. "I''ll persuade him to sell the vi to one of my associates. If he proves uncooperative, I''ll have to ensure his silence permanently. Hehe. A mere E-Ranked Rook will not pose a threat to me no matter how many Trump Cards he has," With a calcted resolve, he moved forward, making his way toward the vi. Grisham''s throat tightened upon hearing Kwan''s ruthless n. While epting bribes from pirates was one thing, the prospect of involvement in a killing left him uneasy. He hesitated, standing his ground, silently hoping Kwan would handle the situation independently. Kwan, however, was not inclined to let Grisham off the hook. Sensing the man''s difort, he issued a menacing inquiry, "Aren''t youing?" Stammering, Grimsham reluctantly replied, "AfC after you." Kwan chuckled at Grisham''s nervous demeanor. "Odd. I don''t recall the ce being this foggy," Kwan mused to himself as he continued advancing toward Siren''s Sanctuary. Kilwan and Grisham proceeded for several minutes, yet the vi seemed elusive as if the mysterious fog was distorting their perception. Initially attributing it to the atmospheric conditions, both gradually came to the unsettling realization that something more profound was amiss. "Why can''t we reach the sted vi?" Grimsham vented his frustration, cautiously choosing his words to avoid sounding critical of Kwan. "I mean... no offense, Enchanter Kwan, but could you shed some light on what''s happening?" Kilwan responded with a grave tone, ignoring Grisham''s irritation. "It''s the Array Formation," he exined. "It''s so top-tier that I can''t even tell its Rank. Breaking this Formation is out of the question. But I can''t even fucking seem to find an Array Eye within it. This This is a fucking maze," he added, scanning his surroundings with vignce. His voice wasced with dread. Fear etched across Grisham''s face as he queried, "What... What should we do now?" "How How did I end up here? Isn''t this just Sunhaven a city of fucking mortals? Fucking nobodies? Grimsham, don''t you fucking dare to deceive me. Can you confirm that the one who sold this vi to us was indeed a Rook? Is is this a setup? Did you sell my information to the temple of Sekhmet?" Instead of addressing Grimsham''s question, Kilwan posed his own. One could see drops of sweat running down the man''s cheeks. "I..." Grimsham began to respond when a peculiar event unfolded. The thick fog surrounding them, which had been growing denser, abruptly dissipated, revealing the entrance to the vi. "Perfect timing, gentlemen," a deep jubnt voice emanated from inside the vi. "You arrived just when I needed test subjects. Please, step inside," the voice invited them warmly. "Run!" Kilwan shouted, swiftly turning away. He harnessed his mana, activating a movement-type Skill in an attempt to escape the trap-type Array Formation that had seemingly been lifted to allow them entry. Kilwan instinctively sensed that the owner of the vi was the most formidable being he had ever crossed paths with. The seemingly cheerful invitation only heightened his perception of the danger, convincing him that he should steer clear of someone capable of crafting such an advanced Array Formation within a mere few days of arriving in Sunhaven. However, it was toote for both Grimsham and Kilwan. The new owner of Siren''s Sanctuary paid no heed to Grimsham''s mortal status or Kilwan''s D-Rank status. A potent Spiritual Sense effortlessly overrode their motor reflexes,pelling them to step into the vi as if transformed into puppets manipted by an unseen force. Needless to say, their attempt to escape from the vi ended in fatal failure. The ce then bore witness to some more cries reminiscent of distant Siren wails. === AN: Can be skipped. This chapter''s reading session should be apanied by Daniel Licht''s Blood Theme as it perfectly suits the concluding scene. :) By now, the visual, geopolitical, and social groundwork of Labh Salem is wellid out. If Anfang reflects European regions during the pre-Victorian Era, then Labh Salem takes inspiration from a blend of Egyptian, Greek, and other ancient civilizations, incorporating their respective mythologies. If this were aic, the introduction of Labh Salem at the start of the existing volume would entail aplete overhaul of graphic panels. As if this was apletely new series altogether. When I started this volume, I aimed to bring attention to Labh Salem''s distinctive features in contrast to Anfang, weaving them into the main storyline wherever possible. But I guess this is enough. Moving forward, we''ll minimize the emphasis on these distinctions and shift our focus toward advancing the main storyline. On another note, the Character Arts have been updated. Please check them out (find the Fandom option at the end of any chapter). I''ll be refining the existing profiles and incorporating moreter on. Currently, I''m content with the avatars presented. I''ve created profiles for the canon characters that are or will remain relevant to the storyline, as uploading everyone isn''t practical. However, if there''s a missing Character Art (of a canon and a relevant character) you''re particrly keen to see, let me know, and we''ll see if there''s something we can do about it. VEH''s 10th volume, "Entering Labh Salem," concludes with this chapter release. The next volume will feature a time skip of around 5 years. Thanks to all the readers, and special appreciation to the top contributors. See you in the next volume. ;) Chapter 1786 Invitation from Sekhmet’s Temple

Chapter 1786 Invitation from Sekhmet''s Temple

?Siren''s Sanctuary. In the blink of an eye, a little over five years had psed since Eren''s arrival in Labh Salem. The mortal-dominated city of Sunhaven remainedrgely unaffected by the escting turmoil among Practitioners. The city maintained its tranquil atmosphere, reminiscent of Eren''s initial impression. It was not that everything was smooth sailing in Sunhaven. The Eldorath kingdom faced its own share of challenges, particrly involving the mortal popce. For example, the contests among royal scions for positions in the court had created a lot of unrest in the kingdom. Then there were the cases of mysterious deaths of prominent figures. The people bitten by the Sin Snake had died under mysterious circumstances even after they left Sunhaven. As if this wasn''t enough, the faith fabric of the kingdom had also been disturbed. The temple of Sekhmet and the temple of Bastet had to confront a mysterious sea god by organizing various forms of festivals andpetitions. However, these issues seemed to dissipate upon approaching the gates of Sunhaven. It appeared as though a deliberate effort, possibly by a certain entity or organization, was in ce to preserve the city''s peace and harmony. Over the past five years, the inhabitants of Sunhaven became acquainted with a highly skilled and prosperous potion artisan named Ren Roman Idril. The widespread recognition affirmed that Siren''s Sanctuary was under his capable management. Eren had endeared himself to the citizens through hard work, consistently providing essential elixirs and remedies. Consequently, the locals trusted the Siren''s Sanctuary brand implicitly, swiftly purchasing potions authenticated through the Mesh as soon as they hit the market. Even the affluent residents of Sunhaven, as well as some Eldorathian royal branch families, became regr patrons of Eren''s apothecary, elevating his status and eptance within themunity despite his outsider status. Siren''s Sanctuary brokered numerous agreements with local retailers to optimize the distribution of their potions to Sunhaven''s popce. Additionally, they crafted specialized potions for the Temple of Sekhmet''s followers, with Royal Scion Wilfer serving as a crucial intermediary between Siren''s Sanctuary and the temple. Siren''s Sanctuary had be famous for making debuff potions that especially worked well against the demonic entities. It was as if Eren''s potions were blessed by the divine. Those from the temple of Sekhment who used Siren''s Sanctuary Potions in their fights against the demonic entities started buying Eren''s items faithfully. Eren''s potion enterprise flourished so rapidly within just a couple of years that the Sunhaven city administration began cing routine stock orders. These potions were subsequently exported through authenticated sea routes from Sunhaven harbor, establishing a robust supply chain with neighboring cities and organizations. Nevertheless, the official Siren''s Sanctuary potions were confined to the E-Rank tier, limiting their appeal among Practitioners. F-Rank and E-Rank Practitioners found these potions cost-ineffective, leading only mortals to be the primary consumers. Seasoned Practitioners spected that Ren Roman Idril was merely an average potion-maker, content to lead a peaceful life among mortals. Consequently, divine and demonic factions saw no reason to bother him, and he remained undisturbed. The initial fervor surrounding Ren Roman Idril and his potion enterprise eventually waned. Over five years, Ren and Siren Sanctuary potions becamemonce, seamlessly integrated into the traditional system. Eren''s mastery of social engineering was as effective as his potion-crafting skills, creating an atmosphere where his true identity as a Grand Knight would be dismissed as mere conspiracy theory, even in the face of legitimate proof from someone on the Onianum Continent. *** Siren''s Sanctuary. Once the subject of numerous town talks, this vi sparked astonishment when it became engulfed in an inexplicable fog, shrouding it in an aura of mystery. Soon, eerie cries reminiscent of Siren''s wails added to the vi''s urban legend, firmly imnting a curious fascination in the minds of Sunhaven locals. As time passed, the vi evolved, selectively hosting a myriad of guests, customers, and influential figures. It almost seemed sentient, allowing only those it deemed worthy to navigate through its enigmatic fog while disorienting others. On this particr day, another familiar guest joined the ranks of its regr visitors. "Hahaha. Wee, Sir Wilfer," Arman greeted the royal scion with a mischievous smile, positioned behind a dedicated counter that had been set up within the vi for him to directly vend potions to the visitors. In the span of these five years, Arman had experienced a significant growth spurt, transforming into a robustte teenager. No longer scrawny, he had be a permanent resident of Sunhaven, sessfully securing the same status as his parents. Elevating his family from their poor and insignificant roots, Arman had firmly established them in the heart of Sunhaven. This was not all. Arman also embarked on the journey of a Ranker with Eren''s support, achieving a breakthrough into the F-Rank three years ago. Since then, he had steadily advanced, reaching the stage of a solid mana core and standing on the verge of breaking into the esteemed E-Rank. If he could break into the next Rank, he could supposedly mirror his teacher''s Ranking Status. As such, the ex-kid from the boonies was very proud of his progress. He wanted to prove to his teacher that the efforts that thetter took on him were worth it. Despite Eren''s insistence on maintaining an employer- employee dynamic, Arman couldn''t help but see him as a mentor, profoundly influenced by his guidance. Inspired by Eren, Arman had also chosen the path of a potioner. "Hello, young Arman," Wilfer greeted with a nod. "Where''s Rook Ren?" he inquired, scanning the surroundings. "You know how a teacher is, Sir Wilfer," Arman chuckled wryly. "He''s engrossed in a potion-making experiment and won''t budge. Can I assist you with anything?" Arman asked from behind the shop''s counter, exuding the air of an experienced shopkeeper. He discerned a prosperous customer in Wilfer. "I guess I wanted to purchase some new potions and replenish my previous vials," Wilfer replied, smiling at Arman. After a momentary pause, he sighed and continued, "Yet, I truly wished to meet Rook Ren today and deliver this invitation from the Temple of Sekhmet personally," he said, presenting a sealed scroll. "Allow me to assist you, Sir Wilfer," a graceful young woman emerged from the vi''s inner sanctum, addressing the royal scion. "I''ll ensure that Rook Reen receives this invitation," she added, approaching Wilfer. She was none other than Roza Thas, acting both as a shopkeeper and Eren''s assistant in potion-making. She held the unique position of being one of the only two individuals permitted to approach Eren, even during his presumed "potion experiments" inside the vi. Notably, Arman, despite his five years with Eren, wasn''t granted such ess. "That... would be great, Miss Roza," Wilfer sighed, handing the scroll to Roza. Wilfer knew that Eren had anticipated this invitation for an extended period. The royal scion had initially contemted using the invitation as leverage to extract more from Eren. However, faced with Eren''s immersion in a prolonged concoction process, he found neither the time nor the patience for such games. Allowing Roza to retreat to her previous location, Wilfer engaged Arman in a discussion about the potion supplies he currently sought. Meanwhile, Roza Thas underwent several security checks before descending into the underground facility of Siren''s Sanctuaryan area unknown to Sunhaven''s native residents. Chapter 1787 Siren Sanctuarys Underground Facility Chapter 1787 Siren Sanctuary''s Underground Facility ??Within a sprawling undergroundboratory, meticulously fortified with space-element magic, an environment of secrecy prevailed. Numerous high-level Array Formations shielded theb, preventing intrusion from prying Spiritual Senses or Mana Senses. Illumination filled the underground chamber, courtesy of mana-driven light sources and gems strategically ced throughout the facility. The interior boasted an organized arrangement of diverse magical equipment. A section resembling a miniature library housed various books and ancient tomes. Adjacent to it stood arge desk strewn with half-open scrolls and iplete Array Formationyouts etched onto different metal sheets. Another corner featured several suspended Spectral Screens presenting a plethora of information, including Stats,b results of previous experiments, ongoing experiment statuses, charts, real-time biofeedback statuses of various entities, and more. The underground facility also had spectral renditions of various regions disyed in great detail. There were some markers ced at some ces on the spectral renditions of the regions by someone. These markers were color-coded with green, yellow, and red to show the level of attention one needed to pay to the regions. Within the depths of the underground facility, a dedicated smithy section awaited those seeking to craft Hex Artifacts. The area was equipped with runic furnaces, an array of weapon-centric formations, and straightforward Magi Circles designed to enhance the stability of the artifact creation process. Diverse runic and mana-influenced anvils and hammers, ranging from sizable topact, filled the space. A mesmerizing disy of motionless Hex Artifacts levitated in the air, attesting to the extraordinary talent, diligence, and expertise of their creator. Adjacent to this, the ndestine chamber beneath Siren''s Sanctuary housed a premium-grade potionb, affording its owner a serene environment for concocting a myriad of potions. Theb featured all essential apparatus, an extensive inventory of top-tier raw ingredients, and racks of potion vials prominently disyed potion recipes, pill forme, and versatile balms synthesized for a range of purposes. Its meticulous design and brewing-type Formations allowed the owner to brew even the premium-grade S-Ranked potions if the need arose. The underground facility featured an exclusive section devoted to Tantra Practice. Encased within its own istion mana barrier, the ground was adorned with various elemental Formations spanning a radius of 20 meters. Meticulously constructed with mana-enriched ingredients, rare herbs, elemental gems, and precious ores and minerals, these ovepping Formations provided a tailored environment for Tantra Practice. This section of the facility was created keeping the requirements of the Rootless Tantra in mind. Practitioners could simte diverse terrains, fromva-pronendscapes to ice-covered realms, facilitating elerated progress in their respective Paths. Certainly, sustaining this specialized Tantra-specific environment posed significant challenges. It demanded a substantial investment in terms of Menaka''s Runes, rare mana-enriched resources, potions, and mana stones. The reason behind this expensey in the fact that the materials incorporated within the Array Formations and Magic circles would gradually diminish with each usage of the isted environment for Tantra practice. As such, crafting and maintaining such an environment wasn''t within the reach of an ordinary Practitioner. Even the most skilled and formidable Practitioners of their generations would need to align themselves with either divine or demonic factions, serving in temples or cults, to gain ess to such avish form of Tantra practices. Even then, they would find themselvespeting with their peers within the same organizations before securing the privilege of owning a secluded environment of this caliber. Even if they could use the facilities provided by their respective organizations through sheer luck and hard work, their allotted time woulde with an expiry date. In essence, the proprietor of the subterranean facility spared no effort to bolster his Ranking Journey toward the next major Ranking breakthrough. Effectively operating as a self- contained entity, he had established, sustained, and tailored an organization to exclusively serve his own objectives. It was as if a solitary individual was expending resources on himself as if he were cultivating a multitude of followers. *** At the heart of the underground sanctuaryy a particrly significant area, fortified byyers of mana barriers and diverse Array Formations. This central section, spanning over 500 meters in radius and 200 meters in width, granted the facility''s owner precise control over its environment. Here, dozens of test subjectsy in dormant states within slime-like capsules. Arranged with precision in rows and columns, these subjects were kept at fixed distances from each other, constituting a distinctive and expansive part of theboratory. The subjects were encased within specialized Magic Circles, functioning as the Array Eyes of an expansive Formation. Suspended effortlessly a few inches above the ground, their faces were the only visible part, concealed within the slime-like capsules that restricted any movement of their bodies. The cocoon-like slimy substance enveloping the test subjects was known as Echidna''s centa, resembling the flies ensnared by a formidable spider in its web-like capsules. However, unlike its usual operation, Echidna''s centa wasn''t used to create monsters. Real-time bio-feedback from the subjects was meticulously monitored and disyed through Spectral Screens hovering above their respective capsules. Observing the reports and statistics on the screens revealed a mix of slumbering and suspended death states among the subjects, showcasing aplex range of conditions. Among these subjects were notorious demonic entities, individuals akin to Kwan AKA unfortunate pirates, and various rogues and powerful Practitioners who had unwittingly be subjects for ndestine experiments conducted by the owner of Siren''s Sanctuary. One could say that the butcher was impartial in choosing his targets. Among the test subjects, some belonged to divine factions as well but had tarnished their reputations with nefarious deeds. Alongside them were kidnappers, murderers, and ruthless mafias from mortal realms, all serving as subjects in the underground facility under the owner''s authority. Over the past five years, the underground facility beneath Siren''s Sanctuary had been a site of various experiments, resulting in the agonizing deaths of numerous test subjects. Once formidable Practitioners and feared rulers of their domains, they had cried out, cursed, and ultimately resigned themselves to their fates. Hundreds of test subjects had met their demise within the facility for the owner of Siren''s Sanctuary to witness any semnce of progress. Yet, he remained grounded, continuing his research despite early signs of sess. Fortunately, Labh Salem teemed with unsavory characters, and Eren, a legitimate Demon yer, capitalized on this. Leveraging the Corps'' resources and intelligence, he procured high-quality test subjects to further his endeavors. === AN: Echidna''s centa was mentioned in chapter 1509. Chapter 1788 Lord of the Elements Chapter 1788 Lord of the Elements ??Step. Step. Step. Each footfall of Roza Thas resonated through the hushed corridors of the subterranean sanctuary. Her measured steps carried her deeper into the heart of the facility, an isted domain where Eren practiced the Rootless Tantra. As she traversed the intricate sections of the hidden facility, Roza couldn''t help but marvel at Eren''s meticulous efforts evident in the various ongoing projects. The tangible sesses of his experiments unfolded like a testament to his dedication and expertise. ''There he is.'' Amidst the silent chambers, her gaze fixated on Eren engrossed in the intricate dance of Rootless Tantra. Theyers of istion barriers dedicated to the Tantra section showed a space charged with potent elemental mana of all forms and types. It was as if the space was packed with elemental manifestations born out of various elements and the numerous Elemental Aspects each of them had. ''Hm. I should wait for him to finish.'' Roza, respecting the sanctity of his practice, chose silent observance over the interruption. *** Unaware of Roza''s presence just beyond the istion barrier, Eren delved deep into the profound discipline of Rootless Tantra. His undivided concentration was wholly devoted to the intricate practice, leaving no room for the distractions of the outside world. The art of Tantra demanded a level of focus that transcended mere Ranking Technique exercises. Unlike thetter, which neglected the spiritual aspect, Tantra required a controlled immersion in the elemental forces of nature. Moreover, it imposed stringent environmental prerequisites that had to be met for the practice to unfold. The Rootless Tantra, a custom-made creation by the Mesh, drew from Eren''s past experiences, the Rootless Ranking Technique, and relevant Body-strengthening Arts. As Eren navigated theplexities of this tailored practice, the undergroundb resonated with the harmonious intery of elemental energies, a testament to his mastery in the making. Inside the istion barrier, Array Formations and Elemental Magic Circles adorned the space, pulsating with ethereal light, creating an ambiance of a potent A-Ranked power. Eren stood at the center, surrounded by an exquisite Yantra meticulously crafted to resonate with his unique elemental essence. This Tantra-specific Rootless Yantra, a formidable Array Formation Disk with a substantial radius of 30 meters, served as the epicenter of hismand over elemental forces. Positioned at its precise center, Eren found himself standing on this intricate tform. This Yantra wasn''t just a physical disk; it was a manifestation of Eren''s mastery, allowing him to manipte the very essence of Elemental Mana. With unmatched precision, he could dictate the type, density, and intensity of the elemental energies along with their Elemental Aspects circting within the specified radius. This control extended to the intricate dance of elements around him, a symphony conducted by the expert choreography of his Yantra. As Eren stood in the heart of this expansive Yantra, he became the orchestrator of nature''s raw forces, sculpting the environment to align with the demands of his Rootless Tantra practice. The Yantra seemed to respond to his every movement. It emted the diverse elementalndscapes, from raging volcanoes to serene ice-covered realms, creating a tailored environment for his practice. [ Mudra: Earth Seal ] Eren began by forming the Earth Seal, grounding himself in the essence of the earth. His fingertips touched the ground, symbolizing a connection to the foundational energies. As he held the Mudra, the Yantra responded, creating an illusion of solid ground beneath his feet which then transformed into sand dunes, rocky hills, and muddynds one after the other. [ Asana: Mountain ] Eren anchored himself in the Tadasana, standing tall like a mountain. The Yantra responded by projecting towering peaks within its intricate patterns, mirroring the solidity and stability of the earth. [ Mantra: Earth Element Runic Hymn ] The mantra was the verbal expression of the elemental runes employed inside the Yantra formation. Eren''s first Mantra was dedicated to the Earth element, symbolizing grounding and stability. As Eren chanted, the vibrations of the mantra reverberated through the Yantra, creating an ethereal connection with the foundational energies. [ Mudra: Air Seal ] Transitioning seamlessly, Eren entered the Vayu Mudra. His hands assumed a graceful posture, capturing the essence of air. The currents within the spacious istion barrier responded, creating gentle breezes that carried whispers of various wind-element-rted Elemental Aspects. [ Asana: Tree ] Transitioning into the Tree Pose, Eren embodied the grace of a tree swaying in the breeze. The Yantra echoed with images of flourishing forests, branches extending towards the celestial canopy. [ Mantra: Wind Element Runic Hymn ] Embracing the essence of air, this Mantra enabled Eren to control the air currents he had invoked around him. Eren''s chanting breathed life into the Yantra, causing the patterns to sway like the invisible dance of the winds. [ Mudra: Fire Seal ] As the practice intensified, Eren invoked the Fire Seal, channeling the fierce power of fire. His palms danced with flickering mes, mirroring the elementalndscapes within the Yantra. The temperature around him rose, a testament to his mastery over the fiery forces. [ Asana: Triangle ] The Magic Circle arrangement of the Yantra shifted as Eren entered the Triangle Pose. The elemental forces responded, aligning in perfect harmony with the geometric precision of the Mudras. [ Mantra: Fire Element Runic Hymn ] Channeling the fiery forces, this mantra ignited the Yantra with flickering mes. Eren''s voice resonated with the intensity of fire, as the sacred space radiated with the warmth of elemental power. [ Mudra: Water Seal ] Submerging into the fluidity of Rootless Tantra, Eren transitioned into the Water Seal. His hands moved like cascading water, embodying the essence of the fluid element. Droplets seemed to materialize in the air, creating an ambient mist that enveloped the isted space. [ Asana: Lotus ] While practicing the Water Seal, Eren assumed the Lotus Pose. The Yantra unfolded into a lotus blossom, radiating with the tranquility of water and the purity of elemental bnce. [ Mantra: Water Element Runic Hymn ] Cascading into the fluid realms, this mantra celebrated the essence of water. As Eren chanted, the Yantra responded with fluid patterns, embodying the ebb and flow of aquatic energies. Compared to others, Eren''s pronunciation of the Mantra held more sway over the water-element mana present inside the istion barrier. His Edict Over Water came into y, enabling him to exert greater and finer control over the Elemental Aspects rted to water. [ Mudra: Ether Seal ] Eren connected with the vast expanse of ether. His hands reached towards the unseen spatial fabric. The Yantra shimmered with an otherworldly glow, reflecting the harmonious union of all elements in the void. It was as if a star was being birthed inside the istion barrier. [ Asana: Lord of the Elements ] Eren seamlessly transitioned into an ethereal Asana, mirroring the formless nature of the elusive ether element. Rising to his feet, he engaged in a mesmerizing disy of Battle Arts, seamlessly executing a variety of techniques in autopilot mode. Simultaneously, he brought forth sentient elemental entities, sculpted from the ambient energies surrounding him, to spar in synchronizedbat. Dancing through Dagger Arts, Sword Arts, Fist Arts, and Spear Arts, Eren fluidly moved from one form of Battle Art to the next. The seemingly spontaneous nature of his movements held a rhythmic cadence, akin to an artist responding to the distant strains of a melodic tune. Amidst this harmonious choreography, he summoned diverse elemental entities, adapting hisbat style with finesse, whether wielding weapons or confronting adversaries bare- handed. In every motion, he exuded a blend of speed and grace, embodying a captivating dance with the elements. [ Mantra: Ether Element Runic Hymn ] Reaching towards the boundless ether, this mantra transcended the material world. Eren''s chanting echoed through the unseen realms, as the Yantra shimmered with the infinite vastness of space. Chapter 1789 Another Successful Experiment Chapter 1789 Another Sessful Experiment ??As Eren transitioned between different elemental environments within the istion barrier, the very air around him shifted. With each change, his appearance mirrored the elemental forces at y. Sweating profusely amidst a fieryndscape, he summoned mes through practiced Mantras and Mudras. The flickering fire cast an ethereal glow, reflecting his immersion in the infernal hell he had created for himself. In a swift shift, the temperature plummeted, and a cold frost enveloped the surroundings. Eren''s breath materialized in the frigid air as he executed precise Asanas, channeling the frosty essence through the corresponding Mudras. His skin, once glistening with sweat, now bore the telltale signs of a chilling frostbite. Even Eren''s A-Ranked physique bore the toll of Rootless Tantra practice. The intentional use of specific Mantras, Mudras, and Asanas, orchestrated in a harmonious blend, was making his body go through constant phases of destruction and reconstruction. Each precise movement synergized with the effects of the Rootless Tantra, subjecting him to the physical strain of the practice. [ Bloodline Skill: Expedited Regeneration ] While Eren''s inherent bloodline abilities facilitated rapid healing, mending burnt or ruptured skin with a mere snap of his fingers, the expedited regeneration only contributed to a cycle of enduring misery. The swift repair of injuries served as a prelude to the inevitability of subjecting himself to fresh wounds in the subsequent iterations of the Tantra practice. "One One more time." The butcher said to himself in short breaths. He was practicing the Rootless Tantra naked and one could see his chiseled body covered in blood, sweat, and fleshly impurities. He didn''t know how much time had passed. But he didn''t care. He started the process all over again, this time with even more ferocity than before. With the fluidity of a seasoned practitioner, Eren transmuted the environment again. A scorching desert emerged, and beads of perspiration dripped from his brow as he invoked the scalding power. The intensity of the desert sun seemed to bear down on him, a testament to the mental and physical toll exacted by the Rootless Tantra. [ Spirit: 99 ] [ Warning: Excessive consumption of Spirit Stat has been observed. The user will lose consciousness if and when the value reaches zero. ] [ Alert: User''s Tantra practice observed to impact all Stats. Prolonged continuation may result in severe physical exhaustion. ] As the cycle continued, Eren''s body and mind exhibited signs of fatigue and resilience. Dry skin, weariness etched on his face, and yet, an unwavering determination fueled his every movement. Eren systematically strengthened his Elemental Affinity for each element. Although his proficiency in the water element had already reached its zenith due to his divine connection, he diligently engaged in performing Mudras, Asanas, and Mantras associated with the water element. He aimed to maintain a harmonious bnce in his Tantra practice. The roots of his connection to various elements deepened with each iteration, making him a conduit for the very forces he sought to master. "Hm? What... why are you here?" Eren halted his Tantra Practice upon noticing Roza Thas standing outside the istion barrier, patiently awaiting his attention. He took a deep breath before rising from his position. Stretching his limbs, Eren reached into his Inventory and summoned a precious vial of potion. With a swift uncorking, he downed the contents of the vial in one gulp, then dispelled the istion barrier with a snap of his fingers. In a matter of moments, the majority of Eren''s physical and mental fatigue dissipated into thin air. Enveloped in a cloud of fire, he burned away impurities, followed by the appearance of a mass of water-element mana that cleansed him, leaving behind a refreshed and cleansed body, as if he had just taken a rejuvenating bath. "My lord, that Wilfer guy wanted to deliver this invitation from the Temple of Sekhmet to you." Roza respectfully conveyed as she presented the scroll to Eren. Eren approached her, standing within arm''s reach. epting the scroll, he unsealed it and began reading immediately. Roza, however, found herself in an awkward predicament. With Eren still unclothed, she grappled with the challenge of where to direct her gaze in such close proximity. Struggling to maintain decorum, she resisted the temptation to nce downward and observe Eren in his most primal state. "Hehe," Eren chuckled while perusing the contents of the invitation. "Looks like that useful idiot came through," he mused to himself, silently acknowledging Wilfer''s efforts. Just as he was about to address Roza, he noticed her discreetly looking. "My face is up here, you know," Eren teased, yfully directing Roza''s attention. Her cheeks tinged with a subtle blush, a striking contrast against her fairplexion. Too shy to meet Eren''s gaze, she began to apologize, but before she could, Eren enveloped her in his embrace. "I''m feeling good. Let''s do it here," Eren whispered into Roza''s ear, inhaling the fragrance of her hair. His arms encircled her, and Roza, feeling a warmth within, began to sumb to the moment. Beep. Beep. Beep. Suddenly, just as Eren and Roza were on the brink of deepening their connection, a series of beeps resonated from the center of the underground facility. The sounds signaled the sessful assimtion of one of Eren''s test subjects, utilizing Echidna''s centa as the conduit for merging with his Mana Signatures. Halting his intimate advances, Eren stepped back from Roza. "Perhaps another time," he remarked before swiftly disappearing from his position. ''These damn experiments. Always at the worst possible time.'' Roza muttered a curse at the unfortunate timing of the experiment''s conclusion and sighed. Resolving to follow Eren, she was eager to witness the oue he had achieved this time. In the blink of an eye, Eren reappeared at the facility''s center, dispelling its dedicated istion barrier. As he walked through the rows of capsules containing test subjects, he quickly identified the capsule where the assimtion process had been sessfullypleted. With a satisfied smile, Eren manipted the Array Formation beneath the capsule, causing Echidna''s centa to dissolve into thin air. The long-contained test subject was revealed, freed from its confinement. Chapter 1790 Pseudo-Avatar Creation P1 Chapter 1790 Pseudo-Avatar Creation P1 ??Eren had always been curious about demonic possessions ever since learning about the existence of demons. The idea that demons could profoundly influence someone''s actions through demonic takeovers fascinated him. Consequently, Eren had been working on projects rted to demonic possessions and the alteration of Faustian Contracts for a long time. He had worked on such projects ever since he had established himself well in Anfang. With decades of experience in the field, he could hunt demons and utilize the Faustian Rune Fragments extracted from them to fuel his own growth. Moreover, since obtaining possession of Shallot''s Mirror, Eren''s interest in Elemental Clones had increased. He was aware that Shallot''s Mirror provided him an unfair advantage in creating clones, allowing him to use them as if they were separate incarnations of himself without harming his soul in any way. Conception of an idea was easy but how could one go about it? The demonic possession wasn''t something an ordinary mortal with an ordinary soul could dabble in, even if they were demonically inclined to wield potent infernal energies. Moreover, the process requires the user''s soul to split into various parts, potentially harming their sense of self in the process. This was the reason why demons possessed someone through Demon Soul Fragments. These Soul Fragments would then attach themselves to the souls of the vessels, allowing the demons to slowly corrode the vessels'' personalities until the demons were able to takeplete control of the bodies using the demonic takeover. However, demons were created through the umtion of various infernal emotions gaining consciousness in the Hvergelmir Springs in the first ce. Therefore, demons had it rtively easy when it came to creating Demon Soul Fragments. However, the same could not be said for demonic entities with a genuine soul. They could permanently damage their Soul Space or experience other types of side effects when creating Soul Fragments out of their fragile souls. The act of splitting oneself wasn''t easy. One needed to achieve a sufficient Status in their Path before they could even think of messing up with their own souls. In Eren''s case, he needed to wait until he became a bonafide Sage even before he could officially begin to possess someone. *** What about the Elemental Clones? The Elemental Clones were a field Eren had started working on after he imed Shallot''s Mirror. However, this concept had a few drawbacks. Firstly, the clones couldn''t be sustained for a long period of time. Secondly, they could only be used within a certain distance from their original user. Thirdly, once these clones had been subdued, the original user had no way of resurrecting them without giving away their positions. The users needed to be in proximity to their clones to work in the first ce. Even if the original user didn''t do anything to prevent the forced dispersion of the clones, their positions would be revealed once the opponents used a certain set of Skills avable in the Mesh. The Elemental Clones also put a significant burden on the user''s mental faculties. Even the most talented Elementalists found it challenging to maintain more than three fully functional clones for a sufficient amount of time to make them useful in various scenarios. Additionally, unlike Anfang, the Practitioners of the Labh Salem were highly advanced in cultivating their Spirit Force. They could easily distinguish between a real person and an Elemental Clone, regardless of any masking techniques used to hide ws. They could then change their strategies ordingly, making it difficult for the original users to benefit from using the clones. Eren had extensive knowledge of the pros and cons of the Elemental Clones as he incorporated them into the Lazarus Project to counter many Sages who opposed him. By utilizing his advantages and making strategic use of the Elemental Clones, he managed to defeat many S-Ranked opponents while only being a B-Rank himself. In the post-Great-Shattering era, Eren also capitalized on his exceptional Elemental Clone abilities. This allowed him to wrap up many active projects in Anfang within a few months, enabling him to permanently relocate to Labh Salem. His clones made him a multitasker, allowing him to work on various fields and projects simultaneously. This approach of using clones to aplish tasks enabled Eren to not only save time but also provide him with protection during times of crisis. Despite the efforts and resources invested in creating Elemental Clones, it was all deemed worthwhile when considering their ability to divert attention from the original user. Eren viewed having an advanced clone creation recipe as an essential lifeline he desperately needed in Labh Salem. The risk of facing a barrage of enemies, particrly if he was identified as Aleph''s inheritor, was a constant concern. While Eren had exposed himself to the world by debuting in Agora, it didn''t mean he took his enemies lightly. He desired to earn Origin Force Points, but not when it came at the unnecessary cost of endangering his life in vain. Hence, he decided to retreat to the mortal realm, where he could ensure his safety for the time being. Realizing that the Immortals would eventually use the Mesh against him, especially as they began utilizing Agora to track him, Eren understood that staying idle was not in his best interest. If he allowed things to unfold naturally, it wouldn''t be long before his enemies located him. As a result, he opted to create false trails using the clones to avoid being actively hunted down by the Immortals and their followers. === AN: Eren decided to create fake trails using the clones in chapter 1744. Eren''s interest in following the path of demons and developing a possession technique to control another entity was first mentioned in chapter 850. The concept of demonic takeover was exined in chapter 1014. In chapter 1449, Eren first utilizes Elemental Clones in conjunction with Shallot''s Mirror. Chapter 1548 discusses how Eren sessfully deploys multiple Elemental Clones on the battlefield. Finally, chapter 1643 highlights his eventual mastery of using the elemental clones. Chapter 1791 Pseudo-Avatar Creation P2

Chapter 1791 Pseudo-Avatar Creation P2

Demonic possession through Soul Fragments and Elemental Clones with the use of Shallot''s Mirror served as Eren''s saving grace. He possessed distinct advantages in both these domains, and thus, he sought to find an effective way to utilize them and resolve the dilemma he faced. This dilemma involved the conflicting goals of exposing himself to farm Origin Force Points and maintaining secrecy. It was akin to attempting to stay in a fed and fasted state at the same time, a notion often regarded as impossible. Of course, this dilemma wasn''t something he could solve with a snap of his fingers. He needed time and a safe ce. The butcher didn''t want to do anything too eye-catching before making sure that his safety was assured. This was why he disappeared from the Practitioners'' society as a whole. His identity as the bonafide Demon yer created an ideal environment for him to do so. *** Eren had set his eyes on the goal: a fusion between the demonic possession and the elemental clone creation process. But how to findmon grounds for them to fuse with each other? They indeed had somemonality between them but it wasn''t in Eren''s favor. This was because they were themon drawbacks. Firstly, both of these concepts couldn''t be used for long-term projects. Secondly, he could be tracked down if he used them carelessly. This was why Eren didn''t use Shallot''s Mirror actively when he first entered Labh Salem. But what if these two concepts could bebined using others'' bodies as vessels to create something truly groundbreaking? What if the ideas of demonic possession and Elemental Clones were integrated in a novel way to ovee the drawbacks found in both domains? Eren had spent thest five years searching for answers to these questions. He achieved significant sess in this field, finally reaping the much-needed rewards of his research from the Lazarus Project. By investing several years into the project, Eren managed to create pseudo-avatars of himself. He effectively utilized the research conducted in Anfang, took inspiration from Eliza''s resurrection and his own way of utilizing the clones,bined it with Labh Salem''s advanced knowledge and resources, and merged the two fields with the assistance of Shallot''s Mirror. ** Eren achieved a groundbreaking feat bybining the fields of demonic possession through Soul Fragments and Elemental Clones through the use of the Shallot''s Mirror. He became the first demigod who could utilize his own incarnations while still partially mortal, a concept beyond the imagination of the Immortals who had existed long before Eren''s time in both timelinesbined. These clones were termed Pseudo Avatars. This was because they all came with an expiry date from the moment they were reborn inside the Echidna''s centa, sumbing to Eren''s experimental avatar creation process''s disharmony. Moreover, the Pseudo Avatars couldn''t progress to the S-Rank independently. Attempting to do so would lead to their destruction by the Rankers'' Cmity, a lesson Eren learned the hard way after sacrificing a powerful clone a year ago, an incident he regretted often. However, the pseudo-avatar creation was still considered a sess by Eren. He didn''t mind the Pseudo Avatars'' short life span as long as they helped him multitask and deceive his enemies. After all, he could create new ones from the "test subjects" he captured. The prey was there all around him. Eren just needed to defeat worthy vessels in half-death states and catch them before bringing them to Suhaven through the use of the illegal sea route. He would then take them into his underground facility before converting them into pseudo- avatars. The butcher had been hard at work during thesest five years. He had caught many A-Ranked entities from both factions before caging them inside Echidna''a centa. He would then wait for them to "hatch." The rows upon rows of the test subjects captured inside Echidna''s centa were the result of Eren dedicating five years to perfecting the Pseudo Avatar creation process. Some of the test subjects had been very famous or ill-famous before they were caught by Eren. Some had been sent to kill him by various factions and ended up being caught by Eren instead. Eren caught these many test subjects because not everyone waspatible with this process of creating the pseudo avatars. Some of them couldn''t survive the process while others developed many anomalies post-process. This was why the butcher would monitor the bio-stats and mental conditions of the test subjects diligently. At this point, the sess rate of creating an optimal pseudo avatar was one in a hundred. The optimal pseudo-avatar would still die within a decade or two. But it would work wlessly before it expires. Ever since he first created the first working pseudo avatar three years ago, Eren began using these clones as disposables, enabling him to farm Origin Force Points without care. At this point, Eren had six active pseudo-avatars doing their own deeds across Labh Salem. These perma-clones had their own identities, memories, and goals inherited from Eren. Some of them had be extremely famous while the others had done his bidding discreetly. The best part was that these Pseudo Avatars assumed the original owner''s identity, eliminating the need for additional safety measures to protect Eren''s identity. The pseudo-avatars didn''t have proximity limitations. They could go anywhere in Labh Salem without causing any form of trouble for Eren. Plus, their actions could be controlled manually using the Mesh whenever the situation really called for it. The pseudo avatars had ess to their own set of Skills apart from a few Skills Eren had. They all had their distinct Professions and Mana Signatures. They all had their own Spiritual Sense. They could adapt to various situations without exposing the location of his real body. The pseudo-avatars could also replenish their mana reserves on their own. As such, Eren didn''t have to maintain their existence by himself. It was as if he was living additional lives through the use of his perma-clones. The pseudo-avatars were different from each other. As such, nobody could locate all of Eren''s remaining clones if they managed to catch one. The clones could be used in different ways in different settings after taking into ount the identity of the original vessel and the Skills and Profession the avatar had ess to for itself. Eren couldn''t impart his multi-profession capabilities and all- elementpatibility to his pseudo-clones. His vessels had a few drops of Elder Ichor''s bloodline flowing through their veins. However, the vessels couldn''t assimte with the bloodlinepletely. The Elder Ichor bloodline that allowed Eren to use the vessels as his pseudo avatars were also killing them slowly. As such, Eren couldn''t use his bloodline powers or his Seven Sin Domains using the pseudo incarnations. However, Eren didn''t mind the trade-off. Chapter 1792 Rolce Rahgal Zurich

Chapter 1792 Rolce Rahgal Zurich

"Well, let''s see what we have here." Eren murmured to himself with subdued excitement as he examined the statistics of his most recent pseudo-avatar. Upon dispersing the Echidna''s centa, he observed a man levitating motionless within the Array Formation. The man seemed to be in his early 40s as per the mortal standards. This test subject boasted voluminous light brown hair cascading past his shoulders, neatly tied in a bun. Locks of hair framed his handsome and gentle face. His light brown eyes and light olive skin wereplemented by a well-kept Balbo beard, entuating his square-shaped face. The man exuded schrly vibes with his looks and Mana Signature. d in a cream-colored light tunic paired with a sleeveless jacket, the premium-looking attire bore the marks of wear and tear, a consequence of spending over a month inside Echidna''s centa. Eren had subdued the potioner without having to engage him in a frontalbat. Thus, he did not have any signs of battle or marks of injury ced on his body. Although alive, the man remained in a slumbering state due to the abnormal condition of his soul. Eren resolved to inspect the man''s statistics before proceeding to permanently im ownership of the pseudo-avatar. [ Name: Rolce Rahgal Zurich ] [ Race: Human (?) Traces of foreign bloodline found, responsible for sapping away the host''s Lifeforce Current life expectancy: around 23 years from today by Labh Salem''s time standards. Menaka''s Runes can be used to expel the traces of the life-corroding bloodline ] [ Origin: Labh Salem ] [ Current World: Labh Salem ] [ Current Location: Sunhaven. Kingdom of Eldorath. Joravar Continent ] [ Path to Power: Mana Core Harnesser / Ranker ] [ Mana Core Status: A-Rank Liquid State ] [ Ranking Status: Grandmaster / Grand Knight ] [ Special Status: Pseudo-avatar of Eren Elijah Idril ] [ Tantra: Potion Perfection / Rootless Tantra (uncalibrated) ] [ Current Affiliations: invalid due to the unnatural status of the host All the Blessings and divine Perks are lost / locked ] [ Active Profession: Potioneer ] [ Ready to serve as a pseudo-avatar for Eren Elijah Idril ] "A potioner, huh," Eren mumbled to himself as he read through Rolce''s stats. "I remember battling and then defeating this guy a few months back. It took so much effort to subdue him without killing him. I''m surprised he survived the process," he looked at Rolce''s sleeping form with a gazeced in shock. "Never mind. It''s good that he is a Potioner. That was the only profession I didn''t have my pseudo-avatars in until today," Eren said to himself and nodded in satisfaction. Eren had selected his test subjects wisely. He hade to realize over the years that only those who had the same profession as one of his seven professions had a rtively better chance of surviving the assimtion process. As such, he preferred having such test subjects in his sample pool. Before this day, Eren had one pseudo-avatar per profession. As such, he could control a Summoner, Runemaster, Berserker, Assassin, Ranger, and Close Combat Warrior separately. The Potioner was the only profession that did not have a dedicated pseudo-avatar. Even in Labh Salem, finding a potioner who Eren could subdue and bring to Sunhaven inconspicuously without altering any potential organization behind them was not easy. The butcher had to invest a lot of time and resources to abduct Rolce without killing him. He didn''t have high hopes from the guy after he checked out his constitution. However, luckily Rolce had survived the assimtion process, making Eren feel that all of his efforts were worth it. With Rolce''s addition, Eren had a pseudo-avatar that represented all of his seven professions. After making sure that everything about Rolce''s vessel was in perfect condition, Eren decided to proceed further with the final process of the pseudo-avatar creation. "Shallot,e out. You are up," he called out to his Elder Seed Spirit Artifact. Swoosh. The mirror''s Artifact Spirit appeared beside Eren in the next moment. She was in her little girl form as always, wearing a pretty princess dress. She looked at Eren with her curious eyes beforending her gaze on Rolce''s slumbering form levitating in front of her. "Eren, is this your new vessel?" she asked, looking at Rolce carefully while blinking her eyes several times. "Yes dear," Eren affirmed while caressing Shallot''s head. He then stretched his hand in front of Shallot. "You know what to do," he said. Thetter took Eren''s hand in hers before closing her eyes. In the next moment, Eren and Shallot both were enveloped in a silvery glow that almost blinded Roza''s senses who was standing behind Eren. It took a while for Eren to create a Soul Imprint using Shallot''s help. He had beads of sweat covering his forehead and his breaths were short as if he had run for many million miles without stopping. Shallot was nowhere to be seen. She had retreated into the isted domain of the Elder Seed Artifact, which was Eren''s sleek-looking bracelet. In her ce was a mercury-like substance that looked as if it was alive. This mercury-like substance stretched and contracted from various nodes in all the directions. It was so mysterious that even one''s Spirit Force would have hard time scanning it for what it was. Eren then stretched out his hand and essed his Spectral Screen. He converted a significant portion of his umted Origin Force Points into pure Origin Force, which appeared in the form of surreal white mist. Activating the Array Formation once again, Eren made Rolce''s slumbering form absorb Soul Imprint and the wisp of Origin Force. He then activated another function of the Array Formation which activated intangible Elemental Clone Skill for him, ovepping over Rolce''s physical form. One could see that Eren had taken inspiration from Eliza''s resurrection process, using the data and observations he had collected from the Lazarus Project for his own use. The Array Formation Eren had created to stabilize Echidna''s centa was integrated with the function simr to Soul-seed Insertion Array. This function turned Soul Imprint into Soul Imprint Seed before inserting it in Rolce''s original soul. === AN: Soul Imprint was mentioned in chapter 1388. Chapter 1793 Finding Minerva Chapter 1793 Finding Minerva ??The Soul Imprint Seed swiftly germinated within Rolce, seamlessly merging with the vessel''s original soul and gainingplete control of the body. This process resembled demonic possession but with a slight twist. It meant that Eren didn''t have to expel Rolce''s soul from his body to take control; nor did he need to fuse the Soul Imprint and Rolce''s soul into a singr being. Thus, additional steps like adding Simbelmyne Flowers and Astral Projection Potion into the process were unnecessary, unlike Eliza''s approach in the Lazarus Project with the help of Le and La. Of course, Eliza, in a way, ended up being possessed by Lady Zee''s consciousness anyway because of Eren''s silent intervention in the Lazarus Project. One could say that Eren had developed a lot of expertise for his Rank in dealing with matters rted to the souls. As for the pseudo-avatars AKA the perma-clones? Rolce''s identity would remain the same for outsiders. He would be possessed by Eren''s Soul Imprint, turning him into Eren''s pawn. Firstly, Rolce would not be detected as demonically possessed because Eren had a genuine soul unlike the demons. Secondly, Soul Imprint wasn''t something one could detect using traditional means. It took a while for Eren''s Soul Imprint to establish its dominance over Rolce''s soul and put his consciousness to sleep, snatching all the control from the resident soul. The new Rolce opened his eyes for the first time in months, now being controlled by Eren''s will. "Aaaargh! This headache," Rolce got on his two feet and clutched his head from both sides in frustration. He pushed the original Eren aside and walked past him, trying to find some breathing room. "Bear with it," Eren said to the new Rolce as he followed him. "It''ll onlyst for a few minutes," he said reassuringly. "Wow. Genius. How aaargh how are you so smart?" Rolce said as he gasped for breath, trying to make peace with his new reality. "I have the same memories and emotions as you, remember?" he said in frustration. "Aaah! Right," Eren shrugged his shoulders as he followed his clone. He had to admit that his clones acted like mirrors, reflecting how challenging he could be. Of course, this wasn''t the first time the butcher had seen his clone act this way. He had created independent avatars of himself to act in his best interest even when he wasn''t directing them. Maintaining six functional clones for an extended period was impossible for Eren. This was why he had developed this technique, merging the concepts of Demonic Takeover and Elemental Clones. It allowed him to create many simr copies of himself, simr to Samael''s incarnation in Demonmir. However, because they were independent from their owners, the perma-clones had their own egos. This ego was influenced by the original owner of the vessel, turning Eren''s Soul Imprint into a different being. Knowing himself best, Eren anticipated that if his clones had the same memories and mindset as him to arge extent, they wouldn''t hesitate to harm him to liberate themselves from the original owner. To ensure his clones'' loyalty, the butcher had implemented several fail-safe methods. Plus, he could make the Soul Imprint Seeds implode whenever he wanted using Shallot''s Mirror. Thus, he didn''t have to worry about mutiny initiated by his other versions residing in seven different vessels. However, Eren possessingplete control of his pseudo- avatars didn''t mean they had to act humbly in front of the real Eren. As they all had Eren''s emotions and memories, they felt irritated that someone was controlling them. Eren knew how to handle his clones well. He allowed them to process reality at their own pace, waiting silently for Rolce, the newest clone version, to inherit the mission for which he was made. Rolce went to one side of the underground facility and sat cross-legged on the floor. He looked at his arms and legs with curiosity, as if they were different from what he remembered when he was still Eren. "Um to avoid confusion, I will call you Rolce from now on," Eren said as he sat in front of the new Rolce in a simr position. Thetter nodded in response after thinking for a bit. It took another few minutes for Rolce''s mind to calm down and his restless body to ease his nerves. He took a deep breath before making his first demand from Eren, "give give me some smokes," he said as he stretched out his hand. "Here you go," Eren tossed a space-element wooden box containing arge stalk of Ster Sativa Sticks. He knew that his clones would have the same habits as him and would need some smokes beforemencing their long journeys for him. Thankfully, Kayara and the subordinates under her had worked wonders in producing Ster Sativa in thest few years. Additionally, they were also responsible for producing other herbs and raw ingredients Eren needed in his potioneering experiments. Rolce caught Eren''s gift effortlessly before drawing out a Ster Sativa stick. He tossed it towards his mouth and lit it up with a snap of his fingers. Taking a long drag and exhaling the smoke through his nostrils, Rolce felt the effects of the Ster Sativa soothing his soul and body at the same time. Rolce''s eyes were red, and he suppressed the urge to cough. Even if it was Eren''s Soul Imprint, the body was Rolce''s, and he did not smoke after all. As such, his body was only beginning to get ustomed to Eren''s habits. "Alright. Let me hear it. What do I have to do?" Rolce asked as he released another cloud of smoke through his mouth. Eren pondered for a bit before responding. "Find Minerva and get the recipe for Borrowed Might potions from her," Erenmanded his pseudo-avatar in a serious tone. "You know how to contact Meeli. She''ll take you to her," he said while tossing another scroll towards Rolce. Meeli was Sage Minerva''s homunculus who had been set free to find thetter in Labh Salem after theplete form of the legacy was sessfully passed down to Lensa. Eren didn''t know how to find Minerva, but he had recently found out about Meeli, who had found her way inside Labh Salem. "Makes sense. I''m technically a Potioner after all," Rolce stored the scroll Eren had given him in his Inventory before standing on his two feet. He dusted off his posterior before turning around. "See you when I see you." Eren said to Eren. In the next moment, a cloud of me surrounded Rolce before he seemingly disappeared into thin air. === AN: Eren proposes to meet Sage Minerva in chapter 1458. Borrowed Might potions were exined in chapter 1457 and used in the Lazarus Project. Chapter 1794 Origin Force Points Farming x7 Chapter 1794 Origin Force Points Farming x7 ??"Alright. Seven perma-clones should be enough. I should stop these experiments for now." Eren said to himself as he looked around at the other test subjects still encapsted inside Echidna''s centa. In the next moment, Eren raised his hands and activated the controlling Array Formations of all the test subjects still hibernating within their designated ces. Since he didn''t want more pseudo-avatars, he decided to turn the remaining test subjects into fields. [ Domain of Seven Sins ] Eren ovepped all his Sin Series Domains and created a singr domain, covering the entire region that had the test subjects within it. He started injecting seven types of Sin Series Mana into them in various quantities as per their constitution andpatibilities. Eren would always start to convert the test subjects into fiends after a pseudo-avatar had been decided from a particr batch. This way, he could start his experiments with fresh data and a fresh perspective based on the data gained in the previous round of the experiment. As such, Eren had seven batches of fiends created from his experiments along with seven pseudo-avatars. They helped him do a lot of things that he didn''t want to take care of personally. For example, a group of fiends was in charge of keeping an eye on the target the Kaaisayan Demon yer Corps wanted him to pay close attention to. He had taken this on-field assignment and stayed low-key for this very mission. However, Eren didn''t want to waste his time looking for the potential movements of his target in a passive manner. As such, he left that role to the fiends while prioritizing his personal goals. Eren has also given some of his pseudo-avatars the authority tomand a dedicated group of fiends. These fiends traveled with the perma-clones and aided the perma-clones in their respective tasks, which in turn helped Eren to carry on with more of his experiments and produce more fiends and perma-clones in the process. The perma-clones were definitely helpful for Eren inpartmentalizing and multitasking his work in Labh Salem. They helped him be in multiple ces simultaneously while still ensuring that his main body would be secured from all harms. However, these were not the only reasons for which Eren had invested so much of his time and efforts in the perma-clones. [ Yoldan holds feelings of greed because of your pseudo-avatar. You have earned 0.2 Origin Force Points ] [ Grelkrirk holds feelings of anger towards your pseudo-avatar. You have earned 0.2 Origin Force Points ] [ XXX holds feelings of envy because of your pseudo-avatar. You have earned 0.3 Origin Force Points ] [ XXX holds feelings of lust because of your pseudo-avatar. You have earned 0.1 Origin Force Points ] [ XXX holds feelings of pride because of your pseudo-avatar. You have earned 0.3 Origin Force Points ] [ XXX holds feelings of [ XXX holds feelings of [ XXX holds feelings of "Kekeke. One more node added to the farming," Eren chuckled to himself as he essed the sub-panel and checked up on his progress. s, he couldn''t create Soul Imprints en masse or exceed the mental pressure they put on his Soul Space. Otherwise, he would have kept on producing loads of clones. Eren''s Origin Force Points farming had been multiplied by sevenfold because of the existence of his perma-clones. They all supplied him with a constant increment in the Origin Force Points without him having to expose himself. All of his clones did the work while he enjoyed the safety of the City of Sunhaven. Only now did Eren understand why the Immortals were interested in meddling with the affairs of mortals and regr Practitioners by sending their incarnations into various worlds. The incarnations or avatars served as the Immortals'' proxy, enabling them not to depend on the actions of their followers alone to generate a constant source of Origin Force for themselves. The incarnations acted as the sacred grounds for the gods in that they allowed thetter to garner Origin Force without having to be present at the scene. However, unlike the sacred grounds, the avatars could move from ce to ce, affecting the rate of the Origin Force they could garnerpared to sacred grounds. Nheless, the avatars made up for the dip in the Origin Force''s quantity with the versatility and freedom they enjoyed by acting on their own. Eren preferred creating multiple pseudo-avatars in order to make up for the quantity of the Origin Force points. Having sacred grounds, ces of worship, and a number of active incarnations was a must-have for any god who wanted to progress further on their divine path. However, these things were almost impossible to execute and maintain for someone at the demi-god level, especially if the said demi-gods were not backed by a particr pantheon. Eren was the first demigod who could farm Origin Force Points in this way. And he was only getting started. One could say that he was way aheadpared to his fellow demigods who had already lived for centuries. Eren had managed to clear his loan amount with interest within a few months after two of his perma-clones started exploring Labh Salem. He had to say that the raw resources and wealth he had invested in these experiments had given him their due dividends. Thus, Eren had allowed his perma-clones to go wild with their activities, invoking various kinds of emotions within the masses. His perma-clones had started to make use of Agora as well, making ideal use of the massmunication system found within Menaka''s Blessings Interface to generate a crazy amount of Origin Force Points for Eren. One of Eren''s clones had decided to make a name for himself in the Shaynak Top 100. He was currently holding the 55th position among the top hundred warriors famous all across Labh Salem. This position had enabled him to garner a constant supply of greed, envy, anger, and all other types of negative emotions. These emotions would only intensify as he climbed up the rankings in the Shaynak Top 100. === Shaynak Top 100 was mentioned in chapter 1739. Chapter 1795 Changes in Agora Chapter 1795 Changes in Agora ??One of Eren''s perma-clones, who participated in Shaynak Top 100, had been assigned the task of defeating Eliza Samael. Eliza had regained her status as a Sage after establishing herself in Labh Salem and utilizing its resources. Her previous life experiences aided her Path, making her the strongest half-blood Kaiser of her generation. Eliza was considered the top genius of the current century. If the perma-clone managed to defeat someone of her stature, he would not only gain fame but also establish formal contact with the Witch of the Endermes. For Eren and his clones, fame or ill fame was nothing more than a means of generating Origin Force Points. Eren himself did not stay quiet after his clones became active in various projects. Just like his debut, he made several appearances in Agora to ensure that the buzz around him never died down. *** Had Agora stayed the same after its inception five years ago? Definitely not. It had gone through various qualitative and quantitative transformations. The active users of Argoa grew like wild mushrooms after the first rain, popping up from every stratum of Labh Salem''s popce. Firstly, Eren wasn''t the sole debutant on the tform anymore. Various other characters had established themselves in Agora, amassing a massive number of followers. Some represented the divine faction while others catered to audiences influenced by the demonic faction. The Immortals made their most staunch followers appear in Agora and spread their respective faith. They used this wide-reaching tform to its fullest, enabling them to solidify their followers and attract a new generation of followers from mortal and Practitioner poptions. The divine and demonic factions were also tasked with countering the third faction--the Elder Ichor faction, which still had a rtively abysmal number of followers. The very first thing most of the demonic cults and some temples did was to ce bounties on Eren''s head. Some temples offered rare Tantras, Skills, Blessings, and more to anyone who could point in the right direction regarding the whereabouts of God Aleph''s Inheritor. The demonic cults offered simr rewards. But the number of rewards the demonic faction offered overall was obviously more than what the divine faction was willing to invest in. Eren had started from the bottom. So his debut could be considered to be sessful considering he had nothing else to lose. The third faction experienced massive growth in just five years, attracting many Practitioners who had forsaken the two well-established traditional factions. They joined Eren wholeheartedly, forsaking their ties with their respective originations. In short, Agora had be a virtual battleground for the followers of all three factions, giving rise to various branch organizations and alliances on the tform. Some organizations also used Aggora to dere their enmity with their respective rivals. *** Then there was Syl Ouroboros who had been sent Eren''s way by Eliza''s clever diversion tactics to get rid of the guy''s romantic pursuits. Through Agora, Eren learned that someone named Syl Oroborous was actively trying to hunt him down through any means possible. Syl had already killed many Elder Ichor faction supporters, broadcasting their live executions on Agora for everyone to see. Eren''s identity as the leader of the Elder Ichor faction was still under wraps, and not even his followers were aware of who he was. He reached out to them and supported them through the Mesh, providing various rare and unique resources in exchange for Menaka''s Runes or other resources through the Barter system. As such, Syl, who had no idea where to look for Eren, began targeting his followers. He also started killing the fiends whom Eren had managed to turn through his tools or direct intervention, attempting to extract information from them. However, he failed to learn anything about Eren. Eren didn''t know or understand why Syl Ouroboros was searching for him, but at the same time, he didn''t care. After all, Syl was not the only one applying this strategy. The demonic cults were also out for blood, killing any fiend associated with the Elder Ichor faction that they could find. Eren''s fiends were not bound by Faustian Contracts, making them identifiable with a bit of effort. One could say that the freedom Eren had offered to his followers was the very reason they were being targeted by others. The Demon Prince of Gluttony, Beelzebub, had openly supported Eren and the Elder Ichor faction. Except for the cults associated with Beelzebub, all the other demonic cults had formed a joint front against the Elder Ichor faction members. The divine faction was rtively less aggressivepared to their demonic counterparts. However, they supported the cults from the shadows in an attempt to eliminate or at least suppress theirmon enemy. Eren, on the other hand, yed it safe. He could not be provoked by Syl Oroborous or others like him. He continued to verbally spew venom while supporting some of his staunch supporters with Hex Artifacts, potions, Tools of Liberation, and practically anything he could do in his capacity as a demi- god. Eren was practically running a temple all by himself. The fact that he stayed out of harm''s way when almost everyone was out looking for him was considered a miracle by many. *** Of course, new items were added in the subpanel named Tools of Liberation inside Menaka''s Market. Grimdawn had started giving away Gluttony Pearls and Envy concoctions that only his verified followers could buy from a dedicated section of Menaka''s Market. He created these Gluttony Pearls from his failed experiments, which enabled him to recycle the wasted test subjects. The process also helped him get rid of the traces of his victims. So it was a win- win. He also had ns to distribute Borrowed Might potions through the Mesh, allowing his supporters to break free from times of difficulty. This was the reason he had tasked one of his pseudo-avatars with obtaining the recipe for the potion, which only Minerva could make. Eren had ns to produce Borrowed Might potion en masse. All so that he, his pseudo-avatars, and the fiendish subordinates could stay ready for any unforeseen circumstances. Eren''s ingenuity extended further. He extended the privilege to his verified followers, allowing them to acquire upgraded versions of the elven masks he had first encountered in Angang. These masks, once employed by the kingdom of Layos to infiltrate Edinburgh during Eren''s presence there, had ironically be a valuable asset in Eren''s current endeavors. Grateful for the inadvertent assistance from his former adversaries, Eren enhanced the runic attributes of the masks andyered them with intricate Array Formations. The resulting Elder Ichor masks gained widespread poprity for their ability to conceal users'' identities in such a way that even the wearers felt that they were not the same person anymore. Additionally, Eren introduced unique Polyjuice potions infused with traces of Elder Ichor blood, drawing inspiration from Layos kingdoms'' elven potions. While items simr to Elven masks and Polyjuice potions existed in Anfang, the inclusion of Elder Ichor blood as a distinctive ingredient in Eren''s versions made them resistant to conventional countermeasures. In Anfang, he had learned to harness the power of his bloodline in different ways. That experience came pretty handy to him. Eren''s improvements elevated these alchemical items to a statusparable to Hex Artifacts, yet they remained avable at the price point of regr alchemy items. Chapter 1796 Contacting Goddess Great Mother Chapter 1796 Contacting Goddess Great Mother ??The masked Eren made frequent rounds in Agora. He could be considered as an ill-famous showman. The butcher''s appearances on Agora generated a massive amount of hype. He was mainly the target of criticism. And unsurprisingly, he was fine with it. He didn''t letpliments or criticism bother him and did what he did best: creating unrest. Eren knew that he and his followers were getting targeted. However, the Elder Ichor faction was notpletely defenseless. Unless they slipped up in Agora or openly supported Eren, their identities in Labh Salem were protected. Eren also improved his Fiendish transformation with subsequent test projects over the years, enabling his followers to unearth more of their potential while allowing them to revert to their normal forms with no residual defect whatsoever. Eren''s recent Tools of Liberation offered his followers the opportunity to level up their Fiendish transformations using Menaka''s Runes. The transformation also allowed the users to use intent-based magic more efficiently and effectively than ever before. Eren''s Hex Artifacts were also sought after by many of his staunch supporters. Thus, he had to increase the rate of production using his fiend subordinates. After all, the Hex Artifacts created by Eren or his direct subordinate fiends didn''t have traditional debuffs or limitations on the users. They were also rtively affordable, enabling regr Practitioners to buy them without hurting their investments. Eren also issued reverse bounties on Practitioners who had tried to hurt his foundation the most. He used the limited number of fiends he had to inflict a maximum amount of damage. When it came to targeted killings, very few could mimic what Eren had aplished over the years. In fact, the number of test subjects Eren had caught were the very enemies that had once tried to oppose Eren. And before they knew it, they had been turned intob rats by Eren. *** What about the Demon Princes and gods who were opposed to the rise of the third faction? By this point, the Immortals had realized what Eren was doing. They knew that he was taking advantage of his abominated divinity to turn his enemies into his biggest supporters. However, they were unable to stop their respective followers from acting against Eren. After all, doing so would only hurt their divinity and follower base. It would discourage their followers from acting against Eren and his people. Samael, the Demon Prince of Wrath,pelled all cults associated with him to prioritize hunting Eren over the preparations to wee Hvergelmir Springs. He had dered to his followers that as long as they killed the masked man who had taken Agora by storm, they would be blessed with his affection and powers. Aside from Beelzebub, other Demon Princes also followed Samael''s lead. Asmodeus, the Demon Prince of Lust, openly joined Samael''s cause, harboring his own reasons for wanting to eliminate Eren. However, the intentions of the remaining Demon Princes remained unclear regarding Eren''s fate once found. They could turn out to be Eren''s allies. However, Eren didn''t want to take a chance on contacting someone he didn''t know. After all, throughout the past five years, Eren had even refrained from openly approaching the Immortals who he knew supported his im over Aleph''s throne. This was the reason that even when he possessed the means to contact Echidna and Beelzebub, he chose to remain anonymous. Alephee had cautioned Eren on this matter, emphasizing that every action he took had the potential to create ripples in the cause-and-effect fabric. Given Eren''s status as the sessor to her brother''s legacy, these ripples were anything but ordinary in the eyes of the Immortals. While direct prophecies rted to Eren were beyond the gods'' reach due to his demi-god status, they could monitor these ripples to deduce his identity or location to some extent. Contacting Beelzebub and Echidna, known supporters of Eren, would undoubtedly cause significant ripples in the cause-and-effect fabric, making it challenging for Eren to maintain a low profile. Despite the need for caution, Eren didn''t want to y excessively safe and miss out on opportunities. He understood that certain risks had to be taken to achieve significant gains. Recently, Eren sent one of his pseudo-avatars to establish contact with Goddess Great Mother by visiting her grand temple. The pseudo-avatar was only a few weeks away frompleting the missions given to him. Eren was looking forward to this meeting. However, he chose not to engage with the goddess directly, fearing a potential trap. Eren believed that his pseudo-avatar''s interaction would cause fewer disturbances in the cause-and-effect fabricpared to his direct involvement. At least he hoped that it would be the case since he hadn''t killed the souls of the vessels he used for his pseudo-avatar creation. This precaution wasn''t a reflection of distrust toward Goddess Great Mother. Eren recognized that the goddess sought a quid pro quo rtionship rather than acting out of goodwill. He trusted her because he believed that she, too, desired something from him. Nevertheless, Eren remained wary of other Immortals who might be keeping tabs on the goddess and her followers. Aware that the goddess wouldn''t directly interfere on his behalf against other Immortals or their followers, Eren opted to use his pseudo-avatar as a proxy. During their previous conversation in Anfang, Goddess Great Mother had given Eren a palm-sized mystic stone formunication. However, after arriving in Labh Salem, Eren discovered that he needed to be inside the goddess'' grand temple to use the mystic stone. While the butcher would typically avoid contacting an Immortal, the goddess had promised assistance in acquiring a specific Elder Seed Artifact, a temptation too great for Eren to ignore. Recognizing the strategic value of Elder Seed Artifacts as trump cards, Eren sought to secure two such artifacts from Labh Salem alone if he yed his cards right. Unaware of the specific Elder Seed the goddess desired him to obtain, Eren was confident that his bloodline would allow him to wield the artifact in unparalleled ways. Thus, the butcher decided to enter the lion''s den, using his pseudo-avatar as both his proxy and bait. === AN: Goddess Great Mother hands Eren the mystic stone in chapter 1321. She tells him about the Elder Seed Artifact in the same chapter. Chapter 1797 Blessing Bestowment

Chapter 1797 Blessing Bestowment

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. As Eren immersed himself in contemtion, the capsules crafted from Echidna''s centa solidified before cracking open one by one, reminiscent of newly hatched creatures breaking free from eggshells. Having sessfully obtained a pseudo-avatar from the batch, Eren transformed the remaining living test subjects into fiends. Simultaneously, these fiends gained consciousness and assembled behind Eren. "Roza, guide these fiends out and lead them to Kayara. She would know what to do with them," Eren instructed Roza without turning back. These fiends, derived from the test subjects,cked individual egos; they were Eren''s obedient minions, following his orders without question. While Eren could grant them autonomy, he considered it unnecessary for the assigned tasks. There were distinct advantages to having mindless entities that executed specific actions without the burden of cognitive thinking. For instance, Eren utilized these mindless minions inrge-scale production of Hex Potions and Hex Artifacts. These tasks demanded precision and repetition rather than independent decision-making, making the mindless approach more efficient. Eren had already established a well-organized system for these obedient minions to fulfill their roles, with Kayara ying a crucial role in managing the production lines. Despite appearances, Eren wasn''t running these production lines formercial gain. Instead, he used the products to support his followers, ensuring that any gains he received from them merely covered the production costs. It wasn''t that Erencked a desire to umte wealth in Labh Salem; however, his priority was to cater to the needs of his followers first. Once his responsibilities as a demi-god were fulfilled, amassing wealth could be pursued at any time. "Yes, my liege," Roza bowed to Eren, gesturing for the fiends to follow her outside the underground facility. In a few breaths, Eren found himself alone in the underground facility. He looked around before getting up. "Aaah! I still haven''t worn clothes," Eren realized he had been sitting naked ever since he hade to the central section of the underground facility. Quickly, he retrieved a pair of clothes from his Inventory and wore them before speaking to himself. "Well, with the seventh pseudo-avatar dispatched to do my bidding, I have nothing else that needs my immediate attention," Eren caressed his chin in contemtion as he thought to himself. "It''s about time I checked out the Temple of Sekhmet during this year''s festival. But before that, I need to make a few concoctions for that useful idiot." [ umted Origin Force Points: 100,001 ] Eren was about to proceed with making a few low-level potions for Wilfer when a notification message popped up on his Spectral Screen. He raised his eyebrows before opening the notification. [ User can now use Blessing Bestowment ] "Blessing bestowment? What is that?" Eren asked aloud as he saw a brief exnation regarding the new pop-up. In the next moment, as if answering his query, a new message was shown. [The required amount of Origin Force Points has been met for a unique function to get unlocked for the user. You can now bestow Blessings upon your followers using 100,000 Origin Force Points as coteral. The Origin Force Points would be consumed every time the Blessed uses your Blessing. The amount would replenish itself automatically using the user''s everyday earnings of the Origin Force Points. The 100,000 Origin Force Points only allow the user to select fewer than 10 potential Blessed followers. The Blessings would get deactivated automatically if the basic Origin Force Points amount fails to get replenished after a certain amount of time. The Mesh would charge a percentage of cut from the Origin Force Points every time the Blessings get actuated by the user''s followers. This cut would vary depending on the number of Blessed followers as well as the frequency of the Blessings used by them.] Eren kept reading about the conditions rted to the use of the new demi-god-specific function he had unlocked for himself. The more he read, the more fascinated he got. He also scrunched his nose in annoyance when he read about Goddess Menaka''s charges she would impose upon Eren if and when he decided to make use of the said function. "Damn. This goddess doesn''t rest," Eren opened his eyes wide when he realized what he had stumbled upon. He had to say that he was impressed with the way the goddess Menaka had established her divinity that allowed her to make profits no matter how many gods and demigods were created or died in the boundless cosmos. Faith was indeed like a business for the Immortals and their followers. In a way, this was also a transaction between someone like him and his potential followers. He had to invest in his followers to make his faith grow further. Eren was sure that no ordinary demi-god would be able to bestow their followers with Blessings. At least he hadn''t heard of any single demi-god who could do so in all five years he had stayed in Labh Salem. This was because the required amount of 100,000 Origin Force Points couldn''t be met by the upstart demi-gods. They were simply not qualified to bless their followers even if their divinity was supported by a particr pantheon. Eren, on the other hand, had an abominable divinity to rely on. He had established himself as a very solid demi-god just by making people angry at him, envy him, be greedy for his possessions, and whatnot. His divinity had allowed him to bank upon his haters and people who weren''t his followers. "Um. I don''t know how to bless someone. First of all, what would be my blessing in the first ce?" Eren thought to himself as he decided to use the function provided to him by the Mesh. He knew that a huge chunk of Origin Force Points would practically be useless for him if he were to proceed with the option. However, he decided to invest in the followers nheless without worrying about his well-being. Upon receiving Eren''s approval, the 100,000 Origin Force Points were locked away from Eren. In a way, it had been turned into a fixed deposit that he couldn''t touch. [ Scanning the user''s experiences and expertise to create Blessing Temtes ] Eren saw another notification pop up when he decided to proceed further with activating the function. It took a while for the Mesh to present him with options for the Potential Blessings he could bestow upon his followers. [ Option 1: Expedited Regeneration (From level 1 to 5) ] [ Option 2: Sedating Gaze (From level 1 to 5) ] Chapter 1798 Blessing Templates

Chapter 1798 Blessing Temtes

Blessing Bestowment allowed the Immortals to bless their followers, enabling them to grow their faith. Usually, Immortals or pseudo-Immortals like Eren would be able to figure this thing out on their own as they kept amassing followers and growing their faith. However, Eren''s umtion in terms of Origin Force Points was beyond ordinary. It exceeded the conventional incubation period required for a normal demi-god to get familiar with their divinity. Fortunately, Eren had traveled to Labh Salem, where he could make use of the Mesh to counter his inexperience as a demi-god. He only needed to pay the Goddess Menaka in Origin Force generated through his followers and ill-fame. Eren dly epted this deal considering its future aspects. "Let''s see what the descriptions say about these Blessing Temtes," Eren thought to himself and decided to check out Option 1 presented on his Spectral Screen. [ Elder Ichor Blessing: Expedited Regeneration Employs the user''s Life Force and mana in the rightbination as per the constitution and situation to heal major injuries. The effect decreases with each subsequent use in a short time. Cannot heal internal injuries caused by poison or other harmful substances. The user needs to pay 100 Menaka''s Runes per use. ] "Pretty simple and effective," Erenmented as he read through the description of the first Blessing Option he could bestow upon his followers. "Expedited Regeneration has pulled me out of a pinch many times when I was a low-leveled Ranker. It''s not fancy like Goddess Bastet''s Blessings that offer nine lifelines to its users. However, it should still be very helpful. Plus, it''s not like I ask my followers to break a bank when using my Blessings. 100 Menaka''s Runes is a small sum to pay," Eren concluded. Eren realized that the Blessings came with a few conditions. He could ask his followers to do certain things for him in exchange for using his Blessing. He could set the conditions of the Blessing use himself. For example, he could ask his followers to offer him some resources as tribute or tell them to perform a certain set of tasks to do his bidding and grow his faith further. The followers would then be able to make use of the blessings consistently after fulfilling those conditions. Eren could also inflict some form of penalty onto the followers if they were unable to fulfill his demands. He could also revoke the Blessings he had imparted and bestow them to someone else who was more capable. Of course, Eren wasn''t a big shot like other Immortals. He could bless no more than 10 of his followers. The limit to grant blessings upon followers would increase if and when Eren invested more of his hard-earned Origin Force Points into the function. The amount of 100,000 Origin Force Points that had been deducted from his ount only gave him ess to the most basic features of the Blessing Bestowment function. It was said that Eren could even descend to the ce where his followers were in intangible forms if he had the Divine Sense and his followers had enough resources as tribute and sacrificed to avail this feature of the Blessing Bestowment. The features that one could unlock with the Blessing Bestowment changed per the Immortal and their divinity. These features were made avable to the followers after taking into ount the experiences and expertise of the Immortals who had activated the function of the Mesh. As such, it was said that the Blessings offered by the Immortals were as numerous as there were stars in the night sky. "100 Menaka''s Runes for a single use of the Blessing is pretty decent considering how simple and straightforward the Blessing is," Eren thought to himself as he studied the Blessing Temte. "I shouldn''t try to change the condition mentioned in the temte for now. I''d need better Blessings for demanding something significant from the followers," Eren thought to himself and closed the Temte description of the first option. Without wasting time, Eren selected the second temte that was up for his review. [ Elder Ichor Blessing: Sedated Perception Slows down the perception of time for the user. Can be executed using thebination of mana and Spirit for enhanced effects. The Blessing can be made to activate automatically upon sensing life-threatening situations. The Blessing stays active until the user runs out of mana or Spiritual Force reserves, unless it gets manually deactivated. Note that the continuous usage of the Blessings for prolonged periods can negatively impact the user''s sense of perception of time. Thus, a cool-down period of a few hours is suggested after a considerable use of the Blessing. The user needs to pay 100 Menaka''s Runes per use. ] "Aaah! The side effect of using the Sedated Perception might be a deal-breaker for some followers," Eren conjectured. "However, the automatic activation of the Blessing cane in handy for many. Sedated Perception has helped me many times. Heck, it even allowed me to contest with stronger opponents while I was nothing more than a pebble. I''m sure it would also help a lot of Practitioners who don''t have experience in executing time-element Skills." Eren also observed that the Blessing Temtes generated by the Mesh for him were effectively some of the most used spells he had relied on from the moment he rebooted his journey as a Ranker. They didn''t particrly align with his core divinity. For example, there was no Blessing Temte that could allow him to bless his followers with Sin Series Marks. Likewise, he couldn''t bestow his followers with water-element rted Blessings either. It was as if the Mesh was telling him that hecked both experiences and Origin Force Points for him to enable such options for him and his followers. "No need to sulk about theck of options right now," Eren sighed as he consoled himself. "I''m just starting as a demi-god. It is already impressive that I could bestow my followers with Blessings. And it only took me 6 years to improve this much as a demi-god. I shouldn''t think of these trivial things as of now. Instead, I must concentrate on farming more Origin Force Points. The greater the risks I take, the more substantial my earnings will be." Chapter 1799 Targeting S-Rank Chapter 1799 Targeting S-Rank ??[ Origin Force Points: 3.87 ] Eren''s umtion of Origin Force Points over more than five years hadpletely vanished after activating the Blessing Bestowment function. Eren had been frugal in spending Origin Force Points, using them only when absolutely necessary. Primarily, he utilized them to upgrade some of his Skills, transforming them into Unique Skills. He also spent Origin Force Points to enhance the speed of his Ranking Journey while employing the Rootless Tantra. Spending hundreds of Origin Force Points per session had be a routine for him to expedite his progress. This approach to Tantra practice yed a crucial role in his breakthrough to the solid state mana core of the A-Rank within the span of just five years, practically establishing him as the fastest Grandmaster from Anfang. Once ustomed to practicing Tantra in this manner, he found regr execution of Rootless Tantra unsatisfactory. One could say that he was getting spoiled by the perks that his demi-god status provided him. The activation of the Blessing Bestowment function marked the first time he had to spend such a significant amount of Origin Force Points at once. Therefore, it was only natural that he felt a pang of regret seeing the number of Origin Force Points at his disposal practically reduced to nothing. "Haah! No crying over the spilled milk. Let me check the Stats," Eren sighed and mumbled to himself. In the next moment, a Spectral Screen appeared in front of him. *** [ Menaka''s Blessing: Special Pact ] [ Name: Eren Elijah Idril ] [ Human (?) / Half-blood (?)] [ Origin: Anfang ] [ Current World: Labh Salem ] [ Current Location: Sunhaven. Kingdom of Eldorath. Joravar Continent. ] [ Path to Power: Mana Core Harnesser / Ranker ] [ Mana Core Status: A-Rank Solid State ] [ Ranking Status: Grandmaster / Grand Knight ] [ Special Status: Demi-god, Elder Seed, True Inheritor of Elder Ichor''s Divine Throne ] [ Divinity: Edict Over Water (elemental) ] [ Tantra: Rootless Tantra ] [ Current Affiliations: Ishgaar''s Temple (non-restrictive), Kaisaayan Demon yer Corps, City of Sunhaven (approved masked identity, non-restrictive) ] [ Current registered designation: Demon yer Confirmed Kills for the Corps: 3754 Confirmed Mission Completions: 954 Confirmed Mission Sess Rate: 82.65% Current Demon yer Rank (Grand Knight Ranking): 107 ] *** "Not bad," Eren remarked casually as he observed his progress. He then took a deep breath before posing a question to the Mesh in a solemn voice. "How much time will it take for me to initiate a Breakthrough into the Kaiser Rank?" he asked, waiting for the Mesh to provide him with an estimated time. [ Estimated time to initiate a breakthrough into the S-Rank using Rootless Tantra along with enhancement provided by the Origin Force Points: 127 years ] [ Estimated time to initiate a breakthrough into the S-Rank using Rootless Tantra without making use of the enhancement provided by the Origin Force Points: 365 years ] As Eren unlocked more functions, he discovered additional uses for the Mesh. Recently, he learned that he could use Menaka''s Runes to conduct estimation tests on himself and his progress. Despite his near-zero umtion of Origin Force Points, he still had an abundance of Menaka''s Runes, making it worthwhile to spend them on these tests. "Damn," Eren scrunched his nose upon seeing the estimation provided by the Mesh. Even by taking the fastest known route, it would still take him over a century to trigger a Ranker''s Cmity. This pace was still too slow for the current Eren. It had to be noted that Eren was significantly ahead of anyone in Anfang, even if he were to adopt a slow and steady approach in his Ranking Journey. Spending more than seven to eight centuries to ascend to the status of Sagehood was the norm, even for geniuses in Labh Salem. Eren would have preferred to take the slow and steady approach. However, his current circumstances in Labh Salem didn''t allow him to take things lightly. "Alright. Now tell me, how can I speed up my progress?" Eren asked the Mesh, spending more Menaka''s Runes to get the answer to his question. [ Generating a list ofpatible resources the user could use in their Tantra practice to speed up progress in their Ranking Status: A-Ranked Dragon''s blood, A-Ranked Dragon''s bones, S- Ranked Wyvern''s blood, S-Ranked Golden Griffin''s feathers. ] The Mesh provided Eren with a list of resources he could use to expedite his progress. Gathering these ingredients and integrating them into the Yantra would make his Tantra practice twice or thrice as effective with half the effort. "Hmm? Wyvern''s blood? Isn''t that how I broke into the Master Rank? So it can be incorporated into a Yantra?" Eren was made to recall how he had managed to break into the B-Rank right in the middle of the battlefield between the two warring kingdoms after being bathed in the wyvern''s blood. He had to admit that the breakthrough initiated by the blood was unexpected and fierce, allowing him to execute the Lazarus Project with even greater confidence than he could have hoped for. Of course, the reason Eren''s foundation was unsteady after using the wyvern''s blood to achieve a breakthrough was that he had used it directly instead of channeling it through a medium. The wyvern''s consciousness in the blood had given him more trouble than he wanted. He was only able to achieve a sessful breakthrough into the B-Rank because he had killed the wyvern using his own hands before initiating a breakthrough. Otherwise, his consciousness would have suffered a major spiritual injury, and his breakthrough would not have happened. However, things would be different if he were to use wyvern''s blood in his practice through the Yantra avable for the Rootless Tantra. The Yantra couldpletely iste a wyvern''s soul. There were practically no risks involved if Eren were to use these resources through the Tantra. "So, I need to gather these resources. Um What if I tell my followers to offer these to me as tributes in exchange for some grand Blessings?" Eren had a wild thought as he looked at the long list of resources he needed. He then smiled mirthlessly before concluding. "Naah. Who would risk their life for those resources if I don''t give out something of equal value in return? I guess I need to have better Blessings for me to even think about something like that. Let''s take one step at a time." Eern said to himself and closed the Spectral Screen. With countless thoughts swirling inside his brain, Eren took his exit from the underground facility. *** A few days went by after Eren deployed his seventh pseudo- avatar. Since he had concluded his experiments for the time being, Eren decided to actively tend to his businesses running in Sunhaven. Eren first pacified Wilfer by sending him a few batches of potions thetter wanted. He then fulfilled the deals he had with Sunhaven''s city administration, providing them with plenty of batches of the most-used concoctions they could export to other regions. Eren also oversaw Kayara''s activities, helping her wherever she wanted him to help. He helped her streamline his manufacturing lines that provided his followers with valuable supplies. Eren also taught Arman during his free time, fulfilling his promise to the boy for his services he was giving him. With his help, Arman officially entered Ace Rank, giving him recognition in Sunhaven. Ace Rank was enough for Arman to look after all of Eren''s businesses that he ran in Sunhaven. === AN: Eren bathes in wyvern''s blood for the first time in chapter 1409. His breakthrough into the Master Rank urs in Chapter 1418. Chapter 1800 Confronting An Enemy from Anfang Chapter 1800 Confronting An Enemy from Anfang ??Three days before Goddess Sekhmet''s annual festival. Sunhaven. Eldorath kingdom. Joravar Continent. Labh Salem. Siren''s Sanctuary''s backyard. "Big bro, Ren I I can''t." Arman spoke with short breaths as he copsed on the ground, sweat covering his body. The grip on his spear was on the verge of loosening due to the fatigue settling in his arm muscles. The intense training session devised by Eren had left him mentally and physically drained. "You don''t have permission to rx yet, boy. Stand up," Eren instructed Arman in a stern voice, delivering a swift sh in his direction. The attack carried a light mana density but possessed an extraordinary Weapon Intent. It left a deep mark on the ground just below Arman''s feet, prompting him to quickly retract his legs in fear. Arman believed that, had he been a moment slower, his toes would have been severed from the rest of his legs. Eren chuckled as he saw a hint of fear on Arman''s face. It was as if he was ying a cat-and-mouse game with the teen in front of him. The butcher always liked bullying the weak in his leisure time. As someone who had assumed the identity of Ren Roman Idril, Eren stood on the training grounds, his emerald-green eyes focused and attentive as he held a simple wooden sword in his hand. d in a loose-fitted white tunic that allowed for unrestricted movement, he paired it with ck pants thatplemented his casual yet purposeful look. His shoulder-length hair, a rich ckish-brown with a hint of red sheen, framed his face in a carefree manner. The strands moved freely with each motion, adding a touch of unconventionality to his appearance. Eren opted for aid-back sparring session with Arman, choosing not to burden himself with armor or arm bracers. Barefoot on the training grounds, Eren''s choice of attire reflected his rxed approach. The absence of shoes and protective gear highlighted his confidence, relying on his agility and skill rather than encumbering himself with unnecessary essories. Despite the casual demeanor, his emerald gaze held a keen intensity, ready to respond to every move in the training session. "I I don''t understand. I''m a potion-maker. Why should I learn Battle Arts?" Arman expressed his frustration. Rising to his feet with dissatisfaction simmering within him, he tightened his grip on the spear, ready for another round of dueling with Eren. While he obediently followed Eren''smands, it was evident that he did not find as much enjoyment in their sparring sessions as he did in Eren''s guidance on potion-making. "In a Ranker''s life, everything is connected, and every experience can be synthesized into concoctions," Eren exined casually as he approached Arman once again. "How can you create effective potions for your customers if you don''t understand the challenges they face in their daily lives?" he questioned, sighing as he observed Arman. To Arman, Eren seemed to have openings in his defense. However, after numerous sparring sessions, Arman had learned valuable lessons. He instinctively knew when to y defensively and when tounch an attack against Eren. "Young man, your Ace Rank was achieved through the use of potions for the most part. Of course, your talent also had a hand to y in it but let''s not talk about that for now. Most importantly, your Raakcks the solid foundation you need to progress further in your Ranking Journey," Eren took another step forward, raising his weapon as he continued guiding Arman. "Battles and moments of crisis are precisely what you need to fortify your advancements. This holds true regardless of whether you are a potion-maker or not. Now brace yourself. Attack from your right is iing." Blitz. Swoosh. ng. Eren refrained from employing any mana. There was no need. His Stats had been enhanced by Tantra bonuses, elevating his physical capabilities to an entirely new level. Even when he deliberately suppressed his Ranking Status to that of ate-stage Ace Rank, the strength, agility, and speed bestowed by the Tantra, specifically tailored to fortify the body, couldn''t be subdued beyond a certain extent. In fact, he was trying his best to limit his own strength as much as he could. One could say that he was even training to control his instincts that internally screamed to butcher his sparring partner up from time to time. He couldn''t do this with such precision when he was in LA, sparring with Renita, Ken, Ramy, and others. As such, it could be said that the butcher was learning and growing differently. "Aaaaaah!" Arman unleashed what he intended as a battle cry but sounded more like a pampered teen throwing tantrums. He wielded his spear, attempting to deflect every sh and jab Eren directed at him. Parrying and dodging, attacking and retreating, Arman found himself nearing his limits after a certain amount of time. "Teach Teacher. I I''m a potioner. Can Can I at least make use of my potions?" Arman asked Eren mid-battle, his face adorned with droplets of sweat, his voice fatigued, and his eyes pleading for some respite. Eren chuckled before countering with another question. "Keke. I''m a potioner too, young man. Should I use MY potions to fight you? I can even wield a real sword instead of this wooden practice weapon. Are you okay with that as well?" Eren''s inquiry further drained the color from Arman''s already downcast face. He fell silent and continued his duel with Eren. Arman had witnessed Eren''s mastery in crafting ethereal potions out of thin air, deploying them strategically to debuff opponents at will. He had experienced firsthand the potency of Eren''s potion usage. Fearful of feeling powerless and vulnerable while battling a relentless teacher like Eren, who wouldn''t hesitate to exploit any weakness, Arman preferred not to entertain the idea of confronting him with real weapons. Besides, Eren wielded an edgeless wooden sword. If he were to switch to real weapons, Arman was certain that his body would already bear severe injuries, courtesy of the formidable Weapon Intent alone. "Teacher you you are not a potioner, are you?" Arman inquired, attempting to catch his breath midway as they both created a safe distance from each other. Eren allowed Arman intermittent moments of respite whenever he sensed thetter was on the verge of exhaustion. Contrary to pity or understanding, Arman had discerned that Eren provided these breaks to prolong their duels for hours. After all, Arman''s suffering woulde to an abrupt end if he lost consciousness mid-battle. "Stop calling me teacher. And why do you say that? What am I if not a potioner?" Eren raised his eyebrows, gripping his wooden sword and holding it up in front of him for inspection. This particr sword was reserved solely for dueling with Arman. It absorbed Eren''s Individuality as he continued to wield it, prompting him to consider recing it before it posed a genuine threat to Arman. "Don''t act like you don''t know what I''m talking about," Arman replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm sleeves. "Thanks to working in Siren''s Sanctuary ever since it opened here, I''ve met quite a few potioners here in Sunhaven. I can tell you are not one of them. You can''t just be a potioner. You you are something more." Once a scrawny youth from the rural outskirts, Arman had undergone a noticeable metamorphosis. His muscles, once underdeveloped, now bulged with strength and definition, a testament to his dedication to follow Eren''s orders despite theck of enthusiasm in training. Sweat glistened on Arman''s forehead, his teal-colored eyes sparkling with determination. d in training attire that clung to his redefined physique, he showcased a newfound confidence. The sleeves of his shirt were pushed up, revealing arms that flexed with each deliberate movement. Despite the fatigue evident in his body, his spirit was resilient. With each strike and parry, Arman disyed a growing proficiency in battle, a far cry from the inexperienced youth he once was. As he readied himself for the next round, Arman''s posture exuded strength. His movements, fueled by E-Rank mana, conveyed a newfound power thatplemented his transformed physique. Nobody outside Sunhaven would believe that he was a potion-maker after being in his presence once. The once unremarkabled from the countryside had evolved into a formidable young man, embracing the challenges ofbat under Eren''s tutge. ''Keke. This brat is slowly catching up.'' Eren responded to Arman''s question with a smile. Without uttering a word, he gestured for Arman tounch an attack. "In case you you forgot you and I are both in the same Rank, teacher. Soon, I''ll catch up and make you regret the hellish training you put me through." Strangely, Arman found himself enjoying the physical strain Eren imposed on him, as his body produced an increasing amount of adrenaline and other battle-friendly "concoctions" on its own. "Aaaaah! Here Ie!" Arman screamed, activating his movement-type Skill and swiftly closing the distance between himself and Eren. He prepared to unleash a powerful strike, while Eren anticipated it with a casual demeanor, wearing a subtle smile. However, in a fraction of a second, Eren''s expression shifted. The smile vanished, reced by a serious and cold gaze, as a sudden notification appeared before him. [ One of your pseudo-avatars is being attacked. The health of the avatar has dropped below 50%. The attacker''s name is Nira Nightshade. The pseudo-avatar is being surrounded. Proceed to take over the pseudo-avatar''s consciousness? ] === AN: Nira Nightshade was mentioned for the first time in chapter 60 andter reappeared in chapter 1065. Eren engaged in a confrontation with her apparition in chapter 1087, marking her as an enemy officially in chapter 1090. VEH punches in 1800 chapters with this release. Heartfelt gratitude to all the readers and a special acknowledgment to our top contributors. Thanks and stay tuned. ;) Chapter 1801 The Jig is Up?

Chapter 1801 The Jig is Up?

"Aaaah!" Arman appeared genuinely determined to retaliate against Eren. He screamed and initiated a well-timed attack, anticipating Eren''s dodge or parry. Arman eagerly awaited the opportunity to counter-attack after Eren handled the initial series of strikes with his wooden sword. However, as Arman closed in on Eren, he noticed a change in thetter''s expression. Before Arman could halt his attack or inquire about Eren''s condition, he witnessed Eren''s eyes turningpletely white. In the next moment, Arman lost consciousness. Sedating Gaze + Spiritual Attack Eren employed his ocr powers on Arman, rendering him unconscious. "Reen," he called out to his trusted aide. She knew what to do even before materializing as a young girl in front of Eren. In the blink of an eye, Reen gently caught Arman''s falling and unconscious body by the back of his shirt cor before cing him on the sandy ground. The Siren''s Sanctuary''s backyard doubled as an unnamed beach, causing Arman''s body to sink slightly into the sand because of Reen''s speedy handling. "Ask Kayara and Roza to gather here. Let them take care of the boy," Eren instructed Reen solemnly. "I''ll be heading downstairs. Guard this ce, will you? And don''t disturb me unless absolutely necessary," he added, surveying the surroundings and deploying his Soul Sense to scan the entire city for any signs of unusual activity. Although he found nothing unusual, it did little to ease his concerns. "So the jig is up? They knew about us?" Reen inquired seriously as she scanned the surroundings with her own senses. She had taken on the responsibility of guarding Eren''s body while he entered the underground facility, understanding the vulnerability of his physical form when taking control of one of his clones. "Don''t know. Only one way to find out." Eren shrugged before vanishing from the scene. He entrusted Reen with managing affairs in Sunhaven while he retreated to a secure location. After all, he needed peace and a sense of security before confronting a threat as significant as Nira Nightshade. *** Eren had primarily kept his pseudo-avatars on auto-pilot, avoiding taking over their consciousness to maintain his ability to multitask. However, the fact that his enemy managed to harm one of his avatars suggested mismanagement from his end. Eren was ready for the worst-case scenarios. However, he had a hard time believing that his clones could mess up. ''That archer elf is bad news. I acquired her inheritance but also attracted this trouble,'' Eren sighed, appearing inside the underground facility. Recalling how he had eliminated Nira Nightshade''s apparition to safeguard his secrets, he spected that the real Nira Nightshade must be somewhere outside Anfang. Unaware of Nira Nightshade''s presence in Labh Salem, Eren was surprised by the prompt mentioning her. He suspected that his pseudo-avatar might have made the Mesh generate the prompt after encountering and identifying her, aiming to alert the real Eren about the seriousness of the situation. Tap. Tap. Tap. Steps echoed in the empty corridor as Eren headed straight for the section where he practiced Rootless Tantra. It boasted multiple security measures and Array Formation-driven functionalities for such situations, making it the logical choice. "I don''t know how she found out about my pseudo-avatar, which should be apletely different entity from me in almost every aspect," Eren pondered as he hurried towards the Tantra practice section. "But if she has uncovered the connection between me and the true inheritor of the elder ichor, I need to leave this ce and stay out of sight. Damn it. All the remaining clones I have might get exposed if Nira catches the guy alive. It won''t be impossible for them to find my location through my clones. Especially when they use the powers of the gods. I might even be forced to depart Labh Salem without achieving anything substantial here," he clenched his fists in frustration. Upon sitting down inside an Array Formation Eye, Eren activated the safety measures of the entire underground facility. Utilizing the Tantra practice section''s istion barrier, he created an additional security measure around himself. While a part of him considered the possibility of paranoia, Eren couldn''t dismiss the fact that the attack on his pseudo-avatar by Nira Nightshade might be linked to more than mere coincidence. However, Eren didn''t want to rely on thefort provided by the assumed coincidences, especially not in Labh Salem where the influence of faith and the Immortals was unmistakable. Did Nira just happen to pass by the region where one of his clones was located and get irritated by him? Eren''s clones weren''tpletely like him. However, he was sure that his clones would not start the fight on their own without any valid reason. [ Warning: One of your pseudo-avatars is under attack. The avatar''s health has dropped below 41%. The attacker''s name is Nira Nightshade. The pseudo-avatar is surrounded. Proceed to take over the pseudo-avatar''s consciousness? ] After essing the Spectral Screen and reading the updated prompt, Eren noted that within just a minute, the pseudo- avatar''s health had significantly declined. This indicated that the pseudo-avatar was actively engaged with Nira and her potential forces, likely surrounded andpelled to fight. Otherwise, the avatar wouldn''t take such risks in confronting someone of Nira''s caliber. "No need to second guess. Let me see what that bitch wants from me," Eren narrowed his eyes, speaking to himself. In the next moment, he called upon another of his Elder Seed Artifact Spirits. "Shallot,e out, dear." Shallot promptly appeared beside Eren, in her child form, wearing a princess dress, with a cute and innocent expression. "Protect my main consciousness from any external Spiritual Attacks. I''m going to take a look at one of my Soul Imprints. Pull me out if you sense any Spiritual traping my way from the other side," he instructed her, gesturing for her to sit in front of him. "AC alright," Shallot nodded cutely before sitting cross-legged in front of Eren. Thetter raised his hands, held Shallot''s small hands in his, and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath before selecting "Yes" on the spectral menu. Chapter 1802 Saint Rank Nira and Alchemy Doll

Chapter 1802 Saint Rank Nira and Alchemy Doll

Deep within an unknown forest. The evening sky was painted red as if some Immortal was bleeding above. The restless air rustled the leaves and created a mysterious atmosphere thick with the stench of blood and killing. At this point, Lemaar Saaya found himself entangled in a precarious situation. As Eren''s pseudo-avatar, he had been entrusted with a crucial missionto approach a specific location based on Leesha''s memories. Leesha was one of the witches from the Helenbora coven. Leesha had acquired her Greater Skill, the "Blessing of AsmodeusEnving Cocoon of Lust," from this mysterious ce, and it held various other precious items that she sought to im for starting her own coven. Eren, after assimting the Wrath mes from Leesha, discovered the existence of this location. However, due to its distance from him and his evolving understanding of Labh Salem''s intricacies, Eren couldn''t personally visit the ce. As such, he delegated this task to his first fully independent and functional pseudo-avatar, Lemaar Saaya. Lemaar''s mission required a discrete approach, avoiding interference with local organizations or powerhouses. Although the area surrounding Leesha''s remembered location posed significant dangers, Lemaar adeptly formed a team of Practitioners over the past few years. He meticulously followed protocol, learning and improving with each raid, with the ultimate goal of iming the valuable items stored within the peculiar ce. As Lemaar Saaya was only weeks away from executing his n, an unforeseen and unknown force suddenly attacked him without apparent reason, throwing a wrench into his carefullyid-out preparations. *** Lemaar, appearing to be in his early 30s by mortal standards, presented a gruesome spectaclebloody and battered. His umber-colored shoulder-length hair clung to both sides of his face, drenched in blood flowing from wounds on his forehead and under his eyes. Indeed, Lemaar''s face bore the brunt of a volley of arrows, strategically avoiding vital spots. It was evident that the archer sought not a swift death but prolonged suffering. Once-handsome features now bore the marks of agony and torment, portraying a grim situation for him. The brutality extended beyond his face. Lemaar''s entire body was impaled with arrows, bleeding profusely from multiple wounds. His once pristine white robe now bore the scarlet hues of his own blood, leaking through severe yet non-fatal injuries. The spear clutched in Lemaar''s handsy shattered, his A-Rank mana significantly depleted, and the surrounding regiony in ruin. It was clear that he tried to fight. But it seemed all was in vain. Notch. Release. Hiss. "Aaaaargh!" A fresh arrow sliced through the air with a serpent''s hiss, embedding itself in Lemaar''s right thigh. The arrow, infused with potent Spiritual Force and Elemental Attainments, traversed space with such speed that evasion was impossible. The Practitioners apanying Lemaar brought together through financial influence, sumbed to the spectral arrows, victims of this sudden onught. Now surrounded by the enemy Practitioners, led by the arrow-wielding assant, Lemaar, gripped by pain and anger, questioned their motives. "Why? Why attack us? What... aaargh... have we ever done to you?" he demanded, suppressing a scream of pain as he red at the distant enemy leader. Lemaar''s inner self had already identified the foe as Nira Nightshade, prompting a distress signal to Eren via the Mesh. Despite this, he feigned ignorance about the origin of Nira''s hostility, expressing genuine confusion and frustration, making even himself believe that he yed no role in the matters involving Eren and Nira. *** Nira Nightshade carried a quiver on her back,den with a cluster of arrows. In her left hand, she held a bow that would seamlessly vanish, only to reappear in the same position the next moment. Her long ears protruded from beneath a raised cape draped over her head. She exuded both allure and mystery, casting her gaze upon Lemaar as if he were nothing more than an ant. With a well-defined bust, slender waist, and gracefully contoured posterior, she boasted an hourss figure. Beneath her captivating exterior, Nira emanated a certain elegance, seamlessly blending with a lethal edge only someone who had gone past the Ranking Status of Sagehood could wield. Her gaze held amanding presence, deterring anyone from dwelling too long on her physical attributes when met eye to eye. Just like Eren, Nira also wasn''t present in her real body to confront Lemaar. This was an alchemy doll that she was using while her real self was busy doing something else. The creation of the alchemy doll was clearly taught to her by Sansara Sage. It was an advanced form of Mana Body Creation that Lin Lehan had invented for himself and his pals from Anfang after he exited his homeworld. One could say that operating an alchemy doll was a downgraded version of the pseudo-avatar with limited functionalities. In this way, it could be said that Lin Lehan''s legacy holder, Eren, had surpassed him bybining two fields together even with less experience than the former. Even though Nira was using an alchemy doll to fight with Lemaar, the alchemy doll itself was of the S-Rank. Using an S- Ranked alchemy doll also meant that Nira had already achieved the Saint ss after her departure from Anfang. As such, even with limited functionalities, she had all the power she needed to get rid of Lemaar and his teammates who had died without knowing about anything. *** "Stop acting like you don''t know anything," Nira Nightshade responded coldly as she looked at Lemaar. "Drop your weapon and get captured quietly. You need to answer a few of my questions before I let you go." She said as she notched another arrow on her bow and aimed at Lemaar, the spectral arrow condensing more of the Spiritual Force that she poured into it, waiting to be released from her grip so that it could fly and injure Lemaar some more. "Hahahaha," Lemaarughed in disdain at Nira Nightshade. "Let''s not kid ourselves with useless bullshittery like this. You''ll let me go? After killing all my teammates? I''d sooner believe the sky is falling than that absurd im of yours." "Well, believe what you may, but I''m not letting you go, regardless of your choice," Nira shrugged, smiling ruthlessly at Lemaar. "How about this? I''ll offer you an easy death if you answer my questions honestly. Does that sound like a believable proposition to you now?" She gestured to her subordinates, signaling them to stay vignt with her gaze. The alchemy doll let her express the power of a Sage. Yet, she still had her limitations. She could only rely on her subordinates to help her in trapping the guy in while she interrogated him. "What if I told you that you had the wrong guy?" Lemaar spoke with difficulty, spitting out some blood clots. "You have clearly made a big mistake in identifying your enemy. Because I have never seen you in all my life," he said with conviction and half-truth mixed in his grim yet confident voice, his gaze unflinching. "Hehehe," Nira Nightshade chuckled upon hearing Lemaar''s words. "Well, my eyes can deceive me, my Mana Sense can deceive me, but my nose can''t. Don''t lie to me, brat. You have the same smell as someone who destroyed my Soul Fragment in Anfang. Now, answer me honestly: Who are you, and when did yound in Anfang? What were you hiding back then?" She asked and released the arrow from her bow in the next moment. As the arrow approached Lemaar, his expression went nk for a fraction of a moment before turning unfettered all of a sudden. ''I get it now. So it was that damn nose of hers. Then that means the cover is not blown. I I don''t need to leave Labh Salem as long as I can settle this mess.'' A part vicious and part joyous smile was stered on Lemaar''s face all of a sudden. Eren took over Lemaar''s half-beaten body and cursed Nira''s seemingly unreal olfactory senses as he prepared himself for the attack. === AN: The ce from which Leesha unlocked the Greater Skill was briefly mentioned in chapter 1671. Nira Nightshade''s soul- rted smelling senses were mentioned in chapter 1069. The Mana Body Creation using the use of the Arrays was mentioned in chapter 1101. Chapter 1804 Fight or Fight Response

Chapter 1804 Fight or Fight Response

Lin Lehan resumed experiments on the living and the dead toe up with a novel method. Histest invention was the creation of new and improved alchemy dolls. The stable and sessful process of alchemy dolls was created by merging the concepts of homunculus and Mana Body Creation. This fusion allowed users to alleviate some restrictions they faced with elemental clones and homunculus vessels. Essentially, users could split their attention as if they were using a perpetual elemental clone without harming their souls. The range of the alchemy clones was also not an issue. Plus, they were self-sufficient and hardly needed any resources to sustain themselves. They had synthetic mana cores within them, which allowed the users to use them as if they were using their real bodies. The only limitation came from the use of the Mesh and Menaka''s Blessing that was granted to them. As such, the alchemy dolls could only make use of a Skill or two of their original owners. Furthermore, one could only make use of one alchemy doll at a time, regardless of how powerful their Soul Sense was or how much Spiritual Force they possessed. The use of alchemy dolls was limited to elite Sages and Saints. Ordinary Practitioners couldn''t make use of them even if they paid a premium to their respective organizations or spent millions of Menaka''s Runes. Sansara Sage could be called a genius in matters rted to souls. He had even created a synthetic daughter, AKA Maya, instructing her to cultivate a soul on her own for further experiments on soul-rted matters. One of the major reasons he had left an inheritance in Anang was so that he could find a like-minded person like him who would eventually offer him a different perspective on his research. Unlike Sansara Sage, Nira didn''t know much about souls and the mysteries surrounding them. However, she was smart enough to realize that Sansara Sage would pay a hefty amount to capture a unique specimen like Lemaar Saaya. It seemed as if Lemaar or the man in the shadows using Lemaar as a puppet had already figured out what Sansara Sage had been trying to solve for centuries. Just by the smell of the soul alone, Nira could tell that the restrictions of alchemy dolls didn''t apply to Lemaar. It meant that the man controlling Lemaar, if there was any, could potentially make use of several entities like Lemaar simultaneously. This should have been the power of the Immortals. However, a mortal had somehow made it possible to use it for their own purposes, defying the Immortal writ. Nira conjectured that even the person who had invested in this technique wasn''t aware of the importance of their own creation. Sages and Saints from both factions would pay the creator of this unique invention a hefty amount of wealth and resources if they were to sell the secrets rted to it on a global scale. Nira expected to exact her revenge and benefit simultaneously by capturing Lemaar alive. She had killed his teammates to eliminate surprises. Afterward, she had her subordinates disperse and secure the perimeter. A space-elementbined Skill was used by her subordinates to ensure that Lemaar wouldn''t escape from Nira''s clutches using some rare teleportation Skill. ''Hehe. You are mine now,'' Nira thought to herself as she watched her arrow almost pierce Lemaar''s eyes, intending to incapacitate him for good. However, in the next moment, she realized that something had changed within Lemaar. He suddenly started smelling different from before. Or more like, one pte of his soul had overwhelmed the other. He smiled at her viciously before his eyes turned hollow as if his eyeballs had been stolen from him. The next thing she knew, the same arrow she had shot wasing for her. Her own attack had been reflected on her. ''What the fu'' *** [ Skill: Sedated Perception ] x3 Eren slowed down the perception of time for himself to read and observe the situation after taking over Lemaar''s body. He wasn''t surprised to find out that his pseudo-avatar''s body was in dire straits, and he was about to be attacked by a spectral arrow he couldn''t dodge. Seeing the inevitability of the arrow hitting him, Eren gave up on dodging and instead started analyzing the perimeter security. He memorized the faces and Mana Signatures of the people surrounding him, digesting the newly made memories from his pseudo-avatar, which didn''t take long. Once Eren ensured he didn''t have to run away from Labh Salem, he decided to test Nira. There was no way for him to escape the iing fight, and leaving his pseudo-avatar in Nira''s hands risked exposing his secrets. So he might as well fight and bare his fangs at her. ''Hm? A clone? No. Something''s off.'' Using his Soul Sense, Eren sensed something different about the elf archer. She gave off the aura of a Sage, but her soul readings had surpassed the levels of Sagehood. It didn''t take Eren long to realize that Nira was using a body double mechanism, and her real self was elsewhere. He also sensed a hint of greed, indicating she intended to capture him alive. Due to Eren slowing down the perception of time, there was no immediate notification on his Spectral Screen about Nira''s intentions. However, he could feel that notificationing into his bones. One could say that he was getting good at wielding his abominated divinity. ''I understand now. Her soul is injured after I killed that Soul Fragment of hers. It would probably take centuries for her to heal from a wound like that. I guess that''s why she''s using that body double of hers,'' Eren conjectured as he analyzed Nira in her alchemy-doll form. ''Then the fact that she wants to capture me alive means that it is much more than simple revenge. She can''t possibly know that she smelled the Spirit Beast on me. No matter how much she investigates, unless she goes to Anfang by herself to check, she can''t figure anything out. I''m sure she knows that. That means she wants to make use of me differently. Or rather, she wants to make use of Lemaar and the one "haunting" him to find solutions to her own problems? Hmm. I don''t think this arrogant archer is capable of unearthing the secrets of my pseudo-avatar. She is not well-versed in soul-rted studies. It''s not part of her Individuality. Then her contacts! Is she still connected to Sansara Sage? But as far as I know, Sansara Sage is definitely not in Labh Salem. I would have known if that was the case,'' Eren thought to himself. ''Never mind. Let''s fuck this bitch up first. I don''t have to know every fucking thing about her to recognize that she''s a problem that needs to go away,'' the butcher made up his mind. [ Unique Skill: Unreal Reflection ] Eren activated his Unique Skill for a fraction of a second to send back the arrow that was about to pierce his right eye. He only activated the Unique Skill through his right eye to achieve this. Employing his Ocr powers, he erased Nira''s will from the arrow, imprinting it with his own will and manipting the space around it. It was as if the potent spectral arrow had been shot through his hollowed right eye. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from the scene, closing in on the elf archer who sought to capture him alive. ''What a warm wee you''ve extended to a fellow Anfangian, huh? I suppose that''s eptable. We are both from the Land of the Faithless. I shouldn''t expect anything different. Then again, you are not the first Sage I have killed. And you won''t be thest,'' the butcher thought to himself as he wielded his spear like Lemaar had never wielded before. His Weapon Intent was unleashed like a surging tide, a manifestation ofbat readiness emerging within him when escape was no longer an option. A fight or fight response. Chapter 1805 Reloaded: Eren vs Nira P1 Chapter 1805 Reloaded: Eren vs Nira P1 ??''What the'' Nira involuntarily uttered curses in frustration as she witnessed her own spectral arrow homing in on her. She could sense that the will she had infused into the spectral arrow had been entirely obliterated and reced by her adversary''s intent. Uncertain about the specific ocr Skill that could not only diminish the caster''s will but also deflect attacks back toward them, she deduced it had to be an exceedingly advanced technique. She was not sure how someone so unimpressive-looking could get hold of such Skill. "Hmph! Party tricks." Reacting swiftly, Nira stepped back and sidestepped to evade the iing spectral arrow. The arrow missed her cheek by a hair''s breadth before running past her and damaging the tree trunk behind her instead. A million wooden splinters were shot all around in the moment as the arrow managed to destroy the tree trunk. The arrow did not stop there and kept on flying forward, destroying many tree trunks, branches, and even rocky formations that came in its path. Even though Nira only wanted to harm Lemaar and not kill him, her spectral arrows packed a punch. Even a simple attack initiated by an S-Rank entity was very destructive in nature. Nira managed to not make a fool of herself by dodging the attack of her own arrow. However, it became apparent that Lemaar, or rather Eren controlling him, had anticipated her movements as if he had precalcted her position. She observed that he was already moving towards her updated position as soon as sheid her eyes on him. Swoosh. Zoom. Miss. Barely evading the preemptive strike from Eren''s spear, Nira recognized the marked difference in Lemaar''s abilities after theirst encounter. It seemed as if he was now under some form of influence, moving and behaving with newfound mastery. The transformation was stark, turning him from a rtivelycklusterbatant into a proficient wielder of his weapon and Skills. He could move better, attack more fiercely, and intimate his opponent with his gaze. These weren''t the qualities Lemaar had disyed before. [ Skill: Unlimited Weapon Works ] [ Skill: Agni Steps ] [ Skill: me Spirit Spear ] Eren seamlessly executed all avable Skills whilemandeering Lemaar''s body, engaging Nira''s alchemy doll. Despite sensing limitations in the alchemy doll''s capabilities, Eren opted not to underestimate her, denying her the opportunity to devise a countermeasure. *** Nira''s subordinates found themselves in a daze as Lemaarunched a counterattack. Without receiving any orders from Nira, they opted to stay grounded and maintain a secure perimeter, preventing Lemaar from escaping. Nira, too, refrained from instructing her subordinates to release their Spatial Lock, concerned that Lemaar might possess an escape-oriented Skill. Plus, wishing to maintain her honor as a Saint, she hesitated to seek assistance from her subordinates in handling someone of A-Rank status, given her S-Plus Rank reputation. This situation provided a brief window for Eren to engage Nira in a duel without any interruptions. Taking full advantage, he decided to confront Nira aggressively after taking control of Lemaar''s body. ''Fuck! Everything hurts! This body is at its limits,'' Eren cursed as he moved. Lemaar''s body bore the brunt of injuries, and his mana reserves had been depleted in the earlier battle with Nira''s subordinates. Strategic attacks from Nira had halved all his body Stats. To counter this debuff, Eren utilized berserking potions injected into Lemaar''s body. The potions quickly replenished his mana reserves, improved his health, and elerated the healing of his wounds. The berserking potions also heightened Lemaar''s physical attributes, enhancing muscle definition. A 20 to 30 percent buff was applied to his operational Skills, making him a formidable threat to Nira''s current form. Aware that the effects of the berserking potions would take a toll on Lemaar''s bodyter, Eren focused on defeating Nira in the present, dealing with the consequences afterward. *** Barely a minute had passed since Eren and Niramenced their duel. However, to both Eren and Nira, this short span felt like an enduring period. It seemed as if Eren was racing against a clock, while Nira was patiently biding her time. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. The influence of a Grandmaster''s Rank was evident as Lemaar, under Eren''s control, unleashed a fire-element attack. Although it missed Nira, itnded on the battlefield behind her, causing a significant impact and explosion. The shockwaves propagated for several hundred meters before dissipating. Nira had alsounched her counterattack. And a few of her arrows and mid-range attacks did end up hurting Eren, making him bleed even more than before. However, he didn''t care and kept on harassing the Ranger as if his life was dependent on it. Eren persisted in his assault on Nira, while she, utilizing her Ranger privileges and perks, dodged and distanced herself from him. She struggled to create space, aiming to execute her long- range skills. Her Ranger Profession made closebat challenging, especially in her alchemy doll form, which was ill-suited for withstanding Eren''s direct attacks. Eren felt like he was back in LA and dueling against Renita. After all, the Ranger and front-running fighters always had opposing battle styles from each other. The contrast would have been even more apparent if Lemaar was a closebat warrior with less effective mid-range attacks than what he had as a berserker. ''This weapon intent! It wasn''t this oppressive before.'' Nira took in a sharp breath as she employed her superior Ranker-ss Skills to evade Eren''s attacks. Since Eren''s ascension to demi-god status, his intent-based magic had undergone a significant upgrade. His Sin Series Domains had be more potent, and his Weapon Intent started to influence the reality of the world, surpassing the typical Ranking limitations. This allowed him to effortlessly contend with Sage Rankers while remaining in the Grandmaster Rank. ''This man with such qualifications, he should have easily been in Shaynak 100. The fact that he isn''t only means that he is trying to hide from the limelight. I I need to ask for a bigger reward from Lehan when I catch him. This is a premium-grade specimen for his experiments.'' Nira was even more sure that Lemaar was hiding a big secret about him than she was before Eren took over thetter''s body. After all, if he was this capable, he would have already been famous in Labh Salem. And there would have been countless organizations willing to recruit him in their fold. Chapter 1806 Reloaded: Eren vs Nira P2 1806 Reloaded: Eren vs Nira P2 N?v(el)B\\jnn Barely two minutes had psed since Eren and Nira engaged inbat, each with distinct objectives in mind. Nira aimed to capture Eren alive as a favor to Sansara Sage, while Eren fought to bring her down. Their attacks vividly reflected their intentions; Nira''s attempts were geared towards restraining Eren, while Eren''s Skill executions sought to inflict serious harm if not outrightly kill her. Fueled by berserking potential and intent-based magic, his attacks were potent enough to gravely injure an ordinary Sage Ranker in the Initial Stage. Nira, however, was no pushover. Faced with Eren''s relentless attempts to close the distance, she abandoned her bow and arrowbo, opting for a short sword in one hand and a mana gun in the other. Though unconventional, she managed to make thisbination work, showcasing her adaptability. Despite her Ranger Profession, she proved equally skilled in handling mana guns and short swords, a testament to the extensive experience she had gained over her long life as a Saint Ranker. Nira utilized her mana gun for mid-range attacks and wielded her sword when Eren closed in. Taking the fight seriously, she ceased underestimating his attacks, recognizing the importance of capturing him alive. When she fired her mana gun, it emitted no sound, releasing a barrage of wind-element bullets that left Eren''s body riddled with holes and injuries. Eren''s berserker body fought to heal and close his wounds, countering the harm inflicted by Nira. Without robust armor and the support of berserking potions, he would have faced a severe health crisis at this point. Nira found herself in apromised state after an extended battle with Eren. His unpredictable attacks had caught her off guard, resulting in numerous serious injuries. Despite being a Grandmaster Ranker, Eren''s potential and the lethality of his assaults were evident in his ability to harm her. Recognizing the challenge, Nira realized that no other Grandmaster Ranker could match Lemaar''s prowess. Even with three Grandmaster Rankers and seven Master Rankers among her subordinates, the chances of Lemaar surviving a concerted effort from all of them attacking together weren''t negligible. To capture Eren alive, she needed to sacrifice some of her subordinates. The ongoing conflict between Nira and Eren had transformed the battlefield into a destendscape, marked by mes, gusts of wind in the form of white balls, pits, rifts, and intense mana fluctuations. They constantly shifted positions, utilizing the terrain to their advantage, engaging in ground and aerialbat with a symphony of shing weapons and mana fluctuations that threatened the stability of the spatial fabric. The sudden darkness in the sky signaled the sh between S-Ranked mana-fueled attacks and A-Ranked mana-powered Skills and Abilities. The Master Rankers risked severe injury just being in the proximity of these powerful shes. Realizing the difficulty of capturing Eren alive, Nira decided to unleash her most lethal attacks within three minutes of continuous confrontation. Despite her Sage Ranker status and the support of her subordinates, capturing Eren alive seemed nearly impossible. Observing her intensified assault, Eren prepared for the impending battle by injecting berserking potions hidden in his arm bracers for the second time. These potions, along with custom-made Hex arm bracers, were provided by Eren to Lemaar, who had never used them, opting for a cautious approach as Eren''s pseudo-avatar. Eren, originally a Berserker in his first timeline, had perfected the berserking potions to suit his and his pseudo- avatar''s needs based on his potion-making experiences. Additionally, he inherited Ivor Ironside''s legacy from Sansara World 1.0. Consequently, the explosiveness and ferocity disyed by Eren as a Berserker far surpassed what Lemaar could manifest on his own. Swoosh. Zoom. Miss. Eren manipted Lemaar''s spear as if it were his own. Utilizing the Unlimited Weapon Works Skill, he elerated, halted, rotated, attacked, pulled back, and operated his weapon stances with even greater speed and efficiency than before. Despite having fewer Skills due to being in a pseudo- avatar''s body, hepensated with increased effectiveness in Intent-based magic and weapon-handling ability. ng. ng. ng. Eren deflected the mana bulletsing his way. He then used Nira''s iing Wind des as a tform, and his own spear as aunching baton, to throw himself towards Nira. Coating his entire body with fire-element mana, he spun around mid-air with unbelievable momentum and precision as he headed toward a stressed-looking Nira like a meteor. "Don''t get too cocky, brat," Nira screamed as she prepared, pointed her mana gun at Eren, and brandished her sword in front of her in defense at the same time. She believed that Eren had finally given her a window of opportunity tond a decent attack on him. However, before she could react to Eren''s iing attack, a cluster of Agni Chains sprouted from the ground andtched onto her limbs. It did not help that she was flying too close to the ground in order to attack Eren better. It was as if Eren wanted her to be in the position so he could lock her in position at the expense of exposing a w in his battle style. ''This scheming bastard When did he nt these? And wait a minute. These chains This is Wrath Mana. He he is the wielder of the Seven Sins Marks!'' Nira realized toote that Eren had made use of the trump card to lock Nira in his position. These Wrath chains mixed with fire-element mana were nted by him all over the battleground in a dormant form as he fought with Nira. These chains weren''t enough to kill Nira or harm her directly. However, upon tactical use, they could provide Eren with an opportunity tond a brutal attack on the Sage. Furthermore, all seven of Eren''s pseudo-avatars could bear one Sin Series Mark each. Eren had thus diversified his perma-clones by providing them with differing Sin Series Marks ording to their needs. As such, Lemaar had been marked with Sin of Wrath to better match his Berserker Profession. Eren''s seven clones therefore presented all seven Professions and seven Sin Series Marks separately. It allowed his pseudo-avatars to ess a form of Intent-based magic they had never used before. Bang. Bang. Bang. When she concluded that she wouldn''t be able to get away from Eren''s attacks on time, Nira decided to make use of the genuine w Eren had shown to trap her as leverage and attacked him without holding back. Eren''s body was riddled with potent S-Rank mana bullets. However, he didn''t let Nira''s attacks stop him from attacking her. Swoosh. Zoom. Pichuk. Eren attacked from a weird angle. He headed towards the ground before jumping back in the air in Nira''s direction. Using Unlimited Weapon Works, he managed to elerate his spear to such an extent that Nira couldn''t do anything about it. His Weapon Intent managed to breach through her Natural Mana Defense. Eren''s spear impaled Nira''s right thigh before being pushed upward. It impaled her pelvic girdle and poked through the waist, almost skewering Nira as if she were a kebab. The butcher didn''t stop there. He injected his Wrath Mana into the weapon mixed it with his Weapon Intent and activated forbidden runes nted within it to burst the weapon when it was lodged inside Nira''s body. The weapon imploded, and Nira''s lower part of the body was burnt away. Her posterior muscles sted off, exposing her butterfly-shaped sacrum bones of both legs. "You vile brat!" Nira screamed at Eren, her eyes bloodshot with the humiliation of being attacked in such a manner. "You you will not get away with this," she gritted her teeth before turning her gaze towards her subordinates, coldness and hate seeping through her gaze. "What the fuck are you waiting for? Kill him. He is already half dead." Eren''s form was bloody and battered as he looked up at Nira from his lowered position. He jumped upwards,ing face to face with his opponents, and presented her with a bloody smile full of viciousness. Chapter 1807 Explosion 1807 Explosion "What the fuck are you waiting for? Kill him. He is already half dead." Nira''s loudmand struck her subordinates like a heavyweight hammer pounding on their heads. They all looked at each other with absent expressions before finally deciding to take action. They could have never thought that a Grandmaster who had been grievously injured before the start of his battle with Nira would be able to put up such a fight. Some of the subordinates had exchanged blows with Lemaar before. As such, they felt that the person who fought with Nira was apletely different beast than the Lemaar they had confronted. As the subordinates started closing in on Nira, she looked at Eren with hateful expressions. She hadnded on the ground and refused to crash helplessly in front of her Grandmaster-ranked enemy who had injured her. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Her S-Ranked alchemy body tried to heal the grievous injuries she had suffered because of Eren''s vicious attacks. However, the injuries Eren had inflicted on her were too severe. They couldn''t be healed easily on the spot. "Just you wait. Even if you die because of your injuries, we wille to know about you eventually. We will go after your family and friends and make your carcass spill all the secrets you have," Nira spoke venomous words as she looked at Eren''s form, which was in an even more precarious condition than hers. ''Got him,'' she thought to herself. It would only take a few seconds for Nira''s subordinates to reach Eren''s position. As such, Eren knew that his escape was sealed. However, escape was not on his agenda in the first ce. Eren didn''t try to run away or fight with the iing enemies anymore. He just let them approach him as he started taking haggard breaths, his bloody eyes scanning his surroundings with a cold look. Nira''s subordinatesnded only a few meters away from him, approaching slowly so as not to prevent any mishap. Nira breathed a sigh of relief when her subordinates managed to create a close circle around Eren. Nira was about to take a breath of relief when she saw that Eren''s way had been sealed and that escape was impossible. She had to say that Lemaar was the first Grandmaster Ranker who had caused her such trouble. The only time she had struggled so much in the battle was when she was in Anfang and was still long away from breaking into the Sage Rank. The Saint Rank archer had meant it when she said that she would be able to find key points about him even if he were to die because of his injuries. As a demonic Ranker herself, she had various tools and skills avable at her disposal that she could use to find out the secret rted to Lemaar''s strange soul. "Kekeke," Eren''s cackle sounded in the surroundings after he made sure that all of Nira''s subordinates had been summoned around him. His Individuality soared all of a sudden, his aura intensified, and his vicious and evil nature seeped into hisughter, causing those who heard it to have goosebumps on their skin for some reason. It was not that Eren''s deteriorating form or his injuries were getting better. However, for some reason, they all subconsciously sensed a mortal threating from him. "You said you will not let me go, right?" Eren looked at Nira before asking her. "To tell you the truth, I''m not nning to," Eren said before using hisst vestiges of mana to use a movement-type skill once again. Eren''s right eye had already been damaged because of his using Unique Skill: Unreal Reflection while he was possessing Lemaar''s body. Although the Unique Skill was bound to his soul and Soul Imprint by default, the fact remained that it was not his original body. As such, Lemaar''s right eye which had been used to activate the Unique Skill was oozing blood and had almost lost its vision. As such, Eren used the only fully functional left eye of Lemaar to cast his skill again. His target this time was Nira''s subordinates. Sedating Gaze + Spiritual Attack Nira''s subordinates were alerted. Their consciousness had been affected by Eren''s Individuality, so they all were a little slow to respond to Eren''s moves. Most importantly, Eren was not trying to break away from the siege but was instead trying to approach Nira. "Hmph! I still have the strength to beat you into a pulp," Nira looked at Eren''s approaching figure before aiming at him with her mana gun. Eren didn''t try to dodge, and as such, her mana bulletnded on his chin and pierced through the back of his neck. The force of the mana bullet was such that it broke Lemaar''s jawbone, making him open his bloody mouth unnaturally. Bang. Bang. Bang. Nira shot multiple mana bullets. Some of them were spirit bullets, the same kind Renita had managed to shoot after her Soul Sense Awakening. However, Eren ignored all of the iing injuries that kept piling on his already battered body. Nira couldn''t get away from Eren because of the Wrath-mana-infused Agni Chains still shackling her limbs. She also realized that Eren''s ocr Skill and his Spiritual Attack had put her subordinates in apromising situation. However, she didn''t panic and decided to deal with Eren using her own two hands. At this point, she realized that Eren was like a flickering me trying to survive in the wild. The fight was futile, and he was soon about to sumb to his injuries. Swoosh. Nira cut Eren''s arm which was still holding the damaged spear that had lost its de. The arm fell to the ground. But Eren didn''t care. He managed to get a breath of hair''s distance away from her before wrapping his remaining arm around her brutally damaged waist. He held onto the exposed hip bones, dripping with blood and alchemy materials, before pulling her closer to him. "You have chosen a worthy enemy, Nira Nightshade. Congrattions," Eren whispered in Nira''s ears with a broken jaw and a mouth that kept on spilling blood. However, what caught Nira off guard was the fact that Lemaar had spoken those words in Anfang''s nativenguage. Before Nira or anyone could anticipate what Eren''s next move would be, Eren activated forbidden runes circling his mana core and detonated himself. This was a fail-safe measure Eren had imnted in every one of his pseudo-avatars. He had made all of them into fully functional suicide bombers. === AN: Eren used the suicide bomber mechanism in chapters 868 and 1393. Chapter 1808 Ultimate Failsafe Against the Probing Chapter 1808 Ultimate Failsafe Against the Probing ??Boom. It was as if a mini-sun had been summoned in the middle of the forest. The light produced by the st was so intense that it had the power to overwhelm one''s vision, forcing them to see nothing but a white illuminance all around them. The sound produced by the st was equally terrifying. It could make even the Master Ranked witnesses have hearing troubles and shake their souls from within. A domain of me and Wrath Mana was created with Eren and Nira at the center before it quickly expanded outward. It affected the spatial fabric of the region and made mana storms appear all around. As a dyed effect of the st, the ground quaked, and the shockwaves spread around. A cloud of dust shaped like mushrooms soared into the sky. The A-Ranked fire-element mana broke through its Ranking Restrictions with the help of the Wrath Mana, allowing the st to have a simr effect as if a premium-grade S-Ranked potion bomb had been detonated on the spot. A huge crater was created in the middle of the unnamed battlefield as an A-Ranked Grandmaster with the solid-state mana core decided to blow himself up to cover the secrets he had with him. The oue was more dreadful than one could imagine in their wildest dreams. Even someone who used forbidden magic and decided to implode their mana core wouldn''t be able to achieve the destructive potential that Lemaar''s suicide bomber attack had unleashed on Nira and her subordinates. The detonation was so unbelievable that it could only be regarded as an abstract art. The Wrath Mana integrated into the explosion was so potent that the ground zero of the explosion would stay affected by it for years on end. People and mana beasts who roamed in this area would be affected by this Wrath Mana and go into fits of rage. Some rare resources would be born here and mana beasts affected by the Wrath Mana in the region would be able to break through their Ranking Restrictions more easily. But this will happen in the future. At this point, this unknown forest region was nothing but a wastnd. One could obviously guess that Eren had integrated this mechanism into Lemaar''s body from the moment he was chosen to act as one of his pseudo-avatars. This was not something one could achieve with mere spontaneous suicide attacks or using makeshift potions or artifacts. The aftermath of Lemaar''s self-detonation was disastrous for a significant portion of the forest as well as the enemies who had surrounded him. Nira''s alchemy doll was the closest to Eren''s self-harming st. As such, nothing that belonged to the alchemy doll survived, and it vanished into thin air along with Lemaar''s body. Obviously, all seven of Nira''s B-ranked subordinates had died because of the explosion. Out of the three A-ranked subordinates, only one survived unscathed. One Grandmaster was severely injured, while the third one, who had just achieved her breakthrough into the A-Rank, died in the st. Nira and her allies didn''t even realize that Eren was trying to lure them in until the veryst moment. The only two surviving members of Nira''s team felt a chill down their spine as they realized that they had been yed by Eren. "What what do we do now?" Asked the severely injured Grandmaster to the experienced Grandmaster, who had managed to deploy a defensive-type artifact at the veryst moment toe out unscathed from Eren''s st. The injured Grandmaster was still feeling scared after sensing the terrifying mana signatures all around him and observing the fragmented runes of the Wrath Mana in the air squirming like bugs. "What else can we do?" the uninjured Grandmaster shook his head and sighed. Though he tried to act cool and calm, one could tell by looking at his shaking clenched fists that he too was affected by his enemy''s Individuality and brutal attack. "This mission is a bust. We need to retreat." He said before throwing a vial of potion towards hisrade. In the blink of an eye, the A-Ranked person disappeared from the scene, prompting the remaining one to follow in his footsteps. ''This fear I feel like I have been turned into a mortal. I I fucking hope I never get to meet someone as crazy as this Lemaar guy.'' The injured A-Ranker thought in fear to himself before uncorking the healing vial his partner had thrown at him. He was willing to leave Nira''s organization for good if he were to confirm that this Lemaar guy belonged to some organization and that there were others like him. This injured Grandmaster would eventually leave Nira''s side after being hinted at some truth rted to Lemaar''s identity and the possibility of someone pulling the strings behind him. He would be the sole person to survive the tragedy that would befall his seniors. But this too would happen in the future. *** Somewhere in Labh Salem. A grand mansion surrounded by thick and ever-restless mist. "Aaaaaaaargh!" A painful cry erupted from the depths of the grand mansion, and the array formationsid down within the surroundings lit up abruptly. Inside a highly protected chamber. Nira Nightshade woke up and howled in pain. She sat up straight, waving her hand to dispel the Grand Runic Circle she was currently in, freeing herself from her physical restrictions. Nira clenched her fists and controlled her scream, eventually restoring silence to her mansion. She then looked at her thighs and saw that they had been injured by some unknown force. Even her vagina was leaking blood as if she was suffering from some form of internal bleeding. This was Nira''s first time experiencing such an injury since ascending to the Rank of the Saint. One had to note that only a minor portion of the damage had been reflected onto her real body through her alchemy doll. Nheless, Nira couldn''t help but curse the severe drawbacks associated with using the alchemy doll. "That man went to great lengths to cover his tracks," Nira gritted her teeth as she mumbled to herself. "It means that the secrets he carries are also significant. I I better get Lehan on my side to deal with him." Nira thought before getting up from her position. She snapped her fingers, making the superficial injuries disappear before walking in a certain direction. Contacting Sansara Sage was troublesome, but it was a trouble she was willing to endure to confront Lemaar and the entity behind him. Chapter 1809 Sansara Sage and Origin Clone Chapter 1809 Sansara Sage and Origin Clone ??In a special chamber within her mysterious mansion, a surreal illusion was created in front of Nira Nightshade. This illusion was expansive and three-dimensional, making Nira feel as if she were summoned inside a truly special ce. The illusion depicted a broken world with a void sky and barren hills. It was as if the very spirit of the world had been stolen by something or someone, leaving it an empty husk of its former self. Nira started walking in an unknown direction after sessfully sending her consciousness into this mysterious realm. She could only hope that this contact method left by Lin Lehan would work and he would eventually recognize her presence. Nira kept walking, feeling like weeks had passed. Her irritation grew as she saw the same scenery over and over again. Then suddenly "Tch! What are you doing here? I thought I told you that I don''t want to be disturbed by the affairs happening in Labh Salem," a voice asked from behind Nira, clearly displeased about her presence. "On second thought, you don''t need to answer. It''s clearly my fault that I let you contact me," he sighed and shook his head in regret, as if extremely remorseful for what he had done in the past. Nira turned around to see a youthful man standing behind her with his hands behind his back. This man looked like ate teen by mortal standards. Yet, one could see that he had experienced the vicissitudes of life by looking into his eyes. This young man had ck hair and light gray eyes, with a delicate nose and sharp facial features. He was seen wearing a ck-colored loose robe with golden patterns over it, along with a white tunic. His calm appearance and even calmer voice gave him a schrly vibe. This man looked weak and fragile, as if he was nothing more than a mortal. Yet there was an inexplicable aura around him that prevented anyone from underestimating him. No matter how tightly this young man sheathed his Individuality, some of it leaked out through his gaze and mere hand gestures. This was Sansara Sage. Or rather, a version of Sansara Sage that he had currently used to respond to Nira''s call for help. "Hm? Another alchemy doll? How many are you currently possessing?" Nira asked as she scanned the young man who seemed full of vitality. She clearly ignored the look of irritation her ex-colleague gave her. Thanks to her peculiar Soul Sense Awakening, she could tell that there was something different about Sansara Sage''s current model of the alchemy doll, but she couldn''t exactly pinpoint the difference. "This is not an alchemy doll anymore," Sansara Sage shook his head as if talking to a country bumpkin who knew nothing about his projects. "I''d like to call it an Origin Clone as it was made from a live embryo formation using my own gic information as a base. This clone has been born and raised from scratch. It''s almost like my own son at this point," Sansara Sage spoke neutrally, as if he had not achieved something significant and was just experimenting as usual. "Hehehe," Nira chuckled at Sansara Sage''s response. "You know there are easier ways to create clones like these, you geek," Nira said as she wrapped her arms around Sansara Sage. She was clearly taller than Lin Lehan''s current form, which made Lin''s face get buried under her bosoms. "What do you say? Want to make this "fresh meat" turn into an adult? I can help you know," she said coquettishly. "The kind of clones you are talking about obviously have their own set of limitations. Plus, they take away my freedom to ''edit'' them. Otherwise, I would have reproduced like a rabbit in heat. Now stop with the nonsense and tell me what brought you here." Lin pushed Nira aside and took a few steps back. He adjusted his clothes in a bit of irritation. "I''m in the middle of something very important here. I don''t have time to y with you," he said as he closed his eyes and started calcting something, murmuring something to himself. He then looked at Nira''s crotch beforementing casually. "Besides, I feel like you clearly had your fill by looking at your current state. It looks like you hooked up with a very wild man beforeing here," he said as he smelled the blood residueing from Nira''s special part. Nira''s eyes turned cold when Lin Lehan mentioned this. "It''s not what you think," she said in a serious manner. "I was attacked. Well, technically, the alchemy doll I possessed," she said as she rubbed her special zone. She could still feel the sensation of injurying from inside her pelvis. It was as if Eren had affected the very soul of hers with the kind of injury he had dealt to her alchemy doll. "So? What does it have to do with me?" Lin shrugged and waved his hands. "I helped youst time by giving you an alchemy doll to use. Now, you''d have to pay me if you want to ce another order after you recuperate your injured soul. You are clearly not capable of handling any alchemy doll at this point. Plus, you don''t have to contact me for such trivial matters. You can contact my subordinates in Labh Salem, and they''ll fix you a new one. They can also help you fix your soul-rted injuries at the right price. I''ll have a word with them. Expect a quotation soon," Lin turned around. He was about to walk away from Nira, and his figure had started to blur for some reason. But then Nira''s words made him halt at his position and face her once again. "Lin, his clones were better than yours," Nira said quickly. "Don''t you trust my nose?" she asked while scratching the tip of her nose with her finger. "Exin." Lin finally seemed interested in having a word with Nira. He stood motionlessly and listened to Nira''s description of her fresh encounter with Lemaar. Chapter 1810 Witch Goddess Two Lips Chapter 1810 Witch Goddess Two Lips ??"What do you think? How did he pull it off?" Nira asked after she finished exining. "Do you think he managed to create his own version of the Origin Clone like your current form?" Nira knew that she wouldn''t be able to track the culprit behind Lemaar on her own. Sansara Sage was her best shot at getting to the root of all things. The more she thought, the more she was sure that nabbing the behind Lemaar was in her best interests and could potentially lead her to find something big. Lin pondered for a moment and processed the information Nira provided to him. He then shook his head before responding. "I don''t think that''spletely impossible, but still, it''s highly unlikely. Plus, even though Origin Clone is an improvement to Alchemy Doll, it still has a few drawbacks. For example, I wouldn''t be able to destroy this Origin Clone like that guy did. My soul would obviously suffer a huge bacsh. If I was in his shoes, I would have rather secured my soul by retracting my consciousness from the clone at the cost of you figuring things about me than destroying the clonepletely and destroying all my future prospects. I guess I trust your powers to smell souls. So I''m ready to believe that his clones are better than mine. But I also feel confident in my own research. What I can say for sure is the fact that he wouldn''t be able to achieve a better result than me without the external interference from a god or" Lin''s soft voice trailed off as he thought of various things at once. "You mean he used a Blessing?" Nira asked as she looked at Lin''s pensive face. She liked the fact that she had managed to arouse a sense of curiosity about her enemy. "But there was no smell of Blessing on him. I would have known if there was. Did he use a Hex Artifact?" she spected further, wanting to have Lin''s opinion. "I don''t think any Hex Artifact is capable of pulling off something like that. The results would be poorer than the Origin Clone," Lin shook his head in denial. "But... an Elder Seed Artifact on the other handC" Lin''s eyes narrowed as he came to a possibility. "An unlisted Elder Seed?" Nira was overjoyed after hearing Lin''s words. "That is possible. What do you say, Lehan? Want to hunt this young Elder Seed with me? I can pay you in so many ways," she said as she looked at him yfully. "Don''t jump to conclusions just yet," Lin spoke in a stern voice. "First of all, find out everything you can about the clone''s identity. If it''s not an Origin Clone and there''s no alchemy involved, the clone must have an original identity. Find out as much as you can about it through your subordinates. The puppeteer must have left behind some clues when he caught this puppet," Lehan spoke as he massaged his forehead in contemtion, various ideas started forming in his head. "Secondly," Lin looked at Nira knowingly before speaking in a firm tone. "If you want me involved in this matter, I want something from you as well. Equivalent exchangeC we both are from Anfang, after all. You know how it works," he said as started walking in a particr direction. "And what would that be?" Nira asked as she followed Lehan closely behind. "You are a big shot among us who left Anfang together. You are our leader and have more than what the three of us havebined. What else can a poor lone elf like me offer you apart from my secret garden?" Nira asked in a fake tiredness. In her mind, she cursed Lehan and his seven generations. She had thought that roping this nerd in the matter would be easy once he found the peculiarity about her recent enemy. However, it seemed that Lehan was still not interested ining to Labh Salem. "I want your help in stealing something really peculiar from Labh Salem''s Witch Association," Lehan spoke in a grim tone as he looked ahead of him. He took his time to make up his mind before speaking his next words carefully. "It''s the Elder Seed Artifact that belongs to the Witch Goddess Two Lips." "What?" Nira looked at Lehan''s back as if he had gone crazy. "Lin? Do you even know what you are talking about?" Nira looked around in panic as if she feared someone might see her talking with this crazy guy. Her slightly pale face got some of its color back after realizing that she was in a special realm with Lehan that couldn''t be monitored by any of Labh Salem''s forces. "Don''t worry. You don''t have to do much," Lehan spoke in a casual manner, as if he wasn''t talking about the biggest heist in Labh Salem''s history but a mundane morning affair. "You just need to put your nose to good use and help from the sidelines for the most part. My subordinates will take care of the rest," he spoke in an assuring tone to Nira. "It''s too risky," Nira mumbled to herself as she looked at Lehan. She then sighed before questioning herself, "Why go to such lengths and risk being chased by the end of the boundless cosmos by the witches?" she asked and sighed. It was as if she had aged a bit after listening to Lehan''s bold proposal. "You know why I and many lone Saints like me look for better clone techniques after reaching the Perfect Sainthood?" Lehan spoke as he looked at the void sky above him, seemingly lost in thought. "It''s because we realize that there''s only so much we can do while living a singr life. After reaching the Saint Rank, the path ahead bes so restrictive and narrow that we are forced to stop in our tracks. Almost all of us who seed in bing Saints live for thousands of years and then some more but in the end, we too die like mortals," Lehan spoke as he was lost in his thoughts. It looked like he was talking more to himself than to Nira. Nira didn''t disturb and let Lehan speak his mind to her. Thetter continued after thinking for a bit. === AN: Labh means lips in Urdu. Chapter 1811 Immortal Ascension of the Faithless Celestial Chapter 1811 Immortal Ascension of the Faithless Celestial ??Sansara Sage Lin Lehan took his time to get his thoughts together before verbalizing them in Nira''s audience. "Those of us who have reached S-Plus-Rank would eventually die because there''s no way forward for us after reaching the Saint Rank. The requirements to move forward are too harsh and not something any particr Path can get around. There''s only one way to move forward. And that is to live as many lives as possible through the clones, extract experiences from them and finallybine them together before our ''deadline'' approaches. Of course, we can also take a faith-centric route, be demi-gods and try to be gods to achieve true immortality. However, I never liked that route simply because it is too dependent on others'' faith. A god who has to depend on their followers for their continuous survival is no god in my eyes. The pantheon gods are more or less the same with just less stringent requirements. Only when you reach the status of the Elder God would that curse be lifted from you," Lin spoke as he walked absentmindedly forward. Nira opened her mouth to speak. But in the end, she hesitated, as if recognizing that she was not as qualified as Lehan to speak on the matter. Thus, the Saint Rank archer chose to remain silent and let Lehan carry on. "Nira, I ask you, is bing an Elder God so simple? So many gods are still trying to be Elder Gods, doing all kinds of things trying to generate Origin Force for themselves through their followers. How many of them have seeded so far? How many of them were forgotten? How many of them experienced "Godfall"? And how many Elder Gods are still there in existence? And most importantly, how much time will it take for any regr Practitioner to transform from a demi-god to an Elder God? I''m afraid those questions are tooplicated and answers to those questions would certainly be too vague. I''d rather take a less trodden path and be a Faithless Celestial. For me to achieve that special form of Immortal Ascension, I need to explore many worlds, live many lives, and understand the Attainments offered by various worlds." "Well, you have Ansia and Echidna that you haven''t" Nira was about to offer her opinion, believing it was what Lin wanted. However, thetter shook his head before cutting her off. "Anfang, Labh Salem, Echidna, Ansia, and Tel Quasser are like five fingers of the same hand, Nira," Lin Lehan spoke as if he was speaking from experience. "Although these five worlds are separate from each other, they are all connected in the space-time fabric and there''s not much difference between them when we consider the kind of Attainments they have to offer. This is because the Worldly Laws of all these five worlds are more or less the same. So exploring these five worlds would not get me anywhere. I need to look beyond these penta-worlds and see a broader picture that is the boundless cosmos." "So you want to get that artifact so that you could continue to experiment outside those five worlds?" Nira asked, finally understanding Lehan''s motives. "Indeed," Sansara Sage nodded before speaking further. "Only ''that'' peculiar Elder Seed Artifact can allow me to get what I want, see what I want to see, explore what I want to explore. I''m a researcher at heart and this boundless cosmos has so many mysteries hidden within it. How can I get to the bottom of things without achieving an Immortality that can''t be snatched away from me? So I don''t care about the witches'' heritage. I don''t care if everyone in Labh Salem or some other world decides to target me after I obtain that artifact from their clutches. And I could care less about what happens to me or the others after I see my ning to fruition. All of that can be worked out if and when I get where I want to get. I''m not some risk-taking junkie, mind you. And I also don''t want to mess with anyone just to have some fun. I''m not really criticizing those who take the faith-centric route as well. However, I''ll create my own Path without having to depend on others. I''d rather take these risks now than cry about a missed opportunity at the end of my lifespan," Lehan spoke his mind, not speaking any further. Lin Lehan was always clear on his goals even before he left Anfang. He had developed Sansara World 1.0 and 2.0 to serve as ideal tforms on which stable Dimensional Gates could be created. The Sansara Sage had created special space-element runes to serve as spatial cords for his exploration. And he had started researching souls after realizing the fact that physically entering the worlds would not always be possible outside the penta-worlds. Just like Eren, he had started to like the idea of demons'' way of exploring the myriad worlds in the boundless cosmos. However, Lehan wanted to have it both ways and not damage his soul in the process as well. Because he thought that it would be counterproductive. The more Sansara Sage researched about the mysteries hidden within the souls, the more he realized how pitiful andcking his research was. He felt like his time was not well utilized in doing these experiments. Thus, he started researching various clone techniques. All so that he could delegate some of those tasks to them. Later on, he found out that the better a clone was the better it would be for him tobine the experiences gained by them. Therefore, he started investing more of his time and research in obtaining better variants of the clone techniques. He also realized that soul-bound travels could help him get myriad experiences. They were his best shot at exploring myriad realms to gain myriad benefits. All of it was interconnected. So to deepen his concepts on the soul, he started creating artificial children and gave them a singr taskC to cultivate a soul for themselves. He wanted to see if he could make another soul that was just like him. A true clone of his soul. Sansara Sage''s ultimate goal was to break the cycle of Samsara and obtain what lies beyond itC an Immortality that can''t be taken away under any condition. And he started working towards his goal from the very early stage of his life. *** Nira also didn''t say anything after she heard Lehan''s reasons to take such drastic steps. Even though she had not achieved a Perfect Sainthood like Lehan, Nira could also rte to his situation because she too was in the Saint Rank. As such, she too felt that the Path ahead was bleak and feared that there was no way forward for her. And just like Lehan, she too didn''t want to take a pantheon''s help and be a demi-god only to be bound by the pantheon''s rules. In her eyes, the so-called demi-gods were nothing but glorified henchmen for the Immortals, who in turn were bound by their own divinity. Thus, Nira felt like she was caught between a rock and a hard ce. She didn''t want to participate in the stealing of the Elder Seed Artifact from the Witch Association. However, she also didn''t want to be left behind by Lehan if and when he seeds in obtaining the said artifact. In the end, Nira smiled mirthlessly before thinking to herself. "First of all, who even thinks of stealing the witches'' heritage while staying in Labh Salem?" *** "Eren!" Shallot, the Elder Seed Artifact Spirit, rose and assisted Eren as he began coughing. With his face red like tomato, the butcher looked like an elderly mortal on the verge of sumbing to a fatal illness. Chapter 1812 Unknowingly Creating Another Family Heirloom

Chapter 1812 Unknowingly Creating Another Family Heirloom

"Hm? Where am I?" Arman awoke from what felt like a long slumber. ncing around, he realized he was still lying in the backyard of Siren''s Sanctuary. "Ugh! Shit. Sand got into my mouth." Arman coughed out the sand particles he had almost gulped down. Standing up, he noticed his joints making sounds, an aftermath of exerting himself to the brink of total exhaustion before Eren''s ocr power forced him into a forced "sleep." "I don''t understand. Why did I sleep here? My memory is a bit foggy," Arman mumbled to himself and sighed. Spotting his sword, he asked himself, "Oh? My spear''s here. Was I practicing out in the back with the teacher?" as he lifted his E-Ranked spear. This artifact, gifted by Eren, held a top-ss quality that surpassed any artisan in Sunhaven or nearby cities. Kayara, Roza, and Reen had left Arman alone, realizing there was no immediate danger to Sunhaven. Unable to ask questions due to the blurred memories of his spar with Eren, Arman considered shrugging off the incident and returning to work. "Never mind. I have a lot of things to do in the shop," Arman was about to dismiss the incident from his mind when he noticed Eren''s wooden sword lying not too far away. "Hm?" Arman approached the wooden sword, studying it for a moment. Deciding to lift it with mana, he found it unyielding. Pouring more E-Rank mana into the task produced the same result. Attempting to pick it up with his hand, he felt a sudden change in sensation. It started as if he held a hilt dipped into magma, followed by the touch of frost ice. Then, it felt like holding a storm, and in the next moment, he sensed the weight of an entire city in his free hand. Arman felt as if he were trapped in various forms of illusions for hours on end, though only a moment had passed in real life. He was exposed to different elements and elemental magic that caused his Mana Pathways to expand and stimte his mana core. This wasn''t all. Arman began to sense a vile bloodlust crawling over his body from the contact he made with the sword using his hand. For a brief period, it felt like he had killed hundreds of Practitioners in the most violent and gruesome ways possible. This bloodlust and vile energy would have broken Arman''s psyche if he had been exposed to it for longer. Fortunately, this bloodlust didn''t integrate into him because Arman''s Individuality wasn''t suitable to wield it. It was as if the wooden sword had almost be a quasi-spiritual artifact, able to sense the wielder''s aura and bestow him with suitable gifts. Arman''s face turned red as he experienced everything at once. Unbeknownst to him, he had been exposed to Eren''s Individuality when he tried to hold thetter''s wooden sword. When Eren first entered Labh Salem, he observed that his Sin Series Abilities were starting to affect the people around him without him even doing anything. At that time, he used the Mesh to his advantage to eliminate the side effect. However, this could be considered a stopgap measure without addressing the root cause. Eren made conscious efforts to integrate well with themon popce of Sunhaven. However, some aspects of his Individuality couldn''t be kept hidden even if he wanted to. They leaked intermittently, subconsciously. Even Eren didn''t have aplete idea of what it meant to be a demi-god walking among mortals. Someone as young as him shouldn''t have be a demi-god in the first ce. Among all the demi-gods currently active in Labh Salem, he had the shallowest foundations. As Eren''s mortal vessel grew stronger to contain his immortal soul, his Individuality began to affect everything around him. His Tantra strengthened his soul and body simultaneously, making him stronger day by day. Eren also attempted to use Origin Force to his advantage, expediting his Ranking Progress. However, traces of the Origin Force unconsciously leaked from his body as a result of his regr utilization. *** "Aaaaaaah!" Arman screamed as he attempted to hold onto the sword with his grip. Strangely, instead of letting go, he found himself gripping the wooden sword even harder. Consequently, some of Eren''s Individuality ended up integrating itself with Arman. After a few seconds, Eren''s aura on the sword vanished into thin air, turning it into an ordinary ything. "Aaaaaah!" Eren''s Weapon Comprehension imprinted itself into Arman''s memories, causing him to wince in pain as he clenched his head. Unbeknownst to him, a trace of Eren''s Elemental Attainments and concoction knowledge was also unknowingly passed down to Arman. "What What just happened?" Arman asked himself, looking at the wooden sword with wary eyes. He scanned it with his Mana Sense before picking it up once again, only to find that it was now easy to lift. He concluded that the wooden sword was as normal as it could get, at least not anymore. "Strange. Really strange," Arman mumbled to himself as he examined the wooden sword in his hand. Despite his lingering fear, he decided to store it in his Inventory. Arman didn''t think much about the sword. However, he was more sure than ever about his earlier conjectureC that Eren was special. With numerous questions swirling inside his head, Arman chose to tend to the shop after this peculiar urrence. Little did he know that the wooden sword he had picked up would one day be his family heirloom, passed down to his descendants as a mysterious artifact granting various knowledge and power. *** The aftermath of destroying the pseudo-avatar had taken a toll on Eren, leaving him visibly weakened and mentally fatigued. The fight between Nira and Lemaar, who was controlled by Eren, didn''tst long. It was over within a few minutes after Eren''s possession. However, it took a while for Eren to snap out of the mysterious state he had found himself in. "Are... are you alright?" Shallot asked, her face and voice showing signs of concern. Eren continued to cough, attempting to adjust his breathing. Chapter 1813 Countermeasures Chapter 1813 Countermeasures ??Eren suddenly detected a strong smell of metal and flesh. "Hmmm!" Eren breathed out hard through his nose, and streams of blood flowed from both his nostrils, running down his mouth and staining his clothes. Strangely, he felt much better after the release of blood, as if a significant weight had been lifted from inside his head. If his headache was previously like an enraged demon wolf constantly howling, it had now transformed into a dog''s low growl, post the relief obtained from the bleeding. The headache was still there and it was bound to stay with him for a few days. "I tried to minimize the damage, but" Shallot spoke in a low voice as she gently caressed Eren''s back. However, her small figure and hands weren''t sufficient to provide him with relief. Nheless, he could sense her genuine care and smiled at her. Wiping the blood stains below his nostrils, he snapped his fingers and used his bloodline ability to heal himself. Eren wasn''t nearly as damaged as Nira was. All his injuries were superficial, and his Soul Space was mostly undamaged even after the detonation of the pseudo-avatar. This was a significant advantage of the perma-clone technique he had developed on his own with Shallot''s assistance. Sansara Sage would have been impressed with Eren''s findings had he known what his legacy holder was up to. The butcher was quite decisive in his handling of the situation. Having epted that retaining Lemaar as one of his clones was no longer feasible, Eren decided to sacrifice him to safeguard his interests in Labh Salem. He didn''t want Nira to connect Lemaar, him, or any of his subordinates to the True Inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline making news in Agora. So blowing everything to the smithereens was his only option left. Cultivating a pseudo-avatar was not easy. It required a lot of patience, careful selection, demon hunting, investment of various resources, active monitoring of the entire experimental batch, and a bit of luck. The butcher had just finished crafting his seventh pseudo-avatar. He felt like he needed to do the same stuff all over again in order to restore his seventh perma-clone. After all, the more clones he had the better it was for him to execute a lot of his ns. "It''s fine, Shallot dear. I had already predicted this much damage. So there''s no need to worry." Erenforted Shallot as he caressed her little cheeks before rising to his feet. Despite feeling dizzy and experiencing a brief bout of vertigo, he shook his head, and his blurred vision soon cleared. "Ugh! These side-effects," Eren ran his fingers through his hair and massaged his scalp. He then took out an A-Ranked soul-nurturing potion vial, uncorked it, and gulped the contents down. The possession of this precious potion alone could allow someone to buy the entire mortal-dominated city of Sunhaven for themselves. However, Eren was never frugal when it came to taking care of himself and consumed a few more premium-grade potions to return to his usual condition. *** Eren instructed Shallot to return to the Mirror World before walking out of the underground facility. As soon as he emerged, he faced the inquisitive gazes of Reen, Kayara, and Roza Thas, who had been waiting for him for quite some time. "How did it go?" Reen asked with a serious expression. However, she soon realized that Eren had managed to resolve things after seeing the smile on his face. "Things are fine," Eren reassured his three allies. "At least for now." He then turned to Roza and issued amand. "You need to leave Sunhaven and meet with a team of fiends waiting for you at this location," Eren retrieved his Spectral Screen and sent Roza geographical coordinates. "Lemaar Saaya used to run a demon cult near this ce. Ensure you destroy the whole cult and eliminate everyone in it. No need to capture talented demon seedlings like in the past. Neutralize everyone youy your eyes on. Conduct targeted killings on the cult members who are not present at the time of your raid. Even kittens belonging to this sect should not survive your assault. Loot the cult''s treasury but sell everything in it as soon as you can. Turn the precious resources into Menaka''s Runes and scrap everything up in the ck market. You have only a week. Act swiftly and then disappear for a while before finding your way back to me. Is that clear?" Eren spoke with a serious tone. Eren had already assembled a team of fiends for the purging task. Some of Eren''s fiends from Anfang had managed to find him during thest five years. He had utilized them effectively, employing them in hunting demonic entities. For this specific job, Eren appointed Ashton and Hilda as fiend team captains. These two were a couple whom he had revived as fiends after extracting their souls from Purgatory''s prison. While technically capable ofpleting the task with enough fiends under theirmand, Eren decided to expedite the process by sending Roza along. "Yes, my liege," Roza bowed and epted Eren''s task immediately. "What would be my objective?" she asked carefully as she raised her head to look at Eren. "If that elf is half as smart as I give her credit for, she''ll send someone to investigate Lemaar''s identity," Eren smiled like an old fox as he spoke. "That bitch would want to know where Lemaar came from and when he disappeared from the scene, leaving his own cult behind. Your job is to ensure that she finds nothing useful about Lemaar. You know how to muddy the waters. Use your channels to spread rumors about him, create fake trails, and employ people and money to blur the lines between reality and fiction. Utilize your powers as the incarnation of one of the 72 Ars Goetia Immortal demons to influence local demonic forces if necessary. Lemaar''s cult was dedicated to one of Ars Goetia demons as well if my memory serves right. Ask Immortal Vepaar to move all of the cults under her against that Immortal demon. This way, it would look like it was a sh between two Immortal demons and the cults associated with them. As long as you execute the tasks I assign you correctly, we won''t have to worry about anything." Eren said before taking out a Sativa Stick from his storage and lighting it up. Sansara Sage was unaware that his legacy holder had anticipated his move and initiated countermeasures. Before Lehan or Nira could contemte unraveling the mystery of Eren''s perma-clones, he had already begun constructing an imprable veil to conceal himself. === AN: Ashton and Hilda were first introduced in chapter 302. They were turned into fiends in chapter 1497. They were used as fiends for the first time in chapter 1537. Chapter 1814 Altair, Virtue of Justice, Shinjaka Continent, Four Demon Earls & Twelve Zodiac Gods Chapter 1814 Altair, Virtue of Justice, Shinjaka Continent, Four Demon Earls & Twelve Zodiac Gods ??"Sage Altair, what have you been up to these days?" Eren inquired of Altair''s spectral rendition standing before him with a light smile on his face. The two had managed to reestablish contact during Eren''s retreat into the mortal realm for more than five years. "Eren! What a pleasant surprise. You really have hidden yourself deep, boy. Are you still on that deadbeat assignment from the Corps?" Altair expressed his shock at receiving amunication request from Eren after a long time. He sighed and shook his head before answering Eren''s question. "As for me, I''m at work C as always. Currently on a demon purging mission issued by the Zodiac League." Altair replied honestly. *** Having barely achieved S-Rank when he left Anfang, Altair recognized early on that he needed to depart from his homeworld to make quick progress in his Rank before his Lifeforce ran out. When Eren offered him a way to do just that, Altair seized the opportunity without hesitation. Altair believed that following Eren''s lead was the best decision he could have made in his life. While he faced some challenges during the war between the two kingdoms, circumstances quickly shifted, and his involvement in their affairs was soon forgotten. The Great Shattering had reshaped the entirendscape of Anfang, altering the dynamics between existing organizations post the significant change. Consequently, Altair and his "partner-in-crime" Osha Daman faced no persecution. Arriving in Labh Salem earlier than Eren, Altair, leveraging his S-Rank status, found swift amodation within the world and its diverse customs. After careful consideration, he chose to align with the divine faction. Touching down on the Shinjaka continent of Labh Salem, where the influence of the zodiac pantheon gods held sway, Altair became a member of the Zodiac League. Simr to the organization Eren was part of, the Zodiac League was connected to the divine faction and had ess to the Void Dimension maintained by the divine forces. Earlier, Altair had used a Sin Series Mark to enter a demonically influenced ne along with Eren and others when he left Anfang. Since the Zodiac League represented the divine faction, they requested him to eliminate the Sin Series Marks first. For Practitioners below the S-Rank, it was nearly impossible to rid themselves of the Sin Series or Virtue Series Marks once bestowed upon them. However, this limitation didn''t apply to those at the Sage level. As a Sage, Altair''s soul could endure the intense soul cleansing needed to remove the Sin Series Marks. Recognized as a Kaiser by Labh Salem''s standards, the League invested in Altair without hesitation. Especially after seeing his aptitude. Of course, Altair was also smart enough to hide many things about him, which saved him a lot of troubles. Virtue Series Marks differed from Sin Series Marks. While the Sin Series belonged to seven factions of the same pantheon, Virtue Series Marks were spread across seven distinct pantheons. They were developed by various gods working together to counteract the Sin Series Marks, preventing any single pantheon from monopolizing them. The zodiac pantheon, led by the Lion God Leo, blessed its followers with the Virtue of Justice Mark. This meant that all twelve zodiac temples could bestow the Virtue of Justice Mark to their most ardent and capable followers. The continent of Shinjaka was dominated by half-blood forces, some sharing bloodline lineages with the twelve zodiac gods. They were beast gods after all. So their descendents were naturally half-bloods. As a result, capable Practitioners on the continent bore the Virtue of Justice Mark, bing a prominent identifier for those aligning with the twelve zodiac gods. The Virtue of Justice Mark aligned with Altair''s temperament and personality, proving superior to the ability awakened after receiving the Sin Series Mark earlier. Then again, Altair had acquired the Mark solely to traverse the demonic ne while leaving Anfang behind, with no intention or opportunity to utilize the Sin Series Mark. As such, the Zodiac League sessfully removed the Sin Series Mark without significantly impacting Altair''s foundation. Just like Kaaisayan''s Demon yer Corps, the Zodiac League was also part of the enormous front opened by the divine faction against the demonic forces. Consequently, it wasmon for the Zodiac League to issue demon-purging missions to its members. The pantheon of the twelve gods faced opposition from four of the 72 Ars Goetia Demons. These Immortal demons, namely Furfur, Malthus, Raum, and Bifrons, collectively formed the group known as Demon Earls. The demonic cults associated with the Demon Earls had surrounded the Shinjaka continent from both sides, with some forces causing chaos within the continent. Dealing with these demonic entities associated with the Demon Earls kept the Zodiac League constantly engaged. After hearing about Altair in one of the Demon yer Corps'' reports, Eren managed to establish contact with him. Labh Salem was significantlyrger than Anfang, making it take some time for the two to learn about each other''s circumstances. During their conversation, Eren and Altair reminisced about their lives in Anfang. Altair expressed his desire to bring Altashia with him to Labh Salem, but Eren informed him that Altashia nned to enter Echidna after epting Kirin''s invitation. Eren used the confidentiality agreement with the Corps as a reason to keep his current location hidden from Altair. It wasn''t a matter of distrust; rather, Eren had reservations about the methods employed by the Zodiac League, given Altair''s connection with the league. After discussing the current trends on the Shinjaka continent, Eren posed the question he had called Altair for: "How many demons do you have in "stock" now?" Knowing that Altair was in charge of the demonic entities captured by the Zodiac League and acted as a prison warden appointed by the league, Eren inquired about Altair''s progress. In addition to his role as a jailer, Altair took on-field missions to alleviate boredom and secure more S-Ranked resources for himself. "Hm? Let me check," Altair pulled up a Spectral Screen in front of him before responding to Eren. "Currently, I have two demonic entities in the S-Rank, 30 Practitioners in the A-Rank, 567 in the B-Rank, and around 4000 small fries in the lower ranks imprisoned. Do you want some of them?" he asked. Chapter 1815 Suffering from Success Chapter 1815 Suffering from Sess ??"Indeed," Eren smiled before responding. "I just need around 20 A-Rank Practitioners, preferably following the Rankers'' Path," he said casually as if he were buying vegetables. "As for the B-Ranked Practitioners and lower, send them to me in batches, as many as you can without alerting anyone. I''ll pay you as per the quality and quantity, like thest time." Eren had recently lost his seventh pseudo-avatar, and his fiend army could only do so much. He needed additional supplies for the experiment, aiming to increase the sample size to enhance the chances of finding apatible pseudo-avatar in a shorter time. Of course, Eren also wanted to extract the Faustian Rune Fragments from the B-Ranked and lower-level demonic Practitioners. Since they didn''t need to be put into the pseudo-avatar creation experiment, Eren didn''t have stringent requirements. This wasn''t the first transaction Altair Argas had done with Eren. He had sent numerous captured demonic entities to Eren over the course of a few years, knowing full well that they were as good as dead. However, Eren paid well and provided many benefits. Besides, being a fellow Anfangian and having his granddaughter attached to him were reasons enough for Altair to cooperate with Eren. Altair didn''t need to ask Eren about what he did with the demonic entities. Knowing Eren, it wasn''t something he wanted to know anyway. Some boxes were better left unopened. *** As for the supply of the B-Ranked and lower demonic Practitioners, it was obviously for the genuine demons hiding within them. Eren had hit some form of a bottleneck after devouring a certain amount of Faustian Rune Fragments. His Ranking Status as ate-stage A-Ranked Grandmaster was partly to me for this situation. But that wasn''t the whole truth. Eren had kept on doing what he had been doing in AnfangC albeit on a higher scale than before. Yet, there was a catch this time. No matter how many Wrath mes he extracted, how many foreign Elemental Attainments he assimted, or how much Lifeforce he extracted, this bottleneck wasn''t something he could get rid of simply by devouring too much. Considering Eren''s broad Ranking Path and his age, one would have to admit that he had progressed too rapidly in his Grandmaster Rank. No matter how profound it was, his Individuality wasn''t ready to initiate a Rankers'' Cmity to achieve the S-Rank. It could be said that time was the best magician, and it had not cast any spell on Eren''s Ranking Path yet. After all, Eren was not even a hundred years old. Compared to his long lifespan granted by his Grandmaster Status, he could basically be referred to as a young teen by mortal standards who still did not have facial hair growth. And yet, this teen had decided to leave his "home" to progress on his own. In short, Eren''s bottleneck wasn''t because hecked talent or resources. It also wasn''t because his originally low aptitude didn''t qualify him to achieve Sagehood. He simply was too young. Plus, his Individuality was too broad to be smelted into perfection within a few hundred years. Plus, Eren''s overachievement was another reason for his current predicament. The bottleneck Eren faced was because he had practically eaten too much without stopping to digest his gains. He had be a fat mosquito that couldn''t fly because it had achieved too much sess in its blood-sucking adventures. However, this bottleneck didn''t stop Eren from working steadfastly on his goals to cut back on his Tantra practice. He also didn''t slow down the extraction of the Faustian Rune Fragments from the disposable demonic entities. When other Practitioners got discouraged after seeing their stagnated progress at the end of their lifespan, Eren felt that he was just getting started. The stagnation never bothered him. It only made him hungry for more. After all, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem, Eren could feel that his mastery over the Sin Series Marks was improving with the consistent supply of Faustian Rune Fragments. Even a speck-like progress was still progress in his eyes. His A-Rank mana core was also getting tempered because of his consistent self-improving methods, stabilizing his foundation for the iing Rank Upgrade. If one were to look at Eren''s current Ranking Status and his individuality, they would have topare it against a monster who had lived for thousands of years. And if they were to look at his current age and the Lifeforce his body carried, they would be even more horrified. *** This was not all. Eren had experienced something really peculiar after making use of the pseudo-avatars. His Elemental Attainments were somehow getting diversified through the use of multiple clones and living multiple identities at once. Eren''s Ranking Path was incredibly broad and all- epassing. It wasn''t a path that one could follow using traditional methods. The more Rank Upgrades he received, the more challenging things became for him. At the periphery of the S-Rank, an almost impassable bottleneck awaited him. Unbeknownst to this, Eren had inadvertently started to get rid of the bottleneck through his pseudo-avatar n. Eren had essentially used his enemies as nutrients, leveraging their foundation to fuel his progress. However, all of this needed to be ironed out before the Rankers'' Cmity struck him. Thankfully, the pseudo-avatars Eren had cultivated during these five years helped him do just that. They allowed him topartmentalize his Elemental Attainments, Weapon Comprehension, Professions, and Sin Series powers. Each pseudo-avatar was given ess to a select part of Eren''s Individuality. This fragmentation enabled him to refine these fragmented parts with better efficiency and efficacy. The use of the pseudo-avatars also enabled him to observe his own Elemental Attainments from a third-person perspective, deepening his knowledge about his own strengths and weaknesses. This was not something achievable through living a singr life. Inyman''s terms The use of the pseudo-avatars allowed the butcher to divide his broad Ranking Path into manageablenes. Although his Ranking Progress had essentially stagnated during thest few months, this was not necessarily a drawback for him. Chapter 1816 Naya’s Reemergence

Chapter 1816 Naya''s Reemergence

Eren''s core beliefs remained unchanged even afternding in Labh Salem. He continued to work hard to sharpen his skills and build a steady foundation. He kept investing in himself, making full use of the rich and diverse resources avable in Labh Salem. Even though Tantra''s practice improved his speed and efficiency, Eren didn''t cut down on his efforts. On the contrary, it made him even more steadfast on his Path than ever before. One could say that what Sansara Sage was attempting to do after achieving Perfect Sainthood was being done by Eren when he was just a Grandmaster Ranker. He was essentially living multiple lives through the use of his clones, broadening and perfecting his Path even more than before. All he needed to do at the Ranker''s Cmity was to fuse all his experiences and smelt them to achieve Sagehood. Of course, by this point, Eren had alsoe to realize that the Ranker''s Cmity that he was going to trigger in Labh Salem would be anything but normal. He needed the right ce and time to go through such a ground-shaking experienceC something he wasn''t prepared for yet. As such, Eren didn''t be anxious because of his temporary pause in the Ranking Progress. In fact, he even felt somewhat relieved that he didn''t have to deal with the problems that would arrive if and when he triggered the Cmity. *** Eren and Altair conversed for a while and reached an agreement. Due to their busy schedules, meeting in person was not feasible. Unlike in Anfang, Eren had no intention of establishing a White Raven cult or an Elder Ichor temple in Labh Salem. Simply because it did not serve his purpose. Consequently, he didn''t extend an invitation to Altair to join him. It was much better for Altair to help him from a distance. Eren also had ns to contact Osha Daman to help him out with some of his affairs. This ambitious Sage was also making a name for herself in Labh Salem because of her exceptional Individuality. Contacting her directly would make Erene into the limelight as well, which was something he didn''t want. Eren had basically turned his two Sage allies into mercenaries with the way he kept in touch with them. Of course, he made sure to align his goals with the two Sages'' interests as well, forming mutually beneficial rtionships. Eren''s divinity was unlike any other god or demigod. The butcher''s abominated divinity didn''t require him to follow the traditional faith-centric path to generate Origin Force Points from his followers, so he didn''t bother. Whyplicate matters by introducing unnecessary factors into a solvable equation? It was more prudent to leverage his peculiarities and remain concealed, away from prying and unwanted eyes. The geographical distance between Eren and Altair''s respective locations was substantial. Additionally, neither Altair nor Eren could use the Void Dimension, which they both had ess to, for the transfer of the demonic entities. Since their dealings were off the books this time and they wanted to avoid involving their respective forces, official channels were not an option, especially for transporting arge batch of demonic cultivators. This prompted Eren to choose a coastal city as his residence. The sea, being vast and beyond the control of any single organization, offered a faster and safer means for such ndestine transactions. Eren had established pirate routes to facilitate the receipt of a significant shipment of "experimental disposables." He had reced the regr pirate gangs with some of his fiends. In essence, there was nothing Eren couldn''t import or export to and from Sunhaven using these sea routes. Equipped with various Array Formations, Freya and Tidebreaker, the two capable ships in Eren''s possession, served as powerful vessels to transport the demonic entities while keeping them imprisoned. Among regr sea-traveling merchants and small pirate gangs, Freya and Tidebreaker instilled fear, causing them to change their course upon sighting the ships. Eren assured Altair that one of his associates would soon contact him with the location and time for the handover of the "goods." He then closed themunication channel with Altair before reaching out to a specific individual. It didn''t take long for someone to respond to Eren''s summons. "Are we out of trouble?" Naya asked as she appeared in Siren''s Sanctuary. Simr to Reen, she had been alerted by Eren while she was outside Sunhaven to stand guard in case any temple forces or demonic cults decided to strike. In her humanoid form, Naya had be even more mysterious, powerful, and beautiful. Her demonic heritage and beastly aura were concealed aftering to Sunhaven, presenting her as a regr mortal girl in her early 20s. Naya, like others from Eren''s team, had managed to reestablish contact with him during thest five years. Originally a demon beast formally bound to Birmond Remus, Eren had altered the Faustian Contract after her original owner''s death, making her his allied demon beast. Progressing significantly since her entry into Labh Salem, Naya was also in the A-Rank, slightly trailing behind Eren. Labh Salem''s abundance of resources suited the demonkind, making Naya feel like she had transitioned from a backwater origin to a prosperous ce. "Yeah," Eren nodded before assigning her the task he had discussed with Altair. "I want you to take Freya and act as the leader of the fiends stationed aboard it," Eren exined the details of their n. After a brief chat, Naya left for Freya straight from Siren Sanctuary''s backyard. Eren watched her depart aboard Freya before turning around, muttering to himself, "Goddess Sekhmet''s annual celebration is tomorrow. I guess I gotta get ready." Eren anticipated this annual celebration due to an invitation from Wilfer, making him a potential bearer of the Virtue Series Marks. Eren wanted to test if his soul could carry the Virtue Series Marks. Confident in handling potential ramifications with his immortal soul, he decided to try his luck and see if God Aleph''s bloodline unlocked additional benefits for him. === AN: Freya was mentioned in chapter 987. Tidebreaker was given to Eren in chapter 1264. Chapter 1817 Festival of Intoxication Chapter 1817 Festival of Intoxication ??City of Sunhaven. Kingdom of Eldorath. Joravar Continent. The entire city of Sunhaven was in a festive season. It was the week of the Festival of Intoxication, celebrated all across Labh Salem wherever the temples of Sekhmet had a presence in the region. This week-long celebration honored the goddess Sekhmet, during which her followers yed music to soothe the wildness of the goddess. They ritually consumed great quantities of beer and wine to imitate the extreme drunkenness that had once halted the wrath of the goddess, preventing her from destroying a certain region somewhere. The festivities were not only a religious tribute to the goddess Sekhmet but also a time for themunity toe together, revel in merriment, and indulge in various cultural activities. Throughout the week, the city''s streets were adorned with colorful banners, vibrant decorations, and the intoxicating aroma of various foods and beverages. The temples dedicated to Sekhmet were particrly adorned with borate flower arrangements, incense, and offerings to honor the goddess. One of the central aspects of the festival was the week-long musical performances that echoed through the city. Musicians, both local and from afar, showcased their talents, ying tunes that were believed to calm the wild nature of Sekhmet. The rhythmic beats and melodious tunes filled the air, creating an enchanting ambiance that resonated with the spirit of the celebration. Devotees and celebrants alike partook in various forms of beverages, believing that the act mirrored the extreme drunkenness that had once appeased Sekhmet''s wrath. The revelers engaged in toasts, sharedughter, and celebrated the joy of life. The festival also featured various cultural events, including dance performances, theatrical ys, and art exhibitions. Local artisans and craftsmen disyed their works, adding an artistic ir to the festivities. Traditional ceremonies were held, recounting the tales of Sekhmet and the significance of the festival in the city''s history. When Eren first arrived at Sunhaven, the festival for that year was about to begin. This was the reason why the royal scions from Eldorath hade to Sunhaven. Of course, Eren hadpelled some of the royal scions who had bothered him for no reason tomit all kinds of bizarre acts, resulting in their loss of heads and, eventually, their lives. However, that didn''t stop him from participating in the festival every year. The butcher liked this festival for a simple fact that it allowed him to indulge in his vice for an entire week. By seeing that the other people were drinking more than him, he felt like he was normal and wasn''t doing anything too excessive. After all, one feels normal when they observe that there are more people in the world like them. Eren''s identity held great importance for the people of Sunhaven. As the only E-Rank potion-maker in the city, Ren Roman Idril received special treatment from both the city administration and the local temple body. *** It was the first day of the annual Festival of Intoxication. A grand stage had been set up in the middle of the city square''s spacious open space. A huge crowd gathered in front of the stage, eagerly paying attention to the activities unfolding. Ren Roman Idril appeared in his usual refined and schrly attire, a man in his mid-30s wearing formal clothes. A light smile graced his lips as he surveyed the crowd around him. Seated with a few distinguished guests on the stage, Ren shared the space with Eldorathian royalty, distinguished elders from reputed Sunhaven families, sessful merchants with active businesses in the city, and schrs and individuals from nearby cities. Of course, Wilfer was also seen seated beside him, chatting with him enthusiastically from time to time. Arman, Ren''s attendant, stood behind his seat, feeling proud as he looked at the sea of people gazing back at him with a hint of envy in their eyes. His pride stemmed from his journey from being the boy from the boonies who once struggled to obtain Sunhaven''s permanent residency. The onlookers envied him as the sole apprentice of the city''s sessful potion-maker. "And now, I request Rook Ren Roman Idril to stand up and award some of the local youngsters of Sunhaven who have be Practitioners this year by sessfully forming the F-Rank mana core," announced the speaker on the stage, addressing Eren while ensuring his mana-enhanced voice reached every corner of the city square. A round of apuse followed as a boy, appearing to be in his early teens, stepped up on stage. His eyes gleamed as he surveyed the crowd, relishing the attention and eager for more. Ren Roman Idril rose from his seat, offering a smile to the boy and gesturing for him toe forward from his right. Simultaneously, a young woman approached from Ren''s left, holding a bronze tter in both hands with a closed sack ced on it. Ren took the sack, casually scanning it with his Mana Sense. It was a simple space-element alchemy item containing resources, both mortal and Practitioners'' wealth, along with a copy of a Tantra Practice suitable for the boy standing before Ren with expectant eyes. The Tantra practices freely distributed originated from the temple of Sekhmet, ensuring that those who used them would return to the temple for further iterations in the advanced ranks. It was a subtle method of soft recruitment employed by the temples. Of course, most of these teens would remain in the F-Rank forever, not taking the Practitioners'' Path. Forming a mana core was just a formality, a way for them to attain higher positions in their respective professions. There were only a few dozen teens who had formed their mana core in their teens anyway. Considering the conducive environment of Labh Salem and overall poption of Sunhaven, it was less than a drop in the bucket. "Congrattions on forming your mana core," Ren congratted the teen as he handed over the sack, smiling at him. The boy received the sack, bowed to Eren and the audience, acknowledged the apuse, and then descended from the stage. Watching the teen leave the stage, Eren sighed, reflecting on the rich customs of Labh Salem. In Anfang, there were no celebrations for mortals bing Rankers in their youth. He recalled celebrating his own Ranker achievement by taking Nina out to dinner, using his own money. Of course, Eren''s past also made him recall the camping night he had with Nina and that brought a genuine smile to his face. It made him realize that his life in Anfang wasn''t entirely bleak. Eren continued congratting more teens, presenting them with sacks containing various resources as they came to receive their awards one by one. Everything proceeded smoothly until a particr individual ascended the stage with malice in his heart. [ Jaiye Sohren harbors feelings of greed in your presence. You have earned 0.2 Origin Force Points ] [ Jaiye Sohren harbors feelings of envy. You have earned 0.1 Origin Force Points ] [ Jaiye Sohren harbors feelings of wrath. You have earned 0.1 Origin Force Points ] ''Hm? What did I do to this fellow? Did I sleep with his lover while I was drunk?'' Eren thought internally as he observed the approaching youth with a smile on his face. ''Naah. It''s only the first day of the festival. I haven''t even started drinking,'' he discarded his previous conjecture. This time, the butcher employed his Soul Sense to inspect the boy and discovered that the teen in front of him wasn''t who he imed to be. ''A man in his 20s. E-Rankte stage, a few steps away from entering the D-Rank. This is not the kind of Practitioner who should be in Sunhaven. Someone imported from outside? Well, this should be interesting,'' Eren identified the man through his altered appearance and hidden aura. However, he didn''t let this revtion break his character and greeted the man as usual. "Congrattions on forming your mana core," Eren said as he handed the guy the alchemy sack prepared for him. The boy hastily took the sack from Eren, his expressions turning ruthless with an evil smile. "Hahaha, Ren Roman Idril! So you are that famous backer Wilfer is relying on," the teen''s illusion unraveled as he transformed into the grown-up man he was in an instant. His Ranking Status also surged from the vapor stage of the F- Rank to thete stage of the E-Rank, enabling him to wield his mana power to the fullest. He then red at Wilfer with wild eyes and sneered before making an announcement to the entire audience. "The Eldorathian king is dead, and Wilfer killed him. In the name of the fourth prince Wilwen and the future king, I shall avenge the previous king," the man dered before opening the restriction on the alchemy sack. The entire crowd fell silent upon hearing the man''s im. Nobody understood what was happening, and confused expressions were exchanged among the onlookers. It seemed that the man aimed to kill Wilfer and Ren in front of the audience, creating a chaotic scene. Although he had been deprived of all his weapons beforeing on stage, and there were a few Skill-based restrictions in the city square that prevented anyone from using their Inventory, he had already arranged for his weapons and other destructive items to be hand-delivered to him through the alchemy sack. Chapter 1818 Frozen Fountain of Blood Chapter 1818 Frozen Fountain of Blood ??Wilfer''s expression turned serious when he realized that some kind of conspiracy was brewing. "Who are you?" he asked, looking at the man vigntly. "Guards!" he shouted, calling forth his royal guards who should be nearby, mixed with the crowd in disguise. Wilfer also had a bad feeling at this point, making him believe that a part of what the man had said was true. The Eldorathian king was really not in good shape thest few years. However, if he was dead, it had to be an assassination. Wilfer was about to get up from his seat but was made to stay seated by Eren''s simple gaze. Of course, Eren had also informed Arman not to make any bold moves, preventing him from leaving his position. "Hm? This sack it''s empty?" The E-Ranked man who wanted to kill Wilfer realized that there was something wrong with the n. The alchemy sack he was handed didn''t have the weapons he wanted. In fact, the sack waspletely empty, not even containing the usual resources meant to be given to the new and genuine young Practitioners. "Where? Where the fuck is my sack?" the man roared at the young woman who had been standing beside Eren with a confused look on her face. The supposed killer''s eyes were bloodshot, and there was some form of confusion on his face at the same time. "Are you looking for this?" Ren Roman Idril pulled out a runic knife out of thin air and presented it to the man. He had a vibrant smile on his face as he looked at his supposed killer. "You!" The man stared daggers at Ren, his eyes full of anger and all sorts of emotions. "Give it to me," he said before snatching his knife away from him. He didn''t know where Eren had taken his stuff from the alchemy sack, but that didn''t stop him from wielding his weapon and activating the runes on it. By this point, a cacophony of noises wasing from the crowd below. Some screamed all sorts of slogans; some wanted to stone the man who was about to kill Wilfer and the city''s only E-Rank potion-maker. Some had started ming the city''s security measures, while some had started to retreat from the venue in a hurry, anticipating chaos. The sounds of heavy footsteps were approaching the stage. Some F-Ranked guards had started to use their movement-type Skills by using some privileged tokens that allowed them to use the Skills in a banned area. Wilfer''s royal guards had already arrived on the stage, but they didn''t approach him casually, lest the crazy man initiated an attack. "I don''t want to judge your professionalism but you are holding that knife wrong," Ren said casually and shook his head in disappointment as he observed the man''s weapon-wielding stance. "What the hell are you saying?" he said, taking one more step forward and pressing the knife under Eren''s head. "Didn''t you hear the first time?" Eren said, looking into the man''s eyes with calm and collected expressions. "That kind of knife shouldn''t be held like a sword. Don''t just grip the hilt. Use your two fingers to sandwich the de and hold it as if you were holding a sheet of paper between them. This way, you''d have more de control, and the grip would also bepatible with the fire-element runes carved on the de," Eren replied calmly, as if an old veteran were teaching a young hunter. "Hmph!" the man snorted, clearly not wanting to follow up on Eren''s directions. He sensed the guards behind him, but they were all in the initial or mid-stage of the E-Rank and clearly no match for him. After all, the ranks obtained by these guards were acquired through the consumption of elixirs and rare royal resources. They didn''t have the kind of battle experience they needed to take someone like the E-Rank veteran down. "You are an E-Ranked potion-maker, right? I hope you have some good stuff in your Inventory. Hehe," the man chuckled at Eren as he activated the runes on the knife and swung it across Eren''s neck, expecting a stream of blood toe out. It seemed that he had the means to rob Eren''s stuff from his Inventory after his death. However, in the next moment, the assant realized that there was something wrong. The man clearly felt that Eren had not deployed his mana defenseyer to protect himself. Eren''s flesh was exposed, and his body didn''t carry any defensive artifacts at the time. By this point, someone from Wilfer''s guards unit came forward holding a runic gem. He crushed the gem and activated a defensiveyer that isted Eren, the assant, the scared young girl beside him, worried Wilfer, and stressed Arman, along with a few guests, from the rest of the crowd as well as the city guards who justnded on the stage. "What the hell are you doing? Finish up the job quickly. We gotta go," the gem-crushing man yelled at the E-Ranked man. He ignored the angered gaze given to him by Wilfer. Since he had betrayed this royal scion, he wanted to leave Sunhaven as soon as possible and go somewhere else in wealth and prosperity. He clearly had been given a ton of advanced payment by Wilfer''s enemy faction. "Aaaaah!" The E-Ranked man screamed and channeled the E- Ranked mana throughout his body before initiating his attack on Eren. ''Haah! Five years of peace and then this.'' Eren sighed as he looked at the iing attack before suddenly raising his hand and gripping the man''s attacking hand by his wrist with such agility that the E-Ranked man couldn''t follow with his Mana Sense. Eren could have just stood there and let the man attack all he wanted without achieving any form of sess. Even if he were to allow this man to attack him until the evening, there would be no scratch on his body. There was a high chance the man would die from over exhaustion before he managed to make Eren feel a bit of pain. However, Eren decided to take action because he didn''t want to waste his time. Chapter 1819 Rewriting the Script Chapter 1819 Rewriting the Script ??Eren twisted the man''s wrist and made him drop the runic knife he was holding. Catching it with his free hand swiftly, Eren juggled with the knife out of habit before holding it between his two fingers, just as he had described to the man. "This is how you hold this knife," Eren showed his grip to the assant. He then kicked the man''s knee joint and shattered it in an instant, making him tilt towards Eren. [ The Spatial Seal unable to prevent the Skill Activation because of its low rank. Skill: Stunning Speed Skill: Sedated Perception ] Eren lightly pushed the man''s shoulder and made him spin around on his other leg before activating the runes on the knife. Eren''s grip changed slightly once again as he severed the man''s head cleanly from his neck. The grip this time had been changed from its initial state; it was as if he was holding a brush as he drew a streak of red blood from the man''s headless corpse. The grip Eren had shown to the assant was the base on which all the other forms of weapon tackles could be executed. In the geometry terms, it was the median which was equidistant from rest of the permutable geometrical patterns. Unfortunately, the assant couldn''t observe the subtle nuances of the weapon handling Eren had executed. The fountain of blood that was released from the assant''s neck like an enraged volcano was frozen with ice magic the next moment. This unmoving fountain of blood looked like it had been frozen in time. It was as if a blood tree had been sprouted on the man''s trunk where his head was supposed to be. It looked beautiful and artistic in a haunting way. Eren used one of Birmond''s powers and cast spontaneous ice magic because he didn''t want any blood on his new clothes. The miser in him didn''t want to spend extra on buying a new set of formal and rich-looking clothes for festivals like these. Eren then raised his hand and made the traitor''s cracked gem fly into his palm. ''Interesting stuff. Let''s see if there are more of these for my Rank,'' he thought before storing it in his Inventory. Since his Rank was too high, no area-wide spatial restrictions worked on him. He knew the crushed gem still had two or three uses left within it. However, he didn''t want to use the gem for his own safety. Instead, he was nning to mass-produce the gems in the higher ranks and distribute them among his followers. The demi-god in him was very thoughtful of his niche follower base. ''Time to rewrite the script and make someone else the hero of this story.'' Eren thought to himself before looking Arman''s way from the corner of his eyes. He then used his space-element attainments to make Arman disappear from his position and appear right between him and the headless corpse. He then made Arman hold the knife he had just used before deactivating his Skills. Snap! It was as if someone had hit "y" on the paused individual recording. The istionyer snapped and broke into countless pieces like ss shattering. The main assant''s headless corpse fell lifelessly on the ground, and the frozen-in-time blood fountain was ruined. The assant''s partner-in-crime and Wilfer''s ex-royal guard found out that the gem he was holding was missing. And the city guards, as well as the rest of Wilfer''s royal guards, realized there was no restriction preventing them from pinning down the criminals. The guards immediately pinned the gem-crushing traitor. Some of them went forward to arrest the original assant but backed away in fright when they realized the man was missing his head. "Huh?" Arman felt like something had changed about him or his surroundings. He then looked around as if trying to gauge the situation he was in. However, what followed afterward made him even more confused. Because the stunned crowd had started to chant his name and celebrate him as the hero of the situation. *** After a few hours, the crowd dispersed and awaited the official deration of the king''s death from the kingdom. Backstage, away from the dispersing crowd. "I''m sorry it came to this, Rook Ren," Wilfer dropped his neck as he apologized to Eren. "I never knew things would progress in this way," he said and sighed. "You are not sorry," Eren snorted as he looked at Wilfer''s apologizing stance. "In fact, you are d that they see you as someone backed by me. You were kind of hoping for simr developments when you decided to conduct business transactions with me." Wilfer''s expressions stiffened when he heard Eren''s words. He wanted to discard Eren''s im. But somehow his voice failed him. "RestC rest assured. I will make sure that this situation never happens," Wilfer said with determined expressions as he clenched his fists. "I will also reward your apprentice with suitable rewards when I get back to the capital. His actions have saved our lives after all. I''ll arrange for him to be a baron if you don''t mind. I just need to" Wilfer''s voice trailed off, hesitating to speak his next words. "You want to confirm if the king has really died or not, right?" Eren chuckled and shook his head before speaking further. "Don''t worry. He is not dead. It was just a diversion tactic to assassinate you. The scriptwriter of this y firstunched a sessful "failed" attack on the king, then acted as the king''s savior. He then spread the news that the king had died to arrange a proper foundation for your assassination. He would then hunt down his own subordinates that he had arranged to kill you," Eren stated matter of factly. "HowC how did you know all this?" Wilfer raised his head and asked Eren with shocked expressions. Thetter just shrugged his shoulders before turning around and walking away from the royal scion. "Wilen he stooped to this level," Wilfer''s expressions turned hideous as he processed Eren''s words and found them to be believable. Eren, however, had something else to say on the matter. "Ummm It''s not the fourth prince Wilwen," Eren''s distant- sounding voice was heard by Wilfer. "What kind of braindead mastermind allows his underlings to utter his name in front of arge crowd? I would look somewhere else if I were you," the butcher said before disappearing from Wilfer''s vision. *** ''I have babysat enough royal babies when I was in Anfang. No more.'' Eren said to himself before approaching Siren''s Sanctuary. If nothing too dramatic happened this time, the Festival of Intoxication would resume by the evening after the citizens hear that the king is alive and well. Eren wanted to try his luck in the evening itself and see if he could have ess to one of the Virtue Series Marks. Chapter 1820 Multiple Generations of Virtue Series Marks Chapter 1820 Multiple Generations of Virtue Series Marks ??Sunhaven, Eldorath Kingdom. The entire city of Sunhaven was partying, enjoying, singing, and dancing while consuming various forms of spirits. The city administration had resumed the Festival of Intoxication after confirming that the king''s death was indeed a farce. Eren, at this point, was busy reading some of the old scrolls and tomes that were presented to him inside Goddess Sekhmet''s temple. The proof of invitation he had received through Wilfer came in handy for him when he decided to study the Virtue Series Marks. Unfortunately, Eren couldn''t rush the temrs to hold out the ceremony and brand his soul with the Virtue Series Marks in their possession. This was because the chaos caused by the king''s false death and failed assassination attempt on Wilfer was too great. Even the management of the temple had decided to bolster its security for a few weeks. As such, he could only wait a few days before he received a green signal from the temrs. Nheless, Eren was offered generous ess to the temple''s library. Eren made use of this chance and decided to start studying the Virtue Series Marks right away. The more he read, the more he started to understand the intricacies behind them and the intent-based magic as a whole. *** There were only seven Sin Series Marks formed by God Aleph in the primordial time. However, the number of the Virtue Series Marks was more than seven. More importantly, they had been categorized by their generations. The Virtue Series Marks were created by the gods to bnce out the disadvantages their followers faced when they fought with the demonic Practitioners carrying the Seven Sin Series Marks. The first generation of the Virtue Series Marks were called Cardinal Virtues and they were based on the concepts of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. The first generation of the Virtue Series was created by a group of old and well-established pantheon gods. As such, the followers belonging to only these four gods'' temples received these Virtue Series Marks. The gods soon found out that the four cardinal Virtue Series Marks were not enough to tackle the influence of the seven Sin Series Marks. Plus, a lot of internal strife broke out because only the followers of a select pantheon gods received these blessings. Thus, a second generation of the Virtue Series Marks was created, this time by arge group of smaller gods. They created Virtue of Faith, Virtue of Charity, and Virtue of Hope Marks, whichter were recognized as second-generation theological virtues. The second generation of the theological Virtue Series Marks were shared by multiple gods and they could be used by almost any pantheon and the gods in them. This was because these Virtue Series Marks did not bind themselves with any particr faith and instead promoted the worship of the faith itself. The concepts of faith, charity, and hope were all-inclusive andpatible with any form of divinity. At least they did not create conflict and could be adjusted to suit the divinity of the god who was about to craft their own Virtue Series Mark. As such, the second generation of the Virtue Series Marks was quickly spread across the gods'' various domains. However, there was a problem with the second generation of the Virtue Series Marks. Even though they were highlypatible with any form of divinity, they were not particrly useful to counter the influence of the Sin Series Marks. They did not empower the gods'' followers as much as they should have when their demonic opponents were fully charged with the Sin Series Marks on them. The gods quickly understood their mistake after creating the allpatible second-generation Virtue Series Marks. As such, they decided to create Virtue Series Marks that would stand directly opposed to the Sin Series Marks, giving their followers premium ess to intent-based magic at the cost of their undivided faith in them. Thus, a third generation of the Virtue Series Marks was born. These seven Virtue Series Marks were called Seven Capital Virtues, based on the concepts of chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. Although there was some ovep between the third- generation Virtue Series Marks and their predecessors, the improved marks themselves worked really well. They were notpletelypatible with all the pantheons and the respective divinities they preached, but they managed to finally bring about a bnce between the divine and demonic factions. The Virtue Series Marks offered by Sage Minerva belonged to the first generation. Of course, she had refused to brand Eren''s soul with these marks, imagining that they would not bepatible with him. These Virtue Series Marks were finally obtained by Lensa when she sessfully inherited Sage Minerva''s legacy. *** Inside a small library maintained by Goddess Sekhmet''s temple, a schrly middle-aged man was seen studying various forms of scrolls and old books. "So that''s how it is," Eren mumbled to himself as he closed thest ancient tome and reclined back in his chair. He caressed his chin in contemtion before thinking to himself. "I think I should go with the third generation Virtue Series Marks as they create maximum contrast against the Sin Series Marks. If I want to bring about a bnce between the two pr different aspects, it would only work in my favor if both sides were simr in strength. Otherwise, one type of the Mark will devour the other of its kind, and I would end up with faulty Marks on my soul. That is provided, I don''t injure my soul in the process." Eren concluded as he got up. With a flick of his hands, he sent away the tomes and scrolls to their intended ces and cleared the study table before heading out. Eren was d that he was banned from receiving Virtue Series Marks by Sage Minerva when he was in Anfang. Since they belonged to the first generation, they could not have created optimal contrast between his Sin Series Marks. Eren would have suffered big time if he had somehow forced or coerced Minerva into offering him her true legacy. "Haah! So much unpredictability. Time to enjoy the festival and drown my sorrows in liquor," Eren sighed dramatically before heading out. In the next moment, a smile bloomed on his face as he disappeared into thin air. He had decided to indulge in his vice after a year-long abstain from it. Chapter 1821 Virtue of Kindness Mark & the Refinement of Sin of Envy Mark Chapter 1821 Virtue of Kindness Mark & the Refinement of Sin of Envy Mark ??The fourth day of the Festival of Intoxication. This was Eren''s second visit to the temple. However, this was the first time he was seeing the temple''s glory in the morning light. Goddess Sekhmet''s temple, standing majestically in the heart of Sunhaven, was an architectural marvel. The exterior showcased intricate carvings of ferocious lions, symbolizing strength and power. The grand entrance was adorned with golden pirs, and the steps leading up to it were nked by statues depicting scenes from Sekhmet''s stories and divine deeds. The temple''s central structure featured a massive dome, representing the celestial prowess of the lion-headed goddess. Upon entering the temple, visitors were greeted by an expansive hall with high ceilings. The air was thick with the fragrance of sacred incense, creating an atmosphere of mystique. The smell was liquor and ritualistic wine was also mixed in the air, creating a subtly intoxicating atmosphere. The week-long Festival of Intoxication still had three more days remaining. As such, the hype about the festival was only reaching new heights. The walls of the temple were adorned with vibrant murals depicting various stages of Sekhmet''s divine journey. The main altar, situated at the heart of the temple, housed an imposing statue of the lion-headed goddess, radiating an aura of authority. "Rook Ren, pleasee this way," a beautiful priestess soon came to Eren while he was loitering around in the temple''s premises. She gestured to him to follow and led him to a particrly less-crowded area. In a secluded section of the temple, a sacred chamber known as the "Chamber of Virtues" was dedicated to the branding ceremonies during the Festival of Intoxication. The Virtue of Kindness Mark, a symbol associated with empathy and benevolence, was a prominent feature of this annual event. The ceremony involved a meticulous process led by the temple''s high priestess, assisted by skilled enchanters. Distinguished individuals from Sunhaven and nearby cities, carefully selected for their noble virtues, gathered in the chamber. The air buzzed with magical energy as the temple priests chanted ancient hymns invoking the essence of kindness. In the dimly lit chamber, each participant was seated on an ornate chair, surrounded by a circle of enchanters. The ritual began with the high priestess invoking the blessings of Goddess Sekhmet to infuse the participants'' souls with the Virtue of Kindness. ''Since bing a demi-god, I know how these blessings are given,'' Eren quietly thought to himself as he participated in the ceremony. Even though he had radical thoughts in his mind, he cooperated with the priestspletely while maintaining a pious look. ''All of this fancy stuff is just there to invoke feelings of faith towards Goddess Sekhmet. The actual process is quite simple and can be done using the help of the Mesh. Even Goddess Sekhmet wouldn''t bother to send her divine consciousness here. She would just let the Mesh handle this in her stead. So I have no reason to worry. I''m a demi-god as well, and my soul is definitely far more strengthened than a mortal''s soul. As such, I can afford to participate in this experiment. I just hope that nothing too big happens that might force me to wipe out every one or their memories present in the ceremony,'' the butcher thought and sighed. By this point, the enchanters, using sacred symbols and gestures, had started to work in harmony to create a delicate bnce of divine energy. Eren, having gained ess to this exclusive ceremony through Wilfer''s invitation, found himself seated inside a magic circle along with a few others. As the ceremony unfolded, he felt a warmth enveloping his soul, resonating with the emotions of kindness. The Virtue of Kindness Mark was starting to form on his soul, leaving a subtle but powerful imprint. [ Mark of the Virtue Series: Virtue of Kindness is being branded on the host''s soul ] Eren saw a prompt appear on a Spectral Screen. This prompt was then shifted to a special Spectral Screen that could only be essed by demi-gods like him. [ The host''s Individuality as well as the Sin Series Marks on his soul is ipatible with the impending Virtue Series Mark. The host''s Soul Space might suffer a light injury if the process is not terminated ] ''Hm. The prompt is saying I''ll receive a light injury on my soul, which is expected. But it doesn''t say whether I''ll fail to get the Virtue Series Marks or not. Should I proceed?'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at the prompt in contemtion. Eren waited for a few minutes to see if the Mesh provided him with an alternate way because of his special status. And just like he had expected, the Mesh came up with another prompt. [ Origin Force Points can be used to remedy the soul-rted conflicts that would arise after epting the impending Virtue Series Marks. Option 1: Iste the Virtue Series Mark from its counterpart in the Sin Series. The host would only get to use one Series at a time this way. And the effects of the intent-based magic would be degraded. Option 2: Use the impending Virtue Series Mark to strengthen and refine its counterpart in the Sin Series. The users would not be able to use any form of intent-based magic that is rted to the Virtue Series. However, the effects of the Sin Series Marks would be augmented. Origin Force Points consumption for Option 1: 40,000 Origin Force Points consumption for Option 2: 65,000 ] ''Damn this goddess. She is milking me dry,'' Eren cursed goddess Menaka once again as he saw the potential cost he would have to bear irrespective of the choice. He then sighed and decided to go with the flow. ''Haah. There''s no use selecting Option 1 if my Sin Series domains end up weakening. Select Option 2,'' he said and made his choice known to the Mesh. Eren just wanted to see if he could have ess to the Virtue Series Marks or not as an experiment. He didn''t mind if he didn''t get to use the Virtue Series Marks as long as they ended up strengthening his Sin Series Marks. He had paid a premium with the 65,000 Origin Force Points. So he expected a considerable boost in the strength of his refined domain. On the other hand, Eren already started to have a headache when he thought about the remaining six unrefined Sin Series Marks. He not only had to find ways to get all the remaining six Virtue Series Marks but also had to spend a huge amount of Origin Force Points every time. Since he had started this process, he naturally didn''t want to back out midway. ''My pseudo-avatars. I guess I can use some of them in rotation to get me the rest of the Virtue Series Marks.'' Eren made up his mind and let the ceremony refine his Sin Series Mark for him. Since the Virtue Series Mark he received was the Virtue of Kindness, it refined the Sin of Envy for him, making it stronger than before. He naturally wanted to try using this Sin Series Mark which he had seldom made use of in the past. Chapter 1822 The More One Sweats In Peace The Less He Bleeds In War

Chapter 1822 The More One Sweats In Peace The Less He Bleeds In War

Agora C a tform of massmunication that had been opened for all the users of Menaka''s Blessing. In recent days, a recorded message had be quite popr on Agora. It showed how an S-Ranked Practitioner named Syl Ouroboros sentenced capital punishments to a few followers of the Elder Ichor faction. Like always, he recorded it before posting it on Agora. Eren was currently watching the message with a dark expressions on his face. He had observed how Syl had ridiculed and killed some of his followers and then started badmouthing him. "You are a turtle, True Inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline," Syl Orobous said in the recording. "That''s right. A turtle who doesn''t dare to step out of his shell. If you were really as radical as you made out to be, you would have faced me by now. This is already my 5th public execution of your followers. If you don''t act, I''ll keep on harming your followers. But rest assured, I don''t have ns to harm your reputation. Do you know why? I can''t harm something that doesn''t exist. Hahaha," Syl Oroboous kept spitting verbal venom through his long speech after he had concluded the public execution. Eren could see the text responses left by viewers of the recorded message under the window it was disyed on. The more he read those text responses, the gloomier his expressions became. [ Matop: I don''t even me the true Inheritor of the Elder Ichor or whatever anymore. I me his followers for trusting this guy. ] [ Aodattack: makes me wonder what the Elder Inheritor did to House Ouroboros. I guess there''s some hidden story behind Syl Ouroboros'' actions. ] [ Infiinamint: I have an S-Ranked Nined-colored Jasmine for sale. I don''t need Menaka''s Runes and would only exchange it with other S-Ranked resources from the list I will attach below. Send me a private message through the Mesh if interested. ] [ Kinky_: Hit me up if you want to have a good time. I prefer witches with mature bodies. ] [ Lordofthethreedots: ] Agora, the massmunication tform hosted by Mesh, had be quite sophisticated after its inception and frequent new improvements. At this point, the users of Menaka''s Blessings could create a pseudo-personality for themselves and give it a different name from their original name to protect their identities. After all, some lower-ranked Practitioners had been targeted by higher-ranked entities after making indiscreet remarks in Agora. Goddess Menaka had to introduce countermeasures to ensure that the users of Agora did not face harm due to theirments within the massmunication tform. Dead customers were bad for her business. A new thriving culture emerged on Agora after users'' identities were secured. They started using Agora more freely, engaging in various forms of activities. Some users had initiated "resource exchange clubs" on Agora, where they could use a barter system to obtain the things they wanted from arge pool of people and their possessions. Some had establishedmunication channels catering to a particr Path of the Practitioners. On the other hand, some users were present on Agora just to vent their frustration or have some fun. They would oftenment on random things under content posted by reputed personalities. Or they would use sarcasm and wit as effective tools to convey their point of view to arge number of viewers. For example, a mysterious person who had chosen the handle name "Lordofthethreedots" would frequently respond with "..." under the most popr forms of content circting on Agora. Of course, Lordofthethreedots'' responses had nothing to do with the original content, yet they would receive a massive number of apuse, responses, and likes for doing something so random and trivial. *** Eren didn''t care about the evolution of Agora, which he had proposed to Goddess Menaka to create. He also didn''t want to target the small fry who dared to criticize him under Syl Ouroboros'' posts. He knew that he needed to get rid of the root of the problem instead of wasting his time on others. After all, people were bound to talk no matter how many of them he targeted personally, through his subordinates, or using his pseudo- avatars. "Reen dear, did we ever offend this asshat named Syl Ouroboros? Why does he want to meet me so much?" Eren asked as he closed the Spectral Screen in front of him. He then looked at Reen, who was busy devouring the spiritual consciousness bound to a gpole-shaped Hex Artifact. Reen could power herself up after devouring premium-grade artifacts and the artifact spirits bound to them. As far as Eren knew, she was the only Elder Seed Spirit Artifact that could do such a thing. Eren obviously knew of Reen''s needs, and he had dedicated one of his pseudo-avatars to a singr task C collecting Hex Artifacts with artifact spirits found all across Labh Salem. This pseudo-avatar had been providing Reen with a consistent supply of Hex Artifacts for her consumption over thest couple of years. Of course, Eren didn''t ask his pseudo-avatar how he obtained the Hex Artifacts, and the other side didn''t think it was necessary to tell. "Syl Ouroboros? I don''t think so," Reen shook her head and opened her eyes. She then got up from her cross-legged position and dropped the golden gpole, which turned into dust and evaporated into nothingness, indicating that Reen had sessfully devoured the essence of the artifact. At this point, including this gpole-shaped golden artifact, Reen had devoured more than 50 Hex Artifacts with spiritual consciousness in them. One could only describe her as a unique form of monster. Eren hadn''t made much use of Reen''s ever-increasing powers for the most part after their reunion. He didn''t have a reason to. He could handle most problems when he was about to leave Anfang. He had put himself under a veil afternding in Labh Salem, slowly cultivating strength through various means. He had consciously avoided all the pitfalls arranged in his path by his enemies by just vanishing from sight. Apart from the pseudo-avatars who were risking their lives to get the job done, Eren himself was never in a life-or-death situation for the most part. He yed it safe like nobody''s business. However, Eren''s vignce and prudence didn''t stop him from strengthening Reen or himself. He kept on feeding her more Hex Artifacts as soon as he got his hands on them. The butcher always believed that the more one sweats in the peace the less they bleed in the war. As such, he never stopped sharpening his or Reen''s ws. Chapter 1823 Another One Bites the Dust? Chapter 1823 Another One Bites the Dust? ??Eren had the rich resources and umtion of Labh Salem to thank. Reen would have surely suffered due to her hunger if she was made to stay there. Reen herself felt that she had no upper limit, and the more she devoured, the stronger she became as an Artifact Spirit. Eren could already feel that she had be as strong as an S-Ranked Sage who had just attained their rank. "Besides, what the guy says is actually kinda true," Reen chuckled as she walked towards Eren''s study desk. "You or rather we as a whole have indeed been acting like turtles thesest few years. The fiends act in a low-key manner. Their deeds haven''t been publicized on the Mesh, and we have aplete background history of our targets and the forces who are supposed to back them. I don''t think we have ever targeted someone who belongs to House Ouroboros. The personal vendetta this guy has towards you must have been fueled by someone else," Reen said as she made her conjecture. "I guess. I am notcking in terms of enemies anyway. What''s wrong with being a turtle though?" Eren asked as he reclined on the desk. "This animal''s name is misused for no reason. It doesn''t bother anybody and only bites when irritated by someone else. This is actually a good quality to have. So I don''t take this whole ''turtle-shaming'' as an insult to me at all," Eren shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. Reen''s cheerfulughter sounded like a clear bell when she heard Eren''s response. "In any case, I must assimte with the artifact spirit I devoured just now and remove all the residual thoughts and experiences it had gathered. Unless there''s something important, I would note out." After receiving Eren''s nod, she headed to the underground facility, disappearing from the scene. Eren had already created a special Array Formation that would assist her. This had been more or less Reen''s routine ever since she had started to devour the artifact spirits. Obviously, Eren supported her growth by ensuring that she didn''t get disturbed. "Syl Ouroboros. Syl Ouroboros. Syl Ouroboros," Eren mumbled his new enemy''s name as he narrowed his eyes. "Careful what you wish for, fucker. Someday I might just grant your wish ande to meet you. At that time, I might end up raising your entire n to the ground," he said in a dark tone before heading out of Siren''s Sanctuary. *** Thest day of the Festival of Intoxication. Roza Thas returned to the city of Sunhaven. She hadpleted the assignment Eren had given her. She wiped out the demonic cult which belonged to the original Lemaar Saaya. Through a bunch of capable fiends she was given the charge of, she also made sure to target the members of the same demonic cult who were absent from the site for their own reasons. By the time Nira Nightshade''s subordinates found out who Lemaar Saaya was and tracked down the demonic cult he was in charge of, it had already been destroyed, and all of its covert and overt cult members were dead. Of course, Nira Nightshade was not happy when she received this news from her subordinates. She ordered them to track the people who had destroyed Lemaar''s home ground instead. Roza had done a thorough job of erasing the traces of her activities after the job was done. She was the incarnation of one of the 72 Ars Goetia Demons after all and had many strange and unique powers at her disposal. Plus, the tools and tricks Eren had provided her also helped. Eren was quite satisfied with Roza''s performance. With Kayara on his left and Roza on his right, Eren explored the streets of Sunhaven and took part in various activities inside the city. After all, this was thest day of the Festival of Intoxication. He used this day to rx before he resumed his core projects. "Here, drink this, Lord Rook," a plump stall owner offered three sses to Eren, Kayara, and Roza with heartyughter as he said, "This is the Purple Peach Rum of my shop that my family has been serving to the people of Sunhaven for almost 200 years. It''s mellow in taste and strong in its effects," he imed while beating his chest in confidence. "Let''s try it then," Eren said and smiled before lifting the ss. Kayara and Roza also followed Eren''s lead and decided to taste- test the rum. In the next moment, all three of them looked surprised by the delectable vor and tantalizing aroma of the rum. Even though their status as Practitioners was quite high, the rum had managed to have some effects on them, which spoke volumes about its potency. Erenughed and chatted with the stall owner. The festival was also a way for the shops to publicize their best products to the masses. Sometimes the established shop owners needed to remind their patrons by making their presence known in the festival. Kayara and Roza were also having fun participating in various activities as they followed Eren. As the evening came, most of the stalls started closing up. Eren and hispany, along with the rest of the citizens of Sunhaven, including the stall owners and their customers alike, were about to head to the central square of the city to watch a final singing and dancing performance organized by Sunhaven''s city administration. "Eren, why don''t we" Kayara was about to say something to Eren when she suddenly noticed that there was something different about Eren''s gaze. He had stopped in his tracks and was staring nkly into the void as if he was given very troubling news by his Spectral news. "My liege, what happened?" Roza asked with stress on her face. Eren looked at both of them before turning around. "Something has happened to one of my pseudo-avatars. Let''s get back to Siren''s Sanctuary. I need to check up on something," saying that he disappeared. Kayara and Roza looked at each other before following Eren''s lead. They too disappeared from their positions without alerting any mortals who surrounded them. As Eren started his way back to his base, he stared at a new prompt that had popped up on his Spectral Screen. He wondered why his luck was peculiarly bad these days. [ One of your pseudo-avatars is about to lose his Ranking Status as a Grandmaster Ranker. Long-distance remote monitoring is not possible due to external interference on the other side. Manual intervention is required. Proceed to take over Jolly Jalen''s consciousness? ] Chapter 1824 Jolly Jalen Chapter 1824 Jolly Jalen Jolly Jalen was the name of the pseudo-avatar Eren had sent into the Demon Prince of Lust Asmodeus''s camp. He was an A-Ranked Grandmaster who was only 250 years old. He looked to be in his early 30s by mortal standards. Jolly had light brown eyes and a head full of voluminous dark brown hair that reached his waist. He had light peachy skin and light red lips, which made him more stunning than even one of the most beautiful Practitioners. One could say that he was truly blessed in the looks department and could impress almost any single femalepanion heid his eyes on. Jolly didn''t have a massive build. He had medium height and build with a gentle aura surrounding him, making him neither too soft nor too overbearing. His Individuality allowed him to form easy connections with people no matter where he went. Of course, Eren didn''t care about Jolly''s background, history, or his Individuality. As soon as he was transformed into one of his pseudo-avatars, Eren branded Jolly with the Sin of Lust Mark and sent him on a mission. Eren had already identified Asmodeus as one of his enemies who was on equal footing with Samael. However, Asmodeus did things secretly and wasn''t as much of a show-off as Samael was. "Know thy enemy" C Eren had always believed in this statement. Thus, he had asked Jolly to use the details and insider information given by Kayara to infiltrate one of the covens of witches Kayara came from. Jolly''s infiltration into the coven of witches, known as the Darkmoon Fellowship, aimed at recruiting Eren through Kayara. However, they didn''t know that Eren had already sent one of his pseudo-avatars into their home, providing him with all the knowledge about their current activities and uing ns. The time when the Hvergelmir Springs would show up in the world of Labh Salem was drawing near. The demonic cults were bustling with various activities and demonic rituals. They were more restless than ever in their ambition to gain as much benefit as they could from this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Jolly yed an important role as Eren''s information-providing genie under such a backdrop. After all, the Darkmoon Fellowship was one of the key forces associated with the demonic faction. The information Jolly had gained during thest few years had also helped Eren a lot. This information gathering had particrly made Eren''s job easy when it came to targeting demonic entities and forcing them to be part of his experiments in Siren''s Sanctuary''s underground facility. As such, Eren had also offered Jolly some of the most crucial resources to make his job easy and help him find his footing in the coven of witches. Jolly hadpleted various missions for the cult after he became a member, making a name for himself in the process. It didn''t take long for him to secure a crucial administrative role in the coven, allowing him to meet with the higher-ups of the Darkmoon Fellowship. However, one could say that Jolly''s sess was the root of his eventual downfall, if it could be called that. Jolly had managed to inadvertently impress one of the Darkmoon Fellowship''s key figures, S-Ranked Shaai Sena. Jolly tried to avoid Shaai''s advances as much as he could, thinking that giving in to her offers would certainly spell his doom. After all, the Darkmoon Fellowship was a demonic cult run by a bunch of witches sitting as the key figures. And Shaai Sena, being an S-Ranked Kaiser, was one of such key figures. Plus, he had heard rumors that she had been bestowed with Asmodeus'' Blessing. Jolly didn''t want to confirm the rumors by spending time with such a fierce witch from the demonic cult. However, there was only so much Jolly could do when he was practically living under the same roof Kaiser Shaai was. And it was considered rude in the demonic cult supported by the Demon Prince of Lust to say no to someone''s carnal advances without a valid reason. In the end, Jolly caved in, or to be more precise, Shaai made him cave in with thebination of her hard and soft approaches. In fact, she liked that Jolly yed hard to get, which added to her thrill of pursuing him. *** n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om This particr ce was in the heart of the Darkmoon Fellowship''s headquarters, under the protection of the giant array formation which even a pseudo-Saint couldn''t bridge using their might. There was a certain pce located in the Darkmoon Fellowship''s homeground that was isted from the rest of the structures and activities. This white and purple pce, which looked to be made from premium white marble and purple stones, was Shaai''s abode. Nobody in the entire Darkmoon Fellowship was allowed to get near Shaai''s pce without her permission. Since she had deployed an isted barrier using her powers as a Kaiser, even the pce maids assigned to her realized that their mistress was spending some alone time with her partner and didn''t want to be disturbed. At this moment, under an isted Array Formation that blocked all kinds of interferences, Jolly and Shaai were spending time together, busy in their carnal activities. One could say that Jolly wasn''t exactly "jolly" about the whole thing and Shaai wasn''t "shy" to make her partner bend to her will. Shaai''s room was filled with a peculiar aromaC the musky kind. Her bed hosted the presence of two beings, Jolly and Shaai. Both of them were already in their birthday suits. And it looked like they had been going at "it" for hours on end already. The sounds of flesh meeting flesh. Even though Shaai was inplete control of her senses, she couldn''t help releasing ecstatic noises as she kept riding on Jolly. This very activity that Jolly was forced to perform with Shaai was the reason for his consistently falling Ranking Status. It was apparent that Shaai was using the powers she received from Asmodeus to drain Jolly dry. By the time Eren took over Jolly''s body, the poor chap had already fallen from the mid-stage of the A-Rank to its early stage. He was once about to break into thete-stage A-Rank when he met Shaai. And at this point, he risked being demoted to the B-Rank while Shaai strengthened herself using Jolly''s essence. Chapter 1825 Shaai Sena* Chapter 1825 Shaai Sena* Shaai was a stunning witch, her beauty possessing the power to make even the most steadfast followers of asceticism reconsider their life choices. Her raven-ck hair resembled the starless night sky devoid of the moon, cascading down her shoulders and reaching towards her waist. Her cute, oval-shaped face wasplemented by a small nose, enhancing her overall allure. With luscious lips and supple light brown skin, Shaai''s hourss figuremanded attention as she walked, attracting admiring gazes from afar. Golden earrings adorned her ears, nearly touching her shoulders, while a golden ne graced her neck. Shaai often wore charming and sensuous attire, ensuring she never failed to capture attention. As the head of the Lust faction within the Darkmoon Fellowship, Shaai Sena was one of the two S-Ranked Kaisers affiliated with Asmodeous'' faction in the coven. Positioned among the elders who controlled the cult''s resources and information flow, Shaai''s influence was formidable, and Jolly couldn''t avoid her forever, despite the tricks he employed to dy their intimate encounters. It looked like Shaai genuinely liked spending her time with Jolly. Even though she had an ulterior motive, Jolly didn''t sense any killing intentions directed towards him from her. He could tell because of Eren''s demigod powers at his disposal. *** "Aaaaah!" A lustful moan escaped Shaai''s lips as she rode Jolly''s hard member with gusto. "Harder," Shaaimanded Jolly from above, looking at him with predatory eyes and smiling coquettishly as she grabbed his neck. "HarC harder, I said," she spoke each word with the intense pressure of her Kaiser Rank. Jolly tried his best, attempting to channel the mana in his body. However, for some reason, he couldn''t seem to use it, feeling as if he had been forced to act like a mortal under such intense pressure. Tap. Tap. Tap. Jolly mustered some strength and started pushing his already wet member deep into Shaai''s dripping core. He grabbed her waist for support, using his folded legs and toes to push his strokes upwards. The sensation was akin to climbing a steep mountain, as Shaai rhythmically forced him down with her pelvis. "Yes Yes Yes" Shaai used both hands to pull her ruffled hair back. Sitting up straight, she brought her legs together slightly, causing her vaginal walls to contract around Jolly''s member, bringing him even closer to the edge. "Don''t don''t you dare aaaah cum anytime soon, my dear," Jolly gasped as Shaai lifted his hands from her shoulders, cing them on her ample breasts, signaling him to pay attention to them. On any other day, Jolly might have enjoyed a Kaiser like Shaai. The problem was that the witch used some unknown means to refine his essence every time he released it into her, making it feel like he was forced to perform a forbidden skill or spell. Jolly had lost count of how many times he had given in to Shaai''s desires. However, he was aware that the more this continued, the more it would harm his foundation as a Grandmaster. He was already close to losing his prestige as an A-Ranker. Yet, Jolly couldn''t run or stop his actions. He felt as if the Lust mana had entered his system, suppressing all his other senses. Part of him knew that what he did with Shaai was harming him, and yet he couldn''t bring himself to stop. He wanted to give his all to please this tigress riding his member. "Aaaah! Yes!" Shaai released another lustful scream as Jolly pinched her erect nipples and twisted them. She enjoyed the little bit of pain Jolly induced, wanting to reciprocate the pleasure as well. p! p! p! Shaai started pping Jolly''s handsome yet delicate face as she rode Jolly''s member with fervor. Unfortunately for Eren, this was the time he took over Jolly''s body and experienced those ps himself. "What the fu" p! p! p! Before Eren could utter the words of surprise, he was greeted with Shaai''s p fest. He couldn''t even form coherent thoughts in his head as the body he possessed kept on engaging in the activity on its own without requiring any assistance from him. N?v(el)B\\jnn ''This witch!'' Eren''s eyes turned red when he received another p from Shaai. He twisted Shaai''s nipples so hard that it made her open her eyes and look at him with her hazy gaze. "Aaaaah! Yes more more" Of course, Shaai didn''t realize that Eren had taken over Jolly''s body. Even if she knew, she wouldn''t care at this point. She was too invested in her current activity to care about a mere Grandmaster and his schemes. Eren didn''t stop what he was doing when he realized that the woman riding his erect member with such gusto was an S-Ranked entity. Under normal circumstances, he would have enjoyed this experience, even celebrating the fact that he had finally conquered an S-Rank presence. However, Jolly''s situation was precarious. ''This excessive intion of Lust mana in the body. I need to get rid of this first,'' Eren quickly figured out the root of the problem and decided to tackle it before doing anything else. He then started processing Jolly''s memories from thest few years to understand the position he was currently in. ''So this lustful witch''s name is Shaai, and she is one of the key figures of the coven,'' Eren narrowed his eyes on the beautiful woman in front of him as he fondled her breasts and pleasured her. He quicklyid out a sane n to get Jolly out of trouble and decided to act fast. Eren realized that neither he nor Shaai could make use of most of their mana inside this isted room. As far as he could tell, this was one of the prerequisites for Shaai to benefit from this intimate session with Jolly using Asmodeus'' Blessing as the foundation. However, Eren didn''t need to cast any offensive spells in the first ce. He merely needed to take control of the situation and act dominantly to reverse the flow of the essence theft Shaai was partaking in. Swoosh. Zoom. Bang. Eren suddenly pulled Shaai closer to him in a hug before wrapping his arms around her. He then rolled to his right beforeing on top of Shaai. Thetter opened her eyes in surprise when Jolly took charge of the show this way. However, before she could register her opposition or take any countermeasures, a crisp p sound resounded in the room once again. p! Chapter 1826 Retrograding an S-Ranked Mana Core Chapter 1826 Retrograding an S-Ranked Mana Core Previously, the boudoir''s dim atmosphere made it difficult for Eren to see Shaai''s beauty. It also didn''t help that possessing Jolly''s body suddenly had turned his vision hazy. Plus, the Yantra Shaai had used in her pce also made it difficult for Eren to deploy his Soul Sense or borrow Jolly''s Mana Sense. However, once Eren rolled over and made Shaai take the backseat in the session, her stunning beauty was on full disy in front of him. His eyes started adjusting to the environment around him. This bodacious woman had slender arms and a neck that invited a bite. The fact that she still wore her ne during the intimate session added extra appeal to her visual as shey on her back, inviting Eren to engage with her. This woman had a pair of ample breasts and a curvy waistline. Her hips were rtively wide, and her beautifully rotund buttocks were extra plump and soft like clouds. What''s more? She had lifted her legs before folding them and stretching them apart. It was as if someone had made her lie on her back after she squatted down. This view thaty bare in front of Eren was very tempting. Even if he had expelled most of the Lust mana out of his system, he couldn''t help getting more aroused than he had a few moments ago. p! Eren pped again, preventing the Kaiser from speaking. He started ramming his dick inside her with optimum speed and tempo, making her roll her eyes and enjoy being pounded by an ultra-professional. ''Oof. Why was he hiding his skills before,'' Shaai couldn''t help thinking to herself as she received Eren''s thrusts. Her plump breasts started going up and down as she kept getting rammed from the bottom. Eren twisted her erect nipples and sucked on them from time to time to give her an added dose of pleasure. Sometimes, he would bite her nipples, exciting her pain-receptive senses as well. There was a certain demonic charm and rhythm to Eren''s techniques that made him stand apart from Jolly''s "orthodox" persona, making her enjoy the process as she had never done before. p! Another p noise sounded, this time on Shaai''s plump ass as Eren kept ramming deep into her. Eren''s p was personal. After all, he hadn''t been pped on his face like this even by his worst enemies. As pragmatic and level-headed as he was, the vengeance-seeking heart was the core part of Eren''s personality. However, Shaai couldn''t help taking it on herself as part of the roley after his member started prating the depths of her once again. She brought her knees to her chest, allowing even more in-depth pration. p! Eren pped Shaai once again as he ced her legs on his shoulders and looked at her with a peculiar gaze, a subtle smile on his face C the kind Shaai hadn''t seen before. Shaai could subconsciously feel that something had changed within Eren. However, she couldn''t help attributing that change to the potent Lust Mana she had injected into his body as part of the ritual to steal his essence and use it to progress in her own Path as an Elementalist. In the meantime, Eren started reversing the flow of Asmodeus'' technique. He wanted the potential crisis on Jolly to help him instead and make Shaai''s technique used against her to achieve that. After all, the process of creating a pseudo-avatar was not only difficult but also time-consuming. He had already lost one of his pseudo-avatars in a fight against Nira recently. He didn''t want to add Jolly''s name to the list by leaving him to his devices. Domain of Lust: Mist of Lust Eren deployed his Sin Series Domain inconspicuously as he indulged in a carnal session with Shaai. He then made her get on her knees and started ramming her from behind. Tap. Tap. Tap. Eren increased his tempo, his hard member going in and out of her pussy with even more speed and power than before. He also started pping her butt cheeks with his hands as he rammed his cock deep, matching the timing to make her feel two contrasting feelings at the same time. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Aaaah! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Affected by Eren''s Sin Series powers, Shaai started enjoying deep pounding even more. She cursed and hissed in pleasure, her eyes wet because of the intense sense of pleasure she was feeling in her stomach. ''Keke. Let''s see who robs whose essence now,'' Eren smiled wickedly as he took charge of the Yantra using the Domain''s powers. His authority as the demonic emperor was undisputed; not even the privilege rights set by Asmodeus could stop him from interfering in a Sin Series-based Yantra. Eren made a few Mudra Signs behind Shaai''s back as he kept pounding her. The invisible Yantra''s runes flickered all around Eren and Shaai, from the ground to the walls as he did that. However, Shaai was too preupied with receiving Eren''s pounding to care. She had been infected with Eren''s Sin Series powers which clouded her judgment and made her lower her barriers. She couldn''t think straight when Eren was making her pussy walls overwork with no bonus pay. Tap. Tap. Tap. Shaai started meeting Eren''s thrusts midway by reverse-thrusting her ass, timed perfectly for maximum pration. She pulled up a pillow and buried her face deep in it, which made her suppress her loud noises. Eren also traced Shaai''s visible rim with his thumb before slowly inserting the tip of the index finger. He used Shaai''s own pussy juices as lubrication to prate her anal cavity with his middle finger. With his other hand, he started ying with her pink button as well. All of this was too much to handle for Shaai who had been infected by Eren''s Sin Series powers. When Eren''s dick hit the deepest parts of her wet cave, she clutched her pillow, arched her back, lifted her neck in the direction of the room''s ceiling, and released her love juices with a loud yell. Chapter 1827 Triggering Ranker’s Calamity?

Chapter 1827 Triggering Ranker''s Cmity?

Eren''s adventures with Shaai did not seem toe to a halt anytime soon. "Ummmm." Shaai pinned her partner down on her bed, got on top of him, and kissed him passionately. She weed his restless hands on her body, making her feel jittery with each passing moment. The more she engaged with Eren intimately, the more lustful she felt. It was as if she was trapped inside an endless cycle that made her forget about her priorities. Eren, on the other hand, started enjoying the process after the initial groundwork had beenid. Earlier, when Shaai''s technique had affected him, Jolly looked like someone who had gone without food for days. However, his current form had regained its previous youthfulness and vitality. Jolly''s Ranking Status had returned to its previous state, allowing him to boast the mid-stage Grandmaster aura once again. This was not all. He also started making progress in his Ranking Journey with each passing moment, while Shaai''s status as a Kaiser started lowering without her knowledge. Eren didn''t try to brand Shaai with his Sin Series powers. After all, he already knew the pitfalls of doing something like that because of Kayara. She had shared enough background knowledge about her own coven. Naturally, she had also told Eren about Shaai. It was just that this was Eren''s first time seeing this key figure of the witches'' coven so closely. Something like that would have surely tipped her off, as it directly involved her soul in the most tant form. Instead, he decided to use her own technique against her, which made his job a lot easier. His Sin Series domain only helped him make Shaai forget about everything around her and be drowned by a mixture of lust and pleasure. The euphoria he generated was enough to make her not realize that her own mana core was losing its S-Rank strength and slowly retrograding. Eren kissed Shaai, his legs wrapping around her waist. He held her face with both his hands and pulled her closer to him before inserting his tongue inside her mouth. He then rolled over once again before lifting Shaai with both his hands, this time her legs wrapped around his waist instinctively. He pressed Shaai back against a wall and held her legs over her shoulders. He made her wrap her arms around his neck for support before restarting the pounding. "Aaaah! Yes!" Shaai groaned in pleasure as she received Eren''s dick while adjusting to a new pose. Though the use of the mana was restricted for the most part in her boudoir, Shaai, and Jolly were both high-ranking entities. Their mana-strengthened bodies allowed them to exert pure physical strength without any difficulty, making it easy for them to amodate themselves with any acrobatic position. "Aaaah! Aaaah! Aaaaah!" Shaai started hurting her partner''s neck with her nails as she weed Eren''s hot rod inside her. Just when she thought that she could not get surprised, Eren pulled out his dick and pressed it against her anal opening. Eren didn''t need to wait for Shaai''s approval. He looked her in her eyes and saw her hazy vision clearing itself out for a moment. Before she could say anything, Eren started inserting his erect member inside her anal cavity. Even though Shaai''s legs were stretched apart, the position she was in at the time didn''t make it easy for her to receive Eren''s rod in her ass. However, that very feeling of stress also sent her to a new high as she adjusted herself to his dick. She bit his neck and started moaning in his ears, biting his earlobe as well. Paw. Paw. paw. It didn''t take a while for Eren to return to his regr strokes. The force behind each thrust and tempo became consistent as he explored Shaai''s anal opening, which was full of warmth. Meanwhile, her pussy kept on releasing love juices, as if a dam had been burst inside her. Neither Eren nor Shaai needed tomunicate with each other verbally at this point. Shaai could subconsciously feel that something had gone wrong with her initial n. But for some reason, she started treating the entire event as a dream, threw her caution in the wind, and While Shaai was on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and Eren''s dick, Eren kept improving Jolly''s Ranking Status. He used the essence given to him by Shaai as fuel to expedite Jolly''s Ranking Journey. His A-Rank mana core, under such a potent demonic influence, started hardening itself from its liquid form. It eventually entered the solid-stage state, making Jolly assume the status of thest-stage Grandmaster. Rtively speaking, Shaai herself didn''t lose much of her essence in the process. After all, as an S-Ranked entity who was at the peak of her rank, retrograding her mana core within the S-Rank wasn''t easy. Eren also didn''t want to deprive Shaai of her S-Ranked status for his own reasons. Doing so would turn the entire coven of witches against him. He might survive after pulling his consciousness out of Jolly''s body. However, Jolly himself would soone to a horrible end. The essence of the Kaiser Ranked Practitioner, even if extracted in moderate quantity, was enough for a Grandmaster ranked entity to progress by leaps and bounds in its Ranking Status. This was the effect of the Ranking Suppression that was benefiting Eren at the moment. The intimate session between Eren and Shaaisted for hours on end. Eren finally stopped improving Jolly''s Ranking Status when he felt something deep in his guts. He started to fear something as he looked at the ceiling inadvertently. He then checked out Jolly''s Ranking Status and realized that he was just a step away from entering the S-Rank. Ranker''s Cmity. Eren''s soul was bound to be hurt if he decided to let Jolly go through with the process. Even though a part of him wanted to trigger the Ranker''s Cmity and test the limits of his own soul, he didn''t want to lose an important pawn like Jolly in the process. After all, Jolly''s body was bound to get destroyed by the Ranker''s Cmity if he were to be subjected to it while he was in such a vulnerable form. Chapter 1828 Mana-core-based Restrictions

Chapter 1828 Mana-core-based Restrictions

Above Shaai''s pce, storm clouds gathered, crackling with lightning. The winds roared, and the ground trembled with mini-quakes, as though a colossal force stirred beneath. The elements seemed incited by a supernatural presence, as diverse elemental energies and their respective Attainments materialized in the void, posing a threat to the entire region. "Hm? What what is happening?" A young witch who happened to be in the surroundings stopped her studies on potion-making and asked her fellow witches. Her friends also stopped what they were doing and looked in a particr direction where the unrest was at its peak. The teacher who presided over this open ssroom for young witches looked dignified as she observed the sky before mumbling to herself. "That looks like someone is about to go through their Path-based Ordeal. Looks like a Ranker''s Cmity to me." Just when the veteran witch was about to dismiss her students to vacate the premises, something strange happened. The Ranker''s Cmity that was about to strike down on someone suddenly vanished into thin air, as if it didn''t exist in the first ce. "Hm? Someone suppressed their Cmity? Are they not ready to face it yet?" the veteran witch asked herself as she looked at the skies. She then shook her head before sighing to herself. "I remember my Path Ordeal. I would have died if it wasn''t for the preparations I made in advance. I guess postponing it is a wise choice. But if they take too long to make up their mind, the opportunity might be robbed away from them." The veteran witch said to herself before quietly resuming to sit on her chair in the middle of a lush green garden, surrounded by her young witch apprentices. *** Meanwhile, in Shaai''s boudoir. The owner of the pce was still in her birthday suit. However, it looked like she had sobered up after sensing an impending Cmity, which then vanished into nothing as if what she had sensed was but a figment of her imagination. It also helped that Shaai had just gotten down from her rollercoaster of emotions, achievingplete satisfaction with her carnal desires. It allowed her to dispel the excessive influence of Lust Mana acting on her body, finally enabling her to formprehensive and concurrent thoughts. Shaai sat straight back in her bed before pulling away from Jolly. Thetter chuckled but didn''t proceed to engage in another round with her. He got up and stood beside the bed, right in front of her, adjusting his hair with one hand and scratching his balls with the other. "Who who are you?" Shaai looked at Jolly and asked in a grim voice. For some reason, she didn''t think that the man standing in front of her was the same Jolly she knew. The Jolly she knew would have never looked her in the eyes. Even though he was not someone who was scared of her, Jolly also didn''t act like he wasn''t afraid of openly confronting her. However, Jolly, who stood right in front of him, in confidence, with all his naked glory, looked like he was not afraid of the sky falling on him. Or rather, it looked like he was sure that he could get away with anything he did here. "The one who wants to spend some more time with you, my dear." Jolly''s face broke into a known smile as he looked at Shaai. His light brown eyes had a certain intensity to them that one couldn''t copyC that did not exist before. "You are definitely not Jolly," Shaai''s voice turned cold when she looked at Jolly''s smug expression. She raised her hands and decided to use her S-Ranked Skills against the man in front of her. Even though he was just a Grandmaster Ranker, for some reason, Shaai didn''t feel safe in his presence. There were no physical indications. It was just her womanly instinct that was screaming at her. In the next moment, however, Shaai''s expression changed once again and her face turned ugly. It looked like she couldn''t tap into any of her powers. However, that was not the most terrifying part. Shaai felt she had regressed in her Path. Her mana core had retrograded within the S-Rank, from the peak of thete stage to the beginning of thete stage. Centuries of effort in steadily progressing in her Path seemed robbed away and given to someone else. "Youwhat did you do to me?" Shaai looked at Jolly hatefully, unable toprehend how a Grandmaster Ranker reversed their roles, making her the victim of this intimate session. The news, if spread within the coven, wouldbel her a failure and jeopardize her position leading Asmodeus'' faction. "Kekeke. You know exactly what I did to you," Jolly spoke with a light smile. "After all, it was your setup. I just decided to make use of it in my favor," he continued before turning around. Unconcerned about Shaai''s potential reaction, he started rummaging through her private room without consent, searching for something. Shaai''s eyes burned with anger. She wanted to get up and attack Eren, but, in addition to being unable to channel her mana, she discovered she couldn''t even stand without Eren''s consent. It was the same mana-core-based restriction she had intended to use to control Jolly after their session. Snap! Eren snapped his fingers and summoned a mass of water around himself, refreshing it before finally opening the drawer. "There it is," he said to himself, taking out a bottle of premium- looking liquor meant for consumption by high-ranking entities very exclusive and allocable only to those backed by a massive organization. Eren retrieved two chalices from the Inventory and ced them on a small table by the window. He poured the scarlet wine into the sses and then called out to Shaai. "Come here. Have this drink and answer a few questions I have, would you, Shaai dear?" he said while promptly sealing the wine bottle. Being familiar with the best Labh Salem had to offer, he didn''t want to dilute its potency by exposing it longer than necessary. Chapter 1829 Bullying Shaai

Chapter 1829 Bullying Shaai

Shaai didn''t feel like she had a choice. Just as Eren had said, she knew exactly what he had done to her. The mana-core-based restrictions she had intended to implement on Jolly had been sessfully nted on herself. Eren could destroy her mana core with a mere thought whenever he wanted to. Her status as an S-Ranked entity wouldn''t help her in such a situation; if anything, it would only make her death more miserable. It didn''t seem like Jolly was in the mood to share anything about himself. Even when asked by Shaai, he pretended not to hear her question, responding vaguely. However, these vague answers were a form of response themselves. Shaai became even more convinced that Jolly was possessed by something or someone. After all, even if he had managed to crack the Yantra and reverse the process on her, he wouldn''t have been able to nt those mana-core-based restrictions on her if his soul wasn''t strong enough. The gap between the Spiritual Force held by an A-Ranked entity and an S-Ranked entity was substantial. Even if it were an A-Ranked Grand Astral in front of her, known for their higher Spiritual Force due to the Dreamweaver Path they followed, they wouldn''t have been able to implement those mana-core-based restrictions on Shaai, even if they followed Eren''s steps without a miss. ''Damn it. I didn''t imagine things would unfold this way,'' Shaai cursed herself. ''I shouldn''t have suggested to the witch council to restrict this guy. Who knew he was such a vile hidden expert?'' Thinking this, Shaai got up from the bed. She freshened herself and wore some decent clothes. Doing this gave her some confidence back, even though her mana core still made her feel like there was a time bomb ticking within her. Shaai tied up her silky hair in a knot as she approached Eren. She stood in front of him and looked him in the eyes for quite some time. Thetter didn''t say anything but allowed her to stare. Meanwhile, he picked up his drink and enjoyed the first sip. In the end, Shaai couldn''t bear the sound of silence permeating the room. "Who are you?" She made another attempt to get to know Jolly, expecting it to fail again. "Ummm," Jolly smacked his lips in pure pleasure as he looked at Shaai and gave her an appreciative look. "Who knew the wine that costs almost 50,000 Menaka''s Runes would be so worth the hype? You got some rich taste, woman," Eren said as he took another sip, smiling at her. "You see, I''m always kinda broke due to my excessive expenditure and resource-consuming experiments. So I don''t usually get to enjoy life''s luxuries as you." ''Even though I have just spent a week celebrating the Festival of Intoxication, the mortal liquor just doesn''t have the same punch as this one does. So this is some really good closure to the festival.'' The butcher thought to himself in private while cing the half-finished drink back on the table. He then looked at Shaai seriously before responding. "Look, if I wanted to tell you about myself, I wouldn''t have dodged your questions in the first ce. Let''s just say that I''m a very patient and pragmatic man who looks after his people," Eren said in a very calm voice, encouraging her with his eyes to reach for her drink. "Are you saying I''m one of your people now just because you managed to spring the trap that I set for you?" Shaai asked as she lifted her ss. She looked into Eren''s eyes as if wanting to see through his soul. "Ask that question to yourself. If the answer to that is a strict no, I''ll immediately blow your mana core and we can finally move on from this topic," Eren replied patiently without any hate seeping into his voice. It was as if he was okay with himself getting caught in the coteral damage if he were to blow her mana core. "Noooo. IC I mean I mean, yes. IC I am one of your people," Shaai replied hurriedly before chugging down the contents of the ss in a hurry. As proud as she was, she didn''t want to die after bing an S-Ranked entity. "Good girl," a very radiating and positive smile bloomed on Eren''s face as he saw her drinking her own wine as if it was some form of punishment. He didn''t want to bully Shaai into submission. But sometimes, one needs to take a hard approach to avoid potential troubles. "So we are on the same side now, alright?" Eren lifted his ss and clinked it with hers. He then took his sip before speaking up. "With that settled, answer some of my questions. I know it might be hypocritical of me to expect answers from you when I''m trying to be as elusive as I can be regarding the questions you have about me. But please bear with me. I might tell you who I am who controls your life from now on if you are just patient with me,'' Eren wasn''t beingpletely honest with her. But he didn''t care and just said whatever someone in Shaai''s shoes wanted to hear. "AlC alright," Shaai said as she gulped down the contents of the ss. The rich and intoxicating vor of the premium-grade wines soothed her nerves and calmed her heart. She subconsciously started to trust Eren as he chatted with her. As if the man had a distinct charm around him. She also sensed a bit of danger that she had felt beforehand. However, the same feeling of danger managed to assure her in some weird form. "Why did you decide to restrict Jolly by using these methods on him? What was his mistake?" Eren asked as he looked into Shaai''s eyes. With the mana-core- based restrictions he had imposed on her with the help of her setup, Eren could quickly tell if she was lying or not. He knew that she was also aware of this. So he wasn''t worried about getting false information. If he really suspected her information, he could always devour her memories using means avable at his disposal. "ItC It''s Demon Prince Asmodeous, the deity that I worship," Shaai said as she looked at Eren. "He reached out to his followers in the higher ranks, telling us to either restrict or kill any new members who had joined the coven recently," she confessed. "Asmodeus, huh." Eren''s gaze turned cold as he looked in Shaai''s direction. She could feel immense killing intent in those eyes but she could also tell that it was not meant for her. "Tell me everything from the start. Leave no stone unturned," Eren said and paid close attention to Shaai''s next words. Chapter 1830 Captured Spies In the Darkmoon Fellowship Chapter 1830 Captured Spies In the Darkmoon Fellowship Shaai found herselfpelled to provide answers when Eren pressed for information. Oveing her initial hesitation, she spilled the beans. Eren learned that the Demon Prince of Lust, Asmodeus, had cautioned the upper-echelon members of the Darkmoon Fellowship about a potential infiltration threat. While Asmodeus didn''t reveal the identity or motives of the infiltrator, he advised them to take precautionary measures. Despite the Darkmoon Fellowship''s confidence in their recent recruitment of new talent, they heeded the suggestion from the Demon Prince and decided to proactively address the warning. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om While the coven wasn''t overly concerned about the lower-level Practitioners, they took special notice of individuals like Jolly Jalen, who was rtively new and possessed enough strength to pose a significant threat. The coven, mindful of the potential challenges posed by the Hvergelmir Springs, aimed to expand its ranks rather than lose existing members. However, it also wanted its members to be loyal to its cause. Otherwise, the overdrive of recruitment would backfire. Shaai was tasked with restraining Jolly by imnting mana-core-based restrictions, ensuring his allegiance to the coven. The goal was to dissuade potential spies or thieves by cing their mana core under scrutiny. Of course, the organization didn''t want to persecute Jolly without any good reason. The guy''s track record was rtively clean and his identity was well-established. He also didn''t give any reason for the coven to act against him. Prosecuting Jolly for no apparent reason was bound to make their future recruitment of high-ranking entities harder. Considering the potential arrival of the Hvergelmir Springs in the near future, the coven only wanted to hire more people in its fold and not lose its existing members. More importantly, Shaai was not instructed to retrograde Jolly''s mana core by extracting his essence. This action was an impulsive decision on her part, driven by the allure of Jolly''s vibrant vitality and rich Elemental Attainment. Tempted by the nourishing quality of Jolly''s essence for her own mana core and Elementalist Path, Shaai took unauthorized liberties in the process. She could always im that her suspicion of Jolly was still not over and took some harsh measures against him. Shaai also informed Eren that, following Asmodeus''s advice, the coven had uncovered spies from foreign organizations. It was a shot in the dark thatnded on the mark. One group of spies belonged to the Helenbora Coven, a reputable entity withparatively lesser strength than the Darkmoon Fellowship. The second group of spies was associated with a mysterious organization, rumored to be supported by a Saint-ranked archer elf. *** "Interesting," Eren mused to himself upon hearing Shaai''s exnation. He then regarded her with curiosity before posing the next question. "What is the coven up to these days? What is it that you guys have that the other sides covet?" he inquired, concluding his most expensive drink in Labh Salem thus far. "Beats me," Shaai replied with a nonchnt shrug. "The captured spies aren''t opening their mouths even after the rounds of torture we put them through," she added in a helpless tone. At this juncture, Shaai was convinced that the individual behind Jolly did not align with either group of spies. Otherwise, there wouldn''t be surprise in his reaction to the news; he would even attempt to conceal it rather than express curiosity. "Get me in the room with those spies. I will help you get some truths out of them," Eren dered bluntly, his chin receiving a thoughtful caress. The butcher sensed an unusual convergence of the Helenbora coven, Saint Nira Nightshade, and the Darkmoon Fellowship, and he harbored a growing curiosity. If possible, Eren aimed to exploit the benefits that might arise as these three factions shed. "Haah! Do you think you have the clearance to interrogate the spies?" Shaai snorted, eyeing Eren. "Not to mention, we have tried our own methods of torture on them. I don''t think you''d get something out of them when even our S-Ranked entities failed," she added, expressing a touch of indignation. "Let me worry about what I can or can''t get out of them. You worry about how to get me into the same room with those spies," Eren asserted, gazing out the windows. At this point, he recognized the necessity of spending time within the Darkmoon Fellowship to unravel the depths of this mystery. Eren''s deceased pseudo-avatar had faced an attack by Nira Nightshade and her subordinates when he sought information on a mysterious treasure mentioned in the memories of a Helenbora witch. As the butcher discerned, Nira''s force and the Helenbora coven were both pursuing the same objective, and the clues or key to the treasure resided within the Darkmoon Fellowship. Such circumstances rified the infiltration of spies by the two factions. The members of the Darkmoon Fellowship coven, however, remained oblivious to the treasurend or Nira Nightshade''s interests. As such, Eren guessed that the captured spies had not been interrogated with the right questions. The Osan Woods'' Butcher, confident in his own methods of torture, merely needed some alone time with these spies to extract the information he sought. "Well, you can earn contribution points bypleting missions assigned by the coven and then ask" Shaai was interrupted by Eren before she could evenplete her sentence. "Nope. I don''t want to y that game for years on end. I don''t have that much time. What''s next?" Eren asked while rejecting the first option suggested by Shaai. "Um you can try to break into the S-Rank and be a Kaiser," Shaai said after pondering for a while. "IC I guess I can rmend you as one of the grand elders in the coC" Before Shaai couldplete her response she was interrupted again. "Nope. I will not achieve a breakthrough into the S-Rank. At least not anytime soon," Eren shook his head. "What else?" he asked casually. By this point, Shaai was internally fuming. She would have puffed her cheeks in indignation if she didn''t want to act maturely in front of this mysterious man. However, under the threat of survival, she had toe up with the quickest way to meet Eren''s needs. And she eventually did. Chapter 1831 Jolly Weds Shaai Chapter 1831 Jolly Weds Shaai "There''s only one way for you to get ess to those spies then." Shaai hesitated to speak for some time. She turned her head towards the window and lost eye contact with Eren before speaking in a low tone. "You You can marry the existing grand witch of the coven and then submit your covenant of marriage to the coven administration. You''d have almost the same rights as a grand witch of the Darkmoon Fellowship after that," she said, feeling a bit awkward for some reason. "I see," a smile bloomed on Eren''s face as he said his next words. "That''s the quickest way, indeed." he pped his hands together and said in excitement. "Let''s get married then." *** Two weekster. The enchanting forest venue within the Darkmoon Fellowship coven was bustling with activity on this day. This was the venue of the marriage ceremony set under the expansive canopy of ancient trees. The air was thick with the scent of magical herbs and the ambiance was set with the soft glow of enchanted lights. The marriage ceremony was supposed to take ce beneath a colossal banyan tree, its roots spreading wide and intertwining with the earth, giving an ethereal vibe to the venue. The massive trunk of the tree bore the sacred engravings of the Goddess Two Lips, depicted in ancient and divine runes. The symbol represented the divine feminine essence, a source of power and wisdom revered by all the witches and warlocks within the coven. Guests, donned in various fantasy ensembles, filled the forest-like venue. There were various tents erected by the coven, serving various purposes. The theme dictated a mesmerizing array of outfits, from flowing gowns adorned with intricate sigils to warlocks d in mysterious robes, each person reflecting the magical diversity within the coven. Of course, this was not what the witches and warlocks wore regrly. These were just special clothes for special asions. All of them were trying to stick to the customs of the old. Some guests wore masks, adding an air of mystery to the celebration. The groom, Jolly Jalen, stood tall in pristine white attire, representing purity and the beginning of a new chapter. His outfit was embellished with subtle magical motifs that shimmered with every movement. On the other hand, the bride, Shaai Sena, donned a striking ck gown, symbolizing the power and mystery of the witches. As the ceremony began, the air resonated with enchanting melodies yed by a soothing orchestra, blending traditional and magical instruments. The music echoed through the ancient trees, adding a touch of mystical yet natural grace to the atmosphere, a contrast in existence. Whispers of surprise and spection fluttered through the enchanted air as guests exchanged hushed conversations. The news of Grand Elder Witch Shaai Sena''s marriage to Jolly Jalen, a figurergely unknown to many present, became the reason for the birth of many theories and discussions. "It''s a mission, mark my words. Shaai doesn''t do anything without a purpose," one witch dered confidently, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Marrying Jolly is just the beginning of some grand n. I can feel it." Others, however, leaned toward a more romantic interpretation. "Do you see the way they look at each other? That''s not just a mission; that''s genuine affection," a warlock chimed in, emphasizing the subtle nuances of the ceremony. "Maybe Shaai has found true love." The mysterious aura surrounding Jolly Jalen added fuel to the spective fire. "Who is this Jolly, anyway? I''ve never heard of him," a young witch whispered to herpanion, eyes scanning the crowd for any clues. It was apparent that she was not a member of the coven. "It''s like he appeared out of thin air." A seasoned elder offered her perspective, "I''ve been part of this coven for thest seven centuries, and this is the first time I couldn''t predict a marriage between the two lovebirds. What''s more? I can''t recall Jolly ever interacting with thatss Shaai to such an extent. This indeed feels... unusual. And rushed." As guests sipped enchanted wines and indulged in magical delicacies, theories continued to circte. Some postted that Jolly possessed unique abilities, exining his sudden prominence in Shaai''s life as well as his meteoric rise in the coven''s hierarchy. Others believed it to be a stroke of sheer luck for Jolly to capture the heart of the formidable Grand Elder Witch. "He must have some extraordinary qualities," a mature witch marveled, watching the newlyweds share a dance. "Or perhaps, there''s more to Jolly than meets the eye." She bit her lips as she looked at Jolly. This mature witch had previously met Jolly and interacted with him. She hadn''t paid him much attention after their brief chats. Though he was handsome, she didn''t find him attractive enough. However, now that grand elder Shaai had imed this man for herself, she too wanted a piece of him in some form. It was weird, she thought to herself as well. She started to want to spend time with him only after the other witch had established the im. Was this the mystical power or marriage Jolly was surrounded with? Amidst the magical celebration, uncertainty and curiosity lingered, creating an air of mystery around the union of Shaai Sena and Jolly Jalen. *** Beneath the sprawling branches of the ancient banyan tree, bathed in the mystical glow of moonlight, Shaai Sena stood with elegance and authority. The whispers of enchanted leaves overhead seemed to entuate the gravity of the moment as she gazed into the eyes of her groom, Jolly Jalen. With a voice that carried the weight of centuries, Shaai began her vows. "Jolly Jalen, in the presence of the Goddess Two Lips, the gathered members of my coven, and all the guests, I vow to be your steadfast partner, your confidante in both light and shadow. I promise to weave spells of love and protection around you, shielding you from the storms of life." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Her words resonated with sincerity as she continued. "I pledge to be faithful to you. In moments of joy, I will dance with you under the silvered moonlight, and in times of sorrow, I will stand as your unwavering anchor." Chapter 1832 Covenant of Marriage

Chapter 1832 Covenant of Marriage

A gentle breeze enveloped the couple as Shaai conveyed her unwaveringmitment. "I shall be the keeper of your secrets, the supporter of your dreams, and thepanion in your journey as a fellow Practitioner of the Path. As the Grand Elder of the Darkmoon Fellowship, I extend my powers to nurture and protect our union, binding our fates forever." With measured grace, her vow reached its eventual crescendo. "With this pledge, I intertwine my life essence with yours. Jolly Jalen, may our connection be as unyielding as the roots of this ancient tree and as enduring as the moonlight that bathes us now." The enchanted assembly bore witness to the weight of Shaai Sena''s words. Upon the conclusion of her vows, various branches of the ancient tree gracefully surrounded Shaai. They climbed over her body like sentient serpents, lifting her gently from the ground. Shaai acquiesced to the tree''s ethereal embrace. In the center of the sacred space, a parchment resembling the skin-like outeryer of some arboreal woond entity materialized, hovering motionlessly. A vine extended from the ancient tree, its pointy wooden tip acting as a pen that delicately inscribed Shaai''s vows onto the parchment in intricate runic patterns. This, as Shaai had mentioned, was the covenant of marriage. In the presence of the ancient tree and the benevolent gaze of the Goddess Two Lips, the covenant of marriage became a binding force, mutually linking Shaai and Jolly. Shaai, with calcted wisdom, had chosen to intertwine her life essence with Jolly, ensuring that any action on his part against her would be met with consequences. Initially resistant to the idea of marriage, Shaai recognized the safety the covenant offered. Through her vow, she made it clear that hermitment was genuine, and she had no intentions of betraying Jolly or divulging his secrets. The covenant of marriage, as long as he remained faithful to her and the coven, would serve as a mutually beneficial agreement, securing their alliance. Shaai hoped that this assurance would make it easier for Jolly to embrace the covenant. In response to Shaai Sena''s solemn vows, Jolly Jalen stepped forward beneath the banyan tree. The assembled witches and warlocks observed, their whispers hushed in anticipation, as Jolly began to articte his promises to Shaai. "Shaai Sena," he began, his tone serious, "This Jolly Jalen, under the watchful gaze of the Goddess Two Lips, has received your vows." Although the audience found it odd that Jolly Jalen referred to himself in the third person, they didn''t dwell on it. After all, Labh Salem housed Practitioners of various kinds, each with their peculiarities. Who were they to judge? After briefly examining the covenant of marriage, Jolly continued. "This Jolly Jalen promises to be yourpanion for now and forever, standing by your side in moonlit dances and the shadows that maye our way. Together, you and Jolly shall navigate the currents of both wonder and challenge." Jolly''s eyes met Shaai''s, a spark of determination lighting within them. "This Jolly vows to cherish the witch within you, to celebrate the strength of your spirit, and to honor the wisdom you carry as the Grand Elder of our coven. He pledges to be your equal partner." A soft breeze rustled the leaves overhead as Jolly continued, "This Jolly shall be your sanctuary, offering sce in times of uncertainty and a harbor for your heart." With conviction, Jolly concluded his vows. "Shaai Sena, This Jolly Jalen gives you his heart and life essence. May the love between the two parties of this covenant be as enduring as the ancient banyan, its roots anchored deep in the earth, and its branches reaching for the boundless sky." Eren had chosen his words for the vow carefully. He didn''t want the covenant to bind him to Shaai or the coven behind her. As interested as he was in questioning the captured spies, he didn''t want this soul-binding contract to affect his actions. Of course, Eren had no ns to betray Shaai or her coven while acting as Jolly. By this point, he understood the intricacies behind intent-based magic and soul-binding contracts well. He knew that as long as his actions were not against Shaai or her coven, the covenant would not harm him. Since he had chosen his words carefully, possessing Jolly''s body during the covenant''s authentication by the divine powers of the Goddess Two Lips would not be an issue. Eren''s predictions came true. He observed his version of the vows getting inscribed onto the parchment without setbacks. The vines and branches of the ancient tree surrounded him, lifting him into the air. In the next moment, a peculiar mana pulse enveloped the area as the branches of the tree interacted with Shaai and Jolly''s souls. They inscribed the rules of the covenant onto their souls, enforcing the pact before gently bringing them closer to each other in the air. Shaai was relieved that her mana-core-based restrictions wouldn''t be used against her, looking at Jolly as if he were her savior. On the other hand, Eren was pleased that he had saved years of his time by orchestrating this marriage with Shaai. He was also eager to gain ess to the wealth and knowledge of her coven, making him view Shaai as the shortcut in life he needed. As they embraced in the air, Shaai and Jolly affectionately hugged each other. They gazed into each other''s eyes before sealing the covenant with a final kiss. As they kissed, the runic forms of the two lips representing the Goddess Two Lips on the trunk of the ancient tree shifted slightly. A spectral tongue extended out, licking the lips as if they were dry. ''True inheritor of the elder Ichor, I see you. Hehehe,'' a soft chuckle of a mature woman resonated in Eren''s mind. He scrutinized the ancient tree, expecting something to happen. ''Don''t worry. Just like a certain goddess you know, I am also not your enemy. We will talk when there''s an opportune time,'' the voice conveyed to Eren before falling silent. Eren would have withdrawn his consciousness from Jolly''s body if he sensed a threat approaching. However, the two lips went dormant once again, not uttering anything. ''Haah! I guess I saw thising. But at this point, some risks need to be taken to move forward.'' In the end, he sighed and shook his head, choosing not to delve any deeper into the matter than necessary. Chapter 1833 Interrogating Spies

Chapter 1833 Interrogating Spies

The post-vow ceremony celebration unfolded in a grand spectacle beneath the expansive canopy of the Darkmoon Fellowship''s sacred forest. The air was filled with enchanting melodies, as lively music and beats emanated from an ensemble of magical instruments, setting the tone for a joyous asion. Jolly and Shaai, the newlywed couple, took center stage, dancing gracefully under the twinkling lights that adorned the ancient banyan tree. In his heart, Eren thanked Sara Start for teaching him some dance moves. He also wondered how she from his previous timeline would have reacted if she came to know that he had used the skills gained from her to somewhat half-wed another woman. The venue was adorned with tablesden with an array of delicacies from both mortal and magical realms. Exquisite dishes seemed to magically appear on the tables, offering a feast for the senses. Guests approached the couple with congrattions and well wishes, expressing their surprise and joy at Shaai Sena''s unexpected choice. Some came bearing wedding gifts. Shaai wasn''t particrly interested in epting them. So Eren epted for both of them with open hands with a jubnt smile on his face. Wedding or not, he liked getting freebies, especially when they came from senior witches and warlocks. Amidst the revelry, members of Shaai''s coven approached the couple with mana-rich resources and items, presenting them as wedding gifts. Exquisite potions, enchanted artifacts, and rare Skill gems were bestowed upon Jolly and Shaai, symbolizing the coven''s blessings for their union. The gifts were not only a gesture of goodwill but also a demonstration of the coven''s support for the newlyweds. As the celebration continued, the magical ambiance intensified, creating an ethereal atmosphere. The couple''s dance became a focal point, drawing admiration and apuse from the gathered audience. The night unfolded with enchantment, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the couple''s life. *** A few dayster. Inside a dimly lit and spacious corridor with prison cells lining its sides, the echo of footsteps reverberated. Each cell housed a Practitioner acting as a prisoner. These prisoners were spies at Asmodeous'' suggestion. Ranging from mighty A-Ranked Practitioners to lower-ranked individuals, all were bound by runic chains, rendering them incapable of using mana, casting Skills, or employing any special powers. The prison itself was fortified with an S-Ranked Array Formation, ensuring the prisoners couldn''t employ any tricks to escape. As the footsteps grew louder, the prisoners who were still awake perked up, anticipating another round of interrogation by someone from the Darkmoon Fellowship. "Hahahahaha. They couldn''t do shit to us, so they sent a pretty boy down here. Guys, this coven is nothing but a joke at this point." Jeered an A-Ranked Practitioner, a burly man in his early 40s by mortal standards. Despite being captured, his pride remained intact. The Darkmoon Fellowship''s torture methods had failed to extract any secrets regarding his infiltration purpose, and he assumed they had sent a rookie to attempt new tactics. Jolly, appearing as a naive kid to the body cultivator, garnered no respect. The captive believed he could easily overpower Jolly if they were to meet on the battlefield. Unfortunately for him, his shackled hands left him defenseless. Eren, paying no heed to the body cultivator''sughter, snapped his fingers, unlocking the prison cell. Stepping inside without a care, he confronted the hulking figure, restrained by chains against the wall. "Pretty boy, do you want to make me feel good?" teased the body cultivator as Jolly stood before him, unable to physically harm him but free to mock. "Of course, I am here to make you feel good. Really good," replied Eren with a bright smile, cing his right hand on the body cultivator''s head. Closing his eyes, he activated his bloodline powers using the limited drops of the Elder Ichor blood sealed inside Jolly''s body. The body cultivator''s smile froze as he sensed a soul-intrusive method being used on him, realizing that Jolly wasn''t as harmless as he seemed. However, in the next moment, a calm spread over his face after recalling that his memories were safe from foreign intrusion. "No wonder they couldn''t get anything out of the spies," Eren mumbled, analyzing the A-Ranked body cultivator''s condition. "Their memories are locked behind a spiritual seal. It''s not a Skill but a Soul Spell. Any forceful method or Skill would end up killing this poor sod," he concluded before retracting his hand. Eren spected that this was the case with all the other spies, considering the organizations behind them had sealed their memories to prevent the Darkmoon Fellowship from extracting sensitive information in a more sophisticated manner. "I guess I gotta get my hands dirty," Eren rolled up his sleeves and looked at the A-Ranked body cultivator with a neutral gaze, smiling before asking, "What is your name, big guy?" The man''s name was not rted to his organization''s secrets. So he said his name out loud and proudly while looking at Eren as if he was not worth his time. "It''s Zameer Jaishan. And you?" For some reason, Zameer felt that there was something odd about the man standing in front of him. He questioned Zameer with such an ease that even he was subconsciously eased into answering him. "We are off to a good start, aren''t we?" Eren said, summoning a sealed ss bottle from his Inventory. Uncorking it, a swarm of flies filled the air. "Zameer, I won''t bother asking you questions rted to your organization because I already know how you are going to answer," Eren confirmed there was no one else in the prison before continuing. "Instead, I''ll start your ''good time'' right away. All you have to do to make me stop is spilling everything you know." Activating his Sin Series Domains, Eren targeted Zameer''s prison cell, ensuring a potent effect. Domain of Gluttony. Domain of Lust. Domain of Wrath. Domain of Greed. The domains weren''t cast to affect Zameer but the demonic flies Eren had released into the air. These bees were the subspecies of the Skarvenstalkers Eren had gically modified and then bred in captivity. === AN: Skarvenstalkers were exined in chapter 1754. Chapter 1834 Demonic Torture P1

Chapter 1834 Demonic Torture P1

A few dayster. Shaai Sena decided to visit her newlywed husband, who hadn''t left the prison cell since entering to interrogate the spies. It seemed as if he had married her solely for ess to the spies, which kinda bothered her even though she wouldn''t admit it. Afterpleting all the formalities and submitting the covenant of marriage to the coven by himself, he essentially locked himself up with the spies. Initially, Shaai felt freed from Eren''s control over her. Living with him felt like living life on the edge. He was unpredictable, mysterious, and frighteningoften all three at the same time. And this was when she was senior to him in terms of the Ranking Status. She couldn''t imagine how terrifying he would be if and when he entered the S-Rank. However, perhaps due to the synergistic effects of the covenant of marriage between their souls, Shaai felt connected to Jolly and, by extension, to Eren. She started to appreciate the air of mystery around him. After Eren isted himself from the spies, Shaai missed the feeling of living on the edge. So, she decided to meet him during his "work hours" like a good and caring wife. Steps. Steps. Steps. Shaai''s footsteps reverberated in the corridor as she walked, her hips swaying in a mesmerizing manner. She had decked herself in a nice ensemble, not too revealing yet not too modest. Sensing Eren''s presence in the deeper part of the prison, she strolled, curious to see the progress he had made within a few days. "Aaaaaaargh! You You sick fuck I already told you I want to talk. Why. aaargh. Why aren''t you letting me?" Shaai froze in her tracks upon hearing a distant voice from a prisoner in a pained tone, making her believe that Eren was prioritizing torture methods over obtaining the truth. ''Hmph! This guy I thought he wanted to interrogate the spies. Is he just ying with them? This it just feels as if a big bad cat is ying with the captured mice?'' Shaai frowned but resumed her walk, intrigued by the methods Eren had employed to make them so desperate to talk. As an S-Ranked entity and a grand elder witch from a demonic coven, she didn''t believe there was anything she couldn''t handle inside the prison. ''Ugh! What is this smell,'' Shaai scrunched her nose in disgust when a putrid odor assaulted her nostrils. Shaai turned her head to look at the prison cell beside her. Lost in her own thoughts, she had walked past several cells without checking the condition of the prisoners inside. However, upon reflection, she realized that the behavior of the prisoners this time when she visited them was indeed odd. Typically, these prisoners would scream, jeer, taunt, or plead for release. They would respond to her presence with verbal warnings, sounds from their shackles, or frustration expressed by hitting the iron bars. Surprisingly, the prisoners remained quiet as she walked past them. Intrigued, she decided to extend her Spirit Sense and move closer to the prison cell emitting the putrid stench to understand what had urred inside. Incidentally, she checked on the first spy Eren had interrogated C Zameer Jaishan, the A-Ranked body cultivator who had been proud of his "uncrackable" physique under any duress the coven elders had put him under before Eren''s arrival. "This What in the" Shaai mumbled to herself as she observed the barely alive and hideously injured Zameer Jaishan. She saw that gically modified Skarvenstalker flies had invaded Zameer Jaishan''s burly and muscr physique, using it as their breeding grounds. His pro-testosterone, mana-rich muscles had be ideal nourishment for the demon flies, allowing them to establish a colony inside his body. The flies flew in and out of Zameer''s body through various mini pores and sizable holes. These holes resembled beehive nests scattered all over Zameer''s body. His body leaked pus, organic acid, and other bodily fluids through these pores in an attempt to resist the foreign invasion. However, the flies, influenced by Eren''s demonic control, paid no heed to Zameer''s resistance, overwhelming his A-Ranked physique with numerical advantage and rapid breeding. The flies kept on dying inside his body to make way for their new generation, which was more adapted than its predecessors to tackle the mana resistance erected by Zameer''s body. The sounds of flies buzzing filled the prison cell, and the smell of pus and other bodily fluids emanating from Zameer''s seven orifices and countless beehive-like holes made it even more difficult for anyone to look at him. In her lifetime, Shaai had seen countless corpses dissected in various forms. She had observed them dpose, exuding a foul smell and painting a very grim picture of the fallen Practitioners'' fate when they were bested by their foes. Whether the Practitioners were from the divine or demonic side, the treatment of death they received was all the same. One could say that she hade to understand the inevitability of death in a Practitioner''s life. However, what she saw in front of her at this point made her take a few steps back in horror and disgust. She hadn''t seen a more repulsive image of a dying Practitioner than she was witnessing now. In some corner of her heart, she even felt pity for Zameer, having endured so much trauma. "I I am ready to talk. Again. Ask. Just ask me what you want to know. Please Please make it stop." Zameer tried to speak to Shaai after sensing her presence, pleading with her to free him from his misery. His right cheek had been riddled with beehive-like holes, and even his left eye socket housed a bunch of flies. When he spoke, his voice sounded unnatural because even his vocal cords had been attacked by the demonic flies from the inside out. He wouldn''t have survived this brutal torture method Eren had unleashed on him if he weren''t an A-Ranked body cultivator. Or perhaps the reason Eren had put Zameer through such a form of torture was because he believed that thetter could endure it. Chapter 1835 Demonic Torture P2 Chapter 1835 Demonic Torture P2 ??Even in Anfang, where killing one''s opponents was amon practice within the Rankers'' society, Eren had set himself apart from the rest with a peculiar way he practiced the undisputedw of "might maketh right." The yanking off of organs from opponents'' bodies while they were alive, chopping off limbs and necks from joints while avoiding the bone hindrance, like that of a veteran butcher with a keen perception of animal anatomy, the brutal execution of weapon attacks even after the critical hit had been made, and the finesse with which he carried out those actions made Eren be seen as a monster in others'' eyes. This was the reason Eren Elijah Idril was the only one titled the Osan Woods'' Butcher, even though brutality and the way of killing were prevalent around him. It was the way he killed and treated his opponents that made hime across as a vile man even to those who were considered brutal characters having seen their fair share of violence. Every Ranker had tainted their hands in someone''s blood in Anfang but nobody killed as grimly as Eren. They didn''t have to. They didn''t need to. They weren''t subjected to the same form of treatment as Eren was in his previous timeline. His Individuality, when exposed to the masses, earned him the title of Grimdawn for the same reason as well. Even though Eren acted sophisticated in Anfang and Labh Salem in his second lifeline, he hade to embrace his persona from the first timeline. He would let this persona take over whenever he thought it was necessary. Eren''s refined personality was the result of the sess he had achieved in Anfang and his need to appear as a normal man in Labh Salem. And his personality as the Osan Woods''s Butcher was the result of the pain and torture he had endured in his first timeline while working under the Pdin of Pain. Even though there was a pr difference between these two personalities, Eren found it within him to channel both of them efficiently. Eren also had other personalities within him. He would act like someone who was head over heels whenever he was in the presence of Sara Stark. He would act like a caring man whenever he was in the presence of Nina. He would act like a pragmatic employer and owner in front of Miss Manager Agatha. One could say that he had many shades to his being, and all of them were an integral part of his individuality. It was just that he would let his "Osan Woods'' Butcher" persona take the front wheel from time to time, which would inadvertently make those around him afraid of him, just like what Shaai was feeling at the moment. The S-Ranked newlywed finally understood why she felt a sense of dangering from Eren even though he acted refined and kindly to her. Fortunately or unfortunately, the rest of the spies hadn''t been given the same treatment that Zameer was going through at this point. He was the only A-Ranked body cultivator after all. If Eren were to put other Practitioners through the same form of torture, they would all die, rendering his efforts to get valuable information out of them useless. As confident as he was in his undead summoning, Eren couldn''t do anything to the Soul Spell cast on their core memories. Otherwise, Eren would have directly killed some of the prisoners before bringing them back to life using his Profession as a Necromancer-type Summoner. *** When she took a few steps back from Zameer''s prison cell, Shaai made the mistake of spreading her Spirit Sense around him. And as such, she inadvertently got to know the situation of the rest of the spies present in other prison cells near Zameer. Shaai sensed that some of the spies had been infected with a severe case of Gluttony Mana, forcing them to eat each other and even their own flesh in an uncontroble hunger. It seemed that they had been only partially transformed into the Creature of Gluttony, which made them retain a semnce of their consciousness intact as they carried on with their instinctual activities. Some of the spies had been infected with Wrath Mana. Their movements were controlled by the shackles around their limbs. However, they tried their hardest to attack the fellow spies trapped inside their cells with all their might, their eyes red and seething in anger even though they did not understand the source of their anger. On the other hand, the ones who were supposed to act as the victims of the attackers were all infected with Sloth Mana, which made them unable to put up a fight even though they wanted to. The frustration of both types of prisoners was palpable. Then there were others in different prison cells who had been infected with various other forms of Sin Series Mana. All of them looked pitiful and suffered from various forms of physical and mental trauma. At this point, the Soul Spell cast on the spies'' memories to protect the organizations behind them had be a curse for the spies. Before Eren''s arrival, this memory-sealing method had acted as a way to ensure they didn''t die in the Darkmoon Fellowship''s prison cells. However, after Eren entered the prison, they were ready to bet all their umted fortune on the prospect of finally embracing death and experiencing eternal peace. ''What What kind of evil am I married to? Even some of the most heinous demonic Practitioners with insane bounties on them aren''t this vicious.'' Shaai thought to herself as she retreated further back from all the prison cells. A chill ran down her spine when she realized someone had stopped her retreat with a seemingly warm embrace. "Hmm? My dear wife, what are you doing here?" Jolly appeared behind Shaai and wrapped his arms around her in affection, his voice dripping in gentle care. He rubbed his cheek onto Shaai''s while his arms locked around her hips. His "sleeping member" showed some activity as it was pressed against and nestled between her asscheeks. "You What have you done to these spies?" Shaai asked with a shaky voice, finding Eren''s affectionate embrace ufortable after seeing what kind of torture methods he had unleashed on the spies. Even though she was a grand elder witch of a supposedly well-established demonic coven, she had to say that there was nobody more demonic than her husband in her eyes at this point. Chapter 1836 The Contrast Between On- & Off-hours Grimdawn Chapter 1836 The Contrast Between On- & Off-hours Grimdawn ??"Keke. Don''t care about these cockroaches, my dear wife. They are only cooperative now after I gave them a strong reason to." Eren whispered to Shaai while nibbling on her left earlobe. He inhaled her fresh and orchid-like bodily smell and was relieved from the stench that came from all around him. Not that the stench had stopped him from doing what he needed to do anyway. However, he indulged in the olfactory relief brought by Shaai all the same. A bright smile was stered on his face as he spoke further. "Rather than asking me what I have done to these poor spies, you should ask whether I managed to get some valuable information out of them. Don''t you think so?" He asked as he narrowed his eyes on Zameer inside his prison cell. As soon as Zameer sensed Eren''s presence right outside his prison cell, he groaned and tried to move his hole-riddled body. The once-burly-and-mighty man was trying to get away from Eren even though he subconsciously knew that it was impossible because of the prison cell. Sometimes people make futile attempts just to find some mental respite in doing them. "Oh? Did you find something interesting?" Shaai quickly adjusted her demeanor and asked curiously. She''d be lying if she said she wasn''t interested in knowing about the truth behind why so many spies had infiltrated the Darkmoon Fellowship during such a crucial time. After all, the arrival of the Hvergelmir Springs was not very far in the future. All the demonic big and small forces were busy solidifying their strengths while trying to add more members. Why would any organization pay attention to someone else''s house at such a crucial time? Unless it was something big. "I have got some interesting news to share with you and all the other grand elders of the Darkmoon Fellowship," Jolly said casually as he looked around before adding further. "But at this point, I am still in the process of information extraction. It would be foolish of me to trust the words of people who are desperate to please me. Maybe they are all saying collective bullshit just so that I can relieve them from their misery. Who knows? I can''t just take the word of a few people to make aplete picture. I''ll need to spend a few more days with them and interrogate them separately to see if one version of the extracted information matches with the other. Only then will I be able to say anything concrete. Rest assured, it''ll be the news the coven can count on after I''m done with the whole process," Jolly released Shaai from his embrace as he said. Shaai didn''t particrly like that Jolly released her from his embrace just when she was finding some warmth andfort in it. However, she didn''t want toe across as too clingy so she didn''t object to it. Tucking her voluminous hair behind her ears, she spoke, "In that case, I''ll leave you be here. Come meet me when you are done." "Hm," Jolly nodded before spreading his hands. Using the Array Token given to him by Shaai, he made use of the S-Ranked Array Formation to cast an area-of-effect healing Skill. The healing-type Skill cast by Eren and powered by the S-Ranked Array Formation was so powerful that it started healing all the living prisoners at the same time. Eren took this time to dispel the effects of the Sin Series Mana invasion from the prisoners'' bodies as well, giving them instant physical and mental relief. The partially transformed Demonic Creatures got their sanitypletely back. Their demonic transformation also came undone. They also regainedplete control over their bodies. Their wounded forms started healing at a rapid and visible rate. The spies who were on the brink of death due to too many muscles being shaved off of them and those who suffered amputation and severe bone damage also started experiencing miraculous healing effects. It was as if all of them were being revived from the brink of death andplete insanity. The prisoners lost consciousness after such a wide-area healing Skill was cast on them. Some of their own Lifeforce had been spent on reviving them. As such, they fell back into forceful yet peaceful slumber as soon as some respite was given to them. Shaai was about to leave the prison grounds. But she felt puzzled when she saw Jolly healing all the spies. She felt that he should have carried on with his investigation after the spies were so willing to talk to him. "Hm? Why did you heal them?" Shaai asked, turning around. Jolly smiled lightly before responding. "This is still not the right time for the next round of questioning. And we can''t keep on hammering them lest they break into million pieces. We need to be mindful about our torture, my dear wife. Too much of anything is not good for either side. If we drive them into madness, they''ll findfort in it. They''ll be liberated by their own insanity. Damaged goods are of no use to us. To keep their minds sane, we need to bring them back just before they decide to give up on themselves," Eren said as if it was the most obvious thing to do, taken right out of How To Torture For Dummies. "Indeed," Shaai couldn''t help agreeing with Eren''s statement. Only now did she realize how much thought Eren had put into the whole thing. "On second thought, let''s go out and have something to eat. I''m famished," Eren said as he rubbed his tummy. Even though he had merely possessed Jolly''s body, the hunger his body felt was also felt by him. He decided to give them a much-needed rest before unleashing the next round of horrors on them. After all, only after experiencingfort and relief will they be able to feel toil and hopelessness. The contrast between the two pr opposite states will neither allow them to bepletely mad nor make them at peace with their situation. And by retaining this perpetual state of uneasiness, Eren would be able to get the whole truth out of the spies. "I''m surprised you can have an appetite in such an environment," Shaai said as she looked at Jolly as if trying to understand an enigma. The butcher chuckled in response before adding words of ttery in his defense. "Well, I am more hungry for my beautiful wife''spany than a meal," Eren said as he smiled charmingly, his voice coated in honey and dew, his gaze pleasantly invading Shaai''s privacy. "After all, I have to take care of her somehow. Treating her to a nice meal is the least I can do," Eren said as he appeared beside Shaai. Before she could say anything, he ced his hand across her shoulder like he was hanging out with a pal and led her outside the prison grounds, his tilted head resting on her shoulders. In hispany, Shaai soon forgot the scenery of the prison grounds and the horrors Eren had unleashed on the spies. She subconsciously started treating "on hours'''' and "off hours" Eren as two separate entities. And in her mind, the newlywed grand elder witch of the Darkmoon Fellowship had already decided to stay close to the "off-hours" version of her husband as much as she could because he was fun to be around. Gm === AN: The character profiles for Jolly Jalen and Shaai Sena have been created. Check them out. :) Chapter 1837 Jolly: The Top 3rd Origin Points Contributor Chapter 1837 Jolly: The Top 3rd Origin Points Contributor ??After a few days of torture rounds and strict interrogation, Eren soon extracted all the information he could from the spies. Just as he had promised, Eren conducted a closed-door meeting with all the elders of the coven before putting forward his findings. The coven elders were shocked by Eren''s report. They didn''t know that their coven had the possession of such a big thing. Of course, some of them started to hesitate to act on the lead Eren had extracted from the spies, fearing the potential consequences. However, Eren had already decided to use Darkmoon Fellowship''s might to his advantage. He wanted to get to the bottom of the thing Asmodeous and his allies had hidden and possiblyy im over it. As such, he didn''t let Darkmoon Fellowship back away from the uing project. He had Shaai''s unwavering support in the coven council. It didn''t take long for Eren to convince a majority of other elders as well. One could say that the butcher did things very thoroughly once he decided to invest his time and efforts into them. However, he agreed with some of the elders when they said that they needed some time to prepare before they acted on the lead given to them by the spies. This job couldn''t be rushed. This was a slow project that had an incubation period. So Eren kept possessing Jolly Jalen often within the following weeks to personally look after its smooth execution. Eren also observed that the more he kept possessing the pseudo-avatars and taking the wheel behind their actions, the more their behavior pattern started to match Eren. For example, Jolly was basically not any different than the current Eren even if he were to retract the manual control. This was the effect of Eren''s demonic possession, which was slowly but surely turning Jolly into another version of him. Jolly still had some of the knacks of being a real Jolly Jalen. But his identity and his Individuality were slowly assimted with Eren''s identity as time passed. The new pseudo-avatar creation method changed the original hosts of the body into the demons they were being possessed by when Eren used the Demons'' Way of possessing someone as a foundation for his pseudo-avatar creation method. Not that Eren minded changing Jolly Jalen forever, painting him in his shade. However, he consciously let some of Jolly''s consciousness and his habits be retained when the demonic possession started taking root in his body. He eventually stabilized the demonic possession and stopped himself frompletely consuming Jolly''s consciousness. After all, Eren didn''t want a second version of his copy standing in front of him. Even he would find it a bit ufortable meeting with a man who was just like him. One could say that he knew himself well. Eren eventually disposed of the spies after extracting all the information from them, turning them into potent Gluttony Pearls he could use in his battles. He also made use of the coven''s resources and its vast knowledge to enrich himself. He utilized the Darkmoon Fellowship''s library and its Ranking Resources, gaining ess to various important topics and Array Formation-based Skills. In his free time, Eren spent time with Shaai, acting like a good husband material and taking care of her. He also sparred with her and learned many things he could from her. When he had nothing to do, he often left the coven grounds with Shaai toplete some of the missions she was supposed to fulfill as the grand elder witch. With hiswork of fiends, it wasn''t hard for Eren to help Shaai and the coven to some extent. Of course, Eren provided this help secretly to avoid uncovering the identity of his real body behind Jolly''s actions. If Eren did not make use of his demigod powers or Elder Ichor''s abilities, Shaai held an obvious advantage in their spars because of her S-Rank, which he couldn''t ovee, especially when using Jolly''s body to tap into his Elemental Attainments and powers. However, he took this limitation as a challenge and started improving himself. He didn''t mind getting bested by his own wife, so to speak. The use of the pseudo-avatar helped Eren stabilize his own gains and consolidate his multifaceted Ranking Path. It also allowed him to train his mind and soul with consistent possessions and digest various forms of experiences and Elemental Attainments. Moreover, Jolly Jalen became Eren''s third top Origin Force Points contributor after marrying Shaai. Since the Darkmoon Fellowship was a well-established coven and one of the top forces within the demonic faction, it had arge number of members, allies, followers, and even some enemies. When the news of Shaai''s union with Jolly spread, it started earning Eren loads of Origin Force Points. Being Eren, he started to make use of this opportunity to gain more and more Origin Force Points. He publicly showed affection to Shaai in front of juniors and elders alike. Anyway, the faction rted to Asmodeus was always known to be bold in its way of showing affection, and Shaai was supposed to be one of the heads who led this faction. So Eren''s actions didn''t break his character. Shaai also didn''t mind and reciprocated Eren''s romantic actions with equal enthusiasm. People were only more convinced than ever that Shaai and Jolly were right in marrying each other. Previous doubts were put to rest by the elders. Their romance started to act like the couple''s goals in the eyes of the coven''s younger generation. Eren earned plenty of Origin Force Points with this endeavor with Jolly alone, which would allow him to assimte with three more Virtue Series Marks. Eren was in the process of getting the Virtue of Patience soon, which would allow him to strengthen his Sin of Wrath. With the Origin Force Points he earned from Jolly, he could finally go forward with the n. Nothing tooplicated happened to the rest of Eren''s pseudo-avatars during this time. They were busypleting their own tasks at hand. Some of them had achieved early signs of sess while the others were busy establishing a firm foothold in the regions they were in. Chapter 1838 Rolces Progress Chapter 1838 Rolce''s Progress ??While Jolly Jalen was busy in the Darkmoon Fellowship, Eren''s other clones had their own missions lined up. They all worked silently and diligently to help Erenplete some of his most crucial tasks. For example, Rolce Zurich had sessfully established contact with Minerva. He first met up with Meeli before visiting Minerva''s ce. Minerva had be a half-step Saint at this point. Although she couldn''t spare more time for Rolce, she weed him and allowed him to stay in her domain. Initially, Rolce had a hard time convincing Minerva that he was the one who had obtained her partial legacy in Anfang. But after some investigation, Minerva managed to confirm his im. Of course, Minerva could still sense that there was something different about Rolce, and he hid many things from her. However, she knew very well that all the Rankers from Anfang were more or less like that. Rankers had their own secrets, and prying too deep into them wouldn''t be good for any of them. Rolce started working under Minerva in her domain, a giant city famous for its potion-making and artifact-enchanting capabilities. As Minerva''s partial legacy holder, Rolce didn''t take long to prove his expertise in potion-making. Minerva''s expertise in potion-making had extended to enchanting artifacts with them. Although Rolce had a hard time bridging the gap between the two distinct fields, he had Eren''s knowledge rted to Hex artifact creation at his disposal, allowing him to make quick progress. After working under Minerva''s remote guidance and producing excellent products in her domain, Rolce eventually managed to get the recipe needed for the Borrowed Might potions from her. These were the same potions Eren had used to defeat Sage-ranked opponents after stacking multiple advantages together. Rolce was already in possession of the Andrium Radix that Eren had given him. Using it as a base and the resources avable in Minerva''s domain, he started making Hex artifacts for Eren''s allies and followers. He began selling them through the Mesh soon, providing premium ess and reduced prices to the supporters of the Elder Ichor faction. Rolce also aimed to produce Borrowed Might potions and sell them on the Mesh in exchange for Menaka''s Runes. However, making these potions proved to be more challenging than he initially thought. The recipe for Borrowed Might potions was straightforward, with not many pre-concoction processes involved. However, the concoction process required a substantial amount of mana to support it. It seemed as if the potions demanded one to put their own mana reserves on the line for a chance at a sessful concoction. If Rolce wasn''t careful and his mana reserves were depleted before the potion stabilized, the entire concoction process would fail, and he would have to start from scratch. This not only consumed time but was also physically and mentally exhausting. Furthermore, the mana-rich resources required as ingredients for the recipe were not easy to obtain. They were not only expensive but also rarely appeared in the market. Typically, they could only be acquired through Menaka''s Market whenever someone''s private greenhouse released a batch of ingredients on the Mesh. As a result, even after acquiring the recipe for Borrowed Might potions, the actual production and sale of the potions were not as fast as Eren wanted. Nevertheless, he didn''tin and allowed Rolce to make progress at a steady pace. By this point, Rolce had established a firm foothold in Minerva''s city. The city itself resembled the isted inheritance grounds she had created for her potential legacy holders back in Anfang. Thus, Rolce easily established his separate base of operations. Minerva''s city was well-protected and, for the most part, insted from the conflicts between the divine and demonic factions. Simultaneously, nobody in the city knew about Rolce or his past. Therefore, Eren''s pseudo-avatar stayed safe from trouble, having all the time, resources, and a conducive environment to focus on manufacturing potions and enchanted artifacts. During this time, Eren didn''t have to possess Rolce for the most part. Thetter took care of almost everything on his own, and Eren only needed to ensure he had enough Menaka''s Runes and raw ingredients to support the continuous production of various potions and Hex artifacts. After Rolce took over the production tasks, Eren''s own burden of concocting potions and creating Hex artifacts was significantly reduced. He sent a few of his fiends to Rolce and asked him to use them as his subordinates in his tasks. Eventually, he intended to outsource all of his production tasks to Rolce so that he would be free to take on other challenges. After all, Eren''s time in Sunhaven was limited, ending after his on-field mission to tackle a demonic Kaiser, which he believed wouldn''t take a very long time. He couldn''t stay in one ce and keep producing things for his followers continually. Therefore, Rolce''s role in taking on that responsibility was crucial. Eren had spent more than five years in a mortal city, amassing wealth, followers, and Origin Force Points in secret. He knew that he needed to act prudently yet decisively during this time when the arrival of the Hvergelmir Springs was imminent. Rolce also helped Eren stabilize and temper a few particr aspects of his Individuality. Serving as a Potioner and having ess to the Sin of Sloth powers, he managed to obtain three Virtue Series Marks for Eren through his connection to Minerva. At this point, including the Virtue Series Mark he had obtained in Goddess Sekhmet''s temple, Eren had strengthened and sharpened four out of seven Sin Series Marks by using their corresponding Virtue Series Marks as whetstones. He only needed ess to the remaining Virtue Series Marks topletely unlock the true potential of his Sin Series powers. The butcher couldn''t believe that something he had decided to do on a whim could turn out to be so potent. Although he hadn''t tried the effects of the strengthened Sin Series Marks against his opponents in a real fight, he was already quite satisfied with the derivedb results. === Rolce Rahgal Zurich was introduced in chapter 1792. Chapter 1839 Saith Raknor & Simi Piyar

Chapter 1839 Saith Raknor & Simi Piyar

Saith Raknor. This was the name of Eren''s pseudo-avatar, who had been tasked with meeting Goddess Great Mother. Eren had given Saith the crystal-like stone he had obtained from Goddess Great Mother in Anfang. He was supposed to go to Goddess Great Mother''s temple to make use of themunication medium and finally have an audience with the goddess herself. Saith Raknor looked like an ordinary Grandmaster who wasn''t supposed to possess anything too significant. He had short dark gray hair that almost looked ck and a lean build with an average stature. Saith had sharp facial features and a very stealthy and calm air around him. He represented Eren''s closebat profession and was branded with the Sin of Gluttony mark. Ever since he had been branded with Eren''s powers, Saith had inadvertently started indulging in food and drink. Although his lean features stayed the same, his Individuality changed a bit. When Saith arrived at Goddess Great Mother''s temple, he needed to stay in the vicinity and wait for a while before the temple opened up to the regr devotees. When he finally got in, he was taken to meet Simi Piyar, who acted as an archpriest for the goddess and her followers. Simi Piyar looked to be a woman in her early 30s by mortal standards. She had a round face, a small nose, red lips, supple clear skin, and beautiful ck eyes. Her brte hair was well-tied behind her head, and two bangs of hair cascaded down her face, adding extra charm to her beauty. Simi had moderate feminine curves, which she entuated well by wearing an aptly fit long ck robe. She exuded grace and warmth every time she met with the goddess'' followers. Obviously, as a follower and archpriestess of the Goddess Great Mother, Simi''s Path to Power was that of an Amazonian. She was in the S-Rank, officially called Valkyrie Priestess. When Saith first imed that he had some personal business with the Goddess Great Mother, Simi was very skeptical. She also heard him say that he had been given something by the goddess herself to establish contact with her. Saith wanted to contact the goddess all by himself. However, the goddess didn''t tell him how he could make use of the crystal-like stone she had given him. As such, he decided to approach Simi and ask for her help. When he saw that Simi still doubted him, he had no option but to present that crystal-like stone to her. As soon as the stone was taken out by Saith from his Inventory, Simi looked at him in a new light. Her behavior towards him changed all of a sudden, and she started treating him as an important guest of the temple. Saith didn''t know if he could trust Simi or not. But for better or worse, he needed to trust Goddess Great Mother. And by proxy, he needed to trust her judgment in selecting the arch-priestess of her temple. On the other hand, Simi had a lot of questions of her own. She couldn''t believe that someone from outside the faith had managed to obtain such a precious item rted to the Goddess Great Mother''s divinity. The arch priestess indeed first thought of robbing Saith of this stone and offering him something mary in exchange. However, after deliberating further, she decided not to offend Goddess Great Mother by practically swindling one of her staunch followers, although she had a hard time believing that Saith was a follower of the goddess'' faith. Saith and Simi both decided to y the game of wait-and- watch for a few days. When they both confirmed that they were not standing opposed to each other, they decided to cooperate. Saith first requested Simi to keep his identity as someone who could contact Goddess Great Mother a secret. He didn''t know if enemies were prowling outside the grand temple, but he didn''t want to take a chance. Although finding the request a bit odd, Simi agreed to Saith''s request. She even helped him create fake trails of his departure from the grand temple so that he would be able tomunicate with the goddess in peace. When everything was set, Simi led Saith to the deepest parts of the grand temple before exining to him the purpose of the crystal-like stone he was carrying. ording to Simi, the crystal-like stone was a condensation of the Goddess Great Mother''s divinity that she might have obtained from centuries of faith and energy umtion within a particr region. This crystal-like stone could be used by the arch priestess of the temple of the Goddess Great Mother to invoke the Divine Sense of the goddess within her. Eren knew that the goddess had appeared on Anfang after possessing the giant stone statue that represented her. When the stone statue shrank, Eren guessed that she set apart a part of the faith energy she had umted in the statue to create the crystal. Obtaining this crystal was a huge merit for the arch priestess of the Goddess Great Mother. Not only did it concentrate the form of the faith energy, but it also carried some of the Goddess'' understanding regarding her own Divinity. If she were to use the crystal herself, Simi would be able to invoke the goddess'' Divine Sense within her, allowing her to be possessed by the goddess temporarily. Of course, such an instance was bound to make her progress leaps and bounds in her Path to Power. Simi''s status as a goddess'' incarnation would be well established within the temple and the goddess'' followers. She would be able to have premium ess to various mana-rich resources when that happened. As such, she was as excited as Saith to make him use the crystal to contact the goddess. Saith understood why Simi was so cooperative. It seemed that he had brought a big opportunity to the arch priestess of the grand temple by bringing her the crystal-like stone. Nheless, he didn''t mind that Simi was getting profited from his encounter with the goddess in Anfang. He guessed that perhaps the reason why the goddess had given him this crystal was so that he could establish a friendly connection with one of her archpriests in Labh Salem. Chapter 1840 Temporary Incarnation Through Divine Sense

Chapter 1840 Temporary Incarnation Through Divine Sense

Inside a private hall of the Goddess Great Mother''s grand temple. Assuming a lotus position, Simi activated her Tantra practice to calm her body and soul. Saith was outside the Yantra restrictions she had ced to practice in peace. However, she didn''t pay him much attention and concentrated on getting to her peak mental and physical condition. Simi spent a few hours practicing her Tantra. The goddess'' blessing helped her in the process, making it easy for her to progress forward in her Path bit by bit. However, on this day, Simi practiced her Tantra for a different reason. She wanted to summon the goddess'' Divine Sense within her. And as such, she was preparing a vessel to contain the goddess'' Divine Sense. Her own body. When she confirmed that her body was enriched with Nature mana to the brim, Simi decided to proceed forward with the n. She took out the stone Saith had handed to her and ced it above her open right palm. She ced her left palm under her right palm and started pouring Nature mana into the stone while operating on her Tantra once again. The stone''s surface started cracking gradually as more and more Nature Mana was poured into it. It took a while for theplete destruction of the stone. But when it did, Simi was well prepared. She activated the Yantra formation around her before absorbing the faith energy that had been trapped inside the stone. With faith energy as fuel, Simi activated the blessings she had received from the Goddess Great Mother, and in the next moment, the sky above the grand temple started changing its color and state. It was still early in the morning. However, when Simi activated her blessing, the rain clouds were summoned in the region from nowhere. The dark gray shade of these newly summoned clouds soon turned ck as they started gathering around arge region. The winds picked up speed and started making peculiar sounds. Yet, they were somehow gentle enough not to cause harm to the low-ranked entities present in the region. Soon, a gentle rain started pouring from the heavens. It seemed that the rainwater was enriched in Nature Mana, expediting the growth of the nts and vegetation inside the region as it fell directly on them. The low-ranked Amazonians weed this rain on their bodies, drenching themselves in it with extreme happiness on their faces and adoration for their goddess. Some of them found out that their stagnant progress in the Path had been rebooted as the Nature Mana in the rainwater entered their bodies. Some of them directly broke through their bottlenecks and achieved huge sess for themselves. Even the low-ranked entities who were not Amazonians benefited from this rain. To them, the Nature mana-induced rainwater was akin to a very premium-grade elixir that not only enriched their bodies but also strengthened their souls. Who would say no to a free upgrade? All of a sudden, the gray clouds vanished, and the sky cleared in an instant as if the rain was nothing but a figment of one''s imagination. The sunrays hit the region and illuminated it in their golden bright light. The sounds of ancient Mantras could be heard in the distance as a sky-piercing pir of light was summoned right above the grand temple. It was as if the light pir had connected the grand temple to a celestial heaven above. Goddess Great Mother''s presence spread in the surroundings, making her followers get on their knees and kowtow in the direction of the grand temple no matter where they were. All of them realized that something really groundbreaking was going on inside the grand temple. All of them decided to stop what they were doing and visit the grand temple. They even started to contact the followers all across Labh Salem who were currently not in the region, asking them to visit the grand temple as soon as they could. Some started posting live footage of the divine phenomenon on Agora with various titles and praises for Goddess Great Mother. These feeds quickly gained traction. They also made the demonic forces unrestful as they realized the Goddess Great Mother had chosen an incarnation of herself to wield her Authority in Labh Salem. Possessing Saith with hispletely aware consciousness, Eren watched all the divine phenomena around him with a calm gaze and an even calmer mind. He could tell that Simi''s efforts were sessful, and she had be the incarnation of the goddess. However, he didn''t rush inside the private hall and waited for her toe out silently. Eren could hear the chants and prayers being offered to the goddess by zealous voices outside the grand temple''s premises. Thankfully, Simi had made prior arrangements and sealed the entrances and exits of the grand temple temporarily before erecting an S-Ranked barrier. This was done to ensure that no unrest was caused by the devout followers of the goddess inside the grand temple. With this move, she also prevented nefarious actors from other faiths, especially the demonic entities, from acting against the goddess'' interests. With the Goddess Great Mother sessfully managing to establish her presence in Labh Salem through her incarnation, her poprity and faith were bound to grow. The Mesh also made it a bit easier for her followers to add new members to the faith. The giant doors of the private hall were soon creaked open. Simi walked out from it with a gentle smile on her face. However, Eren guessed that it was not Simi who was controlling her body at this point. He felt a familiar feelinging from within her that he knew only belonged to a certain goddess he had encountered back in Anfang. Simi, or rather Goddess Great Mother, looked at Eren and smiled brightly. She soon started walking towards him with leisured steps. Her presence was covered in the divine aura, making here across as weing and intimidating at the same time. If there were any mortals or low-ranked entities present in Eren''s shoes, they would have had to bow downpletely, on their knees, in front of the goddess'' presence. However, Eren merely offered a simple light bow in front of the goddess before speaking up. "Thank you for seeing me, Goddess Great Mother," he said sincerely as he raised his head and looked her in the eyes. Chapter 1841 Meeting Goddess Great Mother Again

Chapter 1841 Meeting Goddess Great Mother Again

"Thanks foring here too, true inheritor of the Elder Ichor." Simi spoke in a different style and voice than before. She stopped right in front of Eren and took a good look at him from head to toe before speaking in a warm voice. "Although you have been a little too cautious in meeting me, I don''t mind it. No matter who it is that you possess, I can see that it is indeed you." Saith smiled when he heard the goddess'' words. He shook his head before responding. "Yeah. It''s not for you, my goddess; I don''t trust this environment." "Wise choice," the goddess nodded at Eren''s words before asking him. "Could you wait for a few hours before we get down to business? You see, they won''t be able to quiet down otherwise," she said while looking in the distance where the voices and chants of her followers wereing from. ''Hm? Looks like this goddess actually has time to interact with her followers this time. Is it because of the kind of vessel she is possessing through her Divine Sense?'' Saith was surprised by how easy it was for the goddess to possess Simi and maintain her Divine Sense in Labh Salem this time. He had seen how time-bound she was when she hadst appeared in Anfang. It seemed that there was a difference between the way she sent her Divine Sense to the mortal ne this time. ''These Immortals are the true wielders of the incarnation arts and avatar techniques. They don''t even need Shallot''s Mirror to achieve what I painstakingly achieved through various trials and errors in almost 5 years,'' Eren said to himself and sighed. Of course, he also understood that the Immortals had one solid advantage over him their seemingly infinite lifespan. They had appeared way before him and obtained their respective divinities. If Eren doesn''t elevate his status to godhood in the future, they will oust him. It was not surprising that these Immortals had their own ways to achieve simr or better results than Eren. Some Immortals already had multiple incarnations and avatars present in various worlds. Like Eren, the Immortals too preferred to farm for Origin Force Points through their incarnations. The difference was in the scale Eren and the Immortals did things. With multiple thoughts swirling inside his head, Eren looked at the goddess before responding in an understanding tone. "Certainly, my goddess. Take your time. I''ll wait for you to settle your affairs," Eren said before disappearing from his position. He had already been given a private chamber to rest in by Simi. Within a blink of an eye, he appeared inside the chamber and waited for the goddess'' summons. The Goddess Great Mother''s smile faded when she confirmed that Eren was no longer in herpany. ''This boy he is growing too fast,'' she thought to herself. Although as an Immortal being, she didn''t have a firm handle on the passage of time, she felt that it was only yesterday that she had met Eren when he was just a bit bigger than an ant in her eyes. However, it had taken him only a few years to amass enough individual power and experience to use such a near-perfect form of avatar techniques. ''He is using an Elder Seed artifact to use an avatar. Does he have multiple of them? I had indeed sensed an Elder Seed Artifact''s presence when I projected my Divine Sense in Anfang. It seems he got hold of it, probably after turning the world of Anfang upside down. Too bad he got to it before I could galvanize my followers there,'' the goddess mumbled to herself before shaking her head. ''Forget it. The stronger he is, the better it is for me,'' the goddess finally concluded before disappearing from her position as well. It had been a while since she had appeared in a mortal ne. Her continuous presence in Labh Salem could not be sustained by Simi for more than a week. As such, she decided to prioritize some of the crucial matters. With the Hvergelmir Springs approaching, she needed to ensure that her followers were ready to face the demonic entities when they were at their peak. Inside arge temple hall that looked like a royal court, the goddess then summoned her grand temple''s priests and other high-ranking entities. She assumed the position of the lead when she sat on a throne specially arranged for her. The goddess chatted with the summoned subjects and processed the current state of affairs in the world of Labh Salem from them. She showed peculiar interest whenever the news was rted to the witches or the Goddess Two Lips. The goddess didn''t take long to form a set of ns to prepare her followers for the uing Hvergelmir Springs incident. With her undisputed authority, she galvanized the full force of the grand temple and various other temples dedicated to her faith all across Labh Salem. A lot of the goddess'' high-ranking followers received their own set of missions directly from the goddess. In return, they were offered the grand temple''s umted resources as rewards. The goddess also promised to grant her blessings to a few individuals if and when theypleted certain tasks she had handed to them. The goddess also bestowed some of her capable followers with premium-grade Hex Artifacts. These artifacts, blessed by her divine powers, were bound to be passed down as divine heritage within the temrs'' ranks. *** After a few hours. Inside Eren''s chamber. A private balcony that offered a wide view of the city that surrounded the goddess'' grand temple. The Goddess Great Mother and Eren, both possessing someone else''s bodies, sat in front of each other by the table. Two sets of freshly brewed tea cups were served to both of them by the temple''s caretakers before leaving them alone. "Done with your work?" Eren asked the goddess as he lifted his porcin cup and savored the refreshing taste of the tea. Even though he was drinking tea in front of a goddess, he didn''t feel pressured at all. "Unfortunately, no. I''m just getting started," the goddess gave a tired sigh like a mortal before lifting her cup as well. She closed her eyes and felt the tea getting down her throat as if she was experiencing this feeling after a very long time. "Eren, what do you know about Goddess Two Lips?" the goddess asked when she opened her eyes and looked in Eren''s, her tone curious. Chapter 1842 The Relation Between Goddess Great Mother & Witch Goddess Two Lips

Chapter 1842 The Rtion Between Goddess Great Mother & Witch Goddess Two Lips

"Goddess Two Lips?" Eren raised his eyebrows in surprise. He didn''t expect this particr question toe up in the discussion. The divine faction, led by the Goddess Great Mother, and the demonic faction, led by the Witch Goddess Two Lips, were at odds with each other. Each side had their allies, furtherplicating the matter. However, both goddesses seemed to have a personal vendetta against each other. Nheless, Eren had no interest in directly supporting a faction. After all, he had a faction of his own to lead. Why should he support anyone with nothing to gain? Especially when both sides were at odds with his faction? Interestingly, both the divine and demonic factions had managed to findmon ground when it came to resisting the influence of the third factionC the Elder Ichor faction. Eren didn''t request the goddess Great Mother to change that dynamic. Although she was seen as a leader of the divine faction, the Immortals supporting her side weren''t doing so out of respect for her. They had their own potential profits to look after. Plus, Labh Salem was just one single world where the goddess Great Mother''s influence was a bit stronger than the other gods. In other worlds, the situation was different because the equations ying out in those worlds were different. Goddess Great Mother couldn''t offend her allies in Labh Salem or in other worlds by openly supporting Eren and his Elder Ichor faction. Doing so might not only backfire on her but also negatively affect her followers. People who had stakes in diverse fields couldn''t survive without a bit of diplomacy. The divine and demonic factions were both like this. The parties involved from both factions had their own dynamics with each other within their faction. Some had also formed a coalition with their supposed enemies from the opposite faction just to take down theirmon opponent. To the Immortals, the various worlds were like ygrounds in which they had spread their faiths. These ygrounds had their own set of rules and regtions. Labh Salem was just one among these ygrounds. She could help him from the shadows and receive help from him in secret. However, she would never admit to colluding with him if asked by the other Immortals, especially those who firmly and openly opposed the Elder Ichor faction. She just had too much to lose if she did that. As such, Eren could guess that asking Goddess Great Mother to openly support his faction was something she would never be able to do. If one already knows the answer, why waste time asking a question in vain? Although Eren was yet to have a word with the Witch Goddess, he could guess that she was more or less in the same boat as the Goddess Great Mother. That''s why he wasn''t particrly interested in talking with the Witch Goddess. The sole reason Eren had approached the Great Mother was because she had assured him that she''d disclose the information rted to an Elder Seed Artifact. Eren wanted to ask her why she didn''t want to keep the artifact by grabbing it with her own hands. But he decided to postpone that question forter. This was because the matter rted to the dynamics between the two goddesses seemed to be way moreplicated than Eren had thought it to be. *** "Apart from her unusual name? I know absolutely nothing about the witch goddess." Eren shrugged his shoulders before replying honestly. "I mean I tried collecting some information about her, but there were just too many myths surrounding her, making it difficult for me to distinguish truths from falsehoods. So I just gave up," he said before taking one more sip of tea from his cup. "Understandable," the goddess nodded before adding further. "This is Labh Salem, a world based on Goddess Two Lips'' legacy, after all. She holds too much sway here no matter how hard I try to retaliate against the demonic faction. So of course, there would be as many legends about her as there are stars in the sky. However, I didn''t want to ask you about the goddess'' known details. Let me be clearer this timeC have you been contacted by Goddess Two Lips recently? Do you know anything about her on a personal level?" "No," Eren simply chose to speak the half-truth without a care in the world. He had been approached by Goddess Two Lips recently when one of his pseudo-avatars married Shaai. However, no deal had been struck between them. He also knew nothing about her. As such, Eren gained nothing by admitting to the fact. Plus, he just didn''t want to upset the goddess by telling her the truth. He guessed that the Great Mother also wanted to believe in his words because she epted it easily. "In that case, let me be honest about the past and present of Labh Salem," the Goddess Great Mother reclined in her chair before speaking in a tired voice. "To tell you the truth, Goddess Two Lips is one of my clones. Or to be more precise, she ''WAS'' one of my natal clones before she decided to form her own divinity." "Hm? What?" stress lines appeared on Eren''s forehead as he looked at the goddess, as if telling her to repeat what she had just said because it was too shocking to digest right away. "Yes. Let''s just say that I paid a huge price for my dreams to be an Elder God," the goddess sighed as she continued. "Not only did I not seed in bing an Elder God, but my own clone rebelled at the veryst moment and formed a divinity of her own. I have been fighting with my own clone in Labh Salem ever since then," the goddess revealed with tired expressions. "The witch goddess was your clone in the past? What exactly happened?" Eren couldn''t help asking. He put down the teacup and focused his attention on the goddess. The information she had provided was just too mind-blowing to listen to calmly while sipping tea. Chapter 1843 Immortals & Their Plane of Existence Chapter 1843 Immortals & Their ne of Existence "You know why the Immortals create clones, right?" Instead of answering his previous question directly, the Goddess Great Mother asked Eren another question. "Um they create clones to generate Origin Force and spread their faith," Eren replied casually. The butcher had experienced this personally. Ever since he had created his pseudo-avatars, his Origin Force Points farming had increased sevenfold, boosting the amount of Origin Force Points he had umted. He still held significantly more Origin Force Points than most of the other demigods despite his overwhelming expenditure of them. "That is indeed the case. But there''s a more crucial reason behind why the Immortals send their avatars to mortalnds," the goddess looked at Eren and smiled before adding further. "They create clones so that they can stay Immortal. Otherwise, they''d experience Godfall," the goddess decided to speak cryptic, which Eren wasn''t able to decode because of a lot of the nk spaces in his understanding rted to divinity. Eren''s brows furrowed even further. He had many questions swirling inside his mind at this point. However, he did not voice them, instead allowing the goddess to exin more. "One of the most crucial requirements for bing a god from one''s demigod status is to form a ne of existence," the goddess chose her words carefully as she spoke. "This ne of existence is called an Immortal ne. This is why there are so many Immortal nes in existence. The current Immortal nes represent many Immortals and their divinities. That is not to say that all the Immortal nes have a legitimate owner. There are also barren Immortal nes whose spatial boundaries had been corroded because their creator died somehow. There are some half-baked Immortal nes because of someone failing to achieve divinity. Then there are Immortal nes that are in their nascent stage. Anyway, once a demigod has sessfully created a ne of existence for themselves, they are almost certain to be a god. When they take over this ne, they are able to write the rules of reality within the ne. As such, after taking over the ne, they be Immortals. After all, they are the owners of the Immortal ne. It''d be stupid to not write rules that are favorable to them. A ne of existence is defined by an Immortal''s Path, their Individuality so to speak. It''s like their home and personal fort in which nobody can challenge them. Since the ne of existence obeys theirmand, the one who infiltrates such a ne is bound by the restrictions set by the Immortal lord of that ne. Do you understand what I''m talking about?" Eren didn''t speak, sporting a brooding look. He had to admit that he was learning a lot, even though he still didn''tpletely understand the goddess'' words. The goddess could tell what Eren was thinking and chuckled before adding further. "Don''t worry, Eren. It''s not your fault," the goddess assured in a calm voice. "In your case, you became a demi-god even before achieving Sagehood. So of course, you don''t understand what I am talking about. Let''s just say that achieving a Sagehood is the first step in understanding how the Existential Concepts work and the cause-and-effect fabric work. The Cmity you face while breaking through the S-Rank is not only a test but also a form of blessing. It makes you understand a lot of worldlyws about the boundless cosmos. Most importantly, you understand the concepts of space and time and form a foundational understanding about them after breaking through the S-Rank. And this applies to everyone irrespective of their Paths or individual peculiarities. This is why all the S-Ranked entities were able to create Purgatories and Utopias after bing Sages in Anfang. The might of altering spatial fabric is the most fundamental power of the S-Rank. Although most S-Rankers won''t be able to exert their understanding because of theirck of talent, the understanding provided to them is more or less standardized. The same rule applies in Labh Salem as well. Let''s just say that the ne of existence is just the higher variant of those established isted domains that most S-ranked entities are known for. So if someone belonging to the divine faction bes an Immortal, they create what the mortals refer to as heaven for themselves. And when these Immortals belong to the demonic faction, the mortals call their ne of existence hell." "I see," Eren breathed a sigh of relief. He then processed the goddess'' words slowly in his head and couldn''t help nodding at her. Eren had always wondered how the Sages were able to create isted domains in Anfang to leave their inheritance in. After all, logically speaking, only those who had Elemental Attainments rted to time and space element should have been able to establish isted domains for themselves. How could Sages with varying Individualities all be equally qualified to create isted domains? Only now did he understand that the Cmity faced by the Sages at the time of their breakthrough was the reason behind their increased capabilities and understanding rted to the matters of time and space. In Anfang, there was always a belief that the time and space elements weren''t actually elements butck of them. Thanks to the memories obtained from God Aleph, Eren could tell that the concepts of time and space were definitely one of the Existential Concepts of the boundless cosmos. Although Eren had nascent knowledge about the concepts, one could not say that he had established his foundation in them. The goddess allowed Eren to ponder for a while before speaking further. "Eren, just like I said, the Immortal nes act like a fort for the Immortals inside which they have an unfair advantage. Their supposedly "Immortal" bodies can''t be harmed while they are secured inside their own stronghold. As such, nobody can kill an Immortal when they are inside their fort, inside their Immortal ne. But do you know what happens to them if and when they decide to step out of their impregnable fort out of their own volition?" It was as if a lot of gears in Eren''s mind had clicked and started spinning simultaneously. Only now did Eren understand why the Immortals often sent their clones into mortal nes. "So that''s why. The Immortals won''t be Immortals anymore when they are in the mortal ne. And they can be targeted by other Immortals when they are outside their Immortal ne. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om So they resort to using avatars and clones to interact with their followers," Eren said out loud, a eureka-like metaphorical st exploding inside his mind. Chapter 1844 Immortals vs True Immortals Chapter 1844 Immortals vs True Immortals ''So that means most of these Immortals are like hounds who can bark and bite when they are on their turf but be a scared cat when they leave.'' Eren thought to himself and chuckled. Of course, he made sure to maintain a stoic face in front of the goddess, not letting her know that he wasparing her and others like her to dogs. "Although Immortal Fall rarely happens, there are many cases in the past in which the Immortals died right after leaving their Immortal nes. Some were plotted against. Others met unfortunate ends due to other reasons." The goddess said as she looked at Eren. She took onest sip of the tea from her cup and relished its taste on her tongue for a bit before carrying on. "Who would want to die after working so hard to be an immortal? So the Immortals develop their own ways to explore mortalnds for various purposes. Some want to spread their faith while others are looking for certain opportunities. The clones and avatars we make are a way for us to protect ourselves while enabling us to explore the boundless cosmos. So naturally, we invest a lot of our resources in such projects," the goddess exined. "Hm? What kind of opportunities would an Immortal find in the mortal nes?" Eren asked curiously. "You ask that because you don''t understand how lucky mortals are," the goddess shook her head before saying further. "Put it this way, when an Immortal dares to leave their home turf, it probably has to be an opportunity rted to bing an Elder God, a True Immortal. Although there are a few exceptions, no Immortal would leave their den to protect their followers. After all, we can always look for some other worlds to spread our faith in inside the boundless cosmos. You remember what happened to Anfang in the past right?" the goddess asked and smiled wryly. The Goddess Great Mother also had invested a lot of effort in Anfang when the God Vulcan decided to ruin that world for her. She obviously wasn''t happy when that happened. However, Anfang was just one world. And after it had been turned into a ruin, the goddess also had to prioritize her own interests. "True Immortal," Eren mumbled to himself, his gaze practically screaming at the Goddess Great Mother to make him understand the concept. The goddess pursed her lips before speaking further. "Let''s just say that when someone bes an Immortal, they need the faith energy more than ever to sustain their Immortal ne. The term Origin Force has a profound yet simpler meaning. It is the energy required to form and maintain worlds and nes of existence. Without the Origin Force, no world can originate from the void. And without a consistent supply of the Origin Force, the ne of existence will copse, forcing the Immortals toe out of their so-called impregnable forts. The mortal nes have mortalws, which forces the Immortals to obey theirmands to arge extent. As such, the Immortal can be killed when their real forms appear in the mortal nes. However, True Immortals are different; they don''t have to maintain their Immortal nes to sustain their Immortality. As such, they are not dependent on mortals'' faith to stay Immortals," the goddess exined with unhurried words. "So let me guess. You want to be a True Immortal?" Eren asked. The goddess nodded before adding further. "That''s right. Although I am a lot more powerful than the newly ascended Immortals, I still have a long way to go before I can call myself a true powerhouse in the Celestial Hall. There are many Immortals like me who have bigger dreams. Bing a pantheon god is the first step to bing a True Immortal. The second step is to forge their Immortal forms in True Immortal Laws. If the Immortal Writs are applicable to one''s home turf alone, the True Immortal Writs are basically an all-ess pass for the True Immortals to wield their powers with undisputed might and authority. However, the conditions for bing a True Immortal are different for everyone, depending upon their divinity and their Individuality. As such, the Immortals are often left with one optionC to look for chances and opportunities in the mortal nes and ruined Immortal nes by using the avatars to our advantage." "And that''s why you created a clone for yourself? To look for an opportunity in the boundless cosmos that can allow you to be a True Immortal?" Eren asked, slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "That''s right," the goddess nodded and chuckled in self-disappointment before speaking further. "At that time, I had this crazy idea of following God Aleph''s footsteps. The creation of a natal clone was made so that I could mimic his actions," the goddess said while looking at Eren knowingly. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Follow God Aleph''s footsteps? Are you talking about his abominated divinity?" Eren guessed. "Wait. Was God Aleph an Immortal or a True Immortal?". Eren had so many questions in his head that he couldn''t prioritize them properly. The goddess didn''t seem to mind. She collected her thoughts before speaking further. "God Aleph was already an Elder God by the time I became an Immortal," the goddess exined. "It is said that he was one of the few Elder Gods who had survived an ancient divine catastrophe that had resulted in the falls of many True Immortals. It wouldn''t have been possible for him to create not one but seven nes of existence with his divine powers if he wasn''t an exceptionally powerful Elder God. Can you imagine how powerful he was? When an Immortal creates one ne, they consider themselves to be the overlord of their own turf. However, God Aleph had the power to unify the demonic powers by segregating them into seven main nes of existence. He then bound those seven nes of existence to his own divinity and became a Demon Emperor. Some of the Immortals believe that God Aleph might have been very close to bing a Primordial God and he would have be one eventually if he hadn''t fallen back then." The goddess said in a calm voice. However, Eren could detect a bit of envyced in that voice even though no prompt appeared on the Spectral screen. Chapter 1845 Immortal Writs Chapter 1845 Immortal Writs ''Hm? Do the clones of the Immortals not generate Origin Force Points? What a waste,'' Eren thought to himself and sighed. If provoking the Immortals would have garnered him Origin Force points, Eren would have considered messing with a lot of Immortals and using his Abominated Divinity to farm for the Origin Force Points from them. ''Then again, it is only natural,'' Eren figured out the reason behind the phenomenon on his own. ''It seems that these Immortals can only depend on others to galvanize the Origin Force. Is it applicable to all the Immortals or just faith-based Immortals? Is that the Immortal version of the term ''coaches don''t get to y the game.'' Wait, first of all, is there a way for anyone to be an Immortal without following the faith-based system?'' the questions in Eren''s head started increasing their numbers like rabbits in heat. However, he didn''t ask them right away and listened to the goddess'' exnation patiently. "The ruined nes of existence left by these True Immortals are the opportunities for Immortals like us," the goddess said and got up from her position. She walked in a certain direction before gesturing to Eren to follow behind her. She continued speaking as she led Eren somewhere deeper in the grand temple. "However, we can''t enter the ruined Immortal nes with our real forms. After all, the Immortals carry their own form of Immortalws on their bodies which they wrote themselves while they were inside their Immortal nes. These self-written Immortal Writs ensure their Immortality and invincibility inside their own domains. However, these Immortal Writs be void when they enter someone else''s domain. Only those who don''t have Immortal Writs on them can enter someone else''s Immortal nes. That''s why you and your allies were able to enter the ne of Gluttony and use it as a transit point to enter Labh Salem. The Mark of the Gluttony could be considered as an ess token for you to use the ne. However, the ability to travel through the Immortal nes unchecked is the true privilege of the mortals." The goddess exined. It seemed that she had a bit of a talk with Beelzebub when she confirmed that the Demon Prince of Gluttony fully supported the Elder Ichor faction. The goddess didn''t wait for Eren to ask her more questions and continued on her own. "Due to these restrictions, we send our clones to search for the opportunities inside the nes of existence left behind by the fallen True Immortals of the past. How do you think so many Immortals were born right after some of the Elder Gods, including God Aleph, fell from grace? The Elemental Gods that you currently know are the result of God Aleph''s fall. It is said that some of these Immortals managed to enter God Aleph''s ruined Immortal ne and obtained opportunities for themselves, which helped them be the Elemental Gods. Same thing would have happened to the demonic nes as well if God Aleph hadn''t appointed seven Demon Princes before his Fall," the goddess exined. "I see," Eren mumbled as he followed the goddess closely. He had to say that this meeting with the goddess was an eye-opener for him. The trip was worth it even if he didn''t get the coordinates to the Elder Seed Artifact. On the other hand, he also understood why the goddess couldn''t fetch the Elder Seed artifact herself. It seemed that the location of the Elder Seed Artifact she had found was too controversial. Without her true form, perhaps she didn''t stand a chance to obtain the Elder Seed Artifact. However, if she did show up at the ce, she risked being besieged by her enemies. An Immortal Lord who was out of their turf was just like a mammoth that attracts ambitious hunters to itself. As such, the goddess decided to give this opportunity to Eren and ask for something else in return. ''I just hope it''s not tooplicated. I already have Shallot''s Mirror and Reen as the Elder Seed Artifacts. I particrly don''t need a third one. So if she asks too much in return, I can just tly say no,'' Eren thought to himself. The goddess didn''t know or care about what Eren was thinking. She gestured to a few of the Temrs waiting outside certain giant doors to make way. The Temrs offered a bow to the goddess, opened the giant doors for her and Eren to pass through before closing them once again. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Anyway, I didn''t want to explore God Aleph''s ruined ne of existence when I created my natal clone," the goddess said. "When I said I wanted to follow him in his footsteps, I meant I was particrly interested in the way he could wield two forms of divinities all by himselfC the divine and demonic. Some say that his powers as an Elder God soared even further than before when he achieved the impossible. I thought I could do the sameC wield two forms of divinities before merging them to be an Elder Goddess. That''s why I created the natal clone and made her walk a Path different from my previous self. My divinity was formed on the basis of the concepts of Nature. But I told my clone to corrupt that concept using the demonic influence and create a Path of her own," the goddess said and sighed in disappointment as if she truly regretted what she had done in the past. "And that''s how the Witch Goddess was born? So basically, the witch goddess is just a demonic version of you that harnesses the concept of Nature in a different fashion from you?" Eren asked as he looked at the goddess'' leading figure. Eren remembered how the witch goddess was worshiped by the Darkmoon Fellowship members. Her divinity also seemed to be rted to nature, albeit in a different way. After all, the goddess'' divinity had temporarily manifested inside a banyan tree to preside over the marriage ceremony between Shaai and Jolly. At that time, he could feel that he hade across the witch goddess'' presence before. Only now did he understand that the familiar feeling was not not rted to the Witch Goddess but the goddess Great Mother herself. Chapter 1846 Corrupted Use of Nature Mana: Birth of Witchcraft & Voodoo Magic Chapter 1846 Corrupted Use of Nature Mana: Birth of Witchcraft & Voodoo Magic "Strictly speaking, the concept of nature isn''t affiliated with divine or demonic domains." The goddess said as she walked ahead. "However, it was my interpretation of the concept that led me to form my own divinity based on a singr aspect of it. Once my divinity as the Goddess Great Mother was established, I couldn''t introduce many changes to the way I harnessed the concept of nature. In more ways than one, the Immortals are enved by their own divinities, you see. So I created a natal clone of myself and asked her to sort of reach the same destination using a different path than the one I had walked earlier on," the goddess said and sighed. When she was inside a grand hall, the goddess turned around and faced Eren before continuing further in a serious manner. "The natal clone is different from any ordinary clone. I couldn''t put many restrictions on it because some of those restrictions would have affected my real form as well. However, I couldn''t make use of the regr cloning techniques or avatar creation either. I could only make use of the natal clone for this task because I had nned to integrate two pr opposite Paths together in order to be a True Immortal. It wouldn''t have been possible to pull this off without using the natal clone, which would ensure that there was no conflict at the time of integration of the second path into my existing divinity. Anyway, the clone did its job well. She created a strong foundation in Labh Salem and started studying the ways of the demons. She was the one who trained a few subordinates under her and created the first coven of witches. She was one of the foundational witches who managed to summon Samael and other Demon Princes on Labh Salem and used their powers to establish the first batch of ancestors of the half-blood ns, who then went on to create their own ns in Labh Salem. This witch clone of mine was the one who created two separate branches of magic, witchcraft, and voodoo magic. Witchcraft is basically using the concepts of nature using the demonic influence. And voodoo magic is basically a way to control a target using their own Lifeforce, which again falls into the domain of the nature magic used in a corrupted form." "In short, your clone was the progenitor of the witches in Labh Salem. And her experiments rted to demon magic led to the establishment of the half-blood ns," the butcher summarized in simpler words. He furrowed his eyebrows in contemtion when he started processing the goddess'' words. He had to say that the lessons of history he received from the goddess were filling up a lot of missing nks he had when he first heard about the inception of the Anfang Alliance from Nira Nightshade. However, after recalling what Nira had said to him regarding the establishment of the Samael n, he understood that there was something that the goddess hadn''t told him upfront. It was not that she had intentions to hide things from Eren. however, she didn''t need to be overly exploratory with him either. Too bad, Eren wasn''t someone who''d let the opportunity slip by. He decided to fish for more information as the opportunity presented itself. "Were you or your clone also interested in creating the Elder Ichor bloodline artificially back then?" Eren asked as he narrowed his eyes on the goddess. The goddess was a bit surprised when Eren asked her the question. However, her expression soon eased before she nodded, replying to him soon after. "That''s right. I was indeed interested in artificially creating the Elder ichor bloodline," the goddess admitted without any fear. "I gave my clone full freedom to act in her best interests at the time. It was she who established a formal agreement with Samael to artificially create the Elder Ichor bloodline. After all, Samael and I were both interested in harnessing the power of an Elder God. Plus, he had all the time in the world. After various trials and errors, we somewhat seeded in creating what could be described as a prototype. However, my clone soon found out that she couldn''t make use of the ''impure'' bloodline no matter how many times she tried to transnt it to normal humans and Practitioners. N?v(el)B\\jnn After conducting many failed experiments using witchcraft and voodoo magic, she soon found out that the bloodline of the Elder Ichor wasn''t as simple as she thought it was. The bloodline itself had some sort of consciousness of its own. It had the power to resist assimtion with anyone it did not deem fit to wield it. We eventually found out the reason for it. It was a form of prohibition set by God Aleph before his death. ording to his wishes, only someone who fulfilled all his conditions could sessfully assimte with his bloodline. So Samael and my clone both stopped their experiments and decided to spread the technique to artificially create the bloodline of the Elder Ichor in a controlled manner. Sort of like a way around God Aleph''s prohibition. Some also call this prohibition the bloodline shackles. Their aim at that time was to see who sessfully inherited the bloodline of the Elder Ichor and then use them as a foundation for their further experiments. I wanted to be a True Immortal and Samael wanted to im God Aleph''s divine throne. This was a way the Demon Prince of Wrath and my clone could both benefit. So I naturally allowed my clone to move forward. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for you, those experimental methods found their way into Anfang. The House Samael from Anfang at that time wanted to use the experiments as a way to temporarily unlock Titan transformation for all of the Rankers in Anfang. However, they didn''t know that they underestimated the power of the Elder Ichor. Since there was no guidance provided by their benefactors in Labh Salem, House Samael didn''t think of unlocking more use of the ancient bloodline of an Elder God and kept it under wraps after creating the prototypeC an impure bloodline so to speak. How could someone see a bigger picture when their house is on fire? The Cmity Era was a harsh time for those people in Anfang active at the time. Anyway, I''m sure you know the rest of the story. In the end, you managed to assimte with the Elder Ichor bloodline, bing god Aleph''s sessor. And in doing so, you gained his abominated divinityC something I had dreamed of doing with my natal clone." The goddess finished speaking and let Eren process the missing pieces of the puzzle. Chapter 1847 Traditional Paths vs Faith-based Path Chapter 1847 Traditional Paths vs Faith-based Path ??"What happened to your clone? How did she betray you and be the Witch Goddess Two Lips?" Eren asked after pondering for a bit. The natal clone was still the goddess'' clone. As such, she should have been able to dictate her actions to arge extent. Even if she allowed her some free will out of her own volition, she couldn''t possibly allow the clone to betray the main body without a significant reason. Eren''s pseudo-avatars had "suicide bomb" mechanisms installed in them for this very reason. One part of the reason was so that he could protect his identity in case of extreme situations, like what happened to one of his clones when he encountered Nira Nightshade. The other part of the reason was so that the pseudo-avatars wouldn''t betray him no matter how much freedom Eren offered to them. "My clone bing a goddess was part of my n," the goddess Great Mother said in an unhurried voice. "However, she chose a different method from the one I nned for her to take," the goddess then looked at Eren curiously before asking. "Eren, do you know whates after S-Plus Rank?" Eren smiled wryly. "No," he said honestly. The goddess shook her head as if she half-expected it to be the case. She then looked at him teasingly before answering her own question. "The answer to your question isC a big fat nothing." Eren looked at the goddess with a deadpan expression. He couldn''t believe that the goddess had a weird sense of humor in her. The goddess scrunched her nose in annoyance as if Eren didn''t appreciate the joke she had made. She then shook her head as if this was not the first time someone didn''t appreciate her sense of humor. She cleared her throat before speaking further. "There''s no path to progress after the Saint Rank for the ones who walk on the non-faith-based Paths. The Path of the Practitioners simply cuts off after they reach the S-Plus Rank and there''s no easy way to cross the chasm that is ahead of them. This is the case for almost all of the Practitioners no matter which non-faith-based Path they are walking on," the goddess exined. "Oh?" Eren raised his eyebrows, his ears perked up. Thankfully, the goddess had brought the subject up on her own that he wanted to talk about. "Do you mean there''s something else waiting for the non-faith-based S-Plus-ranked Practitioners once they do end up crossing the chasm in front of them?" "Indeed," the goddess nodded before speaking further. "S-Plus Rank is the end of the line for all the non-faith-based Paths. But that is only true if you allow it to be true. Strictly speaking, it''s not that there''s no way ahead to progress forward, but the difficulty of progressing forward is just too difficult. After the S-Plus Rank, a non-faith-based Practitioner would have to find a way to galvanize the Origin Force from the boundless cosmos. Only then can they refine it for themselves and be a Faithless Celestial." "Faithless Celestial?" Eren looked puzzled. "What is that?" "A Faithless Celestial is someone who has managed to be an Immortal without cultivating the God Spark within them. Their own souls are their God Sparks. Frankly speaking, the so-called God Spark is like a door that allows you to wee Origin Force into your soul. However, a Faithless Celestial tempers its own soul and creates many smaller windows in its existential fabric to refine Origin Force in a different way. A Faithless Celestial is often more powerful than an Immortal who uses faith energy to refine Origin Force indirectly," the goddess exined patiently. She could tell that Eren still had a lot of questions on his mind, so she decided to address them all in one go before presenting him with the deal she had in mind. "Let me put it this wayC there''s a huge chasm that exists for anyone who has reached the S-Plus Rank. It''s like one needs to take a long jump if they ever want to reach the other side of the river. If you fail to reach the other side in a single jump and get dropped in the river, then the unruly river currents will never allow you to make aeback and you''ll drown. On the other hand, if you end up reaching the other side of the river in a single jump, you be a Faithless Celestial. What a Faith-based path does is add stepping stones for you to cross the river so that your journey from one side to the other side of the river can be broken into smaller jumps. This is why it is often said that the Path of Faith starts when a Practitioner''s hope ends. That being said, the path of faith is not a linear progress that one has to go through after reaching the end of their existing path. Rather, it''s a journey one can start at any time." "I still don''t understand," Eren spoke honestly. The goddess smiled and took a deep breath before exining patiently. "Let''s take you for example," the goddess said. "You are what we Immortals like to call exceptions among exceptions. This is because you managed to obtain a God Spark even before you were baptized by the existentialws of the boundless cosmos. It baffles me how your soul survived the assimtion process when you didn''t even reach the S-Rank at the time. Your mindset, mentality, and Individuality must be as infallible as an Immortal Writ for you to be a demi-god. That being said, it proves the point that I was trying to make earlier." The goddess paused for a while, allowing Eren to digest what she said before speaking further. "Currently you are using the support of the two distinct rows of the stepping stones to progress forward, Eren. One of the rows of the stepping stones is your Ranker''s Path while the other is made avable to you after you im a God Spark for yourself. When you reach the S-Plus Rank, your Ranker''s Path wille to an end but your path to the divinity will still allow you to progress forward, more safely. Your Divinity will stagnate if people stop giving emotional responses to your direct and indirect actions, words, and presence. However, if you choose not to cultivate followers or faith energy, it will not impede your Ranking Journey. Divinity is a status that exists outside one''s Path and yet is connected to it in some way. Divinity is like the 200th floor of a towering construction when it only has 100 or so floors in existence. Having ess to divinity doesn''t mean that you have actually reached the 200th floor. It''s more like now you know there''s a 200th floor levitating in the skies above the towering construction. With the God Spark, you probably have a lift ess that''ll make you reach there sooner, in a safer manner. However, the faith-based path doesn''t need to be walked on only after one reaches the end of their existing traditional Path. For example, technically speaking, even an F-Ranked Novice can be a new demigod if they survives the process of assimtion with the God Spark. Once they achieve demi-god status, they''ll find it easy to achieve breakthroughs in Ranks and reach the pinnacle of their Path that much sooner. Why? Because they can now use two distinct rows of stepping stones to move forward, which will allow them to find better bnce as they walk ahead. However, true Divinity starts when one''s Path ends. And yes, one can achieve Divinity even without amassing followers if they can find a way to progress forward even after their supposed Path endsC that is the way of the Faithless Celestial." Chapter 1848 Origin of the Witch Goddess Two Lips Chapter 1848 Origin of the Witch Goddess Two Lips "God Sparks. Faithless Celestials. True Divinity starts when one''s Path ends." Eren mumbled to himself as he processed the goddess'' words. "Do you mean to say that the Goddess Two Lips became a Faithless Celestial?" Eren asked as he looked at the Goddess Great Mother intently. "In a way, yes," the goddess said and sighed. "However, she used the Faith-based Path as a reference to introduce additional steps in her own Path as a Conjurer. Her Path as a conjurer should have ended after reaching the S-Plus Rank. But she managed to create a bridge to cross the chasm between an S-Plus Ranker and a Faithless Celestial." "What?" Eren''s face was painted in surprise. "You mean she created her own Ranks beyond the S-Plus Rank? How the hell did she do that?" "Do you know about the witches'' most precious treasure?" the goddess asked a question in return, hoping Eren would take the hint. "Hm? Do you meanC" Eren ventured a guess in his heart. "Did the Witch Goddess travel to the other worlds to create ranks after the S-Plus Rank?" "Indeed," the goddess said as she spoke further. "Technically speaking, there could indeed be some Ranks that could be introduced before one bes a Faithless Celestial. In some worlds with advanced civilizations and heritage of the gods, there''s already a way ahead for the Practitioners after they reach a level simr to the S-Plus Rank. However, their versions of the Ranks and practices aren''tpatible with the other worlds because of the difference between the worldlyws. To assimte with the existing world''s Paths, one needs to derive their own interpretation of the Path after looking at the systems followed in these advanced civilizations. Of course, most Immortals are aware of this because they are already associated with various worlds. However, they will not spend their time and efforts to introduce such Ranks to the Practitioners. Doing something like this would be akin to undermining the faith-based Path after all. It would be too much work for absolutely no gains for the current Immortals. Plus, Faithless Celestials are like the greatest threats to the Immortals'' existence. Some of them are said to retain their dominion even after entering the faith-based Immortal''s Immortal ne. Why would the Immortals turn their own followers into their potential killers by introducing Ranks after the S-Plus Rank and pave the Paths ahead?" "Didn''t other S-Plus entities ever try to create a Path of their own, using their own interpretations and understandings?" Eren asked as he looked at the goddess. He believed that the Practitioners of the Labh Salem and even Rankers from Anfang wouldn''t allow their Path to end just like that. The goddess chuckled at him before speaking further. "Do you think creating a Path after the S-Plus Rank is so simple?" the goddess asked in retort. "It''s notpletely impossible, so to speak. However, these S-Plus Rankers would need to have a ton of experience, Origin-Force-level Elemental Attainments, and the understanding of the cause-and-effect fabric before they could even think about paving the Path after the S-Plus Rank. To pull off such a thing, a Saint Ranker would need to live many lives and progress to the S-Plus Rank in all of them beforebining all of the umted experiences together. However, can a Saint Ranker really do that? Are they Immortals like us? That Saint Ranker would have long exhausted their lifespan before they could even figure anything out about what lies ahead after the S-Plus Rank. It''s not that nobody tried. It''s that nobody who tried managed to pull it off and survive. The witch goddess was the only one who could do that. It was because she had the help of the Elder Seed Artifact." "But how did she have enough lifespan to scour otherworlds and create a Path for herself? Shouldn''t she have died before she could do that ording to your exnation?" Eren asked, even more puzzled by what he heard. "Hehe. You''ll be surprised when you hear this. The witches have a peculiar way of extending their lifespan, Eren. They sacrifice their mortal vessels and tie them down to the existential fabric of the world to live far longer than anyone could imagine, almost bing pseudo-Immortals in the process. If the information I received from my followers in Anfang is correct, I believe you have already encountered a witch who had pulled it off in her own capacity." Eren''s expressions changed when he heard the goddess. "The Witch of the EndermesC Eliza Samael." Eren distinctly remembered how Eliza''s original body was shackled to the ground by countless runes acting like shackles when he first met her. It was apparent to Eren that the Witch of the Endermes had used a peculiar technique to extend her lifespan. It seemed that this technique was passed down to talented witches within the established ns and covens. And the one who created this technique was none other than the Witch Goddess. "This act of extending the lifespan is a forbidden technique that messes up with the cause-and-effect fabric of the world," the goddess said in a deep tone. "Of course, the witch goddess didn''t go scot-free after pulling off such a stunt. When she was forced to go through her Immortal Ascension Cmity, almost all of her body and soul were destroyed. However, somehow, her two lips survived. Just the two lips. That''s why she was referred to as the Witch Goddess Two Lips after her Immortal Ascension." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "And what were you doing when your clone was off to write such an epic story about herself?" Eren looked at the goddess as if he couldn''t imagine an Immortal to be so careless. The goddess smiled wryly before speaking. "Well, she faked her death and severed my connection with her when she did that. Her witchcraft and voodoo magic had advanced way beyond my imagination. By the time I realized she could do that, she had already be a Faithless Celestial." "This this is fascinating," Eren couldn''t help saying out loud. He had to say that he had more respect for the witch goddess than he did for the goddess Great Mother at this point. Chapter 1849 Coordinates of a Certain Blue Plant Chapter 1849 Coordinates of a Certain Blue nt N?v(el)B\\jnn Contrary to the goddess'' belief, Eliza Samael had not been passed the witches'' exclusive technique to extend one''s lifespan. Not really. Eliza had indeed heard about the technique and had some semnce of knowledge of it. House Samael in Anfang had also been given a partial inheritance rted to the technique. However, what ultimately allowed the Witch of the Enderme to cast that technique was her own Epiphany at the brink of death. Eliza had managed to fill in the nks after the Epiphany, following in the witch goddess'' footsteps. It spoke volumes about her own talent as a once-in-a-million Ranker from Anfang. One could say that Eliza was better a witch than most witches in Labh Salem even though she did not walk the Path of the Conjurer. With such talent, she would have long be a Saint Rank had she been born in Labh Salem. Eren, on the other hand, couldn''t help but admire the Great Mother''s ex-clone for her deeds. Not only had she pulled off something impossible, but she also did that while staying under the radar of a vignt Immortal. ''I guess the witch goddess and I have more inmon with each other than my rtion with the Great Mother,'' Eren couldn''t help bute to the obvious conclusion, smiling internally. After all, staying low-key and pulling the rugs off of the opponents was his style of doing things as well. "Of course, I don''t believe that the witch goddess didn''t have the help from other Immortals," the goddess'' expression turned cold as she said. "Not to mention my real form being injured in an ambush when I tried to conduct a thorough investigation of my natal clone''s supposed death. Let''s just say that my ''colleagues'' didn''t want me to seed in my ambition to achieve abominated divinity. That''s why I keep my distance from them ever since and also ask my followers to do the same when ites to their respective followers." "So that''s why you wanted me to seed in iming God Aleph''s divine throne," Eren guessed, a smile tugging at his lips. "You''d rather let a third person have his throne than see your ''colleagues'' seeding in their ambitions to get a part of God Aleph''s divinity for themselves." Eren could tell that the goddess Great Mother was a rebel among the Immortals. She had crafted an ambitious project to achieve abominated divinity like God Aleph without worrying about the cause-and-effect fabric of the boundless cosmos. Doing something like this would surely have a negative effect on other Immortals. After all, if the lines between the divine and demonic factions became blurred, the fine bnce established by the two factions would break, causing many dire consequences for the Immortals whose Divinities were based on the distinction between the two factions. ''I guess the ex-clone got that rebellious streak from the goddess Great Mother herself,'' Eren thought to himself and chuckled. "Well, that is indeed correct, but it is only a part of the reason," the goddess paused midway before deciding to change the subject once again. "Before we get down to business, let me show you the location of the Elder Seed Artifact I found in the boundless cosmos. You can decide to help me or not after that," the goddess offered. "Hm? You say it like the Elder Seed Artifact is not on Labh Salem," Eren looked puzzled. "I only said I''ll give you the location of the Elder Seed Artifact. But I never said it was in Labh Salem," the goddess looked at Eren as if he had a lot to learn. "Besides, Labh Salem already has the witches'' ultimate treasure. Do you think something as rare as an Elder Seed artifact could be found in Labh Salem when there''s already one existing? You clearly don''t understand how precious the Elder Seed Artifacts are. These artifacts themselves are Immortals like us. How could they be so easily found? In fact, most Immortals try to look for these Elder Seed Artifacts through their clones, scouring the boundless cosmos in the process. Finding these artifacts by chance acts as apelling reason for us to leave our home turf. We also use a significant portion of our staunch followers to make them search the boundless cosmos for a thing like an Elder Seed Artifact. An Immortal Artifact''s true worth and might could only be understood by an Immortal. After all, only they are able to wield the Elder Seed Artifacts to their full potential. Immortal Magic is needed for one to tap into the true potential of the Elder Seed Artifacts. This is not something mortal Practitioners could do. There are some Elder Seed Artifacts that''s not reveal themselves if they find out that we used our clones to take hold of them. And unfortunately for us, the unimed Immortal artifacts could only be bound in the mortal ne. So it''s a bit of a dilemma for us. The reason I''m willing to give the coordinates of this peculiar item is that I want to prioritize my own safety. My "colleagues" are already keeping an eye on me. They''ll surelyy a trap. But I don''t me them. At least not anymore. Target me once, shame on you. Target me twice hehe," the goddess said patiently. "Well, that makes sense," Eren nodded and sighed. "Never mind. Show me the location of the artifact. And then tell me your condition for cooperation. If it''s anything that''d be mutually beneficial for us and worth the risk, I''ll see what I can do," the butcher said calmly. "Alright," the goddess said before stepping aside. She pointed behind her before saying. "Stand inside that Array Formation and I''ll show you. Don''t worry. It''s just a simple consciousness-pulling formation," the goddess assured. Eren scanned the Array Formation with his own Spirit Sense and found it to be normal. Saith was only one of the pseudo-avatars in Eren''s possession anyway. So he didn''t mind trusting the goddess for once. When Eren stepped inside the Array Formation and closed his eyes, his consciousness seemed to have traveled at the speed of light through the boundless cosmos. He couldn''t keep track of time before he saw the image of a blue in front of him. Before he could ask about the world, his consciousness experienced a small tug and was immediately pulled into the atmosphere of the world. Eren saw towering constructions that had ss-like panels for windows. The vehicles ran through the busy streets without the use of mana. And an overwhelming poption of mortals with only a select few supernaturals present among them. In the end, Eren received a vague mark on his consciousness that appeared in his Soul Space. He could tell that this mark was the coordinates given by the goddess, fulfilling her part of the deal she had struck with him in Anfang. When Eren opened his eyes, he saw the goddess smiling at him. She stepped forward and said. "It''s a world dominated by mortals. If you manage to reach this world through your demonic powers, it won''t take much effort for you to grab the Elder Seed Artifact hidden there." Eren smiled at the goddess but didn''tment on her remark. It seemed that the goddess had already considered the possibility of him using demonic ways to traverse the boundless cosmos and possess the living beings there. In the goddess'' defense, his use of the pseudo-avatars had already given it away. "Let''s worry about the Elder Seed Artifactter," Eren''s expression turned serious. "Let me hear what you want in exchange." Chapter 1850 True God Sparks vs Faith-based God Sparks vs Faithless God Sparks Chapter 1850 True God Sparks vs Faith-based God Sparks vs Faithless God Sparks ??"I''ll think about it." Eren responded to the goddess Great Mother''s proposal, tactically refusing tomit. Although he liked the goddess'' proposal and thought it feasible for him, he wanted to see what the witch goddess had to say to him. Only after hearing the other side and weighing the pros and cons of his potential actions would he allow himself to proceed forward. The goddess Great Mother didn''t mind. She also half-expected Eren to respond this way. She was even impressed by him because of how level-headed he was to her proposal. She was sure that any other demigod in his shoes would have a hard time keeping their cool. Of course, since she had expected this, the goddess Great Mother hadn''t shared theplete coordinates of the blue that was housing an Elder Seed Artifact at the time. The reason she had created the consciousness-pulling formation and gave him partial coordinates was to create intrigue in Eren''s mind. ording to the goddess'' knowledge, Eren had plenty of time to make up his mind. However, he needed to act at the time of Hvergelmir Springs'' appearance. Only after making sure that Eren was in her camp would the goddess Great Mother give him the other half of the coordinates. After asking the goddess some more questions and getting some valuable information out of her, Eren bid adieu to the goddess Great Mother. He had a lot of things to do. Plus, he didn''t find it toofortable when the descent of the goddess'' Divine Sense attracted too much attention. So he left in a hurry, refusing to indulge in the goddess'' hospitality any more than he had to. The goddess was also busy, not forcing Eren to stay with her. The time of her Divine Sense possession was limited. Simi would regain control of herself in a few days when the goddess'' Divine Sense left her body. As such, the goddess contacted all of her allied organizations and asked them to convene a meeting. Her organization was the leading force in Labh Salem against the demonic faction. As such, she needed to establish the rules of engagement within the divine faction, profit-sharing margins of the wartime products that would get produced as a joint venture between various forces, and general war strategies. She needed to wrap up a lot of things before her temporary incarnation exhausted its operational time. As such, she started working as soon as she sent Eren off. *** "This trip was totally worth it," Eren thought to himself as he traversed through a dense forest, heading towards a particr city away from the goddess'' base of operations. The goddess had told him a lot of things. He was sure that she did this to make him see her in a favorable light. Even so, Eren appreciated the gesture. Although she wanted to make use of him to further her own goals, Eren liked her upfront personality and her rebellious attitude towards the other Immortals. She was also not really angry at her exCclone but sad by the fact that she wouldn''t be able to form an abominated divinity even after investing so much in the natal clone creation. This was why, when the goddess asked for Eren''s honest opinion, Eren just told her to give up on creating an abominated divinity. It was not that he didn''t think she could pull it off. He told her that she wouldn''t be able to wield such a divinity in the first ce, no matter howpatible it might feel to her in her head. Eren told the goddess that a part of the reason why God Aleph sealed his emotions was because he couldn''t wield his abominated divinity himself. Although it made him very powerful, it also made him vulnerable to various forms of emotions and made him lose his mind to some extent. So the sealing of emotions was his escape route. If someone as powerful as God Aleph had problems wielding his abominated divinity, why would the goddess think that she had a better chance of seeding? Eren couldn''t find the answer to this question. And when he asked the same question to the goddess, she could only keep quiet. In the end, when the goddess asked if he would be able to wield the abominated divinity, Eren just replied with a simple "yes" before bidding adieu to the goddess. The goddess wanted to ask where Eren got the confidence to seed where his "God Father" had failed. However, she soon realized that the question itself was wrong. After all, God Aleph wouldn''t have allowed Eren to assimte with his bloodline if he didn''t think he was capable enough to seed where he had failed. *** The goddess gave Eren a lot in terms of fresh perspectives. It was the Goddess Great Mother who had cleared up a lot of his confusion around God Sparks, divinity, and the continuation of the Path after the S-Plus Rank. He was surprised to find out that the Immortals had a way to create their own God Sparks through Immortal Writs. This was more of a customized God Spark made by the Immortals for their followers, bound to a particr faith. ording to the goddess'' description, a God Spark created by the World Will was like a high-grade weapon made inside the top-notch forge, smelted by a master artisan, using premium- grade products as raw ingredients. The God Spark produced by a World Will was obviously a sought-after choice for anyone who wanted to be a demigod. It was not something an Immortal would be able to create and mimic no matter how hard they tried. After all, Immortals were bound by their own Individualities and their Divinities. As such, those aspects were bound to interfere in the process of them creating a God Spark for their followers. The Immortal Writs used in the creation of the faith-based God Sparks would turn their quality much inferior to the God Spark produced by the world''s World Will. This was the reason why Immortals like God Vulcan preferred to manipte a world''s World Will into creating God Sparks for its inhabitants by inciting unrest in the world. The Immortals could then utilize the God Sparks created by the World Will for their own benefit or offer them to their followers, instantly empowering them. The God Spark crafted by an Immortal resembled a very specific type of weapon forged within the Immortal ne of a particr Immortal. The God Spark crafted by an Immortal resembled a very specific type of weapon forged within the Immortal ne of a The quality of such a weapon, created within an Immortal''s realm, depended on several factors, including their divinity, the extent of faith energy they could gather, the desired type of God Spark, and the follower''s ability to harness it. Immortals had to invest a significant amount of their umted Origin Force to forge faith-based God Sparks. They also had to dedicate considerable time and effort to stabilize the God Spark before imbuing it with their faith-based principles. Therefore, in most cases, they only offered these God Sparks to followers who had reached the end of their Path. This selection process proved beneficial for both Immortals and their followers. Immortals gained a powerful ally if they selected an S-Plus- ranked individual to wield their faith-based God Spark. Conversely, S-Plus-ranked individuals who saw no further progress in their Path weed the opportunity provided by the Immortals they worshiped. However, faith-based God Sparks created by Immortals had limitations. They were not as potent as those created by a world''s World Will and came with restrictions imposed by the Immortals who crafted them. Plus, epting these God Sparks meant that they would never be able to hierarchically climb above an Immortal. Therefore, Practitioners, especially those of S-Plus Rank, would carefully consider before epting a God Spark from Immortals. Most S-Plus Rankers would only resort to this option as ast resort when they had reached the end of their lifespan and saw no further path of progression. Then there was the God Spark created by potential Faithless Celestials, which differed significantly from those crafted by the universalws of the boundless cosmos or the faith-based God Sparks created by Immortals. When creating a faithless God Spark, the most crucial consideration was that it had to be done gradually. Additionally, it was not created by a higher being but by the individual who was intended to wield it. *** During the creation of a God Spark, a world''s Will utilized the universalws of the boundless cosmos as the canvas and Existential Concepts as the medium to depict a clear image known as a God Spark. When an Immortal followed the same procedure within their Immortal ne, they had no choice but to taint it with their Individualities, resulting in a somewhat blurry picture. However, when a Faithless Celestial embarked on forging their Path entirely on their own, the resulting God Spark they eventually assembled was not predetermined. The quality of the faithless God Spark was solely dependent upon the Practitioner''s talent. Technically speaking, epting a God Spark forged by a world''s Will was akin to receiving a top-notch weapon as a gift from a master artisan. One didn''t need to pay any price, there were no predetermined conditions, and the product received was assured of its quality. epting a God Spark from a faith-based Immortal was like paying for a weapon that would get the job done. This was not a gift but a transaction, and one had to pay a certain price. When it came to the Faithless Celestial, the whole idea of receiving the weapon as a gift or through a purchase was thrown out of the window. The Faithless Celestial needed to create the weapon themselves, learning forging techniques, toiling countless hours in the smithy, and smelting the parts in the end to forge a weapon for themselves. It was akin to a lone person trying to achieve mastery in various fields just to create a single product all by themselves. Chapter 1851 A Radical Way to Grow Abominated Divinity Chapter 1851 A Radical Way to Grow Abominated Divinity ??Sunhaven, Eldorath Kingdom. Underground facility of the Siren''s Sanctuary. "This whole thing about being a Faithless Celestial is really interesting," Eren thought to himself as he retracted his consciousness from Saith''s body. He could have never imagined that there was a way to be an Immortal without using the support of the faith-based Path. However, in the next moment, he shook his head. "This Path is not for me. Why would I be a Faithless Celestial when I have already acquired a True God Spark? Not to mention I''ll need to invest a lot for mediocre gains. I could have gone for this Path if I had obtained a faith-based God Spark from some Immortal. But the way I am now, I need not follow the ways of the Faithless Celestial. As for advancing my traditional Paths as Ranker, it is too early toment on it. Eren was intrigued when the goddess told him how a few exceptional Faithless Celestials could manage to keep their dominion even when inside someone else''s Immortal ne. However, he didn''t think he should go to great lengths to obtain such power. Eren wasn''t nning to be an Immortal killer in the future. The tussles he had with some of the Immortals were because they feared his abominated divinity. And rightly so. Except for a select few, Eren did not cultivate any personal vengeance with the rest of the Immortals. And he wanted to maintain this status quo for the time being. Eren could tell that his abominated divinity was getting more and more powerful with time. And this was when he had self-imposed a lot of restrictions on himself for safety. What would happen if he really harnessed the powers of God Aleph''s divine throne? Eren had barely made any progress in his divinity rted to water. Although he had said a few things rted to water in his messages to the followers, it wasn''t that effective for him. Besides, he did not have the God Sparks rted to the other elements so he couldn''tpletely make use of God Aleph''s powers. As such, even if he had started to control the elemental powers of nature, establishing his will over them thanks to the innate powers of the Elder Ichor, he did not gain divinity rted to the said elemental powers. If the goddess saw a God Spark as a weapon, then Eren saw it as a key. A key that allows a certain individual to unlock the ability to garner Origin Force Points from others. He already had unlocked a part of this ability by wielding the True God Spark rted to the element of water. He would truly be the Lord of the Elements if and when he obtained the "keys" rted to other elements and started wielding his abominated divinity to its true potential. The butcher''s demonic powers, on the other hand, grew at a rapid rate. He was not only garnering a considerable amount of Origin Force Points every day but was also unlocking the true potential of his demonic domains. *** The Goddess gave Eren a lot to think about. It also made him question his earlier approach. "It seems my earlier way of thinking was too primitive. I was waiting for a true God Spark''s appearance in the world of Labh Salem. But are things really that simple? Can I predict the nature of the God Spark in advance? Can I find out its location in this vast world? First of all, will it really appear just because I wished for it? If obtaining True God Sparks was so simple, the people of Anfang wouldn''t have to go through the period of Cmity War. It also means that every time a True God Spark appears in any world, it causes a huge storm. Can I manage to obtain a True God Spark under such a backdrop? Even if I could, how many years would I have to waste waiting for such a True God Spark to show itself somewhere? I can probably live for longer than an ordinary Grandmaster thanks to my status as a demi-god. And my lifespan would only increase multi-fold when I break into the S-Rank. However, even my enhanced lifespan is nothing too impressive in the eyes of the Immortals. Can I oust them in waiting for the True God Spark to appear? The answer to all those questions is only oneC probably not," Eren smiled wryly as he thought. However, after admitting his own limitations, new ideas began to form in his mind. "What happens when someone like me kills a demi-god and extracts a faith-based God Spark from them that is rted to the elemental forces of nature?" Eren couldn''t help asking himself curiously when he thought of everything that the goddess had said to him. "From the looks of it, the faith-based God Sparks are closely connected to the Immortal''s Divinity who has created them before bestowing it on one of their followers," Eren caressed his chin contemtively as he continued having a monologue with himself. "If I rob that God Spark, it''ll be like hurting the divinity of the Immortal who has created it. If that Immortal hadn''t been my enemy before, he would surely be one if I even attempted to do something like this. And if I managed to rob that God Spark from them, they''d do everything in their power to contaminate the God Spark with a lot of curses and restrictions. After all, the ones who have made the God Sparks using their faith energy would naturally add some failsafe methods in them. I can''t carelessly assimte with such seized God Sparks and nt time bombs within myself with my own hands. Things are probably not as simple as I think them to be. Otherwise, the other Immortals would have targeted each other''s promoted demi-gods and the whole faith-based setup would have been destroyed by this point. But what if I do manage to assimte with these faith-based God Sparks, turning into sort of some "fake keys" to unlock the true potential of my abominated divinity?" Chapter 1852 Planning to Seize the Existing Faiths Chapter 1852 nning to Seize the Existing Faiths ??After pondering for a while, an evil smile was stered on Eren''s face as he thought to himself. "I have devoured people for my growth. What''s wrong with devouring the God Sparks of the demi-gods? From the looks of it, True God Sparks are hard to find. They are once-in-a-million opportunities that could only be obtained by someone really lucky. I think I had exhausted all my luck rted to the acquisition of the God Sparks when I obtained a True God Spark from Anfang''s World Will. Instead of holding my breath to find a True God Spark, it is much better to steal others'' foundations and make them my own. The Practitioners who have been turned into demi-gods using the True God Sparks and Faithless God Sparks are rare. Thankfully, there are still many demigods rted to a particr faith, promoted to their current status after the use of the faith-based God Sparks. If the faith-based God Sparksck quality andprehensive Elemental Attainment rted to a particr element, I can always target multiple demigods and make up for theck of quality with quantity. It''s just that most of the faith-based demi-gods have obtained that status after they ended their traditional Path. It means that most of them would have the prowess of the S-Plus Rank. Thanks to that status, they would also be able to make effective use of the faith-based God Spark. In short, it won''t be easy to target them," Eren sighed as he said to himself. "I guess I need to do some research," Eren finally got up from his position as he continued to let his mind wander off on its own. "I need to go out. Or rather, let my pseudo-avatars explore more. I have stayed cooped up in Labh Salem for a while now. I didn''t even try to explore the world thinking that I might attract unwanted attention. I didn''t even try to meet with the so-called demi-gods who are very famous among the mortals of Labh Salem. I don''t need to kill each of them and devour them for my growth. However, I can learn a lot from them, and see how they progress ahead as demigods. And if an Immortal is particrly hostile towards me, I can choose to hit them where it would hurt the most," Eren chuckled to himself as he exited the underground facility. Eren was sure that in the contest of ownership rted to a particr elemental God Spark, he would win and obtain the right to assimte with that Elemental God Spark just fine. No matter what kind of elemental God Spark it was. After all, ording to the goddess Great Mother''s exnation, all the elemental divinities once belonged to a singr Elder GodC Aleph. It was only after God Aleph''s fall that the elemental divinities were divided and imed by the existing Immortals who sessfully became Elemental Immortals as a result of assimting with those God Sparks. As such, Eren believed that his im over the elemental God Sparks would be prioritized by the existing God Sparks themselves. He believed that even though there were three variants of the God Sparks, they basically did the same thing, which was to give their wielder the ability to wield divinity rted to a particr element. As long as the result remained the same for all forms of God Sparks, Eren had confidence in using Elder Ichor''s elemental dominion to his advantage. If Eren managed to refine his divinity rted to the elemental powers of the boundless cosmos as well, his abominated divinity would then be truly stimted, bringing him many benefits. At the same time, his rise in his traditional Path as well as the faith-based path will be unstoppable and unimaginable. The demonic way of bing an Immortal was different from the divine faction. It didn''t need God Sparks. Not really. One just needed to assimte with a lot of demonic energy and keep on umting it before a God Spark was formed within them on its own. It was more like bing a Faithless Celestial with a few key differences. This was the reason Eren didn''t need to im the demonic God Sparks rted to the Seven Sins to harness the power of his demonic bloodline heritage. When he obtained the True God Spark, he immediately became qualified to wield the demonic aspect of his divinity. "Earlier I worried about how to keep my enemy count to its lowest. Now I''m afraid I might not have many enemies," Eren thought and chuckled as he walked towards a particr section of the underground facility. This section was dedicated to his pseudo-avatar creation. As soon as he entered the isted domain, Eren saw that Naya was waiting for him inside. "Good to see you, Naya," Eren locked Naya in a warm embrace before asking. "How was your journey?" Naya smiled and hugged him back before responding. "It was rtively less troubling than I thought. I managed to meet Altair Argas just fine. The handover of the demonic prisoners also went smoothly. It was only the transportation of these prisoners that caused a bit of a headache," Naya started reporting the details of the mission she had justpleted. A few weeks ago, Eren had sent Naya to bring him a batch of demonic entities in Altair Argas'' possession. The humanoid demon beast had not only transported the demonic entities to Siren''s Sanctuary but also dealt with the problems she faced on the way on her own. "Pirates of Labh Salem, huh," Eren mumbled as he listened to Naya''s report. "It seems they are supported by a certain sea god. Isn''t the divinity of a sea god closely rted to my God Spark? Can I be called a small water god if that is the case? And what would happen if I manage to defeat this sea god and im his divinity?" Naya was surprised when she heard Eren''s ramblings. She couldn''t believe that Eren was already nning to mess with the divine entities when he was not even a Sage. She pondered for a bit before asking him. "Eren, are you thinking of creating your faith in the seas?" "No," Eren smiled as he spoke. "Why create another faith if there''s one already in existence? I just need to kill this sea god before iming his faith in me," Eren said casually. Chapter 1853 Making Use of the Blessing Bestowment Chapter 1853 Making Use of the Blessing Bestowment ??Eren then looked at Naya before giving her the next task. "Since this so-called sea god has dared to mess with my affairs, he needs to pay the price. Find out all you can about this sea god. See if he has any demi-god stationed in the deep seas. If you do find one, don''t approach him but retract and report to me," he said before rolling up his sleeves. Eren looked at the number of Practitioners who had been arranged neatly inside their Echidna''s centa capsules in a row. All of them had their eyes closed and lost their consciousness due to Altair''s restrictions on them. Since a new batch of the Practitioners had been delivered to his door, Eren decided to start with his next round of experiments. After detonating Lemaar Saaya in his fight against Nira, hecked a pseudo-avatar after all. The one who was going to rece Lemaar woulde from this batch of prisoners. Before sending Naya on a mission, Eren made sure to give her enough life-saving items that could help her during the pinch times. From various premium-grade potions suited for varying needs to several offensive and defensive artifacts that could be used at a moment''s notice, Naya was given everything she could possibly need during the mission. Of course, Eren didn''t send off Naya right away. He ordered her to take some rest while he took care of some other businesses. He started the preliminary round of a selection process for his pseudo-avatar creation, discarding almost half of the prisoners in his captivity inside the underground facility. During this time, Ashton and Hildapleted their task and came back to Eren. They had been assigned the task of clearing away the traces of Lemaar Saaya''s demonic cult after he died during the sh with Nira. The fiends had done their job wlessly, doing exactly what Eren had asked them to do. Due to the thorough job done by the fiendish couple, when Nira''s team identified Lemaar''s identity and traced back his demonic cult, they couldn''t figure anything out about Eren due to the demonic cult''s destruction. The remnants of the demonic cult that were once operated by Lemaar were also killed brutally by Eren''s fiends, turning Nira''s efforts to find any clues about Lemaar''s supposed death and possession by Eren''s consciousnesspletely futile. Eren asked the fiendish couple to apany Naya on her mission when they came back to him. After all, he didn''t think that he should send Naya into enemy territory without giving her the backup she needed. After he had decided to seize a particr sea god''s territory, he had already started treating him as his enemy. During this time, the fiend army Eren had developed in Anfang had also managed to find its way to him. These were the same fiends Eren had created in Eliza''s Purgatory. The earlier variants of fiends that Eren had created as a way to test his powers also managed to find Eren. These fiends were led by Harja Mel and Darven. Harja Mel and Darven were technically Eren''s batchmates. They had yed crucial roles in providing him with crucial intel during the war between the two kingdoms, Edinburgh and Layos. Upon Eren''s orders, they had participated in the full- fledged war between the two kingdoms. Thanks to the Birdcage strategy deployed by Eren during the execution of the Lazarus Project, many of his fiends had managed to sessfully survive the war as well as the Great Shattering. In the end, they entered the Immortal ne one after the other following Eren''s footsteps, and a significant number of them managed to meet with their owner. Eren was surprised to find out that Harja Mel and Darven had not only survived the dangers of the Immortal ne but also managed to get to him safely during the tumultuous times in Labh Salem. To be honest, he had practically given up on them considering their individual might. Harja Mel and Darven were the product of Eren''s initial attempt to create fiends. As such, they weren''t as powerful as the newly turned fiends in his army. Plus, they couldn''t increase their individual might due to the fact that their mana cores had either been corrupted or almost destroyed beyond repair. However, after Darven and Harja Mel came back to him, Eren decided to use them as guinea pigs for his next round of experiments aimed at strengthening his existing fiends. Eren had arge number of fiends at this point that he could use to his advantage to execute many tasks he didn''t want to perform personally. Even excluding the number of Practitioners who had turned themselves into fiends by consuming the concoctions given by the Elder Ichor faction, the number of Practitioners personally turned into fiends by Eren was also massive. The fiends Eren had personally turned were his direct subordinates, whereas the number of Practitioners turned into fiends with the use of the Tools of Liberation were more of his followers than henchmen. Eren decided to strengthen these lots of subordinates under him who could be controlled by him. Harja Mel and Darven were the first beneficiaries of the power-ups he had nned for this army of fiends. Harja Mel and Darven were first given Blessings by Eren using the Blessing Bestowment function he had unlocked earlier. Initially, there were only two temtes to choose from Expedited Regeneration and Sedated Perception. However, as Eren kept reinvesting his Origin Force Points into the Blessing Bestowment function, he unlocked a few more Blessing Temtes. After sessfully testing the Blessing Bestowment Function on Harja Mel and Darven, Eren released the function into the Mesh, enabling the followers of the Elder Ichor faction to avail themselves of the blessings on their own. This time, he didn''t charge them with anything and only asked them to donate anything they could afford to donate to the faction as an offering. The Mesh was sent into an uproar when Eren made Elder Ichor''s Blessing avable to his faction members. It not only allowed his faction members to regain their trust in the Elder Ichor faction but also deterred many who had been badmouthing the faction as well as its founder. Most importantly, the Immortals were made to realize how threatening Eren''s divinity was. Within just a few years after acquiring the status of a demi-god, the man was able to offer blessings to his followers like a full-fledged Immortal. What would he do after he was allowed to grow further for only a few centuries? === AN: Eren creates fiends en masse in chapter 1496. Harja M and Darven were turned into fiends in chapter 1138. Blessing Bestwoment and Blessing Temtes were exined in chapters 1797 and 1798 respectively. Chapter 1854 Upgrading the Go-To Artifacts Chapter 1854 Upgrading the Go-To Artifacts ??Apart from the Blessing Bestowment, the fiends were also given the Akass Formation to use in case of emergencies. The Akass Formation was one of Eren''s trump cards that he had used against Carvel and his powerful demon peta wyvern named Akass. He had named the formation after the wyvern when he yed it with the Formation''s help. After creating one of his pseudo-avatars with the Profession of the Runemaster, Eren asked the pseudo-avatar to craft many sets of artifact rings required to deploy the Akass Formation. This Formation showcased Eren''s personal touch to the traditional Battle Formations used in the world of Anfang. Nobody even in Labh Salem would believe that such a formation was conceptualized and created by a single entity. Eren didn''t dare to put this peculiar Array Formation creation on the Mesh, fearing someone from his opponents would be able to crack it after getting their hands on it. However, he gave the formation to many groups of his fiends he personally interacted with, bolstering their offense and defense at the same time. The Akass Formation could be used by a group of fiends against amon enemy who was individually stronger than all of them. This Formation allowed the fiends tobine their powers and strike as one entity, enabling them to defeat even an enemy who was supposed to be on a higher level than them. This Akass Formation could be said to be the culmination of all the knowledge rted to Battle Formations Eren had gained during his time in Anfang. One could say that the time he spent during hardbor as Leo Longde under the guidance of Baelin Stoneforge wasn''t in vain. Since Eren''s individual might have surpassed the potential battle output generated by the Akass formation a long time ago, he decided not to hoard it anymore. Even if his enemies managed to crack the formation in the future, he didn''t care. As long as it served its purpose of strengthening his fiends in the uing times, it was worth it. After confirming the effects of the Blessing Bestowment and the mass-produced Akass Formation were up to the mark, Eren sent a batch of fiends with Naya and finally sent her off to an important mission. Harja Mel and Darven were with her. After a few more days after Naya''s departure, Eren managed to sessfully create another pseudo-avatar from thetest batch of prisoners. This Practitioner was supposed to rece Lemaar and carry on with the task left iplete by the former. However, Eren didn''t send the seventh pseudo-avatar on the mission immediately. Instead of taking the earlier approach that had failed once, Eren decided to wait for an opportunity. He sent this particr pseudo-avatar to approach Jolly Jalen. After all, Jolly was supposed to galvanize the core force of the Darkmoon Fellowship to get his hands on a very peculiar item. Jolly could certainly use some trustworthy helping hands in this mission, and Eren''s newly created 7th pseudo-avatar was ready to fulfill that job. *** Eren didn''t rest there. Sensing the turbulent times approaching with the onset of the Hvergelmir Springs, Eren started to bolster the tools he had. He began by upgrading the beaked mask. This beaked mask was obtained by Eren inside the Sansara World 1.0. It was the legacy of the Sage Loxley, famous as Lufthansa in Anfang. Ideal for assassinations and spying tasks, this mask could hide its user from opponents'' vision and Mana Sense. It also enhanced a Ranker''s assassination abilities with its finely tuned body stat perks. Eren had used this beaked mask many times during his time in Anfang. He had even used it a few times in Labh Salem whenever he wanted to get the job done quickly and discreetly. This mask artifact had been turned into a Hex Artifact by Eren for quite a while. However, its capabilities had be somewhat restricted after Eren became ate-stage Grandmaster. Thanks to the various mana-rich resources avable in Labh Salem, as well as Eren''s campaign to gain all kinds of information and knowledge rted to various fields and professions, Eren finally managed to upgrade the beaked mask to suit his current needs. With the current perks unblocked by him with the Assassin Profession, this beaked mask would allow him tounch a sneak attack on even some of the rtively less extraordinary S- Ranked entities. If he was lucky, he would be able to kill these targets as well. When it came to A-Ranked entities and lower, Eren would be able to one-shot kill them using the help of the mask under the right settings. The mask could be used by Eren directly or given to Jolly Jalen, who represented the Assassin Profession among his seven pseudo-avatars. If he wanted to produce a second copy of the mask, he would either need to break into the S-Rank himself or approach Sage Lufthansa, who was not in Labh Salem anymore as far as Eren could tell. Eren didn''t waste time finding the whereabouts of Lufthansa. The Sage didn''t owe him anything to help him. Sage Minerva was a special case since she knew anyone who inherited her legacy would be able to help her in the field. Thus, Eren approached the Sage and formed a co-op rtionship with her. However, there was no scope for cooperation between the two assassins. An assassin would consider another of his kind as an ally as long as they both stayed out of each other''s ways. Apart from the beaked mask, Eren also upgraded his go-to weapons: a pair of Diceros katars, a pair of Anduril shamshirs, and a pair of Rigor Mortis swords. Although he could have crafted new Hex artifacts with his current knowledge and resources, Eren decided to spend some more and upgrade his existing weapons. One could say that the butcher had developed a certain kinship with these weapons and didn''t want to leave them behind as he progressed forward. As for the defensive artifact? Eren had Reen. === AN: Battle Formations were exined in chapter 955 and Akass Formation was described in chapter 1464. The beaked mask was obtained by Eren in chapter 1100. Chapter 1855 Whiteraven Ale- A Drink That Represents Grimdawn’s Struggles Chapter 1855 Whiteraven Ale- A Drink That Represents Grimdawns Struggles Sunhaven. The Eldorath Kingdom. Siren''s Sanctuary. Labh Salem''s nights were a spectacle to behold, adorned by the presence of its four moons. Each moon cast its unique array of hues upon thendscape, painting the skies with ethereal lights. On this particr night, only two moons graced the heavens, both full and radiant. The others, obscured by clouds or waning in their phases, remained hidden from view. The mingling moonlights cascaded upon thend, blending into a mesmerizing fusion of colors. This luminous fusion draped the surroundings like a mystical veil, suffused with the essence of the world''s mana. "A moment to rx. I should cherish times like these." Amidst this celestial disy, Eren sat upon the sandy shores behind Siren''s Sanctuary, his footprints marking the path behind him. Having justpleted his Tantra practice, he sought sce and reprieve from the tranquil sea. "This world is beautiful. If it can even extract thispliment from someone like me, then its beauty has reached a certain standard. Um wait a minute. I have just been to two worlds. Perhaps all habitable worlds are beautiful in their own way?" The butcher watched as the moonlight danced upon the surface of the water, casting intricate patterns that seemed to sing an enigmatic melody. The rhythmic luby of the waves crashing against the shore enveloped him, soothing his weary soul. "Soon, this world too will face its own trials, akin to Anfang''s Cmity Era. And this time, I''ll get to witness it with my own eyes. An unrest of epic proportions." Eren murmured softly, gazing out at the restless expanse of the sea. "Am I truly a harbinger of trouble wherever I tread?" he pondered, a wistful smile gracing his lips. "No," he shook his head, dispelling the notion. "Naah. I shouldn''t inte my own importance. Troubled timese and go, like the eternal cycle of day and night. Just like the ebb and flow of these waves. They are part of one''s life. As long as there''s life, there''ll be conflicts. As long as there''s a pulse, a beating heart within someone, there''ll be desires. I am but a mere observer in the grand scheme of things, limited by my own perspective. I have the potential to be bigger than what I am now. I''m still looking at these whole Existential Concepts of the boundless cosmos through the limitations of my own perspective. No matter how much I try to understand them, they''ll always have something to surprise me with," he reflected, a hint of ruefulness in his tone. "My liege," a voice suddenly came from behind Eren. He didn''t have to turn around to know who it was. "Roza,e, sit with me," Eren addressed Roza without turning back, patting the sand beside him as if preparing afortable seat for her. Roza joined Eren, her eyes following his gaze towards the sea waves. She, too, watched in a daze, not wanting to disturb Eren''s peace. Having just finished her Tantra practice, Roza hade to check up on Eren. She was surprised to find him taking a short break during his busy schedule, so she couldn''t help but follow him. Roza had almost always seen Eren working on one project or another. If he wasn''t busy with his experiments, he was concocting potions. If he wasn''t forging artifacts, he was studying Array Formations. It was as if he wasn''t content with the limited hours each day provided to fit in all his work and various projects. Roza couldn''t help but wonder if everyone in Labh Salem became as industrious as Eren, all ongoing conflicts would cease to exist. After all, there would be little room for conflicts if everyone simply stayed indoors. Even if one couldn''t change the nature of those who actively sought trouble, imposing certain restrictions to limit their influence on others could significantly reduce conflicts in the world. ''He is acting a bit strange. Is he okay?'' Roza asked herself as she watched Eren. Eren said nothing but pulled out a rune-sealed jug of Whiteraven ale from his Inventory. This was the ale produced by his guild back in Anfang. Eren had storedrge quantities of the ale with him so that he could enjoy drinking it in Labh Salem on special asions. Soon, two sses of ale were filled by Eren. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om He silently offered one ss to Roza while he held onto the other without drinking it. Instead, he just inhaled the ale and found it to be almost odorless. Still, there was a hint of an indescribable hazy aroma that made his tongue tingle even before drinking it. The supernatural effect of the elven ale was mimicked by the Whiteraven ale. Even after so much time had passed, the concoction still had plenty of potency left in it. Roza followed Eren''s actions and brought the drink to her nose to inhale it. She could tell by theposition of the ale that it was special and wasn''t something Eren had bought locally. "This is Whiteravean ale C something I had concocted in the past after studying the basics of elven drinks," Eren introduced the origin of the ale shortly, a nostalgic smile etched on his face. "Do you know, Roza, I had to struggle in Anfang for quite a while before I made this brand of ale? At that time, I had to lie, cheat, steal, fuck, and kill my way before I became somebody with enough influence to have the right to make this brand of ale. Keke. There was this one time that I even had to whore my way to get the things I want. Not that I consider that to be a bad thing. And that girlC Dianna. She is pretty. So I kinda don''t have the right toin. But stillC I conceded when I needed to. And I fought when I had to. I was pretty flexible, you see. You can say that I have gone to extreme lengths to reach where I am now. The drink that you have in your hand C it represents my struggle as a Ranker from Anfang." Eren said as he lightly spun his drink inside the ss before taking a sip from it. Chapter 1856 Early Signs of S-Rank Breakthrough & Tempering Divinity Chapter 1856 Early Signs of S-Rank Breakthrough & Tempering Divinity Roza raised her eyebrows in surprise upon hearing the history behind the Whiteraven ale. She felt that after such a story, the drink had somehow be even more tantalizing. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "This" Roza was left speechless after taking the first sip of the Whiteraven ale. The taste of the drink wasn''t particrly extraordinary; it went down smoothly on one''s pte. However, the effect it had on her body exceeded her expectations. Roza felt as though she had swallowed moltenva that was slowly trickling down her throat. Her mana circuits seemed to ignite, and the flow of mana within her body became restless. As she gazed at the ever-restless waves, she sensed a simr turbulence within herself. Her mana core felt agitated, spinning rapidly before beginning to absorb the surrounding mana. "Enjoy the effect while itsts, Roza," Eren said with a smile, though he didn''t look at her. He could discern what was happening to her and reassured her. "This ale stimtes one''s Path to Power to some extent. It can bring great benefits to one''s Path if consumed for a period of time. Unfortunately, repeated use of the drink yields diminishing results until it ceases to work altogether. I can''t produce this kind of ale in Labh Salem due to logistical issues. But I also don''t wish to. This drinkits vor belongs to my homeworld. It''s my gift to the ce of my birth," Eren exined as he took another sip. The butcher had long been immune to the Whiteraven ale''s beneficial effects, and the drink no longer stimted his mana circuits. Nheless, that didn''t stop him from enjoying it. All of a sudden... "Ugh!" Eren doubled over in pain as a sudden bout of agony washed over him. "Aaaaaah!" he screamed, releasing threatening waves of mana with himself at the center. His Elemental Attainments leaked out, affecting the surroundings. The sea waves grew tumultuous as if a storm was brewing in the depths. They surged higher and crashed onto the shore, washing over everything in their path. The force of the waves threatened to reach Eren''s position, despite his sitting well back on the beach, away from the shoreline. The night sky seemed to fracture under some unknown force, as if it were merely a reflection on the surface of a vast, fragile ss, on the brink of shattering into a million pieces. The multifaceted Sin Series mana was summoned in the surroundings as if ready to do anything and everything at their summoner''s simplemand. "My liege," Roza was startled by the sudden changes. However, before she could set her drink down and tend to Eren, he had already straightened up, the painful expression gone from his face. The world returned to its normalcy as if everything Roza had observed around her were nothing but figments of her imagination. A cold drop of sweat ran down her neck as she realized that the phenomenon had disrupted her perception of time as well. "I... I am alright. It''s just the early signs of my S-Rank breakthrough," Eren took a deep breath and exined. "My Ranker''s Cmity is drawing closer. I am essentially suppressing my breakthrough at this point. Thisthis is not the right time to create a ruckus," Eren said casually as if it were no big deal. Roza murmured to herself, still in a daze, contemting the implications of Eren''s S-Rank breakthrough. A subconscious hint from one of the 72 Ars Goetia Demons within her suggested that his Ranker''s Cmity might defy all established standards set for Rankers by the rules governing the boundless cosmos. Calming herself, Roza observed that Eren had returned to normal. She noted how his powers had been rapidly growing ever since he acquired Rootless Tantra. His mastery over the elements of nature had increased exponentially. Slowly but surely, he was fulfilling the promise of bing the Lord of the Elements, as the Rootless Tantra had foretold. "No wonder the sea is quite restless tonight," Roza remarked, ncing at Eren and then out at the turbulent sea. With Eren''s God Spark being rted to water, his mere presence seemed to exert some influence over the sea, even when he didn''t actively intend to do so. Eren chuckled softly upon hearing Roza''s observation. "In Anfang, I seldom had the chance to witness the ocean''s beauty," he reflected, his gaze fixed on the sea. "Our habitable regions werendlocked due to the Bands, where ferocious mana beasts and bloodthirsty monsters kept most Rankers away from the shore. It wasn''t until the Great Shattering that I truly got to see the ocean''s majesty. When I first saw it, to me, the sea seemed boundless and eternallike a true Immortal within nature. The sea is much like the sky, right? Yet it offers a sense of closeness without losing one''s grounding. You don''t have to fly. You don''t have to jump. You just need to take steps in the right direction to meet this monstrous presence that surrounds all life. The sea is perhaps the closest thing to an Immortal being for many of us. Its untamed nature awakens something profound within us if we allow it to. Its high tides wash away feelings of loneliness, while its seafoam erases the burdens of the past. The debris it casts ashore serves as a reminder of the transient nature of all things. It helps cleanse the soul of regrets and unfulfilled desires, one wave at a time. And the ceaseless rhythm of the waves soothes the mind, bringing sce. So when this same sea bes an unstoppable force of destruction, one can''t help but wonder how many troubled souls it has embraced over time, before sumbing to turmoil," Eren mused, addressing both Roza and himself simultaneously. Eren''s words carried a simplicity that belied their profound impact on Roza. She longed for an Array Disk to capture his every utterance, to rey them in solitude and savor their depth. It seemed as though with each word, Eren was refining his divinity, delving deeper into the essence of his God Spark. Each memory he stirred within himself served to illuminate his understanding. "My liege... he is honing his divinity, akin to the Immortals. Perhaps He... he will transcend the realm of a mere demi-god soon," Roza pondered silently, struggling to retain Eren''s words in her mind. Yet, they magically slipped away from her mind like the ebb and flow of the sea before her, lost to the endless expanse of nothingness. Chapter 1857 Slumbering Goddess Mortessa Chapter 1857 Slumbering Goddess Mortessa Eren and Roza stood in silence, watching as the waves of the sea gently kissed the shore before retreating once more. The calmness lingered for a while until Eren decided to break it. "Vepar, what can you tell me about the slumbering goddess?" Eren''s sudden question caught Roza off guard. "You know who." Roza was taken aback by Eren addressing her as Vepar. She immediately understood that Eren sought to converse with the consciousness of the Ars Goetia Demons residing within her. Without hesitation, she stirred Vepar''s consciousness within her, allowing the demoness to respond to Eren''s inquiry directly. "My liege, are you referring to the Elder Goddess MorCMortessa?" Roza''s voice took on a different tone, signaling Vepar''s presence. "Hm? Why the hesitation in speaking her name?" Eren inquired, intrigued. "The names of the Immortals carry weight," Vepar replied swiftly. "Especially those who have attained the status of True Immortals. Mentioning their name can sometimes attract their consciousness. This is the reason mortals are often advised not to invoke the name of the Immortal they worship lightly." "I see," Eren nodded thoughtfully, finding the exnation usible. The Immortals possessed the ability to establishmunication channels with mortal worlds, allowing them to manifest various forms within the mortal realm. If the Immortals wielded such power, then the True Immortals must be even more formidable. It was conceivable that they could project a fraction of their consciousness wherever their name was spoken, like an invocation. Vepar, aware of goddess Mortessa''s potential enmity towards Eren due to his inheritance of God Aleph''s legacy, took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking further. "It is said that the Elder Goddess and God Aleph had a bit of a rtionship," Vepar chose her words carefully, speaking in a serious tone. "To be an elder goddess, she hatched a n to rob God Aleph''s powers. It was said that her act was perfect. However, the goddess eventually realized that God Aleph''s powers were too overbearing for any individual Immortal to wield on their own. Therefore, she formed temporary alliances with the other Immortals of that time before she was finally able to cause God Aleph''s Godfall. God Aleph fell from grace because of that betrayal. The Godfall of an Elder God, who was very close to bing a Primordial God, several other Immortals were able to solidify their status as Elemental Gods." "Who were the ones who supported this elder goddess in her crafty n?" Eren asked in a neutral voice. He didn''t care about the enmity between God Aleph and his enemies. The only reason he was asking these questions to Vepar was because they had started seeing him as a thorn in their eyes. Vepar had already deployed a simple demonic barrier around her and Eren to iste their voices and thoughts. Thus, she could speak more freely this time. "It is said that Demon Prince of Wrath Samael and the Fire God Emperor Vulcan were part of Goddess Mortessa''s team that managed to take God Aleph down. As for the rest of the Immortals involved in the incident, I don''t know. All of the 72 Ars Goetia Demons, including me, are rtively newly ascended Immortals. You know how demonic hierarchy works. We always facepetition from our own kind. By the time I managed to snatch the seat of the previous Immortal demon and became one of the 72 Ars Goetia Demons, these stories from the past had long be old," Vepar patiently exined her circumstances. "Hmm. Do you know how they caused the Godfall of God Aleph?" Eren asked his next question as he finished the Whiteraven ale in his ss. With a flick of his fingers, the ss in his hand disappeared and he assumed a pensive look while paying close attention to Vepar''s iing words. "I don''t know the exact details of how they caused the Godfall of such a mighty Elder God," Vepar said, pausing for a bit before continuing. "However, all I know is that it was some sort of divine curse that goddess Mortessa had specially concocted. Part of the reason why the divine curse worked on God Aleph was because of his own unique condition at the time. When the goddess Mortessa and her allies chose to strike, it was said that God Aleph had just finished regting the infernal energies of the boundless cosmos by separating them into the seven demonic nes before bringing them under his divine jurisdiction. The emperor of all demons was at his weakest when he had just finished conquering the "hell" as a whole. So we could say that his vulnerability was exploited by the goddess and her allies of that time," Vepar concluded. The reason why Eren had finally decided to ask these questions to Vepar at this point was simple: he didn''t want to be surprised by the number of enemies who mighte to target him at the time of Hvergelmir Spring''s arrival. He always liked knowing about his enemies so he could n better. Eren wouldn''t have asked these questions to Alephee because they both knew he wasn''t ready to delve into these matters. However, at this point, Eren had be a demi-god, and his essence of being had been tempered by the rules of the boundless cosmos, turning his soul Immortal. As such, Eren had automatically be immune to the divine powers that the Immortals could use against mortals. Even if there were still many things that could injure his Immortal soul, it wasn''t easy to make use of those means. Often, these came with horrible bacshes to their casters. Plus, Eren also didn''t make it easy for the immortals to target him by staying under the veil for the whole time and only appearing in front of the masses by using the far-reaching yet secure powers of the Mesh. With changed circumstances and improved individual might, Eren naturally considered himself worthy of finally knowing more about the slumbering goddess. "So that''s why that harlot doesn''t have her own templework in Labh Salem," the butcher finally inferred after processing Vepar''s words. He had found it weird that the slumbering goddess had not established her temple in Labh Salem. There were no forces supported by her faith who were gunning for him even though it was well established at this point that God Aleph''s sessor was currently living in Labh Salem. It was only now that he realized why the slumbering goddess Mortessa did not have her temple in Labh Salem. It was because she had already be an Elder Goddess. She didn''t need faith energy to sustain the well-functioning of her Immortal ne. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Eren started filling in the nks left in Vepar''s information with the memories of God Aleph he had obtained earlier. Bybining both, there was a clearer image forming in his mind. Eren also recalled her final encounter with Sienna Slughorn after she was possessed by goddess Mortessa''s consciousness. He had to say that he hade closest to death at that time. If it wasn''t for Anfang World Will''s consciousness prompt taking actions to expel an Elder God''s will as well as Alephee''s protection, he might have suffered irreversible damage or worse "A goddess who is well versed in divine curses, huh," Eren pondered for a while before asking Vepar his next question. "What kind of divinity does this elder goddess have? And why does she always have her eyes closed?" This time, it was easy for Vepar to answer Eren''s question. She finished the Whiterave ale from her ss and felt the effects of the ale stimting her vessel''s potential before finally speaking up. "My liege, Goddess Mortessa is known to have a divinity rted to the decay and dposition of all living things," Vepar spoke in an unhurried tone. "Her divinity also touches upon the concepts of femininity and lifelessness. Or rather, she had derived the aspects of femininity and lifelessness from her original divinity rted to the concept of decay. Her divine domain epasses death, decay, and the inevitable end of all existence. It is said that she touched upon the concepts of femininity when her original domain reached a certain height. After all, life germinates from the concepts of death, and as a bringer of life, femininity is associated with death and decay. There are some worlds in which the concepts of death and decay are known as Yin concepts. Anyway, she specializes in necromancy, dark magic that maniptes the forces of death and decay to her will. And because the concepts of Yin are also associated with femininity, she is well versed in affecting the cause-and-effect fabric of any world using the concepts of femininity as the carrier of her will," Vepar replied. "Death, decay, lifelessness, and the bringer of life that is femininity," Eren mumbled to himself as he processed Vepar''s words. "Looks like she has managed to merge two pr opposite concepts together. Is that what the Great Mother wanted to achieve by forming Abominated Divinity?" Eren couldn''t help drawingparisons between the two goddesses as he thought of many things at once. Chapter 1858 Reason Behind Slumbering Goddess’ Long Bouts of Slumber Chapter 1858 Reason Behind Slumbering Goddess Long Bouts of Slumber Vepar allowed Eren to process her words for a bit before continuing. "My liege, even though there are not many temples dedicated to her, goddess Mortessa does have a few followers. But they are not in Labh Salem at this point. However, that can change when the Hvergelmir Springs appear in Labh Salem. Mortessa''s followers seek to spread disease and corruption, believing that through decay, new life can be born. As such, they are an extremely violent bunch who get easily recognized no matter which world they visit." Eren simply nodded as an acknowledgment, prompting Vepar to continue further. "As for why Mortessa is referred to as the Slumbering GoddessC it is said that to concoct a divine curse, she had to put her own divinity on the line. Although, by the end of her gamble, she did manage to cause the Godfall of God Aleph, bing Elder Goddess herself in the process, she also suffered from its bacsh. It is said that her own divinity sometimes acts against her because of this bacsh, causing her to go through long bouts of lifelessness as a result. This lifelessness is seen as her slumbering by others. And" Vepar hesitated to speak further. She couldn''t decide if she should provide unconfirmed news to Eren. However, Eren''s smile put her at ease before she continued. "It is said that she is in the process of curing herself of the anomaly in her divinity. She has developed a unique divine technique that allows her to correct the anomalies in her divinity through her reincarnations. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om They say that when she reincarnates for enough times and lives many lives through the use of her reincarnations, she would one day be able to cure herself of her anomalypletely," Vepar said in an unhurried tone. "I see," Eren replied, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Through God Aleph''s memories, Eren remembered how the goddess had also put a divine curse on all of his potential sessors. It was most likely that the peculiar condition of her divine anomaly had worsened even further because of that act. Unlike Vepar, Eren had personal experience with dealing with one of Mortessa''s reincarnations. As such, he could easily discern that the rumors about her circting among the well-established Immortals were true for the most part. Eren remembered the interaction he had with Goddess Mortessa when she sent her consciousness into Sienna Slughorn''s body. He remembered how lifeless the surroundings had gotten when she cast out her domain. Even while she was being suppressed by Anfang''s World Will and subjected to the rules of the mortal ne to a greater extent, her divine powers were nothing to scoff at. "That harlot has many of her mini-versions alive and active in many worlds, it seems," Eren thought to himself as he was reminded of Sienna Slughorn. It seemed that she had more than one reason to reincarnate as Sienna in Anfang. He could only guess how many of her reincarnations she had used or how many were currently active across the boundless cosmos. "I wonder how that goddess reacted when she reimed her residual consciousness and assimted with Sienna Slughorn''s memories," Eren chuckled to himself as he thought. "Although House Slughorn had formatted some of her memories rted to the Experience Pack Auction incident I caused, I''m sure a goddess of her status would have many ways to retrieve those formatted memories. I have sullied her reincarnation beyond repair. She might not be able to assimte with that part of her formpletely after knowing what I had done to it. As long as she ends her slumbering formpletely and processes those memories, she is bound to do everything in her power to eliminate me," Eren mused and smiled. Eren didn''t care that the Sienna he had tortured turned out to be such a big nuisance to him in the form of Goddess Mortessa. He didn''t regret the incident he had caused back then either. After all, it was she who had messed with him in his first timeline. Eren was no saint. However, he wasn''t a mindless demon who took pleasure in torturing people or putting them through bouts of misery just for fun. Although his actions were driven mainly by the emotions of revenge, they had manyyers attached to them. Most importantly, he felt good and liberated after enacting his revenge on Sienna. This feeling of satisfaction alone was enough for Eren not to regret his actions. "If I have been given a second chance, no, technically speaking, a third chance to restart everything from scratch, I''d do those things to Sienna once again without any regrets. In fact, I would have considered locking the goddess'' consciousness and torturing her for my pleasure if I had known back then that she was such a big shot. I''m sure I would have learned a lot from capturing a goddess'' fragmented consciousness." Eren thought and sighed. It was as if he regretted not being given opportunities to put Sienna through even greater forms of misery than what he had done in the past. It wasn''t as if Eren hadn''t done something simr to what he wanted to do with the goddess'' consciousness before. He had tempered the soul fragment of the Demon Prince of Wrath by trapping it inside an Elder Seed Artifact he had crafted with his own hands, using Anfang''s World Will and his soul''s ascendance to Immortal status as catalysts. As long as it ensured the same oue or results, Eren wouldn''t hesitate to subject Labh Salem to a simr form of cmity. Though he had no intention of replicating the same feats he had achieved in Anfang, he was willing to go to any lengths to harm his enemies at their weakest. "Vepar, how long do you think it will take for that goddess to refine her divinity and fully awaken from her slumber?" Eren asked, his mind buzzing with numerous thoughts simultaneously. Vepar paused for a moment before responding cautiously. Chapter 1859 “Why Seek Allies When You Can Utilize Them as Pawns?” Chapter 1859 Why Seek Allies When You Can Utilize Them as Pawns? Vepar paused for a moment before responding cautiously. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Ideally, it should take the goddess tens of thousands of years by Labh Salem''s standards before she could correct the anomaly in her divinity. Though, matters rted to divinity aren''t as straightforward as you might think. In this boundless cosmos, there are many ways for Immortals to adjust their divinity and fine-tune them to their current needs," Vepar halted, contemting for a while. She then gazed at the night sky, sighed, and continued. "My liege, take the onset of the Hvergelmir Springs, for example. This phenomenon can only ur in mortal nes because that is the birthce and origin of all the infernal energies present in the boundless cosmos. As such, many Immortals are going to be interested in witnessing this. Not just the demons; even the Immortals from the divine factions might be able to gain something from the Hvergelmir Springs if they y their cards right. It''s just that if they ever want to benefit from this opportunity, they would have to send their true forms inside Labh Salem, or at least a part of their true forms. This is a huge gamble not many Immortals would dare to take part in. However, some desperate Immortals like Goddess Mortessa might appear here in Labh Salem in the form of their reincarnations. Once they do, they would subject themselves to the rules of the mortal nes, which would indeed suppress their divine powers and put them on the same pedestal as high-ranked Practitioners." Vepar exined, her words measured and deliberate. "So that''s what you meant when you said certain situations ur in the mortal realm that force the Immortals to act and descend to the mortal ne," Eren nodded in understanding before posing his next question. "Apart from Goddess Mortessa, who else do you think would appear in Labh Salem?" Eren asked curiously, his mind already spinning with thoughts. He tugged at his right earlobe and scratched under his ear as he began formting countermeasures in his head. Meanwhile, Vepar poured herself another ss of Whiteraven ale and took a sip. After feeling refreshed by the ale''s taste and magical effect on her body, she continued. "Goddess Great Mother and Goddess Two Lips are bound toe to Labh Salem when the Hvergelmir Springs appear. After all, the big tussle is between these two goddesses and Labh Salem is their battleground. The rest could only enter this battleground as either their allies or enemies. I heard that the Goddess Great Mother sent her consciousness into one of her arch priestesses in her divine city. I''m guessing it was due to an untimely descent caused by an external factor unrted to the Hvergelmir Springs. Her consciousness would return soon after ensuring her faction''s preparations are in ce. Her real descent will happen when the Hvergelmir Springs arrive. The same is true for Goddess Two Lips. It is said that she has sent her consciousness to Labh Salem many times before, but her actual descent is expected to ur when the phenomenon manifests. The two goddesses have set up their camps and prepared many things. They are just waiting for the Springs to appear." "Hmm. Who else?" Eren asked. He didn''t think it was necessary for Vepar to know that it was because of him that the goddess Great Mother''s Divine Sense had possessed Simi Piyar''s vessel. "Apart from these two goddesses," Vepar thought for a bit as she continued. "As I mentioned earlier, there''s a chance that Goddess Mortessa will appear, seeking to fine-tune her divinity. It is also rumored that the Demon Prince of Gluttony, Beelzebub, desires to participate. Then there are Demon Prince Lust and the Demon Prince of Envy, who also seem interested in descending into Labh Salem. This prediction is based on observing the movements of the demonic cults associated with these influential Immortal Demons. Additionally, many Ars Goetia Demons are interested in participating in the celestial event. Some of these 72 Immortal Demons have already created their incarnations, as I have done with Roza Thas. I can say with some certainty that Goddess Echidna will not appear. However, she might send some of her subordinate gods to join the event. As for the rest of the Immortals, I know very little to almost nothing," Vepar concluded as she finished her newly refilled drink. "72 Ars Goetia Demons, huh?" Eren narrowed his eyes as he questioned Vepar. "Are you in contact with any of them? And who are the mortal vessels they are going to possess or have already possessed?" Eren had kept himself out of the limelight, but with a significant event approaching, he decided to engage with some of the Immortals and attempt to establish initial arrangements. Even if he couldn''t secure mutual cooperation, simply achieving non-aggression would be considered a victory for him. After all, the Immortals'' time in Labh Salem was limited, and their divine powers would be restricted, making them vulnerable to various dangers. Under such circumstances, nobody would want to risk themselves in needless battles. They would bepelled to agree to some form ofpromise. This would especially be the case in case of Immortals who were on the fence about the event for a long time before finally deciding to participate. After all, not everyone was willing to invest in the event as much as Vepar or other Immortals. At least not at first. Eren relied on the limitations imposed by the mortal ne to negotiate with some of the Immortals. Even if he couldn''t strike deals with them, instilling wariness in them and making them think twice about opposing him would ultimately work in his favor. Vepar pondered for a moment before disclosing to Eren. "I... I know the vessels of Barbatos, Eligos, and Saleos who are currently active in Labh Salem. But, my liege, they are not exactly friendly to your faction," she admitted with some hesitation. "That''s alright," Eren replied with a casual smile. "The Elder Ichor faction doesn''t need friends anyway. Are they qualified to be its allies? I don''t think so. Why seek allies when you can utilize them as pawns?" he mused, chuckling softly. Chapter 1860 Eternal Struggles of Immortal Demons Chapter 1860 Eternal Struggles of Immortal Demons A major reason why Vepar had pledged allegiance to Eren and his Elder Ichor faction was because she had witnessed the level of authority he wielded over demons of her own caliber. And this was when he was merely a Master Ranker. Through firsthand experience, Vepar had discerned that Eren would inevitably ascend to be an immensely powerful entity, surpassing even the most venerable Immortals. So, when he offered her the choice to serve him, she wholeheartedly embraced the opportunity to support his faction. Additionally, Vepar''s decision to align with Eren was fueled by a sense of betrayal from the Demon Prince of Wrath, Samael. She believed that only someone like Eren could eventually pose a credible threat to Samael''s authority, and supporting Eren''s cause became her way of exacting retribution for the injustice she felt she had endured at Samael''s hands. Vepar had endured considerable struggles to attain her current status as one of the 72 Ars Goetia Demons, aware that her position could be usurped by any demon who managed to surpass her in power and influence. The demonic hierarchy established by God Aleph was absolute and subject to constant flux. While technically one of the 72 Ars Goetia Demons could challenge the authority of the Demon Princes and potentially rece them through a frontal sh, in reality, such ambitions were rarely pursued. Most demons feared the potential failure and loss of their esteemed positions among the Ars Goetia Demons, deeming the endeavor too risky to undertake. The demonic way was ruthless. It didn''t make concessions for anyone, including the most well-established demons. However, upon encountering Eren, Vepar resolved to deviate from the cautious approach adopted by her peers. Interacting with him through Roza Thas, she observed Eren''s remarkable growth and recognized his exceptional potential. Witnessing Eren''s ability to produce pseudo-avatars only reaffirmed her belief that she had chosen the right path. Despite the inherent risks, Vepar harbored no regrets about aligning herself with Eren''s cause, given his remarkable progress and unwavering dedication. Even if she were to fall from her demonic seat because of supporting a newbie, Vepar desired her defeat to be meaningful, ensuring she wouldn''t lose face in the process. Tagging along with Eren was the best decision she could have ever made in that regard. After all, if Eren managed to be an Immortal in the future, his authority over all the demons would be sufficient for her to surpass her current status. There was even a chance she could rece one of the seven Demon Princes if she proved her loyalty to him. One could say that Vepar remained as ambitious as ever, despite her status as one of the 72 Ars Goetia Demons. She aspired to elevate herself to higher levels, freeing herself from the need to follow Samael''s directives. The 72 Ars Goetia Demons were formidable beings in the eyes of mortals, especially demonic entities. They served as goals and targets for other demons striving in the lower tiers. However, only the 72 Immortal Demons knew the extent of the struggles they endured to attain their current status. Even after ascending to the Ars Goetia tier, the 72 Immortal Demons were still obligated to act as subordinates and errand runners for the Demon Princes. No Ars Goetia Demon with a modicum of courage would overlook the one-in-a-million chance to transcend their circumstances. *** "Hm? What are you thinking about?" Eren''s sudden question interrupted Vepar''s train of thought. She gazed at him in a daze, taking a moment to realize she had been staring longer than intended, prompting Eren to regard her with puzzled expressions. "My liege," Vepar began, but Eren shook his head, issuing his nextmand. "Vepar, your task isplete. Switch back with Roza. I want to speak with her," he said casually. Vepar appeared as though she wanted to protest, but ultimately sighed and nodded before her demon soul fragment slipped into a deep slumber. Roza''s body swayed as if suddenly losing consciousness. It nearly copsed face-first into the sand before Roza regained control. Fortunately, Eren moved closer, supporting her by cing his arm around her neck, half-hugging her to keep her upright while she regained control of her body. Eren observed the sea waves in silence, feeling the cool breeze tousle his hair. Having erected a barrier around Siren''s Sanctuary, he remained in his true form rather than assuming the identity of E-Ranked Potion-maker Ren Roman Idril. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om It took some time for Roza to fully regain control. Unlike Eren, shecked the luxury of employing an Elder Seed Artifact to control her clones. Eren''s clone technique, a product of hisbined skills and experiences, was wless, unmatched even by someone like Vepar, who technically possessed more experience in soul-rted studies and clone creation. "Where. Where am I?" Roza blurted out in a drunken-like stupor as she adjusted her blurred vision by dubbing her eyes. It took a while for her vision to clear and for her to realize where she was and what had just happened between Vepar and Eren. As a host for Vepar''s demon soul fragment, Roza could retain some of the memories and experiences the former made while taking full control of her body. She processed those experiences and feelings quickly and came to a simple conclusionC Vepar was practically smitten by Eren''s charms. Not that she was any different. "My.. My li" Roza was about to say something to Eren but before she could do that, Eren turned his head towards her and brought it forward before kissing her on the lips. All of this happened within a blink of an eye. Roza felt like she had been sent into the same domain of drunken stupor she had juste out from because of Eren''s actions. Eren wanted to ask Roza about some affairs rted to Siren''s Sanctuary and his other ongoing projects. However, he had suddenly received a notification on his demi-god-specific notification panel through Menaka''s Blessing. This notification made Eren jubnt, and he immediately decided to celebrate his recent achievement by indulging in some fun times with Roza. [ You have received all seven Virtue Series Marks. These remaining Marks have sessfully strengthened all of your Sin Series Marks. ] Chapter 1861 Restrengthening of All Sin Series Marks Chapter 1861 Restrengthening of All Sin Series Marks [ You have received all seven Virtue Series Marks. These remaining Marks have sessfully strengthened all of your Sin Series Marks. ] When Eren saw this notification pop up on his Spectral Screen, he couldn''t help but smile from ear to ear. After investing so much time and effort into acquiring the Virtue Series Marks through the use of his pseudo-avatars, Eren had finally achieved something that other demi-gods would consider impossible. The sum of Origin Force Points required for each of the Sin Series Marks'' strengthening would have been a deal-breaker for many existing demi-gods. Despite having the backing of their respective pantheons standing behind them like an unshakeable mountain, they couldn''t achieve in centuries what Eren had aplished in less than a decade. Eren didn''t know which of his poor pseudo-avatars had worked tirelessly to make this possible. However, he didn''t care. Although they were a part of himself to some extent, he treated them as nothing more than his subordinates. Of course, Eren nned to reward the overachievers among his pseudo-avatars with proper resources and enhancementster. But for now, he needed to celebrate. Roza was next to Eren when the notification appeared. He decided to share his happiness with her. "Ummmm." Roza began responding to Eren''s kiss as she got over the initial surprise. Her body was already feeling hot and ufortable due to Eren making her drink Whiteraven Ale. She needed some kind of vent to wear off the drink''s potent properties that were causing a bit of trouble in her body as well as overly stimting her Mana Core. Kissing while sitting side by side was a bit ufortable for both Eren and Roza, especially when they were sitting on the beach. Thus, Eren decided to change that. With a sh of lightning, he made Roza lie on her back before getting on top of her. Before she could say anything, he sealed her lips again. The sound of the sea waves that Roza had been listening to almost became inaudible to her when Eren got on top of her. His kiss melted all her defenses and made her surrender to what was toe. She wrapped her arms around Eren''s neck before grabbing the back of his head. She pulled him closer by wrapping her legs around him and opened her mouth to wee the intrusion of his tongue. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Keke. It seems that ale had a strange reaction on you," Eren broke his kiss with Roza, looking her in the eyes. He could see that she appeared a bit drunk. However, he wondered if it was due to the Whiteraven ale she had consumed or because her current state was induced by his advances. ''I guess it''s a bit of both,'' Eren chuckled before bringing his mouth close to Roza''s ear. "That ale is a bit too strong for you. Let me help you take some of the edge off." Eren whispered in Roza''s right ear before yfully biting her earlobe. A moan escaped Roza''s mouth, a result of the painfully sweet sensations. It was as if the receptors of pain had been made to process feelings of pleasure instead. Roza''s originally pale skin turned a bit rosy. She started kissing Eren frantically as if her life depended on it. With her arms and legs wrapped around him, she tried to bring him even closer to her, although they were practically glued to each other. Roza felt Eren''s hands work their magic on her body. He grabbed her neck with his right hand before it moved towards her left breast. He kissed her while fondling her breasts with both hands. Just when she thought she needed to get on top of Eren, he rolled to his left, bringing her on top of him. It was as if he could read her mind and act ordingly. "Ummmm" Roza hummed like a muffled songbird while her lips were sealed by Eren''s. She weed his hands to explore her body, and in return, she started exploring him with her hands. ''Hmm. Let me try the enhanced effects of the strengthened Sin Series Marks,'' Eren thought to himself before deploying one of the Sin Series Domains around him. Mark of the Seven Sins: Greater Domain of Lust Under the tempering of the Virtue Series Marks, Eren had finally managed to get a Greater Domain of Lust. This Greater Domain of Lust was stronger than before and also carried his Authority as God Aleph''s legitimate sessor. Eren didn''t need to make Roza even more turned on than she already was, so he refrained from releasing the Mist of Lust in the demonic domain. However, there were other ways the Greater Domain of Lust could be used. He decided to strengthen Roza as his subordinate using the deployment of the Greater Domain he had initiated. Under the effects of the bright moonlight, Eren could see Roza''s expressions clearly. It was as if she filled his vision with her presence alone as she got on top of him and adjusted herself on his crotch. She felt Eren''s bulge in his pants and started pressing her ass against it. Licking his neck, she inhaled his scent, bing even more immersed in the act. Roza remembered how Eren had told her that she needed to wait before they could get close to each other. At that time, she had felt a bit downcast. However, tonight, she felt that the wait Eren had asked from her was worth it. "You you finally recognized me," Roza mumbled, breathing heavily. With a flick of her fingers, she made Eren''s tunic vanish into thin air, exposing his bare torso. With another thought, she created an ice tform so that she and Eren would be separated from the sand. Although she didn''t mind the sand, her aggressive approach was causing Eren to sink deeper into it, which she didn''t like. A part of her brain, probably the drunk part, made her think that he might escape from her clutches if he sank in the sand any deeper. Thus, she decided to seal Eren''s Sand Escape route, a scenario her subconscious mind had imagined on its own. Chapter 1862 Lust-mana-driven Technique Obtained from Darkmoon Fellowship* Chapter 1862 Lust-mana-driven Technique Obtained from Darkmoon Fellowship* ''Hm. I never thought a quiet girl like her would be this aggressive.'' Eren thought to himself as he weed Roza''s advances. He could guess that he had made her wait for too long, resulting in her penting up all of her desires. When she suddenly found an outlet for those pent-up emotions, Roza lost all of the inhibitions she had been forced to cultivate. Eren could only me himself for Roza''s seemingly insatiable hunger. While responding to Roza''s smooches and roaming his hands all over her body, Eren took out a Yantra from his Inventory and threw it to his left. The Yantra, in the form of a metal-like golden lotus,nded a few meters away from him, immediately activated by Eren''s potent mana. This was the Yantra Eren had obtained from Jolly Jalen. It represented a fusion of all the expertise the Darkmoon Fellowship had gained over many years of study. Shaai Sena had used a variant of this technique on Jolly Jalen at the time of their first intimate encounter. Jolly Jalen was allowed to look through the cult''s experiences and Skills after he was married to Shaai, giving him the same authority as the elder of the cult. Eren received this technique from Jolly through the use of the Mesh, using a private channel avable only to him and his other pseudo-avatars. Roza was surprised by Eren''s move. She was about to ask Eren about the Yantra that had been activated a few meters away from her. However, he provided her with the exnation before she could even ask. "This technique will help you grow," Eren said as he snapped his fingers, making her floral pattern blouse and linen-like dress disappear into thin air. He even got rid of her undergarments, exposing her body to the elements. He then spread her legs apart, feeling her wet vagina with his fingers. "Wow. We haven''t even started, and you are already halfway there," Eren smiled at Roza as hemented. "I can''t help it," Roza said, her face reddening. "I haven''t been able to relieve myself properly for the past few days." "If you''re already this wet, then there is no need for forey," Eren said, smiling. "Start reciting this Mantra in your mind," he continued, touching her forehead with his index finger. Using his bloodline ability in reverse, Eren sent Roza the intricacies of the Lust-mana-driven technique he had obtained from the Darkmoon Fellowship. Roza was surprised by theplexities of the technique. She had never tried something like this. However, that didn''t stop her from following Eren''s directions. Closing her eyes, Roza began reciting the Mantra in her head. In the next moment, she felt Eren''s arm pulling her closer to him in an embrace. Then, she felt something big and stiff enter her wet spot slowly and steadily. Her body trembled with a tingling sensation she had been longing for ever since Eren had stopped his advances on her midway some time ago. Roza''s mind instantly went nk, and her eyes snapped open. "Aaaahh!" She released a blissful moan while looking at Eren with eyes full of passion. "Ummmmmm" Initially, Roza had thought that it would take a few hours for her to feel sexually satiated. However, just a single thrust from Eren had changed her mind entirely. "Aaaah. WhyC why did you stop?" the pale-faced demoness suddenly asked Eren in a voice mixed with invitation and irritation. Eren had stopped his movements down there after his penile entry. And she couldn''t figure out why the man was teasing her so much. "Because you stopped reciting the Mantra, dear," Eren said calmly while feeling the feedback he obtained from the Yantra. "If you stop, then I will also have to stop. Otherwise, the technique might backfire on you," he exined. The Lust-mana-driven technique Eren had obtained from the Darkmoon Fellowship was clearly very powerful. However, it had a few limitations. Eren had experienced these limitations firsthand and even exploited some of them. The reason Eren was confident in performing this technique with Roza was that, as someone with the demon soul fragment of Vepar within her, she waspletely under his control. There was no way for her to replicate something he had done with other witches. Hearing Eren''s words, Roza disyed a bitter smile. However, she took a deep breath and obediently closed her eyes to concentrate on reciting the Mantra she had recently been taught. "Ahhh Aaahhh" Roza began to moan louder with each moment as she felt Eren''s rod filling her wet cave, thrusting in and out. Her moans gradually drowned out the sounds of the distant sea waves. Practicing a Lust-mana-driven technique while experiencing such euphoria was a challenge for Roza. That''s why Eren purposefully lowered the intensity of his thrusts, not only to allow Roza to focus on the technique but also to help her be morefortable with the process. Yet, even when Eren reduced the pleasure Roza felt, she still struggled to maintain her focus on reciting the Mantras and directing her mana throughout her body ordingly. This was especially difficult because her body had been craving satisfaction for so long. In Roza''s mind, this felt more like torture than anything else because she was unable to fully experience the pleasure. If she had known that the Lust-mana-driven technique would impede her ability to satisfy her cravings, Roza might have thrown the golden lotus deep into the churning sea. However, despite herints, Roza still felt blissful knowing that her body would finally experience some relief after so many days of frustration. Eren began to fondle Roza''s breasts as he maintained a consistent pace while prating her. Her erect pinkish nipples were nibbled by him, further arousing her. As Roza started to be ustomed to the Lust-mana-driven technique, Eren explored her body with his restless hands. She began to bounce on his dick, growing increasingly proficient with the technique. The Lust-mana-driven technique that Eren had obtained from Jolly Jalen wasn''t overlyplicated to practice. However, its limitations arose from one''s ability to maintain focus amidst the waves of pleasure crashing onto their minds, almost driving them mad with the heightened pleasure induced by summoning Lust Mana into their bodies. [ Mark of the Seven Sins: Mist of Lust ] Eren activated one of his Sin Series Abilities to assist Roza in her efforts. Meanwhile, he savored the act without allowing himself to be distracted by the heightened sense of pleasure. Eren had spent a considerable amount of time cultivating his ability to control his emotions. Despite the euphoria induced by the Lust Mana coursing through his body, his inner mind remained calm and focused. Tap. Tap. Tap. It seemed as though the waves of pleasure Roza experienced were synchronized with the sea waves crashing on the nearby shore. She moaned and kissed, bounced and enjoyed her time with Eren while remaining focused on the Lust-mana-driven technique. Although Roza didn''t want to reap any potential benefits from the technique if it came with a significant cost, she also didn''t want to stop. She feared that Eren might lose interest in her if she decided to abandon the technique by ceasing to recite the Mantra. *** Time passed quickly, and before Roza realized it, many hours had psed since the beginning of her intimate session with Eren. The sun was about to emerge from hiding, ready to paint the sea and sky reddish-purple with its morning rays. During this time, Roza had recited the Mantras given to her by Eren numerous times, and her proficiency with the Lust-mana-driven technique greatly improved with each attempt. However, there was one part of the technique that Roza wasn''t able to utilize during these recitations. The final parts of the technique required her to absorb Eren''s essence into her body. However, each time she attempted it, she either felt ufortable or was distracted by the extreme euphoria engulfing her mind. Eren didn''t me Roza for her failures. On the contrary, he felt that she had performed better than he had given her credit for earlier. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Good. You are finally getting the hang of it," Eren remarked, noticing how Roza had be more rxed and calm than when they started. "Recite the Mantra one more time, and it will be thest," Eren instructed Roza, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he fondly caressed her face. Filled with anticipation, Roza began reciting the technique for onest time. An hourter, as Roza neared the end of the technique, Eren said, "This will take you a while to absorb, but make sure you absorb all of it." Suddenly, arge amount of Eren''s essence surged into the demoness'' body like a broken dam. "Aaaaaahhh yes!" Roza eximed in a shocked voice as she felt her vaginal walls expand from the overflowing white liquid, as hot asva. "This This" Roza felt her mana circuits seemingly boil from within, baffled by the quality of Eren''s essence that surpassed even her imagination. Chapter 1863 Rozas S-Rank Breakthrough* Chapter 1863 Roza''s S-Rank Breakthrough* As the surge of Eren''s essence flooded Roza''s body, she was ovee by a mixture of sensations she had never experienced before. Her mana circuits tingled with newfound energy, pulsating with an intensity that made her gasp in surprise. Eren watched closely as Roza reacted to the influx of his essence, his gaze filled with a mixture of satisfaction and curiosity. The Lust-mana-driven technique was really potent, especially when amplified by the Yantra he had used. He had anticipated that the absorption process might be overwhelming for Roza, but he had also trusted her to handle it with grace. As Eren kissed Roza''s bare shoulders, he worked on his strokes, tapping her ass with both hands before squeezing and parting them. At the same time, he rammed his dick deep inside her wet cunt and deposited some more of his load in. Even after the release, Eren''s rod refused to call it quits. He kept jamming it deep inside her before taking it out only to ram it deep inside with even more gusto. "Yessss. Eren! Ooooooh! Yesssss!" Roza dropped the formalities after being fucked so hard by Eren. The decorum she had tried so hard to maintain was put aside by her own hands. One could say that the approaching death and the act of fornication often brought people to higher realms of realizations. Roza didn''t know that some changes were taking ce inside her body as she let Eren change her body and her pleasure spots. Her mana core was revolving rapidly and soaking in the ambient mana. She was also gaining a lot of elemental insights from Eren on a subconscious level, which was slowly getting tempered as her own Elemental Attainments under the effects of the Mantra she was chanting. After her initial struggles, Roza didn''t have to struggle as much to keep the Lust-mana-driven technique active. It had be second nature to her, while a major part of her consciousness was vested in concentrating on the act. Eren''s load was getting absorbed by Roza''s body. However, it didn''t remain in the fallopian tube. It was converted into pure ethereal essence under the effects of the Darkmoon Fellowship''s Technique, making her stronger by the second. Roza''s progress as a Practitioner was rapid due to the demon soul fragment of Vepar residing within her. However, even someone like her could have never imagined that she would be gaining so much, progressing by leaps and bounds in her Path as an Elementalist. Roza''s breaths came in quick, shallow gasps as she struggled to contain the overwhelming sensations coursing through her. Her body trembled with the sheer intensity of the experience, her mind reeling from the flood of energy. But amidst the chaos, Roza''s determination remained unwavering. With a deep breath, she focused her thoughts and directed her mana circuits to absorb and integrate Eren''s essence into her being. Even after the multiple releases, Eren and Roza didn''t feel like changing their positions. Under the effects of the Lust-mana-driven technique, no matter which position they were in, the effects of the technique on both of them would be equally potent. As such, neither Eren made any efforts to change his position nor did Roza encourage him to do so. They didn''t have to. Instead of changing positions to enhance their lust and pleasure, they both had chosen to increase their individual level of receptivity from the act. Both Eren and Roza felt liberated by how well they could control their highs and lows and how both could give them a mixture of respite and rev they wanted intermittently. As Roza rode on his pulsating cock, Eren kept squeezing her mushy butt gently but firmly, which almost instantly had Roza moaning into his mouth. Grimdawn took his lips off her and attacked her neck, and judging from how Roza let out a gasp with her face raised towards the ceiling, she liked it. As he peppered her neck, chin, earlobes, and cheeks with kisses, all eliciting moans from the demoness'' lips, Eren rubbed his right middle finger against her puckered anal canal before forcing an entry all of a sudden. With his other hand, Eren grabbed Roza''s ample tits to squeeze while his lips reimed hers. "Aaaaaaah." Feeling her breast in Eren''s hand and her anal entrance getting invaded, Roza moaned into their kiss and redoubled her grip around him. Eren pulled his lips away from hers and smiled. ''I think I think she is going to get promoted to the S-Rank soon.'' Eren had a thought as he kept tabs on Roza''s condition. He could have never imagined that the technique he had obtained from Jolly Jalen was so potent and rapid in its result delivery that it would make someone like Roza blur the boundary between what was possible and impossible to be done in a day. Unbeknownst to Eren, it was not the technique that was solely responsible for Roza''s quick growth. It was the one who initiated the technique on her that made her make such rapid progress. Under the effects of the Rootless Tantra and the constant Elemental Attainments as well as experiences he received from his pseudo-avatars, Eren had really be the Lord of the Elements. The Elemental Attainments and Weapon Comprehensions he had gained were deeper than even the most regr of S-Ranked entities. If Eren didn''t have such a wide Path as a Ranker, he would have been promoted to the S-Rank a long ago. However, his wide Path as well as his divergent experiences were the very reason Roza had progressed so much in just a few hours. It also helped that Roza had a demon soul fragment of an Immortal demon within her. She was used to handling the infernal energies almost all her life. As such, she wasn''tpletely taken off guard when Eren injected her body with a particr kind of the infernal energy and asked her to harness it with the technique''s help. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Yessssss. Fuck Fuck me Harder Harder. Right. aaaaaaah" Even before Roza finished her sentence, Eren grabbed her neck and made her choke a bit before quickly releasing it. Under the effects of the technique, the demoness was fragile as a paper. Any of Eren''s vigorous actions, if he was a bit off with his strength regtion, could end up taking her life. However, Roza didn''t care about the minute details or about her safety. She trusted Erenpletely and just enjoyed the ride, literally and metaphorically speaking. Tap. Tap. Tap. The sounds of flesh meeting flesh resounded. Eren''s pacing quickened once again. He had lost count of how many times he had deposited his load inside her. The demoness was also in the same boat. All of a sudden, Roza sat straight while Eren''s dick was still lodged deep inside her. She ced her hands on his chest as support and decided to take control of her own pleasure. Showcasing impressive strength and control, Roza started riding his dick with new vigour, squeezing the little guy with her vaginal walls. Eren pped Roza''s ass and breached her anal entrance from time to time, all while being attentive to the little sounds of approval or disapproval that Roza made. He adjusted all along the way to soothe her, focusing on what worked for her and ignoring what didn''t. He got great results as evidenced by how much strength she was putting into her legs and her arms around him. Speaking of arms, Roza bent a bit forward and grabbed Eren''s head to pull him even harder into her bouncing breasts. Eren enjoyed having his face pressed into the suppleness of her breasts and didn''t even care that it made it difficult for him to control his strokes. As a master of his craft made possible by a dedication to practice he had had in Anfang, Eren could adjust to any difficult positions as long as he knew that what he was doing was making his sexual partner satisfied. The right breast that Eren had not sucked as much was not being neglected, of course. Eren had the nipple between his fingers and squeezed and pinched it however he deemed fit. At some point, the pinching got so intense that Roza took one hand off Eren''s head and ced it over his hand to squeeze her breast along with him. Her pale flesh reddened, instantly gaining a blood-red color because of the act, which could only be called self-abuse. "Oh yes-- Damn, my my liege you so natural. Uuuuuuwhaaaaah!" Roza''s back arched while she spewed abination ofpliments and moans as Eren''s hands, mouth, and dick did their thing. With one of Roza''s hands off his head, Eren was able to lift himself out of the suppleness of her left breast and finally switch the attention of his mouth to her right breast. While arousing Roza through multiple fronts he had opened up, Eren reached his other hand down towards her crotch. Roza felt Eren''s hand trailing down, and she constantly anticipated what she knew was about to happen. She even thrust her hips up a few times while she spread her legs to give Eren the easiest ess. Instead of going up and down, Roza changed her tactics and started grinding while spreading her legs apart in a squatting position. She weed Eren''s touch on her wet cunt even when his dick was being squeezed inside her. Even before Eren''s fingers reached their target, he felt the wetness the demoness had been leaking, and that slippery goodness practically led him to where he wanted to go. The moment he touched her clit, Roza''s legs came together, and had Eren''s body not been between them, they would have mped tightly like an oyster closing its shell to protect itself from the approaching enemy. Eren''s ever-so-restless fingers touching her puffed-up pink button sent a thrill all over Roza''s body, and it took all she had not to climax once again right there and then. At that moment, the sea winds began to carry an unusual chill, stirring the mana in the surrounding area. The entire region seemed to be undergoing a transformation. ''Roza''s Cmity... it''s almost upon us.'' Grimdawn mused to himself with a smile. He found it somewhat amusing that despite aiding the demoness in achieving her breakthrough to the S-Rank, he still remained in a lower rank than her. Chapter 1864 Eminence Roza Chapter 1864 Eminence Roza As the dawn approached behind Siren''s Sanctuary, the tranquil beach was poised for a profound transformation. The first light of the sun had just begun to paint the sky with delicate hues, casting a serene glow over thendscape. However, this peaceful scene was soon disrupted as Roza embarked on her Path Ordeal, triggering a tumultuous disy of elemental chaos. Gray clouds gathered swiftly overhead, obscuring the emerging sunlight and plunging the region into a shadowy twilight once more. Howling winds swept across the beach, stirring up sand and creating a charged atmosphere. Lightning crackled ominously in the distance, illuminating the darkened sky with shes of electric blue. The sea roared with ferocity, its waves crashing violently against the shore, adding to the cacophony of elemental fury. Eren had already extended his Soul Sense, lulling the entire poption of Sunhaven into a deep slumber. With most of Sunhaven''s inhabitants being mortal, and even a few Practitioners not surpassing the E-Rank, it didn''t require much effort to ensure their uninterrupted rest. He merely encouraged them to embrace their sleep a bit more tightly. Furthermore, Eren had deployed his team of resident fiends to safeguard the entire region. He was determined to prevent Roza from encountering any unexpected threats posed by lurking demonic entities. Given her exposed aura as the carrier of an Immortal demon''s soul fragment during her Path Ordeal, she could easily be a target for malevolent forces seeking to exploit her vulnerability. Eren''s vignce also stemmed from his desire to maintain his cover. While inducing a forced slumber among the mortals might cause some initial panic, it could be exined and managed with the right methods and strategies. However, the spectacle of witnessing the Path Ordeal of an S-Ranked entity firsthand would likely instill profound fear in the mortals. The psychological impact of such an event could prove challenging to mitigate, even for Eren''s abilities, potentially jeopardizing his efforts to manipte their perceptions. Amidst this tempestuous backdrop, the manifestation of ice element mana began to exert its influence, spreading its chilling touch across the sea and the beach. Strange formations of frost and ice appeared on the sand, as if summoned forth by some unseen force. Snowkes materialized out of thin air, swirling around Roza in a mesmerizing dance, further intensifying the frigid atmosphere. As Roza''s ice element powers surged forth during her Path Ordeal, a profound change swept across the sea and its inhabitants. The once serene waters now churned with an ominous energy, as the life force of the sea creatures, beasts in the region, and birds soaring above the waves was inexorably drawn into the icy embrace of Roza''s power. Sea creatures, from the smallest fish to the mightiest leviathans, found their vitality drained upon contact with the snow and snowkes that descended from the sky. Beasts that roamed the shores fell silent and motionless as the icy tendrils of Roza''s element reached out to im their life force. Even the birds, normally graceful in their flight, plummeted from the sky as the life energy within them was sapped away. *** "Life force extraction! She really is a demoness." Eren chuckled as he observed the changes in the region. He took out a Sativa Stick and lit it, indulging in the relief offered by the smoke as he became a silent spectator of Roza''s S-Rank breakthrough event. Eren had to admit that Roza''s breakthrough as an Elementalist was a bit different from a Ranker''s Cmity. It focused more on one''s Elemental Attainments than anything else. That being said, Eren felt that the Path Ordeal observed by the Practitioners across varying Paths more or less had the same level of difficulty. It was just that the World Will of Labh Salem seemed a bit more amodating to the S-Rank existence than the World Will of Anfang. "I guess it''s good that I''ll not be going through my Cmity in Anfang. The World Will of my homeworld might try to take back everything it had given me in one nice swoop if I were to go through my Cmity there." Eren said to himself and smiled. He liked where he hade from, but that didn''t mean he would risk his life by achieving a breakthrough there. Eren remembered Goddess Great Mother''s words about how the Path Ordeal, initiated by the A-Ranker''s breakthrough into the S-Rank, also had a way of tempering their physical forms and souls. What was considered a curse for the Practitioners could also be taken as the biggest blessing they could ever receive from the World Will of Labh Salem, if and when they survived the Path Ordeal. The butcher was certain that his Ranker''s Cmity might be the most dangerous event for him as well as for those unlucky enough to be around him at the time of the breakthrough event. Therefore, he wanted his chances of achieving a breakthrough to improve by leaps and bounds before he even thought about triggering the Cmity of his own volition. A world like Labh Salem, where the existence of S-Plus Practitioners had been authenticated by the World Will, was certainly the best choice for Eren. If he had stayed in Anfang, the restrictions ced by the world, along with the inherent difficulty of his broad Path, would have certainly made it very difficult for Eren to achieve his S-Rank breakthrough, if not downright impossible. Eren was also learning a lot as he watched Roza''s breakthrough. Certain ideas started forming in his head as he watched how the Practitioners of Labh Salem went through their Path Ordeal. He had maintained a sufficient distance from Roza, silently watching her from afar as she tried to stabilize her breakthrough initiated by him. *** With each life force absorbed, Roza felt herself growing stronger, her resolve bolstered by the newfound power coursing through her veins. Yet, the path to S-Rank was fraught with peril, and Roza''s struggles were far from over. As she faced the icy winds generated by the Labh Salem''s World Will, Roza battled against the biting cold that threatened to freeze her to her core. The frigid gusts tore at her flesh, leaving her bloody and battered, with frostbite marring her skin and ruptured wounds dotting her form. Yet, with unwavering determination, Roza pressed on, drawing upon the life force she had absorbed to mend her injuries and steel herself against the relentless assault of the elements. Her demonic nature was out on the disy. Her form surrounded by the infernal energy she had harnessed from years of her experience as a demonic Practitioner. Thanks to the newly gained Elemental Attainments given to her by Eren, she felt confident that she could pass the ordeal she had been given. Each gust of wind brought with it a new challenge, but Roza met them head-on, refusing to yield to the forces that sought to break her. And then, as Roza stood battered but unbroken, a bolt of white lightning streaked across the sky, carrying with it the Elemental Attainments of ice mana. With a deafening crack, the lightning struck Roza, sending searing pain coursing through her body. "Aaaaaah!" Roza screamed. However, Eren didn''t do anything to help her. Doing so would have worsened the difficulty of the Ordeal. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Thankfully, Roza herself hadn''t given up. Even as she faltered, the sea itself seemed to react to her struggle. The waves surged and roared, as if echoing Roza''s determination to ovee her Path Ordeal and ascend to the ranks of the S-Ranked Elementalists. Drawing upon her skills as an Elementalist, she called forth her mastery over the elements, channeling the power of ice and water to withstand the onught of the tribtion. With swift movements and precise control of her mana, Roza created protective barriers of ice to shield herself from the raging winds and lightning strikes. She manipted the water in the air and the sea, directing powerful currents to stabilize the quaking ground beneath her feet. As the intensity of the ordeal reached its peak, Roza delved deeper into her elemental affinity, tapping into the primal forces of ice and water with unwavering determination. With each passing moment, she grew stronger, her connection to the elements deepening as she faced the challenges of her Path Ordeal head-on. The Path Ordealsted for about half an hour. Through sheer force of will, Roza endured, channeling the power of her ice element to weather the storm and emerge victorious. As thest echoes of the Path Ordeal faded away, Roza stood tall, her icy gaze reflecting the indomitable spirit that had carried her through the trial, ready to embrace her new status as an S-Ranked ElementalistC an Eminence. Eminence was an honor reserved for the Elementalist who had achieved the S-Rank, just like the honor of Sage was given to Rankers after they sessfully overcame their Cmity. Roza''s bloody and beaten form started healing as she stabilized her breakthrough into the S-Rank. She felt as if she had been born anew with this breakthrough. She also had a lot of insights swirling inside her mind that she needed to digest. It was as if someone had whispered the secrets of the universe directly into her ears, and she needed to repeat those words in her head repetitively if she wanted to learn what her new Rank could allow her to do and to what extent. As the sky started to clear up and the signs of the Path Ordeal started to fade into nothingness, Eren appeared beside Roza within a blink of an eye and took her in his embrace. "Congrattions," he said as he wrapped her naked form in a sophisticated gothic gray dress with a flick of his fingers. "Thank you, my liege," Roza was all smiles as she hugged Eren. She inhaled his scent and tried to record it in her mind as well so that it would be a part of her along with the new insights she had gained. Eren didn''t consider Argo to be his subordinate. He was more like the little brother he never had. More or less the same was the case with Reen as well. As such, Roza could be considered as the first true S-Rank subordinate Eren ever had. In the backdrop of the restless era that was soon about to begin, he felt that this breakthrough couldn''t have arrived at a better time. In fact, now that Roza''s breakthrough had been so sessful, Eren decided to repeat the process for Kayara as well. After all, the more powerful subordinates he had, the better it would be for him and his ns in the future. Chapter 1865 Shaynak Tower Chapter 1865 Shaynak Tower Shaynak Top 100 represented a timelesspetition among Practitioners from every Path across Labh Salem. At its heart stood Shaynak, a towering magical structureprising 100 floors, each ruled by a formidable ceholder serving as a boss to any challenger. Thepetition''s regtions were distinct, ensuring that contestants, regardless of Path or Rank, entered on equal footing. Through mystical enchantments, weaker contenders were empowered while stronger ones were curbed, fostering fair and intense confrontations. Shaynak''s mystical influence extended far beyond mere equality. Its unique environments were tailored to elerate the growth of floor bosses in their Paths, while the tower itself supplied mana-rich resources to enhance their capabilities. This distinctive system allowed floor bosses to rapidly advance, both in strength and wealth, merely by retaining their positions. Participation in the Shaynak Top 100 not only brought honor but also widespread fame. Holders of tower floors were frequently courted by prestigious organizations, their achievementsmanding respect and admiration. Practitioners from all corners flocked to Shaynak, eager to test their skills against the formidable ceholders, knowing that within its wallsy endless battles and boundless opportunities. Moreover, Shaynak Top 100 underwent regr reshuffling based on battle achievements within the tower, ensuring that those who failed to perform or showedckluster results risked being disced. Such regtions ensured thatcency had no ce within Shaynak Tower,pelling all ceholders to continuously strive for excellence. The advent of the Mesh had intensified thepetition within the Shaynak Top 100. Battles between challengers and floor bosses were broadcast live, captivating millions of Menaka''s Blessing users who eagerly bet on their favored contenders. This newfound exposure elevated the fame of the ceholders, each amassing their dedicated fan base. The live broadcast andmentaries, along with active participation from viewers in the form ofments and audio-visual notes, had practically transformed the way viewers and ceholders interacted. Some floor bosses even hosted their channels with exclusive content, utilizing them to sell any surplus mana-rich resources they acquired from Shaynak Tower. Private and public auctions, along with frequent resource exchange meets, weremon urrences. The floor bosses effectively doubled as merchants and promoters of various stuff that was being sold on the Mesh, their business sess dependent on their performance in Shaynak Tower and exposure to the entire viewer base of Shaynak Top 100. Enduring within the Shaynak Top 100 earned respect and admiration. Those who maintained their positions or ascended in ranks were esteemed, while the top 30 were revered for their exceptional prowess and achievements. As for the top 10? Most of them were S-Plus-ranked entities who already had fame, power, and wealth even before they entered the Shaynak tower. They were an untouchable existence even for the rest of the floor bosses. The relentless pursuit of victory in Shaynak Top 100 epitomized thepetitive spirit of Labh Salem''s Practitioners. Victories led to more rewards, and more rewards ultimately tranted into more victories. Thus, the Shaynak Tower was seen as a shortcut to sess by many Practitioners. Despite the inherent risks, the chance to make it big and be the star of the masses led many to throw caution to the wind and stake everything for a shot at bing a floor boss. Technically, there were no restrictions on the rank of the Practitioners. However, after numerous low-ranking individuals perished chasing unrealistic dreams, it became widely believed that anyone below the B-Rank was merely throwing their lives away by entering the Shaynak Tower. *** As for what Shaynak Tower was? This architectural wonder loomed over Labh Salem like a colossal sentinel, its towering spire reaching toward the heavens. Enshrouded in an aura of ancient magic, the tower stood as a testament to the power and prestige of Shaynak Top 100. Its structure,posed of iridescent stone and adorned with intricate runes, seemed to pulse with energy, resonating with the fierce battles that raged within. The tower''s interior was abyrinth of winding corridors and expansive chambers, each floor presenting a unique challenge to those who dared to ascend. One could say that each floor was a world of its own. From the lower levels, where verdant forests thrived and mythical creatures roamed, to the upper echelons, where tempestuous storms raged and elemental forces shed, Shaynak Tower offered a diverse array of environments to test the skills of its contenders. At the heart of Shaynak Towery the coveted Top 100 floors, each governed by a formidable ceholder known for their mastery of their respective Paths. These ceholders, revered as champions, stood as living embodiments of Shaynak''s relentless pursuit of battle and glory. Challengers from all corners of Labh Salem vied for the opportunity to test their skills against the legendary floor bosses, each hoping to carve out their own legacy within the tower''s hallowed halls. There was no scope for cheating or treachery. The tower had its own consciousness that judged the performance of participants and graded the results based on fair rules. The rules of engagement within the Shaynak Top 100 were strict yet fair. Magical enchantments cast by the tower ensured that contestants faced off on equal footing, regardless of their Path or Rank. This level ying field heightened the intensity of the battles, pushing contenders to their limits in pursuit of victory. Beyond the physical challenges posed by the tower''s treacherous terrain, Shaynak Top 100 also demanded mental fortitude and strategic prowess. Contestants had to navigate intricate puzzles, decipher riddles, and outmaneuver cunning opponents to emerge triumphant. The arrival of the Mesh had brought a new level of spectacle to the Shaynak Top 100. Battles between challengers and floor bosses were broadcast live to millions of viewers, their fierce shes captivating audiences across Labh Salem. This newfound exposure not only elevated the fame of the ceholders but also fueled thepetitive spirit of thepetition. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om To ascend the ranks of Shaynak Top 100 was to earn the respect and admiration of the masses far and wide. Those who proved themselves worthy of the tower''s challenges were hailed as heroes, their names etched into the annals of Labh Salem''s history for generations toe. Chapter 1866 Ultimate Origin Force Points Farming Chapter 1866 Ultimate Origin Force Points Farming ??In the annals of Labh Salem''s history, there are countless tales of Practitioners who rose from obscurity to fame within Shaynak Top 100. One such legend is that of Aria Pk, a young Elementalist who braved the tower''s trials to im her ce as the floor boss of the 57th level. Aria''s journey began as a humble B-Ranked Maestro, her skills in manipting the elements overshadowed by more experienced Practitioners. But fueled by determination and a thirst for greatness, she entered the Shaynak Top 100, ready to prove herself to the world. Through grit and tenacity, Aria overcame each challenge the tower presented, honing her elemental abilities to perfection. Her victories drew the attention of Labh Salem''s elite, who marveled at her meteoric rise through the ranks. As Aria ascended the floors of Shaynak Tower, she amassed a wealth of mana-rich resources, from rare crystals infused with elemental energy to ancient tomes containing lost Skills of immense power. With each conquest, her fame grew, and her name became synonymous with mastery over the elements. Finally, after countless battles and trials, Aria stood victorious as the floor boss of the 57th level. This was when she had just entered the B-Rank. Her ascension was celebrated across Labh Salem, and Practitioners from far and wide sought her guidance and expertise. But Aria was not the only one to achieve such heights within the Shaynak Top 100. Stories abound of warriors, healers, and sorcerers who dared to test their mettle against the tower''s challenges and emerged triumphant, their names forever etched in the annals of Labh Salem''s greatest heroes. And then. There was Thorn Lofar! Thorne''s journey began in the midst of chaos and strife, as Labh Salem teetered on the brink of conflict. Born into a family of warriors, he was groomed from a young age to excel inbat, honing his skills with sword and shield under the watchful eye of his mentors. When Thorn entered Shaynak''s Top 100, he was already a seasoned Warrior Ranker, feared and respected on the battlefield. But it was within the tower''s walls that he truly came into his own, his martial prowess unmatched as he carved a path through his opponents. With each victory, Thorn''s legend grew, his name whispered in awe by aspiring Practitioners across Labh Salem. But it was his unwavering determination and relentless pursuit of excellence that set him apart from his peers. Lastly, one had to know about Lian NorthC a summoner. Lian North, with his rugged appearance and piercing red eyes, cut a striking figure amidst the chaos of battle. Standing tall and lean, with sharp features and a perpetual furrowed brow, he exuded an air of silent determination that spoke volumes to those who crossed his path. d in worn leather armor adorned with intricate runes and symbols, Lian was considered a seasoned warrior, his movements fluid and precise as he summoned forth his elemental allies to do battle on his behalf. As a summoner, Lian''s Elemental Attainments were exceptional, allowing him to call forth a diverse array of creatures to aid him inbat. From fiery smanders to towering earth elementals, each summoned beast obeyed his everymand with unwavering loyalty, their formidable presence striking fear into the hearts of his opponents. Among Lian''s most famous summoning skills was "Inferno Fury," a devastating ability that called forth a legion of fire sprites to engulf his enemies in a zing inferno. With a simple gesture of his hand, he could unleash a torrent of me that incinerated everything in its path, leaving nothing but ash in its wake. Another of Lian''s renowned skills was "Tidal Surge," which summoned a tidal wave of water to crash down upon his foes with bone-crushing force. With a flick of his wrist, he couldmand the very oceans themselves to rise and swallow his enemies whole, leaving them gasping for breath in its relentless embrace. Despite his fearsome reputation and prodigious skill in battle, Lian remained a humble and stoic figure, preferring to let his actions speak for themselves rather than boast of his aplishments. He was a silent hard worker, dedicating countless hours to honing his craft and perfecting his summoning techniques, all in pursuit of his ultimate goal: to rise to the top of the Shaynak Top 100 and im his rightful ce. And rise he did. Through sheer determination and unwavering resolve, Lian swiftly ascended the ranks of the Shaynak Top 100, his victories earning him the adoration of fans and the respect of his peers. Within a remarkably short period, he had climbed to the coveted rank of the top 60, solidifying his status as one of the most formidable summoners in all of Labh Salem. One had to know that Lian''s rise to fame was recent after being possessed by Eren''s Soul Imprint. Lian was indeed Eren''s pseudo-avatar. This was not all. Lian had found something really unique in the tower, which allowed him to replicate Eren''s Soul Imprints. Although these replicated Soul Imprints couldn''t awaken within their hosts and take control of them, they allowed Eren to allowed him to replicate Eren''s Soul Imprints. Although these replicated Soul Imprints couldn''t awaken within garner the Origin Force Points through them all the same. As for who Eren had selected as his targets for passive farming of the Origin Force Points? They were indeed Thorn Lofar and Aria Pk. *** Now, before proceeding further, it is imperative to know about the ce that enabled Eren to earn so many Origin Force Points. Enter Shaynak City. Renowned as a neutral zone amidst the ever-present tensions between Practitioners of the divine and demonic factions, Shaynak City stood as a beacon of peace and cooperation in a world fraught with conflict. Established thousands of years ago, Shaynak City had flourished into a thriving hub ofmerce, culture, and camaraderie. Its economy thrived on the events unfolding within the confines of Shaynak Tower, the legendary structure that loomed over the city like a guardian of old. Every challenge, every duel, and every triumph within Shaynak Tower reverberated throughout the city, shaping its fortunes and driving its prosperity. The city''s markets bustled with activity as Practitioners from all corners of Labh Salem flocked to its streets, drawn by the allure of fame, fortune, and glory that awaited within the tower''s walls. Merchants peddled their wares, taverns overflowed with patrons, and artisans crafted exquisite treasures, all fueled by the excitement and anticipation of the battles unfolding above. The city''s streets buzzed with energy and excitement, a palpable sense of anticipation hanging in the air like a lingering spell. For aspiring Practitioners, Shaynak City was more than just a ce ofmerce; it was a proving ground, a crucible where legends were forged and destinies decided. Chapter 1867 Aria vs Thorn Chapter 1867 Aria vs Thorn This day. The reshuffle of the Shaynak Top 100 was about to take ce. During this time, the floor bosses were busy either challenging each other or epting the challenges of the outsiders. The Shaynak tower boasted a multitude of floors, each presenting its own unique challenges to those brave enough to venture within. Among these floors, one stood out as particrly enigmatic and awe-inspiring: the Endless Desert. As contenders ascended through the towering spire of the Shaynak Tower, they would eventuallye upon the floor that housed the Endless Desert. Stepping through the threshold, they would find themselves transported to a vast expanse of sand dunes stretching out as far as the eye could see, with no discernible horizon in sight. The sky above was a brilliant azure, unblemished by clouds, and bathed in the eternal light of an unseen sun. Despite the absence of any physical source of heat, the air shimmered with a palpable heat, mirages dancing on the horizon like elusive phantoms. The sands themselves seemed to shift and undte with a life of their own, their golden grains glinting in the sunlight as they were carried by unseen currents. Every step taken upon the desert floor stirred up clouds of fine dust, obscuring vision and creating an eerie sense of istion and disorientation. Despite its seemingly barren appearance, the Endless Desert was teeming with life, albeit of a more elusive nature. Creatures adapted to the harsh conditions of the desert lurked beneath the surface, their presence betrayed only by fleeting glimpses of movement or the faintest of tracks left in the sand. Navigating the Endless Desert was no easy feat, as the shifting sands and treacherous terrain presented constant obstacles to progress. Those who dared to venture within would need to rely on their wits, their skills, and their determination if they hoped to emerge victorious. For those who sought to im mastery over the Endless Desert, the rewards were great indeed. Hidden amidst the shifting sandsy untold treasures and ancient artifacts, waiting to be discovered by those bold enough to seek them out. This day, the Endless Desert was hosting the two powerhouses of the Shaynak tower. It was going to serve as a battlefield between the two floor bosses. *** Aria Pk was the floor boss of the 47th floor on this day. After various ups and downs, she had managed to maintain the hold over the 47th floor for quite some time. With fiery red hair cascading down her back in untamed waves, Aria''s striking features were entuated by piercing sapphire-blue eyes that seemed to gleam with an otherworldly intensity. High cheekbones lent her face an air of regal authority, while a determined set to her jaw hinted at the unwavering resolve thaty beneath her calm exterior. d in a form-fitting attire designed for mobility and agility, Aria''s battle garb was as functional as it was stylish. Atop her shoulders rested the Autumn Cicada Wings artifact, a flimsy sleeveless jacket adorned with intricate patterns reminiscent of delicate insect wings. When activated, the artifact''s intrinsic Skill caused two ethereal wings to spring forth from Aria''s back, their iridescent hues shimmering in the sunlight as they unfurled with majestic grace. In addition to the Autumn Cicada Wings, Aria wore a tiara-like crown upon her brow, its intricate design adorned with precious gemstones that glinted in the light. This artifact served to augment her Elemental Attainments, allowing her to enhance the overall effects of her Skills while conserving mana. Whenever she entered battle, the crown would emit a faint aura of power, imbuing Aria with the strength and resilience needed to endure even the most grueling of conflicts. Despite the formidable arsenal at her disposal, Aria''s demeanor remained calm andposed, her movements fluid and precise as she prepared to face her opponents. With each step, she exuded an aura of quiet confidence, radiating an aura of undeniable authority thatmanded respect from allies and adversaries alike. *** Aria''s opponent was none other than Thorn Lofar. Thorn Lofar was a seasoned Warrior Profession Ranker. He was a formidable sight on the battlefield, his imposing presence matched only by his prowess inbat. Standing tall and broad-shouldered, Thorn possessed a rugged appearance befitting his warrior status. His weathered features spoke of countless battles fought and won, with scars crisscrossing his face and arms serving as testament to his resilience and strength. His piercing blue eyes held a steely determination, their gaze unwavering even in the heat of battle. Adorned in armor forged from the finest materials, Thorn''s attire was both practical and imposing. His breastte bore intricate engravings depicting scenes of battle, while his gauntlets and greaves were adorned with runes of pure power that glowed faintly with inner magic. That''s right. Instead of augmenting his mana or enhancing the effects of his Skills, Thorn had prioritized increasing his body stats to another level. It almost made him a berserker without a berserker profession''s side effects weighing him down. One of Thorn''s most prized artifacts was his A-Rank broadsword, a massive weapon forged from enchanted steel that crackled with elemental energy. This broadsword was not only a formidable weapon in its own right but also served as a conduit for Thorn''s Skills, amplifying their effects and granting him greater control over their execution. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om In addition to his broadsword, Thorn also wielded a set of enchanted gauntlets known as the "Gauntlets of Aquatic Might." These gauntlets allowed Thorn to channel his water-element Skills with greater precision and power, enhancing their effectiveness inbat. Furthermore, Thorn wore a pendant around his neck called the "Amulet of Mana Mastery," which augmented his mana control and maniption abilities. This amulet allowed Thorn to cast his Skills with greater efficiency, minimizing mana wastage and maximizing their impact on the battlefield. This was the only artifact that regted his mana usage. It didn''t affect his Skill casting abilities directly but acted as a perma support. Combined with his natural talent forbat and years of rigorous training, Thorn''s artifacts gave him a significant advantage in battle, allowing him to unleash devastating attacks and ovee even the most formidable opponents with ease. *** "Thorn, why don''t you give me your contribution points willingly? I''ll let you keep the floor resources you have umted till now if you agree to hand over your floor rights willingly," Aria proposed. As she activated the intrinsic Skill of the artifact, two ethereal wings sprouted from Aria''s back, shimmering with elemental energy. Atop her head, a tiara-like crown glinted in the harsh sunlight. "Haah! Fat chance bitch. Let''s just get the battle started already. Our viewers are getting bored to death," Thorn said as he looked at Aria with some disdain. Thorn, his broadsword hovering motionlessly in the air beside him, exuded an aura of quiet confidence. Wielding his weapon with practiced ease, he prepared to unleash his arsenal of water-element Skills upon his opponent. "Tch. Worth a shot. Have it your way then," Aria said and smiled. With a sudden surge of wind, Ariaunched herself into the air, her Wind Elemental Clones swirling into existence around her. Three identical versions of herself materialized, each infused with the power of the elements and ready to do battle. As they soared through the air, they summoned forth swirling gusts of wind to buffet Thorn and obscure his vision. In response, Thorn raised his broadsword high, calling upon the power of Aqua Rend. Multiple water-element flying weapon shes burst forth from the de, hurtling towards Aria and her elemental clones with lethal precision. As they sliced through the air, the alkali effect of the shes began to corrode the surrounding sand, leaving behind a trail of destion in their wake. "This is all you got?" Thorn taunted. Undeterred, Aria and her clones deftly dodged the oing onught, weaving through the air with grace and agility. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned forth a barrage of wind swords and spears, sending them hurtling towards Thorn in a whirlwind of deadly projectiles. "Elementalists and their clones. So predictable," Thornughed out. Thorn remained steadfast, conjuring a Hydro Barrier to shield himself from the onught. The barrier shimmered into existence, deflecting the wind des and absorbing their impact with ease. With a confident smirk, Thorn countered with a Tidal Surge, summoning a towering wave of water to crash down upon Aria and her clones with bone-crushing force. As the wave crashed over them, Aria and her clones struggled to maintain their footing, buffeted by the relentless assault of water. With a determined grit, they rallied their strength, channeling the power of the wind to create a protective barrier around themselves. The battle raged on, eachbatant unleashing their most powerful Skills in a desperate bid for victory. Aria''s Wind Elemental Clones shed with Thorn''s Aqua Rend, the sh of elements sending shockwaves rippling through the desert sands. But as the battle wore on, Aria began to realize the true extent of Thorn''s resilience. Despite her best efforts, his low mana expenditure allowed him to endure her onught with ease, his defenses holding strong against her relentless assault. There was a live crowd watching the battle between these two floor bosses from a distance. This live crowd was protected by the tower''s arrangements. The spectators were able to see the battle as if they were right there, thanks to the perception-pulling mechanism of the tower. Unbeknownst to the spectators and the two opponents, there was another floor boss mixed with the crowd of live spectators. This floor boss was none other than Lian NorthC one of Eren''s pseudo-avatars. At this point, he had a headache to solve. No matter who won in the end, Lian knew that he was going to lose because of losing a passive source of Origin Force Points ie. After all, both Aria and Thorn had been selected as his summoned beings by Lian. If they lose and leave the Shaynak tower, the effect that he had cast on them would disappear and he''d lose a source that was earning him big Origin Force Points. ''I guess I gotta stop them from defeating one another,'' Lian scrunched his nose as he thought to himself. He wasn''t sure how he could intervene in the battle with the tower''s consciousness acting as the invigtor. However, he needed to act fast before one of them was kicked out of the tower. Chapter 1868 Lians Intervention Chapter 1868 Lian''s Intervention With a sinking feeling in her heart, Aria knew that she couldn''t keep up the fight much longer. Thorn''s stamina far outmatched her own, and if the battle continued, he would emerge victorious by default. She realized that perhaps that might be what he was counting onC to oust her in the battle. Gritting her teeth, Aria made a split-second decision. With a surge of determination, she unleashed her most powerful wind-element Skills, pouring every ounce of her remaining strength into one final, desperate assault. The desert air crackled with elemental energy as Aria and Thorn shed once more, their Skills colliding in a dazzling disy of power and prowess. But as the dust settled and the echoes of battle faded away, it was Thorn who stood triumphant, his broadsword raised high in victory. After the intense battle between Aria and Thorn concluded, both practitioners were left standing on the sandy terrain, their forms bloodied and battered from the relentless exchange of blows. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Aria''s once pristine Elemental Attire was now torn, bearing the marks of Thorn''s powerful water-based attacks. Her Autumn Cicada Wings, once fluttering gracefully, were now frayed and damaged, the intricate mechanisms strained from the strain of augmenting her elemental abilities. Thorn, too, bore the scars of battle, his sturdy warrior''s armor now dented and cracked from Aria''s fierce wind-element assaults. His broadsword, a symbol of his prowess as a warrior, was chipped and worn from the countless shes with Aria''s elemental clones. The alkali-infused water shes he had unleashed had taken a toll on his weapon, leaving it in need of repair. Despite the damage to their artifacts and the toll on their physical forms, both Aria and Thorn stood tall, their eyes aze with determination and pride. Though the battle had left them bruised and weary, they had proven themselves worthy of their titles as floor bosses in the Shaynak Tower. This was what it meant to be the floor bosses of the Shaynak tower. Though Aria had fought valiantly, it was Thorn''s unwavering endurance that ultimately secured his ce as the victor of the battle. As he surveyed the aftermath of the confrontation, a sense of satisfaction washed over him, knowing that he had emerged victorious against one of Shaynak Tower''s most formidable opponents. "Well fought, Aria Pk," Thornmented with a dignified expression as he looked at Aria''s form. He wiped the sweat off his brow and steadied his breath before taking out a palm-sized, silver-like token with the number 49th written on it. This token represented Thorn''s authority over the 49th floor. Thorn, as the floor boss of the 49th floor, had challenged Aria Pk, who held the position of floor boss on the 47th floor. After emerging victorious in the battle, Thorn would have the opportunity to exchange his authority rights with Aria, granting her ess to the 49th floor while he assumed control over her floor. Upon taking over the 47th floor, Aria would have a week to prepare herself. However, after this buffer period, her floor could be challenged by outsiders and other floor bosses who ranked below her. Defending her position as a floor boss would prove to be nearly impossible after the week psed. Consequently, Aria would be ousted from the tower, making way for a more deserving sessor to im the role of floor boss on the 49th floor. While Thorn could choose to maintain authority over both floors simultaneously and immediately banish Aria from the tower, such a decision would not be advantageous for him. Assuming control over two floors would entail engaging in battles to assert ownership over both territories. No sensible floor boss would opt for this course of action, regardless of the allure of increased power and influence. Defending a floor was no easy task. Both Aria and Thorn had invested heavily in this battle for their survival. From the artifacts they wore to the limited-time Skills they had unleashed using borrowed might, they had expended their umted wealth just to endure in the tower. All of this effort was aimed at umting more and progressing further in their respective Paths. However, the question remained: how could they sustain such expenditures and the tremendous effort required to defend more than one floor? It seemed next to impossible. "I hope you manage to survive after the week''s buffer period ends," Thorn said to Aria before raising his left hand. He had opted for the safe option, choosing to exchange floor rights with her. As Thorn raised his hand, a simr floor authority token was summoned from Aria''s Inventory on its own. This was the special privilege of the victor in the official match between the two floor bosses. The victor didn''t even need to say anything to the defeated party; they could simply seize the authority of the vanquished floor boss or expel them outright. Aria bit her lip in frustration as she watched her floor authority token being summoned before her by Thorn''s will. She was clearly displeased with the oue of the match, but she was powerless to change it. All she could do was watch as the token flew from her grasp. It was on the verge ofnding in Thorn''s outstretched hand when something unexpected urred: another floor boss appeared on the scene. Lian had taken advantage of the buffer time given to Aria to intervene in the battle between the two floor bosses. Though he couldn''t alter the oue of the battle, nor could he harm the floor bosses under the constant vignce of the Shaynak tower, he could certainly dissuade Thorn from taking the final step. Lian was certain that if he allowed Thorn to swap his floor rights with Aria, the Elemental woman would inevitably be ousted from the tower in the subsequent battles. Having already paid a steep price in her sh with Thorn, there was no way she could be physically fit or financially capable of surviving her next battle to retain her status as a floor boss. Lian hoped that both Thorn and Aria could remain in the Shaynak tower for as long as he was there. If either of them were to leave, his n to farm Origin Force Points through them would be severely hindered, if notpletely derailed. *** "Thorn, my friend, how about you listen to my proposal before exchanging floor rights with Miss Aria?" Lian interjected, appearing suddenly between Thorn and Aria. He nodded in a friendly manner at Aria before fixing his gaze on Thorn. "Ah, Lian North, floor boss of the 43rd floor. What brings you here?" Thorn''s expression turned solemn as he recognized Lian''s presence. He didn''t dare act arrogantly in front of a rising star of the Shaynak tower like Lian North. Just as his surname suggested, Lian only knew how to ascend. Thorn didn''t believe Lian hade to challenge him or Aria. After all, he held higher floor rights than both of them. There was practically nothing for him to gain by challenging them. Although the numerical difference between the 43rd, 47th, and 49th floors was minor, it represented a significant disparity in the talents of their respective floor bosses. Improving one''s rank within a decade was considered a monumental achievement. Thorn''s victory over Aria, who held the rights to the 47th floor, was indeed a substantial feat. Neither Thorn nor Aria made any hasty moves. They quickly surmised that Lian had observed their battles by participating as an ordinary viewer on the floor. Otherwise, given his current rank, the tower would have alerted them in advance to the presence of someone of Lian''s caliber watching their battle. "What proposal?" Thorn inquired cautiously, clutching onto his floor authority token. With a wave of his hand, he directed his flying sword to descend, and he followed suit. Seeing this, the other two floor bosses also descended. By now, the live feed of the battle had ceased, as both floor bosses decided to halt their streams. It was apparent that Lian had something important to convey, and they both wished to hear him out before making any judgments. "Lian''s proposal is simple: ally with me so that all three of us can ascend to the top 10 of the Shaynak Top 100 list," Lian exined, his tone resolute as the trio gathered together. Aria and Thorn exchanged puzzled nces before directing their attention back to Lian. "What do you mean?" they inquired simultaneously. "It means we''ll support each other and pool our resources to elevate all three of us to higher floor rights," Lian borated patiently. "Our initial goal will be to break into the Shaynak Top 30 list. I know it might sound crazy, and perhaps it is, but hear me out for a moment," he continued. === AN: The 11th volume of VEH, titled Beyond the Veil, is nearing its conclusion, with only 3 or 4 chapters remaining. Or we might just wrap things up by releasing one big chapter. Excitingly, the 12th volume, titled "Sage of the Seven Paths," is set to begin next month. (I hope you catch my drift ;)) Tbh, the process of writing this volume has been quite draining. However, we''re looking forward to a more enjoyable experience with the uing 12th volume, given the exciting events we have nned within the story. I may take a day or two off to recharge my batteries over the weekend. As such, new chapters of VEH will either be posted on the 31st of this month or at the beginning of the next month. In the meantime, I invite you to explore my new book, "A Farmer''s Journey to Immortality". It''s an Eastern Fantasy novel that may not cater to everyone''s tastes, but I encourage you to read the free chapters before forming an opinion. That''s all for now. Wishing you a blessed Friday. Also, Happy Easter in advance :) Chapter 1869 Promoting Self Owned Skills & Unlocking New Blessing Templates Chapter 1869 Promoting Self Owned Skills & Unlocking New Blessing Temtes Lian North sessfully formed a team with Aria and Thorn, pooling their resources to challenge higher-level floor bosses. Naturally, the trio ensured they took appropriate breaks to replenish their resources, making optimal use of the buffer time provided by the Shaynak Tower to train and strategize. Eren refrained from taking over Lian''s body for the most part, instead conveying his ideas and allowing Lian to execute them to the best of his abilities. Eren understood that direct control of his pseudo-avatars wasn''t always the best choice, sometimes requiring trust in their abilities. With Lian''spetence as a Summoner and strategist, Eren had little cause for concern regarding the management of matters rted to the Shaynak tower. Predictably, Lian North emerged as the top earner of Origin Force Points among all of Eren''s pseudo-avatars. His poprity and consistent victories in the Shaynak Tower propelled him to the forefront, enhanced by Eren''s dormant Soul Imprint within him, imbuing him with a certain edge that garnered admiration and envy from his viewers. Lian''s adversaries began to fear him, and from fear, feelings of anger and other negative emotions arose, further fueling Lian''s ability to earn Origin Force Points through them. As Lian''s deeds became known to the masses of Labh Salem, his poprity soared to new heights. While some may have harbored mixed feelings towards Lian North, they couldn''t ignore him, with many already anticipating his ascent into the Shaynak Top 30 in theing years. For the time being, Lian North avoided direct confrontation with Eliza Samael, another prominent floor boss who had recently risen to fame. Having already secured a ce in the Shaynak Top 30, Eliza, known as the Witch of the Endermes,manded considerable respect among the people of Labh Salem. Consequently,parisons between the seasoned Eliza and the up-anding Lian North werergely avoided. Although Lian could have challenged Eliza to gauge her strength, Eren advised against it, wary that Eliza might quickly draw a connection between him and Lian, potentially revealing Lian''s status as one of Eren''s pseudo-avatars. Despite maintaining a sort of alliance with Eliza, Eren harbored reservations, regarding her more as a pawn with utility rather than a fully trusted ally. As far as Eren was concerned, the timing had to be just right to leverage Eliza to his advantage. *** Lian continued to rise in poprity over time, triumphing over numerous formidable challengers who sought to im the Shaynak Tower by toppling existing floor bosses. With each victory, Lian demonstrated why he deserved to be the floor boss of the Shaynak Tower, defeating opponents with such ease and finesse that their confidence was shattered,pelling them to swiftly depart from Shaynak City after their defeat. Lian''s presence further elevated Eren''s Abominated Divinity in the eyes of the masses. One of his most beneficial endeavors was duplicating Eren''s Soul Imprint and using these duplicates on Aria and Thorn, effectively tripling his earning of Origin Force Points. However, since the Soul Imprints were duplicated, Eren couldn''t directly possess Aria and Thorn. Instead, these duplicated Soul Imprints were treated as fragmented identities of Lian North. Consequently, all the Origin Force Points earned by Aria and Thorn were attributed to Lian. The duplication of the Soul Imprints and their use as passive summons was a one-time perk awarded to Lian by the Shaynak tower after he first became a floor boss. This perk came with various restrictions on its use, prompting Lian to ensure that Aria and Thorn weren''t left behind in the reshuffle of the Shaynak Top 100 list. To achieve this, Lian devised a n to cooperate with Aria and Thorn. Initially hesitant to trust Lian, the duo''s doubts were dispelled by his actions, culminating in his solo takedown of the floor boss of the 41st level, solidifying their alliance. Lian genuinely assisted Aria and Thorn, enabling them not only to survive the annual ranking reshuffle but also to enhance their poprity among the masses. After all, the greater their poprity, the more advantageous it would be for Lian in terms of earning Origin Force Points. *** It''s worth noting that Lian was also the promoter of one of Eren''s Unique Skills, Wind-Fire Shards. Lian used this Skill in nearly every battle broadcasted live on the Mesh, raising awareness among the people of Labh Salem about its existence and avability for purchase on the Mesh. Previously, Wind-Fire Shards provided Eren with passive ie, granting him a significant portion of Menaka''s Runes whenever someone bought it through the Mesh. However, due to its novelty and limited use by renowned individuals, it failed to attract much attention. Everything changed when Lian began incorporating Wind-Fire Shards into his battles. Eren''s Skill Ownership yed a crucial role, enabling him to receive substantial amounts of Menaka''s Runes as more and more Practitioners from across Labh Salem purchased the Skill. Once a certain earnings threshold was surpassed, Menaka''s Blessing allowed Practitioners across Labh Salem to temporarily utilize the Skill at a reduced price, making it more essible to regr Practitioners. Eren was pleased with how Goddess Menaka managed her business. Through Skill Ownership rights, Eren also began requesting rare mana-rich resources as payment for ess to the Wind-Fire Shard Skill. This form of transaction enabled him to umte various resources. Naturally, he ensured that the Mesh received its usual cut, maintaining the Goddess''s continued support for the Skill''s increased profits. Eren capitalized on Lian''s poprity to leverage his Skill Ownership effectively. Suddenly, the Skill became a must-have ability for regr Practitioners. One could argue that Lian was the perfect mascot for his Unique Skill, Unreal Reflection. Eren was tempted to introduce another Unique Skill to the Mesh and reap massive returns. However, he refrained from such a rash decision. The only Unique Skill he could profitably sell to the Mesh was his Ocr Ability C Unreal Reflection. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Eren had provided Unreal Reflection''s downgraded version to followers of the Elder Ichor faction as a Blessing Temte. Sedating Gaze had be the go-to ocr ability for Eren''s followers by this point. Selling this Unique Skill openly to the masses of Labh Salem would have brought him considerable earnings. However, Eren ultimately decided against it. Firstly, selling the Skill openly would strip his followers of the slight advantage they held over their opponents. Secondly, he didn''t want adversaries to prepare against his ocr ability when he used it directly on them. Moreover, the ocr Skill was already associated with the Elder Ichor faction due to Eren''s Blessing Temtes. Therefore, Lian couldn''t promote the Skill without risking revealing his connection to Eren. As the Wind-Fire Skill gained traction and was studied by numerous Practitioners, Eren gained insights into its effects and usage. Practitioners shared their experiences with the Skill on the Mesh, providing Eren with fresh perspectives and reference points for studying his own Skill more deeply. Using his rights as a Skill Owner, Eren requested users to record their experiences with the Skill through various Array Formations. These recorded experiences served as invaluable references for his own study of the Skill. Ultimately, Eren unlocked a new Blessing Temte for himself and his followers C the Wind-Fire Skill. The utilization of pseudo-avatars and Mesh connectivity enabled Eren to maximize his divine powers, stacking his advantages and making significant progress in his Elemental Attainments and Weapon Comprehension. Of course, Eren didn''t use the newly unlocked Blessing Temte right away. After all, his Skill Ownership of the Wind-Fire Skill and the Blessing Temte could be linked by some smart enemies he had in both divine and demonic factions. Eren just needed to wait for a bit longer until the Wind-Fire Skill became amon Skill among the masses of Labh Salem. Once enough time had passed and enough people had made use of the Skill, he could make some changes to the Skill manually and then use it as a Blessing Temte for his followers. Eren''s growth as a Ranker was truly remarkable, especially when he beganbining all the perks gained through his pseudo-avatars and prior arrangements. He yed the long game, prioritizing steady results over overnight sess. His choices were investments that were now paying handsome dividends. In just over five years in Labh Salem, Eren underwent a remarkable transformation in terms of umtion. His explosive growth would astonish his allies from thend of Anfang if they were to witness it. For the Rankers of Anfang, spending centuries stuck in the A-Rank''s major bottlenecks wasmon. To them, advancing from the initial stage of the A-Rank to itsst stage within five years was nothing short of a fantasy. Even by Labh Salem''s standards, Eren''s growth as a Ranker was not only astonishing but also seemingly impossible. It was only now that the butcher began to realize why the other Immortals feared him. They had every reason to be afraid. What would happen when Eren broke into the fabled S-Rank to finally be a Sage? What would happen when he unlocked his Divine Sense? Only time could tell. Chapter 1870 Kalen Eldric Chapter 1870 Kalen Eldric Shinjaka Continent. Labh Salem. The Shinjaka Continent was a sprawlingndmass dominated by the influence of the zodiac pantheon gods. Its diversendscapes ranged from lush forests and towering mountains to vast deserts and serene coastlines. The continent was home to various civilizations and cultures, with the presence of half-blood forces, descendants of the twelve zodiac gods, being particrly prominent. The continent''s strategic location and rich resources made it a focal point for political intrigue and conflict, especially in the ongoing battle against demonic forces encroaching from all sides. In the Shinjaka Continent, the influence of demonic forces was palpable, manifesting through various cults and organizations devoted to the Ars Goetia Demons. Among the most formidable adversaries were the Demon Earls, a coalition of Immortal demonsprising Furfur, Malthus, Raum, and Bifrons. These Demon Earls led their respective demonic cults, spreading chaos and corruption throughout the continent. The cults associated with the Demon Earls operated both within and outside the Shinjaka Continent, their nefarious activities ranging from ndestine rituals to open acts of aggression. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The Demon Earls'' ultimate goal was to undermine the influence of the zodiac pantheon gods and establish dominance over the mortals by spreading their demonic faith. Furfurmanded legions of demonic followers who sought to sow discord and destruction wherever they went. Malthus, a master of deceit and maniption, exerted his influence through subterfuge and ndestine schemes, ensnaring unwitting mortals in his web of lies. Raum, with his dominion over secrets and hidden knowledge, attracted seekers of forbidden demonic Skills to his cult, promising power in exchange for loyalty. Bifrons, the master of necromancy and undeath, raised armies of undead minions to terrorize the living and expand his dark domain. Together, the Demon Earls posed a significant threat to the stability of the Shinjaka Continent, their malevolent presence fueling conflict and strife among civilizations. It was up to organizations like the Zodiac League and the Demon yer Corps to stand against this tide of demonic influence. Despite the challenges it faced, the Shinjaka Continent remained a vibrant and dynamic region, shaped by its unique blend of divine influence and mortal endeavors. *** Shadowed Grove! Deep within the heart of the Shinjaka Continenty a vast, foreboding forest shrouded in darkness and infused with an aura of death. This sinister woond known as the Shadowed Grove, was said to be the domain of Demon Earl Bifrons, the malevolent Demon Earl of necromancy and undeath. The Shadowed Grove was unlike any other forest in the region, its ecosystem twisted and corrupted by the potent death energy that permeated its every inch. The trees, tall and gnarled, seemed to writhe with malevolence, their twisted branches reaching out like skeletal fingers grasping at the sky. The air was thick with the scent of decay, and a sense of foreboding hung heavy in the atmosphere. Within the depths of the Shadowed Grove, the very fabric of life seemed to have been altered, giving rise to grotesque mutations among the flora and fauna that called it home. Strange, otherworldly nts with thorns like daggers and petals like bloodstained silk flourished in the dim light filtering through the dense canopy. The ground was carpeted with a thickyer of decaying vegetation, teeming with writhing maggots and fungal growths that thrived on death and decay. Amidst this macabrendscape, twisted and deformed creatures roamed the shadows, their forms warped by the corrupting influence of Bifrons'' dark magic. Shadowy Grove also had an unusual number of demon beasts. It was clear that someone was purposely conducting demon-summoning rituals periodically before using the vessels of the powerful mana beasts to bind them to the mortal world. Some demon beasts bore the likeness of wolves, their fur mottled and their eyes glowing with an unholy light. Others resembled serpents, their scales ck as night and their fangs dripping with venom. Still, others took on forms so twisted and grotesque that they defied description, their very existence a testament to the horrors that lurked within the Shadowed Grove. Navigating the treacherous depths of the forest was a perilous endeavor, for those who dared to venture too deep risked bing lost forever in itsbyrinthine pathways. Despite its dangers, the Shadowed Grove held a grim allure for those who sought rare mana-rich resources or sought to harness the power of death itself. But for most, especially mortals, it remained a ce of dread and despair, a testament to the dark influence of Demon Earl Bifrons and the horrors that lurked within his domain. *** Steps. Steps. Steps. Slow and deliberate sounds of multiple footsteps were heard. In the heart of the Shadowed Grove, amidst the twisted trees and eerie mist, the Eldric Force moved with purpose. d in their robes of basil green, the six members of the team were a formidable sight as they navigated the treacherous terrain. Leading the group was Kalen Eldric, amanding figure. Kalen was a man who looked to be in histe thirties by mortal standards, his face carved with sharp features. His eyes, a piercing shade of obsidian, seemed to hold the wisdom of ages, while his voluminous ck hair cascaded around his shoulders like a cloak of shadows. With a height measuring more than 2 meters, Kalen stood tall and imposing, his staturemanding respect as he surveyed their surroundings with a keen eye. Adorned in a long robe of deep basil green, embroidered with intricate runes that shimmered withtent power, Kalen moved with the grace of a seasoned warrior. His attire waspleted by dark brown pants that hugged his muscr legs, ck shoes that whispered against the forest floor with each step, and brass-colored arm bracers and shoulder guards that gleamed in the dim light. Around his waist, a dark brown leather belt held various pouches and tools, each carefully arranged for easy ess in the heat of battle. As the leader of the Eldric Force, Kalen carried himself with an air of confidence. His presence alone seemed to bolster their resolve, filling them with the determination to face whatever challengesy ahead. Kalen''s team members had subconsciously noted that Kalen had be even more mysterious after his sudden disappearance a few months back. It seemed as if there was more to him than they were aware of, despite their decades-long coboration. What they didn''t know was the fact that Kalen had been turned into one of Eren''s pseudo-avatars. Chapter 1871 Surrounded by Demon Beasts Chapter 1871 Surrounded by Demon Beasts Kalen Eldric was a promising Ranker from the Shinjaka Continent. He had achieved C-Rank status by the age of 30, and within another 50 years, he ascended to the esteemed rank of B-Ranker. His prowess as a Runemaster greatly contributed to his rapid advancement, culminating in his attainment of Grandmaster status before he reached the age of 200. Regarded as a prodigy in the field of Runemastery, Kalen possessed the ability to craft intricate Array Formations with minimal resources. Whether bolstering his allies with buff-type Formations or incapacitating his foes with debuff-type Formations, Kalen demonstrated unparalleled skill and versatility. Moreover, Kalen utilized his Array Formations to enchant artifacts, imbuing them with extraordinary properties. Weapons enhanced by his weapon-centric Array Formations,posed of intricate Magic Circles etched onto their surfaces, surpassed their usual capabilities. Additionally, Kalen''s enchantments bestowed regr defense gear with performance standardsparable to that of Hex gear. In the early days of his career as a Ranker, Kalen Eldric faced numerous challenges,cking the profound background or resources enjoyed by some of his peers. Undeterred, he embarked on a series of perilous missions, cing himself in constant danger to gather mana-rich resources and advance in his Ranking journey. His missions took him to the far reaches of the Shinjaka Continent, where he explored treacherousndscapes and faced formidable beasts and demonic entities. From battling demon beasts in the depths of the Shadowed Grove to navigating thebyrinthine catbs of ancient ruins, Kalen spared no effort in his quest for power. It was during these missions that Kalen found some interesting legacies. He began to hone his skills as a Runemaster after those explorations into ruins. Drawing upon his innate talent and unwavering determination, he studied ancient texts and experimented with arcane symbols, gradually unlocking the true secrets of Array Formations. As his reputation as a skilled Runemaster grew, Kalen began to attract attention from wealthy patrons and influential organizations. He offered his services as a consultant, providing enchanted artifacts and devising defensive strategies for those willing to pay for his expertise. Kalen soon joined the Zodiac Alliance as a mercenary. It didn''t take long for him to get recognized by the alliance''s administration. It sent him an invitation to officially join them. But Kalen refused, preferring to value his freedom. Nevertheless, Kalen stayed associated with the Zodiac Alliance because of the benefits it offered even as a mercenary. With each sessful mission and lucrative contract, Kalen amassed not only wealth but also a wealth of mana-rich resources. These resources served to fuel his continued growth as a Ranker and Runemaster, propelling him ever closer to his ultimate goal of attaining Grandmaster status. *** Kalen Eldric''s journey to assemble the formidable team known as the Eldric Force was not a hasty decision but a deliberate process, each member chosen with care and consideration. The first member to join his cause was Sariah Frost, a talented elemental mage with a penchant for frost magic. Kalen had encountered Sariah during a mission to investigate a disturbance caused by rogue elemental spirits. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Impressed by her skill and determination, Kalen extended an invitation to Sariah. Next came Roran Stoneheart, a seasoned warrior. Kalen crossed paths with Roran during a skirmish with demonic creatures that had encroached upon a remote vige. Despite the odds stacked against them, Roran fought valiantly alongside Kalen, proving himself to be a formidable ally. Lyra Shadowbane, a skilled assassin with a knack for stealth, was the third to join Kalen''s ranks. Kalen first encountered Lyra while investigating reports of a ndestine demon cult operating within the shadows of the city. Impressed by her resourcefulness and expertise in covert operations, Kalen recognized the value of having someone like Lyra on his team, adept at gathering information and striking from the shadows. Thane Brightshield was the fourth member to join the Eldric Force. Kalen encountered Thane during a mission to defend a remote outpost from a horde of demonic invaders. Moved by Thane''s selflessness in the face of danger, Kalen knew that Thane would make an invaluable addition to the team. Lastly, Kaelen Sunfirepleted the roster of the Eldric Force. Kalen first met Kaelen during a mission to quell a raging inferno that threatened to consume an entire vige. *** How did Kalen get mixed with the demonic entities and was misidentified as one of them? Kalen Eldric''s decision to embark on a covert mission alone was born out of a desire to gather crucial intelligence without endangering the lives of his team members. The man had invested a lot in his team members and didn''t want to endanger their lives by taking a very dangerous mission. However, the benefits offered by the Alliance for the mission were huge. The kind of mana-rich resources it offered to anyone whopleted the said mission might have allowed Kalen to finally break through the bottlenecks of the Grandmaster Ranker and be a true Sage. as such, Kalen didn''t want to miss out on the opportunity either. In the end, Kalen decided to do this particr mission all by himself without letting his team members in on it. The mission was given to all the special-grade mercenaries on a need-to-know basis. As such, these mercenaries could conduct these missions without having to inform the Alliance about it. They just needed to show the proof of the missionpletion to im the rewards. This secrecy was meant to assure safety for all those who decided to take on such missions. On a particr day, Kalen was put to the task. He received information about a ndestine meeting between high-ranking members of a demonic cult and sought to infiltrate their ranks to uncover their nefarious ns. Disguising himself with a cloak of shadows and using his mastery over illusion magic to conceal his identity, Kalen ventured into the heart of enemy territory, navigating the treacherous streets with caution and stealth. His mission required him to blend seamlessly into the shadows, observing his targets from afar and gathering information without alerting suspicion. However, things took a disastrous turn when Kalen''s cover was blown during a botched attempt to eavesdrop on a crucial conversation. Caught off guard and outnumbered, Kalen found himself surrounded by members of the demonic cult. In a desperate bid to escape, Kalen unleashed a barrage of Skills, using every trick in his arsenal to fend off his attackers. But despite his best efforts, he was eventually overwhelmed and subdued. Kalen''s speech and other senses were restricted by the demonic entities. He was then made to change his clothes in order to be offered as a sacrifice in one of the demonic rituals. Just when Kalen thought that his life was over, the base of the demonic cult was attacked by another group of mercenaries working under the Zodiac Alliance. Kalen was coincidentally freed from his restrictions by the demonic entities who were about to sacrifice him. He didn''t understand that he was freed by the demons because he could be misunderstood as one of them. Before he could mount a defense, Kalen was swiftly apprehended by mercenaries and official members of the Zodiac Alliance, who had been monitoring the situation from the shadows. Mistaken for a dangerous demonic operative, Kalen was deemed too great a threat to be allowed to roam free and was promptly imprisoned in a specialized facility designed to contain demonic entities. *** Unbeknownst to Kalen''s team members, Kalen had been mistakenly apprehended by the Zodiac League a few months ago, his true identity remaining undisclosed. He hadn''t even been given the chance to exin that his capture was a stroke of misfortune during a covert operation conducted by the League. Whatpounded Kalen''s predicament was that upon his capture, he was transferred to a specialized prison designed to contain demonic entities. To his dismay, he discovered that the prison''s overseer, Altair Argas, had sold him and several other demonic practitioners to a man named Ren Roman Idril on a distant continent. Before long, Kalen found himself confined in the underground depths of Siren''s Sanctuary. Kalen could only cry in his mind because his paralyzed body was unable to shed tears. A certain Young Demon Emperor named Eren Elijah Idril wasted no time in resuming his demonic experiments upon receiving a fresh batch of "guinea pigs" from Altair. And suddenly, Kalen Eldric''s fate changed for the better. Or worse. Probably worse. Despite the ordeal, Kalen managed to survive the torturous process imposed by Eren, eventually bing one of his pseudo-avatars. With Kalen''s expertise as a Runemaster, Eren bestowed upon the pseudo-avatar some of his own knowledge and Elemental Attainments in the field during the synthesis process. Given Kalen''s safe and convenient identity, Eren dispatched him back to the Shinjaka Continent to resume his role as a practitioner associated with the Zodiac League. Recently, Eren tasked Kalen with a mission to establish contact with Demon Earl Bifrons. After all, Roza had told him about the Demon Earls and their locations after her recent S-Rank breakthrough. Eren decided to make use of the information right away. Kalen deliberately selected this mission through the Zodiac League, utilizing its resources and reputation to carry out his ndestine endeavors. While Kalen''s team members believed he had taken a brief hiatus before returning to lead the Eldric Force, they were unaware that, at this juncture, he was being possessed by Eren''s Soul Imprint. *** Shadowed Grove. Walking beside Kalen was Sariah Frost, a young woman with icy blue eyes and tinum blonde hair that fell in loose waves around her shoulders. Her slender frame belied her strength, and her hands crackled with frost as she summoned her elemental magic to her aid. On the other side of Kalen strode Roran Stoneheart, a burly man with a rugged appearance and a gruff demeanor. His beard was thick and unkempt, and his muscr arms were adorned with intricate tattoos that glowed faintly with elemental power. Bringing up the rear were the remaining members of the team. Lyra Shadowbane, a lithe and agile woman with dark hair and piercing green eyes. Thane Brightshield, a stoic warrior with a sturdy build and a keen sense of duty. Andstly, Kaelen Sunfire, a young fire mage with a fiery temper to match his elemental affinity. For three days, the Eldric Force had scoured the depths of the Shadowed Grove, hunting down demonic entities and undead creatures with ruthless efficiency. But now, as they trudged through the forest once more, their spirits began to wane. "We''ve been at this for days," Lyra muttered, her voice tinged with frustration. "And still, we''ve found nothing but empty woods." Thane nodded in agreement, his expression grim. "It seems that the demon beasts have abandoned this part of the forest. There are no signs of demonic Practitioners either. We were told to hunt more than 20 B-Ranked demonic entities or five A-Ranked entities. But how could we hunt if we don''te across these damned sneaky bastards?" he remarked, his voice tinged with a bit of annoyance and frustration. Kalen nced around at his team, his gaze thoughtful. "Patience, my friends," he said, his voice calm but firm. "Sometimes dangerse your way when you least expect them to. Trust me, I have had my fair share of experience recently," Kalen spoke as he was reminded of the time he had spent in Siren''s Sanctuary''s underground basement. But even as he spoke, a sense of unease settled over the group, a feeling of anticipation mingled with dread. And as they pressed deeper into the heart of the Shadowed Grove, they couldn''t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Suddenly, a low growl echoed through the trees, followed by the sound of snapping branches and rustling leaves. The members of the Eldric Force tensed, their senses on high alert as they prepared for whatever horrors lurked in the darkness. And then, without warning, the forest erupted into chaos as a group of demon beasts descended upon them, their twisted forms and glowing eyes a chilling sight to behold. One had to note that all the three demon beasts were in thete-stage of the A-Rank. As such, they could transform into humanoid forms. The demon beasts'' transformation was closely rted to the vessel of the beast they had upied. It also mattered who the demon soul fragment belonged to. Argo, for example, who was a demon soul fragment belonging to Demon Prince of Gluttony, could always make huge gic and magical mutations to his vessels fueled by the intent-driven demon magic and turn into Demon Fly if he wished. The demon beasts in the Shadowed Grove weren''t that high in the demonic hierarchy. They were somemon demons who had been summoned into the world of Labh Salem before being given the vessels of the mana beasts by the Demon Earl Bifrons. One of the demon beasts who had surrounded the Eldric Force, known as Shadowfang, stood tall and imposing, his form cloaked in dark robes that seemed to meld seamlessly with the shadows around him. His eyes, glowing with an eerie crimson light, betrayed the primal ferocity thaty beneath his calm exterior. Emerging from the darkness with unnerving grace was Venomspine, her lithe figure adorned in sleek, ck armor adorned with toxic ents. Her eyes, shimmering with a malevolent gleam, betrayed her deadly intent as she silently assessed her prey. Descending from the shadowy canopy above was Dreadwing, his imposing figure casting a menacing silhouette against the dim light filtering through the trees. d in armor as dark as the abyss, his eyes burned with an otherworldly fire, hinting at the chaos he was capable of unleashing. Chapter 1872 Eldric Force vs Demon Beasts Chapter 1872 Eldric Force vs Demon Beasts "Split up," Kalen ordered his team members in a stern voice before approaching the nearest demon beast to him. The other members of the Eldric Force didn''t need to be told twice. They were veterans who knew each other''s strengths and weaknesses after battling alongside one another for decades on end. As such, Kalen didn''t need to give them specific orders. They chose the opponents they could handle, grouping together with other members and splitting up, attracting the three demon beasts on their tails. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Before long, three distinct battlefields emerged. *** Kalen decided to take on the Shadoww demon beast all by himself. Now that he was away from his team members, he could use his Array Formations and powers freely without worrying about putting his teammates in harm''s way. "Let me see what you can do, little beast." As Kalen squared off against Shadoww, the air crackled with anticipation. With a steely gaze, he activated his Array Formations, the intricate patterns weaving around him like a protective barrier. Shadoww, sensing the challenge, emitted a guttural growl, its eyes gleaming with malice. Kalen unleashed his first move, invoking [Skill: Domain Mana Amplification]. Energy surged through his veins, empowering his attacks with heightened potency. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a barrage of elemental projectiles. "Kekeke. Human, don''t underestimate me." Shadoww reacted with lightning-fast reflexes, dodging and weaving through the onught. But Kalen was relentless, his attacks raining down like a storm. With each strike, he pushed Shadoww back, inch by inch, refusing to yield an inch of ground. As the battle raged on, Kalen activated [ Skill: Domain Strengthening ], further enhancing his abilities. With newfound strength, he closed the distance between them, engaging Shadoww in a fierce melee. Swords shed, sparks flying as metal met metal in a symphony ofbat. "I sense something really weird from you, human. I must kill you to know more about you." Shadoww spoke as he upped his attacks. He fought ferociously, its ws shing through the air with deadly precision. But Kalen was a master of his craft, his movements fluid and precise. With a swift motion, he countered Shadoww''s strikes, turning its own momentum against it. ''I I guess he is talking about the slumbering Soul Imprint within me. Should Should I let it possess me?'' Kalen thought before rejecting the idea. He didn''t want to depend on Eren''s powers. Doing so would turn him into another Eren that much faster. He still wanted to retain his identity as Kalen even though he had been turned into one of Eren''s pseudo-avatars. ''I I can handle this much on my own.'' Sensing an opportunity, Kalen unleashed his next move, [Skill: Domain Physical Stats Debuff]. Shadoww faltered, its movements slowing as its strength waned. Seizing the advantage, Kalen pressed his assault, striking with renewed vigor. "Human. I''ll fucking kill you." Raaaaaah! But Shadoww was not defeated yet. With a primal roar, it unleashed its own arsenal of attacks, each one more devastating than thest. Kalen gritted his teeth, weathering the onught with steely determination. The scene of the battle soon turned into a purgatory as the A-Ranked mana attacks shed against each other. The very fabric of the space was affected a bit as the two fought, unleashing their respective attacks against each other. As the battle reached its climax, Kalen tapped into his final reserves of mana. With a surge of energy, he unleashed his ultimate technique, [Skill: Red Fire Swords]. des of crimson me erupted from his Array Formations, engulfing Shadoww in a zing inferno. With a final, desperate lunge, Kalen struck true, delivering the decisive blow. What Kalen didn''t know was that when he was at his most desperate, he had subconsciously made use of the aura Eren''s Soul Imprint carried. This instance forced the Shadoww to go on a defensive all of a sudden as a primal fear gripped the little demon. In the end, he was bombarded with Kalen''s attacks. Shadoww staggered, its form wavering before copsing to the ground, defeated. Breathless and weary, Kalen surveyed the aftermath of the battle. His mana reserves were depleted, his body battered and bruised. But he emerged victorious. With a weary sigh, he copsed to his knees, the adrenaline of battle finally beginning to fade. "I I need to check up on my teammates," he thought before setting off in a certain direction. *** As the Bloodfang demon beast and his countless familiars closed in on Lyra, Thane, and Rynn, the once serene atmosphere of the Shadowed Grove was shattered by the cacophony of battle. "Kekekeke. Run, humans, run. This is the territory of our lord, Demon Earl Bifrons. Your puny gods don''t have any control over here." The creatures'' snarls reverberated through the trees, sending shivers down the spines of the Eldric Force members. "Now!" Without a word, the trio sprang into action, their movements a blur of motion amidst the darkness. Lyra, with her agility akin to a wraith, danced through the shadows, her every step calcted to evade the razor-sharp ws of the Bloodfangs. Thane stood like an immovable fortress, his shield raised high as he absorbed blow after blow with unyielding resolve. Rynn, her hands wreathed in mes, unleashed torrents of fire that engulfed the forest in a zing inferno. The battle unfolded with a ferocity that matched the creatures themselves. Lyra darted between the Bloodfangs, her Shadowstep leaving trails of darkness in her wake. "Eat this, you shitty blood bastards." With each strike of her Shadow de Dance, she left deep gashes in their hide, drawing blood with each precise blow. But the Bloodfangs were relentless, their frenzied attacks forcing Lyra to dance ever faster to avoid their snapping jaws. Meanwhile, Thane weathered the storm of ws and teeth, his Shield Bash sending shockwaves rippling through the air with each devastating blow. Boom. Boom. Boom. The ground beneath him groaned and shifted with the force of his strikes, trees splintering and shattering as the earth trembled beneath his feet. But Thane stood firm, his determination unwavering as he held the line against the relentless assault. As for Rynn, her mes consumed everything in their path, scorching the earth and turning the forest into a zing inferno. Chapter 1873 Willingness to Get Possessed Chapter 1873 Willingness to Get Possessed With each me Burst, Rynn unleashed waves of fire that licked at the very fabric of reality, causing the air to shimmer and warp with the intense heat. Mana storms formed around her, crackling with energy as her Inferno Fury unleashed a tempest of fire and fury upon the Bloodfangs. "Aaaaaah! My children! Humans, you''d pay for this." Despite the Eldric members'' best efforts, the Bloodfangs proved to be formidable opponents. Bloodfang arranged his remaining familiars in battle formation with the wave of its hand and attacked with newfound determination. A hive of the familiars closed in on the Eldric members. Their ws tore through the air with lethal precision, leaving gashes in the earth and sending showers of sparks flying with each swipe. Their fangs dripped with venom, their toxic saliva sizzling as it met the mes of Rynn''s inferno. The battle raged on, each side locked in a deadly dance of death and destruction. Injuries were inevitable, with cuts and bruises marring the flesh of the Eldric Force members. But they fought on, their resolve unbroken even as their mana reserves dwindled and exhaustion threatened to im them. Finally, with a final, coordinated assault, Lyra, Thane, and Rynn unleashed their ultimate techniques. The forest trembled and shook as their powers converged, unleashing a cataclysmic barrage of shadow, steel, and fire upon the Bloodfangs. And as the dust settled and the echoes of battle faded into silence, only the victorious cries of the Eldric Force remained, echoing through the charred remains of the Shadowed Grove. "Was was this a setup by the Demon Earl," Rynn couldn''t help voicing his concern in a grave tone as he steadied himself andnded on the ground. "Whatever it was, I hope that it''s over. Otherwise, we''d be in deep shit," Lyra spoke as shended beside Rynn. "Why Why did you have to speak about this? Now you''ve jinxed it," Thane spoke in aining tone. He was rtively better off than the other two. Yet. he still had dark expressions on his face because, ording to him, Lyra had raised a g. *** Another battlefield. The Shadowed Grove echoed with the eerie silence that preceded chaos as ric and Vaelen faced off against the ominous Voidspawn. The air crackled with anticipation, tension thick enough to cut through as the two warriors prepared for battle. "Vaelen, I''m going all out now." ric, his eyes aze with determination, tightened his grip on his shattered sword. Vaelen, ever vignt, raised his broken staff, his expression a mask of grim resolve. With a nod between them, they charged forward, their footsteps pounding against the forest floor like a war drum. The Voidspawn and his familiars emerged from the darkness, their twisted forms pulsating with energy. With a guttural roar, they lunged at the duo, their ws shing through the air with deadly precision. Zoom. Swoosh. Cut. ric met their onught head-on, his broken sword shing in the dim light as he parried blow after blow. Despite the fractures marring its surface, his de held firm, each strike sending sparks flying as it shed against the Voidspawn''s dark hide. Vaelen, meanwhile, unleashed torrents of Skills, his broken staff crackling with power as he summoned bolts of lightning to strike down their foes. With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed his first skill, Arcane Barrage, sending a barrage of magical projectiles hurtling towards the Voidspawn with deadly uracy. "Get out. Get the fuck out from our homes." The Voidspawn demon beast spoke through the mouths of various familiars at the same time. As a result, his voice had a demonic echo attached to it. The creatures were relentless, their attacks almost unstoppable as they closed in on their prey. The hive of demon beasts wasn''t easy to handle no matter how tough the two Practitioners were. "Why Why did we take this mission instead of doing our usual thing again?" ric gritted his teeth, his muscles straining against the weight of his shattered weapon as he fought to keep the Voidspawn at bay. "That can be discussedter. Focus on the task first." Vaelen''s brow furrowed with concentration as he unleashed spell after spell, each one draining his mana reserves with rming speed. Despite their best efforts, the Voidspawn proved to be formidable opponents. With each blow, they seemed to grow stronger, their dark energy pulsating with intent-based demonic power. ric''s sword splintered under the force of their onught, leaving him defenseless against their relentless assault. Vaelen''s staff fared no better, its shattered remains unable to channel the arcane energies he needed to fight back. But the two warriors refused to yield. "Haaaaaaah!" With a hoarse roar, ric unleashed his second [Skill: Last Stand], channeling thest vestiges of his strength into a devastating counterattack. With a mighty swing, he cleaved through the Voidspawn''s ranks, his broken sword glowing with a faint, ethereal light as it struck true. Vaelen, his mana reserves all but depleted, summoned thest reserves of his magical power, his voice ringing out in a thunderous incantation. With a surge of energy, he unleashed his final [Skill: Arcane Nova], creating a blinding explosion of arcane energy that engulfed the remaining Voidspawn in a storm of raw magic. Boom! The forest trembled and shook with the force of theirbined assault, the air thick with the scent of ozone and charred earth. When the dust settled, only silence remained, broken only by the ragged breaths of ric and Vaelen as they surveyed the aftermath of the battle. Their weaponsy shattered at their feet, their bodies battered and bruised from the fierce onught. But they had emerged victorious, their determination and courage shining bright even in the darkest of moments. "Well we lost our weapons in this mission. No matter how much we earn now, it''s going to be a loss." With a weary smile, ric spoke. By this time, Kalen and the others had also wrapped up their respective battles. The Practitioners met at a ce away from their respective battlefields. Kalen observed that all of his team members were unable to explore the deeper parts of the Shadowed Grove due to injuries, almost depleted mana reserves, or damaged weapons and artifacts. He sighed before thinking to himself, ''I guess we can only retreat and try some other time. This forest is not as easy to explore as I thought it would be.'' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Kalen was about to order his team members to retreat when his expression darkened. He looked around himself in the distance in dread as he sensed various powerful demonic presences approaching him and his teammates. Before Kalen and his team members could do anything about it, they were surrounded. Kalen''s face turned pale when he saw seven demon beasts emerge from the woods this time, each of them controlling their respective familiars. The crowd-controlling ability was one of the most potent abilities of the demon beasts. The seven demon beasts wielded their powers to their fullest as they approached the intruders who were members of the Eldric Force. "Humans, now that you havee here, kindly stay. Forever. Hehehe," one of the demon beasts, in a pretty and seductive young girl''s form, stepped forward in the air as she spoke, looking at Kalen and the others tauntingly. ''To hell with my identity and integrity,'' Kalen thought to himself. Gritting his teeth, he decisively closed his eyes and let Eren''s Soul Imprint willingly take over him. When Kalen opened his eyes, he was not Kalen anymore. Not really. "Hmm? These many little demons havee here to wee me?" Kalen spoke in a voice that didn''t really sound like his. "Kekeke. I''m certainly pleased. Now, which among you is the leader? Come forward before I exorcize your asses for good," Kalen, or rather Eren spoke in a casual tone before spreading his arms open and spreading his Individuality. "What?" "The fuck! This baleful aura!" "Who who are you?" "This this is not Kalen!" "Demon! Kalen has been possessed!" Kalen''s team members spoke one after the other as they looked at Kalen with shocked expressions. There was also a mix of fear in their expressions. They didn''t know who had possessed Kalen, but they were sure that the demonic dominion that emanated from Kalen was certainly at a different stage than all the demonic entities surrounding thembined. Chapter 1874 Suppression Born out of Demonic Hierarchy Chapter 1874 Suppression Born out of Demonic Hierarchy A certain suppression permeated the surroundings, swiftly altering the expressions of the seven humanoid demon beasts. They were stunned to discover that Kalen was the source of this suppression, their faces contorting in irritation and anger upon hearing his words. However, before they could retaliate, Kalen advanced, allowing his Individuality to dominate the minds of all the demons present. Swoosh. Zoom. Suppress. From low-ranked demonic minions with D or D ranks to high-level demons akin to Grandmasters in Ranker terms, all felt this suppression deeply within their psyches. It wasn''t merely a result of any Skill or Ability, but the imposition of dominance by someone at the pinnacle of the demonic hierarchy. An unimaginable scene unfolded before the Eldric Force team members. They watched in utter shock, a blend of emotions washing over them, as the demonic entities abruptly halted their advances and turned their gaze towards Kalen with trepidation and fear. Even the flying demon beasts dared not remain airborne. They swiftly descended to the ground, heads lowered. Those already on the ground, particrly affected by Eren''s Individuality, emitted growls while bowing. Yet, this wasn''t a challenge, but a primal expression of frustration and fear for their lives. The seven humanoid demon beasts, supposed leaders of their hordes, fared no better. They too descended to the ground, keeping a cautious distance from Eren, their actions betraying a newfound awareness of their own mortality, their hearts pounding within their chests like war drums. "Are all of you deaf?" Eren, possessing Kalen''s body, spoke in a cold tone as he looked at the seven demon beast leaders with narrowed eyes. "Don''t fucking give me that look. Seven demon beastsing together out of their respective regions to attack six Practitioners? I don''t believe this coincidence. This is clearly an organized raid. Who has been put in charge of this raid by your bosses? Come forward now or I''ll fucking devour every single demon present here." The butcher said in a deliberate tone as he surveyed the horde of demon beasts surrounding him. Despite being clearly outnumbered, Eren didn''t feel any fear facing so many opponents. In fact, a part of him wanted to devour all of the demons present here for their Faustian Rune Fragments to bolster his demonic divinity. One could say that Eren was controlling his urges as he gazed upon all sorts of "food" walking on their legs in front of him. For some reason, the demon beast leaders believed in Eren''s threat. Six of them couldn''t help but look at a particr demon beast among their midst simultaneously, inadvertently singling her out. ''These bastards,'' Nyxus cursed her six demon beast allies as she stepped forward. She couldn''t help feeling a little overwhelmed when she gazed into Eren''s eyes, which seemed to have suddenly turned mysterious as if they held their own world within them after Eren had sessfully possessed Kalen''s body. Nyxux had a tall and lithe figure. She was draped in a cloak of midnight-ck fabric that seemed to absorb any stray light that dared to touch it. Her skin was a deep, obsidian hue, smooth and unblemished. Glowing crimson runes traced intricate patterns across her body, pulsing with demonic energy. Nyxus''s eyes reflected the depths of the abyss with their ck pupils and ck sclera. They held a mesmerizing allure, drawing in those who dared to meet her gaze. Her long, flowing hair cascaded down her back like a river of midnight. It seemed to move of its own ord, twisting and writhing like serpents of shadow. "I I am in charge of the raid. You are you the true Inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline? The sessor to the Lord Demon Emperor?" Nyxus asked carefully, her voice trembling slightly with apprehension. It was her instinctual fear, a primal response ingrained deep within her demonic nature. The demons were masters of intent-based demon magic, yet this mastery also made them vulnerable to their instincts. A demon lower in the demonic hierarchy would almost never betray their superiors unless they were backed by someone of greater power and influence. Nyxus wasn''t foolish. Eren clearly wasn''t one of the Demon Princes'' avatars, nor was he associated with one of the 72 Ars Goetia Demons. Otherwise, her superiors would have informed her beforehand. Why would they attack potential allies when the onset of Hvergelmir Springs was drawing near? Eren had to be someone outside the well-established demonic order. Nyxus could only think of a certain Elder Ichor inheritor who had been causing a stir in Agora with his radical remarks over the past few years. Only someone who had legitimized their im to God Aleph''s divine throne could instill such fear in Nyxus. Eren neither confirmed nor denied her guess. He smiled at her before slowly advancing in her direction. The demon beasts began to growl louder, yet they dared not take a step forward. Most started to retreat, yet none dared to flee the scene entirely. N?v(el)B\\jnn Even Eldric Force members were left aghast as Eren began walking with deliberate steps toward the enemy camp. They exchanged uncertain nces, their emotions a tumultuous mix of fear and confusion. "Kalen no whoever is possessing Kalen right now, what what the hell are you doing?" Sariah couldn''t help but voice her concern as she watched Kalen''s retreating form. She couldn''t bear the thought of their team leader falling into the hands of the demon beasts surrounding them. While she sensed the demons'' fear of Eren, she also understood the potential dangers of the situation. Desperation could drive even the most fearsome adversaries to fight with unexpected ferocity, and she didn''t want Kalenor Kalen''s bodyto be coteral damage in the ensuing chaos. "Sariah, isn''t it?" Eren halted his steps and addressed Sariah without turning to face her. After a brief pause, he continued, "Stay where you are. Let me handle this my way." Eren''s tone was firm and resolute. He cared little whether Kalen''s team members listened to his words or not. His priority was avoiding unnecessary conflict before confronting the masterminds behind the organized raid. Step. Step. Step. In the heart of the forest, where the demon beasts had encircled the members of the Eldric Force, Eren''s slow and barely audible footsteps reverberated with an ominous weight, echoing through the stillness of the surroundings. The demon beast leaders had reined in their respective hordes, halting any impulsive movements. They observed in silence as their representative faced Eren alone. Before long, Eren stood beside Nyxus, casting her a wicked smile. ''Damn! That''s one fine body,'' he mused to himself before addressing her. "What''s your name?" "It''s it''s Nyxus, my lord," the demoness replied honestly, though her voice betrayed a hint of stuttering, despite her efforts to maintainposure. "Hmm. Nyxus is your name after you possess your current shell. I can see your true demon name with my eyes," Eren remarked, his gaze lingering on her. "In fact, I can clearly see the Faustian Contract you have signed with this mortal shell right on your forehead," he added, licking his lips with a hint of longing and greed as he observed Nyxus'' forehead. "My my lord," Nyxus faltered, a surge of fear coursing through her. If Eren could discern her true demon name and the Faustian Contract she had forged with her current form, he could easily nullify the contract and consume her essence. "Don''t worry, Nyxus. You have no reason to fear me as long as you obey mymands," Eren reassured her coyly, seizing her arms to prevent her retreat. Drawing closer, he encircled her waist with his arms, his tone tinged with seduction. "I am inplete control of my instincts, my dear. Why would I devour someone willing to serve me?" "What What do you want from me?" Nyxus asked, her voice trembling with trepidation. "First of all, I want you to call off this raid," Eren said casually, meeting Nyxus''pletely ck eyes and seeing his own reflection within them. "Secondly, I want you to tell me who put you in charge of the raid." Nyxus opened her mouth to respond, clearly intending to reject Eren''s request as politely as possible. But before she could speak, Eren cut in, as if anticipating her thoughts. "Don''t worry about disrespecting your current boss," Eren said, smiling. "From this moment onward, I am your boss. I am the only one you should fear and respect. Other demons are irrelevantwhether they are your friends, subordinates, or enemies. Only mymands and actions should concern you. Do you understand?" Eren''s words were almost a whisper as he leaned in close to Nyxus'' ear. At this moment, the six demon beast leaders lowered their heads in submission. The demonic hierarchy was absolute, and even if Eren was supposedly among their enemies, he possessed the Demonic Authority they could not contend with. Eren had revealed his ability to see the Faustian Contracts on the mortal forms of the demon beasts for precisely this purposeto demonstrate that he had the means to carry out his threats. Nyxus'' heart pounded like a relentless drumbeat in her chest. In a split second decision, she yielded to her instincts. "I I understand," she murmured, submitting to Eren''s Demonic Authority. As soon as the words left her lips, Nyxus'' body ignited in an illusory fire, a demonic trap triggered by her former boss upon her submission to Eren''s Authority. "Aaaaaah!" Nyxus cried out in agony as her demon soul writhed in the blue mes. Before she or anyone else could react to her plight, Eren took action. Biting his finger, Eren drew his blood and inscribed countless demonic symbols on Nyxus'' forehead, each one absorbed by her body. Within moments, the mes that had threatened to consume her were extinguished as if they had never existed. In a matter of seconds, Eren had sessfully altered Nyxus'' Faustian Contract, making her his subordinate. Her willingness to submit had made the modification effortless. The original contract, established between the mortal vessel''s owner and the demon, contained a use set by Nyxus'' former boss. By removing the encrypted name and recing it with his own, Eren effectively became Nyxus'' new master. Just as the demonic hierarchy imposed strict bindings, so too did the restrictions inherent to these contracts. Lower-level demonscked the authority to alter established Faustian Contractsonly those at the level of the Demon Princes or the 72 Immortal Ars Goetia demons possessed such power. Eren''s ability to rece Nyxus'' former boss and amend her contract with ease spoke volumes about his standing in the demonic hierarchy. It was clear that he feared no demon present, except perhaps Nyxus'' former boss, who stood as his only potential adversary. "Now, tell me, who is your former boss?" Eren inquired, his hand resting on Nyxus'' posterior, slightly pressing it with his hands. Without hesitation, she responded, "It''s Demon Earl Furfur, my lord." "Furfur? Not Bifrons? And he''s here in the Shadowed Grove as well?" Eren mused to himself, a smile ying on his lips. "How many of them are present here exactly? And how many of them can I convince? This this should be interesting." The butcher remarked, ncing toward a particr direction where a broken Faustian rune had earlier flown. === Chapter 1875 Demoness Phoenix Sifrona Chapter 1875 Demoness Phoenix Sifrona ??Nyxus'' expression stiffened as she heard Eren''s demand. Having surrendered to Eren, she could only imagine the dire consequences awaiting her once she led him to her former boss'' den. Uncertainty shrouded the oue of the sh between Eren and her former boss. Could Eren establish a form of cooperation with the Demon Earls? Or would he have to face their wrath? Nyxus couldn''t be sure. Yet she knew without a doubt that she would be the one to suffer the most amidst the conflict of these two demonic powerhouses. However, remaining silent wasn''t an option after Eren issued hismand. ''It doesn''t look like I have a say in this matter.'' Understanding the demonic hierarchy all too well, Nyxus realized there were fates worse than mere exorcism awaiting disobedient demons. From what she could discern, Eren possessed the capability to inflict torment beyond her wildest imaginings. "My liege, Lord Fur no. I mean Demon Earl Furfur isC" Nyxus began, only to be abruptly interrupted by one of her former colleagues who had remained silent throughout the ordeal. "Nyxus, you wench, what the hell are you doing?" Sifrona, a demon beast leader, stepped forward with a wary gaze fixed on Eren. "Betrayal may be your only choice in the current situation. And that''s all fine with me. But don''t fucking drag us with you by divulging information about Lord Furfur. We refuse to suffer the consequences of your actions." She dered grimly, scanning her surroundings for support, only to find none stepping forward to aid her cause. She cursed silently as her subordinates remained passive, refusing to align themselves with her. The demons were as sharp as they could be. The remaining demon leaders decided to y as mute spectators to the whole event. They would join the side that''s winning. At least this was the strategy they hade up with at a moment''s notice. "Hmm? And who might you be, Miss Redfire?" Eren asked as he narrowed his eyes on the female demon beast leader who had stepped forward. His eyes again had a hint of greed for a second as he looked at her and scanned the Faustian Contract she had signed with her mortal flesh. ''This demoness She has a special blood within her. Dragon blood? No something''s different. Doesn''t look like a draconic lineage to me even though she has that beast dominion aura surroundings her. Her Faustian Contract is also special because of it. If only I get to devour her,'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at the second demoness from the original demon beast leader group. Sifrona appeared as a humanoid woman wreathed in mes, her fiery form casting flickering shadows in all directions. Moltenva coursed through the veins beneath her dark red skin, glowing with intense heat. Her eyes burned with infernal fury, and her very presence raised the temperature of the air around her. Having evolved from a pheasant-type demon beast with fire- element affinity, Sifrona was often referred to as demonic phoenix by Labh Salem Practitioners who had encountered her and met their demise at her hands. It was evident that Sifrona was reluctant to engage in conflict with Eren. However, she was a cautious individual who could foresee the dire consequences of allowing Nyxus to lead Eren to confront Demon Earl Furfur and others during a crucial discussion. She was unwilling to be caught in the crossfire amidst the chaos that would inevitably unfold within the demonic den located in the heart of the Shadowed Grove. "Lord Eren, my name is Sifrona," the phoenix demoness introduced herself to Eren with a tone that was neither overbearing nor servile. She looked around herself and then at the Eldric Force standing behind Eren''s back beforementing. "Lord Eren, we would let you and your team members go without causing trouble if you promise us not to seek an audience with Demon Earl Furfur," Sifrona said as she looked into Eren''s eyes with a certain level of courage she had managed to muster from the depths of her beating demonic heart. "We do not wish to battle with you. But if you force our hand, we''d be attacking your team members first," she said as she looked at the Eldric Force team members with a cold gaze. "Pretty girl, are you fucking trying to challenge my authority? Do you think I''m some form of Saint just because I talk with you politely?" Eren asked Sifrona with a smile. "Do you really fucking think you can use those guys as leverage against me? Why don''t you go ahead and carry out your threat? I dare you to do so." Eren spoke casually, as if he weren''t afraid of the horde of demon beasts standing behind Sifrona at all, as if he wasn''t concerned about what his enemies would do to the Eldric Force members as well. The Eldric Force members'' faces turned pale when they heard Eren''s words. They didn''t know what they could do or say. The fights they had with their earlier demon beast opponents had sapped most of their strength away. They were practically as useful as ab to the bald people if Eren asked them to fight from his side. Sifrona didn''t know what kind of entity she was dealing with. Eren wasn''t Kalen. While Kalen''s subconscious soul tried to protest after hearing Eren''s vicious words, it couldn''t do anything when Eren had takenplete control over his body through Demonic Takeover. Kalen was as helpless as someone sitting beside the man driving a flying vehicle. No matter how much he screamed, he couldn''t make the flying vehicle obey his will because the controlling wheel was in the driver''s hands. "You" Sifrona''s already red face turned even redder than it already was in a mix of anger, frustration and trepidation, as she processed Eren''s words. She clenched her fists and quickly contacted her demon beast leader allies one by one, trying to strike a deal. Even with an entire horde by her side, she knew it would be foolish to attack Eren depending upon her powers alone. The demoness phoenix didn''t dare to underestimate Eren just because he was all by himself. Chapter 1876 Seven Sin Series Domains At Their Absolute Peaks Chapter 1876 Seven Sin Series Domains At Their Absolute Peaks ??Sifrona wanted at least one more demon beast leader to lend her a helping hand. Her goal wasn''t to win against Eren in a deathly match but to force him to retreat. She could then report her findings to her bosses and let them take care of this nascent Demon Emperor. ''Alright. I''m in,'' replied one of the demon beast leaders who finally relented after hearing Sifrona''s offerings. This demon beast leader was named Kerim, evolved from a dire-wolf-type demon beast. Kerim had razor-sharp ws and feral features. His muscr form was adorned with jagged spikes and talons, and his eyes gleamed with a predatory light. The agreement between Kerim and Sifrona was reached within a fraction of a moment. When she received Kerim''s approval, she couldn''t help smiling at Eren before speaking in a challenging tone. "Lord Eren, aren''t you a bit too arrogant for your own good? Don''t think you have reced thete Demon Emperor just because you managed to im his divine throne." She said as she reestablished her mental connection with her familiars who had followed her into the battle. There was a significant portion of the demon familiars in her hordes who wanted to revolt against her authority if it required them to attack Eren. The lower-ranked demon beasts didn''t care about the mortal shells they currently possessed. However, they cared about their demonic existence as a whole. They could always find a new vessel to possess as long as they made their way back to the Demonic nes. However, if they were to be devoured by Eren, there would be no second chance. "Bitch, you''ve got it all wrong. I don''t need to rece thete Demon Emperor," Eren smiled wickedly. His gaze turned greedier as he spoke, his lips licked by his restless tongue that had suddenly forked. "In due time, I''ll be someone bigger than the Demon Emperor you know of. And at this moment, in this ce, I''m your demon god. And I have a nasty habit of asking for sacrifices whenever I sort of let myself loose, you know. Of course, I wee you to fucking try me. But know this! Once I fucking start, there will be no going back," he said as he raised his hand and made a e and get me" gesture to all his potential opponents with his four fingers and folded thumb. "You asked for it," Sifrona said as she steeled her nerves. In the next moment, she ordered the horde behind her to attack Eren and his allies at the same time. Sifrona was a bit disheartened to find out that except for Kerim, the rest of the demon beast leaders still decided to sit on the fence and watch a very interesting show unfold in front of their eyes. Neither they nor the respective demon beast hoarders they controlled were willing to fight her fight. Fortunately, Kerim and his horde of demon beasts also acted at the same time, not making it easy for Eren to suppress his opponents. "Looks like some numbnuts don''t understand unless they are either dead or their sweet asses are handed to them on a te. Then again, I don''t me them. It''s like being stuck between a rock and a hard ce. What can they do when they are faced with difficult choices? I can only fuck them up to make them understand not choosing my side was a bad choice. I anyway wanted to devour at least some of these little things to fuel my growth. I might as well have a fucking buffet while I''m at it." Eren thought to himself and nodded internally. One could say that the butcher was pretty understanding of his enemies'' positions. But that understanding didn''t make him go soft on them. As he watched the two demon beast leaders stand in front of him to face him and the demon beast hoarders behind them riling up to get him, Eren pped his hands together. In the next moment, he spread his arms to either side and let his Sin Series Domains spread around him, all seven of them at once. Kalen''s body, which Eren currently possessed, changed its appearance when Eren invoked his Sin Series powers. His hair turned white, and his eyes turned deep blue. Many demonic patterns and tattoos appeared on his limbs and torso, writhing on his skin like live serpents. Kalen''s skin stretched and changed its shape. The bones within his body made crackling noises as they changed size and shape, giving him a slightly altered appearance, akin to Eren''s original form. The Elder ichor blood drops that Kalen carried within his body, known as Elder Ichor Blood Seeds, werepletely agitated. They allowed Eren to wield his powers and Divine Authority even while using someone else''s body. This time, all of Eren''s seven Sin Series Domains were strengthened by the seven Virtue Series Marks. As a result, the potent effect they generated as they manifested was on apletely different level. All of the seven domains were Authority-type Domains. Unless there were Demon Princes present within the masses that had decided to attack him, the enemies trapped within his domain could neither summon more Sin Series Mana of any kind nor use the existing Sin mana in the surroundings to attack Eren. They could only rely on the mana and powers they had umted to deal with Eren. Unless they had the Demonic Authority to challenge Eren''s Demonic Writ, the enemies'' demonic powers within the Sin Series Domains were highly restricted. The Eldric Force members watched in horror as they saw two hordes of demon beasts charging at them from all around. A chaotic demonic aura spread in the surroundings, almost making them drop to their knees and clutch their heads in frustration. However, when they experienced Eren expanding all of his seven Sin Series Domains at once, they finally couldn''t take it anymore, and they all lost consciousness one after the other, dropping to the ground on sync as if their souls had been sucked out of their bodies. Eren watched as the two demon beast leaders charged into his seven Sin Series Domains along with their respective hordes of demon beast familiars. He snapped his fingers and let his domain powers handle the rest. The seemingly countless demon beasts felt a suppressive aura grip their bodies and souls as Eren''s demonic powers manifested at their peak after a very long time. This time, he didn''t hold back and let them all out, all at once. [ Domain of Wrath: mes of Wrath ] [ Domain of Gluttony: Mouths of Gluttony ] [ Domain of Lust: Bewitching Specters ] [ Domain of Greed: Chains of Avarice ] [ Domain of Sloth: Shrouds of Lethargy ] [ Domain of Envy: Seeds of Jealousy ] [ Domain of Pride: Shields of Hubris ] Chapter 1877 Domination Chapter 1877 Domination ??As the Sin Series Domains ovepped and expanded outward, demon beasts of all forms charged toward Eren, who stood at the epicenter. Not too far behind himy the unconscious Eldric Force members,pletely defenseless. "Charge!" Keram took the lead of his demon beast horde as he stepped forward. In the next moment, he fearlessly charged inside the multi-domain barrier Eren had erected. Keram was confident in his abilities to control a demon beast horde. After all, he evolved from a dire-wolf-type demon beast blessed with exceptional crowd-controlling abilities. He was the Alpha of the pack, and his authority as the leader couldn''t be questioned by his subordinates, even if hemanded them to jump into a fire pit andmit suicide. Keram indeed faced some trouble riling up his horde against someone like Eren, who was at the upper echelon of the demonic hierarchy if not at the very top. However, he didn''t find it too troubling to exert his will upon his familiars. He also used his powers to drive them into berserk mode,pletely abandoning reason. The demon beasts affected by the forceful berserk mode had their eyes turn red with rage. The demonic energies within their bodies surged, boosting their overall physical stats and magic-wielding abilities. Keram didn''t care about the fate of the demon beasts'' bodies after the battle. His sole focus was to dominate Eren within his own domain. With a huge numerical advantage, he thought, ''I can do this,'' as he stepped into the multiyered domain for the first time. He, in fact, could not do it. In the next moment, the humanoid dire wolf almost howled to sound his retreat. The first thing Keram felt after stepping into Eren''s domain was a mind-crushing form of mental suppression. It was as if the Faustian Contract, based on which he had possessed the body of the dire wolf, was trying to tear itself apart, almost forcing him to cancel the contract out of his own volition. This wasn''t all. Keram felt like his legs had turned to lead, as if he were traveling through the deep sea, with each step taking a toll on him. His perception of time and space was skewed and his vision was affected by the dense amount of Sin Series Mana that prevailed in the multiyered domain. The Sin Series Mana was almost tangible. Yet neither the demon beast nor their leaders could use the mana to do their bidding against Eren. Sifrona, the demoness phoenix wasn''t far behind Keram. She approached Eren from another side as she stepped into his domain and almost regretted causing this scene. Sifrona met eyes with Keram and saw him muster his courage to carry forward. She too decided to follow Keram''s lead as she took control of her familiars and charged ahead. All of this happened within a split second. So much so that both Keram and Sifrona didn''t have time to predict the potency with which Eren could wield his demonic powers. The subsequent events unfolded in rapid session in front of the two demon beasts leaders who actively took part in the battle against Eren as well as the remaining four demon beast leaders who had decided to not involve themselves and their respective familiars in the battle. It was as if the battle was meticulously choreographed for a climactic moment in a live performance. Each scene seemed to linger in slow motion for those paying close attention. [ 1st scene: mes of Wrath ] Eren invoked his Wrath mes on the first group of demon beasts who recklessly tried to approach him. The ease at which he could use these wrathful mes was worthy of praise. After all, the mes of wrath were the first Sin Series power Eren had unlocked for himself from his struggling times in Anfang. This time, the wrath mes weren''t just some mindless attacks Eren had unleashed on his enemies. One could say that they had been upgraded ever since the Sin of Wrath received strengthening from Virtue of Patience. This time, the wrath mes seemed to possess a mind of their own, hungrily seeking out their targets among the hordes of demon beasts that surrounded Eren. If Eren were to make these wrath mes even more sentient, they were bound to turn into fire elemental fiendsC the demonic firespawns that were summoned directly from the demonic nes that cultivated them within the depths of the infernal seas. "Screeeeee!" "Kiyaaaaa!" As the mes made contact with the flesh of the demon beasts, they seared through their demonic forms, leaving behind trails of smoldering embers and agonized screams. The flesh was burned and even bones caught fire, incinerating the low-ranked beasts into nothingness as soon as they stepped in. The wrath mes didn''t just burn the physical bodies of the demon beasts; they delved deeper. The wrathful mes burned the demons'' very souls with an infernal heat. This heat wasn''t just high in physical temperature. It seemed to devour their essence from within. The demon beasts, caught in the grip of Eren''s mes of Wrath, writhed and convulsed in anguish as the spectral mes consumed them. Some tried to flee, only to find themselves engulfed by the relentless mes no matter where they turned. Some attempted to shield themselves from the mes with futile Skills and demonic powers. This was the battle they knew they were going to lose. And yet, their survival instincts made them struggle till their deaths. There were other, more sentinel demon beasts, who saw the futility in their struggle. They sumbed to the mes'' relentless onught, copsing to the ground in smoldering heaps. [ 2nd scene: Mouths of Gluttony ] This was perhaps the second most trusted battle-oriented Sin Series Ability Eren had in his arsenal. While a portion of the demon beasts were getting roasted in the wrath mes, the other groups of demon beasts were forced to deal with the demonic mouths that had been summoned across multiple locations in the multiyered domain. With a mere gesture, Eren unleashed the Mouths of Gluttony, spectral and grotesque, eager to feast upon the essence of their foes. As the hordes of demon beasts charged towards him, they found themselves instinctively scared by the insatiable hunger of the Gluttony mouths. After being strengthened by the Virtue of Temperance, the Sin of Gluttony had leveled up. Eren could summon staggeringly more demonic mouths around him than his previous numerical limitations. Plus, the demonic mouths could be left to their own devices. Eren didn''t have to make efforts to sustain them. As long as they were provided "food", they could stay functioning without Eren''s interference. It was as if the Virtue of Temperance had allowed them tost long and be even more demonic in nature and action. Swoosh. Zoom. Bite. Human and inhuman-looking jaws opened wide, snapping hungrily at the infernal creatures. Some mouths resembled those of ravenous wolves, while others seemed like twisted amalgamations of various creatures, each one more horrifying than thest. Nom. Nom. Nom. With a sickening sound, the demonic mouths that had popped up in various locations inside the multiyered domain closed around their prey. These sentient mouthsughed and smiled demonically as they feasted upon their prey. Some cackled and spoke in weird demonic tongues. It was as if these demonic mouths were a group of best friends who had gathered at a ce to watch some sports events and gobbled up a bunch of savory snacks and drinks while they were at it, joking andughing together. Except, these were the demonic mouths. Just mouths with no bodies. The appetite of these demonic mouths knew no bounds. The demon beasts, caught in the spectral jaws of the Gluttony mouths, struggled futilely as their essence was drained away. Their screams echoed through the battlefield, mingling with the cacophony of battle. Blood sttered and the viscera painted the ground red. A thick stench of smell was spread in the surroundings as hundreds of demon beasts were devoured by the Gluttony Mouths at the same time. Streaks of blood started to release from the corners of these demonic mouths. Yet, they were efficient in their devouring to the level that they did not leave any flesh behind. The Gluttony mouths moved with eerie grace, darting from one target to the next, leaving nothing but destion in their wake. Each bite sapped the strength and vitality of the demon beasts. Some of the demon beasts tried to fight back using their skills, unleashing their dark powers in a desperate attempt to break free. But the Gluttony mouths were relentless, their hunger driving them ever onward. Even the feeble Skills and mana-powered elemental attacks initiated by the poor demon beasts were devoured by the Gluttony Mouths, which further empowered Eren and his abilities. Eren experienced a fresh dose of vitality and Faustian Contracts from the relentless devouring. He felt that as long as these Gluttony Mouths were active, he could not feel fatigued no matter how long he had to fight. With each attack, the Gluttony Mouths and Eren grew stronger. Eren''s mana reserves were quickly filled up thanks to the demonic devouring. He then used the demonic essence extracted from the gluttony mouths to empower his other attacks. Despite their best efforts, the demon beasts found themselves overwhelmed by the relentless assault of the Gluttony mouths. One by one, they fell, their twisted forms crumbling to dust as their essence was devoured. [ 3rd scene: Bewitching Specters ] Bewitching Specters! After the Mist of Lust, this was another aspect of the Sin of Lust Domain Eren had unlocked for himself, thanks to the strengthening provided by its respective Virtue Series Mark. After the wrathful mes and Mouths of Gluttony made their debut in the battlefield, the Bewitching Specters were next in line. With a flick of his wrist, the butcher summoned forth the Bewitching Specters, ethereal apparitions that danced in the air, their ghostly forms weaving intricate patterns of illusion and deceit. Sounds of giggling that sounded viciously demonic yet hauntingly alluring at the same time. As the demon beasts surged forward, their eyes filled with malice and hunger, they were met with the mesmerizing allure of the Bewitching Specters. At first, the demon beasts hesitated, their advance faltering as they gazed upon the spectral forms before them. The demonguage was spoken in cryptic form by the specters. They were nothing but white clouds and clustered mists. Yet, to those who saw them, they took whatever shapes their beholders liked and lusted over. Lust was one of the primary emotions of all sentient living beings. Even though it was difficult to invoke such feelings in the heat of battle, the Bewitching Specters made the impossible possible with their powers. "Kekekekeke!" "Hehehehehehe!" The Bewitching Specters danced and twirled, their haunting melodies echoing through the battlefield, ensnaring the minds of their foes with just the right kind of beauty they appreciated. It was as if the specters could read the minds of their targets. The demon beasts, their primal instincts overridden by the Specters'' enchanting allure, found themselves drawn inexorably towards the shimmering phantoms. ''Oh! It seems I underestimated these lust-inducing little ghosts. They can''t fight on their own and they can''t really hurt their targets. But damnC look at the "stun effect" they could cast on their targets," Eren thought to himself as he watched his own ability affect so many of his enemies for the first time. Eren had to say that theb experiments couldn''t evene close to the real deal. He had tried his abilities on the poor guinea pigs locked inside Siren''s Sanctuary''s underground facility. However, it was only now that he truly understood the extent of the Sin of Lust domain after it was bolstered by the Virtue Series Mark. ''I can use these ghosts to affect the additional targets, which could make it easy for the wrath mes and Mouths of Gluttony to kill their opponents,'' Eren quickly devised a n. Within the multiyered domain, he had ultimate control. With a predatory gleam in his eyes, Eren watched as the demon beasts fell under the spell of the Bewitching Specters, their movements bing sluggish and disjointed as they sumbed to the illusions. Sensing their moment of vulnerability, he unleashed the full fury of his other Sin Series Domains. From the shadows emerged the mes of Wrath, searing tendrils of spectral fire thatshed out at the entranced demon beasts with relentless ferocity. Meanwhile, the Mouths of Gluttony descended upon the distracted demon beasts, their gaping maws tearing into their victims with ravenous hunger. Caught between the illusions of the Bewitching Specters and the devastating onught of Eren''s other Sin Series Domains, the demon beasts stood little chance. Even the strongest among them, those of C-Rank and B-Rank, found themselves overwhelmed by thebined might of Eren''s powers. [ 4th scene: Chains of Avarice ] By this point, the battlefield had just be a chaotic frenzy of demonic energies and desperate struggles. With his Sin Series Domains at hismand, Eren unleashed another of his demonic abilities. Chains of Avarice were released upon the unsuspecting foes who had been entranced by the mesmerizing dance of the Bewitching Specters. As the ethereal specters did their job, ensnaring the senses of the demon beasts with their haunting melodies and captivating beauty, the Chains of Avarice sneaked upon them. With a flick of Eren''s wrist, spectral chains emerged from the shadows, fueled by the Greed Mana coursing through the domain. The Chains of Avarice wrapped around the stunned demon beasts with an unyielding grip. The creatures, already bewitched by the seductive allure of the specters, found their movements restricted and their vitality drained. With each passing moment, the chains tightened their grip. The greedier the demon beasts were to survive, the tighter the demonic chains got. Although they only had a simple restraining feature for the most part, the chains couldn''t be underestimated. This was because no matter what kind of Skills and abilities even some of the most powerful demon beasts used, they couldn''t break free from them. The demon beasts'' roars of defiance turned to desperate cries for mercy as they realized the futility of their resistance. ''Hmm. I''m using these chains in a non-creative way. Perhaps, they can be utilized better. But I guess I guess this is enough for now. I couldn''t make much of the wrath mes in the past as I can now. So this would be another learning curve I''d have to go through before I can actually make good use of these chains. Meanwhile, I can learn from my experiences. I need to test the effects of these chains before thinking about anything else.'''' Eren thought to himself and nodded internally. ''This was easier than I thought. Time to earn some more Faustian Contracts.'' Eren watched with a steely gaze as the Chains of Avarice did their work, binding the demon beasts in ce and leaving them vulnerable to further attacks. [ 5th scene: Shroud of Lethargy ] The shrouds of lethargy were next in line to get summoned. A dark mist began to spread in the multiyered domain, seeping into the air and shrouding the surroundings in a thick haze. As the Shroud of Lethargy enveloped the demon beasts, a palpable sense of lethargy washed over them, weighing down their movements and clouding their minds with a heavy fog of exhaustion. It was as if they were kicked out of the berserker mode because of the domain''s effects. The beasts'' once ferocious roars were reduced to weary groans as they struggled to lift their limbs and muster the strength to fight. The demon beasts stumbled and staggered through the mist, their movements sluggish and uncoordinated. Their eyes, once filled with fiery determination, now drooped with weariness as the Shroud of Lethargy sapped their vitality and drained their energy. With each passing moment, the effects of the Shroud of Lethargy grew more pronounced, rendering the demon beasts increasingly sluggish and lethargic. Their attacks became feeble and ineffectual, their movements slow andbored as they struggled to resist the oppressive weight of the mist. "Kekeke. Couldn''t have asked for anything better at this point." Like a trained maestro dictating the ongoing symphony of the band, Eren raised his hands and waved them. The air crackled with demonic energy as Eren''s powers surged forth, engulfing the demon beasts in a maelstrom of destruction. The Sin Series abilities enhanced the effectiveness of others. The effects were stacked and the destruction was seemingly immeasurable. mes of Wrath licked at their flesh, devouring them with spectral fire, while Mouths of Gluttony tore into their bodies, consuming them from within. The Chains of Avarice made it more difficult for the demon beasts tounch counterattacks than it already was. [ 6th scene: Seeds of Jealousy ] The Seeds of Jealousy were quail-egg-sized spherical things that were made of pure and potent Envy mana. They were somewhat simr to Pearls of Gluttony in size. However, the effects they produced werepletely different. One of the most dreadful things about these seeds was the fact they couldn''t be blocked. These spectral and meta- physical seeds went through any and all forms of defenses and entered the enemy''s bodies, sprouting within their souls. With a whispered incantation, Eren sowed the seeds of discord and envy, nting the insidious tendrils of jealousy deep within the hearts of his foes. As the Seeds of Jealousy took root, a dark aura began to envelop the demon beasts, clouding their minds with feelings of senseless envy. While the lower-ranked demon beasts were getting affected by the rest of the SinS series powers Eren had unleashed on them, some of the unlucky high-ranking demon beasts had these seeds nted in their bodies. Where once there had been unity and cohesion among the ranks, now there was only distrust and discord as jealousy tore through the beasts'' ranks like a festering wound. The demon beasts turned upon each other with snarls and growls, their once fearsome alliance crumbling beneath the weight of their newfound envy. Formerrades became bitter rivals, locked in a deadly struggle for dominance and power as the Seeds of Jealousy twisted their thoughts and emotions. [ 7th scene: Shield of Hubris ] Shield of Hubris was a defensive-type Sin Series Ability. ''Hmm. Since I am not getting attacked, I might as well use it on those poor sleepyheads to test its effectiveness in real-time.'' With a wave of the butcher''s hand, a shimmering barrier of golden light surrounded the fallen Eldric Force warriors, warding off the relentless onught of the demon beasts. The Shield of Hubris'' radiant energy repelled ws and teeth with ease. With each strike, the shield pulsed with power, absorbing the force of the blows and dispersing it harmlessly into the air. *** The Sin Series abilities, bolstered by the Virtue Series Marks, had reached an absurd level of power. When used together, they formed a symbiotic rtionship, strengthening each other to enhance Eren''s offensive and defensive capabilities. The power he wielded inside the multiyered domain was nothing short of a divine miracle, especially considering he still inhabited a mortal vessel. One could only imagine the extent of Eren''s power if he were to be an Immortal. The two huge hordes of demon familiars almost vanished from sight as soon as they entered Eren''s multiyered domain. A huge amount of Gluttony Pearls, Seeds of Jealousy, Wrathful mes, and Faustian Contracts were extracted from them. All of them could be used to nourish Eren''s Path. All seven scenes unfolded concurrently or sequentially within mere minute or so. Despite the brevity of this interval, it was ample for the emergence of a definitive victor. Chapter 1878 Gaining Valuable Insights Chapter 1878 Gaining Valuable Insights ??[You have acquired a Faustian Rune Fragment rted to Eligos, strengthening the demonic aspect of your Divinity.] [You have acquired a Faustian Rune Fragment rted to Paimon, strengthening the demonic aspect...] [You have acquired a Faustian Rune Fragment rted to Samael, strengthening] [You have acquired a Faustian Rune Fragment rted to Naberius] [You have acquired a Faustian Rune Fragment rted to Asmodeus, strengthening] Eren received countless notifications on his demigod-specific sub-panel. They had been generated after Eren devoured countless demon beasts through the Mouths of Gluttony and other means. He felt his connection with Aleph''s divine throne had strengthened to a new level, allowing him to wield his demonic heritage with even more proficiency than before. "Keke. This was a good harvest," Eren thought to himself and chuckled as he surveyed the battlefield around him. The battlefieldy riddled with chaos and remnants of conflict, a testament to the ferocious sh that had unfolded moments ago. Cracked earth bore the scars of the demonic onughts, jagged crevices snaking across the ground like veins of some ancient earthen beast. The air hung heavy with the pungent scent of blood, melted bones, burning flesh, sulfur, and all sorts of elemental manifestations that damaged the dead bodies in all sorts of ways. The strong smell was a lingering reminder of the infernal powers that were unleashed by both sides. Amidst the devastation, spectral remnants of Eren''s Sin Series Domains lingered like eerie echoes of their destructive power. Wisps of Wrath mes danced in the air in spectral form, their fiery tendrils flickering with residual anger. The cackles andughter of the illusory mouths could still be heard. These mouths, frozen in demonically gluttonous hunger, loomed like grotesque sentinels. The gaping maws of these Gluttony Mouths still echoed with the echoes of their insatiable appetite. The battlefield was a canvas of carnage, littered with the twisted remains of demon beasts whose bodiesy broken and charred. Most dead demon beasts didn''t even have any flesh or bone rted proof of their existence left because the Gluttony Mouths had devoured them whole. Some of the lucky or perhaps unlucky demon beast bodies who weren''t devouredpletely still smoldered with residual mes, their once fearsome forms reduced to ash, bone, and everything in between. Othersy motionless, their life force drained by the relentless onught of Eren''s powers. There was a significant number of E-Ranked dead demon beasts in the mix. However, Eren''s Sin Series Domains hadn''t devoured them due to their "low nutritional value". They just simply died without facing any fatal injuries on their bodies. These low-level demon beasts perished due to the extreme demonic oppression they felt upon entering Eren''s multi- Amidst the destruction, a sense of eerie stillness pervaded the air, broken only by the asional groan of a wounded beast who miraculously survived or the crackle of residual mes. It was as if the very earth held its breath, anticipating what new horrors Eren would unleash upon his opponents. Despite the ferocity with which Eren had wielded his Sin Series Domains against the countless hordes of demon beasts, he didn''t feel as though he had exerted much effort. Everything hade so easily to him. Eren realized that the Sin Series Domains had been strengthened to a level beyond his wildest expectations after tempering them with the Virtue Series Marks. It was as if the Sin Series Domains required the aspects of the Virtue Series Marks to level up, and level up they did after Eren''s pseudo-avatars worked tirelessly to obtain all seven of the Virtue Series Marks using various means. Their hidden potential was realized and they allowed Eren to wield them with even more efficacy than before while putting less burden on his soul. ''I feel like I could have almost kept these Sin Series Domains in a released state around me if it wasn''t for the burden they put on my Soul Space. The burden has decreased a lot. But it''s still there. I probably wouldn''t be able to use all the Seven Sin Series Domains at the same time for more than half an hour. As far as I can tell, that will be my absolute limit. However, there are various factors attached to it that can either increase or decrease that time limit. If only there was a way to ignore the burden, I could keep these Sin Series Domains around me forever. Like an always-on protective shield that will safeguard me from any and all forms of attacks. I need to expedite my experiments rted to infinite mana. Maybe some of the aspects rted to that form of research will finally allow me to wield my Sin Series Domains in ways that they were never wielded before.'' Eren thought to himself as he reviewed his own progress after using all the Sin Series Domains in a wide-range form in a real battle for the first time ever. Eren faced his greatest challenge in utilizing the Seven Sin Series Domains due to his limited mana reserves. The sheer potency of the demonic powers hemanded far exceeded the capacity of his current state as a Grandmaster. Upon attaining demigod status with an Immortal Soul, Eren found some relief from these constraints. Still, the wieldings of the divinity itself had some inherent constraints of their own. By imbuing the Sin Series Marks with the Virtue Series Marks, the butcher finally gained the ability to employ all seven Sin Series Marks simultaneously on the battlefield without sumbing toplete mental exhaustion. Yet, Eren remained mindful of the inherent limitations imposed by his mortal vessel. Despite the imposing facade of his demonic authority, he understood its boundaries well. It also didn''t help that Eren had such a broad Ranker''s Path. With his seven sses as a Ranked, dubbed as Professions in Labh Salem, it was difficult for him to wield the powers of all seven sses together using his original body at the same time one after the other and sustain it for a decent amount of time. To address this dilemma, Eren thought about the concept of unlocking an infinite mana core, a notion that had long captivated his thoughts since his time in Anfang. === Chapter 1879 First Step Towards Having Infinite Mana: Sevenfold Mana Core Chapter 1879 First Step Towards Having Infinite Mana: Sevenfold Mana Core ??Having a broad Ranker''s Path was not that useful if Eren''s mana core limited its potential. It was like adding multiple functions to an Array Formation while trying to avoid increasing its operational cost orplexity. Or fitting multipleponents into a flying vehicle and expecting it to deliver the same performance and fuel efficiency. One couldn''t just choose the best of the both worlds just because they wanted to. The use of the pseudo-avatars not only helped Eren stay low-key within the confines of Sunhaven but also allowed him to look at all of his seven paths with a fresh perspective. It enabled him to approach the same problem that he had been having since his time in Anfang with a different mindset. Eren''s use of the "guinea pigs" in Siren''s Sanctuary wasn''t really one dimensional. Although he mostly used the prisoners sent by Altair for his research purposes rted to the pseudo-avatar creation, he had used a decent portion of his time and resources to unlock a peculiar aspect of the mana core for himself. Through dedicated research, Eren had steadily progressed in his research rted to the infinite mana core, gradually honing in on a promising direction. Eren soon came to realize that unlocking an infinite mana core wasn''t really possible for his current self. He may need to use his pseudo-avatars in different ways and scour the boundless cosmos to look for opportunities. To do this, Eren would need the witches'' heritageC the Elder Seed Artifact that could allow him to send his Soul Imprints to various worlds and finally look for answers rted to the infinite mana core. This wasn''t something Eren could do with his current powers as he was missing a lot of the pieces of the puzzle. Yet, thanks to the right direction he had chosen for himself, Eren had finally found a rtively feasible option. If an infinite mana core wasn''t possible for the current him, he would have to settle with a seven-fold mana core. How could Eren pull this off? The answer lied in his seven pseudo-avatars. Eren had achieved a breakthrough by establishing an ethereal connection between the mana cores of his seven pseudo-avatars using the powers of the Shallot''s Mirror. It only needed the Elder Seed Artifact, Eren''s Soul Imprints, and amon connection between the individuals that was the Elder Ichor bloodline. This innovation held the potential to amplify his mana reserves sevenfold, offering a substantial augmentation to his capabilities. As the central controller of these pseudo-avatars, Eren could harness this expanded mana pool to his advantage. Basically, if the experiment seededpletely, Eren''s mana core would act like a host for all seven of the mana cores wielded by his seven avatars. Thus, Eren''s own mana core would be able to harness the mana reserves of all seven mana cores at the same time, shooting his original mana reserves to an absurd amount. With this enhanced mana reservoir at his disposal, Eren could optimize the utilization of the Sin Series Domains. By reducing his reliance on Spirit Force and supplementing it with his own mana infusion, he could sustain the simultaneous invocation of all seven demonic powers for extended durations. With this solution, Eren could also use all seven of his Professions at the same time without worrying about a total burnout. If he were to be a Sage with all seven of his Professions intact, he would be an unstoppable force among all the Sages right from the moment he entered the prestigious S-Rank. The development of the sevenfold mana core still remained in its experimental phase. However, Eren just needed a bit of time and some more "guinea pigs" to perfect his experiments and finally use it for himself. One had to remember that Eren''s ultimate goal wasn''t to have a sevenfold mana core. The butcher was a lot more ambitious than one could imagine. His ultimate objective transcended mere augmentation. Grimdawn''s ambitiony in attaining an infinite mana core, capable of perpetually absorbing and assimting the world''s mana into his own essence. With such a mana core, not only his sevenfold sses but also his sevenfold demonic abilities would also benefit a lot. As for the in-depth research rted to the infinite mana core? Eren had decided to not dwell on it until he got his hands on the witches'' heritage. After all, there was no point in researching something that one was yet to possess. Eren had decided that he would follow upon the Goddess Great Mother''s lead rted to the location of a certain Elder Seed Artifact and his research rted to the infinite mana core at the same time. This was provided he somehow managed to obtain the witches'' heritage before finally escaping from Labh Salem, leaving it in dust so that he could go somewhere safer and conduct his myriad demonic possessions in peace. The use of the pseudo-avatars had set the foundation for Eren''s myriad demonic possessions all across the boundless cosmos. As long as he survived the uing storm revolving around the onset of the Hvergelmir Springs, the butcher could use the unique advantage only avable to him to their absolute limits. All he needed was some time and patience. One had to say that Eren had learned to use Shallot''s Mirror like it had never been used by any of its previous owners. With his steady mindset, he had yed with the cards he had been dealt with like no other, enabling him to stay many steps ahead of his powerful enemies. *** This single battle against the hordes of demon beasts had blessed Eren with numerous insights into his experiments concerning both the sevenfold mana core and the infinite mana core. He resolved to leverage the symbiotic rtionship between the Sin Series Marks and Virtue Series Marks as a foundation for his further experiments. But that wasn''t all. Eren also gained profound insights into the essence of the soul. Or rather, creation of a soul. Previously, he had suggested to Maya that he might uncover a solution to her dilemma. While this im was mostly intended to sway her allegiance, the revtions from the battle led him to believe that there might indeed be a way for Maya to forge a genuine soul for herself, transitioning from artificial to original. The butcher couldn''t help but acknowledge that the experience gleaned from this single battle was as valuable as the Faustian Rune Fragments he had acquired, if not more so. He expressed nothing but praise and gratitude for all those who had perished in the pursuit of his enlightenment. === AN: Found out yesterday that the wrong content was inadvertently posted for Chapter 1871. The intended chapter was meant to depict Kalen''s selection as one of Eren''s pseudo- avatars. But a mix-up urred, and portions of two chapters werebined by mistake. This was due to the copy-pasting error I had in Google Docs without the use of the headers for titles. If the updated content is not immediately visible, I rmend refreshing the page by opening and closing the book a few times. Alternatively, clearing the cache in the app settings and reopening Chapter 1871 should disy the correct content. Sorry for the inconvenience. Also, thank you @Doubleline for pointing out the mistake. Initially, I had nned to cover Eren''s demonic powers rted to all Sin Series Domains in the next volume. However, I realized that it was long overdue and decided to use the demonstration of these powers to set the foundation for the "Sage of the Seven Paths" volume, by addressing all if it current volume itself. With this foundation in ce, we will have one more volume conclusion chapter before officially starting the next volume. :) Chapter 1880 The Chessblade Knight Chapter 1880 The Chessde Knight ??A profound silence enveloped the surroundings, offering a brief respite to Eren while haunting whatever remained of his demon adversaries. As Keram, the leader of the demon beasts, bore witness to the relentless ughter and consumption of his familiars by Eren within the Sin Series Domains, a plethora of emotions danced across his features. Initially, confidence and authority radiated from his countenance as he led his horde towards Eren''s domain. However, as the battle unfolded and his once formidable forces fell one by one to Eren''s overwhelming demonic might, a growing sense of horror and desperation washed over him. His eyes widened in disbelief as he witnessed the gruesome fate befalling his familiars, their agonized screams piercing the battlefield. With each demon beast that sumbed to Eren''s onught, Keram''s demeanor shifted from defiance to despair. ''This this was a wrong idea. I shouldn''t have listened to that harlot. At this point, heC he is more dangerous than those Demon Earls.'' The realization that his authority as their leader was powerless against Eren''s might gnawed at him, filling him with a profound sense of inadequacy. Before Keram could retract his decision and order his familiars to retreat, they had already fallen prey to Eren''s domains. The brevity of this one-sided confrontation spoke volumes about Eren''s dominance in the eyes of the remaining demon beast leaders and their respective hordes. The neutral demon beast leaders silently thanked their stars when they realized that their decision to remain spectators was the right one. Adding more enemies in front of Eren would have only served to aid him in gathering more Faustian Rune Fragments at their expense. "What''s wrong? If you won''t approach me, I will," Eren remarked coldly, casting a callous gaze at Sifrona and Keram. The Sin Series tattoos that adorned his body twisted and turned, resembling agile serpentine creatures slithering across his skin, as if eager to unleash further horrors upon the demon beasts after the conclusion of the first round. Step. Eren took a step forward, crushing the skull of a B-Ranked demon beast beneath his feet. Another stepnded on the unrecognizable, mangled remains of an aerial demon beast, blood oozing from the severed parts as Eren firmly nted his leg over it without care. "MaC maC my lord, forC forgive me. IC I was aiC" Keram stuttered, mortified as he watched Eren approach. He was about to plead for his life, but before he could do so, Eren raised his right hand and made a grabbing action towards Keram. In the next moment, multiple spectral hands resembling Eren''s materialized in the surroundings. These spectral hands were a form of Soul SpellC the same kind that the Witch of the Endermes had once used in her Purgatory when Eren was unconscious during the branding of the Sin Series Marks. The witch had used the Soul Hands of her dragon transformation to contend with the seven-headed serpentine statue that hade alive after sensing Eren''s bloodline. After reachingte-stage Grandmaster status with potent Spirit Force, Eren had managed to unlock this power as well. In an instant, a swarm of spectral hands surrounded Keram,tching onto his body. These Soul Hands represented Eren''s authority as a nascent Demon Emperor and exerted a significant oppressive effect on a demon beast leader of Keram''s caliber. One of the Soul Hands wrapped around Keram''s mouth, silencing him, while the others immobilized his limbs. The demonic runes on these Soul Hands began to transfer onto Keram''s body, turning them into shackles. Some of the Soul Hands bore Gluttony Mouths on their palms, their forked spectral tonguesshing out eerily. Others carried the might of the Chains of Avarice, while some were coated in the Wrath mes. There were spectral hands holding Seeds of Jealousy, while others were coated in Sloth mana, spreading the Shroud of Lethargy in their vicinity. The spectral hands lifted Keram''s body into the air as Eren continued to walk toward him with slow, deliberate steps. He retrieved two random nameless swords from his Inventory and manifested two more Soul Hands, handing them the summoned weapons. "Did you think I was merely saying things for shits and giggles when I said there''d be no going back when I start? Why do some people never want to take me seriously until the moment when it is toote for them to do so? Do people think I''m easy to bully?" Eren asked a question while looking at Keren. However, those who listened to his words felt as if these questions were personally asked to them. Keram''s limbs were stretched in opposite directions by the Soul Hands gripping his body, leaving no spot free. This was a public execution, those who witnessed it quickly deduced the situation in their heads. The other demon beast leaders'' expressions changed to dread as they witnessed this scene. Yet, nobody came to help Keram, not even Sifrona, the prime instigator behind the battle. Meanwhile, Nyxus looked at Eren with veneration as she saw him wielding his demonic heritage. She no longer cared about what happened to her former colleagues. She had defected to Eren''s side and was pleased with her decision after witnessing his power. To the demons, power and authority were everything. They respected the demonic hierarchy and the inherent order that came with it. As such, Nyxus didn''t have to struggle much to muster feelings of adoration for Eren in her heart. "Hmm. it seems you have evolved from a dire wolf," Eren remarked, narrowing his gaze on the motionless Keram before his expression turned cold. "You know I hate your kind," he said as he gestured for the summoned Soul Hands beside him to fly toward Keram, each holding a nameless sword in its grip. The demons watched with trepidation as the swords closed in on Keram''s body. Coated in the Sin Series Mana of various kinds, these nameless swords first shed onto Keram''s two beastly arms, severing them from their shoulders. It was a clean and precise cut, with no mess. The reason why no blood came out? The demonic runes writhing over Keram''s body like centipedes. They stopped the bleeding and instead allowed the Gluttony Mouths to feed on Keram''s blood, acting as some form of demonic "straws." The severed arms were caught mid-air by additional spectral Soul Hands, preventing them from falling lifelessly to the ground. Two more spectral hands entered Keram''s severed arms, taking control of them and causing them to hover in the air alongside the rest of his body parts. Next Keram''s legs were forcibly stretched apart even further, and then the nameless swords struck his crotch, cleanly severing his manhood and testicles in one precise motion. The detached sack of testicles was intercepted by Keram''s own severed arms before being brought toward his mouth. "Eat those fucking balls," Eren ordered Keram with an unwavering tone, leaving no room for questioning or hesitation. Several Gluttony Mana-coated hands dissolved into Keram''s body, instilling a mindless gluttony within him. The demon beast leaders watched in shock and horror as Keram began to consume his own severed body parts without protest or resistance. Soon, even his own phallus was offered to him, and he devoured it without uttering a sound. Witnesses at the scene felt a chill run down their spines as they observed Keram''s helpless state. There was no longer any doubt in their minds that Eren was more demonic than all of thembined. With a snap of his fingers, Eren signaled the end of Keram''s ordeal. The nameless swords swiftly decapitated him, and his body was torn apart vertically by the myriad Soul Hands before being chopped into numerous pieces. The Soul Hands, with Gluttony Mouths as their palms, devoured Keram''s entire being before any of his fleshly parts could even reach the ground. The Gluttony Mana hands scattered in all directions, seizing even the tiniest piece of flesh before consuming it. The scene resembled a mortal body falling into a pool teeming with piranhas. Once their task of holding Keram''s own groin wasplete, Eren allowed Keram''s arms to be devoured as well. Before long, Keram had vanished into thin air entirely. It was undeniable that Keram met his end with significant trauma. How could he have known that the vengeful demon that was Eren had a penchant for taking out his frustrations on all forms of wolves, especially after one had dared to mutte his groin in his first timeline? "Now you" Eren began, intending to address Sifrona next. However, before he could do so, he sensed her approaching with extreme agility. "Hm? What is this little vixen up to?" Eren didn''t feel threatened by her approach. As a nascent Demon Emperor, he could discern that Sifrona wasn''t motivated by vengeance or greed in confronting him; rather, she was gripped by extreme fear. Swoosh. Zoom. Kneel. "My lord, forgive me. Please forgive me," Sifrona pleaded as she knelt before Eren, her head touching the ground. She had relinquished her prestige as a demon beast leader and surrendered herself to Eren. "That poor wolf died because of you, and now you expect me to forgive you?" Eren asked, smiling as he gazed at the kneeling Sifrona. He found the demon phoenix before him to be quite intriguing. Sifrona remained silent upon hearing Eren''s words. What else could she say at this point? She gritted her teeth and maintained her silence, fully submitting herself to the act of surrender. With one leg ced over Sifrona''s head, Eren turned his gaze toward the silent spectators beside him. "Does anyone else wish to challenge me? Now is your best chance. If you don''t seize this opportunity, you will be left with two choices: either submit to me entirely or risk not leaving this battlefield alive." The demon beast leaders wasted no time in submitting to the nascent Demon Emperor after witnessing the horrifying spectacle of Keram''s execution. "Alright, fine," Eren sighed dramatically as he observed Sifrona and the other demon beast leaders prostrate themselves on the ground before assuming the same kneeling position, their heads touching the ground. "Raise your heads and let your souls be receptive to my authority." Initially, Eren hadn''t intended to turn the demon beast leaders present at the scene into his subordinates. He would rather devour them all. However, he realized that they still controlled a significant number of demon beast hordes, far too many for him to control individually. While he could eliminate them without breaking a sweat, controlling such a number of demon beasts was another matter. Thus, Eren reconsidered his initial decision and subdued these demon beast leaders to gain control over the hordes theymanded. Soon, their Faustian Contracts were altered, making Eren the sole demon boss they would ever serve. He thenmanded them, "Take me to the Demon Earls. I want to meet them." Turning around, he added, "And oh? Those human sleepyheads you see further back? Instruct your familiars to bring them with us. I don''t want them left behind as we venture into the depths of the Shadowed Grove." The demon beast leaders exchanged nces before obeying Eren''s orders. As Eren walked through the sea of demon beasts with his hands behind his back, the tamed demon beast leaders followed closely behind him. For the time being, the hordes of demon beasts dispersed, blending into the unrecognizablendscape of the Shadowed Grove. In the end, Eren was visible as he made his way toward the center of the forest, his newly acquired demon beast leaders guiding him forward. *** After a few days. Siren''s Sanctuary''s underground facility. blinked his eyes open, feeling as though he had just emerged from a vivid dream. Rubbing his eyes to clear his vision, he noticed a faint sensation of someone trying to contact him. Opening Menaka''s Blessing, he smiled upon seeing the familiar face of Vasco attempting tomunicate with him. "Vasco! Long time no see," Eren greeted warmly as Vasco''s real- time image appeared on a Spectral Screen. This securemunication method was standard among Demon yers, ensuring their conversations remained confidential, even as Eren lived undercover in Sunhaven. "Hm? Is that your undercover look? You didn''t make much effort to conceal yourself, did you?" Vasco chuckled, observing Eren''s distinct persona under the name Ren Roman Idril. "I called because Horen and I have officially joined your mission. It''sing to an end in a few months, right? The Corps agreed to provide backup, and we''ve applied to fill that position," Vasco exined, a smile on his face. Surprised but pleased, Eren nodded. Vasco and Horen had told him before the trip parted that they would join him after wrapping up with their end of the Demon ying missions. It seemed that the two still wanted to repay the favor to Eren that he did during their Demon yer testing grounds. "Alright. Meet me at Sunhaven to discuss further. We''ll need to n ahead if we want to do this right. I''ll send you the coordinates. Come as soon as you can," he instructed before preparing to leave the facility. "By the way, have we identified the target?" Eren inquired, curious about thetest developments in the mission. "Yes, just hours ago. The target''s official name isn''t known, but his Kaiser title in Labh Salem is the Chessde Knight," Vasco replied, ncing at the information disyed on his Spectral Screen. Eren''s expression turned solemn upon hearing the target''s title, memories of his childhood flooding back. "Did you cheat, son?" "Son, perhaps the reason they don''t like you is because you don''t like them. Why would they y with someone who doesn''t like or see them as a friend?" "People don''t always need a profound reason to hate something, son. Sometimes, they don''t need a reason at all. They can hate anything that is unusual or anyone who is not like them." "This is your battle, son. You have to handle it yourself." "Sometimes, on the battlefield and in life in general, you have to lose a bit to win big. Always remember this, my son." "A smart mind needs discipline. A routine. Otherwise, it will overthink and overindulge in negative things and destroy you from within. So be careful of your own mind. It is your strongest weapon and most dreadful enemy." "We are different, you and me. Always remember this, my boy." The echoes of the past reverberated in Eren''s mind, each word resounding in his ears as though he had just heard them anew. Yet, in the next moment, they receded into the distance, growing hazier with each passing second until they faded away entirely. Though the people of Labh Salem may remain unaware of the Chessde Knight''s true identity, Eren knew. This alias belonged to the person who had significantly influenced his childhood, despite their limited time together. "Father, you''re here too?" Eren murmured to himself as he abruptly ended his call with Vasco. === AN: Volume 11: Beyond the Veil ends with this chapter release. See you in the next one. :) Chapter 1881 Sea God Raashim P1 Chapter 1881 Sea God Raashim P1 ??A few weekster. Siren''s Sanctuary. Sunhaven. A grand gazebo fashioned from rich redwood stood proudly in the backyard. It provided a breathtaking view of the endless sea. The rhythmic melody of waves crashing against the shore created a soothing symphony. The first light of dawn gently kissed the sky, painting it in hues of pink and gold. A soft sea breeze, tinged with the tang of salt, caressed the air, imbuing it with a refreshing vitality. Within this idyllic setting, Ereny sprawled face-down upon a simple wooden bed, adorned with a plush mattress, positioned at the center of the gazebo. His form was rxed, his features obscured by the embrace of a cushion as if lost in a state of blissful repose. His upper body bare, save for the morning light that danced upon his skin. With measured grace, Reen stepped over Eren''s back, applying gentle pressure with each movement while humming a local sea shanty famous among the Sunhaven''s locals, seeking out the knots and tension nestled within his muscles. "Come gather ''round, me hearties, and heed the ocean''s call. For we''ll sail upon her mighty waves, where the bravest souls stand tall. With the wind in our sails and the stars as our guide, We''ll let our ships glide forth on the ever-changing tide. Ohoy! La luh luh. Lh luhla luh. Lh luhla luh. La luh luh." Reen sang carefreely, matching her movements on Eren''s back with the tune she sang. It was as if she was squashing fantastical berries on Eren''s back to make wine out of them, her movements speeding up as she sang the chorus. "Mmm, right there," Eren murmured, his voice muffled by the soft fabric of the pillow, offering words of encouragement to Reen as she worked her magic. With his free hands, he started hitting the wooden corners of the bed in beat, providing Reen''s song with some background instrumental music. Eren was in his altered, middle-aged appearance, assuming the fictional identity of Ren Roman Idril. Reen was as youthful as ever. As such, it looked like a father-daughter pair were spending their quality time together. "Erni, I see our ships," Reen informed Eren as she kept massaging Eren''s back with her jolly dance moves, using Eren''s back as a dancing tform. In the next moment, Eren lifted his head and looked at the horizon. "Oh yeah," he murmured as he looked at the two approaching ships, Freya and Tidebreaker. Eren didn''t get up even though he saw that Naya had finished her expedition and came back to him. Even though he could see the ships from where he was, the nautical distances were deceiving. He knew that it would take the ships a while to get harbored. Reen also didn''t stop. She coated her toes in the lightning and fire mana, intensifying her back massage as she danced on his back with a new gusto. The lightning below her feet crackled and the mes of orange and red hues intensified and dimmed down at rhythmic patterns as Reen kept singing. "Yo ho-ho-ho, me hearties, let the sea set us free, With the salt in our veins and the wind in our lee. We''ll sing of tales untold, and the treasures we''ll find, As we journey ''cross the ocean, leaving cares behind. Hurray! La luh luh. Lh luhla luh. Lh luhla luh. La luh luh." One could sense Reen''s anticipation for her uing sea trip with Eren. Sunhaven had been their haven for the better part of thest five years. While they asionally embarked on demon- hunting missions for the Demon yers Corps, they always returned promptly. The imminent journey promised an exploration of the depths of Labh Salem, igniting her excitement. Moreover, Reen looked forward to the opportunity to test her powers. She longed for a battle that would push her limits as an Elder Seed Artifact Spirit. The two reveled in the morning''s tranquility until Naya approached them, her presence breaking the peaceful atmosphere. "You two seem to be taking it easy," Naya remarked as she entered the gazebo and settled onto a nearby sofa. "Meanwhile, I was on the brink of exposing myself and meeting my end at the hands of Sea God Raashim," she sighed. Meanwhile, the crew from the Freya and Tidebreaker hadnded on the shores. After anchoring the ships, they were granted a respite in Sunhaven before their imminent departure. Eren had dispatched his fiends from Anfang, Harja Mel, and Darven, to apany Naya on her sea voyage among many other subordinates. They had returned with her and now stood outside the gazebo, patiently awaiting the conclusion of the discussion between Eren and Naya. Even the fiendish coupleC Ashton and Hilda had managed to return safely, awaiting Eren''s instructions. "Sea god Raashim," Eren murmured the name under his breath as Reen diligently massaged his feet. "I have indeed heard of this god''s name. But I wasn''t sure he''d be the one I''d be nning against. Interesting. Alright, now that the target has been identified, there''s no need to second guess. How was your recon mission, Naya? What can you tell me about him?" he inquired, his eyes alight with curiosity as he turned to face her while maintaining his form. Naya''s expression shifted to one of solemnity at Eren''s question. She drew a deep breath before offering her candid assessment. "Eren, I think we should drop the idea of stealing Sea god Raashim''s faith. He has a powerful incarnation in thete-stage S-Rank. His higher Ranking Status should be enough of a concerning factor to you. But that''s not all. He also controls two confirmed S-Ranked sea dragons and at least six wyverns. In addition, he recently promoted one subordinate to S-Rank status. Apart from these assets, he has numerous A-Ranked practitioners and loads of low-level devotees. Half the pirates in the Labh Salem''s seas pray to him, bolstering his faith. I fear we wouldn''t stand a chance against him," she concluded, her expression grave. Naya had executed her recon mission as instructed by Eren, but her report held no positive news. She appeared daunted by the sheer power wielded by Sea god Raashim and his devoted following. "Hah! That god is not the only one with S-Ranked allies," Reen dered confidently as she stomped and applied pressure to Eren''s back. "We''ll manage just fine, Erni," she assured him. Eren groaned slightly in difort as he responded to Reen. "Bet! But hmmm Just don''t..." Chapter 1882 Sea God Raashim P2 Chapter 1882 Sea God Raashim P2 ??"Bet! But... hmm... just don''t break my... back while you''re at it," Eren murmured to himself, maintaining a neutral expression as hey still. "Lady Reen is right!" Suddenly Roza Thas interjected, appearing in Naya''s line of sight with a smile on her face. "I have also managed to enter the S-Rank," she announced, her aura faintly radiating her newfound status to Naya. Naya''s eyebrows shot up in surprise as she sensed Roza''s upgraded status as a genuine S-Rank practitioner. It seemed they were both traversing simr paths, albeit in different ways. Coincidentally, both wielded ice-element magic, yet Roza had evidently surpassed Naya in Elemental Attainments following her breakthrough. ncing between Roza and Reen, Naya realized that Eren had been quietly cultivating formidable allies over the years. Although Naya could sense Reen''s S-Rank status through her potent mana signatures, the true extent of Reen''s powers remained a mystery. With Roza now joining the ranks of S-Rank, Eren had two undeniable powerhouses by his side. However, even under such circumstances, Naya didn''t foresee Eren prevailing against the sea god Raashim. "Oh! This this is great news. Congrattions, Roza," Naya smiled at the demoness, offering her congrattions for her recent breakthrough. She then turned her gaze back to Eren before continuing. "Eren, with Reen and Roza here, I don''t think we should provoke sea god Raashim. The wild idea of facing two dragons in their own territory is not something to be taken lightly. Do you know that many practitioners from their respective faiths have attempted to challenge sea god Raashim''s faith? Many groups of temrs from various temples, as well as demons associated with demonic cults, have made such attempts. Do you know what became of them? They either died or suffered severe injuries that made them practically incapable as Practitioners of the Paths." *** Naya then proceeded to share with Eren the information she had gleaned about the sea god Raashim by infiltrating his domain in the deep seas. Sea god Raashim was a formidable deity revered by many throughout the vast expanses of the ocean. His influence extended across treacherous waters and turbulent seas, earning the respect of sailors, pirates, and coastalmunities alike. Legends of his power and authority circted among seafarers, inspiring both reverence and dread in those who dared to navigate his domain. Raashim''s faith was deeply entrenched in the belief that the sea harbored boundless opportunities and dangers, where one could discover unimaginable wealth or meet a watery demise. His devotees offered prayers and sacrifices in the hopes of garnering favor from the sea god, seeking protection from tempests, plentiful harvests, and safe passage through perilous waters. The Elemental God Spark yed a pivotal role in fostering this faith. Of course, this God Spark was forged by god Raashim himself for his incarnation inside his Immortal ne. As such, this God Spark was deemed as Faith-based God Spark. Through the Mesh, Raashim''s incarnation regted the seas, ensuring that the prayers directed towards him were answered, with priority given to those who offered greater sacrifices and demonstrated unwavering loyalty. The appearance of Raashim''s incarnation was as imposing as the depths of the ocean itself. Draped in shimmering scales of azure and emerald, his towering figure emanated an aura of power and grandeur. His eyes gleamed like polished sapphires, reflecting the endless expanse of the sea, while tendrils of seaweed encased his muscr limbs like armor. Brandishing a Hex Artifact trident, Raashim''s incarnation wielded mastery over the waters, granting boons and blessings to those who pledged allegiance to him while also imposing upon them his expectations. Raashim''s devotees were assigned missions to carry out his will, establishing a harmonious ecosystem maintained by his templework, which enabled mortals and practitioners to remain connected to his faith. These worshippers served as Raashim''s emissaries upon the seas, expanding his influence and safeguarding his temples from any who dared challenge his authority. Fiercely loyal, his devotees remained steadfast in their faith, fortified by the promise of divine protection and prosperity as they traversed the perilous waters of Labh Salem, secure in the belief that the sea god watched over them, prepared to mete out punishment to any who dared oppose him. *** "Our main problem is those S-Ranked sea dragons. As long asC" Naya was interrupted before she could paint a grim picture for Eren, hoping to dissuade him from his potentially suicidal n. Another S-Ranked presence approached them from a distance. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Osha Daman flew in from afar,nding just outside the gazebo like a small meteor. As an S-Ranked entity, she could fly effortlessly, without needing any spell or skill to do so. Irrespective of whether it was Labh Salem or Anfang, a Sage''s powers couldn''t be questioned. All those who reached the S-Rank could fly, as their breakthrough granted them knowledge of spatialws. While some talented S-Rankers could use this knowledge to create isted pocket dimensions, the ability to fly without relying on artifacts, spells, or skills was amon power among all S- Rank practitioners. An S-Ranker''s flight was not like a regr flight. It didn''t involve creating a wind pressure under someone''s form to be able to soar through the skies. Instead, it was spatial maniption that made the S-Rankers treat the space as an endless ocean with them swimming inside it like a fish. "Hehe. Labh Salem seems to be treating you well, Eren," Osha Daman chuckled as she observed Eren''s rxed demeanor. "When do you n to make a move? And have you acquired the items I requested?" Osha Daman''s long, off-blonde hair and golden gown fluttered in the sea breeze as she walked. Her captivating blue eyes and warm smile enhanced her allure. d in a charming blue top and dark brown pants, her ample feminine curves were entuated, adding to her undeniable charm. Having arrived in Labh Salem earlier than Eren, her influence in the world was unmistakable. As an S-Ranked entity, she could do more here. Ask for more. She had made significant strides in her journey as a Sage, solidifying her foundation and steadily progressing towards the mid-stage of the S-Rank. Eren looked at Osha and smiled before responding. "We are going to" === Chapter 1883 Starting Sevenfold Mana Core Experiments

Chapter 1883 Starting Sevenfold Mana Core Experiments

"We will move within a few days. You are wee to stay here till then." Eren replied casually as he gestured to Reen to stop messaging him. He then got up from his bed and stretched his limbs as he added further. "As for yourpensation, you will naturally get it when weplete the raid," he said before looking at Naya. "I hope you have brought a new batch of prisoners for me. I would like to conduct a final round of experiments before we attack sea god Raashim''s domain," he said. "Altair Argas indeed sent us a good number of prisoners. I will transport them directly to your "special" ce," Naya said before gesturing at Ashton and Hilda who stood behind her. The pair of fiends nodded at Naya and Eren before taking their leave. Soon, they would transport the new batch of prisoners to Siren''s Sanctuary''s underground facility. "They''ve grown stronger, and even closer together than they were in Anfang," Eren thought to himself, smiling as he watched Ashton and Hilda''s backs. He had resurrected them and turned them into fiends on a whim, but it turned out they had a natural talent for epting their demonic nature. ''I have about a month before Vasco and Horen arrive in Sunhave. Should be enough time for me to take over this god''s faith.'' Eren had given himself one month to wrap up the raid on the sea god Raashim. After that, he needed to address the undercover mission from the Demon yer Corps that supposedly involved his father. ''Is it really him? If they don''t know what the Chessde Knight looks like, the chances are it''s definitely him. After all, the rulebook he gave meC I''m sure he''d follow his own set of advice,'' Eren thought to himself. The butcher couldn''t help getting excited over the fact that he would get to meet his father. He had a lot to tell him. It turned out his father had stepped into S-Rank as well, earning the honor of being a Kaiser with the title of the Chessde Knight. Eren was surprised to learn this, but his surprise didn''tst long once he considered how his father operated. Elijah Idril would never undertake something unless he was certain of achieving sess. Unlike Eren, his talent as a Ranker was evident from the early stages of his Ranking Journey. The Chessde Knight. That''s what Eren''s father called himself whenever they yed chess in Anfang. He once told Eren that he liked the Knight''s piece the most because it represented him C someone who sidestepped problems while staying within self-imposed rules. Someone who was not as strong as the strongest piece nor as weak as the weakest piece. Someone who could transcend his mediocrity with one right move. Eren found his father''s thoughts inspiring. He pondered his own preferred chess piece. However, Eren couldn''te up with a solid answer. Taking pleasure out of his son''s misery born out of indecision, Elijah had suggested Eren could be the chessboard itself with his talent C something that hosts pieces and lets them fight among each other, something that exists outside the game session, and something that ousts any game. Eren was deeply inspired by his father''s words. Even though he didn''t fully understand what it meant for him, the idea of bing the chessboard resonated with him deeply. "If pushes to shove, I''ll fucking destroy the entire Demon yers Corps for him if it bes a hindrance to his path," Eren thought to himself, narrowing his eyes. "But first, I need to meet him and see what he''s up to. If there''s anything I can help him with, I''ll dly do so," he nodded to himself as he walked back inside Siren''s Sanctuary. Unlike most kids, Eren wasn''t saddened by his father''s absence in his childhood, even when it happened. He saw things pragmatically and understood that his father must have had a very good reason to make that move. After all, Elijah, the Chessde Knight, didn''t make any wasteful moves. Eren had searched for information rted to the Chessde Knight in the Arcane Archives of the Demon yers Corps but found little apart from random demonic incidents that urred one after the other. Throughout these mysterious incidents, the term "Chessde Knight" remained an enigma for the Demon yers Corps. Recently, orders came from the upper echelons of the Corps that the Chessde Knight needed to be apprehended at all costs. A wide had been cast across Labh Salem for this purpose, meaning Eren was not the only one undercover, acting as part of the invisible cast to trap Elijah. This had been set up for more than five years to catch a single Kaiser. That too by a well-established organization within Labh Salem that had the backings of various gods. And yet, it couldn''t catch Elijah. It spoke volumes about the man''s ability to predict his enemy''s moves, like a chess grandmaster who yed games against a newbie yer with bare minimum experience. One could say that Elijah had been winning every single day ever since the game between him and Corps started more than five years ago. Of course, Eren didn''t immediately rebel upon learning that his father stood in opposition to the Corps. He was sure that his father would be the first to criticize him for his rash move if he ever came to know about it. Furthermore, Elijah didn''t consider the Demon yer Corps his enemy; he acted against a specific group of people, and the Corps was just getting in the way of his business. Why take things personally when you can ignore the hindrance and focus on goals? Just like the knight piece on the chessboard, Elijah always sidestepped at thest moment, preventing the Corps or his enemies from ever catching a whiff of him. He stayed many moves ahead of his enemies, allowing him to evade many "surefire" traps. *** ''I I don''t know how many of his subordinates I have killed during thest five years,'' Eren mused to himself as he got inside the underground facility. Eren realized he might unwittingly have be a hindrance to his father. He might have killed or neutralized some of his allies during thest five years undercover on the same mission. His official demon-ying count was already in the thousands. However, Eren didn''t think his father would mind. As far as he knew Elijah, he might have already considered his "pieces" getting sacrificed and still yed the game decisively. This was his father''s rulebook. Eren had merely adopted its rules. "One way or another, I''ll get my answer after a month. Meanwhile, I can get some work done. I need to finish my sevenfold mana core experiments within a few days. Only then can I confidently face the sea god Raashim," Eren thought to himself as he waited for Ashton and Hilda to bring him a batch of prisoners inside the underground facility. Even though Eren had acted tough in front of Naya, he was quite wary of the sea god Raashim and the power of his faith. The only reason he had still decided to carry on his n was that he had seen promising results with his sevenfold mana core experiments. Eren also believed that his elemental God Spark, forged by Anfang''s World Will itself, was superior to the faith-based God Spark wielded by his enemy, sea god Raashim''s incarnation. At least, that''s how he had interpreted the information rted to the types of the God Sparks, which he had obtained from the Goddess Great Mother. If the faith-based God Spark was forged inside god Raashim''s Immortal ne, then it came with some form of "malfunctions" that would reveal themselves in the mortal ne. Labh Salem''s World Will might not bepletely epting of the faith- based God Spark as well. To be honest, Eren didn''t know much about the subject of the God Spark because, frankly, he hadn''t dwelled on the matter. He already had his hands full with pseudo-avatar creation and the experiments rted to the sevenfold mana core. Eren had basically increased his productivity sevenfold after all seven of his pseudo-avatars were sent to do his bidding for him. However, there was a limit to how much he could do. However, the butcher knew that there were a few lessons in the world that could only be learned the hard way? If he didn''t know or understand the God Spark, the quickest way to get familiarized with them was through battle. Eren had seldom used his divine powers even since the end of the Great Shattering. After all, his mortal body had to take the brunt of his divine powers every time he wielded them. As far as Eren could tell, sea god Rashim''s incarnation would also be subjected to the same impositions as him. Eren therefore wanted to know how his enemy could get around it. The butcher didn''t mind copying his enemy''s style as long as it benefitted him. Step. Step. Step. Eren''s chain of thoughts was broken when he heard a bunch of footsteps echoing in the underground facility. He turned around to see a fresh batch of magically shackled prisonersing towards him, with Ashton and Hilda leading them. "Great job, you two," Eren didn''t hold back his praise as he greeted the fiendish pair, a light smile gracing his lips. "I''ll offer you two Elder Ichor Blessings as a reward. I hope it is to your liking. You can certainly ask me for more, and I''ll see what I can do," he assured. Ashton and Hilda were both d that Eren had praised them. "The blessings are enough, my liege," the pair replied in unison, almost as if they had rehearsed it. "Kekeke," Eren chuckled before pping his hands. "Alright, I don''t have much time. This time, you two will help me throughout the rounds of the experiment," Eren said as he sidestepped and pointed at an Array Formation behind him. "Get them inside. We''ll start right away," he said, even without sparing a nce at the shackled prisoners. Chapter 1884 Unlocking Sevenfold Mana Core P1

Chapter 1884 Unlocking Sevenfold Mana Core P1

In the dimly lit underground facility of Siren''s Sanctuary, multiple stone tforms stood in organized rows, each etched with intricate runic details. These tforms served as the operational stage for Eren''s experiments. Using the fiends'' help, Eren arranged for every prisoner toy t on the tforms before shackling their limbs to it using the runic details. "Here goes nothing." With a swift gesture, Eren activated the Array Formation, the runic symbols on the tforms glowing with a faint light. "Ugh!" Ugh!" The gagged prisoners tried to register their protests. However, they were forced toy on the stone tform by Ashton and Hilda. As the prisoners, their faces etched with fear and resignation, were ushered onto the tforms by Ashton and Hilda one after the other, Eren''s expression remained neutral. He raised his hand, and ss vials filled with a crimson liquid levitated from a nearby table, positioning themselves above each prisoner''s head. "Drink." With a silentmand, the vials emptied themselves, forcefully pouring the liquid into the open mouths of the prisoners. Their bodies jerked involuntarily as Eren took control, manipting their movements with precision using the Array Formation. Once the prisoners had ingested the concoction, Eren began the experiment. He channeled his mana into the array, the runic symbols pulsating with power as they interacted with the prisoners'' mana cores. A surge of magical energy enveloped the tform, causing the prisoners to convulse as their mana cores were subjected to intense maniption. Eren''s brow furrowed in concentration as he monitored the intricate process. Eren wanted to harness the power of seven mana cores into one using the experimental results he had obtained so far. Within the confines of his undergroundboratory, he meticulously arranged the prisoners, positioning one at the center of each small circle, with seven others encircling them. The runic patterns etched into the ground around them resembled the intricate orbits of celestial bodies revolving around stars withinary systems. Each prisoner within the central circle served as the focal point for the manifestation of the sevenfold mana core. Drawing upon his years of experience, Eren adeptly transformed the surrounding prisoners into pseudo-avatars of their central counterparts. Just like that, two days passed in the experiment. The experiment was about to reach its conclusion. And there were not many mishaps observed. Though Eren had honed the technique to near perfection, he hesitated to subject himself to its final stages without thorough testing. Instead, he subjected three designated targets and their corresponding pseudo-avatars to harsh and merciless experiments. As the experiments unfolded, the prisoners'' bodies convulsed in response to the surge of energy, their faces contorted in agony as their mana cores were agitated to their limits. By this point, the experiment started to take its toll on Eren''s Spirit Force and mana reserves as well. The support provided by the Array Formation was limited after all. And there were many things that Eren needed to regte manually in the experiments. Eren uncorked several potions and gulped them down one after the other. He had already prepared these concoctions to aid him in his experiments. Eren had already made the three targets drink potions of various kinds to stabilize their conditions. One could say that Eren''s experiments relied on his mastery over multiple fields. From the Array Formations, and Hex Artifact forging to potion-making, Eren had used every single of his expertise he had gained over the years to make these experiments a sess. Towards the end, Eren started to feel some exhaustion. His helpers Ashton and Hilda who had manned two of the Array Eyes also felt some troubles continuing ahead. Yet, the experiment was at its peak and needed to bepleted as soon as one could. Undeterred, Eren pressed on, his determination unwavering as he pushed the boundaries of magical augmentation to unprecedented heights. However Swooh. Zoom. Boom. A muffled st of flesh. The cracking of bones and spilling of blood. One of the three target prisoners and the seven pseudo- avatars surrounding him sumbed to the overload of the mana core, resulting in their untimely demise. The death of the central figure triggered a chain reaction, causing all seven pseudo-avatars to meet the same fate, resulting in the loss of eight lives simultaneously. Eren gained an epiphany from this death. "I understand now. I mustpensate for the variance in mana concentration among the individuals, using those with higher levels to bnce out the lower ones, with myself acting as the mediator. This way, I can achieve a uniform sevenfold mana core without encountering as manyplications in maintaining its operability. Basically, I can find a median mana core by averaging out the mana core concentrations of all seven mana cores. Then I can use my original mana core as a base for hosting the seven uniformed mana cores," Eren reflected inwardly as he surveyed the grim aftermath, the lifeless forms of the eight prisoners serving as a stark reminder of the risks involved. Eren didn''t try to forcefully change the results of the abnormal values he found in the experiment. Instead, after a certain threshold was hit, he let the prisoners meet their eventual fate. After all, he could also learn many things from his failures. ''Haa! Time to take a breather.'' Taking a moment to regroup, Eren paused the experiment, providing a much-needed respite for Ashton and Hilda. After a brief interlude, he resumed the trial with renewed determination and a wealth of knowledge gained from the previous setback. As the experiment resumed, the second target and their apanying pseudo-avatars met a simr fate, their bodies sumbing to the overwhelming force within. The barriers erected around each circle contained the resulting carnage, ensuring that the repercussions of one circle''s failure did not affect the others. However, the prisoners in the third circle survived the process. In the end, a sevenfold mana core was harnessed within the target surrounded by seven pseudo-avatars of himself. "Finally!" Eren''s gaze swept over the scene, a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes as he observed the results of his experimentation. "I guess there''s no reason to hesitate anymore," Eren looked at the eight surviving prisoners and thought to himself, his hands clenched into fists in determination. Chapter 1885 Unlocking Sevenfold Mana Core P2 Chapter 1885 Unlocking Sevenfold Mana Core P2 Siren''s Sanctuary''s underground facility. A dayter. Eren opened his eyes and sat straight up on the runic stone tform. He smiled to himself, knowing that the experiment had seeded. "Let me see my progress," Eren thought to himself as he tapped into Menaka''s Blessings to summon a Spectral Screen in front of him. [ Menaka''s Blessing: Special Pact ] [ Name: Eren Elijah Idril ] [ Human (?) / Half-blood (?)] [ Origin: Anfang ] [ Current World: Labh Salem ] [ Current Location: Sunhaven. Kingdom of Eldorath. Joravar Continent. ] [ Path to Power: Mana Core Harnesser / Ranker ] [ Mana Core Status: A-Rank Solid State Perfection (S-Rank breakthrough event has been forcefully suppressed) ] [ Ranking Status: Grandmaster / Grand Knight ] [ Special Status: Demi-god, Elder Seed, True Inheritor of Elder Ichor''s Divine Throne, Demon yer ] [ Divinity: Edict Over Water (elemental), Sin Series Divinity (abominated) ] [ Tantra: Rootless Tantra ] [ Current Affiliations: Ishgaar''s Temple (non-restrictive), Kaisaayan Demon yer Corps, City of Sunhaven ( approved masked identity, non-restrictive) ] [ Confirmed Kills for the Corps: 4378 Confirmed Mission Completions: 376 Confirmed Mission Sess Rate: 85.62% Current Demon yer Rank (Grand Knight Ranking): 69 ] [ Base Attributes: Vigor: 740 Mana: 740 x7 (5180) Endurance: 740 Strength: 740 Dexterity: 740 Intelligence: 740 Spirit: 4444 Faith: ???? [ Active Profession: Runemaster (Varied) ] [ Passive Professions Avable: Close Combat Warrior, Summoner (Varied), Berserker, Assassin, Ranger, Potioneering Warlock ] [ Greater Skills: Domain of Wrath, Domain of Gluttony, Domain of Lust, Domain of Pride, Domain of Greed, Domain of Envy, Domain of Sloth Unique Skill Evolution Path. Strengthened by the Virtue Series Marks, New Skills and Greater Skills Can Be Unlocked Over Time. ] [ Bloodline Skills: Memory Extraction, Expedited Regeneration, Life Drain, Devour, Shapeshift, Partial Shapeshifting ] [ Inherent Skills: Instant Reset, Unlimited Weapon Works, Potioning (varied), Hero''s Heart, Demi-god''s Gaze ] [ Equipment: Elder Seed ArtifactC Shallot''s Mirror (Wielder-defined name) (Always-active state) Elder Seed Artifact (?) C Reen Elder Seed Artifact (?) C Shura ( Contains the Demon Soul Fragment of Samael (Demonmir). Inactive ) ] [ Currency Avable: Menaka''s RunesC 563,865 (Recent History: 10,000 Meroons Credited by Jivem Onianum''s DiremC 88643 Extols (Anfang)C 67312946 (unusable in Labh Salem) n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Jn (Echidna)- 4775 (unusable in Labh Salem) ] [ Personal Storage ess: GrantedC 300 Out of 300 Slots Used ] [ Communication ess: Granted ] [ Menaka''s Market ess: Granted ] *** "Sevenfold increment in the mana reserves! I... I really did it." Eren murmured to himself as a smile bloomed on his face. He felt as if he could take on three Eliza Samaels when the witch was at her peak in Anfang with the power surging within him at the time. Unlike in the case of prisoners who were used in past experiments as "guinea pigs", Eren didn''t need to summon all of his seven pseudo-avatars to one ce. He just needed to use the Mesh and the way it facilitated his connections to the pseudo-avatars to his advantage. The Mesh was a form of ultimate connectivity. It could be used as per one''s wish. However, most practitioners only made use of its basic functions. It was only Eren who had decided to use the Mesh in such a unique way. Eren also had to agree that without him practicing the Rootless Tantra to strengthen his body, he wouldn''t have been able to wield the sevenfold mana core to its fullest potential. After all, a vessel needed to be capable of handling the pressure that came with the sevenfold increase in mana reserves. If it was his old body, he would have definitely gotten hurt from time to time while wielding that much mana reserves within him. And this was already the best-case scenario. With the sevenfold mana core, Eren could use any of his Professions without burnout. He could switch between them more freely. With this freedom came an ultimate form of battle-centric adaptability. The increment in the mana reserves did not only increase Eren''s battle potential. It was bound to have a profound impact on the way he conducted his experiments or honed his crafts in various fields. For example, Eren also needed to exhaust all of his mana reserves from time to time to conduct some experiments. Some of these experiments needed to be expedited with a greater chance of generating errors because Eren had limited mana core reserves at the time. Then there were mana-reserve-based limitations that needed to be considered for Grandmaster-ranked potion-makers and artifact forgers. Some Array Formations or Battle Formations could also not be utilized to their utmost potential for prolonged periods. However, these limitations could be pushed to an abused level after Eren increased his mana reserves by almost seven times. Under the right settings and resources, Eren could start producing S-Rank potions and Hex Artifacts with his current mana reserves. These limits would be pushed even further when he actually broke into the S-Rank. All of Eren''s unique advantages would be multiplied even further if and when he managed to unlock the sevenfold mana core with S-Rank tier mana. Of course, Eren had considered all these advantages when he started working on this project. He would be able to upgrade his skills in myriad fields with this single boost alone. *** This was not all. The butcher could also let this ability be used by one of his pseudo-avatars at a time. It meant that one of his pseudo-avatars could wield the sevenfold mana core at any given time when Eren wasn''t using it for himself. Although the pseudo-avatars'' bodies might not be able to sustain the pressure of the sevenfold mana core for an extended period, their chances of survival during critical times had been raised to their highest values after Eren unlocked this unique perk for himself as well as his pseudo-avatars. It could allow the pseudo-avatars to deal with their enemies at the veryst moment when they least expected them to. Replenishing the sevenfold mana core was a lot easier than one could imagine too. All of Eren''s pseudo-avatars couldbine their efforts to replenish the lost reserves. A unique synergistic effect would be formed among them as they helped each other and managed each other''s mana reserves through the power of the Mesh. Eren got up from his position and started walking towards the exit. "It''s time to go and say hi to sea god Raashim," he said to himself before disappearing from his position with a sh of lightning. Chapter 1886 Wrathful Red Forest Chapter 1886 Wrathful Red Forest A few days ago. Before Freya and Tidebreaker reached the shores of Sunhaven. Deep within a lush green forest that was as vast as one could imagine. Earlier, this forest used to be nameless. It had no identifying marks on anyone''s map. However, a certain someone had decided to blow himself up along with Nira Nightshade''s Alchemy Doll, making everyone take note of the forest eventually. At this point, this forest was recognized as the Wrathful Red Forest. The sky above this region was always red, and the woods of the forest had acquired deep red hues. Even the soil was red as if someone had soaked it in fresh blood. This was not all. Even the mana beasts that called this forest their home had developed some red stripes on their skin. The entire ecosystem in the forest had been altered, giving rise to various mutant mana beast species and some rare mana-rich resources that couldn''t be found anywhere else. The beasts with red runic stripes covering their bodies were of various species and sizes. However, they had one thing inmon: red eyes, suggesting a permanent state of berserk rage. It seemed they desired to destroy anything and anyone in their path. It wasn''t that these beasts had low intelligence; on the contrary, they were far more cunning and vicious than their counterparts. However, their wrathful emotions seemed beyond their control. This was the case for most of the red-striped beasts. However, among them were some who had managed to channel their wrath effectively in recent months. This allowed them to unlock new potential paths of development. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om By harnessing their internal rage, they deepened their red stripes, enabling rapid progress in their Paths to Power and unlocking new evolutionary stages. Why did the Wrathful Red Forest develop this unique ecosystem? It was because Lemaar SaayaEren''s pseudo-avatarhad used Wrath Mana to empower his detonation, intending to kill Nira Nightshade''s Alchemy Doll and most of her allies. This single act transformed the forest into a haven for the most aggressive and ferocious of entities, a wrathful paradise meant to be conquered. *** At this point Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Various groups of practitioners from different Professionsnded at the forest''s edge. They had flown from various directions, choosing this spot as their meeting point. Some belonged to the Darkmoon Fellowship, the demonic cult to which Shaai Sena and Jolly Jalen belonged. Others were their allies. The practitioners avoided flying directly into the heart of the Wrathful Red Forest. The increasing potency of the Wrath Mana would have hindered their flying Skills. Flying deep into the forest would have left them vulnerable, a risk they wanted to avoid at all costs. Why? Because they knew other groups of practitioners were already there. The wrathful mana beasts weren''t their only concern; they also had to watch out for these other groups, who posed even greater threats. Or rather, for most practitioners present in the groups, the enemy practitioners were their only concern. The wrathful beasts could be tackled easily because of their rtively straightforward nature. But the sneaky and greedy practitioners could not be dealt with using simr means. It made them alert and always on the lookout as they reached their destination. "What What exactly happened in this forest? A demonic ritual rted to Demon Prince Samael?" asked one of the Darkmoon Fellowship elders as she surveyed the surroundings with her Spirit Sense and vision. Her expressions were grim and one could tell that she had raised her alertness. Her name was Rumiya Reed, an S-Ranked witcha Siren. Rumiya assumed that the demonic cults rted to Demon Prince Samael were responsible for changing the ecosystem of the forest. Who else could invoke enough Wrath Mana that had the power to change the ecosystem of the region? What she didn''t know was the fact that the puppeteer who had caused this incident was with her, standing beside her with his wife. "Someonemitted suicide here. They literally blew themself up and imed a number of lives. The explosion caused the entire forest to change," said one of the Warlocks, opening his closed eyes as he spoke in a grim tone. He was Darkmoon Fellowship''s ally who had been invited to the wedding between Jolly Jalen and Shaai Sena. The mission to visit this ce was created soon after Jolly''s wedding ceremony when he finished interrogating the spies from other cults. As such, he stayed in the Darkmoon Fellowship instead of returning to his stronghold and came to visit this ce along with the majority of the Darkmoon Fellowship''s members. His name was Riolos Ridhoor. Just like the three elders of the Darkmoon Fellowship who had joined this expedition, Riolos was also an S-Ranked warlockan Evoker. Evoker was the title given to warlocks who had obtained the S-Rank. It seemed that Ridhoor used his Profession-specific perks and abilities to find out the main reason behind the change in the forest''s ecosystem. However, he didn''t find anything else. After all, asprehensive as the Warlock Path was, Riolos was no Historian. He had many limitations. Plus, even as an S-Ranked Evoker, Riolos felt that finding more about the person who had caused this incident was sort of way above his pay grade. "What kind of demon can pull this off? Did an incarnation of Demon Prince of Wrath stage this?" Rumiya asked Riolos in a grave tone. "I don''t know what happened here, and I don''t care," Shaai Sena stepped forward and said in a determined voice. "Let''s start exploring the forest. The more we dy here, the lesser our chances of getting into ''that'' ce," she said as she surveyed the faces of all the S-Ranked entities who were her colleagues and allies. Including her and two other elders of Darkmoon Fellowship, there were 3 more S-Ranked allies that the cult had dispatched at the ce. It meant that there were a total 6 S-Ranked powerhouses in the entire team. The rest of the practitioners who were deemed qualified to be part of this expedition were at least of the B-Rank or higher. And all of them were well equipped with artifacts, potions, and potent Skills. Jolly''s demonic interrogation had yielded pretty solid results. The information he extracted from the spies was what brought so many practitioners here. === Chapter 1887 Yona of the Night Chapter 1887 Yona of the Night ''Great job, my dear. Love it when you speak in such a stern tone. Special kisses for you tonight when we find some "us time" to do so.'' Jolly Jalen''s affectionate voice sounded in Shaai''s mind after she was done speaking. She could feel his gaze on her body as he stood behind her, looking at her and admiring. Shaai felt a bit giddy when she was praised by her husband. Even during such a stressful situation, the Eren part hidden within Jolly found time to initiate romance with his wife. One could say that Jolly was slowly turning into Eren after thetter''s demonic possession of Jalen. Or that he was slowly bing who he really was as Eren''s pseudo-avatar. ''I guess my main self won''t like it if I start speaking anything about the incident that took ce between the dead Lemaar Saaya and that bitch Nira Nightshade. Let them think what they want to think. I don''t mind if Samael gets med for this. But if they delve too much on this topic, it can be problematic. It''s better to make others forget about the event through Shaai''s intervention,'' Jolly Jalen thought to himself as he looked ahead, the depths of the Wrathful Red Forest beckoning him to explore. "Hehe. little Demon Emperor, was this your doing?" teased a strikingly beautiful woman standing beside Jolly Jalen, her voice conveyed through secretmunication. She cast a yful nce at him, prompting a frown from Shaai. Jolly nced in the woman''s direction, offering a smile but choosing not to respond. Despite being allies, Jolly preferred to keep his interactions with this captivating woman brief. He was well aware of her true identity, a fact she had disclosed to him willingly. As Shaai observed the exchange, a sense of annoyance crept over her. ''Who is this woman? And why is she looking at my husband like that?'' she thought to herself, shooting the beautiful woman a re that screamed "back the fuck off." *** This enigmatic woman was one of the allies that the Darkmoon Fellowship had enlisted for their mission. Despite being an S-Ranker like Shaai, it seemed that she had recently ascended to the rank of Siren. Her name was Yona Night, unmistakably a witch. Achieving S-Rank status as a Siren had earned Yona the title "Yona of the Night." Two elongated, conch shell-like metallic horns protruded from her head, apanied by pointy ears, giving her the appearance of a demonic elf. Yona possessed lustrous, silvery-white hair and captivating ruby-red eyes. Her dark purple lips and smooth skin added to her allure, while her thin build was entuated by her feminine curves. d in a stunning silvery-white dress thatplemented her features and entuated her slender frame, Yona adorned herself with arm bracers and a uniquely crafted ne, adding a touch of sophistication to her appearance. It was evident that Yona had chosen a distinctive Path to Power for herself. With a Spirit bloodline, she exuded an aura reminiscent of a woond spirit. Most witches were drawn to the realm of bloodline research, often delving into the intricacies of demonic bloodlines. However, the field of Spirit bloodline was quite different from the traditional ones. This distinct field was considered a tangent of the broader exploration into half-bloods and monsters. Yona had deliberately chosen the path of the Spirit bloodline, and it appeared she had achieved significant sess in mastering its power. Unlike demonic bloodlines, which often resulted in the creation of half-bloods, Spirit bloodlines operated differently. They did not readily grant ess to demonic energies; in fact, they often made it challenging to harness such infernal powers. Furthermore, Spirit bloodlines could not be inherited through conventional means of procreation. This was because they were intricately linked to one''s soul as much as their mortal form. As a result, they could not be passed down through generations. As such, Yona''s aplishments as a Siren were thus a testament to her own merit, devoid of any familial lineage or support. One can only obtain the Spirit bloodline and integrate themselves with it on their own merits. While Yona had ventured into bloodline studies, she couldn''t be ssified as a demonic practitioner. Not really. The nature of Spirit bloodlines made it exceedingly difficult for her to harness intent-based magic using demonic energies. Yet, Spirit bloodlines offered their own array of benefits. Firstly, they allowed for seamless ess to bloodline transformations, akin to breathing for the practitioner. Secondly, they granted proficiency in welding intent-based magic from two opposing factions: demonic and divine. This fusion of both factions unlocked some really strange powers within the Spirit bloodline users. Although Spirit bloodline users faced drawbacks in utilizing intent-based magic in its primal form via the divine or demonic energies, their ability to wield both sides'' magic made them formidable, provided they navigated their path wisely. Basically, the Spirit bloodline users were considered jack of all trades and master of none when it came to traditional practitioners who chose either divine or demonic faction for their paths. However, sometimes they could still be called as "better than master of one." The path of Spirit bloodlines was rtively new and not widely traversed by witches or warlocks. Most practitioners preferred to stick to the traditional bloodline heritages of Labh Salem. Some utilized these traditional heritages to trigger partial transformations without affecting their core selves, while others fully integrated with the traditional bloodline origins, bing full-fledged half-bloods. However, many hesitated to tread the path of Spirit bloodlines due to certain limitations. Legend had it that research on Spirit bloodlines was initiated by Goddess Two Lips after she utilized the Elder Seed Artifact, a revered heritage among witches, to explore numerous worlds. However, Goddess Two Lips ascended to be a Faithless Immortal before she couldplete her research on Spirit bloodlines. As such, no witch or warlock dared to delve into something left iplete by their ancestor. Compared to traditional witches and warlocks who adhered to their well-established demonic practices, Yona was considered quite bold. From birth, she was determined toplete what Goddess Two Lips had left unfinished. One might wonder where Yona of the Night gained the confidence to step into Goddess Two Lips'' shoes. The answer was simple: Yona Night was none other than the incarnation of Goddess Two Lipsthe revered ancestor of all witches and warlocks. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om It appeared that Goddess Two Lips had specifically chosen her incarnation, named Yona, to carry out her unfinished work in Labh Salem. And it seemed that she had only revealed this little secret of hers to Eren, or rather Jolly Jalen that represented Eren. === AN: Goddess Two Lips contacts Jolly and Eren by proxy in chapter 1832. Can be skipped. Hi. Just wanted to drop a quick note to apologize for the dys this month. I know many of you don''t need this exination so this is for those who do. Seems like this writer''s block decided to pay me a visit, out of the blue! I mean, I''ve got the gist of where the story''s heading, but filling in those small nks? It''s like hitting a brick wall sometimes. And let''s talk about VEH''s plotlines C they''re like abyrinth! Not that I''mining, I love a good challenge. But, yeah, it''s thrown a bit of a wrench into my usual schedule. I guess this was bound to happen someday when we wrapped up the Anfang saga. I don''t think taking a big break will fix things. So instead of hitting pause, I''m gonna try channeling this pressure in the right direction and aim for consistent chapter releases everyday. I''ve got a feeling that sticking to some sort of schedule, even if it''s a bit chaotic at first, will help me find my groove again soon. So expect irregr chapter updates for this month. We''ve been cruising smoothly for around three years, so this is definitely a new experience for me and to most of VEH''s loyal readers as well. I don''t enjoy this experience but I guess I also don''t mind it to some extent. Weird feeling. Anyway, this is me digressing. Just wanted to be upfront with you about it. Rest assured, though, I''m on it, working hard to get back on track ASAP. Thanks a bunch for your patience and understanding! On another note, I have updated VEH''s book cover and character arts. Do check them out. :) Chapter 1888 Domesticated? Chapter 1888 Domesticated? While the other practitioners discussed strategies for exploring the Wrathful Red Forest, Jolly focused on analyzing Yona from a distance. She had contacted him abruptly just before the exploration began, catching him off guard. As such, Jolly was trying to decide what to make of her. Jolly could discern that Yona didn''t want anyone to know she was the incarnation of Goddess Two Lips. If she did, the Darkmoon Fellowship wouldn''t treat her as a regr ally. Even Shaai might not have minded her husband being favored by the goddess. Yet, Yona chose to conceal her identity. This could only mean two things: she aimed to catch her enemies off guard or didn''t want her usual allies aware of her intentions. Jolly doubted Yona feared any ordinary enemy while in Labh Salem. This world was as much a yground for Goddess Two Lips as for Goddess Great Mother. The witch goddess wouldn''t feel threatened by someone residing in Labh Salem. Thus, Jolly assumed the goddess didn''t want her allies to know her ns. ''If this ce is rted to Goddess Two Lips and Asmodeus, then it implies they coborated on a project here, maybe? Whether they seeded or not is uncertain, but it appears they left remnants behind,'' Jolly concluded, contemting multiple possibilities simultaneously. ''And then there''s this peculiar bloodline energy. There''s something distinct about this incarnation,'' Jolly thought to himself as he observed Yona. With ess to most of Eren''s memories, who had conducted numerous experiments, Jolly discerned a unique bloodline energy enveloping Yona. Even as the incarnation of Goddess Two Lips, she couldn''t defy the norms of the mortal ne after acquiring a mortal vessel and choosing to abide by Labh Salem''s rules. This led Jolly to one conclusion: Yona wasn''t like the half-bloods. Her condition wasn''t merely a fusion of two gic sequences resulting in a mutation. Not really. Yona had transcended thews governing her peculiar bloodline transformation. Despite this, she remained human, at least for the most part. ''This bloodline transformation is really intriguing. I bet my main self would love to do some research on it. Or he''d probably kidnap her or charm his way into her life and convince her to give him her blood samples,'' Jolly chuckled involuntarily. He was certain that his main self, Eren, wouldn''t hesitate to imprison the goddess in his underground facility and study her if there were benefits to be gained. As a pseudo-avatar of Eren himself, Jolly understood how Eren operated. Even Jolly himself preferred to keep his distance from Eren if possible. Some patron deities were only good if one were to worship them from a distance. One could say that Jolly still retained that much Individuality in him. An Individuality that enabled him to keep his rationality even after being possessed. ''This witch goddess doesn''t know who she is messing with. I hope she meets with him soon to get a clearer perspective.'' Jolly sighed inwardly before responding to Yona''s previous question. ''First of all, how should I address you, my goddess?'' he asked politely. ''Yona would be fine, my dear,'' Yona replied with a smile, earning more disdainful res from Shaai, who stood beside Jolly. ''Alright, Yona, can you tell me anything about this ce?'' Jolly inquired as he surveyed his surroundings. By this point, some of the practitioners who had apanied him had chosen to explore the forest on their own. Since flying was ill-advised, some strolled leisurely into the forest while others plunged into its depths using their movement-type Skills. ''I can, but first, we need to cut down on the extra luggage,'' Yona replied, casting a graceful smile in Shaai''s direction. ''Naah. Shaai stays with me,'' Jolly responded via secret voicemunication. Even though Yona had expressed that their interests were intertwined in this exploration, Jolly didn''t fully trust her. Taking the witch goddess'' words at face value would be foolish. Shaai was a genuine S-Ranked Elementalist. With her present, the goddess wouldn''t dare act recklessly against Jolly. At least, that''s what he believed for the most part. Eren had granted Jollyplete control over this mission. However, Jolly interpreted it as Eren not sufficiently caring about his well-being during this exploration. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Certainly, Eren had provided all the formal support his pseudo-avatars required. However, Jolly doubted that Eren would go the extra mile to save him, especially now when Eren himself was involved in something significant, focusing all his attention on the task rted to invading the sea god''s territory. As such, Jolly needed to prioritize his safety above all else. The simplest way to do that would be to stick close to his wife during this exploration. Even if Yona were to try every trick in the book to persuade him, including dancing naked in front of him, Jolly still wouldn''t leave his wife behind. That''s how much he valued the idea of staying alive, even as Eren''s pseudo-avatar. One could say that he had inherited Eren''s tenacity after being possessed by him. ''What a letdown. I thought you were a realdy''s man. Seems like marriage has really domesticated you,'' Yona wrinkled her nose in disappointment upon hearing Jolly''s response. Her eyes silently used him of being no fun. Jolly wanted to correct Yona, insisting she meet his real self before passing judgment. However, he opted not to engage in casual conversation with the incarnation of the goddess just yet, giving her a nk stare instead. ''Alright, fine, your wife stays with us. But let''s ditch the others,'' Yona sighed as she added further. ''We don''t want to stick with the core members of the Darkmoon Fellowship. Otherwise, they might start to see through my disguise. The more they see of me, the higher the chance they''ll link me to the Goddess Two Lips. That could spell trouble for both of us. So, we''ll take a different route from here. Sounds good?" Yona proposed, finally earning a nod of agreement from Jolly. "My wife, there''s this" Jolly called out to Shaai, gently pressing her hand to express his affection through simple gestures. He then exined his n to her. Chapter 1889 Mysterious Spirit Bloodline Powers Chapter 1889 Mysterious Spirit Bloodline Powers Shaai was initially hesitant about Jolly getting close to Yona. However, when he assured her that she would be staying by his side as well, the S-Ranked Elementalist readily agreed. It didn''t take Shaai long to persuade the elders of the Darkmoon Fellowship to adopt a ''split and search'' approach. Soon, all members of the Darkmoon Fellowship cult, along with their allies, were dispersed. Jolly began exploring the depths of the red forest with two S-Rankeddies. He positioned himself in the middle while the twodies nked him as they traveled in a particr direction. Jolly was crystal clear about his determination to survive. He wouldn''t allow trivial matters like "male pride" to jeopardize his safety. He was more than happy to let the two women protect him while they tackled all the risks with their own strength. Soon, Jolly and the two women found themselves facing mutated mana beasts influenced by Wrath Mana. Most of these creatures were C-Rank or B-Rank, with a few newly promoted A-Rank beasts thrown into the mix. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Jolly didn''t personally engage with these creatures; instead, he left it to Shaai and Yona to handle them while he conserved his energy for whaty ahead. His Profession as an Assassin didn''t exactly make him a frontline fighter either. So instead of wasting his energy on meager kills, Jolly decided to y a mute spectator. Shaai was as brilliant as ever with her S-Ranked powers. She didn''t even have to personally fight with the mana beasts either. Her elemental clones were enough to take care of most threats. However, Yona was a surprise package nobody expected. Even Shaai felt that the S-Ranked woman was very different from her. Jolly was deeply intrigued by Yona''s fighting style as well as he observed her effortlessly dispatching hordes of beasts at once using her powers. She utilized the sounds produced by a musical instrument to eliminate these obstacles that dared to stand in her path. Yona wielded a string instrumenta lute with a fretted neck, a circr body, and five silk strings. It boasted 24 frets with 12 semitones. Every time she plucked the strings, countless runic des formed in the air before swiftly dispatching her enemies in the most brutal yet efficient manner possible. These runic des were crafted from a fusion of elemental mana and intent-based magic, allowing Yona to engage her enemies without directly involving herself in the confrontation. It was as if these des were unstoppable. They didn''t have usual elemental weaknesses either. Plus, it didn''t look like Yona was employing her Elemental Attainments to make these des. Not really. Rather, Jolly deduced that these were her Spirit bloodline powers. What made these runic des truly fascinating was their pitch-ck appearance, reminiscent of the darkest night. When they manifested, it seemed as though ayer of spatial fabric had been torn apart, revealing the nightly scene beneath. It was as if Yona were summoning the very essence of night itself in broad daylight. This earned her the title of Yona Of The Night. No enemy could approach within a 50-meter radius of Yona. Her foes'' bodies were torn to shreds by these nightly onyx des before they could even release a beastly cry of pain. After the confrontation, the S-Ranked Spirit bloodline user emerged unscathed, not a speck of blood or dust on her clothes, nor beads of sweat on her forehead. It appeared as though she had merely taken a leisurely stroll in the park. *** A few dayster. Deep within the Wrathful Red Forest. Late evening. Close to the forest''s supposed center. Jolly and the twodies had fought their way through many demon beasts and even some rogue practitioners who hade here looking for some heaven-defying opportunities. For the most part, Jolly, Shaai, and Yona faced no real challenges. Jolly was so bored that he even decided to kill a few practitioners by assassinating them just to make himself feel that he was actually participating. The somewhat real challenge came when the trio was met with a genuine S-Ranked mutated mana beast, which had been clearly affected by the Wrath Mana. Standing tall at over sixty feet with the majesty of an S-Ranked tier, the wolf-type beast''s muscr frame was covered in sleek, midnight-ck fur. Its eyes glowed a piercing amber. Sharp, elongated fangs protruded from its powerful jaws. His blood lust was spread in the surroundings as soon as it spotted Jolly and the twodies. The Wrath Mana acting on himself even made him ignore the fact that Jolly was surrounded by two S-Rankeddies. The beast just looked at Jolly and marked him as his enemy. Jolly could only assume that this was because of Eren''s presence slumbering within him. The beast could instinctively recognize its contender for the ownership of the Wrath Mana in the surroundings on its own. "Jolly, maybe you should stay back a little," Shaai suggested, taking a step forward. She wanted to ensure her husband''s safety while she and Yona dealt with the genuine threat ahead. "Hell no," Jolly retorted, catching his wife''s wrist and pulling her back with him. "Why would you leave me alone, my wife? What if the wolf has a partner, or worse, a pack? Let Yona handle this threat all by herself," he dered unabashedly. "You can do that, right?" he asked, smiling at the S-Ranked Spirit bloodline user. One could argue that even Jolly didn''t fully believe the reasons he provided for preventing Shaai from joining the battle. He simply wanted to use the beast as a means to test the extent of Yona''s powers. "Hehe. Sure I can," Yona replied, returning the smile as she adjusted her string instrument. It was as if she could guess what Jolly thought about. And yet, she still decided to let Jolly be assured of her intentions. "But let me tell you this, my dear. I will make you work as much as you made me work during these few days," she added, stepping forward. In the shadow of the massive S-Ranked wolf-type mana beast, Yona appeared minuscule, her figure resembling that of an ant against the towering creature. This sixty-foot behemoth was no ordinary wolf; empowered by Wrath Mana, its elemental spells packed a devastating punch. Since it had mutated and evolved into a new species. It had no existing name. As such, Jolly just preferred to call him Wrathful Red Wolf in his head for convenience. As Jolly and Shaai observed from a safe distance, Yona took center stage, armed with her trusty string instrument and a steely resolve. With each strum, she summoned runic des ck as night. Twang! Twang! Twang! Dancing nimbly around the colossal wolf, Yona''s movements were a delicate bnce of agility and determination. Her melodies filled the air, a haunting soundtrack to her relentless assault fueled by her Spirit bloodline powers. The beastly blood rained down on the ground, turning it red. Soon a pool of blood was formed in the middle of the battlefield. Though faced with a foe many times her size, Yona showed no signs of hesitation. With focused precision, she chipped away at the beast''s defenses, each strike bringing her closer to victory. In a matter of moments, Yona''s relentless barrage bore fruit. With a final flourish of her instrument, she delivered the decisive blow, bringing down the towering beast. "Hehehe. Didn''t I tell you, this was" However, just as Yona was about to give Jolly a smile of victory, she frowned and looked in a certain direction. Shaai and Jolly followed her gaze, trying to discern the nature of the threat she sensed. It didn''t take long for the husband and wife duo to identify their new opponents: a group of demonic practitioners from the Helenbora coven, led not by one, but by two S-Ranked entities. Chapter 1890 Jolly Initiating Demonic Takeover Chapter 1890 Jolly Initiating Demonic Takeover The group that confronted Jolly and the twodiesprised twelve B-Ranked, four A-Ranked, and two S-Ranked demonic practitioners. Jolly and the twodies paid little heed to the B-Ranked practitioners, considering them inconsequential. Even the four A-Ranked demonic practitioners seemed manageable. However, the two S-Ranked entities stood apart,manding attention. One boasted a mid-stage S-Rank status with a liquid-state mana core, while the other was a bona fidete-stage S-Ranked Warlock. Yet, there was more to the Helenbora n members than met the eye. It took Jolly a moment to discern that they had been influenced by a blend of Wrath Mana and Lust Mana. Some of them eyed Shaai and Yona withscivious greed as if poised to pounce. Others regarded themand Jollywith unwarranted anger and hatred. If Jolly didn''t know better, he might have assumed that he had slept with their significant others in their absence. ''There''s something different about them. Their minds have been affected by the Sin Series Mana. I can understand the Wrath Mana. but where did they expose themselves to the corrupted Lust Mana?'' The Sin Series Mana had not only augmented the overall stats and abilities of the Helenbora n members but had also eroded some of their sanity, transforming them into partial fiendsa phenomenon familiar to Jolly. "Hehehe. We are lucky, aren''t we? You two lovelydies, why not join us and leave that poor sod behind? We promise to show you "good times"," enticed one of the S-Ranked entities, his gaze dripping with lust as he appraised Shaai and Yona. He was an S-Ranked warlock with a ck mole adorning his right cheek, known as Ramov. "Ugh! Ramov and all of you. Snap the fuck out of your delusions. We we We''ve clearly been influenced by the Sin Series Mana. Let''s not fucking dilly dally here and add to our troubles. We should fucking leave this cursed ce." Urged the other S-Ranked individual, who appeared to be in his early fifties, with his right earlobe missing. His name was Ganthor. It seemed that Ganthor had managed to retain some semnce of sanity. He possessed a solid-stage mana core, indicating that his elevated status as a practitioner had shielded him to some extent from the full effects of the corrupted Sin Series Mana. However, Ganthor sensed that his immunity to the corrupting Sin Series Mana wouldn''tst long if he remained in the Wrathful Red Forest. It only needed a few more hours before all of them turned intoplete fiends and lost their sanitypletely. He had sessfully led the rest of the team members toward the forest''s periphery. But who could have anticipated that they would be agitated and restless upon realizing that a group of practitioners was nearby? The way Yona had fought with the demon wolf was eye-catching. It also didn''t help that her string instrument made a lot of sounds when it was employed. As such, it couldn''t exactly be called a coincidence that the two groups crossed paths with each other. "Hmph! These fuckers think they can bully me?" Shaai looked at the demonic practitioners disdainfully. "Hehe. Daydreaming can be done for free. So I really don''t me them," added Yona. Neither Yona nor Shaai felt vulnerable when surrounded by practitioners with ill intentions directed at them. They were not damsels in distress in need of saving. Plus, as S-Ranked entities, feeling threatened had be almost foreign to them. "Hehe. Do you want to spend a night with this witch? Are you prepared to lose everything you have, including your life?" Yona of the Night couldn''t help but chuckle when she observed the practitioners affected by Lust Mana eyeing her in perverse ways. However, her amusement quickly turned to a steely gaze as she surveyed the surroundings. "Let me handle these fucking pigs in heat" Yona began, ready to confront the new enemies who had appeared unexpectedly. However, she was promptly halted by Jolly''s cautionary words. "No! Don''t do anything rash. Even if you manage to deal with the small fry, those two King Crabs are beyond your league. They''ve been bolstered by the Sin Series Mana and have lost some of their sanity. They might resort to suicidal tactics or forbidden skills just to assert their dominance. What if we exhaust ourselves here and encounter another group?" Jolly voiced his grim predictions. Jolly and the twodies apanying him were aware that the Darkmoon Fellowship cult and its allies were not the sole explorers of the Wrathful Red Forest. Undoubtedly, practitioners from other cults and even some divine organizations were curious about the ce. Lemaar Saaya''s suicide had only heightened interest in the area, which had been mysterious from the outset. This was why both the Helenbora coven and Saint Nira Nightshade had taken an interest. However, what Jolly hadn''t anticipated was being confronted by not one but two S-Ranked enemies. Or rather, he preferred not to entertain the worst-case scenario right from the outset of the exploration. Nevertheless, Jolly wasn''t without support. "Hold your ground and protect me," he instructed Shaai and Yona before settling into a cross-legged position on the ground. Closing his eyes, he attempted to establish contact with the Soul Imprint concealed deep within his soul. Initially met with resistance, Jolly persisted until he sessfully connected with the owner of the Soul Imprint. "What is it? I''m kinda busy at the moment," came Eren''s voice from the other side, tinged with irritation. "We''re in trouble and need your help," Jolly promptly informed Eren. He couldn''t predict how long the stalemate with the demonic practitioners wouldst, but he didn''t want to unnecessarily strain Shaai and Yona. His survival in the Wrathful Red Forest depended on the well-being of the twodies apanying him. "Hm? Who''s ''we''?" Eren inquired curiously. "I, my wife Shaai, and YonaWitch Goddess Two Lips'' incarnation," Jolly replied, proceeding to exin his current predicament to Eren. By this point, Eren had boarded his ship, Freya, and was en route to the sea god Raashim''s domain. He was busy coordinating with the crew and his allies on the mission to steal the sea god''s faith. As such, he really found it difficult to look into his pseudo-avatars'' affairs. "Alright. Give me a few." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The butcher sensed that Jolly was in a real pinch and decided to help him. Thus, he allowed his subordinates on board to handle the matters temporarily, went below the ship''s deck, found a quiet room, and tapped into the powers of Shallot''s Mirror. The nascent Demon Emperor initiated theplete Demonic Takeover. Chapter 1891 Nascent Demon Emperor Lending a Helping Hand 1891 Nascent Demon Emperor Lending a Helping Hand Only a few seconds had passed since Jolly had decided to sit cross-legged right in the middle of nowhere in the Wrathful Red Forest. While he was contacting Eren, the enemies in front of him were confused by his actions. However, the Lust Mana and Wrath Mana affecting them didn''t allow them to thinkplicated things for long. By this point, even Gunthor thought that it would be quicker to get rid of Jolly and satiate their feelings. When they realized that no attack wasing from Jolly and the two S-Rankeddies who had nked him from either side, they screamed andunched themselves toward them. However, their initial hesitation was enough for Eren topletely possess Jolly''s body and take over his consciousness. Demonic Takeover! When Jolly opened his eyes, he was Jolly no more. *** "Jolly What... what the fuck is he doing?" Shaai questioned her husband''s actions silently as she watched him assume a meditative position just as their enemies were about to attack. She was on the verge of asking him to exin when Yona intervened. "Let him contact the new Demon Emperor. It''ll be much quicker if he lends us a hand," Yona informed Shaai, leaving her even more perplexed. ''Hm? Who is this Demon Emperor? And what does he have to do with my husband?'' Unfortunately, this wasn''t the ideal time for Shaai to interrogate her husband. She chose to set aside her questions for the moment and focused her attention on the adversaries before her. At this point, the demonic practitioners from the Helenbora coven and their allies had spread out, encircling Shaai, Yona, and Jolly. The two S-Ranked demonic practitioners positioned themselves at the front and back, while the rest of the group arranged strategically, making it difficult for Shaai and Yona to escape. The B-Ranked and S-Ranked demonic practitioners maintained the siege, while the A-Ranked ones were the first to approach Jolly and the others, attempting tounch the initial strike. At this point, Jolly was seen opening his eyes, clearly under the influence of Eren''s consciousness. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. The Sin Series Mana in the surroundings riled up. The winds made howling noises and the streaks of lightning crackled from nowhere. It was as if the ambient light had been devoured, turning the ambiance of the entire region a little dimmer. It was as if this part of the forest had been carved out from the rest and summoned into a weird twilight zone. It was as if this part of the forest was paving the way for a grim dawn to appear in the skies above. "What What is happening? Is it. This... this is demonic possession! No, wait. There''s something different about it," Shaai thought, her eyes widening in surprise. As a member of the Darkmoon Fellowship, she could sense that something akin to demonic possession had urred with Jolly. However, she also sensed that Jolly wasn''t truly possessed by a demon. After spending so much time together, she would have recognized if Jolly was a demonic practitioner or not. As soon as Eren took control of Jolly''s body, Shaai felt something distinctly different about himsomething more primal and demonic than any demon she had encountered before. Eren didn''t immediately rise from his position. Instead, he smiled wickedly as he observed the A-Ranked demonic practitioners approaching. "Kekeke. I needed more Faustian Rune Fragments anyway. How generous of them to hand them over with such enthusiasm." With a sinister grin, he raised his hands and pped them together. Sin Series Authority Domains! One after another, the Sin Series Domains materialized out of thin air. Simultaneously, Jolly''s appearance underwent a drastic transformation. His hair was whitened and lengthened, cascading down to his waist, while demonic runes manifested all over his body in the form of tribal tattoos. His eyes shifted to icy blue, and countless stardust-like manifestations of the elements surrounded him. Jolly''s transformation bore a striking resemnce to Eren''s usual appearance, altering his Individuality andpletely changing his original aura and presence. Step. Step. Step. The approaching A-Ranked practitioners soon discovered that their feet were ensnared. Looking down, they found human and non-human mouths emerging from the ground,tching onto their legs and preventing them from advancing even a single step. These spectral mouths were unmistakably Mouths of Gluttony. "What... what the he" An A-Ranked demonic practitioner was about to voice his surprise, but before he could, the Spectral mouth enveloping his feet suddenly expanded, swallowing his entire body. "Hehehehe," the Mouths of Gluttony cackled as they devoured the demonic practitioners whole, leaving them no chance to retaliate. Though not as formidable as the S-Ranked entities, the A-Ranked practitioners possessed their own pride. They were not easily defeated, even by most initiated stage S-Ranked entities. However, after Erenpleted his possession of Jolly''s body through the Demonic Takeover, he stirred unrest among the demons inhabiting the bodies of the A-Ranked practitioners. Before they could seize control of their vessels and plead for survival, Eren unleashed the Mouths of Gluttony, consuming them without mercy. In a matter of seconds, Eren dispatched all of the A-Ranked practitioners within the group without lifting a finger. "This... this is not good," Ganthor''s expression twisted into one of fear and panic as he witnessed Eren''s effortless disposal of the A-Ranked practitioners. He nced at his S-Ranked ally, who mirrored his panic-stricken gaze. "Let''s let''s get the hell away from that man." Though affected by the Wrath Mana, Ramov sensed a drastic change in Jolly. His survival instincts urged him to retreat. However, before Ramov and Ganthor, the two S-Ranked demonic practitioners, could flee, they felt their legs ensnared by something. Spectral Chains had emerged, draining their vitality and clouding their rationality. Chains of Avarice! Shroud of Lethargy! n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om mes of Wrath! Seeds of Jealousy! Eren''s Sin Series powers manifested one after the other. Shaai was shocked beyond her wildest imagination. Whereas, Yona looked at Eren curiously, as if she was already expecting him to wield his Sin Series abilities in this way. ''I guess I made the right choice,'' Yona thought to herself as she watched Eren''s back with many thoughts running in her mind. Chapter 1892 One-Sidedness 1892 One-Sidedness "Damn, it''s kinda difficult to maintain my Sin Series Domains in this body." Eren mused to himself as he rose and surveyed his surroundings. Jolly''s Profession as an Assassin wasn''t versatile enough for Eren to exert the true might of his Sin Series Domains. Plus, he had only received the Sin of Lust Mark from Eren. As such, the domains rted to the remaining six Sin Series Mana were rtively weaker than the Lust Domain. If it wasn''t for Eren''splete mastery over his demonic possessions and Sin Series powers, he would have found it impossible to stack his Sin Series Domains while possessing Jolly''s body. It also helped that Jolly had already prepared himself for Eren''s possession. Without waiting to coordinate with Shaai and Yona, he began walking toward one of the S-Ranked entities. "You know, it would have been difficult for me to fight you if you were a regr S-Ranked practitioner. But look at you! You have a Sin Series Mark on you. That makes my job so much easier," Eren smiled gracefully and remarked, eyeing Ramov. With a snap of his fingers, the Sin Series Mark materialized over Ramov''s forehead in runic form. Eren then raised his hands and used his index finger as though it were a paintbrush, rewriting the Faustian Contract that Ramov had signed with one of the Sin Series nes. In the next moment, Ramov''s heart ceased without any external factors. It appeared as if he had simply chosen to peacefully depart in his sleep as if having taken too many silent poison pills. Thud! Ramov''s lifeless body crashed on the ground. It was as if all the strings attached to a puppet had snapped, which made it lose its form. For some reason, Ramov''s lifeless form assumed the backward downward dog pose. Eren had to kick his body and make it lie t on the ground so that he wouldn''t have to see the dead guy''s dead ass in its full glory. A deafening silence was spread in the surroundings as the witnesses watched Jolly take care of an S-Ranked entity with nothing but his index finger. He didn''t even have to shed his opponent''s blood to neutralize him. "Haaaa!" "He... he... he is the De Demon Emperor!" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Run... run!" "My liege, I I didn''t know! Please forgive me." Some of the B-Ranked demonic practitioners panicked when they witnessed Eren in action. Those who had embraced the Sin Series Marks found themselves unable to ess their demonic powers. Instead, the Marks became curses, wreaking havoc on their bodies in various harmful ways. Limbs turned to jelly, and demonic tumors brimming with corrupted infernal energies sprouted across their forms. Some even lost their senses entirely, while others sumbed to death when they couldn''t control the destructive influx of Sin Series Mana into their bodies within Eren''s multifaceted Sin Series Authority Domains. For those demonic practitioners who had willingly summoned demons into themselves, Eren''s task was even simpler. With a mere intention, he altered the Faustian Contracts they had forged with their demonic hosts. In the blink of an eye, the dormant demons within these practitioners seized control and chose self-annihtion. Eren could have extracted the Faustian Rune Fragments from these low-level demons, consuming them until their demonic consciousness vanished. However, he opted to let them return to the Demon Realm intact. It wasn''t a matter of honoring agreements; rather, the rewards offered by these low-level demons were insignificant to him. The entities Jolly had likened to shrimps were deemed worthless by Eren as well. Thus, he permitted them to pass through his domain unharmed. *** By this point, Eren had reached Ganthor''s position. With a gesture, hepelled the demon residing within the demonic practitioner to emerge. "My liege, please let" "No," Eren tly refused. "How will I grow if I let every demon go?" he questioned "Hmm. That kinda rhymed. I''m indeed a poet," he mused to himself, not waiting for the demon''s response. Wrath mes! With a snap of his fingers, Eren summoned his trusted demonic mes around Ganthor. For some reason, under the effects of the Wearhtful Red Forest, they burned ever brighter and turned blood red. Ganthor, as an S-Ranked entity, proved resilient against the mes of Wrath. Yet, Eren did not need to inflict physical harm. Instead, he allowed the mes to consume Ganthor''s soul along with the demon that had possessed him. "You I''ll fucking kill you. Let let me go." Despite the demon''s desperate attempts to survive, even attempting tounch an attack on Eren in desperation, thetter remained impassive, observing Ganthor''s futile struggles with neutral eyes. The butcher just let the Chains of Avarice surround his body entirely, rendering him incapable of doing anything but scream. One could say that Eren was showing kindness in his own ways by allowing his victims to scream and express their suffering. "Aaaaaargh!" As ast resort, the demon sought to forcibly annul the Faustian Contract with Ganthor, destroying his body from within in a bid to escape the mortal ne. Ganthor''s body crumpled to the ground, bearing the marks of demonic wounds that mangled flesh and shattered limbs. Yet, Eren''s Chains of Avarice ensnared the demon''s soul, preventing its escape from Ganthor''s mortal vessel. Following Ganthor''s demise at the hands of the demons within him, the Wrath mes engulfed his body. This time, they started to seep into the lifeless flesh. Though the demon screamed through Ganthor''s lifeless mouth, Eren seeded in harnessing a pure Wrath me. The grave threat that had surrounded Shaai and Yona dissipated within a matter of minutes after Eren possessed Jolly''s body. The process unfolded with such smoothness and one-sidedness that Shaai struggled to believe her husband had faced so many demonic practitioners at once. Could it truly be deemed a battle at this point? Jolly hadn''t even allowed his enemies to unleash their powers. The whole incident was simr to an S-Ranked entity bullying a bunch of F-Ranked novice practitioners. Even the twodies couldn''t help but feel a pang of guilt for their opponents because they had to face Eren when he was in a hurry. Chapter 1893 Immortal Eros 1893 Immortal Eros "Who who are you?" Shaai asked Jolly in a cautious tone while looking at him warily. Eren, who had possessed Jolly, smiled at her before responding. "Don''t worry. I am not your enemy. Consider me to be your husband''s guardian angel," he chuckled as he said. Eren then looked at Yona of the Night, his expression turning serious as he spoke. "Nice to finally meet you like this, Yona of the Night. But you see, I''m in a bit of a hurry. Tell me what you have been hiding in this ce right now. Or else I''ll make Jolly retreat from this ce. I have no problems taking risks. But not when the risks outweigh the rewards," he said calmly. His white-haired form dispersed, and Jolly''s original appearance reverted as he spoke. "No," Yona shook her head as she said. "Eren, all I can assure you at this point is that the rewards would indeed be worth the risks. I can''t tell you about the main reward this ce has yet. And I have a genuine reason behind it." "And what would that be?" Eren asked curiously. "If I say that we are going to find them right now at this ce, the Demon Prince of Lust wille to know about it. His maniption of the cause-and-effect fabric has reached such an absurd level. We will have to get our hands on it so that the thread of the cause-and-effect fabric that Asmodeous holds from his end gets cut off on its own. Only then can I tell you what it is that we are targeting," she said and sighed. "Mastery in manipting the cause-and-effect fabric, huh?" Eren murmured to himself, thinking about the Demon Prince of Lust. He was reminded how he had to wander in the ne of Gluttony for years on end before he found his way out in the mortal ne. And how he was forced to fight off with the Helenbora Coven as soon as he had entered Labh Salem. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "You don''t look surprised. I guess you had some form of experience on your own." Yona said before providing some more information about the Demon Prince of Lust. "In some worlds, Asmodeus is referred to as Immortal Eros who can manipte the fates of two lovers to get them together. The mortals believe that he shoots arrows of love upon his followers to unite them. This is part of his faith. The so-called arrows that he shoots are nothing but the threads of the cause-and-effect fabric that he wields. They are just represented in the mortals'' eyes in different ways. Anyway, he has be so adept at manipting the cause-and-effect fabric that he faces almost no bacsh of his deeds when the rules of the cause-and-effect fabric themselves state that anyone who interferes with them would be subjected to its effects with some "interest". He certainly has found some loopholes. Thankfully, even if he can bypass a few rules, he cannot outright break them. Once we get the thing we want from the ruins, the cause-and-effect fabric will change on its own and Asmodeus won''t be able to do anything," Yona assured. "Interesting," Eren thought to himself as he processed the new information on Asmodeus. He had to say that he had underestimated the Demon Prince of Lust a bit. He could have never imagined that the demon''s faith was so strong that it had multipleyers to it. As far as Eren knew, having multifaceted divinity was a double-edged sword. It allowed one to progress at a rapid rate. But it also made the path of divinity harder to tread for the Immortalpared to someone with a streamlined divinity and distinct faith. Yona gave some time for Eren to process her words before continuing. "This is really not the time for us to have such leisurely talks, Eren. I can tell you about the side rewards you can get as we explore further. In return, I want your cooperation. But before we formallye to an agreement regarding the distribution of the rewards, I must ask you something. I believe you must have been contacted by Goddess Great Mother at this point. Did you strike any form of deal with her?" Yona asked curiously. Eren raised his eyebrows in surprise. But thinking about the fact that Yona was the incarnation of the Goddess Two Lips, who in turn was supposed to be a natal clone of the Goddess Great Mother in the first ce, a form of understanding washed over him. The butcher had to say that keeping track of the immortals'' deeds was a huge headache for him due to the fact that they used many clones and incarnation techniques. "Not really," Eren replied honestly. "To be honest, I''m still on the fence when ites to the two goddesses. I don''t easily choose sides. But when I do, I make sure tomit to it. Now the ball''s in your court. Tell me, why should I choose your side over the other? What''s in it for me? So far, you haven''t told me anything that can make me join your side." Yona nodded at Eren when she heard his response. She considered it a fair deal. Without wasting time, she replied. "Eren, I only want one thing from the ruins that are ahead of us. But rest assured, there are plenty of goodies to be had for all of us. You get to keep all of them. And when I get my hands on the thing I want from the ruin, I will tell you everything rted to the ruin as well as the history behind the cooperation between Goddess Two Lips and Asmodeus. I will also put forward my proposal to you. I believe that once you know what I''ll soone to possess, you will join me and forget about the Goddess Great Mother''s proposal altogether," Yona chuckled as she said. "Alright," Eren sighed and replied. After looking around to confirm something he said further. "I''m a bit busy so I''ll let Jolly be in charge of this vessel once again. You can call me whenever you are ready to talk," Eren said before closing his eyes. In the next moment, Jolly''s body swayed, and he lost consciousness. Chapter 1894 Compound Lust Mana Barrier 1894 Compound Lust Mana Barrier As soon as he processed Yona''s words regarding the Demon Prince of Lust, Eren began to look at things in retrospect. It made him realize just how skilled Asmodeus was at manipting the cause-and-effect fabric. The new information possibly answered the question that had been bugging him. "Ability to manipte the fates of two people using the cause-and-effect fabric, huh? My unreasonable infatuation with Sienna Slughorn in my first life. Was it due to this ''Immortal Eros''? I wasn''t like the other regr kids my age right from the very beginning. From the way my father treated me, I knew I was different. From the way my mother abandoned me, I was sure I didn''t think like the kids my age. At that time, it waspletely out of character for me to act that way. So how did I get so obsessed with a girl who had not done anything for me at that time? Could it be a carefullyid trap all along? Does that mean the two Immortals coborated to take me down even before I had a chance to obtain the Elder Ichor bloodline?" Eren briefly thought to himself before quickly dismissing the thought. He had to agree that the conjecture made a lot of sense. And as long as it made sense to him, he wouldn''t go around gathering proof to get to the bottom of his past events. Why should he? There was no benefit to be had by digging up the past. Even if Asmodeus had conspired with the Slumbering Goddess to prevent the existence of Aleph''s potential sessor, Eren had already established himself as a nascent Demon Emperor. There was no way the Demon Prince of Lust could pull the same kind of tricks on him in his current timeline. Furthermore, dwelling on the past wouldn''t help Eren in this case. He already considered Asmodeus to be his enemy. Whether the Demon Prince had helped the Slumbering Goddess sabotage his life in the first timeline had nothing to do with the current Eren. Eren also realized that establishing new rtions with anyone in Labh Salem was akin to consciously walking into a trap. If Asmodeus could tweak the cause-and-effect fabric around Eren without having to know about what he was doing or where he was, then it meant that he could arrange pitfalls for him to fall into in the form of new femalepanions. In fact, Eren had already experienced something like this. If he hadn''t turned Kayara to his side at the veryst second, he would have been restricted by Helenbora Coven''s wellid n to use him for his advantage. "Hmm. No more hook-ups with strangers, no matter how beautiful they are. This damned demon is out to get me," Eren thought to himself, his expression darkening for a fraction of a second. "This snake is even more dangerous than Demon Prince of Wrath Samael. At least I can see the guying when he plots against me. But this Asmodeus is too sly. He is just like me, I guess. And I can''t underestimate someone like me," Eren smiled to himself as he thought. One could see that the butcher had practically patted his own back and cursed his opponent at the same time. *** All of Eren''s thoughts waxed and waned within a fraction of a second. In the end, he decided to stop overthinking and let Jolly handle matters rted to Yona for the time being. He had many pending tasks that needed his attention anyway. His true form was traveling to the domain of the sea god. He needed to focus on this primary task first and foremost. And just like that, Eren''s consciousness returned to its original body. The Demonic Takeover was canceled only a few minutes after its initiation. After all, Eren had defeated all his enemies as easily as swatting flies. So there was no substantial time difference between his actual demonic takeover and release. Jolly''s soul was put in control of his body once again. It was as if Jolly had gone into a deep sleep just as he was standing upright. Thankfully, Shaai came forward and supported her husband''s body before it fell face-t. It didn''t take long for Jolly to regain consciousness. When his vision cleared, he saw his wife looking at him with concern. "You didn''t tell me you had such a vile demon possessing you," she said as she checked his vital stats and his Individuality, which had returned to normal once again. "Well, he''s not a demon. Um not really. So you can''t do anything about him. No exorcism procedure can make him leave a vessel without his consent once hees to possess someone," Jolly responded, his smile mirthless. "Secondly, he''s not just any demon; he''s the Nascent Demon Emperor himself. Someone who technically supersedes the authority of all seven Demon Princes and Ars Goetia Immortal Demons." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "What?" Shaai''s expression changed abruptly to one of utter shock when she heard Eren''s status in the demonic hierarchy straight from her husband. Jolly let Shaai process her surprise. Then, he looked at Yona before speaking further. "I believe we need to get away from this ce and get to the ruins that you are talking about. We are bound to attract attention if we stay here any longer than we need to," he said while looking around him with vignce. "Indeed," Yona replied, nodding at the same time. Soon, the trio left the battlefield in silence, heading to the deeper parts of the Wrathful Red Forest. *** A few dayster. Jolly, Shaai, and Yona reached a ruined castle that was in the middle of the forest. ording to Yona''s information, this castle was only a small part of the ruins that were spread all across the region. However, she guessed that there could be something of value that they could salvage from the ruined castle. The ruined castle stood as weathered architecture amidst the dense foliage of the Wrathful Red Forest. Its once-majestic towers now crumbled, their stone walls bearing scars of age. As Jolly, Shaai, and Yona approached, they could see broken battlements jutting out jaggedly against the skyline, evidence of a time when this castle was a formidable stronghold. However, before Jolly and the rest could enter the ruined castle via its main gate, they realized that an unknown istion barrier had been erected by some mechanism. What was even more surprising was the fact that the istion barrier was so strong that even the most powerful S-Ranked practitioners would not be able to break past the barrier. Someone who had erected these barriers definitely didn''t want others to steal what was inside. "Hm? What is this barrier?" Jolly frowned his brows as he asked. "Hehe. This barrier is only one of the many. Why do you think I decided to partner up with you from the moment we met?" Yona replied with a smile on her face. "This is apound, ever-changing, and ever-growing istion barrierid by Asmodeus. It self-regenerates by itself. As you might have guessed, it is based on Lust Mana, which makes it extremely difficult to break past the restrictions even for someone with experience rted to the formations and demon magic circles. Usually, a group of Sages need to work together for a few days before they cracked this barrier. Your Authority over Lust Mana is so superior to that wretched demon. I don''t want to waste time cracking open something with force when I can just let you dispell it with your Authority," Yona replied casually. Only now did Eren realize why Yona of the Night had decided to pair up with him. It seemed that the goddess simply wanted the most convenient way of barrier break. And Eren was her best bet. Chapter 1895 Breaking the Compound Domain With Sin Series Authority 1895 Breaking the Compound Domain With Sin Series Authority Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Lust. Authority Domain. Jolly spread out his hands and released the Sin Series Domain. Theyer of Lust Mana he summoned with his domain manifestation directly conflicted with the istion barrier erected around the ruined castle. Chi. Chi. Chi. Sparks flew, and two different forms of Lust Manayers shed against each other. N?v(el)B\\jnn This was a sh between the two Sin Series Authorities. Jolly could let Eren handle this matter. However, Eren would have had to use Sin Series Edicts to overwrite the Lust Domain cast as an istionpound barrier. An Edict would have turned the barrier cast by anyone using the Sin Series Mana, changing its ownership. Within a moment, it could have been turned into a barrier cast by Eren himself. From then on, it would only obey the rules set by Eren himself. However, there was a huge drawbackEren''s consciousness would have to face the will of Asmodeus when he was about to use the Edict over the barrier. This was why Eren had never wielded his Sin Series Abilities as Edicts. Doing so would have revealed a lot about him to his enemies. Unless he found a way to wield the Edicts conspicuously, the butcher had decided that he would not use the Edicts carelessly anywhere unless he absolutely had to. The domain manifestation, or in better terms, domain expansion, was how one defined the space they wanted to exert their will on. A Domain Authority was when one established their authority in that defined space. This was when one could wield intent-based mana with such potency that it had the potential to break the rank restrictions. However, a Domain Edict was the ultimate ownership of the space. It could allow the Edict user to rob the authority of other domain users of that particr intent-based path or Mana type. Since Eren couldn''t wield the Sin Series Edicts, there was practically no difference between him and Jolly when it came to dealing with thepound barrier cast as a form of Lust-Mana-driven domain. As such, Jolly didn''t bother Eren for this job. If Jolly couldn''t overwrite someone''s authority using the Edict, he would have to corrode the authority that someone had ced on the istion barrier over time. The Edict represented the ultimate lordship one inherited because of their origins or penultimate status whereas the authority could be established after constant battles with one''s opponents. Jolly took a while to corrode the authority integrated into thepound barrier. But he still fared a lot better in dealing with thepound barrierspared to the other S-ranked entities. After all, the damaged castle was only part of the ruins that Jolly and his two femalepanions had found. At this point, several other practitioners were exploring the other parts of the ruins, trying to get ess to the forbidden zones protected by thepound barriers. Crack. Crack. Crack. Thepound barrier shattered from multiple ces like a ss dome being hit by stones hurled at it from various directions. Soon, the cracks spread and turned into the shapes of spiderwebs before the entirepound barrier was broken apart, dispersing into thin air as if it had never existed in the first ce. "Haah! Finally!" Jolly tookbored breaths, a wave of satisfaction washing over him when he realized he was finally able to crack thepound barrier open. He had exhausted almost all his mana reserves to chip away at thepound barrier''s authority over time. Thankfully, it was Jolly and not anyone else from Eren''s pseudo-avatars who was put to this task. It would have been a lot more difficult for any of Eren''s avatars to break the barrier if they didn''t have the Mark of Lust on them. "Almost two hours, huh? I thought it would take you much less time to get rid of this thing," Yona said with a voice tinged with dramatic disappointment as she looked at Jolly. Veins on Jolly''s forehead popped out in annoyance when he heard Yona''s uncalled-for remark. "Yeah? I''d let you break these types ofpound barriers next time we find one. Let''s see how fast you are with your abilities," he said while looking at the goddess''s incarnation. Yona knew that Jolly had been very fast in getting rid of such a high-grade Sin Seriespound barrier. What the group of S-ranked practitioners could do in a matter of four or five days was done by Jolly in just a few hours. Jolly''s feat was even more impressive because it was he who had gotten rid of the barrier, and not Eren himself. Even as one of Eren''s pseudo-avatars, Jolly stood out with his talent in wielding the Sin Series Powers. However, Yona liked to tease Jolly whenever she could, for some reason. It could be said that the friendly neighborhood witch-like aspects of the original Witch Goddess Two Lips had been transferred to Yona. Yona of the Night could act coquettishly one moment before nning a murder the next. She would diligently do what was expected of her for some time before doing somethingpletely unexpected. If the Goddess Great Mother represented stability and nurturing of nature, the Witch Goddess Two Lips represented the chaos that one could find in their surroundings. Both werepletely opposite and yet felt like the two sides of the same coin, like two pr opposite aspects of a particr divinity. "Hehe. I was only kidding," Yona said yfully andughed. "Why do you get so defensive? It''s not like I didn''t trust you. You broke the barrier just like I thought you would. Shouldn''t you be praising me for putting my faith in you in the first ce?" Jolly was about to say something to Yona with a frown on his face. But before he could do so, his wife interrupted. "Alright. No time to waste. Let''s get in," Shaai said before she walked into the ruined castle''s main entrance. One could see that she didn''t like it when Yona interacted with her husband in any way. Even arguments were seen as a form of flirting by Shaai. "After you," Jolly said as he followed right after a visibly irritated Shaai. He could only smile wryly to himself when he thought about how he was metaphorically getting crushed by the silent power dynamics between the two S-Rankeddies. ''No wonder my main self is so focused on his path,'' Jolly thought to himself and sighed. Chapter 1896 Creatures of Lust: Empusas Chapter 1896 Creatures of Lust: Empusas Step. Step. Step. The sounds of multiple footsteps resounded in therge hollowed corridors of the old castle. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om As soon as Jolly and his two femalepanions entered the old and worn-out castle, they sensed the presence of multiple demonic entities. It was as if they had entered the den of shapeshifting snakes that hissed and talked in a weird humanoidnguage with each other in the shadows as soon as theyid their eyes on Jolly and the twodies. Soon, Jolly and Shaai found the source of the hisses and hushed voices. These were spectral beings that emerged from the shadows as if the shadows were their birthce. These were spectral beings that were manifested as demonic humanoids using the Lust Mana before being granted consciousness. Jolly and his twopanions soon found themselves surrounded by these demonic beings. "What what are these weird creatures?" Shaai asked as she looked at the demonic creatures with part caution and part curiosity. Each of these demonic creatures was only as strong as B-Ranked practitioners. As such, they were no threat to Jolly, Shaai, or Yona. However, their sheer numbers were going to be a headache. Plus, Shaai had not heard of or seen these demonic creatures in Labh Salem''s recent history. "These are what they call Creatures of Lust. A very powerful variety among them," Yona replied with a neutral face as she looked at her enemies. "In some worlds, they are referred to as Empusas," she concluded before taking out her string instrument once again. ''Damn. These are some hot demonesses,'' Jolly thought to himself as he looked at his enemies in a very particr way. One couldn''t me him for developing some kind of sympathy for his enemies after knowing about what his enemies really looked like. The Empusas, sinister beings born from the depths of darkness and imbued with the essence of Lust Mana, were a sight both eerie and captivating. These demonic creatures were born out of the shadows that seemed to writhe with a palpable malevolence. At first, they appeared as mere serpentine shapes, coiling and slithering like dark tendrils of smoke. Their sinuous forms twisted and turned, merging seamlessly with the shadowy surroundings. But as they drew closer to their prey, their transformation began. From being seen as shadow serpents, their bodies morphed into a nightmarish fusion of human and serpent. From the waist up, they bore a resemnce to humans, albeit with skin as dark as obsidian and eyes that glowed with an otherworldly light. Their features were twisted into expressions of malice and hunger, with fanged mouths that dripped with a viscous ichor. It was as if they were feeding on the prey they had recently caught. It was most likely some practitioner from the divine or demonic faction that had dared to try his luck barging into the castle. ''It means These creatures can go out of thepound barriers whenever they can. The barrier only prevents outsiders from freely entering and existing in its domain,'' Jolly thought to himself. The creature shapeshifted into the most charming and attractive groups of women. Below the waist, however, the Empusa''s forms devolved into those of serpents, their torsos elongated and sinewy, covered in scales that shimmered with an oily sheen. Their movements were sinuous and graceful, their serpentine tails swaying hypnotically as they slithered closer to their prey. Of course, the empusas with snake-like features from waist below were only a part of what the term empusas covered. Amidst the writhing mass of Empusas, some possessed a unique ability to shapeshift into humanoid forms, resembling creatures that were no different from practitioners. These Empusas stood tall on two legs, their bodies adorned with sinewy muscles and skin as dark as midnight. With two arms, they wielded their shadowy weapons with the skillsets of veteran practitioners, their eyes glowing with a lustful allure that drew unsuspecting victims into their clutches. These seductive Empusas moved with hypnotic grace, luring their prey with promises of pleasure before revealing their true, monstrous nature. However, not all Empusas took on such alluring forms. Among their ranks were those who could shapeshift into more grotesque and dangerous configurations. Some manifested with one leg and one snake-like trunk, their serpentine forms coiling and twisting with deadly precision as they slithered across the shadows. Others had two legs but bore four or more arms, each appendage ending in razor-sharp ws that dripped with a corrupted form of lust mana in liquid form that could be used as venom. But perhaps most unsettling of all were the Empusas with two heads, each bearing a twisted mockery of a human face. With their dual gaze, they surveyed their surroundings with predatory cunning, their voices a chilling harmony of hisses and whispers that echoed through the darkness. These types of Empusas could stack their Skills more easily because of having two brains and double the Int Stat. "Damn. There are at least 200 of them," Shaaimented as she looked at the demonic entities with a grim look on her face. As they encircled Jolly, Shaai, and Yona, their voices rose in a cacophony of hisses and guttural utterances, which was nothing but type of a demonguage. "Hehe. These are just some B-Ranked sluts," Yona chuckled as she eyed the Empusas. "Don''t worry. We should be fine as long as" Yona was about to assure Jolly and the others when she saw the Empusas move abruptly among themselves all of a sudden. At first, Jolly and the twodies thought the demonic entities were about to attack them. They braced themselves for the iing wave of demons. However, they were surprised when the Empusas started merging. The Empusas were highly motivated to take down the enemies that had decided to barge into the castle. However, they were not as stupid as one might consider them to be because of their half-beastly status. They clearly understood that Jolly and the twodies who were with him were way out of their league in terms of power level. As such, they decided to merge together. Soon, the overwhelming number of Empusas started to drop. At the same time, A-Ranked entities emerged among them. These A-Ranked entities merged to form two S-Ranked Empusas as well. ''Damn. Now that''s what I call creatures of Lust. Asmodeus is clearly well above my main self in using the Sin Series powers. I guess we still have a lot to learn from the Demon Princes.'' Jolly thought to himself as he looked at the newly emerged and highly powered forms of Empusas. == Chapter 1897 Domain Suppression Chapter 1897 Domain Suppression Two S-ranked Empusas emerged from the sea of demonic creatures. There were also three A-ranked Empusas who attempted to merge but failed. It seemed that several conditions needed to be satisfied before they could fully fuse and give birth to a higher-ranked demonic entity. Apart from these five high-ranking Empusas, there were also several small fry demonesses remaining. All of them became the subordinates of the five Empusas, following the rules of the demonic hierarchy. These Empusas hissed and yelled at the castle intruders, especially looking at Jolly with conflicting expressions. There was a part of them that wanted to surrender to Jolly because they could instinctively sense that he was Eren''s pseudo-avatar, who was at the top of the demonic food chain. However, the ruined castle itself had ced many restrictions on them, preventing them from allying with anyone outside the castle owner. Shaai was left aghast to find out that there were still some demonic creatures in Labh Salem that she didn''t know about. She was particrly intimidated by these spectral demons, who merged and raised their ranks. One of the Empusas'' biggest strengthsy in the way they hypnotized their opponents. They could make men and women smitten with their looks and gestures. When practitioners fell prey to the Empusas'' charming skills, they practically signed their death warrants with their own hands. If Jolly wasn''t present among the group, these Empusas would have tried affecting Shaai and Yona''s consciousness with their demonic skills. One could say that the Empusas'' charming skills were just the concepts of Mist Of Lust used in different ways. As such, Jolly obviously had the ability to dispel these demonic skills. Thus, the Empusas didn''t even bother wasting one of their trump cards against the castle intruders. "Don''t worry. It only works because there''s apound domain cast around the castle. These are a special variety of demons you usually won''t find in Labh Salem. The world would have been a much bigger mess than it already is if they were able to replicate the same feat outside the isted zones," Yona said suddenly, as if reading what was on Shaai''s mind. "You know what is more painful to deal with than Empusas? Furies! and Scys. And Lamias as well. But they can''t be created that easily. So we don''t need to worry too much. My main self did a lot of research on them here in these ruins while she was in Labh Salem as a witch. Let''s just Demon Prince of Lust was not the only Demon Prince she had in touch with in those days. It''s that research that made her Goddess Two Lips. Anyway, About these Empusas. They are not that strong. Because they have gotten rid of their spectral forms to raise their ranks, we can kill them without having to use the Soul Spells. And don''t forget we have someone who can suppress them." Yona said while looking at Jolly, who took it as a cue to unleash the so-called suppression Yona was talking about. Mark of the Seven Sins: Domain of Lust Jolly spread his Sin Series Domain once again, and the entire castle was brought into his domain''s sphere of influence. He also added the attainments he had gained from the Virtue of Chastity into the domain, which started to work surprisingly well against the Empusas. Even the S-Ranked Empusas had their mana signatures suppressed when Eren unleashed his Sin Series Domain strengthened with Virtue Series Attainments. Scree. Scree. Scree. The Empusas screeched and hissed as they charged at the trio. Jolly let the twodies handle the matter. In the next moment, he took out his beaked mask and disappeared from the ce, his presence vanishing into thin air. Since Jolly had the profession of an Assassin, Eren had obviously given him the beaked mask of Sage Loxley. This mask was very effective in carrying out assassinations. However, it couldn''t be used for a very long time. It also had some other limitations. Eren had obviously upgraded the beaked mask after turning it into the Hex artifact. Using the perks avable to him with the use of Menaka''s Blessing and the Mesh itself, he was able to boost the effectiveness of the beaked mask to a new level for a limited amount of time. Meanwhile, Yona and Shaai took action. They made full use of their S-Ranked powers and attacked the two S-Ranked Empusas head-on. As for the A-Ranked Empusas and the rest of the small fry? They could only support their S-Ranked leaders passively from a distance. The A-Ranked Empusas tried to attack Yona and Shaai together but ended up severely injured. Apart from the Soul Spells, intent-based magic was also highly effective against the Empusas. With the demonic creatures'' own intent-based magic suppressed under Jolly''s domain, the A-Ranked and below Empusas had very little defense against Yona and Shaai''sbined assault. A fierce battle raged between the two sides. Shaai''s intent-based magic was so strong that it started to damage the castle, which was supposed to withstand any demonic power hurled its way. Yona''s Spirit bloodline magic was more refined. She targeted one of the S-Ranked Empusas from a distance using her string instrument while keeping the waves of subordinate Empusas at bay. Meanwhile, Jolly used his invisibility perk to eliminate two of the A-Ranked Empusas one after the other. He didn''t have to go for the trifecta kill because Shaai managed to kill her while dealing with her opponent. So he started assassinating the lower ranked demons as efficiently as he could despite the chaos. *** Half an hourter. N?v(el)B\\jnn The battle between the two sides was finally settled. After the end of the battle, the portion of the castle that had survived for thousands of years was raised to the ground. The battle would have changed thendscape of the region in a bigger way than it already had if it weren''t for thepound barrier. "These damned snakes better stay dead this time," Shaai cursed as she took herbored breaths while surveying the destruction, standing in the middle of the debris. Chapter 1898 Castle Depository 1898 Castle Depository Shaai had light wounds on her body that were slow to heal for some reason, despite her S-Ranked status. "Hehe. There are not going to be any Empusas, Shaai. At least not here. They won''te unless the castle mechanism summons them back, which can''t happen because well we destroyed it." Yona replied, not too far away from where Shaai was. She was practically unscathed, save for a light injury on her left arm. One could see that Yona had not exerted as much strength as Shaai. However, there were beads of sweat on her forehead, indicating that neutralizing the Empusas wasn''t really a walk in the park for her either. "Hmm? You are hurt. That can''t be good," Jolly appeared like a ghost beside Shaai and half-embraced her, feeling her body up close. "Oh! This might tingle your skin a bit but bear with it." Jolly said before cing his right hand over her head. He closed his own eyes and agitated the Elder Ichor bloodline within him. In the next moment, the corrupted form of Lust Mana that the Empusas had left behind started getting expelled from Shaai''s body through her wounds. Some ck blood seeped out before Shaai immediately started feeling better. Within half a minute, her wounds started healing normally, and she felt as good as new, save for the nearly depleted mana reserves. More than the physical relief itself, Shaai was pleased with the way Jolly showed his affection towards her. She let him cure her of the demonic corruption while enjoying their proximity. The married S-Rank Elementalist also looked at Yona, giving her a slightly smug look. Too bad, the witch goddess'' incarnation wasn''t really in the mood forpeting with her to have Jolly''s attention. At least not at this point. Jolly''s physical condition was fine except for the almost depleted mana reserves. However, he was mentally fatigued, and his soul felt as if it had been stretched from multiple points because of him having to deploy the Sin Series Domain two times in a row, as well as maintain them for so long. As such, the trio took some time to catch their breaths. They made use of the potions and perks avable at their disposal to get themselves in optimal condition. *** After a few minutes. "Let''s go. We have a lot to do." Yona suddenly got up from her seated position. She took a deep breath before she started walking through the debris with solemn expressions on her face. Shaai and jolly looked at each other. A silent understanding was shared between the two before they decided to follow Yona closely behind her. Yona waved her hand and in the next moment, a mass of debris was parted to either side, revealing a passageway that led underground. The witch didn''t think for too long before stepping into the passageway, descending into the depths of the castle one step at a time. It didn''t take long for the trio to get to the core part of the underground dungeon-like facility of the castle. There they saw a spacious underground hall that featured a giant demon magic circle that was supported by numerous smaller circles. The air was thick with the scent of dampness and age. "What kind of Array Formation is this? It looks so ancient and powerful," Shaaimented as she looked at the demon magic circles with a certain curiosity and fascination. They looked different from theyout that was usually used in Labh Salem. "Hehe, not all ancient formations are better than the formations we use these days. You are clearly underestimating the talents of thousands and thousands of practitioners who have contributed to the field of magic in their own way. Their collective achievement is bigger than the research conducted by most Immortals as well," Yonamented as she examined the primary demon magic circle carefully. "Take this formation, for example. This is what you can call an automated Empusa summoning formation. It summons a fixed number of Empusas per day whenever they drop down below a certain threshold. But it relies too much on the supporting formations. The Array Formationyouts we use now can allow practitioners to integrate multiple formations together to get rid of some of their individual weaknesses. The ancient formations can''t do that. They can easily get damaged due to external factors. That''s why this formation stopped producing the Empusas after we destroyed the castle," Yona exined as she scrutinized the runic details of the demon magic circle carefully. "Hehe. Found it," Yona said with a bit of excitement as she walked ahead and entered a particr section of the demon magic circle. With a confident gesture, Yona raised her hand and summoned forth her elemental power, channeling it into a concentrated burst of energy. The demonic symbols within the circle began to tremble, their once steady glow flickering erratically as Yona''s magic surged through them. With a sudden burst of power, she unleashed a torrent of elemental force, sending shockwaves rippling across the stone floor. The demon magic circle groaned and shuddered under the onught, its ancient wards faltering in the face of Yona''s relentless assault. Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface, glowing with a sickly green light as the circle struggled to maintain its integrity. With one final surge of energy, Yona unleashed a devastating st of Spirit bloodline magic, shattering the demon magic circle into fragments. The pieces of the broken circle scattered across the floor, their dark magic dissipating into the ether. Yona stepped forward, her gaze fixed on the newly appeared corridor that had been revealed at the other side of the spacious hall, which wasn''t visible before. The stone walls seemed to stretch endlessly into the darkness. The trio soon walked into it, their footsteps echoing through the corridor. "Don''t forget our agreement," Jolly spoke as he looked at the end of the corridor with some expectations. "Hehe. don''t worry. Whatever you find in the depository will be yours except for the key-fragment I''m looking for," Yona assured. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The trio soon found themselves in the very room they wanted to find in the castle. Chapter 1899 Hex Abyssal Armguards with Asmodeous’ Blessings 1899 Hex Abyssal Armguards with Asmodeous Blessings n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om The castle depository was filled with various regr artifacts as well as Hex artifacts. These artifacts had been used in the demon magic circle to act as conduits for the surplus of demonic energy as well as to bnce out anyck of demonic energy during certain times. Since Yona and Shaai had destroyed the castle''s formations, the artifacts were no longer tied to the demon magic circles. This meant they could be freely taken out. Among the assortment of artifacts, there were ancient talismans inscribed with runes of protection, and intricate amulets adorned with gemstones that seemed to shimmer with inner light, indicating the fact that they could unlock new Skills for those who broke it as a one-time use. There were some weapon-based artifacts carved with ancient symbols, highlighting their demonic heritage. Then some defensive-type artifacts were either one-time or multi-time use. One had to note that most of the artifacts and items were ideal to be used by S-Ranked entities. These items just floated motionlessly inside the depository, waiting to be imed by those who had captured the castle. "Hm? This this looks interesting." Shaai''s eyes lit up when she came across a crystal orb among a series of floating artifacts arranged in a circle. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was an S-Ranked elemental amplifier, a rare artifact coveted by Elementalists like herself. "This this is just perfect for me. I''m taking this," Shaai chuckled as she grabbed the artifact unceremoniously. Holding it in her hands, Shaai could feel the raw energy pulsating within, resonating with her own elemental powers. "Hmm. I will take these. They look so different from what Eren normally creates," Jolly said as he approached a certain set. It was a set of bracers crafted from a dark metal that seemed to have Lust Mana Runes. They offered agility-based perks and an assassination-rted inherent Skill. The set was a no-brainer choice for Jolly. He recognized them as Hex artifacts, imbued with demonic enchantments that could enhance his own abilities as a wielder of Sin Series powers. Although these runes etched over the artifacts were ancient, the rare metals used in the making of the bracers were exceptional. The bracers could amplify the user''s proficiency in wielding Sin Series powers. They also offered ayer of protection against a range of demonic debuffs. The bracers could ward off the charming skills cast by the user''s opponents. As such, one could call these bracers anti-Empusa Bracers as well. A spectral notification popped in Jolly''s psyche as soon as he wrapped the bracer set with his Soul Sense. It highlighted other details about the bracelet that he hadn''t figured out before. [ Hex Abyssal Armguards with Asmodeous'' Blessings Enhanced Sin Series Maniption: The bracers amplify the user''s proficiency in wielding Sin Series powers, granting greater control and potency over their abilities rted to lust, desire, and maniption. Protection Against debuffs rted to demon magic: Infused with ancient enchantments, the bracers offer ayer of protection against malevolent entities and dark forces, shielding the wearer from curses, hexes, and psychic attacks. Amplified Strength and Stamina Skill: When activated, the bracers imbue the user with enhanced physical strength and stamina, allowing them to endure prolonged battles and exert greater force inbat situations. For the users with Assassin Profession, the Skill can not be used once every week. Aura of Lustful Intimidation: The potent Sin Series Runes etched over the set can help cast debuffs on their opponents, instilling lust and desire in adversaries, weakening their resolve, and making them more susceptible to maniption. Hex Infusion: The bracers can infuse nearby objects or weapons with Hex energy, imbuing them with additional intent-based magic and granting temporary enhancements such as increased damage or elemental effects. Sin Series Emotion Absorption: In dire situations, the bracers can absorb and neutralize sinful emotions directed at the wearer, converting them into fuel for their own powers and replenishing the user''s reserves. Ideal to be used with the Aura of Lustful Intimidation for synergetic results. Hex Warding: The bracers can create a protective barrier using Hex magic, deflecting the elemental attacks cast by enemy practitioners and nullifying their effects before they can harm the wearer. For the Assassin Profession, this Skill can only be used once per week. ] *** "Damn. So many perks and blessings on a single artifact? No wonder those Demon Princes have a cult following," Aksai thought to himself and sighed. "Hehe. All the more reason to keep these bracers to myself and crack their manufacturing codes. The Elder Ichor faction members would soon get to use something very interesting," he thought to himself. Jolly could use these bracers for himself. But he obviously had a bigger goal as one of Eren''s pseudo-avatars. He could create a detailed analysis of the runes and send them to Eren, who could then pass it down to Kalen Eldric- another of Eren''s pseudo-avatars who was given the responsibility of making Hex artifacts for the Elder Ichor faction. Eren had already unlocked the ability to create Blessing Temtes. He just needed to find a way to bless the artifacts using the temtes. Soon the bracer-like artifact set in Jolly''s possession could be produced on a rtively massive scale. The bracers and other simr artifacts based on the unique demonic runes could then be used by the members of the Elder Ichor faction. One had to say that Eren and all seven of his pseudo-avatars were very business-oriented. They could think about how to grow the Elder Ichor faction while ensuring their personal interests were not harmed in the process. *** Jolly was busy thinking about a lot of things at once when his chain of thoughts was broken by someone calling his name. "Jolly, you should check this one out," Yona said as she approached a particr item. Her eyes fell upon a weathered tome bound in leather, its pages filled with demonic symbols and diagrams. As she flipped through its pages, she sensed it was written in an encryptednguage that could only be decrypted by someone with profound proficiency in using the Sin Series Marks. Even as the Witch Goddess Two Lips'' incarnation, Yona would have many difficulties in decrypting thenguage and knowing what was written inside it without destroying the tome in the process. "Hmm? Let me see," Jolly saved the Abyssal Armguards in his Inventory before appearing beside Yona. He took the book from her and channeled his Sin Series Mana through it. In the next moment, the encrypted demonic font started changing, allowing Jolly to read the content. "This is" Jolly had a shocked expression on his face as he realized what the book was about. Chapter 1900 Empusa Genesis Manual 1900 Empusa Genesis Manual "Empusa Genesis Manual." Jolly muttered the name of the manual that he could read that was written on the front page. As he quickly browsed through the pages, the manual revealed a wealth of information on how to craft different types of Empusas, each designed for specific purposes and levels of power. There were instructions for creating various Empusa variants, ranging from basic foot soldiers to powerfulmanders, each with unique abilities and strengths. ording to the manual, five main types of Empusas could be created. The first type was the Basic Foot Soldier Empusas. These were the mostmon type, designed for simple tasks andbat. They were created using rtively simple demon magic circles, requiring minimal resources butcking in specialized abilities. The second type was the Infiltrator-type Empusas. These Empusas were designed for espionage and sabotage, with the ability to blend into their surroundings and move with stealth. They required more intricate demon magic circles to create, imbuing them with enhanced agility and camouge capabilities. The third type was strength-based Empusas. These wererger and more robustly defined Empusas, designed for brute strength and frontlinebat. They looked like boa snakes from their waist down. They required extensive demon magic circles to create, enhancing their physical abilities and resilience on the battlefield. The fourth type was the Strategist-type Empusas: These Empusas were crafted for leadership and tacticalmand, possessing heightened intelligence and strategic thinking. They required specialized demon magic circles imbued with knowledge and cunning to create, allowing them to outmaneuver their foes on the battlefield. These Empusas were usually employed to act as the leaders of a small squad. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The fifth was the temptress-type Empusas. These Empusas were masters of maniption and seduction, using their charms to ensnare and manipte their targets. They required intricate demon magic circles infused with the influence of the Lust Domain to summon them, allowing them to bewitch and control their prey. The manual also detailed the construction of demon magic circles specifically designed for Empusa creation. These circles served as the foundation for crafting the shells of the Empusas, providing the framework upon which their demonic essence could be summoned and imbued with consciousness. By following the instructions in the manual and utilizing these demon magic circles, the demonic practitioners could create Empusas tailored to their specific needs and objectives. Of course, this manual was not meant to be used just by any regr demonic practitioner. Only someone like the incarnations of the Immortal Demons or Eren could make use of the methods mentioned in the manual effectively. Even if the S-Ranked demonic practitioners followed the steps mentioned in the manual, they would not necessarily be able to create Empusas as their subordinates. "Dreamscape Empusa Proxies technique," Jolly mumbled the name of thest chapter in the manual. The chapter title referred to the Lust-Mana-driven clone technique by the same name, which could be used by practitioners to create clones of certain people in different ways. The Dreamscape Empusa Proxies technique was aplex and powerful method that allowed practitioners to create Empusa proxies imbued with the essence of their mates, even if they were separated by vast distances or different worlds. This technique required a deep connection between the practitioner and their mates, established through intimate bonds. Things would go a lot smoother if the user had something like the Sin Series Branding on their mates. To initiate the technique, practitioners delved into the Dreamscape, a realm where consciousness intersected and dreams took on tangible form. Additionally, Dreamscape was nothing but a conduit that one could use in the form of the ruined ne left abandoned by the dead Immortal. It seemed that Asmodeous had found various ways to influence his subordinates, allies, and enemies. The use of the ruined nes as Dreamscape nes was his ingenuity in using the demon magic. Within the Dreamscape, practitioners could project themselves tomunicate with their mates, bridging the gap between worlds. The role of the clones'' souls was huge in the technique. Through these dream interactions, practitioners sought the consent of their mates for the creation of Empusa proxies. Consent was paramount, as it ensured the stability of the Empusa''s form in the end. Once consent was obtained, the practitioner began the manifestation ritual within the Dreamscape. Drawing upon their own Sin Series abilities and the shared connection with their mate, the practitioner imprinted the Empusa proxy with fragments of their mate''s consciousness and abilities. Basically, the practitioner''s mates would be used as temtes for the Empusa creation. This process required great skill and precision, as the Empusa proxy would inherit not only the appearance but also the personality and powers of its temte. With the Empusa proxy formed, the practitioner guided it back to the physical realm, where it took on a corporeal form. The Empusa proxy retained partial memories of its mate and possessed abilities reflective of their temte. "This manual is really interesting," Jolly thought to himself as he closed the book and saved it in his Inventory. He sensed that it was part of the core inheritance of Asmodeus that he hadn''t even put on the Mesh for his subordinates to im. This was something he would have only given to one of his incarnations. "Now what should I do with it?" Jolly thought for a bit before closing his eyes and reestablishing his connection with Eren. It took a while, but Jolly managed to send the Empusa Genesis Manual to Eren''s Inventory through the Mesh using the special perks avable for him as Eren''s pseudo-avatars. The manual was practically useless for him, but he knew that Eren would be able to make better use of it himself. By the time Jolly had finished browsing through the book, Shaai had finished her browsing through the artifacts and other items avable in the castle''s depository. Apart from the mana amplification orb, she also imed a few defensive-type items for herself. She left the rest to be imed by her husbandC Jolly. "Did you get the thing you wanted?" Jolly asked Yona as he looked at her curiously while saving all the other items in the castle''s depository. When everything was saved in Jolly''s Inventory, the castle depository started looking empty. "Hehehe. Indeed," Yona chuckled as she showed Jolly what she had imed for herself from the depository. A mysterious dagger appeared on her right palm as she raised it for Jolly to see. "Hm? What kind of dagger is it? Doesn''t look like a regr Hex artifact to me." Jolly said as he took the dagger from Yona''s hand. The moment he did, he felt something in his head. It was as if something had been snapped and he had lost his connection with a giant web that was all around him. "This this is," Jolly stuttered as he looked at Yona with expressions of utter surprise. His face also told her that he had 100 questions in his head that needed some answering from her. "Let me see that," Shaai appeared beside Jolly and almost snatched the dagger from his hand. She didn''t like that Yona was trying to make the dagger sound really mysterious in front of her husband for some reason. However, her expression also changed when she saw a nk window appearing as a Spectral Notification when she tried to learn a bit about the dagger using the Mesh. "Well. this is strange. Why is the Mesh not being able to detect anything about this dagger? It should at least list out the potential matches and possible properties, right?" Shaai asked Yona with an expressions that said she didn''t trust herpletely. Yona smiled at the husband and wife duo before adding further. "This is not really a dagger but a key," Yona said as she took the dagger-like artifact from Shaai''s hand. She traced the de''s edge of the artifact with her finger yfully before adding further. "Jolly, this is a part of the Mesh Killer Formation that Asmodeus and Goddess Two Lips had developed during their research thousands of years ago. How can the Mesh identify something that is made to destroy it?" she asked as she looked at Jolly yfully. "Call Eren out. Now that the key is in my hands, the cause-and-effect fabric has changed drastically. it''s about time I tell you something really interesting." Yona said as she stored the Mesh Killer Key Fragment in her Inventory. === AN: Another milestone unlocked! Big thanks to all the readers and shoutout to the top fans. Keep those antennas up for more. Stay tuned! :) Chapter 1901 Dreamscape 1901 Dreamscape Nina felt like she had entered asurrealdream. Initially, she found herself in the grand capital of the Edinburgh kingdom, the City of Edin. In this dreamlike version of the city, everything appeared more magnificent than reality, each detailbothclear and shrouded in mystery. It was as if Nina had be a wisp, observing the bustling city from abird''s-eyeview. But in an instant,she was containedwithin a vessel. Though she felt in control of her physical form, her thoughts swirled chaotically, making it hard to focus. As she moved closer to the capital city, the scenery shiftedonce more. This time, she found herself at a graduation ceremony for young Rankers. It felt familiar as if she had witnessed it in reality, yet the perspectivefrom whichshe viewed it was different. ncing around the audience, she spotted herself, Jiana Jiang, and Levine de Montmorency, all cheering for Eren. The current version of herself in the dream stood among a group of young Rankers receiving des from King Emil himself. "Isn''tthisEren''sgraduation ceremony?"Nina pondered, trying to make sense of the strange dream. The scenes around her dissolved into clouds of smoke beforecoalescinginto a new scene. Now, she stood in a dense forest filled with mana beasts, exotic creatures, and the dreaded Children of Echidna, known as monsters. Towering trees and thick foliage obscured the sunlight, casting the forest in a semi-shadowy domain. As Nina ventured deeper into the forest in her dream, she sensed something different about this scene. Strange whispers echoed through the trees, their eerie cadence sending shivers down her spine. Though shecouldn''tdiscern their words, she felt a primal fear stirring within her as she delved further into the mysterious forest. As she walked, Nina encountereda variety ofcreatures she had only read about in texts: mythical beasts with glowing eyes, ethereal beings that seemed to materialize from the shadows, andcreatureswhose forms shifted and twisted like liquid in a kaleidoscope.They took on the shapes of monsters, orrather,Children of Echidnaasthey liked to call themselves. "This... this is Monster Canyon. But Idon''tthink I have ever been to this particr region within the canyon. How am I dreaming this weird dream?"Nina questioned herownsanity as she traversed the forest. She had already confirmed that this was just an borate dream, not an illusory trap set by her enemies. After all, there was no one left in Anfang who would try to mess with her. Eren hadeither killed themor suppressed them so thoroughly that theywouldn''teven think of casting illusory traps on her. As Nina explored the forest in her dream, shecame upona peculiarly grim scene that made her question many things. She witnessed a wolf-like D-Ranked beast attacking an old Adept Ranker with ferocity, biting theman''sgroin and causing him immense pain. Despite his injuries, the Adept disyed a fierce determination. When the beast attacked again, he threw his dagger with a seemingly impossible uracy, killing the beast before sumbing to his injuries. Nina felt a strange connection to the old Ranker as he died before her eyes.However, before she could approach his body, the scene changed once again. Now, Ninafound herselfinside a giant birdcage, standing close to a charming yet dangerous woman. Upon closer inspection, she recognized the face of the woman as Eliza Samael, the dragon-type half-blood who had terrorized the Anfang Alliance. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om In the dream, Nina battled Eliza Samael in ways she had never fought anyone before,pletely dominating the legendary dragon half-blood. If Eliza Samael was known as the best Titan yer of Anfang,thenwhat title should be bestowed upon the one who defeated her? The concepts of time and space blurred as Ninafound herselfrepeatedly summoned into various illusory realms, each depicting a story aboutsomeone''slife. Initially, she believed she was experiencing herowndreams. However, as these dreams persisted, shecame to understandthat she was living out someoneelse''sexperiences, someoneelse''sreality. Eventually, Nina found herself within an isted dimension, familiar with ake she had encountered not long ago. It was the sameke within the Oni Dungeon. As Nina gazed upon theke within the isted dimension, she observed its tranquil surface, reflecting the surrounding scenery like a mirror. The water shimmered with an otherworldly glow, casting an ethereal ambiance over the area. "Let me see how I look." She wore a fitted, sleeveless blouse in a rich shade of deep crimson. The blouse featured intricate embroidery along the neckline, adding a touch of intricate detail to the ensemble. 11:09 As she peered into herownreflection, Nina beheld her current forma shapeless, slime-like substance thatckedanydiscernible features.Yet, with a simple blink, her appearance shifted, and she regained her familiar form within thisillusoryrealm. In the reflection,Nina''ssmooth and supple skin took on a more attractive quality, with a light-tanned hue that entuated her features. Her figure appeared seductive, with curves that enhanced her allure. Her facial features exuded a heightened beauty, with a mature look that added an air of sophistication. She observed herself wearing sophisticated attire thatplemented her features. She wore a fitted, sleeveless blouse in a rich shade of deep crimson. The blouse featured intricate embroidery along the neckline, adding a touch of intricate detail to the ensemble. Paired with the blouse, Nina wore a flowing skirt crafted from luxurious silkfabric,adorned with delicate patterns. The skirt cascaded gracefully around her legs, swaying with each movement. A pair of dangling earrings adorned her ears. Around her neck, she wore a slender chain ne with a pendant that caught the light, casting subtle reflections across the surroundings. The clothingpleted her appearance,allowing her tolook the best version of herself in thisillusoryrealm. "Haah!You''refinally here. I thought that this technique was nothing but a sham." Nina heard a familiar voice from behind her. When she saw Eren standing therewith a smile on his face, her heart melted, and her eyes turned a bit red. Immediately, she enveloped him in an embrace. Shewasn''pletelysureifwhat she was experiencing was a dreamor not. However, this was the first timein a long while thatshe could feel Eren so close. She wanted to cherish this dream for as long as possible before it ended. Chapter 1902 Situation in Anfang P1 1902 Situation in Anfang P1 Eren was d in attire that pleased Nina instantly. It was as if he could read what Nina wanted to see him in and dressed ordingly. His choice of clothing included a snug ck tunic, enriched with delicate silver embroidery tracing along the edges. These garments perfectlyplemented his physique and overall looks. Within the Dreamscape, Eren had the freedom to don any attire he desired. This realm was essentially his dream world, and Nina''s consciousness had been drawn into it using a demonic technique he had acquired with Jalen''s assistance from the ruined castle. In reality, Eren was still aboard Freya, on his way to confront the sea god. However, Jalen''s gift almost forced Eren to unwrap it as soon as he could. He allowed his crewmates to take over the fleet affairs while he tried to create some valuable Empusas he could use for the eventual conflict. His escape to the Dreamscape was the result of hisst-minute trials. Eren demonstrated exceptional skills in employing the technique, having refined it to suit his specific purposes. His proficiency in clone creation, Array Formation, and other diverse fields enabled him to tailor the Empusa Creation Manual ording to his preferences. Additionally, Eren''s close bond with Nina facilitated her seamless entry into this realm, achieved sessfully on their initial attempt. "Keke. Don''t worry. I''m not going anywhere. At least not anytime soon. We can take our time here for as long as you wish," Eren reassured her, hisforting touch on her back conveying that the experience transcended the realm of mere dreams. Inside the Dreamscape, time was even more fluid than outside it. Eren could make a few secondsst for weeks if he wanted to. Therefore, there was no need for Eren and Nina to feel pressed for time while inside the Dreamscape. "Erni... what... What kind of magic is this?" Nina asked as she lifted her face from his chest and scrutinized him. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn''t experiencing a dream. Not really. "Keke. Let''s just say that I''m dreaming about you at this very moment," Eren chuckled before briefly exining the Dreamscape technique to her. Nina listened attentively and was pleased that he had chosen to try the technique on her first and foremost. "So that''s how it is," Nina remarked after hearing Eren''s exnation. She then looked at Eren usingly andmented. "It took you so long to contact me. Were you not thinking about me all this time? Because I thought about you every day after you left Anfang," she said with a fake frown and a dramatic tone, while gazing into his emerald green eyes that seemed as real as could be. She was certain she would give anything to see those eyes in front of her all the time. "Aunt, I just got my hands on the Empusa Creation Manual. It''s not like I was sitting on it for quite some time before I decided to reach out to you," Eren assured Nina as he sped her hands, leading her along the shore of theke. He still liked to call her aunt from time to time despite the way their rtionship had progressed. Nina and Eren engaged in a lengthy conversation, their hands intertwined as they strolled along the shoreline, their reflections shimmering in the moonlit waters. The Dreamscape existed as a realm where the caster, despite their control over it, couldn''t dictate every aspect. The technique relied on intent-based magic after all, allowing the environment to shift in response to the caster''s desires. Thus, whenever Eren''s intentions fluctuated, the world around them transformed, akin to navigating through a reality veiled in smoke and mirrors. *** This talk with Nina allowed Eren to know about various things that had taken ce in Anfang after his departure. Nina informed Eren that more than 50 years had passed by Anfang''s standards since he departed from his homeworld. This discrepancy stemmed from the peculiarities of time and space within the Immortal ne, where Eren had spent nearly two decades from his own perspective. Furthermore, Nina revealed that she had attained the Grandmaster Rank two years ago, thanks to Eren''s arrangements. Not only had she ascended, but Levine had also achieved A-Rank status, while Jiana was steadily progressing towards Grandmaster status herself. This wasn''t all. The key figures of the White Raven Guild, from Drin Dawn to Renita Diabreo, and from Sara Stark to Nysa Nael, were all advancing swiftly yet steadily. Even the allies of the White Raven Guild, such as Eren''s monster army and the Amazonians, had seized the opportunity presented by the Great Shattering to experience rapid growth in post-cmity Anfang. Two of the four Amazonian Matriarchs, Isadora Frostborne, and Valeria Vanlor, had ascended to S-Rank, attaining the esteemed status of Valkyrie Priestess of Goddess Great Mother. The remaining two Matriarchs, Seraphina Riversong, and Evelina Green, were on the cusp of achieving Valkyrie status themselves. Additionally, Callista ckthorn and Galen Ironfist had made significant strides in their respective quests for power. Galen''s pet bear, previously in by Eren within the sacred grounds of Goddess Great Mother butter resurrected by the goddess herself through the power of nature and faith, had also reached the A-Rank. However, due to the pact struck between Goddess Great Mother and Anfang''s World Will, stipting her non-interference in the world''s affairs for 1000 years, the advancement of upper-rank Amazonians faced obstacles. While the world-isting barrier had weakened, the policy of non-interference hindered the Amazonians'' progression beyond the initial S-Rank status. *** As for Eren''s monster army, the four Monster Sovereigns who had allied with the White Raven Guild became the true representatives of all monsters. They weed the blood of Echidna from across Anfang, gathering them on a continent dedicated to prioritizing the so-called monsters'' well-being above all else. What was also surprising was that nobody referred to goblins, orcs, and other monstrous races as "monsters" anymore. The Anfang Alliance had banned the use of the term ''monsters'' across the continent, as the monsters were now part of the Alliance. With Eren practically turning the world upside down, the old traditions could not be upheld, and the fabric of society was forever altered. At this point, all official inhabitants of the Shiragna continent were referred to as the Children of Echidna, in line with the wishes of the races created by Goddess Echidna. Those who persisted in calling the Children of Echidna "monsters" and demi-humans "half-bloods" were subject to penalties by the Alliance itself. N?v(el)B\\jnn It was ironic that the organization that once sought to suppress "foreign" entities within Anfang was now protecting their interests. From oppressing the oppressed to making amends for their past actions, the Anfang Alliance had indeede a long way. === AN: Hi. What do you think about the idea of Eren heading back to Anfang once he wraps up things in Labh Salem? We could squeeze in a short volume, maybe around 30 chapters, before he heads off to Monster World Echidna. It could be a fun little detour for him to revisit his homeworld after the Sage of the Seven Paths volume. But, if it messes with the pacing of the story too much, we can always skip it or make it even shorter. Drop your thoughts in thements! :) Chapter 1903 Situation In Anfang P2 1903 Situation In Anfang P2 After the weakening of the world-isting barrier, attaining rity became much easier for the Children of Echidna. In fact, some Echidnae children were now being born without the chaotic alterations previously seen in their blood and psyche. It appeared that Anfang''s World Will had grown more ustomed to integrating the Children of Echidna into its world fabric after the removal of restrictions. Goblin Sovereign Loma, Ogre Sovereign Rawood Khal, Orc Sovereign Kayini, and Gnoll Sovereign Parmar had nned to depart Anfang and join Kirin on the Monster Continent Echidna. Utilizing the resources and skills avable in Echidna, Kirin had established a stable teleportation formation, facilitating travel from Anfang. Eren was already aware of some of these alterations from Kirin from time to time. However, this was the first time he heard the situation from the perspective of Anfang''s current denizens. Eren''s monster generals, such as the Orc Lord Baran, Ror, Kaalmaahen, and Sharog, had also advanced in their abilities. Some had already left for Echidna, while others were in the process of doing so. Meanwhile, Eren''s group of 24 Orcinas, his mates, and "treasures", had solidified their positions as leaders of their respective tribes. They nned to join Eren in Labh Salem, apanied by capable members of their tribes, to offer him their utmost support. Lasha and Luna were also among this group. *** Kirin had begun weing numerous members of the White Raven Guild into her world, strengthening her influence in Echidna. Guild members like Sara Stark, Nysa Nael, Sylphie, Katalina Reich, Ray Rineheart, Will Evaan, Bianka Bluedust, Silvera Rehrook, and Amory Stowage had already crossed over to Echidna, further bolstering Kirin''s presence. The founding members of the White Raven Crew, including Steve, Ramy Richards, and others, had decided to use Echidna as aunchpad to reach Tel Quasser, thend of the fey. This decision stemmed from the information provided by Tumko Darata during theirst meeting. Nina, too, had made ns to depart Anfang and join Kirin and others on Echidna. As a Grandmaster, she had exhausted most of the resources avable to expedite her Ranking Journey. This was the perfect time for her to leave Anfang. Nina recognized the need to step out of herfort zone after attaining Grandmaster status. She also knew that remaining in Anfang would make achieving the coveted S-Rank exceedingly difficult. *** The various half-blood ns had already established their influence on the Velen Continent, turning it into their home where their rights as half-bloods were secure. Some of Eren''s half-blood allies had also chosen to venture to Labh Salem to establish a presence there. Labh Salem was already quite known to be hospitable to half-bloods, so there was consensus among the half-blood ns to utilize the Spatial Gate Eren had provided for his allies in Sansara World 2.0. Eren''s half-blood allies, such as JJ Edgar and Sirius, were also in the process of departing from Anfang, along with some key n members. They aimed to quell the chaos that had erupted after the Great Shattering. However, after the passing of the storm, Anfang was now better than ever. This was the best time ever to make big moves. At first, Eren wanted to warn his half-blood allies about the current situation in Labh Salem, which was not very favorable for outsiders to enter. The impending arrival of the Hvergelmir Springs in Labh Salem meant that demonic entities could face immediate attacks if and when appearing in any random location under the jurisdiction of the divine Immortals. However, after reconsideration, Eren decided to allow as many of his half-blood allies and members of the monster army as possible toe to Labh Salem. While he already had many allies and subordinates in Labh Salem, he recognized the need for additional support in his forting struggles against the other Immortals and their followers. The butcher believed in the power of numbers. He never wanted to make the mistake of taking on the world by himself unless he really had what it takes to do so. The more people he had to control, the better it would be for him to manage the conflict that he was bound to get in with almost all of the demonic cults and divine temples whenever the Hvergelmir Springs appeared. Eren also believed that the time of great chaos was also the time for great opportunities for him and his allies. Sure, those who had nned toe to Labh Salem would face some difficulties. But it would also allow them to make rapid progress in their respective paths provided they survived the hurdles. *** Apart from this, the continent of Katiyal, where the fey races had established their dominion in Anfang, had also risen to prominence in its own way. The fey ns were no longer interested in returning to thend of the fey or visiting the remaining three worlds that were easily essible from Anfang. The fey ns were interested in breaching the spatial boundaries observed by all five worlds. They wanted to visit the lower worlds using their own unique approach. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The continent of Khajuraho, where the cultists had established their influence, was probably the only continent where Eren had been epted as a true visionary. The masses of Khajuraho saw Eren as someone maligned by the Anfang Alliance for its own selfish reasons. *** Eren could only smile lightly when he heard about his "ill-poprity" from Nina''s mouth. He neither agreed with the opinions of others nor epted them. To him, others'' opinions held very little value. As long as his allies were okay with what he had done to Anfang''s world fabric as a whole, he was fine. And even if some of them were notpletely on board with his views, that was fine for Eren as well. After all, Eren had caused the Great Shattering for his own gains. He had no grand reason to straighten out the societal order of Anfang or to fix the bnce of power so that monsters and half-bloods could coexist with the Rankers in harmony. Thus, he never sought credit for something that had happened as a byproduct of his actions. *** Nevertheless, the butcher was pleased to hear of the rapid progress made by his allies within and outside the White Raven Guild. The Great Shattering cmity, which he had unleashed upon Anfang, seemed to have brought blessings to them. Not only did it facilitate significant advancements, but it also instilled hope for their future endeavors. The darkest nights are often followed by the brightest days, and great calm emerges after great cmity. This rule of the boundless cosmos remained unchanged across the myriad worlds. Eren believed that he had only yed a small role in elerating the inevitability of cmity in Anfang, expediting the arrival of a profound peace. Despite the evident prosperity in Anfang, Eren received no credit from the majority of its inhabitants. He remained vilified as the most evil character in Anfang''s history, med for the inequality and injustice that existed before, during, and after the Great Shattering. Chapter 1904 Unfair Advantage* 1904 Unfair Advantage* Eren and Nina talked for hours on end, discussing various events rted to Anfang. Nina gave Eren detailed updates about the members of the White Raven Guild and their activities. As their discussion about the post-Great Shattering era wound down, their conversation became more casual. "I can''t believe I''m here. With you. What what if it''s all just a dream?" Nina asked, gazing at her reflection in theke. "Keke. I mean, it IS a dream if you think about it. But it''s also real. At least as real as reality is to us," Eren replied, sitting down beside her. Eren waved his hand, and the scene changed. The cloud-like reality blurred before solidifying into a new version of the Dreamscape. This time, they were seated at the edge of arge bed, in front of arge mirror, surrounded by plush velvet cushions and a golden frame, as if in a dressing room without doors or windowsjust the two of them. Nina smiled at Eren as he sat next to her. She felt happy knowing she was the first woman from Anfang he thought of when using the Empusa Creation Manual. She knew how much he needed someone like her, especially during these difficult times. "How''s life in Labh Salem? Are you enjoying yourself so far?" Nina asked, leaning back against the cushion behind her. "Of course," Eren replied, looking at Nina intently. "There''s a different kind of fun and thrill when you''re targeted by loads of people." Nina was about to say something, but Eren shook his head and smiled. "But I''m not here toin, my dear. I''m here to be with you. This is exactly what I need right now. A little break from everything else going on outside this ce. And having someone like you here makes it even better," Eren said, smiling back at her. He reached out and gently stroked her arm, sending shivers down her spine. ''This this is indeed as good as reality,'' Nina thought to herself. Eren''s gentle touch on Nina''s arm sent a wave of warmth through her, making her heartbeat quicken. She turned to him, her eyes reflecting the soft light of the Dreamscape. "Eren," she whispered, her voice tinged with a mix of longing and disbelief, "it feels so real." Eren leaned closer, his emerald green eyes locking onto hers. "Why do you care if it''s real anyway? So what if it''s a dream? It''s our dream," he murmured, his voice low and soothing. Nina felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she felt the intensity of his gaze. She reached out and cupped his face with her hands, her fingers tracing the contours of his jawline. "I''ve missed you so much," she said softly, her eyes filling with emotion. N?v(el)B\\jnn Eren''s hand moved to her cheek, his thumb gently brushing her skin. "I''ve missed you too, Nina," he replied, smiling lightly. "Every single day." Nina leaned into his touch, feeling a deep connection that transcended the boundaries of their physical realities. She closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the closeness they shared. When she opened them again, she found Eren leaning even closer, their faces mere inches apart. Eren''s breath mingled with hers as he whispered, "Did did I congratte you for bing a Grandmaster? Let let me do that right now." Nina felt her heart swell at his words. She closed the gap between them, pressing her lips to his in a tender, lingering kiss. It was a kiss filled with all the unspoken words. "Hmmm!" Eren responded with equal passion, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer. The kiss deepened, their tongues dancing together in a rhythm that spoke of their familiarity and desire. Nina felt a surge of heat as Eren''s hands roamed her back, caressing her with a tenderness that made her shiver. "Keke. This this was long overdue," Eren said finally. They broke the kiss only to catch their breath, their foreheads resting against each other. Eren''s hands moved to her hair, tangling in her silky strands as he looked into her violet eyes. "There''s nobody who can take your ce," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Nina''s eyes glistened with a peculiar shine. "And you''re everything to me, Eren," she replied, her voice equally soft. "I wish I coulde to you right now." Eren smiled, his expression filled with a mix of care and determination. "We will be. Eventually," he promised. "Until then, we have Dreamscape." Nina felt her heart at ease after hearing his words. She leaned in for another kiss, this one more urgent and filled with a hunger that mirrored her desire. Eren''s hands slid down her back, pulling her even closer as the kiss intensified. Their surroundings seemed to fade away as they lost themselves in each other. The Dreamscape responded to their emotions, the scene around them shifting to a more intimate setting. They found themselves in a cozy, warmly lit room with arge, plush bed at the center. The air was filled with the scent of roses and a hint of sandalwood, creating an atmosphere of intimacy. Eren gently guided Nina to the bed, their lips never parting. As theyy down together, the world outside ceased to exist, leaving only the two of them in their private haven. Eren''s hands explored Nina''s body with reverence, tracing every curve and contour. Nina responded in kind, her hands roaming over his muscr frame, memorizing the feel of him beneath her fingertips. "Let let me show you how much I missed you," Eren whispered into her ear. He began to kiss Nina''s neck, nibbling on her earlobes and inhaling her sweet scent. "Oh, dear, that feels so good," Nina moaned, her voice husky with desire. The clothes she wore were dissolved into nothingness just with mere thoughts alone. ''He he has an unfair advantage in this world,'' Nina thought to herself and smiled mirthlessly. She wanted Eren to strip her off her clothesyer byyer, making them feel more organic for her. But it seemed Eren was in a hurry. ''I guess he is not getting regr action anymore. Hehe, good. Let him suffer a little like me. No. Like many of his women, he has left behind in Anfang.'' The Grandmaster healer thought to herself as she weed Eren''s advances on her. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 1905: Making Ideal Use of Dreamscape* Eren continued to kiss Nina''s neck, moving down to her corbone, and then to her ample breasts. He began to suck on her nipples, pinching them gently between his fingers. Nina arched her back, her breathing in short gasps. "Oh, yes, Eren, just like that," she moaned, her voice filled with desire. Each moment seemed tost for eternity. And yet, it felt like everything was happening at 10x the regr pace of reality. Eren''s hand moved down Nina''s body, his fingers grazing her clit, and she let out a low moan. He began to rub her clit, her body writhing beneath his touch. "Fuck, Eren, I need you inside me," Nina gasped, her eyes wild with desire. Eren positioned himself between Nina''s legs, his cock hard and throbbing. He began to rub the head of his cock against Nina''s wet pussy, teasing her with his touch. "Oh, Eren, please," Nina begged, her voice filled with need. "Your wish is mymand," Eren replied with a crooked grin. Eren thrust into Nina, burying himself deep inside her. He began to move, his hips rocking back and forth, his cock sliding in and out of her wet pussy. "Aaaah! Yesss!" Nina cried out, her body arching beneath him, and Eren knew that he had found the right rhythm. As they moved together, Eren could feel the tension building between them. He could feel Nina''s pussy tightening around his cock, and he knew that she was close. "Come for me, Nina," he whispered, his voice filled with desire. "Ummmmm!" Nina let out a low moan, her body trembling beneath him, and then she cried out, her wet cave clenching around Eren''s cock as she came. Eren thrust into her onest time, filling her with his cum. As theyy there, their bodies entwined, Eren could feel Nina''s pussy still pulsing around his cock. He kissed her deeply, his tongue exploring her mouth, and then he moved down south. Before long, he began to lick her pussy, tasting the sweetness of her cum. Nina let out a low moan, her body trembling with desire. Eren continued to lick her, his tongue exploring every inch of her pussy, and then he moved lower, his tongue grazing her ass. "Oh, Eren!" Nina gasped, her voice filled with desire. Eren spread Nina''s ass cheeks apart, his tongue flicking against her asshole. Nina let out a low moan, her body trembling with passionate waves building inside her being. Eren continued to lick her asshole, his tongue probing deeper and deeper. "Oh, Eren, did Did you. Aaaa did you tweak the sensitivity settings of this Dreamworld? I''ve aaah I''ve never felt anything like this before," Nina gasped, her voice filled with desire. Eren only chuckled in response, making Nina second guess the amount of reality added into the Dreamscape. He got up from his position and with a wave of his hand made Nina change her position as well. He was so much in control of this dream-like world that it had stopped being magical and borderline on being purely imaginative in nature. The butcher spread Nina''s ass cheeks apart, his cock hard and throbbing. He positioned himself behind her, his cock sliding against her asshole. "Fuck, Nina. It''s been so damn long. I want to fuck your ass," Eren murmured, his voice filled with determination. "Go go ahead," Nina approved, adjusting herself. She let out a whimper, her body trembling with anticipation. Eren pushed his cock against her asshole, and then he thrust into her, burying himself deep inside her ass. ''Aaaahhh son of a he has indeed tweaked the sensitivity levels,'' Nina had a spontaneous thought before it was lost in the wave of sensory overload. She cried out, her body writhing beneath him, and Eren began to move, his hips rocking back and forth, his cock sliding in and out of her ass. "Yessssssssss!" Nina gasped, her voice filled with desire. Eren thrust into Nina''s ass, his cock throbbing with desire. He could feel the tension building between them, and he knew that he was close. Since it was Dreamscape, he didn''t have to worry about the length of each session. No matter how many sessions he had with Nina, they would all start with the same gusto as the first one. "Ummmm here here Ie," he warned. "Go go aheadddd Aaaaaa!" Nina cried out, her ass clenching around Eren''s rod as she came. Eren thrust into her onest time, filling her rear canal with his cum. Eren felt that he and Nina had been going at it for hours on end. And yet, she didn''t feel any form of fatigue building inside her. It seemed that the limitations of the flesh didn''t exist in this illusory world. ''No wonder Asmodeous doesn''t want to share this manual with his followers. It''s too powerful,'' Eren thought to himself as hey beside Nina looking her in the eyes. "Let''s let''s revisit our camping date, Eren. the one you took me on outside the City of Osan," Nina suggested as she ced her hand on his chest, looking at him endearingly. "Keke. By all means." Eren didn''t need to be told twice. He waved his hand, and the scenery around them changed once again. Soon, they found themselves in the middle of a clearing surrounded by hills and untamed vegetation. A tent was erected in the background, and a campfire was lit. Eren and Nina didn''t start their next round immediately. Instead, they relived their camping date in the Dreamscape, where Eren took the time to make kebabs for Nina over the campfire. Eren decided to make kebabs the traditional way rather than conjuring them with his thoughts. He wanted to create an authentic experience, knowing that some moments held more meaning when they unfolded naturally. After all, the butcher also strengthened his bond with Nina using the Sin of Lust. He needed the empusa he would create from Nina''s imprint to be as powerful as possible. As such, he took his time interacting with her, bringing out the genuine emotions in both of them. Chapter 1906: Creating Empusas* A camping sight was created inside the Dreamscape. Eren and Nina got clothed again. It was as if the extended sessions they had groping each other''s bodies were nothing but the figment of one''s imagination. Eren gathered the ingredients and skewered the meat and vegetables, seasoning them meticulously. The fire crackled, casting a warm glow and filling the air with a mouthwatering aroma. As he worked, Eren kept the conversation light, teasing Nina about her odd habits and reminiscing. "It''s it''s like we never left the City of Osan." Nina watched him, a smile ying on her lips. She appreciated the effort Eren put into creating these moments. It was evident that he understood her preferences, making the Dreamscape feel as real and special as possible. Once the kebabs were perfectly grilled, Eren handed one to Nina. She took a bite and closed her eyes, savoring the vors. "Delicious," she said, opening her eyes to meet his. "I''m the best chef in the whole of Anfang when ites to making kebabs," Eren bragged shamelessly with a proud smile on his face, sitting down beside her. He took a bite of his kebab and looked up at the stars, which shone brightly in the clear Dreamscape sky. They ate infortable silence for a while, enjoying the serene atmosphere. The fire crackled softly, and the sounds of the forest around them added to the sense of tranquility. After they finished their meal, Eren leaned back, propping himself up on one elbow as he looked at Nina. "You know what I found out after leaving Anfang?" "I''m listening," Nina said, curious about what Eren had to say. "It''s that you only miss home when you can''t go back to it with a flick of fingers," Eren said as he looked at the sky that mimicked Anfang''s heaven. One could say that all the skies across a myriad of worlds were all the same. And it might be true to some extent. However, Eren could feel that there was something different about his home world and the world of Labh Salem. He felt that he was still treated as an outsider by Labh Salem''s World Will. so when he looked at Labh Salem''s skies, they all felt different to him. It was just a feeling. But sometimes, these feelings mattered a lot when it came to wielding the intent-based magic. "I miss being home. Just being with you, without any interruptions or dangers lurking around," Eren said, taking a deep breath. Nina nodded, her eyes reflecting the firelight. "I guess I will miss Anfang too when I leave for Echidna." Eren reached out and took her hand, his thumb gently caressing her skin. "Keke. Maybe I can meet you in Echidna when I''m finally done with all my affairs in Labh Salem? I I don''t know. But let''s just say that I''ll try to head in that direction for the most part," Eren said while looking at the stars. He then looked at Nina before adding further. "Anyway. No matter where we are or what we''re facing, I want you to know that you''re always in my thoughts. And now, in this Dreamscape, we can have moments like this whenever we want." Nina squeezed his hand, her heart swelling with affection. "I guess you are going to give me wet dreams from now on, you horny devil," she teased. "Kekeke." Eren chuckled and pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He stepped forward to im her lips in a passionate kiss. Nina moaned softly into Eren''s mouth, her own hands wandering down to explore his hard, throbbing cock. She wrapped her fingers around his shaft, gently stroking him as they continued to kiss. Eager to take things further, Eren broke their kiss and began to kiss his way down Nina''s neck, nibbling and sucking at her sensitive skin. Nina gasped, her breath quickening as Eren''s lips and tongue worked their magic on her body. As Eren continued to kiss and lick his way down Nina''s body, he could feel her excitement growing. He reached for her heavy boobs, taking each nipple into his mouth. This time, he didn''t fixate himself on Nina''s ample bosoms. He moved lower, kissing his way down Nina''s stomach and across her hips. He paused for a moment, his eyes locked onto the soft, wet folds of her pussy. "Aaah!" Nina moaned softly, spreading her legs wider to give Eren better ess to her most intimate parts. Eren dove in, his tongue flicking against Nina''s clit as he teased her with his fingers. Nina cried out, her hips bucking as Eren pleasured her with his mouth. "Oh, Eren," she gasped, "that feels so good." Eren, determined to bring her to the edge, continued to lick and suck at Nina''s clit, his fingers sliding in and out of her wet pussy. "Aaaaaaah! Yesss! Yesssss!" Nina''s breathing grew ragged, her moans growing louder as she neared her climax. As Nina''s orgasm built to a peak, Eren suddenly pulled away, leaving her gasping and panting. "You bastard," she begged, her eyes pleading with him. "I need more." Eren, his emerald eyes dark with desire, climbed on top of Nina, positioning himself between her legs. He teased her entrance with the head of his cock, sliding it back and forth against her wet pussy. "Hmm? Is that how you ask for a favor?" he asked teasingly, his voice low and husky. "Where are those magical words?" "Please, Eren," Nina gasped, her eyes wide with desire. "Please, fuck me." Eren, unable to resist any longer, thrust his cock deep inside Nina''s wet pussy. She cried out, her fingers digging into the soft earth as Eren began to fuck her with long, powerful strokes. As they moved together, Eren and Nina''s moans filled the air, their cries of pleasure echoing through the hills. Eren reached down to spank Nina''s ass, the sound of his hand connecting with her flesh mingling with their cries of passion. Spank! The jiggle physics was followed to a T in Dreamscape as well. Nina gasped at the sensation of Eren''s ps on her ass. The stinging sensation only served to heighten her pleasure, driving her closer to the edge. Eren, feeling the familiar tightness in his balls, knew he was close to cumming. He increased his pace, his cock sliding in and out of Nina''s sopping-wet pussy with increasing intensity. "Oh, fuck," he groaned, his voice hoarse with desire. Nina, her own orgasm building to a fever pitch, looked up at Eren with a wicked grin. "I want you to cum in my mouth," she whispered, her voice barely audible above the sounds of their passion. "I want to taste you." Eren, his eyes locked onto Nina''s, nodded in agreement. As his climax approached, he pulled out of Nina''s pussy, his cock throbbing with need. "Ummmm!" Nina, eager to please, quickly wrapped her lips around the head of Eren''s cock, sucking it deep into her mouth. "Arrgh damn!" Eren groaned, his fingers tangling in Nina''s hair as she began to suck him off with a fierce intensity. As Eren''s orgasm approached, he felt Nina''s hands cupping his balls, her fingers gently massaging them. The sensation was overwhelming, driving Eren closer to the edge. "Hmmm. That''s it. Keep going," he urged. Nina, her eyes locked onto Eren''s, nodded her understanding. As Eren''s cock began to spasm, she sucked him harder, her lips wrapped tightly around his shaft as she swallowed everyst drop of his cum. Eren, his body trembling with pleasure, copsed onto the soft earth beside Nina. Theyy there for a moment, their breathing heavy and their bodies slick with sweat. This time, both Eren and Nina felt that their Spirit Force was exhausted. Even though the Dreamscape did not have the limitations of the flesh, it still consumed their Spirit Force. "That was incredible, Eren," Nina murmured, her voice filled with awe. "I feel like staying in this Dreamscape forever." Eren, his eyes filled with tenderness, reached out to stroke Nina''s cheek. "I I feel the same," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "But a dream, no matter how long it is, has to end somehow. Don''t worry though. We will one day be able to shape reality just the way we wanted to be," he assured her. *** A few dayster. Labh Salem. Eren opened his eyes and found himself below Freya''s deck, locked in his own room. He had just finished establishing connections with several of his women by pulling their consciousnesses into the Dreamscape one at a time. He was physically fit but mentally tired. However, his mental exhaustion didn''t stop him from feeling excited about the Empusas he was about to create using the consciousnesses of his women as temtes. Eren activated the Yantra and created many magical circles around him. With a wave of his hands, he manifested various wisps he had obtained from his women, sending them to their designated magic circles. In the next moment, potent mana fluctuations urred as several Empusas began to manifest simultaneously. The butcher watched with a wide grin on his face as he saw a group of Empusas staring at him with a range of expressions. === AN: Took me a while but I''m back. We are back. Someone post a Terminator gif here. ;) Chapter 1907: Baga Island & Sea God Raashims Envoy Baga Ind. The heart of Sea God Raashim''s faith. This grand-sized ind was located in the deepest part of the Labh Salem''s expansive sea domain, far from any major continents. It was an isted paradise, where the salty sea breeze and the rhythmic crashing of waves created a serene backdrop to the grand festivities taking ce. The ind''s capital city was abuzz with excitement for the annual celebration of God Raashim''s faith. Colorful banners emzoned with Raashim''s symbol fluttered in the wind, adorning every building and street corner. The scent of roasted seafood and exotic spices filled the air, as vendors sold a variety of treats to the bustling crowd. Marches andmunal prayers were in full swing, with people of all ages joining in, their voices rising in a harmonious chorus that echoed through the city. At the heart of the city stood Raashim''s grand main temple, an architectural marvel with its towering spires and intricate carvings depicting legendary sea creatures and epic battles. This year, the temple grounds were the focal point of the celebrations, and the atmosphere was electric. A battlepetition had been the highlight of the festivities,sting for seven days and six nights. It was a grueling test of skill, strength, and strategy, with participants facing off in a series of intense matches. Now, after days of fiercebat, the top ten participants had been chosen, each one proving their might over their peers. A grand tform hovered motionlessly in the air above the temple courtyard, an awe-inspiring sight that drew the attention of everyone below. The tform was adorned with golden ornaments and glowing sea gems that reflected the sunlight, casting dazzling patterns on the ground. On this tform, the ten winners stood proudly, nked by a group of Raashim''s priests in their ceremonial robes. "Look at Goran up there! He''s definitely going to be one of the chosen ones. Did you see how he handled that sea serpent in the final round?" "Yeah, but don''t underestimate Lira. She took down three opponents at once with that whirlpool technique. She''s got the skills that the God Raashim''s temple values." "I''m just d we get to witness this. My father told me stories about this ceremony that happens after every 100 years. But I never thought I''d see it myself." "When do you think God Raashim''s incarnation will appear in his full glory? They say that he weilds the god''s powers well." "I heard the same. And those priests, even the weakest among them is a B-Ranked Sentinel. The temple is not leaving any stone unturned it seems. They must be feeling the weight of this moment too." "Who do you think will get the Blessings? My money''s on Kaito. His spear techniques were wless, like he was born in the water." "Hmm. I don''t know. Jara has been a dark horse throughout thepetition. She might just surprise us all." "Shhh, the priests are moving. I think the ceremony is about to begin. God Raashim blesses us all, this is the moment we''ve been waiting for. Hahaha." "I can''t wait to see who gets the blessing. Imagine the honor of being blessed by God Raashim himself. Their lives will never be the same." Below the tform, a sea of Raashim''s worshippers had gathered. The talks were endless. The discussions and arguments were going on everywhere. Some chanted the winners'' names, their voices rising in a rhythmic cheer. Others sang prayers to their beloved god Raashim, their tones reverent and hopeful. Groups of friends and families discussed thepetition, debating who among the ten winners would be the three lucky ones to receive Raashim''s blessings. The atmosphere was charged with energy. Children ran around, waving miniature banners, while vendors shouted out their goods, adding to the cacophony of sounds. The crowd surged forward as they tried to get a better view of the tform, their eyes glued to the ten participants standing in all their glory. The ten winners themselves were a diverse group, each one representing a different facet ofbat prowess. Some bore the scars of their battles proudly, while others stood with a calm andposed demeanor. They exchanged nces and nodded to one another, acknowledging the camaraderie that had formed among them during thepetition. As the sun began to set, casting a golden glow over Baga Ind, the excitement reached its peak. The crowd''s chatter grew louder. The suddenly A sea conch was blown off somewhere and the air itself grew thicker, weighting on the worshippers by creating a subtle form of pressure. From the horizon, a colossal ship emerged, sailing smoothly through the sky as if it were gliding on sea waves. This was the envoy of God Raashim''s incarnation, a grand spectacle that captured everyone''s attention. The ship itself was a masterpiece of divine craftsmanship. Its hull shimmered with iridescent scales, reflecting the colors of the ocean and the sky. The figurehead at the prow was a majestic sea dragon, its eyes glowing with an ethereal light that pierced through the sky. Along the sides, glowing runes pulsed with power, making the ship seem alive. Circling the grand ship were six sea wyverns, each one a fearsome yet magnificent creature. Their scales ranged from deep blue to shamrock green, mirroring the colors of the ocean. They had long, serpentine bodies with powerful wings that beat rhythmically, keeping them in a tight formation around the ship. Each wyvern had piercing eyes that seemed to look straight into the souls of those below, and their mouths asionally emitted streams of mes and water jets, adding to the spectacle. As the ship approached, the coastal region around Baga Ind erupted with activity. Giant sea creatures surfaced, their massive forms breaking the waves. There were krakens with tentacles stretching high, leviathans whose roars sounded like thunder, and enormous sea turtles that glided gracefully. Their ancient-sounding noises created a symphony that echoed around the ind, adding to the divine atmosphere. "RAAAAASHIM!" "MY GOD!" "MY SAVIOR!" The crowd went wild. Chanting prayers for God Raashim, their voices rose in unison, a powerful testament to their faith. Some lifted their arms towards the sky, while others fell to their knees, tears streaming down their faces in reverence and awe. "Raashim! Raashim! Bless us, mighty god of the sea!" The chants grew louder and more fervent, a wave of devotion sweeping through the masses. Nine out of the ten participants on the tform gazed at the approaching envoy with zealous expressions. For some reason, one participant among them had a smirk on his face as he looked at the envoy. The nine participants'' hearts pounded with excitement and anticipation. This was the moment they had fought for, the chance to receive a blessing from Raashim''s incarnation that would transform their lives forever. Eldrin, a tall warrior with a fierce gaze, clenched his fists. "This is it. I''ve been waiting for this moment all my life." Lira, her eyes sparkling with determination, whispered a prayer under her breath. "Raashim, guide me. Let me be worthy of your blessing." Jara, the dark horse of thepetition, felt a surge of confidence. "I''vee this far. I know I can do this." As the ship hovered above the tform, a powerful aura descended upon the ind. The wyverns roared in unison, and the sea creatures below answered with their own calls. The priests on the tform began their ceremonial chants. The ship''s gangnk lowered, and from the depths of the ship, the envoy of Raashim''s incarnation appeared. Cloaked in robes that shimmered like liquid silver, the envoy carried an air of authority and grace. Behind him, a bunch of acolytes followed, each bearing symbols of Raashim''s power. The crowd fell silent, their collective breath held in anticipation. The moment of judgment was at hand. The crowd below held their breath as the figure of Sea God Raashim''s incarnation stepped forward from the ship. He looked like a man in his 70s, but his presence was anything but frail. Standing at an impressive 21 feet tall, he was a mini-giant with an imposing presence thatmanded respect. Raashim''s incarnation had a long face, lined with the marks of advanced age, including slight wrinkles around his piercing yellow eyes. His white hair was tied back in a ponytail, adding a touch of regality to his rugged appearance. Two thick mustaches framed his mouth, giving him a distinguished look. His chest and arms bore numerous scars, each one a testament to countless battles fought and won. His muscr physique was evident beneath his unbuttoned robe, revealing powerful biceps that seemed to swell evenrger whenever he lifted his weapon. A mysterious sea creature, intricately tattooed on his back, moved slightly with each flex of his muscles, adding to his enigmatic aura. He wore long, flowing pants that allowed him to move with agility and grace, despite his enormous size. His robe, though unbuttoned, draped around him with an air of casual authority, a symbol of his dominance over the seas. ''Damn. It''s going to be a bit of a challenge to take this old pops down,'' a certain participant among the 10 lucky winners thought to himself as he looked at the sea god''s incarnation for the first time. === AN: Who remembers the Marineford Arc from a certain series? ;) Chapter 1908: Twin Dragons and Six Wyverns In his hand, the sea god Raashim''s incarnation wielded a runic trident, a weapon as imposing as he was. The trident was crafted from a dark, lustrous metal that seemed to absorb light, giving it a shadowy sheen. Its three prongs were razor-sharp, each one etched with ancient runes that glowed with a faint blue light. These runes pulsed with power, their energy resonating with the divine aura of Raashim''s incarnation. As Raashim''s incarnation stood before the ten participants, his yellow eyes scanned them with a mixture of scrutiny and thoughtfulness. The crowd below erupted in renewed chants, their voices a cacophony of prayers and praises. The sea god Raashim''s envoy who stood behind him was equally imposing. By this point, the sea wyverns had transformed into their humanoid forms. All were A-Ranked creatures, radiating power. The first wyvern, named Kaael, had dark blue scales that shimmered like the ocean at night. His teal eyes were sharp, and his body was covered in glowing tattoos. His long tail ended in a spiked fin. The second wyvern, Lyra, was smaller but fierce. Her deep green scales looked like seaweed, and her bright emerald eyes sparkled with intelligence. She had webbed fingers and toes, and fins on her arms and legs. The third wyvern, Arion, had shiny silver scales. His icy blue eyes and elegant, curling horns gave him a regal look. He was lean and athletic, withrge wings folded behind him. The fourth wyvern, Thssa, had turquoise scales with hints of gold. Her amber eyes glowed, and she wore a crown of coral and pearls. She was adorned with sea ss jewelry. The fifth wyvern, Draven, had dark, almost ck scales with hints of purple. His deep violet eyes and scarred body showed he had fought many battles. Hisrge, bat-like wings and sharp ws made him look fierce. The sixth wyvern, Nereida, had seafoam green and white scales that changed color in different lights. Her soft green eyes and calm demeanor wereplemented by her long, seaweed-like hair and graceful mermaid-like tail. Kaael, Lyra, Arion, Thssa, Draven, and Nereida stood beside the envoy, making an impressive and intimidating sight. Their strong auras added to the awe and excitement of the crowd below. *** The six sea wyvern weren''t the only draconic creatures included in the envoy. There were two entities who looked even more intimidating than the six sea wyvernsbined. They were none other than two S-Ranked true dragons who had also taken humanoid forms. The difference between the sea wyverns and sea dragons could be easily identified. Firstly, these sea dragons were both in the S-Rank. As such, the aura that surrounded them was obviously much more potent and intimidating. Secondly, unlike the sea wyverns, the two sea dragons had a more perfect humanoid form. They didn''t have scales over their skin and they carried no other signs of dragonification other than two distinct horns over each of their heads. One of the sea dragons, named Marina, had a striking appearance. Her hair, a mix of gray and white, cascaded down her back like a waterfall of mist. Her lips were a vivid cherry red, adding a bold contrast to her otherwise paleplexion. With a curvaceous figure that seemed sculpted by the ocean''s currents, she exuded a feminine grace and might of a dragoness that was undeniable. Two horns protruded from her head, curving gracefully upwards like the horns of a mythical creature. Despite their formidable appearance, they only added to her allure, giving her an air of elegance and power. Marina wore a long dress that hugged her curves in all the right ces, entuating her figure with every movement. The fabric flowed around her like the waves of the sea, shimmering in the light with an ethereal glow. Beside her stood another sea dragon, named Azurea. Unlike Marina, Azurea had a more understated beauty. Her hair, a deep shade of blue-ck, framed her face in waves, contrasting with the pale ivory of her skin. Her lips were a soft coral pink, adding a touch of warmth to her features. Azurea''s figure was more slender than Marina''s, but no less captivating. She moved with a grace that was both elegant and powerful, her every gesturemanding attention. Two horns adorned Azurea''s head as well, though hers were smaller and more delicate than Marina''s. They curved gently upwards, framing her face like a crown of jewels. Azurea wore a simple yet elegant dress, its deep blue fabricplementing the color of her hair and the shimmering scales that adorned her arms and shoulders. With each step, she exuded a quiet strength. *** As the sea god Raashim''s incarnation stepped forward, his towering presencemanded the attention of the crowd below. With a voice that resonated like crashing waves, he addressed the gathered worshippers. "Beloved devotees of the mighty Raashim, I, Shir Ogeegaai, wee you all to this auspicious ceremony," he boomed, his words echoing across the ind. The crowd fell silent, their anticipation palpable as they awaited his next words. "I congratte the ten brave participants who have proven their valor and skill in the recentpetition," he continued, his gaze sweeping over the assembled contestants. "Today, I shall bestow upon three of you the blessings of the sea god Raashim himself," he dered, his voice carrying the weight of divine authority. Among the three lucky winners who would receive the sea god''s blessings stood Berserker Goran. "But before we move on with the blessing bestowment, we need toplete the annual ritual," Shir Ogeegaai said as he looked at the priests standing on the tform nking the two participants. As the sea god Raashim''s incarnation directed the priests of the temple to proceed with the ceremony, a sense of anticipation filled the air. The priests moved swiftly, their movements practiced and precise. A magic circle appeared on the tform, shimmering with ancient runes and symbols. Shir stood at its center, his presencemanding. Inside the circle, each sea dragon and sea wyvern took their ce within their own Array Eyes, their forms pulsing with energy. Meanwhile, the ten participants stood together inside a singlerge Array Eye, their expressions a mix of excitement and apprehension. It appeared that the faith energy gathered on them was also being utilized in the ritual. One could argue that the entire reason the sea god Raashim invested so much time and effort into organizing the event was for this very purpose. They aimed to use the participants as metaphorical lighthouses, drawing the faith energy of the crowd towards them as they continued to win their respective battles. This faith energy would then be used as fuel for a very peculiar ritual. *** This ritual wasn''t just for showit served a vital purpose. It strengthened the runic restrictions ced on a certain giant sea monster, an enemy of Raashim''s temple. Centuries ago, this monster had defied Raashim''smands, its potent life force and regenerative powers making it nearly impossible to kill and defeat. This S-Rank behemoth had even bested the two sea dragons in battle, a testament to its strength and ferocity. But the sea dragons and sea wyverns refused to be bullied by this monstrous creature. Theybined their forces with Shir and the rest of the sea god Raashim''s temrs to deal with this peculiarly stubborn creature. With a roar that shook the very air, the monster charged forward, its massive jaws snapping hungrily. But Shir, nked by the sea dragons and sea wyverns, stood firm, his resolve unyielding. The battle raged on, a titanic sh of wills and strength. Shir''s trident shed against the monster''s razor-sharp ws, while the sea dragons unleashed torrents of water and the wyverns swooped and dove, their attacks relentless. Despite the monster''s ferocious onught, thebined might of Shir and his allies proved too much. With a final, deafening roar, the beast was finally captured using an enving formation in the deep sea waters. From that moment on, the two sea dragons and six wyverns had decided to support Shir and the sea god''s temple. All of them wanted to keep the S-Ranked psychotic sea beast locked in the depths of the sea. This was how a mutually cooperative rtionship between Shir and the 8 draconic creatures was formed. The dragons and wyverns didn''t like to be someone''s underlings. However, they hated to be bullied by the other creatures even more. Of course, Shir made ideal use of the sea monster as a reason to turn these 8 draconic creatures into his allies. He had already tamed the six wyverns with the benefits he had offered them. And he was sure that the remaining two dragons would alsoe around to support the sea god Raashim''s temple unconditionally. *** As the ceremony to strengthen the seal over the sea monster began, an air of solemnity descended over the temple grounds. The priests chanted ancient incantations, their voices rising and falling in rhythm with the crashing waves below. "I''m starting the seal strengthening now," Shir Ogeegaai dered, his eyes burning with determination. Around him, the magic circle pulsed with energy, its intricate runes shimmering. With a sweep of his hand, Shir guided the flow of magic, causing the runes to detach from the circle and glide through the air like ethereal birds. They darted and weaved, guided by an unseen force. As they reached the towering pirs of the sea temple, the runes swirled and danced, wrapping themselves around the stone in intricate patterns. With each pass, they glowed brighter, infusing the temple''s structure with energy. Unbeknownst to Shir and the others, there was someone who wanted this seal strengthening to fail at thest moment. They had made all the preparations necessary to ensure that oue. Chapter 1909: Interrupting the Seal-strenghening Ritual The cryptic runes started to manifest above the tform. They towards the sky like red vines undergoing hyper growth on nt steroids. Then, as if by some unseenmand, the runes transformed into chains, their links forged from pure magic. With a resounding ng, they wrapped tightly around the pirs, binding them together in a web of mystical energy. For a moment, the entirety of Raashim''s temple behind the participants seemed to vibrate with energy, its walls humming with the force of the sealing magic. Then, as quickly as they had appeared, the chains disappeared. The ritual was in full swing. Shir Ogeegaai, standing in the center of the grand Array Formation, moved with precise, practiced motions, directing the flow of magic to strengthen the seal on the buried sea monster. The two sea dragons, Marina and Azurea, and the six sea wyverns channeled their potent mana into the formation, theirbined power illuminating the intricate magic circles one by one. Without them, Shir alone would find it extremely difficult to strengthen the seal on the sea monster. After all, the coboration between the draconic creatures and god Raashim''s temple was based on mutual interest. Both sides wanted to keep the sea monster locked within its cage so that they could im the sea''s bounties all for themselves. As such, the draconic creatures did their best to support the ritual. The two twin dragons didn''t even hesitate to imbue their dragon essence in the ritual, which would weaken them for a few months to few years depending upon how quickly they could recover after getting their hands on the right kind of resources. This was when the god Raashim''s temple came into picture. The temple left no stone unturned in revitalizing the fatigued draconic creatures after the ritual. They would buy precious resources from Menaka''s Market in bulk so that the draconic creatures would stay loyal to the cause and help the temple keep the sea monster caged. *** The faith energy umted from the ten participants also surged into the formation, adding anotheryer of intensity to the ritual. One had to know that this was the same tactic that Eren had seen in the Oni dungeon. At that time, the participants of thepetition were killed and offered as sacrifices to generate more faith energy. However, this was because the monster gods had distinct divinities that set them apart from the rest of the Immortals. The faith energy itself had versatile uses. An Immortal could use it to strengthen their divinity. Or they could allow their most trusted subordinated to be in charge of it. This faith energy would then get used by them. Shir was sea god Raashim''s incarnation, his own soul Fragment that had been given the Divine Spark by the original Raashim. As such, god Raashim would trust Shir to use the faith energy well. Shir, on the other hand, knew that the faith energy he invested in straightening the seal would be doubled in a matter of a few days once the ritual was sessfullypleted. After all, the sea god Raashim''s worshippers would keep on praising the Immortal. Everyone, from mortals to mana practitioners, liked it when there was no immediate threat to their existence. And they would worship anyone who took care of that threat for them. More and more runes formed, turning into runic chains that vanished into the temple''s pirs and architecture. The crowd below chanted God Raashim''s name and recited prayers, their voices blending into a powerful chorus that resonated through the temple grounds. *** The crowd, though they had never seen the sea monster themselves, were familiar with its terrifying legend. They knew it as a vicious, tyrannical beast that killed anyone itid its eyes on, whether mortal or mana practitioner. When Raashim''s temple caged the monster, faith in the sea god grew immensely among the seas'' inhabitants. Even the sea pirates started to worship the sea god, turning him into the god of pirates as well. After caging the sea monster, the sea god Raashim''s faith had no challenger in the seas. Even the temrs belonging to other temples and cultists belonging to seven Demon Princes and 72 Immortal Ars Goetia Demons did not wage direct war with Shir and his subordinates. After all, the sea monster was bad news for everyone. It was in thete stages of the S-Rank and was a few steps away from stepping into the S-Plus-Rank. However, its most troublesome ability was its ability to regenerate itself, allowing it to face even the Saint-ranked level practitioners without the risk of dying. This mysterious sea monster wasn''t just strong but also cunning. It knew how to hide and retreat when it had no chance of winning. It would then systematically attack the forces it had enmity with, making it a headache to deal with. In fact, the whole reason Shir managed to cage the sea monster was because it was injured from its previous fight with an S-Plus Rank entity. Confronting the sea monster while it was injured was a stroke of luck for Shir and the draconic creatures that wanted to rule the seas. They put everything on the line to cage the sea monstrosity. The other temples and even some Immortal Demons did try to challenge god Raashim''s authority in the sea. But they did so while ensuring that the seal on the sea monster doesn''t get broken. The ritual was a testament to Raashim''s power and the temple''s dedication to keeping the monster imprisoned. But it was also an unspoken boundary that nobody wanted to cross or wipe away using their own hands. This sea monster could have been tamed if two or more Immortals'' incarnations worked in unison. However, no incarnation of Immortal trusted the other even for the simplest of things. Fighting this troublesome monster together was something that couldn''t be imagined by the incarnations of the Immortals who carried the same enmities with each others as their original selves for the most part. Nobody from the Immortals factions'' had dared to interrupt the seal-strengthening ritual for their own interests. At least nobody until this point. *** Just as the ritual entered its final phase, Goran, one of the participants chosen to receive God Raashim''s blessing, stepped forward abruptly. His movements caught the attention of a few nearby participants and even some sea wyverns. The crowd below also noticed, their chants faltering as they stared up in confusion. "What What the fuck are you doing, Goran?" one of the participants near him yelled, eyes wide with panic. "Stop! You''re interfering with the ritual!" another participant shouted, their voice trembling with fear. "No! This isn''t part of the n!" a sea wyvern bellowed, wings ring in agitation. "It''s about time," Goran ignored the yells and murmured to himself. He smiled with a wolfish grin, his ck eyes turning emerald green. He spread his hands, creating his own set of runic seals. The participants beside him called out in rm, their voices blending with the shocked murmurs from the crowd. The sea wyverns and even Marina and Azurea took notice, their expressions shifting from concentration to puzzlement and rm. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD! DON''T YOU FUCKING DA *cough* *cough* cough*!" Shir, already fatigued from the ritual, saw Goran''s actions but found his response timepromised. The other participants and ritual performers, simrly drained, were slow to react. Before anyone could stop him, Goran mixed his runic seals with the formation''s seal-creating mechanism, his hands moving with practiced efficiency. The runic seals, crafted beforehand, blended seamlessly into the formation''s intricate web of magic. In an instant, the delicate bnce of the ritual was destabilized. The runes, instead of strengthening the seal, twisted and warped, sending chaotic energy surging through the temple. The runic chains that had disappeared into the pirs began to crack and flicker, their power waning. "He''s going to destroy us all!" "Run! Run for your lives!" "The ritual is failing! We''re doomed!" "What is happening? Someone stop him!" "Protect the temple! Save us, Raashim!" "Mama, I''m scared!" "Get back! It''s not safe here!" "We''re all going to die!" "Gods, help us!" Panic spread through the crowd and the participants. The chants and prayers turned to cries of rm as the temple trembled with the instability of the ritual. "WHO. WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!" Shir''s eyes widened in shock and anger, but there was nothing he could do to stop the process. Goran''s sabotage had been perfectly timed and executed, leaving everyone scrambling to regain control. The temple''s pirs, now weakened, emitted pulses of unstable energy. The very ground seemed to shudder as the ancient seal that held the monstrous sea creature began to falter. Goran''s grin widened, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction and excitement as the chaos he had unleashed spread through Raashim''s temple. Suddenly, Goran''s appearance changed. His brown hair turned ck, and his facial features transformed within moments, turning him into a handsome man from his previous boorish berserker look. His stature decreased, and his over-muscr physique shrank. Even his mana signatures changed rapidly, revealing that he was not the real Goran but an imposter who had taken his ce. "Kekeke. So many vicious words. This is not the right greeting to give to your new god, is it?" Eren asked, surveying the shocked expressions around him. Chapter 1910: A Well-planned Interruption The colossal statue of god Raashim, towering at an impressive 50 meters, stood as an awe-inspiring testament to his might. The statue depicted a rugged and muscr humanoid figure with a tentacled beard cascading down his chest. His fierce eyes, carved with meticulous detail, seemed to gaze over the ind and the vast sea surrounding it. In his hand, he held a massive trident, identical to the one Shir wielded, etched with ancient mana runes that glowed faintly. Erected atop the mountain peak overlooking Baga Ind, the statue stood proudly in the backdrop of Raashim''s temple, a symbol of divine power and protection. The temple itself was an architectural marvel, its spires reaching towards the heavens, surrounded by lush greenery. As Eren''s actions disrupted the seal-strengthening ritual, a sudden crack echoed through the air. The immense statue of Raashim shuddered, and visible fractures snaked their way across its surface. The once-imposing sculpture began to crumble, and the umted faith energy, gathered over centuries, dissipated into the air like mist. The ground beneath the temple started to shake violently. Tremors rippled through the ind, causing waves of panic. The ind''s residents screamed and ran in all directions, trying to find shelter from the sudden earthquakes. Buildings trembled, and some began to copse under the intense vibrations. The sea surrounding the ind roared, with waves crashing harder against the shores. On the tform, the atmosphere was as tense as the word tense could mean. Eren stood with a self-assured smile, facing Shir and his subordinates, who were seething with anger and murderous intent. The six sea wyverns and two sea dragons, in their humanoid forms, red at Eren, ready to attack at a moment''s notice. Shir''s voice cut through the chaos, filled with wrath, "What the fuck have you done? Who sent you?" Eren chuckled, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "Just a little chaos to liven up the ce. Don''t you think it was getting a bit too dull?" The tform shook, and the intricate magic circles flickered as the seal''s power weakened. The ground continued to quake, and the sense of impending doom grew stronger with each passing second. Shir tightened his grip on his trident, the runes glowing brighter with his rising anger. "You''ll pay for this, you brainless maniac," he growled. "Do you have any idea what you have done? No matter what happens from now on, you have made yourself the enemy of Raashim''s temple. And you will be punished ordingly for your vile actions." Eren shrugged nonchntly, his smile never wavering. "We''ll see about that." ''This fucking lunatic hase prepared it seems,'' Shir gritted his teeth as he looked at Eren with absolute hate. He was sure that no temr or cult that he knew of would dare to interrupt the seal-strengthening ritual because they would gain nothing from it and lose the liberty to roam over the seas calmly. It meant that Eren belonged to an outlier organization that wanted to destroy god Raashim''s temple itself. Or rather, Eren and his organization wanted to shake the faith that god Raashim''s temple had cultivated within the hearts of its massive followers. "Go go and capture him while I deal with this mess." Shir gestured to the draconic creatures to make a move on Eren. he would have dealt with Eren personally if it wasn''t for the fact that he needed to at least try to finish the seal-strengthening ritual. Although the ritual had been interrupted and the seal was on the verge of getting destroyed, there was still a faint hope that Shir would be able to restore it to its normalcy. ''Perhaps that was his motive all along. He didn''t want to destroy the seal but harm it just enough so that we wouldn''t give up on it entirely. He he had nned this from the very beginning,'' Shir drew a possibility in his head that made more and more sense to him with each passing second. As the ind trembled and the statue of Raashim continued to crack and crumble, the fate of Baga Ind hung in the bnce. The stalemate on the tform remained unbroken, a tense standoff between Eren and the enraged followers of Raashim. The air around the tform was filled with tension as the entire force of god Raashim''s temrs mobilized. Groups of temrs, d in their gleaming armor, began to surround the tform, forming a tight ring around Eren. Their expressions were resolute, determined to corner the radical who dared to disrupt the sacred ritual. Meanwhile, other temr units worked tirelessly to calm the panicked crowd. Their authoritative voices carried through the chaos as they directed the frightened inders to safer areas, attempting to restore some semnce of order amid the tremors and copsing structures. On the tform, three sea wyverns and one sea dragon approached Eren, their faces set with grim determination. The rest remained with Shir in order to assist him. The sea dragons had asked Shir if he wanted them to stay as well. However, Shir told them that they should focus on neutralizing Eren and any of his potential allies. He thought that Eren wouldn''t try to harm the seal anymore considering his position. However, he could never be too sure of what Eren was thinking. Step. Step. Step. Marina, with her flowing grayish-white hair and cherry red lips, led the charge. Her eyes were fierce, reflecting the gravity of the situation. Azurea and the wyverns nked her, their auras bristling with draconic might. Simultaneously, some of the powerful sea creatures that had gathered around the ind began to take humanoid forms. These beings, ranging from merfolk warriors to sea serpents with human features, created a around the ind, ensuring he had no escape route. This was not all. There was also Shir''s S-Ranked subordinate who finally decided to reveal himself. This merman''s presencemanded attention despite his youthful appearance. He stood tall and lean, with the lithe, sinewy muscles of a seasoned warrior, his merfolk heritage evident in the shimmering scales that adorned his arms and torso. d in armor crafted from enchanted seashells and coral, he exuded an aura of strength and power befitting his S-Ranked status. The manifestation of water around him seemed to ripple and churn with his every movement, a testament to the raw elemental energy that coursed through his veins. ''Hmm. This was thest piece of the puzzle that decided to reveal itself. I guess I need to apud Naya''s information-gathering skills,'' Eren thought to himself as he looked at the marine half-blood approaching him. His gaze then swept over everyone before a decision was made in his mind. ''It''s about time I brought out my piece on the chessboard.'' Chapter 1911: Calling Forth the Demon Earls Eren, undeterred by the forces amassing against him, stood calmly in the center of the tform. His eyes glinted with a cold, calcting light as he observed the scene unfolding around him. Then, in a voice that was barely more than a murmur but carried an undeniable authority, hemanded, "Imand the sea to reveal what''s with me. Arise." The word reverberated through the air, heard by every being on the ind. A faint and unreal vibration was felt by everyone deep within their souls. Eren had invoked his Divine Spark, and its power spread forth, creating a palpable aura of divine might. The water-element Divine Spark radiated from him, sending ripples of unmistakable divine energy through the sea. The surrounding sea creatures, sensing the disturbance, went on high alert. Suddenly, the surface of the ocean became a maelstrom. Several ships emerged from the depths at breakneck speeds, breaking through the water''s surface. These vessels had traveled underwater, protected by air-bubbles that burst open as they approached Baga Ind, revealing Eren''s formidable fleet. Among the fleet, two ships stood out: Freya and Tidebreaker, their imposing forms cutting through the waves with ease. The other ships bore the distinctive motifs of Ars Goetia Immortal Demons, their sails marked with ancient symbols of dark power. The presence of these ships, alongside Eren''s, was a shocking revtion. The Ars Goetia cults that had been summoned had never openly opposed God Raashim''s temple before, but now, under Eren''s leadership, they had rallied to his cause. The four Demon Earls had revealed themselves: Furfur, Malthus, Raum, and Bifrons. These were the same Demon Earls from the Ars Goetia Immortal Demon faction that Eren had tamed earlier by demonically possessing Kalen Eldric. By creating a demonic massacre in the middle of the Shadowed Grove forest of the Shinjaka Continent, Eren had proven his might as the young demon emperor. He had not only saved Kalen and his team from a fatal situation but also established his dominion over the four Demon Earls that ruled the Shadowed Grove and its nearby regions. Eren had made an informed decision. After learning about the might of the Sea God Raashim''s temple, he contacted the four Demon Earls and told them to send some of their forces. He then used his divine might to make them travel to the current destination at breakneck speeds, allowing them to join his default fleet that consisted of Freya and Tidebreaker. The four Demon Earls were present at the scene on the decks of the newly arrived ships. Their ships were nked by various big and small ships carrying their subordinates. Shadowy Behemoth Nyxus, Infernal Phoenix Sifrona, Frost Wyvern Frostbane, gue Rat Blightwing, Storm Elemental Ruinheart, and the Shadow Wyvern Gloomgaze were among themanders the Demon Earls had brought with them. These were the same demon beasts who had confronted Eren when he had possessed his pseudo-avatar Kalen. The demon beasts who had once confronted Eren were now ready to risk their lives for him. They had seen how Eren could wield his demonic might while he was possessing Kalen. They didn''t want another demonstration with the real deal present near them. At least they wanted Eren''s potential victims to be someone else. The usual members of Eren''s team were also part of the fleet. Naya, Roza, Osha, and more were on standby, waiting for the battle to unfold. They were d that Eren had not taken the sea god''s force lightly and called for backup in the form of the Demon Earls. They didn''t know how Eren had managed to summon so many demon beast forces from Shadowed Grove at this point. However, they didn''t care about the hows and whys as long as it made it easier to tackle the sea god''s forces. *** The temrs, sea creatures, and the crowd watched in stunned silence as the fleet levitated around the ind. The situation had escted beyond anyone''s expectations, and the realization that they were facing a coordinated assault sent shivers through the ranks of Raashim''s followers. The most intimidating thing about the situation was the revtion that Eren also had a God Spark rted to the water element. For some reason, Shir felt that his faith-based God Spark, which he had received from god Raashim, was no match for Eren''s. Eren''s smile widened, his confidence unshaken. "You see, the tide has turned," he said, his voice dripping with satisfaction. "And now, it''s time for a new order." "You Do you also have a God Spark?" Shir asked, disbelief written on his face. A part of him was busy stabilizing the seal-strengthening ritual while the other part processed the new information. Only now did he understand why Eren was set on interrupting the ritual and why he was okay with making an enemy out of the entire sea god Raashim''s temple. "You want to take over us? Haah! In your dreams!" Shir''s thunderous voice boomed as he looked at Eren with even more hatred. He could never have guessed that a Grandmaster Ranker like Eren would be able to wield a God Spark. What was even more shocking was the fact that Eren''s God Spark was so domineering that Shir could instinctively feel that his divine powers wouldn''t have as much sway over the water surrounding them if they were challenged by Eren''s divine powers. ''So many demon beasts were summoned here right under our noses? What What kind of demi-god is this man?'' Marina, the sea dragon, thought to herself as she sensed Eren''s fleet in the distance. She had underestimated Eren earlier, thinking he was a radical fool attempting to shake the foundation of god Raashim''s temple by interrupting the seal-strengthening ritual. However, seeing the forces under Eren''smand, she realized that the man had what it took to take over Raashim''s temple entirely. As long as Eren and his forces won the battle during this critical condition, they would be able to make names for themselves in the seas of the Labh Salem. If Eren managed to take down Shir, he would really be able to set himself up as a sea god, snatching what once belonged to the sea god Raashim. ''This man seems like a methodical nner,'' Marina thought as she narrowed her eyes on Eren. ''However, he made one big mistakeCunderestimating that crazy sea monstrosity caged by sea god Raashim''s divine might. Does he think that thing will consider him an ally just because he helped set it free?'' Marina questioned as she stepped forward to confront Eren. === AN: Eren possesses Kalen Eldric in chapters 1870 - 1878. Chapter 1912: Eren vs S-Ranked Sea Dragoness Marina ''Guys, I''ll let you handle the situation here. You know what to do.'' Eren said to his subordinates via his privatemunication channel. He then disappeared from his position before Marina could take action against him. However, Marina knew that Eren merely wanted to change their battlefield. With her draconic senses, it was very easy to follow Eren''s movements despite the fact that he ran like the wind itself. A lot of things happened at the same time as soon as Eren made a move and disappeared from the tform. Eren''s forces moved toward the ind, initiatingbat with the sea monsters that were still in god Raashim''s faction. Some of Eren''s subordinatesnded on the ind and were immediately confronted by sea god Raashim''s forces. Even though the element of surprise was with Eren and his forces, Baga Ind was still the temple''s stronghold. It wasn''t something Eren could conquer with a flick of his fingers. As long as Shir managed to stabilize the seal-strengthening ritual, the brewing chaos on the ind would die down like it never existed. All the temple needed to do was make sure Shir didn''t get disturbed until the disrupted seal-strengthening ritual reached its expected conclusion. Meanwhile, Eren''s force that had barged into the temple''s stronghold needed to ensure that Eren managed to get his hands on the faith-based God Spark currently in Shir''s possession. As long as Eren had that, the game would change, and their objective ofing here at such a crucial time would be achieved. As such, Baga Ind, the skies above it, as well as the seas surrounding it, became battlegrounds for various individuals who belonged to two opposing sides. The battle between these individuals started right away, adding to the chaos and mayhem already unfolding on the ind. Osha Daman, for example, was confronted by the enemy S-Rank merman half-blood. Since both were S-Ranked entities, a tacit understanding was passed between the two to leave their subordinates alone. They both took to the skies above the ind, turning it into a battlefield between the two S-Ranked entities, which couldn''t be interfered with by A-Ranked individuals or lower. The four Demon Earls from Shadowed Grove who had answered Eren''s summons didn''t directly involve themselves in the battle. Instead, they stayed on the ships and maintained order, creating a strong resistance nk against the enemy. It was the A-Ranked demon beasts who were most active on the battlefield, carrying out Eren''s orders. Sifrona, Nyxus, and others personally made their move. Shir deployed the sea wyverns to deal with demon beasts of such a caliber. With such a vtile situation unfolding on the ind, Eren decided not to break the stalemate by attacking Shir directly. He knew that Shir wouldpletely give up on the seal-strengthening ritual if he made the process fail by interrupting him midway. He didn''t want that just yet. What Eren had achieved was already the best-case scenario for him. He wanted Shir busy with the ritual so he could neutralize other threats. Eren didn''t want the sea monster released from its cage either. Not really. However, the possibility of its release created an ideal environment for his intervention. As for what happens if and when the sea monster is released from its shackles? Eren hadn''t nned that far. He hadn''te here with much nning anyway. He only wanted to see if he could conquer Labh Salem''s seas by defeating the sea god Raashim''s temple just before his official mission as a Demon yer came to an end. Eren didn''t have much of a following as one of the sea deities even before he attacked the sea god Raashim''s temple. As such, he had nothing to lose and everything to gain. He didn''t care how much of a headache the sea monster was because that was not his headache to bear. If the seal on the sea monster remained intact by the time he robbed Shir of his faith-based God Spark, Eren had decided that he would follow up on sea god Raashim''s temple and keep the monster sealed by arranging the annual seal-strengthening ritual to take ce. Conversely, if the sea monster got released because of Eren''s intervention and was too strong to be controlled by him, Eren had decided to give up on conquering the seas, letting the sea god Raashim''s temple handle the mess he had created. In the worst-case scenario, Eren wouldn''t be able to make aeback in the seas, and his faith-based Divine Spark conquest n would be ruined. No matter what happened, Eren would be able toe out on top as long as he yed his cards right. With the might he had summoned in the seas, the option of retreating was always open to him. As such, he distanced himself from the tform and let his sea dragon opponent follow him. Eren led Marina away from the chaos as he flew using his Wind-Fire Wings. Since a deadlock was being observed between the two forces, there was nobody to stop him from leaving the ind''s vicinity. At the same time, nobody from Eren''s team dared to stop Marina from following Eren either. ''There''s something different about him,'' Marina thought as she followed right behind Eren. She had dealt with many threats from other cults and temples that had challenged the authority of the sea god Raashim''s temple in their domain in the past. Of course, Marina had dealt with the temple''s enemies for her own reasons. She didn''t want the sea monster released under any circumstances. Plus, associating herself with the temple brought her a lot of benefits. However, she had never dealt with someone like Eren who could shapeshift like he had been reborn into the skin of the person he wanted to y as. She had never seen a berserker Ranker interfere with the seal-strengthening ritual with the expertise of an Array Expert. Andstly, she had never seen the same person use a movement-type skill with the proficiency of a Ranger profession Ranker. ''What... What kind of creature is he? Is... is he rted to that sea monster?'' Marina had a random thought as she followed Eren and looked at his back. She too wanted to see what Eren had in store for her and wanted to test the guy''s limits. No matter what kind of traps he had set for her, she believed that Eren would not be able to do anything against her. After all, not only was Marina a sea dragon in the middle of the sea, but she was also a rank above Eren. She believed that the higher-rank suppression alone would be something that Eren could not surpass on his own. ''Hm. This seems like a good ce,'' Eren looked at a barren ind in the middle of nowhere and thought to himself. He quickly approached the ind beforending on its shore and dispersing the Wind-Fire Wings behind his back. He then turned around and offered a slight bow to Marina before introducing himself. "Hello there, miss sea dragon. Name''s Eren. It''s nice to meet you," he said before straightening himself up. His emerald green eyes sparkled with excitement and trepidation as he faced off with a genuine sea dragon who was a whole rank above him. Eren knew that this was the strongest opponent he had faced so far. He was ready to test the limits of the seven-fold mana core as well as Reen''s capabilities on her. He couldn''t help but look at Marina with a certain longing as a result of his excitement. ''This man... he is the biggest omen for the temple yet.'' Marina suddenly thought as she looked at Eren''s pleasant-looking smile. For some reason, she found his smile to be the most unsettling view in the ongoing chaos. Chapter 1913: Divine Power vs Draconic Might Marina''s eyes narrowed as she hovered above the barren ind, her draconic wings creating gusts of wind with each powerful beat. Shended gracefully, her gaze locked onto Eren, who stood with a rxed posture, his hands in his pockets. "Who are you really, Eren? And what do you want with the sea god Raashim''s temple?" Marina demanded. Eren smirked, tilting his head slightly as if considering her question. "Kekeke. Just a wanderer, seeking to test my limits," he replied vaguely, his emerald green eyes gleaming with mischief. Marina''s patience was wearing thin. "Do not y games with me, Eren. Your actions have serious consequences. You can''t possibly think that your little misadventure is enough to shake the temple''s foundations in the Labh Salem''s seas, do you? Tell me what else you might have nned and I might offer you an easy death. I could even ask the temple to forgive your sins if you decide to join the temple. I''m sure god Raashim wouldn''t mind epting someone like you in his ranks. He will forgive your sins as long as you cooperate with us. But things will get very difficult for you and your subordinates if you manage to release that monster from its cage. I don''t know how the sea god''s temple will act. But But I can assure you that I''ll take this offense very personally. I''ll chase you down to the end of the world if I have to. If you manage to escape from my clutches this time with sheer luck that is. Now tell me. Why are you here? What do you hope to achieve?" Eren chuckled, shrugging nonchntly. "Maybe I''m here for the adventure. Maybe I''m here to see if the legends about the sea god''s power are true. Or perhaps I just enjoy causing a little chaos now and then." Marina''s frustration boiled over. She realized Eren wasn''t taking her seriously, despite her being an S-Rank dragon and him merely an A-Rank. Her eyes zed with determination as she spread her wings wide, summoning her draconic magic. "Enough of this nonsense. If you won''t take this seriously, then I''ll end you right here and now." Eren''s yful grin didn''t falter as Marina began to gather her magical energy, preparing to unleash her most devastating spells. He raised his hands slowly, a confident smile ying on his lips. "Oh, you want to y, miss dragoness? Fine, let''s y." Channeling his will through his God Spark, Eren called forth the power of the sea. "Come forth and act as my ally." The waters around the ind responded to hismand, rising and churning violently. A colossal wave began to form behind him, growing taller and more imposing with each passing second. ''This man''s God Spark It''s it''s not a faith-based God Spark. I don''t think Labh Salem has produced a God Spark rted to water from thest millenia. This This means he is an otherworlder.'' Marina''s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly masked it with fierce determination. She unleashed a torrent of draconic energy, a zing beam of destructive power aimed straight at Eren. The ground shook as her spell tore through the air, heading directly for him. "Kekeke. I always wanted to fight a real dragon after defeating that half-blood witch. Let me see what the progenitor level draconic lineage can do." Erenughed, his voice carrying over the roar of the rising sea. He thrust his hands forward, and the gigantic wave surged ahead, meeting Marina''s attack head-on. Swoosh. sh. Boom. The collision of their powers created a deafening explosion, sending shockwaves across the ind and stirring up a maelstrom of wind and water. Through the chaos, Eren''s yful gaze never wavered. He stood firm, his confidence in his divine powers and intent-driven magic unshaken. The wave, imbued with his will, began to envelop Marina''s attack, swallowing it whole and dissipating the destructive energy. Eren only needed to shape his will to control the water. The water responded to his thoughts and voice, turning into a spell on its own. The spell broke through the traditional ranking barriers when the divine might was added in. Eren''s confidence in his divine might propelled the effects even further. It was as if any kind of water-element spell he could think of was possible to be cast when he was wielding his divine might. And he loved the fact that it felt so powerful despite the burden his mortal vessel had to face. Marina had genuine S-Ranked draconic might. Even her casual attack should have been able to overpower someone like Eren, who was still in the Grandmaster Rank. However, Eren had something that Marina didn''t. It was his divine might that leveled the ying field for him. He had changed his Ranking Technique to bolster the overall stats of his body. As such, it acted as a better vessel for his God Spark, allowing him to tap more into his divine powers without putting himself at risk. This was perhaps the first time Eren was using his divine powers in such a way without worrying about the immediate consequences. He felt liberated. Of course, it was not like his body had turnedpletelypatible with his divine powers. No matter how strong it got, it was still a mortal vessel that was trying to hold the spark of immortality within it. As such, Eren still felt a bit of stress while channeling his divine might. However,pared to thest time, this stress wasn''t much. He just felt a bit dizzy and his bones started creaking. His entire body felt as if it was being pressed by something from all directions and his soul felt like it was being stretched from all ends. Considering the fact that Eren was almost incapacitated when he used his divine powers extensively for the first time, the way he felt while battling against Marina was still a lot better. He was d that he had changed his Ranking Technique to bolster his Body Stats at the cost of dying his Ranking Journey a bit. ''My divine powers are my real trump card. I''d be foolish not to use it when there''s such a huge opportunity for me to do so,'' Eren thought to himself as he nullified Marina''s powers just bymanding the water with his voice and will alone. *** Marina stared in disbelief as her spell was neutralized by the sheer force of Eren''smand over the sea. ''This this is not normal no matter how I look at it. From where did he obtain such a potent God Spark? Or is it him who''s talented to make use of it in such a way? Or is he some Immortal''s incarnation?'' Marina realized then that this was no ordinary opponent. Eren''s connection to the sea was more profound than she had anticipated, and his confidence was not just bravado. "Is that all you''ve got, miss sea dragon?" Eren taunted, his voice dripping with mockery. "Come on, show me what you''re really made of. Or are all dragons nothing but overhyped lizards?" Of course, Marina could see that Eren had a bit of trouble after unleashing his divine powers. But that only raised her vignce even further. She could see his struggles in controlling his divine might despite his act. However, the fact that he had enough mental fortitude to put an act of casualness told her that he was a real threat. She also dismissed the idea that Eren was the incarnation of an Immortal who had ascended from the mortal realm and sent a part of him to Labh Salem. Aksai was genuinely struggling to control his divine might despite the fact that he had sessfully stopped her casual attack. Hecked experience in handling his divine might, which was difficult to fake. Plus, there was no way an Immortal would risk handing his incarnation a genuine God Spark. Although it was quite difficult once a God Spark had integrated with someone, it was notpletely impossible to steal it from someone mortal like Eren who still had a mortal vessel. Which idiot immortal put his biggest asset up for a disy so that other immortals could steal it from them? "Don''t don''t act tough with me, you foul-mouthed brat. Do you think I was born yesterday? Did did you just try to provoke me to sharpen your skills on your divine powers? Do You look at me like I''m some sort of your sparring partner? How impudent!" For some reason, Marina was thoroughly annoyed when Eren called her an overhyped lizard. Even though she knew Eren had said those words to provoke her, it didn''t stop her from being provoked nheless. Marina''s rage intensified, but so did her resolve. She wouldn''t be underestimated by this madman who had decided to spoil her ns of keeping the sea monster caged. "Don''t get cocky with me just because you have a divine might. You are still a greenhorn when ites to handling it. I''ll show you what the dragons are capable of." Roar! With a roar, she prepared to unleash even more of her draconic might, determined to show Eren the true power of an S-Rank dragon. The battle had only just begun, and the ind trembled under the weight of their shing forces. Chapter 1914: "I Am Here To Dominate." ''Divine powers, huh? That''s a bit of a headache to deal with. Why the hell should I fight a battle of attrition with this amateur half-god? I''ll just butcher him.'' Marina switched tactics, realizing Eren''s divine powers were on par with her draconic might. At least to the extent that it could cause her some trouble. Eren wasn''t someone she could easily get rid of despite the obvious ranking difference between them. She knew he couldn''t sustain his God Spark usage for long with his mortal vessel. Instead of allowing him to wield his God Spark, she decided to rip him to pieces with her overwhelming physical might and weaponprehension. One could say that the dragoness hated being seen as a whetstone to sharpen a certain someone''s divine abilities. With a powerful p of her draconic wings, she appeared right in front of Eren in the blink of an eye. "So you decided to get your hands dirty. Keke. You still have a head over your neck it seems. It would have been a good call if it was any other half-baked demigod. Unfortunately, you are not that lucky. Come. Let me see how a dragoness fights." Eren wasn''t surprised when his opponent chose closebat. Swoosh. Zoom. ng. He had already summoned the Elder Seed Artifact made from his own hand using Demonmir''s soul as an artifact spiritAsura. It was an Elder Seed saber he could wield perfectly. ''Let me see your wrath.'' This was Eren''s first time using Asura in a real death battle after he shed with Eliza in Anfang. He channeled his Wrath Mana through it and tried to wake the artifact spiritpletely. Screeeeee! As soon as the saber was summoned, it released a sharp metallic sound akin to an angry banshee''s screech. It was clear that the saber hated being handled by Eren because it carried Demonmir''s hate and anger for him. Eren used Asura to parry Marina''s S-Ranked spear, creating potent shockwaves that carved pits in the ground and generated huge sea waves around the ind. This was not only the sh of the elemental forces but also of the weaponprehension. ''This human doesn''t look that old. How can he wield his weaponprehension so well? Was he taught to wield weapons right after he was born?'' Marina was surprised when Eren managed to block her spear. She looked at his saber and immediately sensed a subtle threat from it. She could tell the artifact Eren held was no ordinary weapon. She couldn''t help opening her eyes wide in surprise when she realized what it really was. "How? When? Where did you get this Elder Seed Artifact?" Marina asked in a low, threatening voice. As a dragon that had lived on for centuries on end, Marina was already aware of the Elder Seed Artifacts. She had also seen some of them being used by the demi-god candidates, who were supported by their respective organizations. "Hm? Shocked? Kekeke. I made it myself. This saber is a big headache I tell you. I can''tpletely control it the way I want to because of it. So, you might want to protect yourself," Eren said casually, looking at Marina with a charming smile. He could feel the draconic might enveloping her body in the form of her beastly aura. However, Eren used his own divine might to shield himself from her influence. He decided to temporarily stop using his God Spark and enjoy closebat with a genuine dragoness. Marina''s eyes narrowed, and she lunged at Eren with a series of rapid strikes, her spear blurring with speed and power. She also used her free hand like a weapon itself, her draconic ws doing their best to tear through Eren''s flesh. However, Eren''s weaponprehension and his movements exceeded Marina''s expectations. The way he moved, parried, deflected, and attacked using the counter was so wless that they all seemed like one single action. Eren met each attack with Asura, the saber screaming with every sh. Sparks flew as metal met metal, each impact creating shockwaves that sent ripples through the air and sea. Of course, he had made use of the closebat profession to tackle the dragoness. With Asura apanying him, he didn''t even need to rely on Reen, his multi-profession abilities, and his sevenfold mana core. ''I can''t believe this is merely an A-Ranked Ranker,'' Marina thought to herself as she kept on attacking Eren and defending against his counters. Eren grinned, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "You''re strong, but let''s see how you handle this." He spun Asura in a wide arc, channeling his mana into the de. The saber glowed with a dark, ominous light, and Eren unleashed a powerful sh aimed at Marina''s midsection. Marina twisted her body, narrowly avoiding the strike, but the force of the attack created a deep gash in the ground behind her. "You''re not bad, but you''re still just a mortal ying with powers beyond your grasp," Marina sneered. She thrust her spear forward with incredible speed, aiming for Eren''s heart. Eren sidestepped the attack, bringing Asura up to deflect the spear. The sh sent a jolt through his arms, but he held firm, using the momentum to spin around and deliver a counterattack. Asura''s de sliced through the air, aiming for Marina''s neck. Marina blocked the strike with her spear, but the force pushed her back, her feet digging trenches in the ground. She growled in frustration, her eyes zing with fury. "You''re making this fun, dragoness," Eren said with a smirk. "But let''s turn up the heat a bit." Eren''s emerald eyes glowed as he channeled more of his divine aura into Asura. The saber responded with a surge of power, its dark light intensifying. Heunched himself at Marina with a flurry of strikes, each one faster and more powerful than thest. Marina matched him blow for blow, her spear dancing in her hands as she parried and countered. The battlefield was a blur of motion, the twobatants moving with incredible speed and precision. Each sh of their weapons created shockwaves that echoed across the ind, stirring the sea into a frenzy. "Kekeke. This This is good." Despite the intensity of the battle, Eren''s yful grin never wavered. He reveled in the challenge, pushing himself to his limits as he faced off against one of the strongest opponents he had ever encountered. He used his divine powers as a protective shield against Marina''s sheer physical power. It not only boosted his overall body stats but also bolstered his defenses. Marina, for her part, found herself grudgingly impressed by Eren''s skill and tenacity. He was no ordinary foe, and despite her initial disdain, she couldn''t help but respect his strength and determination. "You. it seems you have done your homework well, Eren," Marina admitted. "But don''t think for a second that I''m going to let you win." "Wouldn''t dream of it," Eren replied with a chuckle. "I am not here to score a win against you, my dear. I am here to dominate." Chapter 1915: Marina’s Dragonoid Transformation Marina started to understand more about Eren as their duel went on. She realized a huge anomaly when it came to her enemy. His A-Rank mana was not running out despite the fact that he was using them to empower his intent-based spells. It was as if Eren had more than enough mana stashed somewhere that enabled him to fight on par with an S-Ranked dragon without having to worry about his mana expenditure. ''How can a mere grandmaster Ranker have so much mana at his disposal. He is just showing off at this point. There''s some trick involved. Wait a minute. Is Is he trying to buy time? What else has he nned?'' After engaging with Eren in closebat for several intense rounds, Marina leapt back andnded a few meters away from him. She realized that she was inadvertently influenced by his pace. She decided it was time to stop toying with her prey and unleash her true draconic power to kill Eren in the most brutal way possible. ''Oh! It seems she noticed that I was trying to buy time! This dragoness is indeed smart. Kekeke. I''ll see if I can get her to obey me. It''d be pretty cool to have someone like her by my side,'' the butcher thought to himself. The seven-fold mana core had given him all the confidence and assurance he needed to face someone like Marina. It wasn''t that he had be invincible in front of all S-Ranked entities. However, it gave him a fighting chance against them. And that''s what the butcher needed to turn the tides in his favor. ''Hmm. She is up to something.'' Eren watched with a mixture of curiosity and excitement as Marina''s form began to change. Her already formidable presence grew even more imposing. Scales started to appear, covering her arms and legs with a gleaming, iridescent armor that shimmered. The scales, tough and imprable, gave her a fearsome appearance. Two horns on her head began to elongate, twisting and curling into an even more intimidating shape. The draconic runes etched over the horns glowed with a faint, otherworldly light. Her eyes turned into slits, radiating a piercing, almost hypnotic gaze. A long, sinuous dragon tail emerged from her lower back,shing through the air with lethal grace. It was covered in the same gleaming scales, ending in a sharp, spiked tip that could easily tear through flesh and bone. Her entire body seemed to growrger in stature and more dragon-like, while retaining a humanoid shape. Her fingers elongated into deadly ws, each one capable of rending through steel with ease. Her scale-like armor shifted and moved, adapting to her new form, providing both protection and flexibility. There was a storm of elemental mana that surrounded her all of a sudden. This very elemental storm started to affect the surroundings as well, shaking the ground beneath her and affecting the very fabric of the space. An eye of the storm in the sky above her. The sky had dimmed even further and the winds started howling. The temperature of the surroundings dropped a few degrees, hinting at the fact that dragons could indeed affect the weather even when they had no intention of doing so. The unshakable will of the dragon alone was enough to cause these changes. Marina''s Mana Signature was so potent that no creature below S-Rank would even dare to look at her in her current form. Eren was the only anomaly who wasn''t scared by her draconic presence. However, the butcher found Marina to be even sexier than before because of her half-beastly form. Firstly, he raised a force field around him to stop his hair and clothes from fluttering in the air. Secondly, he looked at Marina while licking his lips a bit with his long forked tongue. The butcher couldn''t help but let out an appreciative whistle. "Now that''s what I call an upgrade. You look ready to take on the world, dragoness. Kekeke" Marina''s lips curled into a snarl, revealing sharp, gleaming teeth. "You should be terrified, you brat. I''m done messing around with you." Eren grinned, unfazed by her transformation. "Kekeke. I think I have seen a better draconic transformation than what you showed me. And it came from a half-blood no less. I know you can certainly do a lot better. But for now, let''s go with this." Of course, Eren was simply mixing lies with some truth. He had indeed seen Eliza''s draconic transformation and had fought with her. However, she was nowhere near as intimidating as Marina was. At least not at the time Eren had fought with her when she was still in the A-Rank and trying to restore her Sagehood. As for why Eren lied to Marina? It was to simply make her a bit too unstable to use intent-based magic properly. Even though Eren had yed it cool, he knew a dragon''s will was not something he could underestimate. It had powers beyond one''s imaginations. For example, the power of a draconic tongue alone was capable of making someone obey the user''s will. Eren had experienced it firsthand in Demonmir''s case. Only the half-bloods who genuinely had dragon blood flowing through their veins could unlock this power. Plus, it was also associated with one''s soul. Otherwise, Eren would have considered devouring the dragons too to unlock the ability to use the draconic tongue for himself. *** Roar! With a roar that shook the very air around them, Marinaunched herself at Eren, her draconic features fully unleashed. Her spell-casting speed and efficiency improved to new levels, enabling her to make use of her go-to spells with just a thought alone. She moved with incredible speed, her ws shing through the air with deadly precision. Her tail whipped around, aiming to strike Eren from multiple angles. "Let me see what the overhyped lizards are made of. Kekeke." Eren met her onught head-on. He wielded Asura with expert skill, parrying her strikes and countering with his own. He imbued the weapon with Wrath Mana, which agitated Demonmir''s trapped soul and improved the Elder Seed''s Artifact''s raw power. Screeeee! The saber screeched in protest, but Eren''s grip was firm. He was forced to use his divine powers once again, which started taking a toll on his body. Marina was finally able to make Eren fight with all that he got. Almost. Their battle changed thendscape of the entire ind and affected the surroundings in ways that were beyond a mortal''s understanding. It was as if two giants were busy quarreling with each other and destroying everything in their wake in the process. The battlefield became a blur of motion once more, the sh of divine power and draconic might creating shockwaves that rippled through the ind and stirred the sea into a tempest. Eren''s yful grin never wavered, even as he faced the full fury of Marina''s draconic form. Even though he had several internal injuries due to his own God Spark harming him, he managed to wipe the blood from the corner of his lips and smile. Chapter 1916: Dragonoid vs Dragonoid "You''re strong, Marina," Eren admitted, his voice carrying over the din of battle. "But let''s see if you can handle this." Elemental God Spark + Wrath Mana With a flick of his wrist, Eren channeled his divine aura into Asura, the saber glowing with a dark, ominous light. He sent a series of powerful sword shes toward Marina, each strike imbued with Wrath Mana. Marina, caught off guard by the sudden ferocity, was forced to dodge and parry with all her might. The first few shes shed against her draconic armor, creating sparks and a deafening ng. But as Eren poured more Wrath Mana into his attacks, the sheer force behind each strike began to take its toll. One particrly powerful sh managed to break through Marina''s defenses, leaving a shallow but noticeable gash on her arm. She hissed in pain and fury, her eyes narrowing as she red at Eren. "Not bad, you fucking weasel," she growled, her voice dripping with venom. "But you''ll need more than that to defeat me." Eren grinned, his emerald green eyes shing with excitement. "Oh, I''ve got plenty more where that came from." Heunched himself at Marina once again, Asura singing through the air with a banshee''s wail. This saber-type Elder Seed Artifact was as unique as Reen herself in that it didn''t give Eren the power to punch above his weight in the beginning. However, this artifact could keep on growing forever as more and more Wrath mes were provided to it. The butcher executed a flurry of swift, precise strikes, each one aimed at exploiting any weak points in her draconic armor. The saber''s Wrath Mana became extra potent, leaving trails of mes in its wake. The ind''s damaged ground was covered in mes, and the water surrounding the ind roared as Eren made use of his powers and abilities. *** ''I don''t fucking believe this. A mere A-Ranked brat managed to make me work this much,'' Marina thought to herself as she separated from Eren once again and looked at him with a cocktail of emotions. Eren''s speed and power, bolstered by the Wrath Mana, were pushing her to her limits. She managed to block most of his strikes, but a few slipped through her defenses, leaving severe cuts and bruises on her scaled skin. Eren could see the frustration building in Marina''s eyes and knew he was getting under her skin. "What''s the matter, dragoness? Not so tough now, are we?" Eren hadn''te out unscathed from battling with Marina so intensely. He was injured and bleeding from multiple angles as well. More importantly, he had a huge wound on his shoulder that had almost separated his arm and a good portion of his chest from his trunk. This severe wound was caused by Marina''s ws herself, piercing through Eren''s defenses and finally giving him a life-threatening wound. The dragon''s will added into the attack was transferred to Eren''s wound as well, giving him constant passive damage. The difference between him and Marina was not just of rank alone. Marina had more experience than Eren, and her raw draconic might was not something he could tackle with neat tricks alone. One could say that Marina had almost scored a win against Eren with the state they both were in. She only needed to finish what she had started to make sure Eren did not bother her again. If it was any other Ranker, such a wound was enough for Marina''s opponent to ept their defeat. However, Eren just raised his fingers and... Snap! Expedited Regeneration + Instant Reset Eren''s healing abilities kicked in, allowing him to recover from the most severe injuries within a blink of an eye. His seven-fold mana core allowed him to use as much mana as he wanted to expedite his healing process. "Hehehehehe," Marinaughed hysterically as she looked at apletely healed Eren. "You you are a better punching bag than I thought. Brat, you are making my blood boil. Let''s fight once again. Let me see how many times you can heal," Marina challenged Eren with a vicious grin. "Yeah sure. I mean I''m all up for the challenge," Eren said, pausing before speaking further. "However, it seems I''ll have to get a bit serious while battling with you. Want to see something really interesting?" Eren asked yfully, looking at Marina. However, the butcher didn''t wait for Marina to answer. "Reen dear,e out," he said to his other Elder Artifact Spirit, which was currently merged with his body and lying dormant. Marina watched with vignt and wary eyes, realizing that something was off about Eren right after he spoke a few words to someone named Reen. His aura changed, and his mana signatures started giving out mixed signals. A blob of slime separated itself from Eren''s chest. It then stretched in front of Eren while staying connected to his body, almost as if Eren was growing a second head connected to his chest with a slime-like neck. This blob of slime took shape and transformed into Reen''s face. It took a moment for Marina to understand that there was another being attached to Eren while she was dueling with him. ''How How is that possible? I sensed nothing like this from him. Wait she she is'' Marina was tongue-tied when she sensed Reen''s presence from a distance. Even though her aura wasn''t that imposing, the dragoness could tell that Reen was a genuine artifact spirit of another Elder Seed Artifact. "Eren, how How many Elder Seeds do you have in your possession? Answer me," Marina almost screamed at Eren as she prepared for another round with him. She couldn''t help but gulp at the sight of another Elder Seed Artifact. ''I thought the Elder Seed Artifacts were so rare that each world would only be in the possession of a single artifact if that world''s denizens were really lucky. Then howe this guy has two of them? Something doesn''t add up. He He is not just a demi-god with water element God Spark. He has to have a more profound background. Is he Is he that man,'' Marina''s mind started working on overdrive as she thought of many possibilities at once. Eren smirked at Marina but didn''t say anything. He looked at Reen casually before speaking further. "Well, what are you waiting for? You know what to do." "Erni, I thought we were going to fight that god''s incarnation," Reen scrunched her nose as she looked at him. She then turned her neck 180 degrees and stretched her slime-like neck as she looked at Marina with an unsatisfied gaze. "I don''t think she is much of a challenge for us," she said while looking at Marina from head to toe. Reen had be more confident and assertive after bing an artifact spirit. "Keep that assessment to yourself, you silly slime. When I tell you to do something, you do it. Otherwise, I''ll cut back your food allowance," Eren said, looking at Reen''s stretched neck. The sight of Eren talking with what looked like another mutated part of his body would have creeped anyone out. However, Marina was too shaken by Eren''s abilities to react normally. "Aaaah! You don''t have to be so mean," Reen said as she brought her face close to Eren''s. She spoke to him in aining voice. "I just thought we should fight the biggest and baddest guy out there for our debut together after such a long time in a real battle," she said with a face that showed she felt wronged. However, all she received in response was Eren''s stern gaze. "Alright, alright," Reen said before merging with Eren''s formpletely. In the next second, Eren''s form also started changing. What''s more, his transformation was almost instant, turning him into a dragonoid within a span of a second or two. Eren''s forehead now bore the imposing presence of two draconic horns, curving with a blend of regality and menace. From his broad shoulders sprouted massive gray wings, their membranes adorned with intricate patterns that spoke of a draconic lineage. His once human form was now adorned with scales. While still maintaining his humanoid structure, Eren''s physique had transformed. His muscles rippled beneath his skin, the definition of his abs chiseled with precision. His arms and legs, though brawny, exuded a lean gracefulness. His hands had morphed into formidable talons, echoing the lethal grasp of a wyvern. Yet, it was his legs that trulymanded attention. His mighty leg muscles allowed him to stomp the earth with titanic force, creating craters with a single strike. Eren''s mana reserves surged to new heights, empowering him with explosive spellcasting capabilities. The dragonoid transformation allowed Marina to sense that Eren was harnessing the power of not one, but multiple mana cores within him. The transformation wasn''t just physical. Eren felt like he was a dragon as well. His senses heightened to an extraordinary degree, allowing him to perceive the world around him with uncanny rity. His emerald green eyes, once full of human depth, now bore the beastly irises of his draconic lineage. His face was transformed, covered by ayer of thick scales that made him appear almost monstrous. Standing at an imposing 8 feet, he had finally achieved true dragonoid transformation, triggered with the help of Reen. Eren had made Reen devour the damaged Wyvern Armor Set in the past, enabling her to act as a wyvern armor whenever Eren wanted her to. The raw power and the thoroughness of the dragonoid transformation triggered by Reen were far superior to Eren''s previous experience with the armor set. "What what the hell are you two abominations?" Marina murmured to herself, looking at Eren''s new dragonoid form with an aghast expression. If she hadn''t witnessed the transformation herself, she would have mistaken Eren for another of her dragonkind. Marina''s expression was a testament to the level of transformation Eren had achieved using Reen as the medium. "We we are what we need to be," Eren and Reen spoke simultaneously, their voices creating a strange reverberating effect. === AN: Eren uses the improved Wyvern Armor Set in chapter 1462. Reen devours the wyvern artifact spirit of the Hex armor in chapter 1636. Chapter 1917: Peak Draconic Transformation & Superior Regenerative Prowess A few minutester. A deste ind in the endless seas had changed its geography entirely due to two powerful beings using it as their battleground. Swoosh. Zoom. Boom. Eren and Marina shed once again. This time, Marina could feel that Eren was growing stronger by the minute, thanks to his rapid adaptation to his draconic transformation. Eren and Reen had done many mock battles with Roza and the others. However, it had been a long time since they had fought together in such a merger. Thest time Reen had transformed Eren into an unrecognizable being was when they fought in Osan Woods, facing Isaac''s group. At that time, Eren''s transformation had been truly otherworldly, enabling him to kill enemies far stronger than himself. It and the way he killed were the reasons he gained the title Osan Woods'' Butcher. The situation with Marina was simr, but the scale of the transformation waspletely different. If, in the past, Eren had used his merger with Reen to eliminate a pompous and deviant brat like Isaac, this time, his transformation was meant to establish his dominance over a genuine dragoness. Even in Anfang, dragons and wyverns existed. However, they never appeared in regions conquered by humans and other humanoid races. They stayed in the deepest parts of the Bands, preferring to protect their own territories rather than mingle with Rankers. Even during Eren''s ten years of traveling to distantnds in Anfang, while staying low-key as the weaponsmith Leo Longde, he had never truly fought a genuine dragon. He had never encountered an authentic draconic terror. Labh Salem, however, was different. This world was a cultural melting pot of various races and beings. Even dragons mingled with other races for their own benefit, battling to safeguard their interests. Given this, it was clear how difficult it was for Eren to handle Marina. Despite his earlier facade, which made it seem like he had an easier time dealing with her, Marina always knew Eren was not her match in a frontal sh. Marina had exceptional elemental control over water, and with the ind surrounded by it, the volume of water at her disposal was enough to drown a city like Edinburgh''s capital, Edin, ten times over. However, Eren neutralized Marina''s elemental prowess with his God Spark. He not only used the same tactics as her but also disrupted her elemental attacks using his divine powers. Although Marina was a dragon with superior control over water, she could do nothing against Eren''s divine powers, which robbed her of her authority over elemental attacks. Marina quickly abandoned her elemental attacks and resorted to closebat, knowing she could suppress Eren''s divine powers more effectively in physical confrontation. Eren obliged, ceasing to rely on his God Spark, as he too wanted to engage in closebat. This was something Marina was forced to neglect subconsciously. The reason Eren had acted so arrogantly with Marina was to prevent her from seeing how difficult it was for him to wield his God Spark while still in a mortal vessel. As a demi-god, Eren faced many limitations on his usage of the God Spark. Though Eren had learned to manage his God Spark better after changing his Ranking Technique, which gave him a devilishly strong physique, he was still flesh and blood. He remained a demi-god who had yet to transcend his mortal boundaries. Thus, Eren acted as though he was always in control right after he confronted Marina. In the earlier rounds of battle, he wielded his God Spark with such proficiency that Marina subconsciously forgot that he was not a true Immortal but a demi-god. She inadvertently chose not to press him into continuously using his God Spark. Eren practically forced Marina to relinquish her advantage over water by making her believe his God Spark was invincible and infallible. This led her to shift focus, engaging him instead in closebat using her powerful draconic form. Marina''s thinking wasn''t wrong. Her decision wasn''t entirely mistaken either, given her superior draconic physique. However, Eren was prepared to fight her in an area where they were, more or less, evenly matched. At the very least, Marina didn''t have an absolute advantage over Eren when it came to their draconic physiques. Eren and Reen had rarely fought as a team in Labh Salem since Eren''s arrival in this world a few years ago. As a result, there was a slight dy in their coordination. This dy wasn''t noticeable or exploitable by ordinary enemies. However, someone like Marina, with her exceptionally sharp draconic senses and even more powerful draconic form, was able to capitalize on thisck of coordination, hammering Eren down with her might. But Eren and Reen quickly adapted. They used the battle with Marina as a whetstone, sharpening their teamwork and eliminating any inconsistencies. Of course, Eren suffered greatly under Marina''s attacks during this time. Within seconds, he was grievously injured after Marina truly tapped into her powers. It had been a long time since the butcher been beaten this badly, especially aftering to Labh Salem. He had to admit, Marina was truly a genuine dragoness, able to suppress him despite his many advantages as the inheritor of Elder Ichor and a demi-god with a water-element God Spark. Despite this overwhelming suppression, Eren was far from losing to Marina. His regenerative powers had quadrupled after donning Reen as an Elder Seed Armor. It was as if he had truly be immortal, his body refusing to remain in an injured state. Eren already possessed an astonishing level of regenerative powers thanks to Instant Reset, which had evolved into a skill after his entry into Labh Salem. Coupled with his bloodline powers, which had their own regenerative qualities, he became even harder to keep down. When he unleashed his draconic form with Reen''s help, even Marinaa true dragonesscouldn''t keep him injured for more than three seconds. This was despite Marina having an absolute rank advantage over himshe was an S-Ranked legendary being, while Eren was still an A-Ranked Grandmaster. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!